SCHAUMLEFFLE, LAWRENCE; Railway Engineer; son of William Philip and Anna (Lockman) Schaumleffle, was born at Pekin, Illinois, August 10, 1855. His paternal grandfather, who spelled his name Schaumloeffel, brought his family from Germany to Illinois, about the year 1833, and settled on a farm in the vicinity of Pekin, in Tazewell County. He had four sons and four daughters. His son William Philip, born in Bavaria about 1820, became a wagonmaker at Pekin and died in 1896; his widow is living in that city. At the age of nineteen Lawrence Schaumleffle entered the employ of the Peoria, Pekin & Jacksonville Railroad Company, serving first as a wiper, then four years as fireman, and two years as engineer. February 1, 1880, he was employed by the Peoria & Pekin Union Railroad as engineer, remaining continuously with this company for twenty-two years. He is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. In politics he is independent. He married Flora B. Cullom, at Pekin, May 4, 1882, and they have three children: Hattie Minnie, Charles Cullom and Vera Alma. Mrs. Schaumleffle. born at Pekin July 26, 1860, is a daughter of Charles O. Cullom, who was born at Covington, Kentucky, August 12, 1825, and Hannah J. (Lindeboom) Cullom, born in East Friesland, Prussia, July 26, 1843. Her father is a distant relative and personal friend of the Hon. Shelby M. Cullom. He came to Illinois with his parents before the Black Hawk War, in which his father and his brothers, Green and Thomas, participated. He was one of the first engineers on the Peoria, Pekin & Jacksonville Road, over which he ran for many years. Active in politics, he was for some time a member of the State Board of Charities. He is now living at Wichita, Kansas. Mrs. Schaumleffle is his only child by his first marriage. His second wife, Margaret Skinner, has borne him three children: Leota, now Mrs. McCutcheon; James W. and Myrtle. Mr. Cullom's parents Francis Asbury and Elizabeth (Bennett) Cullom, were natives of Maryland and New Jersey, and were married in Ohio August l, 1805. They removed to Tazewell County, Illinois, in 1827, when the city of Pekin, near which they settled, was marked only by two log cabins. Mr. Schaumleffle's maternal grandparents were Hebbe Popen Lindeboom, born September 24, 1809, and Altje Margarete (von Freeden) Lindeboom, born December 16, 1816, both of East Friesland, Prussia.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SCHMIDT, CHARLES H.; Proprietor of a Meat Market in Peoria; was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, June 9, 1874, the son of Charles T. Schmidt. When about a year old Charles H. Schmidt was brought by his parents to Peoria, where the father opened a meat-shop near the old City Market, from there removing to his present location on Main Street, at which point he has been for more than twenty years. Charles H. Schmidt spent his early life attending school and working in his father's shop, where he learned the trade. In 1893 he took charge of a shop established by his father at No. 1921 Main Street. After being in charge three years he bought it, and has since conducted it very successfully. By careful management he has built up a good business, and is on the high road to prosperity. Recently he has built a handsome residence at No. 103 Cunningham Street. He married Lillian L. Barfield, in Peoria, in November, 1897. They have one child, Charles E. Mrs. Schmidt is a daughter of W. E. and Catharine Barfield, old residents of Peoria. Mr. Barfield is a contracting mason. Mr. Schmidt belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, and votes the Republican ticket.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SCHMIDT, JOHN L.; Shoe Dealer; born in Peoria, June 7, 1874, is a son of Frederick W. and Margaret (Bufs) Schmidt. The father was born at Ostrowo, Prussia, February 10, 1827, and left his native town July 29. 1856, coming to the United States by way of Hamburg. For some time he was a resident of St. Louis, and came to Peoria in August, 1861. His trade was that of a cooper, at which he was employed until a year before his death, October 16, 1898. He was married August 6. 1859, to Margaret Bufs, who was a native of Darmstadt, Germany. To Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt have been born seven children: Rose, Emma, Charles, Mary, Ida, Fred and John, four of whom are deceased. John L. Schmidt was educated in the common schools, and when he was eighteen years of age he bought the shoe store of Mrs. Wys, which he has since conducted on a very successful scale. At No. 2321 South Adams Street he built a fine residence, which he now occupies. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, and votes an independent ticket at the various elections.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SCHMITT, JOSEPH L.; Grocer; born in Germany, August 25, 1851, is the son of Ludwig and Anna (Wagner) Schmitt, natives of Bavaria. Ludwig Schmitt, who was a weaver, was married in 1847, and came to America with his family in 1854, spending sixty-five days on the voyage to New Orleans. They came to St. Louis, where they remained four years, and then moved to Pacific Junction, whence they came to Peoria in 1859. Here Ludwig Schmitt took charge of the starch works, of which he was manager for twenty-five years. From the time of his leaving the starch works he was mostly unemployed on account of ill health. To Mr. and Mrs. Schmitt were born two daughters, Maggie and Louisa, both of whom now live in Peoria. Mr. Schmitt has one step-daughter, named Bertha. Joseph L. Schmitt attended Cole's College, going only to the evening sessions for some half-dozen years. For seven years he was employed at the tobacconist trade, and the next fourteen and a half years were spent by him in the Peoria Starch Works, where he was shipping clerk, and had charge of the drying department. For some two years he worked in the Sugar Works, and in December, 1885, went into the grocery business. Ten years later he built at No. 2901 South Adams Street a two-story building, in which his business is located, and where he enjoys a trade that gives employment to five people. Beside the store, he has a large store-house and ample out-buildings. On the same block, at No. 700 Oakland Avenue, he has a handsome two-story residence. Mr. Schmitt belongs to the Republican party, and is a Mason, a Modern Woodman, a Royal Neighbor, and a member of the Royal Circle. Joseph L. Schmitt and Miss Wilhelmina Stelbrink were married in Peoria May 4, 1876, and to them have been born five children: Lucy M., Florence A., Edna I., Berenice J. and Joseph S. Lucy is employed in the store.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SCHOFIELD, JOHN: Justice of the Peace; born at Staleybridge. Lancashire, England, May 23, 1826, is the son of Alien and Mary (Lunn) Schofield, and grandson of Alien and Jane Schofield and of John and Mary Lunn. The Schofields were a Lancashire family, the Lunns of Yorkshire. When John Schofield was eleven years old he was brought by his father on a sailing vessel to New YorK. the voyage consuming six weeks. Here they remained five years, the father being employed as a bookkeeper, although he had learned the trade of dyer in the factory of his father, who was a manufacturer of woolen goods. The father returned to England and John attended school at Worcester, Massachusetts, where he lived with an aunt. At fourteen he began learning the weaver's trade in a cotton-mill; he grew up in the business and became manager of the weaving department of mills in Philadelphia, in New Jersey, in Indiana and at Rushville. Illinois. He removed to Peoria from Rushville in 1869 and opened a store and became city circulator of the "National Democrat," and later of the "Journal," owning the city circulation of the latter for eight years, until he sold it and became chief owner of the "Freeman Post," which was merged into the "National Democrat," which finally suspended publication. He was Justice of the Peace, 1889-93, and was again elected to that office in 1897, and has served in it by successive elections since. In politics he is a Democrat. He became a Mason in 1862 and has attained to the thirty-second degree. He has filled every position in the Blue Lodge, of which he was Worshipful Master four years; was High Priest of the Chapter four years; has filled all chairs in the Royal Arch Chapter, and has been Grand Scribe of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. In May, 1862, he enlisted in Company D. Ninth Regiment, Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, and was stationed at Tenallytown and Fairfax Court House, Virginia, until he received his honorable discharge from the service in the following September. He was married in September, 1862, to Marian McGregor, at Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Mrs. Schofield died at Peoria in 1897, and in July, 1898, he married Mary Marshall, daughter of John Kelly, a native of Glasgow, Scotland.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SCHWERIN, CHARLES G.; Railway Switch Foreman; born in Sweden June 6, 1843, is the only son of Alexis and Charlotte (Lindholm) Schwerin, natives, respectively, of Germany and Sweden. The mother died about 1867. In 1866 Charles G. Schwerin came to the United States and located in Illinois, and since that time has been continuously in the railroad service. For a time he was a brakeman on the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway; he was switch foreman for the Peoria & Pekin Union Railroad ten years, and since 1892 has been switch foreman
at Peoria for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company. He is a member of Lodge No. 72, Switchmen's Union of North America. In politics he is a Republican, and he and his family are members of the Lutheran Church, in which he has held the offices of trustee and treasurer. July 2, 1874, he was married, in Peoria, to Jennie Anderson, and they have one daughter, named Huldah S.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SEHMER, CHARLES; Dealer in Meats; son of Frederick and Carolina (Mohr) Sehmer, was born in Peoria September 2, 1855. His parents were both natives of Saarbrucken. Prussia. His father died May 10, 1877, aged sixty-four years, and his mother November 19, 1882, aged sixty-three. They had twelve children, nine of whom were born in Prussia and three in America. The elder Sehmer came over in 1851, and his family a few months later, sailing from Bremen for New Orleans on a vessel which was fourteen weeks in making the voyage. The family stopped at St. Louis until 1853, when they came to Peoria, where Mr. Sehmer built a brewery on what is now Hancock Street, which he operated several years. Charles Sehmer was educated in the common schools and at Cole's Business College. He learned the butcher's trade in the establishment of John Miller, and in 1883 established a market on Lincoln Avenue, and he has occupied his present quarters at No. 711 for fourteen years. Besides his shop and residence, he owns two houses on Howett Street. He was married January 3, 1881, at Clinton, Iowa, to Alice Remington, a native of Millersburg, Ohio, and a daughter of Lucius and Elizabeth (Shaffer) Remington, natives, respectively, of Vermont and Virginia. They have three children: Herbert, Walter and Mary. Mr. Sehmer is a Democrat, an Odd Fellow, a Woodman of America, and a member of the Royal Circle, No. 52.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SEIBERLING, MONROE; Manufacturer; born in Summit County, Ohio, January 16. 1839, is the son of Nathan and Katherine (Peter) Seiberling, natives of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather, John Seiberling, was also a native of Lehigh, the earlier ancestors being German. Nathan Seiberling settled in Ohio in 1829, and having bought a timbered farm erected a saw-mill, and spent several years converting his trees into sawed lumber. Monroe Seiberling worked on his father's farm and at the mill until he was twenty-eight years old, when he went to Canton, Ohio, and there operated a lumber, sash and door mill. He next removed to Akron and engaged there in the manufacture of strawboard in company with his brother and others, filling the positions of Secretary and Manager. At Akron, in 1886, he became promoter and manager of the twine and cordage works, his residence there extending over a period of fifteen years. In 1885 Mr. Seiberling bought a strawboard mill at Upper Sandusky, employing about one hundred men, becoming its President and Manager. Two years later he organized a company and built a strawboard works at Kokomo, Indiana, and was the first man to utilize gas as a fuel for manufacturing purposes in the natural gas-belt of Indiana. In 1889 he promoted the Diamond Plate Glass Company for the manufacture of plate glass at Kokomo, and in 1890 the same company built another factory at Elwood, Indiana, Mr. Seiberling becoming the manager of each; also organized a strawboard manufacturing company during the same year at Noblesville, Indiana. In the following year he promoted a window-glass factory at Hartford City, Indiana, with which he was connected as Vice-President and Director; was also promoter of the first tin-plate factory built from the foundation up in this country. This was located at Elwood, Indiana, where two hundred and fifty men were first employed, and where over eighteen hundred men now find work. He also built a tin-plate factory at Montpelier, Indiana, becoming its President and was promoter and Vice-president of the rubber factory at Jonesboro Indiana, for the manufacture of rubber and insulated wire. In the fall of 1895 Mr. Seiberling came to Peoria and organized the Peoria Rubber & Manufacturing Company, of which he was President and Manager; during the next year projected the Prospect Heights Street Railway, which he built and became its President. In the year 1900 he was made President and Manager of the Seiberling Plate Glass Company, which is now in process of building at Ottawa, Illinois, and will have a daily capacity of one hundred and forty pots, or 15,000 square feet of plate-glass, employing from eight hundred to a thousand men, and being altogether the finest glass factory in the United States. Mr. Seiberling married Sarah L. Miller, daughter of John and Susan (Bowers) Miller, on October, 1862. They have eight children: Emma R., wife of Charles J. Butler; Alton G., who married Anna T. Tate, of Kokomo; Catherine Irene, wife of Frank L. Kryder; Fred A.; Ellen S.: Laird H.; George W.; and Grace L. Mr. Seiberling is a Mason and a Republican, having cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. He is a member of the English Lutheran Church.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SELLERS, THOMAS J.; Contractor and Builder; born in Hancock County, Illinois August 14, 1868, is a son of Asa M. and Elizabeth (Tomberlin) Sellers. His father and his grand-father, both named Asa M., were each born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, the former September 19, 1843. His grandfather married Eleanor White, daughter of John and Eleanor White, who was born in County Cavan, Ireland, where her parents were also born. George and Elizabeth Sellers, his great-grandparents in the paternal line, were born and married in Germany and soon after 1800 settled at Philadelphia, whence they went to Greene County, where Mr. Sellers was a farmer and where he died about 1846, his wife in 1850. Asa M. Sellers moved from the old homestead in Pennsylvania to Coshocton County, Ohio, where he died aged forty-five years. His wife, who died at Peoria aged seventy-eight years, bore him six sons and four daughters. Their son, Asa M. Sellers, second, enlisted in 1861 in a regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until March, 1863, when he was discharged for disability. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, Perryville and Stone River. After the war he farmed in McDonough County, Illinois, until 1869, when he located at Peoria. where he has since been a carpenter, contractor and builder. October 5, 1865, he married Elizabeth Tomberlin, who was born in McDonough County, a daughter of James and Clarkie (Haves) Tomberlin, natives, respectively, of North Carolina and East Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Sellers have children as follows: Olivia, who is Mrs. William Morris; Thomas G.; Fred; Ella, who is Mrs. James Watkins, and George. Mr. Sellers is a Republican and a member of Bryner Post, G. A. R. Thomas J. Sellers began at fourteen to learn the carpenter's trade and afterward removed to Kansas, where he was identified with the Kansas National Guard, and for five years assistant nozzleman of a fire company at Pittsburg, in that State. Returning to Peoria, he engaged in building and, for eight years, has been a contractor, employing eight men and completing fifteen residences annually, mostly at Averyville. He is an independent Republican and is a member of Masonic Temple Lodge, No. 46, and West Bluff K. of P., No. 177. February 5, 1890, he was married, at Pittsburg, Kansas, to Margaret Hellier, who has borne him two children: Freddie M. and Fay H. Mrs. Sellers is a daughter of Edward and Malida (James) Hellier, natives of England. Her father, who was born in Dorsetshire, came to America at the age of thirteen and died in 1882, aged fifty-one. Her mother came to America in childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Hellier had eleven children. They were married in Macoupin County and lived there many years.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SEWARD, THEODORE F.; Head Spirit-Runner, Great Western Distillery; born at Altona, near Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, October 7, 1844, is a son of Frederick William and Johanna K. (Bochart) Seward, natives of Altona and of Hamburg, respectively. His father, a dealer in wines and liquors, was born January 8, 1806, and died in 1859. His mother, born September 7, 1816, died in 1881. They had three sons and three daughters. At the age of fourteen Theodore F. Seward became a sailor, making his first voyage to Brazil, when he visited Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, as well as ports in Uruguay. Later he visited the West Indies, touching Santo Domingo and various ports in Central and South America. His voyages were extended to the East Indies and Eastern Asia, visiting Calcutta and other Eastern ports and sailing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. He doubled Cape Horn and saw Valparaiso and Callao, and was on board a Spanish transport when the Spaniards bombarded those places in 1866. Among the European ports which he visited were Shields, Dundee, Amsterdam, Gammelsogn, Copenhagen, Konigsberg, Cardiff, Liverpool and a number on the Baltic coast, including several Russian ports, besides visiting some of our Atlantic cities. Eventually he located at Chicago and, for a time, sailed on the lakes, until he found employment with the rectifying house of Ploss & Boss in that city in 1870. He remained with that firm and with the Phoenix Distilling Company most of the time until August 28, 1880, when he came to Peoria. After working as spirit-runner one year at the Monarch plant, he entered the service of the Great Western Distilling Company, by which he has since been employed. He built his residence
at 401 Faraday Street in 1882. April 6, 1872, he was married, at Chicago, to Rosina W. Damm, who died December 18, 1891. From this union six children were born, two of whom died at Chicago in infancy. Of the four remaining three are married: Clara M., to Edward Kempf, of Peoria, November 21, 1900; Frank J. C., to Delia E. Seybolt, of Peoria, September 5, 1901, and Lucy A., to Henry J. Fuchs, of Peoria, June 5, 1901. Emma T. is unmarried. Mrs. Seward was one of the twelve children of George W. and Mary A. Damm, natives of Germany, now living at Cumberland, Maryland, aged eighty-two and seventy-two years, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Damm spent four months in Germany in 1900. Mr. Seward is a Republican and a member of the Woodmen of America.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SHERRY, PETER H.; Locomotive Engineer; born in Peoria, November 17, 1856, is the son of Patrick and Catharine (Cuff) Sherry, the father being a native of Belfast, and the mother of the vicinity of Dublin, Ireland. Seven of their nine children are now living: Peter H.; Catharine, who is Mrs. Charles Hitch, of Peoria; Anna Mary, now Mrs. Frank P. Flood, of Peoria; John M., now of Kansas City, Missouri; Daniel, of Peoria, and Joseph, a resident of Omaha, Nebraska. Both father and mother are living. Peter H. Sherry married Anna Kelley in Peoria, January 1, 1880. Her father, Patrick Kelley, was born in County Kerry, Ireland, where he married Anna Connors. They had six children, four of whom were born in Ireland, and two in the United States: Michael, Mary, Ellen, Patrick, Stephen and Anna. The family came to the United States in 1852, and Mr. Kelley died July 1, 1895. The children of Peter H. and Anna Sherry are: George F., J. Bertram, Stella, Peter H., Jr., and Walter P. Mr. Sherry has been a railroad man since 1874, and has been in the employ of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad Company in various capacities for the last twenty-five years, having been a locomotive engineer for the last eleven years. He is an uncompromising Democrat, and belongs to Division 417, Brotherhood Locomotive Engineers. He is a member of the Catholic Church.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SIMMONS, GEORGE F.; Proprietor of the Troy Laundry, Peoria; born at Baltimore, September 9, 1865, is the son of David E. and Frances E. Simmons. The father was born in Oneida, and the mother in Rome, New York. David E. Simmons was a marine engineer, and sailed the Great Lakes for many years. In 1870 he moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and twelve years later he retired from active business life. George F. Simmons lived with his parents at Whitewater. Green Bay and Oshkosh, graduating from the high school of Oshkosh with the honors of his class in 1884. In his vacations he had learned the cigar-making trade, but after leaving school his attention was devoted to the steam-fitting trade, at which he worked for some three years. In 1889 he secured employment in the first steam laundry established in Oshkosh, in which he continued until 1892, coming to Peoria that year to take the position of manager of the Troy Steam Laundry. The following year he was assistant manager of the Grand Laundry Company, at St. Louis, one of the largest establishments of the kind in the United States. After spending a year and a half in St. Louis, he came back to Peoria, and bought a quarter interest in the Troy Steam Laundry, becoming its manager at the same time. Later he bought another quarter interest, and, on January 1, 1900, became the owner of the establishment, which he is now operating very successfully. At the State meeting of the laundrymen of Illinois, October 28, 1895, which had largely been brought about through his active efforts, he was chosen temporary chairman, but declined the position of Chairman in the permanent organization. The following April he was elected Secretary and Treasurer, a position he held three years. In 1899 he was chosen President of the Association, and served one year. At Cincinnati, in 1898, he was elected First Vice-President of the Laundrymen's National Association, and at Buffalo was elected President in 1900. In 1900 he was chosen Alderman of the Fourth Ward in Peoria. He is a Knight Templar, a member of the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he holds a National office, and the Royal Circle. For six years he has been chairman of the Board of Managers of the largest Woodman's Lodge in Peoria. He is a Republican and a member of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Simmons was married to Anna Rohl, in Duluth, Minnesota, in October, 1888, and they have one child—George E., nine years old.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SIMPSON, THADDEUS S.; Clerk of the Circuit Court; born in Adams County, Ohio, May 28, 1849, is the son of Addison and Ann (Templar) Simpson, the former of Rockbridge County, and the latter in Loudon County, Vir- ginia. Mr. Simpson enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Eighty-third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, at Camp Denison, Ohio, October 6, 1864, and was in active service during the remainder of the Civil War, participating in the battles at Franklin, Columbia and Nashville, Tennessee, and in other less important engagements. In 1870 he came to Peoria from Adams County, Ohio, arriving March 17. He is a Protestant and a Republican, a citizen of character and influence, and is at present (1002) Clerk of the Circuit Court of Peoria County. He married, at Trivoli, Illinois, August 16, 1871, Margaret Maus, who has borne him three children: Charles A., James D. and Martha P. Simpson.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SINGER, CHARLES J.; deceased ; was born in Schwabenheim. near Mayence, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, May 29, 1817. and coming to America, settled in Buffalo. New York, about 1851. By trade he was an iron-moulder, and assisted in casting the anchors for the Suspension Bridge, at Niagara Falls. In May, 1854, he was married, at Chippewa, Canada, to Johanna Branch, who was born June 15, 1831, at Gondelsheim, in the vicinity of Bruchsal, Baden. Her parents were Bernhardt and Christina (Zink) Branch. Her father died when Mrs. Singer was eleven years old. Her mother was born in 1803, and died in Peoria in 7880. Johanna Brauch left her home in Germany, in October, 1853, and came to New York by way of Havre, and thence to Chippewa, Canada, where she lived until her marriage with Mr. Singer. In 1855 her mother joined her in Canada. To Mr. and Mrs. Singer were born seven children: Charles, Henry, Louis, Louisa (the wife of C. C. Iffland), Emil, Albert, and Rudolph. In January, 1856, Mr. Singer moved to Peoria, and for a short time kept the Rising Sun boarding house, but soon became proprietor of the Railroad Exchange, on Hamilton Street, where he was in business for seven years. For a time he was in the ice business, and at the expiration of five years engaged in the manufacture of soda and mineral waters, with two partners, under the firm name of Bohl, Singer & Lorens. Retiring from this line, he remodeled a brewery on Perry Street, opposite the Masonic Cemetery. The brewery burned in less than a year, and Mr. Singer was successively the proprietor of the Brunswick billiard hall, a grocery, and a soda-water factory. In this last enterprise he had Carl Gillig as a partner, under the firm name of Gillig & Singer, until 1875, when Mr. Gillig retired. After that Mr. Singer and his sons carried on the business until his death, July 13, 1887. Mrs. Singer lives with her son Rudolph, at No. 317 Monson Street. Though seventy years old, she preserves her vitality in a remarkable degree.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SINGER, EMIL; Treasurer Peoria City Bottling Company; was born in Peoria, August 2, 1865, and is a son of Charles and Johanna Singer. He received his education in the Peoria public schools, during his vacations performing such work as he could about his father's bottling works, and, at the age of fifteen, was admitted as a permanent employe. When the firm of Singer Brothers was organized to take charge of the plant, Emil Singer became a partner in the business. He held this position until May 21, 1900, when the firm was dissolved, and the three enterprises conducted by the Singer Brothers, F. E., Howland and R. L. Pasquay, were consolidated as the City Bottling Company, when Mr. Singer became Treasurer of the new firm. He married Augusta Klewe in Peoria, September 24, 1896, and they have one daughter—Clara. Mrs. Singer is a native of Peoria and a daughter of Albert and Katharine Klewe, both born in Germany. They settled in Peoria about 1851, and the father was engaged in business here as a butcher. Mr. Singer belongs to the National Union and is a Democrat. He owns a neat and attractive home at No. 514 Central Street.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SINGER, HENRY; Manager of the Val Blatz Brewing Company, Peoria, is a son of .Charles J. and Johanna (Brauch) Singer, and was born in that city June 16, 1857. He was educated at night schools, at the public school and at the old high school on State House Square, and, at fifteen years of age, apprenticed himself to a carpenter. At the end of five years he joined his father in a bottling business, which the latter had established many years before, and at thirty he became a member of the firm of Singer Brothers. In March, 1895, he entered upon his present duties as local manager for the Blatz Brewing Company. October 17, 1882, he was married at Peoria, to Ada Klewe, and they have three children: Camilla K., Otto H. and Catharine J. Mrs. Singer is a daughter of William and Catharine (Gingrich) Klewe, early settlers of Peoria. Mr. Singer is independent in politics, is a Master Mason and a member of the Turners' Union, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. the Mutual Aid Society and Concordia Singing Society.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SINGER, RUDOLPH: Beer Bottler; son of Charles and Johanna Singer, was born in Peoria. November 5, 1870. His schooling was secured at the German Free School on Second Street, and at Brown's Business College. As soon as he was old enough he began to help about the works at the bottling house, carried on by his father, and later by the Singer Brothers. He continued at this until May 21, 1900, when he became the proprietor of the establishment. He carries on his business as the local bottler for Blatz Milwaukee beer. He has a constantly increasing trade. In politics he is a Democrat, and is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men and the Heptasophs.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SINGLETON, MILTON STEPHEN, was born August 22, 1864, at Canton, Illinois. He was married March 17, 1892, to Flora B. Morgan. Mr. Singleton has been in the employ of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway Company since 1887, and for the last six years has been a Conductor. He is a member of the Peoria Division, No. 79, Order of Railway Conductors. In politics he is a Republican.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SISSON, EDWARD OCTAVIUS; Director Bradley Polytechnic Institute, Peoria; was born at Gateshead, England, May 24, 1869, the son of George and Mary (Arnott) Sisson, both natives of the North of England—his father having been born, December 25, 1828. Professor Sisson was educated partly in his native England, but came to the United States in 1882, first locating in Kansas; attended the State Agricultural College at Manhattan, Kansas, graduating in 1886 (being the youngest graduate in the history of the college) ; then engaged in teaching for five years, a part of the time as Principal in the public schools. In 1893 he received the degree of A. B. in the University of Chicago, where he took a postgraduate course until 1896, meanwhile (1892-97) being founder and Principal of the South Side Academy, Chicago. In 1897 he became Director of Bradley Polytechnic Institute, with which he is still connected. Professor Sisson has revisited his native country four times since he came to America—in 1887, 1895, 1898 and 1901—on his last two trips extending his visits to the Continent, largely for the purpose of seeing European schools. He was married, November 29, 1899, at Lawn Ridge, Illinois, to Miss Nellie Stowell, who was born August 2, 1871. In religious belief he is a Christian.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SLOTTER, ORSON W.; Foreman; Averyville; born near Stroudsburg, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, August 30, 1859, is a son of Joseph H. and Rachel (Harps) Slotter. His father, a carpenter, and a native of Snydersville, in the county mentioned, is still living; his mother, born near Snydersville, died February. 1892. His paternal grandfather, Joseph Slotter, millwright and cabinet-maker, born in 1806, died in 1878, and was the father of one son and three daughters. John Slotter, father of Joseph, was born in Germany, became a farmer and carpenter and came to America at the time of our war for independence, and later settled in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, where he reared seven sons and three daughters. Orson W. Slotter began his active life in a machine-shop at fourteen, but afterwards attended school at Stroudsburg three winters, meanwhile assisting his father, who was then a contracting builder, in the erection of mills and tanneries. Later he spent a year at cabinet-making and undertaking, then found employment in a machine-shop at Allentown, Pennsylvania. Eventually he went to Stillwater, Minnesota, where, for some time, he was employed in the works of the Minnesota Thresher Company. Returning to Pennsylvania he remained there a year and a half, after which for four years he was employed as foreman of the men constructing the Thresher Company's shops at Stillwater, and later, had charge of its planing machines. Since 1890 he has been in the employ of the Avery Manufacturing Company at Averyville, in charge of the erection of engines. He was elected Trustee of the village of Averyville in 1898, and again in 1900. He is a Republican and is prominent as a Mason, also belongs to the Order of Modern Woodmen, the Maccabees, and the Foresters. He was married at East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, October 21, 1882, to Lenora Mosteller, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Mosteller, natives of Pennsylvania, where her father was a farmer. The name Slotter is of Alsatian origin and was formerly spelled Schlotter.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SMITH, DAVID; born in McLean County, Illinois, December 31, 1836, was educated at the Illinois Wesleyan University at Bloomington, and was acting as a Trustee of that institution when he came to Peoria in October, 1887, as manager of the Central Illinois Agency of the New York Life Insurance Company. He was a Trustee of the Methodist Church at Hudson, of which he has been a member since his early boyhood. At Hudson he was Trustee of the school fund for five years. His parents were John and Anna (Havens) Smith, early settlers in McLean County. They were married, March 30, 1831, and had six children: Dr. Lee Smith of Bloomington; Irena (Smith) Lewis and Christina (Smith) Gray, both of Prescott, Wisconsin; Jesse and David, twins; and Isaac, who died May 19, 1869, at the age of twenty-six years. Two others, John and Mary, died in childhood. Jessie resides at Oakland, California. The father, John Smith, was born in Randolph County, North Carolina, December n, 1804, and died at Hudson, Illinois. April 27, 1882. The mother, Anna (Havens) Smith, was born at Newark, Ohio, April 13, 1808, and died at Prescott, Wisconsin, March 24, 1896. All the deceased .members of this family are buried in the cemetery at Hudson, Illinois. Mr. Smith is a Republican. He was married in Peoria, July 18, 1889, to Mary Jennett Russell. The Russell family history in this country begins with Rev. John Russell, who came from England in 1630, settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts ; his son John, born in England in 1627, graduated from Harvard College in 1643, and died December 10, 1692. Rev. Samuel Russell, his son, born in Hadley, Massachusetts, in 1660, graduated from Harvard College in 1681, and settled in Branford, Connecticut, where he died in 1731, after an honorable career of forty-four years as a minister. He participated with nine other ministers in the historic founding of Yale College. A monument on the "Town Green" at Branford, Connecticut, erected in 1900, by the Colonial Dames of America, bears the following inscription: "In the house of Rev. Samuel Russell, once standing near this spot, was held, in 1700, the meeting of ministers of the Colony of Connecticut, when they gave books for the founding of the College school which now bears the name of Yale University." Col. John Russell, the son of Rev. Samuel, was born January 24, i686, and graduated from Yale College in 1704; in 1707 he was married, and died in 1757. John Russell, the son of Colonel John, was born September 13, 1710, married Mary Barker in 1732, and their second son, John Russell, was born October ll, 1736. He married Mary Lindsley in 1762. Their eldest son, Buel Russell, was born in 1762, and married Miss Barker. He died in Monticello, New York, in 1815. His son, William Russell, of the eighth generation, was born at Branford, Connecticut, September 15, 1797. He came to Peoria in 1835, buying a farm on the West Bluff, a mile and a quarter west of the Court House. He returned to Connecticut to spend two years, and then returned to Peoria, and spent the rest of his life. He married Susan Black, September 15, 1840, by whom he had two children: John W. and M. Jennett. William Russell died March 18, 1864, leaving a large and valuable estate. John W. Russell has been twice married, by his second marriage he had four children. George Major Russell, the only living son, is the Cashier of the National Bank of Garden Grove, Iowa.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SMITH, PHILIP; Insurance and Real Estate Agent; born in Prussia, May 5, 1841, is the son of Paul and Anna M. (Diedrich) Schmitz, natives of Prussia, and emigrants to America, arriving in New York August 24, 1842. After they had tried several other localities they settled in Peoria in the summer of 1844. Here the mother died May 2, 1852, and the father, February 28, 1864. Subsequently the death of two sisters and a brother left Philip Smith the only survivor of the family. Mr. Smith has always made Peoria his home. At the outbreak of the Civil War, in company with several others, he went to St. Louis and enlisted in the Eighth Missouri Volunteer Infantry. He served in this regiment for three years, participating in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, the Siege of Corinth, General Sherman's attack on Corinth by way of the Yazoo Bayou, the battles of Mission Ridge, Resaca and Dallas. After leaving the service he was engaged in various pursuits until the fall of 1873, when he was appointed letter-carrier, by Postmaster General D. W. McGee, serving until Mr. Dowdall was appointed Postmaster under President Cleveland, when he was discharged. In August, 1892, he was appointed Surveyor of Customs, and served in this position until President Cleveland's second term, when he was again "invited to take a rest from public duties," as Mr. Smith puts it. At the town election in Peoria, in April, 1895, Mr. Smith was elected Supervisor and Overseer of the Poor for two years, and at the expiration of that time received the compli- ment of a re-election. When his second term had expired, Mr.. Smith started a real-estate and insurance business which has assumed very satisfactory proportions. Mr. Smith was married in Chicago, Illinois, October 1, 1864, to Miss Mary C. Vanscoyk, a native of Peoria County, to whom on December 21, 1865, was born a son, Howard F. Smith, who has for years been employed in railroad business. On July 19, 1876, they adopted a little girl, aged five years, by the name of Edna M. Lewis, who on April 21, 1888, married Frederick A. Walker. Mr. Smith's wife died on September 17, 1899, and on June 19, 1901, he was again married to Mrs. Cynthia A. Lewis, mother of Edna, the little girl above mentioned. Mr. Smith is a member of the Congregational Church, in politics a Republican, and belongs to the following fraternal societies: G. A. R., I. O. O. F., and the A. O. U. W.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SPITZNAGEL, EDWIN C.: Manufacturer; son of Daniel C. and Caroline (Haungs) Spitznagel, was born in Peoria, September 14, 1871. His father was a native of Hesse, who settled in Ontario, Canada, in 1855, and was there employed as a tinner. A few years later he came to Peoria, and was the first Chief of the City Fire Department. Near the close of the Civil War he recruited a military company which, however, was not called into the service, as the war ended soon after. His wife, who was the daughter of Florian and Albina (Streibich) Haungs, was born in Illinois Town (now East St. Louis), Illinois, and died in 1875. She bore her husband three children. Mr. and Mrs. Haungs were born in Moos, Baden. Mr. Haungs came to Peoria about fifty years ago and, for a time, was in the coopering business, but later built and conducted a hotel at Bridge and Water Streets and kept the Sherman House, on Water Street. He owned twenty-eight acres of land on both sides of Adams Street at Averyville, where he had a vineyard and a summer-garden. His garden was a popular resort and contained a musical clock valued at $5,000, and other interesting attractions, which were burned with the building which contained them, in what was believed to be an incendiary fire set by soldiers. He went to Germany and bought another clock, but returning with it was wrecked on the English coast, barely escaping with his life. Returning to Peoria he died January 12, 1882. His wife died five years later. After the death of their mother, Edwin C. Spitznagel and his brothers lived with their grandfather Haungs. They became the heirs of their grandparents and, after the death of the latter, conducted the vineyard and summer-garden and grew considerable fruit. Alexander J. Spitznagel was Trustee of the village of Averyville for some time. He married Mary A. Fagot, daughter of Peter Fagot, an early settler in Woodford County, who bore him a son named Elmer Florian. Peter Fagot was a native of France, and his wife of Illinois. The Haungs estate was platted in 1892 and much of it has been sold. Edwin C. Spitznagel was in the real-estate business, 1894-99, and then built a planing mill at 2700 North Adams Street, which he has since conducted successfully. He has a handsome residence at 2607 North Adams Street and is the largest tax-payer in Averyville, where he owns sixty pieces of land. Politically he is a Democrat; has twice filled the office of Trustee of Averyville and, in 1898, was elected President of the Village Board. He married Mary A. Spitznagel and they have a daughter named Henrietta Amabel. The family are communicants of the Catholic Church.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SPRENGER, JOSEPH; Cigar Manufacturer; is descended from a family who moved from the Austrian Tyrol to Bavaria during the Thirty Years War. Michael and Margaret Sprenger, his grandparents, were natives of Steinweiler, Rhenish Bavaria, and their son Adam, born December 4, 1829, married Mary Winkelmeyer, of Dresden, Saxony, daughter of Gustaf Winkelmeyer. He came to America in 1845, landing at New Orleans and coming up the rivers to Cincinnati, where he learned the cooper's trade. In 1848 he came to Peoria. Gustav Winkelmeyer was a patriot of "Forty-eight," who escaped to America and was long proprietor of the Waldschloeschen Tavern, in the suburbs of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he died. At fourteen Joseph began to learn the trade of cigar-making, at nineteen was the junior member of the firm of Griesser & Sprenger, cigar manufacturers, and, in 1885, joined his brother, William H., in the organization of the firm of Sprenger Brothers, who are now conducting a large and growing business, affording employment to thirty-five persons. Their "Gate Post" and "Porto Rico" cigars are two popular brands which are sold extensively East and West. The output of their factory, in 1900, was 225,000 in excess of that of any previous year. Mr. Sprenger married Elizabeth Krieg- er at Peoria, September 2, 1880, and they have six children: Joseph Henry, George William, Arthur Lewis, Fred, Myrtle Marie and Elizabeth.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
STEELE, HARRISON; Physician and Surgeon ; born at Johnsville, Montgomery County, Ohio, October 10, 1836, is a son of John and Mary (Schnaegelberger) Steele. His father was a native of Virginia, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and was a tailor and later a merchant in occupation. He settled at Germantown, Montgomery County, Ohio, about 1825, and later moved to Eaton, where he died of Asiatic cholera in 1849. Dr. Steele's ancestors in the maternal line were Pennsylvanians. He was educated in the public schools, learned the trade of a druggist and read medicine with that accomplished and successful physician. Dr. Hiram Hall, of Altona, Knox County, Illinois, and graduated from Rush Medical College, Chicago, in the class of 1867-68. He practiced his profession at Elmwood till 1874, when he established himself in Peoria, where he acquired a large patronage. He is a splendid type of the old fashioned family doctor who, by devoting the best years of his life to the conscientious practice of his profession, made his patients his permanent friends, and, while accumulating a comfortable sufficiency of this world's goods, always put the humanitarian phase of his calling before the mercenary side. He was an acting assistant surgeon in the Government service during the Civil War, and after the battle of Shiloh was stationed at Mound City Hospital, near Cairo, Illinois. He has been local surgeon for the Toledo. Peoria & Western Railroad for many years and chief surgeon since the historic terrible Chatsworth disaster. His work and experiences as a railroad surgeon have been most creditable and he ranks with the foremost surgeons of the State. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois State Medical Association and the Peoria City Medical Society, and has been President of the latter. He has been one of the most active and hardest working physicians and surgeons Peoria has had, and only within the last few years did he begin to protect himself so far as possible from overwork; but he is still bright, active and an earnest student of his chosen profession, and has kept pace with all the remarkable advancement in medicine and surgery which the last half of the past century witnessed. He has almost entirely recovered from a serious illness which came upon him three years ago, the only one in his long career, and appears to have many years of usefulness before him. He was at one time editor of the "'Pharma- ceutical News," afterward merged in the "Peoria Medical Journal," of which Drs. Murphy, Hamilton and Steele were editors, with Dr. McIlvaine as managing editor. Drs. Hamilton, Steele, Will, McIlvaine and Stout were the first staff physicians of Cottage Hospital, with Dr. Steele as chairman, and they were the originators of that institution. Later Dr. Stout left the city and was succeeded by Dr. Miller. More recently other physicians have been added to the staff until it has twelve or more members. Politically Dr. Steele is a Republican, in religious faith a Congregationalist, and has traveled extensively throughout America. He married, June 17, 1857, Lucinda Jane Rose, daughter of a Christian minister who lived on a farm near Uniontown. Knox County, Illinois.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
STREIBICH, FREDERICK; Wine Garden Proprietor; son of Joseph Streibich, was born in Germany in June, 1827. He came to America, and settled in Peoria in 1847. In 1850 he engaged in the hotel business in Peoria, and, in the following year. became proprietor of the William Tell House, which he carried on until 1853. In that year he built the Washington House, which he managed until 1857, when he sold that out, building the summer resort at the corner of Smith and McReynolds Streets, remaining there until 1865, when he established vineyards and a wine-garden at No. 1006 Moss Avenue. This became a popular resort and speedily proved to be a very profitable enterprise. Mr. Streibich was married to Sarah Bowers, in Peoria, June 10, 1851. They have four children: Joseph, Francisca, Frederick T. and John C. Mr. Streibich is a member of the Catholic Church; votes the Democratic ticket, and is accounted one of the substantial citizens of Peoria.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
STRICKLER, GEORGE B.; Machinist; Averyville ; born in Cincinnati. Ohio, January 11, 1853, is the son of George W. and Mary B. (Turnphew) Strickler. The father was born within the ruins of old Fort Washington, on the present site of the city of Cincinnati. May 26, 1818. and died June 14, 1877. The mother was born at Lebanon, Ohio, February 4, 1825, and died January 29, 1869. She was the daughter of George Turnphew, who was of French extraction. The paternal grandfather. Jonathan Strickler, who was a cabinet maker, and born in Pennsylvania. married Martha Matthews, a native of the same State. They moved from Pennsylvania to Fort Washington, after the fashion of the times, in 1802. He died in Cincinnati of cholera in 1836. His son George was a carpenter and cabinet maker, and for many years was engaged at his trade. He was married twice; his first wife, Mary H., was the mother of one daughter, named Alice. His second wife was Mary B. Turnphew, by whom he had two children: George B. and Sallie F., who is now Mrs. George A. Wiltsee. He died in Cincinnati. George B. Strickler attended school to the completion of the grammar grades, and then went into the paperhanging trade, at which he worked for five years. Afterwards he became an expert in farm machinery, and has been occupied in this line since 1883. Mr. Strickler first came to Peoria county in 1869, and, after several subsequent visits, permanently located in the city in 1874. His home has been in Averyville since 1896, with the exception of a brief time which he spent in Colorado, for his health. At first he was employed by the Selby, Starr Company, then by the Hart Weigher Company, and for the last five years has been with the Avery Manufacturing Company. He has been employed eight seasons in many States, both East and West, as an expert in putting machinery in operation. He is a Democrat, and was elected Village Clerk of Averyville in 1900 and 1901. He is a member of the Pioneer Reserve Association, of the Improved Order of Red Men, and of the Maccabees, in which he has passed all the chairs. At Bloomington, Illinois, May 30, 1876, he married Maria A. Smith, daughter of James and Maria A. (Clevinger) Smith, and born in 1859. Her father, a farmer by occupation, was born in Allen County, and her mother in Champaign County, Ohio. The paternal grandfather, Joseph Clevinger, was a drummer in the War of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Strickler have six children: Wallace E.: Ada F., now the wife of Albert Maukle; Mabel E.: Eva Maud : George P. and Hazel M.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
STUBER, JOSEPH; Member of the firm of Stuber & Cook, engaged in the manufacture of piece tinware, Peoria; was born in Peoria, March 30, 1866. the son of Jacob and Barbara Stuber. Mrs. Barbara Stuber was the daughter of Joseph Mueller. Joseph Stuber attended school until fifteen years of age, and then learned the tinner's trade, serving an apprenticeship of three years, when he was employed as a journeyman tinner for the next three years. When twenty-one he became a member of the firm of Stuber & Cook. who have achieved more than a local reputation as tin-ware manufacturers. Starting in a small way at No. 217 South Adams Street, they have gradually built up a large business. From 1892 to 1896 they were located in the old Diamond Mill, at the corner of Water and Hamilton Streets. In 1896 they moved to Nos. 519 and 525 South Water Street, extending ten numbers on Walnut Street. There they give employment to sixty-five persons, and they have customers for staple goods as far west as Denver, and as far cast as Pennsylvania. Orders come from Canada. Australia and Europe. In 1890 their factory was destroyed by fire, inflicting on the firm a loss of $8,000. In ten weeks the damages were repaired and the business of the firm resumed. June 14, 1892, Mr. Stuber and Katharine Looger were married in the city of Peoria. They have three children: Emma J., Marie C. and George William.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SUCHER, GEORGE B.; Lawyer, and Police Magistrate; born in Granville, Illinois, March 16, 1865, is a son of Jacob and Catharine (Krebs) Sucher, natives of Alsace, France (now Germany). He was graduated in 1889 from Knox College, Galesburg, then under the Presidency of the late Dr. Newton Bateman. He married Clara P. Gunn, at Granville, August 30, 1890, and they have four children: Bertha, Jacob, Ralph and Robert. A Democrat politically, he is now serving his second term as Police Magistrate of the city of Peoria, having been first elected to the position in 1895.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SWANSON, AUGUST; Locomotive Engineer ; born near Oscarshamn, Sweden, April 18, 1872, is a son of Swan and Clara (Johnson) Magnusson. The father was born near Vimmerby, and the mother near Oscarshamn. Both are living in Sweden, and are the parents of ten children. The father is a miller by trade, and for many years has had charge of a large saw and flouring mill near Oscarshamn. August Swanson was educated in the common schools of his native land, and at the age of seventeen years he left Sweden, sailing from Gottenburg to Philadelphia. From the latter place he came directly to Peoria, where he arrived May 16, 1890. Two weeks later he entered the service of the Peoria & Pekin Union Railway, where he has continued to work to the present time. At first he worked in the round house, where he was wiper for a year, then boiler-maker for a year, and then became fireman, a position which he held for two years. In 1895 he became an engineer and now runs a switch engine. He married Caroline Peterson, May 17, 1893, and they have five children: William, Frederick, Edith. Ethel and Edna. Mrs. Swanson was born near Stockholm, Sweden, and came to this country in 1892. Mr. Swanson's sister Gerde came to this country in 1900, and now resides in Peoria. He is a Republican, and both he and his family are members of the Swedish Lutheran Church. He belongs to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
SYKES, FRANCIS H.; Yardmaster; was born at Oxford, Henry County, Illinois, April 2, 1863, a son of Francis M. and Chloe M. (Russell) Sykes, natives of New York, who had three sons and one daughter: Lorenzo R., Addie M., Henry M. and Francis H. Lorenzo is a telegraph operator, Henry a train dispatcher and Addie is married to George L. Mitchell. Francis M. Sykes was Second Lieutenant of Company C, Eighty-third Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the War of the Rebellion, and was wounded at the battle of Fort Donelson. He served one term as County Treasurer of Knox County and died in 1878. His wife died in 1880. Francis H. Sykes has been a railroad man for twenty-one years, and has been in the service of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company as Yardmaster thirteen years, two years at Monmouth and eleven years at Peoria. He married Mary E. Mitchell, daughter of William A. Mitchell, in Warren County, Illinois, January 3, 1889, and they have two children living: Florence M. and William F., besides another son who died in infancy. Mrs. Sykes' father, born in Greene County, Ohio, July 13, 1838, was educated near Monmouth, Illinois, and was married. March 8, l866, to Sarah E. Caldwell, who bore him six children: Frank M., who died aged twenty-nine years; Robert J.; Mary E.: Erne D.; Fredrietta I. and Minerva J. Mr. Mitchell served in the Civil War in Company C, Thirty-sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was afterward elected Treasurer of Warren County. He and his wife are living.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
TAYLOR, COL. ISAAC; Real Estate and Loans; was born in Saratoga, New York, April 22, 1836, the son of Isaac P. and Martha G. (Scidmore) Taylor, who were natives of the same place. When he was about one year of age his parents removed to Illinois, first settling at Canton, Fulton County, but, two years later located in Trivoli Township, Peoria County, which became their permanent home. Here the son grew up on his father's farm, receiving his education in the common schools until twenty-one years of age, when he spent a year at the Jonesville Academy in his native county in New York. Returning to Illinois he read law for two years with Elbridge G. Johnson. of Peoria, but was not admitted to the bar on account of impaired health, which compelled his removal to Minnesota in the spring .of 1861. Having recovered his health, on October 8, 1861, he enlisted
at Fort Snelling in Company H, Third Regiment Minnesota Infantry, of which he became Second Lieutenant, being successively promoted to First Lieutenant and Captain, and serving by re-enlistment in the fall of 1864, with the same regiment until April 27, 1865, when he resigned. At the battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in July, 1862, the Third Minnesota was captured bv the forces of the Rebel Colonel Forest, but Lieutenant Taylor, with a comrade, escaped, and he was afterwards in command of the Convalescent Camp at Nashville during the siege of that place. His regiment having been paroled, was transferred to Minnesota, where it was engaged for a time fighting Indians. Lieutenant Taylor, however remained on duty in Tennessee, and the exchange of his regiment having been effected, he rejoined it at Columbus, Kentucky, in time to take part in. the advance on Vicksburg of 1863, as a member of the Sixteenth Army Corps under command of Gen. C. C. Washburn. After participating in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, the Third Minnesota took part in various operations in Arkansas, including the capture of Little Rock, and the affairs at Pine Bluff, Jackson and Duvall's Bluff. The regiment having, meanwhile, become a part of the Seventh Army Corps, Lieutenant Taylor, who had been promoted to the rank of Captain on April 15, 1864, was detailed by General Shaler, commanding the Division, to serve as Judge Advocate in the General Court Martial at Pine Bluff, in which he had charge of many important cases during the remainder of his term of service. In April, 1865, he rejoined his family at Trivoli, Peoria County, and soon after went to Minnesota, but remained only a short time, as his health, which had been injuriously affected during the latter months of his service in the army, did not improve. He then returned to Trivoli, but in 1871 became a resident of Peoria, which has been his home ever since. In 1869, Colonel Taylor received the appointment of Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue for Peoria County, but in 1870 was elected County Treasurer, retaining this position by successive re-elections for eleven years (1870-1881). Other civil positions held by him include those of Canal Commissioner (1885-89) by appointment of Governor Oglesby; Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Peoria (1893-94) by appointment of Mayor Miles and President of the Special Commission to inspect the Chicago Drainage Canal, to which he was appointed by Governor Tanner, in May, 1899. serving until July, 1900. His associates upon this commission were Col. John Lambert, of Joliet, and Col. Al. F. Schoch, of Ottawa their labors concluding with an elaborate and comprehensive report describing the condition of that important work and its ultimate effect upon the navigation of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. His fitness for the position and his knowledge on this subject are indicated by the fact that. for fifteen years, he has been chairman of the Illinois Valley Association organized in 1887, which has for its object the securing of legislation by the General Government for the creation of a deep water-way between Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico. Its prospects of ultimate success are foreshadowed by the appropriation of $200,000 passed by the present Congress (1902), for a survey and investigation of the water-ways on the line of the proposed improvement. In 1878 Colonel Taylor was commissioned by Governor Cullom, Colonel of the Seventh Regiment Illinois National Guards, and, in 1898, was chosen Colonel of the "Provisional Regiment." organized in Peoria for service in the Spanish-American War. Although not called into actual service in consequence of the early triumph of the American arms and the conclusion of peace, the regiment remained in camp and in training for several weeks, holding itself in readiness to respond to the call of the Government. On October 15, 1860, Colonel Taylor was married at Trivoli, Peoria County, to Mary Bartlett Bourne, daughter of Melatiah T. and Mary L. Bourne, and they have three children: Alice Lee, now the wife of Charles E. Bunn, of Peoria; Laura B., wife of Herbert Walker, of Chicago; and Isa Dean. Col. Taylor is a Republican in politics, and in religious faith and affiliation a Congregationalist.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
TAYLOR, LOGAN HUNTON; Osteopathist; born in St. Louis, August 3, 1864; is the only child of Barry and Elizabeth Ashley (Hunton) Taylor. The father was born in Newport, Kentucky, and the mother in St. Louis, Missouri. Genealogists have traced the ancestry of both families back through generations of prominent people to royalty in Europe. The Taylors were settled in Virginia before the Revolution, and General James Taylor, known as James (6) in the family history, and a cousin of President Zachary Taylor, was a native of Caroline County, Virginia, removing to Kentucky in 1791. He was a gentleman of great fortune, and was highly esteemed in Kentucky. Said Henry Clay: "During the War of 1812, and for many years previous, General James Taylor possessed perhaps more influence than any other man in this part of the country. The zeal and activity of General Taylor during that War, and particularly at its commencement, cannot be estimated." In the spring of 1812 the Government found it necessary to reinforce Detroit. Through the influence of General Meigs and other prominent people General Taylor was induced to act as Quartermaster General of the expedition consisting of some fifteen hundred troops, and all the expenses of the expedition, except the arming of the troops, were paid bv General Taylor. This magnificent and patriotic liberality was afterward reimbursed by the Government; but it gave General Taylor great popularity in the West. The mansion at Newport built by General Taylor, which was burnt in 1839 but immediately rebuilt, is the oldest landmark of the kind in that section of the country. "Here he entertained Presidents, heroes, statesmen, orators, great divines and famous actors," says the historian. He married Keturah Moss, who became the mother .of James Taylor (7). The General died at the age of ninety-eight, and left a fortune, mostly in real estate, valued at $4,000,000. His death occurred on election day, 1848, and out of respect to the services he had rendered to his country, the poll books were taken to his sick room that he might cast his vote. Slowly and distinctly he uttered these words : "I cast my vote for my kinsman, Zachary Taylor, for President of the United States." Twenty minutes later he drew his last breath. His son, James, born at Newport, Kentucky, married Susan Barry, daughter of the Postmaster General Barry who served under President Jackson. They were the parents of Barry Taylor. Colonel James Taylor, son of the General, took control of the mansion at his father's death. He was an old-time Whig, and a stanch supporter of the Union. Barry Taylor received his education at home, but traveled abroad for information and culture, and visited various countries in Europe. He was a gentleman of leisure, literary and aesthetic. He married Elizabeth A. Hunton, a native of St. Louis, who was born July 24, 1841, a daughter of Logan and Mary (Moss) Hunton. The father was born in Albermarle County, Virginia, in 1806, and the mother at Maysville, Kentucky, in 1818. The maternal great-grandparents of Dr. Taylor were Thomas and Ann (Bell) Hunton, natives of Virginia. His grandmother, Mary Moss, was a great-granddaughter of Dorothea Randolph, the sister of Jane Randolph, who was the mother of Thomas Jefferson. The history of Osteopathy in Peoria begins with the coming of Dr. Logan H. Taylor, who reached the city June 23, 1897. Previous to that date, William M. Lyons, City Collector of Peoria, went to Kirksville, Missouri, for treatment for paralysis. Kirksville, then as now, was the chief seat of the osteopathic science. Mr. Lyons was so greatly benefited that he requested an osteopathic physician should be located in Peoria. In compliance with his request Dr. Taylor came to the city and began the practice of his profession here. His patients from the beginning came from the enlightened and well-informed residents of Peoria, and his business has grown to large proportions. Dr. Taylor attended private schools in Columbia, Missouri, the Pennsylvania Military Academy at West Chester, and graduated from the American School of Osteopathy, after having spent two years at the Missouri State University, and two years at the Missouri State Medical College. Dr. Taylor married Rose Fox McGovock, at Columbia, Missouri, June 24, 1885. They have three children, Robert M., Logan H. and Elizabeth A. The Doctor is a Democrat. In his religion he is a member of the Presbyterian Church.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
TEMPLIN, ERNST F. H.; Dyer; is the son of Ludwig Templin, a native of Landeck, East Prussia, and Augusta (Marg) Templin, who died when her son was only nine months old. Ernst Templin was born at Rummelsburg, Prussia, July 5, 1867, and his father was one of four sons of a large manufacturer who carried on extensive dye-works there. Ernst attended school until he was fourteen years of age, and in that time studied Latin and French five years. After leaving school he served three years at the dyers' trade with his father, and then went to Berlin, where he spent two and a half years in the largest dyehouse in the world. For three and a half years he traveled as a journeyman very extensively through Germany, being employed in that time in sixteen dye-houses. When he was twenty years old, he entered the army and was in the Grenadier Guards three years, a regiment which had for its honorary Colonel the Czar of Russia. When he was released from the army he took a course of a year and a half in a dyers' school in Berlin. After that until his coming to America in 1893, he worked in the analine works at Berlin. On arriving in the United States he joined his brother in Chicago, and. for a short time, was associated in business with him, but came to Peoria the same year. Here he worked as a journeyman until 1894, when he became the proprietor of the Star Dye Works, of Peoria, which he has since successfully operated. Mr. Templin belongs to the Turners' Society and the Thalia Theater Club.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
THOMAS, MATTHIAS H.; Locomotive Engineer ; born in Germany, March 7, 1855, is the son of Matthias J. and Barbara (Roemmer) Thomas, and grandson of Jacob Roemmer all natives of Germany. Matthias J. Thomas came to this country in 1857. He was the father of seven sons and five daughters. One of the sons died in infancy; and the names of the children reaching adult age are as follows: John, Matthias H., Casper, Lena. Katharine, Mary Margaret, and Christina. Mr. Thomas was injured while in the service of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad, in February. 1872, and died from his injuries, March 13, following. His widow is still living. Matthias H. Thomas was married in Peoria, April 20, 1880, to Mary E. Proemeke, and they have nine children: Anna M., Clara M., Joseph M., Frederick B., Carl W., George M., Edmund F., Matthias and Frank—the last two being twins, and both dying in infancy. Mr. Thomas has been in the railway service since 1868, and since 1884 has been in the continuous employment of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway as an engineer. He is a charter member of Division No. 417. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, where he is serving as a member of the auditing board. Politically, he is a Democrat, and he and all his family are communicants of the Catholic Church.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
TRIPP, STEPHEN O,: Deputy United States Marshal; born in Cooperstown, New York, November 8, 1860, is the son of Edwin R. and Almaretta (Adams) Tripp, natives of New York—the former of Decatur and the latter of Cooperstown. To this union were born seven children: Mary, Emma, Ella. Stephen O., Edwin, George and Minnie. Mrs. Tripp died in 1867, but Mr. Tripp is still living. Stephen O. Tripp served in the Signal Corps of the Fourth United States Infantry for some time, from which he was discharged September 26, 1887. He organized Company L, Fifth Regiment, Illinois National Guard, in which he held the office of Major, and assisted in organizing the Taylor Provisional Regiment during the Spanish-American War. of which he became the Senior Major. July 5, 1897, he organized Troop G. First Cavalry, Illinois National Guard, of which he is Captain. He was Field Deputy United States Marshal January 1, 1898, and July 1, 1899, he was promoted to the office of Deputy United States Marshal. He held the offices of Colonel of the Third and Fourth Regiments, P. M. of Illinois, and vice National Commander of the Regular Army and Navy Union of the United States for two terms. He also served as Captain of Police in Peoria, as well as Deputy Sheriff of Peoria County. He married Lena White, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, March 12, 1886, and they have two children: Alphonse and Almaretta E. Captain Tripp is a Republican, and both he and his family belong to the Presbyterian Church.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
VAN EPS, HENRY ROOSEVELT; Manufacturer of Wire and Iron Goods, was born July 5, 1829, in Schenectady County, New York, the son of Cornelius L. and Katharine (Muckey) Van Eps. One of his ancestors was among the early settlers of New York, who located near Schenectady where he resided when that city was sacked by the Indians in 1690. His grandfather, James Van Eps, with two brothers, fought in the American Army during the Revolution. The three brothers married sisters, and settled in Glenville Township, at a place called Schwagertown ("'Brother-in-law town"), from the relations of the parties making the first settlement. Henry R. Van Eps received a common-school education, and learned the trade of broom-making. In 1849 he came to Fulton County, Illinois, where he remained a short time, and then returned to his native place. In 1853 he returned to Illinois, and in 1858 settled in Peoria, where he was engaged in the manufacture of brooms until 1873. He then began the manufacture of wire and iron goods of various kinds, for which he has taken out a dozen or more patents. His first products were wire card racks, in which he began in a very small way. The business grew rapidly in variety and extent, and in a few years included window flower shelves, stands, trellises, iron fences and many other articles, which are sold in the United States and Canada. He has been established at his present location, 610 and 612 Main Street, for twenty years. Mr. Van Eps and Elizabeth L. Buck (daughter of F. Freeman), were married at Cherry Valley, Illinois, and to this union have been born two children: Cora A. and Myra E.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
VAN DE VENTER, FRANK N.; Painter and Decorator; born in Sheridan, Iowa, October 29, 1860, is a son of William and Nancy L. Van Deventer, natives of Ohio, who, although bearing the same name before their marriage, were in no wise related. The father was a carpenter by trade, and died in Kansas City in 1895, at about sixty years of age. The mother is still living in Peoria. The family moved to Peoria in the early '60s, and lived for six years on a farm called the Stewardson place, then moving into the city, where their children attended the public schools. After passing through the grammar grade in the city schools, Frank Van Deventer went into the employ- ment of Mr. Schofield, a confectioner and news-dealer, where he was retained three years, when he passed into the service of Sloan & Johnson, wholesale grocers, having a position in the spice-mill for a year. Following that he was employed three and a half years in the Peoria Plow Works. At the age of twenty he began contracting for himself, and from that time has been in Ins present line of business. The painting and decorating in the Truesdale Manufacturing Company's building were done by him, as was the work on the Exchange Hotel, the Schwabacher family home, and in many other buildings of the city. At the organization of the village of Averyville he was elected Clerk, a position he held three years, and was subsequently Trustee for two years. From 1899 to 1901 he represented Averyville on the Park Board. At the spring election of 1900 he was elected President of the village of Averyville. At the organization of the Averyville Fire Department he became its Clerk, and served as such for two years. In politics he is a Democrat, and belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, the Court of Honor, and the Royal Circle. His home is at 2517 North Adams Street, the center of a fine property of two and a half acres. Mr. Van Deventer also owns other property, both in Peoria and Averyville, and is the proprietor of Van Deventer's Addition to Averyville. which he laid out in 1892. He married Josephine, daughter of Richard F. and Sarah J. (Collins) Waughop, in Peoria, March 1, 1883. She was born in Peoria, where her entire life has been spent. Her father was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, April 19, 1826, and died November 24, 1889. The mother, born near Frankfort, Kentucky, September 29, 1826, is still living. Both came to Illinois in childhood. Mr. Van Deventer owns a cottage at St. Andrew's Bay. Florida, where he has spent the last five winters with his family.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
VERCH, AUGUST F.; Carpenter; is a native of Prussia. He came to Peoria with his father in May, 1871, when but a small boy, and early learned the carpenter trade. In 1889 he began contracting, in which he was engaged until 1897. Since 1899 he has been employed in the planing mill of Bush Brothers. He has been twice married, his first wife, Margaret C. Rosenbohm, dying July 6, 1892, and leaving three daughters: Martha F., Anna A. and Margaret C. He was married October n, 1893, to Anna S. Folkers, by whom he has one son, William H. Mr. Verch has taken a prominent part in the affairs of South Peoria. In 1893 he was elected Assistant Supervisor for Peoria Township, in which office he continued until 1800. For two years he was Village Trustee. While on the County Board he was Chairman of the Building Committee for two years. In politics he belongs to the Republican party, and is a member of the Amalgamated Woodworkers of America. For many years he has been a member of the German Lutheran Christ Church of Peoria.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WAGNER, EDWARD H.: a Switchman, born, in Peoria. August 7, 1864; the son of Charles and Sophia (Messersmith) Wagner, both natives of Germany. The father, born in 1826, is still living, but the mother died February 28, 1808. Thirteen children were born to this couple, nine of whom are living: William. Henry, Theodore, Charles, Fred, Edward H., Rudolph. Sophia and Louisa. The family came to the United States many years ago, and settled in Peoria. Edward H. Wagner was married in Peoria, March 14, 1897, to Gertrude B. Duncan. daughter of John S. Duncan, who was born in Prussia in 1831, and was a soldier in the Union Army during the War of the Rebellion. He married Lucy Thornton, of Frankfort, Indiana, by whom he had four children: N. Elizabeth, A. Jennie, Jacob and Gertrude B. Mr. Duncan died in 1876, but his widow is still living. Mr. Wagner is a Republican. and has been employed upon the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company some three years and is now serving as a switchman. He is a member of the Burlington Voluntary Relief Corps.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WAHLFELD, AUGUST; Manufacturer of Sash, Doors and Interior Decorations; was born in Germany, October 5, 1857; learned the cabinet-maker's trade, and having served three years in the German army, came to the United States, locating in Peoria in 1882. For nine years he worked for J. T. Rogers, most of the time as foreman. In 1891 he went into business for himself. and has since built up an extensive business as manufacturer of sash, doors, stair-rails and all kinds of interior wood decorations, enjoying a trade that is second to none of its kind in the city. Starting as a poor mechanic in 1882, by industry and fair dealing he has created a business that now gives employment to forty to fifty men the year through, much of the time however, a materially larger force being needed. He married Anna Wahlfeld in Havana, Illinois, by whom he has two children, Ernest and Otto.
Mr. Wahlfeld is not a member of any church, though he holds to the Protestant religion. In politics he belongs to the Republican party. By integrity and application to business he has gained the respect and esteem of all with whom he has business relations.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WARREN, JOHN; Railway Round-House Foreman; born in Maine, March 15, 1835. He is a son of John and Hannah (Swan) Warren, and a descendant of General Warren, who was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill. His parents were both born in 1795, in the State of Maine, and were the parents of eight children: Ichabod, Ambrose J., Greeley, Beriah, John, Sallie, Betsy and Nancy. Mr. Warren died in 1840, and his widow January 25, 1881. John Warren came to Illinois in 1858, and on May 18, 1869, was married to Elizabeth Campbell, in Frederickstown, Missouri. Her father, George Campbell, was born in Kentucky, in 1808, and coming to Missouri, married Mary A. Stone, a native of Tennessee. To them were born six children: Alfred, Margaret, Mary, Martha A., Elizabeth and Sarah. Mr. Campbell died early in life; his widow in January, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. John Warren have had two children: Nannie C. and Annie, the latter dying in infancy. Nannie C. graduated from the city high school, and for four years was a teacher in the city schools. She was married December 19, 1895, to Charles A. Brown, Cashier of the Peoria & Pekin Union Railway Company. They have one son, Roland Warren, born June 16, 1900. Mr. Brown has been with that Company twelve years. He is a native of Gilman, Illinois. He belongs to the West Bluff Lodge. No. 177, Knights of Pythias; to Elmedi Temple, No. 1, D. O. K. K.; and Temple Lodge, No. 46, A. F. & A. M. John Warren has been a railway man connected with various railroads for forty-five years; he has been with the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway fourteen years, being foreman of the round-house all but one year of that time. He belongs to Division 92, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and Sciota Lodge, No. 6, Free and Accepted Masons, Chillicothe, Ohio.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WATROUS, LEROY C.; Engineer; the son of William W. and Harriet J. (Rose) Watrous, was born in Rome, Peoria County, August 2, 1856. His grandfather Watrous was born at Toronto, Canada, where he had a machine shop for general repair work. William W. Watrous was born November 3, 1807, became a physician, and removing from Canada to New York, finally settled in Ohio. He was twice married, his second wife being Harriet J. Rose, born March 9, 1826. She was a native of New York, and was married to Mr. Watrous, in Rosefield township, Peoria County, September 1, 1842. Mr. Watrous died December 16, 1866, and his wife December 11, 1900. Her father was Hezekiah Rose, of the State of New York. Dr. Watrous and his wife had nine children, of whom four sons and two daughters are still living: Sanford J., Leroy C., Alvin F., Laronda P., Harriet J. (now the wife of John Nash), and Alice (wife of Jackson Ellis). LeRoy Watrous remained on the paternal homestead until seventeen years of age, when he entered the shops of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, where he was employed two years. The ensuing year and a half were spent as a fireman on the Rock Island Road. For about a year he was in the ice business in Peoria, and a like period in Southern Kansas. Returning to Peoria, he was employed for the summer on the packet "Gray Eagle," spending the next summer on steamers between St. Louis and Keokuk. He was next in the employ of the Peoria Pottery Company for a year, but during the following year visited various, parts of Kansas, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Missouri, finally entering into the employment of the Kansas City Lumber Company as a machinist. In 1885 he came to Peoria, to take a position with the C. Aultman Company, agricultural implement manufacturers, which he held until 1890. The following year he was yard master for the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company, and since that time has been connected with the Great Western Distilling Company, for the last two or three years being Chief Engineer. When the great factory was built he had charge of the construction. Mr. Watrous is a Republican, and has been a member of the National Association of Stationary Engineers. He married Eva Strickland in McLean County, Illinois, September 5, 1889. They have three children: Homer J., Laura F. and Robert C. Mrs. Watrous was born in Tazewell County, Illinois, September 5, 1867, and was educated in the local schools, and at Washington, Tazewell County. She and her husband are members of the Presbyterian Church. Her father, Robert G. Strickland, was a native of Tennessee, and followed farming all his life. He married Rebekah Drury, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of William and Sarah (Willis) Drury. William Drury was born in Virginia, and his wife, Sarah Willis, in New York. His brother, John Drury, was a soldier of the Mexican War. The Stricklands trace their ancestry to William Strickland the great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Watrous, who was a native of England.
Her great-grandfather, Isham Strickland, was born in North Carolina, married a lady named Rickman. Her grandfather, Thomas Strickland, was born in Kentucky, and married Susannah Bondurant, who was a native of Virginia.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WATT, DAVID N.; Locomotive Engineer; born in Bloomington. March 20, 1863, is a son of James and Anna (Cable) Watt, both natives of Scotland. The father was born April 25, 1824, and was married July 12, 1852. David N. Watt's paternal grandparents were David and Elizabeth (Nichol) Watt. and those on the maternal side George and Helen (Pithie) Cable—all being natives of Scotland. James Watt and wife came to the United States in 1853, making their home for a time in Chicago, going from there to Bloomington. They came to Peoria October 31, 1864. All the later years of his life he was a carpenter. To him and his wife were born nine children, who lived to adult age: Nellie E., James F., David N. and George C. (twins); John S., who died at the age of thirty-four years; Jessie Margaret; Charles K., and Anna F. James Watt died November 13, 1899, his widow still surviving him. David N. Watt married Hattie M. Murray in Peoria, December 12, 1895, the daughter of James P. Murray, who was born in Pennsylvania, December 21, 1840. He was a carpenter by occupation, and located in Indiana in 1864. He married Elizabeth Lytle, September 18, 1866, a native of Pennsylvania. They came to Illinois in 1868, and settled in Iroquois County. They have had five children: M. Ella, Hattie M., N. Jennie, Emma B. and James E. Mr. Murray died January 1, 1878, leaving a widow. Mr. Watt belongs to Division No 92, Peoria Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; W. F. Hines Lodge, No. 48, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen—being Treasurer of this order at the present time, and in which he has filled all the chairs. He represented this Division at Galveston, in 1896, and at Toronto, Canada, in 1898. He has been in the employ of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway for years as brakeman, baggageman, fireman and engineer.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WATT, GEORGE C.; Locomotive Engineer; born in Bloomington, Illinois, March 20, 1863. October 1, 1891, he married Louisa H. Miller, of Peoria, the daughter of William H. Miller, who was born in Germany, June 2, 1828, and came to the United States in 1846, settling in Pennsylvania, where he was employed at cabinet-making. In 1848 he married Helen Worcester, a native of France. To them were born three sons and one daughter: Henry W., Arthur C., Louisa M. and Peter E. Mr. Miller died December 6, 1893—his widow surviving him. Mr. Watt has been in the employ of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway Company nineteen years. For five years he was a fireman, and the remainder of the time he has been an engineer. He belongs to Division No. 92, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; Lodge No. 48, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, and Peoria Lodge, No. 15, of the Masonic fraternity. In politics he is a Republican. The family are affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WEAD, JUDGE HEZEKIAH M., was one of the most prominent lawyers in the history of Peoria. He was a native of Sheldon, Vermont, born June 1, 1810, and after spending his boy hood and youth in that State, during which he took a short course in Castleton Academy, taught school at various points in New York, meanwhile studying law and being admitted to the bar in New York and Vermont, the latter taking place in 1832. The next eight years he spent in practicing law and in teaching, and in 1840 he removed to Lewistown, Illinois, which continued to be his home until 1855. During the interim he served in the State Constitutional Convention of 1847, and on. the circuit bench from 1852 to 1855, when he removed to Peoria and engaged in practice there. In 1861 he located on a farm four miles from the city, but continued in practice for the remainder of his life, which ter-
minated May 10, 1876. Judge Wead was married in 1841 to Eliza Young Emery, a daughter of Samuel Emery, a Methodist clergyman, who settled in Peoria County in 1837, and they had seven children, two of whom died in infancy, and one, Edgar E., while serving in the Union army during the Civil War. On the paternal side the Wead family was descended from Jacob Wead, born at Danbury, Connecticut, in 1737, who married Sarah Littlefield, a native of Lanesborough, Massachusetts, which was the birthplace of their son, Samuel Wead, who married Rebecca. Morse, of New Haven. Connecticut, and was the father of Judge H. M. Wead. On the maternal side the family is descended from John and Abiah (Page) Emery, both .natives of New Hampshire, whose son, Samuel Emery, a native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, married Elizabeth Wolfe Young, and was the father of Eliza Young Emery, who became the wife of Judge H. M. Wead. Their son, Samuel Deforest Wead, was educated in the public schools of Peoria, and the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, studied law with the firm of Wead & Jack, and was admitted to the bar in 1874 and has served one term as Judge of the Peoria County Court. On June 19, 1888, Judge S. D. Wead was married at Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Miss Grace Bestor, daughter of George L. Bestor, and they have had four children: Grace, Margaret, Deforest and Frank. In political association Mr. Wead is a Democrat, and as to religious belief non-sectarian.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WEAVER, ALONZO E.; Yard Foreman; born in Lancaster, Peoria County, September 9, 1861, is the son of James and Rebecca (Tidball) Weaver. The father was born in Ohio, February 2, 1836, and the mother, a native of Illinois. The two grandfathers of A. E. Weaver were Benjamin Weaver and Eaton Tidball. Benjamin Weaver was the father of four children: Alonzo E., Charles A., Minnie E. (who died in infancy), and Frank B. Mr. Weaver died December 26, 1889, preceded by his wife several years. Alonzo E. Weaver was married to Jessica E. French, in St. Louis, Missouri, November 9, 1893. Her father, John C. French, was born in England, and came to this country when a boy. He is now foreman of the blacksmith shops of the Santa Fe Railroad at Topeka, Kansas. He married Patience Hystead, a native of Schenectady, New York, and they have had seven children: Jennie, Carrie, Alice, Susie, Jessica, Martha and Charles. Both father and mother (1901) are living. James Weaver, the father of Alonzo, was a soldier in the Civil War, serving in Company I, Eighty-sixth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Alonzo E. and Jessica Weaver have one child, Alice I. Mr. Weaver has been a railroad man for twenty-two years, the last nine of which were spent with the old "Q" line. he has been yard foreman for four years. In his politics he is a Republican, and belongs to Enterprise Lodge, No. 27, Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, is also a member of the local Lodge of the Independent Order of Heptasophs, and of the Burlington Voluntary Relief Corps.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WEBER, CHARLES F.; Butcher; born in Peoria, April 3, 1870, is the son of George F. and Kate (Hersch- berger) Weber, and a grandson of Nicholas and Kate (Sexaur) Weber. In 1885 Nicholas Weber brought his family from Chillicothe, Ohio, to Peoria, where he spent the remainder of his days. George F. Weber was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, August 10, 1842, was educated in the common schools, and, in his youth, was apprenticed to the butcher's trade in Peoria, at which he worked two years, when he returned to Ohio where he was employed in various avocations for two years more. He then returned to Peoria, and engaged in the meat business, which has been his occupation to the present time. In 1868 he began business for himself, and from 1892 to 1895 was connected with the Peoria Packing and Provision Company. Mr. Weber owns the residence and business property, Nos. 612 and 614 North Adams Street, on which his home and shop are built, together with other property in the city, as well as a farm of 240 acres in Rosefield and Logan Townships. He is a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and has filled the several chairs in the latter order. He has served two terms (1874-78) as Alderman from the Fourth Ward, and is a Democrat in politics. Mr. Weber married Kate Herschberger in Peoria, July 17, 1864. She was born in Tazewell County, January 24, 1843, the daughter of Peter and Kate (Stalter) Herschberger, who located in Peoria in 1836. They were natives of Germany, and the mother was a daughter of John and Katharine (Haeuter) Stalter. John Stalter was born in Rhenish Bavaria in 1780, and lived to be ninety- three. His wife, Katharine, was a native of Zweibrucken, Rheinpfalz, Old Bavaria, where she was born in 1804. She died in 1887. John Stalter and family came. to the United States in 1830. After living in Pennsylvania for a time they came to Peoria, where he ran the Upper Ferry. He was a teamster and helped build the Bureau Valley Railroad. Peter Herschberger and wife were married in Germany, and came to America with her father's family, and settled in Ohio. Later they came to Tazewell County, and subsequently to Peoria, where Mr. Herschberger died, November 11, 1850, a victim of cholera, aged forty years. Mr. and Mrs. George Weber were married July 17, 1864, and became the parents of four children: William E., Charles F., George H. and Frank B. Charles F. Weber received a common-school education, and learned his trade in his father's shop. In 1892 he took his father's place, and carried on business for himself while his father was in the packing business. At the end of that period, he moved to his present location, No. 506 Main Street, where he has a fine shop, and has a good trade. He was married September 5, 1893, to Pauline Gutsche, a daughter of E. Gutsche, of Peoria, and they have two children: Edna and Viola. Mr. Weber is an Independent in politics.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WEIL, JOSEPH A., Lawyer; born in Peoria, Illinois. May 30, 1870, the son of Isaac A. and Babetta (Herold) Well, both of whom are natives of Bavaria, Germany, the former born May 3, 1832, and the latter January 29, 1836. The son was educated in the Peoria schools and graduated from the Peoria High School. After graduation he turned his attention to the study of law in the office of Michael O'Shaughnessy and Isaac C. Edwards in the city of Peoria, and was admitted to practice on May 30, 1890. A month later he entered into partnership with Mr. Edwards under the firm name of Edwards & Well—the partnership dating from July 1, of the same year. This association was continued until March 1, 1894, when Mr. Well established himself in practice alone. At the present time he occupies a most admirable suite of rooms at 415 and 417 Woolner Building. Mr. Well was married June 23, 1898, to Miss Maud Schwabacher, of Peoria, the daughter of Henry and Virginia Schwa- bacher. In religious belief Mr. Well is an adherent of the Jewish faith of his fathers, and in political association a Democrat. He is a member of several fraternal organizations, including various branches of the Masonic Order, Knights of Pythias (of which he is Past Chancellor), Modern Woodmen of America, Knights of the Maccabees, and others of similar character. Although one of the youngest members of the Peoria bar, Mr. Weil has a large and growing practice.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WELLS, HENRY H.; Locomotive Engineer; born in London, England, June 21, 1839, is a son of George and Elizabeth (Carter) Wells, natives of Cambridgeshire, England. His father was born in 1810. Abraham Wells, the paternal great-grandfather of Henry H. Wells, and his grandfather, George Wells, were both natives of Norfolk. His maternal grandparents were Isaac and Mary (Doty) Carter, both natives of Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire, England. George Wells and wife had seven children, five of whom lived to maturity: Hannah, Ellen, George C., Henry H. and Frederick S. Mr. Wells died March 13, 1869, and his widow in December, 1893. Henry H. Wells was a member of Prince Albert's Court Band in the British army. When his term of service expired in 1860 he was in Canada, whence he came to the United States. He married Annie E. Stinson, in Detroit, Michigan, November 11, 1863, and of this marriage was born one child, Anna E. She married John P. Maroney, of Peoria, February 23, 1892. This union has been blessed by the birth of three sons: Leroy, Lester and Maurice J. Mrs. Wells died December 5, 1898, in the fifty-eighth year of her age. Mr. Wells has been a railroad man since 1868, and an engineer for the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway Company since May 23, 1874. He is a member of Division No. 417, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and also belongs to Peoria Lodge, No. 15, of the Masonic fraternity; to Peoria Chapter, No. 7, Royal Arch Masons; to Peoria Commandery, No. 3; to Mohammed Temple, A. A. O. N., Mystic Shrine; and to Council No. II, R. & S. M. His family are Episcopalians.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WELLS, HENRY WARD; Attorney-at-Law, was the eldest in a family of five children, four boys and one girl. His father, Colonel John H. Wells, was born in England and came to America when he was five years of age. Colonel Wells married Julia Tracey, of Middletown, Connecticut, a daughter of Dr. E. Tracey and grand-daughter of General Ward, who was commanderin-chief of the American forces before the appointment of General Washington. At the time of Henry's birth, 1834, Colonel Wells was a merchant and ship-owner in Pulaski, New York. He became involved in the financial reverses of 1836, and in 1837 removed to Weathersfield, now Kewanee, Henry County, Illinois, where his family joined him the following year. He died in 1844, and his widow removed her family to Galesburg to take advantage of the excellent schools of that city. At the age of sixteen, Henry W. Wells came to Peoria and found employment in the store of Pettengill & Babcock, where he remained one year, receiving one hundred dollars for his services. In 1850 lie attended the National Law School at Balston Spa, New York, an institution which was removed to Poughkeepsie, where Mr. Wells was graduated in 1853. Returning to Illinois he taught school at Trivoli one term, and in the spring of 1854 entered the law office of Johnson & Blakeley, as a student. In 1855 he opened a law office in Cambridge, Henry County, and soon acquired an excellent practice. At the beginning of the Civil War, Mr. Wells was unable to serve on account of a sprained ankle, but, with the second call for troops, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Upon the organization of the regiment he was made Adjutant, and a few months later was promoted to the rank of Major, being assigned to the Artillery Service on the staff of Brigadier General Mansion, which position he held during the siege of Knoxville, Tennessee. He was afterwards made Chief of Engineers and Artillery on the staff of General Tills, who commanded the defense at Knoxville. Later he was Chief of Artillery on the staff of General J. D. Cox, of Ohio, serving in all the battles from Buzzard Roost to the capture of Atlanta and the brief campaign after General Hood, which took place a month later. In the "March to the Sea," General Schofield, with the 23d Army Corps, which included the command of Major Wells, was ordered to report to General Thomas at Nashville, to assist in the defense of that place. On the way they passed through Franklin, where it was learned that Illinois was organizing a number of new regiments, and Major Wells was encouraged by General Schofield to try and obtain the command of one of them, and gave him leave of absence to return to Illinois and interview the Governor. Governor Yates was at that time a candidate for the United States Senate, and, on account of political reasons. Major Wells was not successful and returned to his command in the army. As it was near the end of the War, he soon resigned his command and returned to his home at Cambridge, and in 1865 removed to Peoria, where he continued the practice of his profession. The following year he formed a partnership with W. W. O'Brien, at that time one of the most successful criminal lawyers in Central Illinois,—Major Wells taking charge of the civil business. The firm were employed in some of the most important cases and soon built up an extensive practice. In 1867 Mr. O'Brien removed to Chicago, and Major Wells formed a partnership with George Kettle, which continued for a short time, when he became a partner of Arthur Keithley. Since the dissolution of this firm. Major Wells has continued alone in his legal work. Mr. Wells is a Republican, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention which framed the Constitution of 1870, in which body he took a prominent and influential part, his vote rarely missing record on any question that came before that body. He has been a candidate for the Circuit and Supreme Judgeship, but failed of election. Mr. Wells is an author of considerable ability, and his work on "Repletion" is a standard publication, has been cited in the Supreme Courts of the various States as authority, and is now passing into a second edition. His history of the "Schools and Teachers of Early Peoria," though local in scope, is a work of much interest. He is the author of a work on "Mechanic Liens," all but a few copies of which were destroyed in the Chicago fire; and his work on "Patent Law" shows much research and has had an extensive circulation.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WELCH, JOHN W.; Locomotive Engineer; born in Athens County, Ohio, October 26, 1848; is a son of John P. and Mary (Nicholas) Welsh, both natives of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. John P. Welsh had five children, four of whom died young; and John W. alone grew to adult age. Mr. Welsh died in 1855, and his widow in 1861. John W. Welsh learned the trade of a machinist, and, in 1867, entered the employ of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway Company, in which he has since continued. In 1870 he became a fireman; and since 1871 has been an engineer. He is a member of Division No. 417, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. During the Civil War Mr. Welsh was a member of Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged September 24, 1864, with a letter of thanks from President Lincoln. Mr. Welsh was married to Emma Brahman in Hancock County, Illinois, November 2, 1873, and to them have been born three children : G. Bertha, a fireman in the employ of the Peoria & Pekin Railway Company; Lois, who died in infancy, and John A., born in 1895. George Brahman, the father of Mrs. Welsh, was born near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1838, and was married to Sarah Girths, of that State. To them were born seven children: Emma, Sanford, Addle, William, Edward, George and Bessie. Both father and mother are living.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WELSH, KITTY J.; Physician and the proprietor of the Spring Hill Sanitarium, Peoria; was born in Salem, Fuqua County, Virginia, and is a daughter of Robert S. and Nancy Saunders—both natives of the same county. They were connected with old Colonial families of that State. The death of the father and mother left the daughter an orphan while still an infant. She was married to James A. Welsh at XENIX, Ohio. She attended lectures in Harriman College in Chicago, and later graduated from the National College of Electro-Therapeutics at Indianapolis, receiving the high degree of Master of Electro-Therapeutics. For three years she was associated with Doctor S. E. Adams, at Springfield, Ohio. In 1881 Dr. Adams established the Spring Hill Sanitarium in Peoria, but retired from business in 1894, when Dr. Welsh became the proprietor of the Sanitarium, which she has since conducted with marked success, treating all classes of chronic diseases with the various modifications of electricity, and being especially successful in the cure of the same. Dr. Welsh has practiced the healing art at Spring Hill Sanitarium for twenty years.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WHITE, JOSEPH R.; Manager Standard Oil Company; Peoria; born in Lancaster, Airfield County, Ohio, September 8, 1835, is the son of Levi and Sarah (Ross) White. The father was born at White's Station, Ohio, where Cartage now stands. May 21, 1798, and died August 21, 1866. He was a Methodist minister and preached fortifier years in Ohio and Indiana. The mother was born at what is now Bound Brook, Middles County, New Jersey, March 28, 1805, and died May 4, 1885. The paternal grandparents were Amass and Mary (Wells) White—the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Baltimore, Maryland. The great-grandfather, Amass White, was of New England stock and descended from English ancestors. The family tradition is that the immigrant ancestor settled in Massachusetts sometime before the Revolution. The maternal grandparents were Joseph and Jane (Harris) Ross, natives of Middles County, New Jersey. Both the first and the second Amass Whites were farmers. The second Amass, with his older brother, Jacob, settled in Red stone, Pennsylvania, from which they moved to Ohio, where the brothers were associated in business. Captain Jacob White is repeatedly mentioned in Henry B. Teeters "Past and Present of Mill Creek Valley." Captain White was born in New Jersey May 2, 1759, was married in 1780, came to Cincinnati (then Fort Washington), in 1789, and settled at White's Station, now Cartage, Ohio, in 1790, where he built a saw and grist-mill that was widely known for many years. He is spoken of as a sturdy, resolute and remarkable Monte foremost pioneer in the settlement of Mill Creek Valley, north of the Ludlum settlement. He built a block house which was attacked, October 19, 1795, by the Indians, who suffered severely in the action. The chief, a man of gigantic stature, was killed by Captain White and buried on his farm. Joseph R. White left the district school at thirteen and attended a select school two years. At sixteen years of age he taught school, and thereafter combined teaching and attending school for seven years, closing his literary studies after attending Beloit College and the National Normal College (now Holbrook's School) at Lebanon, Ohio. Following this he took a course at Grande's Commercial College at Cincinnati. The following nine years he was engaged in keeping books for wholesale houses in that city. He then became junior partner in the firm of Peoples, White & Company, General Commission and Produce merchants. Four years later he became proprietor of the business, which, as Joseph R. White & Company, he conducted several years. He then spent three years on the road as a commercial traveler. January I, 1876. he accepted a position with the Standard Oil Company at Cincinnati, and, four years later, took charge of the company's business at Peoria, which he has managed for over twenty-one years. Mr. White was married to Gannett Apply, in Cincinnati, Ohio, October 6, 1870. She is the daughter of Adams and Elizabeth (Mickey) Apply. Her father was born near Chambers burg, Pennsylvania, and was a wholesale dryads merchant in Cincinnati. Her mother was born in the State of Pennsylvania, and was of a commercial family. Mr. and Mrs. White have one child, Alice, wife of Charles H. Downing. She has two children, Willed Ross and Gannett. In politics Mr. White is a stanch Republican. He was Alderman from the old Third Ward from 1800 to 1892.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WHITMORE, WILLIAM WALLACE; Lawyer; born at Gardener, Illinois, July 14, 1870, is a son of B. F. and Mathilda (Shelly) Whittler, natives, respectively, of Hagerstown, Maryland, and Harmony, Pennsylvania. Daniel Whittler, of Hagerstown, was his grandfather. Malachi Shelly, his grandfather in the maternal line, was born in Philadelphia and married Loving Shelly, a native of Harmony. William Wallace Whittler graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the Illinois Wesleyan University, at Bloomington, Illinois, June 14, 1894, and was admitted to the bar at Mount Vermin, August 29th following. He was instructor in ancient and mediaeval history and civil government at the preparatory school of the Illinois Wesleyan University for the school year 1894-5, and graduated from the Law Department with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in June, 1805. He began practice at Peoria, in the following October, as a member of the law firm of Whittler & Barnes, with W. M. Barnes as partner. Three years later J. R. Bowler became a member of the firm, and its style was changed to Whittler, Barnes & Boulware. Mr. Whitmore was Superintendent of Special Assessments and Secretary of the Board of Local Improvements for Peoria from June, 1808, to December, 1900; was appointed City Attorney by Mayor Lynch to fill out the unexpired term of W. ,V. Tefft, who had been elected State's Attorney, and was the Republican nominee for City Attorney for the ensuing term, but suffered defeat with his ticket. He is a member of the Methodist Church.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WHITTEMORE, CALEB; Whitesmith; born in Thompson, Windham County, Connecticut, August 24, 1817. His great-grandfather was a native of Scotland, and emigrated to New England, where he died at the age of one hundred and fifteen years. His son, Caleb, was born at Thompson, Connecticut, and was the father of Daniel, whose son is the subject of this sketch. All of the above were horn at Thompson, where Daniel first saw the light, March 3, 1793. He married Sarah Corbin, of Oxford, Massachusetts, who was horn December 7, 1787, and died in his eightieth year. Caleb Whittemore was educated in the public school, and learned gunsmithing at Grafton, Massachusetts. At the age of twenty-three he came to the West by way of New York, Philadelphia and Wheeling, and by the Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, to Peoria, where he arrived May 17, 1840. He spent that day and Sunday seeking a relative whom he hoped to find, and informing himself about the country. He ar- rived on Saturday, and on Monday opened a gun shop, with one exception the only one between Chicago and St. Louis at that time. To this business he has given his entire attention, with the exception of the period between 1866 and 1871, when he was engaged in the manufacture of agricultural implements. He is now doing work for the children and grandchildren of his early patrons. Nine persons and considerable machinery are employed in his shops, where all sorts of small articles are made and repaired, making it one of the busiest places in the city. In 1899 Mr. Whittemore was absent from his bench four days, three of which he spent in visiting and one on account of sickness. The shop which he now occupies was built at No. 306 Fulton Street forty years ago. He has been a member of the School Board one term, and was Alderman one term, while Doctor Hamilton was Mayor. Mr. Whittemore married Maria Russell, of Peoria, April 7, 1841, who died April 4, 1901. She was the daughter of Smith B. Russell, who came to Peoria in October, 1835. Mr. and Mrs. Whittemore are the parents of three children: M. Violetta, who is the widow of James McSkimin, and the mother of two children (Minnie and J. Ray); Mary Frances, who is the wife of P. B. Keeler, Clerk of the Circuit Court at Cambridge, Illinois, and the mother of two children (Rufus W. and Burr) ; and William Jefferson, who married Mary C. McGinley, a daughter of John and Elizabeth McGinley. William J. has one child, Mabel A., and is associated with his father in the management of the business.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WILBER, HENRY P.; was born in Chardon, Ohio, February 11, 1836. His father, William Wither, was born October 27, 1808, and died July 7, 1878. He was married September 5, 1833, to Sarah Benton, a native of Tolland, Connecticut, who was horn December 5, 1814. Mrs. Wilber, who is still living, is the daughter of Zadoc and Polly (Kendall) Benton. Her father was born February 9, 1790; his wife was born March 10, 1794, and died February 15. 1815. After attending grammar school, Henry P. Wilber came to Peoria in 1853, and secured his first employment as a clerk in the establishment of Amos P. Bartlett. For eleven years he remained in the employ of that gentleman. In 1864 Mr. Wilber associated himself in the merchant tailoring business with Thomas B. Cooke, under the firm name of Wilber & Cooke. In 1870 he sold out his interest to his partner, and entered the office of Andrew J. Hodges & Company, at that time engaged in the manufacture of harvesters at Pekin, Illinois, all the office work being under his care. Until 1800 Mr. Wilber continued at this work. That year he took charge of Mr. Hodges' business interests in Peoria, in which he continues to the present time. Taking it all together, Mr. Wilber has been thirty years in the employ of Mr. Hodges. In October, 1867, Mr. Wilber was married to Anna E. Hodges, and they have had four children: Belle, who is now Mrs. C. H. Thorn, of Chicago; Nellie G.; Mittie H., who died at the age of ten years: and Florence B. Mrs. Wilber died in June. 1899, at the home of her daughter in Chicago, while en route to Harbor Point, Michigan, where Mr. Wilber has a summer cottage. For the past nineteen years they have spent their summers there. Mr. Wither is a Republican, and belongs to the Universalist Church, and to the Peoria Country Club.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WILEY, WALTER L.: Banker of Brimfield, and Assistant Cashier of the Merchants National Bank of Peoria; born at Brimfield, Illinois. November 2, 1862: educated in the High School at Brimfield and at Knox College, Galesburg. His father, John Edward, was born October 19, 1820, in Rockingham, Vermont, and was one of the honored and respected citizens of Peoria County, where he died April 21, 1875. His grandfather, John. was a farmer in Vermont and came of Scotch parentage. John Edward Wiley was a farmer in early life, was married August 19, 1851, and at once started west by the Erie Canal to Buffalo, where he took a steamer for Detroit, and from that city by stage to Peru, Illinois, thence down the Illinois River to Peoria, finishing his trip to Brimfield by stage. He engaged in sheep-raising and farming, and owned three hundred and twenty acres of land in Brimfield Township, where he had at one time over five thousand head of sheep, which business proved profitable while under his personal management. In 1856 he removed to the village of Brimfield, where he built a home and engaged in the hardware business on the site where the Exchange Bank is now located. Mr. Wiley is well remembered by the older citizens of the county. His wife was Elizabeth Wilson. They had four children : Solon W., who was a banker in Woodhull, Illinois, and died April 21, 1876; Clinton M., who is a resident of Peoria; Marion E. (deceased); and Walter L. After Walter L. Wiley returned from college he assumed the management of the home farm for two years. In December, 1882, he was employed by David Heryer in the Exchange Bank of Brimfield. March i, 1883, he decided to return to the farm, but changed his plans and continued his connection with the bank under Mr. H. O. Peters, of Indiana, who had purchased the institution from Mr. Heryer. A general store was opened in connection with the bank and, after two years' residence in Brimfield, Mr. Peters sold his banking interests to Mr. Wiley. Mr. Wiley had the confidence of his friends and neighbors, and continued the business along conservative and systematic lines. He erected a modern building, equipped with all the appointments of a firstclass bank, which is a credit to the village and county. He was married July 2, 1900, to Rachel K. Read, daughter of Frank W. Read, of San Francisco, California. They have one son, Edwin Read, born January 14, 1902.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WINCHESTER, WILLIAM J.; Railway Conductor; born in County Down, Ireland, March 20, 1850, is a son of James and Anna (Anderson) Winchester, also natives of County Down. The father was brought to this country by his parents when eighteen months old. The family landed in New York, and made their home in Paterson, New Jersey, where the father was employed in the Rogers' Locomotive Works eight years. From Paterson he moved to Indiana, where he was engaged in agriculture with his brother-in-law. During the last year of the Civil War he was in the Government service guarding prisoners in Indianapolis, and in 1865 came to Illinois, settling in Jackson- ville, where he found employment in the engine-room at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum. His last active years were spent in farming. He had one son and three daughters. His first wife died, and he married again. His second, wife still survives. William J. Winchester began work in a woolen mill at Jacksonville, at eighteen years of age, remaining there three years. He was in the employ of a streetcar company seven years, after which he entered into the employment of the Chicago & Alton Railroad. Beginning as a brakeman on the Jacksonville & Southeast- ern Railroad, now a part of the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis. He has gradually been advanced, after three years' service as a brakeman, becoming a local freight conductor, and four years later a passenger conductor. Since 1886 he has had charge of a passenger train on the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad, making a daily run from Peoria to St. Louis. Mr. Winchester lost two fingers of his right hand in 1879, while engaged in the line of his duty, and in the spring of 1880 lost the thumb of the same hand in a similar accident. While m the service of the Jacksonville Southeastern Railroad, August 3, 1886, he lost his right foot by an accident that kept him off the road until the following May. In 1893 he settled in Peoria and, in 1895, built his present residence at No. 123 Fredonia Avenue. He is a member of the Order of Railway Conductors, has been a member of the Odd Fellows since November 4, 1887, and is a charter member of Eureka Lodge, No. 344, Knights of Pythias, which was instituted in 1893. He belongs to the Odd Fellows' Encampment, No. 9, at Jacksonville. June 15, 1893, he was married to Lynda A. Hamilton, of Eureka, Illinois, a daughter of William Hamilton, who, with his wife, was a native of County Armagh, Ireland. Mr. Hamilton was born November 27, 1827, and came to this country at twenty-one years of age. He was a mason and contractor, and died October 10, 1900. His wife was born February 15, 1835, and came to America when a girl of fourteen. They were the parents of seven sons and five daughters. Seven of their children are now living. Mrs. Winchester attended Eureka College for three years, and was afterward a successful teacher. Dean H., William and Mary A. are the names of her three children.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WOLF, LOUIS PHILIP; Newspaper Editor and Publisher; born in Nassua, Germany, December 16, 1851, the son of Carl and Katherina (Lorsbach) Wolf; was educated in his native country, and, in 1868, at the age of seventeen, came to America. He first found employment in rafting on the Mississippi River, but afterward adopted the vocation of a long lime of ancestors, for which he had been qualified by a thorough education in his native land, by accepting a position as interpreter and teacher of modern languages in the German-American Institute at Chicago, and, later, in the Academie-Francaise in the same city. The latter position he subsequently exchanged for that of teacher in a private school established by himself, for the instruction of German emigrants in the English language and republican form of government. Mr. Wolf next drifted into journalism, first as a correspondent of German and American papers, and next as editor of the "Volksfreund," a German Republican paper which he established at Lincoln, Illinois, in 1875—this being, at the time, the only German Republican paper in the State. Two years later (1877) he came to Peoria to assume the editorship of the "Deutsche Zeitung," but after the absorption of the latter by the "Demokrat," in conjunction with Joseph Wolfram and William Brus. in the spring of 1879, he established the German Republican daily, "Die Sonne," of which he has since continued to be the editor and is at present sole proprietor. A Sunday issue from the office of "Die Sonne" bears the name of "Die Glocke." Mr. Wolf held the position of President of the Board of Trustees of the Eastern Illinois Normal School at Charleston, Illinois, during the erection of the buildings for that institution, under the administration of Governor Tanner, and did much to secure the construction of one of the most satisfactory group of buildings—both as to in- ternal arrangement and architectural design—for the purposes for which they are intended, in the State. The service which he rendered in this connection has been highly appreciated by the people in that section of the State, and met the earnest commendation of leading educators. Mr. Wolf's standing in the ranks of the Republican party, with which he has been associated during his journalistic career, is indicated by the fact that he was a prominent candidate for the nomination of State Treasurer in the Republican State Convention of 1900. January 25, 1879, Mr. Wolf was married in Lincoln, Ill., to Miss Augusta Klifus, a native of Germany, who has spent considerable time in St. Petersburg, Russia. An accomplished writer and a capable woman of affairs, she has proved an efficient aid and helpmate in the management of his journalistic enterprises.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WOLF, LUTHER O.; Foreman; born March 27, 1869, at Monmouth, Illinois, is a son of Adam A. and Anna (Anderson) Wolf. Adam A. Wolf was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1846, his wife being a native of the same State. Their two children are: Luther O. and Hessie S. The family came to Illinois in 1869. Mr. Wolf died April n, 1888, but his widow still survives him. The ancestry of the family is mixed German and Scotch. Luther S. Wolf was educated in the common schools, entered the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and is now foreman of a yard crew in the yards of that company in Peoria, a position he has held for a number of years. In his politics he is a Democrat.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WOMBACHER, FERDINAND; Dairyman; born in Woodford County, Illinois, November 28, 1851, is the son of John and Magdalena Wombacher, both natives of Aschaffenberg, Bavaria. His father was born July 3, 1809, and died January 16, 1896. The parents were married in their native town, and then came to America, landing at New Orleans, and making the journey to Peoria by the river, and settling in Worth Township, Woodford County, Illinois, in 1840. There Mr. Wombacher bought a farm of 140 acres, which he occupied and which is still owned by one of his sons. To this he added more land. and became an extensive land owner. By his first wife he had six children: Eve. Lizzie, Joseph, Andrew (who died at the age of twenty-one years), John and Ferdinand. Mrs. Wombacher died when Ferdinand was about five years old. Mr. Wombacher married for his second wife Mrs. Dolwitz, who was born Clara Ellker, and by whom he had three sons. Ferdinand Wombacher began life for himself when he was only eleven years old, and for five years was employed as a farm laborer, when he came to Peoria, to take a position in a brewery, which he held for two years. After that he drove a mineral water wagon. In 1873 he became the proprietor of the Alps, which he conducted for seven years. He also ran a brick-yard on what is now the south end of Glen Oak Park. Four acres of this tract he afterward sold to the city for $8,000. He began a dairy business in April, 1880, starting with nine cows, which have since been increased to seventy. His handsome and well appointed residence, at No. 320 Pacific Avenue, was built in 1895. Three dwellings in blocks one and four, in the McGinnity's Addition to North Peoria, were built by him in 1895. Three stores were also built by him on Adams Street. For two years he was a School Trustee, and for six years was a Village Trustee of North Peoria. He is a charter member of Upland Lodge, Knights and Ladies of Honor. In his religion he is a Catholic, and in politics a Democrat. On May 6, 1873, he married Louisa Wurst, who was born in a house at the corner of Washington and Hamilton Streets, Peoria, March 6, 1851. Her parents, Frederick and Fredrika (Kenner) Wurst, were natives of Wurtemberg, and came to Peoria from Cincinnati. The father had a bakeshop in Peoria, and, in 1857, moved to the corner of Frye and Pacific Avenues, where he died a year later at the age of thirty-seven. His widow, who was born October 10, 1825, is still living at the old home. Their three children are Fritz, David and Louisa. Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Wombacher have had four children, three of whom are now living: Joseph F., John D. and Ferdinand F. Joseph is a graduate of the Peoria public schools, and has a meat market at No. 1703 North Adams Street. John is a graduate of the Peoria High school, and of the University of Michigan; is a chemist by profession, and now is in the employ of the Steel Mills Company at Joliet. Ferdinand is engaged in the dairy business with his father.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WYND, JAMES H.; Cabinet Maker; son of Robert and Nancy Wynd, was born in New York City June 28, 1829. His father was a native of Dundee, Scotland; the mother, of Waterbury, Connecticut. Robert Wynd, who was a tailor, moved his family to Tremont, in 1837, then a promising town of Tazewell County, Illinois, but in 1863 removed to Delavan Prairie and engaged in farming. Five years later he went to Nebraska, where he died. Mrs. Wynd lived on the family homestead for several years, and died in Peoria in 1880. In 1848 James H. Wynd left home to learn the cabinet trade with George W. Fridley, of Peoria, and remained there until 1852. For the next ten years he was engaged in an undertaking establishment. During the Civil War he enlisted in Company G. One Hundred and Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, serving until its close, participating among others in the following battles: Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Port Gibson, Champion Hill, Black River, Raymond, Guntown, Memphis, Spanish Fort, Fort Blakeley and the siege and capture of Vicksburg. He enlisted as a private and was promoted through various grades to First Lieutenant. Returning to Tazewell County, he worked for a year on a farm, then became a bridge carpenter, and had charge of a Springfield & Peoria bridge gang for two years. His work was especially to build the small bridges and look after the piling between Peoria and Pekin. He was manager of the piling work of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad, between Peoria and Bushnell; was foreman of bridge carpenters on the Pekin, Lincoln & Decatur Line, and held a similar position for four and a half years on the Sante Fe Railroad, as also upon the Gilman, Clinton & Springfield, for the latter building the bridges across Salt Creek, where, he put in a mile of trestle-work. He was also employed on the railroad bridge at Dubuque a year. After working as a house carpenter for a time he was appointed superintendent of the lower wagon bridge at Peoria. retaining this position for four years, during which he had charge of- extensive repairs. Later he was three years with the Hart Grain Weigher Company. Mr. Wynd is a member of the Bryner Post, No. 57, Grand Army of the Republic, and is a Republican in his political relations. In his religious connections he is associated with the Methodist Church. He owns a pleasant home at No. 319 Chicago Street, which he built in 1884. He married Jennie F. Hopt, who bore him four children; Natalia (now the wife of Charles Wylie), Thomas Oscar, Jennie (deceased) and Eugene. He married as his second wife, December 7, 1881. Amanda Coffman, daughter of John and Tina Coffman, born in Clark County. Illinois, September 29, 1844.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
YORK, SOLOMON; Steamboat Captain; was born in Bangor, Maine, May 2, 1846. His great-grandfather, who came from England and made his home in New York, was a sea-faring man, as was his son, William, who was a sailor engaged in the fishing trade. His son, William, Jr., was born. in Portland, Maine, and for many years engaged in the foreign export trade. At twelve years old he entered the employ of the Black Ball line of packet- ships plying between New York and Liverpool, remaining until he was thirty-eight, and for some years being a mate on one of the ships of that line. He was also engaged in the Oriental trade, and visited many Eastern ports. For some years he had his home in Bangor, Maine, and in 1852, removed to Racine, Wisconsin, going very soon after to Henry, Illinois. He married Mary Kraber, a native of Germany, and lived to be eighty-two years of age, his widow living to be eighty-three. Solomon York began life as a steamboatman at the age of seventeen, and at twenty was Captain of the "Sam Vail" on the Forky Deer River in Tennessee. For many years he was engaged in the Canal and Illinois River trade between Chicago and St. Louis. In 1882 he bought the "Gray Eagle," making daily round trips between Peoria and Henry until 1887. From 1883 to 1885 he was controlling owner of the steamer "C. W. Anderson," running between Peoria and St. Louis. In 1887 he bought the "Rescue," which he used in the Peoria and Henry trade until September, 1891. The following year he had built the steamer "City of Peoria," then the finest boat on the Illinois, capable of making fourteen miles an hour. This boat he used between Peoria and Henry until the close of 1898. In the fall of that year he exchanged this boat for "The Alps," a popular resort of four acres densely covered with shade trees, and fitted up for picnics and festivals, contiguous to Glen Oak Park, which he now manages. Captain York has been engaged as a boatman from his fifth to his fifty-second year. and now holds his twenty-fourth license as master and pilot, which was issued in 1897 for the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Captain York was married to Martha Lewis in Peoria on August 2, 1870, by whom he has had three children: William Thomas, Edith (who is the widow of Edward Stewart), and Ora (now the wife of Frank D. Fox).from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
YORK, WILLIAM F.; Steamboat Captain; born in New York City, July 16, 1839; is the son of William and Mary (Kraber) York, of whom a sketch appears in connection with that of Captain Solomon York. William York came west with his parents when about ten years of age, and attended school at Henry, Illinois, where they first settled. After a few years there he began boating on the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which he followed until he became employed in various capacities on the Illinois River. Since the age of twenty-one he has held a license as master and pilot. He has sailed the "Tom Stevens," the "Albatross," the "City of Henry," the "Gray Eagle," the "C. A. Anderson," the "James Wilson," the "Lotos," and the "Rescue." In several of these he was financially interested, and of some the sole owner. Success has attended his efforts in this line, and he has never met a serious accident. Leaving the Illinois River, he took a position as a master of a tug-boat at Chicago, which he held four years. Of late he has owned the steamboat "Lola," which, with a barge, he used in the excursion business about Peoria. A large number of row-boats and other river craft were owned by him, and held for rent. They were sold in the summer of 1900. Captain York has been a navigator on western waters for fifty years. In addition to his boat property he owns four residences in Peoria, which he rents. At the present time he holds the position of Harbor Master in Peoria, to which he was appointed in 1899, for two years. He married Miss Jennie Jones, of Cam- bridge. Illinois, in 1888.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
ZERWEKH, WILLIAM; Proprietor of Meat Market; born in Hagerstown, Maryland. March 24, 1854, is a son of Jacob and Rosina (Steinie) Zerwekh, both natives of Wittenberg, Germany. His father died in 1865, and his mother February 7, 1888. Jacob Zerwekh was the paternal grand-father of William Zerwekh, and his son Jacob was a farmer and the owner of a vineyard. In 1854 the younger Jacob Zerwekh came to the United States and brought with him his wife and six children. For a year they lived at Hagerstown. Maryland, and, in 1855, he came to Peoria, buying and settling on eighty acres of land in Kickapoo Township. In 1864 he enlisted in the Union army, leaving behind him a wife and eleven children. He was assigned to the Forty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and, six weeks after leaving home, died at Chattanooga, Tennessee. Ten of his children lived to reach maturity. His widow married Henry Graze. William Zerwekh remained at home until he was twenty-two years old. At eighteen he set himself to learn the butcher trade. In 1879 he went West, and visited different States and Territories. From 1881 to 1801 he was a locomotive engineer on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, with headquarters, most of the time, at Stuart, Iowa. In April. 1891, he returned to Peoria, and opened a meat market. This venture proved very successful, and he has continued in it to the present time, being now located at No. 940 Garden Street. Mr. Zerwekh was married to Maggie Buckholz in Peoria, November 24, 1881, where she was born September 10, 1858, a daughter of Louis and Mary (Neue) Buckholz. Her father was a Prussian. and her mother a Bavarian. They were married in Chicago in 1854, and are now living in Peoria. Louis Buckholz is a harnessmaker. Mr. and Mrs. Zerwekh have had five children: Louis W., Elsie M., Freddie C., Edward H. and Grace A., of whom three are still living— Elsie M. having died September 29, 1889, in the sixth year of her age, and Freddie C. January 28, 1890, in his third year—both deaths occurring at Stuart, Iowa. Mr. Zerwekh is a Republican, and was elected Township Supervisor in 1899, and re-elected for two years in 1900. A strip of country between Peoria and South Peoria was known as No Man's Land, because it was within the jurisdiction of neither of those municipalities. In order to have it properly governed, it was incorporated as the Village of West Peoria, February 19, 1900. Mr. Zerwekh was made President of the Village Board, and occupied that position until the village was annexed to Peoria, April 17, 1900. Mr. Zerwekh is a Master Mason, a member of Temple Lodge, No.46, of the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Royal Neighbors.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
ZIMMERMAN, ANDREW; Saloon Proprietor and Bottler for the Pabst Brewing Company; was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, November 5. 1838, the son of Charles Philip and Anna K. (Ditwig) Zimmerman, who were natives of the same city. Left an orphan at a very early age, he came to the United States when only fourteen years old, descending the Rhine and crossing the ocean to New York. and locating for about a year in Buffalo. Then coming to Peoria he learned the shoemaker's trade, which he later followed for about two years at Memphis, Tennessee. When the Rebellion broke out he returned to Peoria, and in 1862 enlisted in Company E, Eighty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry. For three years he was at the front, and participated in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mission Ridge, Resaca, as well as many other fierce and memorable engagements. Near Dallas, Texas, he was wounded so severely as to be confined to the hospital for eleven months, and rendered unfit for further service. Returning to Peoria, he opened a saloon, and, since 1881, has been the sole bottler in Peoria for the Pabst Brewing Company. He is also agent for the Sheboygan Mineral Water Company. Mr. Zimmerman was married in Peoria, in June, 1869, to Bertha Seibold, and they have six children: Ida (now Mrs. Otto Boyer), Anna (who is Mrs. William Goebels), Andrew J., Minnie, Julia and Freda. Mr. Zimmerman is an Independent Republican in politics. fromHistorical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
ZWEIFEL, WOLFGANG; Merchant and Contractor: born May 2, 1849, at Grabs, Werdenberg, Canton St. Gall, Switzerland. His grandfathers were Wolfgang Zweifel and John Forer. Frederick Zweifel, his father, was born at Grabs, August 8, 1819, and died May 15, 1800. Anna Forer, the wife of the latter, was born in Grabs, August 13, 1823. and died December 26. 1885. Frederick Zweifel and his family came to America via Amsterdam, Hull and Liverpool, arriving at New York December 28, 1865. Wolfgang Zweifel learned the carpenter's trade, and worked at it during the greater part of twenty years, being in the employ of F. Zeitz. In 1888 he began a contracting business, in which line he has since been very successful. In 1882 he built a one-story store at No. 217 Butler Street. This he afterward enlarged to a handsome two-story building, 20x70 feet, with residence, having his workshop and barn in the rear, making a tidy and commodious place. At the time of its building this was one of only two stores on the street, and was nearest the city limits. Wolfgang Zweifel and Henrietta Jacobs were married in Peoria, November 3, 1872. They have seven children: Anna S., Henrietta, John, Fred, Clara, Emelia and Florence. Mrs. Zweifel is the daughter of Henry and Salome (Arnhoeld) Jacobs, natives of Alsace, who came to America in 1849, and were married in Peoria in 1852. Mr. Jacobs was a soldier in the War of the Rebellion, and died in the service, March 27, 1862, while serving as a member of Company K, Seventy-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
ADAMS, GEORGE F.: Engineer; Averyville; born at Berea, near Cleveland, Ohio, July 9, 1838; son of David and Beulah (Prince) Adams. The principal Adams family of New England was founded by Henry Adams, probably a native of Devonshire, England, who, with eight sons, landed in Massachusetts in 1646. From him are descended the presidential family and numerous other branches. Elisha Adams, the grandfather of George F., was born May 4, 1753, and lived at Dedham, Massachusetts. He joined the Revolutionary Army April 16, 1777, serving as a private for three years. David Adams, a brick mason by trade, was born at Amherst, Massachusetts, March 28, 1794. and died September 1, 1858. He settled at Berea. Ohio, in 1829. In 1851 he removed to Racine, Wisconsin, and later to Leon, Decatur County, Iowa, where he died. He was twice married. His first
wife, Beulah (Prince) Adams, was born at Burlington, Vermont, March 20, 1803, and died in 1838. By this marriage there were four children: Irene, Eliza F., Helen and George F. His second marriage was with Mary Palmer, who died in 1880. Three children were born to them: Mary, Ella and Elmore. George F. Adams came to Peoria in 1858. In 1864 he became a fireman on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Later he went to Bushnell, where he ran an engine in a saw-mill one year. Returning to Peoria, he worked for D. P. Grier & Company as foreman in their elevator from 1866 to 1874. In 1875 he took a position as engineer with James Selby, now Selby, Starr & Company, and has been with them steadily for twenty-five years. He moved to Averyville in 1891, where he soon became an influential citizen. In 1893 he was elected Trustee of the Village, which office he held five years, and for three years he was President of the Board. In 1899, he was elected Clerk of the School Board. Mr. Adams is a Republican. He has been a member of the Masonic Fraternity since 1877. He is a member of the Congregational Church. A cosy cottage which he built in 1893, at 2905 North Adams Street, is his home. He also built the residences at 2909 and 2913, the former of which he still owns. December 5, 1872, Mr. Adams married Tillie Westwood in Peoria. They have two children: George E. and Walter W. Mrs. Adams was born in London, England, January 23, 1847. Her parents were John C. and Susannah Westwood, the father, a native of London. They came to America in a sailing vessel in 1849, landing in New York. Mr. Westwood was a boiler maker and bridge builder by trade, but was employed, most of his time as superintendent of Gas Works at Cincinnati, fifteen years; Indianapolis, one year; Springfield, Illinois, eight years; at Peoria, and at Bucyrus, Ohio, where he died in 1875. Mrs. Westwood died in 1874.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
ARCHER, CHARLES O.; Railway Conductor; born in Fairbury, Illinois, June 13, 1871. His grandfather, Joseph Archer, was a native of Vermont, as was also his father. George W., who was born in 1842. Mary (Huey) Archer, the mother of Charles O., was a native of Ohio. Four children were born to George W. and Mary Archer: Alice, Charles O., Elda and Elsie. Mrs. Archer died February 13, 1900; her husband is still living. Charles O. Archer married Bessie Miller in Fairbury, April 30, 1891. They have one daughter, Madeline. Mrs. Archer's father, Robert Miller, a physician, was born at Atlanta, Georgia, in 1852, and came to Illinois in the same year. He married Eunice Patton of Illinois, and to them were born four children: Bessie, Claude, Harry and Nellie. Dr. Miller died in 1892: Mrs. Miller is still living. Charles O. Archer has been in the employ of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway Company seven years, filling various positions; since 1898 he has been a conductor, and is a member of Division Number 79. Order of Railway Conductors, of Peoria. He has a fair education, having attended the common and high schools. In politics he is independent.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
ARNOLD, FRANK WILLIAM; Grand Secretary and Treasurer of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen; born at Columbus, Ohio, October 5, 1851 ; son of Thomas and Angeline E. (Gabriel) Arnold, natives respec- tively of St. Davids, Pembrokeshire, South Wales, and of Zanesville. Ohio. Henry Arnold, his great-grandfather, and Joshua Arnold, his grandfather, were born at St. Davids, and the former's wife (Elizabeth) was a native of St. Davids and the latter's wife (Abra) was born at Haverford, in the same Shire. Jonathan Gabriel, his great-grand- father, in the maternal line, and his wife, Susan, were natives of Hagerstown. Maryland. John Gabriel, his grand- father, was born at Hagerstown and his grandmother, Abigail, at Rutland, Vermont. Mr. Arnold gained a public education, and at sixteen years of age entered the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at Columbus, Ohio, where he remained eight years, during which time he was elected Grand Master of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen. He was admitted to the Bar in Ohio in February, 1879, and practiced law five years. After serving six years as Grand Master of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, he entered the commercial world at Chicago as the Western Manager and representative of the Lorain Manufacturing company, at Cleveland, Ohio. He was elected to his present position in 1892. Mr. Arnold is a Protestant and a Republican. He married Henrietta Cox, at Columbus, Ohio, January 25, 1882, and they have one child, Florence Carpenter Arnold.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BALL, BENJAMIN F.; Locomotive Engineer; born in Park County, Indiana, March 13, 1848, son of Hiram O. nd Mary (Fisher) Ball. The father was born November 9, 1807, and the parents were married September 21, 1833 Hiram O. Ball and wife had seven children, two sons and five daughters: George, Louisa, Elizabeth, Alazana, Mary A., Rachel, and Benjamin F. Mr. Ball died September 30, 1848, when Benjamin was an infant. Mrs. Ball died August 3, 1858. B. F. Ball has been an engineer about nineteen years. He was in the employ of the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway Company twenty-five years. He is a member of Division Number 92 of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He votes the Democratic ticket. His family is of New England ancestry on his father's side, and on his mother's side of German extraction. Mr. Ball married Amelia Taylor, May 29, 1879, and they have two children, Mary C. and B. Franklin.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BARNES, JOSEPH; Builder; born in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, September 19, 1843, son of Nathan C. and Elizabeth (Grace) Barnes. His father was born in Pennsylvania, May 15, 1815, and is still living. The mother (deceased) was born in Cecil County, Maryland, June 18, 1818. Joseph Barnes, his grandfather, lived in Montgomery County, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a builder, as were also his four sons and many of his grandsons. The wife of Joseph Barnes (I.) was Elizabeth Cowdrick, a native of Scotland. Nathan Barnes, their son, was a tailor by trade. When the Mexican war broke out he went as a soldier among the Lafayette Blues. The Grace family, of Scottish descent, settled in Pennsylvania more than a century ago. William Grace, maternal grandfather of Joseph Barnes, was a planter on the eastern shore of Maryland, and lived in Cecil County. He was the owner of slaves by inheritance, but being opposed to slavery, he freed them before the Civil .War. At sixteen years of age Mr. Barnes began to learn his trade, had charge of a gang of men before he completed his apprenticeship, and, in the fall of 1862, started out as a builder. He built the Mower Military Hospital at Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, a building that accommodated 3,500 patients; after that built the McClelland Hospital at Nice- town, Pennsylvania, and also one at Wilmington, Delaware, during a part of this time having on his pay-roll as many as three hundred men. Returning to Philadelphia, he had charge of the construction of a residence for Edwin Trotter, which cost $135,000; one for Charles Megargee at Germantown, costing $200,000; and another for Admiral Breese. At Allentown he built a large brick school-house, and, in 1876, he had charge of the construction of buildings and the placing of exhibits at the Centennial Exposition. Removing to Kankakee, Illinois, he built a factory and other buildings there; also engaged in manufacturing one year. He settled in Peoria July 20, 1898, and soon afterward took charge of the construction of the buildings of the State Insane Asylum at Bartonville, where sixteen structures were erected at a cost of $540,000. In 1900 he took the contract for the erection of the addi- tion to St. Francis Hospital, Peoria, where $100,000 was expended. In the same year, as a partner with the Peoria Marble Works, he took charge of the building of the Court House at Bloomington, a building to cost $350,000. On October 19, 1888, Mr. Barnes was married, in Philadelphia, to Rose Ayres, a native of Cincinnati, and daughter of James A. and Fannie (Sickles) Ayres—the latter a native of Germany. Mrs. Rose Barnes' father was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, as was his mother, Abigail (Rolls) Ayres, who lived to the age of ninety-six years.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BARTHOLOMEW, O. Y.; Manufacturer; Peoria; was born and reared on a farm in Elmwood Township, Peoria County, Illinois, enjoying the benefits of unexcelled educational facilities, first in the public schools of Elmwood, and, later, in Knox College, Galesburg, from both of which schools he is a graduate. During school life, he was identified with the foremost enterprise in school society and devoted much time to music. His business career began in 1888, at the close of his college course. In this year, he removed to Des Moines. Iowa, and associated himself with his brother, J. B. Bartholomew, as bookkeeper and and correspondent in the business of manufactur- ing Peanut and Coffee Roasters. Later, he filled a position in the office of the Avery Planter Company at Des Moines, Iowa. In 1891, Mr. Bartholomew removed to the Atlantic Coast and opened an office at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the sale of Peanut and Coffee Roasters, supplying the Coast trade in seventeen States.. Having
firmly established the business there, he returned to Des Moines, Iowa, in 1893, and became Treasurer and managing Director of the newly organized Bartholomew Company, which position he now holds. In the summer of 1893, he married Mary E. Swan, of Des Moines, Iowa, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Swan, of Ridgedale, Iowa. Charles Yale, their only child, was born May 23, 1894. In April, 1900, Mr. Bartholomew, with his family, removed to Peoria, Illinois, his native county, and with his associates, J. B. Bartholomew, C. A. Bartholomew, E. M. Voorhees and R. O. Stutsman, operates a very successful manufacturing plant at 117 Fredonia Avenue.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BAUER, LOUIS P.; Superintendent of the Glucose Sugar Refining Company; born in Heidelberg. Germany, June 16, 1862; son of George J. and Katherine (Lamartine) Bauer, who were born near Heidelberg. The exceptional educational advantages which his birthplace offered were not lost upon Louis P., and at seventeen years of age he had completed the course in the Gymnasium and a two years' course in a business college. He came to America and began to learn the art of glucose manufacture at the old glucose factory on Archer Avenue, Chicago. His knowledge paved the way for the position of Superintendent of the Chicago Sugar Refining Company, which office he filled for eight years. 1887 to 1895. He was next employed for a short time at Rockford, Illinois. In 1897 he came to Peoria where his large experience, general knowledge and executive ability were soon recognized, and in 1898 he was made general Superintendent of the Peoria plant of the Glucose Sugar Refining Company, which position he has held ever since. Being a man of means and refined tastes, Mr. Bauer has lost no opportunity to improve himself. In 1895 he made a tour of Europe and the Orient, visiting the Madeira Islands, Seville and Madrid in Spain, Marseilles and Nice in France, Monte Carlo, Genoa, Venice, the Riviera, Rome, and Naples in Italy, Palermo and Messina in Sicily, Athens in Greece, points in Egypt, Asia Minor, and the Holy Land, and many places in Germany. Mr. Bauer has also traveled much in the United States. He is a student and a thinker, and has patents on machinery and processes connected with the manufacture of glucose. June 10. 1886, Mr. Bauer and Catherine Kehoe were married in Dayton, Ohio. They have four children: Gertrude, Helen, Lois and Elsa. Mrs. Bauer is the daughter of James and Katherine Kehoe, of Dayton, Ohio.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BAUGH, WALKER; Locomotive Engineer; born in Hendricks county, Indiana, May 16, 1845; son of William A. and Susan (Forsyth) Baugh. William A. Baugh, born in Kentucky, January 31; 1793, married for his first wife Peggy Kincade, a native of the same State, born February 24, 1820. She was the mother of four children: Joseph A., John, Jane K, and William C. After her death Mr. Baugh married Susan Forsyth, who was the mother of six children: James F., Mary E., Alexander B.. Margaret (deceased), Cyrus M. and Walker. Mr. Baugh died August 26, 1865, and his widow July 10, 1882. He served in the war of 1812. William C. was a soldier in the Mexican war. Walker Baugh enlisted August 17, 1862, in Company A, Fourth Indiana Volunteer Cavalry, and served in the war of the Rebellion till August 8, 1865. His brother, Cyrus M., was also a soldier in that war. Walker Baugh married Minnie M. Oberlander in Peoria, January 27, 1887. He has worked for the Toledo, Peoria and Wabash Railway Company eighteen years, eleven of which he has been an engineer. He is a member of Harmony Division Number 417, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; of Columbia Lodge Number 21, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Bryner Post Number 67, Grand Army of the Republic. He votes the Republican ticket. Mrs. Baugh is a member of Rebekah Lodge Number 113, of which she is a Past Grand. She is also a member of Grand International Lodge Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Hope Division Number 10.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BEASLEY, ALFRED WADLEIGH; Teacher; Peoria; was born at Ripley, Ohio, March 27, 1853. the son of Nathaniel K. and Susan H. (Wadleigh) Beasley—the former born at Decatur, Ohio, April 4, 1828, and the latter at Oxford, Ohio, September 22, 1830. His great-grandparents, Nathaniel and Sarah (Sutton) Beasley, were natives of Virginia, while his grandparents, Alfred and Margaret (Kirker) Beasley, were born in Ohio. On the maternal side, his great grandparents, John and Susan Wadleigh, were natives of Scotland, his grandparents being Thomas Jefferson and Sophia (Easton) Wadleigh—the former a native of Watertown, New York, and the latter of Oxford, Ohio. Mr. Beasley acquired his early education in the schools of Peoria, graduating from the Peoria High School in 1870. and four years later from Dartmouth College—at the latter ranking first in his class in mathematics and fourth in general standing. The next four years were spent in the employment of Beasley Bros. and Steele Bros. in the saddlery hardware business. In 1878 he commenced teaching in an ungraded school in South Peoria, a year later was transferred to the Peoria High School as instructor in mathematics and the sciences, then became Principal of the old Franklin School, and, in 1889, was promoted to the principalship of the High School, which (1902) he still retains. He has been frequently called upon to read papers before educational associations and is recognized as one of the prominent educators in the West. He was married, November 29, 1876, to Miss Mary Ramsay, born June 6, 1856, and they have four children: Robert K. (deceased), Frederick E., Alfred F. and Jules deLabarthe. In religious belief he is a Congregationalist.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BEHNER, JACOB; Farmer: son of John Jacob and Katharine (Rapp) Behner was born in Peoria, March 5, 1856. His father was born at Lorch, Wurtemburg, January 22, 1831, and came to the United States in 1848. He lived some time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and while there joined the Avery Methodist Episcopal Church of that city. He was a local preacher of the Methodist denomination from 1853. He came to Peoria in 1851, when it was a mere village without a single railroad, and the business center was the corner of Bridge and Washington Streets. July 9, 1853, he married Miss Katharine Rapp, a native of Alsace, then residing at Pekin. Of this union four sons and three daughters were born. The sons are Jacob, Fred C. and George H. One of the sons, John, died in infancy. The surviving daughters are Mrs. Lena Morn, of Ottumwa, Iowa., and Mrs. Thomas Fallon of this city. Mrs. Taylor, the third daughter, died in June, 1899. Mr. Behner was a carpenter and builder by occupation, and lived for a number of years on the West Bluff. During the Civil War he served in the Eighty-second Illinois Infantry. He died in 1901, the funeral services being held in the First German Methodist Church, of which he was a member. Jacob Behner worked for a florist between his thirteenth and sixteenth years. He next worked three years in Clark's flour mill, and since that time he has been engaged in farming. For nine years he was a tenant of the Bradley Farm at Hopedale, and for the same length of time he had charge of the Bradley Home Farm in the suburbs of Peoria. In 1897 he put in the first experimental crop of sugar beets in this part of Illinois—thirteen acres in three fields. Since that time he has given his entire time to beet culture. He married Mary Brown in Peoria, December 29, 1881. They have four sons: Walter Lee, Robert John, Edward Llewellyn and Howard Benjamin. Mrs. Behner was born February 10, 1861, daughter of John and Ellen (Mitchell) Brown. Her father was born in Ohio, and came to Illinois when a young man. He served in the Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, Colonel Ingersoll's regiment, and was captured and imprisoned in Andersonville, finally escaping to the Union lines. His wife, Mrs. Behner's mother, was born in Illinois.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BESS, REV. FREDERICK B.; Pastor St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church; a native of Hesse Cassel, Germany, was born November 20, 1855. His paternal grandfather, August Bess, was a distinguished criminal lawyer and practiced for many years in the courts of Cassel near the city where stood his residence. He also represented his native state as a lawyer at the court of Russia. Bernhard Bess, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Hesse Cassel, April 30, 1817, and died at Cassel in 1895. His wife, Mathilda (Von Bodenhausen) Bess, was born at Witzenhausen, April 15, 1830, and is still living. Bernhard was educated at the college at Hersfeld, where he took a six years' course, and at the State University at Marburg, where he studied modern languages and theology. About 1840 he emigrated to the United States and served as a tutor in the family of a planter at or near Atlanta, Georgia. His English, which he had learned from Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield," was at first more picturesque than useful, but soon became practical. Among other things he taught Greek, Latin, Spanish, French and German. After spending four years in the South he removed to New York City, where he taught a private school two years. He then returned to Germany and soon afterwards married Mathilde Von Bod- enhausen, daughter of Kuno Von Bodenhausen, a nobleman, who lived in his hot at Witzenhausen, and who was at one time an extensive mineowner. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Bess became a minister of the gospel. Later he was made a Metropolitan and passed the rest of his life near Cassel. He was the father of six children, all of whom grew to maturity. Frederick B. Bess spent six years in a gymnasium and one year in a theological seminary in Germany. In 1875 he came to America and .spent the two following years studying theology and English at Mendota, Illinois. He was then assigned to a church at Peoria. where he has since remained. At the start he had but twelve members in his church, but now has charge of a parish of four hundred and twenty families. In connection with his church are an English and German day school, a kindergarten and ten different societies. In the course of his pastorate at Peoria he founded eight churches. Mr. Bess married Eliza Breul in Baltimore, Septem- ber 22, 1880. They have six children living: Dorothea, Elizabeth, Theresa, Julia, Lulu, Hildegard and Gertrude. Mrs. Bess, daughter of Peter and Katharine (Budnitz) Breul, came to America in 1880. Her father was a hardware merchant, at Hersfeld. Both parents are still living.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BESSLER, GEORGE; Grocer; was born in Ochringen, Wurtemburg. Germany, October 26, 1873, and received a high school education. At the age of fifteen years he came by way of Bremen and New York to Peoria. After spending two years clerking in a hardware store, he went to work in a meat market, where he remained six years in the employ of Fred Bessler. In 1898 he opened a grocery store and meat market at 3023 North Adams Street, where he has a good stock of goods and a large and prosperous trade. He married Rosa Held in Peoria, June 10, 1898. She is the daughter of William and Maria (Hanlon) Held, who have been residents of Peoria for forty years or more. Mr. Bessler is a Democrat, a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Foresters and the Modern Woodmen of America.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BIEBER, MICHAEL; Stonemason; born in Durkheim, Rheinpfalz, Bavaria, December 8, 1832, is the son of Lorenz and Elizabeth (Rein) Bieber. Lorenz Bieber was born at Durkheim in 1801, and died in February, 1869, while his wife, a native of Weidenthal, Rheinpfalz, was born in 1798 and died in February, 1872. The paternal grandfather of Michael was Henry Bieber, a teamster in Durkheim. In 1813 the Russians, in their advance against the French, impressed him and his team into their service to haul their wounded. As neither he nor his team ever returned home, he is supposed to have been killed. Michael's grandfather Rein was killed by a falling tree. At seventeen years of age Michael Bieber embarked at Worms, descended the Rhine to Rotterdam, crossed the Channel to Hull, England, and thence to Liverpool, whence he sailed for New York, reaching there in February, 1849, after an ocean voyage of forty-eight days. Having spent some time in New York and Albany he came to Peoria, arriving there in May, 1852. He first worked at farming on the Bluff, and the following year (1856) began work at his trade of stonemason. His father, also a stone-mason, had come with his wife and son Andrew to Peoria in 1855. The father and two sons built the Sour-mash Distillery, a very substantial stone building, whose storage cellar walls are now standing as firm as the day they were made. The three men also worked on the Peoria, Pekin and Jacksonville Bridge at Pekin; the Illinois, Bloomington and Western Bridge at Peoria, and laid the foundations for many bridges along Kickapoo Creek and in other parts of the county. Michael Bieber continued his mason work till about 1890, when he practically retired. Mr. Bieber married Caroline Kessler in Pekin, June 9, 1858. They are the parents of eight children, six of whom are living: Louisa, wife of Henry Giles; Lizzie, wife of Henry Schmidt; Andrew; Mary, wife of Thomas W. Woelland; Charles; and Fred. Mrs. Bieber was born December 23, 1839, in Sand Prairie, Tazewell County. Her father, Fred Kessler, a cabinet-maker, and a native of Bergzabern, Rheinpfalz, came to America in 1832, landing at New Orleans, but a year or two later came to Pekin. His wife, Margaretta Kessler, a native of Durkheim, Rheinpfalz, came to America with her parents, Adam Schaumloeffel and wife, when about fourteen years old. She died May 13, 1857, aged forty-two. Thirty-eight years ago Mr. Bieber bought lots, and two years later built his residence at 2604, South Adams street, where he has since resided. He is a Republican and one of the reliable citizens of Peoria.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BIGHAM, DAVID L.; Proprietor Magnetic Artesian Sulphur Springs; born near Hamilton, Ohio, July 10, 1838. He is descended from English ancestors who settled first in Virginia, and later lived in Pennsylvania and Ohio. His grandfather, William Bigham, a native of the vicinity of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was a farmer and a sickle manu- facturer; his wife's Christian name was Mary. They moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, in the winter of 1798-9, settling on the Walnut Hills. They afterward moved to Fort Hamilton, for protection against the Indians, where he owned a large amount of land. William and his son David were among the founders of the first Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati and also of the first Presbyterian Church of Hamilton. David Bigham was born in the same house as his father, and became a Presbyterian minister. He married Susan Ludlow, a native of Cincinnati, whose father, Isreal Ludlow, was a native of New York. Her mother was the first white girl born on the site of Cincinnati. David died when his son, David L., was seven years old. At fourteen years of age David L. went to Cincinnati, where, at the age of eighteen, he began clerking in the wholesale grocery business. He worked at this occupation until he was twenty-five, when his diligence was rewarded by his becoming a partner, the firm being McGechin & Bigham. After two years, however, he was obliged, on account of ill health, to give up his business and go to California, where he remained one year. Returning to Cincinnati he took his brother William's place in the carriage business (who died in 1866), where he remained for some years with John Curtis. He came to Peoria in 1872, and was senior partner in the firm of D. L. Bipham and Company, carriage manufacturers, until 1895, when he retired from the business. In 1882 the Peoria Magnetic Artesian Sulphur Springs were started by drilling to the depth of nine hundred feet, where water was struck, which flowed seven or eight feet above the surface. Mr. Bigham immediately erected a two-story brick building, fifty by seventy-five feet in dimensions, with all modern con- veniences for every kind of bathing, and a large natatorium in the rear. Here treatment for malaria, rheumatism, and cutaneous diseases has been given to thousands of persons with gratifying results. The quality of the waters are equal to those of the celebrated Spas of Europe. David L. Bigham was educated in the common and high schools of Cincinnati. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. In politics he is a Republican. On November 25, 1868, in Covington, Kentucky, he married Anna Curtis. They have three children: Charles E.; Herbert C.: and Mary, the wife of W. C. White.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BISHOP, HAMILTON (deceased); born at Malta, New York. January 3, 1818, son of Samuel and Mary Bishop, natives of Saratoga County, New York. He grew up on a farm and came west in 1847, and settled in Peoria. For one year he lived at Peoria and carried on his trade of shoemaker, but later moved to Dunlap, where he resided about a year. Returning to Peoria he engaged in the livery business, which he carried on till his death, April 3, 1897. He was a very liberal business man and had a host of friends. January 3, 1843, he married Mary Spiers in Columbia County, New York. Four children were born of this union: Clara M., Mrs. Thomas Mills; Eva G., Mrs. L. Fred Oaks; Charles E., of Peoria; and Jerusia, who died in infancy. Mrs. Bishop is the daughter of Joseph and Jerusha (Taylor) Spiers, and grand-daughter of General Solomon Taylor, whose parents emigrated from Holland and settled in New York. She is also a great-granddaughter of Dr. Spiers, an Englishman, who settled with the Shakers in New York, where he was prominent. Mrs. Bishop was born January 6, 1824, at Clifton Park, New York. where her father was a farmer. She 'is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which she joined in 1838.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BLANEY, JOHN A.; Locomotive Engineer; born in Sangamon County, Illinois, December 11, 1862; son of Joseph H. and Emily (Wilcox) Blaney, the former born in Morgan County, Illinois. They were the parents of four children: Lloyd W., Lizzie, Maria and John A. Mr. Blaney died in 1881 and Mrs. Blaney in 1868. John A. Blaney married Mahala Case in Peoria, March 20, 1894. She is the daughter of Stephen Case, born in New York, July 31, 1836, who came to Illinois when a young man. He married Nancy Mundy in Warsaw, Illinois, and they were the parents of sixteen children, twelve of whom are living: Minnie, Martin, Edward, Stephen, Willard, Mahala, Cyrus C., Neil, Alfred, Pearl, Frank and Nancy. Mr. Case died July 10, 1899, leaving a widow. Mr. Blaney is an industrious and respected citizen. He has been in the e'mploy of the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway Company eighteen years, first in the shops, then as fireman and later as engineer, having filled the last position seven years. In politics he is a Republican.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BLOSSOM, BENJAMIN FREEMAN, Banker, Peoria, was born at Brighton, New York, March 30, 1833, the son of Benjamin Bangs and Mehitable (Foster) Blossom, who were natives of Barnstable County, Massachusetts. His grandparents on the paternal side were Capt. Ezra and Mehitable (Crosby) Blossom, while his maternal grandparents were Chillingsworth and Priscilla (Hopkins) Foster—all being natives of the same locality as his father and mother. Mr. Blossom was educated by his mother, in the common schools and at the Clover Street Seminary, near Rochester, New York; and, in 1855, came to Illinois, locating first in Chicago, where he remained until 1857, when he went to Pekin, Illinois, remaining there until 1876. In 1866 the Messrs. F. W. & I. E. Leonard, assisted by Mr. Blossom, organized the First National Bank of Pekin, of which bank Mr. Blossom became the Cashier. In 1876 Mr. Blossom came to Peoria, where he has since resided. He was mainly instrumental, in 1884, in organizing the Central National Bank of Peoria, of which he is now the Second Vice-President. Mr. Blossom was married at Brighton, New York, January 12, 1859, to Catherine A. Beckwith, and they have had two children: Frederick Freeman Blossom, now Cashier of the Central National Bank, and Mary Bates Blossom, at present a student in Berlin, Germany. In religious belief he is Protestant Evangelical, and in politics an avowed "Mugwump."from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BOHLENDER, GEORGE M.; Barber and Musician; was born at Rheinpfalz, Bavaria, May 26, 1832. In the spring of 1845 he came to the United States with his parents, and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. At sixteen years of age George M. Bohlender began work at the barber's trade, at which he has been employed for over half a century. He came to Peoria in the spring of 1858, and now has patrons who have been his customers from thirty to forty years. Mr. Bohlender was Superintendent of the Peoria Gymnasium from its start, in 1859, until 1861. He is one of the best known of the old musicians of Peoria, and has arranged many pieces of music, especially for military and string bands. In May, 1861, he enlisted as a musician in the Seventeenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, serving fourteen months, being present at the battles of Donelson and Shiloh, and after the last-named battle he became the leader of the regimental band. From 1862 to 1869 he was leader and business manager of the Peoria German Band, which was afterwards consolidated with Spencer's Band. From 1885 to 1890 he was a member of Trautvetters Band. In 1868 Mr. Bohlender obtained a patent for a washing machine, the design of which is now used with churns and ice cream freezers. Mr. Bohlender is a republican, and has been a life long student of current history. He belongs to several fraternal and benevolent organizations. Mr. Bohlender and Katherine Rinkenberger were married in Cincinnati. Ohio, January 28, 1851, and on January 28, 1901, they celebrated their fiftieth anniversary. They have four children living: Albert; William ; Ida, the wife of Emil Lucas; and Belle.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BOLAND, DANIEL; Undertaker; born in County Tipperary, Ireland, is the son of William and Catherine Boland. He received a common-school education and was reared a member of the Catholic church. At the age of seventeen he came to America on a sailing vessel, making the voyage between Liverpool and Philadelphia in twenty-three days. He was engaged in farming in Camden County, New Jersey, till 1858; then he moved to the vicinity of Jacksonville, Illinois, where he ran a farm for three years. At the expiration of that time he came to Peoria and spent eight years in the street-car service. In 1872 he became a member of the police force of Peoria, spending four years in the service. After that he became an undertaker and occupied number 406 Main Street, where his business is now carried on. Mr. Boland is comfortably well off, has many friends and lives a leisurely life. In November, 1862, he married Margaret Cody at Jacksonville, Illinois. They have three children: John, Kate (now Mrs. Harry Grow), and Daniel. The sons now carry on the principal part of Mr. Boland's business.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BORCHERS, FREDERICK G.; Foreman; born in Hanover, Germany, March 10, 1847; son of Henry and Hilke (Klaver) Borchers. The father was born about 1828. The paternal grandfather was William Borchers and the maternal grandparents were Frank and Alice (Bonk) Klaver. Henry Borchers and his wife had four children: Alice, Frederick G., Margaretta, and Gesine, who died at the age of four years. In 1854 Mr. Borchers died; his widow lived till May, 1898. Frederick G. Borchers married Gesine Janssen in Peoria, August 7, 1869. They are the parents of four children: Gesine, who died in infancy; Gesine (second), an adopted child; Henry B.; and Bernard F. Gesine (second) is the wife of George J. Bloompott, and they have one child, Frederick G. Bernard Janssen, the father of Mrs. Borchers, was born in Germany in 1801. He married Grace Ludwig, and they had eight children: Siede, Herman, Elizabeth, Gesine, Eddo, Krine, and two who died in infancy. Mr. Janssen died in June, 1885, and Mrs. Janssen about 1860. Mr. Borchers came to Peoria in May, 1868, and first worked at his trade in the Peoria Woolen Factory, as dyer, and has since filled various positions here in the railway service. He was with the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway Company five years; the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company five years ; and with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railway more than twenty-one years. He has been Foreman of the Locomotive and Car Department of the last named road, in Peoria, since 1897. In politics Mr. Borchers is a Republican. His family are Presbyterians.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BOURLAND, BENJAMIN LANGFORD TODD, Real Estate Dealer, Peoria, was born in Trigg County, Kentucky, October 10, 1825, the sixth son of Andrew and Damaris (Reese) Bourland, who were natives of South Carolina. Mr. Bourland's great-grandfather, John Bourland, was born in the North of Ireland, but early in life came to South Carolina, where his son, Rev. John Bourland (the grandfather of B. L. T. Bourland) was born, and married Mary Loving, of the same State. On the maternal side the family were South Carolinians, Mr. Bourland's great-grandfather being Bayless Earle, whose wife lived to the age of 104 years. Their daughter. Nancy Earle, became the wife of John Reese, also a native of South Carolina, and of this union was born Damaris Reese, the mother of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Bourland's father came with his family to Illinois in 1834, settling in Perry County, where they remained until 1836, when they removed to Vandalia, then the State capital. In 1840, the capital having been removed to Springfield, the Bourland family became residents of that city, the elder Bourland at that time occupying a clerical position under the State Government. In May, 1844, another removal was made to Chicago, and in 6847 to Peoria, where, in the language of Mr. Bourland, he "stuck." In the meantime Mr. Bourland had been attending the public school, and spent some time in an academy at Springfield—also was employed for a time in the office of Secretary of State, Alexander P. Field. After going to Chicago he had his first experience in the real-estate business with Ogden Jones & Co., which he resumed on coming to Peoria, in company with William R. Phelps, adding thereto a banking and loan business. During his residence in Peoria, covering a period of fifty-five years, he has been identified with various banking enterprises, besides some of the most important real-estate operations in the history of the city. At the present time he is engaged in the real-estate and loan business as senior member of the firm of Bourland & Bailey, at 109 South Jefferson Street. The occupation of his strenuous business life may be comprehensively defined in three words : "Law, land and loans." Mr. Bourland has been twice married, first, on November 20, 1849, to Julia M. Preston, of St. Louis, and a second time, on January 17, 1869, to Clara Parsons of Chicago, who still survives to brighten his home. Two sons—Ogden Phelps and Rudolphus Rouse— were the result of the first union; and four sons and two daughters —Benjamin Parsons, Caroline Brown, Elsie Parsons, Norman T., Philip D. and Robert C.—of the second, all of whom are living. In religious belief Mr. Bourland is a Unitarian, and in political faith a Democrat. Few citizens of Peoria have had so long and so conspicuous a career in connection with its business history, and none have established a higher reputation for honor and integrity.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
ALANSON BOUTON.; (deceased); born in Knox County, Ohio, November 27, 1827; educated in Princeville. His parents were Jehiel and Maria (Peet) Bouton. He was married to Eliza McKown in Princeville, January 5, 1854; they had one daughter, Minnie J. Mr. Bouton was a farmer. He died July 3, 1868. Mrs. Bouton's father, James McKown was born in Kentucky, March 3, 1807, and died March 13, 1891. When young, he moved to Indiana, where he obtained his education. At twenty years of age he was married to Cynthia White, a native of Tennessee, who died November 23, 1842. To them were born two sons and four daughters: Eliza; Amanda; Hugh; Levi; Mary and Cynthia. Amanda married Isaac Crow; three children were born to them: Jennie, William and Ella. Hugh married Elizabeth Bouton and they have four children: Lena, Alanson, Lois and Estella. Mary was the wife of Hiram Bronson and they had two children: Clara and Mark, and latter a soldier in the Philippines. Mrs. Bronson died August 12, 1894. Cynthia married Malachi Mendell and resides in Kansas; their children are: Mary, Ida, Luther, Elza, Zella and Levi.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BOYLE, MARTIN, born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, September 25, 1846, is the son of John and Ella (Gormer) Boyle, natives of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. His paternal grandparents were Hiram and Mary (Montgomery) Boyle, natives of the Highlands of Scotland. At the age of twenty-three Martin Boyle removed to Ohio, and was employed in different parts of that State, and, later, in Minnesota, as foreman of construction on the Port Huron and North Western Railway. He afterwards went to Manitoba, where for six years he had charge of construction work. During that time he did not see a white, woman. He underwent many hardships, and saw hundreds of men die of exposure and starvation. His men carried their guns while at work, and the moving of earth was done mostly by ox-power. Mr. Boyle came to Peoria in 1882, and for seven years was in the employ of the Gas Company, having charge of the laying of most of the gas mains; also worked for the Peoria Water Company three years and superintended the laying of its mains. His sterling qualities soon brought him to the notice of his fellow citizens, and, in 1897, he was elected to the office of constable, which he has held ever since, and, in connection with which, he has done detective work. He has a fruit farm of ten acres five miles from the city, where he resides. Socially he is well known; is a member of Columbia Lodge of Odd Fellows, also of the Encampment, through the chairs of which he has passed. He is also a member of the Rebekah Lodge. Politically he is an independent Republican. He married Mary Awl in Peoria, and they have five children now living: John; Ella, wife of John Mack, of Peoria; Frank M., who lives in Peoria County; Anna, wife of John Christover, of Hanna City; and Alfred.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BROWN, WILLIAM A.; Passenger Conductor; born in Tennessee, April 15, 1844; son of Miles H. Brown, who was born in Tennessee in 1825. Miles H. Brown and family came to Illinois in 1846 and settled at Pekin, and later removed to the vicinity of Bloomington. He was twice married. By the first marriage there were four children: Martin, Mary, Parlee and William A. For his second wife Mr. Brown married Miss A. G. Milburn. To them were born five children: Eva, Hanley, Dora, Elmer and Lulu. Mr. Brown died March 2, 1897. His widow is still living (1901). William A. Brown married Mrs. Emma M. Cantelo (nee Loughlin) in Peoria, October 1, 1883. She is the daughter of Michael Loughlin, who was born in Pennsylvania. in 1821. He was Superintendent of a gas company. November 29, 1849, he married Agnes C. Eppler, a native of Germany. To them were born eight children: Rebecca, George W., Emma M., Agnes R., Thomas J., Eliza R., Edward and Anna R. The family came to Peoria in 1843. Mr. Loughlin died in 1880, and his widow in 1899. Mr. Brown entered the employ of the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway Company as conductor, August 15, 1865. He is a member of Peoria Division, No. 79, Order of Railway Conductors, and West Bluff Lodge, No. 177, Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a Republican.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BUCKLEY, JOHN F.; Cigar Manufacturer; a native of St. Louis, Missouri, born April 11, 1863. His parents, Daniel and Johanna (Haley) Buckley were natives of County Kerry, Ireland, and were married in St. Louis, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. Buckley died in 1878, aged sixty-five, and his wife in 1879, aged sixty-four. John F. completed the grammar course and took the first year in the high school, and then a year in Washington University, St. Louis, where he studied machinery, carpentry and joining. After this he worked at the trade of cigar-making from 1879 to 1883, and, for the next two and a half years, operated a factory. He then went to Colorado and other States, where he made short stays, and, in September, 1889, came to Peoria, where he had previously spent two years. In March, 1892, he became proprietor of a cigar factory which employs ten persons and turns out several popular brands of goods. His leader is designated "King Dodo," and is one of the most popular cigars made in the State. He also manufactures high grade five-cent cigars, which find ready sale where offered. Mr. Buckley has been a member of the Cigar Makers' Union since 1881. He is an active Democrat and prominent in local politics. On August 1, 1900, he was nominated as one of the candidates for Representative, on the Democratic ticket, and November 6 became a member of the Forty-second General Assembly. John F. Buckley and Sophia Leppert, an estimable lady of Peoria, were married in Pekin, Illinois, February 5, 1889.from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
HORACE CLARK. Horace Clark was born at Sardinia, Erie County, New York, on the 6th of January, 1823. He was the son of Horace and Malinda (Condee) Clark. The mother's family was descended from Prince Conde, a French Huguenot who survived the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and was expatriated and fled to England. From there he came to America with the New Haven Colony. The paternal ancestors of Mr. Clark were English, and the family is still prominent in England as manufacturers. The father of the subject of this sketch was a lawyer, politician and business man. He was elected County Clerk of Erie County in 1834 and the family removed to Buffalo where they made their permanent home. Mr. Clark died in 1858.
When Horace was sixteen years old he entered a country store and worked as clerk for two years. In 1843, on account of failing health and the desire for a change, he came to Morton, Tazewell County, Illinois, and settled upon land his father had purchased. He commenced the improvement of three hundred and twenty acres of prairie land. In 1845 he married Mary Elizabeth Kingsbury. Four children were born to them,—a daughter, who died in infancy, and three sons, George C., Charles D. and Horace C., Jr., all of whom are still living and engaged in active business in the city of Peoria, and are all a credit to their ancestry. George is in the milling and feed business with his father; Charles D. is engaged in the wholesale hardware business, and Horace, Jr., in the coal business. Horace Clark, Sr., remained upon the farm until 1861, when he came to Peoria and engaged in the milling and feed business as a member of the firm of Clark & Hanna. In 1877 the firm was dissolved, and since that time the concern has gone under the name of Horace Clark, and later, Horace dark, Sons & Company. Mr. Clark was very successful in all the business in which he engaged. His success had its foundation in sound judgment and strict business principles,— not in the present usual acceptation of the term "strict," which means "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," but high-toned, honorable, upright business conduct. No man in the community stood higher for integrity, uprightness, morality and sound business sense, than the subject of this sketch. His word was con- sidered as good as his bond, and he was always open, frank and fearless in the expression of his opinions, which were the result of deliberate, thoughtful consideration. He was a man of positive convictions, outspoken and independent in the expression of those opinions; but he was always willing that men should have like privileges, and, while he would seek to enforce his opinions by candid argument and persuasion, he always felt that other's had the same right as he demanded for himself, consequently he was ever on friendly terms with all, no matter how radical the difference between them upon some questions.
In politics Mr. Clark was an old line Whig, and was a member of the State Convention at Bloomington, in May, 1856, that gave birth to the Republican party in Illinois. He had, from that time, been a consistent, straightforward member of that party, and an advocate of its principles. He was not a narrow partisan, but, believing in the policy of the Republican party, he has adhered to it. He was never blinded to its faults, and "was ever ready to aid in the correction of any wrongs that crept into its management. He believed in staying in the party and reforming it within its lines, whenever it needed reform.
When the Board of Trade was organized, Mr. Clark was elected its first President, and had been identified with it from that time to the time of his demise.
In religion he was a consistent, upright and honorable member of the First Congregational Church. He had been Chairman of the Board of Trustees thirty-eight years in succession, and was a member of that Board when the present Congregational Church was built in the city of Peoria. Leading a consistent Christian life he had never been one of those who believe religion is to be put on as a Sunday garb, and left at the church door when he departs. "He was not one of those who attempted to keep books with the Lord by robbing, even under the forms of the law, those with whom he transacted business, and then attempting to square himself with his religious prin- ciples, by now and then making some donation to a benevolent or Christian object. He was a man who carried his Christianity into every-day life, and it consisted in .doing, as nearly as possible, unto others as he would have them do to him, and in favoring all that is upright, clean and honorable in private, social, political and municipal life. Few men have more generally commanded, and been more entitled to, the respect of all classes of men.
In his domestic life he was happy, and his first great sorrow came to him in the death of his wife, on February 16, 1889; but he bore it as he did all other misfortunes, with equanimity and fortitude, acquiescing in the inevitable, and making the best of it that he could. He was universally loved and respected by those who know him. He died August 11, 1902.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
CHARLES CORNING CLARKE. Death, in the end, however long anticipated, always comes as a surprise, even after a long life of active enterprise and the apparent completion of the work of a well-rounded character. When it comes to a young man, in the full flush and vigor of his ripe manhood, it seems more unaccountable and sad. It is hard to comprehend the end and aim of life thus cut off, where one has, by earnest effort and toil, fitted himself for a right discharge of the highest duties of a noble manhood. .
Charles Corning Clarke was born, March 22, 1856, in the city of Peoria, and died September 1, 1901. Into the brief years of his active business life he crowded more of work and labor than many a man living twice his number of years. His father, Mr. Charles S. Clarke, was for years a prominent factor in business in the city of Peoria, in which he accumulated a comfortable fortune. His mother was Melissa (Randall) Clarke, now a resident of Los Angeles, California.
The early boyhood of Charles was spent upon his father's farm. He received his education in the schools of Peoria, graduating at the High School. Soon after graduation he entered his father's office, and. in 1876, went to Montana, where he started in business for himself as a ranchman in the cattle business. He had never been physically strong and vigorous, and hoped for great benefit from his out-door life in Montana. In this he was not disappointed, as he often spoke of that life in the open air upon the plains, as the only time when he felt entirely well. Although much improved by his sojourn in the West, he found it hard to give up the home of his boyhood, and, in 1880, returned to Peoria and formed a partnership with his youngest brother, Chauncey D. Clarke, in .the distilling business, which formerly had been conducted by his father under the firm name of C. S. Clarke & Company. This business was managed with marked financial success by the Clarke Brothers until 1900. when it was incorporated under the name of Clarke Brothers & Company, of which Charles C. Clarke was President, and actually conducted the business, which proved eminently successful. Mr. Clarke devoted himself to his business but never allowed it to overmaster him. He was clear-headed, broad-minded, keenly alive to every situation, and ready to adapt himself and his financial interests to constantly changing conditions. Few men in Peoria developed a better capacity for business, and no man had a better reputation for integrity and honor than Charles C. Clarke. His word was always good when he gave it. He was careful and prudent in what he did and said, but when he once made up his mind, it was done intelligently and he was ready to abide by the conse- quences. Notwithstanding all of his business interests and cares, and his gradually failing health, he interested himself always in public affairs, and performed his full part as a citizen everywhere and on all occasions. No man of his age had the confidence of the people to a greater extent; no one was more fully trusted or relied upon, especially with reference to municipal affairs. In 1888, against his wish, he was elected Mayor of the city of Peoria, and gave to the city so successful an administration that he was besought, on every hand, at the close of his term, to accept the office again. It is rarely the case that a man elected upon a partisan ticket has been able to give such general satisfaction in municipal affairs, as did Mr. Clarke. This resulted from his ripe judgment, his thoughtfulness, his control of himself, and his determination always to do the thing that seemed best for the public good. Mr. Clarke's success as an executive officer may be attributed to these qualities.
Mr. Clarke was married, July 28, 1892, to Mrs. Alice (Chandler) Ewing, who still survives him. As the result of this marriage three children were born: Alice, born July 6, 1893, and died in Memphis, Tennessee, April 6, 1898; Charles C., born in Pass Christian, Mississippi, February 26, 1895; and Margaret, born in Peoria, July 6, 1897. During the last two or three years of Mr. Clarke's life he was in constantly failing health, but, notwithstanding this, he kept in touch with and controlled all his business, which he continued to manage until a few days before his death. His mind was always clear and his business capacity unabated. It may be said of him, as of few men, that he had no enemies. Generally this would indicate .that one lacked positive convictions and sterling traits of character. This was not true of Mr. Clarke; but he was so well-balanced that he could entertain his own views and advocate them consistently and persistently without giving offense to those not agreeing with him.
He was a man of affectionate and lovable disposition; in his family, generous and kind. In the death of such men the community meets with a positive loss, and the family and friends with an irretrievable calamity.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
CHARLES S. CLARKE. Charles S. Clarke was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, October, 1821, and died in Peoria on November 15, 1890.
Such is the brief record of a man, who was one of the most forceful characters, and who exerted as great an influence upon his fellow-citizens as any man of his period. He passed his youth surrounded by the rigidity in manners and morals of the old Puritan stock, from whence he sprang. At the age of twenty, he left his native State to seek his fortune in the great West. He came to Illinois and taught school in Bureau County for a year, and then went to Ohio and was employed as clerk in a store at Mentor Corners. Later he formed a partnership with his brother at Grand Gulf, Mississippi, where they successfully conducted a general store. From there, he moved to Memphis and opened a store in that city. The climate not agreeing with him, in 1849 he came to Peoria with a stock of dry-goods and opened a store on Main Street between Adams and Washington. Still suffering from ill-health, he traded his stock of goods to Mr. James Harkness for a farm in Elmwood Township, five miles from the town of that name, which he occupied in September of that year. He remained on the farm for a year and a half, when his health having improved, he returned to Peoria.
In 1855-56 he became interested with Kellogg, Moss & Co. in constructing what was known as the Peoria & Oquawka, afterwards the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, from Peoria to Burlington, Iowa. In the midst of this work, the panic of 1857 broke upon the country and overwhelmed him in common with many others. He then went back to his farm, where he remained for three years. Then, having removed to Peoria, he engaged in distilling, which he pursued until his retirement in the fall of 1882. During this time he was exceedingly active in all public matters. His experience in the South had given him an intimate acquaintance with "the peculiar institution" (slavery), and, when the war broke out, he used his influence in shaping public opinion in Illinois in favor of the Union and in urging upon his friends and acquaintances to stand firm for that cause. He was largely instrumental in inducing both Robert and dark Ingersoll to take their stand for the nation.
He was a firm friend of Lincoln, of Yates, of Trumbull, of Lovejoy, of David Davis, and others prominent in Republican councils during the eventful years of the war. He was generally a delegate to the State and National Conventions of the party, and while not an orator, no man ever did better or more effective service in the committee room, and many planks in the platform of the party, during those stirring times, emanated from his pen. No less active in business, his advice was frequently asked in business affairs. His mind was practical, and he added to his knowledge of politics and of trade, the wiser knowledge obtained from books. He was an omni- verous reader; his learning was always at his command, and he used it to advantage in the practical affairs of life. He was a delightful conversationalist, genial, ready and apt.
He was a charter member of the Peoria Scientific Society, and, while he lived, that body was an active force in Peoria. No man possessed a greater fund of practical wisdom than he, and no man used it with greater, effect upon his associates, and no man's opinion was held in higher respect in Peoria than his.
He was the embodiment of philosophy applied to the affairs of every-day life— sagacious, self-poised, calm. deliberate, always reasoning for those underlying principles, that are the foundation of character. These qualities steadily applied to business, enabled him to amass a fortune, but he lived to the last in the same calm, frugal, philosophic manner in which he began life, dying in his home surrounded by his family, and exhibiting the same Spartan dignity and firmness that always characterized him.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
WASHINGTON COCKLE. Washington Cockle was born in New York City on May 2, 1811. His father was John Cockle, a descendant of an old English family, and his mother a direct descendant of John Leverett, one of the colonial Governors of Massachusetts in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Mr. Cockle's father was a wealthy merchant and owned several trading vessels. The son was given a thorough education in New York, engaged in teaching for several years while studying law with the Hon. David S. Jones, a famous lawyer of that time, and was admitted to the bar in 1832. Then after practicing some time, having caught the Western fever, he came to Peoria in 1838, but finally settled on a farm in Millbrook Township, where he remained until 1846, when he removed to Peoria. He became agent of many Eastern parties and banks, handling their real-estate transactions, his business calling him to all parts of the State. On these trips, which were made on horseback, he met Douglas, Lincoln, Logan and many others who then enjoyed, or afterwards gained, a national reputation. He was also interested in wool-growing and hauled all of his wool to Chicago in wagons to find a market for it. While living on his farm in 1840 he met and married Miss Caroline Tracy Robbins, daughter of Judge S. W. Robbins, formerly of the Supreme Court of Kentucky, and a granddaughter of Gen. Uriah Tracy, a distinguished member of the United States Senate from Connecticut. This estimable lady made him a most loving wife, who aided him with wonderful bravery to carry the burden of many business reverses that came later in life. They had seven children, of whom one daughter and four sons are still living.
Having removed to Peoria in 1846, he built a frame cottage on Jefferson Street where the Arcade building is now located. Soon after this date he formed a partnership with B. L. T. Bourland and Mr. Phelps and continued the real estate business. In this he prospered, and later became identified in the banking business with Nathaniel B. Curtiss and others well known. The accumulation of wealth enabled him to start a distillery in partnership with Richard Gregg, under the firm name of Gregg & Cockle, which was continued in operation during the war. With the adoption of the national banking system Mr. Cockle became one of the leaders in the organization of the First National Bank of Peoria. He was for many years its President, and it was through his careful business manage- ment and tact that the bank was placed upon a sure foundation. Other business enterprises with which he was associated included the first bridge across the Illinois River; the old Peoria & Oquawka Railroad, of which he was a Director and Secretary; and the Bureau Valley Railroad, with which he was similarly identified. He was also a prominent factor in connection with Peoria schools, libraries, etc.
Up to this time Mr. Cockle's business ventures proved very successful, and he was rated as one of the wealthiest residents, of the city. Misfortune began to overtake him, however, and his later enterprises wrecked his fortune and left him a comparatively poor man. He formed a partnership with Henry B. Dox and opened a large pork- packing establishment, which, after a few years, they were compelled to abandon. Previous to this Mr. Cockle had expended about $80,000 in the erection of the then finest residence in Peoria. It was at the corner of Jeffer- son and Hamilton Streets. Later it passed into the hands of Col. R. G. Ingersoll, and. when the National Hotel was erected, it was moved 100 feet northward to make room for that building. Upon disposing of this property Mr. Cockle purchased a residence at Monroe and Jackson Streets, which he occupied until the time of his death, which occurred July 15, 1886.
Mr. Cockle's could have been a life of political preferment, had he so desired. His early education had fitted him to grapple with and unravel the difficult problems of State, while his true politeness and gentleness of spirit made him popular with all who heard or saw him. To converse with him for a moment was to become his ardent friend and admirer. It seemed impossible for him to make an enemy. Although at one time a prominent figure in State politics, he steadfastly refused to accept office. He was prevailed upon three times to accept the nomination for the State Legislature—twice for the House and once for the Senate—and was elected, serving his first term in the House in 1846-7. His broad views and fair dealings won for him the respect of all. During his term of service he made a brilliant speech in favor of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill that had just passed the Senate. He was a great admirer and strong follower of Stephen A. Douglas, and a consistent Democrat. When the issue was brought to a question of the abolition of slavery and the disruption of the Union, he joined the Republican party and became a warm defender of Abraham Lincoln. His eloquence and high standing in the Legislature caused him to be chosen to present the name of John A. Logan for United States Senator. The speech was one of the best efforts of Mr. Cockle's life, and was indeed a brilliant one. Soon after General Logan secured the appointment of Mr. Cockle as Postmaster of Peoria, which position he held upwards of six years, and until he was succeeded by John Warner. Mr. Cockle was also engaged in newspaper work for a short time as proprietor and editor of the "Democratic Press," which he sold to Enoch Emery some time in the 'fifties.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
THOMAS COFFEY. The success attained by Thomas Coffey furnishes one instance in thousands testifying to the marvelous opportunities, in this country, for the accumulation of wealth by one who is willing and anxious to work.
Mr. Coffey was born in Ireland, in 1846, to Peter and Mary (Parley) Coffey. In 1859, at the age of thirteen, he ran away from home and engaged as seaman on board a British vessel bound for America. He reached New York after a voyage of over three months, the munificent sum of two cents constituting his entire wealth. He first obtained employment in bridge-building in the City of New York, for which he received seventy-five cents per day. He worked at this employment until he had accumulated enough to take him to Cincinnati, Ohio, where, for a time, he followed the business of a painter. After working in Cincinnati for a year, he went to St. Louis, and engaged in a gas-fitting and plumbing establishment, where he partially learned the trade. At the end of two years he found employment with the St. Louis Gas Light and Coke Company, where he learned the business that he
has followed ever since, and in which he has been quite successful. After continuing in this business in St. Louis and New Orleans for several years, he went to Belleville, Illinois, where he was engaged in the same business for some time. His brother, Peter Coffey, was a stockholder in the Belleville Gas Works and Thomas, with his savings, also obtained an interest. In 1883 he removed to Peoria and became Assistant Superintendent of the Peoria Gas-Light and Coke Company. The Gas Works in Peoria, prior to this time, had not been well managed, and were behind the times in all the processes of manufacture and methods of doing business. Mr. Coffey and his brother Peter purchased as much of the stock as they were able, and ultimately obtained a controlling interest in the company. Both were practical and men of energy, attending strictly to business. They gradually developed the work, adopted modern methods and managed the company with marked success and profit. In 1890, Mr. Coffey was elected President and Assistant Superintendent of the Gas Company; in 1892, became General Superin- tendent of the Peoria General Electric Company, and in 1895, its President and General Manager. The success of these companies was largely due to Mr. Coffey's energy, careful business management and strict economy.In the summer of 1900 Mr. Coffey sold his holdings in these companies at a very large profit and retired from business, as he then supposed. Although he had more than a competence, he could not content himself in being idle and having no definite object in life from day to day. He has recently purchased the Gas-Works at Paducah, Kentucky, where he expects to carry on the business in which he has been so successful, and in which he finds the pleasure of his life.
Mr. Coffey has never married, but has proved an assistant and benefactor to his relatives and friends. He is a man of the strictest integrity, quiet and reserved in business and social life. His business career furnishes a good example for all young men possessed of integrity, fidelity, energy and singleness of purpose. His is the success attained by a straightforward, honorable, high-minded energetic business course.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
ALMIRAN SMITH COLE. Almiran Smith Cole, a pioneer settler of Peoria, was born in Cheshire, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, October 25, 1805, and died in Peoria, December 18, 1891. Mr. Cole was of English descent, the first American ancestor of the family, Hugh Cole, having emigrated from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts, previous to 1654, where in that year he was married to Mary Foxhall. The line of descent from this union embraces Benjamin Cole, born at Swansea, Massachusetts, in 1678; Israel Cole, born at the same place in 1709; Israel Cole (II.), born at Rehoboth, same State, in 1735, and David Cole, born at Cheshire in 1781—Almiran S. Cole being the son of the latter. In September, 1835, Mr. Cole left Lanesboro, Massachusetts, driving overland to Peoria, which he reached after a journey of sixty days. Having decided to settle here, he at once engaged in the mercantile business, opening a store on Main Street, then the main business thoroughfare. Two years later he sold out to Gardner T. Barker, who had been employed as a clerk in his store. For some two years he ran the steamer "Frontier" as a passenger packet between LaSalle and St. Louis, one of the first boats of its class to ply on the Illinois River, and therefore intimately associated with the early history of Peoria. Having disposed of the steamer a couple of years later, he again embarked in the mercantile business in the building since occupied as a wholesale liquor-house by M. Henebery, which he had erected. Having retired from the mercantile business a second time, in 1844 he erected the first distillery in the history of Peoria, which he operated for two and a half years, when he sold out to Sylvanus Thompson, but the following year (1847) commenced the erection of a much larger establishment of the same character on the site now occupied by the Great Western Distillery—doing much of the excavation for the foundation and the preparation of timbers for the frame-work with his own hands. This was a four-story structure erected at a cost of $38,000 and had a capacity of 1,600 bushels of grain per day. In Drown's "History of Peoria," issued in 1851, it is spoken of as one of the largest buildings in the Mississippi Valley. At an earlier date Mr. Cole erected the first warehouse in Peoria on the site of old Fort Clark, about where the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Depot now is. Having sold out his distillery in 1862, he moved to his farm in East Peoria, where he spent the rest of his life in practical retirement and in looking after his large real-estate interests. Mr. Cole did much to develop the business and industrial interests of Peoria, and acquired a large estate, including much of the land between East Peoria and Pekin. For a time he was owner of the lower free-bridge across the Illinois, which he sold to the city for $30,000.
Mr. Cole was married at Pownall, Vermont, January 18, 1833, to Chloe M. Brown, of Cheshire, Massachusetts, who died February 19, 1882. Of this union nine children were born: Johnson L., Joseph Benton, Ellen Louisa, Benton, Charles Morton, Nicholas B., Almiran S., and Chloe M., of whom only Johnson L. and Almiran S. are still living. Mr. Cole was a member of the Masonic Fraternity and prominent in its council's.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
JOHNSON LAFAYETTE COLE. Johnson Lafayette Cole, son of Almiran S. and Chloe M. (Brown) Cole, was born in his father's native town of Cheshire, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, January 19, 1834, and having been brought by his parents when two years of age to the then frontier village of Peoria, grew up here and has been identified with this city ever since. Mr. Cole is descended from English and Colonial ancestry, Hugh Cole, the founder of the American branch of the family, having come from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1632—twelve years after the founding of the Plymouth Colony. Here, in 1654, he married Mary Foxhall, and from this union is traced the following line of descendants in genealogical order: Benjamin Cole, born at Swansea, Massachusetts, in 1678; Israel Cole, born at the same place in 1709; Israel Cole (II.), born at Rehoboth, in the same State, in 1733; David Cole, born at Cheshire in 1781, and Almiran S. Cole, also born in the same place in 1805, and the immediate ancestor of the member of the family whose name heads this article (See Biographical Sketch of Almiran Smith Cole.) Hugh Cole, the original immigrant to America, was a man of consequence in his day, holding various important positions in connection with the Colonial Government, such as Deputy of the General Court, Selectman of his town etc.
Johnson L. Cole came with his parents to Peoria in 1836, and was educated in the primary schools of that period. While still a youth his father engaged in the distilling business—being the first to embark in an industry which has since grown to such vast proportions in this city —and here the son found employment for his youthful energies, taking part in all sorts of work about the distilling plant. For two years previous to the sale of the distillery by his father in 1862, the younger Cole acted as general manager of the concern, thus acquiring a wide acquaintance with practical business affairs. During the War of the Rebellion, then in progress, he became an accountant in the office of the Provost Marshal at Peoria, remaining until the close of the war in 1865, when he accompanied Adju- tant Norton to Jacksonville and assisted to close up the affairs of the office at that point. About 1868 he engaged himself as an accountant in the wholesale grocery establishment of S. H. Thompson, continuing until Mr. Thomp- son closed out his business in 1881. He then became associated as accountant with the banking house of Callender, Ayres & Co. (now the Commercial National), and has remained with the same through all its various changes to the present time. He has been tendered the office of Cashier in the bank with which he is connected— position now occupied by one of his sons—but declined. Incidentally Mr. Cole has taken a deep interest in matters connected with the State militia. and won distinction as a drill-master. In politics he has always been a Republican; is a Thirty-second-degree Mason and Past Commander of the Knights Templar, having taken all the side degrees of the order.
Mr. Cole was married, for the first time, to Louisa A. Mason, daughter of William E. and Ann Mason, of Peoria, who bore him the following children: Lafayette Cole, now connected with a large tea-house at Yokahoma, Japan; Amie, died in infancy; Elwood Andrew, now Cashier of the Commercial National Bank, Peoria : William Edmund Mason, Cashier in Bank of Zell, Hotchkiss & Co.; Alice Thompson, died in infancy; Chauncey Guth. at present associated with the grocery firm of Jobst, Bethard & Co.; and Thaddeus Ely, died in infancy. Mrs. Cole died June 4, 1876. Mr. Cole was married, a second time, to Mrs. Emma L. Harlow, of Peoria, who has three daughters: Mrs. Mary Beckenhaupt and Misses Jessie T. and Ruth M. Harlow, but no children by her last marriage.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
RODERICK M. COLE. Roderick M. Cole was born in Otsego County, New York, September 12, 1822. His father was Richard Cole, born March 12, 1785, in North Adams, Massachusetts, where he died in April, 1879. His mother, Emily Morgan, was born December, 1791, at Wilmington, Vermont, and died February 19, 1871. Roderick M. married Lydia A. Corliss, in Chicago, March 30, 1850. To them two children were born—Nellie A. and Roderick Corliss. The daughter died in infancy and the son at eighteen years of age, thus leaving Mr. and Mrs. Cole alone in their age.
The subject of this sketch came to Chicago in 1844, by the canal and lakes. He spent the winter there, and then removed to Plainfield, Will County, where he remained for two years. He then returned to New York, but finally came West again and occupied different positions in Aurora. Galena and at other places, and engaged in the business of taking daguerreotypes. Mrs. Cole assisted him in his business and was one of the first ladies to engage in work in the daguerreotype line. He opened a studio in Peoria, where he conducted the business for a number of years. Continuing in the business, he kept pace with the progress of that period, and finally succeeded in developing ambrotypes. In 1859, he purchased a farm of two hundred and seventeen acres, on the East Bluff, which he continued to occupy, conducting that business until 1884. when he removed into the city, and has since resided there, retired from active business. On March 30, 1900, Mr. and Mrs. Cole celebrated the golden anniversary of their wedding.
Mr. Cole received, as was usual in his day, only a common-school education. He early realized that the West afforded a better field for the energies of a young man than New England, and his success shows the wisdom and soundness of his judgment. His energy, his attention to business, and his skill enabled him to prosecute his business with success. His good judgment was also shown when he purchased the farm before alluded to, in the vicinity of Peoria. His home upon the farm for many years commanded a beautiful view of the Illinois Valley to the northeast, and the bluffs upon the eastern side of the river. It was a picturesque and delightful spot. The development of the city added to the value of the land, and the ownership of it placed Mr. and Mrs. Cole in very comfortable and independent circumstances. He has led a quiet, unostentatious life, has been always a man of the strictest integrity, and has commanded the respect and confidence of all with whom he has come in contact or been acquainted.
Mr. and Mrs. Cole have spent some time in travel, and, when not thus engaged, spend their time quietly and pleasantly in the city of Peoria, where they have, for several years, made their home, enjoying the respect of their neighbors and friends.
Mr. Cole is only an added illustration of the success attending the enterprising boy from New England and New York having the courage to settle in the undeveloped West. Rare instances only may be found of failure on the part of such men. His experience affords another illustration of the fact that attention to business, honesty, integrity and character are the guarantees of success.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
JONATHAN K. COOPER. Jonathan K. Cooper was a conspicuous member of the local bar for a number of years. He was not widely known outside of the vicinity of Peoria except to lawyers and those having business with the Supreme Court of the State. He was born near Shippensburg. Pennsylvania, November 9, 1814, and died at Peoria, Illinois, November 22, 1884. He came of Scotch ancestry, a race illustrious for the best civic and religious virtues, and one that has left its impress in the United States. His grandfather was an eminent divine and a patriot of the Revolution. His fa-
ther was destined for the ministry, but was prevented from entering upon the discharge of the duties as such by reason of a delicate constitution, although he became one of the finest classical scholars and teachers of his day. Mr. Cooper's primary and academic education was received from his father. He there laid the foundation of his fine literary taste and his accurate use of the English language. Before he was seventeen years of age, be entered the Freshman class at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1835, the youngest of his class. After leaving College, Mr. Cooper spent a year or two in teaching and in literary pursuits, then entered a law-school connected with Dickinson College, at Carlisle, which was under the direction of Judge John Reed, a name emi- ent, in that day, in legal circles. The bar of Carlisle was also eminent, and, and, by association with its members. Mr. Cooper was greatly benefited in his legal studies. The two foremost lawyers of that time at the Pennsylvania bar, were Thaddeus Stevens, the great Commoner, and John Bannister Gibson, Pennsylvania's greatest Chief Jus- tice.Mr. Cooper also inherited strong religious convictions. He was of a serious and thoughtful turn of mind; adopted the Presbyterian faith wholly, and lived up to it during his entire life. He was a sturdy defender of the faith, a conscientious and faithful attendant upon all the ministrations of the Church.
He was admitted to the bar, in 1839, and soon after that, came to Peoria, and commenced the practice of law, which he followed persistently and successfully, until his last illness prevented him from further labor. He was a pains-taking, industrious, conscientious lawyer, never indulging in any of the tricks of the profession or tolerating with any patience any deviation from the path of the strictest integrity. He would win his suits, if the law and justice were upon his side. He would lose them, or have nothing to do with them, if dishonesty and trickery must be resorted to in order to win. He was a living illustration of the fact that there is no inconsistency between the highest integrity and manliness and the successful practice of the law.
Mr. Cooper was not a money-maker. During his whole life, he was reasonable in his charges for services, and based them upon what seemed to him principles of justice and equity. No man was more highly regarded in the profession, or by the court of last resort in this State.
He was an excellent and accurate scholar, and rarely misused the English language; was a great student; read much of general literature of the more serious kind, when not engaged in his professional duties. He was a man profoundly respected by all who knew him, for his scholarship, his ability as a lawyer, his integrity and his Christian character. He was recognized as a consistent, straightforward, high-minded Christian gentleman, with all that the term implies.
He married Sophia Rogers, who alone survives him. In his home he was genial and kindly, and thoroughly contented therewith. Few men pass more of their time, when not engaged in active duties, with their family than did Mr. Cooper. He was wedded to his wife and home, his church and his friends.
He was a Republican in politics, and an earnest, enthusiastic supporter of the Government, and opposed to everything that tended in any way to its injury. He served as Mayor of the city of Peoria. and took an interest in its politics and policy. When he died, the city lost a truly good man.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
BERNARD CREMER. No class of citizens have exerted a larger influence upon the development of Peoria than his newspaper men. Of those who have been longest and most influentially identified with the journalistic history of the city, no name stands more prominent than that of Bernard Cremer, though his business prominence has been by no means confined to journalism alone. Born in the celebrated city of Cologne (known as "The Pearl of the Rhine"), Germany, Mr. Cremer came with his parents to America in 1854, settling first in Wisconsin. In 1864 Mr. Cremer came to Peoria, and in conjunction with four of his brothers (three of whom still survive), took charge of the "Peoria Demokrat," with which he has been associated as editor and business manager ever since. "The Demokrat" was established by Alois Zotz in 1860, and has long been recognized as the leading German paper in Central Illinois. This paper has probably had a more uniformly successful business career than any other paper of its class in the State, due largely to the conservative and business-like methods with which it has been conducted.
Among the important business enterprises with which Mr. Cremer has been prominently identified during his career in this city, have been the organization of the German Bank, since developed into the German-American National Bank of Peoria, one of the strongest financial institutions in the city, and of which he is now the President; the German Fire Insurance Company. organized in 1876, of which he is also the President; was also for a time a Director of the Merchants' National Bank, and, in 1886, assisted, that institution to tide over a serious crisis in its affairs growing out of the depletion of its capital though embezzlement by a trusted employe. He was also one of the originators of the company which erected the Peoria Grand Opera House and. for a time, part owner of that building in which the office of "The Demokrat" is still located, and one of the first Board of Directors and investors in the National Hotel Company. which has furnished to Peoria its largest and most widely known house of public entertainment. In 1878 Mr. Cremer was elected as a Democrat to the lower branch of the Thirty-first General Assembly, and served on some of the most important committees in that body. Although absorbed in business interests, he has proved himself an important factor in party affairs. One of his most recent business enterprises has been the purchase for $100,000 of the Rouse's Hall property at the corner of Main Street and Jefferson Avenue, one of the most prominent business locations in the city, upon which he contemplates the erection of a magnificent stone and iron fire-proof building for store and office purposes, which will be one of the notable business structures of the city. As a citizen and business man, Mr. Cremer has established a reputation for courtesy and geniality which has secured for him wide popularity among all classes of citizens.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
HENRY CROW. Farmer and Miner; born in Ohio in 1825. His grandfather, William Crow, of Virginia, served in the War of the Revolution, and married Margaret Page, also of Virginia. William Crow, the father of Henry, saw service in the War of 1812, under Captain Butler. He married Catharine Snooks, daughter of John and Nancy (Brion) Snooks, natives of Maryland; John Snooks was a Revolutionary patriot. Henry Crow enlisted in the Seventy-seventh Illinois Infantry in January, 1864 and was discharged in May, 1865. He was captured at Mansfield, Louisiana, while serving in the expedition up Red River, in 1864, and held a prisoner until the end of the war. He now receives a pension of twenty dollars per month for disability incurred in the service. October 17, 1865, Mr. Crow was married in Peoria, to Mary Ann Jones, a native of the State of Ohio, and they became the parents of six children, of whom two are living; Margaret and Violet. Margaret married Edward E. Potter, of Mapleton, and they have three children: Mary, born 1890; Henry, born in 1893; and Edward, born in 1899. Violet married A. B. Wolfe and resides in Peoria; they have one son, Hosea T., born in 1900. Henry Crow is a Republican, and has served as Commissioner of Highways, and as School Director, and was Postmaster of Orchard Mines, under President Harrison.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
ALFRED GOELET CURTENIUS. Col. Alfred Goelet Curtenius, one of Peoria's earliest and most successful merchants, was born in the city of New York, February 17, 1807. His ancestors were from Holland and among the early settlers of New York City. He was ten years of age when his father died. His second name, Goelet, was derived from his grandmother, who was a daughter of Peter Goelet, a merchant of Hanover Square, New York. Mr. Curtenius was educated at Col. Partridge's Military Academy at Middletown, Connecticut and was appointed Colonel of Illinois militia in 1843. Previous to coming West he was engaged in mercantile pursuits in New York City, and also in Pulaski in New York State. He first came to Peoria in 1835, but soon after returned to New York, and in 1836 came back and located here permanently.
In 1840 Colonel Curtenius and Mr. J. L. Griswold formed a copartnership and commenced business in October of that year. In January, 1841, they moved into the building erected by James Armstrong at the foot of Liberty Street, on the site of the present Chicago & Rock Island depot, and during the same year inaugurated the business of buying wheat for shipment, entitling them to be called the pioneers of all the wheat trade that has ever existed in Peoria. Wheat had, of course, been brought in and sold for milling purposes, but previous to August, 1841, there had been no cash market for this commodity here. Since that time—now over sixty years—it is believed that there has not been a single day when all the wheat that has been offered for sale has not found a cash buyer at a fair market price. The first large contract (as it was then called) was made by Curtenius & Griswold and the firm of Pettengill & Bartlett, the latter agreeing to furnish half the quantity. It was a contract for 4,000 bushels of wheat for shipment to Cincinnati, made with John J. Mitchell, of Alton, once President of the Chicago & Alton Railroad. Messrs. Curtenius and Griswold were the proprietors of large tracts of land in the western portion of the city, now known as "Curtenius & Griswold's Addition."
In 1845 Colonel Curtenius built a large pork-packing house on the bank of the river, near where the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad bridge now crosses, which was used in connection with Gurdon S. Hubbard, of Chicago, in packing pork for the New York market. Col. Curtenius was one of the strongest advocates of a bridge over the Illinois river at this place, and contributed largely to its success, holding the position of President of the company during his life.
He was married on October 20, 1841, to Miss Antoinette O. Tracy, of Utica, New York. In the midst of an active, useful and honored life Colonel Curtenius was stricken with typhoid fever, and died March 9, 1857. The following obituary and editorial remarks are taken from one of the city papers of that time:
"The business circle of Peoria has been invaded by a foe whose reign is omnipotent when the hour of his operation is upon us. Alfred G. Curtenius, one of the oldest and most valued of our citizens, a man whose influence upon the past prosperity of Peoria has been widely and deeply felt, has passed away. In the midst of his usefulness, his natural strength unabated, he is stretched upon a bed of sickness, from which he is destined never to rise. Mr. Curtenius died yesterday morning, of typhoid fever, at a quarter past 10 o'clock, after an illness of only two weeks."
In the paper of the same date the editor remarks :
"In another place will be found the announcement of the death of A. G. Curtenius, one of our earliest citizens, and one who, for a series of years, has filled a prominent place in the business affairs of Peoria. By care and strict attention to business he had amassed a competency, and was in circumstances, and at the time of life, that he could have soon retired to enjoy the reward of an industrious and successful career. His loss will be severely felt, and it will require a long period to fill the void created by his death in the circle where he moved."
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
NATHANIEL BANCROFT CURTISS. Nathaniel Bancroft Curtiss, who established the first banking house in Peoria, was born in the little town of Calais, near Montpelier, Vermont, on September 11, 1819. Being the eldest of a family of eight children, he left his paternal home at the age of fifteen years to seek his own livelihood. After sojourning for some time in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, he traveled further west to Columbus, Ohio, to which State his parents, brothers and sisters removed some time between 1840 and 1850. Early in 1850 he came to Illinois, and on April 8th of that year was united in marriage with Miss Jane M. Warren, of Warrenville, Du Page County. Soon afterwards he came to Peoria and engaged in the banking business under the, name of N. B. Curtiss & Co. During the greater part of his subsequent career .he continued to be identified with the banking interests of Peoria, in which, as elsewhere re-
lated, he experienced various changes of fortune. He erected the building on the north corner of Main and Wash- ington Streets which has been occupied by the First National Bank ever since its first organization, and was one of the first subscribers to "the capital stock of that institution. He belonged to the Order of Knights Templar. His death occurred at the age of fifty-three, leaving his wife and two daughters surviving.
from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902
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