Champaign County, Illinois - The whole text, 1918 (part 6 of 23)

The sixth of his parents' children, Ulysses G. Norman grew up in the country, attended the local schools, and was at home on the farm until he was twenty-two. Then for a year he farmed, and having acquired in the meantime a practical knowledge of carpentry he made his first venture in the building business by the purchase of a plat of land which is now known as the Norman Addition, and on which he built apartments and residences. After this initial success and experience he removed to Champaign in 1889 and now for nearly thirty years has been engaged in business as a contractor and builder. Among the more notable structures he has erected are the Dr. Howard Building, the Gazette Building and a number of the better residences.

Mr. Norman married Miss Minnie Osborne, a native of Champaign County. Mrs. Norman was a teacher in the city schools of Champaign for five years and taught in the country a similar length of time. She is a daughter of Robert and Margaret (Henley) Osborne, her father a native of Ohio and her mother of Tennessee. Both parents are now deceased. Her father was a farmer and - building contractor. Mrs. Norman was next to the youngest of the family of six children. To their marriage have been born four children : Louise E., Helen Grant, Margaret A., and Hartwell Osborne. Mr. Norman is independent in matters of politics, and he and his wife are active in the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is serving as a steward.

DANIEL MOONEY, proprietor of a fine and valuable farm in section 18 of Compromise Township, came to America from Ireland about the close of the Civil War, and has had a long and active career in America for more than half a century.

He was born in the north of Ireland, a son of Peter and Mary (Graham) Mooney. His parents died in the old country when Daniel was about twenty years of age. He had the usual education given to Irish boys, and about the time his parents died, having heard much of the opportunities of America, he came to this country, first joining his cousin, Patrick Grimes. From New York he came on to Illinois, having friends in Sangamon County, and was soon working at farm labor at wages of $20 a month. One of the great events with which he associates his coming to America was the assassination of President Lincoln at the close of the Civil War.

Central Illinois was by no means so attractive or beautiful as old Ireland, but Mr. Mooney had the true Irish grit and determination and determined to make the best of his circumstances. While working as a farm hand on the raw prairie there were many unpleasant things to contend with, including mosquitoes and flies, fever and ague. He was industrious, and in a few years felt justified in taking the next serious step in life.

At Lincoln in Logan County, Illinois, he married Miss Margaret Kearney. After their marriage they rented land in Logan County and were soon making a good living for themselves and their increasing household. Five children came to them, Peter, Daniel, Margaret, Lydia and Anna. When Anna was ten months old the beloved mother entered into rest. Thus left alone in the world, with five orphan children, Mr. Mooney had many additional trials and responsibilities.

He married for his second wife Mary Nolan, a native of County Tipperary, Ireland. In the meantime Mr. Mooney had bought eighty 'acres, in Compromise Township of Champaign County, and here his best successes as a farmer and business man have been realized. In the course of time his estate grew to 2-iO acres, and it was improved with commodious farm buildings and home, by the planting of fruit and shade trees, and the entire tract now stands as a monument to his industry.

By his second marriage there were three children, two sons and one daughter, named Mary, Michael and John. The children were all educated iu the district schools, Mary subsequently continuing her studies in the Sisters school at Champaign, while Michael took a course in the Catholic College at Kankakee.

The record of the children who have married is as follows : Peter Mooney married Anna Buck, and their three daughters and one son are named Stella, Kate; Daniel and Mary. Margaret Mooney is the wife of John O'Donnel. Lydia married Eussell Fitten and has four children, John, Frances and twins. Anna Mooney is the wife of Spence Raymer. Mary Mooney married John Coffey. Michael Mooney by his marriage to Rene Lynch has two sons, Patrick and Eugene. The sons Daniel and John are still at home with their father and have active charge of the management of the farm, whose cultivation and thrifty appearance testify to their progressiveness and energy in this business.

Mr. Mooney is one of the^ public spirited citizens of Compromise Township and has filled the offices of road commissioner and school director. He and his family are members of the Catholic Church at Penfield and in politics he is a Democrat of broad views and liberal in support of all good causes. His friends, and acquaintances in Compromise Township recognize in him a thorough gentleman and a man of absolute integrity, whose word is as good as his bond.

FRANK KERN ROBESON. Of the many business establishments in Champaign County perhaps none has a wider connection with the families of this section of Illinois and a better reputation due to many years of successful business relations than the Robeson Department Store, founded and built up by the veteran merchant Frank Kern Robeson, who has the distinction of having developed the first real department store in the city of Champaign.

While his success and position in the community are now so well established, it is noteworthy that Mr. Robeson did not always have an easy course and one free from obstacles. He was born in the state of Pennsylvania. His parents, Alexander M. and Jane (Kern) Robeson, were natives of the same state. Their ancestors had come to America prior to the Revolutionary War. Both the Robesons and the Kerns were engaged in the great iron industry of Pennsylvania until a short time before the Civil War.

In 1863 Alexander M. Robeson and his family moved to the pineries of Northern Michigan. During the next winter they and four other families endured the hardships of frontier life. When navigation closed in the fall there was no communication with the outside world except mail every two weeks brought in on sledges drawn by dogs. When navigation opened in the spring the Robesons took the first boat, a sailing vessel, that left for Bay City, and thence proceeded by rail and by stage over corduroy roads to Rensselaer, Indiana. Rensselaer, now the county seat of Jasper County, was then a sparsely settled section in swamps and with no railroad communications. The Robesons became farmers in that vicinity.

Many of the boyhood recollections of Mr. F. K. Robeson are of the old Indiana farm. He lived on the farm until past sixteen, and was educated in the country and county seat schools. His first experience in business was as clerk in a store at Logansport, Indiana.

One of the strongest points in personal character is ability to recognize and seize opportunity. After Mr. Eobeson had been clerking about two years he was offered a partnership in a store to be opened at Danville, Illinois. He accepted the offer, and thus came to Illinois and was at Danville nine months. He prospered there, but then went to Decatur, Illinois, and formed a business partnership which in eleven months time brought him near to the brink of disaster and he lost in it nearly all the money he had saved.

.It was after this experience and when just past twenty-one years old that Mr. Eobeson came to Champaign, where he arrived in April, 1874. Here he opened a store on Neil Street in the first block north of Church Street. What he lacked in capital he made up in energy, pluck and business judgment. The small stock of merchandise grew with the growth of population, his success was soon recognized in the community, and there has never been a time when his business and his personal character has not been' recognized as important assets in the city. About forty years ago Mr. Eobeson moved to the David Bailey building. The store has a frontage at 219-221 North Neil Street, and the building runs back to a side entrance at 113-115 West Church Street.

For many years his store has demanded more commodious quarters. To meet this demand for more room and more up-to-date housing, Mr. Robeson in the fall of 1915 began preparation for the construction of a new store building at the corner of Church and Eandolph streets. The building is 132x132 feet square, five stories and basement, modern throughout, and as nearly fireproof as possible to make it. It is a steel frame building with pressed brick walls. This is the largest store building in this section of Illinois, and in every feature it attests the rugged character and sterling integrity of the man responsible for it.

Besides this large department store Mr. Eobeson has extensive agricultural interests, owning land in Champaign County, in South Dakota and in Iowa. A part of his land he rents out and a part he farms himself, employing his own help and directing the farm operations. His business as a farmer has been no less successful than as a merchant.

Mr. Robeson married in 1897 Miss Hortense M. Bartholow, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. J. M. Bartholow, and a native of Champaign County. Dr. James M. Bartholow is a prominent physician of Urbana. After leaving college he enlisted in the Civil War and served until the close of that conflict. In 1869 he began his practice at Philo in Champaign County, but removed to Urbana in 1885. Dr. Bartholow was married May 28, 1867, to Florence Ford, of Macon City, Illinois. They had two children, Otho, a minister in New York; and Hortense, Mrs. Robeson. Mr. and Mrs. Robeson have two children : Frank Kern, who followed his high school graduation with a course at college, and Florence Louise Robeson.

Mr. Eobeson is a Knight Templar Mason, also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His public spirit as a citizen has always been prominent. He enters whole heartedly into any plan for the general benefit of the community. Mr. Robeson is a man of broad intelligence and pronounced convictions, and is never afraid to let his opinions be known. He stands for all that is best in community life, in business and in politics. He served on the building and finance committees that erected and paid for the University Place Church of Christ. For twenty years he was a member of the Republican County Central Committee and for ten years was chairman of that organization. He never sought public office, but on two occasions was induced to accept official honor, once in the City Council as alderman from his ward, having been elected without opposition, and again as a member of the State Board of Equalization for a term of four years. Though repeatedly urged to accept other official positions he always declined. He prefers private life, his home, his business and his farm. In many ways Mr. Robeson is an ideal citizen. His friends are legion. Not even his most intimate friends are aware of the extent of his good works and good deeds. The keynote to his success has been hard work. He personally mastered the smallest details of merchandising, and from the details has risen to the power of constructive planning and the supervision of extensive interests.

THOMAS H. LEATHERS, who for a number of years has stood second to none among the competent dental surgeons of Champaign County is an instance of a self-made man who came almost to the age of manhood without schooling or education and by sheer force of will and ambition qualified for a profession requiring a high degree of skill and intelligence.

Doctor Leathers was born in Glensborough, Kentucky, June 30, 1870, son of William and Mary (Royalty) Leathers. His parents were both born in Kentucky, were thrifty farming people but of modest means. The mother died at the age of thirty-one and the father is now living in Montana. There were only two children, Doctor Thomas being the older, while his brother, Alfred, is manager of the Standard Oil plant at Nashville, Tennessee.

The childhood of Thomas H. Leathers was spent on a Kentucky farm, also in the logging camps, and when he was seventeen years of age he began his education. He determined to get an education and he worked constantly to pay his tuition and his support while in school. He first attended school at Palmyra, Illinois, and subsequently completed a four years course in the Danville Normal in Indiana. When he had made up for early deficiencies in the way of a literary training, he entered the Louisville College of Dentistry at Louisville, Kentucky, and in 1898 passed the State Board after two years of work and was graduated in 1899. For three years Doctor Leathers kept his main office at the corner of Fourth and Jefferson streets in Louisville, but practiced throughout the contiguous country district. In 1902 he came to Champaign, and his reputation as a dentist has been steadily growing throughout the past fifteen years. Doctor Leathers now maintains one office and besides his individual skill and attainments he has surrounded himself with every modern equipment and appliance by which the skill of the dentist is immeasurably enhanced.

Doctor Leathers is a man of thorough education and culture and besides extensive travel in this country has been abroad in Europe. In politics he is independent, is a member of the Masonic Order and the Benevolent and Protctive Order of Elks, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was married August 28, 1900, to Minnie M. Crawford, a native of Champaign Coimty.

PATRICK CONNOR. Every one in the Rantoul vicinity of Champaign County knows the home of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Connor. It is located in section 19, five miles northwest of Rantoul and near the schoolhouse to which Mr. Connor sent his own children and with which he has been officially identified. This is a fine farm, comprising 320 acres, and from the road the large white house is almost screened by the fine trees which surround it and most of which were planted and set out by Mr. Connor's own hands.

-All these worthy and creditable possessions are the result of Mr. and Mrs. Connor's self-sacrificing efforts in early days and continued good management at. the present. Mr. Patrick Connor was born at Richmond,

Virginia, a son of Patrick and Catherine (Kane) Connor, who were natives of Ireland and came to America soon after their marriage in order to better their conditions in the New World. From Virginia they moved to Peoria County, Illinois. Their three children were Mary, Hannah and Patrick.

Patrick, the only son, attended school in Peoria County, and soon after reaching manhood, in 1885, he married Mary Sullivan. Mrs. Connor was born in Logan County, Illinois, third in a large family of children born to Daniel and Catherine (Buckley) Sullivan. Mrs. Connor was six years of age when her parents located in Champaign County, and she obtained her education in the Ludlow Center school.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Connor lived on the old Connor homestead in Condit Township for seven years. They were ambitious for the future and had the energy and enthusiasm of young people, and thriftily put aside some of the surplus from each year's efforts until they were able to buy the nucleus of their present estate, consisting of 160 acres five miles northwest of Rantoul. For that quarter section they paid $65 an acre.

To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Connor were born nine children, two of whom died in infancy. The others were named Catherine, Mary, Irene, John, Patrick, Madaline and Helen. These children were educated in the nearby school, the Locust Grove school. Catherine was also a student in St. Joseph's Academy at Bloomington, and Mary was a pupil in St. Mary of the Woods at Terre Haute, Indiana. Irene graduated with honors from the Rantoul High School and fitted herself for teaching, being engaged in that work for two years in the Independence school in East Bend Township. Catherine is now the wife of John Murray, a farmer in East Bend. Township, and their three children are named Anna Gertrude, Mary Louise and Connor. The other children, Mary, Irene, John and Patrick, remain at home and assist their father and mother in the management of the farm. All are bright and energetic boys and girls and have a good future before them. Three of the children are students in the Donovan Memorial School of Eantoul conducted by the Dominican Sisters.

Mr. and Mrs. Connor attend St. Malachi's Catholic Church at Rantoul, and their children were baptized and confirmed in that church. Politically he votes the Democratic ticket. Proof of his public spirit is found in the fact that he was elected for a number of years as school director anu has been frequently honored with the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Connor have done all in their power to prepare their children for efficient lives. Realizing and appreciating the value of music as a source of true culture they have given their daughters musical as well as literary training.

Mr. Connor has achieved a position among the first of Champaign County's farmers and stockmen. He now has 320 acres of land, and among his improvements is a silo with a capacity of ninety tons. He has gained something more than a county-wide reputation as a breeder and raiser of Aberdeen Angiis cattle. In the off crop year of 1916 Mr. Connor raised 4,500 bushels of corn, and at this writing still has most of it in his cribs. The market value of corn is now close to $1.60 a bushel. The Connor home has always been characterized by its generous hospitality. Mr. and Mrs. Connor have with all their hard work found time to perform their community duties and neighborly responsibilities, and have every reason to be proud of their home and the possessions they have gathered around them. Reference has already been made to the attractive feature of the fine trees in the door yard. These trees, planted by Mr. Connor himself, are maples, catalpas, box elders and a row of fine black walnut trees which now bear abundantly. All these things add to the real pleasure of life, and none are better qualified to enjoy such possessions than Mr. and Mrs. Connor.

ROGER E. ZOMBRO is one of the live and enterprising business men of Champaign, and after a number of years of practical experience as an employe graduated into the ranks of independent merchants and now conducts one of the most popular men's furnishing goods stores of the city, drawing his trade from the best classes of people.

Mr. Zombro was born at Midland City, Illinois, October 16, 1880, a son of Jacob W. and Mary M. (Cheney) Zombro. His parents were both born at Mechanicsburg, Ohio. Jacob Zombro spent the last twenty years of his life in the insurance business, and he died at Weldon, Illinois. The mother died at Champaign in July, 1916. They were the parents of five children : Minnie, wife of B. F. Peltz, of Clinton, Illinois ; James B., of Logan, Utah; Janette, wife of J: H. Alsbury, of Maroa, Illinois; Edna, wife of George Reddick, of Clinton, Illinois; and Roger E.

Mr. Roger E. Zombro began life with a fair equipment of education. He attended the common schools and lacked only three months of graduating from the high school at Weldon, Illinois. On account of poor eyesight he had to give up his studies, and soon afterward/ at the age of fifteen, he began acquiring a mercantile experience as an employe of William Gushard & Company at Decatur, Illinois. He was in that company's dry goods establishment four years and then transferred his employment to McPherson, Edwards & Company in their dry goods store at Springfield, Illinois. After about two years at Springfield Mr. Zombro came to Champaign in 1901 and was successively connected with the dry goods stores of E. C. Willis, F. S. Robson and W. Lewis & Company. With a wealth of experience, with credit acquired by his knowledge 'and ability, and with some capital Mr. Zombro in 1909 opened his men's furnishing store at 604 East Green Street, and has been continuously in that location with a rapidly growing trade.

On August 11, 1916, he married Miss J. Ethel Lediendecker, who was born in Champaign. Mr. Zombro is now precinct commissioner, is a member of the Country Club, the Civic Club, the Rotary Club, is a Republican in politics, and is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

ALEXANDER FUNKHOUSER. Some men go through the world, subject to its various experiences, doing their work well and accumulating property, but after all is said and done they apparently have not placed the proper emphasis upon life as living and have not accentuated the many interests which lie around them. Of those families of Champaign County that seem to have realized most adequately the breadth and fullness and depth of life and its possibilities perhaps none deserve mention more than the household of Alexander Funkhouser. Mr. Funkhouser is a prominent farmer near Rantoul, and his activities have been closely identified with Champaign County since boyhood days.

He is a son of James and Rachel Funkhouser, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. The original ancestors of the Funkhousers were three brothers who emigrated from Holland to America in early days, and their descendants still have the sterling qualities that marked the family back in Holland. James and Rachel Funkhouser had only two children, Alexander and Sarah.

Alexander Funkhouser was born two and a half miles from Greensburg in Decatur County, Indiana. He was eight years of age when he came with his parents to Champaign County. They arrived in this county October 19, 1857. Here the family experienced the various hardships and privations incident to their day. They possessed powers of endurance and were always willing to sacrifice present comfort for the sake of future good, and thus they surmounted seemingly insurmountable barriers and came to take their place in the ranks of the sturdy tillers of the soil whose business in life is to make old mother earth yield her rich increase. The passing years have shown that their labor was not in vain.

Young Alexander Funkhouser went to work in earnest to assist his father in cultivating the new farm in Champaign County. His first employment was in dropping corn. In those days such a thing as tiling fields was not known. The water frequently filled all the ditches and remained there a good part of the spring and early summer, and in order that the corn might not rot it had to be carefully dropped and covered on top of the furrows. Also as a barefooted boy he herded cattle on the Thomasboro flats, keeping a sharp lookout for the snakes that infested the place. He would quench his thirst by drinking water through a straw or reed from the numerous holes made by the cattle's feet. That way of drinking was a common custom in early days, and is said to have explained the reason why the inhabitants of Illinois were called "Suckers."

As the boy grew to manhood he had an earnest purpose for the future and laid the foundation of his own home and fortune by his union with Miss Adie James. To visit these good people in their home today, which possesses all the marks of a plenteous comfort, and see their fine sons and daughters and witness the cheery atmosphere of home life, one would quickly decide Mr. Funkhouser had not made any mistake in the choice of his life's partner.

Adie James was a daughter of Thomas J. and Almeda James, both natives of Indiana. The old home of the family was near Terre Haute. They early migrated to Champaign County. Thomas James died in Stanton Township of Champaign County. To their marriage were born fourteen children, and the seven still living are Adie, Mrs. Funkhouser; Alice, Gary, Lizzie, Chauncey, George and Hugh. The children of the James family all derived their education from the district schools.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Funkhouser took up their joint partnership as farmers. Through the strictest economy and by long continued saving they were able to purchase their first land, which consisted of eighty acres. To this they added from time to time until they now own 160 acres in Rantoul Township, 160 acres in Ford County and 150 acres in Vermilion County.

Into their home and to gladden their hearts have come twelve children, eight sons and four daughters. Their names were : Effie, Allie, Homer, Isaac, Charles, Btsel, Otis, Clinton, Frederick, Earl, Lena and a daughter that died in infancy. Charles is also deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Funkhouser gave their children all the advantages to be obtained in the country school district and later sent them to high school at Rantoul.

The daughter Effie was for four years a successful teacher in Champaign County and married an educator, G. E. Wright, and they now live in Des Moines, Iowa. They have a child, Cecil, a bright and energetic boy, who for two years filled the position of page in the Statehouse at Des Moines. He is an independent little fellow and began his business life as a newsboy and since the age of ten years has done his own banking.

Allie is the wife of L. F. Ledclerboge, a resident of Bloomington, Illinois, from which city he travels as representative for the Portable Elevator Company. They have two sons, Lloyd and Clifford.

Homer married Miss Cora Moudy, and they live at Gerald, Vermilion County. The town of Gerald takes off eight acres from their farm. Their children .are named Merle, Doris, Eugene, Lenore, Margaret, Christine and Emory.

Etsel, who lives in Somer Township, married Julia Tracy, and they have one son, Richard Alexander, who was born on his grandfather's birthday and was given the name of his grandfather.

As the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Funkhouser married and left home the parents wisely exerted themselves so as to give proper opportunities to their sons and keep them at home and busy as long as possible. They therefore rented a 400-acre ranch, the old Richard estate near Rantoul, and that has proved a very wise arrangement, since it gives ample opportunities for the boys to practice agriculture and work out their destinies for themselves without going away from home.

The family are active members of the Christian Church at Rantoul, and in politics Mr. Alexander Funkhouser is a strong Democrat and believes the present incumbent of the White House is not only the man of the hour but the man whom destiny has marked out to be one of the greatest factors in the settlement of the problems of the world. Mr. Funkhouser is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World, and all his sons who have reached the proper age have membership in the Odd Fellows lodge and all are enthusiastic workers in that fraternity. A portrait shows the picture of the father and seven sons wearing the regalia of Odd Fellowship, and this photograph indicates that the father as well as the sons have attained the stations of past grand masters. Mr. and Mrs. Funkhouser have lost no opportunity to lead exemplary lives before their family and instill in them principles of manly conduct and true American citizenship. Their hospitable home for years has echoed ringing laughter and merry voices of boys and girls, and it has been a center for the social gatherings of the neighborhood. Mrs. Funkhouser is a fine type of the American woman who believes in rearing her boys to fill places of usefulness in the great busy avenues of life and finds little satisfaction in the glories of war, which she believes is not the true field for American manhood.

The jovial spirit of Alexander Funkhouser is contagious. Neither he nor his wife believe in growing old in spirit, and they always have a cheerful word for everyone. In 1916 Rantoul held a Halloween carnival pageant. All the participants were garbed in costume. Among them was a jolly old black mammy, gaily decorated in the bright colors so dear to the race. Her appearance on the street amid the revelers was hailed with hearty delight. She looked as though she had just emigrated from a southern plantation. Many guesses were made as to who she was. It was the signal for added mirth and pleasure when it was discovered that she was Mrs. Alexander Funkhouser, a gray-haired grandmother, with her heart young as in her girlhood days. At that carnival Mr. and Mrs. Funkhouser received a fine prize for having the largest family.

WILLIAM 0. SMITH. For more than half a century a resident of Champaign County, William 0. Smith is known to the people of this section as a man who did his brave and efficient duty in the Civil WTar, as an active and industrious farmer, and as one who in all the relations of a long and busy life has lived up to the best standards of citizenship. He is also known through his children, a number of whom now occupy worthy and honorable places in community affairs.

a son of S. B. and Mary Ellen (Sheperd) Smith. His father's native home was near Harper's Ferry, Virginia. William 0. Smith was one of a family of five sons and two daughters. In 1846, when he was seven years of age, the family removed to Sangamon County, Illinois, and rented a house in Sheldon's Row in the city of Springfield. For two years they had the distinction of living in the same house with Abraham Lincoln and his wife. The house was a double apartment, the Smiths occupying one side and the Lincolns the other. S. B. Smith served eighteen years as justice of the peace in Sangamon County.

Mr. W. 0. Smith as a boy attended the Lake Creek District School in Sangamon County. After leaving the common schools and working for a year he realized the need of more education and saved and earned the money necessary to give him a course in the Springfield High School.

While in high school he was invited to join a debating club. The rules of the club were that members should be called upon for extempore speeches, limited to fifteen minutes on any given topic. Failure to make a speech made the member subject to a forfeit or fine of twenty-five cents.

When young Smith was first called upon for such an ordeal the chairman reached in a box, as was the custom, drew out a subject for the speech and handed it to the young man. Much to his suprise the slip contained the one word, soap. That was a test of quick thinking and ready wit. Another factor was that young Smith was not troubled with many quarter dollars in those days, and he promptly waded into his subject. He elucidated every phase and fact concerning soap, and much to the amusement and delight of the audience. Finally the time was up and the president had to ring him down. About sixty-five years later Mr. Smith met in Springfield one of his old schoolmates, who after mutual greeting laughingly asked "Smith, how is soap in Champaign County?"

Mr. Smith was a young man of twenty-two when the war cloud broke and deluged the country with hostilities. Filled with enthusiasm, he enlisted in his country's service at Springfield in 1861 and became a member of Company I, Twenty-ninth Illinois Infantry. This regiment it has been frequently said was the regiment that "put down the rebellion." He signed his enlistment papers August 7, 1861, at one o'clock in the afternoon. He immediately went home and bid his mother good-bye and next morning ate his breakfast at Cairo, Illinois. For nearly three years of his service Mr. Smith was employed as a United States scout. He was in many of the principal engagements, including Fort Donaldson and Fort Heniy, Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh, Black River, and many other scenes of carnage and bloodshed that have never effaced themselves from his memory. Even yet he shrinks from talking about the terrific side of war. It is only such men who can completely realize the tremendous sacrifices that were made in making this country a free and united people. He became a corporal in his company and was subsequently promoted to the post of deputy to a general. Finally General Grant took him to his headquarters and employed him there for two years. Some years later, when General Grant was in his second term as president, Mr. Smith visited Washington. Desiring to see his old general he presented himself at the door of the White House. The soldier on guard asked him to ' present his card. This Illinois veteran was not prepared with visiting cards and consequently was told that the President could not see him. It chanced that the President was close by, and recognizing the voice of the old soldier called him in and gave him his warm and characteristically kind greeting. They spent some time talking over old days in the army.

after the expiration of his term of enlistment he was mustered out at Natchez, Mississippi, and received his honorable discharge at Springfield August 27, 1864. He was under Capt. Samuel H. Russell, the brave soldier who subsequently accompanied General Custer on the expedition against the Indians in the Northwest and fell another victim to the frenzy of the red men under Sitting Bull in the massacre of 1876.

After the war Mr. Smith engaged in farming in Champaign County and in 1865, at Mahomet, married Miss Louzsa Rea. Five children were born to them : Ida Lillian, Grace Eleanor, Jessie R., William 0., Jr., Mary Ellen. These children were well educated in the Ludlow schools and the Paxton schools. W. 0. Jr., after his education in these institutions studied law at Normal University three years, graduated, and has since practiced as a successful young attorney. He married Martha Whitcome and has one child, Raymond. The daughter Ida married Charles Hammerlin, and their children are Charles, Lew, Vera, Myrtle, Chester, Dewey, Rex and Clara. Grace E. is the wife of Charles Coon. Their children are Flossie, Bede, Carl, Lois, Lillian, Glen, Jay, Marian and June. Jessie R. is the wife of Charles S. Wallace. Mr. Smith now makes his home with this daughter, Mrs. Jessie Wallace, at Champaign. By a former marriage Mrs. Wallace has one daughter, Lou Iris, who married T. H. Doty, and they have one child, Robert Hurrel Doty. This great-grandchild, a great comfort and the pride of his great-grandfather, was born November 17, 1913. The daughter Mary E. married William Clark, and their children are William, Robert, Laurel, Evelyn, Richard and Opal. The Clark family reside in TJrbana.

After a happy home life of nearly a half a century Mr. Smith's companionship with his beloved sharer of joys and sorrows was terminated in the death of Mrs. Smith on March 30, 1914. She was a loving mother and true and noble wife. Mr. Smith is a kind hearted and most hospitable man, and his long experience has made him the delightful companion of both old and young. One of his aims has been to make a new friend each day, and his motto, oft repeated and a constant abiding principle with him is "he who is armed with right is thrice doubly armed and need have no fear."

GEORGE L. WATSON. There are pioneer names in Champaign County that so essentially belong to the development and progress of this section of Illinois that no history would be complete without reference to them. One ,of these names is Watson, and a worthy bearer of it is found in George L. Watson, a leading citizen and the owner of a large body of finely improved land situated in section 16 of Harwood Township.

George L. Watson was born in Champaign County, Illinois, and is a son of Joseph and Rachel E. (Simpson) Watson, the latter of whom was born in Ohio. Joseph Watson was born in Ireland and was a son of William N. and Ellen (Patrick) Watson, born in County Kildare. The father belonged to the old order of Orangemen. When Joseph Watson was three months old his parents immigrated to America and finally settled at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later in Ohio. At that time there was a fine old custom prevailing whereby a son who remained with his parents and did a son's duty until he was twenty-one years old was then released from all responsibility, was given a horse and bridle and saddle and a Godspeed and was sent out to test his own physical and moral strength with the world. When he reached his majority Joseph Watson received these gifts and bravely started out to find opportunity for himself. It was something of an iindertaking in those days because of so many unknown dangers to be faced, but he started on his way from Ohio and traveled by horse- back to Iowa, in the meanwhile paying his own way by labor and keeping his eye out for a desirable section in which to locate, finally deciding that Illinois would suit him best of all others. After his marriage, which took place in Indiana, he moved with his wife to Champaign County, Illinois. There were many hardships and no doubt he often remembered the story his father had told of his pioneer days in Ohio, when the loss occasioned by his horse, his one valuable possession at the time, caused him much distress. The horse had wandered away into the great surrounding wilderness and Grandfather Watson had to leave his wife alone in the little cabin for three days while he sought the animal and found it miles away. Such stories were not unusual and doubtless many like accidents happened to Joseph Watson in Champaign County. Here, however, he became a man of settled estate and public usefulness and his name is recalled with feelings of respect and veneration. Of his six children George L. was the youngest in order of birth.

George L. Watson attended the public schools and grew to manhood in Champaign County. The Watsons had relatives who lived in Indiana, and it was while visiting them that Mr. Watson met the lady who subsequently became his wife, and on December 31, 1889, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Josephine Short. Her parents were James and Amanda (Kemp) Short, the former of whom was a prominent farmer in Fountain County, near Hillsboro. He died from the effects of a fall when aged eighty years. He was a son of Aaron Short, of whom the story is told that it was through his plucky deeds that the name "Hoosier" was ever afterward applied to Indiana, in which state he lived. It is said that at the early day when the canal around the Ohio Eiver was in course of construction in southern Indiana, all classes were to be found among the workmen. According to prevailing custom there was plenty of whiskey on hand and consequent frequent brawls. On one occasion a number of these half-drunken workmen decided to attack Aaron Short, the big Virginian, Virginia being his native state. He was a Hercules, six feet tall and brave as a lion. He fearlessly faced his foes and one after another went down under his powerful, sledge-hammer blows. He had never studied any science of fighting but had a system of his own that had always proved effective. When he had seven men groveling in the dust at his feet it is said that he straightened himself, and swinging his brawny bare arms, yelled, "Who's here?" as much as to say, "Who is next to tackle me?" His companions, it is told, laughingly abbreviated the remark and named him "Hoosier," and applied it to the state he lived in.

During the first five years of their married life Mr. and Mrs. Watson lived on the farm of an uncle, kelson Watson, Sr. They were industrious, frugal, ambitious and energetic, and soon found themselves able to purchase eighty acres of land situated in Harwood Township, four and a half miles south of Ludlow. In five more years they bought eighty acres more and at the end of another five years purchased an additional eighty acres. At a later date Mr. Watson inherited ninety-six acres from his father's estate and then purchased the interests of the other heirs, making his farm 360 acres. Mrs. W'atson owns eighty acres in Indiana, a part of -her father's estate.1 General farming and stock raising have been carried on, Mr. Watson continuing actively superintending all his industries until within recent years, since which time his son, Clarence Everett, has taken over the management and is ably continuing his father's methods and policies.

Mr. and Mrs. Watson have had six children, namely : Laura E. and Raymond E., twins, who died in infancy; and Clarence Everett, Nora Esta, Fannie Josephine and George Joseph. Not only have these children had social advantages but their education has been carefully looked after. Clarence, Nora and Fannie all completed their eighth grade work in the Harwood Center district school on the same day and proudly brought home to their gratified parents their grade diplomas and also honorary diplomas for school attendance for eighteen months without once being absent or tardy. Subsequently Nora entered the Paxton High School and was creditably graduated therefrom in 1913. She is a very ambitious as well as intellectual young lady and has spent three years in Eureka College, preparing for educational work. The other children are doing equally well. Fannie has completed her first year, at the time of writing, in the Ludlow High School. Joseph, although only eleven years old, has no intention of being outdistanced by his sisters, and he, too, received a diploma for punctuality and attendance.

Mr. and Mrs. Watson, in their desire to give advantages to their children and also to add to the attractions of home, have recognized the great place that music holds and the daughters have been carefully instructed and show talent in this direction. In 1915 Mr. Watson erected the fine residence that is the happy home. It is beautifully situated on a natural eminence, and is shaded by trees along the front and its attractive appearance elicits general admiration. Mr. Watson has also looked after the comfort of his family by installing a hot and cold water system, such as city residents enjoy and the house is lighted by gas. Eural life as Mr. Watson and family can enjoy it leaves little to be desired, for they have their mail delivered on the rural route and are connected in all directions through excellent telephone service.

Politically Mr. Watson is a Democrat and he voices his faith in President Woodrow Wilson as being the man to safely guide the nation through its present perils. Both he and son Clarence Everett are members of the Masonic fraternity, and Mrs. Watson is a member of the Eastern Star. Mr. Watson and family attend the Christian Church at Ludlow, afford it liberal support and take part in 'its benevolent and other missionary work.

WILLIAM SULLIVAN has been a life long resident of Champaign County and has figured in business affairs as a printer, newspaper man, and in later years in the real estate and insurance business. He has one of the principal offices for the handling of real estate and insurance at Champaign.

Mr. Sullivan was born at Urbana Illinois, February 12, 1862, a son of John and Ellen (McCann) Sullivan. Both parents were natives of Ireland, the father born in County Cork and the mother in County Limerick. John Sullivan came to America about 1855, and in 1857 located at Urbana. Subsequently he removed to Champaign and built a tavern across the street from where the Illinois Central depot stands. This tavern was known as the Travelers Home. In many ways it had historic associations with the life of the times. The principal work outside of farming then going on in this district of Illinois was railroading. The Travelers Home became headquarters for the newcomers in this section of Illinois, and John Sullivan's acquaintance with officials of the railroad enabled him to secure first employment for a large number of these newcomers, many of whose families still remain in and about Champaign to this day. The other class of patronage upon which the Travelers Home relied for its prosperity was entertaining the emigrants then traveling across the country seeking new homes in the West. Most of these travelers came and went in wagons, and the wagon yard and stables were important adjuncts of the old hostelry at Champaign. John Sullivan was still proprietor of this hotel at the time of his death, January 16, 1871.

He was survived by his widow, whose death occurred January 27, 1905. Of their five children, William Sullivan is the only one now living. Two daughters, Anna and Elizabeth, and one son, James, died before their father, and Nellie afterward. She was the wife of George Boys and left two children, Lila and Nellie.

Besides the public schools of Champaign William Sullivan had the advantages of two years at St. Viator's College "at Bourbonnais, Kankakee County. He attended this school after his father's death. He was only nine years of age when his father . died, and after returning home from college he began learning the printer's trade with the old Times Printing Company. Later he was with the Champaign Gazette. In 1893, during the World's Fair year, Mr. Sullivan went to Chicago and was engaged in the tea and coffee business. The next year he returned to Champaign and resumed his connection with the Times in the printing department, and for ten years was reporter and city editor of that paper. He finally gave up the newspaper game to enter the real estate and insurance business, and he has been active in that line since 1904.

For many years Mr. Sullivan was affiliated with the Democratic party and took an active part in politics. During recent years he has been independent as to politics. For five years he served as secretary of the chamber of commerce, and has' always taken his part in movements for the general good of the community. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Knights of Pythias and the Court of Honor. On March 18, 1891, he married Miss Frances M. Trenchard, a native of Piatt County, Illinois. Six children have been born to their union : William J., now actively associated with his father in business ; Walter, deceased; Edna, at home; twins who died at birth; and Arthur T., also at home.

THOMAS BUCK. Among the intelligent and thrifty farmers of Champaign County one whose name belongs high on the list is Mr. Thomas Buck of section 28, Compromise Township.

Mr. Buck has spent most of his active life in Champaign County, but was born in Warren County, this state, a son of Eli and Catherine (Hogan) Buck. His father was born in Vermont and his mother in Ireland. When Thomas was four months old the parents moved to Champaign County, locating south of Gifford, where the children were all educated in the public schools.

Thomas Buck grew up to industrious habits and responsible manhood and at the age of twenty-seven married Sarah Graham. She was born in Logan County, Illinois, and her father, Abraham Graham, was among the early settlers of the state. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Buck started life as farmers in section 28, south of Penfield, and here their work has been tested and the best fruits of their lives realized. They have a splendid farm of 166 acres, an attractive home, and have done much to beautify the land and render it homelike as well as valuable for farming purposes. Mr. Buck's parents in their later years moved to Penfield, and his father died there, widely recognized as one of the good citizens and kind neighbors of Champaign County.

To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Buck were born nine children : Francis, Joseph, Arthur, Edward, Harold, James, Charles, Mary and Helen. They made up a household of bright, energetic young people, and this is one of the households which has contributed most generously to the new National American Army, since three of the sons have enrolled as soldiers, Francis, Joseph and Arthur. Joseph graduated from the Penfield High School and afterward spent one year at St. Viator's College at Bour- bonnais, Illinois. From college he returned home and began a career as a farmer, having rented land. Francis Buck married Stella Collins, is a farmer living at Gerald, and has one son, Joseph Francis.

Mr. and Mrs. Buck are active members of the Penfield Catholic Church and are among its liberal supporters. In his political views Mr. Buck is a Democrat, and is a man whose record in Compromise Township well entitles him to the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens. He has been a member of the school board and wherever possible has exerted his influence in behalf of good schools, good roads and other improvements. He and his wife are active members of the Hibernian lodge at Penfield.

Louis MITTENDORF. A number of the solid old business houses of Champaign perpetuate in their ownership old pioneer names of Champaign County, the undertaking establishment of Louis Mittendorf being a case in point. For more than sixty years the name of Mittendorf has been known and respected in this section, ever representing honest methods and sturdy industry, and every one who has business transactions with Louis Mittendorf can testify that he has dealt with an honest man.

Louis Mittendorf was born at Champaign, Illinois, June 13, 1860. His parents were Christian and Hannah (Schneber) Mittendorf, both of whom were born in Germany. Early in the '50s the father came to Champaign County in company with Emil Dunlap, for whom he worked for nine years as gardener and nurseryman and then went into the same business for himself, purchasing five acres of land north of the town. This he improved and brought to a high state of cultivation, making of it a very profitable market garden and utilizing every inch in his frugal, efficient way, thereby accumulating a competency. To his marriage with Hannah Schneber eight children were born, as follows: Frank, who is deceased ; Lottie, who is the widow of William Kiler, of Champaign ; Christie, who is the wife of Jacob Ort, of Wahoo, Nebraska; Eeka, who is deceased; Annie, who is the wife of J. J. Dallenbach; Henry, who is deceased ; and Louis and Charles, both of whom reside in Champaign. The father of this family died March 28, 1906, and the mother in 1908.

Louis Mittendorf resided with his parents, attending school as was convenient, and assisted his father until he was twenty-one years old, making himself very useful, as. he had charge of the delivery of produce to customers in Champaign. When his father retired in 1897 he succeeded him and continued the business for ten years. He moved then to Champaign and in 1889 started a furniture and undertaking business and continued in both lines until 1914, when he sold the furniture department to C. A. Kiler and since then has confined himself entirely to undertaking. He has well appointed undertaking and funeral directing apartments at No. 134 West Park Street. For twenty-eight years he has sympathetically as well as efficiently served Champaign families, in the way that some time or other all families must be served, personally attending to all details, giving advice when it was welcomed and showing a friendly interest that often means so much in times of distress and grief.

Mr. Mittendorf was married August 22, 1906, to Miss Mary McConney, who was born in Indiana, a daughter of Norris and Mary (Walters) McConney, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter at Urbana, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Mittendorf have two children : John Porter, who was born June 10, 1907, and Mary Jane, who was born November 21, 1908. In politics Mr. Mittendorf is a Eepublican and fraternally he is identified with several orders.

CAPT. THOMAS JEFFERSON SMITH, of Champaign, is one of the fewmen still living in Illinois who made their first briefs and arguments in a court room prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. In many ways his has been a remarkable life. He began practice before the war, enlisted soon afterward and gave the best in him to the perpetuation of the Union, came out of the war with the rank of captain, and at once began practice at Champaign, where he has now lived for over half a century.

Captain and Mrs. Smith never had any children. They were devoted companions during the long journey they had together in this vale of tears, and while they began struggling young people, they lived to enjoy much and the memory of their companionship is the sustaining thing in Captain Smith's life today.

Future generations will know of the many ties that linked together Captain Smith and his wife because just recently Captain Smith has donated a fund of $215,000 to the University of Illinois for the erection of a building on the campus to be named the Tina Weedon Smith Music Hall. That building will be used exclusively as a home of music, and for years to come ,it will be a source of inspiration and a source of artistic culture to the thousands of students who yearly throng to this center of learning. ,

Capt. Thomas Jefferson Smith is a native of Virginia, having been born near Kingwood, in Preston County, July 4, 1836. His parents were Jacob and Cecelia (Shaw) Smith, both natives of Virginia. When Captain Smith was a small child his parents removed to Logan County, Ohio; locating on a tract of wild land and his father did the clearing necessary to make it a farm. In 1850 he removed to Bellefontaine, in Logan County, and lived there somewhat retired until his death in 1875. The mother of Captain Smith died in 1862.

The fourth in a family of nine children, Captain Smith grew up on an Ohio farm. He took part in the sports and pastimes of his rural community, and became strong in body and industrious from an early age. When he was only twelve years of age he was awarded the first prize in a plowing competition in which young men of twenty-one and twentytwo years of age were allowed to participate.

His early education was limited by the advantages of the local high school. He qualified as a teacher and taught in Ohio until 1858, when he removed to Clay County, Illinois. In Clay County he continued teaching for a year, and in the meantime had studied law in private offices and in his leisure hours and was admitted to the bar in 1859. In November of that year this young attorney was elected county superintendent of schools in Clay County. He was the first Eepublican to enjoy such a distinction in Clay County. It had been the saying for many years that no Eepublican could be elected to office there. Captain Smith made a good campaign and his qualifications were so thoroughly admitted that he was elected to the office by a majority of 240 votes. He filled the office of county superintendent for two years, finally resigning to enter the Union Army.

From his law office he went out in July, 1862, to become a soldier of the Union. He enlisted in Company F of the Ninety-eighth Illinois Infantry, and was in continuous service until the close of the war. He went through the various grades of sergeant, orderly sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant until he became captain of his company, and for a time was on the staff of General Wilder. Captain Smith was mustered out of the army in April, 1865, at Nashville, Tennessee.

Smith was then a poor young army officer, had as yet established no permanent connections in his profession, and after his marriage at the home of his bride he was in such financial straits that he had to borrow enough money from a southern gentleman to get him and his wife back North. Immediately after coming out of the army Captain Smith located at Champaign, Illinois, where his thorough ability and his personal popularity soon brought him a living practice. He has long been recognized as a successful lawyer, and has grown wealthy in the profession and in the various business interests he has acquired. Captain Smith is still attorney for and a director in the Champaign National Bank and is also attorney for the Wabash Railroad Company.

For nearly forty years Captain Smith and wife lived together, and the many bonds that united them were finally broken in her death on August 22, 1903. Captain Smith and wife spent much of their time in later years in travel, and they were all over Europe together. Captain Smith has always been active in the Republican party, and for four years was chairman of the Republican Central Committee. He is a member of the Masonic Order, the Grand Army of the Republic, the Country Club, and the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Louis GLENN COLLISON, vice president of the First National Bank of Rantoul, is one of the youngest bankers of Champaign County, and has attained a distinctive position in business affairs which would be creditable to many older men.

Mr. Collison was born at Rantoul, August 30, 1894, a son of the late Fred Collison and Emma B. Collison. His mother is now Mrs. S. C. Tucker of Champaign.

Mr. Collison was liberally educated, attending the grammar and high schools at Rantoul, spent one year in the University of Illinois and one year in Northwestern University at Chicago, and also had a business course in the Gem City Business College at Quincy. His father's death caused him to leave school and assume an active part in the management of his father's estate.

He first became connected with banking as bookkeeper and director of the First National Bank at Rantoul, and in the fall of 1915, soon after his twenty-first birthday, was made assistant cashier and has been vice president since January, 1917. Mr. Collison has been a director in the First National Bank of Thomasboro, Illinois, since the summer of 1914, and has been a director in the First National Bank of Gilman for over a year. Thus his position makes him a factor in the financial life of Champaign County and he also has some valuable farm land in this county.

Mr. Collison is a Republican voter, a member of the Masonic order, of the Champaign County Country Club and the Church of Christ. March 2, 1916, at the home of the bride in Philo Township, he married Hazel Ursula Guard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Guard. Her father was one of the early farmers of Champaign County. Mrs. Collison was educated in the Philo High School and also took a course in Brown's Business College at Champaign. While exceedingly busy with his private affairs, Mr. Collison has not neglected the public welfare and recently he was one of the local men who secured the establishment of the Chanute Aviation Field at Rantoul.

The name Collison stands among the worthy names of those whose integrity of character and public spirited enterprise have contributed no small share toward the splendid achievements of men in our community. To Champaign County's future success in the social, civic and economic enterprises it is highly important that our young men qualify themselves for the duties of life as they are called upon to fill the positions of their worthy predecessors among the ranks of men, and it is highly gratifying to the friends of the Collison family that the present head of the family has taken his place in the social, religious and commercial world, thus making himself a recognized factor in the community interests of this great county, of which her sons and daughters have every reason to be justly proud.

FRED S. BAILEY, member of the well known Bailey family of Champaign, now vice president of the Champaign National Bank, was born at Champaign April 19, 1871, and is a son of Captain Edward Bailey, one of the founders of the bank who is elsewhere mentioned in these pages.

Mr. Bailey attended the common and high schools of Champaign, graduating from the latter in 1889, and continued his studies at the University of Illinois until failing health obliged him to leave. For a year he worked in Colorado for an uncle and having recovered his health returned to Champaign and entered the Champaign National Bank as a clerk. He has been through all the grades of service and is now vicepresident of that institution.

Mr. Bailey is a charter member of the Elks Lodge at Champaign and in politics is a Republican. He was married August 12, 1901, to Miss Mabel Bennett, a native of Pontiac, Illinois. Her parents removed to Champaign in 1892 and her father was formerly agent of the Illinois Central Railway here and afterwards in the land business in Mississippi. Both her parents are now deceased.

MRS. SUZAN KIRK, widow of the late Bernard Kirk, is a Champaign County woman around whom center many associations and interests that betoken the spirit and achievements for which American life is most noteworthy. Mrs. Kirk was born in County Louth, Ireland, a daughter of Patrick and Ann (Casey) McGinnis. She was about fifteen years of age when her father died. While she was a girl in Ireland her cousin Mary Curley returned on a visit to the old country, and had much to say about the wonderful opportunities of the New World. It was these stories which largely decided Suzan to cast in her lot with the country across the water, and at the age of nineteen she set out and came alone across the ocean, landing at New York and going on to Chicago. She spent some time near Chicago, and while there met Bernard Kirk, also a native of the Emerald Isle and a son of Henry and Bridget Kirk. Bernard Kirk in the meantime had established himself in Champaign County and was in Chicago on business when he met Miss McGinnis. The acquaintance thus began continued with ripening affection until wedding bells sounded. The young couple possessed many of the virtues for which the land of Shamrock is noted, and began with vigor and enterprise the task of developing a 160- acre tract of land which Mr. Kirk owned in Champaign County. Their trip from Chicago to Champaign County was in the nature of a honeymoon.

Bernard Kirk had come to America with only $5 in capital, but steadily worked his way to a comparative degree of independence by the time he was married. Then, with the aid of a capable wife, progress was rapid, and .the success of his career is measured in the extensive holdings of 715 acres of as fine land as the State of Illinois can show.

To Mr. and Mrs. Kirk were born the following children: Bernard, Patrick H., Anna, John Francis, Margaret Cecelia, Mary Loretta and' Charles Joseph. Mr. and Mrs. Kirk did their utmost to train these children well both at home and in school. The children attended the Stonestreet district school, while Margaret Cecelia finished her education in the Raymond school of Chicago. She is now the wife of Francis O'Toole, a resident of Chicago and connected with the United States postal service. Mr. and Mrs. O'Toole have a little daughter, Frances. The daughter Anna Kirk married Bernard Murphy, who for many years was with the Chicago police force and died five years ago.

After many years of companionship and mutual sharing of joy and sorrow and prosperity, Mr. Kirk departed this life in February, 1908, after a brief illness of one week. He was a kind neighbor, a forceful business man and farmer, and had a record of which his family will always be proud. "Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace."

Thus left alone Mrs. Kirk faced the duties of life in a manner that has won for her the admiration of a large community. She took the management of the estate with the co-operation of her children and has shown a fine executive ability in keeping matters straight and in improving the large property left to her. She has never left the old homestead, and lives today amid the scenes which are associated with her coming to Champaign County as a happy and carefree bride. The crown of her life is her children, whom she has seen grow up around her and whose lives have partaken of the spirit and character of their worthy parents. The sons have proved themselves successful farmers, and the way in which the large estate is handled is the best evidence of their training and ability. Mrs. Kirk with all her many cares and responsibilities keeps in close touch with tiie issues of the day, and like many other American women, she abominates war and feels that its sacrifices are unjust and uncalled for. Mrs. Kirk and family are active members and liberal supporters of the Catholic Church at Penfield. While there have been trials and vicissitudes in her life, Mrs. Kirk considers it a golden day in her existence 'when she left Ireland and came to America, and has never had a cause to regret her choice of the New World and the many pleasant and fruitful years she has spent here.

JOSEPH L. HINES. The first man appointed to carry the mail into the rural districts of Champaign County .was the late Joseph L. Hines. Mr. Hines was for many years a resident of Champaign and his death, which' occurred in that city November 15, 1910, removed an honored and respected citizen.

Mr. Hines was born in Hamilton County, Indiana, December 31, 1859, the youngest in a family of nine children born to Joseph and Elizabeth (LeMarr) Hines. He grew up and received his education in the country and was a farmer until his marriage. He then formed a connection as a traveling salesman with the Coal Brothers Pump Company at Greencastle, Indiana, and sold the goods of that organization over a large territory. After many years of this life Mr. Hines removed to Champaign County in 1893 and entered the livery business. About half a dozen years later, when the rural free delivery system was established, he secured the first appointment as a rural carrier and for a number of years made his journey daily u.p and down the roads of Champaign County, delivering mail to the farmers along the route.

Mr. Hines was married November 18, 1881, to Miss Lizzie B. McKinsey, a native of Indiana and the oldest of seven children of Jacob and Rachel (Moore) McKinsey. Her parents were also natives of Indiana. Since her husband's death Mrs. Hines has continued to live in Champaign, and in 1913 she built the handsome two-story and basement brick and tile apartment house at 105 South Eandolph Street, where she still resides. Mr. Hines was an active Republican in politics. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hines : Fred J., now deceased ; Margaret L., wife of

REUBEN ROUGHTON. Among the many beautiful country estates which are to be found in Champaign County one of the most attractive and valuable is the farm of Reuben Roughton, which is located in section 27, Ludlow Township, one and one-half miles north of Rantoul. The owner of this property is one of the progressive agriculturists of the county, a skilled and industrious representative of his vocation, and a citizen who in many ways has contributed to the advancement of his locality. He was born at Attercliff, near Sheffield, England, but has been a resident of the United States since he was one and one-half years of age.

John Roughton, the father of Reuben Roughton, was born in England, where he received his education, and as a young man learned the trade of blacksmith, which he thoroughly mastered and which he followed for many years. In his native country he was united in marriage with Eliza Gilbert, who was born at Leicestershire, England, and they became the parents of ten children, all of whom died in infancy with the exception of Reuben. When this son was one and one-half years of age the family immigrated to the United States and first settled at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, but in 1854 removed to Urbana, Illinois, and subsequently settled at Big Grove in Champaign County, where they were residing at the outbreak of the Civil War. John Roughton enlisted in the Seventy-sixth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, a famous fighting organization, under Colonel Busey. In the army it was soon found out that he was a skilled blacksmith and a mechanical genius as well, just the kind of man needed on hand on various occasions. Detailed to Jackson, Tennessee, a special order was obtained from General Grant to have him remain at that point and at Memphis to assist in the work of the ordnance department, where it was felt that he was of greater value than he would be at the front. In the latter part of his three-year service, however, he went to New Orleans and into Alabama, and took part in the victorious charge of the Union forces on Fort Blakeley. At the end of the war, with an admirable record for faithful service to his adopted country, John Roughton received his honorable discharge and returned to Champaign County. Later he became well known in public life and had numerous friends among the prominent men of his day and locality, among them Judge Cunningham. At various times -he was called upon to perform public service, being elected official census taker from the township of Ludlow in 1880, and subsequently serving ten years as justice of the peace, five years as road commissioner and several years as overseer of highways. He was also secretary and superintendent of the Rantoul Maplewood Cemetery Association. Mr. Roughton pre-empted, upon his arrival in Champaign County, 160 acres of land in section 27, Ludlow Township, and there resided during the remainder of his long, busy and useful life. He made himself a beautiful home, where hospitality ever reigned, and built up an enviable reputation for solidity and sterling probity of character. He and his faithful helpmate were laid to rest in the same grave.

Reuben Roughton's parents were desirous that he should enter upon life's battles fully prepared by good educational advantages, and he was accordingly granted good facilities in this direction. As a youth he attended the public schools, subsequently was a student at the Urbana High School, and then went to Memphis, Tennessee, where his father was employed in the ordnance department of the Federal Government. During the first year of the existence of the University of Illinois, at Urbana, he studied in that institution, going there with Professor T. J. Burrell, and

On January 27, 1876, Mr. Eoughton was married to Miss Eliza H. Genung, who was born and educated at Eantoul, a daughter of E. N. and Julia A. (Shank) Genung. They began their wedded life on the home farm with his parents, and here there were born to them three children: Ada Maud, Eoy John and Hazel N. The children were all given good educational opportunities, and Hazel X. graduated from the Eantoul High School with creditable honors. She married Ira Crane, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits near Eantoul, and has two bright and promising sons, Wendell Lowell and Maurice Eoughton. Eoy Eoughton married Miss Mattie Lindsey, who was educated in the district schools and at Champaign and Eantoul, a daughter of Felix G. and Mildred Lindsey, and they have two children, Mildred Helen and John Addison. Mildred, who is in her second year of high school and expects to finish her course, is a studious and progressive young lady, with creditable ambitions. The first child of Mr. and Mrs. Beuben Eoughton, Ada Maud, after a brief illness with typhoid pneumonia, died when but eleven years of age.

The Roughton home is one which exemplifies the highest type of comfortable country dwelling. It is situated in a grove of beautiful maple, ash and evergreen trees, which Mr. Eoughton planted as a boy, and one of the features of the farm which at once attracts the notice of the visitor is a mammoth brown boulder in the front yard of the home, which has probably rested there for ages, this curious rock formation now being set attractively in the midst of a circle of flowers and plants and covered with vines. The beautiful lawns and drives remind the visitor of the old English estates, the pride of Great Britain, and the other improvements have been so installed that they not only please the eye, but are also placed so as to give the greatest amount of practical service. Mr. Eoughton carries on general farming and stock raising operations and has been very successful in both directions. He has been industrious in his work and modern in his methods, while his honorable dealings have served to impress the community with his integrity and probity. Politically he is a Eepublican, and he and Mrs. Eoughton are members and liberal supporters of the Christian Church of Eantoul.

GEORGE L. INMAN was for many years a. business man of power and influence in Champaign County. He was accustomed to handling large things in a large way, and besides the New Inman Hotel at Champaign, citizens of the county have reason to remember him for many other influences and activities.

Mr. Inman was born in Erie County, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1867, and was only a little past his fiftieth birthday when he died April 5, 1917. His death occurred at Cramer, Indiana, but he was laid to rest at Champaign, where he had his home for over a quarter of a century. Mr. Inman's mother, Emily Drake, was a direct descendant of the great English admiral, Sir Francis Drake. Mr. Inman was the youngest of six children, the others being: Mrs. Dora Orton, of Erie, Pennsylvania; Sylvester C., of Erie; Fred, of Erie; Herbert and Emily, both deceased.

George L. Inman grew up in Erie County, Pennsylvania, where his father was a lawyer, and he studied law under his father's direction as part of a liberal education, not for the purpose of practicing. His first important enterprise was promoting the publication of a paper called the Farmers Ledger, located at Danville, Illinois. In the interests of that publication he traveled extensively throughout the Middle West. About 1891 Mr. Inman came to Champaign and engaged in the real estate and farm mortgage business. Mr. Inman is remembered by all with whom he came in contact as a man of great magnetism and personality. He had a host of friends, and. also an extended business acquaintance. He did much to develop Champaign County. In Champaign he erected a large brick building at the corner of University Avenue and Market Street, and in 1915 he built the splendid six-story brick hotel known as the New Inman House, where he had his home and where his widow still resides. This hotel is at the corner of University Avenue and Walnut Street. Mr. Inman was independent in politics, and never found time for clubs or for church affairs.

His first wife was Minnie Swearingen, of St. Joseph, Champaign County. She died in 1899. On May 13, 1900, Mr. Inman married Nora Trumbull Stevenson. By her first marriage to Elijah Stevenson Mrs. Inman had two children: Arthur G., who lives at St. Louis, Missouri, and by his marriage to Madeline Fuller, a native of Erie, Pennsylvania, there are three children, Arthur G., Robert L. and Madeline. Mrs. Inman's second child, Elizabeth, is the wife of Jay C. Taylor of Champaign, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have a child, Croydon Stevenson, born September 6, 1916.

JOHN J. HANSON, who has a splendid farm partly in Champaign and partly in Ford County, is one of that type of citizens who begin life without special advantages or the inheritance of means except ability to toil and make the best of an environment, and has proved himself one of the sturdy characters in this section of Illinois. His home is just beyond the Champaign County line in Ford County, opposite section 4 of Harwood Township. He gets his daily mail delivery over Route No. 3 from Paxton, Illinois.

Mr. Hanson is a native of Sweden but has spent most of his life in Champaign County. He is a son of Charles and Martha Hanson, and his mother died when he was two years of age. He then grew up in the home of his grandmother and also an uncle, who brought him to America when John was nine years old. He received the bulk of his education in the public schools at Paxton.

At the age of twenty-six Mr. Hanson married Miss Annie Danielson, who was born near Rantoul, daughter of G. and Hilda (Staff) Danielson. Her parents were also natives of Sweden and had a family of nine children. Mrs. Hanson was educated in the Gallagher school near Ludlow.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hanson started farming in Ford County, and four years later moved to the Danielson farm in Champaign County, where they remained eleven years. They had all the qualities which are requisite to making a success as farmers and as factors in the life and uplift of a community. From% the fruits of their labors they bought their present fine farm, consisting of 200 acres, 120 acres lying in Ford County and eighty acres in Champaign County. In 1913 Mr. Hanson erected a fine country home at a cost of $4,000. This is one of the most pleasant and attractive country residences in that region. Mr. Hanson has installed a complete water system, furnishing water both hot and cold, and also a Delco electric lighting plant. These improvements, together with telephone and rural mail delivery, give the family all the conveniences of the city in the midst of attractive rural surroundings. Mr. and Mrs. Hanson have five children : Martha, Phoebe, May, Theodore and Ella. To properly educate these children has been one of the chief objects of Mr. Hanson. Martha, Phoebe and May have all finished the eighth grade of the public schools. They have also taken instrumental lessons in music, and music is one of the features of the Hanson family life.

Mr. Hanson's political support is given to the Republican party. His fellow citizens, having the utmost confidence in his judgment, have elected him to such offices -as road commissioner and school director. This confidence is well placed, since he is willing to take from his own time what is necessary to keep up the standard of schools and also contribute to the good roads movement. As a fanner Mr. Hanson raises many bumper crops and in some years has had a harvest of 9,000 and 10,000 bushels of corn. The family also believe in enjoying the good things of life as they go along, and they have a fine five-passenger touring car which enables them to get over the country and visit friends at a distance. Mr. Hanson is one of the leading officials and workers in the Lutheran Mission Church at Paxton. For years he has filled the office of deacon, and is now church treasurer and a trustee. The pastor of this church is Rev. G. Nelson. The family attend worship in the same church and the children are members of the Sunday school.

HON. OLIN L. BROWDER. The office of chief executive in any community is a responsible one and the individual occupying it has resting upon his shoulders not only the numerous details of the management of a city, but also the accountability for its financial, commercial and moral integrity. In many cases, as he is so is his community, for it soon reflects his character and manner of dealing with large problems, and unless he keeps a firm grip upon the reins of government and forces his associates and fellow-officials to act as he believes is right and just his administration soon shows the effect of lax methods and unprogressive principles, and the community retrogresses. For this reason, of late years many of the more progressive cities have chosen for their chief executives individuals from the ranks of the solid business and professional men, for they have recognized the effect of example and action and know that one who has accomplished much in a financial or professional way is very apt to possess the qualities that make for successful handling of a city's governmental problems. An example of such a choice and of its beneficent nature is found at Urbana, the county seat of Champaign County, where Olin L. Browder, one of the county's most successful lawyers, filled ably for two .terms the mayoralty chair. His term as mavor expired May 1, 1917.

Mr. Browder was born in Hamilton County, Illinois, September 4, 1879, and is a son of William A. and Harriet A. (Henry) Browder, natives of Washington County, Illinois. Mr. Browder's father has been for over fifty years a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with charges in various parts of Illinois, and in 1910 located at Urbana, where he now makes his home, as does Mrs. Browder. They were the parents of two children: Olin L., and a daughter, Ethel, who died in childhood.

The boyhood of 0. L. BrowdeV was passed in various parts of Illinois, as his father's vocation kept him moving from one territory to another, but the greater part of his early education was secured at Mount Vernon, Jefferson County. In order to secure more than a graded school course he worked his way through the high school at Mount Vernon, from which he was duly graduated, and in 1899 entered the University of Illinois. Here he again showed his independence, ambition and resource by paying his university tuition fees and paying for his board and lodging by working at whatever honorable occupation he could find, and in this way secured his degree of Bachelor of Arts. Still he was not satisfied, for his ambition was set upon a career in the law, and after several years he once again became a student at the University, from the legal department of which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1906, bearing with him his coveted degree of Bachelor of Laws. At that time Mr. Browder took up his residence and opened an office at Urbana, and here he has continued in the enjoyment of a constantly increasing practice, interrupted only by the demands of his official positions. Almost immediately upon his arrival he was appointed corporation counsel, an office in which he served under two mayors, following which he acted as alderman for two years. By this time the people of Urbana had become sufficiently acquainted with the hustling young lawyer and his methods to recognize that he would make an excellent man in the mayor's office, and accordingly, in 1913, they sent him to that position. His handling of the weighty matters that came up for consideration during his first term proved so satisfactory that in 1915 he was given the re-election, and continued as one of the best mayors the city of Urbana has ever known. He is a Eepublican in his political views, affiliates with the Knights of Pythias, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the movements of which he supports liberally. As a lawyer he is astute, shrewd and thoroughly versed in all departments of his profession, a stickler for ethics and a courteous opponent and valued associate. He represents the new and hustling element that has arisen in late years to add to the progress of Champaign County.

Mr. Browder married at Urbana June 29, 1905, Miss Nellie S. Taylor, who was born in this county. They have been the parents of three children: Sheldon, who was born in 1908 and died in 1912; Olin L., Jr., born in December, 1913; and William B., born September 6, 1916.

EUGENE H. RUSSELL is one of the younger business men of Champaign, and is successfully managing his mother's Belvoir Theater. The Belvoir stages high class theatrical productions and fills it with the best of the modern film productions. Recently there was installed in the theater a $5,000 Bartolo organ, and its music is now one of the important features and attractions of this fine house.

Mr. Russell was born in Champaign November 12, 1893, a son of Charles H. and Lizzie V. (Hamilton) Russell. Both parents were born in Illinois, his mother being a native of Carlinville. His father came to Champaign County when a young man and was in the hardware business for a number of years. Mr. Russell is a nephew of C. F. Hamilton, and the Hamiltons have been long prominent and wealthy citizens of Champaign County. This branch of the family history is taken up in more detail on other pages. Eugene H. Russell was the second in a family of four children. The oldest, Fenton, is now deceased. Virginia and Helen still live at home.

Mr. Russell, who is yet unmarried, was graduated from the Champaign High School in 1914 and then took a year in the agricultural department of the State University. For about four months he was connected with the Williams Garage, and he then took the active management of his mother's theater. She is owner of the brick building now occupied by the Belvoir. Mr. Russell is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

JOHN FRANCIS McCABE. A man of broad usefulness and influence in the community was taken away in the death of John Francis McCabe. He stood high among all classes of people, was industrious, quiet in his manner, seldom attracting much attention beyond the borders of his own neighborhood, but wherever known was recognized for his sterling merits and his efficiency in everything he undertook.

America when young and marrying in this country. When John F. was a year and a half old they located in Champaign County. There were only two sons in the family, James E. and John F.

The McCabes were among the pioneers of Champaign County and acquired an estate of 520 acres. All of this was developed, cultivated and beautified through the efforts of the family. The home is in section 10 of Harwood Township and it is one that does credit to those who contributed to its development.

John F. McCabe married Mary Agnes Quinlin. She was born at Farmer City in DeWitt County, Illinois, a daughter of Michael and Mary (McKevitt) Quinlin. Her father was born in Ireland and her mother in Ohio and they were married at Lincoln, Illinois. Mrs. McCabe was the second of nine children. With her brothers and sisters she attended the public schools.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. McCabe started out as farmers on the old McCabe homestead. Into their home were born eight children. One of them, Paul, died at the age of six years. The others are John J., Michael M., William Vincent, Francis E., Mary Ellen, Anna and Grace. Mr. and Mrs. McCabe from the first endeavored to give these children the best of home training and a substantial education. They attended the Burbank district school, and for the past three years John, Michael and Vincent have been students of the Donovan Memorial School at Eantoul. They attend the school daily, driving from the country to Ludlow and from there going by interurban.

Death has been a frequent visitor in the McCabe family. John McCabe, Sr., passed away in October, 1901, and his wife has also entered into rest, passing away January 25, 1916. On March 18, 1916, John F. McCabe, after a brief illness of one week of pneumonia and appendicitis, passed away. He was still young, with a promise of great accomplishment and achievement still before him, but had endeared himself to his family and a large community by his ability and kindness.

Mrs. McCabe since her husband's death has bravely taken up the duties of existence, and has been both father and mother to her children. She possesses unusual executive ability and having decided to remain on the old homestead has proved a splendid manager. This home is one made sacred to the McCabe family by many associations, and while looking after the many details of the farm Mrs. McCabe is also carefully rearing her family of children. They attend the Catholic Church at Ludlow.

EDWARD EOOEES. The most capable, successful and prominent men in either public or business life are not always those who started out with the ambition to achieve something really great and famous, but in the majority of cases are individuals who at the outset have placed due valuation upon honesty, integrity and determination. Possessing these qualities as practically representing his entire capital Edward Eogers embarked upon his career in young manhood, and in the course of years has won a place for himself among the leading citizens of Champaign County. For a long period he has been identified with the official life of the community, having for some time been city treasurer of Champaign, and at the present is the incumbent of the responsible office of treasurer of Champaign County. His success, self-made, is indicative of the rewards attainable through a career in which proper respect has been given to honorable effort and worthy service.

Edward Eogers was born at Westboro, Clinton County, Ohio, December 31, 1869, the only son of Thomas J. and Adelia (Pearce) Eogers. His father, a native of Virginia, left the Old Dominion and went to

Ohio, and enlisted in the Union Army from West Virginia. He was later transferred to the Forty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served bravely with that hard-fighting organization, which accompanied the forces of General Sherman in their memorable march to the sea. In the fighting which took place before Atlanta, July 22, 1864, Mr. Rogers fell wounded, and his injury proved of such a nature as to disable him from further duty and he was honorably discharged and invalided home. When he recovered he resumed his harness-making operations and continued to be engaged therein in Clinton County, Ohio, until 1877, in which year he came to Champaign County, Illinois. He is now retired from active labor and makes his home at Champaign. During a long and active career he has worked out a modest success, and in his declining years is able to enjoy the comforts earned by years of honorable labor. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers were the parents of two children : Edward ; and Fannie, who is the wife of Frank Sabin, of Champaign.

When he had completed the course of study prescribed by the graded schools Edward Rogers entered the high school at Champaign, having been brought to this county as a lad of eight years. He was graduated in 188? and for a time was engaged in farming, but like many farmer boys was attracted to the business of railroading, although, unlike the majority, he did not enter the train service. When he was twenty-one years old he became an employe of the Illinois Central Railroad as a clerk in the machinery department, and continued to be connected with that branch of the service until 1910, when he was made deputy county treasurer of Champaign County. In the meantime, from 1907 until 1909, he had served as city treasurer of Champaign, establishing an excellent record. In 1914 he was made the candidate of the Republican party for the office of county treasurer of Champaign County, and received a good majority at the polls. The people of the county who elected him have had no reason to regret their choice, for he has made a good and hard-working official who has placed the interests of the county above all others, and who has made his office one of the best governed of the section. It has been his aim and desire to keep the county finances in the best of condition and to conserve the interests of the tax payers in the greatest degree possible. Mr. Rogers is accounted one of the wheel-horses of the Republican party in Champaign County. He is well known fraternally, and belongs to the local lodges of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Tribe of Ben Hur, and also holds membership in the Sons of Veterans.

On May 18, 1898, Mr. Rogers married Miss Elma Kelley, who was born at Leroy, Illinois, and they are the parents of three children, namely: Donald M., Vera L. and John K.

CARL WILHELM SPOEHELE. Since his arrival in Champaign County in 1873 the career of Carl Wilhelm Spoehrle has been one in which industry, integrity and fidelity have served to give him an ever-increasing success, a standing as a reputable and substantial citizen, and the respect of the community in which he has so long resided. At the time of. his arrival he was in modest circumstances, and he found the new community in which he settled little more than a raw prairie. His own development from his former position to one of affluence has kept steady pace with the progress of the county to its present proud position among the leading agricultural centers of the state.