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

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y- Z

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Noah Richardson and his good wife are among the most honored and respected citizens of Unity Township, and it affords us pleasure to present their portraits to our readers.  Mr. Richardson came to Piatt County many years ago and purchased a tract of land on section 1, Unity Township, which he has since improved into a valuable farm and there he and his helpmate are passing their declining years surrounded by the comforts of a cozy, well-ordered home.  He was born in Vermillion County, Ind., Dec. 28, 1822.  His father, the late William Richardson was a native of North Carolina and was married in early life to Sarah Hall who was also a native of that State, born in Randolph County.  They were among the pioneers of Vermillion County, Ind.  Subsequently they came to Illinois with their son of whom we write and both died in Unity Township, the father in 1862 and the mother in 1859.      Our subject passed his early life on a place in his native county and farming has been his life employment.  He was married in Vermillion County, Ind., February 18, 1857, to Miss Emily Pratt.  Mrs. Richardson was born in Parke County, Ind., on the 11th of June 1839, to Abram and Cynthia Ann (Keene) Pratt, natives respectively of the States of New York and Indiana.  Mr. Pratt died in Parke County, and his widow subsequently married Mr. Kirby with whom she went to Iroquois County where she died.  After her death Mrs. Richardson, who was then only six years old, returned to Indiana and was reared to womanhood by her uncle, Dearborn Gaw.      Directly after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Richardson came from their native State of Illinois and settled on section 36, Champaign County, where they lived more than a year.  They then came to Unity Township, Piatt County, and took up their abode on section 1, where they have since lived with the exception of four years' residence in Bement when he rented his land.  He has a choice little farm of forty acres, pleasantly situated on section 1.      Mr. Richardson is a fair-minded, straightforward man of unblemished character.  He is kindly, considerate and charitable in his dealings with others and has the full confidence and esteem of the entire community where he has passed so many years.  He is an unostentatious, unassuming man and does not care for public honors, though he was held the school offices and at one time was Justice of the Peace for a year and a half when he resigned the position, as he did not care to serve longer.  Mrs. Richardson is likewise held in high regard by all around her and in her the Christian Church finds one of its most consistent members.      The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Richardson has been blessed to them by the birth of one child - Lacy Ann.  She was a promising young lady who was well educated and had taught school one term prior to her decease.  For nineteen years she gladdened their lives and made their homes happy and then they were called upon to part, her death occurring August 12, 1876.  In such bereavement the only consolation offered to her parents is in the thought of what they once possessed and in the hope that religion holds out to them of an immortal life beyond the grave.  They can feel with the poet who writes. "Thanks be to God that such have been Although they are no more "More home-like seems that vast unknown, Since she has entered there; To follow her were not so hard Wherever she may fare; She cannot be where God is not, On any sea or shore. Whate'er betides, Thy love abides, Our God forevermore."

Isaac L. Rinehart, of the firm of I. L. Rinehart & Co., has been in business in Deland, Piatt County, since 1875.  At that time, with the money he had saved while teaching a few terms of school, he established the business which formed the nucleus of the present thriving trade.  He began with groceries, boots and shoes, and had for his associate his brother.  He then conducted the business alone for five years and in 1884 took in as a partner Mr. H. W. Gantz, who is still a member of the firm.  They handled agricultural implements for some years but are at present selling only hardware and groceries.  The business establishment at that time occupied by the firm was burned in October, 1888, and they sustained a loss of over $2,000 above their insurance.  They now occupy a large frame building on one of the four prominent corners in the village.      Mr. Rinehart was born in Kingston, Ross County, Ohio, January 27, 1851, and is a son of James and Catherine (Cresswell) Rinehart, both natives of Virginia.  After a residence in Ohio of some six years.  Mr. and Mrs. Rinehart came to Illinois in 1854, locating in Macon County.  There the husband purchased a farm and gave considerable attention to agricultural work, although by trade he was a gunsmith and blacksmith.  He died in 1883 at the age of seventy-four years.  His widow is still living, now aged seventy-one.  She is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which her deceased husband was identified.  Of their nine children seven are now living.      The subject of this brief biographical notice attended the district schools and in 1868 entered the Wesleyan University at Bloomington, where he studied two years.  After leaving college he learned telegraphy and followed it two years, then taught four or five terms.  He gave up a school in order to establish a business in Deland and his success warranted him in continuing his labors as a tradesman.  His business is conducted according to the most honorable methods, square dealing and courteous treatment being the rule, and the firm are becoming more and more thoroughly established with each passing year.  Mr. Rinehart owns forty acres of land in Piatt County, and in 1888 built a fine large residence in the village, which is well furnished throughout and forms a most attractive and comfortable home.      In 1878 Mr. Rinehart was married to a lady who was born in Fulton County, this State, and possesses many estimable qualities of mind and heart together with the sincere and friendly manners that make her a popular member of society.  She is the proud mother of two children - James B. and Grace F.  The social and benevolent spirit of Mr. Rinehart has led to his identification with the Odd Fellows' fraternity.  In politics he is a sound Republican.  He has been Town Clerk several terms and has had a part in other municipal work wherein a man of trustworthiness was needed.  Both Mr. and Mrs. Rinehart enjoy good standing in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

John L. Robinson is carrying on farming and stock raising in Piatt County, owning and successfully managing a farm on section 32, Cerro Gordo Township.  He is a man of firm principles and high character, who enjoys the full esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens, and is potent in advancing the educational and religious status of the community.  Mr. Robinson was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, Apr. 15, 1833, and is a son of John and Beulah (Rakestraw) Robinson, natives of Virginia.  His father was a gallant soldier in the War of 1812, and was one of the early pioneers of Coshocton County, having left Virginia with his wife when a young man to build up a home in the wilderness of Ohio.  The parental family consisted of nine children, of whom these four are living: William, a resident of Wabaunsee County, Kan., Benjamin, who lives in Iowa; Sarah A., a resident of Coshocton County; and John L.  Those deceased are Archelious, Lucinda, Elizabeth, Mary and Somerville Virginia.       Our subject passed his early life amide the pioneer scenes of his birth place and in his youth became inured to pioneer labors, as he assisted his father in hewing a farm from the primeval forests.  He received a rudimentary education in the early subscription schools of Ohio, which he attended about two months during the winter season, though not very regularly, as he was often obliged to be absent during two days of the week.  The school-house where he gained his knowledge was an old log cabin, with a puncheon floor, and in a rude condition generally.  He has followed farming nearly all his life with the exception of five years spent in the manufacture of tile at Cerro Gordo.      In 1864 Mr. Robinson left his old home in Ohio, and coming to Illinois, resided in Macon County until 1869.  In that year he came to Piatt County and for a long time resided in southern Cerro Gordo Township.  In the spring of 1889 he settled on his present farm,, which comprises eighty acres of very fertile land, which is under excellent cultivation and which is constantly increasing in value on account of the improvements he is placing upon it from time to time.      The first marriage of our subject, which took place in Ohio, Dec. 18, 1855, was a Miss Louisa Huff, a native of Coshocton County, and a daughter of Leven and Eliza Huff.  Four children were born of that marriage, of whom these three are living:  William, who is a resident of Cerro Gordo; Elizabeth, wife of Franklin Hurtt, of Cerro Gardo Township; and Elmer, a resident of Cerro Gordo.  Sarah B. is the name of the daughter who died.  Jan. 10, 1879, Mrs. Robinson departed this life, leaving behind her a good record as a wife, mother and friend.      Mr. Robinson's second marriage was solemnized Apr. 21, 1881, when he was wedded to Mrs. Eva Clary, widow of George Clary.  Mrs. Robinson was born in Wood County, Ohio, Mar. 24, 1847, and is a daughter of the late Frederick and Maria (Willard) Heminger, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Ohio.  Her ancestors on her mother's side were German and it is thought that her father's people were also of German original.  The following children born to her parents survive; Margaret, wife of Lewis Shinow of Wood County, Ohio; Susan, wife of Andrew Settles of Ohio; Jacob, a resident of the Buckeye State; Andrew, Joshua and Adam, who live in Cerro Gordo Township; Maria, wife of Jacob Britten of Michigan;  Catherine, wife of Joseph Britten of Eaton County, Mich; Ezra, a resident of Wood County, Ohio; and Frederick, also of that county.  Elizabeth is the name of the daughter deceased.  By her first marriage Mrs. Robinson had two children, John and Edith.      Our subject is in the truest sense a self-made man.  He stands well in financial circles, as he is perfectly honest and fair in all his transactions, and is a man whose unswerving integrity and unimpeachable morality make him trusted and respected wherever he is known.  He is one of the leading members in the Methodist Episcopal Church at Cerro Gordo, to which his good wife, who is held in like esteem, also belongs,  He has served his church faithfully as Steward, Class-Leader and Trustee, and has been a potent factor in promoting its usefulness as a religious organization in this community.  Mr. Robinson has ever been a stanch advocate of the public school system, and favors all things that will in any way elevate society and contribute to the happiness and well being of the people.  He is politically, a strong supporter of the Republican party.

Watkins L. Ryder.  This gentleman is numbered among the capitalists of Monticello, Piatt County, and is engaged in the real-estate and loan business.  HE has been connected with the official work of the county and with the cause of education and has become well known to a large number of the residents of the county.  He is generally conceded to be one of the best educated and most widely informed members of the community and one whose citizenship is creditable alike to himself and the place that he calls home.  In addition to the work mentioned, he has been connected with the legal fraternity and with the army of the Union, and wherever he has been has made his influence felt.      The Ryder family are of English origin and during the eighteenth century was represented first in Rhode Island and later in Vermont.  In the latter State Joseph Ryder, grandfather of our subject, was born in December, 1780.  Joseph Ryder married Mary Hill and to them on Dec. 31, 1806, the child was born who became the father of our subject.  The parents removed to New York during the early settlement of Jefferson County and bought a tract of land from a Frenchman named De Laray, who owned large tracts and sold cheap to actual settlers.  Clearing a small acreage, Mr. Ryder built a two-story stone house and carried on the further improvement of the land, making it his home until his death.  His son Benjamin lived on the farm until he was eighteen years old, then took up the occupation of a raftsman on the St. Lawrence River, transporting lumber.  After his marriage he bought fifty acres of land from MR. De Laray, and built a log house which after some years was replaced by a frame dwelling.  He cleared the land, added forty acres adjoining and continued to occupy the farm until his death, Dec. 31, 1866.      The wife of Benjamin Ryder and mother of our subject was Ann Caroline Horton, who was born in Chaumont, N. Y., June 13, 1806.  She is a daughter of James and Martha (White) Horton and is a descendant in the eighth generation of Barnabus Horton, the first of the name known in America.  From a work entitled "Horton Genealogy or Chronicles of the Descendants of Barnabus Horton," we learn that this ancestor of Mrs. Ryder was born in the hamlet of Mously, Leicestershire, England, He came to America in the ship "Swallow" in 1633 or 1638, and landed at Hampton, Mass.  In 1640 he was living in the city of New Haven, Conn., where he assisted others in the organization of the Congregational Church.  On the 21st of October, 1640 he set sail for Southold, L. I.  He built the first frame house ever erected on the island and on the publication of his work, in 1875, the building was still standing; (a view of the place is give in the work).  He was very prominent in public affairs, served many years as a Magistrate and several times was a member of the General Assembly in Hartford and New Haven.  Mrs. Ryder is still living in the Empire State and is now eighty-four years old.  She reared six children - Watkins L., Cornelia, Wallace, Walter Vanrantz, Mary and Bruce.      Our subject was born in Lime, Jefferson County, N. Y., Mar. 6, 1834.  He received his early education in the Empire State and began teaching when eighteen years old, carrying on his professional work three winter terms in the State.  When twenty-one years of age he went to Oberlin, Ohio, where he advanced his education by his attendance at the University.  He remained there three years, during which time he attended college, taught and studied law.  In the spring of 1858 he came to Monticello, Ill., and read law in the office of Milligan & McComas.  In the fall of that year he was admitted to the bar and went to Bement where he practiced until 1861.      In June of that year Mr. Ryder joined Company F, Second Illinois Cavalry- a company that furnished its own horses and accoutrements.  He was mustered into the service in August and in the fall went South, soon after which he was detailed as Sergeant of Orderlies to Gen. McPherson.  He retained the position nearly a years, then rejoined his regiment and was in active service therewith until the expiration of his term of enlistment.  He was honorably discharged at Baton Rouge and returned to the North, conscious of having done what in him lay to preserve the Union intact.      After reaching Bement Mr. Ryder accepted the Principalship of the Bement school and taught until the fall of 1865, when he was elected County Clerk, an office which he filled eight years.  When elected to the office he removed to Monticello, where he has since resided and, since the expiration of his term of his office has been engaged in the real estate and loan business.  In 1885 his residence was destroyed by fire and he erected a substantial and attractive dwelling in the north part of the town, where he lives surrounded by all the comforts of a happy home.  Mr. Ryder has traveled quite extensively through the States and in 1885 visited England.  He is keenly observant of passing events and the grand or peculiar in nature, and his travels have therefore given him a fund of knowledge that makes his conversation interesting and adds greatly to his personal culture.      When he established his home Mr. Ryder was seconded in his efforts by a lady who had borne the maiden name of Mary E. Spaulding and with whom he was joined in wedlock August 31, 1864.  Mrs. Ryder was born in Lake County, Ill., is a daughter of Allen and Hannah Spaulding, and received such educational and home privileges as developed in her the best traits of womanhood.  She has become the mother of four children - Gail, who died in infancy; Edith, Clyde H. and Gaylord C.  The parents being educated and having abundant means at their command, it was but natural that their children should receive good advantages in the pursuit of education and the acquirement of accomplishments.  Mr. Ryder in his political faith is a stanch believer is Republican principles and his practice corresponds with his faith. (Source: Portrait & Biographical Album of DeWitt  & Piatt Cos., Ohio - Publ. 1891 - Page 373)

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