room and has built up a good trade.
On the 14th of February, 1882, Mrs. Bishop was
called to her final rest. She was a member of the
Baptist Church, was a consistent Christian and an
exemplary wife and mother. On Thanksgiving
Day of 1884, Mr. Bishop was again married, his
second union being with Mrs. Marian BL Blue,
widow of John Blue, and a daughter of Benjamin
Hill. Siie is a native of Lockport, N. Y. She be-
longs to the Methodist Church and is a highly es-
teemed member of the society.
Mr. Bishop is also a member of tlie Methodist
Church. Socially, he belongs to Iroquois Lodge
No. 74, I. O. 0. F., of which he has been Treasurer
for twenty-six years; and to Iroquois Encampment
No. 81. He is also a member of Watseka Lodge
No. 446, A. F. & A. M., of which he has been Tyler
for twenty-four years, and is a member of AVatseka
Chapter No. 114, R. A. M., and Kankakee Com-
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
495
inandery No. 33, K. T. In politics, he is a stanch
Republican and Ii.hs been an Alderman of the Wat-
seka Common Council for twelve years and City
Treasurer for two years.
Jlr. Bishop has now been a resident of Watseka
and Middleport for thirty years and is esteemed
by its citizens as an upriglit and honorable man.
Modestand unassuming in manner, but always reli-
able, he has never sought distinction, but his
brethren of the three links and those of the square
and compass liave shown their regard for iiim by
keeping him continuousl}' in office for npwai'ds of
a ([uarter of a century.
T SAAC WIIITTEL), a self-made man and well-to-
j! do farmer residing on section 26, Artesia
It Township, claims North Carolina as the State
of his nativity. He was born in Chatham County
on the 24tii of August, 1822, and is a son of .Jona-
than and Nancy (Clark) Whitted, both of whom
were natives of North Carolina. Their family
numbered thirteen children, including Isaac. El-
bridge, Mary Ann, I^ncch, .Sarah .Jane, Andrew
Jackson, William, Caroline, Rosella; Hezekiah,
who died when about seven j-ears of age; John
Thomas, who died in the prime of life; and two
who died in infancy. Seven of the family are yet
living. It was in 1834 that Jonathan Whitied re-
moved witli his family to Indiana, and took up
eighty acres of Government laud. He soon after-
ward went to Annapolis, Ind., and in Parke County
followed his trade of coopering, which he had
learned in early life. He there resided for many
years, but died in Vermillion County, Ind., in
1867. His wife passed away ten years previous,
her deatli occurring in Iowa.
In the State of his nativity, Isaac Whitted spent
the first twelve yeai-s of his life, and then accom-
panied his parents on their removal to Indiana,
where he was reared to manhood. Farming has
ever been his principal occupation. On the 16th
of Januarj-, 1845, he was first married, the lady of
his choice being Miss Mary Pierson, daughter of
William and Mary (Anderson) Pierson. of In-
diana. Five children was born of this union:
Andrew J., born October 2.5, 184.5; Rebecca Ann.,
August 14, 1849; Lydia Ellen. December 24,1852;
Charles Sumner, February 11, 1857; and William
Allen, June 26, 1860. These are all now deceased.
Rebecca Ann grew to womanhood, and became the
wife of Allen Nulin, of Artesia Township, by
whom she had two children. Andrew M. and Clara
A., who are still living. Our subject's first wife
died on the 23d of May, 1862, and Isaac
Whitted was again married, on tlie 21st of May,
1863, his second union being with Miss Emil}-
Stafford, daughter of Thomas and Edith Stafford,
who were then residents of Indiana, but came
originally from North Carolina.
Unto our subject and his second wife were born
seven children: Nancy Estella, born June 3, 1864,
is the wife of WiUiam Baker, a resident of Buck-
ley, bj' whom she has two children, Arta and
George; Edith Adella, born September 12, 1866;
Mary Eflie, March 22, 1868; Perly G., November 18,
1869; FredElbridge, August 21. 1871; Cora Avis,
April 13, 1873; and Birdie L., April 20. 1875.
Perly died in infancy-, and Edith A. died March
31, 1889. She was the wife of Joseph Stevens,
and at her death left a son, Isaac Leroy. The other
five children are all yet living, but the mother of
this family was called to her final rest on the 4th
of August, 1875.
Mr.Whitted left Indiana in 1865 and came to
Illinois, purchasing a farm of two hundred acres of
land on section 15, Artesia Township, where he
made his home for seventeen 3-ears. He was in-
dustrious and enterprising, and as the time passed
and his financial resources were increased, he
added to his possessions until he owned five hun-
dred and twenty acres of well-improved land,
which yielded to him a golden tribute in return
for his care and cultivation. In 1882, he removed
to his farm on section 26, where he purchased one
hundred and twent3'-sevcn acres of land adjoining
the corporation limits of Buckley on the e.ist, and
he here now makes his home. In politics, he is a
supporter of Republican principles, his first Presi-
dential vote being cast for Henry Cl.iy. Mr.
Whitted started out in life empty-handed, with
nothing but a young man's bright hope of the
496
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
future anrl a deterinination to succeed, but relying
upon liis own energies, he lias worked his way up-
ward by bis abilitj- and good management, and
has now a comfortable competence as the reward
of his own labors. His example is worthy of emu-
lation, and may well serve to encourage others
who, like himself, have to depend merely upon
their own resources.
YPOLITI P. LAKOCHE, one of the early
settlers of Middleport and AVatseka, who
has been prominently identified with the
undertaking and furniture business of those
places for many years, is now associated with J.H.
Bishop in that line of trade in Watseka. Mr. La-
roche was born in Montreal, Canada, on the 12th
of December, 1837, and is a son of Hypoliti and
Sophia (Favralu) Laroche, both of whom were na-
tives of Montreal.
In 1855, our subject came to Illinois witli his
parents and the famil3' settled in Kankakee, where
the}- spent a year. They then removed to Jliddle-
port, Iroquois County, but three years later, in 1 8fil),
the parents returned to Kankakee. The mother
died in 1879, and the father, who survived her,
passed awaj* in Watseka in 1882. From the time
when he came with his parents our subject has been
a resident of this county. On locating in Middle-
port, he worked with Henry Hogle, a wagon-
maker, until the death of his employer in 1858,
after which he engaged with Mr. Barnham, a cabi-
net-maker, under Leander Hogle as foreman. In
1860, he bought out his employer and conducted
the business until 1861, when he sold out and
formed a partnership with Mr. Hogle in the same
line of trade. In 1864, John H. Bishop bought
out the interest of Leander Hogle and the busi-
ness was continued by the firm of Bishop & La-
roche until 1868, when our subject sold out and
went to California. He spent two j^ears on the
Pacific Coast in California and Oregon and then
returned to Watseka. His next venture was to
buy an interest in the furniture store of his former
partner, Mr. Bishop, with whom he was associated
until 1880, when he again sold out and went to
Colorado. He then spent two 3'ears in mining
speculation in that State, returning to Watseka in
1882. Once more he engaged in business, and
through giving too much credit lost heavily and
closed out. Afterward he once more formed a
connection with J. H. Bishop in the old line, that
of furniture and undertaking, acting as foreman,
which connection has continued until the present
time. Their relations have always been of the
pleasantest kind and are characterized by mutual
confidence.
On the 1st of January, 1861, in Middleport, Mr.
Laroche was united in the holy bonds of matri-
mony with Miss Celanier La Bonty, who died on
the 6th of March, 1868. In his social relations, he
is a member of Watseka Lodge No. 446, A. F. it A-
M.; Watseka Chapter No. 114, R. A. M., Iroquois
Lodge No. 74, I. O. O. F.; and Iroquois Encamp-
ment No. 81, of the same order, all of Watseka.
In politics, Mr. Laroche is a Republican and has
served two years as Alderman in the City Council.
It is no flattery to sa}' of him that he enjoys the
confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens in a
marked degree, for they esteem him highly as an
upright and honorable man.
H**** ^^i'5"l"5'*l
.j..;..}..}.!^^ *^**l=
ILLIAM S.BARNES, junior member of the
f firm of Doolittle & Barnes, who operates a
^^ large creamery and is a successful business
man of Onarga Township, has the honor of being
a native of Illinois, his birth having occurred in
Du Page County on the 20th of August, 1849.
His parents, Horace and Louisa (Seeley) Barnes,
were both natives of the Green Mountain State,
and a sketch of their lives appears elsewhere in
this work. They were numbered among the early
settlers of Du Page Countj^, and our subject spent
the greater part of his boyhood and youth upon
his father's farm in that locality. During the
winter months he attended the public scliools and
in the summer season worked in the fields. With
the family he came to Iroquois County in 1867.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
497
and has here since made liis home. Though not
sixteen j-ears of age, lie enlisted in April, 1865, in
Company H, One Hundred and Fortj - first Illinois
Infantry, and served about six months.
Mr. Barnes was united in marriage December IC,
1871, with Miss Ella Harper, daughter of Samuel
H. and Mary (Lehigh) Harper, of this county.
Their union has been blessed with two children,
both daughters, Louisa J. and Florence.
In 1884, Mr. Barnes formed a partnership with
KIkauah Doolittle, who is a resident of Onarga.
Our subject manages the business and is the resi-
dent partner. They own a large creamery with
a capacity of one thousand pounds of butter per
day. This is located on the farm of Mr. Doolittle,
which comprises three hundred acres of land in
Onarga Township. The farm, however, is con-
trolled by ^Ir. Barnes, who has had charge of it for
fifteen years. The Arm owns about fift^' head of
milch cows, and an excellent quality of butter is
manufactured, the product of their creamery being
shipped to the New Orleans market, where it finds
a ready sale. Socially, he is a member of W. A.
Babcock Post No. 416, G. A. R., of Onarga.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Barnes is a sup-
porter of Hei)ublican principles, and in religious
belief he is a Presbyterian, holding membership
with the church in Onarga. lie possesses good
business abilit}', is enterprising and industrious,
and as the result of his well-directed efforts has
met success in his undertakings.
^f/OHN M.CAFFERTV, who owns and oper-
ates three hundred and IwentN'-five acres of
^— - valuable land in Artesia Township, pleas-
^^fj antly situated about a mile from Buckley,
was born near Crawfordsville, in Montgomery
County, Ind., May 16, 1843, and is one of seven
children, whose parents were David and Martha
(Canine) McCafferty, the former a native of Ohio
and the latter of Kentucky. Grandfather McCaf-
ferty emigrated from the Highlands of Scotland.
In 1855, David McCaffertj' removed with his fam-
ily to this State, locating in Gridley To\vnshi|).
McLean County, near the present site of Gridley.
The farm which he purchased contained two hun-
dred and flfty-flve acres of land, and to its cultiva-
tion and improvement he devoted his energies un-
til his death, which occurred in 1874. His wife
had died previously. The children of their familj'
weie Richard, Sarah Ellen, .John, INfary Melissa,
Anna, James K. and William S.
Mr. McCafferty, whose name heads this record,
spent the first twelve years of his life in his native
State, and then came with his parents to Illinois,
where he was reared to manhood in the usual
manner of farmer lads. He was well trained in
the labors of the field, and his educational- privi-
leges were those which the common schools af-
forded. After attaining his majority he was
united in marriage with Miss Margaret Snyder,
daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Schultz) Sny-
der, their union being celebrated on Christmas
Eve of 1868. Mrs. ^McCafferty was born in Brown
Countj', Ohio, on the 1st of August, 1845. Her
parents had two children who were born in
Germany. Coming to America, they spent most
of their lives in Ohio, where her father carried on
farming and dairying. Both died in Ohio. Mis.
McCafferty is one of a family of nine children, of
whom eight are still living. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
McCafferty have been born four children, three
daughters and a son, as follows: Carrie Ann is
now the wife of Wesle}' Lock, a farmer residing
about two miles from Gridley, III.; Mary Jose-
phine, a graduate of the State Normal School, of
Normal, 111., is a teacher by profession; Florence E.
and John Albert are still at home.
It was about the year 1865 that JNIr. IVIcCaf-
ferty began farming for him^elf on an eighty-
acre tract of land in McLean County, where he
resided from that time until the spring of 1892.
He then came to Iroquois County, III. In the
meantime lie had added to his original farm and
extended its boundaries by additional purchase
until he owned two iiundred acres of valuable
land, which he sold on coining to this county.
For several years he eng.aged extensively in the
breeding of hogs, but now devotes his time and
attention principally to farming. In the winter
of 18fll-!)2, he purchased his present farm, to
498
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
which he removed in^tlie spring. It is a well-
improved place and already shows the impress
of the owner's industry and enterprise, which
are numbered among his chief characteristics.
Viewed from a financial standpoint, Mr. McCaf-
ferty's life has been a successful one. He is a man
of good business abilitj-, and by well-directed ef-
forts he has acquired a handsonie competence,
which classes him among the successful farmers of
the community. His life has been well and worthily
spent, and his upright character has won him high
regard. All the famih- are members of the Chris-
tian Church, and are numbered among the best
citizens of the cominunit3-. In politics, he is a
supporter of Democratic principles. Socially, he
is a Mason.
X ♦^♦^^•s-
^^iHOMAS JOHN has the honor of being a
!Jf(^^^ native of Iroquois County and is a repre-
*^\^<' sentative of one of the early families. His
father, Lemuel John, was born in Adams County,
Ohio, May 8, 1807, and was a son of Thomas and
Nancy John. He grew to manhood upon a farm
and acquired his education in the common schools,
but his advantages were limited. When a young
man of twenty-four 3-ears he emigrated to Illinois,
in 1831, and cast in his lot with the early settlers of
Milford Township, Iroquois Countj-, where he en-
tered land from the Government. Subsequentlj',
he sold that claim to Mr. Yennum and removed
to Belmont Township. He was married in that
township about 1836 to Miss Catherine William-
son, a native of Adams County, Ohio, and unto
them were born the following children: William,
who died in childhood; Sarah, wife of George
Wilson, of Nebraska; Nancy, wife of Robert Clif-
ton, a resident farmer of Ash Grove Township;
Thomas, of this sketch; and Samuel, who is living
retired in Woodland. When Lemuel John came to
this county he was in limited circumstances, but
by industrj- and euterjjrise he worked his way up-
ward and gained a comfortable home. His death
occurred in Belmont Township, November 30,
1847, at the age of forty-one years. His wife sur-
vived him twenty years, passing away on the 10th
of May, 1867. They had experienced all the pri-
vations and hardships of pioneer life, and at the
time of the Black Hawk War were forced to leave
their home and flee to the fort in Danville for
protection.
The subject of this sketch was born on llie old
homestead in Belmont Township, October 29, 1841,
and was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier
life. As soon as old enough to handle the plow,
he began farming, and at a very early age the
management of the homestead fell upon his3'oung
shoulders. With the assistance of his mother, he
carried on the home farm and attended to all of
the business interests. Throughout his entire life,
he was engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock-
raising. The old homestead is no win his possession
and he owns four hundred and fift3 - five acres of
arable land. His home is a handsome and com-
modious residence which is supplemented by good
barns and all other necessary outbuildings, and
these are surrounded by waving fields of grain
which j'ield abundant harvests as the reward for
the care and cultivation bestowed npon them. ,
The farm is one of the desirable places in Belmont
Township.
On the 23d of October, 1867, Mr. John was mar-
ried in Milford Township to Elizabeth V.Webster,
a native of Ohio and a daughter of Robert and
Mary J. Webster, with whom she came to Illinois
from Indiana. Her parents are now residents of
Milford. Unto Mr. and Mrs. John have been born
the following children: Catherine Edith, wife of
Isaac W. Kirby, a farmer of Belmont Township;
Lillian and Elizabeth V., both of whom are engaged
in teaching school; Eloise, who was educated in
Hoopeston and is now keeping house for her father;
Sarah M. and Lemuel, at home. The children were
all born and reared on the home farm. The mother
of this family died March 30, 1891, and her loss
was mourned by manj' friends as well as her im-
mediate family, for she was a lady of many excel-
lencies of character and won the love of all who
knew her. She died in the faith of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, her membership being in AVood-
laud.
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
501
Although not a rneraber of ttie church, Mr. John
1ms contributed liberally to its support; neither is
his aid witiiheld from any enterprise calculated to
prove of public good. He is a member of the Ma-
sonic fraternit}- and of the Odd Fellows' society.
In 1860, he cast his first Presidential vote for
Stephen A. Douglas and has since been a supporter
of the Democratic party on questions of State and
National importance, but at local elections he sup-
ports the man whom he thinks best qualified for
the office, regardless of party affiliations. !Mr. John
has had to make his own way in the world, but by
his perseverance, enterprise and good business
ability he has secured a handsome competence and
become a successful and leading farmer of the
community. He is numbered among the leading
and influential citizens of Belmont Township,
where he has made his home for the long period of
fifty-one years and is held in universal respect.
*^^^E
I a ^ e '
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1^ \ ^
I
It- AMPTON S. DIXON, a representative citi-
r J. zen and leading farmer of Douglas Town-
X/< ship, carries on a farm on section 6. His
(^) birth occurred in Chester Township, Meigs
Count}', Ohio, Januaiy 23, 1831. He is a son of
Thomas and Mary (Northrup) Dixon. His pater-
nal grandfather emigrated from Virginia to Meigs
County, Ohio, whei'e the father was born and
reared. The mother's father, when thirteen years
old, while playing at Point Pleasant, on the Ohio
River, was captured by the Indians, who still fre-
quented that i)art of the country, and was held
captive by them for eight 3-eavs. He learned their
language and habits during that time, and it was
with difficulty that he was induced to leave them.
The mother of our subject was born in Gallia
County, Ohio.
After the marri.age of Mr. and Mrs. Dixon, they
lived for some five years in Meigs Count}', but
in 1835 emigrated by way of the Ohio, Mississippi
and Illinois Rivers to La Salle County, 111. By
trade JNlr. Dixon was a boat-builder until coming
to Illinois, after which he carried on farming.
Politically, he was a Whig and later a Republican.
Both he and his wife are members of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church. Their deaths occurred
within twenty-four hours of each other in Oska-
loosa, Iowa, in March, 1880, and they were buried
in the same grave in La Salle County, 111. The}'
were much respected and esteemed throughout
the section in which they dwelt. Of their fam-
ily of five sons and three daughters, only three
are now living: Francis Marion, a member of
Company II, Twentieth Illinois Infantry, was
killed in the battle of Shiloh. Charles H., who
was in the same company and regiment, served
thirty-eight months and then re-enlisted in Han-
cock's Veteran Corps. He died of smallpox at
Washington, D. C. The living members of the
family are Hampton 8.; James W., a farmer of
Iroquois County; and George W., a farmer of
North Dakota.
Our subject is the eldest of the family. He was
only four years of age when with his parents
he came to La Salle County. He was reared
on his father's farm and received a very lim-
ited education in the old-time schools. When
twenty years of age, he taught for one term,
boarding around, as was the custom in those days.
Mr. Dixon remained at home until his marriage,
on the 5th of November, 1852, his bride being
Nancy J. Tullis, a native of Ohio, who emigrated
with her parents to La Salle County in 1835. Of
their union, seven children were born: Hannah
died when seventeen years of age; Mary died
at the age of eighteen; E.ssie, wife of A. .S.
Sherwood, Jr., resides at Filley, Neb.; Alice, wife
of J. C. Howe, Jr., resides in Denver, Colo. Charles
H., basso singer in the Du Pau w Quartet, he entered
the University of Chicago at its grand opening
October 1, 1892, to remain until his graduation in
the classical course. He expects to take up the pro-
fession of a minister. He led to the marriage
altar, July 26, 1892, Miss Mary David, daughter
of the Rev. Charles David, of Onarga, 111., and
they reside in Chicago. George, a fanner of Bea-
trice, Neb.; and Jennie, a teacher of Filley, Neb.
All of the children, with the exception of George
and Mary, have been teachers, and nearly all of
them attended the Onarga Seminary.
On the 261h of July, 1881, Mr. Dixon was .again
502
PORTRAIT Am) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
married, the lady of his choice being Mrs. Carrie
V. Jayne, nee Wright, who was born near La
Porte, Ind., December 21, 184 L She is a daugh-
ter of Joseph Y. and Tabitha (Evans) Wright.
Her paternal grandfatlier, Benjamin Wright, came
from England to Pennsylvania, where he mar-
ried a German lady, and later emigrated to Meigs
County, Ohio. There Mrs. Dixon's father was
born. Her mother was born across the line in
West Virginia, though of Welsh extraction, her
father being a native of Wales. At an early da\'
Mrs. Dixon's parents lemoved to Indiana, living
for a time at Terre Haute, then in Porter County,
and later in La Porte County, where the father
died at the age of sixtj'. The mother lived to be
ninety-one j'ears old. They were both members of
the Methodist Church until after the father's
death, when the mother joined the Christian
Church. Mr. Wright was a well-to-do farmer, and
was politically a Whig.
Mrs. Dixon is the youngest of twelve chil-
dren, of whom nine are still living. She was
reared on a farm and her early education was
such as the district afforded. She received in-
structions from C. P. Snow, brother of Col. Snow,
at present Congressman. She supplemented her
education by a course of fifteen months' schooling
at the Valparaiso Normal School, then under the
auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Ctuirch.
AVhen sixteen years of age, she taught her first
school. In 1861, she came to Livingston County,
111., and began her successful career as a teacher.
In 1865, she entered Eureka College, from which
she was graduated the following year. For some
twenty-five years she followed teaching in Liv-
ingston Count}-. A year of that time she taught
in Major College, at Bloomington, also a year in
the Gibson schools and a year in Gilman. She
was first married in Livingston County, Decem-
ber 25, 1868, to Milton O. Jayne, of Ohio, and a
teacher by profession. Tiiat calling he followed
for a number of years, and died July 18, 1876, in
Ford Count}'. Mrs. Dixon still owns a farm of
one hundred and sixty acres in that county. Mr.
and Mrs. Dixon have one child, Carrie Maud.
Until thirty-eight years of age, our subject fol-
lowed farming as an occupation, and at that time