his majority. He then began farming for himself
in Ross County, Ohio. He married Margaret
Stipp, who died a year later, leaving one child,
who is now Mrs. Margaret Scliultz, of this county.

In 1840, Mr. Purget removed to Madison County,
Ind., and there married Lydia Mustard, a native
of Pike County, Ohio. Securing a tract of land
which was covered with beech trees, he cleared it
of the timber, and there made his home until B'eb-
ruary, 1865, when he came to Iroquois County,
and bought two hundred and seventy acres of
land — his present farm. He now owns two hundred
and forty acres, all in one body, and an eighty-
acre tract near Iiy. The home farm is under a
high state of cultivation and supplied with good
buildings and all necessary improvements. He
has been veiy successful and now owns valuable
property. On one occasion his stable was de-
stroyed by fire and two horses were burned to
death, but with characteristic energy he made
good his loss.

The death of Mrs. Purget occurred November
28, 1891, and her remains were interred in Bel-
mont Cemetery. At her death she left the follow-
ing children: Frederick, who was born in Indiana,
and now resides in Oklahoma, served throughout
the war in the Eighth Indiana Infantiy and was
twice wounded; William is a farmer of Belmont
Township; Henry Stipp is engaged in farming
near Woodland; Jasper aids in the operation of
the home farm; Newton, who with his brother
carries on the old homestead, married Alice Will-
iams, daughter of William Williams; Almira is the



wife of Charles Montgomery, a resident of Iowa;
Orpha is the wife of Charles Crank, who is living
in Chicago; Amanda is the wife of George Alhands,
of Belmont Township; Jane is the wife of Squire
Laird, who resides near Milford and is represented
elsewhere in this volume; and Philip is married
and resides on a part of his father's farm.

Mr. Purget is an adherent of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church and gives liberally of his means to
aid in its support. He cast his first Presidential
vote for William Heniy Harrison and his last bal-
lot for the grandson of the Tippecanoe hero, Hon.
Benjamin Harrison. He first supported the AViiig
party and since the organization of the Republican
party has been a stalwart advocate of its principles
but has never been an office-seeker. He has led a
busy and useful life. By his economy, industry
and well-directed efforts he has acquired a hand-
some property, and by his integrity and fair deal-
ing has won universal confidence.



=^;v



"^^l R. LA BOUNTY, an enterprising and well-
known farmer who operates the Lyman
homestead on section 25, Martinton Town-
ship, is a native of the Empire State, his
birth having occurred in Clayton County, on the
24tli of February, 1850. His father, Abraham
La Bounty, was born in the same county, and the
grandfather, Joseph La Bounty, was also a native
of New York and of French descent. The father
of our subject grew to manhood in the county" of
his nsitivity, and there married Sarah Raymond,
also a native of New Y'ork. He followed farming
for a number of years after his marriage and then
came to the West with his fainil3-, locating in Iro-
quois County, 111., where he developed a farm and
reared his family. He met his death by accident,
being drowned in Sugar Creek in Maj^ 1871. His
wife still survives him and resides with her son in
Nuckolls County, Neb.

The subject of this sketch came to Illinois with
his father and grew to manhood in this county.
His educational advantages in early life were
quite limited, but he attended school some after



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



355



attaining his majority and has a good business
education. He remained with his mother until
iier second marriage and carried on the liome farm,
and also aided in rearing and educating the
younger children.

August 21), 1888, Mr. La Bounty led to the mar-
riage altar Miss Mary E., daughter of Jacob Lyman,
whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Their
union has been blessed with two children, a son and
a daughter: Lj'man J. Calvin and Bertha Rachel
Blanche. They reside with the Lyman 's, and since
his marriage Mr. La Bounty has operated and man-
aged the home farm f<irliis father-in-low. lie is a
man of sterling character and worth and is one of the
enterprising and representative agriculturists of
jNIartinton Township. In politics, he is a Demo-
crat but has never been an offlcer-seeker. Himself
and wife and all of the members of the household
rank high in social circles and their home is the
abode of hospitality.



^^It^@i



QIILLA C. CAST is now living a retired
life in Crescent Citj'. From the history
1) of the pioneer settlers and the prominent
f^ citizens of Iroquois County, the name of
our subject should not be omitted. He claims
Ohio as the State of his nativity, having been
born in Clinton County on the 13th of March,
1837. His grandfather, A. C. Cast, was of Scotcli
descent, and his family were among the pioneers
of Kentucky, where he was born. Hii'am V. Cast,
the father of our subject, was born in Clinton
County, Ohio, in 1818, and was there reared to
manhood. He was married to Ruth Smith, a na-
tive of the Buckeye State, and the}- began their
domestic life upon a farm in the county of his
nativitj-, where they resided until 1840. In that
year they removed to Vermilion Count}', 111.,
locating land near Danville, where Mr. Cast de-
veloped and improved a farm, on which he made
his home until his death in 1844. He was a
prominent and influential citizen, and took quite
an active part in local politics, He served as
County Sheriff, and was one of the honored



pioneers of Vermilion Count}'. His wife sur-
vived him about nineteen years and was a second
time married, becoming the wife of Henry Alex-
ander, an early settler of this county. Her death
occurred in 1862.

The subject of this sketch is the eldest and
only surviving member of a family of three sons.
His educational advantages were quite limited,
but since arriving at years of maturity he h.as by
self-culture become well informed. When a young
man he came to Iroquois County in 18.51, and at
the age of seventeen years rented land and be-
gan farming for himself. His preparations for a
home were completed by his marriage with Miss
Isabella Jane Robinson, their union being cele-
brated on the 1st of January, 1857. The lady
was born near Crawfordsville, Ind., in 1836, and
when a child of two years was brought to this
county, her father, William D. Robinson, being
one of its honored pioneers. After his marriage,
Mr. Cast purchased a forty-acre tract of land,
which he broke and fenced, and made many good
improvements upon it. A part of this land had
been entered by a soldier, Henry Alexander, his
step-father, and lie engaged in its cultivation and
improvement for some time.

It was in 1862 that Mr. Cast purchased forty
acres of land adjoining his first farm. Since that
time he lias bought and sold a number of tracts of
land, and now owns one hundred and sixty acres
in the old home farm. This is a well-improved
and well-tilled place, upon which good buildings
have been erected and many excellent im|)rove-
ments made. He engaged in the operation of his
farm until 1882, when, in order to afford his chil-
dren better educational advantages, he removed to
Crescent City- He was a practical and progressive
farmer, and the neat and thrifty appearance of the
place was an index of his character. About 1874,
he built a substantial residence in Crescent City
where he now resides.

I'nto Mr. and Mrs. Cast were born eight chil-
dren, three of whom are deceased: Nettie is now
the wife of Theodore Oilcrist, a resident of Cres-
cent Township; Alma Grace is the wife of Isaac
Budd, a resident of Pemberton, N. J.; Carrie is a
well-educated young lady and a successful teacher;



356



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



Elmer E., who is married and resides in Milford,
is also engaged in teaching; and Alta E., wlio
completes the family, also follows the. same pro-
fession.

In his political views, Mr. Cast is a Democrat,
having supported that party since he attained
his majority. He has served as Assessor and in
other local offices, and his public duties were
ever discharged with promptness and fidelity. Mrs.
Cast and all the children are members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Cast holds
membership with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and lias filled all of its chairs. Almost
his entire life has been passed in this county,
and he is well known throughout its borders.
His sterling worth and strict integrity have won
him the confidence and good-will of all, and him-
self and wife are held in the highest regard through-
out the community. He is now resting in the
enjoyment of a well-earned rest, having by years
of industry, enterprise and perseverance won a
handsome competence. For the past four j'ears
he has spent considerable time in travel, visiting
many points of interest in this country, especially
in the South, and during the coming year con-
templates a trip to California.



iS^DMUND GOULD, a prosperc
jfe) makes his home on sectior
Ij' — ^ Township, is a native of th



^f^^DMUND GOULD, a prosperous farmer who
section 19, Ridgeland
the Empire State,
his birth having occurred on the 17th of July,
1830, in Rensselaer County. He is a son of New-
ton and Elmira Gould. In their family were
eight children, of whom our subject was the eldest.
The others are as follows: William, Charlotte,
Luther, Waiter, James, Fannie, and one who died
in infancy. The father of this family de-
parted this life in 1886, and the mother passed
awa^' in 1891. Both were natives of New York
State, where they spent their entire lives, he reach-
ing eighty-four and she eighty-five years.

Our subject was born and reared upon a farm,
and ills early days were passed in the usual occu-



pations of farmer boys. He attended the district
schools and acquired his primary education there,
which he supplemented by f urtLer study, and then
received a good business education. When about
nineteen years of age he began teaching in the
district schools during the winter season, and dur-
ing the summer months worked upon the home
farm. He continued teaching for a period of
about five 3'ears and then decided to devote his
attention exclusivelj' to agricultural pui suits. He
therefore rented land and farmed until 1855, at
which time he came Westward and settled in Iro-
quois County, 111., where ho entered one hundred
and sixty acres of lind in Ridgeland Township.
This property was the one on which he still resides,
and here he now carries on a general fanning and
stock-raising business.

January' 1, 1853, Mr. Gould led to the marriage
altar Miss Adeline, daughter of George W. and
Eunice (Jones) Glass. By this union two children
have been born: Carlton, who carries on agricul-
tural pursuits in Ridgeland Township, and is a
successful farmer; and Bertha, who is still under
the parental roof. These children have both re-
ceived the advantages of a good education and
have always been verj- popular in the neighbor-
hood.

Mr. Gould exercises his right of franchise in
support of the Democratic party and is an ardent
supporter of its principles. He takes an active
and interested part in both politics and education,
and is a public-spirited man, doing eveiything in
his power to advance the community's welfare.
Jlr. and Mrs. Gould are consistent members of the
Presbyterian Church, where the3' are zealous
workers. For nearly forty years he has been a
resident of this township and county and in that
time he has witnessed much of its development
and progress. At the time of his first location
here much of the country was under water, but
this difficulty has since been obviated almost en-
tirely by the thorough sj'stem of tile drainage,
now so extensively practiced. Mr. Gould was
appointed by the County Court as one of the
Commissioners of Union Drainage District No. 1,
of Onarga and Ridgeland Townships. It is not too
nuicli to say that the work done bv that board has



LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

UREnMA



®^-



i^^r^ '^^^f^^








PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



359



I



done more to enhance the value of the laud than
anything else. On his arrival here the countr3'
was sparsely settled, but since this time thriving
villages, pleasant homes and well-cultivated fields
have sprung up in every direction. During his
long residence here he has made many friends, who
esteem iiim highly for his ([ualities of integrity,
reliability and honor.

3< 1 >^^-^ "*



JOSEPH W. MILLER, Superintendent of the
County Poor Farm and one of the in-
fluential and enterprising citizens of Iro-
quois Count3-, was born on the 7th of Janu-
arj-, 1847, in Madison County, Ind. Ills grand-
father, Joseph Miller, was born in South Carolina,
and became one of the pioneer settlers of ^ladison
County, when there were only three families living
on Pipe Creek for a distance of ten miles. He en-
gaged in farming and blacksmithing and there
spent the remainder of bis life. He was a leading
member of the Methodist Episcopal Cliurch and
served as Class-leader. In polities, he was a Demo-
crat.

John C. Miller, the father of our subject, was
born near Raleigh, N. C, and during his boyhood
went to Indiana. He was reared amid the wild
scenes of frontier life and was educated under the
instruction of a teacher, who was hired by three
families and would board one week at each place
and hold school there. On attaining his majority,
he began life for himself and married Belinda
Cliamness, who came with Mr. Miller's father to
Indiana in iier girlhood. Their union was cele-
brated in 1H45, and on the 10th of April, 1860,
they emigrated to Iroquois County, 111., locating
in Crescent Township, where he bought eighty
acres of land. He subsequently increased it to one
hundred and sixty acres, and later removed to
Watseka, where he engaged in grain dealing. His
death there occurred January 24, 1881, and his
wife died on the farm in 1865. Mr. Miller was a
member of the Odd Fellows' society and was a
Democrat and Greenbacker in politics. He held
several local offices,

IG



In the Miller familj^ were ten children, the eldest
of whom is our subject; Asa is the proprietor of
an hotel at Crescent Cit3-; Sarah became the wife of
Landus Roraine and died in Kansas; John Frank-
lin is engaged in carpentering in Kansas; Caroline,
widow of Samuel West, resides in Slissouri; Martha,
widow of Oscar Short, is living in Crescent Citj';
Thomas makes his home in Colorado; Mi's. Nettie
F.ast resides in Missouri; Miner and the tenth child
died in infanc}'.

Our subject was a lad of fourteen years w hen
with his parents he came to Iroquois County. He
remained under the parental roof until twenty
3-ears of age and then went to Nebraska, where he
engaged in wood-chopping on the Platte River,
making ties for the Union Pacific Railroad. He
sjient nearlj' two 3-ears in the West and during the
last season carried on a blacksmith shop. On his
return to Illinois, he again resumed farming, and
secured as a helpmate and companion on life's
journey Miss Rebecca J. Fiddler. JJer parents,
George and Harriet Fiddler, are numbered among
the pioneer settlers of this county and resided in
Plato when it contained but three dwellings. Mrs.
Jliller was born in Indiana, in November, 1850.
Bv the union of our subject and his wife four chil-
dren have been born: Emma M., born August 18,
1870; John Franklin, April 16, 1875; George
Curtis, September 16, 1881; and Ruth Anna, Octo-
ber 6, 1883.

On his marriage, Mr. Miller purch.ased a small
farm, to which he has since added until he now
owns one hundred and forty acres. He has spent
one year in Southwest Missouri, and on tlie 24th of
March, 1891, w.as appointed Superintendent of the
County Poor Farm. On the expiration of that
terra, so acceptably had he filled the otllcc, he was
re-appointed at an increased salary. He now has
charge of three hundred and ninety acres of land,
which is operated under the direction of a good
foreman. The farm has an average of forty-four
inmates. No better person could have been chosen
for the position than Mr. Miller, whose able ad-
ministration of affairs has won him high com-
mendation. Socially, he is a member of the Odd
Fellows' society and the Modern Woodmen. His
wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Cliurch.



360



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



In politics, he is a Democrat and supported Presi-
dent Cleveland. He cast his first vote for Horace
Greeley. He supports the man whom he thinks
best qualified to fill the office. Mr. Miller is a man
of sterling worth and integrity and has the confi-
dence and good-will of all with whom he has been
brought in contact.



OHN P. PETERSON, who is engaged in
farming and stock-raising on section 30,
Prairie Green Township, is numbei'ed
J) among the early settlers of the count3',
dating his residence from 1855. He is of Swedish
birth, having been born in Gotten burg, on the 12tii
of January, 1831, and is tjie second in order of
birth in a family of eight children, numbering
three sons and five daughters, of whom only three
are now living. The parents were Jonas and
Christina (Chrisander) Peterson. His father was
also a native of Sweden. In the usual manner of
farmer lads he was reared to manhood, but he
learned the trade of carpenter and joiner. In
1849 he emigrated to America, crossing the Atlan-
tic in a sailing-vessel, which dropped auchoi in
the harbor of New York. He continued his jour-
ney Westward overland until he reached Indiana,
where he spent the remainder of his life, dying at
the age of fifty years. He was a Democrat in pol-
itics, and in religious belief was a Lutheran. His
wife is a member of the same church. .She is still
living at the advanced age of eighty-six years,
and makes her iiome with her son John, where
she is surrounded by every loving care and atten-
tion. The three children of the family yet living
are Mr. Peterson, of this sketch; Ann Eliza, wife
of L. 15. Hastings, a journalist of Hamilton County,
Neb., who is now editor and proprietor of tlie
Aurora Republican; and Odell, who is married, and
follows farming in Nebraska.

Tlie boyhood days of our subject were spent in
his parents' home in the land of his nativity. His
education was ac(|uired at his mother's knee and
by his own oxeitions, until he is now a well-in-
formed man. Wishing to try his fortune iu



America, he bade good-bye to Sweden in 1848,when
a young man of eighteen years, and sailed for the
New World. He landed in New York, was there
taken sick, and for four weeks lay in a hospital.
On his recovery he shipped as a sailor on the
high seas. The merchantman on which he sailed
made trips to Spain and France, and he remained
as one of its crew for twenty-three months, during
which time they encountered many severe storms,
in which he thought he would never again see
land. When the time of his contract had expired,
he returned to this country and went to the
pineries of New York, where he hired out by the
month at $4. He was thus emplo3'ed for four
months, after which he filled a situation for eight
months at $6 per month. He had come to this
country empty-handed, but scorned no labor
whereby he could earn an honest dollar, and thus
provide for his own support.

It was in 1855 that Mr. Peterson came to Iro-
quois County, where he has since made his home.
The same year he was married, the lady of his
choice being Miss Mary Day, a native of West
Virginia, born on the 26th of April, 1836. She is
a daughter of Ambrose and Eve (D0II3') Da.y.
Her father was born in West Virginia, in 1806, was
reared as a farmer, followed that occupation
throughout his entire life, and died in 1 878. His
wife was born in West Virginia in 1807, and died
in 1891, at the advanced age of eighth-four years.
They had a family of eight children, two sons and
six daughters, of whom Mrs. Peterson was the
third in order of birth. She was educated in the
common schools, which were then very primitive.
The building was constructed of logs and heated
by an immense fire-place, the seats were made of
slabs, and the writing-desk along (me side of the
room was a board laid upon two pegs inserted be-
tween the logs. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs.
Peterson was celebrated August 31, 1855, and
seven children graced the union, five sons and two
daughters, but only two are now living. Alpheus
is a successful farmer of Benton Count}', Ind., and
in politics is a Democrat. He married Miss Jennie
McPherson, by whom he has four children. Gus-
tus is ah enterprising farmer residing in Warren
County, Ind, He raiser) twelve thousand bushels



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



361



of corn in 1891. His wife bore the maiden name
of Lena Glaze, and their union has been blessed
with a little son.

Mr. Peterson and his wife located upon their
present farm on the otli of Marcli, 1877. He pur-
ciiased one hundred and sixt3' acres of partially
improved land, upon which there wjis a little
shanty but no other improvements. With char-
acteristic energy he l)egan the development of bis
land, and now has one of the desirable farms of
this vicinity. His home is a neat and comfortable
residence, situated in the midst of well-tilled
fields, and the thrifty .-ippearancc of tlie place in-
dicates the supervision and careful management
of the owner. He has in his possession an old
deed of his land signed by President Pierce. In
politics, Mr. Peterson has been a supporter of the
Democracy since he cast liis first Presidential vote
for Franklin Pierce. Ho is truly a self-made man,
and his success in life is due entirely to his own
efforts. Steadily has he worked iiis wa^- upward,
until he is now numbered among the wealthy and
prominent citizens of the community.



^Ml DDISON WH1TESH)E, a well-known and
WUM prominent farmer of Ridgeland Township,
jj ii makes his home on section 20, where he
0g/ owns a tr.act of three hundred and twenty

acres of valuable land. His birth occurred in the
city of Cincinnati on the 10th of September, 1816.
He is a son of Samuel II. and Anna (Stewart)
Whiteside. Tlic father was born in Rockbridge
Count}', Va.,. January 16, 1780, and was of English
extraction, while his mother was born December
22, 179.3, in Pennsylvania and was of Scotch de-
scent. Tliey were the parents of six children, of
whom our subject is now the only living child.
Milton S. w.as called to the home bej-ond in 1876;
our subject is next in order of birth; Amanda M.
died in the year 1835 and was the wife of John
Si Isby; Washington died in 1844; and two chil-
dren died in infancy. The father was a jeweler
by trade and his death occurred October 20, 1861.



His wife passed away .January 1, 1865. She was a
devoted member of the Presbyterian Church, and
both were much loved and esteemed by tlieir many
friends and neighbors.

Mr. Whiteside, whose name heads this sketch,
lived until eight years of age in the city of his
birth, and at tliat time his father settled on a farm.
The education of our subject was received in a log
schoolhouse, where he attended until about seven-
teen years of .age. When not in school his time
was emplo3'ed in tiie duties and labors of farm life,
in which he assisted his father as mucii as possible.
In 18,33, he returned to Cincinnati .and began
working at the carpenter's trade, at which labor he
continued until 1837, doing quite well financially.
In the summer of 1837, he went south to Vicks-
burg. Miss., where he remained for some months,
and then went to New Orleans for the winter. The
following year, he went to St. Louis, where he re
mained for a year. He next went to Springfield,
III., where he helped in the building of the old
State Capitol. While engiiged in its construction,
he met with a serious accident, as he fell from tlie
dome of the building to the basement, a distance
of some thirty-six feet. His shoulder was dislocated
and two ribs were broken, and liis Escape from
death w.as considered quite marvellous. He con-
tinued in Springfield during the winter, attend-
ing the session of the LegisLature in which
Lincoln figured, and then returned to Cincin-
nati, where he lived until 1861. In that 3'ear he
came to Illinois and located on the farm which he
still makes his home. His property is known bj-
the name of Long View Stock Farm, on account of
the beautiful view which can be had for miles in
all directions from his residence.