Montgomery County IL Archives Bios......Raymond Township 1882 
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Montgomery County, IL. History of Bond and Montgomery Counties Illinois 1882 - 
Part II, pages 209 - 234, Raymond Township 

[Page 209] 

Daniel E. ADAMS, baker and grocer, Raymond, was born in Macoupin County, October 13, 
1840. His early childhood was spent in attending the common schools of his native 
county, and in assisting his father upon the homestead farm. At the age of twenty 
years, he embarked upon his career in life as a farmer, in Macoupin County, where he 
remained two years, and then removed to Montgomery County, and purchased forty acres 
of wild prairie land, which he improved and eventually sold. He then returned to the 
same section where his last farm was located, and purchased sixty acres of prairie 
land, which was partly improved. Soon after he sold it, and purchased 110 acres near 
by, and lived upon it three years, at the end of which time he sold out again and 
returned to Zanesville Township, and abought eighty acres. He continued in the occupation 
of a farmer until 1880, when he again sold out and removed to Raymond, where he purchased
twenty-eight acres of village property, and entered into a grocery, at which business he 
was more than ordinarily successful, and by his energy, business habits, and the pleasing
manner in which he attended to the wants of his customers, he built up a large trade. He
eventually sold his interest and entered into partnership in a general mercantile business
with W. H. WILBANKS, with whom he continued about one year, when he bought his partner’s
interest and continued in the business by himself. In January, 1882, he sold his business,
and at present is engaged in conducting a bakery, grocery and restaurant, where, for the
short time he has been in the trade, he has succeeded in building up a large and steadily
increasing trade. He was married, October 24, 1860, to Elizabeth Jane WAGNER, who was 
born in Washington County, Ill., November 14, 1840. She is the mother of eight children 
– Emma Elnora, born in Macoupin County, August 19, 1861, wife of P. B. BURGO, now living 
in Nebraska; Anna Nevada, born August 2, 1863; Jacob L., born January 20, 1867; Charles 
W., born March 16, 1871; William H., born February 23, 1874; Viola Jane, born March 16, 
1879, and two infants, deceased. Mrs. ADAMS is a daughter of Jacob D. and Lucinda 
(McDONALD) ADAMS, he born in Illinois, and one of the early settlers of Macoupin County, 
and still living; she, born in Tennessee, deceased. William C. ADAMS, the father of our
subject, was born in West Virginia; moved from there to Tennessee, but eventually to 
Macoupin County, in 1827, a farmer by occupation. His death occurred January 21, 1853. 
His wife, Margaret WARD, was a native of Tennessee, and is still living. She is the mother
of twelve children, of whom Daniel was the ninth child. He was elected Constable in 1873, 
and served one year. In 1874, he was elected a Highway Commissioner of Zanesville 
Township, and served three years. He has been an active member of the I. O. O. F. order 
for a number of years. Politically, his sympathies are with the Democratic party.
Religiously, himself and wife are connected with the Christian Church.

[Page 210]

Peter BERRIE, retired farmer, P. O. Raymond, is a son of Thomas BERRIE, who was born 
in Pennsylvania, of English descent. He was a farmer by occupation. His wife, Susan 
LARK, was also a native of Pennsylvania; she died in 1823. The result of their union 
was twelve children, of whom Peter, the subject of this sketch, was the seventh child. 
As educational privileges were very much limited at that early day, his education was
necessarily limited. His early life was spent in assisting his father in his agricultural
pursuits. He remained at home until he reached the age of nineteen years, when he entered
upon the battle of life with all the energy of a young man bound to make his way in the
world. He engaged as a farm hand, near home, receiving but a small compensation for his
labor. He soon tired of that occupation, and tried river life for a few months, but 
soon concluded that a farm life was preferable, and he again took upon himself the duties
of a farm life, following in that occupation in different localities, and eventually came 
to Montgomery County, Ill., where he has since resided. In 1841, he purchased his first 
real estate, consisting of eighty acres of unimproved prairie land, to which he has
continually added, until his farm now consists of about two hundred and twenty-five acres 
of choice farm and timber land. He has made all the improvements necessary for comfort 
and convenience, and has placed his farm in a high state of cultivation, and it will 
compare with any of the best improved farms in the county, and he is proud of the fact 
that, having started upon his career a poor boy, his present possessions represent the
dollars earned by himself. He was married, December 15, 1841, to Mary J. CASS, who was 
born January 27, 1821, and died November 13, 1865. She bore him eight children, viz.:
Adolphus, born May 26, 1843, and died July 15, 1864; Aurelius, born August 14, 1845, and 
died November 11, 1871; Isabelle, born July 7, 1848, and died February 25, 1853; 
Clarence, born November 17, 1850, and is still living; Florence, born March 8, 1853, and 
died January 26, 1875; Lockwood, born September 23, 1855, and died November 12, 1868; 
Mary, born May 14, 1859, and died in infancy; Chester, born December 17, 1861, and is 
still living. Mr. BERRIE was married again June 22, 1869, to Mary J. GUTHRIE, who was 
born in Charleston, Coles Col, Ill., November 16, 1843. She is the mother of one child,
Fannie, born November 11, 1870, and died July 4. 1871. Mrs. BERRIE was a daughter of 
Green J. and Mary J. (VanDEREN) GUTHRIE, natives of Kentucky. He died in 1850; was a
prominent merchant of Charleston, Ill.; she still living, at the age of sixty-one. She 
is the mother of five children, of whom Mrs. BERRIE was the second child. She is a lady
possessing all the womanly graces. Mr. BERRIE is not a politician, but has always been
identified with the Republican party. Although possessing all the energy and enterprise 
that has characterized all his efforts, he has retired from farm life, and is now enjoying
the fruits of a well-spent life.

Ira BARTON, physician, Raymond, was born in Grant County, Wis., April 17, 1844, where 
he received his early education, the foundation of his subsequent learning. The ears 
between fourteen and twenty-one were employed in assisting his father in his agricultural
pursuits. He then entered the service in Company I, One Hundred and Fifty-second Illinois
Volunteer Infantry, with Capt. J. W> BROWN; regiment commanded by Col. STEPHENSON. He
remained in the service about seven months, and soon after his discharge he began the 
study of medicine, reading with Dr. A. B. PENNIMAN, at Woodburn,  

[Page 211]

Macoupin County. He attended three courses of lectures in the Medical Department of the
University of Michigan, from which institution he graduated in 1869, receiving his diploma
as an M.D. He did not enter regularly upon the duties of his profession until June of the
following year, when he located at Raymond, where he has since been engaged in the 
practice of his profession, with the exception of one year, when he took the place and
practice of his old preceptor, at Woodburn. He has, by his thorough knowledge of, and 
strict attention to, the duties of his calling, succeeded in building up a reasonably 
good pratice, which is steadily on the increase, and socially has gained the highest 
esteem of the community. He was married, December 17, 1871, to Miss Mary H. SCOTT, who 
was born in Steuben County, Ind., August 15, 1845. She is the mother of three children, 
viz.: John H., Sarah and infant, the latter dying in early infancy. Mrs. BURTON was a
daughter of Joseph H. and Mercy (KINSMAN) SCOTT, natives of New York, he living, she
deceased. John H. BARTON, the father of our subject, was born in Massachusetts in 
October, 1805, and is still living. At the age of twenty-one, he sought a home in the 
then far West, and located near Jacksonville, Ill., where he remained several years, 
but eventually resided in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and has engaged in several occupations
during his life, such as lead mining, farming, merchandising, etc., and now, at an 
advanced age, he is enjoying the fruits of a well-spent life. His wife, Mary N. REID, 
was born in Lexington, Ky., in 1812, and is also living. They have lived together as man 
and wife fifty-three years, and the result of their union was seven children, three of 
whom have reached manhood and womanhood, viz.: Sarah, wife of A. B. PENNIMAN; Mary, wife 
of William P. HAMILTON, and Ira, the subject of this sketch. He has always been identified
with the Republican party. Religiously, he is in connection with the Presbyterian Church, 
and was on e of the six members who organized the church at Raymond; has always taken a
prominent part in all temperance movements. 

A. BRYAN, lumber dealer, Raymond, was born in Arkansas March 20, 1850; received his 
education principally in the common schools of that State; came to Montgomery County, 
Ill., in 1864. His first enterprise for himself was school teaching, but eventually took 
upon himself the duties of a farm life. Since 1873, he has been working at the 
carpentering and joiner trade, and in January, 1882, bought the lumber yard and business 
of D. J. PARRATT & Co., located at Raymond. On the 29th of March, he entered into 
partnership with D. C. KELLEY, in the same business. They are enterprising and energetic
business men, and have built up a large and steadily increasing trade. Mr. BRYAN has 
just completed a fine frame residence on one of the principal streets of Raymond. He has 
done most of the work himself, and the house does honor to the town and to Mr. BRYAN as 
a competent workman. He was married in Pulaski County, Ark., February 18, 1872, to Miss
Matilda POWERS, daughter of Oliver and Margaret (HUSTIN) POWERS. They have three 
children living, viz.: Leta, William and Claudie May; Ira died in infancy. The father 
of the subject, Darius BRYAN, was a native of North Carolina, and was one of the early
settlers of Arkansas. He was a farmer by occupation; his death occurred in 1876. His 
wife, Susan Elizabeth HAMILTON, was a native of Illinois, and died on the same day as 
her husband, and both of small-pox. He is a Democrat.

William L. BATEMAN, lawyer, Raymond, was born in Knox County, Ohio, Oc-

[Page 212] 

tober 13, 1858, son of Luther and Mary Jane (SHURTLIFF) BATEMAN. Luther, born in the 
same house in which his son William L. was born, June 7, 1833 is a farmer by occupation. 
He moved to Montgomery County in March, 1867, and located on a farm near Raymond, where 
he remained until the spring of 1870, when he moved to Walshville, and there engaged in 
the carriage and wagon painting business. In the spring of 1873, he left Walshville and 
moved to Litchfield, where he continued the same business; also doing house painting 
and sign writing; left Litchfield in 1877, and returned to Walshville, where he remained 
but a short time; then moved to Hillsboro, where, in addition to painting, he carried on 
the manufacture of carriages and wagons. In 1880, he removed to Raymond, where he 
carried on business until 1882, when he sold out to Isaac DUDSON, and is now engaged 
as traveling salesman for J. S. CULVER, Taylorville, Christian Co., Ill. His wife, born 
in Hebron, N. Y., October 2, 1835, is the mother of two children – Nettie and William L.
Subject attended school in his native town, in Knox County, Ohio, and finished at 
Litchfield, Ill. After the completion of his education, he commenced the study of law 
under the instruction of Judge Jesse J. PHILLIPS; was admitted to the bar at Mt. Vernon,
Ill., in February, 1880, and entered upon the practice of his profession at Raymond. He 
is a supporter of the Republican party, and is correspondent for a number of newspapers.

Winfield P. CARTER, stock dealer, Raymond, was born in Madison County, Ill., November 11,
1843. His father, Henry T. CARTER, was born at Knoxville, Tenn., in 1811. He remained in 
his native State until he was eighteen years of age, when he entered upon his career in 
life, and sought a home in the then far West, locating in Alton, Ill., and entered 320 
acres of wild prairie land, a large portion of which he eventually improved and resided 
upon until his death, which occurred July 21, 1844. He was married in 1832, in Madison
County, to Miss Hannah DAVIS, who was born at Trenton, N. J., July 12, 1815, who was 
brought to Illinois by her parents when but seven years of age. She was the mother of 
five children, viz.: Harriett, wife of J. H. STAHL, of Madison County; Louisa, wife of 
Edward SANDERS, of Macoupin County; Henry D., now living on the old homestead; Julia A., 
wife of M. V. McKINNEY, of Madison County, and Winfield, the subject of this sketch, all 
of whom were small children at the death of their father. Mrs. CARTER continued upon the
farm, which was managed by herself until the children were able to take the duties upon
themselves, and to assist in the support of the family. She is still living and resides 
upon the homestead with her son Henry. Winfield remained at home until he was seventeen 
years of age, assisting in the labor of the farm, and attending the common schools, to 
which his educational privileges were limited. In 1862, when he left home, he entered 
into the service in Company B, Eightieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with Capt. A. F.
ROGERS, in the regiment commanded by Col. ALLEN. He remained in the service twenty-two
months, receiving his discharge on account of injuries received from a bayonet, and 
being otherwise injured while removing a battery; was taken a prisoner by John MORGAN, 
but was paroled soon after. Upon his return home, he again took upon himself the duties 
of a farm life, remaining at home about one year, at the end of which time, in company 
with two others, he turned his face westward, to try his fortune in California, where 
he engaged in mining and farming. At the expiration of two years, he returned to his 
native State,

[Page 213] 

and continued in the occupation of a farmer. On January 25, 1868, he was married to 
Miss Anna H. MAYHEW, who was born at Shiloh, N. J., September 26, 1849. They have 
five children, Viz.: Philip Henry, born October 25, 1869; Mary Louisa, born June 1, 
1871; Edward B., born September 20, 1872; Maud E., born August 1, 1874; Ernest M., born 
June 25, 1876, and died June 3, 1877; Clyde W., born August 6, 1878. Mrs. CARTER is a
daughter of James and Sarah (HOWE) MAYHEW, natives of New Jersey. He was a farmer by
occupation, born at Shiloh, N. J., in 1809, and died in 1858; she born in 1814, and is 
still living. Mr. CARTER remained in Madison County, upon the farm, until 1870, when 
he removed to Raymond and opened a lumber yard, which was the first enterprise of the 
kind in the town. He continued in the business until the fall of 1872, when he sold 
out and entered into partnership with C. M. DAVIS in a general merchandising store. Two 
years later, he purchased his partner’s interest, and continued in the business until 
1878, when he disposed of his stock, since which time he has been engaged more or less
extensively in dealing in stock. He has a small tract of land in the outskirts of the 
town of Raymond, upon which he has erected a fine dwelling, surrounded by a fine grove 
of maple trees, planted by himself. The prospects for Mr. CARTER’s residence becoming 
the finest place in Raymond are very flattering. Mr. CARTER has taken a great interest 
in the growth and prosperity of the town, and to him is ascribed the honor of having 
been the first Treasurer. He has also served upon the Town Board two years, and was 
Deputy Postmaster for about six years, at an early date in the town history. Politically, 
Mr. CARTER has always been an exponent of the Democratic party. He is an energetic and
enterprising business man, and socially enjoys the highest esteem of the community. Upon 
his return from California, his trip was anything but pleasant, as he was called upon to 
pass through several perils. He purchased a ticket from San Francisco to New York, upon 
the steamer Daniel Webster; but, before sailing, met a friend about to sail upon the 
steamer Moses Taylor. He disposed of his ticket, and took passage upon the Moses Taylor. 
Both steamers left the wharf the same day, and were caught in a storm in which the 
Daniel Webster was lost with all on board. The Moses Taylor, however, reached San Juan 
del Norte, although badly damaged. They crossed Luke Nicaragua in a terrible storm, 
and, while passing down Nicaragua River, ran on a shoal. The steamer then had to be
abandoned, and, after being exposed eleven days to storms and hardships, with a scarcity 
of food, part of the time walking and part of the time in skiffs, reached Greytown, on 
the Atlantic shore, from which place he embarked upon the Santiago de Cuba, for New York; 
but again they were doomed to pass through a storm, which disabled the steamer, which 
was towed into port at Charleston, S. C. Having passed safely through the perils of the 
deep, he determined to finish his journey be rail, and the train upon which he was 
carried, while running at a high rate of speed, was thrown from the track, killing four
persons. Having escaped injury in all of these misfortunes, he at last arrived home 
safely, after forty-nine days dangerous travel, the recollections of which trip are 
still fresh in his memory. 

Robert CHISM, proprietor of the Raymond House, Raymond, was born in Grayson County, Ky., 
June 24, 1831, and was brought to Macoupin County, Ill., when one and a half years of 
age, and his education was received in the common schools of that county, 

[Page 214] 

and his early childhood was spent upon the homestead farm, assisting his father in his
agricultural pursuits. When he attained the age of twenty years, he entered upon the 
battle of life for himself, continuing in the same occupation he had followed at home, 
until 1857, when he opened a hotel at Litchfield, Ill., where he remained one year; 
sold out, and again took upon himself the duties of a farm life, this time in Greene 
County, where he remained two years, and removed to Macoupin; remained there two years, 
then returned to Montgomery County, where he remained three years. He then purchased a 
farm consisting of eighty acres of prairie and timber land, in Macoupin county, part 
of which was improved, and the balance of which was improved by himself. He remained 
upon this farm about twelve years, when he sold his property, and followed in the 
stream of emigrants westward, and eventually located in Kansas, where he located 320 
acres of land, and again opened a hotel. He remained in Kansas only two years, and 
then removed to Missouri, and found employment in a machine shop, operated by the 
Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company. He remained in the employ of the company 
two years, at the end of which time he returned to Macoupin County, Ill., and again 
took up agricultural pursuits. Four years later, he removed to Raymond, and entered a 
hotel upon the 22d day of August, and on the same night the building was destroyed by 
fire with its contents, the inmates barely escaping. However, being an energetic and
enterprising man, and possessing a stout heart, he did not give up to despair, but
immediately commenced the erection of the building he now occupies, which he moved into 
about three months after the fire, and where he is now performing the duties of mine 
host in a manner pleasing to all his guests and where he has succeeded in building up 
a large and steadily increasing trade. He was married in Macoupin County, June 24, 1852, 
to Catharine SKAGGS, a native of Kentucky, born in 1830, and died July 4, 1869, leaving 
to the care of her husband six children, viz.: Lizzie, Edward, Sophronia, Mally, Laura 
and Robert. Mr. CHISM was again married in the same county, March 21, 1871, to Helen 
(EUBANK) REED, widow of A. H. REED, and daughter of Stephen G. and Sarah (WAGGONER) 
EUBANK, he a native of Tennessee, and died in 1872; she, born in Sangamon County, Ill., 
and is still living. Mrs. CHISM was born in Menard County, Ill., August 31, 1846; she 
is the mother of three children, viz.: Alice Beryl, Bessie May and Sarah Grace. Although 
Mr. CHISM does not take much interest in politics, he is identified with the Democratic
party. He has been a member of the A., F. & A. M. for a number of years.

William CHAPMAN, farmer, P. O. Raymond, whose portrait appears in this work, was born 
in England March 23, 1817. His father, Luke CHAPMAN, was a native of England, born in 
1790, and was a mechanic by occupation. Soon after the birth of William, he emigrated 
with his family to "Virginia, where his death occurred in January, 1833. His wife, 
Grace REYNOLDS, was also a native of England, born May 28, 1796. She died in Greene 
County, Ill., August 20, 1871. She was the mother of six children, of whom William was 
the oldest child. His early life was spent in rendering what assistance he could to 
his parents, and attending school in the neighboring log schoolhouse, common at that 
early day, and to which his early educational privileges were limited. At the age of 
twenty years he had virtually reached his manhood, possessed with all the energy and
enterprise of a man bound to 

[Page 215] 

make his own way in the world, and he determined to try his fortunes in the then far 
West, and distant wilds of Illinois. He located in Morgan County in 1836, and during 
the following year went to Greene County, in what is now called Roodhouse Township, 
where he remained until the spring of 1852, when he removed to his present place of
residence, one and a half miles north of Raymond, where he has since remained, engaged 
more or less extensively in farming and stock-raising. He was married in Greene County, 
Ill., September 15, 1842, to Miss Ann Maria ALVERSON, who was born in Kentucky to 
Benjamin and May (JEFFRIES) ALVERSON, natives of Kentucky, February 25, 1826. She has 
borne him eleven children, viz.: Joseph R., born August 1, 1843, a prominent young 
farmer living near the homestead. (See history.) Benjamin H., born October 28, 1846, 
graduate of Iowa and Chicago Law Universities, practicing law at Vandalia, Ill.; 
William L., born March 3, 1853, also a lawyer, graduate of Ann Arbor, Mich., Law 
College, now residing in Houston, Tex.; Adam M., born February 7, 1855, now engaged 
in dealing in stock in Washington Territory; Ulysses G., born January 20, 1864, living 
at home; Mary Ann, born November 18, 1848, widow of T. BERRY, living with her parents; 
Emma, born March 27, 1861, also at home; Amanda J., died at the age of four years; 
Xenophon, born October 13, 1844, a graduate of the Chicago Medical College, died in
Leadville, Col., May 17, 1880; two infants deceased, not named. Realizing from his own
meager opportunities the value of a good education, Mr. CHAPMAN has spared no means 
to provide his children with advantages, and four of whom have received a thorough 
collegiate education. During the rebellion he took no active part other than to assist 
the Union soldiers, by caring for their families at home. He served the people of the 
county as Associate Judge four years, the duties of which office he performed with 
marked zeal and integrity. He has also been Township Treasurer over twenty years, and 
has served as one of the Board of Supervisors. Being a progressive man himself, Mr. 
CHAPMAN is fully alive to every progressive movement favoring the growth and prosperity 
of the county and for the advancement of religious and educational privileges. The state 
of cultivation under which Mr. CHAPMAN keeps his farm, consisting of about six hundred 
acres of choice farm land near Raymond, denotes him to be a practical farmer, and one 
of those men who add to the prosperity of the county.

Needham CRANE, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Hamilton, Butler Co., Ohio, November 
14, 1829, to Norris and Elizabeth (STANLEY) CRANE. He was a native of New Jersey, born 
March 10, 1799, and during his early life worked at the trade of a stone mason, and 
later followed the occupation of a farmer. His death occurred in Montgomery County 
August 19, 1852. She was born at Hamilton, Ohio, December 30, 1803, and died in 
Montgomery County March 10, 1854. The result of their union was eleven children, of 
whom Needham was the fourth child. He was educated in the high schools of Hamilton, 
Ohio, and when fifteen years of age was brought to Jacksonville, Morgan Co., Ill., by 
his parents, where he remained two years, and then was removed to Montgomery County, 
and settled in Butler Grove Township, in 1846, his parents being among the first 
settlers of the county. He assisted upon the homestead until the death of his father, 
when he took upon himself the management of the farm, and remained with his mother 
until 1856, when they removed from the homestead, and he joined the first surveying 
party of Kansas, where he re- 

[Page 216]

mained six months, and then returned to Montgomery County, and followed hunting until 
1863, when he married, purchased the farm he now resides upon, and spent the winter 
in getting out rails for fencing, and in the spring of 1864, moved upon the farm where 
he has since remained, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He is now the owner of 120 
acres of prairie land, under cultivation, and twenty acres of timber land. November 12, 
1863, he was married to Miss Cordelia CASS, a native of Montgomery County, born December 
25, 1832, and died November 24, 1868. She was the mother of three children, one of whom 
is living, viz., Abbie, born September 22, 1864. Politically, Mr. CRANE is a Republican. 
His brother, Norris, was the sixth child of Norris and Elizabeth CRANE, and was born at
Hamilton, Ohio, October 2, 1834. He received the principal part of his education in his
native county. His early life was spent in assisting his father upon the farm, and his 
first business for himself was teaming upon the Quincy & St. Louis Railroad, where he
remained one year. He then engaged as a farm hand and followed in that occupation several
years. He was elected by the people as Constable, the duties of which office he performed
about fifteen years. He clerked in a merchandising store at Butler one year, and was the
first person to sell goods at Raymond, where he was engaged with Van Ever & Van Darren 
as clerk. He remained with them something over a year, since which time he has been 
engaged in farming, in connection with his brother. He has served the people as Deputy
Sheriff one term, and has been an active member of the I. O. O. F. order for a number 
of years. Politically, his sympathies are with the Democratic party.

Morgan COSTLEY, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Greene County, Ill., July 21, 1836, 
and received his education in his native county, where his early life was spent upon 
the homestead farm. He came to Montgomery County in 1856, and purchased 144 acres of 
wild prairie land, which he improved, and upon which he remained until 1873, when he 
removed to his present place of residence, where he has 200 acres of as well cultivated 
land as can be found in Raymond Township. He has accumulated a large amount of his 
world’s good, and has at one time had in his possession about five hundred acres of 
land. The high state of cultivation under which he keeps his farm shows him to be a 
practical farmer, and well worthy of the high esteem in which he is held by the 
community. He has also been a prominent dealer in and feeder of stock, chiefly cattle 
and hogs. Although he grows all the crops usually raised upon a well-regulated farm, 
he makes a specialty of grain. He was married in Montgomery County in 1859, to Miss 
Melvina McGOWN, who was born in Greene County to Alexander and Louisa (McNEAL) McGOWN.
She has borne him six children, viz., William A., John P., Della, Charles, Alta L. and 
Perry, the latter of whom died in infancy. William COSTLEY, the father of Morgan, was 
a native of Kentucky, a farmer by occupation, and died in 1869. His wife, Elizabeth 
Mathis, was a native of Illinois; she died at Raymond in 1875. She was the mother of 
thirteen children, of whom Morgan was the fifth child. Politically, he is identified 
with the Democratic party. His wife is a member of the Baptist Church.

Edwin R. CARTER, grain and coal dealer, Raymond, was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio,
December 2, 1842; son of Daniel W. CARTER, a native of Maryland, born in 1811; a farmer; 
died in the spring of 1865. Jane TINKLER, his wife, was born in New York in 1819, and is
still living with 

[Page 217] 

subject, who left Ohio when ten years of age, and lived in Indiana until the fall of 
1869, when he removed to Pana, Ill., and eventually to Raymond. His first enterprise 
for himself was farming. On his arrival at Raymond he engaged in the coal and grain 
business, at which he still continues; built his elevator in the fall of 1879; commenced
without any available means, and is a self-made man, and his business ability and 
enterprise have added largely to the growth and prosperity of Raymond. He was married 
at Reynolds, White Col, Ind., February 25, 1866, to Miss Mary CARTMELL, who was born 
in Clark County, Ohio, April 3, 1845. They have four boys and two girls living, viz.: 
Bruce, Charles, Benjamin F., Asbury L., Ruth and Naomi; two boys died in infancy. He 
has served as Township Clerk, Collector, Assessor, and Police Justice, or Magistrate, 
for several years; was Sergeant in Company K, Eighty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
with Capt. J. SOUTHARD, regiment commanded by Col. HAMILTON; in service three years; is 
a Republican; has been a member of I. O. O. F. several years. Himself and family are
Methodists. His father’s family consisted of four children, viz.: Jesse, died in 1864, 
aged twenty-eight years; William, of Logansport, Ind.; Ferguson, in San Francisco, clerk 
in State House, and Edwin R., subject of sketch.

Prof. Charles E. COOK, Principal of schools, Raymond, was born in Fillmore, Putnam Co., 
Ind., July 12, 1857; son of William H. and Elizabeth (ROBINSON) COOK, he born in Kentucky
March 27, 1833, a physician by profession, and practicing at East Fork, Montgomery 
County; she, born in Indiana October 1, 1835, the mother of four children, still living,
viz.: Ella, Melville and Charles, William R. having died in infancy. The education of 
our subject was commenced in the common schools, from which he advanced to the academy 
at Hillsboro, where he remained several terms, teaching part of the time. He entered 
the Normal School at Valparaiso, Ind., in the fall of 1878, where he graduated the 
following year, his academic education having fitted him for the advanced classes, which 
he entered. After receiving his diploma, he entered upon the duties of his profession 
at Fillmore, but eventually became Principal of the public schools of Raymond, where he 
is still engaged, and in connection with those duties is engaged in the study of the law 
with the intention of fitting himself for and entering upon the practice of that 
profession. In Hillsboro, September 14, 1881, he was married to Miss Jennie B. SHIMER, 
born April 10, 1860, daughter of Isaac and Jane (GUNNING) SHIMER, natives of Ohio. Mr. 
COOK has served as County Assessor one year, and is a Democrat.

Joseph R. CHAPMAN, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born August 1, 1843; son of William 
CHAPMAN (see history), and was raised to a life of farming. April 25, 1867, he married 
Miss Catharine HENDRICKSON, born May 18, 1844, who died July 22, 1878, leaving three 
children - Robert, Gideon P. and Samuel Byron. July 29, 1880, he married Miss Isabel 
ROGERS, born April 18, 1856, daughter of William ROGERS, of Macoupin County. By this 
union Mr. CHAPMAN has one child, Grace Reynolds. Mr. CHAPMAN served during the late 
war as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Forty-third Illinois Infantry, under 
Capt. James F. STEWART. He is a Methodist, and a Republican. His wife is a member of 
the Christian Church.

Albert ESTABROOK, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Madison County, Ill., September 
13, 1830. The father of this gentleman, John ESTABROOK, was born in Boston, Mass., in 
March, 1799, and in 1818 settled in Madison County, where he engaged 

[Page 218] 

in farming up to the time of his death, which occurred May 2, 1881. His wife, Nancy 
WHITE, was born in North Carolina in August, 1795, and died in December, 1881. She was 
the mother of ten children, five boys and five girls, viz.: John, Edward, Lucy, 
deceased, Emeline, James W., Albert, Harriet, William, Clara and Sarah J., all of whom 
grew to man and womanhood, and all of whom, with one exception, are still living, and 
at the death of their parents the youngest was forty-two years of age. The subject of 
this sketch spent his early childhood in attending the common schools of the county, 
to which his educational privileges were limited, and in assisting his parents upon 
the homestead farm. At the age of eighteen years, he entered upon his career in life 
for himself, and concluded to try his fortune in the gold regions of California, where 
he remained about four years, at the end of which time he returned home and entered 
a grist-mill, owned by his father, at which occupation he continued until the sale of
the mill required him to look for a new occupation, and caused him to engage in a 
saw-mill, in Iowa. He soon tired of his work, and engaged in merchandising business 
in Wisconsin, where he remained about ten years, and then took a like position in a
merchandising store in Nebraska. In the spring of 1872, he turned his attention to
agricultural pursuits, and purchased a tract of land in Washington County, Kan., where 
he remained about two years, and he says it is his opinion that Kansas is just the 
place for a poor man to live if he wishes always to remain poor all his life; but if 
he wishes to get rich, go to Illinois, to which State he returned in 1874, and settled 
upon the place upon which he now resides, and where he has since been engaged in 
farming. His farm consists of 360 acres, which may be termed as three improved farms, 
each of which is well fitted up with all the buildings and other improvements necessary 
for comfort and convenience. Mr. ESTABROOK is considered one of the most practical 
farmers in the township, and, being a progressive man himself, he is always fully alive 
to all enterprises favoring the growth and prosperity of the county, and for the 
advancement of religious and educational privileges. He was married January 15, 1857, 
to Sarah Jane BOMLEY, who was born May 13, 1839, and died September 2, 1866. She was 
the mother of two children, viz.: Julia Nannie, born January 30, 1859, wife of Henry 
NEWMAN, living in Madison County; Sarah Minnie, born April 20, 1865. Mr. ESTABROOK’s 
second marriage occurred November 25, 1869, to Miss Crara KING, who was born November 
12, 1850, to Hilleary T. and Louisa (DORSEY) KING, natives of Calvert County, Md., he 
born November 10, 1815, and is still living in Davis County, Iowa, a farmer by 
occupation; she, born June 9, 1818, and died June 19, 1860. Mr. ESTABROOK took no 
active part in the rebellion other than to assist the Union soldiers by caring for 
their families at home. He has been a member of the order of I. O. O. F. for a number 
of years. He has been termed a black Republican, and says he is proud of the name.

William FITZJARRELL, retired farmer, Raymond, was born in Warren County, Ohio, October 
3, 1815. He received a limited education, and at fifteen years of age he was brought 
to Macoupin County, Ill., by his parents, but permanently located in Jersey County. In 
1849, he bought land and moved where Plainview now is, in Macoupin County, where he 
remained seven years. He then moved to Montgomery County, and settled 200 acres of land, 
on which he was the first settler. He erected a farm residence, and made all other
improvements, and by his en-

[Page 219]

ergy and industry he soon added to the above property, which numbered at one time nearly 
hour hundred acres. He devoted his time to growing the usual farm crops and raising 
stock, and, perhaps, no man has ever done more for the advancement, growth and prosperity 
of the agricultural interests of Montgomery County. He was noted for his hospitality, 
and his house was made the stopping place of all travelers. He was regularly ordained 
as a Baptist minister on Christmas Day, 1842, but previous to this had received a license 
and had been preaching in the neighboring towns and villages. For something over twenty 
years he filled the pulpit at Little Flock Church, at Honey Bend; has served the people 
of the county as Associate Judge four years. He was married in Greene County, November 
10, 1836, to Miss Elizabeth COURTNEY, born in Madison County February 20, 1817. They 
have six children, viz.: William R., Tabitha A., Cyrus, Naomi, Harriet and Meredith. 
All his sons are farmers, and his daughters are all married – Tabitha, wife of J. W. 
ASH; Naomi, wife of Isaac F. LAWLER; Harriet A., wife of James F. THOMAS. Mrs. 
FITZJARRELL was a daughter of William COURTNEY, a native of Kentucky, and one of the 
early settlers of Illinois. He settled in Madison County in 1809; his death occurred 
in May, 1835. His wife, Margaret BARNETT, was also a native of Kentucky; she died in 
1845. The father of William, the subject of this sketch, Eli FITZJARRELL, was a native 
of New Jersey, and one of the early settlers of Macoupin County; was a farmer and
stock-raiser by occupation in Warren County, Ohio, but had in an early day taught school 
in New Jersey. He died December 18, 1854. The mother of William, Tabitha KELSEY, was 
also a native of New Jersey. She was the mother of sixteen children, of whom William 
was the second. She died October 24, 1856. In early life, Mr. F. was identified with the
old Whig party, but since its day his sympathies have been with the Democratic party. He 
has always been an energetic worker in the cause of temperance.

Cyrus FITZJARRELL, farmer, P. O. Raymond, son of William and Elizabeth (COURTNEY)
FITZJARRELL, he born In Ohio in 1815; she born in Madison County. They have six 
children, Cyrus being the third child. Our subject received his education in the 
common schools of Macoupin and Montgomery Counties, and came to Montgomery County 
in February, 1857; remained with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age. 
In September, 1867, he was married to Miss Eliza A. GREENWOOD, a native of Kentucky, 
born in 1843, who removed with her parents to Macoupin County when about two years of 
age. In 1867, he, our subject, commenced farming on his own account by renting a farm
and working the same, and continued on the same farm as a renter until 1876, when he 
bought 165 acres, and in 1881 bought eighty acres more and added to it; now is the 
owner of 245 acres of choice land, upon which he makes the raising of wheat, oats and 
corn; also stock of good grades – mules, horses, hogs and cattle. Upon his farm stands 
a fine residence, erected from his own design in 1878. Upon his place he has a wind-mill,
scales, etc. Everything about his farm denotes his ability as a farmer. His farm is a 
portion of the same tract settled by his father when he first came to the county, valued 
at that time at $5 or $6 per acre, and is now worth $50 per acre. When our subject’s 
father came to the county there were no neighbors inside of two miles, and now houses 
dot the county as far as the eye can see. Plenty of deer, wolves, etc., were here when
his father came; farm is inclosed with hedge fence, probably five miles of hedging. 
Five children, three … 

[Page 220] 

living - Etta, Harry, and William Ross; all at home. He is a Democrat.

John GREENE, banker, Raymond. The grandfather of our subject was a native of Kentucky. 
In 1819, he sought a home in the then far West, and became a resident of Greene County, 
Ill. In many ways he will be long remembered as one who helped materially toward making
Greene County one of the most flourishing counties in the State, and which was named in 
honor of himself and his brother John. His death occurred in 1828. He was the father of 
five children, of whom Nelson, the father of our subject, was the fourth child. He was 
born in the year 1822, and grew up to be a stout and vigorous boy, early becoming inured 
to the hard work of a farm. He was married in 1847, to Ann E. GANO, a daughter of John 
S. GANO, a Virginian. In his own language - "I borrowed the clothes I wore to the 
marriage" - and subsequently borrowed many of the household utensils that formed the 
simple furniture of his cabin; but he worked hard, and thus paved the way for future 
success. He is the owner of 120 acres of land in one of the best townships of Greene 
County; is a whole-souled, liberal gentleman, and enjoys the confidence of his many 
friends. He was twice elected Justice of the Peace, serving eight years. He is the 
father of eight children, namely: Emily, wife of N. M. PERRY, Jr., at Olathe, Kan.; 
Mary, wife of Luther SNELL, of Carlinville, Ill.; Sarah, wife of Scott GREENE, of 
Tallula, Ill., a prominent farmer and stock-raiser; Lucy, Herschel, Robert, Clarence, 
and John, the subject of this sketch, who was born on the old farm homestead April 15, 
1847, receiving a liberal education from the common schools of his native place. His 
first venture in business was made with Mr. N. M. PERRY, in the town designated as Old 
Kane, where a general merchandising business was done. Subsequently, Mr. GREENE purchased 
the interest of Mr. PERRY, and conducted a successful business for a number of years. 
In September, 1880, he opened a general banking business at Raymond, and, in addition to
the duties of this business, he is Township Collector, elected by the Democratic ticket. 
He was married August 31, 1870, to Miss Emma E. PERRY, who was born in Greene County 
December 26, 1846. They have two children - Mabel, born August 18, 1871, and Morrison, 
born December 26, 1877. Mrs. GREENE was a daughter of Col. N. M. and Eliza (HILL) PERRY. 
He was born in Orange County, Va., November 30, 1806, and was the sixth child of James 
and Ann PERRY, who were of English descent. In 1864, he was nominated and elected as a
candidate of the Democratic party to a seat in the legislature of Illinois, and in that
responsible position acquitted himself with honor. His death occurred in 1875, and that 
of his wife in 1861. Mr. GREENE is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, Blue 
Lodge, Chapter and Commandery. He is a man of unsullied reputation, and well worthy of 
the high esteem in which he is held by the community at large.

George W. GREENAWALT, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Sangamon County, Ill., February 
24, 1831. As educational privileges were limited in the county at that early day, his
education was also limited to such as could be obtained in the common schools. He 
remained upon the homestead, assisting his father upon the farm, until he reached the 
age of twenty-one years, when he entered on the battle of life in reality, rented a farm, 
and continued in the occupation of a farmer; at the end of three years, he had accumulated
enough funds to enable him to purchase land, which he did, in his native county, the farm
consisting of 

[Page 221]

148 acres of unimproved prairie land, upon which he erected a residence and all other
buildings necessary for comfort and convenience, and also placed his farm in a high 
state of cultivation. At the end of sixteen years, he disposed of the property and 
removed to Macoupin County, where he remained five or six years, but, during two years 
of the time, carried on farming in Montgomery County. In March, 1874, he removed to 
Raymond and retired from active labor, but, being of an energetic nature, he is 
continually adding improvements to his already beautiful place. He was married, at
Springfield, Ill., February 2, 1854, to Miss Lemira HOLLOWAY, who was born in Kentucky
November 3, 1832, to George W. and Harriet (TADE) HOLLOWAY, natives of Kentucky, he 
living, she deceased. Jacob GREENAWALT, the father of George, was born in Kentucky; was 
a farmer by occupation; he died February 24, 1863, aged fifty-nine years; his wife, 
Mary BRADNER, was also a native of Kentucky, and is still living, at the age of 
seventy-two years; she is the mother of eight children, of whom George was the third 
child. He has now in his possession about four hundred acres of choice prairie land 
in Bois d’Arc Township, which is now rented, but all of which is under cultivation. 
Mr. GREENAWALT has been an active member of the order of A., F. & A. M. about sixteen 
years, and has attained the degree of Master Mason. Although possessing all the energy 
and enterprise of a thorough business man, his health has been impaired for a number 
of years, necessitating his retirement from active life. Politically, his sympathies 
are with the Democratic party.

Edward GRIMES, farmer, P. O. Raymond, born in Jersey County, Ill., May 24, 1843, son 
of Jarratt T. and Charity (BROWN) ROGERS. Jarratt, a native of Jersey County, was 
born January 29, 1820; he is a prominent farmer and stock-raiser, and has been 
identified with the growth and prosperity of his native county; his wife was a daughter 
of Joseph BROWN, who was a native of Virginia, and one of the early settlers of St. 
Charles, Mo., where she was born May 3, 1820; she died July 21, 1876, leaving nine 
children, of whom subject was the third. His education was commenced in his native 
county, and completed at Shurtleff College, Madison County, Ill.; he began the business 
of life as a farmer, on the farm whiere he now lives. He came to Montgomery County in 
1867, and, at Butler, in that county, October 7, 1868, married Emma E. SAMMONS, born 
in Lewis County, N. Y., January 4, 1850, daughter of John C. and Elizabeth (BEDELL) 
SAMMONS, natives of Lewis County, N. Y., he born August 18, 1821, follows the 
blacksmith’s trade at Butler; she, born September 1, 1827, died January 19, 1882; 
of her six children, three are now living, viz.: Emma (Mrs. GRIMES), Estella and 
Leonard E. Mr. and Mrs. GRIMES are the parents of five children – Eugene E., born 
August 18, 1869; Charles E., born October 15, 1871; Frankie, born May 16, 1873, died
September 3, 1873; Ernest Robert, born August 17, 1874; and Leroy, born January 5, 
1878. He owns 280 acres of fine farm land, which he keeps in a high state of cultivation; 
his house was built in the year that he came to Montgomery County; he is a Democrat; 
a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity since 1868; has served as Township Supervisor
for two terms; his wife has been for a number of years a member of the Presbyterian Church 
at Butler.

John P. HITCHINGS, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., May 20, 
1810, to John and Lydia (RAMSDELL) HITCHINGS. John HITCHINGS was born at Malden, Mass., 
July 8, 1773; he was a farmer; he removed to Otsego County, N. Y., in about 

[Page 222] 

1800, where he remained six years, and then removed to Onondaga County, N. Y., where 
he remained to the time of his death, which occurred in 1852; he was married, in 
Onondaga, N. Y., by Jonathan A. NICHOLAS, April 18, 1809, to Miss Lydia RAMSDELL, the 
mother of our subject; she was born in Greenwich, Mass., September 30, 1783, and she 
died in Onondaga, N. Y., in 1854; they were the parents of the following children: 
John P., our subject, May 20, 1810; Horace V., born July 8, 1812, dead; Daniel E., 
February 3, 1815, dead; Jane, October 27, 1817, now of Syracuse, N. Y.; Francis, 
August 8, 1819, dead; Eliza, June 6, 1821, now in Syracuse, N. Y.; James, May 14, 
1824, Iowa; Joseph O., August 2, 1826, died in California; Mary, December 17, 1828, 
Memphis, N. Y.. John P. HITCHINGS received his education at a select school, Skaneateles, 
N. Y.; he remained with his parents, receiving an education and assisting in tilling the 
soil of his father's farm; on June 13, 1831, left home and removed to the State of 
Vermont; there he engaged in farming, raising stock and general dairy farm. In 1834, 
he returned to the old homestead in New York, and remained two years; in 1836, bought 
a farm of fifty acres in the town of Cicero, N. Y.; remained but one year; in 1837, 
again returned to the old homestead for only one year; in 1837 went to Michigan, bought
farm of 160 acres, and removed there in spring of 1839; here he remained until 1854, 
and removed to his present residence; he there bought 200 acres of wild prairie, 
thirty-one acres of timber; here he has since remained, engaged in agricultural pursuits; 
he has also taught school winters since 1830, and every winter, with the exception of 
three. In 1833, August 22, in Vermont, he married Miss Eliza Ann HOUGHTON; she was born 
at Rowe, Mass., July 3, 1815, and died in Montgomery County, Ill., in December, 1858; 
she had borne him the following children: Lydia M. (dead), Frances C., Henry H., Horace 
E., Lydia M. (No. 2 - dead), John P. (dead), Ann Eliza, Laura J. (dead), James C., 
Charles E., Joseph M., Leon L. Mr. HITCHINGS was elected to the House of Representatives 
in Michigan in 1851, and served for one term, and in his town in Michigan held the 
following offices: School Inspector and Supervisor, held for fifteen years; Justice of 
the Peace, eight years; and in Montgomery County, was first Supervisor elected to the 
Raymond Township, and held only term; in politics, is identified with the Greenback 
party; was a member of Independent Order of Odd Fellow and Grange Lodges. In 1868, he 
married his second wife, Mrs. Elizabeth E. KINSER, a native of Ohio, who was born in 
1838. He is a member of the Universalist Church. She is a member of the Methodist 
Church.

Henry H. HITCHINGS, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., December 
27, 1837, to John P. and Eliza HITCHINGS (see history); at the age of eight years, 
removed to Jackson County, Mich., with his parents, where he received his education in 
the common schools. When nineteen years of age, he removed with his parents to Montgomery
County, Ill., and, two years later, entered into business for himself as a farmer, which
occupation he still follows; his first purchase of real estate was a small tract of land 
near Harvel, where he eventually accumulated 120 acres, which he sold in 1873; he then 
rented a farm near Raymond, where he remained two years, and at the end of which time 
he purchased his present farm, consisting of 200 acres, which was then unimproved 
prairie; he has erected fine buildings and made all other improvements necessary for 
comfort, and which are found upon all well regulated farms, and everything about the 

[Page 223] 

premises denotes his energy and ability as a first class farmer. In 1879, he purchased 
eighty acres of land near Harvel, which he is now renting. In November, 1859, he was 
married, in Montgomery County, to Miss Martha E. WELKER; she died in 1871, aged 
twenty-six years; she was the mother of four children, of whom George H. and Clara are 
still living; John, the oldest son, and an infant, deceased. In September, 1873, Mr.
HITCHINGS was again married, in Montgomery County, to Miss Jane KING, daughter of John 
KING (see history); she is the mother of four children, viz.: John M., Eliza Ann, William 
and Catherine. Mr. HITCHINGS is a member of the Masonic order at Raymond. Politically, he 
is identified with the Greenback party. Mrs. HITCHINGS is a member of the Methodist Church.

William F. HICKS, physician, Raymond, was born in Henderson County, Tenn., July 31, 1842, 
son of Butler C. and Martha E. (McPEAK) HICKS, he born in North Carolina, a farmer, coming
to Illinois in 1843, settling in Montgomery County and dying in 1863, aged sixty years; 
she, born in Kentucky, and still living, at the age of seventy years. They were the parents
of nine children - four boys and five girls - Isaan J., died in 1870; Susan C., died in 
1869, was the wife of John T. DONALDSON; Emarentha C., wife of W. F. DAVIDSON, of Eureka
Springs, Ark.; Hiram B., of Missouri; Elizabeth, wife of Jackson DONALDSON; Elvina L., 
wife of Sike BARBEE, of Oak Grove, Kan.; one who died in infancy; James F., living on the 
old homestead; and William F., our subject. The education of our subject was limited until 
he was sixteen years old, when he began studying by himself and teaching, which he 
continued eight years; in connection with his other duties, he studied medicine with Dr.
XXMES< of Litchfield, and attended lectures at the medical college of St. Louis, 
graduating from that institution in March, 1871, and immediately entered upon the 
practice of his profession at Raymond, where he has built up a very successful business; 
he is connected with the Library Association and Reading Club of Raymond; was also 
honored with the ad eundem degree at Chicago Medical College being one of two who 
passed examination for the degree; he is crop reporter for the department of agriculture 
at Springfield; also serves in same capacity for the crop bureau at Dwight, Ill.; the 
Doctor has served also as Township Collector. November 9, 1871, he was married to Miss 
Mary S. SEWARD, born at Seward’s Point February 6, 1856, daughter of Oscar and Mary 
(CASS) SEWARD, all of Montgomery County; himself and wife are members of the Methodist
Church, and he is a Democrat.

U. H. HARTWICK, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Raymond, was born in Jersey County, 
Ill., November 2, 1845, to James and Eliza (SKILLMAN) HARTWICK. He remained with his 
parents until twenty-one yeas of age, receiving such an education as the common schools
afforded, and assisting in tilling the soil of his father’s farm. At the age of eighteen, 
he enlisted in the Federal army, in Company D, Ninth Illinois Cavalry, with Capt. Pat 
KELLEY, under the command of Col. HARPER, and remained in the service twelve months. At 
the age of twenty-one, he left home, and embarked on his career in life as a farmer, in
Greene County, where he remained for a period of four years. In 1872, he removed to his
present residence, where he has since remained, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was
married, in Jersey County, In February, 1868, to Miss Mary E. GRIMES, who was born in 
Jersey County, in May, 1848 (see history of E. GRIMES); she has borne him six children, 
four of whom are 

[Page 224] 

Living, viz.: James F., William Henry, Belle and Frederick. Politically, Mr. HARTWICK 
is identified with the Democratic party; is an active member of the order of A., F. & 
A. M. at Raymond. His father was born in New Jersey in 1811; is a farmer by occupation, 
and resides in Macoupin County; his mother was also born in New Jersey, in 1810, and is 
still living. They are the parents of seven children, of whom our subject is the fourth
child. He is the owner of one of the finest horses in Montgomery County, called
“Independence, Jr.,” and is of St. Lawrence and Eagle stock; Mr. HARTWICK is also a 
breeder of Short-Horn stock.

Jacob HAUSER, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Germany August 11, 1842. At the age 
of twenty-two years, he emigrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania, but soon 
after joined a German army corps and entered the service, where he remained six months, 
and then went to Greene County, Ill., where he remained ten yeas, and came to Montgomery
County, and soon after purchased the farm he now lives upon; he has made nearly all the
improvements himself, and his surroundings show Mr. HAUSER to be an energetic and
enterprising man; his farm consists of eight acres of choice farm land, situated near
Raymond, and which, as a practical farmer, he keeps in a high state of cultivation, and 
which denotes his interest in public improvements and advancement of agricultural 
interests in the county. He received a very good education in Germany, and has always
performed the duties of a farm life. He was married, in Montgomery County, July 4, 1875, 
to Dora REESER, who was born in Germany, and came to America when twenty-one years of 
age; she is the mother of two children, viz.: Mena and Anna. Politically, Mr. HAUSER is
independent; devotes his time to growing the usual farm crops and raising stock. Socially, 
he enjoys the highest esteem of the entire community.

George Henry HOOSER, miller, Raymond; first business for himself was that of carpenter 
and joiner, which he followed sixteen years, when he turned his attention to farming, 
and which he followed ten years; he then built a grist-mill at Raymond and engaged in 
a general milling business, in which he has been successful and built up a large trade; 
had nothing but his hands with which to enter upon the battle of life, but, being 
possessed with an energetic spirit, determined to make his way in the world. His 
education was limited to the common schools. He was born in Todd County, Ky., August 
27, 1827; his father, William HOOSER, was a native of North Carolina, and was taken by 
his parents to Kentucky at a very early day, and when there were but few settlers in 
that State; he was a farmer, miller and distiller by occupation; his death occurred in 
March, 1880. His wife was Purety FAULK, also a native of North Carolina, and grew to 
maturity in Tennessee; her death occurred in 1879; she was the mother of seven children, 
of whom George was the third. He was married, in St. Louis, in 1858, to Lucy CHENEY, who 
was born in New York, daughter of Louis CHENEY; by her he had two children; she died in 
1862, and he was again married, in 1864, to Martha PETTJOHN, of North Carolina, by whom 
he has six children; his children are William, Dora, Ralph, Mary, Margaret, James, Frank 
and Lewis. Mr. HOOSER is a Republican, and is a prominent member of the Masonic order.

Corder JONES, Police Magistrate, real estate and collecting agent, Raymond, was born 
in Macoupin County, Ill., July 12, 1848; his education was limited to such as could 
be obtained in the common schools. When sev-

[Page 225] 

enteen years of age, he came to Montgomery County and engaged in farming in Litchfield
Township. In 1878, he located at Raymond, and worked at the carpenter and joiner’s 
trade, but eventually took up the trade of a painter, which he still follows. In 1880, 
he was elected on the people’s ticket to fill the office of Police Magistrate, the 
duties of which he has filled with marked zeal and integrity, and to the full satisfaction 
of the citizens of the village. In addition to his other duties, he is engaged in dealing 
in real estate and as collecting agent. He was married, in Montgomery County, December 
20, 1872, to Leonora A. GORE, who was born in St. Louis, Mo., August 4, 1856; she is 
the mother of two children, viz.: Olive W., born August 20, 1874; and Orion N., born 
August 8, 1878. Mrs. JONES was a daughter of John P. and Martha (HARDY) GORE, he born 
in Illinois, she in Kentucky. The father of the subject, Isaac N. JONES, was born in
Illinois, a farmer by occupation, and is also a Justice of the Peace in North Litchfield
Township; his wife, Keturah STONE, is a native of Tennessee; she is the mother of six
children, of whom Corder, our subject, is the third. Politically, he is identified with 
the Democratic party; he is also a prominent member of the I. O. O. F. order at Raymond.
Religiously, himself and wife are connected with the Baptist denomination at Honey Bend; 
is an advocate for the advancement of the cause of temperance.

Joel JONES, farmer, P. O. Raymond, born near Bunker Hill, Macoupin Co., Ill., April 11, 
1836, son of Simeon and Dorothy (STARKEY) JONES, Simeon, a farmer, and Treasure of 
Bunker Hill Township, Macoupin County, for fifteen years, was born in Madison County, 
Ill., February 2, 1811, and was identified with the growth of the county up to the time 
of his death, which occurred December 30, 1850; his wife, also a native of Madison 
County, born June 27, 1812, is now living with her son Joel, the subject of this sketch; 
of her ten children, of whom Joel was the third, six are living. Subject received such
education as the country schools of that day afforded, and entered upon the business of 
life as a farmer, and has, by his energy and industry, accumulated 180 acres of fine 
land near Raymond, which he, as a practical farmer, keeps highly cultivated; he has 
lately erected a large and commodious frame residence. He married, in Montgomery 
County, April 13, 1871, Mary C. BLACKWELDER, born in Cabarrus County, N.C., September 
5, 1843, daughter of Martin and Malinda (OVENSHINE) BLACKWELDER, both natives of 
Cabarrus County, N. C., and both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. JONES are the parents of five
children – Alva W., Jesse V., Charles E., Eugene D. and Emily A. He formerly was a 
Democrat, but is now a Greenbacker; is a member of the Baptist Church.

John KING, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Bourbon County, Ky., September 10, 1826; 
his education was limited to such as could be obtained in the old log schoolhouses of 
that early day; however, by observation and encounters with the world, he has attained 
a very good practical education. At the age of fifteen, he went with his parents to 
Indiana, and located in Shelby County, where he remained fourteen years, employed on a 
farm as farm hand. He entered upon the battle of life a poor boy, but, being possessed 
with a stout heart and an energetic spirit, he determined to make his way in the world. 
He came to Illinois in 1854, and permanently located in Montgomery County in October, 
1859, and rented the property he now owns; by his industry and economy, he soon was able 
to purchase eighty acres of land, which he has continued to increase until it now 

[Page 226] 

amounts to 210 acres of choice farm and timber land, which he has improved, and which, 
as a practical farmer, he keeps in a high state of cultivation. Mr. KING is one of the 
most prominent farmers in the township, and has always taken an interest in all public
improvements, and in the general growth and prosperity of Montgomery County; he makes 
no specialty of crops, although he has always been a large grower of corn and wheat, 
and handles no stock in particular but what he raises on his farm. He was married, in 
Shelby County, Ind., September 26, 1850, to Mary HACKER, who was born in Virginia March 
10, 1827; she has borne him three children - Margaret J., Thomas R. and Marshall E., 
the latter dying at the age of seventeen; Margaret is the wife of H. H. HITCHINGS, a
prominent young farmer of Raymond Township. Mr. KING is independent in politics, and, 
as he says, votes for men and principles; has been a member of the Masonic fraternity 
for a number of years. He has been twice married; his first wife died September 29, 1856, 
and his second marriage occurred June 7, 1857, to Catharine HACKER, who was born May 15,
1821, and is a sister to his first wife. Mr. KING has always been identified with the
temperance workers, and has been a member of the Christian Church since he was sixteen 
years of age.

Isaac F. LAWLER, retired farmer, Raymond, born in White County, Ill., May 9, 1836. His
grandfather, John LAWLER, was a native of Tennessee, a farmer by occupation, and, during 
the war of 1812, Captain of a pack-horse company. John T., the father of our subject, was 
the third son of a family of eight children; was born in Talladega County, Ala., March 22,
1805; a farmer, and, in his younger days, a pilot on the Wabash and Lower Mississippi 
Rivers; came to Fayette County, Ill., in 1831; remained one year; removed to White 
County, where he lived several years; thence to Greene County; stayed one year, and
subsequently moved to Montgomery County, where he died August 15, 1863. During his life, 
he represented the Democratic party of White County in the Legislature for two terms; 
had previously been a magistrate, and, for eighteen years, Colonel of the State militia;
during the Mexican war, he raised and equipped a company of soldiers, of which he was
Captain, but which was not called out, though held in readiness till the close of the 
war. His wife, Susan BRADBURY, born in Kentucky May 15, 1801, died December 1, 1860. 
Isaac, the subject of this sketch, and the eldest of a family of four children, received 
a fair education, and began life as a merchant at Butler, where he built the third 
building used for business purposes in that town; there he remained one year, and then,
giving up mercantile business, turned his attention to farming, which occupation he 
followed till 1865; in that year, he removed to Kansas City, Mo., where he followed 
the business of supplying contractors with sand for building purposes for twelve years; 
then, returning to Raymond, Ill., he purchased a farm, which he worked for a time, but
eventually retired from farm life, rented his property and moved to Raymond with his 
family. He has been twice married; his first wife, Nancy C. CAYCE, whom he married in
Montgomery County June 31, 1855, was born in Sangamon County, Ill., February 22, 1838, 
and died April 27, 1871; she was the mother of five children – Juliet, Jehu Henry, John 
A., Abigail A. and James Franklin; her father, Elijah CAYCE was born in Kentucky; ;her
mother, Dorcas A. WILLIAMS, was a native of Virginia, born May 18, 1806. He was married 
the second time, February 25, 1874, to Mrs. Naomi McGOWN, born in Macoupin County, Ill., 
June 15, 1849, daugh- 

[Page 227] 

ter of Rev. William and Elizabeth (COURTNEY) FITZJARRELL; from this second union one 
child has been born – Cyrus Floyd. Mr. LAWLER has been Constable and Commissioner for 
several years. In politics, he is independent; is a member of the Methodist Church, and 
of the I. O. O. F.

Elias W. MILLER, farmer, P. O. Raymond, is descended from the Knickerbockers of New York 
and the Huguenots of South Carolina, and the eldest of a family of ten children, and was 
born December 16, 1827, a mile and a half west of Eaton, Preble Co., Ohio, near the 
monument on an Indian mound, which marks the site of one of the bloody fights preceding 
St. Clair’s defeat. In 1840, his father removed to Somerville, Butler County, and in 
the summer of 1846, Elias W. enlisted, at Newport, Ky., as a private in Company D, 
Eighth Regiment United States Infantry, for five years, or during the Mexican war. 
Landing, under Gen. Scott, at Vera Cruz, his regiment bore its part in the siege of 
that fortress; it rendered conspicuous service in the affairs of the march to the 
capital, and distinguished itself in the sanguinary battles in the Valley of Mexico. 
In July, 1848, he was honorably discharged at New Orleans, and returned to his home 
in Preble County. Marrying Miss Eminoh C. SWALLOW in the summer (May) of 1850, he 
departed in the fall for the West; reaching Alton by the river, he walked to Hillsboro, 
and, in May, located his land warrant for a quarter of a section in Butler Grove 
Township, about two miles north of Butler, on the great road from Hillsboro to 
Springfield. Youth, health, courage, hopefulness, industry, land and a prudent wife, 
are the thresholds to wealth; while not neglecting his farm, Mr. MILLER cut cord-wood 
and worked on the railroad, and for two years was Roadmaster of the Western Division 
of the Alton & Terre Haute Railway; he tilled his land well, and was fully rewarded; 
several times be sold his farm, only to buy another in the neighborhood, and in 1866 
became the owner of the extensive domain near Raymond widely known as Seward’s Point. 
In the modernized aspect of his home, the traveler will see little to remind him of 
the brick house which, in 1827, was the best residence in the county, and had its 
nearest neighbor to the north a day’s journey distant. During his minority, he 
attended school only six months, going only on the days when it rained too hard to 
work on the farm; yet he is well educated in whatever helps a man to succeed in his 
sphere of life; his home abounds with books and newspapers, and he was a keen politian;
mathematically, he is a plus man, and is best described by positive qualities; when 
a political party in his State formally denounced in 1863, the further “offensive 
prosecution of the war,” Mr. MILLER penetrated the order of the Golden Circle – which, 
in its sympathy with the South, aimed to precipitate the county into armed resistance 
to the Government – compelled its leaders to avow their schemes and purposes, and 
refused their favors; once discovered, their plans came to naught, and at last were 
publicly abandoned. He was conspicuous in the Grange movement; no man in the county 
was more industrious or valuable in the local canvass which, in 1873, defeated the 
dominant party and restored the normal relation between the office holder and the 
tax-payer. Thrice elected Supervisor of Raymond, he was seeking a seat in the 
Legislature, when the death of his wife, in 1876, led him to give over those labors 
and quit the political arena. In April, 1877, he married Miss Lucy J. LAMSON, of 
Ipswich, Mass., and home and farm life now bound his ambition; he has thriven in 
fortune, and is hospitable and prudent.

[Page 228]

Ishmael McGOWN, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Johnson County, Ill., June 14, 
1821. He was removed by his parents to Greene County in 1830, where he received 
his education, and where he remained with his parents, assisting in tilling the soil 
of his father's farm. At the age of twenty years, he left the homestead and entered 
upon his career in life as a farmer; in 1850, he entered eighty acres of wild prairie 
land in Montgomery County, and, in the year following, removed with his family to 
their new home, and where he still resides; he made all the improvements himself, such 
as building fences, orchards and all other improvements necessary for comfort, and 
which are found upon all well-regulated farms; by his energy and economy, he continued 
to add to his original purchase, and at one time had in his possession 200 acres, and 
at the present owns 160 acres of fine farm land, which, as a practical farmer, he keeps 
in a high state of cultivation, which denotes him to be one of the successful farmers 
of the county. He was married, in Greene County, August 4, 1840, to Clarinda JACKSON, 
who was born in Greene County March 10, 1823; she is the mother of eight children, 
three of whom are living, viz.: Shadrach, William A. and Anderson Monroe. Mrs. McGOWN 
was a daughter of Shadrach, Jackson a native of North Carolina, and one of the early 
settlers of Greene County; his death occurred in Texas, in May, 1879; his wife, 
Prudence FINLEY, was born in Madison County; she died December 31, 1855; the result 
of their union was eight children, of whom only three are now living. Samuel McGOWN, 
the father of our subject, was born in Tennessee, and was one of the early settlers 
of Greene County, where he followed the occupation of a farmer for a number of years;
his death occurred in 1861. The mother of our subject, Nancy WESTBROOKS, was born in 
North Carolina, but raised in West Virginia; she died in the spring of 1852; they were 
the parents of eight children, four of whom are still living, and of whom Ishmael is 
the third child. Politically, he is identified with the Democratic party. Religiously,
himself and wife have been connected with the Christian Church for a number of years.
Although Mr. McGOWN grows all of the usual farm crops, he makes grain his principal 
crop. He is a public-spirited man, and has always taken an interest in the growth and
prosperity of the county, and, when Raymond was first laid out, furnished a large 
portion of the land now covered by the village, and perhaps no man has taken more 
interest and done more for the prosperity of the town than Mr. McGOWN.

William A. MAXEY, merchant, senior member of the firm of MAXEY & STARR, grocers, 
Raymond, was born in Montgomery county, Ill., August 27, 1856, and received a 
common-school education; he remained upon the homestead until he attained the age 
of twenty years, when he entered into the mercantile business as clerk at Hillsboro; 
he followed in that occupation at different places until November, 1880, when he 
entered into business for himself at Raymond; he was very successful in his new 
enterprise, but, at the time Raymond was destroyed by fire, he was one of the 
sufferers, his stock being nearly all destroyed; he did not despair, however, but
immediately secured a new room and continued the business, which gradually assumed 
larger proportions, and now, in connection with his partner, Mr. STARR, has the
satisfaction of conducting a large and steadily increasing trade, the result of a 
thorough business knowledge, energy and enterprise; their store is centrally located 
on the principal street of Raymond, and any one may feel sure of a welcome and 
receiving kind atten-

[Page 229] 

tions from the gentlemanly proprietors. Wilson M. MAXEY, the father of our subject, 
was born in Kentucky, and was one of the early settlers of Montgomery County; is a 
farmer by occupation, and still living upon the place of his original purchase; his 
wife, Eliza NEWCOMB, was a native of Virginia; she died in about 1864; was the mother 
of seven children, of whom William was the third child. Politically, his sympathies 
are with the Democratic party; he was elected by the people of Raymond, in the spring 
of 1882, to fill the office of City Clerk, which office he still holds; he also holds 
the office of Secretary in the I. O. O. F. order at Raymond, of which he has been an 
active member for about two years.

J. G. MOORE, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Holmes County, Ohio, in 1828, the son 
of a farmer, who moved to Missouri in an early day (1842), when there were no 
railroads, but when land could be bought for $1.25 per acre; they settled in Gasconade
County, and began operations in true pioneer style, making their own plows and living 
in the simplest manner; they broke the land up, however, burned timber out for a 
clearing, and finally had excellent farms; the necessaries of life were hard to get 
hold of, and all groceries had to be obtained in St. Louis, a hundred miles away. Mr. 
MOORE married in 1852. During the war, he was engaged buying horses and mules for the
Government, but lost a good deal of property in consequence of military raids through 
the section where he resided. In 1865, he moved to Montgomery, where he has since 
followed farming; he has had quite an eventful life; has seen many ups and downs; has
made and lost a great deal of money, but, thanks to his energy and economy, is now
comfortable in this world’s goods.

Hezekiah MOORE, farmer, P. O. Raymond, born in Holmes County, Ohio, November 7, 1833; 
son of Thomas MOORE, born in Ohio, a stone-mason by trade, who moved to Missouri in 
1840, and was one of the first settlers of Gasconade County; his death occurred in 
July, 1852. Catharine BEST, wife of Thomas and mother of subject, born in Ohio, died 
in March, 1872; she was the mother of twelve children, of whom Hezekiah was the sixth. 
His education was limited to such as could be obtained in the common schools in the 
country at that day. He commenced his career in life as a farmer, remaining in Missouri
until 1868, when he removed to Montgomery County and purchased the farm on which he 
now lives, and made all the improvements; the surroundings and state of cultivation 
show Mr. MOORE to be a practical farmer; since his advent into the county, he has been
identified with its growth and prosperity, particularly with its agricultural interests. 
He was married, in Missouri, May 9, 1860, to Rose Ann COLEMAN, who was born in Missouri
January 9, 1841; they have four children, viz.: John, Emma, Thomas and Lillie; and have
lost three, viz.: Hattie, Nettie and Willie, all of whom died in infancy. Mrs. MOORE is 
a daughter of Ephraim COLEMAN, a native of Ohio, a farmer by occupation, and now living
with the subject of this sketch. Nancy BEST, a native of Ohio, died in December, 1879. 
Mr. MOORE has served the people as Road Commissioner several years; entered the service 
in Company M, Fifty Iowa Cavalry, with Capt. D. A. WATERS, regiment commanded by Col. 
W. W. LOWE; remained in the service three years. Politically, his sympathies are with 
the Republican party; he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for several years;
before the war, he was connected with the I. O. O. F. at Linn, Mo., but, during the 
war, the order gave up its charter. He owns 280 acres of choice farm land, on which 
he raises con-

[Page 230] 

siderable stock, besides the usual crops; has also 150 acres of land southeast of 
Raymond, and twenty-eight acres of improved town property in Raymond. He and his wife 
are connected with the Methodist Church.

Millard F. MAY, Clerk of township and village, and carpenter and joiner by occupation,
Raymond, was born at Girard, Macoupin Co., Ill., March 15, 1860, son of Jesse W. and 
Mary (KITZMILLER) MAY, he a prominent stock-dealer, born in Tennessee in 1830, who 
came to Illinois in 1855; she, also of Tennessee, born in 1835; they had five children 
– Florence, wife of J. A. BRADLEY; Millard F., Mary, Dora and Jessie; the latter died 
when four years of age. Our subject, after receiving an education in the schools of 
his native county, learned the carpenter and joiner’s trade, and has assisted in 
building some of the principal business blocks of Raymond; he is at present (1882) 
engaged in building a residence for himself on one of the principal streets of Raymond.
October 31, 1881, he married Miss Belle MILLER, born in Montgomery County April 21, 
1862, daughter of Lemuel G. and Lucinda (LEE) MILLER, both of Greene County, Ill. Mr. 
MAY is a Freemason and a Democrat.

Joseph W. POTTS. Joseph W. POTTS, the subject of this sketch, was born on a farm near
Chapman’s Point, in the north part of Macoupin County, Ill., on the 19th of September, 
A. D. 1841, where his parents remained until the year 1852, when they moved to near 
the head of Bear Creek, in same county, where they carried on the business of 
agriculture for five years, at the end of which time his father purchased a large 
tract of land at and near Pleasant Hill, Montgomery CO., Ill., to which place they 
moved in the fall of 1857. Joseph W. remained on the farm working with his parents 
until his marriage, on the 12th day of March, A. D. 1862, with Miss Mary J. MILLER,
daughter of Lemuel G. MILLER, one of the then leading farmers and stock-raisers of
Montgomery County, Ill. William B. POTTS, father of Joseph W. POTTS, was born in 
Frankfort, Ky., on the 22d day of February, A. D. 1814, where he resided until the 
year A. D. 1820, when he emigrated to Illinois with his father, Richard F. POTTS, and 
his brother and sister, Jessie POTTS and Millie POTTS, and settled in Morgan County, 
near Old Berlin. After his father was comfortably situated, he hired himself as a farm 
hand to Jacob STRAWN, the great cattle king of Illinois, for whom he worked constantly
until his marriage with Miss Rhoda A. RICHARDS, of Macoupin County, Ill.; the issue of 
this marriage was twelve children – six boys and six girls. Joseph W., the subject of 
this article, was the fifth in order of birth. Richard F. POTTS, grandfather of Joseph 
W., was born on the 4th day of July, 1776, near the present site of Bentonville, N. C.,
where he resided until he was four years old, when his father, Washington A. POTTS, 
moved to Kentucky, near Munfordsville, where he erected a water-mill on one of the
tributaries of Green River; after many days of arduous labor and great privation, having 
to work by day and watch the prowling red man by night, the mill was built; but the 
thinly settled country necessarily brought him poor returns for the money and labor
invested; finally, on Christmas night, in the year 1786, a prowling band of Indians 
burned the mill and tomahawked the whole family, consisting of sixteen, with the 
exception of Richard F., who made his escape across the hills to the celebrated 
Mammoth Cave, where he subsisted for several days on the blind fish that inhabit 
its waters; he was finally rescued by a party of hunters, consisting of Daniel BOONE 
and others, and taken to Boonesboro, where he was kindly 

[Page 231] 

cared for in the family of BOONE until his uncle, Christopher A. POTTS, commander of 
a British man-of-war cruising off the coast of South Carolina, was notified of his 
safety and whereabouts, ordered him to be sent to Charleston, S. C., where he met 
him and took him on board his ship, where he served in the capacity of midshipman 
for several years in Her Majesty’s service. At the age of eighteen, he returned to
Owensboro, Ky., where he resided until his marriage with Miss Elizabeth CUMMINGS, when 
he located on a farm near what is known as the Yellow Banks, on the Kentucky River, 
where he remained until he emigrated to Illinois. Washington A. POTTS, commander of 
the British man-of-war, as before mentioned, received orders from Commodore DOWNIE,
commander of the British fleet near Quebec, to proceed to Quebec, near the mouth of 
the St. Lawrence River; his ship was caught in a storm and wrecked, with the loss of 
the entire crew, and among them Washington A. POTTS perished, in the year A. D. 1814.
Ezekiel E. POTTS, brother of the deceased, ordered the remains to be returned to North
Hampton, England, the home of the family, where they were sepultured in the family
cemetery; a beautiful monument marks the family resting place; he who passes that way 
can read the monumental inscription; it is as follows: “Here resteth Solomon Q. POTTS,
father of Ezekiel and Washington A. POTTS; also his son Ezekiel, who lost his life in 
Her Majesty’s service (Queen Anne) in foreign lands. May they rest in the hope of a
glorious resurrection.” We will deal no more with the ancestors of the subject of 
our sketch; suffice it to say they are of pure Norman origin. We will now return to 
Joseph W. POTTS. After his marriage, in 1862, he settled on a farm near Pleasant Hill, 
in Montgomery County, where he resided for eleven years, at the expiration of which 
time, he, becoming wearied with farm life, entered into the mercantile business in 
Raymond, Ill., a town which sprang up as if by magic on the Wabash Railroad in the 
year 1871, where he has since constantly resided. During his residence in Raymond, 
Ill., he has been engaged in various pursuits of life, filling many offices of trust, 
and is now editor and proprietor of the Raymond Independent, a weekly newspaper of 
large circulation and unlimited influence wherever circulated. Joseph W. POTTS is 
now forty-one years old, hale and hearty, and bids fair to live long and enjoy the 
rewards of a well-regulated life, and the blessings of his wife and their two sons, 
Lemuel L. POTTS and Roy A. POTTS.

John C. REBHAN, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Germany December 6, 1843, and 
brought to New Orleans by his parents when he was quite young; his father is living 
in St. Clair County, this State, where he owns and cultivates a fine farm. Our subject 
was educated partly in New Orleans and partly in St. Clair County, and, when, a youth,
learned the saddle and harness making business, but eventually became a farmer. May 
10, 1870, in St. Clair County, he married Miss Emma E. SANDICK, a native of that 
county, born April 2, 1847, and from which union has resulted four children – James 
L., William Charles, Edward A. and Emma Virginia. Mr. REBHAN held a position in the 
railway postal service for ten years, after which he came to Raymond and purchased 
the farm on which he now lives, a fine tract, highly improved, of 160 acres of land; 
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery, and is a
Republican. 

William SCHMIDT, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Germany August 21, 1834, where 
he received his education in his mother  

[Page 232] 

tongue, and assisted his father upon the old homestead farm until he was fifteen years 
of age, when he engaged as a farm hand, receiving but a very small compensation for 
his labor; he followed this occupation for about three years, when he concluded to try
his fortunes in the New World, and emigrated to America, where he found himself a 
stranger in a strange land; but, being possessed with a stout heart and the energy
necessary to make his own way in a strange country, he set to work with a will, and 
rented a farm in Morgan County, Ill., where he remained eight years, and by his energy 
and industry, succeeded in laying up enough funds to enable him to make a purchase of 
land for himself he purchased a part of the property he now owns, and removed with 
his family to Montgomery County, where he has continued to add to his possessions 
until he now owns 200 acres of as fine land as can be found in Raymond Township, and 
which he has improved by way of buildings, orchards, fences, etc., until it will 
compare with any of the well-improved farms of the county, and places Mr. SCHMIDT in 
the list of practical farmers. His father, Henrick SCHMIDT, was a native of Germany, 
and was a farmer by occupation; he died in 1862, leaving his wife and five children 
to mourn his loss; his wife, Louisa PASCHER, survived him two years. William was the
youngest child. He was married, in Morgan County, March 15, 1858, to Hannah SCHELP, 
who was born in Germany in November, 1843, and brought to America when but eleven years 
of age; she is the mother of six boys and six girls, viz.; Jennettie, wife of Henry 
WEBER; Christ William, George Henry, Louisa Rachel, wife of Aug BEDER; Emma Anna, 
Carolina Louisa, John Henry, Harmon, Minnie Anna, Dora Gusta, Edward Martin, Henry 
Phillip - all of whom are still living. Mrs. SCHMIDT is a daughter of Philip SCHELP, 
a native of Germany and a prominent farmer of Morgan County, where his death occurred
November 29, 1863; his wife, Rachael LAKERS, was also a native of Germany, and is 
still living in Morgan County, and is the mother of five children, three of whom are 
still living, viz.: William, a wagon-maker in Morgan County; George, a farmer in same
county; and Hannah, the wife of Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. SCHMIDT has a brother and sister living 
in this county, viz.; Chris and Henrietta, widow of W. GANOEFT. Politically, Mr. SCHMIDT 
is a Democrat, and religiously, himself and wife are connected with the Lutheran Church.

D. Will STARR, merchant, Raymond, of the firm of MAXEY & STARR, was born in Greensboro,
Guilford Co., N. C., November 17, 1853, where his early childhood was spent in 
assisting his father upon the homestead farm and in attending the common schools of 
his native county. At the age of ten years, he left home and attended an academic 
school two years, at the end of which time he began learning the painter's trade, 
and followed in that occupation about fourteen years in different localities; he 
then purchased a livery stable at Raymond, Ill., but sold his interest in a few 
months, and, on March 15, 1882, became one of the firm of MAXEY & STARR, dealers 
in groceries, at which business they have become more than ordinarily successful, 
owing to their strict attention to business and the pleasing manner in which they 
attend to the wants of their many customers; in business, they are energetic and
enterprising, and socially, enjoy the highest esteem of the community at large. Mr. 
STARR, the junior member of the firm, sought a home in the North when he was about
twenty-two years of age, and eventually located at Raymond. He was married, at 
Palmer, Christian County, December 25, 1881, to Miss Maggie LEE, who was born December 
25, 1857, daughter of 

[Page 233] 

Capt. E. T. and Mary A. (HILL) LEE, he a native of Virginia, one of the early settlers 
of Bear Creek, Christian County, a very prominent farmer and stock-dealer, at which
business he has become very wealthy; his wife, Mary, is a native of Kentucky, and 
still living. Daniel M. STARR, the father of our subject, is a native of North Carolina,
and still living in his native State, engaged in farming and fruit-raising; his wife, 
Sarah M. LOW, is also a native of North Carolina, and is still living; she is the mother 
of eleven children, of whom D. Will is the fourth child. Although he does not take much
interest in politics, he is identified with the Republican party.

David Y. SCHERER, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Montgomery County February 3, 
1842; received a common-school education and entered upon his career as a farmer, and 
the land he first owned is still in the possession of the family; purchased his present
property in 1869, and has made all of the improvements himself, and the surroundings 
show him to be an energetic and enterprising man and a practical farmer; his farm 
consists of 160 acres of choice farm land, which he keeps in a high state of cultivation;
he devotes his time to growing the usual farm crops and raising stock of all kinds; he 
has taken an active part in public improvements, and in the advancement of agricultural
interests in his neighborhood, and in the educational privileges he also takes a 
leading part. He was married, in Montgomery County, December 11, 1862, to Louisa 
MORRELL, who was born in Ohio; they have six children, viz.: Mary E., William J., 
Robert A., Oliver F., Alice R. and May L. Mrs. SCHERER was a daughter of Robert and 
Rebecca (SPANGLER) MORRELL. David SCHERER, the father of the subject, was a native 
of North Carolina, a farmer by occupation; he died in 1860; his wife, Mary Elizabeth
WAGGONER, is also a native of North Carolina, still living, in Butler Township; she 
was the mother of fourteen children, of whom David is the eleventh; has been School
Director; is a Republican; himself and wife are members of the Lutheran Church.

Scott S. TILDES, druggist, Raymond, was born in Montgomery County, Ill., October 18, 
1853, son of Dr. Joseph G. and Ann W. (HILL) TILDEN; he born in Vermont and came to
Illinois in 1837, settling in Montgomery County, and still living, in Raymond; she 
born in Kentucky, still living, and the mother of nine children; those living are 
Joseph, Jr., living in Alabama; John H., physician at Litchfield; Scott S., our 
subject; Emeline, wife of H. C. COLEMAN, of St. Louis; Seth H., living in Raymond; 
and George A., at home. Our subject, after receiving an education in the common 
schools, entered a drug store at Nokomis as clerk, where he remained one and a half 
years, then moved to Kansas City, where he remained two years, and then returned to 
Raymond and worked for his father eight years, and entered into business for himself 
in September, 1880, in Raymond, where he conducts the drug, oil, paint, lead, wall 
paper and fancy goods business; he has lately moved into a new and commodious room, 
fitted up sepectially for his business. In Montgomery County, January 1, 1879, he 
married Mary A. NEAL, born March 4, 1862, and one child has blessed the union, Anna 
May, born March 4, 1881; his wife is a member of the Methodist Church.

Gilbert H. WHITEHEAD, farmer, P. O. Raymond, is a native of Louisiana, having been 
born in that State December 18, 1846, and came to Illinois in 1867, first settling 
in Jersey County, whence he came to Montgomery County one year later. His father, 
Wyatt J. WHITEHEAD, was a native of

[Page 234] 

South Carolina, a farmer by occupation, who married Miss Adeline ZEIGLER, of 
Mississippi, and who was the mother of five children, Gilbert H. being the second; 
the father died in 1873, and the mother followed her husband the next year. Mr. 
WHITEHEAD, our subject, married, in Montgomery County, in 1875, March 11, Miss Fanny
DEVASIER, a native of Montgomery County, born March 26, 1853; four children have been 
born of this marriage - Rosa Lee, Samuel, Nancy and Zenora. He owns 131 acres of choice
land, and affiliates with the Democratic party.

Samuel H. YOUNG, farmer, P. O. Raymond, was born in Clermont County, Ohio, December 
12, 1852, son of Orson and Sarah (HALL) YOUNG, he a farmer and mechanic, born in New 
York State; she a native of Ireland – both of whom are living, in the township of 
Harvel, Montgomery County, this State; they are the parents of six children, Samuel 
H. being the second, who, like his father, is a farmer. Our subject married, in 
Montgomery County, December 31, 1871, Mary Amanda GRUMMON, born in Madison County May
29, 1857, daughter of John L. GRUMMON, of St. Clair County, Ill., from which union 
have been born four children – John O., Samuel L., S. Catharine and Irene; Minnie died 
in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. YOUNG are members of the Methodist Church, and he is a 
Greenbacker in politics.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.org/il/montgomery/bios/raymond.txt

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