Portrait and biographical album of Warren County, Illinois : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 69

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 69

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January 16, 1868, Mr. Rees was married to Mar- garet Low, and they are the parents of five chil- dren-Eva, who died at the age of six months, Elsie R., Effie E., Daisy F., and Bertha A. Mrs. Rees was born in the township of Spring Grove, Aug. 3, 1844, and is the daughter of John and Margaret (Rey- nolds) Low. Her parents came to this county the year previous, from Pennsylvania. Her father was a native of England and came to this country at the age of 16 years. Her mother was a native of the Keystone State, as were her maternal grandparents. Mr. Low married the second time, the lady of his choice being Mrs. Lenora Stewart. By the previous marriage he had 12 children and by the last, one. Of this number, six are now living. Mrs. Rees is the fifth in order of birth of the above family. She resided with her family on their farm in Spring Grove Township until her marriage. Her mother died in 1866, and the father in 1878. Mr. Low's second wife is living in Iowa. Her oldest brother, William Low, died in the service of his country, at Paducah, Ky., in 1862.

In politics, Mr. Rees votes the Republican ticket, and he and his wife are members of the Christian Church.

M illiam H. Dawdy, owning 260 acres of land in Berwick Township, 80 acres of which is under an advanced state of cul- tivation, and residing upon section 11, of the township named, was born in Knox Co., this State, Oct. 2, 1845, and is a son of John Dawdy, a native of Kentucky, where he was born in

1798. The father was one of the pioneer settlers of Illinois, coming to this State in 1828, and locating in Knox County; he died in 1874. His marriage oc- curred in 1834, in this State, at which time Miss To- bitha Boydson became his wife. She was born in 1809, in Kentucky, and is still a resident of Knox County, this State. Of her union with Mr. Dawdy, ten children were born, named Benjamin M., Eliza, Emily, Malinda, William H., Jacob W., Alexander C. and Sarah E.

The gentleman whose name stands at the head of this notice was married to Miss Amanda J. Howard, Jan. 3, 1871. She was born Oct. 28, 1852, and is a daughter of Nathan Howard, who was born in 1826, in Kentucky, and came to this State in 1855, locating in Warren County. Her father married Miss Martha Hood, and they had nine children, viz .: Lucinda E., Isaac S., Amanda J., Mary C., Sarah A., Joseph, Cora A., Rosa B. and John E., twins.

Mr. and Mrs. Dawdy, of this sketch, are the par- ents of six children : Della M., born in 1873; Jessie V. in 1874; Daisy D., in 1875; George W., in 1877; Perley E., in 1881, and Bertha R., in 1883. Mr. Dawdy is pleasantly located and has a good resi- dence. He is turning his attention to the raising of cattle, his specialty being the Short-horns. He is also dealing in Poland-China hogs, and is meeting with success in both his farming and breeding in- terests.

Socially, he is a member of the A. F. & A. M., to which order he has belonged for the last 12 years. In politics, he is a Democrat.

illiam M. Pinkerton, of the firm of Page & Pinkerton, hardware and furniture deal- ers, at Monmouth, was born in Preble Co., Ohio, near the village of Fair Haven, April 18, 1837. His parents, Ebenezer and Mary (McCrary) Pinkerton, natives respectively of the States of South Carolina and Ohio, and of Scotch-Irish extraction, reared three sons and three daughters, William M. being the eldest son and third child in order of birth. The senior Mr. Pinkerton was by occupation a farmer ; came to Illinois in 1854, and spent the balance of his days in Peoria County,

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dying in the year 1863, aged 58 years. His widow survived him up to 1883, dying in September of that year, at the age of 75 years.

The subject of our sketch was brought up to farm- ing, and followed it in Peoria, McLean and Mercer counties, up to 1876, when he removed to Monmouth and entered into the present business arrange- ment.

Aug. 18, 1862, at Peoria, he enlisted in Co. C, 77th Ill. Vol. Inf., and served three years, participating in 13 battles : Haines Bluff, Arkansas Post, Magnolia Hills, Raymond, Champion Hills, Black River, Siege of Vicksburg, Bank's Expedition in Western Loui- siana, Ft. Morgan, on the Texas Coast, Bank's Red River Expedition, Sabine, Cross Roads, Pleasant Hill and the siege and final taking of Mobile. In all these battles he was wounded once, and that so light he never left his command. It must not be sup- posed, however, that the army life did him no injury. As with nearly every other man who saw service, his health was impaired, his constitution undermined,and he was finally forced to abandon the farm on account of it.

He was married in Peoria County, December, 1868, to Miss Martha A. Finley, who died at Mon- mouth, April 17, 1877. The children she bore were Grace, Fannie and Martha, and two that died in in- fancy.

Jan. 28, 1881, Mr. Pinkerton was again married, to Elizabeth Peacock, and has had borne to him two children, James H. and Anna Mary.

illiam P. Brent, deceased, was one of the early settlers of this county, coming here in 1835, with his parents, and pre- vious to his demise resided on section 17, Ellison Township. Mr. Brent was born in Lancaster Co., Va., and came to this State and county with his parents when he was 15 years of age. He continued to reside with his parents, enduring with them all the privations incident to the settlement of a new country.

His years prior to attaining the age of majority were passed on the parental homestead. Oct. 3, 1850, Miss Margaret E., daughter of James and

Mary Jamison, became his wife. She was born July ' 1, 1833, in the county in which she was married. Her father was a farmer, and was married in Kentucky, afterwards removing, in 1829, to this State, and set- tling in Henderson County. She bore her husband IT children, three of whom are deceased : Batha- nia is the wife of John H. Warfield, who resides in Montgomery Co., Iowa, and is there engaged in the occupation of farming; Velma became the wife of M. B. Jamison, who resides on a farm in Ellison Township, and is its Supervisor; Arthur J., Schuy- ler L., Charles E., William W. and Ellen, all reside at home with their mother.

After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Brent settled on a farm of 80 acres, where the family lived for some time. By energetic labor and economy, coupled with good judgment and perseverance, he succeeded in adding to his original purchases, until at the time of his demise, April 22, 1880, he was the owner of 160 acres of good farm land.

Religiously, Mrs. B. is a member of the Method- odist Episcopal Church, and has been for several years. In politics, Mr. B. was, during his life time, a strong supporter of the principles of the Repub- lican party.

ornelius McNeil, was born in Philadel- phia, July 17, 1810, and was the son of Cornelius and Mary (Allison) McNeil, natives respectively of counties Antrim and Kerry, Ireland, but their ancestors were originally from Scotland. The senior Corne- lius came to America, in 1792, and Mary Allison came in 1800. They were married in Philadelphia where Mr. McNeil died, in 1826, and his widow in 1847.

Cornelius McNeil, Jr., was educated at the com- mon schools of the city of "Brotherly Love," and when 16 years of age was indentured "five years eleven months and two weeks to the trade and mys- tery of Weavers' Machine Making." Mastering the "mysteries" he embarked in business upon his own, hook, and followed it 17 years, in Kensington, where he built a shop with the $169 inherited from his father.

In company with John Corkin he bought the -

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Gloucester Ferry House, an old building standing yet near the Walnut Street Ferry, Philadelphia, and run it with great success about four years.

He left Philadelphia in 1855,having been swindled out of his property by some descendents of the pa- triarch, Abraham, and spent a year at South Bend, Ind. The year following he came to Monmouth, where he has since been known as a first-class me- chanic. We should not forget to say, however, that he was in the employ of the United States Government awhile during the war as a carpenter, and as such was at Nashville, Tenn., during the last battle at that place. His specialty for some years past has been the manufacture of washing machines, a patent upon which he controls.

Politically, Mr. McNeil formerly belonged to the Whig party, then affiliated with the Democrats, and is now an Independent.

July 4, 1836, Mr. McNeil was married, in Phila- delphia, to Miss Elizabeth Young, and has had born to him 11 children, seven of whom are deceased. The living are James, Isabella (Mrs. Henry Duer), Letitia (Mrs. J. A. Chafee) and Miss Ida.

Mr. McNeil belongs to no Church, but his heart is true to Masonry, which means, in the enlightened world, the highest order of religion.

li Dixson. From an early history of Greene County, Ind., we get the following facts of the Dixson family: Eli Dixson, who is the fa- ther of Mrs. Jemima Dixson's husband, referred to elsewhere in this work, was a son of Solo- mon and Sarah Dixson and was born in 1769, in Virginia, near the Blue Ridge Mountains. He emigrated to Georgia, where, near the city of Augus- ta, he married Rebecca Hart, in 1799, and moved to Preble County, Ohio, in 1806, settling in what is now called Dixson Township, being the first settler in that township. He remained there about twelve years, during which time he cleared a farm and exer- cised a prominent influence in the settling of the neighborhood. He removed to Greene Co., Ind., in 1818, and settled in Smith Township, where he im- proved a farm. He was noted for his liberality and benevolence in helping such as were not able to help themselves. He served two terms in the State Leg-

islature, from Greene, Owen and Putnam Counties. He died respected by all who knew him, March 9, 1836. He had six brothers and three sisters, viz. : Samuel, John, Joseph, Henry, Solomon Stephen Ruth, Sarah and Elizabeth. Sam'l Dixson died in Greene Co., Ind., Aug. 30, 1850, aged 53 years. John Dixson was drowned in the Ohio River, near Shaw- neetown. Joseph Dixson died at his residence, in Greene Co., Ind. Henry Dixson died in Tennessee. Solomon Dixson was born Oct. 4, 1771, died Oct. 8, 1824, in Greene Co., Ind. Stephen Dixson was killed by the Indians, near Terre Haute, Ind., dur- ing the war of 1812.

Rebecca, the wife of Eli Dixson, was the daughter of Isaac and Hester Hart, and was born near Au- gusta, Ga., Sept. 2, 1779, and died Oct. 1, 1852. She had four brothers, viz .: William, Isaac, Thomas and Phineas ; and two half-brothers, viz. : Amos and Jerry Greene ; and one half-sister, who married a Mr. Jones. Her brother, William, died in Georgia ; Isaac and Thomas died in Preble Co., Ohio, and Phineas in Peoria Co., Ill. Her half-brothers, sister and mother emigrated to Michigan at an early day.

Eli and Rebecca Dixson's family consisted of eight sons and three daughters, viz. : Samuel, Sarah, Solomon, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Eli, Stephen, John, Phineas, William and Prior. Samuel was born June 22, 1800, died Dec. 17, 1844; Sarah (Johnston) born Aug. 27, 1801, died April 29, 1839; Solomon, born June 21, 1803, died June 20, 1851; Elizabeth, died in infancy; Rebecca (Johnston), born Oct. 24, 1807, died June 27, 1834 ; Prior, born Nov. 15, 1809, died Sept. 10, 1850; Eli, born May 5, 1811, died Oct. 27, 1857; Stephen, born Dec. 21, 1814, died March I, 1879; William, born 1822, died Feb. 9, 1870. John Dixson was born in 1816. He, being the only sur- vivor of the family, still resides in Greene Co., Ind .; Samuel, Solomon, Eli and Rebecca (seniors), Sam- uel, Solomon, Sarah, Rebecca Prior, Phineas, Eli, and William all being buried in the Dixson grave- yard, in Greene Co., Ind.

Mrs. Jemima Dixson, of Point Pleasant Township, is a settler of Warren County of 1858. She caine here after the death of her husband with her four children, and located in the same township in which she is still living. She was born in Bath Co., Ky., Jan. 28. 1817, and is the daughaer of Drury B. and Elizabeth (Hurd) Boyd, of whom an account is given on another page in this volume. The latter removed

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to Pulaski Co., Ky., when his daughter, Mrs. Dix- son, was a child of five years. The family was trans- ferred to Greene Co., Ind., in 1825, when she was eight years of age. There she passed the remaining years of her youth, and was married, March 12, 1840, to Eli Dixson. He was born in Preble Co., Ohio, and was the son of Eli and Rebecca (Hart) Dixson, men- tioned above. At the time of their marriage, they settled on a farm, which he had purchased in Smith Township, in White River Bottom, in Greene Co., in the State of Indiana.

Mr. Dixson was a man of excellent character and a successful farmer. He improved and added to his acreage to a considerable extent. He resided on the same place until 1850, when he came to Illinois to prospect. In 1855, he came again, and at that time to Warren County. He decided to make an invest- ment here, and he accordingly bought unimproved land in Point Pleasant Township. He returned to the farm in Indiana with every intention of removing his family to Illinois and of settling on the land he had bought. In 1857 he was engaged in making the necessary arrangements for a transfer of his interests, and in the midst of his operations, with that end in view, he was taken sick and died, Oct. 27, of that year. His widow rented the Indiana farm the fol-

- lowing year and removed to Illinois. Her father and other relatives had located in Warren County, and she joined them, settling on section 12, in Point Pleasant Township. The farm on which she took up her residence was at the time unimproved, but that has all been changed, and the place is in a splendid condition for prosperous management. Mrs. Dixson and her children are still the owners of the property in Indiana.

To her and her husband five children were born. The oldest, Samuel B., was born Jan. 10, 1841. He married Jennie C. Davis, April 14, 1870, and they had one child, Bertha. He died Aug. 14, 1874, in Point Pleasant Township, where he had lived and managed the family farm up to that time. His widow and daughter reside in Burlington, Iowa. Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Mrs. Dixson, was born Aug. 16, 1842, and died in her infancy. Rebecca was born May 1, 1845, and died March 30, 1862. Mary E., the only daughter now living, was born April 13, 1849, and is the wife of Lambert Lester, of this township. Eli is the youngest child and is the only surviving son. He was born in Jefferson Township,

Greene County, Ind., Jan. 8, 1853, and was five years old when he accompanied his mother to Illinois, where he has since lived. He was educated in the common schools primarily, and afterwards attended Abidngon College (Knox County) two years. Later, he went to the Commercial College, at Monmouth. He is a farmer and a citizen of prominence, and is one of the Directors in the Roseville Union Bank. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Roseville. The farm of which he and his mother are the joint owners contains 560 acres and is one of the finest and most valuable places in the township. He is also part owner of the Indiana homestead.

obert Moore, owning an excellent farm, lo- cated on section 15, Tompkins Township, where he follows the vocation of an agri- culturist, is a native of Ohio, having been born in that State in 1818. His father, Abra- ham Moore, and his mother, Margaret Moore, whose maiden name was Wolverton, were natives of Pennsylvania. After their marriage, in 1829, they came from their native State to Hancock Co., Ill., and there resided until the father's death, which oc- curred in 1834.

Robert Moore, whose name stands at the head of this biographical notice, was an inmate of the paren- tal household for 20 years, receiving during that time a good education in the common schools. At the age named he left the parental roof-tree and engaged in farming, which occupation he had followed, more or less, up to the time of his leaving home. He first farmed in Iowa for one year, and was one of the first to run a steam ferry across the Mississippi at Flint Hills, now Burlington, at which he was engaged for two years. In 1837 he came to this county and bought land, on which he located and again engaged in farming. He married, Feb. 20, 1846, Jane Adams, who bore him two children-Ellen S. and Wilson M. She died Feb. 22. 1848, and in 1852 Mr. Moore married Delilah Stone. In 1849, when the gold fever was at its height, he crossed the plains to California and Oregon and for three years prospected in those States for gold, meeting with signal success. He then returned to Illinois and purchased 240 acres of land in Ellison Township, which he successfully cultiva- ted until 1855, when he sold it and purchased the

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160 acres on which he is at present residing. He has lived on the latter tract of land for 20 years, contin- uously engaged in its cultivation and improvement, and has been amply rewarded for his labors. Mr. Moore was a soldier in the Black Hawk War of 1832, but received no injuries from the engagements in which he took part. He has a wife and seven chil- dren living, the names of the children being-Ellen S., Marion E., William A., John S., Willis C., Grace B. and Fred A.

In his political views, Mr. Moore coincides with the principles of the Republican party, and is one of the leading representatives of his vocation in Warren County.

eorge Bruington, engaged as a general farmer and stock raiser on section 16, Cold Brook Township, was born in Knox County, near the Warren County line, on the 4th of October, 1840. His father, Thomas Bruing- ton, a farmer by occupation and a native of Breckenridge Co. Ky., was of Scotch-Irish descent. He was married in the county of his nativity to Jane McLaughlin, who was also a native of Breckenridge Co. Ky., and of the same parentage and descent. Before their emigration West in 1833, when they came to the State of Illinois and located in Knox County, they had a family of three children. Mr. Thomas Bruington came into the new western country and found it an improved, unbroken prairie, and made a trade of his horse and a gun for his first farm of 160 acres. After improving that farm and when George, of whom we write, was but a small child, they removed into Cold Brook Township and here purchased 160 acres, where the son now resides, and entered actively and energetically on -its im- provement. While residing at this place the moth- er's demise occurred, in the year i849. She was the mother of nine children, of whom our subject was the sixth in order of birth. The father then married again in Kelly Township, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1883. His second wife was Mrs. Anna Goff, nee Ingersol.

When 18 years of age, George Bruington, of whom we write, set out to battle for himself, going in 1858 to Missouri, and the following year to Pike's Peak,

Col. To this latter place he went in view of inining, but having no success, in the spring of 1861, he re- turned to his township and began to farm on his own account.

The marriage of Mr. Bruington with Miss Mary, daughter of Thomas Wallace, one of the old settlers in this county, occurred June 7, 1863. The cere- mony was performed at the residence of the bride, who was born Sept. 1839, in Cold Brook Township, and resided at home with her parents until her mar- riage. Her mother's maiden name was Margaret Murphy. She now resides with her son, John Wal- lace, a resident of this township, at the venerable age of 85 years. Mr. Wallace, her husband, and father of Mrs. Bruington of this notice, died in this township, April 9, 1861.

Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bruington five children have been born. Margaret J., teacher ; Jessie L., Arnold, Elmer and Alma. Margaret and Jessie have been educated in Lombard University, Galesburg, Ill. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. B. settled on the farm where they now live. Mr. B. is the owner of 440 acres of well-improved land, sup- plied with all the necessary outbuildings, and a fine residence.

Mr. Bruington is a member of the Christian Church. He has been Road Commissioner for 15 years and in politics is an active Democrat.

dward R. Houlton, who resides at Kirk- wood, and is extensively engaged as a dealer in thoroughbred cattle, and in agriculture, was born at Houlton, Maine, Au- gust 31, 1838. His parents, Joseph and Almira (Ray) Houlton, were New Englanders, the former having been born in New Salem, Mass., and the latter at Concord, New Hampshire. They came from Maine to Illinois in 1851, and found a desira- ble location in Ellison Township, at the head of Ellison Creek. Here the senior Houlton purchased 1,000 acres of land. At that time, that section of the county was all new and the fertile prairie land had never been turned by the plow. He was among the first settlers in that section of the State, and un- til his death, which occurred in 1883, was one of the most influential, widely known and highly respected

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS

Mm Randall

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citizens of that section of the county. They reared a family of six children, five sons and one daughter, viz., Joseph, Frederick, Edward, Charles, Frances and Frank.

Edward accompanied his parents to Illinois, and remained with them until he was 19 years of age, when he started out to labor for himself. His first work after leaving home was in the capacity of a clerk for Knowles, Ray & Chapin, of the well known mercantile firm of that day, located at Kirkwood. In 1858, young Houlton bought out the interest of Mr. Knowles, and the firin name was changed to Chapin, Creswell & Houlton. Mr. Houlton was connected with the firm until 1885, when he sold out his inter- est and turned his attention to stock raising and farming. He is also connected with the Kirkwood Mineral Springs Company and besides his interests here, which are quite extensive, he owns 4,000 acres of land, adjoining Yankton, Dakota, which is stocked with Short-horn and Durham cattle. He divides his time and attention between his farm in Dakota and his interests here, giving considerable attention to the Mineral Spring Company, of which he is the President. Mr. Houlton is an excellent business man, received a good common school education, and attended the Commercial College at Chicago in #858, from which he received a diploma.

The above record tells of his success, and his high standing in the community tells of the esteem in which he is held by those who have known him ever since he began as a clerk in the store at Kirk- wood.

Politically he is a Republican, and belongs to the Masonic fraternity.

obert H. Nance. It is only occasionally that we come across in our travels a well- to-do and active farmer, who is a native of this county. We have in the person of Mr. Nance, however, such a gentleman. He was born Jan. 20, 1856, and is the son of John W. Nance, a well known and early pioneer of this section, and a native of North Carolina, where he was born May 15, 1814. He came to Illinois about 1844, and for about fifteen years lived in Greenbush, when he located upon a farm on section

26, of Berwick Township, where Robert H. now re- sides. The elder Nance at present lives at Abing- don, Ill. His wife, Nancy Simmons, is a native of Tennessee where she was born Feb. 2, 1815. She was a daughter of Charles Simmons, and became Mrs. Nance May 24, 1826, in Tennessee. To them were born the following II children, Rufus D., Fran- cis M., Susan A., Sarah E., Mary J., William C .. Nancy C., Martha W., John A., Harriet E. and Rob- ert H.

Robert H. married Miss Malinda J. Shirley, Aug. 16, 1875. She became the mother of two children, when, Sept. 10, 1879, her demise occurred. Walter E. their only living child, was born Dec. 26, 1878. Their first, who died in infancy, was born Feb. 22, 1877, and died on the 3rd of the following March.

Mr. Nance is conducting a general farming busi- ness, and is an active enterprising young man, highly respected in the community. Politically he is a Democrat.

r. William Randall, a member of the reg- ular school of medicine, practicing at Greenbush, graduated at the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, at the head of his class, March 9, 1858. He soon after- ward located in Greenbush, this county, where he has built up a good practice and has been very successful. The Doctor is also a graduate of sur- gery, and his library is complete.

Dr. Randall was born in Dearborn Co., Ind., 25 miles from Cincinnati, in the town of Aurora, May 27, 1834, and is a son of George Randall, born in Canterbury, Kent Co., Eng., in 1796. His father emigrated to the United States in 1819, and located in Shawneetown, Ill. He was a minister of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, and followed his sacred calling in this county some ten years, and died in 1866. He had located in Indiana, where his mar- riage to Miss Rhoda Ewbank, which took place in 1826, was blessed by the birth of eight children, namely : John E., George F., William, Mary, Thomas E. and Richard R., twins, Rebecca J. and Elizabeth V. Two are deceased-Mary and Richard. The wife and mother was born in Yorkshire, Eng., in 1806, and died in Indiana in 1859.

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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 69

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

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