Decatur Township (part 41 of 46)

On the 9th of March, 1865, in Moultrie county, Mr. Roney was united in marriage to Miss Emma T. Freeland, who was born in North Carolina, August 6, 1843, a daughter of John J. and Mary (Craig) Freeland. She removed with her parents to Moultrie county when she was about thirteen years of age and there was educated in the public schools and grew to womanhood. Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Roney. John S., born Sep>- tember 28, 1866, is a grain dealer of Dalton City. He married Miss Josie Reeder, and they have four children, Mabel, Leta, Fay and John Kenneth. Ella was married to Wilbur Gibson, a real-estate dealer, and lives in Guthrie, Oklahoma. They have one son, Vernon. Ralph T., born on the 7th of May, 1884, was a student of the University of Illinois and later entered the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor but was obliged to give up the study of medicine on account of trouble with his eyes. He is now living at home.

Mr. Roney is an independent republican, being a man who studies closely the character of the candidate before casting his vote. He and the other members of the family are identified with the Presbyterian church, of which he was elder while at Dalton City. He is greatly interested in the study of the Bible and has devoted considerable time as a teacher in the Sunday school. Fraternally he holds membership in Chevalier Bayard Lodge, No. 189, K. P. He has many friends in central Illinois, whom he has made by honorable business dealings and by the exercise of genial social qualities, with which he is abundantly blessed.

Ed Reeser, engaged in general farming on section 17, Friends Creek township, is an extremely busy man with his farming and stock-raising interests, owning and cultivating one hundred acres of rich and productive land in the home place, together with another tract of sixty acres. He recognizes the fact that diligence and determination are important elements in success and he therefore employs them in the attainment of that prosperity which is the legitimate goal of all honest endeavor. He has lived in Macon county since 1881, arriving here when a young man of twenty years. His birth occurred in York county, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1861, his parents being William and Elizabeth (Good) Reeser, both of whom were born and reared in the Keystone state. Following their marriage they took up their abode there, the father becoming a farmer of York county, where he reared his family and spent his life. He had eleven children, eight sons and three daughters.

Ed. Reeser, the youngest of the family, was reared upon the old homestead farm in Pennsylvania, attended the common schools and through the periods of vacation worked in the fields. He continued with his father until he was grown and in 1881 came west to join a brother, who at that time was in Argenta, Macon county. Here he engaged with his brother in the manufacture of tile, continuing in business for five years. Throughout the period of his residence in this county he has been numbered among the enterprising and progressive business men, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.

On the 7th of January, 1887, Mr. Reeser was married on the farm where he now resides to Miss Mary C. Williams, a native of Friends Creek township and a daughter of Jackson Williams, who was one of the early settlers of Macon county, coming to this state from Ohio. Following his marriage Mr. Reeser purchased one of the Williams farms of one hundred acres and with characteristic energy began its further development. He has brought the fields under a high state of cultivation and has added many modern equipments, so that the farm is lacking in none of the accessories and conveniences of a model farm of the twentieth century. He has erected a modern frame residence, a good barn and other outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock and the farm presents a very neat and attractive appearance. He raises considerable grain and also raises stock, making a specialty of pure blooded and high grade cattle and horses. In addition to his home place he has a farm of sixty acres near by and this he also cultivates and improves.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Reeser have been born three children: Opal, the wife of Arthur Hendrik, a resident farmer of Friends Creek township, by whom she has one child, Mabel; Herbert A., who aids his father in carrying on the home farm; and Irene, who completes the family.

In his political views Mr. Reeser has been a lifelong democrat and has served as a delegate to county conventions. His fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and ability and of his progressive citizenship, have chosen him to the office of highway commissioner, while for fifteen years he has been retained in the office of township school trustee and is now a member of the school board. His wife belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian church at Argenta, and he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained a high degree, belonging to the lodge at Argenta ; Monticello Chapter, R. A. M. ; Decatur Commandery, K. T. and the Mystic Shrine at Peoria. He was formerly connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows but is not in active relations with the society at the present time. He is recognized throughout the community as a good business man and citizen. He keeps his buildings in excellent repair and the farm presents a very neat and attractive appearance, indicative of the careful management and enterprising spirit of the owner, who for twentynine years has been classed with the representative and valued citizens of Macon county.

Gustavus Johnson

A life of well directed activity covering a period of connection with agricultural interests and later with the wholesale grocery and bakery business brought Gustavus Johnson to a position of prominence among the enterprising and prosperous men of Decatur, where his worth was widely acknowledged. He had no special advantages when he started out in life but he possessed determination and energy and as the years passed on he overcame all the difficul- ties and obstacles that barred his path and worked his way steadily upward to a place of prominence and prosperity. A native of Kentucky, he was born near Hopkinsville, Christian county, on the 16th of October, 1841. He represented one of the old families of that locality. His daughter, Willetta, became the wife of Fred A. Tuttle, who is now a traveling salesman residing in Decatur. They had twin sons: Gustavus Claude, who is on a plantation at Port Gibson, Mississippi; and Henry Clyde, a successful practicing physician now residing in Quincy, Illinois.

Gustavus Johnson was educated in his native county and there remained for about twenty-two years. Subsequent to the outbreak of the Civil war he came to Illinois, settling at Taylorville, Christian county, where he resided for about ten years. His ability and worth as a citizen were recognized there and he was called to public office, serving as sheriff for two years and for four years as deputy sheriff. He also filled the position of constable.

On the 13th of February, 1872, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Maxwell, of Taylorville, Illinois, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Maxwell. Her father was a very prosperous farmer of Christian county, widely known as a successful breeder of and dealer in fine stock. The Maxwell family included two daughters, the sister of Mrs, Johnson being Eleanora, who was married in Taylorville in 1867 to Dr. L. H. Clark and later removed to Decatur, where they became widely known.

After removing from the farm to the city Mr. Johnson engaged in the wholesale grocery business in Decatur and later conducted a very successful and extensive business as a wholesale and retail baker. He always held to high standards in the character of service rendered to the public, in the line of goods carried and in the personnel of the house. His energy enabled him to overcome many difficulties and obstacles and gradually he worked his way upward until he stood with that class of men who are regarded as Macon county's most substantial and successful citizens. About three years prior to his death, however, he retired from active business and spent his remaining days in the enjoyment of well earned rest.

Mr. Johnson was entitled to wear the Grand Army button from the fact that he served as a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, enlisting about 1862. It was after the close of the war that he came to Decatur. Here he held membership in the Grand Army post, and thus maintained pleasant relations with the boys in blue. He was a believer in the teachings and doctrines of the Congregational church and died in that faith July 30, 1910, passing away in the home which his widow now occupies and which had been their place of residence for about twelve years. He always gave much credit to his wife for his success in life, acknowledging his indebtedness to her encouragement, faithfulness and helpfulness. Theirs was an ideal marriage relation, their love and confidence increasing as the years went by. Mr. Johnson also held friendship inviolable and never allowed his success in any way to affect his friendly relations with those whom he had known in his less prosperous days. He remained a resident of this county for about twenty-seven years and genuine personal worth gained him high regard among his fellowmen. Justice and truth found embodiment in his life and he stood as the stalwart defender of whatever he believed to be for the best interests of the individual and the community at large. Mrs. Johnson still makes her home at No. 757 North Main street and in addition to this property she owns an extensive farm in Christian county besides other city realty.

Charles Laux

As proprietor of the St. Nicholas Hotel, one of the principal hostelries in northern Illinois, Charles Laux is widely known, and in this connection has formed the acquaintance of many eminent men. His business ability is manifest, moreover, in the success which has attended his efforts. His progressive spirit has at all times actuated him in the conduct of the hotel, and in all its equipments and appointments the St. Nicholas equals the best hostelries in many of the larger cities.

A native of Germany, Mr. Laux was born in the grand duchy of Luxemburg, November 17, 1842, and there spent the first eleven years of his life, after which he sailed with his parents for the new world. The family home was established at Decatur on the 22d of May, 1854. The mother passed away, the following July, and the father survived only until 1859, so that Charles Laux was left an orphan at the age of sixteen. At the age of eighteen he made his way to California and during the period of his residence on the Pacific coast worked in various hotels serving as steward for a time at Sacramento. He remained in the west for four years, during which time his hotel experience brought to him knowledge and ability that enabled him to enter successfully upon the conduct of a hotel following his return to Decatur. In connection with his brothers, Nicholas and Peter, he purchased what was then known as the Cloudas House, formerly known as the Harrell House. Under the new management, however, the hostelry was given the name of the St. Nicholas Hotel, and from the outset it has been maintained as a first class establishment. It was conducted under a partnership arrangement until 1880, when Charles Laux purchased the interest of his two brothers and has since been sole proprietor. In 1892 the old hotel was replaced by the present modern structure, which is five stories in height, containing one hundred and fifty guest rooms, office, spacious dining room and parlor, the building being erected at a cost of one hundred and five thousand dollars. It is supplied with all modern conveniences, and Mr. Laux, ever studying the needs and comforts of his guests has made it a popular resort for the traveling public. The hotel is located in the heart of the business district, at the southwest corner of Lincoln Square. From its earliest history it has been the political headquarters of both the democratic and republican parties, the names of many men of national reputation appearing on the register of the St. Nicholas - among them Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Judge David Davis, Richard J. Oglesby, and many others of equal note. The framers of the Grand Army of the Republic drew up the original code of the army in the parlors of the St. Nicholas, and this act alone will make Decatur famous after the last veteran of the Civil war has been called to his reward.

Aside from his business interests Mr. Laux has not been unknown in the life and activity of the city. While he has never sought public office he was chosen to the position of city treasurer, in which he served for two years. He has cooperated in many movements that have had for their object the welfare and development of Decatur, and no one questions his loyalty to the city which has so long been the place of his residence. His study of the political questions and issues of the day has led him to give stanch support to the principles of democracy, and yet his friends are as numerous among the advocates of the republican party as among those whose political views are similar to his own.

Frank A. Le Forgee, who for twenty-one years was engaged in the realestate business in Decatur and was known as one of the prominent representatives of that field of activity, was born near Flemingsburg, in Fleming county, Kentucky, April 21, 1838, his parents being Ayers and Lorinda Le Forgee. The father, who devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits, remained in Kentucky until the latter part of his life, when he came to Macon county, Illinois, his children having previously located in this section.

Frank A. Le Forgee spent his youthful days in the county of his nativity, being reared under the parental roof, while his education was acquired in the old-time subscription schools there. On attaining his majority he sought his fortune elsewhere and made his way to Illinois, becoming a resident of Decatur. where he maintained his residence much of the time until his death. He was, however, for a few years engaged in farming with his brothers in this county and later he became proprietor of a grocery store in Decatur, which he conducted for a few years on Merchant street. At one time he was the owner of a factory and was connected with a book store in Decatur. He was perhaps best known, however, because of his real-estate operations, which covered a period of twentyone years, so that at the time of his death he was one of the oldest real-estate dealers in this city. He thoroughly informed himself concerning property values, knew the location of every available piece of property in the city and negotiated many important realty transfers which constituted features in the prosperity and development of Decatur as well as in his own success. From time to time as opportunity offered he made judicious investments in real estate and at his demise left to his widow a nice home and other property.

On the 3d of April, 1873, in this city, Frank A. Le Forgee was married to Miss Mary Ellen Barton, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Barton, of Decatur. The marriage ceremony was performed by the Rev. Henry Soule, of Decatur, and the young couple began their domestic life here. Unto them was born one son, Barton B., whose birth occurred in Decatur, March II, 1874, and who passed away in Macon county, April 2, 1890, his remains being interred in one of the city cemeteries.

The father passed away April 1, 1894, on his way from Sacramento, California, to Ogden, Utah. His remains were then brought back to Decatur and were interred in Greenwood cemetery. He held membership in the Christian church, in which he served as an elder and he was at one time a member of the Good Templars lodge of Decatur, showing that his aid and influence were ever given on the side of temperance, morality, truth and justice. He never seemed to care for public office but always voted with the republican party and in his later years took an active part in promoting its principles and securing its success. He was deeply interested in everything pertaining to the welfare and upbuilding of the city and to this end held membership in and cooperated with the Business Men's Asociation. His life was actuated by a spirit of enterprise and progress and he carried forward to successful completion whatever he undertook. He possessed laudable ambition and firm purpose but, while he won success, his path was never strewn with the wreck of other men's fortunes. His business ability enabled him to leave his widow in comfortable financial circumstances, her property holdings including a nice home and other Decatur realestate. She, too, is a devoted member of the Christian church and she resides at No. 150 West North street.

Byrd L. Davis, one of the highly successful business men of Decatur, owes his prosperity to a laudable ambition which has always been directed along legitimate channels. His career presents a striking example of what may be accomplished by one making his own way in the world who in earlier years is willing to practice self-denial in order that later he and those dependent upon him may possess an abundance.

Mr. Davis is a native of Macon county, born June 28, 1869, and is a son of Henry W. and Martha (Stickle) Davis. The father was also a native of this county, where he became a farmer, stock-raiser and nursery man. In 1879 he removed to Decatur and entered the livery business, in which he continued until his death in 1896, when he was sixty-two years of age. He belonged to a family of nine children, one of whom, John Davis, removed to Kansas in 1875 and was elected to congress, becoming known as one of the leading citizens of the state. He departed this life in 1900. The father of our subject, was identified with the republican party and while he was not an office seeker he served as supervisor of his township. Joseph Davis, the paternal grandfather, was a native of Kentucky, the family originally coming from Virginia. He was a pioneer of Macon county and was well known as a trader. He drove mules to Chicago, where he traded them for wagons, which he afterward sold to farmers in central Illinois. The grandfather of our subject on the maternal side was John Stickle, who was a native of Pennsylvania and emigrated to Illinois at an early day.

After receiving his early education in the district schools Byrd L. Davis came with his parents to Decatur, where he completed his studies in the high school. After laying aside his books he engaged in farming for a time in Champaign county. Illinois, but in 1893 returned to Decatur, where he entered the livery business, in which he has ever since continued. He began at No. 564 North Water street but later sold this stable and opened another at No. 140 East Cerro Gordo street. In 1896 he took charge of his father's barn at 564 North Water street and in April, 1899, removed to 140 South Main street, but is now located at No. 128 North Franklin street, where he conducts the leading livery and transfer business of Decatur. He has a number of automobiles and keeps everything up-to-date, all his carriages being rubber-tired. He employs thirty-five or forty men and on account of the excellence of his service has gained a reputation which has made his name favorably known throughout central Illinois. In 1903 he purchased the undertaking establishment of Peter Perl & Son, which is now conducted under the title of Hawkins Davis & Company. He has been interested in rice lands in Texas and mines in Gilpin county, Colorado, and in 1905 purchased one hundred and forty acres of land on section 5, Decatur township, this county, which he still owns.

In 1895 Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Smart, a daughter of James Smart, of Shelbyville, Illinois, and six children have come to brighten their home: Ethyl Ann, who was born September 10, 1896; Fleta May; Josephine; Aileen; Byrd L., Jr.; and Bertha D.

Although not connected with any religious organization, his interest in religious institutions is manifest by the strong support he has given the Young Men's Christian Association in Decatur, contributing liberally toward the erection of its building. His wife is a valued member of the Baptist church. Fraternally he is identified with the blue lodge and chapter of the Masonic order at Decatur and also with Easterly Camp, No. 1626, Modern Woodmen of America. He has many friends in Decatur and Macon county, who have always found him to be active, energetic and capable in his various enterprises and worthy of every confidence. For two terms he served as director of the Chamber of Commerce of Decatur. By a useful and honorable career he has established a reputation for integrity which is worth vastly more than great wealth gained through questionable means.

Joshua Hubbard

As the years are passing the ranks of the Civil war veterans are fast becoming thinned as one by one answers to the last roll call. The country owes to its boys in blue a debt of gratitude that can never be paid and it is found, other things being equal, that the country has no more loyal citizens than those who shouldered a musket and marched to the defense of the Union in the darkest hour of our national history. Among this number was Joshua Hubbard and it is meet, therefore, that mention be made of him in this volume.

He was born at Columbus, Indiana, August 23, 1845. His father, John C. Hubbard, was a native of Middletown, Connecticut, born February 26, 1794. He followed merchandising throughout his active business life and removed from Connecticut to Indiana, where he died on the 29th of June, 1853. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Hannah Brice, was born in Connecticut and died October 21, 1846.

Joshua Hubbard was educated in the schools of Columbus, Indiana but when young left home owing to his father's death, which brought upon him the necessity of providing for his own support. He worked as a farm hand in various places when but a boy in years and was a youth of but sixteen when he offered his services to the government in defense of the Union during the Civil war, enlisting on the 17th of September, 1861, as a member of Company G, Thirty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was enrolled with that regiment at Columbus under Captain J. C. Dilla and was honorably discharged February 27, 1864, at Christiana, Tennessee, for on the 23d of that month he had reenlisted as a veteran. He received his final discharge July 21, 1865, at Louisville, Kentucky. Following his second enlistment he was under command of Captain Samuel D. Helman and served throughout the entire war. While on active duty at the front he was captured and was sent to Libby prison, where he remained until paroled. He afterward rejoined his regiment and during the period of his service participated in many hotly contested battles and skirmishes, including the engagements of Cumberland Gap, Rogers Gap, Tazewell, Richmond, Kentucky; Thompson Station, Tennessee; Resaca New Hope Church Gilgal, Culps Farm, Kenesaw Mountain, Pumpkin Vine, Marietta, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Turner's Ferry, Savannah, Blackville, Bentonville, Goldsborough and Raleigh. From the ranks he was promoted to corporal.

Following the war Mr. Hubbard returned to Indiana, where he began farming on his own account, and was thus engaged until he came to Illinois in 1867. For thirty-two years thereafter he carried on farming in this state, at the expiration of which period he took up his abode in the city of Decatur and now makes his home at No. 11 30 North Monroe street. In his business he was diligent and persevering, and his success was attributable entirely to his own labors and honorable effort.

Mr. Hubbard was married in Decatur on the 14th of January, 1869, to Miss Hannah E. Kaylor, the wedding ceremony being performed by Rev. James C. Daily. Mrs. Hubbard was born in Columbus, Ohio, March 13, 1850, a daughter of Jacob and Rachel (Street) Kaylor. Her father, a farmer by occupation, was born in Maryland, April 14, 1818, and died in Decatur, March 4, 1900, when in the eighty-second year of his age. His wife, who was born in Maryland, February 22, 1817, died in Decatur, April 14, 1900, and her remains were laid to rest in Boiling Springs cemetery. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Hubbard removed from Maryland to Ohio at an early day and there spent the remainder of his life. The maternal grandfather also went from Maryland to Ohio and continued a resident of that state until his life's labors were ended in death.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard were born six children : Charles A., who was born November 21, 1869, and was married December 25, 1893, in Warrensburg, Illinois, to Myrtle Purdon, who is now living in Oklahoma and has a family of four children - Dixie E., Freda I., Joshua G. and Beulah E. John J., was born in Macon county, January 22, 1871, and died on the nth of January, 1872. Elva L., born in Wichita, Kansas, March 24, 1873, was married December 24, 1891, to John E. Albert at Warrensburg, Illinois, where they now live. Their children are six in number - Louisa E., Vonna I., Ruby S., Ruth E., Lawrence

E. and John E., all yet living. Clarence W. Hubbard, born July 26, 1880, in Macon county, died August 6, 1881. Iva M., born in this county, November 15, 1882, was married in St. Louis, January 28, 1909, to J. F. Richter, Jr., who is now an alderman of Decatur. They have one child, Mildred E. Leslie J., born in Macon county, August 8, 1888, is employed in a Hour mill at Lamar, Colorado.

Mr. Hubbard has always been a republican in politics since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He has served as commissioner of highways and in various other local offices. He is now interested in farming in Oklahoma, where he owns good property, but makes his home in Decatur. He belongs to Dunham Post, No. 141, G. A. R., of Decatur and is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. He is recognized as one of Macon county's best citizens and is today as true and loyal to the country and it best interests as he was when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields. His record has at all times been that of an honorable man and progressive, public-spirited citizen, and he well merits representation in this volume.

William P. Sanner

An attractive residence standing in the midst of a well cultivated and productive tract of two hundred and ninety-six acres, located on section 18, Milam township, is the property of William P. Sanner, who owes his success to his own well directed labors and progressive business methods. Mr. Sanner is a native of Illinois, born in Shelby county, October 6, 1866, and is the eldest in a family of nine children whose parents are Edward B. and Naomi (Pierson) Sanner, who were likewise born in the Prairie state. Extended mention of the parents is made in connection with the sketch of Albert E. Sanner on another page of this work.

William P. Sanner was afforded such educational advantages as are to be had through the medium of the common schools, while his training at farm labor was received under the direction of his father. After putting aside his text-books he continued on the home farm, giving his father the benefit of his services until the time of his marriage on the 17th of January, 1893, when he established a home of his own by his union with Miss Annie M. Otto, a daughter of August and Augusta (Derfur) Otto. Her father was born in Germany, while her mother claims Missouri as the place of her nativity. Mr. Otto came to the new world with his mother during his early boyhood days, his father having died in Germany. The family home was established in Illinois and it was in Bunker Hill, this state, that he wedded Miss Augusta Derfur. Unto him and his wife were born ten children, of whom Mrs. Sanner is the third in order of birth, her natal day being January 8, 1871.

Following their marriage the young couple took up their abode in Shelby county, Illinois, Mr. Sanner operating land belonging to his father. When he had passed five successful years in this way, during which period he accumulated some money, he returned to Macon county and purchased the farm on which he today makes his home, this place comprising two hundred and ninety-six acres of arable and productive land situated on section 18, Milam township. It was in 1897 that Mr. Sanner bought this land and ere his removal to the place he erected a modern residence, which is supplied with all the accessories that add so much to the comfort of the members of the household. While he gives much of his time and attention to the cultivation of various grains adapted to the soil in central Illinois, he likewise raises stock for the market, and both branches of his business are so well managed that he is meeting with creditable success.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Sanner has been blessed with seven children, three sons and four daughters, as follows : Arthur O., who was born May 16, 1894; William R., whose birth occurred February 7, 1896; Nora A., born July 9, 1897; Daisy L., September 19, 1899; Edward B., January 12, 1902; Lena D., May 15, 1904; and Augusta N., April 30, 1909.

In politics Mr. Sanner is a stanch republican but aside from filling the office of road commissioner for one term he has never been active in public affairs. Fraternally he is connected with Moweaqua Lodge, No. 274, I. O. O. F. ; and Beacon Lodge, No. 434, K. P. Both he and his wife are Methodists in religious faith, holding membership with Sanner Chapel in Penn township, Shelby county. He is a man of high ideals and honorable business methods and if the prosperity which he has already achieved is any criterion of his future success, he will undoubtedly find a place among the leading citizens of Macon county, for he is yet a comparatively young man.

John Wesley Hartley

In the death of John Wesley Hartley Decatur lost one of her worthy citizens who had been an active factor in business life and who had proved his loyalty in citizenship by active service as a soldier in the Mexican and Civil wars. He was born in Charlestown, Indiana, March 2, 1828, a son of Hugh and Nancy (Huckleberry) Hartley, who, after residing in Indiana for a number of years, came to Illinois and settled in Jefferson county, where they made their home until called to their final rest. The father had become the owner of a good farm property and at his death left an estate covering many acres of land. Their children were: James, Sidwell, William A., Andrew J., Martha J., Clara, John W. and Mary A. Hartley.

John W. Hartley spent his youthful days in his parents' home in what was then a pioneer district. His educational privileges were somewhat limited, owing to the primitive condition of the schools, yet he made good use of his opportunities and throughout his life learned many valuable lessons in the school of experience, becoming a practical business man who looked at life from a liberal standpoint. He arrived in Macon county in 1847, at which time he took up his abode in Decatur, becoming identified with the business affairs of this city in connection with a grocery and bakery enterprise.

It was not long after his arrival here that Mr. Hartley established a home of his own through his marriage, on the 2d of March, 1852, to Miss Nancy Carter, of this city, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James K. Carter. The wedding ceremony was performed by the Rev. John W. Tyler, and unto Mr. and Mrs. Hartley was born a son, Charles Wesley, whose birth occurred in Decatur, August 20, 1855, and who is now residing with his mother in this city, their home being at No. 877 North Main street.

An interesting chapter in the life history of John Wesley Hartley covers his military experience. He had not yet attained his majority when he enlisted for service in the Mexican war, doing active duty in defense of American interests in the contest with the Mexican forces. In 1861 he again responded to the country's call for troops, becoming a first lieutenant of Company H, Fourteenth Regiment of Illinois Infantry, and by reenlistment he served for three years, doing active duty as a defender of the stars and stripes. In both connections he made a creditable military record.

He held membership in the Christian church of Decatur and belonged also to the Odd Fellows and Masonic lodges, being most loyal to the teachings of these orders and exemplifying in his life the charitable and benevolent spirit upon which they are founded. He reached the venerable age of seventy-two years, passing away on the 13th of June, 1900, at which time he was laid to rest in Greenwood cemetery. He had been a resident of the county for a half century and was well known among its citizens. His life record was one which would bear close investigation and scrutiny, for he had always been loyal to the best interests of the community, had been straightforward in business, faithful in friendship and devoted to family ties.

Albert Reynolds Taylor, Ph. D., Ll. D.

Albert Reynolds Taylor, president of The James Millikin University, was born in a log cabin on a farm in Putnam county, Illinois. His mother was of sturdy Quaker stock and his father a Cumberland Presbyterian. Both were industrious and God-fearing. Farming, the district schools of the later '50s and the war period were the earliest factors in the development of the future educational leader. At this period of his life, Albert Taylor dreamed of future success at the machinist's trade, for which he possessed a natural aptitude, and for some time he gratified his desire for the use of tools and became an excellent machinist. He still retains great interest in machinery of all kinds.

Leaving the bench and tools of the machine shop, the future administrator entered a store, were he learned the principles of trade and industry and gained a knowledge of men. In 1864 he enrolled as a student in the Model School of the Illinois State Normal University at Normal. Later he attended Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois, but entered Lincoln University at Lincoln, Illinois, in January, 1869, from which he graduated with the class of 1872. On the completion of his course at Lincoln University, he was offered a tutorship, which was accepted reluctantly as he had a desire to study law. The work at Lincoln proved so successful that before the end of the first year he was of- fered a full professorship as head of the department of natural sciences, in which he remained until his election to the presidency of the Kansas State Normal School in 1882. For nineteen years President Taylor presided over the Kansas State Normal School. He found it with a small building and an attendance of four hundred students. When he left it in 1901 the attendance was over two thousand and the buildings were large and well suited for their use. Six or more years before he resigned the presidency of the State Normal, it had become the largest teachers' training school under state control in the world and had an international reputation.

The demands upon him for lectures were many and his vacations were largely spent in making lecture tours. Yet he found time to write articles for periodicals, religious and professional, to write books, and to do a multitude of things that seemed almost impossible for one so busy. One of his books, The Study of the Child, published by D. Appleton Company, belongs to the International Education Series. Over twenty-five thousand copies of this book have been sold. It has been translated into the Japanese and Spanish languages. He has also written the following named books: The Government of the State and Nation, Apple Blossoms, Civil Government in Kansas, The Church at Work in the Sunday School, Among Ourselves, being a joint author of the first two named.

To resign an assured life position as president of such an institution after all difficulties had been surmounted and the future promised more of ease in the enjoyment of a great work accomplished to respond to the call of his church and of the friends of his youth to return to Illinois and build from the foundation to the tower, a modern university was a most momentous and difficult decision and yet he had no hesitation in doing it as duty appeared clear.

President Taylor has served as president of several educational and religious organizations, local, state and national. He was president of the National Council of Education in 1899. He was the organizer of the University Club of Decatur and its president for three years; of the Federation of Illinois Colleges, of which he was president for some years; and of the Presbyterian Brotherhood of Illinois, of which he is president. He is a member of the National Council of the Presbyterian Brotherhood of America and of the Religious Educational Committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church, being chairman of an important committee in each. He is also chairman of two important committees of the Illinois synod and a member of the board of directors of McCormick Theological Seminary. He was chairman of the educational commission in charge of the Kansas state exhibit at the World's Fair in Chicago, and a vice president for Kansas at the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo. He was a member of the state board of education in Kansas for nineteen years and for some time of the state text-book commission. He was awarded the degree of Ph. D. by his alma mater in 1882 and the degree of LL. D. by Cumberland University in 1906. As president of The James Millikin University, he has in seven years built up an institution at Decatur, Illinois, which comprises eight schools with an enrollment of over eleven hundred students and a faculty composed of some sixty members. His success has amply confirmed the public judgment of his administrative powers.

Governing without many set rules, he appeals to the highest instincts of honor. Severe he can be when severity is needed but in his severity there is an intuitive sympathy and an abiding hope that acts as an appeal. His faith in the ultimate triumph of the right cannot be shaken. He has often written "There is no longing of a noble soul that hath not somewhere its satisfaction." When others despair, he hopes and labors on ; others may retire in defeat but he knows how to win a victory from defeat. His pride in the university, its cleanliness, its strength and its walls of brick and stone is always strong but never so marked as is his pride in the clean hearts and pure minds of the young men and women of his flock in whose mental and spiritual development he finds his supremest joy.

J. R. Race

The life history of J. R. Race constitutes an important chapter in the annals of Decatur and Macon county inasmuch as he was one of the pioneer citizens who aided in planting the seeds of civilization and development here, and, moreover, as a merchant he figured for many years as one of the leading business men whose activities constitute a most potent element in the city's material growth and progress. At the present writing he is living retired, having withdrawn from active connection with commercial interests, deriving his income from judicious investments which include very extensive landholdings. He has now passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey and is one of the most honored as well as the most venerable citizens of Decatur.

He was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, in December, 1828, a son of James W. Race, who removed with his family to Ohio, settling near Columbus, in the boyhood days of J. R. Race, who was there reared upon a farm and experienced the usual hardships and privations that come with the development of a farm in a frontier district. His education was limited to the opportunities afforded in the subscription schools. The little schoolhouse had a puncheon floor and in one end of the room was a large fireplace for which the older boys had to supply the fuel in turn, hauling in the logs.

In time J. R. Race began farming on his own account and was identified with agricultural interests in Ohio until 1854, when he drove across the country with horse and buggy in search of a location. On that trip he visited Macon county, which greatly pleased him with its natural advantages, and in 1855 he returned to take up his permanent abode here. He then disposed of his horse and buggy for five hundred and fifty dollars. He first came to the county in 1854 and invested in swamp land at twenty-five cents per acre, securing a half section. In 1855 he made another investment and sold his first land for thirty dollars per acre. In the year of his first visit to the county and also in the year in which he took up his permanent abode here he entered land, in this way securing seven hundred and twenty acres, some of which he has since sold for three hundred dollars per acre. He has always regarded real estate as one of the safest investments and as his financial resources have increased he has added to

In the fifty-six years of his residence here Mr. Race has witnessed many changes, the appearance of the county having undergone a complete transformation, owing to the work of improvement, development and cultivation that has been carried steadily forward. When he arrived there were no mills through the county and farmers had to go to the little hamlet of Decatur to have their grist ground once or twice a year. Not only did Mr. Race become identified with agricultural interests but also was one of the first merchants of Decatur. His entire life has been a very busy one and until the time of his retirement he had few leisure hours. When in Ohio he had worked for wages in the employ of neighboring farmers, receiving less than twenty dollars per month for his services. From that sum, however, he saved between sixteen and seventeen hundred dollars that constituted his capital upon his removal to Illinois. In all of his business ventures he has displayed sound judgment and keen discrimination. He has continuously studied conditions and thus has been able to make very wise investments in property, being now one of the most extensive and prosperous landholders of the county, his farms lying north and east of Decatur. He became, perhaps, even more widely known through his mercantile connections, remaining for many years one of the leading representatives of commercial interests in Decatur. The store which he erected on Merchant street in 1865 was destroyed in a recent large fire that caused so much damage in this city, his loss being ten thousand dollars. The store had a depth of one hundred and forty feet. For a considerable time J. R. Race was associated in his mercantile activities with his brother, James M. Race, under the firm style of J. R. Race & Company. This was continued until 1889, when the business was reorganized under the name of the Race Clothing Manufacturing Company, the output, including overalls, duck coats and shirts. Not only were a large number of operators employed in the factory but also five traveling salesmen were upon the road introducing the output to the trade. The Race Clothing Manufacturing Company maintained a continuous and prosperous existence until 1904.

In 1857 Mr. Race was united in marriage to Miss Mary Wolgamot, a native of Maryland and a daughter of a prominent money loaner of Springfield, Illinois, and a very influential man of that city. At his death Mr. Race was made administrator of his estate. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Race were born two daughters and a son: Mrs. Edith Vance, of Los Angeles, California, who has two children, Margaret and a baby girl born in 1910; and Ella and Arthur, at home. The wife and mother passed away August 5, 1905, her death proving an irreparable blow to the family, where as a loving wife and mother she was held in the most tender regard.

In 1870 Mr. Race erected his present residence, a commodious and substantial brick dwelling which, standing in the midst of spacious and well kept grounds, is an ornament to the city. He still holds his membership in the Decatur Country Club. He has practically retired from all connection with business affairs save that he occasionally passes upon some* question relative to the disposition of his investments. He is a remarkably well preserved man to whom has been accorded the precious prize of keen mentality through the evening of life. His activity has been a potent force in Decatur's upbuilding and the county's advancement, and his work of vital worth in the promotion of the city's best activities and consequent prosperity. He has lived to witness the transformation of Decatur from a small village into a city of metropolitan proportions and interests, and the public accord him prominent recognition among those who have been instrumental in bringing about this result.

With a nature that could never be content with mediocrity, Charles Bell Smith has forged ahead in his professional career, his comprehensive knowledge of the principles of medicine and surgery and his ability as displayed in practice winning him a prominent position in the ranks of the medical profession in Decatur. His father, William B. Smith, is a well known agriculturist of South Wheatland township and it was upon the old home farm there that Dr. Smith was born March 18, 1872. He was called Charles Bell, the latter name being given in honor of the Rev. Bell, a Presbyterian minister, whose denominational faith has also found an adherent in his namesake. The boy was reared to the age of sixteen upon the home farm and his preliminary education was acquired in the district schools and supplemented by a year's study in the high school of Decatur. He afterward engaged in teaching in Oreana, Argenta and Cherry Grove but his ambition was in the direction of other professional activity and he regarded the work of the schoolroom merely as a preliminary step to other labor.

He read medicine under the direction of Dr. M. H. Farmer and afterward entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago, the medical department of the University of Illinois, from which he was graduated with the class of 1895. He afterward served as assistant surgeon on the Mexican Central Railroad at Tampico until December of that year, when he located for practice in Decatur and soon afterward received the appointment of county physician here. In March, 1896, he opened an office for the regular practice and on the expiration of the term of his office as county physician in 1897, like many another young physician, he started out in search of a better location, spending a few years at different points. Deciding at length to locate in Ohio, he began practice in Toledo, where he remained for six years. He then returned to his native county and once more located in Decatur in March, 1906. He feels perfectly satisfied with the city as a location and has been accorded a large general practice, in the care of which he has displayed marked ability, energy and enterprise. He keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the profession through his membership relations with the Decatur Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is now examining physician for the Modern Woodmen camp, for the American Star Equity Insurance Company and other fraternal organizations.

On the 18th of August, 1897, in Chicago, Dr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Clara Louise Evans, a native of Portage, Wisconsin, and of Welsh descent. Her literary education was obtained in Whalen's Academy at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, after which she entered the Women's Medical College of Chicago, pursuing there a four years' course, but on account of illness she did not graduate from that institution and the following year entered the Illinois Medical College, in which she spent a year, so that she was graduated in 1895 - the same year in which her husband completed his course. During that time she acted as assistant in gynecology to Dr. Fred Byron Robinson and Dr. William Rittenhouse, two eminent members of the profession. She practiced in Chicago for two years and was then married. This union has been blessed with two children, Harold Clair and Chester Paul, aged respectively eleven and ten years and now students in the public schools. Mrs. Smith does not engage in active practice now, giving her attention to the duties of the household and the care of her children. The words of praise which her husband speaks of her as wife, mother and as a physician indicate something of the contentment and good cheer which are prevailing elements in their pleasant home, which is situated at No. 1305 North Edward street.

The Doctor and his family are members of the Second Presbyterian church and his political allegiance is given to the democracy. He has no time nor inclination for political office, however, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his professional duties, which he discharges with a sense of conscientious obligation that makes him an able and successful practitioner.

The ability of Dr. Wilbur Campbell Wood as a practitioner of medicine and surgery is demonstrated in the liberal patronage accorded him and in the expressions of regard on the part of his fellow practitioners. This is an age of specialization in which the highest degree of skill is attained by those who concentrate their energies and efforts upon a particular branch of practice. In accordance with this tendency of the times Dr. Wood has become a specialist in gynecology and abdominal surgery and his research and investigation along those lines are constantly promoting his efficiency. He was born in Decatur in 1866 and is a grandson of a pioneer physician, B. C. Wood. Two of his uncles, E. W. and D. N. Moore, were also numbered among the early medical practitioners in Decatur. His parents were George M. and Minnie E. (Edmundson) Wood, whose family numbered four children.

Dr. Wood of this review pursued his education in the public schools of Decatur, passing through consecutive grades to his graduation from the high school with the class of 1884. He then pursued a course in the Illinois College of Pharmacy in Chicago and at different times has been connected with the drug business at Decatur, Springfield and Tuscola, Illinois. He prepared for the practice of medicine and surgery as a student in the Northwestern University of Chicago, from which he was graduated on the 13th of June, 1895. He put his theoretical training to the practical test in an active service of eighteen months as interne in the Mercy Hospital of Chicago and subsequently spent two years in charge of the hospital of the Illinois Steel Company of that city. In 1899 he returned to Decatur and is now serving on the staff of St. Mary's Hospital in this city. He is also examining physician for several old line insurance companies and in his private practice he is making a specialty of gynecology and abdominal surgery, in which connection he has gained distinction as a most successful practitioner. He belongs to the Decatur Medical Society, the Central Illinois District Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.

In 1898 Dr. Wood was united in marriage to Miss Marion Dimmick, of Washington, D. C, and to them have been born two sons and a daughter: Wilbur Stuart, Annetta Lois and Robert Allen. Fraternally Dr. Wood is connected with Ionic Lodge, No. 312, A. F. & A. M., and with the Knights of Pythias. His religious faith is indicated in his membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church and his political endorsement is given to the men and measures of the republican party. He is neglectful of none of the duties of citizenship nor of his obligations to his fellowmen, but his attention is chiefly given to the practice of his profession, which is constantly growing in volume and importance.

Alfred L. Gideon

The contemplation of a long life of labor, crowned with honorable retirement, is a matter of satisfaction to all. One feels that this is but the just reward of diligence intelligently directed. Mr. Gideon is numbered among Decatur's citizens to whom has been vouchsafed this period of rest. For many years he carried on business as a carpenter but is now living retired at No. 1249 North Water street.

He was born in Champaign county, Ohio, in 1826, a son of Henry Gideon. His youthful days were passed in the Buckeye state but when seventeen years of age he traveled across the prairies with a wagon and yoke of oxen, passing through Decatur en route to Sangamon county, Illinois. There he established his home and remained until 1850. He began learning the blacksmith's trade in that county and remained there continuously with the exception of one year, which he devoted to service as a soldier in the Mexican war, becoming a private under General Winfield Scott. After being mustered out he returned to Sangamon county, where he resided until 1850, when he located at Mount Pulaski, Logan county, where he followed the blacksmith's trade for twelve years, and then turned his attention to carpentering. Later he began contracting on his own account, being thus identified with building operations at that place until 1877. In that year he removed from Logan county to Macon county and has since been a resident of Decatur. He became connected with farming interests in this part of the state and is still the owner of a fine farming property of two hundred and forty acres in Douglas county, from which he derives a substantial annual income.

Mr. Gideon has been married three times. He first wedded Elizabeth Clark, who died leaving a son, David, who is a graduate of medical schools of Cincinnati and of St. Louis and is now a practicing physician of Sumner, Illinois. His present wife, whom he married on the 8th of July, 1902, was formerly Mrs. Cora B. Hayes, a lady of natural refinement, who presides with gracious courtesy and hospitality over his home.

Mr. Gideon ranks high in Masonry, holding membership with Mount Pulaski Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Macon Chapter, No. 21, R. A. M., of Decatur; and Beaumanoir Commandery, No. 9, K. T. He has ever been an exemplary representative of the craft, portraying in his life the beneficent spirit of the order, which is based upon mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness. In all of the varied relations of life he has ever commanded the good will and confidence of his fellowmen and in business affairs he has been found thoroughly reliable and trustworthy as well as energetic and enterprising. These qualities brought him success and now enable him to live retired with capital sufficient to enjoy all of the comforts of life.

John W. Smith

The ranks of the Civil war veterans are fast becoming decimated as one by one they respond to the final roll call, but among those who yet survive to enjoy the fruits of peace for which they so valiantly risked their lives is numbered John W. Smith. He is, furthermore, a representative of a family bearing a remarkable war record, five sons and the father all having responded to their country's call in her great hour of need, serving during the long and sanguinary struggle and returning at last to their home safe and uninjured. His military service alone would entitle Mr. Smith to a prominent place in this record, but he is also deserving of mention because of the place which he won for himself in industrial circles of Decatur during the period of his active connection with business interests here.

He traces his ancestry back to Captain John Smith, of England, whose son, the grandfather of John W. Smith, became the founder of this branch of the Smith family in America, locating in Virginia in early days. He served in the Mexican war under General Harrison and died at Nashville, Tennessee. The maternal grandfather, George Stevens, was born in Indiana and in that state spent his entire life.

Edwin D. Smith, the father of our subject, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 2, 181 1. He was a carpenter by trade and came to Illinois in 1865, locating in Woodford county, where he remained until 1880. That year witnessed his arrival in Decatur and here he made his home for ten years, being closely identified with the business interests of this city during that period. In 1890 he removed westward to Kansas and there passed away, his remains being laid to rest at Wichita. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Stevens, was born in Carroll county, Indiana, and in 1848 was called to her final rest. Edwin D. Smith had enlisted for service in the Union army at the time of the Civil war, acting for nine months as deputy provost marshal at Plymouth, Indiana. He held membership in Dunham Post, No. 141, G. A. R., at Decatur.

John W. Smith, whose name introduces this record, was born in White county, Indiana, on the 6th of July, 1842, and was a little boy of six years when his mother passed away. At that time he left home and lived with different families until twelve years of age, when the necessity of earning his own livelihood caused him to seek work as a farm hand, working in that capacity for various farmers of the locality for about six years. With no chance for attending school during the period of his boyhood and youth, Mr. Smith supplemented this lack of tuition by hard study during the hours when not busily engaged at farm labor. In the school of experience, too, he acquired that broad knowledge which comes from close observation and contact with the outside world and which, supplemented by an extensive course of reading in later years, more than compensated for the earlier education denied him.

Mr. Smith worked at farming until eighteen years of age, when he learned the marble cutter's trade, which he followed successfully in Plymouth, Indiana, until the outbreak of the Civil war. At that time the spirit of patriotism which had been aroused within him by the attempt of the south to overthrow the Union caused him to put aside all personal interests, and on the 1st of December, 1861, at Plymouth, he enlisted as a member of Company D, Forty-eighth Indiana Infantry, for a term of three years. At the end of that term he was discharged at Huntsville, Alabama, on the 1st of January, 1864, with the rank of corporal, and on the same day reenlisted as a veteran for another three years, becoming a member of the same company and regiment. The regiment had been made up at Goshen, Indiana, under Colonel Eddy, and they first proceeded to Paducah, Kentucky, and thence to Pittsburg Landing. The first battle in which the regiment participated was during the siege of Corinth. There had been many skirmishes throughout the state which finally led up to the great battle of Corinth, one of the most destructive of the war, in which the regiment lost a great number of men. Prior to this engagement Mr. Smith was confined to the field hospital with lung fever and was later transferred to the hospital at Evansville, Indiana, where he remained for several months. He was given leave, however, to join his regiment at the time of the battle of Corinth and remained with it until it started on the campaign to Vicksburg. He then returned to the hospital and there remained until the siege of Vicksburg was begun, when he again joined his regiment and was constantly under fire throughout that long engagement. He was then taken to the hospital at Vicksburg on account of illness, where he remained while his regiment was at Memphis, Tennessee. Rejoining it at Corinth, he remained with the regiment throughout the remainder of the war, participating in many important engagements, including the battles at Savannah, Georgia; Missionary Ridge; Raleigh, North Carolina; and many skirmishes. He remained on active duty until the close of hostilities and was honorably discharged at Indianapolis, Indiana, on the 15th of July, 1865. He took part in the grand review at Washington, D. C, the greatest military pageant ever witnessed on this continent, being a member of the Third Division of the Fifteenth

Army Corps, under General J. E. Smith. With his final discharge there closed a military record of which anyone might have been proud, for throughout the entire period of the war his conduct had been characterized by the utmost loyalty to the cause for which he contended and a courage that never faltered in the face of duty.

After his return to the north Mr. Smith took up his abode at El Paso, Illinois, where he remained for a short time, after which he went to Kendall county. There he followed farming for a time and was likewise engaged at various other places throughout the state, being thus identified until March 16, 1880, when he took up his permanent abode in Decatur. After his arrival in this city he entered business circles as a painting contractor and for twelve years carried on a successful enterprise which increased so steadily in volume and importance that in 1902, when compelled to withdraw from active work, he retired with a goodly competency which now supplies him, in the evening of life, with all necessary comforts.

It was in Kendall county, Illinois, on the 6th of June, 1867, that Mr. Smith wedded Miss Emma A. Evans, who was born in that county on the 3d of December, 1846, her birth occurring in the same house in which she was married. Her father, Francis Evans, a farmer by occupation, was of Scotch descent and came to Illinois from the east in pioneer days. He lived to the remarkable old age of ninety-three years, passing away in Grundy county. His wife was seventy-nine years of age at the time of her death, which occurred in Livingston county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born two daughters, the eldest, Mary Ellen, having been born in Kendall county on the 8th of June, 1869. She wedded John M. Schultz of Greenup, Illinois, where they now reside, and they have become the parents of three children, Olive Hazel, John Wesley and Burthle Roenetta. The younger daughter, Sarah Annetta, was born in Livingston county, Illinois, August 27, 1871, and is now the wife of John Northland, of Decatur. Their children are Annell and Lucille.

The religious faith of Mr. Smith is indicated by the fact that he holds membership relations with the First Methodist church of Decatur. He is well known in fraternal circles, belonging to the Knights and Ladies of Security; to Sangamon Tribe, 146, Improved Order of Red Men; to the American Star of Equity lodge; and the Mutual Protective League. He also maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades as a member of Dunham Post, 141, G. A. R., at Decatur. In politics Mr. Smith has given his allegiance to the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, loyally supporting the organization which upheld the Union during the dark days of the Civil war, and while a resident of Kendall county was elected on that ticket to the office of road commissioner. He has ever been deeply interested in the affairs of the nation, advocating measures which have had for their object the general growth and development and has remained as faithful to the interests of his country in the days of peace as when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields. With a liking for all manly outdoor sports, he has ever been particularly fond of hunting and today relates many interesting stories of nights spent in coon hunting in the early days in Indiana. Fortunate in possessing those characteristics which speak for honorable manhood and desirable citizenship, Mr. Smith has won for himself a place among the most highly respected residents of Decatur, his engaging personality making him the friend of all who know him, and few men more richly deserve the good-will and high esteem of their fellowmen.

Occupying a prominent and honored position in financial circles in Macon county is P. E. Gerber, who for ten years has been vice president of the Argenta Bank and is classed with the representative and prosperous business men of the town. His birth occurred in Whitmore township, Macon county, July 20, 1863. His father, Samuel Gerber, was a native of Shelby county, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood and pursued his education. There he married Miss Susanna Hilbrant, also a native of Ohio. They began their domestic life upon a farm in Shelby county, Ohio, where they lived for a number of years, and about 1861 removed westward to Illinois, establishing their home in Macon county. The father purchased land in Whitmore township, at first becoming the owner of a forty acre tract of wild prairie. He broke the sod and fenced the fields, built a small house there and with characteristic energy began the cultivation of crops that the place might bring to him a substantial and immediate income. His labors gained him prosperity and he purchased more land from time to time. He also added attractive and substantial farm buildings and altogether developed a place which in its equipment was equal to the best farms of the community. His different investments in property at length aggregated six hundred and forty acres of rich and valuable land in different farms in Macon county, and year by year he carefully tilled the fields and developed his place according to modern methods. At length, however, he put aside the active work of the farm and removed to Argenta, building there a good home.

The Argenta Bank, a private institution, was established and owned by James Brown and Samuel Gerber, Mr. Brown acting as president, Mr. Gerber as vice president and James Hemphill as cashier. After the death of Mr. Brown, Mr. Gerber became president, while P. E. Gerber was elected first vice president and S. O. Hilbrant became cashier. While living in Argenta the father lost his wife, who passed away in June, 1907.

The youthful experiences of P. E. Gerber were such as usually come to the farm boy whose vacation periods are spent at work in the fields. The chores of the farm, the plowing, planting and harvesting, all became familiar to him. At the same time he pursued his education in the common schools and later supplemented it by a course in Lincoln College. Following the father's removal to Argenta the son remained upon the farm and continued its cultivation and the raising and feeding of stock. He and his father were partners in the ownership of the farm and the conduct of the business, and he made a specialty of raising heavy draft horses and of raising, buying and fattening cattle for the market. He was thus actively identified with general agricultural pursuits until 1893, when he removed to Argenta and erected the modern residence that is now his home.

On the 21st of March, 1886, in Shelby county, Ohio, Mr. Gerber was married to Miss Lydia Hilbrant, who was born and reared in the Buckeye state and is a daughter of Irvin Hilbrant, also a native of Ohio, where his youthful days were passed. Air. and Mrs. Gerber have one daughter, Blanche, now the wife of Charles Bricker, of Spokane, Washington.

Since removing to Argenta Mr. Gerber has divided his attention between his farm and live-stock interests and other business affairs. He is a man of progressive spirit, watchful of opportunities, and his improvement of the advantages which have come to him have made him one of the leading and representative business men of the community. Moreover, he is public-spirited and any project for the good of the community is sure to receive his indorsement. Politically he is a republican and his devotion to the general welfare was demonstrated in his two terms' service as mayor of Argenta. He has also served on the town board, yet has never sought nor desired office, his political preferment coming to him through the vote of his fellow townsmen, who have recognized and appreciated his ability. He and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church of Argenta, and he belongs to the Masonic lodge of the town. He has also taken the degrees of Decatur Chapter, R. A. M.; Decatur Commandery, K. T. ; and the Mystic Shrine of Peoria. In Argenta Lodge, I. O. O. F., he has served through all the chairs, is a past grand and has represented the local lodge in the Grand Lodge of the state. The extent and importance of his business interests have made him widely known in Macon and adjoining counties, and the course which he has ever followed has commended him to the confidence, good-will and regard of his fellowmen, who appreciate his worth and recognize the fact that his success is well merited.

Henry Barnhart

The fact that Henry Barnhart was a faithful and loyal soldier of the Civil war would alone entitle him to mention among those citizens whose records are a credit and honor to Decatur. However, as a business man in this city he has made for himself a creditable name, having for a considerable period been numbered among the contractors and builders of Decatur, although at the present time he is living retired.

He was born in Miami county, Ohio, January 2, 1843, ar*d was a son of Samuel Barnhart, a native of Pennsylvania, who died in the Buckeye state at the age of seventy-seven years. The mother passed away in Pennsylvania at the age of eighty-four years. They were the parents of eight children, five of whom are still living in Ohio. The father was a farmer, carpenter and contractor and led a busy and active life so that he left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name.

Henry Barnhart pursued his education in the public schools of Covington, Ohio, and at the age of seventeen began learning the carpenter's trade under the direction of his father. He had previously had some business experience in assistance which he had given his father in the work of the farm in early life. He had not worked long at the carpenter's trade when the Civil war was inaugurated and he watched with interest the progress of events in the south. He could not content himself to remain at home when the outcome of the war seemed ominous, and in August, 1862, when nineteen years of age, he joined the One Hundred and Tenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which became a part of the Second Brigade of the Third Division of the Sixth Army Corps under Captain J. C. Ulery. He served for the full term of three years and participated in the following battles: Union Mills, Virginia, June 12, 1863; Winchester, Virginia, June 14, 1863; Stephenson Depot, June 15, 1863; Happing Heights, June 29, 1863; Brandy Station, November 8, 1863; Mine Run, Virginia, November 27, 1863; The Wilderness, May 5, 1864; Spottsylvania, May 9-12, 1864; Nye River, Virginia, May 14, 1864; Cold Harbor, Virginia, June 1-12, 1864; Petersburg, Virginia, June 22-23, 1864; Ream Station, June 20, 1864; Monocacy, Maryland, July 9, 1864; Sneekers Gap, August, 1864; Opequan, Maryland, August 9, 1864; Fisher Hill, Maryland, September 22, 1864; Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864; Cedar Springs, November 12, 1864; the two engagements at Petersburg on the 23d of March and the 2d of April, 1865 ; Jettersville, April 5, 1865 ; Sailors Creek, April 6, 1865 ; and Appomattox, April 9, 1865. It will thus be seen that his service was a very arduous one and that he was constantly on active duty. He made a most creditable military record, never faltering in the face of danger, and therefore returned home with the honors of war.

Mr. Barnhart received his discharge at Columbus, Ohio, and at once returned to Covington, that state, where he engaged in farming for a number of years and also followed carpentry. He has been a resident of Macon county since 1887 and here took up carpentering and contracting, with which business he was actively and successfully identified until 1905, when he retired from the trade to look after private business interests. He had made investments in realestate and is now the owner of considerable valuable city property, including his fine residence. From much of his property he derives a substantial annual income.

Mr. Barnhart was united in marriage to Miss Celentha Battson, who died August 20, 1889, leaving a son, John D. Barnhart, who is at the head of the John D. Barnhart Company that has recently opened a mercantile establishment in the Gebhart block on North Water street. He entered the mercantile field five years ago and in that time has made remarkable progress. Previous to going into business for himself he was traveling salesman for the Morehouse & Wells Company. Later he established a small hardware store and, branching out, he added to his stock, securing additional room and incorporated his company. His hardware store is in the same block with his new enterprise and he will manage both business interests. The new undertaking is a general merchandise enterprise that will meet the demands of trade in that part of the city.

While Henry Barnhart is now living retired from business, he is widely and favorably known in other connections. He has always taken an active and helpful interest in the work of the Grand Army of the Republic and is the present commander of Dunham Post, No. 141, G. A. R., of Decatur, having been elected in 1910. He always attends the annual reunions of the One Hundred and Tenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and he was a delegate to the state encamp- ment of the Grand Army at Freeport, Illinois. In all matters of citizenship he is as true and loyal to his country as when he followed the old flag upon southern battlefields and protected the interests of the Union when facing the enemy's bullets.

Wait Broughton

Wait Broughton, who has won a gratifying measure of success as a farmer and stock-raiser, is the owner of three hundred and sixty acres of valuable land in Mount Zion township, making his home on section 18. His birth occurred in Rensselaer county, New York, on the 15th of April, 1837, he being the youngest son of Wait and Sallie (Cross) Broughton. The father who was born in August, 1787, participated in the war of 1812 and in 1848 took up his abode in Fairfax county, Virginia, where he followed farming. His demise occurred on the 12th of March, 1863. His wife, who was born in Rensselaer county, New York, on the 25th of October, 1796, passed away on the 21st of December, 1876. She was a daughter of the well known Captain Cross of New York, who was a native of the Green Mountain state.

Wait Broughton, who was a lad of eleven years at the time of his father's removal to Virginia, attended the schools of that state until sixteen years of age and remained on the home farm there until the spring of 1859, when he came to Springfield, Illinois. Subsequently he worked on farms in Sangamon and Macon counties until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted for service in the One Hundred and Sixth Illinois Infantry, remaining with that command for three years. He participated in the engagements at Vicksburg and Jackson and other noted battles west of the Mississippi river. He was severly wounded at one time but returned to the front as soon as able. He still maintains pleasant relations with old army comrades through his membership in Dunham Post, No. 41, of Decatur - the first post organized after the close of the war. When hostilities had ceased Mr. Broughton engaged in farming and the raising of sheep, but the venture proved disastrous and he not only lost all his capital but found himself in debt as well. Nothing daunted, however, he started out anew with increased zeal and in 1872 purchased eighty acres of land on section 18, Mount Zion township. By dint of untiring industry and good management he prospered as the years passed by and at the present time his property holdings embrace three hundred and sixty acres of valuable and productive land. He paid from twenty-five dollars to as high as two hundred dollars an acre for the property. The place of lacking is none of the improvement and conveniences of a model farm of the twentieth century and its neat and thrifty appearance speaks volumes for the energy and enterprise of the owner. Throughout his business career Mr. Broughton has devoted his attention to the pursuits of farming and stock-raising and his activities in this connection have brought him a gratifying annual income. At the time of his arrival in Springfield in 1859 his worldly possessions consisted of a gold piece of the value of two and a half dollars. Setting resolutely to work, he has since made steady progress toward the goal of success, undeterred by obstacles and difficulties.

On the 2d of June, 1868, Mr. Broughton was united in marriage to Miss Susannah Welsh, of Sangamon county, her parents being Levi and Mary (Reed) Welsh, natives of Franklin county, Pennsylvania. In 1854 they took up their abode in Sangamon county, Illinois, where Mr. Welsh successfully carried on general agricultural pursuits. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Broughton have been born the following children: Albert T., whose natal day was December 1, 1869; Ida M., whose birth occurred June 7, 1871 ; Edmond W., who was born on the 15th of April, 1873, and passed away on the 27th of April 1874; Henry C, born October 15, 1874; George H, February 20, 1878; Walter F., whose birth occurred September 23, 1879; Samuel L., who was born November 20, 1882, and died June 7, 1883 ; and Stanley L., who first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 6th of September, 1886. The son Henry C, has two children: Russell Clay, whose birth occurred October 9, 1898; and Goldie Fern, born October 6, 1900; and Frederick W., has three: Marie, born in August, 1900; Bernice, born October II, 1906; and Irene, born April 22, 1909.

Politically Mr. Broughton is a stalwart advocate of the republican party, believing that its principles are most conducive to good government. He and his family attend the Presbyterian church. The period of his residence in this part of the state covers more than a half century and he has therefore witnessed much of its growth and development. Honorable and upright in all life's relations, the many sterling traits of his character have endeared him to the great majority of those with whom he has come in contact.

Zachariah Taylor Blaine

Zachariah Taylor Blaine is one of Decatur's oldest settlers and has the respect of all who know him. He is now living a retired life but for a number of years was closely identified with agricultural pursuits in this part of the state. He was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, December 13, 1845, and is a representative one of the old families of that state. His grandfather was born in Pennsylvania and was a prominent agriculturist of the community in which he lived. His son, William Blaine, the father of Zachariah Taylor Blaine, was born in New Jersey and in early life learned the shoemaker's trade. He went from New Jersey to Pennsylvania and there enlisted for service in the war against the Indians of Florida. He was afterward a soldier of the Mexican war, and again his military spirit was dominant when the country became involved in the Civil war, for he espoused the cause of the Union and marched to the front under the stars and stripes. There are few men who can boast of active service in three wars of the country, but William Blaine was a veteran of three of the different contests in which the country has been engaged. He married Jane Leightner, who was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, in 1817. Her father was also a native of Pennsylvania and represented a family of German lineage founded in America in early days. He continued a resident of the Keystone state throughout his entire life and passed away at the age of eightyeight years, after having devoted the greater part of his life to farming. His daughter, Mrs. William Blaine, was also a lifelong resident of Pennsylvania, her death occurring in Cumberland county in 1901, when she had reached the age of eighty-four years. The death of William Blaine occurred in Indiana. In both the paternal and maternal lines Z. T. Blaine of this review is a representative of families noted for longevity.

His youthful days were spent in Perry county, Pennsylvania, and when he was six years of age he went to live with an uncle in that county, who was a farmer. He remained with him for four years, after which he lived with his grandfather Leightner until sixteen years of age. His public-school education was supplemented by two years' study in the Mount Dempsey Academy at Landisburg, Pennsylvania, and he also spent one term in the Seward Normal School of Pennsylvania. At the age of sixteen years he went to Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, where he was employed at farm labor until after the outbreak of the Civil war.

Responding to the country's call for troops, Mr. Blaine enlisted as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Thirtieth Pennsylvania Infantry, on the 10th of August, 1862. He went to the front under Captain William M. Porter and served for ten months, after which he was mustered out at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Later he returned to the army and was in the quartermaster's department in Washington, D. C, for two years. He had previously participated in the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. He was also in the engagement at Chancellorsville and went with Grant through the Wilderness up to Petersburg. Subsequently, he returned home but afterward proceeded to Washington, D. C, and with Sheridan's army marched up the Shenandoah valley, being at Winchester when Sheridan made his famous ride. When the war ended he returned to Perry county, Pennsylvania, and it was subsequent to this time that he spent two years in school. In 1868 he arrived in Decatur, where he has since made his home, covering a period of forty-three years.

About two years after his arrival in this city, Mr. Blaine was married in Decatur on the 6th of December, 1870, to Miss Mary Stare, who was born in York county, Pennsylvania, and came to Illinois in 1868. Her father died in Pennsylvania, where he had followed farming, and the mother came with her daughter to Decatur, where her last days were passed. Mrs. Mary Blaine departed this life in Decatur, December 25, 1005. The only child born of that marriage was a son, Benjamin B. Blaine, who lived for only ten days. On the 9th of December, 1909, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Mr. Blaine was again married, his second union being with Alice J. Linebaugh, who was born in York county, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1873. Her father, William Linebaugh, and her mother, who bore the maiden name of Mary E. Williams, were both natives of the Keystone state, and the latter died in Pennsylvania, where Mrs. Alice Blaine remained up to the time of her marriage.

After coming to Macon county, Mr. Blaine was for many years identified with farming interests, owning and cultivating an excellent tract of twelve acres, from which he derived a substantial annual income. The careful management of his business affairs brought him a measure of success that now enables him to live retired and yet enjoy the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. He has traveled quite extensively, having in 1906 gone to Mexico for the winter, while at other times he has visited the Pacific coast, remaining in the far west for a year, and on still other occasions he has traveled in Canada and the eastern states. He believes that money is meant for enjoyment and not for hoarding, and in his travels he has had that broadening influence which is obtained in no other way.

Mr. Blaine belongs to Dunham Post, No. 141, G. A. R., of Decatur, and both he and his wife are members of the Church of God. His political allegiance has ever been given to the republican party since its organization and age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He has not sought or desired public office, however, preferring to concentrate his energies upon other interests, especially upon his business affairs, wherein he has gained creditable and gratifying success. He is today one of Decatur's oldest residents and enjoys the unqualified regard and esteem of those who know him. His military record is one which entitles him to the respect and gratitude of his fellowmen. He did much active and important service at the front, and his loyalty was never called into question, for he was equally faithful to the cause he espoused when on the firing line, picket line or engaged in clerical duty in the quartermaster's department. In matters of citizenship the same fidelity has characterized him throughout the days of peace, and Macon county has reason to class him with her representative men.

George W. Disney

The ranks of the old soldiers of Macon county are rapidly becoming thinner as the years pass and it is with pleasure that we here present a record of Sergeant George W. Disney, who for many years has been an honored citizen of this county and is now living at No. 1525 North Clayton street, Decatur. He was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1845, and is a son of Joshua and Elizabeth (Houser) Disney, the former of whom was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in March, 1821, and the latter in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. The father went to live in the latter state after his marriage and was in charge of a canal-boat, upon which the celebrated novelist, Charles Dickens, rode when he visited this country. Joshua Disney and his wife came to Illinois in 1856 and settled in Macon county. The father died in Decatur in 1889, and the mother was called away in 1864. Twelve children were born to them and the following are now living in Macon county: Snowden H., Caroline, Isabelle, Grant and Lee B. Mary J. Morrison lives at Rockwell City, Iowa, and John A. in Oklahoma, while William, John, David T. and Valley are deceased.

George W. Disney was educated in the common schools of Pennsylvania and Illinois and continued at home until seventeen years of age. In May, 1863, he enlisted at Decatur in Company E, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Illinois Infantry, under Captain Wheat West, serving for six months, when he was mustered out at Camp Butler, Illinois. On February 8, 1865, he again enlisted for a period of one year, becoming a member of Company K, One Hundred and Fifty-second Illinois Infantry. He was mustered in as corporal but became sergeant and was honorably discharged and mustered out at Memphis, Tennessee, September n, 1865. He served in southwestern Missouri under command of Colonel Lackey, of Bloomington, and General Rosecranz, and there saw a great deal of service with bushwhackers. He considers himself very fortunate indeed to have escaped with his life.

After laying aside the accoutrements of war, Mr. Disney spent one year in Pennsylvania and then came to Macon county, where he took up his home and became for many years identified with its business interests. He is a single man, having never entered the state of matrimony. In politics he accepts the principles of the democratic party but often votes for the man irrespective of his party affiliation. A stanch believer in the Christian religion, he holds membership in the Church of God and is an earnest worker for the cause. He is also a member of Dunham Post, No. 141, Grand Army of the Republic, and there gathering with his comrades, he revives the memories of many years ago and once more fights the battles which saved the Union and sounded the knell of human slavery throughout the whole world.

Walter A. Carr

That Macon county has proved attractive both as a place of residence and because of the good opportunities offered along agricultural lines, is indicated by the fact that many of her native sons have chosen to remain within her borders, finding in the rich and fertile soil of central Illinois an excellent scope for well directed efforts and intelligently applied labor. Among this number is Walter A. Carr who, in the operation of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, is meeting with most creditable success. His birth occurred in this county on the 26th of April, 1878, and he represents a family which has long been connected with agricultural pursuits in Illinois.

His father, Nathan A. Carr, was born in St. Clair county, this state, March 29. 1838, but came to Macon county in 1865, making his home here since that time. For many years he was closely and actively connected with agricultural interests but is now living retired in Decatur, having reached the seventy-second milestone on life's journey. In early life he had married Melissa J. Writtinghouse, who was also born in St. Clair county, Illinois. Her birth occurred in 1840 and she passed from this life in February, 1910, at Decatur, after having reared to maturity a family of ten children.

This number included Walter A. Carr, of this review, who spent the period of his boyhood and youth in his parents' home, acquiring a good education in the public schools of Illinois. He remained at home until twenty years of age when, in 1898, he decided to try his fortunes in the northwest, and, making his way to the Puget Sound country, remained there about eighteen months. He then returned home, but after a short time the call of the west again proved irresistible and for some time he was variously engaged in California and Mexico. After his second return home, in the summer of 1901, he took up his abode permanently in Illinois and has here since continued.

Two years later, on the 5th of February, 1903, Mr. Carr was united in marriage to Miss May Hohn, who was born on the 14th of March, 1880. She was the sixth in the family of seven children born unto William and Martha Hohn, residents of Illinois.

After his marriage Mr. Carr removed to his present home, a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 17, Milam township, Macon county, the tract being the property of his father. Here he carries on general farming and also engages in stock-raising, and the close application and careful management which he gives to his interests are proving strong elements in a most creditable success.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Carr has been blessed by a son, Bernard E., who was born on the 24th of December, 1895. Mr. Carr holds membership in Beacon Lodge, No. 434, K. P., and since age conferred upon him the right of franchise has voted for the men and measures of the democratic party. Although he has ever been deeply interested in the questions and issues of the day, and indorses those measures which have for their object the welfare of the community in which he makes his home, his interest is merely that of the private citizen who does not seek public office as the reward for party fealty. He has preferred rather to concentrate his energies upon his private interests which, wisely managed, are bringing to him prosperity both substantial and gratifying.

David Hoff

No class of men in America deserve the undying gratitude of lovers of liberty so much as the soldiers who on the field of battle at the risk of their lives successfully defended the Union. These brave men went forth by thousands and tens of thousands and many never returned. Others came home bearing the honorable scars of war, a constant reminder of their fidelity to the flag which they had sworn to uphold. Among the valiant men who suffered in the war is David Hoff, retired, and now living at No. 557 West Macon street, Decatur. He was born in Ashland county, Ohio, January 15, 1842, and is a son of Jacob and Susanna (Spellman) Hoff, both of whom were natives of Boonsboro, Maryland. They were married in their native state and removed to Ashland county, Ohio, coming to De Witt county, Illinois, in 1862. Here the father died and the mother departed this life in Macon county. The grandparents of our subject were natives of Maryland but spent the greater part of their lives in Ohio.

David Hoff was educated in the common schools and just as he was preparing to take up the active duties of life the great Rebellion threw its shadows over the land. He enlisted November 11, 1861, for a term of three years in Company G, Sixty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Arlow Smith, of Ashland. The regiment participated in many of the leading battles of the Army of the West, including the battles of Corinth, Chattanooga, Perryville, Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, Stone River and many skirmishes. At Resaca, Georgia, private Hoff escaped capture or loss of life almost miraculously. He and his comrades suddenly found themselves within twenty feet of an overwhelming body of