Bureau County, Illinois - Biographical sketches, 1885 (part 11 of 13)

M. and Mary A. (Shurts) Harris, came to this county about 1855. Mr. and Mrs. Seaton have four children living, viz. : Mrs. Emma I. Nelson, of this county; Oliver H., William A. and George P. Franklin W. and Nora E. died, the former at the age of fourteen, the latter two years.

SOLOMON SEELIG, Princeton, was born in west Prussia, December 3, 1845. He is the son of Isaac and Bertha (Kuthner) Seelig. The father died when our subject was but four years of age. The mother yet survives and is a resident of Thorn, west Prussia. She is the mother of five daughters and three sons. Two of her daughters live in Brooklyn, N. Y., one son in Memphis, Tenn., and one in Princeton, 111., but the remainder still live in Germany. In 1866 Mr. Seelig came to America, and for three months remained in New York City. From there he went to Quincy, 111., but six months later came to Princeton and has since resided here. For nine years he clerked in one store, which he afterward owned. He then was engaged in the sewing-machine business for one year. In 1877 he bought a stock of merchandise and did a successful business till, July 24, 1884, he sold his stock of goods to Swan, Linn & Co. Mr. Seelig came to this county without any capital whatever and he has been successful in business, but not without his reverses, for he lost heavily during the hard times of 1876 and 1877. May 24, 1874, he was married to Miss Lizzie Barks, who was born in Germany, October, 1855. She came to America with her parents when young. They remained in Canada for about a year and then came to Princeton, 111. Her father, C. F. Barks, by profession is a music teacher, but is also engaged in farming. He now resides in Marysville, Kan., where his wife died in February, 1883. Mr. and Mrs Seelig have one son - Arthur - born June 29, 1877. While on a visit to Scotland, Germany, etc., in 1882, Mr. Seelig joined the Kennengate Lodge, No. 5, A. F. & A. M., of Leitb, Scotland. He is a member of the Bureau Lodge, No. 428, I. O. O. F., also of the Bureau Encampment, No. 36. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, Beauseant Lodge, No. 19, and Uniform Rank, No.

J. JACOB SEIBEL (deceased) was born November 23, 1816, in Breidenstein Archduchy, Hesse, Germany. He attended school the required number of years, and then assisted his father on the farm. However, after his day's work was done he would walk to the adjoining village and attend the drawing school. While yet a young man he learned engineering and for some time followed that business in his native country, but in 1850, thinking that he could do better in his business by coming to America, he immigrated to this country, but not knowing how to speak the English language, he could obtain no employment as an engineer. For some time he did carpenter work in Ohio, and then at St. Louis, but in the same year of his coming, 1850, went the overland route to California, where for a year he was a successful miner. He then returned to the States via the Isthmus. He remained in Pennsylvania for a short time, and was there married February 9, 1852, and immediately came to Bureau County. He first purchased 160 acres of land in Manlius Township, and began its improvement. His first residence was a rude affair, as it was built for a stable, but as soon as was possible he erected a more commodious and comfortable home. Bureau County has had but few men who possessed more energy, or a stronger determination to make a success of life. His was a mind and body which did not think of rest, and while others were asleep he was either at work with his brain or hands. During the war, when laborers were hard to get, he began inventing and experimenting on labor-saving machines. He purchased an engine and erected shops on his farm, and there built machines. He was the first to begin building harvesters to carry the binders, and made them work successfully on his farm, but it was hard to introduce new machines, and before this could be accomplished, others had patterned after him, and reaped the benefit of his thought, and so in the enterprise instead of making money he lost $30,000 or $40,000, and finally the engine and machinery were put into the Buda Manufacturing Company, and after the failure of the company the machinery was sold, and Mr. Seibel's estate received nothing. Although in this Mr. Seibel lost money yet as a farmer and stock-dealer he made a success, and at the time of his death owned about 1,600 acres of land in Bureau County. March 11, 1880, while on his way to Chicago with stock, there was a collision on the railroad at Englewood, and Mr. Seibel and his son Frank were both killed by the accident. Mr. Seibel's marriage was to Priscilla P. Follett, who was born in Susquehanna County, Penn., March 4, 1828, and was there reared and lived till marriage. She is the mother of twelve children, viz.: CeliaK., born February 17, 1853, is the wife of George W. Briggs, of Glidden, Iowa; George E. , born November 5, 1854, married Eva McNaughton; Chloe F.: born November 13, 1856; Charles H., born October 25, 1858; Fred, born August 6, 1860, died at the age of six months; Frank L., born November 21, 1861, killed by accident; Mark B., born November 27, 1863; Clark J., born October 8, 1865; Herman M. , born August 30, 1867, died at about one year of age; P. Max, born April 8, 1869; Lilly M., born November 16, 1871, died April 8, 1875; Carl B.. born April 30, 1875.

CHARLES H. SEIBEL, Manlius, is the son of J. Jacob Siebel. He was reared and educated in this county. January 5, 1881, he was married to Susan Osborn, who was born in Bureau County, 111. , September 3, 1858, and is the daughter of Joseph and Mary Osborn, who have been residents of Bureau County for about thirty years, and now live in Gold Township. Mr. and Mrs. Seibel have two daughters, viz.: Cordelia Maud, born November 10, 1881, and Lilly May, born December 22, 1882. Although a young man, Mr. Seibel has made rapid strides as a successful farmer and stock- dealer. He now owns in this and Gold Townships 313 acres. He gives most of his attention to stock-raising, and now owns two splendid Clydesdale horses: Royal Stamp, imported August 17, 1882, by Lawton Webb Bros., and purchased by Mr. Seibel March 2, 1883, and Jock O'Hazeldean, which he purchased April 30, 1884, of Ezra Stetson & Sons, importers. Mr. Seibel has the pedigree of each with the Government seal attached. In politics Mr. Seibel is identified with the Republican party.

R. W. SHARP, Buda, was born in Abingdon, Washington Co., Va., October 14, 1858. He is the son of William C. and Nancy R. (Kelley) Sharp, both of whom were born in Washington County, Va., and he died there in 1869, at the age of fifty-four years. The mother yet survives, and lives in her native county, at the age of sixty-four years. She has seven sons and three daughters now living, and three of the sons are dentists, in Illinois, viz.: S. J., of Kewanee, J. W., of Toulon, and our subject. R. W. Sharp was reared on a farm, and was educated in Emory and Henry College, of Washington County, Va. In 1877 he removed to Kewanee, 111., and studied dentistry with his brother and for some time was in partnership with him. In March, 1881, they established a dental office in Buda, but in the August following our subject purchased his brother's interest, and has since conducted the business alone, and with success. In January, 1883, he was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Hamner, who was born and reared in this county. She is the daughter of W. and Josephine (Emerson) Hamner. The father was a native of Virginia, and died in this county; the mother was born in Massachusetts, and is now a resident of Buda. In politics Dr. Sharp is identified with the Republican party.

CHARLES C. SHEPARD, Buda, son of Jeremiah Shepard, was born in Kendall County, 111., December 14, 1858. In 1867 he moved with his parents to Aurora, 111., where his father still resides. He attended school there until 1874, when he entered the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, in the mechanical department. In 1878 was made Chief Clerk of that department, and in 1879 was employed in the General Manager's office in Chicago. In 1880 he became Chief Clerk to the Superintendent of the Chicago division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy at Aurora. In April, 1881, he came to Buda as business manager for George F. Chalender & Co., of the Buda Foundry & Manufacturing Company, and in January, 1882, was made a partner in the business, and when the company was incorporated was made Secretary and Treasurer. He is also

Superintendent, and has absolute control of the business. Mr. Shepard was married, November 8, 1882, to Miss Virginia, youngest daughter of Dr. Abner Hard, of Aurora, 111.

ALBERT SHIFFLET, Ohio, was born April 21, 1826, in Eockingham County, Va. He is the son of Garland and Peacha Shifflet, of Virginia, who removed to Ohio at an early day, and came from there to this county in 1844. They settled in Dover Township, where they remained three years, when they removed south of Princeton and lived several years. Afterward a part of the family removed to the Doolittle settlement, where the father died in 1863. The mother died in Ohio Township, at the home of the subject of this sketch, May 21, 1879. In 1850 Mr. Shifflet began the improvement of a farm in Ohio Township, Section 33, where he remained till 1865. when he removed to his present home on Sections 21 and 22. In 1856, June 29, he married Ellen Hensel, the daughter of John and Rachel Hensel, of Ohio. She was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, April 15, 1835. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1800, and died in Ohio in 1870. The mother was born in Pennsylvania, in 1801, and died in Ohio, September 22, 1855. Mrs. Shifflet's grandfather, Frederick Hensel, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and died in a hospital. Mr. Shifflet's grandfather was a soldier of the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Shifflet are the parents of nine children, six of whom are now living: William C., born July 13, 1857, died July 15, 1857; Dell M. J. , born September 4, 1858; John A., born March 27, 1860; Mary M., born September 21, 1861; Edson G., born May 9, 1863, died December 28, 1863; Asher W., born June 26, 1866; Ella L., born February 1, 1869; Jessie M., born October 18, 1872; infant son, born December 16, 1874, died an infant. Mary M. was married November 25, 1880, Ohio, 111., to William F. Inks. They have one son. John A. was married May 13, 1884, to Nettie Whitver. He is a hardware dealer in Ohio, 111. Mr. Shifflet owns 253 acres in Ohio Township. Is a Republican.

The father was born in Rockingham County, Va., in 1799, and died in this county in 1863. The mother was born in Rockingham County, Va., in 1808, and died in this county. They were the parents of twelve children. The subject of this sketch was raised on a farm in his native State until he came to this county with his parents at the age of nineteen, and settled on the farm at present owned by James Wilson, of Dover Township. Subsequently the family moved southeast of Princeton, where the father died. March 27, 1850, Mr. Shifflet married Mary R. Hunt, the daughter of Abel and Mary Hunt, formerly from Massachusetts. Mrs. Shifflet died February 18, 1865. In 1851 Mr. Shifflet moved to Ohio Township and settled on his present home farm of 160 acres. Of the above marriage is a family of seven children, four of whom are living, namely: William M., born June 6, 1851, now living at Malcom, Iowa; Albert F., born February 15, 1853 (is now living at Malcom, Iowa); JIda P. (now Mrs. A. L. Jones) Van Orin, 111., was born March 26, 1856; Harry E., born October 6, 1864; Hannah R., died in 1866 aged six years; Clementine died in infancy. In July 9, 1865, Mr. Shifflet was married to Eliza Ogden, daughter of Samuel and Tamar Ogden. The father waa from Virginia, the mother from Pennsylvania. The father died February 27, 1843, age forty-three. The mother is still living and is past eighty. Of this last marriage there was a family of two children: The first died in infancy; Hattie T. was born March 6, 1870. Mr. Shifflet was formerly a Whig, and is now a Republican. Owns 160 acres in Ohio Township, and 185 acres all improved, in Powesheik County, Iowa. Mrs. Shifflet's grandfather, Samuel Ogden, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Her grandfather on the mother's side, Francis Johnston, was in the war of 1812. Mr. Shifflet's grandfather, John Self, was a soldier of the Revolution and also of the war of 1812. Mr. Shifflet's parentage on the father's side is French, and his grandfather, Richard Shifflet, was a soldier in the French and English war, while his uncle, on the mother's side - John Self - was in the war of 1812.

EEUBEN SHILTS, Ohio, was born May 21,1852, in Kane County, 111., and is the son of Michael and Agnes Shilts, who came to this country from Germany in 1851. The father was born in Germany in 1816, and died in Ford County, 111., February 12, 1884. The mother was born in Germany in 1827, and died in Ford County, 111. , February 19, 1875. Michael and Agnes Shilts were the parents of eight children, all living, viz. : John and Joseph live in Ford County, 111. ; Eeuben, our subject, Limerick, 111.: Mary, wife of Robert Underwood, Ford County, 111. ; Frank, Milan, Ford Co., 111. ; Matthew, Maggie and Katie, Ford County, 111. The parents came to this county in 1858, and settled in Westfield Township, residing there till they went to Ford County in 1868, where they lived till they died. The subject of this sketch lived in Ford County four years; the remainder of the time he has lived in this county since 1858. In 1874, December 24, he married Sybil E. Lakin, who was born in this county October 5, 1854, and is the daughter of Henry and Mary Lakin. The father was born November 5, 1804, in Maine, and died in this county October 20, 1870. The mother was born in England, October 13, 1822, where she married her first husband, John Rodwell, by whom she had three children: Mary J., widow of John Stanard; John, of Oakland, Iowa, and Thomas, of Arlington, 111. Of the second marriage there is a family of seven children, five living: Josiah Lakin, Neosho Falls, Kan.; Lemuel, Marshalltown, Mo.; Sybil, subject's wife; Henry, Arlington, 111. ; Frank E., of Iowa; Mary E., died July 25, 1865, and Lyman, died April 15, 1873. The mother died in this county April 26, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Shilts are the parents of three children: Charles H., born March 6, 1876; Frank J., December 11, 1877, and Clarence E., February 23, 1880. In January, 1882, Mr. Shilts bought a farm of 132 acres on Section 34, Ohio Township, on which he now resides. In politics Mr. Shilts is a Democrat.

MARK SHIRK, Walnut, was born in Lancaster County, Penn., March 8, 1816. His father, David Shirk, was also a native of Lancaster County, Penn., born March 13, 1781, and died 'November 17, 1861. His wife, Susannah Mark, was born in Lebanon County, Penn., April 14, 1783, and died December 12, 1837. They were the parents of ten children, only three of whom are now living. Mark Shirk learned the trade of harness-making in his native State, and followed that business in Lancaster and Lebanon Counties for about fifteen years. In the spring of 1852 he removed to Peru, 111., and the following spring to Walnut Township, where he has since resided. He settled on the raw prairie, when there were but few settlers in the township, and gave his attention to farming until 1882, when he removed to Walnut Village, and retired from active life. He still retains his old homestead of 240 acres. Mr. Shirk was married in Pennsylvania to Rebecca Sheetz, a daughter of Peter Sheetz. She was born in Lancaster County, Penn., in 1815, and died in this county December 17, 1854. She was the mother of six children, viz.: Edwin, born December 7, 1840, enlisted in Company I, Twelfth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, died at Corinth, June 5, 1863; Charles J., born August 12, 1843, died May 8, 1862; Franklin S., born June 18, 1845, a farmer in Adair County, Iowa, married to Calista Hodges; Thomas, born August 1, 1847, died in infancy; Emma R., born July 3, 1852, wife of William Conklin, of Greenfield, Iowa; Rebecca, born December 17, 1854, died January 30, 1855. Mr. Shirk was again married September 20, 1856, to Mary M. Kingsley, born in Kane County, 111., May 15, 1836. Her father, John M. Kingsley, was born at Becket, Mass., September 18, 1799, and died at Bed Rock, Kane County, 111., September 21, 1839. His wife, Annis Avery, was born in Paris, Oneida Co., N. Y., January 9, 1801, and died February 20, 1884, in Poweshiek County, Iowa. ' Mrs. Shirk is the mother of six children, viz.: Melora C., born July 10, 1857, married to Stiles Pierce, of Whiteside County, 111. ; James B., born May 17, 1859, a farmer in this county, married to Ida Burress; Mark E., born September 19, 1861, a farmer in this county; Mary E., born September 11, 1863; George A., born November 20, 1865, died September 18, 1866, and Ida, born January 10, 1879. In politics Mr. Shirk has always been a Democrat, and has

JOHN SHUGART, Princeton, was born May 31, 1824, in Bedford County, Penn. j His father, John Shugart, Sr. , was born and reared in Pennsylvania, where he kept tavern for many years; afterward he engaged in the mercantile business. In 1840 he went to Ashland County, Ohio, where he farmed till 1850, when he came to Bureau County, 111., where he died. His grandfather was Eli Shugart, who entered the Colonial army and fought through the Revolutionary war. He was at the battle of Bunker Hill and numerous other battles, also at the surrender of Yorktown. He eventually attained the rank of Lieutenant, and at one time was ordered with his company to burn five flouring-mills, stored with flour, on the bank of a river, which were about to fall into the hands of the enemy; he accomplished it, although the British bullets were flying thick, but it was a sad task find much regretted by him as the provisions were much needed by the Americans. After the war Eli Shugart settled in Chester County, Penn. , where he served many years as Sheriff; afterward he moved to Fayetteville, Penn., where he died. The mother of our subject was Mary Elizabeth (Reed) Shugart, a daughter of Philip Reed, a native of Germany. She was born in Franklin County, Penn. ; she died in Chicago while visiting in that city. She was the mother of thirteen children, of whom ten reached maturity, viz.: Philip R., John, our subject, Joseph, a physician, Washington, Zachariah, Eli, Jacob H, Mrs. Phoebe Harrison, Mrs. Elizabeth Enyart and Mrs. Mary Crossley (deceased), former wife of Dr. George Crossley, Jr. (deceased.) Mr. John Shugart lived in Pennsylvania till he was sixteen years old. He then lived ten years in Ohio, where he learned the mason's trade, and in 1850 came to this county. Here he followed his trade two years, after which he turned his attention to farming, and for a number of years to raising blooded stock. When Mr. Shugart first came to this county he had only about $200. He first entered 320 acres of land in Section 6, in Dover Township, which he traded for 130 acres where he now resides in Section 5, in Princeton Township; to this he has added till at present he owns about 500 acres of fine land. Our subject was joined in matrimony February 9, 1853, to Mrs. Frances E. Edwards, the widow of Noah H. Edwards. She was born March 5, 1827, in Ontario County, N. Y. Her parents were Luther and Eliza (Hogeboom) Denham; the former was born May 12, 1804, in Conway, Mass.; he died here September 1, 1856; the latter was born July 9, 1806, near New York City; she died here November 19, 1854. Their children were: Frances E., Cornelius, Oliver, Elizabeth A., Luciuda and Butler L. Of these only Mrs. Frances E. Shugart, Cornelius and Oliver are now living. To Mr. and Mrs. Shugart three children were born, viz. : Frances E. , born June 23, 1860 (she married Isaac Philips, a banker in Wyanet; they have one child, Mollie Frances), William R., born May 19, 1866, and May Belle, born May 9, 1871. Mr. and Mrs. Shugart are active members of the Methodist Protestant Church of Princeton. He is also an A. F. & A. M. In political matters Mr. Shugart is connected with the Republican party. His career has been a success financially and otherwise, and in the evening of life, surrounded by his pleasant family, he can take a retrospective look and be satisfied with the view.

GEORGE W. SISLER, Wyanet, was born June 9, 1814, in Lycoming County, Penn. He is a son of Louis Sisler, who was a native of Pennsylvania. He died in New York He was a tiller of the soil and reared a large family. The mother of our subject was Margaret (Marsh) Sisler, a native of Pennsylvania. She died in Ohio. She was the mother of nine children, six of whom are now living. Our subject received a limited school education in Pennsylvania and New York. Early in life he chose farming as his vocation. He came to Bureau County in 1839, and settled in Princeton Township, where he resided about six years, and then bought a farm in Wyanet Township, where he now resides, a part of his farm lying in Princeton Township. Mr. Sisler was married twice. His first wife was Nancy Perkins, who died in 1854. She was the mother of five children, viz. : Elizabeth, deceased; Margaret, who is the wife of Amos Greenamyre; Louis, who married Zilpha Triplett; Lucy, who is the wife of Henry Franks, and Mary, deceased. Mr. Sisler's second wife, Mary A. Whitmarsh, was a native of Massachusetts. She died here February 1, 1882. She was the mother of eight children, viz. : Edward, Annie, Houston, Nellie, Mason A. , Thomas, Henry L. and Mary E. Mr. Sisler is a member of the Presbyterian Church. In political matters he is connected with the Republican party.

M. SKEFFINGTON, Westfield, was born December 15, 1837, in Ottawa, Canada. His parents, Patrick and Nora (Stackpole) Skeffington, were natives of Ireland. They were married in Canada, where they farmed till October 1, 1850, when they came to Westfield Township, Bureau Co., III., where they died. Here they bought first 160 acres at $2.25 per acre, but bought more land afterward. They were the parents of eleven children, viz. : Michael, our subject; Maria; Ann, deceased ; ;Peter ; Patrick; William, deceased; John, deceased; Dennis; Joseph; Frank and Martha J. Skeffington. Our subject came to this county with his parents. He received his education in Canada and Bureau County. He has made farming his occupation and has now a fine farm of 240 acres, which is well improved and on which he has just built the finest residence in the township. He was married here March 5, 1867, to Elizabeth Coakley, a daughter of Cornelius Coakley, the old pioneer of Hall Township. She was born October 3, 1850, in Hall Township. She is the mother of seven children, viz.: John, Patrick, Teresa, Elizabeth, Ellen, Joseph and James Skeffington. Mr. and Mrs. Skeffington are members of the Catholic Church at Arlington. Politically Mr. Skeffington is identified with the Democratic party; ho has filled school offices and been Supervisor five years, filling that office at present with tact and ability.

RICHARD M. SKINNER, Princeton, is a native of New Jersey, where he was born April 13, 1847. He is a son of John C. Skinner, born November 11, 1813, in New Jersey. The latter came West in 1854, settling in Princeton Township Bureau Co., III., where he farmed till his death, which occurred April 28, 1877. The mother of our subject, Mary (Stephens) Skinner, was born November 8, 1815, in

New Jersey, a daughter of Richard Stephens, of English extraction, and is yet living. She is the mother of five children, viz. : Sarah S. Bacon, Richard M., George S., Mary E. Lovejoy and Eliza J. Our subject received his primary education in the common schools of this county, graduating in the first class of the Princeton High School. As an evidence that he had improved his time at the high school here, is the fact that he was enabled to enter the sophomore class at the Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. After one year of study there he made up his mind to enter the legal profession, and subsequently entered tho Albany Law School at Albany, N. Y., where he graduated and received the degree of LL. B. , and was admitted to the bar. In the summer of 1872 he returned to Princeton, 111., and in the fall of the same year was admitted to the bar of Illinois. In order to be more able to cope successfully with the intricacies of the law he spent the following year in reading law. In September, 1873, he commenced to practice and has been doing a general law business ever since. At present he is in partnership with his brother George S. In 1876 he was elected States Attorney by the Republican party, serving till 1880. Our subject was joined in matrimony June 12, 1878, in Hackettstown, N. J., to Miss Mary E. Sharp, born December 1, 1853, in Drakestown, N. J. She is a daughter of John N. and Nancy (McCracken) Sharp. Her father is a native of New Jersey and a merchant by occupation. Mrs. Mary E. Skinner is the mother of two children, viz. : DeWitt, born June 20, 1880, and Walter R., born July 30, 1882. Mrs. Skinner is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Skinner has gained for himself an enviable reputation as a successful lawyer, and we predict that he will gain greater laurels in his chosen profession.

HON. BENJAMIN L. SMITH, Princeton, was born in western Oneida County, N. Y, September 15, 1806. His father, Benjamin Smith, a tailor by trade, was born in Connecticut, July 18, 1769; immigrated to Oneida County, N. Y., in boyhood. He was married May 8, 1790, to Miss Abigail Platt, who was born August 10. 1770. in Oneida County, N. Y. She was the mother of four sons and four daughters; one died in infancy, and the remainder grew to maturity, but all are now deceased except one. Abigail (Platt) Smith died June 20, 1805. November 14, 1805, Benjamin Smith married Miss Abigail Lord, who was born in Norwich, Conn., March 7, 1775. She was the daughter of Benjamin Lord, which was also the name of her grandfather and great-grandfather. This union was blessed with four sons and one daughter, Benjamin L. being the oldest; one son died in infancy; Nathan, Caroline L. and Edward reached maturity, and are now deceased. Benjamin Smith died August 11, 1816, and his wife, Abigail (Lord) Smith, died May 1, 1833. Benjamin L. Smith was placed on his uncle's farm at the age of twelve years, and worked till the spring of 1826, when he was obliged to seek other employment on account of ill-health. For the following three and one-half years he followed lighter pursuits, and regained something of his lost health, and also added to his limited education by observation and practice. In the autumn of 1829 he engaged in the mercantile and lumber business in Theresa, N. Y., and in 1833 he with his brother Paschal engaged in the manufacture of varnishes in New York City. In 1835 his impaired health necessitated a change of climate, and he arranged for a trip to the western wilds. On the 26th of September he left Sackett's Harbor and came to Detroit by steamboat. There he purchased a French pony, and with a buggy, which he had shipped from' Sackett's Harbor, started on his tour through the Western States. He traveled through Michigan, into Illinois as far as LaSalle County, thence into Wisconsin, and southward through Princeton to the southern part of Illinois, and into Missouri. Being as well pleased with Princeton and its surroundings a« any point examined, he returned, arriving here November 26, 1835. A stock of goods purchased before leaving Sackett's Harbor was received in December, and Mr. Smith opened a store, continuing in the business about two years. The following summer he went East, and September 15, 1836, was joined in marriage to Miss Sarah C. Seeley in Malone, Franklin Co., N. Y., and the next day the twain started for Princeton, arriving October 11. Sarah C. Seeley was born in Constable, Franklin Co., N. Y., March 26, 1816. Her father, Nathan Wheeler Seeley, was born in New Haven, Conn., December 22, 1788. He was married in Constable, N. Y., April 16, 1815, to Betsey Erwin, who was born in Fairhaven, Vi. June 25, 1796. She was the mother of five sons and seven daughters. One son, Alfred Erwin, died in childhood, two sons died in infancy, and the remaining nine grew to maturity. Laura Ann and Clara M. have since died. Mr. and Mrs. B. L. Smith are the parents of four children: Caroline, the eldest daughter, died at the age of four years, four months and six days; the eldest son died in infancy; Laura A. and Selby L. now reside with their parents. Mr. Smith took an active part with others in the division of Old Putnam, and the creation of Bureau County and location of its county seat. In December, 1839, he moved with his family to his farm in Selby Township and commenced farming. He represented Bureau County and part of Stark in the General Assembly during the session of 1844-45. In November, 1849, having been elected Clerk of the County Court, he removed to Princeton and entered upon the duties of that office in December, 1849, serving until September, 1853, when he resigned. He was elected Judge of the County Court, and served from December, 1853, until his resignation in June, 1855. Since that time he has been in feeble health, and has retired from active life.

C. L. SMITH, Princeton, was born January 10, 1843, in New Berlin,Union Co. , Penn. The grandparents of our subject were Philip and Betsey Smith. The former was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and participated in the battle of Brandy wine. They reared six children. Of these, John Smith was the father of our subject. He was born in New Berlin, Penn. , where he entered a printer's office when but fourteen years old, and after mastering the business edited the Star. In 1848 he removed to Pekin, 111., where he edited the Mirror till 1856, when he went to Toulon, Stark [County, where he started the Prairie Advocate, which was the first paper ever published in that county. After four years' labor in Toulon he returned to Pekin, where he edited the Republican till 1862. From Pekin he went to Hennepin, and there published the Republican till 1863. The same year he bought the Bureau County Patriot, which he edited till 1870, when he sold out and retired from the newspaper business, which he had conducted successfully for many years. His success was owing largely to his thorough knowledge of the business, which enabled him to do much work himself instead of depending upon others. Perhaps another reason for his success was that he never discussed a subject on the street corners which he had Handled in his paper. The last ten years of his life were devoted to his farms. He died August, 1880, in Princeton, III. He was married May 28, 1836, to Celinda Seebold, born 1817 in Union County, Penn., a daughter of Philip Seebold, who lived to be eighty-four years old. She is yet living in Princeton and is the mother of four children: Mrs. Cecelia Groudenberg, of Pekin, 111.; Palmer J., deceased; Charles L., our subject, and Mrs. Mary M. Merriman, of Toulon, 111. Our subject attended the Toulon Seminary, but was principally educated in his father's printing office. In March, 1863, he came to Bureau County with his father. In December, 1872, in partnership with P. D. Winship, now a prominent physician in Marshalltown, Iowa, he bought the Bureau County Tribune of H. W. Mesenkop. The following year Winship sold out to E. K. Mercer, to whom our subject sold out in June, 1881. In December, the same year, Mr. Smith formed a partnership with G. M. Radcliffe, and is now editing the Bureau County Neivs. Our subject was married May 14, 1864, to Charity I. Mercer, born May 14, 1846, daughter of William Mercer, deceased. Four children have blessed this marriage: Charles K., Lora, Mertie A. and John R. Smith.

D. H. SMITH, Princeton, was born December 2, 1835, in Orwell, Vt. He is the son of Joab and Mary D. (Horton) Smith. The father was born November 10, 1805, in Orwell, Vt., and has followed the occupation of a farmer; he now resides at Brandon, Vt. His father's name was also Joab, but he was a native of Massachusetts. The mother of our subject was born August 11, 1815, and was the daughter of Daniel G. Horton, a native of Vermont, and a farmer and woolen manufacturer by occupation. Mrs. Smith died in Brandon, Vt, August 19, 1881. She was the mother of three sons, but only one. - Daniel H. - now survives. His early Ijlfe was spent on the farm and in attending the common schools and academies of Orwell. At ! the age of seventeen he was employed in a 1 store at Sheldon, Vt., and remained there I two years. In 1855 he came to Princeton, and for two years clerked in a store, then engaged in grain buying at the depot, and continued in the same till December, 1859, with the exception of a short intermission in 1858, when he was in Fort Dodge, Iowa, engaged in the real estate business. From the latter part of December, 1859, till the summer of 1866, Mr. Smith was in Sheldon, Vt. , where he was engaged in manufacturing, and also in the mercantile business. In the fall of 1866 he returned to Bureau County, and was soon afterward appointed Deputy Circuit Clerk, serving as Deputy till 1876, when he was elected Circuit Clerk of the county, which office he has since filled. May 27, 1862, in Fairfax, Vt., Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Jane M. Hubbell, who was born February 13, 1834, in Fairfax, Vt. , and is the daughter of Homer E. and Maria (Gove) Hubbell, both natives of Vermont. Mr. Hubbell is an attorney by profession, but is retired from active practice. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one son - Louis J. - born October 31, 1863, in Sheldon, Vt. He is now in the United States Postal Service, and is on the fast through mail train, and runs from Chicago to Ottumwa, Iowa. Since 1870 Mr. Smith has been extensively engaged in loaning money on real estate, he being agent for some Eastern capitalists. February, 1882, he was elected President of the First National Bank of Princeton, in which bank he is a large stockholder.

in that place. In 1831 they immigrated to Bureau County, 111., coming by water when possible and landing at Naples, 111., where they stopped for some time, while Mr. Smith and Roland Mosely came on and explored this county. In July the Smith, Musgrove and Mosely families came up the Illinois River and landed at Hennepin about August 1. Mr. Smith then laid claim to what is now the Col. Austin Bryant farm. August 8, 1831, Mr. Smith died and was buried about half a mile north of the Princeton depot, and is thought to be the first white man buried in Bureau County. He had three sons: Daniel P., George (deceased), and D wight, who resides in Ohio Township. Mrs. Smith is still living and resides with her sons. Daniel P. Smith was born in Northampton, Mass., June 27, 1824. He came to this county with his parents and has resided here since 1831, except during the Black Hawk war, when they were in the fort one year at Heunepin and one year at Florid, in Steward's barn. Mr. Smith resided in Princeton Township til] 1848, when he moved to Ohio Township. He attended the first school in the county, near the present home of M. Kitterman. Mr. Smith has given his attention entirely to farming and stock- raising. When he came to Ohio Township he went in debt for his first quarter section, but has since been very successful without speculation, and is now one of the largest land-owners in Ohio Township, his farm containing over 1,000 acres in one body. He has been Supervisor of Ohio Township for six terms; is also one of the Directors of the Farmers' National Bank, of Princeton. In early life Mr. Smith was a Whig, but has been identified with the Republican party since its organization. He was married in this county March 15, 1849, to Miss Rachel Matson, who was born September 5, 1829, a daughter of Peter Matson, an old settler of Bureau County. Mrs. Smith died October 26, 1874. She was the mother of seven children, six of whom are living, viz. : Mary J., born August 26, 1852, wife of Leander Chambers, of Ohio Township; Prudence A., born November 4, 1853, died March 25, 1877; George W.,born October 18, 1855; John M., born December 20, 1857; William N., born November 14, 1859; Aaron M., born

EDWARD SMITH, Manlius, was born in Leicestershire, England, March 17, 1820. His parents, Stephen and Sarah (Wesson) Smith, lived and died in England. They were the parents of six boys and five girls, three of whom came to America: Thomas (now deceased), Edward and Mrs. James Herrick. Edward Smith came to America in 1851, via New Orleans to St Louis. He started at once for Hennepin, but when he reached Alton found the river blocked with ice, so he stayed in Alton that winter and cut wood, as he was penniless. In the spring of 1851 he reached Hennepin, and worked one year for a farmer. He then bought thirty acres of timber land, which he improved and sold in 1866 for $1,000. He then settled on his present farm of eighty acres in Section 13, Manlius Township, which is now in a good state of cultivation and well improved. He has made his property through hard work and economy. Mr. Smith was married in Putnam County, 111., to Jane Danforth, who was born in Ireland but came to America with her parents when a child. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have eight children living and one dead, viz.: Sarah, wife of F. Taylor; Stephen W., married to Julia Vaughan; Mary Luella, deceased; Eliza A., Rosa, Edward T. William John, Adah M. and Emma A. All are residents of Bureau County. In politics Mr. Smithes a stanch Republican. He cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. He and his wife are members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.

HENRY C. SMITH, Princeton, was born on the old Smith homestead, in this county, September 18, 1846. He is a son of Eli Smith, who was born November 15, 1804, in Massachusetts. He died August 30, 1871, in this county, to which he came in 1831, making a part of the journey with an ox team, the rest by water, landing in Bureau County in June. He came here accompanied by his wife, whose maiden name was Clarissa Childs. She was born October 5, 1804, in Deerfield, Mass. She is a daughter of David W. and Eunice (Clapp) Childs, natives of Massachusetts, and the parents of five children. Eli Smith and wife first baited at Mr. Foristal's cabin, and then lived a short time on Section 5 witb Elijah and Sylva (Childs) Smith. The former was a brother of Eli Smith and the latter a sister to Mrs. Eli Smith. Eventually Mr. and Mrs. Eli Smith settled on Section 4, where they afterward entered 240 acres of land. They reared a family of seven children who reached maturity, viz.: Harriet A., Mary A., Lucy, Owen, Allen, Henry C. and Eli. Of these Harriet A. and Lucy are deceased. Henry C., our subject, is the only one that now resides in the county where their parents took such an active part in the pioneer history (see general history). Henry C. Smith yet resides on the old homestead; his mother, who is yet a hale and well-preserved lady, though nearly eighty summers have passed over her head, is living with him. He is a farmer, but the last few years he has been in the stock business, and is now a member of the firm of Curtis, Warfield & Co. He was married here to Anna M. Cusic, born August 4, 1849. Her parents were Dennis A. and Betsey (Cox) Cusic. She has two children, viz.: Cora A., born June 12, 1873, and Marshall H., born October 19, 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are active members of the Methodist Protestant Church. He is a Kepublican, and aK. of H., Guardian Lodge, No. 1123.

JONATHAN SMITH, Berlin, was born in Buckingham County, Va., October 25, 1814. His parents, John and Eleanor (Burnside) Smith, were also natives of Virginia, but removed to Greene County, Ohio, when their son, our subject, was less than one year old. There he was reared and resided until he came to this county, in 1846. He then had barely enough money to bring him here, and for some time rented land in various parts of Berlin Township, until he settled on his present farm. His efforts here have been successful, and he now owns 400 acres of land, and has retired from active life. He was married in Greene County, Ohio, May 14, 1840, to Malnmba Ary, who was born in the same county, January 13, 1819. Her parents, Charles and Bosa (Long) Ary, wore natives of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have five children living and one dead, viz. : Charles A., born April 15, 1842; Mark, born January

C. P. SNOW, Princeton, was born September 9, 1834, in Boston, Mass. His parents, Thomas J. and Caroline (Wilbur) Snow, were natives of the same vicinity. The former was a teacher by occupation, and won considerable fame as an instructor in different States. The first part of his life was spent in teaching in different institutions in his native State, the latter part in Kentucky, where he left a fair record in his chosen profession. He finally came to Peoria, this State, where he taught two years and there died. During his life he spent much of his leisure time in instructing his children, who thus received the benefit of the superior education which he had acquired at Cambridge, Mass. , being a graduate of that place. The early life of our subject was spent in the school-room, and when a young man he worked a few years on the farm. At the age of eighteen he became an assistant teacher, having inherited from his father a love for the profession. He has been a teacher nearly thirty years, and almost half of that time in the schools of Princeton, which speaks volumes for his ability as an instructor. His first regular school was taught in Chicago in 1854, where be and his two brothers, Hector O. and Oren T., were employed as teachers in the "Garden City Institute," a private school which was burned in 1860, after which he went to Peoria, 111., where he was Principal of one of the city schools for eight years. In the spring of 1864 he enlisted as a private in the Fourteenth Kegiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company H. He was promoted to First Lieutenant and served till the close of the war, after which he resumed his school at Peoria. On the 1st of September, 1869, he came to Princeton, Bureau County, where he was appointed Superintendent of city schools, and has filled that position to the present day. Here he was also joined in matrimony, July 23, 1872, to Miss Elizabeth D. Paddock, who was born March 20, 1850. She is a daughter of Solomon A. and Angelica H (Boyd) Paddock He was a native of Charleston, S. C., and died in Bloomington, 111. She was a native of Boyds Grove, 111., named in honor of her parents, who were Charles S. and Elizabeth (Dixon) Boyd, both natives of New York and among the first settlers of this county. They came here in company with "Col. John Dixon" and were forty days on the road from New York to this county. Mrs. Snow is the mother of two children, viz. : Allan P. , born April 4, 1881, andCorydon P., born November 29, 1883. Mr. Snow is a member of the Swedenborgian Church. He is also a member of the A. F. & A. M. fraternity, Princeton Lodge, No. 587, a Sir Knight of Malta, Temple Commandery, No. 20, and G. A. B. In politics he is a stanch Republican.

HENRY SNYDER, Hall, was born November 9, 1816, in Hessen-Cassel, Germany. His parents, John and Elizabeth (Hose) Snyder, were natives of Germany, where the latter died. She was the mother of three children - Henry, John and Catharine. Our subject's father was again married to Eva Hemmel, also a native of Germany, and now living in Peru, 111. She is the mother of five children, viz. : William aild John, of California; Edward and Mrs. Julia Schafer, of Nebraska, and Mrs. Martha Miller, of California. Our subject's father came to Bureau County, and died in Peru, 111., in March, 1884, aged ninety-one years. Henry Snyder emigrated to Detroit when he was nineteen years old. He afterward went to Chicago, and from there to LaSalle. In the fall of 1839 he came to Hall Township, Bureau County, and worked on a farm. He soon after bought a farm, and now owns 450 acres of land as the result of industry and hard work. He was Township Supervisor two years during the war, and afterward served twelve years in succession. He has also been _ Commissioner of Highways at different times, and School Director twenty years. He has always voted with the Democratic party. Mr. Snyder was married in this county to Cecelia Doll, a native of Bavaria, a daughter of Philip Doll, an old settler of Selby Township. She is the mother of nine children, all living, viz. : Jacob, George, William, Mrs. Martha Heintz, Frank, Edward, Flora and

S. G. SOVERHILL, Indiantown, was born November 28, 1835, in Arcadia, Wayne Co., N. Y. His father, Isaac Soverhill, was born in the same place, and also died there in 1846. He was a blacksmith by occupation in early life, and a farmer in later life. He had also been a soldier in the war of 1812. The grandfather of our subject, Samuel Soverhill, Sr., came from Long Island in company with his brother, Isaac Soverhill, and was one of the pioneers of Arcadia, N. Y., where he died. He was a blacksmith by occupation. His wife, Sally (Clark) Soverhill, was the mother of five children, viz. : Isaac, Hiram, Joel, Mrs. Susan Luce and Mrs. Polly Cronise. The mother of our subject was a native of Lyons, Wayne Co., N. Y. She died in Arcadia in 1844, aged forty-five years. She was the mother of six children, ' viz. : Mrs. Eliza Parks, Mrs. Sarah Rowe, Mrs. Susan Robinson, Mrs. Emma L. Dator, Marvin A., and Samuel G., our subject. The latter received a common school education in his native town, where he farmed, raising peppermint principally. In the fall of 1866 he came West, intending to go to Iowa, but was induced to stay in this county, where his brother resided. After a sojourn of two years he visited his old home in Arcadia. Since then he has made this county his home, and at present resides in Indiantown Township, where he first bought eighty acres of land, but owing to good management and success as a farmer he at present owns a farm of 234 acres. For the last eleven years he has been engaged in the dairy business, and was one of the original stockholders and organizers of the Tiskilwa cheese factory. When it burnt down he, in partnership with P. C. Bacon, rebuilt it and carried on the business for two years, when he sold out. At present he is one of the largest patrons that supplies the factory with milk. Mr. Soverhill was married twice. His first wife, Jane Whitback, a native of Arcadia, N. Y., died here October 8, 1875. His second wife, Laura Couch, is a native of Bureau County, and a daughter of B. C. Couch, Esq., of Tiskilwa. She is the mother of three chil- dren, viz. : Harvey A., George and Wilber R. Mr. and Mrs. Soverhill are both active members of the church. He is also a member of the A. F. & M. fraternity, Sharon Lodge, No. 550, and the Princeton Chapter and Commandery. Politically he is identified with the Republican party, has filled township offices, and for the last four years has been an efficient Supervisor.

J. Y. SPANGLER, Greenville, was born in Muakingum County, Ohio, April 11, 1826. His father, George Spangler, was a native of Maryland, and died in Kansas, September, 1882. His wife, Catharine (Anderson) Spangler, was born in Virginia, died June 16, 1845, in Ohio. J. Y. Spangler came to Bureau County, 111., October 11, 1847, and settled in Center Grove. In 1852 he moved to Manlius Township, where there were but very few settlers at that time. In 1876 he settled on his present farm of forty acres in Greenville Township. Mr. Spangler was married in this county October 11, 1849, to Jane Clark. She was born in Ohio, June 27, 1830, and came to this county with her father, Thomas Clark, in 1834 Mr. and Mrs. Spangler are the parents of the following children: Theodore and Theory, born July 11, 1850 (Theodore lives in Tabor, Iowa; Theory died March 1, 1877, in Wyoming Territory); Ida May, died at the age of one year and twenty-five days; Ella, born November 19, 1858, wife of E. C. Thompson, of Marne, Cass Co., Neb.; Mary, born November 29, 1879. Mr. Spangler is a stanch Republican, and has always taken an active part in political matters. For about twenty years he has been a delegate from his township to the County Convention. He is a member of the A. F". & A. M., No. 142, of Sheffield.

JOHN W. SPRATT, New Bedford. George W. Spratt, deceased, was born in Richland County, Ohio, April 10, 1814. He was married in his native county December 11, 1833, to Mary Ann Hill, who was born in Delaware, February 11, 1814. October 31, 1838, they arrived in Bureau County, 111., and lived on Green River for one year, afterward removing to Mt. Carroll. A year later they located in Princeton, where Mr. Spratt worked at his trade of tinner for ten years. They then settled on a farm in Bureau Township, where Mr. Spratt died February 11, 1876. Mrs. Spratt is still living, the only surviving member of a family of nine children, most of whom died in this county. She is the mother of nine children, five of whom are living, viz.: John W., born October 31, 1836; James M., born May 7, 1840, is now in the stock business in Wyanet; Nehemiah, born December 2, 1841, a farmer in Gold Township; Samuel R., born July 2, 1846, a farmer in Bureau Township; Levicy Ann, born March 26, 1850, wife of Richard Allen, a farmer in Clay County, Neb. John W. Spratt was born in Martinsburg, Knox County, Ohio. He came to this county with his parents, and received his education in the schools of Princeton. He was engaged in farming until March, 1880, when he came to New Bedford and entered the mercantile business. He carries a stock of goods valued at about $7,000, with annual sales of from $12,000 to $20,000. In the winter of 1864 and 1865 he enlisted in the service of his country in Company I, Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, and was mustered out in June, 1865. Mr. Spratt was married in this county June 11, 1863, to Miss lantha Mott, who was born in Oneida County, N. Y. , August 6, 1845. Her parents, Edward and Catharine (Brower) Mott, are now residents of Harvard, Neb. Mr. and Mrs. Spratt have nine children, viz.: Mary C., born March 18, 1864; William, born September 25, 1865; Samuel, born January 16, 1867; Nellie, born October 10, 1869; Milton, born January 31, 1871; Rosa, born December 21, 1873, died January 14, 1881; Edward, born December 9, 1875; Franklin, born January 10, 1877; Harry, born March 18, 1881. All are living at home. In political matters Mr. Spratt is independent. He is serving his second term as Supervisor of - Greenville Township. He is a strong temperance man, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, being a local preacher of that denomination, and an active worker in the Sunday-school.

G. T. SQUIRES, Mineral, was born August 27, 1845, in Mineral Township. He is a son of George W. Squires, who is one of the pioneers of Mineral Township. He was born May 4.

1809, in Steuben County, N. Y. His parents, Josiah and Lucinda (Martin) Squires, were natives of Vermont. The latter died in Ohio, and the former in Mineral Township. They were the parents of eleven children. George W. Squires was reared in New York and Ohio. He came to Providence, Bureau County, in 1836; there he resided till about 1840, when he removed to Mineral Township, where he now resides. He married Susan Biley, whose parents, Paul and E. Betsey (Laugh - ery) Riley, were natives of Pennsylvania. They settled in Concord Township, Bureau Co., 111., in 1835, but died in Mineral Township. Mrs. Susan Squires is the mother of five children, viz.: Riley J., George T., Mary L. (deceased, aged twenty-two), William P. and Mrs. Elizabeth Rollins. George T. Squires, our subject, received a common school education in this county. Here he farmed till March, 1862, when he enlisted in the Sixty-fifth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company E, and served till the close of the war, participating in the battles of Harper's Ferry, Knoxville, Atlanta campaign, Franklin, Nashville and minor engagements. He enlisted as a private at the age of sixteen, but was promoted at the age of eighteen to Second Lieutenant. After the war he resumed farming, which he followed till six years ago, when he removed to Mineral, where he sold agricultural implements three years for Conibear & Son. Since then he has been engaged in that business for himself, and for six years followed auctioneering. Mr. Squires was married October 15, 1865, to Miss Elma F. Rollins, born July 30. 1849, in Manchester, N. H. She is a daughter of Lyman P. and Olive L. (Wadley) Rollins, the latter a native of Maine, yet living, and the mother of four children, viz. : Byron, Ora L. , Albert W. and Elma F. Mr. Rollins was formerly an overseer in a woolen -mill. Later in life he farmed. He came to Mineral Township, Bureau County, in I860, and died here in 1875. To Mr. and Mrs. Squires two children were born, viz. : George O. , born January 6, 1868, and Susie O., January 15, 1872. Mrs. Squires is at present Postmistress of Mineral. Mr. Squires is a member of the Tristen T. Dow

CHRISTIAN STABLER, Hollowayville, was born in Bavaria, Germany, May 20, 1821. He attended school in his native country, and at the age of fifteen began as an apprentice to learn the trade of wagonmaking, and followed that until he came to America in 1846. He came to Bureau County by water via New Orleans, St. Louis and Peoria, and from there by team to Selby Township, where he has since resided. For four years he worked at his trade and farmed on rented land. He then bought a farm of eighty acres, built a shop on it and continued to farm and work at his trade till 1857. He then started a grocery store in Hollowayville, continuing in that till 1860, when he changed to general merchandise, in which business he is still engaged, carrying a complete stock of dry goods, boota and shoes, etc. In 1858 he was appointed Postmaster, and although a Democrat, has held the office, with the exception of a few years, ever since. Altogether he has been Postmaster twenty years. During his residence in the village he has also been a landowner. His farm now contains ninety acres. When he came to Bureau County he was $25 in debt, but through industry and perseverance has been successful in his business. He was married in this county in 1848, to Elizabeth Lehrer, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, March 9, 1829, and came to this county in 1846. They are the parents of twelve children, four of whom are living, viz. : Lewis C., born April 17, 1857, married Mary Markel - (he is in the store with his father); Hanna, October 22, 1858; Lizzie, September 13, 1864; Christian G., June 1, 1867. All are at homa Mr. Stadler is a member of the I. O. O. F., Venus Lodge, No. 536, of Hollowayville. He is a member of the Lutheran Church.

CHARLES STAMBERGER, Clarion, was. born September 1, 1843, in Beickheim, Bavaria, Germany. He came to America with his parents, Frederick and Elizabeth (Bauer) Stamberger, who settled in Clarion Township, Bureau Co., 111., June, 1850. They were the parents of the following children: Charles and Mrs. Elizabeth N. Grosz are deceased; Charles our subject, Mrs. Catharine Geuther, Henry and George. Frederick Stamberger first bought 160 acres of N. Edwards. He has been a hard-working man and his wife and children have stood by him and assisted in the accumulation of property. At present he has 882 acres of choice land, most of which his family work. He was born February 17, 1812, in Beickheim, Bavaria. His parents were Henry and Christina (Hoffman) Stamberger. The former was a miller in Germany. Mrs. Elizabeth Stamberger was born November 6, 1815, in Beickheim. She is a daughter of Andrew and Anna M. Bauer. Charles Stamberger is working one of his father's farms. He was married here February 17, 1867, to Barbara M. Grosz, who was born July 14, 1843, in Germany. She is a daughter of George Grosz. To Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stamberger six children were born, viz. : George, Paulina C., Emma C., Anna M., Bertha E. and Willie J. Our subject and wife are members of the Lutheran Church. He is one of the most wide-awake Germans in the township, and takes an interest in all public matters.

STILLMAN STANNARD, Clarion, was born September 19, 1813, in Madison County, N. Y. He is a son of Libbeus and Luceba (Fay) Stannard, with whom he came to Bureau County in November, 1840. Libbeus Stannard was born in Vermont, and at the age of twenty-one removed with his father, Libbeus Stannard, Sr., to New York State, where he farmed till he came to Bureau County, where he entered land east of Perkins' Grove. He died October 10, 1858, aged seventy-three years. The mother of our subject was a native of Massachusetts, born in March, 1793. She died here January 4, 1842. She was the mother of the following children: Cornelia, Stillman, David and Philo (deceased), Newton, Edward (deceased), Emeline, Marrila (wife of Rev. S. Holroyd), Hiram, Oscar, Caroline and Joseph Stannard. Our subject was reared in his native State, where he was also married March 9, 1837, to Mary A. Dean, who was born April 21, 1815, in Eaton, N. Y. She is a daughter of John and Lucinda (Goddard) Dean, who were of English extraction. Mr. and Mrs. Stannard are the parents of the following children: Mrs. Mary E. Bowman (of Madison County, Iowa), Lavisa A., Mrs. Lucinda J. Johnson (of Winfield, Kan.), Mrs. Julia F. Frost (of Atlantic, Iowa), Harriet L., and Henry A. Stannard (of Madison County, Neb.) Mr. and Mrs. Stannard and children are members of the Baptist Church. Politically he is a Republican. He owns a farm of 150 acres, on which James Kendall had first made a claim. Mr. Stannard then bought the land of Mrs. Maria Kendall.

JOHN STAUFFER, Wheatland, was born September 15, 1854, in Alsace, France. He is a son of Joseph and Anna (Tschantz) Stauffer, both natives of France. They came to the United States in 1855, and farmed in Davis County, Iowa, till 1863, when they came to Arispe Township, Bureau County, where the mother died. They were the parents of sixteen children; of these eleven are yet living. John Stauffer, our subject, is a successful farmer. He owns a farm of 100 acres in Wheatland Township. Mr. Stauffer was married February 28, 1878, to Amelia Schertz, who was born March 1, 1854. She is a daughter of Joseph and Barbara (loder) Schertz, who are among our best German citizens. Mrs. Stauffer is the mother of two children, viz. : Clara, born December 5, 1880, and Ada, born February 13, 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Stauffer are religiously connected and are active members of theMennonite Church. Politically he is Independent.

CAPT. CHARLES STEDMAN, DePue, was born in Suffolk, England, February 24, 1825. He is the son of Barnard and Charlotte Stedman. The mother was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, but the father was of English birth. When our subject was eight years of age his parents moved to Nova Scotia, and it was there he was reared till he was about fifteen years old. His father died in 1882, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years and six months. The mother died a month later at the age of seventy-five. At the age of fifteen our subject became a sailor and followed that business till 1849, when he came to the United States and has since been engaged in the ice business, first at Peru, 111., where he was in the employ of Capt. J. L. McCormick, of Peru, who was one of the first to ship ice to the Southern markets. In 1854 he retired from the business, and Capt. Stedman was then with Capt. Bowers till 1858 and would go to Memphis, Vicksburg and Natchez with ice. In 1858 he went into the employ of Hughes, Loomis & Co., of St. Louis. Capt. Stedman was then sent out with the boats as soon as trade opened in the spring, and his business extended from Pern, 111., to New Orleans. By trade he is a ship-builder, and so as soon as the shipping season was over he had charge of the yards at St. Louis, and did repairing and building of boats for the company. In 1876 he began in his present business for William J. Lemp, of the Western Brewery, St. Louis, Mo. The business has grown so that now instead of having the two or three barges with which they commenced, they have fourteen barges, steamboat, etc., and a storing capacity for 50,000 tons of ice, with three steam elevators, and everything complete for the extensive business they carry on. They expend annually at DePue about $27,000 for labor, repairs, etc. Everything is complete for repairing or building of boats. Part of the time they employ 300 men during the winter season. The fourteen barges average 1,000 tons each, and each trip to St. Louis Capt. Stedcaan takes three barges and averages about one trip a week. Capt. Stedman is the manager of the entire business here and has through his management made a grand success of it. In 1853 he was married in Peru, 111., to Miss Catherine Landers, who was born in Canada West. She is the mother of the following children: Harriet, wife of Warren Sweely, who is mate on the Joseph Flemming, the ice boat; Charles Edwin, the book-keeper of the ice business at DePue; John, in business at DePue for himself; Annie, a teacher in the schools here; Burton, clerk on the boat, and Lottie.

A. L. STEELE, Dover, was born in Erie County, N. Y., March 8, 1827. His parents, Danford and Lydia (Abel) Steele, were both natives of Vermont, and were early settlers in Erie County, N. Y. Danford Steele was born April 19, 1797, and his wife, September 11, 1799. They were the parents of three children: Henry D., a successful merchant of Denver, Col.; our subject, and a daughter

Lydia L., who died in 1850 at Dover. Danford Steele died December 3, 1830, when our subject was about four years old. His mother being left destitute, he \vas bound out to a farmer, and his opportunities for an education were of the most meager description. When he was ten years old, the wife of the man to whom he was bound died, and he was eent to his grandfather, Simon Abel, and worked at whatever he conld find to do till 1848. Simon Abel was a native of Lebanon, Conn., born October 2, 1767. His wife, Rachel Farnsworth, was born in New Ipswich, N. H., September 9, 1770. In 1848 they came to this county, and our subject and his mother accompanied them. Simon Abel died here September 28, 1851, and his widow March 20, 1857. Mr. Steele's mother died in Dover, January 3, 1861. The first two years in Bureau County, Mr. Steele fanned on rented land, but on account of his health left the farm and clerked in Dover till 1858, for M. W. Abel, and also for Stacy Bros. In 1858 he engaged in business for himself in partnership with C. D. Hubbard and after four years became sole owner. He still continues in the business and is one of the oldest merchants in the county. He began the mercantile business with a cash capital of f 500, and he and his partner borrowed $5,000. He now has, besides his mercantile and other interests, 460 acres of land in Dover and Princeton Townships. Mr. Steele was married at Dover, November 28, 1852, to Miss Susan Zearing, born April 2, 1829; she is a daughter of Martin Zearing, deceased (see sketch). Mr. and Mrs. Steele have seven children living: Charles D., born November 16, 1853; George, June 24, 1855; Lydia, April 12, 1857, died October 21, 1858; John A., born August 21, 1859; Dick, November 18, 1861; Louis L., May 18, 1863; Lottie, October 18, 1866; Harry -D., June 17, 1869. Mr. Steele is a member of I. O. O. P.

STEVENS FAMILY. Simon Stevens came from England in 1640; landed in Salem, settled in Byfield, Mass. Of his sons, three in number, one went to Andover, one went to Hampstead and one settled in the South. Simon, the son who settled in Hampstead, had a son Simon, who also lived in Hampstead. This Simon had two sons, Asa and Simon.

Asa was slain in the war with the Provinces. He had a son named after him. His widow married Deacon Da vidMorrill, of Canterbury, N. H. Her name was Abigail Emerson. She died June 30, 1833, at the advanced age of ninety-five years and ten months. She had twelve children, eighty-eight grandchildren, one hundred and fifty-two great-grandchildren, and fifty-two of the fifth generation. Simon was born March 12, 1754, and died of numb palsy, June 19, 1825. He married Elizabeth Boyenton, who was born November 10, 1754, and died February 9, 1846. They lived in Canterbury, N. H. Their children are: Otho, born July 22, 1776 (had one son who married his cousin, daughter of Abiah); Edmund, born July 3, 1778, died December 13, 1854 (had two children, William and Eliza; he was the only Whig of Simon's twelve children); David, born November 10, 1780, died December 3, 1806; Betsey, born December 8, 1782, married a Sargent of Canterbury; John, born July 29, 1785, died July 8, 1869; Jesse, born September 29, 1788, died of cholera September 2, 1849 (his children were Sylvester and Albert) ; Polly, born September 13, 1791 (married an Emerson of Newburyport, Mass.); Abiah, born October 12, 1793 (married a Batchelder; settled in Columbus, Ohio; had two sons and one daughter; daughter married Otho's son); Moses, born July 29, 1796 (married Mary Stevens; had two children, Elbridge and David; settled in Bureau County 111.; died February 18, 1864); Abigail, born September 11, 1790 (married a Davis of Canterbury; had two daughters) ; Thomas Jefferson, born July 18, 1801 (married twice; had seven children, one died in infancy; settled in Bureau County, 111.; died in June, 1878); Simon, Jr., born July 18, 1803, died December 16, 1806.

JOHN STEVENS was born in Canterbury, N. H., July 29, 1785. He was married to Submit Newcomb in March, 1810. Submit Newcomb was born in Greenwich, Mass., September 3, 1790. They lived in that part of Boscawen which is now called Webster, N. H. The homestead land was purchased of Daniel Webster and the deed is still in possession of the family. John Stevens was a merchant and general business man. His wife died September 30, 1825, and was buried in the old burying ground in Boscawen. This epitaph is upon her tombstone: " She died lamented as she lived beloved.1' In 1835 Mr. Stevens entered land in Illinois and moved thither in 1842, settling in Tiskilwa, Bureau County. Here he carried on a large and prosperous mercantile business in company with his sons. He married Mrs. Mary Campbell Lawyer in Reading, Mass., December 31, 1829. She was born September 16, 1794, and died August 10, 1879. They had no children. John Stevens died in Tiskilwa, July 8, 1869. The children of John Stevens and Submit Newcomb, his wife, are: David, born January 19, 1811, moved to Illinois in 1843 and settled in Buda, Bureau County (he was married to Hannah Loverin, of Springfield, N. H. ; they had two sons and one daughter; David Stevens died May 6, 1872) ; Bradford Newcomb, born January 3, 1813; Adaline, born February 17, 1815 (married Fitz Henry Boyden; resides in Chicago, 111.; five daughters); Calvin, born March 15, 1817 (came to French Grove, 111., in 1839; afterward settled in Tiskilwa in business with his father and brothers. He married Jane Greeley, of Salisbury, N. H. They had seven children, one dying in infancy. Calvin Stevens died September 7, 1864); Justus, born January 8, 1819; Louisa, born March 2, 1821, married Edward Sawyer, lived in Tiskilwa, 111. ; (they had ten children); Submit, born March 2, 1823, died September, 23, 1825; Elizabeth Phelps, born February 2, 1825, married John Weeks; lives in Chicago. They had three daughters, two died in infancy.

JUSTUS STEVENS was born in Boscawen, no wWebster, adjoining Concord on the north, January 18, 1819. He was educated at Franklin Academy and Patridge's Military School at Norwich, Vt. In 1842 he settled in Illinois in the town of Princeton, Bureau County, where he has resided ever since. For nearly twenty years he carried on a large mercantile business, buying grain and shipping all kinds of agricultural products to St. Louis and Chicago. His business extended over four counties and he was one of the best known men in his part of the State. At an early day he entered a large tract of land in Bureau County and in 1860 turned his whole attention to its improvement. He has 4,000 acres in one general farm, twelve miles northwest of Princeton, and it is now devoted principally to stockraising. Mr. Stevens has been thoroughly identified with all local interests such as the Princeton public schools, high school, etc. He was one of the first to move in organizing the Chicago & Eock Island Railroad Company, of which he was a Director for several years. He also had a contract on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Road. While Chairman of the Board of Supervisors he attended to the building of the jail and the purchasing of the County Farm. Mr. Stevens was one of the first to advocate the use of gravel for the building of the roads in and about Princeton and also supervised the drainage of the city. He was elected its first Mayor in March, 1884. Justus Stevens was married June 9, 1842, to Lurena McConihe, daughter of John McConihe, of Merrimack, N. H. They had eight children. Five reached maturity: Mandana, married to James W. Templeton, Postmaster at Princeton; Fanny Harper, Darlene and Blanche Newcomb. Their only son, Justus Massillon Stevens, was born December 30, 1846. He was educated at Racine College, Wisconsin. He was married to Mary Louisa Knox, daughter of Judge S. M. Knox, of Princeton, November 9, 1883, in London, England. J. M. Stevens entered into partnership with his father in 1872, and is general manager of the farm and business. B. N. STEVENS, Tiskilwa, was bora January 3, 1813, in Boscawen, now Webster, N. H. His early life was spent in his native town, where he attended the common schools and also the academy, after attending the academy at Hopkinton. He was a student at the "La Petite Seminary" of Montreal one year, and then entered Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1835. He then established the "Pestolozzian Institute," named in honor of the Swiss teacher, in Hopkinsville, Ky. After three years of active work in the institute he returned to his old home in New Hampshire, where he was married September 26, 1839, in the town of Lebanon, to Lydia P. Alden, who was born October 22, 1811, in Lebanon, N. H.

She is a direct descendant of John Alden, who came to America in the "May Flower." Her parents, Ziba and Sybil (Allen) Alden, were also natives of New Hampshire. They were the parents of six children, of whom only four reached maturity, viz. : Phineas, Lydia P. , Horace and Mrs. Delia Smith. Of these only the latter and Mrs. Stevens are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens have two sons living, viz.: Alden N. and Charles M. Stevens. After Mr. Stevens was married he went to New York City, where he taught select school for a period of three years. In September, 1843, he came to Bureau County, 111., which he had visited in 1836. He formed a partnership with his father, John Stevens, and his brother Justus, and afterward Calvin Stevens also. The firm was known as J. Stevens & Sons, and did a large mercantile business ,in Princeton and Indiantown, now Tiskilwa, to which he removed his family in 1845. In 1848 the firm was changed to Stevens & Sons, who did business after this in Tiskilwa. In 1857 Calvin Stevens bought out the store, and our subject engaged in milling, farming and the lumber business. In 1877 he formed a partnership with John H. Welsh, and opened the Tiskilwa Bank. His two sons are equally interested in the bank and also the real estate, which consists of many valuable farms and town property. Mr. Stevens also established a store in Buda, and one in TiskiJwa, which he continued for a number of years, but finally sold out. At present Mr. Stevens is practically retired from active life. He lived nearly four years in Chicago, but now resides at his home in Tiskilwa. Religiously he and his wife are connected with the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Stevens has been an active man in his time in Bureau County. He is the only Democratic Congressman ever elected from this county (see General History) and was elected Supervisor of his township when it was Republican, and held that office for nine years.

ALDEN N. STEVENS was born September 25, 1846, in Tiskilwa. He received his education in Knox College and Davenport, Iowa. He has made farming his occupation, and is managing the real estate interest of the Stevens family in Tiskilwa. He was married December 23, 1871, in McLean, Tomp- kins Co., N. Y. , to Miss Romelia C. Lyon, a nahive of Grand Rapids, Mich. Her parents, Otis and Ziporah (Thomas) Lyon, are deceased. They were natives of New York and reared three children, viz. : Mrs. Imogene E. LeFevre, Mrs. K. C. Stevens and Mrs. Julia Kinney, deceased. Mrs. Stevens is a member of the Episcopal Church, and is the mother of Bradford Newcomb Stevens, who was born February 4, 1879.

CHARLES M. STEVENS was born February 6, 1848, in Tiskilwa. He was educated at Ann Arbor, Knox College and Racine College. He is now a banker in Tiskilwa. He was married September 6, 1876, to Rosalie Balch, who was born September 6, 1855, in Lebanon, N. H. She is a daughter of Alfred and Elizabeth (Cora) Balch, natives of New Hampshire. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens have three children, viz. : Arline A., born May 10, 1880; John A., born October 26, 1882; and Charles H., born November 29, 1883. Politically Mr. Stevens, like his father and brother, is a Democrat. He has been School Trustee ever since he attained his majority.

ELBRIDGE STEVENS, Buda, was born January 10, 1825, in Canterbury, N. H. He is the youngest son of Moses and Mary (Stevens) Stevens. Moses Stevens was born July 29, 1796. He was married January 4, 1820, to Mary Stevens, who was born October 19, 1798. In early life he learned the clothier's trade, and in later years the tanner's, but most of his life was spent in farming. In 1836 he removed from the old home at Canterbury, N. H., to Bureau County, 111., and settled in Concord Township. When coming here he had but little property, but through his industry he was successful in accumulating a competency. He died February 22, 1864. His widow survived him till June 28, 1870. They were the parents of two sons: David and Elbridge. David Stevens was about two years the senior of his brother, and followed various occupations during life, first as a farmer in this county, in the hotel business in Sheffield, 111., in business in Chicago, and during the war was a well-known cotton speculator at Memphis, Tenn. He died at Boone, Iowa, at which time he was in the insurance business. He had one son, who is also deceased. Elbridge Stevens came to this county with his parents in 1836, and since that time he has made Concord Township his home. His early life was full of the hardships such as youth is subject to in a new country, and for thirty years he never had gone out of the State, but worked hard all the time. Their market for grain or produce was Chicago, and he would haul loads there and return with lumber, etc. His last trip that way he sold the wheat for 55 cents per bushel, and during the trip suffered with fever and ague, and to make matters worse, one of his horses died before getting home. He was married April 10, 1849, to Phebe Schoettler, who was born April 30, 1827. She is the daughter of Christian and Eliza (Summer) Schoettler. The father was born in Gifflitz, Germany, September 28, 1768, and the mother was born in Dammerstield, Germany, May 9, 1785. They were married in 1812. He died February 23, 1832, but she March 2, 1870. Mr. and Mrs. Elbridge Stevens are the parents of the following named children: Mary L., born March

THOMAS J. STEVENS, deceased, was born August 12, 1801, in Canterbury, N. H., and died June 14, 1878, in Buda, 111. He was the son of Jesse and Elizabeth Stevens, of Canterbury, N. H. Mr. Stevens was reared on a farm and was educated in his native town, and was there married to Miss Elizabeth Smith, who died in Buda, 111., March 22, 1853. She was the mother of five children now living: Mrs. Lurana Fifield, Mrs. Mary Dow, Joseph, Mrs. Emeline Wilkinson and Frank; also the following de- ceased: John, Mrs. Caroline Dean, Mrs. Sarah J. Cobb, and Mrs. Elizabeth Dow. In 1854 Mr. Stevens was married in Concord, N. H., to Mrs. Eliza Simpson, a native of Epsom, N. H., and a daughter of Simon and Hannah (Babb) Grant Both died in Epsom. John Grant, the grandfather of Mrs. Stevens, was born in Portsmouth, N. H. ; he was of Scotch descent and died in Epsom, N. H. Mrs. Stevens' mother was a* native of Portsmouth, N. H. , but died at Epsom in 1847, at the age of seventy-three years. She was the mother of eight children. Mrs. Stevens' first husband, Mr. James Simpson, was a native of Philadelphia, Penn., and was born February 16, 1812, and died May 27, 1853. By this husband she is the mother of the following named children: Mrs. Mary F. Jameson, John, George E., and James (deceased). In 1861 John Simpson enlisted in Company K, Fifty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served for about eighteen months, when he was honorably discharged because of injuries received. He had participated in the battles of Shilo'h, Lookout Mountain, etc. He is now a resident of California, where he is engaged in railroad business. George E. Simpson is General Superintendent of the telegraph lines from Milwaukee to St. Paul. Immediately after her marriage to Mr. Stevens, she came with her husband to Buda, 111. , where he was engaged in farming. Mr. Stevens was a sober, industrious man, and accumulated a good property, but Mrs. Stevens has acted well her part in building up their competency; she being an industrious, frugal wife, ever willing to add to the accumulated property the proceeds of her industry. In 1878 she removed to Princeton, where she now resides, and is an active member of the Congregational Church.

A. N. STEVENSON, Lamoille, is a son of George and Elizabeth (Hayes) Stevenson. George Stevenson was born March 1, 1808, in Brooke County, W. Va. He was a tanner by occupation in Ohio for thirteen years. In October, 1848, he came to this county, and lived one year near Dover. The next year he bought 170 acres, on Section 30, in Lamoille Township, where he now owns 260 acres. He is a son of Thomas and Sarah

(Ramsey) Stevenson, who died in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. They came from West Virginia and settled in Jefferson County, Ohio, where they farmed and reared a family of eight children, viz. : George, Samuel, John, Thomas, Mrs. Amy Hayes (deceased), Mrs. Nancy Overholt, Aaron L., and Mrs. Hulda Shull. Mrs. Elizabeth (Hayes) Stevenson was born February 6, 1813, in Jefferson County, Ohio. She is the mother of the following children: Mrs. Sarah J. Garten, Mrs. Mary A. Mutchmore, Martha M. (deceased), and Albert N. Stevenson, who was born August 4, 1851. He is farming the home farm. He was married here March 20, 1879, to Susan Mallonee, who was born in Belmont County, Ohio. She is a daughter of Lewis and Sarah A. (Ewers) Mallonee, and is the mother of two children, viz. : E. Darlene, born March 10, 1880, and Alma M., born March 31, 1884.

WILLIAM STEVENSON, Neponset, was born July 28, 1817, in Hannibal, Oswego Co., N. Y. His father, Wm. Stevenson, Sr. , was born in 1794, in Washington County, N. Y. , shortly after his parents landed in America. He died March, 1883. The grandparents of our subject, Samuel and Margaret (Jimmeson) Stevenson, were natives of Ireland, and as far as known their ancestors were Protestants. She was of Scotch descent. They died in Washington County, N. Y. The mother of our subject, Marilla Dunton, supposed to be of Puritan descent, was a native of Dorset, Vt. She died in 1850, in Hannibal, N. Y. She was the mother of eight children, viz. : William, Nancy, George; Mary and Sarah are twins; Clarissa, Samuel and Mavilla. Our subject was educated in the common and select schools of his native town. In 1851 he came to Marshall County, 111., where he farmed thirteen years, and then moved onto a farm of eighty acres in Neponset Township, Bureau Co., 111., where he at present resides. As a farmer, Mr. Stevenson has been very successful, and been enabled to assist his children. Mr. Stevenson was married twice; the first time July 4, 1843, in Sterling, N. Y., to Ellen E. Vanpetten, who was born October 15, 1815, in Albany County, N. Y. She died April 18, 1881. Her parents were Peter and Lydia

(Bullock) Vanpefcten; the former of Hollandish descent, the latter of English. Both died in New York State. Mrs. Ellen E. Stevenson was the mother of five children, viz. : Mrs. Lydia Malaney, Eliza E., Mrs. Margaret Blake, William J. and George H. Our subject's present wife, Mrs. Ruby Vanpetten, nee Ruby Emery, is the mother of seven children now living, by her first husband, Matthew B. Vanpetten. The names of the children are Mrs. Elizabeth Robinson Emery, John B., Matthew B., Mrs. Mary Traxler, Edwin and Bina. Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson are active members of the church. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he has been a member of the Congregational Church since his boyhood. Politically Mr. Stevenson is a Republican. As the evening twilight of life gathers around him he can take a retrospective view of life, be satisfied and quietly and peacefully await the result in the future.

JAMES B. STEWART, Buda, was born in Venango XDounty, Penn., February 5, 1818. He is the son of Elijah and Lydia (Reynolds) Stewart. Elijah Stewart was born in Chester County, Penn., June 14, 1783. He emigrated to Venango County, Penn., in 1802. By trade he was a tanner, and he and his brother built a tannery in Venango County soon after settling there, and he continued the business until his death, which occurred August 14, 1847. His wife, Lydia (Reynolds) Stewart, was born in England, and was the daughter of William Reynolds, who settled in Venango County in 1797, and was the first settler in Cherry Tree Township. Mrs. Stewart was born August 23, 1786, and died April 19, 1864. She was the mother of twelve children, nine of whom grew to maturity; however, only five now survive. James B. Stewart's early life was spent on the farm and in the tan-yard. October 30, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Hannah J. Sweet, who was born in Richland County, Ohio, and is the daughter of Curtis Sweet, who died in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are members of the Congregational Church. In politics he is Republican. In 1867 Mr. Stewart came to Buda, 111., from Venango County, Penn., and to him Buda owes much, for through his enterprise much was done to benefit the village. His first business was that of building the Buda Flouring Mills in 1869. The mill was overhauled in 1882, and the latest improvements in machinery added. In February, 1884, it was partially destroyed by fire, since which time the machinery has been removed to Rushville, 111. Mr. Stewart was also one of the originators of the Buda Manufacturing Company, and for some years has been buying and shipping grain from this station.

DAVID C. STICKEL, Manlius, was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, March 29, 1831. His father, Thomas Stickel, was a native of Ohio, and his mother, Phebe (Spangler) Stickel, of Maryland. In 1842 they removed to Wyandot County, Ohio, and in 1855 to Illinois, where the father died November 21, 1866. The mother is still living, and makes Bureau County her home. Of their family of ten children, six are yet living; two reside in this county, David C. and Mrs. Eliza Mowry, of Wyanet. David C. Stickel came to Bureau County Match 31, 1854. For three years he worked at his trade of carpentering, and then began farming, settling on Section 25, Manlius Township. At that time there were no improvements whatever, and he built the first five houses in Section 25, Manlius Township. He has given most of his time to farming, and owns 120 acres of land. Mr. Stickel was married in Bureau County, November 16, 1856, to Rebecca White, born in Harrison County, Ohio, January 13, 1839. She is a daughter of James White (see sketch of J. P. White). Mr. and Mrs. Stickel are the parents of eight children, viz.: Laura Emma, born July 15, 1858, wife of A. Q. Wark, of Adair County, Iowa; Tribby J., born December 2, 1859, a farmer in Manlius Township, married to Mary R. Scott; James T., born May 14, 1862; Tephrona, born November 11, 1863; Philinda, born August 2, 1865; Clara, born November 8, 1869; Ida T., born September 11, 1872; Frank E., born July 24, 1881. Politically Mr. Stickel is identified with the Repiiblican party, and takes an active part in local matters, and has held various offices. He is a member of the United Brethren Church.

is the son of Abram and Sarah (Martin) Stiles, both natives of New York State, but who moved to Ohio in childhood, where they were married and lived until 1852, when they settled in this county. Abram Stiles was born January 1, 1806, and is still living in this county. His wife was born in 1808 and died in February, 1882. They were the parents of thirteen children, eight of whom reached maturity, viz. : Alvah ; Tirana Keynolds, of Washington Territory; Lucretia Pierce, of Bureau Township; Druzilla Clayton, of Walnut Township; Minerva Marsh, of Iowa; Elzina Phillips, of Walnut Township; Henry Stiles, of Iowa; Ellen Epperson, of Walnut Township. Alvah Stiles was reared in Logan County, Ohio, his parents having moved there when he was two years old. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools; many days of his young life were spent in the woods clearing and making rails. In the spring of 1854 he came to Bureau County, though he had been through the county prospecting in 1851 and 1852. He has since made this his home, with the exception of eighteen months in Kansas in 1859 and 1860. He was married in Logan County, Ohio, October 31, 1853, to Elvira Darrin. She was born in New York August 9, 1835, youngest daughter of Abel and Millison (Vermilya) Darrin. The father was a native of Massachusetts and the mother of New York; both died in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Stiles have seven children, viz. : Minerva E. , born February 9, 1855, wife of David Wallace of Bureau Township; Amanda A., born April 20, 1861, wife of Frank Wallace of Manlius Township; Sanford Marion, born April 27, 1864; Laura V.,born May 4, 1867; Etta Florence, born December 11, 1869; George A., born March 29, 1873; Jesse F., born May 18, 1877. Mr. Stiles came to this county with little property, and has been successful, mostly through the growing of hogs for market. One year he sold 118 head of his own raising, which averaged 418 pounds. His farm in Sections 13 and 14 contains 286 acres, and 200 acres in Manlius Township. In politics he is a Democrat.

of the most eminent men on the circuit bench in Illinois is George W. Stipp, who is selfeducated and self-made in the true sense of the terms. He began and ended his school days in a log-schoolhouse in Champaign County, Ohio, where he was born March 2, 1818. His father was Peter Stipp, a farmer in early life, later a school teacher and preacher, he belonging to the so-called New Light denomination. He was born in Virginia and was a soldier in the second war with England. He married Elizabeth Harrison, a native of Kentucky. Mr. Stipp commenced reading law at Bellefontaine, Ohio, with William Lawrence; came to Canton, this State, in 1845, before finishing his legal studies; went into the Mexican war in 1846 as First Lieutenant Company K, Fourth Illinois Infantry, Col. E. D. Baker Commander; returned to Bellefontaine the next year and resumed his studies; finished them at the Cincinnati Law School. He returned to Canton, 111., March, 1848, and was admitted to the bar in Mason County, this State, in May of that year, Hon. Richard Yates being one of his examiners. Mr. Stipp practiced law a few years at Lewiston, Fulton County, being at one time partner of Hon. Lewis W. Ross, since a member of Congress. In the autumn of 1853 Mr. Stipp settled in Princeton, 111., and soon took a high position at the Bureau County bar. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney of the county in 1857, and held that office between one and two years. In September, 1861, he went into the army as Captain, Company B, Yates' Sharpshooters, afterward Sixty-fourth Illinois Infantry, and served till December, 1862, when he resigned on account of ill health. He came out as Major of the regiment. Mr. Stipp has a judicial turn of mind, and it became evident some years ago that he had, in a marked degree, the qualities which fitted him for a jurist, and in June, 1879, he was elected Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, an office he yet fills with much credit to the bench, and great satisfaction to the public. He has profound legal attainments, seems to be equally well versed in criminal and civil law, has no disposition to reward friends or punish enemies, if he has any, and hence is unbiased by prejudice, impartial, cool, self-poised and emphatically a just judge. In politics he was originally a Whig; voted for Stephen A. Douglas for President in 1860, and has since affiliated with the Democratic party. Judge Stipp was married May 29, 1849, to Miss Louisa C. Wolf, of West Liberty, Ohio, and they have ten children, four of whom, two sons and two daughters, are married.