1906 Historical Encyclopedia Of Illinois & History of Morgan County IL

BAILEY, J. R. , (deceased), founder of the "Jacksonville Sentinel" and its editor and publisher from January, 1855, to January, 1872-seventeen years-was a native of Bucks County, Pa. He was of Protestant Irish descent, his ancestors having emigrated from the north of Ireland during an early period in the first settlement of the colony of Pennsylvania. They bought a tract of land on the banks of the Delaware River, some thirty miles above Philadelphia, of the London Land Company, on which they settled, and on part of which some of their descendants yet reside. Here the subject of this sketch was born, in May, 1818. In 1824 his father sold his farm and moved with his family to the city of Philadelphia. At the age of fourteen years he soon found it necessary to quit school and engage in active business life. He first served two years at the printing business, in a small German and English office. At this time buckskin balls were in use for inking the type, and he remembers working at one time on the old wooden press used by Benjamin Franklin during his publishing career in Philadelphia, since on exhibition in the Patent Office at Washington. It came about in this way: The Franklin press had fallen into the hands of Mr. Ramage, the veteran Philadelphia press-maker, who had it stored away. The Ramage press in the office needed repairing, and while this was being done, the old wooden Franklin press was loaned to the office as a substitute. The frame was like that of an ordinary country loom; the bed of stone and the platen a block of wood, just half the size of the bed, requiring two impressions for a full form. Tiring of the printing office, young Bailey, at the age of sixteen, began learning the carpenter's trade, and in company with his brother Judge J. S. Bailey, of Macomb, Ill., worked at that business two years. Desiring a vocation giving him more outdoor exercise, and seeing an opportunity to better his condition by moving west, Mr. Bailey made up his mind for such a move.

After his marriage to Miss Ann Henderson, a young lady from New Jersey, Mr. Bailey removed to Iowa, and there engaged in opening up a farm on a claim in what was known as the Black Hawk Purchase, a strip of land fifty miles wide, west of the Mississippi River. Becoming interested in politics he was elected a Justice of the Peace, and in 1844 received the Democratic nomination for Representative in the Territorial Legislature for Jefferson County, but declined in favor of a candidate from Wapello, a new county which was attached to Jefferson. Within the next two years a State Constitution was adopted and Iowa became a State. In 1846 Mr. Bailey was again nominated for Representative and was elected to the first State Legislature, thus participating in setting the wheels of the new State government in motion. During this period he began to exercise his talents as writer, contributing articles to the local press. In 1852 he sold his farm and removed to Mt. Sterling, Brown County, Ill., where he began his career as editor and publisher in a newspaper office established by John Bigler, who afterward became Governor of California. The paper was called the "Prairie Pioneer," but afterward the name was changed to Chronotype. Here he was appointed Postmaster under the Pierce administration, but three years later, resigning, he removed to Jacksonville, in the winter of 1855, and there established the "Jacksonville Sentinel," a Democratic paper. He was an active member of the Illinois Press Association, was one of the committee that drafted its constitution, and was twice elected Treasurer of the Association. His wife having died in 1854, during the fall of 1861 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary T. Williams, a lady of some local literary reputation.

During the Civil War he supported the principles of the War Democracy in sustaining the policy of the Government for the suppression of the rebellion. In 1872, on account of impaired eyesight amounting to almost total blindness, he was compelled to retire from newspaper work, and spent the remaining years of his life on his farm near Jacksonville, dying of cancer of the mouth, August 20, 1880. His memory was honored by the adoption of a series of resolutions by representatives of the Jacksonville newspapers held in the office of the "Jacksonville Journal."

Mr. Bailey was survived by eight children, including Mrs. J. H. Hackett, Mrs. Reeves and Mrs. D. H. Hall, of Jacksonville.


BAKER, ELVIN F., M. D., a prominent and successful physician of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., was born at Carthage, Ill., May 24, 1842, the son of Abram and Mary A. (Rickard) Baker, who were natives of Virginia, the father being born in Loudoun County, in 1808. He was a farmer by occupation, and in 1837 took up Government land near Springfield, Ill. At a period somewhat later he sold his farm and removed to Hancock County, Ill., where he purchased a tract of land near Carthage, and there reared his family. He subsequently retired from active life and moved to that city, where he died in 1890, at the age of eighty-two years.

In youth Dr. Baker attended the common schools, and graduated from the High School in Carthage. He then pursued courses at Illinois College and the University of Michigan, finally graduating from the medical department of the Northwestern University. In 1867 he located in Alexander, Morgan County, Ill., and began the practice of medicine. There he remained until 1886, when he moved to Jacksonville, where he has ever since been recognized as a man of unusual ability in his profession. Dr. Baker's talents and attainments have secured for him various State appointments, among which are those of Chief Sanitary Inspector of the State Board of Health, and U. S. Pension Examining Surgeon. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois State Medical Society, the Morgan County Medical Society and the Jacksonville Medical Club; is also identified with the Literary Union.

Politically, Dr. Baker has been a lifelong supporter of the Republican party, his ancestors having been stanch Whigs. He has, however, always maintained a liberal attitude in political affairs. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the A.F.&A.M., belonging to the K.T., Hospitaler Commandery, No. 31; Chapter, Council and Blue Lodge. He has lived in Morgan County nearly all his life, has always been regarded as a public spirited and liberal minded citizen, and is held in high esteem throughout the community.


BAMBROOK, ALFRED W. , who is extensively interested in the foundry business in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., was born at Windsor Green, Near Birmingham, England, August 10, 1850. He is the son of Joseph and Sophia (Buckley) Bambrook, who were also natives of that place. By trade, Joseph Bambrook was a pattern maker and was in the employ of Bolton & Watts, in Birmingham, where the first steam engines were built. He brought his family to the United States when Alfred was two years old, and located in Boston, Mass., where two years later the mother passed away. The father held the position of foreman of the pattern department of the Loring Iron Ship Yards, where the monitors used in the Civil War were constructed.

In boyhood Alfred W. Bambrook received his mental training in the public schools of Boston. After completing his studies, he served a four years' apprenticeship as a molder in the Fulton Iron Works. At the end of this period, located in Peoria, Ill., but remained only a short time, in 1869 settling in Jacksonville. There he took charge of a foundry for John Fiddler, and remained in that position until the death of his employer in 1879. Mr. Bambrook then entered into partnership with Frank Kaule, under the firm name of Bambrook & Kaule. This relationship continued until 1898, when Mr. Bambrook bought his partner's interest and conducted the concern alone until June 14, 1905, when he sold the business to the Economical Stove and Foundry Company, in which he became a large stockholder and the active manager of the works. On the 19th of the following August Mr. Bambrook repurchased the business. The proprietor is one of the foremost experts in his trade, as well as a capable business man, and his success is the result of these two qualifications, together with his honest dealings and diligent application to the work of the foundry.

On July 10, 1870, Mr. Bambrook was united in marriage with Sarah J. Allington, of Boston, a daughter of John Allington. Seven children resulted form this union, namely: Selvy, Alfred and Katy (deceased), Joe, of Jacksonville, Edward (deceased), Frank and Stella. In politics Mr. Bambrook is a supporter of the Republican party.

BANCROFT, HORACE , (deceased), one of the earliest and most successful merchants in Jacksonville, Ill., was born on December 4, 1817, at East Windsor Conn., where he spent his early youth. He was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Hosmer) Bancroft, who were also natives of East Windsor. In boyhood he attended the public schools of East Windsor, and afterward became a pupil in Hartford Academy. In early manhood he lived successively in Elmira and Syracuse, N.Y., New York City, and Thomaston, Conn., locating in Jacksonville, Ill., in 1845, where he engaged in business. He had for sale the first folding chair ever seen in that city, the first Parker breech-loading gun and the first oysters, and sold the first canopy-top basket phaeton to Mrs. Morris Collins. He signed petitions for all the three State institutions located in Jacksonville. He was employed as a clerk for T. D. Eames, in whose family he boarded; later formed a partnership with his brother, Joseph Bancroft, in the dry-goods trade, and was engaged in the shoe business with W. F. Marcy, under the firm style of Bancroft & Marcy. He retired from active business in 1876, and died July 26, 1896.

Mr. Bancroft was twice married - first to Fannie Hunt, at Jacksonville in 1853, and second, on March 25, 1856, in New Haven, Conn., to Elizabeth B. Root. Two children were born of the second marriage, namely: Fannie Corinne, wife of Miller Weir, and Horace Herbert, of the "Jacksonville Journal," whose biography appears elsewhere.

On political issues, Horace Bancroft was a supporter of the Republican party, and religiously, was actively identified with the Congregational Church. He was in all respects a good citizen, and an honorable, upright man.

BANCROFT, HORACE HERBERT, city editor of the "Jacksonville Journal," was born in Jacksonville, Ill., October 16, 1873. In boyhood he attended the public schools, afterward became a pupil in Whipple Academy, and later entered Illinois College, from which he was graduated in 1896. Subsequently, he read law with C. A. Barnes, and then pursued a course in the law department of the University of Michigan. In 1902 he became connected with the "Jacksonville Journal," and was made city editor in 1904.

In politics, Mr. Bancroft is an earnest Republican, and "stumped" the State for the party ticket in 1896 and 1900. At one time he was a candidate for the nomination of State Senator. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Jacksonville Lodge, No. 570, A.F. & A.M., of which he is Pastor Master. He is a member of the order of Sons of the American Revolution, belonging to Samuel Adams Chapter, which he organized, and is serving on the Board of Trustees of Illinois College.

BAPTIST, JOHN, a venerable and highly respected citizen of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., who after a prosperous career as a farmer is now living in retirement, was born on the Island of Madeira, September 30, 1830, the son of Joseph and Johanna Baptist, natives of the same place, where his father died at the age of sixty years. He was the father of five sons. In 1846, after the death of his father, four of the sons who were Protestants, fled to Trinidad, an island of the West Indies, to escape religious persecutions, while the eldest brother remained in care of the old home. The family spent three years in Trinidad, and during that period the eldest of the four brothers, who was married, died, as did also one of his children. His other child came on with its grandmother and uncles, and is now living in Jacksonville, the mother of sixteen daughters. In 1849, with other Portuguese exiles, the family embarked for New York, where they landed August 1st of that year. The unusual climate caused considerable sickness in the party, and John Baptist and his mother were compelled to remain in New York three months on account of the illness of the third son. They finally journeyed to Naples, Ill., and thence proceeded to Waverly, Ill., where they were cared for by friends. During the next year, the third son, Mediers, died in New York, having never fully recovered from his former sickness.

John Baptist worked in Waverly three years, and then located in Jacksonville, where through the influence of Dr. Hiram K. Jones, he secured employment on the farm at the Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane. He was soon promoted to be night watchman, which position he held for four years. He was afterward engaged in teaming for a number of years, and then carried on farming on rented land. Together with seven other persons he bought eighty acres of timber land in Section 1, Township 15, Range 11, Morgan County, but cleared and cultivated most of the land himself as he was one of the purchasers who owned a team. By industry and thrift, he was gradually enabled to buy the interests of his partners, and finally acquired the title to the tract. In 1892, he purchased another farm of 110 acres in Section 1, Township 15, Range 12, and also bought some city property. Mr. Baptist is a resident of Jacksonville, from which point he had managed his farming and city interests.

About the year 1855, Mr. Baptist was united in marriage with Mary Rodgers. This union resulted in the following children, namely: Caroline; Charles; Julia, wife of Joseph Goveia; Robert; John; Mary, wife of John Oliver; Louis; Ellen; Laura; Theodore Thomas; Libby; now a Mrs. Farrell, of California, and Amy, wife of Benjamin Andrews, of Jacksonville. The wife of Mr. Baptist has been dead for a number of years, and his unmarried daughters keep house for him. He has always lived an honest and industrious life, and is greatly respected.



BARNES, (HON.) CHARLES ALBERT , attorney-at-law and County Judge of Morgan County, residing in Jacksonville, was born in Alton, Ill., July 4, 1855, and is a son of the the Rev. and Eunice A. (Hubbard) Barnes. (A detailed record of the career of his father will be found elsewhere in this volume.) At the age of five years he was brought by his parents to Jacksonville, where he attended the public schools and Illinois College, being graduated from the latter institution with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1876. Having decided upon a career in the law, he began his professional studies in the office of his brother, the late Hon. William H. Barnes, of Tucson, Ariz., at that time one of the successful young lawyers of Jacksonville, and afterward entered the law department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated with the class of 1878. Being admitted to the bar at once, he engaged in practice with his brother, the partnership continuing until 1884, when William H. Barnes removed to Arizona to become a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Territory by appointment of President Cleveland. Since that time Judge Barnes has remained in practice alone.

In 1882 Judge Barnes was appointed by the City Council to the office of City Attorney of Jacksonville, serving one year. In 1884 he was nominated for office of State's Attorney of Morgan County, was elected, and remained in office, by virtue of successive elections, until 1892. Upon the resignation of Richard Yates from the office of County Judge in 1897, he was elected to fill the vacancy, and was re-elected to the office in 1898 and in 1902. Unwavering in his devotion to the welfare of the Democracy, he has consistently supported its men and measures since attaining maturity. He has served as Chairman and Secretary of the Democratic County Central Committee, and has been a delegate to numerous State Conventions of his party. In 1892 he was a delegate to the democratic National Convention at Chicago, supporting the candidacy of Grover Cleveland.

Judge Barnes has been deeply interested in educational affairs, and particularly in the cause of higher education. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jacksonville Female Academy, and for some time has been a Trustee of Illinois College, to whose support he has ever been faithful. In religion he is a communicant of the State Street Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville, of which he has been a Trustee for several years. Judge Barnes has been prominent for several years in the work of the Knights of Pythias. In 1893 he filled the office of Grand Chancellor of the Grand Lodge of the State of Illinois; in August, 1904, at Louisville, Ky., he was elected Supreme Chancellor for the World in 1906. In Masonry he is identified with Jacksonville Lodge No. 570 and Jacksonville Chapter No. 3. He is also a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During the life of the "Morgan Cadets," an early local military company connected with the Illinois National Guard, of which he was a charter member, he served for eight years as a private.

On February 19, 1889, Judge Barnes was united in marriage with Madge G. Martin, a daughter of James Martin, of St. Louis, and they are the parents of two children-one daughter, Elson, and one son, James Martin. A gentleman of reserved and dignified bearing, of unquestioned integrity in social and professional life, of pronounced public spirit and with an unfailing desire to render practical assistance in the promotion of those well-considered projects having for their aim the advancement of the best interests of the community, Judge Barnes has risen in the esteem of his fellow-men as he has progressed in his career, until he is now generally recognized as a citizen of the highest utility and worth.


BARNES, NATHAN HALE, (deceased), for a quarter of a century connected with the United States Naval Service and for many years with the faculty of Illinois College, Jacksonville, was the second son of Rev. William and Eunice A. Barnes, and was born at Hartford, Conn., July 12, 1845, coming to Jacksonville with his parents in 1860. He attended Illinois College until the fall of 1863, when he was appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy by Congressman-at-large Allen, and graduated at the Naval Academy in 1868. He became an ensign in 1869, Master in 1870, and a Lieutenant in 1872, remaining in the naval service until 1893, when he was placed on the retired list; the sickness which incapacitated him being caused from exposure to a blizzard, in 1890, when about three days out from New York, on his return from an Asiatic cruise in the "U. S. S. Niepsic." Jacksonville was always his home, and most of his vacations were spent here. In 1884 and 1886 he was detailed as Instructor of Physics in Illinois College, and received from that institution the degree of Ph. D. In 1870 Lieutenant Barnes married Lizzie A. Porter, of Hartford, Conn., and died in that city January 1, 1899, leaving his widow and two daughters. He was always recognized as a splendid officer, and a man of exceptional learning and conversational powers.



BARNES, SUSAN ELIZABETH (Sewall-Fry). - Few people residing outside of the New England States have so valued and preserved the records of their lineage as has Mrs. Susan Elizabeth Sewall Fry Barnes, of Jacksonville, Ill. Mrs. Barnes, who is a pioneer and the daughter of pioneers, has lived in Morgan and Cass Counties for seventy years, coming here at the age of two months from the vicinity of Clarksburg, on the Monongahela River, in Harrison County, W. Va., where she was born July 30, 1829. Mrs. Barnes is one of the children by the second marriage of her mother, Eliza Ward (Middleton) Sewall, extended mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work. Her father, William Sewall, was born in Augusta, Me., January 17, 1797, and in early life was a clerk, and later a teacher and a farmer. He taught school in several of the places in which he lived, and at Jacksonville, March 8, 1830, established in the old historic school house a school which he conducted through the "winter of the deep snow," and for two or three years thereafter.

The Sewall family was known in England for many generations. Fuller, in his "Worthies of England," describes the arms of the family as "Sable Cheveron betwixt three Gad Bees argent," the same having been bestowed upon "John Sewall, Sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire, fourth year of the reign of Richard II, 1380." Mrs. Barnes' grandparents were Henry and Tabitha (Sewall) Sewall, the former of whom was born in York, Me., October 24, 1752, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War; her great-grandparents were Henry and Abigail (Titcomb) Sewall, the former born at York, Me., March 26, 1727; the great-great-grandparents were Nicholas and Mehitable (Storer) Sewall, the former born at Newbury, Mass., June 1, 1670; the great-great-great-grandparents were John and Hannah (Fessenden) Sewall, the former born at Baddesley, England, October 10, 1654; the great-great-great-great-grandparents were Henry and Jane (Dummer) Sewall, the former born in Manchester, England, in 1614; the great-great-great-great-great-grandparents were Henry and Anna (Hunt) Sewall, the former born in Coventry, England, in 1576; the great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents were Henry and Margaret (Gresbrook) Sewall, the former born in Coventry, England, in 1544, and who served as Mayor of Coventry during 1589 and 1606. The third Henry Sewall came to Newbury in 1635, as one of the first settlers of that region, and eventually succeeded to large landed estates. In 1646 he married Jane Dummer, of Newbury, and became the progenitor of the numerous family of Sewalls now scattered over the United States and Canada.

As was customary with the daughters of the early settlers, Susan Elizabeth Sewall was taught knitting spinning, weaving, and the art of beautiful hand sewing. There were no sewing machines in the country previous to 1846, and practically everything worn by the people was made by the women of the household. Necessarily they were skillful and rapid in the use of the needle, and personally devoted much more time than the women of the present day to affairs of the wardrobe. Miss Sewall attended the early subscription schools of Morgan and Cass Counties, and in 1848 came to Jacksonville to enter the Academy for Young Ladies, from which she graduated in 1851, and of whose Alumnae Association she is still a member. Subsequently she engaged in educational work in various parts of the county, though still making her home in Jacksonville.

The marriage of Miss Sewall to Abiel Fry occurred at the home of her mother in Jacksonville, November 12, 1867, Mr. Fry being than a resident of Muscatine, Iowa, in which town the young people lived. After the death of Mr. Fry in 1876, his widow visited her sister near Chandlerville, Ill., and there met Rev. William Barnes, of Jacksonville, to whom she was united in marriage, August 1, 1878. Mr. Barnes died May 1, 1890, and his widow still makes her home at the Barnes homestead, 415 West State Street, Jacksonville. Mrs. Barnes is one of the interesting women of Jacksonville, and has a host of friends who can testify to her genial nature and large heart. Her memory is stored with reminiscences of the early days of the State, and more especially of the men and women who, like herself, have been integral parts of the unfolding prosperity of Morgan County.


BARNES, WILLIAM H. , (deceased), formerly an honored resident of Jacksonville, a leader of the Illinois bar and a prominent Democrat, was the oldest son of Rev. William and Eunice A. Barnes, and was born at Hampton, Conn., May 1, 1843. In 1860 he came to Jacksonville with his parents and attended Illinois College until 1864, then entering the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which, in 1865, he graduated with the degree of A. B. He then began the study of law with Hon. William Brown and was admitted to the bar in 1868. From that date until 1885, he practiced his profession at Jacksonville, becoming one of the leaders of the Illinois bar, and recognized for his intellectual attainments, unusual legal ability and splendid oratorical powers. Mr. Barnes was a Representative from Morgan County in the Twenty-seventh General Assembly (1870-72), and stood high in the councils of the Democratic party, which he represented in the State Convention of 1880. He was a prominent member of the Illinois State and the American Bar Associations, and was a Mason, an Odd Fellow and a member of the Order of Elks. While living in Jacksonville, he was identified with the "Literary Union," and was known, loved and respected by all for his social qualities and keen intellect. In 1885 President Cleveland appointed him Judge of the Supreme Court of Arizona, and from that date until his death he resided at Tucson, where he made an enviable record as a judge, lawyer and citizen. After retiring from the bench, he gave his chief attention to mining litigation, and became the owner of valuable mining interests in the Territory. Judge Barnes died at his home in Tucson, Ariz., November 10, 1904, leaving his widow, Belle J. Dailey, to whom he was married in 1874.


BARNES, (REV.) WILLIAM, D. D. , was born of Scotch ancestry in Portsmouth, Ohio, February 8, 1814. He graduated from Yale in 1839, and among his classmates were Charles Sumner and Edward Everett. In the following year he completed his theological course at Yale and began his pastorate at Foxboro, Mass., being created a D. D. by his alma mater in 1850. On August 14, 1842, at Coventry, Conn., he was married to Eunice A Hubbard, who was of the Nathan Hale stock. In 1845 he was called to the pastorate of a large Christian Church in Boston, and while so officiating preached the funeral discourse over the remains of Daniel Webster. In 1854, his health failing, he came West; from 1855 to 1860 was pastor of the Congregational Church at Alton, Ill., and then, to educate his children, removed to Jacksonville, Ill., which he made his home until his death, on May 1, 1890. Although retired from active work, he made his presence felt in the literary circles of the city, almost from its organization being a prominent figure in the Literary Union. Dr. Barnes was a great reader, an original thinker, a strong writer and a power in many ways. His first wife died May 18, 1874, and August 1, 1878, he was married to Susan E. Sewall. Rev. William Barnes left by his first union four children: Judge William H. Barnes, who lived in this city until November, 1885, when he was appointed by President Cleveland Associate Justice of the Territory of Arizona, and died at Tucson, Ariz., November 10, 1904; Lieut. Nathan Hale Barnes, of the United States Navy, who died at Hartford, Conn., January 1, 1899; Mrs. Mary E. Elson, of Freeport, Ill., and Judge Charles A. Barnes, of Jacksonville.

BARROWCLOUGH, MARY E., an estimable and highly esteemed widow, who makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Reeve, at No. 693 East State Street, Jacksonville, Ill., has the distinction of having enjoyed the longest continuous residence of any settler in Morgan County. She is a native of Indiana, born July 19, 1822, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Haines) Broadhead, the former a native of England, the latter of Germany. Her father died in Morgan County. Her paternal grandparents, William and Anna Broadhead, were natives of England, where they spent their lives. Her maternal grandmother was a native of Germany. In girlhood Mrs. Mary E. Barrowclough received her mental training in the subscription schools in the vicinity of her home. Her father, Thomas Broadhead, was one of the earliest settlers of Morgan County, whither he brought her when she was five years old. He entered 160 acres of Government land just north of Jacksonville, to which he subsequently made additions until he owned more than 300 acres.

Mrs. Barrowclough has been thrice married. She was first wedded in August, 1840, to Isham Taylor, a native of Virginia, who received his mental training in the early schools of that State. Mr. Taylor died in Cass County, Ill., September 3, 1878, aged sixty-four years. The second husband was Benjamin Hickman, who was born in Staffordshire, England, and died near Jacksonville in 1894, aged eighty years. Mr. Barrowclough, the third husband, a native of Holonfirth, Yorkshire, England, was married to the subject of this sketch February 14, 1899, and died in the vicinity of Jacksonville on April 22, 1900. The first union resulted in eight children, as follows: Sarah Jane, Catherine, John and Susan (deceased), Margaret, Martha Ellen, Eli and Lucy. Mrs. Barrowclough is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which she is held in tender regard, and her spiritual interest is nurtured with pious solicitude. Her home surroundings are most felicitous, her declining years being constantly attended by the tender ministrations of her devoted children.

BARTON, (REV.) CHARLES BARKUS , (deceased), was born at Fitchburg, Mass., September 1, 1810. His father removed from Massachusetts to Tennessee in 1817, and in 1827 in order to removed his family from the influence of slavery, he decided to come to Illinois. After crossing the Ohio River a rest in the journey of two days was taken. On the third morning the father rose at daybreak, apparently in his usual health, and spoke cheerfully of starting again on the journey, but in an instant fell speechless, and life was soon extinct. He was buried on the banks of the Ohio, two miles from Ford's Ferry. The widow and children then renewed their mournful journey. Arriving at Jacksonville they found a collection of twenty-five or thirty dwellings, chiefly log cabins. A rude log school house served as a sanctuary for all denominations of worshipers; where three and a half years later, April, 1830, Rev. John M. Ellis was installed pastor of the Presbyterian Church. On the first Monday of January, 1830, the preparatory department of Illinois College was opened under the instruction of Rev. Julian M. Sturtevant, D. D., Mr. Barton being one of the seven students in whose presence that renowned teacher and minister of the Gospel solemnly consecrated to God that grand institution of learning which has so long and so widely diffused its priceless influence and unmeasured benefits. Mr. Barton graduated with his class in 1836, the first class that received the honors of the college. Soon after graduation Mr. Barton was married, and with his wife spent some years in teaching. In 1840 he was licensed to preach by the Illinois Presbytery, and later filled pastorates of various lengths at different points, including Newburg, Farmington, Manchester, Bunker Hill, Woodburn and Richview. Returning to Jacksonville in the spring of 1874, he preached some time to the Second Portuguese Presbyterian Church through an interpreter. Some of the churches served were Congregational in faith and order.

Mr. Barton's long life was one of great beauty and usefulness. For many years he was a venerated citizen of Jacksonville, and his voice was always raised in protest against wrong and in championship of the right. His life and spirit were gentle and kind, and his presence always seemed to diffuse a sweet peacefulness on all who came within its charmed circle. He was a man of fine culture and deep convictions on all matters. With all his kindliness of nature and manner, he had great forcefulness of character, and his tongue and pen were sharp and poignant when he waged war against any wrong. Death came as the crowning of a well spent life, and when God's finger touched him he quietly and peacefully closed his eyes to open them again with truer and wider vision. He died in Jacksonville, December 19, 1903, being a little over ninety-three years old.



      
BAXTER, HIRAM BENNETT, one of the extensive landholders in Illinois, and a well known and respected citizen (now of Cass County, formerly of Morgan), was born near Madison, Jefferson County, Ind., September 22, 1840. He is of Scotch-Irish and Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry, his parents, William and Jane (Kerr) Baxter, being natives of Ohio, the former born in the city of Dayton. His grandfather, James Baxter, a native of County Tyrone, Ireland, came to the United States about the time of the Revolutionary War, settled near Pittsburg, Pa., and married a German lady, whose name was Rebecca Riddle. Mr. Baxter's maternal grandfather, Josiah Kerr, was a native of Scotland.

Hiram B. Baxter is the sixth of twelve children, comprising ten boys and two girls. The others of the family were: James Riddle, the eldest, an attorney, who died in Bloomfield, Ind.; Josiah Kerr, a retired physician, of Sharpsville, Ind.; Daniel Thomas, a carriage maker, who died January 5, 1859; Oliver H. Perry, who was one of the first settlers of Pueblo, Colo., and who now resides there; William Alexander, who died in Indianapolis, Ind., September 15, 1877; George Washington, now a resident of Indianapolis, Ind.; Alonzo Hayden Hayes, a prospector and miner in Colorado; Edward Arthur Zener, an ex-Sheriff of his county, now a resident of Pawnee, Ill., and an extensive breeder and raiser of Duroc Jersey hogs; Leonidas Napoleon, now a resident of Indianapolis, Ind.; Havana Siloam, widow of Robert Williams, of Madison, Ind.; and Emlona Hazeltine, who died young, January 2, 1856. The mother of the family died May 27, 1855, and the father married her sister, Margaret Kerr, by whom he had one son-Erastus Virgil, who died November 25, 1861. The father was a farmer, prospered in his calling, and died on his old farm in Indiana, August 25, 1861, at the age of fifty-seven years. His second wife died at the old homestead on November 24, 1892.

Mr. Baxter was reared on a farm, attended the district schools and at the age of eighteen years was himself teaching a district school in his county. On July 14, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, Twenty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into the service at North Madison, Ind., by Col. (afterward Gen.) Thomas Wood. He participated in the Missouri campaigns under Fremont, Hunter and Curtis, taking part in the engagement at Glasgow, in which Major Tanner, of his regiment, was killed; was in the battle of Pear Ridge, Ark., and at the siege of Corinth, Miss. He then accompanied his regiment, in General Buell's army, to Louisville, Ky., a distance of nearly 400 miles, and participated in the battle of Perryville, Ky., where he received a severe rifle wound in the knee. Of the thirty-five men in his company, who were engaged in that battle, but eight remained to answer roll-call next morning; ten were killed, thirteen wounded and four were captured. The wounded were all made prisoners for the night. Mr. Baxter rejoined his regiment at Murfreesboro, Tenn., after the battle of Stone River, February, 1863. He then received his commission of First Lieutenant of his company, being promoted from a sergeancy. In the absence of the Captain, who had been wounded at the battle of Stone River, Lieut. Baxter assumed command of the company. The regiment remained at Murfreesboro until June 24, 1863, when it marched with Rosecrans' army on the Tullahoma campaign, following the enemy under Bragg to Chattanooga. His command was assigned to the work of guarding a pass in the mountains, near the battle-ground of Chicamaugua, and was not engaged in that battle. His regiment was then cooped up, with the balance of the Army of the Cumberland under Thomas, and subsisted on short rations for two months in Chattanooga, until re-enforcements arrived under Hooker from the East and Sherman from the West, with Grant to take command. Then the army burst forth from its lethargy and captured Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge in a grand charge all along the line, driving the enemy from their vantage ground at every point. Lieut. Baxter was in command of Company G of his regiment in the charge on Mission Ridge, being in Sheridan's Division of the Fourth Corps, and ascended the ridge near where Bragg's headquarters were established. Immediately after the battle the next day, with his command, he started in pursuit of Longstreet to relieve Burnside at Knoxville, Tenn., arriving there after a hard forced march to find Burnside's army safe and the enemy gone. The army remained there for six weeks, subsisting principally by foraging over the surrounding country.

Here Lieutenant Baxter re-enlisted as a veteran with his company, all retracing their steps to Chattanooga, where they re-mustered for three years, or during the war, and returned to Indiana on a veteran furlough of thirty days. At the expiration of the furlough he returned by rail, with his command, to Nashville, Tenn.; then marched on foot to Chattanooga, where the company was assigned to Dan McCook's Brigade, in the organization of Sherman's Army for the Atlanta campaign and the "March to the Sea." He was at Tunnel Hill, Rockyface Ridge, Resaca and Rome, Ga., where, in command of his company, he was again wounded in the same leg as before. He remained in the hospital and on furlough until the 29th day of August, following, when he was honorably discharged by the Secretary of War for "disability from gunshot wounds." He then returned to his home in Indiana, for a time attending commercial school in Indianapolis. Recovering from his disability in a marked degree, during the fall and winter, he again entered the service in February following, as First Lieutenant of Company B, One Hundred and Forty-eighth Indiana Volunteers, and upon the organization of the regiment he was made Captain of the company and served as such until the end of the war, being mustered out at Indianapolis, Ind., September 6, 1865.

Six of Mr. Baxter's brothers served in the Federal Army during the Civil War, no two of them being in the same regiment, all survived the conflict, and the seven are living at this date (Dec. 25, 1905).

After returning home at the end of the war, Mr. Baxter for a time was clerk in a railroad office at Indianapolis, but becoming dissatisfied with that business, turned his attention westward. On December 15, 1866, with $700 in his pocket, he arrived at Jacksonville, Ill., near which place he taught school for two years and was similarly employed for the same length of time near Literberry. At the latter place, for nine years, he was afterward engaged in selling goods, also filling the positions of Postmaster, railroad agent, Justice of the Peace and Notary Public. On January 21, 1881, he moved to the farm upon which he now resides, in Cass County, Ill., about eight miles from Literberry. He and his wife are now the owners of 1,400 acres of land, 1,100 acres of which are included in his homestead, in Cass County, and 300 hundred acres in Morgan County. He devotes his time to the feeding of stock and the management of his farming interests.

On October 4, 1876, Mr. Baxter was united in marriage with Lydia Ellen Crum, the only daughter of Abram A. Crum, a sketch of whose life may be found elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter are the parents of two sons, namely: Albert Crum, who is a student in the medical department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor; and William Abram, who is a pupil in the Whipple Academy, Jacksonville.

In politics Mrs. Baxter is a stanch Republican. Fraternally he is a member of the John L. Douglass Post, G.A.R., of Ashland, Ill., and was its first Commander. Aside from being a well-informed citizen and the owner of a large tract of fine farming land; Mr. Baxter's military record, as detailed in this sketch, bestows upon him a priceless heritage of honor for transmission to his posterity.




BEESLEY, BENJAMIN F., (deceased), formerly one of the most prominent and highly esteemed citizens of Jacksonville, Ill., was born in what is now Cass (then a part of Morgan) County, in 1838. He was a son of Benjamin and Susannah Beesley, natives of Philadelphia, PA., and Quakers in religious faith. In early youth he attended school for a time in Jacksonville, under the instruction of Newton Bateman, becoming well versed in the sciences. After his primary mental training was completed, Mr. Beesley received a good business education in St. Louis, and was considered so proficient in mercantile knowledge that, at the age of eighteen years, he was sent to New York City to purchase a stock of goods for a large store, which his father and his elder brother, John were then starting at Bath, Ill. In 1863 he located in Jacksonville, and until 1870 was associated with John Carter in the hardware and drug business. In the latter year he became a bookkeeper in the Jacksonville National Bank, and was soon promoted to be Assistant Cashier. In 1875 he was made Cashier, and for twenty years served in that capacity, enjoying the utmost confidence of management of the bank and the high esteem of the general public. He officiated as Secretary and Treasurer of the Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane for twenty years, and during that extended period served in a fiduciary relation in connection with many estates, and the business enterprises of numerous friends, to whom he thus rendered invaluable aid. For twenty years he was a member of the Board of Directors of the bank, and seldom missed one of its meetings. He was public spirited to an intense degree, and was always ready to devote his time and energy to the promotion of worthy measurers for the public good, even at the sacrifice of his health and personal interests.

On July 19, 1861, Mr. Beesley was united in marriage with Sallie Gordon, a daughter of William and Nancy Gordon, natives of the State. Five children resulted from this union, the second of whom, William Benjamin, died at the age of four years. Of the others, Alice May, after spending three years in Dresden, Germany, in the study of vocal music, under eminent preceptors, became a proficient singer, appearing in concert and oratorio both in Germany and the United States. For a number of years she was a member of the noted quartet choir of the Third Presbyterian Church, at Pittsburg, Pa. In 1892 she was married to Alexander F. Adam, of that city, and has one child, Dorothy B., now seven years of age. John Harold Beesley, the second son, is a business man of Bloomington, Ill.; Dr. James Gordon Beesley, another son, is a successful dentist, also of Bloomington , and Helen Louise, the remaining child, lives at home with her mother.

In politics, Mr. Beesley was a supporter of the Republican party. Fraternally, he was identified with the Knights Templar, and his religious connections were with the Presbyterian Church. In all the relations of life, Mr. Beesley was a model man and an exemplary citizen of the community, and his death was widely and sincerely lamented. His useful career was terminated by death July 14, 1892.


BEGGS, (CAPT.) CHARLES , soldier and pioneer, born in Rockingham County, Va., in 1775. He was of Scotch-Irish lineage, and inherited in large measure the best qualities of that noble stock. In the early settlement of the Old Dominion the religious affiliation of the people of the eastern portion being so largely Episcopalian, the emigrants of Presbyterian predilections sought homes in the interior and western portions of the Colony. Captain Beggs was married in 1797. Subsequently the family removed to Kentucky by way of the Cumberland Pass, and in 1799 he removed to Indiana. In 1829 he came to Morgan County, Ill., and settled in Jersey Prairie, near the village of Princeton, about ten miles northeast of Jacksonville, where he resided till his death in 1869, at ninety-four years of age. He obtained his military title by virtue of his position as Captain of Volunteer Cavalry under Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison, under whom, with his command, participated in the battle of Tippecanoe, November 6, 1811. He was a splendid type and representative of a gentleman of the olden time, tall, erect and of fine military bearing and manners. A large number of his descendants bearing his name, also the Eplers and Hopkinses of Morgan and Cass Counties, are worthy citizens of their localities.


BIGGERS, THOMAS R. , well known farmer and stock-raiser of Chapin, Morgan County, Ill., was born near Maysville, Ky., March 3, 1860, a son of Richard and Nannie (Adams) Biggers. Both of his parents were born in Marion County, Ky., in 1832, his father's birthday being January 6th, of that year. By occupation Richard Biggers was a blacksmith. In 1865, he located at Winchester, Ill., where the family remained eight years, and where the mother died. The father then moved to Chapin, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying November 17, 1893. In early youth Thomas R. Biggers received a good common-school education at Winchester, and at the age of seventeen years became a teacher, continuing in this occupation for nine years in Morgan County. He was Principal of the Chapin public schools three years, and of the Liberty (Ill.) school, two years, throughout this period being prominent in the literary societies of that vicinity. He was for several years engaged in the grain business in Chapin, first, in connection with F. Eintsman & Co., and afterward with H. & C. Oaks, of whose extensive transactions he was the local manager. For two years he was connected with the store and postoffice conducted by H. D. Cooper, and for a number of years superintended the Chapin Mercantile & Implement Company. At present he is the manager of the Billings farm of 800 acres, and has filled this position with marked ability and fidelity for a considerable period of time, having paid more than $30,000 in rentals to the owner of this property. In connection with his farm work he has established quite a reputation as an auctioneer, making stock and farm sales a specialty.

On March 16, 1881, Mr. Biggers was united in marriage with Mollie L. Bridgeman, a daughter of Columbus and Emma (Gledhill) Bridgeman, of Morgan County, pioneer settlers of the county, the father having served in the Civil War. Four children resulted from this union, namely: Amy Joyce and Chester (twins); Vena Vita, who was born May 4, 1889; and Ruth, who was born April 19, 1894. Amy J. and Chester were born January 18, 1883. The former died September 13, 1883, and the latter, November 8th, of the same year.

In politics, Mr. Biggers is an unswerving Democrat, and has taken an active and influential part in local campaigns. He has served repeatedly as Precinct Committeeman, and is a member of the City Council of Chapin, an office which he has held for several terms. For a long period he was Clerk of the Village Board, and is now serving his second term as Justice of the Peace. In April, 1902, he was the nominee of his party for Representative in the State Legislature from his district, comprising the counties of Morgan and Sangamon, and made a vigorous but unsuccessful race, carrying his home county by a good majority, but falling in Sangamon.

Religiously, Mr. Biggers is a member of the Methodist Protestant Church, with which he united in early life. When but twenty-five years old he was made an Elder and has served in that capacity ever since. He has been a teacher in the Sunday school, and for a number of years its Superintendent. In church work he is very active and useful and has manifested his zeal in the Christian cause by earnest efforts as an evangelist. Besides his devotion to the Christian faith, Mr. Biggers has always been a man of pure habits, never having indulged in alcoholic beverages or tobacco, and never having used profanity. As a business man he is thoroughly capable, diligent, careful and systematic. Socially he is genial and courteous; his intelligence is of a superior order and his information is broad and varied. Fraternally, Mr. Biggers is prominently identified with the M.W.A. and I.O.O.F. In the first named order he has held all the offices in the local lodge, and is now officiating as Excellent Banker. He has also held all the chairs in the subordinate lodge, including that of Noble Grand, and has taken the Grand Lodge degree at Springfield, Ill.

BLACK, CARL ELLSWORTH, A.M., M.D., a well known physician and surgeon of Jacksonville, Ill., was born in Winchester, Ill., July 4, 1862. He is the son of Dr. G. V. and Jane L. Coughennower Black, the former a native of Scott County, Ill., and the latter born in Griggsville, in the same State. His remote ancestry may be traced in the sketch of his father, appearing herewith.

Dr. Carl E. Black attended the public schools in Jacksonville, and graduated from the High School in 1881. He then entered Illinois College, from which he was graduated with the degree of B.S. in 1883. For two years thereafter he was local editor of the "Jacksonville Journal", and in 1885 entered the Northwestern University Medical School, from which he was graduated in 1887. A portion of the years 1888 and 1889 he spent abroad, principally in Vienna, but also engaged in hospital and laboratory work in Berlin, Paris, and London. He took post-graduate courses at the New York Polyclinic and the New York Post-Graduate Medical School, has contributed frequently to current medical literature, and has practiced continuously since 1889.

In 1890, in connection with Dr. W. K. McLaughlin, Dr. Carl E. Black established a private hospital known as the Jacksonville Sanitarium, which the latter conducted until 1896, in order to provide a place for surgical patients, to which he has devoted most of his time. In 1896 the Catholic Sisters established a hospital, thus taking away the necessity for a private establishment, which was then discontinued. Later Passavant Hospital opened its doors to all physicians. Dr. Black is one of the surgeons to both these institutions. For ten years or more this time has been occupied largely with the practice of surgery, and he is Surgeon for the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company, and the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad Company. He has always been an active member and frequently an officer of the Morgan County Medical Society, was editor of the "Journal," which it published, and has been a frequent contributor of papers to various medical societies in Illinois, including the Illinois State Medical Society. He was a member of a committee or five appointed by the Illinois State Medical Society, in 1898, under whose auspices the "Illinois Medical Journal" was founded. In 1900 he was made Chairman of the Legislative committee of the State Association, and was continued in that position until 1903, when he was elected President of the Association. During this period the association increased from 485 to 4,500 members. For three years he has been Chairman of its "Journal" Committee, of the Council of the State Society, which has charge of the publication of the "Illinois Medical Journal." Dr. Black was a delegate to represent the profession of Illinois at the Atlantic City meeting of the American Medical Association, in 1903, and to its session at Portland, Ore., in 1905. He has also been a member of the Legislative Committee of that body. Aside from his professional relations, he has been a Director of the Jacksonville Public Library for many years, and its Vice-President of the Illinois State Library Association. He was one of the organizers of the Morgan County Historical Society in 1904, and was its first President.

Dr. Carl E. Black was married, June 12, 1889, to Bessie, a daughter of Rev. James and Frances (Kirby) McLaughlin. Six children have resulted from this union as follows: Kirby Vaughn; Carl Ellsworth, Jr.; Jane Coughennower, who died in infancy; Helen Margaret, deceased at the age of seven years; Dorothy Lawrence and Marjorie Vardeman. Somewhat of interesting detail has been necessarily omitted on account of lack of space, but a sufficient record is afforded to attest Dr. Black's standing as a citizen and a member of his profession.


BLACK, GREENE VARDEMAN, A.M., M.D., D.D.S.,SC. D., LL.D., an old and prominent resident of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., was born in Scott County, Ill., August 3, 1836, the son of William and Mary S. (Vaughn) Black, grandson of Thomas Gillespie Black, and a great-grandson of Capt. William Black. The last named ancestor was a Captain of the Militia in North Carolina just before the Mecklenburg Rebellion, and one of the first officers who refused to take the oath of allegiance to the British Crown. Capt. William Black, who married a Miss Beard, lived in Rockingham County, N.C., and died at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. His son, T. G. Black, who married Polly Callahan, was born in the same county in January, 1772, and died at Milledgeville, Ga., November 20, 1823. He served as Captain under General Jackson in the Seminole War. His son, William, was born in Milledgeville, January 13, 1796. In 1825 he went to Tennessee and there married Mary S. Vaughn, whence they moved to Scott County, Ill., about 1834. He was a cabinet-maker by trade and also followed farming. He moved from Scott County to what is now Cass County, Ill., about 1844, settling on a farm seven miles southeast of Virginia, where four of his sons resided. He and his wife are buried in the family burying ground in Cass County.

Dr. G. V. Black was reared on the farm, and had a very limited schooling. He was, however, an apt student and tireless reader, and developed his own mind largely in the school of Nature. At the age of seventeen he made his home at Clayton, Ill., with his brother, Dr. T. G. Black, who was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Civil War, and twice a member of the Illinois Legislature. With him G. V. Black read medicine, and during that time for a while acted as Postmaster. At the age of twenty-one he began the study of dentistry at Mt. Sterling, Ill., and afterward established a dental office at Winchester, Scott County, where he remained until 1862, studying constantly in the meantime.

In 1860, Dr. Black was married to Jane L. Coughennower, of Clayton, a daughter of Henry Coughennower, a miller, and Agnes (Likely) Coughennower. Agnes Likely was a daughter of William and Agnes (Taylor) Likely, the latter belonging to the same family as President Zachary Taylor. The Taylors were direct descendants of Rollin Taylor, who was burned at the stake in England for heresy. Mrs. Black was born in Griggsville, Ill., March 31, 1838, and died in Cass County, Ill., August 26, 1863.

During the Civil War Dr. Black served as a Sergeant, but was engaged most of his time on special scouting duty. He was injured in the knee-joint and spent six months in the hospital in Louisville, Ky. Returning home he came to Jacksonville, where in 1865 he married Elizabeth Akers Davenport, a daughter of Ira and Minerva (Reid) Davenport, and a niece of Peter Akers, a widely known Methodist preacher and circuit rider. Of the first union two children were born: Horace Vaughn, who died in infancy, and Carl E. (A.M., M.D.), a sketch of whom is elsewhere published. To the second union were born: Clara, of Chicago; Arthur D. (B.S., D.D.S., M.D.), of Chicago, Assistant Professor of Operative Dentistry and Assistant in Oral Surgery in the dental department of the Northwestern University; and Margaret Olive, wife of Mark Baldwin, of Duluth, Minn.

Dr. Black opened a dental office in Jacksonville in 1864, and at first applied himself to the study of chemistry, establishing a complete working laboratory in connection with his office. He organized a class in chemistry among the public school teachers, which he taught several years, also taking a prominent part in the medical organizations of the city and county. He has become widely known as an author and lecturer on scientific topics pertaining to his profession. His writings have been translated into many languages and are standard authority on the subjects they discuss. A prominent feature of his writings are the numerous original drawings made by the author himself. He has not only been a writer and teacher, but has always been a practical worker and an inventor. He has the distinction of having invented and patented the first cord transmission Dental Engine, and the present plans of preparing cavities in the teeth and the methods of inserting and making both gold and amalgam fillings are largely due to his investigations. He has been pre-eminently an original worker. From 1870 to 1880 he lectured on pathology, both general and dental, in the Missouri Dental College at St. Louis. Subsequently, from 1886 to 1889, he lectured in the Chicago College of Dental Surgery. After this he was identified with the dental department of the University of Iowa for one year, from which he was called to Northwestern University, being afterward made Dean of its Dental Department, the position which he now occupies. During this period of professional labor, Dr. Black published several standard scientific works, the mention of which herein is necessarily omitted for lack of space. He also invented a number of dental and scientific instruments, now generally used by the profession. He was the first president of the State Board of Dental Examiners in Illinois. He has been active in municipal affairs, a frequent contributor to the newspapers, and has held the highest offices in the gift of the dental profession. He has been President of the Illinois State Dental Society and the American Dental Association, and for ten years has represented the Northwestern University in the American Association of Dental Faculties, of which he has been president. He was President of the Section on Pathology of the International dental Congress at Chicago, during the World's Fair at St. Louis. He has frequently been invited to address dental organizations in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and many other cities, and has been the recipient of numerous honors at the hands of his professional colleagues.


BLACK, SAMUEL, (deceased), pioneer farmer of Morgan County, was born in Augusta County, Va., on July 4, 1798. His father, also named Samuel, was descended from Scotch ancestry. The place of his birth is not known, but the family records show that he fought as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, probably with the Virginia troops. He removed from Virginia to Christian County, Ky., when his son Samuel was twelve years of age. The latter reached manhood in Kentucky, where he married Mildred Gaines. In 1825 he removed to Illinois with his wife and two children, locating in Sangamon County. In 1828 he came to Morgan County and purchased a farm which was situated about six miles northeast of Jacksonville, where he spent the remainder of his active life in agriculture and stock-raising. Upon his abandonment of active life he made his home with his children, dying in August, 1887.

The home which mr. Black established in Morgan County was the first place in that neighborhood where preaching services in the Methodist Episcopal Church were held. Mr. Black himself was a devoted member of that church, and throughout his life actively supported not only the society with which he was identified, but also all other like organizations within a radius of many miles. He was one of the founders of Shiloh Methodist Episcopal church, which was organized by the pioneer inhabitants who first gathered at his home for the purpose of worshiping, and during the remainder of his life was actively identified with this society as Steward and Trustee. He also assisted in the organization of several Sunday schools in his community, and evinced a hearty interest at all times in their advancement. In the cause of education he also took a lively interest, serving as School Director for a long period, during an era when a man possessed of progressive spirit was greatly needed in the post which he occupied. In early life a Whig, he became a Republican upon the organization of that party, voting for General Fremont for the Presidency. He became well acquainted with Lincoln, of whom he was a great admirer and friend. Mr. Black was highly esteemed by an extensive circle of friends and acquaintances, who honored him for his splendid Christian life, his public spirit, his unquestioned integrity and his disposition to do all in his power to advance the welfare of the community in which he lived. He died August 14, 1887.

To Mr. Black and his wife the following children were born: Eliza, deceased, wife of George Reagan; James Richard and William, both deceased; John M., Sarah (widow of Tillman Sharp), Martha G. and Samuel W., all of Jacksonville; Amy Clay, deceased; Mary Jane, wife of William C. Self, and Mildred, wife of Samuel T. Maddox, both residents of Jacksonville. Mrs. Black, who is deceased, was a daughter of Richard Gaines, a pioneer preacher in the Methodist church, who died prior to 1850. She was also a niece of the wife of the Rev. Peter Cartwright, the famous pioneer "circuit rider" and one of the most conspicuous and picturesque figures in the Methodist church, in pioneer days in Illinois.


BLACK, SAMUEL WEBSTER, retired farmer, Jacksonville, Ill., was born on a farm about six miles northeast of that city, on June 27, 1837, and is the seventh child of Samuel and Mildred (Gaines) Black. (A record of his father's life will be found elsewhere in this volume.) He was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools of the county. Remaining on the homestead, he assisted his father in the management of his property until 1860, when he rented a tract of land in the neighborhood and began independent operations. For five or six years he cultivated leased land, the proceeds from which enabled him to purchase 66 acres located in the same vicinity. This he sold a few months later at a large profit, and for four years thereafter operated rented land. At the expiration of this time he purchased 100 acres, and since that time has accumulated valuable property aggregating over 700 acres of fertile and productive land, the returns form which have brought him a fortune. His active life has been devoted exclusively to agriculture and stock-raising, but since 180 he has resided in Jacksonville.

Like his father, Mr. Black has been intimately identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has taken an active interest in the promotion of its welfare. Soon after his marriage he united with Shiloh Church, in which he held office during the years of his residence on the farm. For seventeen years consecutively he served as Collector, and for most of that period was the sole person to fill that office. When he removed to his farm nearer Jacksonville he united with Ebenezer M. E. Church, and since locating in the city has identified himself with the Centenary M. E. Church, in which he has served both as Trustee and steward, at the present time occupying the former office. He has been deeply interested in the cause of education, and for many years served as School Director. Though a stanch Republican he has never sought political office.

On December 2, 1860, Mr. Black was united in marriage with Mary J. Self, a native of Morgan County, and a daughter of John Self, an early inhabitant of the county. She died in 1888, the mother of four children, as follows: William Edward, who operates the farm formerly owned by his grandfather; James Alpha, who died in infancy; Charles S., who resides on his father's farm; and Effie, wife of Dr. George E. Baxter, of Jacksonville. On August 24, 1890, Mr. Black married Addie Angel, a native of Morgan County, and a daughter of John Angel, who came from Virginia and settled in the county at an early day. They have a daughter, Irene.

BODDY, MICHAEL, for many years one of the busiest and most enterprising farmers of Morgan County, Ill., was born February 28, 1829, in Yorkshire, England, on a tract of land known as Dalby Valley, which has been in the possession of his family for seven hundred years. He is a son of Robert and Susanna Boddy, natives of England. Robert Boddy died before his son, Michael, was born, and the boy remained with his mother until he was eight years old. He then took up his abode with an uncle, where he spent the next three years. At eleven years of age he went forth to make his own way in the world, beginning on a farm at six pounds per year. This he continued until 1850, when with his mother he emigrated to the United States. On arriving on these shores he proceeded directly to Illinois, settling in Morgan County and being employed by William Richardson for a period of four years. In 1855 Mr. Boddy returned to England, where he engaged in the grocery and notion trade in Thornton, in which he continued four years, when he returned to Morgan County and, after about five years, purchased 80 acres of land one mile and a quarter west of Markham. The tract contained a log cabin as its sole improvement. Mr. Boddy now has all of his land under cultivation, besides owning a 90 acre tract opposite. In addition to general farming and stock raising Mr. Boddy raises choice fruit, and makes excellent wine. He has also been active in the extension of the county roads, and for seventeen consecutive years has been night superintendent of the Fair Grounds.

In 1855 Mr. Boddy was united in marriage with Anna Harrison at Thornton, England, where she lived. This union resulted in three children, who reached maturity, namely: Ann, who resides at home; Sarah, who is deceased; and John, who occupies a farm adjoining his father's. The mother of the family died in 1882, and in 1883 Mr. Boddy married Mrs. Mary Harney, also a native of England. In politics Mr. Boddy is a Democrat. He has filled the office of Supervisor a number of terms, and has been a very reputable and serviceable member of the community.

BOND, JAMES, a prosperous and successful farmer of Morgan County, Ill., now living partially retired in a very pleasant home in the village of Franklin, was born in Barrington, Somersetshire, England, November 8, 1840, the son of Thomas and Eliza Bond, who spent the entire period of their lives in their native land. Mr. Bond mastered the trade of a carpenter and builder under his father, who followed that vocation in England, and was thus employed until 1873, when he set sail for New York in an Inman Line steamer, made his way to Philadelphia, and thence traveled through the State in search of a favorable location. Returning to England in the summer of 1873, in the following year he emigrated with his family to America and settled in Leroy. Later, renewing his search for a good farm upon which to locate, he reached Marion Center, in Marion County, Kan., where he selected a promising farm of 320 acres upon which he paid a deposit only, as his capital at that time remained in England. As 1874 was the year of the grasshopper plague, Mr. Bond forfeited his deposit on the land, and returning to Illinois in the autumn of that year, bought a quarter section of land in Section 21, Town 14 North, Range 9 West, in Morgan County. Here he later built a good house, two large barns, planted trees and drained the land, living with his family on this farm until 1895, when he located on a tract of 400 acres, which he purchased in Sections 5, 6 and 7, Town 13, Range 9. In the fall of 1904 he rented his farm and settled in Franklin.

Mr. Bond was married in England to Elizabeth Hook, daughter of John Hook, of Newnham, Gloucestershire, and by this marriage two children were born in England: Alice Kate, wife of William Challans, and Nellie, deceased. Of those born in America three are living, viz.: Lois Maud, wife of William E. Laverick; Blanche Eliza and Lillian Gertrude, the last two living at home. Mr. Bond is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and in politics, a Democrat.

BRADFORD, GEORGE D., President of the First National Bank, Waverly, Ill., is so identified with the commercial life of the State of Illinois that it would almost appear as if the man were created for the very position in the mercantile and banking field which he so ably fills. He was born in Bond County, Ill., January 23, 1858, the son of Owen J. and Mary A. (Hunter) Bradford, natives respectively of Maryland and Illinois, and both of whom are now deceased. At the time of his parents' death George D. Bradford was a mere infant, and but for the tender care of an elder brother his frail hold on life would have been lost altogether. But fate had not decreed that this strong personality should be lost to the world, so the youth thrived and grew. His education was secured in the public schools of Bond County, with a term at Blackburn University, Carlinville. It did not take the lad long to discover that a commercial career was best suited to his talents, and when he was barely twenty-one he had acquired a partnership in a large mercantile establishment, of which he was the active manager. For the past twenty-six years his success has been remarkable, his name being now connected with seven large mercantile houses, viz: Bradford & Weise, Waverly, Ill.; Bradford & White, Vandalia, Ill.; Bradford & Murdock, Virden, Ill.; Bradford & Buchanan, Sumner, Ill.; Weise & Bradford, Greenville, Ill.; Weise, Bradford & Co., Pocahontas, Ill., and The Weise-Bradford Co., Tuscola, Ill. The above stores are known as the "Star Stores."

In association with his partner, W. V. Weise, the Waverly Star Store, which was started in 1889 under their management, has grown to be the largest in their line of business of any house in the county, outside of the city of Jacksonville. In 1898 Mr. Bradford assisted in the organization of the First State Bank of Waverly, which, in 1903, was changed to a National Bank whose capital was increased to $50,000, and whose business under his able presidency is steadily increasing in volume. Since 1898 he has also been President of the Waverly Building and Loan Association.

On June 1, 1880, Mr. Bradford was married to Nellie, daughter of William Elliott Wilson, a prominent hotel manager, who conducted the "St. Charles," at New Orleans, La., and who, at the time of his decease, was the efficient chief clerk at the "Southern", St. Louis. Mr. and Mrs. Bradford are the parents of five children: Bessie, who graduated in 1905 from the Chicago College of Music; Nellie, a student at Oberlin College, Ohio; George, Owen, Mildred and Guy Wilson, who remain at home. In his political affiliations Mr. Bradford is a Democrat.

BROWN, WILLIAM, lawyer, Jacksonville, Ill., was born at Boonville, Mo., September 20, 1840, the son of Elisha Warfield Brown, born at Cynthiana, Ky., in 1817, and Mary (Brent) Brown, a native of Warrenton, Va., born in 1819. The occupation of the father was first that of a merchant, and later a banker at Jacksonville. William Brown was educated in the Kempers School, Boonville, Mo.; Illinois College, Jacksonville, and Missouri University at Columbia, Mo., and was admitted to the bar in Jacksonville, Ill., in May, 1861, and since that time has been continuously employed in the practice of his profession.

The public positions held by Mr. Brown include those of City Attorney of Jacksonville, 1862-64; State's Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, 1864-72; State Senator (Twenty-eighth General Assembly), 1872-74; Chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee, from 1874 to 1876; Attorney for the Wabash Railroad Company, for that portion of the line within the State of Illinois, in 1881, and General Solicitor of the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company, from 1890 - 1905. He is a Democrat in his political views, and an attendant upon the services of the Episcopal Church in Jacksonville.

Mr. Brown has been twice married: first on September 20, 1865, to Clara B. Robb, daughter of David and Catherine B. Robb, of Jacksonville, Ill., but who died November 6, 1876; and second, on October 28, 1878, to Eliza T. Martin, daughter of Nicholas and Eudora Martin, of Easton, Md. Mrs. Eliza T. (Martin) Brown died May 1, 1905. Mr. Brown has had five children born to him, viz.: Kate M. Brown, who was married to E. F. Goltra, now of St. Louis, Mo.; Clara R., who married J. D. Dana, of Boston, Mass.; Lloyd W. Brown, William Brown, Jr., Alden Brown and Margaret M. Brown.

Since retiring from his connection with the Chicago & Alton Railroad, Mr. Brown has continued the practice of his profession at Jacksonville. For some years he has been one of the active and influential Trustees of Illinois College.


BULL, SOLOMON, a prominent farmer residing on Section 27, Township 13 North, Range 9 West, Morgan County, Ill., was born March 15, 1832, in Roxboro, Person County, N.C., the son of Moses and Elizabeth (Fuller) Bull, both natives of North Carolina. Paternally, the father was of English descent. The great-grandfather of Solomon Bull emigrated from England to North Carolina with his son Jacob, who was the father of Moses and the grandfather of Solomon. They were mill owners, farmers and large slave owners, Moses Bull being a life-long farmer and a well educated man. In the winter of 1835 he removed with his wife and family to Morgan County, Ill., and settled within one mile of where his son now lives. He owned 150 acres of land, and died September 7, 1844, leaving his farm to his widow for life. The latter died in 1891, at the age of eighty-six years.

Solomon Bull was reared to an agricultural life and educated in a subscription school near the family homestead. He remained at the paternal home until his twenty-fourth year, but had been engaged in farming on his own account since attaining his majority. He then owned 160 acres of land, but now hold over one section, which constitutes one of the finest estates in this part of the county. The improvements include a commodious residence, shade and orchard trees, and good out-buildings amid well cultivated fields - all the outcome of Mr. Bull's own enterprise and careful management. At one time he paid much attention to the breeding of thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle, pedigreed stock, and has always been a large feeder of good graded cattle and hogs. Since 1902, in consequence of impaired health, his son J. J. has managed his father's interests, but Mr. Bull and wife continue to reside on the farm. Following the custom of his ancestors, Mr. Bull votes the Democratic ticket, and for a time has served as School Director; in religious faith he is a Methodist, and for the past thirty-seven years has been a member of the Masonic order.

Mr. Bull was married November 3, 1859, to Elizabeth Seymour, daughter of William and Elizabeth Seymour, who came to Morgan County with the early settlers and have been prominently identified with agriculture. To Mr. and Mrs. Bull have been born six children: William L., who is farming; J. J., now managing his father's farm; Mary E., wife of Lewis Roberts; Martha Melissa, wife of C. C. Berryman; Samuel E. and Abie M., both farmers and cattle breeders in Macoupin County. Great credit is due Mr. Bull for the energy and pluck he has manifested in his career, being, in the sense of his substantial prosperity, a self-made man.


BUNCE, IRA MATTISON , of the firm of Bunce & Company, publishers of "The Farm," a valuable agricultural journal, published in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., was born in Springfield, Ill., July 1, 1855, the son of John James and Ann Maria (Sperry) Bunce, the former a native of Accomac County, Va., where he was born in 1826. His grandfather Bunce was an Englishman and served in the British navy, into which he had been impressed. The man-of-war upon which he had been placed was afterward wrecked on the Maryland coast, near Chesapeake Bay. With others he was washed ashore and rescued, terminating his connection with the British navy. He finally located in Accomac County, Va., where he married and reared a family of five children: John J., Edward P., Samuel and two daughters. John J. Bunce, father of I. M. Bunce, was born in the State of Virginia in 1826, and died at the age of sixty-one years in Virginia, Cass County, Ill. In 1840, at the age of fifteen, after the death of his father, in company with his mother, brothers and sisters, he came to Illinois, making the journey in a wagon, and took up his residence in Meredosia. He learned the printer's trade in Jacksonville, Ill., and was afterward employed on various papers and in various places, among them being Springfield, Virginia and Winchester, Ill. He founded the "Jeffersonian," a weekly newspaper in Virginia, Ill., which he published four years. He then moved to Chandlerville, Ill., and there founded the "New Era," which he issued two years. There Ira M., who had been employed in the office at Virginia, entered into partnership with his father under the firm name of J. J. Bunce & Son. They subsequently returned to Virginia, Ira M. Bunce retiring from the firm. His place was taken by John S. Harper and the publication of the "Virginia Enquirer" commenced. Within a few months Harper had succeeded to undisputed ownership, giving his partner a note for his interest, upon which Mr. Bunce was never able to realize. Having lost everything and being out of employment, J. J. Bunce went to Hot Springs, Ark., to accept a position in a printing office. Ira M. Bunce remained with the family, gardening, saving wood, doing anything to provide for the family during the father's absence. Soon after his father's departure he accepted a position in the office of the "Virginia Gazette." Later his father returned to Virginia and took a position in the same office, father and son working side by side once more; and a comfortable home was the result of the combined efforts of the family. At the end of four years Ira M. Bunce left the Gazette office to enter the employ of the "Virginia Examiner," which had changed ownership, his father remaining with the "Gazette." Here he was promoted from time to time, and after four years in the Examiner office, relinquished his place to his father, and went to Macon County, Mo., where he was engaged in farming for five years. In 1888, he returned to Jacksonville, and was employed as a printer on the "Jacksonville Daily Journal" until 1899 (eleven years), resigning the position early in the last named year. Shortly afterward he purchased the "Daily Dinner Horn" outfit and started "The Farm" March 1, 1899. In this venture his son, Curtis, was a partner for some time, and later, his wife entered the concern forming the company. The paper was first issued as a monthly seven-column folio, and four months afterward the size was increased to a seven-column quarto. Four months later it became a bi-weekly. It is a local paper, circulating mainly in Morgan County, and aside from its publication, the firm of I. M. Bunce & Co. does job-printing. John J. Bunce's last enterprise was the "Temperance Advocate," which was published in Virginia, Ill., at the time of his death, on November 26, 1887.

On April 24, 1879, Mr. Bunce was joined in wedlock with Hattie F. Haverly, a native of Macon County, Mo. And their union resulted in two children: Curtis W., of Yuba, Wash.; and Gary, a daughter.

In politics Mr. Bunce casts his vote with the Democratic party. Religiously he is a member of the First Baptist Church, and is treasurer of its Sunday-school. For two years, Ira M. Bunce was a member of the military organization in Cass County, Ill., known as the "Lippincott Guards." Fraternally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America.

BURCH, JOHN B., a prominent farmer and stockman residing in his pleasant home on Section 1, Town 13, Range 9, Morgan County, Ill., was born north fo the village of Franklin, Ill, July 18, 1842, the son of Shelby M. and Sarah (Wyatt) Burch. The father was a native of Kentucky, who came to Morgan County at an early day and died in 1846, leaving a wife and two children: Mary A., now the widow of Henry C. Woods, formerly a farmer and trader, and John B. The mother took for her second husband Francis M. Scott, who proved himself a faithful father to the orphaned children.

John B. Burch was educated in Franklin schools and was a student under the well known pedagogue, "Uncle" Charley Snow. In his industrial life he was reared to farming, stock breeding and feeding, and, on reaching maturity, engaged in business on his own account. Starting without capital, he now has a splendid estate aggregating 750 acres, all acquired by his own industry, economy and foresight. He has combined stock breeding and feeding with general farming, but for the last quarter of a century has rented his grain land, and, assisted by his son, has confined his attention solely to live stock. Mr. Burch occupies a handsome residence with excellent surroundings, making it one of the most pleasant and attractive homes in the county. It is located one mile south of Franklin, nearly forty years ago the site of the home of Judge Waller, but all the present improvements have been made by John B. Burch himself. Mr. Burch was one of the first Commissioners of Township 13, Range 9, and is now serving as School Director - a position which he has filled consecutively for twenty-one years. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mr. Burch was married October 1, 1868, to Helen Rice, daughter of W. W. and Martha (Chestnut) Rice, both natives of Kentucky, who came to Morgan County at an early day. Mr. Rice was a successful merchant of Waverly for many years, and died in May, 1871, aged sixty-six years, leaving a family of nine children. Mrs. Burch, who was next to the youngest of these, lost her mother by death when she was a child of seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Burch are the parents of one son, Fred B., who was born June 13, 1873, and is associated with his father in all his business affairs. Fred B. is unmarried and resides with his parents. He is an energetic and enterprising worker and a member of several fraternal associations, including the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 121; M.W.A., No. 610; Court of Honor, No. 214; M.P.L., No. 138, and the order of Rebeccas, all having local lodges in the village of Franklin.

BURNETT, GEORGE W., prominent farmer and live-stock breeder, living in Section 22, Town 14 North, Range 8 West, Morgan County, Ill., was born in that county three miles west of his present home, April 3, 1831, the son of Isham and Lucinda (Van Winkle) Burnett. Roland Burnett, the grandfather of George W., migrated from his native State of Kentucky to Missouri, while his son Isham moved to Morgan County, Ill., in 1830. Isham Burnett was an enterprising man and a successful farmer, and was widely and favorably known through out this section as forming a part of the pioneer element. He acquired a large estate and had a family of eleven children: James, Rantz, John, Mary, George, Byar, Roland, Moses, Joseph, Charity and Micajah, all having died except George, Moses (of Franklin), Joseph (of Jetmore, Kans.), and Micajah (of Springfield, Ill.). Roland, Sr., died in Morgan County in September, 1885.

George W. Burnett, the fifth child of his father's family, was reared on the farm in his youth, assisting in agricultural labors, while receiving his education in the country schools. He was married May 6, 1858, to Mary McCormick, daughter of John and Jane W. McCormick, and moved to the present home. To them were born eight children: Marshall, born March 5, 1859, was married to Martha Hocking November 24, 1882, and to them were born two children - Ethel and Frank Lester; Everett, born September 14, 1860, and was married to Margaret Hubbs October 16, 1890; Oscar, born February 17, 1862, was married to Nancy Adams October 15, 1884, and to them was born one son, Edward Littleton, Mrs. Burnett dying June 12, 1903; Frederick, born May 1, 1863, was married to Mary Bateman October 8, 1885, and to them was born one daughter, Olive; John, born December 1, 1864, resides with his parents; Anna, born September 10, 1867, died September 9, 1872; Emma, born April 2, 1877, was graduated from the Woman's College, Jacksonville, in the class of 1897, received a diploma from the Illinois College of Music, in 1901, and has served as instructor in that school for the past three years; Lucinda, born August 14, 1878, graduated with her sister Emma in 1897, was married to Lewis Massie October 10, 1899, and they have one daughter, Helen Burnett. Mr. Burnett has given each of his sons a well-improved farm and a good residence, and still owns and cultivates 330 acres of land, being in every respect an up-to-date farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Burnett are universally respected for their qualities of mind and heart, and are prominent factors in the community in which they live. Mr. Burnett has served his district on the School Board many years and is affiliated with the Republican party. He is not a member of any denomination, but attends the Methodist Episcopal Church located near his home, and has been a liberal contributor to its work besides serving as its Trustee for twenty-five years; his wife and daughter are members of this church and have actively assisted in the Sunday school and other church work.

BURRUS, ALEXANDER, a successful farmer living on his farm near the bluffs northeast of the town of Meredosia, Morgan County, was born in that county August 17, 1859, the son of William and Nancy Jane (Masterson) Burrus, respectively natives of Kentucky and Tennessee. They had a family of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, Alexander being the seventh son of the family. The parents came to Morgan County in the early 'fifties and proved successful, acquiring an estate of 720 acres. Both parents are deceased. The father was a Christian man who raised his children aright, and like himself, they became consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, receiving the best education the times afforded.

Alexander Burrus has been a farmer all his life, and at this writing owns 236 acres of land, upon which, assisted by his son, he conducts general farming operations. Mr. Burrus was married January 13, 1884, to Mary L. Cochran, daughter of Phillip Cochran, a farmer and early settler of Morgan County. Of this union seven children have been born, six of whom are living, viz.: Grace, Lorenzo, Pearl, Royal, Wilbur and Harold. Mr. Burrus has served his district as School Director. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics he is a Democrat.

BURRUS, GEORGE M., a merchant of Bluffs, Scott County, Ill., recently a farmer of Morgan County, was born in the neighborhood of Meredosia, December 18, 1862, the son of George W. and Eliza A. (Masterson) Burrus, both natives of Morgan County. The father, George W. Burrus, was born in 1827, his father, also named George W., having migrated from Tennessee in pioneer days and settled on a farm near Meredosia. The forefathers of Mr. Burrus, for several generations, were farmers.

George M. Burrus assisted in the cultivation of his father's farm, attended the district school, and thus developed toward manhood. Later he entered Illinois college at Jacksonville, from which he graduated in the class of 1885, after which he taught in various parts of the county for fifteen years, during 1892 and 1893 being Principal of the Meredosia High School. During Governor Altgeld's administration he held the position of Chief Clerk of the Central Hospital for the Insane at Jacksonville. On the death of his widowed mother, which occurred March 4, 1894, he returned to the farm, which had reverted to him and his brother, John H., and which he conducted until 1904. In 1900 he had established a mercantile business in Bluffs, and in 1904 moved permanently to that place, in order to give his entire attention to it. He resides in a pleasant home and enjoys a profitable business.

Mr. Burrus was married, on September 16, 1886, to Julia F. Reyland, daughter of E.E.L. Reyland, a native of Germany and an early settler of Illinois, and he and his wife have one daughter named Inez. Their only son, Frederick, died in infancy. In politics Mr. Burrus is a Democrat.

BURRUS, THOMAS J., farmer and stockman actively engaged on his farm near the bluffs northeast of the town of Meredosia, Morgan County, Ill., and three miles southwest of Arenzville, was born in the locality where he now resides March 10, 1847, the son of William and Nancy (Masterson) Burrus, being raised on his father's farm and educated in the local schools. He was married March 31, 1870, to Eliza Ray, daughter of Samuel Ray, a farmer and early settler in Morgan County, who, with his wife Ellen, came from Ohio, bought land and engaged in farming near the Burrus home. Thomas J. Burrus and his wife have had a family of eight children, four of whom survive: Nettie, wife of Henry Kuhlman; Eliza Jane, Alice and T. Arthur. Those deceased were: William Henry, who died aged twenty-one; Benjamin M., Harry A. and Elmer R., all died in their infancy. In 1894 Mr. Burrus bought a farm near Chapin, Morgan County, which he managed for nine years. Then in 1903, he purchased his father's old homestead, which had been in possession of the family for more than fifty years, and upon which he now resides. It consists of 200 acres of valuable farming land with a pleasant residence and convenient out buildings. Mr. Burrus and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he has served as Superintendent of the Sunday school and is Church trustee. He has also served his district on the School Board and votes the Prohibition ticket.

BURRUS, WILLIAM, farmer and stockman, whose farm lies near the Illinois River bluffs northeast of Meredosia, Morgan County, Ill., was born on his father's farm, May 17, 1856, the son of William and Nancy Jane (Masterson) Burrus, a sketch of whose life appears in connection with that of his son, Alexander Burrus, elsewhere in this volume. His paternal grandfather was Martin Luther Burrus. William Burrus was reared to work on the farm, meanwhile obtaining a good district school education. He was married November 29, 1877, having one daughter by this union, who is now the wife of Albert Hierman. The wife and mother died May 10, 1879. Mr. Burrus' second marriage occurred December 28, 1882, to Sarah Beauchamp, the oldest child of George N. Beauchamp, a prominent farmer of Meredosia township. Nine children have been born of this union, viz.: Edgar J., Clarence, Leah, Frank, Alta, Paul, Earl, Leona and George.

Mr. Burrus has served as School Director in his district, Road Commissioner and Supervisor. The family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while Mr. Burrus is a member of the Modern Woodmen and a stanch supporter of the principles of the Prohibition party. He owns and cultivates 200 acres, mostly rich bottom land, and has a well improved farm and house, the homestead being developed largely by his own efforts. He is associated in his farming operations by his sons, who are all bright and industrious young men.




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