Bureau County, Illinois - Biographical sketches, 1885 (part 10 of 13)

GEOBGE BACKLEY, Maiden, was born in Vershire, Orange Co., Vt., November 2, 1821. His father, Nathan Backley, was born December 15, 1800, in Orange County, Vt, on the same farm where our subject was born, and lived there until he left the State. He was married in Orange County, Vt., January 28, 1821, to Susannah Judd, who was born March 6, 1802. In 1828 they removed from Vermont to New York State, Genesee County, and resided there till the spring of 1836, when they came to this county and settled on the farm in Section 29, in Berlin Township, where they yet reside. Mr. Backley and his sons were firm Democrats until 1856, when they changed and have si nee been stanch supporters of the Bepublican party. Mr. and Mrs. Backley are the parents of four children, viz. : George; Louisa, born September 15, 1825, died January 12, 1877, wife of Martin B. Zearing, of Princeton; Nathan F., born October 13, 1827, married to Phebe Sutton, February 19, 1856, a native of Belmont County, Ohio, born January 10, 1832; Phebe A., of Maiden, wife of D. K. Morris. George Backley came to this county with his parents in 1836. He was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools. He also attended the academy at Princeton, taught by James H. Smith. He was married March 24, 1842, to Calista Abel, born in Alden, Erie Co., N. Y., October 14,1822. She is a daughter of Thomas and Julia (Bobinson) Abel, who came to this county in 1839. Mr. and Mrs. Backley have one daughter, Mrs. Julia Perry, wife of Jesse A. Perry. She was born June 7, 1858. After his marriage Mr. Backley removed to Lee County, and engaged in farming for three years, when he again returned to his farm in Berlin Township. Three years later he engaged in the grain and lumber trade at Maiden, at first working for other parties but afterward for himself. He continued in this business till 1876, when he retired from active life. He now owns 286 acres of land besides other property. For sixteen years he was member of the Board of Supervisors, and for about one-half the time was Chairman of the Board. He is a member of I. O. O. F., Crystal Fount Lodge, No. 158, of Dover, also of the A. F. & A. M. , Bureau Lodge, No. 112, of Princeton, and of Princeton Chapter, No. 28, and Temple Commandery, No. 20. He is a member of the Congregational Church of Maiden.

THE BADCLIFFE FAMILY, Princeton. Daniel Badcliffe, the grandfather of George M. Badcliffe, was of Welsh extraction, and was born on the south branch of the Potomac Biver, in Virginia. He was employed as a scout and hunter by the pioneer settlers of that country, and at the age of twenty-two years was killed by the Indians. He left a widow, whose maiden name was Beed, and two children, viz. : Daniel and Sarah Badcliffe. The latter married Joseph Duncan and died near Princeton. Grandmother Badclifle was married a second time to James Taffe, and reared several children. One of her grandsons, John Taffe, Jr. , lived in this county when a young man. He afterward emigrated to Nebraska Territory, and was there the first delegate to Congress. He served two years after Nebraska was admitted as a State. He died in 1883 at North Platte. where he was Beceiver in the

Land Office. Daniel Radcliffe, Jr., was taken by his mother to Bourbon County, Ky. , where he was reared. His mother died in Indianapolis, Ind. He was in the Northwestern Army under Gen. Harrison, in the war of 1812, and after that settled in Clinton County, Ohio, where he filled county offices and was County Treasurer for ten consecutive yeara In November, 1836, he came to Bureau County, 111. , and the following February built his cabin four miles south of Princeton, where he bought 240 acres of land, to which he afterward added many acres and also entered one-half section east of Princeton. He farmed here, and in 1846 built a sawmill on Bureau Creek, which burned down. He died on his homestead in June, 1873, aged eighty-nine years. Daniel Radcliffe was a prominent man among the early settlers of Bureau County. (See General History.) He was self-educated and was admitted to the' bar in Wilmington, Ohio, and at that place was married to Rachel McMannis, who died November, 1873, aged seventy-four years. She was a daughter of Judge George McMannis, and was the mother of five children, viz. : Mrs. Juliet Mosely, Mrs. Sarah Lomax and Mary (twins), George M., and Henry, the latter deceased. George M. Radcliffe was born January 15, 1828, in Wilmington, Ohio. He came to Bureau County with his parents, and was educated at "James Smith Academy" and Bethany College, Virginia. For many years he carried on his father's business, and in 1856 was elected to the Legislature, serving one term. In the spring of 1860 he was elected Supervisor of Arispe Township, and in the fall of the same year was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court and served four years. After this he farmed, and in 1867 sold out and engaged in the newspaper business in Ottawa, 111. , where he edited the Ottawa Republican till 1871, when he sold out and was appointed to the office of Internal Revenue Assessor for that district, filling the position till that office was abolished by Congress. In 1873 he bought an interest in the Joliet Sun, and converted that paper into the first daily paper issued in Joliet. After four and one-half years of faithful labor, he sold out and returned to Princeton, where he in partnership with C. L.

Smith, established the Bureau County News, in 1881, of which he is now senior editor. Mr. Radcliffe has been married twice. His first wife, Lucy King, was a native of Ohio, and a graduate of Gen. Garfield's Academy at Hiram. She died here in 1861, aged twenty-one years. She was the mother of Frank C. Radcliffe, now a resident of California. His second wife, Minerva Corwin, daughter of Hon. Frank Corwin, of LaSalle County, 111., died November, 1878. She was the mother of three children, viz.: Harry S., Charles D. and Corwin Radcliffe. The two oldest are printers. In religious matters Mr. Radcliffe has been a very active member of tho Christian Church.

JOSEPH RATJH, Selby, was born in Bavaria, Germany, July 15, 1826. He was reared in his native land and educated in its schools. In 1848 he entered the army, but served only about four months when his father died, and being the oldest son he was relieved from duty. In 1851 he came to America, remaining in New Orleans several, weeks, then came up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, and from there to Peru, 111., where he landed July 4, 1851, and has since made Bureau County his home. When he came here he was in debt $20, and until the season of 1852 worked by the month. He then began farming with one horse, gradually increasing his means, until in 1863 he was able to buy 160 acres of his present farm, moving on to it in 1864; at that time but a small portion of his] farm was cleared. He now owns 175 acres in Sections 26 and 27. Mr. Rauh was married in his native land to Elizabeth Young, who was born May 5, 1825. She died August 17, 1879. She was the mother of eight children, viz. : William, born August 17, 1849; Joseph, born February 28, 1853; Anna, born June 20, 1854, wife of Anton Hartzog; Andrew, born January 11, 1856, died August 16, 1877; Elizabeth, born October 29, 1857, died July 25, 1858; Philipena, born February 28, 1859, wife of George May; Valentine, born June 25, 1860, now of Nebraska; John, born July 13, 1862, at home. All are in Bureau County except Valentine. Mr. Rauh was married February 17, 1881, to Mrs. Louisa (Raker) Cogler. She was born in Bavaria, November 9, 1851, and eanie to

1882. By her first husband, Fred Cogler, Mrs. Rauh has the following children: Louis, born August 5, 1871; Mary, born May 30, 1873; Clara, born April 2, 1875. Mr. Rauh and family are members of the Lutheran Church. In politics he is a Democrat.

HON. CHARLES G. READ, Maiden, was born in Mt. Morris, Livingston Co., N. Y., January 10, 1816. He is the son of Horatio and Jemima (Mead) Read, both natives of Vermont. Our subject was reared on a farm, one of a family of eleven children, whose father was blind for many years. He continued farming in his native county till 1845, when he came to Bureau County. He then had in his possession but $7 in money, and most of his clothing had been stolen in Chicago. For two and a half years he lived ut Dover, and was engaged in the cementing business. From Dover he removed to Sugar Grove, Kane County, where he bought a farm at Berlin Centre, but four years later sold it and returned to Dover. When the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Road was in course of construction he bought his present farm, which contains 152 acres adjoining the village of Maiden. He lived on the farm till 1873, since which time he has resided in Maiden. Mr. Read was the first to begin buying grain in Maiden, and continued in that business for six years. He was an energetic business man, and did a large amount of hard work, and through his industry has accumulated a competency. He has always been a liberal friend to those in distress, and has been through the township several times soliciting aid for those in need of assistance. In politics he has always been an active Republican. In 1869 and 1870 he was a member of the State Legislature from this district. May 16, 1842, he was married, in Gainsville, Wyoming Co., N. Y., to Miss Olivia Wood, born in Wyoming County, March 12, 1824. She was a daughter of Deacon Asahel and Olivia (Hall) Wood, who came to this county in 1845, and resided at Dover until their deaths. Mr. Wood died April 12, 1883, and would have been ninety-one years old May 3,

August 25, 1839, and accidentally killed in this county in 1857. This was a son by a former marriage, the mother dying when he was four months old. Mr. Read has no children by his present wife, but they have reared a girl and boy. viz. : Mary Young, now wife of James Wentworth, of Leland, 111. , and Henry Read, of Oswego, 111. ; he is married to Florence Kellogg, of Oberlin, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Read are members of the Congregational Church.

HENRY REAM, Hall, was born August 26, 1825, in Lebanon County, Penn. His parents, Samuel and Eva (Bullman) Ream, were natives of the same place, as were also his grandparents, Peter Ream and wife. The great-grandparents came from Germany. Samuel and Eva Ream and their seven children came West in the spring of 1852, and settled in Peru, 111. The next spring the parents and one son, Benjamin, moved on to the old Henry Miller farm, in Hall Township, where the father died in 1861, at the age of sixty-four years. The mother died at the home of her son, Henry, in July, 1881, aged nearly eighty-four years. She was the mother of ten children, viz. : Benjamin, now of Chicago; Henry; Mrs. Caroline Zimmerman, of Peru; Mrs. Chestine Smith, of Peru; Eva; Samuel; Michael, deceased, and Peter (twins); Franklin, deceased; Eliza. Henry Ream came to Peru, 111., in April, 1851, a year before the others, and worked at the carpenter's trade until the fall of 1854. He then farmed on the old Miller place until 1866, when he bought the John Wilhite farm. He now owns i!70 acres in Hall Township, and 380 acres in Ford County, 111. Henry Ream was first married to Elizabeth Hackman, who died in Peru. His second wife, Elizabeth Ott, died leaving two children - Franklin L. and Cora B. His present wife, Mrs. Lucetta Sepp (nee Miller), is a native of Pennsylvania,, daughter of Jacob Miller. She has four children, viz. : Lena, Olvena and j Edward Sepp, by her first husband, and I Lucetta Ream. Mr. and Mrs. Ream are j members of the Lutheran Church. He votes '- with the Democratic party.

who was born June 15, 1797, in Dutchess Co., N. Y. He died November 26, 1876, in Bureau County, 111., to which he had removed in 1849. He was a carpenter and joiner by occupation, but followed farming mainly, especially after he came West. His father was Peter Ileasoner, who was born in New York State, where he died. During the Revolutionary war he suffered many indignities from the hands of Tories. The origin of the Reasoner family dates back [to the French Huguenots, who were driven out of France to Germany, where they resided many years and then immigrated to the Colonies of America, landing in Philadelphia. Longevity is one of the characteristics of the family, many members living to be over ninety years old. The mother of our subject is Eunice P. Karner, born August 31, 1802, in Egremont, Mass. She is yet living. Her parents were Pliny and Rhoda (Noble) Karner; they were natives of Massachusetts, and of German descent. Pliny Karner was a Major in the war of 1812. Henry C. Reasoner has one sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Field. He was educated in the East, and came to Bureau County in 1848, where he has been a successful farmer ever since. Here he was married, January 24, 1861, to Miss Ellen M. Ward, bora May 22, 1842, in Waverly, 111. Her parents are Norman and Delila (Corey) Ward. Three children were the result of this union, viz.: Pliny W., born May 6, 1863; Egbert N., born May 24, 1869, and Julia P., born January 7, 1872. Mr. and Mrs. Reasoner are esteemed members in the society where they reside and of the Presbyterian Church. In politics he advocates Republican principles.

ADAM REDER, Clarion, was born June 17, 1823, in Neuengronau, Hessen, Germany. He is a son of Henry Reder, who died in Germany, and who was the father of twelve children, of whom five came to the United States. Our subject came to America in 1839, and settled in Butler County, Penn. After two years he went to Niagara County, N. Y., where he farmed till December, 1868, when he came to Illinois. He lived between two and three years in Lee and LaSalle Counties and then came to Bureau County, where he now owns 240 acres in Clarion

Township, and is a steady, hard-working farmer. He was married, July 28, 1844, in Niagara County, N. Y., to Miss Sarah Dunkleberger, a daughter of Solomon and Christiana (Harmony) Dunkleberger. Mrs. Reder was born January 1 1, 1825, in Perry County, Penn., and is the mother of five children now living, viz. : Edmund W., Mrs. Mary A. Neff, Mrs. Tillie E. Rehm, Ella A., Daniel G. aud Christian E. (deceased, aged nine years). Mr. and Mrs. Reder are religiously connected with the German Evangelical Association. Politically he is a good Republican, and is strongly in favor of prohibition.

E. A. REED, Lamoille. The genealogy of the Reed family from whom the subject of this biography descends is as follows: Peter Reed came from Holland in 1632, and settled in Albany, N. Y., where he resided with a brother till difficulties arose with the Governor, when they removed to Stouchsburg, Berks Co., Penn., where the family flourished for more than two centuries. The graves of Jacob Reed, the great-great-grandfather of our subject, and his son and grandson, named after him, can yet be seen - one of the headstones bearing the date of 1692. The parents of our subject, Jacob J. and Elizabeth (Weiser) Reed, were also natives of Berks County, Penn. They came to Mendota, 111., in 1856, where the former died in March, 1870, aged seventy-one years, and where the mother yet resides, aged seventy-seven years. She was a daughter of Conrad Weiser, of German descent. She was the mother of eleven children; of these, eight are yet living, viz.: Elmira, Amanda, Emma, Amelia, Jacob, John, George, and Edward A. Reed, who received his primary education in Mendota, where he also clerked five years in a drug store, and in March, 1874, graduated at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. He then clerked in Mendota till 1878, when he came to Lamoille, where he has kept a drug store ever since. Mr. Reed was married in Daiton, Ohio, to Miss Letitia A. Porter, born November 13, 1852, in Homer, 111. She is the mother of Elizabeth A. Reed, born April 17, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Reed are members of the Presbyterian Church. They have one adopted child - Maggie B. Reed.

February 22, 1807, near Mt. Hope, Orange Co., N. Y. He is the son of Gabriel and Hannah (Barton) Reeve. The father was born in New York, March 9, 1777, and lived an eventful life. When a young man and starting in life he went to Marietta, Ohio, in 1814, with letters of recommendation to the Surveyor General, but not finding him at home he was determined to find employment. So he walked to Chillicothe, then the State capital, but still not finding work he went to Cincinnati, and from there to Paris, Ky., where he was engaged as a clerk for several years. Finally he decided to return to his old home. He traveled down the Mississippi River to the Gulf, and then made the voyage around to Philadelphia, and then up the Delaware River to his home. During his stay in Ohio he was drafted into the army, and helped guard the prisoners captured on Lake Erie by Commodore Perry, but the hardships of a soldier's life were too severe for his constitution, and while in the service his health was so impaired that he never fully recovered from the effects. He died February 24, 1825, in Ohio. His wife, Hannah Barton, was born in New Jersey, November 23, 1783, and died in Lamoille, Bureau Co., 111., October 15, 1853. She was the mother of the following named children: Volney, Tracy, Elijah B., Hugh B. and Frances A. Tracy Reeve was reared on a farm, and received his early education in the subscription schools of Ohio. In May, 1834, he came to Bureau County, 111., bringing with him $200 in money. This Mr. Reeve applied in entering 160 acres of land. He also borrowed $100 at 50 per cent interest, with which he entered eighty acres more. This was the beginning of a remarkably successful business career. In 1836 he laid out the village of Lamoille, and started a store at that point, which he carried on in connection with his farm. Mr. Reeve resided at Lamoille till 1869, when he came to Princeton, where he has lived in as much retirement as his business would permit. Mr. Reeve has since added to his first purchases of land till he now owns 2,000 acres in Illinois and an equal amount in Iowa. He was the founder of the Citizen's National Bank of Princeton, and has since been its President. He is also the largest stockholder in the national bank at LaSalle, 111. ; also a stockholder in the First National Bank of Princeton, and of the Shenandoah Bank, Iowa. Mr. Reeve was first married to Miss Mary Glenn, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1817. She died March 17, 1841, in Bureau County, 111. She was the mother of two children: Laura, widow of Rev. Benjamin Thomas, and William G., born February 8, 1839, and died in November, 1847. His second marriage was to Miss Sarah L. Bryant, who was born September 16, 1820, in Cummington, Mass., and is a daughter of Col. Austin Bryant, and a niece of William Cullen Bryant. The result of this union is the following named children: William G., born June 4, 1847; Austin B. , born August 7, 1859; and Frances A., born June 18, 1861, now deceased. The elder son is now Cashier of a national bank in Peru, 111., while the younger is Cashier of the Citizen's National Bank of Princeton. The mother of Mrs. Reeve was Adeline (Plummer) Bryant, born in Berkshire County, Mass., May 24, 1801, and died February 26, 1882. She was the daughter of Edward Plummer, a native of Massachusetts. In the quiet of his comfortable home in the city of Princeton, surrounded by his family and troops of friends, Mr. Tracy Reeve is enjoying those blessings that can only come in the evening of a well-spent life. He was the architect of his own fortunes, and in the trials and severe struggles of the new West (as was this county when he came) was only developed that inner self-reliant and manly life that constitutes his green and happy age, and may well furnish a type of character for the healthy study and .contemplation of the youths of the State or of the country. It is the simple and sublime story ]|of the lives of real and true men, that should be made the fundamental text-books of our children. Nothing is more interesting to the young 'than biographical history. It charms andj|leads and draws them after it, and barbarous fathers tell to their children the story of warriors and robbers, and even our civilization has long thought that it was only the great General, the noisy politician, or the individuals who were notorious, eccentric or infamous who were worthy of a place in tradition, song or romance. It is time for us to know that the true life is the modest, and therefore often the obscure, life. And the story of such lives, when properly told, is the fairest page in the book of history.

LEWIS E. REMSBURG, Ohio, was born December '28, 1831, in Sandusky County, Ohio. He is the son of Casper and Mary Remsburg. The father was born Eebruary 24, 1786, in Frederick County, Md. The mother was born November 19, 1792, in Frederick County, Md., and is the daughter of Jacob and Margaret Bowlus, who were born in Maryland, and came to Ohio in 1822. On the mother's side Mrs. Remsburg is of German parentage. The subject of this sketch, with his parents, first traveled through this county in the spring of 1841, and returned in July to their home in Ohio. In the spring of 1858 Mr. Remsburg came with his mother to this county, and remained for a few days in Ohio Township. They then went to Rock Island, 111., where the mother remained about a month, when she returned to Ohio. Lewis E. remained till October of

1855, when he bought eighty acres of land, being a part of the farm on which he now resides. This land was bought from the Illinois Central Railroad Company at $11 per acre, which at that time was considered a high price for land. This same land is now worth $75 per acre. Casper and Mary Remsburg are the parents of nine children, two of whom came to this county, viz. : Perry and Lewis E. The father died in Ohio, August 22, 1849, but the mother is still living (now in this county with her son, Lewis E. ) at the advanced age of ninety-two, and is the oldest person now living in Ohio Township. She still has a clear recollection of events transpiring in 1800, and tells several pleasing and interesting anecdotes of the war of 1812. In 1857, October 15, Mr. Remsburg was married to Mrs. Emily J. Losee, the daughter of Sylvester and Safrona Cowles, of Medina County, Ohio. She was born May 14, 1832, in Marion, N. Y. Immediately following the marriage Mr. and Mrs. Remsburg came to Ohio Township and began housekeeping on their present farm, upon which Mr. Remsburg had previously erected a house. Mr. and Mrs. Remsburg are the parents of seven children, all living, Mrs. R. having one child when they were married, Ellen T. Losee, born August 31, 1853, widow of Arthur W. Chase, Ohio, 111.; William E. was born November 6, 1858; Dilla E. was born January 5, 1862; Alta B. was born April 1, 1864; William S. was born March 29, 1868; Gertie M. was born April 2, 1872; Minnie D. was born May 21, 1876; Ada W. Chase was born January 7, 1879. Arthur W. Chase died June 13, 1878. Mr. Remsburg owns 240 acres in Ohio Township, 320 acres in Dakota and town property in Ohio Village. He is a Republican, and member of Methodist Protestant Church.

SOLOMON REMSBURG, Ohio, was born January 20, 1820, and is the son of Christian and Catharine Remsburg, of Frederick County, Md., where the subject of this sketch was born. The father was born November 28, 1784, and died March 29, 1874. The mother was born March 23, 1786, and died August 12, 1851. The son was raised on a farm, where he resided till 1843, when March 23, he married Mary A. Michael, the daughter of John Michael, of Maryland. Mrs. Remsburg was born January 30, 1821, and died in Sandusky County, Ohio, November 28, 1846. Of this marriage there is a family of two sons, both living: Isah W. Remsburg was born January 18, 1844, is married, and lives in Ohio Township, this county; Carlton J. Remsburg was born April 6, 1845, and resides in Ford County, 111., is married to Sarah Haninstein, and has two daughters and one son. November 2, 1847, Mr. Remsburg married Margaret Shawl, the daughter of Michael and Eleanor Shawl, of Sandusky County, Ohio, who was born February 26, 1827. The father was born in 1803 and died July 14, 1882. The mother was born in 1806, and died November 27, 1875. Of this last marriage there are two children, a daughter and a son: Annie R. Remsburg, wife vof James G. Ruff, banker; Ohio, 111., was born September 29, 1848, has three children; George W. Remsburg was born June 6, 1850, married Margaret R. Ross, is now a widower, and has two children. In March, 1857, Mr. Remsburg removed from

Ohio to this county, and settled on Section 21, Ohio Township, where he lived till 1873, when he moved to the village of Ohio, where he now resides. He owns 230 acres in Ohio Township, also an interest in 390 acres in Missouri, and residence with other property in Ohio Village. In politics Mr. R. was formerly a Whig, and is now Republican. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant Church.

J. D. REYNOLDS, Indiantown, was born November 25, 1827, in Hadley, Hampshire Co., Mass. His parents, Thomas and Mary (Dickinson) Reynolds, were both natives of Massachusetts, where they died, the former in 1834 and the latter in July, 1874, aged eighty-six years. They reared the following children: Elizabeth, deceased; Thomas, a resident of Hadley, Mass.; Frederick, deceased; Mrs. Charlotte Baker, of Hartford, Conn. ; John D.. our subject, and Charles William, deceased. The progenitor of the Reynolds family in America came from England in an early day. Our subject was educated in his native town and is a well-read man. He has made farming his occupation in life. In the spring of 1856 Mr. Reynolds came to Bureau County, where he raised one crop and that fall brought his family from Belchertown, Mass., to this county. He resided in Macon Township till December, 1860, when he removed to Buda, where he lived two years and then came to Indiantown Township, where he now resides and owns a farm of 160 acres in Section 6. Mr. Reynolds keeps himself wellinformed on all political matters both local and general and is identified with the Republican party. He was married April 16, 1851, in Belchertown, Mass., to Mary J. Hannum, who was born December 17, 1827, in the above place. Her parents were Stiles and Lydia (Miller) Hannum, natives of Massachusetts. To Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds five children who are now living were born, viz. : Frederick A., George A., Mrs. Nellie B. Wilkinson, Milton E., Frank E. Two other children - Charley and Lizzie - -died in infancy. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are active members of the Congregational Church at Buda, 111.

His father, Joseph C. Rhea, was born in the above place. He was a blacksmith by occupation. In 1833 he removed to Bartholomew County, Ind. There he followed his trade and also farmed. He was a good member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and died there in 1836. The grandfather of our subject, Joseph Rhea, was a native of Ireland, but it is supposed of Scotch descent. He was a weaver by occupation and came to the United States in early life, settling in Washington County, Penn., where he died. His wife, Margaret (McCormic) Rhea, was also a native of Ireland, but died in Virginia. They reared ten children, viz. : Thomas, William, John, James, Robert H. , George G. , Joseph C., Mrs. Peggy Spraggins, Mrs. Catharine Blackinmaker and Jennie Rhea. The mother of our subject, Mary (Catron) Rhea, was a native of Washington County, Va. She died in Bureau County, 111. She was a daughter of Philip and Elizabeth (Spraker) Catron, natives of Germany. They died in Washington County, Va. Their children were: Mrs. Peba Daniels, Stofel, Mrs. Betsey De Bush, Frank, Christley, John and Mrs. Mary Rhea, who was the mother of three children, viz. : Philip C., our subject, James and Mrs. Margaret E. Sharp. Our subject was educated in Washington County, Va. ; there he learned and followed the blacksmith's trade. He came here in the fall of 1861-, and has farmed here successfully ever since. He owns 200 acres of land in this county. He was married in the fall of 1862 to Eliza E. Parks, born October 1, 1837, in Washington County, Va. She is a daughter of Granville and Nancy (Mc- Kee) Parks, natives of Virginia. Granville Parks, one of our most respected citizens, is yet living in Neponset Township, to which he came in 1854. His wife died January 31, 1875. She was the mother of ten children, viz. : Robert B., Eliza J., Sarah A., William A., John R., Joseph B., Bethia, James M. (deceased), David O. and Clifford C. To Mr. and Mrs. Rhea three children were born, viz. : Joseph C., born November 25, 1864; Margaret E., born August 10, 1868, and Nancy C., born December 14, 1870. Mrs. Rhea is a member of the Baptist Church. He is a Republican and an I. O. O. F.

The genealogy of the Bice family in America is as follows: The progenitor of the family as far as known is Edward Bice, an Irish gentleman, whose sou Edward Bice, Jr., emigrated from the parish of Killman, County Tyrone, Barony of Dunganon, Ire land, in the year 1736. He came to America and settled in Bucks County, Penn., where he was among the earliest pioneers, and reared a family of eight children. Of these, Joseph Bice was born on the old homestead where he died. He married Letitia Hartley, a native of North Wales, who was the mother of four children, viz. : William, Catharine, Letitia aud Joseph Bice, Jr. The latter was a farmer by occupation, and died there in June, 1863. He was married to Julia Iden, also a native of Pennsylvania, where she died in June, 1861. She was of Welsh descent, and a daughter of George and Hannah (Folk) Iden, who were the parents of eight children, viz. : Anna, John, Thomas, Greenfield, Jacob, Elizabeth, Paulina and Julia. Mrs. Julia Bice was the mother of four children, viz.: Joseph G., William H., George Iden, our subject, and Lewis C., who is also a physician. Our subject entered a printing office at the age of fourteen, where he remained till he was nineteen years old, and then attended William McLean's school in Salem, Ohio, for two years, after which he taught school. In 1856 he entered the Pennsylvania Medical College at Philadelphia, where he graduated in 1858, and located in Morrisville, Penn. When the war clouds gathered Dr. Bice was not inactive, and tendered his services to his country. He received a commission as Assistant Surgeon, and was appointed to the Third Begiment of Pennsylvania Beserve Veteran Corps. In March, 1863, he was sent to the Nashville Hospital, No. 1, where he labored till September, 1864. In October of the same year he came to Arlington, 111., and in 1870 located in Lamoille, where he now enjoys the confidence and patronage of the people. Dr. Bice was married to Miss Julia M. Newport, a daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth Newport and a native of Belmont County, Ohio. She is the mother of the following children: Mrs. Ellulia E. Morrisson, Gertrude C., George I. and John Bice (deceased).

Dr. and Mrs. Bice are members of the Congregational Church. Their ancestors were Quakers. He is identified with the Bepublican party, and is a Master Mason of the A. F. & A. M. fraternity.

O. D. BICHABDS, Wyanet. was born in Erie County, N. Y., April 4, 1819. He is the son of John M. and Mary (Foy) Bichards, both natives of Vermont. His father was born September 10, 1788, and died in Whiteside County, III., November 6, 1867. His mother was born June 10, 1793, and died May 26, 1821, when our subject was only two years old. The Bichards family originally came from Wales and settled near Boscawen, N. H. , at a very early date. John M. Bichards was a soldier in the war of 1812. Our subject spent most of his life previous to 1844 in Cattaraugus County, N. Y. When his parents first settled there, together with two other families, their nearest neighbor was ten miles away, and they experienced all the privations incident to pioneer life. In 1844 Mr. Bichards went to Kendall County, where he remained two years, then moved to DuPage County, and afterward to Prophets - town, Whiteside County, twenty-five miles from the nearest market, Sterling. In 1864 he bought his present farm of 110 acres, and has resided on it since 1865. October 1, 1844, he was married, in Kendall County, 111., to Mercy Bullock, who was born March 9, 1821. She is the daughter of Jesse and Annis (Bodman) Bullock. They made their home in western New York, though they were natives of the eastern part of the State. Jesse Bullock was born January 22, 1783, in Delaware County; he died September 14, 1842. His wife was born in Columbia County, February 22, 1789, and died January, 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Bichards have four children living, viz. : Aras O. (born October 28, 1849; he lives in What Cheer, Keokuk Co., Iowa), Hester (wife of Perry Allen, of Manowa, III., born December 26, 1852), Ansel D. (born October 28, 1860, lives at home), Fanny A. (born July 2, 1863, at home). Four children died when small. Mr. Bichards is a Bepublican, and for sixteen years was Justice of the Peace in Whiteside County. For many years he has been a member of the church, first of the

WILLIAM EILEY, the pioneer of Mineral, was born July 30, 1824, in Licking County, Ohio. His parents, Paul and Elizabeth (Laughrey) Riley, were native of Pennsylvania. They farmed many years in Ohio. In 1835 they immigrated to Concord Township, Bureau Co., 111., where Sheffield now stands. At that time Bureau County was a mere wilderness, scarcely vacated by the red man of the woods. They eventually removed to Mineral Township, where both died. They were both members of the United Brethren Church, and reared twelve children, viz.: Mary (deceased), Susan, Ellen (deceased), William and James (twins), Rachel, Sylvanian, Elizabeth and Margaret (also twins), Cyrus. Emma and Perry. Mr. Riley came to Bureau County with his parents. In 1842, shortly after he was married, he removed to Mineral Township, where he now resides. He has been a successful farmer, and now owns 331 acres of land He is the founder of the village of Mineral, and was the first station agent, which position he fills to the present day. Mr. Riley was married in the spring of 1842 to Eveline Baker, a daughter of Andrew Baker, and a native of Tennessee. This union was blessed with eight children, viz. : Mary, Ellen (deceased), James, Charles, Jane (deceased), Wilson, John and Frank. Mr. and Mrs. Riley are both members of the church. Politically he is a strong Republican.

JOSEPH RILEY, Bureau, was born in Garrett County, Md., September 24, 1834. His father, Stephen Riley, was of Irish descent, though the family had lived in Maryland for generations. His wife, Catherine (Whetstone) Riley, was of German descent, but was born in Garret County, Md., where she is yet living. Her husband died there. They were the parents of eight children, six of whom are living, our subject being the only one in Bureau County. Joseph Riley was reared on a farm, and educated in the schools of Garrett County. Soon after reaching his majority he went into the western part of Virginia, and for five years worked for a Baltimore company getting out ship lumber, barrel staves, etc. June, 1861, he entered the army in the Second Virginia Infantry, and served for two years, and was then changed to the Fifth Virginia Cavalry, and served one year. During his service of three years he did not receive a wound, although he was in many engagements - at Huutersville, second battle of Bull Run, etc. He was mustered out at Wheeling, W. Va., in June, 1864. In the fall of 1864 Mr. Riley came to McLean County, 111., but a year later returned to Virginia and worked for the Baltimore company. In 1866 he came to Bureau County, 111., and has since been engaged in farming. He now owns 160 acres in northeast Section 13, Bureau Township. He was married, in this county, December 31, 1868, to Miss Huldah Coddington, a native of Garrett County, Md. Her father, Jonathan Coddington, was born in Maryland in 1799, and came to Bureau County in 1853, residing here until his death in 1879. His wife, Rebecca Frantz, was born in Pennsylvania in 1811, and is living on the old homestead in Bureau Township. Of their five children, four are residents of this county, viz. : Mrs. Elizabeth Shugart, John W. Coddington, Mrs. Huldah Riley, Sarah A.. Coddington. Asa F. is in Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Riley have five children, viz. : William C., John H., Cora May, Bertha D., James G. In politics Mr. Riley has been a stanch Republican since the breaking out of the war. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

HARRY C. ROBERTS, Princeton, was born November 6. 1851, in Peru, LaSalle Co., 111. He is a son of Abraham Roberts, born December 7, 1804, in Waterford, Ireland. He came to the United States in 1833, and for some years lived in Pittsburgh, Penn. In 1836 he went to Vicksburg, Miss., where he lived till, 1842, when he went to St. Louis, Mo. After a three years' residence in the latter place he went to Peoria, 111., and in 1848 came to Dover, Bureau Co., 111., where he kept a general store, having followed the mercantile career most of his life. He died May 2, 1869. His father, John Roberts, was also a native of Ireland, where he was an attorney by profession. The mother of our subject was Elizabeth (Zearing) Roberts. She was born August 20, 1822, in Shiremantown, Penn., and died February 23, 1882, in Princeton, 111. She was a -daughter of Martin Zearing, deceased (see sketch). She reared four children, of whom Harry C. and his sister, Mrs. Lizzie Colton, are now living. Harry C. was educated at the Dover Academy. In early life he clerked three years in Foster's book store, and then went to Ackley, Iowa, where he was a bookkeeper in a bank for eight months. He then returned to this place, May 27, 1872, and began clerking in the First National Bank, with which he has been connected ever since. August 26, 1875, he became Assistant Cashier, and on January 9, 1877, he was elected Cashier. Mr. Roberts was joined in matrimony, May 16, 1878, in Philadelphia, Penn., to Miss Emina Steckel, born September 13, 1852, in New York City. Her parents, Solomon and Emeline (Heinley) Steckel, are both natives of Pennsylvania. Her father was a merchant by occupation. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are active workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a member, and is Superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is an A. F. & A. M., Princeton Lodge, No. 587, of which he has been Secretary three years, and is now J. W. In politics he is a Republican. His father was a strong Abolitionist, although at one time he owned slaves. DR. F. C. ROBINSON. Wyanet. Millard Robinson, grandfather of the above-named gentleman, was born November 13, 1792, and his wife Electa (Grimes) Robinson was born May 28, 1795. Both were of Scotch descent and were natives of Edinburg, Saratoga Co., N. Y. They early settled on a farm in Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y., rearing a family of fifteen children, eight boys and seven girls, thirteen of whom survived them. Mr. Robinson died August 19, 1867, and his wife October 9, 1863. Nathaniel Robinson, second son of Millard Robinson, was born in LaFayette, Onondaga Co., N. Y. , February 26, 1813, and now resides at Paw Paw, Lee Co., 111. His wife, Dorcas (Wallace) Robinson, was born in Fabius, Onondaga Co., N. Y., August 24, 1817, and died at Paw Paw, Lee Co., 111., February 24, 1883, cherished in the memories of her children and the community where she had lived, for her many deeds of Christian kindness, love and beneficence. Her father, Elijah Wallace, was born in Vermont April 23, 1781, and died in Pompey, N. Y., December 25, 1866. He was a descendant of Sir William Wallace, of Scotland, and for forty-five years had resided on the farm where he died. His wife, Dorcas (Burdick) Wallace, was born January 21, 1781, and died September 22, 1822. Fernando Cortez Robinson, son of Nathaniel and Dorcas Robinson, was born in Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y., January 9, 1837. He was the oldest son in a family of eight, and has two brothers and two sisters living. Henry and George are farmers in Dakota, and Sarah Anna a milliner in Wyanet. Seven years of the Doctor's childhood were spent in Pompey, and seven in Otisco, N. Y. His father's farm was on the west shore of Otisco Lake, and near by was the old scboolhouse where he first learned to read. When he was fourteen years old his parents moved upon a dairy farm in Tully, where he lived four years. He received his education in the academies of Onondaga and Cortland and at East Paw Paw Seminary, De Kalb Co., 111. At the age of sixteen he taught his first school in Cardiff, N. Y., (where the Cardiff giant was found and exhibited as a specimen of ancient art till the fraud was discovered). In March, 1855, he came to Paw Paw Grove, Lee Co., 111., and during the next three years worked on a farm or at the carpenter's trade in summer, and taught school in the winter at Paw Paw and at Four Mile Grove, LaSalle County. In the spring of 1858 he rode through Bureau County on horseback to Galesburg and thence to Canton, Fulton County, where he was engaged in teaching for two years, one term in a select school, assisted by W. H. Haskell, School Commissioner, and President of State Teachers' Association. Dr. Robinson commenced the study of medicine in 1860, reading in the office of Dr. J. W. Edwards in Mendota, and attending three courses of lectures in Rush Medical College, Chicago, graduating February 23, 1863. He then settled in Wyanet for the practice of medicine and now resides there, enjoying the confidence and respect of the community. In 1865 he became a member of Wyanet Lodge, No. 231, A. F. & A. M., was three years Master and several years Secretary.

In politics he is a stanch Republican and has voted for every Republican President since the party was organized. He has held corporation and town offices and in 1880 was elected Coroner of Bureau County. July 15, 1865, he was married to Mary E. Hall. She was born near St. Clairsville, Belmont Co., Ohio, December 29, 1846, and came to Wyanet with her widowed mother March 4, 1861. Her father, Jacob Hall, was of English descent, and born at Village Green, Chester Co., Penn., April 3, 1814, and died at St. Clairsville, Ohio, October 8, 1855. He was a Quaker in religious belief, well-educated, a successful merchant, and high officer in the Masonic fraternity. The farm where he was born has been in the Hall family 156 years, and the manor house where his nephew resides was built more than 100 years ago. Margaret Hall, wife of Jacob Hall, was born in Belmont County, Ohio, October 3, 1813, and now resides with her eldest son, James. Her sons Hibbert and Jesse were born April 17, 1843, the former a blacksmith in Centralia, the latter a wagon-maker in Wheeling, W. Va. Lambert, the youngest, was born in St. Clairsville, Ohio, February 24, 1851, and is a guard in the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet. Dr. and Mrs. Robinson have two children: Henry H. was born in Wyanet April 29, 1866, and at this date, June, 1884, has just completed his junior year in Monmouth College, taking first-class honors; Amy A. was born in Wyanet September 25, 1868.

J. H. ROBINSON, Indiantown, was born November 14, 1817, in Licking County, Ohio. His father, Martin Robinson, was born December 2, 1792, in Virginia, and when a young man went to Ohio with his father, Stephen Robinson, also a native of Virginia. In Ohio he farmed till 1845, when he came to Morgan County, 111., and the next year settled in Concord Township, Bureau County, where he died February 25, 1852. He was married to Christina Hass, who was born November 10, 1791, in Virginia. Her father, John Hass, was of German descent. She was the mother of the following children: John H. Robinson, Mrs. Sarah Johnson and Harrison Robinson. She died June 11, 1876. Our subject came West in the fall of 1844. He stayed in Missouri till the following March, then went to Wisconsin and then to Cass and Morgan Counties, 111., then through Indiana to Ohio, returning to Illinois in October, accompanied by his parents. He was married here April 15, 1847, to Hannah Zink, born March 4, 1825, in Pennsylvania. She is a daughter of Samuel and Catharine (Hanawalt) Zink, natives of Pennsylvania. The latter is yet living among her children, a wide-awake, intelligent woman, aged ninety-five years, born August 26, 1789. The number of her descendants is 122, including great-grandchildren. Mrs. Hannah Robinson is the mother of eight children now living, viz.: Mrs. Christina K. Rowland, Mrs. Mary S. Scheottler, Mrs. Lucy J. Horney, Samuel S., Owen J., Emma S., Abraham L., Christ C. Mr. Robinson has filled township offices, being connected with the Republican party. At present he resides in Indiantown Township, where he has a farm of 190 acres.

J. H. ROBINSON, Princeton, was born November 6, 1846, in Bureau County. He is a son of Joseph Robinson, a native of Pennsylvania. He came to this county in 1834, and settled in Burlin Township. He was married in 1841, to Jemimah A. Britt, a native of Bureau County. Her father was Obadiah Britt. Mr. Joseph Robinson died in this county. He was a farmer by occupation, and was the father of the following children, viz. : Martha J., wife of Peter Nevious; Mary A., wife of Jacob Fisher; James H., our subject, and Ella. After the death of Joseph Robinson his widow married Isaac N. Montgomery, May 9, 1854. This union was blessed with the following children: Lenora, Janetta C. and Theodore J. (deceased). Our subject worked on a farm till he was eighteen years old, and then obeyed the call of his country to protect the stars and stripes, and enlisted February 22, 1864, in the Thirty-fourth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was always ready to do his duty in camp as well as on the battle-field, suffering all the hardships of a soldier's life. He participated in the battles of Rockyface and Resaca, Ga. At the latter place he was wounded, and lost his left arm in the defense of his country. He was honorably discharged December 22, 1864. After the war our subject sought to gain a better education, and went to Mount Vernon, Iowa, where he studied nearly one year, and after he returned to Bureau County he taught seven terms of school. He served three terms as Town Clerk of Walnut Township, where he also served one year as Collector and twelve years as Constable. In the winter of 1881-82 he was elected and served as Doorkeeper in the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second General Assembly. In November, 1882, he was elected Sheriff of Bureau County, which office he at present tills. He was married July 2, 1870, to Miss Sarah A. Kimmell, born October 25, 1852, a daughter of Amos and Nancy (Hummell) Kimmell. Mrs. Robinson is the mother of three children, viz. : Joseph, born February 26, 1873; Ettie and Nettie, who are twins, were born March 4, 1875. Mr. Robinson is a strong supporter of the Republican party, and a member of the G. A. R. Mrs. Robinson's father, Amos Kimmell, was born May 15, 1813. He was married January 15, 1837, to Nancy Hummell, who was born February 10, 1815. She died January 14, 1862. She was the mother of fourteen children, of whom a number are yet living in this county: Oliver P., Catharine, Hannah, Elizabeth, Kisia, Margaret, Mary C., Alden A., Hattie E., William B., Joseph H., Marshall M. and Sarah A. (who are twins), and Louisa.

JOHN S. ROBINSON, Macon, was born in Somerset County, Me., April 11, 1828. He is the son of Josiah and Hannah C. (French) Robinson. The mother was reared in Cornville, Me., and the father was born in Hallowell, Me., but both died in Cornville, she in 1850, and he in 1856. They were the parents of four children, viz. : John S. ; Richard J., who resided on the old homestead in Maine; Mrs. Judith A. McDaniel, widow of C. C. McDaniel, of Cornville, Me., and George H. , a resident of Illinois. In early life John S. Robinson lived on the farm, and received such an education as the common schools then afforded, after which . he attended Bloomfield Academy for three terms. Before leaving his native State, his occupation was that of a farmer and lumberman, working either in the woods, on the river or in the ship-yards. In 1852 he came to Bureau County, 111., and bought land in

Macon Township, but afterward went into the lumber regions of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and did not locate permanently in Bureau County till 1855, since which time he has resided on bis present farm and engaged in farming and stockraising. His farm now contains 406 acres of land; but Mr. Robinson has accumulated his property since coming to this county. In 1857 he was united in marriage to Miss Rosilla Bigelow. She was also born in Somerset County, Me., April 13, 1834, but came to French Grove, in this county, in October, 1852, her father, A. Bigelow, having come the year previous. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have three children, viz.: Lottie May, wife Charles Norton, of Neponset, Arthur M. and ',R. W., both on the' farm. Arthur is married to Miss E. C. Aldrich. The parents of Mrs. Robinson, A. and Rebecca (Bray) Bigelow, were both natives of Maine, he being reared at the foot of Mt. Bigelow. Both died in this county, he September, 1859, and she February, 1882. They were the parents of seven children, five of whom yet survive. Only Mrs. Robinson resides in this county. Mr. Robinson is an active member of the Democratic party.

S. F. ROBINSON, Princeton, was born May 13, 1823, in Williamstown, Orange Co., Vt. He is a son of David Robinson, who was born June 10, 1782, in Vermont, and died July 17, 1863, in Bureau County, 111., to which he had come in 1835, settling on a farm east of Princeton. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was at Detroit when Gen. Hull surrendered. The mother of our subject was Lenda (Farnsworth) Robinson, a native of Vermont, where she was born January 10, 1795. She is yet living, as are also five of her younger brothers. She is a daughter of Thomas Farnsworth, of English extraction, whose great-grandfather came over to this country in the "Mayflower." Thomas Farnsworth was born in Connecticut; he was a farmer by occupation and died in New York State aged eighty-four years. He married Demus Ladd, who died in Alden, Erie Co., N. Y., aged nearly ninety-four years. She was a daughter of Lemuel Ladd, who was of Scotch descent and a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Lenda (Farnsworth) Rob- iusoD reared nine children, viz. : Mrs. Elvira Sherwin; George, now a resident of Colorado; Solomon F. , our subject; David, a resident of Chicago; Mrs. Laura Smith; Mrs. Eliza D. Baker, who died in California; Mrs. Ellen R. Thompson; Prentis J. , a resident of Montana Territory, and Thomas M., a resident of Colorado. Our subject received a limitedjeducation partly in the East and partly in Bureau County, 111., to which he came with his parents. Here he farmed till the spring of 1865, when he removed to Princeton. He was married September 3, 1879, to Sarah A. Norton, who was born April 27, 1839, in Cummington, Mass., where she was an efficient teacher for many years. She died September 15, 1883, in the prime of her life. She had the faculty of making and retaining many friends, who will ever revere her memory. She was a daughter of Warner and Esther (Narramore) Norton, both natives of Massachusetts and farmers by occupation. Both died in Cummington, Mass. Mr. Robinson was Marshal of Princeton for two years, and Constable for about nine years. His mother is living with him. In political matters he has been identified with the Democratic party.

W. H. ROBINSON, Princeton, born May 28, 1856, m Bureau County, 111. He is a son of William Robinson, M. D. , -ftho was a native of Pennsylvania. He was educated in the East and practiced his profession in this county, where he was also a druggist. He died August 24, 1881. His parents were John and Eleanor Robinson, of Lancaster County, Penn. Dr. Robinson was the father of the following children: John H., America V. (deceased), James M., Eleanor L. and William Helrner, our subject. The mother of our subject was Sarah (Zearing) Robinson. She was married May 4, 1845. She is a daughter of Henry and Maria E. (Rupp) Zearing, both of German descent. The Rupp family is a very old family, but the Zearing family is still older. Henry Zearing was a great-grandson of Ludwig I. , who was a native of Baden, Germany, from which he emigrated about 1725, settling in Pennsylvania. More in regard to the family appears elsewhere. Our subject was educated in this county, where he has followed the occupation of a farmer for the last five years. He was married May 1, 1879, to Miss Belle Booth, who was born here February 12, 1859. She is a daughter of Hiram and Caroline (Hoamer) Booth, both natives of Massachusetts and yet living in this county, to which they came in 1853. The parents of Mrs. Booth are Luther and Abiah Hosmer. Two children are the result of this union, viz. : Edna, born September 14, 1880, and Ava, born October 23, 1882. Mr. Robinson is identified with the Democratic party.

H. G. ROSINE, Lamoille, is a native of Hanover, Germany, where he was born August 10, 1854. His parents, John and Mary (Brunell) Rosine, were natives of Hanover, where the father is yet a large and wellknown merchant. The mother died there in 1877. She reared a family of five children, viz.: John Rosine, Mrs. Mary Blanck, Mrs. Lizzie Rewinkel, William Rosine and Henry G. Rosine, our subject. He received his primary education in Hanover, and then attended the University of Goettingen two years. After this he came to the United States, landing in New York. From there he went to Chicago, where he lived about one year and made himself more familiar with the English language. From Chicago he went to Morrison, 111., where he clerked five years, and then came to Lamoille, where he clerked three years for A. E. Porter & Co. About this time he, in partnership with two other men, bought out the old firm, but since August 8, 1881, he has been sole proprietor and conducts the largest general store in the town to the entire satisfaction of his numerous patrons, who realize that he always keeps choice goods. Thus has this enterprising young Hanoverian, step by step, risen in the world. Mr. Rosine was married, 1882, to Emma A. Williams, who was born here October 14, 1862. She is the mother of Myron Howard Rosine, born April 2, 1883. Her parents are Onam and Mary A. (Mills) Williams. Mr. Rosine made a trip to Europe in 1867, returning the following spring. Politically he is a Republican.

ANDREW ROSS, Ohio, was born in Tusoarawas County, Ohio, May 28, 1823, and is the son of Rev. William and Jane Ross. (See sketch of James Ross.) Mr. Ross lived on a farm in his native connty and State till 1845, when he caine to this county and settled in Ohio Township, and is the oldest settler in the township, with one exception, that of Mrs. Bearnard Kirk, formerly Miss Melvina Abbott. Mr. Ross entered the land on which he settled and which is now a part of the home farm. October 20, 1846, he married Hannah Randall, the daughter of William and Rebecca Randall, of Ohio. Mr. Randall was a soldier in the war of 1812. Hannah Randall was born January 5, 1825, in Indiana, and came to this county immediately following her marriage, where she died August 25, 1856. In 1857, January 18, Mr. Ross married his present wife, Miss Sel in a Ireland, the daughter of Jonathan and Eliza Ireland, of Virginia. Mrs. Ross was born February 8, 1822, in Harrison County, Va., and came to this county with her parents in 1834. The mother died in 1860. The father, Jonathan Ireland, died in 1873. Of the first marriage there is a family of five children, all now living: George R. Ross, born August 23, 1847, a merchant in Ohio, 111. ; Sarah J. Ross, born May 27, 1849, now Mrs. W. S. Mayhall, of Ohio, 111.; Margaret C. Ross, born March 18, 1851, now Mrs. Milton Matson, of Ohio, 111. ; Mary A. Ross, born December 29, 1852. now Mrs. John Walter, of Ohio, 111. ; Joseph A. Ross, born February 15, 1855, farmer and stock-raiser, at Cookville, Woodson Co., Kan. Of the second marriage there is a family of four children, three of whom are now living: Franklin F. Ross, born December 28, 1857, farmer, Ohio, 111. ; Hannah E. Ross, born April 24, 1859, Ohio, 111.; Campbell Ross, born May 11, 1862, died in infancy; Juliet Ross, born January 10, 1864, Ohio. Mr. Ross occupies a prominent place in the settlement and organization of his township and in the church and political history of this county. He was the first class-leader of the Methodist Protestant Church established at Limerick, and is now an ordained Elder in the Church of Christ. In politics Mr. Ross is Republican, and during the late war, without waiting the result of a draft, he hired a man to go into the ranks of his country, though himself not subject to conscription at that time. Mr. Ross owns 360 acres of land in Ohio Township, and eighty acres in Dover, with 3,620 acres in Allen and Woodson Counties, Kan., and 260 acres in Sack County, Iowa; also property in the village of Ohio. Mr. R. is an extensive farmer and stock-raiser, and has one of the largest barns in Bureau County.

JACOB ROSS, Princeton, was born in Somerset, Somerset Co., Penn., October 12, 1809. He is the son of William and Jane Whitaker Koss. The father was a native of Ireland, but the mother was born in Pennsylvania. In 1816 they removed to Tuscarawas County, Ohio. They came to Bureau County, 111., in 1851, and died here. When first settling in Ohio Mr. Ross selected the place where he would make his home, and unloaded his goods at the roots of a large tree. He then began erecting a shelter, which consisted of four posts set in the ground, and so arranged that a covering of loose boards could be put on - this sufficed till the cabin could be built. Under such circumstances was the youth of our subject spent, and, as is the case with boys reared on the frontier, with but poor advantages for a school education, but he did learn the lesson of self-reliance. In 1849 Mr. Ross came to Bureau County, and began to improve a new farm. He had bought two land warrants for $ 1 33 each, and so got a half section of land very cheap. He remained on the farm1 till March 17, 1873, since which time he has resided in Princeton, but still retains 200 acres of his original farm. In March, 1832, he was married in Ohio to Mrs. Jemima (Butt) Baker, a native of Ohio. She died October, 1866. She was the mother of eight children, viz. : William B., of Lyon County, Kan. (his twin brother, Joseph W., died at the age of seventeen) ; George W. , of Pottawatomie County, Iowa; James P., of Lyon County, Kan.; Frank, of Page County, Iowa; David M., deceased; Mary J., wife of Isaac Kurtz, of Walnut, 111., and Jacob K., also of Walnut. March, 1867, Mr. Ross was married to Mrs. Jane Pritchard, a sister of the first Mrs. Ross, and the widow of Dr. Reason Pritchard. She had previously been widowed by the death of her first husband, John Casebeer, by whom she has three children, viz.: Rev. Jacob B.

Casebeer, minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Marshall, Iowa; John R. Casebeer, of Pope County, Iowa, and Martha, wife of G. W. Ross, of Pottawatomie County, Iowa. By her second husband she has one son, viz. : Dr. Harvey Pritchard, a physician of Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Ross is a member of the Methodist Protestant Church, and in politics is identified with the Republican party.

JAMES ROSS, Ohio, was born February 22, 1808, at Somerset, Penn., and is the son of Rev. William Ross, who was born in Antrim County, Ireland, November 1, 1767, and immigrated to America in 1803. About 1807 he married Jane Whitaker, who was born in this country July 4, 1785, and they settled in Somerset, Penn., where the subject of this sketch was born and resided till he was nine years of age. He removed with his parents to Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in ,1817, where he resided till 1851, when he came to this county. February 27, 1831, James Ross married Margaret Butt, who was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, December 9, 1812, and is the daughter of William and Mary Butt. Of this marriage there is a family of thirteen children, nine of whom are now living, viz.: Elijah Ross, Limerick, 111., born June 23, 1832; Mrs. Sarah A. Mulvane, Topeka, Kan., born May 5, 1833; Mrs. Mary J. Ogan, Limerick, 111., born November 10, 1835; Jemima Ross, born November 10, 1837, died September 6, 1846; William P. Ross, born November 21, 1839, died August 28, 1844; Rachel Ross, born December 25, 1841, died August 29, 1844; Joel D. Ross, Limerick, 111., born December 1, 1843, and served in the late war of the Rebellion, enlisted August 13, 1862, in Company I, Twelfth Illinois Infantry, and served till May, 1865; Mrs. Elmira Mulvane, Limerick, 111., born June 23, 1846; Mrs. Martha E. Kasbeer, Altona, Iowa, born July 17, 1848; James W. Ross, Princeton, 111., born April 19, 1850; Mrs. Margaret R. Remsburg, born March 23, 1852, died January 15, 1882; Mrs. Ama W. Matson, Limerick, 111., born July 19, 1854; Abigail Ross, born April 16, 1856, at home. Mr. Ross' grandfather on the mother's side (Joseph Whitaker) came to this country in the English service during the Revolutionary war, but subsequently deserted the English ranks during an engagement, and joined the Continental forces. Thus, by his own voluntary act he forfeited all right which he might otherwise have had as an heir to his father's vast estate and wealth in England. Mr. Ross is a Republican, and a member of the Methodist Protestant Church. He owns 669 acres of land in Ohio and Dover Townships, and is a thrifty farmer and stock-raiser.

REV. WILLIAM ROSS, Ohio, was born November 24,1814, in Somerset Coun ty, Penn., and is the son of Rev. William and Jane Ross, who came to this county in 1851. (For history of parents see sketch of James Ross.) The subject of this sketch was raised on a farm in Ohio, and at the age of twenty was licensed to preach in the Methodist Protestant Church, and two years later was ordained as a minister of the Gospel. He remained in Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania, traveling a portion of the time, till May, 1852, when he came to this county, and settled in Ohio Township, on Section 30. June 22, 1841, Mr. Ross married Mary Davis, the daughter of James and Elizabeth Davis, of Jefferson County, Ohio. She was born June 22, 1820. The father was born December 15, 1772, and served in the war of 1812, and participated in the battle of Tippecanoe, under Gen. Harrison. He died March 29, 1856. The mother died May 21, 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Ross are the parents of six children, three of whom are now living: Mrs. Elizabeth J. Burns, was born April 18, 1842, is the widow of the late Rev. John Burns, who died July 27, 1882, Piano, 111.; John C., lorn December 7, 1844, died October 11, 1859; Sarah C. , born November 15, 1846, died February 23, 1850; James W., born June 5, 1855, Princeton, 111. ; Charles S., born January 23, 1858, died May 3, 1858; Florence V., born December 3, I860, teacher in public schools, Piano, 111. After coming to this county Mr. Ross engaged in farming and frequently preached to the settlers of his locality till 1863, when he removed to Princeton, 111., and afterward lived in various parts of this State. In 1874 he removed to Ohio Village, where he now resides as Postmaster of the town, which position he has held for the past seven years.

HENEY RUDIGER, Manilas, was born in the south part of Prussia, May 11, 1826. He was reared on a farm, and remained there till entering the Prussian Army in 1847, where he served for nearly four years, and was a soldier during the revolution of 1848. After returning from the army he remained at home till 1853, when he came to America and settled in Bureau County. For about three years he worked in the brick-yards at Princeton. In 1856 he began farming in Bureau Township, but in the spring of 1866 he came to his present farm in Section 1, Manlius Township. He owns 386 acres in Sections 1 and 2, in this town. Mr. Rudiger has been very successful in business. He gives most of his attention to the stock business. In 1856 he was married, at Princeton, to Elizabeth Trum. She is a native of Bavaria, and is the mother of the following children: Andrew, married to Mary Hechtner; Mary, wife of Andrew Jurgeson, of Wyanet; Kate, wife of Mat Follett, of Bureau Town; Henry, George, William, Lizzie, Horace, Fred, John and Caroline. In. politics Mr. Rudiger is Democratic. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church of Princeton.

W. H. RULE, Neponset, was born December 19, 1859, in Bureau County, 111. His parents, John and Jane (Hume) Rule, are natives of Scotland. They came to the United States about 1852, and settled in Stark County, 111. Eventually the family removed to Nepunset Township in Bureau County, where they now reside on Section 31, where they have 240 acres of land. They formerly lived on Section 32. Mr. and Mrs. John Rule are worthy members of society, and are the parents of ten children, viz. : Alexander, Mrs. Jane Armstrong, Mrs. Mary Boardman, Mrs. Charlotte Wright, James, William, John H., Katie, Walter H. and Thomas. Our subject, Walter H. Rule, was educated in Stark and Bureau Counties, 111., and is a wide-awake young farmer, ever willing to fulfill his obligations. He was married December 27, 1883, to Miss Ellen Turnbull, who was born March 25, 1859. Her parents are James and Ann (Matheson) Turnbull, natives of Scotland.

he was born in 1808. He died in 1862 in Bureau County. He was a farmer by occupation, and took a deep interest and was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The grandfather of our subject, James Russell, Sr., was also a farmer, and died in southern Indiana. The mother of our subject, Harriet (Pittenger) Russell, was born in 1809 in Pennsylvania. She died here May 1, 1883. She was the mother of eleven children. Of these only Elnathan C. (our subject), Mrs. Sarah A. Vanvactor and Stephen S. are now living. William, Mrs. Elizabeth Ledbetter, Samuel, Marietta and Harriet E. reached maturity, but died bore. Our subject came to this county with his parents in 1856. He was educated principally in the district schools of his native State. In Bureau County he has followed farming, and at present owns a good farm of 160 acres. Here he was married November 15, 1861, to Margaret Fellows, who was born July 3, 1841. She is a daughter of Philip and Elizabeth (Weatherwax) Fellows. Mrs. Russell is the mother of three children who are now living, viz. : William C., born September 26, 1867; Jessie V., born February 6, 1871, and Mattie L., born July 25, 1874. Mr. Russell and lady are advocates of true hospitality. Politically he is identified with the Republican party.

S. S. RUSSELL, Neponset, subject of the following sketch, was born April 28, 1850, in Marshall County, Ind. He is a son of James and Harriet (Pittenger) Russell (see preceding sketch). Our subject was educated in Bureau County, to which he came with his parents. He is one of our most wide-awake, thrifty farmers, and owns a farm of 160 acres. He was married here January 4, 1877, to Miss Eliza E. Gould, who was born July 8, 1856, in Neponset Township. Her father, Abraham Gould, is a native of England. This union has been blessed with one child - Ward Russell - who was born September 30, 1879. Politically Mr. Russell is a supporter of the Republican party.

GEORGE SADLER, Neponset, subject of the following sketch, was born April 7, 1834, in Leavening, Yorkshire, England. His parents, William and Hannah (Bois) Sadler, came from England in 1853. They settled in Kewanee, 111., where they died. Our subject was educated in England. He came to Kewanee in 1855. The next year he came to Neponset Township, where he has farmed ever since, owning eighty acres of land near Neponset. He was married September 17, 1867, to Mary A. Norton, born November 12, 1844, in Canada. She is a daughter of Thomas and Frances (Walker) Norton. She is the mother of three children, viz. : Frederick N., born June 18, 1868; Elsie E., born September 8, 1871; and Ida M., born September 9, 1875. Mr. Sadler is a Republican and one of our patriots of the late war. He enlisted in the fall of 1862 in Company H of the Ninety-third Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served till the close of the war. He was most of the time on detached duty as provost guard at Gen. Smith's headquarters.

S. P. SALMON, Princeton, was born January 8, 1830, in Morris County, N. J. His father, John S. Salmon, was also a native of New Jersey, and was born in the same house as his son, S. P. Salmon. He came to Bureau County, 111., in the fall of 1853, and was accompanied by his family. Here he has been engaged successfully as a farmer and is yet living in Princeton. His parents were William and Dorothy (Stephens) Salmon, who were natives of New Jersey. The mother of our subject was Mary Caroline (Bartley) Salmon, who was born in New Jersey. She died in Bureau County. Her parents were Hugh and Sarah (Potter) Bartley. Mr. Salmon has one brother, Harlan P. Salmon, who is also living in this county. Our subject was educated in New Jersey, where he was also married, April 3, 1851, to Angeline Salmon, who was born April 5, 1831, in Morris County, N. J. Her parents, Joshua and Jane (Bodyne) Salmon, have four children, viz. : Nelson, Clarinda, Angeline and Almira. Mrs. Angeline Salmon is the mother of two children, viz. : Jonathan B., born August 19, 1853, and Sering J., who was born August 20, 1864. The oldest son is married to Ella Blackler. They have one son, Soring P. Salmon. Mr. and Mrs. S. P. Salmon and children are members of the Presbyterian Church of Princeton. He came to this county in the fall of 1853, and has been successfully engaged in farming ever since. He resided twelve years in Selby Township, and while there served satisfactorily as Supervisor and Assessor. Politically Mr. Salmon is a Democrat.

H. P. SALMON, Princeton, was born July 20, 1843, in Morris County, N. J. His parents were John S. and Mary C. (Bartley) Salmon. Mr. Salmon was principally educated in Bureau County, to which he carne with his parents in 1853. Here he has devoted his attention to farming, and at present owns a tine farm of 246£ acres. He was united in marriage December 15, 1869, in his native county, to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Stephens, who was born Mayl9, 1845, in Morris County, N. J. She is the daughter of George W. and Elizabeth (Budd) Stephens, who were farmers and natives of New Jersey. This marriage resulted in the following children, viz. : George W., who was born September 11, 1871 ; Oliver H, born AugustS, 1874; Mary C., born March 30, 1880; and Ebon S., who was born December 28, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Salmon are active members of the Presbyterian Church. He has been very successful as a farmer. Politically Mr. Salmon is not identified with any particular party, rather independent, aiming to vote for principle instead of party.

G. H. SAMPSON, Princeton, was born March 19, 1835, in Woodstock, Vt. He is an only son, as were also his father and grandfather. The latter, George Sampson, was a native of Massachusetts. He was a land owner, and during the Revolutionary war served as a Musician in the Colonial Army. He died in 1841, in Vermont, aged eightytwo years. His son, George W. Sampson, was a native of Vermont, where he died in 1870, aged seventy-four years. He married Roxalana Hyde, a native of Randolph, Vt. ; she died in the latter State in February, 1836. Our subject came to the State of Illinois in 1854. He was married December 24, 1862, in Chicago, III, to Miss Jane E. Cumins, a native of Vermont and a daughter of Solon Cumins. At present Mr. Sampson is Secretary of the I. M. B. S. , with headquar ters in Princeton. Politically he is identified with the Democratic party.

1842, settling in Wyanet Township. His father, Hezekiah Sapp, resided here until 1874, when he moved to Iowa, where he now resides. His wife, Mary Jane Bosket, died in this county in 1846. She was the mother of six children: Andrew; Elizabeth, wife of Nathan Harrington; Major, of Hancock County, Iowa; Unity, wife of M. Pierce; Sinia, wife of Welcome Mo wry; Mary Jane, of Kansas. Mr. Sapp also has a half-brother and sister, Hezekiah and Amelia. Our subject was reared in this county, and at the age of twenty began working for himself, attending school after that time. His occupation was that of farming until 1865, when he removed to Wyanet, and has since made that village his home. For a number of years he was engaged in buying grain and stock at Wyanet, and at the same time carried on his farming. He has been very successful in business, and now owns 1,217 acres of land in Wyanet and Bureau Townships. Mr. Sapp was married in Wyanet Township April 6, 1858, to Ann Eliza Ziegler, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1833. She is the daughter of Joseph Ziegler, who now lives with her; her mother died when Mrs. Sapp was a child. Mr. and Mrs. Sapp have two children: William E., born June 12, 1859, married to Cora Sparks, and lives in Wyanet Township; Elmer, born June 15, 1866. In politics Mr. Sapp is a firm believer in the principles of the Democratic party.

SOLOMON SAPP, Princeton, was born January 4, 1808, in Kent County, Del. He is the son of Elijah and Lydia (Cain) Sapp. The subject of this sketch was reared on the farm and educated in the schools of his native county. May 8, 1828, when only twenty years of age, he was married to Miss Margaret Wilson, who died in January, 1829. October 8, 1829, he was married to his second wife, Margaret B. White, who lived only till January, 1832. She was the mother of one son - John W. , who lived to reach manhood. He enlisted in the service of his country in 1862, but in 1863 was taken sick and came home and died March 3 of the same year. December 20, 1832, Mr. Sapp was again married in his native State to Miss Ann Carter. She was reared in the same neighborhood as her husband. She is the mother of eight children, six of whom yet survive: Henry, Elijah, Alfred, Sarah E. (wife of Frank Foreman, of Marshall County, Iowa), Ann Eliza (wife of Josephus Clark), and Juliet (wife of E. K. Mercer). April 27, 1835, Mr. Sapp left his native State for the lead mines of Illinois. July 6 oE the same year he arrived in what is now Bureau County, and being well pleased with the country he decided to buy land and settle here. However, in 1836, he removed to Galena, but remained only about eight months, when he returned to his farm in this county, where he resided till October 20, 1875, when he removed to Princeton, where he has since resided. When first coming to the county Mr. Sapp bought 240 acres of land, and, as his capital increased, he continued to invest in land, until now he owns over 1,000 acres in this county. Mr. Sapp has done much to develop the farming industry of Bureau County. During his long residence in the county he has improved over 1,000 acres, and made productive farms where the prairie grass before held sway. Not only has he done much toward improving the material resources of the county, but has exerted his influence in advancing religion and morality also. la early manhood he had united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has been an active member since. In political matters he has ever held to the principles of the Democratic party, but not such an adherent but what he will vote for the man he considers can best fill the position.

ANTHONY SAWYER, Dover, was born January 7, 1814, in Franklin County, Mass. The Sawyer family came from England about 1630, and settled in Worcester County, Mass., where they resided for several generations. The father of our subject, Oliver Sawyer, was born there in 1772, and his wife, Polly Wilder, in 1779. About the year 1800 they removed to Franklin County, where they lived about forty years, afterward going to Westminster, Vt. , where they died, the father in 1859 and the mother about three years previous. They were the parents of nine children - two sons and seven daughters - all of whom are yet living except one daughter, who died in 1849. The oldest was born in 1801, being now eighty-three years of age. The youngest is sixty-six years old; she was for twenty-five years a missionary in India, part of the time at Ceylon. Our subject was reared on a farm, and educated in the common schools of Massachusetts. His occupation has always been that of farming, except that for some years he was a teacher in the district schools. In 1838 he came to Bureau County, and has resided here ever since. His farm now contains 290 acres, 200 of which he entered in 1848. In politics he has been a Republican since the party was first organized. January 1, 1849, he was married to Mary Warbington, who was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1820. She is the daughter of John Warbington, who removed from Ohio to Terre Haute, Ind., and from there to Bureau County in ] 846 or 1847, and died a few years later. His wife died when Mrs. Sawyer was a child. The family consisted of one son and four daughters. The son died in California, but the daughters still survive. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer have three children, viz.: John, Mary Lillian (wife of Arthur Hussey of Tiskilwa), Cora Elma.

GUSTAV SCHULTZ, Bureau, was born in Prussia, January 27, 1830. He was educated in the schools of his native country, attending till he was fourteen years old. He then served an apprenticeship of three years at the shoe-maker's trade, and did journey work for three years, after which he was in the army for three years. His father, Jacob Schultz, died in 1853, and his wife, Mary (Goersz) Scbultz, came to America in 1854 with her family, and died in Iowa in 1865. She was the mother of six sons and two daughters, all -of whom, except one daughter, came to America and are now living in Poweshiek County, Iowa. Gustav Schultz arrived in Princeton, 111., the last of May, 1854. In 1857 he began farming on rented land near Princeton, but the following year he went to Iowa, where he purchased land, and remained for five years. At the end of that time he returned to Bureau County and purchased the old homestead in Section 36, Bureau Township. Three years later he sold out and again removed to Iowa, Muscatine County. In 1868 he again returned to Bureau County and purchased his present farm in Sections 25 and 26, which contains 240 acres, and he has deeded 160 acres to his children. August 6, 1854, he was married at Princeton, to Mary Hechtner, sister of John Hechtner (see sketch). She was born in Prussia, August 24, 1831. Mr. and Mrs. Schultz are the parents of four children, two of whom are living: Frederick, born September 25, 1858, in Poweshiek County, Iowa, is now living on the old homestead (he married Mary Lempke, born in Chicago, February 14, 1859; they have two children, viz.: Gustav, born March 9, 1882; Fred, born February 25, 1884); Henrietta, born December 6, 1860, in Poweshiek County, Iowa. She married John Becker and has three children: Freddie, born January 6, 1881; Mary, born September 21, 1882; John, born June 25, 1884. In politics Mr. Schultz is a stanch Democrat. He and his son are members of the A. F. & A. M. of Wyanet, and he is also a member of I. O. O. F. of Princeton. His son-in-law is also a Mason and member of I. O. O. F.

JOHN SCOTT, Princeton,- was born in Harrison County, Ohio, December 15, 1837. He is the son of John Scott, a native of Pennsylvania, and who in youth and early manhood was a book-keeper and master of large iron works in Westmoreland County. Near middle life he immigrated to Ohio, where his wife, our subject's mother, died. In 1844 he removed to Bureau County, 111. , and settled on a farm in Dover Township, where he died in 1874. The subject of this paragraph remained on the farm till he was twenty-one years of age, after which he attended Knox College for two years. At the age of seventeen he had begun reading law during his leisure hours at home, and after quitting Knox College he went into the office of Judge George W. Stipp, but later read with Levi North, Esq., and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ottawa in February, 1866. In 1868 he opened a law office in Princeton and has continued to do a general law practice here since, being one year in partnership with Milton T. Peters. In politics Mr. Scott has alwajs been identified with the Republican party, and is a strong temperance man. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, Guardian Lodge, No. 1123. He was married in Ottawa, 111., to Miss Carrie J. Betts, who was born in Dela- ware County, N. Y. , and is the daughter of William H. Betts, who came to Ogle County in 1855 or 1856, but is now a resident of Princeton. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have one daughter, viz.: Elsie L. Scott. Mr. Scott has been successful in his chosen profession, but his success in life has been obtained through his own exertions, he being in every sense a self-made man. More of his career as an attorney will be found in the chapter on the Bench and Bar, to which the reader is refered.

B. SCOTT, Neponset, was born January 10, 1825, in Jefferson Co., Ohio. His parents, John and Nancy (Crouch) Scott, were natives, he of Pennsylvania and she of Maryland. They died in Jefferson County, Md. The grandfather of our subject was James Scott. Our subject did not receive the benefit of an education, six months being all the time he spent in a school room, and his desire for knowledge is only satisfied by constant reading. He was reared in Jefferson County. At the age of twenty-two years he enlisted in the army, and served six months in the Mexican war. At the close of the war he returned to Ohio and lived five and one-half years in Washington County. In 1854 he came West, and settled in Stark County, 111. , where he resided one and one half years, and then removed to Henry County, where he remained one year, and then returned to Stark County, and the following year settled on Section 23, in Neponset Township, Bureau County, but afterward removed to Section 27, where he farmed till the spring of 1883, when he removed to Neponset, where he now resides. Mr. Scott was married in Washington County, Ohio, October 30, 1852, to Deborah Dufee, who was born March 21, 1835, in Athens County, Ohio. She is a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Styles) Dufee. Mrs. Scott is the mother of four children, viz. : Melvin O., now a resident of Grinnell, Iowa; Sidney W., a farmer of Neponset Township; Mrs. Laura A. Bennett, and Rosannah J. Financially Mr. Scott has boen a successful farmer, and politically he is an Independent. <- ' JOHN S. SEAEL, Selby, was born in Greene County, Ohio, July 28, 1830. He is the son of Brown and Barbara Ann (Hosier) Searl. The father was born in Chemung

County, N. Y., May 16, 1797. At the age of seventeen years he went with his parents to Greene County, Ohio, and remained there till coming to Bureau County, 111., in 1834. He was reared on a farm, and such was his occupation during life. When moving to this county he brought ox and horse teams, and drove sheep with him from Ohio. He was one of five brothers who came to this county. His brother Job came with him in 1834. In 1835 David came, and in 1836 Timothy and John Searl also came. The total weight of these five brothers after they reached manhood was over 1,000 pounds. When the delegates from Princeton to Hennepin went to examine the poll books after the election forming Bureau County, four of the Searl brothers went along with the delegates as protectors, and their presence did much to keep down the opposition. The Searl brothers have all passed away, but left families behind, but of their families all have gone from this county except a son and daughter of John Searl, and the widow and two daughters of Timothy Searl (his widow has passed her eighty-eighth year), and the widow and one son of Brown Searl. When our subject's father, Brown Searl, came to the county he brought some money with him, and bought out the claim of John Hall, and lived on the same farm till his death, January 28, 1867. His widow was born near Wheeling, Va., January 31, 1799, and is yet living. She is a member of the Methodist Church, as was also her husband. She is the mother of five children, viz. : Timothy, who is a farmer in Page County, Iowa; Peter H. , a farmer living near Brooklyn, Iowa; John S., of this county; William, who is in the hotel business in Clarinda, Iowa, and Mrs. Malissa Hoskins, wife of Jesse Hoskins, a farmer in Page County, Iowa. All are married and have families. Our subject was reared on a farm, and was educated in such schools as could then be found on the frontier. In starting in life for himself he chose the occupation he has since followed - that of farmer and stock dealer. When married he had but little property, but his wife had a capital of $800, with which they bought a home and made a start, and have been very successful in accumulating a good property, as he now owns twenty-three eightiesof land, etc. Mr. Searl's life has been that of a business man, but he has taken an active and leading part in local politics. He is a stanch Republican, and has held nearly all the offices in the township. He is a member of the Bureau Lodge, No. 112, A. F. & A. M. His father was a member of the same order, having be come a Mason in 1818. August 28, 1851, Mr. Searl was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Miller, who was born in Greene County, Ohio. January 29, 1830. She is the daughter of Isaac and Sarah Miller, both of whom died in Ohio. Mrs. Searl is the mother of nine children living and one deoeased, viz.: William W., Benjamin F., Sarah A. (who died at the age of twenty years), Mary A., Andrew J., Millard F., Samantha J. , Samuel L. , Grant E. and Maria D. SEATON FAMILY, Selby. James Seaton (deceased) was born near Winchester, Frederick Co., Va., March 27, 1796. In 180& he removed to Louisville, Ky., and lived near there until 1835, when he came to Bureau County, 111. His occupation during life was that of farming. His father, Housen K. Seaton, was a Revolutionary soldier. He was reared in this country but was of Scotch ancestry. James Seaton was married in Jefferson County, Ky., December 16, 1819, by Rev. James Ward, to Nancy Wilhoit, who was born in old Virginia July 25, 1801. She is the daughter of Aaron Wilhoit, of German descent. Mrs. Seaton removed with her parents to Kentucky while young, and after marriage lived in Oldham County, Ky., till 1835. Mr. Seaton came to Bureau County in the spring of 1835, and bought the claim an the southeast quarter of Section 13, in Selby Township, of Elisha Isaac. In October, 1335, Mr. Seaton moved his family to his farm and resided there until his death, March 28, 1879, having lived one hour and twenty - six minutes over his eighty-third birthday. He was known far and near, as he was Postmaster for many years, and also kept a tavern while the stages passed through here. He was a liberal contributor toward the building of bridges and improvement of roads, and it was through his exertions that the road from Princeton to Peru was made. Mrs. Seaton is still living. They were the parents of the following children: William C. , born in Jefferson County, Ky., February 7, 1821, was married to Melinda Williams December 21, 1848; he died in Bureau County, January 11, 1854; Isom Wilhoit, born in Oldham County, Ky., November 19, 1823, has lived on the old homestead in Selby Township since 1835. His principal occupation has been that of farming, but he has now retired from active life. He owns 389 acres, besides five eighths of the old homestead of 200 acres. In June, 1880, he engaged in mining, owning a coal shaft in partnership with his brother, James H; Eliza J., born in Oldham County, Ky., January 12, 1826, married H. W. Munson October 23, 1844, now residing in Hall Township; James Henry, born in Oldham County, Ky. , February 2 1 , 1828, married Elizabeth A. Harris April 8, 1857, now of Hall Township; Sarah C., born in Oldham County, Ky., June 12, 1830, married Philip R. Porter, June 24, 1856, of Concord Township; Mary Ann, born in Oldham County, Ky. , September 29, 1832, died in Bureau County, September 21, 1849; Martha E., born in Oldham County, Ky., April 5, 1835, died December 1, 1861, in Bureau County; America, born July 4, 1837, in Bureau County, 111., now living on the old homestead; Nancy, born in Bureau County, January 19, 1840, married William C. Ott, October 15, 1861, now residing in Hyde Park, III. ; Lucetta, born June 22, 1842, in Bureau County, married October 9, 1873, to James F. Lee, of Selby Township.

JAMES H. SEATON, Hall, was born Feb. ru&ry 21, 1828, in Oldham County, Ky. He is the son of James and Nancy (Wilhoit) Seaton. (See sketch of Seaton family.) James H. Seaton came to Bureau County with his parents in 1835, an-1 has been engaged in farming most of bis life. He first bought a farm of 120 acres, which he improved and has added to it till he now owns 600 acres in Selby and Hall Townships. Politically he is a Democrat. He has filled various school and township offices, has been Justice of the Peace four years, Assessor, Commissioner and Supervisor four terms. He was married in this county April 8, 1857, to Elizabeth A. Harris, a native of New Jersey, but reared in Ohio. Her parents, Jacob