Champaign County, Illinois - The whole text, 1918 (part 4 of 23)

Lafayette Patton, who is one of Champaign County's leading agriculturists, occupies a farm adjoining that of his mother in Kerr Township, the two places being in sections 4 and 5. He married Ella McHenry. Their children are: Freddie, who died at the age of two years; Alfred Ray; Samuel H. ; Harry and Ruth. Alfred Ray, the oldest child of Lafayette Patton and grandson of Mrs. Jane Patton, was graduated from the law department of the University of Illinois in 1910 and is now an examining attorney for the Chicago Title and Trust Company and resides at Wheaton, Illinois, where he owns a half interest in the DuPage County Abstract and Title Company. Harry Patton, his brother, specialized his education in the School of Mines in Denver, Colorado, and enjoys the distinction of being the youngest supervisor in Champaign County, a bright, energetic young man whose popularity has won for him rapid advancement. He is now in the field artillery at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Samuel H. Patton, the other son of Lafayette Patton, completed his education in the University of Michigan and while a student there met Opal E. Trott. He was a Kappa "Sigma fraternity man and she was a Delta Gamma sorority member. They were married at her home in Saginaw, Michigan. She was born at Buffalo, Ohio, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Spaid) Trott, also natives of Ohio. After their marriage Samuel H. Patton and bride went to New Mexico, where he held a position under the United States Government as civil engineer in the construction of the great Elephant Butte Dam, one of the greatest irrigation projects in the United States. He was afterwards a civil engineer in the employ of the Government in New York imder Secretary McAdoo and was subsequently sent by the Government to the island of Hayti, where he engaged in railroad construction. For three years he was a civil engineer engaged in locating railways in the Central American countries of Salvador and Guatemala. From there he returned to Champaign County and has since been successfully identified with practical agriculture in partnership with his brother Harry on their father's estate of 700 acres. These two young men are fine types of educated and scientific agriculturists, young men of high principles and thoroughly capable of making a success in their chosen vocation. Ruth Patton, the daughter of Lafayette Patton, was educated in the Illinois Woman's College at Jacksonville, and after graduating there entered the University of Chicago, where she took special work in domestic science and art. She is a cultured young woman and at present is living at home and assisting in the management of the home.

Frank Patton, the other son of Mrs. Jane Patton, is now deceased. He married Okie Mendenhall. Ida Patton, who married C. A. Lamb and has her home at Champaign, Is the mother of the following children : Nellie Ely, Charles Augustus, Jr., Allie Bie, Edith Jane and Hallie Eunice. The children were all liberally educated in the University of Illinois. Nellie B. Lamb is an instructor at Breckenridge, Minnesota. Charles Augustus, Jr., is bookkeeper and assistant manager of Lloyd's University Store at Champaign. Allie Bie is filing clerk in the registrar's office at the University of Illinois. Edith Jane graduated from the University of Illinois in 1916, and during the following year was in the State University of California at Berkeley, and in May, 1917, returned to Illinois with her master's degree. For two years she had taught English in the high school at Martinsville, Illinois. Hallie E. Lamb is pursuing the classical course in the University of Illinois.

Thus nearly all of Mrs. Jane Patton's grandchildren have had college and other liberal training and are young people whose attainments and character are properly a matter of pride to their grandmother.

Mrs. Jane Patton has always .shown a great ability to accomplish things. Her life has been an exceedingly practical one, busy and filled with usefulness. While devoted to her home and children and grandchildren, she has shown an active interest in public affairs and in many subjects that do not claim the attention of most people. A few years ago she found time to write a pleasing book of memoirs, including the genealogy of her family and also the story of her own life and experiences in early days. This is a contribution to real history and when the book was published she afforded a delightful surprise to her family and many old neighbors and friends by having delivered 104 copies to as many homes, not only in Champaign County, but in widely scattered communities of the United States.

Mrs. Patton proved herself a most loyal friend of the soldiers who went to the front during the period of the Civil War. Some of the surviving veterans of that struggle have again and again referred to their gratitude to Mrs. Patton for her kind deeds and her loyalty. Since she was sixteen years of age she has been an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1914 she was instrumental in the building of a fine little chapel of the church, costing $4,000, and half of which sum was contributed by herself. She also bought and presented to the church society the site occupied by the edifice, which is destined for years to be a center of religious worship in that community and stands as a monument to her liberality and generosity. It is now more than seventy years since Mrs. Patton was married and started out a brave and loyal young woman beside her husband in their mutual task of carving a home and fulfilling their duties and responsibilities. She has gained a crown of glory by her deeds and her ministrations to others, and now at the age of ninety-three is taking a well earned rest, and peace and serenity are the companions and attendants of her last days.

When he was seventeen years of age he entered the Commercial Bank of Champaign, and by doing the duties which lay nearest and making himself generally useful to his superiors and to the bank's best interests he was promoted through clerkships until he now has entire administrative management of the bank and is one of its stockholders.

Mr. Somers was born at St. Joseph, Illinois, January 26, 1887, and is barely thirty years of age. His father, John W. Somers, was born and reared in Somers Township of Champaign County and died at St. Joseph in 1906. He was a Republican and a member of the Methodist Church. His father, Waitman T. Somers, was a native of Virginia and an early settler in the farming districts of Champaign County. His wife was Mary Young. John W. Somers married Elizabeth Ann McDonald.

John C. Somers received his early education in the St. Joseph High School and left that to enter the Commercial Bank at Champaign. He has devoted himself with singular fidelity to one line of business and that accounts for his early success. He is a Republican, without official aspirations, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and has attained the Knight Templar degrees in Masonry and is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Champaign Country Club.

On January 24, 1908, at Champaign, he married Miss Hazel C. Scott, who was born at Mahomet, Illinois, September 4, 1888. They have one son, Albert George, born September 24, 1912.

J. W. REMLEY. The winning of a comfortable prosperity after many struggles with fortune and the establishment and provision for a home and place as an honored and influential citizen of his community is short measure of the accomplishment of J. W. Remley, who for many years has been identified with Champaign County.

Mr. Remley is proprietor of the Pleasant Vale Stock Farm in Harwood Township, in section 14. He was born in Ross County, near Chillicothe, Ohio, a son of Alexander and Cutright Remley. His parents were also natives of Ohio. There were five children in the family and they were educated in district school No. 4 of Springfield Township in Ross County.

When J. W. Remley was sixteen years of age, in March, 1875, his mother died and later his father married again. At the age of twenty-three J. W. Remley left home for Indiana. When he reached Indianapolis he was persuaded by his sister to come on to Champaign County, Illinois. When lie first came here it was with the intention of remaining only a year, but he became so well satisfied with the country that it took a hold upon him as. a permanent residence.

Two years after coming to Champaign County Mr. Remley established a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Amelia A. Reynolds. She was born in Knox County, Illinois, five miles north of Oneida, daughter of Hanford and Antoinette (Roberts) Reynolds. Her father was a native of New York and her mother of Indiana. Her mother came to Illinois with her people at the age of eight years and was married in Knox County, and when Mrs. Remley was one year of age the family came to Champaign County.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Remley rented land four miles north of Gifford in Harwood Township. They remained five years on that place end while those were years of considerable self-denial and of struggles to make both ends meet, they were altogether extremely happy. At the end of five years Mf. and Mrs. Remley bought eighty acres, a portion of the land they had rented, comprising the northeast eighty of section 14. Mrs. Remley's father had bought this tract when she was one year old. Subsequently Mrs. Bemley received as her share of the inheritance other land, so that the estate now comprises 200 acres, under the name Pleasant Vale Stock Farm. This name was given to the community by Mrs. Eemley's mother when she first settled here.

As a stock farmer Mr. Eemley is widely known in Champaign County. He raises chiefly Percheron horses of French imported stock. He has had a large number of these splendid animals.

Mr. and Mrs. Eemley are the parents of Hanford Alexander, Orizada Alice, Maple Almond and Minnie Melvina. One other son, Amasa Eoswell, died at the age of three years. These children were educated in the Pleasant Vale school. Orizada also took a four years' correspondence course from the institution at Kimberline Heights, Tennessee. Hanford A. Bernley married Anna Belle Bailey of Bantoul, and they have a bright young daughter, Esther Irene, now six years of age. Their home is two miles north of Eantoul on a farm. Orizada A. is an agriculturist east of Paxton, and married Allan J. Davis. They have two sons, Oscar Eemley and Herchel J. Maple A. Eemley married Laverna Eiblet, and they are .practical .farmers on a portion of the Eemley estate. They have a young son named Devalson. Minnie M. Eemley married Allan Dennis, and they live at Oxford, Indiana. Their' three sons are named Mahlon Bay, Leon Allan and Orville Eoswell.

Mr. and Mrs. Eemley are active members of the Mount Olivet Church of Christ, a country church in Ford County. In politics Mr. Bemley renders support to the Bepublican party, and is thoroughly progressive in his attitude. He feels that politics and the law should keep pace with the other marvelous improvements in the world. He also believes that the best laws ever formulated for this country had their birth in the Eepublican party. In citizenship he has been honored with those positions of trust and responsibility that furnish large opportunities for service, and was for six years assessor, township school trustee six years, and school director twentyseven years. He and his two sons are active members of Camp No. 1047 of the Modern Woodmen of America at Gifford and he has been through all the chairs of that order. Mrs. Bemley is a member of the Eoyal Neighbors of America. Mr. and Mrs. Eemley have been closely identified with the life and times of Champaign County for many years. They have always kept a most hospitable home and are people implicitly trusted for their integrity and their high mindedness.

Mrs. Eemley is a member of the Eeynolds Family Association. This association traces its ancestry back to the year 1634, when the first of the Beynolds family came to America from England. No one is eligible to membership in the association except those of the name who can prove that their ancestors came to this country before 1660. Mrs. Bemley's father was educated in New York, and was a successful teacher in that state and in Illinois and also was a practical surveyor and a most capable farmer and business man. During the last two years of his life he suffered impaired health and had his home with Mr. and Mrs. Eemley until his death, September 26, 1917.

JOHN E. GALLIVAN is a native of Champaign County, but his name is widely known over this entire part of the state. He is now serving as deputy state fire inspector.

Mr. Gallivan was born at Ivesdale, Champaign County, August 18, 1860, son of Patrick T. and Anne (Doyle) Gallivan, both natives of Ireland. His father was born in County Kerry and his mother in County Wexford. Patrick T. Gallivan at the age of fourteen came to this country with his parents, Thomas and Margaret (Ferriter) Gallivan, who first located in the East and gradually kept moving westward until they reached Michigan. Patrick Gallivan eventually came to Ivesdale, Champaign County, and at the age of fifteen was driving a team in railroad construction work in that locality. At the same time he used some of his leisure time at night to educate himself. He remained with the railroad work on the Great Western, now called the Wabash, until that line was constructed through to Danville. After that for four years he worked for the Wabash in the railroad yards at Danville, and was finally appointed foreman of the section at Ivesdale in Champaign County,' a position he held until 1867. In the meantime, hard working and thrifty as he was, he had invested his earnings in a 240-acre farm in Champaign County, and in 1867 he was ready to occupy it and make it the principal source of his living. He continued farming on that place until 1890. when he retired to Ivesdale, where his death occurred March 25, 1912. This honored old timer was at different periods township supervisor, member of the council and school treasurer. He was largely instrumental in settling the Catholic communities in Ivesdale and Colfax townships. At one time he was in the grain and elevator business in that community. His widow still lives at Ivesdale, at the age of eightytwo, and is in splendid physical health and in full possession of her mental faculties. There were eight children : John E. ; George of Ivesdale ; Margaret, wife of James E. Dugan of Indiana; Thomas J. of Urbana; Mary, wife of J. A. Fallen of Chatsworth, Illinois; Catherine L., who is unmarried and is an osteopath at Ivesdale ; Daniel of Salt Lake City, Utah ; and Anna, wife of Ora Curtis of Clinton, Indiana.

The youth of John E. Gallivan was one of hard work and lack of opportunities beyond those he could secure for himself. The first school he attended was in an attic in a log house in Ivesdale, and for three years he studied under James M. Graham, now congressman from the Springfield district. At the age of twenty-one he began railroad work and was employed in the train and yard service continuously for thirteen years.

Having married and having the responsibilities of a family, Mr. Gallivan gave up railroading and engaged in the furniture and undertaking business at Ivesdale for six years. From Ivesdale he removed to Champaign, and developed a large and prosperous business as a real estate dealer. He handled real estate altogether for twelve years. For the past four years he has served as deputy state fire marshal and has charge of eighteen counties in the central part of Illinois. Mr. Gallivan is an active Democrat, a member of the Knights of Columbus and of St. Mary's Catholic Church.

He married at Bloomington, April 28, 1886, Miss Alice M. Jones. They are the parents of seven children : Ann^ and George, now deceased ; Lillian, bookkeeper for the Twin Ice Company at Champaign, Illinois ; John and Thomas, twins, the former located at Indianapolis and the latter deceased ; Lyle, a student in the University of Illinois; and Milo, a student in St. Mary's High School.

WILSON CONNER. One of the homes of Iverr Township to which special attention should be directed in this publication is that of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Conner in section 28, near Penfield. Mr. Conner is a man of sterling worth and character, has lived in Champaign County the greater part of his active life, and has won for himself an enviable prominence as a farmer, public spirited citizen and a worker in behalf of every worthy cause.

He was born in Ohio, a son of John and Mary Ellen (Riggleman) Conner, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Virginia. The father died when Wilson was a small child, and a little later the widowed mother brought him to Champaign County, where he spent his boyhood and secured his education in the Kuder school. When he was ten years of age his mother died, leaving him an orphan, and he sorely missed her counsel and protecting care.

He has thus made his way against the tide of circumstance from early years and did not have a home of his own until the age of twentynine, when he married Miss Alice Mantle. Mrs. Conner is a native of Champaign County, a daughter of Isaac and Mary (Kuder) Mantle. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Conner moved to Vermilion County, Illinois, and began life on a rented farm. With youth, ambition and energy, the future stretched away in charming prospect, and they wisely improved their advantages and opportunities until they were able to return to Champaign County and buy 101 acres in Kerr Township. Mr. Conner paid $35 an acre for this land and today it is worth $175 an acre. Here his enterprise has proved productive and he and his good wife have the credit for practically making one of Champaign County's best farms. There were no buildings or other improvements on the land when they bought it, and successive years have witnessed the erection of commodious house and barn, the planting of fruit and shade trees, ajid the wise conservation and use of the soil. While general farming is the main business carried on, they have a fine orchard, including choice varieties of cherries, peaches and plums and a large amount of berry fruits.

Into their home were born three children, one of whom died in infancy. The surviving daughter is Mary Ellen Gladys Conner. Both her grandmothers had the name Mary. The son is McKinley Solomon, whose first name was for the illustrious President and the second for his uncle, Solomon Mantle. These children attended the Kuder school, Mary graduating from the eighth grade and receiving the honorary diploma for admission to the high school. Besides giving them the usual school advantages Mr. and Mrs. Conner have made musical instruction a feature of their culture. Mary spent several years under the instruction of Mrs. J. Kirkpatrick of Champaign. Both children have developed fine talent for music, McKinley having become a proficient performer on the violin. With his sister to accompany him the Conner home is never at a loss for special concerts and there is seldom a time in the work of the farm when music is neglected. Mr. and Mrs. Conner have wisely endeavored to give their children the benefit of a musical education, and that is a strong cord to bind their children to the home. Undoubtedly one of the great problems of country life might be solved if all parents were as liberal in affording advantages and entertainment to their children as Mr. and Mrs. Conner.

Mr. and Mrs. Conner are members of the United Brethren Church of Penfield and the children are active in the Sunday school. The name bestowed upon the son indicates Mr. Conner's politics. He has been a steady supporter of the Eepublican party, and with his wife has endeavored to inculcate thorough American principles in their children. Several years Mr. Conner served as road commissioner. He and his wife have been true home makers in Champaign County and their lives have been a contributing factor to the progress and prosperity of this region.

S. C. TUCKER, the present mayor of Champaign, has long been identified with Champaign in business affairs and in politics, is also a former mayor of the city and a former city treasurer, and is that type of man whose energy means something in the constructive administration of a city's affairs.

Mr. Tucker was born in Saybrook, Illinois, January 9, 1871, a son of Sylvester and Sarah (McDaniel) Tucker. His father was a native of Ohio and his mother of Illinois. In 1882 the Tucker family removed to

Champaign County, where Sylvester Tucker followed his trade as a carpenter until his death. They were the parents of eight children : Ollie of Champaign ; Ida, wife of C. W. Warner of Jackson, Mississippi ; W. G., who lives in Champaign and is an engineer with the Illinois Central Eailway; S. C. ; A. J. of Sheridan, Wyoming; Margaret, deceased; Charles J. of Champaign ; and L. E. of Champaign.

S. C. Tucker was eleven years of age when his parents removed to Champaign County, and he finished his education in the local high school. He began his business career as clerk in a grocery store and later was with the firm of Maxwell & Mollet for about nine years. He then engaged in business for himself on East University Avenue and conducted one of the well stocked stores along that thoroughfa.re for five years.

In the meantime he was elected city treasurer, an office he filled two years; from 1909 to 1911 he was the capable mayor of Champaign, being elected to that office on the Republican ticket. After Champaign adopted the commission form of government Mr. Tucker's name was prominently mentioned in connection with the office of mayor, and he was elected for that position. In 1903 Mr. Tucker removed to the corner of Church and Neil streets, where he conducted his place of business for fifteen years, and in June, 1917, moved to the opposite corner from where he had been located for so many years.

He was married in October, 1897, to Miss Florence Ballentine, a native of Toledo, Ohio. She died June 4, 1915, leaving three children, all at home, named Marion, Claude and Creed. Mr. Tucker married for his present wife Mrs. Emma Collison, widow of Fred Collison of Rantoul, Illinois. Mrs. Tucker is an active member of the Christian Church, while Mr. Tucker is a Methodist. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Woodmen of the World.

JOHN E. GEHRT. Upon the success and welfare of the cultivators of the soil rests the true destiny of any nation. Nowhere does the agricultural element represent such qualities of business success and energy as in Champaign County, and one of the men who have claimed this county as their home and have gained unusual fruits from their effort is Mr. John Gehrt, whose home is in section 33 of Harwood Township.

Mr. Gehrt is a native of Stark County, Illinois, a son of John M. and Catherine (Best) Gehrt. Both parents were born in Germany, came in early youth to America, where they married, and were pioneer farmers in Illinois. The father is still living, at the ripe age of eighty-three, in Stark County. His good wife entered into rest October 20, 1913.

John E. Gehrt was one of their eight children. He grew up on his father's farm in Stark County and acquired a public school education there. On January 18, 1899, he married Miss Matilda Streitmatter, who was born in Peoria County, Illinois, a daughter of William F. and Mary (Munk) Streitmatter. Her parents were also natives of Germany, but were married in this country.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gehrt began housekeeping on land owned by his father near Dillsburg. Mr. Gehrt has 233 acres there, and through his efficient management he has created a home which many city people might be proud to own. At an expense of $3,000 he has remodeled his house into a perfectly appointed residence, and has added many other improvements to the farm, including a large corn crib that cost $1,200 to build. The home has a complete water system, running hot and cold, heated by hot water, and a private electric light plant has been installed to furnish light. These conveniences, with the telephone and the rural free delivery, give the Gehrts practically all the advantages enjoyed by city people. Mr. Gehrt is a successful stock farmer and keeps a number of Polled Durham and Shorthorn cows and ships large quantities of cream. For a number of years his fields have averaged sixty bushels of corn to the acre. Mr. Gehrt owns a fine Buick car, and this is one of the chief sources of pleasure to the family. Both he and his son are thorough automobile mechanics and can repair as well as operate their car.

Mr. and Mrs. Gehrt have two sons: Eollin L. and Arthur R. Both are studious and active boys and Rollin has completed the eighth grade of the common schools and has spent two years in the Rantoul High School. Mr. and Mrs. Gehrt are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Rantoul and both sons are members of the Sunday school there. Politically Mr. Gehrt is a Republican and is a stanch believer in the great destiny of that party. He has served several years as director of the local schools and is always willing to lend a hand in forwarding all community improvements.

EDWIN P. BABB. The Babb family came to Champaign County in 1853. Five years later, at the home of his parents on a farm in North Ogden Township, Edwin P. Babb was born November 9, 1858. His life career has been one of commendable industry and accomplishment, has been liberally rewarded, and for a number of years he has lived retired in one of the comfortable city homes of Champaign.

His parents were Milton and Elizabeth (Littler) Babb. Milton Babb was born in Grant County in what is now the state of West Virginia, grew up there, took up the occupation of farmer, and subsequently became a merchant. He owned a half interest in a large store in West Virginia, but on account of failing health removed to the west. Champaign County was still comparatively new and undeveloped when he located in North Ogden Township in 1853. Coming from the rough and semi-mountainous district of West Virginia he seemed to recognize the value of the rich land in Champaign County, and invested all the money he could secure in the farming district and kept purchasing new property until at the time of his death on January 22, 1868; he owned a thousand and fifty acres. He lived only long enough to accomplish part of the development of this land.

In the early years the Babb family lived isolated compared with the modern facilities and conveniences of the country districts of Champaign Count}-. There were no telephones, no free delivery of mail, no pike roads, and the nearest postoffice to the Babb home was Danville, twenty-five miles away. Only at considerable intervals did a member of the family go there for the mail and other supplies. The nearest church was seventeen miles distant. Milton Babb was a very useful man in his community. He built the first schoolhouse in that section on his own land and paid for the building out of his own pocket. Later, when the district school was formally organized and established, he was reimbursed for the expense of this schoolhouse. Another incident that is recalled is his hiring a man at steady wages and furnishing him with a gun and ammunition to keep the deer out of his cornfields. That indicates how numerous the deer were at the time. Nearly every night the wolves howled about his doorstep.

Elizabeth Littler Babb was born near Circleville, Ohio, .and lived to a good old age, passing away in 1910. She was the mother of four children; Edwin P., the oldest; Alice J., deceased; James E., a prominent corporation attorney of Lewiston, Idaho ; and Charles I)., a banker at Homer, Illinois. The mother of these children married for her second husband James Yeazel. The two children of that union are Milton J., of Danville, and Frank, of the Province of Ontario, Canada.

school near the old homestead, and at the age of twenty-one took charge of the home farm. He was only ten years of age when his father died and being the oldest son responsibilities were early thrust upon his shoulders in advance of his age. He continued the management of this farm until the property was divided among the heirs. He then engaged in farming on an extensive scale and made a specialty of raising Percheron horses and Shorthorn cattle. Mr. Babb still owns a fine farm, on which he keeps a tenant. In 1904 he removed to Champaign, and lived in a beautiful home at 401 Prospect Street.

Mr. Babb married October 8, 1884, Miss Emma Conkey, who was born, at Homer, Champaign County. Her parents were Dr. William A. and Virginia (Sadler) Conkey. Her father, a native of Massachusetts, came to Champaign County when a boy. All the money he had was two dollars and a half, and he invested this in a town lot at Homer. He possessed a genius for versatile accomplishment and effort, and Was always able to adapt himself to circumstances. He took up the study of medicine, completing his education at Louisville, Kentucky, and on returning to Champaign County practiced successfully for nine years. He also served as supervisor of his township and commissioner of highways. As his family grew up he bought a farm and was engaged in farming until his death. Dr. Conkey married on May 31, 1849, Virginia Sadler. She was born in Virginia, November 20, 1827, and her family were early settlers in Vermilion County, Illinois, locating there in 1840. Dr. Conkey and wife had nine children: Aubert J., of Homer; Byron M., deceased; Francis, deceased; Lucy, wife of Mathew Spencer; Bruce T., deceased; Carl A., of Homer ; Emma, Mrs. Babb ; Frank M., of Homer ; and Fred B., of Howe, Indiana. Dr. Conkey died December 2, 1908, and his wife passed away March 4, 1904.

In politics Mr. Babb is a Republican. He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Champaign. He and his wife have had two children. Harry C., who was born January 17, 1886, lives at Champaign and is a traveling salesman. He married Lulu Goodman, and his three children are Dorothy Louise, born May 10, 1909 ; Harry C., who died at the age of eight months; and James Carlock, born April 29, 1915. Mr. Babb's only daughter, Jennie Kate, born March 1, 1888, died February 3, 1893.

C. MAXWELL CALDWELL. As a general electrical contractor C. Maxwell Cal dwell has more than made good in Champaign, and a few years ago he established his business in a two-story building which in point of equipment and service is without question the best small plant in the state, Chicago not excepted. He is in the general electrical contracting business and also handles supplies and does manufacturing in that line. It is the only business of the kind in central Illinois.

Mr. Caldwell was born in Logan County, Illinois, September 7, 1879, a son of A. M. and Letitia (White) Caldwell. His father was born in New Holland in Logan County, Illinois, while his mother was a native of Ohio. In 1902 A. M. Caldwell removed to Champaign and for fifteen years he was live stock representative for the Chicago Live Stock World. He is now looking after a plantation of 3,000 acres in Arkansas, and is taking life somewhat leisurely. He and his wife have eight children : Grace, wife of Guy Stewart of Champaign ; Emma, wife of George Bates of Great Falls, Montana ; C. Maxwell ; Richard of Champaign ; B. John, who is associated with his brother in electrical contracting; Eva, also in business in her brother's firm ; Marie and Neil, both still at home with their parents.

advantage of training for three years in the University of Illinois. He then went on the road as a traveling salesman for the Chicago Live Stock World in the advertising department, and gave that up to establish his present business.

Mr. Caldwell was married August 6, 1908, to Harriet Woodcock, a native of Champaign. They have two children : John Maxwell and Betty Jane. In politics Mr. Caldwell is independent. He is a member of Western Star Lodge No. 240, A. F. & A. M. ; Champaign Chapter No. 50, E. A. M. ; Champaign Commandery No. 68. K. T. ; Mohammed Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S. ; is a member of Champaign Lodge, B. P. 0. E. ; a member of the Champaign Rotary Club, the Champaign County Country Club, the Champaign City Club, and a member of the Champaign Chamber of Commerce. He and his family worship in the Methodist Episcopal denomination.

THOMAS McQuAio. Three generations of the McQuaid family have devoted their industry and their active years to the business of farming and the affairs of their community in Champaign County. The founder of the family here was Thomas McQuaid, Sr., now deceased, while Thomas, Jr., is owner of the old homestead in Compromise Township, but its chief responsibilities are now in the hands of his son John McQuaid.

Thomas McQuaid was born at Rantoul, a son of Thomas and Catherine (Moiland) McQuaid. He was one of two children, his sister being Ellen. Thomas McQuaid, Jr., was educated in the Rantoul High School, and in 1884 married Anastatia Gordon. She was born at Aurora in Kane County, Illinois, a daughter of John and Mary Gordon.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. McQuaid located on the old McQuaid homestead and took the active management of the farm. His parents lived with them until they passed away. Thomas McQuaid, Sr., was a native of Ireland and came to America in 1848. He married in Michigan and on coming to Illinois bought 240 acres in Champaign County. He had all the characteristics of those worthy people who come from the land of the Shamrock, and he earned his prosperity and left in his farm a splendid monument to his industry. It was Thomas McQuaid, Sr., and wife who set out the many trees which now make a complete grove around the homestead, and it is one of the finest tree plantations in the county.

After the death of his parents Thomas McQuaid, Jr., continued to live on the farm, and the well kept fields show the character of his work as a husbandman.

Mr. and Mrs. McQuaid had three children : .Catherine Agnes, Emily and John J. Death came into the home and removed both of the daughters, so that the only surviving child is John McQuaid.

Mr. John McQuaid, one of the most progressive young farmers of Champaign County, began his education at Penfield, and in 1905 his parents moved to Champaign in order that he might have the very best training for the serious duties of life. In 1912 he graduated A. B. from the University of Illinois, and on leaving college he entered the service of the First National Bank of Champaign. He remained there three years and gained an experience invaluable to him for his future years. In 1916 he assumed active management of his father's farm, and both of them now spend their working hours on the farm but retain their home in Champaign. Mr. Thomas McQuaid is an active Democrat, and he and his family are members of the Catholic Church at Champaign. While they enjoy the comforts of a good town home, the old homestead is endeared to them by many associations and tender remembrances. Every visitor to this choice spot of Champaign County is attracted by the stately old trees, the broad, fertile fields, and the many evidences of successful cultivation and management. The farm con- sists of 560 acres, and in quality of soil it is not surpassed by any other similar tract of land in the state. The companionship of Mr. and Mrs. McQuaid has been one of rare felicity and a happy combination of talents and qualities that have made their years most happy and productive. Mr. John McQuaid, the son, though the only child of well-to-do parents, was not content merely to use the means which were so liberally supplied him. He made a splendid record as a student in the University of Illinois and has shown capability and wisdom in every business undertaking. He is a young man of exemplary and temperate habits, and his life has already justified the sanguine expectations of his family and friends.

FRANK G. RUSSELL came to Champaign after an extensive business as a meat merchant both in local houses and on the road, and now enjoys high financial rating and a successful business as proprietor of the Chicago Market Company, dealers in meats and packing house products. Mr. Russell was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, October 1, 1888, a son of William and Emma (Braiser) Russell. His father was born in Burlington, Iowa, and his mother at Terre Haute, Indiana. Both are now living at Danville, Illinois, where his father for many years has been in the sign business. There were three children : Louis, associated with his father at Danville ; Frank ; and Harry, who is in the employ of his brother at Champaign.

Frank G. Russell was educated at Danville, and at the age of eighteen entered the American Bank & Trust Company at Danville, where for about three years he had a practical training in bank work and general business which has proved of inestimable value 'to him in subsequent years. From the Danville bank he went to Terre Haute and became assistant bookkeeper with Dowdall & Baker, wholesale meat dealers. He was with them two years in the offices and then about a year traveled on the road as their representative. This house eventually put him in charge of the market at Champaign, which he opened in 1912, and in 1915 he bought the business and continues to make a splendid success of it under his own management.

In June, 1914, Mr. Russell married Nellie Ice, a native of Champaign. Mrs. Russell by a previous marriage had four children, Mariam, Madge, Helen and Dorothy. In politics Mr. Russell takes an independent attitude.

JACOB MOUDY. The community of Ludlow in Champaign County pays special honor and respect to Jacob Moudy and his family. Mr. Moudy has had a long and active career. His years have been spent with benefit to himself and also to his family, friends and neighbors, and he has done something to make every community with which he has been identified a little better and to elevate the standards of life and morality.

Mr. Moudy is a son of Peter and Elizabeth Moudy, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. In the early days they migrated from Pennsylvania down the Ohio River, traveling on a flatboat to Cincinnati. Later they went still farther west to Illinois, making this journey in the oldfashioned prairie schooner. Peter and Elizabeth Moudy had eleven children, Jacob being next to the youngest.

When Jacob Moudy was twenty-three years of age the war cloud arose over the land and he enlisted with the boys in blue and went to the front at Columbus, Kentucky, on the Mississippi River at Columbus Ford. Later his command was moved to the Little Obion River in Tennessee, and he was employed there chiefly in guard duty and in protecting railroads. With the close of his term he went to Chicago and was mustered out, but was still desirous of continuing his service to his country and sought to get enrolled in the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Illinois Regiment, where two of his cousins were fighting. He was unable to get enrolled because

Mrs. Moudy is a daughter of Oliver and Mary Villars of Vermilion County, Illinois. Her Grandfather Villars was a native of Pennsylvania and her maternal Grandmother Timmens was a native of England. Oliver and Mary Villars migrated from Ohio to Illinois. Mrs. Moudy was a small child when her mother died, and she was reared in the home of her grandfather, who was a minister of the Gospel. She was carefully trained and given a wholesome equipment for the duties of life.

After his marriage Jacob Moudy began housekeeping in Ford County, Illinois. His home was eight miles east of Paxton, where he was successfully engaged in farming. A year later he sold his farm and removed to Chicago, and took up the trade of carpenter. He was employed by the Illinois Central Railway in the passenger department, a position secured for him through an old friend. While there he received a telegram to return home, as his brother was dangerously ill. After his brother's death, which soon followed, he yielded to the earnest wish of his father, whose feeble health unfitted him for work, and returning to Danville, took active control of the old homestead. Some years later Mr. Moudy returned to Ford County and resumed farming there, and with the exception of seven years' residence in Missouri he and his family have lived in Ford and Champaign counties to the present time.

To Mr. and Mrs. Moudy were born eight children, four sons and four daughters. Their names are Luther, Oscar, Lisha, Lewis, Hannah, Leota, Dona and Cora. The children obtained their early education chiefly in the district schools of Ford County. Luther, who is a farmer with home at West Salem, is married and has two sons, Wilbur and Earl. Oscar, also a farmer at West Salem, married and has a daughter, Dorothy. Lisha, after the death of his wife, bought property near West Salem in order to afford better educational advantages to his son and daughter, Wayne E. and Mercedes. Lewis resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is employed in an automobile factory, and he has two children, Berdine and Herschel. Hannah is the wife of Ed Ketchum, a carpenter whose home is at Clarence, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum have five children, Oscar, Mary, Milo, Allen and Clarence. Leota married Clarie Hupp, who is a grain merchant at Cullom, and their two children are Raymond and Marlin. Dona married Charles McHaley, a hardware merchant at Rankin. Their three children are Marvin, Opal and Laura Etta. Cora is the wife of Homer Funkhouser, a fanner near Penfield. Mr. and Mrs. Funkhouser have seven children named Merle, Doris, Eugene, Christine, Margaret, Lenore and Emery. Mr. and Mrs. Moudy are very proud of their children, their grandchildren and especially of their great-grandchild, Emerson Shoemate. This great-grandchild is a son of Elmer and Mary (Ketchum) Shoemate, and a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Ketchum, above mentioned. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemate reside at Ludlow and he is employed with the grain elevator there.

Mr. and Mrs. Moudy deserve much credit for rearing and bringing their children to places of usefulness and honor in the world. Mr. Moudy in politics has always voted with the Democratic party. He takes pride in the fact that he supported William Jennings Bryan for the presidency three times, and with that great Nebraska commoner has always stood strongly for temperance principles. He believes that a joyful day awaits America when King Alcohol is dethroned. Mr. and Mrs. Moudy first united with the New Light Church and subsequently with the Christian denomination. They are able to take pardonable pride in their past, which they may review without regret. Mr. Moudy is now at an age when he may enjoy the leisure of well earned retirement and can feel that duty has been well performed. It is especially a satisfaction to know that in early life he marched away with the boys in blue carrying a gun for the protection of his flag and Government, and in subsequent years he lived to see his country peaceful and united and growing and developing upon the sure foundation of unity and freedom.

CHESTER W. LITTLE. One of the fine country homes which bespeak comfort and the enjoyment of the good things of life well earned is that of Mr. and Mrs. Chester W. Little, located four and a half miles southwest of Rantoul on one of the rural routes radiating from that city.

Mr. Little has had a long and active career as an agriculturist and is still busy with his fields and his live stock, and has in his children most capable assistants both in the home and on the farm. Mr. Little was born at Collison Station in Vermilion County, Illinois, a son of John and Charlotte (Coon) Little, both of whom are now deceased. They were born in Ohio and came to Illinois in early youth. Their children were named Thomas, George, Samuel, Jane, Chester and Benjamin. These children grew up in Vermilion County and acquired an education in the Gray district schools. The sons were reared to the same profession as their father, that of agriculture, and all of them have demonstrated their capability.

Chester W. Little married Elizabeth Thayer, who was born in Champaign County, one of the ten children of Milo and Mary (Wright) Thayer. Mrs. Little was educated in the Union Center district school.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Little started life on a place a mile and a half northeast of Thomasboro. Mr. Little owned eighty acres there, having earned that by his work as a wage earner in early life. The Little family moved when he was young to Champaign County, and he spent his boyhood in the early times of this section. When he was a boy very few of the pastures were fenced, and the neighbors followed the practice of driving their stock together, herding them on the prairie, the responsibility of herder usually falling upon some active and vigilant boy. Chester Little got his full experience of that work. Thus he spent many hours on the prairies alone with the stock, and while there he improved his opportunity to observe nature and also formulated that practical working philosophy which has stood him in good stead for all the subsequent trials and problems of life.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Little went to work with zeal and energy, and the passing years have abundantly rewarded them. Into their home came three children, one son and two daughters, Florence, Chester and Hazel. Mr. and Mrs. Little from the first took the greatest of pains to educate these children for useful work in the world and as true types of American citizens. The children attended the Union Center School and Florence and Chester both finished the eighth grade there and subsequently attended Brown's Business College at Champaign. The girls are still studying music, piano, at home.

After selling his first place Mr. Little bought 200 acres southwest of Rantoul, and there the best work of his life has been done. He remodeled the house, built commodious barns and other outbuildings, has planted fruit and shade trees, and has made one of the attractive features of the landscape. Mr. and Mrs. Little have also accomplished the one thing that many farmers neglect, and that is making the home attractive to their children. Thus the young folks have of their own volition remained at home instead of seeking opportunities outside, and the family by their co-operation have demonstrated again the truth of the phrase, "In union there is strength."

that the best laws and policies have emanated from that party. He is a man of public spirit, served on the school board a number of years, and has done all he could to obtain community institutions and improvements in line with advanced standards. There are many city homes that do not equal the Little place in point of facilities. They run the farm with improved machinery, have installed a complete water system around the house, having hot and cold running water within the home, and they also have two automobiles in which to enjoy life and better carry out the business of farming. Thus for many years the lives of the Little family have been closely identified with Champaign County. The Little home is one noted for its hospitality and in the character of its members the family is one well entitled to the respect they enjoy.

JOHN CLARK. It is a grateful distinction to have spent half a century in one community, and when those years were filled with worthy accomplishment and with that old-fashioned spirit of loving kindness, such a career becomes one deserving of admiration and worthy of perpetuation in any history of a county in which it has been spent. The venerable John Clark, who died August 21, 1917, was a resident of Gifford. He came to Champaign County in 1868. He lived far beyond the fourscore mark, and his activities and those of the family have been a notable contribution to the upbuilding of Champaign County.

He was a native of Scotland and when he brought his bride to this country it took fifty-two days to cross the ocean. Now only the space of a breath serves to bring us into touch with remote continents. Thus he witnessed and experienced that remarkable age of scientific achievement by which the world has been rewrought and made to respond to entirely new influences and new principles.

John Clark was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, April 2, 1830, a son of William and Mary Clark, both natives of Scotland. There were four children. Thomas and Alexander are now deceased. Isabella is still living in her native land, the wife of David Freeman. John Clark grew up and acquired his early training in the habits of industry and frugality in Scotland, and there he laid the foundation of his own home by his marriage to Miss Jean Butters. She was born in Kirrmour, Scotland, September 16, 1827. Two of her sisters continue to live in Dundee and a brother, David, in Australia. John Clark and wife were married at Glasgow, and the day following their marriage they turned their faces toward the New World and embarked on the Java, a 300-foot packet, sailing to New York. On arriving in that city John Clark found employment and worked for two years in a sugar factory. In 1855 he came west to Chicago and subsequently lived at LaGrange, Illinois, until they removed to Champaign County in 1868. When they came to Chicago John Clark had only $6. Five dollars he paid for the rent of a house and thus they faced the world with brave hearts and courageous spirits but with only $1 in cash.

To their marriage were born five children, one of whom died in Chicago and was buried there. The others were named Alexander, Robert B., John A. and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the wife of Alfred Jenkinson.

After coming to Champaign County John Clark through industry and economy was able to purchase eighty acres of land, paying $8 an acre. That land today is worth many times what he paid for it. Gradually his prosperity grew with the passing years, and Mr. Clark owned 320 acres in Illinois and also had 220 acres in Canada.

Mr. and Mrs. Clark always used their means so as to promote their own comfort and happiness and the pleasure of those around them. In January, 1886, they returned to Scotland for a visit to the hills and heather of their native land, and spent four months in the Old World. They sailed from New York on the steamer Oregon, which on its return trip sunk. How vastly improved transportation was in the interval which had passed since they first came to the New World was 'indicated by the fact that they were only nine days in going from Chicago to Dundee, Scotland.

Mr. and Mrs. Clark instilled the principles of honesty and integrity in the character of their children and did all they could to prepare them for worthy citizens. They reared their sons as farmers, believing that the man who tills the soil can always face life independently. Their oldest son, Alexander, is a farmer two miles east of Gifford, located on his father's old homestead. He married Isabel Minnis, a native of Wisconsin, and their children are Jeanne, Emma, whose name at home has always been "Bonnie," John, Nellie, now deceased, and Robert. These children were educated at Penfield. Bonnie graduated from the high school there and was a successful teacher in Champaign County before her marriage to John Bryan. Mr. and Mrs. Bryan live at Wolcott, Indiana. John Clark, son of Alexander, married Inez Reynolds, and their child, John, became a great-grandchild of Mr. John Clark. Robert is now a student in the Gifford High School, and Jeanne lived with her grandfather at GifEord until his death.

Mr. and Mrs. John Clark lived to see Champaign County converted from almost a virgin district into one of the garden spots of the world. Along with the material success that rewarded his efforts Mr. John Clark found himself the repeated object of esteem on the part of his fellow citizens, who elected him road commissioner for fifteen years, and also school director. In politics he was first, last and always a Republican. He said : "We never find a Democrat a Scotchman." It was his opinion that the best principles of good government had their birth in the Republican party. Mr. Clark was long affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife were very active members and liberal supporters of the Baptist Church at Gifford.

The greatest sorrow of his life came on June 1, 1916, when his beloved wife and companion was claimed by death. Mrs. John Clark was a true mother in Israel. The affection of a large community was given her during her life and hundreds of sorrowing friends gathered to pay a last tribute of respect when she died. It could be said of her that none knew her but to love her and none named her but to praise.

After the death of his wife Mr. Clark was comforted by the presence of his granddaughter, Jeanne Clark, who as housekeeper, counsellor, secretary and adviser, cherished him constantly as he faced the setting sun of life. It was a worthy career on which he could look back. He never shirked work or responsibilities, and his days were days of toil, of useful endeavor, and guided by a constant aim to live according to conscience and the divine revelations.

On May 23, 1903, Mr. and Mrs. John Clark celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. Ten years later, in 1913, their sixtieth anniversary was celebrated. This was a notable occasion and 187 guests sat at the banquet which was served in the opera house. In the Clark home is a photograph of the assembled guests who gathered on his lawn at Gifford. Such occasions have a greater significance and value than many of the events which attract more newspaper publicity.

ELIZABETH CLARK JENKINSON, daughter of the late venerable John Clark of Gifford, whose career has been fully sketched in preceding pages, resides on one of the fine farming estates around Gifford and some special mention should be made of her family.

She is the wife of Mr. Alfred Jenkinson, who was born at Lacon, Illinois, a son of Benjamin and Mary A. (Willy) Jenkinson. Benjamin Jenkinson was born in Yorkshire, England, and his wife in Leicestershire, England. They immigrated to America at an early day and were married at Lacon, Illinois, in 1857. Of their ten children Alfred was the oldest. The children all attended district schools in Marshall County, Illinois, and experienced the hardships incident to pioneer life. The Jenkinson family lived in a log house, and their efforts served to reclaim a portion of Illinois soil to'cultivation.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Jenkinson began their wedded life on his father's estate half a mile north of Gifford. Here Mr. Jenkinson has found ample opportunities to prove his ability as a farmer and his business judgment has enabled him to acquire a farm of 200 acres.

Their family consists of four children, Clemens J., Mary Isabel, Jessie Virginia and John Benjamin. The education and training of these children were a primary consideration of Mr. and Mrs. Jenkinson from the beginning. They sent them to the local district schools and also to the Gifford High School. John took a three years' high school course in Rantoul. The other three children are all graduates of the Gifford High School, while Jessie taught in her home school and also the Martin and teachers of Champaign County. Isabel taught two terms at the Weber School. The daughters Isabel and Jessie proved popular and successful Reynolds schools.

Clemens J. Jenkinson married William Lohmiller, a farmer living on a place adjoining Mr. Jenkinson's. They have four children : Elizabeth J., Jessie Pauline, Mary Clemens and John Alfred.

Mary Isabel Jenkinson married Harry Hamjlton, bookkeeper with a lumber firm at Hoopeston, Illinois. They have five children : Laura Elizabeth, Harry Leland, Kenneth Franklin, Mary Isabel and Margaret Helen.

John Benjamin Jenkinson, a railroad man living in Chicago, married Margaret Miller, and they have a child, Jean Clark, named after her greatgrandmother.

Besides his success as a farmer Mr. Jenkinson has in many ways proved his public spirit as a factor in the community. He served as school director over twenty years, also as road commissioner and township treasurer. He is loyally identified with the Republican party, and he and his family attend the Baptist Church in Gifford. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mrs. Jenkinson takes an active part in local social affairs and is a member of the Social Science Club.

JOHN A. CLARK. Among the numerous families of Champaign County whose activities have contributed materially to its upbuilding and the promotion of its best interests that of Clark stands prominent.

Now living retired at Rantoul, Mr. John A. Clark spent the best years of his active career as a successful farmer, and he reared and liberally provided for his family through the fruits of his toil in the fields of this county.

Mr. Clark is a son of John and Jean (Butters) Clark, both of whom were born and reared among the hills and heather of Scotland. John Clark's heart was won by a Scotch lassie and he succeeded in persuading her to change her name. The young people were possessed of characteristic energy and progressiveness, strong traits of the native Scotch. It was their ardent desire to cast their lot with the New World, concerning which they had heard wonderful stories. On the day following their wedding, when the festivities of the occasion were scarcely ended, John and Jane Clark started for America. The future was rainbowed with promises, and seen through a rosy tint of bright anticipation they courageously undertook to carve out their own fortune. After landing in New York they lived there two years and then removed to Cook County, Illinois, and still later to Champaign County. From time to time children came into their home until the house echoed with the cheerful laughter of four bright Scotch-American girls and boys. They were named Alexander M., Robert B., John A. and Elizabeth W. Clark.

John Clark, Sr., spent his life as a farmer and in time acquired a fine estate and a luxurious home, surrounded with productive land. He finally retired from active duties and removed to Gifford, where he entered into rest August 21, 1917, honored and esteemed.

John A. Clark married Dora Hummel, daughter of Phillip and Catherine Hummel, both of whom are natives of Germany and came to America at an early day. This good couple were possessed of the usual German energy and thrift. The Hummel children were Phillip and Mary (born to the father's first union in Germany), Henry, Chris, Will, Mrs. Anna Roberts and Mrs. Dora Clark.

John and Dora Clark began their wedded life on a farm near Penfield, Illinois, and in that section of Champaign County their industry and energy soon brought ample reward. Into their home were born five daughters and one son. The son died in infancy, but the disappointment of this loss was recompensed somewhat by the lives of the five daughters who grew to the flower of womanhood. These daughters are named Pauline, Julia, Dorothy, Rosilla and Orvilla. The daughters first attended the Stone Street district school, later the high school at Penfield, from which both Dorothy and Rosilla graduated with honors, the former in 1909 and the latter in 1911. Dorothy Clark, in order to fit herself for a position of usefulness, went to TJrbana and learned the dressmaking trade from Mrs. Maxfield and is now successfully engaged in that occupation. Mrs. Clark endeavored to rear her daughters as diligent and faithful home makers, and it has been her satisfaction to see the splendid proofs of her work in the efficiency with which these young people have gone about their duties. Pauline Clark married John Oehmke, a farmer near Penfield, and they have two children, Dorothy and Myron. Rosilla Clark married Lloyd Wise, and it is permitted to say that he was a wise man to secure such a worthy companion. He is a successful farmer, and they reside on the Clark estate at Penfield, where Mr. and Mrs. Clark had their home for thirty-five prosperous and happy years. Mr. and Mrs. Wise have a daughter, Gwendolyn. The remaining three daughters, Julia, Dorothy and Orvilla, still reside with their parents. For seven years Dorothy lived with her Grandparents Clark at Gifford, where she attended high school.

In politics John A. Clark has always been a stanch Republican. He and his brothers learned the principles of that political faith from their father in boyhood days. The strongest characteristic of his life aside from the hard sense he has employed in his business affairs is the public spirited attitude he has taken into his relations with the community. That he possesses the full confidence of his fellow citizens scarcely needs proof in a community where he has been known for so long. His counsel and advice have been sought frequently in the administration of public affairs. He served as school director, and whether officially or as a private citizen he has done all he could to promote the upbuilding of the local schools. He has also been road commissioner, township central committeeman for many years, and was township supervisor until he removed from his old neighborhood. His experiences and opinions have been helpful and have been appreciated. Mr. Clark is a true American, of that type which has colored and made glorious the annals of this country.

Mr. and Mrs. Clark with their daughters are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Penfield. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife are members of the Court of Honor. Formerly Mrs. Clark and daughters were Pythian Sisters. In 1917 Mr. and Mrs. Clark retired to Rantoul, where they have a pleasant home on Grove Avenue. They are still active, and the wisdom of experience enables them to enjoy these years even more abundantly than the past. They have contributed their share toward the enrichment of American life, have reared their daughters and trained them carefully for the emergencies and duties of the world, and it is not strange that they enjoy the esteem and admiration of a host of friends.

PAUL J. STBAHLE is one of the yo'unger business men of Champaign, is active and aggressive, and has already acquired a secure position as a unit in the commercial community.

A native of Champaign, he was born February 20, 1892, the only son and child of John G. and Catherine (Dawson) Strahle. His mother was born in England and died at Champaign, March 1, 1912. John G. Strahle is also a native of Champaign County, was for a number of years a tailor by trade, but is now associated with his son in business.

Educated in the public schools of Champaign, Paul J. Strahle early evinced a strong inclination and tendency for mechanical pursuits and he served an apprenticeship which in itself constituted the equivalent of a technical university course. For a time he was in the engineering department of the Cadillac Company at Detroit, also with the Studebaker Company, and from there removed to Dayton. Ohio, and had a thorough course of training in the engineering departments of the Delco plant. Mr. Strahle is an expert electrician and is master of practically every technical detail connected with the construction, assembling and repair of automobiles. In March, 1915, he engaged in business for himself at Champaign in electrical supplies and garage. He is now manager and proprietor of the Willard Service Station there. Mr. Strahle is unmarried. He is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

JESSE MEHARRY. One of the largest farming estates in Champaign County is that of the Jesse Meharry family, now managed and operated by the sons of the late Jesse Meharry. Mr. Meharry was a notable figure in Champaign County affairs, not only as a land owner, farmer and stockman, but as a public spirited citizen.

He was born in Montgomery County, Indiana, October 9, 1835. He was of Scotch-Irish and Welsh extraction. Concerning his ancestry it is said that during the reign of "Bloody" Queen Mary his forefathers escaped by going to Ireland. After several generations some of the family located in Pennsylvania, near Connelsville. Later they moved to Adams County, Ohio.

The parents of Jesse Meharry were Thomas and Eunity (Patton) Meharry. Thomas Meharry was born April 27, 1799, in Adams County, Ohio. Eunity Patton was born in Brown County, Ohio, August 16, 1802. They married in December, 1827. Soon after their marriage the young people moved to near Wingate, Indiana, in Montgomery County, where they lived the remainder of their lives. He was a man of splendid business ability and acquired a large amount of land not only in Indiana but in Illinois. Thomas Meharry died January 29, 1874. He was the father of seven children : Mrs. Jane P. Dick, William, Mrs. Ellen Martin, Jesse, Mrs. Polly A. McCorkle, Abraham P. and Isaac.

Jesse Meharry was raised on his father's farm in Indiana, attended the local district school and spent two years at Asbury, now DePauw University, at Greencastle, Indiana. He taught the local district school for two winters. He cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont in 1856, and voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. He remained loyal to the Republican party throughout his life.

Jesse Meharry came to Champaign County in 1862, herded and fed cattle on the prairie between Mattoon and Rantoul for three years. In 1865 he took up his permanent residence in Philo Township on a tract of land of 640 acres which was raw prairie. There he occupied himself in bringing his farm to a high state of cultivation and in feeding and raising live stock. In 1893 Mr. Meharry moved to Tolono, Illinois, where he held residence till his death.

Mr. Meharry served his fellow citizens as supervisor of Philo Township for eleven years and was a commissioner of highways in Philo Township for several terms. He had been a member of the Republican County Central Committee since 1888, serving a longer term than any other member ever had served.

On June 4, 1887, Mr. Meharry united with the Tolono Methodist Episcopal Church. He served over forty years on the official board and acted as Sunday School Superintendent for twenty-two years. He was a member of the building committee when the new church was erected.

He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Wesleyan University, at Bloomington, Illinois, for the seven years prior to his death.

On February 27, 1873, Mr. Meharry was married at New Lenox, Illinois, to Miss Addie A. Francis, the daughter of Abraham and Mary A. J. (Davison) Francis, and of this union the following children were born: Jesse Erie, George Francis, Edwin Thomas, and Paul Francis.

Jesse Erie Meharry was born near Tolono, Illinois, December 31, 1876, and was graduated from the Tolono High School in 1895, and from the University of Illinois in 1899. He was married to Katharine I. Hay of Carmi, Illinois, September 22, 1916. He is a farmer and breeder of Poland China hogs, his herd being classed with the best six herds of Poland Chinas in the United States.

George Francis Meharry, born at Tolono, Illinois, June 12, 1880, was graduated from the Tolono High School 1899, and from the University of Illinois 1905. He was married to Miss Sophie Mary Voss of Champaign, Illinois, February 27, 1912. He is engaged in farming.

Edwin Thomas Meharry, born near Tolono, Illinois, November 30, 1881, was graduated from the Tolono High School in 1900, and from the University of Illinois in 1906, and is a farmer by occupation.

Paul Francis Meharry was born March 23, 1888, near Tolono, Illinois, was prepared in the Tolono High School and the University of Illinois Academy, and finished his education at the University of Illinois. He was married to Miss Stella Blanche Dougherty of Fairmount, Illinois, on February 3, 1914. He follows farming.

LEO H. BIRELINE, one of the youngest business men of Champaign, is successfully engaged in the metal roofing business, an industry which he learned during his youth, his father being also connected with the same line of business.

Danville. His parents are still living at Danville and his father conducts a roofing and sheet metal works in that city. There were five children in the family : Catherine Ellen, wife of W. A. Meek of Danville ; Robert, who is associated with his brother Leo in business at Champaign ; Leo ; Florence and Emily, both at home with their parents.

Leo H. Bireline grew up in Danville, attended the city schools, spent two years in high school and finished his education in Brown's Business College at Danville. There he took a bookkeeping and general business course, and with that equipment and with the experience he had acquired under his father he came to Champaign to take charge of the local branch of the sheet metal and roofing business. This business in its subsequent growth now requires all his time and active attention. The headquarters of the business is a large building 25x125 feet, with ample facilities for a perfect service in their particular line.

Mr. Bireline married Ruby Bodine, a native of Kingman, Indiana, but reared in Danville. They have one child, Margaret. Mr. Bireline is a Republican in politics, is a thirty-second degree and Consistory Mason, and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He and his family are members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church.

PETER PETERSON. For many years the late Peter Peterson was a resident of Champaign, was a quiet and industrious business man, acquired considerable property and made his name influential and honored in this community.

A native of Sweden, Mr. Peterson was born in 1848. He was twenty-one years of age when he left his native land and came to America in 1869, soon afterward locating in the city of Champaign. He had received his education in Sweden and was well fitted for a life of activity. He engaged in the dray and transfer business at Champaign, and conducted that actively for nearly forty years. He was in the full vigor of his powers almost until the last, and his death occurred in Champaign in August, 1909.

He was married in 1871, at Champaign, to Marian Christina Olson. She was born in Sweden and came to Champaign in 1870. Mrs. Peterson is still living, but an invalid and has lost the power of speech. She has one of the comfortable homes of Champaign, owns considerable property, and her constant attendant in her declining years is her daughter, Mrs. Sophie J. Parr. The only son of Mrs. Peterson, Charles J. Peterson, lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Mrs. Sophie J. Parr was born in Champaign. She is a highly educated woman and has long been identified with public school work in Champaign. She graduated from the University of Illinois in 1893, and for sixteen years has been a successful teacher. For the last three years she has been principal of the Colonel Wolfe School at Champaign. Mrs. Parr is the widow of the late Louis J. Parr, who was a successful architect and practiced during his active life in Peoria, Illinois. He was graduated valedictorian of his class from the University of Illinois in 1897. Mr. Parr died in December, 1907. Mrs. Parr has two children : Harold Leslie and Marie Christine, both at home with their mother. The late Mr. Parr was an active member of the Congregational Church.

JOSEPH KERR. One of the oldest and most honored names in Champaign County is that of Kerr, and its substantial qualities are fittingly commemorated by that name being assigned to one of the prosperous townships. It is in section 5 of this township that Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kerr reside and have their fine country home. Mr. Joseph Kerr has for many years been a hard

He was born in Kerr Township, a son of Samuel and Betsy Ann (Taylor) Kerr. His father was born in Ohio and his mother in Kentucky. Samuel Kerr, who was of Scotch-Irish stock, was one of the earliest pioneers of Champaign County and the first settler in the Sugar Grove community. He located there when his. nearest neighbor was six miles away- The country was a raw and unbroken prairie. There were no railroads nor towns, and the Kerr home was a nucleus around which other settlers gradually gathered and began the development of one of the finest sections of the entire county. Samuel Kerr was not only a hard working pioneer but a man of splendid character, and it was for him that the township was named.

Mr. Joseph Kerr grew up in this county, attended the local schools, and started life independently when he married Emma Bradshaw. Mrs. Joseph Kerr was born in Fountain County, Indiana, a daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Daily) Bradshaw. She was only two years of age when her father died. Her mother then married again and moved to Champaign County, locating on the land which now constitutes the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kerr. Mrs. Kerr was the youngest of ten children. She secured her education in the Sugar Grove district school.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Kerr started housekeeping on the place of her stepfather, David Morehouse. Mr. Morehouse had bought the land, consisting of eighty acres, from the Government at $1.50 an acre. At this time the land could hardly be bought for $175 an acre. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr had good ideas, sound ambition and industry, and these qualities have taken them far along the road to success.

Into their home came four children. One of them died in infancy. The three who grew up are Nancy Belle, Rosa Lee and Joseph Foster. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr took great pains to give them the best of advantages both at home and in school. They first attended Sugar Grove School, where Mrs. Kerr was educated, and the daughters also attended school at Rankin, and Nancy took further courses in the Wingate High School in Montgomery County, Indiana. She fitted herself for teaching and followed that vocation for several years at the Strayer School, the Campbell School and the Trickle Grove School. She is now the wife of Milton Strayer, formerly a farmer but now living in Onarga, Illinois. The daughter Rosa Lee married Thomas Mclntosh, a carpenter living at Henning, Illinois. They have a bright and attractive daughter, Leta Ilene, now thirteen years of age and entering upon her work in the eighth grade of the public schools. The son, Joseph F. Kerr, is a successful agriculturist in Eaton County, Michigan. He married Cora McHaley. Their daughter, Agnes Cleo, is only eighteen years of age but has graduated with honors from the college at Olivet, Michigan, and has done some most creditable work in school, her record being a matter of pride to her parents and grandparents.

Mr. Joseph Kerr is one of .the public spirited citizens of Champaign County. For six years his neighbors kept him in the office of road commissioner and for twenty-five years he was a school director. He believes that the best in schools are none too good for this rural district. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr attend the Methodist Episcopal Church at Pleasant Grove and are liberal supporters. Politically Mr. Kerr is a stancli Republican and has cast his vote for the principles of that party since early manhood. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr have spent their lives in Champaign County and have made their work and example count for good in the uplift of the community. Their home is one of generous hospitality and a distinct influence in the community. They are able to look back upon days and duties well spent and performed, and they may look back without regret and to the future without fear. 2 - 7

WILLIAM H. ZORGEK, M. D. For thirty-one years Doctor Zorger has practiced his profession in DeWitt and Champaign counties. He is a talented physician, has the advantage of long and thorough experience, and has been trained in the best schools of this country and by extensive observation and study here and abroad. His able assistant and partner not only in life but in his profession is his wife, who is one of the pioneer women of the state to take up medicine as a profession and is one of the best equipped specialists in Champaign County.

Doctor Zorger was born in DeWitt County, Illinois, September 5, 1860, a son of Jacob S. and Margaret (Miller) Zorger. His father was born in York County, Pennsylvania, and in 1833 removed to Monticello, Illinois. He established a mill, which for a number of years was the only mill to supply flour and meal to a large section of country. The mill was sold to Mr. Collins in 1858, and he in turn sold it to Mr. Mclntosh, and for many years it was known as the Mclntosh Mill. Jacob S. Zorger died at Weldon, Illinois, in 1902, and his widow is still living there. Of their ten children five are living, and Doctor Zorger was the fifth in order of birth.

Doctor Zorger spent his early life in his father's home, had ample comforts and. had the advantages of the common schools, but his preparation for his profession he had to acquire largely through his own efforts and earnings. Three years he taught in the district schools of DeWitt County. He then spent a year in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago, and in 1886 graduated from the medical department of Drake University at Des Moines, Iowa. Doctor Zorger received his diploma on the 20th of March and almost immediately began practice in his native county. In 1888 he removed to Champaign County and after five years at Sadorus he moved to the city of Champaign.

On July 3, 1887, Dr. Zorger married Miss Annie L. Swan. She is a daughter of Alexander and Rebecca (Marvel) Swan. Her father was born in Scotland and her mother was a native of -DeWitt County, Illinois. Her father came to America in 1857, locating on a farm near Waynesville, DeWitt County, Illinois. He was one of ten children and eight brothers came to America, he being now the only survivor of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Swan had four children, three of whom are still living, and Mrs. Zorger is the oldest.

Mrs. Zorger was educated in the common schools of Elm Grove, Illinois, afterwards attended the Illinois Wesleyan University at Bloomington, and taught school four years before her marriage. Their marriage was not only a mating of personalities but of professional inclinations. Mrs. Zorger went into a drug store and learned pharmacy. This experience was followed by her attending the Woman's Medical College at St. Louis, now known as the University Medical College of Missouri. She was graduated M. D. in 1894 and then joined her husband in practice at Champaign. In 1901 Dr. Zorger and wife went abroad and spent a year in Europe, where they attended clinics and courses in many of the most celebrated medical centers. She took up the special study of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, while he emphasized post-graduate courses in surgery.

Dr. Zorger is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, while Mrs. Zorger is active in the Pythian Sisters, the Court of Honor, the Tribe of Ben Hur, the Royal Neighbors, the Maccabees and by virtue of her ancestry is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She has also made herself an effective and influential member of the Woman's Club of Champaign and Urbana. They attend the Unitarian church, and Dr. Zorger in politics is a Democrat.

Louis WILLIAM SCHLUTER. A splendid farm and country estate two miles east of Gifford represents the toil and effort and expenditure of character and industry on the part of the Schluter family covering a long period of years. The present manager of that farm, and one who knows full well how to get the best out of the soil, is Louis William Schluter, a young and progressive farmer whose activities have brought him commendable prominence among the agriculturists of this section. Mr. Schluter's home is in section 36 of Kerr Township.

He is a native of Champaign County and a son of John William and Gesche (Fecht) Schluter. His parents were both born in Germany but came to America when single and were married in this country. They first located in Adams County, Illinois, and then came to Champaign County. They possessed the sturdy characteristics of the German fatherland, and by energy and economy secured the comforts of their simple home and gradually expanded their holdings to the possession of a very splendid estate. For a long time John W. Schluter worked for wages of $13 a month. There came a time when he was able to buy his first land, and he gradually accumulated more until his estate consisted of 480 broad acres, improved with excellent buildings, shade trees, and altogether constituting one of the most attractive farms in Champaign County. He and his good wife had a large family of children, one of whom died in infancy, another at six years, while Martin passed away at nineteen. The surviving children are John, Harm, Catherine, Anna, Louis and Antje.

The parents did much for the education and training of these children, sending them to the Pleasant Valley school and also to the German school at Flatville. The family were for many years members of the German church at Flatville, but at present all of them attend the German Lutheran Church at Gifford.

Louis W. Schluter grew up on the home farm and learned lessons of industry from his parents, acquiring the fundamentals of a literary training in the local schools. In 1913 he married Miss Annie Sjoken. Mrs. Schluter was born in Germany, daughter of John and Margaret Sjoken, natives of the same country. When she was twelve years of age the family immigrated to America. She was educated partly in the schools of Germany and partly in Champaign County.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Schluter located on his father's estate and he assumed active management and has made good as a crop raiser and general farmer. Some years he has raised crops of 6,000 bushels of corn and 5,000 bushels of oats and is one of the young men who responded vigorously to the call for increased food production in the year 1917. Besides a large equipment of farm machinery he has some very fine horses.

Mr. and Mrs. Schluter have two bright young children, William, born in July, 1914, and John, born in July, 1916. In politics Mr. Schluter while usually a Republican is quite careful in the matter of casting his vote for the man and the principles he believes best suited for good government and progress. He is a splendid type of American citizen and it is his conviction, based upon experience, that no greater country exists in the world for the poor man who is ambitious and willing to work. Mr. Schluter has served as school trustee of Kerr Township. Having stepped into the position vacated by his father and having assumed the large responsibilities of managing the farm, he has neglected none of the rich opportunities thus presented, and has kept up the fields and all the details of the homestead and is a man of mark among the younger agricultural element of Champaign County. Standing by him through all his labors is his good wife, who is endowed with the solid virtues and the methodical industry characteristic of her German forefathers, and they have already gained many of those things which constitute success, while there is still a large future before them.

DAVID G. FISHER, now living retired at Champaign, began farming in this county nearly half a century ago. He realizes as few men still living do the difficulties and the handicaps to which farming was subject in those early years, and he has also realized along with extensive experience financial independence and the success which is the object of all ambitious men.

Mr. Fisher was born in Fulton County, Illinois, December 3, 1839. His parents, Frederick and Sarah (Fouts) Fisher, were both born in Clark County, Indiana. When they went to Illinois in 1833 they passed through Champaign County, but sought what to them seemed a better location in Fulton County. There they lived prosperously the rest of their days as farmers and both of them died in that county. Their children were: Jacob, John, Henry, Cynthia, all now deceased; Mary, who still resides in Fulton County; Sarah, wife of Marion Kimberland, of Missouri; David G. ; Clara, deceased ; Isabel, living at Canton in Fulton County, widow of Jacob Fouts; Elizabeth, deceased; Ellen, wife of Thomas Beets, of Kokomo, Indiana ; and Fred L., of Canton, Fulton County.

David G. Fisher was reared and educated in Fulton County. He left home at the age of twenty-four and bought a farm of 140 acres near Canton and was busy with its cultivation and management until ill health compelled him to give up his enterprise in the country and remove to town, where for three years he conducted a livery business. On selling out his interests in Fulton County Mr. Fisher came to Champaign County in the month of February, 1868. Land was then comparatively cheap and he bought a splendid place of 640 acres in Tolono Township. That was the scene of his efforts as a practical farmer and stockman and he continued to reside on his farm until 1900, when he sold and invested his capital chiefly in real estate property in Champaign. In 1907 Mr. Fisher built a fine two-story brick house at 1191/2 South Neil Street. He now gives his time to the management of his private affairs and is a citizen of whom the people of Champaign County think most highly. In politics he is a Republican and is a Knight Templar Mason.

Mr. Fisher was married May 23, 1863, to Mary Ellis, who died in 1906. She was the mother of the following children : Kate, Robert and Hattie, all now deceased; Fred, a farmer near Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Pearl and Myrtle. On July 28, 1911, Mr. Fisher married Serena (Hinds) Graves, a native of Champaign County. Her death occurred November 8, 1916. By her first husband she had two children: Gertrude, deceased; and Ethel, wife of Fred Becker of Champaign.

WILLIAM TOMLINSON. One of the oldest residents of Champaign County is Mr. William Tomlinson, whose home is at Penfield in Kerr Township. Mr. Tomlinson has experienced more than the average trials and ordeals of existence and he is well entitled to the esteem and respect that he enjoys in his community.

Mr. Tomlinson was born in the Village of Franklin, near the City of Indianapolis, in Marion County, Indiana, a son of Robert and Rachel (Sheets) Tomlinson. His parents were both born in Indiana and his Grandfather Sheets was of German descent. Mr. Tomlinson was one of eight children, seven sons and one daughter. When he was a child his father died and a little later his mother passed awav at Carlyle on the Mississippi River.

William Tomlinson came to Vermilion County, Illinois, with his uncle, Elisha Crawford, in 1849, when ten years old. He came to Champaign County in 1852, and arrived here a poor and friendless boy with no money and with nothing except his own determined ambition to stand him in good stead while making a way in the busy world. For a year he worked for a farmer at $6.50 a month, and his hours of .employment were from sunup to sundown. When Mr. Tomlinson came to Champaign County there were no railroads and very few towns. The nearest market place for mail and other supplies was Danville or Urbana. The young man had instead of money a boundless supply of push and energy, and he has used his industry to secure the living which he believed the world owed him.

At the age of twenty-two he married Miss Lydia Carter. She was born in Vermilion County, Illinois. After his marriage Mr. Tomlinson bought eighty acres on the middle fork of Vermilion River, paying $7 an acre. There he started the task of founding a home of his own. Not long afterwards his plans were temporarily shattered when his young wife passed away at the birth of her first child. Mr.^Tomlinson married for his second wife Mary E. Walker. Four children were born to their marriage, three sons and one daughter, John, Albert, Andrew and. Eachel. These children were educated in the Kuder school. Again death visited the family and the mother passed away, leaving her youngest child only thirteen days old. Mr. Tomlinson again took upon himself the duties of a homemaker as well as a farmer, and proved both father and mother to his children. Some of the time he depended upon a housekeeper, but for months at a time he did his own housekeeping. For his third wife he married Ellen Rigleman, who died within two years. For his next wife he married Miss Louisa Lingo. A son and daughter were born to that marriage. The son while plowing corn in his father's field was killed by a stroke of lightning. The daughter, Effie, is now the wife of Harry Shumate and they live in Penfield. For his last wife Mr. Tomlinson married Mrs. Ellen Bates, who died about twelve years ago.

Few citizens of Champaign County have been so severely tested as Mr. Tomlinson. With remarkable fortitude he has withstood the vicissitudes and trials of existence and everyone must wonder at his endurance and admire his faithfulness to family and children.

His son John married Mahala S. Chenoweth and they live in South Dakota and are the parents of two children, George and Nellie. The son Albert married Erma Deidrich, and their four children, Alberta, Russell, Earl and Marlin, with their parents, all live in the home of Mr. William Tomlinson, and he takes great delight in these grandchildren. Andrew Tomlinson, the third child, now deceased, married Alta McClaren, and her children are Rosetta, Raymond, M«rle and Arthur. The daughter Rachel married Mr. Gray, now deceased, and she lives at Penfield, the mother of three children, Orin, Elden and Grace.

During the passing years Mr. Tomlinson added to his land until his estate now comprises 130 acres, his home being about the center of the farm. His house is located on a fine bluff overlooking a rich valley of fertile bottom lands, with the Vermilion River sweeping gracefully around a border of trees. Thus he can live like a king, monarch of all he surveys, whose right there is none to dispute. He has for years been recognized as one of the successful and energetic farmers of Champaign County and the earth has yielded abundantly to his labors. He is a man of great public spirit and a thorough American in every sense. For a number of years he served as road commissioner of his district and also as a school director. Politically he is a stanch Republican. He cast his first vote for President Abraham Lincoln. Though a boy at the time, he has recollection of the stirring campaign when Polk was candidate for President in 1844, and he acquired his first knowledge of political issues in that time. Mr. Tomlinson's life has been closely identified with Champaign County. Coming here an orphan boy, he worked hard for his daily bread, and his industry has been steadfast through all the years of vicissitude and change and today he lives in a beautiful home, surrounded with children and grandchildren, and none will begrudge him his comfort and prosperity.

ALBERT C. BUKNHAM. Even the most casual visitor in Champaign is accustomed to associate the name Burnham with that city, where two of its most prominent institutions bear the name. It is true in a broad sense that the good or evil men do in their days lives after them, but seldom does this continuing influence take a better form of concrete benefit than in the Burnham Athenaeum Library and the Julia F. Burnham Hospital in Champaign. They are memorials with a purpose, and a reaction for good day after day upon the lives of thousands in the community which the late Albert C. Burnham did so much to enrich and improve.

There was little significance attached at the time to the quiet advent of Albert C. Burnham into the law office of J. B. McKinley as a student in the spring of 1862. He was "practically unknown, but a't the end of thirty-five years of labor as a lawyer, banker and business man his work was firmly entrenched in the esteem and the business fabric of the community.