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Genealogical a ^~
Biographical Record

WILL COUNTY

ILLINOIS

Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the

Past and Present

BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY

CHICAGO

1900

% r : 15

PREFACE.

A MONG the counties of Illinois, Will County occupies a foremost rank. From the earliest
I \ period of its settlement to the present time, its citizens have been progressive, enterprising
and public spirited. They have not only developed the agricultural, commercial and manu-
facturing resources of the county, but have maintained a commendable interest in public affairs,
have been liberal contributors to movements of an educational, religious and philanthropic nature,
and have given to their commonwealth some of its ablest statesmen. In the lives of the citizens,
indeed, is the history of the county best narrated; and those who read the following pages will
become acquainted with men and movements inseparably associated with the county's progress.

In the preparation for the data of this work a number of writers have been engaged for many
months. They have visited leading citizens and have studied local history, using every endeavor
to produce a work accurate and trustworthy in even the smallest detail. Owing to the great care
taken in the compilation of the work and to the fact that every opportunity was given to those
represented to insure correctness in the biographies, the publishers believe that they are giving to
their readers a volume containing few errors of consequence. The biographies of some representa-
tive citizens will be missed from the work; this in some instances was caused by absence from home
when our writers called, and in other instances was caused by a failure on the part of the men
themselves to understand the scope of the work. The publishers, however, have done everything
within their power to make the volume a representative biographical work.

The value of the data herein presented will grow with the passing years. Posterity will pre-
serve the work with care, from the fact that it perpetuates biographical history which would
otherwise be wholly lost. In those now far-distant days will be realized, to a greater degree than
at the present time, the truth of Macauley's statement that "The history of a country is best told in

a record of the lives of its people."

BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING CO.

1900. Chicago.

93 1 i 93

" Let the record be made of the men and things of to-day, lest they pass
out of memory to-morrow and are lost. Then perpetuate them not upon wood
or stone that crumble to dust, but upon paper, chronicled in picture and in
words that endure forever." — Kirkland.

'rA

"A true delineation of the smallest man and his scene of pilgrimage
through life is capable of interesting the greatest man. All men are to an
unspeakable degree brothers, each man's life a strange emblem of every man's;
and human portraits, faithfully drawn, are, of all pictures, the welcomest on
human walls." — Thomas Cariaxe.

INTRODUCTORY

n IOGRAPHY alone can justly represent the progress of local history and portray with accuracy
V^\ the relation of men to events. It is the only means of perpetuating the lives and deeds of
\^J those men to whom the advancement of a city or county and the enlightenment of its people
are due. The compilers of this work have striven to honor, not only men of present prominence,
but also, as far as possible, those who in years gone by labored to promote the welfare of their com-
munity. The following sketches have been prepared from the standpoint of no man's prejudice,
but with an impartial aim to render justice to progressive and public-spirited citizens and to collect
personal records that will be of value to generations yet to come.

To be forgotten has been the great dread of mankind from remotest ages. All will be forgotten
soon enough, in spite of their best works and the most earnest efforts of their friends to preserve the
memory of their lives. The means employed to prevent oblivion and to perpetuate their memory
have been in proportion to the amount of intelligence they possessed. The pyramids of Egypt were
built to perpetuate the names and deeds of their great rulers. The exhumations made by the
archaeologists of Egypt from buried Memphis indicate a desire of those people to perpetuate the
memory of their achievements. The erection of the great obelisks was for the same purpose.
Coming down to a later period, we find the Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and
monuments, and carving out statues to chronicle their great achievements and carry them down the
ages. It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in piling up their great mounds of earth, had but
this idea — to leave something to show that they had lived. All these works, though many of them
costly in the extreme, give but a faint idea of the lives and character of those whose memory they
were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of the people that then lived. The
great pyramids and some of the obelisks remain objects only of curiosity; the mausoleums,
monuments and statues are crumbling into dust.

It was left to modern ages to establish an intelligent, undecaying, immutable method of
perpetuating a full history — immutable in that it is almost unlimited in extent and perpetual in its
action; and this is through the art of printing.

To the present generation, however, we are indebted for the introduction of the admirable
system of local biography. By this system every man, though he has not achieved what the world
calls greatness, has the means to perpetuate his life, his history, through the coming ages.

The scythe of Time cuts down all; nothing of the physical man is left. The monument which
his children or friends may erect to his memory in the cemetery will crumble into dust and pass
awav; but his life, his achievements, the work he has accomplished, which otherwise would be
forgotten, is perpetuated by a record of this kind.

To preserve the lineaments of our companions we engrave their portraits; for the same reason
we collect the attainable facts of their history. Nor do we think it necessary, as we speak only
truth of them, to wait until they are dead, or until those who know them are gone; to do this we
are ashamed only to publish to the world the history of those whose lives are unworthy of public
record.

lib;

OF IE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

HON. GEORGE H. MUNROE.

NON. GEORGE H. MUNROE. In a career
honorable alike to himself and the city long
his home, Mr. Munroe has displayed those
traits of character without which success is im-
possible. Few citizens have done more than he
toward the development of Jolietand particularly
toward the improvement of Chicago street, the
building up of which is largely due to his efforts.
From the time he reached his majority to the
present he has been an important factor in Joliet's
business enterprises, and his name is intimately
associated with a number of well-known con-
cerns, notable among these being the Western
Stone Company, of which he is vice-president
and a large stockholder; also the Joliet National
Bank, of which he is a director and one of the
largest stockholders. With his brother, Edwin
S., he conducts a real-estate and mortgage, bank-
ing and general trust company's business, and
has platted numerous additions and subdivisions,
probably twenty in all.

Near Watertown, N. Y., Mr. Munroe was born,
September 24, 1S44, being a son of George Mun-
roe, whose sketch appears on another page. He
was five years of age when the family settled on
a farm in this count}', and his education was ob-
tained mostly in the public schools of the town of
Florence and in private schools in Wilmington
and Joliet. From an early age he showed that
he possessed great energy and determination of
character, and while still a mere youth he filled
the position of deputy sheriff efficiently for a
period of two years. In the year 1865 he be-
came connected with his father, George Munroe,
in the establishment of the firm of G. Munroe &
Son, of which he was a member until the death
of his father in 1890 caused its dissolution. It is

said that he is the largest holder of real estate in
Joliet to-day, and certainly the firm of Munroe
Brothers is by far the largest teal-estate firm in
the city. In addition to his other interests he
has had the two most important receiverships in
the county. In 1868, when the state penitentiary
changed from the contract system to state ac-
counts, he was appointed receiver of the Illinois
Manufacturing Company, which had the lease
and all of the business there at the time. He
settled the affairs of the company, made the sale
to the state, and divided about $250,000 net
among the stockholders. He also acted as re-
ceiver of the Joliet Enterprise Company, his
management .of which and of other large trusts
added to his already high reputation as a
financier.

Fraternally Mr. Munroe is connected with
Matteson Lodge, A. F. & A. M. St. John's
Universalis: Church, of whose board of trustees
he was for many years the president, has received
the benefit of his practical business experience,
and he was the leading spirit in the erection of
the large auditorium on the corner of North Chi-
cago and Clinton streets. He assisted in organ-
izing the Joliet Business Men's Association and
was one of its presidents. He is a member
of the Union League and Marquette Clubs of
Chicago and the Stone City Club of Joliet. His
marriage, in this city, united him with Miss Eva
Weeks, only daughter of Judge Charles H.
Weeks. Mrs. Munroe was educated at Miss
Skinner's private school at Naperville, 111. She
is a lady of culture and refinement and is among
the leaders of society in this city, where her tact
as hostess and her rare qualities of head and
heart have secured her lifelong friends. The

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

home of Senator Munroe have been brightened
by the presence of two children: Esther, now
the wife of Jesse J. Shuman, of Cleveland, Ohio,
and George Fuller Munroe.

An}- review of the life of Mr. Munroe would be
incomplete without considerable mention of his
service in the state senate and his devotion to the
interests of his fellow-citizens. He has never
been an office-seeker nor a politician, in the or-
dinary acceptance of that word. At the same
time he is an ardent Republican, pronounced in
his support of party principles. In 1894 he
was elected to the state senate, succeeding a
Democrat and receiving a majority of more than
twent\--five hundred, the Democratic city of Joliet
giving him a majority of eleven hundred. In the
thirty-ninth general assembly he was chairman
of the committee on waterways and drainage,
and a member of the judiciary, appropriations,
canals and rivers, farm drainage, mines and min-
ing, fees and salaries, printing, state library, and
arts and sciences committees. On the convening
of the fortieth general assembly he was again
made chairman of the committee on waterways
and drainage, in which capacity he secured valu-
able concessions and improvements for the local
interests along the great waterway and through
the Illinois valley. In this assembly he was the
second member on the Republican steering com-
mittee, and a member of the committee appointed
to visit state educational institutions. He was
also a member of the committees on railroads,
finance, revenue, insurance, penal and reform-
atory institutions, canals and rivers, agriculture
and horticulture, labor and manufacture, county
and township organization, state librar}-, and
arts and sciences. Among the important meas-
ures which were secured through his efforts may
be mentioned the following: a bill for amending
rights of eminent domain, compelling corpora-
tions to pay expenses in condemnation cases,
where they failed to take the property; the parole
law; an amendment to the general banking laws
of the state, throwing greater safeguards around
the bank for the benefit of its depositors; the
amending of the school laws of Joliet, increasing

the number of school inspectors; the establish-
ment of the Woman's Relief Corps home at Wil-
mington, this county, now a fine and thriving
institution; and the establishment of a female
prison on separate grounds from those of the
Illinois state penitentiary. When the Humphrey
bills were brought before the senate he was largely
instrumental in creating that strong public senti-
ment against the bills which made their ultimate
success impossible. It was largely due to his
watchfulness that the sanitary drainage district
did not secure a single change in their interest
from the original bill; two tax bills only were
passed permitting the trustees to tax their dis-
trict for more funds and in both of these bills
suitable amendments in behalf of the valley peo-
ple were added, one for the necessary amount of
water and the other requiring swinging bridges,
thus making it a navigable channel. At the ex-
piration of his term as senator he was not a
candidate for re-election. There were man}- who
desired him to become a candidate for governor,
but, with characteristic unselfishness, he threw
his influence toward securing another Will Coun-
ty citizen, Hon. E. C. Akin, as nominee for at-
torney-general.

The life of Senator Munroe furnishes an
example worthy of emulation by the young men
of this generation, many of whom have occasion
to remember his fatherly interest in their per-
sonal or business affairs. To those who study
the history of Joliet in the years to come his
name will always stand out pre-eminently as its
most public-spirited citizen. It is to such men as
he that Joliet owes its present prosperity. When
the city was far smaller than now and few antici-
pated its steady growth and development, he al-
ways had the greatest faith in its future, and that
firm faith was never shaken by times of financial
depression. It has been a privilege to witness
the realization of many of his hopes, although in
his opinion the city has before it a future even
greater than its past. To promote its progress
and to advance the interests of its citizens have
formed no small part of his work in life, and
while he has labored quietly and unostentatiously,

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he has labored none the less effectively in the
promotion of enterprises that will conserve the
permanent welfare of the city.

Few people realize the true value of a thor-
oughly honest and capable public-spirited citizen
of the Munroe type, of which this great republic
has none too many. Though able to fill any
office in the gift of the people, his modesty has
been a bar to the realization of ambitious hopes.
A future generation will fondly look on the por-
traits of such men and study their character in
the annals of local history. Then the unselfish
work of Senator Munroe in the Republican part} - ,
in his state and in Joliet, will be given greater
praise; his noble effort to secure a home for the
Woman's Relief Corps at Wilmington will be
better understood, and his conscientious work in
the affairs of the drainage canal more thoroughly
appreciated, and will then be given unstinted
praise.

^EORGE MUNROE. The genealogy of the

□ Munroe family is traced back to the year
1050, when it flourished in the extreme
north of Scotland. Later generations removed to
Lanarkshire, near the English border. During
the seventeenth century some of the name served
in the army of the ill-fated Charles I. The traits
of character for which the Scotch are noted were
noticeable in the life of the subject of this sketch
and were large factors in his business success.
He was born in Lanarkshire April 4, iS2i, a son
of Daniel and Jane (Richmond) Munroe. His
father, who was a woolen manufacturer, brought
the family to America in 1827 and settled in
Brownville, Jefferson County, N. Y. , where he
followed his chosen occupation. At an early
period in the history of Joliet he came to this city
and acted as manager of the woolen mill which
at that time stood near the Jefferson street bridge.
Later he improved a farm in Florence Township,
where he died in i860. He had long survived
his wife, who passed away in Brownville in 1829.
They were the parents of three children: George,
Angus and Barbara.

Having learned the moulder's trade, the sub-
ject of this sketch was made foreman of a foundry
in Brownville. In 1849 he settled in Florence
Township, this county, where he engaged in
farming. In 1862 he was elected sheriff, which
office he filled for one term. In 1865 he and his
son, George H., embarked in the grocery busi-
ness, and they continued as partners until his
death. For ten years they occupied a building
on the corner of Jefferson and Chicago streets,
after which for six years they conducted business
in the Opera House building. In 1884 they
erected the first large building on Chicago street,
and in it they carried on a very large and suc-
cessful wholesale business; this building, since
remodeled, is now the Munroe Hotel. The part-
nership continued until the death of the senior
member of the firm in 1890.

In the midst of his important business interests
Mr. Munroe nevertheless kept in touch with local
affairs and contributed his quota to the advance-
ment of his city. As alderman and school trustee
he was helpful in public and educational matters,
and for three years he served the county as its
treasurer, being first chosen to fill a vacancy in
the office and subsequently elected without oppo-
sition. Fraternally he was a Knight Templar
Mason. He aided in religious movements and
was identified with the Methodist Church, in
which he served as a trustee. In his character
he combined those qualities of heart and mind
that rendered him deservedly popular and secured
to him the warm friendship of his associates.
Beginning for himself with limited means he
steadily, by perseverance and good management,
won a prominent place in the business world,
where his talents were recognized and appre-
ciated. Methodical and exact in transactions,
conservative in judgment, and careful in his
decisions, he possessed the qualities which go to
make success in the world of commerce. As one
of the pioneers of the county, and a man whose
energies were devoted to the development of its
resources, his name is worthy of perpetuation on
the pages of local history.

December 22, 1842, Sarah M. Hentze became
the wife of Mr. Munroe. She was born in Brown-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ville, N. Y., a daughter of Henry and Charity
(Gould) Hentze. Her father, who was born in
Rutland, Vt., was a son of Henry Hentze, a
Hessian soldier brought by England to America
at the time of the Revolutionary war: who, later,
being in sympathy with the struggle for freedom,
deserted and joined the Americans; he was a
descendant of a large landed proprietor of Ger-
many. The father of Mrs. Munroe brought his
family via the lakes on the steamer "Mayflower"
to Chicago, where Mr. Munroe met them with
teams and brought them to Wilmington. In 1852
he and his son George went overland with ox-
teams to California, where he engaged in mining
until his death; many years afterward his son
came back to Joliet. Mrs. Munroe died in this
city in 1S95. Of her five children all but one
are still living. The eldest, George H., is rep-
resented 011 another page. Jennie A. is the wife
of Rev. G. R. Van Horn, of Rockford, 111., who
is a prominent minister in the Rock River con-
ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mary E. is the wife of Charles B. Hay ward, of
Joliet: and Edwin S. is a partner of his older
brother in the real-estate business.

NOX. JOEL A. MATTESON, governor of
Illinois 1853-56, was born in Jefferson
County, N. Y., August 8, 1808. When a
boy he was employed in Prescott, Canada. His
later years were filled with varied employments,
teaching school, improving a farm, working on
railroads in the south, visiting the gold diggings
of northern Georgia, etc. In 1833, with his wife
and one child, he came to Illinois and entered a
claim in what is now Kendall County. At that
time there were only three or four houses between
his place and Chicago. In 1835 he bought largely
at the government land sales, but the following
year sold his land and settled in Joliet. In 1838
he became a heavy contractor on the Illinois and

Michigan canal, which contract he completed in
1S41. One of his next ventures was the estab-
lishment of a woolen mill in Joliet, which, with
subsequent enlargements, became an enormous
factory.

His connection with public and political affairs
began in 1S42, when he was elected to the state
senate. His service was so satisfactory that he
was twice re-elected, and during the entire time
held the position of chairman of the committee on
finance. At the same time he superintended his
woolen mill and also again became a heavy con-
tractor on the canal. At the Democratic state
convention, April 20, 1S52, he was nominated for
governor. At the election he received a good
majority. During his term of office the most ex-
citing occurrence w T as the repeal of the Missouri
compromise by congress, under the leadership of
Stephen A. Douglas, in 1854, when the bill was
passed organizing the territory of Kansas and
Nebraska. Before his term expired the Repub-
licans were fully organized as a party and in 1856
put into the field a ticket, which carried the state,
but not the nation. The legislature of 1S55
passed two important bills, the present free-
school system and the submission of the Maine
liquor law to the vote of the people. The latter
was defeated by a small majority of the popular
vote. During his term the taxable wealth of the
state was trebled; the public debt reduced; tax-
ation reduced; railroads increased in mileage
from less than 400 to more than 3,000; and the
commerce of Chicago quadrupled. Upon his
retirement from office Governor Matteson re-
sumed the management of his extensive business
interests in Joliet. He did much toward the up-
building of this city and gave employment to
many workmen. Toward those in need he was
always generous, and many a poor man has
reason to remember him with deepest gratitude.
Toward the close of his life he relinquished, to
some extent, the management of his extensive in-
terests, but he continued to be, in old age, as in
early life, a very active, busy man. He died in
Chicago during the winter of 1872-73.

OF E
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

M!£/iM>idU

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

MARTIN C. BISSELL.

V A ARTIN C. BISSELL. Through a life that

Y was prolonged to an advanced age Mr.
(9 Bissell proved himself to be an active man

of affairs and a successful financier, managing
every enterprise that he undertook in such a way
as to bring it to a fortunate termination. Having
made his home in this city for many years and
owning valuable property interests in this locality ,
he became well known by the people of the town,
and was by them recognized as a man of unusual
force of character. At his death, which occurred
April 12, 1888, a portion of his estate was left to
relatives and the remainder was bequeathed to
the Swedenborgian Church, of whose teachings
he was an ardent supporter.

The Bissell family came from France to New
England in an early day. Noah Bissell, who
was a Vermonter, possessed the quality of divina-
tion to a remarkable degree and foretold the day
and hour when his spirit would leave its earthly
tenement house. Aaron, a son of Noah, served
in the war of 1812 and spent his early life near
Rutland, Vt. From there he moved to the
vicinity of Burlington, the same state, and after
the war of 18 12 settled in Oneida County, N. Y.
His son, the subject of this article, was born in
Huntington, Chittenden County, Vt., in June,
1802. When the family removed to New York
he worked on a farm for $4 a month. At four-
teen years of age he secured employment with a
farmer in Pompey, Cayuga County. This man,
who was a Presbyterian of the old school, became
convinced that the boy was one of the elect and
decided to educate him for missionary work, so
sent him to a Presbyterian school at Homer.
The officers of the school concluded to take the
boy, but said they must have absolute control of

him, but the parents refused to give their consent
to this, so Mr. Bissell's future was changed.

Learning the mason's trade at Lansing, N. Y.,
he afterward worked at Ithaca and on the Cham-
plain canal locks, and was foreman in the con-
struction of masonry at Rochester. While work-
ing on the canal at Elmira, N. Y. , he married
Miss Eliza Wells, in 1826. Later he had a con-
tract for masonry on the Allegheny canal at
Cuba, Pa. On the completion of that work he
moved to Cass County, Mich., and bought a farm,
where he lived for three years. However, agri-
cultural pursuits were not congenial, and he re-
turned to contracting. He constructed a section
of the Michigan Central Railroad, later had a
contract on the Illinois Central, meantime mak-
ing Blootnington, 111., his home. Later he had
contracts in Iowa and Missouri. The year 1854
found him a resident of Joliet, where he afterward
made his headquarters, although his business in-
terests required his almost constant presence in
other places. As a railroad contractor he was
successful. Possessing great energy and force of
will, he was fitted for the work of superintending
large contracts and overseeing a corps of men.
During all of the years in which he engaged in
railroad contracting he had many experiences in-
cident to life upon the frontier, in the midst of
primeval surroundings. He never forgot his ex-
periences during the cholera epidemic in 1854,
and particularly one trip that he made by canal
boat from Pekin to Chicago, when half of the men
on the boat died of that dread disease.

Aside from his contracting business Mr. Bissell
had other interests. At one time he owned a
store at Niles, Mich., which was managed by
Giles Heath with flattering success. His prop-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

erty interests were valuable, and included a farm
near Chicago, another near Cassopolis, Mich.,
and many tracts of land in Illinois and Iowa, be-
sides a large amount of real estate in and near
Joliet. He and his wife were childless, and on
the death of the latter, which occurred December
30, 1889, their valuable estate was inherited by
relatives and by the church to whose doctrines
they had long adhered. He was a man of
original ideas, very outspoken in the expression
of his opinion, and possessing the courage of his
convictions. At a time when the principle of
abolition was very unpopular he was known as a
"black Abolitionist," which in the minds of many
was next to being a "black man." He did not
flinch in the face of much opposition. He stood
beside Frederick Douglass in Young's (now
Werner's) hall in Joliet and introduced him to the
audience in the spirit of one who believes all
men to be brothers. Though skeptical in busi-
ness matters, requiring every proposition to be
submitted to the severest test, in religion he pre-
sented a phase of character directly opposite, and
accepted, fully and completely, the transcendental
teachings of the New Church, in which faith he
lived and died.

\A ISS FRANCES M. WEED. The family
V of which Miss Weed is a member was
(fj founded in America by three brothers from
England, who settled in Stamford, Conn. One
of these was her grandfather, Jonas, who served
as a member of Washington's body-guard during
the Revolutionary war, and was afterward acci-
dentally killed in Connecticut. His son, Mun-
son, a native of Stamford, was bound to a trade
in youth, but being of an adventurous disposition
the confinement of his work was irksome to him,
and he ran away to sea, shipping on a whaler
engaged in the whaling business on the Atlantic.
Later he was in the trans- Atlantic and West India
trade. After eleven years as a sailor he returned
to his home. Later he settled in Danby, near
Ithaca, N. V., where he engaged in farming and

died in 1867. In religion he was a Baptist. He
was a cousin of Thurlow Weed, whose father,
Hezekiah, came from England with Jonas Weed.
The mother of Munson Weed attained a great
age, lacking only a few days of one hundred
years at the time of her death. She was related
to the Wisners, of Orange County, N. Y. , one
of whom served as a commissioned officer in the
Revolutionary war and was killed in the battle
of Minisink. Her brother, Usal Knapp, was the
last survivor of the famous Washington life
guards. When he was sixteen years of age he
entered the service as water boy for General
Washington, and blacked his boots, cared for his
horses, etc. He served for seven years in the
Revolutionary war. For forty years he was a
member of the Presbyterian church, and attended
services regularly, even when he had rounded a
century of life. He was a man of hospitable na-
ture, and those who stayed beneath his roof
never forgot his large-hearted hospitality; his
guests always found their boots blacked in the
morning, and in many other ways he showed a
thoughtful courtesy and kindness toward every
visitor. He died at Little Britain, Orange
Count)-, when one hundred and four years of
age. His was the largest funeral ever known in
the county. He was buried with military hon-
ors, seven military companies being present, and
thirteen cannon were fired over his grave. His
body was interred at Washington's headquarters,
and his resting place is marked by a monument,
erected by the state, and bearing the inscription,
" The last of the bodyguard."

The marriage of Munson Weed united him
with Miss Polly Bissell, who was born in Rut-
land, Vt., September 25, 1796, and settled at
Danby in 1818. She was a daughter of Aaron
and Mary Bissell, and a sister of Martin C. Bis-
sell, whose sketch appears in this volume. Sur-
viving her husband for many years, she passed
away April 6, 1S91, at the age of ninety-four
years, six months and eleven days. She lived
under the administration of every president of
the United States up to her death. She distinctly
remembered having heard the guns at the battle
of Lake Champlaiu. Her memory remained un-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

impaired until death. Of her ten children six
are living, namely: William, of West Danby,
N. Y. ; Harriet, Mrs. H. N. Bement, of Pennsyl-
vania; Almira, who married Alfred Vose, of
Spencer, N. Y.; Mary E., who married D. T.
Fish, late of Newfield, N. Y. ; Edwin, a contrac-
tor in Ithaca, N. Y.; and Frances M. Not a lit-
tle of the success which the children have at-
tained is due to the influence of their mother,
who was a woman of remarkably strong charac-
ter and intelligence.

In the public schools of Danby, N. Y., and the
college at Naperville, 111., Miss Weed received
an excellent education, and after leaving college
she was engaged in educational work in this
county for a number of years. Of a benevolent
disposition, she is identified with the Dorcas So-
ciety and devotes much of her time to relieving
the wants of the worthy poor. In the Ladies
Order of Maccabees she holds office as keeper
of records. She is a believer in the teachings of
the Swedenborgian Church, of which her uncle,
M. C. Bissell, was one of the leading members,
and to which he contributed much of his fortune.
She maintains an intelligent interest in public
affairs and upholds Republican principles. The
management of her property interests requires
much of her time and thought, and in it she has
displayed business ability and good judgment.
She is the owner of four acres comprising her
homestead at No. 1502 Cass street, and also owns
two hundred and twenty acres near Chicago, on
the Wabash Railroad, and within a few rods of
the feeder for the canal.

HON. FREDERICK WILKE, chairman of
the board of supervisors, is one of Will
County's best known citizens. He has
been one of the property owners of this county
since 1857, when he visited Illinois and purchased
slightly improved land lying on section 17,
Washington Township. Three years later he
returned to the county and established his home

on the tract, building a frame house on the
eight-acre piece, and making other improvements
that added to its value. As he prospered he
added to his farm until he owned three hundred
and thirty-five acres on sections 17 and 18. Of
this he afterward gave his son a quarter section,
and the two now own, together, two hundred and
seventy acres (fifteen being in Indiana just across
the state line). They have brought the land un-
der first-class improvement, and have drained it
by means of one hundred thousand tile. He was
a pioneer in introducing tiling, and paid as much
as $38 for four-inch tiles that now sell for $12.
The idea of tiling at first seemed ludicrous to
his acquaintances, but after a time they saw the
utility of it and became interested themselves.
While he engaged in general farming, for some
years his specialty was the dairy business, and
he had on his place a number of full blooded
and high-grade Holsteins. In 1889 he left his
place in charge of his son and moved to Beecher,
where he carried on a grain business for a short
time, and where he has since made his home.

Of a family of eight, five of whom grew to
mature years, Mr. Wilke was third in order of
birth, and is the sole survivor. Four of the fam-
ily came to America, of whom one daughter died
in Indiana, another in Iroquois County, 111.,
and Christ, who came to America in 1850, died
at the home of his brother Fred. The father,
Herman Wilke, a native of Westphalia, Ger-
many, was pressed into the Napoleonic army at
the time of the march to Moscow, and was one
of the few who returned from that ill-fated expe-
dition. From that time he engaged in farming
until he died, at fifty-nine years. He married
Katherine Waltmau, who was born in West-
phalia and died there when thirty-nine years
old.

In Westphalia, where he was born March 17,
1829, our subject grew to ruanhood on his fath-
er's large farm, and received his education in
German schools and under private tutorship.
The death of his father put an end to his classi-
cal studies and forced him into the world of
commercial activity. After working for an uncle
for a time, in 1850 he entered the Fifteenth Reg-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

iment Infantry, where he served for two years
and became a non-commissioned officer. In
1854 he left Bremen on a sailing vessel that
reached New York City after a voyage of six
weeks, and from there he proceeded to Cincin-
nati, Ohio, joining his brother Christ. From
that time until i860 he was employed on an omni-
bus line in that city. He then came to Illinois,
and has since been identified with the history of
Will County, as farmer, business man and offi-
cial.

The first marriage of Mr. Wilke united him
with Miss Mary Nuenker, whom he had known
in childhood. She died at twenty-four years of
age. Two children were born of that union,
both now deceased, Henry having died in child-
hood in Cincinnati, while Lizzie, Mrs. Scheiwe,
died in 1890, leaving three children, two of
whom survive. The second wife of Mr. Wilke
was Christina Brutlag, who was born in West-
phalia. The only child of this union, Herman
F. , is a member of the firm of Bidefeldt &
Wilke, at Beecher, owners of a large lumber and
coal business, and an agricultural implement
store, and with their warehouses on the Chicago
& Eastern Illinois road. Twice married, by his
first wife he had a son, Frederick. His second
wife was Sophie Meier, by whom he has eight
children.

From 1862 to 1864 Mr. Wilke was assessor of
Washington Township. Later he was collector.
In 1870 he was elected supervisor without oppo-
sition and continued until 1884, when he re-
signed, but after a year and four months he was
again elected without solicitation on his part.

From that time to the present he has continued
in the office, which he has held for a longer pe-
riod than any other supervisor in the entire
state; and it may be added that, in all the time
since 1870, he has had opposition only two times.
He has been a member of various committees,
and has worked in the interest of all public build-
ings that have been erected, being a member of
the committees that built the court house, im-
proved the poor farm, put up the residence on
that farm, and remodeled the sheriff's residence
and jail. In 1899 he was elected chairman of the
board of supervisors, without opposition, and
by virtue of this office he is also chairman of the
board of review, the first board in the county un-
der the new law. In 1888, on the Republican
ticket, he was elected to the legislature, leading
the ticket by three hundred majority. He was
re-elected in 1890, and again in 1892 he received
a large majority. In the various bills that were
brought up before the legislature he took an ac-
tive interest, favoring movements in the interests
of his constituents and the public at large. As a
committee member, his record was unexcelled for
faithfulness and intelligence. After three terms
of service he retired, refusing further nomination
for the office. Since 1890 he has been school
treasurer of Washington Township, and he
handles and is responsible for the township's
school fund of $11,500. Religiously he is a
Lutheran. He took an active part in the build-
ing of the Eagle Lake Church, being chairman
of the building committee, and he still holds his
membership with this congregation, of which
for years he was the treasurer.

OF 1 IE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

^^ ^Wz^T^

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

GEORGE H. WOODRUFF.

(£J FORGE H. WOODRUFF. In the annals
I— of Will County no name is entitled to more
\Jl lasting remembrance than that of Mr. Wood-
ruff, who was one of its pioneers and is well
known as its historian. A fluent writer, he put
in permanent form, for the benefit of future gen-
erations, many incidents connected with the early
history of the county and its brave pioneers.
Among his works are "History of the Black
Hawk War;" "Patriotism of Will County," a
record of the men from here who took part in the
war with the south; "Will County on the Pacific
Slopes," which gave sketches of the men who
went to California during the gold excitement
of 1849-51; and "Woodruff's History of Will
County."

The first home of the Woodruff family in Amer-
ica was in Connecticut, and later generations
lived in New York. In the latter state Theor
Woodruff was born and spent much of his life,
engaging in business as a manufacturer of scythes
and edged tools, but at an advanced age he came
to this county, joining his son in Joliet, and re-
maining here until his death. His son, the sub-
ject of this sketch, was born in Clinton, N. Y.,
August 16, 1 8 14, and w r as one of three children,
of whom the other son died in boyhood, and the
daughter, Adele, wife of M. H. Demtnond, died
in New York. George H. was educated in Ham-
ilton College, at Clinton, from which he gradu-
ated at eighteen years. In the summer of 1S34
he came to Joliet with his brother-in-law, Mr.
Demmond, for whom he clerked in the general
mercantile business. Prior to 1840 he established
the Pioneer drug store on Bluff, between Ex-
change street and Western avenue, and afterward
2

for many years had his place of business at the
corner of Bluff and Exchange, continuing there
until his death. He was the first circuit clerk
and recorder of the county, and also held the
office of county judge at onetime. He assisted
in the organization of the First Presbyterian
Church and long held office as its treasurer. A
stanch believer in Republican principles, he voted
with that party after its organization. After
having been in poor health for three years he
died November 1, 1890, fifty-six years after his
arrival in the then frontier town of Joliet.

The first wife of Mr. Woodruff, Hannah
(Lucas) Woodruff, was born in New York and
died in Joliet, leaving a son, Henry Theor Wood-
ruff, and two daughters, Annie Mary, a teacher
in Marion, Ala., and Julia H., a teacher in the
Joliet high school. The sou graduated in medi-
cine in Chicago and is now practicing his profes-
sion in Harvard, 111. During the Civil war he
was surgeon of the One Hundredth Illinois In-
fantry and remained at the front until the close
of the war, with the exception of the time when
he was imprisoned in Libby. Mr. Woodruff's
last marriage united him, in Joliet, in 1857, with
Mrs. Achsah (Wheeler) Perkins, who was born
in Berkshire, Mass., and died in Joliet. Her
father, Harry Wheeler, a native of Massachu-
setts, served in the war of 1812. Late in life he
moved west to Illinois and established a lumber
and nursery business in Aurora, from which city
he came to Joliet, and died here at the age of
ninety-two. His father, Benjamin Wheeler, was
a soldier in the Revolutionary war and a member
of the Massachusetts legislature; the latter's wife
bore the maiden name of Achsah Johnson. The

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

mother of Mrs. Woodruff was Clarissa, daughter
of Elisha and Alice (Freeman) Harmau, the
former of whom was a native of Berkshire Coun-
ty, Mass., and a lifelong resident there. Mrs.
Woodruff was one of three children , having two
brothers: Henry, who died in Aurora; and Mark
H., who served in a Connecticut regiment during
the Civil war until he was killed in the storming
of Port Hudson. When a girl Mrs. Woodruff
was a student at Mount Holyoke Seminary, grad-
uating in 1S48. Soon afterward she became the
wife of Dr. John P. Perkins, a graduate of the
Albany Medical College. They came to Joliet
in 1856, and the doctor died in this city while
still a young man. Afterward Mrs. Perkins was
married to Mr. Woodruff, by whom she had two
sons, namely: George F., who is a chemist in
Chicago and makes his home in West Grossdale;
and Harry Wheeler, whose sketch follows this.

We cannot more appropriately close this mem-
oir thin with the presentation of "Israel's Pray-
er," by Mr. Woodruff, as it appears in "Bitter
Sweet:"

Our father's God! To Thee we come once more,

With united voice and heart, to offer

Thanks and prayer. Thanks for the past, whether

Of good, or seeming ill. Thanks that we meet

Once more beneath the old roof ! Our Father!

Forgive our sin, for sin is ours, we dare

Not lay it at Thy door! Our Father, give

Us humility! May we not presume

To comprehend Thee or Thy way so full

Of mystery! We only ask light enough

To guide us to Thee! We ask strength that

May overcome our weakness and resist

Temptation, and strong grow in virtue.

Give us faith! Faith in Thyself and in Thy

Wisdom, power and love and holiness,

And in Thy purposes of good to man.

Father, in Thy Son, and in His sacrifice;

Father in heaven and in joy eternal

In store for all who Thy dear Son accept.

Give us love! Love supreme and reverent

To Thyself ! — to each other tender and

Patient, and to the world, outside Thy fold,

Pitiful and helpful.

And now once more
We lie down to sleep, safe under Thy wing.
May we wake rested and with thankful heart!
And when we take our last deep sleep may we wake
In heaven! We ask all in Christ's dear name. Amen!

HARRY W. WOODRUFF, M. D. There is
no branch of the medical science requiring
greater skill or more thorough knowledge
of its intricacies than that which relates to dis-
eases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. In an
intimate knowledge of these specialties Dr. Wood-
ruff has few equals among physicians of his own
age and few superiors even among those of greater
experience than his own. He has confined his
practice exclusively to the treatment of these dis-
eases, believing that in the present development
of therapeutics he is most successful who devotes
himself exclusively to one of its departments.
Since 1893 ^ e ^ as engaged in practice in Joliet,
where he has his office in the Auditorium. Dur-
ing all of this time he has also acted as surgeon
to the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago.
In 1897 he was appointed a professor in the Chi-
cago Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College, and
has since filled one of the important chairs in that
institution, for this purpose making bi-weekly
trips to Chicago.

In Joliet, where he was born February iS.
1868, Dr. Woodruff grew to manhood, attending
the public schools and graduating from the high
school in 1886. His home was one of culture,
and from his earliest recollections he had the
advantage of refined surroundings, his father,
George H. Woodruff, being a man of literary
tastes, while his mother was also well educated
and cultured. At an early age he began to assist
his father in the drug business and in this way
first became interested in the medical profession.
Desiring to gain a complete knowledge both of
pharmacy and medicine, he studied both under
competent instructors, graduating from the Chi-
cago College of Pharmacy in 1S89, with the de-
gree of Ph. G. , and from the Chicago College of
Physicians and Surgeons in 1892, with the degree
of M. D. In a competitive examination he was
appointed resident surgeon to the Illinois Char-
itable Eye and Ear Infirmary, where he remained
for one year, but has continued to be connected
with the institution as a surgeon up to the pres-
ent time. Every matter of vital interest to his
profession receives his consideration. He has
been a contributor to medical journals, his arti-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cles usually bearing upon some theme that is
connected with his specialties. He is a member
of the Chicago Ophthalmological Association, and
is also connected with the American, Illinois State
and Will County Medical Societies, the last-named
of which has honored him by election to its pres-
idency.

The marriage of Dr. Woodruff, in Deerfield,
N. Y., united him with Miss Jennie Coventry,
who was born in La Salle County, 111., and re-
ceived her education in Utica, N. Y., and the
Houghton Seminary at Clinton, N. Y. The two
sons born of their marriage are George H. and
Robert C, who are namesakes of their grand-
fathers. The family attend the First Presbyte-
rian Church, with which the doctor has been
identified from boyhood.

ROYAL E. BARBER, a resident of this coun-
ty since 1832, represents the seventh gener-
ation of his branch of the Barber family in
America, the first of his ancestors in this country
being Matthew, who in 1634 came from England
to Connecticut. From Connecticut Daniel Bar-
ber, with others, removed to Benson, Rutland
County, Vt., about 1780, and there followed farm
pursuits. His son, John, father of Royal E.,
was born in Benson in 1796, and during the war
of 18 1 2 was one of the volunteers who marched
to Plattsburg to defend that city against the Brit-
ish; however, his company did not reach the
place until after the battle had been fought.
Later he served as captain of the military com-
pany in his native town. He married Emma
Perry, who was born of English descent in Or-
well, Rutland County, Vt. , and was a cousin of
Commodore Oliver H. Perry. They became the
parents of six children who attained maturity,
three of whom are now living.

In 1831 a party of men from Rutland County
came west and the reports they sent back were so
encouraging that John Barber decided to seek a
home in Illinois. In the fall of 1S32, accom-
panied by his family and others, he started on the

long journey, traveling by packet from Whitehall
to Buffalo, which took a week. From there the
steamer "Henry Clay" took them in two days to
Detroit, where they boarded the schooner "Aus-
terlitz" for Chicago, arriving a week later. The
schooner anchored three miles from land, owing
to a sand bar that rendered further progress im-
possible. Passengers and freight were taken
ashore iu boats, which, being small, stuck to the
sand bars, but were pushed out by the sailors.
The passengers landed in the Chicago River, at
the foot of Wabash avenue. At that time Fort
Dearborn was enclosed by a few stockades. The
only frame building in the place had been built
by J. H. Kinzie, of lumber which he hauled from
Walker's Grove (now Plainfield, this county).
Mr. Barber was offered by a real estate agent a
lot on Lake street, 85x200, for $50, but ridiculed
the idea of "sinking $50 in a mud hole." Get-
ting a team, which forded the South branch of
the river a little south of the junction of the
branches, he proceeded to Naperville, where
some acquaintances had settled. He selected
farm land at what was later known as Barber's
Corners, this county, and in February, 1833,
moved his family into a log house. The sur-
roundings were primitive. For main- years oxen
were used iu ploughing. At that time the whole
country was an open stretch of prairie, with the
exception of a grove here and there and generally
skirting a water stream. The only building in
Joliet was a log house below what is now the
corner of Exchange and Bluff streets. Through
exposure in the cold winter, when engaged in
getting out rails for his fences, Mr. Barber con-
tracted rheumatism, from which he suffered al-
most constantly during his later years. His wife
died May 1, 1874, and three years later he passed
away.

Much of the work of developing and improving
this part of Illinois had been witnessed by Mr.
Barber. About three years after he came here
the canal was first begun by the state. It was
operated under contract for two years, when, the
funds being exhausted, the work stopped. In
1845 the state succeeded in making a loan of a
large sum in England and thereupon resumed

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

work, with some changes from the original
plaus. When the canal authorities were arrang-
ing the route of the canal they asked the proprie-
tor of West Joliet to give them a certain block of
land for their headquarters, and promised in re-
turn to give their influence to aid the then new
town, but the proprietor refused. Upon that,
they laid out what is now Lockport, which at
first was a rival to Joliet, the authorities doing
all in their power to foster their own town, which
indeed for a time seemed to have the advantage;
but when in 1852 the Rock Island Railroad en-
tered Joliet, the town took on new life and in two
years had left Lockport far in the rear. The ca-
nal was completed and opened in 1847.

Born in Benson, Vt., August 3, 1822, the sub-
ject of this sketch was ten years of age when he
accompanied his parents on the toilsome journey
to the west. In those days schools were few and
consequently his advantages were meager. In
the spring of 1833 he began to break prairie
land, using five yoke of oxen. From the time
he was sixteen he taught school in the winters
and farmed in the summer months. However,
he found farm work (which was then all done by
hand) too hard upon him, and the recurrence of
chills and fever at each harvest season led him to
determine to seek another occupation. When he
came to Joliet in 1S45 he was the owner of an
eighty-acre farm which his energy and industry
had secured for him. For several years he was
employed as deputy in the offices of the circuit
and county clerk, then known as the county com-
missioner's court. Meantime he studied law
aud in 1847 he was admitted to the bar and be-
gan to practice in this circuit, which included all
the territory from Iroquois to Winnebago Coun-
ties inclusive. Judge Henderson at that time
presided over the circuit court, and was one of
probably six or seven circuit judges in Illinois.
Later, with the increase of population, the size of
the circuits was lessened. He has continued in
practice from that time to this and is now the old-
est attorney of Joliet.

In 1848 a circuit clerk was elected who was a
farmer and unfamiliar with legal business. At
his request Mr. Barber took up the duties of dep-

uty, having practically the entire charge of the
office for three years. In 1852 he was elected
circuit clerk, filling the position for four years,
during which time he originated and compiled a
set of abstract books, giving the title to real es-
tate in the county. Upon his retirement from
the clerk's office he resumed practice and during
the time of his clerkship had charge of the coun-
ty records. More than ten years ago he became
interested in a case relating to the distribution of
property where one child remains at home during
the long life of the parents and the others leave
in earl}- life to make their way independently in
the world. It had been the practice that no dis-
tinction was made in the settlement of the prop-
erty, all heirs receiving the same; but an instance
of this kind came to practice, where a daughter
remained with her parents, the other children
leaving. When the father died at an advanced
age the other children wanted an equal share of
the property. All that saved the property to the
daughter was the fact that the father stated, in
the presence of neighbors, that he had given the
homestead to this daughter. Mr. Barber brought
a bill in equity, claiming the title to the home-
stead in return for the daughter's services; but,
although he proved all the details in the bill, the
judge followed established precedents and dis-
missed the bill. Mr. Barber then appealed to the
supreme court, by whom the decision of the lower
court was reversed, and the title given to the
daughter. In this way a precedent was estab-
lished that has since been followed.

Mr. Barber laid out several subdivisions of
Joliet, and in 1887-88 erected the Barber build-
ing, which is still one of the finest office buildings
in the city. It was the first structure that devi-
ated from the ordinary old-fashioned style of
architecture, with square buildings and plain
walls, and it has since been a pattern for other
private and public buildings. On the Citizens'
ticket he was elected mayor of Joliet in 1876.
For nine years he was a member of the school
board, of which he served as clerk. He is con-
nected with the State Bar Association. In Cen-
tral Presbyterian Church he is a ruling elder, has
served as a trustee and for many years was Sun-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

day-school superintendent. In 1849 ne al] d his
wife began housekeeping in an old frame house,
but later he erected a commodious stone residence
that has since afforded the family a comfortable
home. While he has been engrossed by profes-
sional work and his duties of citizenship, he has
found leisure for recreation and travel. In 1896,
accompanied by his wife and daughter Emma, he
made a tour of Europe, Egypt, the Holy Land
and Asia Minor, spending considerable time in
Turkey, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, France and
Great Britain, and after a trip of eight months re-
turned home on the "Paris."

In Joliet, in 1849, Mr. Barber married Ellen
Elizabeth Crowley, who died of cholera the next
year. In 1854, in Rome, N.Y., he married Miss
Frances Cornelia House, who was born in that
city. They are the parents of four children now
living. The eldest, Alice Stillman Barber, a
graduate of Houghton Seminary, New York, was
appointed a missionary of the Presbyterian board
at Beirut, Syria, in 1885, and has since been suc-
cessfully engaged in her chosen work in that
place. Edward M., the older son, graduated
from Hamilton College, in Clinton, N. Y., and is
now in Utica, that state William C. , also a grad-
uate of Hamilton College, has charge of the ab-
stract of titles and other lines of business in Joliet.
Emma F. , a graduate of Houghton Seminary, is
the wife of Dr. Beckwith, of Joliet.

IILLIAM C. BARBER, A. B. By reason
of his ability as a financier, Mr. Barber
has been brought into prominence among
the business men of Joliet. He is one of the na-
tive born citizens of Joliet, a son of Royal E.
Barber, who for so many years has been identi-
fied with the history of the city. Here he was
born February 25, 1863, and in the public schools
he.laid the foundation of his education. After
graduating from the high school in 18S0, he ma-
triculated in Hamilton College at Clinton, N. Y.,

and completed the course of study in that insti-
tution, from which he graduated in 1884, with
the degree of A. B.

Returning to Joliet, Mr. Barber became inter-
ested in the abstract business, in which he has
since engaged. On the 1st of January, 1889, he
succeeded to the business which had been estab-
lished by his father in June, 1857, an d which
antedates any similar enterprise by fourteen
years, being the oldest office in the county. In
the building erected by his father he has since
had his office. At the same time he acts as
agent for the Barber building. He superintended
the construction and has charge of the electric
light plant which furnishes light and power for
this building, as well as some adjoining.

Perhaps Mr. Barber is best known through his
connection with the liquidation of various loan
and building associations. He was appointed
liquidator of the Borrowers and Investors Build-
ing Association, the Second (formerly Peoria)
Building and Loan Association, and the Wauke-
gan Borrowers and Investors Building Associa-
tion, all of Joliet, with assets aggregating $300,-
000. This is the first instance on record where
such affairs have been closed up in this way, and
it is proving more economical for the sharehold-
ers than the method heretofore followed. The
quarterly statements issued by the liquidator are
models of accuracy, conciseness and clearness,
and the manner in which he is conducting affairs
is proving most satisfactory to those concerned.

Since 1887 Mr. Barber has been a member of
the board of directors of the Joliet public library.
From that time until 1896 he held the office of
clerk of the board, but resigned the clerical posi-
tion in the latter year. In the work of Central
Presbyterian Church he has taken an active in-
terest, and has served as trustee of the church
and treasurer of the Sunday-school. He is a
charter member of the Stone City Union Club,
in whose activities he has been a potent factor.
While he has never sought prominence in politics
nor positions of responsibility in the gift of the peo-
ple, he has always had strong opinions concerning
public questions, and has actively supported the
men and measures of the Republican party. He

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was married in this city in 1889, his wife being
Margaret A. Spangler, daughter of Ezra L. and
Agnes M. (Love) Spangler. She was educated
in Joliet and is a graduate of the high school.
The two children born of their union are Ruth
and Ralph.

STEPHEN GLIDDEN was one of the best
?\ known men in Chaunahou Township. When
\yj he came here in 1S4S he was a young man
with all the eager determination and enthusiasm
of youth. The privations of pioneer life did not
discourage him nor its hardships daunt; he
worked his way steadily forward, leading a busy,
useful existence, and by industry and frugality
accumulating a valuable property. At the same
time he gained the esteem of all acquaintances.
He saw many changes during the long period of
his residence in the same locality. Almost all of
the heads of families who were his neighbors
fifty years ago (for in those daj-s people were
called neighbors even though they lived many
miles apart) have now passed to that land whence
no traveler returns. His farm stands in the
midst of a thriving and populous farming com-
munity that sprang into existence during the
years he made his home here, replacing surround-
ings that had all the aspect of a wilderness just
opening to civilization. On his farm of nine
hundred acres is one of the imposing country
dwellings of the township, a house built in 1S78
and conveniently arranged and tastefully fur-
nished. Here he spent the afternoon of his life
in the enjoyment of the comforts his earlier
labors made possible, and here he died January 4,
1900.

In Unity, Cheshire County, N. H., Mr. Glidden
was born September 15, 1820, a son of Levi and
Sarah (Glidden) Glidden. He and his sister,
Margaret, the widow of Ransler Jenkins, of Ma-
quoketa, Iowa, are the sole survivors of a family
of eleven. His father, who was born and reared
in Unity, removed from there to New York in 1821

and settled at Crown Point, Essex County, where
he engaged in farming during the remainder of
his life. His wife, who was a native of the same
place as himself, had a brother, Thomas, who
served in the war of 1S12 ; shortly after the
battle of Plattsburg, as the troops were returning
home, he and some comrades stopped at an
orchard to get some apples, for they had been on
scant rations for weeks and were almost starved.
The owner of the orchard, incensed at the act,
shot him and wounded him severely. Levi
Glidden's father was a Revolutionary soldier.

When fifteen years of age our subject went to
Vermont to live with a brother-in-law, with the
intention of remaining there until he attained his
majority, but he soon became dissatisfied and
made up his mind to settle in the west. It was,
however, impossible for him to come to Illinois
immediately. When he was nineteen he returned
to Crown Point, where he continued until his
father's death. September 3, 1848, he arrived in
Joliet, bringing with him $600 that he had saved.
His first work was with a brother-in-law, who
had a contract to rebuild a mill at Treat's Island,
in Chaunahou Township. While working here
he purchased the mill on which he was working,
and for five years he operated it. In 1849 he re-
turned to Crown Point for his betrothed wife.
There, on the 5th of July, he was united in
marriage to Miss Mary Barnett, who was born in
1826. a daughter of Asa W. and Hannah
(Lamson) Barnett. Her father was born in
Hoosick, N. Y., and in early manhood removed
to Crown Point, where he became a farmer.

After his marriage Mr. Glidden returned to
Illinois, where he continued milling until the in-
troduction of steam mills and the advent of the
railroad made the business unprofitable. In
1853 he turned his attention to farming, having
one hundred and eleven acres, which he had
bought with the mill. He was prospered as a
farmer and stock-raiser. He added to his pos-
sessions until he had fifteen hundred acres, but
afterward he disposed of six hundred acres.
From 1894 until his death he lived retired, the
management of his place being in the hands of
his son-in-law, Frank P. Bieth. In politics he

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was a Republican, interested in party matters,
but not caring for official positions himself. A
man of earnest character, resolute in the support
of what he believed to be right, he won the good
will of his associates, and, as an honored pioneer,
deserves not a little credit for the effective work
he did in the advancement of the township. His
wife died September 12, 1887, and of their eleven
children only four are now living, one of whom,
Permelia S., has had charge of the home since
her mother's death. Sarah J. is the widow of
Henry Haviland, a farmer of Chaunahon Town-
ship; Melissa is the wife of Frank P. Bieth; and
Harvey O. lives in Kankakee, this state.

there. However, they finally left for Chicago,
which was deemed a safer refuge, and their
effects were mostly taken or destroyed before
they could with safety return to Will County.

In September, 1831, Mr. Beggs married Eliz-
abeth L. Heath, who was born in Muskingum
County, Ohio, and died in Will County, April
7, 1866. His second marriage, December 30,
186S, united him with Mrs. Sarah R. (Dibhle)
Frost, a native of New York state. He had
four children by his first marriage: Mary E.,
James W., George W. and Charles W.

[~)EV. STEPHEN R. BEGGS was born in
U*\ Rockingham County, Ya., in 1S01. His
r \ father removed to Kentucky when the son
was only four years of age, and two years later
settled on the Ohio River in Clark County, Ind.
His earliest recollections were therefore of fron-
tier scenes. He was seven years old before he
had a pair of shoes, and in after years he was
wont to recall the delight experienced in the
possession of his first shoes. In early manhood
he entered the ministry of the Methodist Church,
and afterward preached as an itinerant in Indi-
ana, Illinois and Missouri. No salary was at-
tached to his work. He was supported by the
gratuitous contributions of his hearers, who,
being poor in purse, could make but small con-
tributions to his support. His entire receipts in
cash one year amounted to only $23.

In the summer of 1831 Mr. Beggs came to
Plainfield, and was afterward connected with the
history of Will County. In 1836 he was ap-
pointed to the Joliet circuit, and commenced the
work of building the first Methodist church in
Joliet, which was, in fact, the first edifice built
by any denomination in the city. Upon the
breaking out of the Sac war his house was con-
sidered the best adapted for a fort. It was ac-
cordingly fortified and all the settlers gathered

3 AMES W. BEGGS, of Plainfield, was born
at Troy Grove, near Ottawa, 111., March 5,
1835. When he was a boy he attended the
district schools, but these being very poor, the
knowledge that he acquired was largely gained
through observation and experience. When he
became of age he embarked in the hotel business
at Naperville, where he remained for seven years.
He then returned to his father's farm one-half
mile south of Plainfield, where he assumed the
management of the place, devoting it to the
raising of stock and of farm products. He spent
three years on the farm but, preferring the hotel
business, he came to Plainfield, and purchased
the Central Hotel property, enlarging the build-
ing and conducting it in a manner that drew
considerable trade. A man of genial and ac-
commodating disposition, as a landlord he was
very popular, and the traveling public made his
place their headquarters. He also ran a stage
line to Joliet, carrying mail prior to the building
of the railroad. He continued to conduct the
hotel until 1894, when he sold out the business
and retired from active cares. His interests are
large, and include town property which he rents,
and a fine farm of one hundred and fifteen acres
one mile south of Plainfield.

In politics Mr. Beggs is a Democrat, and has
borne his share in the work for the party here.
Both to county and state conventions he has

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

served as a delegate. He has served as a mem-
ber of the board of aldermen, and in the spring
of 1899 was elected mayor, a position that he has
filled with signal ability and tact. Under Presi-
dent Cleveland he held the office of postmaster
for two terms. His marriage united him with
Etnerette, daughter of Hilton Clary, and formerly
of Palmyra, Wayne County, N. Y.

(J5JELAH KNAPP, who is engaged in farming
/\ in Homer Township, was born in Albany,
Q) N. Y., in 1836, a son of Rev. Solomon and
Maria (Lanfear) Knapp. His father, a native of
New York, became a member of the Baptist
Church in early life and afterward fitted himself
for its ministry. He was ordained a preacher in
the denomination and during the subsequent
years of his life worked earnestly in his chosen
field of labor. When he came west in 1840 he
settled in Will County and purchased the land
that forms our subject's present property. In
addition to the superintendence of this farm, he
gave considerable time to ministerial work and
served as pastor of the Baptist Church of Hadley.
His last days were passed in Joliet, where his
death occurred in 1890, after a busy life that cov-
ered eighty-seven years. In his family were seven
children, namely: Lanfear; Warren, who lives in
Nebraska; Solomon; Selah; Lizzie, who married

John Cameron and lives in Omaha, Neb. ; Josie,
deceased; and Florence, wife of H. T. Stevens.

When the family came to Illinois Mr. Knapp
was less than three years of age; hence practically
his entire life has been passed on the farm where
he now lives. He was given such advantages as
neighboring schools afforded, and to these he
added by self-culture, thus acquiring a good
practical education. He is the owner of the old
homestead of one hundred and twenty acres, on
which he engages in the dairy and stock business
and in the raising of cereals. The Republican
party has received his active support ever since
he attained his majority, and he is a firm believer
in its principles. For thirteen years he held of-
fice as commissioner of highways, during which
time he did much to promote the building and
maintaining of good roads in his township. As
a member of the county central committee of the
Republican party and as a worker on its execu-
tive committee he has done much to advance the
party's interests here. The cause of education
has a firm friend in him. For twenty-one years
he was a member of the school board, and during
part of the time he served as president, also as
secretary of the board.

The marriage of Mr. Knapp took place in
i860 and united him with Miss Emeline Frazier,
daughter of William Frazier, and a native of
Homer Township. They have an only daughter,
Hattie F. , who was educated in the Joliet high
school and is now teaching in the Joliet schools.
The family are connected with the Congregational
Church and aid in its support.

UrtlVtRSllY OF ILLINOIS

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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

HON. CHARLES EDWARD BOYER,

HON. CHARLES EDWARD BOYER. In
reflecting upon the advancement of the
county of Will, men of thoughtful minds
give due credit to the pioneers, among whom
were Mr. and Mrs. Boyer, of Lockport. Though
many years have passed since the death of Mr.
Boyer, his widow still survives, in the enjoyment
of the competence which his energy accumulated,
and surrounded by the evidences of an advancing
civilization. When, as a child of seven years,
she first saw the county where she has since re-
sided, its settlers were few and widely scattered,
its towns were mere hamlets and its farms wholly
unimproved. Looking back over the long vista
of years, she can narrate many an interesting
story of those early times when hardships were
many and the obstacles to success innumerable.
In the prosperity of the present no one rejoices
more than she. The finely improved farms of
the county; the clanking of machinery; the hum-
ming of the saw; the shrill whistle of the locomo-
tive and the long trains of freight and passenger
cars that pass in every direction; the well-built
schools; neat houses; handsome churches and
flue business blocks, all proclaim this region to
be the abode of peace and prosperity, in the se-
curing of which the early settlers were a potent
factor, and which, indeed, would not have been
possible without their self-sacrificing and constant
labors.

Mr. Boyer was born and reared in Reading,
Berks Count}*, Pa., and, as a young man, clerked
in a store in Philadelphia. Coming west in 1836,
he was employed in the Chicago office of the
company that had charge of the building of the

Illinois and Michigan canal. For a time he had
the supervision of their office work, but later took
a contract on the canal, and in this way, in 1838,
he was first induced to come to Will County.
In the filling of his contracts he displayed so
much efficiency and intelligence that his standing
as a contractor was assured from that time forth,
and he was thus enabled to gain a constantly in-
creasing success. When the canal was being
deepened he had a number of large contracts in
connection with the same, and at the time of the
building of the Chicago & Alton Railroad through
the county he was one of its heaviest contractors.
While his extensive business interests took much
of his time, he did not allow them to prevent him
from participating in public affairs. He was a
stanch believer in Democratic principles and
never lost an opportunity to promote the success
of his party. His fellow citizens, recognizing
his fitness for public office, offered him the high-
est gifts within their power. In 1864 he repre-
sented the district in the state legislature, and at
the time of his death, which occurred September
21, 1868, he was his party's candidate for the
state senate. Successful in business, he left his
family a large property, consisting principally of
city real estate and farm lands. At the time of
his death he had so much work planned for the
future that it required two years for his widow to
complete all of the contracts, and she successfully
managed the same until they were filled.

The lady who became the wife of Mr. Boyer,
at Lockport, April 14, 1840, bore the maiden
name of Elizabeth Runyon and was born in
Preble County, Ohio, February 22, 1823. Her

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

father, Armstead Runyoii, was a native of Lex-
ington, Ky., and at fourteen years of age accom-
panied his parents to Ohio, where he lived on a
farm for a number of years. In 1827 he brought
his family to Illinois and settled near Danville.
From there, in the fall of 1830, he came to what
was then Cook (now Will) County, and settled
on a farm one and one-half miles from the present
site of the city of Lockport, being one of the very
earliest settlers in this vicinity. During the
Black Hawk war he was obliged to take his
family for protection to old Fort Dearborn, where
they remained for several weeks; he and several
others then returned to Will County and built a
blockhouse on Mr. Sissou's farm, in which the
families of the neighborhood lived for some time.
While the men cultivated the land, the women
remained in the blockhouse. From the building
a good view could be had of the surrounding
country, and when any Indians came in sight,
the women would notify their husbands by rais-
ing a flag on a pole. During the building of the
canal Mr. Runyon left his farm and opened a
hotel in Lockport. In the fall of 1849 he went to
California and purchased a large ranch on the
Sacramento River, twenty miles from Sacramento,
where he remained for twenty years extensively
engaged in raising fruit. In 1869 he removed to
Santa Rosa, Cal. , but still continued to manage
his farm. He died in that town when seventy-
six years of age. Politically he was a Democrat,
and in religion a Uuiversalist. His father,
Michael Runyon, a native of Kentucky, settled in
Will County about 1834 and afterward made his
home on Hickory Creek, where he died in 1S57.
His wife was a cousin of Robert Black well, one
of the early and well-known Chicago attorneys.

Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Boyer, William
and Charles died in boyhood. The older daugh-
ter, Emma B. , became the wife of David E Cor-
neau, of Chicago, and they have one son, Perry
B. Corneau. The younger daughter, Florence
B., Mrs. Olaus Paulson, resides with Mrs. Boyer,
and has four children: Elizabeth B. , Louise,
Norman B. and Emma C. Paulson. The only
sou who attained manhood was Julius A., who
operated a quarry in this county and died in

Lockport, at thirty-six years of age. He married
Helen. Cook (daughter of Isaac Cook), now Mrs.
Robert Aull, of St. Louis, Mo. They had three
children: Julius A., Charles E. (deceased) and
Douglas C. Boyer. Since the death of her hus-
band Mrs. Boyer has superintended the property
and, in spite of her seventy-six years, she is quite
active and business-like. In the beautiful resi-
dence built by Mr. Boyer in 1856 she has con-
tinued to reside, hospitably entertaining her
friends and beloved by all who know her. As
one of the oldest living settlers of the vicinity of
Lockport she is entitled to the esteem in which
she is held.

HS. G. BLAKELY, editor and proprietor
of the Plainfield Enterprise, was born in
, Morristown, Vt., May 9, 1868. He mar-
ried Miss Linnwood Bartholomew, at Reading,
Mich., September 25, 1887. In company with
R. A. Marvin he established the Enterprise
August 10, 1887, and in 1888 bought his part-
ner's interest. He is a Republican in politics
and is a member of the Masonic and Modern
Woodmen fraternities.

q)EORGE B. MOSS, a farmer and stockman
_ of Plainfield Township, has spent his entire
^Jl life in the vicinity of his present home and
has not only witnessed, but also contributed to,
the advancement of local interests, especially to
the development of the farming resources. He
was born in this township on Christmas day of
1839. His father, William, a native of North-
amptonshire, England, grew to manhood in that
shire and learned the millwright's trade and the
milling business. When about twenty-one years
of age he came to the United States. After a
short time in a mill in Buffalo, N. Y., he came
west to Illinois, settling in Will County and se-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

curing work in the building of the old Walker
mill near Plainfield. On the completion of the
mill he was placed in charge of it. Later he re-
moved to Plainfield and helped to build a mill
there, taking charge of it upon its completion.
Failing health finally obliged him to seek an oc-
cupation affording outdoor exercise. In 1845 he
bought eighty acres of prairie land, upon which
he settled and to the improvement of which his
subsequent years were devoted. As he pros-
pered he added to his property until he owned
two hundred and eighty acres, all well improved
and cultivated. In politics he allied himself
with the Republican party on its organization
and afterward voted for its principles. For sev-
eral years he held the office of school director.
He was a very active member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. The doctrines of this denom-
ination he upheld by his life, which was that of
an honest, honorable man, and a good citizen,
whose word was as good a? his bond. Personally
he was of a quiet disposition, with domestic
tastes. He died on his home farm when seventy-
eight years of age. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of Sarah Baxter, was born in Nor-
folk, England, and came to America in girlhood,
settling in Rochester, N. Y., where she first met
Mr. Moss. Like him, she was a faithful member
of the Methodist Church. Her death occurred
on the homestead when she was fifty years old.
Of her six children George B. was the eldest;
William is a farmer in this township; Mary A.
is the wife of Emory D. Platts, of Plainfield; Mrs.
Martha O' Leary lives in this township; Mrs. Phi-
lenda Thompson, a widow, lives in Colorado; and
Oliver is engaged in railroading in Wyoming.

The subject of this sketch was educated in the
schools of Plainfield. When he was twenty-one
he started out for himself, renting a portion of
his father's farm and afterward, when his father
became too old to engage in manual labor, he-
succeeded to the management of the homestead.
On his father's death he purchased a part of the
farm and has since bought the interests of the
other heirs, being now the sole owner of the old
homestead. Under his management the place is
kept improved and its buildings in good repair.

The Republican party receives his vote and he
has been active in its rank. For a number of
years he has served as school director and trustee.
In 1862 he married Miss Harriet Platts, who was
born in New York state and died in this town-
ship in 1891. The children born of their union
are named as follows: Sherman, a farmer in this
township; Lillie J., deceased; Minnie, wife of
George Tower; Nellie, Mrs. Meyers, of Joliet;
George A. and Cora, who are on the old home-
stead with their father.

HOMAS F. DEMPSEY, who has made his
home in Troy Township since 1848, and
for years has been one of the township's
successful farmers and stock-raisers, was
in County Kildare, Ireland, August 19,
a son of John and Ellen (Shaughnassey)
Dempsey. During the latter part of 1848 the fam-
ily sailed from Ireland, in the good ship "Hot-
tinger," and after a voyage of five weeks and three
days, during which time they encountered two
severe storms and were wrecked, they arrived in
New York. From there they proceeded up the
Hudson River to Albany, then crossed the state
on the Erie canal to Buffalo, going from that city
via the lakes to Chicago. While on Lake Michi-
gan a heavy storm arose, in which theirshipwas
wrecked and then towed into port at Milwaukee.
From Chicago they came to Joliet on one of the
first canal boats that made the trip to this point.
Settling in this county the father took up a tract
of land in Troy Township, which he bought at
the land sale at Lockport in the spring of 1849.
No improvements had been made on the land,
and there was not a house between here and Jo-
liet Mound. The family moved into a log cabin,
in which openings had been made for doors and
windows; these apertures they closed with blan-
kets. All night the wolves howled near the little
cabin, their cries being the only sound that broke
the stillness of the lonely region. Growing bold,
they caught and killed a fine dog of which the

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

family were proud: but, fortunately, their en-
croachments stopped on the outside of the house.
Those early days were busy ones for the family,
all of whom helped the father in his work of get-
ting the land under cultivation and making
needed improvements. He continued to reside
on the same place until his death, in January,
1876, at the age of seventy eight years. The
mother died August 19, 1864, aged fifty-four
years. She was the mother of seven children,
viz.: Malachi, Thomas, John, Joseph, Mrs. Ann
Ivans, Mrs. Bridget Riley, and David, of Des-
Moines, Iowa.

Owing to the need of his assistance on the
home farm, it was not possible for our subject to
attend school regularly, and he studied mostly at
night, with the help of his father and mother.
When twenty-eight years of age he went to Chi-
cago, with only $3 in cash, but with energy, de-
termination and good health. He secured em-
ployment in butchering. Two months later he
married. Economical and industrious, he was
prospered and at the end of four years and seven
months he had $2,Soo in cash. He then re-
turned to the home farm, as his father, who was
growing old, needed his aid. The work was not
new to him, as from the age of thirteen years he
had been actively at work on the homestead,
mostly buying and selling cattle, although he
also cultivated the land. When he returned he
took hold as before and assumed the management
of the one hundred and thirty-five acres in the
place. Afterward he purchased other land and
now has about four hundred acres, which repre-
sents his energy and ambitious efforts. He has al-
ways been a man of great energy and perseverance.
Perhaps no term so well expresses his character as
the word ' 'hustler. ' ' He well deserves the prosper-
ity he has gained . He is known as a thrifty, indus-
trious and honest farmer, who manages his affairs
in a systematic manner. In farm products his
specialties are corn and oats, of which he annual-
ly sells three and four thousand bushels, respec-
tively. On his place, among other farm imple-
ments, is a corn sheller with a capacity of over
three thousand bushels daily, operated either by
horse or steam power. He does the hauling to

Troy and Channahon for the two creameries,
hauling from one to two thousand pounds a day.
Cattle, horses and hogs are to be found on his
place, his specialty being the breeding of Norman
horses and good roadsters.

As his father, Mr. Dempsey supports Demo-
cratic principles. For fourteen years he served
as justice of the peace, for two years held the of-
fice of supervisor, and was also school trustee for
many years. He is a member of St. Mary's
Roman Catholic Church in Minooka. In Octo-
ber, 1869, he married Nora Kenney, whose
father, Michael, was engaged in farming in Troy
Township and later removed to Joliet. Mrs.
Nora Dempsey died in 1884 and was interred in
St. Patrick's cemetery in Joliet. The second
marriage of Mr. Dempsey, in October, 1896,
united him with Josephine Burns, of Chicago.
By his first marriage he had ten children, of
whom Lennie and Josie are deceased. Ervin and
John reside in this county; Alice is the wife of
John Cudahy, of Manhattan; Thomas, Jerome,
Robert, Bernard and Edward assist their father
at home and relieve him of much of the work of
managing the farm.

30HN I. EVARTS, cashier and owner of the
Plainfield Bank, was born in Yorkville,
Kendall County, 111., February 18, 1866.
His father, Jeremiah, a native of Georgia, Vt.,
born in 1836, received his education in the acad-
emy of his home town. When twenty-one years
of age he came west, which he believed offered
greater opportunities for a young man than did
his own state. He secured a position as teacher
in Kendall County and his work was so satis-
factory that he was soon given a more important
place, becoming principal of the Piano school.
At the outbreak of the war he resigned as prin-
cipal and went to the front as lieutenant of a
company of volunteers, serving for two years,
when illness obliged him to resign his commis-
sion. His service was one that reflected credit

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

upon his loyalty to the country, as well as his
personal bravery. A year after his return he
was elected clerk of Kendall County, and this
office he held for twenty-four years, meantime
making Yorkville his home. He was so promi-
nent and influential that many desired him to be-
come a candidate for congress and he therefore
allowed his name to be presented before the Re-
publican convention, where he came within four
or five votes of receiving the nomination. In
188S he moved to Plaiufield and established the
Plainfield Bank, which he conducted until his

death, February 3, iJ

His success was en-

tirely the result of his own industry and wise
judgment. While his residence in Plainfield
covered only a few years, yet he became well
known, and took a leading part in enterprises
calculated to advance the welfare of the people.
Through his honorable methods of transacting
business he gained the confidence of the com-
munity. In Yorkville, where for so long a time
he made his home, he was a very influential citi-
zen. For a quarter of a century he was con-
nected with the Masonic blue lodge there and he
also held membership with the Grand Army
post there. His father, Tod Evarts, traced his
ancestry to one of two brothers, surveyors, who
assisted in surveying much of Vermont and in
return were given by the government a large
grant of land in that state. Hon. William M.
Evarts, United States senator from New York,
was a cousin of Jeremiah Evarts.

The marriage of Jeremiah Evarts united him
with Emma Custin, who was born in Unionville,
Ohio, and now makes her home with her only
child. In religion she is of the Congregational
belief. The subject of this sketch received his
education in the Yorkville schools and the Aurora
high school, supplemented by a course in the
Illinois University at Champaign, where he was
a student for two years. He was eighteen when
he received an appointment in the United States
railway mail service, and during the seven years
he retained the position he had a run from Chi-
cago to Burlington, on the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy Railroad, being on the fast mail train.
He accompanied his father to Plainfield and en-

tered the bank in 1S92. On the death of his fa-
ther he and his mother were planning to sell the
bank, when a petition was brought to him, signed
by one hundred and fifty leading citizens of this
section, asking him to continue the business.
Feeling that, with so strong a support, he could
not but succeed, he decided to continue, and the
results have proved the decision was a wise one.
He is a bright, capable young business man, and
his business career, though yet but begun, is a
credit to him. He is trusted and honored, and
the confidence reposed in him has never been be-
trayed. Fraternally he is connected with the
Woodmen, the Sons of Veterans, and Plainfield
Lodge No. 536, A. F. & A. M., the chapter,
commandery and council of the Masonic order at
Joliet.

HOMAS WHITE. Those who best knew
Mr. White most fully appreciated his worth
of character and his breadth of intelligence.
His success in life indicates that he possessed
business qualifications of a high order. Though
he began without means, and had little to assist
him in getting a start, he nevertheless became
well-to-do, acquiring the ownership of valuable
property both in this county and in Nebraska.
At the time of his death he owned three hundred
and twent} - acres here and six hundred and forty
acres in Nebraska, and he also owned a good
home in Joliet.

Mr. White was born in Lincolnshire, England,
September 23, 1830, a son of Thomas and Eliza-
beth (Veasey) White, natives respectively of
England and Scotland. His father, who crossed
the ocean to Canada, settled in the United States
about 1850 and spent his last days with a son in
Ohio, but died in Lake County, 111., at sixty
years of age. Of his ten children only one sur-
vives. The subject of this article learned the
miller's trade in England and came to the United
States in 1852, settling near Cleveland, Ohio.
About 1855 he proceeded to Dupage Count}-,
111., where he began to till rented land. In 1S63

4 6

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he came to Will County and soon bought a farm
in the town of Peotone, where he remained for
four years. After residing in Naperville one
year, he removed to a farm in Manhattan Town-
ship in 1S69, buying two hundred and forty
acres and at once beginning its improvement. A
few years later he bought an eighty- acre tract
adjoining. For seventeen years he made his
home on that place, but in 1886 rented the farm
and removed to Gage County, Neb., where he
purchased a section of land and carried on farm-
ing and stock-raising on an extensive scale. In
1889 he retired from active labors, returned to
this county and built a residence in Joliet, where
his last days were spent.

In England, in July, 1851, Mr. White married
Miss Kitty Reason, who survives him, making
her home in Joliet. They became the parents of
six children, but three are deceased. The older
of the surviving sons, William, was born in Du-
page County, 111., in 1859, and grew to manhood
in this county, but since 1882 he has resided in
Nebraska. He is now proprietor of a general
mercantile store at Table Rock, Neb., and is a
leading business man of his town. He married
Jennie, daughter of George Andrews, of Joliet,
and they have three children: Leroy, Earl and
Mildred. The other children of Mr. and Mrs.
White are Fannie, who resides with her mother,
and John Thomas, an attorney of Joliet.

30HN E- BUSH came to this county in i860
and has been engaged as a grain dealer in
Joliet since 1864. During the early days of
his experience in the grain business, the farmers
from a radius of twenty miles in this and sur-
rounding counties brought him their grain, and,
as he made his shipments by canal, he was able
to pay two cents more than could those who
shipped by railroad. His shipments, amounting
to almost one-half million bushels per annum,
were made in his own canal boats and in those
hired from other parties. After a time the rail-

road, in order to gain the trade, began cutting
rates and finally gave a better price that the
canals could give, so the latter ceased to be a
medium of transportation, and all shipments were
made by rail. In 187 1 Mr. Bush built an ele-
vator on the Michigan Central road, corner of
Washington street and Eastern avenue, at a cost
of $25,000, and containing good improvements,
including steam power. This building still
stands. In 1880 he built the River block, on
Exchange street, which was three stories in
height and 60x95 feet in dimensions. Water
power was furnished from the canal. It was in
this block that the Bates Machine Company
started in business, and it was also used by other
manufacturing companies. On Desplaines near
Jefferson street he had an elevator which he used
until it and the business block were condemned
and removed by the drainage board in 1897.

The Bush family originated in Scotland and
was later represented in the north of Ireland.
Early identified with American history, several
of its members took part in the Revolutionary
war. Stephen Bush, a native of Connecticut,
settled at Orwell, Vt. , where he engaged in farm-
ing. During the war of 18 12 he went to the
front and fought for American interests. His
sou, Stephen N., who was born at Orwell, re-
moved to Whitehall, Washington County, N. Y.,
where he owned and cultivated three hundred
acres of land and also carried on a meat market.
In 1862 he came to Illinois and bought a farm in
Will County across the Washington street bridge,
over Hickory Creek, a part of which land is now
in Brooklyn. In later years he sold seventeen
acres of his property for a fair ground, and after-
ward the remainder of the land was sold and sub-
divided into city lots. He then bought one hun-
dred and sixty acres west of the city. He died
in Joliet in 1885, when eighty-five years of age.

The wife of Stephen N. Bush bore the maiden
name of Salome Moise and was born at Cornish
Flats, N. H., being the daughter of a miller who
died at Whitehall, N. Y. She died in 1858.
Twice married, by her first husband she had two
sons who settled in Will County, 111., in 1856,
both of whom volunteered in the One Hundredth

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Illinois Infantry during the Civil war and served
until the close of the rebellion. One of them,
W. W. Bartlette, who was captain of his com-
pany, died in Salina, Kans., and the other,
R. F. , who was first lieutenant of the same com-
pany, is now living in Salina. To the marriage
of Stephen N. and Salome Bush four sons and
one daughter were born, two of whom are de-
ceased. John E. is the oldest now living and
the only one in Joliet. His brother, H. F. , who
served in the One Hundredth Illinois Infantry, is
now engaged in the hardware business in Hono-
lulu, .Sandwich Island.

At Whitehall, N. Y., our subject was born
November 5, 1835. He prepared for college in
Whitehall Academy, and in 1856 entered Will-
iams College at Williamstown, Mass., from which
he graduated in i860, with the degree of A. B.
During the same year he came to Illinois and se-
cured a clerkship in a Joliet grocery. Two years
later, on the organization of the First National
Bank, he became a stockholder and director and
entered the bank in a clerical capacity. In 1S64
he resigned his position in order to engage in the
grain business, but he still retains his stock in
the bank and has been one of its directors from
the first. He owns property in Joliet and a farm
in the county. In 1872 he laid out the Bush
addition to Joliet, on Richards and Hickory
streets, and in 1895 he made a subdivision of
property on Jasper street. Bush Park originally
belonged to him and is named in his honor.

The first wife of Mr. Bush was Cornelia,
daughter of George Woodruff, late president of
the First National Bank. She was born in Joliet
and died here in 1876, leaving two children. The
son, George Woodruff Bush, who was educated
in the University of Michigan, is a member of the
hardware firm of Bush & Handwerk, in Joliet.
The daughter, Jennie C, who was educated at
Vassar, has spent most of her time abroad since
leaving college. The present wife of Mr. Bush
was Bella G. Kenyon, who was born at Thorn p-
sonville, Conn., and accompanied her father,
John Kenyon, to Illinois, settling on a farm at
Tamarack, this county. For a time she was
principal of the East avenue high school of Joliet.

Three sons were born of this marriage, namely:
John K., who is a member of the class of 1900,
University of Illinois; Edward M., a member of
the high school class of 1900; and Ralph H.

At the time of the erection of the courthouse
Mr. Bush served as assistant supervisor for two
terms. He was also school inspector for two
terms, and filled the position with the greatest
efficiency. Atone time he was a member of the
board of trustees of the old Chicago University.
In politics he is a stanch Republican. He is
connected with the Williams College Alumni As-
sociation and the Delta Kappa Epsilon Society.
For many years he has been chairman of the
board of trustees in the Eastern Avenue Baptist
Church and was an active member of the building
committee at the time of the erection of the
church. He also served for years as Sunday-
school superintendent. In 1885 he was largely
instrumental in starting a Sunday-school at Three
Points mission in Joliet, and ever since then he
has acted as its superintendent. He possesses
qualities of a high order and is a gentleman of
kind heart, sanguine temperament, whole-souled
and liberal-minded, one who easily wins and re-
tains the confidence of associates, and whose in-
tegrity has won for him the respect of his ac-
quaintances.

|"}HILIP I. CROMWELL, M. D., of Wilming-
LS ton, one of the leading physicians and sur-
\3 geons of the county, was born at Lake
George, Warren County, N. Y., July 12, 1848, a
son of James and Sarah C. (Bradshaw) Crom-
well. He was named after his grandfather,
Philip I. Cromwell, who for years made his home
at Carlisle, N. Y. , where he was proprietor of a
hotel and a prominent man in public affairs.
For years James Cromwell, M. D., carried on a
general practice at Lake George, meantime gain-
ing recognition as the most skillful physician in
the town. In the latter town he died in 1874,
when he was sixty-four years of age. Wherever
he made his home it was his custom to identify
himself with movements tending toward the ad-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

vancement of local interests. In religious belief
he was an Episcopalian and for years served his
church as an elder and senior warden. His wife
survived him for 3-ears, dying at Lake George at
the age of eighty-one. Their six children were
as follows: Edward, who enlisted in the Civil
war and was killed at the second battle of Bull
Run; John B., of Denver, Colo.; Philip I.; James
J., who is the only representative of the farnily
now at Lake George; Mary E., wife of Jerome
M. Hubbell; and Ellen B., who married Thomas
N. Conant and lives at Dekalb, 111.

The education of our subject was received prin-
cipally at Glens Falls, N. Y. From an early age
he manifested an interest in medical pursuits and
as a boy determined that he would some day be
a physician. With this object in view, in 1867
he entered Albany Medical College at Albany,
N. Y., from which he graduated in 1870. Dur-
ing the following year he held a position as phy-
sician to the Albany city dispensary. Afterward
he joined his parents at Lake George. After
about one year he located at Cleveland, N. Y.,
where he established himself in practice. It was
his belief, however, that he could succeed better
in the west, and he therefore decided to come to
Illinois. In 1874 he opened an office at Dekalb,
111., where he remained for fourteen years, but
the demands of his constantly increasing practice
finally undermined his constitution and a com-
plete change of climate was rendered necessary.
In 1887 he went to Colorado, hoping that the
genial air of the mountain regions would prove

health-restoring. In this hope he was not dis-
appointed. During the two years he remained in
that state he engaged in practice at Sterling and
also served as coroner of Logan County. On his
return to Illinois in 1889 he settled at Wilming-
ton, where he has since built up a very large
practice. It has always been his aim to keep
abreast with the developments made in the sci-
ence of medicine, and to this end he reads. cur-
rent medical literature and keeps in touch with
various medical societies. He is a member of the
Desplaines Yalley Medical Association and the
Illinois State Medical Society.

Always believing in protection of home indus-
tries, Dr. Cromwell naturally found himself in
accord with Republican principles. However, in
1896, when his party declared for a gold stand-
ard, he, being in sympathy with the movement
looking to the free coinage of silver, allied him-
self with the silver forces. Both as mayor and as
alderman he has been active in advancing the
welfare of Wilmington and promoting its inter-
ests. He is interested in secret society work and
is connected with the Masons and Odd Fellows.
His first wife, who was Catherine Hallagan, and
whom he married in 1874, died in 1891, leaving
four children, namely: Edward G. , a physician
and surgeon at Henry, 111.; Harry D. : Clinton B.,
who is teaching school at Custer Park, this coun-
ty; and George B., who is in the United States
navy. The present wife of Dr. Cromwell bore
the maiden name of Adeline Hudson and was
united with him in marriage in 1898.

W-Aift <Ll-tL&-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

HON. DORRANCE DIBELL.

HON. DORRANCE DIBELL is directly de-
scended from the families of Baldwin, Lord,
King, Ward, Strong and Waite, who lived
in Connecticut and Massachusetts prior to 1800.
His Puritan descent is evident from the maiden
names of his grandmother and great-grandmother,
Patience Baldwin and Submit Lord, and is also
shown by the following given names found on his
family tree between the years 1 650 and 1750, viz.:
Desire, Unity, Relief, Prudence, Thankful, De-
liverance, Increase, Experience, Silence, Record,
Remember, Mercy, Hopestill and Mindwell.

On his father's side he is fifth in descent from
John Dibell, who was born in Connecticut in
1702, and who died at Mount Washington, Mass.,
August 1, 1773. The ancestors of John Dibell
are believed to have come to Massachusetts from
England in the year 1635. They afterwards re-
moved to Connecticut. In 1757 the family settled
at Mount Washington, in the southwest corner of
Massachusetts, and members of the family still
live upon and own part of the farm then bought.
The branch from which Dorrance Dibell de-
scended removed to Hudson, N. Y., and then to
New Durham, N. Y., about 1789, and from there
about 1 81 7 removed to Ashtabula County, Ohio,
where members of the family still reside.

On his mother's side he is the eighth in de-
scent from William Ward, who in 1639 (nineteen
years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth
Rock) was living with his family at Sudbury,
Mass. , when the proprietors of that plantation
made a first division of their lands in which he
shared. Tradition says he was born in Eng-
land. He afterwards removed to Marlborough.
He suffered great losses in King Phillip's war,
when his buildings were fired, his cattle destroyed

and one of his sons was killed. The dwelling
house of one of his sons was used as a garrison
in that war. The widow of William Ward
settled his estate at Boston before the tyrannical
colonial Governor Andros, who also acted as
judge of probate. Gen. Artemus Ward of Boston,
another distant relative, was commander-in-chief
of the forces of the colony of Massachusetts Bay,
and was the first person appointed a major-gen-
eral in the army of the Revolution; was appointed
a member of the continental congress, but did
not take his seat, and was twice a member of
congress under the Federal Constitution. Several
of Mr. Dibell's kinsmen of the Ward name were
members of the "General Court," and held other
places of trust in their primitive communities.
One uncle, William Ward, D. D., spent most of
his active life in Assam, India, as a missionary.
A great uncle, Elihu W. Baldwin, D. D., was
first president of Wabash (Ind.) College.

Dorrance Dibell was born February 16, 1844,
at Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio. He is a son
of Rev. Jonathan Baldwin Dibell, of Kingsville,
Ashtabula County, Ohio, and Louisa (Ward)
Dibell, of Ellington, Tolland County, Conn. His
father was a Baptist minister. In 1850 his par-
ents removed from Ohio to Will County, 111.,
where they lived almost continuously until his
father's death, September 10, 1881. His father
had unusual purity, sincerity and strength of
character, was greatly respected and had a wide
influence in Will County, especially in Homer,
New Lenox and Frankfort. After his death, the
mother, with her daughter, Julia Louisa, made
her home with her son Dorrance in Joliet, where
she resided until her death, October 17, 1885.
Julia met a sad and untimely death at a railroad

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

crossing in that city, September 20, 18S9, which
left the subject of this sketch the only remaining
member of his father's family. Mr. Dibell mar-
ried Sarah M., oldest child of Hon. Henry Snapp,
at Joliet, August 29, 1872, and they have one
child, Charles Dorrance Dibell, a graduate of the
University of Chicago, who was admitted to
practice law in June, IS99, and has entered upon
the practice of that profession at Joliet.

Judge Dibell, as he is now familiarly called,
was but six years old when his parents settled in
the Prairie state, and he grew to manhood on his
father's farm in New Lenox Township, attending
the public schools in boyhood, and subsequently
prosecuting his studies in the University of Chi-
cago for about four years. After beginning his
studies at the university he was a teacher in the
public schools, then returned to the university,
and afterward was employed as a telegraph oper-
ator at Racine, Wis., and at Wheatland and De
Witt, Iowa. During that time he studied law
without an instructor in Racine and on his fa-
ther's farm in Will Count}-. While still engaged
as a telegraph operator he studied law with
Hon. John C. Polley, at De Witt, Iowa, and
then, having determined to make that profession
his business in life, he abandoned telegraph oper-
ating, came to Joliet, and resumed the study of
law with Goodspeed, Snapp & Knox, of Joliet.
In 1869 he entered the law office of Parks & Hill
as a law student and clerk at a small salary,
barely sufficient, with rigid economy, to supply
the necessaries of life. The room on Bluff street,
at $3.00 a month, where he did his own house-
keeping, as well as the grocery and bakery which
supplied his frugal meals, are still remembered
by the judge and his friends with a feeling akin
to pride and pleasure. August 23, 1870, he was
admitted to the bar by the supreme court of this
state. During this brief period of his novitiate
as a student with the firm of Parks & Hill he
made himself so useful to the members of that
firm, and gave such promise of future usefulness
and ability as a lawyer, that he was at once
offered a partnership with the junior member of
the firm, which he accepted. Mr. Hill was then
state's attorney of the old seventh judicial cir-

cuit, comprising the counties of Will and Grundy.
The new firm of Hill & Dibell was organized
September 3, 1870, and continued without inter-
ruption, and with a constantly increasing busi-
ness and reputation, for a period of more than
fifteen years and until dissolved November 13,
1885, because of the election of Mr. Dibell No-
vember 3, 1885, to the bench as judge of the
ninth judicial circuit. During that time the firm
enjoyed a large practice, constanth- increasing in
character and importance as the years went by,
both members holding high positions at the bar.
During these years of active practice, the founda-
tions of Judge Dibell's career and usefulness as
a judge were laid. He was never content to
look at one side, his client's side, of a case or
question presented for his consideration, however
plausible or fair that side might at first appear;
his mind was eminently and normally judicial in
tone and character. Instinctively it turned to
the other side of the question or case in hand and
sought uurestingly to find the real facts of the
case and the law applicable to those facts. This
tone and bent of his mind was always manifest
in consultations with clients and in the discussion
of the case or question involved with his partner,
as well as in argument in courts. When sure he
was right, his conclusions of law and fact were
presented with convincing force and ability. He
always had a great faculty of generalizing a mass
of details and of seeing the real point involved in
a case. This was especially true, or seemed es-
pecially true, in chancery cases, involving many
questions of law and fact. His strong memory,
great reasoning powers and strength of mind,
seemed to guide him with apparent ease through
the most involved controversies. This character-
istic soon became known to bench and bar, as
well as to his friends and clients, and to some
extent to the public at large. During this time
Mr. Dibell was also for some years a member of
the city council of Joliet, carrying to that work
the same fidelity of trust and earnestness of pur-
pose that had characterized him as a lawyer. He
was in the council when the change was made
from the old special charter to incorporation
under the general incorporation law of the state,

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and was influential in making that and other
changes of importance in the city government,
and it is safe to say that from first to last during
his service in the council the public good was his
first consideration. No suggestion of corruption
or even of unfairness was ever made against him
either as a lawyer, a councilman, or as a judge.
This is high praise, but nevertheless strictly true.
A lifelong Republican, thoroughly schooled in
the platforms and principles of that party, he was
nevertheless first and always a patriot, command-
ing alike the respect of his opponents and the
admiration of his friends; and when, in 1885, the
death of Judge McRoberts created a vacancy on
the bench of the ninth judicial circuit, then com-
prising the counties of Will, Grundy, La Salle
and Bureau, many eyes were turned to Mr.
Dibell to fill the place. His partner, Mr. Hill,
realizing from long association his peculiar fit-
ness for the position, was among the first to sug-
gest it, and to urge it upon him, but Judge
Dibell is as modest as he is strong and judicial,
and being at that time comparatively a young
man, at first declined to consider it. A conven-
tion was called, and he was nominated for the
position and was elected.

In the Will County convention, upon being
nominated for circuit judge, he said, "I believe
in progress in the methods of legal procedure.
In fact, a reform in this direction has already
begun. When I came to Joliet to study law I
was told that the common law docket had not
been called through in twelve years, and there
were then upon the docket many cases which
had been pending twelve or fifteen years. Since
then much has been done to remedy this evil
and to facilitate the transaction of legal business,
but much remains to be done before our legal
tribunals fulfill all the people have a right to de-
mand of them. Courts are but public agencies
for the transaction of business; they are tribunals
appointed to settle business disputes; they ought
to be conducted in a business manner and so as
to secure his rights to the party who ought to
win before time has made even success unprofit-
able. If the selection you have made shall be
ratified by the convention at Morris, and at the

polls in November, I assure you I shall do all in
my power to increase the efficiency of the court
in which I may preside and to cause business to
be there prosecuted with celerity and dispatch
and in a business-like manner." This promise
has been faithfully kept. Promptly to the
minute court opens and business proceeds "with
celerity and dispatch." No unnecessary delays
or unseemly wranglings are tolerated. Attorneys
and litigants understand what is expected and the
wheels move unceasingly and almost without a
jar. The trials calendars, law, chancery and
criminal, are kept under constant control. Liti-
gated cases are tried and disposed of within a few
months after their commencement. Lawyers as
well as litigants have learned to appreciate this
kind of work and to feel even when beaten that
they have had their day in court. The court
room where Judge Dibell presides is a great
workship. The scenes are constantly shifting
and passing. Cases come and go until both mind
and body are weary with the work, but when
court closes the judge's work does not end.
Questions of law, cases submitted without a jury,
chancer}' cases and other pending matters occupy
his evening and morning hours. The judge is a
rapid writer as well as a great worker. As a
telegraph operator he learned to abbreviate words
so that his pen follows closely upon his rapidly
working mind. Cases submitted receive his care-
ful consideration and often, in disposing of them,
he sheds new light upon questions carefully
argued by able attorneys.

In 1 89 1 Judge Dibell was re-elected by a
largely increased majority. In the winter of 1897
the legislature re-arranged the circuits, and placed
Will, Kankakee and Iroquois Counties in the
twelfth judicial circuit. That spring Judge
Dibell was nominated as one of the judges of
that circuit by both political parties, and in June,
1897, he was elected by a practically unanimous
vote. A few days after that election he was as-
signed by the supreme court of the state to sit as
one of the justices of the appellate court, second
district, at Ottawa, 111., for a term of three years,
and is now serving upon that assignment. The
duties of that position occupy about eight months

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of each year. The rest of the time he gives to
the duties of circuit judge.

Socially the judge is one of the most com-
panionable of men. His extensive reading, great
memory, keen interest in current topics, coupled
with a rare gift of expression, combine to make
an hour spent in his company an occasion to be
remembered. His habits and tastes are,however,
retiring, and his every-day friends and acquaint-
ances best appreciate his social qualities. Rev.
A. H. Laing, of Joliet, who has known the Judge
intimately for over seventeen years, and who is
himself widely known as a critic and scholar,
writes of him: "Judge Dibell is a large brained,
broad minded, generous spirited man, who com-
mands the affectionate esteem and confidence of
all who know him. Like most students he is not
in any sense a society man, but his equable
temper and amiable disposition have made him a
prime favorite with his neighbors and friends.
The exacting demands and large requirements of
his profession have not dulled his taste for gen-
eral literature. He has gathered a large and
miscellaneous library not for ornament, but for
his own use and enjoyment. The great poets and
dramatists are represented there and the special-
ties of science, philosophy and political eeonomy
have not been neglected or overlooked. Even
theology is not neglected, as is too frequently the
case among lawyers. In short, to legal training
he adds a cultivated taste and a large store of
general information." But from this it must not
be gathered that the judge is in any sense a
recluse or indifferent to social duties or obliga-
tions. He is often seen in public, where his
warm-heartedness and great conversational
powers make him ever welcome. But it is at
home, among his friends and books, that he is
seen at his best.

V/| A J- JOHN M. THOMPSON, who re-

V sides in New Lenox Township, near the

(i) Joliet line, was born near St. Thomas,

twenty miles from London, Canada, in 1832.

His father, James, a native of Salem, Mass., born
in 1787, became a machinist in early life and at
the age of twenty-five was made superintendent
of a large cotton factory in Massachusetts. About
1820 he removed to Canada and settled on the
Twenty, a large stream, where he built and be-
gan the carding of wool and manufacturing of
woolen cloth. Ten years later he removed to the
vicinity of St. Thomas and bought a large tract
of land, where he engaged in farming, besides
building and operating a saw and grist mill and
also a woolen factory on Beaver Creek. After
the Canadian rebellion of 1 837 he left his family on
the homestead and went west to look up a new
location. He finally selected a site for water
power in Roscoe, Winnebago County, 111. There
he built a woolen factory and a few years later a
grist mill. On the completion of this work he
returned to Canada and brought his family to his
new western home. From 1840, the date of his
settlement in Illinois, until his death in 1853, at
the age of sixty-five years, he was engaged in the
manufacturing of woolen goods and in merchan-
dising. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Sarah Snure, was born in Pennsylvania and died
in Illinois in 1886, aged eighty-three years. Of
their ten children seven are still living.

The eldest of the family, Clark, deceased, was
for several terms a member of the assembly and
for two terms a state senator in Minnesota, also
served as superintendent of Indian affairs during
the massacre of 1863-64. He was also president
of the Southern Minnesota Railroad. Edward,
who was also a senator in Minnesota, was a mer-
chant miller, owning mills at Hokah, Houston
County, Minn. He is now living, retired, in
California. Mary Catherine is the wife of J. \Y.
Abbott, a dry-goods merchant of Beloit, Wis.
Eliza died in 1871. John M. is the subject of
this article. Agnes died soon after her gradua-
tion from the Rockford Female College in 1855;
Anna is the wife of Major Wagner, of Tracy, 111.;
Marie married Seely Perry; James lives in Du-
luth, Minn.; Fannie is the wife of a physician
in Lyons, France; and Albert died when two
years old.

At the age of twenty-one our subject went to

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Hokah, Houston County, Minn., and acted as
superintendent of a saw and grist mill owned by
his brothers, Clark and Edward, who were at
that time giving their attention largely to public
affairs. At the same time he read law. In 1869
he returned to Roscoe, 111., to complete his law
studies. The day after Fort Sumter was fired
upon he started out to raise a company of volun-
teers and upon the completion of the work he
tendered the services of the company to Gov-
ernor Yates, but as several companies were ten-
dered from his county and only one could be
accepted, the choice fell upon a company raised
by Stephen A. Hurlbert (afterward a major-
general) .

Immediately afterward, Mr. Thompson went
to St. Paul, Minn., but his mind was so occupied
by the national struggle that he could not apply
himself to his law books nor could he concentrate
his mind on business affairs; so he went to Fort
Snelling and enlisted in Company K, Fourth
Minnesota Infantry. Two weeks after his en-
listment he was elected first lieutenant and later
was selected as adjutant on Col. John B. San-
born's staff. Late in 1862 he was unanimously
elected and commissioned captain of Company E,
Fourth Minnesota Infantry, and served at the
head of the company in many hard-fought bat-
tles, including the siege of Corinth, Iuka, battle
of Corinth and Champion Hills. On the battle-
field of Iuka he served as acting major, in the
absence of the major, and was favorably men-
tioned by his colonel for gallantry and recom-
mended for promotion. In that battle, though in
the thickest of the fight, he was not injured,
though having many narrow escapes; at one time
his hat band was shot off his hat. Shortly after-
ward Adjutant-General Thomas, of the United
States army, while on a tour of inspection in the
west, offered him the rank of colonel of a colored
regiment, which he accepted, but requested that
he might be permitted to remain with and com-
mand his company until after the siege of Vicks-
burg. The request was granted and he remained
with his company.

At Champion Hills, May 16, 1863, Major
Thompson was reported mortally wounded by a

gun shot through the left lung and was left on
the field to die, as was supposed. In a few days
all the wounded were removed for whose recov-
ery the slightest hope was entertained, but as he
had been given up, he with many others was left
to fall into the hands of the Confederates. He
was taken prisoner and the rebel surgeons also
reported him mortally wounded; but, ou account
of his strong constitution and good habits, his
wound did not prove fatal. After six months he
was exchanged and ordered to report at the St.
Louis barracks. From there he was sent to Fort
Snelling, on the way visiting his mother at Ros-
coe, 111. He remained at Fort Snelling and St.
Paul until his marriage, which took place at
Joliet, 111., January 14, 1864. On the day he
was made a Benedict he received a telegram an-
nouncing his promotion to be first major of the
Second Minnesota Cavalry. With his regiment
he took part in the Indian warfare of 1864, and
in the fall of the same year was ordered to report
to and take command of Fort Ripley, on the head
waters of the Mississippi. Later he was trans-
ferred to St. Paul as president of court martial,
where he remained until mustered out of service,
May 5, 1865.

Coming to this county the same month, Major
Thompson built what was at the time one of the
finest residences in the county and probably the
finest farm house in the state. In 1867, accom-
panied by his wife, he went to Europe and spent
eight months, visiting Italy, France, Germany,
Switzerland and the British Isles. On his return
he gave his attention to the raising of high-grade
horses and cattle. During the war he was a Re-
publican, afterward became independent and dur-
ing Cleveland's first term he supported the Dem-
ocratic party, believing it to be more favorable to
the farmer in its tariff platform. From 1887 to
1893 he was master of the state grange, during
which time he traveled over the entire state,
speaking in almost every county. He also trav-
eled in the interest of the Grange in the United
States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He was
a member of the thirty-ninth General Assembly.
At the close of his term the Chicago Herald
placed his name on a roll of honor with the

GKXEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

names of seventeen others, stating that even-
vote these gentlemen cast was in the interests of
agriculture and labor. In 1897 the Democratic
party nominated him to represent the twelfth dis-
trict in congress, but he declined the nomination
in the convention. However, in response to the
appeal of the district committee and leading mem-
bers of the party, he withdrew his resignation
and reluctantly consented to represent the party
during the fall campaign. Although he was not
elected, yet he reduced the majorities formerly
given his opponent, J. G. Cannon, of Danville,
who had represented his district for twenty
years.

The marriage of Major Thompson united him
with Miss Mary Jane Davidson, daughter of
Judge John J. Davidson, a pioneer of 1834. They
have had four daughters and one son, viz.: Jen-
nie Marie, John D., Helen E. (Mrs. Charles
Fish), Agnes (deceased) and Vera.

3OHX FEIL, member of the board of super-
visors, is a well-known merchant of Frank-
fort Station. He is a man of good business
ability, enterprising and persevering, and by his
well-directed efforts has won prosperity. Since
he began in business, in the fall of 18S0, he has
enjoyed a steady growth in his trade and now has
in his store a stock that, for size and quality, is
not surpassed by any establishment for miles
around. Three clerks assist him in attending to
the wants of customers. By his reliability,
courtesy and well-known integrity he has gained
and held the patronage of people throughout his
section of the county.

The entire life of Mr. Feil has been passed in
this county. He was born April 20, 1S54, in
Greengarden Township, to which his father,
John, had come two years before. The latter
was born in Codweilen, Prussia, Germany, in
1822, and in 1S47 accompanied his parents,
George and Elizabeth (Scheer) Feil, to America,
settling in Frankfort Township, this county, but

in 1852 removed to Greengarden Township, where
he bought sixty acres of land and made his home
for twelve years. In 1S64 he moved a mile west,
settling on section 8, where he devoted his re-
maining years to general farm pursuits. He was
a successful farmer and owned two hundred and
forty acres of land. Personally, he was quiet and
reserved, but those who knew him well found
him to be a man possessing many noble qualities
of heart. At the time of his death, October 6,
1871, he was forty-nine years of age. Hisfather,
George, spent his life, after 1847, in this county,
his closing years being passed in Mokena.

By the marriage of John Feil, Sr., to Catherine
Klose, a native of Germany, thirteen children
were born. The nine now living are as follows:
John, of this sketch; Louis, who makes his home
in Englewood, Chicago; Jacob, who occupies the
old homestead; Charles C, who lives in Charles
City, Iowa; Henry, of Joliet: Valentine, of Man-
hattan; Caroline, wife of Jacob Felton, of Hunt-
ington County, Ind. ; Lizzie, who married Arnold
Funstein, of Manhattan; and Lena, Mrs. Chris-
tian Hauck, of Joliet. The subject of this sketch
grew to manhood in Greengarden Township.
When he was twenty-five he moved to Frankfort
Township, and entered upon the life of a farmer
here. In 1880 he traded his farm for a stock of
merchandise, and, with Charles Deist as a part-
ner, began his present business. In the spring of
1893 ne bought his partner's interest and has
since carried on the business alone.

In politics Mr. Feil is a Republican. For four-
teen years he has served as police magistrate of
the village. During President McKinley's ad-
ministration, in 1897, he received the appoint-
ment of postmaster at Frankfort Station. In 1898
he was elected supervisor for a term of two years.
In this office, as in every position he has held,
it has been his aim to advance the interests of the
people and the welfare of the county. Xo laud-
able movement is allowed to fail for want of sup-
port on his part. Such citizens as he are a credit
to the community. He is a member of the Ger-
man Evangelical Church and in it served as a
trustee for several years. Fraternally he is con-
nected with the Court of Honor in his home

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

town. February 20, 1879, lie was united in
marriage with Miss Christina Deist, by whom he
has had four children. Only two are now living.
The son, Edward J., is a student in the Chicago
Business College; the daughter, Esther E., is at
home.

GILBERT PHELPS. Notwithstanding the
l_| many years that have elapsed since the death
/ I of Mr. Phelps, he still lives in the memory
of his acquaintances in this county and especially
in the hearts of his former associates in Dupage
Township. His life was not a long one as we
count time, for it covered little more than twenty-
six years; yet it was a busy and useful existence,
passed in the quiet routine of farm work and in
the faithful discharge of every duty, as citizen,
neighbor, friend, husband and father.

Mr. Phelps was born in Willsboro, Essex
County, N. Y., December 12, 1846. He was
reared upon a farm in that county and received
his education in its common schools. When a
young man, with the future stretching before
him, full of opportunities and openings, he de-
cided to come west, where the rewards of toil
were greater than in the more thickly settled east.
He had a sister living in Will County and joined
her here. From that time until his death he was
engaged in farm pursuits in Dupage Township.
In connection with the raising of farm products
he carried on a dairy business, which proved a
profitable source of revenue. His attention was
given closely to his chosen occupation. He did
not take an active part in politics, although he
never failed to vote the Democratic ticket. Fra-
ternally he was connected with the blue lodge of
Masonry in Naperville. He aided in the support
of the Presbyterian Church, with the work of
which he was in sympathy. When he died
March 6, 1873, he was followed to his last rest-
ing place by his neighbors and friends, all of
whom realized that in his death the township had
lost one of its most honorable men and substan-
tial farmers.

His wife and two sons survive Mr. Phelps.
He was married, November 5, 1869, to Miss
Harriet L-, daughter of Thomas J. Sprague,
whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work.
She was born in this township December 8, 1850,
and received her education in local schools and
at Lockport. Among the people in whose midst
her life has been passed she is honored and es-
teemed for her many worthy traits of character
and for her devotion to her family. She is justly
proud of her sons, both of whom are exceptional-
ly capable young men. The older, Herbert
Reuben, makes his home with his mother and
has charge of the farm, maintaining an intelligent
supervision of its interests. The younger, Al-
bert C, graduated from the Illinois State Uni-
versity and afterward took a special course of
study in Munich, Germany. He is now instruc-
tor in architecture at Cornell University, Ithaca,
N. Y.

"HE FRANCIS FAMILY. For years the
representatives of this family have been
inseparably associated with the growth of
Will County. The first of the name to settle
here was Abraham Francis, who was born in
County Cavan, Ireland, September 29, 1808.
He was a descendant of ancestors who, during
the religious persecution of 1696, fled from Scot-
land to Ireland, where subsequent generations
made their home. In 1816 William Francis, a
farmer, emigrated from County Cavan and settled
in Brown County, Ohio. He was a hardworking
man, whose life and surroundings offered few op-
portunities for education or advancement. At
the time of his death his son, Abraham, was
a youth of fifteen years, and he afterward con-
tinued in Brown County for some years. In the
spring of 183 1 he and a young German left Ohio
and rode on horseback to Shawnee Mound, Tip-
pecanoe County, Ind. From there they walked,
carrying knapsacks and axes, to Illinois, explor-
ing the region around the headquarters of the Kan-
kakee River. With canoes they had constructed,

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

they floated down the river to Wilmington, and
then followed the Indian trail to New Lenox
Township. Choosing a location, Mr. Francis
entered one hundred and sixty acres of govern-
ment land and "floated" another tract of similar
size, comprising the north half of the east half of
section nine, where his son, A. A. Francis, and
his family afterwards resided.

After building a log cabin Mr. Francis re-
turned' to Ohio. There he married Miss Mary
A. J. Davison, who was born in Adams County,
that state, March 17, 1815, a daughter of Will-
iam and Mary (Iugraham) Davison, both of
whom died in Tippecanoe County, Iud. Novem-
ber 16, 1 83 1, Mr. Francis and his bride arrived
at their new home in Illinois. On that day snow
began to fall and they did not see the bare ground
again that winter, which will be recalled as the
winter of the great snow so disastrous to pioneers.
At one time, when Mrs. Francis was attending to
her household duties, Rev. Stephen R. Beggs,
the minister of the community, drove up to the
cabin. When she met him at the door, he,
judging from her youthful face that she was the
daughter of the family, inquired where her father
was. She answered that he was on the home
farm back in Ohio. "Then," said he, "what
are you doing here?" "I am keeping house for
my husband and his brother Thomas," was her
answer. Both Mr. Francis and his wife were
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church;
and in early days the Sunday meetings of the
congregation were often held in his barn, which
is still standing. It is probable that the first
religious services in the borders of New Lenox
Township were held in this building.

When the Black Hawk war broke out, in June,
1832, Mr. Francis was one of six men appointed
to investigate the report of the Indian outrages
on Fox River. Finding that the reports of the
outrages were true, Mr. Francis removed his
family to Shawnee Mound, Ind. He then re-

turned and served as second lieutenant under
Captain Seissions. When hostilities ceased he
resumed the cultivation of his farm. At the time
of the cholera epidemic he was engaged in team-
ing for the government at Chicago. Prior to the
division of Cook County and the separation of
Will County, he served as deputy sheriff and
held other offices of honor and trust. In politics
he was for years a Democrat, but at the time of
the Civil war became an adherent of the Repub-
lican party.

The family of Abraham and Mary Francis con-
sisted of eleven children, eight of whom attained
mature years and married. The eldest, Margaret
L., wife of Needham P. Cooper, of New Lenox
Township, is believed to have been the first
white child born in this township. The eldest
son, William D., died at the age of twenty-two
years. Mary A. J. married J. S. Blackstone, of
Kankakee. A. Allen, the second son, is
represented in the following sketch. John, who
was born January 8, 1843, is a prominent stock-
raiser and dairyman of this township and for
years held the office of supervisor; his biography
is presented upon another page. Lydia E. is the
wife of William S. Nichols, of this township.
Charles is a farmer near the old homestead.
Clara M. died when sixteen mouths old.
Adalina A. married Jesse Meharry, of Tolono,
111. George L- is a machinery merchant in New
Lenox and also engages in agricultural pursuits
near the old homestead. Carrie D. died at the
age of thirteen years. One sister, two of the
brothers, and the widow of the second brother,
live nearly all on the same road, the sister occu-
pying the center farm, while the others have
places that adjoin. All are honored and respected
in the locality and are recognized as people of
superior worth and intelligence. The father of
the family died at the old homestead November
28, 1862, and his wife passed away January 15,
1884.

lib:

OF
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

J\ Qmu^, i

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

A. ALLEN FRANCIS.

Gl ALLEN FRANCIS. Intimately associated
LI with the history of New Lenox Township
/ I, throughout his entire life, Mr. Francis long
held a conspicuous position among its stock-
raisers and land-owners. For years before his
death he was the owner of one of the finest stock
farms in the county. Through the exercise of
his remarkable business ability he became the
owner of over one thousand acres of laud, be-
sides which he had other valuable interests. Nor
was his success merely that of gaining ample
means, but he was also successful in winning the
confidence of his associates and the affectionate
regard of his friends. As an instance of the es-
teem in which he was held, it may be mentioned
that when, after having served as president of the
Farmers' Institute since 1S88, he expressed a de-
sire to retire from the office in 1S9S, there was a
unanimous demand for his continuance. When
he finally consented, a demonstration was given
him that will not soon be forgotten by those who
were present. Perhaps greater enthusiasm was
never shown for a citizen of Will County than
was exhibited at that time.

On the farm where his entire life was spent
Mr. Francis was born September 7, 1840, the
oldest son of Abraham and Mary A. J. (Davison)
Francis, natives respectively of County Cavan,
Ireland, and Adams County, Ohio. He was ed-
ucated in country schools and the Joliet high
school. From an early age he was interested in
the raising of cattle, in which he was uniformly
successful. In New Lenox Township, Septem-
ber 15, 1870, he married Miss Lizzie J. Haven,
who was born here March 31, 1849, and received
her education in common schools and Dearborn
Seminary, Chicago. She was a daughter of

Hon. Dwight Haven (see sketch on another
page) and was the eldest of his family of five
daughters and one son. To the marriage of Mr.
and Mrs. Francis were born five children, of
whom two are living, namely: Mary L., wife of
W. Foster Burns, an attorney in Chicago; and
Daisy H. There was also an adopted daughter,
Anna H., Mrs. Willis I. Doig, of Joliet, who was
a member of the household from the age of four
j' ears.

When a young man Mr. Francis became a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of
New Lenox, of which he was a trustee; he also
served as treasurer of the building committee at
the time of the erection of the new church. For
years he was superintendent and treasurer of the
New Lenox Camp Meeting Association, the suc-
cess of which was in a large measure due to his
indefatigable efforts. Nor did his interest in this
movement wane. Up to the last he labored for
its welfare, and even after his fatal illness began
he was on the camp meeting grounds to see that
the work was progressing satisfactorily. He was
a stockholder in the Will County National Bank
and had moneyed interests in other local enter-
prises. In his business transactions he was sys-
tematic and exact; a man of the utmost probity,
whose integrity was never questioned and whose
character was above reproach. Ever guardful of
the best interests of his township, he was one of
its most progressive citizens, and as a Republican
he took an active part in the political life of the
community. At one time he was president and
a director of the Agricultural and Mechanical
Association of Will County and the New Lenox
Fire Insurance Company. He was a firm friend
of the public school system and served efficiently

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

as a school director of his district. All enter-
prises having for their object the good of the lo-
cality, or the increase of its material wealth, found
in him an advocate and friend, and his township
had no resident more closely identified with its
progress than was he.

His strength as a leading Republican was
shown at the Republican convention of 1898,
when his friends, against his wishes, nominated
him for state senator.

In addition to the many tributes of sympathy
received by the family upon the death of Mr.
Francis, the Will County Farmers' Institute
passed the following resolutions unanimously:

"Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God to
remove by death Hon. A. Allen Francis, our be-
loved friend and president, from our midst, and

"Whereas, In the various relations of life, as
husband, father, brother, friend, officer, neigh-
bor, citizen, he was devoted, affectionate, kind,
true, efficient, sympathetic and public-spirited,
each day living a noble and exemplary life;
Therefore be it

"Resolved, By the Will County Farmers' In-
stitute, in session assembled this eleventh day of
January, A. D., 1900, fully realizing his good in-
fluence and in his death our great loss, we desire
to bear testimony to his worth and offer this lov-
ing tribute of precious memory and respect. Be
it also further

''Resolved, That we extend to his wife and
family our heartfelt sympathy in their great be-
reavement, and would fain place by the side of
theirs the kindred feeling of sympathy and of
sorrow."

On every hand were heard expressions of re-
gret at the loss of a citizen so progressive and
noble. Such tributes as these were spoken by
those who appreciated the worth of such a char-
acter: "He was the best farmer in Will County.
He preached the necessity of keeping up the vir-
ginity of the soil. His whole life stood for better
methods in agriculture." "No man has had a
greater influence in Will County than A. Allen
Francis. ' ' "Never was I in his presence but I felt
the inspiration to do something good." "Men
are drawn nearer to God when a good man dies."

y /IERRITT O. CAGWIN. During the colo-
y nial period of American history the Cag-
(«J win family came from Scotland to this
country. Thomas Cagwin was the son of a Rev-
olutionary soldier, served as an officer in the
war of 1S12, and married Eunice Joslyn, who
was also of Scotch lineage. Born in Massachu-
setts, he removed from there to Oneida, N. Y. ,
and later settled near Brockport, Monroe County,
purchasing a farm of four hundred acres in and
adjoining the village. From his laud he platted
a portion of the town. He continued to reside
there until his death, which occurred at sixty
years.

While the family lived in Oneida County,
Abijah, son of Thomas Cagwin, was born, and
he was reared there and in Monroe County,
learning the trades of tanner and shoemaker. For
a time he conducted a tannery at Brockport, but
it burned down in 1834, entailing a total loss.
Having no longer any interests in the east, he
determined to seek a home in the new and grow-
ing west. Coming to Illinois in 1835, he bought
a large tract of land just east of Joliet, on Hick-
ory street, purchasing the same at the land sale
in Chicago. He then returned east and bought
the necessary equipments for a sawmill, which
he shipped to Chicago and thence conveyed by
wagon to Joliet. Building a sawmill, he began
the manufacture of hardwood lumber, and on the
4th of Jul}', 1S36, surrounded by a crowd of
patriotic citizens, who came more than twenty
miles, he sawed the first board used in the build-
ing of one of the first frame houses in Joliet. As
sawmills were scarce, he was successful in the
work, and continued to manufacture lumber there
for fifteen years.

Meantime Mr. Cagwin served eight years as
justice of the peace. At the same time he
bought real estate in Joliet, which he improved
with residences and then sold. At the expira-
tion of his term as justice he was elected county
judge, filling the office for many years. In both
cases he was endorsed and elected by both par-
ties. Later he embarked in the grain and mer-
cantile business on what is now North Chicago,
near Cass street, his being the first business place

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in that section of the city. For man}' years he
continued in the grain trade, at the same time
improving lands and farming. He laid out and
named Cagwin and Scribner streets, the latter
being named in honor of his wife. The property
is still in the family and is handled by Munroe
Brothers. He was an active factor in organizing
the Will County Bank, of which he served as
president until he disposed of his stock, Henry
D. Higinbotham being vice-president, and Ben-
jamin Richardson, cashier. Politically he was
a Democrat, and fraternally a Knight Templar
Mason. In the organization of the Universalist
Church of Joliet he took an active part and con-
tinued to be one of its leading members during
his remaining years. He died Octocer 2, 1890,
when eighty -two years of age.

The wife of Abijah Cagwin was Hannah
Scribner, who was born in Poultney, Vt., a
daughter of Deacon Peter Scribner, an English-
man by birth. On coming to America her father
settled in New Hampshire, but later went to
Vermont, where he engaged in farming and
sheep- raising. When he was ninety-four years
of age he was accidentally killed by a fall from a
tree. His brother, Samuel, settled in New York
City and founded Scribner's Magazine, long one
of the standard periodicals of the country. Mrs.
Cagwin died March 30, 1892, when eighty-four
years of age. Of her eight children we note
the following: Merritt O. is the eldest of the
family; Mrs. Helen Harwood lives in Atlanta,
Ga. ; Mrs. Sarah Barrett makes her home in
Joliet; Thomas P. lives in Milwaukee, Wis.;
Hamden A., a grain merchant, and Nancy, both
died in Joliet; Mrs. Rosa Briggs is living here;
and Abijah, the youngest, who was a member of
the Mississippi squadron, U. S. N., during the
Civil war, is now in California.

The subject of this article was born in Brock-
port, N. Y., May 14, 1828, and was eight years
of age when his father returned east, making the
trip on an Indian pony, and then, with a team
and wagon, brought the family to Illinois via
Canada and Michigan, arriving in Joliet May 8,
1836, after a trip of one month. From the age
often he assisted on the farm and in the mill.

When he was fifteen his father opened a store,
in which he clerked during the next three years.
He then went to Chicago, where he worked for
an uncle, who was an auctioneer, and later trav-
eled for two years. Meantime he purchased
eighty acres of state land at a canal sale, and on
this he began in the stock business. By the pur-
chase of additional property he became the owner
of about four hundred acres lying east of Joliet.
The discovery of gold in California awakened in
Mr. Cagwin's mind a determination to seek the
far west. In 1851 he went to San Francisco via
New York and the Nicaragua route, and taking
his course up the American River engaged in
mining. A year's experience, however, satisfied
him with the life of a miner, and he returned
home via Panama and New York. On arriving
in this county he started in the grain business,
which he followed for four years, and then traded
for twelve hundred acres in Wilton Township.
There he engaged in raising high-grade cattle.
During the war he was serving as township su-
pervisor. It was his desire to enlist in the army,
but could not pass the required medical examin-
ation. Nevertheless, he did all in his power to
advance the Union cause, and donated $10 to
each member of the first company organized in
his vicinity.

Returning to Joliet, Mr. Cagwin purchased a
grain elevator on the canal, which he conducted
with his father. Next he spent three years in
the grain business at Wilmington, after which
he built the White Cloud mill and manufactured
flour. Nine years were also spent in the grain
business in Elwood. Again coming to Joliet, he
bought an elevator on the west side, which was
known as the Jesse elevator. On selling out he
bought a farm on Spring Creek, in Lockport
Township, three miles from Joliet, and engaged in
superintending the management of its one hun-
dred and five acres until 1891, when he returned
to Joliet, leaving the estate in charge of his son,
Harlow. Since his return to the city he has re-
sided on Cass street, in the old home of the Hig-
inbotham family.

Until the first presidential campaign of Abra-
ham Lincoln, Mr. Cagwin was a Democrat, but

6 4

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

since then he has been stanch in his adherence
to Republican principles. He is a demitted mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and in religion is a Universalist. During the
early days, while holding the office of highway
commissioner, he laid out Cass street as a road
and also opened up Washington street. He also
served as collector of Joliet Township and su-
pervisor of Wilton Township. During his term
of service as highway commissioner he made
twelve miles of hard gravel road in the township.
He has ever been active in measures for the bene-
fit of the people. The welfare of Joliet and Will
County is ever uppermost in his mind, and he has
favored every enterprise calculated to promote
their progress. No citizen has shown greater
public spirit than he. Having been so long and
intimately identified with the business interests
of the county, he has witnessed the development
of its commerce, the extension of its influence
and the enlargement of its resources.

On the Higinbotham farm, in January, 1851,
occurred the marriage of Mr. Cagwin and Miss
Ambrosia Higinbotham. They are the parents
of five children, namely: Albert, who is connec-
ted with a tobacco manufacturing business in
Chicago; Mrs. Almeda Pritz, of Pueblo, Colo.;
Nellie, at home; Fred, a business man in Michi-
gan City, Ind.; and Harlow T., who operates the
home farm. Mrs. Cagwin's father, Henry D.
Higinbotham, was born in Otsego Count}', N. Y.,
and, in 1834, when a young man, came to Illi-
nois and entered a large farm, becoming in time
one of the most successful farmers of this county.
In 1854 he established his home at No. ioogCass
street, where he died in 1865, aged fifty-nine
years. He was the only one of four brothers
who came to this county. In many respects his

success was remarkable, for in spite of hardships
and obstacles in earl}- days he accumulated what
was for that time a fortune. Of the Universalist
faith, he was one of the most generous contribu-
tors to the church of that denomination in Joliet.
He was a Knight Templar Mason and in politics
a stanch Democrat.

The marriage of Henry D. Higinbotham uni-
ted him with Miss Rebecca Wheeler, who was
born in New York state. Her father, Samuel
B., was born in New England and removed to
New York, where he worked as a wagon maker
until his death. In 1832, his son, Mansfield,
came to Illinois and settled on a farm in what is
now Will County. The children of Mr. and
Mrs. Higinbotham were seven in number, the
most prominent being Harlow Niles Higin-
botham, of the firm of Marshall Field & Co.,
Chicago. Years ago, on starting out in busi-
ness, he was employed by Potter Palmer and
continued with the latter's successors, Field &
Leiter, as a credit man. In time he purchased
L. Z. Leiter's interest in the business and be-
came a member of the firm. In public affairs he
has also been very active, and is one of Chicago's
best known citizens. At the time of the World's
Fair he held the office of president of the same,
and the remarkable success of his work attracted
world-wide attention. Politically he is a Re-
publican. The other sons and daughters of H.
D. Higinbotham are as follows: Albert, who
served in Scott's Chicago regiment during the
entire Civil war and died in Joliet; Mrs. Ambro-
sia Cagwin; Mrs. Ann Eliza Demmond, of
Joliet; Mrs. Gertrude Leddy, who died in Jo-
liet; Mrs. Ellen Darwin, who also passed away
in this city; and Charles, who is connected with
the Elgin postoffice.

OF iE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

> / r /?

^^frS^^f^

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ANDREW H. SHREFFLER.

G] NDREW H. SHREFFLER. Few lives of
LI Joliet citizens have borne a grander exem-
I I plification of integrity and stability of char-
acter than that of Mr. Shreffler. From the early
history of Will County his name stood out prom-
inently in each era of development and growth.
He was intimately associated with the rise of the
tide of commercial advancement from the cabin
and forest to busy and populous cities and pros-
perous farmers. In the financial world and in
the hearts of his fellow-men alike he held a proud
position. His was a career that knew no such
word as failure. Energy and vitality, coupled
with his innate conception and appreciation of all
that is true and noble, made of the struggling
youth a man fitted to fill a high place in the
world; and such a place he held throughout his
allotted years. When death came he was ready
for the summons, and thus quietly passed into
eternity's joys one of Joliet's most beloved pio-
neers.

The history of the Shreffler famil}' appears in
the sketch of John D. Shreffler. Andrew Hafer
Shreffler was born on a farm near Potter's Mills,
in Center County, Pa., June 9, 1826. He came
to Joliet with his father in May, 1846, and soon
afterward settled in Plain field, where he began to
carve out his dream of a successful career. June
7, 1849, he was married to Elizabeth, second
daughter of Michael Dillman. This estimable
lady died January 23, 1893; of their five children
only one is living, Mrs. Mary E. S. Witwer.

In the spring of 1849 Michael Dillman and his
sons started in Plainfield the first manufacturing
establishment in Will County. In the fall of
1851 Mr. Shreffler entered the employ of the firm

and became interested with them in the manu-
facture of stoves, plows, mowers and other imple-
ments. In the spring of 1863 the business was
transferred to Joliet. The firm name was Dili-
man & Co., the "Company" being Mr. Shreffler.
In 1867 the firm was incorporated under the laws
of the state as the Joliet Manufacturing Co., with
Mr. Shreffler as the first secretary. This office
he filled so creditably and with such foresight of
contingencies that in 1873 he was elected presi-
dent, which position he held from that time until
his death. In 1873 he bought out the interest of
Andrew Dillman and in 1890 that of L. E. Dili-
man, at which time he became the sole owner of
the valuable manufacturing plant.

Though reared in the Evangelical faith Mr.
Shreffler was identified with the Ottawa Street
Methodist Episcopal Church during almost the
entire period of his residence in Joliet. In every
sphere of activity he proved himself to be a man
of sincere and earnest Christian character. His
name was a synonym of integrity and honor. He
was also a man of great energy, to whose enthu-
siasm and determination the success of the manu-
facturing plant was largely due. As one who
contributed effectively to the progress of Joliet,
his name is entitled to a lasting place in the
annals of the city. He died December 28, 1896.

ELEM SENSENIG WITWER. The Joliet
Manufacturing Company, of which Mr.
Witwer is vice-president and manager, is
one of the old-established and successful concerns

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of Joliet. Some time during the '40s it was
started by Michael Dillman in Plainfield, where
agricultural implements were manufactured on a
very small scale. In March of the year 1S63
removal was made to the present site, comprising
four acres on Cass street and Youngs avenue, in
Joliet, where are now large buildings thoroughly
equipped for the various processes of manufac-
turing. In 1867 the company was incorporated.
During the long history of the company its fac-
tory has never been closed, except on the occa-
sion of the annual inventor}-. Employment is
furnished about one hundred skilled laborers.
For years reapers and mowers, plows and corn
shellers were manufactured, but for some time
the manufactures have been restricted to the
Eureka Ironsides corn sheller, the ShiefHer and
the Rural corn shellers, the Original Joliet Cylin-
der corn sheller and Joliet Dustless Cylinder corn
sheller No. 2; also the celebrated line of Pitts and
Cary patent horse power, the firm being now the
only exclusive manufacturers of shellers and
powers in the United States. In January, 1897,
Mrs. Witwer was elected president and treasurer
of the company, and Mr. Witwer vice-president
and manager, and thtse official relations have
continued since. The paid-up capital of the
company reaches $70,000. The business is car-
ried on through jobbers, principally the Kingman
Company, of St. Louis and Des Moines; Avery
Manufacturing Company, of Kansas City; Van
Zaut Hardware and Implement Company, of
Wichita and Hutchinson, Kans. ; Lininger &
Metcalf, of Omaha; Harber Bros., of Blooming-
ton, 111.; and the Shannahan-Wrightson Hard-
ware Company, of Eastou, Md. The products of
the plant are shipped to all parts of the country,
and the reputation gained by the company is un-
excelled for reliability of business transactions
and perfection of machinery.

Mr. Witwer was born in Ashland County,
Ohio, February 26, 1862, and was one of twelve
children, all but three of whom are still living.
There are seven brothers and two sisters, viz.:
John S., a dealer in agricultural implements in
Dallas, Tex., and postmaster there under Presi-
dent Harrison; T. W., who is cashier of the firm

of Studebaker Bros., of Chicago; George M., pri-
vate secretary to J. M. Studebaker; Clem S., of
this sketch; Edward C, superintendent of the
carriage department of Studebaker Bros.' factory
at South Bend, Ind. ; J. F., who represents Stude-
baker Bros, in Ohio, making Columbus his head-
quarters; H. E., secretary and manager of the
Studebaker and Lamb ranch at Kersey, Colo.;
Mrs. Joseph Kopcsay, of South Bend, Ird.; and
Mrs. J. H. Mohler, of Joliet.

The Witwer family originated in Germany,
where they were a sturdy race, inhabiting the two
provinces on the banks of the upper Rhine. On
account of religious and social persecutions they
left their native land and settled in Pennsylvania.
Members of this family were among the first set-
tlers of Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pa.,
whither they went as early as 1730, one year af-
ter the organization of the county. Among the
papers of Rev. George Witwer was found a deed
from William Penn to William Sensenig, bear-
ing date 1734, in which appears the name of
Michael Witwer, an ancestor of our subject.

The father of our subject, Rev. George Wit-
wer, was born in Earl Township, Lancaster
County, August 25, 1824, a son of Isaac Witwer.
During the '50s he removed to Ashland County,
Ohio, where he engaged in the general mercan-
tile business, served as postmaster at Ashland,
and also preached in the Dunkard Church. In
1863 he settled in LaPorte County, Ind., where
he carried on farm pursuits and also engaged in
ministerial work. In 1S67 he went to Missouri
as agent for Studebaker Bros, (his brother-in-
laws), and established an agricultural implement
store at Hamilton, Mo. While living in that
state he preached in his denomination. Return-
ing to Indiana in 188 1 he was connected with
the Studebaker factory in South Bend, and died
in that city in October, 1886, aged sixty-six
years. Until one month before his death he con-
tinued to preach. His wife, who was Elizabeth
Studebaker, was born in Lancaster, Pa., and
makes her home in South Bend. Her father,
John, a native of Pennsylvania, removed to Ash-
land, Ohio, where he followed the wagon-maker's
trade and would have been very successful had

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD

he not lost several thousand dollars by endorsing
a note for a friend. His two oldest sons, Henry
and Clement, started in business with a capital of
$68, and now give employment to more than two
thousand men, the output of their factories being
between seventy-five and eight}' thousand vehi-
cles annually.

Accompanying his parents in their various re-
movals, the subject of this sketch received com-
mon school advantages in the towns where he
lived in boyhood. While clerking in a store in
Hamilton he also herded cattle at odd times for
Dwight & Booth. When fifteen years of age he
was given $500 cash by his employers and was
sent twenty miles on horseback to buy cattle,
which he did, weighing them and paying for
them and then driving them to the nearest rail-
road at Kidder, Mo. From 1879 to 1881 he was
employed as assistant to Studebaker Bros., at
South Bend, Ind. While there he joined the
South Bend Light Guards and continued the
membership at the DePauw University, where he
was a student in 1881-82. On leaving the Uni-
versity he became inspector and buyer in the
lumber department of Studebaker Bros., also
gained some experience as traveling salesman.
In 1883 he went to Dallas, Tex., where he man-
aged the business of his brother, J. S. Two
years later he traveled for Studebaker Bros. , in
Indiana, continuing with the firm until he be-
came interested in the Joliet Manufacturing
Company. He is a member of the National Im-
plement and Vehicle Manufacturers' Association.
At one time he was active in the Business Men's
Association and was offered its presidency, but
declined. Frequently he has been selected to
serve as a delegate to Republican conventions and
as a member of committees; offices of trust have
been offered him, among them that of mayor of
Joliet, but he prefers to devote himself to his bus-
iness affairs, having little taste for official life.
He is connected with the Union Club of Joliet
and the Hamilton Club of Chicago.

The home of Mr. Witwer is an elegant resi-
dence on Cass street. He was married in Joliet,
October 5, 1887, to Miss Mary E. Shreffler,
daughter of Andrew Hafer Shreffler, whose large

financial interests were inherited at his death by
his only surviving child. Mr. and Mrs. Witwer
attend the Ottawa Street Methodist Episcopal
Church, in which Mr. Witwer is a member of the
board of trustees. They are liberal supporters
of all church and benevolent institutions. Their
home is the scene of many social functions, the
pleasure of which is heightened by their courte-
ous hospitality and refined surroundings. They
are the parents of one son, Andrew Hafer Shref-
fler Witwer, born February 21, 1894. Their
daughter, Irene, was born July 17, 1890, and
died September 30, 1891.

NON. EDWIN PORTER, president of the
E. Porter Brewing Company and the E.
Porter & Son's Stone Company, both of
Joliet, and sole proprietor of the Gold King mine
in Cripple Creek, Colo., was born in Granger,
Medina County, Ohio, April 19, 1828. He was
one of the three children forming the family of
Harvey and Harriet (Culbert) Porter, natives of
New York. He comes of patriotic lineage, for
his father was a soldier in the war of 181 2 and
his grandfather Porter served through the entire
seven years of the Revolutionary struggle. He
was educated in common schools and Brooklyn
Academy, and for a time was connected with a
coal business in 1856. The year 1856 found him
in Joliet, where he started in the malting and
brewing business on the Desplaines River. At
first his business was very small, but, being
energetic and judicious, he increased it constantly
though gradually, and it has now become the
largest brewery in the city and one of the largest
in the state. It has a capacity of one hundred
and fifty barrels a day, ninety-five per cent of the
output being beer. Mr. Porter is president of
the company and has a most efficient co-laborer
in Joseph Braun, Jr., secretary and treasurer, in
whose judgment and experience he reposes the
utmost confidence. In 1889 the brewery was re-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

modeled and made first-class in every respect.
The plant covers two blocks and is provided
with all modern improvements. Water is fur-
nished from two artesian wells and is declared by
chemists to be especially adapted for the brew-
ing of beer, the wells being in bed rock, where
no surface water can reach them. On the incor-
poration of the firm in 1893, the name was made
E. Porter Brewing Company, and continues as
such to the present. The work of brewing is in
charge of Henry Leser, who has had experience
with some of the largest breweries in the country
and who has held his present position since
1886.

It is not always that a man can successfully
conduct two enterprises, different in nature and
requiring the exercise of different talents. How-
ever, Mr. Porter has not only been successful as
the head of a large brewery, but he has also built
up an important stone business. In 1883 he be-
came interested in quarrying. Two years later
E. Porter & Son's Stone Company was incor-
porated, with him as its president They have
since operated quarries in the east part of the
city, adjoining the limits, from which shipments
are made to many points. This business is under
the management of Harry E. Porter. In 1895
Mr. Porter bought the Gold King mine on Gold

Hill, in the Cripple Creek district, and has since
been sole proprietor of the same, taking an active
interest in its development.

In Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Porter married Miss
Almena A. Curtis, who was born in that city.
They became the parents of three sons, namely:
Charles and Joseph C, deceased; and Harry, who
is manager of the stone business.

The Democratic party usually receives Mr.
Porter's support. In 1864 he was elected mayor
of Joliet and was again elected in 1865 and 1871.
Under the new city charter he was twice elected
to the mayor's office for two years (in 1879 and
1881) and in 1883 was elected for a term of four
years, his entire service in this position covering
a longer period than that of any other mayor the
city has had. He is a member of the Business
Men's Association. Fraternally he is connected
with Matteson Lodge, A. F. & A. M., in which
he is a past officer. In personal characteristics
he is conservative, unassuming and reserved;
deliberate in forming his judgment, but not easily
changed when once a course of action is decided
upon; devoted to his business and finding his
keenest enjoyment in the management of large
financial enterprises; yet withal, to those who
know him well, a genial companion and warm
friend.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

C, u^C^CU^

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

CHRISTOPHER C. ROBINSON.

EHRISTOPHER C. ROBINSON, deceased,
was during his active years one of Lockport's
most successful citizens. He was recognized
as a man of unusual ability as a financier. Quick
to see an opportunity for a:i advantageous invest-
ment, he was equally quick to avail himself of it.
He had many and varied interests, all of which,
with scarce^- an exception, proved a source of
profit to him. Coming to Lockport at the time
when everything was booming, he furnished the
contractors on the canal with beef and also dealt
in stock. At different times he bought property
in Chicago and Lockport, the rise in the value of
which greatly enhanced his wealth. With no
desire for personal display, he was economical
and even frugal in his life, but free from a spirit
of parsimony.

In Chelsea, Vt. , where he was born March 28,
1812, Mr. Robinson passed the years of his youth,
meantime learning the machinist's trade. In
1836 he came to Lockport, after which he worked
very little at his trade, finding other enterprises
that were more profitable. He made the first
drill that was used on the Illinois and Michigan
canal. In 1857, in partnership with A. S. An-
derson, he bought a farm just across the line in
Dupage County, and for seven years made his
home on that place, after which he returned to
Lockport and continued to reside here until his
death, February 22, 1872, at the age of about
sixty years. While he did not care for office, he
never failed to vote the Republican ticket at elec-
tions and was always interested in the success of
his party. Though not identified with any de-
nomination, he was a believer in the Christian
religion and aided in works of a charitable and
religious nature.

The marriage of Mr. Robinson, April 22, 1857,
united him with Miss Lydia A. Turner, who was
born in Ashtabula, Ohio, and came to Lockport
in girlhood, since which time she has made her
home in or near this place. No children were
born of her marriage to Mr. Robinson, but they
adopted a daughter, Hettie C, who married
Fred A. Bartlett, and resides in a house adjoin-
ing the one occupied by Mrs. Robinson in Lock-
port, and whose love and affection have bright-
ened the home life of Mrs. Robinson.

The home life of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson was
ideal, and much of the success of his life was due
to the wise counsels of his wife, who was a true
helpmeet. His Christianity was shown by help-
ing his fellow-men, regardless of their social posi-
tion or creed. The inner life is the real life of
any man, and those who knew Mr. Robinson best
admired and honored him most.

3OHN P. PATTERSON, secretary, treasurer
and manager of the Dupage Valley creamery
in Wheatland Township, was born in Eng-
land, March 12, 1855, a son of Thomas and Ag-
nes (Palmer) Patterson. His father, a native of
Scotland, moved to England when thirty years
of age and followed the carpenter's trade at Man-
chester. In 1858 he crossed the ocean to Amer-
ica, coming direct to Will County and buying
sixty acres in Wheatland Township, where his
sou's home now is. Here he followed farming
and carpentering. He built a number of bridges,
as well as several farm houses, including the large

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

residence of Thomas Clow. Politically he favored
Republican principles. For many years he held
office as a school director. He was reared in the
United Presbyterian faith and always held mem-
bership with that church. By prudence, econo-
my and good judgment he accumulated one hun-
dred and twenty acres, bearing excellent improve-
ments. He died October 24, 1878, when fifty-six
years of age. Of his five children two died in
infancy. Those living are John P., Agnes (Mrs.
McPherson) and Elizabeth.

Ever since he was three years of age our sub-
ject has lived in Illinois. He was reared in this
township and received his education in its
schools. Under his father's supervision he gained
a thorough knowledge of farm work. Unlike
many young men, he had no desire to leave
home and seek his fortune among strangers, but
was content to remain in the place familiar to
him from early childhood. On his father's death
he took charge of the homestead, engaging in
general farming and stock-raising. He was one
of the original stockholders of the creamery and
one of the commissioners who secured its charter.
The company was organized in Ma}', 1894, and
the creamery was started August 15 of the same
year, with a capital stock of $9,750. The enter-
prise has proved a most profitable one and has
paid its projectors large dividends. A large,
well-equipped building is utilized for a creamery.
For the year there is an average daily receipt of
eighteen thousand pounds of milk. The most of
the butter is sent to the Fox River Butter Com-
pany at Aurora. The quality of the dairy prod-
uct is exceptionally fine and has given invariable
satisfaction. This gratifying result is almost
wholly due to Mr. Patterson's judicious manage-
ment. Upon the formation of the company he
was chosen secretary and treasurer and one year
later was made manager, a position that he has
since filled to the satisfaction of all the stock-
holders.

Politically Mr. Patterson is a Republican. He
has served as a delegate to almost every county
Republican convention since he was twenty-one
years of age. For six years he held office as jus-
tice of the peace and for a similar period served as

highway commissioner. February 20, 1886, he
married Emma, daughter of Jacob Matter, and a
sister of Elton E. Matter, of Wheatland Town-
ship. To their marriage seven children were
born, namely: Ralph; Sterling: Bernice, deceased;
Rodger, deceased; Gladys; James and Homer.

ILLIAM GOUGAR, one of the old settlers
of New Lenox Township, was born in
Pickaway Count}-, Ohio, a son of William
and Catherine (Abel) Gougar. His paternal
grandfather was born in Germany and emigrated
from there to Pennsylvania, settling in Berks
County, where he developed a farm and remained
until his death. His two brothers came with
him; one settled in Virginia and the other in
Kentucky. From Berks County William Gou-
gar, Sr., and his wife removed to Pickaway
County, Ohio, in 1S18, the year of their son's
birth. They bought a farm which the father
began to develop, but after four years he sold out,
removing to Vermilion County, Ind. In 1831 he
brought his family to Will County, 111. (accom-
panied by his father) , and purchased a tract of
raw prairie on Hickory Creek. At once he began
the task of improving the property, and from time
to time he added to his holdings until, when he
died, he was the owner of three hundred and
twenty acres, where he engaged in farming and
stock-raising. For years his home was in a log
cabin destitute of the improvements and furnish-
ings of our modern residences, but in later days
he erected a more commodious house. For many
years Nicholas Gougar was postmaster at the old
Gougar homestead, which office has since been
transferred to Joliet.

On the Democratic ticket William Gougar, Sr. ,
was elected to various township offices, including
that of commissioner, which he held for several
years. He was also a member of the school
board of his district. In the division of Will
from Cook County he took an active part, as well
as in other important movements of early days.

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

He had been reared in the faith of the German
Lutheran Church, and often those of similar belief
met at his home for religious worship, there being
no organized church of the denomination in the
vicinity. He was spared to attain eighty years
of age, and passed away in i86r. His wife, who
was born in Pennsylvania, died at the Will
County homestead in 1854, at the age of fifty-six
years. They were the parents of eleven children,
seven of whom are living, namely: John, the
eldest, who lives in New Lenox Township and is
now almost ninety years of age; Jacob, of Kan-
kakee County; Daniel, whose home is in Joliet;
William; Lewis and Joseph E. (twins), the for-
mer of Denver, Colo., the latter of this county;
and Eliza, wife of William Wilson.

When it is remembered that the boyhood days
of our subject, William Gougar, were passed in
new and unsettled sections of the country, where
schools had not yet been introduced, it can be
readily understood that he had no advantages for
obtaining an education. When he was fourteen
yearsof age he accompanied numerous Will Coun-
ty men into the Black Hawk war, spending several
months on the field of warfare, enduring many
hardships and privations. His brothers, Daniel
and Nicholas, were members of the militia in the
Black Hawk war. On his return home he assisted
his father on the farm. In 1850 he made a trip
with four mule teams to the gold fields of Califor-
nia, where he remained for three years, meeting
with fair success as a miner. In 1853 he came
back to Will County. The following year he
purchased a farm one mile west of New Lenox
and there he resided until 1891, engaging in
stock-raising and general farming. In 1891 he
bought a home in New Lenox and retired from
active labors, having met with an accident that
disabled him for hard work. Though he began
with nothing he now owns five hundred and thirty
acres of good laud.

No citizen is more interested in the progress of
the township than is Mr. Gougar. He remem-
bers the days when settlers were few, and even
the most sanguine never hoped for a condition of
prosperity such as the present decade has wit-
nessed. When Indians were numerous and hos-

tile, on one occasion they drove the family from
home, and they remained in the Wabash country
until the fall of 1832, when they came back to
Will County. He was a charter member of the
Grange and aided in its organization. In politics
a Democrat, he served as supervisor for one term
and as school director for several terms, and has
aided in the erection of schoolhouses and other
public buildings. By his marriage, in 1859, to
Clarissa, daughter of Baldwin Hawkins, of Kan-
kakee County, 111., he has three children: Will-
iam Joel, who has successfully engaged in farm-
ing, Helen and Frank.

ROBERT MILNE, who was a pioneer of
Lockport, was one of the first to bring
thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle into this lo-
cality, and was a man of great energy of charac-
ter and kindness of heart. He was of Scotch
birth, born February 14, 1805, and grew to man-
hood in his native country, where he learned and
followed the stone-mason's trade. When thirty
years of age he crossed the ocean to Canada,
where he remained for a few months. About
1836 he went to Chicago, where he had contracts
for putting the locks on the Illinois and Michigan
canal. On completing the work he returned to
Canada, and formed a partnership with a con-
tractor, the two opening up work on the Wellaud
canal. Returning to Lockport he took the con-
tract for putting in the locks near here, and in
this way he was led to establish his home here.
For several years he operated and managed a
planing and saw mill, and upon selling out he
purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres,
a part of which now lies in the city of Lockport.
Turning his attention to the improvement of
the property, he continued in agricultural pur-
suits until his death. He was a very progressive
man, and was a leader in introducing Shorthorn
cattle into this county, going to Scotland for the
purpose of purchasing a number of thorough-
breds.

7 6

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

December 31, 1846, Mr. Milne married Miss
Isabel Maitland, who was born and educated
in Aberdeen, Scotland. At the age of sixteen
years, accompanied by her two sisters, she
landed in America, proceeding at once to Chi-
cago, where she made her home until the time
of her marriage. To their marriage nine
children were born; of these we note the fol-
lowing: William, who was for twenty years a
clerk and collector in the canal office, is now en-
gaged in the manufacture of umbrellas and canes
in New York City; Jennie is the widow of John
M. Frowe, ofEvanston, 111.; Robert is extensive-
ly engaged in the hay business at Baxter Springs,
Kans. ; Isabel is the wife of John I. Rice, of Chi-
cago; Agnes M. is the wife of Henry D. Baker,
of Evanston; Margaret M. married Charles A.
Ewen and they reside with her mother; Georgia-
ua died at thirty years of age; James A. has
charge of the homestead; and Frank M. is en-
gaged in business in Chicago.

For many years Mr. Milne was a deacon in the
Congregational Church. His family also took
an interest in the work of that church, and his
wife is still one of its most faithful members.
For eight years he served as a commissioner on
the canal. While he never attained wealth, he
accumulated a competency, in spite of many ob-
stacles that beset him; and at the time of his
death he left an improved farm for his widow
and children. He passed from earth November
2, 1892, after a useful and successful life, and was
followed to his grave by the respect of the many
acquaintances he had made after coming to this
county.

C|OHN D. SHREFFLER. During the more
I than fifty years that Mr. Shreffler has made
Q) his home in this county he has gained a
wide acquaintance and a high standing among
its citizens. In former years his business inter-
ests required his presence in other counties and
states much of the time, yet he always kept in
touch with affairs in his home neighborhood, and

gave his influence in behalf of measures for the
benefit of the people. Though now in the twi-
light of his useful life, he is still remarkably
active and retains his interest in matters relating
to the welfare of the state and nation. He has
witnessed with pride the gradual growth of the
county, the introduction of railroads, telegraph
and telephone lines, the founding of villages and
the improvement of valuable farms from the
broad-stretching prairie, and in all of this work
of development he has borne no insignificant
part. He has not sought positions of an official
nature, preferring the part of a private citizen,
whose duties he has at all times striven to fill;
but, though not an office-seeker nor a politician,
he consented, at the request of the voters of his
section, to hold the office of assessor as well as a
number of village offices.

The Shreffler family has been identified with
American history for at least four generations,
having come from Germany in an early da}'.
Henry Slireffler, who was a native of Pennsyl-
vania, served in the Revolutionary war, and as a
result of the exposure and sufferings of those
memorable years, lost his eyesight. Among his
four sons and one daughter was a son, Daniel,
who was educated in subscription schools and
under his father, learned the weaver's trade, be-
sides which he engaged in farming. He was a
zealous worker in the Evangelical Association
and often officiated as a local preacher in that
denomination. Politically' he was a Democrat.
By his marriage to Catherine Daubermau he had
six children, of whom one son and three daugh-
ters are deceased, the survivors being John D.
and Mrs. Rebecca Hahn, both of this county.

In Center County, Pa., John D. Shreffler was
born in 18 17. Reared on a farm, he early be-
came familiar with that occupation. In the spring
of 1846 he came to Illinois and took up his resi-
dence in Will County, bringing with him his
bride, who was Sarah A. Touner, of Pennsyl-
vania. After a time he became connected with
C. Aultman & Co., of Akron, Ohio, as their
representative in Illinois, Wisconsin and the
states west, for the sale of the Buckeye reaper
and the Sweepstakes thresher. He was given

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

charge of the appointing and supervision of local
agents and also made all collections for the firm
in his district. Some years later the business
was divided, and he was given charge of the
reaper and mower department. He continued
with the company for ten years, meantime travel-
ing through every section of Illinois and also
visiting other states. Through his energy and
perseverance a large business was built up. Sup-
plies were distributed from Chicago to the vari-
ous points, as ordered. During the fall of each
year he visited count}' fairs, exhibiting the im-
plements for which he was agent. However,
the business required him to be away from home
so much of the time that he became dissatisfied
and determined to retire from it. Settling up his
accounts, he turned his attention to the manage-
ment of his landed interests in Will County.
His farm was located in the southern part of the
village of Plainfield, and all but ninety-one acres
of the quarter section was within the village
limits; a portion of the place has since been platted
in town lots and sold. Besides the buying and
selling of land, he erected a number of business
buildings and several residences, which he rents.
He was also contractor in the building of one of
the former Plainfield schoolhouses. He has in-
vested largely in both improved and unimproved
real estate, and has held the most of what he has
bought.

Since the time of John C. Fremont's presi-
dential campaign, Mr. ShrefHer has been a Re-
publican. Fraternally he is connected with Plain-
field Lodge, A. F. & A. M. When a young man
he united with the Methodist Church and he has
since been an active worker in the denomination,
being one of the leading supporters of the con-
gregation at Plainfield. He has aided in the
erection of two edifices in this place, the second
of which is the finest ever built here, being a
stone structure that was built at a cost of $18,000.
As chairman of the building committee, the re-
sponsibility of the work fell largely upon him,
and he gave not only of his time, but also very
liberally of his means. He has held the various of-
fices in the church and is now serving as a
steward and trustee. In former years he also

held the office of Sunday-school superintendent.
Not only religious, but all worth} 7 charitable
movements, have received his encouragement
and aid. No worthy object of charity ever ap-
pealed to him in vain for help; yet, while he has
been a constant giver, he has done it so quietly
and unostentatiously that it may be truly said of
him the right hand knew not what the left hand
did. Having no children of his own, it has been
one of his pleasures to help the children of
others, and he is exceedingly popular among the
little ones of his neighborhood. As one of the
early residents of the county, and a man whose
energies have been devoted to the development
of its agricultural resources, his name well de-
serves mention in this work.

EWIS F. GOUGAR, a prominent farmer of
It New Lenox Township, was born November
l_J 15, 1852, upon the farm where he still lives.
He is a son of John Gougar, who was born in
Montour County, Pa., March 20, 1810, a son of
William and Catherine (Abel) Gougar, reference
to whom is made in the sketch of William
Gougar on another page of this volume. The
family were pioneers of Ohio, where, in 18 18, the
grandfather in one day, beginning before sunrise
and finishing about four o'clock in the afternoon,
cut and shocked forty acres with a hand sickle.
The great-great-grandmother was killed by In-
dians in Pennsylvania and her two daughters
were taken prisoners. Several years later one of
the daughters returned home, but the other was
never heard of again.

At the time the family moved from Pennsyl-
vania to Ohio John Gougar was eight years of
age. September 10, 1830, he came to Illinois
and settled in what is now New Lenox Township,
Will County (then Cook County), where he pur-
chased one hundred and sixty acres of govern-
ment land at $1.25 an acre. Building a log
cabin, he began the task of clearing and im-
proving the land. In 1831 his parents joined

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

him here. Throughout his entire active life he
continued to manage the same property. During
the Black Hawk war he was a member of the
home guard, which was subject to call at any
time. He is still living on the old homestead,
but for years has been retired from active labors.
In spite of his advanced years he takes an intelli-
gent interest in public affairs and retains his
mental and physical faculties to a large degree.
All of his active life was passed on the frontier.
When he went to Ohio in 1818 that state was still
undeveloped and comparatively unsettled, and for
many years after he came to Illinois the sur-
roundings were those of the frontier. In an
early day, when he was cutting wheat with an
old-fashioned hand sickle, by some accident he
cut the little finger of his left hand, and the scar
may still be seen. On the site of the farm was
at one time an Indian cemetery, on which was to
be seen a pole bearing a white flag. His son,
Lewis F. , found many Indian relics on the farm,
and to these he has added by purchase till now
he has a fine collection. When the treaty was
made by which the Indians were removed from
this locality, before departing they came to the
cemetery for the last time and observed in due
form all of their ceremonies of mourning. In
1883, when a barn was built on the farm, several
Indian relics were found.

John Gougaris a Democrat in national political
issues, but in his township affairs he votes for the
best man, regardless of party. He is a pioneer
of the old type and will long be remembeied by
the descendants of the pioneers as a kind-hearted,
honest man. To-day he is one of the few sur-
viving members of the early pioneers who laid
the foundation for the great state of Illinois.

In 1849 John Gougar married Mary Ann
Miller, who was born in Pennsylvania and died
on the homestead January 29, 1896, at the age of
eighty-three years. Her sister, Mrs. Polly
Williams, who resided with her, died at the age
of eighty-eight. Lewis F. Gougar, who was the
only child of his parents, has been a lifelong resi-
dent of this county, and was educated in the
common schools here and in Englewood high
school. When his father, owing to advancing

years, retired from the active management of the
home place, he succeeded to it, and has since
made a number of important improvements. He
is the owner of three hundred and forty acres, on
which he engages in raising stock and farm pro-
duce. Politically he is a Democrat in national
issues and in local matters is independent. For
several years he has served as school director and
road master. In religion he is an Episcopalian.
His marriage, May 14, 1891, united him with Miss
Gertrude Richards, daughter of Daniel and Al-
mira (Cooley) Richards, now of Jackson Town-
ship, this county. They have two children,
Davis R. and Mary Almira, the latter named
after her two grandmothers.

@ELAH PERKINS NORTH was born at
?\ Monroe Falls, Ohio, August 21, 1842. He
\~/ was educated at Valparaiso College, at Val-
paraiso, Ind., and in early life learned the mill-
er's trade at that place, following the occupation
there for six years. While working as a miller
he enlisted in the Union army, in August, 1862,
becoming a member of the marine artillery at
Chicago, 111. It was the original plan to assign
the artillery to the Mississippi River marine gun-
boats, but a change was made and they were sent
to Roanoke Island, thence to Newbern, N. C,
and mustered out in 1863. After some months
in Valparaiso, the following year Mr. North was
drafted into service and entered the Seventeenth
Indiana Mounted Infantry, a part of General
Wilson's cavalry corps, and in this he served un-
til the close of the war. While he was serving in
the quartermaster's department at Macon, Ga.,
news of the close of the rebellion reached him.
He was mustered out of the service and honora-
bly discharged.

Returning to Valparaiso Mr. North resumed
work as a miller. In 1867 he moved to Madison,
Wis. , wmere he became a retail grocer. During
his residence there he married, at Lockport, 111.,
March 31, 1S6S, Miss Mary L. Hawley, daughter

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of Warren Hawley, who settled in Loekport
Township, this county, in 1835. While he was
in the Normal school at Valparaiso he made the
acquaintance of Miss Hawley, who was a student
in that institution. After their marriage they
settled in Madison. After the death of Mrs.
North's mother they came to Loekport Township
and settled on the old Hawley homestead, caring
for Warren Hawley until his death, July 1, 1898,
at the age of eighty-six years.

Since his removal to Loekport Township Mr.
North has been connected with its farm interests.
Being an industrious and capable farmer, and
ably assisted by his wife, he was prospered. In
1895 he was enabled to buy the old Hawley
homestead of eighty-eight acres, which is one of
the best in the township. Mrs. North was born
on this place, and its associations, extending back
to her earliest recollections, are dear to her. She
is a well-educated lady and for a number of years
before her marriage taught in Michigan and Illi-
nois, proving an efficient educator. She is one
of the highly esteemed ladies of the township.

Fraternally Mr. North is connected with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has
taken a warm interest in the work of the Repub-
lican party. The good roads in his district and
township are largely due to his energy and per-
severance, during the nine years that he filled
the office of highway commissioner. In educa-
tional matters he has been actively interested.
For twenty- one years he was a member of the
board of school directors, during which time he
did much to advance the cause of education. The
main responsibility of managing the school fell
upon him while he was a director, and to his
credit it may be said that he discharged every
duty faithfully and well.

Mr. and Mrs. North became the parents of six
children. Those living are: John E., a physician
and surgeon, married and living at Rock Rapids,
Iowa; William W., attorney at Loekport, 111. ;
Frank E. and Selah H., at home on the farm.
Sarah L-, an only daughter, died at the age of
sixteen years, January 13, 1889, and an infant
son died when a few weeks old.

Tracing the history of the North family from

the time of its settlement in America, the follow-
ing is the genealogical record:

John North left England for America in 1635
at the age of twenty. In 165311c settled in Farm-
iugton, Conn., and purchased a lot near the
north end of Farmington street, on which he
lived. He was a member of the church in that
town. He died in 1690, leaving nine children,
viz.: John, Samuel, Mary, James, Thomas, Sarah,
Nathaniel, Lydia and Joseph.

Thomas North was born in 1649. He settled
in the town of Avon, Conn. He was a soldier
in the Indian war, for his services in which he
received a grant of land. He had ten children,
viz.: John, Thomas, Hannah, Nathaniel, Mary,
Joseph, Rebeckah, Lydia, Sarah and Ebenezer.
He died in 1712.

Thomas North, Jr., lived in Kensington, Conn.
He was one of the founders of the church and was
a man of wealth and influence. His eight chil-
dren were Martha, Isaac, Thomas, James, Sarah,
Samuel, Joseph and Hannah.

Isaac North was born in 1703. He was a dea-
con in the church at Kensington. He died in 17S8.
His children, numbering eight, were named Isaac,
Mary, Jedediah, Lydia, Samuel, Seth, Ruth and
Lethe.

Jedediah North was born in 1734, lived in Ber-
lin and was a member of the church at that place.
He married Sarah Wilcox and had eleven chil-
dren, viz.: Asa, Levi, David, Simeon, Stephen,
Sarah, Olive, Patience, Noah, Lydia and Hannah.
He died in 1816.

Simeon North was born July 13, 1765. He
lived first in Berlin, then in Middletown, Conn.
He was a manufacturer of arms for the United
States Government. In 1786 he married Lucy
Savage, who died in 181 1. He afterward mar-
ried Lydia Huntington (a daughter of Rev.
Enoch Huntington, of Middletown, Conn.), who
died in 1840. He had nine children, viz.:
Reuben, James, Alvin, Selah, Elizabeth, Lucetta,
Simeon, Nancy and Lydia. He died August 25,
1852.

Selah North was born at Berlin, Conn., in
1 79 1. He was killed by lightning in his own
farm house at Monroe Falls, Ohio, August 13,

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1850. He had thirteen children, viz. : Nancy,
Julia, Egbert, George, John, Phillip, Charles,
Sarah, Newell, Charlotte, Ellen, Bessie and
Selah P. (the subject of this sketch), the four last
mentioned by his second wife, whose maiden
name was Sarah Perkins, and who died March 2,
1872, aged seventy two years.

YMAN W. FARNAM, who owns and oc-
I C cupies a pleasant little homestead of ten
l J acres near the village of Crete, was born in
Franklin County, Mass., January 14, 1834. His
father, William, a native of Massachusetts, born
March 1, 1804, spent his entire life on a farm in
that state, and died there July 7, 1869. Politi-
cally he voted with the Democrats until the anti-
slavery agitation arose, when he sided with the
Republicans, and always after i860 voted the
Republican ticket. He was a son of Heman and
Mary (Field) Farnam, natives of Massachusetts.
The former, born on Christmas day of 1761, was
a fur trader and dealer, bringing his furs to Bos-
ton for sale. He died November 8, 1847. His
wife was born March 30, 1764, and died August
12, 1846. The mother of our subject was Orpha
Hartwell, born in Massachusetts, November 26,
1805, and there deceased, April 17, 1835, at less
than thirty years of age. In religion she was a
Baptist. She was a daughter of Ward Hartwell,
a New Englander.

The subject of this sketch was the only child
of his parents. He remained on the home farm
until he was twenty, when he left home and se-
cured work in a cutlery factory. After three
years in the factory he came west in 1858, and
secured work on a farm in Bureau County, 111.
Nine months later he went to Kane County, and
later worked on farms in Christian and Morgan
Counties, this state. In i860 he came to Crete

and rented a farm near the village. During the
Civil war he was an enthusiastic Union supporter.
September 26, 1S64, he enlisted in Company F,
Eighth Illinois Cavalry, with which he went to
the front and in which he served, mostly on
guard duty, in Maryland and Virginia. At the
close of the war he returned to this county and
for two years rented a farm in Richland Town-
ship. From there he came back to Crete Town-
ship and bought a part of his father-in-law's
farm, where he has since made his home.

August 20, 1 86 1, Mr. Farnam married Miss
Sarah M. Haner, who was born near Syracuse,
N. Y., May 10, 1835, a daughter of Henry and
Catherine (Mogg) Haner, natives of Schoharie
County, N. Y. Her father, who was born April
20, 1S11, farmed in the east until September,
1851, when he brought his family to this county,
settling on a farm near Crete. In 1S78 he moved
to Missouri and there died August 2, 1S79. His
wife was born October 31, 1815, and died Feb-
ruary 19,1885. They were the parents of eleven
children, seven of whom are still living. Mrs.
Farnam was sixteen years of age when the fam-
ily settled in Crete Township. Prior to this she
had received a fair education in New York. She
is an estimable lady, and has many friends among
the people of the township where from girlhood
she has made her home. Of her three children
one died in infancy; Lillian and Mary make their
home with their parents and are popular and active
in the work of the Congregational Church at
Crete. For some years Miss Lillian has been a
successful teacher in the Chicago schools, where
her ability has won for her recognition among
the teachers of that city.

Mr. Farnam has never forgotten his days of
active service in the army, and often calls those
times to mind when in the companionship of the
members of Chicago Heights Post No. 759,
G. A. R., to which he belongs; or when he meets
other veterans of that long and fierce struggle.

fU?0?~i'

07-uy?r] a-

WW*" « >^°' s

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

CHARLES CLAYBORN SMITH

EHARLES CLAYBORN SMITH. The life
of Mr. Smith was for years inseparably
associated with the history of this county,
where he made his home from June, 1835, until
his death, January 27, 1892. Through his en-
ergy of disposition and uprightness of character
he won a competency and gained a high name
among his associates. As a farmer, he was in-
dustrious and intelligent; as a citizen, public-
spirited; as a business man, keen and quick, and
in his home relations devoted and affectionate.
Coming to the county while it was still a part of
Cook County and contained few people, he wit-
nessed its remarkable growth and the develop-
ment of its resources, and, through his keen fore-
sight, accumulated a valuable property, which
has increased steadily in its worth. He was thus
able to leave his family in comfortable circum-
stances, besides giving each of his children a
good start in the world.

Mr. Smith was born in Jefferson County,
Tenn., May 2, iSrS, a son of Barton and Faithy
(Moore) Smith, who were the children of Revolu-
tionary soldiers and of English descent. Barton
Smith was the youngest of a family of six sons
and three daughters. All of his brothers were
present with General Jackson at the battle of
Horse Shoe Bend and he had started to join the
troops, but was taken back home by friends after
he had gone six hundred miles or more. From
Tennessee he removed to Fountain County, Ind.,
after his marriage, and in 1835 brought his
family to Illinois, buying a lot in Joliet. While
he carried on a farm, he continued to make his
home in Joliet until his death in 1862. He

served as police magistrate and deputy county
collector. His wife survived him thirteen years.
They had four children, all now deceased.

When the family came to this county Charles
C. Smith was seventeen years of age. He then
started out as a peddler, making regular trips
through Cook, Iroquois, Vermilion and Will
Counties, and trading his goods for butter, eggs,
ginseng root, hides, tallow, cattle, etc. After
nine years as a peddler he rented a farm, which
he cultivated in the ensuing years. In 1850 he
bought the place, which then consisted of one
hundred and forty acres. Afterward he added to
his property until he owned twenty-nine hundred
and fifty acres of land, some within the boundary
of Wilmington Township. For eight years he
had a contract to furnish the state penitentiary
with beef, and during one year of this time the
value of the meat furnished was $35,000.

About the time that he purchased his farm
Mr. Smith established -a home of his own. He
was married July 24, 1850, to Miss Coriuza
Burr, daughter of Wareham Bissell and Nancy
(Cummings) Burr. Her father, who was a direct
descendant of Aaron Burr, was born October 25,
1795, and died September 6, 1861. He was
reared near Jamestown, N. Y. , and for two years
engaged in teaching school there. September
12, 1822, he married Miss Cummings and re-
moved to Indiana, remaining near Shelbyville
until 1833. His next removal brought him to
Will County, where he settled eight miles up the
river from Wilmington. He came in the spring
just after the Sauk war and his family followed
him in the fall. Buying government land, he

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

settled down to farming and also taught for some
years in the district schools, having previously
been a prominent educator in Indiana. Later he
sold his place and removed to Wilmington, where
he made his home for five years. From there he
went to Jackson Grove and bought land, where
he spent the remaining years of his life. He was
a consistent member of the Baptist Church and a
man who stood high in his community. His
father, Bissell Burr, born December 14, 1771,
was a son of Nathaniel Burr, whose father, John,
(born in 1670) was a son of Samuel Burr. The
latter, a native of England, was made a freeman
in Hartford, Conn., in May, 165S. His father,
Benjamin Burr, was the founder of this branch of
the family in America. He was one of the
original settlers of Hartford, Conn., in 1635.
His name, in the land division of Hartford in
1639 as an original proprietor and settler, is the
first evidence we have of his presence in America,
but as the first settlers of Hartford were collected
from Watertown, Newton and other places near
Boston, it is supposed that he was in Massachu-
setts some time before removing to Hartford. He
may have been among the eight hundred who
came to America with the Winthrop fleet in
June, 1630. He died in Hartford March 30,
16S1. He had been made a freeman in 1658.

The mother of Mrs. Smith was a daughter of
William and Sarah (Hunt) Cummings, of North
Carolina families. Her parents came from the
south to Indiana and afterward settled in Mis-
souri, where they died. * Ten children were born
to the union of C. C. Smith and Miss Burr. Of
these Edgar Francis died in infancy and Emma
J., Mrs. Herman H. Uuland, is also deceased.
Barton, the oldest of the family, is a member of
the firm of Smith & Baker, corporation attorneys,
of Toledo, Ohio; he is one of the prominent
Masons of Ohio and has held the highest offices
in his lodge, chapter and conimandery. William
T. , the second son, is a coal mine operator in
Keumare, N. D. Ella May is the wife of W. B.
Douglas, of St. Paul, one of the most prominent
public men in Minnesota, for two terms a member
of the state legislature and now attorney-general
of the state. Charles W., of Joliet, is engaged

in the cattle business. Lucy M. is the wife of
Frank A. Miller, an expert machinist of Osh-
kosh, Wis. Cora A. is the wife of Dr. Henry F.
Hicks, a prominent dentist of Joliet; Eva S. is
the wife of Proman W. Smith, a farmer of Chan-
nahon Township; and Floyd H. resides with his
mother on the old homestead, the cultivation of
which he superintends. Of the large family who
once were sheltered by the old home, he alone re-
mains. He was born here June 6, 1874, and
acquired his education in the common schools and
Joliet high school. After the estate was settled
he began the supervision of six hundred and
thirty acres that fell to his lot. He is now 7 one
of the progressive farmers of Channahon Town-
ship and is very popular with the young people
of this section. Like his father he is a Demo-
crat politically. Like him, too, he takes an
interest in educational work and is a member of
the school board. Fraternally he is connected
with Channahon Lodge No. 162, A. F. & A. M.:
Kalon Camp No. 4282, Modern Woodmen of
America; and Channahon Lodge No. 713, Court
of Honor.

ETON E. MATTER is one of the prosper-
V) ous and popular farmers of Wheatland
__ Township, and owns one hundred and four
acres of highly cultivated land, bearing excellent
improvements. While he oversees his farm witli
a careful eye, his attention is not limited to farm-
ing. He was one of the original stockholders of
the Dupage Valley creamery, in which he served
as a director for three years. Since the organi-
zation of the Hoddam Threshing Company he
has held office as its secretary and treasurer. In
connection with general farming he carries on
dairying, and, though as yet this work is con-
ducted on a small scale, he has found it a profit-
able adjunct of farming. In local politics he is
an active Republican. In 1894 he was elected
collector of the township and in 1S99 was chosen
to act as commissioner, since which time he has
been treasurer of the board.

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Iu the township where he now lives Mr. Mat-
ter was born January 13, 1862. His father,
Jacob, a native of Pennsylvania, learned the shoe-
maker's trade in youth, and later, in connection
with that occupation, he engaged in lumbering
and rafting logs. In 1844 he came west to Illi-
nois. For a time he cultivated a rented farm
near Naperville. Later he took up eighty acres
of government land on section 4, Wheatland
Township, Will County, which he improved and
on which he made his home until 1869. He then
sold the place to his oldest son and went to Auro-
ra, 111., where he conducted a grocery business.
Soon, however, he returned to farming, purchas-
ing the farm now owned by our subject. In the
fall of 1886 he moved from this place to Naper-
ville, and there his last years were spent. Dur-
ing his early residence in this township he served
as collector. He was a Republican, but not ac-
tive in politics. The Evangelical Church num-
bered him among its earnest members and he
took a warm interest in its work. At one time
he owned one hundred and sixty acres, but dis-
posed of a part of this, so that at his death his
possessions had been reduced to one hundred
acres. His wife, who was Nancy Milliren, of
Pennsylvania, is living in Naperville and is now
eighty-two years of age. Of their eleven chil-
dren one died in infancy; Abraham is a farmer in
Dupage County, this state; Abbie is the wife of
D. B. Givler, of Naperville; Mary is the wife of
Rev. J. H. Yage, treasurer of Northwestern Col-
lege, an Evangelical institution in Naperville;
Isaac lives in Aurora; Ella married Prof. L. M.
Umbach, of Northwestern College; Henry J. is
engaged in railroading and makes Aurora his
home; Sarah is the wife of G. S. Bartholomew,
of Rockford, 111. ; Emma married John P. Patter-
son; Newton E. is editor of the Wheaton Illinois-
an, at Wheaton, 111.

The subject of this sketch was six years of age
when his parents moved to Aurora. His educa-
tion was obtained principally in the schools of
that city. He was fourteen when the family re-
turned to this township. Since then he has made
his home on his present farm. March 18, 1886,
he married Miss Emma Stark, a native of Wheat-

land Township, and daughter of Jacob Stark,
now living retired in Naperville. Mr. and Mrs.
Matter have one son, Robert Earl, who was born
July 20, 1 89 1. Fraternally our subject is con-
nected with the Modern Woodmen of America.
While he is not connected with any denomina-
tion, his sympathies are with the Evangelical
Church, to which his wife belongs and in which
faith he was reared.

KJjKHEMIAH H. CUTTER. For a period of
Y I sixty-three years the life of Mr. Cutter was
I U) associated with the growth and progress of
Joliet. Coming to this city in 1834 he found
little to encourage a belief that in future years a
large and thriving town would accupy the site
which then boasted of only a few houses. Deer
still roamed through the forests, unmolested as
yet by the ambitious sportsman, and wild game
furnished the few inhabitants with their supply
of meat. Himself a young, energetic and robust
man, he was well fitted for the pioneer's arduous
work. Entering with energy upon the task of
securing a homestead, he made an effort to take
up a claim near Joliet, but the condition of the
land grants rendered it impossible to do so.
About 1835 he built the house that is now occu-
pied by his widow, and two terms of schools were
taught in one of its rooms, which he tendered for
that purpose. He bought a tract of land in Joliet
Township, which he cleared and improved, and
afterward he engaged in its cultivation until ad-
vancing years rendered manual labor no longer
advisable. He also owned and used for garden-
ing purposes a block of ground surrounding his
city residence. In addition to his other work he
was interested in contracting and building, and
through his varied occupations he gained a com-
petency that enabled him to spend the twilight of
his useful life in quiet comfort.

At the foot of Mount Monadnock, in the vil-
lage of Jaffrey, N. H., there long stood a house
that was large and elegant for its day and was

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

known as The Ark. Opposite that residence
stood the birthplace of Nehemiah Hobart Cutter,
who was born March 12, 1805. The ancestry of
the family was traced back to Richard Cutter,
who came from Newcastle-on-the-Tyne, England,
and settled at Cambridge, Mass., in 1640, after-
ward engaging in copper manufacturing and be-
coming a large land owner. Joseph Cutter was
the first of the family to settle at Jaffrey. Capt.
Joseph Cutter, Jr., who was born in New Hamp-
shire, followed farm pursuits in that state and
built the property to which he gave the unique
name of The Ark. He married Phcebe, daughter
of Capt. James and Sarah (Lamson) Gage; she
attained an advanced age, being almost ninety-
two at the time of her death. One of her sons,
Samuel T., who came west in an early day and
settled in Chicago, is now living in Joliet.

The eldest of the children was our subject. He
was educated in the Jaffrey schools and Amherst
Academy. For some time he taught school,
during winters, in New Hampshire, Massachu-
setts and New York, devoting the intervening
summers to the carpenter's trade. On coming
west he established his home in Joliet, with the
early growth of which he was intimately identi-
fied. He was a man of robust constitution and
continued to work actively until he was more
than eighty years of age. Besides his private in-
terests, he took part in local affairs, and was
elected one of the first aldermen of Joliet, serving
for several terms. While serving as school in-
spector he labored to advance the welfare of the
public schools. He was very advanced in his
opinions as to what instruction should be given
in our free schools, and favored not only the ordi-
nary branches, but also singing, drawing, manual
training, etc. At the time of the building of the
Rock Island Railroad he served as a member of
the commission of appraisers and was much in-
terested in the success of the road. With his
mental and physical faculties preserved to a re-
markable degree, he retained his health and vigor
until two weeks before his death. He passed
away March 17, 1S97, at tlle a g e of ninety-two
years and five days.

The first marriage of Mr. Cutter united him

with Rebecca Bailey, a daughter of Submit and
Phoebe (Rugg) Bailey; she was born in East
Hampton, Mass., and died in Joliet February 15,
1884. Four years later Mr. Cutter married Miss
Eliza H. Gage, who was born in Jaffrey, N. H.,
a daughter of Jonathan and Hannah (Worcester)
Gage, also natives of that town. Her grand-
father, James Gage, was born in Amherst, Mass.,
in 1736, and in 1779 settled near Jaffrey, where
he improved a farm. He w-as a man of honor and
ability and filled many offices of trust. For some
time he was captain of the New Hampshire
militia. In religion he was a Congregationalist.
His wife was Sarah, daughter of Samuel and
Abigail (Briant) Lamson. He was a sou of
Thomas Gage, who was born in Bradford, Mass.,
and married Phoebe Fry. The founder of the
family in America was John Gage, who settled
near Boston in 1633.

The youngest of ten children, Jonathan Gage
spent many years of his life at the old Jaffrey
homestead, which being at the terminus of along
lane, was known as the End of the Road. On his
retirement from business cares he moved to Fitz-
william, where he died March iS, 1868. In
religious faith he was a Universalist. He mar-
ried a daughter of William and Hannah (Frost)
Worcester, the former of whom, a native of
Tewksbury, settled in Jaffrey in 1776. He was
a sou of Moses Worcester, who was born in
Tewksbury and spent his entire life there. Mrs.
Hannah (Worcester) Gage was next to the oldest
among seven children; she was born in Jaffrey
and died in Fitzwilliam, when seventy years of
age. The founder of the Worcester family in
America, Rev. William Worcester, from whom
Mrs. Cutter is the tenth generation in descent,
came from England and held the pastorate of the
Salisbury church between 1638 and 1640, later
being similarly engaged in other Massachusetts
towns until he died. The family of which Mrs.
Cutter is a member consisted originally of ten
children, namely: James, who died in Charles-
town, Mass.; Jonathan, who died at four yearsof
age; William, who died during a visit in New
York state; Mrs. Nancy Worcester, of Pittsfield,
Mass.; Abner, who died in Fitzwilliam; Joseph,

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

who died in Hartford, Conu.; Mary, who makes
her home with Mrs. Cutter; J. Alonzo, who died
in Bozeman, Mont., in 1897; Sarah, who resides
with Mrs. Cutter; and Eliza H., Mrs. Cutter.
The last named received an excellent education
in Melville Academy, after which she followed
educational work for many years, principally in
Jaffrey, Fitzwilliam (N. H.) and Pittsfield, Mass.
For a long time she was an active worker with
the Good Templars and she has also been deeply
interested in, and identified with, the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union. In political senti-
ment she is a stanch Prohibitionist, believing the
liquor traffic to be the greatest curse of our age
and country. In religion she is a member of
Central Presbyterian Church.

HON. JOHN W. ARNOLD, one of the coun-
ty's pioneers, was born in White Creek,
Washington County, N. Y., February 14,
1842. His father, John H. Arnold, was born in
Bennington, Vt., in 1808, and in young manhood
went to New York state, where he was engaged
as farmer, merchant and hotel-keeper. Under
President Pierce he served as postmaster of
Schaghticoke, an office near Troy, N. Y. In
1855 he came to Illinois and settled at Lockport,
where he opened a general store. He continued
in business until 1868, when he retired from active
cares. During the Civil war he assisted in raising
the One Hundredth Illinois Regiment. An influ-
ential Democrat, he served as supervisor and jus-
tice of the peace for several years, and was a
leader among the people of his day. His life was
prolonged to the age of eighty-nine years. He
was a son of John Arnold, who was born in Rhode
Island and served in the Revolutionary war. The
family history dates in this country back to the
early part of the seventeenth century, when the
first of the name came from England.

The mother of our subject was Lucretia (Vail)
Arnold, a native of Vermont, of Irish extraction,
her grandfather, Jonathan Vail, a Quaker, hav-

ing come from Ireland in an early day. She
lived to be about seventy-five years of age, and,
with her husband, was for years a faithful mem-
ber of the Congregational Church of Lockport.
Of their seven children, George, the eldest, came
to Lockport in 1854 and for twenty years engaged
in the mercantile business. For some years he
also served as sheriff of this county. At the time
the family settled in Lockport our subject was a
boy of thirteen years. In September, 1861, he
enlisted in Company D, Fourth Illinois Cavalry,
and served for a year in that regiment. Next he
joined the Chicago Mercantile Battery, in which
he served for three years. Among the battles in
which he took part were those of Forts Henry
and Donelson, Shiloh, Cedar, Oxford, Vicksburg,
Haines' Bluff, Arkansas Post, Port Gibson, Black
River Bridge, Champion Hills, the charge on
Vicksburg and the siege of that city. At the
battle of Sabine Cross Roads, La., April 8, 1864,
he was taken prisoner, and sent to Camp Ford,
Tex., where he remained for fourteen months.
During that time he once escaped from prison,
but was recaptured after thirty days and taken
back. In May, 1865, he was released from
prison, and the following month was mustered
out at New Orleans and honorably discharged.
The only injury that he received while in the
army was a gunshot wound in the right cheek,
the marks of which he will carry to the grave;
this was at the charge upon Vicksburg.

After returning home Mr. Arnold carried on a
mercantile business for several years. December
22, 1869, he married Miss Abbie L. Mathewson,
who was born in Chicago, June 14, 1845, a
daughter of Artemus J. and Julia A. (Miner)
Mathewson. Her father was born in Walworth,
Wayne County, N. Y., July 25, 1816, and spent
his boyhood days on a farm. After studying
civil engineering for some years, in 1837 he went
to Chicago and secured employment at his chosen
occupation. He was one of the engineers on the
Illinois and Michigan canal. Later he assisted
in surveying the railroad from Omaha to Salt
Lake. In 1844 he established his home in Lock-
port. During later years he acted as county sur-
veyor and was also connected with the canal

9°

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

until its completion, being auditor of the board
for some time. His marriage, in 1844, united
him with Julia A. Miner, who was born in Bris-
tol, Ontario Count)-, N. Y., July 6, 1823, a
daughter of Enoch W. and Lorinda (Guild)
Miner, whom she accompanied to Chicago in
1S37. Her father later was one of the contractors
on the Illinois and Michigan canal and after the
completion of his work on the canal he moved to
Burlington, Wis., where his wife died. After
her death he came toLockport to make his home
and here died at seventy-six years of age. His
father, Amos Miner, who was a member of a
pioneer New England family, served in the Revo-
lutionary war and was wounded in the shoulder,
which disabled him for further service. Mrs. Ar-
nold was one of three daughters, of whom the
second, Isabella, died in infancy; and the third,
Dora A., is the wife of William J. Gooding, of
Chicago, a member of an old Lockport family.

Of the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold,
the twins, Julius and Julia, were born July 22,
1874; the daughter died July 13, 18S8, and the
son, March 4, 1895. The only living child,
John William, Jr., was born December 29, 1870,
and is engaged in the real- estate and insurance
business in Chicago. Mrs. Arnold has been con-
nected with the Congregational Church since
1S68 and has been warmly interested in religious
work.

From 1S65 to 1895 Mr. Arnold carried on a
mercantile business. During that time he held
the office of supervisor for one term, resigning as
postmaster (a position that he held from 1888 to
1890) in order to accept the office of supervisor.
Shortly afterward he was elected to the state sen-
ate, where, as in his other positions, he advocated
measures for the benefit of the people. Among
the measures he supported were the truck store
bill and gross weight coal bill for the miners of
Illinois. He was chairman of the military,
waterways and drainage committees, which ma-
terially aided the fruition of the Drainage canal.
February 20, 1894, during the second administra-
tion of President Cleveland, he was appointed
United States marshal of the northern district of
Illinois, and held that position at the time of the

Debs strike in Chicago. After four years of serv-
ice he retired from the office. At this writing
he is engaged in the real-estate and loan business
at No. 90 Washington street, Chicago, but still
makes his home in Lockport. He is a charter
member of the Grand Army post at this place,
and has been its commander.

(T OHN HIBNER. Jackson Township has won
I an enviable reputation as a prosperous farm -
\Zs ing community, and this reputation has been
established through the energy of such farmers as
Mr. Hibner. For years he has been prominently
connected with the development of the township
and with its advancement as a farming region.
Coming here in August, 1848, he purchased an
eighty-acre tract where he has since made his
home. During his first winter in this locality he
lived in a log shanty, about 10x12 feet, but in
the spring he built a comfortable house. After
he had paid for his land and for a cow he had but
fifty cents left. However, deer and other game
abounded, and thus the family were supplied
with all the meat necessary, while the other
necessaries were raised on the land. As the
years passed by Mr. Hibner prospered. He kept
adding to his farm until his place numbered some-
thing more than one thousand acres, but he has
given his children considerable property and has
in that way reduced his holdings to over seven
hundred acres. Although he had few advantages
other than those he made for himself, he met with
remarkable success, and is now one of the well-
to-do fanners of the county, while at the same
time he is one of the most highly respected as
well.

The sole survivor of the eight children of John
and Jane (Caldwell) Hibner, the subject of this
sketch was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, Sep-
tember 14, 1804. His father, who was born in
Peekskill, N. Y., about 1768, grew to manhood
there, then went to Ohio aud worked as a farm
hand in the Miami bottoms. Next, settling in
Guernsey County, he took up a claim of one hun-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

dred and sixty acres, and shortly after was mar-
ried. At the breaking out of the war of 18 12 he
enlisted in the service and took part in the famous
thirteen-days' siege of Forts Meigs, Defiance and
Wayne. When the troops marched away from
the fort he was ill with camp fever and was left
behind. Later, recovering somewhat, he started
for home; for days he wandered through the for-
ests and over the prairies without food; he asked
for something to eat at an Indian camp, but was
refused. However, at last he reached home in
safety.

In 18 14 our subject's father removed to Rich-
land Count}*, where he remained until 1847,
meantime acquiring about seven hundred acres of
laud. During the last-named year he removed
to St. Francis County, Mo. In the spring of
1848 he came to Illinois, and after spending the
summer on a farm ten miles up the river from
Wilmington, he bought three eighty-acre tracts
in Jackson Township and settled on one of these,
four miles southwest of Joliet. There he resided
until his death, September 23, 1865, at which
time he owned more than six hundred acres of
land. In some respects he was eccentric. One
of his peculiarities was his distrust of banks. He
always kept his money in a safe at home. At
one time he was robbed of $50,000 and was so
seriously wounded by the robbers that he died
from the effects of the shock and the wounds one
month afterward. His father, who was a native
of Germany, died in early manhood, and his
mother, who was Sarah Jones, afterward married
Abraham Williams, a brother of David Williams,
one of the men who captured Major Andre. Two
of her brothers, James and Ben Jones, enlisted in
the Revolutionary war and went to the front.
They were never afterward heard of, and it was
supposed that they fell in battle. Her father,
Philip Jones, was a wealthy man and owned one
hundred and sixty acres in what is now the heart
of New York City, besides numerous other pieces
of property. When the war with England broke
out a tory falsely reported that he was furnishing
supplies to the English army; for this reason his
farms were taken from him and never afterward
restored.

Our subject's mother was born in County Ty-
rone, Ireland, of Scotch ancestry. She grew to
womanhood in her native county and afterward
accompanied her mother and three other children
to America. Our subject was wholly without
educational advantages when he was young.
His entire attendance at school was limited to
eighteen evenings spent at a night school. From
his earliest recollections he was obliged to work
hard for his support, and his youth was one round
of toil, unlivened by the usual sports of boyhood.
He remained at home until his marriage, which
event united him, April 6, 1837, with Miss Nancy
A. Kurtz, a daughter of Christopher and Nancy
(Lowe) Kurtz, of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry,
and residents of York Count} 7 , Pa., where she
was born.

After his marriage Mr. Hibner bought eighty
acres in Richland County from his father. Upon
it he settled and there remained until 1847, when
he moved to St. Francis County, Mo. In the
spring of 1848 he started north with his family
and brother Francis, going as far as Winnebago
Lake, where he bought land. Two months later
his brother died. Our subject entered two quar-
ter-sections of land about midway between Green
Bay and Oshkosh. Later the county seat of
Appletou was located on his farm and he sold his
land, but was cheated out of his money. In
August, 1848, he came to Will County and pur-
chased an eighty-acre tract, which forms the
nucleus of the large possessions he has since ac-
quired. He has proved himself to be an excellent
manager, and although his life has been spared
far beyond the usual allotment of years, he still
preserves his interest in affairs and shows the
keen business traits that characterized him years
ago. He is remarkably well preserved, and a
stranger to whom his real age was unknown
would easily mistake him for a man not more
than seventy-five or eighty. In politics he is a
Democrat.

After a happy wedded life of sixty-two years
Mr. Hibner suffered a deep bereavement in the
death of his wife, who passed away October 13,
1899, aged eighty-two years, eleven months and
thirteen days. She was a faithful member of the

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

.Methodist Episcopal Church and a lady of sin-
cere Christian character. Fourteen children had
been born of their union, and all but two are still
living. Elizabeth is the wife of James Ralph, a
farmer of this county; George W. and Francis A.
are farmers, the former in Grundy County, the
latter in Will County; Jane is the wife of E.
Price, a machinist of Joliet; James C, David and
Martin E. are farmers in Grundy County; Nancy
A. is the widow of T. S. Shimmin and keeps
house for her father; Sarah A. married Peter
Christensen, a farmer of Will County; John W.
and William A. are farmers in this county: and
Lucinda A. is the wife of James A. Hemphill, a
farmer of this countv.

f"RANK W. SEARLES, M. D., a successful
r3 practicing physician and surgeon of New
| Lenox, was born in Homer Township, this
county, March 14, 1852. His father, Franklin
Searles, was born in New York, of German de-
scent, went from the east to California at the
time of the gold excitement in 1S49, and for one
and one-half years he remained on the Pacific
coast successfully engaged in mining. On his
return east in 1851 he invested the money he
had made by mining in the purchase of a farm in
New Lenox Township, Will County, 111., where
he devoted himself to farm pursuits and the man-
agement of an apiary. He was a practical man
in the raising and breeding of bees, and was so
successful that often he shipped as much as one
ton of honey in a single shipment. His death
occurred on his homestead May 12, 1S87, when
he was fifty-nine years of age. Two children,
our subject and Agnes, deceased, were born of

his marriage to Emily White, of Ohio, who is
still living and makes her home with her sou.
The history of her family is traced back to Pere-
grine White, the first white child born in Massa-
chusetts, and a member of good old Puritan
stock. In the possession of the family is a hand
loom that was brought over in the "Mayflower."
During the war of 18 12, when Indians were dan-
gerous and imperiled the lives of the white set-
tlers, her grandmother was hidden for safety in
a hollow tree, which was so large that she had
her spinning wheel put in it and spun yarn while
hiding.

The education of Dr. Searles was obtained in
the Englewood high school, Illinois State Uni-
versity and the Chicago Medical College (now
the Northwestern University Medical School).
In 1877 he graduated with the degree of M. D.
Returning to his native county, he opened an
office in New Lenox, where he has since engaged
in practice, with the exception of one year in
Wisconsin. In his profession he has been quite
successful, and is recognized as a skillful physi-
cian, who is accurate in the diagnosis of disease
and successful in its treatment. Politically he is
a believer in Republican principles. In 1878 he
was elected county coroner, and he has also
served as a member of the school board for several
years. While he is interested in local political mat-
ters, he does not desire office, preferring to give
his attention exclusiveh- to professional duties.
He is a member of the Will County Medical As-
sociation. Fraternallj' he is connected with the
Modern Woodmen of America and Lockport
Lodge No. 534, A. F. & A. M., in which he is
past master. By his marriage in 1878, to Etta
Morse, he has two children now living, Ella A.
and Howard W. , and has lost two sons, William
Lloyd, who died at the age of nine years, and
Frank, who died at six months.

Y
OF
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

Ahfyh**^*:

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

HORACE S. SMITH.

HORACE S. SMITH. The name of Mr.
Smith is indissolubly associated with the
pioneer history of the Bessemer steel process
in Joliet. Like many of our country's successful
men, he had no special advantages in youth, but
made his own way in the world from an early age;
like them, too, it was not until comparatively late
in life that he became identified with the business
in which his greatest success was achieved. The
high standii g which he reached in the steel in-
dustry was due to a combination of business
ability and mechanical ingenuity, together with
the courage to mark out new paths and introduce
radical changes where he deemed best. In fact,
the innovations that he made were so striking as
to attract the attention of the entire steel trade,
both in this country and abroad, and men who
were engaged in the business continually sought
Joliet in order to study the latest improvements
in the manipulation of Bessemer steel.

The life which this narrative sketches began in
Dunstable, N. H., December 28, 1826, and closed
in Chicago, 111., October 17, 1899. After years
of service in the operating and mechanical de-
partments of railroads in the east and west,
rising through various positions, Mr. Smith was
offered the position of master mechanic of the
Chicago & Alton Railroad at Bloomington, 111.,
a position, however, that he was destined not to
fill, owing to his success in the management of the
Joliet steel mills. In 1876 Alexander J. Forbes-
Leith, then receiver of the Joliet Iron & Steel
Company, offered him the management of the
works. Although he was without experience in
either rolling mills or steel works, he undertook
the difficult task of placing a bankrupt plant upon
a sound financial basis. The succeeding years

were filled with responsibilities and crowded with
hard work. Determined to thoroughly under-
stand the business, he gave every department the
closest attention and as late as midnight he was
often to be found studying the art of making
Bessemer steel. In spite of the fact that he
lacked money and his workmen lacked experience,
he made a success of the business. In 1878 a
reorganization was effected and the Joliet Steel
Company established, which continued until the
plant was merged into that of the Illinois Steel
Company in 1889.

While for a few years Mr. Smith was a student
of the business and followed in the steps of others,
yet after a time his originality began to assert
itself. He then became a leader and others fol-
lowed. Under his management his plant was the
first to roll steel direct without reheating from the
ingot, which practice is to-day common through-
out the world. His company was also the first
to roll rails without hook and tongs men, and
was among the first to introduce the rolling of
double length rails. In 1887 the plant produced
more steel rails than any other mill in the world,
over two hundred thousand tons being the out-
put; and, in recognition of this unparalleled
record, Mr. Smith was presented with a gold
medal by his officers and staff". His greatest
mechanical triumph was the development of in-
tricate automatic machinery for rolling rails and
billets, which greatly increased the capacity of a
train of rolls and dispensed with much high-
priced labor. The device that he constructed is,
with slight modifications in form, now in use in
the majority of the large rail mills.

Through the efforts of Mr. Smith the com-
pany became interested in the wire rod business.

■fl

-'-

22'

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

sisted of eight children, namely: Joseph, a me-
chanic, who died in 1859; Charles, who served
for four years each as treasurer and judge of Will
County, and died in Joliet June 5, 1899; Mary,
who died in Lockport; John, who served in the
Illinois regimental band during the Civil war
and is now living in Lockport; Jane, who mar-
ried G. A. Gooding, an attorney of Lockport,
where she died; George, of Joliet; Horace and
Ann.

In Homer Township, Will County, the subject
of this sketch was born September 20, 1837. In
1843 his father removed to Lockport, and he at-
tended the public schools of that place until four-
teen years of age, when he entered the printing
office of the Lockport Telegram. Two years later
he began to learn telegraphy and after a time was
put iu charge of the Rock Island Telegraph
office at Sheffield. His next employment was as
clerk in a drug store owned by his father in
Lockport, and after two years he bought out his
father and carried on the business alone. In two
years he entered the bank at Lockport as book
keeper, and afterward was employed in the La
Salle postoffice for a year, later was a (.inn]
officer, with headquarters in Chicago. In
he came to Joliet, where he was a clerk in thi
provost marshal's office until the close of tin- v,.,,.
three years he was telegraph operatoi and
ticket agent for the Chicago & Rock Island Rail-
road in Joliet, and at t time studied law.
In 1868 he entered the office of the - lerl ol courl
and records, where he remain'' puty, and
at the same time completed his law studies und< 1
E. C. 1 to the
bar. Under Pi Grant, in 1872, he received
an appointment a : of internal revenue
for the sixth district of Illi eluding Will,
Xankakee, Grundy an and
this position b ••., with bi
quarters in Joliet. In 1876 ■< consolidation of
office was

ed to Aurora. Rel to th< courthouse

during that yi aastet of chancel

the eight folic ears. Ii 1

of tl.' sot iation

from Dj:iI tin

until 1893, he served as secretary; also for years
was a director in the concern. He is now living
in retirement from business cares. In national
politics he adheres to Republican principles.
Aside from serving on the county committee, he
has not been active in politics in his home town.
Fraternally he is connected with Mount Joliet
Lodge No. 42, A. F. & A. M.

The marriage of Mr. Weeks, in Joliet, united
him with Miss Mary Munson, who was born in
Tazewell County, 111. They became the parents
of four children, their only daughter, Mrs. Fan-
nie Morse, being a resident of Sonoma County,
Cal. The oldest sou, Fred B., is manager of the
Western Stone Company in Joliet. Curtis, who
is an engineer with the same company, served as
quartermaster-sergeant of Company G, First
Florida Infantry, during the Spanish war. The
youngest son, Horace M., is a clerk in the office
of the Joliet Stove Works Company.

~~ KIRKPATRICK, M . D. While the dat(
t} ol the immigration ol the Kirkpatrick fam-

ily is unknown and its nationality un< 1 rtain,

then 1 rea on to believe that the family was
founded in Warren County, N. J., in the eigh
teenth century l>v a Scotchman, This original
emigrant ion, facob, settled in Northampton
County, Pa., in early manhood and then engaged
in farming and boating Hit son, who bore the
11. on' as himself, was boi 11 at Pi ei mansburg,
Northampton I ounty, in [825, and in boyhood
iva employed as dri er on a • anal , by slow di
,701 1- ing his way up to b( a boal ownei .

Ijiii in;; a period oi many years he l ished coal

foi 1 hi ( rlendon fron ' otnpany. 1 n 1 86 ; he
retired from boating and turned his attention to

farming in bi nati 1 1 ity. Prom 1876 to 1889

hi - ultivati d a farm ■•it I entn Valli y, but in the

hiti' 1 jreai r< tired from a< tivi caret 1 has sini 1

• d on his fai m, in 1 hi quiet 1 njoj men! "I 1 om
forts rendered po sibli by his earl) indu 1 1 •.
WImii :i boy in Kirkpatricl bad no advan

9 8

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tages except such as his own industry secured.
He and two brothers began to work on the canal
in childhood. They were fond of study and
usually carried their books with them on the boat,
so they were able to keep at the head of their
classes during the three months annually they
attended school. When he was seventeen our
subject stopped canal work and turned his atten-
tion to other occupations. His hope was to se-
cure sufficient money to complete his education.
When he was nineteen he attended the Bethlehem
boarding school for five months, after which he
was given a certificate to teach, and for ten years
taught in district schools. He was given a per-
manent state certificate after he had taught for
four years. During his vacations he took a
course in the United States Institute of Business
and Finance, where he completed the regular
course. About 1882 he entered the Hellertou
Collegiate Institute, intending to prepare himself
for a civil engineer's course in Lehigh University,
but after reflecting upon the matter and consult-
ing with his preceptor, he decided to devote his
life to medicine. While gaining his initial knowl-
edge of the science he also taught school. In the
fall of 1884 he entered the College of Physicians
and Surgeons at Baltimore, Md., from which he
graduated in 1886, standing third in a class of
one hundred and sixty- four. For this excellent
record as a student he was awarded compliment-
ary mention and a gold medal. After graduating
he was one of forty-four members of the class
who took an examination before the faculty of
the Medico-Chirurgical Post- Graduate College in
Philadelphia, and by them he was awarded the
second place in the class.

After having visited for a few months with his
parents, Dr. Kirkpatrick went to the frontier.
The Kaw reserve had been opened up a short
time before and he settled at Bushong, Lyon
County, Kaus., where he remained for eight
years. However, the town did not prosper and
he therefore moved to Americus, eight and one-
half miles distant, where he practiced for three
years. In October, 1897, he came to Illinois and
settled in Peotone, where he has since become
the leading physician of the village. Recently

he completed a very handsome and commodious
residence, and here he and his family have a
delightful home. In 1875 he married Emma M.
Bader, who was born in Hellertown, Pa., daugh-
ter of David Bader, a prosperous farmer of that
locality. Two children were born to the union
of Dr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick. One is now living,
Valeria, an accomplished young lady and a grad-
uate of Chicago Musical College in June, 1900.

HENRY EDWARD BUSS. The reputation
which Mr. Buss has gained during his life-
long residence in his present locality is that
of an energetic farmer and stock-raiser. Al-
though he stared out for himself with very lim-
ited means, he has been prospered and is now in
comfortable circumstances, his farm being among
the best in Florence Township. Five miles
south of his present home, and in the same town-
ship, he was bom October 29, 1S69, a son of Ed-
gar C. and Selina (Gurney) Buss. His grand-
father, John Buss, was one of the earliest settlers
at Jackson's Grove, where he spent his remaining
years engaged in farming.

The father of our subject was born in Ohio and
accompanied his parents to Illinois in boyhood.
The most of his life was spent in Will County,
and for years he was a well-known stock-raiser
and farmer of Florence Township, cultivating two
hundred acres of valuable laud. In politics he
was a Republican and during anti-slavery days
was a stanch Abolitionist. At the opening of the
Civil war he enlisted in Company C, One Hun-
dredth Illinois Infantry, and went to the front
with his regiment, remaining in active service for
three years. In the battle of Chickamauga he
was wounded and never fully recovered from the
effects of the wound. He died August 4, 1887,
when forty-nine years of age. His wife was a
sister of George F. Gurney, of Joliet. She is
still living on the old Buss homestead. Of the
six children comprising the family, Jessie is the
wife of August Carlsen; Henry Edward was sec-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ond iii order of birth ; Frances married Jesse Young ;
Leslie G., Elmer C. and Florence reside with
their mother.

The boyhood years of our subject were passed
in the locality where he now lives. The scenes
that now surround him have been familiar to him
from his earliest recollection. He began for him-
self at an early age. He had nothing but a team
and wagon, but with these, backed by his sturdy
determination, he began a career that has since
been prosperous. He superintends the old home-
stead of one hundred and sixty acres, having two
hundred and sixty acres altogether under his
control, and besides farming, is engaged in buy-
ing, feeding and selling cattle. He owns two
threshing machines which he operates during the
season. He does not concern himself about
politics. However, he believes in the Republican
platform and uniformly votes that ticket.

The marriage of Mr. Buss to Miss Alice,
daughter of Albert Coop, of Channahon, this
county, occurred January 12, 1890. They have
three living children: Lulu M., Edgar C. , Hattie,
and lost one son, Albert, by death.

EONARD GEORGE WILSON, manager of
It the business interests of Selz, Schwab & Co.,
U hi Joliet, has been a resident of this city
since 1868. He was born in London, England,
August 7, 1847, son of Leonard and Ann Ellen
(Weed) Wilson, lifelong residents of England.
His father, who before retiring from business
was the proprietor of a jewelry store in London,
died in 1899, when eighty-one years of age. Mr.
Wilson had four sisters, two of whom went to
New Zealand. The older, Ellen Selina, who was
the wife of Robert Greig, died in 1898. The
younger, Annie Elizabeth, is the wife of William
Handley. The other sisters, Matilda Caroline
and Sophia Louisa, together with their brother,
William Joseph, continue to reside at the old
home in London. The paternal grandfather and
one of his sons, both bearing the name of George

Wilson, served in the British navy; the former,
who held the rank of captain, fought at Trafalgar
under Admiral Nelson; the latter was killed in
the Crimean war.

After completing his education the subject of
this article took up office work until 1867, the
year of his coming to America. He spent one
year in Chicago and then came to Joliet, where
he was employed by the Michigan Central Rail-
road Company for seven years, and then worked
in a quarry business with W. A. Steel for a year.
January 1, 1876, he accepted a position with the
firm in whose employ he has since continued.
Starting in their office he worked his way up to
the responsible position of manager of their fac-
tory at the Illinois State Penitentiary. His long
service with the same firm is abundant proof of
his efficiency and faithfulness to their interests.
He is one of those genial, courteous gentlemen,
whom it is a pleasure to meet and the memory of
whom is not soon forgotten, even by casual ac-
quaintances. Since the organization of the Peo-
ple's Loan and Homestead Association he has
been among its stockholders. While he keeps in
touch with the questions of the day he has not
identified himself with any political party, but
has maintained independence of thought. Fra-
ternally he is a Past Regent of the Royal Arca-
num and a member of the Ancient Order of
Egyptians.

October 19, 1876, Mr. Wilson married Ella B.,
daughter of Edwin B. and Elizabeth Cornelia
(Olney) Mason. They became the parents of
four children, namely: Ralph Mason (deceased);
Edwin Leonard; Clara Ella (deceased); and
Percy William. On her mother's side Mrs. Wil-
son inherits the Puritan blood of those who land-
ed on Plymouth Rock. Her grandfather, Hale
S. Mason, a native of Massachusetts, descended
from ancestors who settled in New England prior
to the Revolutionary war. In childhood he was
taken to New York. During the early '30s he,
with his family, made the journey from the latter
place to Illinois, and settled near Lockport, where
he bought land. Indians were still to be seen
roaming over the prairies and skulking in the
forests of the state. Nor had wild animals yet re-

IOO

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ceded before the advancing march of civilization.
At once he became active among the pioneers of
this county. Among the positions he held were
those of collector for the Illinois and Michigan
Canal and justice of the peace. In 1S50 he joined
a part}' of Argonauts and crossed the plains to
California. For some years he engaged in min-
ing and trading in the far west, returning via the
Isthmus of Panama. An enthusiastic Abolition-
ist, as a member of the Underground Railroad he
aided that cause materially and helped many ne-
groes to escape from bondage, sending his sons to
take numbers of them in wagons to Chicago.
Two of his sous, George H. and John Q., served
in the Civil war. The elder was color bearer and
was killed during a skirmish near Cumberland
Gap. The father of Mrs. Wilson was quite
young when his parents came to Illinois. For
some time he was connected with his father in
business. Afterward he was located in different
parts of the state; coming to Joliet he organized
the People's Loan and Homestead Association, of
which he was the secretary until his death in
1884. He and his parents were forced out of the
Congregational Church before the war, owing to
their anti-slavery opinions.

In his business transactions Mr. Wilson is
methodical and exact. He has ever shown him-
self guardful of the best interests of his company
and in his decisions has been wise and business-
like. He is a man of decided and inflexible
traits of character, but with these is blended
a cordiality and geniality that render him de-
servedly popular.

0RVILL C. DICKINSON. Some men de-
vote their lives to the accumulation of
wealth, others to the mysteries of science;
some pursue Fame's ever-fleeting shadow and
some live for the enjoyment of the passing
moment. But comparatively few give their
lives, inconstant self-sacrifice, to Christian serv-
ice, seeking neither earthly fame nor financial
returns, but content to labor and to walk in the

footsteps of Him who said "Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto the least of these, my brethren,
ye have done it unto Me." It is in this spirit
and in this service that the busy life of Mr.
Dickinson has been spent, and now, in the after-
noon of life's brief day, he can look back upon
the past without remorse and forward to the
future with the Christian's hope of eternal hap-
piness.

Elder Dickinson (for by this title our subject
is best known) was born in St. Lawrence County ,
N. Y. , September 10, 1836, a son of Horatio N.
and Miranda (Titus) Dickinson. He was one of
ten children and the second of six now living.
Concerning the others we note the following:
Charles is a well-known resident of Otsego
County, Mich., and a deacon in a Baptist Church;
Julia M. is the widow of Richard S. Poole, of
Battle Creek, Mich.; Adeline E. is the wife of
Rev. Silas W. Brookins, a Baptist minister in
Dade County, Mo.; Albert P., a veteran of the
Civil war, is a deacon in the Baptist Church in
his home town in Dade County, Mo.; and
Sumner H. is Sunday-school superintendent
and a prominent church worker at Goodland,
Ind. It will thus be seen that the members of
the family are active in religious work in their
various places of residence.

Nathan Dickinson, our subject's grandfather,
was born in Hartford County, Conn., the son of
a Revolutionary soldier. He removed to Potts-
dam, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., and about
twelve years later settled in Pitcairn, the same
count}-, where he engaged in farming. He re-
mained at Pitcairn until his death. In religion
he was a Methodist, while his wife was a Presby-
terian. Their son, Horatio N., was born in Rut-
land County, Vt., September 11, 18 10, and was
a year old when his parents settled in St. Law-
rence County, N. Y., where he grew to manhood
and married. In 1S44 he removed to Ottawa
County, Mich., and, after six years there, settled
in Battle Creek, the same state. The year 1859
found him in Kankakee County, 111., where he
settled one-half mile south of the county line and
near Manteno. Purchasing a farm, he continued
to make his home thereuntil his death. From

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

IOI

early life he officiated as a deacon in the Baptist
Church. He was a man of strictest integrity,
one whose life exemplified the truth of his
religious professions. His death occurred Jan-
uary 20, 1 88 1. He had two brothers, Nathan
and Justin, who served in the war of 1S12.

The mother of our subject, who is still living,
was born in Rhode Island September 27, 18 13,
and now makes her home with her daughter,
Julia, at Battle Creek, Mich. One of her sons,
Anson, enlisted in the Union army during the
Civil war and was shot before Atlanta July 22,
1864. Our subject was given good advantages
when he was a boy, it being the wish of his
parents that he might be well fitted for the
responsibilities of life. He attended the high
school at Battle Creek and his studies there, com-
bined with his thoughtful reading in later years,
gave him a broad education. His health was not
strong enough to permit a college education,
which his father wished to give him.

November 6, 1857, Mr. Dickinson married
Susan A. Beedle, a native of Ashtabula County,
Ohio, and a daughter of Emory Beedle. Her
father, who was a fanner, came to Illinois in
1865 and settled at Wilton Center, where he died
in July, 1871. While he was not a member of
the conference, he served as a local preacher in
the Methodist Church and was a very earnest
Christain worker. After his marriage our sub-
ject settled in Manteno, Kankakee County, 111.,
and engaged in farming on land owned by his
father. He was nineteen years old when he united
with the Baptist Church. On his arrival in Kan-
kakee County he found that the nearest congre-
gation was at Wilton Center. Accordingly he
put his membership in this church. As soon as
his ability as a preacher became known he was
pressed into service. In August, i860, he re-
moved to Wilton Center and gave his time en-
tirely to ministerial work. However, times were
so hard that his income was not sufficient to
maintain his family, so it became necessary for
him to engage in other occupations. However,
he never lost his interest in church work. Freely
he gave his time, his efforts, his influence, that
the cause might be strengthened in the com-

munity. With the exception of four years in
other places, for thirty-one years he gave his time
largely to his labor of love in this community.
He toiled that others might be blessed; he sowed
that others might reap, and while he has never
accumulated worldly possessions he has gained a
name for Christian work that few ever attain.
In 1895, upon the advice of physicians, he gave
up mental labor and retired to his farm, where he
and his wife are living quietly and happily,
blessed by the esteem of hosts of warm friends.
They have no children of their own, but reared
and carefully educated two adopted daughters,
Ruth Jenkins and Bardae Turner. The former
is now the wife of Rev. C. R. Betts, pastor of the
Englewood Baptist Church in Chicago. The
other is the wife of H. N. Dickinson, a merchant,
grain and coal dealer at New Lenox, this county.

HON. WILLIAM H. STEEN. Scotland has
contributed to Illinois many of the state's
best citizens, and she has contributed none
more worthy of respect than Mr. Steen, the post-
master of Braidwood and one of the pioneers of
the town. When he came here in 1S70 the place
was much smaller than at present, although its
bituminous coal interests were then, as now, of
recognized importance. In 1872 he was one of
the incorporators of the town, and he has since
been a factor in its advancement, holding numer-
ous important positions of a public nature, be-
sides taking an active part in the buying and
selling of real estate.

The father of our subject, James Steen, was a
native of Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland. In
the spring of 1865 he settled in Schuylkill
County, Pa., and for a few years he engaged in
mining at Pottsville. The year 1868 found him
in the then new mining camp of Braidwood, 111.
Here, as a practical coal miner, he worked for
some time, and in this city he died in 1889, aged
sixty-eight years.

At the time he came to America our subject
was fifteen years of age. He spent five years in

102

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Pennsylvania, engaged in mining. Beginning in
the humble position of slate picker, he gradually
worked his way Up through all the grades until
he became a practical miner. For eighteen
months he worked a mine in Stark County, Ohio.
In 1870 he came to Braidwood, where he was em-
ployed in all of the best mines at different times.
Retiring from the work of a miner, in 1882 he
bought out the insurance and real estate business
of John James, and this he continued until he was
appointed postmaster in 189S. The Republican
parts- has always received his stanch allegiance
ever since he was of age. From 1873 to 1877 he
served as a member of the board of aldermen; in
1877-78 he was city clerk, and from 1885 to 1889
he was mayor of Braidwood. After retiring
from the mayoralty he was elected city attorney.
A few years later a higher honor was conferred
upon him by his election, in 1895, as a member
of the state legislature. At the expiration of his
term he was re elected to the office. During his
service in the house he was active in the interests
of labor and served as chairman of the committee
on mines and mining. Having himself risen
from poverty to influence, he was well qualified
to assist in legislation for the benefit of the work-
ingmeu, and they had in him a stanch friend.

During his second term he was chairman of the
committee on labor and industrial affairs and pre-
sented to the house what is now commonly
known as the child labor bill. Many other re-
forms were also championed by him and received
the impetus of his encouragement.

A number of fraternities have enlisted the
co-operation of Mr. Steen. He has been an
executive officer and royal chief of the order of
Scottish Clans, embracing the United States and
Canada, and has recently been elected for a third
term of two years. He is a member of Banner
Lodge, I. O. O. F., in which he has been past
grand and which he represented in the grand
lodge for four years; he also served as district
deputy. In St. Andrew's Lodge, K. of P., he is
past chancellor, and its representative in the
grand lodge of the state; for two years he was
district deputy grand chancellor. He is con-
nected with Braidwood Lodge, A. F. & A. M.,
in which he is past warden. For several years
he served as district secretary of the Miners'
Union, in which he has been very active. By his
marriage, in 1869, to Mary Robertson, he had
four children, viz.: Agnes H., now the wife of
John Kilpatrick; Elizabeth; Isabella; and Mary
A., who died, aged sixteen years.

OF
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

105

ISAAC W. RICHARDS.

*VSAAC W. RICHARDS, a general farmer of
Plainfield Township, and a resident of Illi-
X nois since 1866, was born in Huron County,
Ohio, October 14, 1844. His father, John M.
Richards, who was a native of New York state,
settled in Ohio at the age of twenty-three years
and bought a partially improved farm in Huron
County. Under his industrious supervision the
land was converted into a valuable farm, bearing
improvements that stamped its owner as a man
of thrift and judgment. On that place the re-
mainder of his days were busily passed. The
qualities that characterized him and contributed
to his success were inherited from a long line of
Scotch ancestors, his father having been the first
of the family to leave Scotland and seek a home
in the new world. In politics Mr. Richards was
a Republican, but had no desire to participate in
public affairs and never sought offices of any
kind. Prior to removing from New York he
married Miss Hannah E. Jones, and they became
the parents of eleven children. The fourth of
the children was Isaac W. The latter's educa-
tion was such as the common schools afforded.
At the opening of the Civil war his older brother,
Edgar, and Zetus entered the Union army and
our subject took up the work of the oldest broth-
er, Edgar, who was engaged in the meat business
at Havana, Ohio. He was thus only seventeen
when he started out for himself, and since then
he has made his way independently in the world.
From the opening of the war it was his desire to
serve his country, but he felt that he was too
young to render efficient service. However, in
February of the closing year of the war, 1865, a
good opportunity came to enlist and he at once
offered his services. At Sandusky, Ohio, he was

mustered into Company G, One Hundred and
Ninety-first Ohio Infantry, with which he re-
mained until the close of the war, his regiment
being one of the last to leave the Shenandoah
Valley. He was honorably discharged at Wash-
ington, D. C, and mustered out at Camp Chase,
Ohio.

Immediately after the close of the war Mr.
Richards closed out his business affairs in Ohio
and made arrangements to remove to Illinois.
He settled south of Joliet, where he began farm-
ing. After a few years he purchased eighty
acres in New Lenox Township, where he very
successfully conducted agricultural pursuits until
1882. He then sold the place and moved to
Lockport, where with two others he started the
first wire mill in the town. In 1885 he sold his
interest in the business and bought eighty acres
on section 25, Plainfield Township, where he has
since made his home. He is an intelligent man,
with a broad knowledge of current events, both
in our own country and foreign lands. This in-
formation he has gained by systematic reading of
current literature. He has not allowed himself
to be so engrossed by his daily labors as to ex-
clude a knowledge of what is going on in the
world. He is a great reader and is never hap-
pier than when, the day's work done, he can de-
vote himself to his papers in the comfort of his
home. In his political views he favors the Re-
publican party. He is a member of the Congre-
gational Church and contributes to its mainte-
nance. He is a member of Plainfield Lodge No.
536, A. F. & A. M., and Bartleson Post, G. A. R.,
in Joliet.

December 22, 1869, Mr. Richards married Miss
Venia Burger, of Joliet. They became the par-

io6

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

euts of four children, the eldest of whom, Charles,
died in infancy. The others are: AllieG., Roy C.
and Otis W.

Mrs. Richards was born June 5, 1849, in Co-
lumbia County, X. V., and in order of birth was
sixth among the eleven children, there being five
sons and six daughters. She was ten years old
when she came with her parents to Joliet, 111.,
and was a graduate of the school of that place,
where she lived until her marriage. While at
home she was always at her place and a worker
in the First Baptist Church among the young
people. After she married Mr. Richards she left
her home church to go with her husband to the
Congregational Church at Plainfield, of which
she is still a member. She is a member of Pansy
Chapter No. 239, O. E. S., of Plainfield. She
has taken part in the County Institute, and gave
an address before the State Institute, besides
speaking at other places.

Mrs. Richards is descended, through her fath-
er, from a Holland family that earl} - settled in
New York state. Her great-grandfather, An-
thony Burger, owned large tracts of land and
many slaves (for at that time New York was a
slave state). He was very wealthy, but gave all
of his fortune to assist in carrying on the Revolu-
tionary war, and received in return from the gov-
ernment a grant for a large tract of land in the
Mohawk Yalley. Upon the close of the war, in
which he had fought, he started on horseback for
the Valley, carrying the government papers with
him and intending to claim the land. When he
was half way to his destination he wrote to his
family, but after that they never heard from him.
Time passed and he did not return. Men were
sent in search of him and traced him to a certain
tavern on his route, at which he remained all
night, leaving early in the morning. There all
trace of him was lost, nor could the papers ever
be found. The opinion of some was that he had
been killed by British spies, as he was heard to
remark, when he gave his wealth to carry on the
war: "If the British win, I will lose my head,
and if the States win, I will lose my money."

Jeremiah Burger, grandfather of Mrs. Rich-
ards, when a boy of twelve or thirteen, drove an

ox-cart with a yoke of oxen, for the purpose of
conveying the sick and wounded to places where
they could be cared for. He married Maria
Howk, whose maternal ancestors, the Livingstons,
owned large tracts of land in Livingston County,
N. Y. Their son, Thomas L. Burger, father of
Mrs. Richards, was born in Dutchess County,
X. Y. When a young man he embarked in busi-
ness with his cousin, P. S. Burger, in the manu-
facture of fine carriages in Hudson, N. Y.
After a time he married Julia A. Fiukle, whose
father served in the war of 18 12 and whose ances-
tors settled in this country during colonial days.
As years passed Mr. Burger retired from manu-
facturing and chose agriculture, which he said
was the most independent occupation. He bought
a large farm in Columbia County, N. Y.
Some years later he sold the place and moved to
Illinois, settling in Joliet, Will County. Here he
bought a large tract of land and lived until his
death.

(JOHN O. PIEPENBRINK, a pioneer of 1849
I in Crete Township, was born in Hesse-Cas-
(2/ sel, Germany, April 24, 1S26, and died Jan-
uary 24, 1900, at Crete, 111. He was a son of
H. H. and Lottie (Meier) Piepen brink, who died
in Germany at the ages of fifty-five and forty-five
respectively. He was one of four children, all of
whom but himself remained in Germany. The
family being wealthy, he was given the best ad-
vantages his country afforded: however, with
that exception the family fortune availed him
naught, as the estate being entailed, it fell to the
eldest son on the death of the father. Believing
he could do better in America than in his native
country, he resolved to come hither, and with
his wife, Sophia (Wille) Piepenbrink, he sailed
from Bremerhaven April 3. 1S49, arriving in
New York City May 1. Thence they came by
canal and lake to Chicago, and from there to
Crete Township. This section was then sparsely
settled. The surroundings were of a most primi-
tive character. Of improvements there were al-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

107

most none. He established his home in a small
log house, which was illy protected from the snow
and the winds of winter. He borrowed money
with which to pay for his land and was obliged
to pay thirty-six per cent per annum for the use
of the same. However, notwithstanding this and
other discouragements, he steadily prospered,
and finally acquired the title to more than seven
hundred acres, a part of which is now owned by
his sons. A large part of his success was due to
the dairy industry. He kept more than one hun-
dred cows on his place and made large shipments
of butter and cheese to Chicago. For thirty
years he has made his home on section 1 1 , where
he had one of the comfortable homes of the town-
ship. Politically he was a Republican. In re-
ligion, like his ancestors, he adheres to the doc-
trines promulgated by Martin Luther.

Mrs. Piepenbrink was born January 2, 1826, a
daughter of Conrad and Sophia (Oldrag) Wille,
farmers near Hesse Cassel, active workers in the
Lutheran Church of their neighborhood, and the
parents of seven children. In the family of
Mr. and Mrs. Piepenbrink there are eight
children, viz: J. Otto and Henry F. , prominent
farmers of Crete Township; Conrad, William,
John and Philip, also farmers in this locality; El-
len, wife of Henry Sporleder; and Sophia, Mrs.
John Diersen.

EHARLES BLIM, M. D. It has been said
by those who have consulted Dr. Blim, pro-
fessionally, that he has few equals for skill
in the diagnosis of disease and the application of
appropriate remedial agencies. Since he came
to Crete in 1888 and established his office here,
he has built up a practice that is not limited to
the village, but extends throughout this part of
the county. The attaining of this result has
meant months and years of steady devotion to the
science of medicine. It his been his aim to keep
abreast of all discoveries made in the profession,
and this very fact has greatly promoted his stand-
ing as a physician.

Dr. Blim was born near Blue Island, 111., July
7, 1859. His father, Martin Blim, a native of
Germany, came to America when less than
twenty years of age, and for several years he
worked by the day or month in Syracuse and
Buffalo, N. Y. Early in the '40s he bought a
farm near Blue Island, 111., and in the midst of
the then frontier surroundings he established his
home. He lived to see the remarkable develop-
ment of northeastern Illinois. He owned a large
tract of land, which, owing to its fertility as well
as its proximity to Chicago, became very valu-
able. Politically he was an active Republican,
and in religion a member of the Lutheran Church.
In 1889 he retired from farm work and removed
to Englewood, where he died June 9, 1890, aged
seventy-eight years. His wife, Elizabeth (Schat-
zell) Blim, was born in Germany and accompa-
nied her father, Jacob, to America in childhood,
settling near Evanston, 111. She is still living,
and is now seventy-one years of age. In religion
she is connected with the Methodist Episcopal
Church. In her family were eight children, of
whom Charles was the fourth. He was given a
public school education, but, not feeling satisfied
with it, determined to earn the means for a
broader education. With a fixed resolve he
worked early and late, and carefully hoarded his
earnings. In 1879 he graduated from the Nor-
mal School at Normal Park, after which he
taught for five years, meantime being for a year
principal of the Lemont school. While carrying
on his school work he devoted every leisure mo-
ment to the study of medicine. In the fall of 18S5
he entered Rush Medical College, from which he
graduated in 1S8S, and then settled in Crete.

July 24, 1889, Dr. Blim married Miss Franc
E. Hewes, of Crete, who died September 27, 1897,
leaving three sons, Warren C, Charles H. and
Spencer P. Mrs. Blim was a daughter of Rev.
Samuel Hewes, whose sketch appears on another
page of this work. She was a lady of estimable
character and an active worker in the Methodist
Episcopal Church.

For seven years Dr. Blim has been a member
of the village board, and as such rendered valu-
able services to the village.. On the same ticket

io8

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he was chosen to serve as a member of the school
board, which office he filled for a number of
years, until the demands of his practice caused
him to resign, but after about three years he was
again elected to that office.

HERMAN SCHWEPPE is a member of the
firm of J. H. Schweer & Co., of Crete,
dealers in wagons, buggies and farm imple-
ments, and agents for the Wood, Minneapolis
and McCormick binders and mowers, the John
Deere plows and corn planters, David Bradley's
goods and the Gorham and Hoosier seeders. In
addition to his connection with this thriving en-
terprise he has held office as secretary of the
Crete Farmers' Township Mutual Fire Insurance
Company since January, 1899, and is also one of
its directors. Since April, 1896, he has filled the
office of town clerk with ability.

Mr. Schweppe was born in Washington Town-
ship, near the village of Beecher, this county,
on the 4th of July, 1864. His father, Frederick,
a native of Prussia, Germany, came to the

United States when about thirty years of age, in
184S. For two years he was employed in Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, after which he came to Illinois and
settled at Eagle Lake, this count}-. Purchasing
one hundred and twenty acres of partly broken
land, he gave his attention to its further im-
provement and cultivation. While he had very
limited means on coming here, he was prospered
to such an extent that he owned one hundred
and seventy acres at the time of his death, when
sixty-nine years of age, in 1S90. On becoming
an American citizen he identified himself with
the Republican party. In religion he was con-
nected with the German Lutheran Church. In
his native land he married Ann Wilkie, who sur-
vives him and is how seventy-two years of age.
Until his father's death our subject remained
on the home farm. Afterward he came to Crete
and purchased an interest in his present business.
He is a representative of the energetic, capable
young business men of the village. His atten-
tion is very closely given to the management of
the business and to his duties as an officer in the
fire insurance company. Therefore he has not
had the leisure for participation in public affairs,
although it is his aim to keep posted concerning
public matters of political or commercial impor-
tance.

wW ms?t\ of iluhois

a7oxa ^6 i/cr

cr7~&^/

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

DAVID FORSYTHE.

HON. DAVID FORSYTHE, who is one of
the largest laud owners and cattle-buyers in
Florence Township, was born in Ballynure,
County Antrim, Ireland, April 25, 1850, a son of
Andrew and Jane (Ballentyne) Forsythe. He
was one of eleven children, all but four of whom
still survive, viz. : James, who is internal revenue
collector at Monroe, La. ; Jane, widow of Samuel
Fiuley, of Wilmington, 111.; Mary, widow of
Frederick Alex, of Lake Forest, 111.; Andrew;
Robert H. , a farmer of Onarga, 111.; Samuel, of
Peoria; and David. The grandfather, John For-
sythe, was a lifelong farmer of Ireland. Of him
it is said that ' 'his religious orthodox was equaled
only by the intense devotion he bore to the inter-
ests and fortunes of his country." He had a
brother, Andrew, Sr., a wheelwright in Count} -
Antrim, and a man of broad education, at the
same time intensely loyal to his country and his
church (the Presbyterian). He believed that the
people of a country have a natural right to its
soil, its air, its water; to make its laws; to till its
soil; and to receive such benefit as accrues there-
from. For his intense devotion to the Irish
cause, the animosity of the government pursued
him and all belonging to him. On every pretext
his property was injured, his peace was disturbed
and his family harassed. His nephew and name-
sake grew up with the same convictions and was
even more frank in their expression. He was the
tenant of a brutal landlord, who first subjected
him to every species of hardship and then evicted
him by chopping down the rafters of the house
during his absence, which, falling into the fire-
place, burned the house to the ground. In poverty
and suffering he was compelled to seek another

home for his family. It was in this way that he
was led to come to America, the land of the free.
Hither his eldest son, John, had preceded him
some years. This son later became one of the
most prominent Democrats in Illinois and was
chairman of the state central committee. He was
a co-laborer with Abraham Lincoln in the office
of secretary of state in Springfield, and after
Lincoln's election as president he tendered his
former associate an appointment as United States
consul to Belfast, but the offer was declined.
Later he organized a company to serve in the
Civil war, but on account of illness at home he
resigned his commission and took his family to
Florida. In the early history of Chicago he was
one of the fore'most figures, particularly among
the Irish residents of the city. His death oc-
curred there in 1885.

When fifty-one years of age Andrew Forsythe,
in 1849, crossed the ocean, accompanied by his
family. He came west via the great lakes, but
while sailing up the St. Lawrence River, the en-
gine of the boat exploded and one of his daugh-
ters was killed. Her body was taken to Fond du
Lac, Wis., and there buried. The sad accident
disheartened the others. After reaching Chicago
they proceeded to Sparta, 111., and at Christmas-
time took a vessel at New Orleans for their na-
tive country. In 1861 they again came to the
United States, arriving in Will County in Sep-
tember and settling on section 3, Florence Town-
ship, which land was owned by Hon. John For-
sythe, of Chicago. A few months later the fath-
er went to Chicago, where he remained until
May, 1863. He then returned to Florence
Township, and here spent the remainder of his

I 12

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

days, dying June 20, 1880. It has been said of
him that he preserved to his death the scrupulous
integrity which he had inherited with his Pres-
byterian creed, and that practical Irish patriotism
which was its twin legacy. When the last trib-
ute of respect was paid to his memory, people of
all denominations gathered to attend his funeral,
and the capacity of the largest church in the
place was taxed to its utmost to accommodate his
friends. His wife was a daughter of John Ballen-
tyue, a farmer and tanner; her grandfather was
one of the conspicuous figures in the revolution-
ary periods of his country, and at onetime, when
his life was in the greatest danger, he was con-
veyed out of the country in a barrel.

The education of our subject was completed in
an academy in Chicago. In 1866 he returned to
the Will County farm, of which he took com-
plete charge two years later. In 1S76 he mar-
ried Bessie, daughter of James and Rebecca
(Freeburn) Hamilton, natives of Londonderry,
Ireland. The family crossed the ocean aud set-
tled in Nithburg, Upper Canada, where she was
born. In 1857 they located in Jackson Town-
ship, this county. Some three years afterward
they removed to Florence Township, where Mr.
Hamilton died in 1886. His widow now makes
her home with a daughter in Chicago.

After his marriage Mr. Forsythe purchased
the live stock and appurtenances of the home-
stead, which he farmed as a renter. In 1877 he
bought one-half of section 4, a part of which
property his father had added to the homestead.
On this place he has since resided. During the
intervening years he has added to his original
purchase until he now has nine hundred and
sixty acres of land in one body, some of this be-
ing as good land as can be found in the county.
Since 1867 he has been a large cattle buyer and
feeder, and has shipped to the Chicago mar-
kets. It is almost exclusively through his live-
stock interests that he has gained his success in
life.

In 1 87 1 Mr. Forsythe was elected highway
commissioner and was chosen treasurer of the
board. The year following the bank in Wil-
mington failed and he was a loser to the extent

of $1,100. After filling various minor offices, in
1880 he was elected supervisor of the town of
Florence. His service was so acceptable to the
people that he was twice re-elected to the office,
the last time having no opposition. He refused
to serve a fourth term. In 1872 he was nomi-
nated for the legislature, but refused to accept the
nomination, withdrawing in favor of William
Mooney, who was elected. In 1890 he was
again nominated for the legislature and was
elected bj' a handsome majority. During his
term as a member of the thirty-seventh and
thirty-eighth general assemblies he worked on the
following committees: live-stock and dairying, of
which he was chairman; corporations, canal-river
improvements and commerce, mines and mining,
agriculture, sanitary affairs, retrenchment aud
miscellaneous subjects. He was oue of the fam-
ous one hundred and one who elected Senator
John M. Palmer to the United States senate. He
was the champion of the anti-truck bill and was
largely instrumental in securing its passage. He
also championed a bill to lower the rate of inter-
est from eight to six percent, but accepted a com-
promise at seven per cent.

Fraternally Mr. Forsythe is a member of Wil-
mington Lodge No. 208, A. F. & A. M., and
is a Scottish Rite Mason. He and his wife are
identified with the Presbyterian Church. They
have an only son, John, who is now attending
the high school at Wilmington.

I RED J. SCHOTT, who has spent his entire
fy life in Joliet and is engaged in business in
I this city, is the son of a pioneer, Jacob
Schott. The latter, who was a native of Ham-
burg, Germany, learned the trade of a painter
and decorator in his native country and from
there, a young man, came to America, securing
employment with a firm in New York City. The
firm, Jevne & Almini, secured the contract for
decorating the penitentiary at Joliet and sent Mr.
Schott to take charge of this work in 1854. The

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

contract for the decorating of the state peniten-
tiary secured the firm other large contracts that
were important and profitable. In 1855 Mr. Schott
started a paint shop at No. 415 Jefferson street,
where, in 1872, he erected a substantial business
building, and in this he continued in business
until the time of his death, September 27, 1SS4,
at the age of fifty-nine. He was made a Master
Mason in Mount Joliet Lodge. Before leaving
Germany he took part in the revolution of 1848
and it was largely on account of his connection
with it that he decided to leave his native land.
He married Rosa Helm, who was born near
Munich, Bavaria, Germany, a daughter of Anton
and Hannah Helm, by whom she was brought to
America in infancy. Her father settled on the
present site of Watertown, Wis., about 1835,
where he improved a farm from the wilderness.
Later he sold the place and removed to Baraboo,
the same state, where he engaged in farm pur-
suits. He died in 1883 and his wife in 1896.
Mrs. Schott is still living and makes her home in
Joliet. Of her children, Fred is the oldest; the
daughters are Mamie, Mrs. August Schoenshadt,
who died in Joliet; and Susie, who married John
Raible and now resides in Birmingham, Ala.

In Joliet, where he was born June 6, 1865, the
subject of this sketch received his education in
the city schools. Leaving the high school at the
end of the third year, he turned his attention to
business and learned painting and decorating
under his father. On the death of the latter he
took charge of the business, of which he has
been sole proprietor since 1896, continuing the
business in the building so long occupied by his
father. He is one of the leading Masons of
Mount Joliet Lodge No. 42, A. F. & A. M.; also
belongs to Joliet Chapter No. 27, R. A. M.,
Joliet Council, and Commandery No. 4, K.T.,of
this city, also Medinah Temple, N. M. S., of
Chicago. The Modern Woodmen of America is
another fraternal organization that receives his
support. Socially he is connected with the Union
Club. He is not a member of any denomina-
tion, but contributes to the Central Presbyterian
Church, with which his wife is identified.

The marriage of Mr. Schott took place in his

home town, November 24, 1896, and united him
with Miss May Louise Smith, who was born in
New York state and educated in Evanston, 111.,
and by whom he has a son, Fred J., Jr. The fa-
ther of Mrs. Schott, James Monroe Smith, re-
moved from New York to Evanston and after-
ward engaged in business in Chicago.

"DWARD FUCHS is one of the well-to-do
*t) retired farmers now living in Joliet. He
__ was born in Prussia, Germany, August 31,
1845, a son of Christian and Christiana (Engle-
hart) Fuchs, also natives of Prussia. His father,
who was born in 1809, grew to manhood in his
native land and there engaged in farming. In
the spring of 1852 he came to America, landing
in New York after a stormy voyage of nine
weeks. From New York he came directly west
to Chicago, and a day later proceeded to what is
now Tinley Park, Cook County, where he
bought eighty acres in Orland Township for $5
an acre, paying half in cash and giving a mort-
gage for the remainder. Three years later he
sold the place for $10 an acre and bought another
farm of forty acres in the same township, where
he remained for nine years. His next removal
brought him to Frankfort Township, this county,
where he purchased an eighty-acre tract, and to
this he added another eighty adjoining, across
the line in Cook County. Here the remaining
years of his life were spent. After coming to
this country he identified himself with the Re-
publican party. He was reared in the Evangeli-
cal Lutheran faith and always affiliated with that
church. Personally he was an upright, capable
and sagacious man, and was highly esteemed.
He died on his homestead September 16, 1874.
His wife, who was born in 1817, is still living.
Of their children, Julius occupies the home farm;
and Emma is the wife of Fernon Smith, a farmer
of Orland Township, Cook County.

At the time the family immigrated to this coun-
try our subject was a child of six years. He

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

grew to manhood in Cook and Will Counties and
early acquired a thorough knowledge of agricul-
ture. May 27, 1872, he married Miss Bertha
Dall, a native of Zinn Kotten, Sohlingen, Prus-
sia, born May 12, 1842, a daughter of Jonathan
and Amelia (Hartkopt) Dall. Her father was
born November25, 1S12, and her mother May 23,
181 8, both in the same place as herself. After
having followed the cutler's trade in German} 1
for some years, her father, in 1848, brought the
family to America, landing in New Orleans after
a voyage of seven weeks. He came direct to Ill-
inois and bought one hundred and twenty acres
in Kendall County for $Soo, which he sold three
years later for $1,000. He then worked at black-
smithing in Ottawa for a year, after which he
went back to Kendall County and bought an im-
proved farm of forty acres. Four years later he
came to Frankfort Township, this county, and
bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres,
where he remained for eight years. His next
purchase was one hundred and ninety-six acres
in New Lenox Township, and on that place he
died June 30, 1885. For some years he served
as path master and road commissioner in Frank-
fort Township. In religion he was a Lutheran.
His wife died December 30, 1SS9. They were
the parents of eight children, three of whom are
living, namely: Bertha, Mrs. Fuchs; Ida, wife
of Wilhelm Stoll, of Joliet; and Emma, who mar-
ried George Busche and lives on the old home-
stead in New Lenox Township.

After his marriage Mr. Fuchs settled on the
eighty acres of the homestead that was situated

across the line in Cook County. This he had
purchased prior to his marriage. After less than
a year he sold the farm and bought eighty seven
acres in Homer Township, where he remained
for three years. His next purchase was one hun-
dred and twenty-five acres near the village of
Spencer, in New Lenox Township. A short
time afterward he added forty acres to the farm.
He remained there for five years and then bought
a residence, with ten acres, in the outskirts of the
village of Frankfort, and retired from farm life.
From that time he engaged in buying, selling and
trading real estate, and his success in this was
even more marked than it had been in farming.
In all of his transactions he showed shrewd, keen
judgment. He owns the old homestead compris-
ing one hundred and fifty-six acres of well-im-
proved land. In 1891 he moved to Joliet, where
he owns and occupies a fine residence on Ex-
change street. He also has two other residence
properties in this city, the Union block on Cass
street, a business block of five stores, and various
lots in Joliet and Chicago. In politics he is a
Republican and in religion a Lutheran. He has
always favored public improvements. As a citi-
zen he is esteemed and respected. He and his
wife became the parents of six children, viz.:
Julia, at home; George E., who is connected with
the Beach dry-goods house; Mathilda, who was
born March 20, 1877, and died September 16 of
the same year; Annie K., who was born May 25,
1879, and died on the same day; Amelia E., who
was born November 25, 1884, and died May 22,
1888; and Clara E., born April 19, 18S7.

LIBF IV
OF 1 E
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

t/9^^2 o^V-c^e^Ky

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

117

THOMAS HERSCHBACH.

HO MAS HERSCHBACH, who is a dealer
in hardware, tinware, pumps, windmills,
etc., at Frankfort Station, was born in Joliet
in 1844. His father, Henry Hersehbach, a na-
tive of Prussia, came to the United States in
1841, and after a short sojourn in Chicago settled
in Joliet. During the construction of the canal
he was employed on it. In 1868 he removed to
Minnesota and settled at St. Cloud, where he fol-
lowed the carpenter's trade and the furniture
business. For some years he was connected with
his son, Henry, in business in that town. He
died there when eighty-two years of age. Per-
sonally he was a man of quiet disposition, re-
served and retiring, yet at the same time he
possessed energy, good judgment and determina-
tion of character. During the early days of Joliet
he was a resident of the famous "bloody" second
ward and he also did considerable building in this
city, being a contractor and builder. He mar-
ried Susan Assenmacher, of Prussia, who died in
St. Cloud at the age of eighty-two. They were
the parents of nine children, five of whom are
living, namely: Henry, of St. Cloud; Mary,
widow of Mathias Dresding; Elizabeth, Mrs.
Limprich; Thomas; and Barbara, wife of John
Schirer.

When twelve years of age our subject left
school. The education he subsequently received
was the result of his exercise of the powers of
observation and experience. From contact with
the world he acquired a broad knowledge of men
and things. For five and one-half years he
worked in the New York dry-goods store, mean-
time working his way up from a humble position
to a remunerative one. Afterward he learned
6

the tinner's trade with W. F. Barrett, father of
J. O. Barrett, and served his full time, three
years. In 1868 he came to Frankfort Station,
which was then a small hamlet, whose streets
during the spring months were almost impassa-
ble on account of mud. Here he opened a tin-
shop. At first he had but a small stock. In
time he added to it and now carries a full line of
hardware, tinware, stoves, etc. A few years ago
he bought a building which he remodeled and
enlarged, and which gives him a floor space of
100x26 feet, besides his large storerooms. He
also owns a farm in Hamilton County, Iowa,
which he rents. His success is worthy of com-
mendation, for he started out with only $100
and has attained, through his unaided efforts,
his present high position in business circles.

By his marriage, in 1870, to Alvina Mane, Mr.
Hersehbach has four children, viz.: Charles, now
in Chicago; Otto, at home; Emma and Mabel. In
politics our subject has always been a Republican,
believing firmly in the principles of his part)'. He
is interested in a number of fraternal organiza-
tions, his preference being for Masonry. He is
past master of Mount Joliet Lodge, A. F. &
A. M.; Joliet Chapter, R. A. M. ; Joliet Com-
mandery No. 4, K. T. ; and Oriental Consis-
tory of Chicago, taking his thirty-second degree
in 1877.

(lAMES RUMSEY BOWEN was born near

Ithaca, N. Y., June 2, 1842, the youngest

Q) of a family of two sons and two daughters,

all deceased except himself. His father, George,

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was a native of Enfield, Tompkins County,
N.V., and by trade a carpenter and builder; and
his mother, Pernulla, was born in Enfield, Tomp-
kins County, where her father, James Rumsey,
engaged in farm pursuits. Mr. Bow-en died
when a young man, but his wife lived to be sev-
enty-two years of age. Their son, our subject,
was employed on farms from an early age, and
saved his earnings until he was able to buy ninety
acres of land.

August ii, 1862, Mr. Bowen enlisted in Com-
pany G, One Hundred and Ninth New York
Infantry, and from Binghamton, the point of
muster in, was sent south to Bladensburg, Md. ,
six miles from Washington, on the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad, where his company engaged in
guard duty and captured more than three thou-
sand deserters. He won distinction by person-
ally capturing McCarthy, clerk to the paymas-
ter, who had stolen $40,000 from the paymaster
and absconded with the money. Later he was
detailed with six men to guard Beltsville, on the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, where he remained
during the winter. During his last day at that
point, he and his comrades captured three
bounty jumpers, who tried to bribe them in order
to secure freedom, but all offers were refused by
their captors. When Burnside reorganized the
army at Annapolis, Md., to make the last cam-
paign against Petersburg, Mr. Bowen joined him
and took part in the battles of the Wilderness,
Spottsylvania, North Anna, Cold Harbor, Gaines'
Farm, and the battles before Petersburg. En-
listing as a private, he was commissioned cor-
poral and sergeant, and in 1S64 was made second
lieutenant of Company G. After the battle of
Mine Explosion, in front of Petersburg, he com-
manded the company. In the engagement that
followed, so many of his men were killed or cap-
tured that only eight of the company responded
to roll call the next morning. After the grand
review in Washington he was honorably dis-
charged in Binghamton, X. V.

Returning to Ithaca, Mr. Bowen engaged in
the grocery business. Two years later he went
to Enfield, where he was proprietor of the
Falls hotel, a summer resort, for four years,

Two years were then spent in Ithaca, after which,
in 1879, he came to Joliet, where he carried on a
hotel business for three years. In 18S2 he be-
came superintendent for Jefferson Hodgkius, of
Chicago, but the following year started in the
gravel business for himself. After a short time
at Rowell's pit, he had charge of the Woodruff
pit for ten years, but in 1S97 removed to the
Mound, where the best gravel in the country is
secured. He owns one No. 3 crusher, of one
hundred yards per day capacity, and one No. 6
crusher, with a capacity of four hundred yards
per day. Since 1897 he has had contracts to
furnish gravel to the Rock Is'and Railroad, be-
sides which he makes shipments to Chicago and
neighboring towns. He has had the contract to
furnish macadam for many streets, both in Joliet
and elsewhere, and his work of this kind is as
fine as any in Joliet. To facilitate shipments, a
double switch is connected with the Chicago &
Rock Island Railroad, and power is furnished by
an engine of one hundred and ten horse-power.
During his residence in his native town, Mr.
Bowen married Miss Augusta Kellogg, daughter
of Joseph Kellogg, a tobacco manufacturer of
Ithaca, N. Y.

EAPT. ELLSWORTH G. BOWEN, the only
son of James R. and Augusta (Kellogg)
Bowen, is a member of the firm of James
R. Bowen & Son, well known contractors of
Joliet. He was born in Ithaca, N. Y., October
12, 1S68, and received his education in the pub-
lic schools of that city and Chicago. When four-
teen years of age he secured employment with a
wholesale paper house in Chicago, beginning in
the lowest position and working his way up-
ward gradually, until he was made cashier and
bookkeeper. Afterward, for five years, he held
a responsible position with the wholesale millin-
ery firm of D. B. Fisk & Co. He resigned to ac-
cept a more profitable position as clerk with the
Illinois Central Railroad Company. Two years
after coming with the company he was made

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

119

chief clerk of the bridge and building depart-
ment, and continued in that capacity until 1895,
when he resigned. After a trip through the south
he returned and embarked in business with his
father, furnishing material for street building.
They handle the Mound gravel, which is pro-
nounced by experts to be the finest gravel in the
United States. While his father has charge of the
work at the Mound, he superintends all of the
street work, managing it in an able manner and
proving that he is a man of fine business judg-
ment.

Fraternally Captain Bowen is connected with
Matteson Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; Joliet Chapter,
R. A. M.; Joliet Council; and Joliet Commaud-
ery No. 4, K. T., in all (except the Council) of
which he has been an officer; also a member of
the Knights of the Globe and the Eastern Star.
In politics he is a Republican, active in the party
and uncompromising in his adherence to its
principles.

The military history of Captain Bowen dates
from May 6, 1885, when he enlisted as a private
in Battery C, Illinois National Guard, which
served actively during the stone quarry strike
and riots between Joliet and Chicago. The bat-
tery was mustered out by special order July 13,
18S5. In the following year, on the 14th of
April, he enlisted in Chicago as a private in
Troop D, First Illinois Cavalry. March 14,
1887, he was transferred to Company L, Sec-
ond Infantry, I. N. G. He was made a corporal
June 10, 1888, and a sergeant August 6 of the
same year. May 15, 1889, he was appointed
first sergeant; September 15, 1S90, he was
elected second lieutenant; April 13, 1891, first
lieutenant; and July 6, 1891, captain. He was
re-elected captain July 6, 1894. On his re-
moval to Joliet he received from Col. Fred Ben-
nett an appointment as captain and adjutant of
the Third Infantry, I. N. G., and was commis-
sioned as such by the governor. At the opening
of the war with Spain he was commissioned ad-
jutant (with the rank of captain) of the Third
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was mustered in
at Springfield, 111., May8, 1898. He accompanied
his regiment to Chickamauga Park and from

there to Newport News, thence on the cruiser
"St. Louis" to Porto Rico. He was the first mem-
ber of the Third to land in Porto Rico. While on
board the transport "St. Louis" he was ordered by
the colonel to go ashore with several convalescent
soldiers and report with them to General Miles,
who directed him to conduct them to their re-
spective regiments. This accomplished, he re-
turned to his own regiment, which landed thirty
miles from Ponce under cover- of the fire of the
opposing ships.

During the campaign that followed he was an
active participant, serving honorably and effi-
ciently until the regiment was summoned home
by the cessation of hostilities. On the organiza-
tion of the first regiments for service in the Phil-
ippines he received from President McKinley,
without solicitation on his part, an appointment
as first lieutenant, and was assigned to the Thir-
tieth Infantry, U. S. V.; but having joined his
father in a business that demanded his entire
personal attention, he was obliged, reluctantly,
to decline the commission. By natural gifts and
practical experience he is fitted for military
duties, and his service at the front was such as
to reflect credit upon his patriotic spirit and zeal,
giving him a high place in the ranks of the offi-
cers and soldiers, to whose energy the speedy ter-
mination of the war was due.

3ACOB ADLER. After having for years con-
ducted a large and successful meat business
in Joliet, Mr. Adler in 1897 turned the busi-
ness over to his sous, Jacob C, Jr., and Law-
rence, and his son-in law, Daniel Lenuon, who
continue it under the title of J. C. Adler &
Co. Since that time he has, with his youngest
son, Michael, been extensively engaged in rais-
ing and selling cattle, having a valuable farm of
two hundred and sixty acres in Troy Township,
three miles from Joliet, and a forty-acre tract at
Enterprise, where he has his slaughter house.
In addition to the management of these interests

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he has been interested in the packing business
at intervals since 1861, and he has also dealt ex-
tensively in real-estate in Joliet and farm prop-
erty, including a farm in Missouri which he now
owns. Among the prominent business men of
the city he was one of the few who safely
weathered the financial storm of 1S73. He has
been helpful in promoting local enterprises by
assisting in making up the required bonus, and
was particularly interested in the starting of the
tinplate and rolling mills. While he is a Roman
Catholic he has contributed to every church, no
matter what its creed, that has been erected in
Joliet. He assisted in organizing both St.
Patrick's and St. John's churches, and is actively
connected with the latter. In the building up of
St. Francis Academy he took a prominent part,
and has since served as a member of the board of
directors. During war times he supported Abra-
ham Lincoln and the policy of the administration,
after which he joined the Democratic party and is
now a believer in the issuing of greenback cur-
rency and in the free coinage of silver. For four
years he served as alderman from the sixth ward,
during which time he was a participant in many
measures for the benefit of the city and the en-
largement of its business interests.

Mr. Adler was born at Bachen, Canton Trier,
kreis Mertzig, Prussia, March 17, 1S37, a son of
Michael and Margaret (Sebastian) Adler. In the
fall of 1837 the family left Havre on a sailing
vessel and after a voyage of almost four months
landed in New York, thence went via Albany
and the Erie canal to Buffalo, thence up the lakes
and to Chicago, where they secured an ox-team,
driving on to Indiana and buying a farm there.
However, in July, 1838, they came tothiscounty
and settled at Sagg's bridge. In the spring of
1S39 the father bought a farm on what is now the
site of New Lenox. Four years later he settled
two miles south of Joliet, where he improved a
valuable farm. After a bus>- and active life as a
farmer, in 1868 he retired to Joliet and made his
home on South Chicago street until he died, aged
eighty-six years and six months. His wife died
at the same place December 15, 1888, aged
eighty-three years. Of their eleven children

seven attained mature years, namely: Jacob;
Mrs. Margaret Rappal, of Chicago; Angeline,
now Sister Liguori of the Order of St. Francis;
Peter Paul, who died in 1S96; Veronica and
Mary, of Joliet; and Jasper, who died at twenty-
nine years of age.

Among the pupils in the first log school house
built in New Lenox Township was the subject of
this sketch. Afterward he attended school in
Joliet Township. In 1858 he began to cultivate
some of his father's property. He had already
acquired considerable experience in agriculture.
In fact, when he was only seven he had driven
the oxen that were attached to a breaking plow
and seven years later he began to push the
plow — no easy task, as all know who have en-
gaged in breaking prairie soil. When the Pike's
Peak gold excitement started in 1S59 he started
west with a part}- of five. Arriving at Leaven-
worth, Kans., they outfitted with three yoke of
oxen and three wagons. He and his partner,
Clemence Erhard, went in a wagon via the
Smoky Hill route direct to Denver. At one time,
while crossing the plains, they counted five hun-
dred buffaloes in one herd, and they saw as many
as fifty autelopes in a drove, while at night the
wolves howled on every side. The trip from
Leavenworth to Denver took from April 15 to
June 3.

Proceeding to Gregory's Diggings, in the Clear
Creek district, Mr. Adler en route had many
hazardous experiences, and afterward engaged in
mining there and at Russell's Gulch. In the
fall he returned to Denver, thence by mule team
to St. Joe, Mo., where he traded his team and
wagon for a farm in Missouri; the latter, how-
ever, he soon sold, never occupying it. Return-
ing to Joliet he started soon for the Michigan
pineries, but at Centreville, Ind., he bought
horses and cattle and came back home. In the
spring of 1S61 heopeneda meat market in Joliet,
having Joseph Richmond as a partner for three
years. He then bought Mr. Richmond's interest
and his brother-in-law, Frederick Rappal, be-
came his partner; the latter in turn was bought out
by Jasper Adler. They bought cattle in Iowa.
Kansas and Missouri, and shipped to the east.

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

121

Two years later he opened a meat market on
Chicago street and his brother, Peter, became his
partner, to whom he later sold the shop. In 1877
he bought the National Hotel block and started
a market at that location, also fitted up the
National hotel and four store buildings in the
block. He continued in the meat business until
1S97, when he transferred the business to mem-
bers of his family. His residence is at No. 113
South Eastern avenue.

January 11, 1866, in Joliet, Mr. Adler married
Miss Emily T. Erhard, who was born at the
family home on Bluff street November n, 1842.
She was one of seven children, the eldest of
whom, George Clemence, now of Joliet, was the
first male child born of German parents in Will
County. Joseph is a farmer in Manhattan Town-
ship. Lawrence is a Roman Catholic priest, and
Louisa makes her home with him. The father,
George Erhard, was born in Wertsburg, Bavaria,
May 7, 1807, ason of John Erhard. He came to
America in 1833 and worked in Detroit, Mich.,
but soon walked from there to Chicago, and in
April, 1836, came to Joliet, where he built and
for manj- years operated a brewery on North
Bluff street, the stone work of which is still
standing. Afterward he settled on a farm that
was then one mile from Joliet, but now adjoins
the constantly-growing city. The last two years
of his life were spent in Somonauk, 111., where he
died June 2S, 1890, at the age of eighty-three
years, two months and eleven days. His wife,
Louisa (Periolat) Erhard, was born in Alsace and
came to the United States in 1834; she died on
the home farm July 27, 1887, aged seventy-three
years. The seven children of Mr. and Mrs.
Adler who reached maturity are named as fol-
lows: Margaret Louise, wife of Daniel P. Lennon
and mother of two children, Jacob J. and Daniel;
Jacob C, Jr., who was educated in Niagara
University and Bryant &Stratton's Business Col-
lege, and is now connected with the firm of J. C.
Adler & Co. ; Lawrence, who attended Niagara
University, and is also a successor to his father in
the meat business; Emily V., who was educated
in Niagara Convent; Michael, who was a student
in Notre Dame University and is now engaged in

the cattle business; Patricia and Catherine, who
have been given good educational advantages in
St. Francis' Academy.

Of the above, Jacob C. married Elizabeth
Young, daughter of Henry Young, proprietor of
the Young building. They have one son, George
Henry. Michael married Angelia Murphy, a
native of Joliet and a daughter of David Murphy,
whose father, David Murphy, was a pioneer of
Will County. Daniel P. Lennon is a son of John
Lennon, a well-known early settler of Will Coun-
ty and a pioneer in the marble business in Joliet.

HOHN F. WALL, a successful business man
I of Joliet, is the proprietor of a large agri-
Q) cultural implement store on Joliet and Van
Buren streets. He occupies all of a three-story
building, 44x80 feet in dimensions, where he
keeps in stock a full line of steam threshing ma-
chines, Deere and Janesville plows, Bain wagons,
Columbia, Wisconsin and Henney and other
carriages, seeds of all kinds, and, in fact, every-
thing to be found in a model store of this kind.
He lives at No. 505 Wilcox street, in a residence
built by himself several years ago. He is con-
nected with the Modern Woodmen of America
and is an active member of St. Patrick's Church
of this city.

A resident of Joliet since the spring of 1881,
Mr. Wall was born at New Diggings, Wis., in
1852, a son of Robert and Katherine (Crowley)
Wall, natives of Canada. His father, who was
reared in New York, came to Joliet at an early
age and followed the blacksmith's trade in this
city during the building of the canal. Next he
engaged in lead mining in Wisconsin, where he
died in 1855. His wife survived him for many
years, dying at Highland, Wis., September 22,
1896. They were the parents of five sons and
four daughters, of whom three sons and three
daughters are living. One son, James, who was
a sergeant in the Tenth Wisconsin Infantry dur-
ing the Civil war, later became a member of the

122

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Forty-fourth Wisconsin, and for a time was held
a prisoner in Libby. He died in Wisconsin ten
years after his return from the war. Another
son, Richard, now living in Kansas City, was
also a member of the Forty-fourth Wisconsin
Infantry. Two sons, Peter and John F., make
their home in Joliet.

The education of our subject was obtained in
public and select schools and in Avoca Academy,
where he was a student for two years. After-
ward he taught school in Highland, Wis., and
later six months in South Dakota. In 1S81,
coming to Joliet, he became an employe of
G. C. Erhard. in the implement business, re-
maining with his successors, Watkins & Son. in
the same business until 18S7, when he bought out
his employers and continued the business on
Desplaines street. In 1892 he removed to his
present location, corner of Van Buren and Joliet
streets. After coming to Joliet he married Miss
Bessie O'Connor, daughter of James O'Connor,
an early settler of this count}-. They are the
parents of six children, William, Jessie, Gene-
vieve, John, Raymond and Helen.

(ILLIAM DAVIDSON, secretary and treas-
urer of the Joliet Pioneer Stone Company,
is identified with one of the leading enter-
prises of its kind in the county. In 1867 he and
W. A. Strong bought the Swalm quarry, which
was the first opened in this section for commercial
use and was also the first to make shipments by
canal. Later they bought the Wilson quarry, in
which Mr. Davidson afterward bought his part-
ner's interest and to which he has since added
until it includes nearly one hundred acres. At
the time of purchase it had only one derrick and
that a crude one; now its machinery is valued at
$60,000 and includes man}' derricks and a fine
crane with a capacity of twelve tons. A yard
was also established at Twenty-seventh street in
Chicago, where he had a twenty-ton crane, but
the elevation of the railroad tracks rendered the

continuance of the yard impracticable. In 1885
planers were put in and saws ten years later, and
there are four steam derricks with a capacity of
fifteen tons each. In 1872 he furnished $99,000
worth of stone flagging for Chicago streets, mean-
time furnishing employment to three hundred
and twenty-five men. He also furnished all of
the stone used in the plant of the steel company
at South Chicago, where he placed an average of
twelve to fourteen thousand per month. In
1S69 he sold a fourth interest in the quarry to his
brother. In 1SS2 he incorporated the Joliet
Pioneer Stone Company, of which he has been
manager from the first and in which he owns the
controlling interest. The capacity of the plant
is very large and by means of switches, giving
easy connection with railroads, shipments are
made to all parts of the United States, from New
Vork to the mountains. The remarkable suc-
cess of the business is almost wholly due to the
ability of the owner, although he has been fortu-
nate in having associated with him men of quick
insight and great energy. Nature endowed him
with superior talents. He was only eleven years
of age when he completed the higher arithmetic
and his knowledge of mathematics has always
proved of assistance to him, while his logical rea-
soning, clear discernment and indomitable pluck
have aided in securing his success.

The Davidsons are a very old English family
that originated in Denmark. Robert Davidson,
a farmer of Cumberlandshire, England, married
Esther Howe, member of a wealthy and ancient
family of Threcot. When advanced in years he
died in Liverpool; she was accidentally killed by
the running away of a horse in 1835. Of their
seven children who attained mature years four
came to America, three being brought to this
country by the fourth, William. The eldest,
John, who was with William in business, died in
Joliet in July, 1S95, a * seventy-two years of age;
Joseph, a partner in the business, died in this city
in March, 1S95; and a sister died in April of the
same year, aged eighty. The fourth in the
family, William, was born in Tallantire, Cumber-
land, England, October 2S, 1827. When seven
years of age he secured work herding cattle for

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

123

three pence a day. His school advantages were
very limited, his education being acquired by
self-culture. After working on farms for some
years he began railroading at Newcastle-on-the-
Tyne, and for four years was employed in track-
laying. Next he went to Liverpool, where he
worked on the police force for three months.
From the time he was eight years old it had been
his ambition to come to America and at last the
opportunity was offered. A Connecticut firm
sent a man to England to secure one hundred and
fifty quarry men, and under an engagement with
him William and Joseph Davidson crossed the
Atlantic ocean on a sailing vessel, which landed
in New York April 24, 1S50, after a voyage of
twenty-four days. Three days later he was at
work in the Middlesex (Conn.) quarry, where he
remained for ninety-nine days, paying for his
passage, but receiving no money from the firm.
Finding himself unable to secure his wages, he
went to Philadelphia, thence to Baltimore, and
from there to Little York, Pa., where he worked
in a quarry for six weeks. When the quarry
was closed he walked one hundred and fifty miles
and back again to within one mile of his first loca-
tion in Pennsylvania, and there he secured work
on the Erie canal. Six weeks later he walked to
Dalton, Ohio. During those long walks he
endured every privation and hardship. More
than once he lacked needed food and comforts.
The last day he walked thirty-two miles without
breakfast or dinner, then worked for a few hours,
earning seventy-five cents, after which he walked
three miles to a boarding house. For nine months
he was employed in track-laying on the Pitts-
burg & Fort Wayne Railroad. After he worked
six weeks it was found that he alone, of all the
men, could put in the switches and side tracks
satisfactorily, and he was therefore placed in
charge of this work, receiving $3 per day, after
which he was never without money.

Leaving the road at Massillon, he went to
Michigan City, Ind., and contracted to take tile
from there to Lafayette. In 1852 he went to Chi-
cago and from there, after an illness of ten days,
proceeded to Kankakee, where he began to work
setting; out stone for the railroad. He remained

there for three years and from the first acted as
foreman and opened the quarries. For two
months he quarried in the bottom of the Kanka-
kee River, but, the weather being cold, he turned
his attention to the opening of a quarry in the
bank. Through a flattering inducement held out
by Robert Cunningham, of Joliet, in 1S55, he
came to Joliet to work in his quarry. In July,
1856, he first became connected with the Wilson
quarry, of which he was superintendent for
eleven years, his work proving very profitable for
the owners, as he brought the quarry from a run-
down and unprofitable condition to a substantial
financial basis. He continued to work for his
original employers until he purchased thequar^-
in 1867.

From the formation of the Republican party
Mr. Davidson has voted that ticket. He has
allowed himself little recreation or relaxation
from business duties, but in the fall of 1872, with
his family, returned to England, where he re-
newed the associations of youth and enjoyed a
pleasant vacation. His first wife, Jane Sterling,
was born in Canada, of Scotch descent, and died
in Joliet; afterward he married Mrs. Ann
(Hudson) Finney, a widow with six children.
Two children were born of their union, one of
whom is living, Mrs. Esther J. Pierce, of Engle-
wood. After the death of Mrs. Ann Davidson
our subject married Mrs. Melissa (Van Anchan)
Dewey, who was born in Pennsylvania and died
in Joliet. The present wife of Mr. Davidson,
whom he married in Englewood, was Mrs.
Amelia Higbom, of Chicago, an estimable lady,
who shares with him the respect of acquaintances
and the regard of friends.

(lOHN CHARLES DOESCHER, who for
I years was one of Endor's most prominent
Q) men, is now making his home in Crete. He
was born in Brunswick, Lake County, Ind., April
5, 1848. His father, Herman Doescher, a native
of the kingdom of Hanover, there grew to man-
hood and married Johanna Margreta Steffens.

L AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

manufac-
turer

successfu". dness of that kind at

America in
ind became one of
It had been his ex-
pects' to this country, to es-

B 3 and he bought
real estate there, but fa change "

:ed in Indiana, where he became the

owner of about three hundred acres. When ad-

v red from farm pursuits and

came to Will County, where he made his home

J. C. Doescher, at Endor, dying

chty-three years of age. When a

young man he had served in the Hanover army,

in accordance with the laws of his country.

: was a Republican and in early days

held a number of public offices. His wife died

in Indiana, leaving six children, namely: Gesine,

the widow of Henry Anderman: Herman X., a

farmer in Crete Township: Johanna, the widow of

-t Batterman; Frederica. widow of Charles

.'.so residents of Crete j: Christine, wife

of Henry Meyer, of Brunswick, Ind., and John

Charles, of this sketch.

til fourteen years of age our subject remain-
ed on the Indiana homestead. His first work was
in a harness shop. Later he was employed in a
grocery store in Chicago. In October, 1864, when
only sixteen years of age, he enlisted in Company

G. Twelfth Indiana Cavalry. With his regiment
he went to Alabama and other southern states.
He took part in the battles of Murfreesboro,
Nashville and Mobile, and was mustered out at
iburg in November, 1S65.

Returning to Indiana, Mr. Doescher took
charge of the home farm, which he conducted for
eight years. In 1S74 he came to Endor, Will
County, and bought a store that his brother-in
law, Charles Horn, had established there. Later
he added windmills, pumps and steamfitting to
his business and in 1SS2 he started a sawmill,
which he still owns and operates. In October,
1S99, he sold his grocery and dry goods store and
came to Crete, where he expects to make his
home in the future. He has built a neat resi-
dence in the village and expects to continue his
windmill and pump business.

In the local affairs of the Republican party
Mr. Doescher has been active. For a long time
he held office as township treasurer. For almost
a quarter of a century he served as postmaster of
Endor. While living in Indiana he married
Miss Henrietta Weber, who was born in Sheboy-
gan, Wis. To their marriage four children were
born, namely: Otto H. H., February 7. 1S71:
Matilda L., June 11, 1S72; Ida A., who was born
September 12, 1S73, and who died April 17, 189S,
and Henry H.. April 6, 1876. The three first
named were born at Brunswick, Ind., and the
voungest at Endor, 111.

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

127

CHARLES CLAYES.

EHARLES CLAYES, deceased, still lives in
the hearts and memories of his friends and
neighbors in Frankfort Township. As one
of the men who by personal sacrifice and perse-
vering industry reclaimed a farm from the raw
prairie land, and who, at the same time, assisted
in the development of local industries, he will be
long remembered by those among whom he made
his home. He was a representative of the best
class of pioneers. Coming here in his youth,
when the county was unsettled, he bore his part
in the development of the laud and assisted in
all worthy enterprises. For many years he was
active in agricultural circles, but ill health forced
him to relinquish all active pursuits, and for fif-
teen years before his death he was an invalid,
suffering constantly and greatly from rheuma-
tism; in the midst of his sufferings, however, he
was always very patient, and no one ever heard
a complaint from his lips. When death finally
brought him release from pain, he entered the
great unknown eternity " as one who wraps the
drapery of his couch about him and lies down
to pleasant slumber."

The Clayes family originated in Wales, but was
represented in New Hampshire in a very early
day. Our subject's father, Peter, was a native
of New Hampshire, but about 18 15 removed to
Monroe County, N. Y., and twenty years later
came to Illinois, taking up a claim near Lockport.
After spending four years on that place, in 1839
he came to Frankfort Township, which had not
yet been surveyed. Here he bought school and
government land and settled down to farm life.
In earlier years he had followed the cabinet-
maker's trade, but after coming west devoted his
attention to farming. His last days were spent

with his son Charles. He died in May, 1S49,
when seventy- five years of age. He married
Louise Metcalf, a native of Massachusetts. She
died in December, 1849. They had ten chil-
dren, the eldest of whom, Caroline, was born on
the 4th of July, 1799, and the youngest, Charles,
was born on the 4th of July, 1819.

When almost fifteen years of age our subject
came with the family to this county, and he was
about twenty when they settled in Frankfort
Township. Afterward he took charge of the
homestead and cared for his parents as long
as the) r lived. As the years passed by he
met with increasing success and often added to
his possessions by the purchase of additional
farm land, becoming in time the owner of more
than three hundred acres, on which he engaged
in stock-raising and general farming. His spec-
ialty was the raising of cattle and sheep. At the
time of his death he owned two hundred and
seventy-two acres. In 1890 he rented his farm
and took up his residence in Frankfort Station,
where he died June 16, 1894, at the age of sev-
enty-five years. He was always deeply inter-
ested in local affairs and voted the Republican
ticket. He was the first town clerk of Frank-
fort, and for some years served on the school
board. Fraternal organizations did not appeal
to him, as he was a man of domestic tastes and
preferred to spend his leisure hours with his
family rather than in a lodge. While he did not
belong to any church, he attended and supported
the Methodist Episcopal Church.

March 26, 1846, Mr. Clayes married Eliza A.,
daughter of Luther Williams, who had settled in
Yankee Settlement in Homer Township in 1835.
Mr. and Mrs. Clayes became the parents of six

128

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

children, namely: Amelia L., who married W.
H. Mettler, and lives in Bureau Count}-, 111.;
Emma S., wife of J. S. Claus, of Englewood;
Mary J., who married L. M. Mettler, also of
Englewood; Charles W., a hardware merchant
in Minneapolis, Minn.; Mattie H., who died
July 5, 1894; and Adeline E., wife of Dr. R. H.
Henry, of Peotone, 111.

(ILLIAM H. WHITE, proprietor of the
Columbia laundry at No. 106 Jefferson
street, Joliet, was born at Braidwood, this
county, January 22, 1874, a son of George VV.
and Rebecca (Harris) White. Of ten children
comprising the family he and a brother are the
only ones in Joliet. His father, a native of Scot-
land, followed farming in his native land, but
while still a young man he came to America,
more than forty years ago. Settling in this
county he embarked in agricultural pursuits here.
For a short time he also experimented with farm
work in Kansas, but, not meeting with success,
returned to Illinois, purchasing land in Iroquois
County, near Kankakee, that was owned by the
Illinois Central Railroad Company. He now
makes his home in Braidwood and is living re-
tired from business cares. He is connected with
the Odd Fellows and in politics votes with the
Republicans.

The education of our subject was begun in
public schools and completed in Putnam's Busi-
ness College in Joliet. His first experience in
merchandising was with J. R. Hobbs, with whom
he remained for one and one-half years. Later
he spent fourteen months with Royston & Clark,
a grocery firm in Joliet, and afterward engaged
in business with Charles Pinneo. About one
year afterward he began to work for the Columbia
laundry, which was at that time operated as a
hand laundry. Since he purchased the business
he has made it the leading laundry in the city.
During the six years that he has had charge of
the business his success has been marked; this,

too, notwithstanding the fact that, when he be-
gan, he was the youngest business man in Joliet,
being less than twenty-one years of age. He
displays push, energy aud sagacity in his work,
and is making of it a notable success. He is a
member of the Illinois State and the National
Lauudrymen's Association.

In politics Mr. White is independent. His
fraternal relations are varied and important. He
is connected with Mount Joliet Lodge No. 42,
A. F. & A. M.; Paul Revere Lodge No. 371,
K. of P.; Sons of America; Knights of the Globe
( in which he is a charter member) ; Knights of Kor-
rahasseu, a social order of the Knights of Pythias
in Chicago; and Knights of the White Cross, of
which he is a charter member. On Christmas
day of 1S95 he was united in marriage with Amy,
daughter of Charles Pinneo, of Joliet. They
have had two children, one now living, Ardis
Marian.

0ELIVAN D. ODELL, Ph. D., S. T. B.,
pastor of the Eastern Avenue Baptist
Church of Joliet, and chaplain of the Third
Regiment of Infantry, I. N. G., with the rank of
captain, is a descendant of a colonial family of
New York, whose first representatives in that
state settled in the Hudson River valley, on the
present site of Peekskill. In all the great wars
of our country members of the family have partici-
pated, proving themselves loyal to our govern-
ment and also exhibiting great personal bravery
in the midst of hard-fought battles. Dr. Odell's
father, William, who was born in Peekskill, en-
listed in the war of 1812 when a mere boy, and
the grandfather, who was a Revolutionary war
veteran, also marched to the front in the second
war with England. By the marriage of William
Odell to Lucinda Brown, of Peekskill, fifteen
children were born (thirteen still living), and
during the Civil war four of the sons and four
sons-in-laws served in the One Hundred and
Fourteenth and the One Hundred and Fifty-
seventh New York Regiments.

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

129

Born in Erieville, Madison County, N. Y., May
10, 1853, Dr. Odell was a boy of eight years when
the Civil war began. Too young to enlist in the
service, he was, however, old enough to take a
most enthusiastic interest in the struggle, and,
being the best shot of any member of the family,
it was a source of great disappointment to him
that he could not show his skill on the battle-
field. He was given good educational advan-
tages, and of these he availed himself to the ut-
most, pursuing the classical course of study with
the diligence and ardor of one who loves his
work. In 1879 he received the degree of A. B.
upon graduating from Colgate University at
Hamilton, N. Y., and four years later the de-
gree of A. M. was conferred upon him by his
alma mater. Entering the ministry of the Bap-
tist Church, he was ordained at Springfield Cen-
ter, N. Y., in 1879, and immediately began to
preach to the congregation at that place, where
he continued for some years. In the midst of the
varied duties of a pastor he continued to be a
student. In 1882, with a desire to gain a
broader knowledge of theology, he matriculated
in the Chicago Theological Seminary, where he
took the regular course of study, graduating May
5, 1886, with the degree of B. D. Since then he
has been the recipient of two of the higher de-
grees; the degree of Ph. D. was conferred upon
him by Syracuse University June 8, 1890, and
that of Bachelor of Sacred Theology by Chicago
University in June, 1899.

On the completion of his theological studies in
Chicago, Dr. Odell accepted the pastorate of the
Aurora (111.) Baptist Church, where he remained
for four years, meantime having charge of the
erection of a house of worship for that congrega-
tion. In 1890 he became pastor of the First
Baptist Church of Peoria, where he superintended
the erection of an edifice costing $70,000. His
next pastorate, commenced in 1894, was that of
the Betheden Baptist Church of Omaha. His
pastorates in these various places were so re-
markably successful that he gained a widespread
reputation in his denomination, and was espe-
cially noted for his success in raising the neces-
sary money for removing mortgages from church

properties that were heavily incumbered. While
he was in Omaha, the First Baptist Church of
Lansing, Mich., was about to be sold for a mort-
gage of $40,000. The members sent an urgent
appeal to him, entreating him to come to their
rescue and save the building from foreclosure.
He did so, and within two years paid off $20,000
of the debt, thus saving the edifice to the congre-
gation. In 1897 he came to Joliet, accepting a
call as pastor of the Eastern Avenue Baptist
Church, which at that time had a membership
of two hundred and forty-two, but which, under
his earnest and able leadership, has increased to
more than five hundred members. He has been
honored by election as moderator of the Aurora
Baptist Association, in which responsible office
he has displayed signal ability, wisdom and tact.

Since coming to Joliet Dr. Odell has been a
conspicuous figure in matters affecting the hap-
piness and welfare of the people. Aggressive in
his opposition to evil, he has not weakly repined
when the religious or moral growth of the com-
munity has been threatened, but has been firm
and steadfast in his stand against wickedness and
corruption. It was a matter of open comment
that the law concerning the night and Sunday
closing of saloons was wilfully violated. With a
determination to secure an enforcement of the
law, he set himself to work, and the agitation re-
sulting from his efforts caused widespread inter-
est. The press throughout the country, in com-
menting concerning his efforts, espoused his
cause and applauded his zeal. In the end he
was rewarded with success and the enforcement
of the law was secured.

During the Spanish-American war Dr. Odell
served at the front as chaplain, with the rank of
captain, having received the appointment through
Col. John Lambert, through whose generosity he
was enabled to relieve much suffering among the
sick soldiers in Porto Rico. August 1, 1898, he
received from Governor Tanner a commission as
chaplain of the Third Regiment of Infantry Illi-
nois Volunteers, and accompanied the army to
the south and from there to Porto Rico. By his
devotion to the men he won their regard and re-
spect. Going from bed to bed in the hospital,

130

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lie cheered, advised and comforted, while among
the soldiers on active duty he was constantly
present to encourage and inspire with new en-
thusiasm. He was mustered out with his regi-
ment in January, 1899. On the 24th of July of
the same year he was commissioned by Governor
Tanner as chaplain of the Third Infantry,
I. N. G., in which capacity he continues at this
writing. He maintains a deep interest in militia
matters, and holds a high place among the mem-
bers of the guard.

Politically Dr. Odell has always been a stanch
Republican, yet he has never shown a partisan
spirit, but has conceded to others the same
liberty of thought and opinion in political mat-
ters that he desires for himself. In Masonry he
has attained the thirty-second degree; his blue
lodge membership is in Matteson Lodge in Joliet.
Shortly after the completion of his course in Col-
gate University he was married, in Springfield
Center, N. Y., to Miss Matie Ely, who was born
at Richfield Springs, that state, and is a member
of a colonial New York family. The only child
of Dr. and Mrs. Odell is Lester E., who is a
member of the class of 1903, Dennison University
at Granville, Ohio.

lILLIAM DOUGLAS, who has been suc-
cessfully identified with the stone quarry
interests of Joliet, came to this city in
1 88 1 as agent for the Chicago & Alton Railroad.
He was born in Philadelphia, Pa., August 19,
1849. His railroad experience began in Detroit,
where he made his headquarters for a few years.
In 1873 he became an agent with the Chicago &
Alton Railroad, and two years later was assigned
to Dwight, 111., where he remained for six years.
The 1st of January, 1881, found Mr. Douglas
in Joliet, as agent of the Chicago & Alton Rail-
road in this city, a position that he filled until
1885. He was then promoted to be trainmaster.
In 1886 he severed his connection with the rail-
road and became secretary and manager of the
Joliet & Chicago Stone Company, with which
he continued until 1895, when the business was
sold out to the Joliet Limestone Company. With
the latter concern he continued as secretary and
manager for a short time, and he is still one of
the stockholders. In 1897 he became manager
of the Globe Stone Company, which employed
two hundred men at times. He is also interested
in farming. In politics he votes with the Re-
publican party.

(7% t /t*Ay

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

133

PATRICK C. HALEY.

QATRICK C. HALEY, attorney-at-law, of
L/' Joliet, was born atSaranac, Clinton County,
[3 N. Y., March 17, 1849. When he was two
years of age his parents, Thomas and Hannah
Haley, came to Illinois and settled in Joliet,
where his education was primarily conducted.
After graduating from the high school of this
city he took a course of study in the law depart-
ment of the Michigan State University, from
which he graduated in the class of 187 1. Dur-
ing the same year he was admitted to the bar
and commenced the practice of his profession in
Joliet. In April of 1S71 he formed a law part-
nership with J. R. Flanders, but this connection
continued only until December of that year.
While he had no means at the time of starting in
practice, his ability and intelligence made him a
conspicuous figure at the bar from the first. In
July, 1874, he entered into partnership with J.
L. O'Dounell, and the firm of Haley & O'Dou-
nell is to-day one of the most prominent and suc-
cessful in northern Illinois.

In corporation law, of which he has made a
specialty, Mr. Haley is considered an authority,
his long study and thorough knowledge of every
phase and technicality of that department of
the law giving him a reputation as a practitioner
second to none. For years he has been retained
as attorney for a number of corporations, includ-
ing the Michigan Central, Wabash, Santa Fe
and Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad companies.
He has filled the position of corporation attorney
for the sanitary district of Chicago for Will
County in matters which involved millions of
dollars. That his services have been appreciated

by the trustees of the board is evidenced by the
fact that, in addition to his salary, he was voted
$6,000 as a Christmas gift in 1898.

In Mr. Haley the Democratic party has found
a steadfast supporter. His advice has been freely
sought by party leaders. Having the welfare of
the party at heart, he has given to it much of
his time and contributed to the promotion of its
interests. For a number of years, as a member
of the Democratic state central committee, he
was active in the politics of the state. In 1S74
his party elected him city attorney, an office that
he held for one year, filling it in such a manner
as to win the commendation, not only of Demo-
crats, but also the warmest praise of Republicans
as well. For fourteen years he has been a mem-
ber of the Joliet city council. In April, 1891, he
was elected mayor of the city, and this position
he filled for two years, giving the city an ener-
getic and progressive administration. Ten days
before the congressional election of 1882 he was
nominated by his party for congress. Others
had declined to make the race against the Re-
publican candidate, Hon. William Cullen, of
Ottawa, for all believed that there was not the
smallest chance of victory. However, for the
sake of the party, he consented to enter the race.
During the few days before election he made ten
speeches. His reputation as a man was such
that, although the Republicans usually had a
majority of about seven thousand votes, he not
only received the Democratic votes, but many of
the Republican also. At the close of the elec-
tion he was declared the successful candidate, but
afterward the decision was reversed and it was

134

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

decided that he lost by seventy-seven votes.
This was such a remarkable showing that Re-
publicans, both of the district and state, were
alarmed concerning the tenure of their party in
this district.

To many Mr. Haley is known only through
his connection with law and public affairs. How-
ever, those who know him best find him to be a
man of genial social qualities, companionable,
affable and large-hearted. He is domestic in his
tastes and spends his leisure hours in the com-
panionship of his wife and children. He was
singularly fortunate in his marriage, as his wife
has been a true helpmate and devoted compan-
ion. Prior to their marriage December i, 1875,
she was Miss Mary A. D'Arcy. Her father,
John D'Arcy, settled in Joliet in 1851, and be-
came a successful cattle-buyer and real-estate
owner here.

Mr. and Mrs. Haley have nine children, viz.:
Margaret Caton, a graduate of St. Mary's con-
vent; Robert Emmet, who is a law student in
Michigan State University; Raymond Aubrey,
a student in St. Bede's College, at Peru, 111.;
Marion Columbia, Edna Madeline, Genevieve,
Paul Columbus, Mary Angela and John Patrick.
The family occupy a residence on South Center
street that was erected by Mr. Haley, and is the
most costly residence in the city. It is a fine
three-story and basement building, with six
rooms on each floor, and furnished in a manner
reflecting the refined tastes and high culture of the
inmates. In addition to this property, Mr. Haley
is the owner of several houses and a business
block in the city.

|£) ATHANIEL J. BROWN. A record of the
I / life of Nathaniel J. Brown is, to a large de-
\lD gree, a record of the development of the
middle western states. Few of his colaborers of
pioneer days are now living. He stands, a link
between the living, prosperous present and the
distant, frontier past, and in his declining years
may view, with just pride, the civilization and
advancement of Illinois, toward which he was so
important a contributor. Like the majority of

pioneers, he started out a poor boy, without
special advantages. Possessing a rugged frame
and extraordinary business ability, his early
youth foreshadowed his successful career. The
high position he attained and the influence he
wielded were the result of his sagacity, foresight
and his talent for marking out a new course in
the business world. His ability to grasp alike
great enterprises and minute details aided him
from -the first, while his perseverance and force
of character also proved potent factors in his
progress. While circumstances have entirely
changed from the conditions of seventy and
eighty years ago, and a young man could not
now make the start that he made in his youth,
yet there is much in his career to be emulated;
and the sequel of his success shows how, with in-
dustry, determination and an active mind, a man
may attain wealth and prominence in any com-
munity.

The life which this narrative sketches began
in Windsor, Vt., January 27, 1812. The family
was a large one, comprising twelve children, but
Governor Brown (for by his honorary title our
subject is best known) alone survives. His fa-
ther, Daniel B. Brown, a Vermonter by birth
and ancestry, removed to Oswego, N. Y. , thence
to Niagara County, the same state, and finally
settled in Ann Arbor, Mich., in a very early
day. At the time of his last removal Nathaniel
J. was a boy of fourteen years. He had received
a common-school education and after settling on
the frontier turned his attention to business pur-
suits, for which he showed decided talent. As
an agent he became connected with a stage line
projected by his older brother, Anson, from De-
troit to the mouth of the St. Joseph River. This
position afforded him an opportunity to gain in-
formation regarding the possible location of new
towns. One less quick-witted might not have
perceived this opportunity, but Mr. Brown was
far too keen and sagacious to permit an advan-
tage to pass by unheeded. It was in this way
that he was led to make investments in Kent,
Ionia and Clinton Counties, all of which invest-
ments brought him large returns. In Kent Coun-
ty he bought a large tract of timber land, and,

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i35

although the lumber business had not yet been
developed, he saw in this land a chance to make
gratifying profits, so he built a mill on the prop-
erty and engaged in sawing lumber. In the
spring of 1835, as soon as the Grand River was
clear of ice, he and an assistant took six schooner
loads of lumber from Grandville to Grand Haven
— a perilous undertaking, and one that was never
made before or afterward. Arriving at Grand
Haven, he loaded the lumber on the "White
Pigeon," which he had chartered. With the
cargo he proceeded to Chicago, where he arrived
April 4. He sold the lumber there for $28 per
thousand feet. In one year he sold enough lum-
ber to pay for all of his land, together with the
mill and the expenses connected with its opera-
tion.

It was during this first visit to Chicago that
Governor Brown made the acquaintance of Au-
gustus Garrett, now best known as the founder
of Garrett Biblical Institute of Evanston, 111.
Mr. Garrett, who was engaged in selling dry-
goods and town lots, proposed to Mr. Brown
that they form a partnership, and an arrange-
ment was made that did not interfere with Mr.
Brown's speculations in Michigan. The firm
platted a town site at the geographical center of
Ionia County, Mich., and Mr. Brown went to the
new town of Ionia, where he remained for a time,
and, when he sold all of his holdings in the place,
he realized a small fortune therefrom. The money
was invested in Chicago property. He and his
partner purchased from John Bates, the first post-
master of Chicago, a lot on Dearborn street op-
posite the present site of the Trernout House.
On this lot was a large building, and in it they
started what soon became the most famous auc-
tion house in the west. Their store was filled
with goods of all kinds, sent from the east to be
sold at auction or traded for town lots. In time
the firm owned three large establishments, and
consignments of merchandise were received by
them every day. Their sales of real-estate,
however, were more important than those of dry
goods. Not only did they sell Chicago property,
but also land in other parts of Illinois and in
Wisconsin and Michigan. At one time they

owned nine thousand acres in and around Chi-
cago, and their holdings would now represent an
almost fabulous sum. After the decay of the
real-estate boom in 1837 their partnership dis-
solved.

When the first territorial legislature of Wiscon-
sin met at Belmont in 1836, they decided upon
the site of the capitol. No one knew what town
would be selected as the capital, but speculators
were alive to the importance of the occasion and
all wished to invest in property in the town se-
lected. In order that he might have first choice
in selecting land, Mr. Brown sent Jerry Ford to
Belmont to watch legislative proceedings, while
he himself remained in Milwaukee. Mr. Ford
took with him three of the fastest horses he could
find, stationing them on the road between Mil-
waukee and Belmont. When the act locating
the capital was passed, Ford conveyed the news
to him on horseback, reaching Milwaukee eight-
een hours in advance of any other official or mes-
senger. This gave Mr. Brown abundant oppor-
tunity to make a selection of such lands as he
desired in the neighborhood of Madison, and he
located for himself and friends fifty-six tracts of
eighty acres each, for which he paid $1.25 an
acre. In addition he sent a special messenger to
Buffalo and purchased from a man there more
than fourteen hundred acres of land, on a part of
which the State University of Wisconsin is now
located. Another profitable investment was the
purchase of a quarter section of land at the mouth
of the Milwaukee River, which he bought for
$4,000 and sold for $27,000.

When work on the Illinois and Michigan canal
commenced, Mr. Brown, at the solicitation of
the president of the board of canal commis-
sioners, accepted a contract to complete two sec-
tions of the canal, running through what is now
the village of Lemont. The sections embraced
one mile of a deep cut through solid rock, where
the famous limestone quarries have since been
developed. The work was rapidly and success-
fully carried forward by Mr. Brown. However,
through the removal of the government deposits
from the United States Bank, that institution and
allied interests were brought into serious finan-

136

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cial difficulty. A panic was precipitated. The
state of Illinois was one of the greatest sufferers
and was unable to meet its obligations. Conse-
quently Mr. Brown suffered an enormous loss.
In compliance with an act of legislature, passed
some years later, his claim against the state was
placed on file with others at Springfield, for the
purpose of adjustment, but that adjustment has
never been effected. However, what seemed to
be a total loss for Mr. Brown was by his shrewd-
ness made the basis of a future profit; for during
his work as a contractor he had noticed the
splendid quality of the deposits of limestone and
recognized that it would become very valuable in
future days. He therefore acquired a large body
of stone land, erected a residence atLemont, and
turned his attention to the development of the
stone quarries that are now among the most
famous in the country. Some very substantial
and prominent buildings of the west were built of
stone from his quarries, among them the old court
house in Chicago, the Illinois state capitol at
Springfield and the Iowa state house at Des
Moines. For some years the quarries have been
leased, the owner being paid a liberal royalty on
all stone taken out.

During early life Mr. Brown was a Democrat,
but at the time of the Civil war became a sup-
porter of the Union and President Lincoln's ad-
ministration, since which time he has affiliated
with the Republicans. When he had in his em-
ploy hundreds of men he often found it difficult
to secure those who were sober and reliable.
Those employed on the canal in early days were,
as a class, turbulent and riotous. Drinking and
carousals frequently led to serious altercations
between the men. Believing that the men should
be taught the wisdom of temperance, Mr. Brown
called to his assistance a number of Roman
Catholic priests and had them organize a Father
Mathew Temperance Society, the first of the kind
in northern Illinois. About three hundred Irish-

men took the pledge and put on the badge of the
order, in consideration of which Mr. Brown paid
them $1 a month in addition to their regular
wages. For more than two years either Father
DuPoutavos, a French priest, or Father Plunkett,
an Irish priest, made his home with Mr. Brown,
and worked with him for the bettering of the
workmen's condition. The result was that, dur-
ing the five years of his canal work, not a saloon
was to be found on the section of which he had
control, nor could any intoxicating liquors be
obtained there. Drunken orgies were no longer
known. The men were said to be the most
orderly of any on the line of the canal. Nor
was a man injured at his work during all of this
time.

In looking back over the past, Mr. Brown can
justly reflect with pleasure upon his connection
with the growth of northeastern Illinois. From
the frontier days to the present time he has been
interested in every worthy movement in his lo-
cality. His life stretches almost through the en-
tire century at whose close we now stand. He
has seen railroads introduced, and now long
trains of cars sweep through lands over which the
lonely frontiersmen once roamed; the clanking of
machinery, the curling wreaths of smoke from
innumerable factories, the busy streets, magnif-
icent stores and offices, form a striking contrast
to the Chicago of his youth. He remembers the
beginning of the Illinois and Michigan canal and
the throwing of the first shovelful of earth in in-
augurating that enterprise; and he has lived to
see the opening of the new canal, with its re-
markable reversal of the laws of gravity and of
nature — an enterprise justly deserving of being
classed among the wonders of the world. For
sixt}'-five years intimately associated with the
history of Illinois, he has made an enviable
record as a business man and a citizen, and may
well be congratulated on the fruition of his early
hopes and efforts.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

139

EDGAR E. HOWARD.

" DGAR E. HOWARD, who has resided in
'p Joliet since 1876, has been engaged in the
__ insurance business in this city since 1883.
The agency of which he is the head was estab-
lished in 1856 by W. C. Wood and is the oldest
and largest in Will County. After Mr. Howard be-
came connected with Mr. Wood the title became
Wood & Howard and continued as such until the
death of the senior member in 1S90, since which
time Mr. Howard has been alone. He repre-
sents the following large American and foreign
companies: -Etna, Philadelphia Underwriters,
Svea, Franklin, Hamburg-Bremen, Home,
North British & Mercantile, Manchester, Hart-
ford, Imperial, Lancashire, Liverpool & London
& Globe, North America, Niagara, National,
Pennsylvania, New York Underwriters, Palatine,
Queen, Royal, Springfield, Western Assurance,
Connecticut and Union Assurance Society. The
headquarters of the agency are in the Barber
building, Joliet. In April, 1899, Mr. Howard
and E. O. Wood, of Dekalb, were selected by the
American Steel & Wire Company to control all
of their insurance, amounting to $15,000,000,
extending from New York to San Francisco, and
at that time they opened an office in the Home
building, Chicago.

The original name of the Howard family was
Hayward, but by act of legislature the spelling
was changed to the present form. During the
war of 1812 Zuriel Howard, a farmer in Massa-
chusetts, served as a major of artillery. His son,
Samuel J., was born in Milford, Mass., where he
engaged in the mercantile business and, later,
in the manufacture of boots and shoes, continuing
there until he died, in 1863. He was a strong

Abolitionist and a faithful member of the Method-
ist Episcopal Church. He married Sarah Ward,
who died at Milford in 1884. Of their two sons
and three daughters all are dead but Edgar E. ,
who was born in Milford September 15, 1S45.
When thirteen years of age his father's health
failed and he was obliged to begin work, aiding
in the factory until his father died, when the busi-
ness was closed out.

In August, 1864, Mr. Howard volunteered in
the Boston Fusileers that were later consolidated
with the Fourth Massachusetts Heavy Artillery
and assisted in the defence of Washington, D. C,
until the close of the war. At the time of the
assassination of Lincoln the company was put
on duty to guard, day and night, and continued
at their post until Booth was shot. In July,
1865, they were discharged in Massachusetts.
On his return home Mr. Howard secured
work in a straw hat factory. In 1867 he went to
Sing Sing, N. Y., as an instructor in the shoe
department of the state penitentiary, and con-
tinued there until 1875. Afterward he was in
charge of the blocking department of a straw hat
factory in Brooklyn, N. Y. In July, 1876, he
came to Joliet, as an instructor for Selz, Schwab
& Co., shoe manufacturers in the state peniten-
tiary, and continued in that position until he re-
signed to engage in the insurance business.
While in New York he married Sarah J. Bow T en,
who was born in Leicester, Mass., and accom-
panied her father, H. F. Bowen, to Sing Sing,
N. Y., where she married.

During his residence in Sing Sing Mr. How-
ard was made a Mason. For many years he was
secretary of Mattesou Lodge, A. F. & A. M., in

140

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Joliet; also of the Joliet Chapter, R. A. M., and
recorder of Joliet Commandery No. 4, K. T. He
also belongs to the Oriental Consistory and Me-
dinah Temple, N. M. S., of Chicago. In politics
he is a Republican. He is interested in the work
of the Grand Army of the Republic and a worker
in the local post. At the time of the building of
the Eastern Avenue Baptist Church he was
treasurer of the building committee. He also
served as chairman of the finance committee,
church treasurer and member of the board of
trustees.

r~REDERICK WILLIAM WERNER, M. D.
M The twenty years of Dr. Werner's life that
I have been devoted to professional work in
Joliet have been sufficient to place him among the
most reliable and skillful physicians of his home
city. It was his intention in youth to study
architecture, but Dr. Heise, of Joliet, persuaded
him to change his plans and become a medical
student. So radical a change as this might in
many instances prove unfortunate, but the after-
years have shown that the old doctor was correct
in his judgment. He gave the young man the
benefit of his advice and experience, assisting
him in his studies for eighteen months, until he
was ready to enter the University of Michigan in
1878. After taking a course of lectures there, in
1879 he entered Bellevue Hospital Medical Col-
lege, of New York, from which he graduated the
following year with the degree of M. D. Mean-
time he took the special courses in the University
of Michigan and held a position as assistant
demonstrator of anatomy. After graduating he
engaged in practice with his former preceptor,
Dr. Heise, with whom he continued much of the
time until the latter's death, since which he has
been alone. While his medical education was
thorough, it is not his method to remain stagnant
in his profession ; he is ambitious to keep in touch
with every advancement made in the medical
science and so has remained a constant student,
striving by observation, experience, the read-

ing of medical journals and courses in the
Chicago Post-Graduate College under Dr. Byron
Robinson, also special stud}- in bacteriology un-
der Professor Klebs, of Chicago, to keep in touch
with every phase of professional work. He has
made a specialty of gynecology and abdominal
surgery, in which lines he has gained an enviable
reputation for skill. He has his office at the old
homestead where he was born, its central location
rendering it well suited for a physician's office.

William Werner, the doctor's father, was a son
of Charles Frederick Werner, and was born at
Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1S31, a member of a
very old family of that city. After learning the
trade of a stone mason and cutter he came to the
United States and settled in Joliet about 1850.
At the time of the building of the Rock Island
Railroad between Joliet and Chicago he was em-
ployed at bridge building, and later he engaged
in contracting on the Chicago & Alton Railroad.
With his brothers, Charles and Adam, he opened
stone quarries on the west side, within the city
limits, and these he assisted in carrying on, at the
same time taking contracts for the building of
stone structures. For years before his death he
made his home at No. 603 Jefferson street. A
Democrat in politics, he was several times elected
an alderman ou this ticket and also served as
supervisor for six years. For many years he
was a member of the fire department, of which he
was chief for several terms. During the early
days of his residence in Joliet he was an officer in
the state militia, known at the Matteson Guards.
He was one of the mainstays of the Lutheran
Church and always remained connected with its
membership and assisted in its support. He was
connected with the Joliet Sharpshooters' Society.
His death occurred at his home in May, 1SS7.

The wife of William Werner was Barbara
Goebel, who was born near Coblentz, Germany,
in 1833, and has made her home in Joliet since
1S46. Her father, John Goebel, who was a mer-
chant in Germany, came to America and in 1S46
settled in what is now Joliet. He continued to
reside here, following farm pursuits until he
died. Of the children of William and Barbara
Goebel four sons are living, viz. : Dr. Frederick

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

141

William; Frederick Charles, who is fire marshal
for the American Steel and Wire Company in
Joliet; George W., a graduate of the New York
College of Veterinary Surgeons, and now a resi-
dent of Kansas City, Mo.; and Edward H., who
is a graduate of the New York Dental College,
and practices dental surgery in Joliet.

In the family home at Joliet Dr. Werner was
born February 8, 1858. He was educated in
public and high schools. At fourteen years of
age he began to work at the trade of a stone
mason and cutter, and remained with his father
for four years, being for a time his foreman on
jobs. He left the trade in order to study medi-
cine, and has since engaged in practice in Joliet.
Besides his practice he is interested in other en-
terprises, and for some time has been secretary - of
the Joliet Sheet Rolling Mill Company. In this
city he married Miss Louise F. Staehle, daughter
of Charles W. and Marie Agnes (Bertch) Staehle,
old settlers here.

For two years Dr. Werner was city and town
physician and for ten years county physician.
He was appointed county coroner to fill a vacancy-
in the office, and at the expiration of the term he
was elected to the office, his name appearing on
both the Republican and Democratic tickets in the
election of 1880. He was a Republican and his
first nomination had been by the members of that
party, but he was renominated by the Democrats
and again elected to the office. During the Gar-
field-Arthur administration he was appointed a
member of the first board of United States ex-
aminers for pensions chosen by President Garfield,
and held the office until the first term of President
Cleveland, when political reasons caused his
resignation. He is a member of the American
Society of Microscopists, the Chicago Medical
Society, Will County Medical Society (of which
he has been president) , Mississippi Valley, Illi-
nois State and American Medical Associations.
Socially he is connected with the Germania Club.
For some time he was a private in a company
known as the Joliet Citizens' Corps, which, at
the beginning of the great railroad strikes, was
organized into Company B, Fourth Regiment,
I. N. G.; he was commissioned second sergeant

and was called with his company to assist in
quelling the Braidwood strike. He is engaged
as examining physician for the principal old line
insurance companies of Joliet, and is examining
physician for Mound City Lodge No. 112,
M. W. A., in which he was the first charter
member. He is connected with the Supreme
Court of Honor and Paul Revere Lodge, K. of P.
In Masonry he has risen to a high rank. Three
times he has been chosen master of Matteson
Lodge No. 175, A. F. & A. M. He is a member
of Joliet Chapter No. 27, R. A. M.; Joliet
Council of Royal and Select Masters No 82;
Joliet Commandery No. 4, in which he is senior
warden; Medinah Temple, N. M. S., with which
he has affiliated since 1892; and a member of the
Oriental Consistory of Chicago.

5JEORGE EIB, one of the earliest settlers of
_ Jackson Township, represents the fourth
^Ji generation of the Eib family in America.
The first of the name in this country came from
Germany and settled in Lancaster County, Pa.,
from which he went to the front as a soldier in
the Revolutionary war. His son, Jacob, was
reared in his native county of Lancaster, but in
middle life removed from Pennsylvania to the
western part of Virginia, where his remaining
years were spent. Peter, son of Jacob, and
father of our subject, was born in Little York,
Pa., March 12, 1779, and accompanied his father
to Harrison County, W. Va., afterward carrying
on a butcher business in Clarksburg. Later he
migrated to Ohio, where he spent one year in
Columbus and another year on a farm near the
city. Going from there to Fountain County,
Ind., for six years he carried on a meat business
and engaged in farming. In the spring of 1832
he came to Illinois and located a claim, selecting
a tract of land that forms a part of our subject's
farm. After making his selection of land he
went to his former home for his family and was
detained there for some time, but finally returned

142

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

to Will County. May 10, 1833, was the date of
his second arrival on his claim. At once he be-
gan to clear the land and place it under cultiva-
tion, and his remaining years were busily devoted
to agricultural pursuits on the same homestead.
For years he was foremost in the development and
upbuilding of his township. He was a loyal
patriot and served with courage and fidelity in
the war of 18 12. His death occurred August 4,
1858, when he was in his eightieth year. By his
marriage to Madeline Gilbert nine children were
born, five of whom are living, namely: George,
who was born in Harrison County, W. Va.,
March 17, 1816; Mathias, of Oakland, Cal.;
Augustus and Amos, both living in this county;
and Lemuel, of St. Joe, Mo.

At the time the family settled in Illinois our
subject was seventeen years of age. He aided
his father in the clearing of the land and prepar-
ing it for the raising of crops. When he was
twenty-one he began to work as a farm hand, but
after a year engaged in farming independently.
The land on which his father had settled was
canal land, and, it failing to come into the market
for sale as he expected, he purchased another
place known as the Jenkins farm, and George and
Levi (the latter now deceased) took the farm on
which the father had first settled. Two years
later, the land coming into market, they pur-
chased it, and some time afterward divided the
property, and our subject acquired another
eighty acres. In later years, as he prospered, he
added to his land until he now owns two hundred
and sixty-eight and one-half acres, forming his
homestead farm. He is a progressive man, ener-
getic, industrious, and deserves his present pros-
perity. The laud which he owns has increased
in value almost an hundred- fold since he pur-
chased it, and is now one of the valuable estates
in the county. He has devoted himself to its
cultivation and has never been active in local
affairs or politics.

May 2, 1844, Mr. Eib married Miss Mary A.
Zumwalt, who was born in Adams County, Ohio,
a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Ogle) Zumwalt.
Her father, who was born in Adams County,
Ohio, in 1800, engaged in farming for some years

in his native county, but in 1830 removed to
Hancock County, Iud., and four years later
settled in Illinois, taking up a claim in the
vicinity of Mr. Eib's home. In 1849 he went
overland to California and began mining near
Sacramento. After the mining excitement had
subsided he went to Colusa County, Cal., settling
at the Willows, where he lived for ten years.
Next he moved to Anderson, Shasta Count}', and
there made his home until he died, in 1893. His
wife, who was born in Adams County, Ohio, in
1804, died in 18S2. Her father, Enoch Ogle,
came to America from Wales and settled in
Maryland, where he married Anna Cressop;
from there he removed to Adams Count} - , Ohio,
which continued to be his home until his death.
Jacob Zumwalt, the father of Joseph, was a na-
tive of Little York, Pa., his parents having
settled there from Germany. Nine children were
born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Eib. Of these
seven are living, namely: Peter B., of Colusa
County, Cal.; Louisa, wife of William Ash, of
Colusa County; Alameda, Mrs. George Hibner,
of Grundy County, 111.; Catherine A, who is
the widow of Julius Johnston, of Joliet; Mary
O., wife of Samuel Owens, of Cambridge, Neb.;
George J. W., who manages the home farm; and
Jacob L-, who resides at Waukegan, 111., and
is an engineer on the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern
Railroad.

(3 FINLEY DUNCAN, D. D. S. In his cho-
?\ sen profession Dr. Duncan has a high stand-
C*y ing in Joliet. His constant study of the
science of dentistry (for he has ever been a stu-
dent), his extensive practice giving him a thor-
ough practical information, and his acknowl-
edged skill in the treatment of cases of an unusu-
ally intricate nature have given him a just prom-
inence among the people of his home city. Since
he opened his office in Joliet in 1888 he has es-
tablished an important and constantly increasing
practice, having retained his former patrons at
Wilmington as well as gained many new ones.

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

143

Every improvement in the science of dental sur-
gery (and there have been many of recent years)
receives his thoughtful consideration, and, if ap-
proved upon study, is adopted in his practice.
He is therefore thoroughly up-to-date in his
work. He has been a contributor to the litera-
ture of his profession, although the demands of
his practice are such that he has little time to
devote to the preparation of articles. Since 1881
he has been a member of the Illinois State Den-
tal Society, before which he has been a clinician
and has also read papers that attracted consider-
able attention. At one time he held office as
vice-president of the association.

The first member of this branch of the Duncan
family in America was James Duncan, who came
from Scotland and settled in Perry County, Pa.
His son, Samuel, was born in Pennsylvania,
where he followed the miller's trade in early life.
In 1854 he moved to Indiana, settling first in a
county adjoining Henry Count}-, to which he
subsequently removed. He rented a grist and
saw-mill which was operated by water power,
and after some years bought the property. In
politics he was a stanch Republican. A promi-
nent Methodist, he was an officer in both church
and Sunday-school. In the Odd Fellows' order
he took the highest degrees. At the time of his
death, in 1895, he was eighty-five years of age.
He was twice married, and by his first wife had
four daughters, one of whom, Hannah J. Dun-
can, survives; while by his second wife, Mar-
garet Duffy, of Ohio, he had five children, four
of whom attained mature years, viz.: Davidson
D., who is engaged in the milling business at the
old homestead; John Wesley, who died in infancy;
Beverly W., a business man of Markle, Ind.;
Joseph Trimble, a farmer and stock-raiser of
Henry County, Ind.; and S. Finley, of this
sketch.

In Knightstown, Ind., near where Dr. Dun-
can was born December 2, 1856, he received his
education and passed the years of youth. He
was eighteen when he took up the study of den-
tistry. After spending two years in practical
work in an office he entered the dental depart-
ment of the University of Michigan, class of

1877. He began practice at Lew^isville, Ind., but
in February, 1879, came to Will County and set-
tled in Wilmington, building up a good practice
in the ensuing years. For the purpose of taking
a special course of study, in 1887 he went to Chi-
cago, where he studied in the Chicago College of
Dental Surgery, from which he took the degree
of D. D. S. In September, 1888; he came to
Joliet, where he erected a residence in 1898, and
owns other real estate. From boyhood he has
been identified with the Presbyterian Church.
He was an elder of the congregation at Wilming-
ton, and for several years served as Sunday-
school superintendent. October 18, 188 1, he
married Louise, daughter of Bryan Fisher, of
Wilmington. They have two children, Mar-
garet Louise and Hubert Fisher.

^ EORGE J. ARBEITER. As a rising attor-

aney Mr. Arbeiter is well known to the
people of Joliet, where he has engaged in
practice since August, 1895. On the 1st of Janu-
ary, 1900, he associated himself with C. E.
Antram and G. Donald McKenzie, two promi-
nent lawyers, and the firm has established com-
modious and well-equipped offices at Nos. 203,
205 and 207 Barber building. To the success of
the newly-established firm he will undoubtedly be
a large contributor . He is an attorney cf more
than ordinary ability. It is not only that he is a
logical and eloquent speaker, whose ready com-
mand of language and keen reasoning faculties
give him, a power over a jury, but he is also a
man of strong convictions, earnest and tireless in
his advocacy of what he deems right and just.
The success that has hitherto rewarded his efforts
is without doubt but an index of what the future
years may hold for him.

The Arbeiters are a very ancient German
family. Heiurich Arbeiter, our subject's grand-
father, served in the Napoleonic wars of 1812-15.
He was a son of Heinrich, who owned a farm that
was the birthplace of his father and grandfather,

144

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the family having lived on the same spot for
many generations. Carl, son of Heinrich, Jr.,
\v;is born on the old homestead at Kappitski, near
Grottkau, in Upper Silesia, July 25, 1827. He
was one of five brothers, two of whom served in
the German army during the greater part of their
lives, both attaining the rank of captain. An-
other brother' for many years has been at the head
of the postal department in Grottkau. The
fourth brother, William, is proprietor of a tannery
in Santa Clara, Cal.

Carl Arbeiter married Katherina Sillar, who
was born at Beyreuth, Oberfranken, Bavaria, in
1828. In Bavaria the family name was spelled
Siillar. When she was a child she was orphaned
by the death of her father, John, who in early life
had been proprietor of a government hostelry, on
a government highway, designed for the accom-
modation of the government officials. Later,
when this was abandoned, he settled on his farm
and there remained until his death. He had four
sons, the youngest of whom, Heinrich, still lives
on the old home place, but one of his sons, John,
came to the United States and now makes his
home at Oswego, 111. Another of the four sons is
engaged in farming and stock raising at Medicine
Lodge, Kans. The two others, George and John,
served in the army, in which George attained the
rank of captain and the other, John, was killed in
the service during the Franco-Prussian war. In
1856 Miss Sillar accompanied friends to the
United States, settling in Joliet, where, in 1S60,
she became the wife of Carl Arbeiter. She died
in April, 1896. Of her eight children four are
living, namely: Joseph, a farmer at Corwith,
Iowa; Charles W., who lives on the old home-
stead at Plainfield; George J.; and Mary, wife of
K. C. Larsen, a liveryman at Crown Point, Ind.

When he was a boy Carl Arbeiter served for
four years as a brick and stone apprentice, after
which he worked as a journeyman. In 1854 he
crossed the ocean to Quebec, Canada. After
spending some months in or near that city, em-
ployed at various occupations, he secured work at
shipping on Lake Michigan, during which time
he was shipwrecked and lost all of his personal
belongings except the clothes he wore. In 1855

he came to Joliet and for five years worked as a
farm hand in this county. After his marriage he
purchased a farm of eighty acres in Plainfield
Township and settled down to agricultural work.
By subsequent purchase he became the owner of
two hundred and forty acres. In 1895 he re-
moved to the village of Plainfield, and there he
died January 24, 1898. He was an ardent sup-
porter of the Democratic party, but never an office
seeker, and refused all offices. In religion he
was a Roman Catholic and his wife a member of
the Lutheran Church. Personally he was a man
of sterling character, honest and upright, and
universally respected for his many worthy traits.

After completing the studies of the common
schools George J. Arbeiter, the subject of this
sketch, entered the Plainfield high school, where
he took the regular course. For two years he
taught in Plainfield Township, being in the vil-
lage one year aud in the country for a similar
period. Following this he entered the Northern
Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Ind., where
he completed the course in bookkeeping and
fitted himself for college. In 1888 he went to
Chicago, where for a year he was employed in
the wholesale hardware establishment of Gilbert
& Bennett, his intention being to go on the road
later; but his desire for a collegiate course caused
a change in his plans. He resigned his position
and entered the University of Illinois at Cham-
paign. In 1893 he graduated from that institu-
tion, taking the degree of Bachelor of Letters.
In the fall of the same year he entered the law
department of the University of Michigan, from
which he graduated in June, 1895, with a high
standing. During the same month he was ad-
mitted to the bar of Michigan and that of Illi-
nois. Returning home, he soon afterward
opened an office in the Barber building, Joliet,
and has since built up a remunerative clientage.

February 1, 1898, Mr. Arbeiter married Miss
E. Kittie McBride, daughter of Henry McBride,
a prominent coal operator of Elgin, 111. Frater-
nally Mr. Arbeiter is identified with Plainfield
Lodge No. 536, A. F. & A. M., in which he
served as senior deacon. While living in Plain-
field he was keeper of records and seals in Du-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i45

page Lodge No. 473, K. of P. He is connected
with Stevenson Camp No. 2892, Modern Wood-
men of America, in Joliet He is secretary of
the Joliet Council No. 59, N. A. U. He aided in
starting a fraternal insurance society, Order of
the White Cross, which was organized in Joliet
December 18, 1899, and in which he is su-
preme vice-commander. The Central Presby-
terian Church, of which he is a member, receives
his generous aid in its various enterprises.

The Democratic party has a firm friend in Mr.
Arbeiter. However, like his father, he has never
cared for office, though qualified to fill public
positions ably. In 1894 ne was tendered nomi-
nation for county superintendent of schools, but
refused to accept, preferring to devote his entire
attention to the study of his profession. In 1898
he was urged to become a candidate for town
clerk, but refused. Notwithstanding his refusal
of office, he is an active worker for his party,
and as a campaign orator has few superiors in the
county, his broad knowledge of public affairs
and his ability as a speaker combining to qualify
him admirably for work of this nature.

EONRAD C. BETTENHAUSEN, a retired
farmer residing in Frankfort Station, was
born in Koenigswald, Kurhessen, Germany,
June 14, 1834, a son of George and Martha
(Sangmeister) Bettenhausen. He was one of
five children, all of whom came to the United
States, but only two are living, his sister being
Martha, Mrs. Martin Stipple, of Charles City,
Iowa. His mother died in Germany when he was
an infant, and he was reared under the care of
others. When he was nineteen he came to the
United States and at once proceeded to Illinois,
settling in Will County. For the next three
years (1853-56) he worked one year on Horace
Messinger's farm and two years on George Til-
fer's farm. Next he went into Cook County and
settled on a farm in the town of Orland, where
he remained for a quarter of a century. Mean-

time, by the exercise of energy and good judg-
ment, he acquired a competence, which repre-
sented his persevering efforts through all these
years of labor. In the fall of 1882 he left a sou
in charge of the Cook County farm and returned
to Will County, settling in Greengarden Town-
ship, where he owns two farms. Nine years
were spent in that township. In 1S92 he retired
from the active duties of farm work and pur-
chased a home in Frankfort Station, where it is
his intention to spend his remaining years. His
life has been so successful that he is now the
owner of five hundred acres of land in Will and
Cook Counties, and, besides this, he has assisted
his children to get started in life and has also
contributed to the promotion of enterprises calcu-
lated to benefit the people.

The Republican party represents the political
views of Mr. Bettenhausen, and he has always
been stanch in his adherence to its principles.
While he has never sought political leadership,
yet he has to some extent been one of the party
leaders in his township, and has wielded a large
influence both here and in his former home in
Cook County. Among the offices he held in the
latter county were those of township assessor,
collector and supervisor. During the Civil war
he was a member of the home guard. He is
identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church,
in which for some years he was a trustee, and
also served as Sunday-school superintendent.

September 9, 1857, Mr. Bettenhausen married
Miss Elizabeth Horn, a native of the town in Ger-
many in which he was born. She, also, is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In
ever}' way she has been a worth}' helpmate to her
enterprising husband, and deserves credit for her
good influence in the home and in the neighbor-
hood. They became the parents often children,
of whom the following are living: John M., who
resides on a farm in Greengarden Township;
Christ C, who cultivates the old homestead in
Cook County; Mary, wife of Henry Deist; Mar-
tha E., who married Frank Folkers, and Emma,
who married Frank Kohlhagen, both of Frank-
fort Station. Mr. Bettenhausen and his wife
sustained a heavy loss in the death of their sou

146

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

William, a bright and promising youth of nine-
teen years. Had he lived he would have inher-
ited the homestead in Greengarden Township,
and would have been the staff of his parents in
their declining years; but his early death put an
end to all of their fond hopes for his future.

(I AMES W. PATTERSON is engaged in the
I furniture, undertaking and livery business
(*/ at Braidwood. Since he came to this town
in 1869 he has been identified with its mining
and business interests. Until his father's death
he was the junior member of the firm of A. & J.
W. Patterson, since which time he has been the
senior member, having his youngest brother as a
partner, under the same firm name as before. As
a business man he enjoys the reputation of being
clear-headed. He is deliberate in his judgment
as Scotchmen usually are, and is universally es-
teemed for his integrity. One of his marked
characteristics is the faculty of making the best
of everything. Being a man of even tempera-
ment, the annoyances of business do not depress
him, nor do its successes too greatly elate him.
In a business capacity he has showed a manli-
ness of character that has won him the confidence
of the people of his home town.

Mr. Patterson was born at Fifeshire, Scotland,
December 15, 1850. His father, Alexander,
came to the United States in 1852, and settled at
Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pa., but soon
afterward, leaving the family there, he went to
California via the Isthmus of Panama. He spent
two years in the gold fields and met with gratify-

ing success. Returning to Pennsylvania, he
brought his family to Illinois and engaged in
farming near Hinckley. In 1859 he moved to
Morris, Grundy County, where for seven years
he was interested in manufacturing brick. The
fall of 1869 found him in Braidwood, then a new
mining camp. Here he became interested in the
flour and feed business. He was the first to es-
tablish a furniture and undertaking establishment
in the town, and continued afterward as the head
of the firm of A. & J. W. Patterson, until he
died, in 1S91, at the age of sixty-six. He mar-
ried Jane McKiuley, who died in 1889, at the age
of sixty-six years. They were the parents of
five children, viz.: James W.; Margaret, wife of
Robert Mickeljohn, of Colorado; Christine, de-
ceased; Jane and Alexander.

When only twelve years of age our subject
began to work in mines. At first his wages were
exceedingly small, but as he became more famil-
iar with the work he was paid a larger sum. For
seven years he was employed in eastern mines.
At nineteen years of age he came to Braidwood,
where he has since risen to a prominent position
among the business men of the town. For two
years he held the office of city treasurer, for one
year served as town clerk, and for three years
was a member of the board of supervisors. He
is connected with the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica; Talmud Lodge No. 24, K.of P., in which he
is past chancellor; Braidwood Lodge No. 704,
A. F. & A. M., in which he is past master and
representative to the grand lodge; Wilmington
Chapter No. 142, R. A. M.; and Blaney Com-
mandery No. 5, K. T. In 1879 he married
Mary Stewart, by whom he has six children,
namely: Janet, deceased; Alexander J., Chris-
tina, John S. , Mary and Mildred M.

UNIVeRSlfY Of i>-"*OIS

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

149

john Mcdonald.

30HN McDONALD. There are probably
few in the county (and certainly none within
the immediate vicinity of Frankfort Station)
who are more familiar with the grain busi-
ness than the subject of this sketch. He came to
Frankfort Station when the place was just started
and has since been intimately associated with its
business interests, contributing to its growth and
aiding in its development. He owns an elevator on
the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad at this point
and makes shipments that aggregate thousands of
bushels. Besides his grain interests he owns a
farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Greengar-
den Township and has real estate in Frankfort
Station.

In the incorporation of the village Mr. McDon-
ald took an active part. He was elected its first
president and filled the office for two years, aid-
ing in placing the municipality upon a sound fi-
nancial basis. During his term of several years
as supervisor of the township he assisted in
work connected with the building of the court
house, and as chairman of the finance committee,
successfully engineered a loan of $22,000 to be
used in the building of the house. He has at-
tended many of the state, congressional and
county conventions of the Republican party, for
he is a stanch Republican and an active worker
for his party. In educational affairs, as in public
matters, his interest has continued over the long
period of his residence here, and for more than
twenty years he has efficiently filled the office of
school director.

As the name indicates, the McDonald family is
of Scotch origin. During the days of the Scotch
rebellion John McDonald, who was actively con-
nected therewith, was forced to flee from his na-

tive land. In common with many other Scotch-
men, he sought refuge in Ireland. His son, John,
was born in County Tipperary, and engaged in
farming there until his death. By his marriage
to Ellen Gleason he had five children: James,
Patrick, Mary, Elizabeth and John, of whom our
subject alone survives. He was born in County
Tipperary December 1 1, 1823. His educational
advantages were of a superior character. He not
only became familiar with common-school studies,
but also acquired a fair knowledge of Latin and
Greek. Mathematics was his hobby, and he was
without a rival in this study in the entire school.
When eighteen years of age our subject came
to America. In the summer of 1841 he sailed
from Liverpool and after five weeks landed in
New York. During the next few years he trav-
eled through various parts of the country. In
1850 he began to work for the Michigan Central
Railroad Company at New Buffalo, Mich., which
was then the terminus of the road. In 1852 he
removed to Chicago, the road having been ex-
tended to that point. He remained there for two
years, being employed in checking freight. In
1854 he came to Joliet, where he was employed
as checkman until the starting of Frankfort Sta-
tion. He came to this place in 1857 and held
the position of agent until 1875, when he re-
signed. For eighteen years he was also agent
for the American Express Company. Meantime
he became interested in the grain business. In
1859 he began to buy grain for J. L. Heard &
Co., of Michigan, and from that time until 1876
he was engaged in the commission business. For
a number of years afterward he carried on the
grain business, using the railroad company's ele-
vators. Later he built the second elevator in

GKXEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Frankfort, which was 35x50 on the ground, and
had a capacity of twenty-five thousand bushels.
In 1SS5 he bought out the other elevator in
Frankfort, and from that time operated both.
May 24, 1SS9, the first was burned to the ground,
but immediately afterward he built another ele-
vator on the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern road. This
has a capacity of forty thousand bushels, is run
by steam power and supplied with the clipper
and cyclone dust consumers. In 1S90 he bought
an elevator on the Michigan Central road, but it
burned down three years later. Besides his
grain interests, at one time he carried on the
largest lumber business in Frankfort, also dealt
in coal and built up a large business in selling
tile. His interests are varied audimportant, and
although widely divergent in character, he never-
theless manages all with gratifying success. His
thorough understanding of the grain business,
coming from long experience backed by sound
judgment, makes him a leader in his line of
work and insures for him a continuance of his
past success.

In 1S62 Mr. McDonald was made a Mason.
The following year he became identified with the
Knights Templar and in 1870 he took the thirty-
second degree. His interest in Masonry con-
tinues undiminished to the present. Two years
after he came to Frankfort Station he married
Miss Elizabeth Doty, a native of this county. Of
their four children, the youngest died when eight
months old. The others are: Herbert John, Ed-
ward Everett and Charles Howard, the last two
deceased. Herbert J. is connected with S. E.
Gross, the large real-estate dealer of Chicago.
Edward E. was educated in the Northwestern
University at Evanston, 111., as was also his
brother, Charles H., who was educated for the
ministry, and was an evangelist well known
throughout the Methodist Episcopal denomina-
tion.

(TjAMUEL ROSE, a leading citizen of Crete,
7\ was born in Ireland, October 1, 1S45, a sou
\~J of John and Mary (Ormsby) Rose, natives
of tht_- same county as himself. His father came

to America in 1850 and settled in Washington
Township, this county, where he bought a sol-
dier's warrant for one hundred and sixty acres,
paying $130 for the same. The country was new
and sparsely settled. Few roads had been opened
or improvements made. The following years he
gave to the cultivation of his land, but ere he had
brought it to the fine condition he hoped for,
death ended his labors, June 7, 1858, when he
was thirty-eight years of age. Had his life been
spared he would undoubtedly have attained suc-
cess. After coming to this country he affiliated
with the Republican party. For two terms he
served as highway commissioner. In religion he
was an Episcopalian. His wife, who accom-
panied him to the United States, died in Septem-
ter, 1877, when sixty-seven years of age. They
were the parents of four children, one of whom
died in infancy. The others are: Samuel, our
subject; Lottie M., who married E. P. Lyon and
at her death left three children; and John A., the
youngest of the family, who graduated from the
Chicago law school in 1S82 and is now attorney
for the Union Traction Company of Chicago.

When the family came to America our subject
was only five years of age. Hence he has prac-
tically known no other home than Will County.
He grew up amid pioneer surroundings. The
place was wholly unimproved when the family
settled on it. The lumber for a house his father
was obliged to haul, with ox-teams, from Chi-
cago, and the shingles he split by hand. When
the father died Samuel was thirteen. He re-
mained at home with his mother and was of the
greatest assistance in the conduct of the farm. In
March, 1874, he left home and went to Beecher,
where he carried on a general store. In August,
1880, he returned to the old homestead, having
bought the interests of the other heirs. In No-
vember, 1893, he sold the farm and came to Crete,
where he established a loan and collection busi-
ness. Having read law at home he has also had
considerable practice and has proved an excellent
counselor. He also buys and sells real estate.

January 11, 1877, Mr. Rose married Abbie,
daughter of Joseph White, of Crisman, Ind. She
died July 14, 1896, leaving a daughter, Blanche.

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

151

The second marriage of our subject took place
September 8, 1897, and united him with Mrs.
Annette J. (Dewey) Hewes, the widow of Ben-
jamin Hewes and a second cousin of Admiral
Dewey. In religion she is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. By her first hus-
band she had three children.

As a Republican, Mr. Rose has been active in
local affairs. For eight years he was justice of
the peace in Washington Township and for twen-
ty-five years served as school trustee. He is a
charter member of Crete Lodge No. 763, A. F. &
A. M.; before this he was a charter member of
Grant Park Lodge No. 640. After became to
Crete he was one of the charter members of the
Eastern Star and has since held his connection
with the same, and was its first worthy patron,
holding the office for two years.

(TAMES L. O'DONNELL. The family of
I which Mr. O'Donnell is a representative
(2/ has been identified with the history of Illi-
nois for more than one-half century. It was
established in Dayton Township, LaSalle County,
111., by his grandfather, James O'Donnell, a
farmer, who spent his later years in that part of
Illinois. The father, William, who settled in the
same county in 1S46, improved a tract of raw
land in Dayton Township, making of it a
valuable farm. Besides agricultural pursuits he
was extensively engaged in the breeding of draft
horses and roadsters and also owned a number of
fine cattle. From time to time he added to his
property until his possessions included several
farms. He took an active interest in local affairs
and held a number of township offices, in which,
as in his private business matters, he displayed
the possession of good judgment and wise dis-
crimination. His death occurred in 1889, when
he was almost seventy years of age. In early
manhood he had married Johanna Keating, who
removed from Quebec, Canada, to LaSalle
County, 111., in 1S46, and is still living at the old

homestead. Like her husband she has always
been a devoted member of the Catholic Church.
Of eleven children that attained mature years all
but two are still living, seven of whom are in
LaSalle County, and one engaged in the real-
estate business in Omaha.

On the home farm in LaSalle County James L.
O'Donnell was born August 10, 1849, being the
eldest of the entire family. After completing
public school studies he entered the University of
Niagara, N. Y. , where he spent the college year
of 1S68-69. After teaching school for a year he
returned to the university for another year and
then taught school one winter. He took up the
study of law with Glover, Cook & Campbell, of
Ottawa, in 1872, and later read with Mayo &
Widmer, of the same city. He was admitted to
practice in the supreme court at Springfield, 111.,
in January, 1874, and in April of the same year
opened an office at Braidwood, this county.
July 29, 1874, he formed a partnership with
P. C. Haley, in Joliet, and the firm of Haley &
O'Donnell has since built up a large and im-
portant practice in the various courts, and is now
the oldest firm of attorneys in the city. Since
the organization of the sanitary district in 1893
they have been its attorneys, and for years they
have acted as attorneys for the Santa Fe,
Wabash, Michigan Central and Elgin, Joliet &
Eastern Railroads.

Aside from his other interests Mr. O'Donnell
is a member of the board of directors of the Joliet
public library. For years he acted as attorney
for the Mutual Building and Loan Association,
of which he has been a stockholder from the first
and is now a director. While he has never
cared to identify himself closely with politics he is
nevertheless well posted concerning the issues of
the day. He devotes himself unreservedly to
professional work. Socially he is a member of
the Union Club. He was appointed assignee of
the Stone City Bank, of Joliet, upon its failure in
December, 1892, and for four years was con-
nected with the litigation growing out of the
failure.

The home of Mr. O'Donnell, at No. 103 Lin-
coln street, is presided over by his wife, whom he

I.S2

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

married in Joliet in 1877 and who bore the
maiden name of Costelle E. Edgerly. She was
born in Penobscot County, Me., and in 1876
came to Joliet with her parents, Lorain G. and
Sarah Edgerly. Her father, who was for a time
a farmer in Putnam Count}-, this state, served in
an Illinois regiment during the Civil war; he is
now living retired in Joliet. The family of Mr.
and Mrs. O'Donnell consists of three children,
Edith N., Louise and Francis, of whom the first-
named was a graduate of the Joliet high school,
class of 1897, and is now a student in the Chicago
Art Institute.

V A RS. CORNELIA M. SHERWOOD is the
V widow of Stephen Alanson Sherwood, of
(fj Utica, N. Y., and the daughter of Dan-
iel C. Mason, a pioneer of Joliet Township. Pos-
sessing a strong character, and a desire to do
good, she assisted many charitable movements,
and has been a factor in many enterprises for the
benefit of the people. It was in no small degree
due to her influence that the Silver Cross hospital
was established, and she served as a member of
its first board of directors, aiding in placing on a
solid basis an institution that has since been one
of the most successful charities of Joliet. The
project of building the hospital was first brought
forward by the King's Daughters and Sons, and

she was president of the society at the time,
therefore materially assisted in all of its plans.

Stephen Alanson Sherwood was born in Utica,
N. Y. , in 1848, and was next to the youngest of
five children, one of whom, Edwin, served in the
Civil war. His father, Stephen, a native of
Connecticut and descendant of one of the old
families near Hartford, removed to Utica in an
earl}' day and engaged in business there. He
died in New York City in 1892. His three sons
continued the business after his death under the
firm name of Sherwood & Hemmens, and his son,
Stephen A., was thus engaged until he died
April 23, 1876. Politically he affiliated with the
Republicans. He served as lieutenant of the
Utica Citizens' Corps, and exempt fireman of
New York. In 1871, in Joliet, 111., he married
Miss Cornelia M. Mason, whom he had known
in Utica, and who returned with him to re-
side there. She received a good education in
Houghton Seminary, at Clinton, N. Y. Both by
natural gifts and education she was fitted for the
responsibilities of life and for a prominent position
among men and women of culture and worth.
Two years after her husband's death she returned
to Joliet and has since made her home on the
Mason estate, in the suburbs of the city. Her
two sons are interested in Joliet enterprises, the
older, Arthur Mason, being in charge of the office
of the Joliet Rattan and Reed Company, while
.the younger, Louis Alanson, is a member of the
firm of Sherwood & Harper, proprietors of a pho-
tographic studio on Jefferson street.

OF
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

155

JOSEPH BRAUN, Jr.

30SEPH BRAUN, Jr., secretary, treasurer
and manager of the E. Porter Brewing Com-
pany, is a well-known citizen of Joliet and
takes an active part in enterprises calculated to
advance the city's welfare. In 188S he was
elected assistant supervisor of Joliet Township
and served in the office, by re-election, for four
years. Under Mayor P. C. Haley he held office
as city oil inspector for two years. In 1895 he
was chosen to represent the third ward in the city
council and in 1897 and 1899 was re-elected alder-
man, which office he has filled creditably to him-
self. In the council he serves as chairman of the
committees on claims and street lighting, and as
a member of the finance and printing committees.
Largely through his energy and activity the
movement was started looking toward the pur-
chase of the two parks, Bush and East Side, by
the city. The Democratic party represents his
political views and receives his vote, in both na-
tional and local elections. He has been a mem-
ber of the city and county central committees and
in 1892 served as secretary of the Jefferson Club.
He is a member of St. John's German Catholic
Church. Since the organization of St. Aloysius
Society No. 21, Western Catholic Union, in 1888,
he has served as its president, and it is largely
due to his wise leadership that the society now
has a membership of three hundred and eighty-
two. Fraternally he is connected with the
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. During
his leisure hours he finds recreation and enjoy-
ment in athletics and various sports. He is
president of the Joliet Sharpshooters' Association
and has won a record as a fine shot. At Indian-
apolis, in 1889, and at Davenport, Iowa, in 1S90,
he was king of the national tournaments of the

shooting society, this honor being conferred upon
him in recognition of his record, which was the
highest made. The society was organized by his
father and others in 1866 and he has been identi-
fied with it since 1S83. In his possession, as
prized souvenirs, are twenty-six gold medals,
which have been given him for successful compe-
titions in shooting contests.

Joseph Braun, Sr., a native of Bavaria, and a
brewmaster by trade, settled in Dupage County,
111., in 1852, establishing his home in Naperville.
In 1865 he came to Joliet, where he organized the
brewing firm of Joseph Braun & Co. , now the
F. Sebring Brewing Company. He engaged in
the brewing business until he died, in 1869, at
forty-two years of age. His wife, who was a
Miss Grath, of German descent, died in Joliet in
1882. Their only child who attained mature
years was Joseph Jr., who was born in Naper-
ville, 111., in i860, and has made his home in
Joliet since the age of five years. His education
was obtained in St. John's parochial school. In
1876 he began to clerk in a clothing store on Jef-
ferson street, where he was paid $3 a week. He
was so energetic and capable that in time he be-
came head clerk. In 1884 he bought out Charles
Brooks and started the firm of Braun & Raub at
No. 209 Jefferson street, where he engaged in
business until 1893. In selling out to his part-
ner in 1893 he assisted in organizing the
E. Porter Brewing Company, of which he has
since been secretary, treasurer and general man-
ager. Under his supervision the plant has been
enlarged, an addition built, modern improve-
ments introduced, and the quality of the products
brought to a high standard of excellence. The
location of the brewery covers two and one-half

I.S6

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

blocks on South Bluff. There is also a large
depot at Lemout, with an ice house and re-
frigerator.

The residence of Mr. Braun stands at No. 51 1
North Hickory street. He was married in Joliet
to Theresa, sister of A. J. Stoos, a leading mer-
chant of this city. They have six children: Ida,
who is a graduate of St. Francis' Convent at
Joliet, 111.; Julius, who is a student in St.
Francis' College, Ouincy, 111.; Alma, Henrietta,
Marguerite and Robert.

N()N. JERRY KENISTON. There is prob-
ably no citizen of Wilton Township who is
better known or who occupies a higher po-
sition in the confidence of associates than does
Mr. Keniston. During the Civil war he showed
his patriotism by his honorable service in the
Union army and since then he has proven him-
self equally active in civic affairs, giving his in-
fluence to aid measures for the benefit of his com-
munity and taking his part as a public-spirited
citizen in progressive movements. During the
three terms, beginning in 1S70, that he served as
supervisor of Wilton Township, he participated
personally in man} - important measures for the
benefit of the township; gaining, as a public offi-
cial, a name so creditable and a position so high
that in 1S78 he was chosen to represent his dis-
trict in the state legislature. In that body, as in
positions of lesser importance, he maintained a
reputation for integrity, energy and ability, and
his service was not only satisfactory to his own
party (the Republican), but to his political op-
ponents as well. He has frequently represented
his party as a delegate to conventions, and has
been a member of important committees.

Heredity having much to do with a mans suc-
cess in life, it will be of interest to review Mr.
KL-niston's ancestral history. His grandfather,
Isaac Keniston, a native of New Hampshire, im-
mediately after his marriage to Deborah Gray,
removed with his bride to what is now Sheffield,

Caledonia County. Yt., making the trip on horse-
back through the forests. He settled in a tim-
bered region and cleared a farm from the prime-
val wilds. During the Revolutionary war he did
his part to defend American interests and gain in-
dependence for our country. His brother, David,
who was born in the province of Maine, Novem-
ber 17, 1736, also served in the Revolution and
was a member of the famous Boston tea part} in
1773. In 1S45 ne came to Chicago, where he
died February 24, 1852, at the great age of one
hundred and fifteen years, three months and
seventeen days. He was buried with military
honors. June 14, 1S94, a Grecian cross was
erected in Lincoln Park on the site of his burial
place by a number of Chicago pioneers and there
has frequently been plans formed for the erection
of a monument to his memory by various societies.
He was the last surviving member of the Boston
tea party.

Joseph G. Keniston, our subject's father, was
born in Sheffield, Yt., October 17, 1798. After
his marriage to Sally Glidden, a native of Shef-
field, he engaged in fanning, in connection with
which he also owned and operated a sawmill. In
1854 he removed to Illinois and settled on the
site of our subject's farm, buying one-half section
of land. Here he remained for ten years. He
then removed to Aurora, 111., in order to give
his children the advantages of good schools. In
that city he died in June, 1S67. During the ex-
istence of the Whig party he voted for its candi-
dates, and after it disintegrated he became a Re-
publican. In religion he was of the Baptist faith.
In his family there were eleven children, only
three of whom are living, viz.: Emeline, widow
of William Urie, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; Hiram B.,
of Lents, Ore.; and Jerry.

At the old homestead in Sheffield, Yt., the sub-
ject of this article was born March 2, 1829. His
education was largely self- acquired, although he
had the advantage of study in common schools
and a term in St. Johnsbury Academy. After
teaching school for one term, in 185 1 he went to
Massachusetts, and for three years was employed
in the vicinity of Boston. He joined his parents
in Illinois shortly after their removal west and

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i57

spent some months in this county, after which he
was employed by a dairy company in St. Louis
for a year. In the fall of 1858 he went to York
state and was married, in Pike, Wyoming Coun-
ty, November 30, to Miss Martha A. Tiffany,
who died January 24, 1862. In i860 he returned
to this county and settled on an eighty-acre tract,
which now forms a part of his farm of two hun-
dred and forty acres.

In the fall of 1862 Mr. Keniston enlisted in
Company H, One Hundredth Illinois Infantry,
and went to the front. Soon after his enlistment
he was made second lieutenant of his company
and at the close of the war held a captain's com-
mission. He took part in even- battle in which
his regiment was engaged until the engagement
at Chickamauga, where he was captured and
taken to Libby prison. He was held a prisoner
for seven months and was then removed farther
south. March 2, 1S65, he was released at Wil-
mington, N. C, and proceeded to Benton Bar-
racks, St. Louis, where he reported for duty. He
was honorably discharged May 15. Returning
home he resumed farm work. He is a member
of H. B. Godard Post No. 736, G. A. R., of
Manhattan, and since 1897 has served as com-
mander of the post. He is also a member of the
lodge of Patrons of Husbandry in Manhattan.

February 21, 1866, occurred the marriage of
Mr. Keniston to Miss Martha Lynde, who was
born in Williamstown, Vt., a daughter of John
and Dolly (Smith) Lynde. She is a descendant,
it is supposed, of Benjamin Lynde, mentioned by
Brancroft in history, who came with a number of
prominent men from England and settled in
Massachusetts about 1630. The name of Lynde
is inseparably associated with the business and
public affairs of Williamstown. Hon. John
Lynde, father of Mrs. Keniston, was born in
Williamstown in 18 10 and at the age of sixteen
began to teach, which occupation he followed in
the winter, working on the farm during summer
months. In 1832 he married Dolly Smith, who
died in 1881. They were the parents of twelve
children, nine of whom are living, viz. : Ellen,
Mrs. W. Bass, of Ottawa, Kans. ; John, Jr., of
Williamstown; Martha; Rebecca, Mrs. Nathaniel

Simons, of Princeton, 111. ; George W. ; James K. ;
Laura, Mrs. H. L. Cheney, of Williamstown;
Emma, wife of Dr. William B. Mayo, of North-
field; and Dr. Cornelius V., of Northfield, Minn.
Mr. Lynde was a farmer until 1S65, after which
he engaged in trade until 1S87 and then resumed
farming. He was often called upon to settle es-
tates and was a general counselor in business and
legal matters. For more than two generations
he was one of the directors of the Northfield, and
later of the Barre Bank. First a Whig, then a
Republican, he was active in each party in turn.
For forty-four consecutive years he served as jus-
tice of the peace. In 1876 he was elected state
senator, and for two terms he was assistant judge
of the county court. His name will long be re-
membered in Williamstown as that of a public-
spirited and benevolent citizen. His father,
Cornelius Lynde, left Harvard College at the op-
ening of the Revolutionary war and enlisted in
the Continental army, in which he rose to the
rank of major. In 1786 he moved from Williams-
town, Mass. , to the town of the same name in
Vermont, and was one of the original proprietors
of the new settlement. He assisted in the allot-
ment of land to his associates, was justice of the
peace, the first town clerk, and from 1791 to
1795 served as representative to the legislature,
later was a member of the state council and for
two years associate judge. In the first year of
the century, at a meeting in his house, a Univer-
salis! society was organized, believed to be the
earliest in the state. His wife was the eldest
daughter of Col. Jacob Davis, the pioneer of
Montpelier. Several of his sons became influen-
tial business men.

The head of the Lynde family, since the death
of Mrs. Keniston's father, who died in 1S96, is
John Lynde, Jr., who was born in 1835, came to
Will County in 1856, and there listened to one of
the joint debates between Lincoln and Douglass
during the memorable campaign of 1858. Dur-
ing the war he served as commissary sergeant,
regimental quartermaster with the rank of lieu-
tenant, and on staff duty. From 1870 to 1877
he was a clerk in the postoffice department in
Washington, since which time he has resided in

1 53

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Williamstown, his early home- One of his broth-
ers, Charles, also served for three years in the
Union army; he died in 1874. Another brother,
George W., born in 1848, owns a fine farm of
three hundred and seventy-five acres at Williams-
town, and has many other important interests.
He is vice-president of the Barre National Bank;
in 18S8 served in the house of representatives
and is at present state senator. He is a half-
owner of the grist, saw and polishing mill at
Mill Village, which is the most important indus-
try in that town. James K. Lynde, another
brother of Mrs. Keniston, was born in 1S42, and
is a wealthy business man of Williamstown, own-
ing a large store there. He is also a member of
the Williamstown Granite Company, a stock-
holder in the Construction Company, and a part
owner of the Monument House.

Just prior to the breaking out of the Civil war
Miss Lynde was a student in Barre Academy.
The faculty received a request to send a compe-
tent teacher to Alabama and asked her to accept
the position. In February, i860, she w T ent south
and began the work of an instructor. On the

breaking out of hostilities she was importuned to
remain, but feeling it was not safe for her there
she decided to come north. June 3, 1861, she
started for Illinois and joined a sister in Will
County. Soon afterward she was engaged to
teach in the Wilmington schools. Later she
taught the Wilton Center school. In 1864 she
went to Racine, Wis., where she taught for one
year, then returned to Vermont and was married
to Mr. Keniston at the old homestead. Of their
union ten children were born, seven now living.
The two oldest, Henry C. and John L. , are en-
gaged in business in Chicago as dealers in paints,
oils and wall paper, the former being in the sub-
urb of Englewood, while the latter is at No. 194
Twenty-second street. Laura A. from childhood
showed a decided musical talent and was given
excellent advantages, graduating from the musi-
cal conservatory at Pottsdam, N. Y. She is now
a teacher of vocal music and physical culture in
Olean, N. Y., public schools. The other mem-
bers of the family are Herbert, of Chicago;
Carroll, on the home farm; Raymond, in Okla-
homa; and Daisy, a student in the local schools.

OF
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

161

HENRY J. HOLM,

HENRY J. HOLM, who is manager of the
creamery at Goodings Grove, Homer Town-
ship, came to this count}- in 1881 and began
the cultivation of the one hundred and fort}- acres
comprising his present homestead. By good
management and energy he brought the place
under excellent cultivation. As necessity de-
manded, he erected farm buildings. In 1896 his
barn burned down and he built the one he now
uses, a substantial building with basement 32x60
feet in dimensions; also a corn crib 24x32. His
barn is so large that it will accommodate eighty
tons of hay at one time. The stock are given
stalls in the basement. He engages in the
raising of cattle and in the dairy business, milk-
ing eleven cows. Largely through his efforts a
creamery was started. He was the first to sub-
scribe for stock and furnish money for the enter-
prise, and he now has quite a sum invested in the
business. Besides being manager of the cream-
ery he is secretary and treasurer of the company.
All products are shipped to Chicago, where Elgin
prices are paid. It is due to his management and
good judgment that the business has been made
so profitable, returning to its stockholders divi-
dends that are larger than was first anticipated.
The quality of the butter is so excellent that
it always commands a high price. For instance,
in September, 1899, they turned out eight thou-
sand eight hundred and sixty-eight pounds of
butter, which sold at an average price of twenty-
two and one-half cents per pound, this making
the cash receipt from seven thousand seven hun-
dred and twenty-nine pounds sold outside of the
community $1,749, an estimate that gives an
idea of the dimensions of the business and ex-
plains the reason for the high rating of the stock.
8

Mr. Holm was born in Kensington, 111., Feb-
ruary 9, 1857. His father, John, a native of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Prussia, came to Amer-
ica at eighteen years of age, spending six weeks
on the water. He proceeded at once to this
county, where he was employed on farms. Later
he sawed wood for the Illinois Central Railroad,
making about $1,600. With this money he
bought land in Worth, Cook County. The place
was raw prairie and required considerable effort
to get under cultivation. Being industrious he
prospered. The property that he first purchased
is now worth many hundred times what he paid
for it. By adding to his holdings he became the
owner of three hundred and sixty-five acres,
comprising a valuable farm, on which he still re-
sides. He has served as commissioner and is a
Republican in politics. In religion he believes in
Lutheran doctrines. While living in Kensington
he married Carolina Hock, also from Prussia.
They have five children, viz. : Henry J. ; Mrs.
Mary Handorf, of Marley, this county; Dora,
wife of Dan Laufer, of Homer Township; Fred,
who superintends his father's farm; and Carrie,
wife of Paul Hampel, of Washington Heights.

The life of our subject has been passed in Cook
and Will Counties.. He remained at home until
his marriage, April n, 1881, which united him
with Louise, daughter of Henry Sahs, of Oak
Lawn. She died in 1896, leaving five children,
Henry, Louise, Alice, Cora and Carrie. Since
1 89 1 Mr. Holm has been a member of the board
of school directors. His political views are in
accord with the platform of the Republican party.
He is a director of the Homer Mutual Fire In-
surance Company, an organization which has
proved of great benefit to the farmers of this

162

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

township. Reared in the Lutheran faith, he has
always favored its doctrines and supported its
enterprises.

Gfl LFRED T. CORBIN, a leading business
J_J man of Plainfield, is the proprietor of an
/ I establishment in which he carries a com-
plete assortment of dry-goods, groceries, hats and
caps, etc. In addition to this business he has
other interests of varying degrees of importance
and value. He owns a half interest in a hard-
ware store in Phoenix, Ariz., of which his son-
in-law is the manager. He also has shares in
the Bankers' Mining & Milling Company, which
owns a mine on Bull Mountain, at Cripple Creek,
Colo., and also has mining interests at Leadville,
that state.

The father of our subject, Elihu Corbin, was
born in Rutland, Vt., and in boyhood accom-
panied his parents to Cleveland, Ohio, where he
grew to manhood. For a time he carried on a
boot and shoe business in Cleveland, after which,
with a partner, he operated a tannery. The
excitement caused by the discovery of gold in
California reached him and he determined to seek
in the far west a fortune. In 1850 he went to
the Pacific coast overland and remained a year,
when, his brother-in-law being taken sick, he
started east with him via Panama, but the sick
man died before home was reached. Resuming
the shoe business, Mr. Corbin manufactured
shoes of his own leather and built up a good
trade in Cleveland. However, desiring to seek
another location, he sold out in 1852 and came
to Plainfield, 111., November 5, where he pur-
chased one hundred and sixty acres, a portion
of which is now in the city limits. He platted
the land in town lots and sold it as opportunity
afforded. On the remainder he engaged in gen-
eral farm pursuits, and added to it from time to
time. Finally retiring, he established his home
in the town. On the Republican ticket he was
elected justice of the peace, which office he held
for more than a quarter of a century. During

the Civil war he held office as deputy United
States marshal. In religion he was an active
worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church. His
life was devoted to various pursuits, and in each
he seemed to meet with success. As a farmer
he was thorough and painstaking, as a business
man energetic and up-to-date. From i860 to
1862 he carried on a mercantile business in Plain-
field, but, preferring agricultural pursuits, he
sold out. When hediedini895 he was eight}- -
two years of age.

The mother of our subject was Elisa A. Fish,
a native of Groton, Conn., and now a resident
of Plainfield, 111. In spite of her eighty-three
years she is quite active. Of her nine children
four are deceased. Hannah is the widow of
Capt. D. Sullivan, who was a captain in the
Eighth Illinois Cavalry during the Civil war;
Emma M. is the widow of E. Holbrook, of
Batavia, 111.; and Mary E. resides with her
mother. The youngest of the family is Louis D.,
who clerks for his brother. Another son, Ed-
ward \\\, was a merchant in Colorado and died
there, but is buried in Plainfield. Mrs. Eliza A.
(Fish) Corbin is a granddaughter of Ebenezer
Fish, a soldier in the Revolutionary war and for
six months a prisoner-of-war. His son, Eben-
ezer, served during the second war with England.
He walked the entire distance from Connecticut
to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1S11, and settled in that
place, where he became a prominent citizen, and
one of the founders of Methodism, giving the site
for two churches. He died in 18S0, aged ninety-
three years. His wife was Johanna Stanton, of
Stonington, Conn.

In Cleveland, Ohio, our subject was born Jan-
uary 6, 1843. He was nine years of age when
the family settled in this county. Two years
later he secured work as a clerk in Plainfield.
He continued steadily in business, with the ex-
ception of the time spent in a commercial college
in Chicago. In 1870, with two partners, Mr.
Corbin engaged in the mercantile business in
Plainfield. His partners were G. N. and W. H.
Chittenden; the former sold his interest to his
partners in 1887. Three years later our subject
bought his partner's interest and has since man-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

l6 3

aged the store. During the mining excitement
in Montana he spent three years in that territory
(1864-67), and besides mining took up a ranch.
Fraternally he is a member of Plainfield Lodge
No. 536, A. F. & A. M. In politics he is
stanchly, though not actively, a Republican, and
has held various township and city offices, to
which he was elected on the party ticket. His
marriage united him with Miss Laura A. Pratt,
daughter of the late S. S. Pratt, who was a mer-
chant in Plainfield. They are the parents of one
daughter, Grace, who married Charles H. David-
son, a hardware merchant in Phoenix, Ariz.
They have one son, Harold Corbin Davidson.

V/lAJ. EDWIN S. MUNROE. The largest
Y real-estate firm in Joliet is that of Mun-
(f) roe Brothers, composed of ex-Senator
George H. and Maj. Edwin S. Munroe, who
since 1896 have conducted a mortgage, loans, in-
surance, real-estate and general trust company's
business, with offices in the Munroe hotel block.
Since 1S98 they have laid out the Munroe &
Kelly subdivision, west of Henderson avenue,
and the Munroe & Melchior and the Munroe &
Norton additions, while prior to this the senior
member of the firm platted many subdivisions
while doing business under the firm name of
G. Munroe & Sou, including the Ridgewood ad-
ditions to Joliet. It is doubtful if any individual
or organization has accomplished more than they
in the development of property interests and the
advancing of teal-estate values; hence their work
possesses permanent merit.

In Florence" Township, this county, the sub-
ject of this sketch was born September 29, 1857,
a son of George, and a brother of George H.
Munroe, to whose biographies the reader is re-
ferred for the family history. His education was
obtained in public schools primarily and was
completed in Northwestern University, which he
attended from 1874 to 1876, having applied to
this purpose his earnings while assisting his fath-

er in the grocery business in Joliet. While at-
tending the university he was very closely con-
nected with the work of building the gymnasium
and presenting it to the college; and as secretary
and treasurer he was one of the leading members
of the board of directors having the work in
charge.

Upon leaving the university Mr. Munroe be-
came salesman and bookkeeper for his father's
grocery, and later traveled for the house. In
January, 1SS1, he became traveling salesman for
the wholesale grocery house of John Roper & Co.
Four years later he severed his connection with
them in order to accept a position as commercial
traveler with Reid, Murdoch & Co., the largest
wholesale grocery house in Chicago, and he con-
tinued with them for eleven years, until 1896.
Meantime he had been extensively interested in
Joliet real estate. Purchasingthecorner of Chicago
and Clinton streets, where the Joliet National
Bank stands, he built the Ed S. Munroe block
in 1882, and from that time to this his real-estate
interests have constantly enlarged and broadened.
He occupies the homestead on East Cass street,
built in 1887 by his father. There, with his wife
and three children, George M., Edwine M.
and Stanley M., he has a pleasant home in
which his leisure hours are passed. He married
Marie, daughter of Gallus Muller, who came to
Joliet just before the Chicago fire and was chief
clerk for the Illinois penitentiary for over twenty
years.

In 1876 Mr. Munroe entered the Illinois Na-
tional Guard, becoming a private in Company B,
Tenth Battalion. At the formation of the
Twelfth Battalion, two years later, he was made
quartermaster, with the rank of lieutenant, and
continued in that capacity for eight years, the
battalion meantime becoming the Fourth Regi-
ment. In 1886 Governor Fifer commissioned
him major of the regiment, and he continued as
such until the reorganization of the guard and
the merging of the Fourth into the Third Regi-
ment. He was called into active service at the
time of the Braidwood strike of 1877, the LaSalle
trouble of 1878, the Joliet and Lemout strikes of
1885, and the Braidwood labor troubles of 1889.

i6 4

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

He is a member of the Veteran Roll of the Illinois
National Guard. Politically a Republican and
interested in the success of his party, he is never-
theless in no sense of the word a politician, his
time being fully occupied with the cares of his
constantly increasing business. Socially he is a
member of the Union Club of Joliet. In religion
he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal
Church, in which he is secretary of the board of
trustees, and is a delegate representing Rock
River Conference in the General Conference to
be held in Chicago in 1900, which is the supreme
organization of the entire Methodist Episcopal
Church throughout the world.

HENRY H. LICHTENWALTER. Since
his settlement in this county Mr. Lichten-
walter has been known not only as a sub-
stantial farmer, but also as a progressive citizen
and an earnest Christian. Although he started
for himself with very little means (having only
$68 at the time he came to Illinois), he has be-
come one of the large land owners of Jackson
Township, and his name is synonymous with
successful agriculture. He is the owner of six
farms, aggregating eleven hundred acres. This
large property represents the results of honest in-
dustry and frugality, traits that have always been
very noticeable in his character. Besides his
farming and stock interests he acts as local agent
for the Greengarden Mutual Insurance Company.
During the eighteenth century the Lichten-
walter family was founded in America by a
German, who settled in Adams County, Pa., and
remained there from that time until his death.
The descendants of one of his sons may now be
found in Lehigh County, Pa. Another of his
sons, Abraham, was a native of Adams County,
but spent his last years on a farm in Stark
County, Ohio, and was buried at Canton, that
state. His son, Solomon, was about twenty-one
when the family removed from Pennsylvania to
Ohio. He took up a tract of wild land, which he

cleared and improved, and there he spent his re-
maining years. He was one of the leading
farmers of Stark County. For many years he
was an elder in the Lutheran Church and the old
house of worship he helped to build is still stand-
ing, in good repair. The honor of being a dele-
gate to the Ohio conference was conferred upon
him. At the time of his death he was eighty-
eight years of age. His wife was Catherine
Hane, a native of Pennsylvania, who at four
years of age had been taken to Ohio by her
father, Charles Hane; afterward she resided in
Stark County until her death, at fifty-two years.
Of her twelve children seven are now living,
namely: Samuel, a farmer of Stark County;
Sarah, wife of Martin Metz, of El wood, 111.;
John, also of Elwood; William, whose home is
in Manhattan; Henry H.; Christian, a farmer
and stock-raiser in Thayer County, Neb.; and
Amanda, who married William Young and lives
in Stark County.

The education acquired by our subject was suf-
ficient to enable him to teach school, and in this
occupation he continued for two years. For five
years he followed the carpenter's trade. August
31, 1856, he bade farewell to his relatives and
started for the west, full of hope for the future,
and with all the determination that youth and
health and an earnest spirit can give. He arrived
in Joliet on the 1st of September. After two
months in the city he went to the country, where
he followed his trade for two years. In 1858 he
rented a farm six miles south of Joliet, and there
he tilled the soil for eleven years. In 1869 he
purchased a farm in Florence Township and at
once commenced the improvement of the prop-
erty, on which he made his home for the next
twenty-three years, meantime following the gen-
eral lines of farming and stock-raising. He
owned four hundred acres in partnership with his
brother-in-law, Hiram E. Guiss. With him he
also, for sixteen years, operated a threshing ma-
chine, having contracts for work of this kind in
Florence, Jackson, Manhattan and Wilton Town-
ships. Their machine was one of the first
threshers brought to the county. In 1886 he
bought a farm in Jackson Township and five

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD

165

years later he moved to it. He remained there
until March, 1900, when he removed with his wife
and daughter to Manhattan, his son remaining on
the farm.

Politically a Republican, Mr. Lichtenwalter
was on that ticket elected supervisor of Florence
Township, road commissioner, justice of the
peace, collector, school trustee, etc. In 1858 he
married Leah, daughter of John Guiss. They
have six children living, viz.: Orlando, Frank,
Albert (of Florence Township), Frances (wife of
R. F. Weibel), John and Addie. The family
are active workers in Grace Evangelical Church.
Mr. Lichtenwalter was converted at the age of
sixteen years and has since lived an exemplary
Christian life. Since 1890 he has been a mem-
ber of the Illinois conference and in 189S he was
a delegate to the general conference of the United
Evangelical Church at Johnstown, Pa. In 1894
he donated land for a church building and he
also contributed largely to the erection of the
same, since which time he has been a liberal con-
tributor to its maintenance. He has filled the
office of Sunday-school superintendent constantly
and for some years has been a trustee of the
church.

REV. MOTHER ALEXANDER MUNCH,
who is at the head of the community of Fran-
ciscan Sisters, located at Joliet, has for years
been a potent factor in the advancement of its
work and growth. St. Francis' convent, which
the Sisters have in charge, was founded in 1865,
its first location being on the corner of North
Broadway and Division street, Joliet, but in 1882
it was removed to the present location, in the most
elevated part of the city, away from the din of the
busy streets. The cornerstone of the large main-
building was laid in 1881, but the building was
not completed until 1882. From the time of its
establishment in 1865 this convent has been the
mother-house of this community. About 1874 St.
Francis' Academy was started, and it is now one
of the best schools of its kind in the county. The

building is provided with dormitories, class
rooms, music rooms, studio, a recreation hall, an
extensive library and scientific apparatus and
specimens for illustrating the various branches of
science. The course of study comprises three
departments, each consisting of four grades, and
each grade requires one year's time. Special
attention is given to the department of music,
which aims at thoroughness and adapts the most
improved methods to the cultivation of correct
taste and an appreciation of classical music.
Students are drilled in harmony, the technique
and theory of music. Attention is also given to
oil painting and water colors. The large studio
affords the students excellent facilities for the study
of drawing and painting; a special feature has been
made of china painting, and a kiln for firing is in
charge of one of the Sisters. As a stimulus to
effort, gold medals are awarded each year to those
attaining the highest standard of excellence. The
work of the academy has been thoroughly sys-
tematized, so that the best results may be obtained
from the pupils, and their progress in study is
judiciously promoted.

Upon the establishment of the convent in 1865,
Rev. Mother Alfreda Moes, a French lady, was
placed at its head. She was followed successively
by Rev. Mother Alberta Stockhof, Mother Mary
Frances Shanahan, Mother Mary Celestine Son-
tag, Mother Lucy Raub (a native of Joliet),
Mother Mary Angela Rosenberger and Mother
Alexander Munch. Mothers Sontag, Raub and
Rosenberger each held the position for six years.
In August, 1899, Rev. Mother Alexander Munch
was placed at the head of the convent. She was
born in Joliet, a daughter of Xavier Munch, and
received her education in Catholic schools, grad-
uating in 1870, since which time she has been
connected with the work of the Franciscan Sisters.

Under the supervision of the Franciscan Sisters
of this community are thirty mission houses in
various parts of this state, Ohio, Wisconsin, Mis-
souri and Pennsylvania, where they have charge
of the instruction of eight thousand children, in-
cluding St. John's, St. Joseph's and Holy Cross
parochial schools in Joliet. In 1898 they estab-
lished the Guardian Angels' Home for Children

1 66

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and erected a building on Buell avenue with
accommodations for sixty. Already fifty-five
orphans have been placed under their care in
this institution. In the rearing of the children
given to their charge they show a painstaking
thoroughness and the most earnest desire to im-
plant in their hearts pure and lofty purposes and
to cultivate good morals.

(IL.LIAM M. CLOW owns an improved
stock and dairy farm on section 14, Wheat-
land Township. Born on a farm, he se-
lected agriculture as his life occupation; the suc-
cess he has met proves he made no mistake.
Under his father he acquired some knowledge of
many details connected with cultivating the soil
and raising stock. At the time of his marriage
he started for himself, bought one hundred and
fifteen acres of unimproved land, which he has
since added to by the purchase of one hundred
and twenty acres. He assisted in incorporating
the creamery, which proved to be profitable. He
has held the offices of township clerk, road com-
missioner and school director, and in politics is
a Democrat.

The grandfather of our subject, Robert Clow,
a native of Dumfrieshire. Scotland, brought his
family to America in 1837. He and his family
(six sons and two daughters) rented the old
Shaker farm on Sodus Bay, N. Y., which they
worked six years. In 1843 they came west via
the Erie canal and the lakes to Chicago. Set-
tling in Will County, he and his sons pre-empted
and purchased some fourteen hundred and eighty
acres. He resided on the place until his death in
1877, aged eighty-five years. His wife died in
Scotland. They had six sons and four daughters.
At the time the family came to America, Rob-
ert Clow, Jr., father of our subject, was eighteen
years old. He accompanied his father to this
county in 1844 and was identified with its farm
and public interests all his life. In 1849, at tne
age of thirty-one, he married Miss Rosanna

McMickeu, who was born in Ayrshire, Scotland,
and came to Illinois with her parents in 1843.
Their home was the southeast quarter of section
15. He was a Republican in politics. He
served one term in the Illinois legislature, two
terms as circuit clerk of the county, and also
as justice of the peace, township clerk and super-
visor. He died September 15, 1888, and his wife
in 1895, at the home of her son, John B. They
had eight children, five of whom are living,
namely: William M.; Ellen J., wife of Charles
H. Farquhar, of Chicago; Adam S., who farms
his grandfather's homestead; John B., who has
succeeded to the ownership of his father's place;
and Rose, wife of H. H. Hyland, of Lamar, Mo.
The eldest child of his parents, our subject
was born December 18, 1850. His education
was obtained in local schools and four terms at
Aurora. In 1S74 he married Eliza Y. Cherry,
of Kendall County, an estimable woman and con-
sistent member of the Presbyterian Church.
The} - have five children, namely: Ida G., de-
ceased; Robert C, Annie L., Charles H. and
Lena. The. family stand high among the people
of the township, and are respected in the best
social circles, their intelligence and refinement
bringing them many friends.

0ANIEL C. MASON resided on his farm
adjoining Joliet from the fall of 1S69 until
his death in 1S96. During these years he
engaged in farming and built up a homestead
that won admiring notice from passers-by. His
original tract comprised seventy-one acres in the
home place, to which he added until he was the
owner of two hundred and fifty acres, improved
with all needful buildings, and bearing every evi-
dence of the owner's judicious oversight. He
was born January 12, 181 1, the seventh among
eleven children that attained mature years, whose
parents, Arnold and Mercy (Coman) Mason, re-
moved after marriage from Berkshire County,
Mass., to New Hartford, near Utica, N. Y.

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

167

There he remained until twenty-one years of age.
Upon leaving home he went to New Jersey and
worked under his father, who had a contract for
building a portion of the Delaware and Raritan
canal. After a year there he joined the firm of
Mason & Downing in a contract for excavating
through Bergen Hill for the old Jersey Central
Railroad, and also helped to dig the Morris canal
from there to Jersey City. The next contract
was for building two sections of the Croton water
works, in New York City. Later he engaged in
farming near his old home until 1869, when he
came to Illinois.

April 16, 1844, Mr. Mason married Miss Cor-
nelia H. Kellogg, the second in a family of two
sons and two daughters, whose parents were
Truman and Meliuda (Marsh) Kellogg, natives
of Oneida County, N. Y. Mrs. Mason was born
June 8, 1S24, and was reared on her father's
farm. She became the mother of two children,
Truman A. Mason, of Joliet, and Mrs. Sherwood,
who occupies the family homestead. Through-
out the entire period of his residence in this coun-
ty Mr. Mason proved himself to be a progressive
citizen, an enterprising farmer, warm friend and
accommodating neighbor, and his death was
mourned by the many to whom his sterling qual-
ities had endeared him.

"RUMAN A. MASON. The value in any
community of a citizen is not marked mere-
ly by the success that has attended his ef-
forts in business, but also by his character in pri-
vate life, his progressive spirit as a citizen, and
the interest he maintains in measures affecting
the public welfare. Judged by these standards,
• Mr. Mason may be classed among the most val-
ued citizens of Joliet. While various enterprises
have felt the impetus of his aid, he is most wide-
ly known as president of the Joliet National Bank,
which he organized March 2, 1891, and of which
he has since been the head. This institution has
enjoyed a remarkable growth. Within eight

years after its organization its deposits had
reached $750,000, and it ranks among the first in
the state in the extent of its transactions and in
reliability. The co-laborers of the president have
remained unchanged from the first, and are as fol-
lows: R. T. Kelly, cashier; H. O. Williams, tel-
ler; and Charles G. Pierce, bookkeeper; nor has
the board of directors been altered in any appre-
ciable degree.

Tracing the histor)' of the Mason family, we
find that the grandfather of our subject, Arnold
Mason, was born in Cheshire, Mass., September
10, 1777, and died March 9, 1862. His marriage,
December 29, 1796, united him with Mercy Co-
man, who was born October 20, 1776, and died
November 9, 1850. Her father, Daniel Coman,
a native of Swansea, R. I., was a captain in the
Revolutionary war, and married Hannah Angell,
whose birth occurred in Barrington, R. I., Decem-
ber 14, 1750. This entire Rhode Island colony
came from Suffolk, England, and settled in Swan-
sea and Rehoboth. Hannah Angell was a daugh-
ter of Nedabiah Angell, who was born April 29,
1712, and died April 19, 1786; her mother, Mary
Winsor, was born September 2, 17 18, and died
June 9, 1758. Nedabiah's father, Daniel Angell,
was born May 2, 1680, and died June 16, 1750;
he married Hannah Winsor. He was a son of
John Angell, born in Rhode Island in 1643, and
died July 27, 1720; he married Ruth Field, a
daughter of William Field.

The first member of the Angell family in
America was John's father, Thomas Angell, who
was born in Suffolk County, England, in 1618,
and died in September, 1694. He came to Amer-
ica with Roger Williams in the ship "Lion,"
Capt. A. Pearce, in 1631. His wife, Alice, died
in Rhode Island in Januar3', 1695. Mary Win-
sor, wife of Nedabiah Angell, was also his cousin,
he being a son of Hannah, daughter of Samuel
and Mercy (Williams) Winsor, the latter a daugh-
ter of the illustrious Roger Williams by his mar-
riage to Mary Wanton.

After his marriage Arnold Mason removed to
New Hartford, N. Y., where he was a large
farmer and also for many years proprietor of
Mason's inn, the old "half-way" house on the

1 68

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Albany turnpike. He was one of the contrac-
tors for the Harlem high bridge in New York City
and for a majority of the high rocky cuts out of
Jersey City and Bergen, N. J.; also had contracts
on the Erie canal, being one of the largest con-
tractors of his day. During the war of 1812 he
served as a captain and took part in the battle of
Sackett's Harbor. When he settled in New
Hartford he had only $100, but by his own ener-
gy and the aid of his wife he became very suc-
cessful. In religion he was an ardent Baptist.

Levi, father of Arnold Mason, was born in
Swansea, R. I., October 15, 1752, and was acci-
dentally killed August 20, 1S44. His wife. Amy
Gilsou, who was born June 30, 1751, died six
days after her husband, her death being the re-
sult of grief over his loss. He and six of his
brothers were in the thickest of the fight at Ben-
nington during the Revolutionary war. For some
years he lived in Cheshire, Mass., but his last
days were spent with his son, Arnold, in New
Hartford, N. Y. His father, Nathan, was born
May 10, 1705, and died in 1758; August 26, 1731,
he married Lillis Hale, daughter of John and
Hannah (Tillinghast) Hale. It was Nathan
Mason who established the family in Cheshire,
Mass., removing there from Swansea. He was a
son of Isaac Mason, born July 15, 1667, and died
January 25, 1742, who was a deacon in the Sec-
ond Baptist Church in Swansea from its organi-
zation in 1693 until his death. Isaac was a son
of Sampson Mason, who emigrated from Suffolk,
England, and settled in Dorsetshire, Mass., in
1649, thence in 1657 removed to Rehoboth, R. I.
From all the best authorities the statement is
made that he was a dragoon in Cromwell's arm\-.
He married Mary Butterworth, a sister of Deacon
John Butterworth, at whose home in Swansea the
Baptist congregation of the town was organized
in 1663.

The record of the son of Arnold and father of
Truman A. Mason appears on another page of
this volume. Daniel C. Mason had two children:
Mrs. Cornelia Sherwood and Truman A. Mason.
The latter was bom in New Hartford, N. Y.,
March 14, 1846, and was reared in Utica, attend-
ing public schools and Whitestown Academy.

At nineteen years of age he rented his father's
farm and for a year carried on a stock business.
In the spring of 1866 he came to Illinois, thence
went to Missouri, and returning to Chicago, be-
came assistant pilot on the Chicago & Alton Rail-
road. After eight months he accepted a position
with a wholesale house in Utica, where he re-
mained for six months as an employe. He then
became a member of the firm of Rawley Bros. &
Co., which continued in business for some years.
In the fall of 1869 he sold out and settled in Jo-
liet, where, in the spring of 1870, he engaged in
the lumber business with H. W. and F. B. Plant,
as Mason & Plant, this firm continuing to oper-
ate a planing mill and lumber yard until 1880,
when the partnership was dissolved. In 1SS0 he
opened a wholesale and retail lumber yard on the
Michigan Central Railroad, shipping lumber from
the Michigan pine woods in large quantities; he
was the first lumberman in Joliet who shipped
exclusively b\- rail, which he found to be more
rapid and satisfactory than by canal. His health
becoming impaired by the pressure of business,
he deemed it advisable to sell out, which he did
in 1887, and afterward recuperated until his
strength was regained.

As a Republican Mr. Mason is interested in
politics. He served for one term each as alder-
man from the third ward and assistant supervisor.
He is a member of the township board of educa-
tion and one of the city school inspectors, being
chairman of the committee on buildings, which
work takes much of his time. He is vice presi-
dent of the State Bankers' Association and one of
its leading members. Socially he is connected
with the Union Club. In Masonry he is a mem-
ber of Matteson Lodge No. 175, A. F. & A. M. :
Joliet Chapter No. 27, R. A. M.: and Joliet Coru-
mandery No. 4, K. T. His marriage, which
took place in Joliet, united him with Anna E.,
daughter of W. P. Caton, who settled in Chicago'
during the '30s. They are the parents of three
children: Cornelia Louise, who graduated from
Houghton Seminary in Clinton, N. Y., and is now
the wife of John H. Garnsey, of Joliet; William
C, of Mankato, Minn., who is a civil engineer
with the Northwestern Railroad; and Elizabeth C.

OF
UNIVERSITY Of ILLINOIS

/ 9^^UcU c ^o

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

171

CAPT. EDWARD McALLISTER.

gAPT. EDWARD McALLISTER. As the
name indicates, the McAllister family is of
Scotch origin. The first to seek a home in
America were three brothers, one of whom settled
in New York, another in Philadelphia, and the
third in Pelham, Mass. The latter, Hon. Hamil-
ton McAllister, moved to Salem, N. Y., in 1760,
when all of Washington County was a wilderness
and the surrounding country was sparsely settled.
The nearest mill was at Albany, forty-five miles
distant, and thither his wife, Sarah, rode on
horseback with a sack of wheat, returning home
with the flour. He was the first representative
ever elected from Washington County to the state
legislature. In those days the members were
obliged to pay their own expenses, and it was his
custom to take with him to Albany enough but-
ter to pay his board. He was one of the first
sheriffs of Washington County. In political
views he was a Whig.

The youngest son of Hamilton McAllister was
William, who was born in Salem in a house that
had been built on the home place in 1785.
While engaged in lumbering he accidentally
split his foot with an axe, inflicting an injury so
serious that he was unable to serve in the war of
1812. However, two of his brothers represented
the family in the army. He assisted in clearing
the home place, which was covered with pine; the
stumps of these he pulled and with them built
a fence that remains to this day. Buying the
interest of the other heirs in the homestead, he
spent his remaining years thereon, meantime
taking great pains to place the land under culti-
vation. In politics he voted with the Democrats.
He was a strict supporter of Scotch Presby-

terian doctrines and for many years served as
trustee of his church. When General Burgoyue
passed through on his way to Bennington he used
the church building as a barracks and afterward
burned it; on two other occasions the church was
burned to the ground, but each time the McAl-
listers assisted liberally in rebuilding.

One of the brothers of William McAllister was
John, who in young manhood started for the
west. Going down the Ohio River in a flatboat,
he proceeded up the Mississippi and the Illinois
and in 18 19 settled in Jersey County.

The marriage of William McAllister united him
with Hannah Shoudler, whose father, Andrew,
was a descendant of an old Holland family of
New York, while her mother was of English
lineage. Five children were born to their mar-
riage who attained mature years, namely: Archi-
bald, deceased, who was for years a successful
farmer of this county, but whose last days were
spent in Chicago; William K., who was a judge
on the supreme bench of Illinois from 1870 to
1873, later was judge of the circuit court of Cook
County, and at the time of his death held office
as judge of the appellate court; Mrs. Catherine
Walker, who resides in Salem, N. Y.; Edward;
and Jesse, who engaged in the wool and com-
mission business in Chicago, but was killed in a
collision on the Panhandle Railroad.

In the house built by his grandfather in 1785,
the subject of this article was born December 24,
1828. His education was largely acquired in
Washington Academy at Salem, an institution
his grandfather had helped to build and support.
His favorite recreation in boyhood was hunting,
and he became an expert shot. When twenty-

172

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

four years of age he came to Illinois and bought
one hundred and sixty acres in Plainfield Town-
ship, Will County, where he now resides. It
was raw prairie land, without any buildings or
fences. Borrowing the money to make the first
payment, he began to improve the place. He
has put in eleven miles of tiling, so that every
foot of ground is tillable. At one time he was
heavily engaged in raising hogs, but owing to
the cholera scourge he dropped the business.
One of his specialties has been dairying. For
about ten years twenty-five hundred pounds of
butter were made on his place each year, for
which he was paid twenty-five cents a pound.
Prior to 1899 he not only managed the place, but
did much of the active work himself, but recent-
ly, owing to heart trouble, he has confined his
attention to superintending the work of others.
Since the organization of the part}- he has been
a Republican, and for years has been the head of
the party delegation in his township, but has
held no office except that of supervisor in 1885.

June 4, i860, Captain McAllister married Fan-
nie Beebe, by whom he had two sons and three
daughters. The oldest son died when six years
of age. Carrie is the wife of Edward R. Mc-
Clelland, of Plainfield Township; Ada married
Dr. Evans, of Spring Valley ; Jessie was a teacher
in this county and is the wife of Fred Foss,
youngest son of L. T. Foss, an old settler of
Plainfield Township; and Clyde assists his father
in the management of the farm.

At the opening of the Civil war Captain Mc-
Allister was among the first to offer his services
to the Union. In 1856 he had assisted in organ-
izing the militia here which was known as the
Plainfield Artillery, and he was the first man in
this part of the country to enlist in the Civil
war. April 19, 1S61, his name was enrolled for
service. He was elected captain of artillery and
commanded the best battery of artillery in the
Army of the Tennessee. His company enlisted
for three months. At the end of that time he or-
ganized a company for three years' service. He
proceeded first to Cairo. In September he was
sent to Fort Holt, Ky., which at that time was
the lowest Union fort on the river. In February,

1S62, he joined the Army of the Tennessee. His
was the first battery to enter Fort Henry, and
Captain McAllister was put in command of the
fort. From there he was ordered to Fort Don-
elson, where his was the first shot fired by the
Arm}" of the Tennessee Saturday morning, Feb-
ruary 15, 1862. Finding that the enemy were
preparing to break through the lines he opened
on them with one of his guns without orders,
thus waking all the troops around him, and
this, the first gun fired in the battle, was the noti-
fication to the entire army of the opening of that
memorable engagement. His own guns being
disabled, he was ordered to select what he wanted
from the forty-eight captured from the enemy.
As his ammunition did not fit them he objected
to their use, and finally secured an order to go to
General Sherman at Paducah and get a new out-
fit of brass guns. At the battle of Shiloh he had
this new and superior outfit. Having erected his
battery at the edge of a clearing across which he
fought and silenced Stanford's Mississippi bat-
tery, he afterward noticed a column of infantry,
the Fourth Tennessee, in columns of fours, ap-
proaching along a road. He sent three cannon
to the rear and placed the fourth in the road,
then opened on the enemy with canister, killing
thirty-one and wounding one hundred and sixty
men according to the Confederate reports of the
war. The execution of this one gun, served by
nine good men, was probably the most severe on
record in the War of the Rebellion. Captain
M:Allister helped to train the gun and only beat
a hasty retreat when the enemy was within thirty
paces. The nine brave men escaped by the
enemy firing at the support of the battery, con-
sisting of the Fourteenth Illinois, Twenty-fifth
Indiana and Thirteenth Iowa Infantries, which
lost one hundred men by the one volley fired by
the enemy. Captain McAllister was for years
ignorant of the real facts of the fight, until re-
vealed to him by old comrades and Confederate
soldiers. His gallant service in that engagement
was the means of defeating a crack battery that
had never before met with defeat. On the last
day of the battle, Byrne's battery and two guns of
the Washington artillery of New Orleans (the

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

173

crack battery of the Confederacy) , were or-
dered to dislodge a battery on an eminence that
had stopped the advance of the entire army.
Captain McAllister and James A. Borland, of
Joliet, were riding at the front, preparing to fire
at the battery, when a shot killed their horses and
General Sherman's horse, which was tied to a
sapling. They secured good locations behind a
rise in the ground, and carefully biding their time,
were able soon to silence and dislodge the battery.
Soon after the battle, owing to sickness, the cap-
tain resigned his commission and returned home.
In 1S94, during a meeting of an association
formed to make a national park out of the Shiloh
battle ground, Captain McAllister met on a boat
one of the members of the Fourth Tennessee In-
fantry, Thomas M.Page, of St. Louis, who told him
that his one gun killed and wounded one hundred
and ninety-one men in seven minutes, and he gave
the captain great credit for the defense he had
made. He stated that he was willing to erect a
$2,000 monument on the battle ground. Later
the government planned to build one at a cost of
$750. The government has also appropriated
$225,000 for the purpose of making a national
park of the battlefield, and Captain McAllister
was asked to select four pieces to mark such spots
as he desired. He has made four trips to Shiloh
to attend meetings of Federals and Confederates.
He is a member of the Loyal Legion, and Bartle-
son Post, G. A. R., of Joliet, also the Society of
the Army of the Tennessee. Fraternally he is
connected with Plainfield Lodge No. 536, A. F.
& A. M.

(31 J- PERKINS, M. D., the oldest resident
LA physician of Plainfield, is a native of New
/ 1 York, born in Mount Upton, Chenango
County, March 20, 1834. His father, Luke, who
was also of New York birth, followed the miller's
trade during the greater part of his life. When
advanced in years he retired from business and
came west, his last days being spent in the home
of his son in Plainfield. He voted for General

Jackson when the latter was elected to the presi-
dency, and always adhered to the Democratic
party. In religion he was a Methodist. He
married Sarah Preston and became the father of
a large family.

When only fifteen years of age our subject be-
gan the study of medicine. In the spring of
1865 he graduated irom the Eclectic Medical In-
stitute in Cincinnati, Ohio, and came at once to
Plainfield, where he opened an office. Having
practiced previously in Vermont, he had consid-
erable helpful experience, and from the first he
met with success, building up a valuable prac-
tice. Both in his practice and from a financial
standpoint he has been prospered. Of those
who represented the fraternity at the time of his
arrival in Plainfield he alone survives. Not-
withstanding his long professional career, he still
retains his keenness of judgment, quick insight
into the causes of diseases and skill in their
treatment. About a quarter of a century ago
he was made a Mason, and since then he has been
active in the fraternity, being now a member of
Plainfield Lodge No. 536, A. F. & A. M.

In i860 Dr. Perkins married Eliza, daughter
of Rufus W. Bangs, of North Bennington, Vt.
The only daughter born of their union was Julia
E., who died in childhood. Their son, Harry
A. Perkins, is engaged in business in Plainfield.

Dr. Perkins has been an important factor in the
upbuilding of Plainfield. To his energy and
public spirit the attractive appearance of the
town is in no small measure due. For many
years he has been a member of the school board,
and during that time he spent a year in securing
the erection of a substantial building which was
built, jointly, by two districts. At first the
heavy tax necessitated by the work caused dissat-
isfaction and criticism, but the good results being
apparent to all, he is given the credit due him for
the praiseworthy enterprise. The two large
brick store and office buildings on the north side
of Lockport street were erected by him. For his
own convenience in 1897 ne built a gas plant,
and this was so appreciated that he afterward en-
larged it in order to furnish light to the entire
block. The Republican party receives his sup-

174

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

port and its candidates his vote. For many years
he served as a member of the town board, being
president of the same during a large part of the
time. In this capacity he maintained a deep in-
terest in the improvement of the town and the
widening of its interests. His term on the board
expired in 1895, when, deeming his long period
of public service entitled him to a rest from such
duties, he refused a continuance in office, retiring
with an honorable record for diligent discharge of
duties and for the zeal displayed in behalf of local
interests.

HENRY STELLWAGEN. In spite of the
lapse of years since his death, Mr. Stell-
wagen is well remembered by the people of
Frankfort Township, among whom he had
always made his home. He was a young man
possessing many worthy traits of character, and
his sudden death, at the very outset of his career,
was deplored by all of his acquaintances. Reared
on a farm and familiar with agriculture from his
earliest recollections, he had drifted easily into
the occupation of a farmer, for which he seemed
to have a natural aptitude. Thorough-going and
progressive, had his life been spared he would
undoubtedly have attained a place among the
wealthiest farmers of the township, and prob-
ably, too, would have been prominent in local
affairs. As it was, he left his family in com-
fortable circumstances, his property including a
farm in Frankfort Township and another in
Greengarden Township.

On a farm owned by his father, Philip, who
was a pioneer of this county, Henry Stellwagen
was born November 15, 1S50. His boyhood

years were passed in the schoolroom and on the
farm. Posses'sing an industrious disposition, he
earlj' took a place among the rising young farm-
ers of the township. As a tiller of the soil he
was energetic and thrifty. In the rotation of
crops he showed excellent judgment. It was his
aim to secure from each acre of ground the larg-
est possible results. He had good ideas in re-
gard to fanning. Agricultural machinery was
introduced whenever possible or expedient.
While the management of his farm kept him
very bus}-, he nevertheless found leisure for
other interests. He was very fond of music, and
for some time was a member of a band. In
politics he was not especially interested, although
he discharged his duty as a citizen and cast his
ballot for Democratic men and measures calcu-
lated to advance the public good.

In 1S71 Mr. Stellwagen married Miss Mary
Bechstein. Five children were born of their
union. The oldest daughter, Christina, is the
wife of Reinhold Eichenberg, a commission mer-
chant in Chicago. Annie, at home, is a teacher;
Philip died at the age of two years and six
months; Mar)- is assistant postmistress, and
Henry, who attended the Athenaeum College,
clerks in a wholesale jewelry store in Chicago.
August 15, 1S82, Mr. Stellwagen was struck by
lightning and instantly killed. He was then
thirty-two years of age, a strong and active
young man, with every prospect of a successful
future. Since his death his widow has superin-
tended the management of the farm property
and the education of her children. She pos-
sesses decided business talent, and has superin-
tended her affairs in an intelligent manner; at the
same time she has held a high position in social
circles and has won many warm friends among
the people of the village.

OF I ^
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

177

DANIEL HAYDEN.

0ANIEL HAYDEN, a large farmer and ex-
tensive cattle dealer of Florence Township,
was born in Kennebec County, Me., August
13, 1839, a son °f J onn a »d Hannah (Kinsella)
Hayden. He was one of seven children, five of
whom are living, namely: Mar}', who is married,
and resides on a farm in Maine; Daniel, of this
sketch; Thomas and John, farmers of Florence
Township; and Hannah, also of this county.
The paternal grandfather, Daniel Hayden, a
native of Ireland, was one of the active partici-
pants in the rebellion of 1798. When advanced
in years, in 1845, he came to America, and a few
months later died at the home of his son John.
His wife bore the maiden name of Catherine
Donahue, and died in Ireland in early woman-
hood.

John Hayden was born in Ireland in 1S15, and
when twenty years of age sought a home in the
new world. He purchased land in Lincoln
County, Me., and for some years cultivated that
place. In 1851 he came west to Illinois and set-
tled in Joliet, where he bought teams, hired men,
and engaged in teaming to the quarries and rail-
roads. After five years in that business he re-
sumed farming, buying fifty-three acres on section
12, Florence Township. He was prosperous to
such an extent that he became the owner of one
thousand and two hundred acres, and was rated
among the wealthy men of the township. Polit-
ically he was a Democrat, and in religion a Ro-
man Catholic. His death occurred on his farm,
April 5, 1889. His wife, who was born in Ireland
and died in this county, February 28, 1890, was

a daughter of Patrick and Bridget (Burns) Kin-
sella. Her father died in Ireland, after which
her mother, with a sister, came to America about
1850, and afterward made her home with a sou
until she died. The Kinsella family at one time
was very wealthy, and owned valuable landed
interests, but, on account of not affiliating with
the Established Church, in the seventeenth cen-
tury their property was confiscated.

When the family came to Illinois our subject
was twelve years of age. He grew to manhood
in this county, and attended the country and city
schools. January 26, 1862, he went to Wheeling,
W. Va., where he secured employment on a gov-
ernment commissary boat. In this work he con-
tinued until the 4th of July, 1864. His first trip
was the conveying of a load of bran from St.
Louis to Wheeling, and on the return trip the
boat was pressed into the government service.
On his return to this county he resumed work on
the home farm. At the death of his father the
homestead of four hundred acres and two hundred
and forty acres one mile east fell to his mother,
sister and himself, and when the mother died her
portion fell to him and his sister. He is one of
the leading cattle-feeders in the township, and has
been especially successful in this line of work.
In religion he is connected with the Roman
Catholic Church at Twelve-Mile Grove. Politic-
ally he votes with the Democrats. He has never
married, but with his sister continues to live at
the old homestead to which he came in his youth,
and in the improvement of which he has been
interested ever since.

178

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

VyiVRON P. HOLMES. During the long
y period of his residence in Spencer, extend-
(•) ing from the spring of 1866 to the present
time, Mr. Holmes has been proprietor of a gen-
eral store in this village and has gained a wide
circle of acquaintances among the people in the
northern part of this county. He has erected a
store building and residence and in other ways
has added to the development of the village.
Various local offices have been filled by him,
among them those of road commissioner (three
years), collector (four years) and assessor (one
year). For years he has been a member of the
school board, serving much of the time as its
treasurer. He has been active in the Republican
party ever since he cast his first vote for John C.
Fremont, and keeps posted concerning the prob-
lems that are of national importance.

In an early day three brothers by the name of
Holmes came from England to Connecticut and
from there removed to New York state many
years before the Revolutionary war. In the lat-
ter conflict Orsamus Holmes, our subject's grand-
father, bore an active part as a member of the
army of the frontier, serving with Ethan Allen
at Ticonderoga and being twice taken prisoner.
After the war he settled upon a farm in Chau-
tauqua County. He was proprietor of a hotel on
the stage line from Buffalo to Dunkirk, which
was also a changing post for the stages and mails.
His son, Asher, was born in Chautauqua County,
N. Y., and in 1835 came to what is now Will
(then Cook) County, 111., where he took up a
claim on the southeast quarter of section 22, New
Lenox Township, and secured the land at the
first laud sale in Chicago, in 1836. In the spring
of 1837 he bought one hundred and sixty acres,
upon which he began general farm pursuits. On
this place he died in 1853, at the age of fifty-six.
A man of mental activity, he took an interest in
early political affairs as a Jeffersonian Democrat
and served as judge of elections. At the time he
settled in this count)- Joliet contained only nine
houses. He lived to see the transformation
wrought in the ensuing years, but died before the
city reached a high state of prosperity. Chicago
being the only market for grain, he was ac-

customed to make frequent trips to that city.
During the war of 18 12 he took part in the serv-
ice as a member of a regiment from Dunkirk
that took seventeen prisoners; at the time he was
only seventeen years of age.

The lady whom Asher Holmes married was
Eliza Ann Elmore, who was born in New York
and died at the old homestead in Will County
when seventy-five years of age. Of their union
six children were born, namely:. James, deceased;
Myron P.; Eliza A., deceased; Orsamus, of New
Lenox; Lydia, wife of Henry Glacier; and Julius,
of Chicago. The subject of this sketch was born
in Chautauqua County, N. Y. , June 8, 1830. He
was about four years of age when his parents
came to Illinois, and he grew to manhood in the
county where he has since resided. His educa-
tion was received principally in Albion (Mich.)
College. In 1850 he joined a party of Argonauts
en route to California, and, reaching the Pacific
coast, spent five years engaged in mining, with
fair success. On his return to Illinois he spent
two years with his mother, then again went to
California, where he operated mines and carried
on a lumber business. In 1864 he returned to
this count)' and two years later opened the store
of which he has since been the proprietor. He
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church
of Mokena, in which he has been a trustee for
years. By his marriage, in 1864, to Lydia Fager,
who was born in Ohio and came to Illinois at an
early age, he has four children, namely: Ada,
wife of E. E. Swing; Mary, who married L. F.
Wilson; Myron H., who is in Michigan; and
Edith, at home.

IJJORMAN S. HAMLIN. Although begin-
I / ning his life in this county with very little
I fo money, Mr. Hamlin has long been known
as one of the substantial and prosperous farmers
and citizens of his locality. His life has been
characterized by industry and frugality, and in-
dividualized by sagacious management and strict
integrity. Farming has been his life work and

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

179

in it he has met with signal success; however,
years ago he retired from active cares incident to
the tilling of the soil and gathering in of the
crops, but he still superintends his various in-
terests, being of too energetic a nature to content
himself in idleness.

In Feuner Township, Madison Count)', N. Y.,
Mr. Hamlin was born May 27, 1824. His father,
Solomon, a native of Dutchess County, N. Y.,
removed to Madison Count} - , the same state, with
his parents, where he grew to manhood and
where he died at the age of forty -four. He was
a member of the Baptist Church and a stanch
Abolitionist in principle. His father, Louis
Hamblin (for in that way the name was spelled
originally), was born in Connecticut and settled
on a farm in New York in early manhood; he
was eighty-seven at the time of his death. The
family is of English extraction and was repre-
sented in New England at an early period.

The mother of our subject was Lucinda (Stan-
nardj Hamlin, a native of Bennington, Vt. , but
a resident of Madison County, N. Y., from child-
hood until some years after her marriage. Her
last days were spent in this county in the home
of her son, Norman S. , where her death occurred
at eighty 3'ears of age. As her husband, she
held membership in the Baptist Church. Of her
four sons and one daughter only two sons are
living, Norman S., and Reuben S., of Canada.
The subject of this sketch was educated in coun-
try schools. After the death of his father, which
occurred when he was a youth of sixteen, he was
taken into the home of an uncle, with whom he
remained for five years. Later he secured work
by the month. In the spring of 185 1 he came to
this county and bought one hundred and eighty-
four acres of raw prairie land in Lockport Town-
ship, for which he paid $5.50 per acre. Putting
up a small house he established his home there.
By diligent effort he made the necessary improve-
ments and placed the soil under cultivation.

In those early days the country was destitute
of improvements. While for a number of years
settlers had been coming to the county, they had
settled here in numbers too small to effect any
radical transformation in the appearance of the

prairie, on which one might still ride long dis-
tances without fences to impede his progress.
The land was not yet under first-class cultivation,
towns were small, and the work of progress
seemed scarcely begun. Mr. Hamlin bore his
share in the development and upbuilding of the
county, and as a result of his labors he became
known as one of the best farmers in the county.
For twenty years it was his custom to buy raw
land, improve it and then sell at an advance, and
at the same time he bought and sold stock. In
the spring of 1870 he sold his farm land and
bought a home in Plainfield, where he has since
resided.

The marriage of Mr. Hamlin, in 1849, united
him with Miss Parnel Keeler, who was born in
Madison County, N. Y., December 21, 1822, and
died in this county January 30, 1897. The only
child born of their marriage is also deceased.

In the matter of good roads Mr. Hamlin has
always been interested. Years ago, when the
question was agitated, he advocated the buying
of gravel pits and the putting of gravel on the
roads, a plan that proved successful. For twenty
years he served as road commissioner and his
work while filling the office was of permanent
value, its benefits being reaped at the present
time. In politics he is independent, voting for
the best men of either party. He is connected
with Plainfield Lodge No. 536, A. F. & A. M.

'HOMAS BURKE. The duration of Mr.
Burke's residence in Joliet covered a period
from his earliest recollection to the time of
his death. He was a man whose friends were
many and whose influence was great, not alone
among people of his own religious and political
views, but among all citizens who held in respect
a man of undoubted integrity and honor. Twice
he was elected alderman from the fifth ward and
he was recognized, during the period of his serv-
ice, as one of the prominent and progressive

i So

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

members of the board. While in national poli-
tics he voted with the Democrats, he was inclined
to be independent in local matters, voting for the
man rather than the party.

The father of our subject, Richard Burke, came
from County Tyrone, Ireland, to America and
settled in Lowell, Mass., from which city he
moved to Joliet, 111., in 1839, becoming a foreman
in Governor Mattesou's woolen factory. He was
one of the founders of St. Patrick's Roman
Catholic Church and when he died, October 9,
1858, the last rites over his body were said in
that church, and his body was laid to rest in the
cemetery adjoining. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of Bridget Ryan, died in Joliet in
1854. Their son, Thomas, was born in Lowell,
Mass., May 11, 1838, and grew to manhood at
the family homestead, No. 150 Comstock street,
Joliet, where his widow now lives. He grad-
uated from the old Broadway- school and afterward
became interested in the transfer business, which
he carried on for many years. He then bought a
livery business at No. 11 1 South Bluff street,
where he built a stone barn, 54x100 feet, that is
still the finest building of the kind in the city.
From that time he was actively interested in the
management of his business, which grew steadily
and brought him large returns. While still in
the full possession of his faculties, he died, Sep-
tember 12, 1898. His funeral, held at St. Pat-
rick's, was one of the largest ever held in Joliet,

and his body was laid to rest in the parochial
cemetery.

The church from which his body was carried to
its final resting place was also the scene of his
marriage more than forty years before. July 11,
1856, he was united with Miss Mary Hennessey,
who was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, a
daughter of John and Bridget (Collier) Hennes-
sey, natives of the same county. Her father, who
was a well-to-do farmer, came to America to join
his children and died at Camp Grove, Peoria
County, 111., at seventy years of age; his wife,
who was a daughter of Edward Collier, also died
in Peoria County. They were the parents often
children, all of whom came to America and six
are living. Mrs. Burke was a small child when
in 1852 she crossed the ocean in a sailing vessel
that consumed forty-two days in the voyage to
New York, from which city she went to Albany,
and thence came west. In religious faith she is
a- Roman Catholic, belonging to St. Patrick's
Church. Of her marriage eleven children were
born, namely: Mrs. Agnes Jacobs, of Joliet,
John, who is foreman for the Wylie Coal Com-
pany; Mrs. Nellie Sullivan; Bernard E., whose
sketch is presented in this work; Mrs. Katherine
Wallace: Thomas; William, who is employed by
A. Dinet; Annie, who is clerk in a dry-goods
store in this city; Sadie, principal of the Pleasant
street school; Hattie, at home; and Alice, who is
with her brother, B. E., in the grocery.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

^VU^^/

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

183

JAMES H. FERRISS.

3 AMES H. FERRISS, Joliet, president of
the News Company, was born in Oswego
Township, Kendall County, 111., November
iS, 1849, a son of William H. and Eliza (Brown)
Ferriss, natives respectively of Clinton County,
N. V., and Erie County, Pa. His ancestors on
the father's side were Welsh Quakers. Zebulon
Ferriss, the head of the family, settled in
Providence, R. I., in 1630. The boyhood of
James H. Ferriss was passed in the village of
Bristol Station, Kendall County, where he early
became familiar with the business of a cattle
drover. From 1869 to 1872 he lived upon a farm
in Kansas. With one of his present partners,
Frank H. Hall, he leased the Yorkville (111.)
News during the campaign of 1876 and through
the columns of the paper supported Peter Cooper
for the presidency. Two years before this he
had gained a knowledge of reportorial work
through his connection with the Joliet Daily Sun,
Hayward & Radcliff, proprietors.

In January, 1877, Mr. Ferriss, Mr. Hall and
others established the Phoenix, an independent
weekly paper, at Joliet and other business centers
of Will County. In October of the same year,
with R. W. Nelson, now of New York, and
H. E. Baldwin, one of his present partners, Mr.
Ferriss purchased the Morning News, the name
of which was afterward changed to the Joliet
Daily News. From that time to the present he
has continued with the paper, excepting two
years (1881-82), when he edited the Morning
News, in Portland, Me. He was married at
Falls Village, Conn., June 30, 1880, to Miss
Olive E. Hunt, a former resident of Bristol
Station.

HORACE E. BALDWIN, Joliet, secretary
and treasurer of the News Company, was
born in Lacon, Marshall County, 111., Sep-
tember 25, 1853. His parents, John G. and
Adeline S. Baldwin, moved to La Salle County
in 1854 and remained there until 1870. He was
educated in the public schools of Ottawa, but
moved from that city two years before his high
school course was completed. Five years were
spent in Kansas. During the first half of that
time he engaged in farming in Woodson County,
and during the last half he made his home in
LaCygne, Linn Count}-, where he learned the
printer's trade under the firm of Kenea & Gore,
proprietors of the Journal ' .

In 1875 the grasshopper siege caused Mr.
Baldwin to return to Illinois. He finished his
apprenticeship in a job office in the old Times
building in Chicago, and in the following year
went to Kansas City, where he attended the
high school. February 4, 1877, Frank H. Hall,
present business manager of the News and one
of the partners in the News Company, induced
him to come to Joliet to work in the Phoenix of-
fice. In July of the same year he was given a
position on the Morning Neivs, and September 30
became associated with R. W. Nelson, now of
New York, and James H. Ferriss, one of his
present partners, in publishing that paper, which
in 1880 was changed to an evening publication.
He has been connected with the paper from the
day it started, April 9, 1877, to the present time,
excepting about nine months spent in a grain
office, in 1884.

Mr. Baldwin was married January 12, 1884,
to Miss Lillian M. Truby, of Bird's Bridge, III.,

lS 4

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a daughter of the late Marshall Truby. Five
children were born of their union: Adda M.,
Marshall T. , H. Robert, Henry D. and Phil.

("RANK H. HALL, business manager of the
r^ News and member of the News Company
| of Joliet, was born in Dupage County, 111.,
November 14, 1857. His parents were among
the pioneers, having settled in Dupage and Ken-
dall Counties, 111., early in the '30s. He ob-
tained his education primarily in the "little red
schoolhouse," after which he studied in Jen-
nings' Seminar}' at Aurora. Leaving school
when fifteen years of age he began to learn the
printer's trade. Four years later, with one of
his present partners, J. H. Ferriss, he published
the YorkvilleA'hv'rin Yorkville, 111. In 1877 he
came to Joliet. Until 18S2 he engaged in news-
paper work here, after which for ten years he
was manager for the American Press Associa-
tion in Cincinnati and Chicago, and also held re-
sponsible positions with the Chicago Newspaper
Union, American Type Founders' Company and
Thorne Type Setting Machine Company. Few
men have a larger personal acquaintance with
the newspaper business throughout the United
States than he, as he has traveled extensively
through most of the states. In 1897 he returned
to Joliet, where he has an attractive and comforta-
ble residence on Sherman street. While he belongs
to a few fraternal organizations and press associa-
tions, he has never been especially interested in
lodge work nor is he much of a club man. He
was married in 1880 to Belle G. Moulton, of
Joliet, and they have a son, Harry H., nineteen
years old, and a daughter, Elsie Katherine,
twelve years of age.

pGJlLLIAM J. BRUCE, proprietor of the
\ A / James Bruce quarries at Joliet and a mem-
V Y ber of the Bruce Stone Company at Romeo,
is a native of this count}', born at Lockport, De-
cember 6, 1857. His father, James, who was

born at Aberdeen, Scotland, October 11, 1823,
came to America shortly before attaining his
majority, crossing the ocean in the sailing vessel
"St. Lawrence," in 1844. After a voyage of
seven weeks, via Montreal and the lakes, he ar-
rived in Chicago, from which point he proceeded
to Lockport. The trip had been an expensive
one, taking all of his money, so that when he
reached this county he had only one British
shilling left. He was fortunate in at once secur-
ing work. Hiram Norton employed him as a
millwright in the construction of the Norton mills.
Later he acted as purchasing agent for George
Barnett and made regular trips to Chicago, re-
turning with supplies. He also acted as superin-
tendent for Mr. Barnett. In time he became
himself a contractor and employer of men. He
built the Illinois Central bridge at Lasalle and
continued contracting and building until his wife
died, in the fall of 1865. He then took up quar-
rying, changing his occupation in order that he
might be at home to care for his children. In
company with others, he bought the old prison
quarries, but gradually he bought the interest of
his partners until he finally became the sole
owner. The remainder of his life was devoted to
the quarry business, and for many years he was
the largest shipper of stone from the county. His
success in the business induced others to enter it,
and thus he proved a great help in developing
one of the most important industries of this
locality. A Republican in politics, he was, how-
ever, not active in public affairs and never cared
to hold offices. While he was not connected
with any denomination he attended and con-
tributed to the maintenance of the Congregational
Church. His home was a substantial residence,
built by himself, on the road between Joliet and
Lockport. Few residents of the county have
been more respected than he, and none have stood
higher among their associates and friends. His
worth was recognized by all. His character was
above reproach. After a very active life he
passed from earth December 13, 1898, at the
age of seventy-five years, two months and two
days. He had been twice married. His first
wife was Jane, daughter of George Stephen, who

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

185

came to this county at the same time with James
Bruce. Five children were born of this union,
viz.: Georgiana, deceased; Belle, wife of George
P. Stephen, of Lake County, 111.; William J.;
Margaret, wife of J. A. Jamieson, of Marseilles;
and Jennie, deceased. By his second wife, Jane
Stephen, who was a cousin of his first wife, Mr.
Bruce had four sons, namely: Ebenezer S. , de-
ceased; James, who is engaged in the grain busi-
ness at Marseilles; Harry W., deceased; and
Robert.

The paternal grandfather of our subject came
to America when in middle life and settled in
Will County, where he followed the millwright's
trade. He had four sons, James, Samuel, Alex-
ander and George. He was a man of great
activity and energy. His death was sudden, re-
sulting from cholera. He worked until dark one
evening and was buried before daylight the next
morning.

While he had very few educational advantages
our subject, William J. Bruce, has become a well-
informed man, having availed himself of every
opportunity to increase his fund of knowledge.
When sixteen years of age he began to work in
quarries and this business he has since followed.
His knowledge of the occupation has therefore
been acquired by practical experience. For some
years he was in partnership with his father, until
the latter's death. The only serious accident
with which he has met was caused by the ex-
plosion of a keg of powder, which blew him
through the side of the house; in the midst of the
danger he did not lose his presence of mind, but
saved his life by throwing himself in the water at
the bottom of the quarry, thus putting out the
fire. While he escaped unhurt, his hearing was
injured by the accident. As a business man he
is quick and active. From his quarry at Romeo
he has taken as much as twenty thousand tons a
month, the most of which has been shipped to
Joliet and South Chicago.

In national politics Mr. Bruce is a Republican,
but in local matters is independent, voting for the
man rather than the party. He is connected with
the blue lodge of Masonry at Lock port. Decem-
ber 23, 1885, he married Jennie, daughter of

William Cameron, of Lockport; she was born in
Canada, but has spent her life principally in this
county. Her father and her husband's father
were born within four miles of each other in Scot-
land. Of the seven children born to her marriage
three are deceased, and the four living are Cam-
eron, Harry, James and Jane. The family oc-
cupy a comfortable residence, built in 1896 by
Mr. Bruce, and standing on the road between
Joliet and Lockport, next to the old Bruce home-
stead, where he was born.

PQlLLIAM RUHE, treasurer of the Crete
\ A / Farmers' Township Mutual Fire Insurance
VV Company, was born in Rumbeck, at
Schaumburg, Germany, November 30, 1839. His
father, Frederick, a native of the same town
as himself, engaged in contracting and build-
ing there. When he was forty-five years of
age he decided to come to America, and pur-
chased tickets for himself and wife and their
five children, but before the day of starting
arrived he was taken sick; after an illness
of two weeks he passed away. Immediately
after his burial the family proceeded on their
journey, shipping from Baden and lauding in
New York after a voyage of forty-two days.
Thence they journeyed to Chicago, but a month
later left that city and came to Will County,
settling six miles south of Crete. This was in
1855, and William was then a boy of almost six-
teen. For a year he worked on a farm, after
which he followed the carpenter's trade. Being
the eldest of the children, the responsibility
of caring for the family fell upon him after
his father's death This trust he nobly dis-
charged, caring for the others until they were
old enough to become self-supporting. In 1861 he
bought a farm in Washington Township, this
county, but three years later he sold the place
and, after spending two months in Chicago, set-
tled in Crete, where he has since resided. He
has engaged in contracting and building contin-

1 86

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

uously, with the exception of five years when he
was manager of the Crete Manufacturing Com-
pany, manufacturers of sash, doors and blinds.
His mother, who bore the maiden name of Louisa
Mathias, made her home in this county until her
death at seventy-two years of age. Of her chil-
dren, the second-born died at thirteen years;
Louis is living in Crete; Dora married Herman
Grote, and lives in Minnesota; and Mary is the
wife of Henry Homeyer, of Iroquois County, 111.

July 6, 1865, our subject married Sophia Rol-
ler, who was born near the same town as him-
self. She came to America when eighteen years
old and has made her home in Crete since her
marriage, having first come to this village in
i860. Seven children comprise their family,
viz.: Sophia, wife of John Lucke, of Crete;
William, a carpenter and builder; Emma, wife
of August Hartmann; Amelia, at home; Bertha,
who married Albert Frye, of Watseka, 111.;
Henry, a clerk; and Augusta, at home. The
family are connected with the Lutheran Church.

In political views Mr. Ruhe is independent.
In 1879 he served as township collector. For
eight years he was village trustee, and for four
years served as president of the village. The
Crete Farmers' Township Mutual Insurance
Company, of which he is treasurer, was organ-
ized in 1 86 1, and reorganized twenty years later.
It has since grown to be one of the most impor-
tant enterprises of the locality, a result that is
largely due to the energy of its officers. At this
writing Christ Scheiwe is president and Her-
man Schweppe secretary. There are over twelve
hundred policies, representing nearly two mil-
lion dollars, in force in six townships. Of all
the mutual companies in the entire state, this
company has the finest record. Its success has
indeed been remarkable. June 7, 1884, Mr.
Ruhe was appointed agent for the company, his
territory being Will, Monee, Washington and
Crete Townships. In 1897 Crete and Monee
Townships were given to his son-in-law, John
Lucke, and Will and Washington to H. F.
Wilke. In January, 1898, he was elected a
director of the company and its treasurer, which
positions he has since filled, giving a bond of

$56,000 in his official capacity. His attention is
closely given to the details of the company's
business. As treasurer, he is accurate in the
keeping of accounts, and his books are models of
neatness and accuracy.

EHARLES A. LARSON. At the time that
Mr. Larson settled in Joliet, in the spring
of 1 88 1, there were only five men of his
own nationality in the city, the large number of
Swedes now represented in the population hav-
ing settled here since that year. His early ex-
perience in his new home proved far less fortu-
nate than his imagination had anticipated. He
worked for a few weeks in the Davidson stone
quarries, and later was with the Joliet Stone
Company, until January 18, 1882, when a prema-
ture explosion of dynamite injured him so seri-
ously that for a time his life was despaired of,
and it was not until five months later that he was
able to leave his room. Being unable to engage
again in quarrying, it was necessary for him to
seek another occupation, and, in order to fit him-
self for business, he studied book-keeping for a
few months, at the same time acquiring a better
knowledge of the English language. In the
summer of 1882 he entered the store of Brooks
& Strong, with whom, and with their successors,
Strong, Bush & Handwerk, he has since contin-
ued, being now their head clerk. He is also a
director in the People's Loan and Homestead As-
sociation. In the spring of 1S99 he received the
Republican nomination for township collector
and was elected by a majority of two hundred
and seventy-four, taking the oath of office in
April for a term of one year.

Near Boros, Elfsborslaeu, Westrejutland, Swe-
den, Mr. Larson was born July 14, 1S62, a son
of Lars and Anna (Anderson) Johnson. His
father was a member of an old family that owned
the estate " Skattegarden," which property was
later divided, he receiving the part known as
" Aatolsgaardeu." In 1SS3 he came to Joliet,

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

187

where he is now living, retired from active
labors. His wife, who is also living, was a
daughter of Andreas Anderson, a farmer and
owner of "Stureryd." Both Mr. and Mrs.
Johnson are members of the Lutheran Church.
They were the parents of seven children, of
whom the following survive: Jolian A., who
is engaged in the insurance business in Joliet;
Charles A.; Johannes, in Colorado; Alfred, of
Peoria, 111. ; and Mrs. Minnie Sophia Eifler, of
Englewood, 111.

The first of the family to settle in America was
the subject of this sketch, who, in July, 1880,
left Gottenburg for Hull and Liverpool, and
thence crossed the ocean on the steamer " Etru-
ria," landing in New York after a voyage of
twelve days. On the 2d of August he arrived in
Chicago, where a farmer hired him to work on a
farm near Peotone, and he continued there for
seven months, then came to Joliet. He is one of
the best known Swedes in the city, and among
those of his own race wields a large influence.
A stanch Republican in politics, he has served as
a member of the congressional committee for
eight years, and has also worked on the county
committee. He is a member of the Swedish Re-
publican Club. He holds the office of vice-presi-
dent for Will County of the Swedish-American
Republican State League, and is also secretary
of the Swedish-American Republican Club of
Joliet. Since 1891 he has been collector for the
Fraternal Alliance. He is identified with the
North Star Association of Joliet and the North
Star Mutual Life Insurance Company of Illinois.
When he first came to Joliet there were so few
Swedes that it was of course deemed unnecessary
and impracticable to hold special religious serv-
ices of their own. However, he prevailed upon
three others to join with him in paying a preacher
to come from Rock Island once a month. From
that small beginning sprang the Swedish Luth-
eran Church of which he is treasurer and a mem-
ber of the board of trustees. In the building of
a house of worship he took a warm interest, as
he has in all measures for the benefit of the
church.

October 3, 1888, in Joliet, Mr. Larson married

Miss Wilhelmina Sophia Jonson, who was born
in Oskarshamn, Smoland, Sweden, a daughter of
Olaf and Maria Sophia Jonson. Her father, a
native of the laen of Kalmar, was left an orphan
at five years of age, and when still quite young
was obliged to be self-supporting. He became a
marine engineer and followed his trade in differ-
ent parts of Europe, but is now living retired, in
Oskarshamn. By his first marriage he had two
children, one of whom is living, Mrs. Nils Erik-
son, of Joliet. His second marriage united him
with a daughter of Johan Johnson, an inn keeper,
and by her he had one child, Mrs. Larson, who
has made her home in Joliet since 1886. Mr.
and Mrs. Larson have two sons, Harry Emelius
Levi and Ernst Oliver Milton.

gERNARD E. BURKE. In the list of en-
terprising business men of Joliet, mention
belongs to Mr. Burke, who since 1895 has
been engaged in the grocery business at No. 314
West Marion street. During that year he bought
his present site and opened a small grocery, after-
ward building up a good trade among the people
of the locality, whose confidence he won by his
honesty and reliability in business transactions.
In 1898 he erected a three-story brick building,
27x60 feet in dimensions, two floors of which are
occupied by his stock of groceries, produce and
meats.

At No. i5oComstock street, Joliet, in the ward
where he now resides, Mr. Burke was born June
30, 1863, a son of Thomas and Mary (Hennessey)
Burke, pioneers of this city. He was educated
in the local schools. When seventeen years of
age he embarked in the transfer business for him-
self, and continued until 1895, having his head-
quarters at Burke's barn, and running two teams.
In 1895 he sold the business in order to turn his
attention to the grocery trade. He is an energetic
and capable business man, and shows excellent
judgment in his enterprises.

All movements for the benefit of the city receive

iS8

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

his co-operation, and, as far as possible, his assist-
ance. He is a leader in the local ranks of the
Democratic part}-, and has served as a member of
the township and city central committee. As the
Democratic nominee in 1896 he was elected alder-
man from the Fifth ward by the largest majority
ever given any candidate in this ward, and two
years later he was re-elected to the office. At this
writing he is chairman of the committee on
schools and license and as a member of the ordi-
nance and west side streets committees. Frater-
nally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen
of America. He was married in Joliet to Mary,
daughter of Joseph Kavanaugh, and a native of
Troy Township, this county. They are the par-
ents of two daughters, Mary B. and Helen L.

APT. WILLIAM DOUGALL, M. D. While

Dr. Dougall has been successfully engaged

\J in the practice of medicine in Joliet since
1872 he is perhaps best known to the outside
world as the president of the Illinois Pure Alumi-
num Company, of Lemont, a comparatively recent
but very flourishing organization. The company
owns a plant in Lemont that is rapidly becoming
celebrated and is the largest of its kind in the
world. Started in 1892, two years later it came
into the charge of its present president, under
whose wise oversight the output has been greatly
increased. The products include everything in
aluminum, from a hairpin to cooking utensils as
large as three hundred gallon kettles. Shipments
are made to different parts of the United States
and to other countries.

Dr. Dougall is a graduate of Chicago Medical
School (now the Northwestern University medi-
cal department), from which he received the de-
gree of M. D., March 4, 1868. Afterward he
practiced at Lemont, Cook County, for four years,
and acted as chief surgeon of the Illinois and
Michigan canal when it was deepened. Since
1872 he has made his home in Joliet, where, un-
der President Harrison, he held the position of

pension surgeon. At one time he was president
and later secretary of the Will County Medical
Society, and he is also connected with the Illinois
State and American Medical Associations. In
1879 he was appointed postmaster of Joliet by
President Hayesand filled the position during the
administrations of Garfield and Arthur, retiring
in 1883. In 1875 he was elected chairman of the
count} - Republican central committee and con-
tinued in that capacity until 1879.

In Paisley, Scotland, March 1, 1S42, William
Dougall was born to John and Margaret (Hous-
toun) Dougall. The family descended from the
McDougalls, who were represented in the battle
of Baunockburn; they were not friendly to the
historical Robert Bruce, because one of their
family, Red Comyn, had been assassinated by
him. John Dougall was born December 10,
1799, and became a cotton spinner near Paisley.
In 1858 he brought his family to America and
settled near New Haven, Ind., where he died De-
cember 28, 1S74. His wife was born in Hous-
toun, Renfrewshire, January 1, 1S01, and de-
scended from Sir Patrick Houstoun, a Huguenot,
who settled in Scotland about 1585 and became
owner of Houstoun castle. Her father, John
Houstoun, was a farmer there. Of her twelve
children five are living, viz.: Mrs. John Hadden,
Allan H., William, Mrs. M. F. Williamson and
Mrs. J. F. Beuiet. One of her daughters,
Isabelle F., Mrs. Williamson, spent thirty years
in the mission field of China, and died there in
August, 1886.

June 14, 1861, the subject of this sketch was
one of the first who enlisted in a three years'
regiment, the Fifteenth Indiana Infantry, and
was appointed corporal. He took part in the
battles of Rich Mountain, Elk Water, Green-
brier (Va.)i Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Perry -
ville, Stone River (where he was wounded
by a canister shot), Tallahoma and Chattanooga.
October 1, 1863, he was commissioned a captain
in the Thirteenth United States Colored Infantry,
in which capacity he continued until the close of
the war. At the charge of Overton, where the
colored troops fought nobly, he lost seventeen
out of the forty-three men in his company and

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

189

also had thirteen wounded. In that charge he
was the only man who put his foot on the rebel
works, and when the line was formed again he
was once more at the front and captured a num-
ber of prisoners. His being the color company
suffered more than the others. At the close
of the war he refused a commission in the regular
army and resigned as an officer. Returning to
his home he took up the study of medicine, which
he has since followed. October 1, 1872, he mar-
ried Miss Cassie Walker, of Lemont, by whom
he has two children, Mary C. and William Hous-
toun.

At Maysville, Ind., August 18, 1865, Dr.
Dougall was made a Mason. Afterward he was
senior warden of Mt. Joliet Lodge No. 42, of
Joliet. He has also been an officer in Joliet
Chapter, R. A. M., and Joliet Council No. 82.
In 1872 he was made sir knight in Joliet Com-
mandery No. 4, K. T. ; in 1880-81 served as
eminent commander, and in 1882 was prelate.
He has been post commander of Bartleson Post
No. 6, G. A. R., and an active member of the
Illinois Commandery of the Loyal Legion.
Among the business enterprises with which he
has been identified is the Lake street elevated
railroad in Chicago. Local movements receive
his co-operation, and he is justly numbered
among the leading professional and business men
of his home city.

PJ)ILS PETER LINDSTRUM has followed the
P / merchant tailor's trade since he was nine
I ID years of age, gaining his rudimentary knowl-
edge of the business under the instruction of his
father, Swen Peter Johanson, a merchant tailor,
who died in Smaland, Sweden, at seventy-five
years of age. The latter had three sons (all in
America) and one daughter by his first marriage,
and by his second wife, Christine Miiller, had
only one child, Nils Peter, who was born in
Bjelbo, Christdaliasaken, Smaland, Sweden, Sep-
tember 23, 1850. The family being poor it was
impossible for him to attend school regularly; in

fact, his entire attendance at the common school
was limited to eleven weeks. However, being
ambitious to learn, he often devoted his evenings
to study and in that way gained a practical fund
of information that has proved very helpful to
him. As soon as he was old enough to be of
assistance he was taken into his father's shop,
where he served an apprenticeship to the tailor's
trade.

April 21, 1869, Mr. Lindstrum sailed from the
old country for America, and after a voyage of
fourteen days he landed in Quebec, May 21.
Thence he proceeded to Chicago and from there
went to Galesburg, 111., where he worked at his
trade for more than two years. On his return to
Chicago he secured employment in a tailor's
shop. In July, 1883, he came to Joliet, where,
in October, 1SS6, he opened a merchant tailor
shop at No. 913 South Joliet street. During the
forty years that he has worked at his trade he
has accpiired a thorough knowledge of all of its
details and is a reliable, efficient and skilled work-
man, whose reputation for honest}- and skill has
secured him the patronage of first-class custom-
ers. Being economical he has saved a fair pro-
portion of his earnings, and is therefore in com-
fortable circumstances.

The Swedisli Republican Club and the Swedish
Lutheran Church number Mr. Lindstrum among
their members. He is loyal in his devotion to
the government and true to his adopted country.
One of his half-brothers, S. J. Lindstrum, now
of Monmouth, 111., came to the United States in
1861 and enlisted in an Illinois regiment, where
he served until his term expired.

The first wife of Mr. Lindstrum was Mathilda
Nelson, who was born in Sweden and died in
Chicago. His second marriage took place in
Chicago October 20, 1881, and united him with
Miss Matilda Peterson, who was born at "Foug-
huld,'-' Jankopinglaen, Smaland, Sweden. Her
father, Peter, who in youth served in the Swedish
army, afterward cultivated the farm, ' 'Foughuld,"
until he came to America. Her mother, Sarah,
daughter of Andres Anderson, a farmer, came to
the United States and died in Chicago. All of her
eight children also came to this country , and all but

i go

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

one are still living, six of them being in Chicago.
Mrs. Lindstrutn was third in order of birth and
was reared in her native land, whence she accom-
panied the family to America in 1879, and two
years later she was married in Chicago. Mr. and
Mrs. Lindstrum have many friends among the
people of their nationality in Joliet, where they
are known and honored for their integrity of
character and kindness of heart. They are the
parents of two daughters, Matilda C. and Anna
W. Lindstrum.

EEORGE C. RAYNOR, M. D. With an ex-
perience as a physician extending over the
latter half of the nineteenth century, coupled
with a broad study of the medical science and
remedial agencies, Dr. Raynor readily occupies a
position among the leading physicians of Joliet,
where he has engaged in practice since March,
1870. It has been his privilege to live in the
greatest age of improvement and progress in the
world's history. He has seen and kept in touch
with the developments in the various fields of
science, and particularly those made in his own
profession, which has emerged from the realm of
charlatanism into its present standing as the most
humanitarian of all occupations. Interested in
every phase of the healing art, he has been a
thoughtful reader of medical literature and a
student of the profession through all these years.
His standing among the members of the pro-
fession here was shown by his repeated election
as president of the Will County Medical Society,
which organization has enjoyed the benefit of his
co-operation. In addition to his private practice
he was for twelve years surgeon to the Chicago &
Alton Railroad Company in this city.

Dr. Raynor was born in Fairfield, Herkimer

County, N. Y., in 1826, a son of David and
Melinda (Mather) Raynor. His grandfather,
Stephen Raynor, a native of Long Island, settled
upon a farm in Herkimer Count}-, and upon that
homestead David Raynor was born and reared.
The latter, with the exception of the time spent
in the war of 1812, devoted his entire active life
to farm pursuits, remaining in his native county
until he died at seventy-two years. A man of
strict religious life, he was an active worker in
the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife was
born near Utica, Oneida County, N. Y., a mem-
ber of an old Connecticut family that claimed
Puritan descent. Of their ten children all but
one attained mature 3'ears and four are living.
The doctor, who was fifth in order of birth, was
reared on the homestead and attended district
schools and the Fairfield Academy. In 1S49 he
entered the University of the City of New York,
from which he graduated in 1852, with the degree
of M. D. Opening an office in St. Johnsville,
Montgomery County, N. Y., he built up a large
practice and remained there until he removed to
Illinois. For nine years he served as coroner of
Montgomery County, N. Y.

For two years Dr. Raynor was master of Mat-
teson Lodge A. F. & A. M., in Joliet. He is
also connected with Joliet Commander} - No. 4,
K. T. For many years he has been a member of
the vestry of Christ Episcopal Church, in which
he has officiated as treasurer of the board. He is
an Abraham Lincoln Republican, but, after hav-
ing voted with the party for years, when in 1896 a
gold plank was put in the platform, he felt he
could not longer remain with it, for his sym-
pathies have been with the free silver movement,
and hence he supports the men and measures
pledged to promote the latter cause. In Mas-
sachusetts he married Miss Helen Cole, who was
born in Berkshire County, that state, and died in
Joliet in 1889. The only child of their union is
Lansing James Raynor, a business man of Joliet.

uhive ' ,alN01s

<jh»+i % ' js/^^MI

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

193

AMOS H. SCOFIELD.

Gl MOS H. SCOFIELD. Of the citizens whose
Ll presence in the county proved helpful to its
/ I interests none is more worthy of mention
than the late Amos H. Scofield, of Plainfield.
He was a man of excellent business capacity and
one whose dealings were always marked by in-
tegrity. During the more than thirty-seven
years of his residence in Plainfield he witnessed
the changes that transformed the barren prairies
of Will County into rich, fertile farms, replaced
the cabins by commodious residences, and
brought into the county a stream of immigration
that founded towns and villages and carried on
the work of civilization until Will County has
taken rank among the best counties of the state.

The first twenty-one years of Mr. Scofield's
life were spent in the state of New York (Genoa
Township, Cayuga County), where he was born
February 25, 18 13. From there he came west
and settled on a farm at North Branch, near Chi-
cago, where he tilled the soil for a period of ten
years. Next he followed farming in Newark,
111. In September, 1855, he settled in Plainfield,
where for one year he engaged in merchandising.
At an early day he purchased four and one-half
acres in the best residence portion of Plainfield;
of this two lots were sold for residences, and his
widow still owns three acres, which forms a valu-
able homestead.

When the slavery agitation filled the whole
land Mr. Scofield was firm in his adherence to
abolition principles. Late in life he became a
prohibitionist in politics. He was a leading
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
regular in his attendance at church services, Sun-
day-school and prayer-meeting, and for years

served as a class leader. Up to the last of his
long life he retained his deep interest in church
work and his declining days were cheered by the
hope which religion gives. He died very sud-
denly February 28, 1893, when eighty years of
of age, leaving to his friends the memory of an
honorable existence, filled with good deeds and
helpful acts.

September 18, 1855, Mr. Scofield married Miss
Elizabeth Rhodes, who was born in Rensselaer
County, N. Y., but in childhood accompanied
her parents to Jefferson County, the same state,
where she was reared and educated. In i85ishe
came to Illinois with a brother and settled near
Plainfield. She is a lady whose gentleness of dis-
position has won for her many friends during the
many years of her residence in this vicinity.
For sixty-six years she has been a faithful mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Though
she is now (1900) eighty-two years of age, she
is still in the possession of her physical and men-
tal faculties and retains her interest in the world
of activity. The twilight of her life is bright-
ened by the esteem of the neighbors and the re-
gard of the people of the town where for so many
years she has made her home. On the eigh