OTTO ANDERSON, of the firm of Peterson & Anderson,
merchant tailors, Galesburg, was born in the parish of
Jalaryd, State of Smollan, Middle Sweden, Sept. 18, 1849. He
is the son of Anders and Britta Christine (Gustafson)
Johnson. The parents had a family of six sons and four
daughters, of whom two sons, Otto and John, came to
this country, the latter of whom is a merchant tailor of
Janesville, Wis. The subject of this sketch learned his
trade at Bargo, Sweden, and followed it in his native land
for a few years. In 1873, he came to Chicago, where he
remained working for one year and then went to Rock Island,
IL., where, after spending several months at his trade, he
removed to Monmouth, this State. In 1876 he came to
Galesburg, and six years later established himself in the
business which he is at present following; the establishment
is second to none in the city. Mr. Anderson was
married in Galesburg to Miss Eva, daughter of B.
J. Nelson, Esq., a builder residing in Galesburg. She
was born in Smollan, Sweden. Their family has been blest
with a son, Joab Anders Edwin, born Feb. 7, 1883. Mr.
Anderson is a pushing business man and a clever artist in
his profession. He is a member of the I.O.O. F., also of the
K. of P. and of the Business Men’s Club of Galesburg.
HARMON BROWN, the gentleman whose name heads this
history is the son of Alfred G. and Mary (Murdoch) Brown,
natives of Kentucky. He is a prominent farmer on section 30
of Henderson Township. His parents married and first settled
in Breckenridge County, Ky., and thence emigrated to Knox
County, IL. It was about the fall of 1830 when they took up
their abode in Henderson Township, where they lived up to
the date of their demise. His father died Oct. 8, 1865; the
mother on March 29, 1869. They had a very interesting family
of children, ten in number, of whom our subject was the
third in order of birth, all of whom arrived at the age of
man and womanhood except one which died in infancy. Alfred
Brown, a younger brother, enlisted in the 82nd
IL. Vol. Inf. under Col. McMurtry. He
received an honorable discharge.
Harmon Brown was born in Breckenridge County, Ky.,
Nov. 28, 1825, and was only five years old when he came with
his parents to Knox County. His early life was spent at
home, and during this period he received a good
common-school education. He subsequently attended Knox
College for nearly three years, and on leaving that
institution crossed the plains to California, with a drove
of cattle. He was absent from home for 18 months, when he
returned via the Isthmus to New York, and then to
Illinois. Not long after this he became associated with
W. A. Wood, in the grain trade, and they afterward
engaged in general mercantile pursuits. He remained in the
grain and mercantile business for four years before selling
out. Six years later, during which interim he resided at
Galesburg, he returned to Henderson Township, where he has
since been occupied in farming, and is now the owner of 165
acres of good land, all of which is valuable and the greater
portion tillable.
He was married in Kelly Township, Warren Co, IL.,
June 19, 1856, to Mary S. Adcock, daughter of
George C. and Narcissa H. (Christian) Adcock. His wife’s
grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier and
fought under Washington when only 15 years old. He was one
of those noble old time men who sought honor first,
believing that all other good things would follow. His
demise took place at the advanced age of 84 years. The
parents of Mrs. Brown were natives of Virginia. In 1842 they
came to Warren County and settled in Kelly Township, where
the old gentleman died Jan. 11, 1866. His wife still
survives him. By their happy union four children were born,
of whom Mrs. Brown was the second. Her birth took place in
West Virginia Dec. 26, 1834.
The subject of this biography is a gentleman of
quiet demeanor and broad common sense. He is not an aspirant
to office, though nevertheless carefully observing all
movements in his vicinity affecting the public welfare. Mr.
Brown was Deputy Sheriff under S. W. Brown, an uncle
of Harmon Brown, now lives in Vancouver, Washington
Territory. He was appointed Land Receiver by Abraham
Lincoln, with headquarters at the above place.
Harmon Brown, for several years, has held the
office of School Director and Trustee, a post to which his
talents are eminently adapted. He is a leading member of the
Masonic fraternity, in which he is in excellent standing. He
is a member of Vesper Lodge, No 584, Galesburg; Horeb
Chapter, No. 4, Rio. As a Republican and earnest politician
he has from time to time displayed a discretion which has
been favorably appreciated by his co-workers in politics.
CAPT. JAMES L. BURKHALTER, (SEE HIS BIO ALSO IN
THE 1899 SECTION goes to his wife's name) President of the Farmer’s Bank of
Galesburg, and Treasurer of Knox County, is the son of
David and Marion (Marks) Burkhalter. He was born in
Allentown, Pa., April 15, 1835, and was the eldest in a
family of seven sons and four daughters. His parents were of
German descent and in their home spoke only the language of
their ancestry, so their children learned no English until
they were old enough to attend school. The names of the
brothers and sisters were Henry P., Savina, David F.,
Susan E., William, Mary A., Wayne, John, Anna E., and
Charles M. Henry P. and Wayne are
deceased; Susan E. became the wife of William Smythe
and they have one son—William B.; William married
Miss Clara Beard, and they are the parents of three
children; John married Miss Anna Carkhuff. The
balance of the children reside on the old homestead.
James L. Burkhalter was educated at the Saegerstown
Academy, taught school a short time and studied law with a
view to professional life. From some cause, however, he
abandoned this idea and went to Meadville, Pa., and there
worked at the carpenter’s trade until he was 21 years of
age. He landed at Galesburg in April 1856, where he
prosecuted his trade until the outbreak of the Civil
War. After visiting various places he settled down at
Maquon, and July 18, 1862, he received a commission from
Gov. Yates authorizing him to raise a company of
volunteers. As recruiting officer, he raised Co. F for
the 86th IL Vol. Inf.
and Co G for the 83rd
IL. Vol. Inf. In camp at Peoria, Aug. 27, 1862, he
was placed in command of Co. F, 86th
Reg, and served his country faithfully and well
until June 1865. He was on the staff of Gen. Dan. McCook
at the time that officer was killed, and was subsequently on
the staffs of Gens. Davis and Morgan, discharging in
the meantime the various duties of Provost Marshal,
Adjutant-General, Inspector-General, etc. During his whole
connection with the army he was never absent from the post
of duty. At the siege of Atlanta, while on the staff of Gen.
Morgan, and acting as one of the topographical engineers, he
was captured by a guerrilla, but his Orderly, observing the
situation, rushed upon the “reb” with a force that changed
his victory into defeat, and in less than two minutes the
whilom captor was being led captive into the lines of the
Union Army. While acting as staff officer on the staff of
Gen. Morgan, at Bentonville, N.C., the Captain, while
carrying dispatches, was compelled to cross a swamp, wading
in water up to his waist, under the fire of both armies,
and, strange to say, he almost miraculously escaped
unharmed.
Capt. Burkhalter left the army with the commission
of Major, but, failing to muster as such, he feels that he
is scarcely entitled to that rank. At the close of the war
he returned to Maquon, where he was for several years
engaged in the lumber business, carrying on in the meantime
the work of contractor and builder, and accumulating from
various sources quite a sum of money. He became a
stockholder and Director in the Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Bank
in 1882, and in January following was chosen President of
that concern. While a citizen of Maquon he held the office
of Police Magistrate for 16 years. He was elected Treasurer
of Knox County in 1875, and re-elected in 1877, 1879 and in
1882. He has long been recognized as an able Republican
worker, and has represented that party as member of the
County Central Committee for 12 years. He moved into
Galesburg in 1884, where he has since resided.
Capt. Burkhalter is a member of the I.O.O. F. and
A.F. & A.M., Eminent Commander of Galesburg Commandery, No.
8, and member of Peoria Consistory.
He was married at Maquon, Dec. 2, 1858, to
Martha E. Adle, native of Genesee County, N.Y., and of
German descent. Mr. and Mrs. B. have become the parents of
eight children, namely: Charles F., Henry L., James,
Dessie, John, Nellie, Robert, and Alvin P. Charles F.
married Miss Osa Hoffman, daughter of James D. and Sarah
Hoffman. They have one child, named James.
Also
biography and portrait from 1878 history of Knox Co.,
Il.
JOHN E. ERICKSON, of the firm Walberg & Erickson,
grocers, 5 and 7 Prairie St., Galesburg, was born in the
western part of Sweden, Aug. 1, 1854, and with his parents,
Charles and Kate (Peterson) Erickson, came to America
in 1867. He had attended school in his native country,
acquiring the rudiments of an education in his mother
tongue, and after coming to Galesburg applied himself to the
study of the English language. He attended night schools and
business college, thus fitting himself fairly for anything
that he might undertake. He spent about a year and a half in
Missouri, and two years in Chicago, and the rest of the time
he has been in Galesburg.
For several years Mr. Erickson was employed as a
clerk with Messrs. Olson & Hofflund in the grocery business
and in 1881 engaged in the enterprise now receiving his
attention.
He was married at Galesburg, Oct. 23, 1881, to
Miss Saverina Mellquist, a native of Sweden, and there
have been born to them two children—Aloin and Frederick,
and the former died at the age of two years. Mr. Erickson is
a member of the A.O.U.W., pays no attention to politics,
attends strictly to his own business, and finds it
profitable; in fact, he has not only worked his own way, but
has aided those nearest to him. He is known as a man of
integrity, and has the confidence and esteem of the public.
PETER ERICKSON, a first-class locomotive engineer
of the C., B. & Q. R.R. lives in Galesburg. He was born in
Sweden, Nov. 13, 1839, and with his parents, Erick and
Annie (Peterson) Erickson, came to America in 1854. The
father of Mr. Erickson was a hard-working farmer, and after
coming to this country made a nice home for his family,
consisting of four sons and three daughters.
Peter was on the farm until 17 years of age, when
he began to work on the C., B. & Q. R. R. as an
engine-wiper. At the end of three months he went to firing,
and at the expiration of three years he was placed in charge
of an engine. He made his first run as engineer in 1861 and
since July of that year has pulled nothing but passenger
trains. He has had but three accidents and never killed a
passenger.
Twenty-eight miles west of Ottumwa, Iowa, in the
summer of 1869, his engine, with himself and fireman, fell
through Coal Creek Bridge, a distance of 28 feet, and into a
seething flood that completely submerged the locomotive,
carrying the brave engineer to the bottom, where he remained
he never knew how long. When he recognized himself he was
clinging to a willow, with nothing upon his person except
his boots, one shirt-sleeve and his vest. At this writing
(July 1886) Mr. Erickson is pulling the celebrated fast
mail, every alternate day, between Galesburg and Ottumwa,
running about 3,000 miles per month.
He is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers, a Knight of Pythias, and, with his family,
belongs to the Lutheran Church.
He was married Nov. 11, 1865, to Miss Ella
Swanson, at Galesburg, and their living children are
Anna Elnora, Hattie Olivia, and Lillie Esther. Fannie E.
died at the age of one year and a half, and Arthur T.
at the age of eight years.
JOHN A. LEIGHTON, a goodly number of the prominent
and respected citizens of Knox County, as well as wealthy
farmers, came hither from Scotland. Of this nationality is
the subject of this notice, residing on section 13, Sparta
Township, where he is actively engaged as an
agriculturist. He was born Feb. 10, 1829, of William and
Isabelle (Ironside) Leighton, likewise natives of
Scotland.
The parents emigrated to the United States in 1834,
and for four years were residents of New York City, where
his father was engaged for two years as a clerk in a
wholesale store, the firm being Chalmers, Jones & Hizer,
after which he was employed by Horace Greeley as
bookkeeper, and worked for him two years at that
occupation. Mr. Greeley probably gave him the same advice
which he subsequently made public: “Go west, young man,
and grow up with the country,” for in August 1838, we
find Mr. Leighton settled in Knoxville, where he had
previously purchased a farm, and on his arrival settled on
it and diligently engaged in its labors, hoping that the
plow would prove more remunerative than the pen, and such
indeed proved to be true, at least in his case. He remained
on this place for two years, when he removed to the old Knox
farm and there lived for two years. He then returned to New
York City and clerked for the same dry goods firm he had
formerly worked for, and remained with them a little over a
year. Returning to this county, he engaged in the mercantile
trade at Knoxville, which he followed for eight years, when
he sold out and moved to his farm on section 12, Copley
Township. He had by this time become the owner of 900 acres
of land, all in a body, and on this he lived and labored
until his death, in 1861, his wife having died in 1836. He
formed a second matrimonial alliance in 1839, and the wife
died in 1867. Mr. L. had a family of six children—John,
Mary A., James, Lockhart, William, and Charles. Lockhart
died in 1840, and Charles in 1853. James was
killed in the battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863,
holding, at the date of his death, the position of
Major in the 42nd IL.
Vol. Inf.
John A. Leighton lived with his parents until he
attained the age of manhood, prior to which time he was
engaged in working on the farm and teaming from his home to
Chicago and Peoria, and when opportunity would permit,
attending the common schools. After leaving the parental
roof-tree, he rented a farm on section 16, Copley Township,
which he continued to cultivate until he purchased 160 acres
on section 17 of the same township.
He was married in 1850 to Miss Jessie Russell. In
1864 he made an exchange with his brother William for
his interest in the old homestead, which he now owns, and on
which he is living at this writing. In 1854 Mr. Leighton
built a steam saw-mill on his farm, which cost him
$3,000. In 1869 he engaged in the hardware business at
Oneida village, and continued in mercantile pursuits for
five years. He then disposed of his business, and since that
time has been engaged in stock-raising, his specialty being
horses.
Mr. Leighton has a fine farm of 365 acres, and in
both branches of his vocation is meeting with that success
which energy and perseverance are sure to bring. He is a
Republican in politics, and had held the office of Road
Commissioner, and also of Constable and School Director, for
10 years.
Mr. and Mrs. Leighton became the parents of four
children, whom they named Isabelle, William, Ellen and
Jessie. The wife died in 1859, and Mr. Leighton was a
second time married, when Mrs. Jane Brant became his
wife, March 21, 1860. She is a daughter of David and
Margaret (Gregg) Young, natives of Scotland. Her parents
came to America in 1833, and located in Canada, where they
lived one year, when they went to New York City, where in
1840, her father died. Her mother came to this State in
company with Mrs. Leighton, and died here in 1868. Of the
latter union a son, James, has been born.
Mr. Leighton, of whom we have given a brief
biographical notice, as a representative of the agricultural
class of Sparta Township is the peer of any. His past has
been an honorable one, and he is today one of the respected
and foremost citizens, not only of his township, but of Knox
County.
J. W. LINDQUIST, came to Galesburg direct from
Christianstadt, Sweden, in 1869, and has here since followed
his trade, that of a blacksmith, which he learned in his
native country. He was born Oct. 10, 1843. His mother came
with him to America, and is living here at this writing
(January 1886). The Lindquists, that is, the immediate
family of the subject of this sketch, are now and have been
for generations remarkable for their physical
proportions. J. W. is himself a Hercules; his father was of
ordinary size; his brothers are powerful men, and his
grandfather, who by the Swedish system of naming was known
as Swan Jos, was about seven feet tall, broad and
muscular in proportion; he could span 17 inches with thumb
and finger of one hand, and lived to attain the age of 98
years.
Coming first to Galesburg, J. W. Lindquist sought
employment with Frost & Co., and was with the firm for ten
years in charge of a blacksmith department. In 1879 he
formed a partnership with Mr. Norine, where he is a
present “hammering iron into gold”.
He was married at Galesburg, June 6, 1879, to
Miss Ella Bergland, a native of Sweden, and they have
one child—Lillie Estella. Mr. and Mrs. L. are members
of the Lutheran Church.
GEORGE W. MEAD, among the prominent and
influential farmers of Knox County is the subject of this
brief biography, who is known as being active and
enterprising in his particular line of business. By industry
and energy, coupled with a determination to succeed, he has
from a very small beginning enlarged and added to his
possessions until today he may be rated among the best men
of the country. He is an accurate and able financier and has
the ability to execute whatever he begins.
Mr. Mead came to Knox County in February, 1862 from
Mercer County, IL., where he settled in Rio Township, after
first purchasing 80 acres of land. Here he began his work by
the erection of substantial farm buildings, commodious, neat
and attractive. He successfully cultivated and improved his
land, and is today the owner of 135 acres, most of which is
tillable and productive. He now reaps the benefit of
bounteous crops, and is known as one of the best and most
substantial men in the county.
The subject of our narrative was born in Chautauqua
County, N.Y., July 20, 1830, and lived in that State until
he attained the age of 13 years. He then went into
Pennsylvania, and remained four years, at the end of which
time he removed to Ohio, where he spent three years, and in
1854 came to Warren County, IL. Two years later he removed
to Mercer County, where he tarried for a short interval and
finally came to Knox County.
He was united in marriage with Miss Alvira,
daughter of Aaron and Hannah (Davis) Proctor, natives
of New Hampshire. Their nuptials were celebrated in Geauga
County, Ohio in 1853. Mrs. Mead was born in Weare, N.H., May
3, 1829, and is the mother of six children, as follows: Eugene,
Willis, Homer, Franklin, Ella and Loren. Eugene and
Willis are deceased. Mr. Mead is actively interested in
local and public affairs and fills many of the minor
offices. He has been Director in the school district for
some time; he takes part in political debates and is a
Republican in sentiment and vote.
STEPHEN OSBORN, whose parents were foremost in the
ranks of those brave pioneers who many years ago came into
the wilderness and by dint of their strong will and
persevering industry, coupled with uprightness of purpose,
began the work of improvement and caused the silence to be
broken by the sound of the hammer and the ax, is
distinguished as being the first white male child born in
Knox County. He has therefore been identified with its
progress, and resident in its now busy midst, and can look
back as he remembers the old, quiet days, and see the
changes that civilization has made.
Mr. Osborn was born at Henderson Grove, Aug. 9,
1830. His father, Alexander Osborn, was reared in
Indiana, where his parents were early settlers. The date of
his birth was April 25, 1802, and at the age of 27 his
second marriage occurred, he being united to Miss Ann
Hendricks, in the year 1829, and he soon afterward came
to Knox County. The journey was made overland, and reaching
his destination they first located at Henderson Grove, where
he lived a short time, then removed to Knox Township, and
bought a farm near the city. He lived on this for a short
time and then removed to the north part of the township and
purchased a tract of unimproved land, and after cultivating
it sold out and removed to Sparta Township. There he bought
a farm, which after a few years he also sold, and went to
the village of Wataga and bought property and lived until
1879. Again disposing of his property, he removed to
Frankfort, Kan., where his friends celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary and where his wife died in the fall of
1879, and four months later he followed her. His second
matrimonial alliance was blest by the birth of seven
children. There are two children living of the first
marriage—Elizabeth, widow of William Collins, who
lives in Kansas, and E. Jane, widow of George Pitman,
who lives in Lyons, Kan. The children of the second marriage
are as follows: Stephen, our subject; Dorinda,
wife of Samuel Vangilder, who lives in Kansas; Robert K.
who lives in Marshall County, Kan.; Lucinda, wife of
Martin Key, now deceased; Andrew J. who lives in Knox
County; Thomas who lives in Union County, Iowa; and
William who is at present City Marshal of Girard,
Kansas.
Stephen Osborn of whom we write was reared in his
native county, and educated in the public schools. He was
married April 27, 1851 to Elizabeth Vangilder, who
was born in Indiana and is the daughter of Samuel and
Nancy (Stephenson) Vangilder. They have five children
living—Alexander, who resides in Orion, Henry County;
Ella, wife of W. W. Thompson, whose home is in Dallas
County, Iowa; Samuel, Edward, and George W. Anna
died April 15, 1886, aged twelve years and eight months.
Mr. Osborn has lived in Knox County, with the
exception of ten years spent in Mercer and Henry Counties,
all his life. He bought the place he now owns in 1882, and
it is situated on section 3, in Knox Township. He is at
present engaged with his son, Edward, in man’s
original calling, that of gardening and fruit-raising, and
they maintain the reputation of furnishing as fine fruit and
plants as can be obtained anywhere. Both Mr. and Mrs. Osborn
are hospitable and popular neighbors and friends, and good
cheer is found around their pleasant hearthstone. They are
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and show forth in
their daily lives the gentle attributes of a noble religion,
as exhibited in the life of Christ Jesus.
GEN. PHILIP SIDNEY POST, whose portrait we give in
this album, is a native of Orange County, N.Y., and was born
March 19, 1833. He is a son of Gen. Peter Schuyler Post,
a soldier of 1812. His mother, before
marriage, was Mary Coe, and like his father was a
native of New York State. The Posts came from Holland
originally and the Coes from England. The senior Gen. Post
was a farmer by occupation. He married Miss Coe in Rockland
County, N.Y. in 1820 and of the two sons born to them,
Philip Sidney was the younger. The family came to Galesburg
in 1854, and here the father died in 1861. His mother is yet
living at the age of 86 years, and resides with her son.
The youth of the subject of our sketch was spent at
school, and he graduated with honors from Union College,
Schenectady, N.Y., in the Class of 1855. He afterward was a
student at the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Law School. He
subsequently began the practice of his profession at
Wyandotte, Kan. At the outbreak of the war he came to
Galesburg, entered the service of the United States, and
became Second Lieutenant of Co. A., 58th
IL. Vol. Inf. From Second Lieutenant he was promoted
to First Lieutenant and Adjutant, then to Major, Colonel and
finally to Brigadier-General, in which capacity his name is
linked and identified with the history of our country, and
will go down to posterity immortalized in the printed pages
detailing the incidents of the great American conflict.
While in the service he participated in many of the
hardest-fought battles in the south and southwest. He was at
Pea Ridge, Perryville, Stone River, Nolensville, the
Tullahoma campaign, Chickamauga, the Atlanta campaign and
many other minor engagements not designated in history as
regular battles. At Lovejoy Station, the last battle in the
Atlanta campaign, Gen. Post had charge of a division, which
he handled so skillfully as to earn for himself honorable
mention. After recovering from the wound received at
Nashville he was stationed at San Antonio, Texas, where he
had command of 16 regiments of infantry. He left the
military service in February 1866.
Immediately after the terrible battle of Nashville
Gen. George H. Thomas filed at the War Department a
special report earnestly recommending Gen. Post’s
appointment as Colonel of the regular army. He said:
“Gen. Post is an active, energetic and
intelligent officer, and his bravery in battle is beyond
question. His capability and efficiency as a commander of
troops has been fully demonstrated.”
In a similar report addressed to the Secretary of
War by his corps commander, Gen. Post’s military record is
thus reviewed:
“I most respectfully and earnestly recommend
Brig. Gen. Philip Sidney Post as Colonel in the regular army
of the United States. Gen. Post entered the army as a Second
Lieutenant, but soon rose by his superior merits to
Major. He commanded his regiment in the obstinately fought
battle of Pea Ridge and was severely wounded. Shortly after
that battle he was promoted Colonel of his
regiment. Returning to the field, even before his wound was
recovered, he rejoined his regiment in front of Corinth and
was placed in command of a brigade. From that time to the
end of the war, Gen. Post’s career was an unbroken term of
arduous service, useful labor and brilliant actions. He
participated honorably in some of the most obstinately
contested battles and glorious victories of the war. In the
great battle and decisive triumph of Nashville, Gen. Post’s
brigade did more hard fighting and rendered more important
service than any like organization in the army. In the
grandest and most vigorous assault that was made on the
enemy’s entrenchments, near the close of the fighting on the
second day, Gen. Post fell, and, as it was at first
supposed, mortally wounded, at the head of his brigade,
leading it to the onslaught. A discharge of grape instantly
killed his horse under him and tore away a portion of his
left hip. I know of no officer of Gen. Post’s grade who has
made a better or more brilliant record.”
On the re-organization of the army the Secretary of
War informed Gen. Post of these recommendations and that
they were favorably considered, but as peace was then
established he decided not to remain in the military
service.
Immediately after leaving the army Gen. Post was
appointed to the Foreign Service. The following letter from
the Department of State fully explains the character and
nature of that service, and the reputation made therein
during a period of over 13 years:
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, March 19, 1881.
“Gen. Philip S. Post, Galesburg, Ill.—Sir: Your
letter of the 17th inst.,
requesting a brief statement respecting your reputation and
standing as an officer in the consular service, has been
received. In reply I have to say that it gives me great
pleasure to comply with the request. It appears from the
records of the Department that you entered the consular
service in 1866 as Consul at Vienna; that you were promoted
for your ability and fidelity to be Consul-General at that
place in 1874, and that you retired from the service by
resignation in 1879. An examination discloses that many
important duties, in addition to the more formal business of
your office, were entrusted to you during your long
connection with the Department, and they were performed in a
manner that commanded its approval and commendation. Your
reputation in the service and your character as a
representative of the Government were known to the
Department and in the service, and to the high opinion
entertained of your standing by my predecessor and the
officers of the Department may be added the testimony of
your colleagues and my own personal and official
acquaintance with the reputation which distinguished your
career abroad. It was a subject of much regret that
circumstances compelled your resignation, but in your
retirement from the service you carried with you the regard
and esteem of the Department, and the character of an
intelligent, capable and trusted officer of the Government.
“I am, General, your obedient servant, “JOHN HAY, Assistant
Secretary”.
Gen. Post returned to Galesburg in 1880, and since
1883 has been engaged in real estate. He was prominently
mentioned among the contestants for nomination to
congressional honors in 1884.
At no time in his life could it truthfully be said
that Gen. Post has been a politician, a wire-worker or a
time-server. When the people of the district shall come to
think that the army record and civil life of Gen. Post
warrant his election as their servant in any public trust
commensurate with his abilities, then, and not till then,
may it be said that he is a candidate for office. Gen. Post
has accumulated in his life no pecuniary fortune. As Colonel
and brigade commander, and as foreign representative, he
received no such salary as would enable him to store up
wealth. Instead of making money his army life naturally
produced a contrary result. Though contrary to our rule,
forbidding conclusions in reference to living men in
biography, the writer knows that he can truthfully say that
Gen. Post is a scholar of rare attainments, and at all
times, and under all circumstances a gentleman. Sometime in
1878, a prominent Southerner, transmitting some papers to
Gen. Post from Kentucky, took occasion to say in his letter,
among other things: “In the hour spent at my house, as
Buell’s army was passing, in the fall of 1862, you taught me
by your gentlemanly bearing and general discourse to lay
aside my sectional aspersions for the time, and do homage to
the high personal attributes and liberal sentiments so
signally manifested by you on that occasion.”
A Chicago Times editorial, of March 28,
1874, is here reproduced in further corroboration of the
foregoing conclusions of the writer:
“The American Consul at Vienna is an impetuous
son of Illinois, of more service to the country in a month
than many in a year. Free from humbuggery and devoid of the
nonsense of affectation, he has a cheery greeting alike for
the traveling millionaire and the penniless sailor.”
Gen. Post takes no stock in shams. He believed in
fighting the battles for the Union while there was an armed
foe, and with “the fury of the non-combatants,” of whom the
late Gen. Grant spoke as having gone into the fight too long
after the war was over, he has but little sympathy. He is a
plain, everyday sort of a man, with many original ideas,
which he always expresses elegantly, but, like Dickens, in a
language that all can comprehend.
As a public speaker he ranks high, his language
being choice and elegant, logic clear and forcible and his
manner pleasing, and the deep conviction he has of the
sentiments uttered carries with him the feelings and
sentiments of his hearers. Had we the space we could make
many choice literary selections from his speeches. He has
been the distinguished orator at many noted gatherings and
always wins great favor and applause.
Gen. Post is a married man. He married, May 24,
1866, Miss Cornelia A. Post, daughter of Hon.
William T. Post, of Elmira, N.Y. Their children are
Harriette H., Philip Sidney, and William Schuyler. He
attends the Episcopal Church, is Knight Templar in Masonry,
member-at-large of the Republican State Central Committee,
and Commander of the Department of Illinois, Grand Army of
the Republic.
AUGUSTUS E. REMIER, of the firm Remier & Linberg,
manufacturers of wagons and carriages, 108 South Prairie
Street, Galesburg, was born in France, Sept. 28, 1828. He
came to America with his parents, Peter and Catherine
(Glatt) Remier, in the year 1832. The family resided for
several years at Utica, N.Y., where the senior Mr. R., who
was a farmer, died at the age of 62 years, in the year
1861. They reared seven sons and three daughters, Augustus
being the eldest.
Our subject acquired a common-school education and
learned the cabinet-maker’s trade while a boy, and followed
it about six years. He then left Utica and at another city
manufactured piano cases for ten years; returning then to
his old home, he worked for five years at wagon and carriage
making, and in 1865 came to Galesburg and engaged in his
present business.
Mr. Remier was married at Fort Plain, N.Y. in 1852,
to Miss Martha Rickard, a native of that place, and
their children are Charles, a carriage trimmer, at
Peoria; William, machinist at the C., B.& Q. shops at
Galesburg; Daisy (Mrs. Joe Simcoskey) and Lizzie,
deceased in October 1882.
Mr. Remier and his partner deservedly stand at the
head of the wagon and carriage making and repairing business
at Galesburg.
JOHN M. SIPES, there are many successful and
well-to-do farmers in Knox County, and the township of Lynn
certainly has its quota. Prominent among those who have
obtained success in life through their own energy and
perseverance is the subject of this notice, residing on
section 2, Lynn Township, where he is engaged in his chosen
vocation, together with that of the raising of stock, giving
special attention to Holstein cattle and a high grade of
swine. Mr. Sipes came to this county in 1862, since which
time he has been a resident of Lynn Township. He owns a good
farm of 130 acres, on which he has good improvements, and
his land is under an advanced state of cultivation.
John M. Sipes was born in Fulton Co., Pa., Jan. 31,
1840. His father, John Sipes, was a farmer by
vocation, and a native of Pennsylvania, of German
ancestry. In Bedford County, that State, her native place,
the father of our subject married Mary Barton. After
the father’s marriage, he was, for some years, engaged in
farming in Bedford County, and while a resident there was
elected three terms to represent the people of that county
in the State Legislature. He was a gentleman of considerable
ability, and possessed the happy faculty of making and
retaining friends wherever he resided. He was a strong
Democrat, and was an active worker for the success of that
party until his death. He was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. He came to this county in 1857, but
located over the line, at Galva, in close proximity to which
place the father engaged in agricultural pursuits, and died
on his fine homestead Jan. 14, 1881, aged 82 years. The
mother still survives, and is living with the subject of
this notice. She has attained the venerable age of 88 years
and is stouter and more healthy than many of her sex at 40.
Mr. Sipes was 17 years of age when his parents came
to this State, and had received his education in the common
schools prior to that time. He lived with his parents in
this county until his marriage, which took place in Henry
County, Dec. 20, 1876, Miss Emma A. Hayward becoming
his wife. She was born in Lawrence County, Ohio, Sept 11,
1852, and was a daughter of O. G. and M. Hayward,
natives of Ohio. Her parents were married in that State and
came to Illinois about 1855, settling in Victoria Township,
this county. Later they moved to Walnut Grove Township, and
still later to Henry County. They now reside in Newton,
Harvey Co, Kansas. Mrs. Sipes received a good education in
her early years, and at the age of 22 began the profession
of teaching, which she followed until her marriage. She has
borne her husband four children, one of whom is
deceased. The record is as follows: John H., William F.,
Mary O., and Charlie, deceased. Both heads of the family
are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Sipes is
School Trustee of his township, and in politics a Democrat.
GEORGE AVERY, one of the oldest and most highly
esteemed citizens of Knox County is Mr. George Avery, of
Galesburg. He was born in Columbia County, N.Y., Dec. 2,
1802. His parents, William and Phebe (Throop) Avery,
were of New England ancestry, although slightly tinged
with foreign blood. The former died in the east when our
subject was a young man. They had a family of eight
children— George, Nathan, Clarissa, Hyde T., William
T., Deborah, John T., and Cornelia. Nathan was a
physician, and married a Miss Rivers of Tennessee. Both
are deceased, leaving one son, William T., who has
served in Congress from Tennessee. Clarissa
married Silas Churchill and both she and her husband are
deceased. They left a family of five children, three
boys and two girls. Both Hyde T. and William T.
are also deceased, the latter dying in Indiana. Deborah
married John Kendall, the celebrated thermometer-maker
of New Lebanon, N.Y., where they now reside; three
daughters have been born to them. John T. married
Sarah Whiting, and resides in Cleveland, Ohio, and has a
family of five boys and two girls. Cornelia
became the wife of William Ball, and is living in New
York. Alternating the duties of a farm life with
attendance at the common school, our subject passed his
younger life in the vicinity of New Lebanon, N.Y. Early
manhood found him possessed of a very fair English
education. He was about 34 years of age when he came
west, and the year 1836 found him upon the ground now
occupied by the city of Galesburg. Indeed he was one of
the first members of that society known as the Early
Settlers’ or Pioneers’ Association, the object of which
was to found a Christian College. It will be highly
proper in this connection to speak of him as one of the
most enterprising, industrious and active workers that
ever entered Knox County.
The farm on which he lived up to 1867 was that
piece of property which he purchased in the beginning,
joining the corporate limits of the village, and he has
come as near witnessing every step of the growth of this
place as any living man. In the year last named (1867)
he turned his farm over to his sons and retired to
private life. Through a citizenship of full half a
century, mingling daily with people who so rapidly
settled around him, transacting business with hundreds,
aye, with thousands in the aggregate, it is remarkable
that not once in his life has he ever been summoned to
court to answer the complaint of any man. He began life
a poor boy, and has since inherited nothing except the
reward that always eventually descends to the
industrious and persevering. He was so fortunate as to
add to his possessions a wife of many worthy attributes
and a helpmate in its truest sense, one of those women
whose price is above rubies. Together they have labored,
and age finds him possessed of an ample competency. He
was active among the early railway organizations of this
place, and in fact all public enterprises of merit ever
found in him a substantial friend and a strong advocate.
When Mr. Avery came to this county, the trip
was made by the usual overland route, requiring eight
weeks’ time to make it. A gentleman by the name of
Col. Mills brought a colored boy about 12 years of
age with him from New York. Mr. Mills dying, his widow
requested Mr. Avery to take charge of the boy, which he
did and was compelled to pay taxes upon him the same as
he did upon his horses. Mr. Avery, being a strong
Abolitionist, wrote back to New York for the boy’s free
papers, to show that he was not taxable property.
Mr. Avery’s marriage was celebrated Jan. 24,
1839, in Knox County, when he was united in holy
matrimonial bonds with Miss Seraphina Princess Mary
Phelps, a native of Massachusetts. She was the
daughter of Col. Aaron N. and Clarissa (Root) Phelps,
natives of Westfield, Mass. The Phelps family is one of
the oldest in New England. Two brothers landed in
America May 30, 1630, coming from England on the ship
“Mary and John”, commanded by Capt. Squibb. Aaron
N. Phelps was a colonel in the War of 1812. Mrs.
Avery was born Jan. 19, 1815 and was the eldest of a
family of three children. The others, who are deceased,
were Mrs. Sybelana Kilbourn and Royal A. N. Mrs.
Avery came to this county in 1836 with her mother, her
father having died six years before. They settled in
what is now Galesburg, where the mother died in 1856.
Mr. and Mrs. Avery have had born to them seven
children, as follows: Robert H., President of the
Avery Corn-Planter Company of Peoria; John T. a
farmer of Rio Township, this county; Mary, now
Mrs. Rev. William R. Butcher of Wataga; Cyrus M.
of Avery & Co. of Peoria; Phebe T. now living at
home; and George, a farmer of Kansas. Fredrick
Arthur died when about three years old. Robert H.,
the eldest son, married Miss Sarah P. Ayers; they are
the parents of five children—Minnie E., Fredrick A.,
Sadie T., Cornelia, and Ellen K. Robert enlisted
in Co. A, 77th
IL Vol. Inf. in 1862, and served until
the close of the war. He was taken prisoner and placed
in Andersonville prison, where he remained for about
eight months. He is the inventor of the Avery
Corn-Planter, as well as other useful implements, and
owns a controlling interest in the factory at Peoria. John
T. took to wife Mrs. Flora Olmsted. Mary
became the wife of Rev. William R. butcher, and they
have five children—Harry E., Mary Z., Etha, William, and
Irene. Cyrus M. married Miss Minnie E.
Bartholomew, and to them have been born three
children—Elvira P., George L, and Grace O. George
married Miss Ada Wood, and they are the parents of three
children; the name of the only one living is Edith L. Cyrus
M., who is now Secretary of the Avery Corn-Planter
Company, graduated from Knox College, standing No. 1 in
his class.
Mr. and Mrs. Avery are consistent, sympathetic
Christians, and are connected by profession of faith
with the First Church of Christ. Mr. Avery is a stanch
Republican and Prohibitionist.
***The portraits of no worthier couple are given
in the Album than those of Mr. and Mrs. Avery. need to
put online.
ALFRED H. BLICK, recorder of College City
Lodge, No. 214, A.O.U.W., and salesman in the noted dry
goods house of G. A. Murdoch, Galesburg, IL, is a
native of Stroud, in the county of Gloucestershire,
England. He was born July 27, 1846, and came to America
in 1869. He was educated in England, and there served an
apprenticeship at the dry goods trade, something unheard
of in this country. His first position in this country
was as a clerk in a large dry goods house on Broadway,
New York, where he remained about eight months, coming
thence direct to Galesburg, he having made arrangements
with Mr. G. A. Murdoch, as salesman, and with whom he
has since remained.
In 1882, at the organization of College City
Lodge, of which he was a charter member, he was chosen
their Recorder, which position he has since held.
Mr. A. H. Blick was married on Thanksgiving
Day, 1872, at the Episcopal Church in this city, to
Miss Marion Dick, also a native of England, and
their children are named respectively Alfred James,
Bertha Elizabeth, and Dick Ernest Blick.
CAPT. BENJAMIN F. HOLCOMB, Justice of the
Peace. The subject of this sketch was born at Westport,
N.Y., July 24, 1821. His parents, Dr. Diodorous and
Sylvia (Loveland) Holcomb, were natives of the
States of Vermont and New York respectively, and of
English and Welsh extraction. They reared to man and
womanhood ten sons and five daughters, and buried two
infants. Dr. Holcomb was a surgeon in the War of
1812-14, and practiced his profession as long as
he lived. He was a prominent member of the Methodist
Church. He buried his wife in 1839, at the age of about
50 years; he lived to be upward of 80 years of age,
dying in Essex County, N.Y. in 1860.
B. F. Holcomb was educated reasonably
well at the common schools and academy in his native
county, and when about 16 years of age began clerking in
a store at Whitehall, N.Y. He subsequently learned the
tailoring trade. In 1844 he set up a merchant tailoring
establishment for himself, in Schroon, N.Y.; in 1848 he
returned to his native town, and remained until 1855, at
which time he came to Galesburg, where he was employed
as “cutter” for the succeeding three years. In the
spring of 1859 he was elected City Treasurer, which
office he resigned in July 1861, to enter the United
States Army. September 1st of that year, he
was mustered in as Captain of Co. K., 45th
IL. Vol. Inf. and served for three years and
four months. Early in July 1862, he was placed by
detachment as an Aid-de-Camp upon Gen. Logan’s
staff, from which he was transferred, in the fall of
1863, to Gen. Leggett’s staff, where he remained
until he left the service. Before his detachment upon
staff duty he participated in the battles of Fort Henry,
Fort Donelson and Shiloh, receiving at the last named
engagement a gunshot wound in his right side, which
removed him from duty about three months, and from which
he never fully recovered. Subsequently he took part in
the battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion
Hills, Big Black, the siege of Vicksburg, Kenesaw
Mountain, Atlanta and Sherman’s march to the
sea. Leaving the service at the close of the war at
Savannah, Ga., in 1865, he then returned to Galesburg,
and for 16 consecutive years discharged the duties of
Constable, three years of the time filling also the
office of Deputy Sheriff. In 1882 he entered into a
contract with the authorities for furnishing lights and
lamps for the outskirts of the city, to which he has
since devoted much of his time. In April 1885, the
people by a large majority placed him in the office of
Justice of the Peace, where he will be found, probably,
in the spring of 1889.
May 14, 1844, Mr. Holcomb was married in Essex
County, N.Y., to Miss Elizabeth A. Towner, a
native of St. Johns, Canada East, and of their eight
children we have the following brief memoranda:
Watson T. is an ornamental and landscape painter, at
Dillon, Mon.; Theodore C. is a ranch owner in
Kingman County, Kan.; Edwin P. is a farmer in
Rice County, Kan.; Arthur B. is a locomotive
fireman on the C., B. & Q.R.R.; Ella A. is the
widow of Mr. C. C. Converse; Frances I., Mrs.
Eugene S. Regnier; Libbie M., Mrs. L. A.
Greenwood of Galesburg; and Hattie P., Mrs. I. G.
Mair of Kingman County, Kan.
Captain Holcomb is a member of the G.A.R. and
politically votes with the Republican party.
CHARLES W. LEFFINGWELL, Dr. Leffingwell,
Rector of St. Mary’s School, Knoxville, was born Dec. 5,
1840, and is the son of Rev. Lyman and Sarah Chapman
(Brown) Leffingwell, natives of Connecticut. The
paternal grandfather, Joseph Leffingwell, was
born in Norwich, Conn., and was a lineal descendant of
Lieut. Thomas Leffingwell, leader of the colony
that founded that place.
Rev. Lyman Leffingwell, father of our
subject, was a farmer boy, and obtained his higher
education after he had attained the age of
maturity. After a long and useful ministry in the
Methodist Church, he died in Knoxville, in 1880, at the
age of 71.
When a youth, Charles Wesley Leffingwell
prepared for Yale College, by attending Temple School,
New Haven, but entered the Sophomore Class of Union
College, Schenectady, N.Y. His health being somewhat
impaired by close application to study, he came to this
State, whither his parents had preceded him. Soon after
his arrival here, and when but 17 years of age, he
engaged in teaching, having 60 pupils under his charge
near Dundee, Kane County. He afterward taught one season
in the Military Institute, at Kirkwood, Mo., and then
went to Galveston, Texas, in company with Rev.
Benjamin Eaton, with whom he lived for several
years. While there he held the position of Deputy
Surveyor of the city and county, and taught a select
school. At the commencement of the War in 1861, he
returned to this State, and matriculated at Knox
College, Galesburg, where he graduated with honors in
June 1862. From his Alma Mater he received in 1875 the
honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.
On the 23rd of July 1862, Dr.
Leffingwell was united in marriage with Elizabeth,
daughter of John Francis, formerly of Kent,
England, and at that time a resident of Chautauqua
County, N.Y., a real estate dealer and Notary
Public. Mr. Leffingwell soon after became Vice-Principal
of the Military Institute at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., being
under Mr. C. B. Warring. At the expiration of
three years he began to prepare for the Episcopal
ministry, under Rev. Dr. Traver of Poughkeepsie,
and completed his theological course in the seminary at
Nashotah, Waukesha Co, Wis., where he graduated in 1867,
receiving the degree of B. D. After his ordination by
Bishop Whitehouse, having served four months as
assistant to Rev. Dr. Rylance of St. James’
Church, Chicago, he was elected tutor at the Nashotah
Theological Seminary. While a student there he had
supported himself and family by organizing and
conducting a select school, which he continued to carry
on successfully while a tutor in the seminary. Before a
year had expired he was called from his tutorship to
establish and take charge of a diocesan school for girls
in Knoxville, this State, and accordingly St. Mary’s
School was opened on Monday in Easter Week, A. D. 1868.
The school building as it then stood was
offered to the diocese on condition that a boarding and
day-school be established and successfully maintained
for a period of five years. Under Mr. Leffingwell’s
control the school within four years outgrew its
accommodations, and received from Hon. James Knox,
LL. D., a gift of $10,000 for the enlargement of the
building. In addition to this sum about $4,000 was
contributed by the Church, and $12,500 was advanced by
the Rector for the improvement of the property. The
building was completed and liberally furnished with
everything requisite to make the school successful and
attractive.
Early on the morning of Jan. 4, 1883, St.
Mary’s School building and all its contents were
consumed by fire, but all the pupils were successfully
removed without the loss of life. During the same month,
be it said to the credit of him who was at the head of
the institution, the school reopened in Ansgari College
building, to which an annex 25 X 100 feet had been
constructed and furnished in 20 days. The new St. Mary’s
building was begun in May 1883, and in October of that
year the school reopened, thoroughly equipped.
St. Mary’s School in known throughout the
entire country, and has continued to receive the
commendation of the bishops and clergy, with assurance
of approval from many patrons in various parts of the
country. The school now numbers 125 pupils, about 100 of
whom board in the institution. There are at this writing
16 officers and teachers, and about 20 domestics
employed. The business of the school involves the
expenditure of $40,000 annually.
In 1879 Dr. Leffingwell became editor and
proprietor of the Living Church, a weekly
religious newspaper printed at Chicago, and the organ of
the Protestant Episcopal Church, and has since conducted
that paper with signal success, residing the while at
Knoxville. The paper has now the largest circulation of
any paper in the Episcopal Church.
Dr. and Mrs. Leffingwell have become the
parents of seven children—Anna and Bertha, who
died in infancy, and Alice, Warring, Ernest, Hortense
and Gertrude, living.
GEORGE LOY, foreman of the car blacksmith
shops of the C., B. & Q.R.R. Co., of Galesburg, was born
near Emmittsburg, Frederick Co, Me., Sept, 17, 1823. His
parents were George and Louisa (Shattuck) Loy, of
Maryland, who came of a long line of ancestry in that
State. Mr. Loy is descended from a family of artisans,
many of whom are well known in that capacity in the
east. He completed his trade in his native State, and
upon attaining the age of manhood, he went west and
located at Mount Gilead, Ohio, where for seven years we
find him successfully occupied. Again he was attacked
with the western fever, and removed to Iowa, where he
spent about seven years at Mount Pleasant. In 1862 he
came to Galesburg, and after working for the Frost
Manufacturing Company for two years, accepted a position
with the C., B. & Q. R. R. Co., and has been worthily
connected with that corporation since that time.
George Loy formed a matrimonial alliance in
Pennsylvania, the lady of his choice being Miss
Elizabeth Plank. Mr. and Mrs. Loy have had born to
them a son and two daughters, namely, Levy Plank, S.
Alice R., and Amanda A. E., and have buried S.
Alice R. Mr. Loy and family attend the Presbyterian
Church, and he is a worthy Mason and Odd Fellow.
EDWIN CHAUNCY OLIN, Superintendent of the
bridge-building department of the Galesburg Division of
the C., B. & Q.R.R., Galesburg, was born in Albany,
N.Y., Dec. 3, 1825. He is a son of Jeremiah and
Salomi (Gage) Olin; the former was a millwright by
profession, but in his later years carried on farming
and stock-raising, and was a son of Giles Olin, a
native of Wales. Col. Giles Olin, grandfather of
our subject, settled in Bennington, Vt., and
distinguished himself in the Revolutionary War,
in which he
received a colonelcy. He died at Bennington,
Vt., at the ripe old age of 96 years, leaving a family
among whom are some clever professional people. They
were of strong physical ability, a characteristic of the Olins.
Salomi Gage, the mother of our subject,
was a daughter of William Gage, a native of
Dutchess County, N.Y. and whose progenitors settled
there at an early period in the history of that place,
and besides being characterized by longevity, they have
furnished many of our merchant people.
The subject of our sketch was the 2nd
son and 4th child of a family of seven. He
grew to manhood in Albany, N.Y., where he learned the
trade of carpenter. In the year 1853 he came west and
located at Chicago, where he spent some time with the
Chicago & North-Western Railway. In 1855 he began work
for the C., B. & Q.R.R. Co., and located at Aurora, at
which place his family remained several years. His
removal to Galesburg was made in 1873 and there he has
remained continuously.
Mr. Olin was married in Schenectady, N.Y. to
Cynthia Maria, daughter of David Fero,
Esq. The result of the union of Mr. Olin and Miss
Fero has been two daughters, both now grown to
womanhood. Minerva, the eldest, and wife of
Howard Bridge, Galesburg, has become the mother of two
sons—George and an infant unnamed. Ida, the
younger daughter, is the wife of Charles Goldsmith, a
farmer of Iowa, and is the mother of one daughter, named
Gertrude.
In 1873 Mr. Olin purchased 360 acres of
valuable land, upon which his son-in-law, Mr. Goldsmith,
resides, 160 acres of the same being in Taylor County,
Iowa, and 200 just across the State line, in Nodaway
County, Mo. He is a worthy member of the Masonic
fraternity, and with his family attends worship at the
Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Olin has in his official
capacity been very fortunate, inasmuch as he has never
suffered an accident to his craftsmanship since he has
had the superintendency of bridges. He is still
seemingly as active and vigorous as ever, and takes hold
of the work with the same energy as he did in the days
long ago. He is a genial gentleman and respected
citizen.
DAVID SPENCE, Superintendent of the foundry
department of the G.W. Brown & Co. Corn-Planter Works at
Galesburg, was born at Moncton, New Brunswick, Jan. 8,
1844, and was one of the nine children (six sons and
three daughters) of James and Catherine Spence,
also natives of New Brunswick.
Our subject learned the trade of molder in his
native place, and from 1862 to 1864 was employed in some
of the largest foundries in Boston. Before accepting his
present position, which he did April 15, 1882, he was
one year Superintendent of the Metropolitan Railway
Shops; one year Superintendent of the Sturdevant Blower
Works foundry; one year Superintendent of the New
England Glass Burial Case Company of Thompsonville,
Conn.; ten years Superintendent of the Amherst (Nova
Scotia) Stove and Machine Works; and from 1876 to 1880,
inclusive, was proprietor and manager of the D. Spence &
Co. Stove and Machine Works, Annapolis, Nova Scotia.
Mr. Spence was married at Chelsea, Mass, Dec.
24, 1863, to Miss Margaret Jost, a native of Nova
Scotia, and daughter of Rev. J. V. Jost, native
of Nova Scotia, pastor of the Wesleyan Methodist
Church.
His eldest son, D. Walter Spence, at
this writing (January, 1886) is attending Jefferson
Medical College, Philadelphia, and has for the past two
years been an officer of the McLean Insane Asylum,
Somerville, Mass. His daughter, Florence E. is
attending college at Galesburg. Mr. Spence is a member
of the Presbyterian Church, and holds an official
position in the Independent Order of Good Templars.
A.F. STARR, was born at Vestervik, Sweden,
April 10, 1838, and came to America in 1860, landing at
Galesburg August 10 of that year. His parents died in
the old country when he was but a child, and as they
left no fortune he was dependent thereafter upon his own
efforts for a livelihood. The common schools of Sweden
afforded him a pretty thorough education in his native
language, and since coming to America he has not been
derelict in the study of English.
While a youth, Mr. Starr learned the trade of a
shoemaker, and it may truthfully be said that he has
since “stuck to his last”. While at St. Paul,
Minn., in the fall of 1864, he enlisted as a private
soldier in Co. C, 1st
Minn. Vol. Inf., and served till the close of
the war. From first to last he was with his regiment and
took part in their every service. The regiment was
connected with the Army of the Potomac and saw much of
the terrible struggles of that department. At the close
of the war the members returned to St. Paul, were
mustered out, and Mr. Starr soon afterward came to
Galesburg and resumed work under an old employer. Close
attention to business, strict sobriety and reasonable
economy have with Mr. Starr, as with all others who have
practiced these virtues, brought their reward.
On Oct. 24, 1860, at the city of Galesburg, Mr.
Starr was married to Miss Wilhelmina Cedarholm,
who with her parents came to America in the same ship
that brought Mr. Starr first to our shores. The two
children born to them are named respectively Minnie
and John Frederick. The family are consistent
members of the Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church, and
Mr. Starr is a Select Knight in the A.O.U.W.
EDWARD J. TYLER, too young a man in years to
have made much personal history, is yet by reason of his
enterprise and marked industry entitled to
representation in these pages. At the head of one of
Galesburg’s most meritorious manufacturing enterprises,
and one indeed that should be of the highest interest to
the people of Knox County, the business card presented
by Mr. Tyler reads briefly as follows: “The Galesburg
Plating Works manufactures the finest quality of
quadruple-plated flatware, and restores old and worn
plated goods to the semblance and worth of new. Factory,
29 North Kellogg Street, Galesburg, IL.”
In speaking of the factory, the Galesburg
Plaindealer says:
“These works were originally established about a year
ago, but during that short time have rapidly come to the
front for finely executed and satisfactory work, and
today control all of the trade in this line that
formerly went to foreign cities. These works are
thoroughly equipped for all branches of work in this
line, and have established a reputation that reflects
the highest credit upon the proprietor. It has been the
aim of Mr. Tyler, the owner, to turn out nothing but the
best of work, such as he is willing to have his name
follow in the way of a guarantee. He has never catered
for inferior or cheap work, and has succeeded in
establishing a trade that is bound to still further
magnify itself in the future. He makes a specialty of
new work, the latest patterns of flatware, such as
knives, forks, spoons, butter-knives and sugar-shells,
which he sells at wholesale prices. And all work is
fully warranted. Ornaments for old stoves are plated to
look like new, while the same may be said of old
tableware. The nickel plating is not excelled in the
country, and is guaranteed against any imperfections. A
special feature is re-plating old band instruments, in
which line he does a large business. He does all kinds
of job-work, and in everything makes the charges
reasonable and guarantees entire satisfaction. He enjoys
large patronage in all departments, and it is but a
merited compliment to say that his work is first-class
in every respect. The works are located at No. 29 North
Kellogg Street, are run by steam and are supplied with
all the modern improvements for conducting the
business.”
In addition to the plating works, Mr. Tyler
owns and manages one of the largest and best equipped
barber shops in Galesburg. It is located at No. 36 South
Prairie Street; lighted by electricity and manned by a
force of artists in their line.
The subject of this sketch is a native of Knox
County, and has been educated at the public schools at
Galesburg. He was born April 11, 1857; left home at the
age of 20, learned the barber’s trade in this city, and
in 1877 opened a shop of his own. In all his business
undertakings Mr. Tyler has been successful. He began
life without a penny, not a cent has ever been given
him, and at this writing, though only a few years have
elapsed, he finds himself fairly on the road to a
competency. He owns some fine property in the city,
carries a handsome bank account, and is rapidly growing
into financial independence. Such is the result of a
small business properly managed, and by comparison, if
Galesburg be not an exception to the rule, probably
shows some young men who have started in life as the
heads of great enterprises and backed by thousands of
capital to a disadvantage. Moral, man makes the
business, not business the man.
One of the commendable features of the life of
Mr. Tyler, and one that any young man might proudly
boast of, is that he has never swallowed a drop of
intoxicating liquor or used tobacco in any form.
ANDREW VANCE is one of Knox County’s farmers,
who, by his energy and economy, has succeeded in
obtaining good title to 280 acres of tillable land,
located on section 36, Elba Township, and 200 in Iowa,
and he is actively engaged in the labors of a farmer. He
came to Knox County in the fall of 1868, from Highland
County, Ohio, and located in Elba Township, where he
purchased his present fine farm. He was born in Fayette
County, Pa., Dec. 9, 1826 and is the son of Davis and
Hannah (Fredrick) Vance. His father was born in
Maryland, as was also his mother. To his parents were
born 13 children. All lived to be men and women and
married. His parents died in Ohio. When eight years of
age, he removed with his parents to Highland County,
Ohio, where he remained until his final removal to Knox
County. Our subject received a good common-school
education, and has always followed that most independent
of all callings, agriculture.
Andrew Vance was married in Highland County,
Ohio, Aug, 21, 1851 to Miss Harriet Gibler. Miss
Gibler was born in the county and State in which she was
married, Sept. 18, 1832, and is the daughter of
William and Rachel (Strain) Gibler. Their union has
been blest by the birth of six children, five now living
as follows: John W. A., Lovisa A., Strauder L., Henry
D. (deceased), Oley E., and Andrew C. Henry
died when about 12 years of age. John W. A.
married Catherine Yeager, and is a farmer by occupation;
they have one son—Earl Wendel Y. Vance. Lovisa A.
is the wife of Fillmore Rogers, and lives in Salem
Township; they have four children, one son and three
daughters—Allie Bell, Mary Ellen, Harrison L., and
Mattie Blanche.
Mr. Vance was elected to the office of Justice
of the Peace, but did not qualify. Both he and his wife
are members of the Baptist Church, and in politics he
affiliates with the Democratic party.
NELS M. BURGLAND, of the firm of Burgland &
Johnson, meat market, is a worthy member of the
industrious community of Galesburg. Mr. Burgland was
born at Gamellstorp, Solvesburg, Sweden, Dec. 25,
1846. He is the son of Mons P. and Chasty
(Munson) Burgland, the former of whom carried on
the butchering business in Sweden. In 1867 Nels M.
Burgland (having completed the butchering trade in
his native land) sailed for this country and came
almost immediately to Galesburg, where, in 1873, he
began business for himself. He has built up a large
trade, and, with Mr. Johnson, is the owner of
400 acres of fine farm land in Mercer County, this
State, which they utilize considerably for stock
purposes. Mr. Burgland was married to
Jennie Jacobson, daughter of Jacob Nelson,
a native of Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Burgland have
become the parents of three sons, namely,
Charles, George, and Arthur. Mr. Burgland is an
energetic and enterprising business man, and
eminently successful in his pursuits.
ALANSON G. CHARLES, is an extensive
landowner, and is one of the leading farmers of Knox
County. His residence is handsome and commodious,
built in the modern style of architecture, and
stands on a most delightful site overlooking the
village of Knoxville, from which it is
three-quarters of a mile distant. We present a
full-page view of his residence and surroundings in
this Album.
Mr. Charles was born in Knox Township, Feb.
21, 1846. His parents were George A. and
Dorlinsky (Post) Charles. George A., his father,
of whom a sketch is given , was one of the leading
men in Knox County. Our subject has been
uninterruptedly a resident of the township ever
since his birth. His marriage with Miss Lottie
Rogers, daughter of Charles and Eliza
(Phillips) Rogers, took place Nov. 24, 1868, and
with his young bride he went onto the place which he
now occupies as a home. Charles Rogers and wife came
from the State of New York in 1844. The former was a
native of Connecticut, and his wife of England. He
settled in Knox Township, and engaged in farming,
where Mrs. Charles was born Jan. 31, 1848. The
location of Mr. C’s farm is on section 27, and
reasonable success has crowned his efforts as an
agriculturist, and he now owns one of the finest
places in that section of the county.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles have had born to them
five children—George, Albert, deceased;
Roger, deceased; Alice and Bessie. This
happy household is the admiration of friends and
neighbors, who always find good cheer and courteous
hospitality within its precincts. Both husband and
wife are earnest supporters of every good work and
word, and are active members of the Presbyterian
Church, endeavoring to live consistent Christian
lives.
Mr. Charles is a well informed man and a
persistent reader of the newspapers. He votes the
Democratic ticket, but in politics may be called
strictly independent, watching always the pending
issues, and according to his best judgment giving
his voice and support in behalf of the man best
fitted for the office. He has filled several local
offices, including that of Supervisor for four
terms, and always with the utmost credit to himself
and to the satisfaction of all concerned. As a stock
raiser and feeder, he ranks with the foremost in the
county. He makes his principal business that of
grazing and fattening cattle. He has 1,000 acres of
blue-grass pasture, 800 of which are in a body,
forming a most desirable location for his
business. He is a public-spirited and enterprising
man, and one who is a credit to the county of his
nativity and home.
GILBERT EVANS, of Knoxville, a pioneer of
Knox County, who came to this section in 1856, is a
native of Connecticut, and was born in Hartford
County, Dec. 27, 1813. He is the son of Josiah
and Mary (Sweetland) Evans, both natives of
Connecticut. Our subject was 8 years of age when his
parents moved to New York State and settled in
Madison County. There he grew to manhood, and at the
age of 18 commenced to learn the trade of carpenter
and joiner. At that vocation he continued working in
the State of New York until 1836, when he came to
Illinois and settled in the village of
Knoxville. Laboring at this occupation in that city
and its vicinity, he became a fixture, remaining
about 20 years. At that time he invested in land,
buying 30 acres in Knox Township, lying adjacent to
the city. Erecting a dwelling, he moved his family
there and engaged in farming pursuits until 1860, at
which time he came to Knoxville, and rented the
principal hotel there, by name the Knoxville
House. Two or three years later he bought the place
and has kept a public house ever since.
He was united in marriage in the year 1838,
to Sylvia A. Bentley, a native of the State
of New York, and they are the parents of two
children, as follows: Sarah J., wife of Henry
Hoffmaster, living at Rock Island, and William,
whose home is in Knox Township.
WILLIAM SELDEN GALE, Prominent among the
wealthy men and influential citizens of Knox County
is the subject of this personal narration, who is a
capitalist, a man of wide influence, and well known
throughout the entire community. He was born in
Jefferson County, N.Y., Feb. 15, 1822, and is the
son of G. W. and Harriet (Selden) Gale, of
Dutchess County, N.Y., and Lansingburg, N.Y.,
respectively. They were married in Troy in 1820, and
their union was blessed by the birth of five sons,
four of whom grew to manhood, and three daughters,
all of whom are now living. They came to Illinois in
October 1836 and lived in Galesburg, where the
father died in September 1861, aged 72 years. His
wife had died in 1840, and Mr. Gale remarried
with Mrs. Esther (Williams) Coon, widow of Dr.
Coon, of New York.
G. W. Gale, the father of our
subject, was a devoted and conscientious minister of
the Presbyterian Church, and labored faithfully in
the vineyard of the Lord while his day lasted. It
was he who originated the idea of founding a colony
here as early as 1835. Owing to ill health, he
was obliged to abandon his ministerial labors, when
he retired to a farm, and engaged in teaching the
young men of his neighborhood, asking no
compensation and receiving none, save the
satisfaction of seeing their condition
bettered. This school was really the germ implanted
which in a few years led a band of early pioneers to
the wild prairie of Knox County. G. W. Gale departed
this life Sept. 31, 1861.
W. Selden Gale attended school in New York
prior to 14 years of age, and read law in Galesburg
as early as 1842, with Hon. James Knox, and
was admitted to the bar in 1845. He continued to
practice, however, only five or six years, as his
attention was occupied with other business. He
was one of the organizers of the C. B. & Q. R. R. Co.;
in fact, was the originator of the idea. An article
by him on the subject appeared for the first time in
the Galesburg News Letter, of which he was
editor, the scheme being opposed by the rival paper.
Foxie's note: also
a and editor of the 1899 Historical Encyclopedia of
Illinois -- Knox County along with his son, George
Candee Gale.
Mr. Gale has taken an active part in
political matters, was a member of the first Board
of Supervisors, and with the exception of four years
since has been a member of that body. He was a
member of the Constitutional Convention of 1869, and
of the City Council from 1872 to 1882. Politically
he is a Republican.
Mr. Gale was united in marriage Oct. 1,
1845, at Galesburg, with Caroline Ferris,
daughter of Sylvanus W. Ferris. Five children
have been born to them who are living and three
others buried.
GUST & H. B. HAWKINSON, proprietors of one
of the leading bakery and confectionery
establishments of Galesburg, were born at Harlunda,
Sweden, Jan. 9, 1841, and April 3, 1837,
respectively. They are the sons of Hakan Benson
and Christine (Pearson) Hawkinson.
Gust Hawkinson is one of Galesburg’s
active business men and is among the representative
men of this place. When a young man he learned the
baking business in Solvesberg, Sweden, but abandoned
it for that of stone-cutting, which he followed in
the employ of the Government of Sweden. This he
continued for a few years, but finally concluded to
visit the shores of the New World, whither his
brother H. B. had preceded him. In 1869 he came to
Galesburg on June 24 of that year. At this place he
worked at railroading for four and one-half years,
then joined his brother H. B. in the baking
business, which they have carried on successfully
since that time.
H. B. Hawkinson also learned the
bakery business in Sweden, and has been connected
with the same for several years at Galesburg. He was
married to Caroline Olson, also a native of
his country, and who has borne him a son and a
daughter, who bear the names of Hilda and Henry.
Another brother, John Hawkinson,
came to the United States in 1880, where he died
three years after his arrival. He was by trade a
coppersmith.
The Hawkinson brothers are hard-working
men, and have succeeded in establishing for
themselves a business second to none in their line
in this city. They are both worthy citizens and
clever gentlemen.
N. O. G. JOHNSON, of the firm of Anderson
& Johnson, of the City Mills, Galesburg, was born in Skane, City of Christianstadt, Sweden, Jan. 10,
1844. He came to Galesburg in 1869. For three and a
half years he followed farming; the succeeding two
years he clerked in a grocery house, forming then a
partnership with John Clarkson, which lasted
seven years. In 1881 he engaged in milling, to which
he has since devoted his time.
Mr. Johnson was married at Galesburg, Feb.
13, 1878, to Miss Sophia Anderson, who died
Aug. 12, 1882, leaving one child, a daughter—Blenda
Amelia; they have buried an infant. Mr.
Johnson’s parents yet reside in Sweden. They reared
four sons and five daughters, the subject of this
sketch being the eldest and the only one in
America. He is a member of the Lutheran Church, and
in politics a Republican.
EBENEZER LASS, of Galesburg,
head of the
firm of Lass, Larson & Lafferty, dealers in wall
paper, curtains, paints, glass, etc., their place of
business being 141 Main Street. He was born in
England in 1839. There he learned the trade of
painter, paper-hanger, etc., and served an
apprenticeship of seven years. Afterward he worked
three and a half years at this occupation in the
city of London, then emigrated to the United States
and came to Galesburg. Here he engaged in business
for himself for about six years, and then took the
position of foreman with Cook & Lee. The junior
member of the firm of Cook & Lee was succeeded by
Mr. Beach, and he by Mr. Lass, and in 1882, with
Messrs. Larson and Lafferty, established the present
business of Lass, Larson & Lafferty.
Mr. Lass was married to Miss Emma
Pittock, a native of England, and by her has
surviving four children—Gracie E., Charles F.,
William P., and Florence K. Mrs. L. died Feb.
22, 1882. Mr. Lass was married again in 1886 to
Miss Lucy M. Jerauld of Galesburg.
Foxie's Note: they are
buried in Hope Cemetery. did research for a lady in
Kansas on the Ferris of Knox County. Jerauld's are
related to the Ferris's
CHARLES T. LARSON, of the firm of
Lass,
Larson & Lafferty, was born in Sweden, Sept. 28,
1860, and came to Galesburg with his parents in the
spring of 1871, where he was brought up and educated
in the public schools. At the age of 17
Mr. Larson
began clerking for the firm of Cook & Beach, and in
1882 became a member of the firm, it then being
known as J.P. Cook & Co. He retired from the same in
January, 1884, and in February of the same year,
with Messrs. Lass and Lafferty, established the
present firm of Lass, Larson & Lafferty, who deal in
wall paper, window shades, paints, glass, artists’
materials, etc.
The gentleman of whom we write was married
at Galesburg, Oct. 28, 1885, to Miss Arvilla S.
Johnson, daughter of Charles Johnson, Esq.
FRANK W. LATIMER, a grocer of Abingdon,
and one of the promising young men of this county,
was born in Knox County, Feb. 21, 1868. He is the
son of William M. and Mary E. (Humiston) Latimer,
and the grandson of Jonathan and
great-grandson of Elder Joseph Latimer;
sketches of the lives of both of these men appear on
other pages of this work. William M. Latimer
was engaged the greater part of his life in
mercantile pursuits, in Abingdon. He died in 1872,
on the old homestead where his father settled in
1832.
Frank W. Latimer was educated at Hedding
College, from which Institution he graduated. He
then engaged in agricultural pursuits and
stock-raising in Cedar and Indian Point
Townships. In March, 1886, he came to Abingdon and
embarked in the grocery and provision trade, in
which he still continues. In 1879-81, during the
session of the Legislature, he was appointed Bill
Clerk, and subsequently Third Assistant and then
Second Assistant Clerk. He is a young man of fine
business talent, strictly temperate, and strongly
Republican in his politics. He is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church and Treasurer of the
Methodist Episcopal Church and Treasurer of his
congregation. He is also a member of Abingdon Lodge
No. 184, I.O.O. F., and is at present its presiding
officer.
On April 8, 1886, he was united in marriage
with Miss Carrie L. Becker, daughter of
John and Mary Becker, of Galesburg, and old
settlers of Knox County.
LARS J. LINDBERG, of the
firm of Remier &
Lindberg, manufacturers and general repairers of
carriages and wagons, No. 108 South Prairie Street,
Galesburg, Illinois, was born at Ookkbo Mo,
Gastrikland, Gefle Lan, Sweden, March 23, 1845. He
was the son of Jons Jonsson and Britalars Dotter
Lindberg, the former born in 1813 and the latter
in 1811; both were natives of Sweden where both now
reside. Our subject is the second of four children
now living. Mr. L. has one sister, Mrs. Oscar
Truman, residing in Chicago; the other sister
and brother live in the old country.
Mr. Lindberg came to this country in 1865,
locating at Wataga, Knox County, working on the farm
until 1867, when he began to learn the trade of
wagon-making, and in 1870 opened a shop in
partnership with Charles Hedlun, where they
carried on the business for four years, when Mr. L.
sold his interest to his partner and moved to
Burlington, Iowa, where he worked for Bennett &
France one year. He then came to
Galesburg in 1876,
worked in C., B. & Q.R.R. shops, and for G. W. Brown
& Co. In 1883 Mr. L. formed a partnership with
Mr. Remier, and they are carrying on an
extensive business.
Our subject was married Sept 10, 1871, to
Miss Kate Olson, who was born in Sweden, Jan.
3, 1847, and came with her parents to America in
1858, locating at Wataga, where her father died, and
where the mother now resides. Mr. Lindberg has four
children living, viz: Oscar E., Otelega A., Alice
D., and an infant. Mr. and Mrs. L. are members
of the First Lutheran Church.
WILLIAM McGOWAN, deceased, a pioneer of
Knox County, of 1833, was born in Pennsylvania, Oct.
12, 1812. His father was a merchant and our subject
clerked in his store, which was located in Milton
County, Pa., until they had the misfortune to lose
their entire property, including stock and building,
by a flood. After this disaster he was variously
employed up to 1833, the date of his removal to
Illinois, locating in Knoxville, where he clerked
for John G. Sanburn.
In 1837 William McGowan was married and
removed to Stone River, and became the first
permanent settler at Maquon. He purchased an
interest in the village site, and aided in platting
the village of Maquon, whither he removed with his
wife, beginning housekeeping in a primitive log
cabin. Soon after settling here our subject was
elected Justice of the Peace, and when the Post
Office was established, he was appointed
the
first Postmaster of Maquon. After residing there
for about ten years, he purchased a small, but
desirable farm in Knox Township, and followed the
calling of agriculturist for a period of three
years. He then disposed of this farm and bought a
residence in the city of Knoxville, and continued to
reside there until his demise, which took place in
1870. Mr. McGowan held many offices. He was Justice
of the Peace for many years; for four years he was
County Treasurer. Politically he was an old-line
Whig until the formation of the Republican party,
when he joined its ranks.
Mr. McGowan was united in marriage with
Margery McPherson. She was born in Champaign
County, Ohio, March 4, 1819, and became the mother
of eight children, of whom we give the following
brief memoranda; William H. resides in Henry
County, IL.; Curtis; Mary, wife of J.
S. Simpson, residing at Knoxville; Carrie,
who became the wife of James Thomas and lives in
Kansas; Frank, who makes Knoxville his home;
Belle; Charles, living at Elmwood,
Peoria County, and Harry, making Kansas his
home.
HON. HENRY RUNKLE, deceased, who was one
of Knoxville’s best known and most successful
merchants, was born at Watervleit, Albany Co., N.Y.,
Nov. 14, 1807, and was the third son of John and
Ellen (Van Woort) Runkle. He was reared to the
calling of an agriculturist, and attended school in
his native city, supplementing his education by
attendance to the academy at Syracuse.
After leaving school
Mr. Runkle taught for
awhile at Syracuse. Later we find him employed in a
flour and feed store. In 1833, he emigrated to
Illinois, locating at Knoxville, where he engaged as
surveyor. He purchased village property, and in 1834
erected a store. In the following year, in company
with his brother, Cornelius, he opened a
general store. In 1836 he sold out his interest in
the store to his brother, and built a steam saw-mill
in the village, this being the first establishment
of the kind in the county. A few years later our
subject added a flouring-mill to his possessions.
He was elected County Clerk in 1837, in
which capacity he served creditably for ten
years. After the expiration of his term of office,
Mr. Runkle was engaged in the management of his
mills until his death.
The maiden name of our subject’s wife was
Caroline M. Fitch. After Mr. Runkle’s demise,
she remarried, and is now a resident of
California. Mr. Runkle served as member of the 16th
General Assembly, elected in the fall of 1848.
DAVID H. FRISBIE, the subject of this sketch,
Hon. David H. Frisbie, of Galesburg, was born in
Oneida County, N.Y., Oct. 7, 1815. His grandfather
came from Savoy, Italy. His father, Edward
Frisbie, was during his life an Erie Canal
packetman. His mother’s maiden name was Abigail
Blackman, a native of Connecticut, and of
English ancestry. When David was but eight years
old, his father died, leaving a widow and a family
of ten children, of whom David was next to the
youngest, and of whom he is now the only survivor.
The lad was educated in the common schools of
his native place, and, judging from his
characteristics as a man, must have been an apt
pupil. He was married at Floyd, Oneida Co, N.Y. in
1836 to Jemima Skinner, a daughter of
Onias and Tirza (Bell) Skinner, of Vermont, and
a sister of Onias C. Skinner, Judge of the
Supreme Court of Illinois. Immediately after the
wedding, the newly-married couple started for the
then almost unknown west, and arrived in Peoria
during the winter of 1836-37. In a money sense he
was poor, but in tact and business capacity was well
endowed. For several years he taught school, first
at Harkness Grove, then in Farmington, in each
instance with marked success. At the same time he
devoted his spare moments to agriculture. In
1847 he
removed to Knox County and located in Henderson,
where for seven years he engaged in mercantile
business. Mr. and Mrs. Frisbie
came to Galesburg in
1855. That city has since been his home. During his
residence there he has followed the land business,
and to a slight extent has engaged in farming. By
strict attention and honorable dealings he has been
successful and is looked upon as a prosperous and
well-to-do business man.
Prior to the organization of the Republican
party Mr. Frisbie was a Whig. He joined heartily,
however, in the new movement. In 1856 he was elected
by the Republicans a member of the State
Legislature. To the political principles which he
then adopted he has ever since been true. We find
him a zealous and active member of the Bloomington
Convention, the first Republican State Convention
held in Illinois. During the late war he served as
Department Provost Marshal of this District, then
composed of three counties.
Mr. Frisbee’s family relations have ever
been pleasant and happy. His heart has ever been
with his family. April 7, 1881, he sustained a
severe affliction in the death of his wife. Their
union was blest by three children—Charlotte L.,
Olivia P., and Sarah Adelaide. The first died at
the age of 15. Olivia P. Frisbie became the
wife of Allen A. Green, and native of New York, and
engaged in the mercantile business at Williamsport,
Pa., until his decease, Feb. 10, 1881. His widow and
three children—David Frisbie, Alvah S., and Allen
A.—survive him.
The youngest daughter, Sarah Adelaide,
was married Oct. 8, 1883, to Judge E. E. Farman, of
Warsaw, N.Y., Consul-General to Egypt, under
President Grant, and subsequently one of the Judges
of the International Court of Egypt through
appointment by President Garfield. They are the
parents of one daughter—Lois C.
In conclusion, it can be truthfully said
that Mr. Frisbie is one of the leading men of Knox
County. He has always taken an interest in every
enterprise which has for its aim the public good,
and has as energetically opposed all schemes which
be considered detrimental to the welfare of the
people.
Being one of the leading and representative
men of Knox County, the portrait of Mr. Frisbie is
placed in this volume, in connection with this
sketch.
SOLOMON FROHLICH, of the
firm of Frohlich,
Gardt & Co. Among the many genial citizens of
Galesburg, no one is more popular or has a larger
number of friends than Mr. Frohlich, of this
personal narration. He was born in Germany, June 11,
1843, coming to America Sept 13, 1865, and to
Galesburg in 1868.
Solomon Frohlich of this notice was
educated in Germany, where he also learned the trade
of a butcher, which he followed for some years after
coming to America, finally, however entering into
the wholesale liquor business at Galesburg, on July
1, 1879. In business Mr. Frohlich has been rather
successful. He landed in America with scarcely a
dollar in his pocket, worked several years at a very
ordinary trade, been as liberal as those with whom
he has associated, and now we find him at the head
of a large business, independent of the world and
adding daily to the already plethoric condition of
his bank account.
Our subject was married at Galesburg, Dec.
21, 1875, to Rosa Strauss, and their two
children are named respectively Henrietta and
Gertie. Mr. F. is a member of the I.O.O. F, A.
F. & A. M., K. of P., I.O.O. B. of Peoria, and is a
member of the Jewish Church.
HENRY HITCHCOCK, the late Henry Hitchcock,
for many years Division Superintendent of the C., B.
& Q. R. R. at Galesburg, and one of the leading men
in the county, was born at Old Deerfield, Mass, May
25, 1816, and departed this life April 4, 1884, in
the city of Galesburg. His birth occurred in the
house, where for so many years his parents made
their home, and he was their third child; their
names were Henry and Betsey (Kimberly) Hitchcock. For
some length of time his father farmed at the old
homestead, and Henry was sent to the common school
and the academy at Deerfield. Until he reached the
age of 24, he remained under his father’s roof, and
during the following six years he was station agent
of the Rutland & Burlington Railroad, at Rutland,
Vt. Subsequently he was agent of the Michigan
Central at Chicago, and in 1856 removed to Galesburg
and was appointed General Superintendent of the C.,
B. & Q. R. R. This position he held to the
satisfaction of all concerned, until he finally
abandoned it and became interested in agricultural
pursuits. He was a man of high character, of deep
and strong nature, intelligent, upright and
respected by all who knew him. He was Director of
the Second National Bank and Trustee of Knox
College, and to the latter left a large part of his
property.
The only brother of our subject still lives
on the old homestead, and there are two sisters, one
of whom lives in Buffalo, N.Y. and the other in
Cleveland, Ohio. In religious belief the deceased
inclined to the doctrines of the Congregational
Church.
He was united in marriage at Deerfield,
Mass., June 9, 1841, with Miss Martha,
daughter of Pliney and Thankful (Dickinson) Arms,
the former of whom was born in 1778, and died in
1859, aged 81 years. He was in politics one of the
most decided Abolitionists of his time. The children
of our subject were William Henry, born Dec.
14, 1842, and died Aug. 25, 1858; George Kimberly,
born Jan. 28, 1851, died Aug. 23, at the age of
seven months; Mattie Arms, born in October
1857, died in May 1881.
HOFFMAN Bros: of Galesburg,
are
manufacturers of harness and saddlery of all kinds,
their place of business being at No. 24 South
Prairie Street. The firm is composed of G. M. and
W.E. Hoffman, natives of the city of Macomb,
IL., and the third and fourth sons of F.J. and
M.V. (Cannon) Hoffman.
The senior Mr. Hoffman came from Germany
and lives now at Macomb, where he has carried on the
harness and saddlery business successfully for 35
years. Of his family of nine sons, five have
followed the trade of their father. G. M. Hoffman,
of the firm above mentioned, was born Aug. 8, 1864,
and W.E., March 8, 1866. They received their
education at the Macomb public schools, starting in
business for themselves at Parsons, Kansas in
December 1883, and remained at that place up to the
1st of December 1885, when on account of
bad crops and the general uncertainty of the
country, they concluded to return to their solid
native State, and on Jan. 1, 1886, they opened shop
at their present location. They are first-class
workmen, and deal in no cheap sale work. The
material and workmanship given out from their
factory at all times carry with them the full
guarantee of being just as represented. They carry
the largest line of goods in the county, and though
both young men, they have come to Knox County to
stay and to merit the confidence of the people.
EDSON HUGGINS, one of the earliest
settlers of Knoxville and a prominent citizen is
Edson Huggins, who is identified as one of the
pioneers of that section and who is the subject of
this personal history. He has occupied his present
home since an early day and has been an eye-witness
to the growth and prosperity of Knox County.
Mr. Huggins was born in the town of
Coventry, Vt., Sept. 11, 1816. His father, David
Huggins, came of New England stock, being a
native of the State of New Hampshire, and was born
in the town of Cornish, May 14, 1787. He grew to
manhood in his native State, and while young went to
Vermont and there purchased a tract of timber land,
lying in Orleans County, in which section of country
he was an early settler. He returned to the State of
his birth, New Hampshire, to celebrate his marriage
with Miss Jerusha Cobb, and with his bride
set his face toward his new home. The young couple,
with brave hearts and untied energy, commenced the
uprearing of a home, the husband clearing the land
of the forest trees, and the wife, equally desirous
of success and prosperity, pursuing her part of the
domestic labors. On this farm they worked and waited
for prosperity until 1834, and in the spring of that
year, with his oldest son, the head of the house
with a pair of horses and a wagon emigrated to the
far west, with the strong expectation and hope of
finding an Eldorado. They made their way overland to
Knox County, and here purchased a pre-emption right
on the northwest quarter of section 27, township 11,
in what is now Knox Township. They also bought two
lots in the village of Knoxville, on which stood a
log house.
Leaving his son in the western home they
had found, Mr. Huggins returned to the State of
Vermont, from which, in the fall of that year,
accompanied by his wife and their family, consisting
of 8 children, he started for Illinois. They took
what was at the time the most desirable route,
namely, via stage to Burlington, thence down Lake
Champlain by boat, through to Troy, and from that
city by Erie Canal to Buffalo. Leaving Buffalo, they
came by the way of Lake Erie to Cleveland, Ohio,
traveling on to Portsmouth and coming down the Ohio
and up the Mississippi River, to Beardstown, from
which place they completed their journey by
land. They started from that place, traveling with
an ox team, intending by this mode of conveyance to
reach Knoxville, but were met on the way by their
son, with whom they returned in better style. The
family moved into their log cabin in the village, in
which humble home they remained for two years, and
which they left to move onto the farm, a log cabin
being there also. This latter had been built by the
first claimant of the land. Mr. Huggins placed his
land under high cultivation and made the farm his
home until his death. His wife, who survived him
some time, spent the last year of her life in peace
and pleasure in the home of her son George.
To this couple have been given nine
children, viz: Brunson, deceased; Phebe,
who married Sullivan Raney and who died in Vermont;
Nathaniel, deceased; Olivia, who
married Dr. Johnson, and who died in Texas; Edson
who lives in Knoxville; Jerusha, wife of John
Mosher, whose home is also in Knox Township;
George lives in Knox Township, and Chester,
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Huggins were members of the
first church ever organized in Knoxville, and were
devoted and earnest workers in all worthy
enterprises.
When the subject of this sketch had
attained the age of 18 years, he removed to Illinois
with his parents, as previously stated. When the
family landed at Beardstown and were met by him with
their awkward conveyance, he at once proposed to
return to Knoxville in search of a team, which
journey he performed on foot, and came back to his
parents, whom he landed in Knoxville. He learned the
trade of cabinet-maker, and went first to Knoxville
to repair the cabin in which the family lived, and
during the first year he made tables. There being no
wagon-shop in Knoxville, he was often called upon to
do the work of a wheelwright, and during his first
year filled a pair of wheels, the first work of the
kind ever done in Knox County. He afterward became
contractor and builder, at which occupation he
continued until within two or three years. He is now
a retired business man and enjoys the fruits of a
well-spent life of industry and economy.
He has been twice married, his first
matrimonial al |
