Howard Alfred Pillsbury

HOWARD ALFRED PILLSBURY.

Howard Alfred Pillsbury is now living retired in Cambridge. He was for a long period associated with mercantile interests as a traveling salesman but now gives his attention only to the supervison of his farming interests which include three hundred and sixty acres of land in Andover township—a district in which the family name has been known and honored since the early ’3os. Numbered among Henry county’s native sons, Mr. Pillsbury was born in Andover township, February 29, 1856. His parents were Levi and Pauline (Whitehead) Pillsbury, natives of New York and of England, respectively. The former was a son of Caleb Pillsbury, a native of New Hampshire, who removed thence to St. Lawrence county, New York, settling in the vicinity of Pottsdam, where he lived for five or six years. He arrived in Henry county, Illinois, in 1836 and died of fever in 1838. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Miss Underhill, passed away in the early ’60s. They were the parents of three sons and a daughter: Almira, the wife of William Clark; George B.; Levi; and Ithamar. The maternal grandfather of Howard A. Pillsbury was born in England and after coming to this country was for a time a reporter on the New York paper published by James Gordon Bennett. He was, however, a lawyer by profession and practiced for a time at Kaskaskia, Illinois. Returning to his native land he there spent his remaining days, passing away when well advanced in years. His first wife, who was Miss Ellen Rattcliff. died in St. Louis, Missouri, leaving two daughters: Pauline, who became Mrs. Pillsbury; and Tillie, who married Lemuel Smith, a son of the once famous actor, Sol Smith, for whom Sol Smith Russell, later equally famous on the stage, was named.

Levi Pillsbury followed the occupation of farming and, seeking the opportunities of the middle west, became one of the pioneers of Henry county, settling in Andover township, where his uncle, Rev. Ithamar Pillsbury, had taken up government land. Levi Pillsbury became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres in Andover township, where he was reared to manhood from a youth of fifteen years. His father lived in Linn Grove for many years. After the marriage of Levi Pillsbury his uncle Ithamar placed him upon a farm in Andover township. This uncle was a very prominent factor in the early life of the middle west, organizing the first Presbyterian church in Burlington, Iowa, in Princeton, Illinois, and in Andover township. He took up large tracts of land which he deeded to the colonists who settled this part of the state and he was instrumental in naming the townships. Following his marriage Levi Pillsbury remained a resident of Andover township until two or three years prior to his death when he removed to Cambridge, where he passed away January 17, 1887, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife died in 1904 at the advanced age of eighty-three years. They were the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters, namely: Ellen, the wife of Charles Cleland, of Portland, Oregon; Silas W., of Monmouth, Illinois; Lemuel Franklin_ of Morgan Park, Chicago; Howard A., of Andover; and Ida, the wife of Charles A. Westerfield, of Omaha, Nebraska.

Howard A. Pillsbury was reared in Andover township on his father’s farm and liberal educational privileges were afforded him, for, after attending the village school of Andover and the private school of Professor Waldo in Geneseo, he became a student- in the Geneseo Seminary. He then began traveling on the road for Randall Hall & Company of Chicago, representing that house for three years, after which he engaged with the Pattee Plow Company of Monmouth, Illinois, as state agent for Texas. He conducted the business of the firm as Texas agent for seven years, after which he entered into business relations with Church & Company of New York, traveling for that house in Califorriia and the west for three years. Since that time he has. been giving his attention to the management of his farming interests, being the owner of three hundred and sixty acres of valuable land in Andover township. From this property he derives a substantial annual income, supplying him with all of the comforts of life.

On the 1st of October, 1896, Mr. Pillsbury was married to Miss Annie Duer, a daughter of John and Rachel (Townsend) Duer, and a native of Monmouth, Illinois. Mrs. Pillsbury is a graduate of Monmouth College, and after her graduation she taught for several years in the public schools of Monmouth, Illinois. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, while her mother was a native of Ohio. John S. Duer was a farmer by occupation and became one of the early settlers of Monmouth, Illinois, where both he and his wife died. The latter was a daughter of John Ferris and Annie (Watson) Townsend, the former a native of Ohio and a member of the Society of Friends or Quakers. The death of Mr. Duer occurred in Monmouth in the fall of 1881 when he was sixty-eight years of age, while his wife survived until 1893, passing away at the age of seventy-five. They were the parents of seven children: Alice; Lucy, deceased; Harry; William; Thomas; Margaret, the wife of W. J. Bulkley of Cleveland, Ohio; and Annie, now Mrs. Pillsbury.

In his fraternal relations Mr. Pillsbury is a Mason, holding membership in Cambridge Lodge, No. 49, A. F. & A. M., while in Peoria Consistory he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He has also crossed the sands. of the desert with the Nobles of Mohammed Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Peoria. His political allegiance is given to the democracy, but he has never sought nor desired ofiice. He has, however, served as school trustee of Andover township and is interested in education and all that pertains to the best interests of the community. He possesses the qualities that are always found in the successful traveling salesman—ready adaptability, geniality and a cordial social nature that have rendered him'popular with his fellowmen. He has made an excellent record in connection with the various phases of life which his activities have touched and fully merits the rest which he is now enjoying.

Source: History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume 2, Part 2. By Henry L. Kine, pages 780-782.