Henry County, Illinois - The whole text, 1910 (part 28 of 32)

Leslie H. McDonald spent the period of his boyhood and youth in much the usual manner of farm lads, assisting his father in the work of the fields from the time of planting until the harvesting was finished, and in the winter months he pursued his studies in the common schools. He remained with his father to the age of twenty-four years, when in 1904 he went to Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and entered a claim from the government, the patent being signed by President Roosevelt. He improved the tract and remained on it until he proved up and then returned to Henry county, where on the 27th of September, 1906, he was married to Miss Cora Tennant, the wedding ceremony being performed in Western township. Mrs. McDonald was born in Chicago, December 17, 1886, a daughter of William and Mary (Boyd) Tennant, who own a farm in this township and also a hom.e in the metropolis. The daughter was given the advantages of a good education, completing the high school course in Hyde Park. She later pursued a business course in the Bryant & Stratton Business College of Chicago, in the stenographic and bookkeeping departments. She is now proving herself an able assistant to her husband in managing his business affairs.

For the past year Mr. McDonald has operated the home place of two hundred and forty acres and in addition to doing general farming he also raises and feeds stock, which he ships to the city markets. He is ever watchful of opportunities pointing to success and conducts his business in a straightforward and honorable manner.

Mr. McDonald was reared in the faith of the democratic party but he now votes the prohibition ticket, being a strong advocate of the temperance question. He is a Baptist in religious faith, while his wife is a member of the United Presbyterian church. They attend and support the church at Orion.

William C. Cole

William C. Cole, one of the native farmers of Oxford township who has attained success in the calling to which he has devoted himself, was born November 3, 1863, on the farm on which he now lives and on which he has passed his entire life, and is a son of Festus C. and Elizabeth (Taze) Cole. His paternal grandfather, Amos Cole, came from Madison county, New York, in 1839 and settled in Oxford township when there were but few families here and when the house which he built and occupied was one of the four then standing in the township. The most primitive conditions prevailed at the time. The forests were dense and haunted by large game, wolves being not infrequently seen. In fact these often invaded the settled portions and many a struggling pioneer lost his young stock through a night's raid by these animals. At that time, too, there was no mill nearer than Peoria and the families had no wheat flour, but hominy and cakes made of corn which had been cracked or ground by such rude means as the home provided. A trip to Chicago in those days was an event of general interest.

Amos Pole

for it was made but once a year. On such an occasion the great ox-team would be hitched to the wagon which wheeled off leaving a gathering that would eagerly await its return, for a full year would elapse before a similar journey would be undertaken and the articles and supplies which the wagon would bring would have to suffice for that period. To such a country did Amos Cole come when he established his family on the Httle tract of land he had procured in Oxford township. He was a pioneer, if ever there was one, and more than that he had the distinction of having been the first to follow the trade of a blacksmith here and his was the first shop where a horse might be shod or any heavy iron work done. Also he was the first postmaster, the mail being carried once a week on horseback by relays to Peoria. Where the Indians were more numerous than the white settlers Amos Cole reared his family, and as his sons grew to maturity he engaged more and more in farming, though the life of a tradesman always appealed more strongly and for many years before his death he conducted a hardware store in the village of Alpha. A man of rugged constitution and positive character, !^e was one of those strong men who did much to mold the public opinion of the time and direct the action of a people who only needed someone to express their ideas for them. Among them he was highly respected as a man of honor and ability. When he died, in February, 1897, the conditions of the past were no more than memories, well tilled farms and commodious homes had taken the place of the primitive forests, and the mode of life of the citizens as well as their habits had changed likewise. His wife had preceded him to the grave, her death having occurred in August, 1877, and both were buried in Summit Level cemetery. Five children were born to them, four of whom grew to maturity, although Festus C. and Lucy, who is the wife of William Shacklee, of Clover township, are the only ones now living.

Festus C. Cole, the father of the subject of this sketch, was five years of age when his father came to Oxford township, and all his life he has been a farmer in this locality. Prosperous, he has also won the high regard of his fellow citizens and is now enjoying many of the comforts of life. More than ten years ago he was deprived of the companionship of his wife, whose death occurred January i, 1898, and she was buried in Summit Level cemetery, where all the other deceased members of his family lie. Four children were bom to them and were reared upon the home farm: Cynthia J., deceased; William C, the subject of this sketch ; Ruby E., who is the wife of Otis B. Timberlake, a farmer of Oxford township ; and Leroy, deceased. All were given the best educational advantages afforded by the schools of the vicinity and the surviving are living lives of great utility, the result of the invaluable lessons of honesty, industry and economy taught them in their youth.

William C. Cole grew up on his father's farm, attending the district schools during the winter months and in the summer assisting in the work that was carried on in the fields. From the time he was able to handle the lightest agricultural implement he has been engaged in farming and always on the land which was his birthplace. The farm of two hundred and eighty acres has been large enough not only to give him plentiful harvests but also to afford an extensive pasturage for his large herds of cattle, which he raises for market. Progressive in his ideas, he has spared no effort to make his farming conform to the most re-

Mr. Cole has been married twice. On the 9th of December, 1885, he wedded Miss Martha Stitt, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Homman) Stitt, who came from Pennsylvania and settled in this county among the early pioneers. To this union were born five children : May E. ; a son who died in infancy ; William Clinton; Emma B. ; and Robert K. Mrs. Cole died September 9, 1896, and like her infant son was buried in the cemetery on Summit Level. On the 30th of December, 1899, Mr. Cole married Miss Sarah J. Welch, whose parents, James and Isabelle (Paul) Welch, came from Ireland and for a time lived in Galesburg, Illinois, later removing to Oxford township, Henry county, where Mr. Welch followed farming. He is still living, but his wife died in 1904. Mr. Cole's second marriage has been blessed with one child, Richard, who was born February 8, 1909.

A strict member of the Methodist Episcopal church, he has reared his family in that faith, and his wife is equally as conscientious in her adherence to the Catholic creed. A democrat in his political views, he is a man who has always kept informed on matters of general interest and is well able to demonstrate his position. He has naturally evinced a strong interest in local affairs and has rendered the township valuable service as a member of the school board, during a period of twelve years, as assessor for Oxford for one year, and in April, 1909, was elected a member of the county board of supervisors. He has since been placed upon the important financial committee. A progressive and successful farmer and a tried servant of the people, Mr. Cole stands high in the esteem of all and is in fact a splendid citizen in every sense of the word.

Captain John Ellis

The life record of Captain John ElHs was an eventful one. With no special advantages in his youth he started out for himself at the age of thirteen years and at different times met with various hardships and difficulties, but with persistent purpose he continued on his way until success crowned his efforts in the fields in which he labored. He became one of the foremost representatives of industrial and financial circles in this part of the state and as a capitalist was widely known, not only in Kewanee but in other portions of the middle west. He was born of Welsh parentage in Bolton, England, September 23, 1825. His father, John Ellis, was a native of Denbigh, a town in the north of Wales, where his birth occurred in 1796. He became a noted Welsh preacher and later lived in Manchester-, England, where he resided until his death, which occurred when he was in his eightieth year. The grandfather, the Rev. John Ellis, Sr., was also born in the little rock ribbed country of Wales and became a minister of Manchester. The mother of Captain Ellis bore the maiden name of Mary Pierce and was born in Denbigh, North Wales, in 1796. She passed away in Manchester in July, 1861, at the age of sixty-one years.

Captain Ellis had very little opportunity to acquire an education, his knowledge being largely obtained by hard study in evenings after the day's work was done, and through the experiences which came to him in life. He was a lad of thirteen years when he started out to earn his own living, being first employed in setting patterns for carpets and in printing them. When a youth of fourteen he entered upon an apprenticeship in an iron foundry at Bury, England. Self-reliant, energetic and of strong purpose, he left Bury for Liverpool, where he was successful in securing immediate employment. After a time he was appointed engineer in the iron works at Burnley, but still he was not satisfied that he was doing the best for himself, for the reports which he heard concerning America and her opportunities convinced him that he might make more rapid progress on the western continent.

Accordingly, in 1848, he came to the United States, landing at New York, where he found employment in the largest engine works in this country. In March, 1849, he went to New Haven, Connecticut, where he purchased an interest in a sailing vessel and then started for the gold fields of California by way of Cape Horn. It required eight months to complete the journey but at length he landed at San Francisco and at once proceeded direct to the mines. He went through the usual experiences and hardships of those who sought to make their fortunes on the Pacific coast at that early day. In 1851 he returned to the east and accepted a position as engineer on the New York & New Haven Railroad. He later went to Aurora, Illinois, and in that city first engaged in business for himself, establishing iron works, which he afterward removed to Batavia, Illinois. In 1852 he was married to Mary Mighell, of Aurora, who died in 1874. The only survival of said marriage is a grandchild, Mrs. Harry Young, now residing in Denver, Colorado. He developed an important industry and employed forty men, securing the contract for the manufacture of frogs and switches for the tracks of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad system. Not long after, however, he had the misfortune of having his foundry destroyed by fire and in that way lost everything he had.

In 1859 Captain Ellis started with a party for Pikes Peak, but by the time they reached their destination the gold fever had subsided so that they were forced to seek other employment. They were not successful in that and all started back except Captain Ellis, who continued his journey on a pack mule to Sacremento, California. There he was employed in various ways for some time, but mostly in a foundry. During that period he installed an engine in one of the river steamers there and afterward was engaged as chief engineer on the steamer Henrietta on the Sacremento river.

When the Civil war broke out he purchased a pack mule and returned across the mountains alone to the Mississippi valley, at length reaching Aurora, Illinois. He was there urged to take a company of soldiers to the front but declined to do so and instead enlisted as a private. He was soon appointed orderly sergeant, the highest con-commissioned officer. Subsequently, he organized a volunteer company of one hundred men and was soon promoted to the first lieutenancy of Company K, One Hundred and Fifth Regiment of Illinois Infantry. He was also given the command of Company G, with the rank of captain. He participated in all engagements with his regiment and went with Sherman on the mem- orable march to the sea and remained in the service until the close of the war. When the country no longer needed his aid, Captain Ellis returned to Aurora, where he was engaged in the hardware and implement business with Henry Judd as partner. When the Haxton Steam Heating Company of Kewanee opened a Chicago office he was placed in charge. In 1876 he came to Kewanee and there engaged in the drug business with George Brown, Later they erected the brick building now occupied by Hill & King, druggists. After some years Captain Ellis purchased Mr. Brown's interest, carrying on the business alone until November, 1890, when he sold out to Dr. W. H. Day.

He then turned his attention to the banking business and was made president of the First National Bank, which was then located on the present site of the town hall. While he remained chief executive officer the new bank building was erected in 1893. At the November meeting of the board in 1894 he resigned in favor of James K. Blish, who was then vice-president. In 1893, when the great financial panic came, he joined with bankers from twenty-one of the states in forming the Credits Commutation Company of Sioux City, Iowa. He was at once made chairman of the board of directors and was thus active in the step which proved of substantial worth in holding financial interests steady. Some years previous to this, about 1889, the Pacific Short Line Bridge Company had been organized at Sioux City, but after strenuous efforts by the strongest local and a number of other wealthy outside men the company finally failed as the result of the bankruptcy of the Union Loan & Trust Company of that place. The stockholders of the Credits Commutation Company then took hold of the project and renewed the charter under the name of the Combination Bridge Company, of which Captain John Ellis was made president. Upon the completion of the bridge early in the fall of 1895, Captain EUis, after attending the formal opening of the bridge and the banquet which was given January 21, 1896, by the Sioux City Commercial Association to the Bridge Company, returned to his home and family in Kewanee. In May, 1902, he was recalled to Sioux City on important business of the Bridge Company, where he became ill. His condition grew serious rapidly until the i6th day of May, when he passed away in his apartments at the Garretson Hotel. His remains were brought back to Kewanee for interment and the funeral, which was held May 20, 1906, was one of the most largely attended in Kewanee.

On the 17th of October, 1876, Captain EUis was married in Kewanee to Miss Alice L. Talcott, a daughter of Joseph A. Talcott, who was born in Coventry, Connecticut, May 12, 1810, and came to this county in 1846, locating in Wethersfield, where he was one of the first settlers and teacher in the public schools. Moving to Kewanee, he for many years served as notary public and was well known and liked by all. Unto Captain and Mrs. Ellis was born one son, John T., whose birth occurred March 13, 1881. He was for ten years in the First National Bank of Kewanee, of which his father was formerly president, but in January, 1908, he resigned his position there. He still occupies the old home with his mother, wife and one child at No. 105 South Tremont street.

Captain Ellis was a stanch republican and in 1856 was appointed delegate to the first republican convention held in Kane county. He was often urged to be come a candidate for office but always refused. In 1886 he was made president of the Kewanee school board and continued to hold that office and serve on the building committee during the erection of the Central building. He held membership in the Masonic fraternity, which had charge of his funeral services. He also belonged to the First Congregational church and took an active part in the business and social affairs of the city in which he lived. He was a man of kindly spirit, liberal and generous, contributing freely to the support of the church and for the promotion of the public welfare. He always took a keen and sincere interest in everything pertaining to the upbuilding and betterment of the city which he called his home and such was his connection with Kewanee that his death brought a sense of personal bereavement to the great majority of the citizens.

Henry Bestor

Henry Bestor, an agriculturist of Henry county, Illinois, who also engages extensively in the raising, feeding and shipping of stock, owning a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Osco township, was born June 19, 1864, a son of Harmon and Sophia (Combs) Bestor, the former a son of Daniel Bestor. When a young man, Harmon Bestor came to Henry county from Ohio and was married in Osco township, where his wife passed away when their only child, Henry Bestor, was but nine months old. The father, however, is still living and now makes his home in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, where he has married a second time and has four sons.

Henry Bestor, upon the death of his mother, was entrusted to the care of her sister, Mrs. Susan Hinman, in whose home in Osco township he was reared and resided until his marriage. His preliminary education was acquired in the common schools, while later he attended the Davenport Business College for two winters. Dutifully appreciative of the home furnished him by his uncle during his earlier boyhood and youth, while not busily engaged with the tasks assigned him in the schoolroom, he industriously devoted his time and energies in the service of his uncle until he reached his eighteenth year, when Mr. Hinman began to pay him wages. Thus he gained a broad and practical knowledge that stood him well in later years when he engaged in the same business on his own account.

Pleasantly situated in his home life, Henry Bestor was married on the 19th of October, 1887, to Miss Nellie Purviance, a daughter of David and Hannah (Morton) Purviance, of Osco township, where she was bom and reared. For fifteen years they rented a farm, on the expiration of which period, in 1892, Mr. Bestor purchased the home where they now reside. It is situated on section 28, Osco township, this county, and contains one hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land, which at that time cost him one hundred and fifteen dollars per acre. A good cqmfortable house now stands in the midst of well cultivated fields and Mr. Bestor has also erected some of the smaller outbuildings, and altogether the farm presents to the passerby a neat and attractive appearance.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bestor has been blessed with two sons : Clyde A., who has attended the Davenport Business College, the same institution where- in his father acquired a commercial course; and Albert Leo. Always interested in the cause of education, Mr. Bestor served on the school board for thirteen years, and his cooperation is never withheld from any movement for the betterment of the community at large along the line of public-school instruction. A republican in politics, while he never fails to give his support to the party at the polls and exert his influence in behalf of its principles, he is not a politician in the sense of an office-seeker and, with the exception of two years during which time he served as assessor, he has not been active in party ranks. Both he and his wife are members of Grace Episcopal church of Osco, in which he is now serving as vestryman, and have many warm friends in this county, where they have spent their entire lives. Mr. Bestor is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, having his membership in Stewart Lodge, No. 535, A. F. & A. M., while both he and his wife are connected with the Order of the Eastern Star, Mrs. Bestor also being a member of the Royal Neighbors.

James Young

James Young, who for the past fourteen years has successfully engaged in farming in Munson township, was born in Ogle county, Illinois, October 18, 1850. and is a son of James and Ann (McCune) Young. The father was born in Arbroath, Scotland, about 1819, and in 1848 came to the United States, bringing his wife and oldest child with him. He located first in Ogle county, Illinois, then removed to Bureau county, and then in 1853 purchased from his sister the one hundred and twenty-seven acres of land in Munson township, Henry county, on which his son lives today. It was a part of a quarter section of land his sister had secured, but was unbroken prairie when he located thereon. He prepared it for the reception of seed, and it remained his home until his death, and the home of his children in their young years. Mrs. Young was also in Arbroath, Scotland, in 1823, and became the mother of eight children: Jane, James, Mary Ann, John, Charles, Margaret, William and Anna. The eldest was born in Scotland, and the fifth has passed away. The father died May 17, 1894, but the mother survived until June 24, 1905.

James Young of this review received a fair education in the country schools and under the guidance of his parents grew to manhood. Until he was twentyfive years of age he worked for his father on the farm, and then, in 1875, went to Wichita, Kansas, to improve a quarter of a section of land which his father had purchased there. After one year he returned to Illinois, to get his bride, and then went again to the Kansas farm, which remained his home for about eighteen years. A year after the death of his father he returned to the home place, which he bought at the administrator's sale. This, since 1895 has been his home and the scene of his labors. Aware of the necessity for hard work he has been well repaid for the time he has spent in cultivating the soil. From long experience he knows the best means of getting results, and the farm which his father first improved has continued to increase in value and fertility in the years it has been in his possession.

On the 25th of November, 1876, Mr. Young married Miss 'Lizzie Hiser, who was born in Missouri, March 6, 1857, and is a daughter of Joseph and Fanny (Perry) Hiser. The father enlisted in the Union army and died in an army hospital near the close of the war as the result of exposure. The mother also died when her daughter was very young and Mrs. Young was brought up in the Soldiers' Orphan's Home. She was the third in the family of four daughters. Mary, the oldest, married Thomas Coghan, and lives in Davenport, Iowa. Louie died young and Mattie has also passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Young have four sons and two daughters, all born in Wichita, Kansas. They are Charles, who was born December 15, 1877, and died July 8, 1879; Oliver, born December 9, 1881 ; Callie Beatrice, born April 3, 1885; Olie Belle, born December 15, 1888; John William, born July 15, 1890; and Joseph Lee, born February 7, 1893.

Mr. Young is interested in all that concerns the welfare of his fellow citizens and though he has not sought for public preferment at their hands, for seven years he filled the position of road commissioner with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. He has made a name as a diligent man, a good citizen, and has the respect and confidence of his many friends and neighbors.

Peter A. Samuelson

One of the native sons of Western township, who< has won a pronounced success from his farming and the raising and feeding of stock, is Peter A. Samuelson, who owns three farms in different parts of section 26. He was born November 6, 1858, and is a son of Charles M. and Hannah M. (Swanson) Samuelson, both of Swedish birth and both having reached maturity when with their parents they came to this country. Samuel Johnson, the paternal grandfather of our subject, left his Swedish home in 185 1 and after having landed in New York went to Bufifalo, where he spent the winter. His destination, however, was Andover, this county. Although he came here a poor man, in the course of years he acquired eighty acres of land and a comfortable competence. The maternal grandfather, John Swanson, also became the owner of eighty acres after his advent here. Charles M. Samuelson and his wife began their married life with empty hands, but they were of a race that through generations had learned the necessity for incessant exertion and frugality, so that it is not surprising to know that before the end of his career Mr. Samuelson owned seven-eighths of a section in Western township. Eight children were born to him and his wife and all but one reached maturity. They were : Albert J., who lives in Western township; Peter A., the subject of this sketch; Edward C, of Peculiar, Cass county, Missouri, who married Miss Mary Youngquist and is now the father of three children; Victor J., who died at the age of thirty years; Sophia, who passed away when one year old; Oscar, who lives in Orion and is unmarried ; Hannah, who lives in Chicago, where she teaches music ; and Minnie, who married William Westerlund, of Chicago, and has three children. The father died February 18, 1904, and the mother in February, 1907. In politics he was ever a republican and held a few of the minor offices of the town- ship, while he gave his religious support to the Swedish Lutheran church, which his father had helped to organize and of which he was trustee.

Like all the older members of the family Peter A. Samuelson obtained his education in the public schools of this county, while the younger children were able to enjoy better advantages. Until he was thirty years of age he remained with his father, assisting him in the operation of his large farm, and then left the parental roof, for having married he had the natural desire to possess a home of his own. He took up his residence upon the place of eighty acres on which he now lives and which he purchased in 1892, paying sixty-five dollars an acre. In 1896 he bought another place of equal area, which cost him ten dollars more an acre, and sometime later he bought eighty acres more, for which he paid seventy-five dollars per acre. The last addition to his landholdings was eighty acres, which he inherited from his father, bringing his total acreage to three hundred and twenty. Part of this area is devoted to general crops, but much of it is used as pasture land for the large herds of cattle which Mr. Samuelson raises, feeds and ships to market. He has made a signal success from his agricultural pursuits, as any might know who have seen the handsome and commodious home he erected in 1908.

In the church at Andover, June 26, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Samuelson and Miss Lottie A. Anderson, of Lynn township. She was born, however, in Andover township, March 12, 1861, a daughter of John Otto and Anna Sophia (Youngquist) Anderson, and received a good education in the common schools. Four children have been born of this union: Blanche Harriet, who died in infancy; Clifford Cylvin, who passed away at the age of four and a half months; Lester A., who was bom September 17, 1897; and Mabel A., who was born March 30, 1900.

Mr. Samuelson has always been a stanch republican but no office seeker, although he has ever taken an active interest in politics. He holds membership in the Swedish Lutheran church, in which he has served as deacon. Industrious, honorable and imbued with strong principles, he enjoys the good-will of those who have come in contact with him, either in business or social intercourse.

Harry Cowell

Harry Cowell, who operates two hundred and forty acres of land about a mile and a half east of Nekoma in Weller township and is one of the successful agriculturists of his locality, was born on the Isle of Man, July 23, 1856. His parents, John and Isabella (Skinner) Cowell, were also natives of the same place, which remained their home throughout their lives. The mother died there in 1859, when her son Harry was but three years of age and when she herself was only forty-five years old. The father, however, who had followed the sea throughout his active life, lived until he had passed the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey.

Harry Cowell received his education in the public schools of his native island, but at that time, although they were denominated public, each pupil had to pay tuition according to the number of studies he prosecuted. Throughout his young manhood and until 1884 he worked as a fa'rm hand in his old home and then in that year came to the United States, under the belief, which the years have proved was not unfounded, that he could better his fortunes here. For several years after his arrival in Henry county, he found employment upon farms in Galva township and then, in 1888, he leased a tract of eighty acres in that locality, where he lived for two years, gaining there his first experience as an independent farmer. Now he rents a tract of two hundred and forty acres about a mile and a half east of Nekoma. The land is all well improved, is under an excellent state of cultivation, and has been successfully operated, for bountiful harvests have repaid generously his devotion to his life's work. He has devoted the greater part of his land to corn. Having in his youth learned the invaluable lessons of industry and being endowed with a desire to progress, he has succeeded to a degree scarcely hoped for even in his most optomistic moments.

In Cambridge, Illinois, May 21, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Cowell and Miss Margaret G. Elsis, a daughter of William Ellis, a banker on the Isle of Man. Twelve children have been born to them, namely : Margaret E., who died April 10, 1908; Isabella A., who is the wife of James W. Galloway, a farmer in Canada ; Florence M., who is twenty years of age and is teaching school; Rose A., who at the age of eighteen is also engaged in teaching; May H., who is seventeen years old and lives at home; Lawrence H., a lad of fifteen who is attending school ; Elsie M., who is thirteen years old and is a pupil in the public school; John W., who is eleven years of age and attends school ; Lillian G., who at the age of nine is living in Canada, where she is attending school; Charles E., who is seven and has just entered upon his period of instruction; and Phillis V. and Robert E., who at the respective ages of five and two are still at home.

When he became a citizen of this nation Mr. Cowell decided to look to the democratic party for his guidance in political matters, and so confidently does he believe in the value of the principles it enunciates in its platform, that usually he votes the straight ticket. He has, however, taken no part in the local government, but his life, conscientiously lived, might be an example of fine manhood that is worthy of recognition. Fraternally he affiliates with the Modern Woodmen, being an active member of the camp at Nekoma.

Alexander McAvoy, deceased, who for many years carried on agricultural pursuits in Munson township, Henry county, was residing in Geneseo at the time of his demise, having removed to this city upon his retirement from active business life. His birth occurred in Pleasant Mount, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1832, his parents being Paul and Susan McAvoy, and he was one of a family of five children, the others being, Richard, Christopher, Paul and Fannie. He was reared to agricultural life on his father's farm, and re- mained under the parental roof until the year 1859, when he came alone to Henry county, locating in Munson township. Here he secured employment as a farm hand, in which capacity he continued for nearly three years. In the meantime he was actuated by the ambition of one day being independent, and he labored diligently and perseveringly, carefully saving his earnings, until he had accumulated sufficient capital with which to purchase a farm of his own. He invested in eighty acres of land in Munson township and then returned to his native city, where he was united in marriage on the 25th of February, 1862, to Miss Ann E. McDermott, who had been the girl of his boyhood choice. Mrs. McAvoy's father, Andrew McDermott, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, and when a boy came to the United States with two brothers, settlement being made in Wayne county, Pennsylvania. They worked upon the Delaware and Hudson canal during the summer seasons, the winter months being devoted to clearing farms which they had secured. These farms were located in the wilds of Pennsylvania and no improvements whatever had been made upon them when they came into the possession of the three brothers, panthers, wolves and other wild animals being very numerous throughout the district. Andrew McDermott later wedded Miss Elizabeth Riley, also a native of County Cavan, Ireland, although neither had met until after they had resided in this country some time. She was a maiden of fifteen summers when, with two older brothers and a younger sister, she crossed the Atlantic ocean, and the brothers established a home at Pleasant Mount, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, Mrs. McDermott becoming the housekeeper for the little family, bravely enduring the many hardships incident upon frontier life. Wild animals abounded in the district surrounding their home and many times they were compelled to climb to the roof of the log barn to escape from wolves. It was during this period that her grandfather, Thomas Riley, passed away in County Cavan, Ireland, and the brothers sent for the grandmother, Ellen Riley, who came and made her home with them at Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania, where her remaining days were spent. Mrs. McAvoy was the eldest in a family of four sons and four daughters born unto Mr. and Mrs. Andrew McDermott. Ellen, the second in order of birth, became the wife of Richard McAvoy, a brother of Alexander Mc- Avoy, of this sketch, and they made their home on a farm in Wayne county, Pennsylvania. They were the parents of several children. Catherine was united in marriage with Christopher McAvoy, another member of the same family, and unto them were born two sons and two daughters. They conducted a hotel at Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania, up to the time of the husband's death in 1903, since which time the wife has resided on the old homestead with her oldest daughter, Nellie. Louise, the fourth member of the family, wedded Patrick Hannon, and makes her home in Hutchinson, Kansas, where Mr. Hannon has charge of the supply store of the Rock Island Railroad. In their family are three children, Ada, Nora and Mathew. James McDermott married Mary Moran, and lived in Pittston, Pennsylvania, for some time. He was superintendent of a mine at that place, and was killed by a falling timber. He was the father of five children. Thomas was united in marriage to Miss Alice McCabe, who passed away in 1908, leaving four children to mourn her loss. He now resides upon the old homestead at Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania, of which he is the owner.. John Andrew married Elizabeth Boyle, of Geneseo township, Henry county, Illinois, a daughter of Thomas and Eliza Boyle, her birth occurring in 1887. They resided at Webster City, Iowa, until the time of her death, which occurred in 1899. Later Mr. McDermott was again married, his second union being with Miss Catherine Pritchard, of Omaha, Nebraska, in which city they now make their home. Cornelius, the youngest in the family, is also married and makes his home in Dunmore, a suburb of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He is a traveling salesman and is the father of seven daughters, all grown to maturity and caring for themselves.

Mr. McAvoy, whose name introduces this review, brought his young bride at once to Henry county and during the following summer they resided with a neighboring family while Mr. McAvoy erected a dwelling upon the farm which he had previously purchased. In the fall of 1862 they began housekeeping in their new home, and continued to reside therein until 1890. In 1869 he purchased a tract of eighty acres adjoining his original farm, and later, in 1876, invested in another adjoining tract of one hundred and sixty acres, so that he became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres, constituting one of the finest farms of its size in the state. He was a man whose knowledge of agriculture was thorough and comprehensive, and his well directed energies brought to him a most gratifying degree of success.

As the years passed Mr. and Mrs. McAvoy became the parents of two sons, namely: Alexander Sherman, who was born on the 13th of January, 1865; and Frederick Joseph, whose birth occurred May 11, 1876. A complete record of the lives of the two sons follows this sketch. Mr. McAvoy continued to engage in agricultural pursuits and remained an active factor in the world's work until 1897, when he retired from business life and took up his residence at Geneseo, Illinois, where his remaining days were spent. He passed away September 13, 1900, and with his death Munson township lost one of its valued and respected citizens who for about forty years had resided within its borders and had taken an active part in the work of development and improvement which has been carried on during that period. He was an honorable and upright gentleman, whose many excellent traits of character won for him the high regard and good will of all with whom he was associated.

The agricultural interests of Munson township find a worthy representative in Frederick Joseph McAvoy, who is operating an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 2, the farm being a part of his father's estate. He was born in the house which is now his home on the nth of May, 1872, his parents being Alexander and Ann (McDermott) McAvoy, of whom extended mention is made in the preceding sketch. His boyhood and youth were spent upon his father's farm in the usual manner of country lads. During the winter months he attended the district schools and later benefited by a course of study in Geneseo Collegiate Institute at Geneseo, where he remained for three years, becoming well equipped for the practical and responsible duties of life. After completing his education he returned home and assisted his father in the work of the fields until twenty-one years of age, when he entered upon an independent business career as an agriculturist, renting a portion of the home farm and boarding with his parents. He continued in that capacity until twenty-five years of age, when, in the spring of 1897, his father retired from the active duties of business life and removed to Geneseo. At that time his farm, which consisted of three hundred and twenty acres of the finest land to be found in the state, was divided between his two sons, Frederick J. McAvoy retaining the portion upon which the homestead was located. He hired a housekeeper for a few months until he established the foundation of a happy home life of his own in his marriage on the 7th of September, 1897, to Miss Margaret Welsh, of Woodhull, Illinois, where her birth occurred upon a farm. Her parents were James and Isabella (Paul) Welsh, the former now making his home in Oxford township, while the latter passed away in 1903. When he assumed the management of his present farm Mr. McAvoy was well prepared by previous thorough training to carry on the excellent work which his father had begun upon the place, and through modern agricultural methods he has continued to keep the land under a high state of cultivation, being methodical, sysematic and progressive in the conduct of his business affairs.

As the years have come and gone the home of Mr. and Mrs. McAvoy has been blessed with three children, namely : Verna, born on the 226. of January, 1899; Edward, whose birth occurred on the 28th of April, 1904; and Elsie, born May 19, 1909. The parents are members of St. Malachi's Catholic church, Mr. McAvoy having been confirmed in that faith in 1887 under Bishop Spalding. They are people of high social standing in the community in which they reside, and are popular with a host of warm friends who entertain for them the utmost respect and good will.

Mr. McAvoy gives his political allegiance to the democratic party but has never sought nor desired public preferment, the only office which he has filled being that of school director, in which he is still serving. He is not unmindful, however, of the responsibilities that devolve upon him as a citizen, but has given unfaltering allegiance to those interests which tend to promote the material, political, intellectual and moral progress of the community and in his business life has conducted his affairs so actively and honorably that he has gained success and also the respect and confidence of his fellowmen.

Among the native sons of Munson township who are seeking their fortunes in agricultural lines and by their well directed efforts are meeting with creditable success, is Alexander Sherman McAvoy, whose birth occurred upon a farm of which his present place is a part, in the house now occupied by his brother, Frederick J. McAvoy, whose sketch is found above. Bom on the 13th of Jan-

Reared under the parental roof Alexander S. McAvoy is indebted to the schools of Munson township for the early educational advantages which he enjoyed,while later he profited by a three years' course of study at Geneseo Seminary and received thorough commercial training in the Davenport Business College, of Davenport, Iowa, from which he was graduated. Thus well equipped for the duties of an independent business career, at the age of twentytwo years he began agricultural pursuits on his own account, renting land from his father until the latter's retirement in 1897. He was then given control of one half of his father's estate, of which he became the owner at the latter's death. His farm consists of one hundred and sixty acres of the best soil to be found in the state, and in its midst he has erected good substantial buildings which stand as monuments to his industry and thrift. The soil, which is naturally rich and productive, yields abundant annual harvests, which prove a source of gratifying revenue to him, while his good business ability and close application have gained for him rank among the progressive and prosperous agriculturists of the township.

On the 19th of October, 1886, Mr. McAvoy was united in marriage to Miss Frances M. Critz, of Richmond, Iowa, a daughter of John and Mary Critz, whose acquaintance he made while residing in Davenport, Iowa. Unto this union were bom five children, Paul, Albert, Mark, Winnifred and Maude. The eldest, who was born on the 26th of September, 1887, is now clerking in a grocery store in Geneseo. Mr. McAvoy belongs to the Roman Catholic church, having been confirmed in the faith of that church at the age of twenty-one years under Bishop Spalding.

In politics he has not allied himself with any party organization, preferring rather to cast his vote for the men and measures which in his opinion are best adapted to conserve the public good. Nevertheless he is not unmindful of the duties that devolve upon him as a loyal and public-spirited citizen, but does everything in his power to promote the general welfare and progress of the community. Having spent his entire life within the borders of Munson township, he has gained a circle of friends that is almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances, and his salient characteristics are such as have gained him the confidence and good will of all with whom he has been associated.

Thomas M. Hannon

Thomas M. Hannon, a farmer on section 25, Geneseo township, was born in Listhole, Ireland, in 1842, and is a son of Matthew and Mary (Callahan) Hannon, both natives of Ireland. The father, a son of Thomas Hannon, a tenant in Listhole, Ireland, came to the United States about 1849 and after remaining in Sandusky, Ohio, a year or two came to Illinois. The Rock Island Railroad was then being built and he secured work upon it as section foreman, a position he held until he became too old to work. After he had been here about six years and had become fairly well established, he sent for his family - his wife, three sons and a daughter - to join him. They arrived in 1856 and made their home at Bureau Junction, Bureau county, Illinois, for a number of years. In 1867 the family divided, the mother going to live with her son Thomas on his farm, the daughter remaining with her father and brothers for whom she kept house until she married, when the father also came to live with his son. On the farm in Geneseo township Matthew Hannon passed the remainder of his days, and was eighty-four years of age when on the 26th of December, 1896,^ he was called away. His wife had died eight years before.

Thomas M. Hannon was fourteen years of age when he came to this country and immediately upon his arrival commenced work upon the Rock Island Railroad, being employed in various capacities, from section man to fireman. In 1867 he came to Henry county, locating on the farm which had been bought with his own savings and those of the father, his mother coming with him. Here he has since lived, and to this he brought his bride and here he reared his family. In the forty years and more that he has tilled the farm he has met with success and has secured a comfortable fortune.

On the 31st of March, 1875, Mr. Hannon married Miss Mary Cavanaugh, of Rock Island. She was born in New York city, October 10, 1851, and was a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Quigley) Cavanaugh. The father, who was a son of John Cavanaugh, was a native of Dublin, Ireland, while his wife was born in County Limerick. Seven children have been bom to Mr. and Mrs. Hannon. Matthew, born February 26, 1876, is unmarried and lives at home. Agnes, born November 5, 1878, married Henderson Frew, who lives in Atkinson. Grace, born December 25, 1880, is unmarried and teaches in the schools of Geneseo. She makes her home with her parents. Daniel, born April 13, 1882, is the principal of the consolidated schools at Scotland, Illinois. Cecelia, born August 20, 1884, teaches in the country schools of Henry county and lives with her parents. Thomas, bom July 18, 1887, is also at home. Elizabeth, the youngest, was born January 27, 1891. Surrounded by his family Mr. Hannon is in the enjoyment of a tranquility that is very gratifying to him as he looks back over the long years and their many hardships. Though he has a natural attachment for the land of his birth, he cannot regret that his father came to this country and gave to his family advantages they should never have had there. He is now the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which is well improved with good and substantial buildings.

William Harvey Withrow

William Harvey Withrow, one of the substantial farmers of Phenix township, was born in the house he now occupies, April 5, 1862, being a son of Amariah Withrow, a sketch of whom is to be found in this work. His boyhood was spent on this farm and he was given a fair common school education. Until he attained his majority he worked for his father and then began farming by the day among neighbors. In this way he earned money to buy the neces- sary farming implements and a team, and then he began operating his uncle's farm in Hanna township. For two years he continued there, afterward going to his paternal grandfather's farm. About 1892 he removed to his father's farm, which has since been his home. He also owns one hundred and four acres adjoining and operates both properties. At one time he owned eighty acres in Hardin township,, for which he paid thirty-one dollars per acre, but he later sold it at a profit.

On August 30, 1887, Mr. Withrow was married in Geneseo township, to Miss Perilezette Merrimen, of Phenix township, a daughter of William and Margaret (Carse) Merrimen, who ard now residing in Germany. While Mr. Withrow is an earnest republican he is not an office seeker. He belongs to Camp No. 40, M. W. A., and enjoys his association with his fellow members. An excellent farmer, good business man and reliable citizen, Mr. Withrow has not only succeeded in material things, but he has won the confidence and friendship of those with whom he has been brought in contact and is admitted to be one of the representative agriculturalists of Phenix township.

Asher Beatty Love

One of the successful agriculturists of Western township is Asher Beatty Love, who operates a farm of one hundred and fifty-three acres belonging to his father. He was born in this township, May i, 1875, his parents being James A. and Anna (Beatty) Love. The father was of Irish birth and parentage, but was a mere child when the family came to America in 1849 They settled first in Pennsylvania, where his father died, leaving his mother to rear their family of ten children. About 1871 she brought her family to Illinois, where several of the sons became interested in agriculture. In Western township James A. Love was married, and in the course of years became one of the successful farmers of his locality.

Asher Beatty Love was reared upon the farm which is now his home and attended the common schools of his district. Since he has assumed the management of his father's place, he has given more and more attention to the raising and feeding of stock, from which he has derived an income commensurate with that obtained from purely agricultural pursuits. The fields which are under his control have been cultivated with a care that bespeaks his skill as a farmer, while the improvements which adorn the place demonstrate his thrift, economy and good management - qualities which are as necessary as industry in the prosecution of agricultural work.

On the 29th of June, 1905, at Kent, Iowa, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Love and Miss Susan Jeanette Campbell. She was born in Rock Island county, Illinois, is a daughter of Thomas Campbell, and was visiting in Orion when she met Mr. Love. She died April 11, 1909, on Easter Sunday. She was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Orion and Mr. Love also has given to it his support and allegiance. In political matters he affiliates with the republican party, but he has never aspired to any office with- in the gift of the people, although, considering the high regard in which he is held by his fellow citizens, there can be little doubt as to the loyal support he would receive.

Harry Broadbent

Harry Broadbent is one of the young farmers and stockmen of Cornwall township whose industry and enterprise are meeting with well deserved success. He was born on the place where he now resides January i, 1886, and is a son of Robert and Jane (Winters) Broadbent. The father was a native of Yorkshire, England, and was about thirty years of age when in 1855 he emigrated tO' America. After landing at New York he came to Henry county, whither his brother William had come the year before, and here he worked by the month until able to engage in farming on his own account. Then he rented the farm on which his son Harry now lives and the next year bought eighty acres for thirty dollars per acre. He was frugal, energetic and a good business man, so that every year brought a substantial increase in his income, and as he was able he invested his money in. farm property until he owned at one time six hundred acres in Henry county and two hundred and forty acres in Arkansas. As these large landholdings represented the results of his labor after he came to this country, he had no reason to regret his decision to establish a home here. A large circle of friends mourned his loss when on the 23d of June, 1908, he passed away. He had espoused the cause of the democracy upon becoming a citizen of this republic but never sought public office.

Before coming to this country Robert Broadbent had married but his wife died in England, and he crossed the Atlantic alone. In 1856 he wedded the woman who became the mother of his children. She was a native of Manchester, England, where she grew to womanhood and married Mr. Modd, by whom she had two children. Later she became the wife of Edward Gash and they had four children, while by her union with Mr. Broadbent three children were born. Hannah, the oldest, became the wife of August Schuetts and they had one child. After his death she married Albert Schuetts, and they are now living near Stuttgart, Arkansas. Robert Irvin, living in Cornwall township, wedded Miss Otte Paxton and they have two children. Harry is the subject of this sketch. The mother died in December, 1906.

The days of his youth passed busily for Harry Broadbent, for in addition to attending the district school he devoted all his spare time to farm work, so that before he reached man's estate he was thoroughly familiar with agricultural pursuits. Upon the death of his father he inherited two hundred and forty acres of land, a part lying on section 24, Cornwall township, which is his home, and the remainder on sections 18 and 19, Annawan township. The soil which is rich and arable, is devoted to general farming in which Mr. Broadbent has engaged, also as pasturage for the stock he raises. He has shown good business judgment in the conduct of his affairs and his labors are fittingly rewarded.

On the 13th of August, 1908, Mr. Broadbent was united in marriage to Miss Letha Marietta Hull, a daughter of Jacob H. and Frances Alma (Grubbs) Hull.

She was bom in Brooklyn, Iowa, September 22, 1887, and with the exception of three years spent her early life in her birth place. At the age of seventeen she came to Atkinson to live and there met Mr. Broadbent.

Politically Mr, Broadbent is a democrat, although he is in strong sympathy with the principles of the prohibition party while his religious faith is manifested by his membership in the United Brethren church of Fairview, to which his wife also belongs. Both are closely identified with church and Sunday-school work and in their lives exemplify the teachings of Christianity. Actuated by a laudable ambition, he has already met with well deserved success and a profitable future undoubtedly awaits him.

John F. Willard

Among the men that came to Henry county in pioneer days, subdued the wilderness and laid the foundations for business development through the utilization of the natural resources here afforded, was numbered John F. Willard, and as one of the honored early settlers we present his history to our readers, many of whom well remember him as a man of sterling worth. He came from Weathersfield, Connecticut, in the fall of 1836. His birth there occurred June 18, 1805, and in the place of his nativity he was reared and educated. Having arrived at years of maturity he wedded Mary A. Wells.

John F. Willard was reared to the occupation of farming and when he came to Henry county he turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits and afterward entered the nursery business, establishing a nursery in which he produced and sold stock of various kinds, including trees and shrubbery. He also conducted a greenhouse and his business interests grew and developed along that line, his becoming one of the important industries of the district. The latter part of his life was devoted entirely to raising fruit and he became widely known as a leading horticulturist of the community. In connection with Mr. Little he built the first log cabin in the neighborhood in which he established his home and there in that primitive dwelling he experienced all of the hardships and privations incident to the pioneer settler who with resolute purpose overcame all difficulties and obstacles that confronted him in order to make a home in a hitherto unsettled region. He recognized the richness of the western prairies and as the years passed he prospered in his labors. His death occurred September 23, 1874, while his wife survived him for about four years, being called to her final rest on the 24th of September, 1878. He was a lifelong Christian and a devoted member of the Congregational church, in the work of which he took active and helpful part, serving as deacon of the church and as superintendent of the Sunday school. His business probity, his reliability in every relation of life and his kindly and considerate spirit were qualities which have made his memory cherished and honored among all who knew him.

Mr. and Mrs. Willard are still survived by a daughter, Mrs. Sarah Adeline Mowitt, who yet resides in Wethersfield. She had four children, three of whom are living. Mary, the eldest, is the wife of A, F. MulhoUand, of Wethersfield, who is with the National Tube Company, and their children are four in number: Mary Ruth, Frederick A., Susan Margaret and Herbert M. John P. Mowitt, a farmer now residing at Grinnell, Iowa, married Miss Sarah Bruce, of that state, and they have three children : Gaylord W., Wiley A, and George W. Gaylord T. Mowitt, also living in Grinnell, Iowa, where he represents the United States Express Company, wedded Mary James of that state and has two children, Donald and Willard.

Airs. Mowitt has a brother William O. Willard who was born November 2, 1840, in Wethersfield and was there reared. He remained a resident of his native town until 1869 when he removed to Grinnell, Iowa. For years he conducted a nursery business there but at the present time he is the owner of a farm largely devoted to the cultivation of fruits. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted, in 1861, with the boys in blue, Company F, One Hundred and Twentyfourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for three years, and at the expiration of his term he reenlisted and continued with the army until the close of the war. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg and in other important engagements, but on account of illness was taken from the ranks and was assigned to the duty of carrying mail for a year. He married Emma Shaw and unto them were bom five children : Frank, who is now superintendent of schools in Seattle, Washington, who is married and is the father of Donald, Dudley, and Dougherty Willard; William, who is the teacher of science in a college in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is married and has one child; Henry, a practicing physician of Deer Lodge, Montana; Ruth M., who' is the librarian at Grinnell, Iowa; and Faith Ella, who is residing in Seattle, Washington.

Such in brief is the history of the Willard family which for seventy-three years has been represented in Henry county. Only four years had elapsed after the Black Hawk war when John Willard and his wife arrived in Wethersfield and there were still many traces of Indian occupancy in various parts of the state. The great, broad, rolling prairies of Illinois were largely unbroken by the plowshare, but the land was naturally rich and fertile and responded readily to the labors of the agriculturist. As the years passed he bore his full share in the work of general progress and improvement and maintained a place as one of the representative and honored pioneer residents of the county.

William Lamb, Sr

Among the many European countries which have contributed stalwart sons to the upbuilding of this land is Scotland, and one of these Scotchmen is William Lamb, Sr., who, though not permitted to live long in this republic, had a wife, sons and daughters who have rendered valuable service to the nation and to Annawan, Illinois, in particular. He was born in Selkirk, Scotland, in 1813. In the old country he and his father, who also bore the name William, were engaged in what is here known as the nursery business. The older man did not come to this country, preferring to pass his days in the land of his birth. The younger man came to the United States in 1848 or 1849, and after spending a few years in

Boston came west to Illinois, settling in Morris, where he filled the position of station agent. In 1854 he removed to Annawan, there also obtaining the position of station agent, which he held for two years, or until his death. His body was buried in Annawan. On becoming a citizen of this country Mr. Lamb gave his political support to the republican party, while his religious allegiance was given to the Presbyterian church, of which he had been a stanch adherent from his childhood. From his church society in Scotland he had received a beautiful silver plate bearing his name and the place of his birth. This his son, Robert H. Lamb, has in his possession, and he in turn will bequeath it to his son, it being understood that the plate is to remain in the family as an heirloom.

At his death Mr. Lamb left a widow and nine children. Mrs. Lamb bore the maiden name of Margaret Muir Bowie and was a daughter of John Bowie, a linen draper in the old country, who was a man of wealth and refinement and was able to give his children the very best advantages in the way of education and culture. His children have now all passed away but during their lifetime they were highly respected in their respective communities. Mrs. Lamb was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, January 26, 1816, and in that city not only received a good education in the common branches of English instruction but also in the Latin and French languages. She attained a high degree of proficiency in the latter, being able both to speak and write it fluently, and after coming to Annawan for several years had a class of twenty or more to whom she gave French lessons. She was also talented and educated in music as well, was an accomplished pianist, and when she came to America with her husband brought her own piano with her. The instrument is still in existence and is valued highly partly because of its rosewood case which in these days is quite a rarity. Music always made a subtle appeal to Mrs. Lamb that diminished not at all with her advancing years, for on Saturday evening, three nights before her death, she seated herself at the piano and played as she had on every Saturday evening for many, many years. She was eightyfour at the time of her death and during the last thirty-four years of her life was the postmaster at Annawan. The duties of the ofiice she had assumed December 20, 1866, and had administered actively until within four years of her death, though during all this period she had the invaluable and devoted assistance of her daughter, Miss Joanna Lamb, who is now the postmaster.

Mrs. Lamb was one of a family of eleven children and was the mother of nine. Seven of these were born in Scotland, one in Boston and one in Morris, Illinois. The three eldest daughters received their education in the old country, as did the youngest son who was taken to his mother's home on a visit when he was nine years of age and left there to attend school. Catherine Tate, the eldest of the family, became the wife of Joseph Stevens. Both are now deceased but their four children survive: William T., a farmer of Annawan, Illinois; Margaret, unmarried, who makes her home with her brother; Charles, a freight conductor whose home is in Annawan; and Lottie, who is unmarried. Mary Roe, the second of Mrs. Lamb's children, was a teacher in the schools of Henry county and in her early womanhood married Theodore Smith. Both are now dead. William Lamb, Jr., was a baggageman on the Rock Island Railroad. He died in 1855, at the age of twenty-one years, and was buried by the side of his parents in Annawan. Margaret became the wife of John L. Dow, who died some years ago in Davenport, Iowa. She now lives in Des Moines, Iowa, and is the mother of two daughters and two sons: Mary Ella, the wife of Charles Posche, of St. Joseph, Missouri; Jennie, the wife of Hugh Shuler. of Des Moines, Iowa; Lyford T., who lives in Davenport, Iowa, and has one son, Courtney; and Josiah H., who lives in Winterset, Iowa, and has two children, Margaret Isabella and John Lyford. Isabella, the fifth of Mrs. Lamb's children, married Caleb F. Swoyze and lives in Annawan. They have four children: Ella, who is the wife of G. A. Mallory, of Annawan, and has two children, Catherine and Isabella; Roy, unmarried, engaged in cement work; Jessie Rae, who married Harry M. Dewey and lives in Camp Grove, Illinois, where her husband is engaged in the elevator business; and Robert Lamb, who lives at home.

Joanna, the sixth child of Mr. and Mrs. Lamb, received her education in Scotland, but from her mother obtained her knowledge of music and culture. From the time Mrs. Lamb entered upon her duties as postmistress in 1866, until her death in 1900, Miss Joanna Lamb was her able assistant and then filled out the mother's unexpired term. When her nephew, Lyford L. Dow, was appointed to the office Miss Lamb continued to do all the work and to draw the pay through his term of four years, and then upon the failure of his health was herself appointed to the position in 1905. She is now serving her second term, to the great satisfaction of all the community, and from half past five in the morning till six in the evening her sunny smile greets the people as they come for their mail ; almost daily for she never has a full holiday except Sunday. She is painstaking, intelligent and energetic, and while these qualities have won appreciation from her patrons, her unvarying kindness to her mother and her filial care of her gained for her their afifection and admiration. The comfortable home on State street, in which she has her rooms, she inherited from her mother; the greater part of the house, however, she rents to a family.

Robert Henry, the seventh child, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He received his education in Scotland, his mother having taken him with her when she made a visit to her old home and left him there. He is now a hardware merchant in Kewanee, Illinois, and the father of two children, William Campbell and Theresa Marie, by his marriage to Miss May Cronaw, of Kewanee, where her parents still live. Ellen J., the youngest of this large family, was educated in the schools of Annawan and after graduating from the high school here taught for six years in the primary room. She married David A. Jones and lives in Moline, Illinois, where her husband is a real-estate agent. They have three children : Luella, who is unmarried ; Mary Roe, who is the wife of George B. Dobson, a civil engineer of Des Moines, Iowa, and the mother of one child, John; and Robert, who at the age of eighteen is a student at Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Mr. and Mrs. Lamb were proud of their birthplace and perhaps no one at the time of death commanded greater respect than did Mrs. Lamb for, being left with a large family, by industry, great economy, and many sacrifices she was able to give them all an education. They in turn assisted her, so that her closing years were passed in very comfortable circumstances. Having been reared in affluence, and even luxury, the hardships and privations of her life in this country were something unforeseen by her, and yet she fulfilled her duties without a murmur or a vain regret and felt duly rewarded in the devotion of her children and the admiration of her friends. She returned twice to her native heath, once in 1857, when she took her two youngest children with her and left her son to be educated and then in 1876 when she went alone. On each occasion she remained one year.

Miss Lamb, who is the present postmaster and for more than forty years has handled the mails in Annawan, is also a woman highly regarded in this community. Her service is most efficient, and this has won admiration, but her sunny disposition and bright smile and her devotion to her aged mother have made her beloved among those who have come to know her.

Charles E. Sturtz

In no profession does success depend as largely upon individual effort and merit as in the practice of law. Comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and ability to correctly apply its principles to the points in litigation are the concomitants of success and these are based upon a thorough and careful preparation of each case. Charles E. Sturtz, for sixteen years a practitioner at the Kewanee bar, seems to possess all of the attributes necessary to success for he has won in the courts many notable forensic combats. Pennsylvania numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, not far from Cumberland, Maryland, on the 9th of November, 1864. His parents, Charles and Catherine (Kennell) Sturtz, were also natives of the same county and were representatives of old families of the Keystone state. In 1869 they left the east and came to Illinois, settling near Sterling, Whiteside county, where they have since made their home, the father having engaged in farming throughout the intervening period, until 1902 when he moved to Sterling where he is now residing.

Charles E. Sturtz acquired his preliminary education in the common schools of Whiteside county and later attended Dixon College, after which he engaged in teaching school in Whiteside county for four years. The hours which are usually devoted to recreation and pleasures were given by him during that period to the study of law under the direction of Mannahan & Ward, attorneys of Sterling. He also took his Blackstone with him on pedagogic expeditions and feeling the necessity of further general knowledge as a preparation for a professional career, in the fall of 1887 he entered Knox College at Galesburg and was there graduated in 1891, the degree of Bachelor of Science being at that time conferred upon him. In the periods of vacation he continued to pursue his law studies and after leaving Knox College he entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, winning the Bachelor of Law degree in 1892. The same year he was admitted to the bar and his preliminary- professional experience was gained during the year which he spent in the law office of Otis & Graves at Chicago. In 1893 he came to Kewanee, where he has built up an extensive practice of an important character. His mind during the entire period of his course at the bar has been directed in the line of his profession and his duty. He has argued many cases and lost but few. No one better knows the necessity for thorough preparation and no one more industriously prepares his cases than he. His analysis of the facts is clear and exhaustive ; he sees without effort the relation and dependence of the facts and so groups them as to enable him to throw their combined forces upon the point they tend to prove. His handling of his cases is always full, comprehensive and accurate; -he examines a witness carefully and thoroughly but treats him with the respect which makes the witness grateful for his kindness and forbearance; toward the court he is always courteous and deferential; and while his devotion to his clients' interests is proverbial he never forgets that he owes a still higher allegiance to the majesty of the law. In 1903 he was elected states attorney and has been elected three times since so that he is the present incum-. bent in the office. He had previously served as city attorney, having been elected in 1894, 1895 and 1896 for terms of one year each, while in 1899 he was reelected for a two years' term.

On the i6th of September, 1892, Mr. Sturtz was married to Miss AlHe C. Price of Neponset, Illinois, a daughter of Joseph Price, now residing in Kewanee. They have two daughters, Zola May and Katherine. Mr. Sturtz is prominent in Masonry, having attained high rank in the order and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Elks and Knights of Pythias and his political allegiance has always been given to the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He has served as secretary of the board of education for several years, his membership on the board covering altogether a period of nine years. His devotion to the public good has been evidenced in many ways and he is known as a progressive citizen, whose labors in behalf of Kewanee in the sixteen years of his residence here have been far-reaching, effective and beneficial.

George E. Troline

George E. Troline, an energetic and successful agriculturist of Galva township, makes his home on section 30, where he owns a fine farm of one hundred acres. His birth occurred in Galva township, Henry county, Illinois, on the 22d of October, 1861, his parents being Eric and Christine (Olson) Olson, both of whom were born at Helsingland, Sweden. The paternal grandfather, Eric Sundell, passed away in that country when about eighty years of age. His wife, Mrs. Betsy Sundell, died in early womanhood. Their children were four in number. Peter Hast, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a farmer by occupation and died of pneumonia when fifty-two years of age. In 1812 he served as an officer in the war in Sweden, in which country his demise occurred. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Miss Olson, died while making the ocean voyage from Sweden to the United States, at which time she was about fifty-one years of age. She was the mother of three daughters and a son, namely: Brita, Anna, Christine and Eric.

Eric Olson, the father of George E. TroHne, crossed the Atlantic to ^he United States in 1846 and became one of the pioneer settlers of this county, taking up his abode with the Bishop Hill colony and assisting in dividing the lands. Each settler received twenty-two acres and he remained with the colony until it was disbanded. Subsequently he purchased sixty acres of land in Galva township and made his home on that farm until called to his final rest on the 25th of June, 1899, when he had attained the age of eighty-two years and seven months. He was engaged in the manufacture of brick and made the brick for nearly all of the buildings in Bishop Hill, and was also head man in the timber and sawmill business. The period of his residence in this county covered more than five decades and he was well known and highly esteemed within its borders as a most respected and worthy citizen. In religious faith he was a Lutheran. He was twice married and his first wife, who bore the maiden name of Betsy Olson and whom he wedded in 1840, passed away in 1847. They had two children, one of whom died in early life. The other, Catharine, is now the widow of August Livine, who for four years loyally defended the interests of the Union as a soldier in the Civil war. In her girlhood days she underwent all of the hardships and privations of pioneer times while living in the Bishop Hill colony with her parents, and in 1871 she removed to Clay Center, Kansas, where she once more experienced the vicissitudes of life in a sparsely settled and undeveloped region. She still makes her home at Clay Center. The second wife of Eric Olson and the mother of Mr. Troline of this review passed away on the 14th of June, 1905, at the age of eighty-one years, seven months and twelve days. For several years she acted as head nurse in Bishop Hill. By her marriage she became the mother of four children, of whom our subject is the only survivor, the other three having died in infancy.

George E. Troline was reared on his father's farm in Galva township and supplemented his preliminary education, obtained in the district schools, by a course in the Galva high school. He remained under the parental roof until he had attained his majority and subsequent to his marriage purchased the old homestead farm, which he has since owned and operated. The property comprises one hundred acres of good farming land and also a five-acre tract of timber. In the conduct of his agricultural interests he has met with a gratifying and well merited measure of success, annually gathering good harvests as a reward of the intelligence which he displays in the planting and cultivation of his crops.

On the 27th of December, 1891, Mr. Troline was united in marriage to Miss Hulda C. Ringborg, a native of Sweden and a daughter of Andrew and Carolina (Jacobson) Ringborg, who were likewise born in that country. The father was born iDecember 2, 1829, in Skolvened, Socken, Elsbors Lan, He came from Sweden to the United States in 1869, making his way to Andover, Illinois. In that locality he devoted his attention to farming. His father, whose name was Andres Ein, died in 1836 at the age of sixty years. He was a soldier in the Finnish war and was in seven battles. The mother died in 1866 at the age of seventy-two years. In the family were ten children, of whom two died in infancy, while five lived to a ripe old age, two being more than eighty-five years of age at the time of their death. The first wife of Andres Ein had two chil- dren, but the daughter died in infancy, while the son lived to the age of seventy years. In 1862 Andrew Ringborg was married to Miss Carolina Jacobson, who was born in Roksocken, Ostergottan, Sweden, October 9, 1839. They became the parents of the following children: John Alfred, who was bom May 4, 1863, and is yet living in Sweden; Carl August, who was born in November, 1864; Hulda C, who was born December 11, 1866, and came to the United States in 1870; Emma, who was born in 1868 and died in infancy; Ellen D., who was born June 18, 1871, and is now the wife of Hans Paulson, of CaHfornia; Augusta Matilda, who was born December 3, 1872, and is the wife of Peter Benson; Ida Otilia, who was born November 10, 1874, and is the wife of Edward Hultgren; and Anna Sophia, who was born December 8, 1886, and is the wife of Henry Nelson, who is now deputy sheriff of Riverside county, California. The grandmother of Mrs. Ringborg was born in 1809 in Ekeborg, Trehoma, Socken, Ostergottan, Sweden, and died at the age of eighty-two years. Her husband was born in May, 1813, and died November i, 1857. They were married in 1833 and had six children, of whom three died in infancy, while three are still living: Anna, Carolina and Franz August, aged respectively seventy-six, seventy and sixty-eight years. The great-grandmother was Hulda Maria Christina and she was born in Ekeborg. The great-grandfather was born in Sweden, four generations of the family being born in the same house.

Mr. and Mrs. Troline are now the parents of four children: Vincent E. R., Mildred C. C, Myrtle H. and Minerva M. Mr. Troline gives his political allegiance to the democracy and has served as a school director for nine years, the cause of education ever finding in him a stalwart champion. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen and also to the Valhalla Society. As he has lived in this county throughout his entire life, he has a wide acquaintance here and his friends know him as an enterprising agriculturist and a man of genuine worth.

John F. Nowers

John F. Nowers, a leading citizen of Atkinson, Illinois, and the organizer of the only bank in that place, was bom in Oswego county. New York, January 20, 1837. His father, Thomas Nowers, was born in Hastings, England, in August, 1805, and came to America in 1828, crossing the ocean in one of the old sailing vessels which required eleven weeks to make a journey that can now be made in half as many days. In his native town he had been engaged in mercantile business, but upon landing in New York he started a large sawmill, which he operated for about twenty years. In 1849, seeking the best interests of his family, he came west to Illinois, settling in Mercer county, where he took up farming. In i860 he gave up agricultural pursuits and for a year conducted a flourishing business in grain and general merchandise, and then retired from active life. In 1866 and 1871 he made two pleasure trips to his native home, but he was as loyal to the land of his adoption as if he had been born here. Always distinguished by his great energy and industry, he unselfishly devoted a good deal of time to public affairs, for from 1856 to i860 he was treasurer of

Henry county, and he took an active interest in the soldiers and their widows during the Civil war. Upon becoming a citizen of this republic he joined the ranks of the whigs, and when the republican party was organized he became one of its loyal supporters. Reared in the faith of the Episcopal church he always attended its services. He died in the latter part of May, 1888, and was laid to rest in Grand View cemetery, Atkinson. Decima Foster, who became his wife and the mother of his children, was born in Hortrup, England, October 26, 1807, and was the tenth daughter born to her parents. She came to this country on the same ship as her husband and after arriving in New York lived with an older married sister. . In 1829 she became the wife of Thomas Nowers, with whom she lived as a devoted wife until her death March 22, 1875. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Nowers : Thomas and William, both deceased; John F., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Elizabeth Lyons, a resident of Atkinson ; Mrs. Mary Walters and Mrs. Louise Mussey, also of that city ; and James, now living retired from active life in Atkinson.

John F. Nowers received his education in Mercer county, and at first pursued his studies in a little log schoolhouse. He is very loyal to his early teachers and to them gives much of the credit of the instruction that made possible his success when he grew to manhood. When he was sixteen years of age he began work as a farm hand, in which he continued for four years, and then found employment as traveling salesman with Mr. McCormick, the father of the whole reaper industry. His territory embraced Scott, Henry, Cedar, Muscatine and other counties, and for about six years he was very successful. In 1866 he and his brother Thomas bought their father's general store, which they conducted for about nineteen years, selling their interests in 1885 to engage in the backing business. In March, 1881, they opened a small bank in connection with the mercantile business, and the public support which this venture was accorded convinced them of the need of a well organized financial institution. Thomas Nowers was made president, and since his death, which occurred September 17, 1907, no other has been appointed to his place. John F. Nowers has been the cashier since the beginning, and has had a guiding hand upon its financial policy. Being the first bank organized in Atkinson, it remains the only one to this day, and its organizer has no competitor in Atkinson's commercial life. In 1866 Mr. Nowers erected his first home, and in 1901 built the house on Main and School streets in which he now resides. He owns considerable farm land in Henry county in addition to the property he holds in Atkinson, and though he began his life humbly enough he has attained to a position of wealth and influence.

Mr. Nowers has been married twice. His first wife was Miss Lorena A. Wright, who was of New England birth but came to Illinois in her early childhood. She died April 24, 1890, and was buried in Aledo, Mercer county, where her parents also rest. Two children were born of this union, one who died at the age of two months, the other when seven years old. On the 20th of September, 1894, Mr. Nowers married Mrs. Elizabeth P. Swaney, nee Carson, >vho was of Pennsylvanian birth. Her mother, who was Miss Catherine K. Posey before her marriage, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1824, and was a daughter of Jesse and Elizabeth (Care) Posey. She died January 24, 1903, on her seventy-ninth birthday, and is buried in Ottawa, La Salle county, Illinois. Mrs. Nowers' father is John B. Carson, who was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania in 1822. In the spring of 1865 he came to Illinois and engaged in farming in Ottawa, where he still lives. Mr. and Mrs. Carson became the parents of ten children, five of whom died before they came west. Of the others, Annie became the wife of O. E. Harding, of Hinsdale, Montana. Elizabeth is the wife of J. F. Nowers. John J, H., who has remained unmarried, is a stockman in Atkinson. Mrs. Luberta M. Cleave lives in Ottawa and her father makes his home with her. Frances, the youngest, is the wife of F. D. Ketchem, who is chief inspector of the animal bureau of South St. Paul, Minnesota, After completing the high-school course in Kentland, Indiana, Mrs. Nowers attended the normal school that is now known as the University of Valparaiso. She engaged in teaching for a number of years and when she married Mr. Nowers was principal of the school in Wethersfield, Henry county, a position she had held for two years. No children have been born to Mr. Nowers' second union, but by her first husband Mrs. Nowers had two sons. Ralph J., born in Chicago, Illinois, January 22, 1885, is an industrious and energetic young man and is at present conducting his parents' farm. Frank C, born in Iroquois county, Illinois, October 13, 1886, is a graduate of the Chicago Veterinary College and holds a responsible government position in Montana.

Like his father, Mr. Nowers is a firm believer in the principles of the republican party, but he has never sought any office, although he has filled positions on the school board from time to time. Wealthy, prominent and influential, he is withal modest and unassuming, sincere in his relations with others and kindhearted toward all who appeal to him. Mrs. Nowers also is gracious and pleasant and modest of her many accomplishments. The home of which she is mistress is distinguished by its beauty, good taste and refinement, and is frequently the scene of congenial gatherings, for she has made many friends, both among her sisters of the Eastern Star and in the city at large.

Charles Yocum

Among the venerable pioneers of Henry county is Charles Yocum. who has resided in Galva, Illinois, since 1866. Born in York county, Pennsylvania, October 11, 181 1, he has now reached the advanced age of ninety-eight years though still retaining a vigorous constitution, hardened by exposure incident to frontier life, and all of his mental faculties, that have only been ripened and strengthened through the passing years. His parents, Elijah and Catharine (Wagner) Yocum, were also natives of the Keystone state and unto them were born nine children, seven of whom reached maturity, but at the present time Charles is the only survivor of the family.

Elijah Yocum was a carpenter by occupation in his early manhood but later turned his attention to manufacturing carding machines. Becoming imbued with the spiritual enthusiasm of those early days of religious freedom in this country, when he was forty years of age he became a local Methodist preacher.

ministering to the spiritual needs of the few scattered congregations in his circuit. At that time he removed to Ohio, setthng near Wooster, where he purchased a half section of land, which had only been partially cleared. He also built a grist mill, hiring a miller to attend to that branch of his business, while he bent his energies to the improvement and cultivation of his farm. He had made several trips to Illinois but resided on his place near Wooster until his death, which occured September 27, 1867, when he had reached the ripe old age of eighty-four years. His wife passed away just eleven years previous to his demise when she was sixty- five years of age.

The paternal grandfather of Charles Yocum was John Yocum, who was also a native of Pennsylvania and resided twenty miles above Harrisburg on the Juniata river. He was of Scotch descent and a farmer by occupation. He married Mary Thomas and both passed away when they were about eighty- four years old. Their family numbered eleven children: Lydia, Elijah, Charles, Elizabeth, Abraham, Jesse, John, Mary, Andrew, Rebecca, and Elmore, who has now been a presiding elder in the Methodist Episcopal church for the past thirty years. John Wagner, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was, as his name indicates of German parentage. His birth occurred in the Keystone state and he, too, devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. Both he and his wife Mary lived to be eighty-five years of age, passing away in the same year. Two sons and two daughters were born to them, namely: Frederick, Jacob, Catharine and Susan.

Charles Yocum, whose name introduces this record, resided in the state of his nativity until fifteen years of age, at which time he accompanied his parents on their removal from York county, Pennsylvania, to Ohio, where his father had purchased a half section of land. The present public-school system of Pennsylvania did not then exist and schools were maintained by subscriptions. Born and reared under these conditions, Charles Yocum acquired as much knowledge of English learning as was attainable in the Keystone state in that generation and after his removal further pursued his studies in the common schools of Ohio. After having resided in the latter state for twelve years, he came to Illinois in 1838 and settled in Peoria county, where he bought land and engaged in farming. Later he built and operated a carding mill for six years, at the expiration of which time he returned to his former occupation. The year 1866 witnessed his arrival in Galva, where he engaged in the lumber business for five years, since which time he has lived retired, enjoying a well earned rest after so many years of unremitting toil.