Marion County, Illinois - The whole text, 1909 (part 14 of 27)

Mr. Wham was united in marriage in 1874 to Emma C. Adams, the refined and accomplished daughter of James Adams, of near Salem. Her father is a well known farmer. One child, born to the subject and wife, died in infancy. Mrs. Wham is postmistress at Cartter, which position she has creditably filled for the past fourteen years, having been appointed by Grover Cleveland and re-appointed by even- Pres- ident since. She is a woman of rare executive ability as well as many pleasing traits which renders her popular with all classes. Mrs. Wham's mother, Mrs. Paulina Adams, is living at Springfield, Illinois. The father of the subject's wife is deceased. They were both natives of Virginia and scions of well known old southern families. Mr. Wham's grandfather was also named William Wham. He was a native of Ireland, and a man of sterling qualities.

Our subject is a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge, Chapter at Salem, and the Commandery at Centralia. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. and Mrs. Wham are members of the Christian church at Cartter, being liberal subscribers to the same. Mr. Wham was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Marion county, having been elected as an independent and was a good official, having ably disposed of the duties of this important trust in a manner that reflected much credit upon his ability.

It is interesting to study the life record of such a man as the gentleman whose name appears above owing to the fact that he began life under no favorable auspicies and has had to battle his own way through the world, but he has succeeded remarkably well and has shown how a man can "go it alone" when once his face is set in the right direction and he has the courage of his convictions. Therefore, for this and many other reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he is one of the brave veterans of the great war of the Rebellion, efficiently serving his country during its dark days, we take pleasure in giving him a place in this work.

A. M. Peddicord was born in Bracken county, Kentucky, June 4, 1841, and he was about fourteen years old when he came to Marion county, Illinois, and spent most of the time since then in Carrigan township. He is the son of Nelson and Rebecca Peddicord, the subject's parents having been cousins. The father died when the subject was very young and he has but little recollection of him. The subject's mother was born in Mason county, Kentucky, and died about fifteen years ago. There were six children in the family of Nelson Peddicord and wife, namely : Emanuel J., who first married Hester Lawrence, and they became the parents of three children ; his second wife was Sallie Hooker and they became the parents of five or six children ; Emanuel's third wife was Nancy Roberts; A. E., the second child of Nelson and Rebecca Peddicord, served in the Union army in the One Hundred and Eleventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, having remained single, and he died soon after the close of the war ; F. M. married a Miss Faggin and they are the parents of five children; A. M., our subject, was the fourth child in order of birth; Sarah M. was twice married; Priscilla died when young.

The subject of this sketch was compelled to make his own way after he was fourteen years old and he has succeeded admirably well. When he reached maturity he was married to Eliza Britt in August, 1869, in Marion county. She was the daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Roderick) Britt. Her parents lived in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana and finally settled in Marion county, Illinois, and they died here. Mr. Britt was a farmer. The subject's wife was the ninth of a family of ten children.

The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Peddicord: Francis M., who is forty-one years old in 1908, married Mary E. Foltz and they are the parents of seven children; Mary E. died when fourteen months old; Sarah E., who is now thirty-nine years, married Thomas P. Walker, and they have three children living and two dead.

As already intimated Mr. Peddicord was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, having enlisted in Company K, Thirtyfirst Illinois Volunteer Infantry, on August 10, 1861, under the command of Gen. John A. Logan. He served in a most gallant manner for a period of four years. He was taken prisoner on the march to the sea at Meridian, Mississippi. He was in the battle of Fort Donelson, was in the siege of Vicksburg and Champion's Hill. He was in Andersonville prison for a period of six months, later being moved to Florence. He contracted the scurvy while in prison, having been in prison when peace was declared.

sisting of two hundred and sixty acres of valuable land in section 34, seventy-seven acres of which are in timber. The subject has made most of the improvements of his farm which now holds high rank with Marion county's best farms. It shows good management and is well stocked. He has a comfortable residence which is well furnished.

Mr. Peddicord was Road Commissioner for two terms and gave entire satisfaction. He is a loyal Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Peddicord are faithful members of the Baptist church. Our subject deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, for he had little chance to attend school in his youth. The only school-house in his community was built of logs, and the terms of school were very short. But he has been a hard worker and has succeeded despite early disadvantages, until today he is one of the county's most representative agriculturists and has many friends throughout the same.

Gen. James Stewart Martin

It is a great badge of honor to have the distinction of serving the government in the conflict with Mexico, assisting in the arduous campaigns until the stars and stripes were unfurled on the citadel of the Montezuma, and also, less than two decades later to have been permitted to serve the national Union in the four years of polemic struggle between the states. Among the conspicuous figures of these great internecine conflicts is the well remembered gentleman whose name forms the caption of this biographical memoir, who, although his life history has been closed by death, his influence continues to pervade the lives of those with whom he came in contact. He was always mindful of his duty to his fellow men and ready with word or deed to assist them in the struggle up life's steep path. No man in his day and generation in this locality exercised a greater influence for the civic, material and moral uplift of the community than General Martin, for his life was that of the patriot, the Christian gentleman, the true American nobleman. General James Stewart Martin was born August 19, 1826, in Estillville, now Gate City, Scott county, Virginia, the son of John S. and Malinda (Morrison) Martin, pioneers of that part of the Old Dominion state and a fine old Southern family of great influence in their day, his father having been a man of considerable political prominence and highly educated. He served as County Clerk, Circuit Clerk, and Master of Chancery for about twenty years. The mother of the subject, who was born in Sullivan county, Tennessee, was a woman of many commendable attributes, noted for her broad charity and high culture, and before she was called to her rest, in 1828, she emancipated her slaves. The subject's father moved to Illinois in 1844 and settled on a farm seven miles north of Salem, where his son, our subject, resided for a period of three years, assisting in developing the farm from its primitive state into a highly productive place.

James S. Martin, our subject, received his education in the public schools of his native community in Virginia, making such notable progress and manifesting such a thirst for the higher learning that he was subsequently placed in Emery and Henry College, Washington county, Virginia, where he made a brilliant record for scholarship. A lad of strong patriotism from his early youth which continued to increase with advancing years, he was glad to have an opportunity to enter the army during the Mexican war, having enlisted in Company C, First Regiment, Illinois Volunteers, in the spring of 1847, and he made such an excellent soldier that he was made third sergeant of his company. The regiment was mustered into service at Alton, then transported to Fort Leavenworth and marched across the plains to Santa Fe, New Mexico. He performed conspicuous service during the strenuous campaign against the Mexicans. After the war, while on the homeward trip, his company nominated him for County Clerk of Marion county, and the people here ratified their action upon the arrival of the men at Salem. He was duly elected and in a most able and creditable manner discharged the duties of the same for a period of twelve years. He was also Master in Chancery for two terms, in which he also showed his superior ability in official capacity. Being an ambitious man he sought every means possible to improve himself and to be of the greatest service to his fellow men, conse- quently while holding these offices he devoted his spare moments to the study of law, and upon admittance to the bar, July 4, 1861, formed a partnership with B. F. Marshall and D. C. Jones and opened an office in Salem. Owing to the great strength and prestige of this well known trio their legal business was heavy from the first and the reputation of the firm soon spread throughout this part of the state.

In 1862, when the clouds of rebellion were the darkest and the lambent flames of discontented citizenship of the South were the most direful, our subject realized that every loyal son of the North should do what he could toward preserving the integrity of the Union, consequently he sought and obtained permission from Governor Yates to raise a regiment, with the result that the famous One Hundred and Eleventh was mustered, and Mr. Martin was selected as the man most worthy and able to command it, therefore he became colonel of the same. It was composed of seven companies from Marion county, one from Clay and one from Clinton county, the regiment comprising nine hundred and thirty men and officers, and it was mustered into service September 1 8, 1862, and joined General Davies at Columbus, Kentucky. Our subject served in the capacity of colonel all through the war, his services showing that he was a man of much military courage and genius, having from time to time led his men into the brunt of the fighting. During 1863 he was in command of the post at Columbus and later at Paducah, Kentucky. From there he went to Florence, Alabama, whither he was ordered by General Sherman, and he later went into winter quarters at Pulaski, Tennessee. From March 16, 1864, he served with the Sixteenth Army Corps, until the close of the struggle, having seen much hard service during that time, being with Sherman on his march to the sea and having led his regiment at the great battles of Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Fort McAllister and received the surrender of the commander of this fort. He was brevetted brigadier general in July, 1864, and participated in the grand review in Washington City, and was mustered out in Springfield, Illinois, in June, 1865.

After the war General Martin plunged into the active affairs of civil life and won signal distinction in the field of politics and business. He launched into banking in Salem, building up the nucleus of a large fortune through his wonderful executive ability. Taking an interest in Republican politics after the war he was elected County Judge in 1866, overwhelming a Democratic majority of six hundred. He was nominated for Congress in 1872 and was elected over Judge Silas L. Bryan, father of Hon. William J. Bryan. He ably served one term in Washington.

General Martin was appointed Commissioner of the Southern Illinois Penitentiary by Governor Cullom, September 4, 1879, which position he creditably served for four years. He served as a member of the Republican State Central Committee for a period of nearly twenty years, and was chair- man of the same during the canvass which elected Governor Fifer. He was a delegate to the National Convention in 1876, when he voted for the nomination of James G. Elaine for President. As might be expected he was an interested member of the Grand Army of the Republic and was honored in the same by being elected department commander of Illinois for two terms. He was largely instrumental in 1882 in organizing the Southern Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Reunion Association, of which he continuously served as commander. In all the official positions, General Martin conducted himself as a most able and worthy exponent of the country's good, and proved at all times to be an unselfish public servant of the most humanitarian and altruistic motives and principles.

The domestic life of our subject dates from 1852, when he was united in marriage with Jane Elston, of Salem, Illinois, to whom four children were born, three surviving. They are: Grace M., the wife of George O. Webster; Luther and John E. A complete history of the last child named is to be found on another page of this work. The subject's first wife passed to her rest in 1889, and in 1903 General Martin was married to Margaret Savage, of Ashland, Kentucky, who, with their daughter, Daisy, a cultured and refined lady, survive in 1908. Three brothers of the subject, Robert, Benjamin and Thomas, are also living in Salem.

Thus after a most active, useful and exemplary life which the kind Heavenly Father greatly prolonged he passed to his rest, November 20, 1907.

The city of Salem owes a great debt of gratitude to General Martin for he aided in many ways in its upbuilding and general development as he did also Marion county, where he- was for many decades held in the highest esteem by all classes, for he was universally regarded as a hero both in war and in peace, one of the component parts of the nation's substantial pillars, and the reverence with which the citizens of this locality cherish his memory will serve as a greater monument than marble shaft or bronze obelisk. He was truly a brave and good man whose life was a continued sacrifice for others, a benefactor in the true sense of the term. His career was fraught with untold blessings to the world, and when in common with all things human his earthly course was ended and he was called to a higher plane of action, the memory of his noble deeds and honorable achievements continued to constitute a record to which each passing year will give additional luster.

Adam H. Bachmann

The United States can boast of no better or more law-abiding class of citizens than the great number of German people who have found homes within her borders. Though holding dear and sacred the beloved mother country, they are none the less devoted to the fair country of their adoption. Among this class is the subject of this sketch, who for a number of years has been one of the foremost citizens of Marion county, Illinois, where he has labored not only for his own advancement, but also for the good of the community, his efforts having been amply repaid with abundant financial success and the esteem of his fellow men.

Adam H. Bachmann, the well known and popular president of the Salem National Bank, was born in Saxony, Germany, November 28, 1845, the son of George Bachmann, a man of sterling qualities, who was also a native of Germany, and who died there in 1860. The mother of the subject was known in her maidenhood as Mocklin Sputh, also of the Fatherland, who was called to her rest in 1866. Of the six children born to the elder Bachmann, there are living the following in 1908: Mrs. Lizzie Sputh and Ernest Bachmann, both of Germany, and the subject of this sketch. These children received every care and attention possible by their parents who were people of industry and uprightness.

Adam H. Bachmann left Germany in March, 1866, landing in America the following April, having barely attained his majority. He had received eight years of schooling in his native land, receiving a fairly good education for he was an ambitious lad and diligently applied himself to his school-books and this careful foundation has since been greatly strengthened and built up through his contact with the world and his habits of home reading, so that Mr. Bachmann's conversation is at once learned, interesting and instructive. Our subject located at Lebanon, Illinois, shortly after coming to the New World, where he worked as a cabinet maker. In the spring of 1868, he came to Salem, this state, and engaged in the furniture business with which he has since been identified, and which was a successful venture from the first and by reason of the subject's careful attention to duty, his natural ability as a farsighted and cautious business man, coupled with his kind and courteous treatment of customers, his trade has gradually grown all these years, his place of business being generally known as one of the safest, most reliable as well as up-to-date furniture establishments in this locality. After building the business up to its present high state of efficiency, Mr. Bachmann turned it over to his two sons, Frank and Charley, both very able and progressive young men, who are conducting a modern and well stocked store, being numbered among the leading young business men of the county, to whom the future holds unbounded success and honor, since they are not only young men of sound business principles, but also of the finest personal traits.

Mr. Bachmann was united in marriage November 15, 1868, to Mary Alkire, the representative of a highly respected and influential family of Lebanon, Illinois, who was born in Pennsylvania. Eleven children have been born to the subject and wife, seven of whom are living at the time of this writing, 1908, named in order of their birth, as follows : Mrs. Lizzie Kolb, of Lebanon, Illinois ; Frank, of Salem, this county; Mrs. Amy Stonecipher, also of Salem ; Maud, living at

Mr. Bachmann deserves much credit for the well defined success he has attained sinc% casting his lot among Americans, partly because he has been the architect of his own fortunes, beginning his business career absolutely empty-handed, and with no one to encourage or assist in any way, and partly because he has made his competency by honest, straight-forward business methods that no one can question. When he first landed on our shores he had a capital of only three cents and today he is the wealthiest man in Marion county. He had the insight, the rare sagacity and perceptive instinct to grasp situations as they arose and the splendid business acumen to turn seeming obstacles into ultimate sucess. Such men are born leaders in the financial world and they are not any too frequently met with.

Mr. Bachmann is president of the Salem National Bank, president of the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank at St. Peter, Illinois; besides being an extensive land owner, having nine large farms in Marion county. They are all very valuable, well drained, securely fenced, the soil being highly productive and the buildings on each modern and convenient. Besides these he has much other real estate. Also owns about as much property in East St. Louis as he has here. Mr. Bachmann has large property interests at Mattoon and Oakland, this state. His large real estate holdings and financial loans occupy the major part of his time and attention, however, he finds time to assist in forwarding any movement for the betterment of his community. In fact, he is a pioneer in the development and progress of Marion county. He came to Salem, when there was only one brick house here, but he had the sagacity to note the possibilities in the place and soon decided to cast his lot here with the result that he has benefited not only himself, but also the entire community, more, perhaps, than any other man has done or is likely to do in the years to come. In other words, the wonderful things that the future held seemed to be within Mr. Bachmann's horoscope, and he began on the ground floor, developing with the country, which is wonderfully rich in resources and possibilities. While Mr. Bachmann has been too busy to devote much time to political matters, never having entertained an ambition for political preferment, he has ever assisted in any way he could the development of the community whether political, educational, moral or civic, and he did much in making the city a clean and desirable place in which to live, principally while ably serving it as Alderman. In his fraternal relations our subject is a Mason.

The Bachmann residence, which is one of the finest, most modem, substantial and beautiful in Salem, is elegantly furnished and a place where the many friends and admirers of this popular family delight to gather, being presided over with rare grace and dignity by the subject's wife who is a charming hostess, congenial and talented.

pompous or phlegmatic. His is a well rounded character, in which the different interests of life are given their due proportion of attention. One line of thought or work to the exclusion of all others produces an abnormal development and makes the individual narrow in his views of life. Mr. Bachmann has never followed such a course for while giving his chief attention to his business, as do the majority of men, he finds time and opportunity to take an interest in matters pertaining to the progress and growth of his county, state and nation, and to mingle with his friends, enlarging the circle of his acquaintance and broadening his mind through the interchange of thought with others.

E. Louis Bledsoe

The names of those men who have distinguished themselves through the possession of those qualities which daily contribute to the success of private life and to the public stability and who have enjoyed the respect and confidence of those about them, should not be permitted to perish. Such a one is the subject of this review, one of the leading lumber dealers in Marion county.

E. L. Bledsoe, president of the Bledsoe Lumber Company, of Salem, was born in Bradford, Indiana, in 1858. His father was William J. Bledsoe, a native of Tennessee, who came to Indiana when a young man. He was a United Brethren minister. William J. Bledsoe was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, having been a member of the Thirty-seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He died in a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, from illness contracted while in line of duty. Two sons, William J., Jr., and James W., were also in the army, having enlisted in Company H, Twentyfifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. They fought side by side in twenty-seven battles. Both re-enlisted after their time was up and served until the close of the war. James W. was wounded twice. Both1 were with Sherman on his famous march to the sea. They are both living. The father died May S, 1867.

The mother of the subject was Martha Ridgeway, a native of Chillicothe. Ohio, who married the subject's father in Franksville, Indiana. She was a woman of manyfine traits and was called to her rest in 1883 while living at Rock Island, Illinois. The following children were born to this union : James W., of Rock Island; William J. Jr., also of Rock Island ; George B. died at Rock Island in 1906; J. P., of Davenport, Iowa; E. L., our subject; Frank A., of Rock Island; Mark S., of St. Louis; Mattie J., who is a physician located at Chickasha, Oklahoma. Our subject was taken to Iowa by his parents when about three years old. The family located at Washington, but most of the subject's boyhood was spent in Marshall. He received only a common school education, his course of study being interrupted by reason of the fact that his father frequently moved from town to town in car-

Mr. Bledsoe has been twice married, first in 1876 to Minnie Dizotell, of Eldon, Iowa, the ceremony having been performed in that city. She was born in Canada. Her father was of French lineage and her mother was Irish. After bearing the subject one child, she was called to her rest in 1901 at St. Louis, Missouri. The child born to this union is Truman C. Bledsoe, manager of the Bledsoe-McCreery Lumber Company, of St. Louis. He married Stella Farrell, of that city, and they are the parents of two children, Barbara Louis, and Truman C., Jr. The subject was married in 1903, his second wife being Lillie Mattox, of Terre Haute, Indiana. One son has blessed this union, Maurice William, who was born on September 2, 1904.

The following history of Mr. Bledsoe's railroad career, which forms the lengthiest and one of the most important chapters in his life history, is based on a sketch which the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway system issued in book form, containing a history of the road's representative employes, which article shows the high regard, this company had for Mr. Bledsoe.

When only a lad of fifteen our subject began working as a water boy for Ho well's corps of engineers in 1870. A survey was then being made from Washington. Iowa, to Princeton, Missouri, the line being an extension of the Chicago and Southwestern Railway, which was later absorbed by the

"Rock Island System." The lad was familiarly known as "Squire," which soubriquet has clung to him through life. He worked his way to more important positions in this corps, having remained with them until the survey was completed and the corps was disbanded at Princeton. Our subject then returned to Eldon, Iowa, to which point his mother had moved during his absence. In the fall of 1872 he determined to become a brakeman, to which idea his mother strongly protested, arguing that such a life was too hazardous for her son to undertake, but the son began his career as head brakeman on a very cold night the following winter, his duties being partly to watch for dangers ahead and to watch the lights on the caboose. The rear cars had broken loose on this particular occasion and were running down grade as if about to crash into the section of the train ahead. There were no air brakes on freight trains at that time, and the old square draw bar was dangerous and hard to handle. It was up grade and down grade from Eldon to Washington, but the boy stuck faithfully at his post and all came out well, and from that mgnt of somewhat exciting initiation to the last one on which he pulled the brakes, he proved loyal to his trust, having laid off only about ten days during his entire service. Mr. Bledsoe was a model young man and soon all who formed his acquaintance learned to admire him, and up to this writing, 1908, not a drop of intoxicating liquor has ever touched his lips or a profane word ever passed them, and up to the time of the death of his first wife he had never used tobacco, but since that time he has been accustomed to smoke, having been greatly shocked at her demise from which he has never fully regained his former vivacity. His word has always been as good as his note and he has been all his life an exemplary character, which is the result of careful teachings by a Christian mother. He has always been a modest and retiring man, unassuming and never in the least pompous or found seeking notoriety, according to the friends who know him best. He has always been cool and calculating and this fact has doubtless saved him accidents while in the railway service, however, death stared him in the face twice during his service on the road: once when he was assisting the fireman in taking coal at Perlee, Iowa, he was caught between the cob and the apron of the schute, but the engineer, Frank Hudler, prevented the accident. At Washington, Iowa, while making a coupling he was pressed into a very close place by the giving way of a draw bar, but the rear car received the impact and rebounded away preventing an accident. In due time Mr. Bledsoe was promoted for his faithful service and wore the badge of conductor. When he resigned it was after nine years of freight runs on the first Iowa division of the southwestern branch of the Rock Island System, his resignation taking place in 1881, which was tendered for the purpose of retiring permanently from railroad life, but he was induced to accept a position on the St. Louis division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, with which he remained for three years, and then resigned to accept a position as sleeping car conductor for the Pullman Palace Car C6mpany. He remained with that company for four years, during the latter part of which he was inspector of all the company's cars entering St. Louis. He had the distinction of placing in the union station at St. Louis the first Pullman vestibuled train, it being under his personal inspection. He subsequently resigned this position to accept an offer from the Huttig Sash & Door Company, of St. Louis, and in 1900 he was traveling representative of this firm in southern Illinois. He remained with this firm for eighteen years, during which time he rendered them services of the most efficient type and was the cause of their business rapidly increasing. And during his long services with the above mentioned companies he was held in the highest esteem by his employers who placed in him implicit confidence and had unqualified faith in his ability and integrity.

Mr. Bledsoe came to Salem, this county, in 1904 and organized lumber companies here and at Sparta, Illinois, known as the Bledsoe Company, retail yards, wholesale; the Bledsoe-McCreery Lumber Company, being interested in all of them, and by reason of his knowledge of this line of business and his reputation for square dealing, coupled with his courteous manners, he has built up a very extensive business throughout this locality which is constantly growing. In his fraternal relations our subject is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He also belongs to a lumber dealers' association, the Concatentated Order of Hoo-Hoo, and both Mr. and Mrs. Bledsoe are members of the Christian church, and they are among the popular and highly respected residents of Salem.

John W. Larimer

The gentleman whose name forms the caption of this biographical review is now recognized as one of the leading organizers, promoters and all around business men and representative citizens of Marion county, Illinois, where he was born in what is now Stevenson township, May 14, 1852. John W. Larimer's father was Smith Larimer, a native of Ohio who came to Marion county, this state, about 1846. He devoted his life very largely to agricultural pursuits. He was elected Treasurer and Assessor of Marion county, serving twelve years with great satisfaction to his constituents. He moved to Salem in 1858. He was a loyal Democrat and was elected to office on this ticket. The offices of Treasurer and Assessor were conducted as one at that time. Smith Larimer died in Salem in 1887, at the age of seventy-six years, after a useful and very active life. Robert Larimer, grandfather of the subject, was a native of Ireland who emigrated to America when a boy, devoting his life to the farm. He lived to be an old man.

Ohio, who traced her lineage to Scotland. She was a woman of fine traits of character and she passed to her rest in 1861, when the subject of this sketch was nine years old. Mr. and Mrs. Smith Larimer were the parents of eight children, six of whom are living, namely: Andrew Jackson, who was first lieutenant of Company H, One Hundred and Eleventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was mustered largely in Marion county, and this brave young officer met his death in the great battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864; Wilson S. was a member of the same company, having gone through the war, dying in the spring of 1888; Mrs. Sarah M. Kite, of St. Louis; Mrs. Nancy J. Moore, of Salem, Illinois; W. F., of Denver, Colorado; John W., our subject; Ann E. Irvin, also living in Denver; and Mrs. Kagy, wife of L. M. Kagy, president of the Salem State Bank.

John W. Larimer, our subject, was born on the farm, and when six years old moved with his parents to Salem where he attended school and when fourteen years old went into the court house with J. O. Chance, who was engaged in the abstract business and who afterward became Clerk of the Supreme Court of Illinois. Our subject began learning the abstract business at this early age, and in 1870 he was appointed Deputy County Clerk for one year under J. O. Chance, who was then Clerk. Shortly afterward Mr. Chance and Mr. Larimer formed a partnership in the abstract and real estate business, which partnership continued for about four years, when Mr.

Chance was elected Clerk of the Supreme Court, then Mr. Larimer continued the business himself up to the present time, becoming known as one of the ablest, most accurate and reliable abstracters in this part of the state and his office is always a busy place.

Our subject was married May 6, 1871, to Rosa Andrews, daughter of Seth S. Andrews, now deceased, formerly a representative citizen of Salem. Three bright and interesting children have been born to the subject and wife as follows : Dwight W., who is associated with his father in the abstract business ; Sarah Louise and Kathryn.

Mr. Larimer has ever taken an active part in politics and as a result of his innate ability and his loyalty to his party's principles he has been chosen to positions of public trust by his fellow voters, having been elected Town Clerk in 1877. He has also been City Clerk, and he represented the old third ward as Alderman, also was honored by one term as Mayor. He served as a member of the Board of Education for four years, and in 1896 he was a member of the State Board of Equalization, serving four years. This was an elective office and Mr. Larimer carried Marion county by over one thousand votes, which speaks for his popularity in his home county. He received ten more votes than William J. Bryan. He was Secretary and a member of the Board of Directors of the Salem Building and Loan Association, having organized this association of which he has been secretary for twenty-five years in 1908, or ever since its organization. Our subject is also president of the Business Men's Association, and president of the Marion County Agricultural Board. Thus we see that our subject has the confidence and good will of the public who have entrusted him with these various positions of honor and trust, and that he has conscientiously and ably discharged his duties at all times goes without saying, in fact, no man in the county is more popular than Mr. Larimer, who is regarded as one of the county's most valuable men and one of its foremost citizens.

His business interests have been varied; he is one of the stockholders in the Salem State Bank. He is a prominent Mason, having been through all the offices in both the lodge and the chapter, being a Thirty-second degree member. He is also a member of -the Knights Templar. Both Mr. and Mrs. Larimer are members of the Presbyterian church. They reside at Walnut and Church streets in a beautiful modern home which they own.

John H. Vawter

Improvement and progress may well be said to form the keynote of the character of our subject, and he has not only been interested in the work of advancement in individual affairs but his influence is felt in upbuilding the community, where he has always resided. Mr. Vawter has been a very industrious man all his life, striving to keep abreast of the times in every respect, and as a result every mile post of the years he has passed has found him farther advanced, more prosperous, more sedate and with a larger number of friends than the preceding. John H. Vawter was born in Salem, Illinois, in 1860. His father was Reuben T. Vawter, a native of Tennessee who came to Marion county about 1850, when he was yet a young man. settling in Salem, where he established a tailor shop, having always been a tailor by trade and a first class workman in this line. He lived here and met with worthy success until his death which occurred in 1862. The mother of the subject was known in her maidenhood as Eleanor M. Kimball, a native of Tennessee, who was a woman of many beautiful traits, who was called to her rest in 1903. Besides the subject of this sketch Mr. and Mrs. Reuben T. Vawter were the parents of another child, A. K. Vawter, now living in Oklahoma, where he is known as a man of good character and much business ability. The subject's mother's second marriage occurred about 1867. to \Yilliam Metcalf. John H. Vawter made a splendid record while attending the common schools in Salem. After reaching maturity he went into the coal and teaming business, later entered the produce business, prospering at each of these, but he decided that the hardware business was more to his liking and consequently he entered this field in his home town in the spring of 1901. His success was assured from the first, and his business has rapidly grown, making it necessary for him to gradually increase his stock.

which he has done until at present he has one of the most complete and carefully selected hardware stocks in Marion county. He has been in his present location ever since he entered the business and he numbers his customers from all parts of the county, and owing to his courteous treatment and the excellent quality of goods he handles, together with the fact that they are always sold at reasonable figures, his reputation has been firmly established and gained for him not only hundreds of loyal customers, but at the same time hosts of friends.

Mr. Vawter was married in 1883, to Maggie T. Garner, the refined daughter of Albert C. Garner, a well known and highly respected family of Salem, and to this union four interesting children have been born, as follows : Lillian G., whose date of birth occurred in 1886; Hattie N., who was born in 1889; Marietta's birth occurred in 1891; and Irene first saw the light of day in 1901.

Mr. Vawter has always taken a conspicuous part in public affairs and as a result of his humanitarian impulses his fellow citizens have honored him by electing him Mayor of the City of Salem, which responsible office he at present (1908) holds, the duties of which he ably performs to the entire satisfaction of this vicinity, and during his administration he has done much for the betterment and material progress of the city, with the result that Salem is one of the cleanest, most inviting and well governed cities in this part of the state. He also served faithfully for four years as Alderman.

Mr. Vawter is a staunch Democrat and well fortified in his political beliefs, being at all times ready to lend his support to the party's good, and his counsel is often sought and always heeded in local conventions and elections, for the public knows that Mr. Vawter always stands for the best man possible in local offices, and whoever he places the stamp of approval on is sure to be acceptable to the public at large. In his fraternal relations, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen. Salem is glad to number him as one of her leading merchants and among its representative citizens. The record of his busines career might be summed up in the terse expression that he is "above want and below envy."

J. D. Telford

In such men as Mr. Telford there is peculiar satisfaction in offering their life histories justification for the compilation of works of this character - not that their lives have been such as to gain them particularly wide notoriety or the admiring plaudits of men, but that they have been true to the trusts reposed in them, have shown such attributes of character as entitle them to the regard of all.

J. D. Telford was born in Marion county, Illinois, September 2, 1848, He is the son of Samuel G. Telford, a native of Jefferson county, Illinois. Grandfather James

Telford, a native of South Carolina, came to Jefferson county as early as 1822, and moved to this county in 1836, when the father of the subject was nine years old, and like most of the sturdy pioneers of that early time, was compelled to undergo many privations and do much hard work in establishing a home, but being a man of sterling qualities and indomitable energy he conquered the many obstacles that confronted him and led a useful and influential life as a farmer there, as did also his son, father of our subject, who seemed to inherit much of the older Telford's better traits, and, indeed, the family characteristics have come on clown to our subject, who is carefully ordering his life so as to carry out the early praiseworthy characteristics of his ancestors. Samuel G. Telford spent his life on the farm, having lived on the same farm for sixty years. This was taken out of the new prairie land, but the wild soil was soon transformed into highly productive fields. He was a soldier in the Union army, having enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirtysixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and rendered gallant service until the winter of 1864. He is still living in 1908 near Cartter, Marion county. The mother of the subject was called to her rest in 1882. Her maiden name was Mary Baldridge. She was a native of Illinois, but her people came from North Carolina.

James Telford was an Abolitionist and was an historic character in his day, having played an important part in the famous underground railway when Illinois was ad- mitted as a free state in 1818. He came to this state because he was opposed to slavery. His wife's maiden name was Kell, and she was also a native of South Carolina. They were the parents of eight children, five of whom are living at this writing, the father of the subject being the only one of the boys living.

Samuel G. Telford and wife were the parents of nine children, named in the order of their birth as follows: J. D., subject of this sketch; Joseph, of Alma township, Marion county; Margaret J., deceased; Eva, who is married and living in Ashville, North Carolina; Alice, the wife of William Wyatt, of Durant, Oklahoma ; Kate, wife of Doctor Richardson, of Union City, Oklahoma; George B., who is living in Kansas; Arthur, a farmer of Marion county; Belle, who became Mrs. Arnold, is deceased.

J. D. Telford, our subject, lived with his father until he was twenty-three years old, assisting with the work on the old homestead and attending the country schools during the winter months. Having applied himself well to his text-books he became fairly well educated, and later has added to this by home reading and coming in contact with the world. The happy and harmonious -domestic life of the subject dates from January 19, 1872, when he was united in marriage to Sarah A. Wyatt, the estimable daughter of John and Margaret Wyatt, a highly respected family of Marion county, natives of Tennessee, who came to Marion county in 1860.

the subject and wife, all of whom are well established in life and give promise of successful futures: Dr. A. T., who lives at Olney, Illinois ; E. D., is an attorney at Salem, this county; Ula, is a stenographer in the Life Savings Station at Chicago; Omer F. is a farmer in Marion county; Oran is a member of the family circle at their home in Salem, as is also J. D., Jr. The Telford residence is modern and always cheerful.

The subject is engaged in farming and real estate, largely interested in fruit growing, at which he is highly competent, having long taken an abiding interest in horticulture. He has two large orchards containing six thousand and five hundred apple trees of excellent variety and quality. He devotes much of his time to the care of his orchards, which are among the most valuable in this part of the state, and useless to add that the financial returns from the sale of his fruit are usually quite satisfactory. Politically Mr. Telford is a stanch Republican and having been actuated by a laudable desire for political preferment, his friends elected him to the important office of Sheriff of Marion county, the duties of which he faithfully performed to the satisfaction of all concerned for a period of four years, having been elected in 1882 and serving until 1886. He is well grounded in his political convictions, and always lends his aid in supporting his party's principles, endeavoring to place the best men possible in local offices. He is a well informed man, not only on political matters and current events, but he is well read on scientific, literary and diverse subjects which make his conversation interesting as well as instructive, and he is generally regarded as one of the substantial men of Marion county.

Mr. Michaels, of this review, is one of those strong, sturdy characters who has contributed largely to the material welfare of the community and township in which he resides, being a modern agriculturist and a business man of more than ordinary sagacity and foresight, and as a citizen publicspirited and progressive in all that the terms imply. For a number of years he has been an important factor in promoting the progress of Marion county.

M. W. Michaels was born near Sumner, Lawrence county, Illinois, May 19, 1861, the son of Samuel Michaels, a native of Pennsylvania, who was born in 1815, and came to Illinois when a young boy, before Chicago was known. He was a sturdy pioneer and braved the dangers, inconveniences and obstacles of the early days, securing a wild piece of land which he transformed into a valuable and highly productive farm, devoting his entire life to agricultural pursuits. He came to Marion county in 1880 and was called from his earthly labors in Romine township, Illinois, in 1897. The mother of the subject was also a woman of the strongest mould and possessed the sterling qualities of the typical pioneer woman. Samuel Michaels was three times married and had a family of twenty children, eighteen of whom are living in 1908, a somewhat remarkable record. His first wife was a Eakas, who became the mother of six children, all now living, as follows : Mary A., wife of W. J. Jones, of luka, Illinois; Anna, the wife of Joseph Clevy, of Pomona, Kansas ; Adline, the wife of Isaac Williams, of Browns, Illinois; Mrs. Lafe Jones, of Calhoun, Illinois; Mrs. Martha Jones, of Sumner, Illinois; William1 B. lives at Kremlin. Oklahoma. The second wife of Samuel Michaels was Mary A. Collins, daughter of William Collins, who was murdered near Lawrenceville, Illinois, in the seventies. The following children were born to this union : M. W., the subject of this sketch; Samuel, of Gettysburg, Washington; L. G., of Franklin, Alaska; C. J., of luka, Illinois; R. B., of Centralia, Illinois; W. N., of luka. Illinois ; Rose, widow of John Meadows, living in St. Louis, Missouri ; Charlie, who is living in one of the Western states. The mother of these children passed to the other shore December 13, 1879. The third wife of the subject's father was Caroline Turner, a native of Illinois, who became the mother of the following children : Cora, wife of Charles Bryan, of luka, Illinois; Elizabeth, who was the wife of Charles Williams, is now deceased; Alvin, Ida and Minnie all live in Romine township ; Albert died in infancy. L. J. Michaels, brother of the subject, has been in Alaska since about 1897, and has made a great success at placer min-

The subject of this sketch lived with his father, assisting with the farm work and attending1 the neighboring schools in the winter, until he became a young man, when he went west, where he spent several years in the railroad business, gaining a fund of valuable experience and information. He finally returned home and married, November 6, 1883, Maggie Taylor, daughter of P. A. Taylor. Both he and his wife were natives of Kentucky. Mr. Michaels went west again in 1887 with his family and worked from Colorado to New Mexico, but was in California most of the time. He returned to Illinois in 1897, and began farming in Romine township. He made a signal success of farming, having improved a good tract of land and skillfully managed the same until he soon had not only a comfortable living, but quite a competency laid by. Mr. Michaels is a stockholder in the First National Bank at Salem, however, he devotes his attention to farming* interests principally and is known as one of the best and most painstaking agriculturists in the township and his farm shows unmistakably that a man of thrift and industry manages it. Mr. Michaels is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also the Woodmen, and both he and his wife are members of the Christian church. The subject and wife are the parents of two children, namely: Clarence, who was bom July 18, 1885. He is a bright young man who gives promise of a brilliant and successful future. The second child, Everett, died in infancy.

Mr. Michaels has always taken considerable interest in political matters and of recent years has been influential in local elections, being well grounded and well read in his political opinions and on political subjects. Having a laudable ambition for official preferment, and being a popular man in his party, his Republican friends selected him for Sheriff, having been elected to this important office in 1906, by a big majority in a county nominally Democratic, which shows that he is regarded as a strong man in his community. He also served as a member of the County Board for two terms, representing his township. He has shown himself eminently capable in all the offices or positions of public or private trust that have been proffered, giving entire satisfaction to all his constituents and, in fact, everyone concerned.

Robert O. Brigham

No business man of Centralia is regarded with higher favor than is the subject of this sketch, who, while looking to his own interests does not neglect to discharge his duties in fostering the upbuilding of the community in general.

Robert O. Brigham, manager of the Centralia Envelope Company, was born in Clinton, New York, May 23, 1861, the son of Lewis and Sophia (Johnson) Brigham, the former having been born in Vernon Center, New York, December 4, 1820. His parents were of English extraction on both sides of the house. Lewis E. Brigham was a contractor and carpenter, and was educated in the public schools of his native state. The subject's parents reared a family consisting of eight sons and one daughter, Robert O., our subject, being the seventh in order of birth. The subject's father died in Clinton, New York, February 22, 1907, at the age of eighty-seven years. His wife was born in that city April 29, 1825. She was educated in the common schools in her native community. The parents of the subject were married in 1843 in me state of New York. The mother of our subject, an elderly woman of beautiful Christian character, is still living in Clinton, New York.

Robert O. Brigham received his early education in Clinton, New York, in the public schools. He quit school when fifteen years of age and went to Boston to learn the machinist's trade. Here he took advantage of the Boston night schools and applied himself with his accustomed vigor to technical drafting and the necessary commercial branches. He served his apprenticeship with the National Sewing Machine Company, for which he worked for ten years, at the end of which time he was called to take charge of the Whitmore Sewing Machine Company, in the employ of which he continued for one year ; the then went to Los Angeles, California, then to Denver, Colorado, and worked for W. E. Scott, machinery company, having charge of the model and repair work, after which he worked for the J. C. Teller Envelope Opener Company, of Denver, Colorado.

Robert O. Brigham invented an attachment to an envelope machine for placing a string in the envelope and then formed a company to put such an envelope on the market. The manufacture was continued with much success until 1896, when he and two other men bought the interest of the former manager, forming the Western Envelope and Box Company. They continued for one year in Denver, but finding that they were too far west for the successful working of such a plant, they moved to Omaha, Nebraska, remaining there one year, after which they moved to Centralia, Illinois.

After operating the plant for eight years in Centralia, it was reorganized and called the Illinois Envelope Company, and moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. After one year's residence in Kalamazoo, Mr. Brigham resigned his position with the Illinois Envelope Company and returned to Centralia and helped to organize a new envelope company with only Centralia capital. This company is known as the Centralia Envelope Company, and is capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars, fully paid in. This company is now only two years old and is doing a thriving business. Its capacity at the beginning was one and one-quarter million envelopes every ten hours, and has been increased to one and one-half million per day. The order for the machinery for the plant was the largest ever given at one time for a like enterprise.

chines in the plant of the Centralia Envelope Company mill. These machines are marvels of ingenuity. The paper is cut to the proper size and shape, then taken to these machines in which they are gummed, folded, dried and counted at the rate of one hundred to one hundred and thirty per minute, according to size. The picture shows only the envelope machines. There is also a large printing department equipped with latest improved printing machinery and all the necessary equipment that goes to make a complete printing establishment, cutting department, box department, case department, hand fold department, machine shop, in fact, everything that goes to make up a complete envelope mill.

The capacity of the mill, as already stated, is one and one-half million envelopes every ten hours, making it one of the largest -in the United States, and one of the leading industries of Southern Illinois. Its goods are known far and wide for their high quality.

This mill is owned and controlled by Centralia capital. Its directors are composed of the following well known business men : C. C. Davis, Ferdinand Kohl, Jr., Harry Warner, F. F. Noleman, Jacob Erbes, Ed Cornell, J. G. Goetsch, R. O. Brigham, W. E. O'Melveny. Officers: C. C. Davis, president; F. Kohl, Jr., vice president; H. ,M. Warner, secretary; Harry Kohl, treasurer; R. O. Brigham, general manager.

Our subject is particularly well fitted to be manager of such a gigantic and successful enterprise. His native constructive ability for technical mechanics and intricate machinery has eminently fitted him in this special line. His economic foresight of proper management, good machines, good workmen, good material all contribute to the success of the company.

All the machinery in the plant is modern, up-to-date in every respect, and high grade work is turned out rapidly. Our subject has had a wide experience in the management of such concerns. He is the originator and inventor of many of the improvements to be found in the present highly developed envelope machine. This company under his superior management now operates thirty envelope machines, ten printing presses and ten box machines. The factory also has a complete machine shop and repair department, also a complete case department. The buildings are two stories high, built of brick and frame. The main building is two hundred feet long and fifty feet wide. The shipping and stock room is one hundred and thirty-five by eighty-five feet. A switch from the main track of the Illinois Central Railroad runs to the door of the big shipping room, all under cover of spacious sheds. The Illinois Southern tracks also run into the sheds of the shipping department. The machines of the plant are run and the buildings are lighted and heated by a one hundred and sixty-horse power steam plant and a sixty horse power engine. A four hundred light dynamo furnishes the lighting of the great plant. Eighty girls and twenty-five men and boys are constant-

This new but successful enterprising company was started by thirty-five of the business men of Centralia, and it is owned by Centralia people, being capitalized at one hundred thousand dollars, which was raised in a very short time. The capacity of each machine runs from sixty-five to seventy-five thousand each ten hours. It is an interesting plant in every detail and one of the rapidly growing large industrial concerns of Southern Illinois.

Robert O. Brigham was married to Minnie G. McDonald, the accomplished daughter of James and Rebecca (Nicholson) Mc- Donald, a well known family of Quincy, Illinois, to which family there were four children, Minnie being the youngest. To our subject and wife one daughter was born, who passed away when eighteen years old.

Our subject is a member of Centralia lodges, Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He -served as a member of the school board for one term. In politics he is a Republican, and he was reared a Baptist, but he at present worships with the Christian Scientists, and is president of the Church Board of Centralia. His beautiful home just west of the Public Library is nicely furnished, being also well filled with choicest books of an excellent variety, also a large number of beautiful oil paintings by his sister and daughter. He is a genial gentleman of good habits and modest demeanor.

Charles E. Bundy

Among the men of influence in Marion county, who have the interest of their locality at heart and who have led consistent lives, thereby gaining definite success along their chosen lines, is the subject of this sketch, being regarded as one of the leading farmers of Raccoon township, where he has a valuable and highly productive landed esstate, which he manages with that care and discretion that stamps him as a twentieth century agriculturist of the highest order.

Charles E. Bundy was bom in Marion county, Illinois, on his father's old homestead in the above named township, February 3, 1862, the son of George Bundy, who was 6orn December 25, 1837, and who married Elizabeth Hiltibidal. He was born in Raccoon township and his wife in Centralia township, the former on August 9, 1838, the son of John, known as Jack, Bundy. The subject's father grew up and married in Raccoon township and lived there all his life. He was one of the prominent farmers and stockmen. He was a Republican, was Justice of the Peace and served in many minor township offices. He and his wife were members of the Christian church. He died July i, 1904, and she died January 30, 1900. He was not only popular but highly esteemed. The subject of this sketch was "their only child.

George Bundy was one of the patriotic citizens of the Prairie state who responded to the call for volunteers to save the nation's integrity during the sixties, having enlisted in the Union army, August 12,

1862, and served faithfully in Company H, Eightieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and he was mustered out June 19, 1865. He was a flag bearer. He met with an accident while on duty in the service. While carrying the flag, he caught his foot on a grape vine, fell and was very badly injured. After the war our subject returned to Raccoon township and being a hard worker he secured two hundred and thirty-nine acres in this township. He had only a common school education in the home schools. He has always lived on a part of the old homestead.

Our subject, Charles E. Bundy, was united in marriage October 29, 1885, to Effie Jane Prather, who was born in Raccoon township, the daughter of Joseph Prather, a native of Indiana. He was one of the old and favorably known residents of Raccoon township. Eleven children have been born to our subject and wife as follows: Sarah Gladys, Earl, Iva May, George Ashton, Carroll Ashton, Thomas Oren, John Guy; Lola Elizabeth ; Ula Violet ; Paul Sherman, and Charles Deward.

Our subject has always been a man of industry and has made many valuable and lasting improvements on his place. He remodeled his fine home in 1908, making it a very attractive, substantial and comfortable one. He has a most excellent and valuable orchard of forty acres. He carries on general farming and stock raising with that rare foresight that insures success.

all lines, he has never aspired for public office. He is a member of the Farmers' Union. He is known to be a man of thoroughly honest principles, public-spirited and agreeable to all his neighbors and many friends.

Joseph A Prather

This venerable citizen of Raccoon township, Marion county, has been a very active man in the development of this part of the Union, having spent his long life in this and her sister state on the east. He has seen the wonderful growth of the country from its wild prairies, dense forests, inhabited by red men and wild beasts to one of the richest and best countries in the world.

Joseph A. Prather was bom in Clarkcounty, Indiana, January 31, 1824; the son of Sihon and Elizabeth (Williams) Prather, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Virginia. The subject's father grew up in the Tar Heel state and moved to Clark county, Indiana, where he lived on a farm and where he and his wife both died. He was a Democrat and held the office of Justice of the Peace several years. He was a member of the Methodist church, well known and influential. They were the parents of the following children : Louisa, deceased; Samantha, deceased; Thomas, deceased; John, deceased; Joseph A., our subject; William, deceased: Margaret lives in Clark county, Indiana. Several children died young.

opportunities to become educated, however he attended subscription schools for a time and lived at home until he was twenty-one years of age, when he went to Floyd county, Indiana, and in 1844 married Sarah Ann Patrick, a native of Clark county, that state, where she was born December 3, 1827, the daughter of William and Nancy (Harris) Patrick, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Virginia. They lived and died in Clark county, Indiana, on a farm. There were twelve children in their family as follows : Jeremiah, Rebecca, John, Elizabeth, Mary, William, Solomon, James, Nancy, Lewis, Sarah Ann, and Eliza. They are all deceased except the wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Prather became the parents of nine children, three deceased, namely: Nancy, who married Roland Warren, lives in Centralia, Illinois, and is the mother of eight children : Margaret, who is now deceased, having died January 24, 1908, married Lewis Patton, having become the mother of ten children, one of whom is deceased : John, who married Belle Oldfield, is a farmer and teamster at Centralia, and has for children; Eliza J., who married Thomas Shaw, of Centralia township, is the mother of eight children; Emmons R., a farmer in Raccoon township, first married Mollie Gaston and later Lillie Blair, of Raccoon township, having had four children by his first wife and two by the second ; Etha is the wife of Charles Bundy, of Raccoon township, a full sketch of whom appears in this work; Orville, who is living on part of the old home place in Raccoon township, married.

first Laura May, and his second wife was Annie Howard, had three children by each wife: William died at the age of seven years ; George died when two years old.

The subject has fifty-three grandchildren and thirty-four great-grandchildren. After his marriage our subject lived in Floyd county, Indiana, having comie to Marion county, Illinois, in 1854, where he purchased two hundred and twenty acres of land in sections 29 and 32. He made all the improvements on the place, there having been but very little when he took charge, but being a good manager and a hard worker he soon developed a most excellent farm and established a comfortable home. He carries on general farming, raising all kinds of grain, fruit and stock and making a success of all that he undertakes. He is a Democrat in politics and has held some of the offices in Raccoon township, always taking much interest in the affairs of his township. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Walnut Hill. He has always been a hard working man and is still very well preserved for a man of his years, having a good business mind and able to manage the many details of his fine farm with profit from year to year. He is a very well read man, keeping well posted on all current topics. As a result of his life of industry, honesty and kindness he has scores of warm friends and if a single enemy he does not know it. Everybody in this part of Marion county knows "Uncle Joe" Prather, as he is familiarly called and everybody respects him very highly.

John M. Adams

It is pleasing to find the energy and industry which characterized the old pioneer families manifesting itself in the children of succeeding generations. The subject of our present sketch was born on June 10, 1848, in Raccoon township. He was the son of Martin Adams, who was born October 10, 1820, in West Virginia, and who married Elvira Richardson, of Tennessee. Martin came with his father, Nathan Adams, and his mother to Marion county, Illinois, some time about 1835, and they settled in Racoon township, where his father got half a section of land on which he made many improvements. Grandfather Nathan Adams was an industrious and hardy pioneer with great powers of endurance. He was equipped with the trade of carpenter, being a skilled workman. He had two saw and grist mills on the old-fashioned water mill system which were the first of their kind in this part of the country. A man of remarkable traits and cheerful disposition he was favorably regarded by his neighbors. His wife was a capable and amiable woman. Martin's mother died on the farm after raising a family of nine children. The children were : Nancy, Minerva, Emily, Harriet, Martin, Nicholas, Joseph, Fletcher and John, Martin, as we have stated, being the father of the subject of this sketch.

Martin's future father-in-law, Thomas Richardson, of Tennessee, and his wife, Sarah, having caught the pioneering spirit had also come westward. They were pioneer residents of Raccoon township where they obtained a large tract of land and where they died. They raised the large family of twelve children, of which the eldest was Elvira, the future wife of Martin and the mother of John M. Adams. The children were named Elvira, Mary, Martha, Jannette, Eliza, John, Montgomery, McKindry, James D., Emily and George. Martin Adams, as may well be supposed, owing to the primitiveness of the times had little chance to attend school. He lived on the farm with his parents, and his education was of desultory character. Much use was found for him on the farm helping his father at his trade and working on the farm which at that time needed much attention. Upon his marriage to Elvira Richardson he moved to the farm he occupied for many years and where the subject of our sketch was born. The family reared there consisted of seven children, four of whom are dead. Thomas, the eldest, enlisted in Company F of the Forty-eighth Regiment during the Civil war and was killed in action. The second son, Nathan, also joined the same regiment. Having passed through the war he contracted a severe chill at Little Rock, Arkansas. Upon obtaining a discharge he returned home only to die the second day of his arrival. John M. Adams, the subject of our present sketch, was the third. Emily; who still lives with her parents, was the next; Maggie, who was Mrs. Millard Gillette, of Marion county, now dead, was the fifth. The sixth was Ella, whose first husband was William Lydick, whose second was William

Tate, and who is now Mrs. Harvey Meisemheimer, living with her husband in Salem township. Another member of the family, Mahalia, who was single, is deceased.

John M. Adams, whose name heads this sketch, received a good sound education, living with his parents until his marriage on December 24, 1868, to Alice Ennis. On his marriage he located on another property in the township of Raccoon. In 1877 he migrated to Texas where he remained a year, leaving there owing to his wife's ill health. At a later period he settled in Missouri, where he spent two years at railroad work. His wife, who belonged to a Virginia family, died January 17, 1879, leaving a son and daughter. They are: Otta R., a rug manufacturer of Louisville, Kentucky, and the father of two children, Kenneth and Harry M. Adams. Clara, married Charles Clark and resides in Cheyenne, Wyoming. They have had three children : George, Alice and Verne.

John M. Adams married secondly on May 5, 1880. His second wife was formerly Amanda Carr, the daughter of Elijah and Eliza (Ferguson) Carr, a history of whom will be found on another page. Three children were born to this union. Elsie, the wife of Charles Farthing, of Salem, and the mother of two children, Olive and Mildred. Ethel, the second daughter, married M. C. Warren, of Coffeyville, Kansas, and has been blessed with two children, Earl and Victor. The third born was Everett, who still remains in the parental home.

John M. Adams was back again in Raccoon township when his second marriage took place, and he still lives upon the land which has been his for years. A farmer for the greater part of his life, he is a skilled agriculturalist and a far-seeing man. Though now in his sixty-first year he is still as hale and vigorous as ever. He has ever taken an active interest in all questions which come up for adjustment in the life of the town and especially in educational affairs. He has been for three terms a Director of Schools in the township.

In the political line John M. Adams has ever favored the Republican party, and is a man looked up to by that party in the township. He is not indifferent to church and social work, is a respected member of the Methodist Episcopal congregation, and has always been in demand in the social life of the neighborhood. He is also well known throughout the county where his friends are legion. John M. Adams's life has not been without its quota of trials and crosses. He has been able to surmount all obstacles, however, and to arrive in the autumn time of life in prosperous circumstances. This he has been able to do through his inherent energy and industriousness.

Scott M. Carr

A surprisingly large number of the folk who moved westward into portions of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois during the early part of the nineteenth century were natives of the state of Virginia and of the Carolinas. The Carr family, who came to Illinois as early as 1 80 1, were of this stock. The grandfather of the subject of our sketch entered the state of Illinois at this period. Henry Carr was a Virginian of pioneer instincts. On arrival in Illinois he settled in St. Clair county, and here his son Elijah, the father of Scott M. Carr, was born. Elijah spent his boyhood and youth in St. Clair county assisting his father at the homestead. Afterward he moved to Jefferson county, and finally to Marion county, Illinois. In the year 1834 he married Mary Ray, of Milledgeville, Georgia, the marriage taking place on January 6th. His wife's father, William Ray, was well known in North Carolina, of which state he was a native. He married Nancy Merritt, who lived near Macon, Georgia. William Ray came in 1839 to Marion county and there settled in section 8, Raccoon township, where he obtained a large tract of land. Here on the farm their lives, which were not uneventful, were spent, and here they died. At one period of lawlessness they were attacked by robbers who rendered them helpless by roping them up after which they robbed them. This occurred in 1871. The children of their marriage were as follows: Alfred, Burris, William, Martha and Mary.

Elijah Carr was a blacksmith by trade and had the reputation of a very industrious and efficient workman. His career was not without seeing warlike service. He joined a military company and took a hand in the famous Black Hawk war. In his bovhood he had only a limited term of schooling, and his education was therefore necessarily incomplete. However, his natural talents overcame any difficulties met with in this line and it was no bar to his success. He was twice married, his first wife bearing him six children. They are (in regular order) : Lavina, who married Ely McMeens, of Jefferson county; Frances, who was Mrs. Cubberly, and who with her husband is dead; Sarah, who married Thomas Hails, of Centralia; Robert M., who first married Nancy Grain, and afterwards Laura Dollins, and who is a traveling salesman at Carterville, Illinois; Louettie, who married J. W. Willis, a preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church ; Amanda, who is the wife of John M. Adams, of Raccoon township. Elijah Carr died August 19, 1890, and his second wife on November I3th, of the following year. The children by the second marriage are: William B., who was born in Centralia, Illinois, April 26,1865, who married on March 4, 1896, Cora Alice Phillips, of Centralia, and who is a farmer in Raccoon township. Scott M., the subject of our present sketch, was the other.

Scott M. Carr was born in Centralia on October 12, 1869. He received the best education the home schools could give him and he remained under his parents' roof until his twenty-second year. On September 8th, of the year 1892 he married Ida Alice Wooters, also of Raccoon. She was the daughter of Noah and Emily (Crane) Wooters, her father being of North Carolina origin, and her mother a native of Rac- coon township. Noah Wooters came to Illinois at the age of six with his parents in 1835. He died in 1881. His wife, born December 26, 1839, is still alive in Raccoon township. He was married twice, his first wife being Martha Phillips, of Tennessee. He is remembered as a farmer of industrious habits and as the driver of the old time stage-coach from Mount Vernon to Salem, his prowess and bravery in those days being much commented on. The latter part of his life was spent in Raccoon township. The four children born to him by his first wife were: Lizzie, who is Mrs. Farthing, of Odin township; Lou, who married A. J. McClelland, also of Odin; Bell, who married Andrew Stevenson, of Odin township; Shirley, who married Nannie Southerland, and who lives in Muskogee, Oklahoma. His children by the second marriage were: Elmer, a farmer of Dix. Illinois, who married first Ida Copple, and secondly, Delia Caldwell. The wife of the subject of our sketch was the second The third, John, of Odin, Illinois, married Abbie Ray, and is a farmer. Scott, of Odin, married Ollie Stater. Ellis V. is also a farmer in Odin, and he is the husband of Carrie Stater. Mrs. Carr's mother was married first to J. L. Adams. They had two children, one of whom lives in the person of Ella, who is married to E. A. Davis, of Raccoon township.

Scott M. Carr has been located in his present substantial holding since the commencement of his married life. He and his wife started there in a small way and their present prosperous condition is the result of a hard-working career. Their family life is a happy one. Mrs. Carr has done much in the way of assisting her husband The couple have two sons: Floyd, born June 17, 1893, and Robert D., born July 21, 1898. The family are members of the Christian church and are firm believers in the advantages of church work. Mrs. Scott and her husband are well regarded socially and have a host of friends. In politics he is a Democrat. He has never aspired for any political office as he prefers to confine himself to business life.

An idea of the life work of Scott M. Carr may be gained from the fact that the farm in section 17, Raccoon township, has been brought to its present state of perfection through his own efforts. He has been untiring in the work of improving the property, built a home and barn in 1892, and has now one of the finest homes in the; district. On the farm which consisted at first of eighty and later reinforced by forty acres in section 20, Raccoon township, he has raised cattle of the Jersey and hogs of the Poland China breeds, and also horses and mules. In addition he carries on a successful general farriery business in which first class work is skillfully done. Scott M. Carr is still in the best of health, and as he is in the prime of life greater things may be expected from him in the future. He can point with pride to his achievements in his line of endeavor and his honest, frugal and active life make him a good model for the young men of the community.

Reuben J. Bass

Mr. Bass is eminently worthy of representation in a volume of the province of the one at hand owing to the life of industry and honesty which he has lived and the work he has done in upbuilding the county of Marion since coming here.

Reuben J. Bass was born October 7, 1845, in Trousdale county, Tennessee, the son of John D. and Betsey (Saterfield) Bass, both natives of Wilson county, Tennessee, where they grew up and married, the subject's mother having passed to her rest in 1852. His father married a second time, his last wife being a widow, Annie Purdy, of Wilson county, Tennessee. They moved to Smith county and later to Trousdale county, that state. He died at the age of seventyfive years and his second wife died in that county. The subject's father was always a farmer and a Democrat. He and his wife were members of the Primitive Baptist church. He had five children by his first wife, namely: Reuben J., our subject; John E., who is now deceased, lived in Kentucky ; Mollie, who married James Holt, resides in St. Louis; Elizabeth, who married W. L. Puryear, is deceased; Daniel, who lived in Trousdale county, Tennessee, is deceased. The following children were born to the subject's father by his second wife: Shelby, who lives in Wilson county, Tennessee; Maranda, who lives in Trousdale county, Tennessee; Linnie is deceased; Sion D. lived in Macon county, Tennessee, is deceased ; Sidney lives in Wilson county, Tennessee; Edward lives in Trousdale county, Tennessee; Lucy, who was the fourth child in order of birth, lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

The subject of this sketch had only a limited chance to attend school. However, he gained some education in subscription schools. He was married April 26, 1868,. to Annie Gaddy, a native of Smith county, Tennessee, the daughter of George and Leacy (Bass) Gaddy, the former a native of Smith county and the latter of Wilson county, Tennessee. In the fifties Mr. Gaddy came to Williamson county, Illinois, and got wild land and made a home on the same where he died. His wife died in Tennessee. Four children were born to the subject and wife as follows: Mollie, deceased; Learner D. lives at Walnut Hill, this county, having married Marvin West, a farmer; Lulu is deceased; Florence is the wife of A. T. Harmon, a farmer in Raccoon township, and the mother of these children, Opal, Ruby, Anna P., Beatrice and John D. After his marriage our subject located in Marion, Williamson county, Illinois, living there for two years when he went back to Trousdale county, Tennessee, and on December 19, 1 88 1, he came to Marion county, locating in Raccoon township, having rented land until 1888, when he bought sixty acres in section 28, where he now lives. It was formerly known as the Willis place. The subject has prospered since coming here, being a hard worker and a good manager. He has made many extensive improvements and carries on a general farming business. He raises hogs, horses and cattle. He also raises a great deal of fruit of all kinds. He is a modem farmer in every sense of the word and has one of the best farms in the township. He has devoted his life work to farming. He is a Democrat in politics and in religion a Free Will Baptist. He is a member of the Farmers' Educational Co-Operative Union of Raccoon township. He is well posted on current topics and is pleasant, agreeable, honest and a fine gentleman in every respect, consequently everybody is a friend to him.

Frank Loomis

Among those men of Marion county, who by the mere force of their personality, have forged their way to the front ranks of that class of citizens who may justly be termed progressive, is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, who has a fine farm in Tonti township, which he has taken a great interest in and which he has improved in a most systematic way until it is the equal of any in the vicinity where it is so admirably located.

Frank Loomis was born in this township, March 20, 1865, the son of S. E. and Margaret (McMurray) Loomis, a highly respected family and for several generations well known in Marion county. S. E. Loomis was a native of Ohio, where he was born October 12, 1841, and came with his parents to Marion county, Illinois, in 1846, and after a life of hard work in practically a new country, he passed to his rest in 1885. Almon Loomis, the grandfather of our subject, also came to this county from Ohio, settling on the farm where Frank Loomis now lives. He was one of the pioneers in this part of the county and reclaimed the farm in question from the wilderness. He is remembered as a hard worker and a good man in every respect. He passed to his rest in this township July 26, 1893.

S. E. Loomis was married in Marion county, his wife having come to this country from Scotland, where she was born. Four children were born to this marriage. Three sons are now living, namely: Frank, our subject; Byron C, and Louis L. Frank Loomis was reared upon his father's farm in Tonti township and worked during the summer months on the farm, attending the district schools during the winter months until he had a fairly good common school education. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years old, and at the age of twenty-three was united in marriage with Ida M. Martin, the affable and congenial daughter of Caleb and Martha J. (Mc- Heney) Martin. Her father was bom in Xorth Carolina, and he moved to Tennessee, later coming to Marion county, Illinois. The mother of Mrs. Loomis was born in Tonti township, this county. Ida M. was the sixth child in order of birth in this family. She was educated in the district schools, where she applied herself in such a manner as to become well educated. Two children were born to the subject and wife, namely: Glen M., born September 12, 1890, and Omer F., who was born April 23, 1895. They are both bright boys, and will, no doubt, make their mark in the world. Mr. Loomis is the owner of a farm consisting of one hum dred and twenty acres on which he carries on general fanning which yields him a comfortable living from year to year and at the - same time permits him to lay up a competency for old age and to give his children every necessary advantage in launching them successfully in the battle of life. His fields are well tilled, the crops of heavy grain being rotated with clover so as to retain, the strength of the soil. He has a comfortable and substantial residence which is well furnished and nicely kept. Many and convenient out buildings also stand on the place, and much good stock of various kinds is to be found in his fields and bams. In politics Mr. Loomis is a staunch Republican, but he does not take a very active part in party affairs, being contented to spend his time on his farm. Fraternally he is a member of the Ben Hur lodge, Odin. No. 226. Mrs. Loomis is also a member of this organization. He is regarded as one of the substantial and best citizens of Tonti township.

David Hershberger

life he has not wavered in his allegiance to the great basic art of agriculture. To the public schools he is indebted for the early educational privileges that were afforded him, and he duly availed himself of the same, while he has effectually broadened his knowledge through active association with men and affairs in practical business life. He has become the owner of a fine stock farm and devotes his attention to diversified agriculture with the discrimination, energy and constant watchfulness which inevitably make for definite success and prosperity. He has spent practically all of his life in Marion county.

David Hershberger, living two miles west of Salem, Illinois, was born October 20, 1865, in Crawford county, Ohio, the son of Henry and Catherine (Snavely) Hershberger, the former being a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he was born February 14, 1824, and the latter of Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, both having been reared in the Keystone state. They moved to Crawford county, Ohio, where they farmed for several years and then in 1 866 moved to Marion county, Illinois, settling in Salem township where Henry bought a large tract of land, becoming the owner of about two thousand acres in Marion county. He improved this land and it became very valuable. He died August 29, 1898. He is remembered as a thrifty farmer and a highly respected citizen. Both he and his wife were members of the German Baptist church, or Dunkards. Jacob Hershberger, grandfather of the subject.

was also a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and 'the great-grandfather of the subject, Henry Hershberger, was also a native of that place. Henry, the father of the subject, and Catharine Snavely were married February 10, 1848. They were very active in the church and Henry was a preacher for many years, having done a great amount of good in his work. He was a Republican in politics. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, named in order of birth, as follows : Jacob, a prominent farmer in Marion county ; Samuel, deceased ; Mary, widow of John Schanafelt ; Elizabeth is the wife of W. J. Martin, a prominent farmer in Marion county; Anna is the wife of S. A. Schanafelt; Sarah is the wife of C. W. Courson, who lives in Marion county ; John lives in Salem township on a farm; Henry lives in Centralia. Illinois; David, our subject, is the youngest child. The mother of the subject passed to her rest April 14, 1906.

The subject remained at home on his father's farm until he married. He was one year old when he came to Marion county, he was married December 31, 1888, to Lida Dickens, the daughter of Elijah and Elizabeth (Tate) Dickens, both natives of Tennessee, but pioneer settlers of Marion county, Illinois, both now deceased. The subject's wife was born in this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Hershberger six children have been born as follows: Leland, deceased; Walter E., Lottie M., Loren D., Henry R., and Wayne D.

the German Baptist church in Salem township, and the subject is a deacon in the church. He is a loyal Republican, having served his township as Highway Commissioner in a most acceptable manner. He lives on the old home farm, this together with his own farm constitutes two hundred and eighty acres. He is regarded as one of the leading farmers of Marion county, and always keeps excellent stock. He has a beautiful home which is elegantly furnished, and everything about the place is kept in first class order.

George J. Heaver

The gentleman to whom the biographer now calls the reader's attention was not favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of influential friends, but in spite of this, by perseverance, industry and a wise economy, he has attained a comfortable station in life, and is well and favorably known throughout Tonti and surrounding townships, Marion county, as a result of the industrious life he has lived there for over a half century.

George J. Heaver was born in Crawford county, Ohio, December 8, 1838, the son of George Jacob and Christena (Fritz) Heaver, both natives of Wertenburg, Germany. They married in the Fatherland where two children were born to them. Deciding that greater opportunties were to be found in the United States they landed at Sandusky, Ohio, July 3, 1838, and before becoming hardly established in the new country the father died December i, 1838. His widow re-married in 1841, her second husband being Levi Kline, of Crawford county, Ohio, and in 1849 they emigrated to Marion county, Illinois, locating west of Salem, where they lived until 1854, when Mr. Kline died, and his widow was again married, her third husband being George Kline; both are now deceased.

The first marriage of Christena Fritz resulted in the birth of four children, two boys and two girls, all deceased but the subject of this sketch. George J. Heaver remained at home under the parental roof-tree until he reached maturity. His educational advantages were very limited but he early acquired enough schooling to read and write, but being by nature an intelligent man, he has succeeded admirably well without technical training. Our subject was one of those loyal sons of the North, who, when the fierce fires of rebellion were raging in the Southland, felt it his duty to forsake home ties and offer his services in behalf of the stars and stripes, consequently he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Eleventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, on August 12, 1862, under Capt. Amos Clark, of Salem, Illinois, and was in camp at that place. He was called to Camp Marshall where he remained until October 31, 1862, when his company was sent to Columbus, Kentucky, and was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, later taking part in the battle at Resaca, Georgia, and the strenuous Atlanta campaign, also in Sherman's famous march to the sea. Our subject also came back with Sherman's army through the Carolinas to Washington City. He was mustered out here after rendering conspicuous and valuable service, and returned to Springfield, Illinois, on June 6, 1865. He was wounded on May 13, 1864, which resulted in his being absent from duty for some time. He rejoined his regiment at Rome, Georgia, after he had recovered. After his career in the army our subject returned to Salem, this state, and engaged in farming.

Mr. Heaver was united in marriage in 1866 to Maggie Williams, of Salem, who was born in Ohio, February 13, 1838. She was a woman of many fine characteristics, and after a harmonious wedded life of twenty-six years she was called to her rest in the fall of 1902. Four children were born to our subject and wife as follows: George W. was born February 19, 1870; Louie C. was born September 29, 1874; W'illiam W. was born October i, 1869, died aged seven years; Charles W. was born in 1879.

Mr. Heaver was in Texas for a period of eight years where he made a financial success of his labors, but he returned to this county in 1885. He is now the owner of sixty-five acres of land in Tonti township which he farmed with the greatest results attending his efforts, for he understands well all the details of managing a farm successfully. His fields are well fenced and cleanly kept. Most of the corn the place produces is fed on the farm to various kinds of stock.

In his social relations our subject is a member of the Salem Post, No. 202, Grand Army of the Republic, in which he takes a great interest, as might be expected. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, a regular attendant at the local gatherings of this denomination in which he has long taken a delight. In his political affiliations he is a loyal Democrat, and faithfully served the public as Commissioner of Highways and Road Supervisor. He is regarded by every one who knows him as a man of sound business principles, honest and kind.

Joseph K. Mclaughlin

Our subject is the present Supervisor of Raccoon township where no man is better known or is held in higher respect than he, for his life has been led along honorable lines and he has always had the interest of his county at heart.