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ILLINOIS GENEALOGY EXPRESS
A part of Genealogy Express
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Welcome to
Piatt County,
Illinois
History & Genealogy |
Biographies
Source:
Portrait & Biographical Album
of DeWitt and Piatt Counties, Illinois
Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical
Sketches
of Prominent and Representative Citizens
of the County
Together with Portraits and Biographies of all
the
Presidents of the United States
and Governors of the State
Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros
1891
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ELIJA CAMPBELL is one
of twelve children born to Samuel and Isabel (Hinthorn)
Campbell, natives respectively of Virginia and Ohio.
The father was born about 1800 and followed the pursuit of
agriculture until going to Indiana, where he died in 1844.
After the death of her husband and wife and mother was a second time
married and came to Fulton County, Ill., in 1850, and died at the
ripe old age of eighty-two years in Missouri.
Our subject lived with his mother and stepfather till he was
twenty-two years old. He then began farming on his own
account, and was thus engaged on rented land for several years.
In 1870 he came to Piatt County and took up his residence in Goose
Creek Township. This section of the county was then sparsely
settled, and the land that he then purchased here was uncultivated
and unimproved, so that he had a pioneer task before him to develop
it into a farm. In 1888 he purchased his present farm which
comprises one hundred and sixty acres of excellent farming land, and
already he has greatly increased its value by careful tillage and
the improvements that he is constantly making.
Our subject justly attributes much of his success and the many
comforts that he enjoys to the hearty co-operation that he has
received from his excellent wife, to whom he was wedded in 1865.
Mrs. Campbell was formerly Sarah
Carter, and she is a native of Fulton County. Her
marriage with our subject has been greatly blessed to them by the
birth of the following children: Hattie, Cora, Atha,
Lillian, Nona, Pearl, Ray, Turner, Cady, Waive, Dee, and
one who died in infancy.
Mr. Campbell is a man of good reputation and stands
well with his fellow-citizens. He is among the leading
Democrats of his county and has been a delegate to conventions.
He has been Highway Commissioner and has served as School Treasurer
for seven years, proving to be a most efficient and trustworthy
official in both capacities. For eighteen years he has been a
member of the Masonic fraternity. He and his wife, and their
elder children, are members of the Christian Church, and active
workers in the fold. Mr. Campbell is a self
made man as he began life with but limited means and has worked his
way up to his present prosperous circumstances by sheer force of
unremitting and well-directed labor. He is now comfortably
well off and is enjoying life in one of the pleasantest homes of
this township, having erected his present fine and commodious frame
residence in 1889.
Source: Portrait & Biographical Album
of DeWitt and Piatt Counties, Illinois,
Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros.,
1891~ Page 286 |
EZRA CLINE,
formerly a farmer of Monticello Township, was a son of a pioneer
family of Piatt County, had himself held an honorable place among
the men who laid the solid foundation of its prosperity as an
agricultural center, and in his death Mar. 12, 1877, a good citizen
was lost to his community. Mr. Cline was a native of
Pickaway County, Ohio, and was there born in the humble pioneer home
of his parents, Aug. 6, 1829. He was a son of Jacob Cline
and his paternal ancestors were of German origin, his grandfather
being a native of Germany. Our subject was but a year old when
his mother died and when he was about six years old, some time in
the '30s he accompanied by his father and other members of the
family to Illinois, coming hither in a covered wagon.
Our subject grew to manhood in Piatt County amid
pioneer scenes and was a life long farmer. He did much pioneer
work in his day and developed a good farm in Monticello Township,
from the tract of wild land on which he moved in 1855. This
farm, which is one of the best in its vicinity, is still occupied by
his widow and is kept up to the high state of cultivation that it
had attained under his management.
Mr. Cline was married Sept. 6, 1854, to Mrs.
Eliza Ater and in her he found an active and cheerful helper who
was a potent factor in his prosperity. Mrs. Cline was
born in Vermillion County, Ind., Aug. 10, 1830. Her parents,
Clarkson C. and Nancy (Ater) Williams were natives of
Pickaway County, Ohio. Her maternal grandfather, Samuel
Ater, was a soldier in the War of 1812. When Mrs. Cline
was about seventeen years old, her parents came from Indiana to
Moultrie County, Ill., where they resided a short time. They
ten became pioneers of Piatt County, being among the early settlers
of Willow Branch Township. They reared a large family of
children of whom five are living: Mrs. Cline; Clarkson,
a resident of Willow Branch Township; Joseph, also a resident
of that township; Ralston, living in this county; and
Mary M., wife of Monroe Peck, of Willow Branch Township.
In the death of Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Piatt County lost two
of its early pioneers who were greatly respected by all who knew
them.
By her first marriage with Willis Ater, Mrs. Cline
had one child who is now deceased. By her marriage with Mr.
Cline she became the mother of six children, of whom four are
living, namely: John T., a resident of Arizona;
Jacob C., of Monticello; Joseph D.; and Mary M.,
wife of Nelson Shoff, of Piatt County. Edmund W.
and Serepta are deceased.
Mr. Cline was a man of sturdy common sense, of
cool calculation, and was an excellent manager, so that he carried
on his farming operations very profitably and left his family in
comfortable circumstances. He was a Christian and was
identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church during his life as
one of its most earnest members. In his political views he was
a stanch Democrat. In his domestic relations he was a kind
husband and father, and enjoyed the esteem and confidence of the
entire community where so many years of his life were passed.
Source: Portrait & Biographical Album
of DeWitt and Piatt Counties, Illinois,
Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros.,
1891~ Page 931 |
JACOB H. CLINE. The village of White Heath, Piatt County, like
many another place of its size, is the center of a general
merchandise trade that by the unobserving would be considered out of
proportion to the number of inhabitants. To one who considers,
however, that the towns scattered throughout the Mississippi Valley
are the source of supplies to flourishing agricultural communities,
the amount of business carried on in them is not astonishing. One of
the most prosperous general mercantile business establishments in
the village named is that owned and managed by the gentleman whose
life history it is our purpose to give in brief.
Mr. Cline is a native of Piatt County, born August 25,
1851, and is a son of one of the early settlers here. The log house
in which he opened his eyes to the light is still standing on
section 14, Sangamon Township, where his father, John
Cline, entered Government land and in course of time improved a
tract of nearly eight hundred acres. The father was born in 1815 in
Ohio, and died in 1860 at the age of forty-five years. His wife,
Lutitia Carey, a native of Ohio, is now living in De Witt, this
State, and has reached the age of seventy-three years. She is a
faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She is the mother
of six children, four living and two deceased.
The subject of this biographical notice attended the
district school during the winter months, pursuing his studies in a
log schoolhouse and acquiring only a practical knowledge of the
common branches. In 1869 at the early age of eighteen years, he
began the battle of life on his own account, engaging in farming in
the home township. He improved his portion of his father's estate,
continuing his agricultural work ten years and then giving his
attention to a different line. Going to White Heath, he engaged in
the sale of general merchandise, in which he met with the success
that warranted him in continuing the business, which Iras increased
from year to year.
Realizing the value of a sympathizing companion, Mr.
Cline won for his wife Josephine Knott, j to whom he was
joined in wedlock January 13, 1870. Mrs. Cline is a
daughter of Dr. A. B. and Mary (Lowe) Knott, a sketch
of whom appears in this volume, and was born in Ohio. She presides !
with grace and geniality over her pleasant home in White Heath and
administers her household affairs I with efficiency. Mr. and
Mrs. Cline are the parents of five children—Anna,
Minnie, Carrie, Ona and Roy. The eldest
is now the wife of Edward Gale of White Heath.
Mr. Cline was bred under
Democratic influences and instruction but has been a Republican
since he became a voter. He has taken quite an active part in the
political movements of his vicinity, has
served as delegate to conventions and otherwise aided in the work of
the party. He has held various
local offices, among them that of Commissioner of Highways, and is
now Supervisor of Sangamon Township—a position to which he has been
continuously elected since 1883, and in which he has yet two years
to serve on his present term. During President Arthur's
administration he received the appointment of Postmaster and held
the same until President Cleveland took his seat; under Harrison's
administration, he has been re-appointed.
In addition to his residence property and his stock,
which is of considerable value, Mr. Cline owns
seventy-five acres of land in the township, and is thus very well
provided for and able to enjoy many comforts. In the prosecution of
his business affairs he is accorded the credit of being a pleasant
man with whom to deal and one who is honorable in his commercial
transactions. His social qualities are such as to make a favorable
impression and his wife shares with him in the friendship of a large
circle.
Source: Portrait & Biographical Album
of DeWitt and Piatt Counties, Illinois,
Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros.,
1891~ Page |
WILLIAM G. CLOYD. The legal profession is
constantly attracting to it men of ability and shrewdness, gifted
with eloquence and a deep insight to technicalities and obscure
points of the law. The bar of Piatt County numbers among its
most talented representatives Judge Cloyd, whose title was fairly
earned by long and honorable service as judge of this county.
He was born in Kenton County, Ky., Oct. 5, 1848, and was only four
years old when he was taken by his parents to Pike County, Mo.
There he passed his youth, receiving a common-school education and
coming thence in June, 1865 to Decatur, Ill., where for about four
years he was engaged in teaching.
In 1869 Mr. Cloyd began the study of the law and two
years later was admitted to practice at the bar. Locating in
Bement, he has since been a resident of this thriving city and has
been deeply interested in its progress. In June, 1879, he was
elected Judge of Piatt County, to fill a vacancy caused by the death
of Judge William McReynolds. That he filled the position to
the satisfaction of the people is shown by the fact that he was
re-elected in November, 1882, and served until 1887, being an
incumbent of the office about seven and one-half years.
Politically, he is a strong Democrat, and is prominent in the ranks
of that party. Sine he retired from the judgeship he has
devoted his time and attention almost exclusively to the legal
profession and his eminent ability in that direction is widely
recognized.
The marriage of Judge Cloyd and Miss
Lillian McKinny,
daughter of the late I. R. McKinny, was solemnized in Monticello,
this state, and of their happy union two children have been born -
Candace and Walter. Mr. and Mrs. Cloyd are highly esteemed
throughout the community where they reside and by their social and
benevolent dispositions have become endeared to all who know them.
Source: Portrait & Biographical Album
of DeWitt and Piatt Counties, Illinois,
Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros.,
1891~ Page |
JOHN L. CORNELL is deserving
of representation in this BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM of PIATT
COUNTY, not only as a worthy member of its farming community
but as a veteran of the late Civil War in which he nobly helped to
save the Union from destruction. He is a native of Hardy
County, Va., and was born July 9, 1840. Jacob and Mary A. (Idleman)
Cornell, his parents, are thought to have been natives of
Virginia. They came to this county in 1859 and took up their
residence among the early settlers of Willow Branch Township where
they both died. They were the parents of nine children, of
whom the following survive: William, Joseph and Henry,
who live in Champaign County; Benjamin and Charles,
residents of Piatt County; Sarah J., wife of Willis
Armsworth of Cerro Gordo, and our subject.
John Cornell passed the early years of his life
until he has about twenty years old in the Old Dominion, where he
was reared on a farm. His school advantages were quite limited
and were confined to attendance at school during a few winter
months. He accompanied his parents to this county and was
living here when the late war broke out. He was then in the
prime and vigor of early manhood, and in August, 1862, he
volunteered in defence of the Stars and Stripes, enlisting in
Company K, One Hundred and Seventh Illinois Infantry which became a
part of the Twenty-third Corps of Sherman's army. He fought at
Knoxville, Tenn., at Springfield, engaged in the siege of Nashville,
and was active in several other battles and skirmishes with the
enemy. His term of service as long and honorable and he was
finally discharged in July, 1865.
Mr. Cornell came back to Piatt County form the
seat of war and quietly resumed his duties as a civilian. He
is now numbered among the substantial farmers of Willow Branch
Township, and he and his wife own here one hundred and twenty acres
of choice farming land one hundred and twenty acres of choice
farming land which is exceptionally well cultivated and has many
fine improvements. The view of this farm, which may be found
on another page of the ALBUM, represents one
of the most valuable estates in the community.
Mr. Cornell took an important step in his life
that has had much to do with his prosperity, in his marriage March
22, 1877, with Miss Mary J. O'Neil. She is a native of
Pickaway County, Ohio, where she was born June 20, 1842, to Hugh
and Rebecca (Graham) O'Neil. Her parents were natives of
the North of Ireland and came to this county in 1836. They
located among the pioneers of Pickaway County, whence they came to
Illinois in 1847. Here they cast their lot with the early
settlers of Macon County, where the father died in 1873.
Mrs. Cornell's own mother had died in Ohio before the family
came to this Sate. She was the mother of five children, of
whom these three are living: Barney, a resident of
DeWitt County; Mrs. Cornell, and Nancy, wife of
Patrick Donovan, of St. Louis, Mo. Mr. O'Neil's
second wife, who accompanied him to Illinois, died in 1884.
Mr. O'Neil was a stanch member of the Presbyterian Church.
To Mr. and Mrs. Cornell have been born four
children, of whom the following is the record: Mary,
born April 5, 1878; Sarah, October 24, 1879; Ora M.,
born Sept. 30, 1881, died Feb. 19, 1882; and Cornelia R.,
born Nov. 2, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Cornell are sociable,
genial people and their attractive home is the center of a true
hospitality which they often share with their numerous friends.
They are people of high reputation, kind and considerate in their
relations with others, and always sympathetic with and charitable
toward the needy and unfortunate. They enjoy in a large degree
and esteem and confidence of their neighbors. Mr. Cornell
is an earnest adherent of the Democratic party as he strongly
believes that its policy is the best for the guidance of national
affairs.
Source: Portrait & Biographical Album
of DeWitt and Piatt Counties, Illinois,
Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros.,
1891~ Page |
FRANK HENRY COX. Among the younger members of the farming
community in Piatt County mention should certainly be made of F.
H. Cox, of Blue Ridge Township. Although but little more
than thirty years of age, having been born June 7, 1858, he has
reached a high position among his fellow craftsmen, now only for his
knowledge of all that pertains to the development of the soil, but
also became of his good judgment and excellent understanding in the
stock business. His taste has led him to raise domestic
animals extensively and he has always been especially interested in
fine horses. The Blue Ridge Stock Farm, of which he is
proprietor, has upon it some very fine animals and is becoming well
known throughout this section of the State.
Our subject was born on the old Cox homestead in
Blue Ridge Township, being a son of Lafayette
Cox. He received a common-school education, his
attendance at temples of learning being confined mostly to the fall
and winter months. The example and teaching of his father
fitted him for the business of a farmer and stockman, in which he
embarked for himself the spring that he was twenty-three years old,
buying eighty acres of land which joins his home on the east.
He was married on the 6th of June, 1880, to Miss Luella Carr,
who was born in Greene County, September 27, 1862, and is a daughter
of William and Theresa (Smith) Carr, the former a native of
North Carolina. Mr. Carr was a blacksmith by trade.
He died in 1884, cheered by the Christian's hope, having long been a
member of the Baptist Church. The widowed mother of Mrs.
Cox is still living.
Mrs. Cox is one of those fine characters whom
"to love is a liberal education," and in whom the heart of her
husband can safely trust, secure in the knowledge that she will be
faithful to his interests, careful in the rearing of their children
and will at all times all to the esteem in which the family is held.
The happy marriage has been blest by the birth of three daughters -
Irene, Melissa and Theresa, but the parents
have been bereft of the first-born.
Since 1887 Mr. Cox has made a specialty of
breeding heavy draft horses and he is the owner of "Knight Templar,"
a fine imported draft stallion. At present, however, the
proprietor of the Blue Ridge Stock Farm is turning his attention
toward the raising of fine roadsters, on which he has won the blue
ribbons at various fairs. He has recently purchased "Wilkes
Chief," a member of the famous "Wilkes" family of
standard-bred horses. He is an excellent judge of the
different domestic animals and handles cattle extensively, feeding
and shipping several carloads each year. By reason of his
indomitable energy and the means which he has taken to improve the
grades of domestic animals in this vicinity, he has acquired a name
and a station unexcelled among the young farmers of the county, and
is looked upon by all who know him as one of the rising men of the
community. Mr. Cox votes the Republican ticket
which, after carefully informing himself regarding the political
issues, he is convinced is the one that should receive his support.
Source: Portrait & Biographical Album
of DeWitt and Piatt Counties, Illinois,
Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros.,
1891~ Page |
Click for Picture of L. Cox.
LAFAYETTE COX.
The portrait on the opposite page represents a well-known and
honored citizen of Piatt county. Mr. Cox is now living
in retirement from active business as a farmer and stockman, but was
formerly prominently connected with the agricultural interests of
this part of Illinois. He has a large and valuable farm in
Blue Ridge Township which, during his active years, he placed under
good tillage and substantial improvement.
Mr. Cox is a native of Dearborn County, Ind.,
where his birth occurred in the pioneer home of his parents Oct. 31,
1824. His father, Elisha Cox, was born in Maryland in
1797, emigrated westward to Indiana about 1818, and buying a tract
of land in Dearborn County became one of its first settlers.
While he was yet in the prime of a stalwart manhood he was stricken
by death, in 1835, and the community was thus deprived of one of its
most useful pioneers and most highly respected citizens. A
true patriot he did good service in the War of 1812. Elisha
Cox, the grandfather of our subject, was also a native of
Maryland, where his father had settled when he arrived in this
country from his native England. The maiden name of the mother
of our subject was Lucinda Sherrill. She was born in Green
County, Ky., May 12, 1800, and died in 1886, at the venerable age of
eighty-six years. She was a Christian and a devoted member of
the Methodist Church. Of the four sons and four daughters born
of her marriage four are yet living.
Our subject was born in the village of Lawrenceburg,
Ind., and the early years of his life were passed on his father's
farm. His educational advantages were limited to schools of
inferior merit, which were conducted on the subscription plan, and
in his early boyhood he could attend only three months in a year.
After he was ten years old he managed to go to school a little more
than three months some terms, and being diligent student soon
acquired a good common-school education. He was the eldest son
and had charge of affairs at home after his father's death. In
1845 he began life on his own account and for ten years was busily
engaged in conducting farming on the old homestead. In 1855 he
removed to Illinois, hoping on the rich soil of the Prairie State he
would be able to do better than in his native place. He
located on section 18, Blue Ridge Township, Piatt County, where he
entered three hundred and twenty acres of land.
Mr. Cox was the first settler in this portion of
the township, which was then in a perfect state of nature, with
deer, wolves and other wild animals roaming at will. Like many
other pioneer he had performed the journey hither from his old
Indiana home in a wagon and on his arrival had before him the
difficult task of redeeming his land from the wilderness. The
first improvement made was the erection of a small frame house,
18x28 feet in dimensions, as a shelter for his family. His
nearest market was at Champaign or Bloomington, and besides
traveling thither over rough roads he had many other hardships to
undergo during the first years he spent in this county. Mr.
Cox owns four hundred and eighty acres of fine land, which
comprises one of the choicest farms in the whole township. He
has always engaged extensively in raising sheep and cattle until he
retired from farming several years ago. By indefatigable work,
second by an excellent capacity for business and judicious
management, he has placed himself among the wealthy men of the
county.
The marriage of our subject with Miss Melissa
Blasdel was celebrated November 19, 1845. Mrs. Cox
is also a natiave of Dearborn County, Ind., and was born April 24,
1824. Her parents, Jonathan and Nancy (Cooper) Blasdel,
were natives respectively of New Hampshire and Maryland. They
were married in Indiana, where the father carried on farming until
his death in 1858. He was born June 21, 1791, and had scarcely
attained his majority when the War of 1812 broke out.
Nevertheless he enlisted in the army and did valuable service.
After the war he was made Captain of a home company of horse guards.
He was a sound Universalist in his religious belief. Mrs.
Cox's mother was born in 1794 and died in 1871 at an advanced
age. Eight of the eleven children born of her marriage are now
living. The Blasdel family were of English origin.
Of the children born to our subject and
his wife, the following is recorded: Nancy M. married
William Shanklin, a farmer of Santa Barbara County, Cal.;
Thomas W. is a farmer in Champaign County; Mary L.
married J. R. Robinson, a farmer of Blue Ridge Township, and
died in 1878, at the age of twenty-seven years, leaving four
children; Mildred; Elizabeth is now deceased; Eleanor J.
is the wife of Maj. Blasdel, a farmer of Sedgwick County,
Kan.; Elisha B. is deceased; John J. is a prosperous
farmer in Blue Ridge Township; Betsey E. is the wife of
Asa B. Smith, a farmer in McLean Count; Frank henry is a
farmer in Blue Ridge Township; Melinda M. is the wife of
Ralph C. Smith, an engineer in Sioux City, Iowa; Louise
is the wife of Dr. S. L. Chapin, of Saybrook, McLean Count;
Adelia F. is the wife of Ezra Shanks, a farmer in McLean
County; Emma O. is deceased.
As we have seen Mr. Cox was a pioneer of Blue
Ridge Township, and has been a potent agent in aiding to bring about
the present advanced state of development of the agricultural
resources of Piatt County. His career as a farmer was marked
with untiring energy, incessant industry, cool calculation and rare
business management. He is a man of upright principles, an
ardent temperance advocate and has always been an influence for good
in his community. He was reared a Whit, but has been
identified with the Republican party nearly ever since its
formation, voting for Fremont in 1856.
Source: Portrait & Biographical Album
of DeWitt and Piatt Counties, Illinois,
Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros.,
1891~ Page |
JAMES M. CROOK was for many years one of the most practical
farmers of Cerro Gordo Township who came to this section of the
State in early life and afterward identified himself with the
pioneers who had preceded him, aiding them in their task of making
Piatt County a rich and prosperous farming region. He was born
in Fountain County, Ind., June 25, 1831, and was a son of William
and Delilah Crook. When he was fourteen years
old he was deprived of a father's tender care by the death of the
latter and when eighteen years old he accompanied his mother and
other members of the family in their migration from Indiana to this
county. They settled in Willow Branch Township where but few
people were then living. He had received the rudiments of his
education in his native State and he afterward for a time attended
school in this county, but he gained much of his knowledge by
reading an experience. His home life from early boyhood was
devoted to agricultural pursuits and he bore an honorable part in
developing the farming interests of his township and in time
improved an excellent farm.
Mr. Crook died November 10, 1884, in the
home that he had erected here and his community mourned the loss of
one of its most trusted and worthy citizens while yet he was in
middle life, before the infirmities of age had impaired his
usefulness. Those who knew him speak highly of his character
and remember him as one who filled all the relations of life in a
manly, upright manner. He was a kind husband, a loving father,
a friendly neighbor, and many mourned his departure. In him
the Christian Church found one of its most devoted members.
His political views were identical with those expressed by the
majority of the Republican party.
The marriage of Mr. Crook with Miss
Charity Peck was solemnized Nov. 9, 1856. Mrs.
Crook was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, June 2, 1838. She is
a daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth Peck, early
settlers of this county. She came here with her parents and
other members of the family in 1851 and they settled in Willow
Branch Township on a new tract of land which was subsequently
developed into a good farm. The family had to endure the usual
trials and discouragements of life in a newly settled country while
building up the home in which the father died in 1868, and the
mother in 1860.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Crook
was blessed to them by the birth of these four children - William
W., James M., Jesse J. and Ora.
Mrs. Crook now resides in Milmine where she is held in
great respect for her many amiable qualities. She is the
proprietor of forty acres of land besides her comfortable residence
in the village and she manages her interests with great skill.
She is identified with the Christian Church as one its most active
workers and she and her family stand well in the social circles of
the village.
Source: Portrait & Biographical Album
of DeWitt and Piatt Counties, Illinois,
Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros.,
1891~ Page |
NOTES:
* Picture
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