Decatur Township (part 43 of 46)

Thomas Jefferson Austin

Among the prosperous farmers of Macon county is Thomas Jefferson Austin, who occupies a highly improved farm on section 4, Blue Mound township, where he and his excellent wife dispense a generous hospitality. He is a native son of Illinois and his eyes first opened to the light of day in Macon county, November 5, 1853. His parents were William A. and Eleanor (Warnick) Austin. The family was originally quite prominent in Virginia, where William Austin, the grandfather of our subject, was born. The father was also born in Virginia, April 28, 1806. He went to Tennessee at the age of fourteen and in 1828 came to Macon county, where he continued until his death, which occurred in March, 1893. He was one of the early settlers of the county and he and his brother Benjamin assisted in the survey of Decatur. He was a Jacksonian democrat and a stanch advocate of the principles of his party, serving for forty-two years as justice of the peace in Blue Mound township. This is a record which probably has never been equaled in Illinois. Abraham Lincoln was a friend of Squire Austin and frequently came to his office to consult books in his library. One of the favorite volumes which Mr. Lincoln often held in his hands was a history of Napoleon Bonaparte, a book that appeared to have a special fascination for the future president. This is now one of the prized possessions of our subject. William A. Austin was a member of the Methodist church and a firm believer in the Bible. He departed this life in March, 1893, and was laid to rest in Brown cemetery. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Austin : Joseph, a resident of Blue Mound ; Henrietta, who became the wife of Thomas Ogden and died in Missouri in 1892 ; Benjamin F., of Christian county, this state ; George W., who died in boyhood ; William C, who died in March, 1908, and was buried in Salem cemetery; John, who died in 1883, and was buried in Brown cemetery; Nancy J., who became the wife of Abraham C. Miller and died in 1901 ; Lewis, of Missouri; and Thomas Jefferson, our subject. Mrs. Eleanor Austin departed this life in 1853, ten days after the birth of her son, Thomas J., and the father was again married, selecting as his wife Miss Sarah Ealy. Five children were born of this union : Kate, the wife of T. J. Stevens, a resident of Idaho ; Samuel, of Chicago ; Wallace, of Seattle ; Mary E., now Mrs. Ferris Rosencrantz, of Kansas ; and James, also of Kansas. The second wife of Mr. Austin departed this life two years after her husband and was buried at his side in Brown cemetery.

Thomas J. Austin was educated in the common schools of Macon county and in the Decatur high school and became a teacher, continuing for five years in the schools of the county. However, he decided that the farm possessed attractions superior to those of the schoolroom and he engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock-raising for two years in Christian county and then for thirteen years on a farm near Oreana, after which he conducted operations for six years in the neighborhood of Harristown, and in 1904 located on a place of one hundred and forty-five acres on section 4, Blue Mound township, which belongs to his father-in-law. He is a general farmer and stock-raiser and has made good progress in a business which calls for the best abilities of a well trained mind.

On February 28, 1879, Mr. Austin was united in marriage to Miss Belle Mathews, who was born in Macon county, August 3, i860, a daughter of John and Agnes (Johnson) Mathews, the former of whom was born in Indiana in April, 1840, and is now living in Decatur. Her mother was born in Ohio, June 2, 1841, and died in November, 1908. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mathews: Belle, herein mentioned; Nannie, now Mrs. C. R. Scroggin, living on a farm in Macon county where Abraham Lincoln passed part of his boyhood ; George, deceased at twenty years of age ; William, who died at thirty years of age ; Elizabeth, the wife of R. A. Thornell, of Boody, Illinois ; Delia, the wife of L. E. F. Lawley, of Decatur; and Sammy, who died in infancy. Three children came to brighten the household of Mr. and Mrs. Austin, of whom George is the eldest. He was born February 5, 1880, and married Mattie Fombell. They are living near Maroa, Illinois, and have one child, Verna. Dwight, born August 8, 1882, died at the age of eleven years. Floyd Rolland, born April 6, 1897, is living at home. Stephen Johnson, an uncle of Mrs. Austin and a citizen of this state, served in an Illinois regiment in the Civil war and he acquitted himself as becomes a valiant soldier.

Mr. Austin since starting out in life for himself has largely depended upon his own exertions and has thus developed many sterling qualities of mind and heart that under ordinary circumstances might have lain dormant. He has been a highly useful member of the community and has found in his wife a most worthy companion whose unselfish life has endeared her not only to her family but to the entire neighborhood where she has for a number of years been well known.

Edwin J. Roberts

Edwin J. Roberts is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of fine farm land about two miles west of Warrensburg. The place is a well cultivated tract, improved with modern equipment and all of the accessories that go to make up a model farm of the twentieth century. Its present owner, a practical, progressive agriculturist, was born July 5, 1842, in Barnstead, Belknap county, New Hampshire, a son of George S. and Eliza A. (Bunker) Roberts, who were also natives of the Old Granite state. The father was a representative of a very prominent Welsh family and the mother was of English lineage. Throughout his entire life George S. Roberts followed the occupation of farming and in the year 1865 he left New England for Illinois, making his way to Woodford county, where he resided for about two years. Subsequently he purchased the farm upon which his son Edwin now resides, paying thirty-five dollars for one hundred and twenty acres and sixteen and two-thirds dollars for forty. Through- out the intervening years until his death, which occurred in 1897, he resided upon that farm, and his labors transformed it into a valuable property, worth many times what he paid for it originally. For about twelve years he had survived his wife, who passed away in 1885. Their children were: Sarah E., now deceased; and three sons, Edwin J., Dr. George F., of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Everett L., of Lexington, Nebraska.

Edwin J. Roberts was educated in the public schools of New Hampshire and after finishing his own education he taught for about three years in the east and later for three years in Illinois. In the meantime he had been employed to some extent in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and after coming to the middle west he worked upon a farm. He was about twenty-three years of age when he began farming on his own account, first renting land in Woodford county. He purchased his first land from his father, becoming owner of forty acres. He has always been interested in the farm upon which he now resides but in late years has sold half of his land to his son Harry E. He has been an active, energetic agriculturist, quickly adopting any method which tends to improve his place and add to its value and attractive appearance. He has brought the fields under a high state of cultivation and annually large crops are produced. He follows the most modern and scientific methods of farming, rotating his crops, using fertilizers and doing everything in his power to keep his land in good condition and the soil most productive. Moreover, he has been interested in the Illini Insurance Company for twenty years and served as secretary of the State Association of Mutual Insurance Companies for five years. He has also been connected with education interests throughout his entire life and the publicschool system has no more stalwart champion than Edwin J. Roberts.

On the 29th of March, 1864, Mr. Roberts was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie S. Daniels, a daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Ann Daniels and a representative of a prominent New Hampshire family. Her parents always remained residents of that portion of the country. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts had two children but Ernest E. is now deceased. Harry E., who resides near the old homestead and operates most of his father's land, married Abbie M. Eaton and they have one child, Laurence B. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts also reared Maggie May Cheeseman, who remained a member of the household up to the time she became the wife of Berry E. Turner, in August, 1906.

Mi. Roberts belongs to the Woodmen camp of Warrensburg, of which he is a charter member and of which he has served as counsel. Throughout the period of his residence here he has been regarded as a public-spirited citizen and was one of those who aided in building the railroad through this section. His political support is given to the democratic party and for ten years he has filled the office of supervisor of his township, his reelection being proof of his ability and fidelity in that connection. He was a delegate to the free silver convention at Springfield and he has ever stood fearlessly in defense of his honest convictions. He was made chairman of the building committee which had charge of the construction of the courthouse and served as chairman of board of supervisors for two years. In every connection his service has been of an important character. He is now president of the local option club and also of the Men's Christian Association. He is a deacon in the Congregational church and his salient principles are those which measure up to a high standard of manhood and Christian fellowship. His life has indeed been well spent and his many sterling characteristics have gained for him the high regard of the citizens among whom he has lived for more than four decades.

James S. Carter

James S. Carter is now living retired in Decatur and is respected and honored because of his active record in business and because of the faithful service which he gave to his country during the Civil war. He is today one of the oldest residents of Macon county, having resided within its borders for seventy-two years. His birth occurred at what is now the northwest corner of North Main and North street in Decatur, June 13, 1839. His grandfather, Jesse Carter, was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1764 and in 181 1 removed to Crab Orchard, Kentucky. He first wedded Mary Haines, who died leaving two children, and following their mother's death they were sent back to North Carolina. In 1812 he married Sarah Dyhouse and they became the parents of ten children. The mother died in 183 1 and in 1832 Jesse Carter wedded Mary Sword, who lived but a year after their marriage. In 1835 he married Ann Starns and they became the parents of three children. Jesse Carter, the grandfather of our subject, died in Crab Orchard, Kentucky, April 24, 1852.

A son of Jesse Carter's second marriage was Elisha D. Carter, the father of our subject. By his different marriages Jesse Carter had a large family. His son, James D. Carter, born January 25, 1817, died July 25, 1887. His children were Sarah J., John, Eliza A., James, Minerva, Delia M. and Maurice A. Vincent P. was born in 1819 and died in childhood. Zachariah, born in 1821, also died young. William C, born July 15, 1823, died August 30, 1872. His children were Eliza S., William S., George N. and Wilson C. Elijah Carter, the next member of the family of Jesse Carter, was born October 26, 1824, and died February 27, 1899. His children were James V., Amanda, Sarah E. and Mary A. The seventh* child of Jesse Carter's second marriage was Mary A. Carter, who was born in 1826 and by her marriage had one son, John Peter. Mathew, the eighth member of the family, was born in 1829 and his children were Zach, Andrew, Clara, Mathew, J. Vincent and Alice. Jane Ann, born January 1, 1831, died February 11, 1899. She was married and her children were Albert, Henry, Sarah, Ella, Mary, John R. and Zalpha. The third wife of Jesse Carter, as previously stated, lived for but a year. His fourth wife was Ann Starns and they had three children: John B., born in 1838; Jesse A., born in 1841 ; and F. Marion, born in 1847. The last named married and had two children, J. D. and D. M .Carter.

Elisha D. Carter, the father of James S. Carter, was born at Crab Orchard, Kentucky, February 2, 1814, and was a cabinet maker by trade. He married Christina Schmick, who was born in Lincoln county, Kentucky, July 18, 1812. They left the Blue Grass state in 1836 and settled first in Shelbyville, Illinois, but after a short time removed to Springfield, Illinois, where they resided for two years. On the expiration of that period they came to Decatur, where the father followed his trade until 1854 and then turned his attention to the grocery business, in which he was engaged until 1858. He then sold out and retired from active business the following year, enjoying well earned rest from that date until his death, which occurred July 16, 1881. The Carter and Schmick families both came from Kentucky to Sangamon county, Illinois, and it was there that the parents of our subject were married on the 18th of July, 1837, the wedding ceremony being performed in Springfield by the Rev. Hooper Cruse. The death of Mrs. Carter occurred in Decatur, February 15, 1882, having survived her husband for less than a year.

James S. Carter spent his youthful days in his father's home and completed his education by attending the high school of Decatur. He then entered his father's store, acting as clerk there, and in i860 he became a clerk in a dry goodf store, where he was employed until 1861. On the 7th of August, 1862, he responded to the country's call for aid, enlisting in Company F, One Hundred and Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, at Decatur. The company was commanded by Captain Frank L. Hayes, still a resident of Decatur. Mr. Carter served until July 12, 1865, and was mustered out at Cincinnati, Ohio. He was mustered in at Camp Butler, Illinois, on the 12th of September, 1862, by Captain Fred E. De Coursey and went to Covington, Kentucky, where he remained for a short time. He was then sent back to Cincinnati on account of illness and was detailed as clerk in th§ hospital, filling that position until the close of the war. When the country no longer needed his military aid he returned to Decatur and for four years thereafter was employed as a clerk in a dry goods store. He afterward engaged in clerking in a cigar store for two years and subsequently accepted a position as timekeeper on the Wabash Railroad, acting in that capacity for two years. He next went into the tax collector's office as assistant, filling that position for a short time, after which he again held the office of assistant collector for many years. In 1884 he was elected collector and in 1897 he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office. He afterward was assistant to the collector until 1906, since which time he has practically lived retired, now occupying a beautiful home at No. 152 West Prairie avenue.

Mr. Carter was married in Decatur, June 29, 1882, to Mrs. Sarah E. Sponsler, the wedding ceremony being performed by the Rev. W. H. Moore. She was born in Peoria, Illinois, June 15, 1842, a daughter of William E. and Elizabeth (Taylor) Thompson, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Delaware. They removed from Connecticut to Ohio, where the death of the father occurred during the childhood of Mrs. Carter, who was afterward reared by her uncle, Samuel K. Thompson, who removed from Ohio to Decatur, where he engaged in merchandising. He accumulated a great deal of property and was a wealthy man at the time of his death. The mother of Mrs. Carter came to Illinois and died in Bloomington, this state.

Mr. Carter is a prominent and exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Macon Lodge, No. 8, A. F. & A. M.; Macon Chapter, No. 21, R. A. M.; Decatur Council, No. 16, R. & S. M.; and Beaumanoir Commandery, No. 9, K. T. He has served as secretary of the lodge and chapter and as recorder of the commandery and is now recorder of the council, while in Dunham Post.

No. 141, G. A. R., of which he is a member, he has filled the office of quartermaster. His wife holds membership in St. John's Episcopal church. Mr. Carter has always endeavored to follow the golden rule as his religious precept, doing unto others as he would have them do unto him. In politics he has long been a republican, active and earnest in support of the party and its principles. He is a gentleman of high character and sterling qualities, honored and esteemed by all who know him and most by those who know him best.

R. D. Hudelson, for many years closely identified with the farming interests of Macon county, is known as one of its most patriotic and useful citizens. He was a true soldier for the Union at the time of the Civil war and in private life he had shown the same characteristic of fidelity to principle that gave him courage on the field of battle. His home in Blue Mound township is a center of hospitality, where all are assured of a hearty greeting. He is a native of Indiana, born in Orange county, August 9, 1848, and is a son of Thomas and Lydia (Elrod) Hudelson, the former having been born in Kentucky in 1809 and the latter in Indiana in 181 1. Thomas Hudelson was a farmer and a man of fine character who accomplished a noble mission in assisting in clearing away the forest and preparing for the civilization which the country now enjoys. He was called to his reward in 1876, his wife passing away in 1902. They were buried in Bates county, Missouri. There were ten children in their family, four of whom are now living: John, who served in the Twenty-fourth Indiana Infantry, under General Grant, and is now making his home at Adrian, Missouri; R. D. our subject; William, of Illinois; and Elkana, of Missouri.

R. D. Hudelson was reared on the home farm in Orange county, Indiana, and educated in the district schools. At the age of sixteen he enlisted in the Fifty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry and participated with his regiment in a number of the great battles of the Army of the West and also in innumerable minor engagements. He was with Sherman on his march to the sea and later was present at the grand review at Washington, after which the regiment was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, where he received his honorable discharge. The Civil war was a rude introduction to the realities of life for one so young, but Private Hudelson came out of the conflict unscathed and in the course of his military experience gained many valuable lessons that were to him of greatest benefit in later years. After laying aside the accoutrements of war he worked on a farm in Missouri and in 1870 came to Blue Mound township, Macon county. Here he was married, after which he farmed on rented land in Macon township, locating permanently in Blue Mound township in 1880 upon eighty acres which his wife inherited from her mother. Later he purchased forty acres and has since made further additions until he now owns a beautiful farm of one hundred and sixty-six acres, which is under a high degree of cultivation. He is a general farmer and stock-raiser and by industry and persever-

On December 24, 1874, Mr. Hudelson was united in marriage to Miss Mary Meyers, who was born in Blue Mound township, January 21, 1855, a daughter of Hiram and Elmina (Ekel) Meyers. Her father was a native of Germany and her mother of Pennsylvania. They settled in Macon county in the pioneer period and reared a family of three children, all of whom are deceased. The mother died in 1862 and the father passed from earthly scenes twenty-seven years later. Their remains were deposited in the Ekel burying ground, which is located on the farm of our subject. Mrs. Hudelson was called away November 23, 1888, after a married life of fourteen years, which abounded in acts of unselfishness. She was an earnest member of the Methodist church and possessed many beautiful traits of heart and character, and her departure was the greatest sorrow Mr. Hudelson has ever known. She was buried in the same cemetery as her parents.

Eight children brightened the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hudelson, seven of whom are now living. Lydia Elmina, born September 25, 1875, married Oliver T. Weatherford and is the mother of one son, Troy. Mr. Weatherford died on the 21st of February, 1896, and Mrs. Weatherford is now living with her father. Clara Estella and Anna Luella are twins. The former is the wife of Harry Warnick and is living at Pana, Illinois. They have five children, Marie, Blanche, Wilma, Irene and Gladys. Anna Luella married S. P. Ross, of Blue Mound township, and they have four children, Myrtle, May, Robert and Glen. Kyner, born February 6, 1880, lives at home. Bertha Gertrude, born September 9, 1881, is the wife of William Smith, a farmer of South Wheatland township. There are two children in their family, Mary and Dean. Wdliam Robert, born August 12, 1883, married Goldie Gleason and lives in Oklahoma. They have two children, Dale and Marion. Grover Cleveland, born June 27, 1885, married Edna Bell and is a farmer of Macon township. They have one son, Homer. Alma Edna, born August 14, 1888, married Charles Stickle and was called away October 25, 1909. Mr. Stickle departed this life six weeks after the death of his wife.

Mr. Hudelson is a stanch adherent of the democratic party and, while he has not urged his claims for public office, he has served most acceptably as road overseer, assessor and member of the school board, occupying the latter position for fourteen years. He takes great interest in religious affairs and he and all the members of his family are connected with the Methodist church, in which he has been an active worker for many years, serving as steward, class leader, treasurer, member of the board of trustees of the local church and circuit and also as Sunday school teacher. All his life he has been controlled largely by a desire to advance the comfort and happiness of others. Hence, he has been a valued member of the community and has greatly assisted in promoting the permanent interests of those with whom he has been associated.

The house in which Mr. Hudelson lives is one of the historic buildings of Macon county. Two of its main rooms, in one of which there was formerly a great fireplace, are over eighty years old, having been part of a building erected by Major William Warnick and his neighbors. Major Warnick was the first sheriff of Macon county and a leading man of central Illinois in the early days.

He was the head of a large family of boys and girls and one of his daughters attracted the attention of a tall young man named Abraham Lincoln, who lived on the opposite side of the Sangamon river. On one of his visits to this home Mr. Lincoln wet his feet and they became frost-bitten so that he was obliged to remain all night at the house. During this stay it is said his interest was aroused by a copy of the statutes of Illinois, which was in the library of Sheriff Warnick, and while looking over those books Lincoln decided to become a student of law. Mr. Hudelson has in his possesion a number of mementos among which is a rail twelve feet long which it is claimed was split by Abraham Lincoln in his early manhood. It has been suggested that the building be purchased and maintained as a memorial to President Lincoln according to a custom well established in eastern states which has become very popular in recent years.

David Henry Conklin

While Colonel David Henry Conklin was for many years a resident of Decatur and closely associated with its business and social life, he was even more largely a man of national character in his connection with the development of the telegraph and railway interests in the country. His work in those two fields of activity was of inestimable value and it is said that no other man has rescued from financial ruin so many different railway corporations and placed them upon a paying basis. In the midst of perplexing cares and heavy responsibilities that devolved upon him in these connections he maintained a kindly spirit and a social nature that made him popular with all who knew him and he was spoken of in terms of high regard and personal affection from the humblest employe to the most prominent man with whom he was brought in contact.

Colonel Conklin was born in New York city, October 31, 1831, his parents being Joseph and Marie (Blauvelt) Conklin, who were likewise natives of the Empire state, the former having been born in New York city, where he continued to make his home throughout the greater part of his life. The birth of the mother occurred near Gibson, New York.

During his boyhood David Henry Conklin attended the public schools of the metropolis and though his opportunities for an education were somewhat limited he became a man of wide general information through reading, experience and observation. He possessed an observing eye and retentive memory and from the experiences of life gleaned valuable truths which he used as business affairs brought to him wider and greater responsibilities. As a boy he was employed as "devil" in a printing office, where he worked until his apprenticeship had brought him sufficient knowledge to enable him to become a typesetter. After mastering his trade he set type for Horace Greeley, a distinction which perhaps but few men in the country now living can claim. It was about this time that he ceased his activity in the newspaper field to become connected with the newly developing system of telegraphy. The telegraph had been invented only a few years before and had not been brought into commercial use to any extent. Mr. Conklin was one of the first telegraph operators in the world.

He became associated with Ezra B. Cornell, who at that time was experimenting with the practical part of telegraphy, which he had come to recognize would have an important place in the business of the world. Mr. Cornell, perceiving the aptitude and intelligence of Mr. Conklin, selected him as a helper and placed him in charge of the telegraph office on the wharf at Jersey City, Mr. Cornell having instituted an experimental line. It was Mr. Conklin who took the initial step leading to the use of the telegraph in the operation of trains throughout the world. He thought of the idea of allowing two belated trains on the Erie to pass by means of using the telegraph and thus he was the pioneer in operating trains by means of the wire. He became an expert operator and years afterward he was fond of telling a story which involved his remembrance of the telegraph code. When he had become prominent in railway circles he was riding on a special train and as it stopped at a station Mr. Conklin alighted just as the telegraph operator sent over the wire the message: "Look out, the old man is coming your way on a special." Mr. Conklin walked at once to the operator's window and said : 'Young man, you had better look out for yourself and let the old man take care of himself." That was all there was to the conversation and the operator never thoroughly understood how Mr. Conklin was quick enough to read the message of warning he had sent.

The Erie Railroad was the first to take up the telegraph for the purpose of running trains and appointed Mr. Conklin as operator at Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. Subsequently he was made agent at Canisteo, New York, and later was chief dispatcher at Owego. When the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Company adopted the telegraph system in the operation of its trains Mr. Conklin was employed as superintendent of the whole system on the road. He built the line and instituted and operated the system of that railroad but later returned to the Erie road and for a time was stationed at Port Jervis, New York.

Mr. Conklin's identification with railway interests in the west dates from 1871, when he accepted a position with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad as train despatcher at Galesburg, while later he occupied a similar position at Aurora. Subsequently he was made superintendent of the Gilman, Clinton & Springfield Railroad with headquarters at Springfield, and subsequently he became superintendent of the Springfield, Illinois & Southeastern, now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio system, still maintaining his home at Springfield. His next appointment made him general superintendent of the Chicago & Paducah, now a part of the Wabash, and he was also superintendent of the Chicago, Peoria & Southwestern, now a part of the Sante Fe. He was the superintendent of construction on the part of the Wabash, then being built from Strawn to Chicago, had headquarters at Bement and was superintendent of the telegraph.

Perhaps Mr. Conklin's most notable work was in the rescue of railways that were a financial wreck. He was made general superintendent of the road that is now the Monon and lived in Indianapolis but was called from that position by the court in his appointment as receiver of the old Illinois Midland. He then removed to Terre Haute, Indiana, but after a short time came to Decatur, carrying on the work from this point. This was in 1882 and he continued to regard this city as his home until his demise, although his duties frequently called him elsewhere. His receivership was highly successful and he was general manager of the road after it became known as the Terre Haute & Peoria. At the present time it is a part of the Vandalia system. Mr. Conklin retired in 1887 but after a brief period of rest he was called to Bristol, Tennessee, to act as vice president and general manager as well as co-receiver of the Southern Atlantic & Ohio Railroad to which he devoted four or five years' work, adding to his reputation as a saver of wrecked railroads. Following his return to Decatur he was elected mayor of the city and after his retirement from office went to Anderson, Indiana, as general manager of the Chicago & Southeastern Railroad but a year later returned to Decatur and retired altogether from railroad life. His ability in taking a bankrupt road and making it a paying property was indeed notable. He possessed marked executive force and keen discrimination in the power to harmonize and unify seemingly diverse interests and combine them into a coordinate whole. His presence was such as inspired confidence in the men who served under him as well as those who called him to positions of management to save their financial interests. Railroad men throughout the country, both those of the operative departments and those who owned the stock, spoke of him in terms of highest regard and praise for the work which he did.

Mr. Conklin's election to the mayorality of Decatur occurred in 1895 and he filled the office for the full term of two years, discharging his duties in a careful, conscientious manner and with the same promptness and ability that he displayed in the management of business affairs. His pleasant manner was as characteristic of his official as well as his social life, and one who knew him well said: "I never was associated with any one who was more pleasant than Mr. Conklin. During the time that he was mayor he always had a kindly word for everyone and treated with much consideration those with whom he was thrown in his official duties. Since his retirement he has always made regular visits to the city officers and kept up the pleasant acquaintances which he formed while he was mayor."

On the 21st of November, 1853, in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, Mr. Conklin was married by the Rev. Allen, a Presbyterian minister, to Miss Hannah Leidy, who still survives him together with their two children. The son, Charles Conklin, is one of the oldest conductors of the Wabash Railroad and makes his home most of the time with his mother. The daughter, Mrs. Andrew Stevens, is also a resident of Decatur, her home being at No. 940 West Wood street. Her husband is also identified with railroad affairs, being connected with the Monon. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens have two sons and two daughters : Henry, who at the age of thirty years is assistant cashier in a Chicago bank; Nellie, who resides with her grandmother, Mrs. Conklin; Grace and Charles, still at home.

The death of Mr. Conklin occurred on the 10th of March, 1905, and he was laid to rest in the family burying ground in New York. He was never connected with any secret organizations but held membership in the Presbyterian church, to which Mrs. Conklin still belongs. He was also a prominent member of the Decatur Club and in his last years spent many of his afternoons with friends at his club, greatly enjoying his association there. His connection with telegraph and railway interests brought him a wide acquaintance throughout the east and middle west and wherever he went he made friends. "He was a gentleman of courtly manners," said one of the local papers, "always dignified and always polite. He was a conspicuous figure here and even after his health broke down he carried himself with the bearing of which few men of his age could boast. While dignified there was nothing lofty or patronizing about him. He liked to meet people, regardless of their station in life, treated them all alike and had a pleasant word for all whom he knew. Forceful and enterprising, intelligent and cultured, he was a gentleman in the truest and best sense of the term."

Louis C. Wree

Louis C. Wree, a farmer and stock-raiser, whose home is on section 26, Niantic township, was born in the village of Niantic on the 31st of July, 1859, and is a son of George and Frederica (Jacobson) Wree. The father was a native of Grundhof Angeln, Germany, born June 6, 1825, and was only four years of age when he lost his father. He had one brother, August, two years older, and a sister, Amelia, three years younger than himself. The mother removed to a farm, whereon the family lived for two years, and then took up her abode in the village of Glossburg. The principal of a school there had been an old classmate of George Wree's father, and he gave to George and his brother and sister good educational advantages.

At sixteen years of age George Wree started in business life as an employe of a wholesale grocery house, with which he was connected for about four years, having the opportunity for one year of that time of living with his mother who had removed again to Angeln. She died there, after which George Wree decided to accept an invitation from his former employer to emigrate with him to America. They started from Hamburg on the 1st of March, 1846, and landed at New York on the 1st of May, at which time only two steamers were making the trip from Bremen to New York. For three years George Wree remained a resident of the new world and then returned to the fatherland in 1849, going to Schleswig, Germany, where he was married on the 15th of February of that year. Soon afterward he started with his bride for America and established his home in Wisconsin, where he worked in the timber for sometime. He afterward removed to Niantic, Illinois, and there engaged in merchandising, becoming one of the representative and progressive business men of the town. At the time of the Civil war he was drafted for service at the front but hired a substitute to take his place. In 1861 he made purchase of the farm upon which his son Louis now resides. In his family were six children: Augusta, born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, August 21, 1851 ; William T., born at Cottage Hill, Wisconsin, April 18, 1854; George William, born at Danby, Illinois, May 15, 1855 ; Louis C. ; Clara F., born in Niantic, August 24, 1863 ; and Henrietta E., born in Niantic, September 21, 1865.

Louis C. Wree spent the first ten years of his life in the village where his birth occurred. His father then removed with his family to the farm which he had purchased and which was a tract of raw prairie land when it came into his possession. For some time he devoted his entire attention to general agricultural pursuits but afterward established a bank at Niantic, together with two partners, and to the conduct of the bank he gave his attention, filling the position of cashier. He was actively connected with its management for about sixteen years, making it one of the strong financial institutions of the county. He retired, however, about two years prior to his death, which occurred on the 2d of December, 1908. His varied activities had made him a valued citizen of the community and along many lines his efforts were of substantial benefit to the village. In his political views he was a republican, believing firmly in the principles of the party. The cause of education found in him a warm friend and he served for a number of years as school treasurer. He was reared in the Lutheran church and became a member at Long Point, where he served as elder. Later he transferred his membership to the church at Niantic and was also elected elder there. His life was indeed a useful, active, honorable and upright one, and he left to his family not only the fruit of his earnest and unremitting labor but also the priceless heritage of a good name. His wife died July 31, 1893, and both are buried in the Long Point cemetery.

From the age of ten years Louis C. Wree spent his boyhood upon the home farm and acquired a common school education. He was early trained in the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops, and at twenty-one years of age he rented land and began farming on his own account. He was married when only eighteen years of age, the wedding being celebrated in Niantic township, December 27, 1877, the lady of his choice being Miss Nannie Wells, who was born in Kentucky, in which state her parents died during her early girlhood. There was one child of that marriage, William T., who is now bookkeeper in the bank of Niantic. On the 14th of October, 1880, Mr. Wree was again married, his second union being with Miss Sarah C. Parks, who was born in Logan county, Illinois. They have two children : Laura G., the wife of Clinton Baer, of Harristown township, by whom she has two children, Virgil and Russell; and Ethel, who is the wife of Ralph Durflinger, of Niantic township.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Wree are members of the Christian church of Niantic, in which he is serving as deacon, and in the work of which they are actively and helpfully interested. Mr. Wree belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, which he has supported since casting his first presidential ballot for James A. Garfield in 1880. He does not seek nor desire office, however, preferring to give his undivided time and attention to his business affairs. His entire life has been devoted to farming and his energy, close application and diligence constitute the chief features in his success.

L. H. Alvord, president of the Decatur Fountain Company, is a business man whose enterprising spirit and laudable purpose are constantly pushing forward to the attainment of success in the field in which he labors and his efforts are of a character that contribute to the material development of the city as well as to individual prosperity. A native of Illinois, he was born in Piatt county, April 10, 1858, and secured his education in the schools of Bement, Illinois.

On putting aside his text-books he engaged in the grocery business in Bement, continuing in that department of merchandising until 1908, when he sold out.

With his family Mr. Alvord then came to Decatur, where he has since been identified with the Decatur Fountain Company. This company was organized in January, 1907, and capitalized for fifty thousand dollars. They are manufacturers of soda fountains and store fixtures, and in addition handle soda fountain accessories. Their plant is located at the north end of Lowber street in the Chamber of Commerce addition, and they have two buildings, sixty by one hundred and fifty feet each, making theirs an extensive plant. Their employes number from thirty-five to sixty-five according to the season and the payroll amounts to from three hundred and fifty to six hundred dollars weekly. The officers are: L. H. Alvord, president; K. Merris, secretary; George R. Bacon, treasurer; and W. H. Stouffer, superintendent. In addition to these Robert Mueller and George R. Bacon are members of the board of directors. The business was originally started as a mail order business but after a short time salesmen were put on the road and the trade has since been steadily growing until they now have an extensive business with trade connections throughout the greater part of the southwest and even eastward into Maine. The business has been carefully systematized under the capable management of Mr. Alvord, who bends his energies to executive control and administrative direction. His energy is unfailing and the success which has come to him is the merited reward of persistent and intelligently directed effort.

On the 2d of June, 1880, Mr. Alvord was united in marriage to Miss Eleanor Williams, of Monticello, Illinois, and they have one daughter, Grace. The family occupies a beautiful home at No. 1105 Oak Crest. Mr. Alvord gives his political allegiance to the republican party, and while living in Bement served as supervisor. He holds membership in the Woodmen camp and in the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Bement Lodge, No. 365, A. F. & A. M. ; Bement Chapter, No. 65, R. A. M. ; and Beaumanoir Commandery, No. 9, K. T. Social qualities render him popular, while business ability has gained him prominence and prosperity. His life work proves the fact that success is ambition's answer.

Jesse W. Divan

Jesse W. Divan, whose death occurred on the 7th of October, 1909, was for many years well known in Decatur and throughout Macon county, where he was closely associated with agricultural interests. Moreover, he was one of the veterans of the Civil war, who bravely espoused the cause of the Union when the Confederacy disavowed the power of the American government. He was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, on the 8th of November, 1844, and spent his youthful days upon the home farm with his parents, his early experiences being those which usually fall to the lot of the farm lad, who devotes the winter seasons to the acquirement of a common-school education and the summer months to the work of the fields. He remained at home until 1864, when, at the age of nineteen years, he responded to the country's call for troops, joining the army in October as a member of Company C, Seventy-eighth Regiment of Ohio Infantry. He continued with that command until the close of the war and participated in a number of important engagements, ever faithfully discharging the duties that devolved upon him as a soldier.

Soon after the close of the war Mr. Divan was married on the 30th of November, 1865, to Miss Mahala E. Burch, who was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, on the 25th of November, 1840. In the fall of 1866 they came to Macon county, Illinois, settling east of Decatur upon a farm which continued to be their home for almost three decades, or until 1895, when they sold that property and removed to Iowa, settling near Storm Lake. For eight years Mr. Divan engaged in general agricultural pursuits in that locality, after which he returned to Macon county and settled in Decatur occupying the home which is now the residence of his widow at No. 1213 North Union street. There he continued until his death, which occurred on the 7th of October, 1909, when he had reached the age of sixty-four years and eleven months.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Divan were born four children: E. J., who was born in Macon county; Worthy J., also a native of this county; Mrs. Cora B. Peniwell and Mrs. Jessie R. Walker, also natives of Macon county.

Mr. Divan was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and thus maintained pleasant relations with his old army comrades. In politics he was always a republican, firm and unfaltering in his support of the party. He did all in his power to promote its interests and to further its welfare and he was a devoted member of the Presbyterian church of Decatur. His wife was the expression of high and honorable principles and conformed to the teachings of the church. He endeavored at all times to live peaceably with his fellowmen, to deal justly with them and to act conscientiously. His sterling qualities were widely recognized and wherever he was known high regard was given him.

Edward Giles Powers

Edward Giles Powers whose life has been devoted to art and music, in which connection he has gained much more than local reputation, was born September 7, 1861, in Decatur, where he yet makes his home. He is a son of Samuel Powers, an honored pioneer resident of this city, now deceased. His more specifically literary educafion was acquired in Jacksonville and in Philadelphia, while his musical education was obtained partially as a student in the New England Conservatory of Boston, His training has been received under some of the best masters, so that he has made excellent progress in the development of the natural taste and talent with which nature endowed him and he has traveled extensively in foreign lands.

On the 5th of April, 1905, Mr. Powers was married to Miss Bell McKee, a daughter of Edward Davis and Fanny Vorhees (Armstrong) McKee. The family is a well known and distinguished one of Portland, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Powers have two children: Fanny Armstrong, who is so called in honor of her maternal grandmother; and Caroline Maria, who bears the name of her paternal grandmother.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Powers is one of the artistic residences of Decatur. It is situated some distance from the road and is approached by a fine driveway. The house is a frame dwelling, standing in the midst of spacious grounds, beautifully adorned by flowers, shrubs and shade trees. It is in some respects a typical New England home and has but recently been completed. It was made after a sketch drawn by Mr. Powers, who employed an architect to draw up the plans. The interior indicates artistic taste and selection and Mr. Powers, being a lover of fine paintings, has chosen some canvases that indicate the master's hand. The arrangement of the electric lights is such as to show these to the best advantage. Among the notable and beautiful paintings which adorn his walls are a Quebec scene from St. Lawrence river, by Birge Harrison; a Colorado sunset and a golden sunset by Charles Partridge Adams ; and a decoration of the Mississippi river, by a St. Louis artist. The decorations of the rooms are all in perfect harmony, the floors are covered with the finest of Oriental rugs and designs, colors, lights and shades all make of the home a perfect picture. Mrs. Powers has made a collection of Indian baskets from all over the western world, showing some particularly fine specimens. Mr. Powers is president of the Municipal Art League. He is a lover of good horses, is himself a fine horseman, and he is the owner of a cotton plantation in the south. His home is a most hospitable one and is the delight of visitors who are in any degree endowed with artistic perception.

Derias Buckles

Derias Buckles, an extensive stock-dealer and shipper, whose home is on section 2, Niantic township, in the midst of a tract of two hundred and thirty acres of land, was born on a farm two and a half miles southwest of Mount Pulaski, Logan county, on the 18th of February, 1850. Reared to agricultural pursuits, he has always continued to engage in farming and the kindred business of stock-raising, and is today one of the extensive landowners of central Illinois. His parents were John and Esther Jane (Scroggin) Buckles.

Although nothing is definitely known concerning the founding of the family in this country, it is determined from the disposition and character of their descendants that the ancestors of our subject were akin to the sober-minded Pilgrims of New England or the industrious Puritans of the middle and southern colonies. "They were a substantial, religious, industrious and self-reliant people," writes a contemporary biographer. "His immediate ancestors were good representatives of the average men and the energetic, strong-minded middle class who settled in the wilderness of the Prairie state. They belonged to a family who were never reduced to a state of poverty and who have never acquired great riches, although they have always been comfortably situated according to the times as far back as tradition extends."

The first of the name of whom we have definite record was John Buckles, who is thought to be of English lineage. He was born in Virginia, in 1772, and in 1795 married Anna Vandeventer. Their children were Robert, Abraham,

Abigail, Sarah, Thomas, Andrew, William, James and Washington four of whom were born in White county, Illinois when this state was still under territorial rule. In 1822 John Buckles became a resident of Logan county and ten years later removed to McLean county, residing near the village of Le Roy until his death in 1842. His wife passed away in 1857. Another of the great-grandparents of Derias Buckles was Jeremiah Birks, who was born in Georgia and married Elizabeth Brown, by whom he had eight children, Polly, Rial, Riley, Levina, David, Rolland, Sarah and Betsey. His second wife was Rhoda Collins, daughter of Hugh Collins, and their six children were Isom, Sarah, Riley, Ann, Permelia and Richard. Jeremiah Birks removed to White county, Illinois, in 1812 and four years later went to Missouri but in 1822 returned to Illinois, settling in Logan county, where he lived until his death.

Robert Buckles, grandfather of Derias Buckles, was born in Tennessee, April 29, 1796, and with his father came to Illinois when the state was largely a wilderness. In 1818 he wedded Mary (Polly) Birks, who in 1812 had accompanied her parents to White county, Illinois. When they removed to Logan county in 1822 there were only six families living within its present boundaries. Many Indians still inhabited the state and the forests and prairies were the haunts of wild beasts and of wild game. Robert Buckles was fond of hunting and was particularly skillful with the rifle. The family met the usual experiences and hardships of frontier life. Mrs. Buckles did all the cooking in the open fireplace, made all the clothing for the family from the raw material and when her husband was necessarily away on long trips taking stock to market she would split the wood for the fireplace. The death of Robert Buckles occurred when he was seventy years of age, and twenty-three years later his wife was laid by his side in Steenbergen cemetery, where the words "Father" and "Mother" upon their tombstones indicate the affectionate remembrance of their children. They had a family of fifteen sons and daughters, William R., Jeremiah B., John, Elizabeth, Levina, Andrew, Peter, Chalton C, Mary, Robert, Wiley, Henry H., Sarah J., Elmira and Lucinda M.

John Buckles, father of Derias Buckles, was born in a small log cabin in White county, Illinois, October 7, 1822, and three weeks later his parents removed to Logan county, the father erecting a cabin in the forest near the stream now known as the Lake Fork ditch. Roaming over the prairies and through the woods he spent his boyhood days and learned to use the rifle with good effect, his prowess being indicated in the many coons, prairie chickens and other game which he killed. His educational privileges were extremely limited, probably covering not more than a year altogether. In school he sat upon the log bench with the ground for a floor, while the knees of the pupils served as their desks. It was thought that the only thing necessary for instruction for the boy was arithmetic and his real training came to him in the school of pioneer experience - a school that develops force and foresight, strengthens courage and resolution, cultivates sagacity, teaches independence of judgment, promptness of action and anticipation of danger - in fact, it brings forth all the qualities of mind necessary to a frontiersman or a successful trader. In 1846 he was employed by John Slaughter to aid in driving cattle to New York and for this service he received twelve dollars per month. A similar trip was made the following year, one hundred days being required on the outward journey and thirty days on the return. Previous to this he had assisted his father in driving hogs to Racine, Wisconsin, and sheep to St. Louis, Missouri, for Chicago at that time had not become recognized as a stock market.

On his return from New York in 1847 John Buckles wedded Esther J. Scroggin, a daughter of Carter T. Scroggin, who was born in Kentucky in 1796. When fifteen years of age he went to Gallatin county, Illinois, and later married Phebe Shelby, who had settled in Pope county with her parents a few years before. In 1828 Mr. Scroggin and his wife removed to Logan county, where he built a log cabin and began the development of a farm. He and his wife were devoted members of the Baptist church, and he was a firm supporter of democratic principles. He was of Scotch parentage and his wife of Welsh descent. His death occurred in 1859 and Mrs. Scroggin passed away in 1876. Their ten children were Leonard K., Mary A., Russel L., Humphrey, Esther J., Sarah E., Carter T., Pleasant M., Thomas J. and Ellen C.

A few days after the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. John Buckles they removed to a small frame house, which he had built - one of the first frame buildings in the county. It stood on a tract of forty acres, three miles southwest of Mount Pulaski, which had been entered by him in 1843 at a cost °f a dollar and twentyfive cents per acre. He made the rails that fenced the land, the shingles that covered the house and, in fact, all of the improvements upon the place. In limited financial circumstances at the outset of their married life, they achieved success in the course of years, their land grew in value and in time they came to be recognized as among the most substantial citizens of the county. From time to time Mr. Buckles added to his land and as opportunity offered secured the comforts of the older east. Clapboard roofs, a fireplace, the walls of which were made of clay, hickory bottom chairs, a slab table were all features of the pioneer homes. As there were no gristmills corn was ground in a hollowed out block, honey and maple sugar served for sweetening purposes and corn husking was one of the favorite amusements of the people. All clothing was homemade, tallow candles were generally used and, in fact, the settlers had to provide almost all of the necessities of the household.

As time passed on John Buckles began raising and dealing in cattle and in time became one of the most prominent stockmen of this section of the state, shipping thousands of cattle and hogs to different markets througout the entire country. At the age of nineteen he became a member of the Christian church, remaining one of its loyal advocates and liberal supporters from that time forward. He has been interested in every department of church work and in 1890 he donated two thousand five hundred dollars to Eureka College for the education of ministers. Until 1875 he was a firm advocate of republican principles but in that year became a stanch prohibitionist, supporting the party which upheld his opinions concerning the temperance question. A biography written of him in 1897 said: "He is of a robust constitution, invigorated by long outdoor occupation, rigid temperance and orderly habits. In all business transactions he is and has been just and impartial. His friends are innumerable, made as fast as acquaintances, and whenever a name is added to his list it is taken therefrom only by death. Though nearly seventy-five years of age he still assists in driving stock and makes one daily trip to the city of Mount Pulaski, a distance of three miles." His wife was born in Logan county, February 29, 1828. Her duty in girlhood was the spinning of seventy cuts of wool per day or in weaving cloth from early morning until late at night. Always a lover of the beautiful in nature, she has ever cultivated fine flowers, has done much fancy work and has secured an excellent collection of beautiful shells and rocks on her travels in this country along the seashore.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. John Buckles were born four children. Elias, born in 1848, was married in 1868, to Betty Dyer, and they became parents of ten children. Elias Buckles is now in the grain business, his residence being near the old home farm. Derias is the second of the family. Phebe C, the only daughter, born in 1851, was married in 1869 to a Mr. Phipps, who took his own life probably in a fit of temporary insanity. His widow in 1876 became the wife of Ode Turley, and to them were born two children, the surviving child being Elmer, who owns and occupies a good farm in this county. The death of Mrs. Turley occurred in 1889. John M., the youngest child of Mr. Buckles, was born in 1858 and at the age of twenty-one married Alice Rankin. The three sons have become extensive farmers and successful business men.

When success had crowned his efforts John Buckles allowed himself the privilege and pleasure of travel and accompanied by his wife made various trips to different parts of the country, visiting the expositions at Philadelphia, New Orleans and Chicago in 1876, 1885 and 1893 respectively. In 1894 he visited the Pacific coast and previously had visited various noted winter resorts of the south. The commodious two story brick residence, which Mr. Buckles erected in 1864, is still one of the finest and most substantial farm residences of the county. The place which John Buckles has ever occupied in public regard is a most enviable one. His name is associated with all that is honorable in individual relations and in citizenship and his business integrity has never been questioned. He has thus provided for his family not only a handsome competence but also that good name which is rather to be chosen than great riches.

Derias Buckles, reared to manhood in Logan county, acquired his education in the public schools and through the days of his youth assisted his father in raising and feeding stock. He remained upon the old home farm until twentyfive years of age, when he was married near Mount Pulaski, on the 18th of February, 1875, to Miss Alice Turley, who is a native of the same locality and a daughter of Robert and Sarah J. (Rankin) Turley.

Soon after their marriage Mr. Buckles and his wife removed to a farm of eight hundred acres in Niantic township, owned by his father. At that time it was practically unimproved but there was a small cabin and stable upon it, which Mr. Buckles had built the previous fall. Later his father gave him the farm and he lived upon it for about nine years. He then purchased two hundred acres adjoining, paying fifty-five dollars per acre for eighty acres and fifty dollars for the remaining one hundred and twenty acres. Upon that place he remained for about six years and in 1890 he purchased his present farm for sixty-six dollars per acre. He has since built a fine residence and good barn and has added all the equipments and accessories of a model farm of the twentieth century, his place being one of the best improved in the township.

In addition to this he has one hundred and fourteen acres south of Niantic, which he purchased for eighty dollars per acre and which is now worth two hundred dollars. He has altogether about twenty-one hundred acres located in Macon, Logan and Sangamon counties, thirteen hundred and sixty-five acres being in Macon and five hundred ad seventy-five in Sangamon county. In 1871 he went with others to Texas to buy cattle, which they drove into Kansas, and after herding them in that state for a time shipped them to Logan county, where they were fed for the market. He has extensive live-stock as well as farming interests and is recognized as one of the most progressive agriculturists in this part of the state.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Buckles has been born a daughter, Cora Jane, whose birth occurred March 25, 1876. She was educated in the Hamilton Female College in Louisville, Kentucky, and later spent two years in another college. She married Harry Cowdin and died March 28, 1904, leaving a daughter, Cora B. Cowdin, who is now living with her grandparents.

In his political views Mr. Buckles has always been a republican since casting his first presidential vote in 1872, but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him. He belongs to the Christian church, in the faith of which he was reared, and is serving as a trustee of the church at Niantic. The name of Buckles is inseparably interwoven with the history of Logan county, for through eighty-eight years representatives of the name have there resided. The work instituted by his grandparents and carried on by his father has been further continued by him in making Logan county one of the richest and most prosperous agricultural districts of this great state. In business matters his judgment is sound, his sagacity keen and his integrity unassailable, and in all matters of citizenship he stands on the side of progress, reform and improvement.

Louis D. Bossler

Louis D. Bossier, deceased, was numbered among the highly respected citizens of Decatur and Macon county, and his death, which occurred September 14, 1908, caused deep sorrow not only in his own household but also among his numerous friends and acquaintances. He was born on a farm about five miles north of Decatur, his natal day being December 8, 1865. His father, John G. Bossier, was a well known farmer of Macon county and was also an honored veteran of the Civil war, in which he served for three years. He did valiant service at the front and took part in some of the most important battles, including Gettysburg, Shiloh, Island No. 10 and many others.

Spending the days of his boyhood and youth in his parents' home, Louis D. Bossier acquired his education in the district schools nearby and when not engaged with his text-books assisted in the work on the home place. There amid the activities of rural life he learned lessons concerning the value of integrity, industry and perseverance, and soon became familiar with the best methods of plowing, planting and harvesting. When starting out to face the responsibilities of life on his own account, he chose the occupation to which he had been reared and accordingly engaged in farming in Macon county. Here he remained until 1903, when he removed to a farm which he purchased in Shelby county, near Assumption, his place embracing one hundred and forty acres. After devoting his attention for four years to agricultural pursuits in Shelby county, his health became impaired and he then returned to Macon county. He purchased a nice residence in Decatur, located at No. 1059 West Wood street, and there for a year prior to his demise he liver in honorable retirement. His death, however, occurred in Shelby county while on a visit to his brother, the immediate cause being pneumonia. His remains were brought back to Decatur and interred in beautiful Greenwood cemetery. He was very successful in his business affairs and when he died he left to his family a valuable farm property of one hundred and forty acres in Shelby county, in addition to a good residence in Decatur, where his family still reside, and all his holdings were entirely free of indebtedness. His farm property was purchased for one hundred dollars per acre and today it is worth at least two hundred and twenty-five dollars per acre.

It was on Christmas day of 1890, in Decatur, that the marriage of Mr. Bossier and Miss Minnie Ivens was celebrated, the Rev. Allen, pastor of the Church of God, performing the ceremony. Mrs. Bossier was born in Pennsylvania, January 2, 1865, and by her marriage she has become the mother of two children, Otis Linn and Almira Ruth Bossier, both at home with their mother.

Mr. Bossier was a firm believer in temperance and always cast his ballot in support of the prohibition party. He was a charter member of Modern Woodmen Camp, No. 1676, at Forsyth, and a leading member of the Christian church in Decatur, and his life was in harmony with his professions. He had a reputation for fair and honorable dealing unsurpassed by any man in the community. He practiced what he preached to others and leaves a name that will be an honor to his family.

Peter Loeb

There was no dissenting opinion when it was said of Peter Loeb that "he was always honorable in his dealing, kindly and generous, and that his word was as good as his bond. He made his way in the world step by step, with a kindly feeling for all, without pulling any one down that he might step in his place." Such a eulogy any might covet. He did not seek fame and honor such as brings one into wide prominence but he sought at all times to do his duty and did it with a singleness of purpose that none questioned.

The early home of Peter Loeb was on the other side of the Atlantic, for he was born near Bingen on the Rhine, in Prussia, Germany, June 28, 1840, and was about twelve years of age when he crossed the Atlantic in 1852 and became a resident of New Jersey. His father was a Prussian, who had been compromised in the revolution of 1848 and was at last betrayed by a man he believed his friend. He was obliged to flee hurriedly to this land of the free and settled in New Jersey, but he remained there for only a year, when he re- moved to Dayton, Ohio. His son evidently inherited his love of liberty and when the Civil war broke out espoused the cause of the Union, enlisting in the First Ohio Regiment and participating in the first battle of Bull Run, in which he was wounded. Later he returned to Dayton, where he continued to make his home until 1876. At that time he came to Decatur and was actively identified with the industrial activity of this city until his death, which occurred on the 28th of March, 1904.

In early life Mr. Loeb became a foundryman and thoroughly mastered the business to which he ever afterward devoted the greater part of his time and attention. He was the founder of the malleable iron works of Dayton, Ohio, and on selling out there came to Decatur, where he established a gray iron foundry, which he conducted with marked success until 1886. Having prospered in his undertakings, he was then able to live retired, and he and his wife went to California with the intention of making their home in that state but after remaining there a short time returned to Decatur and here erected the beautiful residence at No. 300 West Prairie avenue which is now occupied by Mrs. Loeb.

On the 18th of March, 1863, Mr. Loeb was married in Troy, Ohio, to Miss Caroline S. Woodmen, who was born near Dayton, in Montgomery county, July 3, 1844. Her father, Samuel Woodmen, was a native of Frederick county, Maryland, and was one of a family of three sons, his brothers being Thomas and William. In early manhood he wedded Mary E. Miller, a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, and they made their home on a farm near Dayton, where he continued to engage in agricultural pursuits throughout the remainder of his life. His children were William, John, Thomas, Samuel, Nancy, Margaret, Lucy, Mary and Mahala.

During the dark days of the Civil war Mr. Loeb manifested his loyalty to his adopted country by enlisting in Company B, First Ohio Regiment, with which he served for about two years. The republican party found in him a stanch supporter of its principles but he never took an active part in politics. In 1877 he united with the Presbyterian church of Decatur and became one of its most active and prominent members. He was chairman of the building committee at the time of the erection of the Millikin University and at one time served as park commissioner. Of a cheerful and sociable disposition, he was a prominent member of the Masonic order, in which he attained the thirtysecond degree, and also held membership in the Decatur and Country Clubs. At one time he affiliated with the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias but was not connected with those orders at the time of his death. Upright and honorable in all his dealings, he was ever found true to every trust reposed in him, and he commanded the respect and confidence of all with whom he was brought in contact either in business or social life. On the death of Mr. Loeb services were held in Decatur which were most largely attended, after which the remains were taken to his old home in Dayton, Ohio, for interment, the Knights Templar Commandery, of which he was a member, participating in the service. In Dayton funeral services were held in the First Reformed church, of which Mr. Loeb had formerly been a member, and funeral rites were in charge of the Knights Templar.

On the death of Mr. Loeb, who was one of the original members of the local board of managers of the Decatur College and Industrial School of the James Millikin University, the following resolutions were passed:

"Whereas, death has removed from our midst Mr. Peter Loeb, a member of the local board of managers of The James Millikin University and one of the most efficient and tireless workers in its behalf -

"We cherish on our behalf and commend to the student body and to all his acquaintances the sterling personal qualities of honesty, thoroughness and integrity which characterized Mr. Loeb in his private and public relations. We believe that his unselfish work in the organization of the material equipment of the university fitly exemplifies these qualities of mind and heart and trust that it may serve as a worthy memorial to be used of Providence to keep active similar ideals among us. We as a faculty do hereby cordially extend to Mrs. Loeb our sincere sympathy in her great loss and make this statement a part of the permanent faculty record and instruct the president to forward a copy of the resolutions to Mrs. Loeb.

"Mr. Peter Loeb, one of the original members of the board of managers of the Decatur College and Industrial School of The James Millikin University, departed this life on Monday afternoon, March 28, 1904. We, his associates in the board, wish to express our sincere and generous appreciation of his disinterested and indefatigable labors in the organization and inauguration of the work of that institution. As chairman of the building committee his large experience as a builder, his alertness in grasping details, his wisdom in dealing with perplexing problems and his keen sense of the sacredness of the trust reposed in him enabled him to be of invaluable service in the construction of the college buildings. He made them a daily study and much of their excellence and stability is the result of his wise planning.

"In the consideration of the various other problems connected with our work he displayed a knowledge of affairs that always gave his advice and counsel great weight with the board. He was seldom absent from any meeting during the past three years and seemed to count it a high privilege to contribute his time and strength to the inauguration of this great enterprise.

"We have ever found him the soul of honor, the courteous, considerate associate, a devoted, sympathetic friend, and enterprising public-spirited citizen. His work is the best monument and his memory will always serve to stimulate us to imitate his virtues.

"It is ordered that this expression of our appreciation and esteem of our departed friend and brother be spread upon the minutes of this board and that

Perhaps no better estimate of the life and character of Mr. Loeb can be given than in the words of those who knew him personally. One who knew him long and well said: "He came to Decatur more than a quarter of a century ago with no thought of remaining permanently, but he entered into our business and social life in a way that made it nearly impossible to leave this city and the interests of Decatur have been very near his heart ever since. From his early manhood he must have been a strong man in every sense of that word. He was imbued with the idea that whatever you engage to do should be done well ; that you should put the best that there is in you in your work. As a result, he soon understood all the finer points about his trade of a founder. The bare knowledge to do his work acceptably was not enough for Peter Loeb. He had to learn all the art and science, by which the master founders performed nearly impossible feats. With very little fundamental education he added to his knowledge of science and of general affairs by reading and coming in contact with all sorts and conditions of men until he became a man who could sustain himself creditably in any gathering. More than once had he been advanced in his career because he knew just a little more than his fellows. Peter Loeb was essentially a man of action, and it seems to me we are giving him high praise when we say 'He was a man who did things.' I believe the masses of our great Anglo- Saxon conglomerate people have a hearty admiration for the man who begins as a toiler and by the use of brain and brawn conquers the difficult problems of his business and wins success at last ; who all along the weary way never faints or falters and holds through it all the respect and confidence of his friends and neighbors."

Dr. Taylor in his funeral oration said: "Though having limited opportunities in an educational way in his youth Mr. Loeb with rare industry and perseverance, extending through almost the whole of his actual business career, strove to attain a better knowledge of letters and science until he became a man of unusual general information and of surprising accuracy and skill in dealing with a variety of problems. He was well informed on current events, on modern scientific discoveries and on the latest developments in the various lines of engineering which were particularly to his taste. His acquaintance with affairs made him a ready converser and an entertaining companion. No one could be with him for an hour without being impressed with his dignity and force of character. He was methodical and masterful in business matters and his associates often naturally deferred to his leadership in the various enterprises in which they were engaged. His artistic sense was of the highest sort, as shown in his work in the public parks while a member of the park board and in the private and public buildings erected by him or in whose construction he was interested. He was a devoted husband and loved in his home, in whose building and furnishing he took the greatest pride. He was a loyal friend, a kind neighbor, a model citizen. Immediately on coming to Decatur nearly three years ago I became intimately associated with Mr. Loeb as a member of the board of managers of the Decatur College and Industrial School and as chairman of its general building committee. I was greatly gratified to find not only that he was most happily fitted for his responsible duties but that he was throwing himself in the enterprise with unrestrained energy and enthusiasm. His large experience, his extensive travels and observations made him invaluable at almost every step. He gave his time and his thought to the institution without stint and this community will always owe him a debt of gratitude for his unselfish devotion to its interests. Decatur has cause to remember him most kindly for his many services to her as a private citizen, as an energetic business man and as a trusted public servant, but for no one of them so much as for the part he took in the erection of the beautiful and well appointed buildings which adorn Oakland park and house the vigorous young university of which we are justly proud. He had his faults - who has not? but I have met few men who were so conscious of them and who so freely confessed them. That was the charm of his life to me. He was as rugged mentally and morally as he was physically and at times seemed imperious and perhaps unreasonable, but his frank self criticism afterwards never failed to increase my admiration for him. He was as quick as a woman to respond to the cries of the unfortunate and his heart was as tender as that of a child. His sense of justice was of the good old Saxon order and he was always ready to contend for what he believed was right. Though not seeing eye to eye with some of us, his impulses were true to the best of the race. He had no patience with disorder and lawlessness and believed in civic as well as private virtue as essential to good government and industrial prosperity."

E. W. Barkman, for many years a blacksmith and now in the employ of the Decatur Railway & Light Company, was born in Polo, Ogle county, Illinois, March 15, 1855, a son of W. H. and Catharine (Bomberger) Barkman. The father is a native of Frederick county, Maryland, and is now residing in Polo, at the age of eighty-two years. He spent fifty years to a day at the blacksmith's trade, but since retired. The mother was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, and there she was married in 1849, when she removed with her husband to Ogle county, Illinois.

E. W. Barkman was educated in the public schools at Polo until he was fourteen years of age and then began to work in his father's shop. At the age of seventeen he become a journeyman at his trade and after three years started a shop on his own account at Belle Plaine, Iowa. Later he engaged in the blacksmith business at different points in Iowa and in May, 1881, removed to Denver, Colorado, and spent eight years in the Rocky mountains, a large part of which time was devoted to mining for gold and silver. During this period he traveled extensively in the mining regions and made some money which he expended in prospecting and attempting to develop properties which failed to pay. Having come to the conclusion that his trade could more safely be relied upon than the tantalizing search for the yellow metal, he returned to Polo in 1892 and opened a blacksmith shop. Later he was employed by a gutta-percha manufacturing company and traveled on the road, retaining his home in Polo. In 1897 he located in Decatur, in charge of a blacksmith shop, and is now identified with the Decatur Railway & Light Company.

On January 6, 1881, Mr. Barkman was united in marriage to Miss Rena Hill, of Tama, Iowa, and three children were born to them: Nina, who married Carl Harrison, an undertaker of Tama, and is the mother of two children : Inda, who married Charles Evans, engaged in the automobile business in Chicago, and is the mother of one child, George Evans; and Robert, of Eagle Grove, Iowa. Mrs. Barkman having been called away, our subject was again married October 12, 1898, at Decatur, Illinois, his second union being with Mrs. Amanda (Morris) Childs, a native of Macon county, Illinois, and a daughter of Cornelius and Margaret (Cox) Morris. By her first marriage she had two children: Grace, who married Harry Kramer, of Colorado, and is the mother of one son, Morris; and George, an electrician, now living with Mr. and Mrs. Barkman.

Mr. Barkman is a stanch supporter of the republican party but has never been a seeker for political honors. He has been identified with a number of fraternal organizations, among which may be named the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, having filled the chairs in all the subordinate lodges named. He and his wife are members of Bay Leaf Camp No. 29, Royal Neighbors, of which she has served as oracle and past oracle, and both hold membership in the Pythian Sisters. Mr. Barkman has passed through many vicissitudes in his life and has seen a great deal of the world in its various phases. He has also experienced some of its joys and now in the enjoyment of the comforts of a quiet home and congenial companionship of a sympathetic wife he appreciates the advantages that the world seeks through the acquisition of financial compensation. Mr. Barkman is a man of strong social characteristics and has many friends who admire him for his sturdy character and also for the sincere interest he takes in the welfare of those with whom he is associated.

Cyrus William Lindsey

Cyrus William Lindsey, well known as a liveryman and veterinarian of Decatur, is a native of Illinois, born in Tamaroa, April 5, 1876. He is a son of Cyrus and Sarah Bell (Campbell) Lindsey, both of whom were natives of Tennessee and came to Illinois previous to the breaking out of the Civil war. The father enlisted in the Thirteenth Illinois Cavalry and served for three years and eight months, participating in many of the great battles of the rebellion. He was several times wounded but never seriously. He lost his health, however, from exposure, although he continued until after the surrender of Gen- eral Lee and the great army of the north was disbanded. He died at Tamaroa in the spring of 1877, at the age of thirty-nine years. The beloved mother of our subject is living with him at his home in Decatur and is now sixty-four years of age.

There were seven children in the family, Cyrus W. Lindsey being the youngest. He was educated in the common schools of Illinois and having a natural liking for horses and other live stock he early secured employment on a farm and became identified with the race-horse business, driving and riding horses upon the track. He soon became quite proficient but in 1893, having decided to conduct an establishment on his own account, he began in the livery and baggage transfer business on Wood street in Decatur. Starting on a small scale, he gradually acquired a liberal patronage and at the present time is the owner of fifty-five horses and many vehicles including taxi-cabs, which he always aims to keep in the best of order, thus meeting the requirements of the highest class of patrons. He is the only man in the city who has transferred baggage and passengers for all the hotels in Decatur, which line he makes a specialty, and he has met with most excellent success. He also does an extensive business in buying and selling horses. In 1891-2 he took two courses of eight months each in veterinary surgery and became quite skilled in a line in which there is frequent demand for his services.

On March 2, 1898, Mr. Lindsey was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Dowling, a daughter of John and Mary Dowling, of Pana, Illinois. Mrs. Lindsey was the seventh child in a family of nine and was born October 31, 1883. Two children have come to bless the union : Bonniline and Clarence.

In politics Mr. Lindsey supports the principles of the republican party. Although a young man he has gained an established reputation as being thoroughly reliable in all business transactions and the result is that the field from which he secures his patronage is constantly widening. He has always been industrious and enterprising and no man in Macon county more worthily deserves the success that has come to him.

The H. Mueller Manufacturing Company

Fifty-three years ago an industrious young German inserted a key in the door of a little frame building on West Main street, near Lincoln Square, and walked into a small room which was to be his gunsmith shop. Hieronymus Mueller was the young man. When he threw open his door that spring morning in 1857 ne took the first step toward the establishment of the H. Mueller Manufacturing Company, whose modern plant now faces Cerro Cordo street between North Edward and North Monroe streets, and whose warning whistle daily calls seven hundred and fifty Decatur citizens to their work. Briefly that recites the history of the H. Mueller Manufacturing Company. It is a bare statement of an unadorned fact. It is known personally to all the older residents of Decatur whose intimate knowledge of the company's substantial progress does not lessen their wonder at the results attained.

Between the opening of the little gunsmith shop and the building of the Mueller business of today there is the detail of steady progression interwoven with every step of Decatur's forward movement. From a frame gunsmith shop to the biggest industrial enterprise in the city and the largest manufacturers in the line of water, plumbing and gas brass goods in the United States was a long journey and a hard one. It was not all along the primrose path. There were briar patches to pass which left their scars. There were obstacles that would have daunted a less persistent and determined man than Hieronymus Mueller. There were influences that would have turned many men aside. There were rebuffs and disappointments that would have disheartened them. But these were the fires which burned out the dross and left the pure metal of determination and aggressiveness in Mr. Mueller's character. They whetted his appetite to win the goal of success which he did before his death, March i, 1900, although denied the full enjoyment of the fruits of his labor. Mr. Mueller laid the foundation of the business of today. His sons have built the superstructure. When Mr. Mueller opened his little gunsmith shop in 1857 he had no idea of where that step was to lead to in the commercial world. His one purpose was to win a livelihood for himself and family through his efforts as an expert gunsmith and mechanician. But he was not content to stand still or to follow a beaten path. He was an expansionist, who seized every opportunity to extend his business and earning capacity. The year 1858 found his shop in the 100 block on North Water street, a few doors north of the Millikin Bank, and in 1859 he moved to a frame building on East Main street which occupied the site of the Powers block. He remained there until 1872, his business gradually increasing with the growth of the town. Decatur at the time was beginning to merge from the chrysalis state of a country village to the more attractive form of a town. The building of the water-works plant at its present site in 1871 opened the door for substantial advancement. Prior to this there had been no plumbing shops in Decatur. The necessity created by the water-works for a business of this character was quickly grasped by Mr. Mueller. He added plumbing to his gunsmith trade and was appointed by Mayor Martin Ferstmeyer as city tapper. The work consisted of making all service connections to the city mains. A continual growth of the business enabled Mr. Mueller in 1872 to erect a two story brick building at the corner of East Main and State streets at the rear of the Millikin Bank. That was the first big step. The next was the invention that year of the Mueller water tapping machine, a device with which service cocks were inserted in water mains without shutting off the pressure and without the loss of water. These were manufactured in a small way but limitations of room, machinery and capital made profitable production extremely difficult.

The invention of the Mueller water pressure regulator followed, and looking ahead Mr. Mueller saw great possibilities as a manufacturer of water-works supplies. He began realizing his hopes in 1885 when he opened a small brass foundry and put Mueller corporation cocks on the market. The gun business was enlarged that year and established as a separate enterprise at 138 Merchant street, in 1892 removing to 134 East Prairie street. Henry, Philip, Fred and Robert Mueller were admitted to partnership in 1886 and a year later the plumbing branch was moved to 249 East Main street, in order to make more room for the manufacturing end of the business which was then beginning to show symptoms of future large development. In 1890 Adolph Mueller was taken into the partnership. The growth of the plumbing business resulted in the organization of the Decatur Plumbing & Heating Company in 1891, and the erection of the Mueller building at 257 North Main street. This company and the gun and sporting goods house developed successfully but the growth of the manufacturing business was slower. Fighting for a foothold, with limited capital and facilities, in a field already occupied by older and wealthier competitors, called for arduous work and tenacity of purpose. But Hieronymus Mueller was inured to the former and possessed the latter, and was strengthened by the youth and ambition of his sons whose acquisition of and familiarity with modern business methods proved a tower of strength in winning financial and commercial success.