USA > Illinois > Bureau County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 71
USA > Illinois > Marshall County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 71
USA > Illinois > Putnam County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 71
USA > Illinois > Stark County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 71
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Eight children have been born to our sub- ject and his estimable wife, namely: Allen J. W., a farmer of West Jersey township, who
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is married and has a little daughter, Lois V .; Ella M., wife of James Albert Quinn, a sub- stantial farmer of Stark county; Lorie Mae, wife of Thomas F. Miller, of Castleton, Stark county; Gertrude A., wife of E. C. Farley, a farmer of Goshen township; William L., at home; and Plessie, Grace and Harry Leroy, - all attending school.
For a year and a half after his marriage, Mr. Emery operated the old home farm, and then located upon his present place, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation, fenced and improved with a good and substan- tial residence, two barns, cribs and all the necessary outbuildings. He has also set out evergreen trees and an orchard, which add greatly to the appearance of the place. On attaining his majority Mr. Emery became a re- publican, but since 1884 has given his support to the men and measures of the prohibition party, as it embodies his views on the temper- ance question. For several years he has been an honored member of the Odd Fellows so- ciety, and as a citizen holds an enviable posi- tion in the estimation of the entire community, with whose interests he has been closely iden- tified for so many years.
H ENRY NOWLAN .- Among the represen- tative and progressive agriculturists of Stark county is this gentleman, who owns a fine farm of eighty acres on section 22, Goshen township-the place where his birth occurred November 24, 1847. His father, Michael Nowlan, was born in Ireland, in 1800, and in 1828 emigrated to the new world, first locating in Newfoundland, where he was engaged in the fishing business for several years. While thus , employed at the banks of Newfoundland, his vessel was wrecked off Cape Breton Island, to which he and his comrades made their escape, and during the severe winter were cared for by
the inhabitants. At St. John's, Newfoundland, he married Frances Kearney, and soon after- ward went to Boston, where he assisted in building one of the first railroads in America- running between Boston and Worcester, Mas- sachusetts, a distance of forty-four miles. Dur- ing his residence in that state he made his home in both of those cities and there three of his children were born.
In 1840 Michael Nowlan emigrated to Illi- nois, by way of New Orleans, arriving in Stark county on the Ist of May, and there entered the land on which our subject now resides. Building a cabin, the family made it their home while he opened up his farm, and they endured all the hardships and privations inci- dent to frontier life. On the boundless prairies, from their little home they could see only the dwellings of three other pioneer families, but as year after year passed the country became more thickly settled, and to-day Stark county ranks among the foremost in this great com- monwealth. Here the father died, March 5, 1881, the mother November 13, 1887, and they now sleep side by side in the Cavanaugh cemetery, in Henry county, where a substan- tial monument marks their last resting-place. Both were devout members of the Catholic church, and before a church was established near them services were often held in their residence.
In the family were ten sons and one daugh- ter, all of whom reached years of maturity. They are as follows: Patrick, now a business man of Hastings, Nebraska; James, who is en- gaged in business in Toulon, Illinois; William, a business man of Kewanee, Illinois; John, who died leaving a wife and child now resi- dents of Chicago; Edward, a farmer of Goshen township; David, a physician of Havelock, Iowa; Michael, Jr., deceased; Mary, who is now Sister Emerentiana, a teacher in Saint
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Mary's Academy, of Notre Dame, Indiana; Henry, of this sketch; George, now postmaster of Toulon; Joseph, a newspaper man of that city.
Henry Nowlan spent his boyhood and youth upon his present farm, and attended the dis- trict schools of the neighborhood, but is mostly self-educated. For twenty-eight years he has successfully engaged in teaching, being one of the oldest as well as one of the most proficient educators in Stark county. On the 2d of March, 1878, in Toulon, was performed a wedding ceremony which united the destinies of Mr. Nowlan and Miss Ellen P. McCance, who was born, reared and educated in that city, and previous to her marriage was also a successful teacher. Her father, David Mc- Cance, was an early settler of Stark county, where he took up his residence in 1848. ' He was married in Indiana to Miss Mary Horna- day, a native of Ohio. Three children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Nowlan-Henry Irvin, who is attending the Toulon high school; Eva Marie, and one who died in infancy.
Politically Mr. Nowlan was formerly a dem- ocrat, but now votes independent of party ties, endeavoring to support the man best qual- ified for the office. He is an advocate of the free and unlimited coinage of silver, and aids all worthy enterprises calculated to promote the general welfare or advance the interests of his community. With the Toulon Catholic church he and his family hold membership, and occupy a high position in social circles, where their true worth is widely recognized.
W ILLIAM P. CURRIER, a prosperous and influential agriculturist, residing on section 3, Elmira township, Stark county, was born November 20, 1839, on the farm which is still his home, and he is a worthy represent- ative of one of the prominent and honored
pioneer families of the county. His grand- father, Asa Currier, was a native of Caledonia county, Vermont, where he reared his family, but subsequently emigrated to Stark county, Illinois, first locating on section 3, Elmira township. Later, however, he entered land on section 6, Osceola township, where he de- veloped a fine farm.
In the Green Mountain state, David Currier, the father of our subject, was born January 3, 1816, and was there educated in the common schools, coming to Stark county when a young man of twenty years. Here he located upon the farm now owned and operated by our sub- ject-a fine tract of three hundred and sixty- seven acres, a part of which he entered from the government, while he purchased the re- mainder. In the first log house which he erected he made his home until 1865, when it was replaced by a commodious frame resi- dence. Good and substantial outbuildings were also put up, thus adding to the value and attractive appearance of the place.
About 1838 David Currier led to the mar- riage altar Miss Rebecca Parks, a native of Virginia, and a daughter of William Parks, another of the old settlers of Stark county. She departed this life on the 12th of January, 1854, and Mr. Currier died on the old home- stead, June 3, 1887. Both were interred in the Elmira cemetery, where a substantial mon- ument marks their last resting place. With the Presbyterian church they held member- ship, and by their upright, Christian lives gained the friendship and high regard of all with whom they were acquainted. Our subject is the old- est of their three children, the others being Martha B., a resident of Kewanee; and Olive, wife of S. C. Barlow, of Blandinsville, McDon- ough county, Illinois.
Mr. Currier, of this review, began his educa- tion in the common schools, and later attended
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the Toulon and Peacham academies, the latter of Caledonia county, Vermont. On the com- pletion of his literary education he returned to the home farm, which he assisted his father in operating for a time and then assumed the en- tire management of the place. Purchasing the interests of the other heirs after the death of his father, he has since successfully carried on farming there, and is numbered among the most progressive and substantial agriculturists of Elmira township.
On the 12th of January, 1876, in Stark county, Mr. Currier was joined in wedlock with Miss Hattie A. Searl, daughter of Wheeler and Charlotta (Ferris) Searl, both natives of Pennsylvania, where their marriage was cele- brated. They were among the original settlers of Stark county, locating here in 1834, when the land was nearly all in its primitive con- dition, and they bore an important part in its development and upbuilding. In their family were nine children, four sons and five daugh- ters, all of whom grew to years of maturity, namely: Mary E., who was the only one of the children born in the Keystone state, and now resides near Bradford, Illinois; Cordelia, wife of N. B. Enos, of Osceola township, Stark county; William W., who operates the old Searl homestead; George Isom, also a farmer of Osceola township; Hattie A., wife of our subject; Carrie B., wife of H. A. Marsh, a merchant of Bradford; Frances J., wife of J. F. Reed, of Williamson county, Illinois; Herbert A., an agriculturist of Penn township, Stark county; and Lefler L., who resides on a farm in Stark county, near Castleton.
Although his father was a democrat, Mr. Currier is a stanch and true republican in poli- tics, believing that in the principles of that party lie the germs of the future greatness of our country. He has had no aspirations for political preferment, seeking rather the quiet
of his own fireside and the management of his private business. He and his estimable wife are devout members of the Baptist church, and contribute liberally to its support. They are widely and favorably known in the county where they have so long made their home, and their circle of friends is only limited by their circle of acquaintances.
JONATHAN PRATZ .- Everywhere in our J land are found men who have worked their own way from humble beginnings to leadership in the commerce, the great productive indus- tries, the management of financial affairs, and in controlling the veins and arteries of the traffic and exchanges of the country. It is one of the glories of our nation that it is so. It should be the strongest incentive and en- couragement to the youth of the country that it is so. Prominent among the self-made men of Stark county is the subject of this sketch- a man honored, respected and esteemed wher- ever known, and most of all where he is best known. After a long and useful career, he is now living retired in Toulon, enjoying the fruits of his former toil.
Mr. Pratz was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, near Carlisle, February 14, 1818, a son of John and Nancy (Layman) Pratz, also natives of the Keystone state, who with their family removed to Richland county, Ohio, about 1827. There the father purchased eighty acres, which he at once began to clear, and erected thereon a primitive log house with the chimney on the outside. In 1836, with a neighbor, Nehemiah Wycoff, he came on foot to Illinois, and each purchased one hundred and twenty acres of prairie land in Stark county and eighty acres of timber land in Peoria county. After entering their land they returned to Ohio, making the journey in the same manner. In May, 1837, Mr. Pratz with
JONATHAN PRATZ.
..
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his wife and children, Newton Matthews and family, and three families of Wycoffs, again started for Illinois, each family having a wagon and two yoke of oxen, and each had a light wagon and span of horses. They arrived at their destination on the 10th of June, and with five yoke of oxen began breaking prairie. That year they each raised a small patch of corn, and later planted wheat.
John Pratz built a small hewed-log house upon his land, fenced the property, began the cultivation of the land, and later built a frame addition to his residence. With the other early settlers they experienced all the hardships and difficulties of pioneer life, including fever and ague, which was the prevailing disease of those early times. Supplies were obtained princi- pally from Peoria, then called Fort Clark, and part from Chicago. The trip to and from that place required from ten to twelve days. Land at this time was but one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, the government price, quality not being considered. For about five years he engaged in breaking land, for which he re- ceived from three dollars to three dollars and fifty cents an acre, and this was the most profitable work in which he engaged. His first trip to mill was to Utica, southwest of Canton, on the Illinois river, which required six days. Taking a large load of wheat and corn, he returned with flour, meal and bran enough to last for some time. Before he made the second trip to mill they sifted the bran and made that into bread.
To his original purchase Mr. Pratz added forty acres, and for a number of years was rec- ognized as one of the most progressive and successful farmers of the locality, but in later life he removed to the village of Rochester, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred December 23, 1862. The mother of our subject was called to her final rest October
30, 1821, after which the father married Sarah Wetzel, who died September 19, 1868.
Jonathan Pratz was a young man of nineteen years when he came with the family to Stark county, and he here aided in the arduous task of clearing and developing a farm from wild land. When he left Pennsylvania for Ohio he was but nine years of age and could not speak a word of English, knowing only German, the language usually spoken by his parents. In the common schools of Ohio he acquired some knowledge of English, and after his arrival in Illinois attended school for several winters in the primitive log school-house, with its greased- paper windows, its huge fireplace with chim- ney on the outside, slab seats, slab writing- desk and puncheon floor. He made good use of his opportunities, however, and in after life, by reading, observation and reflection, became a well-informed man. He remained with his parents for several years after reaching his maturity, and for the first five years after reaching Illinois assisted his father in breaking land.
In Stark county, February 8, 1844, Mr. Pratz married Eliza Jane Murphy, a native of Ohio, who came to Illinois with her stepfather, Jacob Smith, in the fall of 1836, locating in Fulton county, but removing to West Jersey township, Stark county, in the spring of 1837, locating on section 35. - For a few years after his marriage Mr. Pratz operated rented land, and then purchased thirty acres on section 22, West Jersey township, which was entirely un- improved, on which he built a log cabin. Later he purchased eighty acres on section 27, a half of which was under cultivation, and he there erected another log cabin and made it his home for a number of years. Subsequently he purchased a small tract of timber land, later improved one hundred and sixty acres which he purchased, next bought a timber
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tract in Peoria county, and afterward, at dif- ferent times, two eighty-acre tracts and one one-hundred-and-sixty-acre tract, most of which he has divided among his children. He has also purchased three other eighty-acre tracts, but has now sold or given to his chil- dren most of his property, keeping only two eighty-acre tracts, which he is holding for two grandchildren. His wonderful success is the just reward of earnest, persistent toil and well- directed effort, and he is now enjoying a well- earned rest at his pleasant home in Toulon, where he has lived since 1892.
Mr. Pratz lost his first wife October 4, 1888. They reared a family of four sons and four daughters, namely : Anna Maria, wife of Sam- uel Bruce, a farmer of Fremont county, Iowa ; Rozetta L., wife of James McGinniss, a retired farmer living in Toulon ; Sarah C., wife of Eugene Lyon, a substantial farmer of Goshen township, Stark county ; John E. married Anna Griffin, and is the owner of a fine farm of four hundred acres in West Jersey township ; Hiram N. married Nettie Perry, and is engaged in farming in Marshall county, Iowa ; Royal L., a farmer in West Jersey township, married Lucy Ann Comer, and died, leaving a widow and one son ; Ora E., also a farmer of West Jersey township, married Jennie Ables, and died, leaving a widow and one daughter ; and Mary Frances, who died at the age of twelve years.
In Toulon Mr. Pratz was again married, October 21, 1894, his second union being with Miss Lucinda Newcomer, who was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, August 12, 1840, and is a daughter of Christopher and Susan ( Snively) Newcomer, also natives of the Keystone state. Her father was born in Fay- ette county, and was twice married. He never left that state, where throughout life he en- gaged in blacksmithing and farming, but her
mother came to Stark county, Illinois, in 1857, locating on a farm near Toulon, where she spent her last days, passing away April 3, 1887, at the advanced age of eighty-four. Henry Snively, the grandfather of Mrs. Pratz, was born November 17, 1769, and died Novem- ber 1, 1840. His wife, Magdalina Snively, was born March 25, 1774, and died July 7, 1858. They were the parents of twelve chil- dren. When Mrs. Newcomer died she had sixty-eight grandchildren and forty great-grand- children.
In the Newcomer family were twelve chil- dren, as follows : Henry, who married Chris- tiana Ellenberger, and died July 9, 1860, at the age of sixty-one years ; Catherine, who became the wife of John Gillatin, and is now deceased ; Eliza Ann, wife of David Hutchin- son, of Glenville, Freeborn county, Minnesota ; Joseph, who is married and resides in Fall City, Nebraska ; Maria, who died unmarried ; Peter, who died in childhood ; Sarah, wife of Wesley Cotton, of Fayette county, Pennsyl- vania ; Lydia, wife of Matthew Cunningham, of the same county ; William, a resident of Stark county, who married Susan Ellenberger and died January 10, 1892 ; David, who wed- ded Mary Walker, and lives in Fayette county, Pennsylvania ; and Lucinda, now Mrs. Pratz.
Politically, Mr. Pratz was a republican in early life, and later supported the prohibition party. He has never cared for office, prefer- ring to give his entire time and attention to his extensive business interests. With the Chris- tian church of Toulon he and his estimable wife hold membership, and as one of the offi- cials of the church he took an active part in church work in his early years. They are people of prominence in the community, and are held in high regard by all who know them. For sixty years Mr. Pratz has been prominently identified with the growth and upbuilding of
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the county, has watched with interest the wonderful transformation that has here taken place, and his name certainly deserves an honored place on the rolls of Illinois' leading pioneers.
W ILLIAM A. NEWTON, who owns and operates a valuable farm adjoining the corporate limits of Toulon, and is a successful poultry dealer, was born in Goshen township, Stark county, on the 7th of July, 1855, and is a son of James H. and Hester A. (McCance) Newton, the former a native of West Virginia and the latter of Indiana. About 1840 the fa- ther came to Stark county, Illinois, and took up eighty acres of government land two miles west of Toulon, which he at once began to im- prove and cultivate. Upon that place his children were reared, and it was sold only a few years ago. Since 1876 he and his wife have made their home in Toulon, where they are spending their declining days in ease and retirement. He met with a well-deserved suc- cess in his life work, owning at one time three good farms. In the family are only two chil- dren, the brother of our subject being James I., a resident of Toulon, who married Lucy Thomas and engaged in farming until failing health caused his retirement.
The educational privileges of William A. Newton were such as the public schools of Goshen township afforded, and his training at farm labor was obtained on the old homestead. On starting out in life for himself he took up the occupation to which he was reared, and operated a farm a short distance south of Toulon until coming to the city. Prior to em- barking in his present business, which he has now conducted for two years, he engaged in buying poultry for H. B. Ackley for three years. He now does a very extensive busi-
ness, in the past year paying out to the farin- ers over nineteen thousand dollars, and in No- vember, 1895, handled sixty-seven thousand nine hundred and seventy-four pounds of poul- try. He also deals in eggs, and in April of that year shipped four hundred cases. He is a wide-awake, progressive man who thoroughly understands his business, and therefore has met with excellent success.
Mr. Newton was married December 21, 1876, to Miss Lucy Shinn, who was born in Canton, Illinois, January 19, 1857, and is a daughter of Job and Diana Shinn. For some years her father was engaged in the mercantile business in Fairview, from which place he moved to Canton, and later was a successful merchant of Toulon. He was widely known and held in the highest respect for his many sterling traits of character and upright life. He was called to his final rest in 1863, and his wife passed away in 1888. Both were devout Methodists in religious belief. Four of their eight children died when quite young, and only two are now living-Mrs. Dr. W. T. Hall, of Toulon, and Mrs. Newton.
The latter, a lady of culture and refinement, obtained an excellent education in the Toulon high school, and was for one year assistant teacher in that institution, under Professor Frank Matthews. She also taught in the country schools for a time, and was recognized as one of the able instructors of the county. By her marriage she has become the mother of three children-Adda M., a graduate of the Toulon Academy with the class of 1897; Willie S., who is attending the public schools; and J. Harvey.
In politics, Mr. Newton is an ardent prohi- bitionist, and socially affiliates with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. Himself, wife and children are active and prominent members of
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the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has been a member of the official board for nearly twenty years, and treasurer of the Sun- day-school nine years. A warm friend of the cause of education, he has been an efficient member of the school board for the past four years, and has contributed liberally to the Toulon Academy. Whether in public or pri- vate life, he is always a courteous, genial gen- tleman, well deserving the high regard in which he is held.
AMES T. HAMMOND, a retired farmer now residing in Bradford, Illinois, was born in Perry county, Ohio, near Zanesville, on the Muskingum river, January 2, 1835, and is a son of Rezin and Julia ( Thrall ) Hammond, the former a native of Maryland, and the latter of Perry county, Ohio, where their marriage occurred. The father was a pioneer farmer of that county, was widely and favorably known and a good person to advise with. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, one of the old-fashioned kind, and descended from good Methodist stock. For years he was an officer in the church and an enthusiastic worker. He was born October 17, 1808, and died November 12, 1880. His wife was born February 2, 1801, and died November 22, 1888. Their marriage was celebrated February 8, 1827. She was also a life-long member of the same church and was very active in its work. The home of Rezin Hammond was always thrown open to the ministers of his church and was a preaching place until the erection of a house of worship, which was built on one corner of his farm. The church is still standing and is used by the Evangelical (Albright) Association. Of their family of seven children five are still living. Of this number our subject and one sister are the only ones that came to Illinois. The latter,
Patience, is now the widow of S. H. Milligan, and is a resident of Ravenswood.
Mr. Hammond, of this review, was reared on the home farm in Ohio, attending school in the old log school-house near his father's place. and in 1856 left the parental roof, going to Wisconsin, where he remained six years. He went to that state a single man, and there inarried Margaret M. Reed, a daughter of John M. and Sarah A. ( Foraker ) Reed, the latter a distant relative of General Foraker, of Ohio. The date of their marriage was November 6, 1856. In 1862 they removed to Milo town- ship, Bureau county, Illinois, where they rented land for a time and then purchased forty acres, which was their first start in life. After three years Mr. Hammond sold his first farm and purchased eighty acres in Saratoga township, Marshall county, and there resided four years. Returning to Milo township, Bureau county, he purchased one hundred acres on which he resided for a time, and then sold out that tract, together with the eighty- acre farm in Saratoga township. Subsequently he purchased three hundred acres known as the Holcomb farm, which he still owns.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hammond two children have been born - William, who resides on the home farm in Milo township, married Miss Eunice Fulkerson, and they have two children, Arthur and Tony. The second born, Charles E., resides on a farm in Whiteside county, Illinois. He married Miss Julia Blake, and they have two children living - Vera and James Edward.
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