USA > Illinois > Bureau County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 73
USA > Illinois > Marshall County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 73
USA > Illinois > Putnam County > The Biographical record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 73
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Politically, Mr. Parks is a free silver republican, but has never had any aspirations for public office, preferring to give his time and attention to his farm and other business interests. He has made several trips back to his old Virginia home, visiting the friends and scenes of his boyhood and youth, and has often visited his children in the beautiful state of Colorado. He has been called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died January 20, 1876, and was laid to rest in Elmira cemetery. The family are members of the Baptist church.
For forty-two long years Mr. Parks has been identified with the growth and development of Bureau county, taken an active interest in its welfare and upbuilding and has always supported those enterprises which he believed were for the best interests of the community. Although he has now passed his eighty-fourth year, he is still enjoying good health, and is spending the even- ing of life surrounded by many kindred and warm friends who delight to do him honor. His exemplary habits, strict integrity, upright and honorable life have gained him universal respect and we are pleased to present this brief record of his life to the readers of this volume.
J' OHN ARMSTRONG, a stalwart and sturdy representative of the noble yeomanry who make up the agricultural population of Bureau county, is living upon section 32, Neponset town- ship, where he owns a valuable farm of two hun- dred and forty acres that he has placed under a high state of cultivation and improved with ex- cellent farm buildings.
Like many of the best people of this section of the state, Mr. Armstrong is a Scotchman by birth, born in Roxburghshire, three miles from the English line, on the 17th of February, 1836. His father, William Armstrong, also a native of the same county, was a stone mason by trade, and spent his entire life in Bonnie Scotland, his death there occurring in 1876. He wedded Margaret Telfar, who was also born there and died in 1882. Of their family of four sons and three daughters, all grew to mature years, and with the except on
of one son all are still living. Three are still residents of their native land, but the others have come to the United States. Mary, is the wife of J. H. Turnbull, of Elmira, Illinois; Walter, a farmer living near Creston, Iowa, and John, of this review.
The childhood and youth of the last named were passed in Scotland, where he attended school, and at the age of twelve years began learning the mason's trade with his father, work- ing at the same until coming to America in 1856. when a young man of twenty years. He first lo- cated in Elmira, Stark county, Illinois, where for three and a half years he worked by the month.
On coming to Bureau county in 1859, he rent- ed a farm for one year, and then purchased eighty acres of raw land, upon which he now re- sides. He at once began its development and cultivation and soon transformed the wild tract into richly cultivated fields. Twice he has added eighty acres to the original purchase, so that he now has a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres of rich and arable land. His comfortable and commodious two-story residence is surround- ed by neat and substantial barns and out-build- ings which testify to the thrift and enterprise of the owner. He started out in life here with nothing but his own indomitable energy, and his accumulation of this world's goods may be attributed to his sound judgment, good business ability, perseverance and industry.
In Stark county, on the 6th of June, 1864, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Armstrong and Miss Ellen Hall, who was born in the same vil- lage as her husband, where they were rearcd. She came to the United States with her mother in 1854, settling in Stark county. Of the children William, is married and is engaged in farm- ing in Stark county; Mary, at home; Charles. who assists in the operation of the home farm; Harry, who is attending college at Quincy, Illi- nois, and Jennie, Nellie, John, Andrew and Martha, all at home.
Politically, Mr. Armstrong is identified with the republican party, and has supported that party since casting his first presidential vote for
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Abraham Lincoln, in 1864. He has never cared for office, preferring to give his exclusive atten- tion to his business interests, but being a firm friend of our public schools, has acceptably serv- ed as a member of the school board for twelve years. He and his wife hold membership in the United Presbyterian church of Elmira. For forty years, Mr. Armstrong has now made his home in Illinois, during which time he has wit- nessed most of its growth and development and in the advancement of this section has borne an important part. As a citizen of the community in which he has so long lived and been so active, he is highly respected, enjoying the confidence and esteem of his neighbors, and the respect of all with whom he has come in contact in the various walks of life. He takes a genuine inter- est in the enterprises set on foot for the progress and welfare of his adopted county, and is one of the public-spirited and progressive men of the community.
JAMES H. MCLAIN, M. D., possessing the typical, progressive spirit of the west, stands to-day a leading representative of the medical fraternity of Bureau county. He is now located in the village of Bureau, and throughout the sur- rounding country has an extensive practice, which his skill and ability justly merits.
The doctor was born in Licking county, Ohio, September 15, 1864, and is a son of John W. Mc- Lain, a native of Pennsylvania who brought his family to Crawford county, Illinois, in 1865, lo- cating upon a farm where our subject was reared to manhood. His preliminary education was ob- tained in the common schools, but this was sup- plemented by a course at the college of Danville, Indiana. In 1888 he graduated from the Ken- tricky School of Medicine at Louisville, and dur- ing the following five years was successfully en- gaged in practice at Yale, Jasper county, Ilinois.
Coming to Bureau, Illinois, in January, 1893. Dr. MeLain at once entered upon a large and lu- crative practice which has steadily increased, and he has met with remarkable success in his chosen profession, being successful in his treatment of
several very severe and peculiar cases since lo- cating here. While a resident of Crawford coun- ty, he was a member of the medical society there, and now holds membership in the Illinois State Medical association and the Bureau County Medical society. On the 15th of September, 1888, Dr. McLain led to the marriage altar Miss Allie Barlow, a daughter of Thomas Barlow, of Eaton, Crawford county. They have made many warm friends since locating in Bureau, and in social circles hold an enviable position.
J OHN SCOTT, one of the able and prominent attorneys at law of Princeton as well as a farmer, stock raiser and stock feeder, was born in Harrison county, Ohio, on the 19th of December, 1840, and is a son of John and Mary (Boyce) Scott, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respec- tively. The grandfather, Scott, came with his parents from Scotland when he was four years of age, and settled in Westmoreland county. He was a surveyor. The educational privileges of the father were very good for that early day, and he became an excellent penman, a most success- ful school teacher, and a practical bookkeeper. For some time he was engaged in the manufac- ture of iron, which proved quite profitable. In the war of 1812 he served as an officer, and in civic affairs took a prominent and important part. In 1847 he came to Bureau county, Illi- nois, purchasing a tract of new land in Dover township, and became familiar with all the duties and privations which fall to the lot of the pioneer. He was well and favorably known as a man of sterling integrity and much business capacity. and was called upon to fill a number of local offices, including that of county commissioner. He was an earnest Christian, a member of the Presbyterian church, of which for many years he was an elder, and his wife was also a life-long and worthy member of the same denomination. He died in 1877, at the age of eighty-three years, and his wife passed away while a resident of Ohio, at the age of forty years.
In the parental household were seven children. all now deceased, with the exception of our sub-
JOHN SCOTT.
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ject, who was fifth in order of birth. Nancy died at the age of twenty-two years. Milo A. died at the age of sixty years, leaving a widow, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Bevan. and who is still living. Joseph, who was a fine scholar, graduated at Knox college, in 1856, standing second in a class of fifteen, all of whom filled important positions. He became a Baptist minister, and wrote a book, the title of which was "History of the Pilgrims and Their Persecu- tions," which he had just completed at the time of his death, in 1857, but which has never been published; Samuel died in 1853, at the age of fif- teen years; Archibald was by occupation a farmer, but died in 1890 in Chicago, where he was then living; Louisa, who died in 1875, was a . teacher of splendid scholarship, was thoroughly in love with her work, and was numbered among the best of the profession in Bureau county.
When he had reached a sufficient age, John Scott entered the common schools of Princeton, later attended Smith's academy, and completed his literary education by two years' study in Knox college, Galesburg, Illinois. He began reading law under the instruction of Judge Stipp, and was afterward with Levi North of Henry county for one year. He was admitted to the bar in 1871, being examined by the circuit judge, Edward S. Leland, and began the practice of his profession in Princeton the following year. Most of the time he has been alone in business, though at one time he formed a partnership with M. T. Peters, and for the past four years has had asso- ciated with him John A. Davis, who was a law student in his office. He stands high in the ranks of his professional brethren, and is one of the most prominent and thorough lawyers in this section of the state. He has been connected with some of the most important cases ever tried in Bureau county.
In 1865 Mr. Scott married Miss Harriet Waterbury, who died soon afterward, and five years later he chose for his second wife Miss Car- ric J. Betts, a daughter of William H. and Sarah Betts of Ogle county. The home has been blessed in the birth of one child-Mabel E., now
the wife of Benjamin Bowen, who for some time was in the United States mail service, and was later promoted to transfer clerk in Chicago. Mr. Bowen is a native of Tennessee, where his father, Charles Bowen, who was a colonel in the Confederate service, made his home. He re- ceived an excellent academic education, stood his examination before a congressional committee for a cadetship, was passed, and sent from the Nashville district, and for three years attended the West Point Military academy, when his health gave way and he was obliged to give up his studies there. He then for four years was connected with the government mail service, postal department. He is now mail-transfer clerk at the Illinois Central depot, in connection with his medical studies. He is a young man of most excellent character and of fine ability. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bowen are now studying medicine in Chicago, where they reside, the former attend- ing Rush Medical college, and the latter the Ben- nett Medical college.
Mr. Scott has always supported the men and measures of the republican party, and has taken quite an active part in the political affairs of his county and district, but has never cared for po- litical preferment. He is a well-known and highly respected citizen, enjoying the regard of all with whom he has come in contact. For thirty years his estimable wife has been a devoted member of the Congregational church.
J AMES TURNBULL is one of the most genial and whole-souled men of Neponset township, Bureau county, now living retired at his home on section 32. His tastes always inclin- ed him to agricultural pursuits, which he suc- cessfully followed for many years, and his prop- erty has all been secured through his own thrift and industry.
Mr. Turnbull was born November 25, 1824, in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, a son of William and Mary (Harvey) Turnbull, also natives of the same country, who with their family came to the new world in 1849. At Glasgow they took pas- sage on a sailing vessel bound for Quebec, which
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they reached after a voyage of eight weeks, dur- ing which time they experienced some severe storms. On landing they came at once to Illi- nois, where they arrived in September, and all located in Stark county, where the parents spent their remaining days, the mother dying in 1877, and the father in 1882.
In their family were seven sons and four daughters, all of whom grew to mature years: Robert, the eldest, was married in Scotland, and on coming to the United States first located in Stark county, Illinois, but later came to Bureau county ; George, died unmarried in 1850; James, is next in order of birth; Ellen, is the deceased wife of Andrew Oliver, of Stark county; Eliza- beth, is the wife of William Oliver, of Henry county, Illinois; John, is a farmer of Stark coun- ty ; Alexander, is a substantial farmer of Bureau county; Margaret, married William B. Turnbull, of Osceola, Illinois, where her death occurred; Stephana, is the deceased wife of David Murray of Stark county ; William, operates the old home- stead farm in Stark county; Thomas, a veteran of the civil war, is now living in Kansas.
In the land of his nativity, James Turnbull grew to manhood, being provided with very limited school advantages, so that he is almost wholly self-educated. There he was married in 1847. to Miss Ann Matthewson, who was born and reared in the highlands of Scotland. With the other members of the family they came to America in 1849, locating first in Stark county, where Mr. Turnbull worked by the month for a few years. He then built himself a house 011 his father's farm and purchased forty acres of land, to which he later added another forty acre tract bought of a brother. There he made his home for many years, making many substantial improvements upon the place, including the erec- tion of a good dwelling. On selling out in 1868 he came to Bureau county, and purchased an improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 32, Neponset township, which is still his home. He also owns eighty acres of valuable and improved land in Stark county. From a humble beginning he has worked his way up-
ward to a position of wealth and affluence, hav- ing come to the new world empty-handed, but is now the possessor of a handsome property which is certainly well deserved.
Mr. and Mrs. Turnbull have nine children, as follows: William, a farmer of Grinnell, Iowa; Isabella, wife of James Rule, a hardware mer- chant of the same place; Mary, wife of Robert Scott, a farmer of Stark county; Flora, wife of John Beaty, also an agriculturist of that county; John M., who is now operating the old home- stead; Ellen, wife of Walter Rule, a farmer of Bureau county: Sophrona, wife of Thomas An- derson, of Robinson, Brown county, Kansas; Margaret, at home; George A., who assists his brother in carrying on the home farm. They also lost one daughter, Sarah, who died at the age of seven years.
Since voting for Abraham Lincoln, in 1860, Mr. Turnbull has supported every presidential candidate of the republican party. He has served as highway commissioner for a num- ber of years and as school director. With the United Presbyterian church, both himself and wife hold membership and they enjoy the love and esteem of the entire neighborhood. Mr. Turnbull is widely and favorably known through- out Bureau, Stark and Henry counties, where his sterling worth and strict integrity have com- mended him to the confidence of all.
P ARKER NOYES MASON, publisher of the Buda Plain Dealer, of Buda, Illinois, was born October 4, 1862, at Buda, and is the son of Cyrus P. and Sarah G. (Noyes) Mason. The father was a native of Pittsfield, New Hamp- shire, and the mother of Springfield, same state. They were the parents of two children: Our subject and Orris W., farmer in Concord town- ship. The parents were farmers and located at Buda, section 33, in 1844, having emigrated to the state in 1832. Our subject was reared on the home farm and was educated in the common schools of Buda. Subsequently he, with his brother and father, engaged in the creamery busi- ness under the firm of C. P. Mason & Sons. The
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farming was also carried on together. This ar- rangement continued until 1887, when he estab- lished the Plain Dealer at Buda. He had pre- viously a small plant as early as 1885 at the home farm, where he learned printing and did job work. He learned the business practically by himself. He has since conducted his paper at Buda. It is a fine quarto paper, issued every Thursday. and republican in politics. Mr. Mason was united in marriage at Buda, July 3, 1889. to Ger- trude Emma, daughter of William S. and Bar- bara E. (Buchan) Seguine, a native of Buda. The father is a native of New Jersey and the mother a native of Canada of Scotch parentage. They have by this union two children: Wayne and Ross. Mrs. Mason is a member of the Bap- tist church. Husband liberal in religion. In politics Mr. Mason is a republican. He has taken an active part in local politics, has been a member of county and state conventions, etc. Is at present village clerk. Is a member of the Ma- sonic order lodge of Buda, No. 399; Eastern Star, No. 248, I. O. O. F .; Buda lodge, No. 575: Buda encampment, No. 130: Rebekah lodge, No. 339. Mr. Mason has been quite successful in his newspaper venture. He has secured for it a good circulation and he has a liberal patronage in his job department. The Plain Dealer is a bright, newsy sheet, in neat dress, and is ably conducted, etc.
ISAAC T. WHITAKER, proprietor of a hotel in Wenona, was born in Breckinridge county, Kentucky, December 19. 1823, and is the son of Jesse Whitaker, whose birth occurred in Barren county, of the same state, in 1791. However, Isaac Whitaker, the paternal grandfather, was a native of Virginia and of English descent, the family having been founded in that state by ten brothers who came over from England about the time of the Revolutionary war, in which he served as a teamster. He later emigrated to Kentucky, but his last days were spent in Vigo county, Indiana. The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Sallie Pearson, was born
in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1797, and was the daughter of Moses Pearson, a Welshman, who also served as a teamster in the war for independ- ence, emigrated to Kentucky, and removed to Vigo county, Indiana, where his death occurred.
In Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1816 the mar- riage of the parents of our subject was celebrated, and in 1825 they located upon a new farm in Vigo county, Indiana, where they made their home until 1851, when they became residents of Coles county, Illinois. The father was a very patriotic man, who served in the war of 1812, be- ing under General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans, raised a company for the Mexican war, but hostilities ceased before his troops were ac- cepted and during the civil war, although sixty- six years of age, he enlisted as a private soldier in the Seventy-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. with which he served for one year, and was then discharged on account of an injury sustained while lifting a cannon. Returning to his home in Coles county, he there lived until 1865, when he settled at Lacon, where his death occurred in January, 1879. The mother of our subject hav- ing died in Vigo county, Indiana, he wedded Mrs. Rhoda MeClure, a widow lady, who also died in January, 1879. The parents were both earnest members of the Baptist church.
Our subject is the fourth in order of birth in the family of seven children born of the first mar- riage, the others being Moses P., who faithfully served his country during the civil war and died in 1871, leaving two children; Mrs. Resenah Aken, who is living in Vigo county, Indiana, and has two children; Dorcas, deceased wife of Rice Stark, by whom she had six children : William C., who died while in the union service, leaving three children: Willis P., who died in 1895, leaving six children, and Jesse A., ex-sheriff of Marshall county, who at his death left one child.
The early life of Isaac T. Whitaker was passed in Vigo county, and on the Ioth of March, 1846, . he was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary Jane Smith, who was born in Shelby county, Indiana, in 1828, and was the daughter of John C. Smith, a native of Kentucky. He then located upon a
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farm in the hoosier state, which place continued to be his home until coming to Illinois in Sep- tember, 1849, when he settled at Washington, but the following year he became a resident of Lacon, where he was engaged in mechanical work until 1862. After six years then spent in Peoria, he removed to a farm in Evans township, Marshall county, which he continued to improve and cultivate until 1875. At that time he came to Wenona, where he has since successfully con- ducted a hotel.
In September, 1850, Mr. Whitaker's first wife died. To them were born two children, one still living, Levi S., of Greeley, Colorado. He was again married in September, 1851, Mrs. Han- nah Martin becoming his wife. She was born in Harrison county, Ohio, in April, 1831, and a daughter of Francis Worley, who came from Ohio, to Marshall county, Illinois, in 1835, but after a residence of about twelve years removed to Iowa, where his death occurred. By the second union were born three daughters, all of whom died while young.
For forty years, Mr. Whitaker has been an carnest and consistent member of the Baptist church, to which his wife also belongs, and for a number of years was chorister in the church. In his younger years he also taught music all over Marshall and Putnam counties. He is a stanch adherent to the principles of the republic- an party in politics, and supports the candidates offered by that organization on all occasions.
H ENRY W. IMMKE, photographer in North Princeton. Illinois, is an artist of wide ex- perience and stands high in his profession. His patrons include the best class of people in the county, and his photographs are as fine as can be produced in any of the best establishments in the state.
A native of Hesse Cassel, Germany, Mr. Immke was born in the village of Wenders- hausen, March 9, 1839, a son of John and K. Christina (Apel) Immke, who spent their entire lives in the fatherland. John was the son of John Henry Immke and Anna K. (Yaeger) Immke.
By trade the father was an expert weaver of damask linen, one of the best skilled in his line in the country, and he worked only for the wealthy. He was born January 7, 18II, and died in 1848, at the early age of thirty-six years. He was a member of the German Reformed church, as was also his wife. She was born January 28, 1818, and her death occurred in Han- over, near Goettingen, March 31, 1896, at the age of seventy-eight years. Our subject is the oldest of their five children, the others being Maggie, wife of William Blume, residing near Worthington, Minnesota; Henry, residing on a farm near Pontiac, in Livingston county, Illinois : Mary, wife of Fred Wisthuff, a farmer near Chatsworth, Livingston county; and M. Eliza- beth, who died at Odell, Livingston county, in 1873, at the age of twenty-four years.
In the schools of his native land our subject received a good German education, and in 1855. at the age of sixteen years, crossed the Atlantic to America, coming directly to Peru, Illinois, where for eight years he was employed on a farm. He then began the study of photography with the late S. M. Fassett, of Chicago, who had one of the largest and best equipped galleries in the United States during the war. There Mr. Immke learned the business, and in September, 1866, located in Princeton, where he purchased an interest with W. H. Masters, and began the photograph business. This partnership continu- ed for five and a half months, when it was dissolv- ed. our subject starting a gallery in the north end of Princeton, while Mr. Masters remained in the south end. There Mr. Immke has since suc- cessfully engaged in business, doing all kinds of work along his line. He is an artist of more than ordinary ability, which his pictures plainly show. A few years since he photographed a group of old settlers, in which over four hundred faces are embraced in a frame, forty-four by fifty- six inches. As a work of art it is an interesting study, a faithful likeness of those honored pioneers who came to Bureau county when it was little better than a wilderness, and the picture plainly indicates that it was executed by a master
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