USA > Illinois > Bureau County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 51
USA > Illinois > Marshall County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 51
USA > Illinois > Putnam County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 51
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In his political views Mr. Smith is a repub- lican, taking an active interest in the success of his party. He served as highway commissioner for twelve years, during which time he did much toward securing the good gravel roads to be found in the county, and for twenty years was director of his school district. Both himself and wife attend the Methodist church, and socially he is a member of the Knights of Honor and the Masonic order, of Princeton. He is progressive in his ideas of conducting his chosen occupation and for two years has served as president of the Bureau County Agricultural board. He is a man worthy of the highest respect, and enjoys the esteem of the entire community.
L EWIS N. PARSONS, who passed to his rest in 1893, was a native of New York state. born in 1837, and a son of Isaac and Mary (Coon) Parsons, by whom he was taken to Canada when quite young. In 1851 the family removed to Illinois, and in the schools of Canada and this state our subject acquired an excellent education as he was a bright, intelligent boy, and learned rapidly. In early life he also learned the car- penter's trade, and throughout life was employed as a carpenter and architect. In 1853 he went to California, where he followed his chosen oc- cupation until 1866, when he returned to Ohio, Illinois.
In that village was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Parsons and Miss Celestia Hawkins, a prominent young lady of Palestine, Illinois. Their wedding trip consisted of a journey to California, where they continued to make their home for a decade or until 1877, when they re-
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turned to the prairie state. At Ohio Mr. Parsons engaged in carpentering and building until life's labors were ended and he was called to the other world.
He was a consistent member of the Christian church, and fraternally belonged to the Masonic order, in which he had served as worthy master. He also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He was an ar- dent republican in politics, but never aspired to public office. Public-spirited and liberal, he sup- ported all worthy enterprises calculated to bene- fit the community and promote its moral, social and material welfare. No man in Bureau coun- ty is more worthy of representation in a work of this kind than the lamented Lewis N. Parsons.
T' THE VERY REV. P. LOUIS HAAS, O. B. S., acting president of St. Bede college, Peru, Illinois, is a native of Erie, Pennsylvania, and a son of John Haas, who emigrated to Amer- ica in 1845, from Wurtemburg, Germany. John Haas is one of the old and most highly respected citizens of Erie, and though of German birth, is thoroughly Americanized, as is shown by the fact that in 1861 he shouldered his gun to the call to arms and under General Grant served in a Pennsylvania regiment, thus aiding his adopted country during her hour of peril. He bears well the infirmities of age, being still well and hearty at the age of seventy-two years. He is a member of the Catholic church, and for thirty- five years has served as collector of pew rent in one church in Erie. His wife, who was also a life-long member of the same church, and a de- vout Christian, died in 1895, at the age of sev- enty-one. Our subject belongs to a patriotic fam- ily, five of its representatives valiantly aiding the union in the late war.
Father Haas was educated at St. Vincent col- lege, near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, which is one of the oldest Catholic colleges in this country, having celebrated its centennial anniversary in August, 1896. He completed the classical, phil- osophical and theological courses in that instit11-
tion, graduating in 1878, and for several years was in charge of the same college. Later for four years he had charge of a large parish in Covington, Kentucky, and accepted liis present position in June, 1894.
St. Bede college is located a mile and a half west of Peru, and the same distance from Spring Valley, Illinois, upon the historic farm once owned by America's greatest statesman and ora- tor, Daniel Webster. A more beautiful or pic- turesque site could hardly have been selected. The institution was established in 1891 by the Benedictine fathers of St. Vincent abbey, Penn- sylvania, under the auspices of the Right Rev. J. L. Spalding, D. D., bishop of Peoria, Illinois. It is incorporated under the laws of Illinois and empowered to confer the usual academic degrees. The buildings are situated on a high elevation overlooking the Illinois river, commanding a view of one of the most beautiful and interesting portions of the state.
The college is conducted by the Benedictine fathers, who spare no pains to stimulate their pu- pils to put forth every effort that will benefit them in their studies, and the most improved methods are employed to aid in the develop- ment of natural talent. The great aim of the fathers is to make their pupils truly educated men, socially and morally as well as intellec- tually.
The buildings are all new, thoroughly venti- lated, heated by steam, furnished with electric light and provided with all modern improvements that could contribute to the comfort and con- venience of the pupils. They present a massive appearance, being five stories in height, built of brick, with Bedford stone trimmings and de- signed with special reference to healthfulness, comfort and safety. All apartments are kept warm in the coldest weather, so that the most delicate pupil can be safe and secure against all exposure to cold at St. Bede, as he could in the best arranged home. The very best water is sup- plied from an artesian well twenty-three hundred feet deep, and distributed all through the various apartments from a large stand-pipe. The under-
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ground drainage is complete, and the whole plumbing, lavatories and closets are provided with the latest inventions, so that all danger from infected water, defective drainage, close and un- healthy rooms, and especially fire, is entirely re- moved. Graded grounds, gravel walks and ave- nues, and other improvements have been made, so that the general appearance of the surround- ings is made to harmonize with the unsurpassed beauty of the interior of the college buildings.
The college possesses a library of select works. Good books and periodicals supply sources of mental refreshment, of instruction, of improve- ment and wisdom, which will enable the dili- gent and persevering student to enrich his mind with the garnered wisdom of learned men of the past and present. In short St. Bede college has the equipments and environments of a first-class institution of learning for doing good work and accomplishing its mission-the making of good scholars with all that implies. It is now pre- sided over by a most competent professor and under the leadership of Father Haas its inter- ests have been greatly advanced.
F RANCIS M. JOHNSON, an able and suc- cessful teacher of Princeton, Illinois, was born in Greene county, Ohio, near Xenia, June 15, 1842, and is a worthy representative of one of the pioneer families of Bureau county, his pa- rents being Henry M. and Margaret (Long) Johnson, the former a native of Campbell coun- ty, Virginia, and the latter of Greene county, Ohio. On coming to Illinois they first located near Bloomington, McLean county, where they tarried for awhile, and then the father purchased forty acres of land in Selby township, Bureau county, on the Princeton road, and there he erect- ed a log cabin for his home, but later sold out and bought near Malden, to which place he had his log cabin removed. This cabin was among the first in the open country there. The tract was wild, still in its primitive condition, and many wild animals, including deer, were still to be seen. The farm of one hundred and twenty acres is still in the possession of the family, and
the cedar trees set out by the father are still standing. He was a whig in early life, assisting in the log cabin and hard cider campaign of 1840, and later became a republican. His death occurred in July, 1893, but the mother is still living, making her home with her son Granville, in Princeton, at the age of seventy-three years. For some time, however, she has been an invalid. The father was originally a Methodist in relig- ious faith, but afterward joined the Presbyterian church. The paternal grandfather of our subject was a Virginian. His mother's people make their home near Princeton, she being the oldest of the family. She is the mother of four sons -- Frank M., of this review: Joseph, who was born in 1845, is farming on the home farm in Selby township; James H., who was born June 30, 1852, and died in 1879, and Granville, of Princeton.
During his boyhood, Frank M. Johnson at- tended school at Henry, was later a student in the Dover academy, and for two years in the state normal at Cedar Falls, Iowa. In 1864 he graduated from the law department of the Michi- gan university at Ann Arbor, and the following year was admitted to practice in that state, in Iowa in 1878, and in Illinois in 1880, but was obliged to give up that profession on account of failing sight. At Grundy Center he was in part- nership with Fred Gilman, who was professor of law in the law department of the state university at Iowa City, and is now an eminent attorney of Minneapolis.
Mr. Johnson returned to the profession of teaching, which he had previously followed, his first certificate dating back to 1859, and he has successfully taught in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa, having at different times taught in all grades and having been principal of several schools. He is a competent and thorough in- structor.
On the 16th of September, 1879, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage with Miss Ida L. Wat- son, a native of Bureau county, and one of the five children born to Elias W. and Phidelia (Fisk) Watson, the others being Carrie, at home:
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Charles A., who married Belle Gilchrist, a rela- tive of Congressman Henderson, and is engaged in business in Princeton; Wm. S., operating the home farm for his parents, which is located two miles north of Malden, and Jennie M., wife of F. S. Wright, of Princeton. To Mr. and Mrs. John- son have been born three children-Ada Grace, a pupil of the high school of Princeton; Jay Howard, and Panza E.
Mrs. Johnson is an earnest member of the Congregational church, and socially our subject is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, having, after his graduation, in April, 1864, en- listed at Princeton in Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served until mustered out in November, 1865. He did post duty on the Mississippi, and marched through Missouri and Kentucky, where he par- ticipated in several skirmishes against Price. He advocates bimetallism and protection and gives his unwavering support to the republican party. Besides his school duties for the past ten years he has dealt in Iowa and Illinois lands, and has also sold property for the Illinois Central and Rock Island railroad companies.
J OHN M. ISAAC. As a representative of the
intelligent and hardy pioneers who opened up Bureau county for settlement. and have since taken a conspicuous part in developing it, we are pleased to place in this volume a brief sketch of the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this notice. For many years he was one of the active, energetic and progressive farmers of Ber- lin township, during which time he acquired an ample competence which enables him to lay aside business cares, so that he is now living a retired life in the village of Malden, surrounded by all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.
He is a native of Illinois, born in Paris, Edgar county, May 13, 1830. His father, Elias Isaac. whose birth occurred in North Carolina, in 1804, came to this state when a young married man, locating first at Hennepin, where he engaged in the tanning business and in the manufacture of leather. It was in 1834 that he brought his fam-
ily to Bureau county, locating in the midst of the wilderness upon a half section of land in Berlin township, where he opened up a farm. He was an active and successful farmer, a useful and influential citizen, and became well and favor- ably known throughout Bureau and adjoining counties. He dealt extensively in lands and be- came quite well-to-do. In Indiana he married Miss Mary Black, a native of Kentucky, but who was reared in that state. He died upon the home farm here August 19, 1885, at the ripe old age of eighty-two years, and she survived him about four years, dying in 1889. Their remains were interred side by side in the Malden cemetery, where a monument has been erected to their memory.
John M. Isaac is one of a family of six sons and four daughters who grew to mature years, namely: Allen is a farmer of Allen county, Kansas; Mrs. Ardilla Stevenson, of Lamoille, is now deceased; John M. is next in order of birth; William is a prominent business man of Malden; Mahala is the wife of William Winans, of Iowa; James is a resident of Hastings, Nebraska, and Mrs. Nancy Height is now deceased; Milton was a physician, who died at Corinth, Miss., while temporarily filling the position of assistant surgeon; Martin, a school teacher, died about 1862; Mrs. Mary Cass is a widow living in La- moille township.
In the usual manner of farmer lads on a fron- tier settlement, Mr. Isaac, of this review, was reared, and although he is now a well informed man, during his boyhood he was only able to attend the district schools for a few months in the winter. His knowledge, therefore, has been mostly self-acquired in later years. Until twenty- three years of age he remained upon the home farm and then started out in life for himself as an agriculturist.
On the 22d of January, 1854, in Bureau coun- ty, Mr. Isaac was joined in wedlock with Miss Celia Bayliff Jay, a native of Ohio, and a step- daughter of George Jay, now deceased. He be- came a prominent farmer of Bureau county, where Mrs. Isaac was reared and educated. They
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have no children of their own, but gave homes to two from childhood until they reached matur- ity, providing then with every advantage. They are Joseph Isaac, a man of excellent business ability, now holding a responsible position at Bat- tle Creek, Michigan, and Bettie, wife of Marion Doty, a farmer of Berlin township.
After his marriage, Mr. Isaac purchased a tract of eighty acres of land near the old home- stead, which he broke and improved, and to which he later added sixty acres, making a valu- able farm of one hundred and forty acres. This he continued to cultivate for thirty-seven long years, but in 1891 rented his place and removed to Malden, where he purchased a comfortable residence, and has since resided.
Politically, Mr. Isaac is identified with the re- publican party, but cast his first vote for James Buchanan in 1856. Since that time, however, he has supported every presidential candidate put forward by the republican party, and is deeply interested in the success of his party. He has never been an aspirant for office, but being a friend of our public school system, did effective work as a member of the school board for sev- eral years. Formerly both himself and wife were active members of the Christian church, but since the disorganization of the congregation to which they belonged they have not held mem- bership with any religious denomination.
For sixty-two long years Mr. Isaac has now made his home in Bureau county, and to-day he is one of the few old settlers left to tell the story of pioneer days, when the county was almost an unbroken wilderness, when wild game of all kinds abounded and the homes of the inhabitants were widely scattered. In the wonderful transforma- tion that has taken place, he has ably borne his share, and is justly entitled to an honored place among the pioneers and representative citizens of this section of the state, where he is so widely and favorably known.
H ENRY S. SWARTS, an energetic and reli- able farmer residing on section 30, Dover township, Bureau county, was born on the 27th
of August, 1844, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, a son of Owen Swarts, who was a native of the same county, where his father, David Swarts, had located on coming to America from Wales. There Owen grew to manhood and married Lydia A. Bruner, who was born in Pennsyl- vania, of German parentage, and in that state her death occurred. After farming for a num- ber of years in Bucks county, the father emi- grated to Illinois, in 1852, first taking up his residence at Quincy, Adams county, to which place he removed by way of the Ohio and Mis- sissippi rivers. In 1857 he came to Bureau county and purchased a farm in Dover township, section 30, adjoining the one on which our sub- ject now resides. There his death occurred Oc- tober 27, 1859.
Our subject is one of a family of three sons and two daughters, four of whom grew to man and womanhood. Joel came to Illinois in 1852, was here married, and died in Dover township, Bureau county, April, 1865: Margaret wedded John M. Matthews, and died in California in 1865; Addie married Mason Potts, and died in Princeton, April, 1885.
By the second marriage to Rebecca Stone, Mr. Swarts had five children: Helen, who died in 1858; Ella was married to Dr. W. H. Lachman, and died in Anaheim, California, in 1896; Em- ma, who married Mason Lachman, now resides in Bureau township; Amie is the wife of Dr Al- fred Barter, living in Anaheim, California, and Ona became the wife of Robert Lincoln, a dent- ist at La Grande, Oregon.
Mr. Swarts, of this review, is the only one of the children by the first marriage now living. He accompanied his father on his removal to Bureau county in 1857, and completed his edu- cation at the Miller and Wagner school at Prince- ton, known as the Bureau County academy. After his father's death he made his home with his brother-in-law for a few years, and in 1864 crossed the plains to California, leaving Prince- ton on the 12th of April, and arriving in Stock- ton September 12. For two years, or until his sister's death, he was with his brother-in-law in
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a grocery store at Marysville, California, and then returned by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New York city to Princeton. He then went on a farm with his brother-in-law, Mr. Potts, and in 1868 began farming on his own account, oper- ating rented land for several years. Subsequent- ly he purchased eighty acres in Dover township, which he.cultivated until 1876, when he rented that tract, and for two years leased the farm on which he now resides. . He then sold out and purchased the latter place, which comprises one hundred and sixty acres of arable land and sev- enty acres of timber. His home is a neat brick residence, 'and is surrounded by good barns and other outbuildings, whose neat appearance testi- fies to the thrift and industry of the owner.
On the 18th of July, 1870, in Dover township, Mr. Swarts was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Cusic, who was born on the farm where she now resides, and is a daughter of Dennis A. Cusic, a pioneer of the county. He entered the land from the government, walking to the land office in Galena, and broke and improved the farm where his death occurred. Nine children have been born to the parents of Mrs. Swarts, six sons and three daughters, all still living. Three brothers, Frank, Albert and Marshall, are resi- dents of Chicago, and are traveling salesmen for a boot and shoe house of that city; another brother, Oscar, is a carpenter of Princeton, and Thomas is a merchant in Massena, Iowa; Lamuel is a clerk in a store at Jerseyville, Illinois. Of the daughters, Anna was married to Henry Smith, a farmer of Princeton township; Clarinda is the wife of Eli Smith, living in Earlville, Illi- nois, and Mary. Three children grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. Swarts-Frank O., who was given good educational privileges and is now as- sisting in the labors of the home farm; Addie, who expects to graduate from the Princeton high school in the class of 1897, and Howard W., who is also a student in that school.
Fraternally, Mr. Swarts is connected with the Masonic order, the Modern Woodmen of Ameri- ca and the Knights of the Globe, while politically he has been a stalwart republican since voting for
Lincoln in 1864. For three terms he served as assessor of his township, was also collector six terms, township clerk one term, supervisor four years and school director sixteen years. His ser- vices in public interests have ever been loyal and patriotic, while his career in private life is one that commends him to the confidence and re- spect of all. He has also acceptably served a's a delegate to many county conventions of his party. His estimable wife holds membership in the Methodist Protestant church of Princeton, while he is a member of the North Prairie Baptist church of Heaton Point. Mr. Swarts has the confidence and respect of all who know him. The utmost fidelity marks the discharge of all his duties, whether public or private.
JOHN F. HYDE, deceased, was one of the prominent and influential citizens of Buda, as well as one of its leading business men. He was an eastern man by birth and training, but possessed the true progressive spirit of the west which has produced in the Mississippi valley a development and advancement that places this section of the country on a par with the older east.
Mr. Hyde was born in Sturbridge, Massachu- setts, August 5, 1817, a son of Joshua and Sarah (Fay) Hyde, and was reared on a New England farm. His primary education was received in the common schools, and he subsequently at- tended an academy He was thrice married, his first union being with Sarah Eldridge, who died without issue. By his second marriage he had two children, namely: Mrs. Lizzie Gleason, who died leaving four children, and Frederick A., of Aurora, Nebraska, a teacher in the high school, who is married and has three children.
In the old bay state, on the 26th of April, 1870, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Hyde and Miss Harriet A. Howard, of Monson, that state. She is a native of Stafford, Connecticut, and a daughter of Alonzo A. and Angeline (Colton) Howard. During her girlhood she was provided with good common school advantages, and is a well-cultured and most estimable lady.
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Shortly after his second marriage Mr. Hyde and his wife removed to Henry county, Illinois, where he had previously invested in property, but in 1871 they became residents of Buda. For a few years he was agent for a sewing machine company, and about 1884, in connection with Messrs. Beckwith and Foster, embarked in the banking business in that village. He continued in that business until called from this life on the 3d of September, 1889.
On attaining his majority, Mr. Hyde became identified with the democratic party, but later joined the ranks of the republican party, and on that ticket was elected mayor of Buda, which in- portant position he filled for a few years to the satisfaction of all concerned. He was well fitted for public life, and his strong force of character and undoubted integrity early gained the confi- dence of the people, who saw in him a man whom they could trust as a guide. He was a worthy member of the Congregational church, to which his faithful wife also belongs, and his memory will be long cherished by the many who were the recipients of his countless acts of benevolence and kindness.
J AMES SMITH, of La Prairie township, is a worthy representative of that hardy race whose love for their own land-"bonnie Scot- land"-never dies. The habits and customs of the race have a peculiar fascination, and how- ever widely separated from their own land, the true Scotchman never loses his interest in it. As citizens of the new world, there are none bet- ter, and no section of the country but has a hearty welcome for these people.
The first to locate in this section of Illinois from Scotland was George Scott, who located in the northern part of Peoria county, near the Mar- shall county line, in 1836 or 1837, near where the McLaughlins now reside. He came from Dum- friesshire, Scotland, but after a residence of about ten years returned to his native land and there died. Mr. Scott was an uncle of our subject.
The second family to locate here was that of William Smith, the father of James. His wife
was Romina Scott, a sister of George Scott. They came to this locality in 1840 from Dumfries- shire, Scotland, and settled at "Hardscrabble," Steuben township, on a farm belonging to John Hammett. The farm was on the prairie adjoin- ing the timber. Here William Smith lived for three years, dying in the spring of 1843. His family consisted of three sons and one daughter -William, James, Andrew and Mary. The lat- ter married Robert Turnbull, of La Prairie town- ship, and died some years since. William yet re- sides in La Prairie township, and is a highly re- spected farmer.
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