USA > Illinois > Coles County > The History of Coles County, Illinois map of Coles County; history of Illinois history of Northwest Constitution of the United States, miscellaneous matters, &c., &c > Part 56
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engaged in the broom business, but soon afterward removed to Charleston, where he established the Charleston Broom-Factory, and has been an enterprising citizen of the city ever since ; he is at present a mem- ber of the Board of Aldermen. His part- ner in the business, M. C. Nixon, is a na- tive of Harrison Co., W. Va., his father being one of the most prominent farmers in that part of the State ; at the age of 18, he went to Pittsburgh, Penn., where he received a thorough business education in the Iron City Business College ; he then spent a few years in traveling in the West, and, in 1874, came to Charleston and en- tered into partnership with Mr. Traver. When Mr. Traver came to Charleston, there were but about fifteen acres of broom- corn cultivated in Coles Co .; its culture is now one of the chief sources of wealth, es- pecially in the northern part of the county ; there are thousands of acres cultivated an- nually, and the amount is constantly in- creasing ; this firm alone has raised, dur- ing the past year, 500 acres. The im- portance of this enterprise to the city of Charleston will appear when it is considered that they employ in their factory about seventy men and boys, who, were it not for this, would be obliged to seek employ- ment elsewhere; they do a business of $60,000 per annum, manufacturing 30,000 dozen brooms yearly, besides a large quan- tity of brushes and toy brooms ; they pay out yearly to their employes fully $15,000; they keep three salesmen on the road, including Mr. Nixon, and their trade ex- . tends to all parts of the country, the most of it being in the Southern States, New Orleans being their heaviest shipping point, their next heaviest trade being in Georgia and Texas; the extent of their trade can be estimated from the fact that, during the past fall they were 1,000 dozen behind their orders, notwithstanding they were turning out at the time a 100 dozen brooms a day : they are the owners of the Charleston Elevator and Broom Ware- house, and also own a broom-corn com- press for rebaling the corn for shipment, being, probably, the only machine of its kind in the United States. Mr. Traver is the author of " Traver's Broom-Corn Cult- urist and Broom-Makers' Manual," the only work on the subject in the country, a well-written pamphlet, giving directions
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for the raising, cutting, curing and pre- paring of broom-corn for market, etc .; they are also dealers in broom machines, of which they ship large numbers to the Western States and Territories.
DANIEL H. TREMBLE, Deputy County Treasurer, Charleston ; was born in Harrison Co., Ind., Aug. 28, 1829 ; the following year, his father, Hiram M. Tremble, came with his family to this county, and, after spending a short time in what is now Mattoon Tp., went to Shelby Co., and there resided until 1833, when he returned to Coles Co., and is now a prominent farmer in Mattoon Tp. The subject of this sketch started for himself in 1851, as a teacher; he taught school two winters; in 1852, he engaged in farming, and, after gathering his first crop, came to Charleston, where he worked three months at the carpenter's trade, which he had learned of his father, who was a carpenter by trade; after this, he spent six months in an academy in George- town, Vermilion Co., Ill .; the following spring, his father took a contract to grade twenty miles of the Illinois Central R. R., and Daniel H. assisted him in the work ; in 1854, he engaged in merchandising in Paradise, and, in 1856, removed to Mat- toon and continued in trade there two years, when he sold out and engaged as a clerk ; in 1862, he was elected Constable, and, in the spring of 1863, Collector of his township ; in the fall of the same year, he was elected Treasurer of Coles Co., and held that office three terms in succession ; after the expiration of his last term, he served four years as Deputy County Clerk. In 1872, he purchased a farm of 175 acres, about two miles from the city, on which he now resides. He was appointed Deputy County Treasurer in December, 1877. He was married Aug. 24, 1854, to Miss Cath- arine H. Hunt, of Paradise, a native of Wayne Co., Ind .; they have eight children living-John F., Thomas P., Daniel U., Carrie S., Eugene H., Manning H., Sam- uel W. and Pompey M.
THOMAS B. TROWER, M. D., de- ceased, late of Charleston ; was born in Albemarle Co., Va., Nov. 15, 1807, his parents removing to Kentucky a few years later ; his father died in 1816, leaving a wife and nine children ; he began the study of medicine when he was 19 years old,
spending three years under the instruction of Drs. Bcamiss and Merryfield, of Bloom- field, Ky., teaching school a portion of the time to obtain means to defray his expenses ; he came to Illinois in 1830, and practiced medicine six years in Shelbyville ; in 1836, he removed to Charleston and engaged in merchandising, which business he aban- doned after three years and resumed the practice of his profession ; his practice was a large and lucrative one, extending over a wide scope of country, embracing all of Coles Co., and a portion of surrounding counties, and his acquaintance with the pioneers of this sec- tion of the State was correspondingly ex- tensive; his standing among physicians was very high, indeed, and his opinions in their councils most thoroughly respected ; he was a member of the Eberlean Medical Society, of the Asculapian Society of the Wabash Valley, and of the State Medical Society ; not only was he prominent as a physician, but was possessed of business abilities of the highest order, and by his financial skill and industry amassed a large fortune; he was President of the Moultrie County Bank, of Sullivan, Ill., and Vice President of the First National Bank, of Charleston ; while living in Shelbyville, he represented his county for three years in the State Legislature. He was also a del- egate to the Constitutional Convention in 1847. He was married Dec. 22, 1831, to Miss Polly Ann Cutler, daughter of Judge Jacob Cutler; she came with her parents to Illinois in 1828, lived awhile in Edgar Co., removing thence to Shelbyville, where she met, and married Dr. Trower; they had five children, four of whom are living -Amerial (wife of Dr. L. L. Silverthorn, of Charleston), Sinia Antonia (Mrs. Rich- ard Norfolk, of Charleston), Sallie (wife of Daniel Sayer, a prominent merchant, of Chicago) and Xavier B. (a banker in Sul- livan, Ill., one son, John V., editor of the Fort Madison (Iowa) Democrat, died in Dallas, Tex., Nov. 18, 1875; Dr. Trower died April 15, 1878, and was buried in Mound Cemetery, Charleston.
SAMUEL VAN METER, M. D., physician and surgeon, Charleston; was born in Grayson Co., Ky., Nov. 8, 1824; he is son f John and Catharine (Keller) Van Meter, the for- mer of whom died in 1827; his
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mother then removed with her family to Illinois, settling in Coles Co .; he re- ceived snch education as the common schools in those pioneer days afforded ; at the age of 15 years, he was apprenticed to the tanner's trade, but before completing his apprenticeship he purchased his time of his employer, and was in turn bound to Dr. T. B. Trower, and entered upon the more congenial employment of studying medicine; he remained under Dr. Trow- er's instruction five years ; in 1849, he made the overland trip to California, the journey occupying five months, during which time he had an extensive practice as a physician among the emigrants cross- ing the plains ; he remained eighteen months in California and then returned to Charles- ton and practiced medicine three years with Dr. Trower, after which he began practice by himself; in 1857, he founded the Illi- nois Infirmary in Charleston, the fame of which extended to all parts of the country, patients coming from the Pacific Coast, and from England and other countries beyond the sea ; his partner in this institution for a number of years was Dr. H. R. Allen, now one of the proprietors of the National Surgical Institute at Indianapolis ; as an illustration of the success of the Infirmary, we may mention that the gross receipts during the year 1868 were $186,000, and the expenditure for the one item of postage stamps alone averaged $1,400 per month; it continued to enjoy a high reputation and uninterrupted success until 1877, when the doctor, worn out with his con- stant and arduous labors, closed the insti- tution and retired from the active practice of his profession. He was married Oct. 8, 1845, to Fannie E. Hutchison, of Greensburg, Ky. ; of three children of this marriage, two are now living in Charles- ton-Katie (wife of C. C. Rogers) and John (one of the proprietors of the City Mills) ; their oldest daughter, Fannie R, wife of J. W. Ogden, of Chicago, died in 1870.
DANIEL A. VANSICKLE, proprietor of the Charleston Hotel, Charleston; was born in Trenton, Butler Co., Ohio, Oct. 20, 1833, being the oldest son of J. C. and Be- linda (Craig) Van Sickle ; his father was born in Trenton, Ohio, May 31, 1811, and his mother at Ball's Ferry, on the Miami River, in Butler Co., Ohio, Dec. 17, 1815.
The family consisted of nine children, as follows-Daniel A. Jasper, born Jan. 3, 1836, and died Nov. 12, 1868 ; Sally A., born March 19, 1838 ; Caroline, born June 20, 1841, and died Feb. 26, 1866; John Wesley, born March 18, 1843; George W., born Aug. 17, 1846 ; Newton, born Dec. 23, 1848, died Aug. 24, 1850 ; Craig,
1 born Feb. 23, 1851, died March 15, 1853, and Charles P., born July 10, 1853. At the age of 17 years, Mr. Van Sickle be- gan with Schenck & Denice, of Franklin, Warren Co., Ohio, to learn the horseshoe- ing business, and followed that trade alto- gether about fourteen years. In 1854, his father removed with the family to Coles Co., and about ten years ago, he removed to Girard, Macoupin Co., Ill., where he died Sept. 25, 1876. His mother still re- sides in Girard. During his residence in Charleston, he has been engaged six years as a clerk in the wholesale and retail grocery house of Wright, Minton & Co .; has served as City Marshal, Street Superin- tendent and Township Collector, and has traveled five years selling groceries from Indianapolis. He was married Aug. 27, 1857, to Miss Belinda Wehr, a daughter of Nathan and Harriet (Flenner) Wehr ; she was born Aug. 28, 1839, near Hamil- ton, Butler Co., Ohio, and came to Coles Co. in 1853; they have one daughter- Louisa Bell, born Aug. 16, 1858. April 1, 1878, Mr. Van Sickle became proprie- tor of the Charleston Hotel. Whether shoeing a horse or selling groceries, his aim has always been to excel, and on as- suming charge of this house, he determined to keep such a house as should deserve the patronage of the public and should earn the title of a strictly first-class hotel. His experience as a traveling man enables him to understand and appreciate the wants of the traveling public. How well he has succeeded is shown by the large and con- stantly-increasing patronage of the hotel. Genial in manner and accommodating in disposition, he makes every one feel at home at once, and in the variety and quality of its fare, and in attention to the comforts of its guests, the Charleston Hotel is not ex- celled by any house between Indianapolis and St. Louis.
ISAAC VAIL, proprietor of livery, feed and sale stable, Charleston ; was born in Dutchess Co., N. Y., Nov. 29, 1833;
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in 1839, his father removed with his family to Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and after residing there ten years, to Erie Co., Penn., thence the next year to Steuben Co., Ind., and, in 1851, to Coles Co .; his father located 800 acres of Government land in Hickory Tp., four miles north of Charleston, at a cost of $700. Three years later he removed to Livingston Co., where he is a prominent farmer. Mr. Vail left home in 1852, driving an ox-team across the plains to Oregon, and spent three years in that State and California. He returned in 1855, and, the following year, erected a mill in Livingston Co., which he ran till the breaking-out of the rebellion. In August, 1862, he enlisted in the 129th I. V. I., as Sergeant in Co. E; he was with Sherman from Chattanooga to Atlanta. and on the famous march to the sea, and up through the Carolinas and Virginia to Washington, participating in all the battles of his regi- ment. He returned in 1865, and the same year located in Charleston, and ran a planing-mill for two years. He then sold out and went to farming, and, in 1868, built his livery-stable, and engaged in his present business. He was a member of the Board of Aldermen which, in 1875, put in the Charleston Water Works at a cost of less than $40,000, said to be the cheap- est works in the State. Ile was married in 1852 to Miss Rebecca Fisher of Coles Co., and has six children-William I. (now of San Francisco), Frank, Ida, Fred, Eva and May.
THOMAS JEFFERSON WILSON was born in Barren Co., Ky., on Nov. 22, 1825, and moved to Greensburg, Green Co., Ky., in 1847, where, on June 8, 1848, he was married to Lucy Ann Hutchason; he was a wagon-maker by trade ; Lucy Ann Hutchason was born in Greensburg, Ky., on June 27, 1826; in April, 1857, Mr. Wilson removed with his family to Charleston, Ill., where he went into the employ of L. R. & B. M. Hutchason, his brothers-in-law, who were in the dry goods trade. On Jan. 12, 1859, his wife died in Charleston. In 1860, he began business for himself, by buying the stock of dry goods owned by Jos. Peyton, in Charleston, and he removed his stock of goods, in 1861, to Ashmore ; there, by his methods of fair dealing and strict integrity in business, he soon estab-
lished a flourishing trade, and became extensively known over the eastern portion of the county ; he died in Ashmore on Oct. 12, 1865, and lies buried by the side of his wife, in the old cemetery near Charleston. He and his wife were both members of the Christian Church, and he was an Elder in the same while a resident of Charleston ; both their lives were those of the most exemplary Christians, and they were respected, trusted and beloved where- ever they were known.
CHARLES EDWARD WILSON, son of above; was born in Greensburg, Green Co., Ky., on May 1, 1849; when his father died in 1865, he, being the only child and only remaining one of the family, went to Charleston and lived with rela- tives, finishing a common-school education during the following winter; in the spring of 1867, he went to Omaha, Neb., and remained one year; returning then to Charleston, he became a salesman in the queensware store of V. Craig, and after- ward book-keeper for George Tucker, who was a manufacturer of pressed brick ; in the spring of 1871, he was elected to the office of City Clerk of the city of Charleston, for one year, and was appointed by the City Council in the spring of 1872, to the same position for another year ; in the fall of 1871, he was employed at the infirmary of Dr. S. Van Meter; ultimately became a partner in the firm, and retired from the same on Sept. 1st, 1876. On Nov. 4, 1873, he was married to Miss Emily Johnston, daughter of I. H. Johnston, of Charleston ; she was born in Coles Co., on June 15, 1851; three chil- dren are the result of this marriage, all daughters, as follows : Olive, born Sept. 3, 1874; Clotilde, born Dec. 23, 1876, and Emily, born Dec. 4, 1878. In November, 1873, he was elected by the stockholders of the Coles County Board of Agriculture, Secretary of said Board, for one year. In November, 1876, he was elected Director of said Board, which position he still holds ; in March, 1876, he was made a Director of the Second National Bank of Charles- ton, in which position he still remains ; from September, 1876, until June, 1877, being engaged in no special business, he . read law at the office of Wiley & Neal, in Charleston ; on June 25, 1877, the firm of Chambers, Johnston & Co., pork-packers,
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was organized for the purpose of packing pork during that summer and the fall fol- lowing; Mr. Wilson became a member of that firm, and was its secretary and book- keeper; on Sept. 30. 1878, he became associated with I. H. Johnston and George Steigman, under the firm name of Steig- man, Wilson & Co., in the business of pork-packing; and they have, at Charles- ton, the only packing-house in Illinois, outside of Chicago, adapted for both winter and summer packing.
SAMUEL WRIGHT, Charleston ; was born in Delaware Co., Penn., Feb. 29, 1808 ; when he was 9 years of age, he removed with his parents to Washington Co., in the same State, where he learned the trade of a carpenter and builder, and afterward taught school for seven years. He was married Aug. 20, 1829, to Miss Ruth Gordon, of Washington Co., Penn., and has four children living-William G. (of Charleston), Maria B. (wife of Dr. A. K. Spears, of Charlestou), Matilda R. (Mrs. W. S. Minton, of Charleston), and Samuel H. (Corresponding Secretary of the National Surgical Institute, of Indian- apolis, Ind.); the last named served three years in the last war; was promoted to Major of the 31st Mo. V. I., and after his return, was for four years Adjutant General of the State of Missouri ; in 1835, Mr. Wright removed to Ripley Co., Ohio, returning in 1846 to Pennsylvania; in 1856, he came to Charleston, and followed his trade here till 1860 ; he was then eleet- ed Justice of the Peace for four years, and again elected in 1864; since the ex- piration of his term of office in 1868, he has been employed as a clerk in the store of his son, W. G. Wright, in Charleston.
WILLIAM G. WRIGHT, of the firm of Wright, Hodgen & Co., wholesale and retail dealers in groceries and provisions, Charleston ; was born in Washington Co., Penn., July 25, 1832; he was brought up to farming and his father's trade, of a carpenter; he received an English educa- tion, and at the age of 18, began teach- ing school, which he continued three win- ters; in the spring of 1854, he came to Hitesville, Coles Co., and on the 24th of Au- gust, the same year, he married Miss Sarah Bane, whom he had known in Pennsylva- nia, and who had removed with her par- ents to Coles Co. the year before ; they
have six children-Mary Ida, Lulu May, Harry Warren, Florence and Nellie. In 1856, he removed to Charleston and fol- lowed his trade till the fall of 1859, when he engaged as a clerk in the store of T. Hulman, with whom he continued until the fall of 1864; he then, with W. S. Minton and A. K. Spears, purchased the stock of Mr. Hulman, and engaged in merchandising, under the firm name of Wright, Minton & Co. till 1870, then till 1872 as W. G. Wright & Co .; Mr. Min- ton returning in 1872, the firm became W. S. Minton & Co., and so continued till 1876, since when, it has been Wright, Hodgen & Co .; in 1868, Wright, Minton & Co. built the brick store which forms a portion of March's Block, and is now oe- cupied by R. Stoddert & Sons; they were also for two years owners of the mill known as the Tinkey Mill in Charleston, and for two years were engaged in the house-fur- nishing business, in addition to their gro- cery trade.
GODFREY WEBER, deceased, late of Charleston ; was born in Oberslingen, Kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, Dee. 24, 1820 : his father was a vineyardist, and his early years were passed among the vine-clad hills and sunny slopes of his na- tive land. He was married in August, 1848, to Miss Frances Muller, who was born in Wisgoldingen, Wurtemberg, Ger- many, May 27, 1824; they immediately emigrated to America, and settled near Louisville, Ky., and engaged in gardening and wine-growing; two years later, he re- moved to Clark Co., Ill., and located on a farm near Westfield, to which town he aft- erward removed, and worked in the Westfield Mill for eleven years; in 1866, he removed to Charleston, and engaged in the bakery and confectionery business, in which he continued till his death, which occurred Sept. 7, 1877 ; he left a wife, who still resides in Charleston, and ten children-William (a farmer in Hutton Tp.), Kate (wife of John Hederich, of Charleston), Frederick C. (of Hutton Tp.), Louisa (Mrs. Schaun, of Charleston), Daniel. John and George (of Charleston), Emma E. ( wife of William Louden, of Westfield, Ill.), Matilda F. and Charles.
DANIEL WEBER, of the firm of Weber Brothers, bakers and confection- ers, Charleston, is a son of Godfrey and
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Frances (Muller) Weber; he was born in | then apprenticed to learn the weaver's Westfield, Ill., May 31, 1854, and came with his parents to Charleston in 1866 ; he spent a part of his time on his father's farm in Hutton Tp., and a portion in the store in Charleston, and on the death of his father, in 1877, he, with his brother John, succeeded to the business. He was married April 29, 1878, to Miss Rosa Riegger, of Bloomington, Ill.
JOHN WEBER, the junior member of the firm of Weber Brothers, was also born in Westfield, Clark Co., Ill., April 19, 1856, and came with the other members of the family to Charleston, at the age of 10 years.
GUNTHER WEISS, of the firm of Weiss & Frommel, proprietors of the Charleston Woolen-Mill, Charleston ; was born in Leutenberg, Sharzburg, Rudol- stadt, Germany, July 6, 1823; he at- tended school till the age of 14, and was
trade; in 1845, he came to the United States, landing in Galveston, Texas; on the breaking-out of the war with Mexico, he volunteered in the 1st Tex. V. I., and served under Gen. Taylor; in the spring of 1848, he went to Cincinnati, where he remained until 1852, when he went to. Terre Haute, Ind., and began business as a grocery and provision merchant, which he continued for twenty-two years; in 1874, he came to Charleston, and assumed an active part in the management of the Charleston Woolen-Mill, in which he had been a partner since 1869. Mr. Weiss was married Nov. 17, 1853, to Miss Carrie Newhart, of Cincinnati, a native of Bava- ria, Germany ; they have eight children- Otto P., Emma (wife of Alfred C. Fick- lin, of Charleston), Louise, Aurora, Hel- ena, Adolph G., Carrie and Maria.
MATTOON TOWNSHIP.
M. ALSHULER, staple and fancy dry goods, Mattoon ; was born in Bavaria, Ger- many, A. D. 1836 ; his early life was spent in school ; having acquired a good educa- tion, in February, 1852, he immigrated to America, and first located in Danville, Ill., where he engaged as clerk in a general dry goods store. In 1854. he went to Chicago, and was employed in a jewelry and fancy store, on Lake street ; he next located with the firm of Edsall & Co., in Terre Haute, Ind., and remained with that firm seven years ; with another firm he remained three years longer, and, in 1865, came to Mattoon ; here the dry goods firm of Alshuler, Aaron & Co. was formed, and continued one year ; the firm of C. & M. Alshuler was next formed, and existed eleven years. In the spring of 1876, the firm of C. &. M. Al. shuler was dissolved, and that of M. Alshuler & Co. formed. To Mr. Alshuler must be accorded, and justly, too, the honor of opening up the first exclusively dry goods establishment in the city ; prior to his example, merchandising in Mattoon had been conducted on the plan of "ye olden times," when each carried in stock a line of dry goods, groceries, queensware,
drugs, hardware, etc., etc .; under hi 8 healthful example, business soon became classified; by strict attention to business, fair dealing, and the establishment of a " one price " system, strictly adhered to, he has succeeded in building up a large and remunerative business, and now oper- ates the largest and most prosperous dry goods establishment in the city. He was married Sept. 13, 1871, to Fannie Frank, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio; have two children-Cora and Damon T.
J. L. AUBERT, County Surveyor, Mattoon; was born in Licking Co., Ohio, Nov. 3, 1830 ; his father was a tiller of the soil, and his early life was that of a farmer's son ; at the age of 18, he began work at the carpenter's trade, and worked under instruction three years. In 1854, he came West and settled in Moultrie Co., Ill., where he purchased land, farmed some, but for the most part followed his trade. In July, 1865, he located in Lebanon, St. Clair Co .; here he remained three years, during which time he contracted and built the public school buildings and the M. E. Church. In 1868, he lived a short time in Shelbyville, and removed from there to.
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Jacksonville, Ill., where he was engaged on the Court House, the East Centenary Church, and on improvements to the Christian Church ; he began the study of surveying many years ago, un- der the direction of J. R. Anderson, his brother-in-law, formerly County Sur- veyor in Ohio, and later of Moultrie Co., Ill. Mr. Aubert was elected Surveyor of Coles Co. in November, 1875. He was married in 1858 to Minerva R. Morgan, a native of Licking Co., Ohio.
J. I. AYER, book and music store, Mattoon ; was born in Medford, Mass., Feb. 3, 1854. In 1866, the family moved to Elizabeth, N. J .; in addition to his common-school education, he enjoyed the advantages of a boarding-school at Naza- reth, Penn .; this school was of a military character, and he here pursued a course in civil engineering ; at the age of 15 years he entered the firm of Roberts & Co. (dealers in books and stationery), at Eliza- beth, N. J., to take charge of his father's interest, he being a member of the firm. In the fall of 1870, he came West to Illi- nois, and settled in Mattoon, and en- gaged in engineering on the Decatur, Mattoon & Sullivan and the Grayville & Mattoon Railroads ; he was thus employed about three years; in 1874, he was em- ployed as book-keeper in the Essex House, and remained till March, 1878; in Novem- ber, 1877, he purchased his present business, and since March, 1878, has given it his personal supervision. He was married in August, 1876, to Mary L. Cleveland, a na- tive of Melrose, Mass. ; has one daughter- Mary L., born Aug. 20, 1878. Mr. Ayer is a relative of the world-renowned Dr. J. C. Ayer, of Lowell, Mass.
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