USA > Illinois > Whiteside County > The biographical record of Whiteside County, Illinois.. > Part 29
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Lauren E. Tuttle was educated in the common schools and the Davenport Busi- ness College. After leaving school he spent one year at home and then accepted the po- sition of secretary with the Keystone Burial Case Company, and remained with them after the firm re-organized as the Rock Falls Manufacturing Company for a few months. In 1878 he was appointed deputy recorder by Addison Darrington, then recorder of Whiteside county, and acceptably filled that position for four years. The following two years he was employed as bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Morrison, and at the end of that time was elected circuit clerk and recorder, which offices he has since most creditably and satisfactorily filled for the long period of fifteen years.
side county, July 6, 1852, a daughter of Henry and Susan (McMullen) Ustick, now honored residents of Morrison. The father was born in Morrow county, Ohio, April 30, 1826, the mother in Toronto, Canada, July 30, of the same year. They have eight children: Sarah E., Emily A., Ed- ward P., John William, Lilly D., Charles B., Annabel and Mitchell C. Mrs. Tuttle's paternal grandfather, Henry Ustick, Sr., was one of the earliest settlers of this coun- ty, and Ustick township was named in his honor. Our subject and his wife have two children: Ivy M., born October 2, 1878, is a graduate of the Morrison high school; and Mary L., born November 19, 1884, is still attending that school. The parents both hold membership in the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Tuttle is identified with the Repub- lican party. He was a member of the board of education for eleven years, and his official duties have always been most faith- fully and efficiently performed.
C HARLES WILLIS CABOT. White- side county has no more successful farmer and stock raiser than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He now owns and operates a valuable and well-im- proved farm of two hundred acres on sec- tion 3, Prophetstown township, pleasantly located one mile east of the village of Prophetstown, and that he thoroughly un- derstands the occupation that he has chosen as a life work is manifest in the thrifty ap- pearance of his place.
Mr. Cabot is a native of the county, born on the old homestead, where he still resides, March 9, 1857. As a young man his father, Hubbard S. Cabot, became one of the pio-
On the 4th of November, 1875, Mr. Tuttle was united in marriage with Miss Emily A. Ustick, who was born in White- neer settlers of this region, and entered the
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land from the government where his son now resides. He opened up the farm and was numbered among the most active and progressive agriculturists of the community. On locating here he hauled the lumber to build his house and barn from Chicago, and all his farm produce he sold in that city, re- turning home with provisions and supplies. In this county he married Catherine Sears, a native of Massachusetts and one of the pioneer teachers of the county. Her father, Rev. Reuben Sears, was one of the first ministers of the county, and he died here at an early day. Mr. Cabot was accidentally killed by a falling tree, in March, 1862, leaving his wife with four children, whom she reared and educated in a most com- mendable manner. All reached years of maturity, but only two are now living. Sarah, the oldest, was well educated and became a teacher in the city schools of Ster- ling, but died when a young lady. Norman died in Grinell, Iowa, at the age of nineteen years, while attending college there. Mary, also a teacher in early life, is now the wife of Thomas Diller, of Sterling. Charles Willis completes the family.
Our subject grew to manhood on the home farm, and his early education, acquired in the public schools of Prophetstown, was supplemented by one year's attendance at the State Normal at Bloomington and a course at the normal in Valparaiso, Indiana. At the early age of fifteen years he took charge of the farm, and has since made many substantial and permanent improve- ments on it, remodeling the house, build- ings, barns, outbuildings, fences, etc. As a stock breeder he ranks among the best. He raises a good grade of cattle, but his specialty is hogs and draft horses and road- sters. At the state fair he took first pre- 14
mium, in 1897, for having the largest yield of corn to the acre in the state, and in 1898 took second premium. He was again a contestant in 1899 and took the first pre- mium.
In August, 1885, at Davenport, Iowa, Mr. Cabot was united in marriage with Miss Ethel B. Warner, a native of this county, who was educated in Morrison and was a successful teacher for some years prior to her marriage. She is a daughter of Pleas- ant Warner, of Morrison. Our subject and his wife have three children: Norman, Katie and Fannie Fern.
Politically, Mr. Cabot is a true blue Re- publican, and has never failed to support every presidential candidate of that party since attaining his majority. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the Royal Neighbors and the Mys- tic Workers of the World, while his wife is a member of the Eastern Star of the Ma- sonic order, the Royal Neighbors and Mystic Workers of the World. Their pleasant home is the abode of hospitality, and in the best social circles of the community they occupy an enviable position.
E LIAS H. KILMER, a well-known agri- culturist residing on section 36, Proph- etstown township, is not only one of the valued citizens of Whiteside county, but was also one of the brave defenders of the Union during the dark days of the Civil war, devoting over four years of carly man- wood to the service of his country.
Mr. Kilmer was born in Oswego county, New York, December 1, 1839, a son of Elias T. and Bertha (Smith) Kilmer, also natives of the Empire state. The father was a farmer of Oswego county, and con-
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tinued his residence there until after the birth of several of his children. He came west in 1847 by way of the Great Lakes to Chicago, and from there proceeded to Ken- dall county, Illinois, where he followed farming. The last years of his life were spent in Newark, where he died in March, 1893, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. The mother of our subject passed away in 1854, and he later married again.
Elias H. Kilmer was a lad of seven years when he camne with the family to this state, and in Kendall county he grew to manhood. As his school privileges were limited, he was almost wholly self-educated. His mother died when he was a lad of four- teen years, and for several years thereafter his life was one of hardships and toil upon the farm. On the 24th of April, 1861, at the first call for three-years troops, he en- listed in Company K, Twentieth Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee. His first engage- ment was at Fredericksburg, Missouri, and was followed by the battles of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Britton's Lane, Port Gibson, Raymond and Champion Hill. For forty-seven days he was in battle around Vicksburg, and helped to capture that stronghold. He was ill in the hospital at St. Louis for a short time during the spring of 1862, but remained in the service until the expiration of his term of enlistment, being honorably discharged July 14, 1864. On the 4th of the following September, he re- enlisted, joining the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He was mustered ont July 8, 1865, with the rank of sergeant and after being discharged re- turned to his home in Kendall county.
Mr. Kilmer first came to Whiteside
county in the spring of 1866 and rent- ed a farm in Tampico township. On the 16th of September, of that year, he was married, in Tampico, to Miss Emerett Rob. inson, who was born in Berrien county, Michigan, and came to Henry county, Illi- nois, when a child of ten years with her mother and step-father, Mr. and Mrs. Ben- jamin Lane. Her father was Joel Robin- son, a native of New York, who was an early settler of Michigan and died in that state during her childhood. In the fall of 1866, Mr. and Mrs. Kilmer went to Iowa, where they spent one year, and then re- turned to this state. He then engaged in farming upon rented land in Whiteside county, but lived just across the line in Henry county for several years. In 1880 he purchased eighty acres of partially im- proved land on section 36, Prophetstown township, where he has since. made his home. Here he has erected a pleasant res- idence and just completed a large, substan- tial barn, one of the best in the neighbor- hood. He carries on general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of hogs, and is accounted one of the most successful farmers and stock men in the community. On starting out in life together he and his wife were in limited circumstances, but by their combined efforts, untiring industry and good management they have become quite well-to-do.
To Mr. and Mrs. Kilmer was born one child, Eugene, who died at the age of six- teen months. Out of the kindness of their hearts they have given homes to two others, Alanson Bishop, a nephew, who lived with them from the age of twelve years until his death in 1888, when twenty-seven years of age; and Grace Wildman, who has found a pleasant home with them since a child of
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ten years. Mrs. Kilmer is an active mem- married April 5, 1887, to Miss Anna Roch, ber of the Methodist Episcopal church and a most estimable lady. Since casting his first presidential ballot for General U. S. Grant, in 1868, Mr. Kilmer has been a stanch supporter of the Republican party and its principles, and he is an honored member of the Grand Army Post of Proph- etstown. A loyal and patriotic citizen, he is found as true to his duties of citizenship in times of peace as when he followed the old flag to victory on southern battle fields.
PETER THOMSEN, who is successfully engaged in business in Fulton, Illinois, was born in Winnert, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, September ti, 1859, and is a son of John and Catherine (Clausen) Thomsen, also of German birth. The father was a contractor and builder in the service of the government, constructing roads and bridges. He died in Germany, in 1897, but the mother survives and still resides in the Fatherland. Our subject is the third in order of birth in a family of nine children, and the only one living in this country.
Mr. Thomsen received a collegiate education at Humsum, Germany, and during his youth assisted his father in business. Ile also served for two years as a soldier in the German army. He then came to America, landing in New York City, April 12, 1884, and during the first three months spent in this country, he worked on a fruit farm near Dover, Delaware. In July, 1884, he went to Lyons, Iowa, where he was employed in the sawmill of a Mr. Joyce for two seasons. He then accepted the agency for the Rock Island Brewing Com- pany, and was engaged with them at Lyons for two years and a half. There he was
a daughter of John and Margaret (Hertz- ner) Roeh. Her father is one of the pioneer merchants of Lyons, where he was engaged in the grocery business for over thirty years, but is now living retired. Mr. and Mrs. Thomsen have three children, namely: John W., Alfred W. and Marvin.
In 1889 Mr. Thomsen came to Fulton, and has since engaged in his present busi- ness at the corner of Cherry and River street with good success. In 1893 he pur- chased the building, which is a good three, story structure, the upper floor of which is occupied by the Masonic lodge. Fraternally Mr. Thomsen is a prominent member of Sunlight lodge, No. 239, K. P., of which he is past chancellor commander, and politically he is a stanch Republican, but not a politi- cian in the sense of office seeking. He is one of the most progressive and enterpris- ing citizens of Fulton, is well-read and keeps thoroughly posted on topics of general interest as well as the questions and issues of the day.
H ON. HENRY C. WARD. In the last half of the present century the lawyer has been a pre-eminent factor in all affairs of private concern and national importance. He has been depended upon to conserve the best and permanent interests of the whole people and is a recognized power in all the avenues of life. He stands as the protector of the rights and liberties of his fellowmen and is the representative of a profession whose followers, if they would gain honor, fame and success, must be men of merit and ability. Such a one is Judge Ward, who occupies the bench of Whiteside county, win- ning high commendation by his fair and im- partial administration of justice.
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The Judge was born in Hendrysburgh, Belmont county, Ohio, November 16, 1850, a son of John V. and Mary A. (Mumma) Ward. The father was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, January 1, 1810. The paternal grandfather, Philip Ward, was a native of Cecil county, Maryland, and a lineal descendant of General Thomas Ward, who came to this country from England with Lord Howe during the Revolutionary war. From Maryland Philip Ward removed to Chester county, Pennsylvania, and when the father of our subject was quite small be- came a pioneer settler of Belmont county, Ohio, where he followed farming until called from this life in 1869. He was not a member of any church but his wife was con- nected with the Society of Friends.
Leaving home at the age of eighteen years, John V. Ward, father of the Judge, began his business career as a clerk in a store, where he remained until buying two stores of his own, one in Morristown, the other in Hendrysburgh, Ohio. He after- ward united the two, concentrating his busi- ness at Hendrysburgh, and in connection with merchandising bought pork, wool and tobacco in season. He acquired quite a fort- une for his time. Most of his produce was hauled to market at Baltimore, Maryland. Politically he was a stanch supporter of first the Whig and later of the Republican par- ties, but would accept no office except that of assessor. In 1874 he came to Whiteside county, Illinois, and lived retired in Ster- ling until his death, August 5, 1899. On the 8th of February, 1835, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Mummna, who was born in Belmont county, Ohio, Feb- ruary 29, 1812, a daughter of John Mumma, who was of German birth and an early set- tler of Belmont county. He was killed by
a falling tree at the age of forty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Ward are active and prom- inent members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Sterling and are held in high re- gard by all who know them. In their fam- ily are five children who reached years of maturity, of whom the Judge is the young- est. E. Brooks, the oldest, came to Sterl- ing as an attorney, and during the Civil war entered the Union army as captain of Com- pany A, Thirty-fourth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, of which regiment his law partner, E. N. Kirk, was commissioned colonel and later promoted to the rank of general. Cap- tain Ward resigned December 5, 1862, and returned to Sterling, resumed the practice, but never recovered and died in June, 1863. W. Scott is a resident of Sterling. Chattie is the widow of John G. Manahan, a prom- inent attorney of Sterling, whose sketch is given on another page of this volume; and Rowena, deceased, was the wife of John F. Barrett.
Judge Ward's early education, acquired in the common schools, was supplemented by a four years' course at McNeeley , Normal College, Harrison county, Ohio. After teaching school for one term in that state he came to Sterling, Illinois, in October, 1872, and entered the law office of Kilgore & Manahan, with whom he studied for five years before applying for admission to the bar, though he gained much practical information by drawing up legal papers, taking testimony, etc. He was examined at Srpingfield, in January, 1877, and licensed to practice. In July of the same year he formed a partnership with Mr. Man- ahan, under the name of Manahan & Ward, and together they engaged in the general practice of law and patent litigation until January 1, 1890, when the
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partnership was dissolved and the business divided, Mr. Manahan taking the patent business exclusively, and our subject the general practice. During the existence of the firm, after the "Q " entered Sterling, they were employed as attorneys for that railroad, until the dissolution above men- tioned, and had a large general practice which our subject still enjoys. He was act- ive in forming the Sterling Water Company, of which he was secretary and a stockholder for sometime after its organization.
On the 16th of May, 1877, Judge Ward was united in marriage with Miss Mary C. Anthony, daughter of Dr. J. P. Anthony, who is represented elsewhere in this work, and they have become the parents of six children, namely: Martha, Alice M., John A., Frank, Philip H. and Mary Helen. The family have a beautiful home at No. So7 Avenue B, opposite Pennington Park, which was erected by the Judge in 1896. He and his wife hold membership in the Presbyte- rian church of Sterling and occupy an envia- ble position in the best social circles of the city. He is prominently identified with the Republican party, has stumped the county in its interests, and has been an important factor in securingits success. Under the old charter he was city attorney for two terms, being appointed to that position in 1878 and again in 1880, and he was elected to the same office in 1891 and again in 1893. When elected county judge in 1894, he re- signed the former position, and so accepta- bly did he fill the office of judge that he was re-elected in 1898, and is the present in- cumbent. He has had no appeals taken to the higher courts in probate and none reversed in the revenue cases that have been ap- pealed. He has ever taken an active and prominent part in public affairs, has been a
director of the public library for many years, and a member of the board of education of the Wallace school for about fifteen years. He is a prominent Mason, master of Rock River lodge, No. 612, F. & A. M., which he has represented in the grand lodge, and also belongs to Sterling chapter, No. 57, R. A. M., and Sterling command- ery, No. 57, K. T., of which he is junior warden at the present time. He is very popular with all classes, and prominent and influential in professional, social and polit- ical circles.
O LIVER D. OLSON, whose fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres is lo- cated on section 9, Tampico township, within two miles of the village of that name, has been a resident of Whiteside county since 1854. He is a native of Sweden, born May 21, 1850, and came to the United States with his father, John Olson, in 1853. His father first located in Lee county, near the city of Dixon, and there remained until the following year, when he came to Whiteside county, where he opened up a farm in Tam- pico township, there reared his family, and spent his last days, dying in February, 1888.
The subject of this sketch was but four years old when he came with his father to this county. Here the remainder of his life has since been spent. Educated in the common schools of the neighborhood, he at- tended school at such time as his labor was not needed on the farm. He remained at home, assisting in the labors of the farmn, until after he had attained his majority. He was married in Moline, Illinois, January 1, 1870, to Miss Chastine Munson, also a native of Sweden, where she grew to wo-
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manhood, after which she came to the United States. By this union six children were born: Matilda Josephine married Burt Morris, but died in July, 1896. Frank Herman is engaged in railroad work, in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Joseph Merton is carrying on the home farm. Edward Theodore is now liv- ing in Minnesota. He is a well-educated young man and is engaged in teaching. Agnes Caroline is a student in the Normal College at Valparaiso, Indiana. Minnie Dora is the wife of Arthur Aldrich, of Tam- pico township.
After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Olson lo- cated on the farm where they now reside, but which then consisted of only eighty acres, but which was purchased by him in 1869. The land was raw prairie and with- out improvements of any kind, and Mr. Ol- son at once went to work to redeem it from its virgin estate. He later bought one hun- dred and twenty acres additional, and still later another eighty, giving him his present fine farm. For a time he also owned a farm of one hundred and forty acres in Hahnaman township, but he has since sold the same. On his home place he has built various outbuildings, barns, and his present comfortable residence. The fruit and orna- mental trees were all put out by his own hands, and in fact all the improvements now seen is due to him. In addition to the raising of grain, he has given much of his time to stock raising, in which line he has been quite successful. Each year he feeds and fattens several car loads of stock for the markets.
In the public schools Mr. Olson has al- ways shown a commendable interest, and to further the best interests of the schools he has served for some years as a member of
the school board. He has given each of his children good educational advantages, and they have shown themselves worthy of it. For several years he served as road com- missioner and gave much of his time to the roads in his district. In politics he has al- ways been a Republican, and from Grant in 1872 to Mckinley in 1896, he has voted the party ticket.
In religion Mr. and Mrs. Olson are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church of Tampico, and take an active interest in the work of the church and the spread of the gospel. Fraternally he is a Master Mason, holding membership with the lodge in Tam- pico. He and his wife are also members of the Order of the Eastern Star. He is like- wise a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Knights of the Globe. As a farmer he has been a success, and while he had a little assistance from his fa- ther in beginning the struggle of life, the greater part of his possessions has been ac- quired by his own industry, assisted by his good wife. For forty-five years he has been a resident of the county, and in that time what vast changes have been made? When he came, there was not a mile of railroad in the county, the country was nearly all in its primitive state, and to his industry, and to the noble band of pioneers, the present condition of the county is largely due.
FRANK ANTHONY, M. D. One of the most exacting of all the higher lines of occupation to which a man may lend his energies is that of the physician. A most scrupulous preliminary training is demand- ed, a nicety of judgment but little under- stood by the laity. Our subject is well
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fitted for the profession which he has chosen as a life work, and his skill and ability have won for him a lucrative practice.
Dr. Anthony has spent his entire life in Sterling, where he was born, March 9, 1858, a son of Julius P. and Martha J. (Parke) Anthony. The father was a native of Skaneateless, Onondaga county, New York, where he was reared upon a farm. His early education acquired in the common schools of Skaneateless, was supplemented by a course in the academy at Homer, New York. He paid his own way through school and when his education was com- pleted, he engaged in teaching for a time. Subsequently he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Parke, of Danville, Pennsylvania, and later attended lectures at the Berkshire Medical College, of Pitts- field, Massachusetts, from which institution he was graduated in the class of 1847. He married the daughter of his preceptor, Dr. Parke, and in 1847 they came west by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, locating first at Comanche, Iowa. In the spring of 1850 they came to Sterling, which at that time was a very small place as the railroad had not yet been built. He was one of the best educated and most successful physi- cians of the place, and during early days his Dr. Frank Anthony, whose name intro- duces this sketch, pursued his studies in the common schools and an academy, and then attended Beloit College. Beloit, Wisconsin. He read medicine with his father and took a three years course at Rush Medical Col- lege, Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1881. Returning to Sterling he engaged in practice with his father until the latter's death. From the start he has been remark- ably successful and is to-day one of the leading medical practitioners of the county. practice extended as far as Savannah and Geneseo, Illinois. While making profes- sional visits throughout the country he trav- eled on horseback or in a sulky. During the Civil war he was surgeon of the Sixty- first Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was with the regiment in the field all through the service. He received a wound and made light of it at the time, but it eventu- ally killed him. During his early residence liere, Dr. J. P. Anthony invested largely in both city and farm property, built a good, He has been surgeon for the Chicago &
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