Marion County, Illinois - The whole text, 1909 (part 22 of 27)

The subject of this sketch was educated in the home schools and remained a member of the family circle until he was nineteen years old, when he clerked in his brother's store at Cobden, Illinois, where he remained for one year and then went to Chicago, where he was engaged with his brother, George, in the commission business on South Water street for about eight years. He closed up that business and came to Centralia in 1889, and bought his present home. He first put out twenty acres of strawberries the first year and the next year ten acres more and later planted many apple and peach trees. He raises mostly small fruits, apples and Elberta peaches. He has been a fruit grower and dealer at Centralia on an extensive scale for the past twenty years, the firm name being F. P. Miller & Company, fruit dealers and brokers. They buy fruit from Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia and all of the southern states and their trade extends as far north as this county. They are the largest dealers in Illinois and are known throughout the country. Their offices are in the Merchants' State Bank building in Centralia. J. E. Hefter, of Centralia, is a partner in the firm. They are known as "The Fruit Kings." Their business is a credit to this county and

Mr. Miller's happy domestic life began in July 8, 1885, when he was united in marriage with Laura Hoag, a native of Centralia, Illinois, the daughter of Peter and Carolina Hoag, natives of New York. They are both deceased. He was foreman of the blacksmith shop of the Illinois Central Railroad for forty years. Two bright children have added sunshine to the pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs. Miller, namely: Myrtle L., the wife of Robert Goodale, of Centralia, Illinois, where he is a wholesale manufacturer of ice cream. The second child of the subject is named D wight Paul, who is at this writing attending Blees Military Academy at Macon, Missouri. He is a graduate of the Centralia high school.

In his fraternal relations the subject is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Queen City lodge, at Centralia, Illinois; also the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Woodmen. The family attends the Baptist church.

Mr. Miller started in life under none too favorable environment, but being ambitious and a man of industry, rare common sense and foresight, he has always prospered and today is ranked among the progressive and substantial citizens of Marion county, Illinois. He learned much in the way of being a general business man from his father, who was one of the well known men of industry in his day, having conducted a saw and grist-mill which were run by waterpower with an old-style propeller saw. It was located on Mill creek, Union county. He also owned a large maple grove and made maple syrup and sugar.

Matthew S. Wallis

Mr. Wallis, who comes of an old and honored North Carolina family, is now living in retirement in Centralia, Illinois, having spent a life of industry and frugality, which can be vouched for by the neighbors among whom his fifty-two long years in Clinton county were spent. He is one of those whose presense in any gathering is a sure indication of geniality and comradeship.

Our subject was born at Walnut Hill, Marion county, Illinois, on August n, 1833, being the son of John G. and Susanna (Smith) Wallis, both natives of North Carolina. His mother, who was the daughter of Isaac Smith, came in 1825, at the age of twelve years, to Marion county, where her father settled on a farm at Walnut Hill. Here Isaac Smith went to work and spent his life in making improvements upon his land and in the course of time dying there. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, namely: Franklin, Miller, Newton, Lucinda, Bickie, Susanna (the mother of our subject). Jane, Rachael and Pollie. Isaac

Smith married secondly Ruth Janes, a native of North Carolina, who died at Salem. Three children were born to this union: Lena, Ann and Henry H. Our subject's grandfather on the father's side was Matthew Wallis, who married a Miss Cobb, of North Carolina. They lived for many years in North Carolina where his wife died; he died some time afterwards in Texas. They were the parents of eight children : Martin, John G. (our subject's father), Richard, Sylvester, Matthew, Washington, Elizabeth and Salina.

John G. Wallis was educated in the common schools of North Carolina. He came in 1830 to Morgan county, Illinois (near Alton), where he spent one season and then moved to Walnut Hill. Here he taught school and did some farming, having bought a farm two miles west of Walnut Hill, at Grand Prairie, Jefferson county, which comprised one hundred and sixty acres of government land. This he started to improve and lived on the same for twenty years until he moved to Clinton county, Illinois, in 1853, to a spot two miles west of Centralia, where he took a farm of five hundred acres. His wife died on February 22, 1877, and he died in the year 1885. He was through life a staunch Democrat and a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He and his wife were the parents of eight children : Matthew S. (our subject), William M., deceased, who lived in Clinton county, Illinois, and was for a period of four years a member of Company H, of the Eightieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the war ; Elizabeth, who married John C. Smith and lived in Clinton county, Illinois, both now deceased ; Newton W., who is a carpenter by trade, was in Company H, Eightieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which he served four years; he - went to La Butte county, Kansas; John C. was also in Company H, of the Eightieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and also served four years in active service ; he is a farmer in Belmont, Oklahoma ; Silas was in Company E, of the Sixty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which he served five years, having run away as a boy and enlisted; he is a farmer and carpenter and resides five miles east of Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Isaac S. is a farmer in Clinton county, and Joseph who died in infancy.

The subject of our sketch as a boy had little chance to go to school. Whenever he did go, it was to an old log building in which greased paper was used for window glass, and in which the benches were made of split logs. There was an abundance of game in the county at the time and Matthewbecame an expert hunter, killing his first deer at the early age of eleven. He lived with his parents at Walnut Hill until his marriage, which took place on March 17, 1853, when he espoused Sarah Catherine Smith, who was born in Jefferson county, Illinois, one and a half miles southeast of Walnut Hill, and was the daughter of Miller and Polly Wilson (Porter) Smith, both North Carolina folk, who came to Illinois in 1830 and located on Walnut Hill Prairie in Jefferson county, Illinois, where they got one hundred and sixty acres of government land. His wife died and he married a seccnd time, Martha Parkinson, of Jefferson county, Illinois. Miller Smith and his first wife were the parents of nine children : William, who was in the Civil war; John C., now deceased; Samuel, deceased, who was in Company H, Eightieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry; James, who served in the army during the war, is also dead; Clark was in Company H, Eightieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry; Joseph resides in Centerville, Kansas, and was a member of Company E, Sixty-second Regiment; McHenry lives at Woodward, Oklahoma, and was also a member of the Eightieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry (Company H) ; Sarah C is the wife of the subject of our sketch, and Ellen, who married Isaac Dew, is dead. Martha Parkinson was previously married to a Mr. McWilliams and became the mother of two sons, Hugh and Silas, both of whom served in the war and are now dead.

Matthew S. Wallis and his wife were the parents of nine children, five of whom grew up. In order of birth they were: Wesley Washington, who died single at the age of twenty-six; Florence, who married George Berry, lives at Carlyle, Illinois, with her husband and her two children, Murray and Helen L. ; Louretta A. married Samuel P. Boren, of Clinton, Illinois, and has three children, Walter, Hayden and Mabel; Harvey Leander, a carpenter and farmer of Centralia township, married Sallie Borup and has four children, Mathew A., Minnie, Flora and Maude; Helen Lelia married Clarence

D. May, grocer, of Centralia, on January 15, 1890. Her husband, who was born in Centralia October 19, 1871, was the son of Thomas R. and Nancy B. (Kail) May. Thomas R. was a native of Virginia and his wife of Ohio. They came to Centralia in 1 856, where Thomas R. was associated with

E. S. Condit in the grain and lumber business for several years, and in the milling business of May, Johnson & Cunningham. Previously he was associated with Peter Heiss in the same business. While engaged in milling operations he was seized with a paralytic stroke and died in 1885; his wife died in 1885. Thomas R. May was a Mason and his wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church. They had seven children : Jackson, Asbury, Maggie, Albert, Florence, Sumner and Clarence D. Clarence D. was educated at the common schools, after which he engaged in business with W. W. Scott, grocer, for about fifteen years, and later with J. W. Danhour, Courtney Brothers and the Pittenger & Davis Mercantile Company, of Centralia. He was Tax Collector of Centralia for two years and is a Republican voter. In 1908 he started his grocery store at 215 East Fifth street, South. He is a Knight of Pythias, a Redman, an Odd Fellow of the No. 179 Queen City Lodge of Centralia. He and his wife have five children: Albert, Edwin, Ralph and Leslie and Bessie, who are twins.

Matthew S. Wallis and his wife, after their marriage, lived in Clinton county, Illinois, three miles west of Centralia, and here for fifty-two years he carried on a gen- eral farming and fruit growing business. In January, 1905, he moved to Centralia, where he has since lived a life of retirement. He owns two dwellings in Centralia. He is a Republican in politics and was a School Director for over thirty years, also Justice of the Peace four years. He has also held other local offices. He helped to build the Baltimore & Ohio and the Illinois Central railroads. He made the first five hundred ties for the road at Centralia. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They are very popular. On the occasion of their golden wedding celebration some time ago as many as one hundred and three friends attended.

W. B. Goodale was bom in Centralia, Marion county, August 17, 1855, the son of William and Mary (Sherwood) Goodale, who were the parents of five children, four boys and one girl, of whom our subject was the fourth in order of birth. He bears the distinction of being the first white male child born in Centralia. The parents of our subject were Eastern people. They both passed away when our subject was about thirteen years of age. W. B. Goodale received his early education in Centralia. When in his "teens" he went to work for the Illinois Central Railroad Company, learning the machinist's trade, at which he worked, giving entire satisfaction, with this company for a period of fourteen years, at the expiration of which time he had accumulated sufficient money to buy a fruit farm near the city, and for the next fifteen years he applied his skill and industry to raising small fruits of all kinds with great success, when he sold his farm and began the manufacture of ice cream, having purchased an interest in a plant in 1901. At that time the yearly output of the plant was very small, but under the efficient management of our subject the capacity was gradually increased as trade poured in from all sides until now the output is fifteen times greater than formerly.

The plant has been thoroughly remodeled in every way, having all the latest equipment for the business, is thoroughly sanitary and always kept very clean. The product of this well known plant is shipped to over fifty cities and towns throughout Southern Illinois. The cream is bought from Elgin and Chicago markets and the milk is obtained from the dairymen in and about Centralia.

The plant proper is forty by seventy-five feet. All milk and cream is here thoroughly pasteurized by the most complete process. It is the only firm in the city that carries the state inspector's certificate, being up to the standard required by the s'tate. This firm also manufacture all their own ice and cold storage, and recently purchased the factory and equipment of the Mt. Vernon Ice Cream Company.

one of the old English families of Centralia. The wife of the subject is the oldest of three girls in the Wild family. One son has blessed the home of our subject and wife, named Robert W., who is a full partner with his father in business and a young man of great ability and promise of a future replete with happiness and success. Robert W. Goodale married Myrtle Miller on January 9, 1907. She is the only daughter of Frank and Laura (Hoag) Miller, the father of Mrs. Goodale being a prominent fruit grower and commission merchant of Centralia. Robert W. Goodale is regarded by all who know him as a thoroughly modem business man and one of the rising young men of Centralia. His education, natural ability and commendable qualities have well fitted him for an active and thorough business career.

In politics both our subject and his son vote for the character of the man rather than the party, although they are sometimes counted upon as being Democrats, especially in national issues. Religiously they are Baptists. Both father and son are thorough, practical men in every respect. W. B. Goodale in former years was a member of the United Workmen. Robert is a member of the Modern Woodmen lodge at Centralia.

Ben W. Storer

Ben W. Storer, the well known grocer, was born in Centralia, Illinois, July 19, 1868, the son of Samuel and Susan B. (Bates) Storer, and he has taken part in the development of his native village, which he has seen grow to a thriving city. The parents of our subject reared a family of five children, three boys and two girls, of whom Ben W. was the fourth in order of birth.

The subject of this sketch was educated in the Centralia public schools. He first began his business career in a grocery store, working for Barton & Stevenson, with whom he worked for two years, giving entire satisfaction. He then took a position with the R. D. Beaver Grocery Company, remaining in their employ for four years with equal success, when he engaged with Colonel Pittenger in the same business, continuing there for four years, building up an excellent trade, at the expiration of which time he embarked in the grocery business for himself. Having mastered all the details of this special line, his success from the first was assured, as time soon substantiated.

Our subject was united in marriage with Mabel Kerr, of Centralia, the daughter of the late J. N. Kerr, former editor of the Centralia Sentinel and Mayor of the city for several years, our subject's wife being the oldest member of the family. To Mr. and Mrs. Storer two bright and interesting sons have been born, namely: Wilson Bates and Ben Wade. Jr., both now in school. Our subject is a member of Helmet Lodge,

In 1892 our subject began business at 114 East Broadway, having here launched successfully a grocery store, which steadily grew in its volume of business, until now his store is known throughout the community, his trade extending all over the city and to all parts of the county. He has a neat, up-todate store and carries a full line of fancy groceries, canned goods, fruits and vegetables of all kinds in season. He employs eight clerks and runs three wagons. His trade is very largely among the best class of people of Centralia, where he is known to all classes as a man of honest principles.

Robert Rohl

Conspicuous among the representative citizens and progressive business men of Marion county, Illinois, is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this article, who has by his great industry, wise economy and sound judgment developed a good business.

Robert Rohl was born in Marquette, Michigan, January 14, 1856, the son of Carl and Caroline (Weiland) Rohl, both natives of Germany, the father having come from Prussia and the mother from Wurtemburg. They both came to America when young and were married in Marquette, Michigan. They were the parents of nine

Robert Rohl's early life was spent in Marquette, Michigan, where he acquired his education. While yet a boy he began clerking in a hardware store, where he gave entire satisfaction to his employer for three years. He afterward worked at odd jobs, such as carrying hod, stone and brick mason work, mixed mortar and did general, all-around work on brick, stone and frame building construction. After two years of this kind of hustling he went to Minnesota, where he worked on a farm for five years in the summer and during the winter months cut cordwood and sold pumps. Then he returned to Marquette, Michigan, and went to work in the powder mills, making black powder, having worked there for one year, at the end of which time he and his younger brother, August, conducted a beer bottling plant in that city, which they successfully conducted for six months, when our subject bought August's interests in the business and continued it for four years from 1881 to 1886. While in this business he added soda water, bottling and supply trade to his already large business. He then sold his business in Marquette and came to Centralia and began in the same business, where he bought out Mr. Hayes in 1886, and has since continued with marked success, his busness being located at 1 1 7 North Oak street. He paid fifteen hundred dollars for the plant and has so increased the trade and the value of the plant until it is now worth several times that amount. His goods are shipped to the whole surrounding country, throughout Southern Illinois, and new territory is constantly being added, for the superior quality of his goods is recognized by all, and new customers are constantly coming to him. Mr. Rohl now carries about thirty towns on his shipping list and does a general carbonated soda water, ginger ale and all sorts of temperance drink business, also wholesale and retail, for beers, bar supplies and soda water fountains.

Our subject was married to Anna Stabler in May, 1881, and four children have been born to this union, namely: Thersa, Anna, Caroline and Robert, Jr. Anna married George F. Hails, of Centralia, a switchman on the Illinois Central Railroad.

In politics our subject is a Republican, and religiously he was reared a Protestant. He has always taken a great interest in local political affairs and his political friends honored him by electing him Mayor of Centralia, his term extending from 1901 to 1903. He was Alderman of the Fourth Ward for two terms. During his incumbency in these positions the city was carefully looked after and many public interests promulgated, so that his record was one of which anyone might well be proud.

Mr. Rohl in his fraternal relations is a member of Helmet lodge, Knights of Pythias, also the Red Men and Pocahontas. He belongs to the Turners, also the United Commercial Travelers. He is a member of the Travelers' Protective Association, and was secretary and treasurer for four years of the United Commercial Travelers. He was chosen president of the Illinois State Bottlers' Protective Association for two years. He was a state delegate to the convention of the National Bottlers' Protective Association, held in Denver in 1907.

The subject's father is still living at Marquette, Michigan, at the age of eighty-two years. His step-mother is also living at the same age. Our subject's mother died when forty years old. Grandfather Rohl died in Germany at the advanced age of ninety-six years, and his maternal grandfather died at the age of seventy-eight years.

George W. Sisson

The great Empire state has sent many men of worth and sterling mettle into the Middle West, who have done much to foster its development, of which number the subject of this sketch is a worthy example, having been born in Dunkirk, New York, April 21, 1835, in Chautauqua county, the son of John and Amanda (Waite) Sisson, the former a native of Eastern New York and the latter of Chenango county, that state. They went to Dunkirk in 1812. He was a teamster and farmer and he lived there until his death in 1883, at the age of eighty-three years. His wife, who also reached the same age, died in 1884. Seven children were born to them, namely: Louisa, deceased; Henry Alfred; Susan Jane, Daniel W., John W., George W. and Edward K.

one who came to Illinois. He was educated in the common schools and he lived under his parental roof until he was twenty years of age. He learned the carpenter's and builder's trade at Dunkirk, New York. In 1855 he went to Strawberry Point, Clayton county, Iowa, and in 1864 he came to Centralia, Illinois, and started to work at his trade, and has been a contractor and builder ever since. He has built more houses in Centralia than any other one man and he has always been regarded as a first class workman and his jobs are always satisfactory when finished, for he does his work well and conscientiously.

Mr. Sisson was married in April, 1859, to Mary E. Herrin, of Clayton county, Iowa. She was the daughter of John and Catherine (Trersbach) Herrin, both natives of Berwick, Pennsylvania. They came west in 1834 and located in Jefferson county, Indiana. He was a carpenter by trade, and in 1854 he went to Clayton county, Iowa, and in 1863 came to Centralia, Illinois, where he worked in the Illinois Central shops as a carpenter. He died in 1884 and his wife died in 1891. Six children were born to them as follows: Rachael. who lives at Cedro-Wooley, Washington ; Jane also lives in the state of Washington ; Mary is the subject's wife: Sarah is living in Washington; Samuel lives in Tacoma, Washington ; Morris lives in Davenport, Iowa.

Mr. and Mrs. Sisson were the parents of eight children, two of whom are now deceased, named as follows : Harry E., of Centralia, is foreman of the Illinois Central shops. He married Mary Baldridge and four children have been born to them, Grace, Bessie, Ray and Ralph. The third in order of birth was Nora, who is the wife of William Wisher, of Springfield, Illinois, and the mother of these children : Clarence, Orville (deceased), Percy, Florence, Gladys, Claude, Rollie and Ray. Fred married first Norma Huddleston and second Elizabeth Rury. He is a painter at Belleville, Illinois, and the following children were born to him by his first wife: Mary, Harry and Clyde, and he has one son, Walter, by his second wife. Myrtle, the sixth child of the subject, married Perry L. Walker, of Centralia, an engineer on the Illinois Central, and they have the following children : Oren, Helen and Zora. Maude is the wife of Henry Taake. of Centralia, and they have two children. Howard and Herbert. Jennie married William W. Huddleston, of Centralia, and they have one child, Iva May.

Mr. Sisson, our subject, was Alderman of Centralia in 1870 and 1871, and he filled an unexpired term as Mayor, during which time he faithfully served this community. He is a loyal Democrat and has always taken a great deal of interest in political affairs. He is a member of the Carpenters' Union, of Centralia, and he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church here. He was a charter member of the Knights of Pythias of Centralia. No man in this city is better known than Mr. Sisson and no one is held in higher favor in both business and social circles, for his life has been one of integrity and honor.

Hon. D. W. Holstlaw

Few names in Marion county are as widely known and as highly honored as the one which appears at the head of this review. For many years as a farmer, banker and prominent business man, D. W. Holstlaw has ranked and also occupies a conspicuous place in business and state. On both sides of his family Mr. Holstlaw springs from sturdy antecedents and he has every reason to be proud of his forbears. His father, Daniel S. Holstlaw, was a stock dealer and farmer, being a native of Kentucky and widely known and highly esteemed citizen. He became a resident of this county about 1830, settling in Stevenson township, where in due time he accumulated a large and valuable estate and achieved much more than local reputation as breeder and dealer in live stock, besides attaining an honorable standing as a public spirited citizen and enterprising man of affairs. Daniel S. Hoistlaw did much to promote the material progress of the section of country in which he lived, and was equally interested in the social and moral advancement of the community, doing all within his power to benefit his neighbors and fellow citizens, and leaving to them the memory of a useful life and an honorable name when called from the scenes of his labors and triumphs on the fifth day of December, 1905. The maiden name of Mrs. Daniel Holstlaw was Ruth Wade Middleton. She was born in Tennessee and is still living on the old family homestead in Stevenson township, where.

surrounded by relatives and friends, she is passing the evening of a well spent life with nothing in the future to fear or in the past to regret. The family of this estimable couple consisted of eleven children, all of whom are living. A more extended mention of this family will be found upon another page of this volume.

Daniel W. Holstlaw was born February 5, 1849, at the family home in Stevenson township, and there spent the years of his childhood and youth, learning at an early age the lessons of industry, economy and self-reliance, which had much to do in forming a well rounded character and fitting him for the subsequent duties of life. When old enough to be of service he helped with the labors of the field and in due time became a valuable assistant to his father in the latter's live stock interests and other business, proving faithful to his various duties and worthy of the trust reposed in his integrity and 'honor. Meanwhile as opportunities permitted he attended the common schools of the neighborhood, but by reason of his services being required at home his education was somewhat limited. In after years, however, he made up very largely for this deficiency by a wide range of reading and careful observation, but more especially by his relations with his fellow men in various business capacities, thus becoming the possessor of a fund of valuable practical knowledge, which could not have been obtained from schools or colleges.

farm and otherwise looking after his parents, but in the year 1870 he severed his home ties to accept a clerkship in a mercantile house in the town of luka. After serving in the capacity of clerk until becoming an efficient salesman and acquiring a knowledge of the business he formed a partnership with James W. Humphries, and during the two years ensuing the firm conducted a thriving trade and forged rapidly to the front, among the leading merchants of the town. At the expiration of the period noted Mr. Holstlaw purchased his partner's interest and adding very materially to the stock, soon built up a large and lucrative patronage, and it was not long until he became one of the most successful business men of the county, a reputation he sustained during the thirty odd years which he devoted to mercantile life. Meantime he saw a favorable opening at luka for the banking business, and in compliance with the suggestions of many of his fellow townsmen and others as well as consulting his own inclinations, he finally established a bank in his store, which soon formed a valuable adjunct to the business interests of the town and surrounding country. After conducting the two lines of business jointly until 1907, he disposed of his mercantile interests, and since that time has devoted his entire attention to banking, establishing in luka the Holstlaw Bank, which is now one of the most successful and popular institutions of the kind, not only in Marion county, but in the southern part of the state. The growth of the bank in public favor has more than met the high expectations of Mr. Holstlaw and others interested in its success, the patronage, which takes a wide range, being liberal, but all that could reasonably be desired, and the solidity of the institution beyond the shadow of a doubt.

As the executive head and practical manager of the bank, Mr. Holstlaw exemplifies the sound judgment, wise discretion and rare foresight which have ever characterized his business dealing, while his familiarity with financial matters enables him to conduct the institution in the broad though wisely conservative spirit which bespeaks its continuous growth and solidity. The bank building is an elegant modern structure, erected especially adapted for the purpose and amply equipped with all the appliances necessary to the successful prosecution of the business, the safe, furniture and other fixtures being of the latest and most approved patterns and calculated to satisfy the taste of the most critical and exacting. Mr. Holstlaw is also a stockholder and director of the Salem National Bank and also the bank at St. Peter.

In addition to his long and eminently sue- ' cessful career in business, Mr. Holstlaw has for many years been one of the leading politicians of Marion county, his activity in political circles, however, being by no means confined to local affairs, but state wide in its influence. He is firm and unchanging in his allegiance to Democratic principles and mid all vicissitudes in which the party has been subject during the last two decades, he has never wavered in his loyalty, nor when necessarv hesitated to make sacrifices for its success. Judicious in counsel and an untiring worker, he has been a standard bearer in a number of campaigns and it was not until recently that he consented to serve his party in a public capacity, although frequently importuned and solicited by his many friends to accept the offices for which by native training he is eminently fitted. In the year 1908 he was elected to the upper house of the General Assembly, and although but fairly entering upon his official duties he has already made his influence felt among his brother Senators, and bids fair to render his constituency and the state valuable service and earn an honorable record among the distinguished legislators of the commonwealth.

On January 3, 1875, Mr. Holstlaw and Clara R. Stevenson were united in the holy bonds of wedlock, a union blessed with two children, the older a son, Herschel D.. and the younger a daughter, who answers to the name of Florence E.

Herschel D. Holstlaw, whose birth occurred on December 20. 1875, was educated in the home schools and Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, and since beginning life for himself has been associated with his father, being at this time cashier of the Holstlaw Bank and a man of fine business ability. He was married October 3, 1900, to Louise Tully, of Xenia, Illinois, whose parents, Joseph E. and Fannie (Paine) Tully, still live in that town, the father being a banker and merchant, and one of the oldest of three children. Mrs. Holstlaw is the oldest of three children born to these parents, her two brothers, Joseph M. and William Paine Tully, being residents of Xenia, and associated with their father in merchandising and banking. Florence E., the subject's second child, married Albert E. Kelly, of North Vernon, Indiana, but now a resident of luka, Illinois, where he is engaged in the mercantile trade at the old Holstlaw stand.

Mr. Holstlaw's activity in business together with his superior methods and honorable dealing has resulted greatly to his financial advantage and he is now one of the wealthy and reliable men of Marion county, being in independent circumstances, with more than a sufficiency of this world's goods to render his future free from care and anxiety. Additional to his mercantile, banking and other interests at luka, he owns several valuable farms in various parts of the county and is also quite extensively interested in live stock, being one of the largest breeders and raisers of fine cattle in this part of the state, these and his other holdings indicating the energy and capacity of a mind peculiarly endowed for large and important enterprises.

Clara R. Stevenson, who became the wife of Hon. D. W. Holstlaw, as stated in a preceding paragraph, is a native of Stevenson township and a daughter of Hon. Samuel E. Stevenson, in whose honor the township was named. Mr. Stevenson was born in Ohio August 9. 1819, and his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Kagy. was also a native of Ohio. The Stevensons were among the pioneer settlers of Fairfield coun- ty, Oliio, and it was there that Samuel E. spent his youth, beginning to earn his own living at the early age of six years. Later he received eight dollars per month for his services as a farm laborer, and by industry and strict economy succeeded in saving in four years the sum of one hundred dollars, his expenses for clothing during that time amounting to only forty dollars. Going on horseback to Illinois, he invested his savings in cattle, which he drove to Ohio and sold at a liberal profit, the venture proving so successful that he decided to continue the business. During the several years following he made a number of trips to and from Illinois , buying cattle and disposing of them at handsome figures, and in this way laid the foundation of what subsequently became an ample fortune. After his marriage to Miss Kagy, which took place in Marion county, Illinois, in 1848, he located in what is now Stevenson township, where he entered a large tract of land and engaged in farming and stock raising, devoting especial attention to the breeding of cattle, in which lie met with the most gratifying success. Later he became interested in public affairs and in due time rose to a position of considerable influence among his fellow citizens, who in recognition of valuable political services elected him in 1866 to the lower house of the Legislature.

Mr. Stevenson was one of the leading Democrats of his day in Marion county and achieved a wide reputation throughout the state as an able and adroit politician. He filled worthily a number of positions of honor and trust, won the esteem of the people irrespective of party alignment and became one of the most popular men of his time in Southern Illinois. In connection with farming and stock raising he held large interests in the Sandoval coal mines and was also a heavy stockholder in the Salem National Bank and appeared to succeed in all of the enterprises to which he devoted his attention. He not only gave his children the best educational advantages the country afforded, but also provided liberally for their material welfare by giving each a good start when they left home to begin life for themselves. He was long a sincere member of the Baptist church, as was also his wife, and spared no pains in instructing his children in the truths of religion and the necessity of moral conduct as the only basis of a true and successful life. Mrs. Stevenson died in 1876 and her husband in the year 1899, the loss of both being greatly deplored and profoundly mourned by their many friends in Marion and other counties of Southern Illinois.

The children of Samuel E. and Elizabeth Stevenson, nine in number, were as follows: Clara B., wife of Hon. D. W. Holstlaw: Marion T., a fanner and stock dealer of Marion county; Joanna,, widow of the late Aaron Warner, of Stevenson township, where she now resides; Edgar, for some years one of the leading teachers of Marion county and a young man of noble aims and high ideals, who departed this life November, 1878, in the prime of his physical and mental powers. He began school work at the age of eighteen, soon attained an honorable standing as an educator, and at the time of his death was considered one of the finest and most accomplished instructors in this part of the state. Homer R.. the fifth in order of birth, married Clara Humphries and devotes his attention to farming, in which his success has been very gratifying. Van C., who married Ella Brunton, lives on the old family homestead and is also a successful tiller of the soil; Frank M., the seventh of the family, was graduated from Illinois College in 1886, and the year following was killed by lightning. He, too, was a young man of intelligence and culture and his untimely death terminated what promised to be a useful and honorable career. Anna, who married Frank Boynton, of Salem, is deceased, and Maggie, the youngest of the family, is the wife of W. E. Irvin, and lives in Salem.

Thomas M. Lane

The honorable gentleman whose name appears above is entitled to wear the badge indicating that he is one of the brave "boys in blue," and while some casual thinker might not attach much importance to this fact, those who rightly consider the matter know that no greater badge of honor could be conferred upon a man.

The early education of the subject of this sketch was gained in Washington county, Iowa, where he was reared on a farm and labored hard as a boy and young man until 1 86 1, when on June I5th of that year, being unable to resist the call of his government for help in its hour of need, he enlisted in the Tenth Iowa Infantry, under Colonel Parsell, of Keokuk, Iowa, and was mustered into the service of the United States September 28, 1861. He was in Company D, under Captain Berry, of Boone county. Iowa. He remained with this company until 1863, taking part in all its engagements, when he re-enlisted at Huntsville, Alabama, and was transferred to Company E of the same regiment as a veteran, April i. 1864, by Captain York, under Captain Shepherd and Colonel Strong. Our subject made a most gallant soldier, having fought in twenty-eight battles and skirmishes. He was discharged August 15, 1865, at Little Rock, Arkansas, by Adjt. Gen. N. B. Baker.

After the war Mr. Lane returned to Washington county, Iowa, where he remained for two years and devoted his time to farming. He then turned his attention to railroading in 1867, in the fall of that year beginning work on the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad at East St. Louis. From there he went to North Missouri, where he was employed on the Wabash Railroad for two years. He then went to the Rock Island Railroad, run- ning as a brakeman from Davenport to Des Moines. He was also switchman and finally conductor for the Hannibal Railroad, from St. Joseph to Hannibal, Missouri. He then went to the Missouri Pacific Railroad, running from St. Louis to Chamoise, Missouri. Mr. Lane then was employed by the C. B. & U. P., a branch of the Missouri Pacific Railroad : later he went to the Illinois Cental Railroad as yard crew conductor, which position he held for eight years in the East St. Louis yards. While thus employed our subject had the misfortune to lose his right hand on October 14, 1897. When he recovered from this injury he was placed on the detective force of this road, in which capacity he remained until 1900. when he resigned and came to Clinton county, where he bought a fruit farm, which business he followed for two years, when he sold out and came to Centralia, where, on February 19. 1902, he formed a partnership and launched in the real estate business, later purchasing his partner's interest and became sole manager of the "Home Real Estate Company," of Centralia, and he now enjoys a good, thriving business.

Mr. Lane became widely known during his railroading days, giving the various companies for which he worked entire satisfaction, being regarded by them as one of the most trusted and efficient employes, always at his post and conscientious in his work, so that he was always highly recommended for his services. He enjoys the full confidence of his numerous friends. His long and wide experience in army and railroad life has made him a reader of men and a most appreciative neighbor. He votes the Republican ticket, having first voted for Abraham Lincoln at Savannah, Georgia. He was reared by pious Methodist parents. Our subject is unassuming and open hearted and honest to the core.

All honor should be due the men who turn the ideal into the practical, inaugurate such conditions and crystalize into the probable and actual what appear to be wild flights of fancy and imagination. It is of such a man that the biographer here essays to write.

F. H. Bauer, the well known proprietor of the Centralia Steam Laundry, one of the busiest places in the city, was born in Marion county, Illinois, September u, 1866, the son of Fred and Amelia (Ruple) Bauer, in whose family there were two sons, our subject being the older.

Mr. Bauer was educated in the Centralia public schools and the high school. Being ambitious to receive a business education he attended the night schools in St. Louis, Missouri, where he made a splendid record. He began his life work when eighteen years old by entering the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad. He worked for some time as fireman and was later promoted to locomotive engineer, and for a period of twelve years gave entire satisfaction in whatever capacity he served, and being regarded by the

After his railroad experience he turned his attention to mining in the Joplin (Missouri) zinc and lead mine district, where he remained one year, after which he returned to Centralia, Illinois, and took the occupation of tonsorial artist, which he pursued with marked success for a period of four years, at the expiration of which time he purchased the laundry plant originally known as Ormsby & Ormsby laundry, having been started in 1880. H. C. Watts bought the Ormsby plant and run it for several years, when his interests were purchased by the enterprising and hustling subject of this sketch. Mr. Bauer at once proceeded to re- -model the plant throughout, replacing the old worn-out machinery with latest models and most up-to-date equipment in every respect. He also rebuilt the engine in every part. Outside of the large cities this is one of the oldest laundries in the state and none turns out better work, for the plant is equipped with the best machinery obtainable and only expert employes are to be found Tiere. Useless to say that with such an enterprising man at the head of this old established institution that it at once assumed new life and his success was instantaneous, "his patronage having steadily increased from the first. When he first assumed charge the total income of the plant was only sixty-five dollars per week. Mr. Bauer has increased this to two hundred dollars per week. In 1901 this plant employed only three girls; now thirteen are constantly employed. The main room of this plant is one hundred and forty feet long by twenty-four feet wide and the capacity is now over-crowded. Work is done in this laundry for all surrounding towns as far east as Wayne City and as far north as Kinmundy, west to Evansville, Illinois, and south to Herrin. They do hotel, barber shop and family washings for more than one hundred and fifty patrons per week.

The domestic life of Mr. Bauer dates from October 30, 1891, when he was united in the bonds of wedlock with Louise Jones, the daughter of a well known family, and to this union one child has been born, Wendell A., whose date of birth occurred February 20, 1901.

Our subject was reared a German Lutheran. He is an ardent Democrat in his political beliefs. He holds membership in the following orders in Centralia : Masons, Blue Lodge No. 201; Chapter No. 93; Council No. 28; Knights Templar No. 26; Knights of Pythias No. 26; Pythian Sisters, Lotus Temple No. 8; Odd Fellows No. 179; Encampment No. 75. He is also a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers No. 37. Mr. Bauer takes a great interest in lodge work.

Burden Pullen

assigned to the one at hand, and it is a pleasure to enter this review of his upright and successful career, for he has ever been faithful in the performance of whatever duty he found to be his, without thought of reward or praise from his fellow men.

Burden Pullen was bom in Mercer county, New Jersey, June 8, 1833, the son of James B. and Sarah (McCabe) Pullen. Grandfather Pullen, who was of English descent, lived in New Jersey and died at the advanced age of ninety-eight years. He devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and reared to maturity a family of nine children. His noble life companion was a faithful member of the church. Grandfather Mc- Cabe, who was of Scotch-Irish blood, lived on a farm, and both he and his wife lived to advanced ages, rearing a large famliy. The father of the subject was reared in New Jersey, and being poor, his parents could not give him the school advantages that he desired. However, he made the best use possible of what he had, and after leaving school learned the cooper's trade, although he never worked at it to any extent. He left New Jersey in 1839 and settled in Middletown, Ohio, going into the fruit and nursery business and developing into a well known and prominent horticulturist, the study of which he had begun before leaving New Jersey, and devoted his life to that business with pronounced success. He died at the age of sixty-five years, having been survived by a widow until she reached eighty-six. They were members of the Baptist church and their family consisted of nine children.

sketch was obtained in the district schools of Ohio, where he diligently applied himself. Desiring to receive a higher education, he later entered Franklin College in Indiana, but on account of sickness was obliged to leave before finishing the course he had hoped to take. He worked on his father's fruit farm and was with him as an associate in the business until 1856, when he came to Centralia, Illinois, then being twenty-three years old. He opened a nursery, becoming a horticulturist of more than local note. He bought the place where he now resides in 1857. The place consisted of seventy acres and all of it was used as a nursery and fruit farm. Much of his land is now laid out in city lots and has been sold. He closed the nursery branch and gradually worked all into the horticulture line, which he made a great success.

Mr. Pullen's happy married life dates from December 10, 1857, when he was united in the bonds of wedlock with Lucille O. Gex, a native of Kentucky. Her ancestry was of French descent. Her grandparents on the mother's side were named Price. They were from England and her grandfather was a Baptist minister. Her father was an educated man, a linguist. He was a planter in Kentucky and a slave holder.

Nine children have been born to the subject and wife, named in order of birth as follows: Lucian C. is married and the father of four children : Rena is the wife of E. S. Condit and the mother of two children : Maud, who was the wife of Dr. George Abbott, is deceased; Blanche is also deceased; May is the wife of Charles P. Marshall and the mother of two children; Fred is married and has one child ; Rome B. is the seventh child and Bird G. the eighth, the latter married and has two children; Lillie is the youngest and the wife of Raymond A. Beck and the mother of one child.

The subject's first wife died in 1891, and he was again married September 13, in 1893, to Mrs. Anna E. Russell, of Clinton county, Illinois.

Our subject is one of the original organizers of the local First Baptist church, of Centralia, and is the only living member of the original organization. In politics he was originally a Whig, then a Republican, but in late years a Democrat. He was a member of the State Board of Agriculture, having been vice-president of the same for twenty years. He was one of the Commissioners appointed by the Governor to take charge of the Illinois exhibit at the World's Fair in 1893 at Chicago, and was chairman of the Committee on Horticulture and Floriculture. He spent two years in this work, having charge of and preparing the grounds and buildings for this display. He was for some time Trustee of the University of Illinois, by appointment of Governor Oglesby, having been Chairman of the Committee on Grounds. He was also Auditor of the State Board of Agriculture, having had charge of the purchasing department and a number of other departments. He has had charge of some one of these departments for the past twenty years.

Mr. Pullen, besides having been a very busy man in this line, has also had other business of much importance. He assisted in the organization of the Merchants' State Bank of Centralia and was its first president, having faithfully performed the duties of this exacting position for a period of six years, and withdrew on account of physical disability. E. S. Condit, a grandson of the subject, is now assistant cashier of this bank. Mr. Pullen was one of the organizers of the Centralia Ice and Cold Storage Company, and has been its president ever since it was first organized. His son, Fred, is secretary and business manager of the same and has ably filled this position since 1898.

Mr. Pullen has long taken an active interest in public affairs and he has served creditably as School Trustee and Director, also Township Supervisor. He was active in the District Fair Association and was the first president of the same, having been chosen by acclamation, and it was largely due to his efficient efforts that the success of the fair was due. Whatever of success has been attained by our subject is due entirely to his own industry, energy and ability. From small beginnings he gradually, by the most honorable methods, attained a prominence in his county which entitles him to be regarded as one of its leading citizens, his reputation being that of a man of business integrity, and his modem home is often the gathering place for numerous friends of himself and family.

There can be no greater honor than to serve one's country honestly and conscientiously in any capacity, but when the nation's integrity is at stake and it becomes necessary for the citizen soldiery to leave plow and workshop and go into the conflict, risking limb and life, it is a much greater sacrifice and the honor attached thereto is higher than almost any other known to man. Of this worthy class belongs the subject of this sketch, a veteran of the war between the states, who has long led an active and useful life in Marion county.

Levi Branch was born in Meigs county, Ohio, January 3, 1843, tne son °f Samuel S. and Elizabeth ( Smith) Branch, the former a native of Vermont, of hardy New England stock, having been born there December 27, 1 80 1. He was a fanner and also a Baptist preacher. Grandfather Stephen Branch moved to Ohio when Samuel was an infant of twelve months. There were three boys and one girl in their family. He died January 29, 1862. Elizabeth Smith, mother of the subject, was born in Pennsylvania August 4, 1806. Samuel S. Branch and wife were the parents of seven children, four boys and three girls, of whom Levi, our subject, is the sixth child in order of birth. He was the son of Samuel S. Branch's third wife. There was one son by his first wife and one daughter by his second wife. A half brother of the subject was also in the Union army and five of the Branch brothers were in the Civil war, all of whom returned home after their enlistments had expired. Levi Branch enlisted at Springfield, Illinois, and he left Wayne county April 27, 1863, being a member of Company M, Fifth Illinois Cavalry, under Colonel McConnell and Capt. R. N. Jessup. His first active service was in a skirmish in Missouri and he was captured near Collinsville, Tennessee, where he and three of his comrades were held for twentyfour hours and were then sent to Memphis on fictitious parole given by the colonel in the saddle. He was discharged at Springfield October 27, 1865, after having made an excellent record as a soldier, returning to Wayne county and took up farming after the war.

Mr. Branch was married to Clarinda Phillips January 3, 1864, and to this union six children have been bom, all deceased. The oldest daughter, Ida E., who was a graduate of the Centralia high school, died when twenty-four years of age. The other children died in infancy.

Clarinda Phillips, the daughter of John and Harriett Phillips, of Wayne county, Illinois, is the third child in a family of five children, all girls. Mr. and Mrs. Branch moved from Wayne county to Austin, Minesota, in 1876, where they remained one year, then came to Rice county, Kansas, where they remained for fifteen years, and in 1892 moved to Centralia, where Mr. Branch followed the carpenter's trade, having done considerable contracting also in this city. He has always been known as a very able workman, his services being satisfactory to all concerned, for he is conscientious and painstaking.

but he is a great admirer of William J. Bryan, for whom he voted three times. In religion he adheres to the Baptist faith, in which he was reared, but he joined the Christian church, and is a faithful attendant of the same. He is known to be a man of uprightness and honest in all his dealings with his fellow men, and he has won many friends since coming to Centralia, where he has been very successful in his line of business.

John A. Snodgrass

The gentleman whose name initiates this sketch has shown by a long life of industry and honesty that he is entitled to a place in the history of Marion county. John A. Snodgrass was born August 28, 1836, in Scott county, Indiana, the son of Samuel Snodgrass, a native of Kentucky, who was born in 1800 and who married Mira Hardy, of New Hampshire. He lived in Kentucky until 1818, when he went to Jefferson county, Indiana, with his father, Hugh, where he lived until his death in 1850. He was a farmer and a member of the Christian church, also a temperance worker and a member of the Sons of Temperance. His wife died in 1851. Seven children were born to them, namely : Norma, deceased ; Marion, who died in Pilot Knob, Missouri, in 1863, was a soldier in the Union army; Tirzah is single and always lived with the subject; Mary married Solomon Cutshall, a farmer at Patoka, Illinois; John, subject of this sketch; Alonzo, a plasterer in Oklahoma, was in Company H, Twenty-second Illinois Infantry, for two years, later re-enlisting; Lambert, who is deceased, lived with the subject in Centralia.

John A. Snodgrass received a limited education in the subscription schools of the early days. He lived at home, assisting with the work about the place, until the President's call for loyal citizens to aid in suppressing the rebellion induced him to enter the conflict, having enlisted in September, 1862, in Company H, Twenty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry at Lexington, Indiana. He was sent to Kentucky and Tennessee, and was in the engagements at Perryville, Lancaster, Nolansville and Murfreesboro, having fought seven days at Stone River. He was taken sick after that battle and was in the field hospital, later sent to Nashville, still later to Louisville, suffering with rheumatism and fever, becoming so sick that he was given up by the physicians to die. He was discharged from the army for disability, October 20, 1863, after which he returned home, where he remained until the spring of 1 866, when he came to Illinois and located one mile west of Central City on a farm. He then came to Centralia township, where he remained three years, moving one and one-half miles south of Centralia, where he has remained for the past twenty-six years. He bought a home and three lots in Centralia, and in 1900 purchased his present splendid home at 1301 South Locust street. He has farmed, made brick and teamed, making a success at each. He retired in 1906.

Mary Crawford, of Centralia, the daughter of Zachariah Crawford, of Kentucky, who in 1840 came to Illinois, locating two miles west of Centralia. He was a blacksmith and also owned a good farm. The subject's wife passed away in 1870. Mr. Snodgrass has one daughter, Lulu, who is the wife of Charles Phillips, of Centralia. He is now engaged in the round house of the Illinois Central Railroad. Our subject has reared two of his brother's children, John and Lizzie Snodgrass.

Mr. Snodgrass is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the post at Centralia, and his sister is a member of the Christian church. Our subject is a fine old man whom everybody likes and everybody respects and honors for his life of industry and loyalty to high principles.

Thomas F. Meagher

The subject of this sketch is one of the well known men of Centralia, and his residence in Marion county has shown him to be a man of business ability and honesty of purpose so that he has won the confidence of those with whom he has come in contact.

Thomas F. Meagher was born December 23, 1848, in Toronto, Canada, the son of James W. and Anna (Ryan) Meagher, the former a native of the county of Tipperary, Ireland, as was also his wife, where they grew up and married. He was a carpenter bv trade and he came to Toronto, Canada, in 1842, and in 1865 he moved with his family to Chicago, where he worked at his trade until his death in 1869, his widow having survived until 1892. They were members of the Catholic church and they were the parents of the following children; Joseph P., who was in the United States navy during the rebellion and later a policeman and butcher in Chicago; Thomas F., our subject; Harry is a painter and foreman in the Denver & Rio Grand Railroad shops in Colorado City, Colorado. He was quartermaster in the army for five years under General Miles. Maria is the widow of Samuel Paling and lives in Chicago; Margaret is the widow of Jerome P. Merrill, of Chicago.

Our subject went to the common schools and later educated himself. He and his brother Joseph went in the fall of 1864 to Chicago and followed the lakes for five years steamboating, and he was for three years in the wholesale house of J. W. Doane & Co., of Chicago. After this he went into the land office of the Illinois Central Railroad in Chicago. During the great fire of October 8 and 9, 1871, he saved all the land records and books of this company. After the fire the office was moved to Centralia and the subject came here to look after the business. He continued in the land office and also traveled all over the country for this road as traveling land agent, selling land and collecting and looking after their interests in general. In 1882 he was appointed Deputy Revenue Collector of the Thirteenth United States District of Illinois for one term. After this he returned to the employ of the Illinois Central, with which he remained until 1884. He was regarded by this company as one of the most trusted and indispensable employes.

Mr. Meagher was united in marriage November 3, 1872, with Mary A. Lawler, who was born in Chicago, the daughter of Michael and Johanna (Phelan) Meagher, both natives of Tipperary county, Ireland. They came singly when young people to America and settled in Chicago when the country thereabout was a wilderness. He was a gardener by trade and also teamed extensively. He helped lay out the famous Lincoln park of that city, putting out trees, etc. He died in 1893 and his wife died in 1898. Their children were: Mary A., the subject's wife; John, who is with J. W. Reedy Elevator Company in Chicago; Edward is a street car conductor in Rochester, New York ; William is shipping clerk for a candy manufacturing firm in Chicago ; Margaret is single and living in Chicago ; Theresa is single and operating a hair dressing establishment at 92 State street, Chicago; Sarah is the wife of J. W. Reedy, of Chicago.

Ten children have been born to the subject and wife, as follows : Frank J. is single and living at home, clerking in the offices of the Chicago. Burlington & Quincy Railroad in Centralia ; Margaret is saleslady at Marshall Field's & Co., Chicago. ; Mary is saleslady at Hartman's Dry Goods Company, Centralia; Thomas T. is a machinist on the Big Four Railroad at Mattoon, Illinois: James W. is a cigarmaker in Naples, New York;

Henry Edward is foreman of The Democrat office in Centralia; Charles A., who died at the age of twenty-one years, was clerk for the Illinois Central Railroad at Chicago, also in Centralia, having died February 25, 1905 ; Frederick D. is a machinist in Danville, Illinois, for the Illinois Central Railroad Company; Anastacia is bookkeeper at Marshall Field's & Co., Chicago; Richard T. is a boilermaker in the Illinois Central shops at Centralia.

In 1884 the subject was elected Circuit Clerk and County Recorder of Marion county, serving with much credit for a period of four years. He has always been active in politics and is a loyal Democrat. He is not a member of any church. He has made a success of his life work, for he has been a very industrious man and possesses rare business acumen.

John Woods

The venerable and highly honored citizen of Centralia whose name appears above has through a long life of industry and fidelity to duty shown that he is worthy of a place in the history of Marion county along with his fellow citizens of worth. John Woods, a retired farmer, was born in Tennessee, December 29, 1827, the son of Willis and Mary (Willis) Woods, both natives of North Carolina, who went to Tennessee in an early day, and in 1828 came to Marion county, Illinois, settling south of Odin, taking up a claim, later locating near Kinmundy, Illinois, just northwest of Centralia. He died in 1859 and his wife is also deceased. He was twice married, his last wife being Nellie Berge, of Connecticut. She is deceased. The father of the subject was always a farmer, a man well known and highly respected, a Democrat, but never aspired for office. He and his wife were members of the Christian church. Six children were born to them as follows: Louisa, deceased; John, our subject; William, deceased; Mary, deceased; Green, deceased ; the youngest child died in infancy.

Mr. Woods had little chance to attend school, having lived at home until he was twenty years of age and assisted with the work about the place, attending subscription school' a few months in the winter. He was married March n. 1847, to Catherine McClelland, who was born in April, 1831, in Centralia township, the daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Welsh) McClelland, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Tennessee. He came to Illinois in 1820, settling near Walnut Hill, Marion county, later coming to Romine Prairie and then to Centralia township, north of Centralia in Sandoval township. He secured seven hundred acres of land. He engaged extensively in farming and stock raising and became a prominent man in his locality. He held many local offices and spent the latter part of his life in the city of Centralia. He died in 1 88 1, his wife having preceded him to the silent land in 1848, and he married a second time, his last wife being Mary J. Collum, of

Maryland, who is deceased. Six children were born to Mr. McClelland, all by his. first wife, namely: Alexander, who is nowdeceased, lived in Sandoval township; John went to Oregon in 1883 and died in 1906; Rachael married Thomas N. Deadman, and she is now deceased ; Catherine is the wife of the subject; Elizabeth, who is deceased, married W. K. Bundy, of Raccoon township; Rebecca J., who married Richard Collins, lives in East St. Louis.

Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John Woods, four of whom are now living, namely: Isaac N., who remained single, is deceased; Willis died young; Mary F., who is deceased, married Asa Mattocks; Luella married William Ingrahm, of Centralia ; Sarah Ellen, who remained single, is deceased ; Cella Ruth married Erastus Root May 6, 1883, and eight children have been born, namely ; Lawrence, Nellie, John, Kate, Jessie, Clyde, Marie and Charles, all living. John died when young; Susan married John Heyduck, of Centralia, an engineer on the Illinois Central Railroad, and they are the parents of five children, Lawrence, John, William R., George H. and Ruby May, George, who was the fifth child in order of birth, is a farmer on the old home place in Centralia township, who married Martha Sanders, and they have four children, Buell, Myrtle, Helen and Mabel.

After his marriage our subject and wife located in section 15, Centralia township, where he secured one hundred and sixty acres of land, which was entirely unimproved, but he was a hard worker and soon had a comfortable home and carried on general farming and stock raising in a most successful manner. He was popular in his township and was School Director for fourteen years and held a number of minor offices. He was always a stanch Democrat and he and his good wife are members of the Christian church. Mr. Woods retired from active business life in December, 1898, and has since lived in Centralia. He and his wife are well preserved for their years and they can tell many interesting things that happened in the early days in Marion county.

William D. Newman

This venerable citizen of Centralia ranks with Marion county's conspicuous figures, having been one of the sterling pioneers from Eastern Tennessee, from whence so many men came to this state and did so much in its upbuilding, William D. Newman having been born in Blount county, that state, August 13, 1833, twelve miles south of Knoxville, the son of Louis J. and Rachael (Logan) Newman, both natives of Blount county, Tennessee, the former the son of David and Elizabeth ( Phillips) Newman, also of the above named county, who came to Illinois in 1833 and settled five miles west of Richview in Washington county, where he secured three hundred acres of land, which he later added to, dealing extensively in stock growing and general farming, and he became a prominent man in that locality. Daniel died in 1840 and his wife followed him to the silent land in 1852. He was a cooper by trade. Twelve children were born to them, the only one now living being Campbell Newman, in Chanute, Kansas. The subject's maternal grandfather was William Logan, of Tennessee, who married a Miss Edmonston, of Tennessee. They both died in that state. He was a farmer and he and his wife were the parents of four children, all deceased. The subject's father, Lewis J. Newman, was educated in the public schools and in 1854 came to Illinois, settling in Richview, Washington county. He was a carpenter and cabinetmaker by trade. In 1 86 1 he located in Patoka, Illinois, and lived there many years, and in 1873 went to Collins, Texas, and he died there in 1876. His wife died September 5, 1863. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. He was Justice of the Peace at Patoka and active in politics, being a Democrat. Twelve children were born to them as follows : Alexander, who formerly lived in this county, went to Texas in 1874 and died there. He was a preacher for many years in the Methodist Episcopal church, South. He was in the Thirty-first Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. The second child was William D., our subject; Elizabeth, who is deceased, married Charles Smith, living at Patoka, Illinois; Sarah, who remained single, is deceased; Eveline, who also remained single, is deceased ; Lorenzo D. lives in Patoka. He is a carpenter and he married Fannie Rice. He was in Company F, One Hundred and Eleventh Illinois Volun- teer Infantry; Martin is deceased; Mathew C. is deceased; Henry is also deceased; George W. and Andrew J., twins, are both deceased; James lives in Dallas, Texas.

William D. Newman, the subject, had only a limited schooling in the home schools. He lived at home until he reached the age of twenty-four years, and he came to Illinois in 1855, locating at Richview. He learned the carpenter's and cabinetmaker's trade with his father. He married February n, 1858, Mary E. Gray, who was born October 3, 1840, in Tonti township, Marion county, the daughter of J. H. and Nancy M. Eddington, the former having been born in Maury county, Tennessee, in 1817, and died in Patoka, Illinois, September 2, 1878. His wife was born in Clinton county, Illinois, October . 27, 1819, and she died in 1905. J. H. Gray, a farmer, was the son of Joseph and Agnes (Denton) Gray, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter a French woman. They married in Tennessee and came to Marion county, Illinois, in 1820, settling near Kinmundy. They died near the above named place. To them were born the following children: Rev. James D., of the Methodist Episcopal church; John H., Samuel, Abner, William, Martha Jane, Joseph. The children of John H. Gray and wife are as follows : James D. was in Company F. One Hundred and Eleventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry; Captain A. S. lives in Patoka, Illinois (see his sketch) ; Mary E. is the wife of the subject; Thomas Benton was clerk for Col. James S. Martin during the Civil war; Jane is deceased : Amanda, deceased ; Henry, deceased; Samuel died in infancy; Albert is deceased; Alfred is deceased; Sarah, deceased; Hattie lives in Memphis, Tennessee; Emma, deceased.

Eleven children have been born to William D. Newman and wife, as follows : Lina, deceased; John A., who is in the office of the first vice-president of the Burlington Route, Telegraph Operators' Association headquarters in Chicago, who married Maria Wertz ; Jennie, deceased; Alice, deceased; Ella, deceased; Nellie, deceased; Fred, who died in Kansas City in 1904, was a telegraph operator, and he married Evelyn Brooks, who is the mother of three children, Claude, Floyd and Esther; Lillie, who is deceased, married Clyde Soots. She was an accomplished musician, both in vocal and instrumental music. Mattie, the ninth child in order of birth, is deceased; W. D. is a carpenter by trade. However, he now runs a meat market in Centralia, and he married Ethel Ralston, who is the mother of one son, Arthur, and a daughter, deceased ; Jesse B. married Mary Hollinger and they have two children, Harvey and Bessie. He is a carpenter and contractor in Centralia.

After his marriage our subject and wife lived in Richview, Illinois, for three years and then went to Patoka, Marion county, where Mr. Newman engaged in the undertaking business for over thirty years, having been very successful in this line of work. In February, 1901, he came to Centralia and has since that time been a successful contractor and builder. He is a Democrat and has long taken an active part in politics. He joined the Masonic Order in 1870 at Patoka, the Blue Lodge No. 613. Mrs. Newman is a member of the Eastern Star. Mr. Newman is also a Good Templar. He and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and they have always been active in church and Sunday school work. Mr. Newman has a fine voice and is a great singer. He is a leader in the local church and is very prominent in church work. His past record is that of a man of genuine worth and honesty, and because of his many good qualities he is highly respected wherever he is known.

Alfred J. Randall

Mr. Randall, real estate dealer, of 703 North Elm street, Centralia, is a man who, by his own persistent energy, ably aided no doubt, by the genial and sunny disposition which has always been his, has arrived in the front rank in his line of business, being the highest type of that which we call for want of a better name - a self-made man, and his present prosperity is entirely due to the qualities which have characterized him.

Alfred J. Randall was born August 27, 1848, but a short distance from London, England's famous capital. He is a son of John and Christina Randall, his father being a native of Leicestershire and his mother, whose maiden name was Pier, hailed from the vicinity of London. His father left school at the early age of nine years.

being then apprenticed to the brick making and mason trades. In after life, in 1852, John Randall, together with his wife and two children, sailed for the shores of the United States in the sailing vessel Garrett and spent six weeks on the Atlantic voyage before arriving in New York City. They first located in Rochester, New York, and later at Decatur, Illinois, where John Randall worked for the Illinois Central Railroad, building foundations for depots and freight houses at different points between there and Centralia. In 1858 the family came to Centralia and here the father for awhile had charge of the cleaning and polishing of the engines in the round house. Afterward he was for thirteen years and six months timekeeper. He was for sixteen years City Treasurer and Township Collector of Centralia and died in office January 3. 1890, his wife dying the next day, January 4, 1890. He was a man well known and highly esteemed and a Republican of many years' standing. He and his wife had three sons and one daughter, namely: Alfred J., our subject; Agnes Mary married Edward Farron and lives at San Bernardino, California; Walter C. was a machinist and engineer on the Illinois Central out of Centralia for many years. He married Jennie Miller and had one daughter, Ada (deceased). He and his wife live in San Bernardino, California. The other son, Charles H., was an engineer on the Illinois Central at Centralia for many years; he is now on a railroad through San Bernardino, California. He married twice.

The subject of our sketch went to school only until his thirteenth year. He then started in to learn the machinist trade in the Illinois Central Railroad shops in Centralia. He served in the shops for four years, eight months and four days, and first took up machinist work at Laramie City, then Wyoming Territory, in 1869, where he remained for awhile and returned home. He next worked for one year for the Ohio & Missouri Railroad at East St. Louis, Illinois, and for one year on the North Missouri Railroad at Moberly, Missouri. Two years more were spent at work on the Iron Mountain road at South St. Louis, and one year in the Memphis & Little Rock road shops at Argenta, Arkansas. He was at Dennison, Texas, with the Missouri, Kansas & Texas road at different times: with the Chicago & Alton road at Bloomington. Illinois; the Louisville & Nashville road at Mount Vernon, Illinois ; one year on the Cairo Short Line road at East St. Louis, Illinois ; one year at the Weldon shops of the Illinois Central : one year as an engineer in Cairo, Illinois, and on the Water Valley, Mississippi, for the Illinois Central Railroad ; one year as machinist for the Illinois Central, and as general foreman of bridges and terminal at East St. Louis, Illinois, for one year; with the Burlington road at Beardstown. Illinois, one and a half years; with the Missouri Pacific six months at St. Louis, Missouri, and with the Tudor Iron Works at East St. Louis, Illinois, for one

On June u, 1873, he married Emma Thiele, a native of Germany, whose father was Francis Thiele. Two children were born to this union : John H., who was a conductor on the Illinois Central road at Centralia, but had to retire on account of ill health. He married Ida Shonburg and has one son, Raymond H. He was for a term a member of the Centralia City Council and is at present serving in that position. Mabel, the only daughter of Alfred J. Randall, married C. Gibson, a druggist of Centralia. They have one son, Howard Randall.

In 1882 the subject of our present sketch built his house at 703 North Elm street, Centralia, and has since been in the real estate business. He owns one hundred acres of valuable land in Sandoval township, on which he raises a considerable amount of fruit. He also owns forty-five lots and eight dwellings in Centralia.

Alfred J. Randall is very popular with the people of Centralia and with the people of the county. He was a member of the City Council for one term of two years and a Highway Commissioner for six years. He has always evinced a good deal of interest in politics and is a staunch Republican. In 1882 he joined the Masonic fraternity at St. Louis, Missouri, and is a member of No. 25 Naptahle Lodge. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having joined in East St. Louis, Illinois, in 1871, being later transferred to No. 108,

Centralia Lodge, No. 75 Encampment. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Belleville, Illinois, having joined in Texas. He joined the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen in 1880, No. 37, Centralia Lodge. His daughter is a member of the Eastern Star and Rebekah lodges, while his wife belongs to the Knights and Ladies of Honor Fraternity and Rebekah. Alfred J. Ranrall is still hale and hearty and is good for a greater and extended career in the realty line. In his everyday business life he has the reputation of being honorable and conscientious and always solicitous and careful of the trusts reposed in him.

Jackson L. Livesay

The subject of our sketch, who is a well known figure in Centralia, is now in his sixty-third year, hale and hearty, and in a position to enjoy the fruits of an industrious, frugal and well spent life.

Jackson L. Livesay was born in Washington, Illinois, September 28, 1845, and was the son of W. E. and Emily (Goodner) Livesay. William E. Livesay was a native of Tennessee and came to Illinois when seven years old with his parents, who were also natives of Tennessee. On growing to man's estate he settled on a farm in Washington county and there married Emily Goodner, who came of an Illinois family. Both parents died in Kansas. William E. died in 1872 and his wife in 1874.

They raised eight children, five boys and three girls, the eldest of whom was Jackson L. Previous to the death of their parents the family moved to Kansas, in 1871, and there took up farming and the merchandise business. Here they remained for nine years, returning to Illinois in 1881.

Our subject obtained his education in Beaucoup school in Washington county, which was an old log school-house. He left school at the age of sixteen years and a year later, in the spring of 1864, he joined, at Centralia, Company C of the Sixtieth Illinois Infantry, commanded by Col. William Anderson, of Mount Vernon, and Capt. Simeon Walker, now at Carbondale, Illinois, in active service. In the course of his military career during the war Jackson L. Livesay followed Sherman in his daring march to the sea, and took part in other brilliant achievements of that stirring period. He obtained his discharge in Springfield, Illinois, being mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky. He returned home in August, 1865, with the First Brigade, Second Division Fourteenth Army Corps, with Col. William B. Anderson, of Mount Vernon, Jefferson county. Illinois: George W. Evans, lieutenant-colonel.

Upon his discharge after the war in 1866 Mr. Livesay took up a claim in Kansas, remaining there but a short time. On his return to Washington county, Illinois, he remained there for two years, going from there to Richview for J. V. Holcomb & Co., where he remained as a clerk for one year. He and his uncle, William Shanks, bought out Holcomb & Co., and moved the stock to Montana and Kansas, where they remained for eight years. They then sold out their stock and farmed for three years. They returned at this time to Washington county, and, having spent three months in Richview, settled in Centralia. Here Jackson L. Livesay has spent his life ever since. During twenty years of his stay in Centralia he has held good positions with several firms, since which time he has been in business for himself for eleven years.

He married Emma Ingram on June 12, 1871. She was the daughter of H. P. Ingram and his wife, Millie Tyler, of Richview. They had four children, of whom Emma was the second. The subject of our sketch has had nine children born to him, six boys and three girls. They are : Clyde, who married a Miss Herron and who is the father of one child deceased. Ruby married William Severns and has one son. Guy C. is still single and is City Treasurer of Centralia. Otis is a bookkeeper in St. Louis. Frank is single and works with his father in the store. Millie married Louis Weigel and lives in Centralia. Winnie B. attends the city schools. Fay and Frank, two other children, are both deceased.

Jackson L. Livesay is now firmly established in a thriving business and has a modem and high class store, eighty feet by twenty-four, in which business can be transacted with comfort. It is located at 103 South Locust street. The subject of our sketch is very popular in the township and county. In fraternal circles he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and a most influential member of the local camp of the Grand Army of the Republic. In political affairs Jackson L. Livesay's sympathies are enlisted with the Republican party, of which he is a loyal supporter. In religious life he is a prominent, practical member of the Methodist Episcopal communion. In everyday life he is a man with whom it is a pleasure to do business, for he is strictly honest and conscientious and one who does not allow prejudices of any kind to enter into his judgments.

Frank P. Lamblin

The subject of this sketch is one of those men whose lot it has been to embark upon a business career at a very early age, and we find him at the age of ten years engaged in business for himself. Later he was a telegraph operator for one year on the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad - an occupation in which more than one of the most successful men of the present day engaged as a means of livelihood in the days of their youth, and his was the usual rough road of the young business man, but his youthful optimism and enthusiasm carried him onward, and he is today a successful business man.

Frank P. Lamblin was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, on April 13, 1864, the son of Frank and Victoria D. J. (Didier) Lamblin, natives of France. When Frank P. was but a baby his father died. At that time the family consisted of three children, two girls and one boy, of whom Frank P. was the youngest. His mother, who survided his father for an extended period, died in 1899, i° Juty °f tnat year.

The subject of our sketch was educated in Clinton county common schools, but he left school at an early age and worked in the grocery and merchandise store of August Blanke, in Huey, and afterward in Mr. Baker's drug store and post-office.

On July 2, 1882, he married Elsie A. Gillett, of Huey, Illinois. She was the daughter of S. B. Gillett and Martha, his wife. They had seven children by their marriage, Elsie being the third child. Frank P. Lamblin and his wife have spent a happy married life, their domestic felicity being marred only by the decease of two of the four children that have been born to them. The two children now living are Eugene and Nellie ; the deceased children were named Frankie and Elsie.

In 1882 Frank P. Lamblin opened in the butcher business in Huey, where he remained as a farmer and butcher until 1893, when he joined his brother-in-law, Z. W. Evans, of Clinton, Illinois, in the photographic business, where he remained for about nine months. In the year 1895 he started in the photo business in Huey, Illinois. At the close of the year he came to Centralia to his old place. In his earlier years, in 1887 to be exact, he spent some time in the grocery business in Webb City, Missouri. In 1899 his daughter Nellie was born in Joplin, Missouri, where he had en- gaged in the grocery business. He sold his grocery business in the following year and took up the photographic business at his old stand in Centralia. Since he has located in his present place of business he has settled down and experienced a steady flow of prosperity. In fraternal circles he is a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias, being a steady attendant, and always a man who has taken an interest in Knights of Pythias work. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal faith, as is also his wife and children, where they are popular in church circles.

Frank P. Lamblin is a man of varied experience in business life. His sterling qualities have marked him all through his career as a man whose ultimate success could never for a moment be doubted. He is a loyal Republican in politics and he is a strenuous supporter of the party he believes in. He has served two years as Councilman from the Fourth Ward, and while a resident of Clinton county was Assessor three years.

Henry Clark

The subject of this sketch has the well deserved reputation of being one of the mostliberal citizens of Patoka township, Marion county, Illinois. Although his contributions to the church and deserving charities of every description are of generous proportions, Mr. Clark dispenses these offerings without the slightest ostentation. He has seen this enterprising municipality grow into a goodly town from a straggling hamlet, and takes pride in the fact that he has had much to do with its material progress.

Henry Clark was born in Clinton county, Illinois, July 8, 1842. He is the son of Abner and Kittie (Lord) Clark, both natives of Delaware, the former having been born in 1804. The father of the subject was one of the sturdy pioneers of Clinton county, and was at one time a breeder of stock on a large scale. He was, in the early days, what was considered a very wealthy man, and the community depended largely upon him to keep the schools financed. He realized the importance of an education, and sent several young men to college, paying their expenses out of his own pocket. Upon his death he left quite an ample competency to his children, five boys and two daughters. He was a Whig and later a Republican. Mr. Clark was a man of very pronounced religious views, having all his life been identified with the Methodist church, which never had to call upon him twice for financial assistance.

The mother of the subject was born on the line of Maryland and Delaware, and died in 1846, the widower marrying again some years later, his second wife being a Mrs. Carter, a native of the state of Delaware. Shortly after this marriage they moved to Illinois. They made the latter part of the journey on flat boats, polling up the river, and settling in Clinton county. The country was very wild at that time and there were many Indians about. The town of

Vandalia was then the capital of the state. Mr. Clark entered land in Clinton county, and at the time of his death in 1880 was the owner of fifteen hundred acres.

The subject served with distinction almost throughout the Civil war, enlisting in the Twenty-second Illinois Regiment, under command of Col. Dougherty and Capt. Johnson, May 22, 1861. At the expiration of three months, the time for which he had enlisted, he re-enlisted, August 20, 1861, in the Thirtieth Illinois Infantry, under P. B. Foulk, a law associate of John A. Logan. He was discharged in November, 1864. Mr. Clark was a prisoner for sixty-three days in the Andersonville prison, having been captured July 22, 1864. At the expiration of the aforementioned period he was exchanged under the Sherman exchange law. He participated in the battles of Belmont, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Corinth and was in the Kentucky expedition.

Mr. Clark embarked in the real estate business in Patoka in 1875, and remained in it for many years before he decided to retire from active life. He was married three times, his first wife being Eliza Foster, born in Ohio March 25, 1841, and she was the mother of one child, which died young. His second wife was Anna Butler, a native of Kentucky. The third wife of the subject was Henrietta (Davidson) Nelson, who was born in Marion county, Illinois, being the daughter of William Davidson and a niece of J. B. Lewis, of Salem, Illinois. Mr. Clark has a fine home in Patoka, where he and his wife are quietly living at peace with

Harry A. Vasel

The subject is a popular and well rounded young business man of Centralia, being highly skilled in the jeweler's art, having begun early in life to master the details of this somewhat difficult and exacting profession, and he has shown what a man can do while yet young in accomplishing definite success through close application and a careful study of the line upon which he has selected his life work.

Harry A. Vasel was born in St. Louis Missouri, August 13, 1885, the son of H. G. and Lizzie (Schmelzer) Vasel. The subject's father was born in Germany, having come to America when a young man, and died September 3, 1887. The subject's mother was born in Lebanon, Illinois, February 28, 1855, and she passed to her rest June 7, 1896. The grandmother of the subject was Mary Schmelzer, and she had largely the rearing of the subject of this sketch. His education was received at the public schools in Lebanon. When fifteen years old he decided to devote his life to the jewelry business, and accordingly set about learning the same with John Schmelzer, of Centralia. In order to get a larger knowl- -edge of the mechanical work he went to St. Louis and engaged with the firm of Eisenstadt, jewelry makers and manufacturers, having worked there for one year, giving entire satisfaction to his employers. He more thoroughly perfected his knowlege of this technical trade in detail. Returning again to Centralia, Mr. Vasel engaged with his former employer, doing the bench work in a most satisfactory manner for one year. He then went to Philadelphia and took a course in horology in order to fit him especially for fine and high grade watch repairing. After spending six months in the East and also taking a complete engraver's course, he returned to Illinois and worked for C. W. Kiser, at Newton, for six months, again returning to work for Mr. Schmelzer. He is known as one of the most efficient jewelers in Southern Illinois and is regarded by everyone as an unusually high grade workman.

Mr. Vasel was united in marriage to Carrie May Fowler, October 20. 1907. She is the accomplished and refined daughter of Reuben G. and Clara B. (Dille) Fowler, a well known family of Centralia.

Our subject is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, of Centralia Lodge Xo. 493. Politically he is a Republican, and religiously he was reared in the German Evangelical faith, and was confirmed in this church.

Mr. Vasel is a baseball enthusiast and in 1906 he organized the White Sox Baseball Club of Centralia. He is a genial young man, quick of perception, and in every way shows himself to be worthy of the confidence and esteem in which he is held by his many friends.

Samuel O. Sanders

One of the most straightforward, energetic and successful business men of Centralia, Marion county, is the subject of this biographical review.

Samuel O. Sanders was born in Marion county, Illinois, March 12. 1866, the son of Jonathan and Matilda (Grubb) Sanders, the former having been born near New Albany, Indiana, and died at the age of fortyfour years, in 1875. the date of his birth being in 1831. Samuel O. Sanders was about seven years old when his father died and was about two years old at the death of his mother, which occurred in 1868. Our subject was reared by his step-mother on his father's farm, four miles east of Centralia.