USA > Ohio > Memoirs of the lower Ohio valley, personal and genealogical : with portraits, Volume II > Part 30
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WILLIAM R. McKERNAN, a promi- nent lawyer of Shawneetown, Ill., is of Irish extraction, his great-grandparents coming from County Cavan, Ireland, and settling in what is now West Virginia. They had a family of twelve sons and as these sons grew to manhood they scattered to different parts of the country. Three of them, Peter, Charles, and Reuben, went to Kentucky, and subsequently settled in Gallatin county. Here Reuben McKernan (the original Irish spelling of the name was McKiernan) engaged in farming for the remainder of his life. He was born in Ireland, and coming to the New World in early life the privilege of attending school was prac- tically denied him, yet he developed into a man of strong character and fixed convictions, a leader among his neighbors and highly respected by all who knew him. He married a Miss Addison of Gallatin county and they had a family of four children, only one of whom is now living. Henry, Elizabeth, and Julia are all dead and Charles is living in Kansas. Elizabeth married a man named Cal- vert. Henry McKernan, the eldest son, was born in 1829, and passed his whole life in Gallatin county, where he followed the occupation of a farmer. He was a man of fair education. On Nov. 28, 1852, he was married to Miss Lydia, daughter of Thomas Spivey, an old resi- dent of Gallatin county. To this marriage were born the following children : Maria, deceased; William R., the subject of this sketch; Mollie, living in Louisville, Ky .; and Charles Henry, a farmer
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living near Equality, in Gallatin county. The father of these chil- dren died in February, 1864, and the mother died in 1871. William
R. McKernan, the eldest son of Henry and Lydia (Spivey) Mc- Kernan, was born May 27, 1856. He was therefore but eight years old when his father died, and only fifteen when his mother passed to her final resting place. Consequently, the responsibilities of a man were thrust upon him early in life. The care of a younger
sister and baby brother was thrown upon him and his elder sister,
who was his senior by a little more than a year, but with true Irish spirit they accepted the responsibility, and with heroic sacrifice they kept the little family together. William worked for the neighboring farmers for twenty-five cents a day, taking his pay in provisions, while his sister spun and wove the cloth, from which she made the clothing for the orphaned children, the wool being the product of ten head of attendance at school was out of the question. But the boy made up sheep that had been left by the parents. Under these conditions
his mind to secure an education. With such assistance as his sister could give him he studied of evenings and at odd times until he was twenty years of age, when, with not more than six months altogether in school, he secured a teacher's certificate and commenced teaching.
attended the Illinois academy at Enfield for a year. Again he He taught for two years, saving all the money he could, and then
entered the schoolroom as a teacher for a year, after which he went to Ewing college for a year. From that time until 1888 he taught continuously in the school at Waltonborough, studying law in the meantime, as opportunity offered, under the directions of Judge E. D. Youngblood, of Shawneetown. In 1887 he was admitted to the bar and in 1888 was nominated by the Democracy of Gallatin county for the office of state's attorney, and at the ensuing election was victorious
by a decisive majority. In 1892, at the close of his first term, he was re-elected, serving two terms of four years each. In 1891 he was appointed master in chancery for Gallatin county, and served with signal ability for four years. Mr. McKernan is a splendid exam- ple of a self-made man, a worthy son of an honored sire, whose fam- ily were among the pioneers of the Lower Ohio Valley. The young man who reads this sketch of his life may find in it an inspiration to make a mark in the world. In fraternal circles Mr. McKernan is a prominent figure, belonging to the time-honored Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias. He has been twice married. In June, 1892, he was married to Miss Margaret Smith, of Indianapolis, Ind., but she died without
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issue in October, 1893. In 1901 he was married to Miss Grace Phile, daughter of William Phile, an old resident of Shawneetown. Mr. and Mrs. McKernan are both members of the Presbyterian church and take an interest in its good works.
FRANK E. CALLICOTT, one of the largest land owners in Gallatin county, Ill., living three miles west of Shawneetown, is a descendant of one of the oldest fam- ilies in America. His ancestry can be traced back to an Englishman of that name, who came to this country and set- tled in Virginia, long before the Revolu- tion. He had three sons, John, Beverly, and Harrison, all of whom fought in the Revolution, John being a captain in. Wash- ington's command and present at the sur- F. E. CALLICOTT. render of Lord Cornwallis. Beverly Cal- licott was born in 1752. He married and reared a family of eight children, viz .: John, Beverly, William, Samuel, Jordan, Dicey, Nancy, and Polly. Samuel, the fourth child, was born in Virginia in 1797. He married a Miss Anderson, whose father was a major under General Marion, and in 1829 came with his wife and family to Gallatin county, settling in the Pond settlement about eight miles north of Shawnee- town, where they passed the remainder of their lives and are buried in the Callicott cemetery. Their children were Aggie, Clai- borne, John, Polly Ann, Harrison, Talitha, Wade, and Washington. In those pioneer days he was a noted hunter, was twice mar- ried but no children were born to the second marriage. John A. Callicott, the third of the family, was born in Smith county, Tenn., March 31, 1824. He received his education in the old fashioned subscription schools and about the time he reached his majority went to Shawneetown and served J. A. CALLICOTT. an apprenticeship with Orvil Poole and Jobe Smith at harness-making. At the breaking out of the Mexican war he enlisted in Capt. M. K. Lawler's company of dragoons and served through the entire war. After being mustered out he returned to his trade of harness-making,
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which he followed for several years, then becoming interested in transporting grain by flatboat on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The last trip he made to New Orleans was just at the beginning of the Civil war, and he lost his load of corn which he had taken down the river. Upon his return home he, with John Eddy and others, raised a company of volunteers, of which he was elected captain and Eddy first lieutenant, and which was mustered in as Company C, Twenty-ninth Illinois infan- try. The regiment was attached to Mc- Clernand's division of Grant's army and fought at forts Henry and Donelson, Pitts- burg Landing, Corinth, around Vicksburg, and toward the close of the war assisted in the reduction of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, after which it was sent to Texas, where it was mustered out in November, 1865. At Fort Donelson, Captain Calli- cott was wounded five times and sent home E. H. CALLICOTT. to recover. He rejoined his regiment in time to take part in the fight at Pittsburg Landing, and remained under Grant until the latter was assigned to the command of the Army of the Potomac. Captain Callicott was soon promoted to major, then to lieu- tenant-colonel, and during the last three years of service was in com- mand of the regiment. After being discharged he returned to Shawnee- town, where he engaged in the saddlery business until 1875, when he again took up flatboating and followed that occupation for about four years. He then turned his attention to agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred on April 3, 1898, when he and his brother Washington fell victims to the great flood that did so much damage about Shawneetown, twenty-six lives being lost. He was buried on his farm in what is known as the Kanady graveyard. In 1850 he was married to Miss Sarah, daughter of John Ellis, whose father, William Ellis, was with Jackson in the war of 1812, and settled in Gallatin county about 1815. He entered a large tract of land and was the first county surveyor. His children were William, Abner, John, Caleb, Benjamin, James and Nancy. All married and reared large families, so that at the present time a large number of his descendants are living in Southern Illinois. The sons, like the father, took a deep interest in public affairs, and the family played an important part in shaping the early destinies of the county. The widow and one son, William, lived to be over 100 years old. John
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Ellis, the father of Mrs. Callicott, married Letitia McCool, daughter of Abraham McCool, who was an officer under General Marion in the Revolution. After the death of William Ellis his widow married a man named Hogan, after whom the Hogan graveyard near Bowles- ville was named, and where William Ellis and a number of his de- scendants are buried. After the death of Abraham McCool in North Carolina, his son, also named Abraham, with his mother and her children came to Gallatin county. Two of his sons, William and Marion, were killed while serving in the Union army during the war, one at Fort Donelson and the other at Guntown. To the marriage of John A. Callicott and Sarah Ellis was born one son, Frank E., the subject of this sketch. His mother died in 1854, when he was only about one year old, and his father in 1856 married Eliza Hamilton, but no children were born to this union. The second wife died in 1860, and in 1865 he married Hester Kanady. To this mar- riage there were born four children: Rebecca, now Mrs. McGhee, liv- ing five miles west of Shawneetown; Mary (deceased); William B. (deceased), and one who died in infancy. The mother of these chil- dren died in 1872. For many years John A. Callicott was prom- inently identified with the civic life of Gallatin county. He was one of the first four men to vote the Republican ticket in that county in 1856, and for nearly half a century afterward took an interest in political affairs. After the war he served two terms as mayor of Shawneetown and held other offices, in all of which he made a credit- able record. He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, more for the good that he could do others than for the benefits he might receive. Frank E. Callicott was born April 18, 1853, in the house now occupied by Mrs. Frank Eddy in Shawneetown. His early education was acquired in the public schools of his native town, and he still cherishes very highly a number of books awarded him by his teachers as prizes for good conduct, the highest scholarship, and regular attendance. Afterward he graduated from Miami university at Oxford, O., with the class of 1873, standing at the head of his class, and receiving the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts. He then took up the work of teaching and was for four years the prin- cipal of the Shawneetown schools. During that time he studied law, and in 1878 was admitted to the bar. He never practiced his pro- fession, however, as he had become interested in farming operations in 1876, and from the time of his admission until 1893 was in part- nership with his father. In 1877 he also engaged in the harness and implement trade, and while in this business had the distinction of
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introducing into Gallatin county some of the modern farm imple- ments, among which might be named the twine binder, the disc harrow, the corn planter, the traction engine and the drilled well. In 1900 he sold out this business and the following year removed to the place where he now lives, and where he owns about 2,500 acres of land, most of which is under cultivation. To oversee this large farm requires most of his time and attention. All of this property has been accumulated by his own industry and business sagacity, and he is regarded as one of the most successful men in the county in whatever he undertakes. During the war he was with his father's regiment for a while each year, thus becoming acquainted with mili- tary movements, an experience he still vividly remembers. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and as a Republican takes an active part in political affairs, though he has never held any office, either by election or appointment, although well qualified for almost any position. In his younger days he was a member of the Illinois National Guard as a member of Cap- tain Nolen's company, and participated in their drills, encampments and sham battles. In his youth he took great delight in athletic sports and excelled in running, jumping, sparring, baseball and cycling, but in later years his time has all been taken up with his business affairs, though he still enjoys athletics as a spectator. He has never married.
MARSHALL WISEHEART, of Shaw- neetown, Ill., county judge of Gallatin county, was born in that county, June 25, 1865. The family is of German origin, though the Wisehearts of Gallatin county are of Pennsylvania ancestry. The first of the name to come to Illinois was John Wiseheart, a native of Pennsylvania, who came West in the twenties, entered a tract of land in Gallatin county, and there passed the remainder of his life as a farm- er. He married before leaving Pennsylva- nia and reared a family of seven children, only one of whom is now living. Richard was a minister of the Christian or Campbellite church; John followed farming and mer- chandizing ; William, the only survivor of the family, is now a farmer of Gallatin county ; Samuel was a merchant; Ellen married William
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Bird; Hannah married Alvin DeWitt; and Mary was the wife of James Rice. William Wiseheart was born in Gallatin county, Ill., Jan. 7, 1832, and has always lived in the county. He received a common school education and upon reaching manhood adopted the occupation of farming, which he has followed all his life. He mar- ried Sarah, daughter of Henry Gill, an old resident of the county, and to this union there have been born the following children : Laura, widow of William Mattingly; Albert, a farmer of Gallatin county ; Anna, wife of James Purcell, of Equality, Ill .; Marshall, the subject of this sketch; and Lucy, wife of William Powell, of Gallatin county. Marshall Wiseheart, familiarly known as "Marsh," has always lived in Gallatin county. As a boy he worked on his father's farm, attending the district schools during the winter months. At the age of nineteen years he commenced teaching and followed that occupation for three years, when he was appointed to a position as deputy in the circuit clerk's office at Shawneetown. Later he went into the sheriff's office as deputy, remaining in the two positions until 1892. While thus employed he spent his spare time in the study of law, and in May, 1892, he passed the examination before the state supreme court and was admitted to the bar. He then commenced the prac- tice of his profession at Gallatin and continued in it until August, 1894, when he was appointed postmaster at Shawneetown and held the office for a little over four years, retiring in September, 1898. In November of that year he was elected treasurer of Gallatin county on the Democratic ticket, and served a full term of four years. In 1902 he received the nomination of his party for county judge, and at the election in November was chosen by a handsome majority to administer the affairs of that office for a term of four years. He is now serving in that position. Judge Wiseheart is prominent in fraternal circles, being a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Court of Honor, and the Loyal Americans. He was married on April 4, 1894, to Miss Fannie Boyd, a daughter of John R. Boyd, an old and honored resi- dent of Gallatin county, who at the time of his death in 1896 was a member of the Illinois State board of equalization from the Twenty-fourth Congressional district. Mr. and Mrs. Wiseheart have four sons, viz. : Malcolm, William, Raymond and Marshall Clarence.
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CHARLES CARROLL, a well known merchant of Shawneetown, Ill., and the only surviving child of James and Judith .M. (Williamson) Carroll, was born at Lynchburg, Va., Feb. 25, 1833. About 1824 three brothers, Patrick, John, and James Carroll, came to America and lo- cated at Richmond, Va., where they estab- lished themselves in the mercantile busi- ness. There Patrick died and some five years later the other two brothers removed to Lynchburg. In 1828 James was mar- ried to Judith M. Williamson, of an old Virginia family, and in 1834 removed to St. Louis, Mo. In 1836 he went to St. Charles, Mo., and died there in the fall of that year. He and his wife had two sons, John, who died in infancy, and Charles. After the death of her husband Mrs. Carroll went to Louisville, Ky., and in 1837 removed with her son, then some four years old, to Shawneetown. There she was married in 1839 to John D. Richeson, by whom she had one son and two daughters. Elenora married Judge J. D. Turner and died in 1899. Albert G. is now a merchant in Shawneetown, and Mary is the wife of Judge McBane of the same place. The mother of Charles Carroll died on Sept. 6, 1856. As Charles Carroll grew up he attended the schools of Shawneetown, where he received his primary education. In 1846 he entered Cum- berland college at Princeton, Ky., and studied in that institution for three years. Returning to Shawneetown in 1849 he entered the law office of Albert G. Caldwell as a student, and continued to study law until 1852. He then went into the wholesale and retail dry goods business in partnership with his step-father, under the firm name of Richeson & Carroll. This partnership was dissolved in 1868, and since that time Mr. Carroll has been engaged in conducting a general store at Shawneetown. For a number of years he was also a large operator in grain and tobacco, and was interested in river navigation. In connection with Thomas S. Ridgway and Charles A. Beecher he was one of the projectors of the Illinois & Southeastern railway (now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern), and supervised its construction from Shawneetown to Beardstown, Ill., a distance of two hundred and twenty miles. Mr. Carroll is president of the Gallatin county agricultural board, and under his management very successful fairs have been held for several years past. He takes a lively interest
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in all political affairs, but has never been a seeker for public office. Notwithstanding this he was nominated by the Democratic party for the office of state treasurer in 1874, but he was defeated along with the rest of his ticket by the usual Republican majority. In 1856 he was married to Miss Elizabeth K., eldest daughter of the late Henry Eddy, who was for many years regarded as the leading lawyer of Shawneetown. To this marriage there have been born the following children : Charles Jr., now mayor of Shawneetown; Mary Eddy, wife of E. R. Sisson, a lawyer at Storm Lake, Ia .; Judith Mimms, wife of William Ridgway, a lumber dealer in Chicago; and Bessie, wife of William R. Higgins, formerly a grain dealer of Chicago, but now in the real estate business at Spencer, Ia.
WILL A. HOWELL, of Shawneetown, Ill., master in chancery of Gallatin county, is a representative member of one of the oldest families in America. The Howells of Kentucky and Southern Illinois are of Irish extraction and can trace their ances- try back to one of three brothers who came from the Emerald Isle with Capt. John Smith's colony and settled at Jamestown, Va., in 1607. Much of the early history of the family is veiled in obscurity, but it is known that some of the descendants settled in Kentucky at a very early date, where they played an important part in wresting the "Dark and Bloody Ground" from the possession of the Indians. Some of the family finally located at Cynthiana, where Chester Howell, the imme- diate ancestor of that branch of the family now living in Shawnee- town and vicinity, was born. He had three sons: Squire, James D., and one whose name has been lost. Squire Howell had two sons and two daughters: Thomas, Chester, Susan and Anna. James D. Howell, who was the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born at Cynthiana, Jan. 27, 1809. He received his education in the schools of that period, the course of study being confined to the simplest rudiments of an English education. During his boyhood he engaged in hauling freight from Cynthiana to Cincinnati, but upon arriving at man's estate he removed to near Lexington, where he became a farmer. In 1840 he removed to Trimble county, Ky., where he lived for about twelve years, when he went to Union county, and
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there passed the remainder of his life, dying Aug. 23, 1894, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. On Sept. 6, 1831, he was married to Miss Millicent, daughter of Alexander Breckenridge, living near Lexington. She was a member of the celebrated family of that name, and a first cousin to Gen. John C. Breckenridge. She died June 26, 1876. Her mother's maiden name was Wickliffe, a sister to George and Robert Wickliffe, who were among the Kentucky pioneers. James D. and Millicent Howell were the parents of the following chil- dren : William A., who died young; Ann Martha, born Feb. 2, 1834, married Lemuel Holt, Nov. 26, 1857, and is now living a widow in Union county, Ky .; James Elmore, born April 27, 1830, and died Sept. 28, 1837; John Lloyd, father of the subject of this sketch; Nancy J., born Nov. 18, 1839, and died Feb. 21, 1886; Warren, born March 31, 1841, married Anna Harth, and now lives at Caseyville, Ky .; Harriet Matilda, born Nov. 23, 1842, and died Dec. 27, 1842; Harrison, born Nov. 22, 1844, now lives in Union county, Ky .; Walker T., born April 17, 1846, married Carrie Haskins in 1883, and now lives in Colorado; George W., born April 2, 1848, and died Aug. 21, 1893; Elizabeth Morris, born April 2, 1849, and died in 1885; Susan Howe, born Sept. 5, 1851, died July 19, 1871; Thomas Henry, born in November, 1864, married Fannie Wall, and now lives in Morganfield, Ky. John Lloyd Howell, the fourth child of this fam- ily was born at Lexington, Nov. 18, 1837. After such an education as the common schools of that day afforded he turned his attention to farming, and at the beginning of the Civil war was living near Hannibal, Mo. He returned home to Kentucky and enlisted in Company G, First Kentucky Confederate cavalry, which afterward became part of the famous "Orphan Brigade." After the war he located in Union county, Ky., and there followed farming and con- ducting a sawmill until 1885, when he became a pilot on the river, in which occupation he continued the rest of his active life. On April 25, 1867, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Givens, of Trimble county, and she is now living in Shawneetown. To this marriage there were born four children: Nannie, widow of W. S. Callicott, and who for the last fourteen years has been a teacher in the Shawneetown public schools; Harry H., now a merchant in Shawneetown; Will A., the subject of this sketch; and Ray L., now the wife of C. L. Patterson, a postoffice inspector, liv- ing at Las Vegas, New Mexico. Will A. Howell was born in Union county, Ky., Jan. 24, 1877. His parents removed to Shaw- neetown when he was about two years old, and here he grew to II-21
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manhood, receiving his education in the public schools. In 1894 he was appointed deputy clerk of Gallatin county and filled that position for three years, at the end of which time he embarked in the real estate, abstract and loan business, in which line he has continued ever since with the exception of about four months. In April, 1899, he was elected city clerk of Shawneetown, and was re-elected in 1901, holding the office for four years. In October, 1903, he was appointed master in chancery for Gallatin county for a term of two years, and is now discharging the duties of that position. Mr. Howell is prominent in the fraternal societies of Shawneetown, being a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Fraternal Army of Loyal Americans. On New Year's day, 1900, he was married to Miss Cleora L. Hite, of Peru, Ind., and to this union there has been born one son, Edward Hite, born Jan. 28, 190I.
JOHN WILLIAM BOWLING, M.D., one of the leading physicians of Shawnee- town, Ill., was born near Catlettsburg, Boyd county, Ky., Jan. 21, 1862. His father, Jasper Bowling, was also a native of Boyd county, and of Irish and English parentage. He was born Oct. 17, 1833, and grew to manhood near Catlettsburg, where he obtained a common school edu- . cation, afterward graduating from the Cin- cinnati business college. For several years he was deputy clerk of Boyd county. During the war he was provost marshal, stationed at Catlettsburg, and for some time immediately after the war he served as deputy internal revenue collector. He was also interested in farming operations. In the fall of 1868 he removed with his family to Gallatin county, Ill., making the trip by river, and upon locating there taught school for about three years, after which he bought a good farm in North Fork township, where he still lives. He con- tinued to teach during the winter months for about twelve years, served for several years as justice of the peace, and also as township treasurer. He was married in 1861 to Miss Pauline Crow, a native of Northeastern Kentucky. She died in the spring of 1885, the mother of seven children, viz .: Dr. John W., the subject of this
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