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BIOGRAPHIES
Source #1: History of Peoria County, Illinois -
Chicago - Johnson & Company - 1880
 Source
#2 - Peoria City and County, Illinois - The S. J. Clarke Publ. Co. -
1912
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| WILLIAM BACHMAN,
(deceased,) 208 Goodwin st., was born in Germany. Emigrated to
America and located in Peoria, Ills., where he carried on a book and
toy store until his death, which occurred by drowning July 31, 1878.
Mrs. Bachman was born by drowning July 31, 1878.
Mrs. Bachman was born August 7, 1841 in Switzerland. They
were married May, 1857, and have had seven children; those living
are William, Anna, Herman, Ida A. and Frederick.
Two deceased, Laura and Clark Owns a neat residence
where she lives, worth $3,000. |
JOHN BAGGS, D. V. S.
Dr. John Baggs was one of Peoria's pioneer residents and for
many years was an interested witness of the growth and progress of
the city. Here he engaged in business and followed his
profession of veterinary surgery to the later years of his life,
when he retired and spent his remaining days in the enjoyment of
well earned rest. He was born in Urbana, Ohio, Jan. 13, 1837,
and passed away Mar. 23, 1909, having attained the ripe old age of
seventy-two years. His parents were Abraham and Mary Baggs,
also natives of Ohio, who removed westward to Illinois in 1838.
Peoria was then a town of but a few hundred inhabitants and the
entire countryside was largely wild and underdeveloped. The
father secured a tract of land and became a prominent pioneer
farmer, converting his place into rich and productive fields and
thus aiding greatly in the agricultural development of the
community.
Dr. Baggs was only a year old when brought by
his parents to this state. The educational advantages which
Peoria offered in that early day constituted the extent of his
education. In his youth he assisted his father on the home
farm and early became familiar with the arduous task of developing
and cultivating new land. He carefully saved his earnings and
at the age of twenty years was himself the owner of a good farm,
which he continued to cultivate successfully until 1861. At
the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, however, all business and
personal considerations were put aside that he might respond to the
country's call for aid. He enlisted in the Eighty-sixth
Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was organized and
commanded by Colonel D. D. Irons, and later by Colonel
McGee. He was on active duty until injuries sustained at
the front caused him to be honorably discharged and he returned home
with a most creditable military record.
About that time Dr. Baggs disposed of his farm
and took up his abode in the city. Here he became a veterinary
surgeon and practiced his profession successfully for many years,
his ability in that direction making his services in constant
demand. In 1905 he retired from all active business, having in
the years of his previous labor acquired a competence sufficient to
supply him with all the necessities and comforts and many of the
luxuries of life.
On the 17th of November, 1858, Dr. Baggs was
united in marriage to Lydia Meredith Gill, a daughter of
James and Elizabeth (Moss) Gill, the latter a representative of
the Moss family that figured prominently in the early history
of Virginia. Her grandfather, a member of that family, served
in the Revolutionary war. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Baggs was
born one son, William, who is now deceased.
Dr. Baggs was preeminently a home man and found
his greatest entertaining company in his own home. He also
manifested a marked fondness for music and literature and these
added greatly to the joys of his life. His political
allegiance was always given to the republican party from the time
that age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He
believed it to be the party of reform and progress and recognized
the fact that it was the defense of the Union in the dark days of
the Civil war. In manner he was quiet and unassuming but his
genuine personal worth gained him recognition and won him many
friends. He was deeply interested and closely associated with
the pioneer development of this part of the state and mention should
be made of him in a history of Peoria county's upbuilders and
promoters. |
| BERNARD BAILEY,
justice of the peace, 110½ N. Adams
street, was born in Howard county, Md., March 26, 1812, and is the
son of Vincent and Susanna (Bernard) Bailey, natives of Chester
county, Pa. He left his native county in 1829 with his
parents, and coming to St. Louis stayed there a few months, and then
came on to Illinois and settled in Tazewell county. He taught
school there for some time and worked at an ox mill which his father
and brother had built. He then moved to Pekin, where, for the
next two or three years, he worked at the grocery business, and
afterwards at wagon making for a little over a year, saving up, by
rigid economy, about $500, and by its aid read law with his brother
for two years; taught school in Sand Prairie township for six
months, and thence removed to Mercer county, Ill., where he
practiced law for one year, having been admitted to the bar at
Springfield in the last named county, Miss Arabella Gilmore,
a Creole and native of Louisiana, and removed to that State, engaged
in sugar and cotton planting in the parish of East Baton Rouge until
1848, when he returned to Pekin, Ill. He was elected mayor of
that city in the years 1849 and 1850, and was the first to hold the
office. He bought out the Tazewell Mirror, and after
conducting it for about six months, disposed of it and in 1852 came
to Peoria and purchased an interest in the Peoria Republican,
in the publication of which he was associated with Thos. J.
Pickett. Disagreeing shortly afterwards on a matter of
politics, he disposed of his interest and devoted himself for about
a year to the business of insurance agent, and then engaged in the
boot and shoe business, in which he remained until 1856, when he was
elected justice of the peace, and has held the office, with the
exception of about one and a half years, ever since. He is the
oldest acting justice in Peoria. He has held the office of
city and township collector for one term each. The fruits of
his marriage were eleven children, only four of whom are now alive,
May, Samuel P., Bernard and Ellie. |
| GEORGE W. BAKER,
attorney at law, 112 N. Adams street, was born in Lowell, Mass., May
29, 1840, and is the son of Samuel R. and Mary B. (Carr) Baker.
His father was a native of Massachusetts and his mother of New
Hampshire. He was raised and educated in his native State and
came to Peoria county March 26, 1856. In May, 1861, he
enlisted in Co. K, 8th Mo. Vol. Inf., Col. Morgan L. Smith
commanding, as private, and was commissioned 2d Lieutenant July 9,
1861, and was promoted 1st Lieut. May, 1862; was mustered out July
8, 1864. He then raised in Peoria, Co. I, in 146th Ill. Inf.,
and was commissioned its Captain. While with his first
regiment he took part in seventeen engagements, besides many
skirmishes, and in the latter one did duty in Illinois most of the
time,; was one of the officers detailed to act as guard of honor at
President Lincoln's burial at Springfield, and was finally
mustered out of the service July 8, 1865, and, returning to Peoria,
commenced the study of law with Hon. W. W. O'Brien, and was
admitted to the bar Jan. 18, 1870, since when he has continued to
practice in Peoria. He married in Feb. 1873, Miss Juliette
A. Edgecombe, a native of Ottawa, Ill., by whom he has had four
children, two now alive, George W. and Leon H.
His father died in 1855, and his mother is still alive and resides
with him. Has been secretary of Peoria Shooting Club for three
years, and for one year secretary of Illinois State Sportsmans'
Association; has always taken a strong interest in matters connected
with field sports. In politics is a red-hot Democrat. |
| CHARLES BALLANCE (deceased), attorney at law, settled in the
village of Peoria in 1831, being one of the three first lawyers in
the place. He descended from an ancient family of Durham,
England, but his ancestors immigrated to Virginia over two centuries
ago. His grandfather, Charles Ballance, was killed in
the war of the revolution. Willis Ballance, the father
of the subject of this sketch, married Miss Rejoice Greene,
of Virginia. Charles was born in Madison county, Ky.,
Nov. 10, 1800; his educational opportunities were limited to the
common schools and his individual efforts taught several Winters to
defray current expenses while pursuing his studies. To his
innate desire for knowledge were supplemented an indomitable will
and splendid memory, which soon gave him a well stored mind.
He spent about thirty years of the prime of his life in the "French
claims" legal controversy which so perplexed and harassed the early
American settlers of Peoria. He seemed to be the only attorney
who possessed the faith and courage to battle in behalf of the early
settlers against those old claims. But he fought to the bitter
end, carrying the matter form one court to another, until he won a
final triumph and forever silencing the last French claimant and
leaving the rightful owners in peaceful possession of their
property. Mr. Ballance had an early times purchased a
large tract of land in the lower end of the city where some of those
French claims rested, and the successful results of his litigations
forever removed the successful results of his litigations forever
removed the incubus from his, as well as his neighbors' lands.
Those contests gave him a knowledge of the laws bearing upon real
estate, which rendered him famous as a land title lawyer. In
addition to his extensive legal labors, Mr. B. found time to
prepare and publish a history of Peoria in 1870, a book of 270
pages, which was the last work of his life. He was elected
alderman from the 1st ward in 1852, and mayor of the city in 1855.
Mr. B. married Julia Schnebley, of Peoria, in 1835,
who bore him ten children- living. He died on August 10, 1872,
leaving an extensive estate, chiefly lying in the lower end of the
city, and much of it is now occupied by a large manufactories in
that quarter. |
| WILLIAM H. BALLARD,
lumber merchant, corner Washington and Fayette streets, is the
pioneer now in that branch of trade in Peoria, having been engaged
in it since 1849. Mr. B. was born in 1819, in the city
of St. Louis, his father, James H. Ballard, being then
stationed there as a lieutenant in the regular army, in which
service he died in 1822, at St. Augustine. His widow, formerly
Miss Maria C. Darling, married again, when William H.
was nineteen years old, and died three years after. Mr. B.
lived chiefly with his grandfather in New Hampshire, until he
attained his majority; spent one Winter in Florida; thence came to
Peoria in 1848. In January, 1857, he married Ermina
Trusdale, in Peoria, a native of Ohio. Less than two years
after she died, leaving a daughter, Mina. Mr. Ballard
married again in the Fall of 1862, to Anna Wentworth, born in
New Hampshire, left an orphan in infancy, and brought up and
educated by Judge J. Smith, of that State. Three living
children are the fruit of the second marriage, Helen M., Charles
R., and Edward B. Mr. Ballard steadily devoted his
attention for thirty-one years to the lumber trade, and has been
fairly prosperous; owns several pieces of property in the city, and
the annual sales from the yard reach a million feet. |
| ADOLPH BARNEWOLT,
grocer, 701 Plank road, was born on the first day of August, 1843,
in Hanover, Germany, and emigrated to the United States in 1856;
located in Peoria. Married Miss Mary E. Mitchel, Nov.
20, 1865, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Peoria in 1861.
They were blessed with five children, two boys and three girls
living: Henry, born May 31, 1869; Catherine, born Aug.
20, 1871; Elizabeth, born July 19, 1869, and Myron and
May (twins), born July 21, 1876. One died in infancy.
Mr. B. is a member of the order of Druids, I. O. O. F. and
Knights of Honor. Politics, Democrat. |
| JOHN BARRETT,
retired mechanic, res. 103 Greenleaf street, was born in Hampshire
county, Va., June 10, 1812; is the son of Nathan and Sarah J. (Unglebe)
Barrett. When seventeen years of age, he went to Clark
county, Ohio, where he learned the carpenter trade; married Isabel
Mackentire, when twenty-one years old, and settled there.
Mrs. Barrett died about twelve years after their marriage,
having been the mother of five children, none of whom are living.
Mr. B. came to Peoria in 1850; pursued his trade till
disabled by a stroke of palsy, in 1868. In August, 1851, he
married Lydia Oakley nee Dewey, a native of
Pennsylvania, but has been a resident of Peoria county forty six
years. They have one child, now Mrs. Caroline Schupp,
of Peoria. Mrs. B. has two children by her first
husband, Obadiah Oakley (deceased) Mrs. Sarah Roberts
and Obediah Oakley. She has lived in their homestead
thirty-three years; settled there when they crossed a cornfield to
get to the house. |
| JOHN BARRON,
maltster and grain commission merchant, 420 S. Water street, was
born in Kilkenny county, Ireland, and came to America alone in 1850,
landing at New York, Dec. 4, of that year. The next four years
he spent in New York and Philadelphia, and came to Illinois in 1854;
was railroad boss on C., B. & Q. R. R., between Peoria and Hannibal,
for about five years, and afterwards moved to Peoria city, where he
has since resided. He began dealing in grain in August, 1864,
and the manufacture of malt in 1869. Also began to manufacture
brick in the latter year, and still runs a brick yard on Elizabeth
street. He turns out from his malt house 36,000 bushels a
year. Mr. Barron also owns a large saloon on S.
Washington street. He owns several houses and lots
in the city,a nd is a member of the Catholic Church. |
| HENRY G. BECKER,
grocer, 821 W. Jefferson street, was born March 18, 1834, in
Hanover, Germany; came to America in 1857, and landed in New
Orleans, where he worked as a laborer a short time; came to Peoria
the same year. Was married to Angeline Springer, on the 1st of
December, 1857. They have eight children, six boys and two
girls. Mr. B. carries on huxtering in connection
with his grocery business. The family are members of the
Lutheran Church. |
| JOHN P. BECKER,
manufacturer of tin ware, 1404 Main street, was born on the 12th day
of Jan., 1847, in Baltimore, Md., where he remained but a short
time, when he came to Peoria in the same year. His father was
a native of Germany, who came to the United States when a boy.
Married Miss Mary A. Trumner, on the 3d day of April, 1873;
she was born in Illinois, in 1847. They have three children,
two boys and one girl. Is a member of the Independent Order of
Mutual Aid. In politics a Democrat. He worked as a
tinner since 1865, until he commenced his present business. |
| JOHN H. BELCHER,
monument and tombstone manufacturer, 213 S. Madison street, was born
near Boston, Mass., in 1828; is one of five children of Abner
Belcher and Malansa Alexander, natives of that State; father
born in same house. Having spent his early life there on a
farm, Mr. B. went to New York and spent two years - 1853-54 -
in lumber trade, during which he lost $5,000 through the dishonesty
of partners; came to Peoria on Dec. 21, 1855; began the marble
business the following Spring, on the 10th of March. He formed
a partnership with Otto Triebel, and conducted the business
twelve years under the firm name of Triebel & Belcher; since
1868 has carried it on alone. He makes a specialty of fine
monumental work for both local and foreign trade, and has enjoyed a
heavy business. Mr. B. married in Peoria in 1866 to
Maria B. Wetherell, a native of Massachusetts; have one son
living, Harry O., have lost one son and two daughters.
Owns a homestead at 209 Second street. |
| AMELIA BENDER,
res. 603 N. Jefferson street. Was born on the 19th day of
November, 1832, in Austria. Emigrated to the United States in
1849 and located in the city of Peoria. Was married to
Phillip Bender April 25, 1852 in this city; was a native of
Bavaria, and came to this country in 1835 and engaged in the
saddlery business. Was elected to the office of city treasurer
some time prior to the war. Was mayor of the city in 1867 and
served a term of one year, and at the time of his death was city
treasurer. Mr. B. died July 25, 1876, was a member of
the I. O. O. F., and was buried by that Order. Mrs. Bender
was living on the homestead where he was married, and has at
home with her five children - four girls and one boy. |
| REV. F. B. BESS,
pastor German Lutheran Church, res. corner First and Goodwin
streets, was born in Germany Nov. 21, 1850, and is the son of
Bernhard and Matilda (von Bodenhausen) Bess. His father is
a minister of the Lutheran Church in Germany. Mr. Bess
came to America in July, 1875, and settling in Mendota, Ill.,
studied for some time in the theological seminary there, coming to
Peoria in 1877, where he began his ministerial labors and has since
continued them with much acceptance. He married, Sept. 22,
1879, Miss Elizabeth Breul, a native of Germany. Mr.
Bess is a gentleman of culture and an earnest laborer in the
cause of his Master. He is greatly beloved and respected by
his parishioners. |
| HON. GEORGE C. BESTOR
(deceased) who has for many years been a prominent citizen and
business man of Peoria, was born in Washington, D. C. Apr. 16, 1811;
his father, Harvey Bestor, having removed from Massachusetts
and settled there in an early day, and served as assistant post
master general under Hon. Francis Granger. At the age
of sixteen, George was appointed assistant document clerk in
the House of Representatives, which position he filled eight years.
In 1835, on August 3, he settled in Peoria, where he engaged many
years in the real estate business and acquired quite a large
property. For the first five years, being in partnership with
Mark M. Aiken, they prepared an abstract of Pike county, a
voluminous work. In 1837 he was elected trustee of the town of
Peoria, and served two terms. On April 4, 1842, was appointed
postmaster, under President Tyler, and again in March 1861 by
President Lincoln; was elected police justice in 1843, and
was three times elected mayor of Peoria; was a number of years
financial agent of the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad, and afterwards
president of the company, and during the time extricated it from its
financial difficulties. Was a director of the Toledo, Peoria
and Warsaw Railroad at the time of his death. Mr. B. was
first a Whig and later Republican in politics; in 1858 was elected
to the State Senate against a Democratic majority. During the
four years he served in that body he acted as a member of numerous
committees and was chairman of the committee on internal navigation.
Mr. Bestor was extensively known and highly esteemed as a
citizen, for rare social qualities and open handed charity.
He, in company with his son George L., built two gun-boats
for the government, the "Ozark" and the monitor "Shiloh" in St.
Louis, for which they experienced some difficulty in getting their
pay, and while prosecuting their claim in Washington, he died at the
National Hotel, May 14, 1872. He was first married in
Baltimore October 20, 1835 to Mary J. Tomas; and again
September 13, 1848 to Sarah E. Thomas, sister to his former
wife; the latter survived him nearly four years. Mr. B.
left eight children, four by each marriage. |
| GEORGE L. BESTOR
(deceased) attorney-at-law, was born in Peoria, June 10, 1837; was
the eldest son of Hon. George C. and Mary J. Bestor, nee
Thomas. Was educated in the city schools, and completed
a course at Jubilee College, in its palmy days. He entered his
father's real estate office when fifteen years old; for five years
was topographical engineer of the Peoria & Oquawka, "Eastern
Extension," and Tomka & Petersburg railroads. He then read law
with Robert and E. C. Ingersoll; was admitted to
the Bar through the recommendation of Judge Beckwith and
Hon. Pitt Kellogg, the examining committee. Mr. Bestor
served two years in the late war in the 7th Ill. Cavalry, Col.
Pitt Kellogg commanding. Upon retiring from the
army he went to St. Louis and with his father engaged in building
gunboats for the Government, until 1865, after which he spent five
years in Washington City prosecuting their claim of $125,000 for
their work; finally succeeded in getting a bill through Congress
granting the claim, and received the amount in cash the day after
his father's death. Mr. Bestor then devoted his
attention to real estate and abstract business until he died, Jan.
5, 1879. He married Ella Wilber in 1864, who was born in
Chardon, Ohio, in 1844. Their union resulted in four children,
George Wilber, May, Grace, and Frank. Mrs.
Bestor is erecting a fine residence on Hamilton Street bluff,
which she will occupy in June. Henry C. Bestor, the
youngest brother, now conducts the real estate business established
by his father forty-five years ago, office, 311 Main street. |
DOUGLAS H. BETHARD.
No history of Peoria and its commercial activities would be complete
without extended reference to Douglas H. Bethard, the
president of the Jobst-Bethard Company, and therefore head of
one of the most extensive wholesale grocery establishments of the
middle west. Under the title of "The Acorn and the Oak," this
house has issued an attractive little pamphlet, telling the story of
the growth of the business. The same simile may well be
applied to Mr. Bethard, whose advancement to his present
prominent position is indicative of the wise use he has made of his
time, talents and opportunities. Peoria is proud of his record
and called him to the first presidency of the Peoria Association of
Commerce. Moreover, he is widely known throughout the country
in trade circles and has been honored with the presidency for the
term of one year of the National Wholesale Grocers Association.
He was born in the village of Derbyville, Pickaway county, Ohio,
Oct. 10, 1858, a son of George W. and Eliza (Hurst) Bethard,
who during the early boyhood of their son Douglas removed
from the Buckeye state to Peoria county. the father for many
was a coal operator and general merchant at Kingston Mines in this
county. He was an active factor in the life of his community
and both directly and indirectly contributed to the development and
welfare of the county. for three terms he was mayor of Wenona,
Illinois, and resided in this place until his death which occurred
in 1910.
At the usual age Douglas H. Bethard began his
education in the public schools and during hte periods of vacation
worked in his father's store. He afterward came to Peoria,
where he spent a year's study in the high school and also a year in
Brown's Business College of Jacksonville, Illinois. When but a
lad he entered the employ of S. H. Thompson & company as
errand boy at a salary of three dollars per week and that he was
faithful, diligent and reliable is indicated by the fact that he was
continued in Mr. Thompson's employ until the latter went out
of business, when he became one of the owners of the store in which
purchase he was associated with Charles Jobst and Charles
E. Fulks. Taking over the business of S. H. Thompson
& Company, they organized what is now the Jobst-Bethard
Company. through intermediate positions Mr. Bethard has
been advanced from errand boy to department manager and was
occupying the position of sales manager when Mr. Thompson
retired. His services in the meantime had covered the
positions of shipping clerk, billing clerk, assistant bookkeeper,
bookkeeper and traveling salesman. For fifteen years he
remained upon the road and then returned to the house to accept the
position of department manager, although even then he devoted half
his time to traveling. Several years thus passed and gradually
he worked into the position of general manager for he was
practically filling that position when the firm of S. H. Thompson
& Company sold out. The business at that time was located
at Nos. 116 and 118 Main street. Their capital was small but
the partners felt this an excellent opportunity to embark in
business on their own account. W. P. Gauss and
Herbert Simpson also entered the partnership and the new firm
was originally known as Gauss, Jobst, Bethard &
Company, but a little later the first named sold his interest to
Messrs. Jobst, Bethard and Fulks, who soon also purchased
the interest of Herbert Simpson. It was in 1895 that
the interest of Mr. Gauss was taken over and in 1902 that of
Mr. Simpson, in which year the firm of Jobst-Bethard
Company was incorporated under the laws of the state, at which time
the three principals arranged to take in some of their old and
trusted employes under a mutually satisfactory working arrangement.
The experience of the men who constituted the company well qualified
them for the successful conduct of the business, and from the outset
of new enterprise prospered. Their original building was a
double store with fifty feet frontage and three stories in height,
at Nos. 114 and 116 Main street. The growth of their trade
necessitated the acquirement of another building after a year or two
and nearly every year saw an additional building until they occupied
practically the entire north half of the block on Main street
between Washington and Water streets, and also a three story
warehouse at No. 106 South Washington street. Again their
facilities were found to be entirely inadequate in 1909 and at a
meeting of the board of trustees it was decided to erect a building
of their own. The preliminary work of the architects was
approved in the spring of 1910 and about the 1st of June of that
year ground was broken and work and begun in the construction of
their present mammoth, modern, up-to-date, reinforced concrete and
strictly fireproof warehouse, which was ready for occupancy on the
1st of May 1911. The dimensions of the building are one
hundred and five by one hundred and sixty feet, six stories in
height, with basement. The floor space comprises one hundred
and fifteen thousand, one hundred and ten square feet, their private
tracks from the Peoria Railway Terminal and Chicago Burlington &
Quincy Railroad furnishing direct switch connections with the
sixteen railroads entering Peoria. In the year in which the
new building was begun the capital stock of the company was also
increased. At its incorporation in 1902 it had been
capitalized for two hundred and fifty-five thousand, and in 1910
this was increased to four hundred thousand, and in addition the
building was erected at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars.
The present officers of the company are: Douglas H.
Bethard, president; Carl Jobst, vice president; and
Charles E. Fulks and C. G. Cole are on the board of
directors. Since the organization of the present firm a high
standard has been maintained in the personnel of the house, in the
class of goods carried and in the character of service rendered to
the public. A large and efficient office force is employed and
there are between twenty and thirty traveling salesmen upon the
road. Theirs is a splendidly equipped plant with handsomely
outfitted offices and large store rooms for the various kinds of
goods handled, everything being most modern and attractive in
appearance and orderly in arrangement, while the handling of all
goods is done in a most systematic manner.
In 1887, Mr. Bethard was united in marriage
to Miss Harriet Daugherty, of this city, a daughter of
James Daugherty, an early shoe merchant of Peoria who came here
in 1840 and died in 1909, at the very venerable age of ninety-three
years. Mr. Bethard is a member of the Creve Coeur Club,
a Madison Avenue Golf Club, the Illinois Valley Yacht Club, the
Chicago Automobile Club and the Peoria Country Club, associations
which indicate much of the nature of his interests and recreation.
He is popular wherever known and is best liked where best known.
He is always approachable, genial and courteous. He is
treasurer of the Peoria Country Club and a member of its board of
governors, and also serves as a director of the Creve Coeur Club.
He was the first president of the Peoria Association of Commerce
which was organized in 1910, Mr. Bethard becoming its first
chief executive officer. He is now the chairman of the ways
and means committee of this association, on which committee are
serving two hundred and fifty of Peoria's prominent men. His
fitness for the position none questioned, as his reputation in
commercial circles is too well established. He also served as a
member of the executive committee of the Peoria Association of
Commerce. He is, further, the first president of the Illinois
Federation of Commercial Organizations and from 1903 until 1908
served as chairman of the advisory committee of the Illinois
Wholesale Grocers Association, resigning to become president of the
national body called the National Wholesale Grocers Association, of
which he was president for one year - the longest term for which a
president may hold office according to the by-laws of this
association. He has also been a member of the executive
committee since the organization of the association. In this
connection he has become known throughout the entire country.
Business is after all necessarily the principal feature in a man's
life and in the department in which he chose to concentrate his
energies and his attention Mr. Bethard has made continuous
progress, nor has he ever sacrificed to success the high ideals
which he holds as a man and citizen.
Source #2 |
| JOHNNY BIGGINS,
saloon, 1801 S. Washington street, was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y.,
February 22, 1855. Went to Ancram, N. Y., when seven years of
age to learn the trade of paper making, and remained four yeas.
Then came to Peoria in 1866 where he attended school a couple of
years. Thence went to Chicago and engaged by drovers in
shipping cattle to New York, two or three years. Then became
associated with a Mormon in shipping cattle to California for three
years. Then returned to Peoria in 1874 or 1875 and engaged in
buying and selling cattle. Engaged in his present business in
1879. Married Miss Mary Foley June 1, 1876, a native of
Peoria. They have one son, John Martin, born Sept. 15,
1879. Mr. Riggins was elected to the office of alderman of
the Ninth Ward, in the Fall of 1878 and re-elected in 1879. |
| ARTHUR T. BIRKET,
res. 1880 N. Monroe st., was born in Tazewell county, Ills. in 1843,
and came with his parents to Peoria in 1852. In 1862 he went
to England for the purpose of studying civil engineering and
surveying, and remained there, applying himself energetically to his
studies till the Fall of 1863, when he completed his course and
returned to his native county, of which he was shortly afterwards
made deputy surveyor, which position he held for three years, and
then removed to Peoria. Here he for two years held the office
of city engineer, and was afterwards elected county surveyor, and
held that office of city engineer, and was afterwards elected county
surveyor, and held that office for six years. In 1875 he was
elected alderman from the old Third Ward (afterwards the Eighth) of
Peoria. During his years of official surveying, Mr. Birket
earned the reputation of being one of the most accurate and
painstaking surveyors in central Illinois. He married in June,
1866, Miss Katie R. Lupton, by whom he has two children- one
of each sex. |
CHARLES
F. BLACK, United States marshal, to which position he was
appointed on the 1st of May, 1910, was born at Harkers Corners,
Peoria county, Nov. 6, 1859, his parents being Gain R. and Susan
Matilda (Powell) Black, both of whom were natives of Virginia.
The father comes of Scotch-Irish ancestry, while the mother was of
Scotch lineage.
Charles F. Black supplemented a common-school
course by two years' study in the Peoria County Normal and then
entered Brown's Business College, from which he was in due time
graduated. He then turned his attention to farming and
stock-raising, and also engaged successfully in shipping live-stock,
but a length abandoned private business interests in concentrate his
energies upon political duties. However, he is a director in
the Farmers' Grain & Lumber Company of Glasford. He was first
called to office when in 1887 he was made highway commissioner of
Hollis, which office he continued to fill until 1893. In the
latter year he was elected assessor and served for three years, or
until 1896. He was then made supervisor and filled that
position for six consecutive yeas, or until 1902, when he was
elected to represent his district in the state legislature. He
remained a member of the general assembly through three terms, being
reelected in 1906 and again in 1908. While connected with the
house he proved one of the active working members, connected with
much constructive legislation advocating at all times such measures
as he deemed beneficial to the commonwealth at large. On the
1st of May, 1910, he was appointed United States marshal and is now
filling that position. In politics he has always been a
republican and is a believer in high tariff on luxuries.
In St. Louis on the 16th of May, 1908, Mr. Black
was united in marriage to Miss Edith Brown, a daughter of
Quinlan Brown, of Sterling, Colorado. In 1909 Mr. Black
was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the
16th of January. In fraternal relations Mr. Black is
well known as a high degree Mason, holding membership in the
consistory and in the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the
Odd Fellows society. There is in his entire life history no
esoteric phase and his position is never an equivocal one; he
openly avows his policy in regard to political affairs and is only
conservative when guarding the interests of the public, not in the
expression of his opinions concerning any point of vital
significance to the community. He has a wide acquaintance
throughout the state and enjoys the warm regard of his political
colleagues and contemporaries and of many friends whom he has met in
purely social ways.
Source #2 - pg 709 |
GEORGE W. BLACK, an
able young attorney, conducting a general law practice with offices
at No. 1116 Jefferson building since Jan. 1, 1908, was born at
Oakland, Illinois, June 23, 1882. His parents were W. J.
and Melissa D. Black. The father was for many years a
grocer at Oakland. He was a veteran of the Civil war,
volunteering in 1861 when the war cloud arose, in the Fifty-fifth
Illinois Infantry, with which he served for three years. His
death occurred in November, 1904, when he was sixty-five years of
age, while the mother passed away Aug. 18, 1900, at the age of
fifty-four years. Both are buried in Rosecrans cemetery at
Oakland. On the paternal side of the family is of Scotch-Irish
origin, while the maternal ancestors for centuries lived in
Virginia, where they were plantation owners.
George W. Black is indebted for his early
education to the public schools of Oakland and was graduated from
the high school in the class of 1899. He then entered the
University of Illinois at Champaign, graduating from that
institution in 1903 with the degree of A. B. Being in need of
means with which to continue his education he had previous to this
time taught in the high school at Oakland. Following his
graduation from the University of Illinois he became principal of
the Monticello high school, a position which he filled for two years
with distinction to himself and satisfaction to the board of
education. Having conceived a well defined taste for the law,
he entered the law department of the University of Chicago, where he
pursued his studies with unremitting energy, graduating in the class
of 1908 with the degree of J. D. and also receiving the honorary
title of "Cum Laude." Immediately after his graduation he
began the practice of law in the city of Chicago, where he remained
one year. Having been offered the position of assistant
attorney for the Illinois Traction Company, he settled in Peoria and
discharged the duties that devolved upon him in that connection with
credit to himself and satisfaction to the company. In January,
1911, he resigned his position for the purpose of becoming a general
practitioner of the law and as such he has met with gratifying
success. He is a member of the Peoria Bar Association and is
active in his participation therein.
The political allegiance of Mr. Black is given
to the republican party, and in his fraternal connections he is a
blue lodge Mason and also holds membership the practice of his
profession and he is not only popular with his associates of the bar
but enjoys an excellent reputation as a lawyer and a citizen in the
city and county of Peoria, where he is a well known.
Source #2 - pg. 748 |
WILFORD
C. BLACK has been the secretary of the Peoria Hotel Keepers'
Association since its organization 1906. He was born in Boone,
Iowa, Feb. 9, 1872, the son of James W. and Emma Black.
The father was a well known capitalist and life-stock man there and
also served as mayor of that city. During the Civil war he
volunteered and after one year of service was mustered out on
account of a wound which he had received. During the Spirit
Lake uprising of the Indians he was one of the fifty men who were
chosen by the governor of Iowa to control that part of the country
for one year. These men were designated as "the fifty brave
men of Iowa." He passed away in 1898 at the age of sixty-six.
His wife, who preceded him by a number of years, died in 1874 at the
age of twenty-six. Both are buried in the Glendale cemetery in
the family burial ground.
Wilford C. Black received his early education in
the public schools of Boone and afterward studied at the Sacred
Heart Academy, from which institution he was graduated at the age of
eighteen. He then studied law for one year, after which he
left his native town, going to Memphis, Tennessee, then to New
Orleans and later to a number of cities in the south. Finally
he located in Oklahoma City, where he was employed in a farm
implement house as a bookkeeper and general man. He remained
in that position until 1896, when he became a traveling salesman for
the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company at Racine,
Wisconsin. During that same year he was transferred to Peoria,
where he became local manager of that firm. In 1905 he was
appointed general sales manger at Racine but resigned his position
after two months to purchase the Hotel Black, of which he is today
the proprietor. Since the organization, in 1906, of the Peoria
Hotel Keepers' Association, which has its offices located at No. 100
Chestnut street, Mr. Black has served as its secretary.
He has been very successful in hotel work and also in other business
affairs, and he has extensive holdings in this city.
At Milwaukee, on Dec. 19, 1905, Mr. Black was
married to Miss Jean Hollinghausen, a daughter of James
and Jennie Hollinghausen, who reside at Austin, Illinois.
The father was engaged in the shoe business in Chicago. In
politics Mr. Black is a republican and fraternally he is a
Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite
and belonging also to the commandery and the shrine at Peoria.
He is likewise affiliated with the Benevolent Protective Order of
Elks and is a member of the Creve Coeur Club. He resides in
his beautiful, modern home, which was erected in 1909, at 146 West
Parkside drive. An extremely successful and enterprising
business man, Mr. Black has rendered valuable service
in advancing the interests of and in improving the hotels of this
city.
Source #2 - pg. 41 |
| PETER B. BLUMB,
house mover, 612 N. Washington st., was born in Maryland, Aug. 25,
1836, and came to Peoria in 1840. His father was a carpenter
by trade and on arriving at maturity formed a partnership with him
as house builders and movers... Married Miss Eva Gravener
on the 29th day of Oct., 1854. They have eight children, five
girls and three boys, all living except one son. Members of
the Catholic Church, and a Democrat in politics. |
| JOSEPH BOTTO,
saloon 214 N. Adams st. Was born in Italy, Jan. 25, 1825.
Emigrated to the United States in 1841 and located in New York and
remained one year; then to Richmond, Va., where he stayed two years;
thence to Memphis, Tenn., and remained there three years, when he
came to Peoria and engaged in the saloon business. Married
Miss Columbia Bianchetti in August, 1854; she was a native of
Italy. The fruits of this marriage were five children, one of
whom is living. His first wife died Aug., 1862. For his
second wife, married Rosa Castagnola in Jan., 1864. By
this union there are three children, two girls, and one boy.
Both members of the Catholic Church. In politics a Democrat. |
| BENJAMIN L. T. BOURLAND, attorney
and real estate and loan agent, 125 N. Jefferson street, is
the sixth of twelve children of Andrew and Demaris Bourland
nee Reese, natives of South Carolina. He was
born in Christian county, Ky., in 1825; came with parents to Perry
county, Ill., in 1834, but soon after removed to Vandalia - then the
State capital - where his father was engaged in clerical duties for
the State a number of years. After attending the public
schools Mr. B. took a course in the Academy at Springfield;
was then employed in the State offices several years; went thence to
Chicago and worked nearly four years for Ogden, Jones & Co.,
in their real estate office; came to Peoria in the Fall of 1847, and
embarked in the real estate business in company with Wm. R.
Phelps. They afterwards also carried on banking.
Mr. B. started the institution afterwards known as the Pulsifer
bank; sold out to E. D. Hardein; and was afterwards one of
the founders of the Mechanic's National bank. Having sold it
out to the present proprietors he has since devoted his time
entirely to real estate and loan business, and as the firm of
Bourland & Bailey has done a very heavy business.
In 1849 Mr. Bourland married Julia Preston, a native
of Rochester, N. Y., but an early resident of Kane county, Ill.
Mrs. B. died in 1867, leaving two sons, Ogden, now
cashier of the National bank of Pontiac, and Rudolphus R.,
book-keeper for Bourland & Bailey. Mr. B. married
Clara Parsons in 1869. She is a native of Mass., and
is now the mother of six children, all living, Benjamin,
Caroline, Elsie, Philip and Norman - twins - and
Robert C. Mrs. B. is president of the Ladies' Art Society,
and secretary of the Scientific Association of Peoria. Mr.
B. was many years a member of the city school board, and is a
member of A. F. and A. M. of the Chapter and Commandery. |
| F. C. BOURSCHIDT,
apothecary and chemist, corner of Main and Jefferson streets, was
born in Germany. Came to the United States in 1868, previous
to which he was educated for his present business. He located
first in St. Louis several years; went to Howard county, Kan.,
opened a store and conducted the business three years, but finding
the climate unfavorable to his health, left there and came to Peoria
in the Spring of 1875; spent four years in clerking; opened his
present store in the Library Building in January, 1879. Mr.
B. is a practical analytical chemist and assayer; confines his
business strictly to chemicals and prescription trade. His
store is one of the most attractive and complete in the West.
He married Dora Steward, a native of Howard county, Kan.; has
two children, F. C. and Jennie Marie. |
| JOHN W. BOWE,
grocer, 80e Main st., was born on the 20th day of March, 1856, in
County Kilkenny, Ireland, and immigrated to the United States in
1868, and located in Palmer, N. Y., and remained there two years.
Came to Peoria in 1871, where he embarked in the grocery business in
1873, and has been engaged in the same up to the present time.
Member of the Catholic Church. In politics, a Liberal.
By industry and courtesy to customers, has built up a good grade.
His present partner is Charles R Mulick. |
| WILLIAM A. BOYDEN,
painter, res. 1813 N. Madison street, was born in Pittsfield, Mass.,
Dec. 12, 1834, and when about five years old, removed with his
parents to Michigan. In 1851, he was taken with the California
fever and went there to try his fortune at the gold mines, remaining
there about three years with varying luck, and finally did better
than many who had preceded him, for he was able to scrape together
money enough to get home with, and to it he returned in 1854, where
he remained working at his trade till the outbreak of the war, when
in August, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, 4th Michigan Cavalry, and
served with it until 1865, in which year he was discharged. He
took part with his regiment in many severe engagements. Upon
discharge he returned home, and there remained until 1872, when he
came to Peoria, and being a good workman has always found plenty to
do, and has, by the exercise of economy, been able to buy a lot and
to build upon it the comfortable and substantial dwelling in which
he now resides. He married Jan. 1, 1870, Miss E. L. Russell,
native of New York State. |
| G. L. BRACKEN,
carpenter, res. North st. Was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the
14th day of Oct., 1827, where he was reared to the trade and
received a common school education. Married Miss Susan Snyder,
daughter of Frederick Snyder.) who was born March 17, 1830. By
his union there were four children; Bell, born Sept. 4, 1849;
Fanny C., born June 12, 1851; Edith, born Nov. 21, 1861;
Freddie, born June 12, 1867. Mrs. B. is a member
of the Baptist Church, and her daughters are members of the
Episcopal/ |
TOBIAS BRADLEY
(deceased) The subject of this sketch was born in Mt.
Sterling, Kentucky, on the 21st day of January, 1811, and at the age
of four years moved to Vevay, Indiana, and engaged in various
commercial pursuits, as well as filled many places of trust and
honor; but failing in business threw Tobias upon his own
resources, and being known as a young man of strict integrity and
industrious habits, he secured a situation as clerk in the store of
Jude Malin, of Vevay, until twenty-three or
twenty-four years of age, when he became extensively engaged in
trading on the river, often being gone for months at the South
accumulating quite a sum of money by close attention to his
business. On the 11th day of May, 1837, he was married in
Switzerland county, Ind., to Miss Lydia Moss, and a few years
after this came to Peoria and purchased a farm on the bluff, near
his late residence, which residence his widow still occupies, which
managed until his death.
As a business man he was far-seeing and judicious, and
seldom failed in judgment. He never sought office, in fact
never willingly accepted it, through he was repeatedly honored with
responsible and important stations.
He was president of the First National Bank of this
city, and also of the Peoria & Rock Island Railway. Mr.
Bradley was emphatically domestic in his habits. No man
more enjoyed the comforts of the home circle, and few so engrossed
in the cares of business spent so many hours at home. Blessed
with an estimable wife, who well knew how to make home happy, he
found the chief pleasure in the bosom of his family. Six
children were born to him, none of which survived him, and only one
was spared to approach maturity of womanhood. She was a
beautiful young lady of rare talents, beloved by all who knew her,
but died a few yeas before Mr. Bradley.
He was instrumental in building the Church of the
Redeemer, and resolved that nothing should be wanting to make it the
finest, most thorough and convenient church in the city. To
the poor, Mr. B. was a friend, and yet his blessings partook
largely of the practical cast of his mind. He gave largely,
but it was not in that way he chiefly benefited them; he rather
preferred to place them in circumstances where they could live
independently, earning their own bread by, and depending upon their
own exertions. In politics, Mr. Bradley was a staunch
Democrat, never for a moment forsaking the principles which he
believed to be the only sure and safe foundatoin of a free
government. He died May 4, 1867, in consequence of injuries
inflicted by the kick of a horse, deeply lamented by a large circle
of friends. |
| JONATHAN BRASSFIELD |
| ABRAHAM
BRAYSHAW, carpet manufacturer, corner Main and Adams streets,
was born in Yorkshire, England in 1838; is the son of Benjamin
and Anna (Berry) Brayshaw. He learned the trade of cloth
manufacturing in his native country; and five of his seen brothers
are now engaged there in that business. Mr. B. came to
America in 1868; spent a year in Newburg, N. Y., came to Peoria in
1870, and at once engaged in his present business. He makes
specialty of manufacturing rag carpets of the finest and most
substantial character, of which he turns out 700 yards per month.
On May 13, 1868, Mr. Brayshaw married Carrie C. Wilby,
in Newburg, N. Y., who is also a native of England. They have
two children living, Benjamin Wilby and Walter Washington
Brayshaw. Mr. B. is a member of the Ancient Order
of United Workmen. They own a homestead in the city. |
| FREDERICK BRENDELL, M.
D. physician and naturalist, res. 202 Liberty street, was
born in Erlangen, Bavaria, in January, 1820; graduated from Erlangen
University in 1843. in the centennial year of the institution;
was assistant physician in the department of surgery in the hospital
of Bamburg from 1846 to 1848; was forced to abandon the position on
account of his radical political principles during the revolution
the latter year; crossed the Atlantic, landing in New York in May,
1850; located in St. Louis in August of that year; practiced there
two years; removed to Peoria in 1852, and has pursued his profession
since. The doctor is a devotee to natural science, and is one
of the leading naturalists in Illinois, has prepared many able
papers on natural history, which have been published and rank high
as scientific productions. This volume contains an able
article from his pen. He is curator of the Scientific
Association of Peoria, is a member of the German Library School
Association, and has been meteorological observer of Smithsonian
Institute, and later of the Union States naval service since 1855.
Married Elizabeth Miller, a native of Peoria, in 1861.
They have had twelve children. Helena, Emila, Elizabeth,
Jenny, Clara, Bertha and Frederick are living. |
DAVID L. BRIGHAM,
carriage builder, 115 N. Washington street, was born on the 10th of
July, 1838, in the town of Hamilton, Butler Co., O. Came to
Peoria in 1872 and engaged in his present business, employs from
twenty to thirty hands. Married Miss Anna Curtiss
November 25, 1867. She was a native of Ohio. They have
four children, two girls and two boys. Both members of the
Presbyterian Church of Peoria. In politics is a Republican.
In 1854, while in Cincinnati, Mr. Brigham was
engaged as clerk in a bank for about two years, when he entered a
wholesale grocery house as clerk and worked seven years, then was
admitted as a partner and continued about two yeas. Then sold
his interest and took a trip to California for his health. One
year later came back to Cincinnati and entered the carriage
business, and remained in it about seven years, or until 1872, when
he came to Peoria. |
| HENRY
BRONS, carpenter, res. 608 Hurlbut street, was born in
Prussia on the Rhine in 1828, learned the trade there and pursued it
twelve years; came to America in 1854; lived a year and a half in
Cincinnati, Ohio, then came to Peoria. January 8, 1856, he
married Catherine Hessling, also a native from Prussia.
Their family consists of seven boys and one girl. Their family
consists of seven boys, and one girl. Henry, 23;
Bernard, 21; Charles, 19; Peter, 17; Fred,
15; Theodore, 13; William, 11, and Gertrude,
ten yeas of age. Mr. B. has been doing carpenter work
for the T. P. & W. R. R., since 1863, and now has four sons
in the employ of the company. He is a member of St. Joseph's
German Society. Himself and family members of the Catholic
Church. Owns a homestead in the city. |
| J. L.
BROWN, M. D., physician and surgeon, 100 S. Adams street, was
born in Clermont county, Ohio, and received his primary education in
his native and Warren Counties. He began the study of medicine
with Dr. S. B. Tomlinson, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1864, and
afterwards attended classes at Medical College of Ohio, in the same
city, graduating therefrom in March, 1868. Afterwards
practiced in Cincinnati, until 1873, when he removed to Peoria, and
has since resided and practiced here. |
| JOHN
L. BROWN express messenger for T., P. & W. res. 205 S.
Jefferson street, was born June 5, 1845, Elmira, New York, and when
13 years of age came to Chenoa, McLean county, Illinois, and
remained there until 1867, when he came to the city of Peoria, and
has been in his present business since. Was married to Miss
Emma Harpest, June 7, 1876, a native of New York. She was
born June 14, 1852. Mrs. Brown is a member of the
Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Brown a member of the A. F. & A.
M. |
| LUCIUS
D. BROWN passenger conductor, T., P. & W. R. R., 1799 N.
Adams street, was born in Fincastle, Brown county, Ohio, Feb. 8,
1849, and is the son of James P. Brown and Caroline Glaze,
natives of Ohio. When 4 years of age he removed, with his
parents, to Peoria, and has ever since made it his home.
Received his education there, and in 1866 began life as a railroad
man upon the T., P. & W. R. R.., as switchman at El Paso, where he
remained for about one and one-half years, and then returned to
Peoria. He has since remained with the same Company, passing
the intermediate grades of brakeman and freight conductor, to his
present position. He married, April 12, 1870, in El Paso,
Illinois, Miss Lizzie Crossit, daughter of Wm. T. Crossit
and Mary S. Wooley, natives of Ohio, who was born in Tazewell
county, Illinois, by whom he has had three children - Louis,
Harry and Bertie. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are
members of the Christian Church; own residence and lot at above
number, and also house and lot adjoining. His parents are both
alive and reside in Peoria. |
| PETER R. K. BROTHERSON |
| JOHN BRYNER |
| WM. G. BUCHANAN |
| JOHN W. BUCKNER of
the firm of Buckner & Coulson, hides, tallow, wool, etc., 512
S. Water street, was born in Canada, in 1824, came to Peoria in
1863, and embarked in his present business. Married Miss
Margaret Caughell, in 1853, and has two children.
Mr. Coulson, senior partner of this firm, was born on the
29th day of May, 1839, in Canada, came to Peoria in 1867, and
entered into partnership with Mr. B. in their present
business. Married Clareena Wisner Caughell, in 1867.
They have one child. Both members of the Episcopal Church.
In politics Republican. Have invested in their business about
$20,000, and employ from one to five hands, and are doing a
profitable business. |
| WM.
H. BUCK coal dealer. |
| CHRISTIAN
BUEHLER (deceased), meat market, 1511 S. Washington street,
was born on the 25th of December, 1821, in Stuttgart, Wurtemberg,
Germany, emigrated to the United States in 1849, and settled in
Philadelphia, Pa. Married Miss Anna Schlenkar, Jan. 1,
1857, in Chicago, Ill., and lived there until 1860, when he moved to
Peoria and engaged in packing pork, and doing a general butcher
business. They have seven children, one girl and six boys.
Mr. Buehler died Oct. 15, 1878; was a member of the Masonic
Order. In politics a Democrat. His eldest son, Martin,
together with his mother, is still carrying on the business at the
old stand. |
| RICHARD W. BURT |
| PHILLIP
H. BURGI, grocer, 1600 S. Adams street to the United States
in 1849, and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained four
years, then came to Peoria, where he engaged in the grocery business
and has continued in the same since; being a German, and locating in
the southern part of the city, has built up a good trade. In
1856, married Miss Mary E. Winker. By this marriage
there was one child, a son, who assists his father in his old age. |
| JOHN A. BUSH |
| ALVIN W. BUSHWELL
manufacturing cement, sewer pipes, and dealing in cement, lime,
plaster, hair, 422 S. Washington street, was born on the 8th day of
January, 1815, in Green county, N. Y.; remained there until 1837,
when he came to Peoria county, Ill., and settled on a farm in Radnor
township; remained there until 1849, when he went to Chicago and
engaged in the grocery business, and continued in the same until
1851, when he came to Peoria and embarked in the lumber trade, which
he followed for several years. Married Miss Jennett Case,
July, 1841. She was a native of Oswego county, N. Y., and came
to Peoria in 1836. Mrs. B. is a member of the Baptist
Church and has been since 1849. Mr. B. was elected
supervisor two successive terms, in 1862-3. During the war was
chairman of the committee for disbursing funds in aid of Soldiers'
families, and paid out about twenty-five thousand dollars. |
| CHARLES
E. BUTTS dealer in coal, lime, cement and fire brick, 512 S.
Adams street, was born in Tremont, Tazewell county, Ill., April 10,
1848, and is the son of George and Catherine (Thompson) Butts.
His father was a native of England and his mother of Ireland; was
raised in native place until eleven years of age, when he removed
with his mother to El Paso, where he attended school, and in 1866
began life as a railroad man, passing successively through the
grades of brakeman, freight conductor and train dispatcher for the
P., P. & J. R. R. Co., and holding the last position for four years.
He was altogether twelve years railroading. He married in
Peoria, April 15, 1869. Miss Mary Burt, daughter of
Mrs. Ellen W. Burt, of Peoria. He was was born in Ohio,
Sept. 17, 1853, and has borne him one child, Ella, born June
10, 1870, and who died March 17, 1871. He began his present
business March 6, 1878, and has for its carrying on large yards a
large stock of his goods. He is also agent for Laflin &
Rand's sporting and blasting powder. |
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