1882 Biographies - LaGrange Precinct
Capt. Thomas M. DAVIS, farmer, P. O. Greenville, born in Trigg County, Ky., the fifth child who grew up that was born to Jonathan DAVIS, a Virginian, of Albemarle County. Jonathan came to Trigg County when a young man, and married, in Bryan County, Margaret McLEAN, of Pennsylvania, daughter of Thomas McLEAN. The father of our subject was an early settler in this county; he came in 1817, to what is now Old Ripley; here he lived four years. He was a millwright by occupation, and built the first mill in the precinct, and perhaps was the first in the county. The site is now known as Brown's Mill. Jonathan died here in 1821, and his remains now lie interred in the Brown Graveyard, he being the second one buried in it - the first was Dr. BAKER. After the death of his father, our subject returned with his mother to Kentucky, where he remained until 1835, when he returned to this State; went first to Montgomery County, where he married Jane WILLIAMS, who died in 1840, leaving no children. He came to this county in 1837, where he has since remained. His second wife was Mrs. Jane SMITH, born in Trigg County, Ky., daughter of Samuel SCOTT; she died in 1876, leaving but one child - William D. - who resides with his father on the farm. In August, 1861, Mr. DAVIS raised a company, which was lettered D, Third Illinois Cavalry, and served two years. In the battle of Pea Ridge, he had his horse shot from under him, yet himself escaped uninjured. After his return home, he resumed farming. Since 1839, he has been a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and was made Elder at the time of the organization of the Maple Grove Society here. His wife died in 1876. He has about 400 acres of land, and is a thorough and energetic farmer. His son William D. was born in 1842, and married Gabriella, daughter of Rev. William HAMILTON and Phebe STAHL, of Kentucky, who came to this State about the year 1846. To William D. have been born seven children, but there are but three living - Horace E., Luella A. and Orra M. In the winter of 1881-82, they lost three children by that dire disease, diphtheria, all within the short space of eleven days. William G. was aged fifteen, John T. aged twelve, and George W. nearly two years of age. Capt. DAVIS had one brother - James- who emigrated to this State very early, and was for many years prominently identified with the county. He first taught school for several years, and for a time carried on a store here in the township, and afterward in Greenville. Subsequently, he was appointed, under Taylor's administration, to the office of Register of the Land Office at Vandalia. He was elected as a member of the Constitutional Convention. He afterward located at Hillsboro and engaged in the practice of law; was elected to the Legislature, and afterward to the State Senate, and died in 1868.
John S. DENNY, farmer, P. O. Greenville, was born in this township, on Section 33, Town 6, Range 3, August 13, 1827, son of John DENNY, who was born in Lincoln County, N. C., about the year 1793, and of Irish descent. He emigrated to this locality in 1817, before it became a State. He was married about the year 1820, to Sarah MOORE, a Virginian, born near Wheeling, daughter of Samuel MOORE, an early settler, who married a lady by the name of SHEPHERD. John DENNY, the father of our subject, settled first in Town 7, Range 3, and [Page 73] cleared up a farm and remained on the same until 1851, when he removed to his son's and died in Greenville, in November, 1870; his wife died about the year 1868. He was an excellent citizen, and for many years was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and an Elder in the same. In politics he was a Whig; after the dissolution of that party he became a Republican, which he remained until his death. The eldest child born to him was James, who died at twenty-two, William at the age of seventeen, Zimriporter in infancy; next in order came John S.; Alfred N.; Shepherd died in 1878, in this county. Alfred was a minister of the Presbyterian Church; he left no issue. John S. received good school advantages, and afterward graduated at McKendree College, in the scientific course in 1854. He began teaching at the age of twenty, and continued as a teacher of the young idea for quite a term of years. In 1859, he was brought out as a candidate by the Republican party for County Treasurer, then moved to Greenfield in 1860, and was twice re-elected. In 1865, he was elected County Clerk, and served twelve years in this capacity. In 1877, he returned to his farm and was elected County Commissioner, and served as such three years, making in all twenty-one years in public service. In 1854, he married Marietta MEARS, of Morgan County, daughter of James and Mary (McCORD) MEARS. By this marriage seven children were born; but two are living - Charles Irving and Effie May. His last wife was Dorcas, born in Missouri, daughter of James ROSEBROUGH. He has been a member of the Presbyterian Church for thirty-six years. His farm consists of 230 acres, situated on Section 28; residence on the northwest quarter of the section.
George H. DONNELL, school teacher, Greenville, son of Thomas S. and Catharine J. (PAISLEY) DONNELL; was born in Bond County, December 7, 1853. His father, who was a farmer, was born in Greenville, Bond County. His mother, who is still living, is a native of Montgomery County. Our subject, one of a family of five, received his early training in the school at Greenville, Ill., finishing at the Northern Indiana Normal and Business College. He also pursued his studies at Hillsboro for a year. Mr. DONNELL chose for himself the profession of a teacher, his first charge being the school at Cherry Grove, in LaGrange Precinct. He has followed the profession ever since, and is at present teacher of the common school in New Berlin. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. In politics, a Republican.
Newton A. HUGHEY, farmer, P. O. Greenville; is a native of Missouri. He was born October 8, 1838, in Perry County. His father was Milus HUGHEY, born March 5, 1811, in Rowan County, N. C., and was married November 2, 1837, to Staty Regina PARKS, born November, 1818, daughter of Joseph PARKS, of North Carolina. Milus removed with his father Henry HUGHEY, to Perry County, Mo., about the year 1825, when a lad. Here the family settled. Henry HUGHEY was born May 25, 1785. He married Elizabeth GILLEN, born January 20, 1788. The fruits of this union were John, Stanhope, Newton A., Jane, Mary and Milus, all of whom attained to man and womanhood, and settled in Missouri. Henry HUGHEY died December 25, 1831; his wife, January 26, 1845. Milus HUGHEY was a farmer, and for many years was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and a Ruling Elder of the same. He died January 29, 1867; his wife 1844. But two children were born them - Newton A. and Susan E. The latter married Henry IMPAGE; she is now deceased. In April, 1861, Newton A. HUGHEY married Julia A. STEVENSON, born November 2, 1840, in Cape Girardeau Co., Mo., daughter of A. K. STEVENSON, of North Carolina. He was a son of James STEVENSON and Jane FLEMING. They raised a family of three children. Mr. A. K. STEVENSON died November 9, 1881; his wife in 1844. Mr. HUGHEY came to [Page 74] Bond County in 1864, locating where he now resides. He has 210 acres, and has put nearly all the improvements on the same. Has four children - Emery G., Linley J., Pearl E. and Roxana. Two died when infants. Mr. HUGHEY is a member and elder of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. HUGHEY's brother Linley was a soldier in the late war; member of Company B, Twenty-ninth Missouri Infantry. He died October 1862, in the hospital at St. Louis.
James M. JETT, P. O. Elm Point, was born June 1, 1812, in Fauquier County, Va. He is the eldest son of John JETT, a Virginian, who was born in 1787, son of William JETT, to whom was born the following children: James, John William, Thomas, Washington and Jefferson. James M. the grandson of William, above mentioned, removed with his parents, when a lad, to Greene County, Tenn., afterward to Know County. His father was a farmer, yet a mason by trade, which he followed when convenience was consulted. In the fall of 1829, he, with trowel in hand, walked from Tennessee to this county, to look out a home for his family. Having no money, he defrayed his expenses going to and from by the aid of his trowel, occasionally putting up a chimney for the pioneers as he passed through. He selected a place on Section 4, Township 6, Range 3, and moved his family out in the fall of 1831. Here he settled, and remained until his death, which took place October 31, 1867. The farm is now owned by his son, B. F. JETT. But two of his brothers ever came to Bond County. They were John William and Thomas. The brothers and sisters of J. M. were William, John, Washington, Jacob, Jefferson, Benjamin F., Marion and Henry. Of this number, J. M., William, Jacob and Jefferson are in this county and precinct. Washington moved to Wisconsin. Marion and Henry to Kansas. The sisters were Susan, Polly, Linda and Ester, all now deceased. The year following his arrival here, James M. married Sallie JETT, daughter of Humphrey JETT, the pioneer. She died, leaving three children - William C, Mary and Humphrey. In 1846, he married Mrs. Eliza PENTERCOST, whose maiden name was EDWARDS, daughter of John EDWARDS, who came to Bond County in 1819. In the fall of 1837, Mr. JETT located where he now resides. He first entered sixty-seven acres, to which he has added at different times, until he now has about three hundred acres. He has been hard working and industrious, and what he has is mainly the fruits of his own accumulation. He for sever years, has been a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. By his last wife he has the following children: Samuel A., Martha, John, Margaret, Henry, Linda and Finesse. John resides in Kansas; Margaret in Missouri, wife of Lafayette BENTLY.
James W. JETT, farmer, P. O. Greenville, son of William B. and Carisa PARKER JETT. James W. was born December 27, 1824, in Oldham County, Ky., and came here, with his parents, in 1834. The grandfather of J. W. was William. The father of J. W. was a farmer. He purchased land about the year 1838 and settled on the same, and remained in the county as long as he lived. He died, aged fifty- five, in 1844. He raised a family of seven children, the eldest of whom was Elizabeth; next in order came James W., then in rotation, Thomas J., George W., Ann E., Frances, Louisa J., Henry C. and Owen, who married Nancy LAWS by her had one daughter - Cora. Thomas J. served in the Mexican war, and there died. Henry served three years in the late war. After the death of his father, J. W. lived with his mother. At the age of twenty-three, he married a Miss SMITH, who was born in Caldwell County, Ky., daughter of Thomas SMITH. Since his marriage, he has been a constant resident of the township. He began with nothing, and from this small commencement he now has nearly two hundred and fifty acres of land as the fruits of his industry. [Page 75] He is a member of the Christian Church; has seven children - Mary J., wife of James M. JONES, of Montgomery county; Louisa married Abe HUBBELL; Agnes is the wife of William SMITH. The remaining are George, Henry B., Ida and Isaac N.
B. F. JETT, farmer, P. O. Elm Point, is the seventh son and tenth child. His parents were John JETT and Elizabeth HITTLE. B. F., or "Doc", as he is called, was born in December, 1831, on the farm he now owns, his birth occurring the same year of his father's location in Bond County. Benjamin F. was raised to farming pursuits, and remained under the home roof until he attained his manhood. May 11, 1857, he married Mrs. Nancy THATCHER, a native of Bond County. She was a daughter of James SHELTON and Edith BENTLY. Mrs. JETT is a granddaughter of Col. Richard BENTLY, an early settler in Bond County; came here about the year 1828, and settled in Cottonwood Precinct, near Bethel. He was a prominent man in his day. He was identified with the Baptist Church in its early organization, and a Democrat. He was twice elected to the Legislature, and in all his associations with his friends and neighbors be bore the high regard and esteem of all. He lived to a ripe old age, lived to see his great-great-grandchildren. After the marriage, he removed to Jefferson County in 1862, and remained here about two years, and returned to the homestead farm and has since been a resident of the same. He has eight acres of land; has eight children - Edwin, Shelton, Logan, Frank, James E., Edith O., Richard and Lizzie; is a member of the Christian Church at Hopewell.
S. B. KENAGA, farmer, P. O. Elm Point, is among the substantial farmers of La Grange Precinct. He was born October 18, 1841, in Mifflin County, Penn., the youngest son of his father, John KENAGA, whose father was Jacob, a native of Holland. The mother of our subject was Sarah BYLER. Prior to her marriage to John KENAGA, who died when S. B. was a lad, he removed with his mother to Lawrence County when eight years of age. Here he lived until eighteen years of age, when he came to Logan County, Ohio, where he lived until 1868, at which time he came to Bond, and located where he now resides, on Section 8, in La Grange Precinct. February, 1864, he married Mary YODER, a native of Huntingdon County, Penn., born 1841, and came to Logan County with her parents in 1845. Her parents were Daniel YODER and Mattie HOOLEY, to whom were born five children, three sons and two daughters. Mr. KENAGA is a successful farmer, and principally a self-made man. He has 200 acres of land, is a substantial citizen of the community, and a member of the Christian Church since 1873. His children are Sarah J., Anthony J., Walter O., Lewis J. and Emma M.
William R. McCASLIN, farmer, P. O. Donnellson. The McCASLIN family came to Bond County in 1831, where they have since been identified. The pioneer was Thomas G. McCASLIN, who was born February 16, 1795, in Tennessee, son of James McCASLIN, of Scotch-Irish parentage. November 10, 1818, he married Sallie ROBINSON, born in the same State May 18, 1794, daughter of Samuel ROBINSON. Subsequent to their marriage, they removed to Caldwell County, Ky.; here William R. was born January 6, 1825, being the eldest son and fourth child of his parents. He removed with them at the time of their coming; the family spent one year south of Greenville six miles, where they made one crop. coming north in the spring of 1832, his father located 400 acres in Town 7, Range 3, in the extreme north part of the county; said lands were embraced in Sections 27, 28 and 29. Here the family settled, and have since been associated with the county and its interests. His father, Thomas G., died about the year 1844; his companion survived him until 1869. Seven children were born them, who were Elizabeth J., Cin-[Page 76] dilla A., Isabella C., William R., Mary M., James W. and Sarah R; of the above who married and settled in this county, were Elizabeth (married Isaac G. BARR); Cindilla, William SMITH, of Bethel; Isabella, Robert FRAME; Mary M., William LAWS, of Montgomery County; and Sarah Allen THACKER, of the same county; all the rest settled in this county and are living, except James, who died young. William R. remained with his parents until he attained his majority. He was first married in 1846 to Lucinda McINTYRE, who died, leaving two children - Sarah E. (now wife of B. F. McLAIN), and Thomas G.; his second wife was Mary H. DENNY, daughter of George DENNY, the pioneer; she died, leaving three children - Elizabeth M. (wife of George LEWY), Emery and Henry B.. His present wife was Nancy A. ROPER, a Kentuckian, who bore him one daughter - Hattie M. All of his children except the last are married and settled in this county, and are doing well. Since he was first married, he has been a resident of the farm he now owns, having some 300 acres of land, all of which he has improved. For twenty-five years he has been a member of the Old School Presbyterian Church.
Joseph McCULLEY, farmer, P. O. Greenville. Of the self-made men and substantial farmers, Mr. McCULLEY ranks among this list. He was born November 11, 1821, in Rockbridge County, near Lexington, Va. He was the eldest son and second child born to his parents. His father was Frederick McCULLEY, a native of County Derry, Ireland. He married Margaret Irving, and, in 1819, emigrated to Virginia, where he located, and remained until the year 1838, when he removed with his family to Lauderdale County, Ala. Here he abode until the spring of 1841, when the family started in wagon for Illinois, and $50 in money, having $25 when they reached Montgomery County. There was a family of eight children. A cow was purchased for $10, and a plow for $8, leaving $7 to buy such things as their necessities required. The family was poor, and had no means to purchase land; but they began work in earnest. Joseph, being the eldest son, he took the lead of the work. In 1843, he came to Bond County and selected a place for the family. He purchased eighty acres of land at $3 per acre. There were twenty acres partially cleared, and a small cabin on the same. Here his parents died. They raised a family of six children - Elizabeth, now of Kansas, wife of Calvin BALCH; Joseph; Margaret, married Jerry McCLUNG; Martha, married S. W. R. HULL, and James I., all of Kansas. Joseph maintained the family, and worked for them, bringing into them the fruits of his labor. He remained a bachelor until April, 1876, when he married Martha L. MITCHELL, a native of Cape Girardeau County, Mo. He has only one daughter - Margaret Lunette. Mr. McCULLEY is a member of the Presbyterian Church. He has 400 acres. The McCULLEYs were of Scotch descent.
R. C. PAISLEY, farmer, P. O. Greenville, is a native of Bond County, and was born June 21, 1830, on Section 6, in this township. His father, William Paisley, was a native of Guilford County, N. C., born June 8, 1795; his wife was a native of the same State; her maiden name was Nancy NELSON, born May 30, 1795, and they were married August 13, 1816, and emigrated to this State two years later, locating on Section 6 in this township, and remained a constant resident. He died August 29, 1870; his wife preceded him August 3, 1847. He served in the Black Hawk war, and was a man of Quiet and reserved manner, yet withal a worthy and respected citizen. He married Catharine DENNY, who yet survives him; she bore him no children. The children born to him by his first wife were Malinda, who married J. POTTER, and resides in Lincoln, this State; John W., the second child, resides in Lee County, Iowa; Joel B. resides in Lincoln, in the dry goods; William F. resides in this township, [Page 77] Mary E. married Clemons BOYD, and also resides in Lincoln. Robert C. after coming to his manhood's years, gave his attention to farming. In 1852, he went the overland route to California, and spent three years mining in El Dorado County, and returned to his count in 1855. April 20, 1858, he married Lydia LIBBY, born Oct. 21, 1835, in Pawlet, Vermont, daughter of Isaac T. LIBBY, born 1812, in Vermont, who married Nancy FRISBEE. In 1850, he located on the farm he now owns, which he has improved, having now 476 acres. Mr. PAISLEY served one year in the late war; was a member of Company B, Fifty-ninth Illinois. He has three children - Anna M., Frank N. and Horace. His grandfather, PAISLEY, was named John, and of Scotch descent, and had a family of twelve children born to him. Mr. P. and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
Charles WOOD, deceased, was one of the pioneers of Bond County. He was born January 9, 1798, in Darlington District, South Carolina, son of Thomas and Jane (JENKINS) WOOD. The subject of these lines emigrated to this county in the fall of 1826; he made one crop on the farm of William PAISLEY, and the following year he located on Section 29, in Town 7, Range 3 La Grange Precinct; here he settled and cleared up his land and remained a constant resident of the township until his death, January, 1867. His wife's maiden name was Sarah McCORMICK, a native of Scotland, who bore him eight children. Mr. WOOD was truly a representative man. While in Carolina, he obtained a good education for that time, and for several years taught school prior to his coming West. He was an industrious and thoroughgoing business man; he was often consulted by his neighbors to make mathematical calculations, and settled affairs too complicated for his rural associates, who always found in him a valuable and safe advisor. As a neighbor, he was kind and obliging, and ever stood ready to lend them a hand or do them a kindness. He was a hospitable man; no stranger or wayworn traveler was ever denied food or shelter under his roof, neither was he ever known to make a charge or a bill for his hospitality. He was not a member of any church or society, but never opposed those who were, but aimed to abide by the golden rule as near as he knew how. He left land and property for each of his children, although he had nothing himself when he settled in this county. His children were as follows: Caroline, Eli, Ezra, Nancy J., David, John, Sarah A. and Ira, all of whom lived to be grown, except David, who died young, all of whom married and settled in this county, except John, who never married, yet has remained in the county, and since the death of his parents has resided with his brother Ezra. John served three years in the late war, and was a true and faithful soldier. He was a member of Company B, One Hundred and Seventeenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and participated in many hard-fought battles, and came home unscathed. Ira, also, was a soldier; he served in the cavalry department, and died since the close of the war. Six of the family, three brothers and three sister, reside near each other, all doing well and have good homes.
Extracted by Norma Hass from the History of Bond and
Montgomery Counties
