USA > Illinois > Livingston County > The biographical record of Livingston County, Illinois > Part 55
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The parents of Mrs. Kerrick are George and Malinda Hollenback, honored pioneers of Woodford county, and among the first settlers in central Ilinois. The father was born in Perry county, Ohio. December 31. ISIO. a son of Daniel and a grandson of Jacob Hollenback. Daniel Hollenhack was a, farmer, and for some years was engaged in freighting supplies across the mountains.
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from Baltimore to Perry county, Ohio, and on one trip carried nearly three hogsheads of tobacco to the seaport, returning with a wagon-load of provisions and necessaries. In the autumn of 1835 he came to the west and found very few inhabitants of Marshall and Woodford counties. He settled near the di- vision line between these counties and was one of the first to locate a cabin on Crow creek. A true frontiersman, he was an expert marksman and fond of hunting, and his sons inherited his skill. flis wife was Martha, the daughter of Sam- uel and Martha Thralls, the latter an English lady, who came to this country with her parents when she was young. Daniel and Martha Hollenback became the parents of eight children, of whom George is the eldl- est. Julia is the widow of Rev. Samuel Ogle, an early settler of Marshall county, and well known as a minister of the Method- ist Episcopal church. He died about twenty years ago, and is survived by his three daughters. Susan, wife of Charles Dobson, and Mary Ann, wife of William Perry, are deceased. Sophia T., wife of Lewis Wine- teer. resides in this county. Jacob married Margaret McCune. She is now deceased. Daniel, who served three years in the Ser- enty-seventh Regiment of Hlinois Infantry during the war of the Rebellion, is at the Soldiers' Home in Quincy, Illinois. Martha Ellen married William Mann, but died sev- eral years ago.
George Hollenback suffered all of the vicissitudes of frontier life, as he passed his boyhood in a portion of the Buckeye state, which was but sparsely settled, and in 1835 became a pioneer of Woodford county --- then an undeveloped wilderness. Nobly did he play the part of a founder of its present prosperity and his name is entirely worthy
of being inscribed on its roll of honor. By diligence and sound business sense he ac- quired a competence, and reared his large family to occupy respected positions in the busy world.
The wife of Mr. Hollenback's youth was Jane Patton, a daughter of Nathan and Jane Patton. William, the eldest born of Mr. and Mrs. Hollenback, resides in Nebraska. He wedded Adaline Gilchrist, and their only son, Rufus, is a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church. Ella is the wife of Frank Layton, and the younger daughter. Bertha, is unmarried. John C., second son of Mr. Hollenback, is the proprietor of a fruit farm in Jefferson county, Illinois. His wife was formerly Miss Lydia ( Miller ) Graham, and their only son, Edgar, died at the age of twenty-two years, while Minnie, the daugh- ter, is at home. George H., third son, died at the age of seven. Nathan P .. of Ne- braska, married Mary Gilchrist, and of their children, Elsie. George and Leslie are de- ceased, while those living are Carl. Fred, Daisy and a baby. Elizabeth J., eller daugh- ter of the Hollenback family, is the widow of Ira Davidson, and mother of Arthur-Wil- mer, Mabel, Emory and George ( George and Arthur, deceased). Sarah E., the younger daughter, is the wife of John Grubb. of Kan- sas, and their nine children are: George, Rosa (deceased ). Pearl, Myrtle, William, Ilattie, Frank. Earl and Paul. Mrs. Jane ( Patton ) Hollenback departed this life De- cember 2, 1857. after having been a faithful Christian and member of the Methodist church for several years. The union of Mr. Hollenback and Malinda Warden Davis was celebrated May 1, 1859. Her father, David Davis, was born in Vermont, September 20, 1800, and died November 21. 1858, seventeen years after his settlement in
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Illinois. Ihis wife, Mary A. ( Stattler ) Davis, was born October 5. 1812, and died February 2, 1896. Both were de- Tout members of the Methodist church for many years. Their ellest chikl. Clarissa Ann, died in infancy and the third child. Mary J., also died when young. Albert lives in Forrest, Illinois: Eliza Ann Mann is a resident of Kansas, and Amanda J .. widow of the Hon. Andrew J. Bell, lives in Fearn, Illinois. Charlotte, Mrs. Sylvester Coan, died in November, 1897, at the age of fifty two years. John A., the youngest brother of Mrs. Hollenback, was one of the brave boys who wore the blue in the Civil war and was one of the unfortunate victims of Liby Prison. For six months he suf- fered the untold horrors of that dismal pen. and when, at last, he was exchanged. it was too late, for he was so weakened by illness and starvation, that he died just as the train conveying him to Annapolis reached the sta- tion in that city. To George and Malinda Hollenback two daughters were born, name- ly: Mrs. Kerrick and Cora Luella, who is Mrs. John Cleeseman, and has three sons, George T .. Harry Leroy and Lester V. Mrs. Holenback was born December 10. 1833, and when eight years of age came to the prairies of Illinois. Here she grew to womanhood. hterally "growing up with the country," for within her recollection nearly all of the development of the central portion of the state has been accomplished.
JONATHAN D. WATKINS.
Fayette county, Pennsylvania, October 22. 1825, and is a son of Joseph and Sarah (David ) Watkins. The father was also a native of Pennsylvania, where he spent the greater part of his life, engaged in farming and operating a saw-mill. About 1837 he removed to Union county, Ohio, where he was engaged principally in farming for some time, and then went to Shelby county. the same state. where he died at the age of
sixty-six years. His wife, who survived him, die in the same county at the ripe old age of eighty-two years, and was laid to rest by his side. They were the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters, of whom Jonathan D. is the oldest. The others were as follows: Thomas J., a prosperous farmer, died in Shelby county, Ohio, in 1863, leaving a widow and two children; Isaac, a school teacher of that county, died in Alabama : Joseph is a veteran of the Civil war and a farmer of Ohio: Benjamin, also an agriculturist, died in Shelby county; Enoch is still engaged in farming in that county: Phoebe J. is the wife of B. F. Howell, a farmer of Shelly county ; Marga- ret is the wife of John Kohler, a veteran of the Civil war, and a farmer of Cass county, Missouri: Rebecca A. is the wife of Elias Howell, a prosperous farmer of Shelby county, Ohio.
The boyhood and youth of Jonathan D. Watkins were passed upon the home farm in Shelby county, which at that time was almost an unbroken wilderness, there being but few settlers, while deer and other wild game were plentiful in the forest. . It the age of twenty years he started ont in life for himself as a school teacher and taught for a short time in Shelby county, and later followed farming there. In 1866 he came
He subject of this sketch, a prosperous irmer Feeling n section 1. Bele Prairie twoslap, Livingston county, Ilmois, was 1 poner Eret wn, the county seat of to Livingston county, Illinois, and purchased
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forty acres of land on section 2, Belle Prai- rie township, but sold that place a few years later and bought his present farm of eighty acres on section 1, the same township, to the cultivation and improvement of which he has since devoted his energies with marked success. This farm was entered by Judge David Davis, of Bloomington, from whom our subject purchased it. He has made near- ly all of the improvements upon the place.
In March, 1853, Mr. Watkins was united in marriage with Miss Rachel M. Howell, a daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth ( Max- im) Howell, natives of Pennsylvania, who lived to a ripe old age and died in Shelby county, Ohio, where they located at an early day. By occupation her father was a farm- er. Mr. and Mrs. Watkins have a family of four children, three sons and one daugh- ter, namely: Franklin S., born in Ohio, in 1840, is engaged in farming on the home place: Joseph is married and also engaged in farming in Livingston county; William E. is married and is a jeweler and watchmaker of Cropsey, Illinois; and Lanra is the wife of George W. Howell, a retired farmer of Strawn, Illinois. Other children of the fam- ily died when young.
Politically Mr. Watkins has always affil- iated with the Democracy, but has never sought nor desired public office, although he is a public-spirited citizen, who gives his support to all that tends to improve or ad- vance the interests of the community in which he lives.
ANDREW J. MOURER.
Among Eureka's most enterprising and successful business men none stand higher than the gentleman whose name introduces
this sketch. He became connected with the business interests of the city as a clerk in December. 1869, and is now a member of the well-known firm of McGuire & Mourer, the leading grocers of the place.
Mr. Mourer was born April 16, 1851, in AAlsace-Lorain, then a part of France, but now a province of Germany, and was only four years old when brought to this country by his parents, Joseph and Katherine (Schweitzer) Mourer. In the spring of 1856 they came to Woodford county, Illi- nois, and located on a farm in Worth town- ship. The father was one of the first min- isters of the old Omish or Mennonite church in this section of the state, and one of its leading men for many years. He died cu route to New Orleans in the fall of 1867, and his wife died in February of the same year.
Our subject attended the common schools of Worth township during the winter months, but as soon as the season opened he commenced work on the farm. Hle was taught some at home by his father, who was a good German scholar, and supplemented the knowledge thus acquired by reading and contact with the world in later years. He worked on the farm until the fall of 1869, and then came to Eureka and accepted a position as clerk in the grocery store of Iverger Brothers. For some time he was with different proprietors of the same store, and then went to Metamora, where he was employed in a general store for thirteen months. Returning to Eureka, he entered the store of which he is now a proprietor as clerk July 1. 1878, and in 1886 bought an interest in the business, the firm becom- ing McGuire & Monrer. He devotes his entire time and attention to the business, which is mostly under his management. and is meeting with marked success. They
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carry a large and well selected stock of gra- ceries and queensware, and enjoy a larger trade than any firm of the kind in the city. giving employment to three men besides themselves.
Mr. Mourer was married. February 5. 1875. to Miss Hattie Jackson, a daughter of Samuel Jackson, one of the old residents of Eureka. Mr. Mourer owns a pleasant home besides other property in the city. Both he and his wife are consistent mem- ber- of the Christian church, and he is now filling the office of deacon. He is quite a pre mment member of Olio Lodge. No. 311. I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand : is also past chief patriarch of the encampment. past grand marshal of the grand encamp- ment of Illinois, and official instructor and exammer of the unwritten work. He is a member of Canton Wildey. No. 4. at Peoria. and is major chaplain of the second brigade. 1. a Republican he takes quite an active in- terest in local politics, and has been a men- ber of the executive committee. About ten years ago he was elected village trustee on the temperance ticket, and filled that office for two terms, during which time the water works were put in operation and the first brick sidewalks in the village were laid. In the spring of 1900 he was elected alder- man from the first ward. Eureka having been incorporated as a city. By the citizens of Ole township he was appointed a member of the country seat committee to make the Struggle for the county seat at Eureka, and their work was satisfactorily accomplished. getting first a petition, later the vote of the county and finally a decision of the courts 10 hvor di Eureka, the final appeal being to l'e supreme court of the state. This re- Te egreat deal of work and also the ex- fontane et considerable money. Mr. Mour-
er was a member of the finance committee. and took a very active part in the strug- gle.
WILLIAM JURY.
Prominent among the early settlers of Woodford county, Illinois, who have wit- nessed the marvelous development of this section of the state in the last half century. and who have, by honest toil and industry, succeeded in acquiring a handsome compe- tence. and are now able to spend the sun- set of life in quiet and retirement, is the gentleman whose name introduces this re- view. For many years he was successfully engaged in farming, but is now living a re- tired life in Washburn.
Mr. Jury was born in Devonshire. Eng- land. December 20, 1828, and is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth ( Tanton ) Jury, also natives of Devonshire, who in 1850 emigrat- ad to the new world and took up their resi- dence in Woodford county, Illinois. After spending two years in Cazenovia town- ship, they removed to Linn township, where the father took up a tract of government land, to the improvement and cultivation of which he at once turned his attention, mak- ing it his home throughout the remainder of his life. Hle died on that place in 1872, and his wife passed away in Metamora town- ship, in 1870. honored and respected by all who knew them. Their children were Will- iam. our subject: Elizabeth, who died in Cazenovia township. in 1850: Thomas, a resident of Washburn ; and Mrs. Mary Ful- ton, of Ford county, Illinois.
The first fourteen years of his life Will- iam Jury passed in his native land. but in
WILLIAM JURY.
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1842 he set sail from Bideford, England, and after a long and tedious voyage of eleven weeks and three days landed at New York. Hle immediately came west. by the Great Lakes, to Chicago, and by wagon to Wood- ford county, Ilinois, where he lived with an uncle for six years. He then returned to England, and came again to this country with the family in 1850. Since that time he has made his home uninterruptedly in Wood- ford county. The year of his arrival he bought land in Lin township and also took up a tract of government land, becoming owner of three hundred and twenty acres in that township, which he converted into a fine farm. There he made his home until his removal to Washburn in 1896. Being a skillful agriculturist and a man of excellent business and executive ability, he met with marked success in his farming operations, and besides his valuable property in Linn township, he owns over four hundred acres of well improved land in Cazenovia town- ship.
In 1857 Mr. Jury was married in Peoria county, Illinois, to Miss Maria Radley, also a native of Devonshire, England, and to them were born six children, namely : Mary : Clara; William, deceased ; Belle; Cora, de- ceased; and Clarence.
Politically Mr. Jury is identified with the Republican party, and was the first assessor of what is now Linn and Clayton townships. Ile also served as commissioner and school titistee of Linn township, and in early life took quite a prominent and influential part in public affairs. He was prominently iden- tified with the organization of the county and of the townships of Linn and Cazenovia. and has ever borne his part in the work of progress and advancement. His career has been such as to gain for him the confidence
and respect of all with whom he has come in contact, and he justly merits the high re- gard in which he is held.
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JACKSON PARKER.
Jackson Parker, honored as one of the founders of Woodford county and for sev- eral decades numbered among the citizens of Minonk, is certainly entitled to a promi- nent place in the history of this section and state. Long and earnestly he labored in the grand work of bringing the prairie wilder- ness into its present condition-the abode of thousands of happy, prosperous people, and with the fortitude of the true frontiersman, the pioneer of civilization, he endured hard- ships and trials of which this generation can form little idea. AAll honor to such heroic souls, the bulwark and mainstay of this great nation !
In tracing the ancestral history of Mr. Parker it is learned that he is of German extraction, though as long ago as the Revo- lutionary war in the United States, his pa- ternal grandfather. James Parker, was in the service of the patriots and was a drum- mer boy, helping to inspire his comrades to their devoted duty. Hle was one hundred and one years old when he died, about 1830. and in his last years received a pension from the government which he had thus helped to establish. The maternal grandfather of our subject was Abner Settle, whose wife lived to the age of ninety nine.
James Parker, Jr., father of our subject. was born and reared in Virginia, becoming a thorough millwright and carpenter. When he had passed his sixtieth anniversary he conceived the idea of settling in Illinois, where he believed better opportunities for
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his large family would be afforded. In 1838, prairies, and certain it is that he has not seen therefore. they made the long journey in reason to regret his choice of a location. After farming in partnership with his brother for three years he sold out his in- terest and then rented land for a period. In 1847 he purchased some wild prairie land in Bennington township and from his house, situated in the border of Marshall county. not a furrow had been turned as far as the Vermilion river, nor on his side of Sandy creek on the north, Panther creek on the south and for twenty miles to the eastward. Hle still owns two hundred acres of finely im- proved land and retains forty acres of tim- ber land, situated at the head of Crows creek. He rents his farm, receiving grain in payment. wagons, over the mountains, valleys and plans of what seemed almost impenetrable wildernesses, and at the end of six weeks ar- rived at their land of promise. They located at a point near the Illinois river. where for fifty miles in some directions there was not a habitation. The two eldest sons, Jack- son and James, bought eighty acres of land in Cazenovia township, Woodford county, and here the parents dwelt for several years. Then they went to Minonk to reside and spent their last years there, the revered fa- ther dying at ninety-one ( lacking twelve day-). and the mother at eighty-four. She was Frances Settle in her girlhood, and, like her husband was a native of Virginia. Their ellent born, udge, was killed when in his fifteenth year, and of the others, James, Jack- son. Joseph, Martin, Lewis, Mary Ann and Mildred. only three survive. James, who sold out his possessions near Dana, Illinois. about twenty-six years ago and went to Washington, is still living in that state. Mar- tin is a prosperous citizen of Elburn, Illinois. The parents were devout members of the Christian church and possessed the affection and high esteem of a large circle of friends. The father had been married prior to his union with Frances Settle and the wife died. leaving nine children, namely: Thornton, Shelton. Jane, Lonisa, Matilda, Meinda. Emily, Sarah and one who died in infancy.
The birth of Jackson Parker took place in Rappahannock county. Virginia, Novem- her 2. 1810. He attended the old-style sub- was the payment required for each child's tto l'erlaps his own youthful enthusi- d'in was an important factor m his father's I am to remove to the broad western
In partnership with Charles Dobson, Mr. Parker built the first store erected in Minonk and for two years, from 1854 to 1856, was engaged in selling dry goods there. Subsequently he conducted a hard- ware establishment for a short time, but the town. at that period. comprised only six or seven houses. He has dwelt here contin- uously since its infancy. and few have been more thoroughly interested in its upbuilding. He purchased some of the first grain ever sold in the place, and for many decades has dealt to some extent in this product of the fertile country around. Strict attention to business and unusual sagacity in his invest- ments have been factors in his financial suc- cess.
On the Tith of March, 1847, Mr. Parker married Harriet Dobson, daughter of Thomas and Mary Dobson. Born in Eng- land. November 17, 1825, she emigrated to the United States when in her fifth year and passed her early girlhood in Pennsyl- vania, where her father owned and carried on a farm. Later the family removed to
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Marshall county, Illinois, and thus Mrs. Par- ker also is one of the early settlers of central Illinois. Six children were born to our sub- ject and wife, namely : Mary Frances, who is the wife of Samuel Richardson, of Minonk, and has one child, Frances: Alice Jane, who is living with her parents; Hla May. wife of Mebalon Campbell, of Minonk. and the mother of Grace. Fred. Harry, Alic . Edna and John (deceased ) ; Nora .A., wife of Charles Stonier, a farmer of the vicinity of Pattensburg, Illinois, and mother of five children, Elsie, Flora, Josephine, Floyd and Esther : and Harriet Ellen, who became the wife of Friar Richardson, a farmer of Liv- ingston county, and has one son. Roy.
Mr. Parker is not a politician, nor has he been an aspirant to public office, though he has filled some positions when called upon to do so by his neighbors and friends. He votes for Democratic nominees and prin- ciples in national elections. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order and carries a souvenir of the good will and es- teem of that brotherhood-a beautiful gold licaded ebony cane, presented to him as a worthy exponent of Masonic principles and as one of the most venerable and most revered early settlers of Woodford county. Mr. Parker was one of the charter members of Rob Morris Lodge. No. 247. A. F. & 1. M .. and is the only one now living.
ERNEST ZIMMERMANN.
As a successful druggist and prominent business man Ernst Zimmerman has made his home in Roanoke, Woodford county since November. 1891. He was born in Peoria, Illinois, February 24. 1857, and is a son of Christian and Catherine ( Ziegler)
Zimmermann, both natives of Germany, the former born in Muenchweiler, Rheinisch, Bavaria, March 21, 1828, and the latter in Schoenenberg, Rheinisch, Bavaria, AAugust 10. 1834. They were married in Ba- varia, and two children were born to them before their emigration to America, but the daughter Louisa died in infancy. The other. Charles, born June 1. 1850, is a retired retail druggist of Peoria. Six chil- dren were added to the family after com- ing to this country, one of whom, Otto, died in Peoria during infancy: Herman was a jeweler before entering the United States service at Washington. District of Colum- bia, but is now living retired, being an in- valid: Ernst is the next of the family: Eu- gene was at one time a druggist of Peoria, but is now selling phonographs and sup- plies in that city: Robert purchased a store of his brother Charles and is in the drug business in Peoria : and Albert is also a drug- gist of that city, has been an active mem- ber of the state board of pharmacy five years, and its president a year and a half. With one exception all of the sons were grad- uates of the School of Pharmacy of Chi- cago, and are now successful druggists, Charles completing the course in 1873 : Ernst and Eugene in 1882: Robert in 1884: and Albert in 1887. For twenty-five years the father taught in a German free school in Peoria, and also gave private instructions in German and music for several years. He was selected as assistant to James Walsh, then circuit clerk of Peoria county, but was taken ill and never had an opportunity to serve. He held quite a prominent position in social circles in Peoria. His mother came to this country and died at the age of eighty years, being laid to rest in Peoria. Our subject's mother was killed in the rail-
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road wreck at Chatsworth, Illinois, in 1887, on the fifty third anniversary of her birth. Her brother. Jacob Zeigler, was for many years a well-known business man of Peoria. and having become quite wealthy is now living retired in that city.
Ernst Zimmermann, of this review, was educated in the German and English public schools of l'earia, and at the age of four- teen began his business career as an appren- tice in a drug store, where he remained until in a drug store, where he remained until 1877. when he was placed in charge of a branch store belonging to Charles Zimmer- mann & Company, at Morton, Illinois. 1 year later the business was sold and our subject went to Chicago, where he worked as a clerk while attending the Chicago School of Pharmacy, from which he was graduated in 1882. He remained in that city until some time during the following year. when he returned to Morton and pur- chased the store of which he had formerly had charge. He was engaged in business there until November, 1801, when he came to Roanoke and embarked in business at Is present location. In 1803 he had the m-forum to lose everything, a fire de- stroving hus store and stock, but with char- acteristic energy he at once rebuilt, put- ting up a modern brickk building. He now carries a well selected stock of drugs, school books, paints, musical merchandise and gen- cal nations, valued at thirty-five hundred dollars, and has built up an excellent trade.
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