Montgomery County, IL. History of Bond and Montgomery Counties Illinois 1882 - Part II, pages 318-324, ==================================================================== Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.org/copyright.htm ==================================================================== Please direct any questions to Montgomery County Illinois web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilmontgo/ or Bond County Illinois Web site. http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilbond/ [Page 319] D. P. BROPHY, Postmaster, Nokomis, son of Dennis and Julia (GALVIN) BROPHY, was born in New York City March 3, 1832; he lived in the city till about fourteen years of age, receiving, during this time, the rudiments of a common course of education; upon the death of his mother, in 1846, he went to the city of Philadelphia and engaged in the type-foundry business; after about eighteen months, he went to the city of Baltimore and engaged in the same occupation with Edwin STARR, of the Sun building; in about nine months, he engaged on the Pittsburgh & Baltimore Railroad as assistant baggagemaster; this position he held about nine months, when he went back to New York City and engaged in the type-foundry business for a number of years; his health failing, he abandoned this business and engaged in market gardening near the city of Boston, for James YOUNG. In the fall of 1856, he came West, and first stopped at Litchfield and worked for Galvin HOWE some six months, and then came to Nokomis. At the beginning of the late rebellion, he responded to the call for troops; volunteered in the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illinois Infantry, Company F, during this time acting as Postmaster till the close of the war, after which he came back to Nokomis, and was appointed Postmaster, which position he still holds, having been in the employ of the Government for twenty years. September 17, 1868, he married Miss Susan, daughter of Thomas S. and Ann (OLDROYD) BATTLES, by whom he has had two children - Nathaniel B. and Julia A., both dead. Mr. BROPHY traces his ancestry back to an Irish origin through both his father and mother; his greatªgrandfather settled in New York in an early day, and the BROPHYs are scattered over the States; Mr. BROPHY's father raised two children - our subject, and Hannah, who died in New York City at the age of twenty-three; Mr. BROPHY's father died before he was born, and many years after, his widow, and mother of our subject, married John ROBERTS and raised tow children, a son and a daughter, the daughter marrying James JACKSON, a custom house officer in New York City. Mr. and Mrs. BROPHY are members of the Baptist Church, and are respected by all who know them. William M. BLUE, farmer and stock-dealer, P. O. Nokomis, born in Franklin County, Ohio, April 26, 1826, son of Peter BLUE, a farmer, who was born in Virginia in 1792, married in Ohio in 1823, and died there in 1855, from the effects of a rattlesnake bite, in eight days after being bitten; subject’s mother, Nancy (CRABB) BLUE, born in Virginia in 1797, is now living at Nokomis, in the eighty-fifth year of her age; they had six children ... [Page 319] … George CULP, furniture, Nokomis, born in Jefferson County, Ohio, November 28, 1821, son of Adam and Nancy (WRIGHT) CULP, he, a farmer, born in Pennsylvania July 5, 1795, … Martin HARKEY, farmer, P. O. Nokomis, who came with his parents from North Carolina and settled at Hillsboro, Montgomery Co., Ill., when there were only eight log cabins (1830); he was born in North Carolina in 1813, and is the son of Martin and Christina (MESINGER) HARKEY, who were natives of Pennsylvania, from where they emigrated to North Carolina in an early day; they both died in this county at a ripe old age, and were both respected, and working on a farm; he received a common school education, and began life for himself at the age of twenty-two, by farming, which occupation has ever been his vocation. In 1835, he married Mary, daughter of Jacob and Catharine (BOST) CRESS; she was born in North Carolina in 1815, and came with her parents to this county in 1818; they settled close to Hillsboro, and followed farming; father was born in 1779, and died in this county in 1865; his wife was born in 1786, and died in 1859; they were both members of the Lutheran Church. Mr. HARKEY, by hard work and economy, has secured a good farm of 300 acres, and a good property in Nokomis. To Mr. and Mrs. HARKEY have been born nine children - six sons and three Daughters - Sophia C., dead; Harriet R., dead; Henry L., in California; Jane E., wife of E. BRIGHTMAN, in California; George W., dead; Jacob M., Thomas P., James M., and one dying in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. HARKEY are members of the Presbyterian Church, and strong advocates of the [Page 320] temperance cause, and, in fact, everything that pertains to good and the promotion of society. Thomas G. HOBSON, miller, Nokomis, born in Yorkshire, England, May 10, 1840, son of Robert and Elizabeth (LEAMING) HOBSON. Robert HOBSON, subject‘s father, a native of England and miller by trade, came to America in 1843; .... L. M. HARTSOCK, miller, Nokomis, born near Johnsville, Frederick Co., Md., November 9, 1841, son of Nicholas and Sarah HARTSOCK, he, a stone and brick mason, died when our subject was thirteen years old; she died when subject was but four years old; they had two children - L. M. and Maggie E. Subject was raised among strangers, and … Charles L. HENKEL, druggist, Nokomis, ws born in Virginia, son of Rev. D. M. and Susan (EGER) Henkel, his father being a Lutheran clergyman, as his forefathers were of nine generations back; both parents were natives of Virginia, his mother being a sister of HAVEMEYER, the great sugar refiner of New York. Our subject … [Page 321] the details of his profession. He was married, in 1870, to Belle LEAS, born in Jefferson County, Ohio, daughter of Leonard LEAS, Esq., a native of Adams County, Penn., where he was born March 20, 1811, being now a resident of Nokomis. F. O. PADDOCK, lumber-dealer, Nokomis, was born in Argyle, Wis., December 16, 1853, son of Oscar H. and Ann (THREADGOLD) PADDOCK, he, born in Woodstock, Vt., June 12, 1830, came to Illinois at an early day, and is now in the lumber business at Pana, Ill., and with his son (subject) at Nokomis; she, a native of Yorkshire, England, was born December 12, 1836. Subject received a good business education, and engaged in business at Pana, Ill., where he dealt in lumber and building material; thence he moved to Nokomis, where he carries on the same business; he has the largest stock of any dealer in his line in Montgomery County, and does an extensive trade. At St. Joseph, Mo., August 28, 1877, he married Ada PLATT, born in Brooklyn, N. Y., April 8, 1855, daughter of Rudolphus T. and Mary (NARES) PLATT, he born in Clifton Park, N. Y., August 1, 1832, died in May, 1876; she, a native of Geneva, N. Y., born November 8, 1834; from this union, one child, Jessie F., now three years old, has been born. Mr. Paddock is of old Revolutionary stock; his great-grandfather and grand-uncles were Revolutionary soldiers, and he is an honor to the stock from whence he springs. M. P. PUFELES, merchant, Nokomis, born in Austria in 1852, and came to America in 1808; .... H. F. ROOD, banker, Nokomis, President of the Nokomis National Bank, and one of the first settlers of Nokomis, was born in Massachusetts in 1818; he is the third son of Ashael and Asenath (FULLER) ROOD, who were also of Massachusetts; father born in 1772, … [Page 322] of Nokomis, which position he still retains. To Mr. and Mrs. ROOD were born four children - Florence A., dying in infancy; Clarence E., express agent at St. Louis; Horace E., with his brother; and Maude, a promising young lady, and beloved by all who knew her, died in the nineteenth year of her age. J. W. RUSSELL, merchant, Nokomis, was born in Montgomery County, Ill., in 1839; he is the oldest of a family of eight children that were born to William H. and Catharine (TODD) RUSSELL. William RUSSELL was born in Kentucky in 1818, and came to Montgomery County, Ill., with his father, John RUSSELL, a native of North Carolina, in or about 1823, settling on land entered by them; … … H. S. STRAIN, physician, Nokomis, born in Highland County, Ohio, June 13, 1837, son of Andrew Miller and Rebecca A. (PATTON) STRAIN; he, a farmer, born near Abingdon, S. C., March 23, 1800, died July 3, 1859; she, born near Lexington, Bourbon Co., Ky., March 29, 1808, died July 31, 1872; their family consisted of seven sons and three daughters. Dr. STRAIN received a rudimentary education in the common schools of Highland County, Ohio, but afterward attended and graduated at the Worcester University, Cleveland, Ohio. In September, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Eighty-first Regiment Ohio Infantry, and was detailed as Assistant Surgeon of the regiment, filling that position until 1862. On September 13, 1866, near Greenfield, Highland Co., Ohio, the Doctor was married to Miss Mary A. WALKER, by the Rev. McKnight WILLIAMSON; she was born March 22, 1840, near Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio, and is a daughter of John H. and Margaret B. (ELLIOTT) WALKER, he born in Rockbridge County, Va., in January, 1809, is still living in Hillsboro, Ohio. The Doctor has five children living © Maggie H., born February 23, 1869; Annie Kate, born June 22, 1872; John W., Born March 13, 1875; Stanley M., born March 24, 1877; and Andrew N. ("Scottie"), born July 22, 1867, died June 26, 1872. In 1865, the Doctor was appointed Surgeon of the One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Regiment of Ohio Infantry, and served until the end of the war. Dr. and Mrs. STRAIN are Presbyterians; in politics, he is a Republican, and known in his district as an able physician. Samuel STRAIN, the Doctor's grandfather, was an Irishman; came to America before the Revolutionary war; was a soldier for seven years, and fought under Gen. GREEN; in one battle, another soldier and himself were the only two who escaped; he had been married four times, raised twenty-[Page 323] two children, and died at the age of eighty- five. William STEINRAUF, M. D., Nokomis, born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, September 18, 1850, son of John and Catharine (STENGEL) STEINRAUF, he, a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, born in 1827, died at St. Louis, Mo., in September, 1872; was a stone mason, ... George M. STEVENS, attorney, Nokomis, born in Canada in 1846, son of John M. and Sibyl (GODDARD) STEVENS, he, a farmer, born in St. John, New Brunswick, now of Shelby County, Ill.; she, also a native of Canada, is still living. Subject ... Thomas TWOHEY, railroad, Nokomis, was born in Ireland in 1832, is the son of Thomas and Ann TWOHEY. Mr. TWOHEY came to America in 1848, with the intention of making for himself a home; he located in Massachusetts, where ... Thomas J. WHITTEN, M. D., Nokomis, was born in Montgomery County, Ill, February 21, 1844, son of Austin and Keziah (CASEY) WHITTEN, he, born in Newberry District, S. C., November 29, 1802, came to Illinois at an early day, where he followed farming until his death, which occurred May 12, 1869; she, also a native of South Carolina, born March 15, 1799, died in Montgomery County, Ill., October 1, 1856. Subject began the study of medicine in 1856, and graduated at the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, Penn., in 1867; he began the practice of his profession at Hillsboro in 1867, remaining there till 1880, when he came to Nokomis; he now ranks as one of the leading physicians of Montgomery County. He served as Hospital Steward at Fort Prickren [Page 324] From 1862 till the close of the war. At Hillsboro, Ill., January 2, 1868, he married Sophia C. HARKEY, born in Montgomery County February 3, 1843, daughter of George and Martha S. (MASTERS) HARKEY, natives of North Carolina, he, born April 5, 1804, died October 29, 1856; she, born June 7, 1803, died August 13, 1852. From this marriage four children have been born, viz: Harry Hood, George Ernest, Lelia Grace and Lester Cook. The Doctor is a member of the Lutheran Church, a member of the Masonic fraternity, and an Odd Fellow; is Secretary of the County Medical Society, and has officiated as President of the Central Illinois District Society. D. H. ZEPP, attorney, Nokomis, born in Carroll County, Md., in 1845, the son of Samuel and Caroline C. (ZIMMERMAN) ZEPP; he, a farmer, born in Maryland in 1822, was married in 1843, and is still living there; she, born in Maryland, is still living; they had nine children - five sons and four daughters - of whom our subject is the oldest; he received a good common-school education, and, by working on a farm for $6 per month, he was enabled to continue his studies; at the age of eighteen, he began teaching school, and, after having taught school in the county for one year, he became Principal of the Westminster, in Maryland. He was married, in 1874, to Ella Beaver, daughter of Jacob and Sarah (HAMMETT) BEAVER. Mr. ZEPP was elected to the Thirtieth General Assembly, and received the second largest majority of any member in the House. He began reading law with Judge John E. SMITH, of Maryland, in 1866; admitted to the bar in 1868, and came West in 1869; he was Principal of the Public School at Hillsboro one year, and at Nokomis two years. Mr. ZEPP is a Republican, a Knight Templar, and a self-made man; not only has he been successful as an educator, but also as a financier, now owning 400 acres of land near Tower Hill, as well as property in Nokomis.