Piatt County, Illinois - Biographical sketches, 1903 (part 1 of 13)

Biographical sketches

J. C. Langley is the cashier of the First National Bank of Mansfield. Although yet a young man he occupies a prominent and influential position in business circles, and one may safely predict for him a successful future because he possesses laudable ambition and enterprise which are indispensable elements of business advancement. Mr. Langley was born in Mansfield on the 26th of September, 1873, and is a son of Andrew J. and Celia A. (Curtis) Langley, who are residents of Blue Ridge township, Piatt county. Both the father and mother are natives of Pennsylvania, and after their marriage they came to Piatt county in 1865, becoming pioneer settlers of this section of the state. The subject of this review is the third in a family of four living sons.

Reared upon the home farm in Blue Ridge township, James. C. Langley attended the public schools and afterward entered the University of Indiana, where he pursued a literary and also a business course, being graduated in that institution with the- class of 1890. In the same year after his completion of his collegiate course, Mr. Langley entered the Mansfield Bank, and later became cashier of the Commercial Bank of Mansfield. Throughout his business career he has been identified with financial interests and thoroughly understands the banking business in every department. On leaving the Commercial Bank he became cashier and afterward second vice president of the State

Bank of Mansfield, and in 1902 he resigned his position there and opened the First National Bank of this city, which is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars. Its officers are William D. Fairbanks, president; Andrew J. Langley, vice president; J. C. Langley, cashier; and H. P. Gladden, teller. The directors of the bank are John N. Darst, John Gardiner, William DeGrofft, James Caldwell, Joseph Seitner, in addition to the three officers mentioned. Although the existence of the bank covers a comparatively brief period it has already won favor with the public because of the excellent business methods which have been instituted there, and not a little of the success of the bank may be attributed to the enterprise, close application and broad knowledge of banking methods possessed by J. C. Langley. It was on the gth of January, 1902, that the bank was founded and subsequently the First National Bank building was erected and splendidly equipped for carrying on the business. It has the triple time Hall safe and Hall vault, and every precaution is taken to insure safety for depositors. Mr. Langley has also engaged in the insurance business as a member of the firm of Clemans & Langley, and in this enterprise has a good clientage.

On the 27th of October, 1897, occurred the marriage of James C. Langley and Miss Elena Ryerson, a native of Gibson City, Ford county, Illinois, 'and a daughter of C. G. Ryerson, who was one of the early settlers of that county. In addition to his splendid home in Mansfield, Mr. Langley also owns land in Stevens county, Minnesota, which he rents. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and fraternally is connected with Mansfield Lodge, No. 773, F. & A. M., of which he is treasurer. He also belongs to Celestial Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor and was made a delegate to the grand lodge of the Knights of Pythias fraternity at Rockford, Illinois, in the fall of 1903. In politics he is a Republican and that he has the regard and confidence of his fellow citizens is indicated by the fact that he is now acceptably serving as mayor. Whatever tends to prove of public benefit and to advance local progress and improvement receives his attention, endorsement and co-operation, and his efforts along many lines have proven of material benefit to the city of his birth.

Thomas E. Bondurant

From a humble financial position Thomas E. Bondurant has steadily and persistently worked his way upward until he is to-day -accounted one of the most extensive landowners of Illinois. There is in his life history much that is worthy of emulation, his record being such as any man might be proud to possess. He has worked diligently and perseveringly, guiding his efforts by sound judgment, and the reward of honest toil is to-day his. He has never incurred an obligation that he has not fulfilled, nor taken advantage of the necessities of his fellow men in a business transaction, but has placed his dependence upon energy and unremitting industry. Thus it is that Thomas E. Bondurant stands to-day among the wealthy and honored residents of Piatt county, his home being in DeLand.

He is one of Illinois' native sons, his birth cccurring in Sangamon county, on the 291)1 of December. 1831. The Bondurant family is of Huguenot extraction, and was founded in America by representatives of that sect, who fled to the New World to escape religious persecution. Joseph and Martha Bondurant, the parents of our subject. were both southern people, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. In the year 1825 the father removed to Sangamon county, Illinois, accompanied by his wife and three children. Establishing his home there, he continued to carry on farming and stock-raising until his death. He was one of the honored pioneer settlers of the locality and aided in the early development and improvement of the county, while at the same time he carried on his farm work in its various departments and thus .gained a comfortable living for his family. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bondurant were born eleven .children, of whom our subject was the fifth in order of birth. Four of the number are yet living, and a sister, Mary E., now acts as housekeeper for her brother Thomas.

On the old family homestead amid the wild scenes of pioneer life Thomas E. Bondurant was reared. He can remember central Illinois when the homes were widely scattered and when the prairies were largely covered with the native grasses, the land having never been placed under the plow. He pursued his early education in an old log" building, wherein school was conducted on the subscription plan, and yet to-day Illinois has a school system unsurpassed in the LTnion. His educational advantages in his yruth were quite limited, but later he attended the Walnut Grove Academy, at Eureka. Illinois, spending three months there after he had attained his majority. In his vouth he became familiar with all the ex- periences of pioneer life, and the hardships incident to the arduous task of developing a new farm. He broke prairie with an oxteam, thus preparing hundreds of acres for cultivation. His father having the contract to put in ties on the Wabash Railroad, Thomas E. Bonduraiit began working for him for two dollars per day and board, acting as foreman. This was in 1855. After the contract had been executed Mr. Bondurant continued to break prairie through the summer months, turning the first furrows on many tracts which are now fertile fields. In the meantime he had entered from the government two hundred and ninety-three acres of land in Piatt county, at fifty cents per acre, this being the nucleus of his present extensive landed possessions. In the winter of 1858 he took a contract at Sangamon Station, east of Decatur, Illinois, to supply cord wood to the Wabash Railroad, and this work occupied his time and attention for a few months, after which he returned to his farm in Goose Creek township, Piatt county. As he has found opportunity he has added to his original landed interests until he is now the owner of fourteen hundred acres in Piatt county, twenty-six hundred and eighty-two acres in Kankakee county and eight hundred acres in Kansas. He is a man of keen business discernment, and his sound judgment has never been at fault in making investments. He has placed his money in 'the safest of all investments - real estate - and to-day his holdings make him one of the wealthy men of central Illinois. He well merits this success, for it has come entirely through his own efforts and his business methods have ever been such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. All the institution during the earlier period of through the years Mr. Bondurant carried on general farming, annually harvesting large crops, and he has also made a specialty of raising and handling beef cattle, horses and hogs. He has always given his personal supervision to the operation of his various properties, keeping thoroughly in touch with the work done on each, and the condition of the farm and has a wonderful capacity for business, regarding no detail to unimportant to claim his attention if it has bearing upon the work and its ultimate outcome. In 1900 the First National Bank of DeLand was established with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand -dollars, and Mr. Bondurant became its first president. The success of its existence was largely attributable to his efforts and his sound judgment, and he remained as president until 1902, when he resigned on account of failing health.

Mr. Bondurant is a member of the Christian church of DeLand and since its organization he has served as one of its elders. In the work of the church he has always taken an active and helpful interest, and has contributed generously to its support. For the past eight years Mr. Bondurant has been a member of the board of trustees of Eureka College, of Eureka, Illinois. At the time of the formation of the Republican party he became one of its supporters and has since followed its banner, and during the Civil war he was a stanch Union man. For seven years he has served as county supervisor, but has felt that his business makes too great demands upon his time and attention to allow him to seek public office. In 1882 he built his present home, which is one of the finest in Piatt county. He has his own sewerage system and electric light plant, a hot water system of heating, and hot and cold water throughout his house. The residence is also tastefully, comfortably and richly furnished, and the interior decorations are in keeping with the exterior adornments, for the house is surrounded by a beautiful lawn, always kept in the finest condition, and the home of Mr. Bondurant is a credit to the county. He has seen many changes in this portion of the state, advancement and progress being manifest in all lines of life, and he has kept pace with the universal improvement. A self-made man, without any extraordinary family or pecuniary advantages at the outset of his career, he has battled earnestly and energetically, and by indomitable courage and integrity has achieved both character and fortune. By sheer force of will and untiring effort he has worked his way upward and is to-day numbered among the leading business men of Piatt county.

John M. White

When after years of long and earnest labor in some honorable field of business, a man puts aside all cares to spend his remaining days in the quiet enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil, it is certainly a well deserved reward of industry.

wrote the poet, and the world everywhere recognizes the justice of a season of rest following the active period of business life. Mr. White is now living retired at his pleasant home in Monticello, and his history shows the accomplishment of well directed labor. His residence in Piatt county covers a period of almost forty years, during which he was long connected with agricultural interests, but while promoting his individual success he has also labored for the general welfare and has advocated many measures which have led to the substantial improvement and material upbuilding of this section of the state.

A native of Ohio, John M. White was born in Franklin county, on the 27th of January, 1817, and comes of English ancestry, being a direct descendant of the house of Tudor, long the reigning house of England. In the paternal line he is probably of Irish lineage, as it is thought that his grandfather, Samuel S. White, was born on the Emerald Isle. For many years, however, he resided in Virginia, where he engaged in teaching school, but early in the Eighth century he removed to Ohio, establishing his home near the Scioto Big Run, four miles southwest of the present city of Columbus. Again he resumed his educational work, becoming one of the first instructors in the schools of Franklin county, Ohio. He was also interested in agricultural pursuits, and securing a large tract of wild land he transformed it into a fine farm on which he made his home until his death, which was the result of an accident caused by a runaway horse. He was then ninety-six years of age. He had served as justice of the peace in the county and was a man of considerable prominence, leaving the impress of his individuality upon the early development and permanent improvement of that part of the state. His wife bore the maiden name of Jane Stuart, and was of Scotch lineage. She died at the home of Mrs. John M. White, Sr., about 1836. His father was an own ' cousin of Mary, Queen of Scots, and thus comes our subject's connection with the house of Tudor. One branch of the Stuart family was established in Virginia, where they conducted hotels, and when the Revolutionary war broke out the great-grandfather, who would not take up arms against the mother country, returned to England, there enlisted in the British service and fought against the United States. His property in Virginia was confiscated, and when the war ended he was given a tract of land in Halifax to recompense him for what he had lost in the United States. He wrote of this to his family, who were prepared to join him in Nova Scotia, but no news was ever received from him afterward, and it is supposed that he was lost on the water. Years afterward one of his granddaughters met a lawyer from Halifax, who told her that the property included in the grant to her grandfather had become very valuable and was held in the name of the Stuart heirs, whom it was thought would some day come and claim possession.

John M. White, Sr., the father of our subject, was' a native of Hardy county, West. Virginia, and when a young man accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio. When the war of 1812 was in progress he drove a six horse team to Fort Franklin, a military post now included within the city of Columbus, and there his horses were pressed into service and he decided to go with them, thus serving in the war of 1812. He married Mrs. Rachel Moorehead, nee McDowell, and settled on the Moorehead farm, on the Scioto river, two miles from Columbus, where he spent his remaining days. He did not live to an advanced age, however, but passed away November 17, 1833. By her first marriage his wife had three children : Sarah, Jane and Lincoln, all deceased. Unto her marriage to Mr. White, there were also three children born : Samuel S., deceased; John M., of this review; and Marilla, who became the wife of John N. Cherry and died in Franklin county, Ohio.. Amid the wild scenes of pioneer life in Ohio John M. White, of this sketch, was reared. All around lay the uncultivated land, and the forests stood in their primeval strength. Frontier conditions existed and the family had to endure many hardships and trials incident to pioneer life. Mr. White was educated after the primitive manner of the times in a log schoolhouse, conning his lessons while sitting on a slab bench. Light was admitted into the room through greased paper, covering an aperture made by removing a log, and the building was heated by a fire-place, capable of containing an immense back log. The methods of instructions were almost as primitive as the little "temple of learning," and thus Mr. White had to depend upon reading, experience and observation in later life to broaden his knowledge and supplement the instruction which he gained, in the school room. The Wyandotte Indians were frequent visitors at the White home, and deer and other wild game abounded in the forests and Mr. White has more than once brought home venison and other wild meat for the family larder. When his father died he continued to operate the home farm for his mother, and after her death the property was divided, he receiving one hundred and fourteen acres of the land, on which tract stood the home buildings. To the work of farming and stock-dealing. Mr. White devoted his energies with success, becoming the owner of a valuable property. He continued his residence in Ohio until 1864, when he came to Illinois, and in the fall of that year settled in Piatt county. Here he purchased two hundred and eighty acres in Sangamon township, and subsequently added to this tract until he had five hundred and eighty-four acres of valuable land, including the Major Bowman farm of two hundred and forty acres, which he continued to cultivate until 1886. In the intervening years his carefully conducted business affairs had brought to him a handsome competence, and with this he retired to private life, establishing his home in Monticello, where he has since lived in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.

In 1843 was performed the wedding ceremony which united the destinies of Mr. White and Miss Jane Huffman, who was born near Columbus, Ohio, a daughter of Jacob and Rebecca Huffman, but she passed away in 1845, leaving two children : Ophelia J., now the wife of Thomas Moffitt ; and Frank, a well-known business man of this county. For his second wife Mr. White chose Rebecca H. Williams, their marriage taking place January 25, 1849. She was a great-granddaughter of Vincent Isaac Williams, who lived near what is now Williamsport, West Virginia. He met a very tragic death. On one occasion while his family were in the fort at Moorefield, West Virginia, he and a colored man went over to his farm to look after his stock. The Indians were then on the warpath and seven of them attacked Mr. Williams, who rushed to his log cabin and succeeded in killing five of the savages. This so enraged the remaining two that they picked out the mortar from the rear of the cabin and while Mr. Williams' attention was directed in front, one of them shot and killed him.

both of whom were natives of Virginia, and the latter was reared to the age of fourteen years at Harper's Ferry. She was a niece of General Darke, in whose honor Darke county, Ohio, was named. At an early day her parents removed to Ohio and located on the Scioto river, fifteen miles south of Columbus and four miles south of Chillicothe. The lives of the early settlers were constantly menaced by the treachery of the red men and Mrs. Williams, afraid to leave her baby in the cabin, would carry it to the spring when she went for a pail of water. Hardships and difficulties of all kinds incident to pioneer life were experienced by the family, and while the men of the household worked in the fields the wife and mother spun and wove the material which was used in fashioning the garments of the early settlers. The nearest market town was Chillicothe, thirty-five miles distant, and the way led through the forests, there being no road save the old Indian trail. At his death the father left an estate of eleven hundred acres, of which his widow took charge and settled. In the family were ni'ne children : Joseph, who married a lady of New York city; Isaac, who married and removed to Illinois in 1883; John and Eliza, who are now deceased ; James, who died in Indiana ; Vincent, who cared for his mother until her death at the age of seventy-seven years ; Sarah, who married Benjamin Rennock, but is now deceased; Edwin, who died in childhood ; and Rebecca H., wife of our subject, and the only one now living.

The last named was the youngest member of the household. She was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, about four miles from Bloomfield, and by her marriage she has become the mother of five children : Benjamin R. ; Vincent I. ; Sarah W., the wife of

Horace Caleff; John M., and Mary Darke, the wife of E. 1. Williams, living in Lafayette. Mrs. White is a valued and exemplary member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and to her family has ever been a devoted wife and mother. Like her husband, she is a representative of old and distinguished pioneer families, and her ancestral history is one of close and honorable connection with the development of Virginia. as well as Ohio.

For almost forty years Mr. White has been a resident of Piatt county, and has therefore witnessed much of its development. Much of the land was wild and unimproved when he came to this section of the state, and he has borne his full share in the work of transforming it into what it is today - one of the rich agricultural districts of this great state, whose fine farms are unsurpassed throughout the length and breadth of this fair land. Throughout his entire career his life has been honorable and upright, characterized by fidelity to duty in all relations and manifesting energy and enterprise in his business career. His worth is widely acknowledged, and he has the confidence and good will of young and old, rich and poor. He justly deserves the rest which he is now enjoying, and no history of Piatt county would be complete without mention of John M. White.

Duncan Brothers

This well known firm of Lintner is composed of S. H., J. M. and A. C. Duncan, dealers in grain, general merchandise and farm implements of all kinds. They are the sons of Israel and Susanna (Henry) Duncan, both natives of Pennsylvania, and now deceased, the mother having died in 1890 and the father in 1900. They were members of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and died in that faith, honored and respected by all who knew them.

In the family of this worthy couple were nine children, who in order of birth were as follows : Warren H., the eldest, died at the age of thirty years. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery and was later with the Second Provisional Heavy Artillery. Being wounded in the battle of the Wilderness in 1864, he was sent to the Haddington hospital in Philadelphia, and was subsequently appointed ward master. S. H. was born in York county, Pennsylvania, December 2, 1844, and was reared and educated there. He, too, entered the service of his country during the dark days of the Rebellion and held the position of wagon master in the quartermaster's department though he dressed in civilian's clothes. He :s now a member of the firm of Duncan Brothers of Lintner, Illinois, and has charge of the implement business. He married Mrs. Kate Gates, and has three sons : Wellington G., B. G. and P. G. Henry, the next of the family, was also a teamster in the Civil war and now resides one mile east of Lintner on his farm. He married Mattie Connister and has six children. J. M. was born on the 2Oth of August, 1850, in York county, Pennsylvania, and there spent his boyhood and youth, his education being received in the local schools. He owns and operates a farm a mile and a quarter north of Lintner and also four hundred acres east of Lintner, making five hundred and seventy acres in all. For four years he served as postmaster of Lintner under General Harrison. He married Florence

Green, 'and has two daughters, Effie and Dora. Emma is the wife of John Miller, a resident of Oklahoma. Katherine is the wife of Andrew Spunseller, of Pennsylvania, and has six children. A. C, the youngest member of the firm, was born in York county, Pennsylvania, August 31, 1856, and after acquiring a good education in the schools of that state, he commenced teaching at the age of eighteen years and successfully followed that profession for twentyone years, being principal of the schools at Milmine, Illinois, for four years and of La Place for eight years. He now has charge of the store. His wife, who bore the maiden name of May Gannon and was graduated at the Decatur high school, taught in the primary department at La Place. They have two children, Kenneth and Cedric. A. C. Duncan came to Piatt county in 1882 and since 1897 has served as postmaster of Lintner, being appointed to that position under President McKinley. Elizabeth is the wife of Henry Hoffiens, of Abbotstown, Pennsylvania. Charles H., the youngest of the Duncan family, was killed by lightning in this county, half a mile south of Lintner, at the age of thirty-seven years. He married Etta Wilson, and had two children. They now make their home with her father in Moultrie county, Illinois.

The business now carried on by Duncan Brothers was formerly owned by Wilson & Stone. The latter sold his interest to Mr. Glazbrook and J. M. Duncan afterward bought out Mr. Wilson. Later A. C. Duncan bought out Mr. Glazbrook, and in 1895 the firm name was changed to Duncan Brothers, though S. H. did not become connected with the enterprise until 1901, when he took charge of the implement department. In 1898 they erected their elevator at Lintner, which has 'a capacity of twenty thousand bushels, and they have made this place a good grain market as they ship a large amount of grain annually. In the line of general merchandise they carry a fine stock and have built up an excellent trade by fair and honorable dealing. J. M. Duncan handles considerable stock, making a speciality of horses, and is a very successful farmer. All of the brothers are stanch supporters of the Republican party and Lutherans in religious belief. They are wide-awake, energetic business men, of known reliability and their success is but the logical result of careful and correct business methods which they have always followed.

Joshua Hill

Joshua Hill, one of the early settlers and highly respected citizens of Piatt county, Illinois, now leading a retired life in the village, of Bement, was born in Franklin county, Ohio, December 16, 1826, and during his early boyhood was taken to Piqua county, that state, by his parents, Joshua and Hannah (Cramer) Hill. The father was a native of Delaware and when a young man removed to Ohio, where he engaged in farming. He was by trade, however, a shoemaker, and for a few years he followed that pursuit. In his farming operations he prospered, and at the time of his death he was the owner of two hundred and forty acres of valuable land in Piqua county, Ohio, constituting one of the finest farms of the locality. Fraternally he was a Mason, and for many years he was a worthy exemplar of the craft, but he belonged to no order. Politically he was a Whig in early life, but he at- tended the first Republican convention of Ohio, held in Columbus, and afterward gave his support to the principles of the new party. He died at the age of seventy-eight years and was survived for about two years by his wife. She was born in New Jersey near the town of Hope, and she also passed also passed away at the age of seventy-eight years. A member of the Methodist church, she was an earnest church worker, a devout Christian woman and a devoted wife and kind, loving mother. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hill were born ten children, of whom six reached years of maturity, while the others died in infancy. At this time Joshua Hill has two sisters and one brother living.

The "temple of learning" in which Joshua Hill obtained his education was built of logs, after the primitive manner of N the times. He worked upon the home farm in his youth, and afterward spent some time as a clerk in different stores. About the year 1850 he came to Illinois, locating in Piatt county, and for four years he carried on farming here in the summer and taught schools for three terms in the winter. On the expiration of that period he returned to Ohio, and when he again came to Piatt county he established his home near Lodge station, where he has resided since 1861, covering a period of forty-twro consecutive years. He removed to Bement on 27th of December, 1862, and established the first regular dray line and conducted the business during his active life, and it is still carried on by his sons. About 1893 he retired from further business cares and is now enjoying the fruits of his former toil.

On the 2d of September, 1857, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Peoples, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of Alexander and Rachel (McClish) Peoples.

Mr. and Mrs. Hill have become the parents of eight children: William H., a resident of Decatur, Illinois, married Etta Curfman, and they have two children. Sarah E. is the wife of John W. Powell, of Piqua county, Ohio, a conductor with headquarters in Columbus, and they have four living children. Charles, who is engaged in the dray business in Bement, married Jennie Fisher and has four children. Edward, in Newcastle, Indiana, wedded Saddie Swigart. Lewis is engaged in the dray business in Bement. Franklin, who resides on the property adjoining his father's home, and is working for the Wabash Railroad Company, married Willie Dawson, and they have six children. The other two children of the family died in infancy.

To the great political questions which divide the country into parties Mr. Hill has given considerable thought, and his views on these have occasioned him to ally his force with the Republican party. He was assessor of his township for fourteen years, out otherwise he has never been an officeseeker, preferring to give his time and attention to his business affairs, rather than to political cares. For at least half a century he has been identified with the Masonic fraternity, and he has long been a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he served for a number of years as a trustee. His life interest has centered along those lines through which flow the greatest good to the greatest number, and he has ever favored reform, progress and improvement. \Vhen he came to this county, nearly all the land was wild prairie, and he has been a witness of nearly all the changes made as the county has emerged from pioneer conditions to take its place with the leading counties of the commonwealth. During his early residence here he taught for a number of years in the district school and was a very successful educator. He and his wife now have a pleasant home in the village of Bement, where they are spending their days in the midst of children, grandchildren and friends, who entertain for them the warmest regard.

John Kirby

To say of him whose name heads this sketch that he has risen unaided from comparative obscurity to rank among the most successful business men of central Illinois is a statement that seems trite to those familiar with his life, yet it is but just to say in a history that will descend to future generations that his business record has been one that any man would be proud to possess. Beginning at the very bottom round of the ladder he has advanced steadily step by step until he is now occupying a position of prominence and trust reached by very few men. Through his entire business career he has been looked upon as a model of integrity and honor, never making an engagement that he has not fufilled, and standing to-day an example of what determination and force, combined with the highest degree of business integrity can accomplish for a man of natural ability and strength of character. He is respected by the community at large and honored by his business associates. Through many years Mr. Kirby was actively and extensively identified with agricultural and stock-raising interests, and is now making his home in the city of Monticello, where he is engaged in the abstract business as the senior member of the firm of John Kirby & Company.

Mr. Kirby is among the sons of the Emerald Isle who have come to the New World to enjoy its broader business opportunities and greater advantages. He was torn in County Limerick, Ireland, on the 8th of December, 1842. His father, Morris Kirby, whose birth occurred in the same locality and who spent his entire life there, followed the occupation of farming. In 1850, however, he resolved to seek a home and fortune in America and crossed the Atlantic, taking up his abode amid the green woods near Urbana, Ohio. At a later date he removed to Greenville, Darke county, Ohio, and his remaining days were passed in the Buckeye state, his death occurring in 1878. In early manhood he wedded Elizabeth Tuley, who died in Ireland. Both were consistent and faithful members of the Catholic church.

John Kirby, whose name initiates this review, is the eldest of the four children who were born unto his parents and was but eight years of age when he came with liis father to the United States. His educational privileges were those of .the public schools of Ohio, where he remained as a student until thirteen years of age, when he came to Illinois. Mr. Kirby has since been dependent entirely upon his own resources, and the splendid success he has achieved is the direct reward of his own labors. He first located in Decatur. Macon county, and as it was necessary for him to seek immediate employment he began work as a farm hand, being employed in that way until after the inauguration of the Civil war, receiving ten dollars per month in compensation for his services.

Although torn across the waters, his love for the stars and stripes was deep and sincere, and in the early part of the long struggle for the preservation of the Union lie offered his services in its defense, a>- though but a youth of seventeen years. It was in July, 1861, that he donned the blue uniform and became a member of the Secmid Illinois Cavalry. He was appointed one of the carriers on the Mississippi river between Cairo and Belmont, where a battle was fought. He was next dispatched to Bolivar, Tenn., and participated in the engagement at that place, where he had a horse killed and where the colonel of the regirrient and six members of his company were killed. Later Mr. Kirby was under fire at the battle of Columbus, Kentucky, and he was also in many skirmishes with the rebels, while guarding supplies at Holly Springs, Mississippi, the most severe engagement in which he participated occurred at that place, the loss of life being very heavy. His regiment led the advance from Milliken's Bend which terminated in the surrender of Yicksburg and also followed Johnston to Jackson. Mississippi. A duty which then devolved upon the Second Illinois Cavalry was the destruction of a railroad as far as Brook Haven, and later the regiment was sent to west Louisiana. In the month of February, 1864, the regiment veteranized, and with others of the command Mr. Kirby was granted a thirty days' furlough, which he spent in the north. When the regiment again returned for duty the soldiers were sent to Florida, Alabama and Georgia, successively, thence returning to Vicksburg. They afterward went on the Red River expedition and marched from Shreveport to the Rio Grande in Texas. Thus almost from the time of the beginning of hostilities until after the cessation of all actual warfare, Mr. Kirby was with the army, being mustered out in December, 1865, and honorably discharged at Camp Butler, on the 3d of January, 1866. He had command of his company as second lieutenant for the last year of his service. His service covered four and a half long years, during which time he experienced all the hardships and rigors of war. Although but a boy when he entered the army, he was as true and loyal to the government as many a veteran of twice his years, and his meritorious conduct on the field of battle won him promotion to the rank of second lieutenant.

His military service ended, Mr. Kirby then returned to Illinois, and for many years was engaged in farming and stock-raising. In 1869 he made purchase of a tract of land and also invested in some young stock. His success in these enterprises was rapid and consecutive, and as his financial resources increased he extended the boundaries of his farm by additional purchases, and also bought stock until he became one of the most extensive stock-dealers and landowners in this portion of the state. He now operates two thousand acres of valuable farming land. He studies closely the best methods of producing crops and keeps fully abreast with the times in all improvements connected with agricultural work. Upon his place he also made many improvements, including the erection of a beautiful home in 1875. In 1870 he entered into partnership relations with Abraham Piatt for the shipment of cattle and the handling of stock which they purchased over a large section of the country and sent to the Chicago and eastern markets. Each month many carloads of cattle were sent by them to New York city.' They sold dressed hogs in the board of trade and made large sums of money by the operation. The partnership with Mr. Piatt continued until 18.75, after which Mr. Kir- by engaged alone in stock business with splendid success. In 1897, however, he put aside agricultural and kindred industries and removed to Monticello, where he is now making his .home, and where he is engaged in the abstract business as the member of the firm of John Kirby & Company. Their office contains all of the abstract books ever compiled of Piatt county lands, beginning more than forty years ago.

On the 2 ist of January, 1873, was celebrated the marriage of John Kirby and Miss Mary E. Marquiss, a representative of one of the old pioneer families of the county, her father being Ezra Marquiss, who settled here in 1833. Mrs. Kirby was born in this county, and by her marriage became the mother of two children, but one died in infancy, the surviving child being Nellie May. Few residents of Piatt county are more widely known than Mr. and Mrs. Kirby, and none are held in higher regard. Their home is celebrated for its gracious hospitality and its good cheer is enjoyed by their many friends.

Mr. Kirby votes with the Republican party, having long been one of its stalwart and active supporters in central Illinois. He has served as a delegate to its county, district, state and national conventions, and his opinions have carried weight with those who have been called upon to decide questions relating to political work and to the progress of the party. In 1868 Mr. Kirby was elected to the office of sheriff and was most prompt and faithful in the discharge of his duties. For seven terms he represented Goose Creek township on the board of county supervisors, and in that capacity did everything in his power to promote the improvement of this section of the country. His social relations connect him with the

Grand Army of the Republic and with the Masonic fraternity, his identification with the latter dating from 1867. That Mr. Kirby possesses excellent business ability and executive force- is indicated by the marked success which has crowned his efforts. In an analyzation of his character we find many elements worthy of commendation. He has always been energetic in business, enterprising in his work and above all honorable and straightforward in his dealings, never taking advantage of the necessities of his fellow men in any business transaction. His success has been marked and should serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, for Mr. Kirby had to begin life empty-handed. He is to-day one of the honored and respected residents of Piatt county, and the most envious cannot grudge him his success so worthily has it been won and so honorably used.

Samuel R. Reed

The profession of the law when clothed with its true dignity, purity and strength, must rank first among the callings of man, for law rules the universe. The work of the legal profession is to formulate, to harmonize, to regulate, to adjust, to administer those rules and principles that underlie and permeate all government and society and control the varied relations of men. As thus viewed there is attached to the legal profession nobleness that cannot but be reflected in the life of the true lawyer, who, rising to the responsibilities of the profession, and honest in the pursuit of his purpose, embraces the richness of learning, the firmness of integrity and the purity of mor- a!s, together with the graces and modesty and the general amenities of life. Of such a type is Samuel R. Reed a representative and by many he is accorded the leading place at the bar of Piatt county. He is the senior member of the law firm of Reed, Edie & Reed, of Monticello, where for more than thirty-six years he has practiced. Mr. Reed is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Beallsville, Monroe county, on the i6th of June, 1842. His paternal grandfather was William Reed, who was of Scotch- Irish descent. Our subject's father, the Rev. Samuel Reed, was born at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1795, and became a preacher cf the Presbyterian church, devoting the best years of his life to the ministry. A man of scholarly attainments and broad learning, fluent in speech and logical in argument, his power in the pulpit was largely felt and his influence for good is yet manifest in the lives of those who knew him. lie wedded Miss Margaret R. Thompson, a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of William Thompson. The father of our subject died in Monroe county, Ohio, in 1872, and his wife passed away, in 1878.

Samuel R. Reed spent his early boyhood days in the county of his nativity and there began his education as a student in the district school near his home. Later he attended a select school in which he prepared for teaching. The year 1860 witnessed his arrival in Piatt county, Illinois, and for several years he was connected with the intellectual interests of this locality as a successful teacher. He regarded this, however, merely as a preparation for other professional labor and began reading law under the direction of the firm of Coler & Smith, of Champaign, Illinois. In April, 1866, he was admitted to the bar before the supreme court, which at that time met at Ottawa, Illinois. Well equipped for his chosen profession by broad and comprehensive reading, Mr. Reed then opened a law office in Paxton, Illinois, where he practiced for a short time, but soon afterward he came to Monticello, where he has since resided. Here he entered into partnership with Judge Mc- Comas, and later entered into partnership with George Clouser, with whom he was associated for twelve months. His next partner was E. A. Baringer, now of New Orleans, and when that partnership was dissolved by mutual consent, Mr. Reed entered into business relations with Judge M. R. Davidson. In 1895 he became associated in business with A. C. Edie, under the firm style of Reed & Edie, and later the firm name was changed, its present form being adopted at the admission of his son, Carl S., to an interest in the business.

Samuel R. Reed is recognized as a leading member of the Piatt county bar, and has been connected with much important litigation, being retained as counsel or defendant in almost every case of importance that has been tried in the courts of Piatt county through a third of a century. He is very thorough and careful in the preparation of his cases, and martials his evidence with military precision. He is logical in his arguments, forceful in the presentation of a cause, and never fails to make a strong impression upon court and jury, and has been fairly successful in gaining the verdict desired.

In 1862 Mr. Reed was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Clouser, a native of Fayette county, Ohio, and a daughter of George and Hannah (Coyner) Clouser. This marriage has been blessed with five children :

George M., who is now living in Grangeville, Idaho; Erasmus E., of Omaha, NYbraska; Maggie L., who is the wife of R. C. Peters,, of Omaha; Carl S., who is associated with his father in the practice of law in Monticello; and Agnes B., the wife of R. D. Winship, of Chicago.

Mr. Reed has made judicious investments in farming land, having lands in Iowa and Nebraska, which he rents. Socially he is connected with Fraternal Lodge, No. 58, F. & A. M., with Markwell Chapter, No. 48, R. A. M. He is a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity, taking a deep an active interest in its growth and the extention of its influence. In politics he is a pronounced Democrat, and for three years he was states attorney, while for four years he was master in chancery. He has, however, devoted his attention chiefly to his chosen profession. His nature is kindly, his temperament jovial and genial, and his manner courteous. He is a most companionable gentleman.

Frederick Adolph Odernheimer

The German element in our American citizenship has been of the utmost importance. The sons of the fatherland have come to the new world, bringing with them the knowledge of business methods in the old country. They have readily adapted themselves to the conditions found in America, and improving opportunities have worked their \vay upward to positions of prominence here, but not only have they attained individual success, but have also labored for the welfare of the various communities in which thev have made their home. Frederick A.

Odernheimer is a worthy representative of the fatherland, and has become a leading farmer of Piatt count}', his home being on section 12, Monticello township. He was born in Wiesbaden. Germany, on the 3 ist of March, 1857, a son of Frederick and Marian (Rudder) Odernheimer. 'Far back can the ancestry of the family be traced. There is an account of the lineage on the paternal side back to 1200, while on the maternal line the subject of this review is descended from Sir Miles Patrick, who flourished in 1099. The father of our subject was born at Wiesbaden in 1808, and spent his entire life in that place, his death occurring on the 1 2th of December, 1885, when he was seventy-eight years of age. His wife, who was bora at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, passed away in 1863.

Mr. Odernheimer, whose name introduces this review, obtained his early education in the common schools of his native place, where he pursued his studies until nine years of age. He then entered what is known as a gymnasium, where he pursued a course equivalent to -a high school course in America. At the age of sixteen years he put aside his text-books and entered the naw as a cadet, being thus engaged with the military service of the country for five years. Successfully passing an examination which made him a lieutenant, he served in that capacity for a short time or until he was obliged to leave the navy on account of failing eyesight. . He then determined to try his fortune in the new world, and in February, 1881, he sailed for the United States, locating first near Austin, Texas, where he acted as deputy sheriff of the county and also as deputy United States marshal for five years. In 1886 he arrived in Illinois, going first to Mansfield, ^ind in that locality he purchased a farm which he continued to operate until 1890. On selling his property he purchased eighty acres of land five miles east of Monticello, to which he removed. He has since made excellent improvements upon the property, placing three hundred rods of tiling upon the land, building new fences, a commodious and substantial barn and other outbuildings. He has also planted an orchard which is now returning a good yield. He feeds annually quite a number of hogs for the market, and he also keeps on hand a number of milch cows. He makes a speciaity of the production of corn, oats and clover and he also has rich pasture lands. This farm was purchased in 1890 for forty-seven dollars, but because of the many improvements he has placed upon it and because of the rise in land values it is to-day worth at a low figure one hundred and twenty-five dollars per acre. Mr. Odernheimer is a progressive agriculturist and the methods which he follows in carrying on his work have brought to him excellent success in his undertakings.

In Austin, Texas, in 1884, Mr. Odernheimer was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Buchanan, of Mansfield, Illinois, who died at Champaign, this state, in the year 1886, leaving a daughter, Virginia Frances, who is now at home. She has completed the common-school course and expects in the year 1903 to become a student in the Illinois University. On the loth of August, 1887, in Monticello, Illinois, Mr. Odernheimer was again married, his second union being with Charlotte Jane Baird, a daughter of William and Marie Baird, of Circleville, Ohio. Three children were born of this union, but all died in infancy.

active and influential part in the work of the party. He has served as a committeeman of Monticello township for six years, being chairman for three years, and for three years he has also been a member of the county central committee, acting as its chairman for two years. He is likewise a member of the executive committee of the Illinois Republican State League Club, and is chairman of the Monticello League Club. He keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, thus being able to give anintelligent support to the party and his labors in its behalf have been effective and farreaching. He is now acting as government crop reporter for Monticello township and is secretary for the Piatt County Farmers' Institute. Fraternally, Mr. Odernheimer is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and is now venerable consul of Monticello Camp, No. 346. He also belongs to Fraternity Lodge, No. 58, F. & A. M., of Monticello and Markwell Chapter, No. 48, R. A. M., while his wife is connected with the Order of the Eastern Star. He and his wife and his daughter are all members of the First Methodist Episcopal church and are people of the highest respectability, having the warm regard of many friends. The hope that led Mr. Odernheimer to seek a home in America has been more than realzed, for here he has gained an excellent competence and has won the friendship and regard of a large majority of those with whom he has been brought in contact. His business affairs have been so capably managed that they have returned to him a splendid income, and his methods have ever been above question. Keen and clear-headed, always'busy; always careful and conservative in financial matters, moving slowly and surely in every transaction, he has kept in the steady progress which invariably reaches an objective point. The story of his advancement should inspire all young men who read the history of his life with a truer esteem of the value and sure rewards of character.

John Larson

No foreign element has become a more important part of our American citizenship than that furnished by Sweden. The emigrants from that land have brought with them to the new world the stability, enterprise and perseverance characteristic of their people and have fused these qualities with the progressiveness and indomitable spirit of the west. Mr. Larson is a worthy representative of this class. He came to America a poor boy, hoping to benefit his financial condition, and his dreams of the future have been more than realized, for he is to-day one of the prosperous farmers of Piatt county.

Mr. Larson was born in Sweden on the 26th of February, 1868, a son of Bonde and Bessie Larson, who are still living in that country, where the father is engaged in farming. He visited his sons in America during the summer of 1902. In the family are nine children, four sons and five daughters, six of whom are now living in this country, namely : N. B. Larson, who lives on the Thompson farm in Unity township, Piatt county ; S. B. Larson, who lives on his uncle Nels Larson's place on section 7, Unity township, just .one mile east of our subject : John Larson, of this review ; Hannah Hanson, a resident of Macon cdunty, Illinois ; Segrie Pierson, who makes her home in the same county ; and Emma Pierson, of Argenta, Macon county. Those living in Sweden are Annie, Larson and Sophie.

John Larson was reared and educated in his native land and there learned the trade of carriage making, but has never followed that occupation since coming to America. It was in April, 1886, that he sailed for the new world and landed in Boston, Massachusetts, whence he made his way westward to Bement, Illinois. On his arrival here he was unable to speak a word of English, but mastered the language in one summer. He commenced work in tiling, which he followed for one year, and the next year continued to engage in the same occupation in connection -with farm work. Having saved enough money to purchase a team in 1887, he rented a farm in Unity township in connection with his brothers. N. B. and S. B. Larson, and the following year took entire charge of a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, which he operated successfully for four years. A part of the time he also had charge of his brother's farm of two hundred and forty acres. At present he rents a halfsection of land in Moultrie county, which he operates together with his own farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 7. Unity township, Piatt county, which was part of the McCabe estate. He paid twenty thousand three hundred and ninety dollars for this place, and has erected thereon a substantial residence and made other improvements to the amount of three thousand dollars. He has tenants upon his land, but gives his personal supervision to the work, which is carried on in the most systematic and practical manner. Mr. Larson is also interested in stock-raising, making a specialty of shorthorn cattle and thoroughbred Norman horses, and he owns two registered mares

In Moultrie county, Illinois, October 3, 1894, Mr. Larson was united in marriage to Miss Selma Nelson, also a native of Sweden and a daughter of Nels and Bessie Nelson. She came to the United States in 1889, and by her marriage has become the mother of two children: Luella, born June 8, 1896, and Elmer, born April i, 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Larson are members of the Swedish Lutheran church, and he is a Republican in politics. He has become thoroughly identified with the interests of his adopted country, and is well known as an enterprising and reliable business man, one who keeps abreast with the times. All who know him hold him in high esteem.

Gilbert A. Burgess

The name of Gilbert A. Burgess is closely associated with educational interests of tion has been carried on in this connectiontion has been carried on in the schoolroom and through the press. He is now the editor of the Piatt County Republican, published in Monticello.

Mr. Burgess was born in Sigourney, Keokuk county, Iowa, February 12, 1848, and is a son of D. G. Burgess, whose birth occurred in New York. When quite young the father accompanied his parents on their removal from the Empire state to Illinois, the family home being established near Ellisville, Fulton county. The grandfather was one of the pioneer settlers of the community, coming to Illinois when much of the state was still unsettled and unimproved. It was amid the wild scenes of frontier life in Fulton county that D. G. Burgess was reared and with the family he shared in the hardships and trials that fall to the lot of pioneers. In 1844 he became a resident of Iowa, which was still under territorial government. He learned the carpenter's trade in Iowa City, where he spent two years, and in 1846 he went to Sigourney, Iowa, being connected with the building interests at that place until his death, which occurred in 1855, at the age of thirty-three years. He had married Louisa Smith, who was born in Fulton county, Illinois, and she, too, died at a comparatively early age, passing away when her son Gilbert was only two years old. She was a daughter of Hezekiah and Lydia Smith, who were born in Indiana and became early settlers of Fulton county, whence they removed to Keokuk county, Iowa, in 1843. Mr.Smith was a millwright, carpenter and builder and these pursuits occupied his time and energies until his death. At the early age of seven years Gilbert Burgess was left an orphan, and in the spring of 1856 went to live with his paternal grandmother in Henry, Marshall county, Illinois. He resided with her until 1861, when he removed to Warren county, Illinois, there making his home with his uncle, Henry B. Burgess, through the succeeding years, coming with him in the year 1866 to Piatt county. His early education was obtained in the public schools and two years in Lombard University at Galesburg, while in Eastman's Business College of Chicago he had mastered the branches of a commercial course in the winter of 1865-6. In the fall of 1866 he began teaching in Kankakee county, Illinois, and the following summer he spent in Iowa, but in«the fall of 1867 he returned to Illinois and taught at Mackville. For ten years he followed his chosen profes- sion during the winter seasons and in the summer months engaged in farming. He entered the state normal school at Normal, in the spring of 1876, therein pursuing a course of advanced study until 1878, when he graduated. For one year, 1878-9, he was assistant in the high schools of Monticello and then hecame superintendent of the schools of this city, serving in that capacity for two years. When a vacancy occurred in the position of county superintendent of schools in July, 1881, he was chosen to fill out the unexpired term and subsequently reappointed to the same office for a year. At the regular election, 1882, he was chosen for a term of four years, and thus served as county superintendent for more than five years altogether, during which time the schools made rapid advance.

Since leaving the position of county superintendent of schools in Piatt county Mr. Burgess has been connected with journalistic work. Removing to Decatur in the spring of 1887 he engaged in the publication of a school journal in which he owned an interest. He then purchased the entire interest in the business, and returning to Monticello, issued the first edition of the Piatt Independent in December, 1887. In 1.889 ne erected the substantial building in which he is now located, and in 1892 bought the Piatt County Herald. Since then the union of the two papers has been known as the Piatt County Republican. This was sold to a joint stock company in 1896, and Mr. Burgess has since been its editor and manager.

On the i8th of June, 1874, he was joined in wedlock to Miss Jane Conaway, a native of McLean county, Illinois, and a daughter of James and Melissa Cayton Conaway. Three sons have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Burgess : Lou. Fred and Ralph, all of whom are of age. Mr. Burgess is a member 'of Fraternal Lodge, No. 58, A. F. & A. M. ; Markwell Chapter, No. 48, R. A. M., Monticello Counsel, No. 27, R. & S. M., and Monticello Chapter No. 159, and in these various departments of Masonry he has held office. He is also a member of Urbana Commandery No. 16, Knights Templar.

Hon. J. N. Rodman

An enumeration of the prominent and honored men of Piatt county would be incomplete without mention of Hon. J. N. Rodman, who at the time of this writing, in 1903, is serving as representative to the general assembly of Illinois from the twentyfourth district, comprising Champaign, Moultrie and Piatt counties. He now resides in DeLand, but for many years has been ac- lively associated with farming interests within the county. His activities have touched along other lines of business, and his keen discrimination, wise counsel and unfaltering diligence have been important factors in the successful control of many public and private concerns.

Mr. Rodman is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Muskingum county in 1848. In his childhood days he was brought to Illinois by his parents, Scammon and Eliza (Woolf) Rodman, who located in McLean county. The father was a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Virginia. On emigrating westward they took up their abode upon a farm in Oldtown township, McLean county, where they spent their remaining days, the father devoting his energies untiringly to agricultural interests. He died at the age of eighty-six years, while his wife passed away at the age of sixty-four years. In their family were ten children, of whom the suhject of this review was the eighth. He has one brother who resides in DeLand.

J. N. Rodman was reared in McLean county, Illinois, and began his education in one of the old-time log schoolhouses, which were common throughout this state in pioneer days. Later he spent two years as a student in the Wesleyan University, pursuing a general course and through the years of an active manhood his knowledge has been constantly broadened by reading, experience and observation. He first worked upon the old home place known as the Cusey farm. He continued to assist his father in the operation of his land until the time of his marriage, which occurred on the I3th of October, 1878, the lady of his choice being Miss Clara E. Colvin, of Zanesville, Ohio, a daughter of James Colvin who always made his home in the Buckeye state, and who was a prominent and influential citizen, there serving for years as county commissioner. He had a family of six children, including Mrs. Rodman.

Prior to his marriage Mr. Rodman purchased and shipped stock, making his headquarters at Holder, Illinois, for several years. After his marriage he began farming in 1879, settling in Goose Creek township, Piatt county, since which time he has been identified with its agricultural interests. In 1 88 1 he removed to the I. W. Scott place of five hundred acres, and this he has continued to operate and improve. He has been buying and selling land throughout the years of his residence in McLean and Piatt counties, and in addition to his property in Illinois, he also owns land in the cotton belt of Mississippi. A man of marked business ability he is quick to note opportunity and to utilize it. He was one of the founders of the State Bank of DeLand, of which he is now the vice president, and his enterprise arid counsel have been valued factors in the successful control of this institution. For some time Mr. Rodman was also proprietor of a grain elevator in DeLand, but has now disposed of the property. While still on the farm he engaged in the raising of cattle, hogs and horses, and he brought up Lady Rodman, training her to a record of 2 :i5/4- When Mr. and Mrs. Rodman were living upon the home farm their place was noted for its open-handed hospitality, and their door was never closed to their many friends and they now occupy a very attractive and beautiful residence in DeLand, fitted up with every modern convenience, including both hot and cold water, bath rooms, a hot air ph.nt for heating and a lighting plant. This home is the center of a cultured society circle and its good cheer is greatly enjoyed by those who visit them. Mrs. Rodman is a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is a most estimable lady. In his social relations Mr. Rodman is a Mason, belonging to DeLand Lodge, No. 812, F. & A. M. He also belongs to the Twentieth Century Lodge, No. 603, K. P., and has twice been its representative to the grand lodge, and was its first chancellor commander. In politics he has always been a stalwart Republican and has kept well informed on the issues and questions of the day, but steadily refused to accept office until 1902, when he was prevailed upon to become a candidate for the general assembly. He made a successful race and was elected, so that he is now a member of the house of representatives. He served as chairman of the committee on roads and bridges, and has been a member of the committees on agriculture, appraising, farm drainage, federal buildings, live stock and dairying and warehouses. He was likewise made a member of the committee whose purpose it was to visit, inspect and report upon penal and reformatory institutions. A man of keen perception and unbounded enterprise, his success in life is due entirely to his own well directed efforts, and he deserves prominent mention among the leading and representative business men of his town and county. Over his life record there falls no shadow of 'wrong ; his public service has been most exemplary, and his private life has been marked by fidelity to duty.

Eli F. Wolfe

Eli F. Wolfe, deceased, who for many years was one of the most honored and highly esteemed citizens of Cerro Gordo township, was born on the 8th of January, 1849, in Clinton county, Indiana, his parents being Eli and Barbara (Mussellman) Wolfe, both natives of Ohio. He was one of a family of seven children, two of his brothers being now residents of Kansas, while one sister lives in California and another makes her home in Dakota.

About 1865 Mr. Wolfe came to Piatt county, Illinois, and took up farming, which he followed successfully until failing health caused his retirement. For about a year prior to his death he was confined to his bed most of the time, and he passed away on the nth of March, 1902, at the age of fifty-three years, one month and twentyfour days. Four of his children had previously died.

to Miss Catharine Wolfe, who was born near Lafayette, Indiana, in 1849, and in 1861 came to Piatt county, Illinois, with her parents, Jacob and Hannah (Shively) Wolfe. They were natives of Ohio, born near Dayton. Her father purchased a half section of wild land one mile east of La Place, but did not live long to enjoy his new home, departing this life in January, 1870. His wife survived him some years and died in 1887. Their children were: Solomon, deceased; Catharine, widow of our subject; Lizzie, who died in infancy; Eli, who first married Fanny Friesner and second Mary Metzger, and is the owner of a farm of two hundred and forty acres on section 34, Cerro Gordo township, which came to him by inheritance ; David, who died with consumption when about twenty-five years of age; John, who died at the age of eighteen years; George, who married Ella Friesner and lives south of Mrs. 'Catharine Wolfe.

Unto our subject and his wife were born seven children, but only three are now living, namely : Hannah is the wife of Cyrus Metzger, a resident of Cerro Gordo township, and has two children, Clarence and Goldie. Frank married Dolly Baney, of Cerro Gordo township and lives on the home farm, one mile east of La Place. Laura is with her mother.

Since her husband's death Mrs. Wolfe has made her home in LaPlace, where she has erected a very comfortable residence, surrounded by beautiful shade trees. She still owns the fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres willed her by her husband and now rented to her son Frank. The place is improved with good and substantial buildings, and the land is well tilled and under a high state of cultivation. Mrs. Wolfe has witnessed the greater part of the growth and development of this section of the state. When the family settled in Cerro Gordo township much of the land was covered with sloughs and ponds and was thought unfit for cultivation, but it has since been tiled and drained and converted into the best farming property of the state.

Mr. Wolfe led a very quiet, peaceful and industrious life and was a model husband and loving father. He was an active and prominent member of the German Baptist or Brethren church, to which his wife and children also belong, and was a trustee of the same. His funeral was conducted by Elder M. J. McClure, of that church, and his death was widely and deeply mourned, for he had many friends among all classes of people who appreciated his sterling worth and many excellencies of character. For many years he held the office of school director and never withheld his support from any object which he believed would advance the interests of his fellow men or promote 'the general welfare.

Albert C. Edie

Endowed by nature with strong mentality and a keen, logical power of resolving intricate problems into their component parts and thus gaining knowledge of the points at law which bear upon them, Albert C. Edie Iras won success and prominence at the bar of Piatt county, where he has practiced for almost eight years as a member of the firm of Reed & Edie. At the present time the firm style is Reed, Edie & Reed, the son of the senior member having recently been admitted.

Mr. Edie is one of Piatt county's native sons; his birth having occurred upon the home farm in Cerro Gordo township, on the 28th of August, 1868, his parents being William H. and Amelia J. (Funk) Edie. The father was born in Hancock county, Ohio, in 1844, and the mother's birth occurred in Washington county, Indiana, in 1843, her father being Abraham Funk, one of the pioneer settlers of that locality. William H. Edie served his country as a Union soldier in the Civil war, rendering valiant service on the battlefields of the south, and after receiving an honorable discharge he returned to his old home in Ohio. Later he came to Piatt county, Illinois, and located on a farm in Cerro Gordo township, where he resided for a number of years, devoting his time and attention to the development and further improvement of his farm. After some years had passed, during which time he acquired a comfortable competence, he came to Monticello, where both he and his wife are now living. He has retired from business cares, and both Mr. and Mrs. Edie are numbered among the highly respected citizens of the community.

In the usual manner of farmer lads, Albert C. Edie was reared and in Cerro Gordo township he began his education, attending the district schools, while later he entered the Cerro Gordo school, in which he was graduated with the class of 1887. Desirous to make the practice of law his life work, he then began preparing for the bar in the office and under the direction of W. G. Cloyd, of Bement, who was his preceptor for a year. He then went to Decatur and spent one year in the office of Judge W. C. Johns, and in 1892 he was admitted to the bar before the supreme court at Springfield. After his admission he took charge of the

Building and Loan Association, at Cerro Gordo, remaining there for two years, and on the expiration of that period he came to Monticello, where he has since made his home. In 1894 he entered into partnership with S. R. Reed, a distinguished member of the Piatt county bar, with whom he has since been associated in practice, and the law firm ranks first among the lawyers of the county. Their clientage is extensive, embracing connection with the most important litigation which comes before the courts of the district. As a lawyer, Mr. Edie has the success which might naturally be looked for where close application and immense power for work are united to mental strength and quickness, an excellent memory and a large appetite for the activities of the profession.

In .1894 Mr. Edie was united in marriage to Miss Gallic M. Fisher, of Monticello, a daughter of E. P. and Ellen M. (Ward) Fisher. Mrs. Edie is a lady of culture and innate refinement and was educated in the schools of Monticello. By her marriage she has become the mother of two sons. Burl A. and Willis R. The family have a good home in Monticello and both Mr. and Mrs. Edie have the warm regard of many friends here.

In his political views Mr. Edie is a stalwart Republican, and for six years he served as city attorney of Monticello, his term of office expiring in May, 1903. While the incumbent he was a most loyal official, giving most careful attention to the legal interests of the city. Socially he is connected with Phoenix Lodge, No. 204, K. P., and he is the secretary of the Monticello Business Men's Association, and president of the hoard of education. Everything pertaining to the social, intellectual, political and moral progress of his community receive his indorsement, nor has his co-operation been found lacking along lines for the general good.

Andrew J. Langley

The subject of this sketch finds an appropriate place in the history of men of business and enterprise in the state of Illinois, whose force of character, whose sterling integrity, whose fortitude amid discouragements, whose good sense in the management of complicated affairs and of marked success in establishing and bringing to completion important business interests, have contributed in an eminent degree to the development of the best resources of this commonwealth. His career has not been helped by accident or luck, wealth, family or powerful friends, but he is in the broadest sense a selfmade man, being both the architect and builder of his fortunes, but not only has he won proninence in business life, but has also gained high regard .by his genuine worth. He is now the vice president of the First National Bank of Mansfield and was long associated with agricultural interests, his home at the present time being on his farm on section 17, Blue Ridge township.

Mr. Langley is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Erie county about four miles from the city of Erie on the ist of October, 1837. He is a son of James and Jane (Weston) Langley, who were likewise natives of the Keystone state. The Langley family is of Scotch extraction and when sixteen years of age the grandfather of our subject came from the land of the heather to the new world, locating in Erie county. There he afterward followed farming until called to the home beyond.

It was in Erie county that he was married and reared his family. James Langley also became an agriculturist, and with his family he removed to the west in 1853, establishing his home in Macoupin county, Illinois. The subject of this review was then a youth of sixteen years. The journey was made overland and nineteen and a half days had passed ere they reached their destination. They did not, however, travel on Sundays. After arriving in Macoupin county the father purchased land and continued to engage in farming there until his demise. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, of whom four are yet living, but Andrew J. Langley is the only one now residing in Piatt county. One of the family is living in Seattle, Washington, another in Mississippi, and the sister is a resident of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

In the schools of Erie county, Pennsylvania, Andrew J. Langley began his education which he afterward continued in the public schools of Macoupin county, Illinois. He also spent one term in a commercial school of Gerard, Pennsylvania. Under the parental roof he remained until twenty-one years of age, when he began business as a farmer and nurseryman in Macoupin county. As a companion and helpmate for the jour- -ney of life he chose Miss Celia A. Curtis and the wedding was celebrated on the nth of March, 1859. The lady is also a native of Erie county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John and Hulda Curtis, natives of Xew York, whence they removed to the Keystone state, where the father followed farming. The Curtis family is probably of English lineage and Mrs. Langley is one of a family of eight children, five of whom are yet living. Unto our subject and his wife were born six children, but a son and daughter died in infancy. Elmer E., the eldest, is now living in Morris, Stevens county, Minnesota. He married Emma Smith, who died leaving two children : Elbert E., who makes his home in Minnesota with his father; and Emery F., who is residing with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Langley. Frederick Lincoln, the second son of the family, resides at Bingham Lake, Minnesota. He wedded Mattie Holman and they have three children, Max, Wilbur and Celia. James C. Langley is the cashier of the First National Bank of Mansfield. Roy A. is engaged in farming in Morris, Minnesota.

Mr. Langley returned to the east for his wife and then brought his bride to Macoupin county, Illinois, where he carried on farming until 1865, and likewise devoted some attention to the nursery business. That year he came to Piatt county and purchased four hundred acres of land, which was then partially improved, having upon it a little house of two rooms. He erected a new residence, also built outbuildings and has improved the place in many ways. It was almost destitute of trees when he took up his abode there, but the place is now surrounded by many beautiful trees. Mr. Langley was planting a grove of five acres of walnut trees when a messenger riding across the country from Champaign county called to him the news that President Lincoln had been assassinated. Mr. Langley then gave to the place the name of Lincoln Grove. For a numberof years he successfully carried on agricultural pursuits, but not caring to be burdened with the supervision of an extensive farm here, he has since sold all of the home place with the exception of eighty acres. However, he has landed possessions in South Dakota, in Minnesota and Nebraska, having wisely invested his money in real estate.

In 1893 in company with his son J. C., and William Firke, Mr. Langley founded what became known as the Langley, Firke & Langley private bank. This was afterward sold to John M. Dighton & Company of Monticello, and they reorganized the State Bank of Mansfield, with which Mr. Langley was identified until 1902. In that year in connection with W. D. Fairbanks and his son, J. C. Langley, he founded the First National Bank of Mansfield, its present officers being W. D. Fairbanks, president; A. J. Langley, vice president, and J. C.. Langley, cashier. Mr. Langley has always given his political support to the Republican party since casting his first presidential ballot, and he was a warm admirer as well as a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. For about fourteen years he served as supervisor of Blue Ridge township, holding the office for twelve consecutive years and for one term he was chairman of the board. He has been chairman of nearly all of the committees of the board and has done effective and helpful service in behalf of the county through the exercise of his official prerogatives. Fraternally he is connected with Mansfield Lodge, No. 773, F. & A. M.

He and his wife are now the only people living on the "ridge," who were here when Mr. and Mrs. Langley arrived and their own home place has never been out of their possession and the property is a monu- - ment to the enterprise and efforts of the subject of this review. While always active in matters of citizenship for the general good Mr. Langley has never taken an active ' part in political work in the hope of gaining office, having always preferred to give his attention to the superintendence of his private business affairs and extensive investments. A man of unswerving integrity and honor, one who has a perfect appreciation of the higher ethics of life, he has gained and retained the confidence and respect of his fellow men and is distinctively one of the leading citizens of Piatt county, with whose interests he has been identified for more than a third of a century.

William H. Dilatush

Among the enterprising and energetic young business men of Piatt county is numbered William H. Dilatush, the popular cashier of the State Bank of DeLand. He was born in this county, July 5, 1871, and is a son of George D. Dilatush, a resident of Decatur. The father in early manhood wedded Cynthia Jeffries, a native of Ohio. He was a native of New Jersey, but in his boyhood days emigrated westward with his parents to the Buckeye state and located in Warren county. They were married in Ohio and in 1868 they removed westward to Illinois, settling in Lincoln, Logan county. There they lived until 1870, when they took up their abode in Cerro Gordo township, Piatt county, where Mr. Dilatush purchased land and engaged in farming. He followed that pursuit until 1890, when, having acquired a handsome competence sufficient to enable him to put aside business cares and rest in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil, he removed to Decatur, where he has since lived retired. Mr. and Mrs. Dilatush were the parents of five children : Frank V., a resident of Monticello; Jarvis J.. who is living in Utah; Elmer E., who makes his home in Decatur; Lida E., who is with her parents ; and William H., of this, review.

In the district schools William H. Dilatush began his education which was continued in Monticello high school, of which he is a graduate. On putting aside his textbooks he entered upon his business career in the capacity of a clerk in a grocery store of Race, Handlin & Company, with whom he continued for four years. He then went into the postoffice book 'store, where he remained for two years, and in 1898 he came to DeLand, accepting the position as cashier in the John Kirby & Company Bank. This institution was reorganized in 1899 as the State Bank of DeLand, with John Kirby as president and W. H. Dilatush as cashier. The bank was capitalized for twenty-five . thousand dollars and is a most reliable financial institution. The bank building is splendidly equipped, being fitted up with a Mosler safe manufactured at Hamilton, Ohio. There is also a safety deposit vault with sixty boxes. The building was erected in 1902 at a cost of eleven thousand five hundred dollars, and is one of the most complete bank buildings in this part of the state. A general banking business is carried on along progressive lines and yet the policy of the firm is conservative enough to insure perfect safety to depositors.

In October, 1898, Mr. Dilatush was united in marriage to Miss Ida Stevenson, a daughter of Wilbur Stevenson, of Monticello, The young couple have many warm friends in DeLand and Piatt county, and their own home is celebrated for its gracious hospitality. Mr. Dilatush is a member of DeLand Lodge, No. 812, F. & A. M., also of Twentieth Century Lodge, No. 603, K. P., and in politics he is a stalwart Democrat.' He has served as supervisor of Goose Creek township, filling the office from 1899 until 1901. He is a typical American citizen, wide-awake and enterprising, quick to notice business opportunities and to utilize them for the advancement of his individual success. At the same time he is ever in touch with public progress and improvement and co-operates in many measures for the general good.

John W. Hilligoss

In public affairs in Mansfield John W. Hilligoss has been prominent and his efforts in behalf of the general progress have been far-reaching and effective. He was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, on the ist of October, 1841, a son of Thomas and Mary (Darnall) Hilligoss, who were also natives of the Bluegrass state. The former was a farmer, and in following that pursuit provided a comfortable living for his family. Both he and his wife died when about sixtyeight years of age, and they were laid to rest in the cemetery at Elizaville, Fleming county. In their family were the following children : John W. ; James T., who is deceased ; Jeanette. a resident of Fleming county, Kentucky; Mary, who is a widow and lives in Fleming county; Maggie, who makes her home in Lexington, Kentucky; Cynthia, who is also living in Fleming county ; Clyde, who has passed away ; and Robert E. Lee, who resides in LaSalle county, Illinois.

Under the parental roof John W. Hilligoss spent his boyhood days, and in the public schools he acquired his education, continuing his studies there until about eighteen years of age. He was a student through the winter months, and during the summer seasons he engaged in farming, assisting in the operations of the old home place. At the age of nineteen he began teaching in his home locality, and he there continued to reside until his removal to Illinois. In September, 1862, true to his loved southland, he responded to the call of the Confederates for troops and enlisted as a member of the command of Colonel Thomas Johnson, joining the army at Mount Sterling, Kentucky. He was in the service for two years, and on the gth of July, 1864, at Mount Sterling, he was wounded in the right leg. which was amputated just above the knee on the I2th of the same month. This, of course, incapacitated him for further service and he returned to his home.

He continued to reside in Fleming county, Kentucky, until 1868, when he decided to establish his home in Illinois, and took up his abode near Mattoon,-this state. There he engaged in teaching school successfully until 1873, when he came to Mansfield, and. for thirty years he has been a resident of this place. The favorable opinion passed upon him at the outset of his career here has never been set aside, or in any degree modified, for he has always lived so as to command the respect and good will of his fellow men. For two years he was engaged in teaching school here, and in 1881 he established the Mansfield Express which had its origin in Mahomet in 1878. He has since published the paper which is independent in politics, and which has a good circulation and a constantly growing patronage. It is devoted to the advancement of the local and general news and to the furtherance of the best interests of this locality, and is a leading journal of Piatt county.

On the gth of July, 1872, Mr. Hilligoss was united in marriage to Miss Hester House, of Champaign county, and they now have a daughter, Clyde, who is the wife of John R. \Yatkins, who is conducting a job printing business in Urbana, Illinois. Socially Mr. Hilligoss is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to Brothers Lodge, No. 589, in Mansfield. He has filled all of its offices and has twice represented the local lodge in the grand lodge; is thoroughly informed concerning the tenets and teachings of the order, and his life has been guided by its beneficent principles. In public affairs he has been prominent and has served as village clerk, and also as township clerk. During his long residence in this county he has become very widely known, and Mansfield numbers him among its respected and honored citizens.

William H. Piatt

It is most fitting that there be accorded due mention in this biographical history of this prominent representative of a family whose name is borne by the county and whose members have been so prominent in promoting the various interests which have contributed to the country's welfare and progress along all lines of substantial improvement. Since the time that the first members of the Piatt family located in this section of the state the name has figured conspicuously in connection with its material, social, intellectual and moral development. Fortunate is the man who has back of him an ancestry honorable and distinguished, and happy is he if his lines of life are cast in harmoney therewith. In appearance and in talents Mr. 1'iatt is a worthy scion of his race, and after more than fifty years of honorable and active connection with the agricultural interests he is now living a retired life, having long since passed the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten. Indeed, he has now reached the age of eighty-seven years - a venerable man whose upright life should serve as a source of inspiration and as an example for emulation.

The Piatt family is of French lineage and was established in America by John Piatt, the great-grandfather of our subject, who was a Huguenot in religious faith. He left his native country of France and crossed the Atlantic to America, establishing his home during colonial days in New Jersey, where he died in 1760. Abraham Piatt, his son and the grandfather of our subject, was born in New Jersey in 1741 and became a surveyor. He emigrated to Center county, Pennsylvania, casting in his lot with its pioneer settlers and taking an important part in the work of development and improvement there. When the colonists attempted to throw off the yoke of British oppression he joined the American army and fought for the independence of the nation. He held the rank of colonel and rendered valiant and effective service to the cause of liberty. He did not live very long, however, to enjoy the fruits of this long struggle, for when fifty years of age he passed away, dying on the 1 3th of November, 1791, from the effects of of a cold which he contracted while engaged in surveying a large tract which was given to him for his services in the Revolutionary war. Jacob Piatt, a brother, was also an officer under Washington and was also granted land.

Among the children of Abraham Piatt was James A. Piatt. in whose honor this county was named. His birthplace was Center county, Pennsylvania, and the year of his birth 1/89. He was for many years identified with pioneer life not . only in Illinois, but also in Indiana. In 1815 he left Pennsylvania and removed to Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, at which time that state was still under territorial rule. The place of his destination was a small village and was situated upon what was then the very western frontier. There Mr. Piatt engaged first in merchandising, but frequently he followed freight-boating on the Mississippi river, taking many cargoes to New Orleans, which has then the market for all that section of the country, for the era of railroads had not dawned upon the nation and shipments were made by water. Mr. Piatt also made several trips to Cuba with live stock. Fn 1828 he established the first tin shop in Indianapolis, and through two years was engaged in business there as a hardware and tin merchant. There was something in his nature that was in accord with pioneer condition, and in 1829 he again resumed his westward journey. He came to what is now Piatt county, Illinois, reaching the present site of Afonticello on the 7th of April, after a journey made with ox teams. All was wild and unimproved. The prairies were still as they came from the hand of nature, not a furrow having been turned or an improvement made. At that time there existed a preemption law whereby settlers were enabled to hold land for five years before entering it. Mr. Piatt made wise choice of his selection of land, although many at that time would have wondered at his choice, for his nearest neighbor, with one exception, was fifteen miles distant. As years passed, however, this land greatly increased in value, and he carried on the work of farming, his labors being attended with very creditable and gratifying success. The first family home was a pioneer cabin built of logs, and for many years it has stood on the Monticello fair grounds, one of the old landmarks of pioneer days, and an interesting relic of the early times when such homes sheltered all the early settlers. Another indication of the wildness of the district was the large number of Indians who still lived in this part of the state, and Mr. Piatt became agent for a contractor who supplied the red men with rations at the close of the war of 1812. He found favor with the Indians who regarded Mr. Piatt as the donor of the supplies, and always held him in grateful remembrance, frequently giving expiration of their appreciation of his bounty by bestowing upon him venison and other wild game. No history of central Illinois would be complete without mention of this gentleman, so prominently was he associated with the early development of the locality. He aided in laying broad and deep the foundation for the present progress and prosperity of the county and his death, which occurred in 1838, caused an irreparable loss to central Illinois. His work in connection with the capture of horse thieves in an early day was likewise notable. At that time such law breakers infested the country, for owing to its unsettled condition, they had good opportunity to get away. However, Mr. Piatt was relentless in his search for such thieves, and more than one instance is related of his skill in capturing those who had stolen horses. In the spring of 1832 two of his best horses were stolen, and, accompanied by a neighbor, he traced the thieves, capturing them in Indiana near the Ohio line. He then returned with them to Decatur, where they were tried, convicted and sentenced to be whipped by the sheriff, one thief to receive thirty-nine lashes and the other forty-nine. The following year Mr. Piatt, accompanied by his son,