Biographies

    O. A. Berry   O. A. BERRY, foreman of the blacksmith shops of the Rock Island and St. Louis division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad, located at Beardstown, was born in Medina, Ohio, February 12, 1852. He came when five years of age to Aurora, Illinois, with his parents. He grew up there and received a common school education and learned his trade. His father, Thomas E. Berry, had come from England to Medina, Ohio, there learned the carpenter’s trade and was married to Anna Pierce, who was also of English birth. In 1857, Thomas Berry, … Read more

    RensselaerWells    RENSSELAER WELLS was born in Lorain county,Ohio, February 22, 1823. He was the son of Charles and Elizabeth(Durand) Wells. The latter was a nativeof Connecticut, came to Illinois when subject was eleven years old, andsettled in Littleton township, this county, and died at Rushville, agedsixty-five years. His wife was born in the same county as her son, andshe died on the old farm, aged thirty-five. Subject remained at home until his marriage,when he bought his present farm and put up a log cabin, where they livedfor several years, until he built the frame house in which … Read more

  DescendantsofPeterRippetoe & Nancy Robertson Contributed by C.H. [email protected]  Peter RIPPETOE was born on7 Oct 1791 in Morgan District, Burke County, North Carolina.  He diedon 15 Mar 1859 in McDonough County, Illinois.  He has Ancestral Filenumber 1FJN-V0S.  He was buried in Moore Cemetery, McDonough County,Illinois.  Peter RIPPETOE was married to Nancy ROBERTSON on 22 Mar1812 in Adair County, Kentucky.  Nancy ROBERTSON was born on 6 Apr1796 in North Carolina.  She died on 18 Oct 1859 in McDonough County,Illinois.  She has Ancestral File number 1FJN-S0G.  She was buriedin Moore Cemetery, McDonough County, Illinois.  Peter RIPPETOE andNancy ROBERTSON had the following children: … Read more

   SimonA. Reeve  SIMON A. REEVE, who has long been closelyconnected with the agricultural interests of Schuyler county, is a nativeof the State of Illinois, born at Springfield, December 28, 1828. His father,John Reeve, was a native of New York, and the paternal grandfather wasborn in the same State; the latter is supposed to have visited Illinoisat an early day, as he purchased land in Fulton county. John Reeve wasstill a youth when he accompanied his parents to Kentucky, and there hewas married to Betsey Ross, a Kentuckian by birth; from the Blue GrassState he removed to Indiana, and thence … Read more

    SamuelHindman    SAMUEL HINDMAN was born in Richland County,Ohio, January 24, 1834; his father, Elijah Hindman, was born in AlleghenyCounty, Pennsylvania, November 4, 1798, a son of Samuel Hindman, whosenativity is not positively known; the year of his birth was 1763, and afterhis marriage he emigrated to Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, where he wasone of the pioneers; he was a cooper by trade and followed that vocationuntil his death; he was married to Letitia McClinithan, a native of Alleghenycounty, Pennsylvania. Elijah Hindman was married in Allegheny County andresided there until 1833: in that year he emigrated with his wife … Read more

    S.L. Calef    S. L. CALEF, one of the old, representativefamilies of Cass county, lives on a fine farm on section nine, townshipeighteen, range eleven, where he owns 320 acres, all well improved excepta few acres, and all lying in the familiar and famous Sangamon bottom.On this fine land he has erected two sets of fine buildings. He came tothe county in the fall of 1844, when he was a man of small means, but ina year’s time he was able to purchase his first land of eighty acres andbegan to farm on his own account. Soon after … Read more

  SamuelM. Schroder  SAMUEL M. SCHRODER, a risingyoung business man of Oakland township, and one of the most progressiveagriculturists of Schuyler county, was born in McDonough county, Illinois,in 1860, on the 27th day of April.  His father, Nicholas Schroder,was a native of Germany, but emigrated to America with his mother whena lad of eleven years, in 1837; his father, John Schroder, died in thefatherland about the year 1830, leaving a widow and three sons in veryhumble circumstances; the names of the sons are Christopher, Carson andNicholas.  They sailed from Bremen to New York, landing after a voyageof six weeks; they … Read more

    StephenT. Ranney    STEPHEN T. RANNEY, a well known member ofcommercial circles in Mount Sterling, was born in Elkhorn township, Browncounty, Illinois, January 1, 1847, a son of Solomon Ranney. The paternalgrand-father, Stephen Ranney, was a native of the State of New York, andhis father emigrated from Wales in colonial times, and settled in New YorkState. Stephen Ranney was a lawyer by profession, and had a large and profitablepractice. He was married to Olive Jaques, a native of New York State, wholived to the advanced age of ninety years. Solomon Ranney removed fromNew York to Ohio in an … Read more

 SidneyW. Scanland  DR. SIDNEY W. SCANLAND wasborn in Carroll county, Kentucky, October 13, 1834. He was the son of ThomasB. and Agnes W. (Searcy) Scanland, who were also born in Kentucky. Thomasfollowed the trade of cooper when a young man, and was married at the ageof twenty-six, in Kentucky. In 1840 he came to Illinois. He settled firstin Elkhorn township, and lived there two years on his first farm. He built a frame house, butin 1842 he bought in section 16 120 acres, and still later bought moreland, until he had acquired nearly 400 acres. He improved his farm, builtseveral … Read more

 ThomasH. Carter  THOMAS H. CARTER was bornin Little York, York county, Pennsylvania, October 11, 1823. His father,Bushnell Carter, a native of Connecticut, came when a young man to Pennsylvania,where he married Julia L. Barber, an estimable lady. He was an educatedman, a successful lawyer, and died in early manhood. After the death ofhis mother our subject was taken by his father to an uncle in Connecticut,and there he grew to manhood. When twenty years of age he became a schoolteacher, and so continued until 1847, when he went to Canfield, Ohio, wherehe began the study of law under Judge Newton. … Read more