The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Compiled and Edited by Virginia Ross
Registrar for Daniel McMillan Chapter, N.S.D.A.R.1917
Stronghurst Graphic, Oct. 4, 1917
LAID TO REST: Col. J.O.Anderson died at the Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Home Hospital at Quincy on September 26th. The remains were brought to his late home here on Thursday and on Sunday afternoon funeral services were conducted in the Stronghurst M.E. Church. The Masonic fraternity of which the deceased was a member, had charge of the burial services. Music was by a special choir consisting of W.C.Ivins and wife, C.R.Kaiser and J.E. Amerman of Stronghurst, E.L.Werts and W.S.Wilson of Oquawka, and R.W.Park of Media. An honorary escort of veterans of the Civil War, consisting of Drs. Lambert and Law of Galesburg and Adoniram Edwards of Smithshire also participated.
The casket containing the remains was draped with the American flag and beautiful floral offerings given by friends and neighbors were nearby...Relatives and friends present at the funeral from other states were Frank Anderson of Bliss, Idaho, Mr. and Mrs. S.H. Peasley and Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Chandler of Fort Collins, Colo., and Mr. Marion Evans of Emerson, Iowa.
James Oscar Anderson, son of Alexander and Harriet C. (Davis) Anderson, was born Aug.1st near Decorra. He was born on the quarter section of land which was received by his grandfather (Abner Davis) for service in the War of 1812 having serviced on the Canadian border under Generals Scott and Ripley and participated in the battles of Niagara, Chippewa and Lundy's Lane.
His father died when James O. Anderson was 8 1Ú2 years old leaving a widow and four children, two sons and two daughters with James being the eldest...At the outbreak of the Civil War Mr. Anderson was too young to be accepted and his mother refused her permission for him to go. At the age of 18 years when a student at Monmouth College, he joined a company being organized composed mainly of students enlisting as a private in Co.A of the 138th Regt., Illinois Infantry and served until Oct.14, 1864 when he was discharged. He re-enlisted as a private in Co.H. of the 28th Regt., Illinois Infantry on March 13, 1865 and was sent with his regiment to Mobile, Ala.
After the surrender of the Confederate armies, Mr. Anderson's regiment was ordered to Texas where he served under Gen. Phil Sheridan in the "The Army of Observation" along the Rio Grande. During his term of service, he was promoted to Sergeant and First Sergeant and later commissioned 2nd Lieutenant of his company. He was mustered out at Brownsville, Tex. on March 13, 1866 and upon returning home engaged in farming.
On March 6, 1867 he married Miss Rhoda B. Paul who died Aug.31, 1899. To this union three children were born, namely, Francis Marion, now residing at Bliss, Idaho; Edwin Alvan, residing in Stronghurst, and Eva May Peasley, now living at Fort Collins, Colo.Mr. Anderson was elected sheriff of Henderson County in November 1878 and served three terms. In 1888 he was elected Representative to the 36th General Assembly of Illinois, 38th, 40th Assembly and was Sergeant-at-arms of the Senate during the 39th Assembly.
At the outbreak of the Spanish American War, Mr. Anderson organized a regiment but the war was over before they could be activated. He was commissioned as Colonel of the Provisional Regiment by a joint resolution of the 41st General Assembly. President McKinley twice tendered him a captaincy in the U.S.Volunteers for service in the Philippines which he declined owing to the ill health of his wife. In Feb.1899 he became a Special Internal Revenue Officer and was assigned to looking up and investigating violations of the internal revenue laws.
He continued in that service until Jan. 20, 1911 when he resigned to accept the Superintendent of the Illinois Soldiers and Sailors' Home at Quincy in which capacity he serviced until 1913.Mr. Anderson married a second time on May 21, 1911 to Mrs. Josephine Paul of Terre Haute who survives him. (This is a longer article and one may read it in entirety on microfilm at the Henderson County Public Library in Biggsville.)
1892 GRAPHIC: The Kirkwood Mineral springs grounds and buildings had been converted into an institution for the cure of drunkenness with Dr. J.G.Evans of Abingdon as president. Seven patients were enrolled the first day. Hurd and Winders of Media were building a new school house in the Allison district east of town. Joseph Thompson awarded prizes to Wm. Milligan, A.C.Allison and Cyrus Humphrey at his colt show. A United Presbyterian congregation was being organized at Media and building plans being perfected. Amos Rensberger of Media was arrested and charged with forging the name of Wm. Hazen to a promissory note for $500. Rensberger was the owner of the meat market in Media which was burned the week previous. E.W.Tinkham of Kirkwood and E.B.Campbell of Stronghurst formed a partnership in the grain and implement business in town. J.W.Hicks was completing the new M.E.Church in Terre Haute.
LOCAL AND AREA HAPPENINGS: J.W.Stine, well known stock buyer, auto salesman and man about town surprised his many friends by slipping out of town and returning with a bride, Miss Anna Weber of St.Louis. The Sinclair Oil Co. are distributing pipe for their new line through Lomax. The Curtis Handle Co. of Lomax have made several fancy shipment of their products to the East.
GLADSTONE: Henry Rhoads' moved to town into the house he bought of Mrs. Cora Knudstrum. The Gladstone band gave their last concert on the street Thursday evening. Two more boys from here volunteered for the army, Harold Galbraith and Chalmer Graham, but owing to their age and the objection of their parents they did not get to go. Mrs. Smith, colored, a middle aged woman, was seriously injured Saturday evening when she was struck by a hand car shortly after dark when walking on the tracks. She was taken to the Burlington hospital for treatment. The colored people are here working on the railroad and live in an outfit of cars along the track.
CARMAN CONCERNS: Mr. Gus Magdeburg has returned to his home in Oklahoma. Mrs. Clyde Mead and Miss Violet Pendry visited friends at Camp Dodge. Clarence, little son of Mr.and Mrs. Jim Pendry, is improving at the Burlington Hospital where he underwent an operation for appendicitis. Mr.and Mrs. Radican and son of Swan Creek belong to an aviation corps near Chicago.
RUNAWAY ACCIDENT: Mrs. H. Tweed of the South Henderson neighborhood was seriously injured in a runaway accident near Biggsville last Sunday morning. A party consisting of Mr. and Mrs. James McClinton and daughter, Viola, and Mrs. Tweed were on their way to church in a carriage pulled by a spirited team when a passing motorcycle frightened the team which ran away.
LOCAL AND AREA HAPPENINGS: The Ralph Rankin family are now living in the Tinkham property in the west part of the village. The Cooksey property on Elizabeth Street has been sold to Richard W. Marshall. J .Bert Watson of Ft. Collins, Colo. closed a deal selling his farm northwest of Stronghurst to Frank Pearson, who has been renting it for several years. Art McKeown sold the George Stewart farm of 80 acres to Al Links for $160 per acres.
Mr. McKeown recently purchased the property for $151 per acres. Mr. Links wants the place for a home and did not buy it for speculation. J.H. Kilgore, who has been engaged in the restaurant business at Biggsville for the past year disposed of his business to Mr. Clarence McCormick. Mr. Kilgore's time has been engaged for some time past in fulfilling the duties connected with the office of secretary of the exemption board of Henderson County.
The open season for prairie chicken in this state began last Monday and will be lawful to kill that toothsome species of game fowl to the limit of three in one day up to Oct.15th. It is unlikely that the limit will be exceeded by any of our local Nimrods as the prairie chicken has become virtually an extinct bird in this region.Rev. W.P.Anderson received word from his son Carl that the company of U.S.Cavalry to which he belongs was in a wreck which occurred near St. Joe, Mo., the day before. The troop was on its way from Camp Dodge, Ia. to Deming, N. Mex. And while rounding a sharp curve at a high rate of speed several box cars which were attached to the train behind the passenger coaches left the rails and were piled up in the ditch.
Fortunately, no one on the train was injured. The W.C.T.U.(Women's Christian Temperance Union) elected new officers: Mrs. B.G.Widney, President; Mrs. Jaggers, Vice-President; Mrs. Chas. Davis, Treasurer; Mrs. Gilliland, Secretary; Mrs. K.R.Anderson, Corresponding Secretary; Mrs. Lou Calkins, Supt. of the flower mission.
William L. Francis, a former Stronghurst citizen, died at Minneapolis, Minn. on Monday of this week and will be buried at Kirkwood. Cottage prayer meetings are being held this week at various homes in the country surrounding Stronghurst in preparation for the series of evangelistic meetings to be begun at the U.P.Church next Sabbath under the direction of Dr. Nairn. The fine new school building recently erected in district No.16, Bald Bluff Township, was dedicated with State Supt. of Public Instruction delivering an address. This school has been designated as a superior school.
The Dallas City commissioners some time ago passed an ordinance requiring the Sinclair-Cudahy Pipe Line Co. To pay the city $500 for the privilege of laying pipes through that burg. It seems that the commissioners now wish to repeal the ordinance for some reason and the oil people are objecting. The latter paid the city $500 in gold and announced they will accept no other ordinance which the city passes conflicting with the one under which they obtained permission. Dr. H.L. Marshall received a commission as captain in the medical department of the U.S.Reserve corps and expects a call in the near future. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Heath of Oneida, Ill., recently purchased the Chas. Huggins property in the east part of the village and will make it their home. A small tract of timber land belonging to Miss Ella McQuown was sold to J.Russell Carothers. Mr. J.F.Mains has again associated himself with the management of the Graphic, having disposed of the Knoxville Republican to S.H.McMillan. Mr. Mains has leased a half interest in the paper.In spite of the scarcity of labor, it seems that large corporations and syndicates are able to secure the help they want for their work.
Three construction camps have for some time been making their headquarters in Stronghurs: one extending the mile passing tracks for another half mile both east and west of town, another stringing pipe for the Sinclair Oil Co. and the third re-laying the pipe lines for the Standard Oil Co. which as been in operation through this section for a number of years.
The progressiveness of the times and the new method of doing things is apparent on every hand. The slow moving mule teams used in this kind of work when the pipe lines were laid through Stronghurst ten years ago are now supplemented with monster auto trucks which have a capacity of three tons with a trailer which has an equal capacity.
These cars are capable of carrying two lengths of twenty-foot pipe and when loaded look from a little distance like an ordinary flat car. The wheels are very wide having extended surface exposed so that the heaviest load can be moved over the softest ground.
MEDIA MEANDERINGS: The Union Tea man visited the village. Miss Kathylia LaVelle is the new clerk in Mr. Winders' restaurant. Sam Mathers is building a fine new house on his farm south of town. Dave Frye accompanied a shipment of stock to Chicago. The members of the literary society of the academy will give a free entertainment there on the evening of the social. A large number of people from town have been going to the woods and bringing back big sacks full of hazel nuts. Mr.
O.S.Hamilton is conducting a demonstration of Copper-Clad ranges at the James A. Callow & Co. Store. A mammoth loaf of bread, measuring 51 inches in circumference and weighing 16 lbs. was baked in one of the ranges and is now on exhibition in the show window of the store.