USA > Illinois > Stephenson County > The History of Stephenson County, Illinois : containing biographical sketches war record statistics portraits of early settlers history of the Northwest, history of Illinois, &c. > Part 76
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J. R. PERKINS, steam and gas fitter and plumber, Bridge street; is a native of New York State, and was born in the town of Franklin, Delaware Co., July 2, 1835. He grew up to manhood in that State, and when the war broke out he enlisted in the 21st N. Y. V. I .; was transferred to the 1st N. Y. Mounted Rifles ; he remained in the service until June, 1865. He came to Stephenson Co. the same year, and located in Freeport ; entered the hardware house of Burchard Bros., where he remained four years, and, in 1869, established his present business, and has built up a good trade ; he makes a specialty of heating houses by steam. He is a member of Excelsior Lodge, 97, A., F. & A. M., and of Freeport Chapter, No. 23, and Freeport Commandery, No. 7; also is a member of J. H. Addams Lodge, A. O. U. W. Mr. Perkins was united in marriage to Miss C. L. Butler, of Otsego Co., N. Y., Oct. 20, 1859; they have one daughter-Lillie A.
J. J. PIERSOL, residence Galena avenue; is a native of Hunterdon Co.,. N. J., and was born Aug. 8, 1819; he grew up to manhood in Pennsylvania, and learned the trade of blacksmith ; he came to Illinois and located in Stephenson Co., in May, 1851, and began working at his trade. When the war broke out, he enlisted as private, in 1862, in the 93d I. V. I .; he was elected 2d Lieutenant of Co. G; he was promoted to Captain of Co. G, and commanded the company in the battles of Champion Hills, Jackson, Port Gibson and Raymond; was wounded at Champion Hills; he had two sons in the army ; he was honorably discharged from the service Jan. 4, 1864, on account of wounds received; he still carries rebel bullets in his body. After his return, he was elected Sberiff of the county, served two years, then was appointed Deputy Sheriff, and served six years, when he was again elected Sheriff, and held that office four years ; he has also held school offices. Capt. Piersol was united in marriage, Oct. 17, 1841, to Miss Elizabeth A. Lattig, a native of Pennsylvania ; they have seven children-George L., enlisted and served in the 11th and the 93d I. V. I .; Evans P., enlisted and served in the 72d I. V. I .; Augustus R., Lavinia, Emma, Frank R. and Cora E.
DR. NATHAN FAY PRENTICE (deceased), physician ; was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y., Oct. 11, 1825 ; he received his early education at Owaska and Moravia, in that State; in 1846, he attended the Medical Academy at Castleton, Vt., and also attended medical lectures in New York; in 1847, he commenced the practice of medicine in Rochester ; in 1848, he came West, and located in Rockton, Winnebago Co. Dr. Prentice was united in marriage Nov. 20, 1851, to Miss Miranda Hyatt, a native of Canada ; the following year they came to Freeport, and engaged in the prac- tice of his profession. Dr. Prentice was prominently identified with the Masonic fra- ternity, and was a member of the 33d Degree; he was Commander of Freeport Commandery, No. 7, for five years, and held the office of Prelate in said Commandery for four years ; he was Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of the State of Illi- nois in 1866. Dr. Prentice successfully practiced his profession here until his death, which occurred April 19, 1873; he left two children-daughter Lizzie (now Mrs. F. A Read, Jr., of this city), and a son, Charles Sumner Read, living with his mother.
GEORGE PURINTON, lawyer and Judge, son of Robert and Betsy Hall Purinton, was born in Cumberland Co. Me., Nov. 30, 1809; he was raised on the homestead farm till 16 years old, during which period he attended the winter school from
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six weeks to two months ycarly ; at the age of 16, he was sent by his father to a private academy for six weeks, after which he worked his way along, supporting himself by teaching school, till he entered Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me., in 1831, and gradu- ated in 1835; in 1836, he entered as law student in the office of John Neal, lawyer, novelist and poet, in the city of Portland ; in the fall of 1837, he emigrated to Balti- more, Md., where he was engaged as Professor in Baltimore College for a few months. Listening to the glowing accounts of the Western prairies, the emigration fever seized him ; Congress was in session, Col. Robinson was then United States Senator for the State of Illinois ; the Colonel furnished him with letters of introduction to Judge Wilson and others ; Judge Wilson was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois, and with him he continued his law studies in 1838; that year he was admitted to practice law in all the courts of the State, and he opened a law office at Freeport, in 1840 ; he was elected Secretary of the Council of Revision, composed of the Governor and Judges of the Supreme Court, for the approval of the laws of the session of 1842 and 1843; in 1848, he was elected, for four years, Judge of the County Court of Stephenson Co., having probate jurisdiction, and was Presiding Judge of the County Commissioners' Court ; after the expiration of his term of office, he retired to private life, yet has often been elected to the office of Justice of the Peace, which office he now holds.
F. A. READ, Jr., of the firm of Seeley & Read, dealers in dry goods and notions, Opera House Block, Stephenson street ; is a son of Rev. F. A. Read, and is a native of Winnebago Co., Ill., and was born in the city of Rockford, Aug. 27, 1852; he grew up and attended school there until 14 years of age, and came to Freeport with his parents in 1866; after attending school here he entered the store of William Walton, where he received his business education, and remained there six years; in 1877, he associated with his present partner, and engaged in the dry goods trade. Mr. Read was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth F. Prentice, daughter of the late Dr. N. F. Pren- tice, an old and honored citizen of Freeport, April 22, 1879 ; they have one daughter- Helen.
JOSEPH H. REINEKE, manufacturer and dealer in harness, saddles, trunks and valises, Galena street, third door west of Chicago street; is a native of Ger- many, and was born in July 15, 1845 ; his mother, with four children, came to Stephen- son Co. in 1854; he grew up and learned his trade here; in 1867, he engaged in busi- ness, the firm being Moulter, Reineke & Co., afterward J. A. Reineke & Co .; in 1870, the firm became Reineke & Otto; they continued together for ten years, and Mr. Reineke succeeded to the business of the firm; he occupies a large store, 20x90 feet, one of the most attractive places of business in the city ; he has a good stock, and by close attention to business and fair dealing has built up a large trade. During the war he enlisted in the 46th I. V. I., Co. C, and served until the end of the war. Mr. Reineke was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Shueneman, a native of Germany, Nov. 25, 1875; they have two children-Leonora and Sylvester A .; they have lost one son-Sylvester Henry. Mr. Reineke's mother is still living here in the city.
BENJAMIN RHODES, dealer in fresh and salted meats, No. 149 Stephen- son street ; is a native of York Co., England, and was born May 25, 1821 ; he grew up and learned the trade of soap and candle maker; he came to the United States in 1843, and came to Stephenson Co. in November, 1850 ; he engaged in the butchering business in 1852, and continued two years, and then engaged in the manufacture of soap and candles until 1861, when he again engaged in butchering, and has carried on the business since then. In 1849, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann Gill, from New York ; they have four children-Emma L., now Mrs. Johnson, living in Buffalo, N. Y .; Isabel H., Olive C. and Walter H. Mr. Rhodes has held the office of Town Clerk and City Collector.
A. V. RICHARDS, born May 1, 1841, in Morgan Co., Ill., near Jackson- ville; his mother, Eleanor Swinnerton, was born in the same county and State, in 1818; his father, Truman P. Richards, was a native of Broome Co., N. Y., and was born in 1816 ; his parents lived in Illinois until 1847, when they removed to Hazel Green, Grant Co., Wis., drawn thither by lead-mine excitement, and lived there till the break- ing-out of the rebellion ; his father was a mechanic. A. V. attended the public schools
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until 15 years old, then entered a "collegiate academy," and obtained fair education in common English branches; paid his own tuition, while attending this institution, by per- forming various duties and offices about the building, by teaching summer schools in the country, and working for farmers in harvest time, during vacations. In May, 1861, left home to enlist at Boscobel, that being the nearest point in the county where a mil- itary company was being organized, and to get there, walked from Platteville to Bosco- bel, a distance of forty miles, in one day ; did not succeed in getting into the three- months service, but was sworn into the U. S. service Sept. 10, 1861, in Co. H, 7th W. V. I., one of the regiments which composed, in later days, the famous Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac ; in the latter part of December, 1861, while the regiment was encamped at Arlington Heights, was detailed, by peremptory order of the War De- partment, to report to Col. A. J. Meyer, at Signal Camp of Instruction, Georgetown, D. C .; Col. Meyer was the inventor of the signal code, and Congress had authorized a detail of men and officers in order to test the value of the signal service, which was a new departure in the American army; the Signal Corps soon became very popular with army commanders, and further details were made and the corps extended to every department of the army and to the gunboats, the new signal code proving far more useful than the old arbitrary naval code ; the duties of signal-men and officers, while very rigorous-as they were on duty night and day, always in small detachments and generally in exposed positions (often outside the picket lines), affording, with their parti- colored signal flags, excellent targets for rebel sharp-shooters and batteries-were also very interesting and enticing, as their duties involved more of a knowledge of the operations of both armies than was enjoyed by any other branch of the service ; but signal-men served for the first years of the war " without hope of fee or reward " beyond their monthly stipend, promotions being out of the question, as the corps was only nominally a branch of the service until Congress, by a law approved March 3, 1863, made it an arm of the service on the same basis as the regular army, the men and non-commissioned officers to rank as engineers, and the officers as members of the General Staff, all to be mounted; soon after this law went into effect, Mr. R. was promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant, and served in that capacity until March, 1864, when he was ordered before an examining board of regular army officers, convened by order of the War Department, to be exam- ined for a commission ; a large number of civilians and officers of volunteer organiza- tions were permitted to compete in these examinations for appointment to the few posi- tions to be filled ; but three enlisted men of the Signal Corps were recommended for commissions by this board, together with some nineteen civilians, most of whom were well re-enforced by Congressional or other political influence ; Mr. R. was one of the fortunate three who passed the ordeal with an average standing high enough to entitle him to promotion, though destitute of the "political influence," and on the day succeed- ing his examination was relieved from duty as Quartermaster Sergeant and assigned to duty as an acting officer ; he served in this capacity, performing the duties of signal offi- cer in the field, for more than a year; the civilian appointees, being ignorant of the first duties of a soldier, spending most of the same year in camps of instruction, learning to be soldiers and becoming proficient in the intricacies of the signal code ; in the spring of 1865, the tardy commission finally came, with rank as 2d Lieutenant, to date from Feb. 14, 1865 ; he accompanied McClellan to Fortress Monroe and thence up the Peninsula in 1862, participating in all the hardships of that terrible campaign, from the evacuation of Yorktown to the final evacuation of the Peninsula, and taking a part in the battle of Williamsburg and also in the bloody seven-days fighting before Richmond, at Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Bottoms Bridge, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill and Harrison's Landing, and, later, was in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam and numerous cavalry skirmishes and forays in the Boonesboro Valley about the time of the battle of Gettysburg. After the grand review at Washington, in May, 1865, the war with the South being ended, was ordered to Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., and thence to Ft. Laramie as signal officer on the staff of Gen. P. E. Connor ; ac- companied Gen. Connor on his Powder River expedition against the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arrapahoe Indians ; had several engagements with the hostiles, the most important of which was the battle of Tongue River, Aug. 30, 1865, in which Gen. Connor, with
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about 100 troops, attacked and destroyed an Arrapahoe village of 100 lodges, killing forty warriors and capturing some 700 head of horses and mules, many of which had been run off from the military posts ; in this engagement he was struck in the jugular vein by a spent ball, but not wounded ; mustered out of the U. S. service at Ft. Leav- enworth, Dec. 9, 1865 ; after the war was over, was offered, by member of Congress, a brevet commission, but declined the honor ; settled in Galena, Ill., where his parents had removed during the war. In February, 1867, married to Miss Flora L. Miner, of Galena ; resided in Galena and engaged in insurance and real-estate business continu- ously (with exception of about one year that he lived at Warren, from 1871 to 1872,) until 1873 ; in 1873-74 was employed by the Department of the Interior to survey and establish the southern and western boundaries of Wyoming Territory, a work of no small magnitude and requiring no small amount of energy and intrepidity, as the lines ran through the roughest mountains and across trackless deserts, inhabited only by wild ani- mals and wilder Indians. Concerning this work and the manner in which it was executed, the Commissioner of the General Land Office says as follows :
Under the appropriation made by act of Congress, approved March 8, 1873, a contract was made with Alonzo V. Richards, astronomer and surveyor, for the survey of this boundary . co-incident with the thirty-fourth degree of longitude west from Washington Observatory, and included between the forty-first and forty-fifth parallels of north latitude. The returns of the survey were made to this office during the last fiscal year, resting on fourteen different astro- nomical observations on Polaris and twenty-four for latitude at the terminal point of boundary. The field work was executed by Astronomer Richards, in the months of June, July, August and September, 1874, under his contract bearing date May 29, 1873, involving great labor, through a country devoid of settlements, and presenting formidable topographical features.
The following letter speaks for itself :
DEPARIMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C., Aug. 2, 1875.
A. V. Richards, Esq., Galena, Ill.
SIR: I acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th ult., requesting to be furnished with a testimonial as to the character of the work which you returned to this office under your ap- pointment by the Hon. Secretary of the Interior, as U. S. Astronomer and Surveyor of the south- ern and western boundaries of Wyoming Territory, and in pursuance of your contracts with this office. In accordance with your desire, I have caused an examination to be instituted into the records of this office, and, finding that your observations for the determination of the astro- nomical boundaries have been correctly made, and boundary monuments planted in conformity with the deduced results of said observations and your instructions from my predecessor in office, who fully approved your work, I cheerfully bear witness to the excellence of the character and quality of the returns, consisting of the field notes, astronomical data and series of plats illus- trating the topography along the southern and western boundaries of the Territory of Wyoming, involving 645 lineal miles of survey. Considering the distance of the lines determined, marked and sketched through the trackless country, and the many obstacles impeding the progress in your work, as is evidenced by the field notes of the survey, I cannot withhold the expression of my opinion as to your said work, and have to say that it is not surpassed by any survey of the kind on file in this office, and that it reflects creditably upon this office and yourself.
I am, very respectfully, etc., S. S. BURDETT, Commissioner.
In September, 1875, Mr. R. removed to Freeport and purchased a controlling interest in the Freeport Journal, of which he became, and still is, the editor.
J. L. ROBINSON, manufacturer of carriages, buggies and wagons, Bridge street, between Chicago and Van Buren streets ; is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born in the city of Pittsburg, Aug. 9, 1848 ; he came to Illinois in infancy ; he grew up and learned his trade in this State; he came to Stephenson Co. in 1873, and was engaged in business in Ridott until 1876, when he established his business in Freeport, and is building up a large trade. In 1875, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Briggs, from Alton, III.
HENRY ROHKAR, bakery and restaurant, 57 Stephenson street ; is a native of Germany, and was born in the Kingdom of Hanover, June 11, 1829; he came to the United States in 1850, and came to Stephenson Co. and settled in Freeport, in 1856, and established his present business on the corner of Mechanic and Stephenson streets ; he has occupied his present location for sixteen years, and has carried on the business here in the same block for twenty-four years. In October, 1862, he married
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Caroline Yerks, from Pennsylvania; they have seven children-Henry, Georgiana, Freddie, Caroline, Katie, Eugiene and an infant girl. He has one daughter, Anna, by former wife.
C. H. ROSENSTIEL, farmer and fine stock raiser, Sec. 5; P. O. Free- port ; is a native of Germany, and was born in Saxony, April 18, 1821 ; he grew up and received his education there; then pursued a course of study in building and architecture and received his diplomas; he came to the United States and landed in Baltimore, Aug. 17, 1840 ; he came to Stephenson Co. and arrived here July 15, 1842; he settled at Waddams Grove, near Eleroy, bought land there and engaged in building two years after coming here. On the 5th of October, 1844, he was united in marriage to Miss Anna C. Gilman, daughter of Daniel Gilman, one of the early settlers ; her grand- father was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. In 1842, Mr. Rosenstiel, at Eleroy, manufactured the first brick ever made in this county, and they were used in building here ; in 1845, he came to Freeport ; in 1848, he built the first steam-mill ever erected in this county ; in 1865-66 he built the woolen-mill, and in 1871-72, he built the large sugar factory for manufacturing beet sugar, and established that important enterprise, which is spoken of in another part of this volume. Mr. Rosenstiel has been interested and actively identified with various interests and indus- tries connected with the city. Mr. Rosenstiel was the first to introduce blooded stock in this county ; he owns 600 acres of land, finely located, adjoining the city ; there are few grain and stock farms in Northern Illinois as finely improved and under as high a state of cultivation ; there are few men who more thoroughly understand the character of the soil, its nature and demands, and who are thereby enabled to increase its produc- ing power to the fullest extent. Mr. Rosenstiel was a member of the State Agricultural Board nineteen years, and was prominent in organizing the Agricultural Society of the county ; he has been elected and served as a member of the Board of Supervisors, and other offices ; he was prominent in securing the erection, in this county, of one of the finest court houses in the State, though he was opposed to and prevented the county building it upon credit by the issuing of bonds ; he thought it much better to pay as they built; he was active in aiding and securing the various railroads that have reached Freeport ; has been prominent in all educational matters, and has always given liberally to all church enterprises, not only in the city but throughout the county. When he began life, he had nothing; by his industry, energy, integrity and liberality, he has become one of the most successful men in the county, or in this section of the State. Mr. and Mrs. Rosenstiel have five children, three of whom are married-Matilda, now Mrs. H. B. Carey, of Beloit; Oliver E., engaged in business, Freeport ; Louise, now Mrs. H. S. Stevenson, of Freeport; Jerome I. Case and Howard, both at home.
GEORGE RUSTON, buying and shipping butter and eggs, tallow and lard, No. 155 Stephenson street ; is a native of England, and was born in the city of London Dec. 18, 1840 ; his parents came to the United States in 1842; he grew up in New York ; after reaching manhood, he came to Illinois, and located in Freeport, in 1862, and established his present business ; before the close of the day he arrived in Free- port, he rented a store and bought over 600 dozen eggs ; Mr. Ruston has successfully carried on the business for the past eighteen years, and has a large established trade ; by his energy and fair dealing, he has built up the business from $5,000 to $100,000 per annum, and for a long time has transacted the leading business in his line.
LUTHER B. SANBORN, master mechanic of the division of the Mil- waukee & St. Paul Railroad ; is a native of Bristol, N. H., and was born March 16, 1829; he grew up and attended school there, then learned the trade of machinist and locomotive builder in Lawrence, Mass., and in Boston ; he came West to Milwaukee, in 1854, and engaged in railroading, and is now one of the oldest employes of this corpo- ration ; he was foreman of the railroad shops at Watertown and at Horicon ; he was appointed master mechanic of this division of the line in 1871, and since then has held that position. In August, 1856, Mr. Sanborn was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. Norris, a native of Kennebec Co., Me .; they have three children-J. Norris (attend- ing college), Alice J. (attending college) and Anna Maud.
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D. B. SCHULTE, manufacturer of and dealer in fine harness, saddles, etc., 88 Stephenson street, also a member of the firm of Hettinger, Collmann Brothers & Co., bankers, Freeport; is a native of Westphalen, Prussia, and was born Dec. 11, 1822; he grew up to manhood and learned his trade there ; he emigrated to America in 1850, and came to Detroit, Mich .; he came to Stephenson Co. and settled in Freeport April 5, 1854, and engaged in manufacturing and selling harness, and has successfully carried on the business over twenty-six years-a longer time than any one in this line of business in Freeport or in Stephenson Co .; Mr. Schulte is a member of the banking firm of Het- tinger, Collman Brothers & Co. He has held the offices of City Treasurer and Assistant Supervisor ; he holds the office of School Treasurer, and is a Director in the German Insurance Company. Mr. Schulte married Miss Mary Hienz, a native of the Rhine Province, Prussia, May 31, 1853 ; they have five children-Herman, Emma, Otto, Mathilde and Albert. When Mr. Schulte came to this country, he had very little, and he owes his success to his own efforts. He belongs to Freeport Lodge, No. 239, I. O. O. F., and to the Germania Society.
JOHN SCHMICH, of the firm of Schmich & Voigt, dealers in groceries and provisions, Galena avenue, between Galena and Stephenson streets ; is a native of Erie Co., N. Y., and was born in February, 1843 ; his parents came to Stephenson Co. and located in Freeport in 1851 ; he grew up and attended school here ; he associated with Mr. Voigt and established their present business in July, 1876 ; they are building up a good trade. Mr. Schmich was united in marriage, May 4, 1869, to Miss Mary Theresa Deguinther, a native of Germany ; they have five children-Josephina T., John F., Mary M., Edmond Hugo and Oscar L .; they have lost one daughter-Rosa A.
E. SEITZ, of the firm of Seitz & McGrath, publishers of the Freeport Daily Herald ; is a native of Illinois, and was born in Dupage Co. May 21, 1855 ; his parents came here the following year; he grew up and attended school here, and learned the printing business in the office of the Anzeiger ; he has been connected with the Herald since it was established, in April, 1877.
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