USA > Illinois > Bureau County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 69
USA > Illinois > Marshall County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 69
USA > Illinois > Putnam County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 69
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TONAS DIVELBISS. This gentleman occu-
pies no unimportant position among the leading citizens of Henry, where he is now living a retired life, passing his declining years in ease, and enjoying the respect and confidence of his fellow men in the highest degree. He was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1819, a son of John and Catherine (Russell) Divelbiss, the former of whom was a native of Maryland, and the latter of the keystone state. His pater- nal grandfather, Michael Divelbiss, in company with his brother George, came from Germany to America in 1731 and settled in Maryland, the former in Hagerstown and the latter in Fred- erickstown. In their journal appears the fol- lowing: "Michael Divelbiss and George Divel- biss, raised in Palatinate, sailed from Rotterdam, Holland, September 16, 1731, in the English ship Brittania, Captain Franklin. The ship touched at Southampton." The grandfather served throughout the entire Revolutionary war in the Continental army. He continued to reside at Hagerstown until his children were all grown, and then removed to Franklin county, Pennsyl- vania, where his death occurred at a ripe old age. His family were as follows: John, Jacob, Michael, George, David, Frederick, who was a soldier of the war of 1812; and Catherine, wife of David Miley. All had gone to Kentucky before the parents' removal to Pennsylvania, and have now passed away.
John Divelbiss, the father of our subject, learned the tanner's trade with his father, later worked at saddle-tree making until his marriage, and then followed the occupation of a farmer. He was well educated, having attended a German school for seven years and an English school four years. He was a natural mathematician, an ex- cellent accountant and was well informed on the leading subjects of the day. For fifteen years he served as justice of the peace by appointment
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of the governor of Pennsylvania and for the same period filled the position by election.
Our subject is the youngest in a family of ten children, the others being as follows: Jacob, a wagon-maker by trade, married Catherine Schenck, and removed to Springfield, Illinois, where his death occurred; John, born in 1800, came to Illinois, but later went to Kansas, where he passed away ; Michael, emigrated to Ohio and later went to Indiana, where he opened up a farm and there died near Columbia City. He married Miss Margaret Schwenck, daughter of one of the Hessian soldiers, who were hired to aid the Brit- ish in the Revolution; George, a shoemaker by trade, wedded Mary Fosnough, and on coming to Illinois first located in the city of Peoria, but spent his last days upon a farm in Peoria county ; Frederick married Miss Elizabeth Heniline, and died in Huntingdon county, Indiana, February 25, 1896, at the age of eighty-seven; Daniel, a wagon-maker by trade, married Rosana Phenicie, and died at Angola, Indiana; Samuel moved to Peoria county, Illinois, in 1845, and after a time spent in that county went with our subject to Marshall county in 1850. In 1875, while he and his wife were on their way to camp meeting in Stark county, Illinois, his team became frightened by the cars and ran away, throwing him out of the buggy. After three days' unconsciousness he passed away. Both he and his wife were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church; Catherine, who married Jacob McCown, and Margaret, who married John McAtee, spent their entire lives in Pennsylvania.
Being reared to agricultural pursuits, Jonas Divelbiss continued to follow the same through- out his active business life, and still owns a good farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Mar- shall county, which he rents. He and his brother purchased a soldier's warrant and entered land in the county, the cultivation and improvement of which he continued until his removal to Henry. He was numbered among the substantial, enter- prising and energetic farmers of the county, and is one of the honored and valued citizens of the community, one who has the happy faculty of
easily making friends and retaining them. His political support is unswervingly given the re- publican party, and in early life he was a whig. casting his first presidential ballot for Willian? Henry Harrison. Although he has acceptably filled several local offices, he cares nothing for political distinction.
In Pennsylvania, on the IIth of February, 1845, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Divel- biss and Miss Nancy Phinicie, who was born May 16, 1816, a daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Long) Phinicie. She died May 24, 1891. She was a faithful member of the Dunkard church. One child was born of this union; Francis Louisa, now the wife of Newton Ray, a retired farmer of Chillicothe, Illinois, by whom she has two chil- dren: Cludia Madge and Clemens Sumner.
Mr. Divelbiss was again married May 6, 1894. his second union being with Mrs. Sarah N. He- cock, a native of Canada and a daughter of Charles and Britanna (Howard) Davison. Her mother was also born in Canada, and was the daughter of Dr. Peter Howard, an eminent phy- sician of that country. Charles Davison was born in Massachusetts, July 7, 1800, and died September 3, 1873. He was twice married, his first wife being Britannia Ellis, by whom he had three children: Patrick, Elizabeth and one who died in infancy. After her death he wedded Britanna Howard, who was born August 17, 1806, and died May 30, 1851, and they became the parents of six children: Amelia, widow of Rev. John Breden, a Wesleyan minister of On- tario, Canada; Charles B., also a resident of On- tario; Mrs. Divelbiss; Peter H. and Adaniram J., who died in infancy ; and Emma T., wife of Frank Phillips, a farmer of Lawrence county, South Dakota. The parents of these children were faithful members of the Baptist church, in which Mr. Davison served as deacon for many years.
On the 3Ist of August, 1848, was consummated the marriage of Russell E. Hecock and Miss Sarah N. Davison, and immediately after their marriage they came to the United States. He was born in Canada, December 19, 1816, and first came to Illinois in 1837, locating on the Fox
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river, where for some time he worked at the mason's trade. Later he went to what is now the city of Chicago, and in 1841, came to Mar- shall county. After working at his trade in Henry, in 1857, he removed to a farm a mile north of that city, which he made his home until his death February 22, 1889. He was one of the family of ten children born to Nathan and Eliza- beth Hecock. His sister Elizabeth is the widow of John Hindmarsh, who was killed by lightning and was the first to be interred in the new Henry cemetery. Another sister, Minerva, is the wife of a Mr. Gyle, of Canada. Mr. Hecock was a charter member of the Odd Fellows society of Henry, and was one of the honored pioneers and well known citizens of Marshall county. For four years after her husband's death, Mrs. He- cock continued upon the farm, and then re- moved to Henry, where she later became the wife of Mr. Divelbiss. She is a most highly esteemed lady and a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
With her for the past twenty years has re- sided Miss Mary E. Smith, a daughter of Thomas T. and Maria R. (Eggleston) Smith, natives of Westchester county, New York, both now de- ceased, the former dying in 1866, at the age of fifty-eight years, and the latter in 1859, at the age of fifty-two. Mary E. is the youngest of their three children, the oldest being Warren E. and the other Prosper E., who was a soldier in the Union army during the civil war. Her maternal grand- father, Prosper Eggleston, was a revolutionary soldier, and erected his house on the site where General Washington camped. In 1872, Miss Smith came to Illinois, and soon afterward took up her abode with Mrs. Divelbiss. She too is a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
E BENEZER S. PHELPS, a leading furniture dealer and undertaker of Princeton, where he established his present business in 1860, is a native of Hampshire county, Massachusetts, and a son of Charles and Mary Phelps, whose births
also occurred in the old bay state. In Princeton our subject was reared and educated, having come here with his parents in 1836, and at Springfield, Illinois, learned the cabinetmaker's trade. From 1856 until 1859 he worked at his trade at Cedar Falls, Black Hawk county, Iowa, and then returned to Princeton, where for a time he was employed with his father-in-law, E. M. Fisher, in the circuit clerk's office.
As before stated, Mr. Phelps began the fur- niture business in 1860, under the firm name of W. H. Green & Company, but a year later pur- chased his partner's interest, conducting the busi- ness alone until 1870, under the name of E. S. Phelps. For three years the firm was then Phelps Brothers, his partner being his brother George, who returned to Massachusetts. Then Charles Phelps, his father, took brother George's place under the style of E. S. Phelps & Company, and this partnership lasted until the death of the father, in July, 1874. In 1882, our subject sold out to P. J. Newell. In 1889, Mr. Phelps re- sumed business again, becoming a member of the firm of Phelps, Houck & Company, which was composed of E. S. Phelps, C. W. Carpenter and G. W. Houck. Our subject purchased Mr. Houck's interest in 1892, and the firm name has since been changed to The Phelps Furniture Company, Mr. Carpenter still retaining his share in the concern. They carry a large and complete stock of furniture in order to satisfy the de- mands of their extensive trade, and their under- taking establishment is also complete, including a fine hearse. They receive a liberal share of the public patronage, and their business is on a good and solid footing.
On the 20th of December, 1857, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Phelps and Miss Sarah A. Fisher, daughter of E. M. and Jane Fisher, of Belmont county, Ohio. One child graces their union, Harry P., now in the boot and shoe busi- ness in Kansas City, Missouri. He married Emma Farnham, daughter of Rev. Lucien Farn- ham, one of the oldest ministers in the Congrega- tional church, of Princeton, Illinois, and who died at Newark, Kendall county, Illinois. The
E. S. PHELPS.
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wife of our subject is an earnest member of the Congregational church of Princeton, while so- cially he is connected with the Masonic order, and politically is a firm prohibitionist. They are well known and highly respected citizens, and have a host of warm personal friends in the community.
JAMES E. PORTERFIELD, manager and stockholder of the Toluca Lumber & Hard- ware Company, and one of the wide-awake and energetic business men of Toluca, is a native son of Illinois, his birth occurring near Dover, in Bureau county, October 9, 1849, and with the commercial and agricultural interests of this sec- tion of the state he has been prominently identi- fied. His father, James Porterfield, Sr., was a native of Belmont county, Ohio, and a son of John Porterfield, who was born in the north of Ireland, and on coming to the new world first located in Pennsylvania, but finally settled in Bel- mont county, Ohio, where he engaged in farm- ing throughout the remainder of his life. In his family were sixteen children, all of whom reached years of maturity. The father of our subject was reared and educated in the county of his nativity, and in 1836 emigrated to Bureau county, Illinois, where he married Eliza Brigham, a native of New Hampshire, and they became the parents of three children: Joseph B., of Normal, Illinois, who is married and has two children; John, of Fullerton, Nebraska, who is married and has six' children, and James E., of this review. After the death of his first wife the father was again mar- ried, but had no children by the second union.
James Porterfield, Sr., was one of the honored pioneers of Bureau county, where he entered government land, and although he was in limited circumstances on his arrival, by industry, enter- prise and good management, became well-to-do. Being a strong anti-slavery man, he assisted many a helpless negro on his way to Canada and freedom, and aided Lovejoy and Holbrook in their good work. He was a consistent and ac- tive member of the Congregational church. His
oldest son was in the one hundred days service during the civil war.
Upon the home farm in Bureau county our subject grew to manhood, and besides the coun- try schools also attended an academy. At the age of nineteen he began teaching, which pro- fession he successfully followed for four years. On the 25th of December, 1872, Mr. Porter- field was united in marriage with Miss Icedora Miller, daughter of Henry J. and Jennie (Will- iams) Miller. Two daughters blessed their union: Edna, who was born near Spring Valley, ac- quired her education in Princeton and at Oberlin college, Ohio. She is now the wife of C. A. Brown, of Princeton, by whom she has one son, James E. Ada Lois, the younger daughter, is at home.
For a few years after his marriage, Mr. Porter- field followed farming in Illinois, and then re- moved to Wilson county, Kansas, where he dealt in live stock for over a year. On account of his wife's health he returned to Bureau county, where he remained until 1881, when he went to Emporia, Kansas, where for a year he engaged in stock dealing. Subsequently he purchased land in Greenwood county, that state, where he still owns eight hundred and seventy-five acres of productive and well stocked land. Two years later he again came to Illinois, this time locating in La Salle, where he engaged in the manufac- ture of brick and tile for a short time, and then re- moved to a farm near Spring Valley. Later he became connected with the Spring Valley Coal Company, and in 1885 again turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which he followed for three years. On the expiration of that time he embarked in the grocery and shoe business at Spring Valley, being at that place during the memorable miners' strike. For a few years he was in the employ of a lumber firm in that city, and in 1893 came to Toluca, to accept his present position, which he has since filled to the satis- faction of all parties concerned. He is also a director and stockholder in the First National bank of Toluca, and secretary of the Devlin Coal company. He is a man of good executive ability,
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sound judgment, and is one of the most capable business men of Marshall county.
Mr. Porterfield is a firm adherent in the princi- ples of the republican party, which he has always supported since casting his first vote for General Grant in 1872, but has never cared for the honors or emoluments of public office, preferring to give his exclusive time and attention to his business interests. He is a faithful member of the Congre- gational church, and while a resident of Spring Valley served as trustee of the church at that place.
E LIZA A. CAMP, nee Ham, widow of Abner Camp, is one of the honored and highly esteeined residents of Henry, Illinois. She was born in Dover, New Hampshire, April 27, 1817, and is a daughter of Titus and Nancy (Purse) Ham, natives of New Hampshire and Massa- chusetts respectively. She is descended from good old Revolutionary stock, her parental grand- father having aided the colonies in their struggle for independence, while her father was a valiant soldier of the war of 1812. By occupation the latter was a farmer, and was a man widely and favorably known. He died at Dover, New Hamp- shire, as did also his faithful wife. In their family were eight children, two sons and six daughters, of whom four are still living. Mary, a sister of our subject, is the wife of David Littlefield, of New Hampshire; Louisa is the widow of Leander Hough, and a resident of Massachusetts; and Carrie E. completes the family.
Since 1852, Mrs. Camp has been a resident of Henry, Illinois, where was celebrated her mar- riage with Abner Camp in 1853. He was a native of New York, and from 1870, until 1887, con- ducted a hotel at Henry, of which place he was an old and respected resident. In politics he was an ardent republican, and was a great temperance worker. He was well known and honored throughout the community as a man of inflexible honor and stability of character.
Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Camp: Clara Belle, who is with her mother, and Charles A., who is now conducting the Camp
house. He married Miss Ella S. Leech, a native of Hennepin, Illinois, and to them was born a son, Ivan C., who was born in 1882, and died in 1887. The primary education of Charles A. Camp was obtained in the public schools of Henry, and he later attended Grand Prairie semi- nary, where he was graduated in 1875. Two years later he took charge of the hotel, which he has since successfully carried on. Since Mr. Camp took charge of the Camp hotel, he has made many improvements, among which is a bath house, where the luxury of a hot sulphur bath can always be had. The Camp house is widely known for its good table and hospitable management, and is the leading and most popu- lar hostelry of the city and county. He is a recognized leader in the republican party of this community, and on that ticket was twice elected alderman of Henry. He is now acceptably serv- ing his second year as mayor of the city. The system of putting down permanent cement walks was inaugurated by Mayor Camp and has been pretty thoroughly carried out, and few cities in the state are supplied with better sidewalks. He also had established a curb line which was a much needed reform. The manner in which its various public interests are being managed and adjusted gives ample evidence of the efficiency and good judgment of its present head.
H I ENRY WINK. Among the citizens of Toluca who are of German birth is the gentleman of whom this narrative is written. He was reared in his native land, and there learned the traits of economy and frugality which have been the source of his present competency. Many of the best citizens of Marshall county are his countrymen, and they almost invariably merit and receive the esteem and respect of the com- munity to the same degree that he does. For several years he was actively engaged in farming, but is now living a retired life.
Mr. Wink was born in Kur Hassen, Germany, July 19, 1832, a son of Herman and Elizabeth (Eigenbroedt) Wink, and was reared in the usual manner of farmer boys. Until fourteen years of
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age he attended school, and then began learning the tailor's trade, but did not follow the same long as his services were needed upon the home farm. At the age of twenty he entered the German army, in which he valiantly served for three years, and'at one time his regiment was ordered to the front in the Crimean war, but the order was countermanded before they started.
In 1856, Mr. Wink bade good-by to the friends and scenes of his youth, and at Bremen took passage on a sailing vessel bound for America, which it reached after a voyage of eight weeks and four days. Landing at New Orleans, he came up the Mississippi to St. Louis, a trip that required twelve days, and near that city worked on a farmi for one year. Subsequently he was similarly employed for the same length of time in Putnam county, Illinois, and then operated a rented farm for a couple of years.
In Putnam county, November 19, 1858, Mr. Wink was united in marriage with Miss Anna Henn, with whom he was acquainted in the fatherland, she too being a native of Germany. Four children came to bless their union: Joseph is a well educated man, having attended school at Lacon, Rutland and Chicago. Henry J., who is living on the old home farm, is married and has one son, George. Lizzie is the wife of Henry Falk, a farmer of Bennington township, Marshall county, by whom she has two children, William and Dora. Annie is the wife of Conrad Leesge, also a farmer of Bennington township, and they have one child, Edgar, born July 4, 1895. Mr. Wink has been called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away on the Ist of August, 1896, and was laid to rest in the German burying ground near La Rose. She was a highly es- teemed lady, and a member of the Lutheran church, to which her husband and children also belong.
In 1863, Mr. Wink came to Marshall county, and for five years cultivated a rented farm in Belle Plain township, after which he purchased one hundred and twenty-five acres in Bennington township, that he still owns. Later he added to this another eighty acres, and continued the culti-
vation and improvement of his land until Decem- ber, 1892, when he removed to Toluca, where the year previously he had established the fourth store in the place, then being conducted by his son. He is now, however, living retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil. After taking out his naturalization papers he voted for Lincoln in 1864, but is now independent in politics, support- ing the man whom he considers best qualified for the office, regardless of party ties. He has served as a delegate to various conventions, and has held the offices of assessor for three terms and collector once. Coming to this country in limited circumstances he has been the architect of his own fortunes, and is deserving of the high- est commendation. Possessing the esteem and respect of the entire community, he may well be ranked among the honest and representative Ger- man citizens of Marshall county. His honor and integrity are unimpeachable, his word being con- sidered as good as his bond,
G EORGE M. LOCKE, salesman for the White Bronze Monumental Works, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, is a well known and leading citizen of Henry, Illinois. He was born in Knox county, this state, April 20, 1841, and traces his ancestry back to Capt. John Locke, who came to the new world from Yorkshire, England, in 1638, and located first at Dover, New Hampshire, whence he removed to Fort Point, the same state, in 1652. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of William Berry, the first settler of Hampton, New Hampshire, locating at what is now Sandy Beach, but was then called Rye Beach. There the Locke family meet annually on the 24th of August to celebrate the anniver- sary of John Locke. They come from nearly every state of the Union, and often as high as three hundred will be present.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, John Locke, the fifth in descent from Capt. John Locke, known as "Honest John, the miller," was born in 1769, and married Mercy Dame, by whom he had the following children: Sarah, Daniel, William, Elizabeth, Abner, John, Abigail,
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Abner D., Silas, Sampson B. and Mercy D. The no intoxicants would be furnished. He issued father of this family was the owner of a grist mill, and as toll keeper derived his title of "Honest John," by never exacting more than the right amount of toll. He and his family were all born at Barrington, New Hampshire.
Capt. John Locke was an energetic man, noted for his bravery in defending the town of Barring- ton from the Indians, but at the hands of the red men he met his death. While at work in the harvest field, August 24, 1696, he was attacked by eight Indians, but succeeded in killing seven of them with the sickle he was using, which is now numbered among the relics of the Historical society of New Hampshire. The boy who was with him in the field escaped by hiding in a shock of grain, and by him the story was told. The place where he was killed was formerly known as Joselyns Neck, but was subsequently changed to Locke's Neck. Our subject has in his possession a scalping hatchet used by the Indians, and given him by his maternal grand- father, Ephraim Hoyt.
His parents, Silas and Hannah L. (Hoyt) Locke, were natives of Barrington, New Hamp- shire, and Remsen, Oneida county, New York, respectively, and in their family were four chil- dren: George M., Silas H., Washington B., de- ceased, and Mercy V. The mother, who was born February 5, 1807, is still living in Henry in the enjoyment of good health, and is one of the honored pioneers of the state, having come here with her parents in 1835. She is a relative of General Sherman, through the Hoyt family, her mother and the general's mother being first cousins.
Silas Locke, the father of our subject, was born November 17, 1807, and early in life served as foreman in a carpenter shop in Boston. On coming to Illinois he first located in Tazewell county, but after his marriage went to house- keeping in a little cabin near Victoria, Knox county, which is still standing. In 1844, he came to Henry, where his death occurred on the 2nd of February, 1849. Here he erected what is now the Paskell hotel with the distinct understanding that
his manifesto that there would be plenty to cat and drink except liquor. It was the first hotel which refused to supply intoxicants, but it met with success. His house was open for services of any religious denomination, Protestant or Catholic. For a number of years he was an ac- tive member and leader of the choir in the Metho- dist Episcopal church, but finally withdrew, though he always attended services. He was very strict in his observance of the Sabbath and all religious duties. Being a fine musician, his services were in demand at an early day in giv- ing lessons in that art. He was an enthusiastic supporter of General Harrison during the cam- paign of 1840, and built a log cabin on wheels which he took around to the different rallies in Knox county. He was a prominent and influ- ential citizen, and has the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact.
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