Henry County, Illinois - The whole text, 1885 (part 6 of 31)

Ky., one year, and at the expiration of that time he went to Fairmont in West Virginia. There came an eventful day in April, 1861, when his school came to an unceremonious termination, and he hastened to Washington, D. C, and he arrived there on the same day on which the first shot of the Rebellion was hurled at the walls of Fort Sumter. Major, then plain Mr., Moderwell, enrolled in the Union service on the day preceding that on which President Lincoln made the first call for troops. He enlisted in the Cassius M. Clay Battalion, the first volunteer company that enlisted for the War of the Rebellion. The, enrollments were made on the 14th of April, i86r. For two months he was employed at the National Observatory in the city of Washington, and in the summer of the same year he returned to his native State. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 86th Ohio Vol. Inf., and subsequently was made Captain of a company in the same regiment. Later, he served as Captain in the 1 2th Ohio Cav., and was promoted to the rank of Major. He was frequently in command of the regiment which occupied that position, and on occasion he commanded a brigade under Maj.-Gen. Upton. His command was attached to the Cavalry Division of General Stoneman during the last year of the war. Major Moderwell distinguished himself in the accomplishment of a special duty for which he was detailed while in the division of General Stoneman, in which he commanded an expedition to capture a fort at Catawba in South Carolina. He was successful in the undertaking, and captured the fort with the garrison and stores. For this service he was honorably mentioned in the report of Gen. Thomas. The action is also mentioned in the history of the war by Lossing, in which that popular and reliable historian states : " This expedition was one of the most gallant little exploits of the war."

Major Moderwell sustained several injuries in the course of his connection with the military service of the United States. He was wounded three times ; one minie-ball passed entirely through his body, grazing the diaphragm and also touching the spine in its passage. The surgeons pronounced the wound mortal, and declared his chances of recovery to be one in ten thousand. But the Major took the one chance, and lives to give this account, although he is frequently reminded of the experience by lameness, difficult breathing, and the suffering inci dent to such a condition. He was mustered out Nov. 24, 1865, after a service covering nearly the entire period of the war - the most terrible experience that can be related in the history of our Republic.

On returning to civil life he located at Geneseo, and interested himself in traffic in real estate, and also entered upon a preparatory study for the profession of an attorney. He afterward became a student of the Cincinnati Law School and was graduated there with the class of 1869. The same year he secured the privileges of the State Courts of Illinois, and has since been engaged in the prosecution of the business of an attorney at Geneseo.

Major Moderwell's abilities are recognized and appreciated by the community of which he is a member, and he has been called to serve the interests of the public in various capacities, which attests the versatility of his powers. He has officiated several times as City Attorney, and has occupied the position of Mayor of that municipality. In 1874 he was elected to the State Senate on the Republican ticket, serving consecutively four years.

The characters of individuals in their relations to their fellows become prominent, as a rule, more through the discrimination of those with whom they are connected in a common interest than through their own acts. It is one of the safeguards of the institutions of our form of Government that the intuitions of the people are trained to an understanding of the characteristics required in their leaders, and in such a multitude of instances are the right ones put in the right places that the fact has come to be regarded as somewhat marvelous. Hence it becomes possible to place a man on record in a perfectly just sense. He has a right to a fair representation to the generations that are to follow and who will be certain to investigate acts of which they are the beneficiaries ; it also due to the justification of those who select their representatives in the performance of the world's work. In estimating the character of Major Moderwell, no man can be aggrieved by the statement that he is in the truest sense one of those whose innate nobleness and worth honors not only himself but his generation. What he was as a soldier, his record proves. Meager as it is in statement in this brief sketch, the facts of his course during the war impart no uncertain significance. His surroundings at the time of the initiation of active hostilities, viewed in the light of his perceptions, " blown crystal clear by Freedom's northern wind," brought home to him with a terrible portent the full and dire significance of all that Rebellion meant. He waited not for the overt act; he made haste to meet the emergency that he knew from long observation to be imminent; he went to Washington and placed himself where the fanatics by whom he had been surrounded had been arrayed for months and in some nstances for years - in the van-guard. He knew that there was no uncertainty in the matter ; he foresaw that the end of the beginning that was so close at hand would be reached only through a long succession of events that would shake the foundations of the Republic. The weary months that followed proved the value of his judgment. The strongest witness of his own part in the progress of the war is the modesty of his own account of the events in which he was a participant. In actual service he came within one grade of the '' stars " of a Major-General. If more need be said, he bears his credentials in his shattered constitution and in the suffering which will always remind him of the pang of a more cruel need, - that of becoming a voluntary target for a fratricidal bullet. Ages must roll away before the memory fades that the Civil War was a conflict between brothers. That is its enduring sting !

In his career as an official, entrusted with the interests of others, he has operated in accordance with the obligation conferred in his selection and never with an ulterior purpose. His course as a member of the State Senate was one that reflected the same credit on his manhood and fitness for the place.

Major Moderwell is as far removed as is possible from the ranks of aggressive politicians, but he is one of the most inflexible Republicans and has wielded a telling influence on the local and general interests of that political organization.

In addition to the regular business of his profession, Major Moderwell is conducting extended relations in the cattle interests of the Indian Territory, and real estate in Kansas. He is President of the " Geneseo Cattle Company," and he bears the same relation to the " Eagle Chief Pool," one of the larg- est cattle companies in the West. He became interested in the enterprise through the advice of his physician, who recommended his passing as much time as possible in the open air; and in order to adapt business to the enforced change of base, he entered into the relations named.

He was married in Fairmont, W. Va., March 22, 1866, to Fannie R., daughter of Thomas Watson, a prominent Southern planter. She was born in Monongalia Co., Va., a portion of territory now included in West Virginia. After 17 years of cloudless union in the affairs of their married life, the husband and wife were severed by death. The latter passed to the mysteries of the land of unbroken silence in October, 1883. Three daughters and a son mourn their irreparable loss, and in their lives of promise preserve the wholesomeness of her influence and training, and in them " she still lives."

Tohn Henderson. This gentleman is largely W identified with the farming interests of Henry County. His home farm is on section 15, of Oxford Township. He was born in Y Indiana Co., Pa., Sept. 9, 1831. Brice and'

1 ' Anna (Thomas) Henderson, his parents, were natives of the Keystone State and by occupation farmers. They passed their lives in their native State, and at the above mentioned vocation.

John received a good ordinary education at common schools, and at the age of 20 bid farewell to the old home and embarked in life for himself. For five years he engaged in farming on shares. In 1 856,^16 came to Illinois and soon made a location at Orion, Henry County, where he worked out by the month until i860. He then purchased the place where he is now living, which consisted of 80 acres at that time. To this he has added 160 acres, and has erected a fine residence, built barn, set out orchards and shade -trees, built fences and improved his farm until it to-day ranks among the valuable estates of county, being worth $15,000. Politically, Mr. H. is a Republican, and is recognized as one of the representative men of his community.

In 1861, Jan. 10, our subject was married to Miss Eliza Cox, a native of this State. To them have been born five children, who are living and bear the

St-Sohn O. Anderson, farmer on section 12, Lynn Township, was born at Jensping Lan, Sweden, March 25, 1830. His parents were Andrew Jacobson and Anna Swanson, both of whom died in their native country, Sweden. Mr. Anderson is the youngest but one of a family of ten children. After living at home until nearly 23 years of age, namely, in 1854, he emigrated to this country, settling in Andover, where he was married Aug. 5, same year, to Miss Anna Youngquist. (For a sketch of her parents see the biography of Augest Youngquist.) She was born near the place of nativity of her husband, Oct. 29, 1831, and was nearly 22 years of age when she came to America. Her children now are John W., who is married, and resides on a farm in Osco Township, this county; Anna, Alfred, Albert, Amanda and Cordelia. After his marriage, Mr. Anderson rented a farm for five years in Andover Township? he then purchased where he now lives and where he owns 400 acres of good and well improved land; here he has a good barn, farm residence, etc. The family belongs to the Swedish Lutheran Church, where Mr. A. has been Trustee. He is also a staunch Republican.

Mussey, a grain merchant at Atkinson, was born in Rutland, Vt, June 1, 1828. He was reared to the age of manhood under the care of his parents. In 1857, he came from Vermont lo Wheatland, 111., where he became a farmer of considerable ex- He bought a farm of 290 acres, which he placed in first-class agricultural condition, and continued its management until 1881, when he removed to Atkinson. He sold his place in Will County, and on his removal to Henry County he interested himself in the business which has since occupied his attention. He is operating in grain of all kinds that

Nov. 9, 1852, Mr. Mussey was married to Charlotte E. Moulthrop. She was born in the State of Vermont, Sept. 3, 1829. They have been the parents of three children : Henry E. died in early infancy ; Jennie was born Dec. n, 1855 ; Alice O. was born Oct. 23, 1862, and is the wife of Wilbur F. Arnold, an engraver in Chicago : they reside at Oak Park, in the vicinity of the city.

Mr. Mussey is the owner of a large amount of real estate in the village of Atkinson. He is a Republican in political sentiment, and is a member of the Congregational Church. His wife is a member of the Episcopal Church.

orrison Francis, deceased, a pioneer of Henry County of 1840, and for 33 years a farmer of extensive relations in the township of Andover, was born June 5, 1816, in Westmoreland Co., Pa. He was of Irish lineage in the paternal line, and on his mother's side was connected to the Lee family of Virginia.

On coming to Henry County, Mr. Francis at once entered upon the relations to the community which he held during the remainder of his life. He bought land on his arrival and founded a wide scope of agricultural connections, operating in all the branches of general farming, and adding to his estate until he accumulated nearly 1,000 acres of land. He was one of the first to become interested in the reports from California, and in the spring of 1849, in company with two brothers-in-law, John and Dan Moore, he crossed the plains to the land of gold. He operated there with success for 16 months, and returned to Andover in the fall of 1850. In 1851, he went again to the Pacific coast, taking with him a considerable party with horses and other equipments.

Mr. Francis died in Andover Township, Oct. 28, 1873. He was universally esteemed and his loss was bitterly mourned. He was composed of the right material for a pioneer. The spirit of energy and enterprise with which he was imbued was strongly marked. His frank, manly, generous and honorable character secured for him a general popularity. He was always foremost in promoting the interests of education, and he made the school at Andover one of the best in the county.

He was a most decided Democrat, and the quality of his politics was of the same stamp as his other controlling traits. He hesitated at no sacrifice in promoting the interests of the local element of his party. As an illustration, it may be stated that in 1869, when the Cambridge Democrat, had been abandoned by James S. Roock, in connection with R. H. Hinman, he assumed the burden of its management and ran the paper two years, losing several thousand dollars before he succeeded in placing it upon a permanent basis. His popularity is manifest from his successive re-elections to the position of Supervisor of Andover, notwithstanding the fact that the town was overwhelmingly Republican. He always ran far ahead of his ticket when placed in nomination for any office. He was pre-eminently a social man, and the hospitalities of his home were always dispensed with a liberal hand. None, friend or foe, ever appealed vainly to him for aid. He was the owner and manager of one of the most extensive mills in the county. The establishment was destroyed by fire in the late fall of 187 1, and its rebuilding was a complete exponent of the enterprise of its owner. On the day on which the fire occurred, he said he would have the mill rebuilt and in complete running order within 60 days, and he kept his word, although the engine and heavy machinery had to be transported overland a distance of 30 miles, and the remainder of the material was brought in the same way 16 miles. The feat was accomplished in the winter and at a time when the weather was unusually stormy.

Mrs. Mary C. (Moore) Francis was born Sept. 13, r82o, in Lisbon, N. H. She is of Irish extraction, and her grandfather, John Moore, was a native of New Hampshire. He also married a lady of New Hampshire birth, and they reared seven children. John J. Moore, the father of Mrs. Francis, was born in Bedford, Merrimac Co., N. H. He was a farmer and married Deborah, daughter of Reuben Sherman. She was born in New Hampshire and came with her husband in the spring of 1836 to Hickory Creek,

Will Co., 111. In 1840 they came to Henry County and located in the township of Andover, where they died. Their children were named Priscilla W., Reuben S., Mary C, Electa Eliza T., John and Dan.

Mrs. Francis was 16 when her parents removed to Illinois. She was married near Joliet, April 23, 1840, and not long after that event, came to Henry County, where she was a faithful and efficient aid to her husband in his labors as a pioneer and business man.

The record of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Francis is as follows : Eveline is the wife of Capt. L. F. Dimick, of whom a sketch is presented in this volume ; Lide A. married Thomas Keagy, of Cambridge ; John F. was educated at Lombard University, Galesburg, 111., and studied law with his brother-in-law, Jerome Carpenter: he was a talented young man, and after he was admitted to the Bar of Illinois, he established his practice at Cambridge, where he died ; Emily, the oldest daughter, was noted for her proficiency in music and for her vivacious, sprightly character, which made her a prominent member of society: she married Jerome Carpenter, an attorney at Cambridge, and died Oct. 3, 1874; Frank F. is a farmer in Grand Forks Co., D. T. ; Nellie A. resides with her mother.

Mrs. Francis is the owner of 400 acres of land in Andover Township. In the spring of 1882, she fixed her permanent residence at Cambridge. She is a member of the Christian -Church.

eorge F. Butzer, deceased, was a pioneer of Henry County of 1838. He was born K at Baden, Germany, in 1806, and in 1830 married Miss Louise Baltz. They had two children, born in Germany. Jacob was born Nov. 26, 1831, and died in the United States, Nov. 26, 1883, leaving a widow and n children. The daughter, Catherine C, is the wife of Dan'lHenney, of whom a complete sketch is given on another page. Mr. Butzer emigrated to the United States in 1835. He passed three years in the city of Detroit, Mich., and in ^38 came to Henry County. He located in what is now Phenix Township, and engaged in farming. He endured many privations and hardships incident to pioneer life, but succeeded in founding a good home for his family, which included 160 acres of land. His death occurred March r2, r85o. Mr. and Mrs. Butzer had four children after their removal to this country. One son - Louis - was born in Michigan and married Miss Clara Licht, and settled in Kansas. Two sons and a daughter were born in Henry County. Caroline is the wife of Valentine Sieben, a farmer of Phenix Township. Marcilli is married to Joseph Arnett, of Loraine Township. Adam married Margaret Licht, and is a farmer in the township of Phenix. Mr. and Mrs. Butzer were members of the Evangelical Association. Mr. Butzer was a Republican in political connection. Mrs. Butzer survived her husband and died July 2, 1881.

He was the third child in a family of 15 sons and daughters, of whom 1 1 grew to adult age. His father, Dr. Edmund Bryan, was the son of a Virginia farmer who settled in Southern Kentucky at a very early day in its history, and whose name and family history are unknown. Besides Dr. Edmund, there were three other sons - William, John and Albert, now deceased, who were physicians and much esteemed as skillful and conscientious practitioners. The youngest son, Algernon, went with Bryant on his overland journey across the plains. He afterwards went South and settled somewhere on the Gulf coast. All traces of him are lost. Drs. John and William died full of years in the neighborhood of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Albert died in Indianapolis about 1877, and Dr. Edmund in Grayson Co., Ky., in 1863. Mrs. Lettice Bryan, mother of Dr. J. L. Bryan, was a Pierce, of Monticello, Wayne Co., Ky. Her mother was a daughter of Walter Crow, a wealthy land-owner of that section of the State. The Crows were of Irish extraction ; the Pierces were of French descent, but both families emigrated to Virginia long before the Revolutionary War. Mr. Pierce had three children - Lettice, Sallie and Stanton. The latter was a physician and a man of unusual culture and force of character. He was connected by marriage with the Moores, well known in Kentucky through the famous Perry Moore law- suit, a Tichborne case on a small scale. The Pierces were characterized by great personal beauty and intellectual force and ability. Mrs. Lettice Bryan was a woman of an unusually fine presence, and well educated for a day and land when the schoolmaster was not " abroad." She was the writer of two works on religious subjects, and the writer and publisher of the " Kentucky Housewife," a book in great request 50 years ago, but now out of print. She died in the winter of 1877, at the residence of her son-in-law, Dr. C. F. Burnett, of Bunker Hill, Macoupin Co., 111. Of the six sons that reached manhood, Stanton, John L. and Anthony studied medicine. Stanton resides in Florida and Anthony in Evansville, Ind., where he holds a professorship in the medical college.

John L. was a graduate of the University of Louisville. At the beginning of the Civil War he was a practicing physician of Washington Co., Ind., but early answered the call for volunteers, enlisting at Camp Morton, Indianapolis, in July, 1861. He had gone there with a small company of young men ,warmly attached friends of his, expecting that they would form the nucleus of a company of which he would be Captain, a position to which his education and standing would naturally entitle him; but, finding many unfilled companies and skeleton regiments in camp, and a call from the field most urgent, he immediately, with his young friends, joined a company whose officers were already elected and only needed the complement of men they furnished to go to|the front. The regiment went at once to Jefferson City, Mo., held by the brave Col. Mulligan. Dr. Bryan was connected with the army three and one-half years, acting most of the time in a medical capacity, as Assistant Surgeon of Post Hospital at Jefferson City, where he was placed by Gen. Fremont, then commanding the Department of Missouri. He afterwards became Assistant Surgeon of the " 26th Missouri," commanded by Col. Boomer, and for 18 months he officiated as Surgeon of one the eruptive hospitals of the^department of Louisville.

At the close of the war, Dr. Bryan removed to Illinois, settling first in Marshall County, and afterwards at Buda, in Bureau County, living for the last 13 years of his life in Cambridge, where he died, on the 22d of January, 1884. Dr. Bryan was much esteemed, both as a man and a physician, for he was kind, skillful and conscientious, and his heart was al- ways open to the cry of the unfortunate. He was of exceptionally fine physique, weighing at his best state 230 pounds, and so proportioned as to attract notice as a fine sample of manly development. The arduous labors of his profession told heavily upon him during the latter portion of his life. He became much broken in health and spirits ; and, at the time of his death, was but a wreck of his former self.

In 185 1, Dr. Bryan was married to Hannah M. Dietz, of Blue Lick, Clark Co., Ind. She resides at Cambridge with four sons - Oscar D., William S., Edmund M. and John L. Charles E., third son, lives in Dakota. The youngest, Bertram, died on the 1 2th of April, 1883.

Mrs. Bryan is a lady of culture and uncommon intellectual abilities. She is a poetess of signal merit, and has won recognition as such in the arena of letters. Her contributions to prominent periodicals have given her genius a well-deserved celebrity, and she has secured an enviable position in the estimation of the reading public. In the spring of 1885 (current year), she acceded to the ownership by purchase of the Local Reporter, a journal published at Cambridge. She is assisted in its management by her oldest son, O. D. Bryan, who acts as local editor.

(f ohn W. Goss", junior member of the firm \ of John Goss & Co., lumber dealers at Geneseo, was born in Lexington, Ky., July 24, 1847, and is the son of Charles and Margaret Goss. On leaving his home to begin the world on his own account, he went to the State of Missouri, and there passed two years. At the expiration of that time he came to Geneseo. ' The first important act after his arrival in that place was his enlistment in the military service of the United States. In January, 1865, he enrolled in Co. I, 112th 111. Inf., and served in, the capacity of a soldier as long as the war continued. On returning to Geneseo, the existing partnership was formed with his uncle, John Goss, the pioneer lumber merchant at Geneseo, and their relations have been in existence 20 years.

Mr. Goss is a member of the present City Council (1885). In political preference, he is in sympathy with the Republican party. Mr. Goss was married in the State of Maine, Sept. 3, 1876, to Miss Celeste, daughter of Luther Chamberlain. She was born at Fox Grove, in the Pine-Tree State, and was reared in the Methodist faith. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Goss, at Geneseo. They are named William, John and Lutie.

|imos Gould, retired merchant and grain- |[ dealer, real-estate and loan agent at Cambridge, came to Henry County in 1856. He was born June 6, 1823, ln Piedmont, Grafton Co., N. H. His father, Amos Gould, was born April 1, 1790, in Warner, N. H. He a tanner and shoemaker by occupation, and married Nancy H. Bartlett, who was born Aug. 8, 1796, in Canaan, N. H. They had ten children, of whom eight survive. They were born in the following order: John M., Amos, Lyfe Y., Nathaniel B., Mrs. Nancy J. Dean, Dan W., George D. and Mrs. Susie C. Burrows. The deaths of the parents occurred respectively January, 1864, in Moline, 111., and November, 1884, at Cambridge, 111. The family removed to Henry County in 1858.

Mr. Gould in early life acquired a thorough knowledge of the vocations of his father, and was instructed in the details of shoemaking by his uncle, A. P. Gould. He followed the latter business 20 successive years. In 1854 he engaged in the prosecution of mercantile transactions and interests, in which he continued to operate two years. March, 1856, he removed to Cambridge, where, associated with his brother, N. B. Gould, he conducted the affairs of the Cambridge House. He discharged the duties of " mine host " until November, 1 860, when he was elected Circuit Clerk, in which incumbency he served eight years. He became interested in securing the advantages of a line of railroad through Cambridge, and devoted his entire attention for the three years succeeding his release from official duties to the purpose of obtaining the passage of the line of the Rock Island & Peoria Railroad, and had the satisfaction of witnessing the success of his efforts. In 1871 he became associated with J. B. Hagin in traffic in grain, and subsequently with W. B. Fee. The approximate period of time which he passed in that enterprise was ten years.

The political views of Mr. Gould were shaped by the period in which he grew up and the circum stances by which he was surrounded, and he was, on arriving at the privileges of citizenship,. an adhe- >^ rent of the Whig party, but with such decided principles concerning slavery that, on the formation of the Republican party in 1856, he fell into its ranks, and has since been one of its most consistent adherents. In religious views he cherishes opinions of his own, but is tolerant of those of others. He is a member of Lodge No. 49, A. F. & A. M., at Cambridge.

Aug. 3r, 1845, he was united in marriage in Thetford, Vt, to Harriet N. Burnap. She was born in that place April 10, 1826, and is the daughter of Luther and Susan (Huston) Burnap, both natives of Vermont. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Gould, two in number, are both deceased. The first-born died in infancy; Mary L., the younger, was born s April 28, 1849. She married J. E. Ay res, and died ^ July 3, r874, having given birth to two children, - ^ Mary L. and Amos E. Ayres. &* red Thompson, station agent at Lynn, this county, also dealer in grain, etc., was born in New York, Jan. 29, 1838. His parents both died in his infancy, and he was reared by foster parents, whose name he took. At the age of nine, the breaking up of this family through the death of his endeared foster mother, left him practically without a home, though ' under the supervision of the father until the age of 17, when, not securing the educational advantages he craved, even at that age, he started out for himself, determined to obtain an education as rapidly as possible by his own unaided efforts. He retains a vivid impression of his first engagement, at the munificent stipend of $5 per month !

His success was such that he advanced from the simple rudiments gained at a loving mother's knee 1 to the first classes in the High Schools of Princeton and Dover, Bureau Co., 111., teaching in the common schools winters to aid him in his object.

President made his first call for brave hearts and strong arms to enlist for three years, Fred Thompson, the subject of this sketch, enlisted in Co. K, 51st 111. Inf., Col. L. P. Bradley, and served in the campaign against Island No. 10 and New Madrid, Mo., in the move on Corinth, Miss., after the battle of Shiloh, and in the Army of the Cumberland, in the Division of Gen. Sheridan, under Rosecrans at Stone River and Chickamauga, Ga., where, on Sept. 19, 1863, he was incapacitated from further active service in the ranks by a minie ball through the right elbow. Three months in a Government hospital at Nashville resulted in the saving of a crippled right arm by a skillful German surgeon and the first furlough home.

While there, upon the advice of an old army surgeon, the study of telegraphy was undertaken, for which purpose a scholarship in Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, of Chicago, was procured, but after a short attendance it was abandoned, as a journey South became necessary to procure a proper discharge from the army. His regiment being at this time engaged with Sherman in the move on Atlanta, papers could not be obtained ; and, not to be unoccupied, he sought a detail in the telegraph service, which he obtained, and thus gained the practice necessary to perfect him in his future profession. He was finally^discharged, in February, 1865, at Springfield, 111., under a general order. The recognition of his service, of which he is justifiably proud, is the fact of his standing at the head of the list chosen by his company by vote to constitute a " Roll of Honor " for meritorious service, ordered by Gen. Rosecrans in June, 1863.

At the time of his discharge, places were not plentiful in the line he had chosen, and, not willing to be idle, he rented land and raised a crop of corn ; but, finding himself unable to harvest the fruits of his labor, he gave that up, and in the winter secured labor as an operator, first on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in Illinois, then on the Michigan Central Railroad in Michigan.

Mr. Thompson was united in marriage, in Berrien Co., Mich., Nov. 28, 1866, to Marinda A., daughter of William and Samantha Soule. She was born in Truxton, De Ruyter Co., N. Y., Sept. 19, 1841. Her parents were natives of that State, of New England parentage, and came to Aurora, 111., in 1848.

Her father died there two years later. Mrs. T. was reared by a neighboring family till the year 1858, when she went to the family of her elder sister in Chicago, staying there two years and following them to Michigan. Two years later, in April, 1863, she was married to C. H. Topping, a member of the 42d 111. Inf., who died in January, 1865, of disease contracted in the army, or at least greatly aggravated by exposure in his country's service. A little son of this union sopn followed his father.

In January, 187 1, Mr. Thompson came to Lynn, where he has since been employed as station and express agent and operator, being also a dealer in grain and produce generally. He has filled the offices of Township Clerk and School Director, and is politically a liberal Republican.

was born in Hillsboro Co., N. H., in 1818.. He remained with his parents, Aaron and Theodate (Chase) Foster, until one year after he had attained his majority. After leaving his parental homestead, Mr. Foster became a pioneer in Wisconsin, then a Territory, settling in Racine County, and was there engaged in the hydrographic survey of the western coast of Lake Michigan, under the late Col. T. J. Cram. Mr. Foster was engaged to survey an 80-acre tract as an addition to the village, now city, of Racine, and known as " Sage's Addition." In 1852 he removed to the (then) village of Winona, a mere hamlet, in the sparsely settled Territory of Minnesota. He became interested in the growth of his new place of residence, and was principal owner of the Winona Republican, a newspaper now widely known. He was one of the first stockholders and advocates of the Winona & St. Peters Railroad, and labored, in his quiet way, in procuring a charter for that road. While here, he was given the office of

From this place he removed with his family to a small farm near the city of Rochester, N. Y., where he lived 1 1 years, improving, ornamenting and beautifying his farm; and thence he removed, in 1868, to Clover Township, in this county, adjacent to the village of Woodhull, and purchased a small farm ; and as usual, he made it blossom and smile, and now he has retired within the village to spend the winter of a long frontier life.

He was raised a Quaker, and his early instruction has greatly aided in guiding his footsteps. Emphatically a pioneer of the West, he has always been ready with his labor and means to assist any and all good works, and is respected for his honest and square dealings with his fellow-man.

He has been married three times. By his first wife two children were born to them - the eldest, a daughter, now living in St. Paul, Minn., and a son, at Berrien Springs, Mich.

Not only does Mr. Foster deserve the fullest representation in this Album, but the public also will naturally expect a likeness of his features to be presented in connection with the foregoing brief sketch.

lfred Stiekney, one of the energetic farm- -j ers of Oxford Township, residing on section 25, was born in Windsor Co., Vt, July 3, 1840, and is a son of Henry and Mary A. (Wood) Stiekney, natives of Vermont and New Hampshire respectively. They came West in the year 1853, locating in Clover Township, Henry County, on section 27, and purchased 1,000 acres of land in the vicinity. Here he remained until his death, which occurred in 1866.

Alfred, of whom we write, attended the district schools in his township in the acquisition of an education, and assisted his father on the farm in his leisure moments, remaining under parental influence until he attained the age of 30 years. He is the possessor and owner of 380 acres of land in Clover Township, and seven in Oxford, on which he resides. He rents his farms, which are all in excellent condition.

Simmons, a native of Ohio, and they have become the parents of one child, a daughter, Carrie A. Mr. S. is a Republican in his political sentiments, and is considered one of the representative and worthy gentlemen of Henry County.

illiam K. Wight, general farmer and proprietor of the Groveland Creamery, residsiding on section 13, Andover Township, was born in Lake Co., Ohio, Feb. 25, 1833. ^ His father, John Wight, a native of Canada

J and of New England ancestry, was a mechanic and builder, and came to Ohio at an early day, where he married Sarah A. Ballard, who was born in the State of New York, of New England parentage. They came West in 1855, settling in Cambridge Township, where William had come a year previous. His mother died some years ago, in this township, in February, 1875 and his father is yet living, residing in Cambridge, aged 76 years.

Mr. Wight, our subject, was educated in Lake Co., Ohio, and. came West when he arrived at the age of majority, purchasing land at once in Lynn Township, this county, and began to make improvements. Subsequently, he returned to Ohio and entered the Kingsville Academy, where he completed his education in 1858. Returning to this State, he began teaching and farming, which occupation he followed for some time.

He enlisted in the United States volunteer army, Aug. 22, 1862, in Co. H, 112th Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., being under the command of Col. Henderson, and Gens. Burnside and Scofield. He therefore participated in the battle of Franklin, Tenn., and siege of Knoxville, and was wounded at Kelly's Ford, Jan. 28, 1864, by a gunshot from the enemy, the ball striking the shin of his left leg. After lying in the hospital at Knoxville for some time, and visiting home and friends on a furlough, he went to the hospital at Quincy, where he was honorably discharged, June 22, 1865.

He then returned home, but, being unable to follow any business requiring heavy manual labor, he taught school about 20 terms. In 1868, he purchased the farm where he now lives, consisting at one time of 225 acres. He afterward sold 125, and bought in Buffalo Co., Neb., a half section of improved land, and 800 acres of good unimproved land in Keith County, same State. His home in this county is well improved. In 1880 he established a creamery, with a capacity of 1,000 pounds of butter per day. In this line he is now operating extensively and with characteristic success. He is also a skillful fafmer, taking great interest in every point of excellence in his methods of management. He has been honored by his fellow citizens with the offices of Road Commissioner and Township Collector. He is a Republican, a member of the G. A. R., and also of the Congregational Church, in which he holds the offices of Deacon and Sunday-school Superintendent. Mr. Wight was united in the bonds of matrimony, Oct. 13, 1858, in Livingston Co., N. Y., with Miss Sophia, daughter of Elias H. and Elizabeth (Gaylord) Eastman, natives of the States of New York and Connecticut respectively. Her mother died in New York State when she (Mrs. W.) was but a small child, and her father, after residing with his children a number of years, finally died in this State. Mrs. W. was born in Livingston Co., N. Y.. Dec. 3, 1841, and has become the mother of eight children, six of whom are living, namely: Louis A., born Oct. 4, i860; Lucien E., March 5, 1862; May A., May 4, 1865, and died April 26, 1883; Guy V., born June 29, 1870; A. Earl, Nov. 14, i87r; Clarence C, Dec. 30, 1876; W. Herald, Aug. 2, 1878; and Edward E., who died when 13 months old. Mis. W. attended school at the academy of Kingsville, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, and is a member of the Congregational Church.

penry Hand, of Hanna Township, is a pioneer of Henry County of 1840. He was born in the State of NewIYork, June 20, 1817. His parents were pioneers of Livingston County, in that State, where his father bought a considerable tract of timber land, and, after clearing about 60 acres, found that no clear title could be obtained, and, in 1825, when the son was eight years of age, the parents with n children started for Ohio, which was then the frontier of civilization. They traveled to the " Far West," as it was called, in a wagon drawn by two yokes of oxen, taking with them all their household belongings and maintaining the regular routine of their domestic arrangements on the way, cooking and living the lives of "' campers " while on their long journey. In those days time was a smaller consideration than money, and, besides, there were no facilities for public travel. " Times change, and men change with them."

They settled in Huron County, in the Buckeye State, where the father bought a farm and erected a frame house, and proceeded to improve a homestead. There he died, about six years later, his demise occurring Dec. 6, 1831, at the age of 52. An older son assumed the management of the farm, and Mr. Hand was an inmate of the parental home until he reached his 21st year, when he came to Illinois, and bought land in McDonough County, where he arrived in 1837. Moses T. Hand, his brother, had preceded him, and he made his home with him on his farm, which was situated on the line of Warren County. He erected fencing around 40 acres, and after he had broken up 25 acres he sold his claim. That was accomplished in 1859, and in the year ensuing he came to the county where he has since lived, and at once located on what was then recorded as town 18 in range 2, and is now Hanna Township. In the fall of the same year he was married to Valeria Brittain, who was born in White Co., 111.

Mr. Hand has obtained from the Legislature of the State the right to establish and operate a ferry across Rock River from Cleveland, and he was engaged in its management for a year. In the spring of 1841 he commenced farming on land which he rented on section 20 of the township named. As soon as the land lying north of the Indian boundary came into market Mr. Hand, entered 97 acres situated on sections 28 and 33 of what is now Hanna Township, and he also bought a tract lying adjoining that had been entered previously and on which there had been built a double log cabin. This was the home of his family nine years, and he then bought a farm on section 32 of Hanna Township. The new estate was wholly unimproved, and the proprietor at once commenced to build a brick house and a frame barn, and as soon as the place had been put in suitable condition for occupancy the family took possession of it, and it has since been the homestead. The location is very attractive, there being a natural grove in the immediate vicinity of the house. Mr. hand was then in a position to pursue his agricultural purposes according to his inclinations, and he entered with vigor into the work of reclaiming the prairie, using a breaking plow ©/ which cut 30 inches, and was drawn through the obdurate soil by seven yokes of oxen, and the work of placing the broad acres in a condition of advanced improvement was soon accomplished.

Mrs. Hand died March 2, 1849, leaving two children : Sarah J. married Henry C. Brown, and they reside at Kidder, Mo.; Olive is the wife of P. O. Miles, residing four miles from Wyanet, Bureau Co., 111. Mr. Hand was a second time married, in 1850, to Mary, daughter of John P. and Nancy (Dockery) Hanna. She died Jan. 9, 1881, and left two children. The Hon. John P. Hand, of Cambridge, who is present Judge of Henry County, and of whom a personal sketch is given on another page of this work, is her oldest son. Henry Hand is the manager of the home estate. The latter was born Oct. 16, 1863, and married Maggie, daughter of John and Agnes (Owen) Searl. They have one child, who is named Mary A.

Mr. Hand, the father, has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1841. Mrs. H. was a member of the same religious denomination.

E. Loyd, who is prominently identified with the farming interests of Oxford Township, residing on section 19, is a native of Washington Co., Va. His parents, John F. and Elizabeth (Robinson) Loyd, were also natives of Virginia, and were living in that State at the time of the birth of their son, of whom we write, which occurred April 28, 1835. In 1852, his parents came West to Indiana, where they purchased a farm, upon which his father lived until his death, which occurred in 1869. Mrs. Loyd at present resides with her son, Samuel C, in Missouri. The subject of this narrative remained at home until 19 years of age, assisting his parents on the farm and attending the schools of his neighborhood. The four years following his departure from home were spent in working out by the month. In 1857, having accumulated a little means, he bought a team and rented a farm in Indiana, which he worked .i-r for some time. Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion, he joined Co. B, 30th Ind. Vol. Inf., and was engaged in his first battle at Pulaski, Tenn., and while participating in his fourth battle, he received a shot which took off the first and second fingers of his right hand. He, however, remained in the service until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged. He soon found his way to Illinois, where, in 1865, in -Mercer County, he purchased 40 acres of land. He subsequently added to this 105 acres, and remained there for seven years. He then disposed of his property there and came into Oxford Township, this county, and located on a 159-acre farm, on section 19. To this he has since added 130 acres adjoining. Politically, he is a member of the Democratic party.

Mr. Loyd was married to Miss Harriet Dubre in 1859. She was a native of Indiana. The seven children who have been born to them bear the following names . Eva J., Frances F. (deceased), Mary A., Oscar C, Emma M., Maud B. and James A.

oh.11 F. Mowers, banker at Atkinson, was born in the State of New York, Jan. 20, 1837. He is the son of Thomas Nowers,of whom an account is presented with the sketch of Thomas Nowers, Jr., which may be found elsewhere in this work. The family came West in 1 849 and he accompanied the other members. They made a location at Pre-emption in Mercer County and there he was occupied as an assistant to his father on the farm. His first independent employment was in the capacity of agent for the agricultural machinery of Cyrus H. McCormick, in whose interest he was employed three years. In 1857 he came to this county, where he has since been identified with its prominent business interests. In 1881 the banking enterprise in which he is now interested was established.

Mr. Nowers formed a matrimonial alliance with Lurena A. Wright, Feb. 3, T863. She was born in the State of New York in 1839. They have no children. H. E. Wright, the father of Mrs. Nowers, was a native of the State of New York. Her mother was born in Massachusetts. They were born respectively in 1815 and 1818, and are still living, in Mercer Colli. Their marriage took place in 1836, in the Empire

State, and they are the parents of five daughters and a son. They were born in the following order: Mary M., Lorena A., Abbie G., George A., Harriet and Ella. The son is the only one who remains unmarried.

ansom Harrington, real- estate and loan agent at Geneseo, has been a resident of Henry County since September, 1856. He came here in the previous autumn and made purchases of. land. He was born at Hogansburg, Franklin Co., N. Y., Feb. 18, 1822, and is the son of Amariah B. and Rebecca (Manning) Harrington. His mother was a native of Alburgh, Vt, and his father was born in Stanstead, Canada.

In 1837, the Patriot or McKenzie's War broke out in Canada, and the troops of the United States stationed at Sackett's Harbor were ordered to Fort Covington on the border line between the Dominion and Franklin County, to aid in preserving the neutrality laws. At Ogdensburg they were fired on by the English soldiery on the supposition that they were reinforcements for the Patriots, and they were obliged to change their course and make their way to the fort across the land. This brought them to Hogansburg. The sight of men in uniform awakened an enthusiasm in the mind of Mr. Harrington and the day after they left his native town he followed them, going on foot to Fort Covington. Arrived there, he attempted to enlist, but was told by the Captain that he must bring a certificate of permission from his parents, and he returned to his home where he went vigorously to work to secure the necessary document. With a boy's persistency and a small mixture of boy's strategy, he succeeded and went back in triumph. Oct. 13, 1837, he enlisted in the Regular Army, enrolling in Co. K, English Regiment, U. S. I., under the command of Colonel, afterwards General Worth. The captain was W. R. Montgomery, of Reading, Pa., and he at once took an interest in the young recruit, which established friendship that never knew change or diminution. Soon after his enlistment the regiment was sent back to Sackett's Harbor and the command remained there until the spring of 1839. In the winter of 1838-9, Captain Montgomery and Mr. Harrington went to Canandaigua, N. Y., where they passed the winter in recruiting, and secured 102 men. In the spring they resumed duty at Sackett's Harbor, whence : the command was ordered to Green Bay, Wis., and i and the route thithe? was made by Buffalo and the ,- Lakes. Soon after they went to Port Winnebago I (now Portage) and participated in the removal of j the Winnebago Indians to Iowa. The regiment proceeded thence to Rock Island, where it remained ! through the excitement of the " payment " to the Indians by the Government of the United States, and went thence to St. Louis.

' The stay there was short, the command going next to New Orleans and crossing thence to Tampa Bay across the Gulf of Mexico. One incident during the stay at Tampa Bay illustrates the varieties that broke the monotony of events. The Seminole War was in progress and detailed duty was proportionately dangerous. On one occasion two attempts had been made to communicate with Fort King, a military : post 100 miles distant, and had been frustrated by the Indians who had in each instance murdered : three men. At dress parade, volunteers had been called for and Mr. Harrington and two others responded. There was a reward of $500 for those who would accomplish the duty, which was to carry the mail to the Government employes at Fort King. As was afterwards learned the mail bags contained $27,000 to pay the men there. The party were delayed by the death of the horse that Mr. Harrington rode, and a band of skirmishers, who found the animal torn by buzzards, reported the whole party as murdered, and accordingly Captain Montgomery sent the tidings of the death of Mr. Harrington to his home. Later, the officer sent out scouts to seek for their remains and they met the successful volunteers on their return. The scouts had sacrificed several horses in their search. The regiment remained at Tampa Bay until 1842. Mr. Harrington was discharged after a service of five years, just in time to escape the Mexican War which followed soon after. He had gone into the military service for the money he could obtain in order to be able to aid his parents, and he returned to his home to find that his mother and a sister had died during his absence, and that only his father and two sisters were left., One brother

On his return, his first move was to buy a farm in the town of Bombay, in his native county, to which he removed "his father's family. The winter of 1843-4 he went to school.

The next event of importance* in his life was his marriage to Martha E. Campbell, at Massena, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Feb. 22, 1845. Mrs. Harrington was born March 7, 1827, in Rockingham, Vt., and she is the daughter of Hiram and Alvira (Lowell) Campbell. After his marriage, Mr. Harrington engaged in farming in Bombay for a few years and then sold out. He removed to Moira in the same county, where he became interested in hotel-keeping. In 1852 he built a hotel in the same town, which he sold in the year he removed to Henry County.

When the Civil War convulsed the nation he became interested in its issues and enlisted. He enrolled in Co. B, Ninth 111. Cav., Sept. 19, 1861. On the organization of the company he was commissioned Second Lieutenant. Eight days later he was made First Lieutenant. He was promoted to rank of Captain on the field during the action at Helena, Ark., in the fall of 1862. The regiment left Chicago for the front, Feb. 18, 1862. It was assigned to the brigade of General Steele and to the 14th Army Corps, under General Curtis. The command was involved in the campaigns in Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Mr. Harrington was in 'the most of the cavalry service in those regions during the time he was in the army. He resigned in May, T863, on account of myopia, or nearness of sight, which rendered military service almost impracticable.

On his return to Geneseo, he was appointed a special agent by the Provost Marshal of his Congressional District, and discharged the duties of the position until the close of the war.

In political faith, Mr. Harrington is a Republican, and has been since the organization of the party. Although he has been active in the conduct of local politics, he has never been an aspirant for official honors. He has acted as a delegate to Senatorial and Congressional Conventions and was an alternate to the National Republican Convention at Chicago in T884.

School at Geneseo was broached, and Mr. Harrington took an earnest interest in the question from the stand-point of a public-spirited citizen who saw., in a wholesome educational project, a permanent advantage to the general interests. He was one of the most active in securing subscriptions for the repairs necessary to be made to the building, in which it was proposed to operate, and through his efforts, in addition to those of others equally interested in the project, the needed funds were raised and the school made a certainty. He is one of the Trustees of the institution. .

The interests of Mr. Harrington in real estate are extensive and include about 400 acres in Iowa, 2,700 in Kansas and 500 in Colorado. His business as a loan agent is also heavy. The Harrington residence at Geneseo is one of the finest structures in Henry County.

Henderson, a farmer and stock-raiser of section 28, Clover Township, was born in !?* Fayette Co., Pa., April n, 1859, and his parents were Stewart and Eliza A. (Rumsey) Henderson, natives also of the Keystone State, who came to Illinois in 1874, settling on the present homestead of our subject. His father purchased r4o acres here and resided upon it until his death, which occurred on the 19th of September, 1881. He also bought 80 acres of land in Mercer County, this State, and a house and six lots in the village of Woodhull.

Mr. T. S. Henderson has always been an occupant of the family homestead. He received a commercial education, and graduated in penmanship and book-keeping at Burlington, Iowa, in r88o. He now owns half the homestead, and has the whole of it under his judicious and successful management. He also has half the 80 acres in Mercer Co., 111., and v 90 acres in Nebraska. As a farmer he carries on } \ what is called " mixed husbandry," and he also deals in thoroughbred cattle. He is a Republican in his ames Glenn, of Colona Township, is a resident on the same farm on which he settled a half century ago, which is situated on section 20 of what was then town 17. He is the oldest of the earliest settlers now living in the county, and he was the second man who took up his permanent abode within the limits of Henry County. Dr. Thomas Baker preceded him by a few days, and at the time of the arrival of Mr. Glenn he was living in the wagon in which he had traveled. Mr. Glenn arrived in May, and within the same month he built a house, the very first which was erected for living purposes in the county. It was of the most primitive character, being constructed entirely without nails or other means common to the builder's art. It was constructed of poles and the roof was of clapboards. It had no floor of any kind save the earth. Mr. Glenn was the first man who turned the prairie soil of Henry County with a plow. The date of this event, as near as can be determined, was May 20, 1835, on the southeast quarter of section 17, in Colona Township. His labors and trials were shared by his brother Thomas, who came with him, and they lived in their house without a door, as they had no facilities for making one; and the aperture by which they found ingress and egress in and out of their place of shelter was barred with rails to keep out cattle and the wild animals which were prowling about. They had frequent calls from travelers, who found welcome and entertainment at the humble abode. Their house may therefore be considered the pioneer tavern of Henry County. They occupied it but a year, as in the next spring they built a hewed-log house, 45 x 20 feet in dimensions; and as soon as the stages began to run their place was made a stage station. In the fall of the same year,

Thomas Glenn returned to Ohio and came back with the parents and two younger brothers, - John and Payton R., - and they brought a pair of horses, whose value at that time can be estimated.

Mr. Glenn was born in Fayette Co., Ky., July 17, 1812, on the farm of Henry Clay at "Ashland," as the country place of the statesman was called. At the time of the birth of Mr. Glenn, his father was the manager of the estate. The latter, James Glenn, was born in Virginia, and he married Sarah Shoapstall, who was a native of Pennsylvania. In 18 16, the elder Glenn removed his family to Washington Co., Ky., where they lived four years. They then went«to Ohio and resided some years in Clinton County. There the sons attained to mature life, and with it the ambition to make their way to a legitimate claim to the advantages rightfully belonging to the efforts and plans of manhood. Accordingly, Mr. Glenn set out from home in October, 1834, and operated for a few months on a trading boat on the Mississippi River. In the spring following he came to Henry County, as has been stated.

The second house which has been mentioned was the stage station of the Frink & Walker stages while they continued to run. Mr. Glenn was a single man when he came to Henry County. His father's death occurred in 1849. The demise of his mother occurred in 185 1. Thomas died in 1841, of consumption; John died in 1852; Payton died in 1861; another brother - Jacob - died in 1882.

Mr. Glenn was married to Nancy Kincaid, Jan. 16, 1837. She was born in Green Co., 111., and is the daugter of James and Polly (Saunders) Kincaid. Her parents were natives of Kentucky and came thence to Rock Island Co., 111., in 1836. On the day of their arrival in Rock Island the only store in the place was destroyed by fire. After a residence of a few years in that county they went ito Mercer County in this State. The father of Mrs. Glenn died at the residence of his son in Colona Township.

At the time of their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Glenn settled on the farm on section 20, and they have lived on the place 48 years (1885). They have six children: William resides on section 31 of Colona Township ; Mary A. is the wife of George Burke, of Western Township; John is deceased; Eliza married Charles Hugh, and they are living in Dakota ; Ellen is the wife of Warren H. Stearns, who is a citizen of Leadville, Col. ; Lucinda married Isaac Hanna, and they are living in Poweshiek Co., Iowa. In 1877, Mr. Glenn built the elegant house in which his family now live, and it is, as it should be, one of the finest farm residences in the county. His farm is ranked as one of the best stock farms in the county. It contains 330 acres, and is in the best agricultural condition.

L. Clay. One of the prosperous and wellto-do farmers in Oxford Township Ts W. L. Clay, whose place of residence is on section 35. He was born 1 831, in Chester, ^ Windsor Co., Vt., and is a son of John L. and Louisa M. (Balch) Clay, who were natives of Vermont, and brought their family West, locating in Galesburg in 1840. At this place he resided on some land which the father had purchased three years previous to their coming West, and where he resided all the remaining years of his life, with the exception of eight years, which were spent in the city of Galesburg. He died on his farm in the year 1876; his widow still survives, living in Galesburg, at the advanced age of 82 years

W. L. Clay, our subject, received a high-school education, and assisted in the labors of the farm while at home, where he remained until he reached his 2 2d year, when he left home and came to Oxford Township in 1854. Here he purchased a tract of land of 320 acres, and entered upon its improvement, remaining here until i860; then went back to the old homestead and took charge of it until 1867, when he next went to Galesburg and remained there until 1869. He again returned to Oxford Township, where he has since been a resident, carrying on a stock and grain farm, in which he has been eminently successful. Mr. C. is the owner of 240 acres in Knox County, 160 in Warren County, and 520 acres in Nebraska.

Harriet M. Davison was united in marriage with Mr. W. L. Clay in 1854, and of this union were born three children - Seth H., Mary and Harrold S. Mrs. Clay died in i860, and Mr. C. formed another matrimonial alliance, this time the lady being Anna M. Johnson. They have become the parents of three children - Fanny M., Warren L. and Eugenia M. Mr. Clay is a Democrat in his political opinions, and is one of the leading and worthy men of Oxford Township.

flUP^ Postmaster at that place (1885). He was mj born in the city of Rock Island, May 28, i860. -fir He is the son of Chauncey J. and Ann (Vernarsdalle) Beckwith, who were born respectively in Vermont and in the State of New York. They were among the pioneer settlers in Rock Island. In 1868 they removed to Carbon Cliff, in the same county, and there their son obtained his education in the public schools. When he was 15 he was employed in the pottery, and he remained there until he had acquired a thorough knowledge of the business. He worked there three years, and at the -end of that time engaged as a clerk with M. G. Mills in Rock Island. At a later date he entered the services of C. Corbin & W. E. Chamberlain, at Carbon Cliff. In 1879, he went to Colorado, and officiated as a hotel clerk in the " Mountain View House " at Denver, and went thence after three months to Hot Sulphur Springs, where he obtained a position in a store as general clerk. He operated there two years and returned to Illinois. In 1882 he purchased the stock and interests of M. F. Wolcott, at Briar Bluff, and has since continued the prosecution of his business as a merchant in that place. His stock includes the lines of goods demanded in a country trade.

-amuel Arnett, Supervisor of the township of Loraine (r885), has been a resident of Henry County from the period of infancy, as he was in the first year of his life when his parents joined the pioneer element of this section of the State. He was born in Warren Co., Pa., July 6, 1836, and is the ninth son of Lewis and' Mary Clara Arnett. The family were among the earliest settlers in the township and the son was reared on the farm on which his parents located. He was educated in the pioneer log school-house, with its benches made of slabs, and the educational facilities were of the same stamp - such as the lime and circumstances afforded.

In the spring of 1858 he' bought four pairs of oxen and engaged in the work of breaking prairie, which was then as profitable as any employment that could be obtained in an unsettled locality, and passed one season in that line of business. In the spring ensuing he started with an ox team for Pike's Peak, setting out in April. He reached his destination June 20 following, and operated there in the capacity of a teamster, packing goods into the mountains with a mule train. He followed that method two years, and passed six months in the transportation business with wagons.

He then returned to the State of Illinois and engaged in threshing, which he followed three seasons. Meanwhile he rented a farm on which he passed the intervals when his services as a thresher were not in demand. In 1865 he bought 147 acres of land on section 5 of the township where he was brought up. He built a small frame house, which was the abode of his household until 1883, when the commodious residence they now occupy was erected. Mr. Arnett is the owner now of 186 acres of land, which is all in good agricultural condition. He has served nearly r8 years as Road Commissioner.

The marriage of Mr. Arnett and Catherine Urick took place Nov. 15, 1863. She was born in Henry County and is the daughter of Rudolph and Catherine (Rapp) Urick. Annie C, David W., S. Edwin, Libbie L. and George W. are the names of the children that are now included in the household of Mr. and Mrs. Arnett.

A. Fraser, a dealer in grain and broomcorn at Woodhull, was born Feb. 12, 1837, in New Haven, Conn., was brought up on x> a farm and attended the district school until r,> he reached the age of majority. His parents were William and Dolly (Russell) Fraser, natives respectively of Scotland and Connecticut; her father died in 1841 and her mother in 1849.

until he was 2r years old, and then came to Knox Co., this State, in 1858, where he worked 0:1 a farm for two years ; and then, until some time in 1861, he was in Kansas and Missouri, most of the time as a, clerk in mercantile establishments. In the fall of 1 861 he went into the 42d 111. Vol. Inf. as sutler and - photographer, and continued in that relation until 1865; then for one year he was engaged in a mercantile business for himself in Alabama ; selling out, he returned to the North and for a year was engaged in grain business at Chenoa, McLean Co., 111.; in 1868 he was employed on a farm in Knox Co., Ilf; then, in r86q, he came to Woodhull, where he has since been engaged in the grain and broom-corn trade. He is a successful manager, and a man with whom it is a satisfaction to deal. He built a good residence in Woodhull in 1875, and has a farm of 480 acres in Kansa&i He is a Republican, a Freemason and Odd-fellow, and is a leading citizen of the community which he has selected for his place of residence.

A. Gamble. Among those prominently jl|l|L identified with the agricultural interests of Oxford Township, we note the subject of this sketch, Mr. S. A. Gamble. His residence is upon section 24, and, besides giving his attention to general farming, he is engaged in stock-raising. He was born in Franklin Co., Pa., July 2r, 1838. His parents were also natives of the Keystone State, and were Samuel and Isabella B. (Wilson) Gamble. They came to Illinois as early as 1857, and located upon the above mentioned section, where they lived until called to their eternal homes. Mrs. Gamble died Oct. 16, 1862, and the elder Gamble, Feb. 10, 1870.

Our subject remained under the guidance and counsel of his parents until 1865. During the days of his boyhood and youth he not only had the advantages' of the common schools, but received an academical education. Upon leaving home his first business enterprise was the renting of a farm. He

0 continued farming, renting land for five years, when, in 1870, he purchased the property where he now lives, which at the time consisted of 80 acres, to which he subsequently added 120 acres. Politically, Mr. G. is a Republican, and, with his wife and four he is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

It was in 1865, April 13, that Mr. "Gamble and Miss Anna E. Widney were united in marriage. Of this union four children were born, who are living: These are Fannie, Fred E., William M. and Nonnie. In the spring of 1876, the husband and children were called upon to mourn the loss of the wife and mother. Mr. Gamble was subsequently married to Mollie Rolofson, a native of Illinois. Of this union three children have been born - Eddie, Samuel B. and Edna. Of the former children, Fannie is the wife of L. E.'Pritchard.

Robert W. Milar, a mechanic of ! Atkinson, has been a citizen of Henry County since 1855. He was born July 29, 1824, in Somerset Co., Pa. His father"John Milar, was lost to his family by death in 1833. The latter was a native of Maryland and married Isabella Fulton in 1812. Their births occurred respectively in 1790 and in 1793. The mother was a native of Pennsylvania.

In 1836 Mr. Milar came to the State of Ohio and passed two years in acquiring a knowledge of the business of a carpenter, which he has followed ever since. He served an apprenticeship of two years; and, in October, 1855, came to Henry County, settling at Geneseo. He pursued his trade there only about six months, when he came [to Atkinson. He has been a continuous resident of that place about 30 years. He has managed his affairs with prudence and good judgment, and is the owner of a well improved farm of 80 acres in the township of Atkinson, and owns the property which he occupies in the village. He is also the proprietor of 80 acres in Kansas, situated less than 20 miles from the city of Topeka.

Mr. Milar is a Republican and has discharged the duties of his citizenship in several official positions in the place where he is a resident. He was Deputy

The marriage of Mr. Milar to Rebecca Kinsley took place July 8, 1849, in the State of Ohio. The ceremony was performed by Joshua Pepper, then a magistrate, and who is still living, near Taylorsville, 111. Mrs. Milar was born Sept, 25, 1831, in New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas Co., Ohio. Three of four children born of this marriage are still living : Theodore was born March 24, 1850; Leroy, Oct. 9, 1852 ; Clara, Jan. 5, 1854; J. Kniseley, March 25, 1857. The latter died Sept. n, 1883. The surviving children are married. Mrs. Milar is a member of the Congregational Church.

£aeob Frank, harness-maker at Geneseo, and an extensive farmer of Henry County, has been a business man of Geneseo since Jan. 1, 1856. He was bom May 8, 1829, in Germany, near the city of Worms, which will be celebrated throughout the ages of the world as the place where the " Morning-Star'' of the Reformation arose - Martin Luther. He is the son of Leonard and Margaret (Boas) Frank, and he was 21 years of age when he left his native land to test fate in the New World. He landed in America in 1849, and settled in Hayes ville, Ashland Co., Ohio. He at once entered into the work of preparation for the business which he has since pursued, and served an apprenticeship of four years with a harness-maker. He began to operate in that line in his own behalf at Lucas, in that State, and remained there three years. At the expiration of that time he came to Geneseo, and established his business as soon as he arrived. He has operated with success, and in addition to his widespread relations as a harness-maker, dealer in trunks and all goods common to the traffic, he is the owner of a fine estate of ioo acres of land in the township of Cornwall. He is also the proprietor of valuable city property.

The marriage of Mr. Frank to Delilah Bowman took place in Ohio, Sept. 5, 1854, and they have had five children, three sons and two daughters : Leonard D. was born in Ohio, and after he was married he went to Oregon, where he died, in July, 1884, aged 30 ; Alice is the wife of David McLaughlin, of

Chicago ; Charles died at 1 2 years of age ; William and Minnie are living. Mrs. Frank was born in Ashland Co., Ohio. She died at her home in Geneseo, on Thanksgiving Day, 1883. She was a member of the Baptist Church.

Mr. Frank is connected by membership with the German Lutheran Church, and is a member of the Society of Odd Fellows. In political belief and connection he is an adherent of the Democratic party.

James Duncan, of Geneseo,came to Henry County in 1838, and has been a resident of the State since 1837. He has been prominent in the development of the resources ] £ of the county from the beginning of his active

I and independent management of his own affairs, and is at present the senior partner of the firm of Duncan & White, hardware merchants, and of the business house of Duncan & Martin.

He was born March 1, 1827, in Erie Co., Pa., and is the son of William and Mary (Thomas) Duncan. His father was of unmixed Scotch origin, his ancestors having been among the dissenters from the Scottish "Kirk," who left their native land in 1619 to escape the persecutions of King James. They encountered difficulties there which were scarcely less perplexing and quite as hard to bear. From the latter fact the purity of the race known as Scotch-Irish was retained throughout a period of exactly 100 years. In 17 19 the emigration of their descendants to the United States commenced, and from the settlement of Dunbarton, N. H., they have scattered to all parts of this land, and everywhere form one of the best elements on which the social, moral and religious structure of the country is founded. The father of Mr. Duncan was the son of a pioneer of the State of Pennsylvania, and there several of their children were born, among them their son William. The Thomas family, to which the mother belonged, was of English extraction, and were pioneers of the Dominion of Canada. Her father's family went to the State of New York just prior to her birth, and she was born in the Empire State.

1837 they came to Illinois. _They lived a year in Knoxville, and in the spring of the following year they made a final transfer of their affairs and interests to Henry County, where they arrived April 15th. The father became a farmer in the Township of Phenix, and the children were there reared to maturity.

The first event of marked importance in the life of Mr. Duncan, of this sketch, was his marriage to Sarah C. Browning, of Phenix, April 10, 1855. Mrs. Duncan is the daughter of Joshua Browning, and she is a native of Phenix Township, in Henry County. Mr. Duncan continued the business in which he had been reared after his marriage until the spring of 1865. That was the date of his removal to Geneseo, where he has since resided continuously. He at first interested himself in traffic in grain and stock, and also made purchases and shipments of horses. In 1870 he entered into a partnership with E. M. Way, and they transacted a business in the manufacture of soap and in rendering fats, under the style of Way & Duncan, which was in operation until 1880 - a period of ten years. At the expiration of that time Mr. Duncan bought the claim of his partner, and within the same year formed an association with Charles H. Martin, and they have since managed their business affairs jointly. In 1883 Messrs. Duncan & Martin have been engaged solely in the line of rendering. In some years they transact business in that avenue amounting on an average to $12,000. In 1882 the hardware house of Duncan & White was established, and the firm have since done a prosperous business in the lines of trade common to similar concerns, dealing in stoves, tinware, general hardware steamfitting, metal-plate work, etc. The firm opened their business April 5th of the year named.

In 1850 Mr. Duncan went to California. He set out for that distant region on the 1st day of March, traveling across the plains. He passed nearly three years in the Golden Gate, and was engaged in mining at various points. He returned by way of the Isthmus to New York. At the time he was operating as a fanner the agricultural affairs of Henry County were in their most primitive condition. He found a market for his crops at no nearer point than Chicago, and he hauled his grain there in a wagon drawn by three yokes of oxen, being accustomed to

pass 21 days on the journey there and return. He sold his wheat for 45 or 50 cents a bushel, and was obliged from the small returns from his sales to travel and camp in gypsy fashion. The distance he

S. Douglas, farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section 34 of Oxford Township. y> ^ and one of the large land-owners of the county, is a native of Kentucky. He was born in Greene County, that State, June 18, 1820, and is a son of Charles and Polly (Smith) Douglas, natives of Virginia, where they were farmers. They came into Lawrence Co., 111., in 1834, where the elder Douglas bought 40 acres of land, upon which he lived until his death, which occurred in 1842. His wife survived for 40 years, dying in Sangamon Co., 111., in T882.

Young Douglas came to Illinois with his parents and remained with them, putting in his time at work on the home farm and attending the district schools a few months in a year, until he attained the age of 21 years. Immediately after reaching this important period in the life of every young man, he moved to Crawford Co., Ind., where he remained two years, living on and working a rented farm. He then returned to Illinois and located in Sangamon County, where he remained until 1852; he next came into Oxford Township, this county, and purchased 320 acres of land. Besides his property in this county, he owns 400 acres in Iowa. Politically, he is a Democrat, and is regarded as one of the solid and representative men of Oxford Township.

Mr. Douglas was united in marriage with Mary A. Bullock, who bore him one child - John. She died in 1842, and for his second wife Mr. Douglas was married to Anna Glennan. By this marriage he had nine children, the following seven of whom are living: Jane, Cornelia, Martha, Samuel, Fannie, Elvia and Susan. In 1866, Mr. Douglas was left a widower, by the death of Mrs. Douglas. He subsequently married Margaret C. Warner.

eonard C. Campbell, City Clerk of Geneseo and Justice of the Peace, has been a resident of the county since i860. He was born Oct. 6, 1816, in Malone, Franklin Co. N. Y. His father, the Hon. James Campbell, was a native of Bellows Falls, Vt., being born June 3, 1784, and died when within four months of his 1 ooth birthday. He was of Scotch lineage, and ireached distinction in military life and as an official jin. prominent positions. He was an officer in the jWar of 181 2, and served through the entire course of that contest, becoming in his later life a pensioner on account of the services he rendered. He was fora considerable number of years the Sheriff of Franklin County, and was afterwards made Judge. He was a prominent member of the New York Legislature in the session of the winter of 1828-9. Politically, he was a Whig until the days of Van Buren, and after that period he was in sympathy with the Democratic element. In his habits he was a man of remarkable simplicity, and his vigor was preserved nearly to the close of his long life. He married Maria Chapman, who was of Scotch-Irish origin.

Mr. CampbelJ was educated in his native county, and one of his school-mates was the man who afterward became the Vice-President of the United States, - Wm. A. Wheeler. On entering business life he engaged in mercantile pursuits at Ogdensburg, N. Y.,and operated there from 183410 1855. While there he was married, June 20, 1841, to Sarah, daughter of Isaac and Sally Wright. She was born in Ogdensburg, Feb. 19, 18:9. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell had two children, born in the city where the birth of the mother occurred. Leonard W. is the general traveling freight agent of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad; he married Frank E.. Adams, and is a resident of Chicago ; James C. is in the employment of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

In 1855 Mr. Campbell removed to Chicago, where he was interested in the transportation and commission business about five years. In April, i860, he came to Geneseo, in the interests of the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, and he acted in the capacity of agent for that corporation. He also operated as a purchaser and shipper of grain, and continued his connection with both lines of business six years. Meanwhile, the affairs at the jrailroad office at Joliet had fallen into a perplexing tangle through the dishonest management of an agent, and he was sent there as an adjuster and remained until he had placed everything in good order. His next relation was with the Chicago Stock-Yards as cashier and disbursing agent during their construction ; and while connected with the enterprise over a million dollars passed through his hands. He was occupied there about one year, and returned to Geneseo, where he again operated as a dealer in grain. In the beginning of his connection with politics Mr. Campbell was what was then termed a " Silver-Grey Whig," but through the evolutions of che political questions from which the Republican party was evolved he became an adherent of the new organization, amd has since continued its devoted and constant ally.

In 1867 he was elected Police Magistrate at Geneseo, a position to which he was again elected until he had discharged its duties, - an aggregate of nine years. Since that time he has held the position of Justice of the Peace nine years. In 1884 he was elected City Clerk, and is the present incumbent.

One daughter was born after the removal of the family to the West. She is the wife of George Newland, a farmer of Osco Township. Mrs. Campbell is a communicant in the Episcopal Church.

*r. J. H. Sale, physician and surgeon, resi- &. dent at Cleveland, in Hanna Township, of whom a portrait appears on the opposite page, was born April 10, 1838, in La Porte, Ind. He is the second son of John F. and Jane G. (Sanford) Sale. His father was born in Xenia, Greene Co., Ohio, June 14, 1814, and was the son of John Sale, a preacher in the Methodist Church. The latter went to Ohio in the year 1803, and was one of the pioneers of the ministry in the State. He organized and established the first local body of the denomination to which he belonged that was instituted in the city of Cincinnati. He died at the house of a friend while he was still in that place on the errand which he went there to accomplish. His death occurred in 1827.

The family of the mother of Dr. Sale were originally from Baltimore, Md. Hector Sanford, his grandfather, was a pioneer of Chillicothe, in Ross Co., Ohio, and he was also a Methodist preacher, operating in the method known in those days as " circuitriding." The scattered condition of the Methodist societies, which sometimes consisted only of the members of a single family, necessitated a traveling minister, and to this state of affairs is due the prominence of some of the most worthy characters in the pioneer history of the country. Mr. Sanford retired from the ministry some years before his death and became interested in secular matters. He built a mill at Chillicothe for the manufacture of cotton, and was there engaged in business during the remainder of his life. The parents of Dr. Sale were married in Ohio, and went afterwards to La Porte, Ind. They went in 1840 to Rock Co., Wis., and the father made a purchase of land in Union Township. A portion of the tract is now included in Evansville.

There the Doctor grew to manhood, and was a pupil in the pioneer log school-house, which was constructed in the common way with a puncheon floor. The abode of the family was built in a similar manner. The structure became historic from the fact that in it was held the first meeting of the Methodist society of Evansville, and it was also the scene of the organization of that body.

The education of Dr. Sale was materially im proved by several terms' attendance at the celebrated seminary at Evansville, but his plans were temporarily interrupted by the, advent of the struggle between the two sections of the United States, which for a time seemed to threaten the destruction of all that constituted the basis of all prosperity in the land.

The temperament of Dr. Sale, the heritage of two races of pioneers, could poorly brook the danger to that which the generation of his ancestors had struggled and suffered to create, and within the first year of the war he entered the army. He enlisted Sept. 13, 1 86 1, in Co. H, r3th Wis. Vol. Inf. Before the regiment went to the field he was transferred to the band, and was in that connection as long as he remained in the 13th regiment. He was discharged Aug. 18, 1862, by special order of the War Department, which terminated the duties of all regimental bands. However, just previous to the promulgation of the order, he was seized with illness, returned home and was confined to his bed ir weeks; and after his recovery, Dec. 18, 1862, he enlisted in the organization known as the Iron Brigade Band, and remained a member of it as long as the war continued. He was discharged June 12, 1865, and again returned to Evansville.

In August following, he came to Dayton, and commenced the study of medicine with his brother, Dr. R. R. Sale. After reading thoroughly under his preceptorship, he attended lectures at Rush Medical College in Chicago, and on leaving college he commenced his practice with his brother at Dayton. Their joint operations continued until 187 1, at which date the Doctor came to Cleveland. He has established a popular and prosperous business in his profession, and is also conducting a drug-store, which he established in r88o. In 1878 he was appointed Postmaster, and has discharged the duties of the position ever since.

Dr. Sale was married to Miss A. Eliza Fiedler, Dec. 22, 187 1. She is a native of Baltimore, Fairfield Co., Ohio, and is the daughter of Casper and Sarah (Miles) Fiedler. Her father died in Rock Island, in February, 1854. Her mother is still living, at Peabody, Kan. They were among the pioneers of the county of Rock Island. The children that have been added to the household of Dr. and Mrs. Sale are named Freddie Fletcher and Francis Joseph. The former was born May 12, 1873, and the latter June ir, 1875. The father of Mrs. Sale was a native of Germany. Her was born in Newark, Licking Co., Ohio. Dr. Sale's father died Feb. 1, 1845, and his mother is still a resident of Evansville, Wis.

^aniel Henney, farmer, section i6,Geneseo Township, has a farm of 150 acres in the township in which he is a resident, and is JvVr, also the owner of 263 acres in the township of Phenix. He was born in Wayne Co., Ohio, May 17, 1832, and is the son of Peter and Christina (Strayer) Henney, of whom a personal account is given on another page. The father removed his family to Henry County in the spring of 1853. Mr. Henney was then 2 1 and he located with his parents in the township of Phenix. He became himself the head of a family in the following year, and then began actual contact with the question of making his way in the world. When he was 22 his father gave him every fourth bushel of the crop which he had helped to raise, for his share, and with this, and a colt of which he was the owner, he and his wife commenced their hand-to-hand contest with fate and fortune. He had besides, as capital, a sound constitution, and habits of frugality and industry. He purchased 80 acres of land at $15 per acre, upon which he could make only a small payment. The method of operation pursued by Mr. Henney is of great interest, and an account of it is n6t only pertinent to the purpose of these records, but may serve to aid another to take heart when necessity seems overpowering, and discouragement is likely to obstruct effort. In the first place he had no team, and was without the means to purchase that most needed auxiliary to a successful struggle with " Nature's forces ;" but Mrs. Henney was the owner of an old mare, with which her husband contrived to plow the corn which he had planted. He had done his breaking with ox teams, which he had hired for the purpose at a dollar an acre. While doing this, he was in the habit of getting to the field to break prairie at the hour of three in the morning, and would plow until about six, when he " turned out " for breakfast. At seven, he and the oxen resumed their labors, and, with the exception of a short nooning, the work was kept up until five o'clock in the afternoon. After supper'he resumed work and did not quit until about ten in the evening. This was the program through the season, and at the end of the season for plowing corn he had about 65 acres under tillage.

He continued to buy land, for which he went in debt, until he was the proprietor of 263 acres. His first crop of wheat comprised 1,400 bushels, and he realized 1,700 bushels from the second, which he harvested on his farm. When he made the last payment on his land, he sold wheat at 35 cents an acre and corn at eight cents. He offered 1,000 bushels of corn for a wagon. These statements are given as affording a complete picture of the actual state of affairs at the period referred to, from which it will be an easy matter to gain an idea of the quantity and quality of the perseverance and industry required to make not only existence possible, but to accomplish what was actually done - the achievement of success in making progress in the acquirement of this world's goods. In the case of Mr. Henney, release from debt, the acquisition of farm-fixtures of a superior character, and a position among the leading farmers in the county are the results of his labors and the exercise of good judgment. Subsequently, Mr. Henney purchased 150 acres of land in the township of Geneseo, and he removed from the place in Phenix Township to the beautiful residence now occupied by his family in the vicinity of the city of Geneseo, and in which they took possession in January, 1875.

The marriage of Daniel Henney and Catherine Butzer took place Dec. 28, 1854. She was born in Germany, and is the daughter of George F. and Louise (Baltz) Butzer. She was but two years old when her parents removed from the " continent " to the United States. She has borne five children : Melvina M. is the widow of J. H. Drekmer; Peter A. married Catherine West, and they live in Phenix Township, where he is a farmer; Elma M. is married to Edward Wilson, a farmer in the State of Iowa; Grant A. married Jane Rapp, and is a citizen of Geneseo; Alice M. lives with her parents. The first-born child - George Albert - was killed when 17 by the kick of a horse. He was a young man of excellent character and was at the threshold of a promising- manhood.