Lake County IN Archives Biographies.....Cheney, Byron M. 1840 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/in/infiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 1, 2007, 8:44 pm Author: T. H. Ball (1904) BYRON M. CHENEY. Byron M. Cheney, who is engaged in the practice of law and occupies the position of justice of the peace in East Chicago, ranks among the representative residents of that place, where he has so directed his energies as to win substantial success in business and at the same time gain the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been associated. As a public official he has made a creditable record, his course being marked by the utmost fidelity to duty, while his decisions are characterized by strict impartiality and fairness. Mr. Cheney is a native son of Illinois, his birth having occurred in Jerseyville, Jersey county, on the 2nd of September, 1840. He comes of a family of English lineage and his ancestors were among the passengers of the Mayflower, who made the first settlement in New England. The paternal grandfather, Prentiss Dana Cheney, was a native of Vermont and a physician by profession. He served his country in the war of 1812, participating in the battle of Lake Champlain, and aided largely in the care of the wounded. He was twice married, first wedding Miss Murray, by whom he had five children, while his second wife was a Miss Goodell. Dr. Cheney reached a very advanced age, dying full of years and honors. Murray Cheney, son of Dr. Prentiss D. Cheney, was born in the Green Mountain state and became a member of the bar. Establishing his home in Illinois, he engaged in the practice of law in Jersey county and also held the office of sheriff there for two terms. It was in the year 1833 that he left his home in New England for the central west, taking up his abode at what was then called Hickory Grove, but is now the site of Jerseyville. He afterward entered some land in Sangamon county, Illinois, in 1852, and this is still in possession of his children. In 1857 he removed to that county, locating upon his farm (the Blue Mound) in Talkington township, near Springfield, where he carried on agricultural pursuits until the fall of 1861. He then removed to Virden, Illinois, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1885, when he was seventy-six years of age. In early manhood he wedded Miss Caroline Pickett, also a native of Vermont and a daughter of Gilead Pickett, who was born in the same state and was of English lineage. He was a blacksmith by trade, served his country in the war of 1812 and died when well advanced in years. In his family were seven children, including Mrs. Cheney, who survived her husband for a long period and passed away on the 6th of July, 1903, when more than ninety years of age. Both were members of the Missionary Baptist church and Mr. Cheney had served his country as a soldier in the Mexican war. They were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom five are now living: Giiead P., a resident of Jerseyville, Illinois; Byron M.; Martha C, the wife of Oliver S. Green, of Chicago, Illinois: John George, of Lyons, Colorado; and William, of Virden, Illinois. Judge Byron M. Cheney spent the first fifteen years of his life in Jerseyville, Illinois, and from the age of six years attended the public schools. Later he worked upon a farm and afterward engaged in railroad contracting and levee work on the Illinois river. In 1888 he arrived in East Chicago and established a coal and lime yard. The following year he was elected justice of the peace and has continuously filled the position since that time, with the exception of one term. As a business man he has ever been found reliable and trustworthy, manifesting also the progressive spirit of the age, and in office he is known for his fearless performance of his duty and his promptness and fidelity in the discharge of every task which devolves upon him. On the 22nd of February, 1865, occurred the marriage of Judge Cheney and Miss Sarah Beatty, a daughter of Francis and Jane Beatty, but in the following March the Judge was called upon to mourn the loss of his young wife. Several years later he married Miss Mary Van Zandt, a daughter of John and Anna (Barber) Van Zandt. Mrs. Cheney's grandfather, John Van Zandt, was in the war of the Revolution, having entered the ranks when only 12 years of age. She is a member of the Methodist church and an estimable lady who. like her husband, shares in the warm regard of her many friends. Judge Cheney belongs to the Masonic fraternity and has attained the Royal Arch degree. Politically he is a Republican, earnest in his advocacy of the principles of the party, and he served as school trustee in Sangamon county, Illinois, for a long period. He and his wife now reside at No. 4815 Olcott avenue in East Chicago, where he owns a good home, and in addition to this he has two other desirable lots in East Chicago, and a part of the old homestead farm in Sangamon county, Illinois. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor; and to-day he is numbered among the substantial citizens of the county. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of the middle west and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and co-operation to any movement calculated to benefit this section of the country or advance its wonderful development. Additional Comments: Extracted from: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Genealogy and Biography OF LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA, WITH A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY 1834—1904 A Record of the Achievements of Its People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. REV. T. H. BALL OF CROWN POINT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO NEW YORK THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1904 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/lake/bios/cheney632gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/infiles/ File size: 6.2 Kb