George L. Inman was for many years a. business man of power and influence in Champaign County. He was accustomed to handling large things in a large way, and besides the New Inman Hotel at Champaign, citizens of the county have reason to remember him for many other influences and activities. Mr. Inman was born […]
George L. Watson. There are pioneer names in Champaign County that so essentially belong to the development and progress of this section of Illinois that no history would be complete without reference to them. One of these names is Watson, and a worthy bearer of it is found in George L. Watson, a leading citizen
Cyrus E. Jackson. In an enumeration of the magnificent resources of Champaign County too much cannot be said of the banks and the bankers, since without their functions and their power all industry would soon be paralyzed. In this group of live and enterprising business men stands Cyrus E. Jackson, cashier of the Dewey Bank
J. H. Blue. Many years have passed since Mr. and Mrs. Blue took up their residence in Champaign County and began their careers as progressive farmers, and at the present time they live in the comforts of a good town home at Rantoul. In the meantime their children have grown up, most of them have
James Rowland. More and more as time goes on American people appreciate the sacrifices and heroism of that host of men who preserved the Union in the dark days of the ’60s. It was a wonderful heritage left by them “Much more by far than all the crowns that Europe’s monarchs ever wore, the heritage
Julius M. Gehrt has been successfully identified with Champaign County agriculture for a number of years, and is the owner and proprietor of a fine farm in section 33 of Harwood Township, near the village of Dillsburg. Mr. Gehrt was born at Lawn Ridge, Illinois, a son of John M. and Catherine (Best) Gehrt. His
John C. Kruse is one of Champaign’s oldest business men in point of continuous service, having lived in that city for almost half a century. He has been an independent merchant for over forty-five years, and he has wisely looked after and directed the business training of his sons and assisted each one to get
David G. Fisher, now living retired at Champaign, began farming in this county nearly half a century ago. He realizes as few men still living do the difficulties and the handicaps to which farming was subject in those early years, and he has also realized along with extensive experience financial independence and the success which
Henry Roscoe Shade is a graduate of the agricultural department of the University of Illinois, and since that time has applied his efforts successfully to farming in Champaign County. He has mixed the correct proportions of science, brains and practical experience in his work, and as to his success his fine farm in Somer Township,
William L. Yancey. The various items in the career of William L. Yancey show that he is one of Champaign County’s farmers who have made more than an ordinary success, and that while acquiring material prosperity he has not neglected those public interests which claim his attention in common with all good citizens. Though he
James Barber. Of the fine homesteads scattered about Champaign County one that betrays to the casual observer every evidence of thrifty and careful management and successful operation is that of James Barber, located in Champaign Township, on Rural Route No. 1 out of the city of Champaign. Mr. Barber has been a practical farmer in
John J. Rea. A member of the Champaign County bar for thirty-seven years, John J. Rea has during this period risen to be one of the most forceful attorneys of his native community, and at this time occupies a recognized position of eminence among the legists of Urbana, where his entire professional career has been
Van B. Swearingen was at once one of the most successful business men and most honored citizens of Champaign County. His name is especially associated with the community of St. Joseph, where the best years of his life were spent. Mr. Van Swearingen was born in Adams County, Ohio, June 2, 1837, and died January
Thomas McQuaid. Three generations of the McQuaid family have devoted their industry and their active years to the business of farming and the affairs of their community in Champaign County. The founder of the family here was Thomas McQuaid, Sr., now deceased, while Thomas, Jr., is owner of the old homestead in Compromise Township, but
George Egbert Shawhan was for twenty-one years county superintendent of schools in Champaign County, and in this county, which has been his home for over sixty years, he has found ample opportunities for a life of quiet usefulness and service. He was born at Falmouth, Rush County, Indiana, March 20, 1844. His grandfather, John Shawhan,
William M. Phenicie, proprietor of the Sunny Prairie Farm in Stanton Township, has known Champaign County for over half a century and was a factor in making it one of the garden spots of the world whether considered from an agricultural standpoint or as the home of industrious and worthy people. Mr. Phenicie is a
Elias Freeman. For sixty years a resident of Champaign County, Elias Freeman is one of the citizens whose name and a brief record of whose career should be permanently recorded. He represents a family which had its start in the early development of the county, and his own life of substantial industry brought a generous
Alexander Craigmile. Of the men whose ability, industry and fore-thought have added to the character, wealth and progress of Champaign County none deserves better mention than Alexander Craigmile, a veteran of the Union army, long and successfully identified with agriculture, and now with his good wife living retired in a comfortable home at Rantoul. His
Robert S. Ritchie. As in the war the burden of arms falls largely upon the youth of the nation, so to an increasing degree in America the heaviest responsibilities of business have likewise fallen upon those who are young and vigorous, with enthusiasm undimmed and with energies undiminished. Among this class of young and aggressive
Charles D. Thompson has been a resident of Ogden for many years, and enjoys a substantial position in that community because of his record as a good citizen and his honest workmanship as a painter and paper hanger. Mr. Thompson was born August 24, 1853, at Leesburg in Kosciusko County, Indiana, son of John and
