The Biographical Record of DeWitt County, Illinois, Illustrated.
Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901.

Note: These biographies were transcribed as written and may contain errors.  We welcome your corrections concerning factual data.  Just send an e-mail to the  County Coordinator, and be sure to give us your name and return e-mail address.

WILLIAM M. SAMPSON. (Volume 1, Page 168)

This gentleman has been a life-long resident of Waynesville, and for over a third of a century has been prominently identified with its business interests. Thoroughness and persistency have ever characterized his business career, and supplemented by careful attention to details and by honorable, straightforward effort, have gained him a most excellent and enviable reputation.

Mr. Sampson was born in Waynesville on the 3d of November, 1844, and is a son of Junius M. Sampson, whose birth occurred in Bath county, Kentucky. His paternal grandfather, Captain Francis Sampson, was a native of England and a sea captain for some years, making his home in Baltimore, Maryland. At an early day he removed to Kentucky, and finally came to Illinois, spending the remainder of his life in Menard county. He was a well educated man and was highly esteemed by all who knew him.

Junius M. Sampson was reared in his native state and accompanied his father on his removal to Menard county, Illinois, where thy opened up a farm. He was married in Sangamon county, this state, to Miss Elizabeth Crumb, who was born in Maryland and came west with an aunt. For a few years after his marriage he followed farming in Sangamon county, and in 1844 came to DeWitt county, taking up his residence in Waynesville. By trade he was a millwright and cabinetmaker, and on locating here he purchased a mill, which he operated for some years. He filled the offices of justice of the peace and postmaster and was a man of influence in the communities where he made his home at different times. He died in Waynesville in 1871, and his wife passed away two or three years previous.

As his early school privileges were rather limited, William M. Sampson is practically a self-educated man. In January, 1864, when nineteen years of age, he joined the boys in blue of Company K, Twenty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was in active service throughout the remainder of the war, taking part in the Atlanta campaign and the march to the sea under Sherman. He was also in the Carolina campaign under General John A. Logan, and was present at the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston, after which his command marched to Washington, D. C., and participated in the grand review at that place. The war having ended, he was honorably discharged at Springfield, Illinois, July 28, 1865, and returned home.

Mr. Sampson began his business career as a carpenter. For six years he served as deputy postmaster of Waynesville under his father, and was then made the first agent of the Terre Haute & Peoria Railroad at that place, in 1874. He learned telegraphy and attended to the whole duties of the office for twenty-two years, when he was succeeded by his son William, the present agent. On his retirement from the position he opened a furniture store, which he still carries on in connection with the undertaking business, and has built up a good trade. Besides his business property he owns a nice residence-one of the best in town.

On the 4th of July, 1867, Mr. Sampson was married in Waynesville to Miss Rebecca Dunham, also a native of this county and a daughter of Jeremiah Dunham, one of its early settlers. They have a family of six children: Carrie, now the wife of Thurman Dye, a farmer of McLean county, Illinois: William, who is also married and is agent for the railroad company at Waynesville; Jennie, wife of Earl Buck, of Waynesville; and Gerti, Maud and Glenn, all at home.

Since casting his first presidential vote for U. S. Grant in 1868, Mr. Sampson has been an ardent supporter of the Republican party, and he has served as a member of the town board and as township clerk. Religiously he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and socially he is a member of Waynesville Lodge, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all the chairs and is now past grand. He is public spirited and thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, social and material welfare of his native town, and has done much to advance its interests along various lines.

T. B. SAMUEL. (Volume 1, Page 200)

The deserved reward of a well-spent life is an honored retirement from business in which to enjoy the fruits of former toil.  Today, after a useful and beneficial career, T. B. Samuel is quietly living at his pleasant home in Hallsville.  He was born near Indianapolis, in Marion county, Indiana, March 23, 1836, and is a son of Robert Samuel, whose birth occurred in Virginia in 1797.  His paternal grandfather, Squire Samuel, was also a native of Virginia, from which state he removed to Kentucky about 1805, being among the first settlers of Bourbon county.  Robert Samuel grew to manhood in Kentucky and married Ellen Anderson, a native of that state, where they continued to make their home until after the birth of three of their children.  They then removed to Indiana, becoming pioneers of Marion county, where in the midst of the forest the father of our subject cleared and improved a farm, and he subsequently owned and operated a sawmill.  In the fall of 1851 he came to DeWitt county, Illinois, and purchased a tract of wild land in Barnett township, to which he subsequently added until he had a nice farm.  There he died in March, 1874, his wife in December 1870.  They were the parents of eleven children who reached years of maturity, but only three are now living, namely: John F., a resident of Pierson, Illinois; Charles G., of Clinton; and T. B., of this review.

Our subject spent the first fifteen years of his life in the county of his nativity, and then came with the family to DeWitt county, Illinois, where he engaged in breaking prairie for three years and aided in the arduous task of developing a new farm.  On leaving the parental roof at the age of eighteen years, he commenced farming on rented land, and while thus engaged he also owned and operated a threshing machine for ten seasons or more.  In 1866 he made his first purchase of land, consisting of sixty acres, which he operated in connection with other lands that he rented.  Selling his property in 1872, he removed to Neosha county, Kansas, on account of his health, and while his sons engaged in farming he turned his attention to the stock business.  In the fall of 1874 he returned to this county, bringing with him one hundred head of cattle, which he fed for market.  He rented a farm of two hundred and forty acres in Barnett township, on which he lived for fifteen years, and in connection with its operation continued to engage in buying and shipping stock.  He subsequently purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land and later bought an adjoining tract of forty acres, where he made his home until 1889, when he rented the farm and moved to Hallsville.  Purchasing a half interest in a store, he was engaged in merchandising at that place for two years, and then sold out and returned to the farm, but in 1895 he again came to Hallsville, where he engaged in the grocery business for two years.  On disposing of that business, he became interested in the grain trade at Kenney, where he spent several months.  After living retired for a year or so, he bought an interest with his son in the grain business at Boswell, Indiana, where he remained fifteen months.  Since then he has lived a retired life at Hallsville, Illinois, enjoying a well-earned rest.

In Barnett township Mr. Samuel was married, February 3, 1859, to Miss Elizabeth J. Williams, who was born in Posey county, Indiana, and was a child of thirteen years when she came to DeWitt county, Illinois, with her father, Simon Williams, in 1851.  By this union were born ten children, as follows: Spencer A. married and died, leaving one daughter, Maud; Amedia J. is the wife of William Conner, of Barnett township, and they have two children, Elva and Willis; Willis and Frank are engaged in the grain business in partnership at Boswell, Indiana; Lora B. married Charles Downs and died, leaving one son, Dudley, who now finds a home with our subject; Hattie is the wife of C.I. Kirby, of Barnett township, and has two sons, Harold A. and Warren; Ella married John H. McKinney and is now deceased; Hettie is the wife of W. A. Yoder, agent for the Illinois Central Railroad at Mt. Olive, Illinois, and they have one child, Maurine; Thomas E. is employed in a store at Allentown, Illinois; and Alice is at home with her parents.

Mr. Samuel and his wife and daughter are members of the Hallsville Christian church.  Politically he has always been identified with the Democratic party since casting his first presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, but has never cared for political positions, preferring to give his time and attention to his business interests.  He started out in life for himself empty-handed, but, being industrious, energetic and enterprising, he steadily prospered, and is today one of the well-to-do citizens of his community, as well as one of the honored residents of Hallsville.

JOHN H. SAVELEY. (Volume 1, Page 265)

John Henry Saveley, one of Clinton’s wide-awake business men, whose success in painting, paper hanging and bill posting has brought him into prominence, was born in Urbana, Champaign county, Ohio, on the 21st of May, 1845, and is a son of Henry and Ellen T. (Niles) Saveley, natives of Virginia and New York, respectively. His paternal grandparents, Jacob and Elizabeth Savely, were also natives of the Old Dominion. From that state they removed to Ohio and in 1852 came to Illinois, living for a time in Clark, Schuyler and Shelby counties. The grandfather, who was a farmer by occupation, died at the age of seventy-two years. His children who reached years of maturity were John, Jacob, M. D., George, Sarah Ann, Laney, Polly and Henry. The father of our subject also followed farming and died in Ohio, at the age of forty-four years, leaving two children: John H., and Elizabeth, wife of Mat Crable, of Paris, Illinois. The mother subsequently became the wife of Samuel Swords, by whom she had two children, Lincoln and Emma. She died July 21, 1878, at the age of fifty-six years.

Being quite young when his father died, John H. Saveley made his home with his paternal grandfather until ten years of age and then started out to make his own way in the world, first working as a farm hand. Later he learned the plasterer’s trade. While living in Shelby county, in 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company F, Fifty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served nearly four years. He had previously had but little opportunity to attend school, having pursued his studies only for a few months in a log school house, but while in the service he became interested in education, and while not on duty devoted his time to studying the books which he bought. After his return home he attended school for a time, and by reading and study has never ceased to improve his mind.

On the 3d of November, 1865, Mr. Saveley came to Clinton and opened an oyster saloon, to which he later added a stock of groceries, carrying on that business for a year and a half. He subsequently worked at the plasterer’s trade, and on the 18th of July, 1870, began painting and paper hanging, which business he has successfully followed ever since, employing many men during the busy season. He commenced bill posting in a small way in 1870, using old buildings on which to post his bills, his first place being the old coal house on the court house square, covering its sides and roof. Later he had a bill board around the court house square and has kept on increasing the space until he now has room for fourteen hundred sheets. He is a charter member of the Illinois Bill Posters’ Association. In his painting, papering and decorating he is unexcelled by any one in the county. He has been distributing agent for the Illinois Central Railroad in this city for the past five years, and is recognized as one of the most energetic and enterprising business men of the place. He is now the oldest resident of Monroe street, his home being at 515, where he first erected a two-room house, but has since enlarged and improved it, and now owns two residences across the street.

Mr. Saveley married Miss Ada Dalzell, who was born in South Egremont, Massachusetts, May 16, 1849, and is a daughter of John and Eliza (Seeley) Dalzell. The father was born on the 12th of July, 1816, in County Down, Ireland, where his parents, Robert and Mary (Ballentine) Dalzell, spent their entire lives. He and his brother David emigrated to America and located in South Egremont, Massachusetts, where he served a seven-years’ apprenticeship at carriage trimming. He subsequently went to Cleveland, Ohio, and still later to Unionville, that state, and worked at his trade. While there he entered the Union army in 1861, First Ohio Regiment Artillery Volunteers, Company C, serving until the close of the war. In 1872 he came to Clinton, Illinois, and trimmed the first phaeton made at this place. He was an expert at his trade. From choice he spent his last days at the Soldiers’ Home in Dayton, Ohio, where he died September 13, 1890, and at his request was buried there. His wife, who was born September 14, 1816, died in 1860. Their children were George and Ann Eliza, both deceased; Ada, wife of our subject; Charles Henry, a resident of Texas; and William, deceased. For twenty-six years Mrs. Saveley carried on dressmaking in Clinton, employing from three to five girls and receiving the patronage of the leading families of the city, by whom she is held in high esteem. She was very successful in business, and is very popular and well liked.

Mr. and Mrs. Saveley have four children. Charles Henry learned his trade with his father and worked with him until 1899, when he went to Chicago, and is now special police for the Chicago & Alton Railroad. He married Anna Cochran. Warren S., a painter and paper hanger and bill poster of Clinton, married Dora Williams, and they have one child, Edward. David L., who is in the employ of the telephone company at Clinton, married Mannae Bower and has one son, Henry. William F., also a painter of Clinton, married Cordelia Phillips, and their only son died in infancy.

In politics Mr. Savely is a stanch Republican and served as alderman from his ward two years. Socially he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and religiously he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

DAVID SCHENCK. (Volume 1, Page 68)

Of Holland ancestry, Mr. Schenck has applied his admirable national characteristics to the management of his farming interests in Macon and DeWitt counties, and as a result has made a distinct success of his chosen occupation.  He is thorough in his work, conservative and sure in the manner of his improvements, and studies farming from a scientific standpoint.  For the first land purchased he paid fifteen dollars per acre, and for the last eighty dollars per acre, and he now owns five hundred and eighty acres of land, one hundred and fifty of which is in Macon county, and the remainder in DeWitt county.  He is the possessor of a quarter section in Rice county, Kansas, and the same amount in Hayes county, Nebraska, the former property being under a high state of cultivation.  As early as 1854, he became identified with DeWitt county, at which time he purchased sixty acres of land in Texas township, and forty acres across the road in Macon county, most of which was broken, and on which there were four log cabins.  He built a large and substantial house in 1868, planted the many trees which now have a venerable appearance, and which yield a sweeping shade in the heat of the summer, and has since engaged in general farming and stock-raising.  And during the intervening years he has in no wise forfeited the fine and high regard in which he is held by all who know him, and value his friendship and his service in behalf of the locality of which he is a resident.

Many years ago the paternal grandfather, Garrett J. Schenck, emigrated from the home of his forefathers in Holland, and settled in New Jersey, Monmouth county, afterwards removing to Ohio, where his death eventually occurred.  He farmed successfully in Warren county, and accumulated quite a store of worldly possessions during his pilgrimage on earth, and was generally conceded to have lived a worth-while and useful life.  His grandson, David, was born in Butler county, Ohio, October 8, 1825, a son of John and Catherine (Cooper) Schenck, natives of New Jersey.  The parents were farmers and both died at the home place in Ohio, and were the parents of three children, two of whom are living.  David Schenck was educated in the public schools of Ohio, and assisted his father in conducting the farm.  When almost a grown boy he learned the blacksmith’s trade, and in 1854 as heretofore stated, came to this county.

January 14, 1847, in Ohio, Mr. Schenck married Huldah Long, daughter of Silas and Sally (Marshal) Long, natives of Ohio.  Mrs. Schenck, who died in Illinois August 13, 1893, was the mother of six children, four of whom are now living: Catherine, who is the wife of William Sloutenborough, living in retirement at Maroa; Sarah, who died in Ohio at the age of one year; Ann Eliza, who is living at home; Ella, who was born in Ohio, and died at the age of twelve years; Alice, who is the wife of Charles Melnes, a farmer of Macon county; and Silas J., who is a farmer of Macon county, is married and has two children, Edith and Lydia.  Mr. Schenck is a self-made man in the highest sense of the word, and is indebted to no good fortune for his rise in life.  He is a moral and progressive force in the community, and enjoys the esteem of all his fellow townsmen.  With his wife he is a member and worker in the Christian church.  In politics our subject is a Democrat, and for four years served as justice of the peace, but with the exception of school director he has not cared to accept office.

CHARLES M. SCOTT. (Volume 1, Page 253)

Charles M. Scott, a resident of Harp township and one of the progressive young farmers of this locality, was born in DeWitt county, Texas township, Illinois, on March 28, 1876, and he is a son of Martin P. and Hattie L. (Baker) Scott.  Martin P. Scott was born in Tunbridge township, DeWitt county, and his wife was born in New York state, but came to Illinois when only five years of age.  These parents now live in Texas township upon a fine farm.

To Mr. and Mrs. Martin P. Scott were born eight children, as follows: Alta, who married Charles Kirkpatrick and resides at Kenney; Charles, our subject; Eddie, who lives with his parents; Ida L., who married Fred Henderson, and they reside at Kenney; Effie, Blanche, Ura and Ina, all of whom reside with their parents.

Charles M. Scott attended the district schools in Texas township and also in Tunbridge township, after which he took a teacher’s course at Valparaiso College, Indiana, from which he was graduated on January 17, 1895.  He then taught school for about four years in the district schools in this county, and on January 4, 1899, he was married to Miss Grace Stubblefield.  She was born in Harp township and is the daughter of M. H. and Mary (Foley) Stubblefield.  M. H. Stubblefield was born in McLean county on April 12, 1841, and he is the son of Absalom and Eliza (Pierson) Stubblefield.  These grandparents were from Ohio but moved to Indiana and then to McLean county, Illinois, in 1827, and there the grandfather died in 1894, aged eighty years, but his wife died when she was only twenty-seven years of age.  M. H. Stubblefield, father of Mrs. Scott, was a soldier in Company A, One Hundred and Seventeenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and he was with Grant at Vicksburg, Smith at Red River, and Sherman in his famous march through Georgia.  In 1866 Mr. Stubblefield located in Harp township, where he now resides with his son-in-law, Ernest Litsinberger.  His wife died on May 26, 1900, and she is buried in Woodburn [Woodlawn] cemetery at Clinton.  To Mr. and Mrs. Stubblefield were born four children, viz: Lafayette, who died in childhood; Edna, who married Ernest Litsinberger, and they live in Harp township and have two children, Lucile and Lela; Grace, who married Mr. Scott; and Walter, who resides with his father.

After his marriage Mr. Scott farmed a year on rented land in Texas township and then rented his father-in-law’s farm of two hundred and eighty acres in Harp township, which he now lives upon and where he carries on general farming and stock-raising.  He owns one of the best-bred "Aberdeen Angus" bulls in the county.  The remainder of his cattle are high-grade Aberdeen Angus.

One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Scott, namely: Ralph E, a bright little fellow.  Mr. Scott is a Republican in politics.  Mrs. Scott is an earnest member of the Methodist church.  They are both enterprising young people, whose future is very bright, and they are destined to become wealthy and influential representatives of the agricultural interests of DeWitt county.

MARTIN P. SCOTT. (Volume 1, Page 302)

Among the comfortably situated citizens of Texas township who have surrounded themselves by the necessities and some of the luxuries of life by their own efforts and habits of high morality, thrift and perseverance, is Martin P. Scott.  His birth occurred near Rock Creek, DeWitt county, Illinois, on March 27, 1850, and he is a son of John W. and Lieuenda (Blair) Scott.

John W. Scott was a farmer all his life as well as a physician by profession, and for a number of years after locating in Rock Creek he practiced in that locality as well as in Clinton, but as he grew older he devoted his attention to his farming interests, and in whatever he undertook was very successful.  This good man lived until our subject was about forty years of age and died while erecting a pleasant home for his family and himself in Texas township about two miles south of the city of Clinton.  His widow, who passed her eighty-seventh birthday in February, 1901, resides with our subject in Texas township.  Eight children were born to this good man and his wife, namely: Elizabeth, who married Abraham Mooney, of California; Sarah Ann, who married Robert Bennett, of Clinton, Iowa, and he is a contractor and carpenter; Mary, who is the widow of William Kirby, who died about four years ago in Tunbridge township and he was a farmer; Zirelda, who is the wife of H. C. Strange, and he is a farmer of Texas township; Lorenzo Dow, a farmer of California; our subject; Vina, who is the wife of Henry Griffith, of Tunbridge township, who is a farmer; John was killed by a train in Tunbridge about seven years ago, and he was a farmer, and left a wife and children.

Martin P. Scott obtained his education in DeWitt county in the common schools and remained upon the home place with his mother until he was fifteen.  At that time, young as he was, this enterprising young fellow started out in life for himself and worked by the month for the farmers in the neighborhood.   He afterwards rented a farm in Texas township which he farmed for one year, and then having saved a sufficient amount of money, he purchased a small farm.  After cultivating it and placing it in excellent condition, this young business man disposed of it at a good profit and invested his money in real estate until he is now the possessor of one hundred and sixteen acres of rich farming land in Tunbridge township, in section 13, which he has in a fine state of cultivation and on which is a good house and the necessary buildings.  He also farms what is known as the Hall farm in Texas township, and it consists of one hundred and thirty-five acres of the best land to be found in the state.  This farm he operates himself and rents his other farm.  In addition to carrying on general farming he raises stock to a certain extent, and his product always finds ready sale on account of the excellent condition of the cattle and horses.  Not only is Mr. Scott an owner of farm property but he also owns five good houses and lots in the city of Clinton and one house and lot in Kenney.

On November 15, 1871, Mr. Scott was married to Miss Hattie Baker, a daughter of Lanson Baker, of Texas township.  Mr. Baker was one of the early settlers and farmers of the county, and he died in 1872, and his widow survived him until June, 1900.  The part taken in local affairs by Mr. Baker was a prominent one, and he came to this locality from Logan county, Ohio, about 1860.

Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Scott, all of whom are living, namely: Alta, who is the wife of Charles Kirk, of Kenney; Charles, who resides four miles north of Birkbeck, engaged in farming, and he married Grace Stubblefield and they have one child, viz: Ralph; Ida, who is the wife of Fred Henderson, and he is a son of John Henderson, of Tunbridge township, and Fred is a farmer of Tunbridge township; Effie, Blanche, Matie and Ina, all of whom were born in DeWitt county, Texas township, are at home.

Mr. Scott and wife are active members of the Christian church, to which he is a very liberal supporter and in which they are well liked.  Socially Mr. Scott is connected with the order of Odd Fellows, and has always taken a great interest in that organization.  From the time he cast his first vote Mr. Scott has upheld the principles of the Republican party, and his influence in party matters is of weight throughout the township.  Starting out in life with a view of making a success of his endeavors, he concentrated his natural abilities upon this end, and, possessing a thorough knowledge of his business, he has forged steadily on until he is now of the substantial men of DeWitt county and a highly respected one.

FLOYD C. SHEPHERD. (Volume 1, Page 283)

The family of which our subject, Floyd C. Shepherd, is a worthy descendant, originated many generations ago in Ireland, some members of it coming to America and locating in Kentucky about 1792.  Grandfather Louis Shepherd, a native of Kentucky, engaged in farming in that state, and also became known as a successful stock-raiser.  In 1829 he moved to Morgan county, Illinois, and was one of the pioneer settlers.  There he died, leaving a family of six children, five boys and one girl.

Francis Shepherd, who was a son of Louis and the father of our subject, was born in Morgan county, Illinois, February 20, 1833, and there grew to manhood on a farm and married Clementine Wilmore, March 8, 1857.  Her death occurred on the 12th day of December, 1860.  Floyd C., her only child, was born November 10, 1860.  Following this, Mr. Shepherd enlisted August 15, 1862, Company F, One Hundred and Twenty-second Infantry Volunteers of Illinois, for service in the Civil war, faithfully performing his duty until its close.  He participated in the battles of Parker’s Cross Roads, Tennessee, December 3, 1862; Tupelo, Mississippi, July 14, 1864; Nashville, Tennessee, December 15-16, 1864, and also siege of Fort Blakeley and Mobile, Alabama.  He was discharged at Mobile, Alabama, July 15, 1865, and mustered out at Springfield, Illinois, August 4, 1865.

After his return from the Army Mr. Shepherd engaged in various lines, both in DeWitt and in Macoupin counties.  January 27, 1867, in the latter county, he was married to Miss Kate I. Cobb, of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.  In 1868 Mr. Shepherd moved to Franklin county, Kansas.   There he engaged in farming and stock-raising until 1895, when he removed to Richmond, Kansas, where he and wife lived a retired life, no children having been born of this marriage.

Floyd C. Shepherd was born in Harp township, DeWitt county, Illinois, and after the untimely death of his young mother, he was taken to the home of his grandparents, James P. and Martha Wilmore.  They were natives of Virginia, but came to DeWitt county in 1846, and settled in what is now known as Harp township, and here engaged for many years in farming, he dying in 1877, while his wife passed away in 1873.  Floyd Shepherd grew to manhood in DeWitt county, remaining their comfort and support until their death, when he returned to his father in Kansas, and resided with him for one and one-half years, at the expiration of that time returning to DeWitt county, where he received his schooling.

Mr. Shepherd began to depend entirely upon his own resources at an early age.  He began to engage in farm work in the locality where he was well known, being employed first by J. M. Britton, and continued in this line until 1882.  However, during the winters the work on the farm is almost suspended, and in 1879 Mr. Shepherd began to teach during this season, through Creek and Harp townships, and succeeded so well that he continued in this profession until 1895.

In 1883 he moved into Lane, Creek township, and for two years was engaged in the tile business with Lane & Thompson, and also engaged in farming and stock-raising in Harp township after his marriage, which took place the next year.  In 1895 he began buying grain, dealing for himself, but later he located in Birkbeck and entered into negotiations which resulted in his being made agent in this line for the great firm of Rogers, Bacon Company of Chicago.

The marriage of Mr. Shepherd was on March 13, 1884, to Miss Anna B. Lane, who was born in Creek township, and who was a daughter of Jeremiah and Mary Ann Lane.  This family was one of the old ones in the county, and came from Tennessee.  Mrs. Shepherd was one of eight children born to her parents, and was the sixth in order of birth, the survivors being: Cicero, who lives in Sullivan, Illinois; Sarah, the wife of Edward Danison, lives in Lane; Margaret, the wife of M. C. Davenport, lives in Creek township; William lives in Lane.  The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd are two bright, intelligent school boys, Wilson Epler, who was born on June 27, 1885, and Benjamin Otto, who was born October 20, 1886.

In politics Mr. Shepherd is a Democrat and has served four terms as supervisor and has been a member of a number of important committees in the township, and has efficiently held every township office, except that of constable.  He is a frequent delegate to the various political conventions and has been an active member of his party.

Socially Mr. Shepherd is connected with the order M. W. A., Clinton Camp, No. 364.  He is a leading member of the Christian church of Clinton, in which he is a deacon and a liberal supporter.   Mr. Shepherd owns one hundred and thirteen acres of land on sections 28 and 29, and is regarded as one of the substantial men of this locality.  His business brings him into association with many, and he is noted for his honesty in dealing, as well as his good judgment in buying.

AUSTIN R. SHUE. (Volume 1, Page 81)

Among the county officials of DeWitt county there is probably none more popular than Austin R. Shue, who is now so efficiently serving as sheriff.  He was born in Clinton, Missouri, on the 1st of January, 1859, and is a son of John and Sarah (Mitchell) Shue, both natives of Ohio.  His paternal grandfather, Gotlieb Shue, came to this country from Germany, and followed the tailor’s trade throughout the greater part of his life.  He spent his last days in this county, and his remains were interred in Wilson township.  A more extended mention of the Shue family will be found on another page of this volume.

The father of our subject was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, and in early life turned his attention to agricultural pursuits.  In 1869 he came to DeWitt county, Illinois, and after spending some time in Harp township located permanently in Wilson township, where he followed farming quite successfully.  He devoted his attention principally to the raising of horses, and was one of the most successful breeders of Norman horses in the county, raising many valuable animals.  He died in 1894, at the age of fifty-nine years, honored and respected by all who knew him.  His wife is still living.  They were the parents of eight children, namely: Austin R., our subject; Mary, wife of T. W. Wilson, of this county; Logan, deceased; Ulysses G. and Edward, who also live in this county; Ella, deceased wife of B. S. Griffith, of this county; Almeda, wife of T. Moore, of this county; and Fred, a resident of McLean county, Illinois.

Austin R. Shue grew to manhood upon the home farm, and early in life made a study of the art of successful farming.  He began life for himself in a small way upon an eighty-acre tract of land which his wife had inherited from her father, and to this property he has since added until they now have two hundred and fourteen acres, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation.  He has set out an orchard, erected a comfortable residence, a good barn and other buildings, and has made many other improvements upon the place, which add greatly to its valuable and attractive appearance.  It previously belonged to the old Harold estate.  Mr. Shue successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising until elected sheriff, and on his removal to Clinton to assume the duties of that office he rented his farm.

In February, 1881, he married Miss Cora McCord, daughter of Washington McCord, an early settler and successful farmer of this county.  It is worthy of mention that Mr. Shue is the third of Mr. McCord’s sons-in-law elected sheriff of this county.  Our subject and his wife have seven children, all living, namely: Hallie, Gertrude, Mary, Welby, Nellie, Ella and John Washington.

Mr. Shue has always taken an active and commendable interest in public affairs, and has been called upon to fill several local offices, including those of school director and road commissioner.   In the fall of 1899 he was elected sheriff on the Republican ticket, and has since served in that capacity to the entire satisfaction of his constituents.  Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the Knights of Pythias and the Royal Sons of America.

JOHN SHUE. (Volume 1, Page 67)

John Shue, deceased, was for many years one of the leading farmers of Wilson township, and was a man highly respected and esteemed by all who knew him.  He was born in Perry County, Ohio, on the 5th of February, 1833, and was a son of Gottlieb and Nancy Ann (Franklin) Shue.   His maternal grandfather was a cousin to Ben Franklin.  The father of our subject was a native of Germany and was a lad of fourteen years when he came to America with his parents, who settled near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and spent the remainder of their lives there.  Leaving home, Gottlieb Shue went to Ohio at an early day, and was engaged in tailoring in Perry county until 1872, when he came to DeWitt county, Illinois, to make his home with our subject.   Here he died March, 1876, at the age of eighty-three years, and his wife passed away March, 1879, at the age of eighty-two.  Of their eight children only two are now living, namely: Caroline, wife of Joshua Pyles, of DeWitt, Illinois, and Harriet, widow of Thomas Sadler.

John Shue, of this sketch, was reared and educated in the county of his nativity, and remained at home until twenty-five years of age, aiding in the work of the farm.  In 1858 he removed to Bloomington, Illinois, and on the 3d of June, that year, was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Michael, who was born in Darke county, Ohio, September 28, 1839, a daughter of Samuel and Barbara (Putterbaugh) Michael, also natives of the Buckeye state.  Her paternal grandparents were William and Margaret (Durlinger) Michael, the former a native of Germany, the latter of Ohio.  William Michael was born in 1758, and came to this country at the age of five years.  He entered the Continental army during the Revolutionary War, together with six sons, all of whom were killed in service, he alone surviving.  Mrs. Shue is one of a family of eight children, and has two brothers living, namely: Christopher, a resident of Harp township; and William, of Kansas.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Shue are as follows: (1) Austin R. is sheriff of DeWitt county, whose sketch appears on another page of this volume.  (2) Mary is the wife of Wilbur Wilson, of Harp township, and they have one child, Fay.  (3) John A. Logan, deceased, married Lulu Hall, who is now living in Lansing Michigan.  (4) Ulysses, who is now operating the home farm for his mother, married Minnie Hoots, who died leaving one child, Cecil.  (5) Edward, a resident of Harp township, married Minnie Page and has one child, Garrett.  (6) Ella, deceased, was the wife of Bayard S. Griffith, of Clinton, and she left two children, Dexter H. and Wayne.  (7) Almeda is the wife of Tony Moore, of Harp township, and they have two children, Bliss and Opal.  {8} Frederick married Mayme Polan and lives in Bloomington, Illinois.

After his marriage Mr. Shue made his home in Bloomington, working at anything which he could find to do until 1867, when he removed to Harp township, DeWitt county, and purchased eighty acres of land on sections 8 and 17, which at that time was all wild and unimproved.  He built a house, barn, and fences, which are all still standing, but after residing there for five years he sold the place and bought an improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Wilson township.  He soon afterward sold fifteen acres of this, but he remaining one hundred and five is still owned by his widow and is under a high state of cultivation.  Throughout his life he followed farming very successfully and became quite well-to-do.  In politics he was an ardent Republican, but never cared for public office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his farming interests.  He died in 1892, honored and respected by all who knew him, and was laid to rest in Woodlawn cemetery, Clinton.  In his death the community lost one of its best citizens, his neighbors a faithful friend, and his family a considerate husband and father.

GEORGE W. SMITH. (Volume 1, Page 103)

George W. Smith, an energetic and progressive business man of Waynesville, now dealing in grain, is one of DeWitt county’s native sons, his birth having occurred in Barnett township, July 27, 1864.  His father, Charles R. Smith, was born in Gibson county, Indiana, about 1838, and on reaching manhood was there united in matrimony with Miss Mary Marvel.  They continued their residence in Gibson county, Indiana, until after the birth of two of their sons, and then came to DeWitt county, Illinois.  Purchasing a farm in Barnett township, the father devoted the remainder of his life to its improvement and cultivation, and died there in 1891.  His wife still survives him.  In their family were seven sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to man and womanhood, and four sons and two daughters are living at the present writing, in 1901, and are heads of families.

The early life of our subject was passed upon the home farm, and his education was acquired in the district schools of the neighborhood.  By assisting in the work of the farm he soon became thoroughly familiar with all the duties which fall to the lot of the agriculturist, and after reaching manhood he had charge of the place for several years.  One year he was engaged in the grain business at Midland City, and from there he came to Waynesville and purchased an interest in the already established business of Baxton Marvel, being associated with him for five years.  In the spring of 1901 he bought the elevator of E. W. Marvel, and is now doing a successful business as a dealer in grain.

Mr. Smith was married near Beason, Illinois, in 1894, to Miss Susan E. Keys, who was born in Pike county, Illinois, but was reared in Logan county.  She died in September, 1899, leaving five children, namely: Mary E; Lottie L.; Wilbur; Lucile; and Helen.  On the 23rd of May, 1901, in Waynesville township, this county, Mr. Smith was again married, his second union being with Miss Kate Hammitt, a native of DeWitt county.  His home is a large modern residence, which has just been completed, is heated by steam and tastefully furnished.

Since attaining his majority, Mr. Smith has affiliated with the Democratic party, and cast his first presidential ballot for Grover Cleveland in 1888.  He has efficiently served on the town board and was president of the same one year, but he has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking.  Both he and his wife are members of the Tabor Methodist Episcopal church, and he is also a member of Waynesville Lodge, No. 172, F. & A. M., in which he is now serving as senior warden; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Waynesville; and the Modern Woodmen Camp, of which he has been banker for three or four years.  His strict integrity and honorable dealing in business commend him to the confidence of all; his pleasant manner wins him friends; and he is one of the popular and honored citizens of Waynesville.

ORSON J. SMITH. (Volume 1, Page 183)

The world instinctively pays deference to the man whose success has been worthily achieved— one who has overcome the obstacles in his path and through his own unaided efforts has attained a position of affluence.  Mr. Smith, by the improvement of opportunities by which all are surrounded, has steadily and honorably worked his way upward, and is today one of the wealthy citizens of Farmer City.

A native of New York, he was born in Canandaigua, Ontario county, July 30, 1827, and is a son of Jacob and Submit (Jameson) Smith.  His paternal grandfather was John Smith, who was born in Schoharie county, New York, and died in the western part of that state at about the age of eighty years.  He was twice married and had children by both wives.  Those of the first union were Jacob, Nelson, William, Margaret and Maria.  Jacob Smith, the father of our subject was also born in Schoharie county, and at an early day removed to Ontario county, where he purchased the property owned by the Jameson heirs, and successfully engaged in farming throughout life.  He died at the age of seventy-three years, his wife at the age of seventy-four.  They had a family of ten children, namely: Maria Jane, Orson J., Hugh J., John, Charles, Frances J., Ann, Helen, Mittie C. and Albert.

The early education of our subject was acquired in the common schools of his native state, and he commenced teaching school at the age of eighteen years, at fifty-five dollars for four months and a half.  With the money thus earned he paid his way at the Canandaigua Academy, and in 1852 came west, where he could receive a better salary.  He first taught in Sangamon county, Illinois, and devoted his attention to that profession for over twenty years, his last school being in Santa Anna township, DeWitt county, where he received sixty dollars per month.  This was in 1866.  In 1857 he had removed to Blue Ridge, Piatt county, Illinois, where he made his home for some time.

During the time he was engaged in teaching Mr. Smith invested his money in Illinois land, being fully convinced that it was the best in the world.  His first purchase consisted of a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Piatt county, bought of William Grant, and he subsequently bought an adjoining tract of the same size, on which he has erected a good set of farm buildings, and which he still owns.  He bought the J. White farm, comprising one hundred and ten acres in Santa Anna township, DeWitt county, which he later sold to V. S. Lindsey, and then purchased the A. Jones farm of one hundred and sixty acres, on which he has built a new house and barn.  He purchased forty-four acres near it of the M. Johnson heirs, and the old Clearwaters farm of forty and a half acres near Farmer City, on which he erected a good residence and barn.  Besides this property, he owns six hundred and forty acres of land in Stafford county, Kansas, near St. John, and at different times has owned other places, including the fine residence now occupied by William Drybread.  His ability as a financier is widely recognized and he has done quite a successful business in loaning money for himself and eastern firms.  Since 1880 he has practically lived a retired life in Farmer City, though he still looks after his investments.  He purchased the Richard Webb property on East Water street, moved the old residence back, and in 1901 built an elegant fourteen-room house with basement, it being the largest and finest in the city.  It is supplied with hot and cold water, heated by steam and lighted by electricity, in fact it has all of the conveniences of a city home.  Besides this beautiful place Mr. Smith owns several houses, which he rents, and some vacant lots in Farmer City.

In religious faith he is a Universalist, and engaged in preaching for that denomination in Piatt county from 1868 to 1875.  He is an Ancient Odd Fellow and a supporter of the Republican party.   He has filled the office of justice of the peace, but has never been an aspirant for political honors.  A fine writer and eloquent speaker, he has been often called upon to exercise these talents.  He has written considerable for the press and has been a regular correspondent to different journals.  The extracts from his pen include poetry as well as prose.  As a business man he has been remarkably successful, and his success has come to him through energy, labor and perseverance, directed by an evenly balanced mind and by honorable business principles.

COL. THOMAS SNELL. (Volume 1, Page 456)

In the past ages, the history of a country was the record of wars and conquests; today it is a record of commercial activity, and those whose names are foremost in its annuals are the leaders in business circles.  The conquests now made are those of mind over matter, not of man over man, and the victor is he who can successfully establish, control and operate extensive commercial interests.  Colonel Snell is unquestionably one of the strongest and most influential men whose lives have become an essential part of the history of DeWitt county.  Tireless energy, keen perception, honesty of purpose, genius for devising and executing the right thing at the right time, joined to every-day common sense, guided by resistless will power, are the chief characteristics of the man.

Colonel Thomas Snell is a native of the Buckeye state, born in Cincinnati, December 26, 1818, and is a son of Thomas Snell, a native of New Jersey and of German ancestry.  In early life he learned the trade of builder and contractor, which he followed for many years.  He became an early settler of this state, but in 1836, the year of the cholera, he passed away at his home in Pekin.  He married Elizabeth Stark, a native of North Carolina, and daughter of H. Stark, who was of Scotch descent.  Mrs. Snell died in Jasper county, Iowa, and her remains were interred in the cemetery at Clinton.

Colonel Snell was the fourth in order of birth in a family of five children and received his early intellectual training in the district schools of his native state.  In those days the temple of learning was a log building situated in the center of some neighborhood where it would be about an equal distance from the homes of the pioneers.  When eleven years of age he was brought by his parents to this state.  They settled in Pekin and from that time until 1845 our subject passed his time in that place and in Tazewell county.  While a resident of the latter place he engaged in mercantile pursuits and continued in that line of business until after his removal to Clinton, but the slow, plodding life of a country merchant was not the vocation he wanted; there was not enough scope for that great brain, the brain that was never idle.  It needed stimulus and that was not to be found in a business where the most exciting event of the day was when the farmers came in and disposed of their stock of eggs and butter.  He wanted activity, and in 1852 he abandoned commerce and engaged in the construction of railroads, and as a railroad contractor he became one of the most prominent builders in this section of Illinois, constructing many of the leading lines of the state, such as the Illinois Central; the Chicago & Southwestern (in Iowa); Joliet & Chicago; Racine & Mississippi; Ohio & Dayton; Bloomington, Lafayette & Western; and the Lafayette & Muncie.  He graded and bridged the road from Champaign to Havana and was appointed its first president.  He was connected with the railways of the state for some fifteen years, but even this was not enough for that wonderful brain.  He could not bear to be idle for one minute.  He had to be doing something and while in the railroad work he entered into partnership with S. L. Keith in 1859, and together they established a large wagon manufacturing plant at Aurora.  This partnership was continued for six years.  At times they had a force of nearly three hundred men at work and it was then that the Colonel was in his glory.  His was the dominate mind.  It was he that did the planning and devising and it was he that at all times carried to a successful ending all undertakings that were entered into by the firm.  First here and then there, he was always on the go.  It has been said of him that in those years he never slept.  No matter what important business came up the Colonel was on hand to look after the interests of the firm and if a railroad contract was to be let he was there.  In this his quick perception and keen judgment was especially valuable, as many times he was able to grasp an idea and in an instant have a reply ready that would take others hours to decide.  Contractors who were at that time in the habit of looking up contracts in this section of the state soon learned that it was useless to compete with the Colonel.

At about this time, when he was most heavily interested in different enterprises, the news was flashed over the wires that Fort Sumter had been fired upon.  It was the spark that steadily glowed, fanned by the dispatches that followed, until at last it burst into a grand demonstration.  History tells us what the loyal and patriotic citizens of the north did, but it is only in biography that we learn of the personal deeds of men who gave up all and rushed to the front to defend that flag that has never yet been conquered.  Some, yes thousands, were only able to offer themselves, but there were others who were able not only to offer themselves, but were able to do more, and to this latter class belongs the gentleman whose name introduces this review.  The devotion of Colonel Snell to his country is so well known to those who will read this biography that we will not go into details, but it would not be right to pass it by without a little more than ordinary mention.  In August, 1862, he raised the One Hundred and Seventh Illinois Infantry and was elected its colonel, in which capacity he served four months.  During that time he was ready and willing to not only do his duty, but often did more.  His course was radical.  He believed it right and proper for every man to do all in his power to put down this rebellion that threatened the destruction of the country.

In politics he has always taken a very prominent part.  In 1860 he was a candidate for the office of lieutenant governor on the Breckenridge ticket and at that time there was no man in central Illinois that wielded a more powerful influence over the people than did the Colonel.   So wonderful was his power that those two great men, Stephen A. Douglas and General McClellan deemed it necessary to journey here in a special car for the purpose of getting the Colonel to support the Democratic ticket.  Money, and large amounts of it, was offered, position, and important ones, were promised, but to all this the man who is now passing his last days in the city of Clinton turned a deaf ear.  He was as if carved from stone, so firm did he stand for the principles that he deemed right, and after their departure he labored the harder, no only with eloquence, but with money.  Any enterprise that was calculated to advance the interests of not only the state, but the nation, received his support.

From early manhood up to the present time he has been a man with more than ordinary force of character, a man of intrepid spirit and indomitable will, and these traits, with large enterprise and great executive ability, have placed him in the front ranks of the men of wealth in this county.  He is a man of strong convictions and is outspoken in his views.  Perhaps no man has displayed more real public spirit or been more interested in advancing the welfare of the country than the Colonel, and to no man is it more greatly indebted for its present high financial standing.

Colonel Snell was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Church of Washington, Illinois, and by this union were born five children, three of whom are living.  October 11, 1875, death invaded the pleasant home of our subject and took from him his beloved wife.  She was a woman of perfect character, in whom all the higher womanly qualities were blended.  She was kindness itself in her relations with others, always gentle, considerate and just.  Her charitableness was well known, and many who have been benefitted by it bless her memory.

Such in brief outline is the history of Colonel Thomas Snell.  His life record is one well worthy of emulation and contains many valuable lessons of incentive, showing the possibilities that are open to young men who wish to improve every opportunity for advancement.  Upright and honorable in all the relations of life, he merits and receives the respect and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact.  He is now passing his last days retired from active labor, but although eighty-three years of age, he is hale and hearty and the same Colonel Snell that he was when in touch with the leading men of the state and nation.  His is a life well spent and no history of the leading men of DeWitt county would be complete without a review of his more than ordinary career.

HENRY C. SPAINHOUR. (Volume 1, Page 263)

H. C. Spainhour, who is now living a retired life on section 9, Creek township, was born in Texas township, this county, February 26, 1843, and is a son of Thomas Spainhour, whose birth occurred in Casey county, Kentucky, in August, 1819.  His paternal grandparents, Warner and Polly (Davenport) Spainhour, were both natives of North Carolina, and after residing in Kentucky for several years came to Illinois in 1817, locating in Sangamon county when this section of the state was inhabited principally by the red men.  Here the father of our subject grew to manhood and for many years he was engaged in farming in DeWitt county, but is now living a retired life in Creek township.  He first married Matilda Willis, also a native of Kentucky, and the mother of our subject.  By that union six children were born, three sons and three daughters, of whom three sons are still living.  Since the mother’s death the father has been twice married, and by the last union also has six children.

Our subject spent his boyhood and youth in Texas and Creek townships, and began his education in a primitive log school house with its slab benches and puncheon floor.  The writing desk was made by a plank laid upon pegs driven into the wall, and where a log was cut out greased paper was tacked over the opening to form a window.  The school house was about a mile from the Spainhour homestead.  Our subject was only able to attend school during the winter months, but he had some good teachers, including Logan McMurray, his first teacher.  As there was no mill in this locality during his boyhood, his grandfather Willis made a couple of burrs out of ______head rocks to grind meal, and continued to operate these for several years.

During the Civil War Mr. Spainhour enlisted March 10, 1862, in Company C, Forty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel I. C. Pugh, and first went to Pittsburg Landing.  During the first day of the battle of Shiloh—April 6, 1862—he was wounded in the left arm and was under the surgeon’s care for ten days.  On rejoining his command he took part in the siege of Corinth and then went to Grand Junction, Mississippi, and from there to Holly Springs, taking part in the engagement at the latter place.  Returning to Grand Junction his regiment went from there to Boliver, Tennessee, in the spring of 1863.  They were next ordered to the Tallahatchie river to intercept General Hardy and keep him from crossing that stream.  From there they went to Memphis and with Grant’s expedition started for Vicksburg, but on reaching Coffeyville they found that the rebels had destroyed their rations at Corinth and were compelled to fall back to Holly Springs, where they lived for a week on parched corn without salt until Sherman arrived with provisions.   Returning to Memphis they took boats for the Yazoo river heights above Vicksburg, and after capturing the fort and destroying the magazine at that place they crossed the river and were in camp opposite Vicksburg for a week.  They were then assigned to the extreme left of Grant’s army, and were under fire in the siege of Vicksburg for forty-nine days.  From there they marched to Jackson, Mississippi, and in the hard-fought battle which occurred there July 12, 1864, the regiment lost heavily, only sixteen out of the three hundred and fifty men who entered the fight being able to stack arms around the colors after the engagement was over.  The remnant of the regiment returned to Memphis, and in August, 1864, the survivors were mustered out.  Our subject remained in the service, however, and was with General Smith on the Red river expedition, and for a time was at Marietta, Georgia, and Kenesaw Mountain guarding railroads.  His command was with Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and on the march to the sea, and were then given charge of the prisoners captured on that march. By boat they proceeded to Fort Beaufort, South Carolina, and then marched with Sherman to Goldsboro, North Carolina, where Mr. Spainhour was mustered out March 29, 1865.  He returned home immediately, arriving here on the 13th of April.

For two years after the war Mr. Spainhour was engaged in farming on the shares for Asbury Smallwood.  During that time he was married, January 18, 1866, to Miss Deborah Smallwood, a daughter of Asbury and Elizabeth Smallwood, natives of Virginia.  Her father was one of the earliest settlers of Macon county, Illinois, having located there before the winter of the "deep snow."  Unto our subject and his wife fifteen children were born, seven of whom died young, and David, the oldest, died May 20, 1892, at the age of twenty-four years.  Those living are Lura, who is now the wife of John L. Tackwell, of Creek township, and has one child, William Carl; Cory, who married Carrie Harrow and is operating a part of his father’s land; Virvin and Ellis, both at home; and Nettie, Maude, Russell and Alma, all in school.

After leaving his father-in-law’s farm Mr. Spainhour operated a grist and sawmill on Salt creek, in Texas township, and then returned to the Smallwood farm.  Later he erected a flouringmill on the Sangamon river in Macon county, but after running it six months he sold out and returned to Creek township, DeWitt county, where he rented the Peter Murphy farm one year.  He then returned to the old place and remained there until 1874, when he bought eighty acres of land in Nixon township.  This he disposed of six months later, and then purchased one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm in Creek township, to which he has added from time to time until he now has four hundred twenty-five acres of well improved and highly cultivated land on sections 4, 5, and 9, and also has eighty acres on section 10.  He has given considerable attention to stock raising, but in 1901 laid aside all business cares and is now living a retired life.  He started on his business career without a dollar, and the success that he has achieved is due entirely to his own industry, good management and excellent business ability.  During the war he succeeded in saving thirteen hundred dollars.

In politics Mr. Spainhour is a Democrat, and as one of the leading and prominent citizens of his community he has been called upon to fill official positions of honor and trust.  He served as collector several terms, and was county supervisor six consecutive terms, during which time he was a member of all of the important committees, such as the finance and poor farm committees.  He is a member of Gilman Lodge, No. 455, K. P., and his wife is a member of the Christian church.

Note: Warner Spainhour’s name is spelled Werner at WorldConnect.

THOMAS SPENCER. (Volume 1, Page 408)

The agricultural interests of Illinois are well represented all over the state but perhaps nowhere better than in DeWitt county, where there are gathered together in each township men of substance and experience who understand farming in all its branches and who are every day putting to practical test the knowledge gained during years of hard work.  Among the representative farmers, one of the most prominent is Thomas Spencer, of Texas township, who was born here, February 9, 1858, and educated in the district schools.

He is a son of Littleberry and Lucinda (Blair) Spencer.  The father was a native of Kentucky and came to DeWitt county, Illinois, when he was only three years of age.  His parents settled in DeWitt county and engaged in farming in Clintonia township.  They died here, the grandfather at the age of seventy-nine, while the grandmother was ninety-six at the time of her death.  The father of our subject was one of eleven children, seven of whom grew to maturity and four are now living, two of whom reside in DeWitt county.  Those living are as follows: Levi, who lives in the southern part of Texas township and is the youngest of the family; John, who lives in Clintonia township, and is engaged in farming; James D., who lives in Indian Territory; Mildred, who married Henry Webb and they reside in Wayne county.

Littleberry Spencer, the father of our subject, engaged in general farming and stock raising and in the early part of his business career worked at brick making in Texas township.  His farm was on section 10, Texas township, and although a small one was well cultivated.  In politics he was a stanch Republican, and he was also a devout member of the Christian church.   His death took place at his home in Texas township, January 1, 1900, and he is buried at Woodlawn cemetery.  He was a public-spirited man and earnestly advocated all improvements tending towards the advancement of the township.  His widow survives at eighty-one years of age, and resides in Tunbridge township.  Their children were: Thomas, our subject; Alexander, deceased; Albert, who resides in Texas township on a farm on section 10, and he married M. Anna McElroy, and they have six children; Frank, who resides in Clinton and is married and has a family.

The father, Littleberry Spencer, enlisted in 1862, in Company F, One Hundred and Seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served three years, participating in many of the important battles of the Civil war and proving himself a brave soldier and a devoted Union man.

Thomas Spencer, the subject of this sketch, remained on the homestead farm until he was twenty-four, when he left home and engaged in business for himself by renting the property he now owns.  The farm is an excellent one, in good condition, with comfortable buildings and nice house, surrounded with shade trees.  The fields are well cultivated and the orchard in first rate condition.

Mr. Spencer was married, January 3, 1879, to Miss Isabelle Baker, a daughter of Lawson and Mary Baker, both of whom are now deceased.  The following family has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Spencer; Fred; Frances M.; Orville; Ernestine; Elmer; Sylvia; Annie; Hugh; Erick; Carl; Nellie; Elsie and four children who died in infancy.

Mr. Spencer is a progressive farmer and public-spirited citizen and his many excellent traits of character have won for him the respect and esteem of a wide circle of friends, while his estimable wife is equally popular among her friends.  At their pleasant home they dispense a generous hospitality and they are enjoying life surrounded by their family of interesting children in whose bright faces and energetic actions can be read the bright futures before them.

Levi Spencer, a brother to Littleberry Spencer was born in Clintonia township, October 27, 1846, and has lived in DeWitt county all his life engaged in farming.  He resides in Texas township, on section 8, where he owns twenty acres of land, which is well cultivated and yields a good return for his efforts.  In politics he is a stanch Republican but has never sought or accepted office, preferring to devote his attention to his own affairs.   The entire Spencer family is highly respected throughout DeWitt county where its representatives have lived so long.

BYRON F. STAYMATES. (Volume 1, Page 11)

Professor Byron F. Staymates is one of the influential citizens of Clinton, a conspicuous figure in the business, literary and social life of this city, exerting a strong influence in support of all progressive measures for the public good.  A man of splendid intellectual endowment, broad minded and viewing with a comprehensive glance the needs of the community, he advocates all that tends to the general welfare and is accounted one of the valued residents of Clinton.  As an earnest advocate of the Illinois Fireman’s Association he has established a reputation that is not confined to the limits of the state, but as the statistician of that organization he has established an acquaintance, not only throughout the United States, but his name is well known in many of the cities of Europe.

Professor Byron F. Staymates is a native of the Buckeye State, his birth having occurred in Huntsville, October 1, 1852, and is a son of Hiram L. Staymates, who settled in Texas township, DeWitt county, in 1856.  One year later he removed to Creek township, where he purchased one hundred and eighty acres of land known as the Zimmerman farm, on which he continued to reside until 1882.  This farm he has greatly improved and placed under a high state of cultivation.   He also owns considerable property in Barnett township.  Since 1882 he has been a resident of Clinton, where he now lives retired from active labor.  His success in life is due entirely to his own efforts, as he had nothing to start on and that which he has accumulated has been by his own hard labor, and he is today accounted one of the substantial men of the county.  His birth occurred in Licking county, Ohio, where he was born on the 3d day of October, 1819, a son of Peter Staymates, who was a son of Phillip, who emigrated to this country prior to the Revolutionary war, in which he took a prominent part, being a major in the American Army.  After the close of this memorable war he received a grant of land near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.  In 1808 he was called to his final rest at the age of eighty-seven years, and his remains are interred at Greensburg, that state, where he passed his last days.

The Staymates family is of German origin, the name formerly being spelled Steinmetz, and Phillip was the first to locate in this country.  His descendants later settled in Ohio, where they became early settlers and where most of them died.

The marriage of Hiram L. Staymates, our subject’s father, with Miss Charlotte Westbrook, who was also a native of Ohio, resulted in the birth of two children, namely: Byron F. and Elmer, who is now deceased.  Mrs. Staymates died at the age of sixty-four years.

As before stated, our subject was born in Ohio, where he resided until he was four years of age, when he was brought to this county by his parents.  He received a good common school education in the Creek township schools, after which he engaged in teaching for a short time.   In 1865 he entered the Wesleyan University at Bloomington, where he was graduated six years later as Bachelor and later as Master of Arts.  He then took up the study of law in the Wesleyan Law School and later was a professor in an academy at Smith’s Grove, Kentucky, which position he held for one year.  At the expiration of this period he took up his residence in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he was admitted to the bar, but soon after he was compelled to leave the city, owing to the yellow fever scourge.  We next find him located in Texas for a short time and from there he went to the republic of Mexico, but owing to a serious failing of the eyesight he was compelled to return home and abandon all professional work for a number of years.  In 1886 he filled the position of assistant editor of the Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Record, and during the Black and Beaver campaign of that year he became actively identified with the political interests of the state as a speaker and writer of more than ordinary ability.  It might be well to mention here that since 1876 he has spoken and upheld the principles of the Democratic party in every campaign.  Going extensively through the state at the demands of the managing committees.

In 1889 he took an active part in the formation of the Illinois Fireman’s Association, and has held the office of statistician since its organization.  In this work Mr. Staymates has taken more than an ordinary interest, and his work along this line demands more than a mere mention.  In January, 1888, the Illinois Fireman’s Association was formed in the city of Clinton and at its tenth annual convention, which was held in Clinton January 13, 1899, Mr. Staymates read a paper in which he reviewed the work of the organization since its formation.   In detail he showed how it had grown from a weak association of only a few members to one of the strongest and largest in this country.  He reviewed its work, its meetings during the past ten years, and in closing his remarks said: "This is but an imperfect narrative of the first decade of the Illinois Fireman’s Association.  One of the results has been the early complete organization of the fire service of Illinois; another to raise its proficiency and efficiency in the noble work of wealth saving to a laudable degree.   What the first association has saved Illinois the uncounted millions have not yet been shown.  Of the grant ten years we can say Finis coronat opus."

When the National Fireman’s Association was formed in 1897, Mr. Staymates was by the representatives of twelve state associations chosen secretary and later was elected corresponding secretary and in 1900 represented both the Illinois and National bodies at the great Parisian World’s Congress of Fire Engineers, spending several months in Europe, and on his return he read an elaborate report before the convention in this country.  In his report he showed his ability as an observer and his paper abounded in observations of the European system of fire fighting.

In 1893, at the World’s Columbian Exposition, he was chosen by the Illinois Board of Commissioners as a superintendent of the natural history exhibit and also lectured on the subjects of fish, forestry, and soils, all of which has engaged his attention for many years.   Since then he has lectured at many farmer’s institutes in central Illinois, and has also gained a wide reputation as a contributor to the daily papers.

Mr. Staymates has also made a close study of languages and is a proficient talker in German, Spanish, and French.  During the convention of the Pan-American Convention of Firemen, which was held at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, he served as chairman of the program committee, which position he filled with much credit.

Space will not permit us to go into further detail, but such in brief outline is the personal history of our subject.  He has gained an enviable reputation and no biography of the leading men of DeWitt county would be complete without mention of Professor B. F. Staymates.

WILLIAM M. STORY. (Volume 1, Page 346)

William M. Story, who is now living a retired life with his daughter, Mrs. Yocum, near Waynesville, is a worthy representative of the honored pioneers of DeWitt county, and a true type of the energetic, hardy men who have actively assisted in developing and improving this beautiful and fertile agricultural country.  When he came here in the summer of 1834, the dusky savages were often seen in this locality and wild game of all kinds abounded, but these have long since fled and their haunts have been replaced by waving fields of grain and thriving cities and villages.

Mr. Story was born in Morgan county, Ohio, August 23, 1829, a son of Palmer and Mary Ann (Morris) Story.  His paternal grandfather was John Story, who was a soldier of the war of 1812.  He was born in one of the eastern states and from there removed to Pennsylvania and later to Ohio, locating in Morgan county.  Our subject’s father was a native of Pennsylvania, but his early life was principally passed in Morgan county, Ohio, where he is said to have assisted in boring the first salt well, which was nine hundred feet deep.  He was employed in the salt works there for several years, and then came to Illinois in 1834.   After spending the winter in Logan county, in the spring of 1838 he bought a farm in Waynesville township, DeWitt county, forty acres of which had been broken and a log shanty erected thereon, and he at once turned his attention to its further improvement and cultivation.  In 1850 he and our subject made an overland trip to California with a cattle train and twenty-three wagons, and were six months and seven days upon the road, arriving at the gold diggings at Hangtown on the 7th of September.  They spent eleven months in searching for the precious metal with fair success, and then returned by way of the Panama route.  Arriving in New York City, they went up the Hudson river to Albany, thence by train to Chicago, and by canal and the Illinois river to their home, their arrival being a great surprise to their family and friends.  Subsequently the father removed to Bloomington, where he was engaged in the grocery business for some years, and he died in that city in 1883.   His wife survived him about five years.

On coming to Illinois, William M. Story was seven years of age, and amid scenes common to frontier life he grew to manhood.  When only fifteen he took charge of the home farm and carried it on quite successfully until he and his father went to California.  After his return, he bought the place, and at different times purchased other tracts of land until he had two hundred and forty acres in McLean and DeWitt counties, which he operated with good success for a number of years.  In 1860 he moved to Caldwell county, Missouri, in company with Daniel Proctor, and together they bought a section of government land under the graduation act.  He improved this tract of three hundred and twenty acres, and engaged in its cultivation for three years.  He then returned to the old homestead in this county, and followed farming here for some years, but is now living a retired life.

In December, 1851, Mr. Story was married in DeWitt county to Miss Eliza C. Phares, a native of Butler county, Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph and Ellen Phares, who came to this county about 1850.  Her mother is still living, at the advanced age of eighty-six years.   For nearly half a century Mr. and Mrs. Story traveled life’s journey together, sharing its joys and sorrows, its trials and hardships, but he has been called upon to mourn the loss of his estimable wife, who died January 29, 1899.  The children born to them were as follows: Palmer J. is married and resides in Iowa; Mary E. is the wife of Baxter Bobee, of Iowa; Cynthia J. is the wife of B. B. Shafer, of Adair county, Missouri; John is married and engaged in farming in DeWitt county, Illinois; Sarah L. married E. L. Yocum, a substantial farmer of this county, who died January 19, 1901, leaving two children, Harry and Dell; Dell, a daughter of our subject, is the wife of James Baker, of Scotland county, Missouri; Lucy died at the age of nineteen years.

In politics Mr. Story is a staunch Republican, and in his social relations is a member of the Masonic lodge at Waynesville.  He has many interesting reminiscences of early days, and is one of the honored pioneers of this county.  In early life he was a great hunter, bringing down many a deer in this section, while in the west he has also killed elk and buffalo.  Although now well advanced in years, he is still a good shot with a rifle, his eye being keen and his nerves steady.  Of recent years he has traveled considerably over the west, through Missouri, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, and in 1897 made a trip to Alaska, where he had many thrilling experiences and came near losing his life in a snowslide.

JAMES P. STRANGE. (Volume 1, Page 24)

One of Waynesville’s most honored and highly respected citizens is James P. Strange, who has now laid aside all business cares and is living a retired life.  He was born in this county on the 18th of June, 1840, and is a worthy representative of a prominent pioneer family.  His father, John S. Strange, was born near Louisville, Kentucky, where his ancestors located at an early day, and there he grew to manhood and married a Miss Robinson.   In 1829 he came to Illinois and located in what is now DeWitt county, where he pre-empted and later entered two hundred and forty acres, which he broke and transformed into a good farm, becoming one of the most thrifty and substantial agriculturists of his community.  His first wife died about 1838, and he subsequently married Miss Nancy Scott, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of John Scott, who was one of the first settlers of this country.  Mr. Strange died here in 1856, and his wife, who survived him for some years, passed away on the 18th of March, 1867, both being laid to rest in Rock Creek cemetery, Waynesville township.

James P. Strange, of this review, is the oldest in a family of seven children, six sons and one daughter, all of whom reached years of maturity, and five of the sons are still living and are residents of Illinois.  He passed the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof, and was educated in the home school.  After his father’s death he took charge of the farm and later purchased the interests of the other heirs, and still owns the old home place, where he lived for half a century.  He erected thereon a good house and barn, and made many other improvements, and throughout his active business life successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising.  Having acquired sufficient capital to enable him to spend the remainder of his life in ease and quiet, he removed to Waynesville in the spring of 1890 and built a large modern residence—one of the best in the town.  He was one of the first stockholders and is now a director of the Waynesville Bank, one of the substantial moneyed institutions of the county, which was organized in 1892 and has a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars.

Mr. Strange was united in marriage December 3, 1863, with Miss Nancy Smoot, who was born and reared in this state, and was a daughter of Henry Smoot, a native of Virginia, and a pioneer of DeWitt county.  She died in 1872, leaving one son, Arthur, at home with is father.  He was for eleven years in the railway mail service of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad.  Mr. Strange was again married in this county, September 19, 1878, his second union being with Miss Mary Booth, who grew to womanhood in Illinois, and is a daughter of John Booth, one of the early settlers of DeWitt county.

Politically Mr. Strange supports the men and measures of the Democratic party, and has taken quite an active and influential part in local politics.  He was elected and served as township collector three years; supervisor one year; assessor ten consecutive years; and commissioner of highways thirteen years.  On coming to Waynesville he was appointed postmaster under President Cleveland, and acceptably filled that office for four years.  He has also been a member of the village board six years and president of the same one term, and while living on the farm served twenty-four years as a school director, and also as clerk and president of the district a part of the time.  He has held some office continually since 1871, and his public duties have always been most faithfully and satisfactorily performed.  Religiously he and his wife are members of the Christian church, and socially he belongs to Prairie State Lodge, No. 104, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all the chairs and is past grand and past district deputy.  He has also represented his lodge in the grand lodge three or four times and is a prominent member of Wayne Lodge No. 172, F. & A. M., in which he is now serving as secretary, while both he and his wife belong to the Eastern Star and Rebekah lodges.  They are well known throughout this section of the county, and it is safe to say that no couple in the community have more friends.

JOHN SUMMERVILLE. (Volume 1, Page 78)

John Summerville, who resides on section 4, Wapella township, owns and operates a valuable farm of two hundred acres, whose neat and thrifty appearance well indicates his careful supervision.   Substantial improvements are surrounded by well tilled fields, and all of the accessories and conveniences of a model farm are there found.

Mr. Summerville was born on the farm where he now resides, February 17, 1869, and is a son of James Summerville, who came to this country in 1848, when a young man, and for ten years worked in the Illinois Central Railroad shops at Wapella.  He then purchased one hundred and twenty acres of the railroad company in Wapella township and in 1861 added to it a tract of forty acres, for which he paid fifty dollars per acre.  After erecting a house upon his land he located thereon, and to the further improvement and cultivation of that farm devoted his attention for some time.  He subsequently bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Clintonia township, and an adjoining tract of forty acres, his landed possessions then aggregating four hundred acres.   He was in limited circumstances on coming to this county, but being industrious, enterprising and persevering, he gradually worked his way upward until he was one of the well-to-do and prosperous citizens of his community.  In 1894, he retired from active labor and removed to Clinton where he made his home until his death, which occurred December 31, 1898.  In this county he married Miss Elizabeth Heenan, who was born and reared in Ireland, but who survived her husband, being a resident of Clinton until her death, August 14, 1901.  The children born to them are William T., a farmer of Clintonia township; John, of this review; and Margaret, who is living in Clinton.

John Summerville grew to manhood upon the home farm and was educated in the local schools.  When his father retired he succeeded to the farm in Wapella township, and has since successfully engaged in its operation.  He is a well-known breeder of Clydesdale and Englishshire horses, giving particular attention to that branch of his business, and in all his undertakings has steadily prospered thus far.  Politically he is a stalwart Democrat, having never failed in his allegiance to that party since casting his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland in 1888.  He was elected and served two years as commissions of highways, and has always taken a deep and commendable interest in public affairs.  Religiously he is a member of the Catholic church.

MALCOLM SWAN. (Volume 1, Page 419)

One of the highly esteemed retired citizens of Clinton, Illinois, who for many years was one of the successful agriculturists of DeWitt county, is Malcolm Swan, who was born in Scotland on June 9, 1834, and was a son of Malcolm and Ann Swan, of Argyleshire, Scotland, where the mother died.  In 1866 the father came to the United States and settled in Michigan, where he died at the home of one of his sons.

Malcolm Swan, the subject of this biography, was the first of his family to come to America, sailing from Liverpool on the steamer City of Washington, and after a trip of fourteen days, reaching New York city.  From there he went to Toronto, Canada, but six months later removed to Michigan, where he remained for the following two years, working in a lumber camp.  From this northern camp Mr. Swan came to Illinois and remained for a short time near Aurora, but later secured employment at cord wood chopping along the Mississippi river.

In the spring of 1860 our subject came to Waynesville, DeWitt county, Illinois, where he went to work, his wages being twelve dollars and fifty cents per month, and there he continued for about six years.  Mr. Swan was frugal and industrious and soon bought a tract of eighty acres in Creek township, which he later increased to one hundred and sixty acres.  At the time of purchase this was all wild prairie, but his perseverance and industry has put it under a fine state of cultivation, and his improvements in the way of house, barns and fencing compare most favorably with the farms of much older residents of the county.

In 1872 our subject was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Sprague, who was a native of Ohio, and to this union six children have been born: Charles, deceased; Anna, who married Archibald Edwards, of Creek township, and has one child, Margaret; and Ruth; Mary; Jane; and Katie.  In politics Mr. Swan has always been in sympathy with the Democratic party, but he has never sought office.

In 1890 our subject rented his fine farm and decided to spend the rest of his life in the enjoyment of what his industry has earned. With this end in view he purchased one of the most comfortable homes in Clinton, located on West South street, and today is one of the highly esteemed citizens of this pleasant little city.

CARL SWIGART. (Volume 1, Page 420)

Among the honored and highly esteemed citizens of Weldon is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch.  He was born in DeWitt township, this county, November 14, 1854, and is a son of Jacob and Rebecca (Doirs) Swigart, both of whom were natives of Ohio.  The paternal grandfather of our subject was Daniel Swigart of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and a son of Daniel and Catherine (Nazer) Swigart, who were also natives of Pennsylvania, but of German parentage.  Daniel Swigart, Sr., was a soldier of the war of 1812, serving under General Harrison, and fought with him against General Hull at Fort Meigs and other battles of that war.  Daniel, Jr., was born at Mercerbury, Pennsylvania, in 1793, and came to Pickoway county, Illinois, with his parents in 1810.  Here he grew to manhood and married Elizabeth Coonrod, a native of Greenbrier county, Virginia, and a daughter of Jacob and Eve (Vandevinder) Coonrod.  He also served in the war of 1812 under General Harrison, but his position in the quartermaster’s department prevented him from taking any part in any of the battles.   The maternal grandparents of our subject were James and Elizabeth Davis, natives of Ohio, but came to DeWitt county in 1837 and located near Farmer City, on land which is now within the corporation limits of that town.

Carl Swigart was reared in his native county, and from the public schools received a good preliminary education.  While very young he started out in life as a farmer, and is now the owner of twelve hundred, and eighty acres of highly improved land.  There is five hundred and eighty acres in DeWitt county, three hundred and twenty acres in Mason county, two hundred and eighty acres in Piatt and one hundred acres in Champaign, all under a high state of cultivation.  In addition to his farming interests he also deals extensively in stock, making a specialty of cattle, sheep and hogs for market.

Since 1888 he has resided in Weldon, eight years of which time he has been engaged in the banking business.  He has twice been united in marriage, his first union being with Miss Sarah A., daughter of Archibald and Lydia (Runyon) McConkley, of DeWitt township, formerly of Ohio.  As a result of this union three children were born, as follows: Vespasian C.; Harry F. and Grace M.  Mrs. Swigart was called to her final rest in 1887 and in 1889 Mr. Swigart was married, his second wife being Miss Kate, daughter of James and Emma (McPherson) McConkley, by whom he has one daughter, Clara.

Socially Mr. Swigart is a member of Mozart Lodge, No. 96, K. of P., of Weldon; Weldon Lodge, No. 746, A. F. & A. M.; Goodbrake Chapter, R. A. M., of Clinton, and Clinton Commandery, No. 66.   In politics he has always been a warm supporter of the men and measures of the Republican party, and from 1894 until 1898 served as supervisor of Nixon township and is now the representative from the 19th district in the state legislature, and takes an active interest in all measures calculated to prove of benefit to the public.

MRS. CATHERINE SWIGART. (Volume 1, Page 65)

Mrs. Catherine Swigart, one of Farmer City’s most esteemed ladies, has the distinction of being the first white child born in Santa Anna township, DeWitt county, the date of her birth being July 16, 1832.  Her parents were Dennis and Mary (Connell) Hurley, who were the first to settle in this locality, and were prominently identified with its early development and prosperity.  A sketch of these worthy pioneers is given in connection with that of Mrs. Lydia M. Johnson, on another page of this volume.

Mrs. Swigart was born in the first house built in the northeast part of the county, it being a primitive structure, not more than fifteen by sixteen feet in dimensions, constructed of split logs, with a puncheon floor, one window and one door, but it furnished a home of comfort to a large family until better accommodations could be secured.  Our subject was reared on a farm, and being a strong, ambitious girl, she assisted in the work of both the house and the field, willing always to help her father as well as her mother.

On the 11th of March, 1852, she was united in marriage with George Washington Swigart, who was born in Marion county, Ohio, April 9, 1830, and was a son of Daniel Swigart.  He obtained a fair education in a little log school house, and in early life engaged in cattle feeding and working by the month as a farm hand.  In 1849 he came with his parents to DeWitt county.  He was in limited circumstances at the time of his marriage, and while the railroad was being built through this section of the state he worked on it, while his wife kept boarders in a little shanty of one room, usually accommodating about fourteen for meals.  She made beds on the floor and cooked over a fireplace outdoors, doing all her baking in a covered skillet.  One summer was passed in this way, and at the end of that time the young couple had saved fifty dollars.  Borrowing one hundred dollars they entered eighty acres of land, which is now owned by Mr. McConkey, and upon the place they built a cabin of split logs, with a mud and stick chimney.  Although it was a rude structure, it was their first home and they were happy in the possession of the same.  In those early days Mr. Swigart often remarked to his wife "some day you will have a fine home, of which you are certainly deserving."  While he engaged in the improvement and cultivation of the land she cooked the meals for the harvest hands and carried water to quench their thirst.  In 1866 they sold their first farm and bought the Chapin place of three hundred acres, a part of which he subsequently sold, retaining one hundred and twenty acres.  He then purchased thirty-six acres of the T. Gardner farm, where Mrs. Swigart now resides in a large new residence, the barns and outbuildings being in perfect harmony therewith.

Mr. and Mrs. Swigart had no children of their own, but they reared Sarah F. Hedge, who was born in 1857 and died in 1877.  She married Charles Everett, and at her death left two children: Mory, who married Gertie Lewis and has one son, Orville L.; and Sherman, who is now in the Philippines.  Mrs. Swigart cared for these children, carefully rearing and educating them.

In religious belief Mr. Swigart was a Universalist, and in politics was a Republican.  He served as road commissioner for nine years, but never sought political honors.  He was a noble man, fine looking and loved by all, and in his death, which occurred March 2, 1890, the community realized that it had lost one of its most valued and useful citizens.  His estimable wife still resides at their beautiful home in Farmer City, surrounded by all the comforts that make life worth the living.  She is a typical pioneer woman, kind hearted and generous, and is held in the highest regard by all who knows her.

E. CHARLES SWIGART. (Volume 1, Page 375)

E. Charles Swigart, mayor of Farmer City, Illinois, was born in DeWitt township, this county, March 14, 1859, and is a son of Jacob Swigart.  He was educated in the common schools and began his business career as a farmer, purchasing a farm from Thomas Bryant, of Blue Ridge township, Piatt county, and in Santa Anna township, DeWitt county, consisting of two hundred and eighty acres.   On this property he made many improvements and conducted a general farming and stock-raising business until 1893, when he rented his farm and removed to Farmer City, where he purchased the William Allen property.  So prominent did he become that he was selected as alderman, and after serving two years in 1901 was honored by election as mayor of Farmer City, which high office he fills with distinction.  In politics he is a Republican and is a leader of his party in this locality.

Mr. Swigart married Clara Arboyart, a daughter of George Arboyart, one of the wealthy men of Farmer City.  One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Swigart, Edna J., who died when but fifteen months of age.  Our subject is a member of the K. of P. and is deservedly popular.

ISAAC F. SWISHER. (Volume 1, Page 472)

Isaac Franklin Swisher, now deceased, was born on March 20, 1840, in Harp township, DeWitt county, Illinois, and was a son of William Swisher, who was a native of Ohio and a son of Jacob Swisher, who was a native of Virginia and an early settler of Ohio, a farmer by occupation. Jacob Swisher was a soldier of the Revolution and died at an advanced old age. William Swisher the father of our subject, grew to manhood in Ohio, and in 1837 came to Harp township, this county, overland in a wagon. He entered a tract of land from the government and he and his family lived in a log cabin. He led a very active life until 1842, when he retired from business. He married Fannie Foley, who was also a native of Ohio, and she bore her husband one child, our subject. She died just before her husband. Her father, William Foley, was born in Ohio, and was one of the extensive farmers of that state and was one of the pioneer settlers of Logan county, Illinois, where he died at an advanced age.

Isaac Franklin Swisher was bereft of his parents at an early age, and was reared by his grandparents and uncles. His education was secured in the primitive log schoolhouses of that period with slab benches and a hole in the wall for light. At the age of twenty years he began to support himself and was employed by his uncle, Isaac Swisher. He subsequently began to farm for himself on land left him by his father, which he operated until 1880, when he purchased eighty acres in Clintonia township where he resided until a few years prior to his death.

The war record of Mr. Swisher was such as to reflect credit upon any man. He enlisted in August, 1862, in Company D, One Hundred and Seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and took an active part in several important battles. He fought at Huff’s Ferry and Campbell’s Station, and was present at the siege of Knoxville. He faced the rebels at Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia, and met the enemy at Resaca, the same state, and took an active part in the battles and skirmishes after the battle of Resaca. During this time his regiment was detailed to guard duty. He took part in the battle at New Hope Church, and then moved around the Kenesaw mountains and skirmished on the right flank of the enemy. At Marietta, Georgia, he was in the hospital for a month and joined his regiment at Nashville, Tennessee, in time to take part in the battle at that place, and from there went east to Washington City and then southward to Fort Anderson, North Carolina, and met Sherman at Raleigh, North Carolina, where they were when peace was declared. He was mustered out June 21, 1865.

Mr. Swisher was a strong Republican in politics and was a member of the Frank Lowry Post, No. 157, Grand Army of the Republic, at Clinton. He departed this life on August 14, 1900, and is interred in Woodlawn cemetery in Clinton. Mr. Swisher was also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and was a faithful member of the Methodist church, as is also his widow. He left a fine farm and a beautiful home on South Madison street, Clinton, where Mrs. Swisher now resides. He was universally respected and beloved for his public-spirit and his high moral character, and his loss was deeply mourned.

Mr. Swisher was married on July 8, 1862, to Miss Elnora Piatt, a native of Ohio, born August 1, 1842. Five children were born to this marriage, namely: (1) Eva Alice, who is now the wife of William Neble and they reside in DeWitt county; (2) William Sherman married Lena Lighthall and they now reside at Wapella; (3) Anna Dell married Claude Longbrake and they live in Clinton; (4) Alonzo Franklin married Ida Hume. They are residents of Wapella; (5) Nellie died at the age of eight years. Mrs. Swisher died in May, 1895.

Our subject was married again in January, 1899, to Mrs. Eliza (Lemen) Fisher, who was born in Clark county, Ohio, in 1849. She is a daughter of John R. and Lucinda J. (Hummer) Lemen, both natives of Ohio. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Lemen occurred in 1840 and they had eleven children, three of whom died in infancy, and five are now living. Mr. Lemen was a farmer and later studied medicine and practiced in Indiana and Missouri, but died in the latter state on February 6, 1892, at the age of seventy-six years, having been born on August 31, 1816. The five living children born to Mr. and Mrs. Lemen are as follows: (1) Milton; (2) Eliza, the widow of our subject; (3) James; (4) Lucinda; and (5) Edward. At the age of fifteen Mrs. Swisher made her home with her uncle, Dr. J. A. Lemen, in Missouri, from whence they removed to Clinton, DeWitt county, Illinois, in 1866, and she here met and married Joseph Fisher, a native of Germany, who came to the United States when only fifteen years of age. Mr. Fisher owned a farm in Clintonia township. To this union were born two children: George W., who resides in Omaha, Nebraska; Anna, who married Charles Hendricks and resides in Clinton, where he is manager of the Clinton ice plant. They have one child: Lucile. Mr. Fisher died October 29, 1895, and is interred in Woodlawn cemetery in Clinton.

Mrs. Swisher is a lady of high attainments and many excellent qualities and is regarded as one of the most highly esteemed ladies of Clinton.

WALTER M. TAYLOR. (Volume 1, Page 259)

This well-known business man of Clinton was born in the city where he still resides, September 27, 1865, and is a son of William H. and Lucy (Merrill) Taylor, and a grandson of Henry and Mary (Miller) Taylor.  The grandfather was born in Delaware in 1816, and in early life removed to Plainville, Ohio, where he made his home until coming to Clinton, Illinois, in 1853.  Here he embarked in merchandising as a member of the firm of Taylor & Bell.  They purchased the corner now occupied by the Magill House and erected a three-story frame building, stocking the same with a large line of dry goods, boots and shoes.  Misfortune overtook them about 1859, when their store was destroyed by fire and they lost almost everything.

During the latter part of the Civil war, Henry Taylor opened another store where Mr. Katz is now engaged in general merchandising, and there carried on business under the firm name of Taylor, Blackford & Company until 1872, when he commenced dealing in lime, wood, coal, etc., where our subject is now located, in a small one-story building formerly known as the Savage property.  At his death, he was succeeded by his son Fletcher C., who had become associated with him in business in 1880, and in 1894 our subject and his father bought the interest of Fletcher C., and Walter M. became a member of the firm.  The grandfather died in 1891, after an honorable and useful life of seventy-five years.  His wife passed away at the age of eighty-two.  They had several children, some of whom died young, the others being George S., William H., Homer B., Fletcher C., Frank B., Mrs. Nellie A. Blackford and Annie H.

William H. Taylor, the father of our subject, was born in Ohio, June 1, 1830, and followed farming until he joined the Union army in 1861, enlisting as a private in Company F, Forty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry.  His sketch appears elsewhere in this work.

Walter M. Taylor, of this review, passed his boyhood and youth in his native city, and was graduated at the high school in the class of 1884.  He then spent three years in southwestern Mexico, where he was interested in mining, and on his return home obtained a position as fireman on the Illinois Central Railroad, remaining in the employ of that company until injured in a wreck.   His spine was injured, and from the effect of the same he has never fully recovered.  As soon as he was able to engage in active business, he became connected with the business established by his grandfather, and was in partnership with his father, William H. Taylor, from 1894 until June, 1899, when he became sole proprietor.  He has purchased more land, built coal sheds and warehouses, and has remodeled and enlarged the other buildings, and under his able management the business has increased from a small business to thirty thousand dollars per year.  He deals in coal, wood, cement, paints, glass, etc., and has built up a fine trade.  He is a wide-awake, energetic business man, who by untiring industry and sound judgment has won a merited success, and is today considered one of the leading business men of the city.  Socially he is a member of the blue lodge chapter and Eastern Star chapter of the Masonic order, and is quite popular in both business and social circles.  He married Miss Cora Robinson, a daughter of R. W. Robinson, of Clinton, and they have one child, Lucy A.

WILLIAM H. TAYLOR. (Volume 1, Page 285)

William H. Taylor, who is one of Clinton's representative citizens and a popular traveling salesman, was born on the 4th of June, 1836, in Muskingum county, Ohio, and is a son of Henry and Mary E. (Miller) Taylor.  History records that there were four brothers of the Taylor family who came to this country from Scotland, one locating in Pennsylvania, another in Delaware, and the third in Virginia, while the fourth, being a sea captain, was lost at sea.  Nathaniel Taylor, our subject’s paternal grandfather, was a son of the one who settled in Delaware.  He married and throughout life followed farming.

Henry Taylor, our subject’s father, was born in Delaware and in early life emigrated to Ohio, where he wedded Miss Mary E. Miller, a native of Pennsylvania.  In 1853 they came to Clinton, Illinois, which was then a small town, and in company with Henry and George Bell and Henry Lutzenbarger, Mr. Taylor purchased the vacant corner where the Magill House now stands, and erected a large two-story frame building, which they stocked with general merchandise, being successfully engaged in business there until 1857, when a fire destroyed their store and its contents.  Later Mr. Taylor, in partnership with A. J. Blackford, rented a building and again embarked in merchandising, under the firm name of Taylor & Blackford, but during the panic of 1873, they failed and he again lost everything.  Nothing daunted, however, he opened a small coal office, where our subject’s son, Walter, is now carrying on business, and his son, Fletcher, became associated with him in 1880 and later succeeded to the business.   He was a strong man, both physically and mentally, and although he twice met with misfortune in business he always gave liberally of his means to all enterprises for the public good.  His fellow citizens recognizing his worth and ability called upon him to fill many official positions.  Both he and his wife were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and were highly respected and esteemed by all who knew them.  He died in 1891, at the age of seventy-seven years, and she departed this life in 1898, when over eighty years of age.  Their children were George; William H.; Samuel K.; Mary E.; Homer B.; John T., who died in infancy; Fletcher C.; a daughter who died in infancy; Frank Z.; and Annie.

William H. Taylor, of this review, came to Clinton with his parents, and assisted his father in business until 1857, when he opened a shoe store in the rear of his father’s place of business. After the fire which destroyed their property, he formed a partnership with Mr. Toury, and carried on the same line of business until after the Civil war broke out.  In 1861, Mr. Taylor enlisted in Company F, Forty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was promoted to second lieutenant on the 1st of October of the same year, after which he served as adjutant of the regiment.  He was in the service three years and one month.  Being six feet in height, broad shouldered and of fine physique, his was a commanding figure, and he made a handsome officer. Those who served under him still speak in glowing terms of their first lieutenant.

On his return from the war Mr. Taylor again engaged in the general store business until 1872, when he went upon the road as a traveling salesman for the grocery house of Harmon, Merrian & Company of Chicago, which since the death of Mr. Harmon has become Merrian, Collins & Dexter.  During the years that have since passed Mr. Taylor has remained in their employ, having now been with them almost a quarter of a century.  In 1868 the Magill Brothers built what is known as the Magill House, which is a large three-story brick structure on North Center street, extending from the square to Washington street.  This our subject bought in 1898, and has since remodeled and enlarged it by building a thirty-two foot addition on the west.  It is to today a good modern hotel—the best in the city.  For his home he purchased the Coverdale property at 1006 East Main street, which is a beautiful place, the elegant residence being surrounded by wide lawns, shady drives, lovely trees and shrubs.  His first home was on the corner of Washington and Jackson streets.

Mr. Taylor has been twice married, his first wife being Lucy, daughter of James H. Merrill, and to them were born three children: Walter M., whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume; Emma, who died young; and Lula, who died in infancy.  The wife and mother died in 1873, at the age of thirty-four years.  In 1875 Mr. Taylor married Miss Jennie Rennick, by whom he also had three children: Nellie married Dr. Charles Bogardus, a prominent physician of Clinton, and died in 1901, at the age of twenty-five years.  She was one of the leading young ladies of the city and very popular.  William H. enlisted in 1900 as a private in Company D, Thirteenth United States Regiment, and is now serving at Dangupon, Philippine Islands.  Edward M. was also in the service, enlisting at Denver, Colorado, in May, 1898, in the first Colorado Infantry, at the first call for troops to be sent to Manilla.  With his regiment he started for San Francisco, May 17, and on the 14th of June, on the steamer China, for Honolulu.  On the 4th of July they stopped at Wakes Island, where General Green and Colonel Hill planted the United States flag, and fourteen days later landed at Camp Dewey, on the Island of Luzon, seven miles from the city of Manilla.  There they began throwing up entrenchments within one hundred and twenty-five yards of the enemy’s lines.  They took part in the famous battle of Manilla, and the battles of Hesty, Manquena, Antapelo and Paranaque, besides many skirmishes, being under fire most of the time.  On the 4th of July, 1900, they received orders at Manilla to embark for home, and arrived at San Francisco on the 10th of August.  Edward M. Taylor was mustered out on the 8th of the following September and returned home.  In 1901 he opened a grocery store in Clinton, in connection with his brother Walter H.[M.], and is now conducting the same.  He can relate many thrilling experiences of his life in the Philippines, which if written would make a very fascinating book.

Fraternally Mr. Taylor is a member of Lodge No. 84, A. F. & A. M., of which he was master three terms, and was a member and high priest of the Chapter. He is now serving as trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which the family have been connected for several generations, and have always been active church workers.  Our subject has never cared for office, but has always taken a commendable interest in all enterprises calculated to advance the welfare of the city which has now been his home for almost fifty years.

ISAAC W. THOMAS. (Volume 1, Page 118)

This well-known citizen of Farmer City, who for over twenty years has served as constable, was born in Indiana, on the 8th of February, 1833, and came to this county with his parents in 1847.  His father, Abraham Thomas, was born at Fort Brownville, Pennsylvania, and was a son of Michael Thomas, a soldier of the Revolutionary war and a farmer by occupation.  The family came originally from Wales.  The grandfather of our subject was one f the early settlers of Ross county, Ohio, where he spent his last days.  He was twice married, his first wife being Elizabeth Bennett, who died young, leaving two children, Abraham and Tabitha.  For his second wife he married a Miss Downing, by whom he had five children, namely: Michael, William, Daniel, Mary and Rachel.  Abraham Thomas, our subject’s father, married Arlinda Gardner, a native of Pike county, Ohio, and a daughter of Thomas Gardner.  Unto them were born the following children: Michael, Dorcas, Thomas G., Elizabeth, George D., Nancy, Greenbury, William, Biddy Ann, Marion G. and Isaac W.  The father served as an ensign in the war of 1812.  From Indiana he removed with his family to DeWitt county, Illinois, in 1847, and purchased forty acres of Mr. Hall, it being now the farm of Mrs. H. Trinkle, in Santa Anna township.  He also entered an adjoining tract of eighty acres, but after spending nine years here he sold out and went to Iowa.  He soon returned, however, and died in this county in 1858, at the age of seventy-three years.  His wife died in 1855, at the age of sixty-five.

During his early life Isaac W. Thomas engaged in farming and after locating in Farmer City he first engaged in teaming, later in plastering, and still later in contracting, but is now practically living a retired life on East Green Street.  He was married in 1856 to Miss Elizabeth Stucky, a native of Fountain county, Indiana, and a daughter of James Stucky.  She died in 1893, and the five children born to them – Anderson, William, Helen, Marion and James A., all died in infancy.

Mr. Thomas was one of the early members of the Masonic fraternity in Farmer City, and religiously is a member of the Christian church.  During the last twenty years of the nineteenth century he served as constable, and was again elected to that office in 1901.  He is widely and favorably known throughout the county, and has hosts of warm friends in and around Farmer City.

JAMES W. THORP. (Volume 1, Page 15)

The farming interests of Harp township are well represented in James W. Thorp, who has spent almost his entire life in DeWitt County, and is numbered among its most enterprising and successful agriculturists.  He was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, June 6, 1848, and is of English descent.  His father, Joseph Thorp, who is now living a retired life in Wapella, was born in Lancastershire, England, in 1826, and about 1847 married Miss Elizabeth Holmes, a native of the same shire and a daughter of Joseph Holmes.  In 1847 they emigrated to the new world, sailing from Liverpool on an American vessel, the Niagara, which, after a voyage of five weeks and three days, landed them in New York in July of that year.  They first settled in Fall River, Massachusetts, where the father worked in a cotton mill, and after thoroughly mastering the business was made overseer of a factory at Shirley, that state.  Coming west in 1856, he located permanently in DeWitt County.   He purchased land in Wilson township and successfully engaged in farming there for nine years, though he had had no previous experience in agricultural pursuits and did not even know how to harness a horse.  Selling his farm of eighty acres at the end of that time, he bought two hundred and forty acres in Harp township, of which sixty acres had been broken and a small house and barn erected thereon.  He has since purchased other property and now owns four good farms, aggregating six hundred acres.  He continued to engage in farming and stock raising until 1898, when he removed to Wapella and has since lived a retired life, enjoying a well-earned rest.  He is a staunch supporter of the Republican party, but has declined honors along political lines.  He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are highly respected and esteemed by all who know them.

James W. Thorp was quite young when he accompanied his parents on their removal to this county, and he is indebted to its district schools for his educational advantages.  He attended school in winter until about twenty years of age and during the summer months gave his father the benefit of his labor upon the home farm, remaining under the parental roof until twenty-three.  He then purchased ninety-five acres of partially improved land in Harp township and has since engaged in farming on his own account with marked success.  He has erected good and substantial buildings upon his place, has set out an orchard and ornamental trees, and has made many other improvements, which add greatly to the value and attractive appearance of the farm.  He has also bought more land and now owns a quarter section, and besides this he operates other tracts to the amount of six hundred acres.

On the 27th of September, 1877, Mr. Thorp was united in marriage with Miss Mary Alice Nelson, who was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, and is a daughter of Louis and Abbie (Guard) Nelson.  The father was born in Norway and was a young man when he came to this country, but the mother was a native of Indiana.  Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Thorp one died in infancy.  The others are Claude, now attending the Clinton high school; Nelson; and Irvin.

Mr. Thorp is public spirited and progressive and does all in his power to promote those enterprises which he believes will prove of public benefit.  He is now serving as treasurer of the Prairie Center Telephone Company, but he has never cared for political office.  By his ballot he supports the men and measures of the Republican party, and he takes an active interest in its success.  Religiously he is a member of the Methodist Protestant church and steward of the same.  His wife is also a member of that church.

Transcribed by Connie Faulk

WILLIAM H. THORPE. (Volume 1, Page 57)

One of the prominent residents of Harp township, DeWitt county, Illinois, is William H. Thorpe, of section 6, who was born in section 32, Wilson township, this county, August 9, 1856, and he is a son of John and Betsy (Butterworth) Thorpe.

The father of our subject was born in Lancastershire, England, as was also his wife (see sketch of her brother John Butterworth elsewhere in this work).  John Thorpe came to America in 1843 when a young man and settled in Massachusetts, working at his calling, that of cotton manufacturing, for some years.  Thence he moved to Connecticut and then to Rhode Island.  In 1857 he came to DeWitt county, Illinois, at the same time as the Butterworth family and John Thorpe settled on eighty acres of land which has been purchased for him by John Butterworth, the year previous, in Wilson township.  On this farm he lived for a few years and then traded it for another eighty acres which is now occupied by his son, our subject.  John Thorpe also owned forty acres in Wilson township, in section 32.  The first house erected on the farm now owned by our subject was only sixteen by twenty-five feet and it is now standing in the rear of the present substantial structure.  This little home contained but two rooms beside the attic but in it the family were comfortable and a large number of children were reared to useful manhood and womanhood.  In politics, John Thorpe was a Republican and both he and his wife were very active members of the Methodist Protestant church in which he was a class leader.  He died in October, 1884, and his widow only survived him until the following year when she too died, and both are interred in Sugar Grove cemetery.

To John Thorpe and wife were born ten children, seven of whom grew to maturity and six are now living, namely: Eliza, who married I. L. Hull, and they reside in Wapella township; William H,, our subject; Emma, who married Nicholas Foley, who resides in Wilson township; Etta, who married Hammond Riley and they reside in Springfield, Illinois; Ida, who married Grant Davis and they reside Harp township; Fred, who resides in Wilson township; Bertha, who married Charles Morrison and they reside in Clintonia township.  One of the children died in England.

The educational advantages of our subject were few and to obtain the little schooling offered he was obliged to walk three miles to school, and when one considers the rigor of Illinois winters in the early days when there were no large cities or tall buildings to break the severity of the cutting winds and drifting snows; when the little children had to wade breast high through huge banks of snow or take long "cuts" through the fields, the daily tramp of six miles goes far to demonstrate the desire for learning on the part of those who endured such hardships.  When the schoolhouse was reached the heating facilities were insufficient and the appliances crude and scanty, and yet in spite of all this those boys and girls laid a foundation upon which many have built up a structure of learning that has enabled them to take prominent places among intelligent people and made them known in connection with the world’s best thought and action.  Mr. Thorpe continued to attend school during the winter months and worked upon the farm until he was twenty-one, after which he devoted his attention to farming exclusively, remaining with his parents until he was twenty-three.

At that age, on March 23, 1880, he was married to Miss Martha Rolofson, and she is a daughter of John B. and Mary Rolofson.  After his marriage he resided in Harp township on rented land until, in 1894, he purchased his father’s place of eighty acres and upon this he built a fine, large two-story house and a good barn thirty-two by thirty-six feet.  He also owns forty acres in Wilson township and rents other land in addition.  In addition to his farming interests Mr. Thorpe is president of the Farmers' Grain, Coal, and Lumber Co., of Wapella, and under his wise management and executive ability this concern has rapidly developed into one of the prominent houses in the commercial life of that town and netted excellent profits to the stockholders.

Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Thorpe, namely: Ralph Wayne, who was born June 26, 1881, is now attending the Northern Normal School at Dixon, Illinois.  During the taking of the census in 1900, he served most acceptably as enumerator of Harp township.  Mary Eunice, who was born June 10, 1885, died at the age of three years, three months, and one day.  John William Thorpe who was born April 27, 1893, is attending the district school.  In politics Mr. Thorpe is a Republican and has served the township as road commissioner.  Both Mr. and Mrs. Thorpe are active members of the Christian church at Wapella.  Mr. Thorpe is a man who finds his greatest enjoyment in the companionship of his family and friends and is widely respected and esteemed.

ISAAC C. THURBER. (Volume 1, Page 176)

No one in DeWitt county is more thoroughly identified with the interests thereof than is Isaac C. Thurber, who, for the past sixteen years, has lived on and managed a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section twenty-two, Texas township. To quite a large extent he is engaged in stock-raising, making a specialty of short horns, usually having about a hundred head, besides an average of thirty-five head of horses and four hundred and fifty sheep. In addition to his other responsibility he has charge of the pasture land of the Moore estate of twelve hundred acres located on Salt Creek, the property running a mile and half east and west, and one and a half miles north and south along Salt Creek, in Texas township. Although practically independent in politics, he usually votes the Democratic ticket, and has held many important offices within the gift of the township. For several years he has been constable and assessor, and has been school director nearly all of his residence in the county, and still holds the position. Fraternally he is connected with Clinton Lodge, No. 84, A. F. & A. M.

Of sturdy Scotch-English ancestry, Mr. Thurber was born in Liverpool, England, May 21, 1838, and came to the United States with his parents when less than a year old. His father, Benjamin, and his mother, Persis (King) Thurber, were born respectively in Scotland and England, and after coming to America the former worked at his trade of carpenter and millwright, having been a ship carpenter in the old country. After living for a short time in Canada, the family located at Fort Wayne, Indiana, and here the father successfully followed his trade until his death at the age of sixty years. His wife, who was the mother of nine children, six of whom are living, died when her son Isaac was seven years of age. He remained at home until about fifteen years old, at which time he started out to face an independent future, working on farms in Indiana. With the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was a corporal under Captain James M. Hunter, serving until the close of the war. After his honorable discharge September 11, 1865, at Memphis, Tennessee, he returned to DeWitt county, Illinois, and for several years lived on rented farms, eventually settling upon the farm upon which he has lived for so many years.

In January of 1868 Mr. Thurber married Charlotte Swisher, daughter of James and Ruth (Mayall) Swisher, of whom the latter is deceased, and the former resides in Texas township with his son-in-law. To Mr. and Mrs. Thurber have been born eight children, seven of whom are living: Mary Esther, who is the wife of James A. Lane, a farmer living near Weldon, DeWitt county, and has two children, Chelsea and Harold; Florence, who died when nineteen months old; Olive, who is the wife of Ralph Whitehead, of Decatur, Illinois, and has three children, Gladys, Robert and Marilda; Robert, who married Lizzie Bennett, daughter of John Bennett, of Creek township, and is living on the home place; Amy, Ruth, Lottie and Zettie, who are living at home. The sons and daughters were educated in the public schools, and all were born in Texas township. Mr. Thurber stands high in the community of which he is an honored member, and numbers his tried and trusted friends by the score.

MRS. CAROLINE TRENKLE. (Volume 1, Page 213)

Mrs. Caroline Trenkle of Farmer City, is a lady not less well known for her splendid business and executive ability than for her social qualities which render her pleasant home a favorite resort among the best people of the city and locally in which she resides.  She is the widow of the late Anton Trenkle, who was born in Baden, Germany, a son of John and Catherine (Herr) Trenkle, who were also natives of the same country.  The father died in early manhood but the mother attained to a ripe old age.

In the country of his nativity, Anton Trenkle followed farming until 1853, when he came to the United States, believing that he would have better opportunities to secure a home of his own in this land than in the older countries of Europe.  He made his way to Menard county, Illinois, where he worked for Thomas Kincaid as a farm hand for eleven years at two hundred dollars a year.  He was thus employed until, as a result of his industry and economy, he had accumulated three thousand dollars.  Then, in connection with his brother, Joseph, he purchased a farm of two hundred and fourteen acres east of Petersburg, Illinois for forty five dollars per acre and with characteristic energy began its development and further improvement.  Later he sold it for sixty-five dollars per acre, thus realizing a handsome profit on his investment.  In 1872, he came to DeWitt county, Illinois, and purchased the Kennan farm of two hundred acres in Santa Anna township.  This is still in possession of his widow.  In 1860, Mr. Trenkle went to California where he engaged in farming for two years, but, preferring the broad prairies of Illinois as a more desirable place to carry on agricultural pursuits, he returned to this state and here engaged in the tilling of the soil until his life’s labors were ended in death.

In 1868, Mr. Trenkle returned to Germany to visit his people and tell them of the possibilities which America offered to people of determination and enterprise.  While there he formed the acquaintance of Miss Caroline Yeagle, who was born in Baden in 1810.  Desiring to come to America and thus improve her opportunities, she came with Mr. Trenkle on his return.  The acquaintance thus formed, ripened into love, and they were married in Springfield, Illinois, on the 19th of October 1868.  The lady is a daughter of Nicholas and Anna (Donner) Yeagle.  Her parents are both now deceased, her father having passed away at the age of seventy-one, while her mother’s death occurred when she was eighty-six years of age.  The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Trenkle was blessed with nine children, who are a credit to the name.  Anna M., the eldest, is the wife of Alfred Ploussara, a farmer of Rutledge township, by whom she has four children, Marie, Edwin, Charles and Louise; Minnie resides with her mother in Farmer City; Catherine was successfully engaged in teaching school for eight years and then married John J. Clifford, an engineer on the Illinois Central railroad, by whom she has two children, John and Margaret; Anthony, an agriculturist of McLean county, married Mary Howard and has two children, William and Raymond; Charles L. also carries on agricultural pursuits; John N. is a stenographer in Chicago; Fred W. follows stenography in Bloomington, Illinois; Caroline J. is with her mother; and Martin A. is a resident farmer of DeWitt county.

Mr. Trenkle provided a very comfortable home for his family.  He made many improvements upon his farm including the erection of a new residence and other buildings, and at his death he left to his family one of the finest farms in the county, besides other property.  He was a self-made man, resolute and energetic, and his carefully directed labors brought to him gratifying and well-deserved prosperity.  He held membership in the Catholic church and was esteemed by all who knew him for his many admirable traits of character.

After the death of her husband, realizing that the care of the family devolved upon her, Mrs. Trenkle began to plan ways whereby she might aid her children in getting a good start in life.  She bought one hundred and twenty acres of land in Rutledge township, known as the Hazel farm, also built a new barn there, and now her daughter and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Ploussara, are living on that place and have made it a highly cultivated tract of land.  Next Mrs. Trenkle purchased one hundred and sixty acres in West township, McLean county, erected a new residence, and Anthony resides there.  By another purchase, made in December 1900, Mrs. Trenkle became the owner of what was known as the Grable property in Farmer City, and on that land she erected a very pleasing and attractive modern residence, in which she is living with her two daughters.  Here she has a fine residence, surrounded by well-kept grounds, and the home is the center of a cultured society circle.  Mrs. Trenkle possesses exceptional business ability.  She not only has the power to plan, but is determined in executing her plans, and throughout the community she is respected for her capable management and keen discrimination in business affairs.  She has made many friends in Dewitt county, and she and her family enjoy the warm regard of all who know them.

JOHN TUGGLE. (Volume 1, Page 169)

John Tuggle, a well-known and prosperous citizen of Harp township lives in section 16.  He was born October 31, 1840, in Harp township, son of Charles and Mary (Spencer) Tuggle.  Charles Tuggle was a native of Kentucky, born in 1814, and the son of William Tuggle, who was born and died in that state.  Charles Tuggle was educated in Kentucky and married there.   He came to DeWitt county, Harp township, in about 1835 and rented land for a number of years.  His first purchase was one hundred and twenty acres of wild land, now a part of the farm owned by the subject of this sketch.  He put all the land under cultivation, erected good buildings and made improvements.  In this pleasant home, surrounded by family and friends, he spent the rest of his life, dying April 9, 1863.  His wife died in 1888 and both are buried in this township.  They were the parents of eleven children, seven of whom are now living.  James is a farmer and lives in Harrison county, Missouri; William, Solomon, Allen and George live in this township; their daughters, Elizabeth, Sarah and Mary, and one son, Charles, are now dead; Charlotte is the wife of William O'Brien, and lives in North Dakota.  Charles Tuggle was a believer in the principles of the Democratic party.  By industry and thrift he became a well-to-do farmer and was a good citizen.

John Tuggle was the third son and fifth child in his father’s family.  He was educated in the district schools of this township.  At the age of twenty-one he went to Clinton and worked at the cooper trade.  After a short time he returned to the farm, and at the age of twenty-five, on September 14, 1865, he married Miss Martha Price, a daughter of William and Louvisa (Weddle) Price.  Mr. and Mrs. Price were both natives of Kentucky, had been married in that state and came to Texas township in 1863.  They rented land for a few years, then purchased a farm.&nbps; To them were born ten children, five of whom are now living.  The deceased are Rachel, Elizabeth, Sophia, Edna and Martha, who was the first wife of the subject of this sketch.  Isaiah lives in Missouri, Eliza is the wife of Myer Hansen and lives in Kansas.  Leanna is now the wife of Mr. Tuggle.  Charles lives in Wilson township.  John William resides in the state of Washington.  Mr. Price was a strong supporter of the Democratic party.  He died in 1867 at the age of fifty-five years.  His wife now lives with Mr. Tuggle’s family.  Though eighty-seven years old last March, she is a very active lady for one of that age.

To Mr. Tuggle were born seven children.  His oldest son, William, married Myrtle Miller and lives in Harp township.  Their children are Earl, Ruby, Verna and Ethel.  Charles married Retta Webb and they, with their three children, Clarence, Rufus and the baby, live in the same township.  James died in infancy.  Melvin, Eliza, Fred C. and Aletha still live at home.  Mr. Tuggle’s wife, Martha, died Apnl 23, 1897, and is buried in Wilmore cemetery in Harp township.  The next year he married Leanna Price, the sister of his first wife.

John Tuggle has been a farmer since 1865 and a very successful one.  He now owns three hundred and sixty acres of well-improved land, which he uses for general farming.  His broad acres of waving grain are a standing monument to his industry and thrift.  In politics he affiliates with the Democratic party.  He has held the offices of assessor and collector, which proves that he has won the esteem and confidence of the community in which he lives.  His wife is a member of the Christian church.

ALLEN A. TURNER. (Volume 1, Page 238)

Allen A. Turner, one of the leading agriculturists and prominent citizens of Rutledge township, was born March 28, 1853, on the farm in that township where his father, Dennis Turner, still lives.   A sketch of the latter will be found on another page of this volume.  Our subject grew to manhood upon the home farm and gave his father the benefit of his labors until twenty-two years of age, when he bought the John Andrew farm of one hundred and forty acres in Rutledge township.  The place was under cultivation but there were no buildings thereon.  He set out shade and fruit trees, erected a nice residence and two large barns.  In connection with the cultivation of his land, he is quite extensively engaged in the raising of stock, making a specialty of cattle and sheep, of which he has a flock of two hundred.  His farm is made to yield a golden tribute to the care and labor bestowed upon it, and he has raised as high as seventy bushels of corn per acre and sixty bushels of oats.

On the 22d of February, 1876, Mr. Turner was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca J. Lappin, who was also born in Rutledge township, June 19, 1854 a daughter of William and Catherine (Johnson) Lappin.   Her grandfather, James Lappin, who was a native of Ohio, came to DeWitt county late in life and died here when over seventy years of age, his remains being interred in the LeRoy cemetery.  His children were William, Samuel, Rebecca, Sally, Isaac, John, and James.  William Lappin, Mrs. Turner’s father, was born in Madison county, Ohio, and on coming to DeWitt county, Illinois, purchased the Van Deventer farm in Rutledge township, and carried it on until his death, which occurred March 26, 1880, when he was fifty-eight years of age.  His wife long survived him, dying July 8, 1901, at the age of seventy-two.  In their family were nine children, namely: Louisa, wife of J. W. Walters; Phebe, wife of E. Gilmore; Samuel; Rebecca J., wife of our subject; Sarah, deceased; Mary, wife of J. Lash; Lydia, wife of C. Andrews; Laura; and Olive, wife of A. L. Fuller.  Unto Mr. and Mrs. Turner were born seven children as follows: Minnie, who married F. B. Stivers, of Webster City, Iowa, and has one child, Arlie; Nellie R.; Estella M,; Mary Elsie; Charles W., who died in infancy; Freddie H.; and a son who died in infancy.

By his ballot Mr. Turner supports the men and measures of the Democratic party, and his fellow citizens have called upon him to serve as highway commissioner twelve consecutive years, and school treasurer twenty-two years, and he still holds the latter office.  He takes quite an active interest in civic societies, and is a prominent member of a number of orders, including the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodsmen of America, and the Loyal Sons of America.   He joined Amon Lodge, No. 261, A. F. & A. M. of DeWitt, January 26, 1883.  He is liberal in his religious views, while his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.  He is a man of recognized ability and sterling worth, and the success he has achieved is justly merited.

DENNIS TURNER. (Volume 1, Page 360)

Dennis Turner, who is now practically living a retired life on his farm in Rutledge township, has made his home there for almost sixty years, and is one of the most esteemed citizens of that locality.  He was born on the 24th of September, 1829, in Windsor county, Vermont, which was also the birthplace of his father, Perry Turner.  His paternal grandfather was drowned in the Connecticut river in early life and little is known of the family except that his ancestors settled in New England in colonial days.  Perry Turner married Rhoda Stoddard, who was also a native of the Green Mountain state.  About 1833 he removed to Champaign county, Ohio, and in 1842 came to McLean county, Illinois, and here lived on rented land for two years, when he moved to DeWitt county, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 17, Rutledge township, which had been entered by Isaac Williamson, and about one-half of which had been broken and a log house erected thereon.  This farm is still the home of our subject.  Here his father died of fever in 1845, at the age of 40 years, and the mother passed away in 1847, at the age of forty-eight.  Their children were: Dennis, Marshall W., William B. and Mary M., all of whom died before the mother with exception of our subject.

Mr. Turner, of this review, succeeded to the old homestead, and having entered more land and purchased other tracts, he now owns over five hundred acres.  He built a frame house upon his place, and later replaced this by a more commodious and better residence.  He also erected a good set of outbuildings, has set out fruit and shade trees, and now has one of the best improved farms in the locality.  In early days he gave considerable attention to the raising of sheep, keeping a flock of about four hundred, but finding other enterprises more profitable, he discontinued that business, and for some years has made a specialty of raising a high grade of cattle and hogs.

In 1851, Mr. Turner was united in marriage with Miss Martha J. Rutledge, who was born in McLean county in 1835.  Her father was William Jackson Rutledge, a sketch of whom appears on another page of this volume.  Mrs. Turner was a faithful helpmate to her husband in aiding him financially and in rearing their fine family, and she was a devout Christian, loved by all who knew her.  She died in 1866, leaving five children, namely: Allen A., who is represented elsewhere in this work; Charles J., a farmer of Rutledge township; Mary J., wife of J. Vance, of the same township; John W., also a farmer of Rutledge township; and Martha D., wife of C W. Bishop, whose sketch is found elsewhere in this volume.  For his second wife Mr. Rutledge wedded Miss Mary Tingler, a native of Virginia, by whom he has one son, Samuel, a farmer of Rutledge township.

Since attaining his majority, Mr. Turner has affiliated with the Democratic party, and has most creditably served as justice of the peace since 1862.  He has also served as school director, and has ever taken an active part in educational affairs, the first school house of Rutledge township being erected on his farm.  He has filled the office of township collector, and is regarded as one of the most public-spirited and enterprising citizens of his community.  For some time past he has rented his land but still oversees its operation.  In his religious views he is a Universalist and is a man of integrity and honor, whose word is considered as good as his bond.  Although he is now quite well-to-do, he is plain and unassuming in manner, and commands the respect and confidence of all who know him.

WILLIAM T. TURNER. (Volume 1, Page 44)

One of the prosperous and highly respected citizens of Wilson township, DeWitt county, Illinois, is William T. Turner of section 30, and he was born on December 28, 1841, in Logan county, Illinois, near Atlanta.  He was a son of Spencer and Nancy (Hoblit) Turner, and Spencer was a native Ohio, as was also his wife.  Spencer came to Illinois and settled with his father, Allen on Salt Creek, where he remained until his marriage, when he moved to Galena and there he worked as a miner for a few years.  Later he moved to DeWitt county and rented land until 1858, when he purchased eighty acres of Walter Kare in Wilson Township, on section 19, of which a small portion had already been improved.  On the land a small cabin had been erected.  Taking this land in charge Spencer Turner improved the land, erected a substantial house, and later in life purchased three lots and houses in Wapella, where he resided for a few years before his death, living retired from active business.  His death occurred in April 1896, when he was eighty one years of age, and his wife died in 1900, at the age of seventy nine, and both are buried in Sugar Grove Cemetery.

Thirteen children were born to Spencer Turner and wife, of whom the following named grew to maturity: Margaret J., who married A. H. Murphy and they live in Kansas; Melicent, who married F.M. Willis, and resides in Wapella; William T., our subject; Mary C., who married Thomas Livingston, and lives in Gibson City, Illinois; Nancy A., who married Avery Bayment, and lives in Champaign county, Illinois; Eveline, who married James McCannon, and lives in Wilson township; C.D. who resides in Iowa; Edgar F., who resides Logan county, Illinois; Ella M., who married E.T. Jones and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Spencer Turner was a democrat in Politics, and he and his good wife were active members of the Christian church.  During his long and useful life he made many friends and his good deeds live after him.  Always a good citizen, an honorable man, a kind father and loving husband, he will long be remembered and his name honored as a thoroughly representative pioneer of this great commonwealth.

Our subject was educated in a log subscription school, which he attended until he was about eighteen years of age, during the winter months, and working upon the farm in the summer.  After finishing his school life he devoted himself exclusively to farm life until March 3, 1863, when he married Miss Mercy A. Bolin, a native of this county, and she is a daughter of Myers F. and Rebecca Ann (Karr) Bolin.  Myers Bolin was a native of Delaware and his wife of Ohio and they settled in Wapella in 1832 and were large land owners.  The father died in 1875, at the age of fifty four, but his wife survived him some years, dying at the age of eighty three.  They were buried at Heyworth, Illinois.  They were the parents of nine children, four of whom are now living, namely: William H,, who resides in Harp township; Charles, who resides in Pike county, Illinois; Mrs. Turner, Isaac, who resides in Decatur, Illinois.

When our subject settled upon his present far there were no improvements, except that a little of the land had been broken, but since he took possession of it he has placed all of it under cultivation and owns one hundred and sixty acres in section 30, Wilson township.  Upon this fine farming property he has erected good outbuildings, a substantial barn and one of the most comfortable farm houses in the county.  The fences are well kept up and the orchard and shade trees in excellent condition.  The entire place bespeaks the good management of the proprietor, while the good housekeeping and toothsome table demonstrate that in her departments, Mrs. Turner, is equally proficient.

A family of nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Turner, namely: Edgar, now deceased, who married and had two children, Nola and Lelia; Fisher D., now deceased, who married and had two children June V, and Oliver R.; Charles O., who married and resides in Wayne county, Illinois, and has four children, Charles, Myrtle, Iva and Letia; John B., who married and resides in Wilson township and they have four children, Esther E., George William, Floyd and Artie B.; William T., who resides in Wilson township and they have one child, Byile; Mercer E., who is at home; three children died in infancy.

Mr. Turner is a Democrat and is now serving the township as road commissioner and for nine years has been justice of the peace.  Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church at Long Point, in which he is an elder.  He is also a director of the Farmer’s Grain, Coal, and Lumber Co., of Wapella.  Mr. Turner is a man of good executive ability and early learned the lessons of industry and thrift.  His property has been accumulated by legitimate business methods, and he is justly proud of his success.

ALDORA J. TYLER, M. D. (Volume 1, Page 195)

Dr. Aldora J. Tyler is the only lady physician practicing in DeWitt county.  Her career proves conclusively that the sterner sex have no monopoly upon success, for no representative of the profession holds a higher place in its ranks in this portion of the state than Dr. Tyler, whose broad and comprehensive knowledge and accurate skill have given her precedence of many who have much longer been followers of the healing art.  She has always resided in DeWitt county and is a daughter of Dr. J. H. Tyler.  She attended the high school of her native city—DeWitt—and was afterward a student in the Wesleyan University.  To prepare for her chosen life work she matriculated in the Woman’s Medical College of Chicago, where she was graduated in 1885, as president of her class, and then spent fourteen months in the hospital of that institution in order to acquire a thorough knowledge of surgery.  Her training was broad and thorough, the theoretical knowledge of the classroom being supplemented by the practical work in the hospital.  Her equipment was thus unusually good, and returning to Clinton she found that her talent and skill in the profession soon won recognition in a liberal patronage, and it was not long before she held a place in the medical profession in the county second to none.

In 1894 Dr. Aldora Tyler pursued a post-graduate course in New York City.  She is a member of the DeWitt County Medical Society and served for one year as its president, where her knowledge of parliamentary law was demonstrated in the able way in which she handled the discussions and conducted the meetings of the organization.  The splendid equipment in the office of Dr. Tyler and her father are of material assistance to her in her work.  She has a large consulting practice and is the family physician in many a household.  Deep and earnest is her interest in her profession, arising from a love of scientific research and from a sympathetic nature, without which the physician is never truly a success.  Her skill in general medicine is marked and she devotes special attention to the diseases of women and children.

In social circles Dr. Tyler is also widely and favorably known.  She has many warm friends throughout the county, gained outside of professional life, and her broad mind and interesting conversation render her a favorite in those gatherings where intellect and true worth are received as passports.

JOHN H. TYLER, M. D. (Volume 1, Page 189)

There is no profession more open to talent than the medical.  Advancement among its representatives must be secured at the price of earnest, persistent and conscientious effort; it must depend, too, upon strong intellectual force, readiness in grasping a situation and correctness in applying theoretical knowledge to the needs of suffering humanity.  Keen discrimination is, therefore, one of the concomitants of success and a nicety of judgment little understood by the laity is necessary to one who is not content with mediocrity, but would gain a position among the successful few.  Dr. Tyler is possessed of all the qualifications which go to make the skilled physician, and today he is the oldest medical practitioner and surgeon of DeWitt county.  He is honored by the profession and the public for his life has ever merited the confidence and respect of his fellow men.

A native of Ohio, the Doctor was born in Mansfield, August 24, 1827, his parents being Timothy and Elizabeth (Taylor) Tyler.  His paternal grandfather, Nathan Tyler, was of Irish extraction.  His son, Timothy Tyler, was a native of Maine and served his country in the war of 1812.  After arriving at years of maturity he married Elizabeth Taylor, a daughter of Captain Samuel Taylor, a sea-faring man, whose birth occurred in Massachusetts.   Mrs. Tyler was born at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and was reared on the Atlantic coast.   By her marriage she became the mother of a large family, but the Doctor is now the only survivor.  The father died at a comparatively early age and the mother passed away in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1854, at the age of sixty-seven.

The doctor pursued his education in the public schools near his boyhood’s home and in Mansfield Academy.  He afterward engaged in teaching school for a short time, but determining to make the practice of medicine his life work, he began studying under the direction of Dr. J. W. Griffith, in Perryville, Ohio.  He pursued his first course of lectures in the Starling Medical College, at Columbus, and afterward began practice in Perryville, but in 1855 he determined to try his fortune in a more western district and accordingly made his way to DeWitt county, Illinois, settling in the city of DeWitt.  Here he began practice in connection with Dr. B. S. Lewis.  In the fall of 1856 he entered the Rush Medical College of Chicago, where he was graduated in February of the following year.  This partnership was maintained until 1862, since which time he has been alone in practice.  From the beginning he has enjoyed a large patronage and has easily maintained a foremost place in the ranks of the medical fraternity, for unlike many men, when years are encroaching upon them, he has never contented himself with the knowledge previously acquired, but has been continuously a student, reading and study carrying his investigation forward along original lines and keeping in touch with the learning and work of his contemporaries in the profession.  In 1888 he sold his beautiful home in DeWitt to William Nixon and removed to Clinton, locating on North Center street.  In 1896 he erected a very large and handsome residence and office on South Center street, one of the finest homes in the city.  Here he has an office supplied with every modern convenience and appliance of assistance in carrying on his professional work.  He is a member of the National Medical Association, the American Medical and the DeWitt County Medical Association.  The last named he aided to establish and is now the only living charter member.  For many years he served as its president and has been very active in making its work effective and beneficial.

On the 27th of March, 1861, the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Cain, a daughter of Charles C. Cain, and a native of Ohio.  She is very popular in society circles and as a member of various charitable and church organizations.  She holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal denomination and is very active in the work of the church, the Sunday-school and the missionary society.  For seven years she has been president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and is an earnest advocate of woman’s suffrage.  Her labors have been very helpful in promoting interests having for their object the benefit and uplifting of mankind, and her influence is widely felt.  Unto the Doctor and his wife were born three children: Aldora, of whom mention is made later; Charles, who died in 1875, at the age of six years; and Alice Cary, at home.

The opinions and labors of Dr. Tyler have been a potent influence in political circles, and for many years he has been known as a most earnest Republican.  He was honored by the party with the nomination as a candidate for the general assembly in 1874, and was elected to represent the twenty-ninth senatorial district, composed of DeWitt and Macon counties, in the upper house.  He served during the twenty-ninth and thirty-first sessions and left the impress of his individuality upon the legislation enacted at that time.  He labored earnestly to secure the adoption of those measures which he believed would contribute to the general good and carefully considered each question.  When he determined upon his course he was unwavering in his allegiance thereto, and neither fear nor favor could bias him in his judgment.  He was a conscientious legislator and his course commended him to the confidence of even those opposed to him politically.  Socially he is a member of Amon Lodge, No. 261, A. F. & A. M., and was its honored master for twenty years.  He also belongs to Goodbrake Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M., and Clinton Council, No. 74, R. & S. M.  His has been an extremely busy and useful career.  Whatever tends to promote the interests of his profession and place before man the key to the mystery of that complex problem, which we call life, attracts his interest and cooperation.  He is a man of the highest and purest character and justly may be called one of the foremost citizens of Clinton.