Biography - Delos VanDeusen
DELOS VAN DEUSEN, Cashier of the Beach, Davis & Co. Bank, is one of the prominent men of the little city of Litchfield, Ill. He holds the position of President of the School Board, and is in every way a gentleman whose sketch it gives us pleasure to place in this Record. Mr. Van Deusen was born in Allegany County, N. Y., December 9, 1823, and was the son of Joshua B. and Lucia (Grosvenor) Van Deusen, who were of Dutch and English descent respectively, and whose ancestors were, perhaps, some of the worthy burghers who assisted bluff old Peter Stuyvesant to establish the Dutch race in New York. The mother of our subject was a member of one of the best-known families in the Empire State.
When our subject was three years old, the family moved to Jamestown, N. Y., and there he was reared and educated and there he suffered the loss of his kind father. In 1846, he went to Dayton, Ohio, and at that place began the boot, shoe and leather business, and this proved so remunerative that he continued at it until 1857. In this city of Ohio, he married Miss Henrietta M. Snyder, February 19, 1852, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Snyder, of Dayton, Ohio, and in 1857 he took a trip of observation through the State of Illinois, and decided to become a resident here. This was a very small place at that time, 1858, but he saw its possibilities. He was very loyal, and when the call for troops for the late war was heard in the country, our subject decided that it was his duty to go.
Mr. Van Deusen became a member of the Sixth Missouri Infantry, and he raised a company of soldiers, and was made Captain. The enlistment took place at the Arsenal at St. Louis in June, 1861. The regiment was sent south and was kept at Pilot Knob until the fall and was then ordered to Tipton, Mo., where Fremont was commanding. It was then sent to Springfield, Mo., in November, 1861, and then returned to guard the Pacific Railroad until spring. They were then ordered to Pittsburg Landing, in April, 1862, and there put with Gen. Sherman's division, and were actively engaged with him during the whole time of the war.
Our soldier was no carpet knight. He participated in some of the hardest fought battles of the war, was at the siege and capture of Vicksburg and the battles around Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge, and was in all of those weary marches around Knoxville to relieve Burnside, Wright and Clay. Ho was at the siege of Atlanta and in the fighting through Georgia and then at Petersburg and Alexandria. After the surrender at Raleigh of Johnson he went to Washington, where the great review took place which celebrated the return of peace. He was mustered out of the service at St. Louis, in September, 1865, and was then entitled to be addressed as Colonel. His promotion to the office of Lieutenant-Colonel took place in 1864, and he was in that position in all the campaigns of that year and was made Colonel by Gov. Fletcher at the close of the war. His service covered more than four years and he came out of the struggle without a scratch, although his clothes had been shot through several times.
After his return to the peaceful walks of life, our subject was made City Magistrate for a period of four years. In 1871, he entered the bank of Beach, Davis & Co., as Cashier, which position he still holds. He is the senior cashier of all others in the city, and is a member of the firm. When the Litchfield Car & Machine Company was formed he became a stockholder and Director, as he was one of the organizers. As Director of the Oil City Building and Saving Association, with a capital stock of $1,000,000, he has given satisfaction and has been President of it, and also a Director in the Litchfield Homestead and Loan Association, of which he has also been President and was one of its organizers.
With the growth of the city and increasing land values and advancing rentals, Mr. Van Deusen saw that a safe investment would be real estate, and besides his beautiful home on North Street he owns other property, and is interested with M. M. Martin in the ice houses and reservoir west of town. This property is valued at $30,000, and the business is a wholesale one, St. Louis being the nearest market. The capacity of the ice houses is eight thousand tons.
Our subject is one of the public-spirited men who do a town good. It was through his influence, among others, that the railroads have come into the place. The individual responsibility of the bank in which Mr. Van Deusen is interested is $300,000. He has served on the School Board at different times and also was City Treasurer for twelve years, and was instrumental in getting many of the schoolhouses built. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic of Litchfield, in which he is most highly regarded, and he is a man of whom his city may be proud.
Extracted 10 Jan 2017 by Norma Hass from 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois, pages 373-374.
