Henry County, Illinois - The whole text, 1910 (part 13 of 32)

Orson Dunbar, who obtained his education in the district schools of Wethersfield township, yet resides on the old home farm where he was reared, still occupying the same house. He was early trained to the work of the fields and now devotes his time and energies to the operation of a tract of eighty acres, from which he annually gathers golden harvests as a reward for his care and labor. Since the death of his father he has erected a new barn and numerous other buildings, has rebuilt and overhauled all the fences and also set out several trees. He has a fine bearing orchard including apple, peach, plum, pear and cherry trees. In addition to his agricultural interests he makes a specialty of breeding common horses, raising ten colts in 1909. He likewise devotes considerable attention to the raising of steers and hogs and in all of his undertakings has won a gratifying measure of success. His holdings include one hundred and eighty acres of pasture land in Knox county, and he has long been numbered among the prosperous and representative citizens of his community.

Where national questions and issues are involved Mr. Dunbar supports the republican party but at local elections casts an independent ballot, always voting for the men and measures that he believes will best conserve the general welfare. He is widely and favorably known throughout this section and has won the warm esteem and confidence of all with whom he has come in contact.

William Oria Cosner

William Oria Cosner, who devotes his time and energies to that branch of activity which George Washington designated as "the most useful as well as the most honorable occupation of man," is the owner of a highly improved and productive farm of one hundred and six acres on sections 10 and 11, Burns township. His birth occurred in Burns township on the 13th of November, 1866, his parents being William H. and Adelaide A. (Wedge) Cosner. A sketch of the father appears on another page of this work.

William O. Cosner was educated in the district schools of his native township and remained under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age, giving his father the benefit of his services in the work of the home farm. He was then married and for three years afterward gave his attention to the operation of a rented farm of two hundred acres on section 14, Burns township, the property belonging to L. E. Wilhelm. Subsequently he took up his abode on the farm of one hundred and six acres in Burns township which has remained his place of residence to the present time, cultivating the land as a renter for about three years, on the expiration of which period he purchased the property. He has remodeled the house, built a new barn and various other outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, has put up new fences and a windmill and has also tiled his land, so that the place is now lacking in none of the improvements and conveniences ences of a model farm of the twentieth century. It is all under cultivation with the exception of a tract of twenty-seven acres of timber and pasture land. In addition to his farming interests Mr. Cosner likewise makes a specialty of Hereford cattle and Jersey Red hogs and also raises quite a number of colts. He is a stockholder in the Henry County Telephone Company and is well entitled to recognition among the enterprising and prosperous citizens of his native county.

On the 20th of November, 1889, in Kewanee township, Mr. Cosner was united in marriage to Miss Emily I. Scott, a daughter of William and Ann (Peart) Scott, who were natives of England. They came to this county from Canada, locating in Kewanee township, where William Scott began working in the coal mines. He there passed away in January, 1877. His widow still survives and makes her home in Kewanee. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cosner have been born seven children, namely : Lester Ord, a young man of nineteen, who assists his father in the work of the home farm ; Elsie B., who is seventeen years of age ; Clarence P., who is a youth of fifteen and attends the district schools ; Bessie C. L., a little maiden of seven, who is likewise attending school; William Carroll and Marjorie O., who are five and two years of age respectively; and Gladys Adelaide, who is in her first year.

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Cosner has cast his ballot in support of the men and measures of the democracy but aside from this has taken no active part in politics. He is a warm friend of the cause of education and has served as a school director for nine years. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America at Kewanee, Illinois, He and his family are valued members of the Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal church near Cosner's Corners, doing everything in their power to promote its growth and extend its influence. He has an extensive circle of friends in the county, where he has always resided, for his life has ever been upright and honorable and the motives which have guided his actions have been such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny.

Hugh G. Carson

No history of Kewanee and Henry county would be complete without extended mention of Hugh G. Carson, who enjoyed the distinction of being the oldest resident of his community, having resided here for a longer period than any other man. He was called to his final rest on the 24th of April, 1908, at the venerable age of eighty-five years, and for seventy-two years of that time maintained his residence in this county. His birth occurred in Salt township, Wayne county, Ohio, on the 22d of May, 1823, and he was therefore a lad of thirteen when the family home was established in Henry county in 1836. The father was an agriculturist by occupation and trained his sons to the work of the farm. On coming to this county he settled on a quarter section of land about three and a half miles from the present site of Kewanee, and upon this farm both he and his wife passed away, his demise occurring in 1841. Following his father's death Hugh G. Carson became the mainstay of the family and, though this was quite a responsibility for so young a man, he acquitted himself creditably. In 1846 he purchased the interests of his brothers and sisters in the old homestead and started out in hfe on his own account. General agricultural pursuits claimed his attention until 1861, when he put aside the active work of the fields and took up his abode in Kewanee; but four years later he returned to the farm, making his home thereon until 1881. Having won a handsome competence, he once more came to Kewanee and here spent the remainder of his life, enjoying in well earned ease the fruits of his former toil.

On the 14th of December, 1843, in Burns township, Mr. Carson was united in marriage to Miss Emily Ann Doty, who has passed away. The record of their children is as follows: Mary E. ; John H., who is a resident of Nebraska; Mrs Sarah S. Orr; Florence, who is deceased; Rosa V., who is the wife of O. W. Smith, of Valparaiso, Indiana; Franklin R., living in South Bend, Indiana; and Ida N., the wife of J. H. Wilsey.

Mr. Carson voted the democratic ticket until 1856 but in that year assisted in the organization of a Fremont club and ever afterward was a stanch supporter of republican men and measures. His life was in harmony with his professions as a member of the Congregational church, and as a Freemason and he enjoyed the unqualified respect and esteem of all who knew him. His mind was a storehouse of interesting facts concerning the early history of this section of the state, and he told many tales of the hardships and dangers which beset the sturdy pioneer in his efforts o reclaim the district for the purposes of civilization. During the '40s, while riding home from Geneseo one evening by moonlight, he was pursued for miles by a pack of wolves and his frightened horse barely succeeded in escaping them. At that time houses were few and far between, but during the spring and summer of 1855 people began flocking to Kewanee from all quarters and small frame structures sprang up on every side. Not only did he witness the transformation of this section from a wild country, with only a few white inhabitants, to a rich agricultural country, containing thousands of good homes and acres of growing towns, inhabited by an industrious, prosperous, enlightened and progressive people, but he participated in the slow, persistent work of development which was necessary to produce a change which is so complete that it has come to be popularly referred to as magical. The period of his residence in Henry county covered more than the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten, and his name is inseparably interwoven with its history.

Fred Dack Hayes

Fred Dack Hayes, of the Hayes Pump & Planter Company, at Galva, was born near Kewanee, Illinois, and has spent his entire life in Henry county. He is a son of Eugenie and Matilda J. (Dack) Hayes, of whom extended reference is made on another page of this volume. His father was one of the most prominent business men that has figured in industrial and commercial circles in Henry county. His early life was devoted to agricultural pursuits and later he began the manufacture of agricultural implements and other mechanical devices which he himself had invented.

The subject of this review was educated in the Galva public schools, graduating therefrom in 1897. He attended the Art Institute in Chicago one year, after which he represented the Hayes Pump & Planter Company as traveling salesman. Since 1906, he has had charge of the publicity department of his firm.

Mr. Hayes is an Episcopalian in his religious belief, being a member of the church of the Holy Communion in Galva. He belongs to Galva Lodge, No. 243, A. F. & A. M., and his political endorsement is given to the republican party.

Victor J. Olson

Victor J. Olson, the manager of the Galva Grain Elevator Company, one of the most important business enterprises of the comrhunity, was born at Bishop Hill on the loth of June, 1879, and is therefore numbered among the younger business men of Nekoma. He is a son of S. P. and Catherine (Nordine) Olson, and on the maternal side is a direct descendant of the Bishop Hill colonists, both grandparents having come from Sweden as members of the original colony. The maternal grandfather, Lars Nordine, died while serving as a soldier in the Civil war. Their daughter, the mother of our subject, was born in the Bishop Hill colony. The father, a native of Sweden, came to America in 1865, locating at Bishop Hill, where he has engaged in the occupation of farming ever since, being the owner of a farm of eighty acres located in Galva township.

In the Hickory Grove school of Galva township, Victor J. Olson acquired his education, and during the periods of vacation assisted his father in the work of the home farm. He remained under the parental roof until 1904, in which year he entered the employ of Regnold Johnson, a lumber merchant of Bishop Hill, with whom he remained for two years. On March 9, 1907, he accepted his present position as manager of the Galva Grain Elevator Company at Nekoma. The company owns an elevator with a capacity of thirty thousand bushels, and they handle about three hundred and fifty thousand bushels of grain per year, dealing principally in corn and oats. It is a cooperative organization, consisting of farmers, and is capitalized for fifteen thousand dollars. They purchase grain throughout the country for a radius of about seven miles and ship chiefly to the Chicago market, this being the only grain center in the township. The business has already reached extensive proportions and is continually growing in proportion.

On the i8th of January, 1905, Mr. Olson was united in marriage to Miss Cassie Smith, a daughter of Mrs. M. E. Smith, of Bishop Hill, and unto this union has been born one son, Stewart Clifton. The family residence is in Nekoma, where Mr. and Mrs. Olson are prominent in a large circle of friends, who entertain for them high regard and esteem. Fraternally he is a Mason and also holds membership with the Modern Woodmen of America, while in politics he gives stalwart support to the democracy, although the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. Mr. Olson is yet a young man but has already attained a gratifying measure of success which augurs well for a bright future, while his many good qualities, his social manner, his genial disposition and his cordiaUty have made him popular with those with whom he has been brought in contact.

Frederick Herb

Frederick Herb, who owns and operates an excellent farm of one hundred and twenty acres on sections 17 and 18, Burns township, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, on the 8th of July, 1848, his parents being John C. and Elizabeth C. Herb, who spent their entire lives in the fatherland. John C. Herb followed general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business career and passed away on the 6th of October, 1863, when forty-six years of age. His wife was called to her final rest in the fall of 1868, when she had attained the age of fifty-three years. They were the parents of five children, only two of whom came to the United States, namely : Frederick, of this review, and Rosina, the wife of Chris Miller, who was a native of Germany and there passed away.

Frederick Herb obtained his education in the public schools of his native land and after putting aside his text-books learned the plasterer's trade, which he followed until 1868. On the 13th of June of that year, when a young man of twenty, he set sail for the new world and after landing on American shores made his way direct to Sturgis, Michigan, where he was engaged in farming for about two years. The construction of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad was begun in 1870, and he immediately secured employment with that corporation, working in all parts of the state until the road was completed. Subsequently he worked on the Michigan Air Line from Jackson to Niles, Michigan, until February, 1871, and then went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he labored in a vineyard until fall. Making his way to Canton, Ohio, he there worked as a digger of ditches until April, when he removed to Cincinnati and secured employment at his trade of plasterer. He afterward worked at his trade in Middle Point, Van Wert county, Ohio, next went to St. Louis and then to Iron Mountain, Missouri, there also being engaged as a plasterer. He returned to St. Louis for the fair of 1872 and subsequently went to Louisiana, being there employed as a sugar maker. Once more going back to St. Louis, he worked at his trade in that city for a time and then became identified with farming interests, harvesting in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. Subsequently he worked for a short time as a farm hand in Cambridge, Henry county, Illinois, and afterward was employed in a similar capacity by Jacob Cosner, of Kewanee. He was also employed by George Day, of Wethersfield township, and Jacob Sauceman, of Burns township, and picked corn for Oscar Fisher, of Burns township. When a young man of about twenty-nine years, he was married and took up his abode on a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which he purchased, on sections 17 and 18, Burns township. He remodeled the house, erected a new barn, sheds and other outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, put up fences and also tiled the land. At the end of five years, he leased the place and removed to Beadle county, South Dakota, which at that time was still a territory, taking up four hundred and eighty acres of government land. He made his home in South Dakota for eleven years, on the expiration of which period he returned to his farm in Henry county and has lived thereon continuously to the present time. The place is devoted to general agricultural pursuits and in addition to the cultivation of the fields, which have been brought to a high state of fertility, he also makes a specialty of Hereford cattle, Poland China hogs and colts. He still retains possession of his farm of four hundred and eighty acres in South Dakota and leases the property.

On the 3d of May, 1877, in Burns township, Mr. Herb was united in marriage to Amelia Gobst, her father being Jacob Liebsch, a native of Saxony, Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Herb have two children, a daughter and son. Josephine is the wife of James Schreck, who follows farming in Iowa. Frank T,, whose birth occurred in South Dakota on the 8th of July, 1884, now operates the home farm. On the lOth of February, 1903, in Geneseo, he wedded Miss May Atwell, a daughter of George Atwell, of Cornwall township. They now have a son, Cecil, four years of age.

Mr. Herb gives his political allegiance to the republican party and takes an active and helpful interest in all matters pertaining to the public welfare. While living in South Dakota, he held the offices of township collector, school treasurer and school director. He is a devoted and consistent member of the Christian Science church. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to America, for in this country he has found the opportunities which he sought and through their utilization, has worked his way upward, becoming one of the successful representative agriculturists of the community, his life indicating what may be accomplished by perseverance and well directed energy.

Edward Washburn

Among the many progressive farmers of Colona township, whose work has contributed no mean share to the fair name enjoyed by this locality as an agricultural center must be included Edward Washburn, who operates a fine farm of eighty acres. A native of this county, he was born in Western township, January 24, 1867, and is a son of Chauncey and Emily (Piatt) Washburn, of whom extended mention is made in the sketch of George Washburn, a brother of our subject, in another part of this volume.

Edward Washburn spent his childhood and youth upon the home farm, obtaining the fundamental lessons for life under the guidance of his parents and in the district schools of his native township. When he had completed the course of instruction offered by those institutions he attended for a time the normal school at Geneseo. He did not relinquish his agricultural interests, however, but worked with his father until he married and had the nature' desire to establish a home of his own. In the spring of 1896 he took up his residence upon the place in Colona township which has since been the scene of his labors. Forty acres was the home of the Piatt family when Chauncey Washburn and Miss Emily

Piatt, the parents of our subject, were married, and as it came into the possession of Mr. Washburn shortly before his own marriage it still belongs to a descendant of the Piatt family. The tract Mr. Washburn now operates, however, embraces eighty acres and is one of the fertile farms of Colona township. As it is cultivated by careful and progressive methods, by a man who has an understanding of the science underlying the best agriculture, it yields harvests that compare favorably with those reaped from fields which are known widely as rendering the largest returns for the investment of thought and toil.

On the 25th of December, 1895, Mr. Washburn wedded Miss Mary A. Greer, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Bell) Greer, of Coal Valley, Rock Island county, Illinois. The Greers came originally from Ireland, while the Bells came from England, and both settled in Rock Island county among the early pioneers of this state. Mr. Greer was for many years a successful coal operator, but later in life gave his attention to agricultural pursuits, in which he found a success that justified his retiring from active life. He and his wife are still living in Rock Island county. It was there that Mr. Washburn met their daughter, she being at that time a popular and progressive teacher.

Like all the Washburn family, Edward Washburn is a democrat, but he takes little part in political matters, though he is a student of issues and conditions and is always an intelligent voter, being well informed upon all matters of loyal or national importance. His administration as road commissioner and school director has been marked by zealous exertions in behalf of public welfare. For the past twenty-one years he has been a member of Riverside Lodge, No. 684, I. O. O. F., has been prominent in its affairs, holding the greater number of the chairs of the organizations, finishing with the rank of past grand. He is also a member of Clement Lodge, No. 680, A. F. & A. M., at Colona, of which he is junior warden, and he and his wife belong to the Eastern Star.

In the belief that judicious public improvements are a mark of a progressing community, Mr. Washburn never fails in his support of such and exerts an influence in advancing the efficiency of the local schools. The pleasures of hunting and fishing still occasionally allure him and in these sports he finds his greatest diversion and relaxation from the daily cares of the farm.

John W. Loughin

John W. Loughin well deserves distinction among those citizens of Geneseo township who, entirely through their own industry and well directed efforts, have worked their way upward from a humble beginning to a creditable place among the substantial and representative citizens of the township. A native of Pennsylvania, his birth occurred on the corner of Third and Dock streets, Philadelphia, April i, 1845, his parents being John and Ann( Woodworth) Loughin. When he was but four years of age, he accompanied his mother and father on their removal to Montgomery, Pennsylvania, where the former was engaged in business for a few years. In that town Mr. Loughin was reared to manhood. When only eight years old he lost his father and as he was the eldest in a family of four children, it was necessary for him to go to work at a very early age in order to provide for his own livelihood and also to aid in the support of the other members of the family. He remained at home, caring for his widowed mother, until twenty-five years of age, when he went to Port Kennedy, where he became identified with the coal business. He had been thus engaged for about five years and was meeting with creditable success when the panic of 1873 broke out and he was among those who were forced to succumb. Two years later, in 1875, he came west to Henry county and here accepted employment as a farmhand, working by the month up to the time of his marriage, which occurred on the 23d of September, 1885, in Osco township, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary J. Poppleton. Mrs. Loughin was born in Geneseo on the 30th of November, 1856, and is a daughter of George and Esther (Hall) Poppleton, natives of Lincolnshire, England, and County Fermanagh, Ireland, respectively. The father, who arrived in America in 185 1, remained in New York state about three years and then came to Illinois, taking up his abode in Geneseo. The mother came to this country when sixteen years of age, and it was during her residence in Geneseo that she made the acquaintance of Mr. Poppleton, After their marriage he followed the occupation of carpenter and joiner for several years and then in 1858 removed to Osco township, where he purchased a farm and reared his family, which consisted of six children, of whom Mrs. Loughin is the eldest.

Mr. Loughin and his wife began their domestice life upon a farm belonging to his father-in-law, which he continued to operate in the capacity of renter for about six years, and then he purchased fifty acres of land in Cambridge township. The period of his residence thereupon covered seven years, at the expiration of which time he sold out and invested in ninety acres in Munson township. In 1904 he purchased his present farm, consisting of one hundred and thirty-eight acres located on sections 8 and 9, Geneseo township, at a price of sixty-five dollars per acre. Under his wise and careful management the fields have been brought under a high state of cultivation, and everything about the place indicates that he has kept in touch with modern and up-to-date methods of agriculture.

As the years have come and gone the home of Mr. and Mrs. Loughin has been blessed with five children. Esther Ann, the eldest, graduated from the Geneseo Collegiate Institute with the class of 1905, after which she taught for a few years. She is now the wife of Herman F. Lohman and makes her home in Geneseo, where her husband is engaged as an engineer. John Sherman, who also attended the Geneseo Collegiate Institute, is now engaged in agricultural pursuits. Alexander B. has completed his freshman year in high school and is now a member of the sophomore class. Lenora Elizabeth resides at home and is also a student in the high school, being now in her junior year, while Myra Dorothy, the youngest, is at home.

Mr. and Mrs. Loughin are members of the Trinity Episcopal church, of which Mr. Loughin is serving as senior warden. Politically he is a republican, having been a stanch supporter of that party since casting his first presidential vote. Although he has never sought nor desired public office, yet he has served as road commissioner and as school director and has always been a stanch ^advocate of all measures pertaining to the material, political, intellectual and moral growth and advancement of the community. Although his arrival in this township was comparatively recent, nevertheless he has already won an extensive circle of friends who honor and respect him for the excellent traits of character which are his.

John Durmann

One of the successful farmers of Colona township, is John Durmann, who was born in Rock Island county, Illinois, July 6, 1854, and is a son of Joseph and Amanda (Killing) Durmann. The former was born in Bavaria, Germany, December 15, 1813, his father being Mike Durmann, a farmer in his native land, who died when his son was seventeen years old. In 1839 Joseph Durmann came to America to better his condition. After living for a time in Ohio, he removed to Illinois, locating in the city of Rock Island, where he followed his trade as a cooper for a number of years. Having saved money during that time, in 1867 he was able to purchase three hundred and twenty acres of land in Colona township, upon which he took up his residence. As he prospered, he was able to add to his landholdings until he owned five hundred and forty acres, so that he became one of the prominent and substantial men of his locality. Although so much of his time was given to the prosecution of his vocation he found time to devote to the cause of the public and was identified with its best interests, serving most efficiently for a number of years as a member of the school board. One of the pleasant memories of his life, however, was the trip he took in 1873 to his native land, when he was given a chain by his brother which had been in the possession of the family for three hundred and fifty years and is still one of the cherished heirlooms.

While living in Rock Island, Joseph Durmann was married, April 21, 1845, to Miss Amanda Killing. The five children born to their union are still living: Frank, John, Joseph, William and Mary. The youngest is now the widow of Patrick McKee. Mr. Durmann died in February, 1896, and his widow survived him but a little more than two years, her death occurring July 26, 1898.

John Durmann grew to manhood upon the paternal farm and acquired his early education in the district schools of the township. Later he was enrolled as a pupil in a private school at Orion and then spent one winter in study at Davenport. His education completed, he devoted himself assiduously to the cultivation of the soil, although he did not engage in farming for himself until 1883, when he married and bought the place on which he lives and works today. It is a tract of one hundred and twenty acres, which is well improved and under a high state of cultivation, being devoted to general farming. While he has won from it a most gratifying income and an unequivocal success, he has achieved equal distinction from his operations in the stock business. As progress has been his guiding star and industry his rule in life, the good fortune which places Mr, Durmann in the front rank of the farmers of his locality comes

On the 29th of January, 1883, Mr. Durmann was married to Miss Margaret E. Purse, a daughter of Robert J. and Margaret (Montgomery) Purse. The parents were born natives of Ireland, the father of County Antrim, the mother of County Down, and they came to America in 1849 o" the same steamer. Mrs. Purse is a direct descendant of the Riddle family, which can trace its ancestry back to 860 and played no small part in the history of the Emerald isle. Mr. Purse worked in the city of New York for about five years after having crossed the Atlantic, was married July 9, 1854, and in the spring of the next year came to Henry county, Illinois, locating in Western township. In 1898 he went to Moline, where he lived until 1902, when he went to Oklahoma, returning after three years to Moline, where he has since resided. Eleven children, seven daughters and four sons were born to him and his wife, namely : Margaret E., now Mrs. John Durmann; James, a Baptist minister in Oklahoma; Susan, who is deceased; William, of Moline; Elizabeth, the wife of Elvin E. Bell, of Moline; Robert of Moline; Mattie, now Mrs. Chas. Rost; Georgiana, who is the wife of John J. Bell, of Moline; Abigail, who married D. C. Keleher, of Western township; Emma E., the wife of O. L. Benway, of Louisiana; and Edward, deceased. Both Mr. and Mrs. Purse are members of the Baptist church, while in his political views, Mr. Purse is a republican, having cast his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln.

Mr. and Mrs. Durmann are the parents of three children: Mary Eva, Sarah May and James. They were educated in the public schools of the township and later in the schools of Orion and Moline, Sarah May graduating with the class of 1903. After the completion of her own education she taught for a few years and then married John H. Sheesley, of Western township. The son, James, has remained at home.

Mr. Durmann is a republican and is deeply interested in public affairs, having been a member of the local school board for a number of years. With the rest of his family he belongs to the Baptist church at Orion, has been deacon and trustee of the congregation for a considerable period and is closely identified with church and Sunday-school work. Appreciative of the fact that upon progress depends the advance of a community, his voice and influence are ever raised in its behalf and his advocacy of public improvements is always guided by a desire to see his fellow citizens keep abreast of the advance of civilization in other parts of the state and country.

Oscar Gaessner

Oscar Gaessner, one of the prominent farmers and stockmen of Osco township, was born in the village of Wechselburg, Saxony, Germany, April 8, 1840, and is a son of Fred and Wilhelmina (Vieweg) Gaessner. He received a good education by private instruction, obtaining a knowledge of the Latin and French languages in addition to the branches usually taught. Reared with the idea that he was to be a gardener, he followed that occupation for some years, until his marriage, in fact, which occurred in 1875, when he decided to come to the United States to try his fortunes. The ship on which he embarked took nineteen days to cross the ocean, being delayed by lack of coal, and after landing in New York Mr. Gaessner came immediately to Henry county, Illinois. Here a brother had located about five years before and had purchased for him a farm of one hundred and eighty acres. Mr. Gaessner had sent the money for this from his native land, paying for it at the rate of fifty dollars an acre. Were it placed upon the real-estate market today it would easily command three times that sum, for many improvements have since been made, including the erection of a good house and the tiling of the land. The place is located on the northeast quarter of section 8, Osco township, and is devoted to general farming and stock raising.

In Freiburg, Saxony, February 9, 1875, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Gaessner and Miss Bertha Ebigt, who was bom in that city May 30, 1841, and is a daughter of Edward and Wilhelmina (Schmidt) Ebigt. In her native land she received a good education in the common branches and also in domestic economy, for which the households of the old country are famous. She came with her husband to America a few weeks after their marriage and here they have reared their family of three children: Olga, who was born February 28, 1876, and died upon her sixth birthday; Alma Wilhelmina, bom March 4, 1881, who has received a good education and lives with her parents ; and Charles Frederick Edward, born May 24, 1882. who has likewise received an education that well fits him for the duties of life. The children and their parents are members of the English Evangelical church at Morristown. Politically Mr. Gaessner looks to the democratic party for guidance, having affiliated with it since he first became a citizen of this republic, but has never sought office.

Charles Cheney Blish

The activities of Charles Cheney Blish were of a varied character but in every field of endeavor in which he labored he was the same honorable and honored gentleman whose business probity was proverbial while his enterprise and intelligently directed labor won him substantial success. No history of Henry county would be complete without the record of his life which had its beginning at East Glastonbury, Connecticut, May 26, 1820, his parents being Colonel Sylvester and Rhoda (Cheney) Blish. He began his education in the schools of his native village and afterward completed a course in Middletown, Connecticut, paying especial attention to surveying. He was a youth of seventeen years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Illinois as one of the colony that founded Wethersfield, Illinois, and was active in the pioneer development of this part of the state. On the 23d of December, 1840, at Goshen, Stark county, Illinois, when twenty years of age, he wedded Elizabeth Potter Bonar, a daughter of Matthew and Catharine (Cosner) Bonar, who lived at Walnut Creek, south of Lafayette. The marriage was opposed by the parents on both sides on account of the youth of the contracting parties, but they went to a justice, were married and the families acquiesced in the inevitable. It was the beginning of what proved to be a long and happy married life. The Bonar family had settled at Walnut Creek in Knox county, Illinois, in 1838, and Mrs. Blish taught school there for two years. After their marriage, the young couple established their home in Wethersfield and always resided in that vicinity save for two years spent in Knoxville. In the winter of 1841-2, Mr. Blish engaged in teaching in Wethersfield with marked success and the following spring was appointed deputy surveyor. In 1843 he was elected county surveyor, which position he filled for eight years, during which time the settlement of the country demanded his constant services in locating lands. Because of the knowledge which he thus gained he was frequently called upon to settled disputed boundary lines in later years. On his retirement from ofiice he turned his attention to farming and was connected with agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining days. He made cattle a special feature of his place and about 1865 started a herd of shorthorns which in a few years had become one of the finest herds in the country. He won many prizes in Illinois and Iowa state fairs and at the fat stock shows in Chicago and was a member of the National Shorthorn Breeders' Association, His labors were an important element in improving the grade of cattle raised in the state, and his work in this connection merits the thanks and praise of the agricultural community. He also figured prominently in business circles in connection with the organization of the First National Bank, of which he remained president for eighteen years, retiring only a short time before his death. His wise counsel and discriminating judgment were important elements in the successful conduct of that institution, and he installed there a business system as honorable as that which characterized his work in other relations of life. He was called to several local offices, acting as town clerk for several years after the adoption of the township organization and as school director for a quarter of a century. He was one of the organizers of the Henry County Fair Association, for several years acted as its secretary and afterward as its president.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Blish were born six children: James Knox, who is represented elsewhere In this volume; William Henry, who was born August 15, 1844, and died in Knoxville, Illinois, January 15, 1846; Sylvester, who was born October 13, 1846, and died September 21, 1847, ^^ Knoxville; Matthew Bonar, born at Wethersfield, December 5, 1848; Carrie Elizabeth, who was born October 8, 1854, and died in March, 1856; and Kittie Louise, who was born August 14, 1857, and died January 24, 1859.

The death of Mr. Blish occurred very suddenly December 15, 1890. He and his wife were planning to celebrate their golden wedding on the 23d of that month and on the day of his death he was about town and had mailed the invitations. In the night he became suddenly ill and expired almost immediately His funeral services were conducted by the Masonic lodge of Kewanee, of which he was a charter member, the funeral sermon being preached by the pastor of the Congregational church, of which he had long been a faithful and loyal representative. One of the local papers said of him :

"Mr. Blish has always been one of the foremost men of Kewanee in any and all public enterprises for the advancement of the town. In matters of impor- tance and in a social way, Mr. Blish stood very high, and his influence was as strong as any citizen in this community. As a business man he was successful, and as a citizen he was the friend of all, and we know of no one who will be missed more from the every-day life of our town than Charles C. Blish."

In the Blish genealogy, which has been published in book form appears the following: "After her husband's death Mrs. BHsh never left the old home, but kept a horse which she drove to town and to church, unaided, even to the last Sabbath before her death. She died May 13, 1900, after a brief illness. The following extract from a local paper testifies the esteem in which she was held :

'Tn the quiet afternoon of an ideal May day, the friends of Mrs. Elizabeth P. Blish gathered at the old homestead, south of the city, Tuesday, and paid a last sad tribuf-e to her noble life. In the large company, which filled the rooms of the hallovved old home and gathered on the lawn, were many whose hair, was streaked with gray and whose forms were bent with years. They were the remnant of the sturdy pioneers who conquered the prairies of Illinois in former days. They came to drop a tear of love and bow at the bier of one who has seen the seasons come and go for many, many years. Mrs, Blish was one of the last of the early settlers who assisted in the work of upbuilding whatever of worth has been established here. She was quiet and refined in her bearing, but quick of memory and ready of speech, and those who knew here well heard many a tale of the old pioneer times, intermingled with her delicate sense of humor. Her death is the passing of a landmark, revered, respected and loved most by those who knev/ her best."

Elmer E. Fitch

On the roster of county officials appears the name of Elmer E. Fitch, of Cambridge, who is now filling the position of county clerk in a manner entirely acceptable, for the duties of the office are discharged in a prompt, systematic and thoroughly reliable manner. He is one of the worthy citizens that Ohio has furnished to this state, his birth having occurred in Trumbull county, Ohio, August 13, 1846. In the paternal line he comes of English ancestry, the family having been founded in America during the colonial epoch of our country's history, while at the time of the Revolutionary war representatives of the name were active in supporting American interests. At different times members of the family have attained prominence in various fields of life. After considerable research Elmer E. Fitch feels satisfied that the founder of the family in the new world was Thomas Fitch who settled in Massachusetts in 1638, according to the historian, Selleck, of Norwalk, Connecticut. There were four of the family in successive generations who bore the name of Thomas, and the fourth Thomas Fitch was governor of Connecticut for ten years. William Haynes Fitch, an uncle of our subject, is of the belief that the founder of the family on this side the Atlantic was James Fitch, who' came from Bocking, Essex county, England, in 1636. William Haynes Fitch, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Norwalk, Connecticut, and for a number of years engaged in teaching school in New York city. He married Hannah Lockwood, a native of Connecticut and a daughter of Hezekiah Lockwood, who was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. The Lockwood family had one hundred and fifty representatives in the colonial and Revolutionary wars. Hezekiah Lockwood was a descendant of Robert Lockwood, the founder of the family in the new world.

George Fitch, a son of William Haynes and Hannah (Lockwood) Fitch and the father of Elmer E. Fitch, was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, and was educated in New York city, where he also taught school for a number of years. He was twice married. His second wife, Deborah Boleyn, was a sister of his first wife and a daughter of Eli Boleyn, a native of Virginia, who was a cooper by trade and served his country as a soldier of the war of 1812. He married Jane Brisbine, who was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. In 1854 they removed to Fayette county, Iowa, where they spent their remaining days, Mr. Boleyn dying at the age of seventy-eight years and his wife when sixty-nine years of age. They were the parents of several children: James, Nancy, Margaret, Deborah, Samuel, Thomas and David.

By his first marriage George Fitch had one daughter, Martha Jane, now the deceased wife of Ira Kitch. By the marriage of George Fitch and Deborah Boleyn there were born four children : Martin Bentley, living in Decorah, Iowa ; Alice, the deceased wife of Thomas Kennedy; George W., of West Union, Iowa; and Elmer E. On leaving New York city the father removed to Ohio and settled near Youngstown where he spent the remainder of his life, passing away in December, 1847, his remains being interred in the Youngstown cemetery. His wife, Mrs. Deborah Fitch, survived him and with her eldest and youngest sons and her brother, Samuel Boleyn, removed to Indiana, settling on a farm five miles north of Laporte. In 1856 she went to Fayette county, Iowa, and in 1861 was there married to William O. Hageman. They became the parents of two children, Philo F. and one who died in infancy.

Elmer E. Fitch, whose name initiates this review, spent two or three years of his early childhood in Mercer county, Pennsylvania and thence accompanied his mother to Laporte, Indiana, and in 1856 to Fayette county, Iowa. He was reared upon a farm in Elyria township and pursued his education in the dis-, trict schools, the little "temple of learning" which he attended being a log structure. He afterward became a student in the Upper Iowa University, at Fayette, Iowa, there pursuing a two years' college preparatory course. He afterward spent four years in the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, and was graduated with the class of 1874. When no longer a student he continued in the schoolroom as an instructor and was elected principal of the West Hill grammar school at Burlington, Iowa. In 1875 he was called to Galva, Illinois, as superintendent of the schools of that place and in 1882, he was appointed county superintendent of schools of Henry county by the board of supervisors to fill out the unexpired term of B. F. Barge. In 1883 he declined a reelection as superintendent of the schools of Galva and purchased the Galva News, which he continued to publish until November, 1906, when he was elected to the office of county clerk, entering upon the duties thereof in the following December. He still owns the Galva News, having leased the paper and plant, while his undivided attention is given to his official duties, which are discharged with notable promptness and fidelity.

Such in brief, is the history of Mr. Fitch's business connection, but it by no means covers the extent of his activities. On the 14th of August, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, enrolling his name in the little log schoolhouse where he had pursued his early education when a small boy. On the previous day he had celebrated his sixteenth birthday, but though a boy in years he was a man in all that constituted valorous and faithful service. He was mustered in as a member of Company A, Thirty-eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served as a private soldier until the 5th of September, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg and was on picket guard at the time of its surrender. He took part in numerous skirmishes and also in the siege of Fort Morgan, Alabama, and participated in the final charge on Fort Blakeley, Alabama, one of the last movements of the army in the south. After the war he resumed his school work but spent one summer and winter in the lumber regions of Wisconsin. His two brothers, Martin B. and George W. Fitch, were also soldiers of the Civil war, as was also his brotherin-law, Ira Kitch. The last two went from Pennsylvania and with their enlistment every male member of the family was enrolled as a Union soldier. George Fitch was taken prisoner at Gaines Mills, Virginia, and incarcerated in Libby Prison, while Ira Kitch was mortally wounded at Spottsylvania.

In political views Elmer E. Fitch has always been a stalwart republican and served as postmaster of Galva from 1891 until 1895. Always ready to do his duty when called upon he has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, for he has had other interests, yet when elected to a position of public trust he has been most faithful to the interests given to his care. Fraternally he is a Master Mason, belonging to Galva Lodge, and he maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades as a member of Galva Post, No. 33, G. A. R. He is prominent in the Mystic Workers of the World, of which he has been supreme director for thirteen years.

On the 5th of July, 1876, Mr. Fitch was married to Miss Rachel Helgesen, who was born near Madison, Wisconsin, and is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Helgesen, who were natives of Norway. They became early settlers of Wisconsin, where the mother died, and the father afterward removed to Decorah, Iowa. He was married three times and by his third wife had four children who are still living, namely : Mrs. Mary Passmore, now a resident of Elsinore, Utah ; Hon. Henry T. Helgesen, a resident of Milton, North Dakota and late commissioner of agriculture for that state; Mrs. H. T. Hammer, of Pullman, Illinois ; and Albert T., of Crookston, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Fitch have become parents of two sons and a daughter : George, the eldest, now managing editor of the Peoria Herald Transcript, wedded Clara Gattrell Linn, and they have a daughter, Mary G. ; Rachel Louise, now at home, was editor of the Galva News for a year and a half; Robert Haines, employed by the Simmons Hardware Company, of St. Louis, wedded Mary Morse and has two daughters, Mary Louise and Rachel Lillian.

Mr. Fitch has resided continuously in Henry county for more than a third of a century and has been a prominent factor in its educational progress and in its public life as a representative of the press, for through the columns of his paper he has labored conscientiously and effectively for the betterment of con- ditions that affect the general welfare. To make his native talents subserve the demands which conditions of society impose at the present time is the purpose of his life, and by reason of the mature judgment which characterizes his efforts at all times he stands today as a representative and valued citizen of his adopted county, to whom business is but one phase of life and does not exclude his active participation in and support of the other vital interests which go to make up human existence.

Mrs. Mary Malmgren Olson

Mrs. Mary Malmgren Olson is a lady of many estimable qualities, now making her home in Bishop Hill, having occupied a nice residence in this village for about five years. She has the distinction of being the first child born in the Bishop Hill colony, her birth occurring December 27, 1846. Her father^. Jonas Malmgren, came to Henry county in 1846 from Woxna, Sweden, he being a member of a colony that came about that time. He had started across the Atlantic the year previous, but owing to a shipwreck, was forced to return but the following year the trip was successfully made. He had engaged in the milling business in Bolnas, Sweden, and after coming to Henry county he operated the first grist mill in the colony, continuing work along this line until others came in who could relieve him. He was also a blacksmith by trade and did work along this line for the colony until its dissolution, after which Mr, Malmgren opened a blacksmith shop on his own account and operated the same until his death, which occurred when he was seventy-four years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna Catherine Quarnstrum, died in 1849.

The daughter Mary was educated in the colony school and was trained in the duties of the household, so that when she took charge of a home of her own she was well qualified to conduct it in a capable manner. After reaching years of maturity, she was married, December 22, 1866, to Olaf Olson, a young man who had emigrated from Alfta, Sweden, with his parents in 1849. At the time of the Civil war he offered his services to the government, becoming a member of Company I, One Hundred and Forty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of hostilities. Prior to going to war he had worked as a farm hand and soon after he returned home from the field of battle, he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres south of Bishop Hill. On this tract he and his bride began their domestic Hfe, and Mr. Olson cultivated the soil throughout his remaining years. He became quite successful and was numbered among the worthy Swedish-American citizens of Weller township. After a happy married life covering thirty-eight years, they were separated by the death of Mr. Olson, which occurred in April, 1904, when he was sixty-one years of age. Personally, Mr. Olson was quiet and unassuming in manner, preferring rather to spend his time at his own fireside than to mingle with the public. At his death he left to his family a good farming property, and more than that, he left an untarnished name.

Upon the death of the husband and father Mrs. Olson took up her abode in Bishop Hill, where she occupies a nice home and is surrounded by many friends. She has one son and two daughters: Henry, who operates the home farm in Weller township, and who is mentioned on another page of this work; Emma, the wife of P. L. Johnson, who is engaged in the hardware business in Bishop Hill; and Jennie, the wife of E. L. Swanson, the efficient postmaster of this' village. Mrs. Olson has one sister, Ulrika, who wedded Olaf Nordstrum and makes her home in Burbank, Alabama.

Henry G. Olson

Henry G. Olson is an enterprising and progressive young man of Weller township, making his home on the farm which was also the place of his birth. His natal day was May 30, 1875, his parents being Olaf and Mary (Malmgren) Olson, whose sketch appears above.

Henry G. Olson, the only son of the family, was educated in the public schools of Bishop Hill, while his training at farm labor was received under the direction of his father on the home place, during the periods of vacation. He continued to assist his father until the latter's death, since which time he has operated the land on his own account. The place consists of one hundred and five acres and he also cultivates another tract of forty acres and he owns twelve acres of timberland. He thoroughly understands his work, is systematic and methodical, and keeps everything about the place in repair, and altogether is a successful and representative business man.

When Mr. Olson took charge of the home farm he sought a companion and helpmate in Miss Almeda Arnquist, a daughter of Andrew Arnquist, a leading merchant of Bishop Hill. After completing her education, Mrs. Olson engaged in teaching for eight years in the primary department of the village schools prior to her marriage, which was celebrated on the i8th of October, 1904. She is the mother of two sons and a daughter: Donald, born July 5, 1905; and Roland and Dorothy, twins, born December 20, 1906.

Mr. Olson does not consider himself bound by party ties but votes for men and measures rather than for party. His fraternal relations are with the Modern Woodmen and Select Knights. Both he and his wife are well known in this section, where their entire lives have been spent and where they have a wide circle of friends.

James H. Andrews

James H. Andrews of Kewanee, practicing at the Henry county bar as a member of the firm Anderson, Andrews & Welch, and also well known as a local leader of the democracy, was born in Geneseo, Illinois, December 18, 1870, and is one of a family of ten children, all of whom reached years of maturity.

His parents were James and Marietta (Campbell) Andrews, the former a farmer by occupation. In the country schools the son pursued his early education and afterward benefited by instruction in the Geneseo Collegiate Institute and in Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois, graduating from the former in 1891 and the latter in 1895. When his more specifically literary education was completed he began preparation for the practice of law and attended the Illinois College of law in Chicago, where he qualified for a professional career being then admitted to the bar on the 5th of December, 1901.

In the meantime, however, Mr. Andrews had come to Kewanee and was identified with newspaper interests here. He arrived in this city in August, 1897, and soon afterward purchased the Kewanee Democrat. He was also owner and publisher of the Kewanee Daily Verdict, a democratic paper which he issued for three years. In 1895 he organized the Geneseo Arena, which he published for two years, and all this time through his persistent efforts and also through the columns of the paper he was exerting a wide-felt influence in democratic circles. In the fall of 1900 he was elected on the democratic ticket to represent his district in the lower house of the state legislature and served for one term, giving to each question which came up for settlement thoughtful and earnest consideration.

Since admitted to the bar in 1901 Mr, Andrews has engaged continuously in the practice of law and has made steady progress along professional lines. He has never specialized in any particular branch of the profession but has given his attention to general practice, and the ability he has displayed has led to his retention as council for the defense or prosecution on many important cases. He is strong in argument, logical in deducation, and his devotion to his clients' interests stands as an unquestioned fact in his career. Moreover, he possesses marked oratorical ability, and his fluent and earnest speech is a factor in his success. In 1906 he entered into partnership with Nels F. Anderson, of Galva, under the firm name Anderson & Andrews. This partnership has existed to the present time, with the addition to the firm of Thomas J. Welch in 1908, under the present firm style of Anderson, Andrews & Welch.

On the 2d of February, 1907, Mr. Andrews was united in marriage to Miss Eva M. Russell, a daughter of Samuel and Matilda Russell, the former now a retired farmer residing in Kewanee. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews have one son, Russell Harper. They are members of the Congregational church and are prominent in the social circles of the city, enjoying in large measure the regard and esteem of all with whom they have been brought in contact.

James M, Brown

James M, Brown, who is remembered as a progressive farmer and one of the representative and respected citizens of Henry county, lived for twentyone years in Osco township, and his substantial qualities gained him the good will and respect of those who knew him and cause his memory to be cherished by those who counted him as a friend. He was born in Fairview township, Fulton county, IlHnois, on the 15th of November, 1834, his parents being John and Sarah (Kirkpatrick) Brown. The father, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was of Irish descent, while the mother came of Scotch-Irish ancestry. In their family were five sons and a daughter, including T. Scott Brown, who was first sergeant of Company G, One Hundred and Third Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the Civil war. He lost his right arm at the shoulder in an engagement at Congree Creek, South Carolina, on the 15th of February, 1865. He participated in many of the most hotly contested engagements of that long and sanguinary strife and has a record equaled by few. He enlisted on the 9th of August, 1862, and continued at the front until his injuries prevented his further service. He now makes his home in Cambridge, Illinois. George C, the next of the family, a retired farmer of Osco, this county, died April 24, 1906. John G. Wedded Anna M. Negley and spends his summer months in Marshalltown, Iowa, while the winter seasons are passed in Daytona, Florida. He, too, defended the Union cause when the south rose in rebellion and became sergeant major of the Fifty-fifth Illinois Regiment. Prominent in the public life of his community he represented his district in the state legislature of Iowa for several terms. Mary L., the only daughter of the family, is the wife of Walker Hitchcock, of Orion, Illinois. James M., was the next in order of birth, and one son of the family died in infancy.

Reared upon the old home farm James M. Brown early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. From time of early spring planting he worked in the fields, and after the harvests were gathered in the autumn he pursued his education in the public schools. At the call of his country for aid to crush out the rebellion in the south he enlisted as a member of Company B, One Hundred and Fifty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry, joining that command on the 7th of February, 1865. Soon afterward he was promoted to the rank of sergeant and participated in several of the hotly contested engagements during the latter part of the war. He continued with the army until January 24, 1866, when he received an honorable discharge. When the country no longer needed his aid he resumed farming in his native county, where he continued to reside for several years.

It was on the 5th of February, 1872, that Mr. Brown came to Henry county, establishing his home on a farm near the village of Osco in Osco township. There he lived for two or three years, after which he purchased his father's farm, comprising one hundred and sixty acres. Meeting with success in its cultivation he afterward extended its boundaries by the additional purchase of eighty acres, and his time and energies were given to its further development and improvement until his demise. It became a valuable property, the fields being rich and productive, so that large harvests were annually gathered.

It was just before his removal to this county that Mr. Brown was united in marriage in Farmington, Illinois, on the 25th of January, 1872, to Miss Mattie E. Myers. She was born in Farmington township, Fulton county, June 15, 1848, a daughter of Henry and Maria (Eshelman) Myers. Her father's birth occurred in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, November 2, 1813, and there his youthful days were passed. He acquired his education in the subscription schools of that period while spending his boyhood in the home of his father, Valentine Myers, who lived much of his life in Franklin county. His son Henry was but ten years of age at the time of the father's death. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Crill, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and they were the parents of eleven children. Having arrived at years of maturity Henry Myers wedded Maria Eshelman, a daughter of John and Martha (Horsh) Eshelman, who were also natives of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and of an old family of that state. The maternal grandfather came to this country from Germany. He reared his family in Franklin county, and his daughter Martha became the wife of John Eshelman and the mother of eight children, namely: Samuel, John, Maria, Daniel, Abraham, Martha, Michael and Catherine. Of this number Maria gave her hand in marriage to Henry Myers and for thirteen years thereafter resided in Pennsylvania, where five of their children were born. Believing that better opportunities might be secured in the Mississippi valley, Mr. Myers, in 1848, brought his family to the middle west, floating down the Ohio river from Pittsburg to its junction with the Mississippi. Proceeding northward they arrived at Copperas Creek, Fulton county, Illinois, in the latter part of April, and Mr. Myers made investment in land, securing eighty acres in Farmington township, which he afterward sold. In time, however, he became one the extensive landholders of that section of the state, his possessions aggregating a thousand acres. He displayed sound judgment in his investment and good management in all of his business affairs, and not only did he win prosperity for himself but assisted his children in getting a good start in life.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Henry Myers were born thirteen children. Isaac Newton, who married Sarah Elliott, now deceased, was a member of Company G, One Hundred and Third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war and was killed at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, thus giving his life in defense of the Union, John Wesley married Helen Vittum and resides in Champaign, Illinois. Joseph C, deceased, married Mary Switzer and lived in Canton, Illinois. David M., married Kate Burrows and is engaged in farming near Bushnell, Illinois. At the age of seventeen he enlisted in the same company of which his brother was a member and with his command took part in many hard fought battles. William Henry married Mida Kessler and is now a retired farmer of Canton. Daniel A., married Anna Negley and is a retired farmer of Wichita, Kansas. Henry William died in infancy. Mary C, died at the age of nineteen years. Mattie E., the wife of our subject, is next in order of birth. Adeline B. is the wife of William Norton, a farmer of Fairview township, Fulton county. Susan E., deceased, was the wife of Charles Mull, a farmer living near Wichita, Kansas. Amanda J., is the wife of Henry Cheek, a farmer near Bushnell, Illinois. Nancy M., died at the age of two years.

Mr. Myers was a member of the German Baptist church, and like those of the same faith his life was simple, straightforward and unpretentious. He was a thoroughly good man, kind and charitable toward all, and his unswerving honesty was a marked feature of his character. He was an uncompromising temperance man and was in hearty sympathy with the prohibition movement. In early life he was a whig and cast his vote for William Henry Harrison. His death occurred in 1895. His good wife, who was also a member of the Ger-

The entire period of their married life Mr. and Mrs. James M. Brown spent in Osco township, and here three children were born unto them: Mae E., who was born February 13, 1874; Roy Scott, who was born January 5, 1881, and attended Geneseo Collegiate Institute; and Frank H., who was born July 29, 1882, and completed his education in the same school. The death of the husband and father occurred May 4, 1893, after a year's illness. He left his family in very comfortable financial circumstances, and, more than that, he left to them the priceless heritage of a good name. Wherever known he was respected and honored for his substantial qualities of heart and mind, and at all times he was as loyal in his citizenship as when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields. Mrs. Brown yet makes her home in Osco township and is yet a member of the Presbyterian church, to which her husband also belonged. During thirtyeight years' residence here she has become widely known and has an extensive circle of warm friends.

Willis Fillmore Evans

Few residents of Phenix township have gained greater success along agricultural lines than Willis Fillmore Evans, a well known farmer and stock-dealer who makes his home on section 20, where he owns an excellent farm of one hundred and forty-five acres. A native of this township, he was born on May 20, 1865, upon the farm which is now his home, his parents being Thomas and Christina (Hershman) Evans. The family has long been represented in this district, the paternal grandparents, James and Lydia (Spaid) Evans, having come to Illinois from Pennsylvania at an early date, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Phenix township, where the grandfather eventually became a large landowner. His son, Thomas Evans, who followed agricultural pursuits throughout his lifetime, purchased ninety-six acres of his father's property and later became the owner of still another farm in Phenix township. He was prominent in the aflFairs of the community in which he resided and was a stalwart supporter of the republican party. He served one term as road commissioner, but otherwise was not an office-seeker, preferring to devote his time and attention to his personal interests. He married Lydia Spaid, a native of Pennsylvania. The maternal grandparents had been numbered among the pioneers of Ohio and were also early settlers in Michigan prior to their arrival in Illinois. Thomas Evans, who a few years before his demise had retired from active business life, passed away on the 22d of November, 1891, while his wife's death occurred on the 27th of September, 1886. Their remains were interred in Pink Prairie cemetery, Phenix township. In their family were four children, of which Willis Fillmore, of this review, is the eldest. The others were: Alta M., residing in Kansas, where she is a teacher in the schools of that state ; Charles G., who passed away at the age of fourteen years, his death being the result of

No event of especial importance came to vary the routine of life for Willis Fillmore Evans during the period of his boyhood and youth, which were spent in the usual manner of the country lad. He enjoyed the advantages of a good common-school education and after laying aside his text-books remained on his father's farm, assisting in the work of the fields and in the school of experience gaining a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the best methods of carrying on agriculture. When twenty-two years of age he began working for his father by the month, and continued in that capacity until his twenty-fifth year.

On the 31st of December, 1890, in Phenix township, he was united in marriage to Miss Cora E. Sieben, a native of this township and the daughter of Valentine and Caroline (Butzer) Sieben. Her mother was also bom in Phenix township, while the father was a native of Germany, coming to America, with his parents, Joseph and Abaline Sieben, at an early date.

Mr. Evans continued to reside with his father after his marriage and he and his bride began their domestic life upon the farm which is yet their home. He operated the homestead for his father until the latter's death, when he purchased the place at the administrator's sale. The farm which has been brought under a high state of cultivation, consists of one hundred and forty-five acres on sections 20, and 21, and in its midst stand substantial and commodious buildings. The old house in which Mr. Evans was born still remains upon the place and is utilized as a storage and work room. The dwelling in which the family reside was erected by the subject's father, but Mr. Evans has since made many improvements upon it and it is now equipped with all the accessories and conviences of a modern home. He devotes himself to general farming pursuits and also is an extensive stock-raiser, feeder and shipper, the latter branch of his business being a source of most gratifying remuneration to him. He has carried on his various affairs along strictly modern and up-to-date lines and his progressive methods and excellent business ability have been the salient elements in a prosperity which has made him one of the substantial residents of Phenix township.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Evans has been blessed with one son, Glenn L., whose birth occurred on the 15th of September, 1894, and who is still a student in the public schools. In the public affairs of the community Mr. Evans has taken a very active part and is an influential and potent factor in local political circles. He is a stalwart supporter of republican principles, having cast his first ballot in 1888 for President Harrison. Since that time he has voted for every candidate on that ticket, and has also been called to offices of responsibility and trust by his fellow citizens. During the years 1890 and 1891, he served as township collector and was also road commissioner for one year. He was then elected township assessor and served for five years, when he refused renomination. After two years, however, he was again elected and served for four years. He was elected school trustee in 1892 and has remained in that office to the present time. For one year he served on the township central committee and was sent as a delegate to the senatorial convention held in Galva in 1906, at which convention he supported Senator Baker. Throughout his incumbency in public office he has proved a very capable official, at all times proving true to the trust imposed in him and performing the duties that devolve upon him with an efficiency that not only brings credit upon himself but reflects honor upon his constituents. Preeminently a man of affairs, his has been a life of continuous activity which has been crowned with a most substantial success. He has ever kept well informed on all issues and questions of the day and that he is progressive and up-to-date in his views is shown in the fact that in 1908 he purchased the first automobile in Phenix township. His entire life has been passed m this township and the fact that some of his warmest friends are those who have known him from boyhood is an indication that his salient characteristics are those which inspire confidence, trust and good will in his fellow citizens.

Judge Chester Myers Turner

In no profession is there a career more open to talent than that of the law and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful preparation, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life or of the underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges. Unflagging application, intuitive wisdom and a determination to fully utilize the means at hand are the concomitants which insure personal success and prestige in this great profession, which stands as the stem conservator of justice. Possessing all the requisite qualities of the able lawyer, Judge Turner is now successfully practicing at the Henry county bar.

A native of Stark county, Illinois, he was born in Toulon, November i, 1861, representing one of the old and well known families of that district. His grandfather, Charles Turner, was a native of Delaware and of English descent. He married and had two sons and two daughters: Charles, Benjamin, Mrs. Mary Stowe and Mrs. Schockley. His father, Benjamin Turner, was a native of Dover, Delaware, born December 5, 1807, and in the year 1839 he arrived in Stark county, Illinois, at which time the greater part of the district was still a wild, unsettled and unimproved region. He bought the first lot in Toulon at a public sale of lots and put up the first residence and store there. He took an active part in shaping the history of the county during its formative period and at an early day served as sheriff and county collector, while later he filled the office of county treasurer and for sixteen years was postmaster of his town. He was one of the best informed men of the district, not only concerning matters of local importance but also events of general interest. He was twice married, his first union being with Miss McWilliams, by whom he had a daughter Sarah H., who died at the age of fifty years. For his second wife Benjamin Turner chose Ruth A. Myers, a native of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Stark) Myers, who were also natives of the Keystone state, their marriage occurring June 2, 1857. She was one of a large family of children, only three of whom are now living, namely: Charles Myers, of Toulon, Illinois ; P. H. Myers, of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania ; and

Ruth A. Myers, the mother of the subject of this sketch. One of her brothers died in the Mexican war, and another in the Civil war. The death of Benjamin Turner occurred March 21, 1887, when he was in his eightieth year, and his widow, who was born November 8, 1832, now resides in Toulon.

Judge Turner, who is the only survivor in a family of five children, the others having died in infancy was largely reared upon a Stark county farm and during that period attended the pubHc schools. He was a member of the first class that was graduated from the Toulon high school on the i6th of May, 1879, while later he entered Knox College, at Galesburg, Illinois, and was there graduated in 1884. While remaining at home he took up the study of law in the office of the Hon. Martin Shallenberger, an old resident of Toulon and one of the best practitioners in Illinois. After thorough preliminary reading he was admitted to the bar in 1888 and practiced in Toulon for about two years. On the 30th of June, 1890, he came to Cambridge and has since been a practitioner at the Henry county bar save for the period of his service on the bench. He was elected judge of the county court on the 6th of June, 1899 - the tenth anniversary of his marriage - and held the office for four years, his judicial service being characterized by all that marks the able jurist whose knowledge of the law is comprehensive, whose reasoning is sound and deductions logical. That he was correct in the application of the points at law is manifest in the fact that few of his decisions were ever reversed. Retiring from the bench he resumed private practice and is recognized as one of the leading attorneys in Henry county, his preparation of his cases being very thorough, while his presentation of his cause is always clear and forceful.

On the 6th of June, 1889, Judge Turner was married to Miss Emma E. Follett, a native of Missouri and a daughter of Benjamin C. and Helen M. (Rhodes). Follett, natives of Ohio and Illinois respectively. The mother died in 1892 at the age of fifty years but the father still survives and now lives with his daughter, Mrs. Turner. He served as an Ohio soldier in the Civil war. Unto him and his wife were born three children: Mrs. Turner; Plessie A., the wife of R. F. Peterson, living near Sedalia, Missouri ; and John B., of Houston, Texas. Unto Judge and Mrs. Turner have been born three children : Helen M., now a sophomore in Knox College, at Galesburg, Illinois; Ruth A., a scholar in the Cambridge high school; and Benjamin Follett, a little lad of six summers.

Judge Turner is a director in the Farmers National Bank. In community affairs he has long been prominent and influential and his cooperation has been a potent force for good in many lines of public progress. He is now serving for the eighth term as the president of the board of education, and while in Toulon he acted as justice of the peace for several years. He has likewise been president of the village of Cambridge and for four years served on the board of trustees. He has ever been fearless in espousing the principles in which he believes and never hesitates to avow his honest convictions. He is president of the board of trustees of the Methodist Episcopal church, and belongs to Cambridge Lodge, No. 49, A. F. & A. M., and Geneseo Chapter, No. 12, R. A. M., while in Scottish Rite Masonry, he has attained the thirty-second degree. He has also crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of Mahomet Temple of the Mystic Shrine, of Peoria. He likewise belongs to Cambridge Lodge, No. 199, I. O. O. F., and is a past grand patriarch of the Grand Encampment of Illinois and a past grand representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge, I. O. O. F. He is likewise treasurer of the Department Council Patriarchs Militant of the state of Illinois and a major on the staff of the department commander.

Theodore F. Erdman

Theodore F. Erdman is a farmer, stock feeder and shipper of Geneseo township. His home is on section 27, where he has about eighty acres of land, and on section 26 he has one hundred acres. His farm is, therefore, quite an extensive one and is a valuable property, equipped with modern improvements, and it produces large crops by reason of the practical and systematic method of its cultivation.

Mr. Erdman is one of the native sons of the county, his birth having occurred in Edford township, January 13, 1871. He is a son of John and Anna (Hintz) Erdman. The father, a native of Germany, is now living in Edford township, where he has long made his home. In the family were nine children and the record is remarkable in that the circle remains unbroken by the hand of death. The sons and daughters of the household are: Theresa, the wife of Emil Meeske, who is living in Wyoming, Stark county, Illinois; Theodore F. ; Emil, who married Emma Hollatz and lives in Geneseo township; Henry, who wedded Martha Miller and makes his home in Minnesota; Otto, who married Louise Kreger and lives in Edford township; Johan, who married Lena Krinjob and is a farmer of Edford township; Mary, the wife of Otto Miller, a resident farmer of Edford township ; and Arthur and Ella, at home.

To the occupation of the farm Theodore F. Erdman was reared, and lessons of industry and perseverance were early impressed upon his mind and have borne good fruit in his later years. Through the winter months he attended the common schools and in the summer seasons he followed the plow or gathered the harvest. At twenty-one years of age he began to do for himself, making his start in the business world by w^orking as a farm hand by the month, in which manner he was employed until about twenty-five years of age, saving during that period the sum of six hundred dollars. It is evident that he was careful in his expenditures, making no useless purchases, and that he was continuously employed shows those whom he served found him diligent and capable.

On the i6th of April, 1896, Mr. Erdman was married to Miss Augusta Klewin, whose home was in Edford township, where she was born. She is a daughter of William and Paulina (Pommeramke) Klewin, who are still residents of Edford township. They were born, reared and married in Germany and in 1862 made the long voyage across the Atlantic to the new world. On the same ship sailed John Erdman, the father of our subject, who was then unmarried. Mrs. Erdman, the wife of our subject, is the youngest of a family of ten children, of whom five reached years of maturity and are still living, namely : Julius, who married Mrs. Augusta (Steinke) Hannewald, and lives in Edford; Anna, the wife of Charles Hamann, a resident of Geneseo; Edward, who wedded Mary Fulrath

About the time of his marriage Mr. Erdman rented a farm in Edford township and there carried on general agricultural pursuits for four years. He after-* ward removed to Phenix township, where he lived for nine years, and in 1908 came to his present home in Geneseo township, having one hundred and eighty acres of land on sections 26 and 27. He has here a comfortable home and good buildings and uses the latest improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields. He rotates his crops and utilizes improved methods of farming and in all of his work is meeting with substantial success. He has engaged in threshing for several years and became the owner of a thresher in 1904.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Erdman have been born three children: Roy, Herbert and Myrtle, the first two having been born in Edford township, and the last named in Phenix township. In his political views, Mr. Erdman is a republican with independent tendencies. He has served as road commissioner for three years and proved a capable and efficient officer, but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, which are capably directed and are winning him a very desirable competence. For three years he was a member of the state militia.

Isaiah Richmond, one of the early residents of Geneseo and for many years one of its most influential citizens, was born in Middleboro, Massachusetts, August 5, 1809. He was the youngest son of Benjamin and Abigail (Dean) Richmond and eighth in descent from John Richmond of Wiltshire, England, who is said to have been a descendant of the first Duke of Richmond. He traced his ancestry back through Benjamin, Joseph, Joseph, Joseph, Joseph, John and John. John Richmond came to America about 1635, being one of the first purchasers of Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1637. "The family were large landowners in the easterly part of the town and gave to a village in that section the name of Richmondtown, which it still bears. Walter Deane, also, his maternal ancestor, was one of the original purchasers of Taunton and Dean street was named in his honor. The descendants in both Dean and Richmond fines were stanch defenders of the colonies in the trying times of the Revolution.

Mr. Richmond, while a student at Scituate, Rhode Island, met Eliza Angell Fenner, also a student at the same seminary, whom he afterward married October 28, 1833. She was a daughter of Jeremiah Fenner, of North Scituate, a descendant of Thomas Fenner, who came from England and died in Branford, Connecticut, in 1647, whose son Captain Arthur Fenner and his descendants were prominent in the history of Providence, Rhode Island, and who furnished two governors to the state. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Richmond lived about four years at the Richmond homestead in Middleboro, Massachusetts, when they removed to North Scituate, Rhode Island. Here at the Fenner homestead they resided for ten years and here were born three of their children: Mary Eliza,

In 1835, Mr. Richmond first invested in land on the prairies of Ilhnois, in Tazewell county. Part of the land was purchased of residents of Tremont and part from the "Smithfield Western Emigrating Association" of Tremont. In November, 1839, he bought of the government one hundred and sixty acres in this vicinity, the papers bearing the name of President Van Buren. Mr. Richmond made two journeys to the west on horseback to look after his extensive landholdings - about one thousand acres in all - but not untill 1844, did he bring his family to the new country. He made a home for one year at Tremont, which place he left for Groveland near Peoria, where he lived till 1854. There were hard times in those days of "Wild Cat" money and is was difficult to obtain money sufficient to pay taxes on land. In Groveland, Mr. Richmond conducted a hotel which was maintained a temperance house. In that day the use of intoxicants was much more common than at the present time and it required great courage to thus go against public opinion, but he stood firmly by his convictions and thus by his example advocated the cause of temperance.

Four children were born at the Groveland home: Abbie Dean R., who was born October 30, 1844, ^^d died July 12, 1872; Francis Eugene and Maria Louisa, twins, born August 17, 1847; and Prudence Amelia, who was born March 27, 1850, and died March 31, 1853.

About this time, Mr. Richmond purchased land on the south side of Geneseo, securing about sixty acres and, in 1854, built a house, moving his family from Groveland in December to the home at the foot of State street, where his youngest child Helen Annette, was born, and who afterward married Mortimer Fleet and lives in Ashland, Oregon. Soon selling the first house, Mr. Richmond built and occupied the house one block east on Buffalo street, now called Oakwood avenue, which continued to be the home until after the death of his wife in 1879. This part of Geneseo was called the Richmond addition.

Soon after coming to Geneseo, Mr. Richmond engaged in the nursery business, there being at the time but one other nursery in the county - the small one at Wethersfield. Having a natural aptitude for horticulture and kindred occupations, he developed the business till his nursery became the center of a large local trade, people coming long distances for trees and plants. There are many orchards in the vicinity which were planted from his nursery stock and some of them are the result of his making leases of land on which to grow young trees, it being stipulated that he leave an orchard on the land. In 1866, wishing to extend the business, he and his son Joseph bought of Mr. Merriman the site of the present nursery, the land being then covered with hazel bushes and scrub oaks, but considered superior to prairie soil for the propagation of nursery stock. Mr. Richmond soon after sold his interest to his sons Joseph and Edwin, who thereafter conducted the nursery business.

Mr. Richmond was a man of sterling worth and highly respected by all who knew him. He was a liberal giver toward all measures for the advancement of the town or community. He was a life-long member of the Congregational church and assisted largely in the building of the present church edifice. Visiting pastors and all who were interested in good work, were always cordially welcomed to his hospitable home. He was always a strong advocate of the temperance cause and was among the first to believe that prohibition was the only safe course. In politics he was a republican.

Jeremiah Fenner Richmond

At the Richmond homestead in Middleboro, Massachusetts, Jeremiah Fenner Richmond was born, November 19, 1834. He was the oldest son of Isaiah and Eliza A. (Fenner) Richmond. When about three years of age, he went with his parents to live at Scituate, Rhode Island, and was ten years old when the family came to Tremont, Illinois, in 1844, later to Groveland and finally to Geneseo in 1854. Here he learned the carpenter's trade of Harry McArthur and assisted in building the first home of the Richmonds in Geneseo, at the south end of State street. He married, March 31, 1856, Celia Manville, and for several years Geneseo was their home. They afterward Hved in Chicago, Omaha and Marysville, California, where he died May 5, 1879. While living in Omaha, their son Ralph was born, who married and lived in Greene, New York, where his two children were born - Celia Manville and Ralph, Jr.

During the Civil war, Mr. Richmond enlisted as private in the Ninth lUinois Cavalry, but later was transferred to the commissary department. After the close of the war, he again engaged in carpentry and removing to Chicago he became an extensive and successful contractor. Here he met George Francis Train, who was interested in the development of Omaha and contracted with him for the erection of numerous buildings in that growing city.

During the extension of the Union Pacific Railroad, he contracted for the construction of stations and necessary buildings along the line of the railway, in many places the work being guarded from the depredations of hostile Indians. He amassed quite a fortune for those days, but later lost heavily in contracting for the erection of a large hotel in Cheyenne.

After her husband's death in Marysville, California, May 5, 1879, ^^s. Richmond returned to Geneseo, where she remained for a time, later going to live with her sister, Mrs. Hattie (Manville) Calkins, in Galesburg, Illinois, and at whose home she died.

Joseph Warren Richmond

Joseph Warren Richmond is the owner of Prospect Hill Nursery farm situated on section 29, Geneseo township, about a mile from the city of Geneseo, Illinois. It is an attractive and valuable property, lacking in none of the equipments and accessories of the model farm of the twentieth century and indicates in its well kept appearance the careful supervisions and progressive method of the owner.

Mr. Richmond was born in North Scituate, Rhode Island, February 20, 1840, and is the son of Isaiah and EUza Angell (Fenner) Richmond. He was about four years of age when his father came with his family to Illinois, living one year at Tremont, Tazewell county, and about nine years at Groveland, near Peoria, when in the fall of 1854, they came to Geneseo, which has since been the family home.

Here the father established a nursery, the second in the county, there being a small nursery at Wethersfield. Mr. Richmond may be said to have grown up in the nursery business since he assisted his father during his youth and early manhood, thus gaining valuable experience concerning general agricultural methods and the care and propagation of nursery stock. In 1866 he and his father bought sixty acres of land on section 29, Geneseo township, and the business was transferred to its present location. Soon after this Mr. Richmond was joined by his brother Edwin and together they purchased their father's interest in the business. The brothers added to their acres and extended the business, being associated together for fifteen years, Edwin acting as manager of the nursery and local trade for ten years, while Joseph W. traveled with a force of salesmen in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan.

Following the death of his brother Edwin, in December, 1880, Mr. Richmond remained at home, giving personal attention to local affairs and trusting the outside trade entirely to agents. He was joined by his younger brother, Francis E. and together they purchased the interest left by the deceased brother and were associated in the business for two years, when Joseph W. became sole proprietor. They had previously purchased the homestead at the foot of Oakwood avenue, and in the division of the property, Francis E took that as his share, while Joseph W. kept the nursery.