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ILLINOIS GENEALOGY EXPRESS


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Welcome to
Vermilion County, Illinois
History & Genealogy


 
OTHER BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES:
1879 1889 1903 1911 1930

BIOGRAPHIES

Source:
The History
of
Vermilion County, Illinois

A Tale of its Evolution, Settlement and Progress for nearly a Century -        
Vols. I & 2
By Lottie E. Jones -
Chicago - Pioneer Publishing Company  -
1911
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
  L. D. LANE, a man of strong and forceful individuality and marked business ability, has in the course of an active life constantly worked his way upward and each advance step in his career has brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. He has carefully noted and used his advantages for progress and is today one of the successful men of his part of the county, being now engaged in banking in Henning. His birth occurred in Vermilion County on the 21st of August, 1855, his parents being W. V. And Sarah J. (Crawford) Lane. The father was born in Vinton County, Ohio, in 1829, and the mother is also a native of the Buckeye state. Removing westward they settled in Vermilion County at an early period in its development and are still residents of Henning, the father now having passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey.
     Spending his youthful days under the parental roof L. D. Lane pursued his early education in the Balaam School and afterward continued his studies in Greenhill, Indiana. He began farming at the age of twenty-two years and iii following that pursuit laid the foundation for his later success in life. In all business affairs he has been found practical as well as progressive and his energy and determination have enabled him to, overcome all the difficulties and obstacles in his path. After many years devoted to farming he turned his attention to the grain business which he followed at Henning for five years. Banking has since claimed his attention and he is conducting in Henning what is now regarded as one of the safe financial institutions of the county, a genera1 banking business being carried on along progressive lines that are tempered with a conservatism that thoroughly safeguards the interests of depositors and has brought to the institution a reputation for thorough reliability and trustworthiness.
     Mr. Lane has been married twice. He first wedded Miss Maria Wilson, who died in 1888 and was laid to rest in Potomac. Mr. Lane has since married Miss Anna Godwin, who has also passed away and her grave was likewise made in the Potomac cemetery. By his first marriage he has a daughter, Mrs. Edna Wyman, who has one son, Lemuel D.; and by the second marriage there is one son, Vinton, seventeen years of age, who is now a student in Greenville College.
     Mr. Lane is a valued member of several fraternal organizations, including the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He is loyal to their teachings and principles and is, moreover, a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to the support of which he contributes liberally. His entire life has been passed in Vermilion county, so that he has a wide acquaintance within its borders, and the high regard which is uniformly tendered him is evidence of the fact that his life has been well spent. In business he is progressive, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes and utilizing the opportunities that are presented for progress. He correctly judges his own capacities and powers and also those things which make up life's contacts and experiences, and, never placing fictitious values upon opportunities or conditions, he has by the wise use of his time and talents gained a creditable position in business circles, success long attending his efforts.
(Submitted by Mary Paulius)
Source:  History of Vermilion Co., Illinois - Vol. II  - pgs. 184-185 ok
  JOHN LARRANCE was a native of North Carolina, but he came to the Little Vermilion directly from Tennessee in 1827. He had his choice of almost the whole of Vermilion County, at that time and he made a good one. He entered 240 acres of land, paying the government price, and thereon built a cabin made of round logs. It had but one room and was not at all luxurious. The floor was logs split in two with the flat side up, a clapboard roof and doors of the same material. They lived happily for one year in this house and were determined to make a comfortable home of it in spite of inconveniences. For nine years Mr. Larrance's wife cooked all the meals on the fireplace, using a long handled skillet and a brick bake oven. At the end of that time he went to Chicago for some purpose and brought back a cook stove. This was the first one in the neighborhood, and was a great curiosity. The maiden name of Mrs. Larrance was Ruth Mills, she being the daughter of John Mills. She was the mother of nine children.
     Mr. Larrance's oldest son was nearly teen years old when they came from Tennessee, and he soon grew to take his place in the affairs of the county. His education in books was had in the old school-house with greased paper for windows, stick and clay chimney, slab benches and wall desks, of the pioneer days of Illinois. The school course was limited to two or three months in the winter. Moses Larrance married Nancy, the daughter of Aaron Mendenhall. Mr. Mendenhall.
     Had been living in this part of Vermilion County for three years when Mr. Larrance came from the same place in Tennessee. Mr. Mendenhall owned the same farm that Silas Baird later purchased. Mr. Moses Larrance was the father of thirteen children, who have married among the children of the early settlers until they are related to many. He and his household have, as had his father before him, been strong supporters of the Society of Friends.
Source: The History of Vermilion County, Ill - Vol. II - Publ. 1911 - Page 125
  JOHN LENEVE, a young man of twenty, came to what is now Newell Township in 1823. His birthplace was Tennessee, whence he came with his parents to Illinois when he was but a lad and they settled in what is now Lawrence County, on the Ellison Prairie directly west of Vincennes. He had a brother, Obadiah, who in 1822 took a journey into the newer country looking for a location. This journey took Obadiah LeNeve from Vincennes to St. Louis, and thence into
     Northeast Missouri, and on his homeward trip through a circuit in northern Illinois. Coming into the section now Newel1 township of Vermilion County, he took a great fancy to the country and decided upon locating there. Before he left the favored place he took the numbers of the following tracts: W. One-half N. W., one-fourth sec. 23, and E. One-half N. E., one-fourth section 24, town 20 N., range 11 W., 3rd principal meridian, and after going home there was a sale of land when he bought this particularly desired part. Just before Christmas the two brothers took their belongings, such as would be needed in a new country, as provisions and bedding, and set off for their new home. A third person accompanied them to take the team back. On reaching their destination they cut a few rails and laid up a square, chinking and filling the spaces with pulled grass, and covering one-half of the rude structure with puncheons. The Indians were very
     Friendly and proved themselves honest and, on the whole, not bad neighbors. When they were abut at the time the new white settlers were eating, the Indians were invited to share their meal which they did and showed themselves friendly and inclined to treat the newcomers with all kindness. These two brothers spent the winter splitting rails until; when in February they began making preparation for their return to arrange a permanent removal to this section. They used
     Some of their rails to build a cabin for Ben Butterfield who expected to arrive toward the last of February. He came, as was expected, and the LeNeves went back, to return later, prepared to d e a permanent settlement. John LeNeve married Rebecca Newell, the daughter of the man who was the leader of affairs in that part of the county as long as he lived. Rebecca Newell came with
     Her father from Harrison County, Kentucky, not long after the LeNeves had made this settlement in this particular section.
     John LeNeve, it is said, had a limited amount of money, in exact figures being one hundred and thirteen dollars and fifty cents ($113.50) and he invested $100 of it in timber and prairie land at one dollar and a quarter an acre leaving him thirteen dollars and fifty cents with which to begin farming. But he could count among his assets a pair of good strong arms and a willing heart to work, so his success was assured. From this modest beginning Mr. LeNeve became a land owner of pretension, and his farm is yet a landmark testifying to his thrift, and industry. His brother, Obadiah LeNeve, was a man particularly remembered as one of charity and public spirit. He was always kind to the widow and orphan and seemed to feel a responsibility to share with those less well off than he. He never butchered without killing more than enough for himself, so as to give to
     Those not able to buy meat. He was always ready to help anyone in distress and was widely known and universally loved. He was born in 1799 and died in 1884. John LeNeve lived on the old homestead all his life and died there. His wife also spent her last days in her own home and died and was buried from the old homestead.
(Submitted by Mary Paulius)
Source: The History of Vermilion County, Ill - Publ. 1911 - Pages 114 & 115 ok
  A. J. LEITZBACH, M. D., a well known and successful physician and surgeon of Fairmount, has here practiced his profession continuously for the past twenty-three years. His birth occurred in Robertsville, Connecticut, on the 3d of August, 1862, his parents being Nicholas and Elizabeth (Esslinger) Leitzbach, both natives of Germany. The father came to this country in early manhood, while the mother was but a girl when brought to the United States by her parents. Their marriage took place at Winsted, Connecticut. Nicholas Leitzbach was a cabinetmaker by trade and for a number of years worked at that occupation in the employ of the Camp Manufacturing Company, furniture manufacturers of Robertsville, Connecticut. During that period he acquired a farm in Kansas and in 1885 sent his son, Edward H., to look after his property interests there. Being well pleased with the country, the later remained in the Sunflower state and this fact largely influenced Nicholas Leitzbach to likewise establish his home in the west. Moreover, he had a daughter in Michigan and his son, A. J., had also located in this part of the country. At Humboldt, Kansas, in association with his son, E. H., he was successfully engaged in the furniture manufacturing business for several years or until the time of his retirement. E. H. Leitzbach then abandoned manufacturing interests and is now conducting an extensive mercantile enterprise, carrying a general line of furniture, pianos, boots, shoes, etc. He is one of the leading merchants of Humboldt where his father is still living in honorable retirement. His mother was called to her final rest December 19. 1891.
     A. J. Leitzbach was reared under the parental roof and obtained his early education in the Robertsville schools and in the graded schools of Riverton. Subsequently he entered the State Normal College at New Britain, Connecticut, being graduated from that institution with the class of 1882. He was then offered and accepted the principal ship of the Riverton schools and for two years acceptably filled that responsible position. During the period of his connection with educational interests he took up the study of medicine, reading under the preceptor ship of Dr. John W. Bidwell, of Winsted. Dr. Bidwell was the old Leitzbach family physician and it was largely through his instrumentality that our subject became identified with the medical profession. In the fall of 1884 Dr. Leitzbach entered the Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York city, completing the prescribed course in 1887. Following his graduation he rode with his preceptor for a few months and subsequently traveled through Virginia, Michigan, Ohio and other states in search of a favorable location. In the early fall of 1887 he settled in Fairmount, Vermilion county, Illinois, and this town has since remained the scene of his professional labors. His practice is now of an extensive and important character, having continually grown as he has demonstrated his skill and ability in the line of his chosen vocation. Through his membership in the Vermilion County Medical Society and the Illinois State Medical Society he keeps in close touch with the progress made by the profession.
     In 1893 Dr. Leitzbach was united in marriage to Miss Clara K. Daugherty youngest daughter of James A. Daugherty, now deceased, who was formerly one of the well known farmers of Vance Township. They now have two children, Elizabeth L. and Maude Louise.
     Dr. Leitzbach was one of the organizers of Fairmount Lodge, No. 1863; M. W. A., and has acted as medical examiner since the time of its organization. He is possibly the only man who is identified therewith under like conditions, neither paying dues nor carrying insurance. He acts as elder and trustee of the Presbyterian Church, of which his wife is likewise a devoted member. In professional circles he enjoys an enviable reputation, while the salient characteristics of his manhood are such as have brought him the warm regard of those with whom he has been otherwise associated.
Source: History of Vermilion County, Ill. - Publ. 1911 -  Pages 646 & 647 ok - Submitted by Mary Paulius
  W. T. LEVERENZ has always resided in Vermilion county, his birth having occurred in Danville, November 27, 1873. As the name indicates, he is of German descent. His father, John Leverenz, was born in Germany and when a young man came to the United States, making his way direct to Danville. He was a hard worker and in the early period of his residence here gave his attention to farming. Later he engaged in the saloon business on Main street and continued to deal in wines and liquors up to the time of his retirement, conducting a well patronized place that brought him a substantial annual return. He wedded Mary Hacker, and unto them were born seven children: John, now deceased, married Mary Caroline Peters and they have one child, Edna. Christ J. married Bertha Drews and they have two children, Clarence and Harold. W. T. is the third of the family. Charles G. married Anna Shingles and they have six children. Minnie is the wife of Charles Schermeyer and they have two sons, Carl and Julius. Josephine is the wife of Herman Bentrap and they have one daughter, Henrietta. Anna is the wife of Herman Hosch and they have two children. After losing his first wife, John Leverenz married Miss Mary Gatterman and they have two children, Erma and Carrie, the latter the wife of Edward Burow.
     W. T. Leverenz was educated in the German schools of this locality and at the age of fourteen years learned the trade of cigar making, which he followed for ten years. He then turned his attention to the saloon business, in which he has since been engaged. He was appointed deputy game warden in 1909 and has since had charge of Vermilion county in this capacity. He is one of the prominent sportsmen of the locality but believes in carefully protecting the game that no species shall become extinct.
On the 30th of June, 1897, Mr. Leverenz was married to Miss Emma Strebing and they have four children, Gertrude, Ethel, Norma and William T.   Mr. Leverenz belongs to the Liquor Dealers Association, is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Turners and St. John's Evangelical church.
Source: History of Vermilion Co., Ill. - Vol. II - Pub. 1911 ok
  WALTER CHARLES LINDLEY, who although still a young man has already attained an enviable position at the bar of Vermilion county and is now successfully engaged in practice in Danville, is one of Illinois' native sons, his birth occurring in Big Spring township, Shelby county, July 12, 1880. His father, Alfred W. Lindley, was born in 1856 and was a son of Osmond Lindley and grandson of James Lindley, who came to this state from Guilford Court House, North Carolina, about 1827, and the family has since been prominently identified with the development and progress of Illinois. The father has become prominent in financial circles and is today the president of the Neoga National Bank and a director and formerly president of the First National Bank of Chrisman, Illinois. He married Miss Irena Carey, who was born in 1858 and belongs to a good old Quaker family, which originally settled in Rhode Island and from there removed southward to New Jersey and later to North Carolina, where they resided for many years at Washington Court House. About 1820 her grandfather and her father, Elias Carey, came north and settled in Highland county, Ohio, but later removed to Cincinnati and from there to Marion, Indiana. Subsequently the family became residents of Shelby county, Illinois.
    Walter C. Lindley acquired his early education in the public schools and in 1897 was graduated from the high school of Neoga, Cumberland county, after which he entered the University of Illinois, attending the College of Literature and Arts, from which he received the degree of A. B. in 1901. He next attended the College of Law of the same institution and in 1904 was granted the LL. B. degree, standing at the head of his class in the College of Law and second highest in a class of two hundred and fifty in the entire university. While an undergraduate he was assistant editor and when in his senior year managing editor of The Illini, the daily newspaper published at the university. From 1901 to 1904 Mr. Lindley taught English in the academy of the same institution, at the same time studying law, being graduated on the 12th of June of the latter year. He passed the state bar examination on the 30th of the same month and on the 1st of July, 1904, began practice in Danville. He was in the employ of the firm of Penwell & Lindley until January 1, 1906, when he became a member of the firm of Lindley, Penwell & Lindley, which is still in existence. Since his admission to the bar he has given his undivided attention to his professional duties and has practiced in both the state and federal courts.
     A young man of unusual ability and perseverance, he has met with marked success in his chosen calling and today ranks among the leading lawyers of Danville. He is also a member of the advisory committee of the College of Law to the board of trustees of the University of Illinois. He has never allowed anything to interfere with his professional duties and has been constantly engaged in the trial of cases.
     By birthright Mr. Lindley was a member of the Friends church but on his removal from the community of that denomination he joined the Presbyterian church, with which he is now connected. At college he was a member of the honorary literary fraternity of Phi Beta Kappa; the honorary law fraternity of Theta Kappa Nu; the professional fraternity of Phi Delta Phi; and the college fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta, besides other societies of a literary and legal character. He is now a member of the Industrial Club of Danville and also the Danville Golf Club, and belongs to the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Modern Woodmen of America. By his ballot Mr. Lindley supports the men and measures of the republican party, taking that interest in politics which he deems to be the duty of every good citizen, and he was actively identified with the campaigns of 1904, 1906 and 1908 as a speaker in behalf of the republican candidates, including Roosevelt, Taft, Cannon and Deneen. In 1908 he was treasurer of the republican county central committee for Vermilion county. In connection with his profession he has become a prominent member of the State Bar Association, the Vermilion County Bar Association and the Commercial Law League of America, having served on special committees of the national organization, preparing and presenting to the national conventions of 1908 and 1909 special articles on subjects connected with the purpose of the league. He is much in demand as a public speaker and has a forceful and convincing manner of address. He is a young man of attractive social qualities, which render him popular while his laudable ambition augurs well for a successful future. 
Source: History of Vermilion Co., Ill. - Vol. II - Pub. 1911 - Page 281                                                                       
  HENRY E. LINNE.  Among the business men of Danville who have won notable success in their chosen calling is Henry E. Linne, a prominent wholesale baker of this city. His early home was on the other side of the Atlantic, for he was born February 23, 1862, in Niederasphe, Marburg, Hessen, Germany, and is a son of John and Elizabeth Linne, also natives of that country, where the family have resided for many generations. In the land of his nativity he was reared and educated, being eighteen years of age when, in 1880, he emigrated to the new world and located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There he learned the baker's trade and continued to work for about four years.
     The year 1883 witnessed Mr. Linne's arrival in Danville and here he was employed in several different shops before embarking in business on his own account in 1886. He then opened a bakery, though his capital at that time consisted of but one hundred and fifty dollars, and so steadily has he prospered as the years have gone by that he today is one of the leading wholesale bakers in this city, his plant having a capacity of seven hundred loaves an hour and in the dull season turning out about thirty-five hundred loaves a day. That he thoroughly understands the trade is manifest by the success that he has achieved and that he is a good, reliable business man is manifest by the patronage which he receives.
     In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mr. Linne was married on the 25th of September, 1883, to Miss Anna C. Brombach, a daughter of Adam Brombach, of that city, and they have become the parents of three children, all born in Danville, namely: Harry A., born August 14, 1884; Amelia C., September 7, 1888; and Clarence, June 7, 1893.
     Mr. Linne's religious belief is manifest by his membership in Immanuel Presbyterian church and in his fraternal relations he has attained the Knight Templar degree in Masonry and is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Although he takes an active interest in the success of the republican party, which he supports by his ballot, he has never cared for the honors or emoluments of public office. However, he takes a commendable interest in those organizations which help to build up the commercial interests of the country and is now serving as vice president of the State Association of Master Bakers of Illinois. He is a very pleasant, agreeable gentleman, who makes many friends, and the place that he has made for himself in the new world is certainly well merited, for he began life here as a poor boy in a strange land, unfamiliar with the English language and customs, but by perseverance, industry and honesty has worked his way upward until he is today a man of affluence and prominence in the community where he resides.
Source: History of Vermilion Co., Ill. - Vol. II - Pub. 1911 - Pg. 289 ok
  WILLIAM LYONS, holding a position of distinctive precedence as a financier of Danville, has throughout his long connection with banking interests stood as an honored representative of a department of activity that has ever been a most important factor in conserving the business development and progress of every community. While today, at the head of the Commercial Trust & Savings Bank, he is through investment and official service also connected with many other leading business concerns that are substantial forces in the industrial and commercial growth of the city.
     Pennsylvania numbers him among her native sons, for he was born in Lehigh County, May 1, 1830, his parents being Isaac and Jane (Barr) Lyons, both of whom were natives of County Derry, Ireland, but were married in Pennsylvania after coming to this country. During his early residence here the father was a manufacturer of pig iron in the iron districts of Pennsylvania, where he continued to live for several years and then returned to his native land in company with his four children: William, Oliver, Samuel and Isaac, Jr.  While in Ireland the last named died and another son was born there, to whom was given the name of Isaac.  The object of this trip to the Emerald isle was the securing of a small legacy left to the father, and after about fifteen months he returned to America with his family. He had sailed from New York on the ship Empire, which was twenty-seven days in crossing the Atlantic, and returned on a similar sailing vessel, known as the New World, which was about the same length of time on the voyage. On again reaching the shores of this country he located in the same place in Pennsylvania but did not remain there very long. His next home was in Ironton, Ohio, where he continued to engage in the iron business from 1855 to 1870. In the latter year he removed to Fairmount, Illinois, where his son William had bought a farm, and there he engaged in agricultural pursuits until the death of his wife, when he sold the place and purchased another farm in Douglas County, this state, remaining there until called to his final rest. He was born in 1803 and died in 1899, at the extreme old age of ninety-six years. He was the youngest in a family of thirteen children and was a man of regular habits, possessing a strong constitution and weighing one hundred and eighty pounds. Throughout life he was very industrious and energetic and was a man in whom his fellowmen had the utmost confidence. For a time during the Civil war he was connected with the quartermaster's department and his sons, William and Oliver, were also connected with that department, the latter being stationed at Fayetteville, West Virginia, where he was foreman of a squad of men, while William was located at Charleston and was general superintendent of highways from Charleston to Fayetteville, having in charge several squads of men on this work. Another son, Samuel, served for three years in the Second Virginia Infantry.
     During the temporary residence of the family in Ireland, William Lyons attended school in Coleraine, which city was divided by a river separating the counties of Derry and Antrim, but the greater part of his education was obtained in the schools of this country. He was in the Union service for about here years and at the end of that time resigned and engaged in the contracting business at Parkersburg, West Virginia, remaining there until September, 1865, when he went to Kansas to make arrangements to embark in the sheep business.  Having given a man one hundred dollars on account to buy one hundred tons of hay for him, he came to Illinois and near Springfield purchased two thousand head of sheep. About this time he received a letter from his brother, who was farming in Douglas county, asking him to bring his sheep with him and feed them upon the grain he had raised, as there was no market for the same nearer than twenty miles. William then went to see his brother and after talking the matter over with him concluded to accept his offer, though he lost the one hundred dollars he had given to the man for the purchase of hay. Thirty years after this occurred he met a neighbor of this man while on a train who told him that the man had become very wealthy and attributed his success to the hundred dollars Mr. Lyons had deposited with him. As the country was new and the grass very long, the sheep became diseased and he finally sold out and discontinued that business. He was next employed as a salaried foreman on a big ranch of about forty sections of land until 1871, when he purchased a farm in Vermilion County and continued its operation for four years. He next embarked in the lumber business at Hume, Illinois, which he carried on until 1887 and then sold out to his brother Oliver, who still continues in that business. Mr. Lyons first became interested in the banking business at SideIl, Illinois, as a member of the firm of Lyons, Alexander & Company, who conducted a private bank, but he disposed of his interest in that institution in 1906 and purchased four hundred and seventy-five shares out of the one thousand shares of the Commercial Trust & Savings Bank of Danville and has since been its president. This bank has been remarkably successful under his administration, having doubled its amount of deposits, and the capital stock is now one hundred thousand dollars and the surplus thirty-five thousand dollars. This success is attributable in a large measure to the keen discernment, indefatigable energy and strong purpose of Mr. Lyons. He and the cashier of the bank, G. W. Telling, own three thousand acres of land in southeastern Texas, which produces cotton, cane and rice, and he is also a large landowner in Kankakee, Vermilion and Edgar counties, Illinois. His judgment has come to be regarded as practically infallible concerning the complex problems of banking and finance, for his progressiveness is tempered by a safe conservatism and based upon a thorough understanding of the conditions of the money market and the business principles involved.
     In 1871 Mr. Lyons was united in marriage to Miss Mary Todd, a native of New York city, and to them were born two children: Anna, now the wife of G. W. Telling, cashier of the Commercial Trust & Savings Bank; and Flora, who died in infancy. The family is one of prominence in social circles and they hold membership in the Kimber Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Lyons is also identified with the Masonic fraternity and as a public-spirited and progressive citizen has taken a commendable interest in public affairs, having served as president of the town board of Sidell for ten years. Trustworthy and faithful in business, progressive in citizenship and loyal to the claims of friendship, he has thus displayed many good qualities which have gained him high regard.
(Submitted by Mary Paulius)
Source: History of Vermilion Co., Ill. - Vol. II - Pub. 1911 ok

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