HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Its Past and present
Chicago: Donnelley, Loyd & Co., Publishers, 1878.
(reprinted by the Jacksonville Area Genealogical and Historical Society, 1975)
KELLER, CONRAD, farmer and stock raiser, P.O. Jacksonville. The subject of this sketch was the son of Henry and Elizabeth, whose maiden name was Essley; near Frankfort on the Rhine young Keller was born, in 1832; at seventeen, he was apprenticed to a butcher, and remained in this business six years; at the age of twenty-two, he stepped on board the sailing vessel Cumberland, bound for America, and in due course of time landed in New York; here he remained a short time, and then went west to Chicago; after a short residence, he went to Cairo, Ill., where he lived three and one-half years, and from this point removed to Morgan County. In 1859, he married Louisa Ditner, who shortly after passed off the stage of life. In 1870 he was united in marriage to Leatha Braustetler, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Braustetler. Mr. Keller is the owner of 103 acres of well-improved land.
KELLEHER, WILLIAM J., farm hand, Sec. 10, P.O. Woodson. The subject of this sketch was born in the Empire State, March 17, 1856, and came with his parents to Naples, this State, during the years of infancy, and, whilst here, his sister, Mary Jane was born May 16, 1862. The history of the parents of these two orphans is in deep obscurity, the only thing known of them is, that they emigrated from Ireland about the year of the “famine,” 1847. Mary Jane was adopted by the Sisters of Mercy at St. Louis, Mo., and William J. was adopted by a farmer named Walsh. William having attained his majority, has struck out manfully to win his way to a freeman’s independence, and Nancy Jane was married a few years ago to a young farmer, and she is now Mrs. Jennie Clerihan, with a beautiful child, Stella, to cheer and make glad the young mother’s heart.
KENNEDY, G. W. renter, Sec. 12, P.O. Jacksonville. The subject of this sketch was born in Indiana, Jan. 19, 1840, and removed to Illinois in 1853, settling in Morgan Co. Was married Feb. 6, 1867, to Sarah, daughter of Wm. And Eliza Horn of Roanoke Co., Virginia, born Oct. 16, 1842. This union has been blessed by four children, one of whom only survives: Sue Nettie, born April 4, 1868; Hettie Belle, born Oct. 29, 1871, died Oct. 1, 1874; John Wm., born June 6, 1873, died Aug. 7, 1874; Eliza, born Dec. 15, 1874, died Oct. 20, 1876. Rents 280 acres of land, showing evidences on every hand of the industry and able management of its occupant.
KENNEDY, M. S. farmer and stock raiser, Sec. 14, P.O. Waverly. The above named gentleman, who is widely known for his enterprise and liberality, was the youngest of a family of thirteen children, and was born in East Tennessee, October 1824; in 1831, the family moved to Indiana, settling on timbered land obtained from the government; five years after his arrival the father died; Mrs. Kennedy, left an estate of 160 acres, disposed of this, and during the Autumn of 1839, moved to Morgan County, Illinois, where land was rented of Governor Duncan; on this estate was raised their first crop in Illinois; the following year they moved to the farm of Captain John Wyatt, and remained some three years; the subject of this sketch grew up among the pioneer boys of his day; in Indiana he received his preliminary education, which was afterward brought to completion in Illinois; in his twenty-fourth year, 1849, he married Miss Mary A. Burnett, a daughter of Jas. H.; Mrs. Kennedy died in 1852; two children: Mary Ann, deceased, and Sophronia, now the wife of Geo. Evans; in April 1853, Mr. Kennedy married Miss Elizabeth Rohrer; by this marriage four children, three living: Wm. L., John, and Edward R.; for four years Mr. K. was a merchant in Waverly, where he built up a reputation for honesty and integrity; during the war he was elected justice of the peace, in which capacity he served faithfully, and became quite popular; on retirement from office he turned his attention to buying and shipping stock; sustaining a heavy loss in the shipping of hogs, he in consequence, many years ago, abandoned this, with the exception of shipping stock grazed on his farm, comprising 500 acres, on which he erected, some years ago, a large and spacious brick residence; fourteen years ago Mr. K. was elected township treasurer, which office he yet fills to the satisfaction of the people; for several years he served as one of the board of trustees at Waverly; one year served as president of the board; for the past five years as assessor in the district where he lives.
KEPLINGER, FRANK, farmer and stock raiser, Sec. 33, P.O. Waverly. The subject of this biography was the oldest son of John E. Keplinger, who was born in Tennessee, near Jonesboro, June 18, 1818; when John E. was six years of age his parents emigrated to Illinois, and located on the Mauvaisterre; this, as near as can be ascertained was in 1824; growing to manhood on the homestead of his father, he acquired a vigor that laid the foundation of his future success in life; his education was received in a log cabin; he married, in 1843, Miss Loretta Harris, a daughter of Wm. Harris; this marriage was blessed with seven children, five living: Frank, who heads this sketch, was born Jan. 15, 1844, in Morgan County; received his preliminary education at district schools, which was afterward completed at Bloomington high school; during the late war he enlisted in Co. B, Tenth Illinois Infantry, at Jacksonville; he was then in his twentieth year; became engaged in battles fought by Sherman during his march to the sea; honorably discharged July 18, 1865, he returned to Morgan County, where he married, Jan. 15, 1868, Miss Rachel Holliday, a daughter of Wm. Holliday, a physician, and Mariah, whose maiden name was Bachelor; two children: Hattie M., and Benjamin.
KEPLINGER, SAMUEL, farmer and stock raiser, Sec. 26, P.O. Franklin. Was born in Washington Co., Tenn., June 2, 1809; he was raised on a farm, where he remained up to the age of nineteen, when he became apprenticed to the trade of blacksmith; in 1829, he made his way into the State of Illinois, and settled at Jacksonville, at a time when there were some twenty dwellings, mostly log cabins, and where there were several stores for supplying the simple wants of the pioneers; here he became a journeyman, for some years receiving as pay eight dollars per month; having ambition beyond this daily pay, he looked about him for a farm, and first purchased 80 acres for $150; he shortly after united his fortunes to Miss Pamelia Green, a native of Ohio, who settled in Morgan County as early as 1822, and remembers as early settlers Col. Morton, Huram Reeves, and others. On the 80 acres above mentioned there stood a log cabin, near the now handsome residence of Mr. K.; on arrival at the cabin, the husband and wife sat down and partook of a hearty meal of mush and milk; the first table was purchased from a neighbor for ten cents, and consisted of a rough frame-work ornamented with four legs; a couple of rough chairs were afterward bought. In the old log house, now fast becoming obsolete, the husband and wife passed many years of their life, and there many of their children were born. Years have flown by in rapid succession, but those days are still pictured in the memory of the pioneer. It would be a useless task to enumerate the many trials and hardships of Mr. K.; he is today the owner of some 600 acres of land, and some years ago owned 800, acquired by great industry, and all that he has he owes to his own exertions. There are six children: Clarissa, who married Gen. John I. Rinaker; William S., of Waverly; Ella P., who married John W. Smith; Hardin and Lewis W.; Hardin, when the war broke out, enlisted in Co. B, 10th Ill. Infty., for three months service; at expiration of term of service, he enlisted in Co. A, 32d Ill. Infty., and served from August, 1861, until October, 1862; was mustered out, and accepted promotion in the 1st Ill. Regt. As adjutant, and served till the close of the war. Lewis W. enlisted in the 32d Infty., at Springfield, Ill., and served till the close of the war, promoted lieutenant for meritorious conduct, and served on the Indian expedition after the close of the war; when he returned to Morgan County; he afterward removed to Kansas, where he is now a member of the Kansas legislature.
KETNER, W. H., farmer, Sec. 19, P.O. Pisgah, son of Henry and Mahalah Ketner. His father was a native of North Carolina, who settled in Morgan County during the Spring of 1834, seven miles north of Jacksonville, on 40 acres; here young Ketner was born, education received in district schools; working through the summer months, he attended school in the winter season. At this writing, Mr. Ketner resides on his farm, comprising 80 acres; in August, 1876, he was united in marriage to Louisa Tunnell, daughter of S.S. Tunnell, an early pioneer of Morgan County.
KILLAM, SAMUEL, farmer and stock raiser, Sec. 27, P.O. Jacksonville. The subject of this sketch was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1808; emigrated to this country with his parents in 1829, and settled in Morgan Co., where he has lived ever since, growing up as it were with the county. Married in 1857 to Miss Margaret Haxby, of Yorkshire, England, born in 1819. This union has been blessed by ten children, eight of whom are living: Anne E., born Aug. 15, 1839; Alfred H., born Nov. 11, 1840; John Wm., born Oct. 26, 1842; Henrietta B., born Dec. 18, 1844; Mary Jane, born June 17, 1847; Thomas H., born Oct. 31, 1849; Margaret E., born Aug. 19, 1852; Fannie E., born April 12, 1855; Clara A., July 14, 1859; and George S., born Nov. 9, 1861. Homestead and other lands owned in Morgan Co., comprise about 260 acres.
KILLAM, THOMAS, farmer, P.O. Jacksonville; born in Morgan County in 1849; his father emigrated to this State from England in 1828, and entered the land that he is now living on six miles west of Jacksonville; Mr. Killam has two brothers and five sisters.
KIMBALL, MARCUS, proprietor of Kimball hotel, Chapin; born in Scioto Co. (called French grant), Ohio, July 27, 1820; married Catherine McPherson, born in this precinct, June 13, 1831; have seven children living: Lester, born Oct. 12, 1849; Mary Agnes, born Sept. 30, 1851; Martha A., born Jan. 14, 1854; Ira, born Dec. 20, 1858; Caroline, born Aug. 28, 1861 (deceased); Zelika, born Aug. 5, 1864, and Laura Bell, born March 20, 1868.
KIMBER, ALONZO L. physician and surgeon, office ws Square, r on his farm on the east side of the city Waverly, Ill.; was born in Cadiz, Harrison Co., Ohio, Nov. 10, 1825; was educated at the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio; came to Illinois in the Fall of 1854; graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in the Spring of 1857; located for the practice of medicine in Prairie City, McDonough Co., Ill., and in the Spring of 1859 removed to this place, where he has remained.
KING, JOHN W., COL., Born in Westfield, Mass., in 1835; moved to Jacksonville in 139; graduated at Augusta Seminary in 1854; entered the jewelry business in 1855; was commissioned first lieutenant of Union Guards in the month of April, 1860; afterward commanded the company until the breaking out of the war in 1861. Took an active part in organizing and drilling the Wide Awakes in every precinct in Morgan Co., in 1860, so that he had a battalion of 250 well drilled men, and the knowledge gained from those drills laid the ground work that fitted many young men for officers in the late war. On the breaking out of the war he united his company with Captain Adam’s and so formed the Hardin Light Guards. After the Guards were attached to the Tenth Illinois, he became the Captain and remained such until their three months’ term of enlistment had expired. He was then tendered the Lieutenant_Colonelcy of the Twenty_Ninth Illinois, but, being urged by General John A. McClernand to accept a position on his staff, did so; but ill health soon compelled him to resign, and, on the recovery of his health, he organized another company, taking it to Camp Butler, near Springfield, where he soon organized the Sixty_Eighty Illinois, and was elected Colonel, twenty_six of the thirty officers voting for him. After taking the regiment to the front, the Governor saw fit to commission another man as Colonel, and on his arrival Captain King turned over the regiment to him and resigned. Afterward Governor Yates sent him a commission of colonel, with a request that he would go with him and inspect the Illinois troops in front of Vicksburg and elsewhere, which he accepted, and in company with several prominent Illinois gentlemen, they made an extended and general inspection, looking after the interests and needs of the brave Illinois soldiers, attending to their necessities, supplying their wants, etc. Was assistant Provost_Marshal of Alexandria, Va., during the summer of 1862, and took the prisoners that were captured in the second battle of Manassas up the James River to within nine miles of Richmond, and there made an exchange with Colonel Robert Oulds, the rebel commissioner of exchange. He was also appointed and served as Judge Advocate of the first general court martial in the western army, in the Summer of 1861, and was also a member of a general court martial held in Alexandria, Va., in 1862. Was married in Alton, in 1871, to the youngest daughter of the late Hon. M.G. Atwood. Is a very influential and respected citizen, and a prominent leader in the Republican party.
KINNETT, ISAAC B., farmer, Sec. 1, P.O. Chapin; born in Claremount Co., Ohio, May 31, 1834; married Feb. 14, 1856, to Nancy L. Daniels, born Aug. 11, 1833; have four children: Oscar F., born Nov. 6, 1857; Rolla B., born May 11, 1862; Elmer H., born Feb. 26, 1864, and Hardy W., born Nov. 10, 1869; lost one; Martinett A., born Dec. 9, 1859, died Sept. 1, 1863. When one year old his parents took him to Hamilton Co., Ohio, where he remained until eighteen years of age; then he came to this county March 2, 1852; was a farmer all his life. His father is William P., born in Brown Co., Ohio, Aug. 12, 1808; his wife was Ann Brown, born in Claremount Co., Ohio, in 1811; their children are: Isaac, Sarah, now Mrs. William Knock, of Sangamon Co., Ill.; John married Mary Lamb, Morgan City, Ill.; Wm. E., physician, married Elizabeth Cave, living at Palmer, Christian Co., Ill. Mrs. Isaac B. Kinnett’s parents are Verin Daniels, born in Mass, Nov. 7, 1797, died in September, 1876, and Nancy W., daughter of Mr. Barton; she was born in Mass, April 26, 1805, died July, 1871. They have nine children: Mary A., now Mrs. W. McAlister, of Jacksonville; Buker, married Sarah M. Turley; William, married Sarah Stilts; Nancy L., Samuel, Verin, married Virginia English; Warren, Theodore, married Eliza B. Eads, now in Morrison, Whiteside Co., Ill.; John, J.H. married Martha E. Sharp, Jacksonville.
KOYNE, ANTHONY, farmer and stock_raiser, Sec. 2, P.O. Murrayville. The annals of Irish history contains no more worthy name on her pages than the gentleman’s name that heads this biography; his father, Patrick Koyne, was a native of County Galway, Ireland. Mr. Anthony Koyne was born in County Galway, Ireland, March 17, 1832, and attended the National School until his young spirit craved for a new field; in 1846 emigrated to the New World, landing after a rough voyage, in Boston, Mass. Whilst a resident of the “City of the Hub,” met and was wedded to a lady of much intelligence, Miss Bridget Kelly, daughter of Mr. Michael Kelly; the indissoluble bond was celebrated at Roxbury Roman Catholic Church, July 4, 1850, by Rev. Father Lynch. The responsibilities from this union were nine children, an infant son died in infancy: Mary, born May 28, 1844; George M., born Dec. 11, 1846; Anges Anne, born March 25, 1859; Rebecca, born Feb. 2, 1862; William, born June 13, 1864; Abbie J., March 15, 1868; John born Aug. 15, 1870; Charles H., born Aug. 9, 1873. After Mr. Koyne’s marriage, and wishing to become a resident of the West, in 1851 moved and cast his fortunes with the people of Connorsville, Ind.; there attended to an engine and other machinery in a large pork house. In 1854, wishing to become a tiller of the soil, rented a large farm of Dr. Hellum; for eleven years he applied his energies to the labor on the farm. Mr. Koyne came to Moran Co. during the stormy days of the war, and at once moved his family and settled south of Jacksonville, bought a tract of eighty acres of land; a rude log cabin was the only shelter for the little family. Mr. Koyne inheriting the courage of his race, went to work with a will, and soon had the barren waste in a good state of cultivation. He has bought at various times small lots of land, until now he owns a beautiful farm of 177 acres of rich land, a part of which produced more than 100 bushels of corn per acre for many years. In 1877 Mr. Koyne had erected a large two_story residence at a large expense, with all the improvements that money could provide; is a devoted Catholic, loving the memory and traditions of Ireland and her greatness.