Biographies

   JohnA. Young  JOHN A. YOUNG, one of the most prominentand prosperous agriculturists of Schuyler county, resides on section 21,Buena Vista township. The following space will be devoted to a brief biographyof which he is the subject. He was born in Schuyler county, on the farmwhich he now occupies, June 14, 1832, a son of John Young, a native ofIreland; the paternal grandparents were John and Margaret Young. John Youngemigrated to America when a young man, and stopped for a time in Philadelphia;thence he continued his journey to the West, and after locating in Rushvillehe sent for his parents; they … Read more

    JosephFranklin Black    JOSEPH FRANKLIN BLACK was born in Murraycounty, Tennessee, February 23, 1828. His father, William Black, was bornnear Milledgeville, Georgia, January 3, 1796, son of Thomas Gillespie Black,who was born in Markingham County, North Carolina, in January, 1772, whosefather, William Black, a native of Maryland, removed to North Carolina.William Black was captain of a company of militia at the time the Revolutionarywar broke out, and was one of the first who refused to take the oath ofallegiance to the British government. He died soon after the war began.The maiden name of his wife was Beard. They … Read more

    JohnF. Huss    JOHN F. HUSS, general farmerand stock raiser in section 1, township 17, range 11, has entire chargeof his father’s homestead of more than 300 acres of fine land, under goodimprovement. The buildings are large and comfortable, and the place iswell stocked. Mr. Huss has had the place under his personal control fornearly three years, and has shown himself to be a very successful farmer.He was born in this county, May 27, 1866. He was reared and has alwayslived on the farm where he was born. He received his education in the countryschools. He is the … Read more

     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

    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