WILLIAM EASTON. Among the residents of Chillicothe, who have laid down the burdens of life after extended and successful labors, is numbered William Easton, who breathed his last March 7, 1890. For some years prior to his death, he had been quietly enjoying the fruits of his former industry, rejoicing in the good will of a large circle of acquaintances, and filling up the measure of his days with good works. . He was eighty-two years and ten months old when called hence, having been born in Newark, N. J., May 7, 1807.
The father of our subject was William Easton, Sr., a man of English birth and descent, who came to America when a young man. He made his home in New Jersey, but continued the seafaring life in which he had previously expended his energies. He was killed by falling from some part of the vessel on which he sailed, when in the prime of life, and when our subject was but two years of age. He had married an American lady—Mrs. Elizabeth Slaght nee Drake—who was reared in New Jersey. Her first husband Cornelius Slaght, died in the prime of life, leaving four sons and one daughter, all of whom are now deceased. Some of their descendants were early settlers in Cleveland, Ohio, and there became rich and prominent. The mother of our subject lived to be ninety years old, dying in Newark, N. J., which had been her home for many long years.
William Easton, Jr., remained with his mother until he was ten years old, then became an inmate of the household of his half-brother, Abraham Slaght, in Cleveland, Ohio. When old enough to do so, he went to work in the carpenter and ship yards, learning the use of tools. In 1836 he came to Illinois, having but $1 in his pocket, his previous accumulations having been lost to him by going security for friends in Ohio. Peoria County was but sparsely settled, much of the land being yet unbroken, but here Mr. Easton set himself to work to make a home. He secured a tract of unbroken land in Hallock Township, and surrounded by a wild waste of territory, he established himself and began the labors which resulted in securing a large property. For some years he worked at his trade, hoarding his resources, and gradually improving and adding to his landed estate. A part of the fine property which he accumulated is now owned by his widow.
Mr. Easton was a strong Republican, ever ready to serve his party, but never seeking office for himself. He, however, was made Justice of the Peace, and retained in that office - for fifteen years. He was a Universalist in religion, and the fortunate possessor of a nature combining so many pleasing attributes that all who became acquainted with him regarded him with affection.
The first marriage of Mr. Easton was celebrated in Cleveland, Ohio, a short time before his removal to the Prairie State. The lady whom he won was Miss Sophia Lake, who belonged to an excellent family in Ohio, and had grown to maturity under the charge of estimable parents. She died in 1838, two years after accompanying her husband to this county, being carried off in the prime of life by consumption. She left no offspring. The second wife of our subject was Miss Sarah Hicks, a native of New York, who came to Illinois with her parents when quite young. She was educated in Peoria County, fitted for usefulness, and bore well her part in life until called hence in 1872. She died at her home in Hallock Township, in middle life, leaving three sons—Stephen, William D., and Joel I.
Stephen Easton gave his life for his country's cause, being fatally wounded at the battle of Chickasaw Mountain. He lies in a soldier's grave at Marietta, Ga. His brother William also devoted some years to the service of his country, and was finally discharged on account of disability, returning to his home, where he soon afterward died from disease contracted while in the army. Both these were unmarried. Joel is now living in Creston, Iowa, with his wife and family.
Our subject contracted a third matrimonial alliance in 1874, at LaPrairie, Marshall County, his bride being Miss Isabel M. Jones. This lady is a daughter of Eldwin and Emily (Root) Jones, natives respectively of Uniontown, Pa., and Delaware County, N. Y. Mr. Jones was of Welsh parentage, while his wife was of English descent. They were married in the Buckeye State, and began their married life in Findlay, where Mr. Jones worked as a tanner. In 1831 he removed with his family to Peoria County, Ill., laboring among the pioneers until 1844, when he settled in Marshall County on a farm. He spent the remnant of his days there, dying in 1884, when seventy- nine years old. While in Peoria County, he carried on a small store, one of the first in Chillicothe, and as one of the first County Commissioners he helped to buy and lay out the city of Peoria. He was a prominent local politician in the ranks of the Republican party. In Marshall County he held the office of Justice of the Peace some years. He was a prominent member of the Christian Church. Mrs. Jones is still living, making her home with her daughter, Mrs. Easton. She is now eighty-three years of age, is sightless, but her mental faculties are undimmed by the flight of years.
Mrs. Isabel (Jones) Easton, was born in Findlay, Ohio, June 30, 1831, and received the most careful home training from her good parents. Her education was acquired at Eureka, Ill., and in other places, her mind being thoroughly cultured, and her memory stored with knowledge. For some time she was engaged in teaching in Peoria and in Marshall County, gaining a high standing among the members of her profession. Her many accomplishments and refined nature make her a leader in society, and she has long been known as one of the most influential and useful ladies in this community.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
ROBERT A. STEWART, a native of this county, and a representative of an early pioneer family, is one of the foremost citizens of Logan Township, who, besides actively aiding his fellow farmers in sustaining and extending the great agricultural interest of this locality, is pre-eminent in its public and political life.
Our subject was born on the old homestead on section 5, Timber Township, April 20, 1856. He is a son of the late Walter and Nancy E. (Turbett) Stewart, who were natives respectively of Washington County, N. Y., and Fairfield County, Ohio, the former born February 21, 1813, and the latter July 30, 1824. He was a son of James and Sarah (McCoy) Stewart, who were born and reared in New York, where the father carried on farming. The grandfather of our subject was a son of Walter Stewart who came of an old Scotch family, and was born near Edinboro, Scotland. He emigrated to this country in Colonial days and settled among the pioneers of Salem, N. Y., where he spent the remainder of his life. He was a member of the first church of United Presbyterians organized in that town. He had three sons—George, Robert and James, all of whom married and reared families, and each named a son Walter, in his honor.
James Stewart, removed with his family from his native State in 1837, to this county, the families of Christian Schnyder and Joseph Hunt accompanying him. He made his home in Timber Township from that time until his death September 2, 1854, at the age of sixty-four years, when a useful pioneer was removed from the community. His wife survived him until 1858, when she too died. The following is the record of the ten children that they reared: George, born March 5, 1810; Agnes, June 24, 1811; Walter, February 21, 1813; William, September 6, 1815; James, October 17, 1817; Eunice, February 17, 1820; Isabelle, December 4, 1821; Esther, June 22, 1825; Sarah, December 4, 1827; Jane, November 1, 1831; all of whom reared families excepting William, and all settled in Peoria County. Their parents were members of the United Presbyterian Church and were stanch adherents of that faith.
The mother of our subject was a daughter of John and Nancy (Beaty) Turbett, who were natives of Juniata County, Pa. He was a son of Col. Thomas and Jane (Wilson) Turbett, natives respectively of Ireland and Scotland. They were the parents of the following children: John, James, Thomas, George, Stewart, William, Nancy, Mary, Esther and Priscilla. John was the only one who ever came to Illinois. When he was a young man, he left his native State and went to Ohio, where he was married. He was one of the pioneers of the State, going there as early as 1812. Sometime after marriage, he and his family settled in Fayette County, Ohio, about 1828, and in the fall of 1840, came from there to Logan Township. He was a tanner by occupation. His death occurred here in the month of January, 1847, at the age of sixty-four. He and his wife reared a family of ten children.
Walter Stewart, the father of our subject, came to Illinois with his parents in the month of July, 1837. He entered one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 5, Timber Township, developed it into a farm, and made it his home until his death of paralysis December 20, 1878. He accumulated valuable property, and at the time of his demise, owned five hundred and eight acres of land which was divided into three fine farms. When he came here, he had only his team and $100 in money. He was a conspicuous figure in the public life of township and county, and served six years as Collector, and for several terms, represented the township on the County Board of Supervisors. In polities he was a stalwart Democrat, while in religion, he was a Presbyterian, he and his wife belonging to the United Presbyterian Church and liberally contributing to its support. They reared five sons, named as follows: James H., John T., Robert A., George B. and William W.
Robert Stewart, grew to man's estate on the parental homestead and gleaned his education in the local schools. When he arrived at the years of discretion, he adopted the calling of a farmer and continued to live with his mother, and with his youngest brother actively carried on the home farm. In 1881, he removed to his present home on section 23, of Logan Township, and here he has a farm of one hundred and twenty-eight acres that is in an admirable condition, he has a set of commodious, well-fitted up buildings, and the soil is well tilled.
A young man of sound understanding and progressive spirit, our subject is not permitted by his fellow-citizens to devote his whole time to his private interests but is often called upon to take a prominent part in the management of public affairs. In the spring of 1887-1888, he was elected Supervisor, and so well did he represent the township on the County Board, he was re elected to that position in 1890. In politics he is an ardent Democrat and his popularity is very well shown when it is noted that he was the first Democrat in this township elected to the important office of Supervisor for thirty years, and notwithstanding the fact that the opposing party was stronger by seventy,he was elected by a majority of nineteen.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
MARK M. AIKEN. This gentleman bears the distinction of being one of the oldest residents of Peoria now living, having settled here October 28, 1833, and here he has since made his home, comprising a residence for the long period of fifty-seven years. He has watched the growth of the city with unalloyed satisfaction, and has contributed as he was able in advancing its prosperity.
The Aiken family is of New England antecedents, and the subject of this notice was born June 21, 1808, in the town of Deering, Hillsboro County, N. H. He is thus approaching the eighty-third year of his age, and forms one of the old landmarks of Peoria, whose name will be held in kindly remembrance long after he has been gathered to his fathers. His parents were Nathaniel and Susannah (Morrill) Aiken, the former of whom was a farmer by occupation, and died 1833; the mother died October 29, 1829. The parental family consisted of four children, two of whom are living, our subject, and Mrs. Childs, of Evanston, Ill.
Mr. Aiken remained with his parents until a youth of sixteen years, then went to New York City to live with his uncle, Elisha Morrill. Not long afterward he entered the employ of J. & J. Harper, the original of the great firm of Harper Bros., and entered upon an apprenticeship in the book publishing business. Some years after this was completed, however, he was seized with the desire to push on further westward, and we next find him in Peoria. Soon after locating here in 1833, he formed a partnership with George C. Bestor, and they engaged in a general land office business.
Mr. Aiken had purchased land prior to coming here, when Peoria was a little straggling town comprised of a few rude structures along the river. He was prospered in his business enterprise, and after dissolving partnership with Mr. Bestor, associated himself with his cousin, Elisha Morrill, of New Hampshire, and they prosecuted a successful business for some years until his death in 1881.
Mr. Aiken has been a liberal-minded and progressive citizen, taking a prominent part in politics, and giving his support to the Republican party. He served as Assessor, and as a member of the Board of Health, and identified himself with the Congregational Church, because it was anti-slavery from the beginning. During war times he was a stanch Abolitionist, promulgating his principles at every opportunity, and was one of the most active supporters of Abraham Lincoln and the Union. He has cause for a reasonable amount of satisfaction in his declining years as he may properly feel that his labors and influence in behalf of truth and the right have by no means been in vain.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
HORACE G. ANDERSON. A visitor to Peoria, in noting the fine buildings which adorn its residence streets, will find at No. 210, Moss Avenue, an elegant home whose pre-eminence consists in the wide and beautiful view which it commands. The entire city of Peoria, the town of Pekin, and a diversified landscape extending far into Tazewell County, are to be seen from one side, while another view includes the steamers plying on the river, for a distance of five miles; from the porch in the rear a beautiful view is given of the fertile region whose beauties of field and forest, lake and stream, make this section of the Prairie State a veritable paradise.
The substantial residence has been the home of Horace G. Anderson for a quarter of a century and during this time the place has taken on the character of its occupants, as will be noticed in all homes worthy of the name. Its walls have resounded to the many tones of childish voices, to the sounds which betoken the recreations and pursuits of youth, and to all which goes to make up the enjoyment of cultured manhood and womanhood. For some years it has been known as a center from which refinement and culture spread and elevating influences are shed abroad. The owner of this place has retired from active business pursuits after years of enterprise during which he was prominently identified with various educational and social elements of the city, as well as with more than one line of its financial interests.
The natal day of Mr. Anderson was September 13, 1822, and his birthplace Chautauqua County, N. Y. His parents, Samuel and Elizabeth (Taylor) Anderson, came to what is now Will County, Ill., when the lad was ten years old, their home being made five miles north of Joliet. After sojourning there seven years they removed to DuPage County, where our subject completed the years of youth and attained his majority. He then left home to engage in teaching, afterward becoming a clerk in Aurora, Chicago, Lockport, and Sheboygan, Wis.
In June, 1848, Mr. Anderson came to Peoria, establishing himself on Water Street, in the lumber business and continuing in that line until 1861. He then sold out and took hold of the Peoria Pottery which he carried on for two years, then buying the City Foundry & Machine Shop, conducted it successfully six years. His next business enterprise was a jobbing trade in hats and caps in which he embarked in 1872. He was engaged in that business when the Governor appointed him Canal Commissioner, and he devoted himself to the duties of his office four years. During that time the Copperas Creek lock and dam was well started, the lock being three hundred and fifty feet, long and fifty feet in width of cut stone. The next public appointment of Mr. Anderson was as United States Gauger, in which he served seven years. Since the expiration of his term of office he has not been engaged in any business enterprise, but busies himself with the care of his estate and the enjoyment of home and social life.
Mr. Anderson has held the position of Alderman, representing both the Fourth and Seventh Wards. He has also been County Supervisor and it was during his term of office that the present courthouse was planned and begun. A building committee, of which he was a member, had been appointed to submit a plan to the Board and the outline plan of the building which is now one of the prides of Peoria, was drawn and submitted by him. The court house is a model of convenience and artistic beauty, being well lighted, roomy and appropriately adorned. Although not an architect, Mr. Anderson had made plans for other buildings, among them the Second Ward school and Douglas school, for which his designs were accepted as the best placed before the committee.
For a number of years Mr. Anderson served on the School Board, during that time being instrumental in the erection of the first High School building. He was a Director of the First National Bank at its organization and for some years thereafter. He has been connected with other corporations, but not as a Director. For many years he has been identified with the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows. He served in the Grand Lodge of Illinois for five or six terms, was Grand Representative to the Grand Lodge of the United States, from the Grand Encampment of Illinois, two years, and for an equal length of time was Grand Patriarch of the Grand Encampment of Illinois. For a few years past he has not been particularly active in the order. He purchased his present residence property in 1852, owning it until the location of the college near him, when he sold, but only to purchase it back again in a short time.
Mr. Anderson was fortunate in securing for his wife a woman of fine character, brilliant mind and pleasing domestic qualities. She was born in Erie County. N. Y., June 12, 1829, bore the maiden name of Melinda Arnold, and became the wife of our subject September 20, 1852. To this union have come eight children, seven of whom are living. They are, Samuel A., now engaged in the rolling mill at Kewanee, III.; Emeline, wife of J. E. Hol-comb of Rockefeller, Lake County; Horace G., a physician in South Chicago; Zoa F. at home; Elizabeth D. also at home; Robert W. in the planing mill business in Peoria, and Sophia M. who is still with her parents. All have been given fine educational advantages, among the means taken by their father having been that of keeping a German teacher in the house for eleven years. Miss Zoa having evinced an especial talent for music, was sent to Germany to complete her studies in that artistic branch and remained abroad two years. She is the finest musician in Peoria, whose, citizens are proud of her ability, deeming her skill a credit to their city.
The reader will be pleased to notice, in connection with this sketch, a lithographic portrait of Mr. Anderson, whose lineaments are familiar to all the citizens of Peoria.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
AUGUSTUS STOWELL was but a boy when his parents brought him to this State. The family first settled in Hancock County, and resided about two years. In 1846 they removed to Knox County and lived in Truro Township for a time, and then left that county, some members of the family going to Utah and others going to Kansas, where Mrs. Laura Baker, the sister of our subject , was killed in a cyclone.
Mr. Stowell was reared to the life of a farmer and remained on a farm until his twentieth year, at which time he began to learn the harness-making trade in Pekin. He served an apprenticeship of less than two years and acquired an excellent practical knowledge of his calling. In 1850 our subject opened a harness-shop in Rochester, without means but good credit, and successfully carried on a business there for some six years and cleared, above all expenses, $1,000, but owing to the confinement undermining his health he concluded to again devote himself to the calling to which he had been bred, and, accordingly, went to St. Croix County, Wis., where he was steadily engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1869. In that year he made another move and selected Rochester as his place of abode. In the following spring of 1870 he came to Millbrook Township, and located on his present farm. He owns two hundred and sixty acres of land, two hundred and forty acres lying in a body in Millbrook Township, and twenty acres in Princeville Township. He has virtually made his farm what it is today, and by the hard work that he bestowed upon it has placed it among the best class of farms in this vicinity.
Mr. Stowell was married, in the month of October, 1850, to Amy J. Hull, a daughter of Isaac and Calista (Knight) Hull. Mr. and Mrs. Stowell have had seven children, of whom the following six are living: Nathan A., in Wilson County, Kan.; William W., in David City, Neb.; Isaac M., in Millbrook Township; Elvira J., at home; Maria, wife of Albert Miller, of Princeville Township; Alice, wife of Joseph II. Miller, of David City, Neb. One child died early in life.
It will be seen in the perusal of this sketch that our subject is a prominent member of the farming community of this county, that is doing so much to sustain and extend the material prosperity of this part of the State of Illinois. He is very skillful in his calling, bringing a clear brain and a thoughtful mind to bear upon the problems that confront the farmer who would till the soil after the most approved methods, and his extensive practical knowledge of his calling, his sagacious management of his affairs, and his active enterprise have gained him a substantial place among the well-to-do citizens of this vicinity. For fourteen years he served as School Director, being well qualified for that position, and has always interested himself in educational and other public matters, contributing generously to all such things. He has sound views on the political questions of the day and is a true Democrat, giving faithful support to his party. He served as Justice of the Peace four years in Millbrook Township, having also held that office for a period of six years while in Wisconsin. After the expiration of his term here, he was re-elected to that office, so well pleased had his constituents been by his just and impartial discharge of the duties of his position, but he declined to qualify. While a resident of St. Croix County, Wis., he served with ability as Supervisor of Rush River Township.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
WILLIAM WASHINGTON MOTT, the son of a pioneer labors himself and has thus assisted in developing the agricultural resources of Peoria County, has a well improved farm on section 34, Princeville Township, where he devotes himself to farming and bee culture.
Our subject is a son of Dr. Oscar F. Mott, who was born near Kinderhook, near Wayne Falls, Erie County, N. Y. He was a medical practicioner of the Thompsonian School, and also followed farming. He disliked the medical profession, although he was well versed in the Thompsonian methods, und abandoning his practice he came here in the spring of 1837, with his family, to devote himself to agricultural pursuits more exclusively. He at first rented land and cultivated it to advantage, but finally bought a small farm of fifteen acres, on which he spent the remainder of his life. His death in 1863, was caused by an accidental discharge of a gun which a man was examining in a grocery store in Princeville, the shot taking effect in his neck, and after a great deal of suffering he died in a few days. He was the first mail carrier here, carrying the mail on horseback to Peoria from Jubilee for years, taking three days to make the trip in cold weather. He was a man of sterling worth and was a Universalist in his religious faith. Politically he was a follower of the Democratic party. The maiden name of his wife was Deidamia Bump, and she was born in Cazenovia, N. Y. Her father, Jonathan Bump, was a native of New England and was one of the first settlers of that township, making his home among the Indians of Red Jacket's tribe. He cleared two farms and followed agriculture until his demise. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was near there at the burning of Buffalo. The mother of our subject was an inmate of his home until her death, and he looked tenderly after her comfort. She was a Baptist in religion and was ever true to the faith. She died December 31,1875.
Three of the children of the parents of our subject grew to maturity: Richard F., who died in Santa Clara, Cal.; our subject, and Josephine E. Two of their children died young—Oscar Philander and Eugene. Josephine Mott, who was educated for a teacher and has engaged in that profession, makes her home with her brother.
The subject of this biographical sketch was born in Boston Township, N. Y., August 19, 1830, and there passed the first seven years of his life. In 1837 he accompanied his father to Buffalo, where they embarked on a steamer for Chicago, and from the latter place took a team for Peoria County and Princeville Township. He grew to a sturdy vigorous manhood under the pioneer influences that he obtained here in early times, growing up with the county, as it were. It was,when he came here, wild and sparsely settled, and there was much wild game roaming over the prairies and uplands and through the timber, and as he grew older he took great delight in the hunt which has always been his hobby, and became very expert in the use of the rifle, often killing as many as two deer a day, which supplied the table with meat. He resided on the fifteen-acre place that his father had purchased until 1868, and then bought a farm of forty acres on section 27, on which he located and entered upon its improvement. He built a substantial house, drawing the lumber for it from Chillicothe and doing the carpenter work himself with an assistant. He engaged in that trade somewhat besides tilling the soil. In 1876 he sold that place and bought his present farm of eighty acres on section 34, which was covered with timber, and in the groves still standing wolves are found to this day. Mr. Mott set busily about its improvement, put up a comfortable dwelling, has fenced in three large fields, which he devotes to raising corn and oats, and also has a fine grapery and an apiary comprising twenty-seven hives of bees, the honey which he secures being a profitable source of income. His place is supplied with good outbuildings, excellent machinery, and is always kept in good order.
Mr. Mott is of a practical turn of mind and by careful attention to his calling, he has acquired a competence amply sufficient to free him from the necessity of hard labor, and to fortify his declining years against want and poverty. Both he and his sister are held in kindly regard by the people among whom they have lived so many,years. Mr. Mott has borne an honorable part in the public life of his township; was Commissioner of Highways for three years; Pathmaster for six terms, and School Director for one term, and in each and every capacity proved to be a wise and helpful official. He is prominently connected with the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows,and assisted in organizing a lodge at Princeville, known as Diligence Lodge, No. 129, after the first lodge that had been established here was closed during the war. In his early life our subject was a Democrat, but is now independent in his politics, voting as he pleases and for whom he pleases. He is a Sabbatarian and a purely religious man.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
IRA SMITH. If long years of honorable life entitle a man to the respect of posterity, then that is Capt. Smith, pre-eminently deserving of a place in this Album. For near seventy-four years he walked the earth, and from early life his influence and example were on the side of sobriety, honesty, and unaffected piety.
Mr. Smith was born in Hampden, Me., on the 5th of January, 1806, and lived to be seventeen or eighteen years of age in the place of his birth. During this time he pursued such studies as were possible in the schools of that period. Being drawn to the sea, as is the case with many of the sons of the Pine Tree State, be followed his natural bent, his first sea service being during a term of enlistment on board a man-of-war.
Young Smith was much troubled because he was expected to go forward and take his grog with the others, the practice of supplying sailors with New England rum, being then in force on all vessels. He tried selling the rum to others, but this was stopped by the officers, and his attempt to throw his allowance away was also put a stop to. His studious and orderly habits having attracted the attention of the officers, he asked to have his grog stopped, and his request was granted. It was then announced by those in command, that any others who did not want grog would be allowed $2.50 per month extra. But few accepted the offer.
When Mr. Smith became master of his own vessel, he determined to get a crew who would go without liquor. The harbor-master told him it was impossible to do so in Boston. He, however, hung out a sign announcing that he would allow no grog except in cases of sickness, and wanted only men who were willing to go without it. It was some time before he picked up a crew, but he finally succeeded, and was the first captain to sail from Boston harbor under temperance regulations.
After the expiration of his three and a half years enlistment on a man-of-war, Mr. Smith continued his seafaring life, visiting different parts of the world until 1837. A few years prior to this date, he had married, and through the influence of his wife, who desired to get him far away from the sea, he came to Peoria County, Ill., in June, of that year. He purchased a farm, but having always been accustomed to activity in business, the peaceful life of a farmer did not satisfy him, and he sold his land to engage in the lumber trade. In 1849 he established the business in which he continued until well advanced in years when he retired, but not being contented with an inactive life, with his son he again engaged in business, continuing it until his death, December 16, 1879. His first location was on Water Street, but he afterward moved up to Washington Street. He was one of the early lumber dealers of Peoria, prominent in that line of trade, and had an excellent reputation for business ability and honor.
Mr. Smith bought property on the bluff on both sides of Moss Avenue down to Seventh Street, erecting a residence which was a fine one for that period.
Here his widow is still living in the home which has sheltered her for more than a third of a century. She has a large and elegant lawn, the surroundings of her dwelling making it very attractive and indicating the refinement of her nature. She is a native of Thomaston, Me., born November 20, 1813, to David and Sarah R. Jenks. After the age of sixteen years, she spent much of her time in Boston, where she first met the man to whom, on October 10, 1831, she was joined in wedlock.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith became the parents of seven children, of whom but four are now living: Ira, Jr., died at the age of nineteen years, and two others in infancy; Sarah Ann is the wife of Isaac Callander, of Galesburg, Ill., and the mother of eight children; Mary E. is the wife of David E. Holmes, a minister of the Congregational Church now located at Galva, Ill., and their family comprises one child; James H. now resides in Chicago, engaged in the lumber, land, and insurance business; Emily A. is the wife of Dr. James Pidgeon, and the mother of one child. Mrs. Sarah D. Smith has ten grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren living. A true gentlewoman, she is as thoroughly respected as any citizen of Peoria, and is looked upon as one of the landmarks of the place. She is an attendant and supporter of the Congregational Church, as was her deceased husband.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
WILLIAM GILLFILLIAN. No one takes more interest in Peoria County's welfare or would do more for its advancement than its native-born citizens, who are today variously identified with its industries. Our subject, the son of a pioneer, is doing his share in sustaining its high reputation as one of the finest countries for agriculture that the sun ever shone on. He owns and is managing with profit a choice farm of one hundred and eighty-three acres on section 9, Chillicothe Township, on which, during the fourteen years it has been in his possession, he has made several additional improvements, greatly increasing its value, and its well-tilled fields give evidence of his careful cultivation as well as of his practical knowledge of farming. He does a general farming business and is interested in raising stock.
Mr. Gillfillian was born in this township and county, near where he now lives, September 30, 1852. His father, James Gillfillian, was a native of Ohio, coming of mingled Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch stock. He grew to manhood on a farm in Ross County, and early in the ‘30’s when a young man, came to the wilds of Illinois with his mother, his father, having died previously in Ohio. They located south of Peoria near Kickapoo, Peoria then being a small place known as Ft. Clark. A few years later they removed to Hallock Township, and there the mother died at the advanced age of eighty years, her death occurring in 1874. She was a truly good woman and was highly thought of by all who knew her. She was the mother of seven sons and three daughters, of whom only one son is now living, Henry, a resident of Hallock Township.
James Gillfillian was first married in Indiana to Miss Mary Chisam who died after a married life of three years, leaving two children, both of whom are now dead. Her death occurred in Indiana, while she was there on a visit. The father of our subject was married a second time in Hallock Township, taking to wife Miss Jane Martin. She was born in Illinois, and came to Peoria County, when in her girlhood. Mr. Gillfillian and his wife lived in Peoria County, until 1858, when they went to Kansas and thence to Texas. They were in the Lone Star State when the War broke out, and started northward, but succeeded only in getting as far as Conway County, Ark., where they were compelled to stay with the rebels. Mr. Gillfillian being blind in one eye was not compelled to serve in the Confederate army against the North. He and his family remained in Arkansas until 1864, and then the presence of Union troops enabled them to come northward, and they again located in Peoria, and very soon afterward the father died there when past the meridian of life. His widow is still living in that city, with her daughter Josephine, and is now fifty-two years old. She is the mother of three sons and two daughters, whom she has reared to good and useful lives, and who are still living.
William Gillfillian, of this biographical review, was the oldest son and second child of the parental family. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, has made farming his life work, and has been prospered in all his undertakings. He was married in Chillicothe to Miss Kate McDermitt, and she has been an important factor in promoting his success. She was born in New York City, January 1, 1853, and was but a year old when she came here with her parents, Barney and Anne (Cosgrove) McDermitt, who were both born and reared in Ireland, and immediately after their marriage came to this country. After coming to Illinois they settled in Chillicothe, and lived in this section of the county until 1886, when they moved to Clay County, Neb., and located on a newly improved farm and are still making that their home. They are now upwards of fifty years of age, and are good hard-working people, and useful and honorable members of the community where they reside. Mrs. Gillfillian was reared and educated in Chillicothe, and is a very capable, refined and estimable woman. She is the mother of six children, one of whom, Anna, died at the age of four months. The others are at home and named as follows: Rose A., John R., Clara Louisa, Kittie B. and Bessie E.
Our subject and his wife are open-hearted hospitable people, whose sterling characters commend them to the confidence of the community. Mrs. Gillfillian is a communicant of the Catholic Church, and is active in its every good work. Mr. Gillfillian, is much interested in the political life of his country, and is a firm supporter of the Democratic party.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
GEORGE PLACK. The members of the farming communities occupy an important place in the life of our country, supplying as they do the primary needs of existence and exhibiting in their lives the sterling virtues which pertain to true manhood. A worthy member of this class is the gentleman above named, who occupies a well- developed estate in Rosefield Township. It consists of one hundred and ninety acres, where during the season fine crops may be seen and where various kinds of stock are raised in considerable numbers. The possession of so good a home is creditable to the owner, indicating that he has been industrious, prudent and zealous.
Mr. Plack was born in Biedenkopf, Prussia, October 28, 1835, being the fourth child of John Henry and Elizabeth (Roht) Plack. His parents were natives of the same place as himself and his father was a farmer and miller. He was also a member of the German army, serving according to the custom of the country. He belonged, to the Lutheran Church in which he held the office of Trustee. Besides our subject, the parental family comprised Elizabeth, now the wife of Henry Kesler of Nebraska; Maggie, deceased; Henry; John, now living in St. Louis, Mo., and Anna Maria, wife of Jacob Debel, of Jefferson County, Mo. The father died in Germany and the mother came to America in 1859 with her son, our subject, and other members of the family, settling in Jefferson County, Mo., where she died about four years later. The oldest and youngest members of the family had emigrated a few years earlier than the mother.
After having lived in Jefferson County, Mo., until 1871, George Plack came to Peoria County and purchased one hundred and six acres of land on section 4, Rosefield Township. He subsequently sold thirty-six acres, then bought eighty, and at other periods sold or bought, having at one time two hundred and sixty-six acres. When he landed in America he had about $100 in money. In his efforts to secure a good home he was ably seconded by his companion whose prudent management of household affairs was an important factor in his success. The wife to whom he owed his comfort and a portion of his prosperity from July 16, 1859, when they were united in marriage, until her death in 1873, bore the maiden name of Helena Jiede.
Mrs. Plack was born in the same section of Germany as our subject. She became the mother of eight children, two of whom died with her in August, 1873. The survivors are Elizabeth, wife of George Koch; Anna Maria, wife of Henry Huhn; Maggie, wife of Conrad Schwartz; Henry; Joseph and John. The estimable woman who now presides over the home of Mr. Plack, looking well to the ways of her household, was born in Germany and came to the United States with her mother about 1874. She was formerly Miss Elizabeth Jiede, and is the mother of six children—Louisa C, Philip, Katie, George, Theodore and one who died when six months old. Mr. and Mrs. Plack belong to the Lutheran Church, and are highly esteemed by their associates therein and by others to whom they are known.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
JASON HINMAN. Among those who, after laboring long and well in the development of Hallock Township, have gone to their long home, none are more worthy of remembrance than the subject of this sketch, who was well and favorably known in this part of the county. He had come hither with but a small store of this world's goods, but by the exercise of prudence, wise economy and unremitting industry, had accumulated a good property. His occupation was that of a farmer and dairyman. At his pleasant home he breathed his last, November 9, 1876, his career cut short in his forty-second year by the dire disease, consumption. He was a native of Pitcher, Chenango County, N. Y., his natal day having been March 2, 1835.
The father of our subject was James Hinman, a native and life-long resident of the Empire State, who passed away in middle life. He was a blacksmith, quite prominent in his business, and considered a worthy citizen. He left a wife and nine children. The widow and family drifted into Ohio, later coming to Illinois and living for some years in Hallock Township, Peoria County. Two daughters returned to their native State, to which the widowed mother followed them when quite old, dying soon afterward. She was a member of the Congregational Church, to which most of the children adhered, although a part of the family united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her maiden name was Marcia Terrell.
Jason Hinman was one of the younger members of the parental family, six of whom are yet living, the most of them residents of Illinois. He was reared and educated in his native county, learning the trade of a harness-maker, with which equipment for the battle of life he came to Illinois. After reaching here, however, he began farm work in partnership with his brother Marcus, being thus engaged at the breaking out of the Civil War. He abandoned the plow, and joining the Fifty-seventh Illinois Infantry, on October 20, 1861, went at once to the front to take his part in the struggles to defend the old flag. He was enrolled in Company K, which was under the command of Capt. Barry, and with the rest of the regiment first saw the smoke of battle at Corinth. Prior to this he had the measles, and exposure soon compelled him to return home on a furlough. As soon as his health was sufficiently improved, he rejoined his regiment, but a relapse caused acute bronchitis, and he was discharged for disability in April, 1862.
Mr. Hinman resumed his agricultural labors in the Prairie State as soon as his strength would allow, although his condition continued to show the effects of the old illness which ere long developed into consumption, which terminated fatally in spite of all the efforts which were made to restore his health. His last days were cheered by the Christian's faith, he having long been a member of the Congregational Church. In politics he was a sound Republican, active in the local work of his party. The general verdict at his death was that an honest, upright and conscientious man had been removed from earth.
The marriage of Mr. Hinman and Miss Mary J. Barker, was celebrated in the city of Peoria. The bride was born in Coventry, Chenango County, N. Y., October 12, 1833, and is a daughter of Charles and Armina (Smith) Barker. She was well and carefully reared by most estimable parents, receiving the most of her education after coming to Peoria County. Her natural abilities have been strengthened and developed by her surroundings, and she has become a prominent member of the community. She now owns about one hundred and fifty acres of line, well-improved land, in the management of which, and the business affairs connected therewith, she manifests executive and business talent of a high order. She is strong-minded in the true sense of that word, while her character as a Christian woman is in keeping with her mental powers. She belongs to the Congregational Church.
The parents of Mrs. Hinman were born in Greene and Putnam Counties, N. Y., respectively, and began their wedded life on a farm in the former. Some years after their marriage they changed their residence, and after having sojourned for various periods in Almond, New York City, and the State of New Jersey, they finally, in 1846, came to Illinois. They began life here somewhat as pioneers in Peoria County, but prior to his death, Mr. Barker had secured a good home. His demise occurred October 24, 1888, at the age of eighty-five years, he having been born November 4, 1803. He retained his mental and physical strength until his last days, and up to within a very few years of his death, led the choir of the Congregational Church, of which he was a faithful member. He was a great Bible student, capable of expounding its truth with force. He was everywhere known as one of the most honest and straightforward of men, upright in every respect. In no sense an office-seeker, he was a strong supporter of the Republican party.
The mother of Mrs. Hinman is still living, now more than eighty-five years of age, but physically active and mentally bright. She retains loving remembrances of the companion with whom she spent sixty-one years of wedded life, and whom she looks forward to meeting in the land where parting will be no more. She has been for years a member of the Congregational Church. Her family consists of three daughters, of whom Mrs. Hinman is the youngest. The others are Electa, wife of Lee Hallister, of Arlington, Kan.; and Augusta, wife of Munson Hinman, a blacksmith of Hallock Township, this county.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
Matthew McDonnell. No better example can be found in Hallock Township of the practical thrift, energy, and industry which results in the accumulation of a goodly share of this world's goods, than in the person of the gentleman above named, whose home is pleasantly located on section 20. He possesses a large estate, comprising eight hundred and eighty acres, the most of which is highly improved, while the buildings which have been erected upon it are most excellent, comprising every structure needful for the furtherance of his business. The barn is a noticeable feature, justly considered one of the best in the county, and is of sufficient size to accommodate more than one hundred head of stock, together with feed for the same. It is 42x85 feet, with a basement, with the most approved arrangement and fittings. The dwelling is a substantial one, within which order and good cheer abound.
Mr. McDonnell is a native of the Emerald Isle, born in County Louth in 1828, and represents a good old family. In 1845 he emigrated to America, and making his home in Philadelphia, Pa., found employment as a laborer at $5 per month. When his wages were advanced to $9 per month, and still later to $11, he felt that he was on the high road to prosperity, and when, still later, he received $14 per month, he considered himself the recipient of wonderful remuneration. In 1850 he removed to Peoria County, Ill., with the determination to make a good home, and well has he succeeded in his efforts. He has been cautious in his investments, quick to note an opportunity to improve his methods or management, and ever leading in hard work those whom he employed.
The wife of Mr. McDonnell was formerly Miss Catherine Cash, and like himself is a native of the Emerald Isle, but born in County Kilkenny in 1832. She was about of age when she came to America with an uncle who settled in the city of Peoria, Ill., where she remained some time. After she had been here a few years, she sent for her parents, John and Mary (Welsh) Cash, and while they were on their way, the mother died at New Orleans, La. She was then in middle life. Mr. Cash continued his journey to the Prairie State, and some years later died in Hallock Township, this county, being about seventy years, of age. He and his wife were members of the Catholic Church.
Mrs. McDonnell has ably assisted her husband in the upbuilding of his fortunes, her thrifty management of domestic affairs and good counsel being no small factors in his success. Their children also have done their share since they arrived at a suitable age, in adding to the comforts as well as the joys of home. The family comprises four living children, and six were removed in early life by the hand of death. The living children are: John, Thomas, Catherine, and Mathew, Jr. The second son is working the farm, and the two children younger than he, are also at home. John married Miss Eliza Pluncket, and they live on a farm in Hallock Township.
Mr. McDonnell is a sound Democrat in his political views, while in his religious faith he is a devout Catholic, as were his parents before him. The entire family are communicants of the same church. Their honorable efforts to advance their personal interests, while treating those about them with honesty and kindliness, have secured the respect of other members of the community, and made many to rejoice in the success with which they have been rewarded.
The father of our subject was another Mathew McDonnell, a native of County Louth, Ireland,who grew up to the business of a farmer, and was thus engaged during his entire active life. His last years were spent in the United States, to which he came in 1847, dying in Peoria County, Ill., in 1851. He was then about three-score years of age. His wife, a native of the same county as himself, and of pure Irish ancestry, bore the maiden name of Jane Fedigan. She lived and died in the land of her birth, passing away when of middle age. She was the mother of two sons and three daughters, of whom our subject is the youngest. He is now the only one of the family living to relate the history of their settlement here, to which country four of the children came.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
JOHN BIRKET. In order to better preserve the history of one who bore a very important part in laying the solid foundation of Peoria's prosperity, a brief record of the life work of John Birket is placed upon the pages of this Biographical Album, dedicated to the citizens of Peoria County. He was one of the earliest pioneers of Peoria, and for many years was prominently identified with its growth; by his liberal contributions to aid all schemes for promoting the material, social and religious advancement of the city, he did much to bring it to its present standing as one of the foremost cities of the State.
Our subject was born in Lancashire, England, March 8, 1798. He early learned the trade of a carpenter, and in 1819, during the opening years of a stalwart manhood, emigrated to this country, landing in Philadelphia some time in the month of June. From there he went to Albany, N. Y., by sloop, and thence to Ferrysburg, Vt. He pursued his trade in the latter place some six years, and then started for the wild prairies of Illinois in the fall of 1824. He did not come directly here, however, but stopped in Plainsville, Ohio, until the spring of 1825, when he came to Peoria by wagon. He was engaged en route as a peddler, carrying tea, coffee, calicoes, etc., and arrived at the present site of Peoria on the 6th of January, 1826. At that time there were but six families in Peoria besides the Indians who still lived here.
On the day after he came Mr. Birket bought a claim comprising one hundred and fifty-four acres on the northeastern part of section 3, and then established himself at his trade, and in the spring planted the first nursery in this section. Mr. Birket planted the first nursery in Peoria from seed brought from Vermont in 1826. He was at one time called on as a guard to care for the first murderer of the region, and whilst performing that duty the Indians entered his home. Luckily he returned soon, as two of the Indians were still there, and after he had driven them off he found that they had stolen $200. At another time several Indians entered his house one night, and he awoke to find one of them reaching for his throat. He jumped from his bed, caught the Indian by the hip and demanded to know what they wanted. Upon answering "fire water," he told them they could have it at sunrise.
At the time of the Black Hawk War all the inhabitants for miles along the Illinois entered Ft. Clark for protection. Mr. Birket, with characteristic coolness and courage, remained outside burying all his meats and valuables so that the Indians might not have the benefit of them if they came in that direction. Prior to that on one occasion when the Indians were molesting the whites, he was also the only one who remained at his home, and that was the first time that he ever locked his door, which was done with a chip.
During the first years of his residence in Peoria County, Mr. Birket was engaged in many pioneer enterprises, and planted the first orchard in what is now the corporate limits of the city of Peoria; from this he raised the first apples and other fruit in the county. About 1831 he sent about a half peck of apples to a former neighbor who was then living at Ft. Dearborn (Chicago). These apples were sent by a gentleman, who in order to secure a marriage license had come from that place to Peoria, then the county-seat of the northeastern portion of the State. This illustrates the strong bond of friendship existing among the old settlers.
In 1839 Mr. Birket removed to Tazewell County, where he bought four hundred acres of land and engaged in manufacturing lumber. After ten years residence there he returned to Peoria and lived here until his death, October 16, 1874; thus was closed a life well rounded in years and filled with those deeds that make a man in the fullest sense of the word; this city, for which he did much, mourned the death of a revered citizen and still cherishes his memory as one of its most useful pioneers. His hand was felt in many enterprises that were inaugurated for the benefit of the community, and especially was he generous in his support of the church, his donations in that direction being quite considerable; among them were ten acres of land, which afterward became Gallagher's Addition to Peoria, and he gave an acre of land to Jubilee College and substantial aid in behalf of St. Paul's Church. He donated all of block No. 127, and half of block No. 116,to the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Illinois to be used as the site of a church. The land comprising Keighin's Addition to Peoria once belonged to him, and he gave it all to a man for plastering his house, which goes to show either the small value of the land at that time, or the enormous cost of plastering.
In the accumulation of his property Mr. Birket received substantial aid from his wife, who preceded him in death many years, dying December 24, 1852. She was married to our subject August 17, 1831. Her maiden name was Marjory Thomas, and she was a daughter of Col. John Thomas, who was killed by the Indians at Chillicothe, Ohio. The widow of Col. Thomas died in Peoria,December 27, 1850.
John Charles Birket, the son of John Birket, of whom we have just written, was born in Peoria February 3, 1834, and was reared under the influences of pioneer life, receiving his education in private schools. He gave his attention to farming for a number of years, although he has always dealt in real estate more or less since he began life on his own account, and now makes it his principal business. Mr. Birket is very fond of his home, has never cared to travel, and has never been out of his native State. He is a firm Republican in politics.
The union of John C. Birket and Ann Jane Grundy in the holy bonds of matrimony was celebrated January 1, 1868, and has been blessed by the birth of five children, namely: Mary A. J., John Charles, Walter A. and William E. (twins), and Louisa Isabel. Mrs. Birket is the daughter of Edmund and Jane Grundy, natives of Bolton, England, where Mrs. Birket was also born. They came to Peoria in 1849, and aided in the development of the county from its uncultivated condition to one of prosperity.
In connection with this sketch the reader will notice a lithographic portrait of the late John Birket, whose name is still held in loving remembrance though he has long since passed from earth.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
ROBERT ARMSTRONG, a man of wealth and an extensive landowner, now residing in Knox County, was among the first comers in Peoria County in the early days of its settlement, and the history of this section of the State, as told in the records of the lives of its citizens on these pages, would be incomplete without a sketch of his life and work, as he was an early settler of Millbrook Township, and was prominent among the leading pioneers of the county, and it gives us great pleasure to be enabled to represent him in this Biographical Album.
Our venerable subject is a native of Scotland, and was born in that country August 12, 1805, coming of sterling Scotch ancestry. His parents, James and Agnes Armstrong, were also of Scottish birth. Our subject passed his childhood, youth, and the opening years of his manhood in Dumfriesshire, the shire of his nativity, and was mostly engaged in herding sheep until he came here. His opportunities for attending school were limited, but he acquired some book-learning in spite of the disadvantages under which he labored, and by self-education has acquired a good fund of useful knowledge. In 1836, in the prime of a vigorous, healthy manhood, he left home and native land, ambitious to see if life did not hold something better for him in the large and powerful Republic across the sea, to which so many of his countrymen had wended their way. He embarked on a vessel at Liverpool, and six weeks and two days later he stepped foot on American soil, landing in the great metropolis of the country, and coming directly to this county. He was not without means, as are so many foreigners who land on these shores, but had sufficient capital to invest in quite a large tract of wild land on section 6, Millbrook Township, comprising three hundred and twenty acres mostly in timber and brush, and he purchased it from the Government, paying $1.25 an acre. He was one of the first to settle in Millbrook Township, and there were not many white men near him, but there was a tribe of four hundred Indians north of him a little way. However he was not long troubled with their presence, as the Government removed them further westward the same fall.
When he settled on his homestead, Mr. Armstrong had a large amount of pioneer work to do in clearing away the forest and preparing the land for cultivation, and also had to build a shelter for his family. He actively entered upon the hard task before him with a courageous heart and a steady determination to succeed in his undertakings. His first employment was to build a log house, 18x24 feet in dimensions, which was his dwelling the next ten years until he found time to erect a more commodious and comfortable house, with which he at length replaced his first primitive abode. In the course of years he put his land under excellent tillage, and constantly made valuable improvements until his farm came to be regarded as one of the most desirable in all Millbrook Township. He has added to his original purchase, and now has four-hundred and seventy acres of land in Peoria and Knox Counties. He continued to live in Millbrook Township until the spring of 1887, when he removed with his wife to their present pleasant home near the county line in Knox County, and near Rochester.
Mr. Armstrong has been twice married. He was first wedded to Mrs. Rachel Clifford, who bore him two children, Agnes and Lena, the latter of whom is deceased. Agnes is the wife of John Kaus, of Knox County.
The maiden name of our subject's present wife was Agnes Brown, and she is, like himself, a native of the land of the Scots, born in Ayreshire, in the month of January, 1816, a daughter of William Brown. Her mother died when she was a mere child. Her early years were passed in Scotland, and when she was thirty-three years of age, she came to America and to this county, and in due time married Mr. Armstrong, and has been to him all that is implied in the term, a true wife. Three children have been born to our subject of this union, of whom two are living, Robert, and Jane, the wife of Charles Waldon, of Knox County. The name of the child who died, was James.
The sunset of life finds our subject and his estimable wife serenely awaiting life's great end, in freedom from the cares and labors that beset them in the heat of the day, in a home whose comforts and luxuries have been procured by the ample competence that is the fruit of their united toil when they were young. It has been said that the trials and hardships that the pioneers encountered in their struggles in building up this country, strengthened their character and better fitted them for the cares and responsibilities of after life, making them have a warmer side for their fellow-men, and creating a willingness to lend a helping hand to those who are in distress. This is eminently true of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong, and their names are synonyms of love and charity, while many have cause to bless their benefactions, and are among the warm friends they have gathered around them in the long years they have lived in this State. They are true Christian people, and are devoted members of the Congregational Church. Mr. Armstrong has served as School Director, and has in various ways earnestly sought to elevate the social, moral, and educational status of the community. A man of intelligent views on all subjects, and having decided opinions of his own, he is independent in politics, and votes for the man rather than for party.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
JOSEPH S. BARNUM. This cognomen is familiar, not only to the residents of Princeville, where its possessor abides, but throughout the county and adjoining country. He who bears it is the editor of the Princeville Telephone, a live, eight-column folio, and the publisher of the Home Advocate, a weekly prohibition paper that was started June 6, 1889, under control of the Prohibition party of the Congressional district. A careful reader of the accompanying notes will form a just conclusion regarding some of the traits in the character of our subject and his fitness for the work which he is now carrying on.
The Barnum family is of English extraction and members of it settled in New England many years ago. In Danbury, Conn., the grandfather of our subject, Bethuel Barnum, was born, going thence to the Catskill Mountains in boyhood. He became the owner of a farm, also carrying on milling and participating in the struggle against British tyranny in the latter part of the eighteenth century. His son Jabez became a contractor in turnpike and similar work. About 1830 the latter removed to Detroit, Mich., continuing his contracting but also paying some attention to farming. He subsequently operated a farm in Kalamazoo County, whence in 1856 he removed to Hardin County, Iowa. There he entered land and continued farming until his death. He filled various local offices, being highly regarded by his fellow-citizens. He was a sturdy Republican, and during slavery times an Abolitionist. He belonged to the Baptist Church.
The wife of Jabez Barnum was Anna Goodsell, a native of the Catskill region in New York. Her father was a hunter and trapper, and during the Revolutionary War served the Colonists as a scout. He finally removed to Wayne County, Mich., where he died on a farm. He was of Welsh descent. Mrs. Anna (Goodsell) Barnum breathed her last in Iowa. She was the mother of ten children, seven of whom grew to maturity and three are now living. The survivors are: A. G., of Ackley, Iowa; Joseph S., of this notice, and Mrs. Elizabeth Rice, of Franklin County, Iowa.
The gentleman of whom we write was born in Detroit, Mich., May 3, 1832, and reared to about the age of eleven years in his native city. He then accompanied his parents to Kalamazoo County, completed his education at Schoolcraft and Battle Creek Academies, and on the home farm received parental advice and instruction. In 1856 he went to Iowa, traveling with a team from Rock Island to Hardin County, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land. He located upon it and made it his home for some years. He devoted himself to surveying four years, during a part of this time filling the office' of County Surveyor, and after the expiration of the two years for which he was elected continuing his professional work. A part of the time of his residence near Ackley was devoted to teaching.
In 1864 Mr. Barnum came to Peoria County, Ill., on a visit, and on the 23d of November, his marriage was celebrated with Miss Hattie Benjamin. This intelligent and worthy lady was born in Medina Township, where her wedding was celebrated. For a time Mr. Barnum engaged in various pursuits, among them being farming, and in the fall of 1868 removed with his family to Topeka, Kan. He built a home in that city, but afterward purchased three hundred and seventy-five acres of land in Jefferson County, on the Grasshopper River, which he improved and operated until the spring of 1873. He then sold his real estate and in the fall took up his residence in Princeville, this county. He traveled as a collector for Eastern houses and was otherwise occupied until December 1, 1880, when he took charge of the seven-column folio, the Princeville Independent.
In 1881 Mr. Barnum bought the sheet which he was conducting, and making of journalism a success, he enlarged the paper which on September 27, 1883, was first issued under its new name the Telephone. Mr. Barnum wields a ready pen, evinces good judgment in the selection of matter for publication, and is doing much to advance the welfare of his town and mold the sentiments of its people. In addition to the publishing of his own paper and the Home Advocate, he also does general job work.
As might be expected from the publication of which he has charge, Mr. Barnum is now a Prohibitionist. He helped to organize the Greenback party in the Tenth District of Illinois, at Elmwood, was nominated for County Clerk and ran ahead of his ticket. He was Postmaster in Princeville, during Cleveland's administration. To him and his good wife four children have been born, two of whom, Stella D. and Emory E., are still at home. Edwin J., the first-born married Miss Lillian Wear and assists his father in his journalistic work; Dial H., the second-born, married F. K. Pennington, a civil engineer, whose home is in Westfield, Ind. On the 31st of July, 1890, J. S. Barnum, the subject of this sketch was nominated by the joint Union Labor Convention of the Tenth Illinois Congressional District, as their candidate for Congress.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
ISAAC FISHER has been carrying on his calling as a practical farmer in Rosefield Township for several years, and is classed among the substantial agriculturists of this section of the county. He comes of stalwart Revolutionary ancestry and of an old pioneer family of Ohio. He was born in that State in the township of Berkshire, in the county of Delaware, January 17, 1824.
The parents of our subject were George and Phoebe (Hopkins) Fisher, natives, respectively, of Washington and Luzerne Counties. His paternal grandparents were Jacob and Eva (Elie) Fisher, who came from their native Germany after their marriage and settled in this country in Colonial days, and he bore an honorable part in the War for Independence. In 1797 he and his wife removed to the wilds of Ohio, and were among its early pioneers, and there he died at the age of eighty-two. His wife preceded him in death twenty years. The father of our subject was their only child, and he was eighteen years of age when his parents left Pennsylvania to take up their abode in the primeval forests of Ohio, and there he spent his remaining days, dying at the age of eighty-four. His wife, who was ten years younger than himself, died at the age of seventy-one years. She was a daughter of Timothy Hopkins, who removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio about 1798, and was one of the early settlers in that part of the country in its territorial days. The remainder of his life was passed there amid its pioneer scenes. He served in the Continental army during the Revolution.
The parents of our subject had twelve children, namely: Polly (Mrs. Utley), deceased; Jacob, of Delaware County, Ohio; John, who died, leaving one daughter; Henry; George, who died, leaving a son and daughter; Sallie (Mrs. Beecher), of this county; Eliza (Mrs. Rosecrans), of this county; Phoebe (Mrs. Humes), of Ft. Independence, Kan.; Betsey (Mrs. Carter), of Delaware County. Ohio; Lydia, deceased; Alonzo, a resident of Ohio. All married and reared families except one. The father of our subject served gallantly in the War of 1812. He purchased his first farm of one hundred and ten acres with hand-made linen, giving a yard of linen for each acre of land; He was very much prospered in his calling, and was enabled to give each of his children a good start in life by presenting them with a farm.
Our subject was reared to the life of a farmer, and although his school privileges were limited he gained sufficient education to enable him to teach successfully, and he was thus engaged a few terms. He started out in life on his own account at the age of eighteen, and at the age of twenty obtained a position as guard at an asylum for the insane and was thus employed for three years. He had a natural taste for agricultural pursuits, and invested some of his money in land, purchasing his first fifty acres in Ohio; his native State. He did well there and became somewhat prominent in the public life of the place where he lived, and for four years served as Justice of the Peace. He thought that he could improve his financial condition by farming on the rich soil of the Prairie State, and in the spring of 1869 he came hither and located on the place where he now resides. He first rented the eighty acres of land that composed it, and in 1874 purchased that tract and has constantly been engaged in its improvement, until now he has one of the best tilled and most productive farms in the neighborhood, which he is conducting after the most improved methods.
March 14, 1850. Mr. Fisher secured by his marriage to Amanda Malvina McNair, a useful and active helpmate. She was born in Yates County, N. Y., January 1, 1826, a daughter of James and Dianna (Westbrook) McNair, who were natives, respectively, of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. They were early pioneers of Ohio, and he died in Delaware County at the age fifty, while her death occurred in Wyandot County at the age of seventy- three. She had been three times married. Mr. McNair was a son of Robert McNair, whose father came from Scotland. Robert McNair was a shoemaker by occupation. His wife was Sarah Peckam, and they reared eight children—five sons and three daughters. Mrs. McNair was a daughter of James and Sarah (Lewis) Westbrook, natives of Pennsylvania, where they were engaged in farming. They had twelve children and reared eight—three sons and five daughters. Mr. Westbrook came to this country from Holland, served in the Revolution, was a pioneer of Ohio, and died in Knox County, that State.
Mrs. Fisher is one of twelve children, of whom ten grew to maturity: Rebecca (Mrs. Evans) of Ohio; Abraham died in California, leaving a family in Iowa; Daniel, a resident of Iowa; Phebe (Mrs. Frost), who died in Ogle County, Ill.; Matilda and Diana, who died young; Amanda M.; Huldah (Mrs. Secoy), of Ohio, deceased; James, who died in Ohio; Nancy and Elizabeth J., who died in childhood, and Wheeler W., of Van Wert, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher are enjoying the declining years of a busy life in the comforts of a cozy home. Of their four children born to them two are still living—Henry W. and Phebe A.
Mr. Fisher possesses those solid virtues that mark a man of real worth, and he is justly considered one of our most reliable citizens. His sound common sense, shrewdness and discretion have been made available in the management of public affairs, and he has held important local offices. He is now serving his third term as Justice of the Peace, and for ten years was Road Commissioner. In politics he is a sound Democrat, and has been true to party principles since he cast his first vote for President in 1840, in support of Gen. Cass.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SLANE, a representative of the early settlers of Peoria County, is classed among the most prosperous members of its farming community. As a pioneer of Princeville Township,he has wielded a potent influence in bringing about its present standing as a well improved and wealthy farming region. He has accumulated a handsome property and contemplates retiring from the active life necessitated by the proper care of his extensive interests.
Our subject comes of an old Virginia family, and was born in Hampshire County, W. Va., April 29, 1825. Benjamin Slane, his father, was born in Frederick County, Va., in Winchester, and his father, of the same name, was also a Virginian by birth, and was the youngest of a large family. His father was from Ireland and died shortly before, or about the time the family came to this country. The grandfather of our subject followed farming, until his death in Hampshire County, W. Va. He was a member of the Episcopalian Church and was strong in the faith.
The father of our subject was reared in his native county. His mother died when he was an infant and he was the only child of that marriage. He learned the trade of a tanner and currier and later opened an establishment of his own on Cold Stream. He failed in that venture and in 1830, started westward. He stopped one year in Sommerset, Perry County, Ohio, Gen. Sheridan's old home, and was there engaged in the tannery business. The following year he came to Peoria County, arriving here November 7. He found but three or four white families in Peoria, though the Indians were more numerous, and the city was then fortified and known as Ft. Clark. Mr. Slane remained there until 1833, employed in various pursuits and then went to Richwoods Township, and pre- empted land and entered upon its improvement. Two years later he sold his claim to S. Frye and removed to what is now Rosefield Township, on the Kickapoo, where he bought Government land, paying fifty per cent interest on money he borrowed to buy his place. He remained on it until 1840, and there had the misfortune to lose his faithful wife, who had shared with him in the trials and hardships of their pioneer life, her death occurring in 1839. His next location was in Princeville,and here he farmed some and engaged in various other pursuits. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of land where the Sante Fe Station now is, and the title to the property is still in the family. Here the remainder of his life was passed and he developed and improved his farm into one of the choice estates of the vicinity, and there his death occurred in 1875, at the ripe old age of seventy-seven years. In politics he was a sturdy supporter of the Democratic party. The maiden name of his wife was Delilah Cheshire, and she was born in Hampshire County, W. Va. Her grandfather, John Cheshire, a farmer, and a native of New Jersey, spent his last years in Hampshire County. She was a true and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She was the youngest of her family and succumbed to the privations of pioneer life in 1839, at the age of thirty-nine years. She was the mother of seven children as follows: Benjamin F., John Z. and Elizabeth A., living in Princeville Township; Delilah J., wife of N. E. Root, Mission Creek, Pawnee County, Neb.; Samuel S. and J. T. of Princeville Township. John took part in the late Civil War as a member of the Eighty-sixth Illinois Infantry, Company K, enlisting in 1862,and serving until the close of hostilities.
Our subject passed the first five years of his life in Virginia, and then went to Ohio in 1830, with his parents, the journey being made by team and wagons. A year later the family again started on a westward journey, going by team to the Muskingum River, then by keel boat to Marietta, Ohio, from there by steamboat to Louisville, then carrying their goods around the falls and re-embarking on the boat for St. Louis and from there coming in a stern wheeler to Peoria, taking a week to perform this latter stage of the journey. Some Indians were among the passengers up the river and they still made their home in this county when our subject's father first settled here. He was given the best educational advantages that Peoria County afforded in those days, the only college being a log schoolhouse in which the schools were conducted on the subscription plan. He was early made to assist in the farm labors and when seventeen years of age went out to work breaking prairie, chopping wood, and tilling the soil. His father was a famous hunter and our subject also enjoyed that pastime, as wild game was very plentiful here in early days, and he has seen as many as fifty and one hundred deer in a drove. Hard labor was the order of the day and the pioneers often suffered privations and led lives of self sacrifice. Our subject worked for his father principally until he was twenty-six years old, as the older boys helped their father on account of his inability, being a sufferer from rheumatism. In 1840, he came to this township, and he and his brother, John, engaged in making lime, in the spring of 1845, our subject went into the business more extensively and had two kilns for burning lime and operated them profitably for five years and he opened a stone quarry, and made a success of that also. He furnished lime to an extent of forty miles in the north, west and east of them,and lived most of the time in Akron Township, until his marriage.
This important event in the life of our subject occurred in Princeville Township, January 6, 1852, when he was united to Miss Sarah Henry. She was born in Crawford County, Pa., a daughter of Col. James and Fannie Henry, the former a native of Fayette County, Pa., and the latter of Irish birth. Her father was a farmer in Crawford County, and took part in the War of 1812, and later was Colonel of a Pennsylvania State Militia regiment. He was otherwise prominent in public life and for three terms represented his district in the State Legislature. In 1850, he came here with his family, and as he was a man of some means, lived retired until the time of his death at the ripe old age of eighty-four years, spending his last years with Mrs. Slane's mother and dying in 1867.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Slane: Odillon B. living on the home farm, was educated at the Peoria Normal and has been engaged princially in teaching; Ida, living at home attended the Valparaiso Normal in Indiana; Oliver C, who is in the hardware business in Peoria, is a graduate of Baily's Commercial College at Keokuk, Iowa; Edgar P., a farmer in Monica, attended the Valparaiso Normal; Elgie M., an artist and a graduate of the art department of the Valparaiso Nor-mal, is the wife of F. C. Ralston, Cashier of the Meridian Silver Plating Co., of Chicago, and Mina, a school teacher living at home.
Our subject and his brother bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Princeville Township, located on it, erecting suitable buildings, lived together and farmed in partnership. While his brother was in the army, our subject managed the farm alone. In those times the farmers of Illinois made money fast, as their grain commanded high prices and Mr. Slane sold wheat at $3 per bushel and corn at $1 per bushel. In 1860, the brothers dissolved partnership, our subject selling his share of the farm to his brother, and he then bought one hundred and fifty acres of land on section 7, Akron Township. He farmed it three years. The Rock Island Railroad Company put a part of their road through his farm and he and some of his neighbors sued the company for the value of their land and he succeeded in getting $600, and after that he would not stay on the place. Selling that place in 1871, he came to Princeville Township, and in 1872 bought his present farm of three hundred and twenty acres on sections 35 and 36, for $15,000. It was partly improved and he located on section 35, and commenced the work of its further development and now has one of the choicest and best improved farms in this part of the county. He has been extensively engaged in farming and stock-raising and has acquired wealth. In 1890, he sold his property to his brother and retired from farming, and will probably move to Wyoming and make his home there in the future. He owns one hundred acres of fine farming land near Monica, which is under cultivation and is well improved.
Mr. Slane is pre-eminently a self-made man, well endowed with those elements of character that make life a success, and one needs but to peruse these pages devoted to his life record to see that he has put his faculties to good use and is today a man of affluence. These many years that he has been a resident of this county have gained him many warm friends, and his pleasant face and genial manners make him well liked by all. He has given his services to the township in various official capacities and has worked zealously to promote any scheme that would in any way enhance the interests of this locality. During the war he was Collector for two years, and for many years he has been a member of the School Board. He was Supervisor by appointment twice, but did not accept the position. He is a member of the Detective Thief Association. He is prominent in politics, is an ardent Democrat, is one of the leading members of the Central Committee, and has been delegate to county conventions. Five or six times he has been called on to serve on the Grand Jury.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
JAMES T. JOHNSON. In the thriving city of Peoria there may be found a number of men in whom the inventive genius is strong and to whom the patent office reports are the most interesting of all literature. One of the foremost of these is James T. Johnson, inventor and patentee of the Acme Coal & Stone Drill, and of the Lightning Coal & Stone Drill, which is guaranteed to drill two feet per minute in clean coal with two-man power. He first patented the Acme Drill, had it manufactured for him and conducted its sale throughout the United States about two years, after which he began the manufacture himself. This was in 1887, since which time he has built shops, 32x70 feet, with steam power, at No. 111-113 Garden Street, where he "carries on the manufacture of his inventions. He improved the first patent, and subsequently he and Isaac Wantling invented the Lightning Drill which is also having an extensive sale throughout the country from Pennsylvania to Wyoming and Montana, thousands of them being in operation. They have also invented a coal cutting, a coal mining and coal drilling machine all combined and run by either hand or electricity.
Mr. Johnson was born in Yorkshire, England, near Richmond Hill, September 2, 1846. He. removed to County Durham and there grew to manhood. He became interested in mining and learned all the practical details of the business in which he finally became a contractor, driving stone levels and having many of the largest contracts in the county. In 1879, he emigrated to America, continuing his work in Pennsylvania and later in Ohio. He finally removed to What Cheer, Iowa, and while there invented his first drill. His thorough knowledge of what was needed in the mines was of great advantage and turned his mechanical ingenuity into an excellent channel. About 1885 he removed to Peoria to give his whole attention to the sale and manufacture of his inventions, this seeming to him a good center for his operations.
The marriage of Mr. Johnson was celebrated in County Durham, England, of which his wife, formerly Miss Elizabeth Thompson, is a native. Prior to their removal to America, eight children had been born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, five of whom still live. Four children have been born in this country, three of these surviving. The living sons and daughters who now make up the household band are William, James, Harriet, Maggie, Elizabeth, Fred, Joseph and Katie, not one of whom has yet left the parental roof-tree. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are intelligent, kindly and social, and have drawn around them a pleasant circle of acquaintances. Mr. Johnson is known as a man of honor in business relations, and a law-abiding citizen who steadfastly pursues an upright course in life.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
FREDERICK D. WEIENNETT. When the wires flashed around the world the news of the terrible disaster at Chatsworth, millions of hearts thrilled with sympathy for the unfortunate victims and their friends. Yet horrified and grieved as the world was, none but those who have suffered in a like manner can realize the thickness of the pall that settled over mourning homes whence loved ones had gone forth in all their manly strength or womanly beauty, to be borne back in a few hours bereft of life or bearing pain and sorrow. Among, the stricken households was that of Frederick D. Weiennett, who was instantly killed in the wreck, while his daughter Pearl received injuries whose marks she will carry to her grave.
Benedict and Mary Weiennett, the parents of our subject, were natives, respectively, of Switzerland and Bavaria. They were living in Saline, Mich., when their son was born, his natal day having been May 10, 1837. The lad was reared in his native State, where he obtained an excellent education and won success as a school teacher. He alternated pedagogical labors with attendance at the Normal School at Ypsilanti, his reputation as an earnest student and an apt instructor being equally good. Lameness caused by illness unfitted him for severe physical exertion, and he therefore sought light employment in which brains would take the place of brawn.
Immediately after the war Mr. Weiennett came to Peoria, becoming book-keeper for Louis Green, wholesale liquor dealer, by whom he was taken into partnership in 1870. He subsequently engaged in the wholesale grocery business, in which he was occupied when elected County Treasurer in 1883. He had previously served three different times as City Treasurer and at the same time had held the position of Treasurer of the School Board. In 1887 he became Secretary of the Germania Fire Insurance Company, in which capacity he continued until his career was cut short by an untimely death on the 10th of August, 1887. The fact that Mr. Weiennett was strictly honest and upright is evinced by his election to a treasurership so frequently. He was a member of the Democratic party, but his friends were not confined to that political body. On the contrary he was highly respected by all to whom he was personally known or who were acquainted with his business reputation. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and Turner society, taking great interest in those orders.
The widow of Mr. Weiennett bore the maiden name of Carrie E. Best. Her parents, George C. and Gertrude (Schneider) Best, removed from Detroit, Mich., to Peoria in 1855, and here the daughter's marriage was celebrated, May 10, 1870. Mr. Best, who had been a blacksmith prior to becoming a citizen of Peoria, breathed his last July 17,1882. His widow survived until December 10, 1884. To Mr. and Mrs. Weiennett seven children were born, three of whom are now living. These are Pearl, Frederick and Carrie, in whose devotion the widowed mother finds solace for her ever-present sorrow for a faithful and loving companion. Her sterling qualities of mind and heart bring her earnest friendships.
A portrait of the late Mr. Weiennett appears in connection with this sketch and will be welcomed by the many friends from among whom he has gone.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
ABNER H. SMITH, who has practically retired from active life, and is living in comfort in his cozy home in Elmwood City, was among the earliest pioneers of this county, and for many years sturdily co-operated with his fellow farmers and stock-raisers in developing the rich agricultural resources of this region. He is a survivor of the earliest pioneers of this county, and to him and his good wife belongs the honor of having been the first couple united in marriage in Elmwood Township, the ceremony that made them one being performed by Esq. James P. Harkins, and their happy wedded life of many years is a worthy example for the young people of to-day who are starting out on the same journey.
Mr. Smith was born October 22, 1811, in Tioga County, Pa. His father, Ichabod Smith, was born in Massachusetts July 19, 1782, while his mother, whose maiden name was Anna Harkness, was a native of New York, and was born May 22, 1790. She came of good Revolutionary stock, her father, James Harkness, having been a Revolutionary soldier, and after the close of the war a pensioner. His son James was a soldier in the War of 1812. The parents of our subject were married in Pennsylvania, and removed from there to Ohio with their family, July 3, 1817, and settled in Richland County among the few whites who had preceded them and the aboriginal owners of the soil, and thus became early pioneers of that part of Ohio. Mr. Smith cut down the trees, and in the space thus cleared built a log cabin in the primeval forests. After six years he removed with his wife and children to Crawford County, where he again cleared land and built another log dwelling, in which the family made their home until 1837. In that year they came to Elmwood Township, to begin anew the pioneer task of building up a home, and settled on the farm now owned by Oliver Graham. Here the faithful wife and mother succumbed to the trials and privations incidental to the life of the early settlers in this part of the country, and in December, 1837, passed to eternal rest. Of the twelve children she bore her husband, the following are now living: Our subject, Edson F., Mrs. J. Gibbs, David Milo, James M., Mrs. John W. Conklin and Mrs. J. Nickerson. Their father departed this life November 3, 1856, leaving an honorable record as a useful pioneer citizen, and as a man of good character and unswerving integrity. After the death of the mother of our subject he had married again, in 1840, taking as his wife Mrs. Almira Aldrich, who died in 1888. Of that marriage there were three children.
Abner Smith, of this sketch, received but limited educational advantages in the primitive log school-house, which he attended in Crawford County. He was early initiated into the labors of farming, and became of great assistance to his father, helping him to clear three different farms, remaining with him until twenty years of age. He then started out with empty hands, but with a courageous heart to make his own way in the world. He too became a pioneer, and coming to Peoria County, arriving here January 21, 1832, he located on the old Orton farm in Trivoli Township. Mr. Smith found the country round about here in a very wild and unsettled condition, and the land being still in the hands of the Government, was not then in the market. He built a log cabin and broke and fenced ten acres of the land upon which he had settled, and carried on its cultivation some two or three years. In the meantime, in 1834, he revisited his parents and friends in his old home in Crawford County, Ohio, making the entire journey there and back to this county on foot. He held his Trivoli farm until the fall of 1835, then sold it to Harkness & Buell, and from there came to Elmwood Township, and located on the section on which Elmwood City now stands. This was then an isolated spot, with not a house in sight, excepting the hewn log house with its nine window lights that' stood on his purchase. His homestead, which comprised one hundred and twenty acres, was partly improved, and when the land came into the market he entered it at the land-office, and in the busy years of toil and hardship that followed, he was constantly engaged in its further improvement, and in time had developed a good farm, supplied with neat buildings and every appurtenance for engaging in agriculture. In 1832, before coming to Elmwood Township, the Black Hawk War had broken out, and he was one of the volunteers to aid in its suppression. He went to Galena, Ill., and there enrolled his name among the other brave and daring settlers who were going to face the dangers and ambuscades of Indian warfare that their homes might-be safe in the future from the depredations of the dreaded foe. His warlike intentions were, however, speedily squelched, as he was taken sick with the measles and was obliged to let his company go on without him, while he returned home.
Like all pioneers, Mr. Smith and his wife had to suffer many trials, and to make many sacrifices while living on the borders so far from the centers of civilization. Times were very hard in the early days, and often times corn bread, which formed their staple article of diet, was the only food they had to eat. Mr. Smith used to have to go twenty- five miles over rough roads to mill in Ellisville. Game, upon which the early settlers depended so much, was very scarce, as the severe cold of the season of 1830, known as the "winter of the deep snow," had killed the wild animals in large numbers.
March 10, 1835, was an event of great importance in the life of our subject, as on that date he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza A. Doyle, a daughter of Isaac and Mary Doyle, natives respectively of North Carolina and Virginia. Her parents came to Illinois in 1830, and after staying-one season in Warren County, removed to this county and settled at or near Harkness Grove, in this township, being the second family to settle in this region, and Mr. Doyle was the first Justice of the Peace. Canton was the nearest town, about seventeen miles away, and its only store was the place where they secured their supplies. He owned a large amount of land, and was a prominent man in this part of the county. His wife died many years ago, and he married Jane Lamaster, and she survives him. His death in 1879, removed one of our most honored pioneers. Three of the nine children born of his marriage with Mrs. Smith's mother are now living, namely: Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Nancy Scott and Mrs. Irene Scott.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of seven children, as follows: Mary Ann and Henry C, deceased; Harriet, wife of Frank Trumley, of this township; George S., a resident of Minnesota; Edwin A., of Minnesota, who married Mercy Caverly, and has six children; William J., a resident of Elmwood, who has been twice married, the maiden name of his present wife being Margaretta McCoy; Alice, wife of Justin Gordon, of Galesburg, and the mother of two children; George has been twice married, and by his first marriage had two children.
March 10, 1885, was an eventful day in the life of our subject and his wife, as it marked to them the golden milestone of half a century of wedded life, and their golden wedding was celebrated with thankfulness and rejoicing by their children, grandchildren and the many friends that they had gathered around them during the many years they have lived in this county. The following beautiful lines are the opening ones of a poem written by Clara, the wife of their eldest son, as a loving souvenir of the occasion:
''Through fifty years we have walked together Through the sunshine of life, and its stormy weather. And to-day to the Golden Gate have come, That marks the half-century of our home."
Mr. Smith possesses in a rare degree those sterling qualities that mark him as a man of single heart and pure purpose, and the uprightness of his character and his simple, unassuming kindness have won him both the respect and the affection of his fellow-citizens, which his wife also shares. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was formerly Steward, and for many years have been identified with its every good work. In early life Mr. Smith was a supporter of the Whig party, but on the formation of the Republican party, transferred his allegiance to it, and has ever since remained a steadfast upholder of its principles.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
DR. BELLE KENYON, who is successfully practicing her profession in Peoria, occupies a leading position among the physicians of the Homeopathic school in this county. She is a native of Rome, N. Y., born March 1, 1847, and is a daughter of William and Julia (Dunbar) Brackney, natives of Warren County. Pa. The Brackney family originated in Germany and came to this country many years ago. The Dunbars were of Scotch descent.
William Brackney was a prosperous miller and owned grist, saw and woolen mills on the Mohawk River, two and one-half miles from Rome, from which he derived a good income; here our subject was born, being the youngest of eleven children, nine of whom are deceased and one sister, Mrs. Rachel West, living at Oshkosh, Wis. Mr. Brackney died April 17, 1857, thus closing at a ripe age a life that had been full of usefulness and honor. His wife survived him many years, dying in Dr. Kenyon's home July 31, 1888, at the venerable age of eighty-one years. She was a woman of marked characteristics, being endowed with a strong mental and physical development and the Doctor attributes much of her success to the early training given her by her mother. The family came West in 1858, and settled in Oshkosh, Wis.
In October, 1865, O. S. Briggs, after being mustered out of the United States service, he being a member of the Third United States Cavalry, was married to our subject. He was engaged in a traveling business, and for a number of years was accompanied by his wife, who thus had a line opportunity to see much of the world and she profited by it. Mr. Briggs died of consumption, the result of a cold contracted on a voyage from San Francisco to the Sandwich Islands, where they spent several months. He is buried at Minneapolis, Minn.
Our subject was married in the month of November, 1882, to Dr. Walter Shotwell, with whom she practiced medicine two years. Charles Kenyon, her present husband, is a native of Baldwinsville, N. Y. He belongs to a well-known family of that State, who date their ancestry to Lord Kenyon, of England. The Doctor is endowed with a natural taste for medical studies, and after the death of her first husband entered earnestly upon the work of becoming a doctor. She entered at once the Homeopathic Medical College, of Missouri, a school that ranks high as an institution of learning. Mrs. Kenyon graduated with a class of about seventy men in March, 1883. Her proficiency in her studies was ninety-seven and one-half per cent, and her grade third in her class. This alone speaks well for her culture and breadth of knowledge of medicine. She immediately opened an office in Peoria, and entered with zeal upon the duties of her profession in which she had already had both hospital and chemical experience. She is gifted with an evenly balanced mind, a strong character, a steady nerve, a keen eye, and the firm but gentle touch of the true physician; the fine success she has met justifies her choice of a profession, if any vindication were needed.
The general public is not familiar with woman in the leading professions and heretofore it has been looked upon as an experiment merely, but the public are not slow to recognize merit wherever found, and the result is that woman, when once qualified has no longer public opinion to combat and finds her patrons among the most refined and educated. It is rare to find an intellect so skillful in the analysis of the deepest problems and so completely at home in the conception and delineation of real character. The Doctor is a close observer and is familiar with many subjects that women in common do not consider within their sphere, and this qualification alone renders her without a peer among her sex. The Doctor is somewhat of a writer in a modest way and has had the honor to present papers on different subjects before both the Scientific Association and the Sunday Lyceum societies, known in both the city and county. She has somewhat of a caustic pen, however, when writing and possessing ready wit is not at all backward in her defense of women when restricted by her dominant brother. She is choice of her language however, and seldom gives offence.
Dr. Kenyon is a great lover of home and has by untiring effort and application to business, surrounded herself with an ideal home. Possessing a cheerful disposition and with a nature broad and generous, she is beloved by all who know her best and her greatest pleasure is afforded by the little acts of love and gratitude shown by her poorer patients who never seek her aid in vain. She enjoys a good practice and is often called long distances to attend some serious case. Her portrait is presented on another page of the Album, and represents a physician of whose ability the citizens of Peoria are justly proud, and whose refinement and culture have everywhere won for her warm friends.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Peoria County, Illinois; Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1890
Dr. Oscar Allen, now a practicing physician and surgeon of Chillicothe, Illinois, is one of the foremost men in Peoria county in the ranks of his profession. He was born in Medina township, this county, twelve miles north of Peoria, in 1867. His father, William H. Allen, was a native of Rhode Island but lived for seventy-five years in Illinois and for seventy years in Peoria county. He was one of the pioneer settlers of this district and carried on and operated an extensive farm for many years. He is now living retired on the old homestead. During a portion of his life he was engaged in brickmaking, and his father was the first brickmaker in Peoria county. He married Miss Sarah E. Nuttall, of England, who came to this country when she was eighteen years of age and settled in Peoria county. They have four other children besides Dr. Oscar Allen of this sketch.
Oscar Allen was educated in the district schools of the county, and the Peoria high school. He gained his medical education in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, Iowa, and took his post-graduate course in Chicago. Immediately after his graduation from college he went to Lawn Ridge, Illinois, and practiced there for two and one half years. At the expiration of that time he removed to Dunlap, Illinois, and remained there for fifteen years. He spent two years in Chicago practicing his profession, and on January 1, 1911, removed his office to Chillicothe, in the Wescott building where he is at present located. During his long period of activity in the medical profession Dr. Allen has attained a degree of efficiency which can only be the result of personal experience. He regards his calling as a sacred obligation and has a full appreciation of the duties of a physician to his fellowmen.
In 1892, Dr. Allen was united in marriage to Miss Linnie Waite, who was born in Topeka, Kansas, but spent most of her life in Peoria county. She is a granddaughter of Loren Wilder, one of the pioneer settlers of this district. To Dr. and Mrs. Allen four children have been born, Donald M., Robert B., and Willadell, and an infant son all living with their parents at home.
Politically Dr. Allen keeps himself entirely independent of lines and parties. He is a liberal thinker on all subjects and prefers to keep his judgment free and his principles unbiased by any partisanship. Both his father and his uncle were prominent in democratic politics in Peoria county for many years, but Dr. Allen, although he takes an active interest in public affairs, has never sought office. Fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and is prominent in the affairs of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Most of his time and attention is given to the practice of his profession, and the extensive practice which he has built up in Chillicothe and throughout the county is ample evidence of his proficiency and skill.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
G. L. Avery occupies a position of leadership as a representative of industrial activity in Peoria, being secretary of the Avery Company, owning and controlling one of the most extensive manufacturing plants in this city. It is true that he entered upon a business already established, but he has contributed to its enlargement and to its successful management and today there is no resident of Peoria who occupies a more honorable or enviable position in trade circles here. He has proven his worth in every connection, has learned the lessons which each day brings and has used the knowledge thus acquired for the furtherance of a business which is a feature in the general prosperity as well as in individual success. Mr. Avery was born in Galesburg, Knox county, Illinois, in 1879, and is descended in the eighth generation from Christopher Avery, the ancestral line being traced down through James, Thomas, Abraham, Nathan, William and George to Cyrus Minor Avery, his father. George Avery was the founder of the family in the west, establishing his home in Galesburg in 1837. There he built the second house in what was then known as Log City, in the midst of a tract that came to be called the Avery farm. He married Saraphena Princess Mary Phelps, who came to the west with her brother and mother, settling in Knoxville, Illinois, where she married Mr. Avery. For many years Mr. Avery continued to engage in general farming but at length retired and took up his abode within the limits of Galesburg, living on North Cherry street. There the fruits of his former toil supplied him with all of the necessities and many of the comforts of life up to the time of his death, which occurred on the first of January, 1884. His wife also died at the Cherry street home. They were members of the First Congregational church, in the work of which they took active and helpful part, Mr. Avery serving as deacon for many years. His political indorsement was given to the republican party. In the family were six children: Robert h., who died September 13, 1892; Mary, the wife of W. R. Butcher, living at Roodhouse, Illinois; John T., who died August 11, 1905, at Galesburg; Cyrus M., Phoebe T., who is living in Biloxi, Mississippi; and George, also of Biloxi. The first named and his brother, Cyrus M. Avery, uncle and father of our subject, were the founders of the business now conducted under the name of the Avery company. Cyrus M. Avery was educated in the public schools of Galesburg and Knox College, and after working with his father on the farm for a time engaged in manufacturing. It was early in the '70s that he joined his brother, Robert Hanneman Avery, in the establishment of a plant for the manufacture of agricultural implements in Galesburg under the style of R. H. & C. M. Avery. They conducted the business there until 1882, when they removed their factor to Peoria. The following year the Avery Planter Company was organized with a capital of two hundred thousand dollars. Then years afterward the authorized capital was increased to three hundred thousand dollars and in 1900 the name was changed to the Avery Manufacturing Company, at which time the capital stock was increased to one million dollars. After the business was incorporated R. H. Avery became its president and so continued until his death, which occurred on the 13th of September, 1892. At that time C. M. Avery, who was vice president, succeeded to the presidency and remained at the head of the business until his death. From the time of the removal of the plant to Peoria he divided his time between that city and Galesburg. In the latter he was married, October 4, 1877, to Miss Minnie Evalena Bartholomew, who was born at Elmwood, Illinois, February 25, 1856, and is a daughter of Luzurne and Sarah Elvira (Payne) Bartholomew. They became the parents of five children: Elvira Princess, born September 25, 1878; George Luzerne; Grace Ophelia, born October 8, 1883; Harriette, June 20, 1886; and Cyrus Minor, May 29, 1899. The mother is still a resident of Galesburg but the father died on the 15th of September, 1905. He occupied a most honored and prominent position in the business circles of the city and his son, G. L. Avery, has followed in his footsteps.
The latter was largely reared in Peoria but was graduated from Knox College at Galesburg in 1902. He has since been connected with the Avery Company and is today occupying an executive position as its secretary. After his graduation in 1902 he became connected with the business as private secretary to his father, who was then president of the company, and following his father's demise was appointed secretary and also was made one of the directors of the company. His associate officers are: J. G. Bartholomew, president; H. C. Roberts, vice president; and Ellwood Cole, treasurer. The first two have been connected with the company for thirty-three consecutive years and the last named for three years, so that the different officers are thoroughly acquainted with their departments of the business. The plant of the Avery Company covers a total of twenty-seven and five-hundredths acres and the main factory building, together with the various warehouses, have a total floor space of six and a half acres. The various departments of the factory are united by an improved type of trolley system of the company's manufacture which greatly facilitates the rapid handling of both finished and unfinished goods at a minimum of expense. That harmonious and notable relations exist between the company and its employes is indicated by the fact that labor troubles are unknown in their factory. The company manufactures steam and gasoline traction engines, self-lift plows, traction steam shovels, traction hauling wagons, threshing machinery and all its various attachments, mounted steel water tanks, farm wagons, corn planters, riding and walking cultivators, single and double row stalk cutters and gasoline tracts--both farm and city. Their output is sent to all parts of the country and into foreign lands as well. They have branch houses located at Omaha, Des Moines, Kansas City, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota, and Aberdeen, South Dakota. They have a large traveling force upon the road and their Canadian trade is handled from Winnipeg. Their foreign shipments go to Mexico, Argentine Republic, Brazil, Russia, Austria-Hungary, the Philippines, Portugal, China, Sweden, Cuba and Egypt. The foreign trade gives an outlet for much machinery at a time when the shipping season for the home trade is lightest. The officials of the company work together in the utmost harmony and their relation is one of close social as well as business interests.
Mr. Avery was united in marriage to Miss Miriam Hunter, of Chillicothe, Illinois, a daughter of E. F. Hunter, and theirs is one of the attractive and hospitable homes of the city. Mr. Avery belongs to the Creve Coeur Club and is recognized aside from other connections already mentioned as a citizen of worth, cooperating heartily and generously in support of many projects which have constituted valuable features in the city's growth and improvement. He is a broad and liberal-minded man of progressive spirit, keeping in touch with the tendency of the times and always holding to the high standards which have made the name of Avery the synonym not only for enterprise but for incorruptible integrity in business circles.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
Dr. John Baggs was one of Peoria's pioneer residents and for many years was an interested witness of the growth and progress of the city. Here he engaged in business and followed his profession of veterinary surgery to the later years of his life, when he retired and spent his remaining days in the enjoyment of well earned rest. He was born in Urbana, Ohio, January 13, 1837, and passed away March 23, 1909, having attained the ripe old age of seventy-two years. His parents were Abraham and Mary Baggs, also natives of Ohio, who removed westward to Illinois in 1838. Peoria was then a town of but a few hundred inhabitants and the entire countryside was largely wild and undeveloped. The father secured a tract of land and became a prominent pioneer farmer, converting his place into rich and productive fields and thus aiding greatly in the agricultural development of the community.
Dr. Baggs was only a year old when brought by his parents to this state. The educational advantages which Peoria offered in that early day constituted the extent of his education. In his youth he assisted his father on the home farm and early became familiar with the arduous task of developing and cultivating new land. He carefully saved his earnings and at the age of twenty years was himself the owner of a good farm, which he continued to cultivate successfully until 1861. At the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, however, all business and personal considerations were put aside that he might respond to the country's call for aid. He enlisted in the Eighty-sixth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was organized and commanded by Colonel D. D. Irons, and later by Colonel McGee. He was on active duty until injuries sustained at the front caused him to be honorably discharged and he returned home with a most creditable military record.
About that time Dr. Baggs disposed of his farm and took up his abode in the city. Here he became a veterinary surgeon and practiced his profession successfully for many years, his ability in that direction making his services in constant demand. In 1905 he retired from all active business, having in the years of his previous labor acquired a competence sufficient to supply him with all the necessities and comforts and many of the luxuries of life.
On the 17th of November, 1858, Dr. Baggs was united in marriage to Lydia Meredith Gill, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Moss) Gill, the latter a representative of the Moss family that figured prominently in the early history of Virginia. Her grandfather, a member of that family, served in the Revolutionary war. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Baggs was born one son, William, who is now deceased.
Dr. Baggs was preeminently a home man and found his greatest happiness at his own fireside. He was very hospitable and greatly enjoyed entertaining company in his own home. He also manifested a marked fondness for music and literature and these added greatly to the joys of his life. His political allegiance was always given to the republican party from the time that age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He believe it to be the party of reform and progress and recognized the fact that it was the defense of the Union in the dark days of the Civil war. In manner he was quiet and unassuming but his genuine personal worth gained him recognition and won him many friends. He was deeply interested and closely associated with the pioneer development of this part of the state and mention should be made of him in a history of Peoria county's upbuilders and promoters.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
There is no struggle more continuous or more severe than that which is constantly transpiring in the wonderful operations which furnish men with news. The demand for live, honest and up-to-date news, is constantly increasing, but the supply is dependent on many contingencies of which he must be a clear observer and accurate reasoner who measures. The revolution, too, in methods of business that has been witnessed even by the young men of this generation, has had the effect of stranding many who could not conform to the new systems. The most successful editor or newspaper man today is he who is most comprehensive in his grasp of thought; who perceives most clearly; discriminates most keenly; seizes on the right means and the right time most decisively; and retains his equanimity in situations most complex and difficult. The successful newspaper man of today must be a man well versed in every line of culture, and must be able to estimate this culture truly and apply it properly.
Such a man is Eugene F. Baldwin, veteran editor of Peoria. Mr. Baldwin has climbed the journalistic ladder from the bottom round, and has attained his present position in the newspaper world through his own individual efforts and by strict application and hard work, and has brought his paper, The Peoria Evening Star, to a position of honor and distinction which it richly deserves. Mr. Baldwin is more than a mere newspaper editor. He is a scholar and a gentleman. In the course of his long editorial career, he has acquired a style that is classic, brilliant, scintillating, with wit, scholarly and fluent with the ease of rare culture and learning. His success in the important department of journalism, against many adverse influences, is truly creditable to his intelligence, enterprise and industry. But his success is not simply individual in its results; through the Peoria Star, he is aiding to advance all the interests of Peoria, advocating its institutions and enterprises, and helping to increase its wealth, and extend its proportions to that of a metropolitan city.
Eugene F. Baldwin was born in Watertown, Connecticut, on December 1, 1840. His parents were Stephen and Julia (Pardee) Baldwin. Stephen Baldwin was a deacon in the Congregational church, as what his father before, and the boy was brought up in strict Calvinistic principles, an early training which gave a distinct trend to his mind, and flavors his writings to the present day. The religious influences of his early life were remarkably intense. The Bible was his daily reading, and his deep and detailed knowledge of the Book of Books is perhaps due to this early education in its beauties. Stephen Baldwin, the father of Eugene, was strongly religious in his tendencies, and being a builder by trade, conceived the idea that God had called him by Divine appointment to devote his energies exclusively to the building of churches. The mental food of the family consisted of Watt's Hymns, the Shorter Catechism, and Baxter's Saints' Rest. Mr. Eugene Baldwin's keen mind absorbed this religious atmosphere, and it colored all his life and writings.
Stephen Baldwin came west in 1855 and settled with his family in Milwaukee. Eugene was at this time of high-school age, and he attended the high school at Milwaukee. In 1860 he secured a position as teacher in Clinton county, Illinois, a situation which he gave up to enter the State Normal School at Bloomington, in order to better fit himself for what he believed at that time to be his life's profession. However, the next spring found him working at his carpenter's bench in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father had moved in the interval. In 1861, when the Civil War had commenced, Eugene Baldwin enlisted in the Twelfth Indiana Volunteers, and served honorably and bravely until 1863, when after having been captured by the Confederates, and broken down physically, he was discharged as an invalid. In 1864, Mr. Baldwin came to Chillicothe, Illinois, to take the position as principal of the schools there. He made such a success of this work that he was soon called to Peoria to take the head of the First Ward school there. When a year later, he accepted the position as local editor of the Peoria Transcript, his long newspaper career began. After serving four years in this capacity, he resigned, and went to El Paso, Illinois, where he bought the El Paso Journal. The next year, however, he returned to Peoria, and in partnership with Mr. A. R. Sheldon established the Peoria Review, which remained in existence but three years. There followed a short experience as editor of the Rock Island Union, after which Mr. Baldwin again purchased the El Paso Journal. In 1877, with Mr. J. B. Barnes as a partner, he came to Peoria and established the Peoria Journal, which is today one of the leading newspapers of the city.
In 1891, Mr. Baldwin left the newspaper world, and associated himself with Charles H. Powell in the Sylvan Remedy Company, dealing in patent medicines. This venture proved disastrous financially, and when it failed entirely three years afterward, Mr. Baldwin went back to the business for which he was so uniquely fitted, and began the publication of the Peoria Star, the first issue appearing September 27, 1897. Neither Mr. Baldwin nor Mr. Powell, who was still associated with him, had at this time, any money. They bought the printing press on credit, and even found themselves unable to pay the freight when it was shipped down to them. In comparing the humble beginnings of the Peoria Star of fifteen years, with the magnificent organ of weight and influence to which it has grown, we can but be struck with the commanding force of energetic perseverance in a worthy cause. Mr. Baldwin was then, as he is now, a forceful, aggressive, earnest man, and in those fifteen years has demonstrated the advantages of the city he has made his home, and abundantly verified the good opinions of his many friends. He has always kept abreast of the times, and it his enthusiastic pursuit of his business is often in advance and always ready to meet the demands of this rapid age of improvement. He is a man of progressive ideas, had been successful in his business and has proved his ability as a manager of an enterprise which calls for intelligence, tact and skill. He has long been one of Peoria's energetic and enterprising citizens. He has brought the Peoria Star, from its precarious beginning to a position in the journalistic world which makes it one of the most weighty and influential newspapers in the city today.
Mr. Baldwin is now sole owner of the paper, and acts as its editor. His editorial remarks are read eagerly every day, for their clear, concise and pointed expositions of the current affairs of the day. In addition to the editorials, the Sunday issue of the Star contains a page from the pen of Mr. Baldwin, called The Philosopher. In this page, Mr. Baldwin has an organ for the expounding of his views on science, religion, current events, and all the various and manifold influences which make up the world. It is always a page of the most profound, cultured and scholarly philosophy, written in the pointed, witty, telling style, which is Mr. Baldwin's own. This Sunday page has earned for its author, a reputation which extends far beyond local limits.
Mr. Baldwin's style is strong and forcible, clear in expression, and of commanding purity of English. Mr. Baldwin himself is public-spirited, without being partisan; charitable without ostentation; enterprising, but careful; imbued with high religious principles, always accomplishing remarkable results with quiet power.
On April 23, 1866, Mr. Baldwin was married to Miss Sarah J. Gove, and they became the parents of three children: Ethel, deceased; Frank E., now a prominent physician and surgeon in Peoria; and Mildred, now living with her parents in their home at 211 North Perry avenue.
For some time, Mr. Baldwin did considerable outside literary work. He is the author of several pamphlets, one novel and a work on hypnotism. Of late years, however, he has given this up, devoting his outside time to lectures and speeches for which he is in great demand on account of his eloquent lucidity of thought. He was also one of the promoters and builders of the Grand Opera House, which building housed for twenty years the most exclusive and high-class amusements in the city until it was burned down a few years ago.
Mr. Baldwin is now in the seventy-second year of his age. His is in the full vigor and strength of manhood with all his faculties unimpaired. Almost his entire life has been directed to the study and betterment of journalism in his city. He is most industrious in his pursuit of his business and his breadth of learning corresponds to the labors he performs. As a thorough, sound and deep read writer he occupies a position in the first ranks of his brethren. Clear and distinct, always logical, with a full command of language, earnest and of strong convictions, he never fails to impress his audience with the justice of the cause he pleads. He is noted for his aptitude in grappling with details, and for his accurate and keen perception and judgment. Fearless, impulsive and frank to a degree, what he things, he says, and says it hard. He indulges in no preliminaries, but strikes straight from the shoulder. Perhaps the most obvious, if not the strongest trait of Mr. Baldwin's character is his intense individuality. No one who has ever met him can mistake anyone else for him, or him for anyone else. He is known as a forceful man whose strong and well-balanced views have enabled him to accomplish what he has undertaken and gain considerable prestige as a journalist, and his reputation for ability is of the very best. He is a man of strong presence, with a determine will and a kindly manner which carries everything before it; a sound, enterprising, clear-headed benevolent and versatile man, and Peoria is constantly the gainer by his remarkable abilities.
In social life he is universally respected and esteemed by all classes of our citizens. In the large circle of his acquaintances he forms his opinions of men regardless of worldly wealth and position. He has labored, and not in vain, for the welfare of the city, and enjoys in a marked degree that reward of the progressive, upright citizen, the respect and confidence of his fellowmen. He bears the burden of his years lightly, and shows but few traces of the cares and perplexities inseparable from an active, busy life.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
Willis H. Ballance, president of the Gipps Brewing Company, which is located at the foot of Bridge street in Peoria, was born in this city on November 6, 1849. He is a son of Colonel Charles and Julia (Schnebly) Ballance. The family is of French Huguenot origin and came to America before the Revolution. Colonel Charles Ballance was a prominent real-estate lawyer and practiced in the supreme court of Illinois and in the supreme court of the United States. He did more than any attorney to settle the titles of Illinois settlers that were claimed by French land sharks. During the Civil war he organized the Seventy-seventh Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and he has also served as mayor of Peoria. He was a great friend of Abraham Lincoln.
Willis H. Ballance laid the foundation for his education in Peoria and later became a student in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, New York. Afterward he studied in the Williston Seminary at East Hampton, Massachusetts. Subsequently he returned to Peoria, where he became bookkeeper for the Central City Elevator Company, remaining with them for one year. He then took a position as bookkeeper for the Gipps & Shurtleff Company and afterward for the Peoria Beer, Ale & Malt Company. He then became interested in the Gipps, Cody & Company and when the firm was reorganized in 1887, as the Gipps Brewing Company, he became secretary and treasurer and remained in that position until October, 1910, when he was elected president. He has been connected with this establishment since 1870. The brewery is located on the ground of the old Miller brewery, which was the first establishment of its kind in Peoria. The business was first established by John M. Gipps, a graduate of Cambridge University, England, and a younger son of an English clergyman who was a brother of Lord Methuen and also a brother of the celebrated Englishman, Mr. Gipps, who was governor of Australia and for whom Gippsland was named. After Mr. Gipps' demise his interest was purchased by his partners Leslie Robison and Mr. Ballance, and ever since that time the business has gradually increased until it has reached its present capacity. Its growth for the past ten years has been largely due to the business sagacity and foresight of Leslie Robison, seconded by his son, Charles W. Robison and by the subject of this sketch, Mr. Willis H. Ballance. Owing to the advanced age of Mr. Robison, Sr., and at his urgent request, Mr. Ballance purchased the former's interest on October 1, 1910. Since Mr. Ballance has become president the growth of the business has surpassed that in any of its previous existence.
In Peoria, in 1871, Mr. Ballance was married to Miss August Nevius, who passed away in 1899, leaving seven children. Virginia, who is now the wife of Lewis Starke, makes her home at Atlanta, George. Florence, living at Denver, gave her hand in marriage to Dr. E. W. Stevens, who passed away in October, 1910. Dr. Harriett Ballance is a practicing physician of San Francisco, California. Julia gave her hand in marriage to Ernest E. Watson, general claim agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. Myrtle is the wife of Henry M. Towar, president of the Atlas Belting Company of Harvard, Illinois. Willis H., a graduate of the mechanical engineering department of Cornell University and also of the Wahl Henius Institute in Chicago, is the vice president of the Gipps Brewing Company. Nevius V. is pursuing a course in chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin. In Peoria, in 1903, Mr. Ballance was again wedded, his second union being with Miss Ida Lundquist, and of this marriage have been born two children: Robert Green, whose birth occurred in San Francisco on the 10th of July, 1905; and Bettina, who was born at Yuma, Arizona, on the 20th of April, 1909. The family reside at No. 256 Randolph avenue in a beautiful home which was erected in 1879. In his political views Mr. Ballance is an independent republican.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
There is probably no calling, either in business or the professions which necessitates the possession of so much strict integrity, scruplousness and thorough mastery of detail, on the part of its members, as does the practice of medicine. The physician often holds the lives of his patients in his hands. Upon his skill, his fertility of resource, his calmness in a crisis, life itself depends. Therefore, a doctor should regard his profession as a high and honorable one, and his worthy practice of it, a sacred debt which he owes to humanity. A doctor of this high class is Edward E. Barbour, one of the most able physicians of this city.
Dr. Barbour has offices at 427 Jefferson building, Peoria, and has since 1903 done a general practice, specializing in obstetrics. He was born on the farm of his father in Carroll county, Indiana, January 10, 1869, his father, Reuben D. Barbour, being a prominent agriculturist. Here he was reared close to the heart of nature, and grew to manhood. He attended the public schools and attained proficiency in the common branches of English learning. Later he extended his education by attending night school in Indianapolis and when he had fitted himself to do so, took up the study of medicine on September 15, 1895, which he diligently pursued until March 22, 1899, when he was graduated from the Physio Medical College of Indianapolis, Indiana. After his graduation, he began the practice of his profession in Putnam county, Illinois, where by his professional skill he achieved success and by his personal magnetism formed many lasting and pleasant acquaintanceships. Desiring a larger field for his chose life work, in 1903 he settled in Peoria. During that year, he took post-graduate work in the Chicago Polyclinic and since that time has been engaged professionally in this city. He is on the staff of St. Francis Hospital of Peoria, acts as health officer of Averyville, a suburb north of Peoria, and is also president of the Averyville board of education.
On August 25, 1892, Dr. Barbour was married to Miss Sadie M. Kendall of Indianapolis, Indiana, a daughter of John M. and Mary (Willetts) Kendall. They became the parents of one son, Orville E., who was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 25, 1893, and who graduated from Western Military Academy, at Alton, Illinois, in June, 1912. Dr. Barbour's first wife died March 22, 1900, and on December, 24, 1901, he was again married. His second wife was Miss Cleopatra Axtell of Tipton, Indiana, a daughter of John Wand and Sarah (McFarland) Axtell.
The Doctor is a member of the Peoria City Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Masonry and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Knights of Khorassan, and is past chancellor commander of Calanthe Lodge, No. 43 of the Knights of Pythias. He is active in the Independent Order of Red Men and several other fraternal orders, besides being a prominent member of the Y. M. C. A. and the Peoria Association of Commerce. As a citizen, Dr. Barbour is universally esteemed, like his professional duties, are always conducted on the principles of strict integrity, and he is kind in his relations and conduct towards all.
While Gardner Thurston Barker became a conspicuous and honorable figure on the stage of business activity in Peoria, he played other parts in the drama of life with equal ability. He was recognized as a leader in public affairs and several times as chief executive of the city administered its municipal interests. Over the record of his public career as well as his private life there fell no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, for he held to high standards and neither fear nor favor could swerve him from a course which he believed to be right. With a nature that could never be content with mediocrity, he made constant advancement in business and for a long period controlled important commercial and financial interests of the city.
Mr. Barker was a native of New York, his birth having occurred in Moriah Essex county, January 10, 1814. His parents were Gardner T. and Harriet (Lyon) Barker and while spending his youthful days under the parental roof he pursued his education, seeking a home and fortune in the west in 1838, when a young man of twenty-four years. At that time Peoria was a tiny town, containing very few inhabitants and giving but little promise of future greatness. His business ability, however, was soon manifest here and with the growth of the city he was continuously identified, his individual efforts constituting an important factor in promoting the commercial and industrial activity and prosperity of Peoria. He was first associated with Almeran S. Cole in a general mercantile enterprise under the style of Cole & Barker, and a change in the partnership afterward led to the adoption of the firm name of Barker & Stearns. Still later Mr. Barker became sole proprietor. In 1867 he entered into active connection with the distilling business, which has been one of the chief sources of Peoria's upbuilding and prosperity. He also extended his efforts into various other lines of business and all of his different investments proved successful, indicating his sound judgment and keen discrimination. He never allowed pleasure or outside interests to interfere with the management of his business affairs and gradually he advanced to a position of leadership, enjoying the prosperity which was his by reason of intelligently directed effort and indefatigable energy. He retired in 1887 from the active management of his different interests and thereafter gave his attention solely to his duties as president of the Commercial National Bank and as president of the Allaire-Woodward Chemical Company. In all of his business affairs he found ready solution for intricate and involved problems. He seemed to recognize almost intuitively the opportunities and possibilities of a situation and he so directed forces as to produce a harmonious and resultant whole. As one of the wealthy residents of Peoria he took up the bonds when the city borrowed large sums of money and negotiated them in New York.
Business, however, was but one feature of the intensively active career of Mr. Barker. His deep interest in Peoria and her welfare and his thorough understanding of the political questions and issues of the day led him to cooperate heartily with the democratic party, for he was an earnest believer in the principles which constitute its platform. In local political circles, therefore, he figured prominently. In 1852 he was elected to the city council and then years later was chosen mayor of Peoria. His first term received indorsement in a reelection so that he served in 1870 and 1871. He gave to the city a businesslike and progressive administration, characterized by retrenchment in useless expenditures yet marked by progressiveness where the best interests of the city were to be conserved. His word could always be relied upon whether in business or in politics.
On the 20th of August, 1840, Mr. Barker was united in marriage to Miss Helen White, of Champlain, New York, a daughter of Elial and Mary B. (Lewis) White, who were natives of Massachusetts, the former born at Medway, December 21, 1794, and the latter at Amherst, February 9, 1799. The marriage ceremony of her grandparents was celebrated by the Rev. Daniel Morton, the father of Cive President Levi P. Morton. The death of Mr. Barker occurred October 26, 1894. He was succeeded in business by his son Walter, who became the president of the Commercial National Bank, and he is also survived by a daughter, Mrs. Ellen B. McRoberts, and her two sons, Walter and W. G. McRoberts, and a grandson, Jesse, who was the son of Mr. Barker's youngest daughter and was left motherless during his infancy, at which time he was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Barker. Three years after the demise of her husband Mrs. Helen (White) Barker passed away. They had figured prominently in the social life of the city, where Mr. Barker made his home for fifty-six years. He had watched the development of Peoria from a small town to a city of metropolitan proportions and had proven a most important factor in this work of transformation. In all that he undertook, whether of a public or a private nature, whether in business or in office, he put forth earnest, persistent effort, realizing that the source of power is within the individual and that not upon any environment or circumstance does progress depend. Whatever the quiet forces and influences at work in his life to shape his destiny, it was evident at the outset of his business career that he understood clearly the fact that energy and unfaltering purpose constitute the surest basis upon which to build success. He was a well balanced man mentally and physically, possessed sufficient courage to venture where favoring opportunity presented and his judgment and even-paced energy carried him forward to the goal of prosperity.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
Out of the struggle with small opportunities J. B. Bartholomew has come finally into a field of broad and active influence and usefulness. Industry has been the root of his notable success and added to this is the quality of quick discernment and the faculty of separating the important features of any subject from its incidental or accidental circumstances. In other words, sound judgment passes upon the value of every situation. The broader spirit of the new twentieth century finds expression in his activities as the president of the Avery Company, manufacturers of farm implements and machinery. This is the largest manufacturing plant of the city and in addition to the position of president which he fills in this connection he is also the president of the Bartholomew Company, manufacturers of the Glide automobile. Moreover, the soundness of his judgment and the wisdom of his opinions are uniformly recognized.
Mr. Bartholomew's identification with the Avery Company dates from December 8, 1879, when he began driving a team used in hauling lumber, his salary being a dollar and ten cents per day. He has been a life-long resident of Peoria county, his birth having occurred upon a farm in Elmwood township, February 19, 1863. His parents were Albertus Y. and Mary E. (Ennis) Bartholomew. The father was the second white child born in Elmwood township and was a son of Luzern Bartholomew, who was the first settler in Peoria county north of what is now the town of Elmwood. He took up his abode there at a very early period in the settlement of this part of the state and subsequently went to California in 1849, attracted by the gold discoveries on the Pacific coast. However, he afterward again became a resident of Peoria county and his death occurred in Washington, D. C., whither he had gone to see about a patent in which he was interested. Death came to him very suddenly. His son, Albertus Y. Bartholomew, made farming his life work.
On the old homestead farm J. B. Bartholomew was reared and his first position was with the Avery's, then in Galesburg. In 1882 the company moved its plant to Peoria and Mr. Bartholomew thus became a factor in the industrial circles of this city. The faithfulness and capability which he displayed in his original position with the firm led to his promotion. He ceased team driving to enter the assembly shop where the machines were put together and he became thoroughly acquainted with the trade in all the different mechanical phases of the business. He then went upon the road as an expert demonstrator and afterward joined the sales force. Each different connection brought him larger duties and broader experience, calling forth his latent powers and energies. He afterward established a branch for the company and Des Moines, Iowa, where he resided for ten years or from 1882 until 1892. In the fall of the latter year he returned to Peoria to take charge of the manufacturing and designing department and later he was elected to the vice presidency of the company and also became a member of its board of directors. He succeeded to the presidency on the death of C. M. Avery and has since been at the head of a business which is the foremost industrial enterprise of Peoria, employing thirteen hundred workmen. The company has not only followed a progressive lead but has been foremost in the work of advancement in the line of agricultural implement manufacture. Mr. Bartholomew's long experience has made him thoroughly acquainted with every phase of the business and its success is attributable in large measure to his enterprise and efforts. At the present time he is bending his energies to executive control and administrative direction and the great concern of which he is the head has been so carefully systematized that the business runs on with the smoothness of clock work. Of course there are problems, often most intricate ones, arising again and again, but the keen sagacity and discernment and the long experience of Mr. Bartholomew have enabled him to find ready solution for these.
Although at the head of the foremost manufacturing industry of the city, this does not comprise the scope of Mr. Bartholomew's activity. He is also the president of the Bartholomew Company, a large Peoria concern engaged in the manufacture of the Glide automobile. This was organized in 1892 to take over a small personal business which had been developed by Mr. Bartholomew in Des Moines--the manufacture of peanut roasters, which the company still continues, although in later years their largest output has been the automobile. The business was removed to Peoria in 1900 and Mr. Bartholomew's son, A. Y. Bartholomew, is now vice president of the company. The father is also a director of the Merchants National Bank of Peoria.
One of the recent honors, which has brought Mr. Bartholomew wide acquaintance throughout the nation, was that of president of the National Implement and Vehicle show, which was held in Peoria September 27 to October 5. The event was an extremely successful one, promoting the interests of trade and advancing an understanding among manufacturers and business men that is of untold value.
On the 2d of July, 1884, occurred the marriage of Mr. Bartholomew and Miss Luella Moore, who was born in Eureka, Illinois. They became the parents of four children: A. Y., vice president of the Bartholomew Company; Ethel, the wife of Francis W. Gray; Margaret; and John B. Mr. Bartholomew belongs to the Creve Coeur Club, the Country Club and the Illinois Valley Yacht Club and was president of the first named when they completed their new building. He was also vice president and one of the directors when the enterprise was undertaken. His life history is another proof of the fact that there is no success in life without effort. Not seeking honor but simply endeavoring to do his duty, honors have come to him and prosperity has followed his undertakings.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
It is not given to the majority of men to attain prominence in military or political circles, but the possibilities of a successful career in business are before very individual. The attainment of success, however, attests the possession of certain essential qualities. These are industry, concentration, close application and firm purpose and with all these requisites Peter Colcord Bartlett was richly endowed. By their exercise he gained a creditable position in business circles and, moreover, his was a notable career in that he remained actively in business to the time of his death, which occurred when he was about eighty-five years of age. He was born February 13, 1826, in Salisbury, New Hampshire, and departed this life in Peoria, April 5, 1911. As a pioneer merchant and representative business man he certainly deserves mention in this volume. His parents were Peter and Anna (Pettengill) Bartlett. The father was a capable and learned physician, who in 1836 removed to Peoria, becoming one of the earliest practitioners of medicine in this city which at that time contained a very limited population. He was a representative of one of the old New England families, among whose members were many who attained prominence, their names being closely associated with a number of the leading educational institutions of New England, also with the records of the bar and the medical profession.
Peter C. Bartlett was a pupil in the public schools of his native town and also of Peoria, following the removal of the family to this place. He first sought employment as a clerk in a general store and his initial business experience qualified him for larger responsibilities at a later date. He soon entered the employ of Pettengill & Bartlett, proprietors of a general mercantile establishment, the junior partner being a cousin of Peter C. Bartlett. While thus employed the latter carefully saved his earnings until his industry and economical expenditure had brought him a sufficient sum to enable him to engage in business on his own account. He then opened a grocery store, which he conducted successfully for twelve years. His trade grew during that period and brought him substantial success. He afterward turned his attention to the dry-goods business, forming a partnership with A. P. Bartlett, who had previously been his employer when a member of the firm Pettengill & Bartlett. The connection between the cousins was discontinued in 1877, when A. P. Bartlett retired from business. The following year Peter C. Bartlett entered the revenue service, in which he continued for seven years. On the expiration of that period he once more became connected with the grocery trade, in which he continued successfully up to the time of his death. He was a business man of the highest type and the straight-forward, honorable policy which he followed is still being pursued by his son Edward P. Bartlett, who is his successor in commercial circles. Despite his eighty-five years he went each day to his office and continued actively in business at the time of his demise.
On the 12th of November, 1851, Mr. Bartlett was united in marriage to Miss Abigail Thompson, and unto them were born four sons but Henry T. Bartlett is the only one now living. The wife and mother passed away September 2, 1861, and Mr. Bartlett afterward wedded Margaret Culbertson, by whom he had five children: Sue Herron, Nancy Culbertson, Edward P., Lucy Ellen and William C. There are two granddaughters: Alice C., a daughter of Henry T Bartlett; and Margaret C., a daughter of Edward P. Bartlett.
The parents were members of the Presbyterian church and were people of broad and liberal views and of charitable spirit, ever ready to extend a helping hand to one in need or to speak an encouraging word. In business affairs Mr. Bartlett was conservative yet never allowed this to interfere with progressiveness. He clung tenaciously to a cause which he believed to be right and his opinions were founded upon through understanding of every vital question. He was a well read man and he was fond of music. He had many lovable traits of character, was always considerate of the opinions of others and his friendship was much prized by all to whom it was given. There are no exciting chapters in his life record but it is that of a man who ever recognized his duties and met his obligations.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
Harry C. Beebe is the sole proprietor of The Beebe Mill Works, located at No. 1007 and 1009 South Adams street. Although he has been identified with the industrial interests of Peoria for only a brief period, Mr. Beebe is well known in local business circles, as for eighteen years he was manager of the firm of Cartwright & Russell. He was born in Chillicothe, this county, on the 19th of May, 1861, and is a son of Reuben and Josephine Beebe, well known pioneer settlers of that town. The father, who was a carpenter by trade, was actively engaged in contracting and building in Chillicothe for more than fifty years. He was a man of marked loyalty and patriotism and went to the front as a private in the Eighty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, being honorably discharged at the close of his period of enlistment. In matters of citizenship he was enterprising and progressive and during a large portion of his life was actively identified with municipal affairs and on several occasions was called to fill the mayor's chair. He lived to attain a ripe old age, passing away in 1904, and is buried in the cemetery at Chillicothe. The mother is still living and continued to make her home in the latter place, where she is widely known and held in high regard, as was likewise the father.
The boyhood and youth of Harry C. Beebe were passed in his native town, in whose public schools he pursued his education until he had attained the age of sixteen years, terminating his student days before he had completed his high school course. After laying aside his text books he worked for his father for four years and during that period thoroughly mastered the details of the carpenters' trade. He next entered the employ of The St. John Marsh Company as their traveling representative, and during the succeeding five years he went through the western states seeking locations and establishing lumber yards for this firm. They discontinued business in 1886 and Mr. Beebe went to Denver, Colorado, and engaged in contracting and building for six years. In 1892, he returned to Peoria and became manager for Cartwright & Russell, remaining in their service until 1909, when he resigned his position in order to establish the enterprise he is now conducting. This proved to be a very lucrative undertaking, and at the end of his first year Mr. Beebe erected the fine brick factory building he is now occupying on South Adams street. It is sixty by one hundred and eighty feet, thoroughly modern in its construction and equipped with every appliance and machine essential to a plant of this kind. The growth of this activity has not been remarkable in any way, but is development has been characterized by the substantial and permanent progress that manifests stability. The receipts have shown a marked annual increase from year to year and employment is now given to eight skilled workmen.
Hudson, Kansas, was the scene fo Mr. Beebe's marriage on the 6th of April, 1886, to Miss Addie F. Cole, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Cole, the father a highly respected agriculturist of Reno county, Kansas. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Beebe, Ruth, who is now at home with her parents. The family home is located at No. 502 Bigelow street, where they own a very pleasant and comfortable residence.
Fraternally Mr. Beebe is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is energetic in his methods and directs his efforts along well defined lines with the determination of purpose that invariably wins success, and in the organization and concentration of his forces in the development of his industry is manifesting the same powers that characterized him when working under the supervision and direction of others.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
J. M. Belck, who has been practically a lifelong resident of Peoria, is now the president of The B. F. Adams Company, dealers in farm implements, seeds, automobiles, etc., at Nos. 114-116-118 South Washington street. This enterprise owes its development and prosperity in no small measure to the efforts of him who stands at its head, for Mr. Belck is a farsighted, sagacious and progressive business man, whose plans are carefully formulated and promptly executed.
He was born near Mansfield, Ohio, in 1851, a son of Martin Belck, a harness maker who came to Peoria with his family during the infancy of his son, J. M. Belck. For many years the father was engaged in the harness-making business in Peoria in connection with H. M. Frederick under the firm style of Frederick and Company, this being one of the early business concerns of the city. The father died about the time his son J. M. Belck attained his majority but the mother passed away while he was a schoolboy. His education was acquired in the public schools and in the high school when it was located at the old state house square. He likewise attended Brown's Business College and thus became well equipped for the practical and responsible duties which have devolved upon him in his later years.
His identification with his present business dates from 1886, at which time he secured the position of bookkeeper and clerk with The George M. Moore Company. Later the business was reorganized under the name of the Peoria Implement Company, in which B. F. Adams became interested in 1894. The business, however, was conducted under the old style until 1907, when it was incorporated under the name of The B. F. Adams Company, with J. M. Belck as the president and manager. In the meantime he had continuously worked his way upward, acquainting himself with the various branches of the business, his powers growing through exercise. The business is conducted at No. 116-118 South Washington street, which is probably the oldest stand for an implement concern in Peoria. They occupy the entire building, which is three stories in height, has a frontage of thirty-four feet and a depth of one hundred and seventy-two feet. They also occupy the entire two-story building at 114 South Washington street, which is twenty-four by one hundred and seventy-two feet. They are extensive dealers in farm implements and yet their largest trade is in the jobbing of seeds. In that connection they have built up a business of mammoth proportions and their output covers a wide territory. The business methods of the house are such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny, for at all times their interests have conformed to a high standard of commercial ethics.
Mr. Belck was married in 1884 to Miss Alice Couch at Camp Point, Indiana. The social phases of his life are further represented in his connection with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the degrees of the lodge, chapter, council, commandery and the Mystic Shrine. He is in thorough sympathy with the purposes and teachings of the craft. Moreover, he is a member of the Peoria Association of Commerce and is interested in its various projects for the welfare of the city, its adornment, improvement and business development. Mr. Belck is a typical business man of the present day, alert, enterprising, prompt and notably reliable. He early realized the truth of the old adage that "honesty is the best policy" and it has been through the employment of progressive, reliable methods that he has gained the presidency of one of the important commercial concerns of the city.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
No history of Peoria and its commercial activities would be complete without extended reference to Douglas H. Bethard, the president of the Jobst-Bethard Company, and therefore head of one of the most extensive wholesale grocery establishments of the middle west. Under the title of "The Acorn and the Oak," this house has issued an attractive little pamphlet, telling the story of the growth of the business. The same similie may well be applied to Mr. Bethard, whose advancement to his present prominent position is indicative of the wise use he has made of his time, talents and opportunities. Peoria is proud of his record and called him to the first presidency of the Peoria Association of Commerce. Moreoever, he is widely known throughout the country in trade circles and has been honored with the presidency for the term of one year of the National Wholesale Grocers Association. He was born in the village of Derbyville, Pickaway county, Ohio, October 10, 1858, a son of George W. And Eliza (Hurst) Bethard, who during the early boyhood of their son Douglas removed from the Buckeye state to Peoria county. The father for many years was a coal operator and general merchant at Kingston Mines in this county. He was an active factor in the life of his community and both directly and indirectly contributed to the development and welfare of the county. For three terms he was mayor of Wenona, Illinois, and resided in this place until his death which occurred in 1910.
At the usual age Douglas H. Bethard began his education in the public schools and during the periods of vacation worked in his father's store. He afterward came to Peoria, where he spent a year's study in the high school and also a year in Brown's Business College of Jacksonville, Illinois. When but a lad he entered the employ of S. H. Thompson & Company as errand boy at a salary of three dollars per week and that he was faithful, diligent and reliable is indicated by the fact that he was continued in Mr. Thompson's employ until the latter went out of business, when he became one of the owners of the store in which purchase he was associated with Charles Jobst and Charles E. Fulks. Taking over the business of S. H. Thompson & Company, they organized what is now the Jobst-Bethard Company. Through intermediate positions Mr. Bethard had been advanced from errand boy to department manager and was occupying the position of sales manager when Mr. Thompson retired. His services in the meantime had covered the positions of shipping clerk, billing clerk, assistant bookeeper, bookkeeper and traveling salesman. For fifteen years he remained upon the road and then returned to the house to accept the position of department manager, although even then he devoted half his time to traveling. Several years thus passed and gradually he worked into the position of general manager, for he was practically filling that position when the firm of S. H. Thompson & Company sold out. The business at that time was located at Nos. 116 and 118 Main street. Their capital was small but the partners felt this an excellent opportunity to embark in business on their own account. W. P. Gauss and Herbert Simpson also entered the partnership and the new firm was originally known as Gauss, Jobst, Bethard & Company, but a little later the first named sold his interest to Messrs. Jobst, Bethard and Fulks, who soon also purchased the interest of Herbert Simpson. It was in 1895 that the interest of Mr. Gauss was taken over and in 1902 that of Mr. Simpson, in which year the firm of Jobst-Bethard Company was incorporated under the laws of the state, at which time the three principals arranged to take in some of their old and trusted employes under a mutually satisfactory working arrangement. The experience of the men who constituted the company well qualified them for the successful conduct of the business, and from the outset the new enterprise prospered. Their original building was a double store with fifty feet frontage and three stories in height, at Nos. 114 and 116 Main street. The growth of their trade necessitated the acquirement of another building after a year or two and nearly every year saw an additional building until they occupied practically the entire north half of the block on Main street between Washington and Water streets, and also a three story warehouse at No. 106 South Washington street. Again their facilities were found to be entirely inadequate in 1909 and at a meeting of the board of trustees it was decided to erect a building of their own. The preliminary work of the architects was approved in the spring of 1910 and about the 1st of June of that year ground was broken and work was begun in the construcction of their present mammoth, modern, up-to-date, reinforced concrete and strictly fireproof warehouse, which was ready for occupancy on the 1st of May, 1911. The dimensions of the building are one hundred and five by one hundred and sixty feet, six stories in height, with basement. The floor space comprises one hundred and fifteen thousand, one hundred and ten square feet, their private tracks from the Peoria railway Terminal and Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad furnishing direct switch connections with the sixteen railroads entering Peoria. In the year in which the new building was begun the capital stock of the company was also increased. At its incorporation in 1902 it had been capitalized for two hundred and fifty-five thousand, and in 1910 this was increased to four hundred thousand, and in addition the building was erected at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars. The present officers of the company are: Douglas H. Bethard, president; Carl Jobst, vice president; and Charles E. Fulks, secretary and treasurer, and in addition, Alexander Furst, George W. Fulks and C. G. Cole are on the board of directors. Since the organization of the present firm a high standard has been maintained in the personnel of the house, in the class of goods carried and in the character of service rendered to the public. A large and efficient office force is employed and there are between twenty and thirty traveling salesmen upon the road. Theirs is a splendidly equipped plant with handsomely outfitted offices and large store rooms for the various kinds of goods handled, everything being most modern and attractive in appearance and orderly in arrangement, while the handling of all goods is done in a most systematic manner.
In 1887 Mr. Bethard was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Daugherty, of this city, a daughter of James Daugherty, an early shoe merchant of Peoria who came here in 1840 and died in 1909, at the very venerable age of ninety-three years. Mr. Bethard is a member of the Creve Coeur Club, the Madison Avenue Golf Club, the Illinois Valley Yacht Club, the Chicago Automobile Club and the Peoria Country Club, associations which indicate much of the nature of his interests and recreation. He is popular wherever knwon and is best liked where best known. He is always approachable, genial and courteous. He is treasurer of the Peoria Country Club and a member of its board of governors, and also serves as a director of the Creve Coeur Club. He was the first president of the Peoria Association of Commerce which was organized in 1910, Mr. Bethard becoming its first chief executive officer. He is now the chairman of the ways and means committee of this association, on which committee are serving two hundred and fifty of Peoria's prominent men. His fitness for the position none questioned, as his reputation in commercial circles is too well established. He also served as a member of the executive committee of the Peoria Association of Commerce. He is, further, the first president of the Illinois Federation of Commercial Organizations and from 1903 until 1908 served as chairman of the advisory committee of the Illinois Wholesale Grocers Asssociation, resigning to become president of the national body called the National Wholesale Grocers Association, of which he was president for one year--the longest term for which a president may hold office according to the by-laws of this association. He has also been a member of the executive committee since the organization of the association. In this connection he has become known throughout the entire country. Business is after all necessarily the principal feature in a man's life and in the department in which he chose to concentrate his energies and his attention Mr. Bethard has made continuous progess, nor has he ever sacrificed to success the high ideals to which he holds as a man and citizen.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
Wilford C. Black has been the secretary of the Peoria Hotel Keepers' Association since its organization in 1906. He was born in Boone, Iowa, February 9, 1872, the son of James W. and Emma Black. The father was a well known capitalist and live-stock man there and also served as mayor of that city. During the Civil war he volunteered and after one year of service was mustered out on account of a wound which he had received. During the Spirit Lake uprising of the Indians he was one of the fifty men who were chosen by the governor of Iowa to control that part of the country for one year. These men were designated as "the fifty brave men of Iowa." He passed away in 1898 at the age of sixty-six. His wife, who preceded him by a number of years, died in 1874 at the age of twenty-six. Both are buried in the Glendale cemetery in the family burial ground.
Wilford C. Black received his early education in the public schools of Boone and afterward studied at the Sacred Heart Academy, from which institution he was graduated at the age of eighteen. He then studied law for one year, after which he left his native town, going to Memphis, Tennessee, then to New Orleans and later to a number of cities in the south. Finally he located in Oklahoma City, where he was employed in a farm implement house as a bookkeeper and general man. He remained in that position until 1896, when he became a traveling salesman for the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company at Racine, Wisconsin. During that same year he was transferred to Peoria, where he became local manager of that firm. In 1905 he was appointed general sales manager at Racine but resigned his position after two months to purchase the Hotel Black, of which he is today the proprietor. Since the organization, in 1906, of the Peoria Hotel Keepers' Association, which has its offices located at No. 100 Chestnut street, Mr. Black has served as its secretary. He has been very successful in hotel work and also in other business affairs, and he has extensive holdings in this city.
At Milwaukee, on December 19, 1905, Mr. Black was married to Miss Jean Hollinghausen, a daughter of Julius and Jennie Hollinghausen, who reside at Austin, Illinois. The father was engaged in the shoe business in Chicago. In politics Mr. Black is a republican and fraternally he is a Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite and belonging also to the commandery and the shrine at Peoria. He is likewise affiliated with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the Creve Coeur Club. He resides in this beautiful, modern home, which was erected in 1909, at 146 West Parkside drive. An extremely successful and enterprising business man, Mr. Black has rendered valuable service in advancing the interests of and in improving the hotels of this city.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
Among those who are operating in real estate in Peoria Benjamin Langford Todd Bourland is well known and it would be difficult to find one who has a wider acquaintance with realty values or who has conducted more important negotiations over the exchange of property here. He was born in Trigg county, Kentucky, October 10, 1825, a son of Andrew and Damaris (Reese) Bourland, both of whom were natives of South Carolina. His great-grandfather, John Bourland, was born in the north of Ireland and early in life sought the opportunities offered by the new world, establishing his home in South Carolina. In that state occurred the birth of his son, the Rev. John Bourland, who, on attaining his majority, there married Miss Mary Loving, also a native of that state. On the maternal side Benjamin L. T. Bourland comes of ancestry established in South Carolina in colonial days. One of his great-grandfathers was Bayless Earle, whose wife lived to the age of one hundred and four years. Their daughter, Nancy Earle, became the wife of John Reese, also a native of South Carolina, and they were the parents of Damaris Reese, who became the wife of Andrew Bourland. It was in the year 1834 that Andrew Bourland removed with his family to Illinois, settling in Perry county, where they remained until 1836. In that year a removal was made to Vandalia, which was then the capital of the state, and in 1840 when the capital was removed to Springfield, Mr. Bourland became a resident of that city. In May, 1844, he became a resident of Chicago, and the year 1847 witnessed his arrival in Peoria, which became his place of permanent abode.In the meantime Benjamin L. T. Bourland had been attending the public schools in the different localities where the family resided and for a time was a student in an academy at Springfield. He was also employed for a period in the office of the Hon. Alexander P. Field, secretary of state, and after going to Chicago he had his first experience in the real-estate business with Ogden, Jones & Company. On coming to Peoria he continued in the same line of business in company with William R. Phelps, adding thereto a banking and loan business. During his residence in Peoria, covering a period of sixty-five years, he has been identified with various banking enterprises and in addition has conducted some of the most important real-estate operations in the history of the city. He has always kept well informed concerning property values and has therefore been enabled to negotiate important realty transfers beneficial alike to his clients and to himself. At the present time he is engaged in the real-estate and loan business as senior member of the firm of Bourland & Bailey. They have large and commodious offices in the new Dime Savings Bank building and have an estensive clientele which indicates that the business is one of the most important and extensive of the kind in the city.
Mr. Bourland has been twice married. On the 20th of November, 1849 he wedded Julia M. Preston, of St. Louis, Missouri, and on the 17th of January, 1869, Clara Parsons becmae his wife. By the first marriage there were born two sons, Ogden Phelps and Rudolphus Rouse. The children of the second marriage were six in number, four sons and two daughters, Benjamin Parsons, Caroline Brown, Elsie Parsons, Norman T., Philip D. and Robert C.In religious belief Mr. Bourland is a Unitariun and in politics he is a democrat. He has always been a broad and liberal-minded man, interested in life, its purposes and its activities and seeking ever to benefit not only himself but others by his labors and his example. He enjoys an unassailable reputation for integrity and honor in business and his success is the merited reward of earnest labor and capable management. Mr. Bourland has now passed the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey and is one of the venerable and honored residents of the city. He has been a witness of a greater part of the growth and development of the state. The leading events in its history are familiar to him not because he has read of them but because he has lived through the period in which they occurred. There are few men today who can claim residence in Vandalia when it was the capital of the state. He has watched the marvelous growth of Chicago and almost equally wonderful development of the entire commonwealth. While he has not sought to figure prominently in public affairs he has ever been faithful to the duties that have come to him day by day and his worth as a citizen and business man has long been widely acknowledged.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
Peoria has reason to be proud of the personnel of her medical profession and the ability displayed in the various lines of practice. This is an age of specialization and the man who attains high skill is he who concentrates his efforts along a single line of activity, acquainting himself with everything that pertains thereto. Ths Dr. E. H. Bradley has done and his work in the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat has brought him much more than local reputation and fame. He has resided in Peoria continuously since 1892 and in the intervening period of twenty years has confined his efforts alone to the particular work in which he is still engaged. He was born in the eastern part of Ontario, Canada, September 18, 1861, and is a son of J. A. Bradley. The father was a leading citizen of his town, where he carried on merchandising and also served as postmaster for about fifty years. There Dr. Bradley was reared and attended the public schools, continuing his education in the Sydenham (Ontarios) high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1880. Thinking to find broader and better business opportunities elsewhere, he then went to the Canadian northwest and was one of the first homesteaders in Saskatchewan, where he spent two years, after which he returned to the place of his nativity. Having determined to enter upon a professional career and thinking to find the practice of medicine a congenial vocation, he soon afterward matriculated in the University of the City of New York as a medical student. Later he entered the University of Vermont at Burlington and was graduated therefrom in 1891 with the M. D. degree. He conducted a general practice in Canada for some time and won success in that way. His attention was more and more largely concentrated, however, on diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He found that branch of the profession a most interesting one and his reading and study were directed largely along that line. In 1802 he came to Peoria as assistant to Dr. Dombrowski, a specialist in the treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat. A year later he was admitted to a partnership and the business connection between them continued for three more years. He then entered upon an independent practice, opening an office on his own account, and to further qualify himself for the work in which he was especially interested he took a post-graduate course in New York city at the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College. He is now oculist and aurist at the St. Francis Hospital and in addition he has a large private practice, which is constantly growing in volume and importance. He belongs to the Peoria City Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Oto-Laryngology, and the American Medical Association, and has served both as secretary and as president of the first named.
Not only in professional lines has Dr. Bradley proved his worth as a valued and representative resident here. His labors in other connections have been of an important character. He has served for four years, or for two terms, as supervisor of Peoria, the nomination for the office being given him without his knowledge or consent. He made no canvass for the position but his personal worth secured his election. He served for one year as chairman of the finance committee, which converted the debt of two hundred thousand dollars in Peoria county into bonds, thus placing the finances of the country upon a business basis. He keeps well informed concerning all the significant, vital political problems and is an earnest and unfaltering advocate of the republican party.
Dr. Bradley was united in marriage to Miss Maud Matthews, of Peoria, a daughter of Newton Matthews, of this city. He belongs to the Illinois Valley Yacht Club, of which he is serving as a director, and he has also filled the office of club commodore. He likewise holds membership in the Creve Coeur Club and is a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, while of the Mystic Shrine he is also a representative. His interests and his activities are wide and varied. There is nothing narrow nor self-centered in his life. He reaches out along the lines of usefulness and his work in many directions has been most serviceable in the world.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
B. Frank Brown, founder of the Brown Printing Company and an official of various other local enterprises, is one of the successful business men of Peoria whose life should be an inspiration to every ambitious young man, as it clearly demonstrates what it is possible to achieve through the intelligent application of intense energy. Mr. Brown is not only prominently connected with the manufacturing and industrial interests of the city but he is actively identified with political affairs, having for some years been a member of the board of aldermen. He was born in Washington, Illinois, on the 18th of September, 1866, and is a son of Adam and Salome Brown. The father is one of the foremost citizens of El Paso, this state, where he has been engaged in carriage building for more than thirty years. He is a republican in his political views and has been a member of the town council during a part of his residence there. Originally the Brown family came from Pennsylvania and they are of Dutch extraction, but they have long been residents of Illinois.
The education of B. Frank Brown was obtained in the public schools of El Paso, which he attended until he was fourteen years of age. He then laid aside his text-books to become a clerk in the post office. He subsequently apprenticed himself for three years to the jewelry business and after the expiration of his period of service worked for several years as journeyman watchmaker in the states of Illinois, Kansas, Nevada and California. While employed in the latter state he learned how to make rubber stamps from the man with whom he worked at the bench. Upon his return to Illinois he located in Peoria and borrowing seventy-five dollars engaged in the manufacture of rubber stamps. He engaged in this enterprise with intense enthusiasm and an abundance of energy, determining to make it a success. He did his work thoroughly, delivered his orders promptly and took infinite pains to satisfy his patrons, and as a result his trade increased rapidly and he was subsequently able to extend the scope of his activities by adding a job printing department. This likewise proved to be very remunerative and he later engaged in book binding also, and during the intervening years the business has developed until it is now the largest concern of the kind in the state outside of Chicago. As his business has prospered, Mr. Brown has extended his interests in various directions and is financially interested in several thriving enterprises of the city. He is secretary and treasurer of the Peoria Bulletin Company located at 201 and 203 South Washington street, and is secretary of the Smith-Brown Tent & Awning Company, located at 107 South Washington avenue, and treasurer of The Saratoga Cigar Stores Company.
In this city on the 1st of June, 1887, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Adah Prince, a daughter of Mrs. Cordelia Prince, and to them have been born two children: Chauncey, who is superintendent of the monotype department of the Brown Printing Company; and Vera, who died in 1889 at the age of fourteen months and is buried at Washington, Illinois. The family home is located at 518 Bryan street, where they have a very pleasant and comfortable residence.
Mr. Brown is a Knight Templar and a member of the Shrine. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while his connection with organizations of a more purely social nature is confined to his membership in the Creve Coeur Club. Mr. Brown votes the republican ticket and is now serving his second term as alderman from the third ward. He manifests the same qualities in the discharge of his public duties as characterize him in his business transactions, and as a result has proven to be a highly satisfactory and efficient official. He possesses an intense capacity for work, pronounced executive ability and unusual powers of organization, which qualities have been dominant factors in his career.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
William E. Bruninga, who ranked with Peoria's most prominent and well known business men, occupying for many years the position of general manager with the F. Meyer Furnace Company, was born March 29, 1871, in the city which was ever the scene of his labors. Here he lived until death called him on the 3d of March, 1911, representing one of the old families of Peoria. His parents were John and Elizabeth Burninga, natives of Germany, who settled in Peoria at an early period in the city's history. The son pursued his education in the public and high schools and in a business college and when he started out in life for himself he obtained a position in a bank, in which he remained for several years. He next became connected with the coal trade, being employed by a local coal company for several years, and in 1890 he entered into active association with the F. Meyer Furnace Company, gradually working his way upward with that firm until his persistent effort and ability brought him to the position of general manager, in which capacity he served for a number of years, thus occupying a prominent place in the business circles of the city. He was thoroughly reliable as well as progressive, manifested good judgment in business affairs and was devoted to the interests and welfare of the company which he represented.
On the 25th of June, 1894, Mr. Bruninga was married to Miss Matilda Meyer, a daughter of Frank and Anna Mari (Janssen) Meyer. Her father was a native of Norden, Germany, and with his parents came to America, landing at New Orleans, while on the 28th of May, 1858, he arrived in Peoria. He was closely identified with the business development and progress of the city for a long period. He became the founder of the F. Meyer Furnace Company which bears his name and as one of Peoria's pioneer business men, capable, resourceful and reliable, he occupied a high position in public regard. He not only contributed materially to the business development of the city but also to its educational progress, doing effective service in behalf of the public schools in four years' service on the school board. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bruninga were born two children, William and Frank, who are yet attending school.
The father was a democrat in his political views and kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day, although he was never an aspirant for office. His religious faith was that of the German Lutheran church, to which he was ever most loyal. He was also a valued member of the Creve Coeur Club and he possessed a genial nature that was manifest in the hospitality and cordiality which were marked features of his home. He was a great reader, loved music and possessed no little ability in that direction himself. In fact, he found his greatest pleasure n the enjoyment of those interests which are of an ennobling and uplifting character. He always chose the better part nor was he ever content with the second best. He achieved success and it came to him as the reward of earnest effort. He felt life's sorrow's, its shadows and its sunshine but in every relation he was found as a man among men and he leaves behind him the priceless heritage of an untarnished name.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
Frederick Michael Burbach, filling the office of justice of the peace and well known for thirty years as a representative of industrial interests in Peoria, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, August 19, 1866. His father, John George Burbach, was a native of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, and married Christina Runkel. They became the parents of three sons and two daughters, and the father provided for the support of his family by the manufacture of saddletrees.
Frederick M. Burbach began his education in the public schools of his native city and in the mornings, evenings and on Saturdays he worked for his father. The necessity of his assisting in the manufacture of saddletrees made it impossible for him to attend high school. To that work he gave his attention until 1882, when he entered upon an apprenticeship at the pattern maker's trade in St. Louis, Missouri, with the firm of Kupferle Brothers. On the 27th of February, 1900, he removed to Peoria, at the solicitation of the Brass Foundry & Heating Company, to make brass patterns and other goods for the Corning Distilling Company. He continued in that position for three and a half years and then went to the Kinsey & Mahler Company as pattern maker. Later he was employed by the Bartholomew Automobile Company and spent altogether thirty years at the bench as a pattern maker and brass worker, his labors being of an important character and his position one of responsibility. When three decades had thus passed he was elected to the office of justice of the peace, in which he is now serving for his second year and his record in this connection is creditable, for his decisions are strictly fair and impartial, being based upon the law and the equity in the case.
In 1887 Mr. Burbach was married to Miss Lizzetta Shornhorst, who was born in St. Louis. They have become the parents of two daughters, Lilly and Florence. The former is the wife of Ernest Witherell and has one child, a daughter.
Mr. Burbach is prominent in Masonic circles, holding membership in Peoria Lodge, No. 15, F. & A. M., of which he is a past worshipful master; Peoria Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M., of which he is now high priest; and Peoria Council, No. 11, R. & S. M., of which he has been thrice illustrious master. He also belongs to Electa Chapter, O. E. S., and to Peoria Camp, No. 812, M. W. A., of which he is venerable consul. In politics he has always been a stalward republican, active as a worker in the party. He does not go off on a tangent after new ideas and was elected justice of the peace as a reward for party service and in recognition of his efficiency as a citizen. He is most loyal to the interests of Peoria and he led an annexation fight in the village of Mechanicsville in the one hundred thousand population campaign. Winning, he thereby added three thousand to the population of the city. In 1910 he was in charge of the campaign committee. He has always been a close student of the science of government and he is now studying law -- two things which are closely allied.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
Among the men whose business activities have contributed to public progress as well as to individual prosperity, Edward W. Burdick was numbered. He lived a quiet, uneventful life if judged by some standards, and yet his years were fraught with usefulness, and his labors resulted largely for the benefit of others. His friends, therefore--and they were many--came to regard him as one of the leading residents of his community, and rejoiced in the success which enabled him in his later years to live retired in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. He was born on the 16th of January, 1826, and was therefore seventy-eight years of age when he passed away November 11, 1904. His birthplace was in Allegany county, New York, and his parents were Jabez and Abigail (Millard) Burdick, both of whom were natives of Berlin, Rensselaer county, New York. Upon the father's farm the boy was reared. He early became acquainted with the best method of tilling the soil and caring for the crops, and when not busy with the work of the fields he attended the district school. After attaining his majority he came west, settling first in Farmington, Fulton county, Illinois. There he became identified with agricultural pursuits, tilling the soil in that locality until 1862 when he sold his property there and removed to Peoria county, settling in Akron township. There he successfully followed farming for many years, converting his land into rich and productive fields from which he annually gathered rich and abundant harvests. His methods were of a most practical character that were based upon modern scientific principles. Moreover, he owned a third interest in the West Hallock Cheese Factory, one of the largest concerns of the kind in this part of the country, its extensive output annually returning to its owners a very substantial and gratifying income. As the years passed and success rewarded his labors Mr. Burdick felt he was justified in putting aside the more active duties of life, and during his last years lived retired, his financial resources being sufficient to supply him with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. In earlier years he had practiced frugality and economy, and his careful expeditures and judicious investments constituted the foundation upon which his fortunes were built.
At Farmington, on the 12th of April, 1852, Mr. Burdick was married to Miss Elizabeth Saunders, a native of Berlin, New York, who died on the 29th of January, 1882. Mr. Burdick was again married on the 29th of November, 1888, his second union being with Mrs. Ophelia Partridge, a daughter of Reuben and Delight (Palmer) Brown, and the widow of Albert Partridge who died November 4, 1882. Her parents were natives of Rhode Island, and upon removing westward settled first in Illinois but afterward went to Wisconsin. Mrs. Burdick was the third in a family of four children and was born in Ellisburg, New York, March 18, 1828. Although she is now eighty-four years of age she enjoys remarkably good health and is splendidly preserved both physically and mentally. She is a member of the Seventh Day Baptist church to which Mr. Burdick also made them reach out a helping hand to those in need of a parental roof and lives. They never had any children of their own, but their kindness of heart made them reach out a helping hand to those in need of a parental roof and protection. They reared five children to whom they gave their name, these being Joseph, Charles, Dorcus E., Lillie J., and Cora A. Burdick. Dorcus became the wife of William Bavington, who is now deceased. They had one child, Betsey Bavington. Cora A. became the wife of Frank Rotterman and died leaving one child, Francis Rotterman. By her first marriage Mrs. Burdick had four children, but the eldest, James H., and the youngest, Mary, are now deceased. Harvey E. Partridge is married and has two children, William and Ida, the latter being the wife of Jesse Scholes and the mother of one child, Ida Scholes. Charles A. Partridge is married and has three children, Albert, Robert, and Eugene. Mrs. Burdick also has two great-grandchildren, Ruth and Lulu Partridge.
In his political views Mr. Burdick was ever an earnest republican, staunchly advocating the principles of the party, although he did not seek the rewards of office. He was always actively interested in the welfare of his community and no other man of the community did more in developing the county. For more than forty years he resided in Peoria county and gained for himself an enviable reputation as an agriculturist and as a citizen. It has been said, "Not the good that comes to us but the good that comes to the world through us is the measure of our success," and judged in this way Mr. Burdick was a most successful man. Giving homes to five orphan children would alone entitle him to distinction as one of the world's benefactors. In other ways too he lived out a life of usefulness and his good deeds will long be remembered and cause his memory to be honored.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.
Among the younger members of the Peoria bar who have attained success is George W. Campbell, who is now practicing as a member of the firm of Covey, Campbell & Covey, with which he has been identified since December, 1910. He has, however, practiced law in Peoria since 1900, or the year following his admission to the bar. He was born upon a farm five miles west of Belvidere, in Boone county, Illinois, February 11, 1874, and is a son of George W. and Charity (Wakefield) Campbell, who were farming people, and upon the home farm the son spent his boyhood and youth. He supplemented his education acquired in the country schools by study in the high school at North Belvidere, from which he was graduated with the class of 1891. He afterward engaged in teaching for a year in the country schools but, still ambitious for other education, he entered the Beloit College at Beloit, Wisconsin, where he took up the study of Latin and Greek. He afterward spent a year in the University of Illinois, pursuing the literary course, and with this broad foundation upon which to build the superstructure of his professional learning entered upon the study of law in Belvidere in the office of the Hon. Charles E. fuller, member of congress. He was also associated with the firm of Covey & Cover in Peoria for a year, devoting his evening hours to the study of law, after which he returned to Belvidere and spent another year as a law student in the office of Congressman Fuller. He then successfully passed the examination in Chicago which secured him admission to the bar in May, 1899. For a year thereafter he practiced in Belvidere and then came to Peoria where he has remained continuously since 1900. He was associated with the Covey brothers from 1900 until 1904 and then opened an office in the Young Men's Christian Association building which he shared with Congressman Joseph V. Graff. After several years he took offices in the Jefferson building and practiced there until he entered the present firm of Covey, Campbell & Covey in December, 1910, with offices in the Woolner building.
In June, 1909, Mr. Campbell was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. Clark, of Peoria, and they are well known socially in this city, their circle of friends continuously increasing. Mr. Campbell belongs to the Creve Coeur Club and other social organizations. He is recognized as a rising young attorney, well known and well liked in Peoria, and his increasing professional ability is indicated by a growing practice which in later years has connected him with much of the important litigation tried in the courts of this district.
From "Peoria City and County, a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II", The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1912.