USA > Illinois > Bureau County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 78
USA > Illinois > Marshall County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 78
USA > Illinois > Putnam County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 78
USA > Illinois > Stark County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties, Illinois > Part 78
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On the 25th of November, 1892, Mr. Ste- phenson was united in marriage with Miss Mary Ella Black, of Wyoming, who was born in Henry, Marshall county, Illinois, and is a daughter of John and Harriet Elizabeth (Cul- ter) Black. One child has come to bless this union-Grace Elizabeth, born in Wyoming November 13, 1894. The parents are both con- sistent members of the Congregational church, in which Mr. Stephenson is serving as financial secretary and treasurer, and is also superin- tendent of its Sunday-school. Since casting his first presidential vote for James G. Blaine, in 1884, he has been a stanch republican, but is no politician in the sense of office-seeking. He gives liberally to all worthy enterprises which have for their object the upbuilding of the community or the advancement of its gen-
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eral welfare, and justly deserves to be classed among the representative and prominent busi- ness men of his adopted city.
M cCAGY SWIGER, who passed to his final rest on the 9th of February, 1886, is remembered as one of the early settlers of this section of the state, and a man who as- sisted greatly in its development and pros- perity. He was by nature liberal and public- spirited, and wherever he took up his abode maintained his interest in the people around him, and contributed to the best of his means and ability to their improvement, socially, morally and financially. No man is more worthy of representation in a work of this kind, and there is none whose name is held in more grateful remembrance.
Mr. Swiger was born at Zanesville, Ohio, April 25, 1822, and at an early day reinoved with his parents, John and Margaret (Lane) Swi- ger, near Sidney, the same state, where he was reared and educated. When twenty years of age he accompanied the family on their emi- gration to Illinois, locating in Peoria county, where the father purchased land and died a few years later. In the family of nine chil- dren our subject was the third in order of birth, and after the death of the father he continued to make his home with his mother until she, too, was called to the final rest.
In 1858, Mr. Swiger became acquainted with Miss Elizabeth Sturm, whose home was in Osceola township, Stark county, where she was born, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Orsman) Sturm, who had come from their Ohio home to Illinois as early as 1835, and first located in Peoria county, but three years later took up their residence in Stark county, being numbered among its earliest pioneers. The acquaintance ripening into love, Mr. Swi- ger led Miss Sturm to the marriage altar on the
17th of December, 1859. After one year's residence in Peoria county, they removed to the farm which he had previously purchased in Neponset township, Bureau county. This was a tract of eighty acres of unimproved land, which he subsequently sold, and pur- chased another place of one hundred and twenty acres, where they made their home for a time. On selling that tract he bought one hundred and sixty acres of wild land in Bureau county, later lived for a year in Marshall county, where his dwelling was destroyed by fire, causing a loss of about three thousand dollars. He then sold the place and pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres in Penn township, Stark county, which is still the fam- ily homestead. A thorough and skillful farm- er, he met with a fair degree of success in his undertakings.
Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Swiger, as follows: (1) Nathan is a farmer of Lafayette county, Missouri. (2) Eliza, wife of Joseph Essex, died leaving two chil- dren, and was laid to rest in Pleasant Valley cemetery. (3) Parydine died at the age of seventeen and was buried in the same place. (4) Samuel, a prominent agriculturist of Stark county, was born August 5, 1866, in Bureau county, Illinois; received his early education in the public schools, and has added to the knowl- edge there acquired by extensive travel and reading in later years. When about twenty he went to Carrico, Nebraska, and the follow- ing year pre-empted a homestead of one hun- dred and sixty acres there, which he greatly improved and still owns. In that state he was married December 15, 1886, to Anna Essex, and they have one child, Verna, born in 1888. In 1893 he returned to his old home in Penn township, Stark county, where he still resides, and now runs a steam engine, shelling corn, threshing, etc. In his travels he has visited
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many places in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. (5) Charles Calvin, the next child of the family, died in infancy. (6) Etta is the wife of Herbert Remington, of Penn town- ship, Stark county, and they have one child, Bessie. (7) Iva Ellen died in infancy. (8) Lettie is the wife of Daniel Nye and lives in Davenport, Iowa. (9) Henry Hamilton was married March 4, 1896, to Miss Gertie Clark and lives with his mother on the old home- stead. (10) Florence Jennie is also at home. (11) James Delbert died in infancy.
Politically, Mr. Swiger was originally a re- publican, but later became identified with the democratic party. Though reared in the New Light church, he accepted the doctrines of the Methodist and then became a prominent mem- ber of that church. He was a man univer- sally respected, and one whose word was con- sidered as good as his bond. On his death the county lost one of its most valued and use- ful citizens. His remains were laid to rest in Pleasant Valley cemetery.
JOHN WRIGLEY. - No adequate memorial of this gentleman can be written until many of the useful enterprises with which he was connected have completed their full measure of good in the world, and until his personal influence and example shall have ceased their fruitage in the lives of those who were about him when he was yet an actor in the busy places of the world; yet there is much con- cerning him that can with profit be set down here as an illustration of what can be done if a man with a clear brain and willing hands but sets himself seriously to the real labors and responsibilities of life.
A native of England, Mr. Wrigley was born March 18, 1829, near Heywood, Lancastershire and was a son of Edmund and Alice (Howard) Wrigley. During his boyhood he obtained a
fair knowledge of the rudiments of an educa- tion, also became familiar with the milling business, and later learned the blacksmith's trade. On attaining his majority he crossed the Atlantic to America, and came at once to Illinois. After working for a short time at his trade in Peoria, he came to Stark county, at first locating in Toulon, where he also re- mained but a short time. In 1851 he took up his residence in Wyoming, where he erected a shop of his own and soon secured an excellent trade.
Soon after locating here Mr. Wrigley sent to his native place for his future wife, Miss Ann Buckley, who was also born in Lanca- shire, England, and had made her home in Heywood since early childhood. Their mar- riage was celebrated in Wyoming May 22, 1852, and they began housekeeping in a log cabin which our subject had bought, and which was a great curiosity to his wife, who had never seen anything like it in her native land. She is a daughter of John and Ellen (Schofield) Buckley, and was provided with a fair com- mon-school education.
Although Mr. Wrigley came to the United States a poor young man, having borrowed money with which to pay his passage, he was industrious, enterprising and energetic, and met with well-deserved success in his under- takings. As time advanced he replaced the rude log cabin by a substantial brick residence, which is still standing. Subsequently, in part- nership with G. W. Scott, he engaged in mer- cantile business for a few years, and on selling out embarked in banking under the firm name of Scott & Wrigley, in which business he was still engaged at the time of his death, which occurred in Wyoming on the 19th of July, 1894.
Politically, Mr. Wrigley was identified with the republican party, but cared nothing for
A
JOHN WRIGLEY.
MRS. ANN WRIGLEY.
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the honors or emoluments of public office. He assisted in the organization of the Congrega- tional church of Wyoming, of which he was a faithful member, and, being an excellent singer, was leader of the choir for many years. So- cially, he was a Knight Templar Mason, be- longing to the commandery in Peoria, and he served as treasurer of his local lodge for some time. Endowed by nature with sound judg- ment and an accurate, discriminating mind, he feared not that laborious attention to the de- tails of business so necessary to achieve suc- cess, and this essential quality was ever guided by a sense of moral right, which would tolerate the employment of only those means that would bear the most rigid examination by a fairness of intention that neither sought nor required disguise. It is but just and merited praise to say of Mr. Wrigley that as a business man he ranked among the ablest ; as a citizen he was honorable, prompt and true to every engagement ; and as a man, held the honor and esteem of all classes of people.
Having no children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Wrigley adopted his brother's daughter, Alice Ann B., now the wife of John Walters, who is connected with the bank, and by whom she has six children. Mrs. Wrigley is a most estimable lady, who, like her husband, gains the friendship of all with whom she comes in contact.
JAMES PARKER, a well-known grain dealer J of Wyoming, Illinois, manager for E. S. Easton & Company, was born on the 26th of July, 1856, at Maybole, Scotland, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (McDowell) Parker, who were also of Scottish birth. Our subject is the youngest of their family of thirteen chil- dren, of whom six grew to man and woman- hood, four rearing families of their own and and three still living, the others being Sarah,
wife of John Becker, of Taroon, Australia, and Robert, a farmer of Penn township, Stark county, Illinois .. The father, a farmer by oc- cupation, died in Scotland when James was only five years old, and four years later the mother with five children crossed the Atlantic to the new world, locating at Oneida, Knox county, Illinois, where was living a son by a former marriage-Thomas Gemmell. For one year the family rented a farm in that county, and then purchased a one-hundred-and-sixty- acre tract in Valley township, Stark county, where our subject grew to manhood. The mother married again and made her home in Penn township until the death of her husband when she went to live with our subject, remain- ing with him until her death in 1890, at which time she was seventy years of age.
The education of James Parker was obtained mostly in the schools of Scotland, for after coming to the United States he had to devote his time and attention to the improvement and cultivation of the home farm. At the age of eighteen he and his brother purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Penn town- ship, Stark county, each having at that time one hundred dollars, and going in debt for the remainder of the purchase money. They met with a well-deserved success in their operations and later bought another tract, which they sold at a profit. Our subject continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until November, 1895, when he removed to Wyoming, and has since been interested in the grain business.
Mr. Parker was married February 24, 1884, the lady of his choice being Miss Ida M. Thurston, a native of Penn township and a daughter of D. S. and Clarinda (McGinnis) Thurston. She obtained a fair education in the local schools. Three children grace this union-Mabel, Edna and Jessie.
After taking out his naturalization papers,
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Mr. Parker voted for James A. Garfield, and has since given his allegiance to the men and measures of the republican party, but cares nothing for the honors or emoluments of public office. Both himself and wife are active mem- bers of the Methodist Protestant church, of which he has served as trustee, and for many years he has been the efficient superintendent of the Sunday-school. He takes great inter- est in the welfare of his town and county, and to such men of progressive and liberal ideas, generous and benevolent in spirit, is the com- munity indebted for its prosperity.
JOHN WILEY, who is classed among the J
successful farmers of West Jersey town- ship, is well worthy of notice in a work of this kind, and to be ranked among the men who have distinguished themselves as useful and enterprising citizens. He is pleasantly located on section 29, and dates his residence in Stark county from April, 1852. He was born Janu- ary 30, 1832, in Warren county, New Jersey, of which his father, Jacob Wiley, was also a native, while the grandfather, Peter Wiley, was a pioneer of that state. He aided the colonies in their struggle for independence as a soldier of the Revolutionary war. On attain- ing to man's estate Jacob Wiley married Miss Anna Sanders, also a native of New Jersey, and for a number of years they made their home in Morris county, but in 1852 emigrated to Stark county, Illinois. In West Jersey township the father improved a farm, on which he spent some years, his latter days being spent with his children. The mother died about 1 854, after which he was again married, and his sec- ond wife died March 16, 1876. All were in- terred in the West Jersey cemetery, where a suitable monument marks their last resting place.
Our subject is the third in order of birth in a family of seven children, the others being as follows: Julia, wife of D. R. Caskey, of War- ren county, New Jersey; Darius, who married and located in Stark county, but some years later removed to Elmwood, Illinois, where his death occurred; Margaret, who wedded Isaac Dennis and first located in Galva, Illinois, but some years later went to Iowa, where she died; Paulina, who died unmarried; Sarah Emma, who, after her marriage to Samuel Eagon, set- tled in Missouri, but now lives in western Colorado; and L. R., also a resident of the latter state.
The educational privileges afforded John Wiley in early life were rather limited, but he has become a well-informed man by reading and observation in later years, and possesses excellent business ability. At the age of twenty years he accompanied his parents to their new home in Stark county, and here worked as a farm hand by the month, in which capacity he had been previously employed in the east. Saving his earnings, he was able to purchase eighty acres of wild land in 1855, and at once began clearing away the brush, which covered about half of the tract. Upon that place he has since made his home, but has extended its boundaries until they now include two hundred and sixty acres, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation and improved with good and substantial buildings that stand as monuments to his thrift and industry. He also owns another good farm of one hundred and ten acres on sections 31 and 32, West Jersey township. Industrious, enterprising and per- severing, he has accumulated a handsome com- petence, although he started out in life for himself empty-handed, and the success that he has achieved is certainly well deserved.
In 1855, in Stark county, Mr. Wiley was united in marriage with Miss Eunice Trickle,
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a native of Illinois, who was reared in Stark county. Her father, Washington Trickle, on coming to this state in 1835, first settled in Fulton county, but a year later took up his residence in Stark county. Mrs. Wiley died in 1865, leaving three children, namely: Ar- thur, now a farmer of Furnass county, Ne- braska; Ella, wife of Frank Addis, a substan- tial farmer of West Jersey township; and Laura A., at home. One child, George, died when two and a half years old. For his sec- ond wife, Mr. Wiley chose- Miss Sarah Aten, who was born in Fulton county, Illinois, but was reared in Stark county, her father, Aaron Aten, being one of its honored pioneers. . She was called to her final rest in September, 1880. By this union there were five children-Allie, now the wife of W. Van Sickle, of Bureau county, Illinois; Ira, who received a good edu- cation, and is now assisting in operating the home farm; Edward, who is married and also helps carry on the farm; Emma, wife of Fred Sweat, a farmer of Peoria county, Illinois; and Clara, who completed her literary education in the Toulon academy, and being a proficient musician is now engaged in teaching that art.
Mr. Wiley cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont in 1856, and has since been an adherent of republican principles, advocat- ing protection to American industries and sound money. He has been elected to several local positions of honor and trust, and in all the relations of life, whether public or private, he has ever been true to all the duties that de- volved upon him. Of later years he has prac- tically laid aside business cares and spent con- siderable time in travel, in which he takes great delight. He has visited New Jersey, renewing old acquaintances, spent some time in New York city, and has twice traveled in the west, the last time being accompanied by his daughter Laura. They stopped at Denver,
Colorado Springs, Manitou, Pike's Peak, and many other places of interest in Colorado, in- cluding the Indian reservation, spending some months in this way, and returning to their home much improved in health and spirits. He and his daughters are faithful members of the Christian church of Toulon, to which he contributes liberally, and also gives his earnest support to all worthy objects for the good of the community or the welfare of his fellow men. He has ever done all within his power to advance the interests of his adopted county, and his many friends will be pleased to read this brief record of his life.
JAMES KINNEY was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, February 1I, 1846; re- ceived a good education; graduated from the high school of his native village at the age of seventeen, and enlisted in Company F, Ninth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and served two years and five months. Returning home in August, 1865, he attended school for' one year at an academy, then taught school eight months in his native county, when, in the fall of 1867, he came to Knox county, Illinois, where, for nearly twenty years, he taught school in the counties of Knox, Peoria and Stark. In 1888 he was elected clerk of the circuit court in Stark county, and re-elected in 1892. In pol- itics he was an ardent republican, and always took an active part in each campaign, and had a large acquaintance among the leading politi- cians of the state. He was a member of sev- eral societies, in which he always took an active part. He was for six years a member of the village council of Toulon, and for a number of years one of the trustees of the Toulon Academy. He has a beautiful home at the southwest corner of Toulon, where he still lives.
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F 'RITZ TESS. - Among the sturdy and stal-
wart citizens of Stark county whose place of birth was the far-away German fatherland, and who, with the industry and thrift so natural to the people of their native land, are rapidly progressing toward that financial condition so much coveted by all, is the subject of this per- sonal history, who is extensively engaged in general farming and stock-raising on section 21, Penn township.
On the 17th of January, 1854, Mr. Tess was born in Germany, a son of John and Mary (Slisting) Tess, who are still living, in Castle- ton, Illinois. When our subject was six years old the family left their native land, boarding a vessel at Hamburg and landing in New York after a voyage of six weeks and four days. They came at once to Peoria, Illinois, where they made their home for two years, during which time the father worked at any employ- ment which he could find, including steam- boating on the river from La Salle, Illinois, to St. Louis, Missouri. Finding that he could not accumulate anything in this way, he de- cided to turn his attention to agriculture, as he was reared upon a farm and understood that vocation. Coming to Penn township, Stark county, about 1860, he first rented land for about five years, and then purchased eighty acres on section 21, a small portion of which had been improved. There he made his home for several years, adding to the tract until he had two hundred acres of valuable and pro- ductive land. There were only two children in the family: Fritz, of this review, and Min- nie, wife of William Conrad, of Penn town- ship.
Fritz Tess continued under the paternal roof until twenty-three years of age, and in the dis- trict schools of the neighborhood acquired his early education, which was supplemented by a four-months course of study in Peoria after he
had attained his majority. He was married June II, 1874, to Miss Maggie Wagner, of Peoria, with whom he became acquainted while attending school. She is a native of Hanover, Germany, and when between five and six years of age was brought to America by her parents, Edward and Meta Wagner. Her mother died soon after their arrival, and her father married again and still lives in Peoria. Mrs. Tess obtained a fair education in her native tongue. By her marriage she has become the mother of seven children: John A., who is a student in Brown's Business College, in Peoria; Minnie, who died February 12, 1888, at the age of nine years, ten months and fourteen days; Frederick, born October 16, 1883; Mata, born September 28, 1885; Annie, born August 16, 1887; Eda, born Au- gust 13, 1891; Dora, born February 23, 1894, and Fannie, born February 1, 1896.
For one year after his marriage Mr. Tess lived with his father, and then resided north of Castleton on land owned by the latter. After a year spent at that place he purchased eighty acres of the land, on which he still re- sides, and is also the owner of one hundred and ten acres on section 20, Penn township, and twenty acres in Castleton, all of which is under a high state of cultivation and well im- proved. Since voting for Hayes in 1876, he has given his support to the men and measures of the republican party, but has never been an office-seeker, preferring to give his time and attention to his business interests. He and his wife are active and prominent members of the German Lutheran church in Castleton, which he was instrumental in establishing, and he served as trustee of the same for ten years, when he resigned. He is a highly re- spected and valued citizen of the community, and his many virtues and pleasant ways have gained him hosts of friends.
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F 'RED DITEWIG, who for some years was salesman for W. J. Townsend in the agri- cultural implement business in Wyoming, Illi- nois, now with the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, was born in Peoria, this state, September 17, 1858, a son of Jacob and Eliza (Reinman) Ditewig. The father, a na- tive of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, came to America when about twenty-two years of age, first locating in Buffalo, New York, from which place he removed to Peoria while the Indians were still quite numerous in this region. Hav- ing previously learned boot and shoe making, he opened a shoeshop in that city, and in con- nection with that business also traded exten- sively with the red men. He had brought with him some capital to the new world, and pros- pering in his business ventures he became quite well-to-do. In Peoria he became acquainted with Eliza Reinman, a native of canton Berne, Switzerland, who had come to America with her mother, her father having died previous to the emigration, and about 1855 or 1856 the young couple were united in marriage. They were well educated couple, having been af- forded good common-school privileges in their native lands. Five children were born to them, of whom our subject is the oldest. Jacob died at the age of three years. George, who is un- married, lives at East St. Louis, and is a gov- ernment meat inspector. Anna is the wife of W. H. Davidson, of Penn township, Stark county, living near Camp Grove, and they have one child. Rosalie L. married Sherman Bo- cock, of Wyoming, by whom she has one son.
The first seventeen years of his life Fred Ditewig passed in Peoria, where he attended a German school and only a few months the pub- lic schools, but he is able to read and write both German and English. At the age of twelve he entered the office of the National Democrat, where he learned to be a pressman
and remained there for five years, at first only receiving one dollar and a half per week, but later a dollar a day. After the death of his father his mother married again, and when our subject was seventeen he accompanied her and his stepfather to Stark county, locating upon a farm in Penn township, where he remained until he had attained the age of twenty-five.
On the 21st of February, 1883, was cele- brated the marriage of Mr. Ditewig and Miss Sarah M. Bocock, and they have become the parents of three children-Coral E., Gladys A. and George. From his father's estate our subject received eighty acres in Valley town- ship, Stark county, which he still owns, while his wife has one hundred and twenty acres in Penn township, obtained through her father's estate, but they now make their home in Wy- oming, where they are surrounded by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
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