Champaign County, Illinois - The whole text, 1918 (part 12 of 23)

Mr. Sturgeon was married June 12, 1895, to Miss Lucy Leota Elliott, who, like himself, believes in the advantages of good educational facilities and in fitting children for the higher walks of life. The elder of their two daughters, Margaret E., did two years of work in the Fisher schools, graduated from the Champaign High School, and then taught successfully for two years in the schools of Champaign County. Her first wage was $55 per month, which was raised in the second year to $65, and in September, 1916, she entered the Illinois State University, where she is now a student. The other daughter, Carol Elliott, is in the second year of high school.

Mrs. Sturgeon is a native of Ford County, Illinois, born December 18, 1872, was educated in the Elliott schools, and for four years was a successful teacher. She is a daughter of Samuel and Anna (Crawford) Elliott, natives of Ohio, the former of whom, a farmer and stockman and later a pioneer grain merchant, laid out the town of Elliott. He was a stanch Republican, and both he and Mrs. Elliott were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Sturgeon also belongs to this church, and is likewise a popular and active member of the Domestic Science Society.

Always a stanch Republican from the time he attained his majority, Mr. Sturgeon cast his first presidential vote for James G. Blaine, the Plumed Knight, and has supported every candidate of that party since. As noted, he has been justice of the peace since 1900, and since 1902 has been township assessor of Brown Township, having held both offices continuously. He has likewise served in the capacity of village clerk, and at various times has been a delegate to conventions of his .party. Fraternally a member of Sangamon Lodge No. 801, A. F. & A. M., he has filled all the chairs in that lodge, and is at present secretary, a position which he has held for a number of years. He is likewise a member of Camp No. 2534, Modern Woodmen of America, which he joined at the time of its organization. His religious belief makes him a Presbyterian, and he has always been a good friend of education, with four years' experience as a teacher to give him a knowledge of the needs of the public schools. The Sturgeon home at Fisher is one of the comfortable residences of the community, where hospitality reigns, and its occupants are numbered among the people who give strength and stability to this thriving Champaign County village.

FREDERICK ROSE is in the grain business and handles his share of the grain that comes to Homer. He has been connected with the grain trade for the better part of his active career, and came to Champaign County about ten years ago, and his name and his enterprise are now known throughout that rich and splendid farming district surrounding Homer on all sides.

Mr. Rose was born in New York City, November 3, 1861, a son of Henry and Anna (Smith) Rose. Both parents were natives of Germany and his father came to America in 1846. He had served an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade in Germany and he worked at his trade in this country both in the East and West. In 1864 he located in LaSalle

County, Illinois, and subsequently took up the business of farming. Both parents are now deceased. There were four children: Henry of Zion City, Illinois; Mary, wife of August Beck of Ford County, Illinois; George W. of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Frederick.

Frederick Eose grew up on his father's farm in LaSalle County and received a common school education. At the age of twenty he left home and engaged in the merchandise business at Melvin, Illinois. Four years later he concentrated his attention upon the grain trade and from Illinois removed to Boswell, Indiana, where he bought and conducted an elevator for seven years. Following that he was in the grain business at Brookston, Indiana, for nine years, and in 1907 came to Homer and bought the old elevator of the town. He tore down this structure and replaced it with a modern grain elevator with a capacity for 100,000 bushels.

Mr. Rose married, March 6, 1885, Miss Margaret Jackson, who was born in Cook County, Illinois, near Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Rose have five children : Edward J. and Eva J., twins, the former a grain merchant at Champaign, and the latter the wife of William Mudge of Urbana; Leslie, who died in infancy; Frederick M., a dentist at Homer; and Henry H., who is associated with his father in business. Mr. Rose is a Republican in politics and he and his family are members of the Presbyterian Church. i %

CARL HENRY GEHRKE has been a resident of Champaign, for thirty-three years and many years ago he established a bakery which has grown and prospered, every year seeing additional equipment and increased trade, until the Gehrke Illinois Bakery now does an immense wholesale and retail business extending all over this section of Illinois. His business success consists in building up this large plant, and along with his prosperity has come the esteem of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

Mr. Gehrke was born in the city of Velpke, Province of Brunswick, Germany, June 18, 1852, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Schultz). Gehrke. Both parents were born, lived and died in Brunswick, Germany. His father was a stone cutter by trade, while the grandfather, Henry Gehrke, was a school teacher. Mr. Gehrke thus -represented the substantial stock of German citizenship, many of whose virtues his own life has amplified. Henry Gehrke and wife had eight children : Henry, now deceased ; Carl H. ; Herman, also a resident of Champaign, Illinois; Otto, deceased; August and Mary, still in Germany; Minnie, wife of Henry Schroeder, of Sidney, Illinois; and Alvina, still in Germany.

The compulsory system of education in Germany requires a boy's attendance at school until fourteen. At that age Carl Henry Gehrke left school to begin an apprenticeship in a baker's shop at Helmstead. Having completed the apprenticeship he returned to Brunswick, his home town, and then gave three years to his country as a member of the Black Hussars, a noted organization of the German army. After his military service he engaged in the bakery business at Magdeburg, Germany, for three years, and then returned to Brunswick and followed his trade until 1884.

Mr. Gehrke came to the United States and located in Champaign, Illinois, in 1884, and the first five years he spent in the city he worked as a journeyman baker. With this experience in American business life and with some capital representing his modest savings, he started a shop of his own at 207 East Clark Street. He has been continuously in that location for over a quarter of a century, and he has invested a large amount of capital in the construction and equipment of a modern two-story brick sanitary bakery known as Gehrke's Illinois Bakery. He has taken the greatest of pride in maintaining the high standard of his products and has- been as careful in his attention to the technical side of the business as to the commercial end of it. Mr. Gehrke is strictly independent in politics. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of St. Peter's Lutheran Church.

On January 25, 1881, three years before he came to America, he married Miss Sophie Bank, of Schoppenstedt, Germany. Mrs. Gehrke died January 2, 1913, the mother of five children: Eobert C. is associated with his father in business. Otto C. was accidentally killed when struck by an Illinois Central train while driving one of the Jewel Tea Company's wagons on January 27, 1917. He had married Mary E. Short, but had no issue. Alma is the wife of John Ross, of Champaign. Jennie is the wife of Harry Haveng, of Champaign. Amanda is the wife of Albert E. Hendricks of Urbana.

Robert C. Gehrke, who is associated with his father in business, is one of the progressive men of Champaign and is not only doing well in business but is rapidly becoming an important influence in local affairs. He was born in Brunswick, Germany, May 4, 1884, and was brought to America in early infancy. He attended the public schools of Champaign, took a course in a business college, and then joined his father in the Illinois Bakery. He has since become competent to assume the heavy responsibilities of that plant and thus relieve his father in a measure.

In politics he is an active democrat and served as alderman from the fourth ward until the adoption of the commission form of government on May 1, 1917. Robert C. Gehrke is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Loyal Order of Moose and is a member of St. Peter's Church. On August 14, 1902, he married Anna T. Lynch, of Quincy, Illinois. They have two children, Robert, born June 21, 1903, and Miriam, born October 28, 1906.

CHABLES CHRISTOPHER LIESTMAN. There was a time when farm life in Illinois was one of continuous hard work and more or less social exclusion, but no better proof is needed to mark the change than is afforded in Newcomb Township, Champaign County, by such careful and progressive agriculturists as Charles Christopher Liestman. With a finely improved estate of 160 acres, located in a section of the county where public spirit is shown in fine roads prevailing, Mr. Liestman for many years has proved that farming is now not only one of the most profitable of occupations but the most independent. He belongs to an old pioneer family of the state, extended mention of which will be found in the present work, in the biographical sketch of Mrs. Adam Kroner.

Charles C. Liestman was born in Piatt County, Illinois, July 8, 1878, the fifth in a family of twelve children born to Ludwig and Frederica (Karston) Liestman, who moved to Champaign County when Charles C. was a child. He grew up on the home farm and attended the public schools, afterward assisting his father and giving his time until he was .twenty-three years of age. He has always devoted himself to agricultural pursuits and has conducted his different undertakings with so much energy, coupled with intelligent judgment, that they have been successful. In addition to general 'farming and raising cattle and stock, for twenty-three years he and his brother Herman have harvested all through this section for the same parties each season and also have operated their first class harvesting outfit in Piatt and McLean counties.

Mr. Liestman married February 18, 1902, Miss Anna Leischner, who was born in Piatt County, Illinois, October 12, 1882. Her parents were Nicholas and Johanna Leischner, who had eight children, the six survivors being: Herman, who lives in Piatt County on a farm, married

Carrie Our; William, who is a farmer in Newcomb Township, married Anna Liestman and they have four children, Orville, Earl, Mabel and Bernice; Ida, who is the wife of Fred Hansons, a farmer in Hensley Township, and they have three sons, Louis, Oscar and Albert; Minnie, who is the wife of Herman Liestman, a prominent farmer in Harris County, Texas, and they have two sons, Gilbert and Louis; Anna, who is Mrs. Charles Liestman; and Louise, who is the wife of Jason Synnott, owner of a ranch in Harris County, Texas, and they have three children, Eva, Clifford and Harold. The brothers of Mrs. Liestman are members of the fraternal order of Modern Woodmen of America, and the entire connection belongs to the Lutheran Church.

Nicholas Leischner, father of Mrs. Liestman, was born in 1842 in Germany and was a young man when he came to the United States, crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a sailing vessel that six weeks after embarking landed him safely in the harbor of New York. His older brother, John Leischner, had preceded him and had made a home for himself at Monticello, Illinois, and Nicholas joined him there.. As he was without capital he had to work hard before he could negotiate the purchase of his first land, a tract of 120 acres, and even then had to assume a heavy debt. He was industrious, steady and saving and finally paid for it and added forty more acres to the first tract. When he retired he moved to Urbaua, Illinois, where he yet resides. In politics he is a Democrat and he belongs to the German Lutheran Church. His wife was born in Germany in 1848 and died in 1902. A beautiful monument erected to her memory stands in the cemetery at Monticello.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Liestman lived on rented land for a time, .although he owned eighty acres in Wisconsin. When his father died he was made administrator of the estate and located on the old homestead, assuming an encumbrance of $12,000, which has all been cleared off. Mr. Liestman has made so many improvements that the farm residence is as comfortable and convenient as many city homes. It is lighted by acetylene gas, which proves very satisfactory. Mr. and Mrs. Liestman have two daughters, Bertha L. and Minnie L., both at school and doing well and both taking lessons in instrumental music, their parents being determined to give them every advantage possible to fit them for the positions in life that probably await them.

Mr. Liestman is one of the busy men of his section. In addition to his many agricultural interests he is a director of the Lotus Grain & Coal Company, having served in that position for the last ten years, and for two years has been a director of the Lotus Special Drainage District, and also is somewhat prominent in county politics. On the Democratic ticket he has frequently been elected to township offices. He served three years as collector of Newcomb Township and several years has been a school director. He belongs to the order of Odd Fellows and attends the lodge at Foosland, Illinois. Both he and wife are active members of the Lutheran Church and were of great assistance when the new church was erected at Osman.

Naturally Mr. Liestman and family are best known in their own neighborhood, where they are held in the highest esteem, but they believe in some change and variety to add to life's innocent pleasures, hence they take many pleasant trips in their fine Studebaker touring car and have greatly widened their circle of acquaintance. As they choose, also, they make far distant pleasure trips and Mr. Liestman has made four visits to the vicinity of Galveston, Texas, and his wife and daughters accompanied "him on two occasions. While in Texas he saw the 'beginning of the construction of the great sea wall at Galveston and its completion, believing at that time, with others, that no ordinary force of Nature could destroy such a solid structure, but after the terrific storm of 1915 he saw it practically destroyed, an example of how weak is man's best handiwork pitted against wind and wave in mighty unison. Mr. Liestman is one of the solid, dependable men of his community, and the high regard in which he is universally held is thoroughly justified.

DAVID WILSON of section 24, St. Joseph Township, first became acquainted with Champaign County when he was fifteen years of age, and for nearly thirty years he has lived in this county continuously, having acquired and developed one of the splendid farms in his vicinity.

Mr. Wilson is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was born March 17, 1851, a son of Samuel and Rebecca (Laird) Wilson. His parents were born in Ireland, came to America about 1836, were married in Cincinnati, and spent their industrious and honored lives in that city, where both of them died. They had six children, five sons and one daughter.

David Wilson with his brothers and sister attended the public schools of Cincinnati. His coming to Illinois at the age of thirteen was in company with his uncle, David Wilson, for whom he was named. David Wilson and his brother Samuel had bought from the Government at $1.25 an acre two sections of land in Champaign County, in sections 11 and 13 of St. Joseph Township. David Wilson, Jr., remained a year with his uncle and helped with the management of the land. He then returned to Cincinnati, but after another year was back in Champaign County and found work in the distillery at Urbana owned by his father and uncle. While there he was severely injured by an explosion on November 15, 1871.

He then returned home with his mother to Cincinnati. In 1877 Mr. Wilson married Lessetta Lorenz. She was born at Cincinnati, daughter of Nicholas and Catherine (Klei) Lorenz. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wilson located in Cincinnati, where he continued the business of his father, a livery and teaming enterprise, which he successfully managed for a number of years.

In 1888 Mr. Wilson returned to Illinois, locating in Stanton Township upon forty acres that had been bought by his father from the railroad company. Mr. Wilson also acquired 160 acres additional and used that land as the foundation of his substantial enterprise as an agriculturist. The passing years have witnessed an increment to the land until his estate now comprises 280 acres, and he has greatly increased its value by improvements and careful handling.

To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were born six children, three sons and three daughters, named Clarence, Edward, Warren, Rebecca, Edna and Marjorie. The education of these children was carefully looked after at home and in the local schools, and all of them attended District School No. 176. Only one of them is married, Rebecca, wife of Harley Sanders. Mr. Sanders is a successful farmer in Stanton Township. They have two children, Russell and Marie, bright and attractive young people, and the only grandchildren of Mr. Wilson.

Mr. Wilson took care that his farm should not only represent the best standards of agricultural husbandry but should express his ideas of home making. He erected commodious buildings, set out fruit and shade trees, and in that attractive environment is now content to spend his remaining years. In 1913 he suffered his greatest bereavement in the death of his good wife. Mrs. Wilson had endeared herself to the community as a kind neighbor and good friend, had made her home an abode of hospitality, and many grateful memories continue to wreathe themselves about her name.

Mr. Wilson's people in Cincinnati were active members of the Presbyterian Church. In Champaign County he and his wife found no convenient Presbyterian Church in which to worship, and they therefore affiliated themselves with the Friends Church, of which they were liberal supporters. Since the death of his good wife Mr. Wilson has remained on the homestead, with his daughter Marjorie as a most capable home maker. His three sons look after the management of the farm and have largely relieved their father of the heavier burdens which he in earlier years so capably sustained.

Mr. Wilson is an ardent Republican and comes of a family that first voted for the Whig candidate and have supported the Republicans in an unbroken line since the organization of that great party. Fraternally Mr. Wilson is a Mason, and his sons Edward and Warren are Knights of Pythias and the daughter Marjorie is a member of the Eastern Star.

Mr. Wilson has done much for his community, and for twenty-two years was vitally interested in the welfare of the local schools as a director. He was also honored with the office of township supervisor four years. Thus his record is closely identified with Champaign County and is worthy of perpetuation in this publication.

PETER HEDBICK NELSON. For fully half a century Mr. Nelson has known Champaign County. The development of its resources and the transformation of its lands from raw prairie into beautiful farms have taken place before his own eyes. In that development he has shared as an individual, has made a name for himself as a substantial and publicspirited citizen, and has acquired those things an ambitious man most desires - financial independence, the rearing and training of children to lives of usefulness and honor, a good name and many friends. For many years he and his good wife worked side by side in the mutual task of making a home and bearing their responsibilities as good citizens, and they are now in a position to enjoy the fruits of their well spent earlier years.

Mr. Nelson was born in Jefferson County, Iowa, July 24, 1856. He was the youngest of three children, two sons and one daughter, and is the only one now living. His parents were John and Barbara (Burrough) Nelson. His mother died in Iowa. His father was born in 1824, in the Old Dominion State of Virginia, and died in 1886. When but a young boy he went with his parents, in a wagon drawn by ox teams, over the mountains and across the prairies of the Middle West. The family first halted near Mahomet in Champaign County, but soon proceeded westward to Iowa. John Nelson began life in Iowa as a renter, but about 1862 returned to Illinois and located at Bloomington. From there he removed to Hayworth, and a year later chose a location near Bloomington. For seven years he was engaged in herding and handling cattle for the Orendorf farm along Salt Creek in McLean County. The Orendorfs and the Nelsons were close friends.

About 1865, in the spring, John Nelson and his son Peter brought a herd of cattle into Champaign County. It was customary to drive cattle into this county and keep them during the summer and then return to Bloomington for the winter.

During these early years Peter Nelson had some interesting experiences. At one time he was employed by James Orendorf to cut a cord of wood. He walked a mile and three-quarters to get to the timber, and was paid for his labor $1 a cord. He and his father lived the rough outdoor life of the real cowboy while herding along Salt Creek. In order to get a dining table they knocked one end out of a large box and thus improvised a rude table.

Peter Nelson when in his eleventh year was directed by the Orendorfs to take charge of a bunch of cattle consisting of 202 head. He began his duties as herdsman on the 5th of May and kept the cattle on good pasture until October. He then returned with them to Bloomington, and the cattle, being weighed on the same scales where their first weight was taken, showed an increase of 330 pounds apiece. Perhaps this record for cattle grazed on the open pasture has never been excelled. For this work of five months Peter Nelson was paid $45 a month, boarding himself. While he was in the herdhouse there came up from Farmer City, seven miles away, a hunter. Half a mile from where the headquarters of the herders were this hunter came upon a great flock of water fowls which in those days frequented by thousands and thousands the marshy places of Champaign County. In two shots from his gun the hunter killed thirty-four ducks, two brants and one goose. Had this been told Mr. Nelson he would not have believed it, but having witnessed the feat with his own eyes he is able to vouch for the complete accuracy of the count.

His father, John Nelson, began life without means and had only such education as was supplied by the old log cabin schools of the primitive style, the furnishings of which were wooden benches and the curriculum of the most meager classifications. He followed agriculture as his lifework, and was a Jeffersonian Democrat and a man of good character. He died in McLean County and was laid to rest in the Bellflower Cemetery.

Peter Hedrick Nelson attended common schools, but through the necessity of work his education was somewhat limited so far as books were concerned. He not only looked after his own prosperity, but cared solicitously for his father during his declining years. When the time arrived for him to start life on his own account he possessed a team and buggy, and the fortune he has since accumulated has been only a just recompense for many years of strenuous labor and effective management. While the years brought him considerable property, Mr. Nelson chose the role of a farm tenant or renter. He was the type of farmer such as any large land owner would delight to have as a tenant. In 1893 he rented a farm from M. W. Hays, and was continuously with Mr. Hays as a renter until 1916. This period of twenty-three years perhaps sets a record, so far at least as information is available, for continuous renting on one place.

Many years ago Mr. Nelson became widely known over this section of Illinois as a stock buyer. Much of his success in life has been due to his enterprise in that direction. He has bought stock from the leading farmers of McLean, Ford and Champaign counties. He has sold not a little of his own stock, and for many years has bred and raised Poland China hogs, Shorthorn and Hereford cattle.

The farm which Mr. Nelson owns and where he and his good wife now" reside in comfort and plenty comprises 320 acres in Newcomb Township. In 1915 they erected there a beautiful home. It is only two and a half miles south of Fisher and is convenient to schools and other advantages which they enjoy. Their home is modern in every detail, is furnace heated and lighted by acetylene. Mr. Nelson also owns property in Fisher.

The real beginning of his life's happiness was with his marriage on December 14, 1887, to Miss Mary Ann Jervis. To their marriage were born ten children, five sons and five daughters, and nine of the number are still living. Gertrude Irene, the oldest, was educated in the Busey School and is now the wife of Earl Campbell, a practical agriculturist living in Newcomb Township. Mrs. Campbell is a member of the Shiloh Methodist Episcopal Church. Ernest John, the oldest son, completed the work of the eighth grade and for three months was a student in the Illinois Normal University. He married Miss Daisy Hawkins. He is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Alta Mae, after finishing the eighth grade, spent one year in the high school at Fisher and has also taken musical .instruction. Harry, the second son, had the full eighth grade course and two years in the high school at Fisher. Leslie Dell is now in the seventh grade of the public schools. Cecil Calvert finished the work of the eighth grade and had one year in the high school at Fisher. Randall Linden is now in the eighth grade. Fern Rosetta is attending the sixth grade. The youngest, Lela Hannah, is in the fifth grade of the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are to be commended for their earnest desire to give their children the best home and school training.

Mrs. Kelson is a native of England, having been born in that industrial district around Manchester and Liverpool in the county known as Lancastershire. She was born July 24, 1863. She was the third in a family of twelve children, consisting of seven sons and five daughters. Nine of these children are still living, five of them in Champaign County. Her sister Sarah lives in West Lebanon, Indiana, her brother Andy is a resident of Continental, Ohio, and her sister Kate is a milliner at Granite City, Illinois. Mrs. Nelson is a daughter of Andrew and Hannah (Shergold) Jervis. Her father was a native of England and was educated in the National schools there. Farming was the occupation he took up in early life, and about 1864, when Mrs. Nelson was an infant, he brought his family by sailing vessel from Liverpool to New York City and from there to Champaign County. He acquired 120 acres of good land in Newcomb Township and was quite a successful man. Politically he cast his vote for the Republican party. His death occurred January 21, 1900, and he is now at rest in Mount Vernon Cemetery at Champaign. Mother Jervis is still living at Fisher with a daughter. She was born in 1839 and had a common school education. She and her daughter Lizzie reside together at Fisher.

Mrs. Nelson was educated in the local schools of Champaign County, and was well qualified for the duties which she assumed as a home maker. Her children have been all with her, and her practical wisdom and encouragement have many times sustained Mr. Nelson in his work. Their beautiful home is known as the Walnut Dell Stock Farm. It is a home of peace and comfort, of widespread hospitality, and is a favorite resort for the many friends of this worthy couple. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson keep in close touch with the modern world, and they share in its enjoyment. As a means of getting about the country and better commingling with their friends they have a large Case touring car. Mrs. Nelson is a member of the Methodist Church, and they have always endeavored to exemplify the tenets of true Christianity in their lives. They have aided financially in the erection of churches at Osman, Bellflower, Weedman, Walker, Shiloh, Oak Grove, Fisher and Blue Ridge. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were visitors to the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. Politically Mr. Nelson is a Democrat. The success he has gained in his own affairs has naturally made him the object of confidence on the part of his fellow citizens and for two terms he was township assessor and for a dozen years or more was a director of his home school district. Thus he has lived usefully and well and played a part among the men of affairs in Champaign County.

JOSEPH C. DODDS, M. D., B. L. Long identified with Champaign County as a physician and surgeon and also as a citizen and business man, Doctor Dodds has lived in this county since he was ten years of age.

He was born on Long Island, New York, June 15, 1864. At the age of ten he came to Champaign to live with his uncle, Dr. J. G. Chambers, brother of his mother. Here Doctor Dodds was educated, graduating from the Urbana High School, from the University of Illinois with the class of 1886, attended the University of Michigan Medical School and in 1889 graduated M. D. from Northwestern University at Chicago-.

For twenty-five continuous years Doctor Dodds practiced medicine in Champaign County. He was an interne in the Marine Hospital of Chicago, and for some years was on the staff of the Kankakee Eastern Hospital and was district surgeon for the Illinois Central Railway between Gilman and Effingham. In 1908 he was appointed state medical director of the Modern Woodmen of America, and reappointed in 1911.

In 1901 Doctor Dodds moved to Denver, Colorado, where he practiced a year and following that for nine years was located at Tolono, Illinois. While at Tolono he held the various offices of the village from mayor down, and his present home is at 622 West Hill Street in Champaign, where he owns a beautiful home. He is also one of the principal stockholders in the Twin City Ice and Cold Storage Company, of which he is manager and formerly was secretary and treasurer.

Doctor Dodds is a member of the County and State Medical Society, is a director and the vice president of Burnham Library Board, is a Knight Templar Mason and Woodman, a member of the Country Club, and his wife is an actiye Presbyterian.

January 1, 1891, Doctor Dodds married Miss Mina Brown of Newport, Indiana. They have three children : Eva, wife of Harry B. Crowder of Seattle, Washington; Josephine, a member of Chi Omega Sorority and a graduate of the University of Illinois, class of 1917; and Donald C., a graduate of the Champaign High School and a member of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, of three years' standing in the University of Illinois. When Battery F was organized he volunteered and was in Texas with the battery. He is now a corporal in Battery F with the One Hundred and Forty-ninth United States Field Artillery of the Forty-second Division in France.

JAY G. BUCHAN. The natives and their descendants of Scotland, the land of hills and heather, have played important parts in the history of the United States, and it is something that justifies pride to be able to trace a direct Scotch ancestry. This good fortune belongs to Jay G. Buchan, one of Newcomb Township's best known and most esteemed citizens. His father and grandfather were natives of Scotland, but his own birth took place in Champaign County, Illinois, March 12, 1877, being the fourth in a family of six children born to Rahymond and Margaret (Buchan) Buchan. The survivors are: James, a farmer and stockman, residing at Clarion, Iowa, married Luzetta Thompson; Raymond, who is in the automobile business at Spencer, Iowa, married Mary Ann Peterson; Mary E., who resides with her younger brothers in Newcomb Township; Colin C. ; and Jay G.

Rahymond Buchan, father of the above family, was born in 1830, in the parish of Alford, twenty-seven miles from Aberdeen, Scotland, a distance he thought nothing of covering on foot. He grew to manhood in his native parish and received excellent school instruction, the minister of the Presbyterian Church being his teacher, and the name of this church was the "Priory of Money Musk." It was an old landmark, having been erected in 1080 A. D., and the entrance to the tower was built of Norway pine. For 400 years the ancestors of Mr. Buchan had been laid to rest when their lives were spent in the cemetery adjoining this ancient house of God. Another noted relic of long ago which Mr. Buchan knew well in his boyhood days was known as "The Breda House," which was probably built in 1700 and stood two miles from the village of Alford.

Eahymond Buchan was about twenty-three years of age when he took passage on a sailing vessel at Glasgow bound for Montreal, Canada, which consumed eight weeks crossing the Atlantic Ocean, but staunchly contended with every menace of the deep and safely landed its passengers. In June, 1854, Mr. Buchan located in Savannah, Ohio, remained there one year, and then came on to Bloomington, Illinois. There he engaged to work for Isaac Funk, one of the pioneers of McLean County, with whom he remained eighteen months. He was anxious, however, to secure land, and although he had to go into debt for a part of the purchase price he then bought 120 acres in Newcomb Township, in 1866, this being the present home place of Jay G. Buchan. With the thrift that is a marked characteristic, and an exceedingly commendable one, of the Scotch race, Mr. Buchan kept adding to his acreage, tract by tract, until it aggregated 2,500 acres, situated variously in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. Mr. Buchan developed into a very wealthy man, but his reputation was founded on other things than his wealth. He was known far and wide for his neighborly kindness and his name was a synonym for integrity. Public office in his township was almost thrust upon him because of his known honesty, but he served willingly as school trustee and director because he took a deep concern in educational matters and his suggestions and advice were welcomed by his fellow officials because they were sensible and practical. He was a strict Presbyterian and not only kept faithful to the word but the spirit of the law. He passed away in the present home residence, which he built in 1874, on March 23, 1907. His wife was born in Ashland County, Ohio, March 4, 1842, and died July 16, 1916, leaving behind her the memory of a beautiful, unselfish, helpful life. She was laid by the side of her husband in Shiloh Cemetery and a monument of Montello granite marks their last resting place.

. Jay G. Buchan attended the public schools, but the larger part of his very liberal education has been self-secured through a love of reading. He early took an interest in his father's large farming operations and even in boyhood took pride in the fine herds of Shorthorn cattle that have been a feature of agricultural industry here. Mr. Buchan pays taxes on many acres of fine land, 876 acres lying in Champaign County and in Piatt County and 160 acres in Palo Alto County, Iowa. Although preferably independent in politics, he has served in public office when called upon to do so for the public benefit, being school director for three years and for eight years was a member of the drainage commission. He is an adherent of the Presbyterian Church and has been a liberal contributor to it and to other religious organizations. Mr. Buchan owns an Interstate touring car and with his brother and sister make it a means of pleasant relaxation on many occasions.

OTIS G. HAWK, a native son of Champaign County, long identified with the agricultural enterprise of this section, has directed his efforts with such good purpose that now, at the age of fifty, he is able to retire and enjoy the comforts of a good town home in the village of St. Joseph.

Mr. Hawk was born southeast of TJrbana, May 5, 1867, a son of Isaac and Mary F. (Hiett) Hawk. His parents were born and married in Ohio, and they came to Champaign County in the early days, where they endured many of the hardships incident to pioneer life. They were practical and successful farmers. In their family were four sons, Otis being the third.

Mr. Hawk was educated in the Radebaugh school north of Philo, and growing to manhood on his father's farm he found in agriculture a vocation that satisfied his inclinations and furnished scope for his best endeavors.

burg in Mercer County, Illinois, daughter of Eoss and Sarah (Boyd) Turner. It was while she was visiting friends in Champaign County that she met Mr. Hawk, and this acquaintance ripened into affection and love and terminated in their marriage. With the responsibilities of family upon him, Mr. Hawk settled on a farm in Stanton Township, buying eighty acres at $43.75 an acre. This land was quite barren of improvements, but with the best years of their lives before them Mr. and Mrs. Hawk deemed it no hardship to undertake its improvement, and the passing years have witnessed much work that is a permanent contribution to the prosperity of the county. Mr. Hawk cultivated the fields, set out fruit and shade trees, and gradually had his land in a condition up to the standard of Champaign County agriculture. He also bought 160 acres in Indiana, and still owns that, operating it under a tenant. For many years Mr. Hawk carried on intensive farming, grain and stock raising, handling the famous 0. I. C. hogs and Barred Rock poultry. He also showed a commendable interest in local schools and served as school director.

One child was born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hawk, Charles C. He grew to manhood, attended the home district school and the St. Joseph High School, and was just to the point where he could look forward to a life of promise and justify the hopes and expectations of his parents when death struck him down in September, 1910. He was then nearly nineteen years of age.

In 1916 Mr. and Mrs. Hawk sold their farm and bought an attractive home on Main Street in the village of St. Joseph. Both of them are attentive members of the Prairie Hope Christian Church, with Rev. Simon Bennett as the present pastor. Mr. Hawk has filled the position of deacon in that church, and has liberally supported its every cause. Politically he is a Republican of liberal views and gives his support to principles rather than party.

GEORGE CEPHUS WILLIAMS. There is no citizen of Condit Township who more thoroughly enjoys the esteem and respect of his fellow citizens than George Cephus Williams. He is a native of Champaign County and has spent nearly all his active years here. He now occupies one of the best homesteads in the township, and his home is one of attractive exterior and all the comforts and conveniences which make life worth living. His individual prosperity has not been accomplished without benefit to the community in which he has lived. This is attested by the fact of his service in various official responsibilities, and by his present office as township supervisor.

Mr. Williams was born October 9, 1868. He was next to the youngest in a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters, five of whom are still living. His parents were James Edward and Lavina (Linkenhoker) Williams. Of the living children the oldest is Mollie, wife of Richard Harvey, who is a coachmaker in the Chicago & Alton shops at Bloomington, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have one son. Edward, the second child, is a retired farmer at Bellflower, Illinois, and married Vina Hopkins. Emma, the third child, lives at Fisher, Illinois, is a member of the Christian Church there and the widow of Charles Bryan, and has two living children. The next in age is George C. Frank A. is an agriculturist in Champaign County, and by his marriage to Miss Lulu Beatty has a son and a daughter.

James Edward Williams, the father of these children, was born in Virginia, grew up and received his education in and married a native of that State, and from there they came West to Indiana and a short time later to Champaign County, locating on a rented farm in Hensley Township.

He was a hard working man and eventually acquired a farm of his own and died in Piatt County when about fifty years of age. He was laid to rest in Mansfield Cemetery. His wife is also deceased. In politics he was a Democrat.

George C. Williams had an uphill struggle during his earlier years, and most of his education has come by private study and as a result of experience. He was self-supporting when fifteen, and as a boy he frequently worked for wages as low as 20 cents a day. While still a single man he rented a farm in Piatt County, near Mansfield, where he remained two years, and then while boarding with his sister Emma he farmed a rented place in Newcomb Township of this county. With his brother Edward he then went to McLean County, and they were partners on a rented farm until Mr. Williams took upon himself the responsibilities of a home and family.

On November 28, 1894, he married Miss Hattie Lee Taylor. While their other achievements deserve much credit, Mr. and Mrs. Williams may justly take the greatest pride in their fine family. Nine children were born to them, five sons and four daughters, and six are still living. Fred, still at home, has completed the course of the common schools and one year in the Fisher High School, and his inclinations in choice of a career are as a farmer. He is a member of the Christian Church. Mildred Bernice, the next in age, is a student in the Fisher High School and has taken musical instruction. . She is a member of the Christian Church. Lavina is now in the sixth grade of the common schools and has received musical training. Taylor is in the third grade of the public schools, James Edward has recently started to school, while the youngest and the baby of the family is Lee Cephus. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have submitted to many sacrifices in order that their children might have 'a good home and receive a good preparation for life's responsibilities.

Mrs. Williams was born in Champaign County, March 2, 1870, a daughter of Joseph Dudley and Nancy Belle (Spratt) Taylor. There were eleven children in the Taylor family, five sons and six daughters, and seven are still living. Joseph D. Taylor was born at Sharpsburg, Kentucky, was reared and educated in the Blue Grass State and married there, and came to Champaign County with his family in 1863-64. He has lived in this county for over half a century and by hard work has not only reared a fine family of children but has become possessor of 110 acres of rich farming land in the county. He is a Democrat and both he and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Mansfield. He is now eighty-two years of age, but his mind and intellect are still clear. His wife was born in Kentucky and died in October, 1913, her remains being at rest in Piatt County, where her family have erected an appropriate monument. Mrs. Williams received her education in the common schools and had prepared to take the teacher's examination, but duties at home prevented her from embarking on that career.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Williams started out to achieve success with only experience as their guide and with very little capital. They lived one year on a rented farm in Brown Township and then five years in Newcomb Township. It was not until 1906 that they were able to buy land of their own, eighty acres in Condit Township. A heavy obligation went with the purchase, but in less than ten years they had it all paid for and the farm now represents some of the best improvements and methods of management in the county. Mr. Williams now has twenty-five head of excellent horses, principally the English Shire. He has also raised with profit Poland China hogs, and he and his wife have become experts in the raising of1 blooded poultry, their stock being the Buff Orpingtons.

Their birds have won two silver trophies in exhibition and Mr. Williams has a number of first and second premiums awarded his stock at State and county fairs. Each year he enters exhibits from his farm in the fairs of both Illinois and Indiana. The Williams farm bears the appropriate name of Sunnyside Farm.

Mr. Williams was also one of the organizers and first stockholders of the Fisher Telephone Company and is now serving the company as treasurer. He is a stockholder in the Champaign County Fair Association.

Politically he is a Democrat and has been a delegate to various county conventions. In 1915 he was a delegate to the convention at Springfield of township supervisors, county clerks and probate judges. It was by the unanimous choice of his fellow citizens in Condit Township that he was elected to the office of supervisor. This is the chief township office in Illinois, and a better qualified man could not have been found in Condit Township. Mr. Williams is a very popular official, and both he and his wife have served some years as director of the local schools. He is affiliated with Sangamon Lodge of Masons at Fisher, and is a charter member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Bellflower. He also belongs to Champaign Chapter No. 50, R. A. M. They have contributed generously of their means to the erection of the beautiful church of their choice at Fisher. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have practiced the principle of living well without extravagance. In earlier years they carried heavy obligations, but are now comfortably situated, and among other things that make their life attractive for them is a fine Jeffreys touring car.

JOHN RUSH RITTENHOTISE. Those acquainted with the substantial agricultural and stock raising activities of Champaign County scarcely need introduction to the name John Rush Rittenhouse. His fruitful and active years have been spent largely in northwestern Champaign County, and he is a native son of this section of Illinois.

Mr. Rittenhouse was born January 26, 1870. The Rittenhouse ancestry is traced back to the German fatherland. His parents had six children, three sons and three daughters, and he was the third in order of birth and the second in age among the four still living. Of the living children he is the only one a resident of Champaign County. The oldest, Addie, is the wife of Dudley Herriott, an agriculturist at St. John, Michigan. Levi, the younger brother of Mr. Rittenhouse, is successfully engaged in agriculture and stock raising at Fan-field, Iowa. He finished his education in the Danville Normal School, was a teacher one year, and on examination took the highest mark in the county. He married Miss Mary Betts. Kate, the youngest of the children, is the wife of Charles Herriott, a farmer at Fairfield, Iowa.

The parents of these children were Joseph Hill and Mary (Richards) Rittenhouse. The father was born at Roxabell, Ross County, Ohio, and spent his youth in that state, where he acquired a substantial education. He followed agriculture as his regular vocation until recent years, and he and his good wife are now living in comfortable retirement at Mahomet. He still owns 190 acres of the rich and fertile soil of Champaign County, and this farm is being successfully managed by his grandson, Tern Rittenhouse. Joseph Rittenhouse for several terms filled the office of township assessor, for years was a school director, and was a stanch upholder of education in every form. He came to Illinois in time to enlist in an Illinois regiment for service in the Civil War, and fought gallantly for the stars and stripes until mustered out and granted an honorable discharge. For years he has been a member of the Grand Army Post at Mahomet. His wife was born at Sidney, Ohio, and had a common school education. She was twelve years of age when she came to Illinois. Her father went to California in the days of '49, making the trip overland by wagon, and died while in the Golden State, a victim of cholera. Mrs. Joseph Rittenhouse has given her life to her family and her home.

John E. Rittenhouse grew up on his father's farm in Champaign County. He attended the common schools and acquired a practical education as a foundation for life's serious responsibilities. At the age of twenty-one he took up 'an independent career, renting land and also working out by the day. For many months he worked at wages of a dollar a day. As a wage earner and renter he made slow but sure progress for a period of thirteen years. His first purchase of land was ninety-two acres in Mahomet Township. He went heavily into debt for this, to the extent of $2,800, but by his industry and with the aid of his capable wife he was able to come out free and he then traded and sold and bought his next farm near Mahomet, consisting of ninety-three acres. This he soon afterward sold and then bought 120 acres included in his present homestead. He subsequently added another eighty acres, and has it all well developed as a first class model stock farm. Besides his possession in Champaign County Mr. Rittenhouse owns 107 acres in Tennessee and 100 acres in Lapeer County, Michigan. This land is in the midst of the sugar beet district. It is thirty-five miles from Detroit and thirty miles from Port Huron, Michigan, and in one of the best agricultural districts of the state. .

Mr. Rittenhouse for a number of years has made a specialty of Shropshire sheep and Shire horses. His stock has won several silver cups, and he has exhibited at stock shows and fairs in Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis and in the fairs of Kankakee and Champaign counties. One of his horses of special class was Mahomet Teddy, an animal for which he paid $2,000. Mr. Rittenhouse has also interested himself in various other lines of business. That he is one of the successful men of Champaign County needs no further proof than what has already been noted in a brief way.

On December 31, 1891, Mr. Rittenhouse married Miss Ida Elvada Stout. To their marriage were born a son and two daughters. The son and one daughter still live. Vern Ralph, the only son, has found a place and position among the successful young agriculturists of Champaign County. He was graduated with the class of 1915 and at the head of his class in the Mahomet High School. During his school career there was a period of five years in which he never missed a day from his school work and was never tardy. He is now the capable manager of his grandfather's farm. He married Miss Ruth Miner. She is a member of the Baptist Church, while he is a Methodist. Ruth Marie, the only daughter, has finished the work of the common schools and is now in the second year of the high school at Mahomet. She has also taken instrumental music. She is quite active in the Pathfinders, a literary society maintained as one of the adjuncts of the Baptist Church.

Mrs. Rittenhouse was born in Champaign County June 21, 1870. She was the youngest of three children and the only one still living. Her father was born in Illinois, was an agriculturist, and made a success of life with only a common school education. For a number of years he lived in Illinois and afterward went to Nebraska and Iowa, and died at Marshalltown in the latter state in 1910. His death occurred at the Old Soldiers' Home. He had fought with an Illinois regiment in the Civil War until honorably discharged, and was a very active member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His wife, also a native of Illinois, died when Mrs. Rittenhouse was an infant. Mrs. Rittenhouse grew up in the home of her aunt, Nancy Nelson. She attended the common schools, and in church matters is a member of the United Brethren Church at Oak Grove in Newcomb Township.

Mr. and Mrs. Eittcnhouse have taken great pains to prepare and educate their children for useful and honorable careers. Mr. Rittenhouse with the interest of his own children in mind has done all he could to promote good schools and for eight years was a director of his home district. Politically he is a Republican and cast his first vote for William McKinley. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Rittenhouse in Newcomb Township is known as The Blue Ribbon Stock Farm. It lies four miles northwest of Mahomet, ten miles from Fisher and five miles from Mansfield. It is the center of profitable industry as well as a fine country home, is a source of pride to Mr. and Mrs. Rittenhouse and a valuable exposition of the art of agriculture and stock husbandry for the entire community.

ROY R. CLINE, one of the younger members of the Champaign County Bar, had as preliminary to his practice a number of years of experience in the patent office at Washington, D. C., carrying on his law studies in the national capital at the same time, and now besides his general practice, he is serving as inheritance tax attorney for the District of Piatt, Champaign and Moultrie counties. He was appointed to this position in February, 1917, by Attorney General Brundage.

Mr. Cline is a native of Illinois, born in Piatt County October 22, 1884, a son of Jacob H. and Josephine (Knott) Cline. His father was born in Piatt County and his mother in Cook County, Illinois. Jacob Cline was a merchant and banker, spent practically all his life in Piatt County, and died there August 29, 1913. The mother is now living in Urbana. They were the parents of five children: Anna, wife of James Stevens, of Urbana; Minnie, wife of Jerry Purcell, of Piatt County; Corria, an osteopathic physician in Piatt County; Ona, of Piatt -County; and Roy.

Roy R. Cline had a good education during his youth and paid his own way while preparing for the profession of the law. He attended the high school at White Heath, Illinois, two years, also the Urbana High School, and spent one year in the State Normal School at Normal. He had a couple years' experience as a teacher in Piatt County. In 1906 he came to Champaign and subsequently took a Civil Service examination and was appointed Examiner of Trade Marks in the patent office at Washington, D. C. He held that position five years. In the meantime he studied law in the law department of Georgetown University in the District of Columbia and was graduated LL. B. in 1911 and with his Master's degree in 1912.

Mr. Cline returned to Champaign County in the spring of 1913, and began practice at Urbana with Franklin H. Boggs, now Circuit Judge. Since the fall of 1913 he has been located in Champaign and has rapidly gained a secure position in the law.

CHARLES CHENOWETH. The name of Chenoweth is one held in high regard in Champaign County because it has always been borne by men of sterling traits of character who have led honorable and useful lives. A worthy and well known representative of this old pioneer family is found in Char-les Chenoweth, who resides on his well improved farm of eighty acres, which is situated in Newcomb Township. Peace, plenty, thrift and prosperity are in evidence both within his hospitable residence and on the farm, and here may be found convincing proof that farm life in modern days may be wholesome, profitable and happy.

Charles Chenoweth has lived in Illinois since he was a boy, but his birth took place March 15, 1857, in Pike County, Ohio. His parents were James P. and Maria (Eagen) Chenoweth, the paternal ancestry being traceable to England. James P. Chenoweth was born in Darke County, Ohio, September 8, 1829, and died in Illinois, October 24, 1915. He grew to manhood in Darke County and in boyhood had some school advantages, but as he was one of a family of thirteen children, self-support early became a necessity. He learned the tanner's trade and worked on a farm in Ohio up to 1859, when, with his family, he came to Illinois, making the long journey in a covered wagon in pioneer style, bringing along the household goods. Mr. Chenoweth rented land at first in Logan County, about six miles from Lincoln, but in 1868 he came to Champaign County and purchased forty acres in Newcomb Township, although forced to borrow the money to pay for it. This land he improved and later sold to advantage and subsequently, in partnership with his sons, purchased 308 acres in McLean County, a fine body of land which the family still owns. He was alive to every favorable movement in his section, political, religious or educational. He was a Eepublican from principle and frequently was elected by that party to local offices, in which he served honestly and faithfully. For years he was a road commissioner when that office meant providing for the construction of highways through forests and over brawling streams that overran their banks in times of freshets, and also for their preservation in good order. He also was a school director in those days when schoolhouses were few and far apart, when teachers were difficult to secure and when the people were apt to consider school taxes unnecessary burdens. These conditions in some sections have not been altogether changed, but more stringent laws now stand behind the officeholder. In Ohio he had joined the fraternal order of Odd Fellows and he maintained an interest in the organization until the close of life. His remains were interred in Eiverside Cemetery in Mahomet, Illinois.

James P. Chenoweth married in Ohio Maria Began, who was born in Pike County, that State, May 15, 1833, and died January 18, 1902, and was laid to rest in Riverside Cemetery, where a beautiful stone marks the family burying ground. She was a woman of many virtues and was a devout member of the Shiloh Methodist Episcopal Church. To this marriage two sons and three daughters were born, the surviving children being : Lydia E., who is the widow of W. H. Hubbard, lives at Conway Springs, Kansas; Charles; Bertha, who is the wife of W. M. Hinton, who carries on a hardware and implement business in Rockwell City, Iowa ; and Lillian, who is a resident of McLean County, Illinois. She is a highly educated lady, a graduate of the State Normal University, and has spent a number of years in educational work. She, like all other members of the family, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Charles Chenoweth was eleven years old when he accompanied his parents to Champaign County and he attended the public schools in boyhood, afterward remaining with his parents until his marriage, giving them filial care and attention.

Mr. Chenoweth married April 21, 1897, Miss Maria M. Lanam, who was born in Newcomb Township, Champaign County, Illinois, December 14, 1871. Her parents were Stewart and Eliza Jane (Wyant) Lanam, the former of whom was born in Noble County, Ohio, July 20, 1836, and died in Illinois, an -honored veteran of the Civil War, April 4, 1916. His early boyhood was passed in Ohio and afterward he lived in Indiana, and from that State enlisted for service in the Civil War, becoming a member of the Third Indiana Cavalry, which was attached to the Army of the Cumberland. He served under General ("Pap") Thomas, a beloved commander, and took part in the battles of Chickamauga and Stone River and also accompanied General Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea. After three years of valorous service, during which he was fortunate enough to escape both wounds and imprisonment, he was honorably discharged. In 1868 he came to Champaign County and acquired 240 acres located in Newcomb and Brown townships. In his early manhood he was a Democrat in his political views, but later became a Prohibitionist, as he was an earnest advocate of temperance. He had membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church and belonged to the post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Fisher. He married Eliza Jane Wyant, who was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, August 24, 1845, and died in Champaign County, July 15, 1916. They had five children, one son and four daughters, all of whom reside in Champaign County. Mrs. Chenoweth was the second born and was educated in the public schools. She is a lady of most engaging personality, good, true, kind and womanly, and makes her home a place of content and comfort for all who come within its walls. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Chenoweth, Russell L. and Ruth A. The son at the time of writing has already passed one year of his high school course and is much interested in his studies, particularly mathematics and history. The daughter has advanced to the eighth grade in the Fisher public schools and is also being instructed in music, it being the intention of Mr. and Mrs. Chenoweth to give their children every possible advantage.

In politics Mr. Chenoweth has always been identified with the Republican party. He cast his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield and since then many other noble public men have had his support. He takes an interest in all that concerns his township and neighborhood and is especially active in the matter of public schools and has served as a school director for many years. With his family he belongs to the Shiloh Methodist Episcopal Church and all are willing helpers in promoting its various avenues of usefulness.

M. M. HAHRY, whose home is on Route No. 5 out of Urbana, is one of the honored veterans, a sergeant, of the Civil War still living in Champaign County, and has made his own career of industry count for a great deal in the development of this section during the past half century.

Mr. Harry was born in Lewis County, Kentucky, January 8, 1844, the third in a family of sixteen children born to Joseph M. and Lucinda (Ruggles) Harry. His parents were both natives of Kentucky. When M. M. Harry was four years of age he came to Illinois, locating in the town of Urbana, where his father followed the trade of carpenter. Several of the children died young, and of those who attained maturity M. M. Harry had the following brothers and sisters : H. James, who was a soldier in the Civil War; Wilson and Harkness, who own a foundry at Gibson City, Illinois; Oscar ; Etna Roby of Danville : Bertha M., who died several years ago ; and Francis M., a Methodist Episcopal minister living at Bloomington, Illinois.

M. M. Harry received his early education in the public schools of Urbana. He was seventeen years of age when the war broke out, and late in 1862 he responded to the call for troops to put down the rebellion and enlisted with other neighbor boys at Urbana in Company I of the Sixteenth Illinois Cavalry, under Captain Jackson of Kankakee. They were mustered in at Springfield and kept in training at Camp Butler for a time, then sent to southern Illinois and soon got into action in Kentucky. On one of the scouting raids made . by his regiment through Lee County, Virginia, Mr. Harry and his comrades to the number of 185 were all captured. He was first sent to Lynchburg, Virginia, then to Richmond, and spent two months in the prison camp at Belle Isle in the James River. From there they were sent to Andersonville, and in that notorious stockade suffered everything that human beings could be called upon to endure. For more than eleven months he was a prisoner of war. From Ande'rsonville he was removed to Florence, South Carolina, and as at that time Sherman's army was rapidly advancing across the Carolinas the prisoners were kept moving. Finally the order came to exchange 10,000 sick and convalescent prisoners, and they were paroled at Benton Barracks in St. Louis. Unable to do further service on account of their weakened condition, they were kept at different points and Mr. Harry was finally discharged at Nashville, Tennesseej and mustered out at Chicago. He was in the army nearly three years, from December 3, 1862, until August 2, 1865.

On January 9, 1868, Mr. Harry married Olivine Billing. She was born in Champaign County, Illinois, daughter of David Dilling. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Harry engaged in farming at Big Grove, Illinois. Two children were born to their marriage : Olivine, who died in infancy ; and Effie May. Effie May is now the wife of Samuel Somers. Her children are Harry Kerr, Francis M., Ralph, Joseph and Dorothy.

On March 81, 1873, five years after their marriage, the death angel entered the Harry home and Mrs. Harry entered into rest. On October 30, 1877, Mr. Harry married Mary J. Boyd. She was born in Urbana Township, daughter of James W. and Frances (Rhoades) Boyd, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Illinois. In the Boyd family were the following children: John W., deceased; William M., deceased; Sarah E. Strover of Sacramento, California ; and Alfred, who died at the age of twenty. Mrs. Harry also had two half sisters and a half brother: Mrs. William Jones of Urbana; Frank Boyd of Alma, Michigan; and Florence Sperling, now deceased.

Mrs. Harry with her brothers and sisters were educated in the public fchools of Urbana Township. Mr. and Mrs. Harry have four children, Frances, Mary Ethel, James Lewis and Daisy E. Realizing the advantages of good training, Mr. and Mrs. Harry gave them a good education, finishing in the high school at Urbana. The daughter Frances is now the wife of Arthur L. Aiken, and they live at San Diego, California, where Mr. Aiken is employed in a furniture store. They have an adopted daughter, Leona. Mary E. married Ralph T. Smith, a practical farmer in Urbana Township, and their family consists of four children. Rollin, Harry, Mary and Rex. The son, James Lewis, is still at home with his parents. Daisy E. married Frank 0. Edwards, who is in the baking business at Dayton, Ohio. They have one child, Lois.

Progressiveness has always been the keynote in the career of Mr. Harry. He has gained sufficient material success and all the time has had by his side a good wife to give him advice and Christian counsel. While they began life as renters, he made his first purchase of twenty-eight acres and used that as a nucleus of a permanent home. Mrs. Harry is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Urbana. Politically Mr. Harry is a Democrat and has served as school director, supervisor and road commissioner. Mrs. Harry is a most energetic woman, and has been enthusiastically a worker for the cause of temperance and prohibition and has never failed to lift her voice and use her -influence toward the progress of that movement which even now is finding results in an almost total abolition of the liquor traffic. Mrs. Harry's great-grandmother was a cousin of President Zachary Taylor. In the passing years Mr. and Mrs. Harry's careers and work have been closely identified with Champaign County. They have endeared themselves to the community by their neighborly acts of kindness and their home has always been a center of true hospitality.

CYRUS E. JACKSON. In an enumeration of the magnificent resources of Champaign County too much cannot be said of the banks and the bankers, since without their functions and their power all industry would soon be paralyzed. In this group of live and enterprising business men stands Cyrus E. Jackson, cashier of the Dewey Bank at Dewey. Mr. Jackson has been identified with that center of trade and population for a number of years, and is not only a banker but a merchant and one of the leading men in public affairs.

Though a resident of Champaign County most of his life, Mr. Jackson was born in Piatt County, Illinois, September 4, 1872. He is a son of Isaac A. and Adaline (Smith) Jackson. Of their family of three sons and two daughters, three are still living. Isaac A. Jackson was born in Indiana in 1843 and died very suddenly in 1906. When he was ten years of age he accompanied his parents from Indiana to Illinois, the family locating near Farmer City. Grandfather Jackson was one of the early settlers in that part of central Illinois. Isaac Jackson acquired only a common school education and applied his efforts in a practical and energetic fashion to farming throughout his active career. At the time of his death he owned 260 acres of the splendid soil of Champaign County. This branch of the Jackson family is of English origin, the lineage being traced directly back to old England. Isaac Jackson was reared in the atmosphere of Whig politics when a boy, and on coming of age joined the Republican party and cast his first vote for Lincoln, the great war president. He himself had fought as a gallant soldier in the Civil War for three years, being finally discharged on account of disability. He enlisted with a regiment of Illinois cavalry, and though present and a participant in many hard fought battles was never wounded nor taken prisoner. He and his wife were long active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Champaign, to which city they had retired in 1898. Isaac Jackson was also an honored member of the Grand Army post at Fisher, Illinois. His wife was a native of Indiana and her parents were of English extraction. Both Isaac Jackson and wife are buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Champaign.

Cyrus E. Jackson was two years old when his parents removed to Champaign County. He is self-educated and early learned to depend on his own exertions as the key to substantial success. Up to the age of twentythree he remained on his father's farm, and during that time acquired a thoroughly practical experience as a farmer, which has been utilized in his later career in the supervision of his own land. After his marriage he left home but continued farming until the fall of 1901. At that time he became a salesman in the large general store of Mr. Rome at Fisher, but on August 1, 1902, he established a small general store of his own at Dewey. This business he rapidly developed with corresponding increase of trade territory. In January, 1912, the store, containing a stock of $10,000 worth of goods, was destroyed by fire. Though he was protected by insurance to the value of $7,500, the fire proved a heavy loss and inconvenience. Since 1903 Mr. Jackson, in connection with his store, has conducted a banking business and after the fire he devoted all his time to banking and gave up his active career as a merchant.

On December 18, 1895, Mr. Jackson married Miss Clara Rome. They have three children: Cecil, who is in the eighth grade of the Dewey schools; Xeva, also in the eighth grade and a student of music; and Lyle, the youngest, who is in the first year of the primary schools. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson are taking great pains to give their children thorough and adequate educational advantages.

(Brown) Eome. Her father was for many years one of the leading general merchants at Fisher in Champaign County, and since his death the large store has been continued successfully by his widow and their son. Both of Mrs. Jackson's parents were born in the land of the thistle and heather, Scotland. Mr. Jackson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while his wife belongs to the Christian denomination.

For a number of years Mr. Jackson has been before the public both as a business man and as a citizen, and has gained the complete confidence of all who know him. His banking house at Dewey has been maintained at a high standard, has a notable record of integrity and solidity, and its patrons are among the wealthiest farmers of this locality. In politics Mr. Jackson began voting as a Eepublican and has continued so to the present time. His first presidential ballot was given to President McKinley. He has served as supervisor of his township for eleven years and is still in office. He was also one of the main factors in urging his fellow citizens to construct good roads, the crying need of the central Illinois farming district today, and especially in the corn belt, where the heavy rich black soil grows a wealth of crops but is not a natural road material.

Fraternally Mr. Jackson is affiliated with Sangamon Lodge No. 801, A. F. & A. M., at Fisher. Besides his bank Mr. Jackson has a fine farm of 120 acres, and he also has the management of 960 acres for non-resident property owners from Chicago. This extensive body of land is situated in East Bend Township of Champaign County.

For several years Mr. Jackson has also been in the automobile business at Dewey, in partnership with Harry Hamm. They conduct the leading garage and are agents for the Ford car. These young gentlemen are doing a fine business and besides their capital they are known as obliging, cordial and genial men with, hosts of warm friends. In 1906 Mr. and Mrs. Jackson erected their modern residence in Dewey. It is a home of comfort, where they extend their hospitality to their many friends.

F. M. FAGALY, a retired resident of St. Joseph, has many interesting distinctions, not least among which is the fact that he served more than three years in the Union Army during the Civil War. Mr. Fagaly and his family are widely known in Champaign County, where through all the years their names have been associated with that industry and good citizenship which are the bulwark of American institutions.

Mr. Fagaly was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, not far from the city of Cincinnati, a son of John and Mary (Stewart) Fagaly. His parents were also natives of Ohio. The Fagaly family is of German origin. An interesting story is told concerning his grandfather. He was a German youth who lived in the kingdom of Wuertemberg. He became acquainted with one of the daughters of the king of Wuertemberg and their acquaintance ripened into love. All the traditions and customs of the family for centuries prohibited the marriage of a royal daughter out of caste, since Grandfather Fagaly was a commoner. The young people determined to brave the wrath of the king, were married secretly, and eloped to America. The young princess was determined that her lot should be cast with her true love, and she was not afraid of the perils of a new adventure in a strange land. Coming to America, they settled at Cincinnati, where, though possessed of limited means, they had those characteristics which soon brought them a home, comfort, and the substantial honors of citizenship.

Mr. Fagaly's mother, Mary Stewart, was the daughter of a Mrs. MacElroy. This grandmother of Mr. Fagaly lived in Indiana. She was born in what is now a part of New York City. When a girl she was bereft of her parents, was reared by strangers, came to Indiana and lived a long and useful life. As old age came on she was comparatively helpless and went to live with her children. One son, William Stewart, in anticipation of his mother's coming, erected a new house with a special room for her convenience and comfort. She had just got located in this house when the building took fire and burned to the ground, and the old lady, who was then one hundred and seven years of age, was unable to escape and was burned to death.

F. M. Fagaly was one of seven children. He obtained his early education in the district schools of Hamilton County, Ohio. He grew to manhood on his father's farm, and had acquired considerable knowledge of that industry before he entered the army.'

He was nineteen years of age when he volunteered and went to Camp Dennison, eighteen miles from Cincinnati, where he was enrolled in Company K of the Eighty-third Ohio Infantry. With this regiment he marched away to the front and first took part in the campaign to protect Cincinnati from the second invasion of Kirby Smith. Kirby Smith had tried to capture and destroy Cincinnati, but the Federal troops gave him a merry chase and caused a complete change in his plan. Mr. Fagaly and his comrades fought at Camp Orchard, were then ordered back to Louisville, took boat to Memphis, and during the year 1862 did much patrol duty up and down the Mississippi from Island No. 10 to Vicksburg. He was part of Sherman's great army in the Vicksburg campaign. It will be recalled that the first plan to reduce that Mississippi stronghold was an expedition up the Yazoo Rivier, allowing the troops to attack the city in the rear. The culmination of this was the battle of Haines Bluff, where the Union troops suffered heavy losses. Sherman was greatly criticized for this part of the campaign, but his troops loved him and, as Mr. Fagaly says, would have waded through fire and blood to follow their leader. After Haines Bluff Mr. Fagaly's regiment was ordered back to Arkansas Post and captured that entire garrison of 3,000 prisoners. His next duty was at Young's Point in Indiana and soon afterward he and his comrades were employed in the famous undertaking of digging a canal to divert the waters of the Mississippi. This occurred during the winter of 1862-63. It was an open winter, the waters of the river were very high, and after completing the work within half a mile of the river bank the floods broke through the narrow retaining wall and the next day the main current of the Mississippi River was sweeping down the canal. About 100,000 Federal troops were in the vicinity of Young's Point and thousands of them were working night and day in the digging of the canal, which they considered a pleasant diversion in spite of its actual hardships. The Confederates believed that Vicksburg was so strongly fortified that it could never be taken by the Union troops. Grant dug this canal so as to get his boats and supplies down to New Orleans unimpeded by the fire of the Vicksburg batteries. The canal enabled the boats to pass by the fortress without incurring any material damage from the batteries. The Confederates had only one gun that could reach the forces at work on the canal, and the Union troops called this the "Whistling Dick." Mr. Fagaly was witness, along with thousands of other Union troops, of one of the picturesque incidents of this campaign. A dummy boat was loaded above Vicksburg, consisting of two immense flatboats, piled high with man}' barrels, in all of which were placed lighted candles. When this grotesque structure floated down in range of the Vicksburg batteries all the guns opened fire. It was a dark night and the illumination from the flashing guns was a spectacle which Mr. Fagaly will never forget. At that time General Pemberton, the commander at Vicksburg, had a great gunboat which the Union forces dreaded more than anything else. Believing that the dummy flatboats were the entire Union fleet, Pemberton ordered

In all these exciting adventures Mr. Fagaly continued until April, 1863, when he and his command were sent below Grand Gulf to a place called Hard Times Landing, a shipping point where a great cargo of cotton was stored. On May 1, 1863, he' fought in the first battle of the main attack upon Vicksburg and after that was under continuous fire every day until ttje 4th of July, when Pemberton surrendered his war worn forces and the Union troops entered the city and saw the stars and bars hauled down from the courthouse and the stars and stripes raised instead. Thus he had part in the campaign which even more than Gettysburg broke the back of the rebellion.

After Vicksburg Mr. Fagaly was at New Orleans, and while there was with the troops ordered to cross Lake Pontchartrain and attack a small fort. They captured this fort with 300 prisoners and returned with them to New Orleans. The troops were then ordered to Pensacola, Florida, and to Fort Blakely, Alabama, which after withstanding an eight day siege, surrendered to the Union forces. This occurred about the time Lee's army surrendered in Virginia, and that was practically the close of the war. From Alabama Mr. Fagaly and his comrades were sent to Galveston, Texas, again to combat the wily Kirby Smith, who was making his last stand in the Southwest. Mr. Fagaly remained in Texas until sent back to Camp Dennison, where he was discharged, after giving three years and ten days of service to the Union. He arrived home in August, 1865.

On August 14, 1866, Mr. Fagaly married Miss Caroline L. Shafer, a girl with whom he had grown up in southern Ohio. They then settled near Cincinnati in Hamilton County, where he engaged in farming for a year, after which he moved to Indiana. Mr. Fagaly enjoyed the companionship of his first wife only four years. She was taken away by death in 1870, the mother of one child, Emma Catherine. This daughter married William Greiser, and they live on a farm near Cincinnati. She is the mother of five sons, Edwin, Clarence, Clifford, Elmer and William.

For his second wife Mr. Fagaly married Elizabeth Buzon. She was born near Loogootee in Daviess County, Indiana, a daughter of George and Brasilia (Perkins) Buzon, who were also natives of Indiana. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Fagaly settled on a farm in Elnora, Indiana, where he combined farming with teaching. For thirteen winters he taught in the district schools.

Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fagaly : Cora, Arminta, Ella, Callie, Pearl, Eoy, William and Edwin. These children were well educated in the high school at Worthington, Indiana. As they grew up they settled down in life for themselves, and a brief account of their family and whereabouts is as follows : Cora is the wife of Frank Locke, and they live on a farm near Fort Wayne, Indiana, and have two children, Nellie and Carl. The latter, Carl Locke, a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Fagaly, is keeping up the record of the family in patriotism and loyalty, and is a Volunteer in the United States Army in Company D now drilling at Champaign preparatory for service against Germany. Arminta married William Harris; they live at St. Joseph and have one child, Hallie. Ella is the wife of Charles Locke, a farmer at Bondville in Champaign County, and they have two children, Floyd and Louise. Callie married Benjamin McLoughlin, an undertaker at St. Joseph. Pearl is the wife of Samuel Schofield, a grain merchant at Mahomet, their five children being Edwin, Howard, Dorothy, Donald and Dale. Eoy is an extensive stock buyer and shipper and in the retail meat business at Philo, Illinois. He married Hazel Stayton, and their two children are Helen and James. The son William is proprietor of a grocery and meat business at Flat Eock, Illinois, and married Ada Dwyer. Edwin, the youngest child, is a farmer at Philo and married Lois Thompson of Homer.

Mr. and Mrs. Fagaly are active members of the Christian Church at St. Joseph. In politics he votes the straight Republican ticket, and he believes that his political record is almost unique in Champaign County. With his sons and his sons-in-law he constitutes a voting strength of sixteen when the time comes to elect a President or governor. Mr. Fagaly is a charter member of the Grand Army Post at Worthington, Indiana, and has always taken a great interest in army affairs and his old comrades of the war. He was with the Union forces at a time when military life made a strong impress upon his mind and character, and in all the years since he has successfully endeavored to instill in his children the principles of loyalty which he himself exemplified. For many years he has had by his side a good woman, a Christian character, and one who has been in close sympathy with his life and work. Mr. and Mrs. Fagaly now enjoy the comforts of a pleasant home on Sherman Street in the village of St. Joseph.

WILLIAM ALLISOST HIXTOX. There is no better known citizen, nor one whose work and public services are more appreciated, than William A. Hinton of Newcomb Township. His career is significant of that industry and energy which suffice to carry a man from a position among the many into the ranks of the successful few. Champaign County has scores of men who through the domain of agriculture have accumulated a share in such prosperity as few other sections of the United States enjoy, and Mr. Hinton's present position is the more creditable because it has been won not by inheritance but through his own steady toil.

His loyalty to Champaign County is enhanced by the fact that he is a native of this rich and fertile section of Illinois. He was born November 26, 1857, the third in a large family of thirteen children. Seven of these children are still living and all of them but one have their homes in Newcomb Township. His father, Daniel F. G. Hinton, was born in Clinton County, Indiana, was reared there and attended the common schools, and after his marriage he moved in 1854 to Champaign County. This trip was made in true pioneer style, with wagon and team. The father had no capital to begin on and started at the very bottom of the ladder as a renter. After renting for a few years he bought 120 acres in section 18 of Newcomb Township. Not a furrow had been turned in the virgin soil. It was a raw and new neighborhood, and at that time only two other houses were in the locality. A part of the old building he first erected for his home is still standing on the premises. After selling this land to Mr. Buchan he removed to section 16 and bought eighty acres and then another similar tract, and was profitably engaged in its management and cultivation until he retired into Fisher, where he and his wife spent their last days. The father was a Jeffersonian Democrat. For years he served as township trustee and tax collector, and was a director of the local school twenty-one years. He was a fine type of citizen, one whose example and work brought about increasing betterment. He respected the true Christianity and his career was altogether exemplary. Both he and his wife are now at rest in the Willow Brook Cemetery, where a monument stands sacred to their memory. Mother Hinton was also a native of Indiana, gained her education there in the common schools, and gave her life to the welfare of her children and her home was her joy.

William Allison Hinton grew up on his father's farm in Champaign County. With his own eyes he has witnessed the remarkable development of this part of the State. Land that he now owns and part of which cost only $28 an acre is now of such value that it could not be bought for less than $275 an acre. Wholesale changes have been made in the country and its industries within his lifetime. He had reached manhood before the first telephones were brought into Champaign County, and from time to time he himself has utilized in his home or on his farm the modern implements of industry, including the high power automobile. He fitted himself for life's serious responsibilities largely through his own exertions, and has acquired more education by experience and reading than he did from the local schools. The first money he ever earned was 50 cents a day drawing straw from the threshing machine. That first 50 cents benefited him little, since he lost it soon after earning it. As a wage earner he worked for several years, then rented land and finally was able to make his first purchase. He went in debt for part of the payment of this forty acres. Later he and his brother Winfield bought eighty acres in partnership, and in time Mr. Hinton bought his brother's interest. He paid up all his debts, and then added more land until his present place comprises 160 acres. For forty acres of this he paid $125 an acre. All the buildings on his farm have been erected by him or under his direct management, and he now has his magnificent rural home all paid for. He formerly owned a quarter section of land in the province of Ontario, Canada. The estate of Mr. and Mrs. Hinton in Newcomb Township bears the appropriate name of Park Lawn, and besides its superior comforts it has everywhere the sign and atmosphere of hospitality.

On September 18, 1883, Mr. Hinton married Miss Eose Shoppell. Two sons have been born to their union, and Mr. and Mrs. Hinton have taken the greatest of care in instilling in them the correct principles of living and guiding their useful ways to honor and integrity. James Myron, the older of these sons, is an agriculturist in Newcomb Township. He was educated in the common schools and has proved himself a practical man in his vocation. He married Miss Agnes Austin, and they have a little daughter, Helen Louise. James M. Hinton is a Democrat, a member of the Masonic order, belonging to Mahomet Lodge, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is now serving as school treasurer and tax collector, and has been treasurer of the school district six years.

Eobert Wirt Hinton, the second son, is a practical farmer in Condit Township. He was educated in the common schools, the high school and Brown's Business College. He married Miss Zora Daly, and their happy companionship was terminated with her death on May 23, 1917. She left a little daughter, Lyla Marie. Mrs. E. W. Hinton's remains are at rest in Mount Hope Cemetery at Champaign. Eobert W. Hinton is a member of the Masonic order at Fisher, Illinois, and he and his wife were regular - attendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mrs. William A. Hinton was born in Champaign County, April 11, 1858. She is the sixth in a family of eight children, one son and seven daughters, born to Jackson and Mary Ann (Starling) Shoppell. Of the four children living Mrs. Hinton is the only one in Champaign County. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, of Pennsylvania German stock. His birth occurred April 18, 1820, and he died in Champaign County, March 28, 1864. He was a young man when he came to Champaign County and had married in Ohio. By trade he was a carpenter, and he aided in the construction of many early buildings in this county. He was buried in the old cemetery at Mahomet. He was a Democrat, and he and his wife were members of the Methodist Church, in which he served as class leader. His wife was born and reared in Ohio. Mrs. Hinton attended the common schools of Champaign County and was well educated. She has been a most faithful wife and mother, and has done her part in the making of a home and the rearing of her capable sons while Mr. Hinton was busy withthe duties of field and farm.

Mr. Hinton is a Democrat. His first presidential vote was given to General Hancock. Both he and his wife have realized the need of good schools in their community and have done all they could to support such institutions. For fourteen years he served as director of the home school district. He was One of the building committee of the beautiful new church known as .the Shiloh Methodist Episcopal Church, which was erected' at a cost of $8,000 and when dedicated on May 13, 1917, was completely out of debt. Mrs. Hinton is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society. Fraternally Mr. Hinton is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias at Fisher. Mr. and Mrs. Hinton are now in a position to enjoy life. Their sons are independent and can-ing out their own careers, and Park Lawn represents to Mr. and Mrs. Hinton not so much a business as a' home. For their diversion and the better enjoyment of their friends they have had a car in use for several years, formerly a Chalmers and now a Velie machine.

HENRY CHERRY. A complete picture of rural efficiency and beauty is furnished in the Cherry homestead of Ogden Township. Its proprietor is Mr. Henry Cherry, who in his early years did not find life a round of pleasure or luxury, and has had to make his own way in the world by hard work and unceasing efforts.