Bureau County, Illinois - Biographical sketches, 1906 (part 27 of 28)

by his own cllorts. pas.sed through the college course at Bowdoin college. In 183U he came to Alton, Illinois, where in November, 1837, his brother, Elijah P. Lovejoy, met his tragic death. He fitted himself for the ministry and upon the death of his brotJier he moved to Jacksonville, Illinois, where he was ordained as a preacher of tlic gospel. In lS;i8 be came to the Congregational church in Princeton. Here he lived and labored during the seventeen years of his pastorate, not only preaching the gospel but fighting error and oppression wherever found. He was a man of great physical as well as mental power. The untimely death of his martyred brother aroused his whole being and his great heart beat anew in the cause of oppression and wrong, and, kneeling upon the fresh, new earth that covered all that was mortal of him who had given his life to the cause of human liberty, he swore eternal warfare upon the institution that made it possible for such things to be. Yes, beside the great "Father of Waters" which is forever moving on and on, whose banks had drunk up the life blood of this great disciple of truth and where now the sculptured marble raises its proud head, saying t" the world that this spot was the gateway to liberty, Owen Lovejoy covenanted with his God that liom that time on his life should be 'devoted to the abolition of American slavery, and right well did he keep it. Mr. Lovejoy, like all other reformers, had his warm friends and bitter enemies. His pathway was beset with thorns as well as tlowers. He could truly say with the servant of old, "A night and a day 1 have lieen in the deep," but amid it all he never faltered, his strong arm never lowered and his courage never quailed while there was an opportunity to do battle for the cause that lay so close to his heart. It is not our purpose to give an account of his personal encounters in his eventful life; his connection with what was called the underground railroad, his untiring zeal in defending those struggling for freedom, we leave for others to recount. Our desire is to place his strong and aggressive character before the reader in such a way as will best stimulate the rising generation to emulate his manly life.

Mr. Lov(>joy was the candidate of the "lii)eral party"' for congress in 181-1. In 1S.")1 lie was elected to the Illinois legislature. In 18">il he was nominati'd, at Bloomington, for congress, after a long and bitter contest. His election was considered doubtful, but by his masterly power upon the rostrum he succeeded in turning the tide his way and was elected by a good majority. He remained in congress until his death, which occurred on March 2T\. 1804. Mr. Lovejoy 's career was remarkable in many ways. He stood out before the world unique in .Xmerican history. His thought was not of himself but of others. Ilis ruling passion was to alleviate the sorrows and burdens of human life. His great soul thirsted for tlie liberty of the race. Fear ,«eeniinglv was a tiling unknown to him. He was the Savonarola of America and his burning words will glide down through the corridors of the coming centuries, growing grander and brighter as time rolls on. But his strong body and brilliant intellect at last felt the strain of his strenuous life and the burdens that he had carried 60 many years were quietly, gently and lovingly laid aside and all that was mortal of Owen Lovejoy was placed under the grateful shade at Oakland and his spirit returned to "God who gave it."

Irving W. Hopps

Irving W. Hopps, one of the prosperous landowners of Bureau county, his home being near La Moille, has demonstrated his value as a citizen not only in his business life but also through his cooperation in those movements which promote the intellectual and moral development of the community, ujjholding the political and legal status. He was Ixirn ^March 4, 18.54, in Clarion township, near La Moille, his parents being Martin and Hannah Maria (Little) Hopps. He comes of German and English ancestry, the latter on his grandmother's side, the line being traced back to Governor William Bradford, of Massachusetts. Martin Hopps, the father, was born in New Brunswick, September 17, 1813, and being reared in a timbered country he early developed a fondness for the forest and for the use of edged tools. He worked in the pine woods in the winter months and as he grew to manliood learned the car]ienter's trade. In 1836 he came to Illinois, locating at Princeton, where he had steady work at his chosen occupation until the year 1842, when he came to La Moille and bought a part of the farm on which he afterward made a permanent location. He was the owner of wliat was then a very commodious house at tlie time of his marriage to Mrs. Hannah Maria (Little) Kendall, a native of Vermont, who came to this county in a covered wagon with her first husband, Jarub Kendall, and young son Wallace E., now of Waterloo, Iowa. Mr. Kendall only lived for one year after their arrival in the new country. The representatives of the present generation who are western born can hardly appreciate the work and hardsliips that fell to the lot of the early settlers in giving to them at the present time so fine a heritage. Martin Hopps as a carpenter had to make all the moldings used in finisliing the interior of the houses which he built, as well as the doors and window sash. His son, I. W. Hopps, still has in liis possession the plane used by the father in finishing the doors in the house of the late John Bryant, and some of his work can still be seen in that beautiful home, although considerable remodeling has been done since its erection. As a farmer Mr. Hopps hauled dressed pork to La Salle, where the highest price that ho could seciire was one dollar and a quarter per hundred weight. On one trip darkness and a snowstorm overtook liim on the prairie between La Salle and what is now Arlington. With nothing to mark the road he was soon lost. After a long search in the dark his feet struck the rough wagon road, which he followed by the side of the wagon until he came to the grove near Arlington. He was among those who established the first house of worship in La Moille - the old brick Baptist church - of which he remained an active member up to the time of his death. He was a man of benevolent and generous spirit and assisted many poor people in gaining a start by loaning them seeds, teams and even land to work, and on one occasion he built a small house for a family, who were empty-handed when they came to this country, but through the assistance given them by Mr. Hopps they soon became independent and now the sons of the family have over one thousand acres of good Illinois soil. In all of his business life Mr. Hopps showed close application and unfaltering energy and yet he found time to make several trips to his native land and also visited in Ohio, Vermont and Maine. He did not make the accumulation of wealth his sole aim and end in life, but found time for social and church interests. He was also one of the financial supporters of the old University of Chicago. He gladly embraced the opportunity of sending his sons away to school that they might be qualified thereby for the responsible as well as practical duties of life. He was a man honored and respected by all who knew him and he had a wide acquaintance. At his death, which occurred on the old home farm near La Moille, February 5, 1877, he left behind him a host of warm friends as well as a goodly estate and his memory is yet cherished by many who knew him.

To Martin and Hannah M. Hopps were born three sons, Herman K., Arthur D., and Irving W. Herman K. studied for the ministry, but was dro-mied at Providence, Rhode Island, in the twenty-sixth year of his age. Arthur D. is mentioned elsewhere in this work.

I. W. Hopps, whose name introduces this record, acquired his early education in the district schools and afterward attended the University of Chicago, but during his father's last illness he left school and took up the care and management of the farm, which had been borne by his fatlier for so many 3-ears. He was made execiitor of his father's estate and therefore abandoned his college work in order to settle up the biisiness and divide the propert}', which was accomplished in 1877. In the latter part of that year Mr. Hopps purchased his brothers share in the estate and rented the portion left to his mother and half sister, Myra B. Hopps. The succeeding year ho had the farm all under his control, although his mother and Myra B. Hopps retained their residence on the farm. Since that time he has improved all of the opportunities for making judicious investment. In 1 879 he bought twentv acres of .John E. Smith for eight hundred and thirty-three dollars, paying for it out of one shipment of hogs raised that year on the farm. In 1886 he paid thirty-four hundred dollars lor forty acres of the old lloibrook farm, and in 1882 he had purchased seven acres from George Grossman, for which he paid six hundred and thirty dollars. In 1899 he bought of the John Gill heirs one hundred and seventeen acres at seventy dollars per acre, and in 1902 he purchased his brother's share in the home property, which fell to him after the death of his half brother and sister, so that he is now the owner of little more than six hundred acres of valuable Illinois land, and is justly accounted one of the prominent representative and prosperous farmers of Bureau county.

Mr. IIopjis was married November 7, 1878, to Miss Margaret D. Boyle, at the homestead near La Moille by the Rev. E. P. Bartlett. Mrs. Hopps was born in Missouri and after the death of her father she and her mother returned to La Moille, at which place the mother. Mrs. Jemima Boyle, became the second -n-ife of Martin Hopps, father of our subject. The father of Mrs. Hopps was Hugh Wilson Boyle, who was born in East Kilbride, near Glasgow, Scotland, and his mother was a descendant of William Wallace. Mr. Boyle began his apprenticeship at the tailor's trade at the age of ten years and came to this country, October 7, 1855. He remained for a brief period at Lighthouse, in Ogle county, Illinois, and in 1856 came to La Moille. where he opened a tailor shop. He was married October 7, 1857, to Jemima Duncan Mclntire, at Lighthouse. Ogle county, she being also a native of Scotland. Soon after coming to America Mr. Boyle took out his naturalization papers and became a stanch republican. He lived in La Moille for about three years and then removed to Missouri, settling on a farm, which he operated through the summer months, while in the winter seasons he taught school. Eventually, however, he returned to Illinois and died at Bunker Hill, this state, January 28, 1861. He was a self-educated as well as self-made man and was a very active and well informed citizen, progressive in his views and in his conduct. He was a man of strong personality, interested in every good work for the benefit of others. Reared in. the faith of the Presbyterian church he afterward became identified with the Baptist church on coming to La Moille. He served as librarian in his town and was active and influential in political circles, delivering many addresses during the presidential campaigns. As his activity extended to manv lines of life he developed thereby a well rounded character. Six children have been bom unto Mr. and Mrs. I. W. Hopps: Caroline L/., Grace G., Hester M., Hugh M., Alida B., ann one child who died in infancy.

active and helpful in Ciiristian work in conueciion with that church and has been a generous contributor to its 8up])ort. At different times he has served as trustee and clerk of the cliurch and collc>ctor and treasurer, and he has held other otHcial connections, being a director ol the La Moille cemetery and director of the IJued Drug Company, school director and school trustee and trustee of the .\llen high school fund, commissioner of highways, and supervisor of Clarion township. Further trust has been reposed in him through his appointment as executor of two estates and as guardian of different children, and no trust reposed in hira has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. He is most reliable at all times and under all circumstances, and his probity stands as an unquestioned fact in his life record. For thirty-<me years he has been a stalwart advocate of the republican party and its principles, and in the discharge of his official duties lie has displayed unfaltering fidelity as well as capability, lie has never sought to figure ])rominently in public life outside his own coiniuunity. but has been content to labor among the people wln^re he has always resideil and where he has so directed his laliors as to make his life one of signal usefulness and honor.

Dr. C. A. Palmer, a leading physician and surgeon who has attained distinction in the profession and at tJie same time found opportunity for co-operation in progressive public measurt's, so that the city has benefited by his efforts, was born in Dover township, Bureau county, Septemiier 8, 1855. His father, George M. Palmer, was a native of New York and came to Bureau county from Ohio in 1855. .\ farmer by occupation, he carefully conducted his agricultural interests and was a prominent representative of that class. IFe married Ellen Russell, a native of Ohio.

Dr. Palmer completed his more specifically literary education by graduation from the Princeton high school and was graduated in medicine from the Northwestern University as a member of the class of 1876. He added practical experience to his theoretical training by active service as interne in Mercy hospital for a year and thus well equipped for the profession came to Princeton in 1877 and has since been engaged in active practice here. He has pursued various post graduate courses, including two in New York and three in Chicago, and at all times he keeps abreast with professional advancement in the ever widening knowledge of the profession, resulting from research and scientific experiment. The extent of his practice is the best criterion of his nbillty and few physicians of this section of the state can equal him in the volume of patronage accorded him. He was honored by election as the first president of the Bureau Countv Medical Society, of which he was one of the active organizers, and he also belongs to the Illinois State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Somewhat in the line of his profession, he was for twenty years a partner in the drug business as a member of the firm of Palmer & Trulson, but recently has disposed of his interest to Mr. Trulson.

Dr. Palmer was married in 1882 to Miss Jane I. Eckels, a daughter of James S. Eckels of Bureau county, and they became the parents of four children, three daughters and a son who are living, while their second child, Charles, is deceased. Those who still survive are Margaret Ellen, Alice, Eckels and Jean Isabella.

Dr. Palmer, prominent in Masonry, has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite and is a member of various other fraternal organizations, including the Knights of Pythias. He has the distinction of holding the first commission for surgeon major for the uniformed rank of the Knights of Pythias. He belongs to the Presbyterian church and his interest and co-operation have extended to many movements for the material, intellectual and moral progress of his community. He has been a member of the city school board and for eight years he was president of the high school board and from 18f)9 until 1903 was mayor of the city, giving a public spirited administration looking to general improvement and advancing civic virtue and civic pride.

John C. Field

John C. Field, a resident farmer of Berlin township, has erected his home upon an eminence commanding an excellent view of the surroimding country and has one of the attractive farm properties of this section of the state. He still lives in Berlin township, which was the place of his nativity, his natal day being April 21, 18T0. His father, John Field, was born May 22, 1818, and became a resident of Bureau cormty in 18-53, at which time he located on section 10, Berlin township. Later he bought two quarter sections of land on section 15 of the same township and persistently and energetically gave his time and energies to faiTO work, with the residt that the wild land was transformed into very fertile and productive fields that yielded good annual harvests. Mr. Field was married in Peoria, Illinois, about 1858 to Miss Catharine Schnebly, who was born in that city in 1836. They became the parents of six children, of whom John C. is the yo\ingest, and two of the number have now departed this life.

Reared under the parental roof, John C. Field at the usual age became a student in the common schools and later he completed his education in Geneseo (Illinois) College. During the periods of vacation he assisted in farm work and after his school days were over he aided in the labors of the fields. In fact throughout his entire life he has carried on general agricultural pursuits and is now a leading and prosperous farmer of his community, engaged in the raising of short-horn cattle, Poland China hogs and Norman horses in addition to cultivating the cereals best adapted to soil and climate. He has made a success in his business career and although he now rents his fields he yet gives supervision to his place. When his present farm came into his possession it was one vast corn-field, but he has erected good, substantial buildings upon a rise of ground, giving him an excellent view of the surrounding country unsurpassed l)y that secured from any other farm residence of the county.

On the 21st of December, 1892, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Field and Miss Eva Booth, who was born March 8, 1871, a daughter of William and Ann E. (Pierce) Booth, who were natives of Illinois and have spent all of their lives in Bureau county. They became the parents of two children, Eva and ilay, the former now the wife of Jlr. Field. This marriage has been blessed with one daughter, Helen R., ))orn May 30, 1895.

In his fraternal relations Mr. Field is a Mason, and has attained the Knight Templar degree, belonging to Arlington lodge. No. 270, A. F. & A. M., and to Princeton Temple Commandery, No. 20, K. T. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Congregational church at Dover, in which he has been treasurer for several years and is still holding the office. His interest in community affairs is deep and sincere, matters of local progress and national improvement being causes dear to his heart, so that his co-operation and aid can always be counted upon for the furtherance of any progressive public movement. He has prospered in his business, and through his capable management has been enaliled to double the farm since it came into his possession. He today owns one hundred and sixty acres of good land in Berlin township, and his well directed labors have been the resultant factor in his acquirement of a success which is as enviable as it is gratifying.

David H. Barkman

David II. Barkman has for the past six years resided upon his present farm in La Moille township. His life record liegan in New Jersey on the 23d of February, 1802, and his residence in Illinois dates front the 27th of March, 188G, when he located in Bureau county. In a family of twelve children born unto Henry M. and Marinda (Reinliart) Bnrknian he was the eighth. His parents were likewise natives of New Jersey, where they were reared and married and made their lionie upon a farm.

H. Barknian aequirod his education and received ample training at fami labor, for he was early instructed in the best methods of cultivating the fields and by practical experience became well qualified for work in this connection. Thinking to enjoy better business opportunities in the middle west he came to Illinois when a young man of twenty-four years and has since resided in Bureau county. A life of diligence and business activity has made him the owner of one hundred and eighty-one and a fourth acres of excellent farming land which is well located and is improved with good buildings and beautiful shade trees. Here Mr. Barkman has lived for six years and the value of the place is constantly increasing by reason of the modern equipments and accessories he has added. He uses the latest improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields and his farm is neat and thrifty in every department.

Mr. Barkman was married on the 27th of August, 1889, to Miss Ida B. Wood, who was born near Sandusky, AVisconsin, November 27, 1801. Her parents were Samuel and Frances (Gray) Wood, the former a native of Nev/ York and the latter of Ohio. In their family were five children, of whom Mrs. Barkman is the eldest and one of the number is now deceased. She completed her education in the Princeton high school and by her marriage has become the mother of three children : Henry L., born Mav 2, 1891 ; Cecil L., August 23, 1897 ; and Viola B.", October 22, 1900.

Mr. and Mrs. Barkman attend the services of the Methodist Episcojjal church, of which she is a member, while he holds membership relations with Ohio lodge of the Knights of the Globe. He exercises Ms right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party but has never been an aspirant for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, which are now bringing him gratifying success. He made no mistake in choosing the middle west as a favorable location and by utilization of the opportunities offered here he has gained a place among the substantial residents of the county, being now classed with the leading and prosperous farmers of Tja Moilie township.

W. C. GRISWOLD, M. D. Dr. W. C. Griswold, who for many years devoted his life, with gratifying success, to the practice of medicine and surgery, is now living retired in Princeton, where he lias made his home since 1900. He is a native of .Mlegany county, New York, and a son of George W. Griswold. who came to Bureau county in IS.'ifi, settling in Milo. For twenty years the father devoted his life to teaching in the high school there and also carried on general , agricultural pursuits. He likewise filled the office of town clerk for two years and was actively and helpfully interested in all matters

Dr. Griswold pursued his early education in New York and afterward atended the Northwestern University. The completion of his more specifically literarj' course was followed by several years of teaching and he then entered upon preparation for the practice of medicine as a student in Chicago Medical College, of Chicago, from which ho was graduated March 0, 18C4. Immediately afterward he joined the array and acted as assistant surgeon until the close of the war, whereby he not only rendered effective and valuable aid to his country but also promoted his own efficiency through the broad and varied experience which comes to the military surgeon.

For a year after the close of the war Dr. Griswold practiced in Princeton and then removed to Memphis, Tennessee, where he remained for thirty-five years as one of the able general practitioners of medicine and surgerA' with a large and lucrative patronage. He was also examining surgeon f(ir pensions in Tennessee and was a member of the Loyal League and other beneficiary societies in that state. lie not only attained professional prominence but was also a candidate for the legislature on the republican ticket and recognized as a leader in public life in the community, exercising considerable influence in affairs of genoral moment. In 1900 he returned to Princeton, where he has since lived retired.

Dr. Griswold was married to ^liss Josephine R. .\ntliony in 1879, tiie wedding being celebrated in Providence. Bureau county. Mrs. Griswold is a daughter of Alfred Anthony, one of the earlier settlers of the county, who came here in 18.'?7 and followed the occupation of farming. Both Dr. and Mrs. Griswold are members of the Christian church and they reside at No. 902 South Fourth street in Princeton, where be owns a beautiful home that he has erected since locating here. It is a large two-story residence standing in the midst of a fine lawn. Since his retirement from the active practice of the profession the Doctor ami liis Avife have enjoyed many pleasures, including a trip to the Orient. Thcv were gone five months and during that period thcv visited France, Italy, Rome, Paris, Constantino|ile, Black Sea. Smyrna, .Top|)a, .Tcrnsalcm. .Tcriclio, the Jordan, the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, .Alexandria, Cairo, and traveled up the Nile for six hundred miles. Tbey also vi.sited Madeira, Malta, Algiers, Spain, Switzerland. Greece, Txmdon and Liverpool, thus viewing many points of modern, historic and scenic interest. Dr. Griswold is a stockholder in the Bureau County Independent Telephone Compnnv and other corporal inns, his capital being jiidi<i»\isly placed. He is a member of the Afempliis Alodicnl Society of Memjihis, Tennessee, th.- Princeton Medical .\s.sociation. the Tri-State Medical .\.*sociation of Tennes,«ee ami the .\nierican Medical .Vssociation. He attained considerable prominence in his profession and the years of his active labor therein were crowned with a success that now enables him to enjoy much that life has to offer in the way of jjleasures and comfort.

David Youxt

David Yount is the owner of a valuable farm of three hundred and twenty-eight acres in Macon township. He was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, April 5, 1835, and is one of the eight children whose parents were Jacob and Sarah (Koontz) Yount. The father was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and lived the life of an agriculturist, spending his entire days in his native county, where he owned and operated two hundred and forty acres of rich and arable land. He held various township offices, to which he was elected on the democratic ticket. He held membership in the Christian church and his life was upright and honorable, winning him the respect of all with whom he associated. He died in 1865 at the age of fifty-five years, while his wife, long surviving him, passed away March 20, 1898, at the age of eighty-three years, eleven months and t«'enty-seven days. Her last days were sjient in the home of her son, John Yount. in Bedford township and she was the last survivor of her father's family. .She was a faithful member of the Reformed church for more than half a century. For more than three years prior to her demise she was a confirmed invalid but she bore her ills with Christian resignation and although she outlived the alotted time of man her mind remained perfectly bright and clear to the last. Of the seven sons and one daughter born of her marriage five are now living: John, Scott, Jacob, George and David, while Henry and Peter are deceased.

David Yoiint, whose name introduces this record, was reared to farm life and his attention was largely given to the work of the fields until about nineteen years of age, when he learned the trade of a brick and stone mason, being employed along that line until 18.59. He then removed to Springfield, Missouri, where he remained until the fall of 1861, when he came to Macon township, Bureau county, where he now resides. In 1865, soon after his marriage, he began farming on his own account and that he has prospered as the years have gone by is indicated by the fact that he is today the owner of three hundred and twentyeight acres of valuable land, whereon he tills the soil and raises crops, his business proving profitable.

Mr. Yount was married Januarv 36, 1865, in Macon townsliip, to Miss Elizabeth Cariior, wlio was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of John Carper, who was a native of that county and died at the age of sixty-one vears, while his wife passed away when her daughter, Mrs. Yount, was a little child. In their family were seven children, of whom four are now living : Jacob John, Adam, Henry and Christina. The father, Mr. Carper, was one of the pioneer residents of Macon township and held a number of local offices during the period of his connection with this county. He belonged to the Church of God and his political views were in accord with the principles of the whig party until its dissolution, when he joined the ranks of the new republican part\'.

In 1901 Mr. Yount was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 10th of May of that year at the age of sixty-one. In the family were two daughters and a son, John, Delia and Allie. The elder daughter is now the wife of T. Pratt, a resident of Macon township.

Mt. Yount holds membership with the Church of God and in politics is a stalwart republican but has never cared for public office. He has served, however, as school director for about fifteen years and is interested in public education. His success has been by no means the result of fortunate circumstances. It has come to him through, energy, labor and perseverance directed by an evenly balanced mind and by honorable business principles. He finds his greatest social enjoyment at his own fireside and he has many friends, who esteem him for his genuine personal worth.

Howard H. Priestley

Howard H. Priestley is a member of the Priestley Hardware Company, the largest enterprise of this character in Bureau county, and as such needs no introduction to the residents of Princeton or the surrounding country. He is one of the native sons of this city, born August 25, 1861. His father, C. M. Priestley, who was in the hardware business here for a short time, arrived in Bureau county in 1856 from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and is still living in Princeton.

At the usual age Howard H. Priestley entered the public schools and passed through successive grades until he had completed the high school course by graduation in the class of 1879. Since that time he has been engaged in the hardware business and as a member of the Priestley Hardware Company is active in the control of the largest enterprise of this character in Bureau county. The store is located on North Main street, where they handle all kinds of hardware, stoves, furnaces, cream separators, refrigerators, hammocks, tinware and wire fencing. The business was organized here on the present site in 1855 and has always been a foremost factor in the commercial interests of the county. The company is now composoil of Howard H. Priestley, Harper N. Noble and L. P. Larson. In addition to the above mentioned line of goods which they carry they also handle all kinds of builders' hardware, iron and blacksmiths' supplies, the woodwork for wagons and buggies, mechanics' tools, tinware and all kinds of kitchen utensils, and are the Bureau county agents for the Round Oak and Munson furnaces. From the beginning the house has sustained an unassailable reputation for honorable dealing and has found that honesty is the best policy, in proof of which theirs is now an extensive enterprise. The firm does more business and carries a larger stock than any house in the state outside of Chicago with one or two exceptions.

In 1890 Mr. Priestley was married to Miss Mabel Sisson, of Galesburg, Illinois. They are both widely and favorably known in this city and Mrs. Priestley is acting as a member of the Princeton high school board. IMr. Priestley holds membership in the Presbyterian church and politically is a republican. He stands for progress and improvement in municipal affairs and has been a cooperant factor in many piovements that have had direct bearing upon the welfare and advancement of the city and county. He is a typical representative of the spirit of the age, being an alert wideawake business man, who holds clear conceptions of trade interests, conditions and possibilities and who has wrought along modern business lines with the result that his success is demonstrated in one of the leading commercial enterprises of the countv.

GEORGE R. WEISE, M. D. C. Dr. George R. Weise, a leading veterinary surgeon of Bureau county, with office at 4.38 South Main street, in Princeton, has a largo practice and is considered one of the best representatives of his profession in this part of the state. A native of Bureau county, he was born in 1861. His father, Andrew T. Weise, was born in Morris county, New Jersey, February' 28, 18.32, and was a son of Jacob and ^lary Weise, both of whom were natives of the same state and were of Gennan descent. Andrew T. Weise was the eighth in order of birth in their family of nine children and was reared in his native state to the age of sixteen years, during whicli time he attended the common schools and then came with his parents to Bureau county. The grandfather died in Princeton at the age of eighty-two years. Andrew T. Weise remained at home until 1852. when he made a trip across the plains with an ox team to California, being six months on the road. He remained in California for five years, being engaged in mining principally, but for a time was on a ranch. In 18.57 he returned home by way of the Panama route to New York city, making the trip in twentv-two days, .\fter a sliort visit in Chicago he came to tjie old homestead and for two years was engaged in farming. In 1860 he married Miss P. J. Cartwright, a native of Pennsylvania, in which state she wa.s reared to the age of eighteen vears, when she came with her father to Bureau county, Illinois. Immediately after tiieir marriage Mr. and Mrs. Weise locatetl on a farm on North Prairie, where they remained for two years and in the spring of 1863 they located upon his present farm, where they have since reniaincHl with tiie excejition of a period of seven years spent in Texas. Mr. Weise is a democrat in his political views and affiliations and is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree. He enjoys tiie confidence and respect of the entire community and the circle of his friends has constantly grown as the circle of his acquaintance has widened. Unto him and his wife have been born four cjiildren: George R., Frank H., Will M. T. and Mary T.

In the public schools of this county Dr. Weise pursued his early education and determining upon the practice of veterinary surgery as a life work, he began preparations to that end in Chicago Veterinary College, of which he is a graduate. He has since practiced in Princeton and his ability places him with the foremost members of the jirofession and has secured for him a large patronage. His early youth was spent upon the farm and on leaving home he went to Texas, where he spent two years on the ranch. He afterward conducted a butcher shoj) in ^falden, Illinois, and then entered the veterinary college, since whicli time he has devoted his energies to the practice of veterinary .svirgery in Princeton.

In 1895 Dr. Weise was married to Jliss .\ddie B. Russell, of Leepertown, a daughter of Samuel Russell, who is now living. Mrs. Weise passed away in Febnuiry, 1905, leaving a little daughter six months old, who is now with her mother's people at Bureau. Dr. Weise also lost one child. In his political afrdiations he is a democrat. The greater part of his life has been passed in this county, where he is widely k-nown and there through his interest and efficiency in his profession he has gained a liberal patronage.

H. T. Jackson

H. T. JACKSON. H. T. Jackson, a.«sociated with the manufacturing and building interests of Princeton as a nu^mber of the firm of Berrv- & Jack.«on, proprietors of a large planing mill, was born in Bureau county in 1871, his parents being Robert J. and Emily (Thomas) Jackson. The father was of Scotch descent and came from the land of hills and heather to .\merica. Tiie mother was born near Princeton in 1837, and her sister, Mrs. Mary Hobert, now of Oregon, was the first white child bom in Bureau county. The grandfather, Henry Thomas, came to this county in 1898 and as a pioneer settler aided in reclaiming the region from the domain of the red man and converting it into the uses of civilization. The father was a mechanic and later a farmer, devoting many years to general agricultural pursuits. He is now de-

At the usual age H. T. Jackson entered the public schools, wherein he continued his studies until he had mastered the common branches of learning that qualify one for the duties of an active business career. When not busy with his text-books his time was largely devoted to the work of the fields and other farm labor and he was identified with general agricultural pursuits until 1901, when at the age of thirty years he began working at the carpenter's trade and on the 1st of January, 1905, purchased an interest in the planing mill in which he is now associated with J. W. Berry under the firm style of Berry & Jackson, Mr. Jackson having charge of the men who work outside. The present mill was built by Mr. Berry in 1898 and is located at No. 607 North Main street in Princeton. It is a well equipped plant, supplied with much modem and improved machinery and the company manufactures all kinds of porch work, fancy stair work, carved moldings, window and door screens, window and door frames and sash and doors. They also handle window and plate glass and art windows and paints and oils, and thev do turning and scroll sawing. The business is constantly growing and has long since become one of the profitable enterprises of the city.

Mr. Jackson votes with the repiiblican party and served as constable of Bureau township for six or seven years. Socially he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He possesses the determination that enables him to carry through to successful completion whatever he undertakes and in his business life he is just and upright, never failing to do his part.

Charles Jones Richardson

CHARLES JONES RICHARDSON. Charles Jones Richardson was born on a farm in Brattlcl)oro. Vermont, November 1.'), 1825, and in the paternal line is descended from English ancestry, representatives of the name locating in New England in 1G34. The paternal grandfather, Isaiah Richardson, was a resident of New England. His son, Isaiah Richardson, Jr., was born in Athol. Massachusetts, in 1792, and in 1799 removed to Vermont. He married Miss Betsey Stearns, November 25, 1815, who was born in Brattleboro. Vermont, in 1792. and was a daughter of Ruben Stearns, who was of Scotch lineage, and lived to be eighty-eight yearsold. Isaiah Richardson, Jr., was a farmer by occupation, and on the same day he was married began farming on forty acres of land. He never left that farm until lie had been married for fifty years, when he retii'cd from active business. He had worked earnestly and persistently in tlie interval and had become the owner of three hundred and twenty-seven acres of land. Mr. Richardson's parents celebrated their golden wedding November 25, 1865. The next day thej- left the old homestead, where their ten children were born and reared, and- moved into a beautiful new home, purchased for them by their sons Charles and Frederick, in the village of West Brattleboro, where they enjoyed a quiet life until the death of Mrs. Isaiah Richardson, July 3, 1874, at tlie age of eighty-three years. Her husband passed away at the advanced age of ninetyfive years. Mr. Richardson's grandmother lived to be more than ninety-four years of age; both the Richardson and Stearns families being noted for longevity. Mr. and Mrs. Isaiah Richardson had ten children, seven sons and three daughters, and they all lived to be married and had families except one. Two sons still survive; Frederick G. residing in Chicago.

Charles was the third son of Isaiah and Betsey Stearns-Richardson. When fourteen years of age he was placed in a country store, at a salary of twenty-five dollare a year and his board. He clerked for aljout eight years. Late in the year 1848 the news of the discovery of gold in California reached New England, and Mr. Richardson decided to become a member of the Nari'agansett Mining and Trading Company, and sailed from Boston on the bark "Velasco" ou the 14th day of February, 1849. He reached his destination. San Francisco, on the Gth day of October, after two hundred and thirty-four days on the water. They had forty-two days of wind and storm otf Cape Horn. i\hile in California Mr. Richardson was interested in mining, employing men to do the actual work in the mines, and he was also connected with other lines of business. He bought a ranch of twenty-eight hundred acres, and subsequently conducted a store and blacksmith shop; also a hotel and a stage coach station, owning the first stage line in that part of the country. He utilized the advantages which came to him, and so directed his business affairs as to win success. Mr. Richardson remained in California eight years, returning to the states in 1856, but returned to California to dispose of his interests there.

On the 18th day of November, 1857, Mr. Richardson was married to A^ictoria McArdle, at Republic, Seneca county, Ohio. Mrs. Richardson was the daughter of John P. and Betsey Haines McArdle. Her father was the son of one of the Irish patriots who fled, after tlie rebellion in Ireland, to this country in 1797. Her father was born in 17S5, and her mother was the first white child born in Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, in 1800. Mr. McArdle brought over the mountains in a wagon the first printing press that was ever brought to the west side of the Alleghenies. He printed the "Mount Vernon Banner" in 1812. The old printing press is now in a museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a prominent representative of journalism in that early day.

olis, Minnesota. Harry Chase, bom May 19, 18(i0, died October 23, 1883. Victor Oscar, born March 10, 1864, died on the 10th of July of the same year. Charles Prentice, born September 20, ISC'.i, married Frances Green, a native of Battle Creek, Michigan, and they are now living in Spokane, Washington. Anne Stewart, born March 10, 1873, is the wife of Herbert Fielding Luers, of Owatonna, Minnesota, who is editor of the Journal Chronicle of that place.

In the spring of 1858 Mr. and Mrs. Kicliardson came to Bureau county, settling on a farm in Manlius township, and to which development and cultivation he gave his energies until May, 18G2, when he entered the employ of the govermuent at St. Louis. His duties called him to various parts of this state, and also west of the Mississippi river. He resigned in November, 186-1, and entered into active business life. In May, 1869, he returned to Illinois, settling in Princeton, and has been a factor in its business interests ever since. For a quarter of a century he has been a director of the First National Bank of Princeton, Illinois. Mr. Richardson is a republican; he has continuously supported the party since its inauguration. He was chairman of the executive committee of the first Matson Library Board, and also its treasurer. He gave especial attention, with the valuable assistance of the other members of the board, to the interests of the library. They opened the doors to the public library, which had then some one thousand volumes, and which has since grown to more than seven thousand. Mr. Richardson's cooperation and assistance has been given to many movemeuts for the public good, and he has manifested a helpful spirit in working for the interests which were of benefit to the community. His record has lieen such as to command respect, and may well serve as a source of inspiration to others.

Mr, Moseley was married August 12, 1884, to S. Louise Jones, a daughter of Dr. Jones, formerly of La Moille, but now deceased. They have one child, Frances Louise Moseley.

Douglas Jioskley

Douglas Moseley, president of the Citizens Bank of Princeton, was born April 18, 1860, and is a son of Frederick Moseley, who came to Bureau county with his parents in 1831. He was a son of Roland Moseley, who came from Massachusetts direct to Bureau county and settled on a farm in Princeton township, so that the family has long been connected with the history of this portion of the state.

Douglas Moseley acquired his more specifically literary education in the schools of Princeton, being "graduated from the high school with the class of 1879. He afterward attended the Harvard Law School for one year, and in 1884 he entered the Citizens National ]?ank as l)ookkecper. He has since progressed in his business life, becoming assistant cashier and still later cashier, while in 1902 he was elected to the presidency of the institution, which is one of the strong financial concorns of the countv.

William E. Wii.Vples

William E. \Vhaple8, of the Exchange Bank of Neponset, a prominent business man and representative of one of the leading pioneer families of the county, was Ijorn March 31, 1861, in the citj' where he still resides, and is descended from New England ancestry. His great-grandfather, Elisha Whaples, Sr., was a native of Connecticut and of French extraction. He participated in the war of 1812 and subsequently engaged in farming. His son, Elisha Whaples, Jr., was lx)rn in Newington, Connecticut, in 1800, and died in the year 18.')4. His wife, who bore the maiden name of .\inanda A. Hart, was born in Avon, Connecticut, in 1806, and passed away in Newington, that state, in 1S30. Their children were ilrs. Nancy A. Deniing, Warren Day, and Shubal H.

Warren D. Whaples, father of William E. Whaples, was born in Newington, Conncvticut, July 3, 1832, and there pursued his education, after which he followed farming and also engaged in teaching school for two terms. In 1S.")6, at the age of twenty-four years, he came to the Mississippi valley, settling in Nejwnset, Bureau count)'. Soon after his arrival here he bought a fourth interest in the town lots and otherwise dealt in lands, which he subsequently sold. He had been a resident of Neponset for only a brief period when he established a store, and from that time until his death was engaged in merchandising and in banking. For a year he was employed as a clerk, and on the expiration of that period he formed a partnership with Joseph Lyford, condutting a general store until 1860, when the n^lation between them was discontinued and Mr. Whajjles formed a ])artncrsliip with his brother, Shubal H., which continued until the clase of the Civil war. Warren D. Whai)les was afterward alone in business, and was very successful, commanding an excellent trade as a merchant and thus prospering in his undertakings. In 1873 he established the Exchange bank, and although he met with a heavv loss shortly afterward, through the failure of a Chicago bank, his own banking venture nevertheless proved a decided success, and has since l)oen one of the reliable finaneial concerns of tlie county. In 1883 he erected a fine business bhxk, mcupying the two lower rooms for store and banking purposes. He built a lire-proof vault and also i)laco<l in it a burglar-proof safe, adding also the equipments and devices of a modern banking establishment.

Lawrencf, who was born September 23, 1837, in East Canaan, Connecticut, and they had two sons : WUliani E. and Walter L., the latter born July 5, 1SG3. The father was an active member of the Congregational church and took an active interest in all things pertaining to the welfare of the community, while his private business interests were of a nature which also contributed to the general business activity and prosperity. In his fraternal relations he was a Good Templar, which indicated his attitude on the temperance question, and his political allegiance was given the republican party.

Born, reared and educated in Neponset, AVilliam E. Whaples, when twenty-one years of age, became associated with his father in business and in 1S!)0 joined him in his lianking enterprise. Since his father's death, which occurred September 2-1, 18fll, he has Ijeen connected with his mother and brother in the ownership and control of the Exchange Bank, and is well known in financial circles in this part of the state, conducting the bank along conservative lines, and yet not without a spirit of progress in keeping with modern banking ideas.

William E. "\Miaples was married October 24, 1885, to Ida M. Baker, who was born in Neponset, February 11, 1863, a daughter of George W. and Marian (McCreath) Baker. Her father was born in New York city, January 9, 1828, and the mother in Glasgow, Scotland, October 31, 1833. They were married in the Empire state and became residents of Kewanee, Illinois, in 18.5.5, removing the following year to Neponset, where Mr. Baker followed his trade of carpentering and also engaged in fanning until 1883, when he retired from agricultural pursuits and is now enjoying a well earned rest at his home in Neponset. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the repulilican party. In his family are a son and daughter, the former being James Baker, now deceased.

Interested in the upbuilding and progress of the village, William E. A^Tiaples has co-operated in many movements for the general good. He has been school treasurer for twenty-five years and treasurer of the village for many years. He has likewise been treasurer of the Congregational church for the past tn'enty years, and the financial interests thus entrusted to his care show the confidence reposed in him by his associates. He is a member of Neponset lodge. No. 803, A. F. & A. M., anil he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star lodge, of which she is worthy matron, while Mr. Whaples is worthy patron. Both are members of the Congregational church, and their influence is ever on the side of a?sthetic and moral culture and of all that tends to promote public progress and improvement. Although ilr. Whaples came into possession of a business already established, in enlarging and controlling this he has displaj'ed excellent business ability, proving that success is a matter of judgment, experience and diligence, and not the result of genius or of fortunate circumstances, as held by many.

Chakles N. Keith

Charles N. Keith, a representative of commercial interests in Princeton, where he is engaged in real estate, farm loans and insurance, was born November 29, 1857, upon a farm in Ohio township. Bureau county, his parents being Melvin J. and Betsy (Perkins) Keith, both of whom were natives of the Empire state. The father was about twenty years of age at the time of his arrival here in 1847. Being greatly impressed with the possiblities of this new but rapidly developing ccnintrv, he soon afterward purchased a tract of land and liecame an active and enterprising agriculturist of this portion of the state. He has also been quite prominently identified witli public affairs and has wielded a wide influence in matters relating to the general progress. He has capably served as county clerk and outside of office has put fortli effective effort in behalf of the general good. He and his wife now reside in the village of Dover, Bureau county, Illinois.

Fpon that farm Charles N. Keith was born and reared to the age of twenty-five years, remaining there continuously save for the ]5eriod of four years spent in school. In the fall of 1882, having six months before located a homestead claim in Spink county, in the territory of Dakota, and having faith in the future of that northwest country, in company with Hon. L. G. Johnson of ilorrison, Illinois, he organized an excursion party, whose destination was the northwest. Their efforts were wonderfully successful and on the 6th of September, 1882, in charge of a special train, Mr. Keith accompanied a party of over three hundred home seekers to Dakota. In all the years that immigration has been pouring into that country this excursion exceeds all others in point of numbers. Mr. Keith established a newsjiaper, the ]\Iellette Tribvne. and also opened a land office at Mellette, Dakota. He became a prominent and influential factor in public life there and aided in shaping the policy of the territory during its formative period. In the fall of 1883 he was elected a delegate to the constitutional convention called by citizens of the territory for the ])urpose of drafting a constitution and presenting a memorial and petition to congress for admission as a state. At that convention Mr. Keith was appointed chief census enumerator and at once appointed county enumerators to proceed to take the census of the inhabitants of that portion of

On the 2Gth of November, 1884, Mr. Keith was married to ,A[iss Elizaljetli Edwards, of Mendota, Illinois, a daughter of Samuel Edwards, and they now have one child, Lillian. Closing out his business at Mellette, Mr. and Mrs. Keith removed to Watertown, South Dakota, where for a number of years he was special land examiner for the Dakota Loan & Trust Company. In 1890 the company made him manager of its business in the state of Nel^raska, his headquarters being at Broken Bow, where he spent the succeeding three years. In the fall of 1893 lie returned to Bureau county, where he engaged in farming and in the manufacture of brick. About the same time he located his family in Princeton, where he is nowengaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business, conducting a profitable Inisiness here. He owns over four hundred acres of land in South Dakota and Nebraska and also valuable property at Watertown, South Dakota. In the years of an active business career he has been watchful of opportunities pointing to success and his keen sagacity and enterprise have made him a valued exponent of substantial development in the northwest as well as in his home county. In politics he is an active democrat and has been cluiirman of the Bureau County Democratic Central Committee.

George P. Pettee, Jr

GEORGE P. PETTEE, JR. George P. Pettee, Jr., a resident of Princeton and cashier of the Seatonville State Bank at Seatonville, in which capacity he has served since its organization in 1904, is one of the native sons of Bureau county, having been born upon his father's farm in Concord township in May, 1859. He is a son of George P. Pettee, of French descent. The father was born February 2-'), 1834, in Rutland county, Vermont, and is therefore seventy-two years of age at this writing. His parents were George W. and Eleanor (Wrisley) Pettee, both of whom were natives of the Green Mountain state. George P. Pettee attended the schools of Vermont, obtaining a good practical education, and in 18.').'), at the age of twenty-one years, he left the parental roof and the hills of his native state to make his home upon the broad prairies of Illinois. On coming to Bureau county he operated rented land near Princeton until 1858, when he made his first purchase of eighty acres on section 10, Concord township, constituting a part of his present fine fann. He has extended its boundaries by additional purchase from time to time until the place comprises three hundred and sixty acres of valuable land and the improvements thereon have been made by him. He planted the seed from which have sprung the fine maple trees that ndorn the place and he has continued the work of development in accordance with modern ideas of agricultural progress. His farm is now well supplied with good buildings and the land has been brought under a high slate of cultivation. On the 7tii of July, 1857, he was joined in wedlock to Miss Margaret Sinnott, a ilaughter of Nicholas and Johanna (Bryant) Sinnott. Five children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Pettee: Mary E. ; George P.; John C; Alice A., who died November 10, 1890; and William J., a graduate of the I'rinceton high school and of the Gem City Business College of Quincy, Illinois. In his political views George P. Pettee, Sr., has always been a democrat since casting iiis first presidential ballot for James Buchanan in 1856. For nuiny years he served as a member of the school board and has always been tiie champion of matters relating to general progress and development. About five years ago he retired from active farm life and is now living in Princeton.

In taking up the personal history of George P. Pettee, Jr., we present to our readers the life record of one widely known in Bureau county, where he has always lived. He attended the district schools and also the schools of Shetlield and afterward engaged in teaching for some time in Seatonville. Subsequently he went to Chicago, where he attended the Bryant & Stratton Business College, and later took up the study of pharmacy in Illinois Pharmaceutical College. Returning to Seatonville. he again engaged in teaching for some time and in I'rinceton has conducted a hardware store, being thus closely associated with its commercial interests. He went to Seatonville before the town was started and after its establishment he served for four years as postmaster under President Cleveland. He is now cashier of the Seatonville State Bank, which was organized in 1904, with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars. 'Mr. Pettee has been a most active and helpful factor in the growth of Seatonville and his name is insejiarably interwoven with its interests and devclo])ment.

In 1895 occurred the marriage of George P. Pettee and Miss Neva Mvrtle Brookie. of Bureau county, a daughter of .\rthur Brookie. Her father was born in St. Tjouis, ilis.souri, .\pril ?9. 1850, and is a son of Dr. John and So|)liia (Keody) Brookie, the former a native of l,ouisville. Kenlucky, and the latter of Boonsboro, Washington county, Maryland, her birth having occurred within a mile and a half of the battlefield of .\ntietam. Dr. Brookie started out in business life as a farmer, but later took up the study of medicine under Dr. McDonald, of St. Tx)ui8, and engaged in practice at that place for many years. Before removing to the city he had lived with n brotjier-in-law, ^Ir. Kane, in Noble county. Illinois, and he planted the first fruit tree set out within the borders of that county - a morilla cherry. He died in Peru, IllinoiB, August 18, 18(i5. at the age of fiftv-six years. Both he and his wife were consistent members of the Christian church. Mrs. Brookie passed away in August, 1855. She was the daughter of Jacob and Priscilla Keedy, who removed from Maryland to Noble county, Illinois, in 1868 and there both died in 1881. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Brookie were born eight children: Sarah, Fannie, Mary, William F., Anna. Eugenia, Arthur and James.

Of this family. Arthur Brookie was educated in the common schools and has spent his life as a farmer. On first coming to Illinois he located in La Salle count}-, but later returned to Maryland, where he engaged in farming for three years. On the expiration of that period he became a resident of Bureau county. Illinois, and clerked in his brother-in-law's store for a time. He afterward again spent a year in Maryland, but once more came to Bureau county. He was married December 8, 1870, to Miss Lora E. Munson, a daughter of H. W. and E. J. Munson, in whose family were the following named : Plansina, who was drowned July 4, 1862 ; Augusta ; Lora, the wife of Arthur Brookie: and William H. and James Munson. ilr. and ^Irs. Brookie have become the parents of five children : Howard and John, twins, but the latter is now deceased; Neva M)Ttle, now Mrs. Pettee; Lida Eugenia: and Anna Belle. Mr. Brookie is a democrat and is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, while he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church.

LTnto ^Ir. and Mrs. Pettee have been born two children, Harold and Marguerite, aged, respectively, eight and seven years. Politically Mr. Pettee is a democrat, with rather independent tendencies. He and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church. He owns land in Nebraska. He has in his possession the bow and arrows and deerskin sheath that once belonged to Spotted Tail, chief of the Sioux Indians, and these things are still in a good state of preservation, the sheath showing wear through carrying. It is a very valuable and interesting relic. Mrs. Pettee is a relative of the Hall girls, who were kidnapped by the Indians in the Black Hawk war. Both are representatives of prominent old pioneer families and are surrounded at their home by a circle of friends, who appreciate their true worth, entertaining for them warm regard.

OLIVER J. FLINT, M. D. Among the younger practitioners of medicine in Princeton is Dr. Flint, a native son of Bureau county, bom on the 6th of November, 1870. His father, Milan Flint, was a native of New York and became a resident of Illinois in the early '50s. He was associated with the educational development of the state, being engaged in teaching school here at an early day, and he also engaged in farming, while the moral progress of his community found in liim a promoting factor as he labored earnestly and zealously in proclaiming the gospel as a minister of the Methodist church. He died in the year 1875 and those who knew him recognized the loss of a man worthy of all respect and honor. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Frances Wilhite, is a native of Kentucky.

Oliver J. Flint pursued his education in the public schools of Bureau county, completing the high-school course in Princeton with the class of 1888. His medical education was obtained in Northwestern University and was completed by graduation in the class of 1898. He commenced practice in Princeton in January, 1899, and has been a partner of Dr. C. A. Palmer during the period of his connection with the medical fraternity of his native county. He is esteemed in professional circles and is secretary of the Bureau County Medical Society. He also belongs to the State iledical Society and the American Medical Association and reading and investigation are adding to his knowledge and promoting his efficiency. He maintains a high standard of professional ethics and enjoys the regard of his professional brethren as well as of a host of friends of social life.

Michael Fagan, who is enaged in the meat and stock business in Ohio, was born in Ottawa, Canada. December 28, 1849. His father was James Fagan, who was born in Wicklow, Ireland, and went to Montreal, Canada, about 1816. After a period of about thirty-three years he removed to Bureau county, Illinois, and he died in La Moille, this county, on the 15th of August, 1865. He had settled upon a farm in La ^Moille township of two hundred and eighty acres, which he purchased in 1853 at two dollars and a quarter per acre.

ilichael Fagan was reared in this county amid iiioneer scenes and conditions and he can remember back to the early days, when he saw a great drove of wild deer. He acquired his education in the common schools, which he left in 1868 in oi-der to devote his undivided attention to work upon the home farm, where he remained until he attained his majority. He then engaged in the butchering business in Ohio for a period of one year, when he sold his interests and established a meat market in Chicago, where he remaiiied for one year. He then returned to the home farm, but a year later again came to the village of Oliio, in which he has since engaged in the meat and live stock business in a very successful n>anner. He has a good trade, which has constantlv grown, and he enjoys the confidence of all with whom he comes in contact.

Mr. Fagan was united in marriage to M'ss ATary E. Shcehan. who was born in Lee county, Illinois, in 1852. They were married in Amboy. Illinois, ill 187."^ and have become the parents of the fol- lowing named: Kstollu, the wife of F. B. Kaiser, a resident of ilount Auburn, Iowa; Jlay, the wife of 0. J. Conner, residing in Ohio; Anna", at home; William D. ; and Martin J., who died April 19, 1904:. The family are communicants of the Catholic church and in his political affiliation Mr. Fagan is a stalwart democrat. He served as village trustee for a period of twenty-two years and the interests of the town were largely benefited by his active and public-spirited co-operation in every movement for the general good. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen and the Knights-- of the Globe. 'He has prospered and progressed in his business life and in addition to his Inisiness interests in Ohio he owns a half section of land in Alberta county near High Kiver, Canada.

Judge Richard M. Skinner, occupying the bench of the Circuit court, has for a third of a century been a member of the Bureau county bar and is widely recognized as one of the leading lawyers of this part of Illinois. His activity has been so closely interwoven with the development of tlie county along many lines as to make his life record an integral chapter in its history. Its social and financial affairs have felt the stimulus of his co-operation and have profited by his practical methods and keen discernment.

Elected judge of the thirteenth judicial circuit in 1903, his record on the bench is in harmony with his record as a man and a lawyer, distinguished by unsw-erving integrity and by a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution.

Judge Skinner was born in Morris county. New Jersey, April 13, 1847, a son of John C. and Mary (Stevens) Skinner, likewise natives of that state. In 18.53 the father, accompanied by his family, removed to Oliio and in 18.54 sought a home in Bureau county, Illinois, settling upon a farm near Princeton, where he spent his remaining days, his death residting from an accident in 1877, when he was sixty-three years of age. His wife survived him until 1893, departing this life at the age of seventy-eight years. Their family numbered two sons and tliree daughters: Sarah S., the wife of Henry TT. Bacon of Ottawa, Kansas ; Richard M. ; George S., an attorney at the Princeton bar; Mary E., the wife of Elijah P. Lovejov ; and Eliza J., librarian in the Congressional library at Washington, D. C.

From the age of seven years Judge Skinner was reared to farm life and his primary education was acquired in the district schools. .Ambitions for further intellectual (raining, however, he entered the high school at Princeton, from which he was graduated with the class of 1870, the first class .sent out from that institution. His scliola.stic training w-as continued in Cornell University at Ithaca, New York, where lie pursued a ])Mrtial course, when having resolved to make the practice of law his life work he matriculated in Albany Law School of Union College and following liis graduation in 1873 was admitted to practice in all the courts of the state of New York. For a brief period, however, his attention was not given to his chosen profession. He spent two terms as a teacher in the high school of Princeton and then in 1873 entered \\])<m the active practice of his profession as a member of the Bureau county bar, wherein he was destined to win the distinction which conies from close and unremitting attention to the profession and from broad and comprehensive understanding of the principles of jurisprudence. He has practiced in all of the courts of the state and is recognized as the peer of many of the ablest members of the Illinois bar. From 1876 until 1880 he was state's attorney of Bureau county and again from 1888 until 1892. His official duties were ever discharged without fear or favor and his high standing at the bar, his recognized ability in the interpretation and correct application of jirinci])les of law led to his selection for the bench. . Fairness and impartiality cliaractcrize his decisions, together with a thorough and comprehensive understanding of legal principles, and he displays a marked sense of conscientious obligation in the discharge of the duties of the office to which life, liberty and property interests must look for protection. Aside from the profession he has extended his efforts to other lines and lia.s served as director of the Farmers National Bank and as director and general attorney of tlic Citizens National Bank of Princeton. Conservative in all business matters, his judgment is relied upon by his associates and the public has confidence in the stability of an institution conducted by such men.

Judge Skinner was married on the 12th of June, 1878, to Miss Mary Ella Sharp, a daughter of John N. and Nancy (McCrackcn) Siiarp, of Hackettstown, New Jersey, later of Brooklyn, New York. The five children of this marriage were: Dewitt, who died in 1892 at the age of twelve years ; Walter R. ; .Anna B. ; John S. : and Richard M. The family attended the Congregational church.

Judge Skinner is perha))s best known aside from his professional activity by reason of the prominent part which he has taken in political interests. He was reared in the faith of the republican party and his rriature judgment has sanctioned its principles as most conducive to good government. He has delivered many campaign addresses in support of parly measures and he stands for progress, improvement and reform. Wherever there is a public-spirited attempt to dislodge misrule in municipal affairs he is to be found working with the loaders of the movement. A thorough temperance man from principle, be has always opposed the licensing of saloons and in 1895 was elected mayor of Princeton on the no license ticket. He brought to his official duties a firm determination to execute the laws and exercised his official prerogatives in support of every movement and measure which he deemed would prove of permanent benefit. His course as chief executive won the commendation of the most progressive and law-abiding element. He served on the bench as county judge of Bureau county from 1897 until 1903. In the public-school system of the state he has always taken a lively interest and for eighteen years was a member of the board of education of the Princeton high school district, being one of the first graduates of the high school and one of the first of its alumni to occupy the position of a teacher in it. The interest manifested as student and teacher has ever been maintained. The Princeton high school occupies a peculiar position, being the first high school in Illinois to be organized under a special charter from the state. Its standing as an advanced school has always been the highest and to Judge Skinner much of the credit of its efficiency is due. For years he has been either president or clerk of the board and is familiar with every detail of the work connected therewith. He has served as a member of the Matson public library board and he is the champion of all that stands for intellectual progress and for all that upholds the political and legal status of his community. He has left and is leaving the impress of his individuality upon public life in Bureau county and his clear judgment, his lofty patriotism and his public spirit well render him a leader of thought and action.

William Banschbach

After a useful and well spent life ^Villiam Banschl)ach is now living retired in Princeton, enjoying a well earned rest and the f I'uits of former toil. He was born in Baden, Germany, on the 12th of June, 1S37, his parents being Martin and Caroline (Bischofberger) Banschbach, who came to America in 1854, and settled in Bureau county, Illinois. For a time the father resided near Maiden and then removed to Selby township, where he bought a farm which continued to be the home of himself and his wife until called to their final rest. Tie died in August, 185T, and she passed away on the 12tb of August, 1887, at the age of seventy-five years and eighteen days. In his native land he served in the German army and then, coming to America, followed brick-making and the burning of lime and tile in connection with farming, but in this country devoted his attention almost exclusively to agricultural pursuits. He had five children, namely: Martin, who is represented on another page of this work; William, whose name introduces this review ; Charles, who resides in Chicago and was for forty years foreman of the roundhouse for the Illinois Central Eailroad Company, but recently resigned that position though still employed in the shops there; Louis, who is a farmer by occupation and has made his home in Christian county, Illinois, for the past thirty-five years; and Henry, who enlisted at the age of sixteen years in Company G, Twentieth Illinois infantry, and was wounded in service, dying at the general post hospital at Jackson, Tennessee, October 29, 1862, when only nineteen years of age.

William Banschbach spent the first fifteen years of his life in liis native land, and in 1852 crossed the broad Atlantic with his brother ^lartin, becoming a resident of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he remained for two years, and at the end of that time took up his abode in Bureau county, Illinois. He worked as a farm hand in Selby town/-hip until he had attained his majority and later followed the harness business for twenty years at Depue, JIalden, Hollowayville and Princeton, being at the last named place for nine years. Selling out his business in 1878 he later devoted his attention to the drug trade from 1880 until 1883, disposing of his store in the latter year. He once acted as administrator and guardian for some eighteen or twenty years, but in the fall of 1905 retired from business and has not actively engaged in any enterprise since that time.

On July 2, 1872, ilr. Banschbach was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Ann Eedlingshafer. She was also born in Germany in 1848, but was a mere infant when brought to America, learning to walk on shipboard when crossing the Atlantic with her 2)arents, who came to the United States that year. She was practically reared in Iowa and was married at Sheridan, that state. Having received a good common school education, supplemented by a four years' college course at Ames, Iowa, she successfully engaged in teaching for twenty-one terms in Lucas and Delaware counties, Iowa, prior to her marriage. Five children have been born to l\Ir and Mrs. Bansehbacli. namely : Edward Aaron, now of Chicago, who for years acted as salesman for typewriters, and is now selling the Burroughs adding machines ; William Martin, who married Edith French, and conducted a sporting goods store and repair sliop at Princeton for some time, doing a good business, but now makes his home in Portland, Oregon; Ohmer Lott, now at Yokohama, Japan, as pay clerk in the United States Navy on the U. S. S. Raleigh ; Winnifred G., who is a graduate of Knox Conservatory of Music and is now successfully engaged in teaching music at Princeton; Tjitta Celia, who was graduated at the Illinois State University in June, 1906, and is now pursuing a post-graduate course at the TTniversity of Illinois.

since that time has voted independently. Socially he has been afliliated with the Odd Fellows fraternity for thirty-five years, being a member of the order at Princeton. His wife is connected with the Daughters of Rebekah and the Woman's Christian Temperante Union. She is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and botli are heLi in high regard by all who know them. They have a nice home at No. 5 South Pleasant street, where hospitality reigns supreme.

Stephen A. Nawa

Stephen A Nawa, who carries on farming and stock-raising on section 32, Selby township, is a native of Germany, his birth having occurred in Schlesien on the "20th of December, 1857. His parents, John and Johanna (Stokony) Nawa, continued to make their^ home in that country throughout life and both died in 1882. The father was overseer of timber lands for a forester. In his family were seven sons and three daughters, namely: John, Edmond, Emanuel, Franz, Casper, Stephen, Paul, Mary, Augusta and Annie. Of this number Casper came to America and died in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he was for some time engaged in agricultural pursuits. With the exception of our subject all remained in Germany. During his boyhood and youth Stephen A. Nawa attended school in his native land, completing his education by a collegiate course, and ho was thus well fitted to start out in life for himself. After leaving school, at the age of twenty years, he served for three years in the German army, as did nlfo all r,! his brothers. Before coming to America he wac united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Kalthoff, who was born in Rhine province, October 25, I860, and is a daughter of John and Annie (Pauss) Kalthoff. Her father, who was a coal miner, died in Germany and her mother subsequently came to the United States, where she passed away some sixteen years ago. Mrs. Nawa has one sister. Mrs. Yocks, who lives at De Pue, Illinois, and has two half brothers, Clement Wolf, a painter of De Pue, and William Wolf, who is also engaged in business at that place.

Thinking to better his financial condition in the new world, Stephen A. Nawa crossed the Atlantic and in 1882 became a resident of Bureau county, Illinois, residing for some years at De Pue. There he followed coal mining for four years and was emploved at check weighing. He then rented a fann from Charles Savage for six years and at the end of that time ]iurehased his present place. He now has one hundred and thirty acres on section 32, Selby township, and eighty acres on section 29, upon which he has made excellent improvements, his place being supplied with private waterworks, for use in both house and barn. Here he has made his home for the past nine years and to its further cultivation and improvement he devotes his entire time and attention. Ue is an energetic and progressive farmer and stockraiser and the success that he has achieved in life is due entirely to his own well directed ellortfl, as he came to this country practically without capital.

Ten children have come to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Nawa, five sons and five daughters, namely : Matilda, now the wife of Walter Thurston, a farmer of Bureau county; and William, Frank, Benjamin, Fred, Kmma, .\nnie, Mary, John and P^-eda, still under the parental roof. Mr. Nawa is not identified with any political organization, but votes for the men whom he believes best qualified to fill the office, regardless of narty ties. For a time he served as alderman at De Pue, and has always taken an active and commendable interest in public affairs, giving his support to any enterprise which he believes will prove of public benefit. Socially both he and his wife are members of the Toilers, while two of their children belong to the Mystic Workers, and in religious faith the family are Catholics. They stand high in public regard and have a host of friends throughout Bureau couiitv.

Palmer E. Anderson

Palmer E. Anderson, engaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business with otlices on Jlain street, is numbered among Princeton's native sons, born on the 2!)th of March, 1874. His parents were Jonas and Elizabeth (Nelson) Anderson, both of whom have now passed away, the father having died on the 1st of March, 1899, while his wife's death occurred February 1, 1890. Mr. Anderson was a carpenter and house mover and came to I'rinceton in 1853. A native of Sweden, he estalilished his home in St. Charles, Illinois, on coming to the new world, and subsequently removed to Bureau county, where he was closely associated with industrial interests as a carpenter and house mover. He possessed many of the sterling characteristics of the Swedisii race, including unfalti'ring industry, adaptability and intcgrilv, and these qualifies rcnilcrcd hiii\ a valued resident of his adopted city. He took an active part in politics and served as collector and in other local oflices.

Palmer E. .\nderson was indebted to the |)ublicschool system of Princeton for tiie educational |>rivilcgcs he enjoyed and entering upon his iiusiness career he become connected with the drygoods trade as a young man and so continued until 1904. He was for some time a junior member of the firm of N. W. Isaacson & Company, with whom his business connection continued for several years. On withdrawing from commercial pursuits he become connected with the real estate, loan and insurance business and now has well ap- pointed offices ou Main street. As representative of fire insurance he is associated with H. A. Clark, but he handles the other departments of his business independently. He has secured a good clientage, is thoroughly acquainted with realestate valiies, and is thus enabled to make judicious investments and profitable sales for his clients.

;Mr. Anderson was married in Princeton to Miss Winnie Mae Spake, also born and reared in this city, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jolm L. Spake, now deceased. Her father was born in Djursdala, Kalmar Lau, Sweden, March 20, 1839, and when ten years of age came with his parents to America, "the family home being established in Chicago, whence two years later they came to Princeton. Mr. Spake was engaged in the drug business in this cibt' for many years, the leading representative of commercial circles here. He married Miss Mary Stern, who was born in Sweden, December 8, 1840, at Asby Loken, Linkoping Lau, and came to the United' States in 1852, accompanied by four sisters and a brother. They settled in Princeton and on the 10th of November, ISTO, she gave her hand in marriage to Jolm L. Spake. Two children were born of this union : Darlena Louisa, the wife of George E. Case ; and Winnie :Mae, the wife of Palmer E. Anderson.

Mr. Anderson exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party and in 1903 was elected town clerk, since which time he was twice been re-elected, so that he is now serving for the third term. He is a member of the board of education of the Union school of Princeton, to which he was elected in 1906, and he manifests a public spirited interest in all that is of value to the community in the promotion of those measures and movements which have direct bearing upon the welfare and prosperity of town and county. In his public service and business life he is alike alert and energetic and is justly accounted one of the best known and enterprising young business men of Princeton.

Egbert Curtis

EGBERT CURTIS. Egbert Curtis, engaged in the live stock business at Princeton, where for the past thirty years or more he has devoted his time and energies to buying and shipping stock, was born in Stockbridge, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, August 15, 1827, and though now nearly four score years of age he is still an active factor in business life and his record should put to shame many a man of much younger years, who, growing weary of the strxiggles and trials of a business career, would relegate to others the burdens that he should b(>ar in supporting himself and family. Mr. Curtis has always been most active and enterprising, indolence and idleness being utterly foreign to his nature, and his success has come as the direct reward of his perseverance and energy.

His parents, Henry and Phoebe (Churchill) Curtis, came to Bureau county in 1859, and remained residents of Princeton until they passed away, the father dying twenty-two years ago, at the age of eighty-six years, while the mother's death occurred twenty-three years ago, when she was eighty years of age. Both were natives of Stockbridge, ilassachusetts, and the father followed the occupation of farming there. The Curtis family war; founded in America in 1643 by three brothers, who came from Stratford-on-Avon, England, locating first at Weathersfield, Connecticut. The great-grandfather of our subject removed to Berkshire county, Massacliusetts, and his son, Elnathan Curtis, resided there, as did Henry Curtis, father of our subject. In the family of Henry Curtis were five children, all of wliom are still living, and a reunion was celebrated in the latter part of August, 1906, at the home of the eldest brother. S. C. Curtis, at Lafayette, Indiana, the youngest Ijeing Henry Curtis, now sixty-three years of age. In order of birth the members of the family are: S. C, of Lafayette; Egbert; Mrs. Worthington, of Albion, Michigan; Phoebe J., of Princeton : and H. S., also of Lafayette, Indiana.

Egbert Curtis spent the first thirteen years of lijs life in the state of his nativity and then accompanied his parents on their removal to New York. He came to Bureau county in 1854, when twenty-seven years of age, and has since made his home in Princeton with the exception of a brief period of a year and a half. For sometime he was connected with mercliandising, conducting a hardware store, but his attention has been mainly devoted to the live stock business and he is one of the oldest and most prominent representatives of this line of business activitv' in Bureau county. For thirtv' years or more he has operated in live stock, making extensive purchases and shipments, and in the conduct of his business he has showed himself to be an excellent judge of stock so that he has made judicious purchases and profitable sales,

Mr. Curtis was married in Princeton on tlie 19th of March. 1856, to Miss Elizabeth Walter, who died in February, 1906, at the age of more tlian seventy years. She was born in the state of Ohio and during her infancy was brought to Bureau county by her parents, John and Eliza (Smith) Walter, who were among the earliest residents of this part of Illinois. Her father was well known as a pioneer settler, who aided in laying broad and deep the foundation for the present development and progress of the county. From Chicago lie hauled the lumber used in building his house at Princeton. He was a tailor liy trade and conducted a shop in this city for many years, but later engaged in other lines of business. He and his wife were members and were also numbered among the founders of the

Past And Present Of Bureau Cointy

Congregational cIuutIi in Princeton, and they were most highly respected citizens there, occupying a foremost place in social circles and in the regard of those who knew them. Mr. Walter died in 1899, while his wife passed again in 19(11, when more than eighty years of age. Fnto Mr. and Mrs. Curtis was born one son, William W. Curtis, D. D. S., who is now about forty-seven years of age and resides in Chicago. He was born in Princeton, is a graduate of the high school of this city, and also of the Dental College at Ann Arbor, Michigan. He married ^Miss Xaiinie J. French of Newport, Rhode Island, and for several years has been successfully practicing his profession in the western metropolis.

]\Ir. Curtis is a stalwart republican, having ;;upported the party since its organization. Tie has served in various offices, as trustee and alderinau and as highway commissioner of the city of Princeton. In this capacity he began the first graveling of roads and to him and his fellow members on the board at that time much credit is due for the fine roads of Princeton and vicinity. He has always stood for progress and improvement and liis efforts have been effective in promoting general good along many lines. The family favor the Congregational church and have contributed generously to its support. For more than a half century Mr. Curtis has resided in Princeton and is one of its best known and most honored citizens. He has ever stood for all that is progressive and commendable in business life and his actions have ever measurecl u]) to tlie standard of honorable manhood.

George A. Robinson

George A. Robinson, whose name is inseparably interwoven with the commercial history of Princeton, having for many years been engaged in the retail shoe business in this city, was born in Chesterfield, Hampshire county. l\Iassachusetts, on the 27th day of March, 1841, his parents being Elcazer and Caroline (Benton) Robinson, who were natives of Massachusetts. The father engaged in farming and spent the greater part of his life in Hampshire county, where both he and his wife passed away.

George A. Robinson was educated in the common schools of his native county and when not busy with his text-hooks assisted his father on the home farm until, thinking to find other occupation more congenial, he secured a position in the express office in Pittsfield. Massachusetts. lie was thus employed for a few years, after which he accepted a clerkship in different dry-goods stores in Pittsfield, his time being thus given to commercial interests until after the outbreak of the Civil war. A spirit of patriotic ardor being aroused in him by the attempt of the south to overthrow the Union, he ofT(>red his services to the country during the first year of the war and enlisted as a member of the Thirty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry under Captain Cooley, The regiment participated witli the military movements in the Shenandoah Valley and in many battles of importance which were a factor in the final result that crowned the Union arms. Mr. Roi)inson was never wounded or taken prisoner but became ill with pneumonia and was in the hospital for several weeks. He afterward rejoined his company and in December, 1864, he was made sergeant, filling that position until honorably discharged at the close of the war in ISfi").

In the meantime a Jlr. Bates, a friend of Mr. Robinson, in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, had come to the middle west, locating in Princeton, where he was engaged in business. He induced Mr. Robinson to join him here, although the latter remained a resident of Pittsfield. Massachusetts, until 1867, when he came to Bureau county and accepted a clerkship in the store of his former friend, Mr. Bates. lie acted as a salesman for a few years and then removed to Sidney, Champaign county, Illinois, where he formed a partnership with his cousin in the establishment of a general store, which Mr. Robinson managed. He continued its conduct for two years, when he returned to Princeton and entered into partnersliip with his friend, Mr. Hates, uM(h''r the firm style of Robinson & Bates. They established a retail shoe business, their store being located on Main street near South street. For a few years they were in business together, after which Mr. Bates sold his interest to a Mr. Mur- ]iliy and the firm then became Robinson & i[urphy, under which style the business was successfully conducted until the death of the senior partner.

George A. Robinson was married in Princeton to ^liss Charity Bryant, a native of this county and a representative of one of the oldest and most jjrouiinent families of this part of the state. Her father was Cyrus Bryant, of whom mention is made on another page of this work. Unto Jlr. and Mrs. Robinson were born four children, of whom one died unnamed in infancy. Agnes M., Marcus B.. and .Mice J., all residing at home.

^Ir. Robinson never fully recovered from the illness which he sustained during the Civil war. but he remained actively in the shoe business in Princeton until his demise, which occurred on the 20th of April, 1889. He was a member of the Grand .Vrmy Post of Princeton and of the Masonic lodge here and of both organizations was accounted a valued and ])opidar representative. He voted with the republican party and held membersliip in the Congregational church, in the work of which he took an active and heljifid interest, serving as trnsteo and also as deacon for many years. His life was actuated by honorable princi))lcs and characterized by manly conduct and in all relations he maintained an unassnihible repu- tatiou. In citizenship he was as loyal to his country as when he followed the stars and stripes on southern battlefields and in business he was thoroughly honorable and straightforward. His best traits of character, however, were reserved for his family, to whom he was very devoted, considering no personal sacrifice on his part too great if it would promote the welfare or enhance the happiness of his wife and children. The family are also members of the Congregational church and they reside at No. 203 West Peru street.