Champaign County, Illinois - The whole text, 1918 (part 15 of 23)

Mr. and Mrs. Hill are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at St. Joseph, and in politics he is a Republican, though a man of broad views, and supports the principles rather than the party. He is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, and Mrs. Hill is a member of the Royal Neighbors.

PATRICK HENRY CAIN. For many years one of the highly respected and substantial citizens of Philo Township, Mr. Cain has been chiefly identified with farming, and has not only provided well for his family but is regarded as one of the men of influence of his community.

Though a resident of Champaign County since childhood, Mr. Cain was born at Peru in LaSalle County, Illinois, in 1865. His parents, Thomas and Bridget (Finn) Cain, were both natives of Ireland. In 1878 the family removed to Champaign County and located on a farm in Colfax Township. The . parents both died on that old farm. Their family of children consisted of six: Austin, deceased; James T. and Thomas, of Colfax Township; Mary Ann, wife of John Giblin of Colfax Township; Patrick H.; and Sarah, wife of Lawrence Gallagher, of Colfax Township.

In the schools of Illinois Patrick H. Cain acquired a substantial training during his youth and he lived at home until the death of his parents. His best work has been accomplished on the 160 acres of land which he bought in 1903, located in sections 15 and 21 of Philo Township. Under his energetic direction this farm has been brought to a highly improved condition and has responded bountifully to his efforts as an agriculturist.

On February 4, 1891, Mr. Cain took upon himself the responsibilities of a family by his marriage to Anna Coady. Eight children have come into their home, and those that grew up have shown the characteristics of energy and ambition which are distinctive of their parents. Mary Gertrude, the oldest, is now deceased. Estella is still at home. Henry is deceased. Grace is now a Catholic sister in Springfield. The younger children, all at home, are Leo, Anna, Kathleen and Thomas Mathew. Mr. Cain is a Democrat in politics, is a member of the Knights of Columbus and he and his family worship in the Catholic Church at Philo.

FRED ROY PARRETT. Such capable citizens as Fred Roy Parrett are the men who are now bearing the brunt of the agricultural activities in Champaign County. He is a general farmer and stockman in Mahomet Township, and has one of the best improved places in that community. Mr. Parrett is one of the younger generation of Champaign County's native sons, and his name is one that is spoken with honor and respect due to the achievements and the character of those who have borne it in this section of the state.

He was born in Champaign County and in the house where he still lives on January 18, 1890, the only child of George C. and Susan Mary (Thomas) Parrett. His father, who was born in Ross County, Ohio, June 6, 1849, was brought to Illinois at the age of two years. His parents made this journey in pioneer style, with wagons and teams, crossing the intervening country and locating on rented land in Piatt County. They afterwards moved to Champaign County, where George C. Parrett was reared. He was well educated, having, in addition to the common schools, the advantages of a course in Oberlin College. After completing his education he farmed as a renter three years, and then bought eighty acres, going in debt in order to secure a home. He and his wife were married April 23, 1878, and together they worked loyally side by side until their debts were paid and they were financially well to do. Most of the permanent improvements on the farm were made by George C. Parrett. He was a Prohibitionist, and advocated the temperance cause long before it became as popular as it is today. He was also identified with the Baptist Church, for twenty-five years served as deacon, was interested in the .Sunday school and for years was superintendent. The death of this good man occurred November 18, 1916, and an appropriate stone marks his resting place in the Blue Ridge Cemetery.

Mr. Fred Parrett's mother was born in Champaign County, October 19, 1857, and is a daughter of the Mexican veteran, James Quincy Thomas, whose long and interesting career is the subject of an article on other pages. She is still living, at the home of her son, and has spent all her life in Champaign County, where she received her education in the common schools. She is a member of the Baptist Church.

Fred Roy Parrett grew up on the old homestead, attended the common schools, and early made choice of a career as an agriculturist, the returns from which have been highly satisfying in every particular.

His farm comprises 160 acres in Mahomet Township and he is also managing a farm of 160 acres belonging to his grandfather, Thomas. The soil is well adapted to the cultivation of crops of corn and oats, and he raises some good grades of horses and hogs. The Parrett home bears the appropriate name of High View Lodge. It is a home reflecting good management and is also the abode of hospitality and comfort.

Mr. Parrett devoted himself to the duties of home and looking after his parents, and for five years had active charge of his grandfather's estate. About the time he married he returned to the Parrett farm. February 22, 1911, he married Miss Mary Margaret Anderson. They are the happy parents of three sturdy young boys. Maurice Anderson was born July 24, 1912; Mervin Thomas was born October 31, 1913; and Frederick Harold was born October 21, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Parrett find one of the chief incentives to their labors and efforts in their plans for the appropriate education and training of these sons.

Mrs. Parrett was born in Champaign County, August 3, 1892, a daughter of John C. and Emily May (Samuelson) Anderson. There were seven children in the family, four sons and three daughters. Mrs. Parrett was educated in the public schools, and while her life has been a busy one, taken up with practical affairs at home, she has cultivated every opportunity to improve her mind by association with the best of literature and social life. She is an active member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Parrett is a Democrat and cast his first presidential vote for Woodrow Wilson. He also is a member of the Baptist Church at Mahomet. They have begun life well, and have the best things still in prospect for achievement and enjoyment.

MARTIN JOSEPH CLENNON. That farming can be conducted as a successful business in the same class as a store or factory needs no other proof than a visit to the place under the management of Martin Joseph Clennon in section 33 of Philo Township. He has a large acreage under cultivation, a group of well arranged, substantially built structures for his home and bar.ns, and on every hand are evidences of good management and efficiency.

Mr. Clennon is one of the younger farmers of Champaign County. He was born in Crittenden Township of this county December 12, 1880, a son of William F. and Adelia (Moran) Clennon. His father was born in Grundy County, Illinois, and his mother in Canada. It was in 1877 that the parents removed to Champaign County and located on a farm in Crittenden Township, where the widowed mother still lives. The father died here May 16, 1906. They were the parents of a large family of nine children : Mary Agnes, still at home ; Martin J. ; Francis W., of Crittenden Township; Sadie, wife of Frank H. Cain, of Philo Township; Agnes, at home; Catherine, wife of Lawrence Flynn, of Philo Township; Lauretta; Lawrence, in Battery F, 149th Illinois Volunteers; and Raymond J., at home.

Martin J. Clennon attended the district schools in his early youth and also had a course in a business college at Decatur. He wisely made choice of agriculture as his vocation and has heen steadily improving his opportunities granted by experience and is now capably managing one of the fine farms of Philo Township, containing 236 acres.

On September 4, 1907, he married Catherine Tyrrell, a native of Livingston County, Illinois. They have three young children, named Howard Ambrose, Mary Edith and Lois Adelia. In politics Mr. Clennon is a Democrat. He and his family are members of St. Thomas Catholic Church at Philo, and he is a member of the Knights of Columbus. His country home is supplied with the daily mail from rural route No. 1 out of Tolono.

JAMES W. HARPER, who is now living retired in a beautiful semicoimtry home at the village of Ogden, has been a factor in this section of Champaign County for many years. His associates speak of Mr. Harper as a man, meaning thereby not only his physical strength, but strength of determination, of purposeful conduct, and of notable public spirit displayed in his efforts to advance wherever possible the welfare of the community.

Mr. Harper was born at Dana in Vermilion County, Indiana, August 23, 1865, a son of John and Amanda (Dikes) Harper. Both parents were born at Rockville in the same Indiana county. The Dikes family came originally from Kentucky. John Harper and wife had five children, one son and four daughters. About fifty-two years ago the family moved to Vermilion County, Illinois, locating at Pilot Grove, and still later in Champaign County, settling in Ogden Township.

John Harper was one of the most successful men of Champaign County and much of his ability was inherited by his only son, James. He was quick, intelligent and industrious, and had the faculty of using his means for redoubled profit and advantage. At the time of his death he owned an estate of 800 acres.

The Harper children all attended the district school known as the Hope School. James W. Harper was educated there, and as he grew up he learned farming from his father and emulated his skill and competence as a business manager.

On October 1, 1890, Mr. Harper married Miss Mary E. Canady. She was born in Ogden Township, daughter of Asbury and Drusilla (Divan) Canady. The- Canadys were prominent pioneers of Champaign County. Drusilla Divan had three brothers who offered themselves to the country for the purpose of preserving the Union during the Civil War. Their mother, Ellen Divan, was at the time a widow and sorely needed her sons at home, but she courageously gave them up for the benefit of the country and deserves every credit for keeping up the home during their absence.

Mr. and Mrs. James W. Harper after their marriage spent one year at Hope, where Mr. Harper rented his father's farm. They then removed three miles north of the village of Ogden to 160 acres, which had been given Mrs. Harper by her father. Her father gave a similar amount to all his children. Here Mr. and Mrs. Harper made their permanent home for many years, and carried forward their plans for improvement and home making. They erected a comfortable house and barns, and set out many trees, both shade and fruit. Mr. Harper has the distinction of giving Champaign County its largest grove of catalpa trees. He set out 2,500 of them, cultivated them and cared for them, and today it is the finest catalpa grove in the entire county. They serve a double purpose, being not only an attractive feature of the landscape but furnishing a splendid windbreak for the farm.

To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Harper were born three sons: Arlie C., who died at the age of eight months; Chester C. and Merle. The latter two were educated in the district school known as Prospect School, while Chester subsequently graduated from both the St. Joseph and Urbana High schools, and completed his education in the University of Illinois. On May 12, 1917, he married Miss Mabel Hubbard of Vermilion County, Illinois. Two days after his marriage he went to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, having volunteered his services as a soldier in the American National Army. There after a brief period of training he was released and returned home. The youngest son, Merle, is still a student in the public schools of Ogden.

In 1915 Mr. and Mrs. Harper decided to relieve themselves of the duties and responsibilities of their farm and coming to Ogden bought a beautiful modern home at the edge of town. They have nine acres of ground surrounding their home and that affords them every opportunity to indulge the pursuits of gardening on a small and intensive scale and at the same time they have the nearby advantages of the town.

Mr. and Mrs. Harper began with the 160 acres which she inherited, but their achievements in a business way brought them great increase to this talent, and Mr. Harper added 320 acres more. At the present time he owns 525 acres of as fine land as can be found anywhere, one of his farms being in the state of Indiana.

All this time he has manifested a commendable public spirit and has filled the offices of school director and school trustee and has worked for the advantage of everything that concerns his community. He and his wife are active members of the Prospsct Christian Church, and in politics he is a Eepublican. He has always voted the Eepublican ticket and has found that party the most capable of satisfying his views on public questions. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.

ELIJAH J. ANDERS is both a successful fanner and an active business man at Sidney. He has always lived in close touch with the soil and with agricultural conditions, and that experience has been invaluable to him as a grain merchant.

Mr. Anders has spent nearly all his life in Champaign County but was born at Canal Winchester, Ohio, May 19, 1875. His parents, John and Mary (Krumm) Anders, were both born in Germany. His father was brought to America by his parents when about two years of age, the family locating in Ohio. He grew up there, took up farming and in 1878 came to Champaign County, locating in Philo Township. He and his wife are still living at Sidney. They had a large family of children, named briefly as follows: William, of Sidney; Elijah and Etta, twins, the latter the wife of Charles Shiprps of Fairmount, Illinois: Emma, wife of S. T. Mosier, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Henry, of New Berlin, Illinois; Minnie, wife of Arthur Cole, of Block, Illinois ; Mary, wife of Charles Thompson, of Urbana ; Mrs. Archie J. Hall, of Sidney ; and John, now deceased.

Elijah J. Anders grew up on his father's farm in Champaign County and lived at home with his parents until he was twenty-six. In the meantime he had acquired a good education in the district schools and also in the business college at Champaign. When he began farming on his own account it was as a renter of 155 acres, and after entering business at Sidney in 1913 he continued to supervise his farming interests. At Sidney Mr. Anders joined Mr. Golden in the implement business a year and a half. Then for fifteen months he was assistant bookkeeper in the State Bank and has since been manager of the Sidney Grain Company. He is utilizing his important connections and acquaintance with the grain raisers in this section of Illinois to build up a highly profitable and successful business.

Mr. Anders married, February 26, 1902, Miss Alice Porterfield. They have two bright young children, Dorothy Mildred and Clifford Burt, both of whom are receiving their education in the local schools. Mr. Anders is a Democrat and is a present member of the town board of Sidney. He and his family attend worship at the Methodist Episcopal Church.

J. K. P. YEATS, who before he reached his majority gave loyal service to the Union in the Civil War, has spent half a century as a practical farmer in Champaign County and his life is closely identified with its welfare and making.

The Yeats family were pioneers in southwestern Champaign County and lived as close neighbors to that great pioneer whose name appears so prominent in this history, Henry Sadorus. Mr. Sadorus often told the children of the Yeats family many interesting experiences of his pioneer life.

J. K. P. Yeats was born in Fountain County, Indiana, and was five years of age when his parents, Zepheniah and Matilda (Kerr) Yeats, came to Champaign County in 1850. His father was a native of Ohio and his mother of Kentucky. During the youth of Mr. Yeats the only school in the neighborhood was one maintained on' the subscription plan and he learned his lessons in that institution.

He was nineteen years of age when he enlisted toward the close of the war in Company H of the Twenty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He went with other boys from Champaign County to Chicago, and almost immediately after his enlistment went on to Bichmond, Virginia, and camped a mile and a half from that city. His company and regiment were in the Fourteenth Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Most of his duty was as guard around Eichmond and he remained in the service until July 24, 1865, when he was mustered out and given his honorable discharge.

On August 26, 1867, Mr. Yeats married Elizabeth E. Johnston. She is a native of the Blue Grass State of Kentucky, daughter of Eobert and Olivia (Muir) Johnston, also natives of Kentucky. Her parents came to Illinois and settled in Champaign County in 1854, when Elizabeth was a small child. She grew up in this state and gained her education in the Swearingen and the Kirkpatrick schools. After returning from the war Mr. Yeats was employed by Mr. Busey and boarded at the home of Mr. Johnston, and repaid his landlord's kindness by marrying his Daughter.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Yeats located four miles north of St. Joseph, and for six years rented the farm of Harrison Drellinger. Later they moved to Sadorus, where they lived ten years on his father's farm. This land, comprising 160 acres, had been entered direct from the Government by his father at the price of $1.25 an acre. Mr. and Mrs. Yeats finally bought 160 acres in Stanton Township, and made that their

Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Yeats : Clara, Minnie, Carrie, Elmer, Anna, Nellie, Jimmie, Pearl, Carlos and Bernice. The oldest, Clara, died at the age of four months, and the youngest, Bernice, died when two years of age. The other children were well educated in the Baldwin and No. 7 district schools and some of them attended high school. Minnie is now the wife of Charles Martin, a farmer at Lebanon, Indiana, and they have four children, three daughters and one son, Myrtle and Mabel (twins), Vern and Lois. The daughter Carrie is the wife of Lee Dunn, a resident of Champaign, and their five daughters and one son are named Raymond, Wintress, Wilma, Mildred, Olive and Myrtle. The son Elmer is a Stanton Township farmer, and by his marriage to Alta Yeazel has children: Ray, Ralph, Ruby, Russell and Roma. The daughter Anna married Nathan Rudolph, a farmer in Ogden Township, and their children are Jimmie, Hazel and Blanche. Nellie married R. L. Davis, a farmer in St. Joseph Township, and their five children are Beulah, Glen, Pearl, Bernice and Mabel. The son Carlos is a farmer in St. Joseph Township and married Etta Wilson. Pearl married Elmer Bantz, and she died fifteen years ago.

Mr. and Mrs. Yeats have performed a noble part by these children, instilling in them principles of integrity and usefulness, and have the satisfaction of seeing them all well established in life.

Mr. and Mrs. Yeats are regular members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of St. Joseph. In politics he is a Democrat. Through the many years of his active work in Champaign County Mr. Yeats has had the counsel and assistance of a noble wife who has stood by his side, and it is now just half a century since they were married. Six years ago Mr. and Mrs. Yeats left their farm and located in the village of St. Joseph, where he bought a good home on Warren Street, just far enough out to combine the advantages of town and country.

Mr. Yeats has been a witness to the wonderful transformation which has recreated Champaign County from the days of the wilderness. As a boy he frequently saw deer in droves of fifty, and many other wild animals, including catamounts and an occasional panther, which struck terror to an entire neighborhood. Prairie wolves often wandered about the Yeats home and the boy J. K. P. frequently took refuge under a bed when these animals were prowling around the cabin home. As was the case with most of the homes, the Yeats house had its roof secured by weight poles. Not infrequently a heavy wind would blow part of the roof off and the beds underneath would be drenched with rain. Mr. Yeats' memory goes back to the days when matches were very scarce and cost 10 cents for a box of a dozen. Comparatively few homes had them at all and the common resource for starting a fire was to load a gun with powder and cotton, discharge it, thus igniting the cotton and gradually nurse the fire into a blaze. Iron and steel were exceedingly scarce, and nails were seldom used in building houses or for any other purpose. Thus Mr. Yeats has been one of those who bore the heat and burden of the day in the pioneer development of Champaign County and great honor is due him and to all others who were sharers in this great work.

PETEK Jonx WAGNER has been for many years identified with the farming enterprise of Ogden Township, and still lives in a home and on a farm that are evidence of his hard work and intelligent care. This attractive rural home is in section 18 of Ogden Township, conveniently situated by the interurban road.

Mr. Wagner was born at Brownhelm in Lorain County, Ohio, a son of Berkharclt and Catherine (Hahn) Wagner. His parents were both natives of Germany. Berkhardt came to this country when twenty-seven years of age. His wife was a year and a half old when her parents crossed the ocean and found a home in America. Peter J. Wagner was one of three sons, the oldest being Charles H. and the youngest Henry Charles. The Wagner family lived in a splendid German community of Lorain County, and had many close and intimate friends there. The Wagners honored some of these good friends in naming their children, but Peter John was named for the two great apostles. The Wagners were active members of the German Reformed Church.

Peter John Wagner received his education in a district school, and at the age of twenty-two he married Anna Caroline Loeffler. She was born in Illinois, a daughter of George B. Loeffler. After his marriage Mrs. Wagner's father sent for the young couple, inviting them to come to Illinois and settle in Ogden Township. Many attractive opportunities were described, but at first the young people became very homesick and it was some time before they accommodated themselves to the comparatively new country among strangers. They began as housekeepers for Uncle Chris Loeffler and rented forty acres of land. The next year Mr. Wagner paid $25 an acre for eighty acres and lived on that place a number of years.

Three children were born to his marriage, Minnie, Clara and Albert, the last dying in infancy. The mother was taken away by death, and Mr. Wagner was left with his little children, but with the aid of his mother and sister who came on from Ohio he reared them and kept the household together. Later he married a sister of his first wife, Elizabeth Loeffler, who came into the home as a Christian mother for his children. Three children were born to the second marriage, Edith, Charles and John. John died in childhood.

In the meantime Mr. Wagner bought forty acres of land in section 18 and later made the improvements which have resulted in his permanent home. He set out many trees and gradually accumulated other land until his estate consists of 160 acres. He also owns another farm of ninety-seven and a half acres, where he built a fine modern home, and it is now occupied by his son Charles. Charles married Grace Currie and has three children, Ralph, Peter and Merle.

Mr. Wagner also lost his second wife by death, and the daughter Minnie died at the age of nineteen, a lovable young woman who had gained a large circle of friends. Mr. Wagner's daughter Clara married John Firebaugh, and they live on a farm at Kell,. Illinois. They have five young sons, true types of American boys, named Oral, Carrol, Clinton, Dale and Amel. The daughter Edith married Siegel Yeazle, a farmer, and their three children are Nellie, Glen and Helen.

For his third wife Mr. Wagner married Minnie Gregor. who was born at Urbana, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Rambo) Gregor. There were also three children of this marriage, Roy, Elmer and John. Roy died at the age of seventeen. He was a tall, muscular youth, a fine specimen of manhood, but in spite of everything that could be done for him he became a victim of the grim reaper. Mr. Wagner's last wife died of cancer, April 30, 1915. His son Elmer is still living at home.

All the children were given good advantages. Charles graduated from the high school at Ogden and was a successful teacher in the Clark School, and he also took special studies in the University of Illinois. He ranked first in the county in high school examination. The son Elmer attended the Urbana High School.

Church, a splendid old church that has stood as a beacon light for many years in that community. Mr. Wagner served six years as school director and for a number of years was ditch commissioner and school trustee. He is one of the men who has been most active in promoting a drainage system in Champaign County. A number of years ago drainage was looked upon as an extravagance, but the people have been gradually educated until they now feel that money invested in this way brings more returns than any other. It is said that Mr. Wagner has done as much in the building of drains in Ogden as any other individual. He is a man of high principles, of absolute integrity of character, and has enjoyed the friendship and esteem of a large circle of friends. Politically he is a Democrat, though his broad views have frequently led him to support the man rather than the party. It is well known in that section of the county that his word is as good as a bond, and higher praise for his commercial integrity could not be uttered. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order, Knights of Pythias, with the Eastern Star and Pythian Sisters.

DAVID HABVEY LESTER. For almost a half century has David Harvey Lester been a resident of Champaign County and it has been his privilege to witness and bear a part in its remarkable development. He is a native of Indiana and was born in Switzerland County, October 18, 1848. His parents were David A. and Eliza A. (Gerard) Lester, who were the parents of eight children, the survivors being: Martha, who is the widow of Robert T. Graham, has five children and lives at Vevay, Indiana; David Harvey; Margaret, who is a resident of Saint Joseph, Champaign County; Mary, who is the wife of Eugene Abbott, a farmer in Wabash County, Indiana; Armenia, who is the wife of John More, a fruit dealer and grocer living in California; Clara, who is the wife of A. T. Clark and they live in Indiana; and John, who is an agriculturist and resides near Cromwell in Noble County, Indiana.

David A. Lester and his wife were born in Switzerland County, Indiana, where he died at the early age of thirty-five years. After the death of her husband the mother of the above family remained in Indiana until 1889, when she came to Champaign County, Illinois, where she yet resides. She has reached the unusual age of ninety years and, what is more remarkable, has retained her faculties unimpaired and enjoys general good health. She is tenderly cared for and resides with her daughter Margaret, and there loves to have her descendants gather about her.

David Harvey Lester is an example of the self made man. He had but few educational advantages in boyhood, a short time only in the subscription schools covering his entire opportunity, but general reading and years of association with men and affairs have made Mr. Lester one of the well informed men of his county. He was twenty years old when he started out on his own responsibility and he remembers the first 50 cents he earned by covering corn. When he came to Champaign ' County he had a cash capital of $20, but has lived to see the day when his name at the bottom of a legal paper is accepted in any bank in the state for any amount represented.

For three years after becoming a resident of this county, Mr. Lester worked as a farm hand, his wages being $18 a month, which he surely earned, considering how little farm machinery was then employed to assist in agricultural industries at that time. After his marriage in 1871 he decided to become a pioneer in Nebraska, glowing accounts of which territory being then circulated through the more closely settled states, and located on land in Otoe County, near Nebraska City, two years later moving to near Beaver City and lived one year on a homestead of 160 acres.

There were many hardships to be endured and by 1874 Mr. Lester determined to return to Champaign County, even if he had to begin once more at the bottom of the ladder. For eight years after coming back to Illinois he rented farm land and then felt justified in buying the first forty acres of his present ample estate and had it paid for in a comparatively short time. Through his own hard work and the judicious frugality of his estimable wife he made further progress and at the present time owns seventy-two acres of finely developed land and his wife had an equally valuable tract of thirty-two acres.

Mr. Lester was married November 17, 1871, to Miss Phoebe Brodrick, who was born in Champaign County, Illinois, January 8, 1855, and passed away in her home in Newcomb Township, November 8, 1915. She was a noble woman both within and without her family circle and there were many outside the domestic circle who felt bereaved, for she had been known for twenty years as a kind and faithful Sunday school teacher in her neighborhood prior to her marriage, and at the time of death was president of the Ladies' Aid Society of the Shiloh Methodist Episcopal Church. She was the beloved mother of four sons and two daughters, the four survivors of her children being: Effie, who married H. S. Wright, a prominent farmer in this township and they have six children; Bert, who was educated in the public schools, the Mahomet High School and the State University at Champaign, for two years has been superintendent of schools at Piper City, Ford County, Illinois, married Grace Addison and they have three children, Howard, Eloise and John, and he is identified fraternally with the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Royal Neighbors; Oran, who is a graduate of the high school at Mahomet and a successful teacher, lives with his father on the homestead ; Daisy was a- student in the State Normal University at Normal, Illinois, after being graduated from the Mahomet High School, and she married Elmer Rohlfing and they have two children, Elizabeth and Lucile.

William B. Brodrick, father of Mrs. Lester, was born in Ohio, moved from there to Indiana and from there came to Champaign County and acquired 160 acres of land in Newcomb Township. He became one of the leading men, was prominent in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for many years was a school trustee and also was township clerk. His death occurred in 1895. He married Phoebe Keelor, who was born in Indiana and is now deceased, and they had seven children born to them, four sons, two of whom served in the Civil War, and three daughters. Two sons survive: Charles, who is a resident of Santa Cruz, California, and Allen, who is a retired farmer of Newcomb Township.

Mr. Lester is a Republican and he cast his first presidential vote for Ulysses S. Grant and ever since has loyally supported the great men of his party who have been candidates, and frequently he has served as a delegate to the county conventions. He has conscientiously done his part at all times as a good citizen and his fellow men have shown their confidence by many times electing him to local offices. For twenty years he served as a school director, for one year was a school trustee, for ten years was highway commissioner of the township, and for two terms was assessor of his township, the duties of every office being performed honestly and efficiently. For many years he has been a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, attending the lodge at Fisher, Illinois. Mr. Lester has been one of the pillars of the Shiloh Methodist Episcopal Church. WThen this congregation resolved to erect a new house of worship a building committee was appointed that was made up of the prominent and substantial men of business experience and good judgment, and Mr. Lester was one of these. The beautiful building was dedicated May 13, 1917, and was erected at a cost of $9,000. This edifice is a credit to Champaign County and to the progressive church organization whereby it was made a possibility. Mr. Lester is still a member of the financial committee. He is in every way recognized as one of the dependable and trustworthy men of his township and his name is justly included in a history of the worthy men of Champaign County.

PHILLIP MOHR arrived in Champaign County in 1874. He was then a young man, only a few years over from Germany, possessed a fair education, knew how to work, but was without friends of influence and without a personal fortune. Hard work and good judgment have been the route which he has followed on the road to success. He is widely known over the county, is a progressive and up-to-date farmer, and has earned all the competence which he and his family now enjoy.

Mr. Mohr is a native of Germany and represents that sturdy class of old country people who perhaps to a greater degree than any other nationality have proved successful and enterprising farmers in America. Like most of his fellow citizens, Mr. Mohr came to this country without money, but he availed himself of the wonderful opportunities of the new land and has been a factor in the progress of Champaign County for over forty years.

He was born in the village of Kultsee, not far from Stettin, in the province of Pomerania, on January 3, 1851. He was the youngest of six children, five sons and one daughter. His parents were Karl and Mary (Rosen thai) Mohr. His father was a native of the same province and cultivated a small tract of land there, where he lived and died. His death occurred about 1884. His wife was also born and spent her years in the same country. Both were active members of the German Lutheran Church.

Phillip Mohr grew up on his father's farm, was educated in the German language, and when about twenty he said goodbye to his friends and family and started for America. This was in 1871. The vessel that brought him from Hamburg was seventy-two days in crossing the Atlantic and he did not land in New York City until the month of December. He then paid his fare to Chicago, and arrived in that city with only $2.50 left. Here he found himself in a strange land, among a strange people, and unable to speak the English tongue. He bravely adapted himself to circumstances and sought every opportunity to earn an honest dollar. During the first winter he worked at putting up ice at $1.75 a day and afterwards found employment in lumber and brick yards. He remained in Chicago until 1874, in which year he came to Champaign City, which was then a small town with unpaved streets and with few of the buildings or other improvements that have since been made.

Here he did his first work as a farm hand at $16 a month. In this way he continued for eight years and put away nearly all his earnings with a view to the future. His next experience was as a renter in Mahomet Township, and he farmed land owned by others for six years. In the meantime he married, and the aid and counsel of his good and capable wife were no small factor in his success.

Finally he made a purchase of 100 acres, going in debt $2,200, and since then he has bought and sold and improved several farms. He finally traded his first tract and then bought 207 acres in Stanton Township, and there again assumed an indebtedness of $7,000. This he also sold after a time and moved to Somer Township, where he acquired 125 acres and kept it four years before selling. In 1898 Mr. Mohr came to Mahomet Township and bought 185 acres. To this he added eighty acres and now has a total of 265 acres, in addition to 118 acres in Scott Township. His home farm is almost a model in management and improvement. In 1908 he built a beautiful home, modern in every detail, and one of the best residences in that section of the country.

In March, 1884, Mr. Mohr married Miss Ida Reyburn. To their marriage were born six children, all sons, and four are still living. These sons are all home and all of them received good advantages in the way of home training and discipline and the privileges of the local schools. Ernest J., the oldest, is a practical agriculturist on the home farm, is a Republican and a member of the Methodist Church. Louis is also a successful young farmer and a member of the same political party and of the same church as his brother. The two younger sons are Fred and Carl, the latter still attending school.

It would not be possible to speak too highly of the good and capable companion that Mr. Mohr chose for his wife and whose industry and thrift were such important factors in their success. She was born in Champaign County in 1863, a daughter of R. G. and Isabel (Herriott) Reyburn. She was reared and educated in this county and possessed more than ordinary ability and wisdom. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church and in that faith she passed away in October, 1915. Her remains are now at rest in the Riverside Cemetery.

Mr. Mohr has been, a Republican since he acquired his American citizenship, and while always interested in the welfare of his community has never held any office. He is of the German Lutheran faith and is in every way a true and loyal American and has reared his sons to cherish the principles of his adopted land.

LAWRENCE E. FAB.LOW. While one of the younger residents of Fisher as a business man, where he has lived for the past five years, Mr. Farlow lacks none of that enthusiasm, energy and enterprise which are fundamentals in success and the advancement of a community. His responsibilities in a business way are chiefly as manager of the Fisher Farmers Grain and Coal Company.

Mr. Farlow is a native of Jefferson County, Illinois, where he was born January 2, 1889, a son of S. M. and Marian (Redmond) Farlow. His father was also, born in Jefferson County and the larger part of his life has been spent as an agriculturist. The common schools educated him and he also had a year of college training. For fifteen years he was successfully at work as a teacher in Jefferson County, and many of his students now grown to, manhood and womanhood have a grateful memory of his work in their behalf. Politically he is a Democrat and has served his home county and township as an official for a number of years, having been justice of the peace sixteen years and school treasurer four years. Both he and his wife have been affiliated with the Missionary Baptist Church and he is now superintendent of the Sunday School, an office he has filled a number of years. The father resides at Belle Rive, Illinois. His wife, who was also born in Illinois, died in October, 1897, and is buried in her home township.

Lawrence E. Farlow in addition to the advantages of the common schools had one year of training in Ewing College in Franklin County, Illinois, and also took a course in Carleton College at Farmington, Missouri. His early work was in the same line as his father, teaching, which he followed successfully for five years in Jefferson County. Mr. Farlow came to Fisher, Illinois, in 1912, and was made bookkeeper of the Fisher Farmers Grain and Coal Company. Three months later the directors of that company, recognizing his thorough fitness and capability, made

Mr. Farlow married, February 6, 1910, Miss Bertie Bumpus. They Lave two young children, Coenia B. and Edwin M. These children are the pride and delight of their parents.

Mrs. Farlow was born in Jefferson County, Illinois, in 1891, and besides the common school course she attended Mount Vernon High School and spent one term in Carleton College. She is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is secretary of the Domestic Science Club of Fisher.

The Farmers Grain and Coal Company of Fisher is one of the leading enterprises in that section of Champaign County. To the business Mr. Farlow has given the best that is in him and he is well fitted temperamentally for contracting business with the public. He possesses the qualities of cordiality and a pleasant greeting for all comers, and these, combined with his honesty and integrity, command for him an impregnable place of advantage in the community. Politically he is a Democrat, having cast his first presidential vote for President Wilson. He was one of the village trustees of Fisher for one year. Mr. Farlow is a member of Lodge No. 704 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Fisher and is treasurer of the lodge. While his church affiliation is as a Baptist, he is now superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday school at Fisher, this being one of the most vigorous Sunday schools of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Farlow have a beautiful and modern bungalow residence on Fifth Street, and it is a home of peace, harmony and good cheer, where they extend their hospitality to many friends.

J. B. DUNN, after many years of activity as an agriculturist in Champaign County, is living retired in the comforts and conveniences of a good town home on Third Street in St. Joseph.

Mr. Dunn is a native of the grand old Blue Grass country of Harrison County, Kentucky. His parents were Benjamin F. and Eachel (Kerns) Dunn, also natives of Kentucky. Mr. Dunn grew up in Kentucky and acquired his education by attending about three months every year a subscription school. When he was ten years of age he lost the guidance and care of his mother and some years later his father moved to Illinois. The family arrived in Champaign County October 18, 1871, when J. B. Dunn was twenty years of age. This was only a few days after the great Chicago fire, and much excitement prevailed and all the talk on the train was of the terrible disaster. The family location was in Somer Township, near Locust Grove.

On coming to this county J. B. Dunn obtained work as a farm laborer, and afterwards, with a view to bettering his condition, farmed on the shares. He continued in this way three years.

August 3, 1878, he established a home of his own by his marriage to Matie L. Hunt. Mrs. Dunn was born in Stanton Township of Champaign County, daughter of Jonathan Hunt. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dunn rented 200 acres in Stanton Township, and they worked hard, economized and remained on that site for eight years, at the end of which time they had acquired some capital with which to make a real start in life. Mr. Dunn then bought a farm for $40 an acre and when he got on land of his own his enthusiasm was born anew and with bountiful crops rewarding his labors he was soon on the highway to independence and success.

educated in the district schools of Stanton Township. Claud and Lawrence were also students in the St. Joseph High School, and later both of them took a business course in a college at Marion, Indiana. That gave them superior equipment for their respective callings in life. Claud 0. Dunn is a successful farmer near Elwell, Michigan. He married Leonet Doll of Elkhart, Indiana, and their three children are Everett, Florence and Hilda. The son Lawrence E., a successful stockman in Indianapolis, where he is a commission merchant, married Nellie Snyder. The daughter Ethel Dunn married Raymond Besore, and they live at Alma, Michigan, where Mr. Besore is proprietor of a steam laundry. They have a son, Lisle. Lena Ray Dunn married Otis Phenicie, a farmer in Stanton Township, and they have a son, Arden. Merle, the youngest child of Mr. Dunn, is associated with his brother in the stock business at Indianapolis, and both of them are doing very well for young men. Mr. Dunn's children have thus proved their ability to go out and cope with the problems of the world, and they are a credit and satisfaction to their father.

The family has experienced the usual joys and sorrows of existence, and on July 23, 1903, the good wife and mother passed away. On October 24, 1906, Mr. Dunn married Mrs. Laura E. (Swisher) O'Day. They have a bright young daughter, Roxine Lucile, now seven years of age and in the third grade of the public schools.

In 1912 Mr. and Mrs. Dunn decided to leave the farm and remove to the village of St. Joseph, where they purchased a fine brick residence on Third Street. Having spent many years as a practical farmer, Mr. Dunn is now able to enjoy thoroughly the leisure and comforts won by so much expenditure of effort. He and his wife are regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church and their little daughter is a student in the Sunday school. In politics Mr. Dunn is a Democrat. He is affiliated with the Masonic order, being a charter member of St. Joseph lodge, while Mrs. Dunn is a member of the Eastern Star. Mr. Dunn is a man who with all the cares of his home and business has been willing to assume the burdens of public responsibility. He has filled several offices which indicate the confidence of the community in his judgment, such as road commissioner, township supervisor and school trustee. He is a man among men, interested in questions of vital interest to the public, and willing to get out and work for anything that concerns the welfare of Champaign County.

MORRIS F. COLE. The following sketch contains the important facts in the life and family record of a Champaign County citizen whose name always stood for all that was honest and of good report in the community. It also was significant of thrift and business integrity. Mr. Cole was a farmer, spent his life, which was prematurely cut short at the age of forty-nine, in Champaign County, and had gained a competence for himself by his well directed labors.

He was born on a farm in section 24 of Philo Township, November 27, 1867. His death occurred at his home April 8, 1917. His parents, Charles F. and Maria (Pease) Cole, were natives of Massachusetts and were early settlers in Champaign County. His father was a practical farmer, and died in this county January 7, 1899. The mother is still living at Philo. They had eight children: Nellie, deceased; Belle, wife of Millard Porterfield, of Fairmount, Illinois; Hattie, wife of J. N. Black, of Mahomet; Angie, wife of J. T. Black, of Peru, Indiana; Morris P.; Royal G., of Cortland, New York; and Stella and Charles, both of whom died in childhood.

acquired a good education. At the age of. twenty-one he went out to Wyoming and put in three years of adventure and exciting experience as a cowboy on the ranches. He returned to Champaign County in the winter of 1892, was married soon afterward, and he and his wife started housekeeping on a rented farm. He handled about 300 acres of rented land and worked it profitably for himself and its owners for about seventeen years. In the meantime he began buying land of his own and at the time of his death had 200 acres in section 25 of Philo Township.

Mr. Cole was married February 2, 1893, to Lydia Thrash, daughter of John and Matilda (Knepper) Thrash. Her parents were born in Fairfield County, Ohio, and moved to Champaign County, Illinois, in 1873, locating on a farm in Philo Township. Her father died March 8, 1917, and thus Mrs. Cole suffered bereavement of her father and husband within a few weeks. Her mother passed away October 4, 1906. Mrs. Cole was one of seven children: Emma, wife of A. J. Pettigrew of Wayne County, Illinois; a daughter who died in infancy; Perry of Tolono, Illinois; the fifth child also died early; William lives in California; Mrs. Cole is the next; and John H. lives at Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Cole had five children : Hazel Mae, Estella M., Nina B., Charles F. and Gladys L. All the children are still living except Nina.

Mr. Cole was not only a practical and progressive farmer but a man who commanded the confidence of his fellow citizens and was frequently entrusted with offices of responsibility in the community. He served as road commissioner, school director, was active in the Champaign County Agricultural Association and also held the offices of assessor and collector. He was affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Court of Honor, the Knights of Pythias, and the Loyal Order of Moose. He and his family worshipped in the Presbyterian Church.

J. L. PETERS. Three years have gone by since Mr. J. L. Peters passed that landmark of mortal journey known as three score and ten, and he and his good wife, who has been counselor and adviser and companion by his side for more than half a century, are now enjoying the comforts of retirement at their pleasant and attractive country home near the village of Tipton in St. Joseph Township.

Mr. Peters is one of the oldest living native sons of St. Joseph Township, where he was born January 25, 1844. That date is of itself evidence that the Peters family came to Champaign County along with the earliest pioneers. His parents were William and Sarah (McNutt) Peters. They were born in Kentucky, were married there, and soon after their marriage they started for a new nome in the North, making the journey in a covered wagon. At that time all of Champaign County was a new district, and Indians were still here in large numbers, and through their thieving and begging propensities were somewhat troublesome. Mrs. Peters had never been accustomed to such neighbors, and she lived in constant dread of the red men, though they confined their excursions to the Peters home to merely beg something to eat. When the Peters family came to Champaign County fully 500 Indians were living within its boundaries. . They usually spent the winter in the South, but returned early in the spring and frequented the sugar maple groves, where they tapped the trees and made sugar. Amid the circumstances of pioneer life Mrs. William Peters would gladly have returned to her old home in the Blue Grass State, but such a course was not practicable and in time she became better satisfied and contented.

of Government land and paid $1.25 an acre. He was an energetic worker and a good business manager. There were few of the modern facilities and institutions in Champaign County, no railroads, no interurbans, and no modern highways. He usually went to Chicago to mill, driving in a big wagon and taking a week for the trip. On one of these trips he traded the only horse he had for some land and returned home on foot, carrying the flour on his back. He was determined to have as much land as he could care for, and he was granted his desire, and at one time owned more than 400 acres of the rich and fertile soil of Champaign County. The children of these parents had to make the most of their advantages in an old log schoolhouse, a building that was exposed to the elements and in spite of a roaring fire at one end was miserably cold.

In such circumstances J. L. Peters grew to manhood. The war came on when he was still a small boy, and during his twenty-first year he volunteered at Homer and enlisted in Company K of the One Hundred and Thirty-third Illinois Infantry. He marched away with the hoys in blue, being first ordered to Camp Butler at Springfield, and was then sent to Rock Island on the Mississippi River, where he was one of .the soldiers guarding 10,000 Rebel prisoners. Practically all his service was in performing this heavy guard duty, and he welcomed the restoration of peace and his relief from such burdensome responsibilities. He was mustered out at Springfield, given an honorable discharge, and set out for home.

It was a sad home coming, since his father had died during his absence in the army. On April 20, 1865, soon after the close of his military experience, Mr. Peters married Ann E. Moore. She was born at Greensboro in Henry County, Indiana, a daughter of William and Rhoda (Maudlin) Moore. When she was six years of age her parents came to Champaign County and she grew up and attended the same district school as her husband.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Peters started farming the old 'homestead and acquired part of the estate. Here they surrounded themselves with much material prosperity, but their chief pride has always centered in the fine family of children who have grown up around them. They are eleven in number, and were named Emmaline, Laura B., Lucinda A., Alta M., Milton, Lida M., John N"., Grant, Maggie P., Minnie E. and Fred. These children were educated in the local district schools. The daughter Emmaline married Charles McElwee and her children are May, Oral, Jennie, Effie, Iscle, Thelma and Ray. Laura B. married William Coburn, and is the mother of two children, Fay and William. Lucinda A. is the wife of James Stayton, and their two children are Florence and Hazel. Milton, who married Clara Hixenbaugh, have two children, Cecil and Bessie. Lida M. married Adrian Overman, and they have a large family consisting of Hallie, Helen, Lawrence, Russel, Ruth and Ray. The son John N. married Anna Pieplow, their children being Gladys, Grace, Dallas, Wayne, Charles and Paul. The son Grant married Bessie Raderbaugh. Maggie P. is the wife of Ed Lientz and the mother of Francis, Opal, Carl and Pauline. Minnie E. married Floyd Stephenson and has a son Paul. Fred married Bertha Schmidts.

Death has not spared the Peters family circle and at different times three of the children have been taken away, Laura B., Alta M. and Milton, while the wives of the sons Grant and Milton are also deceased. Mr. Grant Peters, since the death of his wife, has lived at the old homestead with his parents, superintends the management of the farm and is a good, steady, hard working man whose presence is a great comfort to his father and mother in their declining days. .

Mrs. Peters is an active member of the New Light Church at Tipton. Politically Mr. Peters has always been stanchly aligned with the Republican party, and has given it his best support since Civil War times. He has served as school director, and having a large family of his own to educate has been extremely interested in securing the best of instruction for the young people of the neighborhood.

WILLIAM B. BROWN. By a residence of fifty-seven years in Champaign County there is no place in the world so dear to William B. Brown as this picturesque and beautiful section of eastern Illinois. His successes have been gained here, he reared his family on his farm, and practically all the associations of a long life have been found here.

Mr. Brown was born in Monroe County, Indiana, September 22, 1854. He was the only son in a family of three children born to Milton Monroe and Sarah (Houston) Brown. His two sisters are Mary Jane and Eliza E. Mary Jane is the wife of C. T. Langwell, b. farmer at Reynolds, Indiana. Mrs. Langwell was educated in the common schools and is a member of the Christian Church. Eliza is the wife of A. H. Dellman, also of Reynolds, Indiana.

Milton M. Brown was born in Monroe County, Indiana, October 25, 1829, and spent his life as a farmer. He was educated in one of the log cabin schoolhouses with its slab benches and its restricted curriculum. About 1855 he came out to Eastern Illinois, making the journey in pioneer style with wagons and teams. He bought land in Brown Township, but subsequently returned to his native county. A few years later he located in Champaign County, Illinois, and at the time of his death was the owner of 280 acres of this rich soil. He was a Democrat in politics. His first wife died when William B. Brown was four years old, on December 25, 1858. She is buried in the Devore cemetery, where a monument marks her last resting place. The father married for his second wife Rosa Torpy, and of their three children all are now deceased. The lineage of the Brown family goes back to England.

William B. Brown grew up in Champaign County, attended the common schools here, and early learned the lessons set for him in the fields and the meadows and the other workshops of his father's farm. When he left home it was as a wage earner and farm hand at a salary of $20 a month. In that way he continued working for six years, and he began truly at the bottom round of the ladder and steadily climbed by his own exertions by a strictly honorable relationship in all his dealings.

The first land he secured for himself was eighty acres three miles southeast of his present estate. He went in debt for most of the purchase price, having only $400 in capital at his command. For the balance he paid seven per cent interest. He made that purchase in 1880 and sold it in 1901 in order to buy his present farm of 160 acres, 140 acres being situated in section 10 and the remaining twenty in section 3. Every acre of the land is tillable, and altogether it makes a magnificent farming estate.

On January 1, 1880, Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Miss Amanda C. Blake. Seven children were the fruit of their union, four sons and three daughters. Only two are now living. Cynthia Ann is the wife of Frank Wilson. They lived at Foosland in this county until 1909, when they removed to North Dakota and they now have a fine farm of 320 acres at Fairdale in that state. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have two children: Hazel, now attending the fifth grade of the public schools, and Bessie B., who is also in school. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church while they lived at Foosland.

Eobert C., the only living son of Mr. Brown, was educated in the common schools, has proved himself a practicable and thoroughly progressive farmer, and has active charge of his father's estate. He married Miss Pearl Zimmerman. Their two sons are Warren B. and Sherrill H., both of whom are in school and are noted for their excellence in their studies. Miss Pearl Zimmerman was born in Harper County, Kansas, on October 20, 1888, but when she was three years of age her parents came to Champaign County, where she attended the common schools. She and her husband are active members of the" Christian Church. Her mother is now living with Mr. and Mrs. Eobert Brown. She was one of six children, and three are now living, her two sisters being: Alta 0., wife of J. A. Selberg, a successful stock buyer in Minnesota, and they have two sons ; and Fannie M., wife of J. W. Way, a farmer at Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and they are the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters.

Mrs. Eobert Brown's father, Mr. Zimmerman, was born in Germany and after coming to America located on a farm in Ford County, Illinois. He was a Democrat in politics.

William B. Brown and his son Eobert are both members of the Democratic party. The senior Mr. Brown has served as tax collector two different terms .and has been director of the local schools. His son has passed all the chairs in Lodge fto. 842 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

FRANK STOUT. Practically every successful career is actuated by an earnest purpose and an energy of action sufficient to carry out definite plans of accomplishment. Purpose and energy have been the keynotes of the career of Frank Stout, a fine old-time citizen of Champaign County and one of the best known residents in the northwestern part of the county. Mr. Stout is now enjoying the fruits of a well-spent career at his comfortable home in Mahomet Township near the village of Mahomet. Since an early age he has been self-reliant and independent, and owes his prosperity chiefly to the plans which have originated in his own mind and to the energy and thrift which dominated both him and his estimable wife in carrying them out.

Mr. Stout was born in Champaign County, August 27, 1857. He is the youngest of the three living children of Jacob and Louisa (Warner) Stout. His oldest brother, Charles, is a retired farmer in Champaign, a Methodist and a Eepublican, and he married Ella Heller. The second brother, Jesse, is now retired from farming and a resident of Champaign, is a Eepublican and a Methodist, and is married and has six children.

Jacob Stout, the father of these children, was born in Ohio, was reared and educated there, and came to Illinois a young man without capital. His first work was done as a farm hand at $18 a month, and he followed this kind of employment steadily for a number of years. For nine years he lived in Missouri and made his first purchase of land in that state. Altogether he made the trip between Illinois and Missouri three times and each time in the emigrant style, with wagons and teams. He finally bought 120 acres in Champaign County, in Scott Township, assumed heavy obligations, but had his property all clear of indebtedness before his death. He began voting as a Whig and was afterwards a Eepublican, and he and his wife were devout Methodists. His death occurred about 1887, and in the cemetery at Monticello a monument marks his last resting place. His wife was also a native of Ohio, had a common school education, and her death occurred in 1862. She is also buried at Monticello.

older friends know the quality of his thrift and enterprise as a young man and the diligence with which he worked steadily to achieve the object of his worthy ambition. When he was twenty-two years of age he began working out on farms, and his first wages were $20 a month. In this way he continued some years, and finally felt justified in taking upon himself the responsibilities of a home of his own.

On January 1, 1886, he married Miss Leonora Clapper. When they married they still had success to achieve and they went earnestly to work and gained prosperity without aid from anyone, and all they have enjoyed is directly due to their thrifty energies. Three children have come into their home and it has been a matter of deep satisfaction that they have been able to train them well and furnish them good advantages in schools so as to fit them for worthy positions in the world.

Ernest A., the oldest child, attended school at Mahomet, is still a resident of Mahomet Township, and for the past ten years has carefully looked after his duties as a rural free delivery man. His long service is the best proof of his business capacity. He is a Eepublican, a member of the Masonic order at Mahomet and with his wife is affiliated with the Court of Honor. He married Miss Hazel Curtis, and their two children are Nadine and Paul.

Samuel, the second son, still claims his parents' home as his own, but at present is working on the aviation plant at Belleville, Illinois. He is a graduate of the Mahomet High School, of the State Normal University, and has spent one year in the Summer Normal at Menominee, Michigan, also in Normal School at Indianapolis, and one year at the University of Illinois. He has been a very successful teacher and for two years was connected with the high school of Decatur. He is a Eepublican and a member of the Masonic order.

Nellie B., the only daughter, is still at home with her parents. She spent one year in high school and has received considerable training in music.

Mrs. Stout was born in Champaign County, January 1, 1862, a daughter of Samuel and Frances (Biggs) Clapper, an old and well known family in this section of the state. She is one of five children, four daughters and one son, still living, and all residents of Champaign County. Her father was born in Pennsylvania in 1829 and died in 1908. He was a successful farmer and when only a boy went to Ohio and afterward worked at the tanner's trade in Indianapolis. He came to Champaign County, where he married, and as a farmer he accumulated eighty acres of good land. He was a Whig and afterwards a Eepublican, and both he and his wife were devout Methodists. His remains now rest in Eiverside Cemetery. His wife was born in Ohio in 1836 and is still living, at the age of eighty-one, bright and active and looking after the duties of her home.

Mrs. Stout had a common school education, and for over thirty years has given her husband, children and her community the value of her capable energy and her well-poised character.

Mr. and Mrs. Stout made their first purchase of land in Newcomb Township, where they bought ninety acres. A year later they sold that and removed to Mahomet, where they have since had their home. They now own thirty-five acres just east of the town of Mahomet, also two lots in that town and one lot in Champaign, and have ten acres in Newcomb Township. These properties represent a sufficiency for all their needs and they have done much to develop and improve the land which has been under their management. Mr. Stout is a Eepublican, is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Mahomet, in which he has passed all the chairs, and he and his wife are both active in the Eebekahs and are leading members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Mahomet.

WILLIAM M. PHENICIE, proprietor of the Sunny Prairie Farm irl Stanton Township, has known Champaign County for over half a century and was a factor in making it one of the garden spots of the world whether considered from an agricultural standpoint or as the home of industrious and worthy people.

Mr. Phenicie is a native of Pennsylvania, having been born at Mercersburg in Franklin County, a son of Joseph and Susan (Conner) Phenicie. His parents were also natives of the same state and were of English and German ancestry. William M. was one of seven children, four sons and three daughters, all of whom were well educated in the district schools of Franklin County.

In 1861, the year the Civil War broke out, William Phenicie married Margaret Besore. She was also a native of Franklin County, a daughter of John and Mary (Mouen) Besore.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Phenicie located on one of his father's farms, but two years later came out to Illinois, where two of Mrs. Phenicie's brothers were living in Vermilion County. They spent only one year in that county, and then came to Stanton Township in' Champaign County. Here they rented land and subsequently Mr. Phenicie bought 120 acres at $8 an acre from the Illinois Central Bailway. It was a tract of virgin prairie, without a single improvement, and their first home was one of the cabins such as dotted this county in pioneer times. The passing years brought evidences of their industry and good management, a good house was built, fruit and shade trees were planted, and the land was redeemed from the waste prairie and converted into a fine farm.

In the .meantime children were born into their home to the number of six, three sons and three daughters. These sons and daughters were named Stephen H., Delia, George, Emma, Eva and Otis. All of them were educated in the local schools, while Otis completed his education in the St. Joseph High School. While Mr. Phenicie has been liberally rewarded in a material way, he finds the greatest satisfaction of his career in the worthy sons and daughters who have grown up and have found honorable positions in life for themselves. Stephen H. is a successful farmer in southern Michigan. He married Emma Funkhouser, and their seven children are Oscar, Ethel, Ernest, Opal, Claude, William and Euth. The daughter Delia is the wife of William Barricklow, also a Michigan farmer, and they have three sons, C. Dwight, Cecil and Carlos. George has one of the good farms of Stanton Township, and by his marriage to Etta Johnson is the father of five children, Merle, Abner, Eoy, Harold and Chester. The daughter Emma is the wife of Adam Varner, and their family consists of Elmer, Vernie, Effie, Otis, Margaret, May, Letha and Clever. Eva is the wife of John Turner, a coal merchant at Urbana. Their children are Nellie, Marie, Ora, Amy, William and Norma. The youngest son and child, Otis, who lives on his father's homestead, married, September 26, 1906, Lena Dunn, daughter of John B. Dunn. Otis and wife have an energetic young son, Arden, now ten years of age and a student in the fourth grade. Though so young, he takes a keen interest in aviation and flying machines.

The Phenicie home has not escaped the visitation of death, and in 1910 the good mother entered into rest. The lives of her children are an expression of her character and training, and by many acts of kindliness and good she endeared herself to a large community. Mr. Phenicie and his late wife were active members of the Prairie Hope Christian Church, and for years he was a trustee in that organization. In politics he is a Democrat, and proof of his public spirit is found in his service for a number of years as a school director.

When Mr. Phenicie came to Stanton Township there was not a public road, schoolhouse nor church in the entire community, and his own efforts and influence have co-operated with every movement for such improvement and advancement. Since the death of his good wife Mr. Phenicie has continued to live on the home farm, but has surrendered the responsibilities of its management to his capable son Otis, and in his cultured daughter-in-law finds a most capable home maker.

JOHN W. CHURCH, supervisor of Hensley Township, has been a resident of Champaign County since 1884. Those years have marked his progressive labor toward independence as a farmer and today there is hardly a better known citizen in the northern half of Champaign County than Mr. Church.

He is a native of Vigo County, Indiana, where he was born July 5, 1860, third in a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters. Two of the family live in Illinois, his sister Ellen being the wife of Charles Roberts. Four others live in Indiana, and one in Minnesota and one in Michigan.

Erastus Church, the father, was born in Vermont in 1833, of English lineage. At the age of twenty-one he came west and settled in Vigo County, Indiana, and became one of the substantial agriculturists of that section. He started life with only a common school education, but succeeded well in all he undertook. He owned a farm of eighty-three acres in Vigo County and occupied it until his death. He was a Republican and he and his wife were active Methodists. Erastus Church married Julia Barnard, who was. born in New York State in 1832, daughter of a Baptist minister who preached in many localities of the South and at one time resided on the estate of Henry Clay.

John W. Church was reared and educated in Vigo County, and married there January 1, 1882, Miss Sarah Shanks. Two children have been born to their union, a son and daughter. The son is Clarence, who was educated in the common schools and graduated from Akers Business College at Terre Haute, Indiana. He is now doing well as an agriculturist in Edgar County, Illinois. He is a Republican, affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen of America, and with his wife is active in the Presbyterian Church. He married Miss Stella Harris and they have a daughter, Miriam. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Church is Mattie/who received a common school education and is a member of the Methodist Church. - She is the wife of Arthur Epler, a farmer in Condit Township of Champaign County. Their two children are named Elmer and Helen.

Mrs. Church was born in Vigo County, Indiana, December 16, }861, a daughter of George and Rachel (Hawkins) Shanks. She grew up in that locality, securing her advantages in the common schools, and has been a most capable helpmate and adviser to her husband.

In 1884, when Mr. and Mrs. Church came to Champaign County, they located on land as renters and raised the fruits of the soil on land belonging to others for several years. Mr. Church had a very limited capital when he came to this county, but hard work and economy on his part and the part of his wife have brought success in generous measure. At the present time the Church farm comprises eighty acres in Hensley Township, and its improvements rank it among the best places in this locality. They have remodeled the house and this farm together with

Mr. Church is a Republican, and has always been a great admirer of Theodore Roosevelt. His fellow citizens have long regarded his position in the community as valuable from an official standpoint. While living in Condit Township he served three years as supervisor, resigning that office, and has been continuously supervisor of Hensley Township for the past fourteen years. This is the most important township office under the Illinois system of local government, and Mr. Church has made his official influence count in many ways. He is also director of his local school district, and has proved a steadfast friend of popular education. He is affiliated with Champaign Lodge No. 333 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Champaign and is a charter member of Dewey Lodge of that order. Mrs. Church is active in the Royal Neighbors. Both have long been identified with the Mount Vernon Methodist Church in Hensley Township, of which Mr. Church is a trustee and teacher of the Young Men's Class in the Sunday School.

The farm of Mr. and Mrs. Church is a fine tract of land in section 11. Its location makes its name, High View Farm, very appropriate. Besides general farming Mr. Church is much interested in good grades of live stock. His home is a place of good cheer and hospitality, and many friends have found a cordial welcome within its doors.

WILLIAM HAYES. For many years some of the burdens of agricultural industry and business affairs have been carried by members of the Hayes family in Ogden Township. Mr. William Hayes is a young and progressive business man, manager of the local elevator at Ogden, and has also had practical experience from early boyhood as a farmer.

Mr. Hayes was born at Ogden, February 8, 1881, son of John and Elizabeth (Huckin) Hayes. His father was a native of Ireland and his mother of England. They married in Indiana, and about fifty years ago came to Champaign County, where the father lived to develop a good farm and witness the magnificent transformation of the county from a prairie to a landscape that has been fitly characterized as a garden. In the family were six children, four sons and two daughters, William being the third in age.

Mr. Hayes graduated from the Ogden High School in 1899. His boyhood days were spent on the farm and at the age of twenty-one he married Miss Laura A. Green. She was born in Oakwood Township, daughter of Wilson and Julia (Fredrick) Green. She was educated in the Union district school. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes after their marriage moved to Vermilion County, Indiana, and for six years farmed there. They then returned to Ogden and Mr. Hayes took charge of his father's homestead and the home of his youth. This farm consisted of 160 acres. After his parents died in Ogden he continued the management of the farm for a time and was then able to buy forty acres of the old home. He has since farmed this in general crops and live stock.

Mr. and Mrs. Hayes have two sons, John, who is a student in the grammar schools of Ogden and in another year will enter high school, and William, the baby. For the past seven years, in addition to farming, Mr. Hayes has been a coal dealer at Ogden and is now manager of Supple's grain elevator in that town.

The Hayes family have always been closely identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics he is a Republican and was practically born and reared in that party. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic lodge. Mrs. Hayes is an active member of the Eastern Star. Like the majority of Champaign County citizens, progress has been the keynote of the Hayes family and they have manifested that spirit of push and energy that has brought about notable results.

CECIL L. GOLDEN, present mayor of Sidney, has built up a large hardware business in that Champaign County town, and has proved himself one of the live and energetic factors in the civic community. Mr. Golden is a veteran of the Spanish-American War.

He was born in Champaign County March 12, 1879, a son of Eugene S. and Mary E. (Mullen) Golden. His father was born in Menard County, Illinois, and his mother was a native of Pennsylvania. His father came to Champaign County when a young man, followed farming and afterwards engaged in the hardware business at Urbana. He was a merchant in that city for about sixteen years and then retired to Sidney, where he died October 4, 1913'. The widowed mother still lives at Sidney. They had five children. Leonard M., deceased; Archie S., a resident of Champaign County; George A., a farmer in Jefferson County, Illinois; Cecil L. and Ross Burr, deceased.

Cecil L. Golden attended the public schools at Urbana, and then learned the trade of tinner in his father's store. At the age of nineteen he enlisted as a non-commissioned officer in Company M., organized in Champaign County for service in the Spanish-American War. He spent most of the period of his enlistment in concentration camps and was also for a time on duty in Cuba. After the war he followed farming three years, then went to work at his trade in Peoria. While there he was foreman of the Twentieth Century Heating and Ventilating Company about two years.

After his marriage Mr. Golden removed to Sidney and built a brick building 30x100 feet, which houses a very complete stock of general hardware implements and also furnishes quarters for the undertaking business.

On April 25, 1905, Mr. Golden married Miss Edna Rado Jones, of Jefferson County, Illinois. They are the parents of two children, Karma Ellen, who was born November 2, 1907, and Stanley Jones, who died in early childhood. Mr. Golden is a Republican in politics and is now serving as a member of the Republican Committee. He was village treasurer of Sidney two years and is now mayor of the village and in that office has done much to influence wise and conservative improvement and economical handling of the municipal revenues. Mr. Golden is affiliated with the Masonic Order, being past master of Sidney Lodge, No 347, with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge No. 473, the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and his family worship in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

JOHN M. PETERS, who now lives retired in the village of St. Joseph, has exemplified above everything else that quality of permanence which enters into the best class of personal and national character. Mr. Peters was for sixty-five continuous years a resident of one place, the farm where he grew up as a boy and whose acres he tended so skillfully and diligently during his own active life. From the work of his hands and brain he has prospered, has reared useful children, and has made his name widely respected over his native county.

Mr. Peters was born at Tipton, and lived in that rural locality until he came to St. Joseph a few years ago. He is a son of William and Sarah (McNutt) Peters. His parents were natives of Kentucky and came to Illinois at such an early period that his father was able to acquire 160 acres of Government land at $1.25 an acre. Besides farming and devel- oping his raw land he also operated a saw mill for many years, manufactured much lumber, and was also a skillful cooper. He was a very successful and industrious man and at the time of his death owned an estate of 400 acres. He also served as justice of the peace for a long period and was widely known as Squire Peters. He educated his children in the old log schoolhouse which stood in his neighborhood, and it was in such a building that John M. Peters endured cold and other discomforts while learning his first lessons.

In 1868 John M. Peters married Miss Elizabeth Wood. She was born in Ohio, daughter of John and Sarah Wood, who came to Tipton in Champaign County at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Peters had five children, Sarah Isabel, Eva, Oliver and Otis (twins), and Orin. These children were given the advantages of the Swearingen district schools and all of them have made successful records in life. The daughter Sarah is now the wife of Frank McAdams, a farmer at Defiance, Ohio, and they have one son, John. Eva married Alfred Blaker, and they live west of St. Joseph, their four children being Charles, Roy, Ruby and Raymond. The son Otis lives at Fairmount in Vermilion County and by his marriage to Jessie Alexander has three children, Lyle, Raymond and Bessie. Orin is connected with the grain elevator at Sidney, Illinois. He married Bertha Watson and has two children, Gladys and Dwight. Oliver, unmarried, is now baggage master in the Big Four Depot at Champaign and is an energetic young man, possessing many friends and having a bright future.

At the death of his father Mr. Peters inherited some of the estate and afterwards purchased more from the heirs, giving him a farm of 1071/2 acres. That land he diligently and closely cultivated and from it gained that prosperity which enables him to spend his last years in comfort.

On January 28, 1904, he was deprived of the companionship of his good wife and the mother of his children. On February 28, 1906, he married Mrs. Emily Cornelius. She was born near Troy in Miami County, Ohio, daughter of John S. and Mary C. (Day) Cox. Her father was a native of Ohio and her mother of Virginia, and in 1864, when Emily was nine years of age, the Cox family came to Illinois and settled near Fairmount in Vermilion County. There her father engaged in farming, but later was a druggist at Fairmount and in 1870 continued the same business at Ogden in Champaign County. He lived at Ogden until his death. Emily acquired her education in the district schools and in the graded school at Fairmount.

Mrs. Peters' first husband was William E. Cornelius. Of that union there are five children, Frank, Edna, Nell, Walter and Lela. These children were educated in the district schools. Frank married Mabel Mulroy and has one child, Clover Frances. Edna is the wife of Robert Strong, connected with the elevator at St. Joseph, and they have a son, Paul. Nell married John C. Loeffler, and her two children were Bernhardt and Elizabeth. The son Walter Cornelius is a resident of Rockford, Illinois, and by his marriage to Maud Brown has two sons, Raymond and Donald. The daughter Lela married Gus Loeffler, who is employed by a brick contractor, living at St. Joseph, and their one daughter, Emily, was named for her grandmother.

Mrs. Peters has laid two of her children to rest, Frank and Nell, and that was the severest bereavement she has been called upon to suffer. Up to six years ago Mr. Peters was identified with general farming, and he and his wife then moved to the village of St. Joseph, the first move Mr. Peters had made in his life of sixty-five years. Most of his pleasant memories of boyhood and of mature life are centered around the old home place at Tipton. Mr. Peters has never been called upon in vain for a proof of public spirit. For thirty-three years he served as school director, and has always been drainage commissioner. Besides farming he has been an expert carpenter, and has erected many buildings over this part of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Peters are members of the Christian Church and in politics he is a Democrat, while his wife was reared in sympathy with the Republican party. On moving to St. Joseph Mr. and Mrs. Peters bought a good home on Main Street and they live now in peace and comfort, happy in the fact that their children are well situated in homes of their own.

Mr. Peters was the youngest in a family of thirteen children. He was reared to honesty and industry and has endeavored successfully to instill the same principles in his own household. He and his wife have made their home a most hospitable one, and they enjoy the complete confidence and esteem of a large community. Mr. Peters can look back to a time when Champaign County was without railroad transportation. In fact he went to Champaign to witness the arrival of the first engine over the Illinois Central Railway. He has accommodated himself to the marvelous advancement and progress of the time, and is now a careful and skillful driver of his own automobile. Several years ago a party came to him for the purpose of selling him a car and he finally accepted with the proviso that if the automobile people could teach him to run the machine he would buy. He meant what he said, proved an apt scholar in the mechanics and technique of automobile driving and has developed into a most skillful chauffeur and has absolute confidence in his own ability to get his car over the roads, his only fear being of the other man, that constant dread of the automobilist, the reckless driver.

MRS. NANCY IRENE DOWNS. At no time in the world's history has the position of woman been so notable, not nrerely as a factor in the home but as a power in economic and political affairs and in that practical philanthropy which serves to soften somewhat the cruel actions of conflicting nations. Champaign County has many noble women and there is every reason why special attention should be paid by this work to their achievements and lives.

One of them is Mrs. Downs, who since the death of her honored husband has taken his place as a practical farmer and has done that in addition to the responsibility of caring for and training a splendid family of children. Mrs. Downs resides in Newcomb Township on a fine estate and for years has been prominent in the church and social life of that community.

She is a native of Champaign County, born in a log cabin that stood two and a half miles east of her present home in Newcomb Township, August 1, 1860. She was the fifth in a family of thirteen children; six sons and seven daughters. Her parents were John H. and Elizabeth Ellen (Baily) Funston. Her father was an Ohio man, and the fact that General Fred Funston's family were also of Ohio makes it very possible that a family relationship existed there. Mrs. Downs is one of seven living children, and four of them are in Champaign County, she being the second in age. The oldest sister, Jennie, married John Trotter, a prosperous agriculturist. Mr. and Mrs. Trotter and their four children are all active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. George W. Funston is a retired resident of Champaign and married Martha Lanam, both being members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Champaign. Cora is the wife of Mark Hazen, of Champaign, and they are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church there. Of the children outside of Champaign County, Edmund B. is a successful architect practic- ing his profession at Racine, Wisconsin. He was educated in the University of Illinois and made a splendid success in his calling. He married Miss Ella Kelphart, and they have one child, Jeannette. Jesse Grant, a graduate of the University of Illinois and an expert mechanic, lives at Vermillion, South Dakota. He married Miss Jinks Hume, and they have six children. They are also members of the Methodist Church. Minnie E., the youngest of the living children, is the wife of W. L. Hart, a wholesale ice cream dealer at St. Louis, Missouri. They have two sons and are Methodists.

John H. Punston was born in Ross County, Ohio, February 29, 1828. He died May 25, 1903. He grew up in his native state, having- the advantage of the common schools and became an architect and cabinetmaker. About 1851 he came to Illinois, locating in Piatt County. He had no money, and though he found himself among strangers he soon gained the confidence of his community and found plenty of work at his trade. For several years he lived at Monticello, and the year he married he located in a log cabin in Newcomb Township in 1857, the same house where Mrs. Downs first saw the light of day. Mr. Funston was diligent at his business and therefore gained a substantial success in life. At his death he owned more than 400 acres of the rich land of Newcomb Township. For a number of years he had combined farming with his trade as cabinet maker. In the early days he was called upon to make many of the coffins for the bufial of the dead. Mrs. Downs frequently aided her father in making caskets. He was also very progressive and enterprising. It was his distinction to own the first mower, the first self binder and the first corn planter in the township. The old log cabin home of the Funstons in Newcomb Township was a place of very meager comforts. There were no glass windows and light was admitted through greased paper. There was not even a board floor, and the bare ground, packed hard, furnished footing and Mrs. Downs as an infant played about on the dirt floor of this humble abode. John H. Funston was not only a successful man in business but a leader in the community and in its spiritual and moral uplift. He was one of the founders of the Shiloh Methodist Episcopal Church and for years was one of the officials. A substantial monument in Riverside cemetery marks his last resting place. His wife was born in Ohio, in Madison County, November 26, 1832, and died September 3, 1895. She moved with her parents to Piatt County, Illinois, about 1857 and soon afterwards married and located in Newcomb Township. She was the oldest of twelve children, her parents being John and Mary (Hubbard) Baily. She proved herself a loving and affectionate mother and devoted the best energies of her life to her family.