USA > Illinois > Mason County > The History and Mason Counties, Illinois > Part 94
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HAMILTON TIBBETS, firm of Ironmonger & Tibbets, millers, Mason City ; born in Shenandoah Co., Va., Dec. 11, 1818; he was raised upon a farm until 28 years of age, during which time he learned and worked at the refinery trade seven years; in 1816, he removed to Maryland and followed refining and coal mining some nine years, when he returned to Virgima and followed different branches of business until 1859, when he came to Illinois and located at Lincoln, Logan Co., where his fam- it's now resides; in 1972, he associated with his present partner and Mr. Johnson in the milling business in Mason City, and has since continued the same business under different firm names, the present firm, however, having been together since 1872. He was married, in Is44, to Lydia A. Wierman ; she was born in Page Co., Va. ; they have one son now living-Benjamin, engineer of the mill.
W. F. THOMPSON, furniture dealer and undertaker, Mason City ; born in Rich- mond Co., N. Y., Feb. 18, 1833; came to Illinois in 1859 and located in Logan Co .; engaged in farming until 1871, when he removed to Mason City ; in June, 1873, he
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purchased an interest in the above business of T. J. Watkins, and carried on the same under the firm name of Watkins & Thompson until 1878, when he purchased the interest of his partner, since which time he has condueted the business under his own name ; in 1874, he erected his three-story brick building, the whole of which is oceu- pied by his business, and which is one of the finest in town.
JOSEPH TAYLOR, retired farmer, Mason City ; was born in Barren Co., Ky., Aug. 20, 1819; he went to Pike Co., Ind., in October. 1836; at the age of 10, he was left an orphan with no friends that could be of any pecuniary advantage to him, there- fore he had to look out for himself in procuring a livelihood ; early in life, he became an expert rider of running horses, and did a great deal of it, always to win ; has ridden but few races since he came to Mason Co .; he came here in April, 1851. He married Lucinda Houchin May 16, 1838; she was born in Edmonson Co., Ky., Oct. 2. 1821 ; when they married they were not worth a dollar, but they were young and vigorous and together they determined to win or die, and bent their united energies to good purpose, and now are among the most prosperous in worldly goods of the early settlers of Mason Co .; they have had ten children, viz., Benjamin W., born Oct. 20, 1840; John J., Jan. 29, 1842; William D., March 15, 1843, died March 28 following; Malinda E., born April 23, 1844; Lucy A., Feb. 1, 1846; Joseph A., March 21, 1848, died Sept. 10, 1851; Georgia A., born July 4, 1850; Melissa J., June 19, 1833; Reason A., Dec. 16. 1854, died July 20, 1869, and Charles E., born Feb. 14, 1861, died Jan. 17 following. Mr. Taylor moved to Mason City in 1860, and kept a livery stable a year or two, and was Assessor some eight years; virtually he has retired from business ; a few years since, he owned 1,250 acres of land in this county, but has given here and there to children, so that now he has only 486 acres, a good home and eighteen lots in Mason City. Since they married have never broken housekeeping, and he has never belonged to any order or organization.
D. W. VICKERY, farmer, Sec. 9; P. O. Mason City ; the subject of this memoir was born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., upon the 28th of February, 1838 ; he was raised to agricultural pursuits until the breaking-out of the rebellion, when he was one of the first to respond to the call for soldiers to suppress the same, enlisting April 23, 1861, in the 12th N. Y. V. I., and went forward to battle for the Union ; he was in many severe battles, among which we mention both battles of Bull Run, battle of Fredericks- burg, the Peninsular campaign ; at the battle of Malvern Hill he was wounded in the chin, but continued on duty until the expiration of his service, receiving his discharge in May, 1863; in December, following; he re-enlisted in the 15th N. Y. V. C., and served until the close of the war, serving under Gens. Custer and Sheridan; upon the night previous to the surrender of Gen. Lee, he received a wound in the right shoulder by a minie ball, from which he has and still continues to suffer severely, and for which he draws a pension ; he received his discharge July 1, 1865, having served in the Union army nearly four years. He is one of our strong Republicans in politics, having never been made to see why he should not vote as he fought. After receiving his dis- charge, he returned to New York and followed farming until 1868, when he came to Mason Co. and located one mile northeast of Mason City, where he. has a pleasant home of forty acres, with good buildings, and which was obtained at an expense, including buildings and improvements, of upward of $100 per acre. Upon Jan. 30, 1866, he was united in marriage with N. Ellen Garrett; she was born in Onondaga C'o., N. Y., July 27, 1843; they have two children by this union-Ilattie B., born April 1, 1867, and Una A., June 16, 1871.
J. H. WANDELL, Mason City; one of the early settlers of Mason Co .; pro- prietor of the St. Nicholas Hotel and Livery Stable, Mason City. We live to eat and eat to live ; therefore, to point out a good hotel, is an act of kindness to be appreciated by the hungry traveler. Of the St. Nicholas it can be said with truth, that in quality and variety of fare it is not excelled by any house on the Jacksonville Division of the Chicago & Alton Railroad, south of Bloomington. J. H. Wandell, the gentlemanly oprietor, was born in Luzerne Co., Penn., April 13, 1820; in early life, he learned the molder's trade, which he followed, in connection with farming, boating, etc., etc.,
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until 1849, when he came to Illinois and located in Mason Co .; he first engaged in running a saw-mill in Quiver Township. and, in 1850, entered 160 acres of land in Pennsylvania Township, in Mason Co .; in 1851, he returned to Pennsylvania, and the following year, came back, and probably through the influence of Mr. Wandell, came a large part of the settlers of Pennsylvania Township; in 1853, he had charge of a set of men and assisted in building the C. & A. R. R, and. in the fall of the same year, erected a house upon his land into which he removed and commenced improving his place ; upon the 2d of July, 1854. his house was destroyed by fire, and he again rebuilt and lived upon his place uutil the decease of his wife, after which he engaged in breaking prairie and selling pateut rights until 1864, when he came to Mason City, and exchanged cighty acres of his farm for the Sherman House corner ; he then engaged in the butcher business until the fall of 1-06; he then took charge of a gang of men and assisted in grading this division of the ('. & A. R. R. until the fall of 1867; in August of the year 1867, he purchased his present hotel, and, after running the same one year, rented it until April 20. 1877. when he again took possession of the hotel, which he has since successfully run in connection with his stable; he has since erected a large, commodious brick sample-room for the use of commercial travelers, from whom he has his full share of patronage. Upon Jan. S, 1852, he was united in marriage with Sarah E. De Pugh; she died Dec. 30, 1860; they had one child, which died in infancy ; on Dec. 30, 1865, he was united in mar- riage to Christiana A. Benscoter ; she was born in Luzerne Co., Penn., March 28. 1846.
WILLIAM WALKER, farmer; P. O. Mason City; born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in April, 1829 or 1830; he was a son of Robert Walker, who emigrated to America about 1836 and located in Belmont Co., Ohio : in 1862, he located in Mason Co., where he died in December, 1869; his wife died in Ohio, in April, 1858. Will- iam Walker lived with different parties from 7 years of age until Oct. 16, 1856, when he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Jarvis, in Lincoln, Logan Co., Ill. ; she was born in Greenbrier Co., W. Va., Oct. 31, 1839, and came to Ohio with her parents when ? years of age ; they were the parents of nine children of whom two are now living- Mary I. and Anniah B .; the deceased were Eliza F., born July 23, 1859. died May 12, 1866; Charles F., born June 8, 1861, died Feb. 22, 1862 ; Thomas J., born July 14. 1865, died March 30, 1867; William V., born Nov. 16, 1867, died Aug. 26, 1869; Robert M. died in infancy : George B. F., born Jan. 23, 1871, died Nov. 20, 1877 ; Elizabeth L., born April 23, 1876, died Nov. 18, 1877, the latter two dying within forty-eight hours of each other. Mr. Walker located in Mason Co. in 1861; in 1864, he purchased eighty acres of land and now owns 165 acres and is out of debt, having accumulated all of the above by his own hard labor and good business management, in which he has been nobly assisted by his amiable wife. Mr. Walker has shown a degree of energy and perseverance in accomplishing what he has, under the trying afflictions of sickness and death, which have been visited upon his family, which is well worthy of imitation by the young men of the present day.
J. T. WATKINS, deceased; born in Ross Co .. Ohio, March 5, 1834; in early life, he learned the carpenter's trade and for several years followed contracting and build- ing; in 1856, he removed to New Holland, and, in 1862, raised a company for the 20th Ohio V. I. and served as Captain two years ; received his discharge on account of dis- ability ; he afterward served as Adjutant of the 155th Regt. Ohio National Guards ; in 1864, he located in Champaign Co., Ill .; in July, 1866, came to Mason City and engaged in the furniture business, conducting the same with different partners until 1878, when he disposed of his business and retired from active labor ; he was the first Mayor of New Holland, Ohio, and also the first Mayor of Mason City, which office he held at the time of his decease, being the sixth year. He died April 25, 1878; the funeral was held at the Presbyterian Church, at which a large concourse of friends and citizens assembled ; the procession was formed as follows : Mason City Light Guard Band, Mason City and Havana Military Companies, hearse, pall-bearers and relatives, City Council, etc., etc., the last sad rites being performed by the Mason City Lodge, No. 403, A., F. & A. M. He was married, in 1855, to Sarah Marot, of Ohio; two children now living-Ehner E. and Grace.
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J. S. WILBURN, farmer ; P. O. Mason City; one of the early pioneers of Illinois and Mason Co .; born in Cumberland Co., Ky., Aug. 25, 1805; in 1820, he came to Illinois and located twelve miles west of Springfield, in what is now Sangamon Co., where he lived several years ; he then followed lead mining in Galena several years ; in 1830, he went to Chicago and purchased the corner where the Tremont House now stands, for $61, and, two years later, sold the same for $600; in 1831, he located at Beardstown and engaged in merchandising, milling, pork-packing, running flat-boats to New Orleans, freighting his own goods down and back, having branch stores both in New Orleans and at Galena ; he continued in this business eleven years ; he then fol- lowed the merchandise trade at Springfield and Pekin, and erected and ran a flour-mill in Peoria Co., and, in 1846, came to Mason Co. and engaged in hotel-keeping and mer- chandise trading in the town of Bath; in 1848, he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court of Mason Co., which office he held for eight years ; he was then Master of Chan- cery several years, and, in 1861, removed upon his present place, where he has since lived. Mr. Wilbourne took an active part in the old Black Hawk war of 1831-32, and erected the first fort, which was located near La Salle, and was named in honor of its builder, Fort Wilbourne; he also took up the first boat-load of provisions up the Illinois River from St. Louis to his fort, and from which place the soldiers received their provisions, etc .; he was commissioned, by Gov. Reynolds, as Captain of Volun- teers, which office he held during the war; during his residence in Cass Co. he was County Judge many years, aside from other military and civil offices. Mr. Wilbourne has been in active life for a period of fifty years ; he has suffered all the hardships and privations of frontier life, and, at the advanced age of 75 years, is in possession of all of his faculties ; he has suffered greatly the last few years on account of the loss of one of his limbs. He was united in marriage, in 1837, with Anna Dale; she was born in Kentucky ; they have two sons and two daughters now living, viz., Belle, Sarah A., John and Edward.
JOSEPH C. WARNOCK, editor, Mason City ; was born in Ross Co., Ohio, Jan. 16, 1840, and, in the fall of 1850, emigrated, with his parents, to Illinois, and settled in Salt Creek Township, Mason Co., and has been a resident of the county ever since ; he was reared to farm life, and pursued that avocation till about nine years ago; he obtained his education under the difficulties and unfavorable circumstances which sur- rounded the pioneers of the county, and mostly by his own unaided efforts, pursuing his studies into the "dead of night," after the day's farm work was done; he com- menved teaching school at the age of 19, which he pursued-with the exception of the winter following-for five consecutive winter terms. Having married, he settled, in 1861, at Big Grove, Salt Creek Township, where he resided until 1871, during which time he was elected to and served as Town Clerk, Tax Collector and County Surveyor ; the latter he resigned after a little over a year's service ; in the spring of 1871, he bought a half-interest in the Mason City News, which was then changed to Indepen- dent, assumed editorial charge, which position-with the exception of a year at Havana, as editor of the Mason County Democrat, he has held ever since and now holds. At the session of the Legislature in 1877, Gov. Cullom appointed him one of the three Trustees of the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children, which position he now holds. During his residence in Mason City, he has held the office of City Clerk sev- eral terms, and, at the last election, was elected Mayor, which office he now holds.
J. A. WALKER, physician and surgeon, Mason City. Among the foremost in his profession in Mason City is Dr. J. A. Walker, who is also one of the pioneers of the place ; he was born in Cass Co., Ill., in 1833; he commenced the study of his pro . fession in 1856, with Dr. J. P. Walker, at the grove which bears his name; in 1857-58, he attended the Rush Medical College at Chicago, and, in the spring of 1858, com- menced the practice of medicine at Ma-on City, and has been in continued practice in this place, with the exception of one year since the above date, during a period of' twenty-one years, and is one of the oldest practicing physicians of Mason City, and his large and lucrative practice is conclusive evidence that he stands in the front ranks of his profession in Mason Co. During the period from 1867 to 1870. he was engaged
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in the drug trade in connection with his practice, but in no instance did he allow the mercantile branch to interfere with his professional duties ; he is a member of the State Medical Society, and Secretary of the Brainard Medical Society, which is composed of the medical profession of Mason and adjoining counties. His marriage with Eliza A. Harris was celebrated in 1862; she was born in MeDonough Co., Ill., in 1842. When Dr. Walker located here in the spring of 1858, there was but one family living where Mason City now stands; he has witnessed the remarkable growth of a city of upward of 2,000 inhabitants, embracing hundreds of acres within its corporate limits.
WILLIAM WARNOCK. JR., Mason City ; was born Oct. 2, 1833, near Bain- bridge. Ross Co., Ohio. The Warnock family were once inhabitants of the North of Ireland, but have been in this country since the beginning of the present century. They were a long-lived and hardy race, and it is narrated that the grandfather of Will- iam. Jr., was the only one out of a thousand troops at Sandusky, Ohio, in 1812, that could lift the breech of a cannon. William Warnock, Sr., was born on the same farm where his son William first saw the light. His wife, whose maiden name was Harriet Young, was a native of Ohio, and they were married Jan. 1, 1833. When he was 21 years of age, William, Jr., left the farm and went into a country store at Walker's Grove with his uncle : after two years, he removed to Hiawatha, in the same township ; after one year here, he sold out and came to Mason City. In the summer of 1859, he applied himself' to the study of medicine with Dr. J. C. Patterson, and attended lec- tures in 1860-61 at Rush Medical College. At this point in his life he determined to leave his profession and devote his time and ability to business ; he went into a store with Cortes Humes, on the corner now occupied by La Forge's block, corner of Chest- nut and Tonica streets; after three years, he was admitted into partnership and con- tinued in this business until 1868, when the firm soll to Andrews & Griffith, and dis- solved. In addition to their mercantile business, Humes & Warnock carried on an extensive exchange and banking office, and were the first bankers in Mason City, and did the largest business in that line done in Mason Co. During the war, this firm never refused credit to the families of soldiers, and when they could not get trusted for what they needed, they were always certain of accommodation there. When the town of Salt Creek was drafted, Mr. Warnock was among the number to furnish money to fill up the quota. During some of these years, the town of Mason City was nearly deserted by physicians, who were in the army; and then the early study and knowledge of medicine became exceedingly useful to Mr. Warnock, and he was enabled to relieve many suffering persons by his professional assistance ; he practiced in many families. and among then some of the most eminent in the place. In 1862, he was placed on the Democratic ticket as candidate for County Superintendent of Schools, and was elected to his second public office-his first being that of Postmaster at Walker's Grove. Many teachers in Mason Co. received their first certificates from Mr. Warnock, among them Mr. S. M. Badger, the present County Superintendent. He was naturally inclined to mathematical studies and in measuring eorn by cribs was the first to introduce the measurement of 3,800 cubic inches to the bushel; he proved this formula by weight and measurement, and used to be very often called upon to measure cribs and estimate their contents. So far, Mr. Warnock has passed through life with vigorous health of mind and body, but not without experiencing some of the vicissitudes of fortune; he has handled large amounts of money and did much to promote the pecuniary interests of Mason City ; he has expended more than 820,000 in making permanent improvements in the place. In whatever state of circumstances, financially, Mr. Warnock has been placed, in easy times or trying times, he has always maintained the reputation of an honorable, honest man.
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KILBOURNE TOWNSHIP.
JOHN C. ADE, farmer ; P. O. Kilbourne; was born in Norick, Wurtemberg, Germany, July 26, 1824 ; son of Michael Ade, whose wife's name prior to her marriage was Barbara Ceh. John was 32 years of age before he left home, at which time he emigrated to this country ; he came first to Hamilton Co., Ohio, where he remained three years employed as gardener ; from there he went to Middletown and stayed one year, and from there to Berlin, Sangamon Co., where he farmed five years. May 6. 1854, he married Nancy Chlichtes, who was born in Neckarweimghen Ludwigsburg. Wurtemberg, March 22, 1833; they have nine children living-Mollie, Nannie, Caro- line, Julia, Charles, Rosa, Lizzie, Harry and Willie. In September, 1859, he moved to this county and located where he now resides, on Section 34, and has now eighty-six acres of land, which he has cleared and earned by " hard knocks," economy and good management.
E. ,H. BIGELOW, grain-dealer, Kilbourne. Prominent among the business men of this township is Mr. Bigelow, who came to this township the day previous to its birth as a town, and has since been a resident and identified with its interests ; he was born in Livingston Co., N. Y., Dec. 30, 1834; son of Henry Bigelow ; his grandfather par- ticipated in the battles of the Revolution; at the age of 10, E. H. moved with his parents to Indiana and remained there a few years, afterward moving to Wisconsin ; then he spent several years traveling : was all through the Southwest and journeyed the the entire length of Texas astride a mule ; in 1868, he. came to this State, and. in 1870, to this township, the day previous to the sale of the town lots. March 31, 1876, he married Miss Sarah Marshall, who was born June 19, 1843 ; she is a native of Birming- ham, England ; they have three children-Emma, Fannie and Charles. Since the railroad has been built, he has been the company's agent and an energetic and thorough business man ; he is a member of Havana Lodge and Chapter.
WILLIAM BRENT, farmer ; P. O. Havana ; was born in Yorkshire, England, Aug. 31, 1842 ; the son of Robert Brent, who came to this country in October, 1864, and, like many others, lodged in Mason Co., where he has been a resident ever since. In January, 1870, he married Mrs. Martha Hanline ; two children have been born from this union-Harry, Nov. 16, 1871; Stella, April 29, 1874. He is engaged in farming and always has been, and is striving to make an honest living and hopes by attention to his business and exercising economy to attain a competency for his declining years.
BARNEY BOYLE, farmer ; P. O. Kilbourne. Among the representatives of the Emerald Isle who have located in this county and have attained success and are self-made, is the name of Barney Boyle, who claims County Antrim, Ireland, as his birthplace, and 1828 as the year of his birth; in 1849, he emigrated to America, and. later, made his way to Jersey Co., and then to Whitchall, Greene Co., where he worked as a farm hand for several years ; in 1850, he made his way to this county and worked by the month until 1854, when he rented land, and, in April, 1859. married Frances Raymond ; they have had nine children, seven now living-Harry, Katic, Fannic. Barney, Lizzie, John and Frank. In 1878, he bought out John Lee, who had a well- improved farm, and he is now the sole possessor of 576 acres of land, all of which he has obtained by the sweat of his brow and by the exercise of frugality and rigid economy.
BENJAMIN BRENT, farmer; P. O. Kilbourne ; born in Yorkshire, England ; son of Robert Brent; they emigrated to this State in 1866; and, in his 20th year. set out for himself and began work on a farm by the month. Nov. 9, 1872, he was united in matrimony with Caroline Pulling; born in this county Feb. 19, 1850 ; daughter of Charles Pulling, a native of England ; one child has been born to them-Robert, born Ang. 1, 1873. Mr. Brent has begun life with a determination to make something of himself, is hard-working and attentive to his business.
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JOHN BLAKELY, farmer ; P. O. Kilbourne; born in this county and town- ship Aug. 20, 1842; son of James Blakely and Hannah Scott, who were natives of New Jersey, and among the early pioneers in this county; his father died. John was 25 years of age when he left home, and was married to Rachel Anderson Dee. 10. 1867; they had two children-Orley C. and Harry L. His wife died Jan. 24. 1875. He was married to Martha Mowder, daughter of Joseph Mowder; she was born Jan. 13, 1844 ; their marriage took place Dec. 22, 1875 ; they have had two children-Alice M. and Ettie. After his marriage, he made a trip to Nebraska, but not being suited, he returned to Mason Co., and has since remained here. March 13, 1877, he bought 160 acres of land, and is a successful farmer ; his father died in 1870.
HENRY BECKWITH, farmer ; P. O. Kilbourne ; born in Crawford Co., Ind .. April 25, 1841 ; son of Elijah Beckwith and Evaline Ceny ; his great-grandfather par- ticipated in the Revolutionary war. The Beckwiths are a long-lived race ; his grand- father lived to the age of 84, and then met his death by accident-his horse running away. Henry moved to this county with his parents, first locating near Havana, and remaining there until 1864, when they moved to the section he now resides upon. Nov. 30, 1866, he married Sarah Heston, born in Chester Co., Penn., April 29, 1845 ; they have four children- Lizzie E., Bertie H., Howard P. and Charles F.
DANIEL COFFEY, farmer ; P. O. Kilbourne ; was born in Kerry Co., Ireland, about the year 1837 ; he was the only child of his parents, whose names were Timothy Coffey and Mary Sullivan ; they dying when he was about 14 years old, he was left to " shirk " for himself; he was one year on a vessel plying along the coast ; then worked among the farmers until 1857, when he embarked for America, landing at New York ; he worked some time on the O. & M. Railroad, and P., P. & J. Railroad ; he then came up the river to Bath, and hired out to Charles Thompson, working for him four years. Aug. 15, 1862, he married Anu Burke, a native of the same county as himself; they have four children-John, Ellen, Catharine and Bridget. After his marriage, he rented land for four years on the ground now owned by Messrs. Cragg & Boyle; he then rented land of Stephen Dolben for eight years. In 1877, he bought ninety acres, and is now farming successfully. ' Ele and his wife are members of the Catholic Church.
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