years of age and is an intelligent young man, who



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



385



was educated in Onarga. Thej- also have with
them Lulu B. Zuiiiwalt, a daughter of Mrs. Dan-
ner's youngest sister, who has been with them
since her third year. These children could have
found no better homes for true parental care and
attention than has been bestowed upon them.

jMr. and Mrs. Danner are both members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church and are among its
leading workers. He has served as Steward for
some years .and as Superintendent of the Sunday-
school. They are charitable and benevolent, and
their lives are filled with good deeds. Mr. Danner
cast his lirst Presidential vote for Lincoln in 1860,
and has since been a stanch Republican. He has
held tlie ottice of Township Commissioner for six
years and has proved himself a capable official, .as
his long service plainly indicates. His residence
in the county covers a period of forty-one years,
and he is one of its highly respected citizens. The
work of his hands has brought him a comfortable
comi)etence, and he is now well-to-do.



'^f DAM AVAMBA is one of the prominent
^fu l and representative farmers of Martin ton

/// * Townsliip. He resides on section 16, and
^1 his farm adjoins the village of Martinton.

There he has made his home since March, 1871.
He now- owns and operates three hundred acres of
valuable land, all under a high state of cultivation
and well improved. His home is a substantial and
pleasant residence, and good barns, a granary and
other outbuildings are numbered among the im-
provements, also an orchard. The place seems com-
plete in all its appointments, and its appear.ance in-
dicates the thrift and enterprise of the owner.

The life record of Mr. Wamba is as follows: He
was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, (lermany, on the
30th of .September, 1828, and is a son of Philip
Wamba, also a native of Germany. The father
wedded Mary Sefcrt and they resided upon a farm
in the Fatherland for some years. Our subject
was leared to manhood under the parental roof,
and on attaining his m.ajority he entered the Ger-
man army, in 1849, serving for four years, and ](ar-



ticipating in several important battles during the
German War in Baden. After receiving his dis-
charge he determined to emigrate to America, and
in 1853 took passage on a vessel at Havre which
sailed for New^York. During the voyage, which
lasted seven days, they experienced some severe
weather, but at length safely arrived at their des-
tination on the 8th of February, 1853. ]\Ir. Wamba
earned his first money in this country b}' working
as a farm hand by the month for Joshua Beaty,
near AUentown, N. J., with whom he remained for
a year. In the meantime, he took lessons in Eng-
lish, learning both to read and write the language.
He then worked for a time in the city of Trenton,
after which he came West, reaching Chicago, 111.,
in June, 1854. He then went to the Northern
Peninsula of Michigan, engaging in lumbering in
Sturgeon River County for four ^-ears.

Mr. Wamba was married in Chicago, in the fall
of 1854, to Mar\' Coleui, a native of Canada and
of French descent. Her father was Benjamin
Colcm. Mr. Wamba took his bride to the lumber
regions of Northern Michig.an, where he remained
until 1858, when he returned to Illinois and
bought a tr.act of land in Cbebansc Township,
Iroquois County. The forty acres of raw prairie
were entirely unimproved, but he broke and fenced
it and engaged in its cultivation for several 3'cars.
He then sold and purchased the farm on which he
now resides in March, 1871, first buying one hun-
dred and sixty .acres of land. This he improved
and cultivated, and in course of time he was the
owner of a fine farm, which is to-day his.

A family of ten children iu\s been born unto
i\Ir. and Mrs. Wamba, the eldest of whom, .\dani
G., is now married and follows farming in Afartin-
ton Township; Philip is also a farmer; Peter is
married and is on the police force of Chicago;
Frank is eng.aged in agricultural pursuits; Libbie
is the wife of Adolph Alexander, who is a sales-
man in Oneida, Kan.; Mar^' is tlie wife of A.
White, a farmer of Martinton Township; Joe and
Philipene are at home; one daughter died in in-
fancy; and Henry was killed on the radroad near
Martinton at the age of fifteen years.

Mr. Wamba has resided in lliiscciunty for thirty-
four years and lias liclpcd to make it wliat it is to-



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



day, one of the leading counties of the State. He
is truly a self-made man, who came to this country
in limited circumstances, and, although empt3'-
handed, began life with the determination to win
success. This he has done, and to-day he is recog-
nized as a man of sterling worth and integrity
and one of the leading farmers of the communit}'.
Himself and wife hold membership with the Cath-
olic Church.



JAMES HOAGLAND, who resides on section
23, Concord Township, has long been a
resident of this county. To the pioneers
,^;_j^ who came here in au early daj' and laid the
foundation for the future advancement, progress
and prosperity of the county, a debt of gratitude
is due which can never be repaid. Among these is
numbered the gentleman whose name heads this
sketch. For almost half a century- he has made his
home within the borders of Iroquois County, and
has ever borne his part in its upbuilding and de-
velopment. Truly he is one of its honored pio-
neers, and this record of his life will undoubtedly
be of interest to many of our readers.

Mr. Hoagland was born in Clarke Township,
Coshocton County, Ohio. March 31, 1818, and is
the son of Isaac and Polly (Carpenter) Hoagland,
both of whom were natives of Virginia. The ma-
ternal grandfather, .lohn Carpenter, was one of
the iirst settlers on the north side of the Ohio
River in the Buckeye State. He was probably a
soldier of the Revolutionary War, and one of his
sons was for seven years connected with the Colo-
nial army, doing valued service as a spy.
Thomas Carpenter, son of John, is said to have
been the first white child born in Ohio. The
grandfather of our subject w.as at one time taken
prisoner by the Indians and held for eighteen
months before he was able to make his escape. In
the meantime his people, supposing him dead, had
returned to Virginia. When he managed to es-
cape, he took a horse, which had been captured
with him, and, swimming the Ohio River, made
his way to his parents' home. While held a pris-



oner, the Indians were encamped between Owl
Creek and Mahicken River at their junction, and
Mr. Carpenter was so pleased with that countrj-
that after his marriage he came with his wife and
children, locating in that vicinity. A number of
families, in order to protect themselves from the
Indians, lived in a fort. One day wliile Mr. Car-
penter and his wife were outside hoeing in the
garden, a savage shot him in the body, and he
fell. The red men then thought to capture Mrs.
Carpenter, but she ran screaming for the fort and
thus escaped. Mr. Carpenter recovered and lived
for many j'ears afterward.

When a young man, Isaac Hoagland removed
to Ohio, and at a place across the river from
Wheeling, AV. Va., he married Miss Carpenter.
They resided upon a farm and experienced all the
hardships and privations of frontier life. He
served as a soldier in the Warof 1812, and after his
death, which occurred in the autumn of 1848, at
the age of seventj'-three J'ears, his widow obtained
a land warrant, which she sent to our subject, who
was then living in this county; but as it was not
properl}- signed he sent it back and never again
heard of it. Mrs. Hoagland died in Coshocton
Count}', Ohio, in 1853, in the seventy-fourth 3ear
of her age.

Unto this worthy couple were born ten children,
of whom our subject was the seventh in order of
birth. He was reared upon his father's farm, and
had a great deal to do in the way of clearing and
developing land. Schools in that community were
verj' poor, and his educational privileges were
limited. Ere he was yet eighteen years of age, he
was married in Clarke Township.Coshocton County,
on Christm.as Day of 1836, to Miss Hannah Fox,
who was reared in the same locality as our subject.
He had little means with which to bpgin life, but
engaged in the cultivation of rented land until
1845, when he left Oliio and came to Illinois.
With his wife and four children and a few house-
hold goods loaded into a wagon, he drove a team
to Iroquois County, where he arrived on the 28th
of Seiitember, with a cash cajntal of only $20.
The first three years were passed on the Court-
wright farm, about a mile west of where Mr. Hoag-
land now lives. He then entered forty acres of land



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



387



from the Government, and this tract, which was
liis fir!«t landed property, is still a part of his home
farm. His life lias been a bus}' one, and by his
industry and perseverance he has prospered. He
now owns eleven hundred and ninetv-one acres of
valuable land, all in Concord Township, and owes
no man a dollar. He has a beautiful home, and now
in his declining j'ears is surrounded with all the
comforts and many of the luxuries of life.

In 1892, Mr. Hoagland was called upon to
mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 'Jth of
February, at the .age of seventy-two years, her
birth having occurred October 4, 1819. She was
a faithful member of the United Brethren Church,
and for fifty-five years she had been a loving wife
and true helpmate to her husband. Through that
long period they had traveled life's journey to-
gether, and on Christm.as Day of 1886 had cele-
brated their golden wedding. Their union was
blessed with ten children: Eli, who was born in
Coshocton County, Ohio, November 8, 1837, and
now follows farming in Concord Township, is
married and has seven children. Mar}', born in
Coshocton County, May 31, 1839, became the wife
of Lyman Mather, and died on the 2d of June,
1871, leaving four children. Isaac, born in Co-
shocton County, October 14, 1842, was a soldier of
the late war from 1861 until 1862, serving under
Fremont. He took sick on the forced march after
Price, and died near Otterville, Mo., January 3,
1862. His remains were brought back by his
father and interred in Sheldon cemetery. Lavina,
born in Coshocton County, Maj' 10, 1844, is the
wife of James Asbury Clark, of Concord Township,
and thej'have five children. Sarah, born in Con-
cord Township, June 18, 1846, is the wife of Oscar
Applegate, by whom she has four children. Ira,
born November 15, 1848, resides in Concord
Township with his wife and five children. James,
who was born April 6, 1850. is married and has
one child, and resides in Concord Township. Han-
nah, born August 20,1853, died October 6, 1855.
Nancy, born December 3, 1855. became the wife of
George Shrimplin, and died April 25, 1889, leav-
ing three children. Charles, born July 9, 1858, is
married and has one child. He resides on the old
homestead with our subject.



Mr. Hoagland did not follow in the political
footsteps of his father, who was a Democrat, but
became a Whig, and cast his first Presidential bal-
lot for Gen. "William Henry Harrison. In 1856,
he joined the ranks of the new Repulilican party,
and has since been one of its warm supporters.
His life has been well and worthily spent. Devot-
ing his time and attention to his business, his deal-
ings have ever been characterized b}' uprightness,
and he has not only won wealth, but has gained
the respect and confidence of ail with whom he
has been brought in contact, and is held in the
highest regard throughout this community. Prac-
tically, he is now living a retired life, while his son
operates the farm, and of late 3'ears lias spent
considerable time in traveling. During the late
war, he made several visits to the army, for two of
his sons were among the boys in blue. He also
attended the Exposition in New Orleans.



Wl OHN WEBSTER is one of the representative
and successful farmers and stock-raisers of
this commun it}-. He owns and operates three
^f' hundred and seventy-two acres of farming
land on section 33, Concord Township. He claims
England as the land of his nativitj', having been
born in Yorkshire November 11, 1827, and is
a son of William and Anna (Smith) Webster.
His mother died when he was a lad of twelve years,
and his father when he was fourteen j-ears of age.
They left seven sons, of whom our subject is the
fifth in order of birth. One brother, AVilliam,
next older than John, died in England at the age
of fifteen ^ears. Andrew, the eldest, is now living
near the city of York, England, where he foUovvs
farming. He is married and has a large famil}-.
Edward died in Boston, England, and leftoneson.
Robert crossed the Atlantic to this country and
spent his last days in Iroquois County, leaving at
his death a daughter, who has since died. Thomas
located in York, England, where he died, leaving
a family. Francis, the youngest, owns a farm near
Sheldon.



388



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



John Webster was reared to manhood in his
native countrj^, but, when about twentj - three years
of age, lie determined to seek his fortune in the
New World. He bade good-bye to his old home
in 1850, and in company with his brother crosseil
the briny deep. They located in Clarke County,
Ohio, where both secured work as farm hands.
After three and a-half years, Mr. Webster returned
to England, where he remained until 1856, when
he again came to this country. In the spring of
that year himself and his brother Robert located
in this county, and, in connection with another
party, purchased about five hundred acres of land.
Our subject took one hundred and thirty- four acres
of this as his share and began the development of
a farm. It was a wild tract, upon which not a
furrow had been turned or an improvement made,
but with characteristic energy he began its devel-
opment, and in 1857 built a little log cabin, which
is still standing, one of the few landmarks of
pioneer days that yet remain.

In the spring of 1858, Mr. Webster completed
his preparations for a home by his marriage with
Miss Jane A. Hill, of Clarke County, Ohio. Unto
them were born three children, of whom two sons
are living. Both are married and now reside in
Concord Township. The mother died in the fall
of 1865, and in 1867 Mr. Webster was again mar-
ried, his second union being with MissEmil3- Mur-
raj-, who wasborn in Concord Township, Septem-
ber 30, 1840, and is a daughter of Samuel and
Elizabeth (Whiteman) Murray. Twelve children
graced this union, of whom eight are now living:
Anna E. died in infancy; Sarah J. died at the age
of fourteen years and eight months; Minnie F.
and Clara M. are at home; Ora E. died in infancy;
John S. died at the age of four years and two
months; Edward E.; Mary M.; Ida P.; Margaret
G.; Emma H. and Letta E. complete the familj-.

Mr. Webster has been prospered in life and now
owns a valuable farm, whose three hundred and
seventy -two acres are under a high state of culti-
vation. The place is improved with substantial
buildings and good fences, and he has laid consid-
erable tile. Its neat and thrifty appearance indi-
cates his careful supervision, and gives evidence of
his industry and good management, which are



numbered among his chief characteristics. His
first Presidential vote was cast for John C. Fre-
mont, in 1856, and for a number of years he sup-
ported the Republican party, but has twice voted
for Cleveland. He lias never been a politician in
the sense of ofHce-seeking, but has served as School
Director for many years, at one time filling the
position for twelve consecutive years, and again
for six years. He is a strong advocate of the
public-school system, and is ever found in the
front rank in support of any enterprises calculated
to prove of public benefit. As a boy he received
a good common-school education, has throughout
life been an extensive reader, and is now a well-
informed man. Himself and wife hold member-
ship with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Shel-
don, and are numbered among the best citizens of
Concord Township. Mr. Webster has won success
through his own efforts, and is now a well-to-do
agriculturist.

AMUEL WUST, one of the prominent and
highly respected citizens of Iroquois
County, residing on section 25, Middle-
port Township, well deserves representa-
tion in this volume, for he is one of the honored
pioneers of this community. A native of the
Bucke^'e State, he was born in Champaign County,
on the 6th of Januaiy, 1821, and is a son of John
West, who was born in Ohio, in 1792. His father
was one of the early settlers of that State and
served in the War of 1812. In Ohio he married
Miss Azubali Wilson, a native of Pennsylvania
and a daughter of George Wilson, one of the
prominent pioneers of Ohio, in which State the
daughter was reared to womanhood. John West
was a millwright by trade and followed that occu-
pation during his younger life. He afterward set-
tled upon a farm, which he cleared and improved,
in Champaign County, there making his home for
a number of years. Subsequently he went to Ind-
iana and upon a farm in that State spent the re-
mainder of his life, being called to his final rest in
1855. He was a successful businessman, and by his



LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

URBANA



i



^^



1?




MiCAJAH Stanley.



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



391



well-directed efforts won a handsome competence.
His wife survived him for a few years.

Unto this worthy couple were horn ten eliildren.
of whom George, the eldest, died in 1890; Samuel
is second in order of birth; Elizabeth is now de-
ceased; Charlotte is the next younger; Moses is a
resident farmer of Iroquois County; he was fol-
lowed by Martha, Selina, William M., and one who
died in infancy.

The grandfather, Bazil West, was a hero for seven
yeai-s in the Revolutionary War and was an eye-
witness of Bunker Hill and many other battles
of historic fame. The first man he saw killed
was William Pollard, whose death was caused by
a cannon ball taking his head off. Grandfather
West was an eye-witness to the throwing of the
tea overboard and he made a vow that he would
never driuk any tea again, and this vow he kept.

The subject of this sketch received only such
educational advantages as tlie common schools af-
forded, but by self-culture he has made himself a
well-informed man. He remained at home until
after he h.ad attained his majority', when, in 1843,
he determined to seek his fortune in Illinois, and
coming to this State joined his elder brother in
.loliet, where he remained several jears. They
engaged in building sawmills. A few years later
Mr. AV^est came to Iroquois Count}- and built a
sawmill on Sugar Creek, and subsequently he
erected a sawmill and gristmill on the Iroquois
River, which he operated successfully for some
time.

On the 20th of November, IS-t,"), Mr. West mar-
ried Miss Susie Rush, who is among the oldest res-
idents of this county. By their union was born a
family of four children, namely: Charlotte Ann,
who is now the wife of Samuel Foust, a farmer re-
siding in Indian Territory; Thomas, who died
about 18()0; Harve\-, who is engaged in agriculture
in this county and married; and Emma, the wife
of Allison Moore, a resident of Brook, Ind.

Mr. West continued in the milling business until
1852, when, attracted by the discovery of gold on
the Pacific Sloi)e, he crossed the plains to Califor-
nia, making the journey with ox-teains. He arrived
at his destination after about six months of travel
and spent three 3-ears in the West, engaged in



prospecting and mining, but liis trip was not a very
successful one. Speaking of the high prices which
then prevailed, he told how lie had given as much
as $1 for a pie and a similar amount for the priv-
ilege of sleeping in a liouse overnight on his own
blanket. He returned from .San Francisco to New
York bv water and then, passing through Buffalo,
Detroit and Chicago, reached his home in Iroquois
County, 111., in the winter of 18.54.

After his return. Mr. AVest built a large flouring
mill on the Iroquois River, where he carried on a
successful business for a number of 3'cars, securing
a liberal patronage from all the country round
about. He now devotes his time and attention to
agricultural pursuits and is engaged in farming
two hundred acres of v.aluahle land, which was
cleared and broken by himself and placed under a
high state of cultivation. Eve}- improvement upon
the farm stands as a monument to his thrift and
enterprise. He is an energetic and industrious
man, and by his pei-severance and good business
ability he has prospered and won a comfortable
competence which is the just reward of his labors.



|1_^0N. MICAJAH STANLEY was one of the
IITjii very earliest pioneers of what is now
I^^^ Iroquois County, and the original proprie-
(^ tor of the site of the city of AA'atseka. He
was born in Highland County, Ohio, February 2,
1810, and was a son of Anthony and Hannah
(Hobbs) Stanley. His father was a native of
North Carolina, and removed to Highland County,
about 1805. About 1813, the family removed
from Highland to Clinton County, of the same
State, and in 1830, our subject, in company with
his parents and other members of the family, trav-
eling with teams, removed from the Buckeye State
to Illinois. They reached the AA'abash River in
Indiana, and spent three weeks on the Wea Prairie.
The country was almost uninhabited except by-
Indians. Perhaps the white families in that region
did not exceed a half-dozen. From that place
they proceeded to what is now Iroquois, but was
then A'ermillion County, and settled near the pres-



392



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



ent town of Milford. The Stanley party consis-
ted of Anthony Stanley and his wife; Micajah
Stanley; his oldest brother, AVilliara, and his wife
Judith; his second brother, John, and his wife
Agnes; his youngest brother, Isaac, and his sisters,
Rebecca and I^lizabeth. With them from Wea also
came William Pickerel, an old Quaker, who became
the founder of Milford. He was a remarkable
man, a blacksmith, a miller and farmer, a jack of
all trades, especially adapted to pioneer life, and
as honest as useful. He built a mill at their point
of settlement, from which Milford derives its
name.

The following extract, purporting to be Mr. Stan-
ley's storj', is quoted from the "Iroquois County
History:" That winter we witnessed the hardest
I eyer experienced in mj- life. We were destitute
of almost everytliing. We came here with eight
head of horses, fifteen head of cattle and a flock
of sheep, expecting to get hay from the people
here, but the tire had destroyed it all. We had to
haul our corn from the AVabash, and secured what
we expected would do us. In the early part of
the winter a snow fell ten inches deep, which in-
creased through the season until it became eigh-
teen inches deep on the level. Then there came
a rain and formed a crust on that. The snow
was drifted in places until it was six or sev6u feet
deep. That fall we had plenty of wild turkeys,
but in the winter they all froze; we had plent}'
of deer, but the dogs and wolves killed a good
many of them and we could find plenty of deer
carcasses afterwards. The deer were not all killed
and we soon had plenty of them again, but we had
no more wild turkeys after that. In 1831, we had
a pretty hard time raising a crop. With the rains
we had, our streams were filled up very high, I
may say tremendously high. In the fall of 1830,
Mr. Hubbard was living at Bunkum, and had his
trading-post where Benjamin Fry lived. He moved
that year to Danville and opened a store there.
He employed me and some other men to go to
Chicago for goods. He engaged four teams. I
took four joke of oxen. At that time there was
nothing between here and Chicago in the shape of
a white family. AVe staid all night at his trading-
house, and the next morning started for Chicago.



This was in the spring of 1831. We went up and
crossed the Kankakee River, where Robert Hill
formerly kept hotel, above Momence. AVhen we
got there the river was very high. We had to
ride on the middle cattle, and drive the head ones,
and the water ran into our wagon boxes. When
we got to Chicago we found no goods there, and
had to wait three weeks until the schooner got in.
Inside of old Ft. Dearborn there were two or
three persons doing business. Mr. Dole was there
and another gentleman was keeping a boarding