dred and sixty acres, and has since iiicre.a.sed it to
two hundreil and fifty acres in a body, whicli is
well tiled and improved. He has upon it a good
home and other farm buildings, and has reached
independence and prosperity through his own
efforts and industr}'. He is a good .agriculturist,
and uses enterprising and modern ideas in carry-
ing on his farm work.

Our subject's first Presidental ballot was cast for



614



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



McClellan in 1864, and ever since that time he has
been a stanch supporter of the Democratic part^-.
He has never sought or accepted offleial positions.
For ten 3'ears he has been identified with the
schools of tlie township as a Director, and takes a
prominent part in educational work. He has seen
and assisted in the development of this count}-,
and this brief sketch will be read by liundreds of
his fellow-citizens, who are all interested in his
success.



AMUEL F. EVERETT, who resides on
section 22, Ridgeland Township, owns and
operates a beautiful farm of one hundred
and thirty acres, which yields to him a
good income in return for the care and labor he
bestows upon it. He has many excellent improve-
ments upon the place, such as are found on a
model farm and which in connection with the
well-tilled fields attest the progressive spirit and
the enterprise of the owner, who is recognized as
one of the leading agriculturists of the commu-
nity. He also engages in importing and breeding
horses.

The life record of Mr. Everett is .is follows: He
was born in Windham County, Vt., on the 18th of
December, 1822, and is a son of Jacob and Mar}-
(Fish) Everett, whose f.amily numbered ten chil-
dren: The eldest died in infancy; Warren died
in 1852; Mary A. became the wife of Jesse Brown,
and died in 1854; Jeremiah departed this life in
181)1; Joel S., who was a Congregational minister,
engaged in missionary work in foreign fields, and
died in 1860 at Constantinople; Eunice M., wife of
Dexter Marsh, a geologist, is living in Greenfield,
Mass.; Elizabeth is the wife of Simeon Blodgett, a
resident farmer of Deerfield, Mass.; >Susan is tlie
wife of Obid Hall, a farmer living in the Green
Mountain State; Samuel F. is the next in order of
birth; and .lolui D. is engaged in farming near
Deerfield. The mother of this family died in



1832, and the death of the father occurred in
1850, having survived his wife about eighteen
years.

The subject of this sketch received a common-
school education, and b}- reading and observation
has become a well-informed man. He remained
under the parental roof until twenty years of age,
when he left home and hired out to work on a
farm at $10 per month. He was thus emplo^x'd
for three years, after which he went to Worcester,
Mass., where he learned the trade of machinist and
spent the succeeding three _years of his life. We
next find him a resident of Lawrence, Mass., where
he remained some seven j-ears. In 1854, he moved
to Rochester, N. Y., and there worked at his trade
till he came to Illinois. Emigrating Westward in
1856, he stopped in Elgin, 111., where he worked at
his ti'ade for a year. Upon coming to this State,
lie purchased eighty acres of land, his present
home, Lo Avliich he moved March 4, 1857. Since
that time, or for over a third of a centuiy, he has
resided upon that farm. He first purcliased eighty
acres of railroad land on section 22, Ridgeland
Township, but extended the boundaries of his
farm, as his financial resources were increased, by
the additional purchase of fifty acres.

On the 1st of December, 1850, Mr. Everett was
married to Miss Harriet C. Sweet, daughter of Ed-
ward and Sj-lvia (Crane) Sweet. Mrs. FIverett was
born in Bristol, Vt., March 27, 1825. Her father
was born in Pownel, and her mother in Bethel, Yt.,
in which State both spent their lives. Of their
twelve children, only four live: Mrs Everett,
Mrs. Jane S. Sutliff, of Lawrence, Kan.; Mrs. Adel-
iza M. Brooks, of Denver, Colo.; and John C, a
farmer of Arlington, Ore. Five ciiildren have
been born of this union: Jennie, who died in
1857; Carrie P., wife of John Hobhis, a farmer re-
siding in North Dakota; Edward S., who graduated
from the commercial and scientific department* of
the Gr.and Prairie Seminar}-, is living at home;
Charles W., who takes a prominent part in the
Methodist Episcopal Church work, graduated from
Onarga Seminary, also DePauw University, of
Greencastle, Tnd. After finishing his education
he was Principal of the public schools of Onarga
for two years, and then went to Denver, Colo.,



LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

URBANA








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oJ^^^^^^^i^



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



617



.and after studying law in the office of Patter-
son & Edsall, was admitted into the firm ns
a partner. Hattie C, who is an active worker in
the Presbyterian Church, is at home.

Mr. and Mrs. Everett attend the Jlethodist
C'huioh.aiid in political sentiments, he is a Republi-
can. A public-spirited and progressive citizen, he
talces an active interest in all that pertains to the
welfare of the community, where for thirty-five
years he lias made his home and is held in high
resrard.



^l] , EisRY BU.SH, who is engaged in agricul-

I )l' '''^i''"'' pursuits on his farm, which is located
J^^'' on section 29, Douglas Townsliip, is a na-
(^) five of the Buckeye State, his birth liaring
occurred in Muskingum County, on the 25th day
of ?'ebruary, 1835. He is a sou of William and
.Sarah Busli. The latter in her maidenhood bore
tlie name of McC'larey. The fatlier was born in
Harrison County, Ohio, while the raotiier was a
native of Maryland. The former followed the oc-
cupation of farming. In 1860, he moved by
teams to Illinois and located in Putnam, where he
became well-to-do. He was a Democrat in politics,
and his wife was a member of the Methodist
Church. Mr. Bush sprang from (Quaker stock. He
died when he had attained his seventy-seventh
year, and his wife passed away at the age of sixt} -
five. They had a family of eight children. Deb-
oraii married AVilliam P. Spencer, who was born
in Guernsey County, Ohio, April 8, 1832, and in
1866 came to La Salle County, where he followed
farming for a livelihood. He was a Republican in
politics and was an honored member of the Ma-
sonic and Odd Fellows' fraternities. On the 24th
of March, 1869, he was called to his final rest, leav-
ing two children, Mary L. and AVilliam I. Mrs.
Spencer now makes her home with our subject, and
is therefore identified with the interests and his-
tory of Iroquois County.

In order of l)irth Henry Bush is the second child
in his father's family. A sister, Sarah A., who is
the wife of Joseph Bush, also lives in Douglas

28



Township. John is a farmer of Putnam County,
111., and Lizzie makes her home in the same county.
Catherine married Mark Purviance and died in
Iowa. Mary died when a young lady, and Jane
lives in Pu'nam County.

Our subject was reared to the usual hard labor
of farm life, receiving such education as could be
obtained in the district schools of that period.
When twenty-two years of age, starting in the ac-
tive business of life for himself, be began farming
on a rented place. The first land he owned was a
tract of eighty acres of wild land, which he broke
and improved and then sold. Having purchased
his ])resent farm in company with his brother
John, he located on it in 1880. He has erected
many outbuildings and has otherwise improved
the place. He is tiling it throughout in a system-
atic manner and has made of his farm one of the
best in the township.

In polities, Mr. Bush's sympathies are with the
Democratic party, but he has never been a man to
push himself forward for official recognition. He
is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church of La Hogue, being a Trustee of the same.
By his business dealings with his fellow-citizens
he has won the reputation of being a man of strict
integrity and honor and is well and favorably
known throughout this section.



i>-^<l



ILLIAM LONG, an enterprising and highly
/\ll/ lespected farmer, who resides on section
'^l 27,Lovejoy Township, is of English birth.
He was born on the 27th of October, 1827, in Dev-
onshire, England, and is a son of William and
Jane (Lockyer) Long. His father was also born
in the same locality as our subject, and through-
out his entire life followed agricultural pursuits.
On crossing the Atlantic he first located in Can-
ada, where he remained from 1832 until 1815,
when he took up his residence in Kendall County,
111. He died at the age of sixty-nine years. His
wife was also born in Devonshire, and was called
to her final rest at the age of si.\ty-three years.
He was a member of the Latter Dav Saints, and



618



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



she held merabevsbip with the Methodist Church.
Unto them were born six children, four sons and
two daughters, but all are now deceased with the
exception of our subject and his sister Ann, wife
of John Godwin, a resident farmer of La Salle
County. 111.

We now take up the personal histor_y of our
subject, who was only four years of age when his
parents left their native land and emigrated to
Canada, where his boyhood days were passed and
his education was acquired. He was a young man
of seventeen j^ears when he became a resident of
Kendall County, 111. Subsequently he removed to
La Salle County, where he engaged in farming for
eighteen years. He commenced life with a capital
of only 1200, but by his industrj', enterprise and
good management and the assistance of his esti-
mable wife he has worked his way upward to a
position of affluence.

Mr. Long was married on the 27th of Septem-
ber, 1849, to Miss Margaret Stewart, a native of
Canada, who resided in that country until seven-
teen years of age. Her father, Charles Stewart, is
a native of Pennsylvania, and farming has been
his chief occupation through life. He is now liv-
ing, at the advanced age of ninety years. His
wife, who was born in Canada, is now deceased.
There were thirteen children in their familj', three
sons and ten daughters, of whom seven are yet liv-
ing. ]Mrs. Long is the eldest; Clarissa is the wife
of Wells Morey, a farmer of Indiana; Charles re-
sides in Canada; Melinda is the wife of George
Jeflferj', of Canada; Eliza Ann is the wife of John
Thompson, who is living in Canada; Thomas re-
sides in the same country; and Nellie is the wife
of John Bruner, of Canada. Seven children
graced the union of our subject and his wife, four
sons and three daughters, of whom five are living:
Mary Jane is the wife of Aaron B. Frj', a farmer
of La Salle County; Harriet is the wife of William
Linfoot, a farmer of Prairie Green Township;
Newton is married and follows farming in Love-
joy Township; Hari'v is married and operates the
home farm; and Maggie is still under the [larental
roof.

Mr. Long has always been a stanch supporter of
the Republican party. He has served as School



Director, but has never been a politician in the
sense of office-seeking. Himself and wife are mem-
bers of the Church of Latter Day Saints in La Salic
County. Their farm comprises three hundred and
twenty acres of rich land under a high state of
cultivation and well improved, and its neat ap-
pearance indicates his thrift and enterprise. He
is a man of strict integrit}'; his word is as good as
his bond, and his friends are man3'.

r |4.4.4.4.i



NDREW L. CARTER, who is now living
in Cissna Park, was born in Guernsey
County, Ohio, July 25, 1835. His father,
James Carter, was also a native of the
Buckeye State and was reared upon a farm; he also
learned the blacksmith's trade in his youth. He mar-
ried Miss NancjJ^ Haskett, a native of Alexandria,
Va.,who when a child went with her parents to Ohio.
Her father served in the War of 1812 and her
grandfather served in the Revolution under (ien.
Putnam. In 1853, the parents of our subject re-
moved to Benton County, Ind., and in February,
1856, came to Iroquois County by team. The
members of the familj- .settled on different farms
in Artesia and Pigeon Grove Townships. The
county was wild and unimproved, the settlements
were few, and one could ride for miles over the
prairies without fences or buildings to impede
progress. Mr. Carter improved several farms in this
locality and also engaged in blacksmithing. His
death occurred at Forest, Livingston Count}-, and
his wife died at the home of her son. In politics,
he was a Whig and afterward a Republican, and
he and his wife were both active members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.

In the Carter family were three sons and a
daughter, of whom our subject is the eldest. Will-
iam S., who was born in Ohio and for three years
during the late war served in the Twent^y-sixth
Indiana Infantry, was wounded in the ankle at
^'icksburg and died as the result of his injuries
in Buckley, III.; Elizabeth died in Ross County,
Ohio, at the age of fifteen years; James M. is en-
gaged in merchandising in Forest, III,



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



619



Andrew Carter spent his earl3- boyhood days in
Ohio. His advantages were indeed meag-re; he
probably never attended school more than seven-
teen days in his life, but educated himself through
his own efforts and also taught his father to read.
In 1853 he went to Indiana, driving a herd of cat-
tle to Benton Count3'. He had previously been
tliere and had earned his first money by splitting
rails at thirty-seven and one-half cents per hun-
dred. In the spring of 1854, he returned to Ohio
and brought ins parents to the Hoosier State, and
two years later the}' all came together to Iroquois
County. Mr. Carter was mariied in Benton Count}'
September 20, 1855, to Lucinda Ladd, who was
born September 1.3, 1835, and reared in Pike
County, Oliio.

On the 22d of July, 1862, Mr. Carter enlisted at
Ash Grove, in Company K, Seventy-sixth Illinois
Infantry, under Capt. Joseph Davis and Col. A. W.
Mack, of Kankakee. He bade good-l\ye to li is fam-
ily, and at Kankakee joined the regiment, which
was the first in the field after the call for troops in
1862. They went to Columbus. Ky., thence to
Bolivar and afterward to La Grange, Tenn. Sub-
sequently, they went to Vicksburg, Miss., and for
forty days and nights our subject participated in
the siege of that city, being present at its surren-
der on the 4th of July. He now has in his posses-
sion a piece of the tree under which the surrender
took place. The Seventy-sixth Regiment next
participated in the battle of Jackson under Gen.
Sherman, then made a forced march back to Vicks-
l)urg, and thence went to Natchez. With Sherman
they participated in the Meridian campaign from
the 3d of February until ibe 4th of March, and
Mr. Carter was made First Sergeant of the com-
pany. The regiment was afterward transferred
from Sherman's army to Gen. Smith's command to
aid in the Red River Expedition. Subsequently,
they went up the Yazoo River and participated in
the battles of Burton, Danville and Yazoo Cit}-.
On the 1st of July, 1864, they started for Jackson-
ville under Gen. Slocum. A sharp fight occurred
on the 7th and the regiment was cut off from the
command, but it cut its way tlirough the rebel
lines again, losing, however, one hundred and one
men. They went up the Mississijipi to the mouth



of the White River and then to Memphis to drive
off Forrest. On the 31st of December, 1864, the
troops boarded a steamer for New Orleans and
from there went to Mobile Bay and Pensaeola,
They participated in the capture of Ft. Blakely,
having marched through the swamps and endured
many harclships. The Seventy-sixth Regiment
charged the works, captured the garrison and
planted the first flag, but the company to which
Mr. Carter belonged lost one-half of its number.
He had his clothes pierced four times, thus nar-
rowly escaping. Tliis was the last important bat-
tle in which he participated. He was a valiant
and faithful soldier, ever found at his post of
duty, and for meritorious conduct was commis-
sioned Second Lieutenant.

.Since the war, Mr. Carter has made his home con-
tinuously in this community, with the exce|)tion of
four j-ears spent in the West, from 1880 until 1884.
He has traveled extensively in the AVest and for
two years engaged in mining in Colorado, he and
three others going into the Grand River countr}'
in the midst of the Indians. Of late years, he has
resided in Cissna Park, where he has a comfortable
home.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Carter have boon born seven
children: Arthur E., a railroad engineer residing in
St. Louis; Margaret J., deceased, wife of Thomas
Mell; Andrew M., a photographer of Cissna Park;
Mary E., wife of Andrew Poleson, a farmer of
Hastings, Neb.; Wadsworth, who is living in Ar-
gentine, Ark.; Edward, who lives in Hastings; and
Leroy at home.

Mr.Carter is Past Post Commander of G. H. Neeld
Post No. 576, G. A.R.,and has filled all the offices
in the Knights of Pj'thias Lodge to which he be-
longs. He cast his first Presidential vote for
Abraham Lincoln, whom he saw in La Fayette,
Ind.,and has since been a stalwart Republican. He
was a great admirer of John A. Logan, whom lie
thinks was the most brilliant military character of
the late war. For a time, he was under his com-
mand, knew the General personally, and warned
him about cro.ssing a hill at Vicksburg. For thirty-
six years, Mr. Carter has resided in this county
«nd is numbered among its honored pioneers. He
has experienced all the hardsliips and trials of



620



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



frontier life, has ever borne his part in the up-
building and development of the county, and is a
leading citizen of the community, highly respected
for his sterling worth.



•?^



^^



' SA BERRY ROFF, an honored pioneer of
Iroquois County, now Police Magistrate
and ex-offlcio Justice of the Peace of Wat-
seka, was born in Morris County, N. J.,
September 13, 1818, and is a son of Joseph and
Mary (Conger) Roflf. When our subject was but
a child of three years, he accompanied his parents
to Newark, N. Y., where his father died three
years later, leaving his widow and children in de-
pendent circumstances. After the father's death,
the mother returned with her fannly to New Jersey,
where Asa was taken b3' an uncle to be reared.

When he was thirteen years of age, our subject
was apprenticed by an uncle to a shoemaker and
learned that trade, his terra of service expiring at
the age of nineteen years. He started out for
himself with a cash capital of $2.25. His first
stopping place was Albanj', N. 1'., where he worked
for a time, and then started to Michigan, locating
in Washtenaw County, that State. On the 2d of
March, 1839, he set out for Indiana, traveling on
foot to Ft. Wayne. Not finding employment
there, he went to Logan sport of the same State,
where he worked that summer. In August, with
his brother, he went down the river in canoes
which they had themselves manufactured, to In-
dependence, where he made a settlement. He was
there married, January 3, 1841, to Miss Ann Fen-
ton, a native of Virginia, and a daughter of Eleaser
Fenton.

Mr. Roff continued to reside in Warren County,
Ind., where he was engaged in the boot and shoe
business until the fall of 1847. He then came to
Iroquois County, 111., arriving in Middleport, then
the count}' seat, on the 3d of September. He
opened a shoe-shop in that place and continued
business there until 1852, when he bought an in-
terest in a sawmill, in what is now Watseka, and
was engaged in the manufacture of lumber for



eighteen months. In early life, he was a Whig in
politics, and was appointed Postmaster of Middle-
port in 1849, serving in that capacity four years.
In 1854, he was elected Sheriff and was ex-officio
Collector for Iroquois County for two years. The
county was not then under township organization.
He read law and was admitted to the Bar in the
spring of 1857, entering upon the practice of his
profession as a partner of Robert Doyle, with
whom he was connected for several 3'ears.

Mr. and Mrs. Roff were blessed with a family of
ten children, but only four are now living: Will-
iam A., the eldest, died at the age of two years;
George W. died in infancy; Minerva R. became
the wife of Dr. H. H. Alter, who is Assistant Cashier
of the First National Bank of Watseka, and the lady
herself is proprietor of a well-stocked book and
stationery store, which she conducts in a success-
ful and business like manner; Mary E. died at the
age of nineteen years. A remarkable cure of an al-
leged insane girl of Watseka is credited to the lat-
ter's spiritual influence some twelve years after her
death, a full account of which is published in
pamphlet form, under the title of "The Watseka
Wonder." Frances L. died in infancy. Joseph A.
married Ella Eddinger and is the present General
Freight Agent at Council Bluffs, Iowa, for the Chi-
cago & Rock Island Railroad. Fenton E. is book-
keeper in the Citizens' State Bank of Council
Bluffs, Iowa. Gay lord A. died at the age of one
and a-half years. Frank J. resides in Kansas City.
Charles C. died May 29, 1885, when nearly twenty-
four years of age.

In the spring of 1857, Mr. Roff, on account of
the ill health of his son Joseph, took his family to
Texas, hoping for benefit for the invalid from a
change of climate, and was gone about a year. On
his return to Middleport, he engaged in the prac-
tice of law. When the South Middleport, or AVat-
seka, postoflice was established in 1863, he was ap-
pointed its first Postmaster and served until 1866.
He was elected Justice of the Peace, but resigned
the office in June, 1879, removing to Garden City,
Kan., near where his sons had made claims and in-
vested considerable money. He was disappointed,
however, in finding the climate too dry for profit-
able farming, and removed to Emporia of the same



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD



621



State, where he spent a year. He next went to
Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he resided two years,
and subsequently located in Kansas City, where he
made his home until 1885. He then returned to
Watseka, where he has since resided.

In the spring of 1889, Mr. Roff was elected
Police Magistrate for a term of four years, and is
ex-oHicio Justice of the Peace. A year or two be-
fore the deatli of the late Hon. Micajah Stanley,
Jlr. Roff was, at that gentleman 's request, appointed
conservator of his estate. The duties of the posi-
tion were intricate and delicate, owing to the ex-
tent and varietj' of property interests involved
and the complicated condition of Mr. Stanley's
business affairs. Mr. Roff proved equal to the re-
sponsible duties of the position and settled up the
business justly and fairly, and greatly to the ad-
vantage of the estate.

In politics, our subject was a Repul)lican until
1872, since which lime he has voted independently,
but generally supports the Democratic candidates,
lie was the first Odd Fellow to settle in Iroquois
County, and was a charier member of Iroquois
Lodge No. 74, of which he was tlie first Noble
Grand. He joined the Masonic order in Onarga
in 1858, and is now a member of Watseka Lodge
No. 44C, A. F. & A. M., and Watseka Chapter No.
114, R. A. M.

Mr. Roff erected the first frame house on the site
of Watseka, Iniilt the first fine brick residence in
tlie town, and was at one time a large property
owner. In an early day, believing that farming
lanrls in Eastern Illinois were bound to advance
ra|)idly in value, he invested extensively in raw
land, on which he paid only i)art down. Aluch of
this land he sold at a good advance to actual set-
tlers, but on small payments down and subject, of
course, to the first mortgage, securing himself by a
second. Ordinarily, this arrangement would be
perfectly safe, but a succession of wet seasons
prevented the settlers from securing crops and
consequently from paj-ing their interest. In the
meantime, in order to protect, himself, Mr. Roff,
while receiving no interest, was obliged to pay in-
terest on the first mortgage. This condition of
things continued four years. About this time, the
financial troubles of 1873, 1874 and 1875 came on,



depreciating values and making sales of realty
diflicult. Under the circumstances, Mr. Roff had
to submit to foreclosure and loss of the property,
while holding some $20,000 worth of paper against
the property which was made worthless. In this
manner he has sustained the loss of a large and
valuable property which caused his financial ruin,
from which he has never recovered. In spite of