Champaign County, Illinois - The whole text, 1918 (part 3 of 23)

Of this family is J. E. Nye, who came to Champaign County when a boy of two years of age and is now able to take life somewhat at leisure in one of the fine country homes south of the village of St. Joseph.

He was born in Gallia County, Ohio, April 7, 1855, a son of Arius and Rebecca (Gardner) Nye. Both parents were natives of Ohio and the Nya ancestry goes back to the New England states. The grandfather, Nial Nye, served as a colonel in the War of 1812. Arius Nye brought his family to Illinois in 1857, arriving in Champaign County in the month of September. He had three children, J. E., Louis E., now deceased, and Mary E., Mrs. S. N. Prather of Deland, Florida. These children were educated in the Allen school of Champaign County.

J. E. Nye grew up in this locality and was well trained to habits of industry in addition to the lessons he learned from school books. On December 9, 1879, at the age of twenty-four, he married Miss Ella E. Ford, who was born in Union County, Ohio, youngest daughter of William J. and Catherine (Birely) Ford. The Ford family came to Illinois in September, I860, first settling on a farm near Mansfield in Piatt County, but in the fall of 1863 moving to Urbana. There were three children in the Ford family, Sarah E., Louis E. and Ella E. They received their early educational advantages in the Marriott school north of Urbana and also at the Allen school, in which vicinity Mr. Ford had bought a farm.

After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Nye they rented a farm in Somer Township during the spring of 1880 and having the equipment of industry and energy they worked to such good advantage that year that they were then able to buy forty acres of land for their own. They paid $30 an acre, subsequently adding another forty acres. They had confidence that their labors would be rewarded and were not afraid to undertake responsibilities beyond their immediate resources. Later they sold their first farm at a good profit and bought a place in section 4, Somer Township, two miles south of Thomasboro.

Mr. and Mrs. Nye had four children, one son and three daughters. The son and the daughter Nettie E. died in infancy. The other two (laughters are Kate and Maude. They were well educated in the local district schools, the high school at Thomasboro and the Urbana High School. Kate finished a course in Brown's Business College. She is now the wife of Albert Stonestreet, a prosperous farmer in Kerr Township. Mr. and Mrs. Stonestreet have one child, Leslie, born June 24, 1908. He is now attending the public schools at Penfield, and is taking his education very seriously and is showing much proficiency in his studies. He rides back and forth from home to school on his black and white pony, Prince, which is the gift to him from his Grandfather Nye. This pony is the cherished companion of the boy and it performs its part well like a faithful friend in carrying its young master back and forth to school. The daughter Maude married Walter C. Wood, a practical farmer who lives on part of Mr. Nye's estate. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have two sons, Paul and Maurice, the former born May 20, 1913, and the latter April 13, 1915, both fine boys and great favorites of their grandparents.

Mr. and Mrs. Nye lived at Thomasboro twelve years, then at Urbana five years, having in the meantime sold their Thomasboro property, and they then bought their present farm of 240 acres in sections 27 and 28 of St. Joseph Township. Mr. Nye for years has been successfully engaged in the raising of Poland China hogs and Plymouth Eock poultry, and handles only thoroughbred stock. His farm is known as the Timber View Farm and in point of improvements and general value it ranks as one of the very best anywhere in Champaign County.

Mr. Nye is a stalwart Republican, having cast his first vote for Hayes in 1876. He is a public spirited citizen, served as justice of the peace while living at Thomasboro and has always been willing to take his place in the ranks and fight for any cause that reflected the welfare of the community.

DAVID B. WEIGHT was born in Millerstown, Pennsylvania, March 26, 1867, a son of John B. and Elmira (Cox) Wright, both of whom are natives of Pennsylvania. His father, who died in Missouri, enlisted in the Fortysecond Pennsylvania Infantry and served until the battle of Gettysburg. He and his wife had five children: William I., deceased; James A. of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ; David B. ; Minerva, widow of John L. McKinsie of Champaign; and John B., deceased.

When David B. Wright was seven years of age he was sent to a soldiers' orphans' home in Pennsylvania, where he remained until he was sixteen. After that he continued as a teacher in the orphans' home for one year. While there, in addition to literary studies, he had learned the marble cutting trade and he worked at it for three years at Newport, Pennsylvania, and subsequently was in business at another town in that state.

In 1889 Mr. Wright came out to Champaign County and located at Mahomet. For about four years he was employed on farms, and then capitalized his experience and invested his modest means in a place of 100 acres in section 17 of Champaign Township. That farm has since been the object of his constant endeavors at improvements and he has found himself well situated in later years, commanding the resources of a good farm and having every comfort that one could desire.

On February 18, 1892, Mr. Wright married Tillie Jahr, who was born at Mahomet in Champaign County. They have two children : Almeda Zay, who is now attending the Illinois Woman's College at Jacksonville, and Helen Esther, a high school girl.

Politically Mr. Wright has been a Republican since casting his first vote. He is now assistant supervisor of highways. He is also deputy assessor and has served as president of the board of school trustees and as district commissioner of ditches. In Masonry he is district inspector of the Royal Arch Masons and was high priest of the Champaign chapter. The badge of jewels presented to him as high priest is an article he prizes highly.

OLIVER B. DOBBINS. As a lawyer Oliver B. Dobbins has gained some of the better distinctions and successes of the profession. He has been in practice in the profession in Champaign County twenty-three years. His ability is sought in cases of more than ordinary importance. During his career Mr. Dobbins has appeared in more than a hundred cases in the Supreme and Appellate Courts of the state. Of such cases he has succeeded in winning at a ratio of three out of four, and at one time he secured favorable decisions in twelve successive appeals. An individual distinction of which any lawyer might be proud is that he procured the largest judgment ever rendered in Champaign County in an action for fraud - sixty thousand dollars. Mr. Dobbins has made a specialty of organizing and representing drainage districts, having organized and appeared as attorney for fifty such districts. His work in that line now covers a dozen counties.

As a public leader Mr. Dobbins' name is synonymous with high ideals and the better element of local citizenship. In national politics he has always been a Democrat, and has also been closely identified with antisaloon work. In 1896 as county chairman of the Democratic party he had th,e honor of piloting the party to its first county victory in fifty years.

From 1913 to 1915 Mr. Dobbins was mayor of Champaign. That administration will have a notable place in a subsequent survey of the city's history. A body of business men interested in the welfare of Champaign obtained a petition signed by six hundred persons to induce Mr. Dobbins to accept the nomination as leader of an independent movement to clean out the dives and joints with which the city was infested. A voluntary subscription of $800 was pledged for the campaign. Mr. Dobbins was elected by an overwhelming vote, exceeding that of the regular Republican and Democratic candidates combined. People did not have to wait long to find out what he would do in office. His was a truly reform administration. It was marked by a continuous and unrelenting fight to make the city clean. During that fight one of his policemen was murdered and the chief of police was shot. His administration was not confined entirely to the moral benefit and uplift. There also ensued an immense amount of public improvement, particularly noticeable in police and fire departments and in street improvements. Mr. Dobbins' name appears as mayor on either the ordinances or warrants for pavements laid on sixteen streets of the city.

Oliver B. Dobbins was born at Gallatin, Tennessee, December 6, 1870, and is of old Southern and Revolutionary stock. His great-grandfather Dobbins fought with the Carolina Rangers under the leadership of Marion in the Revolutionary War. His grandfather, Henry Dobbins, was born at Gallatin, Tennessee, in 1798, was a planter in that state, and died there in November, 1870. He was a whig and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Foster Dobbins, father of the Champaign lawyer, was born at Gallatin, Tennessee, May 19, 1838, grew up there, and served one year in the Confederate army during the war. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Murfreesboro, was confined for a short time at Nashville, and on being paroled came North and taught school at Toronto until the close of hostilities. In February, 1871, he settled with his family at Bushnell in McDonough County, Illinois, in 1875 removed to Gibson City in Ford County, and 1876 to a farm in East Bend Township of Champaign County. He was actively engaged in farming there until 1899, when he removed to Urbana, where his death occurred in April, 1908. In politics he was a Whig until the war and after that a Democrat. His religious affiliation was with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Foster Dobbins married Margaret Beard, who was born at Gallatin, Tennessee, December 8, 1844, came to Illinois in 1871 and died in Champaign County, October 30, 1881, when her son Oliver B. was ten years of age. She was a daughter of Henry and Hannah (Sloan) Beard. Foster Dobbins and wife were married at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1866, and became the parents of seven children, five of whom are still living.

student in the Illinois State Normal University at Normal. Four years of his early career were spent as a teacher in Champaign and Ford counties. From 1892 to 1894 he attended the Wesleyan University at Bloomington, where he was graduated in the law course in June, 1894, and on his degree of LL. B. was. admitted to practice. On the 24th of June in the same year he opened his office at Urbana with Spencer M. White, under the firm name of White & Dobbins. After seven years this firm was dissolved and Mr. Dobbins removed to Champaign, where in 1891 he formed a partnership with J. L. Ray as Ray & Dobbins. Mr. Ray retired on account of ill health in 1914 and Mr. Dobbins has since practiced with his brother D. C. Dobbins, under the firm name of .Dobbins & Dobbins.

Mr. Dobbins is a member of the Presbyterian Church, belongs to the Champaign County Country Club and the Champaign Club, and is a Mason and Elk. He was married December 15, 1897, to Miss Edith Leonard, who was born at Elliot, Illinois, July 13, 1874. They have three children: Ray F. Dobbins, born November 26, 1901, and a junior in the Champaign High School; Dorothy, a freshman in the same school, born September 4, 1903; and Leonard, born September 26, 1907, attending the grade schools.

H. M. MOUEIS has long been a resident of Rantoul and is proprietor of a beautiful home and a large greenhouse at the north end of the village. Mr. Morris has a creditable record as an old soldier of the Union, though he was a very young man when the war was in progress. His life has been a busy one and he and Mrs. Morris have well earned the esteem and the comforts which they now enjoy.

He was born in Ohio, a son of Edwin and Mary (Benson) Morris, both natives of Ohio. The Morris ancestors were pioneers in Ohio from the State of Connecticut. H. M. Morris was seven years of age when his mother died and his father afterwards married again and in 1864 brought his family to Illinois. H. M. Morris secured his early education in the public schools of Ohio and subsequently attended school in Champaign County.

While living in Ohio his ardent patriotism shone forth, and though he was much younger than the accepted age at which enlistments were taken he managed to get into the army and went to the front. He was finally taken prisoner and paroled. He was eighteen years of age when his father came to Illinois and located on a farm near Rantoul. Still the war was in progress and the nation's trials and difficulties were not yet ended. Mr. Morris then accepted another call to service, this time in a three months' regiment. He went out in February, 1865, for a second term of duty and marched away to the music of the fife and drum and was on duty in Tennessee and Kentucky until the war came to a close.

In 1868 Mr. Morris laid the foundation of his own home by his marriage to Miss Harriet Myers. Mrs. Morris was born at Dansville in Livingston County, New York, daughter of Peter and Theresa (Gardner) Myers. In 1856 the Myers family came to Illinois. The family consisted of two sons and two daughters, Horatio, Charles, Helen and Harriet. Horatio Myers was one of the ardent young patriotic citizens of Champaign County, and in the fall of 1860 he was employed in the Gazette office at Champaign and had enrolled as a member of the "Wide Awakes" organization for the defense of the Union and as factors in the campaign in which Mr. Lincoln was elected for the presidency. While attending a mass meeting at Middletown (now Mahomet) a great fla? pole was raised and when it fell he was struck down and killed, and thus the candle of life of a brave and enthusiastic young citizen was extinguished. The other son of Mr. Myers, Charles, died of brain fever at the age of sixteen. Peter Myers was a prominent and influential man in Champaign County, especially before and during the war. He was a stanch abolitionist and used his influence to keep up and maintain Union sentiments. Mrs. Morris' sister Helen married George Condit, and her death occurred about ten years ago.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Morris located at Eantoul, where be was employed by his father-in-law, Peter Myers, in the lumber and grain business. The young people had the qualities of thrift and enterprise and as rapidly as possible assembled about themselves the things which have given them independence, comfort and opportunity to serve others and the community as well as themselves. Mr. Morris was for seven years postmaster of Eantoul.

Some years ago he secured his present home' on Ohio Street on the north side of the village, and there erected the commodious greenhouses by which his enterprise is chiefly known throughout his large community. He raises flowers and fruits and for twenty years has conducted a very successful business in that line. His home is a most attractive place, combining the facilities of country and town. In their dooryard stand some large shade trees, rare shrubs and flowers.

To Mr. and Mrs. Morris were born seven children, Charles, Eoy, Mabel, Keith, Helen and two daughters, Fern and Eose, who died early. The children that grew up were educated in the Eantoul High School, Charles, Keith and Helen graduating. Charles, Mabel and Keith were successful teachers in Champaign County and Charles taught in several other counties of the state. Mabel became a student at Normal, Illinois, and Eoy was for a time in Oberlin College in Ohio. Charles Morris married Mary Lindsey and now lives at Kilbourn, Wisconsin. Their three children are named Claud, Keith and Wendland. The son Claud is married and has three children, great-grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Morris, they are named Eobert, Geraldine and Mary.

Mabel Morris is the wife of Prof. H. P. Little, a graduate of the University of Illinois and former superintendent of schools at Momence. Professor Little died, leaving his widow and six children. These children are Elizabeth, Morris, Harriet, Harold, Edith and Florence. Harriet is deceased, dying before her father. The oldest, Elizabeth, is the wife of Samuel Yates and has a son, Philip.

Helen Morris married Stafford Miller, a railway conductor living in Chicago. Their four children are Eobert, Jeannette, Merritt and Stafford, Jr.

Mr. Morris has always been a. member of the Congregational Church. Mrs. Morris is a very able and enthusiastic devotee of the Church of Christ Scientist of Boston, and has studied thoroughly and mastered the principles of that faith and practiced it most intelligently. She has won her children to the same views and her daughter and daughter-in-law are Science practitioners.

Politically Mr. and Mrs. Morris support the Eepublican party, but both have voted the Progressive ticket. Mrs. Morris believes in the progressiveness of the human family and it is her opinion that an age which has contributed so many splendid figures to science and industry should not be deficient in men of leadership in politics. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have always endeavored to fill their places as true and honorable citizens and their lives have consequently meant much in the community. Both now and in generations to come the descendants will always be proud of the record Mr.

Morris made as a boy soldier of the Union. His subsequent life has been equally creditable and honorable and the record in detail of Mr. and Mrs. Morris would show countless duties well performed and responsibilities faithfully and unselfishly borne by each.

CHARLES F. HAMILTON. The business life of Champaign owes much to the enterprise and energy of Charles F. Hamilton. He first became identified with the city in the lumber trade, and while he has numerous interests elsewhere he has always remained loyal to this city and it is not only to him a home but a place where his many well considered investments have contributed much to local improvement and benefit.

Mr. Hamilton is a native of Macoupin County, Illinois, where he was born November 26, 1864, a son of Julius and Virginia L. (VanDeventer) Hamilton. His parents were both natives of Virginia and of old Colonial stock. Julius Hamilton came out to Illinois in 1856, first locating in Cass County, and in 1861 establishing a home in Macoupin County. For many years he was one of the most extensive lumber dealers in the state, operating a string of yards throughout the state. In the fall of 1880 he removed to Champaign and from this city he subsequently directed his interests and he died here January 21, 1903. His wife is also deceased and they were the parents of three children: Mary, Lizzie and Charles F.

Charles F. Hamilton acquired a good education, but most of it out of school and by active contact with men and affairs. When only fifteen years of age he started work in bis father's lumber yard. In a few years he was able to relieve his father of many of the heavier responsibilities of the business, and they continued actively associated until 1890. In that year Mr. Hamilton went to Watseka, Illinois, and for three years was in the lumber and coal business for himself. Returning to Champaign in 1893, he again became his father's associate as a lumberman. For ten years Mr. Hamilton was manager of the Walker Opera House at Champaign. In later years many of his investments have been made in California. Much of his time 'has been spent at Los Angeles, where both of his children live. In 1915-16 he erected a large three-story brick building at the corner of Park Avenue and Neil Street.

On July 3, 1884, he married Miss Mary Rugg, daughter of Daniel Rugg, who was one of the pioneers of Champaign County. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have two children : Julius R., a successful young physician, practicing at Los Angeles; and Florence, wife of Samuel J. Tilden, of Los Angeles.

JOHN FIOCK. Behind every fine farm, home and industry of Champaign County lies a story of sacrifice and strenuous personal endeavor. It has required the labors of an army of men and women to make Champaign County what it is today, and this publication performs its greatest service when appropriate credit may be given to those men who effected some share in the transformation.

Doubtless one of the most interesting of these stories of personal struggle and effort is that of Mr. John Fiock of St. Joseph Township. Mr. Fiock was born in Morgan Township of Harrison County, Indiana, March 6, 1847, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Helfrer) Fiock. His father was born in Germany and his mother in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in which city they married. Soon after their marriage they started to find a new home in the wilderness of southern Indiana. When they first located in Harrison County they had two neighbors, ten miles away. Their home was in the woods, and they had to clear the land for the planting of the first few acres. Charles Fiock put in and cultivated his first five- acre crop of corn with a grubbing hoe. In the meantime another neighbor located near by, and together, with the use of such crude implements as they had, they fabricated a wheelbarrow. This was the only vehicle they had to transport their produce and bring back supplies from New Albany, a distance of eighteen miles. On the wheelbarrow they loaded a few chickens and a few dozen eggs, a rope was tied to the wheelbarrow, and one of them pulled and the other pushed until they arrived in town, covering a most rugged stretch of land on the way. Later these two men manufactured by the same toilsome process a wagon. Not a single strip of iron entered into the construction, even the wheels being of wood. Several of the neighbors combined to purchase an old gray mare, and this community asset was a possession of which all were very proud. This old horse drew the wagon back and forth to market. That is one instance of pioneer difficulty, and the entire story would take a long time to tell.

When John Fiock was three weeks old his mother died, and his father subsequently married again, and by both wives had seven children. When John was a school boy the nearest schoolhouse was three miles away and the term was usually three months a year. Thus he had limited opportunities to acquire a knowledge of books, but he made the best of them. On Sunday morning the entire family would attend religious services and the afternoons were spent at Sunday school. The boys and girls of the neighborhood up to the age of eighteen would come to the Sunday school barefooted. The girls wore "cornstalk shakers" and they took a good deal of pride in this simple home-made adornment. The Fiock family were devoted members of the German Evangelical Church, and all the children grew up in that faith.

From early boyhood John Fiock had to struggle with poverty and harsh conditions, and though he grew up in a community of wholesome and neighborly people, it was hard work that made existence possible. In 1875 he laid the foundation of his own home by his marriage to Miss Mary Denhart. She was also a native of Harrison County, Indiana, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Zimmerman) Denhart. Her father was a native of Iowa and her mother of Germany. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Fiock located on forty acres in Blue Eiver Township of Harrison County, having bought that land for $8 an acre. They lived there for ten years. The land was rough and the quality of soil very poor, and after ten years Mr/ Fiock found that it was impossible to make a living there.

Seeking the better lands of Illinois, he came to Champaign County and got off the train at St. Joseph August 17, 1875. His entire stock of cash capital consisted of 35 cents. With him came his wife and five children. Fortunate indeed was he in making the acquaintance of Isaac T. Leas, who proved a Lord Bountiful to the Fiock family and vouched for Mr. Fiock when he bought his cook stove and other necessary furniture, and also gave him work and encouraged and helped him in many ways, manifesting the true spirit of brotherly love. For two years Mr. Fiock rented land of Mr. Leas. At the end of that time he began looking around for another place to rent. One day in St. Joseph he saw a -bill announcing the sale of seventy-seven acres of unimproved land. Being very anxious to locate in a permanent home, he endeavored to get in touch with the owner of the land. The price fixed for this tract was $26 an acre. Mr. Fiock did not even have the money to buy a postage stamp so that he might write to the land owner at Champaign. In this emergency he gathered some eggs, took them to the village of St. Joseph, and tried to trade them in goods, reserving only 2 cents for a stamp. The merchant refused to give him the 2 cents, but for a man of his spirit and determination he refused to let such a small matter as a postage stamp stand in his way. He then secured what he calls "a cross tie ticket" and walked the entire twelve miles to Champaign. The owner of the land when interviewed refused to rent, but said that he would make it possible for Mr. Fiock to buy the land. The next thing to do was to raise the first payment. Mr. Fiock returned home, sold a colt, and returning to Champaign made his first payment of $60. The agreement was that in thirty clays he must pay $40 more or the contract would be void by afternoon of that day.

At 11 o'clock in the morning on the day the contract expired Mr. Fiock again returned to his old friend and benefactor, Isaac Leas. Finding Mr. Leas at home, he said: "Mr. Leas, if I do not raise $40 I lose my land today." Mr. Leas was building a fence. He was not a man of many words or of hesitation. "We have not much time," he said, and sticking his ax into a stump, went at once to the house, told his good wife to prepare lunch and directed Mr. Fiock to grease the buggy. The horse was soon hitched up and they drove at full speed to the office of Mr. Mahan, owner of the land. Already a family was waiting to buy the land and offered $100 more than Mr. Fiock was to pay. Mr. Leas told the agent to write out a check, this was was given to Mr. Fiock and he was directed to hand the paper into the window of the bank and he was soon in possession of the coveted $40. The payment was made and the contract secured. This was a red letter day in the history of the Fiock family, and it is not strange that for Mr. Leas' part in the transaction and for numerous other kindnesses they hold his memory in lasting gratitude.

The following day the Fiocks moved to their new possession and thus entered upon a new and better period of existence. In the Fiock family from the oldest to -the youngest the name of Leas is spoken with a reverence that amounts to a benediction. Another incident of this family's early clays in Champaign County is concerned with their first flock of chickens. It consisted of six hens and a rooster, and Mr. Fiock put in a long day of toil to pay for each fowl. Poultry raising has always been a feature of his farm industry and he and his wife still have a large number of chickens at their home.

The contract for the first purchase of his farm provided that $200 should be paid on the principal every year in addition to the interest, and Mr. Fiock worked strenuously to raise that amount, and when he did not have it all his good neighbors loaned it to him, and thus he gradually paid for the land and bought more besides until he had an estate of 133 acres. For some of this he paid as high as $100 an acre. Those days of toil and struggle have long since passed, and the Fiock family have long enjoyed the fruits of prosperity in this garden spot of Illinois. Their land has been transformed by cultivation, by the planting of many trees, the building of a commodious home and the installation of many comforts and conveniences.

Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fiock, and besides the struggle they had in providing a home they deserve the greatest credit for rearing and training this young household to lives of fruitful endeavor and worthy principles. The children were named George, Charles, Lizzie, Eddie, Anna, Mag, Louis, Joseph, Frank, Jacob, who died at the age of two years, and William. These children attended the Argo and Bowers schools. George, a farmer living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, married Viola Gibbink, and their children are Pearl, Earl, Olive, Grace and Mildred. The son Charles married Blanche Mapes, and they have three children, Beulah, Grace and Clyde. Lizzie is the wife of Charles Bartus, and they have a large family, consisting of Gertrude, Clara, John, Russell, Charles, Chester, Floyd, Ernest, Frank, Elmer and Dan. The son Eddie is a machinist at Indianapolis, and by his marriage to Hattie Mohs has two children, Clarence and Earl. Anna married John Brittenham, and their two children are Marie and Charles. Mag is still living at home with her parents. Louis married Leona Swearingen and has two daughters, Neva and Morine. Joseph married Sadie Denhart and has one child, Verbal. Frank married Anna Worley and has a daughter, Gladys. William Fiock, who manages his father's farm, married Cynthia Worley and has a small son, William Virgil.

From the time these children were born Mr. and Mrs. Fiock carefully studied and worked out the problems involved in their rearing and training and have been splendidly rewarded by the upright and honorable men and women who have gone out from their home to the active responsibilities of the world. While Mr. and Mrs. Fiock were reared as German Evangelical Church members, their children all attend the Christian Church in St. Joseph.

In politics Mr. Fiock is a Democrat, and for thirty years has belonged to the Modern Woodmen of America. He has shown much public spirit as a citizen, has served as road supervisor and has done all he could to carry forward community improvement. They are completely justified in enjoying the fruits of their well spent years, and they are most pleasantly located in a home north of St. Joseph. Mention should be made of a most interesting family heirloom possessed by Mr. Fiock. It is a pocketknife which is more than 200 years old and is still in a good state of preservation. It was hand made in Germany near the River Rhine and was given to Mr. Fiock's father by Grandfather Fiock. It contains a good solid blade, a small saw, a punch and also an instrument resembling a lance, used for bleeding horses. Mr. Fiock's father with this implement carved out all the furniture he used when he began housekeeping in the woods of Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Fiock believe in getting all the pleasure of life possible, and in the beautiful month of September, 1917, with one of their sons and wife made a 2,000-mile auto trip through Canada, visiting his sisters and relatives at Ridgeway and Stevensville.

J. 0. ALEXANDER. It is now nearly half a century since Mr. and Mrs. J. 0. Alexander laid the foundation of their home and fortune by their marriage and during all that time they have lived in the vicinity of Rantoul, have been materially prospered and have also fulfilled that great duty of bearing .and rearing children to usefulness and honor in the world's work.

Mr. Alexander is one of the honored old soldiers of Champaign County. He was born near the Sangamon River in Illinois, a son of Henry and Polly Alexander. He grew up on the farm and had a district school education. He was twenty-four years of age when the war broke out and he soon afterward enlisted in Springfield in the One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois Infantry. He saw three years of active service. He went to the front at Cairo, then to Memphis and on to Vicksburg, and altogether fought in thirty distinct engagements. He was wounded in the breast and wrist and was mustered out at Memphis.

In October, 1868, he married Sarah Hamm. Mrs. Alexander was born in Indiana, a daughter of John and Harriet Hamm. They started housekeeping seven miles west of Rantoul and lived and prospered as farmers until they removed to their present comfortable home on Main Street in the village of Rantoul.

The children born to their marriage are: Charles; Ollie, now Mrs. Sch'warts; Mrs. Edith Swayze; Harry; Mabel, deceased (she was Mrs. Mabel Green); Mrs. Nettie Thayre; Mrs. Inez Messenger; Gertrude; and

Ada E. The children were well educated, most of them finishing in the Eantoul High School. Ada became a successful teacher, taught two years in the district schools of this county, two years in Mansfield and for the past three years has been connected with the Rantoul High School and is still a member of its faculty of instruction. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander also have the solace and comfort of grandchildren and one great-grandchild. The great-grandchild is Claude Alexander. Their son Charles has three children, Roy, Fay and Lessley. Ollie's children are Harold, Alton, Freda and Fern, twins. The children of Edith are Mabel, Gwendolin (deceased), Clyde, James, Eugene, Bernice (deceased), Harry, Evelyn and Melvin. Nettie is the mother of Russell. Inez has one child, Horace. Don and Dale are sons of Mabel, who is deceased. Harry has two children, Evalyn and Melvin.

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander are active members of the Baptist Church at Rantoul. Politically Mr. Alexander is a Republican. Mrs. Alexander during her girlhood knew Champaign County's great pioneer Henry Sadorus. She talked with him many times and she thus stands as a link connecting the modern present with the very early times of this section.

BOYD S. BLAIXE. A position of public trust is necessarily indicative of the man who fills it. When the duties of an office demanding a keen intellect, a never failing integrity and a capacity for hard and continuous labor are, for years, discharged so satisfactorily that popular vote confers them successively upon the same person, it is to be assumed that the individual thus chosen is possessed of those qualities which make for the best arrangements in our official life. In this connection we may mention the career of Boyd S. Blaine, one of Champaign County's best known officials. When he entered life on his own account it was with the desire to become a leader in the business field, but circumstances so shaped themselves that lie went from one public office to another until he finally disposed of his business ambitions and since 1912 has held the responsible position of circuit clerk and recorder. While it would be interesting to know how far Mr. Blaine would have gone in business circles, the people of Champaign County can be assured that they would have benefited in no greater degree through the work of another man who would have filled the post now occupied by the present efficient clerk and recorder.

Boyd S. Blaine was born on a farm in Champaign Township, Champaign County, Illinois, August 20, 1868, being a son of James and Catharine Blaine. His parents, natives of Pennsylvania, came to Champaign County in October, 1865, and located on an unimproved farm situated in the township of Champaign, where their son Boyd S. "was born. The father continued to follow farming and stockraising during the remainder of his active career, and made such a success of his operations that he was able to retire in 1888. Mr. Blaine was known as a good citizen and an industrious agriculturist, and when he died, in January, 1913, the community lost one of its representative men. Mrs. Blaine had passed away in 1894. Of their seven children four are still living: J. M., a resident of Champaign ; Ada, who is the wife of John A. Scott ; Melda, of Champaign, and Boyd S., of this review.

Boyd S. Blaine was given good educational advantages in his youth which would have fitted him for almost any vocation which he might have cared to follow. After securing his preliminary training he entered the Champaign High School, from which he was duly graduated in 1888, and at that time became a student at the University of Illinois. He attended that institution during 1888 and 1889, and then began to work on his own account as a mail carrier at Champaign. At the same time he was devoting his spare time to the carpenter trade, it being his intention to eventually become a builder and contractor. In this trade he spent some six years and had established some standing in the direction of his ambition, when, in December, 1896, he accepted an employment that changed the whole trend <3f his career. At the time mentioned he began some special work in the recorder's office of the courthouse as a copy clerk, a position which he retained until January 1, 1903. His efficiency and fidelity having attracted attention, he was then appointed deputy circuit clerk, an office which he held until December, 1912, when he was elected circuit clerk and recorder, and his first term proved so satisfactory that in 1916 he received the re-election. As before noted, Mr. Elaine has established an excellent record in handling the affairs of his office and is accounted one of the county's most dependable public servants.

On June 14, 1905, Mr. Elaine was united in marriage with Miss Nelle Griffith, of Rankin, Illinois, daughter of George and Viola (Werts) Griffith, prominent people of Rankin, where Mrs. Elaine's father is serving in the capacity of postmaster. Mr. and Mrs. Elaine have no children. They are members of the Presbyterian Church and have been liberal in their support of its movements. Mr. Elaine's political views make him a Republican, and he has long been considered one of the hard workers in his party's ranks in Champaign County. He is affiliated fraternally with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Masons, in the last named of which he has reached the thirty-second degree and is a Knight Templar and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine.

J. A. R. KOCH. "God's finger touched him and he slept," was the almost universal thought in St. Joseph Township upon the death of J. A. R. Koch, who died suddenly at the home of his son Frank in the Mayview community August 9, 1917. Mr. Koch was one of the county's prominent, influential, useful and progressive citizens. Every activity in his life was employed directly or indirectly for the general welfare, and his every heart throb was in sympathy with the righteous aspirations and efforts for elevation and improvement among his fellow men.

His was the type of material success of which America is most proud. He came to Champaign County over half a century ago, poor and practically friendless, made a competence for himself, provided for others, and wrought a strong impress upon the moral and' religious institutions of his community. He was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, September 21, 1844, a son of Adam and Mary Ann (Gigher) Koch. His father was a native of Adams County, Pennsylvania, and his mother of the city of Philadelphia. There were seven children, six sons and one daughter, Reuben, Malcolm, Adam, Alfred, Edward, J. A. R. and Mrs. Annetta C. Hudson, all of whom are now deceased. Alfred and Adam gave their lives to the cause of the country during the Civil War, the former dying in a Southern prison and the latter in a Southern hospital. Edward, the oldest son, was drowned. J. A. R. Koch was the youngest of the family and was twelve days old when his father died. His mother was subsequently married twice and she died in Ohio, leaving two sons, Benjamin Oyler and Fred Hulshy, by her other two husbands.

J. A. R. Koch had a strenuous career, beginning when he was between six and seven years of age. At that time he provided for his own support, working on a farm at $2 per month. He had industry and persistence, and through his early experience with hardship and difficulty he retained to the end of his life a sympathy and kindly feeling for the poor and oppressed and in many ways helped them to better lives.

Champaign County. He had left a sweetheart behind him in the old Buckeye State, and on January 19, 1868, he went back to reclaim her. When he left Ohio he was poor but too proud to ask the young lady to marry him until he could provide a home. On returning he told her of the splendid State of Illinois and of its many favorable opportunities, and she was glad to exchange her name from Suzanna Foor to Koch.

Returning to Illinois with his young bride Mr. Koch worked as a farmer, and in February, 1881, settled near May view, where he bought his first land for $25 an acre. Later he paid $50 and $85 an acre for other lands, and in the course of time he found himself surrounded with ample prosperity. His home had always an atmosphere of Christian virtue and friendship. For many years Mr. Koch made it a rule to employ principally those who had no home of their own, endeavoring to make them feel that though deprived of home they could find Christian sympathy and kindness which goes so far toward smoothing out the rugged pathway of life. Many have gone in and out from the Koch home carrying the happy remembrance of the parental kindness of these two worthy people.

While in Ohio Mr. Koch was a member of the Evangelical Church. Among the valued possessions brought with him from that state was the letter from his church which he presented to the Methodist Episcopal organization at Mayview, which then worshiped in a schoolhouse. Being known as a young man of promising industry and of splendid religious faith, he soon found introduction into the hearts and homes of many of the pioneer families. He always kindly recalled the welcome he received in the homes of the Kirkpatricks, the Buseys, and other prominent families, and the friendship he thus formed endured to the end.

Mr. and Mrs. Koch went about the improvement of their home diligently and made it one of the most attractive spots in St. Joseph Township. They were always interested in the work of the community, and while they had no children of their own they found room in their hearts and home for three orphan children, whom they adopted and to whom they gave their own name. Mr. Koch had reared in his home Mary Oyler, daughter of his half brother. One other of his farm hands had lived with him for seven years. Christopher and Elizabeth McCrughen had died in Champaign County, leaving seven orphan children, and Mr. Koch was appointed guardian for them. He and his wife subsequently adopted two of the - boys, A. F. and J. C., and the daughter, E. J. They legally assumed the Koch name in 1893. Thus a good home was provided for them, and the boys grew up industrious and capable citizens, handling the duties of their father's farm for many years before his death.

Mr. Koch built a nice house and barn on the corner of his farm for his son Frank, and built also another one like it on his farm three and a half miles southeast of the old home for the other son J. C. Koch. A. F. Koch married Eva R. Smith, and they have three children, Raymond H., Elva Marie and J. A. R., Jr. He does a large business in raising Holstein cattle, and his "Black and White Dairy Farm" is widely known. His dairy products are shipped to Champaign.

The other son, J. C. Koch, has also inherited and is owner of a part of the Koch homestead in St. Joseph Township. He married Susie Alt, and their four children are Clifton A., Genevieve A., Frances A. and Clarence D.

Nearly ten years before his own death Mr. Koch was called upon to mourn the passing of his beloved wife on December 3, 1907. She wa<? a woman of many virtues, kindly, sympathetic and charitable, and had been in sympathy with her husband in their love for orphan children. In fact so many fatherless and motherless and friendless found shelter in their home that it was often called "The Orphans' Home." The Koch homestead was the abode of hospitality in the best sense of the word, and it ia said that no needy person ever applied for help there who went away empty handed.

The late Mr. Koch was a public spirited citizen, and for thirty-six years served as a school director. He endeavored to secure the best of instruction for the children of the community. He was a personal friend of many of the best citizens of Champaign County, including the late Judge Cunningham and Colonel Busey.

His name is especially associated with the Mayview Methodist Episcopal Church, in which the funeral services were held preceding his interment in Mount Olive Cemetery. He was instrumental in building that church and was for many years a trustee and a member of its building committee. Many of his old neighbors said that Mayview would never have another church when the old one passed out of use. Mr. Koch assumed individually the responsibility for getting the congregation in a new home, and when he first proposed building he was told that it might be possible to build a house of worship but it would always be burdened with a heavy debt. He himself headed a subscription paper with a generous sum and then started around and found many loyal hearts to respond, so that as a result the church was dedicated not only free of debt but with more than $100 in the treasury. On the day of dedication the bishop who presided stated that never before in his experience had a country community accomplished a building program so successfully. Today this church stands as a monument to the enterprise and liberality of the late Mr. Koch.

DAVID BAILEY. In the latter part of 1854 or the early part of 1855 Mr. Bailey moved to Monticello, Illinois. After a short sojourn there he came to tfrbana, and in March or April, 1856, moved to Champaign, where for a number of years, in connection with W. B. Bailey, he conducted a small country store in a frame building that he erected on the site now occupied by the Eobeson Department Store.

David Bailey was one of the thirteen men who founded the First National Bank of Champaign, in 1865. Application for organization was made to the government in January, 1865, and certificate was issued in April, 1865. The thirteen men signing up were in the following order : J. S. Wright, J. H. Thomas, W. M. Way, Hamilton J. Jefferson, B. F. Harris, J. S. Beasley, David Bailey, Daniel Gardner, W. C. Barrett, Simeon H. Busey, S. P. Percival, J. G. Clark and A. E. Harmon. Each took fifty shares, making a capital of sixty-five thousand dollars. David Bailey disposed of his interest in the bank some time in the '70s.

In 1882 he, with other men, founded the Champaign National Bank. The nine men signing the organization certificate and present at the organization were: Edward Bailey, 110 shares; Wm. S. Maxwell, 100 shares; Jas. C. Miller, 150 shares; Bernard Kelley, 40 shares; David Bailey, 60 shares; Isaac S. Raymond, 10 shares; Geo. F. Beardsley, 10 shares; Francis T. Walker, 10 shares; James B. McKinley, 10 shares. In this bank he held his holdings until his death. During his residence in Champaign, Mr. Bailey was several times elected a member of the Board of County Supervisors of Champaign County ; also served as school trustee. He was a public spirited citizen, contributed liberally, yet wisely, to every worthy enterprise, whether secular or religious. His giving was not ostentatious, but it may be said that among his gifts was a lot now occupied by the Baptist parsonage, he being a member of that society, and the ground now occupied by the city building.

Mr. Bailey gave up his residence in Champaign about 1877, and after traveling for a season, finally located in St. Joseph,1 Missouri, where he remained until after the death of his wife in 1879. Subsequently he lived for a short time in New York City, and then returned to the home of his boyhood in New Hampshire, where he spent most of his time, though frequently visiting his old home and friends in Champaign.

On the 22nd day of March, 1882, he married Miss Harriet Hazelton, of Methuen, Massachusetts. Two weeks later he followed her remains to the tomb. He was then married to his third wife, November 1, 1886, she being Mrs. Mary B. Ewings, who survives him.

In Champaign, in 1897, he had erected a new residence on the site occupied by the old home into which he had moved in 1856. The new home had just been completed and occupied by him when he was called from this life December 17, 1897, it being his intention to spend the closing days of his life in the city to which he had contributed so much toward the upbuilding.

Mr. Bailey was a man of magnificent physical presence, and it may be truly said that he carried within his breast a soul worthy of so splendid a habitation. He sought no man's praise, satisfied to have the approval of his own conscience, and he was immovable in his adherence to justice and right. Once his duty was made plain, nothing could swerve him from it. Yet under a stern exterior beat a great, big, kind heart, as those who knew him best can testify.

He was a manly man, and that means much. His character was developed in pioneer days, and while his early opportunity for acquiring an education was very limited, yet by extensive reading, observation and travel, he became a well informed and polished gentleman. The life and labors of such as he have made possible the greatest comfort and beauty in the world at present. His heart beat warm for the oppressed and distressed, and his purse opened probably with as great frequency as any other in Champaign to alleviate the suffering of his fellowmen. Yet it was done so modestly that only in rare instances did any but the beneficiary know of his beneficence.

David Bailey was born in Salem, Eockingham County, New Hampshire, August 2, 1814, of poor yet honest parents. His father was a farmer and a shoemaker. There were nine children in this New England home - - three sons and six daughters. The children attended district school about three months in the winter season. David had no further scholastic, training. When a boy of twelve years he was put out to work for a neighbor to help lift a debt that was pressing his father.

After spending a number of years on a farm, the subject of this sketch entered a country store at Haverhill, Massachusetts, as a clerk, but did not long remain there on account of poor health. He soon drifted to Boston, or, rather, to Charleston, just across the Charles Eiver from Boston, where for a time he occupied a position as clerk in the state penitentiary.

Late in the '30s he decided to come West, and came to Danville, Illinois, making the trip by canal and stage coach. At Danville he secured a clerkship in a general country store. While there he became acquainted with Miss Hannah Finley, to whom he was married on February 9, 1841, and to this union were born five children, three sons, who survived their father, namely, Edward, David and Ozias, and two daughters, Abiah, who was the oldest of the family and died in early childhood, and Susan Bailey Slayden, who died at Waco, Texas, some years before her father.

After spending some time in Danville, Mr. Bailey went to Bloomfield, Edgar County, Illinois. There he accepted a position on salary, but later, having saved a little money, he formed a partnership with his brother Ozias (who had recently come West) under the firm name of 0. & D. Bailey.

The Bailey peddling wagon soon became well known throughout the section between the Wabash and Sangamon rivers. The brothers also operated a small pork packing establishment at Clinton, Indiana, shipping their product by flat boat to New Orleans.

While on one of these trips Mr. Bailey first met Abraham Lincoln, also J. S. Wright, who was afterwards the first cashier of the First National Bank of Champaign.

CAPTAIN EDWARD BAILEY is president of the Champaign National Bank, an institution which has become noted as one of the most conservative in the United States and as a leader among the great banking institutions of Illinois. He was one of its founders.

He was born at Bloomfield, Edgar County, Illinois, September 8, 1843, a son of David and Hannah (Finley) Bailey, concerning whom mention is made on other pages. His early education was obtained in subscription schools at Bloomfield.

In the last part of 1854 or early in 1855 his parents moved to Monticello, Illinois, thence to Urbana, Illinois, and in the spring of 1856 to Champaign, where he attended the public schools. In 1858 and 1859 he was a student at Atkinson Academy, Atkinson, New Hampshire. In the fall of 1860 he entered Douglas University in Chicago. This was the nucleus of the old Chicago University, which still later was founded and chartered as the University of Chicago.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861 an independent military company was formed in this school. As a member of that company Edward Bailey learned the regulation drill and became very proficient therein. When Stephen A. Douglas died this company had the position of honor in the funeral procession and at the grave.

In 1862 he enlisted in Company K, Sixty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was elected first lieutenant by the company. After serving out that enlistment he returned home and at the request of his parents attended commercial school. He also clerked in a dry goods store owned by his father and W. B. Bailey. In 1864 Edward Bailey enlisted in his country's service again, this time as a member of Company B, One Hundred Thirty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. The company elected him captain, and in that capacity he served out the enlistment.

At the conclusion of his army service he clerked in a dry goods store in Champaign and later held a similar position at Eidgefarm, Vermilion County. Afterwards he was clerk for the firm of Eichards & Brother in Champaign, in which business he had a small interest.

In 1868 he was married to Josephine S. Eichards, who had come to Champaign with her parents from the State of Maine. To this union three children were born : Fred Sumner Bailey, who is vice president of the Champaign National Bank; Josephine Belle Bailey; and Ange Bailey.

In the fall of 1879 Mr. Bailey, Mr. W. S. Maxwell and Mr. James C. Miller organized the private banking company of Bailey, Maxwell & Miller. In 1882 they applied for authority to organize the Champaign National Bank, with capital stock of fifty thousand dollars. In this they were joined by six other stockholders, all of whom were present at the organization of the bank. A board of directors was elected and when the board organized Edward Bailey was elected president and has been president ever since, a period of thirty-five years, making him one of the senior bank presidents in the state.

L. FORNEY WINGARD is a successful lawyer at Champaign, has been in active practice over fifteen years, and besides his accumulation of professional interests he has identified himself in a public spirited way with the work of the community.

His family have lived in Champaign County for a great many years. Mr. Wingard was born at Champaign June 3, 1875, a son of Benjamin F. and Mary C. (Forney) Wingard. His father was born in Indiana, son of David Wingard, who came to Champaign County in 1859. Both the father and grandfather were in the jewelry business at Champaign. Mr. Wingard's mother was born in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, and is still living in Champaign County. There were three children: Anna, at home with her parents ; L. Forney ; and Eoy, a traveling salesman.

L. Forney Wingard was graduated in 1893 from the Champaign High School, and then took the regular academic course in the University of Illinois, where he graduated A. B. in 1898. For his law course he entered the Northwestern University Law School in Chicago, and began active practice in 1901. He is director and assistant attorney of the First State Trust and Banking Company at Urbana, Illinois.

For seven years Mr. Wingard served as secretary of the Champaign Board of Education. In 1915 he was elected alderman from the fifth ward, and was one of the last board of aldermen until the commission form of government was put into effect. Mr. Wingard, who is unmarried, is affiliated with the Masonic Order, being a Knight Templar and Shriner, a member of the Sons of Veterans through his father's service as a Union soldier, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church.

WILLIAM STONESTHEET, who for for many years was identified with the agricultural enterprise of Kerr Township, was head of one of the most industrious and honored families in that section of Champaign County, and the name is one that is spoken with the greatest respect and esteem, due to the many worthy virtues manifest in their "home and lives.

Mr. Stonestreet was a native of 'Kerr Township, a son of Adam and Nancy (Stonestreet) Stonestreet. His parents were both natives of West Virginia and were among the pioneer settlers of Champaign County, arriving in 1853.

The late William Stonestreet married Mary E. Clifton. She was born in Champaign County, next to the youngest in a family of eight children of Jackson and Jane (Allsop) Clifton. Mrs. Stonestreet was educated in district school No. 9, the Obenchain schoolhouse.

After their marriage Mr. Stonestreet began his career on land belonging to his mother, and which he subsequently inherited. He and his wife had industry and enthusiasm and gradually their efforts were crowned with pleasing success.

Into their home were born six children, two of whom died in infancy. The other four are named Andrew Adam, Ira Elmer, Emma Jane and Charles Gilbert. The children have received the best of advantages in the local schools, known as the Stonestreet school, while Gilbert is now a student in the high school at Penfield. Miss Emma took besides her literary instruction piano lessons from Miss Alice Gordon.

It was after a career of years of strenuous and successful labor that Mr. Stonestreet passed away August 27, 1909, after a brief illness. He was a man who commanded and enjoyed the high respect of the community wherein he long resided and was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. After his death Mrs. Stonestreet, left alone, continued the responsibilities of the old farm, and has shown unusual executive ability in the management of the farm as well as the home. She has devoted herself to the rearing of her children and already sees the fruits of her instruction and the lessons she has endeavored to impress upon them. Her older sons have already assumed the management of the farm and the well kept condition of the place indicates their ability and industry. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Stonestreet has been able to buy forty acres additional land and now has a very complete and well equipped farm of eighty acres, worked by her sons. The family also farm 120 acres of rented land. Mrs. Stonestreet believes in enjoying the good tilings of life and owns a car in which she and her family find much recreation in tours about the county and in visiting their many friends. Mrs. Stonestreet deserves the greatest credit for what she has accomplished. She bravely faced the duties of life and has proved herself one of the noblest of American women. Politically she is a stanch Eepublican, having grown up in the atmosphere of that party. She is active as a member and supporter of the Penfield Methrfdist Episcopal Church and her children are attendants of the Sunday school. Each year finds her in greater comfort, since her sons and her daughter are gradually relieving her of many of the heavy responsibilities in connection with the farm. Her daughter Miss Emma is a cultured girl who does much to assist in the home work. Her sons, as they grow to manhood, have manifested a lively interest in home duties and have proved a comfort to their mother and a credit to themselves and the community.

ENGLISH BROTHERS. Former students of the University of Illinois, where both were thoroughly trained in the technical branches of their profession, the English Brothers, Eichard Caleb and Edward Carey, Jr., have for the past sixteen years been general contractors and structural engineers at Champaign, with offices in the Lincoln Building, they have developed a splendid prestige and reputation and their clientage constitutes a business that is one of the largest and most valuable of its kind in this section of the state.

Of the two brothers Eichard Caleb English, the older, was born March 1, 1873, at Jonesboro in Union County, Illinois, while Edward Carey, Jr., was born November 19, 1876, at Anna, in Union County, Illinois. Their parents were Edward Carey and Marga Ann (Hartline) English, the former a native of St. Johns, Newfoundland, and the latter of Union County, Illinois. Both parents are now deceased. The Hartline family came from Eowan County, North Carolina, and have been residents of the State of Illinois since 1798.

It was in 1898 that the English brothers came to Champaign County as students in the University of Illinois. Edward C. was graduated in 1902. In the previous year they had engaged in business together as general contractors and builders, and with maturing experience they have extended their work to cover a large field and they have an immense amount of capital and equipment and a perfected organization for carrying out the most involved contract of construction. Both are practical engineers and have fully deserved their success.

Politically they are active democrats and in fraternal affairs are members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Columbus, the Country Club and the Eotary Club. They and their families are members of the Holy Cross Catholic Church. Eichard C. English married Miss Agnes M. Hughes, a native of Deland, Illinois. Their three children are Mary, Richard and Edward. Edward C. English married Harriet Whitney Aylmer, a native of St. Louis. They also have three children, Edward, Aylmer and Susan.

Brothers is the Aviation Field, Bantoul, Illinois. This contract for the United States of America was taken May 28, 1917, and completed in six weeks at a total expenditure of $750,000. In the words of Howard Coffin, chairman of the National Board of Production of the United States of America Aviation Board, "In the erection and completion of Chanute Field, Eantoul, Illinois, all records in government contracts have been broken."

EDWARD V. MORE. Of the families of Champaign County whose industry and activities of life have contributed materially to the prosperity and upbuilding of the community one of the most highly respected is that which bears the name of More, and which has a worthy representative in Edward V. More of Eantoul. Mr. More, who is engaged in the fire insurance business at this time and whose energies have taken him into other fields of endeavor during a long and uniformly successful career, was born in St. Joseph County, Michigan, and is a son of James R. and Louisa M. (Lee) More, natives of the county of Delaware, New York. The paternal grandfather was Henry More, a native of the Empire State.

The More family is of sound and honorable English stock, but traces its ancestors back for a number of generations in this country, where its members have been conspicuous in numerous lines of human effort. One of the prominent family connections was Colonel James Fry, the following facts regarding whom have been taken from the archives of the State of Massachusetts : In a list of the men chosen for the expedition against Crown Point, April 15, 1756, agreeable to the order of his excellency William Shirley, Esq., was Colonel James Fry of Andover, who was engaged April 19, 1775. It was reported in the Provincial Congress, May 20, 1775, that commissions be issued to officers of Colonel Fry's regiment, and that Colonel Fry receive orders to make a disposition of his forces about Boston, dividing the army into three divisions, consisting of two brigades each, and forming a brigade in General Putnam's division. Colonel Fry was also among the minute men who marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, from Andover to Cambridge. Colonel Fry was born at Andover, Massachusetts, in 1710; died January 8, 1776; married, November 20, 1734, Elizabeth Osgood. Their daughter, Joanna Fry, born in 1737, died 1767, married Thomas Farrington. Their son, March Farrington, had a daughter, Betsey Ann, who married Henry More, Jr., and their son was James R. More.

James R. More was born at Delhi, New York, May 17, 1829, and was married October 26, 1852, to Louisa M. Lee, their children being: Edward V. ; Ella Lee, who married John A. Pillars, had two children, Charles Adrian and Antoinette; Charles A. Pillars married Harriett Estes, and their daughter, Dorothy Lee, married William J. Taylor; Henry; Anna Helen, who is now Mrs. Tubbs ; Bessie F., who died in infancy ; Fred ; and Nellie Lee, now Mrs. Parr. James R. More in his vocations alternated between farming and school teaching and writing fire insurance. He was for many years an educator in Michigan and also followed that occupation after his migration to Illinois, where, in 1859 and 1860, at Rantoul, he taught school. He died March 28, 1916, after an honorable life, respected and esteemed by the community. Mrs. More, a loving parent, faithful wife and affectionate and loyal friend, "whom none knew her but to love her, none named her but to praise," entered into rest December 23, 1912.

Edward V., More was still a child when brought from his native place of Florence, St. Joseph County, Michigan, to Rantoul, Illinois. Here his father commenced teaching, and Edward V., a child of three years, was a privileged character in the schoolroom, where he would add to the amuse- ment of the pupils by bringing his blocks and saying his letters. He was extraordinarily bright and progressive in his studies and in a few years could "spell down" the entire school, which he frequently did, thereby giving much pleasure to his parents, as well as to his aunt, Pauline More, who was also a teacher in the Eantoul school at that time. When he became a student in the Eantoul High School an event occurred that brought out the strong traits of character in the boy which, in later years, have been forcibly manifested in his various activities. At the time mentioned, the weather having become suddenly excessively hot, the students in the graduating class held a council and decided that the teacher should dismiss the school and accordingly called upon him with a demand that he do so. When he finally stated that he could not graduate the class unless they took another four weeks of study and the final examination, they deliberately took their books and walked out of school. Not so with young More, however, although his fellow pupils -tried their utmost to win him to their way of thinking. He had just as strong ideas on the subject as they did and lived up to his determination to stay with his studies, and for four weeks longer pluckily remained at his desk, eventually passing his examination with credit. His teacher gave him his examination questions on slips of paper and he was required to answer them on the blackboard, which extended all around the room. He secured 100 in geography, 100 in history, 98 in grammar, and proportionately good marks in his other studies.

After his graduation Mr. More obtained employment with his uncle, J. A. Benedict, who conducted a general merchandise store and who proved a stanch and loyal friend, assisting and encouraging the youth and showing him numerous kindnesses that caused him to ever feel the greatest gratitude in after years. He remained .with his uncle for ten years, or until the elder man's death, when he went into the United States Railway Mail Service on the Illinois Central between Chicago and Centralia, being thus employed for three years. Later he held a position in the great department store of Marshall Field & Company at Chicago, and subsequently in the office of the Santa Fe Railroad at Streator, Illinois, following which he went to Auburn, New York, and established himself in business as the proprietor of a photographic studio. Returning to Rantoul in 1892, Mr. More embarked in the fire insurance business with his father, a field in which he has met with a satisfying measure of success, being the representative of several old-line companies and having built up an excellent business at Rantoul and throughout Champaign County. He is well known in business circles, where he has established a reputation for fidelity and integrity.

Mr. More has always been public spirited and interested in those things which promote the well being of a community. As proof of the confidence of the public in his judgment and ability, it may be stated that he filled the office of village clerk in a most satisfying manner for thirteen years, and for several years was also police magistrate. Politically he had always been a Republican until 1912, when, tinder the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt, the great Progressive party movement was inaugurated, and Mr. More gave his support to the new organization. Fraternally he is affiliated with the local lodge of the Masonic order, of which he is a past master. His religious affiliation is with the Episcopal Church.

The More family has contributed in liberal manner to the history of Champaign County, possessing those admirable and sterling traits of character ever found in those whose deeds in life have helped brighten the way for others. The family has also given to the world some strong and talented characters, among them the noted sculptor, Charles Adrian Pillars, a nephew of Edward V. More, who is the only one ever having the honor of placing a marble statue in the Hall of Fame in the Capitol at Washing- ton, District of Columbia, that of Dr. John W. Gorrie, M. D., which stands next to that of Frances E. Willard. The latter was chosen by the State of Illinois, and the former by the State of Florida. Gorrie was ttie inventor of artificial ice before the Civil War, and his invention was considered of such great value in alleviating the suffering of the thousands of victims of yellow fever that the State of Florida chose him as its representative, and Mr. Pillars was commissioned to make the statue.

Edward V. More is the owner of a pleasant home at Rantoul, where he has the esteem of the community not only as a man who has led an honorable and useful life, but as the representative of a family the characteristics of which have stood for straightforward dealing and honorable conduct in all of life's avenues of endeavor.

ARTHUR SHERIDAN is one of the live and enterprising real estate men of Champaign, and has been broker and agent for some extensive blocks of central Illinois farm lands and has handled a number of important transactions in that field. He is also well known in local politics and is one of the citizens of Champaign who can be counted upon for effective exertion of public spirited service.

Mr. Sheridan was born in Champaign, September 16, 1874, a son of Patrick and Catherine (Sullivan) Sheridan. His father was a native of County Mayo and his mother of County Cork, Ireland. Patrick Sheridan came to America about 1850, living in New York State for several years and in 1854 coming to Champaign County. He was long and successfully identified with mercantile pursuits in this county and died here in November, 1892. His widow survived him until March, 1894. They had seven children: John, Maria and William, all deceased; Anna, custodian of the State Home at Geneva, Illinois; Dominick and Elizabeth, deceased; and Arthur.

Arthur Sheridan grew up in Champaign, attended St. Mary's Parochial School, but at the age of fifteen gave up his studies and books to earn his own living. For three years he worked on a farm, and for about four years was connected with McFadden & Company in the feed business. He subsequently acquired interests in the livery business and in other local enterprises, but since 1904 has devoted his principal time and attention to handling real estate, particularly Central Illinois lands.

Mr. Sheridan is an active Democrat, was Seventh Precinct committeeman eight years, and secretary and treasurer of the county central committee six years. He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and is a member of the Catholic Church.

DALLAS SPRAGUE has for many years been a resident of Champaign County, and his fine farm and home are located in Compromise Township, in section 8. He is one of' the best known citizens of northeastern Champaign County and his own record and that of the family deserves a prominent position in this publication.

Mr. Sprague is a native of West Virginia, born at Moundsville, on the Ohio Eiver, in Marshall County, twelve miles below the city of Wheeling. His parents, John J. and Jane (Hull) Sprague, were also natives of the same state.

When Dallas Sprague was about twenty-seven years of age, having acquired his education in his native state, he came to Illinois to seek better opportunities and began farming in Grundy County. Soon afterward he met and married Suzan Severson. Mrs. Sprague has the industrious capa- bility characteristic of her ancestry. She was born at Bergen, Norway, a daughter of Seward and Suzan Severson. She was reared and educated in her native country and at the age of twenty-six came with a number of young friends to America to find and utilize the splendid opportunities of this country. From New York she traveled by railroad to Chicago and from there to Morris, Illinois. Being an industrious young woman, she readily found employment and while thus engaged made the acquaintance of Mr. Dallas Sprague. This acquaintance ripened into an affection which brought about their marriage.

Mr. and Mrs. Sprague continued to live in Grundy County for three years and then removed to Champaign County, which 'has been their home now for many years. They first rented a farm near Gifford, working it sixteen years and for another six years rented from Mr. Thomas McQuaid. While they were living on others' property Mr. and Mrs. Sprague not only made a comfortable living but were looking ahead to the future. Being naturally economical and thrifty, they finally acquired the capital with which they bought the 123 acres in their present farm, situated two miles southwest of Penfield. They have in many ways beautified and improved their farm, and have commodious buildings for all purposes and uses.

Five children have been born to them, William, Sylvia, John, Bertha and Joe. Mr. and Mrs. Sprague have been very much concerned with the proper education and training of their children, and besides sending them to the district schools they gave them the advantages of the Penfield High School. Bertha graduated from the Penfield High School. William Sprague married Ida Otis, and their two children are Dallas and Florence Marjorie. The daughter Sylvia is now the wife of Thomas Harper and has two children, George and Suzan. Bertha Sprague married Harry Peterson and has a son, Lawrence. The sons John and Joe are still at home and assist their father in the management of the farm.

Mr. and Mrs. Sprague are active members of the Baptist Church at Gifford. The Baptist faith has had the allegiance of the Sprague family for many years. In politics Mr. Sprague is generally a Democrat, but is a man of broad views and supports the principles and candidates rather than party. He is a strong advocate of temperance and will be one of tfiose who will readily support the amendment for nation-wide temperance when it is submitted in the State of Illinois. As one of the representative farmers he enjoys the confidence of the public and for thirty years has served as director of the public schools in his district and has also served as road commissioner. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a charter member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Gifford. Mr. and Mrs. Sprague maintain a most hospitable home and have endeared themselves to their community by their neighborly acts of kindness. Mrs. Sprague deserves much of the credit for the family well being and fortune, since she has stood beside her husband with counsel and assistance through all the years of their married life. With a family grown to manhood and womanhood Mr. and Mrs. Sprague are now living in comfort in their fine country seat in Compromise Township and express great loyalty to the county of Champaign, which has been their home for so many years.

J. E. ESWOIJTHY, whose country home is on Rural Route No. 15 out of St. Joseph, has spent the greater part of his active life in Champaign County. He began here almost empty handed and that he now owns one of the larger and better improved farms of the county is a distinct tribute to his hard working industry and persistent efforts.

land, of which state the grandfather was also a native. The mother was a native of Pennsylvania. J. R. Esworthy was the second of five children. He acquired his early education in a country school near Nashport in Muskingum County, Ohio. From Muskingum County the family removed to Putnam County in northwestern Ohio, then to Missouri, and finally to Illinois, locating near Potomac. It was in that locality of Vermilion County that J. R. Esworthy came to manhood, having in the meantime completed his education in the public schools and having received a classical training as a farmer and husbandman from his father.

At the age of twenty he took upon himself the responsibilities of a home maker by his marriage to Miss Serena Shoaf. Mrs. Esworthy was born in Indiana, daughter of David and Catherine Shoaf. The first year after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Esworthy spent at his father's home and the next year they rented a farm in Compromise Township in Champaign County. They possessed the energy and determination that are sure to bring success in the long run and from what they earned and saved as renters they were able to make the first payment on a small tract of twenty-three and a half acres in East Stantoii Township. They agreed to pay $10 an acre for this land. It was their home for fifteen years and during that time they steadily prospered. For two years they rented and lived on J. S. Kilbury's farm, and then moved to land which Mr. Esworthy bought in section 30 of Ogden Township. This tract consisted of 178 acres, but had no improvements worthy of the name. Today that farm is one of the best in Ogden Township, and its improvements are the work and creation of Mr. Esworthy's labors and intelligent management. The farm has many fruit and shade trees which they set out, commodious buildings, and altogether constitutes a country place which anyone might be glad to own.

Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Esworthy, one of whom died in infancy. The others were James E., Sarah A., Lula M., C. D. and Maude M. They enjoyed while growing up the advantages of the local district schools, while Sarah was for ten terms a student in the deaf and dumb institution at Jacksonville, Illinois.

The son James E. is now successfully engaged in farming east of Ogden on part of his father's land. He married Keturah Johnson and their seven children are Xora, John, Glen, Melvin, Raymond, Donald, Burton. The daughter Sarah married Clarence Houston of Springfield, Illinois, and her two children are Clara Daisy and Xeta Marie Houston. Lula M. Esworthy married David Stayton, who died leaving one child, Jessie Ray, and for her second husband she married William Sallee of Lebanon, Indiana, now a farmer near Fithian, Illinois. Mrs. Sallee has one child, Earl. C. D. Esworthy is a prosperous young farmer living on his father's place in Ogden -Township. He first married Maud Bass, who died, leaving one child, Grace, and his second wife was Ora Valandingham. The daughter Maud married Lewis Alexander, a farmer in Carroll County, Illinois. They have six children, Chester, Pearl, Ora, May, Earl and Lloyd.

Besides the land which he acquired and developed many years ago Mr. Esworthy's success has brought him much additional holding and he is the owner of 384 acres. For many years he has been one of the noted stock raisers in eastern Champaign County, both cattle and hogs. Three times in one year his hogs topped the market at Indianapolis both in price and quality. One year he shipped a Poland China hog raised on his farm that weighed 960 pounds. The finest two-year-old heifer ever shipped from the market at St. Joseph was one raised on the Esworthy place.

increasing prosperity. Mrs. Esworthy died in March, 1916. She had endeared herself to the entire community by her kindliness and neighborliness, and as a home maker she shared the credit with her husband for the prosperity they enjoyed. For the past six years Mr. Esworthy's home has been brightened by his widowed daughter Sarah and her children. Sarah's husband was killed as a result of an accident at Springfield when he was struck by a street car.

His fellow citizens have more than once shown confidence in Mr. Esworthy's public spirit and judgment, and for nine years he filled the office of school director and has always been a stalwart champion of the drainage system in his part of the county. He took the lead in advocating drainage long before there was any popular support for it. Through his work the first ditch was constructed, and while much opposition was encountered at first, many of those most determined against it are now thoroughly converted and have many times praised the work which Mr. Esworthy did as a pioneer in this direction.

In matters of politics Mr. Esworthy lends his support to the principles of the Democratic party. He is an admirer of President Wilson, and especially of the wise and conservative policy which he has maintained in international relations and in the effective use of America's army and navy and economic resources to secure a just settlement of the world war on a basis of lasting peace and popular welfare. Mr. Esworthy has lived in close touch with progressive ideals, has made his own life a factor in progress, and can take a great deal of personal satisfaction in what he has done for himself and the community and what mankind generally has accomplished during the years that he has been a personal witness of the world's history.

WILLIAM H. COFFMAN, justice of the peace, is one of the old timers of Champaign County, went from this locality into the War of the Rebellion, from which he returned a captain, and for more than half a century has been a farmer, business man and public official. Though his years now number fourscore, he is still looking after the duties of his office as justice of the peace and also handles considerable insurance.

He was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, June 13, 1837, a son of Noah B. and Elizabeth (Lamb) Coffman. His father was a native of, Virginia and his mother of Ohio. Noah B. Coffman spent his life as a farmer. In 1852 he removed with his family to Piatt County, Illinois, and on March 1, 1861, arrived in Champaign County, where he continued farming until his death in 1863. His widow died in 1872. Of their nine children William H. was the oldest. The others are : Aaron F., deceased ; Mary C., who has never married and lives at Champaign; David H. of Champaign; Lucinda F., Elizabeth and Peter J., all deceased; Samuel C. of Fullerton, Nebraska; and Thomas D. of Oakland, California.

Judge Coffman was fifteen years of age when the family came to Illinois, and his education was acquired in district schools both in Ohio and in this state. He lived on the home place with his father until he was twenty-four years of age. He had managed the farm for his brothers and sisters until he was twenty-two and then farmed it on his own account for a couple of years.

When his country needed him he did not hesitate to break home ties and business associations, and in September, 1861, he enlisted in Company I of the Tenth Illinois Cavalry at Champaign. He went out as a private, but on September 23d was promoted to sergeant ; on October 24, 1862, to second lieutenant ; on March 15, 1863, to first lieutenant, and on May 10, 1864, was given his commission as captain. He was always in the same company, going out as private and coming back at its head. He was mus- tered out at San Antonio, Texas, and was given his final pay and discharge January 6, 1866, more than four years after his first enlistment.

His record as a soldier is one in which he can take due pride and satisfaction, and hrs descendants after him will always cherish that part of his record.

Captain Coffman returned to Champaign County from the war and began farming. He followed that actively until 1872, when he removed to Bondville and became a merchant. He also acted as agent for the Illinois Central Railway Company at that place. He was a business man at Bondville for eight years, and on selling out he returned to his farm. In 1893 Captain Coffman gave up farming as his active vocation and removed to Champaign. In 1894 he was elected to the office of justice of the peace, and besides the duties of that office he at one time conducted an extensive real estate and insurance business. He has gradually given up real estate dealings and now only writes insurance and attends to his official duties.

Captain Coffman has been a loyal Republican almost throughout the life of that party. He is an active and well known member of the Grand Army post and his church is the Methodist Episcopal. In February, 1868, he married Miss Margaret M. Allen, who was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, and died there April 30, 1909, after they had been married more than forty-one years. There were two children : Birch D. of Chicago ; and Jessie C., widow of George Gregg of Champaign County.

MRS. JANE PATTON. To live beyond the age of ninety is in itself a distinction. But in the case of Mrs. Jane Patton, whose home is out in the country in Kerr Township, many more substantial things and associations are connected with her long life. She is one of the notable women of Champaign County. Children and grandchildren have a source of pride in referring to their relationship to this venerable woman whose life began so early in the nineteenth century and has never ceased to bear the fruit of good deeds and wholesome influences.

Her maiden name was Jane Cade. She was born in Fountain County, Indiana, May 3, 1824, and has the distinction of having been the first white child born in that section of Indiana. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. William Cade. They were honored pioneer settlers of Fountain County, and during the War of 1812 her father had fought in the American army. He was long active in politics. She was born when James Monroe was still President of the United States. The Erie Canal was still in process of construction and not a single mile of railroad had been laid in the United States. Indiana was only eight years old and Illinois had been a state for six years. She was in her twenties before the Mexican War was fought and was well on toward the middle period of womanhood when the Civil War closed. Mrs. Patton grew up in her native county .and had to depend upon the meager opportunities of the district schools at a time when they were supported by the subscription plan and when there was no public system of education anywhere in the West.

It was on December 10, 1844, that she married David Patton. They began their married life in Vermilion County, Illinois, where Mr. Patton acquired 480 acres of Government land. In time he came to be one of the largest land owners and most extensive farmers in eastern Illinois. At his death he owned 2,000 acres in F.ord, Champaign and adjoining counties, and his integrity of character and business judgment were respected and esteemed wherever known. David Patton was called to final rest February 29, 1880, more than thirty-seven years ago. Since her husband's death Mrs. Patton has continued to live on the old home farm in Kerr Township. While the early current of her existence took her through the rough experiences of pioneering, she has lived for many years in the quiet calm of peaceful surroundings and with inclination and opportunity for doing good to all around her. Mrs. Patton has distinguished herself for superior business and executive ability. She and her young husband started life with a splendid stock of energy, and it was their mutual labors and co-operation that brought such abundant prosperity to their hands.

In the early days of her life in Illinois Mrs. Patton could look from the door of her humble home for miles out on the prairie. Not infrequently she would see as many as twenty-five deer in a single drove. There were wild turkeys and abundance of every kind of game, nature having provided bountifully for the needs of the early pioneers while they were subduing the prairies and changing their productiveness to other forms. Mrs. Patton was constantly busy with the cares of her household and with the rearing and training of her children. She sent these children to the district schools, the Kuder, Flagg and Sugar Grove schools, and later afforded them every opportunity to get better training in colleges of different cities.

The eight children of Mrs. Jane Patton were: William T., Samuel H., Martha, Lafayette, Charles D., Frank, Ida and Mary Allie. Martha married J. W. Flagg of Vermilion County. Charles D. died at the age of twenty-seven on February 23, 1884. Ida is the wife of C. A. Lamb of Ford County. Mary Allie has given many years to the profession of teaching.

William T., the oldest child, was for many years a farmer on the home place and finally moved to Paxton, where he died in January, 1903. He married Fannie Flagg, and their children were Ada, David A., Charles D., Carrie and Elsie. Their daughter Ada is librarian at Champaign.