Dennis

     JosephFenton Van Deventer    JOSEPH FENTON VAN DEVENTER was born in Highlandcounty, Ohio, June 25, 1826, a son of Jacob Van Deventer, who was bornin Loudoun county, Virginia, a descendant of the colonial settlers whocame from Holland in the early history of this country. The father of oursubject was reared and married in Virginia, but removed to Ohio, wherehe was a pioneer of Highland county; there he bought a tract of timber-land,erected a log cabin, and made it his home until the fall of 1832, whenhe sold and came to Illinois; he was accompanied by his wife and … Read more

    JohnH. Black    JOHN H. BLACK, a prominentcitizen of Woodstock township, is a representative of one of the earliestfamilies of Schuyler county, and is entitled to a space in this history.He was born in Woodstock township, August 2, 1842. His father, James P.Black, was a native of Mecklenburgh county, North Carolina, a son of RichardS. Black (see sketch of Isaac Black). James P. Black removed to Indianaat the age of fourteen years, and resided there until 1826. Then, withhis bride, he came to Illinois; the “wedding journey” was accomplishedwith a yoke of oxen, the bridegroom walking most of … Read more

   J. HenryRohn  J. HENRY ROHN, farmer and stock-raiser,living on the old homestead in township 18, range 12, of the precinct ofBeardstown, was born at the same place, September 20, 1837. He is the eldestmember of the family. The father, Henry, was a native of Hesse-Darmstadt.Henry Rohn, Sr., had grown up, but was yet single, when he came to theUnited States with his brother John, and after a long, tedious passage,they landed in New Orleans, and from there proceeded to St. Louis. Herehe stopped and married the girl who had come with him from the same province.Her name was Elizabeth … Read more

  JamesHiles  JAMES HILES, general farmer and stock raiserof Beardstown, was born in Salem county, New Jersey, January 4, 1822. Hisfather, John, was a native of the same place, was there engaged as a truck-raiser,and afterward ran a large farm in Mannington township, and still laterwas engaged in farming and truck-raising near Bridgeport. He died at theage of ninety-six, after leading a quiet, peaceable life. His wife’s namewas Sarah Chrispen, also born in Salem county. She came of an old Quakerfamily. Her own mother and a sister were speakers among Friends for manyyears. She and her husband, however, adhered very … Read more

     JosephHunt    JOSEPH HUNT, farmer,of section 2, township 17, range 10, post office Virginia, was born inKentucky, September 19, 1824. His parents moved to Sullivan county, Indiana,when he was one year old. Here he grew to manhood, coining to Illinoiswhen he was twenty-five and stopping two years in Sangamon county. Fromthere he went to Cass county, thirty-eight years ago. His parents wereJohn R. and Hannah (Davis) Hunt. Both were natives of Kentucky, and thegrandfather was also a Kentuckian, who lived to be ninety years old. Bothparents died in Sullivan county, Indiana. They had eleven children, ofwhich large family … Read more

     JohnK. Clark    JOHN K. CLARK, a well-to-do and prominentfarmer, living on sections 31 and 32, Township 18, Range 11, Cass county,Illinois, where he owns a fine farm, well improved and well supplied withfarm buildings, of about 400 acres, lying in the Sangamon valley, nearBluff Springs, was born in this county, in what is now Monroe precinct,in 1828. He is the oldest man in Cass county that was born here. The family later came to what is now Bluff Springs precinct in 1846, andhere the parents afterward lived. Prior to coming to Bluff Springs theyhad lived for a time … Read more

     JohnKerr    JOHN KERR, Rushville.—Americahas drawn her population from every continent and all the islands of thesea. Ireland has contributed her quota, sending many of her sturdy sons,who have aided in the development and growth of the New World, and pushedtheir way to the frontier, that the path might be made for the onward marchof civilization. John Kerr, proprietor of the Schuylerville coal mine andone of the prominent agriculturists of Schuyler county, Illinois, is anative of County Fermanagh, Ireland, born near Five-mile Town, July 15,1840. His father was also a native of the Emerald Isle, but the grandfatherwas … Read more

    JamesM. Black     JAMES M. BLACK, dealer in hard coal and wood,was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, October 12, 1835. He was theson of John W. Black of the same county, who was one of thirteen children.All grew to maturity, and the sons were mechanics by trade.  JohnW. Black was a blacksmith by trade. After he came West he was foreman ofthe Boyles Scales Company of St. Louis, Missouri, for some years, and,later came to Beardstown and established himself with Mr. T. A. Fisher,another old blacksmith. He was later With Messrs. Milner and Hill. He didbusiness as … Read more

   JosephM. Spencer  JOSEPH M. SPENCER, an intelligent and progressivecitizen of Ashland, Illinois, and an honored veteran of the late war, washorn in Gibson county, Indiana, October 24, 1842. His parents were Joseph and Elizabeth (Hayhurst)Spencer, both of whom were natives of Morgantown, Virginia, the fatherof Welsh and the mother of German ancestry. They were married in Miamicounty, Ohio, removing thence to Indiana, from where they came to Morgancounty, Illinois, in 1849. The parents and younger children later removedto Kansas, where the father died in 1870, leaving his family and many friendsto mourn his loss. He was a man of … Read more

  SquireJames M. Watkins  SQUIRE JAMES M. WATKINS, a popular Justiceof the Peace and one of the most prosperous farmers of Cass county, Illinois,residing in township 18, range 9, was born in Richmond precinct, same county,February 5, 1839. His parents were Elijah and Lydia A. (Montgomery)Watkins, both natives of Kentucky, the former born in Green county, in1797, and the latter a native of Hart county. His father’s parents wereSamuel and Mary (McClure) Watkins, the former a native of Wales and thelatter of Maryland. Samuel Watkins came to America when a very young manand settled in Maryland, where he was married, … Read more