John Hopkins Anthony

Taken from Anthony's obituary in 1903 (edited for clarity):

John Hopkins Anthony was born December 14, 1819, at Sherburne, Rutland County, Vermont.  With his widowed mother and his brothers and sisters, he came to Washington in October 1837, and the journey was made by wagon and consumed six weeks.  It is difficult for today's young men to realize that his single life spanned so much of the history of Illinois and the United States.  Illinois had been admitted to the union less than two years before his birth, and on the arrival here, he found a small village and a few farms scattered through the woods or on their borders.  There were no railroads, no telegraphs, and scarcely any roads.  Life was a hard struggle to procure articles of bare necessity.  Mr. Anthony has said that it was astonishing how little money the farmers of the thirties saw, and for some years later.  Most of their necessities were procured by barter.  He has often told of hauling grain, driving stock to Chicago, and camping out on the way.  Mr. Anthony began his education under a private tutor and continued it at a neighboring academy where he was a schoolmate of the poet John G. Saxe.  He fortified his education by much reading and a wide acquaintance with men and affairs.  He began traveling by wagon for a Peoria medicine firm, taking many journeys to found and look after agencies in the West and South.  In 1852, he went into the hardware business in this city with his brother Charles, but continued to travel until the death of Charles in 1857, when he gave up traveling and took charge of the store with William Ross as partner.  The firm made tinware and sold it over a large part of the country.  By his business ability, he gained a considerable amount of property, which he used not only for his own enjoyment but for the enjoyment of his friends, and which surrounded him with all the comforts of life in his declining years.  In 1858, he moved to his farm near this city, but during his last years, he resided in town.

Mr. Anthony's experience, ability, and force of character made him a leader of men, and for twenty years, he represented Washington Township in the board of supervisors, where his influence was of great value to the county.  He served with credit as mayor of the city.  In the larger field of the State Senate, he represented Tazewell County for a term and, though on the minority side, was influential in procuring much legislation.  He introduced the first bill in the legislature for the founding of a separate asylum for the incurable insane, having been impressed with the necessity of such a provision for that class of the unfortunate.  He could deliver a strong address and, within the past two years, greatly interested his fellowmen on two occasions with eloquent addresses.  He served with credit for two terms on the State Board of Equalization, where his knowledge of property values stood him in good stead.  He was a member of the M. E. church of this city and served it as a trustee for fifty years.

Mr. Anthony was united in marriage on July 25, 1858, to Mrs. Catherine Kyes Applegate, who died January 28, 1890, in Peoria.   

Mr. Anthony was a devoted Mason, having been a member of Taylor lodge for two years before the organization of the William C. Hobbs lodge of Eureka.  He organized the latter and was their first Worshipful Master.  During the entire time he held this office, he never missed a meeting, often covering the distance on foot, though generally on horseback, between her and Eureka, whatever the weather.  He held membership in the Tazewell Chapter in the Washington Council and was a charter member of the Eastern Star.  A number of the fraternity from Eureka, Pekin, Peoria, Metamora, and Deer Creek attended the funeral, and L. S. Zinger of Pekin, as master of ceremonies, performed the last sad rites at the grave.