USA > Illinois > Bureau County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 59
USA > Illinois > Marshall County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 59
USA > Illinois > Putnam County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 59
USA > Illinois > Stark County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 59
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
Mrs. Winter was born on the farm where she now resides, September 27. 1858, and attended the district schools of the neighborhood. By her marriage with our subject she has become the mother of two children-Jay W., born October 21, 1882, and Reuben Roy, born January 27, 1884. The farm, consisting of one hundred and four acres, which is a part of the Joshua Wilson estate, is well improved, with good buildings, fences, tiling and water works, and the land is under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Winter is engaged in mixed farming and the operation of a threshing machine, and is meeting with a fair degree of success.
Conscientious and earnest Christians, both Mr. and Mrs. Winter are worthy members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church and teachers in the Sunday school, while he has been superin- tendent of that organization and president of the
458
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Christian Endeavor society. Socially, he is con- nected with the Modern Woodmen of America, and politically, is an adherent of republican prin- ciples, and served for three years as road com- missioner, and is still serving in that capacity.
TIS H. PITKIN, a well-known jeweler and news dealer of Princeton, Illinois, first opened his eyes to the light May 19, 1852, in Geauga county, Ohio, and is a son of Truman S. and Lydia (Howe) Pitkin, natives of Connecticut and Ohio, respectively. The father is a retired farmer living at Andover, Ohio, and has now reached the ripe old age of eighty-three years. The mother, who was born May 18, 1824. died on the 26th of January, 1896. Truman S. Pit- kin was twice married, his first wife being in her maidenhood Miss Eliza Lusk, sister of Spencer Lusk, the great penman, and to them was born a daughter, Mary E., now the wife of Harvey D. Lamb, of Arkansas City, Arkansas. Our subject is the oldest of the three children that graced the second marriage, the others being Frank H., a jeweler of Andover, Ohio, who married Hattie Brown, and Ella, wife of William H. Osborn, an attorney of Chardon, Ohio.
The education of Otis H. Pitkin was obtained in the schools of Chardon, Ohio, after which he spent about a year in a cheese box factory. He then began learning the watchmaker's trade in that city, which he completed at Wellington, Ohio, about 1874. On the 4th of March, 1875, he began business for himself at Chardon, and there continued operations until 1888, when he went to Princeton, and on the 21st of July of that year he opened his business store. He keeps a full assortment of such articles as the trade demands, and from the beginning his trade has constantly increased, so that he is now doing a successful and lucrative business. He also manufactures a pegwood, an invention of his own, designed for jeweler's use, known as the Pitkin's Antibreak Pegwood, which article every watchmaker should use. It saves time and pa- tience, as it never breaks off in the finest pivot hole, and he has a very fair sale for the same,
selling to jobbers, who deal with the watch- makers.
On the 7th of June, 1877, was performed a marriage ceremony which united the destinies of Mr. Pitkin and Miss Clara L. Wight, a daugh- ter of James H. Wight, of Wellington, Ohio, of which state she is a native. They have be- come the parents of four children, namely: Grace May, Ava Vesta, Ruby Louise, and James Wight. Both Mr. and Mrs. Pitkin are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as an official for more than fifteen years. He holds membership in the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows and has passed through all the chairs of his lodge, and he has filled the chair of deputy grand master. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Globe, while politically he is a pronounced republican, believing in protection, honest money and good government. He is a very liberal and public-spirited man and takes a foremost position in every movement or enter- prise which promises to accrue to the benefit of the people in general.
A UGUSTUS MYERS, a prosperous and honored citizen of Concord township, owns and operates three hundred and twenty acres of valuable and well improved land, constituting one of the best farms of Bureau county. He was born on the 21st of September, 1833. in Hunter- don county, New Jersey, and belongs to a fam- ily of early pioneers to that state. His grand- father, Andrew Myers, there spent his entire life.
Samuel Myers, the father of our subject, was also a native of Hunterdon county, and there grew to manhood and married Catherine Smith, who was born in the same county. He was a carpenter and joiner by occupation, and was thus employed until coming to Bureau county, in 1854, when he purchased a farm in Mineral township, which he cleared and cultivated for many years. His last days, however, were spent in retirement in the village of Sheffield, where his death occurred in 1890, at the ripe old age of eighty-five years. His wife survived him
459
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
about two years, departing this life in 1892, and was laid by his side in Sheffield cemetery. They were well known throughout the community and had hosts of warm friends, who deeply mourned their loss. In their family were eight sons and one daughter, all of whom grew to mature years, but three sons are now deceased.
The primary education of our subject was ob- tained in the public schools of New Jersey, but he completed his literary course in the Geneseo seminary, after which he engaged in teaching for a time during the winter seasons, while the sum- mer months were spent on the farm. He ac- companied his parents on their emigration to Illi- nois, and in Bureau county was married October 7, 1858, to Miss Eliza Ann Neff, who was born in Ohio, but later lived in Indiana, coming to Bu- reau county, Illinois, in 1854. Her father, G. W. Neff, located upon a farm in Manlius township, which he cultivated until some time before his death. Four children were born of this union: Wellman Lincoln became a resident of Spirit Lake, Iowa, where he was married and there died in 1887; Charles Lovejoy is engaged in business in Denver, Colorado; Frank Grant received an excellent education in the schools of Sheffield, and for several years has successfully engaged in teaching; Arthur Augustus is at home.
After his marriage, Mr. Myers operated rented land for several years, but in 1865, purchased a tract of forty acres in Concord township, to which he has added from time to time as his means would permit until to-day he is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of rich and fertile land, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation and improved with a neat and substantial residence and good barns and out- buildings, making the place one of the first-class farms of the locality. Although he started out in life in limited circumstances he has steadily worked his way upward by industry, enterprise and good management until he has secured a handsome competency.
Politically, Mr. Myers has been identified with the republican party since casting his first presi- dential vote for Abraham Lincoln, in 1860. He
has taken quite an active interest in local affairs and has been elected to several official positions, the duties of which he has always faithfully dis- charged. He has served as a delegate to county and congressional conventions, was supervisor for seven years, and chairman of the county board one year, the only chairman that has ever been ap- pointed from Concord township. He also most acceptably served as commissioner of highways During the forty-two long years of his residence in Bureau county, Mr. Myers has watched with interest its growth and development and been an important factor in bringing about the wonderful changes that have taken place. He is greatly esteemed in the community as representing the best type of its moral and social element and has the confidence and respect of all with whom he comes in contact.
A BEL MILLS. There is no class of biogra- phy more interesting to read than that of the industrious, enterprising farmer boy who has risen unaided to a position of affluence and com- fort. Prominent among the men of Putnam county who have thus laboriously toiled onward and upward is the individual of whom this sketch is written. He now owns a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 12, Magnolia township, and ten acres of timber on section 16. He was born in Washington county, Pennsyl- vania, June 1, 1829, and in 1840 came to Putnam county with his parents, of whom mention is made in the sketch of Joshua L. Mills on another page of this work.
Our subject acquired his education in the schools of Magnolia, and on reaching manhood he was married August 1, 1850, to Arthelia Bos- ley, who was born in Fayette county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1831, and was the daughter of Green- berry and Huldah (Morris) Bosley, who became residents of Hennepin township, Putnam county, in 1851, where their deaths occurred. They were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mills, namely: Anna Maria, deceased; Martha, wife of Oliver Wilson; Milton, who
460
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
married Emma Sibley, by whom he has two chil- dren, Harry A and Ellsworth, and lives in Chi- cago: Oliver P., who married Lillian Edsall and lives in Magnolia township; Huldah R., de- ceased wife of Oliver Smith, by whom she has four children, William Eddy, Anna, Herbert and Edith; and William L., who married Edith Price, and lives in Magnolia township. The other three died in youth-Joseph Greenberry, Julia K. and Edwin. The wife and mother departed this life April 12, 1865 ..
Mr. Mills was again married on the 8th of No- vember, 1866, Miss Elizabeth Wilson becoming his wife. She was born August II, 1835, and is a daughter of Amos and Anna (Morris) Wilson, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. They were married in Ohio and came to Putnam county, Illinois, in 1851 from Belmont county, Ohio, and settled on section 23, Mag- nolia township, the place now owned by Amos B. Wilson. They were the parents of ten children, of whom six are now living, as follows: Re- becca, now the widow of Isaac P. Howard: Mor- ris A., who first married Mary V. Smith, and she dying he married Lydia E. John: Mary, now the wife of Henry K. Smith: Amos B., who married Anna S. Griffith; Oliver, who married Ella How- ard, and after her death wedded Martha Mills, by whom he had one child, Lois A .; and Eliza- beth, the wife of our subject. All these reside in Magnolia township, except Rebecca, who is a resident of Nebraska. The deceased are Ruth, Anna, Sarah, who married William Fell, and Laura C., who was buried in the Friends' ceme- tery on Clear creek beside her parents. The parents resided on the old homestead until their death, the father dying in January, 1881, in his eighty-seventh year, and the mother in January, 1895, in her ninetieth year. They were both prominent members of the Society of Friends and filled at times nearly all the official positions in the church, Mr. Wilson at one time being clerk of the Ohio Yearly Meeting.
Mr. Wilson was twice married, his first wife being Hannah Brown, by whom he had five chil- dren, four of whom are now living: David, now
living a retired life at Wenona; Margaret MI., now the widow of Henry P. Merritt, of Lostant : Joshua B., deceased, who married Rosanna Spill- ers, now of Wenona; Thomas, who first married Mary Keith, and on her death married Mary Bat- tin, now resides in Corning, Iowa; and Hannah, now the widow of Perry Hoge of Wenona.
To Mr. and Mrs. Mills five children have been born: Charles W., a graduate of Harvard uni- versity; Clarence C., a veterinary surgeon; Al- bert T., a graduate of the Kansas State Normal school: Amos P., deceased, and LeRoy Addi- son, at home. Victoria, daughter of Warner and Narcissa Trueblood, of Indiana, an orphan, has been a member of their household for about nine years.
Until 1865 Mr. Mills lived on the old home- stead of his father, and then removed to his pres- ent place, which at that time was all wild prairie land, but he now has it under a high state of cultivation, tiled and fenced, and has erected all of the good and substantial buildings found thereon. His place is stocked with full-blooded Jersey cattle and high-grade horses. By earn- est, persistent effort he has achieved his success in life as he received but little from his father's estate.
By birthright Mr. and Mrs. Mills are members of the Society of Friends and are actively en- gaged in the Lord's work. They are both well read in the scriptures and in religious literature, especially that of the Friends. Their faith in the precious promises of the word of God is un- bounded, and in their lives they endeavor to con- form themselves to the teachings of the lowly Nazarene. For twenty-three successive years Mr. Mills served as overseer in the church, and for many years was an elder. He has been a minister in the society since 1871, and was regu- larly recommended in 1882. Mrs. Mills has also served some years as an elder, the duties of which office she faithfully and conscientiously discharges. Their children have all been well educated and have become useful and respected members of society. Politically, Mr. Mills was first a whig, later a republican, and for many
461
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
years has now been a strong and unflinching sup- porter of the prohibition party, voting the straight ticket, and taking a deep interest in the success of his party. He cares nothing for polit- ical preferment but served many years as school director. As a citizen, he is esteemed by all, and no person, knowing the man, but places the ut- most confidence in his honesty, integrity and Christian character.
J
OHN D. PHILIPS, one of the honored and
highly respected citizens of Bureau county, is now living retired at the home of his son on section 26, Dover township, four miles northeast of Princeton. In 1854 he settled in Berlin township, where he lived until 1892. He for many years was numbered among the energetic farmers of the county. A native of Pennsyl- vania, his birth occurred on the 9th of Decem- ber, 1817, on the old family homestead in Ches- ter county, where his great-grandfather, Joseph Philips, had located on coming to the new world from Wales, in 1755. For over a hundred and forty years that place has now been in the pos- session of the family. Four sons of the original ancestor in this country took up arms against Great Britain in the Revolutionary war, and all were commissioned officers in one company. Josiah Philips, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Wales, and was a mere child when brought to America by his father.
Joseph Philips, Jr., was also born on the old homestead in Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood and there spent his entire life. He married Rebecca Dennison, who was born in Ireland, but was only three years old when brought to this country, and in Chester county was reared and educated. Six children were born of this union, two of whom grew to maturity and are still living-John D., of this sketch, and Amanda, wife of Frederick Binga- man, who first settled upon a part of the old homestead, but is now living in Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania. The father died in 1825, in the prime of life, being but thirty-seven years of age. The
mother faithfully reared her children and died in 1840, at the age of fifty-four years.
Like most farmer boys, John D. Philips spent his boyhood and youth, and was provided with good common school privileges for those early days. On attaining to man's estate he was mar- ried in Chester county, Pennsylvania, February 13, 1840, to Miss Ellen E. Lewis, a native of that county and a daughter of Thomas and Sarah Lewis, who belonged to another of the old families of that state. They began their domestic life upon a part of the old homestead, where the wife died June 12, 1852, leaving five sons, three of whom are still living, namely: Thomas L., a farmer of Lee county, Illinois, married Carrie Bass, a daughter of Edwin Bass, of Malden, Bu- reau county, and after her death wedded Ida Lemon, a daughter of Rev. Mr. Lemon, for- merly from Maryland. By the latter union he has four children-Ellen T., Carrie, Mary L. and John D .; Rev. Joseph P., the second son, is a minister of the Baptist church, and is now located at Mt. Carroll, Illinois. He married Clara Olney, daughter of Squire Olney, of Belvidere, Illinois, and they have three children-Thomas I., Margaret and Clara O. William D., third son, died July, 1854; Mason K., fourth son, died in April, 1854, at Mt. Carroll, Illinois; John H., the youngest, is a substantial farmer of Do- ver township, section 26. He married Mrs. Jennie Campbell, a daughter of James and Sere- na Winsor, of Bureau county, and they have one child, Serena. For his second wife Mr. Philips chose Mrs. Hannah M. Lockhart; their wedding was celebrated February 21, 1856. She was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, where she was first married, and was a daughter of Lewis Morgan. Her death occurred October 30, 1890.
In 1854 Mr. Philips came to Bureau county, Illinois, where he arrived in July, and at first purchased eighty acres of slightly improved land in Berlin township. He at once began its fur- ther development and improvement, and to the original purchase added until he had one hun- dred and twenty acres of rich and arable land, all under a high state of cultivation. To its opera-
462
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
tion he devoted his time and attention for almost forty years, but has now laid aside the arduous labors and responsibilities of farm life and finds a pleasant home with his son, John H., where he is enjoying a well earned rest.
Politically, Mr. Philips has always been identi- fied with the democratic party, and has taken an active part in local affairs, being for four years supervisor, assessor for eight years, and a mem- ber of the school board for several years. He is a consistent member of the Baptist church, and is especially valued as a large hearted, public spirited citizen, whose enterprise and benevo- lence have contributed largely to the happiness and comfort of the people around him. His sterling worth and strict integrity have gained him the confidence and respect of all, and no man in Bureau county is more widely or favora- bly known.
On the 30th of May, 1877, our subject had the pleasure of attending a reunion of the Philips family held in the Vincent Baptist church of Chester county, Pennsylvania, one of the oldest churches in that part of the county, and to which his great-grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Philips, belonged. Here were gathered together three hundred of the descendants of the original ancestor in the new world, and they represent about seventeen hundred now living and are scattered throughout the various states of the union.
S TEPHEN HARRISON. Among the prom- inent and representative citizens of Putnam county whose names are scattered through the pages of this volume none is more worthy of mention than the gentleman whose name heads this brief biographical notice. A native of Penn- sylvania, he was born in Dauphin county, March 26, 1823, and was born two months after his father's death, being the youngest in a family of four children, of whom the eldest was only eight years old. The father, Stephen Harrison, Sr., died at the early age of twenty-six years. An uncle took the older son, Richard, and the rest of the family were widely scattered for ten years.
The woolen mill which was owned by the father was rented after his death until Richard Harrison had reached manhood, when he began its operation and again united the family. After three years thus passed in Dauphin county, Penn- sylvania, they sold out in 1837 and emigrated to Putnam county, Illinois, our subject at that time being in his fifteenth year. With the capital which the mother and Richard had accumulated they purchased the farm one and a half miles south of Florid, which is now owned by Oscar Brennemann. The family remained together, operating the farm, until the marriage of Rich- ard, when he located upon a portion of the same place, and there died at the age of thirty-three years. His widow is now the wife of Joel W. Hopkins, of Granville. The two sisters of our subject were Mary Elizabeth, who wedded Madi- son Durley, of Hennepin, where she died several years ago, and Eleanor, who married Joel W. Hopkins, and resided near Granville until her death.
The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Eleanor De Armand, lived with her daughter Eleanor for some years, but passed her last days upon the old homestead with Ste- phen, there dying at the age of sixty-six years. On the 7th of May, 1850, was performed a mar- riage ceremony which united the destinies of Stephen Harrison and Miss Mary E. Dunlavy, daughter of Captain James and Nancy (Laugh- lin) Dunlavy, of Union Grove, Hennepin town- ship, Putnam county.
After his marriage Mr. Harrison continued to reside upon the old homestead farm south of Florid until just before the war, when he sold out and purchased a half section in Granville township, paying $30 per acre. This farm he turned over to his son Richard about two years ago, and now makes his home upon a tract of one hundred acres near the village of Granville. His time and attention have been devoted to general farming and stock raising, in which he has been fairly successful, being at one time one of the most extensive stock feeders in Putnam county. He also owns a half section of land
463
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
near Holdrege, Nebraska, where his son James lives.
Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Har- rison, namely: Ellen, now the wife of Henry Ware, of Webster City, Iowa; Mary, wife of Gil- ford Whitney, of South Bend, Indiana; Charles, an attorney of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Clara, wife of Dr. John Ristine, of the same city; James, who is operating four hundred and eighty acres of land near Holdrege, Nebraska: Olive, a music teacher of Jacksonville, Illinois; Hattie, wife of Rev. Carl Patton, a Congregational minister of Auburn, Maine: Grace, who is principal of the high school of Granville, and lives at home with her father; Richard, who carries on the old home- stead, and Stephen, a dental student now attend- ing the Chicago College of Dental Surgery in Chicago, and who will complete the course in April, 1897. The wife and mother was called to her final rest on the 3d of March, 1895, after nearly forty-five years of happy married life. With her husband, she was a consistent member of the Congregational church for nearly forty years, and was a most estimable lady, beloved by all who knew her. The children were all pro- vided with excellent educational advantages, six being college graduates. Charles, Clara, Hattie and Grace and Stephen all completed the course at Oberlin college; Olive graduated at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, and Mary completed her education in Chicago.
Politically, Mr. Harrison is identified with the republican party, and has held the office of township supervisor and school treasurer of Granville township. He is a conscientious, earnest Christian, and for several years has been deacon of the Congregational church, in which he holds membership. By the exercise of in- tegrity, industry and intelligence he has grown to be one of the prosperous and honored citizens of the county, and has gained the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has come in contact.
In August, 1896, there was held a reunion of the family, in which were gathered under the hospitable roof of our subject every member of the family then living, twenty-eight in number,
including children and grandchildren. That the occasion was an enjoyable one goes without question, the remembrance of which will always be a pleasing one.
R ANSOM O. CALDWELL, residing on sec- tion 20, La Prairie township, is classed among the representative farmers of the town- ship and one of its most highly honored citizens. He is a native of Greene county, New York, born twelve miles west of Coxsackie, on the Hudson river, June 13, 1821. His parents, Oba- diah and Sally Ann (Green) Caldwell, were orig- inally from Putnam county, New York, but who located in Greene county at a very early day, purchasing a farm which extended across the Greene county line into Albany county. Of their family of five children three are now living. The parents have long since passed to their reward.
The boyhood and youth of Ransom were passed on his father's farm in the old empire state and his education was received in the com- mon schools, finishing his course in the Green- ville academy. He was a studious youth, and at a very early age began to teach in the common schools of his native state. For a time he enter- tained the idea that he was to adopt some other calling than that of a farmer, and so secured a situation as a clerk in a store at Brandy Hill, Greene county, and later in country stores in Albany county. A short time previous to his removal west he was a partner with his brother in a store in Coeyman's Hollow, Albany county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.