Jens Hanson, who was born in 1801, and who
throughout his life engaged in farming in Denmark.
He was also a soldier and served in the Thirty Years
War. His death occurred on the home farm iu his
native land in 1872. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of Maria Luvegt, was born in the
same locality as lier husband, November 6, 1811,
and died on the 1st of May, 1892,. at the age of
eighty-one years. Botii families were noted for
longevity. The paternal grandfather of our sub-
ject reached the advanced age of ninety-eight
years, and the maternal grandmother lived to the
extrenie old age of one hundred and three years.
Both parents were members of the Lutheran
Church. Their family numbered nine children,
seven sons and two daughters.

The early childhood days of our subject were
spent under the parental roof, and his education
was acquired in the public schools. He is truly a
self-made man, for he has been dependent upon
his own resources since he was fifteen years of
age. At that time he began work on a large
estate, serving as gardener for two yeai's, af-
ter which he occupied the position of foreman



for four years. At the age of twenty-one he
entered the army, and served as a member of
the Dragoons for a term of six years. He en-
tered the service as a non-commissioned offi-
cer, but for meritorious conduct was promoted
to higher rank. He served throughout the war
with Germany, and participated in more tlian
twenty battles. He received a sabre cut on the
hand, and one on the back, and was shot in the
arm. After the war he worked out for two j'ears
as coachman for a wealthy gentleman, and was
then foreman for two years on a large estate.

Ere leaving his native land, Mr. Johnson was
married, at the age of twentj'-seven years, to Miss
Mariane Christensen, who was born January 4,
1843, in Klostrap, Jylan, Denmark. The}- became
parents of twelve children, of whom two, William
and Heni'}', died in childhood; the living are Eliza
M., born May 5, 1867 the wife of Ole Mikkelseu;
William Frederick, born March 12, 1870; Frank
p:mil. May 29, 1873; Latina, August 28, 1875;
AValter Lund, February 17, 1877; Albert B. B.,
November 3, 1878; Mathilda H., April 13, 1881;
Emma Sophia, August 21, 1883; Christian J. G.,
December 21, 1885; and Ida Caroline, April 29,
1887.

In 1866, Mr. Johnson, accomjianied by his wife,
emigrated to America. He sailed from Jylau to
Hamburg, thence to Liverpool and on to Portland,
Me., whence he came at once to Illinois, locating
in Chebanse. He there spent the seven succeeding
years of his life, working on a hay press and on
the railroad. At length he disposed of his inter-
est and began farming on rented land in Chebanse
Township, where he remained for three years. He
then rented land of Lemuel Milk, and operated
one farm for a period of seventeen years. He
now resides upon what is known as the Bell Farm,
where he operates three hundred and twenty-seven
acres, and in its management displays excellent
business ability. He is a careful farmer and suc-
cessful business man, and although he has been de-
pendent ui)on his own resources from a very early
age, he has won a comfortable competence.

In connection with his other interests, Mr. John-
son is land agent for the firm of Prince it Cook,
of Chicago, which position he has held for six



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



797



\-



years, and has done mnoh towards securing' homes
lor his fellovv-c-itizeiis in this localit}'. He is also
agent for a steamship line. Mr. Johnson cast liis
firbt Presidential vote for Gen. Grant in 1868, and
lias since been a supporter of Republican principles.
He lias held the oHice of Constable of his township
for five years, and has also been Road Overseer.
He and his family are members of the Lutheran
Church, and Mr. Johnson is one of its Trustees.
He is a well-known and highlj' respected man, and
a prominent citizen, who well deserves representa-
tion in this volume.



\Y[().SEPH ODKKWALl), one of the prominent
and well-known citizens of Chebanse Town-
ship, residing on section 31, claims Prussia
_ as the land of his birth. He was boi-n in
Westphalia, on the 21.-tof November, 1826, and is
a son of Ludwig and Maria (I'nke) Oderwald.both
of whom were natives of Prussia. The father was
born in the Province of Waldeck and was a laborer
on an estate. He spent his entire life in (iermany,
dying at the age of iifty-four years. His wife sur-
vived him some time, and also spent her Last days
in their native land. Mr. Oderwald served in the
army in the war against Napoleon in 1815. He
was a member of the Lutheran Church.

The family numbered the following children,
Josephine, the eldest, died in New York City;
John is living a retired life in New York City; Jo-
seph is the next younger; Frederick is still living
in Germany; August makes his home in New York
City; Lena resides in Elizabeth, N. J.; Conrad is
living in New York; and Charles died in that
city.

The boj'hood days of our subject were S|jent in
his native land, and his education was acquired in
the parochial schools, which he attended between
the ages of six and fourteen j'ears. When a lad
of fifteen summers, he began earning his own live-
lihood. In 1848, he was called into the army and
served with the Eleventh Hussars, doing duty in
the cil}' of Coin. He spent three years in the
army, and in 1851 was honorably discharged. He



then returned home, and again worked at farm
labor. Later he engaged in farming and teaming
along the i-iver. In 1854, he went to London,
England, where he worked in a sugar refinery for
about a year, when, in 1855, he sailed for America.
Landing in New York, he was employed in that
city for a time and worked on a canal. The year
1859 witne.ssed his arrival in Hlinois. He located
in Morris, Grundy County, where he began farm-
ing on rented land.

On the 4th of March, 1862, Mi. Oderwald was
united in marriage with Miss Bridget O'Connor, a
native of Lancashire, England; her; parents, how-
ever, were natives of Ireland, but for many years
resided in Liverpool, EIngland, whence they came
to America. Unto Mr. and Jlrs. Oderwald have
been born eight children: Mary A. became the wife
of Mike Derapsey, and died in Clifton, leaving
two sons, Charles and Ed, who reside with our
subject; Edward is a farmer and resides on a por-
tion of the homestead; Kate is the wife of Ben
Purcell, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in
this county: Sadie is the wife of John Ilendren, a
farmer of this township; Joseph, Lizzie, Emma
and Theresa are all at home. The latter were born
in this county, and the four older children were
born in Grundy County.

Mr. Oderwald has been a resident of Iroquois
County since 1872. In that 3'ear he purchased the
farm upon which he now resides, buying one hun-
dred and sixty acres. Itfe boundaries, however, he
has since extended until it now comprises two
hundred and forty acres of arable land. The farm
is well tiled, a good residence has been erected,
fruit and shade trtes have been pl.anted, and all
the improvements of a model farm have been
made. From a tender age our subject has made
his own waj- in the world. With no capital he
came to America, but he possessed energy, enter-
prise and a strong determination to succeed. Over-
coming the obstacles and difHculties in his path, lie
has steadily worked his way upward until he has
now gained a handsome competence, and is num-
bered among the substantial citizens of the com-
munity. He and his family are members of the
Catholic Church of Clifton, to the support of
which he contributes liberally. He east his first



798



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has
since been a zealous Democrat, warmly advocating
the principles of that party. Through his own
efforts he learned to read and speak the English
language, and is now a well-informed man and an
intelligent and highl3' respected citizen, who has
ever borne his part in the development of his
adopted county. It was a fortunate day for him
when he decided to come to America, for he has
here met with prosperity'.



r'



SAAC VAN DUZOR is a leading citizen of
Clifton and one of the early and honored pio-
neer settlers of the county. His birth occurred
on the 4th of January, 1815, in Orange County,
N. Y. The family originally came from Holland,
and Adolph, the grandfather of our subject, was a
soldier in the Revolutionary War. The father of
Isaac died in 1875 in New York, and the death of
his wife occurred a few years previous. Their
family consisted of twelve children, ten of whom,
four sons and six daughters, grew to mature years.
The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood
days quietly. He was married in January, 18.36,
to Miss Charlotte Kuykendall, daughter of Ja-
cob Kuykendall, a native of the Empire State-.
Eight children, five sons and three daughters,
blessed the union of Isaac and Charlotte Van Du-
zor. The deceased are Milton, Anna, Lena and one
who died in infancy. Those living are Clay, who
married a Miss Ferris, whose parents lived in
Connecticut. They have two daughters. Harvey
is also married and resides in Chicago. Jacob
wedded Miss ^'an Doren, of Chicago, and now
lives in Omaha, Neb. One child graces their un-
ion, .lacob is a traveling man, having been in
the employ of a wholesale grocerj- house in Chi-
cago for a number of years. Willard married a
Kentucky lad}' in St. Louis and shortlj' after
their marriage they removed to Florida, where he
still lives. The lady came to Illinois to spend the
summer at the home of her husband's parents and
died here after a short illness. Willard some two



years later married a lady fi-om New York State,
who had lived for some 3-ears in Florida. This
union has been blessed with two children.

Three sons of our subject were soldiers for the
defense of the Union during the late war. When
the first call for seventy-five thousand men was
made by President Lincoln, Cla}' Van Duzor en-
listed in the Twenty-eighth New York Infantry
and after a service of two years was honorably
discliarged with his company. While they were
on their homeward way, Gen. Lee invaded Penn-
sylvania, and the New York soldiers returning
fought some of the hardest battles they had yet
participated in, and finally succeeded in driving
Lee from the Keystone State. After this, the reg-
iment returned home and received their discharge.
Harvey belonged to a Chicago batterj' and was
one of the 3'oungest soldiers in the service, being
less than fourteen years of age when he was ac-
cepted. He served until the close of the war, be-
ing .actively engaged during three 3'ears. Jacob
was placed in the Commissary Department and
spent most of his time in New York, gathering
commissary supplies.

In 1851, Mr. Van Duzor was called upon to
mourn the loss of his wife, who died in the Em-
pire State. He was again married, his second un-
ion being with Miss Julia Millspaugh, daughter of
Lewis Millspaugh, who was born in Monticello, N.
Y. Mrs. Van Duzor's parents removed to the
West and both died in Illinois many years ago.

Mr. Van Duzor is one of the pioneer settlers of
Clifton, having located here in the month of Sep-
tember, 1855. At that time this town had not
been organized nor were there any other towns for
many miles. This whole region was one vast
prairie almost totally uninhabited. Game abounded
and herds of deer and wolves roamed the prairies.
As much of it was swamp land, there were man}-
varieties of water-fowl in this locality, wild geese
and long-necked cranes being especially plentiful.
Since settling here Mr. Van Duzor has not been
away from Clifton for more than three months.
The first year he engaged in farming, taking up a
claim of one hundred and sixty acres from the
Government, three miles west of Chebanse. He
carried on agricultural pursuits for about two



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.



799



veal's and then came to the present site of Clifton,
where he built a hotel. This business he followed
until the spring of 1872, at which time he sold his
hotel interests and engaged in the agricultural im-
plement business, having opened a store in that
line several years before, and in this line of trade
he still continues. At one time he also owned a
grocery store in Clifton. Although he has met
with heavy revei-ses, he has been undaunted and
h.as accumulated considerable property and has a
nourishing business, carrying a large stock of
goods. In the Chicago fire he sustained a severe
loss, some ^55,000 worth of his propertj' being
consumed in the flames. However, he is now the
possessor of a pleasant home and fort}' acres of
land situated within the corporate limits of the
village of Clifton. Some ten years before locat-
ing here, Mr. Van Duzor was appointed Jigent for
the Phoenix Fire Insurance Company, of Hartford,
Conn., having written applications for that com-
pauj' for forty-seven j-ears.

Mr. and Mrs. Van Duzor are prominent mem-
bers of the Congregational Church, but formerly
belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church. In the
earlier days of our country's history, our subject
was a supporter of the Whig partv and has been
an adherent of the Republic.in party and its prin-
ciples since its organization. He has never as-
pired to official positions of recognition and has
attended strictly to business affairs. He is re-
.'^pected for his unostentatious and honorable life
and is widely known as a genial and kind-hearted
man. He has a liost of friends in this vicinity in
his many patrons and other acquaintances. In his
business dealings he always shows the strictest in-
tegritv and honor.



«^



•*-^^-?—



'OHN HELLER is a well-known farmer and
stock-raisei-. who makes his home on sec-
tion 35, Chebanse Township. He was born
in Darmstadt, Germany, on the 8th of Feb-
ruarj-, 1842. He is a son of Conrad and Al-
bona (Lucas) Heller, both likewise natives of the
Fatherland. The father was by occupation a



farmer, and in 1852, taking passage at Rotter-
dam on a sailing-vessel, he started to seek a home
in the New World. He arrived in New York
City in the fall of 1852, having been fift3 - two
days in crossing the Atlantic. He went directlv
to Chicago and located near there, engaging in
gardening for the succeeding seven years. In
1859, he removed to Iroquois County and pur-
chased a tract of unimproved prairie land in Che-
banse Township, which he continued to farm until
his death, in 1890. His wife was called to the
better land in 187^(.

Our subject and his brother .Jacob accompanied
their parents to the United States, and lived upon
the homestead in Illinois, assisting their father in
the work of the farm. Their brother George enlisted,
in 1861, in the Eighty-ninth Illinois Infantry,
and was killed in the battle of Stone River, near
Murfreesboro, Tenn.

John Heller lived until about seventeen years
of age in Chicago and received good school ad-
vantages in that city. He then came to Iroquois
County, assisting his father in developing his land
until after he had reached his majority. His fa-
ther then gave him an eighty-acre farm, and on
this our subject located in 1872. He fenced a
good deal of his laud and proceeded to develop
and cultivate it to the best of his abilit_v. His
place soon yielded him rich returns for his labors,
and he was soon on the road to prosperitv. He
has since bought an adjoining eighty acres,
and twenty acres, also eight acres more, makino-
one hundred and eight3-eight acres in one bodv,
all well-improved and arable land. Mr. Heller
has done considerable tiling and has a pleasant
and substantial residence, good barns and other
outbuildings. He is one of the enterprising and
thrifty farmers of Chebanse Township, and on
every hand may be seen the careful attention
and cultivation of the owner.

On the 2d of January, 1872, Mr. Heller was
united in wedlock with Carrie Falter, who was
born in Ohio, October 20, 1853, and remained in
Columbus until a maiden of thirteen. Her f.i-
ther, Louis Falter, was born in German^' and re-
moved from Ohio to Joliet, III., thence to Ford
County, and afterward located in Iroquois Countv.



800



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD,



He lived on a farm in this township for several
years and then removed lo the village of Che-
banse, where his death occurred. Mr. and Mrs.
Heller have five children: Minnie, Nettie, Jacob,
Charles and Alice, all of whom are still under the
parental roof and are receiving good educations.
Miss Minnie is a professional dressmaker and mil-
liner.

The Republican p.irty has received the support
of Mr. Heller since he has been a voter. The
cause of education finds in him a stanch friend
and well-wisher. He has been a resident of tliis
county for thirty-three years, and has been a wit-
ness of the remarkable changes in the same. From
a wilderness of swampy prairie land has been
evolved the present county of prosperous farms
and thriving villages. He has made many friends
in this and adjoining counties, and has ever as-
sisted in the advancement of this section. He is
one of the honored and esteemed pioneers, and it
is with pleasure that we place his name and brief
history among those who have made of this
countv one of the best in the State.



eHARLES C. DIETZ, who carries on the occii-
pation of farming on section 31, Crescent
Township, is a native of Penns3'lvania, and
was horn in Philadelphia September 21, 1832.
He is a son of .John Gottlieb Dietz, a native of
Germany, Lis birth having occurred in Wurtem-
berg in 1806. The father passed his early days in
the Fatherland, and emigrated to America in 1830.
He located in Lebanon County, Pa., and there re-
sided until I860, when he moved to Logansport,
Ind., where he purchased a farm near thatcitj", and
there resided until his death, in the spring of 1890.
He married in Philadelphia Christina Caroline
Krantz, who, like him, was a native of Germany. She
was reared and educated in that country', and came
alone to America. Her death occurred in 1842,
when our subject was a lad of twelve years. The
father afterward married again. Mr. Dietz started
in life a poor boy, and when he landed in the
United States was practically witiiout means, but



as the result of industry he accumulated a large
estate, and at his death gave to each of his chil-
dren forty acres of good land. He was an active
member of the German Lutheran Church, in which
he served as Elder for a number of years. From
a paper published at the time of his death, we
quote the following: ''John Gottlieb Dietz died
at his residence in Cass Count}', Ind., on the 17tli
of April, 1890, at the ripe old age of eighty-three
years. He was born September 17, 1806, in Bretz-
feld, Wurtemberg, German^-, and in 1821 sailed
for America, landing in Philadelphia, where he
resided for five years. He removed to Lebanon,
Pa., in 1836. There he united with Zion 's Lutheran
Church. Mr. Dietz was confirmed in the Lutheran
Church of Germany when fourteen years of age.
In 1864, he with his family, except one son, came
to Indiana, and has since lived in Cass County.
He was the father of seven children, four sons and
three daughter, all of whom were present at his
burial. He was a remarkable man, of robust con-
stitution and vigorous mind. He had studied the
Scriptures carefully and i)rayerfull3', so that Ins
familiarity with God"s Word was wonderful. He
was a grand Christian gentleman, and was mourned
by all. The funeral service was preached in the
Mt. Pisgah Lutheran Church, in Rock Creek, by
Rev. J. L. Guard, who has been pastor for nearly
twent}' years, from the text, 'But the path of the
just is as a shining light, which shineth more and
more unto the perfect day.' "'

Our subject, Charles C, is the eldest of four sons,
and there was also one daughter bj' his father's
first marriage. By the second union were born
two daughters. Theodore, the second child, is a
farmer residing near Logansport, Ind.; John
Gottlieb also carries on agricultural pursuits near
the same cit}-; Henry Wilhelm is occupied in
farming near Lebanon, Pa.; Christina Caroline is
the wife of John Tripps, a farmer near Logansport;
Eliza is the wife of George Hummel, who carries
on the old homestead near Logansport; and Sarah,
wife of Daniel Ray, who lives near the above
city.

Mr. Dietz of this sketch grew to manhood in
the Ke^'stone State, and received his educaticm in
the schools of his native country. His advantages



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD



801



in that direction were very limited and he is
mostly self-educated; nevertheless, by close ob-
servation and well-selected reading-, he has become
a well-informed man on all the leading questions
of the day and general topics. AVhen a young
niau he came West as far as Chicago, intending
to go to the far West, but then decided to go
only as far as Iowa City. After staying there a
short time he returned to Madison County, Ind.,
and near Anderson was united in mari'iage, Febru-
ary 22, 1857, his bride being Eliza Carmany, who
was born in Lebanon County, Pa., and was a daugh-
ter of John Carmanj', now decease<l.

The first year after his marriage, Mr. Dietz
worked at manual labor, at fift}' cents per day.
He then operated a farm belonging to a widow
for two years; she furnished teams and farming
implements, while he received three-fifths of the
crops. After accumulating a small capital he then
purchased one horse, and as occasion demanded
hired another, paying for it by his labor. His in-
dustrious German spirit knew no such word as
fail. He experienced manv of the hardships and
privations incident to the farming of new land.
He there remained for nine years, and in 1865
moved to Illinois, settling in Iroquois County.
For two years he rented a farm near Watseka,and
then purchased one hundred and twenty acres of
raw land, where he has since resided. He met
with all the ditHculties of opening up the new
prairie land, and the first season after his purchase
being very wet, he was not enabled to harvest any
crops, and therefore for the first year or two the
family was subject to many hardships. To add to
his troubles, his faithful wife, after a short illness,
died in February, 1869, leaving him with seven
children, one of whom was an infant.

The following year, on the 27th of March, Mr.
Dietz was united in marriage with Mrs. Kmma E.
Thompson, who was in her maidenhood Miss Orth.
Her parents were Adam Godlove and Fannie
(Seaschrist) Orth, both natives of Pennsylvania.
The father was born in Lebanon County, May 8,
1806, and died April 3, 1886, at the advanced age of
four-score years. The mother was born January 20,
1811, and is still living at the age of eighty-one.
Her great-grandparents were both killed l)y the



Indians. A brother of Mr. Orth, Godlove Sotner
Orth, was a man prominent in the history of this
country'. He was appointed by President Grant
as Minister to Vienna, and afterward became can-
didate for the oftice of Governor of Indiana. Mrs.
Dietz has in her possession a beautiful volume
which contains the memorial address delivered in
Congress on the death of Godlove .S. Orth. The
New York Tribune in 1876 wrote of him as
follows: "Mr. Orth, the nominee of the Indiana
Republican party for Governor, was born near Leb-
anon, Pa., April 22, 1817. After receiving a good
education at Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg,
he studied law, and was admitted to the Bar in
1839. He was elected to the State Senate of Indi-
ana, served six years, and was President of that
body. In 1862, when a call was made for troops
to defend Indiana from threatened incursions, Mr.
Orth organized a company in two hours. He was
elected Captain and placed in command of the
United States vessel, "Horner," which did duty on
the Ohio River." It is thus seen that Mr. Orth was
veiy prominent both at home and abroad.

Mrs. Dietz was the sixth in order of birth in a
family of twelve children, of whom five sons and
three daughters are yet living. She was born,
reared and educated in Pennsylvania, and wit-
nessed the faaous battle of Gettysburg. She
became the wife of William Thompson, of Altoona,
Pa., and had one child by her first marriage. The
children born by the first union of Mr. Dietz are
as follows: Melissa J., wife of John Burkholder;
Milton A.; Anna L., wife of Henry Forbes, of this
county; John Henry, who is married and resides
on a farm in this county; Charles F., who occupiesa
responsible i)Osition in Chicago; and Ella. Fan-
nie, wife of Frank Bedford, an engineer on a trans-