Piatt County, Illinois - Biographical sketches (2 of 7 so headed), 1883 (part 2 of 2)

Carolina, to Matilda Bradford, and lias had eight children, seven of whom are living. Sophronia J. married Mr. Tweed. She next married Mr. Franklin, and lives in Unity township. Naomi is living at home. Verlincia married Mr. John Edmonson, and lives in Moultrie county. James and John each own 160 acres of land. Rosetta and Marcetta are school teachers.

MR. LEVI E. HANCOCK, a farmer near Mackville, was born in Kentucky in 1823. His parents, natives of Virginia, moved to Kentucky, and from there to Indiana, where his mother, eighty-four years of age, now resides. In 1844 Levi Hancock and Mary Wheeler were married. She was a native of Kentucky, but had been living in Indiana. Five of their children are living. William H. is farming in Kansas. Alonzo is farming on the home farm. Jasper -Hathaway is a farmer in Kansas. Sarah married Albert Collins, and, with her husband and two children, lives at Pekin, Illinois. Estella married John Snyder. They, with their three children, live in Kansas. Mr. Hancock moved to his present home in Piatt county in 1858. They moAred in the month of February, into a little log hut on the place. The cabin was without doors, and the floor was minus. However, with a little work, they managed to remain in the house till a better one was afforded. He bought his farm in 1857, and now owns 183 acres. His present residence was built in 1871. Mr. Hancock is a member of the Masonic lodge at Bement.

MR. THEODORE J. RICHEY, a furniture dealer and insurance agent of Atwood, is a native of Sullivan county, Indiana, and is of German descent. His father is a native of Kentucky, while his mother was born in Indiana. They were married in the latter state, and moved from there to Coles county, thence to Douglas county, and then to Moultrie county, about three and one-half miles southwest of Atwood. His mother died September 15, 1867, was buried at the Harshbarger cemetery, and Mr. Livengood preached the funeral sermon. Mr. Richey, the subject of this sketch, was married April 4, 1869, to Martha Wilson, a resident of Mackville. They have had five children, three of whom, Freddie Albertus, Claudius Pearl, and Jessie Ethyl, are living. Mr. Richey lived in Mackville for about five years, and then moved to Atwood, and wasjlie first family which lived in the place after it was made a town. He was an undertaker, a carpenter, and a painter, and was in the first mechanical shop that was ever in Atwood. It was moved thither from Mackville. Mr. Richey belongs to the Royal Templars of Temperance.

MR. NOAH RICHARDSON, farmer, Unity township, is a native of Indiana. His father was in the war of 1812. He moved to Illinois in 1857 and first settled almost on the lines of Champaign, Douglas and Piatt counties, the house being just in Champaign county. In 1858 he moved to where he now lives on the forty acres of his farm which he has not sold. In 1857 he and Emma Pratt were united in the bonds of matrimony. None of their three children are living. One daughter, however, lived to be a young lady. Mr. Richardson has been justice of the peace, was school trustee for three years, school treasurer one and a half years, and school director for twelve years.

MR. SIMON SHONKWILER, farmer, was born in Scioto county, Ohio, November 15, 1806. His grandfather emigrated from Germany to America during the revolutionary war. He had a college education of fourteen years, and at the time of his arrival in America had some kind of writing to do. Simon's father was in the war of 1812. The whole family moved from Ohio to Indiana, Putnam county, from which place Simon moved to Piatt county in 1837. In 1837 or 1838 he settled on the place where he now lives. A portion of the place was covered with heavy timber, which he cleared off, and the rest was covered with tall prairie grass. A tent against a tree sufficed as a camping place for the family until a cabin eighteen feet square was raised in the same yard where his present residence stands. The latter house is of log, is two-story, contains five large rooms in the log part, and has been built for thirty-five years, [t is probably the largest log house in the county. Mr. Shonkwiler's old orchard contains the largest apple-trees that we have seen in the county. He says that some of them measure seven and one half feet in circumference. Mr. Shonkwiler was married in Indiana to Theodosia Reed, who had five children, all of whom are living. Elizabeth married Philo Wildman, has seven children and lives on a farm. Daniel is'unmarried and lives at home. Mary married John Masterson, has four children and lives within three miles of Mr. Shonkwiler's. Harriet Eliza married George Smithers (now deceased), and lives in Bement ; she has three children. Jacob Shonkwiler, a soldier in the late war for about three years, married Mary Masterson, has one child, and lives about one mile from Mr. Shonkwiler's. The first Mrs. Simon Shonkwiler died in 1848. In 1850 Mr. Shonkwiler married Mrs. Chas. Webster nee Anna Schee. She was born in Ohio in 1825. In 1842 her parents moved to Missouri, where in 1844 she married Mr. Webster, who died in seven years, leaving her a widow with three children. Eleanor Webster married John Milliken, and lives in Milmine. Mr. West Webster married Alice McMillen, lias four children and lives on the home-place. James Webster, a soldier in the late war, married Viola Holtz ; she died leaving one child. Since her last marriage Mrs. Shonkwiler has had four children, all of whom are living. Jennie is unmarried and lives at home. Oliver married a Miss Griffith, and since 1875 has lived in Iowa ; they have two children. Martha Shonkwiler, the wife of Chas. Moore, has two children, and lives one mile from her father's. Francis Marion Shonkwiler lives at home, but of late has been attending school at Valparaiso. Mr. Simon Shonkwiler used to be considered quite a hunter. He hunted a month in the fall for two succeeding years, and killed forty-three deer during each hunt. As we noticed the agility with which he moved about over his place in 1881, we could almost pronounce him ready for another hunt, and at a moment's notice. The energy of his early days has by no means left him. He seems to have time for no idle moments.

MR. NATHANIEL SHONKWILER came to Piatt county about 1888. He has lived in Atwood about five years, but anticipates returning to his old homestead on the farm. He was married in Piatt county, to Clarissa Harshbarger, who died. Two of her daughters are living. Mary married Isaac Barritt and lives in Unity township. She has four > children, Emily, Nathaniel, John and Elizabeth. Nancy Shonkwiler married David Wither, has two children and lives near Hammond. Mr. Shonkwiler next married Sarah J. Barritt. Two children, Margaret and Ida, are living. Margaret married John Lucas, a druggist of Atwood. They have one child, Maud. Mr. Shonkwiler entered a portion of his land at Vandalia. He now owns TOO acres.

MR. WILLIAM G. SNYDER, farmer, was the fourth child of a family of twelve, was born January 19, 1832, in Scioto count}r, Ohio, and is of German and Welsh lineage. His parents were born in Virginia, and in childhood emigrated to Ohio. He lived in Ohio until the winter of 1854 - 55, when he visited Illinois, spending part of the winter on Lake Fork, in Unity township. While here he amused himself by "following the tracks of the deer, whose instinct had taught them to march before civilization; so he did nothing but obliterate their tracks in the snow." At that time prairie chickens were so plenty that " in case one failed in his own attempts at shooting, for ten cents he could buy enough of the game to give a person the impression that he was a regular Nimrod." In the spring of 1855 William G. "tried to shake the mud from off his feet and left a country which, during a part of the year at least, appeared grand in nothing but skating rinks and high-pressure wind." He started for Kansas, stopping, however, in Macoupin county to see a lady who twelve years later became his wife. While in this county he heard of "an over-production of Sharp's rifles" in Kansas, and fearing a panic he concluded to go to Ohio, where he remained, with the exception of a trip to Kansas and Missouri, until August 1861. During this summer he had his first experience as a soldier. We will relate it in his own words: "My first experience as a soldier was when I was first lieutenant of a company of home guards in the summer of 1861. We had, as I thought, about sixty of as brave boys as ever attended roll-call. We had decided on very fantastic uniforms, had them made, but had not drilled in them yet when a call was made on us to repair to Granupsburg, a little town situated on the Ohio river, about thirty miles above Portsmouth, on the Kentucky side, to drive away a brigade of rebels who were butchering men, women and children - so report had it. We were to meet at a place called Lucasville, and be transported to the river in farm wagons and proceed up the river by steamboat to drive back the invading army of the rebels. When we got ready to start from Lucasville we found that one wagon was sufficient to transport all present and able for duty. Out of the sixty members of our company, Capt. A. F. Miller, myself, Lieut. Geo. Jones and private H. J. Snyder were all that we could muster. On arriving at Portsmouth, Ohio, Col. Kagnor called for a report from Capt. Miller. He reported one private and three commissioned officers present, and fifty-six non-commissioned and privates on the sick-list. Col. Ragnor ordered us to divest ourselves of our swords and repair to the armory and be invested with a musket apiece; and that order was the destruction of as fine a military company as usually falls to the lot of anyone to command. I think they were brave - not one but would have died rather than meet the enemy or leave home at that early stage of the rebellion. Of course they were principally men who believed that the war would end in ninety days, and of course it would be foolishness for them to sacrifice their business, and probably their lives, when there were so many whose duty it was to go at their country's call." In August, 1861, Mr. Snyder enlisted in Co. G of the Ohio Yol. Inf., and went into camp at Portsmouth, Ohio, where he remained until February 12, 1862, when the company was sent to Fort Donelson, where they arrived in time to see the rebel flag hauled down, but not in time to take any active part in its capture. The following is a list of the battles in which Mr. Sny der was engaged: Pittsburg Landing, siege of Corinth, Port Gibson, Champion Hills, siege of Vicksburg, siege of Jackson, Carrion Crow Bayou, Sabine Cross-Roads, Monnett's Ferry and Snaggy Point. He served as private, corporal, orderly-sergeant and quartermaster-sergeant. He was commissioned as second lieutenant December 24, 1862, to rank as such from September?, 1862. He was promoted and commissioned as first lieutenant September 1, 1863, to rank as such from May 16, 1863. On the 10th of August, 1864, he was promoted to captain, and on the 2d of April, 1866, he was promoted to major. His regiment was veteranized in February 1864, and was discharged from service in May 1866, at Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Snyder was married October 14,

1867, to Mary E. Weaver, of Macoupin county. They went to Ohio and lived one year, and then returned to Illinois, stopping in Champaign county, but expecting to locate in Douglas county. His wife was stricken with spotted fever and died March 17, 1868, about one month after their return to Illinois. He purchased land in Piatt county in

1868, and moved on to it the same year. On the 4th of January, 1872, he took for his second wife Mrs. T. B. Miller, nee Belle Rose, of Scioto county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have had four children, the eldest of whom were twins, and but one of the four is living, Rose Loleta. When Mr. Snyder first visited Piatt county he says one could almost swim a horse from Lake Fork to Bement. He then thought the country almost worthless; but now he owns 160 acres of land, and is fast making a nice home.

MR. BERNARD STUVE, a land owner of Piatt county, is a native of Germany, and came to America when four years old. His parents settled in Ohio, from which state he moved, finally settling in Illinois. He studied law at the Chicago Law University, and practiced at Springfield. While located at Springfield he and Mr. Alexander Davidson published, in 1877, a history of Illinois. This is a more complete history of the state than any which has ever been written, and we commend those who desire any information in regard to Illinois between the dates 1673 and 1873, to obtain and consult the work just referred to. Mr Stuve owns about 1,640 acres of land in Unity township. He has built upon this land the model tenant houses of the county. They are larger and more convenient than any, of our knowledge, in this county. The fact of Mr. Stuve's having land in the county led him to move hi& family to Monticello and make that place his home for a short time. They now reside in St. Louis, Missouri. In March, 1857, Mr. Stuve married Mary Illinois Wilson, daughter of Chief-Justice Wilson. They have one son and four daughters, Wilson, Mollie C., Ella Illinois, Clementina and Alice Davidson. It will not be out of place here to give a brief sketch of the life of Judge Wilson, which we will condense from Davidson & Stuve's History of Illinois. William Wilson was born in London county, Virginia, in 1795. His father died when he was very young. After clerking in a store a time, and at the age of eighteen, he began studying law under Hon. John Cook, an able lawyer of the Virginia bar. At twenty-two years of age he came to Illinois to make a home, and in a year after his coming he came within six votes of being elected associate supreme judge at the inauguration of the state government. He was soon elected as associate justice, and, at the age of twenty-nine, was ejected to the honorable position of chief justice of Illinois. For nearly thirty years he held this position with great credit to himself and receiving the respect and confidence of the people. His country seat near Carmi, on the banks of the Little Wabash, was his pleasant summer resort, where he entertained royally and in the hospitable style of Old Virginia. His public career came to an end in 1848, and his death occurred April 29, 1857.

MR. J. A. SAMPSON, a harness maker of Mackville, is of English lineage, and was born in Indiana. His father was a native of Kentucky, and his mother of Virginia. They lived in Unity township for a time, but died in Indiana. Mr. J. A. Sampson came to Piatt county from Indiana in 1857, at the instigation of his brother-in-law, J. N. Terrill. He farmed until 1862, when he went to work at his trade, and in 1866 opened the first saddler shop in Mackville. He was married about 1853 to Eliza J. Bobbins, who died in 1867. She had three children, two of whom are dead. Mamie married Solon Herod, of Indiana, and died leaving two children. Lola N. married John Merritt, and they, with their one child, Nina Maud, live in Atwood. Mr. Sampson married Susan Boyle about 1867. They have no children. Mr. Sampson still lives in Mackville.

MR. WILLIAM L. SHAW, a farmer of Unity township, moved from Indiana, his native state, to Shelby county, Illinois, in 1871. From this place he moved to Piatt county. He was married in 1866, to Leannah Price. They have three children living, Rosetta, Sarah Ellen and Theodore. Mr. Shaw went from Indiana to the war in Co. E of the 85th Ind., and remained from 1862 to June 1865. The principal battles he engaged in were those of Peach Tree Creek, Georgia and Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was taken prisoner at Christian,

MR. JACOB SPITRLING, a farmer of Unity township, began his life in Old Virginia. He moved from that state to Illinois, and in 1875 settled on the place he now lives on in Piatt county. He owns 120 acres of land, upon which he has planted 150 trees and built a dwelling house. He married Miss Catherine York, and nine children have blessed their union. Eight children - Mary, Martha, James, Reuben, Louisa, William, Frank and Sydney - are living. Mr. Spurling went to the army in Co. D of the 116th 111. Inf. The principal battles he engaged in were those of Vicksburg, Jackson and Chattanooga. He was slightly wounded four times. At the kst battle mentioned he was shot across the forehead. He had some quite severe experiences in foraging expeditions. On one expedition he accidentally got in company with some rebels. As he was dressed partly in rebel and partly in Union uniform he easily made them believe he was a Southerner. After riding a time, he made some excuse to stop while the rest rode on. He then shot the horse from under one of the rebels, and, putting spurs to his horse, fled. Soon after this occurrence he was nearly overtaken by rebels, but he succeeded in keeping out of reach till he was near the Union camp, when he jumped down a fifteen-foot bluff, his horse following. He rode into camp, escaping the fire from the rebels' guns.

MR. GEORGE E. SARGENT, farmer, is a native of Peoria county, Illinois. He is of Irish and German lineage. His father, a native of Ohio, and his mother, a native of Kentucky, moved to Macon county about forty-seven or forty-nine years ago. Mr. Sargent came to Piatt county about twenty-seven years ago, but did not settle here until 1875, when he bought his present homestead. He was married in 1868, to Julia Coe, a native of Michigan, and who came to this state in 1859. They have three children, Albert D., Nancy Belle and Harry. Mr. Sargent went into the army from Coles county in Co. K, 21st 111. reg., and again in Co. B, 55th 111. He was out three years and three months, and was wounded at Kenesaw Mt. He has spent about ten years of his life in traveling over the United States. He has been "broke up and burned out a time or two.'"1

DR. WILLIAM T. SMITSOX, practicing physician of Atwood, is a native of Brown county, Ohio. His father, of Maryland, and his mother, of Pennsylvania, moved to Ohio in 1833, and in 1866 both died of cholera in the same state. Dr. Smitson received his medical education at a medical institute in Cincinnati, where he graduated the winter of 1867-8. He came to Piatt county in the spring of 1868 and began pi-acting at Mackville, from which place he moved to Atwood in 1879. He was married in 1864, to Mary E. McCord, of Cincinnati, who died in 1879, leaving three children, Ida Francis, Oscar M. and Mabel Edna. He next married Lola Mathes, on March 31, 1881. Dr. Smitson went into the army from Brown county, Ohio, in Co. H, 12th Ohio Inf. He was in the engagements at South Mount, Maryland, Antietam, Cloyd Mt, Centerville, second battle of Bull Run and Carnifax Ferry. He was in the army three years and four months ; was never wounded, but was once a prisoner for a few hours.

MR. ISAAC M. SMITH, farmer, Yoorhies, is a native of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. He moved to West Virginia and from there to Piatt county in 1869. He first came to the county and bought some land, after which he returned to Indiana and married Nancy J. Cummins. They then moved to their new home. They now own 160 acres of land, all of which they have improved. Four children have blessed their union, Emery O., Alta Florence, Nora Ellen and Anna May. Mr. Smith went into the army in Co. H, 140th Ind. reg., was sergeant, and was out from 1863 to 1865, engaging in the battles of Murfreesborough and Nashville. At the former place he, with other soldiers, ate parched corn for three weeks. While in the army he helped to bury five of his bunk-mates who died from sickness and exposure.

MR. .fJoHx TENBROOKE, hotel-keeper, of Hammond, was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Franklin county, Indiana. His father, Abraham Tenbrooke, and mother, nee Catharine Piatt, moved to Indiana in 1818. John, with his mother and sister, moved to Piatt county in 1838. In 1839 he built and opened the first hotel proper in Monticello. At first the hotel was composed of one log room and a shed addition. It was afterward remodeled and contained seven or eight rooms. Mr. Tenbrooke was married in 1840, to Aldula Sadorus, and in 1850 he sold out, left Monticello and moved to Sadorus Grove, where he lived until his wife's death in 1853. In 1865 he went to Decatur for a short time, but returned to Sadorus Grove and bought a farm. He next moved to Urbana. In 1871 he built a house near the college grounds in Urbana. After leaving Urbana he went to Danville for a year, and then, in August, 1880, he moved to Hammond. By his first wife he had four children. James died February 27, 1881, in Nevada. Melissa married Mr. Jas. Lochrie, and, with a family of children, lives in Iowa. Henry married Lucy Eichardson and lives on a farm in Champaign county. Eliza married Henry Timmons and lives near Monticello. Mr. Tenbrooke married Mrs. Nancy Elder November 25, 1879. Mrs. Tenbrooke nee Nancy Nelson was first married to Mr. David Davis. She is a native of Brookville, Indiana, and has lived ten years in Missouri and five in Ohio. She has one son, Anthony Elder, who married Ada Popham and has one child. Mr. Tenbrooke was probably the third magistrate in Piatt county, then a part of Macon county, and has been justice of the peace for forty-three years. He was county commissioner of Champaign county at the time of the building of the court-house in Urbana.

MR. ELIJAH TRYON (deceased) was a native of Indiana. He moved from that state to Piatt county over twenty years ago, and lived in Unity township until his death, in 1874. He held the office of supervisor of Unity township. At the time of his death he owned some over three hundred acres of land. He bought the raw prairie and made all improvements for the home place. He first married Agnes Smith, who died leaving two children, one of whom, Margaret, is living. She married Samuel Welch, and they, with three children, Laura E., Guy C. and Chas. A., live in Unity township. Mr. Tryon next married Rebecca Sampson, who died leaving two children by her first husband, and one, Clarinda, by her last. Clarinda is married and has one child, Lura Hester. They live in Unity township. Mr. Tryon was married again in 1869, to Nancy Shaw. It is a noticeable fact tkat the name of each one of his wives began with the sanie letter. Mr. and Mrs. (Shaw) Tryon had two children, Dora and Lola May.

MR. L. M. TEMPLE, the third and present postmaster of Hammond, is a native of Ohio. He moved direct from that state to Illinois, and about 1873 came to Piatt county. He began business in Hammond about four years ago. He keeps a general merchandise store. He was married in 1866, to Mary C. Green. They have five children, Nancy E., Eva May, Fannie Dell, Nora Alice and Elbert Earnest. Mr. Temple is a member of the masonic lodge of Bement, No. 365. He went to the army in 1862, in Co. C of the 68th 111., and again in 1863, in Co. C of the 8th 111. Inf. The principal battles he engaged in were those of Jackson, Miss., Spanish Fort, Ala., and Fort Blakely, Ala. His first march was that of Sherman's raid from Vicksburg to Meridian, Mississippi, during which time he went thirty-one days without change of clothes. He was discharged May 4, 1866, at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mr. Temple passed through the army without loss of limb, but he was destined to suffer such loss at a later date. On

August 2, 1876, he had his right arm crushed in the horse-power of a threshing machine, near Voorhies Station. Dr. T. A. Collett, of Lovington, Illinois, a graduate of the Michigan University at Ann Arbor, assisted by Drs. Parker and Vance, of Bement, amputated the arm at the shoulder joint at 8 A.M. August 3, 1876.

MR. J. 1ST. TERRILL, farmer, was born in 1818, in Indiana. His parents were from Virginia, from which state they moved to Ohio and from there to Indiana. Mr. Terrill moved to Fiatt county in 1856. He first lived on Mr. Joe. Moore's place, and then on that of Mr. Adam Shonkwiler, from which he moved to Mackville, and then moved to the farm on which he now lives. He was married in Indiana, to Sarah A. Sampson, who was born in Kentucky in 1824. They have had seven children, five of whom are living. Mary married James Hunt, and lives in Tennessee ; they have four children. James died in the army. Rebecca R. married Jno. Matthews, who died in 1881 ; they have four children living. John is living at home. Alice married Albert Grove, a farmer, who lives at Mackville ; they have one child. Charles is at home. Mr. Terrill went to the army in 1862, in Co. H of the 107th reg. He never was in a battle or a skirmish. Mr. Terrill remembers, when he first came to the county, of Joe. Moore and Royal Mitchell's going to Bourbon to mill in a boat. It was the only possible chance to get there, and they were three days making the trip.

MR. HAMILTON TAYLOR, farmer, was born and partly reared in Page county, Virginia. His father died when he was but two years old. He moved from Virginia to Ohio and then to Montgomery county, Indiana. He next moved to Douglas county, Illinois, and in 1869 came to Piatt county. He owns forty acres of land. He was married in Montgomery county, Indiana, to Elizabeth Masterson, a native of Indiana, and has three children, all living. Mary Ann, the wife of James Taylor, has one child, Oscar. John William married Caroline Harshbarger and lives in Douglas county. Alice, the wife of Richard Brown, a native of New York, lives in Bement township.

MR. H. C. TALLEY, a carpenter of Hammond, is a native of North Carolina and moved from there to Douglas county, Illinois. He spent two years in Champaign City as carpenter on the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western railroad, and in 1874 moved to Piatt county. He opened a carpenter shop soon after settling in the county. His wife, nee M. M. Cowen, is a native of Indiana.

county, and in 1864 lie settled in Piatt county. He now owns eighty acres of land in Unity township. He was married in 1864, in Illinois, to Matilda Jones and has seven children, Nellie, Mary, Lizzie, Maggie, Zelica, Lear and Katie.

MR. BENJAMIN QUICK (deceased) was a native of New York. His father moved from that state to Ohio, and from there to Indiana. A portion of the family, Benjamin, Smith, Huldah (Harshbarger), Theda (Harshbarger), with Ambrose and John, twins, and half brothers to the others, came to this county. Benjamin came in 1841 and settled on the place Mrs. Quick now lives on. He was married in 1836, to Elizabeth Utterback, a native of Harden county, Kentucky. Her parents were natives of Virginia and moved from Kentucky to Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Quick had a large family of children. John Quick, a soldier in the late war, married Mary Bryson and lives in Unity township. Isaac was in the rebellion also. Huldah was the wife of Isaac Baker and died in 1875. Elizabeth married Mr. Masterson. Naomi married Peter Mosbarger and died leaving three children. William H., a farmer in Unity township, married Rebecca Ater and has three children, Charles Ida and Albert. James married Anna Bryson. Miles married Margaret Landis and had one daughter, Grace E. Daniel is still living at home. Vincent married Permelia Livengood. Benjamin F. married Vashti Riley and lives with his mother. Mr. Benjamin Quick died December 26, 1875, aged sixty-five. He was a member of the Christian church and was a good husband and father. He left each of his children a farm of forty-five acres. His heirs were all satisfied with the disposition of property.

MR. L. J. VANHOOK, a druggist and grocer of Hammond, is a native of Kentucky. He moved from there to Coles county, Illinois, in 1864 and in 1875 opened a drug store in Piatt county. In Kentucky he united his life with that of Mary J. Burk, of the same state. They have had seven children. John is married and lives in Missouri. Clarissa married Dr. Noe, of Hammond. Marion P. is in business in the post-office. The remaining members of the family are Balus, Mary, Jane, and an infant.

MR. ELIJAH WILDMAN, farmer, near Atwood, was born in Ohio in 1828. His father, of Pennsylvania, and mother, of New York, moved to Ohio, thence to Indiana, and then to Douglas county, Illinois. He came to this county first when thirteen years old, but did not make it his home until he was twenty-three years old. He first bought land west of Mackville and then moved on to his present home place. He was married in 1854, to Melvina J. Cain, a native of Indiana. They had fourteen children, twelve of whom are living. Sarah^ E. married .James Skidmore, a farmer. They have two children, Tilman and Lillie. The remaining names of the living children are Will D., Albert A., Benjamin F., Clarissa E., Mary E., Charles E., named for Judge Emerson, Elijah Q., named for great-grandfather in the revolutionary war, and Jurmana and Jurda, twins. Mr. Wildman is a member of the Christian church.

MR. JAMES WHARTON, farmer, is of English and German lineage, and was born in Pennsylvania. Mr. Wharton came from Pennsylvania to Bureau county, Illinois, in 1854, and in 1860 moved to Bement, Piatt county, and began clerking in Mr. McDowell's hotel there. In 1864 he married Mrs. McDowell, and took charge of the hotel. In 1870 he moved out of the hotel into another house in Bement, and the next move was to the farm of 120 acres he now lives on. Mr. and Mrs. Wharton have two sons, Frank A. and George Le Sure.

MR. JAMES WILSON is a native of Ohio, moved from there to Indiana, then to Piatt county about 186(1, and located in Unity township, where he remained with the exception of one year. He was married in Indiana, to Nancy Owen, a native of that state, and five of their seven children are living. Columbus married Margaret Noland, lives in Atwood, owns three lots and a residence, and is a painter. Martha is the wife of Mr. Ritchey (see his sketch). Mary married W. F. Stovall, lives in Douglas county, and has two children. Thomas A. is in partnership with Mr. Ritchey, and is a member of the Royal Templars of Temperance and Masonic lodge. Miss I. D. Wilson is at home.

MR. JOHN R. WORTHAM, a merchant of Hammond, moved from Kentucky, his native state, to Illinois in 1868, and in 18T3 settled in Hammond, Piatt county. In September of the same year he began merchandising in a new building which he had erected. He was married February 14, 1861, in Coles county, to Susan J. Abell. She died, leaving four boj^s, William L., Jessie L., Horace L. and Evan L., all of whom are at home. He next married Sarah E. Butz, nee Kizer, who has had three children, Edna L., Roy L. and Emma Lena.

MR. EPHRAIM WITHERS (deceased), farmer, was a native of North Carolina. He moved from there to Arkansas, and from that state to Springfield, Illinois, and in 1866 moved to Unity township. He was married in North Carolina, to Sarah Berry, who survives her husband. He died in 1881. They had seven children, four of whom are living. Seborn S. was in the late war. He married Emily Torrance, has three children, Allie, Lillie and Hattie, arid lives on a farm in Unity township. Newton was also a soldier. His wife, nee Sarah Adams, is dead. David married Nancy Shonkwiler, has two children, Alma A. and Sarah J., is a farmer, and owns 120 acres of land. Catharine married "William Welch, a farmer, has five children, and lives in Kansas.

MR. REUBEN WILLEY, a grocer and grain merchant of Pierson, is a native of Hamilton county, Ohio. He moved from there to Christian county, Illinois, in 1853. He was a merchant in Arcola, Douglas 'county, for a time, and then moved, in 1877, to Pierson. He opened the first store and grain offioe in the place, and for two years was the only person in business there. He was virtually the first postmaster in the place, there being one for only a few weeks previously. He has been notary public and has been township clerk for two years. He was married in 1879, to Mary N. Hunt, of Danville, Pennsylvania. They have one child, Frank R. Mr. Willey owns 120 acres of land in the vicinity of Pierson. His dwelling house was begun in 1875, and was the first house near the switch.

MR. CHARLES WEAVER is a native of Pennsylvania, and moved from there to Piatt county, Illinois, in 1877. He first lived on Dr. Noecker's place, and in 1881 moved to Pierson. He is the first person to live in the laid-out town of Pierson. He was married in 1871, to Lizzie Hunt, and has four children, Carrie, Jennie, Ella and Grace.

MR. JOSEPH W. ZORGER, farmer, Yoorhies station, was born in this county, Monticello township, in 1848, and has lived here all his life except a few years. He owns a farm of eighty acres in Unity township, upon which he has put all improvements, built a dwelling house, planted about two hundred trees, and has it well fenced and in a good condition. He was married in 1873, to Cordelia A. Fisher, a native of Green county, Illinois. Mr. Zorger is a member of Bement I.O.O.F. His father, Henry Zorger, deceased, was a native of Pennsylvania, moved from there to Macon county, thence to Piatt county, and settled at an early time at what is now Mr. Mclntosh's mill. He owned the mill and lived there for a number of years, and in 1854 moved to Monticello, where he died in 1855. Mr. Zorger was married in Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth Spangler, whose father built

Spangler's mill in Macon county. She died, leaving eight children: Sarah, who is the wife of Charles Haggerty, lives in Fulton county, and has three children ; Jacob married Margaret Miller, lives in De Witt county, and has a family of children ; Emanuel married, and died, leaving one child ; Kate, who married Mr. Benjamin, is now in Macon county, and was formerly a teacher in this county ; George was in Colorado when last heard from ; Mary married Richard Ratcliffe, lives in Woodford county, and has three children ; Susan is a school teacher, and lives with her sister Sarah ; Joseph W. ; Isaiah is married, lives in Champaign county, and has two children. Mr. Henry Zorger married his second wife, Mrs. Nevill, who died a year after he did, leaving two children by her first husband.