USA > Illinois > Bureau County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 76
USA > Illinois > Marshall County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 76
USA > Illinois > Putnam County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 76
USA > Illinois > Stark County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 76
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
In February, 1863, Mr. Hulsizer left home and enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Thir- ty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. During the six months of his service he was with the
---
AUGUSTUS HULSIZER.
597
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
regiment at Columbus and Paducah, Kentucky, and at Jackson, Mississippi; was mustered out in September, 1863, and re-enlisted in Com- pany A, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illi- nois Infantry, February, 1864, with which he participated in the battle of Spanish Fort and several skirmishes. In the fall of 1864 he was transferred to Company A, Thirty-third Illi- nois Volunteers, and with that regiment served until the close of the war. He was honorably discharged in the spring of 1865, and returned to his home in Stark county.
In the Kewanee public schools, Mr. Hulsizer obtained a good practical education, which he supplemented by a commercial course at East- man's Business College, Chicago, graduating with the class of 1868. Returning to Stark county, he successfully engaged in teaching in the country schools for about seven years, and during that time also engaged in agricultural pursuits to some extent. In 1874 he came to Toulon, where for four years his exclusive work was penmanship, but in 1879 he established the first exclusive boot and shoe store in the place. After selling out that business in 1883, he purchased a half interest in the Stark Coun- ty Sentinel, January 1, 1884, and a year later became sole owner. He has uniformly con- ducted the enterprise with consummate skill and ability. The paper is a well edited, neatly printed sheet, and under his able management the circulation has been almost doubled. He has made a close and thorough study of all branches of his work, both from a mechanical and literary point of view, and has therefore met with a well-deserved success.
On the 16th of September, 1869, Mr. Hul- sizer was united in marriage with Miss Eva M. Standard, a daughter of Amelia and Lyman Standard. She was born in Fulton county, Illinois, June 5, 1846, and died on the IIth of September, 1894. From an early age she
held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, and was ever true to the cause she espoused. Home never lost a more faithful wife, or kind and tender mother.
We sit beside the lower feast to-day, She at the higher.
Our voices falter as we bend and pray; In the great choir Of happy ones she sings and does not tire.
Smile on then, darling; what God wills is best; We lose our hold,
Content to leave thee to the deeper rest,
The safer fold, To joy's immortal youth, while we grow old.
Content the cold and wintry day to bear, The icy wave,
And know the immortal summer there Beyond the grave, Content to give thee to the love that gave.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hulsizer were born six children, namely: Zaidee Viola, who now keeps house for her father; Olive B., who has for several years successfully engaged in teach- ing in Stark county, now the wife of Rev. Walter Leon Tucker, engaged in mission work at Altoona, Pennsylvania; Mary May, who for years was a typesetter in her father's of- fice, now the wife of Erle W. Thompson, law partner with his father, B. F. Thompson, of Toulon; Mauda A., who is attending the Toulon Academy; Lulu L., a pupil of the high school of Toulon; and Helen Gale, who is pur- suing her studies in the public schools.
Politically, Mr. Hulsizer is independent, reserving his right to vote for a man whom he thinks best qualified to fill the office regardless of party ties, but favors the prohibition party to some extent, as it embodies his views on the temperance question. Being a warm friend of the cause of education, he has efficiently served as school director, and has also held other minor offices. Fraternally, he affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic.
598
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
J OHN SNARE, a well-to-do agriculturist residing on section 7, Penn township, has for half a century been identified with the in- terests of Stark county and has materially aid- ed in the development and prosperity of this region. He is a native of the Keystone state, born in Todd township, Huntingdon county, January 5, 1829, and comes of a family of Ger- man origin, who spelled the name Schnerr. His father, John P. Snare, was born in Mary- land, July 18, 1795, but when a mere child went with his father, Peter Schnerr, to Penn- sylvania, locating in Huntingdon county, where he grew to manhood and married Esther Baker, the mother of our subject, who died in that state, leaving six children, all of whom accom- panied the father on his emigration to Illinois in 1847, at which time Nancy was married, being the wife of Alexander Kissinger, who also came with them. The father had also married again in Pennsylvania. From their old home they drove through to Wyoming, Illinois, the trip occupying six weeks. It was their inten- tion to locate in Whiteside county, but on reaching Urbana they learned that many horse thieves then infested that county, and these rumors were confirmed as they journeyed on; so that on arriving in Stark county they de- cided to settle there and purchased one hun- dred and sixty acres, comprising the northwest quarter of section 18, Penn township.
John P. Snare, the father, became quite well-to-do, accumulating considerable land in Stark county, and continued to make his home there until called to his final rest in 1873. His remains were interred in Snareville cemetery. His second wife survived him many years, dying March, 1896. In early life he was a whig and later became a republican. In Pennsylvania he had united with the Methodist Protestant church, belonging to the Baltimore conference, and he was instrumental in establishing the
church at Castleton, of which he, his wife and our subject were charter members. He had obtained a good common-school education, which he supplemented by extensive reading and was well informed upon the leading ques- tions and issues of the day.
By his first marriage, John P. Snare had seven children, and by the second, five, of whom six are still living. One son, Cyrus Coop- er, enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Infantry, under Captain Ot- man, and served throughout the entire civil war, receiving a wound in the shoulder. After the war he married and moved to Minnesota, where he died near Bass Lake, leaving two children. James Snare, who is next older than our subject, died in December, 1896, leaving a widow and six children, and he was buried in Snareville cemetery. Joseph, who married and lived near Holden, in Johnson county, Mis- souri, at his death left four children.
Although afforded very limited opportunities for obtaining an education in his native state, Mr. Snare, of this review, made the most of his advantages, as he was studiously inclined, and on coming to Stark county taught the first school in Wyoming, it being conducted in a log house in the southeast part of the town. Among his pupils was Governor Thomas, of the Soldiers' Home at Dayton, Ohio, and in after years the governor called our subject's attention to the fact that he once flogged him. Mr. Snare assured him, however, that he de- served it. His wages as a teacher were only ten dollars per month, and were used in the support of the family.
On attaining his majority, Mr. Snare started out in life for himself, buying on time two hundred acres of land on section 12, Toulon township, Stark county. Having secured a home he next wished some one to preside over it, and on the 4th of March, 1854, he married
599
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Miss Mary T. Holgate, of Penn township, who was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylva- nia, and is a daughter of James and Sylvinia (Trux) Holgate. He secured a good educa- tion and successfully engaged in teaching for a time. Her father, who formerly lived for many years in Philadelphia, became a prom- inent man in this region, served as justice of the peace for several years, and also as county judge of Stark county. Mr. Snare has been very successful in his farming operations and now owns over five hundred acres in one body, lying partly in Penn and partly in Toulon townships. He removed to his present home in 1856, and in 1888 erected his comfortable and commodious dwelling, his former residence having been destroyed by fire in that year. It had contained lumber hauled by wagon from Chicago at an early day.
Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Snare, one died in infancy and another at the age of thirteen years, she being the first in the county to die of spotted fever. Wilden, a successful farmer of Stark county, was born December 29, 1854, and completed his educa- tion in the Peoria high school. He owns one hundred and ten acres in Penn and Toulon townships, and, possessing considerable musical talent, has successfully engaged in teaching singing-schools in the county. He married Miss Mary L. Hess, by whom he has one child, Merwyn, born in Toulon township, March 17, 1890. . Wilna Paine is the widow of Watt P. Minsker, who died in November, 1 896, leaving three children-Wilna Winnifred, Frances Pearl and Claude. Their other child, Nellie, died previous to the father's death. Mrs. Minsker now lives with our subject. Wilber, who completes the family, was born in 1863, married May L. Shernian and lives in Penn township. They have three children, Natalie, Viva and Kent.
Reared a whig, Mr. Snare voted for Scott in 1852, but at the following presidential elec- tion supported John C. Fremont, and has since been an ardent republican. For one term he served as supervisor of Penn township, and was elected justice of the peace, but moved out of the precinct and consequently did not serve. Since twelve years of age he has been a faithful member of the Methodist Protestant church of which he has served as trustee for many years, and has assisted in building several houses of worship, not only for that church but for other protestant de- nominations. His oldest son belongs to the same church, but his daughter holds member- ship in the Methodist Episcopal church.
G EORGE S. LAWRENCE .- A man's rep- utation is the property of the world. The laws of nature have forbidden isolation. Every human being submits to the controlling influence of others, or as a master spirit wields a power either for good or evil on the masses of mankind. There can be no impropriety of justly scanning the acts of any man as they affect his public and business relations. If he is honest and eminent in his chosen field of labor investigation will brighten his fame and point to the path that others may follow with like success. Among the rank of the quiet, persevering, yet prominent citizens of Toulon, there is no one more deserving of mention in a volume of this character than Mr. Lawrence, who for many years was actively identified with the commercial interests of the city, but is now practically living retired, though he still looks after his extensive real-estate holdings.
George S. Lawrence was born in Warren county, New Jersey, June 9, 1838, and is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family of Essex county, that state. He traces
600
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
his ancestry back to one of three brothers who came originally from Holland. One of those brothers, Daniel Lawrence, came with La Fayette, and fought under that famous general through the Revolutionary war. On the close of the struggle, he concluded to re- main in this country. He was the great-grand- father of our subject. Of his three sons, Abra- ham located in Sussex county, New Jersey, John in Ohio, and Jacob in Essex county, New Jersey, near the town of Dover. Jacob Lawrence was the father of four sons, Vincent G., Daniel, John and Job.
Vincent G. Lawrence was born in Dover, Essex county, New Jersey, and in early life learned the wheelwright's trade, after which he was for a number of years actively engaged in the manufacture of wagons at Allamuchy, New Jersey. He married Abigail Parker, a native of the same state and a daughter of Daniel Parker, who was from New England. In 1856, with his family, Vincent G. Lawrence came to Illinois, arriving in Princeton on the Ist of March, and located on a farın near Sheffield, Bureau county, where he purchased eighty acres of land, which he improved and cultivated for a time. Later he engaged in the hotel business in Sheffield some years and then removed to Princeton, where the last years of his life were passed, his death, how- ever, occurring in Toulon, Stark county, March 17, 1882, at the age of seventy-six years and eight months, while on a visit to our subject. His remains were interred in Sheffield cemetery beside those of his wife, who passed away January 18, 1864, at the age of forty-nine years, eleven months and nine days.
To this worthy couple were born three sons and five daughters, of whom all of the sons and three daughters yet survive. Caroline married, but is now deceased; George S. is next in order of birth; Harris W. is a farmer
of Montgomery county, Iowa; Emma is the deceased wife of Thomas Wright, of Sheffield; Ancefronah is the wife of Orville Melvin, of New Bradford, Bureau county, Illinois; Nora is the wife of Joseph Hull, of Kewanee; Win- field H. is a resident of Kokomo, Colorado; and Hattie is the wife of Peter Stipp, a busi- ness man of Chicago.
The first eighteen years of his life George S. Lawrence passed in his native state, where he obtained a limited education in the common schools, but by subsequent reading and obser- vation has become a well-informed man. On coming to Illinois he first assisted his father in the arduous task of developing a new farm, and later obtained a position as clerk in the store of J. G. Niles, of Neponset, where he obtained a thorough, practical business train- ing, which has been of great advantage to him in subsequent years. After some years in the employ of that gentleman, in 1864 he embarked in business for himself at Ramsey, but two years later sold out and removed to Kewanee, where he formed a partnership with J. C. Niles in mercantile pursuits, which connection lasted about two years.
While a resident of that city Mr. Lawrence was married, December 5, 1867, to Miss Al- vina E. Potter, a daughter of John P. and Charity A. Potter, who was there born, reared and educated. Her father was a pioneer of Henry county, where he engaged in farming for many years, but is now living retired in Kewanee at the age of seventy-four. That part of Kewanee lying west of Main street was a part of his farm. His wife passed away on the 5th of December, 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence have two daughters-Abigail Young, now the wife of J. Frank Ziegler, a business man of Peoria; and Bessie P., wife of Charles A. Foster, of Toulon, by whom she has one son-Lawrence.
601
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
On the 15th of October, 1869, Mr. Lawrence removed to Toulon, where he first embarked in the grocery trade, later added a stock of general merchandise, and successfully carried on business until June, 1895, when he was burned out. In the meantime he had become interested in real estate, and is still the owner of several business houses and three dwellings in Toulon, besides the Stark county fair grounds. He has also invested largely in lands in Texas, still owning fifteen hundred acres in Montague county. He is the owner of one of the finest business houses in Bowie, that county, a flour- ishing city of about five thousand inhabitants, located on the Rock Island and the Fort Worth & Denver Railroads. About five hundred acres of his land are now under a high state of culti- vation.
In early life Mr. Lawrence was a democrat in politics, but now votes independently, sup- porting the man whom he considers best qual- ified to fill the office, regardless of party ties. As a Royal Arch Mason he is a member of the blue lodge of Toulon and the chapter of Wyo- ming, Illinois, while he and his wife both hold membership in the Eastern Star. She is a prominent and active member of the Woman's Club, a literary organization which was char- tered by the state in 1878, and has for its ob- ject the intellectual improvement of its mem- bers. The membership of the club is limited by the charter to thirty, and at present it has twenty-four, all active working members, who meet weekly at their different residences. It is one of the most important institutions of the kind in this section of the state, and has among its members some of the brightest minds in Stark county.
Mr. Lawrence is recognized as one of the most capable business men of Stark county, and his success has come to him through en- ergy, labor and perseverance, directed by an
evenly balanced mind and by honorable busi- ness principles. His course commands the re- spect of all with whom he comes in contact, and he is held in the highest regard through- out the community.
D ARIUS DE MUNT, a retired farmer and an honored and highly respected citizen of Wyoming, Illinois, was born on the Ist of December, 1833, in Warren county, New Jer- sey, a son of William and Mary (Ayers) De Munt, the former also a native of that state and a farmer by occupation. The boyhood and youth of our subject were passed amidst rural scenes, and he received a fair common- school education. In the spring of 1857 he emigrated to Illinois, locating in West Jersey township, Stark county, where he at first oper- ated rented land; but in August, 1862, he laid aside all personal considerations and went to the defense of his country as a member of Company F, One Hundred and Twelfth Illi- nois Volunteer Infantry, Colonel, now Gen- eral, Henderson commanding the regiment. Going to the front, Mr. De Munt participated in the skirmish at Monticello, but was soon afterward taken ill and later transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, which was engaged in garrison duty. While aiding in the discharge of artillery he lost the hearing of his left ear, and on account of his injuries now receives a pension of twelve dollars per month. On the expiration of his term he was honorably dis- charged at Madison, Wisconsin.
In October, 1859, Mr. De Munt was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Hiner, who died while he was in the army, and after his return to Stark county he was again married, Sep- tember 15, 1865, his second union being with Mrs. Elizabeth Jackson, nee Collister, by whom he has two children. Cora M., who for a time was a successful teacher, married
602
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Frank C. Johnson, principal of the schools at Elmira, Stark county, and they have one child. William, the only son, is mentioned more fully below.
Mr. De Munt was reared a democrat, but cast his first presidential vote for Lincoln in 1860, and has since been a stalwart Republi- can. Socially, he is a member of De Wolf Post, No. 371, G. A. R. After a long life of toil he laid aside agricultural pursuits in 1891, and is now calmly resting from his labors, spending the evening of his life pleasantly at his home in Wyoming, surrounded by the love, respect and esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Truly a good life has a happy ending.
William G. De Munt was born in Essex township, Stark county, August 20, 1869, and as soon as old enough aided his father in the work of the farm when not in school. For some time he was a student in the Wyoming high school, leaving that institution just three months before he would have graduated. Later he pursued his studies in the Toulon Academy, and at the age of nineteen was prevailed upon to accept a position as teacher. On attaining his majority, he began learning the tinner's trade, and after serving a regular three-years apprenticeship worked for awhile in Galesburg, Illinois, and also for seven months in Utica, New York. Returning to his old home in Wyoming, he formed a partnership with a Mr. Thompson, his preceptor, March 14, 1895, and under the firm name of Thompson & De Munt they have since conducted a successful business, receiv- ing a liberal share of the public patronage.
Since casting his first ballot for Benjamin Harrison in 1892, Mr. De Munt has been an ardent supporter of republican principles, and since reaching man's estate he has been a prominent and active member of Wyoming Lodge, No. 244, I. O. O. F., in which he has
filled all the chairs. He also holds member- ship with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is one of the most enterprising and pro- gressive young business men of the town, and stands deservedly high in the esteem and con- fidence of his fellow citizens.
D AVID WEBSTER .- The subject of this history, a man of more than ordinary in- telligence and business capacity, owns three hundred and eighty acres on sections 21 and 22, West Jersey township, and is prominent among the agricultural interests of Stark coun- ty, contributing largely to its reputation by building up one of the most desirable home- steads within its borders. He is in the prime of life and in the midst of his usefulness, ad- mired and esteemed by his friends and neigh- bors, and enjoying, as he deserves, a generous portion of this world's goods.
In the township which is still his home, Mr. Webster was born June 25, 1842, a son of William W. Webster, whose birth occurred in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, in 1806. His grandfather, David Webster, also a native of the old Bay state, was a first cousin of Dan- iel Webster, the great statesman and scholar. In 1822 the grandfather, with his family, emi- grated to Lorain county, Ohio, being the third family to locate near the present village of Wellington, where he developed a farm.
Two years previous to the removal of the family, William W. Webster had gone to the Buckeye state, walking the entire distance. There he was later married to Frances Cupp, a native of Germantown, Pennsylvania, whose father was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and in that struggle was permanently disabled by being shot through the hip. This injury caused his death when Mrs. Webster was a child of nine years. After their marriage the parents of our subject located in Lorain coun-
603
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ty, Ohio, where the father owned one hundred and twenty acres of land, which he continued to cultivate until 1832, when he came to Illi- nois to look up a location. Being pleased with Stark county, he settled here the following year, at which time the country was almost an unbroken wilderness; game was abundant, and Indians were still quite numerous in the local- ity. He entered two tracts of one hundred and sixty acres each on sections 32 and 33, West Jersey township, and located upon the latter, but three years later removed to the other, where he spent his remaining days, dying in 1856 at the age of forty-nine. He was a successful business man and prominent and in- fluential citizen, and became interested in a business way with Knox College, of Galesburg, where he educated a nephew, He served as supervisor of his township, and filled other local positions to the satisfaction of all con- cerned. As a strong abolitionist, he worked in connection with Owen Lovejoy and as- sisted many a slave on his way to Canada and freedom. His father was also connected with the underground railroad in Ohio.
After the death of her husband Mrs. Web- ster, with the assistance of her sons, carried on the home farm, of which seventy acres were improved, until she, too, was called to her final rest in 1871. She was the mother of eight children, namely: Mary, who died at about the age of seven years; Amanda, who died at the age of sixteen; Amelia, who died at the age of fourteen; David, of this review; Angeline, who died at the age of eleven; Oli- ver D., who grew to manhood and married, but is now deceased; James D., who is men- tioned below; and William H., a farmer of Greene county, Iowa.
Amid the primitive scenes of frontier life, David Webster was reared, and is almost wholly self-educated, as his early school ad-
vantages were very meagre. On the 14th of August, 1862, he laid aside personal interests in order to aid in the preservation of the Union, enlisting in Company F, One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Infantry, under Colonel T. J. Henderson. With the exception of the battle of Knoxville, he participated in all the engagements in which his regiment took part, and was never off duty, but faithfully served until hostilities had ceased, when he was mus- tered out June 20, and honorably discharged on the 8th of July, 1865. He was in many skirmishes and small fights, where his com- mand would lose from six to ten men, and from the time of the famous battle of Resaca, Georgia, May 14, until the battle of Nashville in December, 1864, he was almost under con- stant fire. Later he participated in the battle of Franklin.
On his return home Mr. Webster operated part of the old homestead, which he rented from his mother, and also rented other lands. In 1874 he made his first purchase of eighty acres, and since the following year he has made his home thereon. As his financial re- sources increased he has added more land from time to time until he now has three hun- dred and eighty acres, divided into three farms and improved with good and substantial build- ings, and he also has a small tract in Peoria county. His success is but the just reward of his own untiring labors, perseverance and good management.
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.