His biography was in the Past and Present of the city of Decatur andMa con Co, IL:
"James D. Van Gundy is a retired farmer resideing at No 995 WestM arietta street in Decatur. He was born in Scott county, Illinois,on t he 26th of September, 1855, a son of John and Sarah (Scobey) VanGundy, w ho were also natives of Scott county, where the fathercarried on farmi ng until 1873, at which time he removed to Maconcounty, purchasing a f arm in Milam township. There he carried onagricultural pursuits until 1 896, when he removed to Decatur and hassince lived a retired life save t hat he has some financial interestsand is now the vice president of th e Macon County Telephone Company.He is a prominent and well known cit izen of Decatur and with hisfamily resides at No 1357 North water stre et. Unto Mr. and Mrs. VanGundy were born nine children, of whom seven a re now living.
At the usual age James D. Van Gundy began his education as astude nt in the public schools of his native county and when he hadmastered t he branches of learning therein taught he put aside histext books and t urned his attention to agricultural pursuits in Scottcounty. As a com panion and helpmate for the journey of life he choseMiss Frances E. Co wle, their marriage being celebrated in Shelbycounty, Illinois. The l ady is a native of Madison county, thisstate, born on the 12th of Sept ember, 1853, and is a daughter ofDaniel and Rosa Anna (Fanning) Cowle, t he former born on the Isle ofMan, while the latter was a native of New J ersey. For a number ofyears they resided in Madison county, Illinois, w here the fatherengaged in farming and in 1865 they removed to Shelby c ounty, thisstate, where Mr. Cowle carried on agricultural pursuits unt il hisdeath. His wife also died in the same county.
After his marriage Mar. Van Gundy engaged in farming in Shelbycou nty for a year and then removed to Moweaqua, Illinois, where hewas eng aged in the manufacture of tile for a year. He next took uphis abode i n Kansas, where he carried on agricultural pursuits forone year. On t he expiration of one year he returned to his nativestate and settled i n Milam township, Macon county, purchasing a tractof land in section 1 3. With characteristic energy he began itscultivation and development a nd continued there to engage in generalfarming until 1903, when he rem oved to the city of Decatur in orderthat he might live a retired life h ere. He still owns, however, afarm of two hundred acres of valuable l and in Milam township and therental there-from brings him a good incom e. He is also the owner ofa nice residence at No 995 West Marietta st reet, where he and hisfamily are living. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Van Gundy h ave been born twochildren: Charles E, who is employed by the Weare Man ufacturingCompany of Decatur; and Florence Lillian, at home. The Van G undyfamily is a prominent and well known one in Macon county and the subject of this review has a wide acquaintance and the esteem of allwit h whom he has been brought in contact. In politics he has alwaysbeen a D emocrat, but has never sought or desired office, preferringto devote h is time and energies to his business affairs, in which hehas met with c reditable success."
Residences and events in his life:
1880 Milam Twp, Macon Co. At age 23, he was counted in the censuswit h his parents, engaged in farming, probably with his father.
1882 Shelby Co, IL. He married there and stayed to farm for a abouta y ear.
1883 Moweaqua, IL. The next year James was engaged in themanufacture o f tile.
1884 Kansas. Moving west, he returned to farming but finding lifetoo h ard there, fighting locusts, etc, he stayed only about 1 yearbefore mo ving back home.
1885 Milam Twp, Macon Co, IL. He purchased a tract of land in sec 13a nd "with characteristic energy he began its cultivation anddevelopment a nd continued there to engage in general farming until1903."
7/6/1889 The Saturday Herald of Decatur carried the followingarticle:
"W.C. McColm, who was recently in the emply of Jas. VanGundy atMa con, got a half day off a week ago Friday, and his employer allowedhim t o use a mule to go to Macon on business. As the young man hadnot retu rned Saturday morning, VanGundy grew uneasy and started insearch of hi m. He learned that McColm had purchased a pair of shoesin Macon on an o rder that he had given him and was last seen comingtowards Decatur. S unday morning VanGundy came to Decatur and foundhis missing mule at Br enneman & Watt's stable. McColm had sold theanimal for $65 to George W att. The mule was returned to the lawfulowner. McColm gave his name a s Wm. Cristie. His parents lived nearMacon and are badly cut up over t he affair. He was an industriousyoung man and left property at home v alued at a great deal more thanthe mule was worth. His friends believ e that his mind was unbalancedand that he has gone west."
4/7/1894 The newspaper reported that James had been elected Milam Twpc ollector on the Republican ticket.
6/1/1900 Milam Twp, Macon Co, IL. Recorded in that census were JamesD V angundy, 45, married 18 years to Fannie E, 47, who had birthed 2childr en, both living: Charles E, 17, and Florence L, 2. James wasa farmer . In the same county were his parents and brothers Elmer andJohn
12/2/1902 Maroa, Macon Co, IL. James' name was among the jury poolli sting there.
1903 995 W Marietta, Decatur, Macon Co, IL. James retired to townbut r etained 200 acres of "valuable land" which he rented out for a"good" i ncome.
1909-1910 Louisiana
4/21/1910 Pique St, Jennings, Calcasieu Co, LA was where the nextcens us taker found he family, listing James D Van Gundy, 54, Frances,53, C harles, 25, and Frorensa, 13. Both James and Frances hadmarried for t he first time at age 27. He had retired earlier butnow was farming o n his own farm again.
6/25/1913 Jennings. Daughter Florence graduated that year.
Shortly after that they returned to Decatur, Macon Co, IL.
1919 Long Beach, Los Angeles Co, CA. His wife always wanted to livei n CA and finally convinced Jim to move there. The Decatur newspaperca rried a large article of their trip:
Van Gundys had Fine Trip West
Visited Many Points of Interest onWay
"Mr. and Mrs. William H. Fagan have received word that theirdaugh ter, Mrs. Charles Van Gundy, and also Mr. and Mrs. J.D. VanGundyhave a rrived safely at Long Beach, Cal.
The Van Gundys left Decatur, June 30 in their car, and taking theS anta Fe trail went by way of Springfield and Jacksonville, crossingthe i llinois river by ferry at Valley City, and crossing theMississippi at H annibal, Mo. They toured all through New Mexico,passing through Las V egas, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Mangdalena. InArizona the principal s tops they made were in Springerville, Winslow,Flagstaff and Kingman. A t Flagstaff, a detour of about ninety milesthrough the Canyon on burro w. They saw the Bath Falls, the hermit'sRest, and the Great Cathedral S tairs at the Canyon. The GreatTerraces and River Gorge, the Devil's C orkscrew, Bright Angel Trailand jacob's Ladder were all intresting to t he tourists,
Desert
All of New Mexico, Arizona and eastern California look like adese rt to people from Illinois. The real desert begins at Kingman,Ariz, a nd lasts to San Bernadino, a distance of about 850 miles. TheVan Gund s crossed this desert at night, making the trip in a day anda half. T he desert is cool and very beautiful on moonlight nights.Traveling thr ough that section is sometimes dangerous as well asbeautiful. From Ar izona they went to Needles, Cal. They wereferried across by the india ns who run the ferry. Then they drovethrough Barstow, Cal, San Bernad ino, los Angeles and then to LongBeach.
The state of California is wonderful as well as beautiful. Therea re quantities of orange groves, figs, lemons, peaches, and in factall k inds of gruit groves. The boulevards are paved all through thecounty a nd are beautified by Palm trees and orange groves.
Long Beach is perhaps the largest tourist resort in California.Du ring the summer months the hotels and apartments are filled tocapacity a nd about the first of September the winter tourists arrive.The climate a t Long Beach is ideal. The days are seldom hot and thenights are very c ool, especially along the ocean boulevards and thebeach. Band concert s and dances are given every afternoon andevening at the auditoriums a t the beach where thousands of peoplethrong. While in Pomono, Cal, the V an Gundys visited Mr. and Mrs. P.P. Laughlin, the former a member of t he firm of Laughlin and Cloud ofDecatur.
In Musical Circles
Mrs. Charles Van Gundy likes California very much and is nowassoc iated in musical circiles there. She is one of the soloists forthe Lo ng Beach choral choir and the Lyric club under the direction ofProf. C larence Crinibal. She is also on the reception committee andsoloist a t St. Anthonys church.."
1/16/1920 Walnut St, Long Beach, Los Angeles Co, CA. Listed asJames/ Jones D VanGundy in the census, he was 50 years old, owned thehome wit h a mortgage and had no occupation. Wife Frances E was 49,daughter Fl orence, 22, was still at home.
After Fanny died, he came out of retirement to work for the City ofLon g Beach in the Park Dept. Daughter Florence also worked for thecity a t that time.
4/12/1930 Same place. The census said he was a 75 year old widoweran d father of Florence, who was head of the house and owner. Hisoccupa tion was wharfinger, working for the city. His obituary saidhe was "w harfinger on the old Pine Ave. Pier and then Belmont Pier."
3/1941 Los Angeles, or Long Beach, CA (depending on which newspaperar ticle cited) was his address when brother, DW, died. When Jamesdied h is address was 2060 Cedar Ave, Long Beach and most likely helived in L ong Beach all along.
California Death Index, 1940-1997
Name: James Douglas Vangundy
Social Security #: 0
Sex: MALE
Birth Date: 22 Sep 1856
Birthplace: Illinois
Death Date: 13 Feb 1957
Death Place: Los Angeles
Mother's Maiden Name: Scoby
Father's Surname: Gundy
CENTENARIAN RITE SLATED
"Funeral service for James Douglas Van Gundy, who reached the ageo f 100 years last Sept 22, will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in Patterson &Sni vely chapel with James C. Gordon officiating. Entombment will beat An geles Abbey Mausoleum.
Van Gundy had lived in Long Beach since 1919 and was wharfingeron t he old Pine Ave. Pier. He was born in Exeter, Ill.
His home was at 2060 Cedar Ave., where he died Wednesday.Survivor s include daughter, Miss Florence Lillian Van Gundy; sonCharles Earl; a g randson and great-granddaughter."
James' nephew, George Hoewing, was administrator of his estate.Virtual ly everything he owned went to his daughter after his sondied. She sti ll retained his land in Illinois as late as 1994.
