Henry County, Illinois - The whole text, 1910 (part 22 of 32)

Joseph H. Anderson, who obtained a fair education in the common schools of his native land, was a youth of eighteen when he determined to establish his home in the new world and embarked on the ocean voyage in company with a younger sister, landing on American shores at the end of eleven days. From New York he came direct to Henry county, Illinois, having a brother and a sister here. Arriving in this country empty handed and having even been obliged to borrow the passage money from his brother, he found immediate employment a necessity and at once began working by the month as a farm hand. In that way he was actively identified with general agricultural pursuits until the time of his marriage at the age of twenty-two years. Soon after that important event in his life he took up his abode on his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres on sections 29 and 30, Annawan township, which was a part of the property belonging to his father-in-law. Here he has since carried on his agricultural interests with excellent success, annually garnering rich crops, which find a ready sale on the market. In 1909 he erected a modern nine-room dwelling, thirty-two by thirty-four feet, with basement. It is furnished with all upto-date comforts and equipmients, being supplied with hot and cold water, while a modern system of heating and acetylene lighting has also been installed.

On the 9th of December, 1885, in Annawan township, Mr. Anderson was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Agnes Machesney, who was born in Annawan township on the 5th of November, 1862, her parents being James and Selinda (Burgett) Machesney. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have been born nine children, the record of whom is as follows. Anna, the eldest, whose birth oc- curred October 30, 1886, has received a good common-school education and is at home. James, whose natal day was November 12, 1887, and who is likewise still at home, supplemented his preliminary education by a course of study at Brown's Business College of Moline, which he attended for a year and a half. Florence, who was born January 12, 1890, has also completed her education in the common schools. Velma, born November 12, 1891, attended the high school at Granville, Putnam county, for a year and a half and likewise pursued her studies at Kewanee. Her demise occurred on the 29th of January, 1909, and her remains were interred in the Fairview cemetery. Ruth, who was bom August 2, 1894, is now a sophomore in the Kewanee high school. John, who first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 9th of April, 1896, is now pursuing his studies in the district schools. Leila Anderson was bom on the 9th of April, 1898. Carl, whose birth occurred November 27, 1899, died at the age of three months. Rosa, the youngest child of our subject, was born July 23, 1901.

Mr. Anderson is a stalwart advocate of republican principles, but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him, and he does not desire public preferment as a reward for his party fealty. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the United Brethren church at Fairview, to which his wife and five oldest children also belong. He and his wife are likewise members of Yeomen Lodge, No. 276, at Annawan, and have an extensive circle of warm friends throughout the community in which they reside. He started out in life on his own account in a strange country and without financial resources, but possessed strong purpose and unfaltering determination, and upon these qualities as a foundation he has builded the superstructure of his success.

Henry B. Poppy

Henry B. Poppy, who has now retired from the active pursuit of farming and lives in the enjoyment of an adequate income after many years of hard toil, was born in Hanover, Germany, February 5, 183 1, and came to the United States in 1847, with his father, John Henry Poppy, who set forth to make a place for himself in the new world. They left their native land September i, 1847, and the trip to New Orleans, required exactly nine weeks, while they were fifteen days ascending the Mississippi river to St. Louis. They spent one month in Quincy, Illinois, and then procured a team of horses and drove to Red Oak, Henry county, being six days upon the road. On the west half of section 7, Weller township, the father procured eighty acres of land, paying five hundred dollars in gold for a tract which today would sell upon the realestate market for almost two hundred dollars an acre. It has been vastly improved, however, with the lapse of years, and even in 1875, when Mr. Poppy's life was ended, the home farm had advanced far along the road of improvement to which it later attained. The mother had died more than thirty years before, for she passed away in Germany when her son was but eleven years of age. :

Henry B. Poppy attended the public schools of his native land until he reached the age of fourteen years and was about sixteen when he and his father started upon their long journey to the new world. With a will, aided by the tales of money making which had fired his ambition in his youth whenever mention was made of America, he set to work to assist his father in the work of the farm, which during the course of years was enlarged to five times its original size. After his marriage he removed to Galena, where he engaged in gardening, following that line of work for some six years, when he returned, in the fall of 1876, to Red Oak, where he purchased fifty additional acres. He next operated the one hundred and sixty acres on which he still resides and which is still included in the estate. Since he assumed the responsibility of its operation all the buildings that now adorn it have been erected with the exception of an old corn shed upon the home place. Besides being well improved, the fields are tilled with the greatest skill known to farming, evincing the thoroughness of the methods practiced by the owner. Although nominally he has retired from farming, he is still active about the place and claims with justifiable pride that should occasion demand he would be able to accomplish during a day as much as a younger man, despite his seventy-nine years.

On the 13th of June, 1858, in Weller township, Mr, Poppy wedded Miss Lisette Newman, a daughter of William Newman, who came here frorfi Germany with his family in 1857. He settled in Red Oak but did not Hve long to enjoy the advantages of this country, for he passed away, it is said from grief for his wife, who died in Germany about three years after his arrival here. Five sons and one daughter have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Poppy. They are Henry, who died in infancy; Volly J., who is a retired farmer, now living in Cambridge, Illinois; Lucy L., who died at the age of sixteen years; Herman G., who is farming in Cambridge township ; Julius C, who operates the homestead ; and Clarence, who died in infancy.

Mr, Poppy was first an adherent of the democratic party but as the years have passed, he has changed his views until now he is non-partisan, investigating every question and candidate before he gives his support to it or him. Such he believes to be the duty of each man who is really worthy of the name of citizen, for only in that way can he be assured that his influence is being exerted where it will have the most desirable results. Naturally he has taken a deep interest in local affairs, although he has not filled any offices save those of school director and highway commissioner. He was reared in the Lutheran faith, and while he believes in its tenets, he has attended various churches.

Julius C. Poppy

Julius C. Poppy, a worthy son of his father, Henry G. Poppy, was born in Galena, Illinois, June 11, 1873, but has spent the greater part of his life in Weller township, which is still his home. He attended the district schools of this township, and after the completion of his studies he found employment as a clerk in a general store in Hubbard, Iowa. After one year's experience, how- ever, he returned to Illinois, locating in Cambridge, where again he found work in a mercantile establishment, so that it was not until 1893 that he took up the calling to which he was reared and which has since been his vocation. In that year he returned to the home farm, taking full charge of its operation, in which he has continued to the present. Besides having tilled it with profit he has added seventy-five acres to its area, and he has carried forward, in keeping with the advance of the time, the improvements instituted by the older man. The success which he has won from his cultivation of the soil places him among the representative agriculturists of Henry county. He has not confined his interests, however, to farm life but has been concerned in other enterprises, including the Farmers' Grain Elevator of Nekoma.

In Cambridge, Illinois, February 12, 1896, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Poppy and Miss Hilda Hulin, a daughter of B. I. Hulin, who is well known in that town, where for many years he has followed his trade as a wagonmaker. Two children have been born of this union - Clarice, who is eleven years of age; and A. Lucile, who is six. Both are attending school.

Like his father Mr. Poppy leans toward the democratic party, but is strongly non-partisan in his support of candidates and measures, casting his vote and influence only after a thorough investigation and the weighing of the relative claims of difit'erent aspirants for office. While residing in Cambridge he joined the ranks of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and still retains his membership in those organizations. The success which has been his has not been won without hard labor, but with all his responsibilities he has found time to- devote to public interests and for eighty years has rendered efficient service as one of the school directors of the township.

Claude M. Hamilton

Claude M. Hamilton is at the head of the firm of Hamilton & Plummer, conducting an extensive and successful business as florists of Kewanee. His birth occurred in Seward county, Nebraska, on the nth of July, 1880. His father, Watson L. Hamilton, who was a native of Boston, Massachusetts, was brought to Geneseo, Henry county, Illinois, by his parents when a boy and shortly afterward the family home was established in Kewanee, where both his father and mother died and where he spent the greater part of his life. William Hamilton, the paternal grandfather of our subject, established a brickyard at Kewanee which was later conducted by his son, Watson L. Hamilton, and for some years he likewise acted as justice of the peace at Kewanee. Frank Hamilton, an uncle of Mr. Hamilton of this review, was made postmaster of Kewanee after being discharged as a soldier of the Civil war on account of wounds received in that conflict. During the latter part of his life Watson L. Hamilton turned his attention to floriculture and about 1890, in association with Frank W. Plummer and his oldest son, Leroy F. Hamilton, he established the enterprise which is now being conducted by the subject of this review. He was thus actively engaged in business until the time of his demise, January 24, 1906, when he had attained the age of fifty-eight years. For a great many years he was identified with the old Kewanee Band as snare drummer. His widow, who still survives and makes her home in Kewanee, bore the maiden name of Emma Frehse and was bom in this county. She came of German parentage. Unto Watson L. and Emma Hamilton were born nine children, eight of whom are yet living.

Claude M. Hamilton obtained his education in the public schools of Kewanee and since entering the greenhouses of his father and brother at the age of fifteen years he has devoted his entire attention to floriculture. On the ist of January, 1900, he was admitted to a partnership in the business and when his brother severed his connection therewith in 1906 he purchased the latter's interest, so that he is now at the head of the firm of Hamilton & Plummer, his associate being Frank W. Plummer. Mr. Hamilton has charge of the business end of the concern, while Mr. Plummer manages the greenhouses. Their greenhouses are situated at Terminal Park, where they have about forty thousand feet under glass and where they grow all of their cut flowers and potted plants. Their office and down-town store is at No. 204 East Third street. The business has steadily grown until it is now one of large proportions, extending throughout the surrounding country for a considerable radius.

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Hamilton has given his political allegiance to the republican party. He has membership relations with the Kewanee Business Men's Association, the Kewanee Club and the Red Men and attends the services of the Methodist Episcopal church. On December 29, 1909, Mr. Hamilton was married to Miss Maude Pearce, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin F. Pearce, natives of Hennepin, Illinois, who came to Kewanee in July, 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton reside at No. 306 North Burr street. Although still a young man, he has already won a creditable position in business circles and is socially popular as well, his unfailing courtesy and unfeigned cordiality having gained him many friends.

Michael Dirck

The late Michael Dirck was one of the pioneers of Henry county and was very prominent during the early days of its history. When he died on February 4, 1908, in Phenix township, at the home of his son Henry, he was in his eighty-second year and had spent fifty-eight years in this locality. At the time he came from his birthplace - Wayne county, Ohio - the land in Henry county was in a wild state and there were very few settlements. There were no roads and he was forced to put up with all kinds of inconveniences, going to Rock Island for necessities and fording Rock river en route. Milan was a favorite milling point, and often he hauled his grain there and the flour and meal back. His wages when he worked for others were as low as twenty-five cents per day and never higher than fifty cents.

When Mr. Dirck first came west it was with the intention of going to Dixon, Illinois, but he and his brother had the misfortune to have their only horse sicken on the way and they had to finish their trip on foot. Finally reaching

Dixon, he decided to enter Henry county land. As the years passed he had the pleasure of seeing many changes take place and before he died of realizing the advance on farm property in whose future he had been so sure over half a century before.

Mr. Dirck was bom in Chester township, near Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, February i, 1827, while his wife was born August 15, 1830, in Sugar Loaf township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. They were married October 29, 185 1, in Phenix township, to which she had been brought by her parents in the fall of 1838, when eight years old. Mrs. Dirck passed away January 31, 1905, and is survived by one sister, Mrs. Lydia Merriam, of Colorado, and two brothers. Freeman Evans, of Geneseo, and George Evans, of Phenix township. Mr. and Mrs. Dirck had four children : Frank, who died when four years old ; Mary Latson, who lives in Hanna township ; Henry E. and Bert D., who both live in Phenix township.

Mr. Dirck was extremely fond of children, not only his own, but all little ones, and during his last years was affectionately called "grandpa" by the whole neighborhood. He was a man of kindly deeds and warm impulses, strong to stand up for what he believed was right, but never desiring trouble with his neighbors, and when he died, although he had attained to an advanced age and disease had crippled his powers, yet all who knew him felt his loss and mourned him. His wife was a sweet, gentle woman, attached to her home and family, and he never quite recovered from her loss when she died three years before him.

Ryan Brothers

The Ryan family is an old-established one in Henry county, and two of its representatives, Joseph M. and Martin E., brothers, are numbered among the flourishing farmers of Kewanee township. Joseph M. Ryan was born December 14, 1864, in Secor, Woodford county, Illinois, a son of Dennis and Bridget (Hunt) Ryan. The father was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and came to America in 1849, while his wife, who was born in County Carlow, came here in 1850. He was a railroad man but, buying land at one dollar and a quarter per acre, he also developed a farm.

When Joseph M. Ryan was seven years old he was brought to Henry county and he came to Kewanee in 1871. Until he attained his majority he remained with his father and then in partnership with his brother Martin E. purchased five hundred acres of rich farming land in Kewanee township, which they operate together. He was educated in the common schools and devoted himself to his studies until he was able to secure a teacher's certificate and for twenty-two years he has taught during the winter months, gaining the affection and respect of his pupils. On June 20, 1899, he married Mary E. McDonald, of Arlington, Illinois, and they have five children: Lawrence D., Mary E., Florence C, John J. and Martin J. The family belong to the Catholic church.

Martin E. Ryan, brother of Joseph M. Ryan, was born August 22, 1866, in Eureka, Woodford county, Illinois. He, too, was educated in the common schools and worked on the farm with his father until he and his brother bought their present property. He is a practical farmer and knows his business thoroughly. In religious faith he is a Catholic. Both of these farmers are well known in Kewanee township and are recognized as being among the representative citizens in Henry county. Under their able management their farm has increased in value and now yields them excellent returns annually.

John A. Lindburg

John A. Lindburg, well known as a representative of real-estate interests in Kewanee, his business enterprise, diligence and keen foresight placing him with the leading men of this city, was born near Gothenburg, Sweden, September 29, 1859. His father, Olaf Lindburg, was also a native of that place and came to America in 1885, six years after the arrival of his son, John, bringing with him his wife and children. He located in Kewanee, where he lived for twenty years, and then removed to Inglewood, California, which is his present place of residence. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna B. Anderson, was also born in Sweden. There they were reared and married and it was in that country that their entire family of ten children were born. All are yet living with the exception of Selma, who became the wife of Edward Lundee of Kewanee and died in 1903. Six of the surviving nine children are now residing in or near Los Angeles, California, while three are in Illinois, namely : John A. ; Adolph, of Kewanee; and Mrs. Anna C. Skoog, of Springfield. Mr. and Mrs. Lindburg are now seventy-five years of age and are still very active. On the 7th of August, 1909, they celebrated their golden wedding at their home in Inglewood, California, on which occasion seven or their children and twenty grandchildren were present. Their two sons, John and Adolph, of Kewanee, were not there but were represented by their wives.

John A. Lindburg was educated in the public schools of Sweden and after coming to the United States attended night school to some extent, and also studied largely by himself in order to acquire a knowledge of the English language and also to better equip himself for life's practical duties. In 1880 be began working for the Haxtun Steam Heater Company of Kewanee, there learning the trade of boiler making. He was employed in that connection until 1888, when his health failing, he went west for a year. Upon his return he again engaged with the Haxtun Company, being employed in the foundry for three years. After leaving the services of that company he traveled extensively throughout the United States for two years, after which he returned to Kewanee and in 1894 was elected city treasurer for the term of 1894-95. His oilficial record was a creditable one and on his retirement from office in 1896 he engaged in the confectionery business on Second street, but after a year removed to Third street near North Main where he remained for seven years. He built up an extensive trade, carrying on a profitable business until he sold out to A. R. Tuttle. In 1904 he turned his attention to the real-estate business and in December, 1907, opened his office in the McLean building on Second street, his present location. He carries on an extensive business in western and southern lands and also handles some local property. He spent two summers - the seasons of 1906 and 1907, in Labrador, where he is interested in the Labrador Mining & Development Company.

On the 2ist of December, 1893, Mr. Lindburg was married in Kewanee to Miss Ida C. Sandberg, a daughter of John and Charlotte (Josephson) Sandberg, both of whom were natives of Sweden, where they were reared and married. They came from Sweden in 1870 and for twenty-four years have been residents of Kewanee. Mr. Sandberg has devoted his entire time to contracting and building, in which business he is still active. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lindburg have been born two sons : George A., fourteen years of age, now attending high school ; and John L., a youth of nine years.

In politics, Mr. Lindburg is a stalwart republican and is much interested in the work of the party and its progress, keeping well informed on all questions and issues of the day and thus supporting his position by intelligent argument. He has held office in the Swedish-American Republican Club of Henry county, of which he has been a member since 1885, and in which he has served as vice president, while at this writing, in the winter of 1909-10, he is treasurer. He also belongs to the Swedish-American Republican State League of Illinois with which he became associated on its organization. He is also a member of Norden Lodge, Independent Order of Svitiod at Kewanee, the lodge being a Swedish secret society with headquarters at Chicago. He has always encouraged his fellow countrymen to become American citizens as soon as the law would allow and has frequently assisted them in obtaining their naturalization papers. He has also aided them in securing work and acquainting themselves with the ways of this country and has fostered in them a spirit of loyalty to American institutions. He holds membership in the Swedish Lutheran church of Kewanee and with his family takes an active part in church work, for a number of years having been a member of the choir. His business record has been marked by steadyprogression resulting from the wise and careful use of each opportunity, and as time has gone on the worth of his work and his ideas has been demonstrated in the success which has followed his labors.

Fred B. Gamble

The importance of insurance is being generally recognized and the amount of business done in every branch of this line of commercial activity is enormous, giving employment to the abilities and resources of many of the leading men of today. Kewanee supports several very successful business men whose object is to look after insurance affairs, and one of the most important is Fred B. Gamble, who is general agent for the Union Central Life Insurance Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and district agent for the farm department of the Continental Fire Insurance Company and the Connecticut Fire Insurance Company and also represents a number of other responsible insurance companies. Mr. Gamble was born in Kewanee, May 14, 1868, a son of Joseph R. and Maria P.

(Wooley) Gamble. The father is a retired contractor and builder, who came to this city in 1855 ^"^ was connected with the erection of some of the best business and residence property here.

Fred B. Gamble was educated in the Kewanee high school and at Knox College, where he spent two years. He then became a traveling salesman for the Western Tube Company and continued with them eight years, gaining very valuable experience. At the expiration of that period, however, he turned his attention to the insurance business and during the succeeding years has proven his fitness for this work. He writes an immense amount of insurance annually.

Mr. Gamble has three children, namely: Frederic Russell, Florence Isabell and Gertrude Augusta. His fraternal relations are pleasant and his membership embraces the Elks, the Red Men, the Knights of Pythias and the Eagles. His religious connection is with the Baptist church and he is also a member of the Young Men's Christian Association. Socially he belongs to the Commercial Club and the Kewanee Club and is one of the most popular men of Kewanee. He thoroughly understands every detail of the insurance business and because of his experience in it can control a business the proportions of which show a healthy increase with each succeeding year.

In 1909 Mr. Gamble was elected to the common council from the third ward on the labor ticket. While conserving the interests of his constituents, he also displays a broad-guaged policy toward the city at large and will without doubt make a fine record for himself in this office as he already has in business life. .

Morgan Burgett Machesney

Morgan Burgett Machesney, a progressive and enterprising agriculturist residing on section 29, Annawan township, was born in the house where he now lives, and the farm which he cultivates has been his place of abode from his birth to the present time. His natal day was July 6, 1874. His parents, James and Selinda (Burgett) Machesney, are mentioned at greater length in connection with the sketch of M. Howard Machesney, a brother of our subject.

Morgan B. Machesney received a good common-school education and grew to manhood under the parental roof. When twenty-one years of age he began to farm a part of his father's land and has thus been actively identified with agricultural interests to the present time, his labors in the fields being annually rewarded by bounteous harvests of golden grain. The neat and attractive appearance of the place indicates his careful supervision and practical and progressive methods, and he is widely recognized as one of the energetic and up-to-date farmers of the community.

On the 7th of September, 1898, in Annawan township, Mr. Machesney was united in marriage to Miss Nora Batten, a native of that township and a daughter of James and Julia Ann (Blin) Batten. They now have four children, namely: Lawrence E., who was born on the 6th of March, 1900; Bernice Irene, whose birth occurred July 21, 1901 ; Lewis Glenn, whose natal day was June 24, 1904; and Gladys, born October 4, 1905.

Mr. Machesney cast his first presidential ballot for William McKinley in 1896 and has always supported the men and measures of the republican party. He is now serving as a school director but has not been an office seeker, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his private affairs. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias at Annawan. Both he and his wife are widely and favorably known throughout the county in which their entire lives have been spent, the circle of their friends being almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintances.

Edward P. Lincoln

Edward P. Lincoln, one of the representative farmers and fruit-growers of Kewanee township, has passed through many of the interesting experiences of pioneer life, for he has been a resident of Henry county since 1850. He was born in Sheldon, New York, February 9, 1837, a son of George and Olive (Needham) Lincoln, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Massachusetts. They emigrated to New York state by team in an early day. Dwight D. Needham, a brother of Mrs. Lincoln, at one time owned a tract one and one-half miles long and one-half mile wide north of Kewanee, which adjoined the city, and he also owned the site of the city at one time, so that the names of Lincoln and Needham are well known in Henry county.

In 1850 the Lincoln family's removal took place. The father was a traveling man and having visited Henry county decided to locate here. The family made the journey by way of the lakes to Chicago and were nearly a week on the trip. From Chicago they went to La Salle by canal, and from there teams conveyed them and their goods to Wethersfield - their destination. The country was almost all open prairie, and as they could not secure a house upon their arrival, they went to the home of a brother-in-law, Richard Dickinson, who lived on the northwest corner of Captain Howard's farm, now a part of Kewanee. Barron Grove, north of the town, was then common property. Wood was used for fuel and much valuable timber was sacrified in this way. George Lincoln went to Dixon, the landoffice, and entered forty acres just west of the present home of Edward P. Lincoln. The father later secured more land and farmed it until his demise in 1876. His widow survived him until 1884.

During his first winter here, Edward P. Lincoln attended school held in a log house on the Bryan farm, and shortly after the Civil war he helped to build the Maunder school, of which he was a director for nearly twenty years. He was always very patriotic. During the war he, E. M. Wail, H. T. Lay, Martin Guillard and others used to meet in an upper room on Second street between Main and Tremont streets and they donated books and laid the foundation for the first public library of Kewanee. He was also a member of the Kewanee Debating Society, which met m the first school building ever erected in Kewanee, being located near the block occupied at present by the jewelry firm of Kreig & Giles. The club held several public debates. Lawyer Atwood, General Howe, Austin Sykes and Mr. Lincoln being among the speakers.

While he has devoted the better portion of his life to agricultural pursuits, Mr. Lincoln has been engaged in other lines of business. For some years he was a commercial salesman. He also taught school in Kewanee township, and, while he was acting as school director, he was also clerk of the board. He has always been a very strong republican, but has thrown his influence in favor of prohibition. At present Mr. Lincoln is farming and raising fruit on the old homestead and is making a success of his work, for he understands it thoroughly.

In 1866 Air. Lincoln and Rebecca Aylesbury were married and they have three children, as follows : George D. is a real-estate dealer of Kewanee. Edward A., also a real-estate dealer, married Cherry B. Waggeman, of Bureau county, and they have one son, Edward Ernest. Orlie Dora is at home.

The family belong to the Congregational church, and Mr. Lincoln was an officer in the Sunday school for many years. He also was an official of the circulating library for a long time and has always taken a deep interest in anything that promised to prove beneficial to his church or community. He has held many important offices, has never failed in his duty and can look back with pride upon his long years of useful endeavor.

John Jackson Darin

John Jackson Darin, agriculturist and stock raiser, of Phenix township, was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, February 9, 1825. He was the elder son of John Jackson Darin, Sr., a native of County Tyrone, Ireland. Biddmg adieu to the Emerald isle amid the stormy scenes that beset that country during the years just preceding 1800, he sailed for America, stopping for a time at Philadelphia before finally settling in the vicinity of Pittsburg, then known as Fort Duquesne on the very border of the wild backwoods. The father was endowed with rugged health and sturdy habits accredited to Erin's sons, and it was well for there was need for health and thrift, for brain and brawn in those early days. He paid several visits to the Darin homestead on Pink Prairie, and at the time of his death was approaching his ninetieth birthday.

And so it was the subject of this sketch began his long and useful life in the Keystone state. Mr. Darin's boyhood was spent not unlike that of other Pennsylvania boys of that time and region. His education was obtained in the public schools and in the great university of practical experience. He had not yet attained his majority when he was given the position of lock tender on the Pennsylvania canal, between Apollo and Saltsburg, near his home. This place he filled until promoted to a clerkship in the canal warehouses of Leech & Company, at Pittsburg. It was while engaged in this work that he became acquainted with Miss Eleanor Clarke, who had just finished a course in the public schools of Allegheny.

Early in the '50s Mr. Darin became enthused with the reports coming from the New Eldorado, in the land by the Golden Gate, and early in 1852 he joined a party of young men who planned to make the voyage to California by sailing vessel via Cape Horn. When they reached New York, the company became sep- arated, and Mr. Darin finally went without his companions, making the trip via the isthmus of Panama. From the isthmus to San Francisco he suffered greatly from exposure and privation. The vessel on which he had engaged passage proved to be old, poorly manned, and but scantily provisioned, while the greedy captain took on board double the number of passengers he could feed and quarter. When Mr. Darin bought his ticket he was assured that first class meals and a comfortable berth would be provided throughout the voyage. Once out at sea, however, the only fare provided consisted of "salt horse," sour beans and hardtack, while his "stateroom berth" was on top of the crates and boxes on the upper deck, with the sky for a roof. The protests of passengers and crew finally bordered on mutiny and rebellion, and the captain was compelled to put in at a Mexican port and take on a store of provisions. Upon arrival at San Francisco Mr. Darin lost no time in getting to the heart of the section where placer mining was yielding good returns. Here for two years his rugged constitution enabled him' to endure the homely fare and hard work of the mining camp without feeling any great hardship, and in that time he collected a goodly quantity of the precious yellow metal.

Early in the autumn of 1854 he returned to Pittsburg, where for a short time he tarried with his father, before hurrying on to Rushville in the Prairie state, to which point the Clarke family had removed from Allegheny. Coming first to Henry county, he purchased a farm on Pink Prairie, in Phenix township, thert journeyed on to Schuyler county, where, on September 21, 1854, he was united in marriage to Miss Eleanor Clarke, who for nearly fifty years following was spared to be his faithful helpmeet, guide and counsellor. Mr. Darin resided on the old homestead up to the time of his death, thus rounding out a full half century in the one home. Often, when in a reminiscent mood, he would refer to his lack of practical farming experience when he settled in Henry county, and said he had to ask his wife and an obliging neighbor to teach him how to harness and hitch his team. Yet being endowed with that valuable quality "stickability" he steadily persevered, and by the practice of economy and frugality, he became one of the foremost farmers and stock raisers in Henry county, and from time to time farm after farm was added to the original homestead. In manner Mr. Darin was a man of quiet reserved habits and enjoyed excellent health. He was proud of the fact that he had rounded out a full three-quarters of a century before suffering an illness of sufficient severity to require the attendance of a physician at his home.

Mr. Darin filled various elective offices in his township. In politics he was a democrat, but in the days when war clouds darkened our country he was a firm believer in the doctrines advocating the abolition of slavery. His brother, Thomas H. Darin, was associated with him in farming when the Rebellion broke out, and enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Volunteers, and died while suffering in the Rebel prison at Andersonville.

Mr. Darin several times journeyed back to visit his old Pennsylvania home, and in 1901, accompanied by his wife, he made a tour of the Pacific states, to view again the scenes of his experiences in the mining camps, and to visit relatives in California and Oregon, and this journey furnished them many pleasant thoughts during the remainder of their days. Mr. Darin gave substantial sup- port to both church and school. He was a kind neig^hbor, an honorable, uprig"ht citizen, and a notable example of Henry county's self-made men, - one whose willing hands and determined head together with good habits and clean life made it but a natural consequence that he should succeed in his chosen field of labor.

When Mr. Darin came to Henry county, he found surrounding his new home a broad expanse of wild, virgin prairie carpeted thick with a luxuriant growth of wild blossoms of a pink hue nodding a welcome in the sunshine and breeze - a veritable "Pink Prairie." During his fifty years on the original farm he witnessed the laying oflf of this same expanse of prairie into a checkerboard of farms, and hundreds of beautiful homes, and bulging cribs and granaries and big red barns crowd the landscape where in 1854 the straggling log cabins of the settlers in the same region could readily be numbered on the fingers of one hand.

On the morning of October 8, 1904, Mr. Darin was called from earth to enjoy forever the Home not made by earthly hands, whither his good wife had preceded him, and where only the joys and noble thoughts and acts of this life can be remembered. Four sons and three daughters were left to honor his memory. But in a brief two weeks the eldest son, Clarke James, was called to rejoin the parents gone before.

Eleanor Clarke Darin

When our infancy is almost forgotten and our boyhood long departed, though it seems but as yesterday; when life settles down upon us and we doubt whether to call ourselves young any more, then it is good to steal away occasionally from all society and let the mind dwell upon the blessings oi our golden yesterday. Far on the blue mountains of our dim childhood, toward which we ever turn and look, stand the mothers who marked out to us from thence our life ; - ^the most blessed age must be forgotten ere we can forget the warmest heart. But, though we gather up all the tender memories, all the lights and shades of the heart, all the greetings, reunions, and home affections, yet we cannot paint a word-picture of that loving mother who is the subject of this sketch.

The records of the Clarke "Family Tree" trace back to the years preceding the discovery of America by Columbus. The Clarke annals previous to this are lost in the mist of the unrecorded history of Scotland.

About the year 1500 two of the Clarke brothers emigrated from Scotland to Ireland ; one settled in Dublin, the other in County Tyrone Doctor Adam Clarke, the celebrated commentator, theological writer and pioneer Wesleyan preacher, was a descendant of the former brother, and James Clarke, who was born in County Tyrone, in 1800, and came to America in 1801, father of Eleanor Clarke Darin, was a descendant of the other brother.

"My oldest brother, James, was endowed with a strong intellect, and being of studious habits he became early a good scholar. He both read and wrote a great deal. He was very outspoken on the subject of the abolition of slavery. At the age of eighteen he united with the Methodist church and at once began to hold meetings in the vicinity of Allegheny City. In this line he was very popular and attracted large congregations. He was strongly urged by the church to enter the ministry, but he constantly declined, although until his death he remained a devoted and liberal member of the church, nearly always sustaining an official relation to it. In the latter part of his life the abolition of slavery so engaged his sympathies and efforts that it seemed the controlling purpose of his life to labor for its success. It is thought that labor and exposure on a visit to Kansas in order to bear a part in its struggle for freedom occasioned his death, which occurred on board the steamboat at a landing almost at his home, September 15, 1855.

At Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, April 20, 1826, James Clarke and Miss Sarah Cooper were united in marriage, and to them, March 19, 1827, was bom a daughter, Eleanor, the subject of this sketch.

Only a few years ago it was my privilege to accompany my mother on a visit to Allegheny City, where we sought out the old home, and there I visited the very room where was wrought that blessed miracle that gave the world the beautiful character, - ^the noble woman whose memory I now revere above all else in this world. Memory now throws a golden halo over the hills and vales where, through laughing childhood and more serious school days, grew to womanhood the best "sweetheart" I can ever know.

Early in September, 1854, there came to Rushville, in our Prairie state, whither Eleanor had removed in the early '50s with her parents, a bronzed and bearded young man fresh from the wilds of the mining camps of the new Golden state. This young man was young John Jackson Darin, the lad she had known as a bashful sweetheart in the Pennsylvania school days. He had returned from California to Pittsburg, - and thence he hurried on to Illinois to claim his own. There, September 21, 1854, these two lives were united, and then they set bravely out for a little vale in Henry county, which some nature lover had designated Pink Prairie, where for the next half century they were to grow old with the prairies, loving and laboring for their children. Seven times the Angel of Life visited this prairie home - seven times was the miracle of birth wrought, and this sainted soul tarried to bless the four daughters and three sons until they, too, had passed from youth to Grown-up Land. And of these seven the writer is the least worthy to tell of the three-quarters of a century this good woman trod life's pathway. Her strongest religion was the creed of kindness and helpfulness, though she was ever faithful in the faith of her forefathers. Ever ambitious for the advancement and education of her children in morality and mentality, she never failed in helping to support both school and church. She was a lovable woman, this mother who gave her full measure of love and help to her family and community through full fifty years in Henry county, and few now remain who knew her in the days when Life and Love and Pink Prairie were young.

In the early evening shadows of March 11, 1902, I said a last good night to this dear one, and she fell asleep to this earth. But in going she builded a bridge for me, and some nig-ht I'll tread this bridge with willing feet from this grey old earth to the Green Hills Far Away, and there bid her good morning, - for She was my mother.

Peter G. Gestrin

Peter G. Gestrin, conducting a well appointed bakery establishment under the name of the Vienna Bakery, which is the oldest enterprise of the kind in Kewanee, was born in Omot, Sweden, June 16, 1866. His father, Hans Gestrin, a native of the same place, was born February 29, 1843, ^^'^ when a young man joined the army there in accordance with the laws of that country, which compels each citizen to do so as soon as he attains his majority. After meeting the requirements of the country as to military service he took up the tailor's trade, which he followed until the fall of 1867. He then determined to seek a home in the new world, believing that he might have better business opportunities here, and with his wife and two children sailed for America. He settled first in Galesburg, Illinois, where he opened a tailor shop, there remaining for, two years. He afterward removed to Kewanee, where he worked in the mine of the Lathrop Coal Company until 1894, when he retired from active business and spent his remaining days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. The first house which he occupied in Kewanee is now the oldest standing in the city. It has been closed but is maintained as a relic of pioneer times and is in charge of the Daughters of the Revolution. Mr. Gestrin long maintained a place among the respected and valued citizens of the community and passed away in December, 1907, esteemed by all who knew him. He married Christine Omark, who was born November 26, 1840, in Sweden and is now living in Kewanee at the age of sixty-nine years. She has long been a devoted member of the Swedish Lutheran church and has taken an active part in its work since her arrival in* Henry county.

Peter G. Gestrin acquired his early education in the district schools of Kewanee township and afterward attended the Kewanee high school. Upon putting aside his text-books he went to work for the Haxtun Heater Company and continued with that enterprise when it became the property of the Western Tube Company and later of the National Tube Company, under which name it now operates. His first position with the Haxtun Company was that of errand boy, but he applied himself diligently to the mastery of every task assigned him and learned the molder's trade, in which capacity he was employed until 1890, when he was promoted to the superintendency of the core department and brass foundry. He thus served in a most capable and efficient manner until January, 1909, when he resigned in order to engage in business on his own account. He is now in partnership with Charles E. Moore of the Vienna Bakery, which is the oldest bakery in Kewanee and has a well established trade, receiving a very extensive patronage from neighboring towns. They have eleven people contin- ually in their employ, and in addition to the manufacture and sale of bakery goods they conduct a first-class candy and ice cream factory, having the most improved machinery and modern methods for the conduct of the business.

On the 29th of October, 1890, Mr. Gestrin was married in Kewanee to Miss Qara Matilda Sandberg, a daughter of Jonas Sandberg, a native of Sweden, who located in Oneida, Illinois, at an early day and is now living in Kewanee. Mrs. Gestrin is a lady of considerable musical ability and was for fifteen years a member of the church choir. There are two children, who also take deep interest in music. Florence Viola, bom November 20, 1893, is now a junior in the high school. Carl Leland, bom July 24, 1898, is attending the public schools.

In politics Mr. Gestrin is a stanch republican, always taking an active interest in local affairs but avoiding public office. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men of Kewanee and is now serving as captain of George Washington Encampment of the uniform rank, this being the highest local office. He is also connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and with the Swedish Sick Fund Society. ^ He is likewise identified with the Pocahontas Society, the auxiliary to the Red Men. Both he and his wife are prominent and active workers in the Swedish Lutheran church, with which he has been identified for the past thirty years. He is a member of the choir and always takes an active part in the business and social affairs of the church as well and, in fact, does everything in his power to promote the interest and upbuilding of the society. His life has been a busy, industrious and useful one, and his relative worth is widely recognized by his fellow townsmen.

Andrew G. Hulting

Hard, indefatigable work has accomplished many things seemingly impossible. It is a man's best asset when he leaves his native land to make a home in the American country that is so inviting to those of European birth. Not only has Andrew G. Hulting made a place for himself here but he has made it possible for other members of his family - brothers, sister and parents - to come and gain a new start in life. On his farm on section 32, Geneseo township, Mr. Hulting now follows general farming and breeds fine stock, making a specialty of shorthom Durham cattle. He was born about half of a Swedish mile or three English miles south of the village of Folavik, in the western part of Sweden, on the 7th of May, 1848, and is a son of Per and Kisa (Lawson) Hulting. The mother died a few hours after her son's birth, and the father married Miss Hannah Anderson, the wife of the second union being the only mother Mr. Hulting ever knew. As he grew to manhood he worked on a farm and also in a gristmill, in which he leamed the miller's trade, and when he had attained his majority a neighbor offered to loan him the money with which to come to America. It seemed a golden opportunity that should be seized and within eight days after the aid was proffered he had started on his journey to the new world.

Mr. Hulting set out by steamer from Gottenburg May i, landed in England, where he remained a short time, and then took ship for the United States, reach- ing Geneseo, Illinois, June 2, 1869. Here he was employed on a farm for twelve dollars a month through the summer and during the winter did chores for his board and for the privilege of attending school. In the nine years that he worked for one man he saved enough to enable him to buy a team and rent a. farm in Munson township, where he made a home for himself. He continued to rent for a number of years subsequent to his marriage and about 1898 bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Geneseo township. All the buildings, except the house, that are now standing upon the land are the result of his efforts, as are also the numerous improvements that bespeak his skill as an industrious and thrifty tiller of the soil. He had done more, however, than make his own way in America; he sent the money which made it possible for one of his brothers and a sister to come here and start life under favorable conditions. The father and mother have since passed away, but the rest of the family are living. John Peter makes his home in Munson township. Matilda married John Lawson and lives in Cambridge. Alfred also resides in Cambridge.

Mr. Hulting has been married twice. The bride of his first union, whom he wedded March 14, 1879, was Miss Anna Louise Johnson. She was of Swedish nativity and came to this country when of adult age, having been influenced to make the long journey by the stories of better chances of making a living here which her uncle had sent to his relatives in the old country. In 1887 Mrs. Hulting died leaving four children: John Albert, a farmer of Geneseo township; Carl Oscar, who lives at home ; Gustav Edwin, also' at home ; and Hilda Almeda, who married Charles W. Jager. On the 23d of April, 1889, Mr. Hulting married Miss Hannah Miller, who was bom in Sweden and came to the United States in her young womanhood. Of the second marriage there has been one child born, Esther Elizabeth. Mrs. Hannah Hulting has also passed away, her death having occurred April 27, 1907.

In 1908 Mr, Hulting was able to make a long contemplated trip to his native land. At his birthplace he found utter strangers and only an aunt and an uncle in the neighborhood, for his immediate family had come to America. Since be-, coming a citizen of this republic Mr. Hulting has given his support to the republican party but has not been an office seeker. He belongs to the Swedish Lutheran church, in which he has for many years been a deacon, and he contributed toward the erection of a new church edifice. A hard working man, others have profited by his industry, and the example he sets to his neighbors - that of earnest toil and frugality - is one that might be of general profit.

Dwight A. Lincoln

The name of Dwight A. Lincoln is enshrined in the memory of his family as well as enrolled upon the register of the country he died in defending, for he was one of the boys in blue who did not return from the conflict during the great Civil war. He was born in 1841 in New York state, a son of George Lincoln and brother of Edward P. Lincoln, and was a graduate of the Kewanee high school. He enlisted as a private in Company A, One Hundred and Fortysecond Illinois Volunteer Infantry in 1861 and was with his regiment continuously until the battle of Stone River, where he was wounded and was in the hands of the enemy for three days. Although then transferred to the Union ranks it was too late, and he died in the Church Hospital of Nashville, Tennessee, in January, 1863.

A very interesting letter was received by Edward P. Lincoln, dated April 3, 1862, in camp in Missouri about five miles from Island No. 10. It gives a very graphic account of the situation at that time, and its brave words touch the heart of the reader when it is remembered that the writer was soon thereafter called upon to render up his life for the cause he loved so dearly. Dear Brother: - -

I believe you owe me a letter yet in return for one I wrote you at Fort Holt, but as I have plenty of time I thought I would inform you of the proceedings of the last week. There has been nothing of importance happened though except the spiking of a Rebel battery of six large guns. Co. A has been on picket once since I wrote you, but nothing of importance took place. In the morning when we were on picket we could hear the Rebels on the Island beating reveille and hear them mounting guard quite plain.

If you read the Tribune you will hear most of what is going on here, but there is one thing you probably have not seen. That is the daring deed executed by Colonel Roberts and Company A, Tuesday while we were on shore for dress parade we were ordered on board the Rob Roy and were taken right down to the Benton the flag gunboat on which Commodore Foote stays.

There we found out that our destination was to spike a Rebel battery on the Tennessee shore, where there were some big guns which stopped the gunboats from coming down to play on the Island.

Then Commodore Foote told the colonel that he would give him five yawls and fifty men to row them, and the colonel accepted them. Our arms and ammunition were inspected, and the colonel told us that our object was to spike the Rebel battery, and that we must succeed or die in the attempt. We were ordered to put five loads in before we left the boat. Then we were divided off into five squads and commanders appointed to each squad. Colonel Roberts and Sergeant Atwater were commanders of the quad and I was in (Squad No. I ) . We were put in yawl Benton which went ahead.

All ready we ran into the edge of the timber and waited for the moon to go down. A little after eleven when the moon had sunk to rest and the sky had clouded over and had the appearance of rain, the colonel gave orders to start. Our boat with a crew of twenty, colonel and all, took the lead. We had spike hammers and hand grenades and mufifled oars. We kept close to the fort for we knew that if they saw us soon enough they could open fire upon us from their battery and blow us sky high. My position was right in the bow of the Benton. We sailed along down silently and fearlessly till we were right upon the battery before we know it. When we were within about a rod of the shore the first notice we had of our nearness to the battery was two shots from the Rebels sentries guarding the guns. I think they were about the length of our house from me. The boatman shoved the boat right in where the shots came from and we jumped ashore expecting to find some Rebels there, but they had fled. The next thing we did was to spike their guns which were seven in number. Then we jumped into our boats and put back.

When we got aboard of the Rob Roy again there was a heavy thunder storm came on, which came as near wrecking us as I want to be. It frightened all of us considerable. We would no doubt have been wrecked if we had not went up alongside of a boat to report to Colonel Buford and tied up. As it was the boat dipped water. One of the deck hands went overboard and was drowned.

In recognition of this act, Congress tendered a note of thanks to the brave men that composed the company and their commander, this being one of two incidents in which congress passed a vote of thanks during the Civil war.

Julius Van Coutren

Julius Van Coutren, a liquor dealer of Kewanee, was born in Belgium, May I, 1869. His father, also a native of that land, came to America with his family of nine children in 1884 and took up his abode upon a farm at Atkinson, Illinois. For seven years he carried on general agricultural pursuits but in 1891 retired from active life and removed to Kewanee, where he is now living at the age of sixty-eight years. He married Stephanie Van Hicke, a daughter of Joseph Van Hicke, also of Belgium, and she is now living at the age of sixty-six years.

Pursuing his education in his native country, Julius Van Coutren was at length graduated from the public schools of Belgium, but the educational system of that country is different from our own, as the students have to pay a tuition. He also attended school in America for about three years, and after putting aside his text-books he worked on the home farm until twenty-two years of age, when he came to Kewanee and secured employment in the shops of the Haxtun Steam Heater Company, there remaining for three years. He afterward accepted the position of bar tender for Garrett Neagle, now retired, but still living in this city. Mr. Van Coutren thus served for five years and when Mr. Neagle sold his business to Charles Knight remained with the latter for two years. In 1897 he entered into partnership with Mr. Neagle in the conduct of a liquor business on Third street, the business relation being maintained for three years, when Mr. Van Coutren bought out his partner and removed to his present location at No. 225 West Third street at the corner of North Chestnut. He remodeled the entire place, putting in new fixtures and equipments, making his place of business attractive in every particular. In 1904, he admitted his brother Frank to a partnership, and they now have the neatest, best arranged and most orderly bar in Kewanee. The equipments are of a very handsome character, and the saloon is conducted according to the strictest business principles. Mr. Van Coutren has won success in the undertaking and is now the owner of considerable property, including a farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Annawan township, which is rented. He also has a farm of seven hundred and twenty acres in Missouri and owns stock in the Armory Hall in Kewanee and has mining interests in the gold fields among the Black Hills. He is also the owner of his own home in Kewanee.

On the 4th of June, 1896, Mr. Van Coutren was married in this city to Miss Emily Bohart, a daughter of Frank Bohart, of Atkinson, Illinois. Their children are : Grace and Alma, aged twelve and five years.

In politics Mr. Van Coutren is a democrat, where national issues are involved, but at local elections casts an independent ballot. He served for two terms as a member of the board of alderman from the first ward. He belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles and was one of the founders of the first Belgian church in Kewanee, with Father Conrad as their first priest. He takes an active interest in the work of the church, as does also his wife. He has ever manifested a sincere interest in those of his own nationality who have sought homes in this part of the state, giving freely of his advice and frequently of his means to assist those who have come here. In fact he has been instrumental in securing most of the Belgian people in Kewanee.

Warren D. Lester

Warren D. Lester, life-long farmer and public auctioneer and a man widely known for his many kindly traits of character and unflinching honesty of purpose, is a native of Henry county, having been born in Wethersfield township, September i, 1864, a son of Champlain and Ann (McCreath) Lester. The former was a native of Henry county, but his wife was born in Scotland. The father enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and served from 1862 to 1865. His death occurred when he was only thirty-nine years old. His widow survives and makes her home at Angiola, California, although for some years after her husband's death in Carroll county, Iowa, she lived in Wethersfield, Illinois, to which she returned in her affliction.

Warren D. Lester was reared to farm life while attending public school at Wethersfield, and he understands every detail of agriculture, operating his fine farm of one hundred and forty acres with a skill that gives him a good annual income. For fourteen years, he has given some of his attention to auctioneering, making a specialty of farm property and live stock. He has auctioned off some of the best blooded hogs and cattle ever sold In Henry county. His fame as an auctioneer has not only spread throughout Henry county, but into the adjoining territory and his services are in great demand.

On February 10, 1886, Mr. Lester married Iva Weston, a daughter of George and Helen Weston, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. They have no children but have brought up as their own many little unfortunates and given them excellent educational advantages. In this, they have but followed the noble example set by the parents of Mrs. Lester who also reared many outside their own family. One of the girls reared by Mr. and Mrs. Lester became a teacher in the pubHc schools and later a missionary and they are very proud of their adopted daughter. They now have a young lady whom they have reared and educated and who is an excellent musician, and another daughter five years old at this writing.

Mr. Lester's work as a public official has been marked by good common sense and a thorough appreciation of the best methods of procedure. For many years he gave the school board the benefit of his experience as a director, and has served three terms as highway commissioner. He was the first commissioner to use the "King split log" drags on the road, which are now recognized as so universally beneficial, and he has inaugurated many other changes that have worked to the good of the community. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Commercial Club of Kewanee and is extremely popular in both organizations. Big-hearted, loyal to his friends, energetic and persistent, Mr. Lester is one of the best citizens of Henry county and has friends everywhere.

Jesse L. Lamont

Jesse L. Lamont, a farmer of Geneseo township, who has given a great deal of his attention to the breeding of pure blooded Hereford cattle, was born in Lloydtown, York county, Canada, November 22, 1848, and is a son of Daniel and Mary (Lloyd) Lamont. The former was born at Mull, Scotland, in March, 1818, and was a son of Duncan and Mary (Campbell) Lamont. He was about two years of age when his parents left their home in the old country to come to this world. Duncan Lamont, however, died on the ocean journey, and as his widow would not permit his body to be buried at sea the ship was compelled to stop at an island en route. Mrs. Lamont, left a widow with seven children, the youngest an infant in arms, located in Caledon, Canada, where she bought land, and although it was covered with timber she made a home for her children and gave them a good education. Daniel grew up at home and learned the trade of a miller, which he followed through his active life. His wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was a daughter of Jesse and Phebe (CrossTey) Lloyd. The former was born in Pennsylvania, a son of James Lloyd, was of Welsh descent and of Quaker faith, and was reared in the state of his birth. Shortly after his marriage, which in all probability occurred in Pennsylvania, he went to Canada, locating in the heart of the wilderness, at what is now known as Lloydtown, named in his memory. He chose the spot on account of the water power and there erected grist and saw mills. As he owned a large tract of land he soon became a man of wealth and prominent in the afifairs of his locality. In an advisory way, was connected with the reformers of the great revolution and his influence was considered important enough by the British government to warrant a price being put upon his life and those of his two companions, Jacob Blount and Tom Brown, so that the three fled to the United States. Seeing here also notices of a reward for their apprehension, they went to Indiana, where Jesse Lloyd sickened and died. His family, however, remained in Canada, where his widow lived to the advanced age of ninety-six, and where one of his sons, an uncle of Jesse L. Lamont, of this review, is still in possession of the old homestead. In 1864, Daniel Lamont brought his family to Illinois and located in Como, Whiteside county, where he followed his trade until his death, which occurred in November, 1901. His wife is still living in Como at the age of eighty-six years. They had ten children: Asenath, who married James Hopkins and lives at Como, Whiteside county, Illinois and they have five children; Flora, who unmarried lives at Sterling, Illinois; John, who married Miss Josephine Bradford and lives in Freeport, Illinois, where he is rearing a family of five children; Jesse L., of this sketch; Susan, who was the wife of Joseph Morrison and died at Stewart, Iowa, leaving three children; Elizabeth, who died in infancy; Charity, who was the wife of Henry Partridge and died in Whiteside county, leaving five children; Emily, who passed away while still unmarried ; Washington Marion, a bachelor, living in Silver City, South Dakota ; and Mary Ida, who died single.

Jesse L. Lamont was about sixteen years of age when his parents came to Illinois, and as he had received a good common school education in the land of his birth he here began to work for his living. He was permitted to keep all of his wages, the greater part of which he hoped to be able to save. After working for different farmers of Whiteside county, he came to Henry county, where for two years he herded cattle. In 1872, he married and began his life as a farmer. For two years he rented land and then bought ninety-one acres in Yorktown, which he sold four or five years later and engaged in mercantile business in Annawan. The venture was most unfortunate, however, for in five years he had lost all his property and was compelled to return to renting. For a period of eight years he toiled as a tenant in Atkinson township and then bought some land south of Geneseo, on which he farmed for about four years. Selling that he went to Whiteside county, where he had purchased two hundred and forty acres, on which he lived for seven years, coming at the end of that time to the place he owns in Geneseo township. This consists of eighty acres on section 22, for which he paid at the rate of one hundred and ten dollars an acre, but which in 1909 brought two hundred and twenty-five dollars, the banner price. In the latter '80s Mr. Lamont began the breeding of a high grade of Hereford cattle and in 1899 began to breed pure blooded animals entirely and has since devoted himself to that phase of the stock business. He has exhibited at the various fairs in Cambridge, Kewanee, Princeton, Aledo and Kankakee, winning first prize in each. He also exhibited at the state fair in Des Moines, Iowa, where his animals received fourth place. Ambitious and a man of executive ability, he has attained to a high place in the ranks of the agriculturists of his township. He has recently disposed of his farm here and contemplates retiring to the city of Geneseo, but he still retains possession of the two hundred and forty acres of arable land he owns in Clarke county, Iowa, and so will not soon lose his sense of relationship with the life to which the best years of his manhood have been devoted.

In Atkinson, March 19, 1872, Mr. Lamont wedded Miss Mary J. Pritchard, of Alba township. She was born in County Down, Grey Abbey, Ireland, and was eleven years of age when her parents, Henry and Mary (Boyd) Pritchard, came to America. The family were eleven days in crossing the ocean, and after reaching our shores located in Alba township, Henry county, Illinois. Mrs. Lamont was the ninth in order of birth in a family of ten children Horn to her father through his two marriages: William, died at Mitchellville, Iowa, leaving one child; James, lives in Oregon; Samuel, is a resident of Alha township; Henry, passed away, leaving six children ; Alex also died, leaving three children; Alice became the wife of John Pritchard and lives in Ireland on the old home place; Robert, is a resident of Geneseo and has four children; Hugh also lives in Geneseo and has two children; Mary is now Mrs. Lamont; and Sarah is the wife of Samuel McCullough and lives in Marne, Iowa, where she is rearing her six children.

Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lamont. Myrtle married Walter Cady, whose sketch appears in another part of this work. William H., married Miss Lavinia Hill and lives near Prophetstown, Whiteside county. They have three children : Lloyd, Irene and Millard. Alice Mabel became the wife of Clarence Arnett, of Whiteside county, and has a daughter, Alice M. May Ida died at the age of five years. Edwin Lloyd is at home, as is Maude Irene, the youngest of the family.

Mr. and Mrs. Lamont and their children are members of the Congregational church, of which he is a trustee. While he lived in Atkinson township and in Whiteside county he was for a number of years superintendent of Sunday schools. Politically he is a republican and a man deeply concerned for the public welfare, especially for the advancement of schools. For four terms he served as school director, while he was a resident of Atkinson township. In that period he served as assessor for two years, fulfilling his duties with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. While a citizen of Annawan, he joined the ranks of the Masons and is now a loyal member of Stewart lodge.

Samuel Mocroft

Samuel Mocroft, who is engaged in farming his fertile one hundred and sixty acres of rich Henry county land, is an excellent type of the agriculturist who has devoted his life to this line of business activity. All of his energies have been directed toward the improvement and development of his property, and he has succeeded in gleaning from his land a good annual income. He was born in 1850 on his present farm in Kewanee township and is a son of William and Jemima (Botcrell) Mocroft. The father was a native of England, who came to the United States in search of a broader field of endeavor for he was a Methodist minister as well as a farmer.

Samuel Mocroft's boyhood was spent upon the farm his father bought in Kewanee township, and he attended the school of his neighborhood, of which later he became school director and held that office for ten years, during which time he tried to advance its standard of excellence and yet at the time not run the district into any unnecessary expense.

In 1880 Mr. Mocroft married Mary Kirman, of Neponset, and they have had three children, as follows: George P., a farmer; and Fannie E. and Carrie May, both at home. In politics Mr. Mocroft is affiliated with the republican party, and he is interested in securing its success. He located on his father's homestead in 1876 and it is a satisfaction to him that this has always been his home and that his friends are those of a lifetime. By them he is respected and he is recognized as one of the good farmers of his township.

Daniel Snyder

Daniel Snyder, deceased, who was one of the best known men of Henry county and a true-hearted, loyal friend and kindly neighbor, was numbered among the pioneers of this part of the state, having come to the county in 185 1. He was born in Stromsburg, York county, Pennsylvania, December 15, 1824, and was one of ten children born to Michael and Ann Snyder. There were six sons and four daughters and in 1909 two sons and one daughter still survive.

In 1829, when he was five years old, Daniel Snyder's parents removed to Steubenville, Ohio, and there he attended the primitive school of the day during the winter months. The boys often played tricks upon their teacher but profited by his instruction. In 1845, Daniel Snyder, went to Coolville, Athens county, with his father, and there he was married February 24, 1847, to Margaret Collins, who passed away August 4, 1902, nearly five years before her husband, who died June 4, 1907, at the age of eighty-three years. Their children were six in number, as follows: Aurilla, born July 17, 1849, married James Beebe, and died October 9, 1908 ; Le Roy P. was born March 27, 1852 ; Rollin F., was born November 2^, 1854; Laura A., born November 9, 1856, married Robert Martin and died August 2, 1887; Charles E., was born July 3, 1859; and Franklin D., was born December 28, 1863.

On April i, 185 1, Mr. Snyder left Ohio for Illinois, and arrived here on the fifteenth of the same month. The journey was made down the Ohio river and up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, landing being made at Peoria. When he arrived there, he had only five dollars and he had borrowed it from his brother-in-law. A party of seven left immediately for Henry county, all but the women walking most of the way. They went direct to the home of William Collins, who had come to Henry county in 1850, and here they remained until Mr. Snyder built a house on his own land at the edge of the timber. This land he had purchased during the summer and was forty acres in extent, on the old State road in Burns township, still in possession of the family. He spent his first Christmas day in Illinois in the newly completed house and was thankful to get settled. That winter was bitterly cold, and the ink froze on his quill pen as he used it in writing. He rented a log cabin while building his house and paid thirty-seven cents for its use. The first Fourth of July in this state was spent by the neighbors in Coulter's timber east of Kewanee, near John Ladd's farm.

Mr. Snyder had many experiences and loved to dwell upon them as declining years gave him time for talking over pioneer days. One year he sold corn for ten cents per bushel, and at the close of the war he sold his hogs at fourteen dollars per hundredweight. He split the rails to fence his one hundred and sixty acre farm and later cross fenced his place with hedge. When he arrived in Henry county there were no roads and when they wanted to reach a certain point, they simply drove across the prairie in the direction it was supposed to be. Mr. Snyder hauled all the lumber he used in building his first house from Henry on the Illinois river, and all of the dry goods and groceries used by his family were purchased by him at the two little stores in Wethersfield. In the fall of 1854 he saw the first locomotive on the newly built Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. During all of the years between 185 1 and 1887, when he moved to the Vormouth place on the Cambridge road and built the house that remained his home until his demise, he followed his trade of carpentering with the exception of a few years in the '60s when he farmed. Between 1856 and i860 he built the schoolhouse known as the Bobtown school, where most of his children attended, this being the first in Kewanee township. Mr. Snyder cast his first presidential vote for Franklin Pierce, and he saw Lincoln, Grant, Hayes, McKinley and Roosevelt, while in the presidential chair and was an enthusiastic republican. He had the privilege of hearing the Lincoln- Douglas debate and well remembered the Swedish settlers passing through the township walking to Bishop Hill. One time he bought a cow with the understanding that he was not to pay for it until fall, but the man, needing money, came to collect, and so scarce was money that he gladly accepted the ten cents Mr. Snyder gave him, in part payment. This ten cents was all the money Mr. Snyder had at that time. For years he was known as "Uncle Dan" and was beloved by all M^ho knew him. Up to the time of his death he was in moderate health and could easily read common print with the aid of glasses. He never aspired to be a great man, but possessed simple tastes and those honest characteristics that were often found among the sturdy pioneers of Henry county when a man succeeded only through hard work and rigid economy.

William Albert Offeree

William Albert Offerle is well known as a member of the firm of Lager & Offerle, successful clothing merchants. He was born in this city, October I, 1872, and is a son of Albert F. and Caroline J. (Dannenfelser) Offerle, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Geneseo, Illinois, respectively. The paternal grandfather was George J. Ofiferle, who came to America from Alsace, which was then under the dominion of France, but the family was of German lineage and the members of the household spoke both the German and French languages. Having crossed the Atlantic, George J. Offerle settled in Warren, Pennsylvania, where he was married, the lady of his choice being Magdalene Reig. Both he and his wife died in Geneseo when more than sixty years of age. They had a family of nine children who reached mature years, namely: Albert; Lena, the wife of Philip Rapp; Edward, deceased; Frank; Belle; Anna, the wife of J. V. Laver; Louis; Freeman; and Hattie, the wife of C. E. Hapgood.

Tracing back the maternal ancestry of Mr. Offerle, it is found that he comes in that Hne from ancestors who hved in Lorraine, also one of the border provinces which at times has belonged to Germany and again to France. The grandfather was Frederick Dannenfelser, who cast in his lot with the early settlers of Phenix township, Henry county, Illinois. His original home there was built of logs and he lived in true frontier style but as the years passed he added good buildings to his place and improved it according to more modern methods. A number of years later he removed with his family to Geneseo where he died at the age of eighty-one years, while his wife passed away at the age of eightyfour. They had a large family, as follows: Jacob, deceased; WilHam; Elizabeth, the wife of John O. Freed; Fred; Christina, the wife of F. E. Gresser; Caroline J., the mother of our subject; and Julia, the wife of S. S. Ott.

Albert F. Offerle, the father of William A. Offerle, became a shoemaker in Warren, Pennsylvania, and when a young man accompanied his parents on their removal to Geneseo, where he continued to reside until the closing years of his life which were passed in Helena, Montana. He died in the '90s and is still survived by his wife. They belonged to the German Evangelical Association and their many substantial qualities won for them high regard wherever they were known. There were three children in the family and the youngen< son, Roy G. F., is represented elsewhere in this volume. Another son. Perry, died in infancy.

William A. Offerle was reared in Geneseo where he has made his home to the present time. The public schools afforded him his educational privileges until he had mastered the branches of learning therein taught and later he pursued a business course in Northwestern Normal. He then began clerking in the store of E. A. Cragin, spending little more than a year in that employ, after which he secured a clerkship in the clothing store of M. Nusbaum & Company in 1890. In 1893, he formed a partnership with Carl J. Lager and they purchased the business of Nusbaum & Company. In 1897 they erected what is known as the Lager & Offerle block, a fine brick structure in which they now carry on their clothing business. They have, however, two fine stores in Geneseo, one of them being conducted under the name of the Model, while the other is carried on under the firm style of Lager & Offerle. They are enterprising merchants whose business ability is manifest in the success which is attending their efforts, their patronage being extensive and desirable.

On the 1st of June, 1898, Mr. Offerle was united in marriage to Miss Lois J. Hall, a daughter of William H. and Naomi (Brush) Hall. There is one son of that marriage, Robert Hall Offerle. The parents are members of the Unitarian church and Mr. Offerle is prominent in Masonry, having attained high degree in the craft. He belongs to Stewart Lodge, No. 92, F. & A. M. ; Geneseo Chapter, No. 12, R. A. M. ; Rock Island Commandery, No. 18, K. T. ; and Kaaba Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine at Davenport.

His political endorsement is given to the republican party anH while he does not seek office he is interested in matters of citizenship to the extent of giving generous support to every measure or movement calculated to prove of public good. He has always lived in Geneseo and the fact that many of his stanchest friends are numbered among those who have known him from his boyhood to the present time is an indication of the fact that his life has displayed many sterling characteristics, being in conformity with the high principles of honorable manhood. A genial manner, unfailing courtesy and social disposition have also rendered him popular with all with whom he has been brought in contact.

Anson Calkins

Anson Calkins, deceased, who during the years of his activity was one of the farmers of Oxford township and the founder of the village of Alpha, was bom in Columbia county. New York, November 14, 181 8. His parents, Elijah and Philina (Coleman) Calkins, came to Illinois in 1856, after their son Anson had returned from this state to his old home to get them. They lived for a, time with him in Alpha and then went to live with a daughter, Mrs. Cyrus Robbins, in Knox county. There the father died in the spring of 1858, though his widow lived almost twenty years longer, her death occurring in August, 1878, at the home of her son in Alpha.

Anson Calkins came to Illinois in 1841 and two years later located in Oxford township, Henry county, where he purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land, on part of which the village of Alpha now stands. A carpenter by trade, he put up his own house, which is still standing, though it had been enlarged and remodeled. In 1847 he married and commenced farming, though he still followed his trade whenever there was demand for his services. He also established a nursery in connection with his agricultural interests, which was the first, and for many years the only one, in this part of the state. The venture proved successful, but as the responsibilities of his farm and stock increased, he was compelled to abandon it. With the foresight of the true man of business he invested heavily in land and at one time owned sufficient to be able to give each of his five surviving children a farm of two hundred acres, while he still retained a good sized tract of land for himself. But it is as the father and founder of the village of Alpha that he deserves to be remembered, for he had the ground surveyed and plotted and when the town was established he became very active in all of its aflfairs. Although on account of his age he could not enter the ranks of the Union army, he rendered his country just as efficient service by encouraging the younger men to enlist and by aiding the government in all possible ways. In short his life was one of wide-reaching activity, and when, on the 20th of July, 1895, he was released from the cares of this world he enjoyed the respect and confidence of all who knew him.

On the 20th of April, 1847, Mr. Calkins wedded Miss Hulda Griffin, a daughter of John and Mary (Hoag) Griffin. The father was a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, while his wife was born in Columbia county. New York. They were married in the latter state and then went to live in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, where their eight children, five sons and three daughters, were borni. In 1841 the family removed to Illinois, locating in Mercer county, at what was then known as Stewart's Corners but now has the name of Viola. There Mr. Griffin bought land and engaged in farming, but as he was in poor health most of the work devolved upon his sons, who were just entering manhood. He was a soldier in the war of 1812 and his son, Henry G. Griffin, fought on the Union side in the war of the Rebellion. During the progress of the latter war, although he was beyond the age limit, Henry G. Griffin enlisted in the One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and, being captured, was confined in Libby prison, at Macon, Georgia, and at Charleston, South Carolina, in all a period of sixteen months. Toward the close of the war he was liberated and as might be expected his return home was greeted with great rejoicing. But even then he did not resign himself to the arts of peace; on the contrary he rejoined his regiment and served throughout the remainder of the war with distinction, being mustered out with the rank of Heutenant.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Calkins began housekeeping on the farm on which the village of Alpha is now situated and in the house which Mr. Calkins had built and which is the homxC of his widow today, though it has been added to and improved as the years have gone by. Their union was blessed with ten children, only four of whom are living today. They were Myra P., deceased; Mary E., the wife of Ira K. Frankenburger, a farmer of Oxford township; James B., of Alpha; Lucia M., deceased; John F., a farmer of Oxford township; Owen L., deceased; Orlo E., deceased; Winfield, of Kinderhook, Illinois; Clarence,- deceased; and Newton, also deceased.

In politics Mr. Calkins was a whig and later became a republican when that party was organized. Active in public affairs, he from time to time served the township in various capacities, among which may be mentioned that of assessor and a member of the school board. He was a man whose word was his bond and none stood higher in the community, for he was always ready with his influence and support to aid all movements calculated to advance the best interests of the little village which he did so much to start on the road to a healthy growth. Widely known, he was also highly esteemed and when death called him he was deeply mourned as a citizen, a friend and a husband and father. In the cemetery in Oxford, where five of his children had previously been buried, his remains were laid to rest. He was seventy-seven years of age at the time. His widow still survives.

John F. Calkins

John F. Calkins, a son of the preceding and a farmer of Oxford township, was born in the house which is historic in the family annals, for it was the building erected by his father when he first located in this township, that in which he and his wife were married and went to housekeeping and which was his home during his lifetime and is still the home of his widow. The son was born on the ist of December, 1856, and spent his boyhood upon the home place. As he became able he assisted his father in the farm work and in the various industries in which the older man was interested. He completed the course of instruction given by the public school of his native village of Alpha, but on account of weakened eyesight was prevented from continuing with his education. He accordingly devoted himself to the work of the farm and in 1879, when he married, took up the pursuit of agriculture on his own account. He owns a farm of one hundred and seventy-two acres on the outskirts of the village of Alpha, and this has been his home and the scene of his labors for the last thirty years. It is well improved and under a high state ol cultivation. In connection with general farming, Mr. Calkins has also given his attention to the raising and feeding of stock and as he is progressive and enterprising, he has attained to a high degree of prosperity. The land is regarded as one of the choicest tracts of Oxford township, while the house, with its location and surroundings, is one of the most attractive in the neighborhood.

On the 28th of January, 1879, Mr. Calkins was united in marriage to Miss Elvira Elliott, who was born near Youngstown, Ohio, a daughter of Willard and Mary (Urmson) Elliott. The father was born in New Hampshire and the mother in Virginia. Mr. Elliott died when Mrs. Calkins was but four years old. In the course of years her mother married Charles Elliott, a brother o^ her former husband, and about 1867 the family came to Illinois, settling in Oxford township, Henry county. To Mr. and Mrs. Calkins have been born five daughters : Efiie A., the wife of Richard Timberlake, a farmer of Oxford township; Edna P., who lives at home; Mary H., who is the wife of Harry Stitt, of Kansas ; Stella and Frances W., who live at home. All of the children have been given the advantages of a good education, the older girls having graduated from the Alpha high school, which the youngest is still attending. Their home is one of generous hospitality, and the family are prominent in the social life of the village. Fond of music and good literature, with which they are abundantly supplied, they are also factors in the intellectual and cultured interests of the community. Mrs. Calkins and her daughters are members of the Baptist church, of which, though he is not a member, Mr. Calkins is a generous supporter. In his party affiliations he is a republican, although he is not an active participant in political affairs. He is yet ever interested in public matters and is well informed on national as well as local issues, and is regarded as a citizen of great public spirit whose influence is always given to progressive measures. Fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and, with his wife and daughter Edna, is a member of the Fraternal Tribune. A man of high worth and sterling integrity, he is widely respected and honored in the community in which he lives.