\osborne\biograph\newbio4 3/29/2007
Bio. of George H. Osborne
An Illustrated History of Central Oregon, Spokane, WA, Western
Historical Publishing Co., 1905. Page 796. (transcript)
[See the bio. of W.F. Osborn]
GEORGE H. OSBORNE, who is one of the representative agriculturists of
Crook county, is residing at Culver, where he has a good estate. He was
born in Missouri, in 1852. His father, Hon. William F. Osborne, is a native
of Indiana, and was one of the first commissioners of Greenwood county,
Kansas, and also enjoyed the distinction of being sent three times to the
legislature of that state. He is a man of influence and ability and has had
an interesting career. He made a trip to California at the time of the
discovery of gold there and then returned to his home in Greenwood county
where he resides at the present time. He married Mary Barnes, who was born
in Missouri, and whose death occurred in 1864. Our subject was taken by his
parents to Greenwood county, Kansas territory, from Missouri, they being
among the earliest settlers of that territory. In 1872 our subject came
from Kansas, where he had received his education, and located near Goose
Lake, in Oregon. Three years later he removed thence to the Willamette
valley and there remained until 1878, when he came to his present location
and took a homestead. He also took a timber culture and since then he has
devoted his energies to farming, and has made a good success.
On November 6, 1877, Mr. Osborne married Miss Ella Rogers, and they have
become the parents of ten children, whose names follow: Franklin C., Robert
C., Francis E., Maude L., Lulu M., Winford C., Floyd H., Lois W., Florence
G., and Rex R. Mr. Osborne is a member of the A.O.U.W. and the Artisans
and is to be numbered with the pioneers of the Haystack country. He has
shown commendable industry in his labors and has a good standing in the
community.
Bio. of George L. Osborne-10562
Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, Vol. V, NY, Louisville,
KY, and St. Louis, The Southern History Co., 1901. Page 32.
(transcript)
Osborne, George L., educator, was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania,
December 18, 1835, son of Abraham and Jane (Gregory) Osborne; died in
Warrensburg, Missouri, November 17, 1898. He was educated in the country
schools and at Waynesburgh (Pennsylvania) College, which he entered in 1855.
During his studies he taught school to provide the means of paying for his
education. For fourteen years he was engaged in teaching in Pennsylvania,
beginning in the ungraded country schools and working his way up to the
superintendency of the city schools at Uniontown, Bridgeport and Brownsville.
In 1865 he was elected professor of mathematics in what is now the
Southwestern State Normal School at California, Pennsylvania. From 1865 to
1868 he served as superintendent of schools at Macon, Missouri, and from
1871 to 1874 filled a similar position at Louisiana. In 1875 he was elected
president of the State Normal School at Warrensburg, in which position he
remained until his death, November 17, 1898. In 1885 Central University,
of Georgetown, Kentucky, conferred upon him the degree of LL.D. He was for
a time regent of the Kirksville Normal School, and was offered the presidency
of this school and the Missouri Valley College, at Marshall, of which he was
a trustee from its foundation. He was a member of the faculty of the first
Institute Conductors' Training School, established under the "Wolfe law;" was
instrumental in making a normal diploma a State certificate to teach;
succeeded, almost alone, in establishing a uniform course of study in the
normal schools of Missouri; in 1895 was a member of the State Text Book
Commission; for a quarter of a century was an influential member of the
National Educational Association, in which he served as vice president; and
had been president of the State Teachers' Associations. Fraternally he was
for many years a Mason, and a Sir Knight. Though reared in the Methodist
faith, he identified himself with the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination
after coming to Missouri, and for a long time officiated as elder in that
church. He was married, November 27, 1861, to Sarah V. Swisher, a native of
Virginia, who died October 14, 1895, leaving two daughters, Myrtle and
Lilian. The former, who is teacher of American literature in the Warrensburg
Normal School, was graduated from that school in 1891, and from Leland
Stanford University as a bachelor of arts in 1899. Dr. Osborne was
unquestionably one of the foremost educators of the West.
Bio. of William Y. Osborne
History of Bates County, Missouri, Topeka & Cleveland,
Historical Publishing Co., 1918. Page 646. (transcript)
William Y. Osborne, a prominent citizen of Butler, a retired farmer and
stockman of Charlotte township, is a native of West Virginia, a descendant
of one of the leading colonial families of the South. Mr. Osborne was born
July 19, 1847 at Franklin in Pendleton county, West Virginia, a son of J.W.
and Rachel Griggsby (Hamilton) Osborne. J.W. Osborne was one of the beloved
Methodist ministers of the South, one who was engaged in ministerial work
for fifty years. His son, W.Y., treasures among his priceless possessions
the Bible which Reverend Osborne had when he entered the ministry at the age
of twenty-five years. J.W. Osborne was a son of Joseph Osborne, a veteran
of the War of 1812, who took an important part in the battle of Baltimore,
who was a son of an English officer that had been in the siege of Yorktown,
the turning point in the Revolutionary War of 1776, when Cornwallis
surrendered on October 19,1781 with his eight thousand men. Rachel Griggsby
(Hamilton) Osborne was a daughter of a wealthy plantation owner and
slaveholder, John Hamilton. W.Y. Osborne has been given a book by his
mother's sister, Mrs. Henrietta (Hamilton) McCormick, which volume contains
the genealogy of the Hamilton family, tracing the lineage of Mr. Osborne
back to ancestors of prominence in the Civil War, in the War of 1812, in the
Revolutionary War, and in Scotland. Two brothers of Mrs. J.W. Osborne, the
mother of W.Y. Osborne, were active participants in the War of 1812. The
Griggsbys, Hamiltons, and McCormicks were of the "F.F.V.'s." Mrs. Henrietta
McCormick has in her possession the powder horn carried by Alexander McNutt
in the battle of the Cowpens, fought January 17, 1781, one of the most
important engagements of the Revolutionary War. Rev. J.W. Osborne departed
this life in April, 1881 at Baltimore, Maryland. He was seventy-five years
of age. To Rev. J.W. and Mrs. Osborne were born the following children, who
are now living: W.Y., the subject of this review; Dr. Oliver, a well-known
attorney of St. Paul, Missouri; John H., a prosperous capitalist of Elk
Falls, Kansas; and Virginia Elizabeth, of Chicago, Illinois.
W.Y. Osborne attended the city schools of Chicago, Illinois and Bryant &
Stratton Commercial College of Chicago. He was employed in commission houses
in Chicago for six years and then retired from business and began farming in
Illinois near Chicago and in other parts of the state. Mr. Osborne left
Illinois in March, 1875 and went to Texas, in which state he was for six
years employed in the sheep raising business on a large ranch, having at one
time a herd of seven thousand sheep on the range. He has in his early
manhood traveled extensively, visiting and residing in many different states,
and since June, 1881 he has been the owner of a valuable farm comprising one
hundred twenty acres of land in Charlotte township, Bates county, Missouri.
To his original holdings in this county, Mr. Osborne has since added a tract
of forty acres of land and on this farm of one hundred sixty acres his son,
William E., now lives. W.Y. Osborne was for many years one of the successful
and influential farmers and stockmen of his township. He moved from his
country place to Butler in December, 1914 and now resides at 310 Fort Scott
street in this city. He and Mrs. Osborne are spending the closing years of
their lives, which have been spent in hard but honorable labor, in quiet
comfort and ease. Their home in Butler is a beautiful, modern residence and
Mr. Osborne enjoys working in his garden and in reading when he can no
longer be employed out-of-doors. He has traveled over all the plains of the
Southwest and while in the business of sheep growing was located at Colfax
county, New Mexico. He is a most interesting conversationalist and the
relation of his travels and experiences on the plains would make a remarkably
valuable, instructive, and delightful book.
The marriage of W.Y. Osborne and Eliza E. Cowgill was solemnized December
21, 1881. Eliza (Cowgill) Osborne is a daughter of James and Anna Barbara
(Schaub) Cowgill, of Mount Carmel, Bates county, Missouri. Mr. Cowgill died
in New Mexico in 1895 and Mrs. Cowgill joined him in death in July, 1898.
The remains of each parent were brought back to Bates county, Missouri for
burial and they are interred in Morris cemetery. To W.Y. and Eliza E.
Osborne have been born six children: Mary M., the wife of Jesse Lynds, deputy
United States marshal, Muskogee, Oklahoma; Perry H., of Mount Pleasant
township; William E., of Charlotte township, on the home place; Grace M.,
the wife of Logan Cope, New Home township; Robert George, of St. Paul,
Minnesota, who has been called for service in the army of the United States;
and Lillian, who is at home with he parents. The Osbornes are widely and
favorably known in this part of the state and in Bates county there is no
family of higher standing.
Bio. of J.G. Orsborn
History of Johnson County, Missouri, Topeka, KS & Cleveland, OH,
Historical Publishing Co., 1918. Page 475. (transcript)
J.G. Orsborn, a well-known citizen of Warrensburg and Civil War veteran,
was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1843, the son of Joseph and
Charity Orsborn, natives of Pennsylvania. In 1856 the Orsborn family moved
to Ohio and located in Noble county. To Joseph and Charity Orsborn were
born ten children: Mrs. Louisa Thomas, Marion, Kansas; Mrs. Mary (Morton)
Kelly, died in Noble county, Ohio, in 1916; J.G., the subject of this review;
John H., was killed at Brigham, Utah, twenty-five miles from Salt Lake City,
in 1870; E.G., a Civil War veteran, serving in the Thirtieth Ohio Infantry,
and whose death occurred in 1902; Elizabeth H., wife of Mr. Kent, resides
in Indiana; Mrs. Sarah Jane Morrison, died in Noble county, Ohio; Francis
Marion, was killed in early manhood in a railroad accident in Virginia;
Rachel Melvina Harper, resides in Guernsey county, Ohio; and Samuel B., died
in Noble county, Ohio. Both father and mother died in Noble county, Ohio.
J.G. Orsborn attended school in Noble county, Ohio. When he was nineteen
years of age he enlisted in the Civil War in Noble county, Ohio, August 13,
1862, and was in the service for three years. He was mustered out June 26,
1865, at Washington, D.C. His regiment was in the Kanawha campaign of 1862.
Mr. Orsborn was detailed by Major-General Sherman to the navy, in which he
served twenty-two months on the Mississippi and Florida coasts and the
Carribean sea. He took part in the battle of Nashville, Tennessee, and then
joined his regiment three days before Sherman arrived at Columbia, South
Carolina, and he was with Sherman from that time until the ware closed,
taking part in the Grand Review at Washington. Fifty years later, in 1915,
he took part in the National Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic
and marched over the identical streets in the Capital City.
After the Civil War, J.G. Orsborn returned to his home in Noble county,
Ohio, and for a number of years he was in the oil-drilling business. In
August, 1867, he came to Johnson county, Missouri and for about one year
and a half remained in Warrensburg and Holden. As there was no railroad at
that time by which connections could be made with Ft. Scott, Kansas, Mr.
Orsborn made the trip there in his spring wagon, taking with him some people
from Holden. When he was ready to return three persons from Baxter Springs,
Kansas accosted him, wishing to know how they could get to the railroad by
Sunday. They remarked that they would gladly give sixty dollars if they
could get to the train by Sunday and a bargain was immediately made whereby
they were to pay Mr. Orsborn the above stated sum if he made the desired
connection and twnty dollars if he missed the train. They made the trip in
one day and arrived in Holden one hour before the departure of the train,
and he received the sixty dollars. Mr. Orsborn returned to Ohio in 1869.
March 23, 1871, J.G. Orsborn and Maria J. Toland were united in marriage
at Zanesville, Ohio. Maria J. (Toland) Orsborn is the daughter of Willis
and Arminta Toland. She was reared and educated in Muskingum county, Ohio,
and there both her father and mother died. Their remains are interred in
Duncan Falls cemetery in Muskingum county, Ohio. To J.G. and Maria J.
Orsborn have been born the following children: Hary, who is an ordained
minister of the Baptist church and began his ministerial work at Blackwater
in Johnson county, Missouri, and is now a professor in the Minneapolis High
School, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Lura M., who was the wife of Professor Emery
Killion, a member of the Missouri Legislature, whose death occurred at Sweet
Springs, Missouri, and she later married Miner Lewis and now resides at
Roundup, Montana, where he husband is a prominent merchant; Herbert C., who
was a soldier in the Spanish-American War, serving in the Fifth Missouri
Infantry, and in 1906, while engaged in electrical engineering at Warrensburg,
was accidentally killed by a train on the Missouri Pacific railway; Orvile
J., who was the organizer of the first teachers' agency west of the
Mississippi, which was known as the Midland Teachers' Agency, and is now in
the United States mail service in Salt Lake City, Utah, after working out of
Warrensburg for a number of years;; Dr. George E. Orsborn, who is a graduate
of the Warrensburg State Normal and later took a course in the Minnesota
State Normal, was engaged in teaching in Knob Noster for two years and in
the Philippine Islands, where, at the age of twenty-one, he was superintendent
of one hundred seventy schools and postmaster in a city having a population
of twenty thousand, now, a graduate of the Kansas City and Denver medical
schools, was assistant surgeion at St. Luke's Hospital in Denver, Colorado,
and is now a brigade surgeion in the national army, with rank of major; and
Ernest C., who for ten years was employed as telegrapher and auditor by the
Great Northern Railroad Company and is now manager of the Roundup Taxi
Company, Roundup, Montana. Mr. and Mrs. Orsborn devoted their lives to the
welfare of their children rather than to the accumulation of wealth. They
always kept the children in school and gave each a good education, that which
no one can take from them. Mrs. Orsborn has a sister, Elizabeth, residing in
Warrensburg.
Mr. Orsborn remained in Ohio from 1869 until 1885, when he came back to
Missouri and located at Holden, where he resided for three years. He was
appointed engineer and custodian of the State Normal building and grounds
and for three years resided in Warrensburg. He then moved to Kansas City,
Missouri, where he was employed as engineer for the Kansas City Cable
Company. For three years Mr. Orsborn was at Liberty, Missouri and from
there returned to Warrensburg, where he took charge of the electric light
plant at Pertle Springs. Later he put in operation a new plant at
Warrensburg. For eight hundred seventy-eight nights Mr. Orsborn was on duty
at the Warrensburg plant and never missed a night. He was employed as
engineer at Columbia, Missouri, for three years and after leaving Columbia
entered the employ of the Mohler Brothers' Nursery Company, with whom he
remained four years. For some time Mr. Orsborn was engaged in the real
estate business. In 1905 he and his family moved to Minnesota on land in
the Chippewa Indian reservation, which Mr. Orsborn entered from the
government. After he had proven his claim they returned to Warrensburg.
He has in his possession many fine specimens which he has collected while
on hunting and fishing trips in various parts of the country. A splendid
astronomical telescope containing a lens which cost five hundred dollars was
until recently the property of J.G. Orsborn, who used it in connection with
a lecture given on astronomy. He sold the telescope to the Warrensburg State
Normal School.
Bio. of George L. Osborn-13688
Biographical and Historical Record of Kane County, Illinois,
Chicago, Beers, Leggett & Co., 1888. Page 346. (transcript)
[See the bio. of Samuel Osborn-13685]
GEORGE L. OSBORN, a prominent farmer of Kaneville Township, residing in the
southeast quarter of Section 6, where he owns a valuable tract of land,
finely improved and in a high state of cultivation, was born September 28,
1825, in Auburn, N.Y., and was there reared and educated. He is a son of
Samuel R. and Mary (Barnett) Osborn, natives of Bedford, Bedfordshire,
England, and who came to the United States in 1823, settling at Auburn,
where the father followed the butchering business for some years, subsequently
buying and operating a farm, and afterward leading a retired life. He died
at Auburn, a member of the Baptist Church and, politically, a Republican.
They had a large family, named as follows: Eliza (deceased in 1836); Emery
(deceased in 1878); William, (deceased); Mary (deceased in September, 1886);
Samuel, who resides on the old homestead in New York; Joseph (who died in
July, 1885); Maria (who died in 1847); George L.; Seth B. (who died in 1862),
and Anna (who died in 1853). Of this family of ten children our subject and
Samuel are the only survivors.
George L. Osborn located in Kaneville Township in the spring of 1855, and
has been one of its enterprising and leading citizens for a period of over
thirty-two years. He was married October 2, 1856, at Kaneville, Ill., to
Orenda C. Bunker, by whom there are two children: Dora, who married John
Schwartz, a farmer, now residing in Plymouth County, Iowa; and Ella L., wife
of James Meredith, a farmer of Kane County. Mrs. Osborn died in 1880, and
Mr. Osborn married, December 20, 1882, Mrs. Polly F. (minnium) Kendall,
widow of Monroe J. Kendall, and a native of Crawford County, Penn. Mr. and
Mrs. Kendall had six children: Ella L. (deceased); Ida A., Albert M., Edwin
N., Lester F. and Letta M. Mr. Osborn is a Prohibition Republican.
Bio. of Robert H. Osborn
An Illustrated History of Walla Walla County, State of Washington,
W.H. Lever, 1901. Page 394. (transcript)
ROBERT H. OSBORN, proprietor of the Bazaar at 223 W. Main street, Walla
Walla, was born in Illinois in 1837. He resided there until, in 1852, the
family started across the plains to Oregon, then he, of course, came with
them. After six months of continuous travel they finally came to a halt in
the beautiful Yamhill county, Oregon. Mr. Osborn completed his education in
Salem Academy, where he studied for two years, then engaged in farming.
Later he turned his attention to stock raising. For many years that was his
business, and he followed it successfully both in Yamhill and in Wasco
counties, Oregon; indeed, for the first two years after coming to Walla Walla
county, Washington, he devoted his energies to the same industry. But in
1891 he embarked in the mercantile business, starting with a stock of candy
and afterwards adding notions. He is a good business man, and carries a
large stock of merchandise.
Being a very old pioneer of the west Mr. Osborn has seen his share of
Indian warfare. In 1864 he enlisted in Company B, First Oregon Volunteer
Infantry, for service in Idaho against the Snake river Indians and their
allies. He participated in several severe engagements, but the principal
duty assigned to his company was to guard the passes for the purpose of
preventing the Cayuses from entering the Willamette valley.
Mr. Osborn has always been a progressive, enterprising man, and has
contributed not a little to the material and industrial development of the
coast, in the nearly half a century of his residence in Oregon and Washington.
He was marrie in Yamhill county, Oregon, in 1858, to Miss Martha Lady, who
died in 1870. By this wife he had four children: Frank, now a farmer;
Ada, now Mrs. Griffith, a resident of California; Emrel, deceased; and
Lincoln, an undertaker in San Francisco. In 1870 Mr. Osborn was again
married, the lady being Mrs. Orton, and in 1887 she also died.
Bio. of Obadiah Osborn
An Illustrated History of Walla Walla County, State of Washington,
W.H. Lever, 1901. Page 456. (transcript)
REV. OBADIAH OSBORN, a preacher and farmer, residing seven miles northwest
of Walla Walla, on Dry creek, was born in Exeter, Scott county, Illinois,
in 1835. He acquired his early education in the public schools of his native
town, where the first seventeen years of his life were spent. In 1852 he
crossed the plains with ox-teams to the Willamette valley, and there the
ensuing thirteen years of his life were passed. He spent two years in
Willamette University as a student and two in the ministry, but the remainder
of the time was devoted to farming.
When, in 1865, our subject came to Walla Walla valley he did so for the
purpose of taking charge of a circuit as its pastor, and he has preached a
great deal of the time since. He now has charge of the United Brethren work
in Walla Walla and at other places throughout the county, but such is his
capacity for labor that he is also able to supervise his mammoth farm, and
to take a lively interest and a leading part in political campaigns. In
1869 he purchased four hundred acres between Mill creek and Russell creek,
also added one hundred and twenty acres to a tract he had previously bought
in Oregon, a short distance southeast of Walla Walla. These interests he
sold in 1875, only to purchase a five-hundred-and-twenty-acre tract where
his place of residence now is. He has bought adjoining places from time to
time until he is now the owner of one thousand six hundred and eighty acres.
For years he has handled a large number of horses, and at present he has
about two hundred head, besides one hundred and fifty head of cattle.
Few men in the county have manifested their interest in the public weal
in so many ways. Mr. Osborn has been for years a leader in politics, in
religion and in the material development of the county. For two terms he
served his denomination in the capacity of presiding elder, and twice he
stumped the county in political campaigns. Once he was the candidate of his
party for the legislature, but was defeated. And with all these interests
he has yet found time for local duties such as serving as road supervisor,
etc.
Mr. Osborn has been twice married. In 1857, in the state of Oregon, he
wedded Sarah Ann McCain, who died in 1859. Of this union one child was born,
but it died when only nine months old. In 1864 he was again married, the
lady being Mary C. Mayfield, a native of Tennessee, who crossed the plains
in 1862, and they have one child, Dollie Frances, now Mrs. Charles I. Dean.
Bio. of Oscar F. Osborne and
Charles L. Osborne
An Illustrated History of the Big Bend Country Embracing Lincoln,
Douglas, Adams and Franklin Counties, State of Washington,
Western Historical Publishing Co., 1904. Page 659. (transcript)
OSCAR F. OSBORNE AND CHARLES L. OSBORNE. The firm of Osborne Brothers
composed of the gentlemen, whose names appear at the head of this article,
is one of the largest stock concerns of the Big Bend country. They reside
about five miles northwest from Lincoln where they have a very large estate,
fitted up as a first-class Washington stock farm. They are known as very
progressive and capable men and have demonstrated their ability in achieving
a success that has placed them among the leading stock men of the state.
They have at the present time about one thousand head of choice Red Durham
and Hereford cattle, besides very much other property. They were born in
Loudon county, Tennessee, in 1859 and 1866, respectively, being the sons of
Thomas and Eveline (Matlock) Osborne, natives of North Carolina and
Tennessee, respectively. Oscar F. came to Washington in the spring of 1882
and settled in the coulee in the fall of 1883, where he took a homestead and
timber culture claims. The following spring, his brother Charles joined him
and took up some more land. They joined their labors in improving the
estates and in stock raising and since that time, they have been together in
all of their ventures. The home place is on the homestead taken by Oscar.
It is well supplied with fine buildings, corrals and all the conveniences
needed to make it both valuable and attractive. Osborne Brothers were among
the first to introduce thoroughbred stock and their brand is on some of the
most valuable animals in this county. When they first came here all supplies
had to be freighted from Spokane and Sprague and in going this distance they
would pass but five or six settlers' cabins on the road. Their first cattle
market was at Fort Spokane. Afterward they sold in Seattle, having to drive
to Ellensburg for shipment. They crossed the Columbia river at the mouth of
Moses Coulee on a hand ferry. They continued steadily at their labors and
have now become wealthy and leading citizens. Our subjects have two brothers
and five sisters, John W., Wilbur J., Mrs. Louisa Blair, Mrs. Annie Kaylor,
Mrs. Addie Robinson, Mrs. Florence Penland, and Hattie.
Oscar Osborne was married in 1896, to Miss Lillie Scheibener, the daughter
of F.M. and J.E. Scheibener, who are mentioned elsewhere in this volume.
Two children have been born to this union, Floyd and Joannah. Our subjects
were both received in the Presbyterian church and are upright and substantial
men.
Bio. of Al. Osborn
Portrait and Biographical Record of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, IL,
Chicago, Biographical Publishing Co., 1891. Page 434. (transcript)
A.L. OSBORN. One of the best improved farms in Flat Branch Township, section
18, Shelby County, is that upon which the gentleman whose name is at the head
of this sketch resides, having retired from the active management of
agricultural business. Mr. Osborn has one hundred and eighty acres in the
farm on which he resides, all of which is well improved land; he also owns
forty acres near the homestead. He purchased this land and settled on it in
March, 1865, it then being all unbroken prairie. Since then he has made it
a comfortable home place and has been successful in his undertakings as a
general farmer. He came to his present location from Macoupin County, where
he had lived near Gillespie for some years. He formerly lived in Jersey and
Greene Counties, having improved some property in both places.
Our subject came to this State when a boy, with his parents. They early
settled in Sangamon County, and the young man went with them to Greene
County, where he grew to manhood and was married. He was born in Athens
County, Ohio, August 15, 1822, and is the son of Moses and the grandson of
Josiah Osborn, the latter being a native of Long Island, and of Welsh parents
and ancestors. He was one of eleven sons, all born on Long Island. He
served as a soldier through the Revolutionary War and followed the calling of
a farmer. He lived to be an old man, his death probably occurring in
Connecticut. His son Moses Osborn and our subject's father, was one of a
large family and was born in Connecticut, where he grew up and learned the
trade of a smith. He later became an itinerant preacher, and was thus engaged
during part of the War of 1812, and although he was not an active participant
in that struggle he saw many of its results. He was married in New York to
Miss Judith Francis, a native of the Island of Guernsey, who came of French
parentage. She was fifteen years of age when her father and mother moved to
America and settled in New York, where they lived for some years, and later
came to Ohio, there passing away after attaining a good old age. Their
decease occurred in Athens County.
After marriage Moses Osborn and wife settled in Athens County, Ohio, in
an early day and there began pioneer life. They lived there for some years,
making many improvements upon the farm that they had secured. After the
birth of five children, all of whom were sons, in 1826 they left Ohio to
come to this State. They came by way of the overland route with teams,
living a camp life while on the road. After a number of days of tedious
journeying, they reached and located near Springfield. They, however,
stayed here but a comparatively short time when they proceeded to Greene
County, where they secured a farm to which they bent their energies to
improve. There both Moses Osborn and wife spent the remainder of their
lives, and there died, being at the time of their decease, about eighty-three
years old. They were among the first and most influential old settlers in
that county, and were prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church
at a time when church membership meant more than it does now. Much of Mr.
Osborn's life had been spent in active church work.
The original of our sketch is one of the youngest of five sons and one
daughter. He remained with his parents until he became of age. He was
married in Greene County, February 25, 1850, to Miss Sarah E. Pruitt, who
was born in Greene County, this State, March 11, 1835. She is a daughter
of James R. and Mahala (Ambrose) Pruitt, natives of Illinois and Virginia,
respectively. Mr. Pruitt was one of the very first white children born in
the southern part of the State. James R. Pruitt was the son of William
Pruitt, who was in this State in the very early part of the present century,
or before that time, and was engaged in the struggle with the Indians, prior
to the War of 1812. He carried a bullet to his grave received in a battle
with the Indians. Mrs. Mahala Pruitt's father was also an early settler in
Illinois and was engaged in the War of 1812, having been crippled in battle.
His name was William Ambrose.
James R. Pruitt and wife were married in Illinois and lived in Madison
County for some time, later removing to Greene County, where they secured
and improved a new farm. They were very early pioneer settlers and were
obliged to begin life in a most primitive way. The bridal costumes for
both bride and groom were of home-spun, and they had only wooden dishes to
begin housekeeping with and a wooden bed, built of boards in a corner of the
room in which they lived. They drove ox-teams to church, but made as much
sunshine as possible out of the circumstances with which they were compelled
to conform. They spent their last days in Greene County and there died, Mr.
Pruitt at sixty-two years of age, and his wife at eighty-three. Mrs. Pruitt
was a member of the Baptist Church.
Mrs. Osborn and her brother William, are all of the family at present
living. The lady was reared to womanhood in her native county. She is the
mother of eight children, two of whom are deceased, Amanda and Oscar F. The
living children are James A., Richard F., Mary B., Janet A., Lewis W., and
Luther A. The eldest living son is the husband of Alice Cotar and lives in
this township on a farm. Richard took to wife Lou Minnie Cotar, now deceased.
He lives in Christian County, and has married a second time, his present wife
having been a Miss Mary Winters. Mary B. is the wife of I.F. Haverfield,
and lives in Vermillion County, Ill. Janet A. is the wife of William Manley,
a farmer in this township. Lewis W. is a farmer in Christian County. He
married Maggie English. Luther is also a farmer in Christian County and took
to wife Fanny Zeitz. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn are members of the Evangelical
Association. Our subject is an Independent in politics, not wedded to party,
but voting for the man whom he believes to be the best qualified to fill the
position.
Mr. and Mrs. Osborn are both intelligent and educated people. They have
reared a family of sons and daughters who have proved to be of exceptional
mental caliber and with high ideas of principle.
Bio. of D.C. Johnston
History of Marion County, Missouri, 1884. Page 760.
(transcript)
D.C. JOHNSTON.
The subject of this sketch was born in Huntington county, Pennsylvania,
June 25, 1825, and is the son of William and Elizabeth (Colwell) Johnston,
both natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Johnston received a good English education
at the public schools of his native county. When he was 17 years of age he
learned the trade of harness and saddle making, at which he worked for eight
years. He then moved to Ohio, and farmed until 1864, when he emigrated to
Marion county, and bought land in Round Grove township, where he now resides.
Mr. Johnston was married September 13, 1853, to Miss Margaret, daughter of
Daniel and Margaret Osborn, natives of Pennsylvania, she being born in Marion
county, Ohio. Their union has been blest with two children, Lizzie J., born
June 13, 1854, and William D., born November 12, 1855. Mr. Johnston has
been postmaster at Benbow since 1867.
Bio. of Mrs. Phoebe (Calder) Osborn
Portrait and Biographical Album of Otoe and Cass Counties, Nebraska,
Chicago, Chapman Brothers, 1889. Page 694. (transcript)
MRS. PHOEBE OSBORN, widow of the late Lyman Osborn, who was a prominent and
wealthy farmer of McWilliams Precinct, is now living quietly in a handsome
home in the village of Talmage, where she is surrounded by all of the
comforts and many of the luxuries of life. She is the owner of a large
extent of land in McWilliams Precinct, besides land in Nemaha and Saline
Counties, Neb., and Scott County, Iowa. She is a lady of more than ordinary
business capacity, managing her farms and controlling her property in a
skillfull and profitable manner. She has been a resident of the State since
Dec. 9, 1869, all of the time in Otoe County and most of the time in Nebraska
City.
Mrs. Osborn came to this State from Scott County, Iowa, with her husband,
and they settled on the farm in McWilliams Precinct, where Mr. Osborn died
six months later, on the 13th of August, 1870. A native of Seneca County,
N.Y., Mr. Osborn was born June 19, 1812, and in his native county was reared
to manhood on a farm. He was married first in his native county, to Miss
Lucretia Sloper, and later they emigrated to Iowa, locating in the vicinity
of what was then the unpretentious village of Davenport, during its early
settlement. This lady died some years later, leaving a family of six
children, all of whom are living, married, and settled comfortably, being
prosperous and intelligent citizens. They were named respectively:
Sylvester; Erena, who is now a widow; Huldah, Josiah, Eli and Ellen.
After the death of his first wife Mr. Osborn returned to his native State,
and was married the second time, April 3, 1851, to Miss Phoebe Calder, of
Meigs County. Mrs. Osborn was born in Washington County, that State, Dec.
29, 1828, and is the eldest child of John and Elsa (Rathburn) Calder, who
were natives of New York State. They went with their parents to Ohio in
their youth, and were married in the latter State, settling there upon a
farm in Meigs County, where they lived many years. In their old age they
crossed the Mississippi and settled in Scott County, Iowa. The father died
at Davenport on the 8th of May, 1877, at the age of seventy-four years, his
birth having taken place in 1803. both he and his excellent wife were
members of the Christian Church for many years. The latter, after the death
of her husband, came to this county, and died at her home in McWilliams
Precinct, April 27, 1882. She was born in 1807.
Mrs. Osborn, our subject, was reared and educated in Ohio, and engaged in
teaching some time before her marriage. She and her husband soon afterward
took up their residence in Scott County, Iowa, where they became the parents
of two sons. The elder, Lyman, Jr., married Miss Anna Puffer, of Scott
County, Sept. 16, 1876, and they live on a farm in Nemaha County, this State;
John is a resident of Talmage. Mrs. Osborn, like her parents, is connected
with the Christian Church, and keeps herself well posted upon matters of
general interest. She has abundant time for reading and recreation and
social intercourse with the many friends whom she has gathered around her
during the years of a well-spent life.
Bio. of Richard Osborn
An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, Chicago,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1893. Page 781. (transcript)
HON. RICHARD OSBORN. -- In the great competitive struggle for life, when
each man must enter the field and fight his way to the front or else be
overtaken by disaster of circumstance or place, proving either a coward or
a victim, there is ever a particular interest attaching to the life of one
who has proved successful, in the higher sense of the term, and the record
of achievement, of obstacles surmounted and of honors attained must ever be
a fecund source of incentive and instruction. The subject of this review
occupies a position of unmistakable prominence in both professional and
private life, and that his name should come up for consideration in a work
touching upon the general and biographical history of the favored
commonwealth with whose interests he is so closely identified, is not alone
consistent, but, in justice, practically imperative.
Hon. Richard Osborn, Judge of the Civil Department of the Superior Court
of King county, Washington, was born in McLean county, Illinois, December
25, 1845. His father, Wallingford Osborn, a native of Ohio, moved to
Illinois in boyhood, and was there reared to farm life. He married Miss
Nancy Ann Brown, a native of Tennessee, and after this event continued his
agricultural pursuits in Illinois until 1856, when he removed to Harrison
county, Missouri, and purchased a tract of Government land, for which he
paid $1.25 per acre. Richard Osborn was in no sense cradled in luxury,
hard work and strict economy being the ruling influences of his early life.
Up to his eighth year he attended the district schools in McLean county.
After that education became secondary to farm labor, and his only opportunity
for consecutive study was during the winter months, when it was too cold and
stormy to work out of doors. In 1856 he removed with his parents to Missouri,
where he encountered a due quota of the cares and hardships of pioneer life,
giving cheerfully of his boyish strength in the reclaiming of the farm, and
when not needed at home working out at $7.50 per month and board, thus lending
to the support of the family. The first two years the family were in Missouri
there were no schools near them, but finally a district was formed and a
schoolhouse built on land presented by Mr. Osborn. Although deprived of
school facilities, Richard had not been neglectful of education. With
borrowed books he had prosecuted a silent course of reading and study, and
when the school was opened he attended during the winter months.
Upon the breaking out of the Civil war, though but a mere lad, Richard
joined the Union army, enlisting in Company D, Twenty-third Regiment of
Missouri Volunteers. During the period of his military service -- extending
over three years -- he participated in some of the hardest-fought battles of
the West and Northwest. He started with Sherman on his memorable march to
the sea, but in an action before Atlanta in August, 1864, was severely
wounded. He was sent to the field hospital, and, later, successively to
Chattanooga and Nashville. Not being able to again engage in active service
he was mustered out in 1864, and, much debilitated, returned to his home in
Missouri, where he resumed the studies which the outbreak of the war had
interrupted.
In the spring of 1865, owing to the unsettled condition of the country,
the family removed to Davis county, Iowa, and there continued in agricultural
pursuits. Having not sufficiently recovered from his wound Richard was
unable to engage in manual labor, and finally determined to teach school.
After passing his examination and securing a first-grade certificate he
found ready employment. Having pupils much older than himself, young Osborn
was compelled to devote himself assiduously to study in order to keep ahead
of his classes, and thus, by persistent labor, he received as well as
imparted knowledge. In the fall of 1865 he entered Oskaloosa College, in
which institution he remained a student for two terms, when his financial
resources became exhausted. He then returned to Illinois, having resolved
to secure an education and to fit himself for some higher calling than that
of humdrum work on the farm. By teaching school during the winter months
and spending his vacations in work on the farm he secured sufficient funds
to cover the expense of a course of study at the State Normal University,
where, with great zeal and devotion, he pursued the higher branches,
continuing his teaching up to the summer of 1870, his last position being
that of principal and superintendent of the graded schools at Whitehall,
Illinois. He was then elected Sheriff of McLean county and served one term.
While discharging the duties of the office of Sheriff Mr. Osborn engaged
in the study of law, which he continued at Bloomington in the office of
McNulta, Kerrick & Aldrich, later entering the law department of the Wesleyan
University. In January, 1875, he was admitted to the bar before the Supreme
Court of Illinois, and the following June graduated at the university with
the degree of B.L. He then entered into active practice in Bloomington,
where he continued very successfully until August, 1881. At that time he
removed to Seattle, which was then a small city of about 3,500 population.
Here he at once inaugurated the practice of his profession, and his thorough
knowledge and ability soon brought him to the front. He was City Attorney
in 1883-'84, and in the fall of 1888 was elected Probate Judge. Having
always taken a deep interest in education, and being eminently fitted for
the position, he was appointed by Governor Ferry, in 1889, as Regent of the
State University, which honorable preferment he still retains. In 1890 he
was elected by the Republican party as Judge of the Superior Court, and,
having filled the office with honor and distinction, was re-elected in 1892
for a term of four years. As showing the discerning wisdom which the Judge
has brought to bear in his judicial capacity, reference to the fifth volume
of the Washington reports discloses the fact that out of fifteen cases
carried from his jurisdiction to the Supreme Court his decision in each of
twelve cases was affirmed by that court, and was reversed in the case of
only three.
Judge Osborn has been most indefatigable and self-exacting in the discharge
of his arduous judicial duties; the work has been thoroughly systematized,
and he has thus been enabled to expedite the trial of causes and to accomplish
more in a given time than is usually effected by several judges together.
The following commendation, which comes from one of Washington's most able
barristers, is ell worthy of reproduction in this connection. He says of
the subject of this sketch: "Judge Osborn is characterized by sturdy
integrity, by a determination to mete out justice under the forms of law, by
an untiring industry and by a high degree of learning in the law. He is an
able lawyer, is well read and a hard student. Socially, he is a genial and
polished gentleman. His ruling from the bench are generally sound and
correct."
Judge Osborn was married, in 1871, to Miss Kate Popple, a native of
England and a daughter of Rev. Samuel Popple, an eminent Methodist divine of
New York State. They have four children.
The Judge is a member of the Knights of Pythias, having been Master of
Exchequer and Treasurer of the Endowment Rank for a number of years. He is
now Past Grand Chancellor of the Grand Jurisdiction of Washington. He
belongs to the Uniform Rank of this order, and has recently been commissioned
Colonel on the staff of the commander of the Washington brigade. He is an
active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and has served two terms as
Judge Advocate of the Department of Washington.
Politically, he is an unswerving Republican.
Judge Osborn is a man of fine literary taste, and has frequently responded
to requests to write and deliver a poem for public occasions, and poems from
his pen have frequently been given to the public through the Washington and
Oregon press. One of his poems, entitled "Sunset Scene on Puget Sound,"
published in the Oregonian, has been very favorably criticised, and is
subjoined. <The poem has not been transcribed here.>
Bio. of Andrew J. Osborne
Portrait and Biographical Album of Whiteside County, Illinois,
Chicago, Chapman Brothers, 1883. Page 414. (transcript)
[See the bio. of Charles F. Osborne]
Andrew J. Osborne, contractor and bridge builder, resident at Erie, is a son
of James and Rebecca (Glass) Osborne, and was born in Ashfield, Franklin Co.,
Mass., Dec. 17, 1828. His father was a miller by vocation, and died when
Andrew was four years of age. His mother died when he was eight years old,
and Andrew and his brother James, who constituted the issue of his parents'
union, were left orphans.
Andrew J. Osborne, after the death of his parents, went to live with an
uncle, with whom he remained until he attained the age of 12 years. He then
left his uncle's house and went to Livingston Co., Mich, where he worked on
farms summers and attended school about six months during winters, and also
improved his leisure time in study at home.
In 1844 Mr. Osborne left Michigan and came to this State, where he
remained four years, and then went to New York. He was in the latter State
one year, and then came to Rock Island County, this State. Here, when 57
years of age, he taught school for a time in Canoe Creek Township.
In the fall of 1850 he came to this county and taught an arithmetical
school evenings in Erie Township. He taught what was then known as the
Prussian System of Calculation. He continued teaching during the winters of
1851-2-3 in Portland Township, and met with success in his profession.
Mr. Osborne was united in marriage in Erie Township, March 24, 1853, to
Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin H. and Mary J. Smith. She was born in
Aurora, Ill., April 12, 1833, and bore him 11 children, namely: Charles F.,
Ella C., Henry A., Barnett A., Jesse E., Grant S., Rachel M. (deceased),
Elizabeth C., Rebecca M., Lucy E. and Andrew J.
After his marriage Mr. Osborne purchased 160 acres of land in Canoe Creek
Township, Rock Island County, which he cultivated for one year and then sold.
He next came to Erie, this county, and erected a saw-mill there, which he
ran for a year and then failed. His next move was to Cass Co., Iowa, where
he was engaged in farming and milling for five years, when he returned to
Genesee, Henry Co., this State. He remained at the latter place two years,
and then came to Erie Township, this county, and moved on a farm his wife
had received from her father, on section 15. He worked hard and
industriously, and soon succeeded in paying all the debts he had contracted
prior to his failure, and also purchased 160 acres of land on section 16,
same township. He resided on the latter place for several years, and then
moved to Erie.
In 1882 he ran on the Greenback ticket for State Representative; and,
although his popularity placed him several hundred votes ahead of his ticket,
he was not successful. After moving to Erie he engaged in contracting to
build bridges for wagon roads, and has continued in the business for a number
of years. He has made a number of improvements in bracing bridges for wagon
roads, and has continued in the business for a number of years. He has made
a number of improvements in bracing bridges and so constructing the bridge
as to prevent the timber from rotting. He has built a number of bridges in
this and adjoining counties.
Mr. Osborne still owns the 160 acres on the section which he rents. He
is an original thinker of some merit, and has written numerous articles on
finance, which have been published in the papers, and has also lectured on
this subject; he has also written a pamphlet on finance entitled "New
Treatise on Money," and has also written an article, now in process of
compilation, onformation of coal and rocks, which promises to show a new
departure in the science of geology.
Bio. of Harvey L. Osborne-13391
Portrait and Biographical Album of Whiteside County, Illinois,
Chicago, Chapman Brothers, 1883. Page 672. (transcript)
Harvey L. Osborne, deceased, formerly a resident of Lyndon Township, was born
March 17, 1831, in Centerville, Allegany Co., N.Y. He was the fourth child
of his parents, Charles and Sarah (King) Osborne, the former of whom was a
native of Vermont; the latter was born in Oneida Co., N.Y.
At 16, Mr. Osborne turned his attention to acquiring a knowledge of
harness-making, going for that purpose to Randolph, Cattaraugus Co., N.Y.
After serving an apprenticeship, he operated as a journeyman in his native
State until 1855, when, in April, he came to Whiteside County. He worked
at his trade in Portland one summer, and in the fall of the same year opened
a shop in his own behalf at Erie, where he conducted a prosperous business
until 1863. He rented a farm in Portland Township, which he managed one
year. In 1864 he exchanged his property in Erie for land on section 31, of
township 20, range 5, then, which in now Lyndon Township. He put the place
in first-class condition for agricultural operations, built suitable
structures for farm use, and set out trees. Mr. Osborne died March 8, 1885.
He was united in marriage May 18, 1856, to Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel
P. and Emeline (Hollister) Brewer, a pioneer of Portland, where Mrs. Osborne
was born. Mr. Osborne is survived by six children -- Adelbert, Lois E.,
Etta L., Harper E., Elva L. and Laura E.
Bio. of Samuel Osborne
Portrait and Biographical Album of Pike and Calhoun Counties, Illinois,
Chicago, Biographical Publishing Co., 1891.
SAMUEL OSBORNE, a worthy representative of the agricultural class of Pike
County, is located on section 30, Perry Township, where he is reaping a due
reward for his labors. His farm consists of one hundred and thirty acres
in the township named, together with one hundred and sixty acres in Fairmount
Township adjoining. At least two hundred acres of land is under the plow and
the owner has no reason to feel dissatisfied with the quality or quantity of
the crops raised. Various improvements have been made, such as indicate to
the passer-by that the farm is under the control of a prosperous and orderly
man, and the place is well stocked with good animals and a sufficiency of
farm machinery.
Mr. Osborne was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, October 30, 1811, and was
well reared under the care of Christian parents. When he was fifteen years
old he went to learn the trade of a carpenter, serving under an acquaintance
of the family, one James Stephenson, who taught him proficiency in the use
of tools. The lad served an apprenticeship of four years and after
completeing his trade set sail for America, in 1834. He took passage on a
sailer from Londonderry to Liverpool and thence to Quebec, Canada. Afterward
he went to Toronto and a year or so later became a resident of the United
States. He worked as a journeyman in Ohio, finally marrying and locating in
Tuscarawas County. After successfully prosecuting his trade for some years
he turned his attention to farming, bringing his wonted persistence and
energy to his new occupation. In 1854 he removed to this State and took
possession of the land which has been his home for about thirty-seven years.
Our subject has given abundant evidence of his ability as a farmer, being
pointed out as one of those who have surrounded themselves and families with
all of the comforts of life, by means of a calling which is sometimes
considered ill-paid drudgery. A quiet and unassuming man, he has never
pushed himself forward in public affairs, but has always been ready to assist
those who were in need, morally or materially. He is a firm believer in the
principles of Republicanism and he and his sons vote as they think. Mr.
Osborne and his good wife belong to the Presbyterian Church and wear their
religion as an everyday garment.
The wife to whom our subject owes the joys of his domestic life was known
in her girlhood as Miss Margaret Evans. She was born in County Fermanagh,
Ireland, March 8, 1822, and was about eleven years old when her parents
emigrated to America. Their home was made in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in a
section where the country retained its primitive condition of wildness.
Mathew and Sarah (Johnson) Evans reared their children to habits of usefulness
and gave them every opportunity possible to obtain an education. Mrs.
Osborne was therefore well qualified to take her position by the side of an
industrious man who was endeavoring to build up his finances, and with her
husband she has worked hard to make a good home. She now enjoys with him
the comforts by which they are surrounded and the respect of their
fellow-men.
The parents of Mrs. Osborne wer born in the same county as herself, but
were of Scotch ancestry. They were adherents of the High Church of England
and on coming to this country connected themselves with the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Two children had been born to them before their removal
to America and their family was afterward increased to three sons and five
daughters. The sons and three daughters are now living, Mrs. Osborne being
the eldest. The parents after settling in Ohio continued to reside there
until called from time to eternity, each being about seventy-six years of
age when called hence.
The living children of our subject and his wife are Anna, wife of William
H. Laird, who lives on a farm in New Salem Township; Thomas A., who married
Mary G. Seaborn and occupies a farm in McPherson County, Kan.; Eliza M.,
Robert, Sarah J. and Hettie, who are still under the parental roof. Robert
now operates the homestead. The deceased children are Sarah M., who died
when two years old; Mathew, who died at the age of six years; Samuel, Jr.,
Rebecca, John and one unnamed, who died in infancy.
The ancestors of our subject were driven from Scotland into Ireland during
the religious wars of former centuries and the family has always adhered to
the protestant faith. Some belong to the High Church of England and some to
the Presbyterian denomination. Various members of the family have been
remarkable for their longevity, the great-grandfather of our subject having
lived to the age of one hundred and four years and the grandfather to that
of ninety-four. The latter lived and died in County Tyrone, Ireland. He
married Miss Faith Hurst, a lady who was born in County Fermanagh and whose
ancestral history was similar to his own. Both were members of the Church
of England. They had quite a large family, one of the oldest of whom was
John, the father of our subject.
John Osborne was born in County Tyrone, reared and educated there, and
brought up as a farmer. He married Anna Wallace, a native of the same
county and a descendant of a Scotch-Irish family of the Presbyterian faith.
Her parents, Hugh and Ann (McElroy) Wallace, were numbered among the
agriculturists of County Tyrone, wherein they spent their lives, reaching
an advanced age. Mr. and Mrs. Osborne established themselves on a farm in
the same community and there the husband died when about fifty yrears of age.
He had been well known in the county as a man of worth in church and State.
His widow after some years came to the United States, settling in Brown
County, Ill., where she eventually died at the home of her son Thomas when
eighty-two years old. She was identified with the Presbyterian Church during
her entire mature life, while her husband adhered to the Episcopal Church in
which he had been bred.
Our subject is the third of the children born to his parents and he had
seven brothers and two sisters. Nine of the family lived to manhood and
womanhood, married and reared families. Eight came to the United States,
but our subject and his brother Thomas are all who are left on earth. The
wife of our subject died April 21, 1886.
From the bio. of William H. Laird on page 614 of the same history:
Mr. Laird was married in 1869 to Annie Osborne, a daughter of Samuel and
Margaret (Evans) Osborne, of Perry Township. Mrs. Osborne died in 1886.
She was the mother of ten children, of whom five are now living. Mrs.
Laird was born July 4, 1849, and was educated in the public schools.
<Additional information on their family is given in this history, but was
not copied here.>