Champaign County IL

Biography of Alonzo O. Morrison

Alonzo O. Morrison. One of the families that was established in Vermilion County, Illinois, in the early ’40s and has ever since been a representative agricultural one in east central Illinois bore the name of Morrison. This branch of the family was of pioneer stock in Ohio and doubtless can trace its far back ancestry to Scotland. The leading representative in Champaign County is Alonzo O. Morrison, a highly respected resident of Homer, Illinois. Alonzo O. Morrison was born in Vermilion County, Illinois, November 17, 1859. His parents were James Perry and Harriet A. (Sterns) Morrison. The father was born … Read more

Biography of Patrick T. Madigan

Patrick T. Madigan In the erection of a substantial business structure in the field of insurance Patrick T. Madigan of Longview, Illinois, was able to build upon a foundation formed by a good business education, a worthwhile and practical training and an inherent ambition. These have formed the real concomitants of his success, although combined with them have been the accompanying desirable factors of perseverance and natural ability. Mr. Madigan was born on a farm in Raymond Township, Champaign County, Illinois, July 8, 1878, a son of John F. and Katherine (Foley) Madigan, natives of Illinois. John F. Madigan came … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Harvey Allison

Harvey Allison is one of the prominent land owners and agriculturists in the vicinity of Homer, where he has spent the best part of his active career. Mr. Allison knows farming from A to Z and his capabilities have been developed by long and thorough experience. He was born in Vermilion County, Illinois, January 16, 1870, a son of James A. and Willmoth (Dunnivan) Allison. His father was born in Indiana and died at Homer July 10, 1899. The mother is a native of Vermilion County and is still living on the old home farm. The parents removed to Champaign … Read more

Biography of John D. Seltzer

John D. Seltzer, now living retired at Villa Grove, spent many useful and productive years in Champaign County. These years dealt pleasantly with him and in response to his energy and good judgment rewarded him with one of the finest farms in Raymond Township, which he still owns, and he is able to look back upon his past years with a great deal of satisfaction, born of practical achievement and the performance of the many duties that are assumed by public spirited citizens like Mr. Seltzer. He is of old Pennsylvania stock and was born in Schuylkill County of that … Read more

Biography of Captain Edward Bailey

Captain Edward Bailey is president of the Champaign National Bank, an institution which has become noted as one of the most conservative in the United States and as a leader among the great banking institutions of Illinois. He was one of its founders. He was born at Bloomfield, Edgar County, Illinois, September 8, 1843, a son of David and Hannah (Finley) Bailey, concerning whom mention is made on other pages. His early education was obtained in subscription schools at Bloomfield. In the last part of 1854 or early in 1855 his parents moved to Monticello, Illinois, thence to Urbana, Illinois, … Read more

Biography of Henrietta Fulford (Wilson) Kinley, Mrs.

Mrs. Henrietta Fulford (Wilson) Kinley. In the developing of the beautiful city of Topeka, Kansas, many people who had been born in other states took part and it is surprising how large a number were natives of Illinois. As a rule they were well educated and accustomed to the refinements of life and in their new surroundings their influence was progressive and beneficial. One of these families bore the name of Fulford, a name that became well known at Topeka and which is yet identified with the city’s best interests. A well known and highly esteemed member of this sterling … Read more

Biography of James Oscar Sayers

James Oscar Sayers of Fisher, one of the advisory board of editors of the Champaign County History, has had an active experience in this section of the county covering a period of forty-two years. He came here as a young man possessed of no financial resources, and by hard work and constant attention to his duties has built up a mercantile business whose volume is second to none in the village. Mr. Sayers is wide awake to all things that concern this locality and is generally recognized as one of the most capable men of Champaign County. He was born … Read more

Biography of Charles F. Wendling

Charles F. Wendling’s farm enterprise is identified with the south-eastern part of Champaign County, in Raymond Township. His fine farm home is situated in section 10, on Rural Route No. 36 out of the town of Broadlands. Mr. Wendling has been a man of affairs in this community for the greater part of his life. He was born in Sangamon County, Illinois, December 15, 1874, a son of John and Margaret (Monigan) Wendling. His father was a native of Alsace, France, and his mother of Ireland. The father was born in 1842, came to America in 1854, at the age … Read more

Biography of Albert A. Hyde

Albert A. Hyde. A native of Champaign County and one who has spent his entire life within its borders, watching its development throughout the years of its greatest growth, Albert A. Hyde is so well known to the citizens of this great agricultural center that it may seem supererogatory to give his record in detail in a work of this kind. On the other hand, Mr. Hyde is one of those who have helped to make history in the county. He has not merely been a witness to progress he has also been a participant in the movements which have … Read more

Biography of Joseph Fultz

Joseph Fultz, now living retired at Rantoul, has had a career filled with labors and ministrations of kindness, and has done what good he could as he went through the world. The practical side of his career has been as a farmer, and for a number of years he served as a local minister of the Methodist Church, a work of inestimable value which cannot be measured by any ordinary human standards. Mr. Fultz was born in Washington County, Indiana, a son of Frederick and Mary Fultz, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Indiana. Frederick Fultz … Read more

Biography of David Harvey Lester

David Harvey Lester. For almost a half century has David Harvey Lester been a resident of Champaign County and it has been his privilege to witness and bear a part in its remarkable development. He is a native of Indiana and was born in Switzerland County, October 18, 1848. His parents were David A. and Eliza A. (Gerard) Lester, who were the parents of eight children, the survivors being: Martha, who is the widow of Robert T. Graham, has five children and lives at Vevay, Indiana; David Harvey; Margaret, who is a resident of Saint Joseph, Champaign County; Mary, who … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Chancy L. Finfrock

Chancy L. Finfrock is one of the younger members of the Champaign bar and for the past three years has been associated in practice with Roger F. Little. Mr. Finfrock was born in Urbana, May 19, 1892, a son of John H. and Jordena (Johnson) Finfrock. His father was born in Pennsylvania and his mother in Ohio. John H. Finfrock came to Champaign County in 1875. Locating at Urbana, he identified himself with his regular business as a flour miller and was one of the substantial citizens of that district until his death in July, 1896. The mother is still … Read more

Biography of Claude B. Warner, A. B., A. M., D. D. S.

Claude B. Warner, A. B., A. M., D. D. S., was born at Morrison, the county seat of Whiteside County, Illinois, May 6, 1872, and is a son of Edward B. and Elizabeth C. (Bryant) Warner, the former a native of Saint Louis and the latter of Herculaneum, Missouri. Edward B. Warner was a well-to-do business man of Morrison, and also a prominent citizen in the public life of Whiteside County, being county treasurer for a period of sixteen years, and for a like period a member of the board of equalization. His death occurred in 1891, while Mrs. Warner … Read more

Biography of Phillip Mohr

Phillip Mohr arrived in Champaign County in 1874. He was then a young man, only a few years over from Germany, possessed a fair education, knew how to work, but was without friends of influence and without a personal fortune. Hard work and good judgment have been the route which he has followed on the road to success. He is widely known over the county, is a progressive and up-to-date farmer, and has earned all the competence which he and his family now enjoy. Mr. Mohr is a native of Germany and represents that sturdy class of old country people … Read more

Biography of W. R. Cole

W. R. Cole is one of the former prominent business men of Champaign County now living retired. He and Mrs. Cole occupy a very attractive home on Belle Avenue in Rantoul. Mrs. Cole is a member of an old and prominent family of Champaign County, and is a sister of one of the foremost physicians and surgeons in the world, Dr. D. A. K. Steele, one of the founders of the University of Illinois medical department. Mrs. Cole and her brother both taught in the school at Rantoul and they are of a family of teachers, preachers and lawyers. A … Read more

Biography of Leland S. Fowler

Leland S. Fowler, of the Penfield community of Champaign County, is one of the young and progressive agriculturists of this section. He has the management of his father’s fine farm and he took hold of the business with such vigor as to bring results that are surprising even to himself. Mr. Fowler was born in Vermilion County, Illinois, and is a son of U. G. and Etta (Wolf) Fowler. His parents were also born in Illinois. There were two sons of the parents, Wylie M. and Leland S. Both of them were educated in the high school at Urbana and … Read more

Biography of Frank Stout

Frank Stout. Practically every successful career is actuated by an earnest purpose and an energy of action sufficient to carry out definite plans of accomplishment. Purpose and energy have been the keynotes of the career of Frank Stout, a fine old-time citizen of Champaign County and one of the best known residents in the northwestern part of the county. Mr. Stout is now enjoying the fruits of a well-spent career at his comfortable home in Mahomet Township near the village of Mahomet. Since an early age he has been self-reliant and independent, and owes his prosperity chiefly to the plans … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Francis G. Jaques

Francis G. Jaques. One of the early and most prominent members of the Champaign County bar was Francis G. Jacques, who began practice here prior to the war and continued his work with unabating interest until his death on November 14, 1896. Mr. Jaques was born in New York City January 5, 1839, a son of Robert Lee and Mary (Cooper) Jaques. Both parents were natives of New Jersey. Mr. Jaques was educated chiefly in New York City, studied law there, and also had a brief experience as a school teacher in Michigan. He came to Champaign at the age … Read more

Biography of Louis William Schluter

Louis William Schluter. A splendid farm and country estate two miles east of Gifford represents the toil and effort and expenditure of character and industry on the part of the Schluter family covering a long period of years. The present manager of that farm, and one who knows full well how to get the best out of the soil, is Louis William Schluter, a young and progressive farmer whose activities have brought him commendable prominence among the agriculturists of this section. Mr. Schluter’s home is in section 36 of Kerr Township. He is a native of Champaign County and a … Read more

Biography of H. M. Morris

H. M. Morris has long been a resident of Rantoul and is proprietor of a beautiful home and a large greenhouse at the north end of the village. Mr. Morris has a creditable record as an old soldier of the Union, though he was a very young man when the war was in progress. His life has been a busy one and he and Mrs. Morris have well earned the esteem and the comforts which they now enjoy. He was born in Ohio, a son of Edwin and Mary (Benson) Morris, both natives of Ohio. The Morris ancestors were pioneers … Read more