USA > Illinois > Whiteside County > The biographical record of Whiteside County, Illinois.. > Part 58
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Mr. and Mrs. McNeil began their do- mestic life upon the farm which is still their home. They are devout members of the Presbyterian church, and are held in high regard by all who know them. Politically Mr. McNeil is a Democrat, but is a sup- porter of the sound money platform. He has been honored by his party with local offices, which he most creditably and satis- Factorily filled, being treasurer of the board of road commissioners for fourteen years; school director for the same length of time, and postmaster of Rock Falls for four years. He is a prominent member of the White- side County Agricultural Society, of which he was president two years, and was also president of the Whiteside County Cale- donia Club, a Scotch society, of which he was one of the organizers. He began life in the new world without capital, but he steadily overcame the obstacles in the path
A native of Oldenberg, Germany, he was born December 21, 1830, a son of Henry Wilhelm Meins. The latter was born in the same city, November 21, 1800, and his wife, Maria Meins, of the same place, was born on the 5th of the same month. They were married on Christmas- day, 1825, and became the parents of four children. Teita Margaret, born February 24, 1827, married Diedrich L. Johnson, and four children blessed their union. Their home is in this township. Mein N. Meins, born in August, 1828, and unmarried, came to Illinois in 1858, and soon after his arri- val died from the effects of a sunstroke, on the 8th of August, 1858. Mary, born in 1840, came with her parents to the United States in 1859, and died the following year. The father of Henry W. Meins was Mein Eden Meins, who with his wife, Teita Mar- garet (Hendricks) Meins, lived to a ripe old age at their home in Oldenberg province, Germany, had five children, four of the number being sons.
It was in the year 1859 that Henry W.
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Meins and his family crossed the Atlantic, determined to make their future home in Illinois. They located on a farm in Hop- kins township, but at the end of a year or two, the father, who was in poor health, retired from active labors. He died at the home of our subject when in his eighty-fifth year. His wife died some years previous- ly, when she had attained the age of three- score and ten.
H. T. Meins passed twenty-four years of his life in his native province, receiving a liberal education. In 1854, he came to the United States, and upon landing in New York city, preceeded to Norwich, Connecti- cut. There he dwelt for four years and, by careful husbanding his resources, had a snug sum laid aside at the end of that period. Love for his Fatherland and old friends drew him back to Germany, where he remained only six weeks, visiting his relatives. A second time he sailed for the new world, in 1858, accompanied by the lady who became his wife, formerly Anna Christina Johnson. Their marriage was celebrated July 4, 1858, in New York city, whence they came to Sterling, Illinois. There the young couple remained for two years, the husband plying the trade of a shoemaker. In 1860, he bought 'eighty acres of land in Hopkins township, a portion of his present large homestead, which comprises two hundred and ten acres. He has continued to im- prove this property, and his commodious house, and other buildings (the barn reputed to be the largest in the township) render this country home one of the most attract- ive in this county.
In all of his business undertakings, Mr. Meins has met with well deserved success. In all public affairs, in which the welfare of the community is at stake, he takes a
patriotic interest, and though he formerly was a Democrat, he became convinced of the fact that the party's position on the money question, in 1896, was unsound, and accordingly, being a man with the courage of his convictions, he cast his ballot for William McKinley and sound money. Re- ligiously, he is a German Lutheran.
The father of our subject's wife, Chris- topher Johnson, was born August 26, 1830. Another brother, Frederick, who served as a volunteer in the Franco-German war, and was severely wounded in the arm, was sub- sequently appointed by the government as a conductor on a German railroad. He is now deceased. He had two children by his first marriage. They are both now in Illinois. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Meins two daughters were born. The elder, Annie Christina, born August 28, 1859, is the wife of John Fulfs, married December 4, 1879. Their home is in Genesee town- ship. Of their three living children, two are daughters. The younger child of our subject, Hannah Armenia, married Henry W. Stern, in 1883, and, with their two sons, they reside on the home farm.
FRANK BAER. There is no element which has entered into our composite national fabric which has been of more practical strength, value and utility than that furnished by the sturdy, persevering and honorable sons of Germany, and in the progress of our union this element has played an important part. Intensely prac- tical, and ever having a clear comprehension of the ethics of life, the German contingent has wielded a powerful influence, and this service cannot be held in light estimation by those who appreciate true civilization and
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true advancement. Among the most prom- nearer his business. Finally, in 1892, he inent of Sterling's citizens who were born in sold his business to his son Frank and son- in-law, Harry Carter. the fatherland was Frank Bacr, now de- ceased.
He was born in Hesse, Darmstadt, Germany, April 11, 1828, and was left motherless when but an infant. His father afterward married again and he was reared by his stepmother, remaining at home through his school days. At the age of fourteen he began serving an apprenticeship to the butcher's trade, and continued to fol- low that occupation in his native land until 1854, when he crossed the broad Atlantic to America. He spent several years in travel- ing from place to place, working at his trade in different states.
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While working in La Salle, Illinois, Mr. Baer met Miss Caroline Dorr, to whom he was united in marriage, June 27, 1857. She was a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, and a daughter of John and Rosa (Heffner) Dorr. At the age of seventeen years she left home and native land and came to the United States. She landed in this country after a voyage of fifty-two days on board a sailing vessel, on which forty of the pas- sengers died. She stopped first in Chicago, where she remained a year, and then went to La Salle, where she made her home until after her marriage.
Mr. Baer continued to work at his trade in La Salle until 1867, when he came to Sterling, and opened a butcher shop of his own on Third street between Sixth and Seventh avenues. After renting this prop- erty for a short time he purchased it and continued to conduct his market for many years. In 1890 he built the comfortable residence on Seventh avenue now occupied by his family, and soon afterward moved his shop beside it, in order that he might be
To Mr. and Mrs. Baer were born cight children, as follows: Caroline is now the wife of Frank Uphold, of Sterling. Minnie is the wife of Theodore Fisher, of Chicago. Emma is the wife of Lawrence Troger, of Chicago. Katherine is the wife of Harry Carter, of Sterling. May is the wife of Wal- ter Stoeckle, of Sterling. Frank, born Sep- tember 27, 1867, died November 17, 1897. He was the only son of the family, and was an infant in arms when the family came to Sterling. After his father retired from busi- ness, he and his brother-in-law carried on the market until his death, which was a se- vere blow to the family and friends. He was a most exemplary young man, respected and estcemed by a large circle of friends, and was stricken down in the vigor of early manhood just before he was to have been married to a most estimable young lady. Elizabeth, the next of the family, was born August 4, 1872, and died January 11, 1877. Josephine is at home, the companion of her widowed mother. The children were all liberally educated in the city schools.
Mr. Baer was a supporter of the Demo- cratic party but was not a politician in the sense of office seeking. Fraternally he was a charter member and one of the twelve who organized the United Workmen lodge in Sterling. After a long, useful and well- spent life he passed away at his home in Sterling, March 28, 1899. He had come to Sterling a poor man, and by close attention to business and the able assistance of his wife had acquired a competency, and was in a position to enjoy the fruits of former toil when called from this life. He was widely and favorably known and no man in
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the community had more friends or was more highly esteemed. Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Bier has ably attended to her property interests. She is a most estimable lady and like her husband is held in high regard by all who know her.
L E. MATTHEWS, the present efficient county treasurer of Whiteside county and an honored veteran of the Civil war, was born in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, March 10,, 1841, and is a son of Alonzo A. and Charlottte (Williams) Matthews, both natives of Massachusetts, the former born March 26, 1812, the latter February 9, 1814. His paternal grandparents, Eggle- ston and Charlotte (Stowe) Matthews, were also natives of the old Bay state, and the latter was a relative of Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe. The grandfather, who was a farmer by occupation, moved from Massachusetts to Mentor, Ohio, with an ox team and sled in 1824, when his son Alonzo A. was only about a year old, and there took up a tract of wild land which he cleared and trans- formed into a good farm. In 1830 he went to Kalamazoo county, Michigan, and this journey was also made with an ox team. In company with the father of our subject he took up one hundred and sixty acres of land where the Michigan Central depot at Galesburg, Michigan, now stands. He died soon after locating there, leaving five children, namely: Hannah, Julia, Anson, Alonzo A. and Gideon, all of whom are now deceased with the exception of Alonzo A. The mother of these children died about six years after the removal of the family to Ohio.
Alonzo A. Matthews was educated in the schools of Mentor, Ohio, and there
grew to manhood. At the age of twenty- one, he married Miss Charlotte Williams, who is the eldest in a family of eight chil- dren, five of whom are still living. Her father, Levi Williams, was a native of Massachusetts and a carpenter by trade. At the age of sixteen he went to Lenox, Ohio, where he followed his trade in con- nection with farming, and built nearly all of the large churches of that locality, making a specialty of that work. Later he moved to Irving, Kansas, where he and his wife both died. His father lived to the advanced age of one hundred and one years, and a year prior to his death walked two miles to the polls to vote. About 1832 Alonzo A. Matthews removed to Kalamazoo county, Michigan, where his father had previously located, and he settled upon an eighty-acre tract of land which he entered from the government. While in Ohio he had studied medicine and for a few years he engaged in practice in Michigan, leaving his farm to be operated by others. About 1846 he re- turned to Ohio and located in Geauga coun- ty, where he engaged in farming, but made a specialty of dairying, until 1855, which year witnessed bis arrival in Erie, White- side county, Illinois. The following year he returned east for his family. He bought land in Erie township, and engaged in farm- ing until old age prevented him from en- gaging in such arduous toil, since which time he has made his home in the village of Erie. Of his eight children, seven reached years of maturity, namely: Wealthy, now deceased; Worthy, a resident of Erie, who married Sophia Herriman and has four chil- dren; Luther E., our subject; Julia, wife of R. B. Herriman, of Missouri, by whom she has two children; Gideon G., of Chi- cago, who married Ora Williams and has
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seven children; Carrie, wife of L. D. Grid- ley, of Savannah, Illinois, by whom she has two children; and Anson, a resident of Erie, who married Estella Smith, now de- ceased.
Luthur E. Matthews, of this review, was educated in the district schools of Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. Just after he at- tained his majority, in August, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, Seventy-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was mustered into the United States service at Dixon, Illinois, and from there went to Louisville, Kentucky, September 30, where Bragg was then located. In the battle of Perryville, October 8, our subject was wounded in one foot, and in the same engagement fifty of the regiment were killed and one hundred and fifty wounded. They participated in the battle of Murfreesboro, where only two were killed, and during the battle of Chicka- mauga guarded the ammunition train. Later they took an active part in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Ring- gold, Georgia, Dalton, Rocky Face, Resaca, Dallas and New Hope Church, where our subject was again wounded through the right knee. He was sent home and hon- orably discharged from the service at Quincy, Illinois, in November, 1864, on account of his wounds.
The first winter after his return home, Mr. Matthews taught school and then en- gaged in farming on his own account, but continued to live with his parents. Later he followed various occupations. On the 3d of January, 1871, in Erie, he married Miss Marie Alden, who was born in New York, in 1850, a daughter of William Alden, a farmer of that state. She died in 1874, leaving one child, Alden, who died at the age of six months. Mr. Matthews was
again married, November 14, 1877, his second union being with Miss Lucy L. Hub- bard, who was born in this county in April, 1857, and is a daughter of Benjamin and Virginia R. (Thompson) Hubbard, both natives of Ohio. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, is now deceased, but the mother is still living and now makes her home with our subject. They had four children, of whom Mrs. Matthews is the eldest.
After his second marriage Mr. Matthews embarked in the butcher business in Erie, which he carried on for eight years, and then built the lunch counter at the end of the stage route in Denrock, which he con- ducted for four years. During the World's Fair in Chicago, in 1893, he conducted a boarding-house and kept roomers in that city. On his return to Whiteside county he opened a grocery and hardware store in Fulton, which he carried on until 1896, and the following two years was proprietor of Hotel Matthews at that place. In No- vember, 1898, he was elected county treas- urer, and is now filling that office with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. He served as assessor of Fulton one year, and during his residence in Erie served as president of the village board, supervisor and town clerk. His public and private life are alike above reproach, and he has the confidence and respect of all who know him. Since cast- ing his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, in 1864. he has been an ardent supporter of the Republican party. Socially, he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and Alpheus Clark post, G. A. R., and religiously both he and his estimable wife are members of the Christian church of Fulton.
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J JAMES M. WINTERS, who is now liv- ing a retired life in the village of Coleta, was for many years one of the substantial farmers of Carroll and Whiteside counties. He was born March 22, 1809, in Genesee county, New York, where the first eight years of his life were passed. His father, Timothy Winters, was born in Pennsyl- vania, just across the line from New York. In 1817 he removed with his family to southern Indiana, where the remainder of his life was spent. There our subject grew to manhood, living with his father until he was twenty-one years of age. He then went to learn the blacksmith trade, at which he continued for two years, since which time until his retirement from active business life he followed the avocation of a farmer.
In 1831, Mr. Winters was united in mar- riage with Miss Susan Giger, a native of Tennessee and daughter of George and Tabitha (Henderson) Giger, who was one of fourteen children, two of whom, however, dying in infancy. These surviving infancy were Sally, John, Susan, Loraine, Isaiah, Betsy, Josephus, George, Matilda, Eliza, Wylie and Kittie. All of the family are now deceased, except Isaiah and Wylie, who reside in Indiana, and George, who is living in California. After his marriage, Mr. Winters remained in Indiana until 1847, and there six of his nine children were born- Catherine, William J., Tabitha, George C., James P. and Elhannan C. Catherine mar- ried Newton Dodd, by whom she had five children, one of whom died in infancy. The others were Phoebe, James, Emily and Henry. Her husband is now deceased, and she is making her home in Oklahoma. William J. married Elizabeth Fowler, and they became the parents of six children- Elsie, Perry, Mary, Lizzie, Viola and Frank,
the last named dying in infancy. The fan- ily now reside in Marion county, Nebraska. Tabitha married Cephas Herless, by whom she had six children, of whom four are now living-James, William, Belle and Roy. Mr. Herless is deceased, but Mrs. Herless is yet living, making her home in the village of Coleta, Illinois. George C. married Emily Mason, and they had one daughter, Eva. When the Civil war was in progress, George enlisted in the Thirty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and died from typhoid fever on December 27, 1861, at Louisville, Kentucky. James P. married Olive Baxter, and they have three living children-Nora, Clinton and Howard. They lost one in in- fancy. James is a veteran of the Civil war, having served in the Fifteenth Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry for three years. He was in the battles of Shiloh, Hatchel, Vicksburg, and other minor engagements. For his services, he now draws a pension of eight dollars per month. The family now reside in the state of Washington, sixty miles east of Seattle.
Leaving Indiana in 1847, Mr. Winters came with his family to Illinois and located in Carroll county, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of government land and commenced the development of a farm. To his original purchase he added from time to tune until he had a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres, which he later sold and purchased a farm of one hun- dred and forty acres, also in Carroll county. This farm he rented for a number of years, but has since sold it, and is living retired, enjoying the fruits of a well spent life. While residing in Carroll county the family was increased by the birth of three children, Matilda, Melissa and John, the latter dying in infancy. Elhannon married Paulina Sco-
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ville, and they have three living children, James, Alice and Carl. Wayne died in in- fancy. Elhannon was four years in the service of his country during the Civil war, enlisting for three years in the Thirty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and before the expiration of his term of service re-enlisted as a veteran. He was in the battle of Shi- loh, and was with Sherman in his march to the sea. He was once a prisoner a few days, but was exchanged, and permitted to go home on a furlough, from which he re- turned to his regiment and remained with it until the close of the war. lle now draws a pension of fourteen dollars per month from the government. With his family he makes his home in Rock Falls, where he is serving as justice of the peace, city clerk, insurance agent, and does a general collect- ing business. Matilda married Elijah Olm- sted, and they have five children, Grover, Lemon, Susan, Wright and Emeline. They now live in Milledgeville, Carroll county, Illinois. Melissa married Charles Wallace, and they have had eight children, four of whom are now living-Luther, Clarence, Emeline and Jane. They now reside in Oklahoma territory.
In his farming operations Mr. Winters met with good success, converting wild land into productive farms, bringing them under a high state of cultivation. In 1883 Mrs. Winters departed this life, and her remains were interred in the village cemetery at Milledgeville, Carroll county, Illinois. She was a good woman, a loving wife and affec- tionate mother, and her loss was greatly lamented. On the 11th of December, 1885, Mr. Winters for his second wife married Miss Annie Skill, a native of Ireland, and daughter of Timothy and Margaret Skill.
Mr. Winters in early life was a Whig,
casting his first presidential vote for William Henry Harrison. On the formation of the Republican party he identified himself with it, and continued to vote that party ticket until some twelve years ago, since which time he has voted the Prohibition ticket. Fraternally he formerly was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but has not affiliated with the order for a num- ber of years. Religiously he is a member of the United Brethren in Christ. He is a self-educated man, his school life being of very short duration, attending for a few montlis a country school when a small boy, and for about three months when twenty years of age. He is now in his ninety-first year and has a remarkable memory, with his faculties unimpaired, save for the loss of hearing, being slightly deaf. He can see to read and write without glasses. To such men, pioneers of a new country, a debt of gratitude is due, and it is safe to say that no man in Whiteside county has more friends than " Uncle Jimmy Winters," as he is familiarly known.
C LARK R. POWELL, proprietor of the Sterling Nursery & Fruit Farm on section 23, Sterling township, and one ol the most prominent and successful horti- culturists of this section of the state, was born in Saratoga connty, New York, Sep- tember 12, 1826, and is a son of Joseph and Hannah (Bowman) Powell, both na- tives of Dutchess county, that state. When our subject was six years old, they removed to Monroe county, New York, where the father successfully engaged in farming for many years. In his family were nine chil- dren who reached years of maturity, namely: Jacob, Lydia Ann, Nathaniel, Martha,
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Eliza, Henry, Clark and Nelson. Only two are now living, Lydia Ann, widow of Isaac G. Ewer and a resident of Mendon, Monroe county, New York; and Clark R., our sub- ject.
During his boyhood, Clark R. Powell attended the public schools of Monroe coun- ty, and for one winter was a student at the academy in Masidon Center, Wayne county, New York. After completing his education he remained at home, assisting in the work of the farm until the fall of 1849, when, at the age of twenty-three years, he came to Whiteside county, Illinois, where his broth- ers, Jacob and Henry, had previously lo- cated. He lived with them in Sterling township for four years, and then returned to the east.
On the 17th of October, 1853, Mr. Powell was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Quick, a native of Ulster county, New York, and a daughter of Harvey and Judith S. Quick, natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively. The father always made his home in the east and fol- lowed the occupation of farming. To Mr. and Mrs. Powell were born five children: Albert, who is with his father; Malissa A., who is the widow of Moses Hartman and makes her home with our subject; Edwin, a fruit farmer of Sterling township, who married Lizzie Andreas and has one child, Tracy; Theron, a resident of Coloma town- ship, who married Ora Taylor and has two children, Mary and Ralph; and Martha, who married Howard L. Wink, now of Battle Creek, Iowa, and died at the age of twenty- six years.
After his marriage, Mr. Powell returned to Sterling township, Whiteside county, Illinois, and purchased thirty acres of land, upon which he set out a nursery, being the
second man in the county to engage in that business. He has added to his land but has never extensively engaged in farming, preferring to devote his time and attention to horticulture. He started in the nursery business on quite a large scale, and gradually enlarged his business until the Civil war, when sales began to fall off and have gradually decreased. The business will probably be closed out in the spring of 1900. He has made a specialty of apples, but also deals in all kinds of fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, etc. He has sold nearly all of the evergreen trees found in the county and they have now become splendid trees. About thirty years ago, Mr. Powell also embarked in the fruit business, and now raises all kinds of berries. His red raspberries include the varieties known as Louden, Miller's red, and Thompson's early prolific; the black raspberries are the Olders, Gregg, Eureka, Conrath and Kansas; the black- berries, Snyder, Stone, Hardy, Western Triumph and Ancient Briton; strawberries, Clyde, Crescent seedling, Splendid, Marshall, Warfield, Bissell and Haverland; currants, white Dutch, Cherry and Fay's prolific; and gooseberries, red jacket and Drowling. In 1897 his output of raspberries amounted to sixteen thousand quarts, and he always has splendid crops in every way. He sells all his fruit in Sterling and vicinity. He is an active and prominent member of the North- ern Illinois Horticultural Society and also of the Rock River Valley Society. He is deeply interested in everything pertaining to his chosen calling, and thoroughly under- stands every department of the work. He is a Free Thinker, though formerly he was a member of the Uniteran church. In early life he was a supporter of the Democratic party, but joined the Republican party on
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