USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > Portrait and biographical record of Macoupin County, Illinois : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with biographies of all the governors of the state, and of the presidents of the United States > Part 99
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By the union of our subjeet and his worthy wife were born six children, but four died in infancy. Mary S. is now the wife of Philip Teter, a resident of Gillespie Township; and Nancy V. is attending school. Mr. and Mrs. Adams are well-known peo- ple of this community and are held in universal esteem. In polities he is an advocate of Demo-
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cratie principles but votes independently of party ties. He was the second Supervisor of Gillespie township, and has served as Justice of the Peace and Road Commissioner, filling all the offices in an efficient manner, which has won him the comnien . dation of all concerned. He is a member of Lodge No. 4312, Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, and, on joining its organization, was elected its first Vice President. In his business career, Mr. Adams has prospered and is now the owner of a valuable farm of four hundred and sixty-four acres. of which two hundred and sixty acres are under a high state of cultivation.
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LVAH C. MOFFETT of section 3, North Palmyra Township, is an active and energetic young man of Macoupin County. His father the late Channey W. Moffett, M. D. was born in New York in 1826. His parents mnoved from New York to Columbiana County, Ohio when the Doctor was a little fellow of four years and in the Buckeye State he grew to manhood. Ile came to Illinois during the '40s and at Jackson- ville, Ill., in the month of August, 1849 he was united in marriage to Miss Amelia E. Vancil who was born in North Palmyra Township, May 31, 1828. This lady is the daughter of Edmund C. and Mary (Byars) Vancil.
Mr. Vancil was born in Logan County, Ky., May 8, 1799, and there he passed the early part of his life but at the age of sixteen years came to Marion County, Ill., where he grew to manhood. Ile was married in Jackson County Ill., August 15, 1824, to Miss Mary Byars, who was born in Kentucky, February 7, 1804, and had removed with her par- ents when she was four years old to ,Jackson County Ill., and who came with them in the fall of 1827 to Maconpin County. They lived north of Virden for a while and in 1828 they settled in North Pal- myra Township where he has since been a resident and is one of the oldest settlers in the county. Itis wife died May 25, 1890, at the advanced age of eighty-six years.
After the marriage of Dr. Moffett and his wife
they lived for one year in Sangamon County and then removed to Christian County where he followed his profession for a year, after which on account of ill health, they removed to Texas and remained until the close of the war, in which Dr. Moffett was an active participant. They afterward lived in Arkansas for some two years, and then re- turned to Illinois and settled in North Palmyra Township. While on a visit to Texas to settle up his business affairs, Dr. Moffett was stricken down and died.
Mrs. Moffett is the mother of eight children six of whom are living, namely : Chauncy W .; Portia, the wife of Hiram Gilkerson; Ocea E .; Hosea O., Alvus H. and Alvah C. One son Lot d'ed in in- fancy and a daughter Aletha at the age of twenty years. The fine farm of two hundred and sixty acres with good buildings and first-class improve- ments is operated by our subject in company with his brother Hosea (). and their attention is devoted largely to the raising of stock in which they are re- markably successful.
OIIN SCHWAB. The original of this sketch engages in general farming. having located on a fine tract of land on sections 29 and 30, of Brighton Township. His farm comprises two hundred and fifty-nine acres of improved land, and like most of his fellow countrymen his prud- ence and economy in the management of his agri- cultural affairs have resulted in the amassing of more than a competency.
Mr. Schwab has lived in this township and county since 1853, having come hither while yet a young man with but a few dollars in his pocket. He is a native of Switzerland, and his birthplace is the Canton Baren, being born in January, 1825. Ile is proud of the fact that he comes of an old Swiss family, and one whose history is closely iden- tified with that of one of the most stirring epochs in the history of the old Republic. Ile is the only member of his family who left home for the United States.
Mr. Schwab early learned the trade of a butcher
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in Germany which he followed for several years. After a short stay in Germany he returned home and then set out for this country, taking passage at Havre De Gras, France. Ile took passage in Octo- ber, 1851, on a sailer for the city of New York. Ile immediately proceeded after landing, to Ohio, and tlience went to Missouri. Later he proceeded to Alton, and thence to this township and county.
The subject of this biographical notice was mar- ried in this county to Miss Elizabeth Sawarwin. She was a native of Germany and came of German parents who lived and died in their native country. She came with two sisters to the I'nited States when about twenty-four years old, leaving Antwerp in 1853, and arriving in New Orleans, where they stayed for a short time coming thence to Alton and afterward to Macoupin Connty. Mrs. Schwab is a worthy representative of the feminine sex. She has been a hard working woman and has greatly aided her husband in his efforts in acenmulating a competeney. Seven children have come to brighten their hearthstone and be a hope of their parents. They are: Fred, John, William, George, Lizzie, Reka and Auna J. Of these Fred wedded Carrie Han- nold, and at present is a resident of Alton. John is a butcher engaged in the shop of Phil Lauch of Brighton; William remains at home assisting with the farm duties: George is now at Alton ; Lizzie is the wife of Philip Hermes, now a farmer in Madi- son County; Reka contracted herself to Adolph Schnaberg, a farmer who lives in this township; Anna J. is still at home, and on her depends much of the brightness of the home circle. Mr. and Mrs. Schwab attend the Presbyterian Chureb. The gen- tleman is a voter with the Democratic party taking a lively interest in both local and national politics.
W EYE G. SCHMIDT, a farmer and stock- raiser living on section 24, Gillespie Town- ship, is numbered among the early settlers of the county, dating his residence from 1851. He is of German birth, having been born in old Friesland, in the province of Hanover, in 1831. His parents were farming people of that locality,
where they spent their entire lives. The father, Carl Schmidt, died about the age of fifty years and three months, and his wife, whose maiden was Weptke Weyne, was only thirty-six years of age at the time of her death. In their family are five children, four sons and a daughter, all of whom are yet living and are residents of this country.
Our subject, the second in order of birth, was the first to brave the dangers of an ocean voyage. lle left the land of his nativity on the 17th of September, 1851, sailing from Bremen and landing at New Orleans after a long voyage of eight weeks and two days. Eleven days more elapsed and he then arrived in Alton, Ill., where he made his home until the following spring, when he came to Macoupin County. A short time afterward, Mr. Schmidt led to the marriage altar Miss Antke Schoen, who was born in the same locality as her husbard. Her parents lived and died in the prov- ince of Ilanover, were farming people, and in re- ligions belief were Lutherans. Accompanied by a younger sister. Mrs. Schmidt erossed the Atlantic in 1853. coming by way of the New Orleans & Alton route to Macoupin County, Ill., where two of her brothers had located some time previous. With them she remained until her marriage, when she took her place as mistress of her husband's home. They lived for a time upon a farm in Gil- lespie Township, and in 1861 removed to their pres- sent home on section 24, where a highly enltivated tract of land, comprising one hundred and sixty aeres, pays a golden tribute to the care of the owner. Nearly all of the improvements seen thereon are the work of Mr. Schmidt's hands, and his success in life is due entirely to his own efforts and the able assistance of her with whom he has now traveled life's journey for more than a third of a century. Mr. Schmidt is numbered among the leading and influential citizens of his town- ship, who has ever born his part in the upbuilding and advancement of the community's interests. As every true American citizen should do, he exercises his right of franchise, and in political sentiment is a Demoerat. Both be and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church of Gillespie.
U'nto Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt have been born five
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children, and the family eirele yet remains un- broken. Charles who married Wetka Moermann is now engaged in the grocery business in Gillespie; Benjamin, who was joined in wedlock with Gretka Mennan, carries on the grocery trade in Venice, Ill .; John, a resident farmer of Gillespie Town- ship, wedded Atke Schmidt; Fred is engaged in farming in connection with his brother John; and Jessie, who completes this family, is at home. The Schmidt household is noted for its hospitality and it is one of the worthy German families in this part of the county. In 1883 the father returned to Germany, where he spent some weeks in visiting boyhood scenes and in renewing old acquaintances. Ile has, however, no desire to again live in that country, having found a pleasant home in Amer- ica, where his business career has been blessed with prosperity, he being now the owner of four hun- dred acres of land.
S AMPSON GROVES, a retired farmer now living in Carlinville, probably has as much personal knowledge of the progress of this county as any man now living within its bounds. Ile came here more than half a century ago, when it was sparsely settled and much of the land was still owned by the Government, and Car- linville was a hamlet with its houses mostly of logs. There were no railroads in the county, and Alton and St. Louis were the nearest markets and depots for supplies. Deer and wolves roamed at will over the unsettled districts and frequently caine very near the scattered farmhouses. Long years of earnest and well-directed efforts secured to | Mr. Groves a goodly amount of property, and since 1888 he has been living in Carlinville, enjoy- ing the ease and . comfort that are so fitting for those of advancing years.
The parents of our subject were Solomon and Elizabeth (Dukes) Groves, who for some years made their home on a farm in Muhlenberg County, Ky. The father died there about 1821 and the mother some years later, she having made a second
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marriage, wedding George Gates. The son Samp- son was born in Muhlenberg County. April 25, 1815, and remained with his mother during her lifetime. Ile was about ten years old when she was taken away and he was then bound out to a cabinetmaker living in Christian County. Ile was not well treated and his spirit rebelled and when about a twelvemonth had passed he ran away. Ils master soon found him and took him back, but he watched an opportunity and a few weeks later again left, this time making bis way back to his native county, where he found a safe harbor with his brother Jacob. In 1835 he accompanied a colony to this State, the company including his brother Jacob and the Barnetts.
Young Groves spent the winter in Sangamon County and in the spring of 1836 came to this county. He worked at the trade of a carpenter in and about Carlinville until the next year, when he returned to Kentucky on a visit. Ile made the round trip on horseback, spending a few weeks amid the scenes of his boyhood and youth, and then, returning hither, he again took up his trade and followed it until 1843. That year he entered a tract of Government land on section 3, Honey Point Township, and still later took up eighty acres adjoining. Ilis first improvement was the clearing of a space on which to build a log house and after beginning housekeeping therein be con- tinued his work on the property, bringing it under subjection and placing upon it a good set of build- ings. Ile lived on the farm until 1869, then made Carlinville his home seven years and a half, after which he returned to the farm. He made his per- manent removal at the time before mentioned, and is now occupying a pleasant town house.
An event of much interest to Mr. Groves and to Miss Catherine Armstrong took place June 20, 1844, it being their union in the matrimonial tie. The bride was born in Botetourt County, Va., Jan- uary 14, 1825. ller father, Watson Armstrong, was a native of Virginia and a farmer by occupa- tion. Ile came to this State in 1830, accompanied by his wife and three children, traveling with teams and camping on the way. He settled in Sangamon County near Auburn and died there. The mother of Mrs. Groves bore the maiden name
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of Ann Wineman. She too was born in Virginia and her parents were Frederick and Catherine Wineman. Frederick Wineman is believed to have been born in Pennsylvania as he went from that State to Virginia. After the decease of Mr. Armstrong his widow married John Hutton and they came to this county about 1838, settling at Shaw's Point. Soon afterward Mr. Hutton left home and was never again heard from. His widow entered Government land and provided a home for her children. She married a third time, wed- ding Cephas Gillette, and went to Springfield, where she spent her last years.
Mrs. Groves was carefully reared and given in. struetion in the domestic arts that were formerly considered necessary, as the manner of life differed materially from that of to-day. She knew well how to card, spin and weave, and during the early years of her married life clothed her family in homespun made by her own hands. She is an ex- cellent, housekeeper and has been a wise and affect- ionate mother as well as a companion in whom her husband could safely trust for encouragement and sympathy. The family is made up of six sons and daughters, all living but the second, Emily, who died at the early age of twenty-two years. The survivors are Ellis J., Ann E., George Watson, Sampson S. and Fred Giant. Both Mr. and Mrs. Groves. belong to the Christian Church and they are conscientious and earnest in their efforts to live aright.
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ILLIAM M. DRENNAN. An honorable record is a suitable subject for gratification, and a man does well to call to mind those facts in his history to which his posterity may look with pride. One who has begun life with no means and by his industry and perseverance, with no aid except that given by a frugal and affectionate wife, has attained a handsome competency and provided for his children the advantages which every father should aim to give them, may well feel pride in his record. Such a man is William M. Drennan, wno resides ou section 21, North Otter Township.
The late Joseph Drennan, the father of our sub- jeet, was born in Kentucky, in 1814, and his wife, Elizabeth Withrow, was born in Sangamon County, this State, in 1823. In that county was their early married home, but in 1849 they removed to Macou- pin County, and settled in what is now North Otter Township. There they made their home for some years, but in 1860 the mother was taken away from her happy household by the hand of death, while the father died in 1872.
This estimable couple had seven children, of whom our worthy subject is the eldest. His native home was in Sangamon County, this State, where he was born November 4, 1842, and he was thus some seven years old when his parents removed to North Otter Township, where he received his education and his thorough and systematic training upon the farm. Before he had reached his majority the War of the Rebellion has broken out, and though only a boy he felt that he must help the cause of the Union and defend the honor of the old flag, and with the consent of his loyal and self sacrificing parents he left his home and joined the army.
Our young hero enlisted August 14, 1862, in Company B, One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, his term of service extending over three years. The following conflicts were the most im- portant in which he took part: Jackson, ( Miss.) Nashville, Tenn., Brandon, Miss., Guntown and Tu- pelo. Ile did brave duty in all his army exper- iences and was mustered out of the service at Springfield, In., and returned to his old home in North Otter Township, which has with this excep- tion, been his home since 1849.
Mr. Drennan has throughout life followed agri- cultural pursuits and npon his fine farm of two hun- dred and forty valuable acres he has erected as comfortable and convenient a set of farm buildings as can be found within many miles. He was mar- ried in North Otter Township, April 24, 1866, to Miss M. L. Johnston, one of the daughters of Isaac B. and Elizabeth (Berry) Johnston. This worthy couple were born in Muhlenberg County, Ky., but did not meet until they were living in Maconpin County. where Mr. Johnston wade Miss Berry his second wife. They were married in Illinois and settled in North Palmyra Township, until their
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removal in 1851, to North Otter Township, where the father died April 20, 1856. The mother sur- vived him some thirty-one years and died in Edgar, Neb., in 1887. By this marriage Mr. Johnston had six children, of whom Mrs. Drennan is the second in order of birth. She was born in North Palmyra Township, March 20, 1845.
Three bright and sprightly children came to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Drennan, and they bear the names of William O., Elizabeth E. and Cora E. In the spring of 1890 Mr. Drennan was elected Supervisor of North Otter Township, and has been Treasurer of the Board of Highway Commissioners for several years and for twelve years has been a member of this board. He is prominent in educa- tional movements and while upon the Board of School Directors was efficient in maintaining a high standard for the school. He has ever taken an active part in politieal movements and is often chosen as a delegate to the County Conventions of the Democratic party, and during the summer of 1888 he was a delegate from Macoupin County, to the State Democratie Convention, which was held at Springfield, and which nominated Gen. John M. Palmer for Governor. Mrs. Drennan has carefully trained her children, not only in the practical duties of life but also in religious matters, and she is united with them in the communion of the Meth- odist Chureh.
The boyhood of our subject was one that was full of struggles, for his parents, like many at that early day, were very poor. When a boy of seventeen years he was thrown upon his own resources, and up to the time when he enlisted in the army he had been working upon a farm for wages. The winter previous to his enlistment he worked for his board and attended school, and the first winter after his return from the army he again worked for his board. In the spring of 1866 he rented of Mathew With- row a farm in North Otter Township, and two years later bought ten acres of brush land in the same township. Here he lived for a year, after which he built a cabin, and as he had come into possession of a small tract of land he removed his cabin to the spot where his beautiful home now stands. As fast as he was able he added to his little estate by pur- chase until now be owns a fine farm of two hundred
and forty acres, upon which he has first-class in- provements and a pleasant, attractive and conven- ient home. The beautiful surroundings of this liome and the spirit of hospitality and true friendliness which pervades its moral atmosphere makes it a favorite resort for the neighbors, who so highly esteem this gentleman for his good qualities and who honor him for his past record of early devo- tion to his country. Mr. Drennan has in his pos- session the first gun that came into Sangamon County. It was carried by his grandfather.
ILLIAM CHIISM is a worthy represent- ative of the successful farmers and stock- raisers of Western Mound Township, who are so intimately associated with its material pros- perity. Ile is a native of this county, Chesterfield Township is his birthplace and August 20, 1847, the date of his birth. He is descended from one of the earliest pioneer families of this county. Ilis father, John Chism, was born in Hardin County, Ky .. and was a son of William Chism, who was a Virginian by birth. He became a pioneer of Ilar. din County, where he resided until about 1829, when he came to Illinois with ox-teams, bringing his household goods along and cooking and eamp- ing by the way. Ile located in what is now West- ern Mound Township, taking up a tract of Govern- ment land which he entered at the land office at Edwardsville. He developed a farm, on which he made his home until his mortal carcer was closed in death.
The father of our subject was nine years of age when his parents brought him to Illinois, and he was reared under pioneer influences. Ile received bis education in the primitive schools of the early days of the settlement of the State, which were taught on the subscription plan, in log houses fur- nished with rude, homemade furniture. After marriage he rented land three years in Chesterfield Township, and then bought a place one and one- fourth miles north of Medora, where he lived the remainder of his life, which was brought to a close at a ripe age in February 1881. The maiden
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name of his wife was Rachel Skeen, and she still lives on the farm where she assisted her husband in the upbuilding of a comfortable home. She is a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of John Ander- son Skeen. She has reared ten children to good and useful lives.
When our subject was born the county was still in the hands of the pioneers, and he has witnessed much of its growth, as his life has been passed here amid its pleasant scenes and his education was ob- tained in its schools. He early received a thorough practical drilling in all kinds of farm work, and in due time became an enterprising, successful farmer and raiser of stock. He remained an inmate of the parental household until he married, and he then established a home of his own on section 31, Western Mound Township. He busied himself about its cultivation and improvement, interesting himself in various branches of agriculture, and con- tinning to reside on that form until 1890, when he bought the farm adjoining upon which he has since made his home.
Mr. Chism married in 1868, Mary E. Haynes, a native of Jersey County, Ill., and in her he has found a wife devoted to his interests, who has heartily co-operated with him in his life-work. Six children have hallowed their marriage named as follows: John French, Thomas A., Charles, Nel- lie, Willie and Lester.
Our subject is an intelligent, wide-awake man, possessing in a good degree those qualifications that make a man self reliant and helpful. and his neigh bors find him friendly and obliging. His wife has in him a considerate husband, his children an indul- gent father, and his county a good citizen. We may add that the Republican party has in him a warm supporter.
This biographical review would be imcomplete without some further reference to the antecedents of the wife of our subject. Mrs. Chism's father, John Haynes, was born in Rockingham County, Va., and he was very young when his father died. He was the youngest of a family of five sons, and he was six years old when his mother removed to Ohio and settled in the wilds of Preble County, where he was reared and married. In 1845 he came from there to Illinois, making the journey overland
and bringing a part of his household goods with him. Hle settled two miles from Jerseyville, where he "ented land. A few years later he settled near Medora, in Chesterfield Township, and that was his home until death called him hence at a ripe age, The maiden name of Mrs. Chism's mother was Sarah Stoner. She is a native of Ohio, and a daughter of John and Elizabeth Stoner. She is living at a venerable age, at Jerseyville.
C I'LLEN C. GIBSON is a worthy member of the farming community of this county. and his farm, with its well tilled fields and many excellent improvements, compares favorably with the best in Girard Township. Mr. Gibson was born in Rutherford County, Tenn., near Murfreesboro, February 1, 1823. Ilis father, James Gibson, was a son of one of the early pio- neers of that county. Ile was a stock-raiser and had a large number of horses that used to feed on the canebrake. As the country became settled he pushed on to the frontier, and thus in 1830 he enme to Illinois, accompanied by his wife and three of their children with their families. making the trip by land, bringing all their household goods along, and camping by the wayside at night dur- ing their journey. After twenty-one days of travel they arrived at their destination in Morgan County, and selected suitable locations on Young- blood's Prairie. seven miles southwest of Franklin. The grandfather of our subject purchased a tract of wild land, mostly prairie, built on it and act- ively commenced the improvement of a farm, but death cut short his career the same fall. The maiden name of his wife was Rebecca Robinson. She survived her husband some years and finally died at the home of ber son Isham in this county. She reared six children to maturity-Betsy, Patsy, Sally, James, John and Isham, all of whom came to Illinois, and John and Patsy are now de- ceased.
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