F. M. Fagaly, a retired resident of St. Joseph, has many interesting distinctions, not least among which is the fact that he served more than three years in the Union Army during the Civil War. Mr. Fagaly and his family are widely known in Champaign County, where through all the years their names have been […]
William L. Sturdyvin. A resident for more than forty-five years in Champaign County has made William L. Sturdyvin one of his community’s best known citizens, and the honorable and industrious life he has led has given him a substantial place among his people. The years have dealt kindly with him and with his efforts, and
Peter H. Mulligan, present postmaster of Tolono, has been so long identified with the citizenship and farming activities of southern Champaign County as to require no special introduction. Mr. Mulligan was born at Tolono July 4, 1865. His parents, Peter and Margaret (Lynch) Mulligan, were both natives of Ireland. The father came to this country
Patrick Connor. Every one in the Rantoul vicinity of Champaign County knows the home of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Connor. It is located in section 19, five miles northwest of Rantoul and near the schoolhouse to which Mr. Connor sent his own children and with which he has been officially identified. This is a fine
Mark Carley was one of the founders of the city of Champaign: His name appears again and again in connection with the early annals of that city and of Champaign County, and always he appears as a man of force, of almost unlimited enterprise and of a public spirit that was in keeping with his
Christian Schoon was for many years enrolled among the active and vigorous farmers of Champaign County, but from the fruits of his industry long continued he is now enabled to enjoy a life of comfortable retirement in his home in the Village of Gifford. Mr. Schoon, like many other of the most capable men who
George Newton Cunningham. No one family name has been so long identified with the drug business in Champaign County as that of Cunningham. In almost pioneer times, in 1854, Albert Palmer Cunningham came West to Champaign County and located at Urbana, where he found employment in a bank and was later engaged in the drug
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
Mrs. Suzan Kirk, widow of the late Bernard Kirk, is a Champaign County woman around whom center many associations and interests that betoken the spirit and achievements for which American life is most note-worthy. Mrs. Kirk was born in County Louth, Ireland, a daughter of Patrick and Ann (Casey) McGinnis. She was about fifteen years
Andrew Ekblaw. For forty-one years Andrew Ekblaw has been a resident of Champaign County. The management and cultivation of the land and its resources have furnished him an occupation and business, and as a practical agriculturist he has few peers in this part of the state. Mr. Ekblaw was born in Sweden in 1854, a
James M. Reese has been a factor in the business life of the village of St. Joseph for nearly thirty years, and has made a success because he has given a service a little better than others in the same line and has constantly striven to please. Mr. Reese was born in that historic section
William E. Schowengerdt, M. D. As even the layman finds wonder and interest in scanning the progress made by medical science from time to time, it is not remarkable that trained medical men should continue enthusiastic students and thereby still further deserve the faith and confidence of those who seek their healing ministrations. No men
Matthew Wales Busey. Of the native sons of Champaign County who have been factors in the development of the county’s resources, one of the most prominently known is Matthew W T ales Busey, president of Busey’s State Bank at Urbana. As one of the leading bankers of his section he has contributed to the advancement
Ira H. Dodson. Among the families that have been identified with Champaign County for more than half a century are the Dodsons, represented by Mr. Ira H. Dodson, who still has a portion of the old homestead in Urbana Township. Mr. Dodson was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, August 10, 1855,. a son of John
Engward Bengtson. While good Americans today find it entirely unnecessary to refer to other countries in order to establish honorable standing, it is but natural that a kind feeling should ever be preserved for the land of one’s ancestors, and especially may this be the case when attention can be centered on Sweden. That country
Fred W. Howell. While the greater part of Champaign County may be included in the agricultural belt, many of the finest farms may be found in Homer Township, where the type of citizenship is high and unusually intelligent. Modern methods prevail, the farmers use the very best farm machinery and are generally open minded, yet
Benjamin Franklin Harris. Love of land, of peace and industry, cardinal virtues in the lives of men and nations, were ever present influences in the long life of the late B. F. Harris of Champaign County. To say that he left “a good name” as a legacy to his family, is to state only part
Carl Odebrecht. Some of the finest farms in Illinois are to be found in Philo Township of Champaign County. This also means that some of the ablest exponents of the art of agriculture are in the same locality. One of the men who have been especially successful in transmitting the resources of the soil into
David Wilson of section 24, St. Joseph Township, first became acquainted with Champaign County when he was fifteen years of age, and for nearly thirty years he has lived in this county continuously, having acquired and developed one of the splendid farms in his vicinity. Mr. Wilson is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he
Hugh A. Kirk. While it cannot be claimed for all Champaign County farmers that they live up to the opportunities afforded them, there are some of them whose progress and prosperity are well worth noting and whose modern methods have in the last few years almost revolutionized the industry. One of these wide-awake and progressive
