Ross Township (part 2 of 2)

Lewis Coon, deceased, was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 5th of December, 1822. He was the son of John and Sarah (Morehead) Coon. His parents removed to Clinton county, Indiana, when he was young, and he was reared there on a farm. He married on the 27th of November, 1851, to Mary Albright. In the fall of 1853 he moved with his family to Illinois, and settled where his widow now lives in Ross township, Vermilion county. Both he and Mrs. Coon became members of the United Brethren church in 1860. He was a life-long democrat, and was greatty esteemed for his strict integrity and neighborly qualities. He died on the 13th of May, 1870, leaving one hun- dred and sixty-seven acres of land to his heirs. The following were his children : Sarah Eliza, Melissa Belle, Mary Jane, who died on the 29th of March, 1872, John D., Keturah Ann, Caroline, Alantson, George B. M., who died on the 5th of June, 1865, and Laura Ellen. Mrs. Coon was a daughter of David and Phebe (Newman) Albright. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania, and her mother of New York. The former died on the 28th of September, 1851 ; and the latter on the 7th of June, 1852.

William Chambers, Rossville, farmer, was born in Queen Anne county, Maryland, on the 26th of February, 1826. He is a son of Matthew B. and Letitia (Broadaway) Chambers. When very young his parents moved to Franklin county, Indiana, and lived there till he was twelve, when they went to Montgomery county. He enlisted in the early part of June, 1846, in Co. H, 1st Ind. Vols., Col. James P. Drake. At New Orleans his company and another from Hendricks county, Indiana, were embarked on board a sailing vessel for Point Isabel, but on the passage she grounded while under full sail. This occurred two hours before daylight, and, when morning came, Padre Island was discovered half a mile off. Two sailors, taking a small line, swam to land, and with this drew a rope ashore, by means of which the wreck was delivered of the men and the cargo, ten days being consumed in the removal of the latter. The vessel was burned. This regiment passed their term of service on the Pio Grande, guarding stores and doing other correspondingly irksome duty. It is said that a too ardent fondness for the "flowing bowl" in the commanding officer determined Gen. Taylor to keep them in the rear, and thus by the sins of one were many made to forfeit a share in the glories which clustered around the national standard from Palo Alto to Buena Vista. Mr. Chambers was discharged at Point Isabel shortly before the year for which he had volunteered had expired. He shipped for home on a rotten craft, and drifted about the gulf thirty days, with only eight days' rations aboard. The suffering from hunger was great, but that from thirst was exquisite. A Spanish merchantman heaving in sight, a flag of distress was hoisted, and provisions and water obtained. The last few days the men had subsisted on rotten oats. Eleven deaths occurred before they arrived in port. Mr. Chambers was married on the 10th of August, 1848, to Lydia Phelps. He learned the carpenter trade, and divided his labors between that and farming till 1853, when he moved to Waynetown, Indiana, and sold goods two years; and in April, 1855, removed to Blue Grass Grove, Vermilion county, Illinois, and in 1865 to Bean Creek, in Ross township, where he now lives. In 1861 and 1862 he was supervisor of Middle Fork township, which then embraced the town of Butler. He was collector of that town one term, and has been supervisor of Ross since the spring of 1878. He has a family of eight children: Sarah Jane, wife of James D. Leonard; John B., Martha Mel inda, wife of Frank Houchin ; Melissa Ann, wife of Asa Allen ; Mary Frances, Elizabeth Alice, Richard, Charlie (dead). Mr. Chambers owns seven hundred and seventy-eight acres, worth $23,500. He is a conservative democrat, and has been a member of the Baptist church for twenty-two years.

William T. Cunningham, Rossville, merchant, was born in Grant township, Vermilion county, Illinois, on the 1st of December, 1856, and is the son of Humes and Elizabeth (Winning) Cunningham. Both parents died when he was very young: his father departed this life on the 13th of February, 1859, his mother having previously gone to her rest on the 1st of October, 1857. Mr. Cunningham was reared by his grandparents, Thomas R. and Elizabeth Winning, on their farm in Grant township. In the fall of 1874, then sixteen years old, he began for himself by hiring as a clerk in the grocery store of John R. Smith, Esq., of Rossville, where he remained eighteen months. He labored on a farm a year, then clerked in the hardware store of D. C. Deamude, Esq., of Rossville, a year. Resuming farm life a short time again, on the 1st of October, 187S, he formed a copartnership with William S. Lefever in the mercantile business in Rossville. He is a democrat.

Alvan W. Gilbert, Rossville, farmer, was born in Ross township, Vermilion county, Illinois, on the 20th of May, 1856, and is the son of Alvan and Nancy (Horr) Gilbert. He was bred a farmer. He was married on the 18th of April, 1878, to Miss Meda Carson, who was born on the 21st of February, 1856, near Franklin, Johnson county, Indiana, and reared in Indianapolis. He owns one hundred and ten acres, worth $5,000. In politics he is a republican.

William Biteler, Alvin, farmer, was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of April, 1820, and is a son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Overholser) Biteler. He became an orphan at the age of six or seven years, and immigrated to Madison county, Indiana, in 1835, where he labored seven consecutive years clearing land and log-rolling, doing no other kind of work. He was married on the 15th of April, 1841, to Mary Ray. In January, 1850, he settled in Warren county, Indiana, and in March, 1857, removed to Ross township, Vermilion county, Illinois, and located where he now lives. Mr. Biteler has made four farms in the course of his life - two were cleared up in the woods and two were on prairie land. Has worked hard always; been frugal; and careful in his business transactions, in which he has been uniformly governed by the strictest principles of honesty. He had at one time two hundred and twenty-five acres in Ross, but has divided his land among his children, retaining but eighty acres. His son, James Edward, was a member of Co. B, 125th 111. Vols. Soon after the battle of Perry ville, in which he bore a share, he was stricken down with measles, which ran into typhoid fever, and his life terminated at Bowling Green, Kentucky, on the 10th of December, 1862. There are now four living children : Minerva; Amanda; Cornelius: and William H. In politics he is a greenbacker. He belongs to the church of God ; popularly, soul sleepers.

William Salmans, Alvin, farmer, was born near Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, on the 29th of January, 1823, and is the son of William and Fanny (Wallace) Salmans. His father was born in Delaware county, Delaware, on the 5th of September, 1796, and his mother was a native born Irish woman. Mr. Salmans was bred a farmer. When quite young his father settled in Guernsey county, Ohio, moving from thence in April, 1839, to Jackson county. He was married on the 10th of January, 1817, to Miss Prudence Phillips, daughter of Daniel Phillips, a well-to-do farmer of Jackson county. He settled that spring on an eighty acre farm which he owned; living there until the spring of 1851, farming in summer and teaching school in winter, when he bought a small stock of dry goods and groceries and started a country store. This venture not paying well, he went into partnership with his brother-in-law, Dr. Sylvester, in Marion, Ohio ; after eighteen months he sold out to the doctor and dissolved the firm. About that time Mr. Salmans bought a large bankrupt stock, at Sandfork, Gallia county, and moved to that point and spent the summer selling goods, closing out the entire concern to Dr. Sylvester <in the fall. He next bought out the dry goods firm of Frazee & Co., in Hamden, Vinton county; remained in business thereuntil the spring of '54, selling stock of goods to W. H. Gleason, and his town property to Dr. Arnold. He moved into the country, traveled during the summer, and in the fall resumed school teaching, which he followed three years without interruption, at $100 per quarter; meantime buying and shaving notes on the Iron Furnace Company. In the spring of 1857 he moved to Charleston, Coles county, Illinois, moving from thence to Sugar Grove, Vermilion county, in the fall ; and to Ross township the next spring, where he has since resided ; teaching the district school the following winter. His advantages for early education were very slight, and he could only -read and write indifferently at the age of twenty; at that time he started to school, traveling two and a half miles, morning and evening; took up the common branches, applying himself with energy and resolution night and day to his studies, going through in twenty-two days, and working every example in the hardest arithmetic then in use - the Western Calculator. The next winter he obtained his first certificate to teach. His first wife having died on the 8th of February, 1807, he married again on the 30th of September, 1869, to Emma Colvin. He is serving his third term as justice of the peace of Ross township. Mr. Salmans was an abolitionist during the early agitation of the slavery question, and voted first for Henry Clay in 1844. He is the father of seven living children : Mark, Robert, Daniel, Emma, George William, Sarah" Jane, and Martha Jane. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land, worth ,$5,500. He is a republican and a Methodist.

John M. Ross, Alvin, farmer, was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, on the 19th of December, 1808, and is the son of Johnson and Jane (McMann) Ross. In 1823 his father moved to Warren county, Ohio. In 1831 the subject of this sketch left home and began the study of dentistry, practicing until 1840, live years of the time being spent in western Tennessee and northern Alabama. His health failing, he returned to Indiana and went into the merchandising business in Cambridge City, Wayne county. In 1847 he removed to Indianapolis and engaged in his profession. At the end of five years he re-located at Milton Mills, bought that property, running the mills and farming in the meantime, until 1858, when he emigrated to Ross township, where he now resides. He was married on the 27th of December, 1840, to Ellen H. Hannah. His eldest son, Edward H., enlisted in Co. B, 125th 111. Vols., but was stricken early with sickness, and died at Jefferson City, Missouri, on the 8th of September, 1861. When Mr. Ross settled in Vermilion county he purchased six hundred and forty acres of prairie land, and subsequently seventy acres of timber; but having sold and given some to his children, has reduced his homestead to three hundred and ten acres, valued at $9,000. He was an old line whig, and cast his first vote for president for gallant Harry Clay, in 1832. In 1836, when a resident of Tennessee, he voted for Davy Crockett for congress. He is the father of four living children : Sarah Eliza, John ]N\, Charles N. and Henry H. His religious opinions are Methodist.

John Ross, Rossville, farmer, was born in Brown county, Ohio, on the 22d of December, 1808. He is a son of Lazarus and Lydia (Prickett) Ross. He lived in- his native place, farming, and for some time running a steam grist-mill, until 1859, when he removed to Illinois, and settled on a farm six miles east of Rossville, Vermilion county. His two sons, Isaac F. and Nelson E., enlisted, on the 12th of August, 1862, in Co. B, 125th 111. Vols. They bore an honorable part in the battles of Perryville, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek and Jonesborough ; marched with Sherman to the sea ; thence on the longer and more difficult campaign through the Carolinas, fighting their last battle at Bentonville, North Carolina. They marched north at the close of the war through Richmond, Virginia, to Washington City, closing their active military life in that grandest of pageants - the review of Sherman's army, on the 25th of May, 1805. The company disbanded at Chicago, Illinois, on the 27th of June, 1865. In 1872 the subject of this sketch moved into Rossville, where he has since lived, retired, enjoying a hale old age as the fruit of a well-spent, industrious life. He was married on the 16th of September, 1830, to Hannah W. Ferguerson, who was born on the 9th of May, 1810. The}' have seven living children : William A., Isaac T., Samantha E., wife of Peter Reitz, Nelson E., Arminda J., wife of John W. Calton ; Mary A., wife of Daniel Romine ; Orange L. The eldest daughter, Virginia A., was born on the 22d of March, 1838, married Erastus Reed, and died on the 21st of March, 1859, leaving an only daughter, Sarah Luella, five months old. The father died in 1864, and the grandparents reared Miss 'Ella, who lives with them and imparts the sunshine and freshness of young womanhood to their home. Mr. Ross is a republican ; was an original abolitionist and under-ground railroader, and takes profound satisfaction in knowing that he has kindled the fires of everlasting gratitude in many a negro soul by helping him on his pursuit of freedom. Both he and his wife have enjoyed an experimental knowledge of religion for forty-six years. They are members of the United Brethren church.

Philip Cadle, Rossville, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Bedfordshire, England, on the 22d of Februaiw, 1849. He is the son of George and Elizabeth (Saunders) Cadle. He came with his parents to America in the summer of 1853, and settled in Attica, Indiana ; lived there four years, then moved to Iroquois county, Illinois, and located south of Milford, where he remained two years, and in 1859 came into Vermilion county, since which time he has lived in different parts of the northern half of the county. In 1870 he left home and began life on his own account. He was married on the 30th of May, 1871, to Emma Weaden, who died on the 23d of October, 1872. He married again on the 27th of October, 1875, to America Seymour, who was born on the 9th of October, 1851. He owns a fine farm of three hundred and eighty-one acres, valued at $13,000, situated two ami one-half miles southeast of Rossville. Stock-raising comprises a large part of his business. Mr. Cadle traveled one season in California with an invalid sister, who died there. He is the father of three children :

Mary Annie, who died on the 28th of October, 1872; Lilian and Gertrude. He is a republican in politics, and his religious views are Methodist.

Jacob Dale, Rossville, fanner, was born in Clark county, Ohio, on the 3d of December, 1836, and is a son of John J. and Elizabeth (Davisson) Dale. In the fall of 1856 he settled with his parents in Warren county, Indiana, and in February, 1860, in Ross township, Vermilion count}'. He has since lived here and been engaged in farming. He was married on the 6th of March, 1862, to Nancy E. Prather, who was born on the 27th of November, 1843, and died on the 17th of March, 1877. They are the parents of four children:. Mary E., Benjamin, John P.. who died on the 31st of May, 1874, and James, who died on the 24th of June, 1876. Mr. Dale has an undivided two-sevenths of three hundred and sixty acres, worth $4,500. He is a republican, and a member of the M. E. church. His grandfather, Isaac Davisson, was a veteran of the war of 1812.

John J. Dale, deceased, was born in Maryland on the 2d of June, 1809. He was a son of Jacob and Charlotte (Jenkins) Dale. At fourteen was left an orphan ; the next two or three years he was at school, after which he was thrown on his own resources. He learned the tailor's trade; went from Maryland to Philadelphia, thence to Ohio, and settled in South Charleston in 1832. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Davisson in 1834. In 1856 he moved to Indiana, and in 1860 settled in Vermilion county, Illinois, where he bought a farm of three hundred and sixty acres. He moved to Rossville in 1875. In 1839 he was powerfully converted, and united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and for many years filled the offices of class-leader, trustee and Sunday-school superintendent. His integrity and virtue were constant and conspicuous, and he was held in the highest esteem. His two sons, Daniel and John W., who were members of Co. B, 125th Reg. 111. Vols., did gallant service for their country. The former was killed at Stone River, and the latter lost his left arm at Chickamauga. He has served as county clerk of Vermilion county since 1869. In politics, Mr. Dale was a republican. He was the father of nine children : Sarah, Jacob, Martha, Daniel, dead, John W., Isaac, a minister of the M. E. church and member of the Northwest Indiana Conference, Mary Elizabeth, dead, Maggie and Emma. He died on 10th of July, 1877.

William H. Compton, Rossville, farmer, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, on the 21st of December, 1821, and is a son of Nathan and Jane (Hankins) Compton. When he was sixteen years old his father removed to Clay county, Indiana - lived there till 1848, when he went to Montgomer}^ county. In 1860 he came to Ross township, this county, and settled near where he now lives. He was married on the 15th of June, 1844, to Emily Stewart, of Clay county, Indiana, formerly from Massachusetts, who died on the 17th of September, 1850. The issue of this marriage was one child, named Rhoda Jane, born on the 30th of January, 1849, who is now wife of Joseph Watts, of Sugar Grove, Champaign county. Mr. Compton married again on the 22d of January, 1852, to Maria Derby. He is the father of one child by this wife, named Nathan, born on the 12th of June, 1S54; died on the 17th of October, 1858. Mr. Compton made a profession of Christianity in 1842, and in about 1856 was licensed to preach by the New Light denomination. He is a republican in politics, and owns two hundred acres of land, worth $6,000.

William R. Harker, Rossville, saddle and harness maker, was born in Salem county, New Jersey, on the 17th of January, 1836, and is the son of Jonathan and Sarah (Royal) Harker. At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to the saddle and harness trade. In 1856 he came to Illinois, and worked at his trade in different places, beginning at Jerseyville, Jersey county. In the fall of 1860 he found himself in Danville, where he worked three years. Mr. Harker settled in Rossville in the fall of 1864, and after the first year set up in business on his own account. He was married on the 1st of January, 1866, to Lizzie Woodbury, who died on the 13th of January, 1873. He married again on the 17th of February, 1874, to Pauline Davis, daughter of James A. Davis, Esq., of Danville. He is a republican in politics.

William Vining, Rossville, farmer and fruit grower, was born in Morrow county, Ohio, on the 7th of June, 1832. He is a son of Calvin and Mary Ann (Noe) Vining. His father died on the 17th of January, 1852, and he remained at home until twenty-seven years of age, when he came to Vermilion county, Illinois, and settled in Ross township (1861). He was married on the 17th of August, 1858, to Celestia M. Horr, who was born on the 19th of October, 1832. In 1858 he embarked in sheep-husbandry, which business he continued seven years. He is at present extensively engaged in horticulture, being well situated on a fine fruit-farm of forty acres, lying one half mile south of the enterprising and flourishing town of Rossville. During six years Mr. Vining was deputy sheriff for the northern part of Vermilion county. He has a family of two living children: William F., born on the 22d of September, 1865 ; Joseph H., born on the 3d of September, 1873. He has been a member of the M. E. church for twenty-eight years. He is a republican in politics.

county, Indiana, on the 23d of August, 1827. He is a son of Samuel and Eleanor (Bishop) Hannah. His father for over forty years exercised a wide-felt influence, first in political offices, and next in commercial stations, and was distinguished for his enterprise and able services in the internal development of his state. He was sheriff, clerk, and a member of the board of justices of Wayne county, Indiana; postmaster at Centerville under John Quincy Adams, and one of the three commissioners appointed by the legislature to locate the Michigan road from the Ohio river to the lake, and to select the lands secured to the state by a treaty with the Indians, made on the upper Wabash in 1826. He was twice elected a member of the state legislature. In 1846 he was chosen by that body treasurer of state, and served three years. He was the chief promoter of, and leading spirit in, the construction of the Indiana Central Railwav, and was the first president of the road. Later, he became treasurer of the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine Railroad Company. In May, 1852, he accepted the office of treasurer of the Indiana Central, and held it until 1864, when he retired from active life. At different times during his incumbency of this office he was also secretary for the same company. He died on the 8th of September, 1869, aged nearly eighty years. The subject of this sketch passed his early life in farming and in clerking in a store belonging to his father. He studied law with John S. Newman, a brother-in-law, afterward prominent in business and political circles, and Oliver P. Morton, who were law-partners. At the age of twenty he was admitted to practice, undergoing examination by George W. Julian, George H. Whitman and Oliver P. Morton, and receiving his license from Hon. Jehu T. Elliott, afterward chief justice of the Supreme Court of Indiana. Soon after he formed a law partnership with Hon. John S. Newman, which was continued until the fall of 1S49, when he accepted the position of deputy United States marshal under Gen. Sol. Meredith, discharging the duties of the same till Xovember, 1850. On the 20th of that month he was united in marriage with Miss Margaret A. Dunham. The winter of 1850-1 he spent in Iowa, seeking a location for the practice of his profession, but not finding one suited to his desires, he returned to Indianapolis in the spring, and engaged in railroad business on the Indiana Central: first as a clerk, then passenger conductor, next receiver of funds, and finally, general ticket agent. These various positions he occupied from 1853 to 1856. In the former year he was engaged by the city council of Indianapolis to re-duplicate the tax-list of that city, the original being so full of errors as to be worthless - a piece of work which he executed with accuracy and dispatch, to the entire satisfac- tion of the council and the tax-payers. In 1856 he opened a grocery store in Davenport, Iowa, and the next year removed to Blue Earth county, Minnesota, where he preempted one hundred and sixty acres of land, migrating from thence in the fall of 1858 to Linn county, Kansas. Here he was elected to the office of county assessor, and served one term. In the winter of 1860-1, succeeding the well-known drouth of the previous summer, he went to Kansas City, Missouri, to winter his family, intending to return in the spring; but the war broke out, and he moved back to Illinois, and located in Ross township, Vermilion county, buying a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, in February, 1863, on which he has since resided. His wife died that year, and he was again married, on the 13th of December, 1866, to Mrs. Isabel Warren, formerly Miss Isabel Kent, daughter of Perrin Kent, of Warren county, Indiana. He has ten living children, all of whom are either at home or settled in Vermilion county, except his eldest son, Richard H., who is married, and living in Phillips county, Kansas. This son is a graduate of the Illinois Industrial University, and was at one time florist of the institution. Mr. Hannah is an independent republican ; a man of large views, good information, and live business talent. He owns three hundred and twenty acres of land, worth $11,500.

William W. Phillips, Rossville, lumber dealer, was born in Licking county, Ohio, on the 4th of July, 1837, and is the son of John and Matilda (Pumphrey) Phillips. He removed with his parents in 1842 to Van Buren county, Iowa. His early life was passed in cultivating the soil. He enrolled, on the 28th of August, 1861, in a militia regiment, known as the Northeast Missouri Regiment of Home Guards (Col. Moore), and served the full term of enlistment - three months. He enlisted again on the 13th of August, 1862, in Co. F, 19th Iowa Inf., and was discharged on the 28th of December, 1862, on account of disability. He came the next February to Danville, Illinois, but was unsettled until 1867, being engaged in the meantime in carpentering and traveling from place to place. In June, 1867, he became employed as salesman in A. Leonard's lumber office, Danville. On the 29th of January, 1871, he was married to Florence Frazier, youngest daughter of Samuel Frazier of Danville. In August, 1871, he removed to Rossville and opened the lumber and coal trade, in which he is at present engaged. Mr. Phillips has been village trustee four years. Pie is the father of two children: Edward, born on the 18th of October, 1873; Alice, born on the 28th of September, 1876. He has been a member of the Methodist church upward of twenty years. He is a republican in politics.

Samuel Cook, Rossville, farmer, was born in Fountain county, Indiana, on the 12th of March, 1842, and is the son of William and Ocey (Vannesse) Cook. He enrolled in Co. H, 72d Ind. Vols., on the 28th of July, 1862, and mustered into the United States service early the following month. After the battle of Stone River his regiment was attached to Gen. Wilder's famous brigade of mounted infantry, and armed with the celebrated Spencer rifles - seven-shooters. Mr. Cook fought at Hoover's Gap and Chickamauga ; went on the expedition to West Point, Mississippi, under Gen. A. J. Smith, in concert with Gen. Sherman on his Meridian raid ; shared in the operations and movements which brought Atlanta to the feet of her conquerors, serving throughout and supporting the arduous toils and constant dangers of that one hundred days' campaign, participating in the battles of Resaca, Big Shanty and Jonesborongh. He was engaged during his term in daring and hazardous expeditions, and performed the excessive duty, and marching and skirmishing, incident to the mounted service. He was under Gen. Wilson on the pursuit of Jeff Davis, and had a view of that traitor directly after his capture. He was mustered out at Indianapolis, on the 6th of July, 1865. Mr. Cook was married on the 2d of May, 1869, to Annie E. Whitehall, who was bom on the 25th of February, 1848. They are the parents of two living children : Edith, born on the 14th of February, 1870, and Matie, born on the 15th of February, 1872. In politics he is a republican, and in religion a Presbyterian.

Thomas Bennett, Rossville, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Bedfordshire, England, on the 24th of June, 1830. He is a son of Thomas and Rebecca (Stewart) Bennett. In April, 1851, he emigrated with his parents to America, and settled in Danville. In the fall of 1852 he wTent to Covington, Indiana, to reside permanently, and the next spring engaged in the butcher's trade. He continued in this business till 1866, when he returned to Vermilion county, Illinois, and settled on a farm where he has since lived, one mile and a half south of Rossville. On the 28th day of October, 1858, he was married to Miss Catharine E. Mann, who died on the 2d of January, 1873. They have one child: Mary Ann, born on the 3d of August, 1861. Mr. Bennett owns twelve hundred acres worth $36,000. He is a republican in politics, and his religious views are Methodist.

Solomon I. Bartges, Alvin, druggist, was born on the 17th of July, 1845, in North Georgetown, Columbiana county, Ohio, and is a son of John M. and Sarah (Kutz) Bartges. He enlisted in Co. G, 58th Ohio Vols., on the 21st of November, 1861, he then being but sixteen years old. He fought at Fort Donelson and at Pittsburgh Landing ; was wounded at the latter place through both thighs, on the last day of the battle, - on the 7th of April, 1862. He was sent to the hospital at Louisville, Kentucky, where he la}' until the 13th of May, when he went home on a discharge furlough; on the 27th of July following he was enrolled in the 107th Ohio Vols., but was rejected for his minority. He enlisted the third time, on the 27th of July, 1863, in Co. G, 46th Penn. Vols., and was engaged at Raccoon Ford. Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Resaca, Burnt Hickory and Peach Tree Creek. He marched to the sea, through the Carolinas and Virginia, to Washington City, where his active military career terminated in the grand review of Sherman's army, on the 25th of May, 1865. He was mustered out on the 16th of July following. Mr. Bartges was married on the 23d of October, 1877, to Mary E. Ford, who was born on the 31st of January, 1852. They have one child, Olivena, born on the 15th of December, 1878.

Emory F. Birch, Rossville, druggist, was born near Attica, Indiana, on the 7th of October, 1845. He is a son of Thomas and Love N. (Satchel) Birch. He enrolled in Co. G, 40th Ind. Vols., and mustered into United States service on the 10th of October, 1861 ; fought in the battles of Shiloh, Mission Ridge, Buzzard Roost, Rocky Face Ridge, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Jonesborough, Franklin and Nashville. Veteraned on the 1st of February, 1863, and was mustered out on the 24th of February, 1866. On returning from the army he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Attica, Indiana, and has followed the same since that time. He moved and located at Rossville, Vermilion county, Illinois, at the close of the year 1869. Mr. Birch was married on the 7th of October, 1868, to Miss Anna, daughter of Joseph M. Satterthwait, who was born on the 2d of January, 1847. They have had four children : Earnest L., Edith L., Edgar L., who died on the 11th of October, 1873, and Harry W. In politics he is a republican.

Win. S. Demaree, Rossville, implement dealer, was born in Park county, Indiana, on the 5th of March, 1841, and is the son of Samuel and Nancy (Curry) Demaree. His early life was spent in cultivating a farm. On the 17th of September, 1861, he enlisted in Co. H, 38th Ind. Vols., and bore an honorable part in the battles of Perry ville and Stone River. He was mustered out in May, 1863, on account of chronic diarrhoea, from the effects of which he still suffers in some degree. He was married on the 30th of October, 1866, to Perlina B. Watson. In 1871 he removed to Illinois, and located near Rossville, Vermilion county, Illinois, where he farmed until the spring of 1875, when he rented his place and moved to Rossville and opened an agricultural implement house. He is still pursuing this branch of trade.

Mr. Deinaree was village trustee from May, 1875, to May, 1876, and is now police magistrate of the town. He is the father of five living children : Omar I., Mary XL, Nancylena, Bertha L. and Maggie W. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he has been a ruling elder since 1874. In politics he is a republican.

Francis D. Tomlinson, Rossville, farmer, was born in Warren county, Indiana, near Marsh field, on the 25th of March, 1842, and is a son of Jesse and Mary (McFarland) Tomlinson. In 1853 his parents died, leaving him an orphan. He lived with his brother-in-law, Enoch Watkins, by whom he was raised, until of age. Afterward he attended the Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, Indiana, nearly two years; then went to work on a farm of four hundred and forty acres of wild land which had descended to him from his father's estate. This is situated in sections 14, 19, 22, 23 and 24, town 22, range 11. He owns twentynine acres near Marshfield, Indiana. He has added by purchase till now his landed property amounts to five hundred and thirty-one acres, valued at $16,000. He was married on the 12th of November, 1872, to Matilda C. Young, daughter of Chas. S. Young, an old and wealthy settler of Vermilion county. Mr. Tomlinson is the father of the following children : Mary Jessie, who died on the 10th of September, 1874; Walter D., who died on the 25th of July, 1876, and Elizabeth Frances. He is a member of the republican party, and his wife of the M. E. church.

Harry Shannon, Rossville, postmaster and notary, was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, on the 23d of April, 1841, and is the son of Hugh and Catharine (Harrod) Shannon. He was bred to agricultural pursuits. He enlisted, on the 4th of September, 1861, in Co. H, 34th Ind. Yol. Inf., and was mustered into the service of the United States on the 21st of the same month. The following are the conspicuous events in his military career: Operations at Island No. 10, battles of New Madrid, Port Gibson, and Baker's Creek or Champion Hills, and the siege of Yicksburg. He reenlisted on the 14th of December, 1863, when his regiment " veteraned." On the 13th of May, 1865, before news of the termination of the war had reached that distant quarter, lie, with three or four hundred of his command, fell into a small engagement on the Rio Grande, and on the old Palo Alto battle-ground. Eighty of them, himself with the number, were captured and held as prisoners of war eight days, when they were released on parole. He filled all the non-commissioned offices in his company, and on the 1st of August, 1865, was commissioned first lieutenant. He was mustered out on the 3d of February, 1866. Immediately on quitting the army he attended two terms at the Kokonio Normal School, and after that taught for several years during the winter season. He was married on the 10th of October, 1872, to Mary A. Jones, daughter of John P. Jones, one of the earliest settlers of Vermilion county, Illinois. He settled in Ross township in 1872, and has been postmaster at Rossville since January, 1879; and was connected with the office as an assistant for three years prior to that time. He is the father of one child : Frank Curtis, born on the 29th of June, 1877. He is a republican, and a member of the Christian church.

Emil H. Langhans, Rossville, merchant, was born in An rich King dom of Hanover, German}', on the 9th of April, 1836, and is the son of John and Louisa (Clemens) Langhans. He was instructed in the regular schools of the country, and was four years under the private tutorship of the Rev. Hulcher. At seventeen he came from the Fatherland, and settled at Canton, Ohio, where he was employed by his uncle in a store four years. He wrent to Wooster, Ohio, and engaged in business for himself four or five years ; then traveled in Mid- Tennessee, looking for a business location ; but signs of the war appearing, he returned north, and went into business in Lafayette, Indiana, part of the time as principal, part of the time as employe. In 1862 he employed a substitute for the nine-months service, paying him one hundred dollars. He served in Co. K of an Indiana militia regiment six weeks, in pursuit of John Morgan. He recruited in Co. K, 50th Ind. Vols. - one-year men, - and was commissioned captain. He served in Virginia, chiefly in the Shenandoah, participating in some skirmishes. After the war Mr. Langhans resumed his former occupation, a portion of the time as commercial traveler in the wholesale drygoods business. In 1873 he settled in Rossville, this county, where he has continued in mercantile pursuits. He was married to Elizabeth Black in January, 1855. He is the father of three living children : Emil D., Doretta and Edward G. He is an independent in politics, and a Methodist.

Ritchie A. S. Williams, Rossville, music teacher, was born in what Mas then Greenbrier county, Virginia, on the 18th of May, 1824, and is the son of Richard and Thankful (Morrison) Williams. He was educated at Winchester, Virginia, and afterward took a full course of music at the Friendship Musical Academy, New York. He followed the profession of school-teaching eight or ten years at first, but after that devoted his time principally to instruction in music. In 1846 he left Virginia and settled at Lafavette, Indiana. He lived there a few years, and removed to Delphi, where he married Miss Sarah A. Reed, on the 13th of January, 1850. In 1862 he removed to Brookeston, residing there till 1873, when he located at Rossville, Vermilion count}7-,

Oscar Soderberg, Rossville, railroad agent and operator, was born near Stockholm, Sweden, on the 27th of Jnly, 1844. He is a son of "Robert and Catharina (Malmberg) Soderberg. He was educated at the high-school at Linkoping, attending there most of the time before he came to America, in 1869, and acquiring a classical education. On his arrival from Sweden he spent two years working on a farm near Momence, Kankakee county, Illinois, after which he became employed on the Chicago, Danville & Vincennes railroad, where he learned telegraphy. He then took charge of the Grant office above Momence one year, when he was transferred to Rossville, where he has remained the past five years. He was married on the 16th of October, 1872, to Miss Mary Young, daughter of Rev. Timothy C. and Margaret Young. Mrs. Soderberg was born on the 17th of April, 1852, in the town of Cornwall, Connecticut, and became an orphan by the death of her mother on the 23d of the same month. They have two children: Carl, born on the 6th of October, 1873, and Walter, born on the 15th of September, 1876. Mr. Soderberg is a republican, and both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church.

Washington Watson, Rossville, banker, was born in Portage county, Ohio, on the 16th of July, 1835, and is the son of Stephen and Elizabeth (Clark) Watson. His parents moved to Parke county, Indiana, then to La Salle county, Illinois, when he was quite young. His early life was passed on a farm. Afterward he ran a combined flouring and planing mill, and carried on the building business in conjunction with it until 1874, when he settled in Rossville, where he has since kept a banking house. He is agent for the German Fire Insurance Co. of Peoria, and loans money on real estate. Mr. Watson was married on the 20th of August, 1854, to Charlotte M. Worth, who died on the 22d of January, 1870. He then married again, on the 8th of February, 1871, to Udora W. Dewalt.

Newton L. Bowman, Rossville, farmer, was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, on the 23d of May, 1853, and was reared a farmer. He attended the high school at Bedford, Indiana, three years, and afterward two terms at college. Quitting school, he began as a drygoods clerk at Assumption, Illinois. Four years later he went to farming. He was married on the 30th of October, 1878, to Olivia Maddox, who was born on the 7th of December, 1848. Her mother died when she was very young. Her father, Nelson Maddox, was a New Light minister, and preached about thirty-five years. He filled the offices of justice of the peace and constable in Danville township many years, and was an extensive dealer in cattle, which he bought, fed and drove to Chicago. He was born on the 10th of June, 1810, and died on the 15th of March, 1875. Her brother Franklin was born on the 14th of December, 1850 ; an engraver by trade ; was apprenticed to S. N. Monroe, of Danville, with whom he was emplo}Ted at the time of his death, which resulted from cerebrospinal meningitis, on the 12th of March, 1873. He was a member of the Kimber M. E. Church of Danville, very exemplary in his life, and a great favorite with all. Mr. Bowman is a republican. He owns eighty acres of land, worth $2,500.

John Milligan, Rossville, grain dealer, was born in the county of Fermanagh, Ireland, on the 19th of February, 1835, and is the son of John and Fanny (Funston) Milligan. He was reared a farmer. At the age of seventeen he came, in company with his brother Oliver, to Toronto, Canada, and next year (1852) the whole family came and bought a farm of two hundred and nine acres in the county of Simcoe, fifty miles north of Toronto, where his father still lives. Here the subject of this sketch worked about four years, when he obtained the position of steward of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, Toronto, which he retained until 1863, when he was transferred to the Maiden Lunatic Asylum at Amherstburgh, county of Essex, continuing in this position six years. He was married on the 26th of January. 1864, to Caroline Charlotte Crane, who was born in Suffolk, England, on the 28th of February, 1838, and emigrated with her parents to Gait, Canada, in 1853. Mrs. Milligan was appointed matron of the Maiden Asylum, and discharged the duties of that position three years, and until her husband severed his connection with the institution. In July, 1875, the family came to the states and settled in Rossville, Vermilion county, Illinois, where Mr. Milligan opened a general store in company with his brother-in-law, Oscar G. Crane. In the fall of 1878 he sold his interest to his partner, and is now engaged in handling grain. He is the father of three children: Mary Maud, Frances Caroline and Edith Blanche. Mr. and Mrs. Milligan are members of the Episcopal church.

George W. Akers, Alvin, physician and surgeon, was born in Putnam county, Indiana, on the 20th of March, 1839, and is a son of Thomas and Margaret (Allen) Akers. He was reared a farmer ; studied medicine under Dr. Cross, a prominent physician of Bainbridge, Putnam county, Indiana, and attended a course of lectures at the college of physicians and surgeons at Kansas City. Missouri, in the winter of 1874-5. During the winter of 1877-8 he attended a second course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Indianapolis, Indiana, and graduated on the 22d day of February, 1878. He received from the medical college of Indiana, on the 28th of February, 1879, an ad eundem degree. In December, 1863, he settled at Paola, Miami county. Kansas; lived there twelve years and removed to Vermilion county, Illinois, and settled at Gilbert, and afterward at Alvin, on the removal of the former place. He was married on the 22d of March, 1860, to Maggie M. Steele. He was a charter member of the Miami County Kansas Medical Society, which was organized in 1868, and is a member of the North Vermilion and of the Vermilion County Medical Societies. He has contributed to the following medical journals: "Cincinnati Repertory," " Lancet " and " Observer," of Cincinnati, and the "American Practitioner" of Louisville and Indianapolis. Mr. Akers has been a reporter for country papers where he has lived the past twelve or thirteen years. His pen has been employed in literary ventures through the press at different times. He is at present correspondent of the " Danville Commercial." He has been a member of the Presbyterian church for twenty years. In politics Mr. Akers is a republican.

Joseph S. Christman, Rossville, farmer, was born on the 30th of January, 1854, in Warren county, Indiana. He is the son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Gundy) Christman. He was reared a farmer. In December, 1871, he entered Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, Indianapolis, and graduated in May, 1872. In the fall he began clerking in a dry-goods store in Attica, and early in the following year went to Indianapolis and engaged in merchandising until the fall of 1875, when he came to Rossville and took a position behind the counter in the establishment of W. J. Henderson & Co., retaining the same until the spring of 1878.

George W. Salmans, Rossville, attorney, was born in Vinton county, Ohio, on the 9th of January, 1849, and is the son of George and Rebecca (Hudson) Salmans. He was a student at Evans' Union College, State Line City, for fifteen months. He taught district school half the time for ten years - just sixty months. In the fall of 1871 he entered the law department of the Michigan University, attending lectures one term. From this time till the fall of 1875 he worked on a farm, taught school and read law privately, when he returned to the university, finished his course, and graduated on the 29th of March, 1876. He established himself at once at Rossville, where he is successfully practicing his profession. He was married on the 12th of October, 1876, to Rachel Alison, daughter of Mark M. Alison. He is the father of one child : Edwin, born on the 7th of May, 1878. He is an independent in politics and in religion.

in La Fayette, Indiana, on the 8th of November, 1845, and is a son of Harrison and Hannah (Gisli) Williams. He was bred to fanning, and lived near Pond Grove, in Warren county, Indiana, until 1873, when he began traveling for the benefit of his health, meantime studying medicine, and graduating at the Hygieo-Therapeutic College, at Florence Heights, New Jersey, on the 10th day of April, 1876, delivering the valedictory address of his class on that occasion. In the winter of 1873-4 he took the course in Drew's Business College, and graduated on the 2d of March, 1874. In 1864 he enlisted in the 135th Ind. Vols., a regiment of one-hundred-days men. He was married on the 17th of April, 1879, to Sarah E. Salmans. In March, 1877, he located in Alvin, where he has since carried on the lumber and hardware trade. In politics Mr. Williams is a republican.