Wyoming Township (part 3 of 5)

William P. Hamptox, farmer, East Paw Paw, third child of James and Clarissa (McCarty) Hampton, was born in Canada, May 6, 1823. Three Hamptons came from England in the colonial period; one brother settled in Nova Scotia, one in New Jersey, and the other in South Carolina, from the latter of whom the talented and aristocratic family of that name in the Palmetto State has sprung. Mr. Hampton's grandfather McCarty was a militia captain and served in the second war for independence; he was taken prisoner by the British but escaped from Canada. His father was born in Pennsylvania and his mother in Saratoga, New York. The latter is still living. They went to Canada in early life, were married there and had iiv^e sons and one daughter. His father moved with his famil}' to Quincv, Illinois, in 1838, and on the breaking out of the Mexican war he enlisted in the military service and was sent to Santa Fo, where he died. Early in 1848 Mr. Hampton came to Lee county, and in the fall the rest of the family followed him. That season he cropped his present farm, but did not bay it. JSText year he purchased 80 acres and afterward 40 more northeast of Paw Paw. In 1852 he crossed the plains to California, where he was married May 16, 1853, to Miss Amanda J. Weddell. She was born in Pennsylvania, June 24, 1823. Her grandfather Weddell emigrated from Wales before the revolution, and obtained a large tract of land between the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers. Her parents, Jesse and Nancy (Davis) Weddell, had five sons and four daughters. The mother is yet living. Both father and mother were born close to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The former was a soldier in the last war with England, served in Ohio, and fought in the Massinaway battles under Captain Jacob Walsh. In 1831 he settled in Indiana, and died there in 1838. He was born in 1780. In 1853 Mrs. Hampton, in company with her brother, P. M. Weddell, and Henry Zinn, left Goshen, Elkhart county, Indiana, where she had been reared, and went by steaniship to California, sailing from New York on board the Northern Light; Tinklepaw, captain. They encountered a severe storm on the way to Greytown, and up the Nicaragua river; and after taking passage for San Francisco on board the Independence, met with a terrible disaster at sea. This steamer was burned off the island of St. Marguerite, and over 400 passengers were lost. Mrs. Hampton was bereft of her brother and their friend Zinn, and she herself was washed ashore, insensible, a distance of over a mile. Later, the steamer was driven onto the beach. Three days elapsed and the whaling vessel Omega, Captain Jeffrey, from Bedford, Maine, took the survivors off the island and conveyed them to their destination. The captain of the Independence was imprisoned 21 years for not beaching his boat and saving the passengers. Mr. Hampton returned with his wife and child to Illinois in the spring of 1855, and resumed the occupation of farming at his former home in Paw Paw township, De Kalb county. In 1866 he sold his farm there and removed to the place where he is now living, one mile north of East Paw Paw. This contains 117 acres, worth §6,000. In 1871 he went south and traveled a few months in Florida, on a sight-seeing tour. Both liimself and wife are members of the Congregatioiuil church. He is a republican and a Mason ; and belongs to Spartan Lodge, No. 272, I.O.O.F., and has filled all the chairs.

county, Pennsylvania, in 18^8, and was the youngest of five sons and four daughters by Jerome and Sarah (Brittain) Agler. His father came west in the spring of 1849 and located his family on the south side of Paw Paw Grove. Farming has always been Mr. Agler's occupation, and his home was never elsewhere than in Lee county, excepting a residence of three years at Mendota. He was married September 21, 1873, to Miss Mary E. Pulver, daughter of James F. and Sarah C. Pulver, of Paw Paw. Her birth was on April 18, 1852. Two children have been born to them, James J., April 13, 1874, and Fred W., September 7, 1879. Mrs. Agler is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at South Paw Paw. He is a republican, and owns 178 acres of land in Sec. 2, "Wyoming township, valued at |8,000. Mr. Agler's brothers Joseph and John were volunteers in Co. K, 75th 111. Vol. Inf., served their full term of three years, and bore a part in several memorable engagements.

Abijah Florence, farmer. Paw Paw Grove, was born in the town of Reading, Steuben county, ISTew York, in 1823, and was the son of Peter and Elizabeth (Campbell) Florence. He was reared a farmer, and carried on lumbering in connection with that business several years. He was married in ISTew York to Miss Mandane Smith, daughter of John and Clarissa (Fitch) Smith. She was born in 1832. In 1854 they moved to Paw Paw, and Mr. Florence bought his present home, which is the E. ^ of S.E. ^ Sec. 3, one mile north of the village. This homestead is worth $4,000. They resided in Paw Paw until 1871, Mr. Florence farming his land meanwhile, but in that year removed to the farm. He is a republican, and has belonged to Anchor Lodge, No. 510, 1.O.O.F., eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Florence have an only child, Clara.

Cornelius Quackenbush, deceased, was born in Bergen county, New Jersey, November 18, 1825. His parents were Corinis and Jane (Post) Quackenbush. He was apprenticed to the carpenter's trade and followed it until he came west. His father followed agriculture, was a man of great business tact and industry, and accumulated a large fortune. On November 18, 1846, Mr. and Mrs. Quackenbush were united in marriage. The latter, daughter of David and Rachel (Westervelt) Christie, was born July 29, 1830. Her grandfather, David Christie, was a Scotchman by birth, and settled in New Jersey before the revolution. In the spring of 1851 her parents emigrated to this township and bought the place where James Fonda lives. In the spring of 1858 Mr. Quackenbush brought his family here, and the next year purchased the farm on which his widow resides, adjacent to Paw Paw on the north. He carried on this farm as long as he lived. From 1866 to 1869 he carried the mails between Earlville and Twin Groves; he then moved his family to Shabbona Grove, and was mail carrier between there and Leland until 1873, He had iour children : Jennie M., born November 26, 1850, married Dallas C. Breese October 29, 1867; David H., June 27, 1852, died September 14, 1871; Corinis, July 15, 1854, died August 24, 1855; and Renea, March 10, 1861, died October 13, 1864. Mrs. Quackenbush's father was born December 27, 1790, and for some years prior to his death was afHicted with physical infirmities, which aflected his mind and caused temporary mental derangement. In one of these moods he ended his life b}- hanging, in July 1&67. Her mother, who was born September 15, 1793, is still living, in tolerable health, in Mendota. These venerable parents had a family of eleven children. The eldest was David, who lives on a part of the old homestead. John was a surveyor and school teacher, at one time was book-keeper and paymaster on the Illinois and Michigan canal, and died of consumption not long after the family emigrated to this state. Ralph lives at Mendota, unmarried. James, who married the youngest daughter of Joshua Swarthout, lives in Missouri. One died in infancy. The daughters were Betsy, Rachel, Anna, Irene, Jane, and Ann Maria.

Thomas W. Makble, farmer, East Paw Paw, was born in Ontario county, New York, July 11, 1826, and was the fourth in a family of seven children by Thomas and Katie (Winfield) Marble. His brothers and sisters were Levi, Lucinda, Phebe, Asenath, Serephna, and Ephraim. When he was ten years old his father died, and his mother married Thomas Burgess. By this second marriage four more children were born, namely: Julia, John, Benjamin, and Rhoda. In 1831 the family moved to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and it was there that Mr. Marble's father died, in April 1836. They settled on the Cleveland and Pittsburgh turnpike, on 160 acres located in a dense forest. This land is now all cleared and has been parceled out to the heirs, who have sold their inheritance. His mother is living on her portion of the old homestead, at the advanced age of eighty-one. Mr. Marble went to work at carpentering at sixteen, and followed his trade until his removal to Illinois in 1856. He settled in Paw Paw township, De Kalb county, resided there five years, then moved to his present home in East Paw Paw. He was engaged in farming the first seven years of his residence in Illinois; the rest of the time he has been engaged in carpentry. He has been constable since his settlement in this count}' twenty years ago ; was deputy sheriff four years under Jonathan Hills ; and has twice been collector. Politically he is a republican. He has been a Mason twenty-three years, and is a member of Corinthian Lodge, No. 205, A.F. and A.M. His marriage with Miss Susannah B. Le Moin, daughter of Eleazer D. and Rebecca Le Moin, took place

October 11, 1845. She was born in 1824. Their fonr softs are Emery H., Bntler, Henry, and Lewis. The first enlisted in December 1862, in Co. I, 4th 111. Cav., and served his full term of three years without accident or injury. He campaigned in the southwest, and in the' spring of 1863 went on Gi-ierson's famous raid, one of the most brilliant and successful made during the whole war. He married Miss Mary Beckwith, of Texas, and has two children. Henry married Miss Emma Shufelt, and they have one bright little girl, Mirtie May.

Oren Marble, blacksmith, East Paw Paw, was born in New York in 1814, and was the son of Lucius and Mary (Olds) Marble. His father died when he was eight years old, and at the age of fourteen he went to live with a man who was a blacksmith by trade. After being with him one year, and partly learning to be a craftsman, he went to doing for himself, and until he was twenty-five found employment at various avocations. In 1832 he settled in Ohio, and the same year was married to Miss Lois Marble, whose natal year was the same as his own. In Ohio he finished his apprenticeship and worked most of the time at the blacksmith business ; in 1845 he removed to Lake county, this state, and in 1867, to his present home at East Paw Paw. Mr. and Mrs. Marble have been the parents of seven children, as follows: Lavina, William, Martha (dead), James (dead), Franklin (dead), Angeline (dead), and Wyman. Mrs. Marble is a communicant in the Methodist church. Mr. Marble has held the offices of town clerk, road commissioner, constable, and justice of the peace, and is a member of Spartan Lodge, Xo. 272, I.O.O.F. His son Wyman belongs to the same lodge. In 1853 Mr. Marble went overland to California, helped to drive 122 head of cattle across the plains, remained two years on the Pacific coast, and returned by way of Panama and New York. He was originally a whig, but since that party went out of existence has been a republican.

Harris D. Merwine, deceased, was born in Pennsylvania May 3, 1821, of German ancestry. His father was a tiller of the soil, and he, at the proper age, began to learn the millwright's trade, which he followed near Mauch Chunk until the summer of 1849. On June 19 of that year he was married to Miss Thurza Morris, of Tunkhannock, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania. Her father was Isaac Morris. Immediately after this marriage Mr. and Mrs. Merwine and her father's family started west and stopped at Paw Paw, or " Mormon Corners." They erected a house together in what is now the west part of the town, on land purchased from Jacob Rogers, and the next year Mr. Merwine built a wagon shop, in which he labored until his health failed in 1856. He was then elected constable and collector for Wyoming, but did not long hold these offices, being removed by death April 20,

1857. He \\*as a republican and an Odd-Fellow. He was a useful and respected citizen, whose character was in every way above reproach, and whose nienior}^ is spoken of to this day in excellent terms. On the death of Mr. Merwine, Mrs. Merwine's parents came to live with her. The mother died in 1874. Mrs. Merwine was left a widow with three childi-en : Irene married A. R. Haskell and lives in Michigan; Albert is station agent at Amboy, and Anna died in 1870.

Alva R. Harp, restaurateur, Paw Paw Grove, was born in Miami county, Indiana, in 1839. His father, Samuel, and his mother, Jane (Butler), were among the earliest settlers in that county. The father still resides there, and the mother was a second cousin to the late President James A. Garfield. In 1850 Mr. Harp came to Willow Creek township. After spending one summer here, and returning to Indiana for a short visit, he went to Missouri and remained eighteen months. One-third of this time was occupied in teaching school, and the remainder saw him station agent at Miller's Landing, on the Pacific railroad. He now returned to Indiana for a brief sojourn, then to Willow Creek, where he was married in February 1859, to Miss Amanda E., daughter of Jesse Koons. At the end of two or three years' residence in that township he moved to Minnesota, where he and his wife, whose good courage and endurance were tested and served them well, encountered as great hardships as have fallen to the lot of few pioneers. In a year the Indian war broke out and Mrs. Harp returned to Illinois, but her husband tarried behind a few months. He was employed six months at Fort Snelling, first as teamster and then as cook. On his return to Willow Creek he made his home there with his family again two or three years; after which he moved to Iowa, and spent some three years in that state. He once more found his way back to Willow Creek, and subsequently settled in West Paw Paw. This was in 1873, and was his last removal. During his changes from place to place he had been most of the time employed at farming. On coming to this village he at once set up in the dry-goods trade, and soon took Andrew Rosenkranz as partner, to whom he sold his interest in a few months. He now opened a restaurant on the south side of Main street, which was the first business house ever erected there. He was ouee subsequently in the dry-goods trade, in which venture he failed ; he was in the butchering business fifteen months, and altogether has had six restaurants. Accompanied by his wife, in 1879 he traveled by wagon in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, his journey extending from September 22 until the following January. These parents have two children, jSTellie, who is twenty-one years of age, and Samuel, now sixteen. Mr. Harp is a republican, and a member of Anchor Lodge, No. 510, T.O.O.F., and of Paw Paw Encampment, No. 52.

James Little, retired, Paw Paw Grove, born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in Novemi:)er 1815, is the only surviving son of Walter and Helen (Johnston) Little. When James was old enough he was kept at school for some years, and then began work in gardens and nurseries of fruit and forest trees. In the summer of 1833, in company with an elder brother, he came to America, landed at Quebec, came up to Toronto, was there and elsewhere in Canada about a year and a half, and then came to Buffalo, New York, where they soon after met their parents. Two brothers, Andrew and William, followed to America, and settled in the same city. James worked in gardens in the summer season till the spring of 1838, when the whole family, except John, the eldest son, moved to Illinois and took up a claim in what is now Brooklyn, in Lee county. His father died two months after they settled, but the family remained on the place. James and William worked out apart of the time for the first two years till they had their farm on the prairie broken up, and when the land came into market James and William bought the claim. Andrew bought his claim in Viola. In 1846 James bought William's interest in the farm, but shared the home with his mother and brother. In the fall of 184:8 he sold the farm, and the following spring moved to East Paw Paw, where he purchased a share in the store of S. B. Warren. His mother died that summer, in July, and soon after her death James had a tombstone set up which marks the graves of both father and mother, and under their names the following verse from Hervey's '" Meditations " :

" Centered in Christ, v/ho fires the soul within, The flesh shall know no pain, the soul no sin. E'en in the terrors of expiring breath We bless the friendly stroke, and live in death."

He remained with Warren some two years. In closing up the affairs of the firm Mr. Little commenced the business of loaning money, which he has continued to the present time. In 1861 he bought the house and lot where he now resides, at Paw Paw. In 1871 he was married to Harriet Bolles, second child of Dr. Alexander H. Bolles, of Tunkhannock, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania.

George S. Hunt, M.D., deceased, was the first regular medical practitioner at Paw Paw Grove and throughout the surrounding country. He was the son of William H. and Elizabeth (Esteb) Hunt ; was born in southern Indiana, June 30, 1817 ; educated at La Porte, Indiana ; graduated at the medical college of that city in class of 1845, and married that year, in May, to Louisa Ward, of Paw Paw Grove, daughter of Samuel Ward, formerly of Onondaga county. New York. Dr. Hunt commenced the practice of medicine at Paw Paw Grove in 1844. His ride soon became very extensive, taking in all the groves within reacli. His estimable wife often accompanied him, and drove the team, so he might sleep in the carriage. She says "there were at this time no roads, and often no trail or trace, and only his mind's eye to guide him," He wore himself out, and died in 1855 in the town of Pompey, State of New York, while on a visit for recuperation. The beautiful residence of his widow, at South Paw Paw, still evidences Di'. Hunt's good taste, and abilit}^ to design and plan. Their only child is Hannah E., wife of John Baker, of Paw Paw. Mrs. Hunt's mother, Hannah Ward, now in her eighty -fifth year, is living with Mrs, Hunt.

Ira Baker, farmer, retired. Paw Paw Grove, was born in the county of Schoharie, New York, January 14, 1814, and was the eldest of seven children of Silas and Catharine (Bungier) Baker. His father was a lumberman and farmer, working at the one in winter and the other in summer, so that between the two there remained little chance of schooling for his boys. When Ira was seventeen he bought his time for $150, which he subsequently earned by working out by the month. In the summer of 1834, in his twenty-first year, he came west to what is now Jersey county, Illiuois. One Spanish dollar constituted his stock in trade when he commenced his western life, but his capital comprised also those traits of character that inevitably insure success. He split rails at three shillings a hundred, and could make just one hundred a day. From this pittance his board, and postage, at two shillings a letter, had to be met. April 2 of the following spring he was married to Sarah, daughter of John Wilkins, of that county. Farming in suitable weather, and turning the balance of his time to account in making oak shingles, thus, by constant hard work and the most rigid economy, he was able in those days to obtain a bare livelihood. About this time he carried the mail over a route of some twenty miles, crossing the Mississippi. His flat-boat experiences and adventures, as narrated to the writer, were fraught with lively interest. In that early day a liouse with a window in it was a rare exception. Nothing of importance save hard work and low prices occurred till the spring of 1848, when he moved to Chicago to educate his childi'en a term or two, and continued his shingle business there. The next winter he moved to Wyoming township. Here for about thirty-two years he formed from 120 to 240 acres. In 1877 he built his village residence, corner of Peru and Wheeler streets. He was commissioner of highways several years ; also collector. As an official he was one who did business correctly, but he usually declined all solicitations to be a candidate for any office. In his dealings he has been wont to repose confidence in men, often loaning without even a note, and with no security ; yet, strange to say, $25 would more than cover all his losses from betrayed confidence. He believes in making the most unprincipled man feel that he is yet a onan. He joined the Methodist Episcopal church forty-two years ago, in the days of Peter Cartwright. He had two sons in the army : Ira W. served three years in Co. K, 75th reg. 111. Inf., was in the terrible battles from Franklin to Atlanta, where he was wounded, but not seriously disabled ; John was in the service the closing year of the war. Of fifteen children twelve are still living, and their father says of them what every parent would gladly be able to say, " I am proud of every one of them."

John B. Bbiggs, hair manufacturer, Paw Paw Grove, was born in Anson, Somerset county, Maine, March 22, 1836. He lived in his native town till the summer of 1846, when he departed with his parents, Adin and Susan (Cottle), for the Far West, and arrived at Grand Detour, Ogle county, in July, The family remained in the vicinity of that place and Washington Grove five years, engaged in farming. John's advantages for education were very limited, but while there he improved the winters to attend the district school. In 1851 his father moved his family to Willow Creek township, this county, where he preempted the S.E. \ Sec. 14, and the following spring died. John, the eldest son, now sixteen, took charge of the farm, and was henceforth the main dependence of the large family. When the preemption expired he and his mother paid the pi-ice of the land from the first crop of wheat, and received a patent from the government. At this time one of the brothers came into possession of half the land, and when the division was afterward made the remainder was evenly divided between the other two. John then bought his brotiier's share of fort}' acres. When Mr. Briggs came to Willow creek the country was nowliere improved, save by a meager population located around the groves, and it was so little transformed from its original wildness that in going from his home to Twin Groves he has counted at one time forty deer, and frequently from under his window barking wolves stai'tled the night air with piercing yelps, and gave the household hideous serenade. In 1864 Mr. Briggs was married in Lexington, Somerset county, Maine, to Miss Alfr(3da Pierce. He returned with his bride and settled on the old homestead, where they lived until 1873, when he sold his farm. During the next two years he made his home in Chicago, being engaged in trade and carpentry. Since that time he has resided at Paw Paw. His wife died some years ago. On March 31, 1877, he was married again, to Miss Eliza Town, youngest daughter of Russell and Roxana Town. By his first marriage he had three children : Obed W. survives, the others were buried in infancy. Since settling in Paw Paw he has been most of the time emplo^^ed in traveling, and manufacturing and selling hair goods, and is now doing a larger business in this line than any other person west of Chicago. By this means he has obtained an extensive acquaintance. He is a steward in the Methodist church at Paw Paw, and a republican in politics.

S. A. Abbott, cooper and dealer in all kinds of cooperage, Paw Paw Grove ; born at Londonderry, Windham county, Yermont, May 25, 1825. He was the youngest of twelve children of Jacob and Abigail (Dutton) Abbott. His father was in five battles in the war of 1812, and came out of the battle of Plattsburg with seven bullet holes through his close-fitting shirt. In his leisure hours during the war he made himself useful by mending shoes for officers and soldiers, and in this way earned and saved up one hundred silver half dolhirs. Having enlisted for five years, there still remained fourteen mouths of liis term when that war closed, and to escape a long, tedious march to the Rocky mountains and back he used his hundred half dollars to secure a substitute. He received his land warrant and held it till his son was eighteen, but it called for land to be selected "away out in Illinois," or farther west, and the son regarded that as out of the civilized world, and w^ould not accept as a gift the rich prairie that he has since learned to prize most highly. Young Abbott's school days were quite limited, yet he seems to have made the most of them. At thirteen commenced working out; was with his first employer twenty-one months, including three months' schooling. Doubtless, little did that kind-hearted employer then realize that in future years, when nearly a half century should have elapsed, the recollections of his almost paternal kindness to the stranger lad would be still so fresh in a grateful memory as to choke utterance and moisten the eyes. His sixteenth and seventeenth years were employed in a hotel. In the fall of 1812 he hired out to drive a six-horse team from Chester, Yermont, to Boston, one hundred and ten miles. Six tons was an average load. In this work he took great delight; his horses seemed to understand his word perfectly, and he used no rein. He thought he had found his life work ; but lo, the iron horse changed many a fate. In the spring of his twenty-first year he began learning the trade of carpenter and joiner ; but in that country of long winters he could work at his trade but seven months in the year, so he found employment in a hotel the remaining five, and this course he followed for seven years. In the spring of 1851- he came west to La Salle, Illinois, where he worked at his trade, and that fall made a visit to friends near Paw Paw Grove. Delighted with the country, he at once purchased a farm, and on New Year's day laid the sills for his house. In June, 1855, he was married to Hannah C. Bailey, daughter of Miles S. Bailey. In 1860 both united with the Methodist Episcopal church at South Paw Paw, and since then were transfei'red to the cluirch at Paw Paw. A veteran Sunday-school superintendent, class leader for twenty years, sharing his genial home most happily with his wife's parents a quarter century, surely Mr. Abbott's life has been no failure. He is a republican and P.G.W. in Anchor Lodge, I.O.O.F.

Marshall R. Reams, merchant, Paw Paw Grove, was born in Ross county, Ohio, December 15, 1850, and the only child of William and Ellen (Bowen) Reams. When he was three years old the family moved to Illinois and settled near Paw Paw, where his mother died the following year. His schooling was confined to the home district school and ended at eighteen. At twenty-one he commenced clerking; was employed successively by Jacob Hendershot, John Colvill and W. C Runyan ; was in partnership a year with Henry Potter in general merchandising, and in April, 1881, commenced for himself in the same business. He was married March 28, 1875, to Libbie Sanford, of this place. They have two children : Wilbur Pratt, born March 1, 1877, and Frederick William, born October 7, 1879.

Alexander Field, liveryman, Paw Paw Grove, proprietor of the well-rigged livery stable east of the Paw Paw House, is one of the old and respected citizens of the place. He was born at Chester, Vermont, October 3, 1826, and the youngest of ten children of Robert W. and Lydia M. Field. Having spent his youtli in the usual way, between the school and the farm, he looked about a little through Michigan and Wisconsin, came to Lee county, Illinois, in his twenty -first year, and bought land from the government in Sees. 26 and 27. In August, 1849, he married Louisa Rumsey, daughter of Isaac Rumsey, of Sullivan, Tioga county, Pennsylvania. He made his financial start in California, whence he returned in 1851. His father, living with him at this time, died in 1858. He sold his farm in 1870, and in 1872 bought his present residence. He was for a time engaged in the heavy work of "drayman, but his health iailing in 1875, he commenced the livery business. For this he seems to be well fitted, and his business is thriving. He is republican in politics and a zealous Odd-Fellow, having filled all the oflfices of that order, both of the subordinate and the encampment. Mr. and Mrs. Field have the reputation of being among the most accommodatino; and kind-hearted of citizens. Thev have no children living ; have buried two, Addie and Zillia.

Amos Siglin, Paw Paw Grove, is»one of those industrious, enterprising men who are the bone and sinew of a live town. He is a genial Pennsylvanian, born in the township of Chestnut Hill, and county of Nortliampton, His father, Jacob Siglin, a veteran of 1812, was wounded at New Orleans under General Jackson, and died when Amos was but eleven years old. His mother's maiden name was Susannah Singer ; she lived to the great age of ninety-seven years, ten months, and two days. Amos when a boy loved to work, but was not particularly fond of books, and he had to go three miles to school ; so after the death of the father the preference of the boy rather than his real good was too often regarded, and his schooling became too frequently a secondary matter. On the farm till he was sixteen, he then went to the trade of carpenter and joiner, and followed it till he came west in 1855. That fall he purchased the farm he now owns in Sec. 29, Willow Creek township. During the winter of 1873 he dealt quite extensively in butter, live stock, etc., at Paw Paw. Before coming west, in 1851, he was married to Catharine, daughter of William and Barbara Sutton, both of whom died at Paw Paw at an advanced age in 1879. The buildings on Mr. Siglin's farm are of his own workmanship ; he also built his Paw Paw residence, in 1876, and with Mr. Lester Potter, in 1880, erected the brick block known as the Siglin and Potter block. On the night of July 30, 1881, a high wind stripped off about half of the iron rooting from this building, demolishing coping, awning, etc. The cost of repairs was about §350. Mr. and Mrs. Siglin have four children : Mary Elizabeth (Mrs. Wm. H. Smith), Dolly (Mrs. Adolphus Fisher, of Ogle county), William Siglin, of the firm of Wm. Merrell & Co., and Barbara. Mr. Siglin is in full sympathy with both Odd-Fellows and Masons, being a member of each order. He has always voted the democratic ticket.

Samuel C. Mitchell, dealer in hardware. Paw Paw Grove, born at Bedford, Hillsborough county, New Hampshire, November 3, 1835, was the fifth of twelve children of Dwella W. and Eliza D. (Smith) Mitchell. At ten years of age he had never had a day's schooling nor even been taught his letters. He walked two and a half miles and back each day for all his schooling, save six weeks at an institute at nineteen. Commencing with ABC, his progress was constant and rapid ; at the end of three months he was in the fourth reader. For four years he had six months annually, after that only three, and worked out on farms'^the other nine. Tiie night before he was twenty-one he delivered up to his father the last farthing of his earnings, received in turn a suit of clothes, and this, Avith reputation, brains, brave heart and brawny hands, constituted his sole capital with which to start for himself. '' But," says he to the writer, " 'Twas the best thing that could have been done for me." After working one summer on a farm, and teaming that winter, the spring of 1858 found him on a farm in De- Kalb county, Illinois, in the employ of Augustus Breese, with wdiom he remained four years, and whose daughter Emily he married in 1864. From 1862 to 1872 he rented and worked a farm ; then was in the hardware business nine months in Iowa, when seeing " as with pro- plietic eye," the promising opening for business at Paw Paw, he sold out, came to this place, and opened his present hardware store. He has chree children, the youngest named after President Garfield. Mr. Mitchell is a Mason, an official member of the Presbyterian church, and a man who has the respect of his townsmen. His parents are still living, and are on the old homestead in the Old Granite State.

John Patkick, retired, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, August 7, 1808. The names of his parents were Abel and Elizabeth (Hurlbutt), and they were natives of Connecticut. His father was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and his grandfather came from France. John was the youngest of seven children. His education M'as limited, not attending school over three months in the year. The country was new, and there was plenty of hard work on his father's farm, Avhere he stayed till he was twenty-five. Ho then engaged a short time in a store, afterward in a liotel, and visited the west. In October, 1836, he married Celinda Earl, and for two years they were connected with a hotel. His wife and child died, and in 1838 he returned to his old home in Pennsylvania. For four or five years he was in a store, and in 1841 married Miss Mary Harris, of Columbia county, Pennsylvania. After being on a farm for a time, in the spring of 1815 they came to Sycamore, Illinois, and in February, 1816, settled in Wyoming. At that time there was not a mile of railroad in Illinois. The farm he purchased then was the N.W. |- of N.W. ^ Sec. 36, and the S.W. ^ of S.W. ^ Sec. 25. He lived here thirty years, except for two years when the family resided temporarily *t East Paw Paw, so that the children could attend school there. In March, 1876, his second wife died. In January, 1879, he married Miss S. A. Wilson, of Paw Paw. Four children were born to his second wife, two of whom are now living: Mrs. Harriet C. Mirick, in Kansas, who has three children, and Mrs. Gertrude E. Agler, of Paw Paw, who has one child. One who knows Mr. Patrick from his youth says of him : " He has seen hard times enough to sink most men, but through tireless energy and dauntless will has attained a goodly measure of success." He is an Odd-Fellow, and has held prominent positions in various organizations.

AsAHEL Pkentice, farmer and stock raiser. Paw Paw Grove, is another of the staunch farmers and stalwart men of whom Wyoming is justly proud. Mr. Prentice hails from the old Bay State, where, in the town of Chester, in Hampden county, he was born June 6, 1833. His parents were Ephraim and Susan (Bisbee) Prentice. He was there twenty-three years, with the usual advantages of the district schools of those days, and four months at Williston Seminary, at Easthampton. He was brought up a farmer, and came to Wyoming townshij) in the fall of 1856, and tlie following year, in November, was married to Amanda M., daughter of James C. and Enphemia (Marshall) Spronl, of Montour county, Pennsylvania. jS'early a quarter of a century has elapsed since, on the wild prairie one mile north of the township line, the}' began life together. They now have a good farm, well stocked and improved, a commodious new house, with excellent cellar and conveniences for dairying, six children, hale, hearty and strong, all at home, and apparently a pleasant home, where kindred hearts beat in unison, and all are willing to work for the common good. The children are Sarah E., James C, Henry Mortimer, Joseph D., William M. S., and Lena May. Mr. Prentice is a republican, but says he honors a good, sti'aight democrat. He is both a Mason and an Odd-Fellow, having his membership at West Paw Paw. From 1872 to 1878 he served the town as a commissioner of highways.

Geokge W. Miller, farmer, Paw Paw Grove, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, December 12, 1853, and was the son of William and Eliza K. (Yosburgh) Miller. He came west with his parents and settled in Viola township, having first stopped a short time in La Salle county. When he was sixteen years old his father sold his farm and bought another in Wyoming township, on See. 6. Mr. Miller remained at home until twenty-four years of age, and on October 5, 1878, was married to Miss Alice Mittan, daughter of J. P. Mittan. Li the autumn of 1879 he took charge of his father's farm of 175 acres, at the head of Willow creek. Mr. and Mrs. Miller's two children are Minnie E. and Carrie May. He is a republican in polities.

A. C. Radley, tarmer and town clerk, Paw Paw Grove, was born January 14, 1827, at Florida, Montgomery county, New York. His father was the late John J. Radley, who died at Earlville in the summer of 1881. Anderson, the subject of our sketch, was the eldest son, and his father was an invalid for many years. For these reasons the son's schooling was quite limited. Not till he was twenty-four ^^ears of age did he surrender the care of the old homestead. After working a rented farm in his native state some four years, and another in Batavia, Illinois, for two years, in the spring of 1858 he came to Wyoming township, and purchased the eighty acres of wild prairie which he has since transformed into the Eden Home, where he still resides. On December 14, 1862, he was married to Miss Mary B. Hayden, of Jackson county, Michigan ; but she was taken away October 7, 1865, leaving a son about two years of age. On May 9, 1866, he \\as married to Martha, daughter of Frederick and Mary McBride of this township. Mr. Radley was one of those who organized the Paw Paw Presbyterian church, and has been a ruling elder and trustee from that time to date. An Odd-Fellow for more than a quarter of a cen- tury, he instituted Anchor Lodge at Paw Paw, and has served four tim^^s as representative to the Grand Lodge. In 1881 he was elected town clerk, and in July spent one whole day signing the new railroad bonds.

Kelson Lane, deceased, was born in Ulster county. New York, January 29, 1810, and in 1830 came to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. In 1831 he married Sally Ann Tripp, daughter of Job Tripp, from Providence, Rhode Island. Lumbering was his main dependence while in the Keystone State. In the fall of 1853 he emigrated to Illinois, arriving at Paw Paw October 14. Hard work and good management soon began to tell. Renting a farm near Crompton, and purchasing another near Brooklyn, the crop from the former put a good house on the latter, and that 80 acres costing then $2.50 per acre was sold in 1875 at $60 per acre. Mr, Lane died August 27, 1874. Of four children three are still living: the daughter, Julia, is now Mrs. Edwin R. Case, of Paw Paw. The two sons, Job T. and Nelson F., were both in the service of their country ; the former was a member of Co. I, 15th 111. Inf., and the latter of Co. C, 13th reg. Mrs. Lane now I'esides at Paw Paw.

Fernando II. Chaffe, farmer and stock raiser, Paw Paw Grove, is a man of marked business ability, and one of Wyoming's heaviest capitalists. He was a son of Eber and Annie (Davis) Chaffe, and born in Windham county, Yermont, November 21, 1827. In his twelfth year the famil}'^ emigrated to Compton, Kane county, Illinois. In the spring of his twenty-fifth year he went to California, where in mining and milling for four years and six months he acquired a sufficient sum to give him a good start in business. His health being quite poor when he returned to Compton in the fall of 1856, he remained there for about two years recruiting and loaning money. Meanwhile, on July 15, 1858, he was married to Delia Barber, daughter of Lahira and Annis Barber, of Compton. Some years before this he had deeded from the government a tract of 240 acres in Lee county, four miles south of Paw Paw ; coming onto this he began breaking the prairie and making himself a home. Since then he has bought 200 acres adjoining, and sold 40. His present farm of 400 acres, with firstclass buildings, and other improvements to correspond, is delightfully located on the brow of a hill, with a fine prospect, and is reputed to be one of the finest farms in Wyoming township. Mi'. Chafte puts about 300 acres each j^ear in grains and clover. They have had eleven children, and buried three; Abbie F. is now Mrs. William Tabor, Edmund W. is a fine musician, now taking lessons under Matthews, in Chicago; Elmer S., Wilbur T., Ella N., Minnie A. and John F. are at home. An infant, " angel of the household," is not yet named,

Lester Potter, deceased, was a man remarkable for his untiring energy and enterprise; oldest of six children of William and Mary (Pease) Potter. He was born August 5, 1824, in Middletown, Connecticut, acquired as good schooling as he could till he was sixteen, then for sixteen years was managing a Pennsylvania farm summers, and at home, ship-carpentering, winters. In 1847 he was married to Miranda Andrews, youngest child of John and Sarah Andrews, of Salem, Pennsylvania. In 1856 they moved to Illinois, where he purchased a farm two and a half miles west of Paw Paw. In 1864 he bought another near Malugin's Grove, and in 1868 a third in Willow Creek township. On July 7, 1872, he received the first shipment of lumber and coal brought to Paw Paw by railroad. Thus commenced his extensive business on Pern street, which he carried on for several years. In 1875 he also engaged in the furniture business, on Maine street, and the next year built a store to accommodate his growing trade. He also became an ov/ner in several mines in Colorado, and to these he gave personal attention during portions of 1877, and the year following. In 1880 he and Mr. Amos Siglin erected the Siglin and Potter Brick Block, into which he moved a stock of goods purchased of W. C. Eunyan, and added general merchandising to his large list of enterprises. Mr. Potter was one of the few who could keep many irons in the fire from early youth to three score without allowing any to burn. He was also one who identified himself with the growth and prosperity of the town, belonging to no religious organization, yet he contributed liberally to the support of all. Early in May 1881, while at Chicago, he was taken seriously ill, and his death occurred on the 26th of the same month. A large concourse of friends and citizens followed his remains to the Ellsworth Cemetery. His four surviving children are all married, and all, with their very worthy mother, now reside in or near Paw Paw.

John Brittain, pioneer (deceased). (By his nephew, John T. Brittain.) John Brittain was born in 1803, in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. He followed lumbering, and was an efficient deputy sheriff. He emigrated to Illinois and settled near Alton about 1840, and not long after went into the pineries, followed lumbering, and in company with others ran a large mill, doing a heavy business. But sickness compelled him to leave affairs temporarily to others, who pocketed large amounts and left for parts unknown, and Mr. Brittain found himself and family destitute in the city of St. Louis. As soon as he accumulated sufficient funds again he bought two land warrants and located them in Wyoming township. He acted as justice of the peace for several years, and took quite an active interest in the union cause during the rebellion. A son died at Fort Donelson from over exertion. While an officer of Wj^oming, about 1863, he received a dispatch to aid in arresting two horse-thieves ; he reluctantly consented ; he was fired upon, and one of the men was shot. Some reflections being cast upon him he demanded a trial, was acquitted, no one appearing against him. He died very suddenly, some thought from apoplexy, caused by the excitement and anxiety, others thought he was poisoned.

William J. Beittain, farmer, Paw Paw Grove, was born March 22, 1845, at Delhi, Jersey county, Illinois, and is the son of John and Elizabeth Brittain. When about eighteen years of age he started for himself. He lived on the home farm with John, his elder brother and his mother, and worked for her and others. On January 31, 1869, he married Ann Madison, of Paw Paw, a very worthy daughter of James and Mary Madison. Her father was killed by a fall from a building in Ohio when she was about two years old. Two children, Corda and Mabel, bless their union. Mr. Brittain is a staunch republican and an Odd-Fellow.

William Mayor, farmer. Paw Paw Grove, was born in the county of Lancashire, England, December 3, 1820. Being one of a large family, and put at work in early life, his schooling all told would not amount to a year. May 21, 1841, he landed in New York. Brigham Young came on the same vessel, and as they neared the port the pilotboat brought the sad intelligence of the death of President Harrison. Going immediately to Albany, he worked in that city two years and five months; thence to Columbus, where he worked two years and seven months for the state on the Ohio canal ; thence to Dayton, and worked for James Seville, a farmer, nearly three years, and married his daughter, Sarah Ann Seville, September 4, 1848. He worked this farm till 1854, when he moved to Paw Paw. Illinois, where his wife died in 1874. March 28, 1880, he married M ip. Xancy Kelly. His children are: James W., the harness-maker itt Paw Paw ; Mary Ann, wife of David Thomas, living at south side ot the grove, and Sarah Jane, living at home. One daughter, Luc}' Adelaide, died in 1879. The lengthof time Mr. Mayor has been wont to stay with his employers indicates that lie was a faithful, competent workman, and the enormous crops observed by the writer on his excellent farm show that he is still a good farmer. His farm is the "Elder Warriner farm," at the south side of the grove.

Lord Jones, retired from business. Paw Paw Grove, was the son of Lewis and Sarah (Benedict) Jones, who were among the first settlers in the Wyoming Valley, and his grandfather Benedict baptized the first white child ever baptized in the Susquehanna. Lord was born in Exeter, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, July 9, 1805. When quite young he was naturally ingenious with tools; would split sticks and fasten together, constructing a house such as would challenge the skill of mature years. He never learned a trade regularly, b}^ serving an apprenticeship, yet became a good carpenter. He was married January 6, 1830, to Phebe, daughter of Maj. Ezekiel Goble. In 1848 they emigrated to Paw Paw Grove. Here the Goble family was a numerous famil}^ of grand, early pioneers, who doubtless did not a little in giving shape to the tastes and customs of the settlement about Paw Paw Grove. Two brothers and three sisters, and the parents too, all with families, were here gathered at Jacob Rogers' to greet the Jones family at the end of their thirty-three days' journe}^, and under the Cottonwood trees at the Rogers place forty-one kindred friends sat down to the first dinner. Gobies, Boardmans, Rogerses and Towns, including their thirty children, were present at this reunion. The Joneses settled on a farm in Sees. 8 and 9. Three sons of this worthy family espoused the cause of their country. Their first-born, Theodore S., enlisted in 1861 in Co. D, 1st 111. Art. Over-exertion and exposure at the battle of Yicksburg, brought on fatal disease. He started for home, was for several weeks confined to the hospital in St. Louis, and died of congestive chills at Schofield's barracks. Orlando B. Jones enlisted in 1862 in Co. K, 75th reg. 111. Inf., and served till the end of the war; though knocked down by a spent ball, hitting him directly over his heart, his strap and blanket saved his life. Benjamin A. enlisted in January 1864:. Five sons and two daughters are still living. Their entire family are republican in sentiment and belong to the Baptist church.

W. A. Pkatt, druggist, Paw Paw Grove, was born at Deep river, Connecticut, October 5, 1853. He was the son of Henry H. and Mary (Comstock) Pratt. In the spring of 1856 the family moved to Illinois, and settled in De Ivalb county, on a farm near Sandwich. Here he made good use of the advantages afforded by the district school, supplemented by the graded high schools, until he was eighteen. The winter of 1870 and 1871 was saddened by the death of his mother. The following spring he entered the drug store of A. H.- Palmer, of Sandwich, where he spent three years learning the business. In the spring of 1874 he came to Paw Paw, and entered the employ of W. C. Runyan. In the fall of 1877 he bought out the business and stock of goods and opened trade in his own name. In January, 1878, he was married to Mary E., daughter of Isaac J. and Harriet E. Berry. His business increasing, in November, 1880, he moved into the new Siglin & Potter block, where he has one of the best arranged and most complete drug stores in Lee county. In politics Mr. Pratt is republican.

Jacob Hendekshot, merchant, Paw Paw Grove, is one of the wellknown business men of Paw Paw. Born at Washingtonville, Montour county, Pennsylvania, November 22, 1832. His father's name was Evan and his mother's Margaret C. (McBride). In 1840 his parents moved to Limestoneville, whence Jacob soon after went to live with his grandmother at Whitehall, staying with her till he was fourteen. To the common school of these three places is he indebted for his schooling, but not for his education. Like many of our self-made men, Mr. Hendershot's student life has comprised the spare moments of a life-time. At the early age of fourteen he went to live with an uncle, a merchant and thorongh business man, and was with him an entire decade. In 1856 he came west and, after prospecting through northern Illinois, located at Paw Paw, as clerk for Cone & Madden. Here he remained in the employ of the two succeeding owners, D. W. Madden and Hiram Fuller, till the winter of 1857-8, when he went east and closed out a stock of goods for Robt. McCoy. Returning, he began business as a grocer on the north side of Main street, in Paw Paw, in the fall of 1858. In the fall of 1860 he purchased his house and lot, corner of Main and Peru streets, and was married to Jane M. Carey, of Whitehall, Pennsylvania. In 1873 he erected the first brick store in the place, and in it he is still carrying on business. In 1880 he tore down his old brick house, and on the same spot erected a fine, spacious brick residence. Mr. Hendershot has ever given close personal attention to business, and to this end has declined official honors and responsibilities. His sympathies have always been with the democratic party, except that in county and town ofiices he aims to vote for the best men, regardless of party. He is a Mason, and was the secretary of Corinthian Lodge, No. 205, A.F. and A.M., five successive years, and junior warden three years. Mr. and Mrs. Hendershot have one daughter.

Samuel Bunker, farmer and stock raiser. Paw Paw Grove, was a native of Maine, born in Penobscot, February 10, 1820, son of Stephen and Lucy (Page) Bunker. Till twenty-two his work was farming, carpentering and lumbering, with a moderate allowance of schooling. He came first to Lamoille, in Bureau county, Illinois, but remained there only about two years, meanwhile purchasing from O. W. Bryant a claim in Lee county on the north side of Four-Mile Grove. In the fall of 1844 he went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where, during a stay of three or four months, he underwent three fevers, and was compelled to borrow money to defray the expenses of his homeward passage. After some ten years at the carpenter and joiner trade, in the counties of

Bureau and La Salle, he left these parts for the pineries of Wisconsin, Being a '' down-easter," he was an unusually valuable man to handle a team in the timber. On one occasion ten men with five yoke of oxen tried in vain to haul out a heavy balance-beam. Bunker took the same team and only one man, and in two hours accomplished the task. He was there some three years. It was about 1858 that he came to his land in Lee county, where he still resides. The farm comprises 168 acres just at the edge of the grove; two overflowing perennial springs render it a valuable stock farm. On December 27, 1861, he was married to Cordelia N. Bryant, sister of Hon. O. W. Bryant. They have three children : Sarah A., born August 5, 1862 ; William E., July 24, 1866, and Lillie A,, April 2, 1870. He is a republican, and never known to be " on the fence." He and his wife are membei's of the Free Baptist church at Four-Mile Grove.

John M. Jacoby, farmer and stock raiser. Paw Paw Grove, born at Franklin county, Pennsylvania, June 27, 1822, was the son of John and Mary (Mace) Jacoby. In his thirteenth year he was bereft of a kind and tender mother. At twenty-one he went to the carpenter's trade, and in winter evenings also taught music, thus following both till after his marriage, March 6, 1848, to Miss Cynthia J., daughter of Francis T, JSTeir, of Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsj'lvania. In 1851 they moved to Peoria, Illinois ; was there a year, at Peru the next year, and at Princeton two years, then moved to their present farm at the northeast corner of Four-Mile Grove. Here, by hard labor well applied, Mr. Jacoby has made a good farm. It contains 250 acres, and is well adapted for stock raising. The buildings are first-class, and the indications of well-directed husbandry appear on every hand. They have three children : John Edgar, a farmer on the Mendota road ; Francis S. and May Bell, both at home. For twenty years he has been a member of the Wyoming Presbyterian church at Cottage Hill. He is a democrat and a union man most emphatically.

Heney Lewis, liveryman, Paw Paw, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1828. His father, Henry, was a carpenter by trade, but in quite limited circumstances, so that the subject of our sketch had little or no schooling. Indeed, at twenty-one he was hardly able to write his own name. Since then, however, he has learned to read quite well, and is said to be well versed in the scriptures. In 1850 he was married to Jane Taylor. In 1851 they moved to Seneca county, Ohio, and next year to Miami county, where he farmed till 1856, when they emigrated to Illinois. In the spring of 1857 he bought a fiirm of eighty acres near Twin Groves; this he still owns. His wife died in 1874. His second wife was Elizabeth Fisk, of Malugin's Grove. In 1878 he bought out Charles Pulver, since which time he has been in the livery business at Paw Paw, doing a good business. Since his second marriage three children have blessed their home : Raymond, William Henry, and Caroline.

Geoege W. Lindsey, Paw Paw Grove, a practical butcher of remarkable experience, with an established reputation for all departments of his business. Born at Attica, Wyoming county, New York, April 12, 1843, the eldest son of George W. and Rhoda (Hamlin) Lindsey, our subject started for himself in the meat and stock business at the age of twenty, in Walworth county, Wisconsin. He was married September 24, 1863, to Elizabeth M. Phillips. In 1865 he changed the base of his operations to Whitehall, Michigan, thence in 1867 to the plains of Texas, where, in the cattle trade, he failed and lost everything, save his indomitable, restless spirit. On Christmas-day, 1869, he came to Paw Paw, and the next spring again engaged in the butcher business. Two years later he built the first market ever put up in this village. After a stay of about four years at Paw Paw he went to Chicago into the live stock commission business, and opened two markets, one at the corner of Thirty-first street and Indiana avenue, the other at Forty-third and Halsted streets. Of this experience he says, " Too many irons in the fire lost." Not discouraged, on March 15, 1876, he started for the Black Hills, arriving May 4, and leaving there September 20 for Paw Paw, bringing with him eighteen j^ounds avoirdujyois weight of native gold. He immediately built his dwelling-house on maple street, and erected a brick building on Main street opposite the Detamore House, for a market. Selling the latter to B. J. Wheeler, away he goes to the San Juan valley, secures a joint interest with Lester Potter, of Paw Paw, in three dififerent mines; returns, buys the market he now occupies, and opens again in his regular business. One year later the western fever attacks him again, and away to Idaho and Montana, whence, after a six-weeks' stay, he returns again from this his latest and tenth trip across the plains. He sa3's " to Alaska will be his next journey." Mr. Lindsey has surely heeded the advice of Horace Greeley - " Go West " ; but contrary to Poor Richard's saying about the rolling stone gathering no moss, his business is simply immense. Mr. Lindsey was married September 24, 1863, to Elizabeth M. Phillips. Their two children are Edwin Gallaway and Nellie Gertrude. He is a Mason and a democrat.

William M. Geddes, editor and proprietor of tiie Paw Paw "Herald," inherits both linguistic taste and mechanical genius from his father, Robert Geddes, of Araboy, a man proficient in the use of six languages, and for twenty years master mechanic in the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad Company. With such a parentage, we are not surprised to find the subject of our sketch at the printer's case at fourteen, and in the editorial chair at twentj-one. William was the fourth child in a family of seven children, all of whom and both parents are still living. Zanesville, Ohio, was his birthplace and August 21, 1856, his birthday. But that same year the family moved to Amboy, Illinois. At eleven William entered the high school, and at fourteen the office of the Amboy " Journal," So small of stature was he that he had to stand on a box a foot and a half high to reach the case, yet in two montlis' time he was able to take the case of a regular journeyman printer, and in six months, instead of getting boys' pay, he received good printers' wages. He was in this office some four years, while it was owned successively by Corbus & Stimpson, William Parker, and William H. HaskelL Close application beginning to tell on his health, he clerked a few months for W. B. Andrus & Son. Back again at the "Journal " office, he was about this time laying his plans for his business career, and we are not surprised tliat he determined to invest first in education. As a student he was an indefatigable worker. After drinking from the Pierian spring as deeply as his means would allow, he came to Paw Paw in February 1878, and purchased the " Herald " office from its founder, K. H. Euggles. April 14, 1880, he married Jennie M. Parker, daughter of his former employer, William Parker. That Mr. Geddes found a helpmeet indeed, may be infei-red from the fact that her ancestry on both sides for generations back were printers. Her father is well known as a veteran in the editorial corps, and she herself is not unacquainted wath the art of successfully using the pen and the scissors. For three years she was a teacher in the Mendota High School. When Mr. Geddes assumed the management of the office at Paw Paw, the "Herald" was in its infancy and with less than one hundred subscribers, but the books now show 900 subscribers, and the prospect is good for 1000 at the beginning of the year 1882.

James W. Mayor, harness-maker and dealer, Paw Paw Grove, born at Dayton, Ohio, May 1, 1850, is the only son of William and Sarah (Seville) Mayor. In the spring of 1855 his parents brought liim to Paw Paw, Illinois, where all the surviving members of the family still reside. His father, sensible of his own lack of early advantages, was anxious his son should have a good, substantial education, and kept him at tlie Paw Paw school till he was fifteen. But James developed a mechanical turn of mind, so at fifteen he began learning harness-making, continuing his studies at school in the winter seasons. In this way he is said to have made very commendable progress. In the fall of 1869 he bought out the business, and has since carried it on in his own name. He is doing a good business for a place of this size, receiving orders from those who know his work, as far away as Iowa,

Nebraska, and California. October 17, 1870, he was married to Juliett Madison, youngest daughter of James and Mary Madison, of Paw Paw, Illinois. They have had four children : Jessie Yiola (deceased), Harry Edgar, Elmer A. and Genevieve. He is an Odd-Fellow, has passed through all the offices in Anchor Lodge, is now its representative to the Grand Lodge, and is also chief patriarch in Paw Paw Encampment. Polities, republican, in faith and practice.

Wilson C. Bryant, eldest son of Hon. Obed W. and Lucy (Lindsey) Bryant, was born at Four-Mile Grove, in La Salle county, November 26, 1843. Was there about ten years, till his parents moved just across the line into Lee county, to a farm at the northeast corner of the same grove. He attended school in the home district, at Lee Center, at Mendota, and in the winter of 1864-5 at Wasioja, Minnesota. He also taught several terms. In 1869 he purchased the Burrill farm on Cottage Hill, in Wyoming township. On March 12, 1872, he was married to Terressa A. Blee. Wilson C. Bryant and his excellent wife are very nicely fixed on a beautiful farm on Cottage Hill, amid groves and hedges, and with a pleasing prospect around and before them. Wilson C. Bryant is the eldest son of Hon. Obed W. Bryant. His mother was Lucy Lindsey. He was born November 26, 1843, at Four-Mile Grove, near the county line, but in La Salle county. He was there about ten years, till his parents moved across the line into Lee county to a farm at the northeast corner of the same grove. His school advantages were quite good. He attended more or less at Lee Center, Mendota, and Wasioja, Minnesota. He also taught a few terms. Finally, in 1869, he purchased his present farm, known as the Burrill farm, and on March 12, 1872, was married to Terressa A. Blee, also of Cottage Hill. Joseph M. Blee, her father, is reputed to have been one of the best men ever in Wyoming. His death, on January 16, 1873, was caused by injuries received but a few hours before by being thrown from a wagon. He came to Cottage Hill in 1855; was a native of Pennsylvania.

Pierce & Barringer, druggists, are the gentlemanly proprietors of the Palace drug-store. The firm is composed of Philip S. Pierce and William H. Barringer. Mr. Pierce is an enterprising farmer and stock raiser. He was born in East Paw Paw, De Kalb county, October 8, 1847, and is the son of Charles, who settled near Paw Paw Grove in 1845. On February 20, 1869, Mr. Pierce was married to Miss Addie E. Barringer, daughter of John Barringer. He remained on his father's place until November 1874, when he came to the Nettleton farm, which he now owns. This is situated in Sec. 35, Willow Creek township, and comprises 145 acres of choice land, well improved. One of the principal improvements is the substantial barn, 30x50, with

22-foot posts, erected the present season. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have three children : William Evert, Mary A. and Philip U. The junior partner, William H. Barringer, is one of the young business men of whom Paw Paw is justly proud. He was born at Poss' Grove, De Kalb county, September 30, 1850, and the eldest of three children of Jolm H. and Delia (Mulford) Barringer. Both of his ])arents died in the year 1854:, when AVilliara was but four years old. His grandmother Barringer took the three little orphans to her home in Paw Paw and brought them up. AVilliam was with her twelve years at this place, then eight j^ears with her at East Paw Paw. During these j^ears he had made good use of his time both at school and on the farm in vacations. In 1874 they moved to a farm near Smith's Grove, and the following year he spent in Kansas. In the spring of 1881 he united in partnership with Mr. Pierce, as successors to the firm of Palmer & Stetler, in the drug business, the duties of which mainly devolve on Mr. Barringer.

Elijah Swakthout, farmer. Paw Paw Grove, was born August 16, 1820, in Luzerne county, Pennsylvauia, and son of Joshua and Elizabeth (Yan Loon) Swarthout. The name Yan Loon traces back to original settlers on the Hudson. His grandparents on his father's side were from Holland. Elijah was the oldest of a family of eleven children, and brought up on a farm of 200 acres, he naturally became inured to those habits essential to a good farmer. He was also counted good as a scholar for the time and place. He remained on the old homestead till he was twenty-eight. December 25, 1848, he was married to Sarah E. Brown, daughter of Solomon Brown, of the same place. In the spring of 1856 they emigrated to Illinois, and purchased ninety acres of the old Russell Town farm west of Paw Paw. This he sold in 1861, when he bought eighty acres in Sec. 6, and in 1870 another form just west of the village, and in 1877 added to his real-estate acquisitions the tine property on Grummond street, where he now resides. He was in company with his son-in-law, James H. Thompson, five years, ending July 15, 1881. He was Methodistically inclined, in politics a democrat, and was a charter member of the Wyoming Grange. In 1880 a promising son, Frank M., died of consumption at the age of twenty-two. He has four children living: Catharine J., Mrs. James H. Thompson ; Clarrissa, Mrs. B. J. Wheeler ; Rasselas, and Solomon Brown, His estimable wife died September 11, 1881, after a lingering illness of nearly a 3'ear.

W. C. RuNYAN, clerk, Paw Paw Grove, son of Joshua and Elizabeth (Swisher) Runyan, M^as born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1829, and with them moved to Lycoming county in 1833. In the spring of 1850 he, with his parents, moved to ^""orthumberland county, where his father died in the fall of 1853. In October, 1854, he was married to Clara MeKnight, of Montour county, and the following spring they moved to Lee county. Here he rented land from time to time in different parts of the county. His wife died Januar}^ 19, 1859. In the spring of 1860, at Meriden, Illinois, he was married to Mrs. Martha Litts, daughter of Abraham Rosenkrans, of Wj^oming township. In the spring of 1863 he bought a farm near Franklin Grove, but sold it in the spring of 1866, and bought in Wyoming two miles south of Paw Paw. His health failing in 1871, he was compelled to desist from all labor. In April, 1873, he engaged in the mercantile business at Paw Paw, continuing till December 1879. In January, 1881, he commenced clerking for L. Potter & Co. From the age of eighteen Mr. Runyan was a member of tlie Baptist church. For the past five years he has held a prominent position in the Lee county Sabbath-school work. He has two daughters, Elizabeth C. and Lydia. William Mekrell, senior partner in tlie firm of Merrell & Co., Paw Paw Grove, was born November 29, 1829, in Canton, Hartford county, Connecticut. His parents were Capt. Alanson and Lucy L. (Mills) Merrell, and his grandfather was a revolutionary soldier. After the usual schooling, supplemented by a term at East Hampton, Massachusetts, he was married, November 28, 1848, to Louisa A. Daniels, of Canton, and in 1851 moved to Steuben county, New York, where he followed farming and lumbering. Volunteering in 1862, he was mustered in as 1st lieutenant of Co. D, 141st reg. New York Inf.; was promoted to the captaincy in July 1863 ; to the office of major in 1864; was acting-colonel under Sherman on the march to the sea, the campaign of the Carolinas, and ihe final march to Washington, where he was mustered out. He was in about fifteen general engagements and skirmishes, including Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Resaca, New Hope Church, - a hard battle at arms' length, - and Kennesaw Mountain. For one hundred days was either in engagements or under fire on the skirmish line. Of the entire regiment, when it came out of the noted battle of Peach Tree creek, there remained to report for duty only Capt. Merrell, a Capt. Baldwin and one lieutenant, of all the field and line officers, and but sixty-one privates. Moving west in 1866, he farmed fourj^ears in Lake county and five years near East Paw Paw, when, in 1875, entered into copartnership with John Edwards and Henry Goodyear under the firm name Wm. Merrell & Co., and engaged in general merchandising at West Paw Paw. The next year this firm erected the Centennial block. In 1878 Mr. Merrell sold his interest to Goodyear and moved to Kansas; returned the following year and renewed possession of the farm he had previously sold ; in the fall of 1880 united in copartnership with P. N. Edwards and Will- iam Siglin, under the firm name William Merrell & Co. Mr. and Mrs. Merrell have three children : Henry William, Yiola Louise, and Frank Warren. The entire family united with the Methodist Episcopal chui-ch in 1866. Frank is now taking a college and theological course at Evanston, Illinois. Like most soldiers, Mr. Merrell is republican.

Henry H. Harrington, justice of the peace of the town of Wyoming, and dealer in groceries, crockery, china and glassware. Paw Paw Grove, youngest son of Amasa and Annie (Arnold) Harrington, was born at Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence county, New York, February 9, 184:1, and with the family moved to Paw Paw in fall of 1843. Till fourteen he was subject to a lung difficulty that confined him at home, hence his primary ec^ucation was received from his mother. But this was necessarily quite limited, so much so that at the age of sixteen, on entering the intermediate department of Prof. Perrin's school at Paw Paw, he for the first time studied arithmetic, geography, and grammar. His progress was rapid, however, for at the end of two years he was appointed as teacher in the department which he had first entered, at the same time continuing his studies in the high school department. Meanwhile his health had rapidly improved till at the date alluded to he was strong and rugged. He taught school in Lee and Ogle counties most of the time till 1865, then went to Chicago and graduated at Eastman's Commercial College. He followed teaching and writing in law and in abstract offices in Ogle county till the fall of 1869, when he went to Ohio and was married to Amelia P. Hosmer, of Parkman, Geauga county, New York, daughter of Sylvester B. and Mary (Foster) Hosmer (deceased). Here he remained six years on his wife's farm. In 1875 he moved to Paw Paw and purchased the store and dwelling-house combined, which he has since occupied. He joined the Methodist Episcopal church in the winter of 1876, under the pastorate of Rev. J. Hartman, since which time he has been a consistent member and church-laborer, holding the office of recording steward and secretary of the board of trustees. He was elected justice of the peace in 1877 and reelected in 1881. He is a republican and a Mason, and a strong advocate of temperance. The three children are Mary Maud Anna, Madge Amelia, and Hosmer Hartman.

T. H; Stetler, physician and surgeon. Paw Paw Grove, son of John Stetler, was born at Wilkesbarre, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, August 6, 1847. The district school, high school and academy each in turn contributed to his literary education till the fall of 1867, when he came west to Malugin's Grove, Illinois. Taught school that winter at Adrian's school-house, the next winter at the Edmonds school-house, and the next three years at the Grove. He now began the study of materia medica and chemistry with view to fitting for the medical profession, and in the fall of 1872, in company with Dr. Palmer, engaged in the drug business. He sold out in the spring of 1874, and in the fall began taking lectures at the Chicago Medical College ; graduating there March 21, 1876, he settled down in the practice of medicine at Paw Paw. That one so young should think to compete for a share of the practice in a place where inefficiency and quackery would never be tolerated, and with physicians of age, experience and established reputation, is evidence of his confidence in the genuineness of his qualifications, and his practice, already quite extensive, shows that the people are partakers of that confidence. December 31, 1870, he was married to his estimable wife, Libbie Rosencrans, youngest daughter of Abram and Elizabeth Rosencrans, who has contributed largely to his success in life. Dr. Stetler was raised a Mason in Brooklyn Lodge in 1870, and became a member of Corinthian Lodge, ISTo. 205, in 1873. He is now secretarj^ of this lodge. In 1873 he was made a Royal Arch Mason in Rochelle Chapter. The doctor is a communicant in the Presbyterian church of Paw Paw, and superintendent of the Sabbath-school. He is a man of decidedly republican views, and an earnest worker in the party.

George T. Noe, farmer. Steward, son of Cummings Noe, was born on the farm at present owned by B. F. Ellsworth, formerly the early homestead of his parents. May 21, 1855. He attended the district schools of the neigliborhood, and finished his studies in the Western College in Lynn county, Iowa. On March 5, 1878, he was married to Mrs. Caroline Yetter, daughter of Gotleib Hochstrasser. These parents have two children : Eda Levilla and Mary Martha. Mrs. Noe is a member of the Evangelical church, and Mr. Noe belongs to the United Brethren, and is a republican.

B. J. Wheeler, proprietor of Oak Grove Creamery and Clieese Factory, Paw Paw Grove, was born near Bangor, Maine, May 14, 1837. His parents, Jacob and Martha (Drake) Wheeler, had their home three miles from the nearest school-house, and bears being numerous in that region young Wheeler was prevented from receiving early instruction in the schools. About 1845 the family came west and settled at I^auvoo, in this state, and a few years later removed to Paw Paw Grove, where the subject of this notice attended the South Side High School one year. His father in 1851 purchased from John Pelcher 100 acres of land, the same on which his creamery is now situated. This finally passed from his father's ownership, and several times changed hands until it was at last bought by Mr. Wheeler. In 1856 our subject went to Minnesota, and was engaged three years in farming, peddling, and other pursuits. In 1859, having returned to

Illinois, he set out iinmediatel}^ for California, and engaged in mining in Plumas county. After three years' steady employment at this business he went to freighting supplies from Marysville to Humboldt valley, a distance of 300 miles, fort}^ being across a desert. Prices charged for everything seem incredible. Potatoes sold at the mines for $15 per bushel, and Mr. Wheeler received $8.40 for the hauling. For hay to feed his team over night he paid at one time $90. The transporting of one load brought him $1,800. Once just before reaching the end of his route an axle broke and he had to go forward to get it repaired. Tins occupied half an hour and cost $20. When he returned he got three Indians to help him change his load, in which were fifteen pounds of fish4iooks, and $1,800 of county scrip in a small yeast can. After resuming his way he missed his hooks and scrip, and returning to the river where about 100 Indians were encamped, was not able to persuade them to give up the plunder. He subsequently obtained a reissue of the scrip. He remained in California four years, and on his return purchased the farm on which he is now living. Here he engaged in farming, trading, shipping stock, and making brick. On January 1, 1873, he was married to Clara Swarthout, daughter of Elijah and Elizabeth Swarthout, of Paw Paw. In 1874 he bought the grist-mill at the grove, and in 1877 traded it to Frank Nickey for the store now owned by George Lindsey, and the stock of hardware which it contained. The latter he sold to H. M. Wilson in July, 1879, and the same year took a trip with his famil}^ through Idaho, Utah and California, consuming four months in this journey. A drive of 300 miles behind a mule team was included in their experiences. If it was tedious it did not wholly fail of being ludicrous. Mrs. Wheeler says the mules were exasperatingly slow, unless the driver was drunk. She was the only lady passenger among fourteen men. The bottle of exhilarating fluid never went dry, and her thoughtful fellow-travelers proffered it with religious constancy whenever it went around. Mr. Wheeler erected the Oak Grove Creamery and Cheese Factory in 1880. This represents an industry of prime importance in Wyoming township, and b}^ his enterprise he has added not a little to the material prosperity and consideration of the community. He is a I'epublican and an Odd-Fellow. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler have had three children : Addie Kyle, Frank, and one " over the river."

A. G. Fowler, farmer, Paw Paw Grove, eldest son of Noah and Polly (Whitaker) Fowler, was born at Cambridge, New York, March 3, 1826. The most of his schooling was obtained in the three last winters of his minority, and he made so good use of his meager privileges, and such progress in his studies, that he qualified himself to be a teacher and was employed in that capacity three years. In 1851 he spent six months in the State of Virginia. In the summer of 1853 he came to Illinois and settled at West Aurora, and had his home in that vicinity six years. Being a man of large ingenuity, to whom the use of tools is a natural gift, he worked successively in the sash factory, reaper shop, and as a carpenter on the depot and other buildings of the Ciiicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad. This road was constructed to Mendota the year of his arrival. While living here he was married, , February 19, 1856, to Kancy B. Deuel, of his native town of Cambridge. From Aurora Mr. Fowler moved to Waterman, De Kalb county, where he lived six years farming and holding office. He was constable four years and collector two terms. In the spring of 1865 he came to South Paw Paw, and the next year occupied his present farm. He has 10 acres whose productiveness is recognized as considerably above the average. Deacon Fowler is a leading fruit-grower in this part of the country. He is a consistent and prominent member of the Baptist church of Paw Paw, and has filled the office of deacon nearly a dozen years. Politically he was first a "silver gray" whig, whatever that may have been, and is now a supporter of republican principles. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler have three children, Mary, Isaac L., and Lois, all at home.

Jesse Brittain, deceased, was a man of a limited education, economical in his habits and possessed of a marked degree of energy. His untiring industry and good management resulted in a competence for himself and a considerable estate for his heirs. He was born August 8, 1808, in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. In early manhood he was employed mainly in lumbering. In 1829 he was married to Miss Margaret Lemons, of Muncie, in the same state. In 1810 he moved to Beaver, on the Ohio below Pittsburgh, returning in 1813. He built himself a saw-mill and followed lumbering till the summer of 1850, when he came west and settled at Cottage Hill, in Wyoming township. Here he resided till his death, in 1875. His widow, after a happy companionship of nearly fifty years, is with his son, John T., on the old homestead. The following were the children : Charles W., John T., Lavina, Sarah (deceased), George (killed at the battle of Perrysville, October 8, 1862), and Zebreth, now farming at Racebnrg, on the Solomon river, in Kansas. The eldest son, Charles, was always fond of travel, and gratified this taste in a large measure. He joined Col. Aspinwall's company, which built the Panama railroad, and from the isthmus went to San Francisco in 185L He worked in the diggings until the discovery of gold in Australia, in 1854, when he repaired to that distant land, and during his travels visited Yan Dieman's land and most of the islands in the Pacific ocean. He returned to California and went to work again in the mines. When Montana began to excite notice he was attracted there by the supposed inducements of that fresli field of discovery, and when last heard from was on liis way to Alaska. John, too, seems to have had a love of change and incident, but this partook quite largely of the business character. At the age of twenty-one he left New York, April 5, 1854, for California via Aspinwall and Panama and landed in San Francisco May 1 ; followed mining and prospecting for mines for twelve years, mostly in the counties of Mariposa, Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Klamath. He took part, in several of the mining excitements, particularly the Silver Mountain and Frazer river mines in British Columbia in the year 1858. He resided a short time at Victoria, on Van Couver's island, located at Humboldt baj' in California, and followed ranching from 1866 to 1870, when he returned by rail. In his individual enterprises he was usually successfal, but he lost heavily at times by stock company investments. He now resides on the homestead at Cottage Hill, and owns a 160- acre farm in Viola.

Charles Pierce, farmer and stock raiser. Paw Paw Grove, was born in Pennsylvania, February 3, 1813, followed the business of moulder in a foundry some years at Kingston, Pennsylvania, came west to Paw Paw township, arriving September 17, 1845, and moved to Wyoming November 15, 1856. He has erected several buildings, and is now the owner of several farms. He i-esides on the "Bogus" Gates place, but a few rods from the site of the old pioneer cabin of David A. Town, built in 1834. He has been twice married ; his first wife was a Goodwin ; by her he had three children : Thomas J., born August 16, 1836; John, born September 15, 1838, and George S., born January 22, 1841. On February 10, 1842, he was married to Catharine Sine; they have six children: Everett, born March 28, 1843, Emma S., May 17, 1845, Philip S., October 8, 1847, Mary A., November 11, 1850, Florence, December 29, 1852, Maria O., June 16, 1855. Philip owns a good farm in Willow Creek township, and is partner in the firm of Pierce & Barringer, at Paw Paw.

James H. Thompson, dealer in general merchandise, Paw Paw, is the son of William and Nancy (Hai'diug) Thompson, and was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, April 8, 1843. His father died when James was but four years old. When eight 3^ears of age he came with his mother to Paw Paw, and was educated in the graded school of the three Paw Paws. In 1855 his mother married John Colvill, with whom James has remained to this date, except when in the service of his country. He enlisted in 1862, in Co. K, 75th reg. 111. Vols., under Capt. Geo. Ryan, and during his three years' service was never out of the rebel confederacy. He was in action at Perryville, Stone Kiver, Chickamauga, and Lookout Mountain, and while on a reconnoissance at

Tunnel Hill, February 25, 1864, a singular accident befell him. At the top of Rocky Face Ridge, a tree a foot througli was shot oif at the height of forty feet and fell with terrible force upon him, crushing his musket in three pieces and almost fatally w^ounding him. Fortunately he recovered and was with his regiment on the Atlanta campaign. Being a clerkly penman he was detailed to a clerical position in the inspector-general's office. A testimonial from Capt. Nelson G. Franklin, acting assistant inspector general, speaks in nnequivocal terms of Mr. Thompson. It is dated at JSTashville, June 12, 1865, and says, " He has performed his duties in my office satisfactorily, and though complicated and arduous as the work has been, he has gained for himself an excellent name as a business man, and won the upbounded respect of all with whom he has had official relations." On his return from the army he farmed awhile, and in 1869 united in copartnership with Mr. Colvill, In 1875 they sold out to William Merrell & Co., and Mr. Thompson moved onto his farm, which he had purchased two years before from Isaac Harding. In the fall he took charge of the clothing store here owned by Metz & Jackson, of Amboy, and in the spring of 1876 engaged in business for himself in the Colvill building. He is one of the school trustees of the town of Wyoming, has served as collector, has been at the head of most of the republican movements, and at the present time is a member of the Lee county central committee. He has been repeatedly solicited to accept a nomination for county office, but his business preventing he has constantly declined. He is a member of Anchor Lodge, I.O.O.F. On March 28, 1867, he was married to Miss Catharine J. Swarthout, eldest daughter of Elijah J. Swarthout, of Paw Paw.

JoHi«r Allex, mechanic. Paw Paw Grove, was born in Hartford, Maine, July 13, 1813. His grandfather, Thomas Allen, deserted the British army on the northern frontier in the time of the revolution, and had several dangerous escapes from capture, while under pursuit, by the red-coats. At one time his pursuers passed the house in which he was concealed, and at another crossed over the bridge beneath which he was hiding. Making his way to Machias, Maine, he took up his residence there, and was one of the first six residents in the place. He was chosen town clerk and sino^ino- teacher, and in course of time was called to other posts of influence and respectability. He reared a son, John Allen, who became the father of eight children. From the notes at command the writer is unable to mention more than three of these, John, Thomas and Benjamin, the first the subject of this sketch. The last two were for a long time in the service of presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Thomas being employed by the two seven years. Among a number of presents bestowed upon these men by the elder Adams was a trunk which he had carried with him to Europe when abroad as a i-epresentative of the United States. This was a sacred souvenir of him whose lips of burning patriotism whispered at the portal of death the glorious words, " Independence forever." John Allen lived in Maine until he was eighteen ; he then went to Boston, and soon after embarked on the ocean and was engaged in sea-taring nearly eight years. After this he worked a year or two in a last factory in Boston, and in 1840 emigrated to Ohio and hired out to a Mr. Gunn, a man of Scotch lineage, to work on his farm. On July 25 he was married to his employer's danghter, Sophia Gunn. Three years afterward Mr. Allen returned to Boston with his family and went to work again in the last factory, where he continued to be employed ten years. In 1855 he moved west, settled in Willow Creek township, and farmed four 3'ears. He next brought his family to Paw Paw, where they have resided np to the present time. For awhile he was engaged in carpentering; then in 1860 he joined the rush to Pike's Peak, but soon returned without improving his fortune. In 1862, being forty-eight years of age and legally exempt from military duty, he nevertheless heard the call of father Abraham for three hundred thousand more, and not able to shut his heart to the appeal of his country in the crisis of her peril he enlisted in Capt. Cogswell's Independent Illinois Battery of Light Artillery, and was attached to the war-worn 15th Army Corps. The service bore heavily upon him, and it was not long till he was obliged to come home to recruit his health. When he repaired again to the army he took with him his son Horace, who was mustered into the United States service at Springfield, in 1861. Taken suddenly ill once more, our subject was sent home to receive that care and nursing so sadly wanting in the army, and while there his son, only seventeen, was killed hy the explosion of a caisson. His remains are interred at Huntsville, Alabama, Mr. Allen returned to his command, and served the remainder of his term of three years. During most of the time he was serving on detail as artificer. Having returned to civil pursuits, he nearly lost his life by falling thirty feet from a barn he was building to the ground. In 1870 Mr, and Mrs, Allen made public profession of religion, and are now members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They have five living children, three of whom have also arrived at a saving knowledge of divine truth. T. T. Allen is in Kansas, Charles H. and Eugene are at Paw Paw, Weltha is married and living at Piano, and Eugenia is at home with her mother. Mr. Allen has twice been collector of Wyoming township. In 1877 he went into the manufacture of the Excelsior spring-bed bottom, and was agent for