Knox County, Illinois - The whole text, 1912 (part 48 of 56)

In 1852 William Bond left Ohio and settled in Brimfield township, Peoria county, Illinois. Two years later he purchased the farm in Elba township on which his widow now resides, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land. This he cultivated with much success during the ensuing years of his life. He was married December 21, 1845, to Miss Eliza J. Peterson. She was born January 22, 1826, in Tennessee, a daughter of John and Sarah (McCorcle) Peterson, both of whom were natives of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Bond were the parents of six children, born in the following order: Sarah A., deceased ; Frances, the wife of William Pitman, by whom she has eight children; Ella C., the wife of William Barrett, by whom she has four children ; Alice E., the wife of Marion Ellison, by whom she has five children : Augusta, living at home; and Edward C., of Sparta township, who married Mary Stone and has five children. ; ,: ; .. ... j .j. ' !

Mr. Bond gave his political support to the republican party but was never eager for the honors and emoluments of public office. Mrs. Bond is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and therein a helpful and loyal worker. The death of William Bond occurred on the loth of February, 1903, when he had reached the age of eighty-four years. One-half of the farm of one hundred and sixty acres which he bequeathed to his wife, she rents to a tenant. Honest and upright in all his relations in life, Mr. Bond enjoyed the high regard of all who knew him, and in his death the community suffered the loss of one. who represented the best type of American citizenship. He never shirked the duties which fell to his lot but performed his share in the world's work with willingness and pleasure., - - .- -- --.-.-;.- - >- . - .-

To recount the history of a community one has often merely to consider a small group of men whose activities and energies are so inseparably woven into the warp and woof of the social fabric about them that in relating the history of their rise and growth we are recounting the history of the development of the community. To this generalization Abingdon is no exception and conspicuous among its group of foremost citizens is Strawther Givens. Identified with the organization of practically every industry and progressive movement that has originated in this town, Mr. Givens has had an incalculable influence in shaping the industrial, commercial, and social character of Abingdon. He was born in Monroe county, Indiana, May 23, 1843. He was the son of Thales H. Givens and the grandson of James Givens, a soldier in the war of 1812 who won distinction under General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. His mother was, in her maidenhood, Julia Carter who, like her husband Thales H. Givens, was a native of Madison county, Kentucky. They were married in Brown county, Indiana, to which place they had removed with their parents. After their marriage they settled on a farm in Monroe county, Indiana, residing there up to 1854 when they came to Illinois and bought a farm on the county line between McDonough and Hancock counties. In 1865 they withdrew from the farm and removed to Abingdon, where Mr. Givens became a prominent factor in the business and financial enterprises of this town. In company with his son Strawther and J. M. Dawdy, he organized the first bank in Abingdon. He was a trustee of Hedding College for a number of years and was one of the most influential men of his day in this section of the country. He died on April 23, 1882. ; J;

Fortunate in his parentage Strawther Givens in his youth enjoyed advantages far beyond the reach of many of the boys of his time. His primary education he received in the district school in the vicinity of the old home farm on the border of McDonough county. Later he attended the State University of Indiana and followed this with a commercial course at Burlington, Iowa. On Christmas day, 1862, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Huston, a daughter of John Huston, one of the early pioneers of McDonough county. Subsequent to his marriage he engaged in farming. On March i, 1870, he removed to Abingdon and engaged in the grocery business. Thus he was identified with mercantile interests until 1873 when he, together with his father and Mr. Dawdy, established the bank above mentioned. The Union Bank of Abingdon, conducting the business under the firm name of "Givens, Dawdy & Company." In 1878 it was reorganized with Strawther Givens as cashier, and was known thereafter merely as The Union Bank of Abingdon. In 1879 he engaged in stock-raising and in the latter capacity won a wide reputation for breeding and establishing what was known as the Maple Grove herd of Shorthorn cattle. This breed of cattle attracted much attention in his own and many other states, soon making him nationally famous among breeders of thoroughbred stock. Since his removal to Abingdon he has been identified with the organization and development of such interests as the Iowa Central Railroad Company, The Abingdon Sanitary Manufacturing Company, The Illinois Theatre Company and The Abingdon Light & Power Company. Of the last named concern Mr. Givens was for some years the president and general manager, during which time it was developed to its present high level of efficiency. In 1894 he became identified with the real-estate and insurance business and into this he threw all his energy and personality as he did in every undertaking. The results of his intensified efforts were astonishing, for, during the years of his connection with this enterprise, he built up one of the largest insurance businesses in the county, having at the time of his retirement from this field underwriters for nearly a million and a half dollars. It is not an overstatement to say that there is possibly not a man in Abingdon who has done more to promote the business welfare of the city than he.

Mrs. Strawther Givens passed away in December, 1907. She was the mother of four children: Anna, the wife of W. A. Thomas of Wichita, Kansas ; Lucy, the wife of George Foltz, of Abingdon ; Laura, deceased, a twin sister of Lucy, married to Alfred Ryden ; and Thales H., a ranchman in Teton county, Montana. In his political faith Mr. Givens has always been an ardent democrat and prominently identified with the party for many years. He was a delegate of the national convention that nominated Cleveland in 1884. He has served five terms as alderman of Abingdon and has been an influential factor in his party's councils. He is a member of the Galesburg Club.

Widely known throughout the state there is not a man in Illinois whose business pledge is more trustworthy than is that of Strawther Givens. Mounting on the foundation of unfaltering integrity, of unremitting energy and lofty idealism, the fact of his success needs no explanation. - . . .

In one of the handsome homes of Hermon lives J. F. Smith, for some years past manager of the Farmer's Flevator Company. His native state is Ohio, where he was born in Clinton county near Wilmington on the lOth of May, 1851. His father, Charles W. Smith, was born in Virginia, where this branch of the family had located, leaving that state, however, when he was a small boy. On their westward journey, which was accomplished by train and wagon, they made their destination Knox county, Illinois, settling in Indian Point township, in the year 1854. There he grew from boyhood to manhood, aiding his father in his task of transforming the raw land into a farm. He married Miss Lina C. Moon in Ohio, where she was born. Five children resulted from this union:. Susan, deceased ; W. H., postmaster of Colby, Kansas ; J. F. ; D. H., of Chicago; and Sarah, deceased. Mrs. Smith's death occurred in 1907. She had been a widow for many years, her husband having passed away thirty-nine years before in the year 1868. They are both buried in the cemetery at Hermon.

J. F. Smith was given the usual education which the district schools of Indian Point township afforded. At the age of twenty-one he commenced his career independently as a farmer in his home township. He gave this up, however, in 1884, the year made memorable by the democratic victory in the election of Cleveland to his first term of the presidency. Leaving the farm he removed to Weldon, where he lived for a short time, until a desire to push farther west drew him to Kansas, where he located in Thomas county. For six years he tilled the soil of his farm in that place, when he concluded to come back to Indian Point township, Knox county, the locality endeared to him by many associations of former days. He gave up his home in the country in 1903, removing to Hermon upon assuming the management of the Farmer's Elevator Company and has resided in this place ever since.

Miss Mary Roberts became his wife in 1871. Their children are: Emma Lena, wife of O. M. Barnes of Hermon, Illinois ; Albert R. ; Sina Dora, deceased ; Zella, wife of C. V. Shumaker of Abingdon, Illinois; and Orla Glen, of Abingdon, Illinois. Mr. Smith and his wife are faithful members of the Christian church. He has passed through all the chairs of the Odd Fellows lodge of Hermon and is also a Modern Woodman of America. Politically he is a republican in his sentiments. Mt. Smith possesses an energetic and buoyant temperament which cannot be easily discouraged and to those who seek his friendship he is ever a loyal friend.

J. D. Gray, living near Elba Center on a farm which he has occupied for more than a quarter of a century, is prominently associated with the agricultural interests of Knox county, being successfully engaged in the pursuits of general farming and stock-raising. He was born in Maquon township, November i8, 1855, his parents being Lemuel and Mary A. (Swegle) Gray. The father was a native of Highland county, Ohio, and came to Illinois when a young man, locating in Maquon township, Knox county, where he was eng^aged in fanning all his life with the exception of a few years prior to his death, when he resided in Elba township. He died in Farmington at the age of seventy years. The mother was born in Fulton county, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Gray were the parents of five children, of whom J. D. is the oldest. The others are: Kate,. Josephine, John and Charles.

Passing his youth under the parental roof, J. D. Gray was educated in the' common schools of Knox county and when old enough to work, engfaged in farming on the home place. After his marriage he removed to his present farm located in the western part of the county near Elba Center. It is a valuable tract consisting of one hundred and sixty acres of fertile farm land, which he operates with much success also cultivating a tract of forty acres owned by his wife. In addition to this he has an interest in two other farms. He is progressive in his methods believing that the most competent farmer is he who is best equipped for his work, having substantial buildings, first class machinery and all the necessary accessories such as running water, a lighting plant and other modern improvenients that contribute in such a large measure to the comfort and convenience of country dwellers, making farm life not only desirable but highly attractive.

Mr. Gray was united in the bonds of wedlock to Miss Villa Adams, a daughter of Ziba Adams. They are the parents of four children : Earl, who is married to Miss Ada Farwell and has one child, Mildred Lorena ; Amy, who is the wife of William Rambo and has a daughter, lona ; and Ord and Floyd, who are both at home. The children were all born and brought up on the farm where the parents are now living. Mr. Gray votes with the democrats and has served the community in which he lives in various official capacities as school director, as tax collector and as commissioner. He is a man who possesses much spirit and energy and throughout his life has advanced by virtue of his untiring efforts and his steadfast devotion to the ideals which he has never lost sight of, content to provide for his family the comforts which his fair competence enables him to secure for them and to take for his measure of reward the joy that comes with the knowledge of labor well performed. -- .- ,-

George W. Cline, another of the citizens of Indian Point township who has met with a gratifying degree of success in agricultural pursuits, was born in Berwick township. Warren county, Illinois. His natal day was the I2th of October, 1863, and his parents Samuel and Olive (Butler) Cline, the father a native of Pickaway county, Ohio, and the mother of Greenbush township, Knox county. Samuel Cline came to Illinois during his boyhood with his father, who located in Sangamon county and there spent the remainder of his life. In his early manhood he went to Warren county, purchasing a farm in Berwick township upon which he resided until he retired to Abingdon, . where he passed away in 1898. The mother survived for ten years thereafter, her death occurring in Abingdon in April, 1908. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Cline there were born three sons and three daughters. In order of birth they are as follows: Mary, the wife of John Robinson, of Blackwell, Oklahoma ; George W., our subject ; Frederick, who is living on the old homestead ; Clara, the deceased wife of Oscar Cashman, a resident of Knox county; Charles, who is living in Abingdon ; and Olive, the wife of Reuben Davis, a farmer of Indian Point township.

Reared at home. George W. Qine received his education in the district schools of Berwick township. While engaged in mastering the common branches of English learning he was receiving practical training, under the supervision of his father, in the cultivation of the fields and care of the crops. In common with the majority of farmer lads from his early boyhood he was assigned regular duties about the homestead, his responsibilities being increased with the ptassing years, until by the time he had attained his majority he was fully qualified to begin his independent career as an agriculturist. In 1895 he engaged in the grain and lumber business, being connected with this in both Abingdon and Hermon for eight years. At the expiration of that period he withdrew from commercial activities and returned to farming, with which pursuit he has ever since been identified. Mr. Cline only spends the summer months on his farm, returning to Abingdon after the harvesting is over in the fall and remaining there until spring. He is progressive in his methods, yet practical in his ideas, so judiciously directing and supervising the cultivation of his fields and care of his crops, that he is rewarded abundant harvests of a quality that commands good prices. His efforts are being substantially rewarded and he is recognized as one of the capable agriculturists of the township.

: ' In September, 1886, Mr. Cline was married to Miss Effie Baldwin, who was born in Abingdon in 1865, a daughter of Thomas A. and Nancy (Williams) Baldwin, the father a native of Indiana and the mother of Knox county. Mr. Baldwin, who was a painter by trade, removed with his wife to De Witt, Nebraska. Mrs. Qine passed away on April 17, 1886, and on the 7th of September, 1890, Mr. Cline was married at Avon to Miss Nellie Rose. She is a native of that village, her birth having occurred on the 26th of April, 1872, and is a daughter of W. H. and Harriet (Stevens) Rose, natives of the state of New York. They are now residents of Avon. The father was for many years successfully engaged in agriculture and is the owner of several farms. Three children have blessed this marriage: Merle F., Harold D. and Bertha. Mr. Cline is a worthy member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Abingdon Lodge, No. 185, A. F. & A. M., of which he is a past master, and he also belongs to the Odd Fellows, being past noble grand of the Abingdon Lodge, No. 184, I. O. O. F. He affiliates with the Universalist church, of which Mrs. Cline is a member, and in politics he is a republican. He is one of the highly regarded citizens of Abingdon, who by honorable business methods and upright principles has won the esteem of those with whom he has had transactions.

Isaac Bumside, deceased, was one of the wealthy citizens of Knox county who, after following for many years, extensive agricultural and stock-raising pursuits, retired to Abingdon where he lived peacefully till death claimed him. He was born in Pocahontas county, Virginia, August 26, 1826. His parents, William and Margaret (Callison) Burnside, were both natives of Virginia removing to Indiana when Isaac was a small boy. In 1852 they came to Illinois locating in Chestnut township, Knox county, where .Mr. Burnside followed the pursuit of farming until his death. /i^ > ' .:

Isaac Burnside received his education in the district schools of Indiana. When ready to enter upon a career he followed the calling in which his father had trained him. In April, 1857, he married Miss Elizabeth Price of Chestnut township, and established his home on a farm that he had previously purchased in the vicinity of his father's farm. There he lived until 1884 when he retired and took up his residence in Abingdon. During the twenty-seven years in which he operated and improved his farm he was extensively engaged in stock- raising and in buying and selling stock. His tireless devotion to duty and his business acumen brought him unusual success and on his retirement he was accounted one of the rich men of this section of the county, owner of six hundred acres of land of which he still owned five hundred and eighty acres at the time of his death, having sold twenty thereof some years earlier. He was heavily interested as a stockholder in the First State Savings Bank. He had also become by purchase the owner of the old family homestead.

Mr. Bumside was twice married. In April, 1857, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Price, of Chestnut township, with whom he lived thirty-- ^ one years. Her death occurred May 20, 1888. To his second wife he was united in marriage on August 25, 1889. She was Mrs. John Ruth, her maiden name having been Miss Susan E. Soliday. Mrs. Ruth's parents were Samuel and Catherine A. (Shafer) Soliday, both natives of Fairfield county, Ohio, where they were married, coming to Illinois in 1852. They located first in Tazewell county, and in 1860 came to Knox county, making their home in Salem township. In 1875 they removed to Iowa, where they bought a farm in Adams county. There they remained till the last, Mr. Soliday passing away in 1902 and his wife in 1909. Miss Susan Soliday's marriage to Mr. Ruth occurred on July 8, 1875. His death on March 30, 1888, left her a widow until she was again united in the bonds of matrimony the following year. There was no issue to either marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Burnside. The latter is, however, the mother of an adopted daughter, Dorothy C., whom she is tenderly rearing, .,. giving her the excellent opportunities of education and travel which her position and means permit. She is a woman of culture and refinement, possessing a charm of personality that wins many friends. During the past two winters she has resided in California. She is an active church worker, being a member of the Christian Woman's Board of Missions, and also a member of the Ladies' Aid Society of the Christian church, in which faith Mr. Burnside, too, was an earnest believer. At the time of his death Mr. Burnside was nearly seventy-^ ^ nine years, passing away August 14, 1905. Throughout his life he had been a man of high moral principles, serious in his purposes, successful in his undertakings, generous and kind in his public life as well as in his private relations. In the memory of his nobility his widow finds the greatest comfort that can soften her loss. '' '^ ; ; - - ^~ . /hn. >-;'''.'' ' v:.-.

Samuel Morse Whiting, who is engaged in mercantile pursuits in Altona, was born in that town on the nth of August, 1857, and traces his ancestry back to William and Susanna Whiting, who settled in Hartford. Connecticut, in 1632, having come from Boxford, Suffolk county, England. William Whiting was a very wealthy merchant who had received a patent for land at Sevanscot with Lord Say and Lord Brook. He served as treasurer of the Connecticut colony from 1642 to 1647 and died in July of the latter year. His wife passed away July 8, 1673. Their son Joseph Whiting, who was bom October 2, 1640, and died October 8, 1717, was married in 1676 to Anna Allyn, who was raising and in buying and selling stock. His tireless devotion to duty and his business acumen brought him unusual success and on his retirement he was accounted one of the rich men of this section of the county, owner of six hundred acres of land of which he still owned five hundred and eighty acres at the time of his death, having sold twenty thereof some years earlier. He was heavily interested as a stockholder in the First State Savings Bank. He had also become by purchase the owner of the old family homestead.

Mr. Burnside was twice married. In April, 1857, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Price, of Chestnut township, with whom he lived thirtyone years. Her death occurred May 20, 1888. To his second wife he was united in marriage on August 25, 1889. She was Mrs. John Ruth, her maiden nariie having been Miss Susan E. Soliday. Mrs. Ruth's parents were Samuel and Catherine A. (Shafer) Soliday, both natives of Fairfield county, Ohio, where they were married, coming to Illinois in 1852. They located first in Tazewell county, and in 1860 came to Knox county, making their home in Salem township. In 1875 they removed to Iowa, where they bought a farm in Adams county. There they remained till the last, Mr. Soliday passing away in 1902 and his wife in 1909. Miss Susan Soliday's marriage to Mr. Ruth occurred on July 8, 1875. His death on March 30, 1888, left her a widow until she was again united in the bonds of matrimony the following year. There was no issue to either marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Burnside. The latter is, however, the mother of an adopted daughter, Dorothy C., whom she is tenderly rearing, giving her the excellent opportunities of education and travel which her position and means permit. She is a woman of culture and refinement, possessing a charm of personality that wins many friends. During the past two winters she has resided in California. She is an active church worker, being a member of the Christian Woman's Board of Missions, and also a member of the Ladies' Aid Society of the Christian church, in which faith Mr. Burnside, too, was an earnest believer. At the time of his death Mr. Burnside was nearly seventynine years, passing away August 14, 1905. Throughout his life he had been a man of high moral principles, serious in his purposes, successful in his undertakmgs, generous and kind in his public life as well as in his private relations. In the memory of his nobility his widow finds the greatest comfort that can soften her loss.

Samuel Morse Whiting, who is engaged in mercantile jnirsuits in Altona, was born in that town on the nth of August, 1857, and traces his ancestry back to William and Susanna Whiting, who settled in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1632, having come from Boxford. Suffolk county, England. William Whiting was a very wealthy merchant who had received a patent for land at Sevanscot with Lord Say and Lord Brook. He served as treasurer of the Connecticut colony from iCt42 to 1647 and died in July of the latter year. His wife passed away July 8, 1673. Their son Joseph Whiting, who was born October 2, 1640, and died October 8, 1717, was married in 1676 to Anna Allyn, who was born August i8, 1652, and died March 3, 1735. She was a daughter of Colonel John and Ann (Smith) Allyn. Her father, who was secretary of the Connecticut colony for twenty-eight years, was born February 24, 1630, and died November II, 1696. John Whiting, son of Joseph and Anna (Allyn) Whiting, was born December 15, 1693, and died February 12, 1766. He married Jerusha Lord, who was born in 1699 and died in 1776. Their son Allyn Whiting was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, being a private in Major Sheldon's Regiment of Light Horse and Colonel Enos' Regiment on the Hudson. He was bom June 23, 1740, and died February 9, i8i8. He and his wife Elizabeth joined the church at West Hartford in 1758. Their son Joseph Whiting was bom in August, 1763, and died February i6, 1842. He was married in 1784 to Mary Goodwin, who was born in 1766 and died in 1835. Their son Allyn Whiting, who was the grandfather of our subject, was born July 4, 1788, and died in Aurora, Illinois, November 3, 1871. He married Amanda Alford, who was born June 6, 1796, and died May 3, 1849. Their son Samuel Phelps Whiting, the father of our subject, was born September 19, 1821, in Hartford, Con- x necticut, and was married, in Litchfield, that state. May 28, 1845, to Miss Lucretia Morse who was born in Litchfield, August 22, 1823, and died April 5, 1901. She was a daughter of Jacob and Harriet Morse, who were married March 14, :' 1821. Her mother was born March 17, 1800, and died February 28, 1882, in Litchfield. Her father was born in that city March 6, 1792, and was a son of Levi and Thalia (Sanford) Morse. Levi Morse was bom in Litchfield, September 19, 1775, and died January 20, 1841. His wife was born October 26, 1776, and died July i6, 1854. Mrs. Lucretia (Morse) Whiting belonged to a very prominent old New England family and a monument has been erected which bears the following inscription : "To the memory of seven Puritans who emigrated from England to America in 1635-9. John Morse, born 1604, settled at New Haven and died at Wallingford, Connecticut, 1707, aged one hundred and three years. Samuel Morse, bom 1585, settled at Dedham, 1636, died at Medfield, 1654. Joseph Morse, settled at Ipswich, where he died 1646. Anthony Morse, born at Marlboro, England, 1606, died at Newbury, 1686. William Morse, born 1608, died 1685. Robert and Peter, their brothers, settled and died in New Jersey." . ^'' .'::::::-::;>--:.> :. - --rX '-;-

Samuel Phelps Whiting, the father of our subject, conducted a meat market .''-; in his native city until coming to Victoria, Illinois, in 1851, with his brother '- Richard and family. They engaged in mercantile business for two years and at the end of that time Samuel P. Whiting removed to Altona, where he opened a meat market. In addition to that business he also engaged in the raising and shipping of cattle, horses and hogs, becoming one of the leading men engaged in that enterprise in the locality. He disposed of his stock in Peoria, which was the nearest market. His was one of the first frame houses built in Altona and was situated on Main street, opposite the present place of business of Sam- > . uel M. Whiting. In 1878 he admitted his son Samuel as a business partner C?- and subsequently purchased and edited for five years Altona's only newspaper' ' - the Altona Journal. He took an active interest in public affairs and was a r ; supporter of the republican party. After a useful and well spent life he passed away in March, 1907. In his family were four children : Samuel M.. of this review; Delia, the wife of A. H. Miles, a druggist of Des Moines, Iowa; Inez, the wife of A. G. Edwards, a druggist and ex city treasurer of Omaha, Nebraska ; and Angie, the wife of Ernest R. Smith, of Palo Alto, California.

Samuel M. Whiting has been engaged in the meat market business since he finished school at the age of fifteen years. In addition to conducting his market he has also bought and shipped cattle to the near-by markets. For one year he ran a restaurant and from 1892 to 1897 he conducted a meat market in Galesburg but then returned to Altona. In his dealings he has maintained the strictest business integrity, realizing that satisfied customers are the best advertisement. He keeps in touch with the trade, knows what the market offers and carries a good line of meats, while his prices are reasonable and his treatment of his patrons always courteous.

Mr. Whiting was married to Miss Ella M. Pierce, of Walnut Grove township whose birth occurred January 5, 1860. She is a daughter of Mathew Pierce, who came to Altona from New York state when very young and is now living retired at Galesburg. To Mr. and Mrs. Whiting four children have been born: Claude N., an electrician, who married Jennie Nelson and is residing in Cairo, Illinois; Harry S., the assistant cashier of the State Bank at Victoria, Illinois, who married Lillian Wenstrom, of Altona, and they have a little daughter, Lucile, born January ii, 1912; Inez, who is engaged in teaching music and is residing at home ; and Mathew Pierce, who since his graduation from school has assisted his father in the meat market. : :, ^ . . V' -^l - V .-

Mr. Whiting is an active and enthusiastic republican and has frequently been elected to office. He has served as village clerk and has four times been elected supervisor, his first election being in 1889. For nine years he served as county committeeman and during that time did much active work in furthering the interests of the republican party. Practically his whole life has been spent in Altona, where he has the distinction of being one of the two oldest business men. He occupies a place of prominence as one of the energetic business men, succeeding in what he undertakes by reason of his forceful character and his strict conformity to modern business methods. - .-r ' '

William Porter Reed, who is living retired on his farm in Lynn township, Knox county, was born on the 2Oth of January, 1843, in Memphis, Missouri, his parents being Daniel Porter and Lena (Carter) Reed, whose births occurred in i8i8 and 1823 respectively. Daniel P. Reed was a native of Pennsylvania, his mother's death occurring when he was a mere child, and he was reared by her sister. He is living at present and makes his home in California. When he was but seventeen years of age he went to Ohio, but subsequently settled in Stark county. After his marriage he left for Missouri and resided there eight years, farming, but then returned to Stark county where his aunt was residing. He farmed in Illinois for five years before removing to Galva in 1854. He remained there until 1890, when he left for California, in which state he is at present living at the venerable age of ninety-four years. He has always been an active traveler, and at the age of eighty-eight he came to Illinois to visit his children. After remaining with them for a short time he returned to his western home, a remarkable feat for one of his years, showing the virile health and vitality he is now enjoying. He was married to Lena Carter, who was a daughter of William Carter, whose birth occurred near Mansfield, Ohio. She passed away in ^895. To their union nine children were born, five of whom survive : William P., who is the subject of this review; Isaac, who is in the real-estate business in Chicago; Mary, who is married to W. R. Soper, of Galva; Isabell, who is the wife of Dr. Burbank of Santa Cruz, California; and Cora, who married Henry Fropwell, of California.

William P. Reed received a few years' education in the district schools near his father's farm and at the same time was actively engaged assisting his father in the duties on the home property, beginning at the age of nine to handle the plow. He did other heavy labor and attended school for a short time during the winter. In i86i, when he was eighteen years of age, he enlisted at Kewanee, for service in the Civil war with Company H of the Ninth Illinois Cavalry under Captain Bishop. He served for three years in the western army under Sherman. In 1862 he also served under Stephen Curtis through Missouri and Arkansas, and in the winter of 1862-63 continued to Memphis, Tennessee, to take part in the Grierson raid through that state to Louisiana. He was captured in battle at Moscow, Tennessee, and sent to the Alabama prison. Six weeks. later he was transferred to Andersonville, where he remained for eight months when he was again transferred, this time being sent to Charleston, South Carolina. During his detention at Andersonville he escaped once but was captured by bloodhounds. An incident worth mentioning which took place during Mr. Reed's venturesome exploits, occurred on his recapture, when within forty miles of Pensacola, Florida, the rebels, to make doubly sure of their captive, had a blacksmith weld irons on his arms and a ball and chain to his ankle. Subsequently he escaped on a log in the river but was betrayed by a negro and was again captured, but finally while on parole at Savannah, Georgia, he escaped and for a month lived by begging. Finally he became acquainted with a Union family, who supplied him with clothing and twenty dollars in money, but he was again captured, and while being transported to prison he jumped from the freight car, joined his army and was sent to New York city. Later he was sent to Annapolis, where he was mustered out and left for home by way of Peoria, Illinois. Later, at Springfield, he was discharged, and almost immediately afterward left for Colorado, where for eighteen months he engaged in cattle herding. At the end of that time he returned to Galva, but after his marriage returned to southern Kansas, where for five years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until he purchased his present home. When he went to Kansas he was in company with horse and sulky and took up a land claim near Cherryville, where the Osage Indians were their neighbors. He erected the cabin himself and built their log house. The cabin had one half window for light. Two months later his wife followed by way of Kansas City, and remained with her husband on that place for five years. They resided within three miles of the noted Bender family, but Mr. Reed had never heard of them until, while searching for his cattle which had been lost, he met them. This was during the Bender family's noted criminal and murdering career. In 1873 Mr. Reed came to Galva and purchased his father's farm. Two years later he bought the place upon which he is now residing. He has since lived near Galva continuously excepting the year of 1887 when he removed to Galesburg, so that his children might have better educational advantages. All his property has been brought under a high state of cultivation, and under his capable management and, because of his untiring efforts and perseverence, his js one of the most productive properties in this section.

On July 17, 1867, Mr. Reed was married to Miss Mary Ellen Soper, whose birth occurred on the 29th of September, 1848, near Kingston, Illinois, and who is a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Eggleston) Soper, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Albany, New York. The mother came from Fulton county with her parents when she was quite young. Joseph Soper was an agriculturist throughout the greater part of his active career, but after disposing of the management of his land, he engaged in the hardware and grocery business at Galva, disposing also of that before his retirement. His death occurred in 1907 when he was eighty years of age and the mother is still living at the age of eighty-one years. Of their five children only two survive, Emma Treloar, of California, and Mrs. Reed. -j' , -

Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Reed the following are living: Josephine H., who is married to Daniel S. Kelly, of Victoria, Illinois; Jay D., of Iowa, who is married to Retha Van Riper and who is the father of three sons, William, Maurice and Claude ; and Daniel Porter, who is residing on the home farm and who is married to Miss Bessie Van Buren, a daughter of John and Luella Van Buren. Mr. Reed is a Mason, holding membership in Lodge No. 330, of Altona, Illinois. He is also a member of the G. A. R. Post, No. 45, of Galesburg. In his agricultural pursuits and subsequently in his business undertakings Mr. Reed displayed the same marked determination to succeed and ability to concentrate his whole efforts upon one undertaking that he displayed while in the war. His one aim has been to succeed and to succeed along lines which are a credit to himself and his community, and to a large degree he has met with that success. . . - . / - --

James E. Roberson, who owns and operates a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section i8, Indian Point township, was bom in the southwestern

. part of Knox county, on the 7th of January, 1864. His parents, James and Mary (Smith) Roberson, were both born in Kentucky. The paternal grandfather, who was a farmer, died in the Blue Grass state, after which his widow and four sons came to Illinois. They located in Woodford county, this state, in 1834 and two years later came to Knox county, purchasing government land in Indian Point township, that lately was sold for one hundred and twenty dollars per acre. It was there that James Roberson spent the remainder of his

; life and where his children were born and reared. Mrs. Roberson is still living at the age of seventy and makes her home in Abingdon. Four sons and two daughters were born of this marriage : William, who is the eldest member of the family, now residing in Abingdon; Luna, the wife of Jason Day, a farmer of Iowa; Lida, who married Charles Kendall, of California; James E., our subject; Thomas, who is also a resident of California; and Clarence, who is the youngest member of the family, a carpenter of Abingdon.

The boyhood and youth of James E. Roberson were spent amid the scenes with which his manhood has been familiar, his education having been obtained in the district schools of Indian Point township. He remained on the home farm with his parents until he had attained his maturity, during which time he became thoroughly familiar with the practical methods of agriculture, under the capable supervision and direction of his father. For the past twenty years he has been farming for himself, during which period he has met with a fair measure of success. In 1892, he settled upon the place he now owns, and here he engages in general farming in connection with which he raises cattle, hogs and sheep, making a specialty of breeding and raising a high grade of Poled Angus cattle. His efforts in both lines of the business have been rewarded with very good results and he is regarded as one of the substantial citizens of the township.

The 22d of February, 1893, was the wedding day of Mr. Roberson and Miss Clara Dawdy, a native of this township and a daughter of Warren and Anna (Brown) Dawdy. The father is a native of Knox county, being a son of one of the first settlers, while the mother was born in Ohio. They are both living and continue to make their home on the farm in Indian Point township, where they have resided for many years. Two daughters were born unto them, the one Mrs. Roberson, and the other, Minnie, who became the wife of John Schister and is living on the old Roberson homestead.

Mr. and Mrs. Roberson are members of the Christian church and fraternally he is a member of the Odd Fellows, being identified with Abingdon Lodge, No. 184, I. O. O. F. In matters politic Mr. Roberson gives his support to the democratic party, but does not actively participate in township affairs, although he meets the requirements of good citizenship by casting a ballot on election day. He is one of the highly esteemed citizens of the community, whose excellent judgment and inherent ability has enabled him to be numbered among the prosperous agriculturists of the township. ,..,-.,;. . .:, , --.-,.

J. Arthur Routh, for years an electrician in Chicago and other Illinois towns, is now operating a farm near Hermon, on section 19, Chestnut township, Knox county, Illinois, where he was bom January 21, 1873. His father, Thompson L. Routh, whose biography appears in this volume, is a native of Clinton county, Ohio, coming to Chestnut township, Knox county, Illinois, in the early fifties when he was three years old. He followed the occupation of his father, engaging in farming which he still pursues in this vicinity with much success. His mother, Mary C. (Leigh) Routh, is a native of Knox county.

J. Arthur Routh received a thorough education in the district schools of his community, at Hedding College, Abingdon, and in the Normal School there, and in the Bushnell Normal College. When twenty-three years old he went to Chicago and secured employment in the General Electric Company's shops. After two years he left Chicago, continuing electrical work at Pontiac, Peoria, Galesburg and Abingdon, covering in all a period of eleven years. In 1907 he settled on the farm on section 19 where he was born. Here he is living at present and operating one hundred and five acres of land which furnish him with a generous income. He also owns four hundred and sixty acres of land in Jackson county, Wisconsin, and a residence in Abingdon. Besides general farming he devotes himself to the raising of thoroughbred Jersey cows, an occupation in which he has been unusually successful. .{;-----

He was married to Miss Gertrude Robertson in 1900. She is a daughter of William B. and Jennie (Neece) Robertson and is a native of Colchester township, McDonough county, Illinois. Her father was born in Kentucky and her mother in Missouri. They are still residing in Colchester, where Mr. Robertson is engaged in farming and is also a carpenter and contractor. They had four children born to them : Herman C., a dairyman in Colchester ; Ora, deceased; Gertrude, the wife of J. Arthur Routh; and a child, who died in infancy. Gertrude (Robertson) Routh was educated in the Colchester schools and at Bushnell Normal College, and then taught school in her home community for four years, when she resigned in order to marry Mr. Routh. She is the mother of two children, Mildred Doris, seven years old, and Howard Aubrey, three years old. . . - \ - -'---".'N- -'''.--.---'---: '-k >.... ;1 .':'-'/;;;

J. Arthur Routh votes with the republicans and has been road overseer for one term. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church in which they are highly esteemed by a large circle of friends.

Thomas R. P. Gough, who is filling the position of postmaster at Williamsfield, has been a resident of Knox county for twenty-seven years. He was born in Bristol, Somersetshire, England, in 1864, and is a son of R. C. and Frances (Jones) Gough. His parents spent their entire lives in England, of which country the father was a native, but the mother came from Wales.

Reared to the age of twenty years under the parental roof, Thomas R. P. Gough attended a private school in. the pursuit of his education. When he had acquired such knowledge as to enable him to undertake life's heavier responsibilities, he laid aside his text-books and learned the carpenter's trade. In common with many other young men America strongly appealed to him as the promised land of opportimities, in which to pursue his career amid conditions somewhat different from those to which he had been born, and 1884 saw him on his way to the United States. He landed in New York city and immediately made his way inland to Illinois, locating in Truro township, Knox county. There he engaged in farm labor, in connection with which he also followed his trade until 1893, when he took a position with C. C. Davis & Company, who are in the grain business. He remained in their employ for eleven years, resig^ing his position to assume the duties of postmaster, to which office he was appointed on the ist of October, 1904. He is now serving his eighth year in this capacity, in connection with which he has also done fanning.

For his wife Mr. Gough chose Miss Ethel May Tucker, a daughter of Noah N. Tucker, and unto them have been born three children : Ellen Frances, Glen Thomas and Mabel Evelyn.

: , The religious views of the family are manifested through their affiliation with the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally Mr. Gough is a Mason, holding membership in the blue lodge of Princeville and the chapter of Yates City. He also belongs to the Eastern Star of Princeville, and the Woodmen of the World, being identified with the Williamsfield camp. In his political views Mr. Gough is a republican, having given his unqualified indorsement to the principles of this party ever since granted the full rights of citizenship. He has displayed rare efficiency in discharging the responsible duties of his present office, his service having proven highly satisfactory to the community at large. Ehiring the long period of his residence in Williamsfield, Mr. Gough has won and retained the friendship of many of the most estimable citizens of the town, as he has always manifested those qualities that invariably win respect in both his public and private life.

N. N. Tucker is the owner of a very attractive homestead of twenty acres located a half mile southeast of Williamsfield, where he is now living retired. For many years he was successfully engaged in general farming and stockraising in Knox county, the proceeds realized from his business being largely invested in real estate in the county and he now owns three hundred and twelve acres of farming land in Truro township.

He was bom on a farm located a half mile from his present residence, November i8, 1858, and is a son of Samuel and Mary (Mundy) Tucker. The father passed away in May, 1893, at the age of seventy-one years, but the mother is still living and now resides in Williamsfield. Samuel Tucker was born in Ashland, Ohio, in October, 1822, the first twelve years of his life being spent on his father's farm in his native state. In 1834 the family removed to Illinois, settling in Brimfield township, Peoria county, where he resided for fourteen years. At the expiration of that time he came to Knox county, locating in Elba township, but at the end of six years removed to Truro township, takmg up his residence on a farm a half mile south of Williamsfield. There he passed away, being at that time the most extensive landowner in the township. The mother is a daughter of one of Knox county's pioneer settlers, and represents the third generation of her family in the county. Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Tucker there were born eleven children, seven of whom are living, as follows : J. J., who is a resident of Courtland, Kansas ; L. V., who lives in Galesburg; Elizabeth, who married A. D. Moon, living on a farm south of N. N. Tucker ; N. N., our subject ; Sarah, the wife of C. H. Eastman, of Galesburg; Mary Evelyn, who married Dr. Ben D. Baird, of Galesburg; and Eugene, who lives at Knoxville. :'-^--".' " V'^j'?!^;' i"'/:.' ..^.;; ^ v ' ' ' ' ""^ -V /-'- ' - -^^

'As he was reared in the country N. N. Tucker attended the district schools, and while mastering the common branches, he was acquiring a practical knowledge of agriculture by assisting his father with the work of the farm. After leaving school he remained on the home place for several years, devoting his entire time and attention to the work of the fields and care of the stock, thus laying the foundation for a successful agricultural career. He has been very fortunate in his undertakings, having met with more than an average degree of prosperity, a'nd now owns, in addition to the place where he is living, a farm containing one hundred and thirty-two acres, located east of his homestead, and one hundred and sixty acres on section 36. Determination of purjxjse and unceasing industry have been prominent factors in the success of Mr. Tucker, who has at all times manifested clear judgment and good business sagacity in the direction of his activities. He located on the place where he is living at the present eighteen years ago, and during the greater portion of that time engaged in general farming and stock-raising but is now living retired, having acquired a competence that, together with the income from his different properties, provides him with all of the comforts of life. ;

For his wife and helpmate Mr. Tucker chose Miss Ellen Jordan of Truro township, and unto them were born four children : Ethel, the wife of T. R. P. Gough ; Rilla, who married Fred Hurlburt, a farmer of Truro township ; Leonard, who married Nora Stodgel and is now a resident of Williamsfield ; and Lola, who is still at home.

Fraternally Mr. Tucker is affiliated with the Masonic order, and his political support he gives to the republican party. He is a public-spirited, progressive man and has always taken an active interest in all township affairs, and for eighteen years served as road commissioner, while for thirteen years he was justice of the peace. The ability with which he discharged the duties of both offices is attested by the length of his terms. The entire life of Mr. Tucker has been spent in the immediate vicinity of his present home, where he enjoys a favorable acquaintance and has a large circle of friends, many of whom were the comrades of his youth and the playmates of his childhood.

Walter N. Dikeman, who far twenty-five years has been engaged in general fanning six and a half miles southeast of Maquon, is a native of Illinois. His birth occurred in Fulton county, July 14, 1853, his parents being Cornelius and Lydia (Douglass) Dikeman, both natives of the state of New York, where they were also reared and married. During the early years of their domestic life they came west, settling in Fulton county, where they spent the remainder of their lives with the exception of one year when they resided in Minnesota. Farming always engaged the energies of Mr. Dikeman, who with his wife and family endured all of the hardships of pioneering during the early days, in order to bring the. wild land upon which they located into a state of productivity. Two of the children born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Dikeman lived to attain maturity, the one beside our subject being James, a retired farmer of Fulton county, who married Emerlis Bodkins.

Walter X. Dikeman Four Gexehatioxs Of The Dikemax Family

As he was reared in tlie country X. X. Tucker attended the district schools, and while mastering the common hranches, he was acquiring a practical knowledge of agriculture by assisting his father with the work of the farm. After leaving school he remained on the home place for several years, devoting his entire time and attention to the work of the fields and care of the stock, thus laying the foundation for a successful agricultural career. He has been very fortunate in his undertakings, having met with more than an average degree of prosperity, a'nd now owns, in addition to the place where he is living, a farm containing one hundred and thirty-two acres, located east of his homestead, and one hundred and sixty acres on section 36. Determination of purpose and unceasing industry have been prominent factors in the success of Mr. Tucker, who has at all times manifested clear judgment and good business sagacity in the direction of his activities. He located on the place where he is living at the present eighteen years ago, anfl during the greater portion of that time engaged in general farming and stock-raising but is now living retired, having acquired a competence that, together with the income from his different properties, provides him with all of the comforts of life.

For his wife and helpmate Mr. Tucker chose Miss Ellen Jordan of Truro township, and unto them were born four children: Fthel, the wife of T. R. P. Gough ; Rilla, who married Fred Hurlburt. a farmer of Truro township ; Leonard, who married Xora Stodgel and is now a resident of Williatnsfield ; and Lola, wlio is still at home.

Fraternally Mr. Tucker is affiliated with the Masonic order, and his political support he gives to the republican jjarty. He is a public-spirited, progressive man and has always taken an active interest in all township afifairs, anfl for eighteen years served as road commissioner, while for thirteen years he was justice of the peace. Tlie ability with which he discharged the duties of both offices is attested by the length of his terms. The entire life of ]\Ir. Tucker has been spent in the immediate vicinity of his present home, where he enjoys a favorable ac(|uaintance and has a large circle of friends, many of whom were the comrades of his youth and the playmates of his childhood.

Walter X. Dikeman, who far twenty-five years has been engaged in general farming six and a half miles southeast of Maquon, is a native of Illinois. His birth occurred in Fulton county, July 14, 1853, his parents being Cornelius and Lydia (Douglass) Dikeman, both natives of the state of Xew York, where they were also reared and married. During the early years of their domestic life they came west, settling in Fulton county, where they spent the remainder of their lives with the exception of one year when they resided in Minnesota. Farming always engaged the energies of Mr. Dikeman, who with his wife and family endured all of the hardships of pioneering during the early days, in order to bring the. wild land upon which they located into a state of productivity. Two of the children born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Dikeman lived to attain maturity, the one beside our subject being James, a retired farmer of Fulton county, who married Emerlis Bodkins.

,-;:;-: ' Reared on the farm, where he was born, Walter N. Dikeman's educational ':, advantages were confined to what the district schools in the vicinity afforded.

he came to Knox county and in 1886 settled upon the place where he has ever : since resided. Mr. Dikeman has effected extensive improvements on this place : , during the period of his residence, having erected substantial buildings and made

- The remainder he devotes to general farming and stock-raising, in both of which . pursuits he has met with a most gratifying degree of success. He is a man of

Mr. Dikeman chose for his wife Miss Roletta B. Stiarwalt, a daughter of George Montroville Stiarwalt, of Ohio. Of this marriage there have been bom five children. Rosa Belle, the eldest, married W. D. McCoy and has three children. Merle Marie, William Earle, and Walter 'Dennis. Earle, who is operating ,- part of his father's farm, married Maudt Ryer and has two children, Bemice

- Irene and Norma Maude. Jessie Fay, the third in order of birth, married N. J. Nelson. The two youngest children, Walter and Loretta Pearl, are both living

In his political views Mr. Dikeman is a republican, but he has never taken an V - active part in township matters of a governmental nature, his energies being bent '. : upon the development of his varied interests in which he has met with well

- A prominent and highly successful agriculturist of Truro township was the late James A. Shaffer, who passed away February i, 1890. He was bom in Clinton county, Pennsylvania, on the I5th of April, 1841, a son of Benjamin B. Shaffer, a farmer, who removed from the Keystone state to Illinois in 1856, locating in Knox county, where he passed the remainder of his life.

ready to begin working for himself chose the vocation to which 'he was best adapted. In whatever he undertook he would have succeeded, being a man of enterprise and industry and much determination of purpose. He was practical in his ideas, progressive in his methods and always directed his undertakings with foresight and intelligence. At the time of his death he owned between four hundred and fifty and five hundred acres of land in this township, all of which was under high cultivation. A portion of this had been the old family homestead, and during the long period of his occupancy Mr. Shaffer effected many improvements in the property. He made a careful study of the soil, planting his fields to such cereals as he deemed best adapted to it. In connection with general farming he also engaged in stock-raising, both undertakings proving lucrative under his capable supervision. He was only forty-seven years of age when he passed away, and was actively engaged in the oi>eration of his farm, three hundred and twenty acres of which is now being cultivated by his son, Benjamin.

For his wife and helpmate Mr. Shaffer chose Miss Louisa J. Oberholtzer, and they became the parents of six children. Vesper, who is the eldest of the family, graduated from the Women's Medical Collej^e of the Northwestem University in Chicago, and is now engaged in the practice of her profession in that city. Joseph O., who is a farmer living in Canada, married Ella Grimm and they have four children : Hortense ; Lester, who is deceased ; Vesper ; and Helen. Benjamin B., who is the second son, is engaged in the operation of the old homestead. He married Mary E. Fitzgerald of Chicago. Celesta married Walter Potts, a farmer of this township, by whom she has had four children : Harold H., who is deceased ; Willis J. ; and Lester B. and Letta Bell, who are twins. Letta became the wife of Fred M. Brown and they are living on a farm in South Dakota. James -A., who is the youngest member of the family, is living at home.

Mr. Shaffer was a public-spirited man and took a deep interest in all township affairs, giving his support to the men and measures of the democratic party. He had high standards of citizenship and always discharged his share of public duties faithfully, having filled various offices of the township. A man of upright principles and unquestionable integrity, loyal to his friends and true to every trust reposed in him, he was held in high esteem by all who knew, him, his death being occasion for deep and widespread regret throughout the community.

---. Osborn T. Roberts, who is engaging in general farming on section 26, Cedar township, Knox county, has by means of his businesslike methods and intelligent direction become recognized as one of the capable and highly successful agriculturists of the community.

Mr. Roberts was born on a farm in Mercer county, Illinois, on the nth of January, 1869, his parents being Obed and Mary Ottilia (Peterson) Roberts. His father was a native of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, his birth having there occurred on the 28th of February, 1845. When a lad of eight years he removed to the west with his parents who located in Mercer county, where Mr. Roberts later engaged in farming for some time. About twenty years ago he went to Henry county, this state, where he acquired a farm in the cultivation of which he engaged until his death on the 27th of May, 1911. The mother, who was born in Ohio sixty-three years ago, is still living on the old homestead in Henry county. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Roberts there were born nine children, of whom our subject is the eldest, the others being as follows : Nellie, who is deceased ; Frank, who is living in Henry county, Illinois ; Bessie, who is livingat home; Mabel R., the wife of F. E. Anderson, Cedar township, Knox county; George W., who is a resident of Mercer county, Illinois ; Grace, the wife of T. S. Briggs, also of Mercer county ; Arthur C., who is at home ; and Benjaniin H., who is deceased.

The boyhood and youth of Osborn T. Roberts were sp>ent on his father's farms in Mercer and Henry counties, in the common schools of which he obtained his education. At the age of twenty-four years he withdrew from agricultural pursuits, to which he had devoted his energies ever since his early boy-' hood, and engaged in the hardware business in Alpha, Illinois. After spending six years in commercial activities, he decided that the life of a farmer was more independent and afforded greater possibilities, and therefore disposed of his business and came to Knox county, where he has ever since resided. He owns one hundred and nine acres of land, which by means of intensive application and capable supervision he has brought to a high state of cultivation. He has always taken great pride in his homestead and during the period of his residence has wrought many and extensive improvements, making it not only one of the attractive but valuable properties of that district.

In 1893 Mr. Roberts was united in marriage to Miss Emily Anderson, whose birth occurred in Henry county, Illinois, on the 7th of November, 1868. Mrs. Roberts is a daughter of the late Nels P. and Louisa Charlotte (Anderson) Anderson, both natives of Sweden. The father, who was a cabinet-maker, emigrated to the United States when a boy. For many years he followed his trade in Galesburg, this state, but the greater part of his life was spent in Henry county, where he passed away about nine years ago. The mother was also reared in America, having come to this country when a little girl and early locating in Illinois, where she was living at the time of her demise in 1898. Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson there were born seven children: Ida, who is deceased; Emily, now Mrs. Roberts; Albert, who is a resident of New Windsor, Illinois ; one who died in infancy ; Frank, who is living in Knox county; and the two eldest, both of whom died in infancy. Mrs. Roberts, who is a woman of rare charm and culture, obtained her early education in the common schools of Knox county, after the completion of which she attended Knox College at Galesburg. Later she studied music and German at Hedding College, Abingdon, while she took a course in painting while living at home. Having decided to devote her attention to teaching, she subsequently pursued a professional course in the normal school at Geneseo, Illinois, and for twelve years taught in a school near Windsor, this state. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Roberts numbers six, all of whom are still at home : Earl F., Dole N., Keene O., June L., Nellie O. and Glenn O. V^ > V - ;^ :;:v' ;:

The religious belief of the family is manifested through their membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, while Mr. Roberts' fraternal connections are with the Masonic order of Abingdon and the Modern Woodmen of America of Alpha, Illinois. During his earlier years he gave his political support to the democratic party, but he now votes the straight republican ticket. He belongs to the progressive and modern class of agriculturists, who recognize the necessity of applying to their work the same principles and methods as pursued by the business man of any other field, and as a result he is meeting with substantial

Although one of the more recent additions to the business circles of St. Augustine, Salvador Huntley Ryan has, however, for many years been actively identified with mercantile interests in Knox county and in the meantime has gained for himself recognition as an enterprising, progressive and successful business man. He is one of Illinois's native sons, his birth having occurred in Pontoosuc on the 29th of April, 1857, his parents being Adam H. and Nancy (Aldredge) Ryan. The mother was born in Mount Vernon, Indiana, and the father in Kentucky, and in the latter state they began their domestic life, Mr. Ryan there giving his attention to general farming. In 1848, however, he brought his little family, then consisting of wife and two children, to Illinois, and here he continued his operations in the field of agriculture, engaging in that line of activity until the outbreak of the Mexican war, when he enlisted and served throughout the period of hostilities. He participated in many engagements and in the battle of Cerro Gordo suffered the loss of one arm. His son, L. T. Ryan, served throughout the Civil war. Following its close, in 1867, Adam H. Ryan went to Missouri to live, and there his remaining days were passed, his death occurring on the ist of March, 1892. His wife survived until the 2d of March, 1904, passing away at the home of her son Huntley. After the arrival of the family in Illinois five children were added to the household, but of the family of seven children only two are now living, a brother of our subject, Andrew W. Ryan, now making his home in Oklahoma.

In the schools of Victoria township, Knox county, Salvador Huntley Ryan acquired a good education and after its completion he turned his attention to farming as an occupation, being therein engaged in Victoria township until thirty years of age. Thinking, however, to find in mercantile pursuits a more congenial field of labor he removed to the town of Victoria and for one year was there engaged in general merchandising. He then took up his abode in Williamsfield, Knox county, and continued in that line of business, there remaining for thirteen years. In 1909 he arrived in St. Augustine and since then has occupied a prominent place in the business circles of the town as the proprietor of a general store. Long experience in that avenue of activity has proven to him that satisfied customers are the best advertisement and accordingly he carries a stock of goods which is well adapted to meet the demands of his patrons. The nature of his business policy, too, has begotten the confidence of the general public, and the

--- Mr. Ryan was married, in Galesburg, Illinois, on the 3d of February, 1876, to Miss Margaret Ericson, who was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in April, 1854. Her parents, who were both natives of Sweden, came to the United States at an early day, locating in Wisconsin. There the mother died and later the father came to Knox county, Illinois, where he engaged in general farming until his death. By her marriage to Mr. Ryan their daughter became the mother of three children, as follows : Elmer M., a resident of Galesburg, who married Miss Myrtle Breece, of Dahinda, Illinois; B. Doris; and Edna S., the wife of John Rush, of Galesburg, and the mother of one son, John. Mrs. Ryan passed away on the 27th of December, 1898, and on the i8th of February, 1901, in Galesburg, Mr. Ryan was again married, his second union being with Miss Margaret Brennan, who was born in Abing^on on the 25th of November, 1862. Her parents, Thomas and Alice Brennan, were natives of Ireland, where the father engaged in railroading. He came to Knox county, Illinois, at an early day, locating at Abingdon, where he made his home for several years, after which he removed to Galesburg and there resided until his death. The mother survives him. Unto the second marriage of Mr. Ryan there has been born one child,

Mr. Ryan's religious belief is that of the Methodist church while fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias at Williamsfield, and also with Williamsfield Lodge, No. 779, I. O. O. F., having passed through all of the chairs in both bodies. He has taken an active part in republican circles in Knox county, serving as town clerk and treasurer of Williamsfield, and is now serving on the village board of St. Augustine, while at the same time he is acting as a member of the school board of St. Augustine. He takes a keen interest in the various phases of public life, doing all in his power to further the welfare of the community along material, intellectual and moral lines, and is ranked among the influential and representative citizens of the locality. , . . , .

William M. Welsh, who is engaged in general farming and stock-raising in Truro township, is a worthy representative of a family that has long figured prominently in the agricultural annals of Knox county. His birth occurred on the old homestead in the vicinity of Maquon on the 24th of December, 1852, his parents being Michael and Kathrin Welsh, who are mentioned at greater length elsewhere in this work. . .v':;-. !; .; ;^;^/ -'v

Reared on the farm in the acquirement of his education, William M. Welsh attended the district schools. He passed the early years of his life as did the other lads of the community at that period. When not engaged with his lessons he was largely occupied in discharging the tasks assigned by parental authority, while his leisure hours were devoted to such pastimes and sports as were appropriate to the season. He remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-eight years of age, assisting in the operation of the farm. Being in every way qualified to begin his independent agricultural career, in 1880 he bought eighty acres of land on section 21 of this township, upon which he settled. He applied himself assiduously to its cultivation, directing his energies with such foresight and intelligence that he met with good financial returns. As his circumstances justified, he added to his holdings at various times until he now owns two hundred and eighty-three acres on section 21, forty acres on section 15, and twenty on section i6. During the long period of his ownership he has made many improvements on his place, including the erection of large, substantial bams and outbuildings and the addition of many modern conveniences consistent with the spirit of progress that has ever characterized his undertakings. Mr. Welsh gives all of his attention to the plowing, sowing and harvesting of his fields, and annually realizes a handsome dividend on his season's labor. In connection with general farming he devotes much attention to the raising of stock of a good grade, and this also has proven to be very lucrative. System and method always distinguish his undertakings, and as he is very energetic and possesses an abundance of determination he is prospering in his business enterprises. His property is given careful supervision ; the barns, fences, out-buildings and residence are kept in good repair, the fields are well tilled and the grounds are neat and tastefully arranged. Everything about the place indicates the capable management and thrift that invariably accompany success.

For his wife Mr. Welsh chose Miss Mary Murphy, a daughter of John and Bridget Murphy, farming people of this section, who emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1876, locating in Peoria county. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Welsh, as follows: Michael Me., who is attending school at Normal, Illinois ; J. E., who is employed on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at Galesburg; William L., who is farming, and married Wilma Kem, of Peoria; James Wendell, who is assisting with the home farm; and Catherine E., who died at the age of six months.

The family are all communicants of the Roman Catholic church, and fraternally Mr. Welsh belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance he gives to the democratic party, considering that their principles are best adapted to subserve the interests of the nation in its entirety. He has always taken an active and helpful interest in all township affairs, and for twenty years has been a school director, and he has also served as assessor. Mr. Welsh is one of the estimable citizens of the community and is proud of the fact that he was born and raised in Knox county, where he has ever since lived. His prosperity is the well merited reward of industry and constant application in the direction of his activities.

Daniel Burnaugh, now living retired in St. Augustine, was for many years closely identified with the material upbuilding and development of this town as carpenter and contractor, and many of the substantial structures not only of this community but of the surrounding district are monuments to the skill and handiwork of this venerable octogenarian. One of Ohio's native sons, he was bom in Clermont county, on the i3th of August, 1830, his parents being John and Sarah (Oswald) Burnaugh. The father, who was of French descent, was bom in Clermont county, Ohio, while the mother, of German lineage, claimed Pennsylvania as the state of her nativity. The family had long been established in Ohio, the grandfather of our subject, Carey Burnaugh, having removed to that state from Virginia at a time when Indians still inhabited that region. There John Burnaugh was reared and married and there followed the occupation of a builder and contractor throughout most of his life time. His wife also passed away in Ohio. Of their family ten children grew to maturity.

The educational privileges which Daniel Burnaugh received during the period of his youth were those of the common schools of Clermont county, Ohio, and when yet a lad in years, he learned the carpenter's trade under the direction of his father, whom he assisted prior to leaving his native state. In early manhood, however, he came to Illinois, arriving in Knox county in 1856, and for a year thereafter he made his home with an uncle, Joseph Burnaugh, near Abingdon. In 1857 he came to St. Augustine and here he has since resided with the exception of one year spent in Kansas and a similar period in Michigan City, Indiana. Upon his arrival in St. Augustine he purchased his present home and at once began business as a carpenter and contractor, in which field of labor he continued throughout his active career. He is a skilful workman, who added to his mechanical ability modern ideas and progressive methods, and it was not long before he had gained for himself a reputation which won for him a large and remunerative patronage. He built many of the residences, schools, churches and other structures not only of his home town but also of Abingdon, Galesburg and the surrounding country, and for many years has been one of the well known and representative business men of St. Augustine. He is still active today, and is living in the enjoyment of a competency which is the merited reward of a well spent and busy life.

Mr. Burnaugh was united in marriage in Knoxville, Illinois, on the I7th of December, 1856, to Miss Lucinda Dorman, who was bom in the state of Indiana in June, 1838, a daughter of Henry and Sarah (Hendricks) Dorman, natives of Maryland and North Carolina respectively. The father, a farmer by occupation, removed to Tennessee in early life and later removed to Indiana, where he carried on agricultural pursuits for some time. He came to Illinois at an early period in its development, locating in Knox county, and here carried on general farming until his demise, his wife also passing away in this county. In their family were nine children, five daughters and four sons, but only three are now living. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Burnaugh were born four children, of whom two have passed away. The elder surviving child, John, is married and resides in Galesburg. He has two children, Gertrude, the wife of Orlie Alan, residing near Abingdon, by whom she has three children, Russell, Esteline and Ormand; and Juanita, living at home. Lillie Bumaugh became the wife of Henry Mason and they now make their home near Greenbush, Illinois.

Mr. and .Mrs. Bumaugh hold membership in the Christian church, the teachings of which have ever formed the guiding influences in their lives. His identification with the Masonic order covers a period of more than a half centurj', dating from the year 1854, and he is now one of the oldest members of that organization in the state, belonging to Avon Lodge, No. 253, A. F. & A. M..

Since 1857, or for a period covering more than fifty-four years, he has resided in this present home, and in the meantime has been an interested witness of the many changes which have been instituted for the advancement of this section, and in this work of progress and improvement he has taken an active part, his well directed efforts not only resulting in substantial individual success but also proving potent elements in the upbuilding of this district. Few have taken a more active interest in the material growth of the community, and St. Augustine numbers him among its loyal-spirited, representative and valued citizens.

Frank Lapham is the owner of one hundred and seventeen acres of land on sections i8 and 21 of Victoria township, where he engages in general farming and stock-raising. He is a native of Truro township, Knox county, the eldest child born of the marriage of Edward W. and Nettie (Mosher) Lapham. The father was born and reared in Ohio, whence he, in his early manhood, came to Knox county with his parents. Here he met and subsequently married Miss Mosher, a daughter of Joseph and Mehitabel (Hubble) Mosher. After marriage they located in Truro township on the farm now owned by John Hart. When the call ; came for troops in the early days of the Civil war, Edward W. Lapham responded by enlisting as a private in the Fifty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was killed at Nashville, Tennessee. He left a widow and four children, two sons and two daughters, those beside our subject being as follows : Ellen, the wife of T. W. Ray; Allen L., now deceased, who is buried in the cemetery at Victoria; and :. Love, the wife of G. W. Parker, who lives in Wyoming. The mother later mar- ;; ried E. M. Sweeney, who was born and reared in Victoria township. They resided for a number of years in Truro township, but he later withdrew from farming and went to Galesburg and engaged in the insurance business. They had two children : Dow, who is living in Wyoming ; and Susie, who is a resident of Galesburg.

Agricultural pursuits have engaged the attention of Frank Lapham from his earliest boyhood. Reared on the farm where he was bom his early energies were directed toward the cultivation of the fields that had been tilled by both his father and grandfather. Here he received his training in general farming and stockraising and after his marriage located on the place where he now lives. When he first came here only about one-half of the land was under cultivation, but he in>- mediately set about clearing the remainder and now has it all under cultivation. -"^ During the period of his ownership he has erected practically all of the buildings now standing and has wrought various other improvements. He has good barns - and outbuildings and a comfortable residence on his place, and it is well pro- .'-f vided with all modern implements and appliances deemed essential to the successful pursuit of agriculture. Mr. Lapham devotes his fields to such cereals as are best adapted to the soil and is annually rewarded with abundant harvests, but as - he makes a specialty of stock-raising he feeds the greater part of the g^ain he raises. He is a capable business man and competent agriculturist, who uses intel-

Edward W. Lapham

Since 1857. or for a jieriod covering more than fifty-four years, he has resided in this present home, and in the meantime has been an interested witness of the many changes which liave been instituted for the advancement of this section, and in this work of ])rogress and improvement he has taken an active part, his well directed efforts not only resulting in substantial individual success but also proving ])otent elements in the upbuilding of this district. Few have taken a more active interest in tlie material growth of the community, and St. Augustine numbers liim among its loyal-spirited, representative and valued citizens.

Frank Lai)hani is the owner of one hundred and seventeen acres of land on .sections i8 and 21 of \ ictoria township, where he engages in general farming and stock-raising. He is a native of Truro township, Knox county, the eldest child born of the marriage of Edward \V. and Nettie (Mosher) Lapham. The father was bom and reared in Ohio, whence he. in his early manhood, came to Knox county with his ]>arents. Here he met and subsequently married Miss Mosher. a daughter of Joseph and Mehitabel (Hubble) Mosher. After marriage they located in Truro township on the farm now owned by John Hart. \\'hen the call came for troo])s in the early days of the Civil war. Fdward \V. Lapham responded by enlisting as a private in the I'ifty-tifth Illinois \ olunteer Infantry, and was killed at Nashville, Tennessee. He left a widow and four children, two sons and two daughters, those beside our subject being as follows : Ellen, the wife of T. \\. Ray ; Allen L.. now deceased, who is buried in the cemetery at X'ictoria ; and Love, the wife of G. \\'. Parker, who lives in Wyoming. The mother later married E. M. Sweeney, who was born and reared in \ ictoria township. They resided for a number of years in Truro township, but he later withdrew from farming and went to Galesburg and engaged in the insurance business. They had two children: Dow. who is living in \\'yoniing; and Susie, who is a resident of Galesburg.

Agricultural pursuits have engaged the attention of Frank Lapham from his earliest boyhood. Reared on the farm where he was born his early energies were <lirected toward the cultivation of the fields that had been tilled by both his father and grandfather. Here he received his training in general farming and stockraising and after his marriage located on the place where he now lives. \\ hen he first came here only about one-half of the land was under cultivation, but he inv mediately set about clearing the remainder and now has it all under cultivation. During the period of his ownershi]) he has erected practically all of the buildings now standing and has wrought various other improvements. He has good barns and outbuildings and a comfortable residence on his place, and it is well provided with all modern implements and appliances deemed essential to the successful pursuit of agriculture. Mr. La])ham devotes his fields to such cereals as are best ada])ted to the soil and is annually rewarded with abundant harvests, but as he makes a s])ecialty of stock-raising he feeds the greater part of the grain he raises. He is a capable business man and competent agriculturist, who uses intel-

Mr. Lapham has been greatly assisted in his endeavors by the capable management of the household affairs by his wife, whose maiden name was Miss Addie Ray. She is a daughter of Lorenzo and Mary (Sweeney) Ray, and was born and reared in Victoria township, where she has passed the greater part of her life. Her parents were natives of Ohio, whence they came to Knox county in a wagon with an ox team in the pioneer days. Her maternal grandfather. Miles Sweeney, here acquired forty acres of land that he diligently cultivated until his death from cholera. This property is now owned by his grandson, Mrs. Lapham's youngest brother, Clarence Ray. Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo Ray were married in Victoria township, and here were born their five children, in the following order : William, who lives in Victoria township; T. W., in Truro township; a daughter, who died at the age of four years ; Addie, now Mrs. Lapham ; and Clarence, who lives north of the Lapham farm in Victoria township. Mr. Ray was for many years engaged in the operation of eighty acres of land in Victoria township, and there he passed away at the age of fifty-six years. The mother had passed the seventy-second milestone on life's journey at the time of her death. Mr. and Mrs. Lapham have had five children, all of whom were born in this township. In order of birth they are as follows: Edward, who died at the age of twenty-six years and is buried in Victoria township; Cecil, who is still at home; Ella, the wife of Fred Naslund, of Victoria township; Leroy, who is also at home; and Verne, who died when only eighteen months of age and is buried in the family lot in Victoria cemetery.

Ever since he began voting Mr. Lapham has been loyal to the political principies of the republican party, the policy of which he deems most conducive to good government. He served for several years as a school director and as assessor for one term. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, and he is one of the stockholders of the Mutual Telephone Company. Mr. Lapham is one of the estimable citizens of Victoria township, where he is widely known and highly regarded both by reason of his business qualifications and his high standards of life. ;,,,...-;.,..- ,--^..,- -- ,M ..,;.; .,_.... .-., :

H. J. Bennett, who for twenty years was identified with the commercial activities of Williamsfield, was bom in Peoria county, this state, on the isth of January, 1865, and is a son of William J. and Catherine (Slygh) Bennett. The father, who was a physician, was born in England, and came to Illinois from New York city, while the mother was a native of Virginia, whence she was brought in early childhood to this state. Dr. Bennett located at Elmore upon his arrival in Peoria county, and there he resided until his death, which occurred at the age of thirty-four years. He was married twice but his first wife only lived a short time. One son was born of this union, William J., who is a resident of Bonanza, Colorado, where he has extensive mining interests. To Dr. Bennett and his second wife there were bom four children: Emma, who is the deceased wife of J. P. McCauley, of Elmore; May, who married F. P. Bertschy, who is auditor of the Woodmen of the World, of Denver, Colorado; J. S., who is a resident of Marinette, Wisconsin, where he engages in the music and jewelry business ; and H. J., our subject.

In the acquirement of his education H. J. Bennett attended the common schools of his native county until he had obtained sufficient knowledge to enable him to earn his own living, when he laid aside his text-books and turned his attention to farming. After following agricultural pursuits for a few years he went to Elmore, where he established a meat market in 1886 that he operated for three years. Disposing of this at the end of that time he came to Williamsfield and engaged in the same business until 1910. In the latter year Mr. Bennett withdrew from commercial activities and has ever since eng^ed in buying and feeding cattle and hogs.

Mr. Bennett married Miss Emma E. Freed of Peoria county, a daughter of August Freed, and they became the parents of nine children, six of whom are living: Paul, Elton, Maud, Harry, Gladys, and Juanita. Those deceased are as follows : Geneva, Genevieve and Claire. The oldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, Maud, was married October 23, 1909, to Earl T. Main, the son of Charles Main and a member of one of the most prominent families of Knox county. Mr. Main, who was the cashier of the First State Bank of Williamsfield, was killed in a railroad accident on the Rock Island road on March 21, 1910. One child was born to this union. Mrs. Main is a lady of refinement and very popular in social circles in Williamsfield, where she has a fine home.

Fraternally Mr. Bennett is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and in his political views he is a democrat, and has several times been called to public office. He was president of the village for four years and he has also discharged the duties of town clerk. He met with success in the conduct of his business and has acquired some property interests, owning one hundred and sixty acres of land in the west. Mr. Bennett is one of the estimable citizens of Williamsfield, where he has resided for more than twenty years, and has many friends.

James C. Stephenson carries on general farming in Copley township on what is now the old Stephenson homestead and here he was born on the 23d of January, 1870, his parents being James and Mary Ann (Leighton) Stephenson. His youthful experiences were those that fall to the lot of most farm lads who divide their time between the work of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and the development of the fields. When not busy with his textbooks his time was given to the work of the farm and all through his life he has remained upon the place which is still his home and has carefully tilled his fields and developed and improved his property imtil it is today one of the valuable tracts of land in his district. The methods which he follows are at once practical and progressive and in the cultivation of the cereals best adapted to climatic conditions here he has won substantial success.

. On the ist of May, 1901, occurred the marriage of Mr. Stephenson and Miss Clara Bell Johnson, who was bom in Concord, Morgan county, Illinois, February 9, 1871, and is a representative of one of the pioneer families of that county, her great-grandparents being Reuben and Sarah Johnson, who were among the first settlers and were from Kentucky and Tennessee respectively. They located in Morgan county before there were any churches, and religious services were often held in Mr. Johnson's house by the Rev. Peter Cartwright and the Rev. Ben Newman, who were circuit riders of that day, and were brothersin-law of Mrs. Stephenson's grandparents. Mrs. Stephenson is a daughter of Elbert H. Johnson, whose birth occurred August 6, 1847, o" what is known as the old Johnson farm in Morgan county. There her father lived up to the time of his removal to a farm two miles east, which he continued to cultivate for five years. He afterward spent a similar period in Virginia, Illinois, and then engaged in farming in the vicinity of Jacksonville but eventually lived retired. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and his many excellent traits of character won for him the regard and good-will of those with whom he came in contact. In 1869 he married Deborah Ann Leeper, who was born December i8, 1842, near Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father, John Leeper, was a native of the north of Ireland and came with his family in childhood to America, arriving in Cincinnati in the early '3os. He afterward lived in Brown county, Illinois, where he carried on farming throughout the greater part of his life, his death occurring in 1889. He had married Margaret Harrington, who was a daughter of John Harrington, and passed away in 1901 at the age of eighty-seven years. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Johnson were Andrew and Isabelle Leeper, the former of Scotch-Irish lineage. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Elbert H. Johnson were born three children, the brother of Mrs. Stephenson being Joseph Howard, now of Chicago, while her sister is Martha E., the wife of E. Hudson, of Beardstown, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson have became the parents of two children : James Glen, born June 22, 1903 ; and Mary EloisS, born April 9, 1905.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson are members of the Presbyterian church at Oneida and politically he is a republican but prefers to concentrate his time and energies upon his business affairs rather than to hold office. He has served, however, on the school board for two and a half terms and is a stalwart friend of the cause of education. In fact he is interested in all the projects and movements which work for public good and his influence is always on the side of advancement and improvement. He has led a busy, useful and active life, and is justly classed among the representative farmers and citizens of Copley township.

John Mackey, who owns and operates a valuable farm of five hundred acres in Truro township, is one of the self-made men of Knox county. He started out in life without either capital or influence and with but limited education, and through the intelligent direction of his activites has become numbered among the affluent agriculturists of his community. v ; ; j/V...^ ;.:';' ; - - ".>-;!? '/r^