Henry County, Illinois - The whole text, 1910 (part 23 of 32)

Josephus S. Ellingsworth

Josephus S. Ellingsworth dates his residence in Illinois from 1850 and in Henry county from 1863. He is now a retired farmer of Geneseo, deriving his income from his landed interests, for he is still the owner of a valuable farm property in Colona township. He was born in Worcester county, Maryland, October 15, 1844, and is one of the six children of WiUiam and Zepporah

Mrs. Anson Calkins

(Evans) Ellingsworth. His paternal grandfather, Jacob EUingsworth, was a native of Delaware, whence he removed to Maryland where he died. In his familywere the following children: Minus, Elizabeth, Jennie, Henry, Jacob and William. The maternal grandfather of Air. Ellingsworth was William Evans, a native of Maryland and of Welsh descent. Both he and his wife, Mrs. Margaret Evans, died in Maryland. They had three daughters and two sons : William, James, Zepporah, Ellen and Nancy.

William Ellingsworth, the father of our subject, devoted his entire life to farming and in 1850 came to Illinois, settling in Rock Island county. The year 1863 witnessed his arrival in Henry county, at which time he took up his abode in Hanna township, where he purchased two hundred and forty acres of partially improved land. To that he added until his place comprised three hundred and twenty acres, but subsequently he sold the property and invested in one hundred and eighty acres in Loraine township. At length he sold that property and in his old age removed to Geneseo, where he Hied in 1886, having passed the eighty- fourth milestone on life's journey. For about twenty years he had survived his wife, who passed away at the age of fifty-six years in the faith of the. Methodist church, of which she was a devoted member. They were the parents of four sons and two daughters: Jacob Henry, now deceased; Eliza, the wife of H. C. Bartlett; Elizabeth, the deceased wife of Jacob Smith; William J.; Josephus S. ; and John L.

Josephus S. Ellingsworth was a little lad of but six summers when brought to Illinois by his parents and when a young man of nineteen years he came to Henry county. He was reared to the routine work of the farm, devoting the summer months to the labors of the field, while in the winter seasons he acquired his education in the district schools. He remained at home until he had attained his majority and then worked as a farm hand by the month for three years, after which he rented land which he cultivated for two years. In the meantime he carefully saved his earnings, after which he purchased one hundred and five acres of partially improved land in Hanna township. For a period he cultivated that property and then sold it and purchased three hundred and twenty acres in Colona township upon which he lived for ten years. This he still owns and from it derives a substantial annual income, but on the 4th of March, 1907, he put aside all the cares of the farm and removed to Geneseo where he purchased a fine home on Palace Row which he now occupies.

On the 13th of February, 1870, Mr. Ellingsworth was married to Mrs. Mary Hanna, the widow of Robert N. Hanna, and a daughter of Young and Lucy (Niver) Stokes. Mrs. Ellingsworth was born in Scott county, Iowa, and by her marriage has become the mother of five sons : Young Stokes, a farmer residing near Huron, South Dakota, married Lucy Burton and has one son, Allen R, ; Robert died at the age of four years as the result of an accident; Joseph, a practicing physician of Watertown, Illinois, wedded May Evans ; James Garfield, a resident farmer of Hanna township, married Emma Gerstner; and Archie M. is at home. Mrs. Ellingsworth had two children by her first marriage: Maude F., the wife of Edward M. Applegarth, and Frederick N., who resides in California.

In his political views Mr. Ellingsworth is a republican who gives stalwart support to the principles of his party. His fellow townsmen, appreciating his public-spirited citizenship, have called him to several local offices, the duties of which he has discharged with promptness and fidelity. He was tax collector and assessor for a number of terms, was school director and supervisor for a number of years, and justice of the peace for seventeen years. He belongs to Clement Lodge, No. 680, A. F. & A. M., of Colona, and Riverside Lodge, I. O. O. F., while both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. Their genuine worth is widely recognized by a wide circle of warm friends. Mr. Ellingsworth has lived in the county for forty-six years and during that period has achieved success which is the direct outcome of earnest, persistent labor and carefully formulated plans.

G. Elmer Messmore

This is the age of the young man, for the present generation, profiting by the experience of their forbears, are forging ahead and occupying the best positions everywhere. There is so much competition that each business line must be pushed to the utmost and new blood, youthful vigor is required to stand the strain. One of the young business men of Kewanee, who is proving how successful a man can become before he has much more than passed the quarter of a century milestone, is G. Elmer Messmore, who was bom here, November 15, 1882, a son of George W. and Mary E. (Miller) Messmore. The father, who was a native of Ohio, came to Kewanee in 1852 and for a number of years was a farmer of this locality but is now living retired. Further mention of him will be found elsewhere in this work.

The education of G. Elmer Messmore was secured in the country schools and the Geneseo Collegiate Institute. Until 1902 he was engaged in farming with his father but always felt that his abilities lay in the direction of a strictly business career and in that year he entered the employ of M. Roth as bookeeper and remained with him until April, 1909, when he bought an interest in the Home Tea Company and is now secretary and treasurer of the concern, John P. Thomas being the president. The company handles tea, coffee, china and package groceries and is in a flourishing condition that promises a prosperous future. The character of the men composing the company is such as to guarantee strict integrity of dealing and superiority of stock, and the people of Kewanee recognize this and are according the concern an excellent patronage. In addition to his interest in the Home Tea Company, Mr. Messmore is a director of the Kewanee Fair Association and he also devotes some of his time to the affairs of the Commercial Club, being one of its directors.

On July 23, 1905, occurred the marriage of Mr. Messmore and Miss Edith Besett, of Wyoming, Illinois, a daughter of Hiram and Eliza Besett. One child has been born of this marriage, Meredith Elmer.

The political affiliations of Mr. Messmore are with the republican party, but as yet his business duties have prevented his accepting any public fa- vors. Fraternally he is an Elk and belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men, of which he is chief of records, and also to the Tribe of Ben Hur, Exceedingly energetic, he goes into anything heart and soul and achieves success. For this reason he is very often called upon to take charge of various enterprises and has become very well known throughout Henry county, where his life has been spent.

Henry L. Kiner

Geneseo and Henry county know Henry L. Kiner as a representative citizen who, through forty years of his connection with the city, has displayed marked devotion to the general welfare as a public-spirited citizen. Throughout the county he is known as a journalist and writer who has won more than passing notice as a contributor to leading magazines. Mr. Kiner has reached the fiftyeighth milestone on life's journey, his birth having occurred on the ist of February, 1 85 1, at the foot of Mount Nemo in Schafer's Valley, Perry county, Pennsylvania. His parents, William and Margaret (Calhoun) Kiner, were also natives of the Keystone state.

The founder of the Kiner family in America settled on the James river in Virginia in 1625 and a large monument was there erected to his memory which may be seen to this day. He came to the new world from Germany and in later generations branches of the family took root in other states. Jacob Kiner, the grandfather of Henry L. Kiner, was a native of Pennsylvania where, in early manhood, he followed the occupation of farming. He married Jane Dill, and they moved westward to Illinois in 1854, but the broad prairies, then comparatively uninhabited, brought to this mountain-bred couple a feeling of loneliness and they returned to Pennsylvania, spending their last days in Perry county, near Harrisburg, where both died at an advanced age. Jacob Kiner was a famous rifie shot and served in the War of 181 2 with the rank of captain.

William Kiner, one of a large family of children, was reared in Pennsylvania, where he learned and followed the blacksmith's trade. After attaining his majority he married Margaret Calhoun, a daughter of John Calhoun, who was born in Pennsylvania and was of Irish descent, his ancestors coming to this country from County Tyrone, Ireland, at which time settlement was made in Perry county, Pennsylvania. John Calhoun was a carpenter by trade, being closely associated with building interests in the community in which he lived. He wedded Peggy Ann Dill, and they reared a good-sized family at their home in Schafer's Valley, where they passed away when well advanced in years.

Some time subsequent to their marriage Mr. and Mrs. William Kiner removed westward with their family, taking up their abode in Ottawa, Lasalle county, Illinois, on the present site of the Clifton Hotel, on the bank of the Fox river, in 1854. Subsequently they took up their abode in Otter Creek township in that county, where Mr. Kiner engaged in farming and continued to work at his trade. In 1864 he removed to Grundy county, Illinois, where he died in 1865 at the age of thirty-eight years. His widow long survived him, passing away in Geneseo in 1900, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. Both were mem- bers of the Methodist church, and were consistent Christian people who enjoyed the respect of all with whom they came in contact. They were parents of two sons, the younger being Samuel R. Kiner, who died in Washington, D. C, where he had been in the employ of the government for a quarter of a century.

Henry L. Kiner, the older brother, was but three years of age when his parents removed to Lasalle county, where he was reared until 1864, after which he resided in Grundy county for five years, or until 1869, when he came to Geneseo, where he has since made his home. While spending his youthful days on his father's farm he attended the district school and later benefited by academical instruction in Farm Ridge Seminary, in Lasalle county, Illinois. He made his initial step in the business world as an apprentice in the drug store of J. B. Moderwell in Geneseo in 1869, and continued in the drug trade until 1874. In January of that year he formed a partnership with John Christian and established the Henry County News, the business association continuing for four years, when Mr. Kiner purchased Mr. Christian's interest in the plant and changed the name of the paper to the Geneseo News, which he continued to edit and publish for twenty-four years longer. Mr. Kiner established an enviable reputation by his editorial pen, his writings being widely quoted throughout the United States. They are characterized by a whimsical and humorous style which, nevertheless, enforces the truth of fact which he intends to convey. For a number of years he has also been a contributor to several of the popular and leading magazines of the country, and is today one of the best known men in Henry county, his mental activity constituting a far-reaching influence.

Aside from the field of journalism Mr. Kiner has done effective work in the line of municipal progress, having been elected to serve four terms as mayor of the city of Geneseo, his last term expiring in April, 1909, when he retired from office as he had entered it - with the confidence and good will of the great majority, having given to the city during four terms a businesslike administration characterized by needed reform and substantial progress.

On the 7th of June, 1881, Mr. Kiner was married in St. Louis to Miss June Howard, a daughter of Abel and Mary Ella (Hopple) Howard. They have two children: Henry Clyde, a student in the civil engineering department of the University of Illinois, and Howard Dickens, attending the Geneseo high school. Mrs. Kiner holds membership in the Congregational church, and his political allegiance has been given to the republican party. Because of his business activity, his official service, his social qualities and his unfaltering devotion to the general good, he has become widely known, while in Geneseo and Henry county those who do not call him friend would scarcely figure in the census.

George W. Messmore

George W. Messmore, one of the substantial retired farmers of Wethersfield, who after years of patient endeavor and successful effort is now enjoying well earned repose, is a native of Ohio, having been born in Wayne county, that state, in 1842, a son of Jacob and Margaret Messmore. The father was a farmer, who came to Henry county, Illinois, in 1852 and bought a farm in Kewanee township, thus establishing the Messmore family in this locality, which remained his home until his demise.

In the days when George W. Messmore grew up in Kewanee township, the educational advantages offered were limited and of a poor quahty but he made the most of his advantages and has never ceased to add to his store of knowledge. He farmed for his father until he attained to his majority and for eleven years thereafter, when he bought eighty acres for himself. Subsequently he added forty acres to his property and still later thirty-six acres. After making some improvements, Mr. Messmore sold this farm and bought his homestead of one hundred and ten acres, to which he added seventy acres, and this property he and his son farmed until 1902, when he felt that he deserved some rest and so sold out and retired to Wethersfield.

In January, 1864, Mr. Messmore married Miss Mary E. Miller, who was born in Peru, Illinois, a daughter of William and Rachel H. (Hall) Miller, farming people. One son, G. Elmer, was born of this union. Mr. Messmore is a man of simple tastes, a lover of his home and one who has never sought office. He is connected with the United Brethren church and is a firm believer in the faith of that denomination. All his life he has sought to do his duty by his family and his community in his own, quiet way, and his success in life can easily be attributed to his unflinching honesty and his careful attention to his work whatever it might be. It is such men as he who constitute the real backbone of the nation and make it what it is today, the most powerful and wealthy in the world.

Ernst Schlunzen

Ernst Schlunzen, a farmer and stockman whose home is on section 13, Osco township, was bom in Holstein, Germany, January 31, 1836, a son of Klaus Schlunzen. His mother died when he was but four years old and only the dimmest memories connect her with his life. He received a good education in his native land and at the age of seventeen began making his own living. He was early inspired with the desire to come to the United States, but out of regard to his father's wishes he remained in Germany until he was thirty-six, when the death of the latter made it possible for him to emigrate. In 1872 he embarked on a steamer, which took seventeen days to cross the ocean, and landed in New York with one hundred dollars in his pocket. He came to Illinois almost immediately and worked on different farms in Henry county. In two years he had saved enough to enable him to rent a tract of land and he forthwith wrote to the woman he had loved and courted in the old country to come here and marry him. For about twenty-four years he operated the Thomas Liken farm and then, in 1899, through diligence and economy, having accumulated a sufficient sum he made the first payment upon the farm on which he lives today. It is a tract of one hundred and forty acres, for which he paid sixty-two dollars an acre, and is now well improved. Mr. Schlunzen has re-

In Geneseo, on the 6th of June, 1875, he married Miss Ida Schlunzen, who, although not a relative of her husband, was bom in the same neighborhood. Four children have been born to them : Sophie, who married William Schiedel and lives in Fairfield, Iowa, the mother of four children; John H., who lives with his father at home; and Dorothea and Henry, who also live at home. Mrs. Schlunzen passed away September 8, 1897. Although a naturalized citizen of this republic Mr. Schlunzen has not seen fit to give his political influence to any one party, but retains his independence and takes a full view of the situation before he casts his vote. He has never sought public office.

George Otis Withrow

George Otis Withrow, a farmer who has engaged extensively in raising, feeding and shipping stock, lives at what is known as Valley Farm, on section I, Hanna township, and owns one hundred and sixty acres in addition onsection 2. He was born November 4, 1870, in Phenix township, in the old brick house which was erected by his father, J. W. Withrow, whose sketch appears in another part of this volume. He was only six months old when his parents removed to the place which is now his home. Here he grew to manhood, receiving a fair education in the public schools. Until he attained his majority he worked on the farm for his father, but when twenty-one years of age he assumed charge of a part of his father's land. For about a year after his marriage, which occurred in 1892, he lived in a Httle frame house on that part of the homestead and then removed to the main farm, which he managed until the fall of 1900. Then he bought the one hundred and sixty acres he now owns on section 2, Hanna township, and for six years made it his place of residence. During that period he made a number of important improvements, such as in 1901 building a fine barn and a little later putting up a corn crib, and doing other things of like character. In 1906 he returned to the home place, where he has since resided. Here he follows general farming but has given his attention particularly to the stock business, in which he has been very successful, shipping many head of fine cattle to market annually.

On the 2ist of September, 1892, in Phenix township, Mr. Withrow was united in marriage to Miss Florence May Fuller, a native of Hanna township, and a daughter of T. Dexter and Josephine (Mann) Fuller. Five children have been born to them: Otis Dexter, Ethel Arvilla May, Charles Raymond, John Wesley and Albert Mann. The last did not survive the period of infancy.

Mr. Withrow is a republican in his political views, and has played no inconsiderable part in local affairs, for not only has he held several offices within the gift of the people, but while he has been a public servant numerous changes of moment have been inaugurated. After having served as road commissioner for one term he was made supervisor of the township. During his term the board employed an accountant to go over the county books, which led to the installa- tion of a new system of accounts, for though no intentional fraud was discovered there were several discrepancies and inaccuracies. While supervisor, Mr. Withrow was also a member of the educational commission and advocated the installation of a heating plant which his brother vigorously opposed. Upon the expiration of his term as supervisor he was appointed road commissioner, a position he holds to the present. In camp No. 40, M. W. A., Mr. Withrow finds relaxation from his daily cares in the congenial society of his friends, and in the Methodist Episcopal church, in which both he and his wife were reared, he finds the necessary spiritual guidance. A successful farmer and stockman, he is also a loyal friend and a good citizen, who enjoys the respect of his fellowmen.

Peter Vogler

For many years, until a serious accident made work impossible, Peter Vogler was one of the active farmers of Osco township. He was born in Rapids City, Rock Island county, Illinois, November 29, 1856, and was a son of George and Agnes (Sauers) Vogler, both natives of Germany. The father was born in 1 82 1 and came to America when a very young man, settling in Rapids City, where for a time he followed the trade of a cooper, in which he was proficient, and then devoted himself to the cultivation of the soil. He died in 1898, while his wife, who had been born in 1830 lived until 1906, when she too passed away and was buried in the cemetery at Rapids City. They were members of the Catholic church and reared a family of ten children, eight of whom are living: Peter, of this sketch; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Leander Payer, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Gertrude, who married Jacob Scheib and lives in Rapids City; Mary, who is the wife of John Yost and also resides in Rapids City; George, who lives in Munson township, Henry county ; Charles and Will, twins, the former a resident of Rapids City, the latter of East Moline, Illinois; and Catherine, who is the wife of Hal Adams, of Rapids City, Illinois.

Peter Vogler attended school in Rapids City and after completing his education remained with his parents until 1879, when he started in life for himself on a rented farm in Osco township, Henry county. On this he lived and worked until 1895, when he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in that township. As opportunity afforded he added to the improvements and was considered a very successful agriculturist and stockman until November 8, 1900, when he was the victim of a serious accident. While he was running a corn shredder he became entangled in the machinery and had both arms so badly lacerated that amputation was necessary. This of course made active participation in the work of the farm impossible for him, but with the courage bom of misfortune his wife and her children undertook to conduct the affairs at home. Circumstances prospered so well that in 1907 they were able to move to the city of Geneseo, taking up their residence in a comfortable house on Stewart street.

. On the 26th of August, 1878, Mr. Volger wedded Miss Mary Yost, who was born in Hampton township, Rock Island county, Illinois, in 1862. Her father, Solomon Yost, was born in Pennsylvania in 1829 or 1830, and came tO' Illinois in his early years. Here he followed farming until 1874, when he was killed in the woods by a tree falling upon him. His wife, who was Miss Margaret Weigant in her maidenhood, was born in 1837 and lives in the old house in Rock Island county in which all but one of her eight children were bom. Five of these are now living: John, of Rapids City; Julia, the wife of DeWitt Cunningham, who lives in Kansas; Mary, now Mrs. Vogler; Rebecca, who, unmarried, lives with her mother; Eliza, who is the wife of Christian Wildermuth of Hampton township, Rock Island county.

Mr. and Mrs. Vogler have had seven children, four of whom are living: Glenn, born December 18, 1879, lives in Geneseo. He married Miss Emma Newman and they have one daughter, Viola. Bert, born August 9, 1881, is unmarried and lives in Osco township. Margaret, born March 23, 1884, is the wife of Theo Schmall and lives on the father's place in Osco township with her brother Bert. Alice, bom August 15, 1896, attends school in Geneseo.

Mr. Vogler has always been a stanch democrat in his political views, but has never sought office of any kind. Though so helpless that he can do nothing but read and travel from place to place he is yet cheerful in a high degree, being grateful that his life was spared to him. His wife and daughter have been such a comfort to him in his affliction. He can eat without assistance, for the fork can be fitted into his stump. Mrs. Vogler, who has borne her husband's misfortune with such fortitude, is a woman of great courage, ambition and will power. She is com.pelled to be in almost constant attendance upon him, but she too sets an example of patience and cheerfulness, virtues which are strongly in evidence in their little home.

Elmer Warren Smith

Elmer Warren Smith, manager of the Kewanee Light & Power Company and one of the most progressive young business men of the city, is a product of the farm, having been born in Galva township, April 22, 1872, and reared upon his father's place. He is a son of Warren B. and Mira (Smith) Smith, farming people. The father died in 1900, but the mother survives and makes her home in Kewanee.

Mr. Smith was educated in the schools of Galva and when nineteen years of age came to Kewanee, where he entered the employ of what was then known as the Kewanee Electric Light & Motor Company as fireman. So proficient was he, that promotion followed rapidly and the young man was advanced through all the various positions until he is now its manager. He has effected some remarkable changes, completely revolutionizing the plant and methods. When he entered the estabHshment the capacity was less than one hundred kilowatts. but it is now twelve hundred kilowatts. Even the name has been changed to the Kewanee Light & Power Company, and the plant includes the lighting, gas and electric, power and steam heating as well as the manufacture of ice. The company furnish more then fifty buildings with artificial heat in the business district, supplying about forty-five thousand feet of radiation. The entire develop- ment of this plant is due to the efforts of Mr. Smith after he became manager, and to him is due the credit of estabHshing the heating and ice-manufacturing plants. The latter was established in response to a demand on the part of the people of Kewanee in 1906 and it has a capacity of thirty-five tons per day and in addition to the trade in Kewanee, five small towns are also supplied with the product of this plant. Mr. Smith is a director of the company and has been for some years. The people of Kewanee cannot give him too much credit for the business foresight and keen appreciation of possibilities which have resulted in the upbuilding of this company, which not only affords luxuries at low prices but gives employment to a number of men and thus increases the commercial activity of the city.

On December 4, 1902, Mr. Smith married Miss Katie Woolley, of Wyoming, Illinois, a daughter of the Rev. William Woolley, pastor of the Methodist church. Two sons have been born to them: Ormond Thomas and Morris Walter.

Mr. Smith belongs to the Illinois Electric Association, of which he is now president; is a member of the Illinois Gas Association and the National Gas Association, which connections he finds of value in his business. He also belongs to the Commercial Club, of which he is recording secretary; to the Kewanee Club ; and fraternally he is a member of the Elks and the Masonic order. Prominent alike in business, social and public affairs, he is a citizen at once popular and useful, filling with credit to himself and with satisfaction to others the multiform duties and obligations imposed upon his willing shoulders by those who recognize his talents and abilities and who appreciate what he has done for the community and for private investors.

Charles Clinton Miller

Charles Clinton Miller, a farmer on section 31, Galva township, Henry county, Illinois, was born in West Middlesex, Pennsylvania, June 11, 1857, and is a son of James and Henrietta (Kemp) Miller. His paternal grandmother died at the age of ninety years. The grandparents on the mother's side, Isaac and Elizabeth (Bonham) Kemp, died in middle life. The former was a native of Maryland and a shoemaker by trade. James Miller, the father of Charles Clinton Miller, was born in Pennsylvania and learned the carpenter's trade. In 1863 he came to Illinois, settling first in Hickory Grove but coming the next year to section 31, Galva township, Henry county. Here he farmed and followed his trade, and on the farm his son now owns passed away in his seventythird year. His wife was a native of Maryland and survived her husband a number of years, her death occurring in 1904 at the age of seyenty-eight. Both Mr. Miller and his wife were strong adherents of the Methodist church. He was school director and road overseer in the years of his activity and occupied a prominent place in the greenback party. Five children were born to them, three sons and two daughters : Mary, who died young ; Charles Clinton ; John ; Myra, who married Fred Keeler ; and Reuben, who died at the age of six years.

Mr. Miller has made Galva township his home during all his life. Reared to the work and hardships of the farm, he attended the district school near his home, and then the public school of Galva. Until he reached manhood the paternal farm was his home, but on attaining his majority he started out for himself. For the first few years he rented land and then he removed to the farm of one hundred and five acres he had inherited from his mother. This was but a part of a larger tract of two hundred and sixty-five acres which she had received as a gift from her uncle James M. Bonham. The inherited farm has been Mr. Miller's home to this day, and from it he has gained a comfortable competence.

On the 5th of March, 1884, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Harriet McDowell, a daughter of William and Caroline (McCoy) McDowell. By birth and ancestry Mrs. Miller belongs to Pennsylvania. Her paternal grandfather, James McDowell, was a native of that state, followed farming, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Miss Sarah Brandon and they had the following children: William B., Jane, Nancy, Henderson, Thomas, Sarah, David and James. Mrs. Miller's maternal grandfather was John McCoy, also a farmer of Pennsylvania, who married Miss Elizabeth Mouer, and they had six children : DeWitt Clinton, Jacob Theodore, Winfield Scott, Caroline Emily, Ellen, and one who died in infancy. John McCoy died in middle life, but his wife lived to a ripe old age. Mrs. Miller's parents were also born in Pennsylvania and came to Illinois in 1876, taking up their residence near Victoria, Knox county. There the mother died December 12, 1895, at the age of sixty-five years, while the father survived until May 26, 1907, when he died in his eighty-ninth year. Seven children were born to them: DeWitt Clinton; Harriet E. ; William W. ; Edwin T. ; Eva C, the wife of John Mackey ; and two who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Miller's own family consists of four children: Clyde C, Edwin W., Henrietta C, and Charles Linn. The first born is a barber and farmer. The second son is employed in the Hayes Pump & Planter Company works. He married Miss Florence Dunn.

Mr. Miller enjoys pleasant fraternal relations with Galva Lodge, No. 243, A. F. & A. M., and politically affiliates with the republican party. He has not, however, sought public preferment, though for a period of eight years he served as a member of the school board, during which time he proved to his fellow citizens that he was man who had their best interests at heart.

Howard Alfred Pillsbury

Howard Alfred Pillsbury is now living retired in Cambridge. He was for a long period associated with mercantile interests as a traveling salesman but now gives his attention only to the supervison of his farming interests which include three hundred and sixty acres of land in Andover township - a district in which the family name has been known and honored since the early '30s. Numbered among Henry county's native sons, Mr. Pillsbury was born in Andover township, February 29, 1856. His parents were Levi and Pauline (White- head) Pillsbury, natives of New York and of England, respectively. The former was a son of Caleb Pillsbury, a native of New Hampshire, who removed thence to St. Lawrence county, New York, settling in the vicinity of Pottsdam, where he lived for five or six years. He arrived in Henry county, Illinois, in 1836 and died of fever in 1838. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Miss Underbill, passed away in the early '60s. They were the parents of three sons and a daughter : Almira, the wife of William Clark ; George B. ; Levi ; and Ithamar. The maternal grandfather of Howard A. Pillsbury was born in England and after coming to this country was for a time a reporter on the Nev/ York paper published by James Gordon Bennett. He was, however, a lawyer by profession and practiced for a time at Kaskaskia, Illinois. Returning to his native land he there spent his remaining days, passing away when well advanced in years. His first wife, who was Miss Ellen Rattclifi', died in St. Louis, Missouri, leaving two daughters: Pauline, who became Mrs. Pillsbury; and Tillie, who married Lemuel Smith, a son of the once famous actor, Sol Smith, for whom Sol Smith Russell, later equally famous on the stage, was named.

Levi Pillsbury followed the occupation of farming and, seeking the opportunities of the middle west, became one of the pioneers of Henry county, settling in Andover township, where his uncle. Rev. Ithamar Pillsbury, had taken up government land. Levi Pillsbury became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres in Andover township, where he was reared to manhood from a youth of fifteen years. His father lived in Linn Grove for many years. After the marriage of Levi Pillsbury his uncle Ithamar placed him upon a farm in Andover township. This uncle was a very prominent factor in the early life of the middle west, organizing the first Presbyterian church in Burlington, Iowa, in Princeton, Illinois, and in Andover township. He took up large tracts of land which he deeded to the colonists who settled this part of the state and he was instrumental in naming the townships. Following his marriage Levi Pillsbury remained a resident of Andover township until two or three years prior to his death when he removed to Cambridge, where he passed away January 17, 1887, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife died in 1904 at the advanced age of eighty-three years. They were the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters, namely : Ellen, the wife of Charles Cleland, of Portland, Oregon ; Silas W., of Monmouth. Illinois; Lemuel Franklin, of Morgan Park, Chicago; Howard A., of Andover; and Ida, the wife of Charles A. Westerfield, of Omaha, Nebraska.

Howard A. Pillsbury was reared in Andover township on his father's farm and liberal educational privileges were afforded him, for, after attending the village school of Andover and the private school of Professor Waldo in Geneseo, he became a student in the Geneseo Seminary. He then began traveling on the road for Randall Hall & Company of Chicago, representing that house for three years, after which he engaged with the Pattee Plow Company of Monmouth, Illinois, as state agent for Texas. He conducted the business of the firm, as Texas agent for seven years, after which he entered into business relations with Church & Company of New York, traveling for that house in California and the west for three years. Since that time he has been giving his at- tention to the management of his farming interests, being the owner of three hundred and sixty acres of valuable land in Andover township. From this property he derives a substantial annual income, supplying him with all of the comforts of life.

On the ist of October, 1896, Mr. Pillsbury was married to Miss Annie Duer, a daughter of John and Rachel (Townsend) Duer, and a native of Monmouth, Illinois. Mrs. Pillsbury is a graduate of Monmouth College, and after her graduation she taught for several years in the public schools of Monmouth, Illinois. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, while her mother was a native of Ohio. John S. Duer was a farmer by occupation and became one of the early settlers of Monmouth, Illinois, where both he and his wife died. The latter was a daughter of John Ferris and Annie (Watson) Townsend, the former a native of Ohio and a member of the Society of Friends or Quakers. The death of Mr. Duer occurred in Monmouth in the fall of 1881 when he was sixty-eight years of age, while his wife survived until 1893, passing away at the age of seventy-five. They were the parents of seven children : Alice ; Lucy, deceased ; Harry ; William ; Thomas ; Margaret, the wife of W. J. Bulkley of Cleveland, Ohio; and Annie, now Mrs. Pillsbury.

In his fraternal relations Mr. Pillsbury is a Mason, holding membership in Cambridge Lodge, No. 49, A. F. & A. M., while in Peoria Consistory he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He has also crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of Mohammed Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Peoria. His political allegiance is given to the democracy, but he has never sought nor desired office. He has, however, served as school trustee of Andover township and is interested in education and all that pertains to the best interests of the community. He possesses the qualities that are always found in the successful traveling salesman - ready adaptability, geniality and a cordial social nature that have rendered him popular with his fellowmen. He has made an excellent record in connection with the various phases of life which his activities have touched and fully merits the rest which he is now enjoying.

Thomas R. Stokes

In studying the lives and characters of prominent men naturally the question arises as to the secret of their success. It is interesting to those who' are still struggling along the path these captains of industry have already trod to know just what helps they secured and to what they attribute their arriving at their desired goal. One of the men who has been closely associated with the development of the industrial interests of Kewanee and who has attained to an enviable prominence, although not yet past the very prime of life, is Thomas R. Stokes, general superintendent of the gigantic concern known as the Boss Manufacturing Company, of Kewanee.

Mr. Stokes is a native of Kewanee, having been born here, October 11, 1873, a son of Robert W. and Matilda (Gunning) Stokes, the former a railroad man. Thomas R. Stokes was educated in Kewanee and received his initial business training as an office boy in the concern with which he now occupies so prominent a position. From the very first he displayed unusual ability and this was recognized and the lad was soon promoted to shipping clerk. After this his advancement was rapid, for he was placed in charge of the manufacturing of husking gloves for his company, and later was made superintendent of the Kewanee plant. So thorough was he and so completely did he absorb details and so absolute was his command of the business that he was eventually made general superintendent of all the plants and still holds that responsible position.

Mr. Stokes is a member of the Commercial Club; is a thirty-second-degree Mason and a Mystic Shriner, belonging to Medinah Temple of Chicago; and a member of the Anthony Wayne Club, of Fort Wayne, Indiana. His religious affiliations are with the Episcopal church, of which he is senior warden. In all of these social and fraternal relations he displays that complete knowledge of the matter in hand which has advanced him in the business world.

In addition to his other interests, Mr. Stokes is president of the Kewanee Sanitary Supply Company and was one of the originators of this concern. The secret of his success lies undoubtedly in his faithful attention to duty and his never ceasing desire to reach out for more work. When he entered the company as an office boy he was not content with merely performing the duties assigned him but kept adding to his knowledge and increasing his scope of usefulness, and as his superiors were on the outlook for just such men his ability has received the recognition it deserves.

Frank E. Edwards

Frank E. Edwards, who as postmaster delivers the mail to the residents of Green River, Colona township, Henry county, Illinois, is also proprietor of a general store of the town and in the capacity of teacher became known to a large number of the citizens of Henry county. He was born in Hanna township, this county, February 19, 1865, and is a son of Ebenezer and Sarah J. (Ballard) Edwards. The father, who was of Welsh birth, came to America when about sixteen years of age. He made his way to Trumbull county, Ohio, where he obtained employment and where he met the woman who later became his wife and the mother of his children. She was born and reared in that county, and for several years after their union the couple continued their residence there, Mr. Edwards having a position in the coal mines. In 1854 he came with his family to Illinois and after thoroughly looking over the land bought a farm of eighty acres in Hanna township, Henry county. It was an unimproved tract at the time of the purchase, but before he died several buildings and well tilled fields were in evidence as proof of his industry and good management. On it he passed away at about seventy-six years of age.

Frank E. Edwards was the sixth in order of birth in a family of nine children. The days of his boyhood were passed on the home farm, and his education was derived from the district school. He was singularly fond of his lessons, and upon completing the prescribed course of study engaged in teaching although but nineteen years of age. After one year's experience in that line he attended the Normal School at Normal, Illinois, for one year and then resumed his profession, to which he devoted himself for nine years in Henry county. In 1892 he bought the business he now conducts, though for the nextthree years he did not wholly give up his work as a teacher but taught in the district schools. In the fifteen years that he has been one of Green River's business men, he has been very successful. With the patrons of his predecessor as a foundation he has built up a large trade. An agreeable personality wins him customers, but a well stocked store and a constant endeavor to please those who rely upon him retains both the old and the new.

Subsequent to his entrance into the commercial world Mr. Edwards married. Miss Ella C. Cain was the woman of his choice, and the ceremony that united them in wedlock was performed in the city of Geneseo, January 4, 1893. At the time of their marriage Mrs. Edwards' home was in Colona village, which was the place of her birth, as the daughter of Patrick and Mary (LeHeigh) Cain. To Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have been born three children : Alice Lillian, a senior in the Geneseo Collegiate Institute, who looks forward to graduating with the class of 1910; Frank L. ; and Thomas Clyde.

Mr. Edwards has ever evinced an active interest in public and political matters and has accepted offices with which the republican voters of Colona township have honored him, having served for several terms as' town clerk and as assessor. In these as in his administration of his duties as postmaster Mr. Edwards has proved his earnestness and his devotion to the welfare of the people of the village and township. Fraternally he enjoys relations with two organizations, that of the Odd Fellows, in which he has held the position of chaplain, and is also a member of the Modem Woodmen of America.

John W. Romig

John W. Romig, who has passed the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey, is a practical, progressive and enterprising farmer, who owns two hundred and forty acres in Cornwall township, on which he lives. He was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, October 16, 1834, and is a son of Gabriel and Fannie (Baltzly) Romig. In 1854 the parents sold their place in Ohio and drove across the country to Henry county, Illinois, where the father secured one hundred and sixty acres which are now included in his son's holdings. The land had not then been broken, however, and there were only two other families in the locality, that of Deacon Hayden, on section 26, Cornwall township, and that of Robert Clement, on section 25, for the agricultural possibilities of this part of the state were just being discovered. Gabriel Romig, with the assistance of his sons prepared his land for cultivation, built thereon a board house, and there lived the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1876. His wife survived until 1889, when she too was called to her final rest. The last years of their lives they spent in the home of their son John W. Romig, who cared for them with filial tenderness. They were the parents of eight children, namely : Lucinda, who is the widow of Nelson Parish and lives in Atkinson; David, who married and removed to Oklahoma; Sarah, who became the wife of Lewis Hunt and died leaving three children ; Daniel, who died at the age of sixteen years ; Elias, who resides in Lyons, Kansas ; John W., who is the subject of this review; Mary, who is the wife of John Ranft and lives in Annawan township ; and Hester, who married John Schwab and lives in Cherokee county, Kansas.

Reared upon the paternal farm in Ohio, John W. Romig received a fair education in the district school near his home. When his parents came to Illinois he accompanied them, assisting in breaking the soil and experiencing the hardships of those early years. He was busily employed in general farm work until the inauguration of the Civil war, when he responded to the call for troops and enlisted as a private in Company I, Twenty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, The regiment was sent to Camp Butler, Springfield, Illinois, later to Cairo, and finally south, where they participated in the engagements at Belmont, Island No. lo, the sieges of Corinth and Nashville, and in the battles at Murfreesboro, or Stone River, and Chickamauga. In the last mentioned engagement Mr. Romig was wounded and carried the ball for nine months, seeing in consequence a great deal of hospital life, for he was sent first to the hospital at Stevens, Alabama, thence to Nashville, and later to Louisville, Kentucky, and to Madison, Indiana, where the ball came out from the suppuration of the wound. Subsequently he was sent to Quincy, Illinois, and finally to Springfield, where he received his honorable discharge September 3, 1864.

Upon leaving the army Mr. Romig returned to his home in Cornwall township and has since devoted himself to farming. His father deeded him forty acres of land, on which he built a good house where his parents lived until their death, and later he himself bought forty acres of land for ten dollars an acre, selling it afterward for twenty-five dollars. Several years subsequently, however, he bought back that tract, paying sixty dollars an acre for it, while now it is worth one hundred and fifty dollars. ]\Ir. Romig's next purchase was eighty acres for which he paid thirty-seven dollars and a half an acre. Later he added forty acres, at fifty dollars an acre, and finally another forty acres, so that now he has a farm of two hundred and forty acres all in one body and lying partly on section 36 and partly on section 25, Cornwall township. On the last addition to his property he built the commodious house in which he is now living. But he also owns one hundred and twenty acres on sections 26 and 27, Atkinson township, and a block and residence in the village of Atkinson, this property being the visible evidence of his life of thrift, industry and careful management.

On the 20th of December, 1892, in Plattsburg, Missouri, Mr. Romig was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Anderson, who was bom in Rochester, Northumberland, England, October 18, i860, her parents being William and Jane (Rutherford) Anderson. She was five years of age when her father died and was ten years of age when she came to America with her mother. They settled first in Stark county, Illinois, where her mother died and later Mrs. Romig came to Cornwall township, Henry county, where Mr. Romig made her acquaintance. She received a good common-school education. Mr. and Mrs. Romig have two sons: John W. who was born July 10, 1897, and Thomas E., February 12, 1900.

Mr, Romig cast his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln in i860, and until 1884 was a stalwart champion of the republican party. Since that date, however, he has given his support to the prohibitionists, as he believes thoroughly in the crusade against the Hquor traffic they have inaugurated. But he is not a man who seeks for office in return for party fealty, although he is never remiss in any of the duties of citizenship. At an age when many men put aside the heavier cares and retire he continued to till his fields and derive from them rich harvests, but as his success is the result of his own unabating efiforts he enjoys the esteem of a large circle of acquaintances, who know him to be a man of genuine personal worth and upright and honorable life.

John Woodbury

John Woodbury, a farmer and stock raiser of Henry county, owns one hundred and forty-four acres of land on section 8, Edford township, and though not a native of this state he has since early youth been identified with its farming interests. He was born in the city of Davenport, Iowa, April 8, i860, and is the son of Daniel and Minerva (Curtis) Woodbury. Both parents were of eastern nativity, the father having been born in Jefferson county, New York, January 26, 1825, the mother in Syracuse, New York, February 26, of the same year. They became acquainted, however, in Gelena, Illinois, and there were married. By occupation the father was a farmer. From Galena, he removed to Davenport, Iowa, and then after a short residence there, returned to Illinois, settling upon a farm he had purchased in Rock Island county. For about twelve years that remained his home, and then, upon selling the farm, he went to Nebraska. The change was made with the intention of making that state his home, but the same year he returned to Illinois and again he took a farm in Rock Island county, which his son John helped to cultivate, and he engaged in coal mining at Moline Bluffs as well, continuing in this work for about ten years. In 1883 he bought one hundred and sixty acres in Edford township, Henry county, on part of which his son now lives, improved it extensively and passed the remainder of his days there. He had a family of five children: Emma, the wife of Peter Gully, of Moline; John, of this sketch; Sophia, who married Joseph Donald and lives in Moline; Fannie M., who married Joseph Dopier and lives at Moline Bluffs ; and Minnie, who married Calvin Llewellyn, a resident of Edford township. During his life Daniel Woodbury gave his support in political matters to the republican party.

As a farmer's boy John Woodbury received only a limited education in the district schools. He was three years of age when his parents removed from Davenport to Illinois, and about sixteen when they sought their fortunes on the prairies of Nebraska. During all his youth, he helped his father either on the farm or in the coal mines, and even after he had attained his majority he remained with the older man, assisting him in whatever way lay in his power. Of course in later years the union of father and son partook of the nature of a partnership, which was so mutually pleasant and profitable, that it existed to within one month of the father's death, when a settlement between the two men was made. By this the son obtained eighty acres of land to which he has added from time to time as opportunity offered until he has brought his holdings up to one hundred and forty-four acres, the extent of his present farm.

In Rock Island city on the 23d of August, 1893, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Woodbury and Miss Augusta Kane. She is a daughter of Julius and Eva (Fritz) Kane and was born in Coal Valley, Rock Island county, Illinois, but at the time of her marriage, her home was near his farm in Edford township. To Mr. and Mrs. Woodbury have been born four children: Daniel, Bessie, Nellie and Clarence.

A successful farmer and stockman, Mr. Woodbury is also distinguished by the public spirit that has characterized his actions, and on occasion has assumed the responsibilities that the citizens of his township would put upon him. On the republican ticket he was elected to the ofifice of road commissioner, which he filled for one term of three years ; was for eight years constable ; and has repeatedly served as a member of the school board. In all of these capacities, he has fulfilled the duties incumbent upon him with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. He has also been republican central committeeman from Edford township. For the past twelve years he has attended the meetings of Colona Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also a member of the Mystic Workers. His fraternal relations have been of the pleasantest, for he is a man possessed of many social qualities as well as of those stronger characteristics that have gained for him the respect and confidence of his fellowmen.

Samuel A. Anderson

Samuel A. Anderson, who since 1901 as a general merchant has been connected with the commercial interests of Green River, Edford township, Henry county, was born on a farm in the province of Lanneberga, Sweden, near a station of the same name. April 16, 1866, was the day of his birth. His father, Andrew P. Oleson, was a son of Olaf Nelson. The father died when Samuel A. Anderson was a lad of nine years, but the mother, on whom devolved the burden of rearing her family unassisted, is still living in the old country.

Samuel A. Anderson received a good common-school education in the land of his birth but was compelled to work hard during the summer months. Through relatives and friends the stories of the opportunities for young men of ambition in America came to his ears, and at the age of eighteen, alone and with no knowledge of the English language, he started on his journey to the United States. He came direct to Mercer county, Illinois, where his uncle lived, who gave him employment on his farm and taught him the English tongue. For seven years he worked as a farm laborer both in Mercer county and in Henry county, and then for a few months clerked in a grocery store in Galesburg. The experience opened to him a new field and in that city he started in the grocery business for himself. For ten years he carried on a good trade there, becoming known as a purveyor of fine articles of trustworthy grade. In 1901 he sold his interest in the Galesburg business and came to Green River, where he established himself as a dealer in groceries and general merchandise. In 1905 he built the store he now occupies and also his residence, and as his undertakings prospered he invested more largely in Green River real estate and bought several other dwellings.

While engaged in business in Galesburg Mr. Anderson married Miss Anna C. Mahlstedt, with whom he had become acquainted during the years he worked on a farm. She was a native of Rock Island county, Illinois, was born on a farm and is a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Kirchoff) Mahlstedt. The marriage ceremony was performed in Green River on the 6th of April, 1892, and the union has been blessed with three children : Lawrence, born in Galesburg, September 4, 1893, who has now finished the eighth grade in the public school; Ralph, also born in Galesburg, June 22, 1895; and Marie, bom in Green River, May 31, 1907.

Mr. Anderson and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Green River. He affiliates politically with the republican party and always exercises his right to vote as a citizen of this republic. Still he is not an office seeker nor does he take much interest in public matters, being content if by his own efforts he makes a reputation as a merchant in whom the people may place confidence. He aims to give satisfaction in every instance, and the success that has attended his operations during the seven years he has been in Green River bears witness to the degree in which his aims have been realized.

Valentine Gerstner

Valentine Gerstner, who was for many years a successful farmer of Geneseo township and is now living retired in the city of that name, was born in Baden, Germany, January 20, 1841, and is a son of Peter and Christine (Alias) Gerstner, both natives of that country. The father was born in 1812 and died at the age of fifty-six years, having spent the greater part of his Hfe in the pursuit of agriculture. He never left the land of his birth, for it was only after his death that his son came to this country and found the road to success. Mrs. Gerstner, who was bom in 1816, survived her husband about seven years, her death having occurred in 1875. Of the nine children born to the couple only four are now living, and of these Valentine is the only one in the United States, while John, Margaret and Elizabeth all live in Germany.

Valentine Gerstner received his education in the schools of his native land and worked for his father on the farm until he was called upon to render the military service exacted of every German born male as soon as he reaches maturity. When he was honorably discharged in 187 1 Mr. Gerstner started for America, and after landing upon our shores came to Geneseo, Illinois, where he found work in the brickyards. Two years later he was hired by Fred Homecker as a farm hand and after two years' experience he decided to start in life for himself. First he rented land in Geneseo township, which he cultivated with such success that in 1891 he was able to buy eighty-four acres on which he lived until 1899, when, having acquired a comfortable competence, he retired from active life and took, lip his residence in the city of Geneseo. Here he lives in a pretty home west of Spruce street and has become a factor of the life of the little city.

In January, 1868, Mr. Gerstner married Miss Margaret Masengorf, who was born in Baden, Germany, February 11, 1845. Her father, Michael Masengorf, was a marshal in his native land and was shot in 1876 while in the performance of his duties. He was sixty-four years of age at the time. His wife, who was Miss Catherine Wolf before her marriage, came to America in 1875, where she died in 1888. They had nine children, seven now living: Mrs. Gerstner; Elizabeth, the wife of Peter Weiss, of Kansas ; Adam, of Geneseo ; Catherine, the wife of Peter Fry, of Peoria, Illinois ; George John, of Geneseo ; Effie, the wife of August Weiss, of Iowa; and Dena, who is the wife of Fred Haak, of Geneseo. Mr. and Mrs. Gerstner have had ten children, all living and all but the two oldest born in Geneseo township. Susan, born in Germany, July 3, 1868, is a dressmaker and lives at home. Eva, also born in Germany, December 25, 1869, is the wife of John Papenthein, of Geneseo, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. Barbara, born February 20, 1872, married Charles Rose, of Geneseo, and they have one child, Lester LeRoy. John, born December 28, 1874, married Miss Marcia Decker and lives in Kansas. They have a son, Royce. Margaret, born January 12, 1876, is the wife of William Santee, of Phenix township. They have two daughters. Lulu and Viola. Katie and Dena are twins and were bom November 12, 1878. The former is the wife of Luther Henander, of Geneseo township, and they have five children, Ralph, Harold, Roland, Elon, and a baby unnamed. Dena married Emil Munter, of Geneseo township, and they have three children, Hazel, Gilbert and Grace. Elizabeth, born January 6, 1881, is the wife of Robert Crisop. They live in Loraine township and have two sons, Lyle and Kenneth. Mary, born August 19, 1883, married Herbert Smith, of Geneseo, and they have one son, Ivan. Emma, the youngest of the family, was born December 27, 1886, and became the wife of James Filings worth. They live in Hanna township.

Mr. and Mrs. Gerstner are members of the United Evangelical church, as are their children, with the exception of Mrs. Santee, who is a Methodist. Politically Mr. Gerstner is a republican, and while not an office seeker he has served very efficiently as a tax collector. Frugal, yet progressive, having obtained what he now possesses through his own unaided efforts, he enjoys the good will of his friends and neighbors. He has reared a large family, who partaking of his own strong qualities of character, are a real credit to him.

Francis Eugene Davis

Francis Eugene Davis, a farmer and stock raiser of Hanna township, was born in Herkimer county. New York, August 2, 1855, and is a son of Aaron and Ann (Eynon) Davis. His parents came to Illinois in 1861, and after a few years spent in Rock Island, bought a farm in Hanna township, on the same section where their son lives today. The original tract was half a section, but was con-

Francis Eugene Davis was reared at home and received a good education, first in the common schools of this county and then for a term or two under Professor Comstock in Colona. At the close of his school life he returned to the farm, and until he attained his majority gave his father the benefit of his labor. When he became twenty-one, he started out as a farmer. For a number of years he rented land in Edford township and then, about 1890, bought one hundred and twenty acres on section 4, Hanna township, which has since been his home. At the time of the purchase he paid but fifty dollars an acre for his farm, that is now worth fully twice that sum. He has remodeled the house, built a good barn, and through his system of cultivation the soil has lost nothing of its fertility nor its value as a pasture for cattle. To the stock business Mr. Davis has given more and more attention every year and annually sends a large number of animals to market. His earnest efforts have won a substantial reward and he is accounted one of the prosperous men of his township.

On the 4th of January, 1883, Mr. Davis married Miss Catherine L. Gottsche. She was born in Rock Island county, where her grandparents located when the pioneers first came to this state and when the Indians were more numerous than the white men. Her father, John Gottsche, came to America in the '40s or '50s. He settled in IlHnois near Moline Bluffs and there met Miss Catherine Korb, whom he later made his wife. She was also a native of Germany and had come to this country with her parents in 1845. The family landed in New Orleans, journeyed up the Mississippi river to St. Louis, where the father died, and then came to Illinois, locating near Moline Bluffs. Mr. Gottsche died August 28, 1899, while his wife survived until May 11, 1908, when she was killed by a cyclone that swept Hanna township. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis. Nellie Ann, the eldest, was graduated from the Geneseo Collegiate Institute in 1902, and for four years engaged in teaching. Then she married William H. Collis and lives on a farm in Hanna township. Catherine A., who was also graduated from the Geneseo Collegiate Institute in 1902, after teaching for three years, took a course in Brown's Business College and is now employed as a stenographer in the Davenport Locomotive Works. Margaret Eugenia was graduated from the Geneseo Collegiate Institute in the class of 1905 and like her sisters has taken up the profession of teaching. John A. was graduated from the Geneseo high school in the class of 1908, has taught one year and contemplates taking a course in Brown's Business College. Mary Esther is still a student in the Geneseo high school but looks forward to graduating with the class of 1912.

Mr. Davis cast his first presidential ballot for Hayes, the republican candidate at the election of 1876, and has since always voted that ticket. He has ever taken taken an active interest in public matters and in 1898 was elected supervisor of his township, a position he held for eight years. He was made a member of the educational committee which gave him opportunity to cast his influence toward the improvement of the district schools and the conditions under which the teachers labor. His allegiance in religious matters is given to the Methodist Episcopal church and in that faith he has reared his children. The Clement Lodge, No. 680, A. F. & A. M., numbers him among its most active and zealous members and for three years confided its treasury to his keeping. A successful farmer, an exemplary citizen and a man of high moral standards, he enjoys the respect of all who have come in contact with him and who know him well as friends and lodge brothers.

Isaac C. Snow

Isaac C. Snow, one of the agricultural community of Osco township, whose home lies on the southeast quarter of section 12, was bom on a farm near Pioneer, Williams county, Ohio, August 2, 1861, and is a son of Orrin and Elma Jane (Snow) Snow. He was reared at home in Ohio and received a good education in the district schools, at the same time working for his father. At the age of eighteen he agreed with the latter that for the compensation of two hundred dollars he might have the benefit of his own labor, which under ordinary circumstances would have belonged to the older man until he was of age.

Accordingly, in the spring of 1880, Isaac Snow came to Henry county, Illinois, where an older brother and a couple of uncles had already located. He began working for others and by the time he was twenty-three, as the result of careful saving, he was able to commence farming for himself in Knox county upon rented land. Until 1901 he lived there and in Osco, Western and Edford townships, Henry county, and then removed to the place on which he is living today. He had bought it in 1900, paying eighty-three and a third dollars per acre, though it is worth considerable more than that sum now. He has made a number of substantial improvements, remodeling the buildings that were already there and erecting others. In addition to general farming he has engaged extensively in the raising, feeding and shipping of cattle, with no small measure of success. Ambitious and industrious, he has found that his endeavors met with large returns, so that he is now able to enjoy all the comforts of life. He owns two hundred and forty acres of land - one hundred and sixty acres in Osco township and eighty acres in Munson township. In August, 1907, he bought an automobile and he has now purchased his second, which he finds meets with his approval in a higher degree.

In Cambridge, Illinois, March 8, 1886, Mr. Snow was united in marriage to Miss Angeline White, of Woodhull, this county. She was born in Lynn township, July 26. 1865, and is a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Neal) White, both natives of Lancaster, England, coming to America as young people before they were married. They landed in New York and although they had in their possession only five dollars and a butter plate they decided to tmite their fortunes and brave the trials of the new country together. The marriage ceremony was performed in Buffalo, whence they went to Ohio. After a year's residence there they came to Henry county, Illinois, locating in Cambridge and then going to Lynn township, where Mr. White eventually became the owner of four hundred acres of land. He has now retired from active life and enjoys the rest he has so well earned in Woodhull. Surely he may look back to the time when

Mr. and Mrs. Snow have had four children: Maude Estella, born May i, 1887, attended the Geneseo Collegiate Institute for one year and is now living at home; Winfield Everett, born October 4, 1890, was graduated from the Institute with the class of 1909; Harold Robert was born October 2, 1895, and like his brother Dale Reginald, who was born July 26, 1901, is at home with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Snow attend the Presbyterian church in Munson township, although they hold membership in the Lutheran congregation in Edford township. Politically he affiliates with the republican party, but although interested in public affairs he has never sought office. The ambition which at the age of eighteen stirred him to start in life for himself has urged his progress through all the subsequent years and has pointed the way to the successful position he now occupies among the citizens of Osco township. It is the result of his own efforts and is not marred by the consciousness that it was attained through the misfortunes of another.

Jacob Jacobson

Jacob Jacobson, who for a number of years was actively identified with the farming and commercial interests of Bishop Hill and vicinity, but now has retired from active life and makes his home in the village, was born there May 24, 1859. His father, who also bore the name of Jacob Jacobson, was a native of Helsingland, Sweden, and was one of the band of men who established Bishop Hill. He arrived in New York in 1846, where he joined twenty men who left that city about New Year's for the west. They journeyed by way of the Hudson river to Troy, by canal boat to Buffalo, and by rail and stage the greater part of the remaining distance, walking from the terminus of the stage line to their destination. After his arrival at Bishop Hill he became closely connected with the interests of the community and took part in public affairs. He was one of the trustees of the colony and after its incorporation was one of the village trustees, holding the office through the greater part of the remaining years of his life. For many years, until 1872, when he retired from active business, he was engaged in merchandising as well as in agricultural pursuits in partnership with Swan Swanson, the father of the present postmaster. Indeed, these two were the closest of friends, not only having the same business and farming interests, but even uniting their public and home life so that they might almost be said to form one family. Mr. Jacobson died December 15, 1883, at the age of sixty-seven years, while his wife lived until 1888, when she also passed away at the age of sixty-seven years. She was Miss Helena Peterson before her marriage, was born in the same province of Sweden as was her husband and like him joined the colony in 1846.

Jacob Jacobson grew up in his home town and after attending the public schools he finished his education by a commercial course in Chicago. Thereupon he clerked in a general store here and then went to Galva, where he was employed in dry-goods and clothing stores until his father's death necessitated his return to Bishop Hill. For the next two years he engaged in farming, forsaking that vocation to conduct a lumber business and for three years devoted himself to its operation. At the end of that period he retired from active life, although he still retains his agricultural interests, for he holds two tracts of land, one at Bishop Hill, the other near Nekoma, which are well improved and under the care of tenants. He has always been on the alert, however to give his support to whatever enterprise appeared feasible as a financial concern or as of benefit to the village. For a number of years he has been connected with the First National Bank of Galva as director and stockholder and his name appears among those who have contributed to other important commercial enterprises.

In Burlington, Iowa, September 2, 1886, Mr. Jacobson wedded Miss Hannah W. Wigren, a daughter of Rev. John Wigren, a prominent pioneer Swedish Methodist minister, who is now retired and is living in Chicago. Mrs. Jacobson is a graduate of Rockford College and taught school for several years before her marriage. Three children have been born to the couple. Helen C. is a graduate of Knox College, of the class of 1909, and is now teaching. Margaret E. is a student at Knox College. Robert E. is a senior in the Galva high school.

The family are stanch adherents of the Methodist faith and are closely identified with all church work. Politically Mr. Jacobson is a republican and has taken an active part in local affairs ever since he was of an age to participate. He has held a number of the offices of the village, has been a member of the board of trustees the greater part of the time since he returned here, and was township school trustee until last year, having held the position for the past nineteen years. For nine years he was township highway commissioner. In 1900 he was a delegate to the state republican convention at Peoria, has since been a member of other conventions and is now the member from Weller township of the Henry county republican central committee. In short, his ability and integrity have been recognized by his fellow citizens and the public spirit which has always marked his administration has won from them sincere regard and respect. His has been a life which has contributed no small share to the advancement of the village, and although he has relinquished the active participation in the more onerous duties of life, his days are still filled with thoughtful toil from which his community benefits. He still lives upon the old Jacobson homestead in Bishop Hill.

John Shattuck

John Shattuck, who has the advantage of not only being thoroughly engrossed in agricultural work but is also a practical business man, was born April 7, 1853, in Highland county, Ohio, a son of Allen F. and Nancy S. (Woollums) Shattuck. The Shattuck family left their Ohio home in 1855 and settled near old Henderson, Knox county, Illinois, where the father engaged in farm- big. In later years he became a minister of the Methodist church, having been ordained after locating in Henry county in 1864. This was during the trying days of the Civil war and as he was intensely loyal and outspoken in his views he was often engaged in heated discussions. However, being a man of great pnysical strength and courage, he was preserved from bodily harm. In the years following the war he was actively engaged in ministerial work and became well known throughout his district as a powerful evangelist and eloquent preacher. On October 21, 1890, he passed away, his remains being interred in Clover chapel cemetery in the vicinity of the scene of his clerical life. When his widow joined him, May 19, 1904, she too was laid to rest in that cemetery. The good clergyman was a great admirer of President McKinley and it was his wish that he might live to cast his vote for him a second time, but death claimed him a few weeks before the election and he was denied what to him would have been a great privilege. Exerting a powerful personal influence, he turned many people to a godly manner of living and as a member of the county board for a number of years, as road commissioner, as a member of the school board and in various other township offices he showed the worth of an upright example. He was a man always true to a trust and faithful to every confidence reposed in him. While a man of limited education, he read exhaustively and, possessing a retentive mind, kept himself well informed, so that he was always able to engage intelligently in any debate or discussion. Progressive and farseeing, he was able to take a broad-minded view of current events either national or local, and his advice was followed upon many subjects. Although advanced in years, he was actively engaged until his death, preaching a magnificent funeral sermon two weeks before he passed away. He was a man of great sympathy and charitable toward all, and far and wide the poor knew him for their friend. No one was ever turned away without both spiritual and material help and when he died the whole county mourned him as a personal friend, and his funeral was the most largely attended of any ever held in Henry county. The tributes paid to his memory by his fellow clergymen were beautiful and touching and stand as tributes to his worth and work.

John Shattuck, the son of this most excellent man, spent his youth on the parental farm and, being the eldest child and only son of four children, much of the management of afifairs fell on his choulders. He was educated in the district schools and has devoted himself to farming. On September i, 1874, he married Rachel Petty, a daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Brown) Petty, farming people of Clover township. The family came from Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1867, settling in Clover township. Mr. Petty still survives and lives with Mrs. Shattack, but his wife passed away in 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Shattuck have had three children, namely: Mabel, who married Daniel Cameron, a farmer of Mercer county ; Fay Allen, who is married and lives on the old homestead in Clover township; and Bessie, who is a popular, teacher of the public schools as was her sister Mabel before her marriage. Both the daughters are very well educated.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Shattuck settled on the farm which has been their home ever since. It is a splendid tract of two hundred acres, well cultivated. Mr. Shattuck is a republican and has been interested in public mat- ters, serving as a member of the board of supervisors for two years, a member of the school board for eighteen years, and is now a school trustee, having always been a friend of the public-school system. He has served as a member of the county republican central committee and is usually a delegate to the party conventions as well as a member of the township election board. Fraternally he is quite prominent, belonging to Woodhull Lodge, No. 502, A. F. & A. M.. in which he has filled all the offices except that of worshipful master; is also a member of the Mystic Workers of the World and is active in all lodge work. He and his family are members of the Methodist church, supporting it liberally and engaging in its good work and in that of the Sunday school. For thirty years Mr. Shattuck has been a member of the choir and still sings at every service. On the occasion of the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the building of Clover chapel church, in February, 1907, he was presented with a handsome hymnal by the former pastors of the church who had grown up in the neighborhood and thoroughly appreciated Mr. Shattuck's services to the church. This beautiful testimonial is most highly prized by the recipient and will be treasured as long as he lives. He is fully informed on all current topics, whether of a public nature or those relating to his agricultural work, and as a consequence he is one of the representative citizens of Henry county. ,

Peter G. Bergren

Peter G. Bergren, one of the successful farmers of Bishop Hill, was born in Mosocken, Helsingland, Sweden, April 5, 1868. His maternal grandfather, Jonas Wexell, came to this country and to this settlement of his compatriots in 1870, but his daughter, son-in-law and their family did not arrive here until five years later. When Peter Bergren, the father of our subject, came here in 1875, he settled near Bishop Hill and engaged in farming. After a few years' experience he bought a tract of seventy acres west of the village, upon which he took up his residence. It is still his home, although about five years ago he gave up the active pursuit of farming, living in comparative rest from the toils of this life. His wife bore the maiden name of Martha Wexell.

As Peter G. Bergren was only seven years of age when his parents came to this country, he might be said to have passed the valuable years of his life in the locality in which he is now living. He was enrolled as a pupil in the public schools of Bishop Hill throughout his youthful period, and he soon became identified with agricultural pursuits through assisting his father in conducting the home farm. It was in 1895 that he started in life for himself. First he took a five years' lease upon his father's place; then rented one hundred and twenty acres of Hans Rosene; and next became a tenant upon two hundred and forty acres of land belonging to H. C. Hunt. In 1906, partly by his wife's inheritance and partly by purchase he acquired the sixty-five acres upon which he now lives and which he has tilled continuously, although he operates the fifty acres adjoining. He engages in general farming and has made several improvements

At Bishop Hill, March 14, 1895, Mr. Bergren was united in marriage to Miss Lottie Johnson, a daughter of the late John B. Johnson, who was one of the prominent farmers of Weller township. He and his wife had come to the colony in 1850, being of the company who left their native land to make a new home in this country of opportunities. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bergren, namely : Lloyd Raymond, who is thirteen years of age ; Leon Ivan, who died in 1898 in infancy ; and Ruth Elberta, who is now a little miss of seven years.

Mr. Bergren usually supports the principles of the democratic party, but at local elections he very frequently considers men and measures of more importance than allegiance to party, so that in consequence the candidate who represents the best interests of the community may safely count upon his support. As for himself he has served as highway commissioner, from 1899 to 1901 inclusive, and again from 1906 to the present. In his fraternal relations he is connected with the Modem Woodmen of America and he takes a sincere interest in the welfare of his lodge brothers. A man who has lived up to high principles and has spent his life in profitable toil, he enjoys the respect of all who know him.

Amariah Withrow

One of the distinctive features of the smaller cities and towns of Illinois is the residence of retired agriculturists who have settled down adjacent to their farms which were the scenes of former labor and are now enjoying themselves with plenty of time to look into civic affairs and to give their communities the benefit of their experience. One of the respected retired farmers of Genesee is Amariah Withrow, who was born in White county, Illinois, May 4, 183 1, a son of Neely and Paula (Everlith) Withrow. The father was born February 16, 1810, and the mother February 6, 1806, both being natives of New York state. Later they removed to Kentucky and then to White county, Illinois, probably several years before Amariah Withrow was born. In 1836 they settled in Phenix township, Henry county, at a time when the Indians were still troublesome. The father was first a whig and later a republican. His death^ occurred January 23, 1839, but his widow survived him until June 25, 1891, and both were interred in the Phenix cemetery. They were married May 20, 1830. Five children were born to them, three of whom survive: Amariah, the subject of this review ; John Wesley, born October 19, 1834, who lives in Geneseo ; and Neely, born August 20, 1839, who lives in Central City, Nebraska. On February 24, 1841, Mrs. Withrow married Harvey Hiksox, who was born August 27, 1819, and died November 4, 1853. They had three children, all of whom died in childhood, except Eunice, who passed away February 7, 1897. She was the wife of Asoph King and lived in Central City, Nebraska.

Amariah Withrow attended school during the winter from the time he was ten years old until he was thirteen, when not otherwise engaged, and one term after he had attained his majority. He remained with his mother and stepfather until twenty-one years old and when he was twenty-five he had saved sufficient money to purchase forty acres of land in Phenix township. To this he kept adding until he now owns one hundred acres and at one time he had much more land but has disposed of some of it. Until 1895 he carried on general farming, but in that year he removed to Geneseo, wher he built a comfortable house on North Aldrich street, whic continues to be his home. He is a republican but advocates the temperance movement, and he is active in the Methodist church, of which he is a member.

On August 8, 1856, Mr. Withrow married Mary J. Huston, who was bom in Ohio, October 6, 1832, a daughter of John D. and Margaret (Elder) Huston. The father was born in Ireland in the early part of 1800, while the mother was born in Pennsylvania. He came to America when sixteen and was a carder by trade. Both he and his wife died in Ohio. They had seven children, but Mrs. Withrow is now the only survivor. Mr. and Mrs. Withrow have had seven children, four of whom are living, and all were born in Phenix township : Eva Marian, born August 28, 1857, died at the age of three years; Sylvestor died when one month old ; Ellis E. died at the age of thirteen months ; William, born April 5, 1862, married Pearle Merriman, of Geneseo, and they live on the homestead; Letha Amelia, born in 1864, married Sheldon Farber and they live near Princeton, Iowa and have six children, Guy, Floyd, Ethel, Leonard, Jesse and Vera ; Lucinda, born June 25, 1867, married Clarence Ray, lives in Monmouth, Illinois, and while she has no children of her own she has adopted her husband's daughter; and Jerome, born July 22, 1869, married Bessie Magnuson and they live in Geneseo township and have two children, Ellen and Carl. Mrs. Withrow is also a member of the Methodist church, and is an earnest, devout Christian lady.

Mr. Withrow is a self-made man and he admits that his wife has borne an important part in securing his success. Some of his pioneer recollections are extremely interesting and if space permitted the insertion of them in full would be desirable. He has seen Indians living in their wild state in Illinois, and when his family arrived here, they were one of three white households in Henry county. To these three white families there were one hundred Indians, but now nothing remains of the red men but a few relics, while the descendants of the paler face inhabit the land. Mr. Withrow is a kind-hearted, earnest man, kind toward all and extremely proud of his children and wife.

C. Arthur Henninger

C. Arthur Henninger, senior member of the well known firm of Henninger & Smith, breeders of pure breed Duroc Jersey and Chester White swine, is conveniently located on section 30, Phenix township, six miles northwest of Geneseo. He was born in Hanna township, September 12, 1877, a son of James A. and Cynthia Ann (Fuller) Henninger. The father was born in Medina county, Ohio, but came to Henry county, Illinois, when one year old with his parents.

Jacob and Susan Henninger. They were pioneers of this locality, making the trip overland in a wagon and suffering all the privations incident to the life of. the early settlers. Among these exacting conditions James A. Henninger grew to manhood, learning early to work upon the farm. His wife was born in Whiteside county, Illinois, near Prophetstown, but came to Hanna township, Henry county, when six years old with her parents, Charles and Keziah (Rome) Fuller, old settlers here. James A. Henninger eventually became the owner of one hundred and sixteen acres of land. He was a republican and served his party in township offices. His death occurred on the farm where our subject now resides, February 2'], 1907. During the Civil war he served in 1863 and 1864 as a member of the Ninth Illinois Cavalry. Five children were born to James A. Henninger and wife, namely : Tillie K., who married Allen E. Smith and has one child, Guy E. ; Frank, who lives in Hanna township ; Jacob, a resident of Colona township; C. Arthur, of this review; and James A., who lives in Hanna township and is in partnership with his brother C. Arthur.

After receiving a fair common-school education, C. Arthur Henninger worked for his father until he attained his majority. His father bred Poland China hogs and was the first man in Henry county who received fifty dollars for one of his hogs, and this success turned Mr. Henninger's attention toward the desirability of branching out in the same line of business. He has studied the matter carefully, made many experiments and has finally reached the conclusion that the best results are reached with Duroc Jersey and Chester White hogs. The firm sell to the markets and hold auctions twice a year. In 1908 the firm lost four thousand dollars because of an epidemic of cholera, which was contracted by some of their stock at the state fair, where they exhibited. They also exhibit at the state fairs of South Dakota and their hogs have won seventy-five ribbons. During the year 1909 they exhibited in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Illinois.

Air. Henninger is a republican but is in no sense an office seeker, being entirely wrapped up in his business. He is a young man of sterling traits of character, a good judge of hogs, and one who understands his business in its every detail.

Frederick N. Baird

For more than half a century Frederick N. Baird was one of the successful farmers of this county, although he has recently retired from active life. The names of Illinois and Henry county are associated in his mind with a memory of his childhood, which the years and the momentous changes they have wrought have not been able to efface. When he was nine years old, in Bergen, Geneseo county. New York, a small band of farmers decided to leave that state and come to Illinois to take up land which the government had opened. For weeks the preparations for the long journey overland were carried on with bustle and excitement, and then at last the huge wagon was filled with families and their household effects and the yoked teams were driven forth through the streets of the village and out into the country which was little better than unknown.

Frederick Baird was one of the crowd of little boys who ran eagerly along beside the great wagon, as it rolled away, youth alone preventing him from accompanying it all the way, for his imagination had been stirred by the tales the older people had told of the horrors and hardships of the western world, of the Indians, friendly and unfriendly, and of incidents which had grown to great proportions at each recital. But he was a child and had to wait until he was of the age of those who then set out before he, too, could travel to a new home.