Champaign County, Illinois - The whole text, 1918 (part 21 of 23)

September 21, 1893, Mr. Campbell married Bertha F. Skinner, daughter of A. D. and Sarah (Rich) Skinner. Her parents were both born in, Ohio and moved to Champaign County immediately after the war, locating on a farm in Tolono Township. Her father is now living retired at Tolono, his wife having passed away in 1893. There were six children in the Skinner family: Harriet, wife of C. H. Shaffer, of Freeport, Illinois; Alice B., wife of J. B. Behymer, of St. Louis, Missouri; Maude 0., wife of E. B. Rogers, of Champaign; Mrs. Campbell; Harry M. and William S., both at Indiana Harbor, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell had one daughter, Florence M., who in 1917 graduated from the University of Illinois and is now one of the teachers in the Tolono High School.

Mr. Campbell was an active Republican, was chairman of the township committee and the precinct committee and was formerly town and village clerk, and it was largely through his efforts that a model system of waterworks was established at Tolono in 1895. Tolono now has a water system second in efficiency to no other town of Champaign County. Mr. Campbell was chairman of the Champaign County Bankers Association, served as master of the Tolono Masonic Lodge five terms, was past chancellor of the local lodge of Knights of Pythias, was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and attained the Royal Arch Chapter degree in Masonry.

HABVEY ALLISON is one of the prominent land owners and agriculturists in the vicinity of Homer, where he has spent the best part of his active career. Mr. Allison knows farming from A to Z and his capabilities have been developed by long and thorough experience.

He was born in Vermilion County, Illinois, January 16, 1870, a son of James A. and Willmoth (Dunnivan) Allison. His father was born in Indiana and died at Homer July 10, 1899. The mother is a native of Vermilion County and is still living on the old home farm. The parents removed to Champaign County in 1889. They had only two children, the older being Nora, who died January 28, 1892.

Mr. Harvey Allison has always lived at home, prepared for life by an education in the common schools, and gradually took over the management of the farm and he now owns and operates 500 acres on a systematic plan of efficiency. He has been successful in spite of several serious setbacks as a result of fire. His home was burned in 1903 and in 1913 there was another destructive fire which destroyed his barns and silos. Mr. Allison has named his farm Piety Knob, and as such it is one of the valuable and picturesque parts of the landscape around Homer. He does general farming and considerable stock raising. The only important interruption to his steady career as a farmer was two years spent in the Klondike gold regions of Alaska. That was in 1902-03 and he represented a Chicago concern in the development of Placer mines.

MARION M. BICKETTS, M. D. The leading physician and surgeon of Ivesdale and well known for his ability and service all over southwestern Champaign County is Dr. Marion M. Bicketts, who has enjoyed a successful practice there for the past six. years.

Doctor Eicketts was born in Clay County, Illinois, October 20, 1877, a son of Jasper and Hannah (Stanford) Ricketts. His father was born in Ohio and his mother in Illinois. Jasper Eicketts has had an industrious career as an agriculturist and is still living at Pesottim. He moved to Champaign County with his family in 1881. The mother had died in Clay County before the removal to Champaign County. They had six children: Mrs. Emil Andre, of Eaton, Colorado; Harvey, of Vincent, Iowa; Charles, deceased; Homer, of Eaton, Colorado; Doctor Eicketts; and Lyda, deceased.

Doctor Eicketts was four years of age when the family came to Champaign County and grew up on his father's farm, at the same time wisely improving the advantages offered in the local schools. His active career began at the age of sixteen, when he hired out to work as a farm hand,, taught school one year, took the normal course in Austin College at Effingham, Illinois, and after that was one of the successful and popular teachers of Champaign County for twelve years. Thus Doctor Eicketts from his own earnings paid for his professional preparation. In May, 1911, he graduated from the Chicago College of Medicine and Surgery and in his last year in college he had considerable practical experience in hospital work. After getting his degree Doctor Eicketts located at Ivesdale and has enjoyed an increasing appreciation of his able services in the profession.

the parents of two sons, Frederick J., born March 8, 1912 ; and Marion M., Jr., born October 5, 1916. Doctor Ricketts is a Republican, is affiliated with the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife are active in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

JOHN W. BROWN. From a twentieth century point of view it may be difficult to fill out a picture of comfortable living in Champaign County in the primitive days when even no railroads reached this section, bringing news, commodities and visitors from the outside world, but it must be remembered that life is more complex now, that horizons are wider, demands greater and expectations higher. Undoubtedly those whose lot it was to carve out the pioneer path here and elsewhere ultimately found happiness and contentment despite the dangers and deprivations. Among the settlers of an early day in Homer Township, Champaign County, was John Brown, for many years an honored resident of this part of the county and' the father of John W. Brown, one of the substantial men and leading farmers.

John W. Brown was born in Homer Township, Champaign County, Illinois, February 2, 1877. His parents were John and Jane (Stafford) Brown. The father was a native of Ohio and the mother of Pennsylvania. When they came to the county many parts of it were practically unsettled. John Brown devoted all his active years to developing his land in Homer Township and accumulated 214 acres, a fine property on which all the rest of his life was spent, his death occurring March 23, 1913. He had survived his wife since 1884. They were the parents of eight children, namely: Ellen, who is the wife of John T. Palmer, of Homer, Illinois; Austin C., who is deceased; Belle, who is the wife of B. E. Lynch, of Sidney, Illinois; Frank, who is deceased; a daughter who died in infancy; John W. ; Josephine, who is the wife of Minford Brown, of Goshen, Indiana; and another daughter who died in infancy.

The public schools in Homer Township afforded John W. Brown his education and his present farm has been his home all his life. Of the homestead he owns seventy-eight acres but his agricultural operations cover 146 acres, all of the land being devoted to general farming. He works his land carefully and intelligently and is numbered with the most successful farmers in the township.

Mr. Brown was married August 9, 1899, to Miss Emma George, who was born in Champaign County and is a daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Coddington) George, both of whom were born in Illinois and the father died here January 26, 1890. He was a well known farmer. The mother of Mrs. Brown resides at Homer. Mr. and Mrs. George had five children, namely : Nora, who is deceased ; Walter, who lives in Sidney Township ; Gertrude, who is the wife of Clement Sanders, of Sidney; Emma, who is the wife of John W. Brown; and Benjamin, who lives at Homer. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have no children. In politics he has always been affiliated with the Republican party. These old families are widely known and are representative people of the county.

JAMES A. CREAMER, one of the business leaders of Tolono, has lived in this locality all his life, began his career as a farmer and still owns a large amount of Illinois soil, though most of his time and energies are taken up with local business affairs at Tolono.

Mr. Creamer was born in Tolono Township, February 25, 1870, a son of Ephraim C. and Sarah (Espy) Creamer, his father a native of New Jersey and his mother of Ripley, Ohio. His mother's father was killed by a stroke of lightning about forty-eight years ago. Ephraim Creamer came to Champaign County about 1857, locating on a farm in Tolono Township and followed farming for a great many years but is now living retired in Tolono. Through his efforts he accumulated a considerable fortune in land. He and his wife had nine children: Mary, deceased; James A.; Edward, who died in 1897, being a graduate of the law department of Wesleyan University at Bloomington; Howard, deceased; Etta, wife of F. E. Williamson, of Urbana; Estella, wife of W. W. Hill, of Tolono; Lyda, wife of Albert McBratney, of Tuscola; William C., who lives on the old home farm ; and Charles F., of Tolono Township.

James A. Creamer finished his education with the Tolono High School. He lived at home until twenty-seven, and then took charge of the homestead of 414 acres. After working that for a time he bought eighty acres, sold it and purchased 160 acres east of Tuscola, and finally sold that and is now owner of 867 acres in White County, Illinois.

In 1908 Mr. Creamer engaged in business at Tolono as a grain merchant with A. H. Edwards. After a year he took over the elevator, ' of which he is now sole proprietor. The elevator has a capacity of 40,000 bushels and it is the center of a flourishing grain trade. Mr. Creamer also owns the local garage and has the agency for the Overland, Hudson, Studebaker and Ford cars. With Mr. J. A. Hines as a partner he conducts an undertaking establishment. All his affairs have prospered and he is rightly considered one of the leading men of Tolono.

On February 18, 1897, Mr. Creamer married Miss Mattie Moore, of Pesotum. They have two children : Carl M., born May 1, 1901 ; and Helen Alma, born April 28, 1903. Mr. Creamer is a Republican in politics. He is a member of the Masonic Order and an active Presbyterian, having served as superintendent of the Sunday school three years.

SOLOMON MANTLE. Of the families whose lives of integrity and industry have identified them permanently with the best interests of Champaign County, one that deserves special mention is that of Solomon Mantle, who now lives with his family in Rantoul, and from that village still superintends his extensive farming interests.

Mr. Mantle is a son of Isaac and Mary J. (Kuder) Mantle. Mary Kuder's father was born in Pennsylvania. Isaac Mantle, a native of Ohio, came to Illinois when a young man, lived for a number of years in Champaign County and afterwards moved to Vermilion County. Solomon Mantle had grown to young manhood before they removed to Vermilion County. Isaac Mantle and wife had eight children, four sons and four daughters, all of whom were educated in the district schools. Their names were John, George, Charles, Solomon, Mary J., Francis M., Lizzie and Alice, two of whom died in youth.

Solomon Mantle was twenty-seven years of age when his father's death occurred. He then assumed the active responsibilities of looking after his widowed mother and his two sisters. Through the remaining years of his mother's life he provided and tenderly cared for her and repaid by filial devotion the love and care she had given him and all her children when they were young. It was a sad day in the Mantle home on September 3, 1898, when the beloved mother, after a busy life of industry and toil, was claimed by death. The loneliness of the home was keenly felt by those left behind, since when a mother dies the light of a home goes out.

Mr. Solomon Mantle was forty-three years of age when, on October 6, 1898, he married Miss Alice Shumate, daughter of George and Sarah Shumate, both natives of Illinois and reared in the state. Mr. and Mrs. Shumate still live in Champaign County. They had seven sons and three daughters : Harry, John N., George, Scott, Elmer, Ira, Oliver, Alice, Elsie and Ella. The Shumate children acquired their early training in the district schools of Champaign County. Mr. and Mrs. Shumate are devoted members of the Christian Church.

After his- marriage Solomon Mantle and wife settled down on the Mantle homestead, which he actively managed. In the course of time there came into their home a little daughter to gladden them by the sunshine of her presence. She was born March 22, 1900. After attending the Kuder district school one year, her parents moved to Rantoul in order to give her the better advantages of the schools there. She was of studious nature and was graduated with the highest honors from the eighth grade or grammar school. As a reward for her excellence in her studies she was given a free scholarship in a normal course. She was pronounced the best scholar in the eighth grade in the Eantoul school, and during the year 1916 ranked No. 1 in every month except two in the year. Those two months she was hindered in her studies on account of illness. At the present writing she is in the first grade of the high school. Besides her literary studies she has taken instrumental music, is a capable performer on the violin, and is still taking lessons in music from Miss Ida Little. She is a member of the High School Orchestra, the orchestra of the Methodist Episcopal Church and also a member of the church choir, possessing a beautiful and well cultured voice. Mr. and Mrs. Mantle, realizing the advantages of a good education, have endeavored to give their daughter every encouragement in the development of her talents.

Mrs. Mantle and daughter are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Eantoul. Mr. Mantle in politics is a Eepublican and has given his support to that party first, last and always. When in 1909 Mr. and Mrs. Mantle moved to Eantoul they bought themselves a comfortable and attractive residence on Main Street. Mr. Mantle has a tenant on the old homestead and still keeps active superintendence over the management of the farm and fields.

On the old Mantle farm there still stands the old log schoolhouse where Mr. Mantle's mother attended school when she was a girl. Mr. Mantle has taken great pains to preserve this school building as a landmark and as a lesson to coming generations, whereby they may see and realize some of the hardships through which their forefathers passed. An interesting relic of the past in Mr. and Mrs. Mantle's home is his Grandfather Kuder's clock. It is now 100 years old, and the tired hands that for a century pointed the family to the time are at last stilled, and the clock stands in the corner, a silent reminder of days long gone by.

AMBROSE W. STRONG, who is spending the quiet years of his retirement in a beautiful home at 706 Main Street in Urbana, is one of the few men now living whose recollections go back in Champaign County for nearly eighty years. Though not a native of the county Mr. Strong came here in early infancy and as a boy he knew many of the first settlers and his own life has been closely identified with those changing developments which have transformed this part of the state into a garden spot of the world.

Mr. Strong was born in Hancock County, Ohio, October 4, 1834, a son of John and Mary (Moore) Strong. His parents were also natives of Ohio. When Ambrose was one year old the family came to Illinois. There were six children, three sons and three daughters, Ambrose being the oldest. The family located in St. Joseph Township, where they improved a tract of raw land and where the parents spent the rest of their lives.

tinction to erect the notable old tavern known as the Kelley Tavern. It was a popular and notable hostelry and a famous landmark of early days. Much of the fame that is associated with this tavern is due to the fact that Abraham Lincoln frequently was entertained there during his career as a circuit riding lawyer attending court at Danville and Champaign. Lincoln made these trips on horseback, and a personal friendship existed -between him and Cyrus Strong.

Ambrose W. Strong acquired his early education in a district school kept in a log building. This was one of the most primitive types of log school houses in Champaign County. One log was left out from the side of the building and the opening' was covered over with greased paper instead of glass window lights. The equipment was equally primitive, and the instruction was confined rigidly to the three E's.

Attending school and working in the fields and meadows made up the sum and substance of Mr. Strong's early career until 1853, when he established a home of his own by his marriage to Martha Ann Peters. She was born in St. Joseph Township, a daughter of William and Sarah (McNutt) Peters. Her peeople were also prominent pioneers of the county. Her father, Squire Peters, was a familiar character in the country and a very popular man. There were twelve children in the Peters family. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Strong rented a farm the first year and the second year they bought eighty acres of land, for which the purchase price was $6 an acre. With little capital except their native industry they entered upon their undertaking with enthusiasm and in the course of time had the raw prairies changed into cultivated fields and improved their home by gradual additions until it sufficed for all their needs. Fruit trees were planted, shade trees also, and the raw prairie became a center of good and comfortable living.

Mr. Strong was an active farmer and continued to be identified with the rural districts of Champaign County until twenty-eight years ago, when he removed to a residence in Urbana. He built his home on Main Street, which he occupies today. At that home in 1894 death came and Mrs. Strong entered into rest. She was a woman of many estimable qualities and had a large circle of admiring friends.

For his second wife Mr. Strong married Mrs. Mary E. Smith, widow of Elijah T. Smith. Her maiden name was Mary Etta Camerer. She was born in Indiana, a daughter of Marcus and Suzanna (Jones) Camerer, her father a native of Ohio and her mother of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Strong obtained her early education in the district schools. She was married at Broadlands, Illinois, to Elijah T. Smith, and of their three children two died in infancy, the other being Ray H., who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Strong in Urbana.

Mr. and Mrs. Strong are active members of the University Place Christian Church at Urbana. Politically he is a Democrat, and has twice supported President Wilson and believes that he is a man of wisdom capable of guiding the country through the present world turmoil.

Mr. Strong as a young man did his duty as a loyal patriot and preserver of the Union. He enlisted in Company C of the Seventy-first Illinois Infantry, marched away to the South to Cairo, Illinois, and his regiment was chiefly engaged in guard duty around Columbus, Kentucky. He was finally mustered out at Chicago and returned home. Mr. Strong has many interesting recollections of early times in Champaign County. Where his house now stands in Urbana was within his memory a cornfield. He used his team and was employed as a contractor during the construction of the Illinois Central Railway through Champaign County. Even further back, as a small boy, he and his pet dogs were assigned the duty of keeping the wolves away from the geese and sheep which the family had brought with them from the East. Mr. Strong has counted twenty-four deer in one drove feeding near his father's home, and there was much other wild game in abundance.

Mr. and Mrs. Strong have a hospitable and most attractive home at Urbana. One member of the family should not be omitted. That is a splendid parrot with beautiful plumage, known as Polly. This parrot affectionately calls Mr. Strong "Uncle" and in calling for its bill of fare it frequently mentions its fondness for pie. It also whistles and sings "Glory, Glory for Polly."

BELONG BROTHERS. That push and enterprise which take men over the heights of success has been the distinguishing quality of DeLong Brothers at Sadorus. In the southwestern part of Champaign County at least their achievements and their circumstances are almost too well known to need special reference, but for the benefit of the more remote sections of the county, and also as a record for the future something should be given as an outline of their careers.

The firm consists .of William H. and Edward B. DeLong. Both of them are natives of Champaign County and belong to an old and honored family. William H. was born in Sidney Township, November 2, 1873. The parents were Charles G. and Edna (Moore) DeLong, the former a native of New York and the latter of Massachusetts. They came to Champaign County in 1859, living one year in Philo Township, and the next year they spent in Wisconsin. On returning to Champaign County they located in Sidney Township in 1861 and brought with them from Chicago a flock of sheep, which they drove overland. Charles G. DeLong was a successful farmer of the county and died here in 1913. His widow is still living at Sadorus. They had eight children : George A., of Foosland; C. B., of Fithian, Illinois; Erne M., deceased; Minnie, wife of Eugene Burr, of Sidney Township ; Clinton E., of Eocky Ford, Colorado ; Clarence, deceased; William H. and Edward B.

Thus the DeLong Brothers are the youngest of the family. They began business as a firm in the grain trade on July 1, 1896, with headquarters at Sadorus. They did not have a dollar of money of their own, and it serves to heighten the appreciation of their subsequent success when it is remembered that nothing has been given them which they have not earned. In order to purchase the local elevator from David Eice they gave notes for $5,500, secured by the names of their father, C, G. DeLong, and their brothers George A. and C. B. DeLong. They also borrowed money from their brothers to buy the first consignment of grain. There were many people who wished the young men well, and doubtless there were others who were pessimistic as to their future. However, they justified the favorable expectations, and in a short time had their credit thoroughly established and owned their plant outright. Since then the business has been growing apace. They have a large amount of money invested in their elevator, coal house and other local properties and besides being grain merchants they have kept in close touch with the great agricultural industry. The brothers own about 2,700 acres of rich land in Western Canada in the Province of Saskatchewan, besides 320 acres in Washington County, Mississippi, 320 acres of rice land in Arkansas, and several hundred acres in Champaign County. In 1915 they raised a crop of over 40,000 bushels of wheat and oats in Canada and in that year and 1916 they sold their crops on Canada soil for over $60,000, leaving a profit of $40,000 for their transactions of two years. At Sadorus DeLong Brothers handle an extensive business in grain, automobiles, insurance and

The Bank of Sadorus is another enterprise of DeLong Brothers, and behind it stands their unassailable integrity and financial resources, which have been estimated at well upwards of $300,000. The Bank of Sadorus was opened for business May 21, 1899. In June, 1917, $181,000 was deposited in the bank, amply secured by the reserve handled in several state and national banks in Illinois and by the net worth of DeLong Brothers, which is considerably more than the total liabilities of the institution.

The chief point of all these details is that DeLong Brothers belong in the ranks of the highly successful men of Champaign County, those who began on the first round of the ladder and have climbed steadily to larger things, their capacities increasing with their opportunities and their ability to serve growing with their success.

William H. DeLong married, June 24, 1896, Lydia Lavenhagen, a native of Raymond Township and a daughter of Louis and Theresa (Moore) Lavenhagen. Her parents were natives of Germany and in 1874 settled in Philo Township of Champaign County. In the Lavenhagen family were four children : John, of Philo ; Phena, wife of William Anders, of Sidney; Wiiliam, of Philo; and Mrs. DeLong. Mr. and Mrs. William H. DeLong have two children: Edna Theresa, born June 19, 1897, and Kenneth, M., born October 25, 1907. William H. DeLong is a Republican and a member of the Methodist Church.

His brother Edward married, in November, 1903, Bertha Attebery. They also have two children, Clifton Charles and William Wayne. Edward DeLong is a Republican, a Mason, a Knight of Pythias and a Woodman and is active in the Presbyterian Church.

GEORGE CLINTON BROWN. When the early settlers came to Champaign County perhaps few of them realized that they were seeking homes in a very desirable part of the state in relation to profitable farming. Those who were industrious and frugal had the satisfaction of finding this out and no family has been more deserving of its good fortune than that founded by the late David Brown and now worthily represented here by George Clinton Brown, one of the substantial farmers of Homer Township, who is also widely known as a breeder of race horses.

George Clinton Brown was born in Homer Township, Champaign County, Illinois, April 5, 1865, and is a son of David and Eva (Clester) Brown. The father was born in Pennsylvania and the mother in Illinois. In childhood David Brown accompanied his father to Ohio and later they came to Paris, Illinois, having to walk through Champaign County because there were no railroads or other public means of transportation at that time. The lay of the land and other features in the county made a pleasant impression upon David Brown and one year later he returned to Champaign, which was then a little settlement of three houses. He went on to Sidney, where his uncle was living at that time, and worked for him for a time and then returned to Pennsylvania to be married. When he returned with his wife they settled in Homer Township, Champaign County, and that farm remained their home as long as they lived, David Brown dying in January, 1910, his wife having died in 1892. To the first marriage of David Brown there were three children born, all of whom survive : Basil, who is a resident of Champaign ; Ellwood, who lives in Michigan; and Mrs. Thomas Orr, who resides at Homer. The second marriage of David Brown was to Eva Clester, who was born in Illinois, and eight children were born to this union, as follows: George Clinton;

Jeremiah, who died in 1904; Emma, who is deceased; Sadie, who is the wife of Simon Stuckey, of Washington Court House, Ohio; Belle, who is the wife of Frank Garrison, of Jerome, Idaho; Clara, who is deceased; Mary, who is the wife of Archie Cox, of Carmel, Illinois ; and Oliver, who lives at Jerome, Idaho. These children were all reared on the farm of 120 acres situated in section 21, Homer Township.

George Clinton Brown atttended the township schools during boyhood and youth and assisted his father until he was twenty-one years old. He then began farming for himself, on a rented farm of eighty acres and remained there for three years and then bought his present farm of 160 acres, situated on section 17, Homer Township. Mr. Brown has shown good judgment and good taste in the fine improvements he has placed on his property. He has made a specialty of breeding race horses for some years, and owns the thorough-bred seven-year old mare Redetta, which has a record of 2.10.

Mr. Brown was married September 4, 1889, to Miss Agnes Stewart, who was born at Philo, Illinois, and they have had three children : Glenn, who is deceased; and Eva and 'Edna, who reside with their parents.

Mr. Brown has served for many years in public office, having been a member of the school board for twenty years and is now in his second term as road commissioner, and in many ways is an important and influential man in Homer Township. In politics he is a Republican and fraternally is a Mason.

HERMAN W. BUNDY, M. D. As a physician and surgeon Doctor Bundy enjoys the complete confidence and most of the patronage of the community in and around Pesotum, where he has practiced actively for the last five years.

Doctor Bundy is a Kansas man by birth, having been born at Nickerson, March 11, 1879. His parents, Isaac Newton and Helena (Smithson) Bundy, were both born in Ohio. His father was an attorney who enjoyed a good practice and name as an orator in eastern Illinois, and it is recalled that he stumped the district for Joe Cannon when that Illinois celebrity made his first race for Congress. From Illinois Isaac N. Bundy moved to Nickerson, Kansas, and he died at Hutchinson in that state at the age of forty-three. His wife died in 1882. They had three children : Dr. C. D. Bundy, of Sadorus; Ralph P., an attorney at Zionsville, Indiana; and Dr. Herman W. Bundy.

Doctor Bundy grew up in the home of his maternal grandparents in Champaign County. He was still continuing his studies in high school when at the age of eighteen he enlisted with Company M at Champaign for service in the Spanish- American War. After he was mustered out he returned home and finished the high school course at Tolono. In 1901 he entered the University of Illinois, took three years of special work preparatory to a medical career and then for four years was in the Illinois College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago, the medical department of the State University. He received his degree from that institution in 1907 and in 1908 began practice at Pesotum with Doctor Hoffman. A year later he located at Sadorus, but in 1912, Doctor Hoffman having died, he returned to Pesotum and took up the practice of that veteran physician and has since become well established in his profession, his name being associated with ability and conscientious service all over southwestern Champaign County.

September 29, 1909, Doctor Bundy married Miss Edith Stone, of Tolono, where she was born. They have one child, Winford Newton, born February 3, 1914. Doctor Bundy is a Republican, a member of the

Masonic Lodge, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and his wife are members and attendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

ALONZO S. BRAND. The career of Alonzo S. Brand, whose home is in Sidney Township, on Eural Route No. 58, -has been characterized by that vim and vigor of achievement which is the admiration of all purposeful men. To say that he is a self-made man is hardly doing credit to his ability at overcoming difficulties in his way to success.

Mr. Brand was born in Noble County, Ohio, January 15, 1872, a son of Greenberry and Mary (Baker) Brand. His parents were also natives of the same county and his father a farmer. Alonzo was the oldest of their three children, the youngest, William, being deceased, and the only daughter, Olie, being the wife of J. H. McCoy, of Zanesville, Ohio. The father of the family died in 1876, when Alonzo was four years old, and the other children mere infants. It devolved upon Alonzo to contribute to the support of this household as soon as his tender years permitted. As a small child he frequently worked out on farms for ten cents a day until he was twelve years of age, after which he received $4 a month until he was sixteen and then for nine months worked in a general department store at $20 a month. Another nine months he spent at the hard labor of the coal mines. All his wages went to support his widowed mother and the other children. His mother passed away in 1915 and her later years were made comfortable largely through his efforts.

Mr. Brand finally rented eighty acres for a year and following this worked in a sawmill a year, and then in a store. From Ohio he came to Illinois, locating at Tolono, and arrived there with only seventy-five cents in his pocket. He worked out by the month for five years and then began a career as a renter which gradually brought him his successful position among Champaign County farmers. He bought eighty acres in Clark County, but sold that, and then bought 240 acres in Philo and Crittenden townships, later purchasing eighty acres more in Philo Township making a total of 320 acres. At the present time he owns a fine farm and is handling 560 acres on a broadly diversified basis.

The struggles of his earlier years in supporting himself and his widowed mother measure only part of the responsibilities he has carried. For the past twenty years he has had a home of his own and has been rearing and training and liberally providing for a large family of children. He married February 24, 1895, Miss Zella Chippendale, a native of Champaign County. They are the parents of nine children, named as follows: Leroy of Philo Township; Gladys; Charles M. ; Earl P.; Fred V.; Bernice E., who died when four years of age; Irven G. ; Clifford A.; and Thurman K., all of whom are living at home except the eldest. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church at Philo, Illinois, and Mr. Brand is a Republican.

HERMAN J. BIALESCHKE. For upward of sixty years the Bialeschke family has had a prominent part in the farming and business activities of southwestern Champaign County. Herman J. Bialeschke came to this county when a small child, industriously followed farming for many years, has played a very vigorous and public spirited part in local affairs, and is now enjoying the comforts of retired life in the village of Sadorus.

He was born in Germany, July 28, 1855, a son of Frederick and Minnie (Nofftz) Bialeschke, who were also natives of the fatherland. In, 1857, when he was about a year old, the parents came to America, first, locating in New York and afterwards in Chicago, and about 1858 settled in Champaign County. His father did farming at Sadorus and for two years lived on the farm of the old pioneer, Henry Sadorus. In 1865 the fruits of his industry enabled him to buy forty acres in section 8 of Pesotum Township. In the past fifty years his name has become associated with the ownership of some of the best farming land in that township and he is still owner of 320 acres. He is now eighty-six years of age and his wife is eighty-eight. This venerable couple had eight children, Herman J. being the oldest. Amelia and Hulda are both deceased; Lafayette and Albert live in Pesotum Township; Emma is the wife of William Bachert, of Pesotum; Martha is the wife of Henry Butzloff, of Indiana; and the youngest child, Elizabeth, died quite young.

Herman J. Bialeschke grew up on his father's home in .Champaign County, attended the local schools, and as a youth learned the trade of carpenter. He followed that only a brief time and began his real career as a farmer on 160 acres of land which he rented. After several years he invested his thrifty savings in ninety acres and lived there five years. He then bought the rest of his present farm, making a place of 179 acres. Still later he bought 160 acres, selling half of it to his brother-in-law and trading the other half for 184 acres near Sadorus. Through the efforts of many years he found himself possessed of a large amount of valuable Champaign County soil. His last purchase was 120 acres in Pesotum Township. Since 1912 Mr. Bialeschke has retired from the active business of farming and has lived in Sadorus.

He married Christina Miller, also a native of Germany, who came to Champaign County when a young girl. Mr. and Mrs. Bialeschke had four children; Frederick, of Pesotum Township; Lilla, wife of Jacob Krumm, of Pesotum; Ida, wife of Alfred Warfle, of Pesotum Township; and Aria, wife of Louis Kaske, of Tolono Township.

The acquisition of a generous material prosperity has not been the sole end and object of Mr. Bialeschke's efforts. He has always done his part as a citizen, served as township supervisor two years, as road commissioner and assessor, for fifteen years was a member of the drainage board, and for a similar period was a director in the public schools. He did much to perfect the system of drainage in this part of the county. He is a Republican and a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and is active in the Evangelical Reformed Church.

WILLIAM G. PULTON. The opinion has been expressed that opportunities today for the farmer are just as great as they wefe in pioneer times when land could be obtained for little or nothing. The career of William G. Fulton furnishes testimony in point. Mr. Fulton began his career in Champaign County with hardly enough capital to buy a single acre of the high priced land of this section of Illinois. He is now one of the wealthy and most prominent farmers in the southern part of the county and his accomplishments show what a man of determination and iron will may achieve.

Mr. Fulton was born in Raymond Township, January 1, 1870, a son of Henry and Eliza (Fulton) Fulton. Both parents were born in Ireland but of Scotch ancestry. His father came to America in 1868, locating in Champaign County, and spent an active career as a farmer here. He died July 9, 1908, while the mother passed away August 9, 1905. They were laid to rest in the Woodlawn cemetery in Urbana. They were the parents of five children : George, who died in infancy ; Mary, who died in 1909, married M. M. Want, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church; William G.; Jennie, widow of W. T. Gwinn, of Douglas County, Illinois; and Thomas, who died in childhood. Mrs. Mary Want was the mother of four children: Cullen, Ruth, Fulton and Mary Lewis. Her son Cullen when a young man was appointed to a cadetship in the Annapolis Naval Academy, spent four years there, and four years at sea apprenticeship, and has recently been appointed a member of the Construction Board at Annapolis and now has charge of the equipment of mine laying boats in the present war. The daughter Ruth graduated from the Woman's College at Jacksonville and is now the wife of Charles Stewart, one of the instructors in the Agricultural College at Urbana.

William G. Fulton after leaving the district schools attended the Normal School at Danville, Indiana, where he was graduated at the age of eighteen. For two years he taught school in his home county and then began farming. Though he had a capital of less than a hundred dollars he courageously bargained for an eighty acre tract of land, and in a few years not only had that paid for but began the accumulations which are now represented by 420 acres of fine land in Champaign County and two farms in Arkansas. Mr. Fulton is both a crop and stock farmer and in an active career of about twenty-five years has achieved all the success that a man of modest ambition might crave.

On October 9, 1907, he married Miss Naomi Price, a native of Lebanon, Indiana, and a daughter of David and Ida Belle (Boring) Price. Her parents were both born in Ohio and when she was a small child moved to Champaign County, locating in Crittenden Township. Mr. and Mrs. Fulton have four children: Dale H., Idabelle, Glenn Price and Dean George, the last named having been born on the 13th of August, 1917.

Mr. Fulton is a Democrat in politics. He was formerly connected with the First Naational Bank at Philo. An active Methodist, he has served as superintendent of the Sunday school and was formerly superintendent of the County Sunday School Association of Douglas County for seven years. He has also been active in school work and served as trustee of his local district.

JOHN T. RIEMKE, one of the leading grain and elevator men of southwest Champaign County, began his career in humble circumstances, and has raised himself by sheer force of will and determination to a position of independence and influence.

Mr. Riemke was born in Pesotum Township of this county August 29, 1877. His parents were Henry and Anna (Richmond) Riemke, his father a native of Germany and his mother of England. Henry Riemke came to America fn 1854, spending two years in LaPorte, Indiana, before he joined the early settlers of Champaign County. He cleared up some of the land in this county and was successfully engaged in farming until his death in 1905. His wife passed away in 1904. They had nine children: Catherine, deceased ; Henry of El Reno, Oklahoma ; Mary, wife of Matthew, Miller, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Jane, wife of Joseph E. Lustig, of Champaign County ; Edward of Pesotum Township ; Alice, wife of John Magsam, of Monroeville, Indiana; Anna, wife of M. J. Maley, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; John T.; and William, of Douglas County, Illinois.

John T. Riemke grew up on the home farm, attended the local schools, and at the age of nineteen went to work on a farm for J. A. Cramer as engineer with the threshing outfit and later as traction engineer with Dosey Brothers. He followed threshing as an occupation for eleven years. Later he served the firm of Condon & Kleiss in the elevator at Pesotum until 1905, when he bought Mr. Kleiss' share in the business, and since 1907 has conducted this elevator under his own name. He buys a large amount of the grain raised around Pesotum, and altogether is at the head of a prosperous business.

On February 4, 1904, Mr. Eiemke married Judith Lieb, a native of, Champaign County. They have one son, Charles Henry, born January 17, 1916. Mr. Riemke is a Democrat in politics. He is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and he and his family are members of the St. Joseph Catholic Church at Pesotum.

HENRY BERNARD CLARK. Life is a great drama, and many men play various roles and on many stages of activity. Such has been the experience of Henry Bernard Clark, a veteran jeweler, now living retired from a long business career at Eantoul.

Mr. Clark is probably the only man in Champaign County and perhaps the only one in Illinois whose birthplace was the historic Isle of St. Helena, associated in the memories of men chiefly because it was the prison home of Napoleon Bonaparte and also the place where he died. He was born there, a son of Thomas and Louisa (Lowden) Clark. His father was a native of England and the mother was born at St. Helena of Scotch parents. When H. B. Clark was a few days old his father died, and when he was seven years of age his widowed mother came to America. His mother was a school teacher, and the English Government gave her the management of the fortified village of Longwood, where Napoleon had had his home. A strong guard of English troops had been kept at Longwood while Napoleon was there in order to prevent his escape and foil any attempts made by the French to spirit him away from the island. In such surroundings Mr. Clark spent the first seven years of his life. His brothers were James, Thomas, William and John. He retains many memories of his early life at St. Helena. Perhaps the chief incident of his early memory was when he and some playmates filled the bathtub in the old home at Longwood which the French had built for Napoleon and played on the water some ducklings and watched their antics with great enthusiasm.

Mrs. Clark was an ambitious, energetic mother, and recognizing in the advantages of America such as were not found in Europe she came to this country hoping to better the conditions of her sons. Her oldest son, James, kept the only bakery at St. Helena, and also came to America, but was taken ill on the voyage and died three days after landing in New York. Her sons William and Thomas took to the sea while at St. Helena, and afterward became captains of vessels. Mrs. Clark brought with her to America her two sons H. B. and John. The other three sons followed her some years later. William became a captain on the Great Lakes, sailing a vessel from Buffalo to Chicago. The family were eighty days in making the voyage on a sailing vessel from St. Helena to New Bedford, Connecticut. From there Mrs. Clark went to Chicago. Her friend, Mrs. Blachford, had offered inducements which caused Mrs. Clark to come west with her sons, and she took up her home at St. Charles, Illinois, where she educated her younger boys.

H. B. Clark was only sixteen years of age when the Civil War broke out. His brothers Thomas and John enlisted in 1861. John was stricken with the measles while in the army, and while still convalescent went into action at the battle of Pea Ridge. After the strenuous exertions of that day's fighting and while stooping to enter his tent at night he dropped dead. Thomas was in the Nineteenth Illinois Infantry, was wounded three times, and died a few years ago at Chicago.

H. B. Clark enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment of Illinois Infantry and was first sent to Cairo, Illinois, and then into Kentucky to retard the raid of General Forrest against Illinois. He was with the troops that proceeded up the Tennessee River and drove Forrest's cav- airy back to Memphis. Mr. Clark saw fourteen months of active service and witnessed some of the heavy fighting and arduous campaigning in the Mississippi Valley. He was mustered out at Memphis, Tennessee, and given his honorable discharge at Springfield. He then returned to Chicago.

In 1873 he married Jessie Person, a native of St. Charles, Illinois, and a daughter of James and Mary (Hall) Person. Her father was born in New Hampshire and her mother in Vermont. The Person children were John H., Mary A., Louisa, Julia and Jessie. They were all educated at St. Charles, Illinois.

After his marriage Mr. Clark set up a home in Chicago, where he had become identified with the jewelry business. In 1876 they came to Rantoul and Mr. Clark was continuously engaged in the jewelry business in that city for forty years. He finally retired in 1916.

To their union were born two children, one son and one daughter, James P. and Edna. Edna> married Dr. W. J. Fernald, who formerly practiced in Champaign County and subsequently removed to Frankfort, Indiana. Mrs. Pernald died in Prankfort. There were four children in the Fernald family, two sons and two daughters, named Bernice, Mildred, Paul and Leroy. Bernice and Mildred graduated from the Frankfort public schools. The former is now the wife of Lieutenant Morse of the United States army and assistant band master. Their wedding was celebrated at the home of his commanding officer in Hartford, Connecticut.

The son, James P. Clark, has distinguished himself as a very capable and ambitious student and later as a successful lawyer. He attended the Rantoul High School, and then entered the law department of the University of Michigan, where he was graduated LL. B. He is now in successful practice at Rantoul and has won a fine clientage. He married Miss Eunice Craigmile, a daughter of Alexander Craigmile, a prominent citizen of Champaign County, now living at Rantoul. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have two bright young daughters, j Elizabeth and Janis.

Mr. and Mrs. Clark are active members of the Congregational Church. She possesses an unusually well cultivated and perfect singing voice, and for years sang and took an active part in imusical affairs in various Chicago churches and since coming to Rantoul has been an active member of the choir of her church. Fraternally Mr. Clark is affiliated with the Masonic order, 'the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Grand Army of the Republic. In this brief review Mr. Clark's long and active career has been followed from his boyhood days in St. Helena until he is now, with his wife, enjoying, the comforts and happiness of a good home in Rantoul and surrounded with children and grandchildren and hosts of friends.

WILLIAM A. COOLLEY. Of the financial institutions of the smaller communities of Champaign County, which, by reason of the character of their officials and the manner in which their business has been conducted, have acquired and held in greater or less degree the confidence of the public, one of the best and most favorably known is that operating as the Bank of Broadlands, a house which has been builded upon an honorable policy and maintained along straight-forward lines. Much of the success that has attended this institution has been brought about through the splendid business and financial ability of William A. Coolley, one of its founders and now its president. Formerly an agriculturist, Mr. Coolley is familiar with this part of the country, where he has built up a reputation for sound integrity and practical ability.

of Indiana and the latter of Ohio. John A. Coolley was for many years engaged in farming in Douglas County, where he owned a large and valuable property, but after his retirement came to live at Broadlands, where he died June 8, 1915, Mrs. Coolley having passed away August 30, 1903. There were six children in the family, as follows: AVilliam A.; Nettie, who is the wife of D. P. Mclntyre, of Champaign ; Luella, the wife of A. M. Kenny, of Decatur; Jonathan M., who lives on the farm in Douglas County formerly owned by his father; and two boys who died in infancy.

William A. Coolley secured his education in the public schools of Douglas County and grew up in an agricultural atmosphere, his boyhood and youth being filled with the tasks that train men to become farmers. When ready to adopt a vocation he took up the cultivation of the soil as his life work, and his energy and industry were rewarded by the accumulation of much valuable farming property. Having succeeded in this direction, and having become interested in monetary matters, as connected with farm loans and other ways, in 1892 he joined Messrs. Kenny and Mclntyre in the formation of the Bank of Broadlands. At the time of the organization Mr. Kenny, now a resident of Decatur, was made president, and when he left that office was succeeded by Mr. Mclntyre. Subsequently the latter removed to Champaign, and Mr. Coolley succeeded to the presidential position, which he still retains. He is rather of the conservative type of banker, but has the courage to enter into large undertakings when assured that they are absolutely safe and legitimate. His policies have served to attract and hold the faith and esteem of the public, and the depositors come from all over the countryside adjoining Broadlands. Politically Mr. Coolley is a Republican, but he has only taken a good citizen's interest in public matters, and has not cared to have his name used in connection with candidacy for public office. His fraternal identification is with the Masons. In the civic affairs of Broadlands he has done his part to help good movements and to conserve the best interests of the thriving little city.

On October 10, 1894, Mr. Coolley was united in marriage with Miss Jeannette Mclntyre, who was born in Ontario, Canada, and to this union there has been born one daughter, Anna, who is single and resides with her parents.

ALPHEUS C. SWEARINGEN. At a pleasant home on Sherman Street in the village of St. Joseph reside a couple who carry with them many memories of Champaign County both old and new and are enjoying the declining years of life with comforts and the riches of esteem befitting their worthy careers. Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen spent their active lives on a farm, garnered many harvests therefrom, reared their children to worthy and useful lives, and then gave up their home in the country for the one they now occupy at St. Joseph.

Mr. Swearingen is a native of Champaign County, a son of Andrew and Rebecca (Hayden) Swearingen. His parents were among the pioneers of this section of Illinois, and around their log cabin home in the early days the Indians were frequent visitors. They helped convert the prairies and the swamps into arable farms, and had many hardships to contend with.

Alpheus C. Swearingen grew up in a pioneer home and had his education in the public schools. He married Mary Strong, also a native of Champaign County, of St. Joseph Township. She is a daughter of John H. and Eliza Ann (Rice) Strong. The Strongs were likewise among the pioneers, and John H. Strong was a stock buyer for forty years. Mrs.

Swearingen's grandparents were John Orange and Nancy Strong, who came to Champaign County from Kentucky. At that time Indians were very numerous. The family kept large dogs in order to scare the Indians from the home while the men were away. The Indians feared the dogs and would only come up to the fence, where they would cry "Hoo-Hoo." The red men were great beggars and always wanting something to eat. Mr. Swearingen's uncle, Christopher Hoff, also lived in Champaign County at ' this time. The government had purchased the land from the Indians and gave them a certain date to evacuate. The time passed by but the Indians were slow about leaving. Mr. Hoff and his neighbors went down to their encampment south of the Kelley Hotel on the creek. There were about 500 Indians. The white men told them the time was up, to which the Indians replied "Puckachee, Puckachee," that is, we will go by and by. Christopher Hoff spoke up and said, "You puckachee now, time is up." The next morning the entire camp had moved West, greatly to the relief of the white settlers. Christopher Hoff was a genial, wholesouled man who always had some pleasant story to relate, in fact his supply of stories was inexhaustible. His memory is still gratefully preserved among the old settlers.

Mr. Swearingen's mother, when a young girl used to work at the old Kelley Tavern when Abraham Lincoln, Douglas and other noted men were guests.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen started their wedded life in St. Joseph Township, the first year renting a farm of his brother, V. Swearingen. They had all the elements of character necessary to success as thrifty farmers and out of their earnings of hard work they bought their first eighty acres, and their first improvement there was a log house with hewn logs, comprising three rooms. Some years later, they traded this for another eighty acres and Mr. Swearingen entered upon his active career as general farmer and stock raiser. He sold many bushels of corn at twentyfive cents a bushel and at one time he sold a car load of hogs for $3.10 a hundred. After many years of steady cultivation of the soil Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen bought their cosy home on Sherman Street in St. Joseph, and there they may be found today. Mr. Swearingen is a man of public spirit and has served the village ten years as postmaster and also as school director.

Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen : Alta M., John V., Elza C., Edith E., Lillian 0., Cora A., Chester B. and Leona T. Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen took great pains with the education of their children and all of them attended the public schools of St. Joseph. Their first heavy loss was the death of their oldest child, Alta, at the age of twelve years. Their son John V. Swearingen, now an undertaker at Champaign and county coroner, married Alta M. Glasscock and they have three sons, Paul Vere, Clare and Virgil. Elza C. Swearingen, a farmer in St. Joseph Township, married Lutie Eidinger, and their children are Orville, Omer, Pearl, Clora, Vern, Margaret, Evalyn, Florence and Vere. Edith Swearingen married Otis Cowden, and at her death she left three children, named Trevert, Lavelle and Lyle. Lillian 0. died after her marriage to Orin Reese and left one child, Glen. Cora A. Swearingen is the wife of Fred Cowden and has two daughters, Thelma and Roberta. Leona T. Swearingen married Louis Foulk, and their two daughters are Neva and Morine. Chester B. Swearingen, the youngest son of the family, was educated in the public schools of St. Joseph and from an early age his ambition was centered upon the navy. Such a career was his leading thought while a boy on the farm, and he talked of it until he finally persuaded his father to give his consent, and at Danville, at the age of eighteen, he enlisted. For eight years he served his country as a musician in the government band, and has been promoted from time to time and has made a fine record for himself. His first four years were spent on the battleship Virginia, and for the last three years he has been on the United States repair ship, now located at Norfolk, Virginia. He has visited Paris, London and many other principal centers of Europe. Mrs. Swearingen has in her home a pillow with a picture of the battleship and the United States coat of arms, bordered with a golden chain and anchor. Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen are active members and liberal supporters of the Christian Church at St. Joseph. In politics they are ardent Republicans. Mrs. Swearingen imbibed the principles of that great party from her father, a pioneer and most loyal Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen, always loyal to Champaign County, have at the same time used their means for extensive travel, especially in the western states. They have made several tours through the West, visiting Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham, Washington, and Denver, Colorado. It has been their lot to witness the many changes for good made in Champaign County. Both of them remember the primitive types of the old time threshing machine, operated by horse or cattle power. When they were children the town of Champaign did not exist, and nearly all the other marvelous developments described on other pages of this history were witnessed before their eyes. Mr. Swearingen has as a family relic a fine old Bible which was published in Philadelphia in 1825, and is now over ninety years of age and contains many interesting items concerning the family history of the Haydens.

JAMES P. YEAZEL. In the fertile agricultural country of Champaign County there are found many men who have passed their entire lives within its borders and have won success and standing. In this class is undeniably James P. Yeazel, who is now carrying on agricultural operations in section 8, Homer Township, which has been his home for nearly thirty-one years. He was born in this township, here received his training, both educational and agricultural, and here has passed his entire career, winning straightforward success with honor, and a strong place in the confidence of his fellow citizens.

Mr. Yeazel was born February 14, 1847, on the old Yeazel family homestead farm in Homer Township, a son of Adam and Maria (Crable) Yeazel, natives of Ohio. His father came to this community at a very early date in the history of the county, and, locating in Homer Township, took up land and applied himself to the cultivation of the soil. He continued to be engaged in farming during the remainder of his life, but did not live to enjoy the success which his industry and good management merited, as his death occurred in middle age, June 1, 1852. Mrs. Yeazel survived him for a long time and passed away in Homer township in 1886. There were ten children in the family, namely: Eliza Jane, Sarah, John and Mary, who are all deceased ; Elizabeth, who is the widow of Captain Zeblin Hall, who earned his title while serving with Company C, Twenty-fifth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War; Isaac, deceased; James P.; William, of Tazewell County, Illinois; Wallace, of Homer; and Abraham.

James P. Yeazel attended the district schools of Homer Township and was brought up to be a farmer, the only vocation which he has ever followed. Until five years after his marriage he remained with his mother, for whom he operated the home farm, and then purchased a property of his own, 100 acres on section 8, Homer Township. To this original purchase he has since added, and he is now the owner of one of the valuable farms of the township, a -tract noticeable for its many fine improvements, its good buildings and its general prosperous condition. Mr. Yeazel carries on his operations along modern lines, and is quick to note the value of innovations. In his conduct of his business transactions he has always been upright and honorable, and as a result has gained a position where his fellow citizens place their trust and confidence in him and consider his word as something as valuable as his bond. His operations in farming have been general in character, and as he is equally skilled in all departments his property shows a well-balanced success.

Mr. Yeazel was married December 11, 1878, to Miss Lucy A. Taylor, of Vermilion County, Illinois, and one daughter has been born to this union; Ethel M., who is now the wife of Barton Parrish, of Allerton, Illinois. Mr. Yeazel. is a Republican, but takes only a voter's part in political affairs. He belongs to the Masons and the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and Mrs. Yeazel belong to the Presbyterian Church.

FRED J. HOLL, who has lived in Champaign County for half a century, having grown to manhood here, has made his career chiefly that of merchant, and is proprietor of one of the oldest and most completely stocked mercantile establishments in the village of Sadorus.

Mr. Holl in his career has exemplified the sturdy virtues of the German fatherland, where he was born December 16, 1861, a son of Fred and Christina (Kreager) Holl. His parents immigrated from the fatherland in the spring of 1867, bringing their little family to Champaign County and locating on a farm in Pesotum Township. Here the farmer industriously pursued his career as an agriculturist until his death in 1897, being survived by his widow until 1903. Fred Holl, ST., was honored with several minor township offices and was a splendid citizen. There were five children in the family: Fred J., William, of Pesotum; Augusta, wife of A. J. Nofftz of Champaign; Henry W., of Sadorus; and Benjamin C., of Pesotum Township. By a previous marriage the mother had a son Charles, now deceased.

Fred Holl grew up on his father's farm in this county and was twentyeight years old when he started out to make his own way in the world as a farmer. He did farming two years and then engaged in the general mercantile business at Sadorus with George Luhrsen. They were partners three years and then Henry Holl, brother of Fred, bought the interests of Mr. Luhrsen and the business grew and prospered under the joint enterprise of the Holl brothers for eighteen years. At the end of that time Fred Holl bought out his brother and has since been sole proprietor of the fine two-story modern brick store that is a center of trade for a large district in the southwest corner of Champaign County.

Mr. Holl married, August 19, 1894, Emma Rahn, a native of Pesotum Township. They are the parents of a family of four children: Clarence A., Edna, Everett and Alfred.

Besides his very busy career Mr. Holl has found time to serve as tax collector of Pesotum Township and as a member of the town board. He is interested in Democratic party affairs, and is a regular worshiper in the Lutheran Church.

JAMES J. FREEMAN, of Homer, represents the second generation of a family that has played a worthy part in the affairs of Champaign County for over sixty years, and he is managing with thrift and a high degree of prosperity a fine farm in the locality where he was born.

Ohio and the mother in Illinois. His father was one of the early agriculturists in this county and died in Champaign County in 1910, while the mother died here in 1902. Both of them died in the month of April and their birthdays were in the same month. There were six children: Mary M., deceased; Edmund E. of Ogden, Illinois; John T. of Homer; James J. ; and William and Margaret, both of whom died in infancy.

James J. Freeman lived with his father until he was twenty-five years of age, and in the meantime had the advantages of the local schools and also a training which well fitted him for the responsibilities he has later assumed. At the age of twenty-five he bought a farm, subsequently having a brief mercantile experience in Homer, then returned to the farm, and for another short period was engaged in the lumber business at Homer. Mr. Freeman owns 110 acres of the old homestead of 280 acres, and also has a quarter section north of Ogden. His business is stock and grain farming and he has brought about many improvements and much increased productiveness on the land which he helped work as a boy.

Mr. Freeman married Flora E. Yount, a native of Vermilion County. Three children were born to their marriage: Cleavie, who died at the age of four years ; a daughter that died in infancy ; and Gordon A., at present in Battery C, Seventeenth Field Artillery. Mr. Freeman is independent in politics. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the family are members of the Presbyterian Church.

BENJAMIN M. CUSTER, of Homer, where he lives retired, is now serving as township supervisor. His main business in life has been farming, and he still owns a fine place in Champaign County, where the family were among the pioneer settlers. Mr. Custer is one of the many men in Champaign County who have won financial independence through the avenue of agriculture.

He was born in Vermilion County, Illinois, January 23, 1852, a son of Jacob M. and Elizabeth 0. (Ochiltree) Custer. His parents were both natives of Virginia, and they came to Illinois in 1848, locating in Vermilion County. In 1856, soon after the village of Homer was started on the newly completed Wabash railroad, the family moved to that town and Jacob Custer erected the first hotel in Homer. After managing it for three and a half years he turned to farming and in that occupation spent his life until his death on September 13, 1865. His widow survived him until November 1, 1899. They were the parents of nine children, the record of each being briefly stated as follows: Margaret, born October 6, 1834, died November 5, 1843; Martha E., born September 4, 1836, died April 14, 1907; Mary E., born October 10, 1838, is the widow of James Hays, of Chicago ; William C., born January 8, 1841, died April 8, 1899 ; John M., born April 26, 1843, died August 12, 1913 ; James F., born May 27, 1845, died May 18, 1862; George W., born September 5, 1847, died September 6, 1848; Jacob A., born February 24, 1850, is still living at Homer; and the youngest is Benjamin M.

Benjamin M. Custer spent his early life in and around Homer, secured his education in the public schools and was on the home farm as a factor in its work and management until 1877. In that year he rented ninety acres of the home place, and after his mother's death he bought the entire farm. After forty years of continuous work as an agriculturist Mr. Custer retired and in 1912 bought his comfortable modern home on South Main Street at Homer, where he now spends his time.

Mr. Custer is a Eepublican in politics and on that ticket was elected to his office as supervisor. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias and the Methodist Episcopal Church.

He married 'Miss Carrie Radebaugh, a native of Pennsylvania. Two children were born to their marriage, Harry, the older, dying in infancy. Oral B., the only daughter, is the wife of W. F. Barton, a Champaign County fanner.

OSCAR J. HENDEBSON. Many years of association with the agricultural interests of Champaign County have given Oscar J. Henderson a recognized position among the husbandmen of Homer Township, where he now has a well cultivated property of 110 acres. He has passed his entire career within the limits of the county, and is known as a skilled tiller of the soil and as a citizen who gives his aid and influence to worthy civic measures and movements, while his business record is a clean one and his success in life has been cleanly and fairly won.

Mr. Henderson was born on the home farm in Homer Township, September 1, 1872, and is a son of William and Nancy J. (Hoff) Henderson. His parents, who were natives of Montgomery County, Indiana, came to Champaign County in 1867, in which year they located on a farm in section 19, Homer Township. William Henderson was an industrious and enterprising man, who, starting life with energy and ambition as his only capital, worked out a splendid success for himself and won well deserved notice in the locality in which his home was made. His death occurred February 7, 1896, while Mrs. Henderson, a woman of many estimable qualities, survived him until March 12, 1901. In addition to his farming operations William Henderson was for several years one of the pioneer school teachers of Champaign County, being a man of superior education. He did not enter public life, but was an influence in promoting and fostering beneficial movements and had his fellow-citizens' esteem. He and his wife were the parents of six children: Minnie, Edgar and Alice, who are all deceased; and Oscar J., Emma and Alma, who reside at home.

The district schools of Homer Township furnished Oscar J. Henderson with his elementary education, following which he attended the Homer High School for two years. When he started upon his career he adopted teaching as his vocation, but after spending two years in the schoolroom decided that farming was his particular forte and accordingly returned to the home place, which he has since been conducting with splendid success. He carries on general farming and stock raising, and the prosperity which has rewarded his efforts would seem to indicate that he is both a skilled agriculturist and a good judge of live stock. The property consists of 110 acres, and is under a high state of cultivation, with modern improvements and a good set of buildings to enhance its value. The modern home is located on Homer Rural Route No. 60. Mr. Henderson is unmarried and lives with his two sisters. He is a Republican in politics, although not actively identified with political affairs save as a voter, while his fraternal association is with the Tribe of Ben Hur and his religious membership is in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He has many friends in the community who have Watched his upward progress with much interest.

JACOB REDMON. In these days when the American nation is, once more girded for battle, the people pay increasing honor and respect to the comparatively few survivors of that great struggle of fifty years ago when the object was the destruction of the institution of slavery as it is now the abolition of autocratic governments from the face of the earth.

One of the veterans of that war against slavery living in Champaign County is Mr. Jacob Redmon of Ogden. He has lived to attain and pass the age of three quarters of a century and practically all his life has been spent in Champaign County. He was born near Sidney, Illinois, in 1841, a son of Isaiah and Mary (Thomas) Eedmon. His father was a native of Pennsylvania. He was only a small child when his mother died, and he grew up practically among strangers near Homer. Jacob Redmon had one sister, Elizabeth, who became the wife of Gersham Wright.

Jacob Redmon was twenty years of age when war broke out between the North and the South. One day he was attending Sunday school at the old Cottington schoolhouse. At this session of Sunday school there was also present Lieutenant Ed Hall. The lieutenant had in his pocket a company roll and young Redmon before the session was over asked Hall to put down his name for enlistment. He was mustered into service at St. Louis, Missouri, the same year and thus responded to the first call for three years men to put down the rebellion. As a member of Company C of the Twenty-fifth Illinois Infantry he was sent with his comrades to Jefferson City, Missouri, and soon took part in that great campaign through southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, which was one of the hardest blows struck at the Confederacy: He fought in the battle of Pea Ridge and other engagements of that campaign until Price and the Confederate forces were driven out of the country. The regiment then crossed the Mississippi and took part in the siege and battle of Coriijth, and later in the tremendous fighting of Stone River at Murfreesboro. Then followed almost continuous fighting through Tennessee, Kentucky and northern Georgia, and for three years Mr. Redmon endured the hardships and dangers of army life without a murmur. He was in part of the great Atlanta campaign, fighting at Peach Tree Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, but before the campaign was over he was relieved from duty on expiration of his enlistment and returning home was mustered out at Springfield, Illinois.

With a record made as a veteran soldier, a distinction that will be cherished by his descendants in all generations, he returned to the old place near Homer where he had spent his boyhood days. There in 1867 he married Miss Minerva Anderson, who was born near Danville, Illinois. They took up their home on the farm of his aunt, Elizabeth Redmon, near Homer, but after two years the death angel visited the home and Mrs. Redmon entered into rest in 1869. The only child of the union, Robert Redmon, died at the age of eighteen months.

In 1871 Mr. Redmon married Lovica E. Fowler. She was a native of Ohio, daughter of George and Miranda (Butts) Fowler. Her father died before she was born and when she was six years of age her mother passed away, so that she grew up in the home of her grandmother in Indiana. After the war the family moved to Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Redmon began their wedded life near Homer, where for six years he operated a sawmill. He then came to Ogden, where he has had his home for a long period of years. He was first engaged in the trade of plasterer and brick layer, but for twenty years followed harnessmaking as a trade and conducted a shop which was the center of a large and flourishing business.

Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Redmon, Ulysses Vernon, Bertha Florence, Oscar, Cora Elizabeth, Frank M., Harry E. and Nellie. The son Oscar died at the age of twenty years. These children were given the advantages of the public schools of Ogden. Ulysses, the oldest, lives at Rockford, Illinois, and by his marriage to Mary Richards has two children, Hazel and Merle. The daughter Bertha is the wife of William Hasty, a clerk at St. Joseph Village, and their children are Fern and Harold. Cora E. married Dell Strong, a poultryman at Fithian, Illinois. They have a household of five children, Gladys, Goldie, Arthur, Wayne and Rema. Frank M. Redmon is a printer by trade and lives at Bloom- ington, Illinois. He married Bertha Peters and has a daughter Laneva. Harry Eedmon is a harness maker by trade living at Urbana, and by his marriage to Pearl Barnhart has three children, Carl, Clyde and May. The youngest child, Nellie, is the wife of Fred Priblo, a farmer near St. Joseph. They have one son, Darwin.

Mr. and Mrs. Redmon have for many years been sustaining members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Ogden. In politics Mr. Redmon has never deviated from the principles which he supported in casting his first vote. This vote was given to Abraham Lincoln in 1864, about the time he returned from his army service. Mr. Redmon fought as a soldier for the triumph of the principles advocated by the Republican party at the beginning, and has kept his allegiance true through all the half century that has followed. His career in civic affairs and in business life has been as straightforward and honest as his early service in following the flag was steadfast and courageous, .and the years have brought him abundant success and community esteem. He has served as member of the town board of Ogden, and in his later years he and his good Christian wife have enjoyed the pleasures of a good home in the village and the associations of a fine family and many friends.

SAMUEL LIVINGSTON is of -.the pioneer element of Champaign County. He came to this region sixty years ago. It was nearly sixty years ago that he and his young wife began the battle with existence on some of the broad and : virgin prairies of this section, and what they endured, what they achieved, the family that grew up around them, and the riches of esteem that were paid to them by their neighbors is worthy of something more than passing record.

Now living retired, Mr. Livingston since the death of his wife has found a home of every comfort for his declining years with <his daughter, Mrs. Rosa Lee, Donovan, on Congress Avenue, in Rantoul. Samuel Livingston was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, one of the ten children of John and Margaret (May) Livingston, who were also natives of the Old Dominion. When he was two years of, age his parents moved to Montgomery County, Ohio, near Dayton. He grew up there and acquired his education in the local schools. At the age of twelve years he left home and worked for ;his board and clothes, and when he was fourteen he hired out for $3.50 per month and performed a man's work. He hauled as much cordwood to the town as his employer. During that time he would go home on Saturdays and carry the mail bag six miles, walking the distance. He always worked out by the month. At the age of twenty Mr. Livingston went still farther west, locating near Terre Haute, Indiana. He was there two years and in 1855 arrived in Champaign County, Illinois. Then followed a period of capable industry and hard work as a hand on the Genung farm. He worked for Mr. Genung one year and then bought twenty-one head of oxen and operated three breaking teams, breaking prairie for $3 per acre. He estimated that he broke 1,000 or more acres of prairie in the neighborhood. He went through severe hardships during that time. He carried an ox yoke on his /shoulder on horseback ten miles to Rantoul, in many places wading through sloughs and basins of water two feet deep at times. With his oxen he worked all day long and during the hot part of the season he would get up at 3 o'clock in the morning and let his oxen , graze until light enough to see to plow. He had a bell on one so they could not stray away. On one job of breaking where he boarded the people were very poor and they had to eat off of dry goods boxes and sleep on the floor. There were seven of them all lying in a row on the floor. When the owner of the land, which was ten miles away, went with him to look at the work they only had one horse. One would ride a mile or two, then hitch the horse to some rosin stalks until the other caught up, then he would walk. When they reached their destination it was about noon, and they both had to eat off of one plate on a box. Some of them had to eat with their jackknives. Mr. Livingston worked steadily four years, saved his wages, and all the time had an eye to the future.

In 1859 he went back to Indiana, where he had left his sweetheart, Miss Letitia Shores. She was born in Indiana, a daughter of Meredith and Frankie L. Shores.

The father of Mrs. Livingston, Meredith Shores, had traveled all the way on horseback from North Carolina to New Goshen, near Terre Haute, Indiana. He was a young man at the time and was viewing out a place for a future home. One night he stopped at a farmhouse. All the family were out in the fields except a daughter, Frankie Tizer, a seventeen-yearold maiden, who was preparing dinner and going about her work with a great show of industry and energy. The principal and, to the young traveler, the most attractive part of the food was a loaf of corn bread which she was baking in an old-fashioned skillet at the open fireplace. As the tired and hungry traveler looked at the loaf he thought that he could eat it all, and at the same time with hunger there entered into his heart a desire to win and have the beautiful young cook for his bride. He was invited to dine after the fashion of pioneer hospitality that then prevailed, and while the bountiful but simple meal soon appeased his hunger, his love for the young girl strengthened and increased. The acquaintance thus begun ripened into love and ended with wedding bells. Meredith Shores lived to the age of forty-eight, but his wife, Frankie, attained the venerable age of ninety-seven. The energy which she displayed on that day when her future husband arrived at her home was characteristic of her entire life and she proved a very excellent manager and developed a splendid character of true womanhood.

When Samuel Livingston returned with his bride from Indiana he rented the Genung farm and conducted it for five years. He had the qualifications which make the successful man in every sphere and in time he and his wife were able to buy eighty acres, and later forty acres more, making them the owners of 120 acres, seven miles northwest of Eantoul. They paid $13 an acre for this land, but many years later they sold it for $225 an acre. In 1882 they left the farm and removed to Rantoul.

To Mr. and Mrs. Livingston were born six children : Ida M., Warren B., Rosa Lee, Minnie B., Cora E., Charles R. These children had the advantages of a good home and also attended the Maple Grove district school and the high school at Rantoul. Warren B. also attended school at Paxton, Illinois, and the Terre Haute Business College. Ida M. Livingston married Josiah Chaney, a farmer, and their home is in Burns, Kansas. Their five children are named Cora R., Ivaloo, Marian, Wilbur and Freddie. Rosa Lee married William B. Donovan, a painter and decorator at Rantoul. They have a daughter, Rena May, who was educated partly in Chicago and partly in the high school at Rantoul, and is now the wife of Edgar J. Burns, a resident of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Burns have two children, Leroy B. and Edgar Dale, these being great-grandchildren of Mr. Samuel Livingston. Minnie B. Livingston married Professor Harold Lawrence, a resident of Yakima, Washington. Charles R. Livingston, who lives at Chrisman, Illinois, and is editor of the Chrisman Courier, married Nellie Murphy, and they have a daughter, Deniza Fayelle Livingston.

are Charles and Rosa Lee. The good mother passed away in 1913. Through her long life she had endeared herself to a large community by her Christian neighborliness and kindness, and she entered into rest with the benedictions of her family and friends. When her health began to fail her daughter, Mrs. Donovan, removed to Rantoul from Chicago and carefully nursed her through her last illness. Later Mr. and Mrs. Donovan built for themselves a commodious bungalow on Congress Avenue in Rantoul and here, with every comfort and the companionship of his devoted daughter, Mr. Livingston is spending his last days.

Both the Livingston and Donovan families are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Rantoul. Samuel Livingston has long been a regular voter of the Democratic ticket. Mr. Donovan usually supports the principles of politics rather than the party. In his younger years Samuel Livingston served eighteen years as constable of Rantoul.

Few families have been more closely identified with developing Champaign County over a longer period of years than the Livingstons. When Mr. and Mrs. Livingston first settled here the land was raw prairie. They bore the hardships with patience and perseverance and their labors were eventually crowned with success. When Mr. Livingston broke his prairie land, following the oxen back and forth over the fields, the wolves would frequently appear and at a safe distance follow him and the animals up and down. Both in the earlier years and later the Livingston home was noted for its hospitality. No needy person was ever turned away from the door uncared for.

MATHEW L. YEAZEL. One of the old and honored families of Champaign County is that which bears the name of Yeazel and which has been represented here for more than three-quarters of a century. Its members have been mainly engaged in agricultural pursuits and have been noted for their honorable and upright dealings and their good citizenship. A worthy representative of the name is found in the person of Mathew L. Yeazel, who for nearly sixty years has been a resident of Homer Township, where he is now carrying on operations on the Old Homestead farm.

Mr. Yeazel was born on the farm to the supervising of the operations on which he now devotes his attention. This is located in section 7, Homer Township. He was born June 12, 1858, a son of James and Mary Maria (Spencer) Yeazel, natives of Ohio. James Yeazel came to Champaign County in March, 1840, and from small beginnings grew to be one of the most substantial farmers in this part of the county, having accumulated a property of 640 acres and various other holdings, including realty and business interests. Also he was prominent in the affairs of his community and was frequently elected to office in the township, where he held, among others, the position of township supervisor. Mrs. Yeazel died when her son Mathew L. was eight years of age. The children were as follows: John and William, deceased in infancy; Alice, who is the wife of Hugh O'Neil, of Homer ; Abraham and Abigail, who are deceased ; Mathew L. ; and Inez, the wife of C. G. Squires, of Indianapolis, Indiana.

The public schools of Homer Township furnished Mathew L. Yeazel with his education, and his boyhood and youth were spent on the home farm, where he assisted his father. Married at the age of twenty-one years, at that time he began operations on his own account on a rented farm of eighty acres, on which he lived 'for five years, and at the end of that time rented another property, one of 160 acres, and spent a like period thereon. In the meantime his father had died, and his father-in-law had purchased 260 acres of the present farm. Two years later he passed away, leaving his son-in-law and daughter 225 acres, and when Mr. Yeazel settled thereon he named it the Old Homestead farm, in honor of his and his wife's parents. He is now engaged in general farming operations, but more as an overseer than as an active worker, and is recognized as one of the skilled and substantial agriculturists of his community and a business man of ability and honor.

Mr. Yeazel was married October 9, 1879, to Julia E. Smith, a native of Champaign County and a daughter of Mortimer and Jennie (Tresler) Smith. Mr. Smith was one of the prominent men of Homer Township, having started the second tile manufacturing plant in the State of Illinois, and he died a very wealthy citizen, passing away May 21, 1906. He and his wife were the parents of eight children: Julia E., the wife of Mr. Yeazel; Clara, deceased; William, a resident of Homer; Mary, the widow of Byron S. Poisal, of the Auditorium Hotel, Chicago; Jennie, the wife of Wyley C. Wamsley, of Long Beach, California ; Nellie, who is deceased ; Charles, of Danville, Illinois ; and Harry J., of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Yeazel have had four children: Estella J., who is the wife of Charles Havard, of Homer ; Jennie, who met death as an infant by burning ; Nellie M., the wife of C. V. Davis, of Sheridan, Wyoming; and Lelia, the wife of Owen Johnson, of Marshfield, Indiana. Mr. Yeazel is a Republican, and his influence is felt in fraternal circles, he being a member of the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. His religious connection and that of Mrs. Yeazel is with the Presbyterian Church.

Ross A. FLATT represents the younger and progressive business element of Champaign County, and in many ways has shown his splendid capabilities in business affairs. He is a son of A. J. Flatt, the well known grain and general merchant at Leverett, concerning whom further mention is made on other pages.

Ross A. Flatt was born on his father's farm in Somer Township of Champaign County April 10, 1890. He grew up on the farm, attended the common schools and finished his education in the Champaign High School. When his school work was finished he began assisting his father in the business at Leverett, and gradually acquired a thorough and detailed knowledge of general merchandising, grain and farm implement trade. In 1909 he became a partner with his father under the name Flatt & Son, and their store, elevators and other activities constitute a bulk of the business transacted in the community at Leverett.

Mr. Flatt was married to Ella S. Roberts, daughter of Joseph B. and Elizabeth Roberts of Somer Township. They have one son, now three years of age, Ross, Jr. In politics Mr. Flatt is a Republican, and is affiliated with Urbana Lodge No. 991 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

J. B. BENSYL. The Bensyl family came to Champaign County in pioneer times, and one of the number is Mr. J. B. Bensyl, now in business at Ogden. His active career has been spent in the county, and he was born in St. Joseph Township May 9, 1855.

He was the fourth in the family of nine children born to Lewis and Mary (Corray) Bensyl. His parents were both born in Ohio, and each was two years old when their respective families came to Illinois. Lewis Bensyl and wife were married in this state, and Lewis Bensyl was long a prominent figure in the life of this county.

J. B. Bensyl grew up at home and attended with his brothers and sisters the Clark school a mile north of Mayview. When not in school he assisted his father on the farm, and at tire age of twenty-two he married Miss Mary

Braten. Mrs. Bensyl was born in Urbana Township, daughter of August and Anna (Winkleman) Braten. Her father was a native of Germany and her mother of Switzerland, and they married after coming to America. The Bratens acquired a fine farm in Champaign County. Mr. Braten served as constable in Somer Township and for many years as deputy sheriff at Urbana. Mrs. Bensyl was one of nine children, all of whom were educated in the public schools.

Mr. and Mrs. Bensyl after their marriage located in Urbana, where he took the management of some of the land owned by Mrs. Bensyl's father. Having the qualities of youth, industry and energy, they were soon making good progress and after farming the Braten estate for ten years they removed to Ogden Township and continued as renters in that section of the county for another twelve years. Their accumulations then enabled them to buy eighty acres of their own north of the town of Ogden, and this became their permanent home in the country. While the land had no improvements, they developed it rapidly, put up good buildings, set out trees, and left it a monument to their effective industry and husbandry.