Chester Township

Chester Township

-ABBOT WILLIAM, farmer. Sec. 9; P.O. Lincoln; rep; Meth; bom in Lancashire, Eng. Oct. 3, 1838; came to Cass Co. III. where he attended school, then to Mason Co. where he commenced farming, when only nine years old; married Jan. i, 1863, to Sarah J. Mcintosh, who was born in Lancashire, Eng. Oct. 3, 1844. She came to this country in 1849, have six children, Alice Ann, Mary Ellen, Louisa Ester, Pernecia Harris, Henry Arthur, and Dora Jane. Owns 160 acres of land in Iroquois Co. 111. and 2i6 in Mason Co. Ill; value, $12,000

ARNFJELT PETER, farmer. Sec. 25; P.O. Mt. Pulaski; rep; Christian; bom in Pennsylvania, Nov. 19, 1826; married Aug. 20, 1857, to Miss Isabella Davis, who was born in Ohio, Oct. 2, 1829; have seven children, Alferetta Florence, May Elizabeth, William Davis, Daniel Franklin, Ulysses Grant, Emma Belle, and Eva Viola Anne; moved to Ohio, in 1840, and settled in Logan Co. in i860, owns ill acres ; value, $6,000

BARNARD WILLIAM T. farmer. Sec. 34; P.O. Mt. Pulaski; dem; Meth; l>orn in Kentucky, Sept. 17, 1836; married May 6, 1875, to Miss Elizabeth A. Row. born in

Ohio, Dec. 15, 1833; owns 160 acres; value $10,000. He left his father when of age, and clerked in a tobacco factory, then in ^ dry good< store forone7ear, and at carpenter trade f?r six months. His fathexgave him $900; he bought in Fairfield Co. his native place, 150 acres, and commenoifl farming with his brother; sold in 1864, and came that year, in the fall, to Logan Co; he bought 160 acres, which he sold at $1,000 advance in six months; then he bought 800 head of sheep at $4 a head, and sold tbem for $6 a head, one month from the time be bought them, clearing $1,600. He left Kentucky, being on the Green River, between the Rebel and Union forces, the soldiers taking what they needed of him

Healer Conrad, farmer. Sec. 9; P.O. Lincoln; rep; Cath; from Germany ^Billings George, farmer. Sec. 27; P.O. Mt. Pulaski; dem; liberal; bom in Illinois

BOG6S JAMES, farmer. Sec. 18; P.O. Lincoln; dem; Pres; born in Ross County, "Ohio, March 28, 1822; married Nbveiftber 28, 1847, to Scyntha A. Scott; had two children, Mary Jane and John Wilson; married again to Eliza Jane Thomas in 1851; had three children; lost all; married again to Mary J. Pea in 1859; ^^^ ^^o children; living, Eva; married again to Hannah Mathews in 1865; had four children; living, Emma, James, Ida. George; he came to Logan County in the fall of 1852; the first crop raised he lost nearly every thing on account of wet weather; he has a mare which he brought with him from Ohio, which is twenty-five years old; she had sixteen colts; Mr. Boggs is now letting her graze till slve dies, as a reward for the faithful services she has rendered him for over twenty years; owns 240 acres; value $15,000 Bowman William .F. farmer, Sec. 32; P.O. LiiK:oln; dem; liberal

BBOOKER MARY JANE, widow Jacob, farmer, Sec. 32; liberal; born in Ohio, August 8, 1847; maiden name Bowman; married April 6, 1865; he was bom March 18, 1839; had five children (lost one): Mary, Katie, William Henry, and Annie;

I her husband was killed November 14, 1874, while hauling logs to the mill; the chain breaking, a log rolled on him in the morning, from the injuries of which he died the same day; he was a democrat; came to Logan in '47; owns 370 acres; value $18,500

^^ farmer, Sec. 4; P.O. Lincoln; rep; religion Methodist; bom in Canada, December 31, 1845; was in Michigan 'one year, then settled in Sangamon County in 1862, and then came to Log^n County, spring of 1871; married July 3, 1874, in Lincoln, to Reina Paris, who was bom in Kentucky, July 18, 1852; have two children, Ida Belle and Einma Gertrude

CUTLIP JOHN S. farmer. Sec. 7; PO. Lincoln; dem; United Brethren in Christ; bom in Virginia, June, 4, 1830; married December 20, 1854, to Mary Jane Matthews, who was bom in Ohio, July 6, 1830; haye eight children (lost one): Elizabeth Cath> arine, Mary Louisa (now Mrs. Thomas A. Sorrell), Harriet Anne, Priscilla, William T., Allen J., Ella Belle and Edocia; settled in Pike County, Ohio, in '41, where he married; came to Edgar County, Illinois, in *54, and settled in present place in 1855;. has been school director of his district f No. 9) ever since it was established in 1867; owns 182 acres; value $18,000

DOWNING JOHN E. farmer, Sec 36; rep; Methodist; born in this township, June 10, 1828; married to Miss Elizabeth Roberts, October I, 1857; she was bora in Illinois, December 26, 1834; have four children (lost six): Ida May, Ellsworih P., Warren W., Franklin W.; enlisted in June, 1846, in the 4th Illinois, for the Mexican war; was at Vera Cruz during the bombardment and battle of Cerro Gordo; when he was a boy, his parents raised cotton for their own use, and he and his sister ginned cotton nights, while his mother spun it for garments for their own use; he attended school where it was a log cabin and the windows greased paper, instead of glass, and one end of the cabin was used for the fire-place, and between the paper and fire-place, the scholars used to make out to see; in his boyhood they did all the bolting in the fiour mills by hand; he owns 175 acres of land; value $10,000

OOLTRA OLIVER, farmer, Sec. 5; P.O. Lincoln; rep; Pres; bom in Washington Valley, New Jersey, September 22 1806; went to Green Brooks in 1828, where he learned the trade of hatter; married May 10, 1828, to Miss Anna Maria Harris, who was born in Middlesex County, September 21,1812; moved back to Summerset County, then back again to Middlesex, where he bought the hat factory where he learned his trade; wasbumt out in 1832, and lost every thing; started again, and continued successfully till 1845, when he sold out and went to farming. His wife died in March, 1853, Iiad twenty children (lost eleven): William H. who resides in Lynn County, Oregon. Nelson, his oldest son, while building a blind factory, was killed by the explosion of the boiler; he married Miss Elizabeth White, of Jacksonville, who went with him the plains in an ox team. John H. Albert V., Joseph W., who is county clerk in Kansas, George W., Mary (now Mrs. John D. Leslie). Catharine S. (now Mrs. John Allinson), Abraham, Sarah Jane (now Mrs. William #. Allinson). He came to Logan County in 1856. to the place where he now lives; married again to Miss Jane Cottrell, January 2, i860; she was bom in Springfield, New Jersey, November 14, 1813; no children; owns 84 acres; value $8,500

GREBE WILLIAM, farmer. Sec. 20; P.O. Lincoln; dem; Luth; bom in Muenlen, Germany, April 18, 1847; landed in Quebec in 1867; came to Logan Co. same year; married August 6, 1870, to Emelia KIifus.,who was bom at Neustadt, Germany, October 25, 1849; have four children: William, Louisa, Frederick and Robert. He was a blacksmith in Germany, but turned his attention to farming and stock raising in this country

' 1865; served apprenticeship to the carpenter trade in Fulton Co. and followed it seven years there, then commenced farming; owns 160 acres, valued at $10,000

HAYNES JOHN E. farmer. Sec. 8; P.O. Lincoln; dem; Meth; born in Pennsylvania, Jan. I, 1837; married Sept. 25 1 86 1, to Louisa Koontz, who was born in Madison Co. Ill; had six children, lost three, living: John, Mary and Edward

HINRICHSEN SOLOMON, farmer, Sec. 30; P.O. Lincoln; rep; liberal; bom Morgan Co. 111. May 6, 1850; mar. ried Aug. 25, 1870. to Miss Eliza K. Daw> son, who was born in Mt, Pulaski,

S«*pt. 4, 1853; ^ave two children : Moritz, born May 4, 1871; Eliza Jane, born Jan. 28, 1874: owns 958 acres of land, valued at $5Oi0OO. He came to Logan Co. in 1853 with his parents; went to school at Lincoln until 1859, then went to the German and English Academy at Milwaukee, in 1865. spending the years between these dates on the farm; in 1866 he graduated* and came home to his farm; in 1869 he desired to see the West, and went to Topeka, Kansas; there he was robbed of his money at the hotel; knowing no one, he walked on foot to Fort Hayes, where the commander of the post having a sick horse, he cured him, and in acknowledgment c.fTcred him the position of assistant wagoner in the service of the U. S., he accepting; he went from there as wagoner to Fort Lyons, Col. and Fort Union, New Mexico; at the last place .they were discharged, with free transportation to Cheyenne; from here he went to California, stayed there two weeks in *Frisco, and returned home, and has been farming since then, making frequent journeys to the different states Hoffman Patterson, farmer. Sec. 22; P.O. Mt. Pulaski; rep; Melh.

HUFFMAN JOHN W. farmer. Sec. 34; rep; Chris; P.O. Mt. Pulaski; born in Kentucky. Feb. 24, 1841; married March 30, 1866, to Levena Patterson, who was bom in Illinois, April 6, 1845; have four children: William, Edward. Lilly and Albert. His father died when he was ii years old; he was then boarded out, and after two years became dissatisfied, and struck out for himself, and came to Logan Co. in 1854; enlisted in 1862 in Co. D, io6th 111.; discharged in 1865; has been ailing since the war, results of the hardships he went through

JOHNSON JOHN H. farmer. Sec. 17; P.O. Lincoln; dem; Chris; born in Salina Co. 111. May 2, 1849; married June 8, 1868, to Lucinda Sutton, who was bom in Sangamon Co. 111. June 1851; have two children, lost five; living, George Harvey,, bom Jan. 29. 1872, and Myrta Belle; during the war was teamster for the 23d Missouri Regiment; was captured by the rebet Gen. Johnston's men July 5 1864. while driving cattle near Ringold, Ga. in Sherman's March to the Sea, and after being held prisoner seven days, was paroled

L.ACHENMAYER JOHN, farmer. Sec. 18; P.O. Lincoln; dem; Luth; bom in Germany. Oct. 30, 1 833; came to Logan Co. in 1857; married March 14. i860, to- Magdalena Rentshler, who was bom in Germany, Oct. 6, 1840; have seven children: John, George, Rosa, Paulina, Margaret, Magdalena and William; owns 120- acres, valued at $6,000

MARTIN SAMUEL, farmer. Sec 27; rep; Christian; P.O. Mt. Pularki; bom Pickaway Co. O. Aug. 12, 1813; came to Salt Creek.thistown'p.Oct. i, 1833, li miles from present place; moved across ihe creek 15 years ago. He bought the claim (which he now owns) for $107; it had a log cabin, bam, and only 5 acres were fenced; they had only two neighbors, one-half to one mile distant, the other houses were from 3 to 5 mik's away. The most that was under cuUiva'ion that time, by one man, was 20 acres, and it was said in this whole locality but eight eighties were entered. He has often had to fight fires desperately to save his crop and house. The idea was to burn the prairie when the wind was from them, each man to take care of himself. When the fire appeared, hardly ever illfeeling was created. They had great enjoyment in hunting and shooting ; once, in 1843. ^ shooting match was gotten up for two stands of bees, at 60 yards ; the target, one inch square. Out of seven shots he made two bull's-eyes, and not once went off the large*, beating the "crack shot" of the settlement by one bull's-eye. Those bees were the first in the settlement. Nothing but friendship, harmony and charity prevaibd. He is now the oldest iuhabi ant in this township. Married, Aug. 15, 1838, to Miss Nancy Roberts; bora in Virginia, March 3, 1818 ; had but one child, John Darwin, born July 3, 1845 six children by her, lost three; living: Eliza Amelia, William Benjamin, and Mary; his wife died in April, 1855; then married Helen Thompson, Dec. 4, 1856 ; she died in child-birth in '57; married again to Isabella Kinney in i860; had seven children by her, lost one; living: Venezuella, David B., Lucella F., John M., Elizabeth J., Leca L.; owns 27 acres, value $1,500. He started for himself wTien of age, was running a saw mill in Sangamon Co. till '57 with success ; but his partner managed to overreach him to such an extent that he had nothing left. When he came to Broadwell, in this county, in 1857, he went into partnersh'p with Mr. Robertson, who was to fumish the yioney, he to look after the practical p'stt; after having put up the saw mill and run it for two years, Robertson's father died, and he was unable to pay what was due on the mill. They failed, and the parties buying it, offered to employ him; he accepted. The mill was then moved to Salt Creek, and he bought his present place, buying a few acres at a time and clearing it. He has held the office of justice of the peace, four years in Broadwell, and fourteen years in this township

McVEY SOLOMON, farmer. Sec. 28; P.O. Lincoln; dem; Chris; born Highland Co. O. January 23, 1840; married Febmary 3, 1867, to Miss Leanna Kibler, born same place, March 24, 1843; have four children, lost two: Wijliam >yesley, July 9, 1864; Kittie Belle, January 30, 1868; Anna Marie, April 25, 1874; Albert Byron, July 5, 1877. Went to Missouri, Carroll Co. in '67; bought 80 acres, the titles of which were proved to be forged. The owners of the legal titles claiming the land, ruined him, compelled him to come here in '74 ; all he had left was a span of gray horses. Renting 200 acres of Mr. I^andolph, nothing undaunted by his misfortune, determined to make a competence for himself and family, in which he is fairly succeeding. Enlisted in '61 in the 60th Ohio, Co. A; discharged '62; re-enlisted '64 in the 24th Ohio Battery, Light Artillery; discharged, '65

MILLER DAVID S. farmer. Sec. i6; P.O. Lincoln; rep; liberal; bom in Penn. July 3, 1821 ; married April 18, 1 846, to Leah Barkley« born in Pennsylvania April 17. 1828; had nine children, lost two; living. Missouri Ann, George W., Jacob S., Mary Kate, Sarah R., Reuben G., and John L.; came to Logan Co. i858;owns 80 acres, value $5,000

O'CONNOR JOHN, farmer. Sec 36; P.O. Mt. Pulaski; rep; Uni; bom in Connecticut, May 20, 1830; married April i, iSSSt to Miss Mary Fletcher, born in Logan Co. March 30, '36; have three children: Geo., Elmira and Alfred. When quite young, his parents moved to Ohio, then in a few, years to Pittsburgh, where his father apprenticed him to the shoemaker trade; not suiting his taste, he ran away, being then 10 years old, and while on the steamer on the Mississippi, he met a man who lived here who was a* carpenter, with whom he made an engagement, and came out from Pekin in 1843, working for his board and clothes. The first wages he got were $6 a month, then getting $90 a year as a farm hand at 17, out of which he saved enough to buy a team ; then renting, in partnership with another, 100 acres after raising a crop, he rented alone 100 acres, and getting married in '58, he bought 120 acre-s but sold again at same figures, as he saw he could not pay it. In '59 he went to Pikes Peak, but came home **broke;"commenced afresh and succeeded; now owns 175 acres, value $10,000

ROBERTS JOHN H. farmer. Sec. 35, rep; Christian; P.O. Mt. Pulaski and- Lincoln; bom in Virginia, Feb. 5, 1830; married Sep. 7, 1865 to Miss Martha Roberts, who was bora in Tennessee, Aug. 23, 1846; no children; came to Logan Co. in 1834, and enlisted in Co. D, io6th Illinois Vol. Aug. I, 1862; was at the siege of Vicksburg; discharged July 12, 1865, at Pine Bluffs, but regiment not mustered out till first of Aug. 1865 at Lincoln, thus just serving three years to a day; owns 80 acres, value $2,000

RUFF B ARTLE, farmer. Sec. 32; P.O. Lincoln; dem; Cath; bom in Germany Aug* 24, 1820; married Dec. 26, 1854, in St. Louis, to Miss Greitzberg, who was bom in Germany, Sept. 22, 1828; have six children: Helena, Gustav, Elizabeth, John, Sophia, and Rosa; came to Logan Co. in i860; owns 70 acres, value $3,500

SHOUP JEROME, farmer, Sec. 27; rep; P.O. Mt. Pulaski; Chris; bom in Logan Co, Oct. 24, 1844; married Oct. 17, 1867, to Miss Harriet F. Crocker, who was bom in Sangamon Co. Ill; one child, Eva Luella, born Aug 10, 1868: his wife died March 7, 1872; married again Oct.2, 1873 to Miss Florence Patterson, in St. Louis. He was bom and raised on the place he now owns; when 12 years old he and his brother broke 80 acres of prairie; the sod was so tough that he had to use three yoke of oxen; owns 234 acres; value $12,000

SHOUP JOHN, farmer. Sec. 28; P O. Lincoln; rep; liberal; bom in Pickaway Co. Ohio, Feb. 6, 1833; married April 2, 1857, to Mi?s Sarah E. Shoup, who was born in Logan Co, May 27', 1838; have five children, lost one; living: Theda Ellen, who was born Jan. 18, 1861; Martin Munroe, June 4, 1864; Alva, Sep. 26, 1866; Etha, July 22, i868; William Sherman, Feb. 27, 1872, who died March ii, 1874; Harry Edwin, Dec. 17, 1874; owns 100 acres, value $6000; came to this county in 1855; went to Kansas in 1869, and in the fall of the same year to Arkansas, where he bought a farm, but the land there was too poor to cultivate; he lost thereby $2,000, after which he came back to this county in 1874

SHOUP MONROE, farmer. Sec. 27; P.O. Mt. Pulaski; rep; Chris; bom in Logan Co. Sept, 12, 1840; married Aug. 17, 1865, to Miss Mary Ann Patterson, who was born in Logan Co. Sept. 19, 1843; have six children, lost one; living: Phillip Sheridan, who was bom July 6, 1866; John Franklin,

Sept. 16, 1867; Lewis Byron, Feb. 17, 1869; Fanny May, June 6, 1874; Joseph Martin, Feb. 29, 1876; his present place is part of the old homestead where he was bom and raised; ownes 200 acres, value $10,000. He enlisted in the three months' service in April, 1861, 7th Regiment, Company H, and was discharged at the end of the three months, and re-enlisted August, 1862, in the io6th Regiment. Company D; was elected second lieutenant when the cpmpany was organized, and promoted first lieutenant of his company in 1864; discharged July, 1865, at the close of the war

SHUPE GEORGE, farmer. Sec. 34; P.O. Mt. Pulaski; rep; Meth;born in Ohio, Aug. 22, 1810; married to Miss 'Mary Ann Vanhise, Dec. 23, 1835, who was born in Ohio, March 9, 1816; have four children: Arthelia, bom Nov. 23, 1836,* now Mrs. Josiah Downing; Josephine, Feb. 18, 1840, now Mrs. J. C. Laughlin; Nancy Jane, Feb. 28, 1843, married to A. J. Jackson, now Mrs. S. F. Bowers, and David D., Oct. 23, 1848; he came to Logan Co. in 1855, with no money; he borrowed a team from his daughter, and commenced farming, and now owns 40 acres value $4,000. When he came here there were no churches; he and a few others were the only Christians in his neighborhood, and started meetings in a little long cabin, 18 feet square. As soon as. the meetings became known, it was not half ' large enough. One day as he came out of the meeting, he saw some parties playing cards outside. They had meetings there two years; then he helped to build the U. B. C. Church; there they worshiped till two years ago; then he helped to build the Methodist Church, half a mile southeast of the U. B, C. Church. He has done much to build up the religious community of his neighborhood. During his life time he has helped to build seven churches

SPITLY MARTIX, farmer, Sec 4; P.O. Lincoln; dem; Caih; born in Bavaria, Aug. 29, 18 18.- He first came to Milwaukee stayed there a few months, and then came to Lincoln (then called Postville), Logan Co. in 1850; married Sept. 24, 1854, to Miss Minnie Frank, who was born in Baden. Germany, Sept. 24, iSgsI had four children, lost one; living: Louis, Charles, William and Mary. He built the Spitly House, which became popular far and wide under his management; owns 240 acres here, value $18,000, and 3.320 acres in Nebraska, value $33,200

SUTTON WILLIAM P. farmer, Sec. 20; P.O. Lincoln; rep; religion Chris Ch; born iii Sangamon Co. 111. Jan. i, 1848; married July 4, 1872, to Elvere Noble, who was born in Kentucky. April 9. 1857; have two children, lost one: Thomas L. was born Aug. 3, 1874, Lula, born Oct. 13, 1875, and George William, born July 21, 1877 farmer. Sec 26; P.O. Mt. Pulaski; dem; liberal; born in Virginia, April 20, 1833; moved to Baltimore in 1842. to Ohio in 1844, and came to Logan Co. in October, 1853; married Nov. 26, 1857, to Miss Maiy Shoup, born Ohio, Jan. 16, 1835; have .six children, lost one, Elba Ellen, died September, i860: Flora C. born July 17, i860; John Milton, Aug. 25, 1862; .Emma Alice, Sept. 8, 1864; Mary Etta, Oct. 8. 1868; Edith, June 15. 1875. Has held offices of supervisor and school trustee of Laenna Township; now commissioner of roads this township; was left an orphan at 9, and fought the battle of life alone; in '59 he went to Pikes Peak; stayed there one summer; prospects so discouraging th^;re, only making fair wages iu gulch mining one month during whole time, that he c.>me back to Logan Co. in t hefall with only 25c in his pocket; that winter he taught school, and then commenced farming; now owns 260- acres, value $20,oco

THOMAS ROSWELL A. farmer. Sec. 22; rep; religion Cong; born in Malboro* Township, Windham Co. Vermont^ Sept. 4, 1841; moved to Wilmington. III. in 1867; came to Logan Co. in February, 1873;. married Jan. 28, '63, to Miss Hattic Whitney, born in same township, Dec. 10. 1839;. owns 80 acres, value $5,000

TURLEY D. O. farrter. Sec. 13. Range 3 west; P.O. Lincoln; rep; religion liberal;, born in Logan Co. III. June 16, 1850; married to Miss Ella Sulz, Nov. 13, 1874; had two children, lost both; owns 165 acres in Chester Township, value $8,000

VAIL PETER, farmer. Sec. 10; P.O. Lincoln; rep; Bap; born in New Jersey, March 16, 1816; married Sept. 23, 1835, ta Miss Emily Goltra. who was born in New Jersey, May 14. 181 7; have four children, lost twelve: Isaac G., Abbey P., Charles S.,

Source changes here: from History of Logan County, Illinois, Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages, and Towns, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History, Portraits of Prominent Person, and Biographies of Representative Citizens : Also a Condensed History of Illinois, Embodying Accounts of Prehistoric Races, Indian Wars, and a Brief Review of Its Civil and Political History, by Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.), published 1886; 7,795 words in this source stream.

Chester Township

The township of Chester lies southeast of Lincoln, and is bounded as follows: On the north by East Lincoln Township, on the east by JEtna Township, on the south by Mt. Pulaski Township, and on the west by Broadwell Township. It is traversed nearly north and south by the Peoria, Decatur & Evansville Railroad, which has one station - Chestervale - within its limits, but no village. The township is drained by Salt Creek on its southern border and Deer Creek on the northern.

1867 - Supervisor, Michael Hinrichson; Clerk, Jeremiah Mathews; Assessor, Jacob Baker; Collector, John E. Downing; Highway Commissioners, Daniel French, Layman and P. C. Bowen; Justices, I. T. McCoy and J. P. Evans; Constables, Lemuel Spangler and John Stewart.

1873 - Supervisor, Fred. Dittus; Clerk, John D. Webster; Assessor, A. A. Mills; Collector, Carlin Priram; Highway Commissioner, William Moore; Justice, William Layman; Constable, G. Lochenmeyer.

1877 - Supervisor, Fred. Dittus; Clerk, John D. Webster; Assessor, A. A. Mills; Collector, John C. Downing; Highway Commissioner, R. H. Templeman; Justices, I. T. McCoy and Samuel Layman; Constables, H. S. Slayton and T. H. Denny, Jr.

1879 - Supervisor, Fred. Dittus; Clerk, John D. Webster; Assessor, A. A. Mills; Collector, Thomas B. Piatt; Highway Commissioner, George Stoll.

1880 - Supervisor, Fred. Dittus; Clerk, John D. Webster; Assessor, A. A. Mills; Collector, Thomas B. Piatt; Highway Commissioner, George Layman.

Statistics

Chester has suffered largely by emigration to the West, its population of 1,062 in 1870 being reduced to 872 in 1880. It is now estimated at 850.

Political

In former years Chester was Eepublican in political sentiment, but now it is slightly Democratic. The majorities have never been very large either way. The presidential vote since 1868 is here shown:

Methodist Episcopal. - The first services of this denomination in this vicinity were held at the residence of Asa French about 1840, and his house continued to be their place of worship till the present church was built in 18Y3. This church, located on section 26, is a neat frame structure erected at a cost of $1,650. Among the ministers who had charge of the society before the church was built were: Revs. King, Bird, H. Wallace, Lane, Wilson Pitner, Daniel Hatton, James Rucker, Bartholow, Sampson, Shinn and Coult. Rev. Daniel Grimes of Mt. Pulaski Circuit, was pastor when the church was built. When first organized the class was assijjned to Athens Circuit, subsequently was transferred to Lincoln. and is now in the Mt. Pulaski Circuit. The church has a membership of forty. Services are held alternate Sundays and a flourishing Sunday-school and prayer-meetings are held every week.

Pleasant Valley Church, of the Methodist Episcopal denomination, was built in 1875 at a cost of $2,100. It is a commodious frame structure, painted white, and is neatly and comfortably furnished. Services were held as early as 1835 at the house of James Downing, and later with David Loughrey and Nicholas Moore. It now numbers about fifteen members.

Layman's Chapel. - The original class at Layman's Chapel was organized in the fall of 1866, in the school-house, by Samuel, George and William Layman and their wives. The first pastor was the Rev. S. E. Pendleton, with Samuel Johnston as assistant. In February, 1877, Rev. Johnston held a very successful revival meeting, and nearly the whole community united with the church - many of them now being pillars in the church . Rev. C. Arnold was next pastor of Lincoln Circuit, of which Layman's Chapel is one appointment. Rev. H. C. Adams followed him in the fall of 1868. In the spring of 1869 trustees were elected as follows: Samuel, George and William Layman, Wm. Moore, W. A. Pegram and A. B. Hageioan. The chapel was completed and dedicated in September following, the dedicatory services being held by Rev. Wm. Grain, of the Illinois Conference, Rev. W. R. Goodwin, of the Methodist Episcopal church, in Lincoln, having laid the corner-stone early in the summer. Rev. G. B. Wolfe followed Adams and held a remarkable revival in which the church was awakened and many new members were added. The pastoral succession has been as follows: Revs. Sampson, Shinn, John Everly, C. Powell, T. D. Weems, A. C. Armentroutand the present incumbent, A. M. Danely, now serving his second year.

The Christian Church was organized many years ago and services were first held in the school-house on section 26. Land was donated by Peter Armfelt and a church was built in 1875, at a coat of $1,800. Rev. Henry Wright was their first minister and he was followed bj Revs. Cain, Craig, ^Hutchinson, Robinson, Doty and John England; the latter preached for them a number of years, but in November, 1884, was fatally injured at Oornland. At one time the membership numbered seventy-five, but at present is quite small and no regular services are held.

The United Brethren in Christ erected their house of worship OD section 26 in 1867, at a cost of $3,000. It is a brick building, neatly and comfortably furnished. The first services of this denomination were conducted by Rev. Lewis D. Ambrose, in 1856, in the school-house near the present chnrch. Tiie principal promoters of the organization of the society were: Rev. Mathias Ambrose and wife, Lewis D. Ambrose and wife, George Shoup and family, Reuben Bowers and family and Solomon Lincoln and wife. The membership had increased to about 100 when the church was built. The ministers who have had charge of the church have been: Revs. L. B. Ambrose, Mathias Ambrose, George Keller, Van Gordon, P. Brandenburg, John Watson, Goslin. David GiSbn, W. W. Nipple, William Hosier, James Young and Thrasher, the latter being the present pastor.

Biographical

Benjamin F. Baker, residing on section 30, Chester Township, was born in Shelby County, Ohio, in 1831. His parents, George and Susannah Baker, were natives of Virginia, but removed to Ohio with their parents when they were children. They were married near Springfield, Clarke County, Ohio, and in 1852 emigrated to Morgan County, Illinois, and in 1854 came to Logan County, and settled on Salt Creek, in Chester Township, where they lived till death. Fourteen children were born to them, ten sous and four daughters. Eight of the sons and two daughters snrvive, and are all residents of this county except the eldest, Philip, who lives in Barton County, Missouri, and the third son, Samuel, who is also in Missouri. Benjamin F. Baker, whose name heads this sketch, came to this township with his father in 1854, and has since resided here, with the exception of two years spent in Broadwell Township, and one year in Minnesota. July 28, 1861, he married Mrs. Mary Jane Scroggin widow of William Scroggin who died in 1858. Mrs. Baker's maiden name was Mary Jane Greenslate. She was a native of Kentucky, born April 17, 183'2. Her father was one of the pioneers of Logan County. Mr. and

Mrs. Baker have six children - Sarali S., George M., Melissa I., Lucinda C, James W. and Emery A. Mrs. Baker had four children by her former husband, of whom three are living - Amos F., John A. and James "W. Mary E. died in infancy. John trreenslate, father of Mrs. Baker, was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1801. He was married at Portsmouth, Ohio, to Sarah M. Oliver, in 1826. She was born in Lewis County, Kentucky, in 1808. After their marriage they settled in Greenup County, where four of their children were born. They then removed to Alton, Illinois, where another child was born to them. The family lived in Sangamon County three years, then moved to M-ount Pulaski, Logan County, where the father died in 1845, and his widow afterward married Mr. Bedinger. She died in Chester Township, March 3, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Greenslate had eight children, all of whom are deceased except Mrs. Baker. George died in 1862 while serving as a soldier in the war of the Rebellion; Lucinda, widow of Jackson Kelly, afterward married John Napier and died in 1875; Mary Jane, now Mrs. Baker; Silas M. died of cholera in 1851 in his eighteenth year; Sarah E. died in 1857, in her twenty-first year; William M. died in his eighth year in 1849; James C. was killed at the battle of Shiloli-in 1862, and Cynthia A.nn died in 1844 in her eighth year.

William T. Barnard^ farmer on section 34, was born in 1834, in Ohio County, Kentucky, and is a son of Garrett and Martha A. (Morton) Barnard, botli Kentuckians by birth. They had eight children. The subject of this sketch, W. T. Barnard, joined an exploring party of five and came by team to Illinois in 1864. Arrived at Lincoln he soon after bought 160 acres at $18 per acre in Chester Township, which he sold at an advance of |1,000 the following spring. He then bought 800 sheep, which he sold at an advance of 50 per cent., and encouraged by these speculations, revisited his old home, returning to Illinois, accompanied by his brother Alonzo, and brother-in-law, W. H. Barns, with whom he bought 255 acres in Mount Pulaski Township. This land was farmed in partnership for several years, Mr. Barnard finally buying out both partners. He now has 293 acres, all except forty of which is in Mount Pulaski Township. This really fine farm he has fenced into forty-acre lots, and has good improvements of all kinds. His farming for 1885 is as follows: Forty-five acres of corn, twenty of oats, fifteen of fall wheat, forty of meadow, and the balance pasture. He has over 100 head of cattle, which he has graded up to a line degree of excellence. He married Elizabeth, danchter of Jacob Row, who came from Pickaway County, Ohio. Mr. Barnard is a Democrat and has filled local township offices.

John E. Downing is a son of James Downing, who was born in Madison County, Ohio, in 1805, where he was reared. In 1822 he came with his father, John Downing, to Logan Oonnty. He married Ruth Morrow, born near Schenectady, New York, in 1806. His first settlement was on section 35, where he improved a farm and resided until Ojtober, 1882, when he went to Sumner County, Kansas, to live with his son Josiah and died there in September, 1884. His wife died in November, 1881. They had six children - John E., our subject; Mary wife of Thomas C. Fletcher, residing in JEtna Township; Martha J., who is the widow of George W". Ripley, living in Montgomery County, Kansas; Josiah, residing in Kansas; Hannah, widow of Daniel Bowles, also a resident of Kansas; and Melita, wife of John Syke, of Harlan County, Nebraska. John E. Downing was born in Chester Township, June 10, 1826. He enlisted in June, 1846, in Company I, Fourth Illinois Yolunteer Infantry, and served a year. He went to Mexico and participated in the siege of Vera Cruz, and the battle of Cerro Gordo, April 17 and 18, 1847. He went as far as Jalapa, and from there the regiment started back, and he arrived at home the following June having been honorably discharged. He married Elizabeth Roberts, born December 26, 1834, in Menard County, Illinois. Of the ten children born to Mr. and Mis. Downing four are living - [da May, wife of William Shepherd, of Mount Pulaski; Ellsworth P., Warren W., and Frank W. Those deceased are - Charles A., Abraham L., Clara Ann, William, John H. and James. John H. died at the age , of nine years and the others in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Downing are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Lorenzo D. Downing resides on the northwest quarter of section 22. His farm, which is in one body, contains 354 acres. He also has forty acres of timber land elsewhere in the township, eighty acres in Mount Pulaski Township, and eighty acres in Laenna Township. He made his first improvements on his place, when he settled there in 1856. Mr. Downing was born in Mount Pulaski Township, December 27, 1829, and is a son of one of the pioneers of Logan County. His father, Robert Downing, settled in what is now Chester Township in 1822. He lives now in Mt. Pulaski Township, at the advanced age of ninety-two years, having been born in PennsylvanU, December 3, 1793. He is not onlr one of the earliest settlers but is the oldest resident of. Logan. County. His wife died in May, 1882, aged eighty years. Of the eleven children born to Robert Downing and his wife seven are now living. Two of the sons, Alexander and Henry Clay, served in the One Hundred and Sixth Illinois Infantry. The former now lives in Lincoln, and the latter contracted a disease while in the army and died at the home of his brother, Lorenzo D., before the close of the war. Lorenzo D., whose name appears at the head of this sketch, was born, as stated, in Logan County, where he has always resided. In 1854 he married JAngeline E. Shoup, daughter of 'Squire John Shoup. She died October 28,1854, and in 1856- Mr. Downing married Sarah, daughter of James Shoup. Mrs. Downing died February 7, 1874, and January 5, 1876, Mr. Downing married Nancy Ann Hainline, daughter of Caleb Hainline,. an early settler of Tazewell County, where he still lives. Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo D. Downing have four children living - Ellen, wifeof William Milner, of this township; William, John M. and Flora B. They have lost several children - Franklin, Mary J^ Milton H., Ivy and Carry.

Samuel Evans, farmer and stock-raiser, Chester Township, was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1838. When he was fourteen years of age his father, Charles Evans, came to America with his family and settled in Pike County, Illinois. In 1865 the family moved to ^tna Township, Logan County, where the father died in 1881. Mrs. Charles Evans had died on a steamer, on the Mississippi Hiver, while the family were coming north from New Orleans, where they landed on coming to America. Of the eight children who came with their parents to America four are now living, all residing in Logan County except one son, James, who is a resident of Dakota. Our subject, Samuel Evans, came to Logan County in 1860, where he purchased a farm and resided until 1865, when he settled on his present farm of 760 acres. About 250- acres of his farm lies in ^tna Township, while the remainder lies on sections 13 and 24 of Chester Township. He first settled on 160 acres on section 13, on which no improvements had been made, and has gradually increased his farm to its present dimensions. Mr. Evans is one of the most successful as well as one of the largest farmers of Chester Township, devoting his entire attention tofarming and stock-raising. In 1884 he built a fine residence, at a cost of over $6,000, and his barn, which was completed in 1882, is one of the largest and most commodious in Logan County. His farm is well tiled and the general improvements are first-class. Mr. Evans was married in 1860 to Miss Jane Boyd, a daughter of John and Sarah Boyd. Her father died in County Tyrone, Ireland. Mrs. Evans came to America in 1865, her mother coming several years later, settling first in Pike County, then in Logan County, and finally in Champaign County, where she died. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have ten children, eight of whom are living - Charles, Mary J., "William S., John J., Sarah E., Robert A., Maggie E. and Ethel B., all born in Logan County. Two daughters, the eldest and ninth of their family, died in infancy. Politically Mr. Evans is a Republican, casting his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Harmony, ^tna Township.

Asa French (deceased) was born in Ohio, where he was reared and married Hannah Clark. He remained in Ohio until 1837, when he came to Logan County with his family, passing his first winter near the present village of Chestnut. In the course of the following winter and spring he entered and bought about 500 acres of land on section 36, Chester Township. Here he made his homestead and resided until his death. The French family were formerly from New Jersey, but settled in Ohio at an early day. Asa French was a man of sterling character and a consistent member and classleader of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically he was a "Whig. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. French, of whom all but one son grew to maturity. Of the family three sons are living - Daniel, John C. and Ezekiel. They are all living near the old homestead where their father settled fifty years ago. Those deceased are - Nancy, who married Robert Applegate and died aged about thirty years; Phebe J., married Joseph Barnes and died aged about twenty-seven years; David B. ,died in boyhood, and Sarah W., died aged about seventeen years.

Daniel French, eldest son of Asa French, was born in Ohio, in 1831, and came to this township with his parents in 1837, where he has ever since resided. He married Miss Susan Bunfell, born in Ohio, in 1842, daughter of William and Elizabeth Bunfell. William Bnnfell died in Ohio when Mrs. French was a child; Mrs. Bunfell is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel French have ten children - John W., Nancy C, Myrtus B., Edgar E., Harrison W., Anna E., Orpheus Q., Adeline S., Edith L. and Sylvester E.

in Bavaria, Germany, May 23, 1886. When he was a child his father died, and his mother with her family of four children came to America in 1852, landing at New Orleans, December 25 of that year. Two of the sons, Jacob and Fred, had preceded the rest of the family. After reaching New Orleans the family went up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, and up the Illinois River to Bath, Mason County, Illinois, where one of the sons was living, but finally settled in Logan County. The mother died at Lincoln, September 7, 1883. Several of the children are now deceased. David Gehlbach, our subject, came to this county in 1854. and since 1864 he has been a resident of this township. In 1866 he settled on his present farm on which he has made almost all the improvements. He came to the country a poor boy, and what he has acquired is the result of his own untiring industry and good management. He is to-day classed among the successful and enterprising farmers of his township, and is the owner of 477 acres in Chester Township, 281 acres on section 24, where he resides, and 196 acres in another part of the township. When he first came to Logan County, the county seat was at Mount Pulaski, and Lincoln was but a small village. He was married to Barbara Rentchler, who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1845, a daughter of Mathew and Barbara Rentchler. Her mother died in Germany, and she came to America with her father in 1855. The family consisted of the father and five children, all of whom settled in Logan County. The father died in Chester Township in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Gehlbach have a family of eight children, one son and seven daughters - Rosa M., Mary, Adolph F., Emma L., Sarah B.. Katherine E., Anna B. and Barbara C. Two sons are deceased. Peter died aged four months, and George P. H. in his sixth year.

Andrew B. Hageman settled on the place where he now resides, on section 24, in 1865. He came here from Pike County and bought the land of David Curi'ent, of Atlanta. He was born in Somerset County, New Jersey, April 4, 1824, a son of Isaac and Maria (Vandeveer) Hageman, who were also natives of New Jersey. In 1838 the family moved to Fulton County, Illinois, being among the pioneers of that county. The family went as far as Wheeling, Virginia, in wagons, several other families accompanying them. There Mr. Hageman resolved to finish the journey by water to avoid the rough roads through Ohio and Indiana, and arrived here with his family several weeks before the rest of the emigrants who had come the entire way by wagon. Isaac Hageman was a mechanic, and could readily turn his hand to any kind of mechanical work. He settled in the village of Fairview, Fnlton County, Illinois, and was one of the first mechanics of that place, and there he lived till his death. His wife died when our subject was seven years old. They had a family of eleven children, Andrew B. being the youngest. Six of the sons grew to maturity and all became mechanics. The following children yet survive - Isaac, of Fulton County, Illinois; Gertrude and Peter, living in New Jersey, and Maria, at Fairview, Fulton County. "William died in Seward County, Nebraska, in 1884; Vandeveer died in New Jersey; Sarah died in New York City; Cornelius was killed by being thrown from a horse in New Jersey, when he was seventeen years old; Simon Y. went to Oregon in 1848, where he was killed by Indians in Oregon wars. Andrew B. Hageman was married November 13, 1845, in Fulton County, Illinois, to Miss Sarah Ross, and in April, 1850, moved to Pike County, Illinois. February 14, 1865, he removed to Logan County with his family, and settled on the farm where they now reside. Mrs. Andrew Hageman was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1827, a daughter of T. J. and Anna (Hovey) Koss. She came with Jier parents to Fulton County. Illinois, in 1843, where they lived till 1849. They then lived in Pike County till 1863, when they came to Logan County, Illiiiois. Her parents later removed to Texas, where they have since died. Mrs. Hageman's maternal grandfather was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Hageman have had eleven children, of whom seven are living - Russel B., in Piatt County; Annie M., married Nelson Combs and died October IT, 1873, leaving one child, Eva; Simon V., died December 10, 1882, leaving a wife and two sons, Oscar and Silas, who live with their grandparents; Andrew J., in Ford County, Kansas; Lizzie, at home; Albert G., living in this township; Emma, at home; Margaret, died aged four years; Sherman, at home; Mary, died in childhood, and Phoebe C. is at home. Mr. and Mrs. Hageman are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Hageman was reared a Democrat, but is now a Prohi bitionist, he being the first who voted that ticket in Chester Township.

Milton L. Holler, farmer, section 31, was born in 1848, in Gilmer County, Georgia. He is the son of Lawson Holler, a North Carolinian by birth, and now a resident of Cowley County, Kansas; he married Elizabeth Privett. The family came to Illinois in 1854. At the age of fifteen M. L. Holler removed to Mason Oountv, Illinois, going from there to Iowa, and thence to Nebraska. In 1871 he came to Logan County, where he has since resided. Kovember, 1878, he was married to Mrs. Mary J. Brucker, widow of Jacob Brucker. She was born in Pickaway County, Ohio. Jacob Brucker was born in "Wurtemberg, and came to America in 1843, locating near Zanesville, Ohio, where he lived ten years. He then came to Illinois and was crushed to death in November, 1874, by a sawlog rolling over him. He left four children - Mary E., Katiu, William and Annie. Mr. and Mrs. Holler have tliree children - Claude D., Floyd F. and Letitia. The homestead comprises 245 acres and is well located and adapted for a stock farm. Mr. Holler makes a specialty of breeding fine Poland-China hogs, and has purchased thoroughbred animals of Messrs. A. M. Caldwell, "William J ones and others. The corn product is annually fed out on the farm. In politics Mr. Holler is a liberal Democrat.

John Laohemmayer, residing on section 18, Chester Township, is a native of "Wurtemberg, Germany, born October 30, 1833, a son of Jacob Lachemmayer, who died in Germany in 1882. John Lachemmayer remained in his native country till December, 1853, when he left for America, just in time to escape being conscripted into the German army, that being one thing that induced him to cross the ocean. He arrived in New York in March, 1854, when he went directly to Michigan, where he had a sister living. He remained in Michigan three years, when he came to Lincoln, Illinois, and has since been a resident of Logan County. He now has a fine farm of 200 acres, which is located on sections 18 and 19, his residence being on section 18. He was married in Lincoln to Magdelena Rentchler, wiio was born in "Wurtemberg, Germany. They have a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters. Mr. Lachemmayer cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, but since that time he has voted the Democratic ticket.

Andrew LoA/man, youngest son of Henry and Elizabeth (Kretzinger) Layman, was born in MasoJi County, Illinois, April 14, 1852. He married Blanche Pegram, who was born in Pike County, Illinois, in 1854, a daughter of Alexander and Martha (Ward) Pegram, the father a resident of Lincoln and the latter deceased, dying December 1, 1876. To Mr. and Mrs. Layman have been born four children - Ward E., Nellie M., Beulah B. and Clifl'ord A., the latter dying in infancy. Mr. Layman is at present resid- ing on the northwest quarter of section 14, Chester Township, where he has a fine farm containing 380 acres, situated on sections 11 and 14. William Alexander Pegram, father of Mrs. Layman, was born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, January 16, 1824. When he was ten years old his parents, William and Sarah E. (Walker) Pegram, came to Illinois, the family settling in CarroUton. Mr. Pegram, after his marriage with Martha Ward, located at Montezuma, Pike County, Illinois, where he engaged iu the mercantile and grain trade. In 1857 he came to Lincoln, and a year later he settled on a farm on section 11, Chester Township, where he lived till 1869, when he returned to Lincoln, his present home. He had twelve children by his first wife - George R. died aged one year; Virginius died at the age of seventeen years; Blanche, now Mrs. Layman; Carrie E. married Andrew Armstrong, and died at the age of twenty-four years ; William A. died aged ten years; Lincoln C. married Irene Curry, and lives in Lincoln; Mary E. married William Curry, and lives in Dakota; Edith, at home; John M. died in infancy; Helen P., Virginia, and Samuel M. Mr. Pegram was married to Sarah Martin, his present wife, in February, 1885.

Oeorge Layman, who is one of the prominent citizens and representative farmers of Chester Township , is the son of Henry and Elizabeth (Kretzinger) Layman, who settled in this township in 1866. The parents were natives of Virginia and of German descent, the father born in 1801. They were roared and married in their native State, and in 1836 removed to Union County, Ohio, where Mr. Layman cleared and improved a timbered farm, living there seven years. He then sold out and came.to Illinois, locating near Palestine, but the following year he removed to Parke County, Indiana. In 1846 the family returned to Illinois, locating in Mason County, where Mr. Layman purchased an unimproved farm, which was the home of the family about twenty years. Henry Layman came to Logan County in 1866, and with his sons, Samuel and George, bought a tract of about 600 acres of land. The father made the homestead on the northeast quarter of section 15, where he lived till his death, in 1868, and where his widow still resides. Henry Layman an d wife had a family of nine children, of whom five sons and two daughters are living. Two daughters are deceased. Samuel, the eldest son, lives near Salem, Oregon ; Isaac and Lewis live in Champaign County, Illinois. George Layman, the second son, was born in Shenandoah County, Virginia, July

26, 1835. May 30, 1861, he was married to Elizabeth Plaster who was born and reared in Illinois, the date of her birth being November 5, 1843. Her parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Plaster, were early settlers of Illinois, and are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. George Layman have three children - Mary, wife of Charles Blackburn; George Edgar, lost his sight in May, 1884; and Lewis Wolf. George Layman has a fine farm on section 14, Chester Township, containing 320 acres, where he resides. His farm shows good care and is under fine cultivation, and his residence and farm buildings are noticeably good. His land when he first located here, in 1866, was wild prairie land. Andrew, the youngest son of Henry Layman, resides on the northwest quarter of section 14. The two surviving daughters of Henry Layman are - Delilah, who lives at the homestead, and Mary, wife of William Young, living in Champaign Connty, Illinois.

William Matthews, of Chester Township, is one of the pioneers of Logan County. He was born in Pike County, Ohio, in 1810, a son of Thomas Matthews, who immigrated to Pike County from Pennsylvania in a very early day. William Matthews was reared in Pike County, and there married, January 13, 1836, Mary Wilday, whose parents were also early settlers of Ohio, coming from Delaware. Our subject came to Illinois with his wife and child in 1838. They came with the family of Mr. Matthews, and what household effects they had they brought with them in a wagon drawn by three yoke of oxen. They accomplished the journey, a distance of 430 miles, in seventeen days, and on arriving here William Matthews bought a quarter-section of land on section 31, this township, paying therefor the sum of $9 per acre. About fifty acres had been broken, and a small log house had been built. He leased this place for one year, and went to Morgan County, where he rented a farm for one year. In March, 1839, he returned to his farm in Chester Township, on which he has lived for forty-seven years. But comparatively few who now live in Chester Township were here when Mr. Matthews came. Time, with the inevitable changes which it brings, has done its work, and soon none will be left to tell the story of the 'trials and hardships of those hardy pioneers of Logan County. Mr. Matthews lost his wife, who had been a helpmeet to him for eo many years, February 23, 1880. They had eleven children born to them, of whom five are living. The children are as follows - Alonzo accidentally shot himself when in his seventeenth year; Francis Newton died, aged about twenty-three years; Jeremiah and Josiah (twins), the former living in Mount PulasJii and the latter deceased; Arvilla and Prucjlla ftwins), the former married "William Bog^s, and died several years ago, and the latter is the wife of Dr. Thomas Primm, of Lincoln; Allen G. Thurraan died in his twenty-first year; Jerusha, wife of Edmund Linch, of Lincoln; Mary Ann and an infant, deceased (twins), the former the wife of Thomas B. Piatt, is living with her husband on the homestead; William L., born December 4, 1853, is at home. Mr. Matthews and wife became connected with the Christian church early in life, and have always been consistent members of that denomination. Mr. Matthews' father died in Ohio, and his mother came with an elder brother, Thomas Matthews, to Illinois in 1839. The latter was a deaf mute. A married daughter, Mrs. Jane Matthews, wife of Thomas D. Matthews, also came with her mother. The latter lived but a short time after coming to Illinois, dying in the spring of 1840. Thomas -B. Piatt, mentioned as the husband of Mary Ann Matthews, was born in 1852 in Champaign County, Ohio. He was reared a farmer, but began teaching school at the age of twenty years, and has since followed that profession during most of the winter terms. He was married in 1876, and he and his wife have two children - Olletha and Nellie M. Mr. Piatt's parents, John and Mary Piatt, immigrated to De Witt County in 1854, where they still reside.

John Maurer has been a resident of Chester Township, Logan County, since 1869, when he located on his present farm on section 21. He was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1830, a son of Christain Maurer, who died in 1881. His mother died in April, 1868. He learned the trade of a stone-mason and architect in Germany, and in 1848, when but eighteen years of age, he came to America. He first located in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, where he worked on a farm by the month for about one year, after which he worked land on shares, remaining in Ohio till 1868. He then came to Mason County, Illinois, and bought a partially improved farm containing 160 acres, living there till he came to Logan County in 1869. Here he bought 320 acres on section 21, to which he has recently added till his farm consists of 670 acres. Mr. Maurer came to this country a poor boy, but in all his undertakings he has been successful, and all he possesses he has acquired by his own exertions. He is one of the largest and most successful farmers of Chester Township. He was married in Ohio to Katherine Seklen, a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, and they have a family of five children - Christian, married and living in this township; George, also married and living in this township; Fred, Jacob and Henry, living at home. Of our subject's father's family he and his sister Christena are the only survivors. The latter is living in Germany. Mr. Maurer has charge of the Chestervale station, near his residence, and is also engaged in buying and shipping grain at this point. In national politics he affiliates with the Democratic party, but in local politics he votes for the best man, regardless of party ties. He is at present serving his fourth term as iiighway commissioner, and is also school treasurer of his township, which position he has held several years.

James Primm, deceased, was born in St. Clair County, Illinois, in 1809. His father was Thomas Primm, and his grandfather, a native of the State of Virginia, was one of the pioneers of Illinois. James Primm came to Logan County in 1835, and was married in 1839 to Miss Maria Russell, born in Loudoun County, Yirginia, in 1818. Her parents, William and Nancy Russell,cameata very early day to what is now Logan County, but then was a part of Sangamon County. Mr. Russell afterward settled near Lincoln, where he died in 1858. He was born in 1784. His wife, born in 1791, died in 1861. Mr. and Mrs. Russell had eight children, of whom only two are living - John Russell and Mrs. Primm. Mr. Primm kept the first store at Postville, and was well known as one of the prominent early settlers of Logan County. In 1865 he settled on a farm in Chester Township, which he made a beautiful place. Here he resided till his death, which occurred in 1872. His wife still owns and occupies the homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Primm had nine children, four of whom are living - Edward J., born at Postville in 1846, lives on the homestead; John, born in 1848; William R., born in 1850, and Ruth, born in 1853. The deceased children are - James M., Robert M., Thomas F., Mary E. and Nancy.

Charles Rickey was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, about 1830. His parents, James and Ann Richey, were also born in the same county, where they resided until their death. There were eight children in the family, all of whom are deceased except Charles and James, who is still in Ireland. Two brothers, John and David, came to this country, and died in Pike County, Illinois. At the age of eighteen years Charles Richey came to America, settling in Pike County, Illinois, J une 23, 1853, where his brothers were living. Here he lived three years, coming to Chester Township in 1856, where he has ever since resided, with the exception of one year spent in JEtna Townsliip. He purchased his present farm in 1873 from William Ta3'lor. The first improvements on the place were made by Baker Pegram, all except twenty-five acres being broken when purchased by Mr. Richey. In 1882 he built a fine residence, at a cost of $2,500. His buildings are all good, and ho has tiled such portions of his farm as required it. He also ownb an improved farm of 240 acres in ^tna Township, on which, in 1884, he expended for tiling and labor for laying the same about $800. In September, 1861, Mr. Richey was married to Mary Babcock, born in Orange County, New York. Her parents, George and Jane Babcock, were natives of the State of New York, and resided there until their death. Mr. Richey has resided in Logan County since August 20, 1859. Of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Richey seven are now living - Annie May, James Harrison, Hattie Luella, Junietta, Eugene Homer, Minnie Maud, and Beulah Elizabeth. Two sons, Charles and William, died in infancy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Richey are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Chester Township. Folitically Mr. Richey^ is a Republican.

Ma/rtin Spitly, one of the early settlers of Postville and Lincoln, is a native of Bavaria, Germany, born in 1818. When he was twelve years old his father, Johannes Spitly, died, leaving his mother with eleven children - two sons and nine daughters. Martin was the eldest of the two boys, and on him devolved the responsibility of the care of the family, a duty which he faithfully peiiformed. He lived at home until thirty years of age, when, the family having grown to maturity, he resolved to start in life for himself. He accordingly, in 1850, started for America, and in April of that year landed in New York. He at once came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and engaged to work on the steamer Mayflower. In the fall of the same year he came to Logan County, wliere he worked on a farm near Middletown, receiving $10 per month. In the fall of 1851 he located in Postville, where he carried on the hotel and livery business, and at Lincoln for the following seventeen years, with the exception of two-years residence at Mt. Pulaski. In 1858 he rebuilt the Foster House at Lincoln, changing its name to the Spitly House, which name it still bears. In 1877 Mr. Spitly exchanged his hotel property in Lincoln for 3,000 acres of land in Colfax County, Nebraska, on which he laid out a town which was called Spitly. It is now a railroad station, situated on the Union Pacific Railway. Mr. Spitly has a pleasant home on section 5, Chester Township, Logan County, adjoining the agricultural fair grounds, where he has resided since 1878. He has long been one of the prominent citizens of Lincoln, and was one of the organizers of the Logan County Agricultural Society, with which he has been connected as a stockholder since its organization. Mr. Spitly was married at St. Louis in 1854: to Burbena Frank, a native of Bavaria, Germany. They have three children - Louis, in Los Angeles, (California; Charles, married to Jane Blick, and Mary, now Mrs. Kesch, of Springfield, Illinois.

Riohard H. Templeman was born near Fredericksburg, Virginia, April 20, 1833. He was left an orphan at the early age of nine years and received only such education as was aflPorded by the district school. In 1842 he went to Baltimore and in 1844 to Pickaway County, Ohio, coming to Logan County, Illinois, in 1853. In March, 1859, he went to Pike's Peak, but being able to earn only fair wages at gulch mining, he returned to Illinois the following October, having when he reached home only 25 cents with which to begin anew the battle of life. The following winter he taught school in the Laughrey district, two miles north of Mt. Pulaski, and the next year began farming, which he has since followed. He is now one of the most prosperous farmers in the county, owning nearly 300 acres of finely improved land, a fine brick dwelling, and substantial farm buildings. Since 1884 he has devoted his attention to stock-raising and has sowed his farm all to grass (a new departure in Logan County), and is meeting with good success in his new enterprise. Mr. Templeman has been a member of the Board of Supervisors eight years, and in 1882 was elected to the Legislature and re-elected in 1884, serving with much credit and to the greatest satisfaction of his constituents. He is a liberal, benevolent citizen, dispensing his charity unostentatiously, but freely. His home is the abode of hospitality, and friends receive a hearty welcome, and the stranger who chances to tarry there is made to feel at home. He in an honorable, upright man in every sense of the word, and never betrayed a trnst nor was ever illured from the path of strictest integrity to advance his own personal gain or ambition. In politics he is an uncompromising Democrat. Mr. Templeman was married November 26, 1857, to Mary Shoup, a native of Pickaway County, Ohio, born January 16, 1835. Six children have been born to them - Etha Ellen, born August 5, 1858; Flora C, July 17, 1860; John Milton, August 25, 1862; Emma Alice, September 8, 1864; Mary

David C. Turley, residing on section 13, Chester Township, is a son of Charles Turley, formerly a resident of Logan County, but now of Sangamon County, Illinois. Charles Turley was born in Montgomery County, Kentucky, December 11, 1822, and in 1823 his father, Charles Turley, immigrated with his family to Logan County, and settled in Elkhart Township, they being among the earliest pioneer families in this part of Illinois. Charles Turley, Jr., was reared to manhood in Elkhart Township, and in 1842 married Louisa England, who was born in Sangamon County. They had a family of eleven children of whom five sons and four daughters are living - Sanford, residing at Belle Plain, Sumner County, Kansas, is engaged in farming and the music trade; Mrs. Maggie Maxwell lives in Lincoln; David C, our subject; Amanda, wife of John B. Taylor, of Williamsville, Sangamon County ; Susan, wife of Doctor McClellan, of Williamsville ; James P., a farmer of Sangamon County; Marshal], engaged in farming in the same county ; General Mead, named after the noted Union leader of that name, resides near Belle Plains, Kansas, and Ina May, at home. Josephine and an infant daughter unnamed are deceased. Charles Turley, Jr., removed to Sangamon County about 1855, and is now living near Williamsville. David C. Turley, whose name stands at the head of this sketch, is a native of Elkhart Township, Logan County, born June 16, 1850, and is the only son of Charles Turley uow living in this county. He was married November 26, 1873, to Elva L. Oltz, born December 25, 1855, in Tompkins County, New York, a daughter of Solomon and Maria Oltz, her father dying when she was but four years of age. In 1864 she came with her mother to Logan County, Illinois, and settled in Lincoln where Mrs. Oltz married William Horton and subsequently removed to Fresno County, California. Mrs. Turley has an elder sister, Celia, who married in New York State, Myron Lynde, and came to Logan County several years after her mother. Mr. Lynde died in Clinton, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. David C. Turley have two children both deceased - Maud Inez, died aged eleven months, and Charles LeRoy, died aged six weeks.

Joseph C. Webster, deceased, was born in Miami County, Ohio, and was, in a great measure, a self-educated man and in his younger life was a very successful teacher for many years. He came to Logan

County' , Illinois, in 1851, and was the first mayor of Lincoln. He was clerk of the Circuit Court for two terms, master in chancery a nurcber of years, and for four or five years editor of the Herald in Lincoln. He was an active member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities of Lincoln, atid of the Baptist church. He died on his farm in Chester Township in March, 1873. His first wife, Mary Ayres, daughter of Darius Ayres, died leaving four children - John D., Sarah J., Hiram "W. (deceased), and Mary E. By his second marriage, with Christine C. Warner, who survives him, there were five children - Elmer L., Estelle M., Alice L., Hattie E. (deceased), and Joseph C. Mr. Webster is one of the distinguished men of the county, whose memory is cherished by a loving family and the many friends who knew him.

Fred Wihnert was born in Waldach, Germany, in 1837, a son of Peter and Kate Wilmert. He was reared in his native country, and at the age of twenty years he came to America. An elder brother, Jacob Wilmert, had preceded him and was then living in Mason County, but later settled in East Lincoln Township, Logan County, where he died in October, 1884. Our subject worked for his brother in Mason County about one year and a half, when he began working on his own account. He commenced life a poor boy but, owing to his industry and economy, combined with good management, he is to-day classed among the successful farmers of Chester Township. He has been a resident of Logan County since 1864, and since 1871 he has lived on his present farm in this township. His residence is on section 19, and his tine farm, which contains about 477 acres, is situated on sections 19 and 20. Mr. Wilmert was married in Lincoln County, Illinois, to Elizabeth Ambrust, a native of Bavaria, Germany. They are the parents of eight children - Christina, Molly, Katie, Rosa, Lizzie, Louisa, Fred and Jacob. In 1882 our subject's father, with another son, came to America, where he died four months after landing at New York. Mrs. Peter Wilmert died in Germany many years after our subject came to America. All their children live in America except one daughter, who still lives in Germany.