1906 Historical Encyclopedia Of Illinois & History of Morgan County IL






HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS
& HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY
Munsell Publishing Company, Publishers, 1906.


DAUB, John M., dairyman and farmer within the city limits in the northern part of Jacksonville, was born in Butler County, Ohio, December 12, 1842, the son of Conrad and Catherine (Pfiel) Daub. His parents were both natives of Germany, the father being born in Hesse-Darmstadt, and emigrated from their native land to America in 1836. Conrad Daub had learned the trade of a cabinet-maker in the fatherland, and followed this trade for many years in Ohio, but later moved to the vicinity of Concord, Morgan County, Ill., where he engaged in farming. They had three children: Jasper, now a resident of Oklahoma; Mary Margaret, wife of Herman Lippert, a farmer of Morgan County; and John M. Conrad Daub continued to be engaged in farming until his death in 1878, at the age of seventy-two years-his wife, who survived him over two years, dying in 1881.

John M. Daub was reared as a farmer and a dealer in cattle, attended the country schools and began an independent agricultural career in 1863. He was married December 7, 1865, to Caroline Hackman, born in Cass County, Ill., and a daughter of George and Mary (Meyers) Hackman, both of whom were natives of Hanover, Germany. To Mr. and Mrs. Daub six children have been born, one of whom died in infancy, and a son, John Wesley, dying at the age of five years. Those living are: Anna Irene, Mary Luella, William Arthur and Zella Marie. Anna Irene married George McGregor and has one child, Pattie Irene. In 1888 Mrs. McGregor graduated from the musical department of the Woman's College, and is now engaged in teaching her specialty at Jacksonville. Mary Luella, who is the wife of H. C. Brice, studied music and voice culture in the Illinois College and is a dramatic soprano, singing in public under the name of Lucille De Alberto. She has further pursued her studies with Barabino in Chicago, with Madam Julia Talliafero at the Illinois Conservatory of Music. William Arthur married Wilhelmina Sibert, of Jacksonville, and assists in his father's business. Zella Marie is single and makes her home with her parents, but is studying music at the Illinois Conservatory.

John M. Daub continued in the farming business and in 1872 moved to his present house in Jacksonville. In 1879 he engaged in the dairy line, in which he has been very successful. He employs strictly modern methods, keeps from 30 to 60 head of Jersey cows, separated his cream by machinery and had fifteen acres of land within the city limits, besides renting considerable acreage. He is a Democrat in his political views and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.




DAVIS, John Robert, President of the John R. Davis Baking Company and Mayor of the city of Jacksonville, was born in his home city, May 23, 1864, a son of John and Fannie (Bonner) Davis. In 1848 his father emigrated to the United States from Scotland, his native land, coming direct to Jacksonville, where he at once engaged in working at his trade, that of a shoemaker. When the news of the discovery of gold in California reached the East, he joined a company of men bound for the new Eldorado and started overland with his family, traveling by ox-team via Council Bluffs. His family at this time consisted of his wife, who was a native of Ireland, and to whom he had been married in Jacksonville. Mr. Davis remained in California for five years, operating in the gold fields of that State with a fair measure of success. Returning home by way of Cape Horn in 1854, he devoted the remainder of his life to his trade in Jacksonville. His death occurred in 1901, and that of his wife in 1902. Mr. Davis was one of the most highly respected residents of the city, a man whom others delighted to honor. A consistent member of the Centenary M. E. Church, he served as Steward and Trustee of that society for many years. During his residence in California he was made a Mason, and upon his return to Jacksonville became a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 3, A.F.&A.M. He was also a member of Illini Lodge, No. 4, I.O.O.F. Mr. and Mrs. Davis became the parents of seven children, as follows: John, Mary and Sarah, all deceased; Albert R., a member of the John R. Davis Baking Company; John R.; George P., who is connected with the Railway and Warehouse Commission, of Chicago; and Mary, wife of Edward Kinney, of Jacksonville.

John R. Davis received his education in the public schools of Jacksonville. At the age of seventeen years he began learning the baker's trade, and for three years was employed at that vocation. He was then appointed Baker's Instructor in the Illinois Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, resigning at the end of nine years, upon the election of John P. Altgeld to the Governorship. At that time he established himself in the bakery business at Jacksonville, an undertaking which he has been rarely successful. Upon his election to the Mayoralty in 1900 he received his brother, Albert R., and his sister, Mrs. Kinney, into partnership with him, organizing the company which now operates the industry.

Always actively interested in affairs pertaining to the municipal welfare, in 1898 Mr. Davis entered the City Council as Alderman from the Second Ward, and at once became recognized as an earnest champion of much-needed city improvements. In 1900 he became the nominee of the Republican party for the office of Mayor of Jacksonville, and was elected by the largest majority ever accorded a candidate for the office up to that time. For the first time in the history of the city an unwritten law regarding second terms was violated, when he was re-nominated for the office and reelected by a majority of 400 votes greater than that accorded him at the first election. On this occasion his candidacy was upon a platform of continued public improvements, which had been inaugurated on an elaborate scale during his first term.

On April 18, 1905, he was reelected for a third term by a majority of 302, after one of the most bitter contests in the history of the municipalities of Illinois, in which a desperate effort was made to effect his defeat. During his administration the city of Jacksonville has witnessed the greatest era of municipal advancement during its entire history. Through his efforts a satisfactory system of street cleaning has been inaugurated for the first time, and has proven entirely satisfactory. The work of street improvement has included the paving of the following streets: Hardin Avenue, East Street, Lafayette Avenue, Prospect Street, Grove Street, Park Street, Westminster Street, Caldwell Street, Pine Street, Court Street, South Church Street, Fayette Street, Clay Avenue, Morton Avenue and the Public Square. The work accomplished during the period from 1900 to 1905 has been greater than all that had been done up to that period. He was also instrumental in enlisting the support of Samuel W. Nichols in the work of enhancing the public park system of the city, the direct result of which was the gift by Mr. Nichols of $10,000 for the new park on Morgan Lake, and a vote by the taxpayers for its perpetual care and maintenance. He also was instrumental in securing further park improvements, including fountains, the pagoda in the Public Square and the steel arches on the four sides of the square. When first elected he advocated the policy of taking the city cemeteries out of politics and placing their control in the hands of a nonpartisan commission, a policy to which the Council, at the request of the citizens, agreed. In 1904 he succeeded in organizing a complete police and fire patrol system, which, with the fire engine purchased during his administration, gives the city a fine fire service. With John A. Ayers he enlisted the cooperation of eastern capital in the movement for a more adequate water supply, with the result that the Council has granted a franchise to Macky & Gardiner, of New York, enabling them to institute a new waterworks system, with the Illinois River as the source of supply. Though the public improvements noted have entailed an expense upon the city greater than during any similar previous period, all accounts against the municipality have been promptly met at the beginning of each month, and the city is in better financial condition than at any other time for a quarter of a century.

An ardent Republican, Mayor Davis has been actively identified with the workings of his party since attaining manhood. For several years he has been a member of the Morgan County Republican Central Committee, and since 1900 has been its Chairman. In 1900 he was Chairman of the Morgan County delegation to the Republican State Convention, and placed Richard Yates in nomination for the Governorship. Just prior to his second election to the Mayoralty, he received the nomination for the office of State Senator, but was defeated by a majority of 121, though the district ordinarily was almost overwhelmingly Democratic.

Mr. Davis is prominently identified with the industrial and financial interests of Morgan County. He was one of the organizers of the Ayers National Bank, in which he is a director; was one of the organizers of the Whitehall Sewer Pipe and Stoneware Company, a corporation whose plant is located at Whitehall, Ill., though controlled by Jacksonville capital; and is a Director in the Whitehall Railway company. He is also a Trustee and President of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane, and a Director of the Odd Fellows' Orphans' Home at Lincoln, Ill. In Grace Methodist Episcopal Church he serves as Steward. In his Masonic relations he is a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 3, A.F.&A.M., Jacksonville Chapter, No. 3, R.A.M., Hospitaler Commandery, No. 31, K.T., and Mohammed Temple, N.M.S., of Peoria, Ill. In Odd Fellowship he is connected with Illini Lodge, No. 4, in which he is a past officer, and has been an officer in the Grand Lodge of that order for many years, having served as Grand Marshal for two terms. He is also a member of Jacksonville Lodge, No. 152, K. of P., in which he has been an officer, and of Jacksonville Camp, No. 912, M.W.A. He was married January 1, 1890, to Esther Woodall, a native of England, and a daughter of John and Mary (Hall) Woodall, who settled at Winchester, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are the parents of two daughters-Lillian, aged twelve, and Esther, aged seven.

Though a comparatively young man, Mr. Davis has become recognized as one of the leaders in the spirit of progress which has characterized Jacksonville during recent years. In fact, it should be stated that he is the father of the modern city, with its varied improvements. A successful business man, with a predilection for public affairs, he has been able to accomplish a vast amount of good for the city of his nativity, and in all his operations in this direction has given evidence of the possession of a most unselfish public spirit. So firmly has he become intrenched in the confidence and affections of fair-minded and discriminating citizens that it is commonly said that no public trust can be too high to be reposed in his hands with any feeling except that of perfect security.

DAY, J. A., M.D. , who is in active practice in the city of Jacksonville, with office rooms in the Morrison Building, West State Street, was born in Palmyra, Macoupin County, Ill., October 29, 1869, and is the son of Dr. W. C. Day and Letitia A. (Allmond) Day. His father, Dr. W. C. Day, who was born in Arkansas, was educated in medicine in St. Louis, and served from 1862 to the close of the Civil War as Assistant Surgeon in the Federal Army. After the close of the war he settled in Palmyra, Ill., where he practiced his profession until 1874, when he removed with his family to Greenfield, then to Peoria, and in 1881 to Winchester, Scott County, where he resided and continued in practice until the fall of 1905, when he moved to White Hall., Ill., and on account of broken health retired from active practice. He studied medicine under the well known Dr. John T. Hodgen, of St. Louis. Dr. W. C. Day is a member of the Western District Medical Society and of the Scott County Medical Society. His wife died in 1879, and in 1881 he married Bessie E. Harris, a teacher in the public schools of Greenfield, Ill., but a native of Shipman, Ill.

Letitia A. (Allmond) Day, mother of Dr. J. A. Day, was a native of Wilmington, Del., her father, Dr. Allmond, being a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, who settled in Palmyra, Macoupin County, Ill., in 1840, and, after practicing his profession in that town sixty years, died there in 1900, at the age of eighty-four.

Dr. J. Allmond Day obtained his literary education in Grinnell College, Iowa, in the Christian Brothers' College, St. Louis, Mo., and in the Missouri State University, at Columbia, Mo. In the last named institution he took a preliminary course in medicine, afterward studying two years in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at St. Louis, where he graduated March 10, 1890. It will thus be seen that he comes of a medical family on both sides, nearly all of his male relatives being physicians. Dr. Day began practice at Lynnville, Ill. in 1890, where he remained fourteen months, when he entered into partnership with his father at Winchester, Ill., which was continued until 1900. During 1894-5 he took a post-graduate course in New York, and again in New York and Philadelphia in 1897. In 1900 he went to Europe, where he spent two years in special study in the cities of Vienna, Berlin, Dresden, Paris and London, devoting most of the time to the practical study of surgery in the leading hospitals, and afterward extending his tour to Italy, Hungary and Switzerland. Upon his return to America in 1902, he continued his researches in surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital at Baltimore, Md., and in 1903 located in Jacksonville, where he has established quite a reputation in his chosen department, at the Passavant Memorial and Our Saviour's Hospitals. He has recently resigned his office as Secretary of the Board of United States Pension Examiners - a position that he filled with credit for nearly two years. The Doctor is a member of the Scott and Morgan County Medical Societies, the Western District medical Society, and the State and American Medical Societies. Fraternally, he is connected with the Masonic Order, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Modern Woodmen of America, and stands very high socially as well as in his profession.



DEITRICK, Daniel, retired farmer, residing one mile south of Concord, was born in Union County, Pa., October 20, 1816, a son of Jacob and Mary (Hartley) Deitrick. He attended the common schools of his native State, and at the age of seventeen began learning the trade of a blacksmith. He was thus occupied for about five years in Pennsylvania and Ohio, to which State he emigrated while still a youth, having a shop of his own for two years of this period. Immediately following the presidential election of 1840, at which he cast his first vote for William H. Harrison, he started overland for Illinois, packing his belongings in a trunk which is still a valued relic in the home near Concord. This trunk was made about 1830, and was lined inside with newspapers printed in that year, which are yet in a fairly good state of preservation. In addition to the chattels which he brought with him, Mr. Deitrick had stored away in the bottom of this old trunk $175 in money - a considerable amount of ready cash for a young man in those days - and these savings formed the nucleus around which he has built his present substantial fortune.

Upon his arrival in Morgan County, Mr. Deitrick first located near the cemetery a short distance north of the present homestead, where he erected a workshop and continued to busy himself at his trade. This structure was a rude affair, built entirely of logs, and was the first in that section of the county. It soon became generally known that he was an unusually fine workman, painstaking in the character of his output, and patrons flocked to his little shop from all sections of the county. After devoting three or four years to his trade at that point, he purchased forty acres of prairie land, upon which his home stands, and soon afterward 80 acres of timber land adjacent thereto. Upon this property the original owner had built a small log cabin, with one room. Mr. Deitrick was not content to occupy this hut, however, and soon set about to erect a four room frame dwelling. In 1861 he built the brick house in which he and his family now reside, and which in its day was regarded as one of the rural mansions of the county. Since locating on the farm he has devoted his time to agriculture and stock raising, sometimes feeding as high as 150 head at a time. In the earlier days he also bred and sold draft horses extensively. He has accumulated 660 acres of fertile and finely cultivated land. It is a noteworthy fact that he has never sold a bushel of corn, feeding to his stock all that he has grown.

Mr. Deitrick was reared in the Lutheran Church. In politics he has been a lifelong Republican of the staunchest type, and for many years was active and influential in the local undertakings of that party. For two terms he served as County Commissioner, and for a long period filled the office of School Director, aiming during this time to secure the best possible educational advantages for the children of his neighborhood. He has also given all his own children exceptional advantages in this direction, allowing them to round out their studies by attendance at the colleges in Jacksonville and the East. The best citizens of Morgan County have always exhibited the greatest confidence in his judgment and integrity. He was appointed one of the administrators of the estate of Jacob Strawn, one of the greatest estates ever accumulated in Morgan County, and is the sole survivor of the men in whom this trust was imposed, his co-laborers in this work having been Moore C. Goltra and Daniel Clark.

Mr. Deitrick was united in marriage January 20, 1842, with Mary Rentschler, daughter of George S. Rentschler, who died May 7, 1847. They had one daughter - Ellen, who married D. C. Robinson and died November 24, 1888. Mr. Deitrick's first wife died July 16, 1869, and he married her sister, Matilda Rentschler. They became the parents of the following children: Thomas, who died in infancy; James; Mary, who died October 21, 1892; Samuel, George and Carrie.

Mr. Deitrick is six feet and one inch tall, and until his health became broken a short time since, was possessed of remarkable strength. He has a fine physique, and is a man of most striking appearance. He has always been highly esteemed by all who know him, and his strong character, rugged honesty and integrity, and his devotion to high principles have made his name one which shall be remembered with honor long after he shall have passed to his reward.

DEITRICK, George, farmer and County Commissioner of Morgan County, was born on his father's farm one mile south of Concord, Ill., where he now resides, March 22, 1859, the son of Daniel and Matilda (Rentschler) Deitrick. (A detailed sketch of his father's life appears elsewhere.) After attending the common schools, he entered Illinois College, where he continued his studies until the middle of the sophomore year. Since the completion of his education he has resided on the home farm, and has been his father's direct representative and manager. Like his father, he has always exhibited a deep interest in those matters which pertain to the welfare of the public. A strong and active Republican, he was elected County Commissioner in the fall of 1904 by a majority of 735 and now occupies that office. He has also served as School Director, and is now a Trustee of Concord cemetery. Fraternally he is a member of Lodge No. 3236, Modern Woodmen, of America, of Concord. On October 16, 1889, he was united in marriage with Frances E., daughter of Edwin and Sarah j. (Hills) Hayden, and they have four children: Daniel, Hester, Sarah and Edwin.

Mr. Deitrick is one of the representative men of the younger generation in Morgan County, and enjoys the esteem of his fellow citizens to an unusual degree. He is public spirited and progressive, and does everything in his power to assist in the development of the community, promoting all its best interests by advice, counsel and contributions of his means. He is a firm believer in good roads, good bridges and improved public utilities generally, and his influence upon public affairs is for the best.

DENBY, Thomas, for more than sixty years a worthy and highly esteemed citizen residing in the vicinity of Jacksonville, Ill., was born in Yorkshire, England, July 17, 1823, the son of Thomas and Ellen (Conder) Denby, natives of that country, the former being born in Lincolnshire. They had five children, namely: Hannah, who married Edward Lambert; Elizabeth, who was the wife of John Scott; Mary, who died in infancy; Ellen, deceased; and Thomas, who is the only living member of the family. Thomas Denby, Sr., came with his family to the United States in 1832. They left Liverpool, April 3d of that year, and reached New York the following August, the vessel having been disabled during the voyage by rough weather, and compelled to put into the Madeira Islands for repairs. On arriving at New York the family went to Buffalo, and thence-via the Erie Canal, river and team-to Jacksonville. Soon afterward Mr. Denby purchased a farm of 200 acres at $12 per acre. Upon it were a double log house and log stable, and about 50 acres of the tract were cleared. Here the elder Denby lived until 1849, when he departed on a visit to England, dying on the ocean at the age of fifty-five years. The deceased was a man of practical ability, having assisted in laying out the roads, organizing the schools, etc. His widow passed away a few months after his demise.

Thomas Denby was ten years old when he came to Morgan County. In early youth he attended the subscription school in the log house, near his home, supplied with slab benches and puncheon floor, but obtained most of his mental instruction outside of the school room. Mr. Denby has lived on his present farm since 1832, renting the place of his father, in 1845, and afterward purchasing the interests of the other heirs. The fine residence which he occupies was built, in 1857, from brick burnt on the premises, and all the excellent improvements on the farm were made by him. He is now the owner of 200 acres of land, situated four and one-half miles west of Jacksonville, where he has carried on general farming and raised choice Poland-China hogs.

Mr. Denby was first married in 1845, to Martha Sparks, who passed away in March, 1846, leaving one child, who died when three years of age. In December, 1846, Mr. Denby was united in marriage to Mary J. Wells, who was born in Scott County, Ill., in 1822, a daughter of Alexander and Mary (Chance) Wells-both natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Wells came to Scott County, Ill., in 1818. He was a famous hunter, and killed the last bear and panther known to this section of the country. He died at Mr. Denby's residence at the venerable age of ninety-six years, having served as a Captain in the War of 1812 and a soldier of the Black Hawk War and being deservedly a pensioner of the Government. Mr. Wells was well educated, for his time, and was successful in all his undertakings. Finally, he had the honor of building the first log schoolhouse in Scott County. Mr. and Mrs. Denby are the parents of five children, namely: William Thomas, who died at the age of five years; Mary E., wife of George B. Ransom, who lives near Lynnville, Ill.; Sarah E., who married George Killiam, and died in 1884; Hannah, wife of Thomas O. Graves, who lives in the vicinity of Jacksonville, and Anella, wife of J. W. Leach, who lives west of the city.

Politically, Mr. Denby is a Democrat, and has held a number of township offices. Religiously, he and his wife are members of the Methodist Church. His life has been distinguished by all those qualities that characterize the successful pioneer-honesty, industry, patience, perseverance and firm resolution.

DEWEES, Cornelius, retired farmer, Jacksonville, Ill., is a pioneer of 1829, and a son of a pioneer of the same year. His father, Nimrod Dewees, was born in North Carolina in 1801, and was a son of Cornelius Dewees, for many years a minister in the Christian Church. A native of North Carolina, he removed to Kentucky when his son Nimrod was a youth, and there preached for many years. His services were in great demand for the performance of the marriage service in the pioneer days of Kentucky, and couples frequently rode forty miles of more that he might unite them. About 1840 he removed to Morgan County, Ill., whither his son Nimrod had preceded him several years. A few years afterward he moved to Monmouth, Warren County, Ill., where his death occurred in 1848.

Nimrod Dewees was reared in Kentucky, in young manhood he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Murphy, and while still residents of that State four children were born to them. In 1829 Mr. Dewees, accompanied by his wife and these four children, came to Illinois, entering a quarter section of Government land located four miles northwest of Jacksonville, being compelled to go to Vandalia to secure the title to his land. He afterward entered additional land, his entire property aggregating 540 acres. Here he engaged in general farming, stock raising and feeding. In the earlier days of his stock operations he was able to purchase cattle for $9 per head, feed them through the winter, and sell them for from $30 to $35 per head. These operations were followed by the feeding of hogs, which also proved very profitable. When it is stated that he sometimes fed as high as 500 head of cattle in a season, the extent of his operations may be better understood. About 1850 he sold his farm to Samuel Williamson, as about 1842 he had removed to a tract a short distance north of Alexander, where he continued his operations. In 1850 or 1851 Mr. Dewees retired from active labor and removed to Jacksonville, where the remainder of his life was spent, his death occurring in 1865. The deceased was a member of the Christian Church of Jacksonville. In politics he was originally a Jackson Democrat, afterward a member of the Know_Nothing party, and finally a Douglas Democrat. His wife died in 1836. They were the parents of eight children, of whom two died in infancy. Those who attained maturity were: William, deceased; Cornelius; Mary, widow of John T. Alexander, of Jacksonville; Elizabeth J., widow of Robert T. Osborne, of Jacksonville; Lafayette, deceased; and James P., who resides near Prentice, Morgan County. By his second marriage, which united him with Eliza Sanders, Mr. Dewees became the father of four children. Of these three died in infancy, and one son, Samuel, died about 1896. Mr. Dewees' third wife was Mary Talbert, whom he married in 1848 in Howard County, Mo. She bore him one daughter, Mrs. Lou Kiser.

Cornelius Dewees was born in Barren County, Ky., November 22, 1824. He accompanied his parents to Morgan County, Ill., in 1829, and resided with his father on the home farm until the outbreak of the Mexican War. In 1847 he enlisted in Col. Easton's regiment, and served as a private until honorably discharged in October, 1848. In 1849 he joined a party of Argonauts, under Captain Heslop, and started overland for California, by way of the Santa Fe Trail. After remaining awhile in Sacramento, in the spring of 1850 he accompanied a party to the placer mines on the Yuba River. In August following he went to Yuba City, on the Feather River, where he engaged in the wood business. In the spring of 1851 he visited the Santa Clara Valley, where for two years he was engaged in farming, though he was unable to purchase land, owing to the inability of early settlers to secure title to their property. Returning to Morgan County, in the spring of 1853, he engaged his services to John T. Alexander, the cattle king, and others, for whom he drove cattle for three years. In 1856 he removed to Missouri, where, in Pettis County, March 28th of that year, he was united in marriage with Mary Goodwin. Soon after his marriage he purchased a farm near Pleasant Hill, Jackson County, Mo., where he engaged in agriculture until he was practically driven from the region by reason of the depredations of Quantrill and other bushwhackers. At one time Quantrill, who was one of the most notorious of all the Kansas_Missouri border guerrillas, visited his home with a band of three hundred of his men, and deprived him of a large portion of his stock. Mr. Dewees suffered greatly through the operations of wandering bands of marauders on both the Union and Confederate sides, though he himself was in no sense a partisan in the struggle. In the spring of 1863 he left his devastated farm in Jackson County, Mo., and, returning to Morgan County, Ill., purchased a tract northwest of Jacksonville, which he operated successfully until the fall of 1896, when he removed to Jacksonville. After the war his life in Illinois was devoted chiefly to general farming. His father, who had been a heavy stockholder in the Jacksonville Gas Company, gave him $9,000 worth of stock in that corporation, half of which he still holds.

DEWEY, Cortes M. , (deceased), pioneer farmer and stockman of Morgan County, Ill., was born at Milton, Vt., in 1818, the son of Rising and Electa Dewey. Rising Dewey and family moved to Illinois in the early '20s and engaged in farming near Jacksonville, continuing in this occupation until his death. He had served as a Colonel during the War of 1812, and was a man of courage and determination, typical of the pioneer of that day. Cortes M. Dewey was reared upon his father's farm and early initiated into the business of feeding and tending stock and general farming, in which he later became very successful, becoming the proprietor of one of the most thoroughly improved farms in the county, stocked with a good grade of cattle. The substantial residence, barns and other buildings attested the taste and good management of the owner. His education was obtained in the district schools, and in 1858 he was married in Madrid, N. Y., to Catherine R. Haskell, a teacher in the public schools at Joy Prairie, Morgan County, and of this union three children were born. Ada and Eva died, respectively four and twelve years of age, while Grace is the only surviving member of the family. Mr. Dewey was for many years a School Director in his district and a Director in the First National Bank of Jacksonville, to which city he and his family had removed in 1878. Fraternally, he was a member of the Masonic order. He died in 1894, his wife surviving him until 1901, when she too passed away.

DEWEY, Grace, Miss, M. D., daughter of the preceding, was educated in the Jacksonville Female Academy, from which she graduated in 1881, and four years later (1885) completed a course at Wellesly College, Mass. She then returned to Jacksonville, and for four years was a teacher in the Woman's College of that city; then took a journey to Europe and studied in the universities of Oxford, England, and Berlin, Germany. On her return she began the study of medicine in the Johns Hopkins Medical School at Baltimore, Md., from which she obtained her professional degree in 1903. She at once entered upon the practice of her profession in Jacksonville, and has met with well-deserved success. Dr. Grace Dewey is a member of the American Medical Association and the State and County Medical Societies. Her residence is at 1123 West State Street, Jacksonville.

DICKENS, J. H., Rev., (deceased), clergyman, Jacksonville, Ill., was born in Clarksville, Tenn., in 1810, at the age of nineteen married, and the next year-1830-came to Illinois. He was trained under the code of General Jackson; had only a common school education, and with few opportunities made his way in the world. He served in the Black Hawk War, in 1831, and about that time, having professed religion, in 1833, was appointed to the pastorate of the Jacksonville Methodist Episcopal Church. The town was then small, and during Mr. Dicken's pastorate, passed through the scourge of the cholera. He was always a firm abstainer, a strong temperance advocate, and though offered intoxicating drinks, and familiar with them from his infancy, always firmly opposed their use and, by word and deed, upheld the cause of temperance and reform. Raised in a slave State, he imbibed pro-slavery views, but on coming to Illinois, not long after changed his opinions, and by 1838 was a strong Abolitionist, of the old style. In 1844, he was made Agent for the McKendree College, at Lebanon, which institution he cleared of a heavy debt, and placed on a good financial basis. Thinking much of the needs for the education of women, and feeling a lack of such advantages, he presented a plan to the conference of his church, the result of which was the establishment of the present Female College, in Jacksonville, so well known, and of so great influence. He labored all his life for the good of Church and State, and lived to see the fruit of his toil. His death occurred in Jacksonville, August 8, 1882.

Mr. and Mrs. Dickens had five children, all of whom lived to years of maturity. Of these three were sons, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War.

DICKINSON, Piercy, a well known and thriving farmer in Section 6, Township 14, Range 11, near Lynnville, Morgan County, Ill., was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, England, January 1, 1844. He is a son of Thomas and Mary (Piercy) Dickinson. His parents left England with their family May 3, 1849, and landed in New York on June 6th next following. Then they journeyed via the Erie Canal, the Lakes, and the Illinois River, to Naples, Ill., finally arriving at Lynnville, their destination. There Thomas Dickinson bought a farm, and his older sons purchased other land adjoining, comprising altogether over 300 acres. At first Mr. Dickinson located just east of Lynnville, but on March 10, 1855, moved to the place above described, where he carried on farming until his death, August 29, 1870.

Mr. Dickinson attended the public schools near Lynnville until he was sixteen years old. On August 1, 1861, he enlisted for service in the Civil War, as a musician in Company F, Thirty-third Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and after the expiration of his term re-enlisted with the regiment, whose operations were in the Department of the Gulf. He participated in the Vicksburg campaign, being seventy-three days under fire-forty-seven of which were in front of Vicksburg. During one day's fighting he fired sixty-four rounds. He was discharged at Vicksburg, November 26, 1865, and returned home, as a consequence of his service, remaining an invalid for two years. In 1868 he made a trip to England, remaining abroad six months. In 1869 he entered the grocery business, at Murrayville, Ill., in company with R. A. Batty, the firm being Batty & Dickinson. Two years later his health failed, and he spent several years at home.

On March 26, 1873, Mr. Dickinson was united in marriage with Eliza Ann Reaugh, a native of Morgan County, and a daughter of John A. Reaugh. She died April 12, 1875, leaving one son, Oliver Reaugh Dickinson, who was born March 21, 1874, and lives on the home farm. About the time of his marriage Mr. Dickinson formed a farming partnership with his widowed mother. The latter died in 1885, and two years later he purchased the property.

Politically, Mr. Dickinson was always a firm Democrat. He has served as Road Commissioner and Fence Viewer. Religiously, he is a member of the Christian Church. Fraternally he belongs to Matt Starr Post, G.A.R. Mr. Dickinson is a man of the highest character, and a public-spirited and useful member of the community.



DIGGINS, Robert, a venerable and greatly respected resident of Concord, Morgan County, Ill., was born in St. Alban's, near London, England, June 10, 1825, the son of Edward and Mary Ann Diggins, also natives of England. In his boyhood he attended the public schools of his native country and afterward learned the carpenter's trade with his father.

On March 7, 1853, Robert Diggins embarked for America, the voyage from Liverpool to Boston, Mass., consuming forty-three days. From Boston he went to New Brunswick, Canada, where he was employed as a carpenter on the railroad. In 1851, he sailed for Norway, where he had a contract for the carpenter work on the first railroad built in that country. Returning to the United States in 1856, he proceeded to Illinois and located in Morgan County, where he engaged in contracting and building. In 1862 he was employed by the Quartermaster's Department of the Army in building barracks, bridges, wagons, etc., at Cairo, Ill., and Nashville, Tenn. His work for the Government continued four years, during which period he built Benton Barracks at St. Louis. After the war he returned to Concord, Ill., and soon afterward began growing osage-hedge fences. Subsequently he engaged in the undertaking business, which he conducted for nine years. Mr. Diggins owns 240 acres of land in Illinois and 400 acres in Kansas.

On November 5, 1860, Mr. Diggins was united in marriage with Mary J. Eagle, who was born in Ipswich, England, and came to Concord, Ill., with her parents when she was seven years old. Of the nine children born to this union four survive, namely: Reuben, a farmer living in the vicinity of Concord, Morgan County; William, who lives in Beardstown, Ill.; Ida, who resides at home; and Elizabeth, a milliner of Springfield.

In politics, Mr. Diggins is a supporter of the Democratic party. He held the office of Overseer of the Poor for several years and for twenty-five years has served in the capacity of Justice of the Peace. Fraternally, since 1862 he has been affiliated with the A.F. & A.M. and is treasurer of the local lodge. In 1857 he became identified with the I.O.O.F. Mrs. Diggins is a devoted Christian, and has been a member of the Methodist episcopal Church since she was thirteen years of age. Mr. Diggin's career has been remarkable for energy and enterprise, and has been attended with marked success. He has long been prominent in every movement pertaining to the welfare of the town of his adoption, and his extended period of life has been full of usefulness, both in a private sphere and in his relation to the community. His ripening years are crowned with the respect and cordial esteem of his fellow citizens.



DINWIDDIE, James, one of the veteran agriculturists of Morgan County, Ill., was born on the farm where he now lives, in Section 18, Town 16, Range 10, a mile and a half west of Arcadia, on February 16, 1833, the son of Thomas C. and Vizilla (Sims) Dinwiddie - the former born in Bourbon County, Ky., October 6, 1806, and the latter in North Carolina May 30, 1811. The mother's parents removed to Kentucky when she was quite young.

The paternal grandfather was William Dinwiddie. Thomas C. Dinwiddie, his son and the father of James, was raised on a farm in Bourbon County, Ky., and in 1827 migrated (it is said, afoot) to Morgan County, Ill. He located on a part of the farm which his son James now occupies. He and his brother-in-law, Wesley Sims, started a tan-yard on this farm in 1828 or 1829. He walked from the farm to Galena, Ill., where his uncle, James Dinwiddie, lived, and, with the latter, worked for about a year at the blacksmith trade. He returned to the farm, on foot, in 1830. IN that year he built a log cabin adjoining the tanyard, containing one room, 16x18 feet in dimensions. After his marriage he operated a tanyard for about twelve years. In 1857 he built the main portion of the large residence now standing on the premises. Thomas C. Dinwiddie died September 8, 1858, and was buried in the Arcadia Cemetery. The deceased was especially active in laying out roads and organizing schools, but was a useful citizen in every way. At tone one he served as Justice of the Peace. His wife, whom he married in 1830, died April 9, 1890. They were the parents of nine children, namely: William, who died at the age of fourteen years; James; Andrew; Samuel, who lives three miles east of Literberry, Ill.; Helen M., who married William K. Richardson; Martha A., wife of Thomas Thomas, who resides in the vicinity of Franklin, Ill.; Isabel E., who died at the age of nineteen years; and David, who died in infancy. In religious faith, the father of this family was a Presbyterian and the mother a zealous Methodist.

James Dinwiddie was reared on the homestead farm which was his birthplace. The first school which he attended was a mile and a half from his present residence. Like all the primitive schoolhouses in this region, it was a log house, with slab benches for seats, fireplaces for heating with wood as fuel, and one precious glass window. Mr. Dinwiddie has often attended school barefooted until frost covered the ground. His first teacher was Elias Hammer.

Mr. Dinwiddie remained on this farm with his father until the latter's death, and then conducted it for his mother; so that his entire life has been passed on the homestead. He is the owner of 300 acres of land, on which he has conducted general farming and stock-raising. The land, when his father settled on it, was covered with heavy timber, mostly oak. In early days he used oxen for heavy work, almost exclusively.

On January 5, 1865, Mr. Dinwiddie was united in marriage with Annie H. Richardson, who was born in Newtown, Hamilton County, Ohio, and whose brother first came to Morgan County, and married Mr. Dinwiddie's sister. Four sons resulted from Mr. Dinwiddie's union with Miss Richardson; the first born died in infancy; Owen G., Horace W. and James G. Owen G. lives on the homestead farm. He married Mary Blackburn, and they have two children - James E. and Helen. Horace W. lives with his father. His wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Hunter, has borne him one child, Anna. He served as a musician in the Fifty-first Iowa Regiment during the Spanish-American war, being stationed for six months at San Francisco and serving for twelve months in the Philippines. On the outbreak of the war, he was a college student at Des Moines, Ia. James G. lives in Jacksonville, where he is the bookkeeper in the Hockenhull-Elliott Bank and Trust Company. He married Lillian Campbell, and their union has resulted in two children - James H. and Ruth.

In politics Mr. Dinwiddie is an ardent and active Republican, and has held the office of Township School Treasurer since 1871. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mrs. Dinwiddie is a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Dinwiddie is one of the few survivors of the pioneer period in Morgan County, and has led a very busy and useful career. Careful, energetic and successful as a farmer, upright and scrupulous as a man, and public spirited and serviceable as a citizen, his record is beyond reproach.

DODGE, Frank Granville, a well known and prosperous tailor, of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., was born in Nashua, N. H., February 9, 1848, the son of Granville and Lucy M. (Conrey) Dodge; his maternal grandfather was a soldier of the Mexican War. Granville Dodge, the father, was born at Johnson, Vt., July 13, 1823, and by occupation, was a carpenter. In 1852, he sailed around Cape Horn to California, where he died February 28, 1896. His wife was born at Hollis, N. H., May 5, 1819, and died July 30, 1881.

Mr. Dodge attended the public schools, in boyhood, and afterward became a pupil at Appleton Academy, Mt. Vernon, N. H. At the age of fifteen years he enlisted in Company B, Eleventh Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry and participated in the battles of Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania Court House and Petersburg. He was with Grant in the Battles of the Wilderness and was injured and taken to Washington, where he was a witness of the assassination of President Lincoln in Ford's Theater, on the evening of April 14, 1865.

After the war Mr. Dodge learned the tailor's trade at Lowell, Mass., engaging in that occupation at Springfield and at Orange, Mass. After passing two and a half years at the latter place he removed to Philadelphia, where for some time he was in the employ of Wannamaker & Brown. The next two years and a half were passed by him in Washington, D. C., and Baltimore. Later he moved to Parkersburg, W. Va., where, for eleven years, he was a prominent citizen and successful business man. While at Parkersburg he was Captain of a State Militia company for three years; later was engaged in business one year in Atlanta Ga.; five years, at Edinburg, Ind.; and seven years at Fremont, Neb., whence he moved to Jacksonville, January 2, 1895. On arriving in Jacksonville, he entered into partnership with Frank P. Cupp, under the firm name of F. P. Cupp & Co. The duration of this partnership was somewhat less than three years. Mr. Dodge then purchasing his partner's interest. Since then he has conducted a very successful business alone. He is an active member of the Jacksonville Merchants' Association, of which he has been a Trustee and Vice-President.

On July 6, 1867, Mr. Dodge was married, at South Deerfield, Mass., to Ella J. Wells, of Lowell, Mass., a daughter of Thomas and Phoebe (Heath) Wells. Her father was born at Danbury, N. H., November 28, 1825, and died November 29, 1878. Her mother was born at Bow, N. H., October 22, 1829, and died May 16, 1855. From the union of Mr. and Mrs. Dodge six children have been born, namely: Will S., born May 5, 1868; Harry B., born March 5, 1871; Frank G., Jr., born January 10, 1873, and died July 23, 1873; Charles E., born February 17, 1874; Herbert G., born October 8, 1876; and Percy M., born October 16, 1878.

In politics Mr. Dodge is a supporter of the principles of the Republican party. In fraternal circles, he is affiliated with Indiana Lodge, No. 42, K. of P.; Jacksonville Council, No. 2,003, Royal Arcanum; Jacksonville Council, No. 494, Knights and Ladies of Security; and Matt Starr Post, No. 376, G.A.R. He is a man of excellent business capability, and socially is extremely popular.



DOYING, George E., (deceased), former editor and proprietor of the "Illinois Courier", Jacksonville, was born in Little Warwick, Province of Quebec, Canada, January 22, 1839, the son of Daniel and Ann (Kelley) Doying, and died in Jacksonville, Ill., July 20, 1904. He was one of a family of thirteen children, but one of whom, Charles E. Doying, of Nashua, N. H., survives. After securing a meager education in the common schools of his native province, at the age of thirteen years he left home and began a self-supporting career by working upon farms and railroads. At the age of eighteen he entered a printing office in Pennsylvania as an apprentice. Four years later, in 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Sixth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served continuously for three years in the Union cause, when he received an honorable discharge. At the close of the war he went to Washington, D. C., where he entered the Government Printing Office as an employee. While thus engaged he occupied rooms in the Surratt residence, and was thereby enabled to witness many of the scenes in the drama of which the assassination of President Lincoln was the culmination.

In 1866 Mr. Doying removed to Illinois, locating at Carlyle, where he entered the employ of Zophar Case, editor and proprietor of the "Constitution and Union," of which, in partnership with Hardin Case, a few years later, he became proprietor. The two partners conducted the paper until 1876, when Mr. Doying sold his interest to Mr. Case, removed to Jacksonville and purchased a third interest in the "Weekly and Tri-Weekly Courier," which was then conducted by T. D. Price & Company. On July 18, 1882, Mr. Doying formed a partnership with William H. Hinrichsen, under the name of Doying & Hinrichsen, who continued the publication of the two papers until 1885, in the meantime - in March, 1883 - establishing the "Daily Courier". In 1885 the firm was reorganized under the name of Doying, Hinrichsen & Case, by the admission of Warren Case into the partnership, and in addition to conducting the "Daily and Weekly Courier", the firm purchased the "Quincy (Ill.) Daily Herald." Mr. Doying remained in Jacksonville and conducted the "Courier," while his partners removed to Quincy and conducted the "Herald". In 1890 the latter paper was sold, and in 1892 the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Doying becoming sole proprietor of the "Courier," which he continued to control until his death. Under his management the "Illinois Courier" became the leading Democratic newspaper of Morgan County, and, outside of Chicago, one of the most influential papers of the State.

Though devoting the best of his energy to the development of his newspaper, Mr. Doying did not neglect other local interests tending to advance the material and social welfare of the community in which he lived. For many years he was actively and prominently identified with the Independent Order of Mutual Aid, of which he was elected Grand President in 1890 and reelected in 1891, serving two terms of one year each. In 1902 he was again elected to the office for a term of two years, and reelected in 1904 for a similar period, holding the office at the time of his death. He also occupied the post of editor of the "I. O. M. A. Herald", the official organ of the order, and was identified with several other secret and fraternal organizations. In Masonry he was a member of Jacksonville Lodge, No. 570, A. F. & A. M., and of Hospitaler Commandery, No. 31, K. T. He was likewise active in the work of the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, the Knights of Honor and Knights of Khorassen. In the lodge of the Independent Order of Red Men, which was instituted in Jacksonville several years ago, he served as the first Grand Sachem. The only public office he ever held was during the Altgeld administration, when from 1892 to 1896 he served as Treasurer of the State School for the Blind. Mr. Doying's interest in the higher type of local institutions is also illustrated by his identification with the Public Library Board, to which he devoted much of his time during the period when the Carnegie Library building was in process of construction. In the earlier days, when the library had no such substantial and attractive home, he was as profoundly interested in its welfare, and did everything in his power to popularize it and keep its standard high. As a member of the Jacksonville Park Commission he rendered material assistance in the work of beautifying the city's public grounds. He also served at tone time as President of the Jacksonville Business Men's Association, and in this capacity used his best endeavor to advance the industrial and commercial interests of the city.

On December 2, 1869, Mr. Doying was united in marriage with Hattie Norris, of Carlyle, Ill., a daughter of Daniel and Harriet (Thornton) Norris, and they had the following named children born to them: William D., business manager of the "Illinois Courier"; Mary A., wife of Ernest H. Olds, of Chicago; Emma N., living at home; George E., Jr., editor of the "Illinois Courier"; Elizabeth A., wife of Frank P. Vickery, of Jacksonville; Nellie C.; and Charles F., an employee in the office of the "Illinois Courier".

By those who were favored with an intimate acquaintance with Mr. Doying he was most highly esteemed for those traits of character which always endear a man to his fellows. He was recognized by all as a man possessed of an abundant public spirit, and unselfish motives in everything he undertook for the ultimate benefit of the community. Thought of self was always his last consideration. He zealously labored for the advancement of the material welfare of Jacksonville and Morgan County from all view points - commercial, industrial, educational and social. A humanitarian instinct, which is all too rare in these days, marked the progress of his life, and he was never called upon in vain for assistance in the promotion of well-considered efforts for the amelioration of the condition of the Needy. There lie scattered throughout Jacksonville numerous monuments to his enterprise and public spirit, the most noticeable of which are the street improvements which he so earnestly advocated and labored to secure. In his death the community suffered a loss that was deeply deplored.

DUNCAN, William Percy, B.S., M.D., a thoroughly equipped and rising young physician and surgeon of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., was born in Jacksonville, October 30, 1878, the son of Edward and Emily (Ruddick) Duncan, natives of Pennsylvania and Indiana respectively. The grandfather, Robert Duncan, was born in Beaver County, Pa., in 1809, and the grandmother, Martha (Neville) Duncan, was born in the same county, 1816. The former, who was a farmer by occupation, died when seventy-eight years old, and the latter, at the age of sixty-two years.

Edward Duncan was born in Beaver County, Pa., August 16, 1838, and received his mental training in the district schools and at Beaver Academy, being afterward, for twelve years, a teacher in the schools of Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois. He enlisted August 9, 1862, in Company G, One Hundred and Thirty0fourth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was connected with the Army of the Potomac during the rest of the war, participating in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In 1868 he located at Cerro Gordo, Ill., where he followed the occupation of teaching. In 1876 he graduated from the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, the oldest institution of the kind in the United States, after which, at Jacksonville, he began the successful practice which he has since continued. He is a member of the State and Morgan County Dental Societies. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Jacksonville Lodge, No. 570, A.F.&A.M., and a member of the Blue Lodge and Chapter. He is an active member of the Centenary Methodist Church of Jacksonville, in which he acts as class leader, and has held the positions of Trustee and member of the Board of Stewards. He has also served one term as a member of the Jacksonville School Board.

On March 16, 1869, at Seymour, Ind., Dr. Duncan was married to Emily Ruddick, a daughter of Solomon and Elizabeth (Fisher) Ruddick. Two children were the result of this union - Helen, who was born September 14, 1874, and died May 4, 1900, and William Percy.

Dr. Duncan received his early education in the public schools of Jacksonville, and at Whipple Academy, later graduating from Illinois college and from the Medical Department of Northwestern University in 1903. He began the practice of his profession in Birmingham, Ala., where he held the position of Trustee of the Birmingham Dental College, and was a member of the faculty of that institution, being in charge of the departments of Practical Anatomy and Physiology. He was also Assistant Professor of chemistry in the Birmingham Medical College and a member of the Birmingham Library Association, of the Jefferson County medical Society and Alabama State Medical Society. In October, 1904, he located at Jacksonville and there began the practice of medicine and surgery, which he is continuing with constantly increasing success. He is a member of the Jacksonville Medical Club, the Morgan County Medical Society, the Sixth District Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association, and is a Fellow in the American Academy of medicine.

On July 21, 1903, Dr. W. P. Duncan was married to Florence Tunison, a daughter of Henry Cuthbert and Catherine (Murray) Tunison. One child - Edward Tunison, born June 7, 1904 - resulted from this union.

Religiously, Dr. Duncan is a member of the Centenary Methodist Church of Jacksonville, in which, during 1904-05, he was Superintendent of the Sunday School. During his college years he was very prominent in Y. M. C. A. work, and served two years on the Board of Managers in Chicago. He was President of the local Y.M.C.A. of the college, and in 1902 was camp physician of the Annual Camp, at Lake Geneva.

DUNCAN, Richard Y., blacksmith, Franklin, Morgan County, Ill., was born at Jacksonville, Ill., February 20, 1860, the son of Captain John B. and Adeline G. Duncan, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky. Mrs. Duncan's ancestors saw service in both the Revolutionary and Black Hawk Wars. While still a young man John B. Duncan became fired with an enthusiasm to serve his country, which at length resulted in his enlistment in Company H, Thirty-second Illinois volunteer Infantry for service in the Civil War. Indeed, he it was who really formed the company, and it was only natural that he should be chosen its Captain. After participating in a number of engagements Captain Duncan was so unfortunate as to lose his leg, which was shot off below the knee at Little Hatchee. Upon recovering from the effects of his wound he returned to his regiment, and with a cork leg endeavored to keep about and perform the duties which had appeared so easy previous to his loss; but field labor was too difficult, and at length he was stationed as Recruiting Officer at Springfield. He had already served as Orderly Sergeant during the Mexican War and also took part in the Mormon troubles. At one time he studied law, and began to practice his profession in Jacksonville. He was likewise one of the County Commissioners, and one of the prominent and useful citizens of the county. He was the father of twelve children - six boys and six girls. His death, which resulted from gangrene, occurred July 18, 1864, when he was in his forty-fourth year. His widow survived him many years, dying at the age of eighty-one.

Richard Y. Duncan received his education in the public schools of Franklin. Very early he began to learn the blacksmith's trade, so that when he was only eighteen he started in life for himself as a journeyman. For twenty-seven years he has followed this calling, in which he has been successful and consequently prosperous. On May 1, 1884, he was married to Caroline, daughter of Henry Reinbach, of Franklin, Ill., and of this union five children have been born - Dessau, Meda, Ruth, Harold and Esther.

Mr. Duncan is the owner of several valuable pieces of property in Franklin, and is prominent in all that pertains to the advancement of the town. In his political views he is a Republican. He has been a member of the Town Board, has been President of the Village Board, and for five years township Treasurer, being the present incumbent. He is a member of the Masonic order, of the I.O.O.F., Modern Woodmen and Protective League, and has the distinction of having served twenty-two years as Treasurer of the Odd Fellows Lodge in Franklin. He is identified with the Christian Church, holding the office of Trustee in the same.




DUNLAP, Irvin (deceased), merchant, farmer and former Sheriff of Morgan County, was born in Champaign County, Ohio, March 12, 1835, a son of Stephen and Dicy (Runkle) Dunlap. The family of which he was a representative was founded in America by Prof. John Dunlap, Professor of Greek in the University of Glasgow, Scotland, who in 1730 sailed for Virginia. His remains are buried at Augusta, W. Va. His son, William Dunlap, was born in Virginia in August, 1744, and died in Kentucky, March t, 1816. He served in the Revolutionary War until the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. The musket which he carried in that struggle is still in possession of the family. There is a tradition authenticated by letters in the possession of an archeologist of Kentucky, that William Dunlap was on the street with Edward Payne when, in an altercation with George Washington, who was then a Colonel, the latter was struck by Payne. Lossing, in his "Field Notes", refers to this dispute, stating that Washington subsequently acknowledged himself to have been in the wrong and apologized handsomely to Payne. In 1772 William Dunlap was united in marriage with Rebecca Robertson, who was born in Augusta County, Va., July 23, 1751, the daughter of James and Elizabeth (Crawford) Robertson. Her father came to America from the North of Ireland about 1735, settled about one mile from Staunton, Va., where Rebecca, his sixth child, was born. William Dunlap and his wife afterward settled near the present site of Lexington, Ky., where the death of the latter occurred November 7, 1849. Of the children born to them, Major Alexander Dunlap served in the War of 1812 and in the Mexican War. During the former he was taken prisoner by Indians. He removed to Jacksonville, Ill., where his death occurred November 10, 1853; Col. John Dunlap served in the Black Hawk War, and died near Lexington, Ky.; Rev. James Dunlap, who was born in 1773, died February 28, 1866.

Rev. James Dunlap accompanied his father's family to Kentucky in childhood. On August 29, 1794, he married Emily Johnson, who was born in Virginia October 15, 1777, and died in Jacksonville, Ill., March 13, 1848. After his marriage he continued to reside in Kentucky for several years, when he emigrated to Champaign County, Ohio, where he remained until 1845. Several of his sons having removed to Illinois, in the latter year he also came to this State, locating in Jacksonville, where the remainder of his life was passed with most of the members of his family. For more than half a century he was a minister in the Baptist Church. He was the father of thirteen children who attained maturity, namely: William, who was born in Fayette County, Ky., August 2, 1795. Rebecca, born in Mason County, Ky., February 26, 1797; John, born in Fleming County, Ky., November 26, 1798; Mary, also born in that county, October 26, 1800; James, born in the same county, October 30, 1802; Elizabeth and Nancy (twins), also natives of Fleming County, born July 2, 1804; Edward Johnson, born in the county named, May 14, 1806; Jeptha and Stephen, both natives of Fleming County, born respectively April 9, 1808, and February 10, 1811; George Alexander, who was born in Champaign County, Ohio, January 31, 1813; and Samuel and Minerva, both born in Champaign County, February 13, 1815, and June 3, 1818, respectively. All these children excepting the last named, Mrs. Minerva Ross, of Chicago, are deceased. It is worthy of note in this connection to state that Rev. James Dunlap was blessed with numerous and highly-favored posterity, consisting of 13 children, six of whom were living at the time of his death; 83 grandchildren, 49 of whom were living at the time of his death; 106 great-grandchildren, 83 of whom mourned his death; and 7 great-great-grandchildren - a total of 209 descendants in the four generations, of whom 144 survived him.

In the collateral branch of the family, Rev. James Dunlap had one sister, Patsy Dunlap, who was born June 13, 1796, married Archibald Henderson in Kentucky, moved to Illinois in the early days of its settlement, reared a family, and died July 3, 1834, leaving several children. All were daughters except one - William Henderson, who died several years ago. All of his descendants are also deceased. Descendants of Rev. James Dunlap now reside in Champaign County, Ohio, Fayette and Bourbon Counties, Ky., and Morgan County, Ill. In other branches the family is also numerously represented in various States of the Union.

Stephen Dunlap, the tenth child and sixth son of Rev. James Dunlap, and the father of Irvin Dunlap, was married to Dicy Runkle in Champaign County, Ohio, by Rev. John Pierson, May 29, 1834, and died near Jacksonville, Ill., February 9, 1877. His wife is still living on the old homestead, at the age of ninety-four years. He emigrated from Ohio to Morgan County in 1840, and here became a man of great influence. A stanch Democrat, in 1876 he cast his last presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden, and for eight years served as Associate Judge of Morgan County. For many years he filled the office of Elder in the Old School Baptist Church. Over six feet tall, he was always a commanding figure, and was regarded as one of the handsomest men in Morgan County. He was a man of decided opinions and great determination, and never abandoned a policy, in public or private life, when he had once mapped it out in the belief that he was advocating a righteous principle. He was the father of five sons and one daughter: Irvin, James M., William R., Stephen, Samuel W. and Mrs. Mary Jane Farrell.

Irvin Dunlap, his eldest son, was born in Champaign County, Ohio, March 12, 1835, and in 1840 was brought by his parents to Morgan County, Ill. Reared on his father's farm, he attended the common schools of his neighborhood, after which he pursued a two years' course in Illinois College. Remaining upon the farm and assisting his father in its management until 1857, he then entered into a partnership with the late Felix G. Farrell, who was then engaged in the dry goods business in jacksonville. When Mr. Farrell organized the First National Bank of Jacksonville the mercantile firm was dissolved, and Mr. Dunlap returned to the farm, which he operated for several years. When the firm of N. & N. Milburn, grocers, of Jacksonville, was dissolved, Mr. Dunlap purchased its stock of goods and removing again to the city, conducted that business for a few years. Subsequently entering into partnership with Thomas Turley, under the style of Turley & Dunlap, he again engaged in the dry goods business. In 1870, owing to the failing health of Mr. Turley, the firm retired from business, and Mr. Dunlap once more removed to the country, where he remained until he permanently located at Jacksonville, four years later, to assume the duties of Sheriff of Morgan County, to which he had been elected in the fall of 1874.

A stanch and consistent advocate of the principles of Democracy, he was actively identified with the operations of that party, taking a keen interest in public affairs. In 1869 he was chosen Alderman from the First Ward of Jacksonville, and reelected the following year. His first term as Sheriff of Morgan County met the unequivocal approval of the citizens of the county, who reelected him in 1876 and 1878. During his incumbency in the office he appointed William H. Hinrichsen, afterward a member of Congress, as his Chief Deputy. When he retired from the office in 1880, Mr. Hinrichsen was elected to succeed him, and he at once appointed Mr. Dunlap as his Chief Deputy, in which capacity he served for two years. In 1882 he was elected County Assessor and Treasurer, serving four years, and at the expiration of his term of office he rendered valuable assistance to his successor. Fraternally, mr. Dunlap at the time of his death was the oldest member of Urania Lodge, No. 243, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, into which he was initiated in 1857. He was also a member of Ridgely Encampment, No. 9, Patriarchs Militant.

On December 18, 1856, he was untied in marriage with Mary F. Layton, who was born in Morgan County, Ill., September 4, 1883, a daughter of William K. and Elizabeth M. Layton. Mrs. Dunlap continues to make her home in jacksonville. They were the parents of one son - Millard F. Dunlap, senior member of the banking firm of dunlap, Russel & Company, of Jacksonville.

The death of Mr. Dunlap, which occurred at his home in Jacksonville, November 9, 1903, as the result of an attack of typhoid fever contracted at Eureka Springs, Ark., whither he had gone for the benefit of his health, was deeply deplored by thousands of residents of Morgan County, who regarded it is a distinct loss to the community. Though slightly advanced in years, he continued to exhibit a deep interest in the progress of municipal and county affairs, and his judgment was constantly sought by those who had been chosen to safe guard the community's interests. Careful, sagacious and far-sighted, and, withal, a man of unimpeachable integrity, with the welfare of the people close to his heart, much of his time for more than a quarter of a century was devoted to official public affairs without a taint of dishonor attaching to his fair name. Probably he was personally known to more citizens of Morgan County than any of his contemporaries, and to all who knew him, regardless of their political faith, he was the same cheerful, optimistic and kind-hearted man of affairs. His strength as a public man and his eminent position as a public spirited and enterprising citizen, doubtless were attributable more to these personal characteristics than to any others. By reason of these qualities and numerous other fine traits of character, he endeared himself to a multitude of people; and his name and the record of his life are entitled to a permanent and conspicuous position in the annals of Morgan County.




DUNLAP, Milard F., banker and Democratic politician, Jacksonville, Ill., was born in that city December 9, 1857, the only son of Irvin and Mary F. (Layton) Dunlap. (For detailed ancestral record, see sketch of Irvin Dunlap, immediately preceding in this volume.) He was educated in the public schools of Jacksonville, and having decided, early in life, to enter upon a business career, at the age of nineteen years secured a position as clerk in the First National Bank of Jacksonville. A few years later he was promoted to the post of Assistant Cashier in the same institution. His identification with this bank continued until the year 1890, when, in partnership with Andrew Russel and William Russel, he founded the banking house of Dunlap, Russel & Company, of which he has since been the head. Under his management this bank has taken rank among the leading financial institutions of the State.

Mr. Dunlap has exhibited a lively interest in the welfare and progress of his home community and its various institutions. In 1893 he was appointed Treasurer of the Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane, located at Jacksonville, filling the office for four years. His interest in the advancement of purely local movements organized to promote the welfare of the city is illustrated by his intimate identification with the Jacksonville Business Men's Association, of which he served as President from 1897 to 1901. It is worthy of note in this connection to state that his reelections to this office were made by acclamation, a fact which demonstrates in a measure the confidence and esteem accorded him by the commercial and industrial factors in Jacksonville's municipal life. A member of Jacksonville Lodge, No. 152, Knights of Pythias, he has always been devoted to the advancement of that order. He has taken an active part in the workings of the Grand Lodge of the State of Illinois. At the annual meeting of that body in October, 1898, he was elected its Treasurer, and has since been continuously reelected to the office. He is also identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.

It is perhaps as an active and zealous exponent of the principles of the Democracy that Mr. Dunlap is best known outside of his native county. Since his first vote was cast for Democratic men and measures, he has been recognized as one of the most devoted and active adherents of his party in Illinois. He has never sought local office, his best efforts having been expended in the operations of the Democracy in State and national affairs. In 1897 he was elected Treasurer of the Democratic State Central Committee, and was reelected in 1899. As Treasurer of the State organization he became ex-officio a member of the Executive Committee of the State Committee, and in this capacity actively participated in the work of that body during the campaigns conducted by it. In 1898, his fidelity to the cause he had espoused so long and his eminent fitness for the high office, were recognized by his party in his nomination for the post of State Treasurer. As an evidence of his strength among the voters of the State, it may be stated that, in the face of a majority of 141,000 cast for McKinley for President in 1896, he was defeated by the comparatively small plurality of 43,000, running about 26,000 ahead of the balance of his ticket. At the convention of 1900 he was again nominated for the office, running more than 20,000 votes ahead of his ticket. On each occasion he carried the city of Chicago by more than 5,000 majority. This record is one of the most gratifying ever made by a candidate of the Democracy in Illinois.

In April, 1900, he was appointed Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, was duly elected to the office at the national convention at Kansas City, Mo., in July following, and filled the office for four years. In this capacity he took an important part in the work of the memorable campaign of that year, laboring assiduously for the election of William J. Bryan, his personal friend, to the Presidency.

On May 21, 1879, Mr. Dunlap was united in marriage with Jennie R. Marsh, of Watseka, Ill., a daughter of L. C. Marsh, who removed from New York State to Illinois about 1865. They are the parents of two children-Ralph I. And Carrie.

In the line of political influence bearing upon the direction of public affairs in the State and the nation, and the assertion of principles of honesty and toleration, Mr. Dunlap is one of the foremost of the younger generation of men in the country. He possesses an intuitive perception of character, and is intolerant of those lacking in personal and political integrity. His career has been one of great activity and unusual success, due to the exercise of good judgment and the exhibition of high and honorable motives in all his transactions.

DUNLAP, Stephen, farmer, residing about three miles east of Jacksonville, was born in Jacksonville, Ill., June 8, 1845, the fourth son of Stephen and Dicy (Runkle) Dunlap. (An extended ancestral record will be found in connection with the sketch of Irvin Dunlap, which appears elsewhere in this volume.) His father having removed from Jacksonville to his farm east of the city when Stephen Dunlap was a child, the latter was reared on the farm, receiving his education in the district schools of the neighborhood. His life has been devoted to general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising in which he has been successful. During the Civil War he was extensively engaged in dealing in stock and supplies for the Union Army, principally in Missouri.

Mr. Dunlap is a representative of a family which has been intimately identified with the progress and development of Morgan County from the early pioneer period, and, like his ancestors, has taken pride in the performance of those duties toward the public which have had for their aim the advancement of the general welfare. An unwavering Democrat throughout his entire life, he has strongly supported all measures calculated to advance the interests of his chosen party. His interest in the public affairs of his township is exhibited in the fact that for nineteen years he served as School Director, and for fourteen years as Road Commissioner. Though he has freely given of his time and services to advance local interests, he has never sought nor consented to fill political offices, excepting those minor positions which good citizens are usually called upon to occupy. For many years he has been an active member of the Illinois Anti-Horse Thief Association, of which he was one of the founders. He has been an Odd Fellow for twenty-eight years, and for some time has served as Noble Grand of Urania Lodge, No. 243, I.O.O.F.

Mr. Dunlap was united in marriage February 7, 1866, with Harriet Orear, daughter of George and Sarah (Heslep) Orear, members of an old and honored family of Morgan County. (See sketch of Orear family.) She was born on her father's farm near Jacksonville September 9, 1845. Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap have been the parents of six children, namely: Olivia G., born February 12, 1867; George Albert, born February 18, 1871; Franklin Irvin, born March 13, 1869, and died February 16, 1873; Stephen Howard, born March 9, 1875; Arthur B., born December 6, 1877; and Ruth H., born March 29, 1888. The elder daughter, Olivia G., was graduated from the Illinois Woman's College in 1888, with the Bachelor's degree, and after a post-graduate scientific course was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Science. She has become actively interested in religious movements and in the work of the Epworth League, and is now (1904) a corresponding secretary of the Jacksonville District Epworth League. She is also a member of James Caldwell Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, of Jacksonville. The eldest son, George Albert, is engaged in the real estate business at Los Angeles, Cal. The other sons are engaged in farming.





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