In 1845, Mr. Whiteside married Miss Mary,
daughter of Harlow C. and Caroline (Hunt) Ilola-
bird, both natives of Litchfield Count}', Conn. Mr.
Holabird w.is born September 24, 1798. His wife
was born March 18, 1801. Having lived in Litch-
field County, Conn., which had been the home of
the family for generations, they removed to Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, in 1833. Mr. Holabird died December
11, 1859, and his wife, who was a member of the
Presbyterian Church, died .July 1,1849. Mrs.White-
side is one of five children, two sous and three



362



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



daugliters, of whom two are living: Mrs. Caroline
Dale, of Chicago; and Mrs. Whiteside. By the
union of Mr. and Mrs. Whiteside four children
have been born: Milton S. and his second younger
brother, Samuel, now have charge of the home
farm; Edward E. was murdered by cow bo_ys in
1882, while working as night operator in Tliorn-
dale, Tex., on the International & Great Northern
Railroad; and the youngest, Harlow H., is Super-
intendent of the Zinc Works at Rich Hill, Mo.

Politically, Mr. AVhiteside casts his ballot in
favor of the Democratic party, having voted for
fifteen Democratic Presidential candidates. He
has been an active member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows foi- the long period of fifty-
four years, having been connected with that order
longer than any man in the State save one. He has
always assisted in public enterprises and has done
much for the growth and development of this
county'. He has many friends in this section who
esteem him as a man of high character, integrity
and genuine worth. Mrs. Whiteside has been con-
nected with the Presbyterian Church some fift} -
five years.



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^.ILLIAM CARY DUNN, who is engaged in
the hotel business in Sheldon as proprie-
tor of tlie Dunn Hotel, has the honor of
being a native of Illinois. He was born in Elgin,
Kane County, October 29, 1842, and is a son of
George and Sarah (Welsh) Dunn, both of whom
were natives of the Empire State. The paternal
grandfather, Gary Dunn, was of Scotch descent, and
his wife came of one of the Dutch families residing
in the Mohawk Valley. The maternal grandfather,
William Welsh, was a native of Ireland and when
a 3'oung man emigrated to America. He became
one of the pioneers of Ohio and was one of tlie
first settlers of Kane County, 111. His son Albert
was the first white child born in that county.

The father of our subject was born in 1813 and
was a carpenter by occupation. He also followe<l
farming. In 1838, he emigrated to Elgin, 111.,
when the population of that place numbered <>n\y



four families. He afterward removed to IMcIIenry
County and is now living in Algonquin, that
county. His wife departed this life in 1881. In
the family were eleven children, ten of whom are
j-et living: William is the eldest; Mary Ann is the
wife of Henrj' Tubbs, a resident of Fowler, Ind.;
Lydia is the wife of Ed Dyke, who resides in Cary
Station, 111.; Melissa is the wife of Fred Hubbard,
who is living in Richland, Kan.; Olive is the wife
of Fred Baldwin, of Cary Station; Emma is the
wife of Kirk Pherson, of St. Charles, 111.; .Tames T.
is located in Denver. Colo.; George E. resides in
Sheldon and is city drayman; David D. is living
in Cherry County*, Neb.; and Benjamin A. resides
in Terre Haute, Ind.

In 1867, Mr. Dunn was united in marriage with
Miss Agnes Moreland. a native of Glasgow, Scot-
land, and unto them have been born four children,
tlireo of whom are now living: Ada, wife of A. J.
Klute; Ida and Leon C. The family is one of
prominence in this community, and its members
rank high in social circles.

Mr. Dunn whose name heads tliis record was
educated in the public schools of Mclleniy County,
111., and at the age of seventeen j-ears left home to
earn his own livelihood. He began working on a
farm and was thus employed until 18G0, when he
went to Iowa, where he remained until he entered
the service during the late war. On the 13th of
August, 1862, he enlisted as a member of Company
G, Twenty-first Iowa Infantry, under Col. Merrill.
Tiie regiment rendezvoused at Dubuque, Iowa,
and thence was sent to Raleigh, Mo. Mr. Dunn re-
mained in the service until the close of the war,
and participated in the battles of Champion Hills,
Port Gibson, Raymond, Black River, Vicksburg,
Jackson, Spanish Fort and Mobile, after which he
returned to New Orleans and went up the Red
River. He also participated in the siege of Vicks-
burg and the battles of Jackson and Memphis, and
when the war was over he received his discharge
in Clinton, Iowa, Juhi- 25, 1865. He served as
Orderly to Col. Merrill and with him returned
home on a thirty-day furlough. He did some
arduous service and experienced many of the
liardships and privations of army life, but was ever
found at his post of duty, faithful to his country.



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365



When the war was over, Mr. Dunn returned to bis
home in Illinois, but the following spring again
went to Iowa with Yankee Robinson's Show and
traveled one season; he then comnionced staging
from Ft. Des Moines to Council Bluffs, Iowa. In
1871, he came to Iroquois Count}' and engaged in
farming, and in 1873 engaged in the hotel business.
The following year he engaged in the livery busi-
ness, whicli he has carrried on continuously since,
with the exception of three years. In 1889, he
became proprietor of the Smith House, of which he
had charge a year, and in 1890 built the Dunn
Hotel.

In his social relations, Mr. Dunn is a Knight of
Pythias, belonging to Damon I,odge No. 72, of
Kcntland, Ind., and a charter member of L. B.
Brown Post, G. A. R., of Slieldon, 111. In politics,
he is a Democrat. As a proprietor of the Dunn
Hotel, he is enjoying a good trade. As he eai-
nestly desires to please his customers, and as the
place and all its appointments are complete, the
hotel has found favor with the traveling public.
Our subject is a pleasant and popular man, who
wins friends wherever he goes, and in this com-
munitv is regarded as a valued citizen.



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TP^jIC'HARD AMEHMAN, one of the promi-
lis*t nent citizens of the county, who is now llv-
A \V ing a retired life in Iloopeston, was born in
^pDavis C'ountj', Ind., December 28, 1825,
and is a son of Peter Amerman, a native of the
Empire State. The paternal grandfather of our
subject was a German b}' birth and in the Old
Country was a saUor. Coming to America, he
spent the remainder of his d.ays in New York, and
was captain of a boat on the Hudson River. The
fatlier of our subject, who was an invalid and
cripple, came to the West for his health. He had
accpiired a good education in the State of his na-
tivity, and taught school in Indiana for some
years.

At the age of thirty-eight, Peter Amerman
married Margaret McKnight, a native of Ken-
tnckv, and unto them was born a familv of thir-



teen children. The father taught school in the
winter months and in the summer engaged in
farming. He died at iiis home in Vermillion
County, Ind. Botii he and his wife were members
of the Presbyterian Church and were prominent
and active workers. In his business dealing, he won
success and acquired a handsome competence. In
politics, he was a Whig. He was a great reader
and had a large library' of religious and other
works. His death occurred at the advanced age
of eighty -seven years.

Of the children in the Amerman family. Mrs.
j\Iary Jane Mast resides in the town of Dana,
Vermillion County, Ind.; Richard is the next
younger; Mrs. Eliza Ralston makes her home
in Dana, Vermillion County; Sarah is deceased;
James is living near the old homestead; John died
in infancy; John, the second of the name, is living
a retired life in Clinton, Ind.; William, who was
a soldier during the late war, is living retired in
Iloopeston; Theopolis, who was also one of the
boys in blue, is located in Dana, Ind.; Henry went
to the war and was never again heard from; and
Peter, who was also one of the defenders of the
Old Flag, owns and operates the homestead farm.

The subject of this sketch remained at home un-
til nineteen years of age, and then began to learn
the wagon-maker's trade, but on account of ill
health he was forced to abandon that occupation.
As he was the eldest son, much of the care of his
father's farm devolved upon him. On attaining
his majority, he went Soutii to oversee slaves in a.
woodyard at Booey's Landing, Tenn., on the Mis-
sissippi River. He was a Democrat when he went
to that place, but on his return was a stanch Re-
publican. He saw the slaves of which he had had
charge all sold from the block and the families
broken up. Their owner had intended to free his
negroes, but his death suddenly occurred and the
slaves were disposed of in the manner indicated.
After a year our subject returned to liic North
and began working witii his brother-in-law. He
afterward went to Clinton, Ind., and was foreman
of a pork-packing establishment and a grist and
sawmill for .several vears.

It was while in Clinton that Mr. Amerman was
married, October 22, 1848, to Miss Hannah Watson,



366



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



who was born in Ohio and reared in Vermillion
Couuty, Ind., and when six 3'ears old was taken
by her parents to that county. In 1855, our sub-
ject sold out and came by team to Illinois. He
purchased one liundred and sixty acres of land
near Ash Grove, and until he could build a better
home lived in a little shanty, 12x13 feet, not
latlied or phxstered. The snow sifted in through
the craclvs and covered the beds, and the cabin
proved a poor protection from the elements. Hav-
ing established himself in a home and having l>een
blessed with a family of five children, he deter-
mined to secure a better education. Accordingly,
with his three eldest children, he attended school
a term, taught by George Binford. Mr. Amerman
has beeii an active worker in the interests of pub-
lic education. He has the distinction of haTing
organized the first free school in his communitj',
district No. 1, Ash Grove. Some years after quit-
ting school he took up the studv of law under Judge
Woods and A. S. Palmer, of Onarga. After the
necessary preparation he was examined by a com-
mittee appointed by .Judge Woods, and was ad-
mitted to the Bar. Having practiced successfully
for five years, he saw his educational attainments
were so meagre tiiat he could not hope to reach
the top round in his profession, and, not willing to
be a mediocre, he turned his attention to dealing
in stock, a business for which he was especially
adapted. The success with which he has met has
proved his good judgment in selecting this occupa-
tion. In connection with dealing in stock he has
been an extensive breeder of fine horses, cattle
and hogs.

For thirty-four years Mr. Amerman made his
home upon that farm, transforming it into one of
the valuable places of the county, but at length he
purchased sixteen acres of land in Cissna Park,
built a beautiful residence and made his home in
that place until 1892, when he purchased a better
residence in Hoopeston, where he can have better
educational privileges for his daughter. He still
owns three hundred and sixty acres of fine land in
Ash Grove Township. He has platted his land in
Cissna Park and has made two additions to the
town. Since the incorporation of Cissna Park, he
has been its Police Magistrate.



In 1882, Mr. Amerman was called upon to
mourn the loss of his wife, who died of heart dis-
ease on the 7th of August. She was a lady who
had the love and esteem of all, and her death
proved a sorrow to the entire community, as well
as to her immediate famil}-. Mr. an(i Mrs. Amer-
man had a family of thirteen children: Sarah, who
is now Mrs. Cheek, resides in Hoopeston. Isaac, who
was born in Indiana but was reared in this county,
attended the public schools and was graduated
from Onarga Seminary. He then studied medicine
in Louisville, Ky., and Cincinnati, and for two
years has been professor in a medical institute
of St. Louis. He carries on a large infirmary- in
Nevada, Mo., and now has an extensive practice,
and is a physician of prominence and a man of more
than ordinary abilit3'. Joseph, who is a barber
by trade, on account of ill health is at home.
Robert, who acquired his education in Onarga,
married Miss Alice Lank, was engaged in general
merchandising at Hooi)estovvn, but is interested in
the Bi-Chloride of Gold Institute of that place.
Alonzo operates the old homestead farm; Charles,
who was graduated from the Keokuk Medical
College and attended one term in Louisville, is
now enjoying a good practice in Harrisonville, Mo.
Richard, Jr., graduated fiom the business course
in Onarga Seminar^-, was former!}' engaged in
merchandising in Hoopeston, and is now interested
in the Bi-Chloride of Gold Institute with his brother.
George W. graduated from the Dental College of
Kansas City, and is now engaged in practice in
Harrisonville, Mo. Annie .Jane is at home. Four
children are deceased, William, Peter, James E.
and Nathaniel.

Mrs. Amerman was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. He is one of the prominent
workers in the United Brethren Church, and has
given liberally to its support. He cast his first
Presidential vote for Heniy Clay. We have before
spoken of the influence slavery had upon him, and
at the organization of the Republican iMi't.Vi to
prevent the further extension of that institution, he
joined its ranks and has since been one of its zeal-
ous advocates. He is one of the prominent and
iiifluential members of the party in this commun-
ity, and is a witty and entertaining speaker. Diir-



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



367



ing the late war he was a standi friend of the
Union and did all in his power to raise troops and
aid the soldiers. He was a member of the Home
Guards and also of the Union League.

JNIr. Amerman started out in life for himself at
the age of nineteen. He first worked out a store
bill of *-t8 for his father, who then gave him his
time. He has led a busy and useful life and by
his well-directed efforts, industry and perseverance
he has acquired a handsome property. He posses-
ses good judgment and excellent executive ability,
and in this way has won a well-deserved prosper-
ity. He is a man of upright character, held in
the highest esteem by all who know him, and it is
with pleasure tiiat we present to our readers this
record of bis life.



eLEMENT F. FLEMING is numbered among
the pioneer settlers of Iroquois County,
and now resides on section 14, Belmont
Township, where he owns and operates two hun-
dred and five acres of land, a highly improved
and well-cultivated farm, which yields to him a
golden tribute for the care and cultivation he be-
stows upon it. His life record is as follows: He
was born near West Leljanon, Warren County,
Ind., December 3, 1831. His paternal grandfather,
Peter Fleming, served both in tlie Revolutionary
War and in tlie War of 1812. He w.as born and
reared in Kentucky, but afterwards emigrated to
Preble County, Ohio, crossing the Wabash River in
an Indian canoe. His death occurred in Warren
County, Ind.

The father of our sutiject, Andrew Fleming, was
born in Preble County, Ohio, and was reared to
manliood amid the wild scenes of frontier life.
He emigrated to Warren County, Ind., in 1822.
when there were only two other families in the
entire county. He entered a tract of land and
made a farm in the wilderness. For twenty years
before his death he was the oldest settler in the
county. He married Ann Mitcliell, a native of
New Jersev. Her father was murdered on the



Delaware River in his boat and his bod3' was found
floating down the stream. A part of his family
then emigrated to Ohio, where Andrew and Ann
Fleming were married. Immediately thereafter
they went to Indiana, where the\' spent the remain-
der of their days. The mother died in 1883, and
the father died July 9, 1890, at the age of eighty-
six years. He was a Whig in politics and a Uni-
versalist in religions belief. In his younger years
he was a teacher and fine writer. 15y his own
efforts he acquired his education, and became a
well-informed man. He also possessed good busi-
ness ability, and was quite successful in his under-
takings. The family numbered eight children:
William, of Hutchinson, Reno County, Kan.; Juliet
and Julian, twins, the former a resident of Kan-
sas and the latter a resident of Williamsport;
C. F. of this sketch; Christina who died in Warren
County, Ind.; James A., who died at the age of
twentj'^-three in Warren County, Ind.; Minerva,
who is living in Williamsport, Ind.; and John J.,
a soldier of the late war, who is now living retired
in Watseka.

Mr. Fleming whose name heads this record spent
his boyhood days in attendance at the common
schools during the winter season and in the sum-
mer months worked on the farm. He remained at
home until the fall of 1852, when he entered two
hundred acres of land in Iroquois County. About
1853, with his father and brothers, he entered
twelve hundred acres of land in Stockland
Township. It was all a wild, open prairie, infested
by wolves. At the age of twenty-three, Mr. Flem-
ing took up his residence upon his land, and began
breaking prairie with four yoke of oxen. The first
summer he broke one hundred and forty acres of
laivd, and in course of time he i)laced the entire a-
mount under cultivation. Since then he has bought
and sold a number of farms, but for twenty' -six years
liavbeen a resident of Belmont Township. He
now owns his home farm of two iiundred and five
acres, bought of his wife's father, together with an-
other farm of forty acres, and three hundred and
twenty acres in the Platte Valley, in Dawson
County, Neb., which is operated by his son.

Mr. Fleming was married on the farm v,-hich is
now his home, October 4, 18G0, to IMiss Sarah A.



368



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



McConnell, a native of Beuton County, Ind., and
a daughter of John and Alraira (Sargent) McCon-
nell, pioneer settlers of this count}', who now re-
side in Bates Country, Mo. Seven children have
been born unto our subject and his wife: Ida, the
eldest, is now the wife of Andrew J. Gillflllan, a
farmer of Belmont Township; .John A. and Arthur
Grant are engaged in the operation of their father's
laud in Nebraska, and John A. is married; Hattie
is the wife of Dorn Harden, a printer of Ottawa,
111.; Frank L., Philo Alvin, an<l Homer D. are
still under the parental roof.

Mr. and Mrs. Fleming are members of the Chris-
tian Church and are charitable and benevolent
people, who are highl}' respected in this com-
munity'. Our subject cast his first vote for Fre-
mont, and has since been a stalwart supporter of
Republican principles. He is numbered among
the earliest settlers of this county. When a boy
of nine years, with his father and brother William,
they drove three teams of oxen to Chicago, where
they sold three wagon-loads of oats on what is
now South Water Street; returning, they brought
with them salt and bacon, for which tliey received
a good price. Forty years passed before Mr. Flem-
ing again saw Chicago .and the change that had
been made then seemed almost incredible. He
has watched the entire growth and upbuilding of
this count}', and he is one of its self-made men who
has worked his w.ay upward to competency and
ease.

- • ^ ^ ^^■^#^-'-'*^*^

"jTl OHN I. EVANS, who is engaged in general
farming on section 29, Iroquois Township,
where for twenty j'ears he has made his
home, was born on the 8th of March, 1848,
in St. Joseph County, Ind. His fatlicr, Jacob
Evans, was a native of Ohio, and about 1827, when
a lad of eight years, removed with his mother,
a widow, to Indiana, locating in Bartholomew
County, then an almost unbroken wilderness.
Amid the wild scenes of pioneer life he grew to
manhood, and was joined in wedlock with Miss
Mary Ann Richardson, wiio was born near Cincin-
nati, Ohio. About two years after his marriage
he removed to St. Joseph County, Ind., locating



upon a farm. His death occurred about six years
later, in 1854. His wife survived him for a num-
ber of years and was a second time married. She
also spent the remainder of her life in St. Joseph
County.

Mr. Evans, of whom we write, went to Southern
Indiana after his father's death and lived with his
grandparents until sixteen years of age. He at-
tended the public schools and acquired a good
English education. When a lad of sixteen he en-
tered tiie service of his country, enlisting as a
member of the Eleventh United States Infantry, on
the 15th of April, 1864, for three years' service.
AVith his regiment he participated in the battles in
front of Petersburg and soon afterward was taken
prisoner at Weldon Railroad. About twenty days
later he was paroled, and remained at Annapolis,
Md., until exchanged, when he rejoined his regi-
ment and continued with that command until
honorably discharged on the 13th of January,
1865.

Mr. Evans returned to the county of his nativ-
ity, where he remained one year. The spring of
1866 witnessed his arrival in Iroquois Count}-,
and he began work upon a farm by the month. In
the spring of 1867, however, he returned to Indi-
ana, but after a year again came to this county
and engaged in farming with an uncle., John
Evans, who was one of the early settlers of Iroquois
Township, remaining with him for a period of four
years. It was in 1872 that he purchased his present
farm, a tract of raw prairie, and located thereon in
1873, and has since made it his home. He now
owns eighty acres of highly improved and valua-
ble land, pleasantly situated about six and a-half
miles from AVatseka, and one and a-half miles
from Crescent City. The well-tilled fields and
good improvements u|)on the place attest his
thrift and enterprise.

On the 26th of February, 1880, in Champaign
County, 111., Mr. Evans was united in marriage
with Miss Addie Munhall, a native of that county,
and a daughter of James and Nancy (Webber) Mun-
hall, who were pioneer settlers of Champaign
County. Two children have been born unto our
subject and his wife, a daughter and son, Edith
and James M.



LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

URBANA



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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
U.RBANA



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPHICAL RECORD.



37.1



Tlie parents are both members of the Congrega-
tional Church of Crescent City, iu which Mr.
P>vans fills the office of Trustee. He is a member
of Standard Lodge No. 607, I. 0. O. F., of Cres-
cent City, has filled all of its offices and is now
Past Grand, lie also holds membership with the
Grand Army Post. The cause of edneation finds
in him a warm friend and he has done effective
service in the interest of the schools, lie believes
Uiat good schools make good citizens and that
capable teachers should be employed. Mr. Evans
is a wide-awake and enterprising citizen who has
tiie best interests of the community at heart, and
he and his wife well deserve representation in this
volume.



T SAAC W. WILSON, one of the self-made men
II of the county, who started out in life empty-
jj handed but now has a comfortable compe-
tence, is engaged in farming on section 22, Ridge-
land Township. He was born in Warren County,
X. J., on the 2.3rd of April, 1825, and is one of a
family of nine children born of the union of Will-
iam and Mary (Probasco) Wilson. His parents
were both natives of New Jersey and were of
Irish and English extraction, respectively. The
father was a carpenter and joiner by trade and
followed that occupation throughout his business
career. He died at an early age in 1825, when
Isaac was only eight months old. The mother of
our subject long survived him and was called to
her final rest in 1878. Of the family nearl3' all
arc now deceased. John died in 1832; Elizabeth
died in 1884: William died in 1872; .Sarah died
in 1885; Catherine is still living; Thompson died
in 18-11; George W. is engaged in farming in
New Jersey; Isaac W. is the next younger; and
one other child died in infancy.

The subject of this sketch was born and reared
upon a farm. As his father died during his in-
fancj' he received very limited educational privi-
leges, for at an early age he had to begin to earn
his own livelihood. He was a lad of onl^^ thir-
teen summers when his mother hired him out to