Henry County, Illinois - The whole text, 1910 (part 7 of 32)

On taking up the personal history of Samuel J. Arnett we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known here, measuring at all times up to the full standard of honorable manhood. He was reared in Whiteside county, Illinois, on his father's farm, attending the old time subscription schools of the early days, while later he completed his education in' the college at Plainfield, and also in the high school at Warren, Pennsylvania. He remained at home until about the time he attained his majority, and at eighteen years of age he suffered a serious accident in a mowing machine, resulting in the loss of a foot. Following his marriage he took up farming on his own account on a tract of land which he owned in Whiteside county, and subsequently he purchased a farm originally in the possession of his paternal grandfather and has lived in Henry county since 1868. The place comprised two hundred and fifty-seven and one-half acres of rich land which he carefully cultivated until 1875. He then sold the place to his brother-in-law, Abraham Rapp, who is still the owner. At that date Mr. Arnett came to Geneseo and opened a dry goods store which he conducted for five years. He then turned his attention to the agricultural implement business, in which he still continues, and now has a well appointed establishment while his annual sales reach a large and satisfactory figure. His business probity is above question, and his reliable methods insure him a continuance of a liberal patronage.

On the 17th of September, 1865, Mr. Arnett completed his arrangements for having a home of his own in his marriage with Miss Eliza Grossenburg, who was born in Warren, Pennsylvania, March 20, 1843, and is a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Yost) Grossenburg, Her grandfather, also Samuel Grossenburg, was a native of Switzerland, where he wedded Mary Ann Stopfel and they spent their entire lives in the land of the Alps. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Arnett was Francis T. Yost, a farmer by occupation, who became one of the early settlers of Rock Island county, lUinois, He had crossed the Atlantic from Germany and, taking up his abode in this state, developed and improved a farm upon which he lived to the advanced of eighty-one years. His wife, Mrs. Catharine Yost, died in middle age. Mr. Yost had served under Napoleon in the war that was waged in Alsace-Lorraine and sustained a severe saber slash across the back. Unto him and his wife were born the following children: Catharine, the wife of Joseph Hauser; August; EHzabeth, who became Mrs. Grossenburg; Solomon; and Rebecca, who married Charles Stamm.

Samuel Grossenburg, the father of Mrs. Arnett, was born in Canton Berne, Switzerland, and when twenty years of age came to the United States, locating in Pittsburg. He there worked as a laborer for six months and as a butcher for three and a half years. He afterward went to Warren, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the butchering business and in 1839 he took up his abode near Stoneham, Pennsylvania, in Meade township, Warren county. When he removed to that locality he penetrated an almost trackless wilderness and in the midst of the forest he cleared and developed a farm, his original home there being a log cabin, which was afterward replaced by a fine dwelling. He was a man of great energy and of undaunted enterprise and as the years passed by prospered in his undertakings, becoming the owner of one farm of ninety acres, one of eighty-two, and another of two hundred and forty acres. On the last mentioned tract, in 1866, he built a sawmill which was removed in 1885. On the 19th of January, 1836, he married Elizabeth Yost, who was born in Alsace, Germany, and when eight years of age was brought to America by her parents. This worthy couple had a family of ten children : Samuel, Jr., Eliza A., William H., Jerome C, Albert G., Clara E., Lillie O. and three who died in infancy. The father died September 23, 1885, at the age of seventy-six years, while the mother passed away September 25, 1907, at the age of eighty-nine years and three months.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Arnett were born two daughters and two sons: Minnie C, who died when six and a half months old; Jerome J., who married Amelia Hoef t and is a barber of Geneseo ; Glenn W., who wedded Ida Williams and is conducting a barber shop at Silvis, Illinois; and Blanche E., who married Frank F. Pierce, of Geneseo, and has one son, Samuel Dale. The family residence is on North State street, where Mr. Arnett owns a beautiful home. His wife is a member of the Congregational church. Politically he is a republican and has been called to serve in various positions of trust and responsibility. He served as collector in Portland township, Whiteside county, and since coming to this county has been school director, assessor, collector and supervisor and also served for eight years as alderman from the third ward in Geneseo. As a member of the city council he exercised his official prerogatives in support of many measures for the public good and leaves tangible proofs of his loyalty and progressive citizenship. Throughout his entire life he has been a resident of this portion of the state, interested and active in works of public moment, and displaying in his business life those sterling qualities which make for honorable and substantial success.

The history of the dental profession in Henry county would be incomplete were there failure to make prominent and extended reference to Robert H. Antes, for he is the oldest practitioner in this part of the state. He possesses marked mechanical ingenuity and skill as well as comprehensive knowledge of the scientific side of his chosen calling and for years has done excellent service for the public in professional lines. Because of this he has been accorded a liberal patronage and has always maintained a foremost place among the members of the dental fraternity in Henry county. His birth occurred in Canandaigua, New York, in 1838. His grandfather, William Antes, likewise a native of the Empire state, was of German-English descent. In early life he learned and followed the gunsmith's trade, utilizing it as a source of livelihood for many years. He wedded Miss Mary Barlow, and both died at a very advanced age, Mr. Antes being almost a centenarian at the time of his demise. His son, William Antes, Jr., likewise a native of New York, became a merchant of Canandaigua. He reached the ripe old age of eighty-eight years and was survived by his wife, who passed away at the age of seventy-eight years. She bore the maiden name of Alice Coleman, who was a native of Connecticut. Her father, Eliphalet Coleman, was a Congregational minister and married a Miss Fitch. They, too, were well advanced in years when called to their final rest. Both Mr. and Mrs. William Antes held membership in the Congregational church and were people of the highest respectability, who enjoyed in unqualified measure the confidence and regard of those who knew them. Of their family of six children four reached adult age, namely : Charles, a resident of Rogers Park, a suburb of Chicago; Catharine; Robert H., of this review; and Dr. Henry T.

Dr. Antes was reared in the place of his nativity and after acquiring his early education in the common schools of Canandaigua attended Williams College. He supplemented his literary training by the study of dentistry and was graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dentistry in Philadelphia. He then located for practice in Canandaigua, New York, but thinking to find still better business opportunities in the middle west, he came to Geneseo in 1864 and has since been in active practice here. He has always maintained a well equipped office, keeping up with the latest improvements known to the profession. His perusal of scientific journals has made him acquainted with the best thought of the dental fraternity and with the work which is being done by its leading representatives. He posesses inventive and mechanical genius of superior order and has invented and perfected a number of practical dental tools, which have a design and finish that only a genius and skilled mechanic can give. He has ever held to high ideals in his professional labors, giving to his patients the benefit

In September, 1864, Dr. Antes was married to Miss Helen Pratt, who was born at Livonia, Livingston county. New York, and is a daughter of George and Sarah Pratt, likewise natives of that state. Dr. and Mrs. Antes hold membership in the Congregational church and are loyal to its teachings and generous in its support. Politically he is a republican. His home on College avenue and First street is one of the nice residences of the city, attractive in all that makes for comfort and for hospitality. Mrs. Antes belongs to the Daughters of the American Revolution. Like her husband, she possesses a social nature and delights in entertaining her many friends in her own home. Dr. Antes possesses marked artistic skill and ability as well as mechanical genius and has done most artistic work in oil, many of his paintings showing superior merit. His nature is one of innate refinement, to which have been added embellishments of education and culture. His keen intellectuality and laudable ambition have long since carried him beyond mediocrity, and he stands among those citizens of whom the community has just reason to be proud.

David B. Wright

Journalism in Cambridge has a representative in David B. Wright, the editor and publisher of the Henry County Advocate. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, May 31, 1870, and is the only child of Albert and Ellen (Colquitt) Wright, who were natives of Illinois and Michigan respectively. The former was a son of Albert Wright, Sr., who removed from New York to Illinois about 1840, settling at Mount Pulaski. He had previously had experience as a hotel proprietor and in his new location became host of the Mount Pulaski House, which he continued to manage until his death, while his wife conducted it for many years afterward. The maternal grandfather was William Colquitt, a Canadian by birth and of French descent. For many years he lived near Detroit, Michigan, where he followed the occupation of farming.

Albert Wright, the father of D. B. Wright, engaged principally in the lumber business and 'spent much of his life in Chicago, although when a young man he was a resident of Mount Pulaski, Illinois. At the time of the Civil war he belonged to the Fifty-seventh lUinois Volunteer Infantry serving throughout the entire period of hostilities in which he did active, and oftentimes hazardous, duty as a scout. He participated in the engagements of Altoona Pass, Missionary Ridge, Gettysburg, Shiloh, the Wilderness and many other of the hard-fought battles of the war. When hostilities had ceased he turned his attention to the lumber trade with which he was connected in large measure up to the time of his death in 1895. His widow still survives him and lives with her son David in Cambridge.

David B. Wright spent the greater part of his youth in Chicago and attended its public schools, while by study at home in the evenings he also largely supplemented his early educational privileges. When only thirteen years of age he began learning the printer's trade, which he has since followed. He became an expert workman in that line and in 1892 established a job printing office in Chicago, continuing in business there until 1908, when he came to Cambridge and began the publication of the Henry County Advocate, an independent paper. He has succeeded in-securing a large circulation and the list of his patrons is constantly increasing. He has conducted a general job printing business and turns out excellent work in that department.

On the 23d of November, 1891, Mr. Wright was united in marriage to Miss Minnie M. King, a daughter of William and Catharine (Cavanaugh) King. Mrs. Wright was bom and reared in Chicago while her father was a native of the Isle of Man and her mother of the state of Michigan. Three children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wright : P. Bert, Elmer R., and Inda Ruth. The parents are church members and are known as cooperant factors in many measures relative to the public good. Although following the printing business as a boy, Mr. Wright has for a number of years engaged in preaching as an evangelist and has been a contributor to various papers and magazines for several years. His has been an active and useful life, for he entered the business world at the age of thirteen, printing his first paper at that time.

Fred L. Smith

Centuries ago the Greek philosopher, Epicharmus, said : "Earn thy reward ; the gods give naught to sloth," and the truth of this admonition has been verified in all the ages which have since run their course. Early realizing this fact, Fred L. Smith resolutely set himself to the task of working his own way upward through diligence and perseverance, with the result that he is now proprietor of one of the leading shoe stores of Geneseo, having a trade that is constantly increasing. He was born in Lafayette, Illinois, June 22, 1862, and comes of an old southern family. His paternal grandfather was a native of Tennessee and became one of the earliest settlers of southern Illinois, taking up his abode at Joliet, where he was a trader. He died when just past middle life, while his wife reached old age. They were the parents of five children, including William Smith, the father of Fred L, Smith. He, too, was a native of Tennessee and became a Methodist minister, connected during the greater part of his pastorate with the Rock River conference. He married Miss Lydia Harrington, a daughter of Mark T. Harrington, who was a native of Vermont and a farmer by occupation. Coming to the middle west, he cast in his lot with the pioneer residents of Geneseo, owning and cultivating a farm on the south edge of the town. He died here when more than ninety years of age and his wife had also traveled far on life's journey when called to her final rest. They were the parents of six children, including Lydia Harrington who, as stated, became the wife of the Rev. William Smith. In his church work the father of our subject was a man of wide information, his consecration and zeal making him a strong creature in the denomination. He passed away in 1890 and is still survived by his widow. They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters : Lucretia

F., the wife of Joseph H. Simmons, of Rochester, New York; Lucy J., the wife of John Dunkle, residing near Los Angeles, California; Mary L., the wife of W. B. Foster, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Charles W., of Rockford, Illinois; Mark B., of Los Angeles, California; and Fred L.

Fred L. Smith was a lad of eleven years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Geneseo. His educational privileges were those afforded by the public-school system of the state, and later he engaged in bookkeeping for the Edward McCulloch Lumber Company at Little River, Kansas. He was next employed by the firm of Fain & Shock, of Sterling, Kansas, and was engaged in the shoe business in Lawrence, Kansas, for a year. He next went to West Superior, Wisconsin, where he engaged in bookkeeping for the Wentworth Heating Company and by the same company was sent to Great Falls, Montana. There he embarked in the same line of business for himself, continuing in the north until 1902, when he returned to Geneseo. The following year he invested his capital in a stock of shoes and now has one of the best equipped shoe stores of the city, carrying a large line of goods, for which he finds a ready sale owing to his reasonable prices, his fair dealing and his earnest efforts to please his patrons.

On the loth of April, 1895, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Emma E. Wilson, a native of Geneseo and a daughter of I. N. Wilson, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work. They have become parents of four children: Maurine, Wilson, Florence and Laurel. Mr. and Mrs. Smith attend the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Smith gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He does not seek nor desire office yet is never remiss in the duties of citizenship and is a cooperant factor in many measures for the public good. He and his family reside on East Park street, and their home is noted for its warm-hearted and generous hospitality. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith are widely known here and are greatly esteemed. In his business life Mr. Smith has made steady progress, utilizing each opportunity that has come to hand and at all times conforming to a high standard of commercial ethics.

George H. Rivenburgh

For fifty-six years George H. Rivenburgh has been a resident of Henry county and since 1907 has made his home in Geneseo, where he is living retired after long years of active connection with the farming interests of this part of the state. He has comprehensive knowledge of the history of the county in that he has been an eye witness of many of the changes which have occurred while in many instances he has been an active participant in events which have had bearing upon its annals. He was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, May 18, 1845, and is a son of Hiram and Mary (Burdick) Rivenburgh, the former a native of New York and the latter of the Keystone state. The paternal grandparents were Peter and Ruth Rivenburgh, natives of Pennsylvania. The maternal grandfather was Billings Burdick, a native of Connecticut, whence he removed to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and there followed the occupa- tion of farming. He wedded Mary Cottrell and both lived to an advanced age. They had nine children but only one survives - Emeline, the widow of John Barker and a resident of Geneseo. Billings Burdick was the son of Billings Burdick, Sr., who came from France with Marquis de Lafayette, served as a soldier of the Revolutionary war and afterward settled in Connecticut. Hiram Rivenburgh, the father, always followed the occupation of farming as a life work and came to Henry county, Illinois, in 1853, at which time he took up his abode in Osco township, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of school land. He was an enterprising, energetic and successful business man and as he prospered in his undertakings he added to his farm lands until his possessions aggregated six hundred acres. For about forty-five years he remained in this county and then removed to Peabody, Kansas, where he died at the age of seventy-five years. His wife survived him and passed away at the age of eighty-four years. Mr. Rivenburgh was a member of the Presbyterian church, while his wife was an equally consistent Christian in her relation to the Baptist church. Their family numbered four sons and one daughter, Sophia, the wife of Philip Weidlein, of Kansas City, Missouri; George H., of Geneseo; Clark, dceased; Le Grand, of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Hiram, who is living in Peabody, Kansas.

George H. Rivenburgh was only eight years of age at the time of the .arrival of the family in Henry county and the experiences of farm life early became familiar to him as his youth was passed in the routine work of the fields and in the acquirement of an education in the district schools. He remained at home until he had attained his majority and then located upon a tract of land of his own comprising eighty acres. This he improved and to it added eighty acres but later sold that property and made investment in two hundred and eighty acres in Scott county, Iowa, and fifty acres a mile east of Geneseo. Through the years of his active connection with agricultural interests he followed progressive methods of farming, carefully tilling the soil, rotating his crops and using the latest improved machinery for the plowing, planting and harvesting. Thus as the years passed he won substantial success, and in December, 1907, with a handsome competence acquired through his own labors he retired from active life.

Mr. Rivenburgh was married May 5, 1872, to Miss Almira Newton, a daughter of Zarah and Julia (Rivenburgh) Newton, who were natives of Pennsylvania and New York, respectively. The former was a son of Benjamin Newton, a native of Connecticut and a farmer by occupation. He married Sarah Covey and they had one son. After her death Mr. Newton married again and had a large family by the second union. He died at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. George H. Rivenburgh was John Rivenburgh, who spent the greater part of his life in Pennsylvania and carried on agricultural pursuits. He married Nellie Dougherty, and both died when well advanced in years. They had four children including JuHa, who became Mrs. Newton. It was in the year 1844 that Mr. and Mrs. Zarah Newton removed to Stark county, Illinois, where they spent their remaining days, the former dying at the age of eighty-three years and the latter when seventy-four years of age. Of the eleven children born unto them six reached years of maturity, namely: William; Ade- line, the wife of Henry Hitchcock, of Nebraska; Sarah, the wife of Andrew Jackson, of Greeley, Colorado; Nellie, the wife of Cornelius Horn, also of Greeley; Almira, the wife of George H. Rivenburgh; and Wilmot, who lives near Toulon, Stark county, Illinois.

The manage of Mr. and Mrs. Rivenburgh has been blessed with four sons and one daughter: Nettie is the wife of Charles S. Young, of Geneseo, and they have two children - Worling R. and Annette; Ward, who is the United States Express agent in Geneseo, married Elsie Rice and they have one son, Charles Henry; Scott, died when ten months old; and Ralph died in infancy as did the first born, Mr. and Mrs. Rivenburgh are members of the Congregational church, and Mr. Rivenburgh gives his political allegiance to the prohibition party. He is an advocate of temperance and morality and in fact of all that is just and right in man's relations with his fellowmen. He stands for truth, for reform and progress and in his own life measures up to the highest standards of honorable manhood.

H. A. Combs was formerly actively and successfully identified with the agricultural interests of Henry county for many years, owning a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Osco township, but in January, 1909, he put aside the active work of the fields and has since made his home on Washington street in the village of Osco. His birth occurred in Osco township, this county, on the 17th of September, 1868, his parents being A. J. and Louise (Ringold) Combs, the former a native of Chillicothe, Ohio, and the latter of Pennsylvania, The year 1866 witnessed the arrival of A, J, Combs in Henry county, this state, and here he carried on general agricultural pursuits until called to his final rest in February ,1897, his remains being interred in Osco township. His widow still survives and now makes her home in Cambridge, Illinois, Mr, Combs of this review is the eldest of three children, his brothers being as follows : Edward, a resident of Osco township, and Joseph, living in Cambridge township.

H. A. Combs obtained his education in the country schools and after putting aside his text-books continued to assist his father in the work of the home farm until he had attained his majority and was married. He was afterward engaged in the operation of a rented farm in Osco township for five and a half years, on the expiration of which period he purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in that township, to the cultivation and improvement of which he devoted his time and energies until January, 1909. He then left the farm, which, however, is still in his possession, and took up his abode in the village of Osco, purchasing a commodious and attractive residence on Washington street. He is an expert machinist and has a shop on his home place, where he repairs engines, does plumbing and gas-pipe work, sets up windmills, pumps, etc. Alert, energetic and enterprising, he has won a gratifying measure of prosperity in the conduct of his interests and has long been numbered among the substantial and representative citizens of the community.

In 1889 Mr. Combs was joined in wedlock to Miss Carrie Hartley, who was born in Grundy county, Illinois, on the 25th of October, 1870, her parents being J. S. E. and Rose (Butterfield) Hartley. The father, whose birth occurred in Malta, Morgan county, Ohio, in 1839, removed to Grundy county, Illinois, when a young man of twenty years and there turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. His wife, who was born in New Milford, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, in 1847, passed away on the 28th of July, 1901, and lies buried in Gardner, Grundy county, this state. At the time of the Civil war J. S. E. Hartley enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of Company D, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he remained throughout the entire period of hostilities. He went with Sherman on the march to the sea and when the war was ended received an honorable discharge, returning to Grundy county, where he still makes his home. His political allegiance is unfalteringly given to the republican party.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Combs have been born four children, as follows: Irene Louise, whose birth occurred September 6, 1890; Margaret Anna, who first opened her eyes to the light of day on the ist of August, 1895 ; Hartley William, born April 7, 1904; and Roy Henry, whose natal day was February 10, 1907. All of the children are natives of Osco township and are still under the parental roof.

Where national questions and issues are involved Mr. Combs votes for the men and measures of the republican party but at local elections casts an independent ballot, supporting the candidate whom he believes best qualified. He is now serving his third term in the position of constable and is also special deputy game warden. Fraternally he is identified with the Odd Fellows, the Yeomen and Rebekah Lodge, his wife being also a member of the last named and a Royal Neighbor. She is likewise a devoted and consistent member of the Episcopal church. Mr. Combs derives much pleasure from his automobile and, owing to his well directed and untiring industry in former years, is now enabled to enjoy many of the comforts and luxuries of life. He has always lived within the borders of this county and that his career has ever been an upright and honorable one is indicated by the fact that the associates of his boyhood and youth are still numbered among his stanchest friends.

James Nelson Cummings

Success at the bar lies before James Nelson Cummings, but those who know him and are familiar with his characteristics believe that it will not be a great while before he attains that success which is the goal of all laudable endeavor. He possesses energy, determination and comprehensive knowledge of the law and since beginning practice in June, 1908, has already won for himself favoraable criticism in the work which he has done in the courts. He was born in New York city, July 7, 1873, and was about six years of age when he became a resident of Custer county, Nebraska, arriving there in 1879. He attended the public schools in that locality and also the Lincoln Normal University at Lin- coin, Nebraska, and in 1892 he took up the profession of teaching, which he followed in both country and city schools of Nebraska for eight years. In 1902 he came to Henry county and was here identified with educational interests, teaching for six years in district No. 50. All through this time he devoted his leisure hours to the study of law under the direction of C. K. Ladd, and in June, 1908, was admitted to the bar and at once entered upon active practice, following his return to Kewanee in November, 1908. It is his purpose to make the general practice of law his life work, and to this end he carefully prepares his cases, examines the points in law and the precedents applicable thereto and is making substantial progress in his chosen profession.

On the 4th of March, 1900, Mr. Cummings was united in marriage to Miss Agnes Gibb, of Gibbon, Nebraska, and they have five children, Anna Lucile, Dorothy Alexandria, Eleanor, Rosalind and LilHan Leona. Mr. Cummings is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his social qualities and genial disposition are such as win for him warm friendship and high regard.

Henry R. Ott

The various lines of merchandising are well represented in Geneseo, and connected with the commercial interests of the city is Henry R. Ott, a harness manufacturer and dealer, who has lived within the borders of the county for more than a half century. He therefore needs no introduction to the readers of this volume who know him as a citizen of worth and a business man of ability and enterprise. He was bom in Lake county, Illinois, October 26, 1849, ^"^ is one of the ten children of Casper and Mary Elizabeth (Trier) Ott, both of whom were natives of Germany. The former was a son of John Jacob Ott who spent the days of his youth and early manhood in Germany and then sought a home in the new world. He wedded Mary Urban and died six miles west of Highland Park, in Lake county, Illinois, at the venerable age of eighty-three years, while his wife had passed the eighty-fourth milestone on life's journey at the time of her demise. Their family included five sons and two daughters. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Ott, died in Lake county, Illinois, at the age of thirty years. His wife, Charlotte Segmueller in her maidenhood, also died in Lake county, when forty years of age. Their family numbered one son and three daughters.

Casper Ott, the father of Henry R. Ott, was a tailor by trade, becoming familiar with that line of business in the land of his nativity. Crossing the Atlantic in 1831, he settled in Warren, Pennsylvania, and in 1837 removed to Lake county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming. He was for seventeen years identified with agricultural pursuits there, after which he removed to Henry county, Illinois, in 1854, and began farming in Loraine township, where he resided until 1871. In that year he took up his abode in Geneseo, where he continued to make his home until called to his final rest in 1876, when sixty-four years of age. His wife survived him until 1891 and passed away at the age of seventy-four years. They were earnest Christian people identified with the German Evangelical assosociation. In their family were six sons and four daughters but only four are now living: Casper, who makes his home in Hooppole, IlHnois ; Henry R. ; Adolph ; and Sophia, the wife of Louis Sand, of Spokane, Washington.

Henry R. Ott was a little lad of four and a half years when his parents came to this county and upon the home farm he was reared, early becoming familiar with the work of the fields and also with the pleasures in which farm boys usually indulge. His early education, acquired in the district school, was supplemented by study in the Geneseo Seminary, and when seventeen years of age he began learning the harness maker's trade, which he has followed continuously since. For the past twenty-nine years he has been in business for himself, conducting a well equipped shop and enjoying liberal trade.

On the 17th of April, 1872, Mr. Ott was married to Miss Catharine E. Wolf, who was born near Washington, Tazewell county, Illinois, while her parents were Jacob and Margaret (Schaeffer) Wolf, who were natives of Germany. Her father died in 1883, but her mother is still living, making her home with her daughter in Hooppole, Illinois. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ott was blessed with five children, but they lost the first two, Hermann Henry and Arthur, in infancy, while the third son, Ferrel Alonzo, was killed by the cars when thirteen and a half years of age. The youngest child, John Wesley, died at the age of nine years, so that the only surviving member of the family is Ethel M., now the wife of Albert J. Smith, a resident of Colorado, by whom she has four children : Catharine, Ferrel, Clarence and Dwight.

Mr. and Mrs. Ott are people of religious faith. Mr. Ott holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife is allied with the movement known as the Apostolic faith. To the church Mr. Ott is a liberal contributor and is an active worker, teaching the Bible class in the Sunday school. He is one of the most highly respected citizens of Geneseo, his record being at all times in harmony with the principles of honorable and upright manhood. His success in business is undoubtedly largely due to the fact that he has continued in the line of activity in which he embarked as a young tradesman, winning his success by reason of his good work, his perseverance and his honorable business methods.

Albert J. Nordgren

Albert J. Nordgren, who now conducts an extensive and profitable trade as a grocery merchant of Galva, was born in Sweden on the 9th of April, 1867, his parents being Nels and Brita (Magnuson) Nordgren, likewise natives of that country. The father, who crossed the Atlantic to the new world in 1868, has been a minister of the Swedish Lutheran church for about forty years. After arriving in the United States, he took up his abode in Swedesburg, Iowa, but has preached in Illinois during the greater part of the time, his labors proving an important element in the moral development of the communities where he has followed his holy calling. For the past twenty years he has made his home in Galva. His wife passed away in 1903, at the age of sixty-three years. Unto this worthy couple were born eight children, four sons and four daughters, as fol-

Albert J. Nordgren was only about a year old when he was brought to the United States by his parents. He lived with his father at the various places where the latter was called to preach and obtained his education in the schools of De Kalb and Woodhull, Illinois. After putting aside his text-books he worked on a farm for several years, or until he had attained his majority, and then began clerking in Kansas City, Kansas. In the spring of 1889, he came to Galva and secured a position as clerk for the firm of Palmer, Walker & Johnson, in whose employ he remained for nearly four years. On the expiration of that period he opened a grocery store in partnership with A. P. Jaderquist and on the ist of January, 1902, purchased the latter's interest and has since conducted the business alone. He carries a full line of both staple and fancy groceries and his reasonable prices and honorable business dealings have insured him a lucrative and constantly growing patronage. He is likewise the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Cambridge township and is widely recognized as one of the most substantial and enterprising citizens of the county.

On the 28th of September, 1892, Mr. Nordgren was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Dowell, a native of Knoxville, Illinois, and a daughter of J. F. and Anna L. (Appell) Dowell, both of whom were born in Sweden. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nordgren have been born six children, namely : Vincent, Morris, Eugene, Edith, Mildred and Elleda.

Mr. Nordgren gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has capably served his fellow townsmen as a member of the village council for two terms. Both he and his wife are faithful and consistent members of the Lutheran church, in the work of which they take an active and helpful interest. His business interests have been carefully conducted, his duties of citizenship capably performed and at all times he has been true to the obligations and responsibilies that have devolved upon him in every relation of life, making him one of the worthy and much respected residents of his community.

Judge Emery C. Graves

The history of Judge Emery C. Graves constitutes an integral chapter in the record of Geneseo in that he has twice served as mayor of the city, has four times been states attorney, has been very prominent in other lines of public activity and at the present time, is serving for the second term as judge of the circuit court. As a lawyer he stands preeminently among the able members of the bar of his district and his classification for the bench was based upon broad and comprehensive knowledge of the law, combined with a conscientious sense of obligation which he displays in all of his personal relations.

A native of New York, Judge Graves was born at Cherry Creek, Chautauqua county, on the 19th of January, 1853, and is a son of Colvin S. and Martha (Kingsley) Graves, both of whom were natives of New York. The father, who was born in Herkimer, New York, June 28, 1824, a son of Ora and Polly (Fenner)

Graves, was a farmer by occupation and came to Illinois in 1853, settling in Henry county in the fall of the same year. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits in Yorktown until 1866, when he sold out and removed to Geneseo and devoted his time to one business pursuit and another until 1874, when he became a prosperous druggist. He is yet a resident of Geneseo but is now living retired, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. His wife was born in Ellington, Chautauqua county, New York, February 25, 1824, and was a daughter of Orin Kingsley. The parents of Judge Graves were married in May, 1845. The mother also survives, as do their two children, the elder being a daughter, Mrs. Grace Sweeney.

Judge Graves, following the removal of the family from the Empire state to Illinois, continued his education in the Geneseo high school and then in preparation for a professional career he took up the study of law in the office of the well known law firm of Buckles & Swells, there remaining until the death of the former. Mr. Graves afterward continued his studies in the law office of Judge George E. Waite. He next entered the law department of the University of Wisconsin at Madison and was there graduated. He afterward located for practice in Janesville, Wisconsin, where he remained for six months, when in the fall of 1874, he came to Geneseo, where he has since resided. His ability soon gained him recognition at the bar. He displayed clear and careful analysis in the preparation of his cases, strength and force in argument. His points of attack were well made and his defense was almost invulnerable. Because of the ability which he displayed he was accorded a liberal patronage and as the years have passed he has been called to various offices, several of which have been in the direct line of his profession. He has tried many notable cases in the courts, learning and patience both being elements in his progress. He was four times elected states attorney, being chosen in 1889 to fill a vacancy, after which he was elected for three regular terms. He has also been mayor of the city for two terms and gave to Geneseo a business-like, progressive and beneficial administration, in which he inaugurated various needed reforms and improvements, nor did he fail to check those movements which he deemed inimical to the best interests of the city. In June, 1903, he was called to the bench of the circuit court for a term of six years and in 1909 was reelected, so that his present term will continue through 1915. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party, for he deems its platform of most value to good government.

Judge Graves has been married twice. In October, 1878, he wedded Miss Flora Spurlock, of Kewanee, Illinois, a daughter of Manander Spurlock. She died in May, 1888. The surviving daughter of that marriage, May Graves, now Mrs. Allen N. Bradford, resides at Sterling, Illinois, and is an artist of considerable ability, who was graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago. She possesses great musical ability and artistic talent, being especially proficient in drawing. On the 3d of June, 1896, Mr. Graves was united in marriage to Miss Lulu Godfrey, a daughter of William and Myra (Goodman) Godfrey, both of whom are yet residents of Geneseo, and whose sketch appears elsewhere in this history. In their family were five children: Charles, now a resident of Chicago; Mrs. Graves; Arthur, of Geneseo ; Helen ; and Bessie. Unto Judge and Mrs. Graves have been born three children but the first two are now deceased, Kathryn having died at the age of fourteen months, while Godfrey Kingsley died in infancy. The surviving daughter, Gretchen, was born on the 226. of February, 1906. In 1896, Judge Graves erected an elegant residence on First street, in which he and his family are pleasantly located. It is the scene of many delightful social functions and is the abode of a most cordial hospitality.

In his fraternal relations the judge is a prominent Mason. He belongs to Stewart Lodge, No. 92, A. F. & A. M.; Bonett Chapter, R. A. M., of Rock Island; Evarts Commandery, K. T., of Rock Island; and Kaaba Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Davenport, Iowa. While in all nonprofessional relations he is signally modest and altogether a genial and approachable gentleman, on the bench Judge Graves never forgets his position nor that he has to sustain the dignity of the court. His summing up of a case is always full and comprehensive, clear and direct, and his decisions are the logical conclusions of fact and of the law applicable thereto. His reelection is incontrovertible evidence of the trust reposed in his professional ability and he has the highest regard of all members of the bar. He has commanded the respect and esteem of all who know him and is a gentleman of fine powers and of kindly face as well as of great professional ability and good judgment. In his taste and manner he is simple and unassuming, entirely free from ostentation and display, but his worth is widely recognized by his fellow townsmen who honor him in large measure no less by reason of his professional skill than for his nobiUty of character.

John M. Taze

Many years must needs elapse before Oxford township will cease to feel the loss of John M. Taze, one of the most worthy, substantial and interesting of the men who have dwelt within her borders. He was born September 13, 1832, in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, his parents being Isaac and Margaret J. (Irvin) Taze. The father was born in the north of Ireland and the mother in New York city, but both the Taze and the Irvin families are of Scotch descent. The father died when John M. Taze was only twelve years of age, but the mother lived out a long life of usefulness until her eighty-fifth year. About ten years after the father's demise, the family went to Washington county, Iowa, and lived there for one year previous to coming to Illinois. They engaged in farming near Vermont, in McDonough county, this state. Mrs. Taze, after her husband's death, had upon her shoulders the sole responsibility of the raising of eight children. Jane became Mrs. John Jaynes, of Oxford township, Henry county, both she and her husband now being dead. . Margaret married Orson Patterson, of Oxford township, and is deceased. William, also deceased, married before leaving Pennsylvania, but was a resident of Oxford township at the time of his death. Martha, deceased, became Mrs. Alexander McCurdy, of Oxford township. Ann is deceased. John M., the subject of the sketch, is next in order of birth. Elizabeth became Mrs. Festus Cole, whose husband survives her, and is now a resident of Oxford township. The youngest, Irvin by name, died before the family left their home in Pennsylvania. The father had been only a renting farmer, a man of scant means, and he left the family destitute at his death. It was indeed quite frequently a matter of diligence on the part of everybody to keep the wolf from the door. Some of the children came west prospecting before the removal of the main part of the family, and several of them were married before coming to Illinois.

John M. Taze preceded his mother to Illinois by a short time, coming in the spring of 1854. He traveled by boat from Pittsburg down the Ohio river and up the Mississippi river to Cairo. Illinois, and later overland to Washington, Iowa, where several members of the family were already located. There he engaged in farming until 1861, when he went to the far west, traveling over Idaho, Montana and Utah, prospecting for gold. He worked both independently and for a company and had many rare experiences and suffered many hardships, all of which he accepted philosophically and thus gave to the making of a fine character. Among his adventures was his discovery, while prospecting with two companions, of a cave evidently never before entered in the memory of man, which upon exploration showed evidence of occupation by human beings of strange modes of living. He was successful in his mining ventures and remained in the west for five years before rejoining his mother and several other members of the family in Oxford township, this county.

Before going away Mr. Taze had acquired a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of land which formed the nucleus of what grew to be a magnificent estate before he died. He invested some of his mining money in land and at once took up agriculture on his return to Illinois. In addition to crop raising he engaged in the stock business, his animals being the finest in Oxford township. When he left the farm to reside in Alpha he owned five hundred and seventy acres of land in Oxford and Clover townships, while in Texas he was the proprietor of seven thousand, six hundred and eighty acres of land. It is thus evident that he had in his control vast resources. In 1901 he built a fine residence in Alpha, where he established his household, and gave up active farming to devote his energies to the supervision of his large land interests. He also assumed banking interests, becoming the owner of the Alpha Exchange Bank. Possessing great talents as an organizer, he brought into existence the Bank of Rio in Knox county, in February, 1903 ; in 1908 he organized the Peoples Bank of Woodhull ; and in March, 1909, he organized the Fanners Bank of Ophiem. Their management consumed a great part of his time and attention until July i, 1909, when they were all of them sold to a Chicago syndicate.

Mr. Taze was united in marriage September 24, 1874, to Miss Elizabeth S. Rutledge, a daughter of William and Ann (McCurdy) Rutledge, who came from Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in March, 1873, and settled in Oxford township. They had lived in the same neighborhood as the Taze family and the two young people were well acquainted before they left the east. Mr. Rutledge was a farmer by occupation, although as a young man he had been a boatman on the canal from Pittsburg to Youngstown. He is still living at the age of eighty-seven years, but his wife died May 18, 1898. To Mr. Taze and his wife were born three children, William I., Anna Margaret and Jane Ella, the daughters being at home.

Mr. Taze was a loyal adherent of the principles of democracy, but he could not be called active in politics in the sense that he had any desire to be an office holder. He was, nevertheless, a public-spirited man. In 1900 he organized the Alpha Electric Lig^ht Company in conjunction with his son and Almon H. Linn, of Cambridge, thus giving Alpha her first lighting plant, and putting another item upon the town's debt of gratitude to him. He was a man of few words but had a keenly analytical mind that grasped the merits of a business proposition instantly. He was a kind and devoted husband and father, his home being his kingdom. Mr. Taze was by birth and belief a Presbyterian, and although not a member of the church, he lived and died a Christian. By circumstances deprived of anything but the scantiest education, he acquired vast knowledge by reading, observation and wide range of travel, of which he was especially fond. His business life, his home life, and his daily intercourse with men, all eloquently speak his praises. His death, which occurred July 12, 1909, produced universal sorrow. He is interred in the Summit Ridge cemetery, near Alpha, where other members of the family lie.

William I. Taze, son of the foregoing, passed his early years upon his father's farm, attended the public school and was graduated from the Alpha high school with its first class, in 1895. This he supplemented with a course in Brown's Business College in Galesburg, in 1897. In the fall of that year he entered the Alpha Exchange Bank, and in a short time his efficiency recommended him to the responsible office of vice president and cashier of the chain of banks organized by his father. He continued in this capacity until the banks were transferred with the Chicago syndicate.

Mr. Taze was united in marriage to Miss Mabel Long of Orion, their union being celebrated January 25, 1899. Mrs. Taze is the daughter of Dr. H. H. and Mary (Jordan) Long, of Orion, who are also the parents of two sons, Donovan L. and Edwin H.

Mr. Taze is a democrat by inheritance and conviction but he is not active in politics. He is a prominent member of Oxford Lodge, No. 367, A. F. & A. M., at New Windsor, and has affiliation with Rio Chapter and Galesburg Commandery. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church as is also his mother and sisters. The son possesses many of the business characteristics of his father and is a young man of much promise.

In the household of Mrs. John M. Taze are her aged father, William Rutledge, and her two daughters, Anna Margaret and Jane Ella. Her home and that of her son are the most elegant and pretentious in Alpha, large and modern throughout, and having an atmosphere of refinement, culture and genuine hospitality.

Eric Lindstrum

Eric Lindstrum, a well known and successful farmer, thresher and stockraiser of Weller township, Henry county, was born at Bishop Hill, Illinois, on the 14th of March, 1863, a son of Eric and Britta Lindstrum. The father, who originally came from Westmanland, Sweden, was one of the Bishop Hill colonists and here passed away on the 9th of March, 1889, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife, who came to Weller township in 1846, is also deceased, her death occurring on the 28th of December, 1887.

Reared under the parental roof Eric Lindstrum acquired his preliminary education in the public schools and later attended the Western Business College at Galesburg, Illinois. He then took up the study of telegraphy at Ann Arbor, Michigan, after which he worked as assistant agent for what is now the Great Northern Railroad at Beltrami, Minnesota. He was thus engaged for nine months, at the expiration of which period he returned to Bishop Hill and was employed on his father's farm until 1886, when he began operating one of his father's farms in the capacity of renter. His father having died in 1889, the estate was settled in 1891 and the farm upon which he had been residing came to him as his share. This consists of forty- four acres located on section 13, Weller township, and fifty acres in section 18, Galva township, all highly improved and cultivated, and he also owns ten acres of timber land located on section 9, of Weller township. He carries on general farming and for the past ten years has also given considerable attention to stock-raising, making a specialty of shorthorn cattle, while for the past year he has had much success in raising Ohio Improved Chester White hogs. For twenty-one years he has engaged in threshing, clover hulling and corn shelling, carrying on an extensive business in this line, and has an excellent equipment of first class machinery, owning a full Huber outfit, a Victor clover huller and an Ottawa C corn sheller. He has greatly improved all of the buildings upon the farm and has remodeled his dwelling, which is today a comfortable and attractive home, strictly modern in all of its appointments. He has also erected a fine windmill, having to drill one hundred and twenty feet for the water supply. Everything about the place indicates that he has kept in close touch with the spirit of progress which is today manifest in agricultural lines. He conducts his various enterprises according to up-to-date business methods and through his well directed efforts, close application and careful management has won a most gratifying success which places him among the most progressive and substantial agriculturists and business men of Weller township. The farm, which has been under a good state of cultivation for about sixty years, has become somewhat worn out and he has been expending considerable money toward building up the soil which, however, is naturally rich and fertile and has yielded rich, golden harvests.

It was on the 2Sth of February, 1886, that Mr. Lindstrum was united in marriage to Wilhelmina Thorell, a daughter of Carl Thorell, and unto this union have been born five children, namely: Vendla E., twenty-two years of age; Hilda, twenty-one years of age ; Nettie, who is nineteen years old ; Wallace, who passed away on the 30th of June, 1906, at the age of thirteen years, five months ; and Arthur, fourteen years old. All are still under the parental roof. Fraternally Mr. Lindstrum is identified with the Grangers and also with the Modern Woodmen of America, while politically he gives his support to the prohibition party, doing all in his power to further the cause of temperance in the community, as he realizes that the liquor traffic is one of the worst evils against which the country today has to contend. He has never been an aspirant for public office, however, preferring to concentrate his energies upon the conduct of his private affairs. Preeminently a business man, his has been a life of continuous activity in which has been accorded due recognition of honest labor, and his record has been an excellent example of the power of earnest effort, indefatigable energy and untiring perseverance, combined with honorable manhood and high principles.

Theodore H. Beckstein

Theodore H. Beckstein is one of the younger merchants of Geneseo, who is seeking his success along modern business Hnes, placing his dependence upon persistent efifort and careful utilization of his opportunities. He is a member of the grocery firm of J. H. O'Bryan & Company, in which connection he is enjoying a large and growing trade. Geneseo numbers him among her native sons, his birth having here occurred November 8, 1877. His parents were John and Mary (Miller) Beckstein, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came to America with his parents who settled in Buffalo, New York, and there both the grandfather and grandmother of Mr. Beckstein remained until called to their final rest when well advanced in years. John Beckstein remained in Buffalo for a time and then sought the opportunities, freedom and appreciation of the growing middle west, making his way to Henry county, Illinois. He was a molder by trade and followed that pursuit in Geneseo for a considerable period, but his last days were spent in Aurora. His wife still survives him and now resides in Geneseo. They were at one time members of the Geneseo Lutheran church, but Mrs. Beckstein has since become a member of the Methodist church. She, too, is a native of Germany and came to the United States with her parents who settled in Princeton, Illinois, her father there following the occupation of farming.

Theodore H. Beckstein was reared in Geneseo and at the usual age entered the public schools, where he passed through consecutive grades until he became a high-school student. His education was there completed and he made his initial in the business world as a clerk in the grocery store of N. O'Bryan. That he proved competent, faithful and rehable is indicated in the fact that in 1900 he was admitted to a partnership, which is now carried on under the firm name of J. H. O'Bryan & Company. They carry a large and complete stock of staple and fancy groceries, and by reason of the tasteful arrangement of the store and the excellent quality of the goods they have gained a liberal and growing patronage which brings them a good profit upon their investment.

On the 14th of October, 1901, Mr. Beckstein was united in marriage to Miss Eva N. Westring a daughter of O. P. and Emma Westring. There is one child of that marriage, Darrell. Mrs. Beckstein was born in Atkinson township, Henry county, Illinois, and her parents were natives of Sweden.

In his political views Mr, Beckstein is a democrat and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, but he has no ambition in the line of office seeking. He has a creditable military record as a soldier of the Spanish- American war, having served as a private of Company B, Sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which did active duty under command of General Miles in Porto Rico. His time and attention are now concentrated upon his business affairs, and that he is prospering is indicated in the fact that aside from his grocery in- terests he is a stockholder in the Geneseo Savings Bank. He has no false standards of life but knows that earnest and indefatigable labor constitutes the basis of business advancement and thus his diligence in seeking and winning prosperity.

Dr. William Henry Cole, the dean of the medical profession in Kewanee, who for thirty-six years has been engaged in practice in this city, was born in Tioga, Owego county, New York, October 19, 1836, a son of Cornelius Debois Hasbrouk and Sylvia (Walker) Cole. The father of Dr. Cole was a teacher for some years before taking up the study of medicine, obtaining his professional degree in Geneva, New York, after which he located for practice in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, where he spent his remaining years. During the war he was surgeon of the One Hundred and Seventy-second Pennsylvania Infantry and at the close of the service the regiment presented him with a watch and chain in token of the high esteem in which they held him and of their appreciation of the excellent professional service which he rendered.

Dr. William Henry Cole, reared in an atmosphere of intelligence and culture, was provided with good educational priviliges, pursuing his studies in the Owego Academy and in the Ovid Collegiate Institute. He began teaching in the country schools when seventeen years of age and when a young man of twenty-four years was chosen principal of the public schools of Owego, New York, and remained at their head for nine years, his labors being a potent force for the improvement of educational advantages there. He also filled the position of county superintendent of schools of Tioga county. New York, for three years and the end of his term of office was presented with a full set of silver. At length determining to make the practice of medicine his life work, he entered the Buffalo Medical College, and subsequently continued his studies in the Long Island College, at Brooklyn, New York. He was graduated from the latter institution in June, 1873, and came to Kewanee the same year. Here he has continued in practice to the present time, covering a period of thirty-six years, and is still an active and valued representative of the profession. He is certainly the dean of the medical fraternity in Kewanee, and probably of the county. The great majority of men who have passed the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten put aside the active duties and cares of life, but not so with Dr. Cole for he continues a helpful factor in the world's work through his professional service. Since engaging in active practice he has always read broadly along the line of his professional duties and his investigations and research have kept him in touch with the most advanced thought in the profession.

On coming to Kewanee Dr. Cole joined the Galva District Medical Association, with which he has since been affiiliated and has served as president of the society. He also belongs to the Henry County Medical Society and upon the organization of the medical staff of St. Francis Hospital he was made its president. He is likewise one of the organizers of the Kewanee National Bank and from its inception has been one of its directors. Not to know Dr. Cole in Kewanee and this part of the state is to argue one's self unknown. His professional service has brought him a wide acquaintance and the worth of his labors has gained him the confidence and good will of all, while his close conformity to a high standard of professional ethics has gained him the unqualified respect of his brethren of the jnedical fraternity.

Jonas H. Stafford

This is the semi-centennial year of Jonas H. Stafiford's arrival in Henry county. For five decades he has been a witness of the growth which has occurred and the changes which have been wrought. His contributions to the world's work have been along the line of agricultural pursuits, and although he is now largely living retired he still gives his supervision to farming interests, with which he was long actively and successfully associated. Mr. Stafford was born in Rutland county, Vermont, October 29, 1849, his parents being Benjamin I. and Cornelia U. (Holden) Stafford, both of whom were natives of Vermont and are mentioned elsewhere in this volume.

Their son, Jonas H. Stafford, was a lad of ten years, when in 1859 he was brought by his parents to Henry county, and upon his father's farm in Colona township he was reared to manhood, making his home there from the spring of 1866 until 1893. He attended the district schools in order to acquaint himself with the elementary branches of English learning and afterward spent three years as a pupil in the public schools of Geneseo. Subsequently he became cashier and bookkeeper in the store of A. P. Fisk, of Moline, Illinois, but later returned to the farm and entered into partnership with his father - a connection that was continued until the latter's death. At that time he began operating the home farm on his own account and so continued until the spring of 1893, when he turned his attention to commercial pursuits. Removing to Geneseo, he purchased the hardware store of Ayers Fisher and a year later gave it to his son Joseph, who continued to conduct the business for three years and then sold out, Mr. Stafford now devotes his attention to his farming interests, for as he has prospered in his undertakings he has made extensive investment in land and is now the owner of eight hundred acres in Rock county, Minnesota, all of which is well improved. He likewise superintends the old home farm, comprising four hundred and eighty acres, for his mother. His own residence is a beautiful home on West Pearl street in Geneseo, where he has lived continuously since 1893.

On the 24th of July, 1876, Mr. Stafford was united in marriage to Miss Ella Frances, a daughter of Calvin and Armilda (Sharp) Frances. Mrs. Stafford was born in this county, her parents coming from Virginia to Illinois and casting in their lot with the early settlers of Henry county. Her paternal grandparents were Jacob and Hettie Frances. The former died, after which his widow became Mrs. Johnson. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Stafford was Jacob Sharp, a native of Kentucky, who became one of the pioneer residents of Colona township, Henry county, Illinois. He married Henrietta Gillenwaters and both lived to old age. They had six children : William, Armilda, Matilda, Charles, Amanda and Sis. On coming to this county the parents of Mrs. Stafford settled near Coal Valley in Colona township, where the father engaged in farming. He died in Mammoth, Utah, in 1908, at the age of eighty-three years, while his wife passed away in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1902, at the age of sixty-three years. They were the parents of six sons and two daughters : William Henry, Alonza, John, James, Ella A., Stephen A., William and Alice. The eldest son was a soldier of the Civil war, serving as a member of Company B, One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Stafford was blessed with three children : Joseph A., Ethel M. and Bertha E. Bertha is a graduate of the Geneseo high school and is now attending Oxford College, at Oxford, Ohio. Ethel M., is at home. The son, who conducts the North Side livery in Geneseo, married Miss Jennie Farber and they have two living children, Leonore and Wilford. Mrs. Stafford is a member of the Methodist church and is an estimable lady, whose good qualities of heart and mind have won her many friends. Mr. Stafford is an exemplary representative of Stewart Lodge, No. 92, A. F. & A. M., and also belongs to Geneseo Chapter, No. 12, R. A. M. Politically he is a republican, and for several years he served as alderman, exercising his official prerogatives in support of many measures for the general good. In his business affairs he has displayed sound judgment and thorough reliability, and the advancing years have chronicled for him a notable and desirable success.

Dr. Harvey Clinton McMullen, a well known and successful dental practitioner of Cambridge, was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania, on the 2d of January, 1875, his parents being Andrew G. and Helen Elizabeth (Bodine) McMullen, likewise natives of that place. The paternal grandfather, who was of Scotch descent, was also born in the Keystone state and followed general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business career. He passed away in the state of his nativity when eighty-seven years of age. The death of his wife, who lived to attain the age of sixty-seven years, also occurred in Pennsylvania. Their family numbered three sons and a daughter, namely : Andrew G., Joseph, Samuel and Mary. George Bodine, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was of German descent and a native of Pennesylvania. He likewise followed farming as a means of livelihood. Both he and his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Bodine, passed away in the Keystone state. They reared a large family of children,

Andrew G. McMullen, the father of Harvey C. McMullen, made his way to this state in the year 1876 and successfully followed merchandising in Kewanee for a number of years. He has capably served in the positions of city assessor and school trustee at Kewanee, where he still makes his home, being one of the respected and worthy residents of the city. Both he and his wife are Congregationalists in religious belief. Unto them were born seven children, five sons and two daughters, four of whom still survive, as follows : Charles, a resident of Brush,

Dr. Harvey C. McMullen was but a year old when brought by his parents to Illinois. He lived in New Windsor, Mercer county, until eleven years of age and then went to Kewanee, where he grew to manhood, obtaining his education in the public and high schools of that place. Subsequently he spent one year at the University of Illinois and then entered the Chicago Dental College, from which institution he was graduated in 1901. Locating for practice in Bradford, Stark county, Illinois, he there remained for a year and then took up his abode in Cambridge, Henry county, where he has since remained, his skill and ability in the line of his chosen profession having won him an extensive and lucrative practice. The Henry County Dental Society numbers him among its valued members.

On the 25th of March, 1903, Dr. McMullen was united in marriage to Miss Helen Catharine White, a native of Buda, Bureau county. In his political views the Doctor is a stalwart democrat, while f ratenrally he is identified with Cambridge Lodge, No. 47, A. F. & A. M., Geneseo Chapter, No. 12, R. A. M., Cambridge Lodge, No. 199, I. O. O. F., and the Elks at Kewanee. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Baptist church, with which his wife is also affiliated. They are numbered among the highly esteemed young people of the community and have a host of warm friends.

William Nelson Moody

William Nelson Moody, one of the honored residents of Clover township, comes of a prominent family and has borne his part in sustaining its reputation. He was bom November 15, 1838, a son of John and Betsy (Stockdale) Moody, who removed from Greene county, Pennsylvania, to Morrow county, Ohio, in 1825 soon after their marriage. They cast their lot with the pioneers in that locality, for at that time Ohio was very sparsely settled, the nearest neighbors of the Moody family being nearly thirteen miles away, and Indians were troublesome. Wild game was plentiful, dense forests covered the land and before it could be made productive it was necessary to clear it. Surrounded by these primitive conditions, William Nelson Moody was born and reared to manhood. He attended the country district school, held in a log cabin, and at the same time assisted in the general work of the farm.

In the fall of 1857 he came to Clover township, Henry county, Illinois, where one sister had already located, and he spent the winter with her, returning in the spring of 1858 to his father's home with the full intention of making Henry county his permanent location. On July 29, 1859, he married Angeline Painter, a daughter of Jacob and Ann (Nichols) Painter, farming people of Morrow county. The Painter family never moved to Illinois. During the Civil war which soon followed, Mr. Moody was a member of the National Guard and upon the call of Governor Tod of Ohio to defend Cincinnati and other Ohio river points against the anticipated raid of the Confederate General Kirby Smith, he reported with his company for duty and was stationed at Cleves on

W. N. Moody And Family

After his marriage Mr. Moody engaged in farming in Ohio until the fall of 1862, when he made his anticipated return to Clover township, Henry county, Illinois, and settled upon the farm which has been his home ever since. Mr. and Mrs. Moody have had a family of ten children, seven of wJiomi are living: Emma, who married J. F. S. Philis ; Elizabeth, who married George Mahaffey, of Oklahoma; Joseph G., who is a farmer of Clover township; George B., who is a farmer in the vincinity of Cambridge ; Louella, who married Wallace Elliott, of Oklahoma ; Pemerlietta, who married Prescott Harkness, of Monument, Kansas; Clarence B., who lives in Oklahoma; and Jacob W., John and Laura A., who are deceased. The wife and mother died February 17, 1906, much beloved and widely mourned. On December 19. 1906, Mr. Moody married Hilda Carlson and to this union one child was born, a son, Naaman N.

Mr. Moody has always devoted himself to farming and has been very successful owing to his progressive and enterprising spirit. He is a democrat and a partisan of the old Jeffersonian school but has never been an office seeker. Of strong character and determined in his views, he has always been glad to defend his position upon current questions, and, deeply interested in education, he has served for many years on the board of education. He is a member of Woodhull Lodge, No. 502, A. F. & A. M., in which he has filled all the offices except worshipful master. He was also a charter member of Clover Range, Patrons of Husbandry, and for years was active in its affairs. For many years be has also been very active in the Christian Union church.

Mr. Moody is not the only one of his family to become well known in Clover township, for in 1870 he induced his father and mother and their family to come here and they located on a farm near his own. The father was a democrat in his political views. He and his wife and most of his family were members of the Presbyterian church and were devout believers in its teachings. The father died in May, 1880, his wife having preceded him by several years, and both are buried in the Woodhull cemetery.

The maternal grandmother of our subject belonged to the Harper family which owned and operated Harper's Ferry of Civil war fame, at the time that John Brown was executed. Mr. Moody has quite a number of the picks with which John Brown armed the negroes and he prizes them as relics of an exciting and memorable period in our nation's history.

Ferdinand F. Rieger

Ferdinand F. Rieger, pleasantly situated in Geneseo enjoying a well earned retirement, the fruits of his former toil, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 15, i860. For more than a half century the family has been represented continuously in Henry county. His grandparents in the paternal line spent their entire lives in Germany. The grandfather was twice married and died at a very old age. Ferdinand Rieger, the father of our subject, was born in Germany and in his life manifested many of the sterling characteristics of the Teutonic race. He was a cabinet-maker and carpenter and always lived a busy and useful life. He came to America in 1852, when fifteen years of age, and went to Milwaukee, where he had a sister living. There he learned the trade of cabinet-making, following that pursuit for a considerable period. About 1858 he removed to Henry county, Illinois, making his home in Loraine township, where he worked at his trade until his marriage to Miss Margaret Wagner, also a native of Germany, She was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Wagner, who on coming to the new world took up their abode in Loraine township, Henry county, Illinois, where the father engaged in farming. In later years he removed to Geneseo, there spending the evening of his life, passing away at the venerable age of eighty-six years, while his wife was eighty-five years of age at the time of her death. They were the parents of four daughters: Margaret, Elizabeth, Catharine and Susan. Following the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Rieger, Sr., they went to Milwaukee, where they lived for two years, and then returned to Henry county, settling in Geneseo. For the past three or four years, however, they have lived at Spring Hill, and on the 4th of June, 1908, they celebrated their golden wedding, surrounded by their children and several grandchildren. They are members of the German Methodist church, and their lives have exemplified the principles of Christianity. Their family numbers three sons and four daughters : Ferdinand F. ; William L. ; Amelia, the wife of Luther Ballard, of Portland, Illinois; Elizabeth, the wife of Fred Carney, of Spring Hill, Illinois ; Charles, living in Sterling, this state ; Carrie the wife of Frank Ward, of Sterling; and Mary, the wife of Guy Overholser, of Sterling.

Ferdinand F. Rieger was but an infant when his parents returned to Henry county, and he was therefore reared in Geneseo. Here he began his education as a pupil in the German school, but after three years spent in study there he continued his course in the public schools. When he put aside his text-books he sought to provide for his own living by entering the employ of H. W. Moses in the poultry business. He found this work congenial, won promotions as the result of his capability and fidelity, and that he enjoyed in unhmited measure the confidence and trust of his employer is indicated in the fact that he was later admitted to a partnership. Eventually, in 1891, he purchased the interest of Mr. Moses and conducted the business alone for several years. His trade extended over a wide territory for he had branch houses at Sterling, Milledgeville, Lanark, Geneseo, and elsewhere. His business furnished an excellent market to poultry producers in those parts of the state, and at the same time in conducting his enterprise he met with substantial and continuous success. Year by year witnessed an increase in his business, until with a very handsome competence he retired to enjoy the fruits of his former toil and since 1906 has given his attention only to supervision of his investments.

Mr. Rieger was married on the 20th of March, 1884, to Miss Mary E. Heller, a daughter of David and Catharine (Arnett) Heller. Mrs. Rieger was born in Loraine township. Her mother was from Alsace-Loraine, while her father was a native of Pennsylvania. They came to this country when it was still a pioneer district, Mrs. Heller arriving in 1837 in company with her parents, Louis and Clara (Shelty) Arnett. Unto Mr. and Mrs. David Heller were born ten chil-

In the home of Mr. and Mrs. Rieger are two daughters and one son, Pearl A., Howard E. and Edna May. Prior to his marriage Mr. Rieger resided in Geneseo and afterward established his home in Sterling, Illinois, where he lived for several years. In 1892, however, he returned to Geneseo, and in 1902 he built one of the finest homes of the city. It is of an attractive style of architecture and beautifully and tastefully furnished with all those home adornments which refined taste suggest and wealth can secure. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and with the Fraternal Tribunes.

Politically Mr. Rieger is a republican, stanch in his advocacy of the principles of the party but without desire for office. Up to the time of his retirement he preferred to concentrate his energies upon the conduct and management of a growing business, and in his intelligent appreciation for, and utilization of, opportunities was found the secret of his success. A laudable ambition led him into large undertakings, and his prosperity followed as the natural sequence of persistent and well directed labor. He has become widely known through the extent of his business interests and was regarded as one of the most prominent business men of this portion of the state.

William L. Andrews

William L. Andrews, a farmer and stock-raiser whose home is on section 7, Geneseo township, was born on the farm and in the house which he now occupies, his natal day being October 12, 1868. His parents were James and Mary (Campbell) Andrews, of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this work. Their family numbered eleven children, one of whom died in infancy, while ten still survive, six of the number being yet residents of Henry county. William L. Andrews, who was the fourth in order of birth, acquired his preliminary education in the country schools and afterward spent some time as a pupil in the Geneseo Collegiate Institute. Through the periods of vacation his time and energies were devoted to farm work so that he gained comprehensive knowledge of the best methods of tilling the soil and of caring for the crops.

Having arrived at years of maturity Mr. Andrews was married on the 6th of January, 1892, to Miss Rosa Gainey, of Carbon Clifif, Rock Island county, Illinois, a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Mitchell) Gainey. This union has been blessed with ten children : Ruth C, Bernice M., Chester G., Leslie W., Mary C, James T., William M., Margaret, Conrad and John Asa.

Mr. Andrews began his married life on the farm owned by his father in Colona township and there resided for ten years, after which he took up his abode on the old homestead farm, where he has since remained. He has brought its fields under a high state of cultivation, has added modern improvements and has carried forward the work of general development until the farm is now one of the valuable properties of this part of the state. The soil, naturally rich and arable,

In the faith of the democratic party Mr. Andrews was reared and has since been allied with the organization, casting his first presidential ballot for Grover Cleveland. He has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking but in 1909 was elected a member of the first board of education for the township high school. He furthers progressive measures along educational lines and in fact his influence is ever given for the betterment of public interest. He was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian church and both he and his wife are members thereof, their lives being in strict conformity to its teachings and principles.

Nathaniel Mayhew

Twenty-nine years have come and gone since Nathaniel Mayhew was called to his final rest, yet he is well remembered by the older citizens of Henry county as a representative of the reliable business men of this district through the middle portion of the nineteenth century. He was at different times connected with industrial and commercial interests in Kewanee, Wethersfield and Neponset, and in every relation commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he was brought in contact. He was born in Warren county, Ohio, March 10, 1829, his parents being Nathaniel and Sarah Mayhew, who had removed to Ohio from the state of Maine, having previously lived near Bangor. They made the journey westward with ox-teams, being six months upon the road.

Nathaniel Mayhew spent the first sixteen years of his life in the state of his nativity and then became a resident of Wethersfield, Illinois. He there learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for many years, or until i860, during which period he was actively identified with building operations in this part of the state, and there are still standing a number of old, substantial structures on which he worked. In i860, however, he turned his attention to commercial pursuits, establishing a hardware store in Kewanee, which he conducted for six years. He then joined William H. Blish in the purchase of a flour mill at Wethersfield, which they removed to Neponset, conducting business there for four years. The venture was a profitable one, but on account of ill health Mr. Mayhew sold out and retired from active life, spending his remaining days in the enjoyment of well earned rest.

On the 15th of April, 1854, Mr. Mayhew was united in marriage to Miss Eliza M. Wright, a daughter of John and Phoebe Wright, who resided in Orange county. New York, of which state they were natives. The mother's people, the Halsteads, were representatives in the Revolutionary war, while the Wrights sent representatives to the war of 1812. Eliza Wright came to the middle west with her sister, Mrs. Mary White, in the fall of 1850 and they settled on a farm in Henry county four miles east of Kewanee. Mrs. Mayhew was born October 13, 1834, and was therefore a maiden of about sixteen summers when she came to Illinois. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mayhew were born six children of whom five are now living: Addie E., the wife of George O. Brown, the president of the First National

Bank at Cozad, Dawson county, Nebraska; Ernest D., who for some years has been a merchant in Kewanee and was formerly postmaster; Milford, who resides in Seattle, Washington, where he is connected with a shipping company; Jacob Y., of the Kewanee Transfer Company; and Winston L., now the wife of Charles A. Demmler, a draughtsman. The death of the husband and father occurred November 2^, 1880, and was the occasion of deep regret, not only to his immediate family but to many friends, for in the life of the community he was an active and representative factor, honorable in business and progressive in his citizenship. To his family he was a devoted husband and father and was always loyal in friendship. Mrs. Mayhew yet survives her husband and has always remained true to his memory. She has now passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey and is one of the most highly esteemed residents of Kewanee, her friendship being prized by young and old, rich and poor. She is a member of the Presbyterian church, with which her people have been connected for generations.

Peter H. Taylor

The life record of Peter H. Taylor, now numbered among Geneseo's honored dead, measured up to the full standard of all that is best and most commendable in business life, in citizenship and in social relations. He had many friends in the county who shared with the family in their keen sorrow when he was called from earthly activities.

A native of Vermont, Peter H. Taylor was born in Wardsboro, Windham county, October 28, 1844, his parents being Alfred and Martha (Hammond) Taylor. Both were representatives of old New England families and were natives of the Green Mountain state, continuing to reside among the hills of that district until they came to Illinois in the spring of 1855 and located on the broad prairies of the Mississippi valley. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to Ebenezer Taylor, a native of Massachusetts. He removed to Vermont and his son and namesake, the grandfather of our subject, was born in the latter state. Alfred Taylor was born in Wardsboro, Vermont, in 1806 and there he was reared and spent his early manhood. In 1833 he wedded Martha Hammond, a daughter of Peter Hammond, the centenarian, who died in Geneseo on his one hundred and second birthday. His wife survived him and on the 23d of July, 1895, was stricken with paralysis, and died the following day at the age of eighty-eight years, having been born in Wardsboro, Vermont, in 1807. She was a lady of most beautiful character, which endeared her to all with whom she came in contact.

Peter H. Taylor grew to manhood in Geneseo, where his parents established their home when he was a youth oi ten years. When he had arrived at man's estate he was married, on the 30th of January, 1873, to Miss Ella N. Hume, a daughter of Dr. Stephen T. and Pei-melia (Stewart) Hume, who were pioneers of Geneseo and are mentioned elsewhere in this volume.

Mr. Taylor had been educated in the schools of this city and when he reached adult age turned his attention to farming, later being connected with the com- mercial interests of the city until 1880. ' In that year he removed to Grinnell, Iowa, and purchased five hundred and sixty acres of land in that vicinity. He was then engaged in general farming until 1882, but preferring Geneseo as a place of residence he returned to Henry county and here embarked in the grain business, although retaining the ownership of his Iowa land. He became the successor of the firm of Lawbaugh & Dillenbeck, who were among the pioneer grain dealers here. He operated quite extensively in grain, making large annual shipments, and was considered one of the leading and most energetic men of Henry county. Early in life he manifested those traits of character which are indispensable to success in business. He was diligent, persevering, farsighted and ambitious, and as the years passed he prospered in all that he undertook. Moreover, he was a tireless worker and a man of great personal courage and fortitude. He seemed to know almost intuitively when, where and how to make investments and in the management of his business displayed a spirit of capable contrpl.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were born two children: Maurice Hume, who died at the age of thirty-one years ; and Louise Martha, now the wife of James H. White, an employe in the First National Bank. Unto Mr. and Mrs. White have been born two children, Janet and Margery.

The home life of Mr. Taylor was exemplary in many respects for he was a man of tender and affectionate nature who found his greatest happiness in promoting the welfare of the members of his own household. Socially he was aflfable and kind and had a smile and good word for every one. Whwi eighteen years of age he joined the Congregational church and continued an active member thereof until his death, which occurred in Geneseo on Saturday morning, February 23, 1895. His record was never that of a sordid business man seeking only financial gain, for his means were liberally used for the benefit of others wherever assistance would be a deed of kindness or an act of mercy. His commercial integrity was never called into question and his life exhibited many splendid traits of honorable, upright manhood. Mrs. Taylor, who still resides in Geneseo, is a lady of education and refinement, held in the highest esteem in Geneseo, where she was reared. There is perhaps no one now living in this district who is better informed concerning the history of the county than she.

William Lewis Myers

The development of a community never depends upon a single individual but upon the cooperation of many. These who figure prominently, however, in the work of public improvement are the business men who, actuated by a spirit of enterprise, carefully manage commercial and industrial interests, and thus contribute to the life and activity of the district. Such a one is William Lewis Myers, who is conducting a furniture store and undertaking establishment in Geneseo. He was born in Yorktown township, Henry county, Illinois, November 8, 1865. His parents were Jeremiah and Mary (Taylor) Myers, natives of Pennsylvania and of Illinois respectively. The paternal grandfather was also born in the Keystone state and was of German descent. He was a mechanic, possessing considerable natural ability along that Hne, but later in life he devoted his energies to farming. Removing westward to Illinois in 1843, he settled first at Moline and afterward removed to Eight Mile, a place about ten miles northeast of Geneseo, where he died at the age of seventy-six years. His wife died when past middle life, leaving a family of five children : John, Jacob, Emanuel, Jeremiah and Daniel. The maternal grandfather of our subject was an early settler of southern Illinois, becoming a large landowner and stock shipper and died in that section of the state at an old age.

Jeremiah Myers has always been a farmer, devoting his entire life to the work of tilling the soil up to the time of his retirement from business. He came to Illinois in 1843, setthng in Moline, where he followed teaming when a young man. In i860 he took up his abode in Yorktown township and invested his savings in eighty acres of land, which he at once began to cultivate and improve. Subsequently he sold that property and invested in two hundred acres upon which he resided until the spring of 1879. He then removed to Colona township, where he bought forty-two acres of land and made his home thereon for twenty-three years, or until the fall of 1902, when he resolved permanently to put aside business cares and took up his abode in Geneseo, where he is now living retired. His wife is a member of the Grace Evangelical church. Mr. Myers has held various township offices and has always been loyal and progressive in his interests of citizenship, doing whatever he can for the welfare of the community at large. Unto him and his wife have been born three children: Annette, who died in infancy; William Lewis ; and Jesse, who is now living in East Lansing, Michigan.

William L. Myers was reared in Henry county, spending his youthful days upon his father's farm, his responsibilities increasing as the years advanced, while his broadening experience made him well qualified for business cares in later life. His early education, acquired in the district schools, was supplemented by study in the Geneseo Collegiate Institute, and he lived at home until he had attained his majority. He then rented land for a year, after which his father assisted him in gaining a start, and he bought a farm of one hundred and eighty-nine acres in Hanna township, whereon he lived until 1902, having in the meantime added twenty acres to the original tract. For years he carefully tilled the soil and in the cultivation of his crops met with fair success, but eventually he rented his farm and removed to Geneseo. However, he still owns the property and derives therefrom a substantial income. In January, 1905, he bought the interest of Clinton F. Luther in the furniture and undertaking business, Hart R. Sweeney owning the other half. This partnership was continued for nine months, at the end of which time Mr. Myers bought Mr. Sweeney's interest and has continued the business alone since that date. He now has a well equipped furniture store, carrying a large and carefully selected line of goods, ranging in value from low-priced to high-priced articles, so that he can meet the demands of a varying trade. His store is attractive in its arrangement, and Mr. Myers employs judicious advertising to increase his business, while the methods that he uses in its conduct are such as recommend him to the further patronage of those who once give him their trade.

On the 26th of January, 1887, Mr. Myers was united in marriage to Miss May Shafer, a daughter of William and Mary (Varnes) Shafer. Mrs. Myers was born in Hanna township and by her marriage has become the mother of four children: Myrtle, Jerry, Ethel and Sherman. The religious faith of the parents is indicated by their membership in the Methodist church, in which Mr. Myers is a steward. They are active in various lines of the church work and do all in their power to promote its growth and extend its influence. Mr. Myers belongs to Stewart Lodge, No. 92, A. F. & A. M., also to several other fraternities. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. He has always lived in Henry county, and the years chronicle the progress that he has made as he has utilized his opportunities both in agricultural and commercial lines.