UNIVERSITY OF 
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 Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, 
 Together with Biographies Oi a i the 
 
 Soveniors of the Itate, and of the fresideiits 
 
 Ol= THE UNITED STMTES. 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 LAKE CITY PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 1893
 
 
 pi^Ep/^QE 
 
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 5 1 IE greatest of English historians, Macaulat, aud one of the most brilliant writers of 
 the present ceutiuy, has said: "The history of a country is best told iu a record of the 
 lives of its people." In conformity with this idea the Portrait and Biographical 
 Record fjf ^jjjg county has been prepared. Instead of going to musty records, and 
 taking therefrom dry statistical matter that can be appi-eciated by but few, our 
 corps of writers have gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their 
 enterprise and industry, brought the county to rank second to none among those 
 comprising this great and noble State, and from tlieir lips have the story of their life 
 struggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelli- 
 gent public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the 
 imitation of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by 
 industry and economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited 
 advantages for securing an education, have become learned men and women, with an 
 influence extending throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who 
 have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have 
 become famous. It tells of those iu every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and 
 records how that success has usually crowned their efforts. It tells also of man}', very 
 many, who, not seeking the applause of the world, have pursued "the even tenor of their way," content 
 to have it said of them as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy — "they have done what 
 they could." It tells how that many in the pride and strength of young manhood left the plow and the 
 anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their countiy's 
 call went forth valiantly "to do or die," and how through their efforts the Union was restored and peace 
 once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every woman is a lesson that should not 
 be lost upon those who follow after. 
 
 Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from the fact 
 that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, aud which would otlierwise be 
 inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work and every opportunity^ possible 
 "given to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written, and the publishers flatter them- 
 selves that they give to their readers a work with few errors of consequence. In addition to the biograpb 
 ical sketches, portraits of a number of representative citizens are given. 
 
 The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume. For this the 
 
 publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the work, some refused to give the 
 
 ? information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent. Occasionally some member of 
 
 Ithe family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such opposition the support of the interested 
 one would be withheld. In a few instances men could never be found, though repeated calls were made 
 at their residence or place of business. 
 
 May, 1893. Lakk. Crrv Pi i:i.isiiiN('rC«). 
 
 I 375232
 
 'i\fp%^u.->^' 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ''f*^.€*^,' 
 
 
 
 OF THE
 
 lLIMOIS

 
 FIRST FRESIDKNT. 
 
 M 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 HE Father of our Country was 
 born in Westmorland Co., Va., 
 Feb. 2 2, 1732. His parents 
 were Augustine and Mary 
 (Ball) Washington. The family 
 to which he belonged has not 
 been satisfactorily traced in 
 England. His great-grand- 
 father, John Washington, em- 
 igrated to Virginia about 1657, 
 and became a prosperous 
 planter. He had two sons, 
 I "wrence and John. The 
 former married Mildred Warner 
 and had three children, John, 
 Augustine and Mildred. Augus- 
 tine, the father of George, first 
 married Jane Butler, who bore 
 him four children, two of whom, 
 Lawrence and Augustine, reached 
 maturity. Of six children by his 
 second marriage, George was the 
 eldest, the others being Betty, 
 Samuel, John Augustine, Charles 
 and Mildred. 
 Augustine Washington, the father of George, died 
 in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his 
 eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on 
 the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, 
 and to George he left the parental residence. George 
 received only such education as the neighborhood 
 schools aflbrded, save for a short time after he left 
 school, when he received private inr,truction in 
 matheniat'cs. His spellin(i was rather defectiv«. 
 
 ■^g^'*:^%'.^■J^c^'.%^tiSi'^^l^^^^^^^^■«■^>'d^^^V' 
 
 Remarkable stories are told of his great ijhysica^ 
 strength and development at an early age. He was 
 an acknowledged leader among his companions, and 
 was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair- 
 ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. 
 
 AVhenGeorgewasi4yearsoldhehadadesiretogoto 
 sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, 
 but through the opposition of his mother the idea was 
 abandoned. Two years later he was appointed 
 surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. In 
 this business he spent three years in a rough frontier 
 life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very 
 essential to him. In 175 i, though only 19 years of 
 age, he was appointed adjutant with the rank of 
 major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for 
 active service against the French and Indians. Soon 
 after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother 
 Lawrer.ce, who went there to restore his health. They 
 soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence 
 died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter 
 who did not long survive him. On her demise the 
 estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. 
 
 Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia wa? 
 reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- 
 tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to 
 Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this 
 a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- 
 cepted, which others had refused. This was to pro- 
 ceed to the French post near Lake Erie m North- 
 western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed 
 was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, 
 and the journey was to be made without military 
 escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. Tb«
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 trip was a perilous one, and several limes he came near 
 losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished 
 a full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment 
 of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- 
 mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was 
 commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was 
 then begun against the French and Indians, in which 
 Washington took a most important part. In the 
 memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad- 
 dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer 
 of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the 
 day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock 
 vvere disabled early in the action, and Washington 
 alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter 
 to his brother he says : " I had four bullets through 
 my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped 
 unhurt, though death was levelino my companions 
 on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was 
 not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken 
 direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit 
 him. 
 
 After having been five years in the military service, 
 and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he 
 took advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the 
 expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, 
 to resign his conmiission. Soon after he entered the 
 Legislature, where, although not a leader, he look an 
 active and important part. January 17, 1759, he 
 married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy 
 widow of John Parke Custis. 
 
 When the British Pariiament had closed the port 
 •jf Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces 
 that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." 
 It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- 
 gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- 
 delphia,Sept. 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties, 
 peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- 
 ington was sent as a delegate. On May :o, 1775, the 
 Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of 
 England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- 
 cord and Lexington had been fought. Among the 
 first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- 
 mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and 
 responsible office was conferred upon Washington, 
 who was still a memberof the Congress. He accepted 
 it on June 19, but upon the express condition that he 
 receive no salary. He would keep an exact account 
 of expenses and expect Congress to pay them and 
 nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to 
 trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the 
 fortunes and liberties of the people of this country 
 were so long confided. The war was conducted by 
 him under every possible disadvantage, and while his 
 forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every 
 obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion 
 and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest 
 nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in 
 a parting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his 
 
 commission as commander-in-chief of the army to 
 to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He 
 retired immediately to Mount Vernon and resumed 
 his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunning all 
 connection with public life. 
 
 In February, 1 7 89, Washington was unanimously 
 elected President. In liis presidential career he was 
 subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a new 
 government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part 
 of other governments; trials from want of harmony 
 between the different sections of our own country; 
 trials from the impoverished condition of the country, 
 owing to the war and want of credit; trials from the 
 begiuTiings of party strife. He was no partisan. His 
 clear judg.nent could discern the golden mean; and 
 while perhaps this alone kept our government from 
 sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to 
 attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and 
 very annoying. 
 
 At the expiration of his first term he was unani- 
 mously re-elected. At the end of this term many 
 were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely 
 refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 
 1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi- 
 dent, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there 
 his few remaining yeais free from the annoyances of 
 public life. Later in the year, however, his repose 
 seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France- 
 At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to 
 take command of the armies. He chose his sub- 
 ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- 
 ters in the field, which he superintended from his 
 home. In accepting the command he made the 
 reservation that he was not to be in the field until 
 it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations 
 his life was suddenly cut off. December 12, he took 
 a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling 
 in his throat, produced inflammation, and terminated 
 fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- 
 teenth his body was borne with military honors to its 
 final resting place, and interred in the family vault at 
 Mount Vernon. 
 
 Of the character of Washington it is impossible to 
 speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- 
 miration. The more we see of the operations of 
 our government, and the more deeply we feel the 
 difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, 
 the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- 
 ent and character, which have be-^n able to challenge 
 the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na- 
 tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits 
 of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will 
 he as lasting as the existence of man. 
 
 The person of Washington was unusally tan, erect 
 and well proportioned. His muscular strength was 
 great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry'. 
 He commanded respect without any appearance of 
 haughtiness, and ever serious without l-veing dull.
 
 ?«l^^'' ^ 
 
 mt^ ^ 
 
 y^^n J^/m-i^j
 
 SECOND PRESIDENT. 
 
 =5 
 
 
 
 :yi-...t4,. t».t.4'»4.t..Jwfet;.>t..feA>VJi 
 
 \J OHN ADAMS, the 
 
 second 
 - President and the first Vice- 
 
 lb 
 
 " President of tlie United States, 
 was born in Braintree ( now 
 Quincy ),Mass., and about ten 
 miles from Boston, Oct. 19, 
 ^ 1735- His great-grandfather, Henry 
 Adams, emigrated from England 
 about 1640, with a family of eight 
 sons, and settled at Braintree. The 
 parents of John were John and 
 Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His 
 father was a farmer of limited 
 means, to which he added the bus- 
 iness of shoemaking. He gave his 
 eldest son, John, a classical educa- 
 tion at Harvard College. John 
 graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the 
 school in Worcester, Mass. This he found but a 
 ''school of affliction," from which he endeavored to 
 gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the 
 study of law. For this purpose he placed himself 
 under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He 
 had thought seriously of the clerical profession 
 but seems to have been turned from this by what he 
 termed " the frightful engines of ecclesiastical coun- 
 jils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature,'' 
 of the operations of which he had been a witness in 
 his native town. He was well fitted for the legal 
 profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being ' 
 ready and fluent of speech, and having quick percep- 
 tive ix)wers. He gradually gained practice, and in 
 1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, 
 and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his 
 marriage, (1765), the attempt of Parliamentary taxa- 
 tion turned him from law to politics. He took initial 
 steps toward holding, a town meeting, and the resolu- 
 
 tions he offered on the subject became very populai 
 throughout the Provnice, and were adopted word for 
 word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos- 
 ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous 
 and prominent advocatesof the popular cause, and 
 was chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg- 
 lislature) in 1770. 
 
 Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates 
 from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, 
 which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himselt 
 by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- 
 vocated the movement for independence against th^ 
 majority of the members. In May, 1776, he mcved 
 and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies! 
 should assume the duties of self-government. H^ 
 was a prominent member of the committee of nvej 
 appointed June 11, to prepare a declaration of inde- 
 pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but 
 on Adams devolved the task of batding it through 
 Congress in a three days debate. 
 
 On the day after the Declaration of Independence 
 was passed, while his soul was yet warm with th; 
 glow of e.xcited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife 
 which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated 
 by the spirit of prophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the 
 greatest question was decided that ever was debated 
 in .America; and greater, perhaps, never was or wil 
 be decided among men. A resolution was passed 
 without one dissenting colony, ' that these United 
 States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde- 
 pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of 
 July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history 
 of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated 
 by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary 
 festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of 
 deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty 
 Ciod. It ought to be solemnized with ]K>mp, shows.
 
 24 
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations 
 from one end of the continent to the other, from this 
 time forward for ever. You will think me transported 
 with enthusiasm, but I am not. 1 am well aware of 
 the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to 
 maintain this declaration, and support and defend 
 these States; yet, through all the gloom, I can see the 
 rays of light and glory. I can see that the eud is 
 worth more than all the means; and that posterity 
 will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I 
 hope we shall not." 
 
 In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a 
 ddegate to France, and to co-operate with Bemjamin 
 Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in 
 the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money 
 from the French Government. This was a severe trial 
 to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, 
 compelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- 
 posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- 
 ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17, 
 1779. In September of the same year he was again 
 chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- 
 ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce 
 with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet 
 might be found willing to listen to such pvoposels. He 
 sailed for France in November, from there he went to 
 Holland, wliere he negotiated important loans and 
 formed iuiportant commercial treaties. 
 
 Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed 
 Jan. 21, 1783. The re-action from the excitement, 
 toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed 
 threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- 
 tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he 
 was advised to go to England to drink the waters of 
 Bath. While in England, still drooping anddesiwnd- 
 ing, he received dispatches from his own government 
 urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to 
 negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was 
 deUcate, yet he immediately set out, and through 
 storm, on sea, on horseback and foot,hemade the trip. 
 
 February 24, 1785, Congress ap[X)inted Mr. Adams 
 envoy to the Court of St. James. Here he met face 
 to face the King of England, who had so long re- 
 garded him as a traitor. As England did not 
 condescend to appoint a minister to the United 
 States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accom- 
 plishing but little, he sought jjermission to return to 
 nis own country, where he arrived in June, 1788. 
 
 When Washington was first chosen President, John 
 .\danis, rendered illustiious by his signal services at 
 home and abroad, was chosen Vice President, .\gain 
 at the second election of Washington as President, 
 Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash- 
 ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was 
 elected President, though not without much opposition. 
 Serving in this office four years,he was succeeded by 
 Air. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. 
 
 "JVhile Mr. Adams was Vice President the great 
 
 French Revolution shook the continent of Euroi>e, 
 and it was upon this point which he was at issue with 
 the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson. 
 Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people 
 in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their 
 [X)wer of self-government, and he utterly abhored the 
 classof atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it. 
 On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly 
 enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or- 
 iginated the alienation between these distinguished 
 men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ- 
 ized, Adams at the head of the one whose sympathies 
 were with England and Jefferson led the other in 
 sympathy with France. 
 
 The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more 
 moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the 
 old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling 
 had died away, and he had begun to receive that just 
 appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till 
 after death. No one could look upon his venerable 
 form, and think of what he had done and suffered, 
 and how he had given up all the prime and strength 
 of his life to the public good, without the deepest 
 emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar 
 good fortime to witness the complete success of the 
 institution which he had been so active in creating and 
 supporting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled 
 to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest 
 station in the gift of the people. 
 
 The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half 
 century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the 
 signers of • that immortal instrument left upon the 
 earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is 
 well known, on that day two of these finished theit 
 earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as 
 to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. 
 Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning 
 of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from 
 his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the 
 customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed " In- 
 dependence FOREVER." When the day was ushered 
 in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, 
 he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew 
 what day it was? He replied, "O yes; it is the glor- 
 ious fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." 
 In the course of the day he said, "It is a great and 
 glorious day." The last words he uttered were, 
 "Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re- 
 signed his spiiit into the hands of his God. 
 
 The ]iersonal appearance and manners of Mr. 
 Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, 
 as his portrait manifests,was intellectual and expres- 
 sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and his 
 manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteous. 
 He had neither the lofty dignity of Washington, nor 
 the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked 
 the manners and address of Jefferson
 
 iLLI^OiS
 
 /:.
 
 THIRD PRESIDENT. 
 
 »7 
 
 
 '<;;^ 
 
 "'•i&'^' 
 
 HOMAS JEFFERSON was 
 
 born April 2, 1743. ^t Shad- 
 i^^well, Albermarle county, Va. 
 His parents were Peter and 
 Jane (Randolph) Jefferson, 
 the former a native of Wales, 
 and the latter born in Lon- 
 don. To them were born six 
 daughters and two sons, of 
 whom Thomas was the elder. 
 When 14 years of age his 
 father died. He received a 
 most liberal education, hav- 
 ing been kept diligently at school 
 from the time he was five years ol 
 age. In 1760 he entered William 
 end Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat 
 of ;he Colonial Court, and it was the obode of fashion 
 a.,d splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then 17 
 years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine 
 horses, and much caressed by gay society, yet lie 
 was earnestly devoted to his studies, and irreproacha- 
 able in his morals. It is strange, however, under 
 such influences,that he was not ruined. In the sec- 
 ond year of his college course, moved by some un- 
 exi)lained inward iminilse. he discarded his horses, 
 society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had 
 previously given much time. He often devoted fifteen 
 nours a day to hard study, allowing himself for ex- 
 ercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out 
 of tlie city and back again. He thus attained very 
 high intellectual culture, alike e.xcellence in philoso- 
 piry and the lannnages. The most difficult Latin and 
 Creek autliors he re.ul with facility. A more finished 
 bcliolur has seldon. gone foril. from college halls; and 
 
 there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a 
 more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man. 
 
 Immediately upon leaving college he began the 
 study of law. For the short time he continued in the 
 \>ractice of his profession he rose rapidly and distin- 
 guished himself by his energy and accuteness as a 
 lawyer. But the times called for greater action. 
 The policy of England had awakened the spirit of 
 resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged 
 views which Jefferson had ever entertained, soon led 
 him into active political life. In 1769 he was choser 
 a member of the Virginia Hduse of Burgesses In 
 1772 he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very oeauti- 
 ful, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow 
 Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shadwell, th;re 
 was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which 
 commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and 
 beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected for his new 
 home; and here he reared a mansion of modest ye' 
 elegant architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon 
 liecame the most distinguished resort in our land. 
 
 In 1775 he was sent to the Cdonial Congress, 
 where, though a silent member, his abilitfes as a 
 writer and a reasoner soon become known, and he 
 was placed uiwn a number of important committees, 
 and was chairman of the one appointed for the draw- 
 ing up of a declaration of independence. This com- 
 mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, 
 Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. 
 Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed 
 to draw up the paper. Franklin and Adams suggested 
 a few verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- 
 gress. On June 2S, a few slight changes were made 
 in it by ("ongress, and it was passed and signed July 
 4, 177O What must iiave been llic feelir.gr, ..I tlial
 
 28 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 man — what the emotions that swelled his breast — 
 who was charged with Uie preparation of that Dec- 
 laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of 
 America, was also to publish her to the world, free, 
 soverign and independent. It is one of the most re- 
 markable papers ever written ; and did no other effort 
 of the mind of its author exist, that alone \vould be 
 sufficient to stamp his name with immortality. 
 
 In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to 
 Patrick Henry, :.s Governor of Virginia. At one time 
 the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to 
 Moniicello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five 
 minutes elapsed after tlie hurried escape of Mr. Jef- 
 ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- 
 sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never 
 very good, was much injured by this excitement, and 
 in the summer of 1782 she died. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. 
 Two years later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- 
 tenriary to France. Returning to the United States 
 in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State 
 in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned 
 Jan. r, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- 
 dent, and four years later was elected President over 
 Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In 
 1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, 
 and George Clinton, Vice President. 
 
 The eariy part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- 
 tion was disturbed by an event which threatened the 
 tranquility and peace of the Union ; this was the con- 
 spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election 
 to the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled 
 ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a 
 military expedition into the Spanish territories on our 
 iouthwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there 
 a new republic. This has been generally supposed 
 was a mere pretext ; and although it has not been 
 generally known what his real plans were, there is no 
 doubt that they were of a far more dangerous 
 character. 
 
 In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for 
 which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined 
 to retire from political life. For a period of nearly 
 forty years, he had been continually before the pub- 
 ,ic, and all that time had been employed in offices of 
 the greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus de- 
 voted the best part of his life to the service of his 
 country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his 
 declining years required, and upon the organization of 
 the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare- 
 well forever to public life, and retired to Monticello. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole 
 families came in their coaches with their horses, — 
 fathers and mothers, boys and giris, babies and 
 nurses, — and remained three and even six months. 
 Life at Monticello, for years, resembled that at a 
 fashionable watering-place. 
 
 The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver- 
 
 sary of the Declaration of American Independence, 
 great preparations were made in every pait of thw- 
 Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and 
 the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity 
 of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer. 
 and one of the few surviving signers of the Declara- 
 tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill- 
 ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and 
 had been continually increasing, compelled him to 
 decline the invitation. 
 
 On the second of July, the disease under which 
 he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced 
 state that his medical attendants, entertained ne 
 hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly 
 sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the nex*. 
 day, which was Monday, he asked of those around 
 him, the day of the month, and on being told it was 
 the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish tha', 
 he might be permitted to breathe the air of the fiftieth 
 anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose 
 dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, 
 burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- 
 ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble 
 life! To die on that day,— the birthday of a nation,- - 
 the day which his own name and his own act had 
 rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and 
 festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, 
 as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, 
 was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life. 
 
 Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- 
 dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear 
 him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. 
 Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of 
 freedom; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- 
 ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and 
 animated their desponding countrymen; for half a 
 century they had labored together for the good of 
 the country; and now hand in hand they depart. 
 In their lives they had been united in the same great 
 cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not 
 divided. 
 
 In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather 
 above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes 
 were light, his hair originally red, in after life became 
 white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore- 
 head broad, and his whole courtenance intelligent and 
 thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as 
 well as personal courage ; and j.:s command of tem- 
 per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends 
 never recollected to have seen him in a passion. 
 His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- 
 affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that 
 all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- 
 sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic; and 
 his language was remarkably pure and correct. He 
 was a finished classical scholar, and in his wriringsis 
 discernable the care with \vhi< h lie formed his stylf 
 upon tlie best models of anliquity-
 
 M'JIVCn: 
 
 II I fV'-.,'<3
 
 / (ZA-<- <- ' • x£/^ 
 
 i*^i^-t^-t c"^
 
 FOURTH PRKSIUENT. 
 
 31 
 
 PII]ES npDisoi]. 
 
 AMES MADISON, "Father 
 
 % of the Constitution," and fourth 
 
 '■" President of the United States, 
 
 was born March 16, 1757, and 
 
 died at his home in Virginia, 
 
 /^ jQne 28, 18^6. The name of 
 
 '.^» >: o James Madison is inseparably con- 
 
 nected with most of the imixirtant 
 events in that heroic period of our 
 ^^ country during which the founda- 
 tions of this great repubUc were 
 laid. He was the last of the founders 
 of the Constitution of the United 
 States to be called to his eternal 
 reward. 
 
 The Madison family were among 
 the early emigrants to the New World, 
 landing u[Mn the shores of the Chesa- 
 peake but 15 years after the settle- 
 ment of Jamestown. The father of 
 James Madison was an opulent 
 planter, residing uixjn a very fine es- 
 tate called "Montpelier," Orange Co., 
 Va. The mansion was situated in 
 tlie midst of scenery highly pictur- 
 esque and romantic, on the west side 
 of South-west Mountain, at the foot of 
 filue Ridge. It was but 25 miles from the home of 
 Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and 
 political attachment e.xisted between these illustrious 
 men, from their early youth until death. 
 
 The early education of Mr. Madison was conducteil 
 mostly at home under a private tutor. .\t the age of 
 iS lie was sent to I'rinceton College, in New Jersey. 
 Here lie applied himself Id study with tiie most im- 
 
 prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but three 
 hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so 
 seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor 
 of constitution. He graduated in 177 i, with a feeble 
 body, with a character of utmost purity, and with a 
 mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning 
 which embellished and gave proficiency to hissubsf" 
 quent career. 
 
 Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of 
 law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. 
 This educational course, the spirit of the times in 
 which he lived, and the society with whicli he asso- 
 ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong 
 love of liberty, and to train him for his life-work ot 
 a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of 
 mind, and his frail health leading him to think that 
 his life was not to be long, he directed especial atten- 
 tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mind 
 singularly free from passion and prejudice, and with 
 almost unequalled powers of reasoning, he weighed 
 all the arguments for and against revealed religion, 
 until his faith became so established as never to 
 lie shaken. 
 
 In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he 
 was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to 
 frame the constitution of the State. The next year 
 (■777)1 hs was a candidate for the General Assembly. 
 He refused to treat tlie whisky-lovir.g voters, and 
 consequently lost his election ; but those who had 
 witnessed tlie talent, energy and pui)lic spirit of the 
 modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf, 
 and he was appointed to the Executive Council. 
 
 Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were 
 I'.overnors of Virginia while .Mr. M.idison remained 
 member of the Council ; and llieir appreciation ol \\\^
 
 32 
 
 JAMES MADISON. 
 
 intellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not 
 a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year 
 1780, he was elected a member of the Continental 
 Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in 
 our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of 
 the most conspicuous positions among them. 
 
 For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- 
 gress, one of its most active and influential members. 
 In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was 
 elected' a member of the Virginia Legislature. 
 
 No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the 
 utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- 
 tional government, with no jwwer to form treaties 
 which would be binding, or to enforce law. There 
 was not any State more prominent than Virginia in 
 the declaration, that an efficient national government 
 must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison 
 carried a resolution through the General Assemljly of 
 Virginia, inviting the other .States to appoint commis- 
 sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss 
 this subject. Five States only were represented. The 
 convention, however, issued another call, drawn up 
 by Mr. Madison, urging all the States to send their 
 delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft 
 a Constitution for the United States, to take the place 
 of that Confederate League. The delegates met at 
 the time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island 
 ■vas represented. George Washington was chosen 
 president of the convention; and the present Consti- 
 tution of the United States was then and there formed. 
 There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- 
 tive in framing this immortal document than thfe mind 
 and the pen of James Madison. 
 
 The Constitution, adopted by a vote 81 to 79, was 
 to be presented to the several States for acceptance. 
 But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected 
 we should be left but a conglomeration of independent 
 States, with but little power at home and little lespect 
 abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- 
 tion to draw up an address to the people of the United 
 States, expounding the principles of the Constitution, 
 and urging its adoption. There was great opposition 
 to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and 
 went into effect in 1789. 
 
 Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- 
 sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the 
 avowed leader of the Republican party. While in 
 New York attending Congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a 
 young widow of remarkable jrawer of fascination, 
 whom he married. She was in jierson and character 
 queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied 
 so prominent a position in the very peculiar society 
 which has constituted our republican court as Mrs. 
 Madison. 
 
 Mr. Madison served as Secretary of State under 
 Jefferson, and at the close of his administration 
 was chosen President. At this time the encroach- 
 ments of England had brought us to the verge of war. 
 
 British orders in council destioyed our commerce, and 
 our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison 
 was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiiing 
 in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the 
 meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood 
 boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought 
 to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. 
 A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the 
 crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- 
 ance he selects any number whom he may please to 
 designate as British subjects ; orders them down the 
 ship's side into his boat; and places them on the gun- 
 deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the 
 battles of England. This right of search and im- 
 pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce 
 the British cabinet to relinquish. 
 
 On the 1 8th of June, r8i2, President Madison gave 
 his approval to an act of Congress declaring war 
 against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter 
 hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country 
 in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th 
 of March, 1S13, was re-elected by a large majority, 
 and entered upon his second term of office. This is 
 not the place to describe the various adventures of 
 this war on the land and on the water. Our infan 
 navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- 
 pling with the most formidable power which ever 
 swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest 
 by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, 
 1813, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole 
 coast of the Lhiited States under blockade. 
 
 The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me 
 ditator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- 
 ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks 
 of the Patuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- 
 peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- 
 burg, upon Washington. 
 
 The straggling little city of Washington was thrown 
 into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict 
 at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the 
 metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. 
 The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White 
 House, with her carriage drawn up at the doer to 
 await his S|)eedy return, hurried to meet the officers 
 in a council of war. He met our troops utterly routed, 
 and he could not go back without danger of being 
 captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential 
 Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in 
 Washington were in flames. 
 
 The war closed after two years of fighting, and on 
 Feb. 13, i8i5,the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of 
 office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair 
 to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- 
 tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- 
 mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the 
 age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi 
 son died July 12, 1849.
 
 \ 
 
 7 /^/"^^ / 1 
 
 ^ c^
 
 FIFTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 35 
 
 "^ 
 
 PiriES ll]01]ItOE. 
 
 ""^^^s^E^^^ 
 
 AMES MONROE, the fifth 
 I'residentof The United States, 
 was Ijorn in Westmoreland Co., 
 Va., April 28, 1758. His early 
 life was passed at the place of 
 nativity. Hi.5 ancestors had for 
 many years resided in the prov- 
 ince in which he was born. When, 
 at 17 years of age, in the process 
 of completing his education at 
 William and Mary College, the Co- 
 lonial Congress assembled at Phila- 
 delphia to deliberate upon the un- 
 just and manifold oppressions of 
 Great Britian, declared the separa- 
 tion of the Colonies, and promul- 
 gated the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly 
 probable that he would have been one of the signers 
 of that celebrated instrument. At this time lie left 
 school and enlisted among the patriots. 
 
 He joined the army when everything looked hope- 
 less and gloomy. The number of deserters increased 
 from day to day. The invading armies came pouring 
 in ; and the tories not only favored the cause of the 
 mother country, but disheartened tlie new recruits, 
 who were sufficiently terrified at tiie |)ros|)ect of con- 
 i::nding with an enemy whom tliey had been taught 
 to deem invincible. 'I'o sncli brave spirits as James 
 Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through 
 difficulty and danger, the United States owe their 
 |)olitical emancipation. The young cadet joined the 
 ranks, and espoused the cause of his injured country, 
 with A fiiiii (Idtcnnln.ition to live o. lie wilii her strife 
 
 for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the mel- 
 ancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and White 
 Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled 
 before its foes through New Jersey. In four months 
 after the Declaration of Independence, the patriots 
 had Ijeen beaten in seven battles. At the battle of 
 Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of charg- 
 ing upon the enemy lie received a wound in the left 
 shoulder. 
 
 As a reward tor his bravery, Mr. Monroe was \)xo- 
 moted a captain of infantry-^, and, having recovered 
 from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, however, 
 receded from the line of promotion, by becoming an 
 officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the cam- 
 paigns of 1777 and 1778, in the actions of Brandy 
 wine, Germantown and Monmouth, he continued 
 aid-de-cam |) ; but becoming desirous to regain his 
 position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a 
 regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed 
 owing to the exhausted condition of the State. Upon 
 tliis failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at 
 that period Governor, and pursued, with considerable 
 ardor, the study of common law. He did not, however, 
 entirely lay aside tlie knapsack for the green bag; 
 but on the invasions of the eneiny, served as a volun 
 teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. 
 
 In 17S2, he was elected from King George county, 
 a member of tlie Leglislature of Virginia, and by that 
 body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive 
 Council. He was thus honored with the confidence 
 of his fellow citizens at 23 years of age ; and haviuj. 
 at this early period displayed some of that ability 
 and aptitude for legislation, whicli were afterwards 
 employed with uiiremiltingenergy for the pulilic good,
 
 36 
 
 JAMES MONROE. 
 
 he was in the succeeding year chosen a member of 
 die Congress of the United States. 
 De'eply as Mr. Monroe felt the imperfections of the old 
 confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, 
 -.hinking, with many others of the Republican party, 
 diat it gave too much power to the Central Government, 
 and not enough to the individual States. Still he re- 
 tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm 
 supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition 
 secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member 
 of the United States Senate ; which office he held for 
 four years. Every month the line of distinction be- 
 tween the two great parties which divided the nation, 
 the Federal and the Republican, was growing more 
 distinct. The two prominent ideas which now sep- 
 arated them were, that the Reiniblican party was in 
 sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a 
 strict construction of tlie Constitution as to give the 
 Central Government as little power, and the State 
 Governments as much power, as the Constitution would 
 warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, 
 and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- 
 stitution, which would give as much ]X)wer to the 
 Central Government as that document could possibly 
 authorize. 
 
 The leading Federalists and Republicans were 
 alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the 
 good of the nation. Two more honest men or more 
 pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and 
 James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In 
 building up this majestic nation, which is destined 
 to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- 
 l)ination of their antagonism was needed to create the 
 light equilibrium. And yet each in his day was de- 
 nounced as almost a demon. 
 
 Washington was then President. England had es- 
 poused the cause of the Boudwns against the jjrinci- 
 ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn 
 into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. 
 Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- 
 tween these contending powers. France had helped 
 us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms 
 of Europe were now combined to prevent the French 
 from escai)ing from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse 
 than that which we had endured Col. Monroe, more 
 magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at 
 whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in 
 their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous 
 and noble nature. He violently opposed the_ Pres- 
 ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in 
 magnanimity. 
 
 Washington, who could appreciate such a character, 
 developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness, 
 by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- 
 nouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister 
 .if that Government to the Republic of France. Mr. 
 Monroe was welcomed by the National Cjnveirtion 
 in France with the most enthusiastic demonstr/<tions. 
 
 Shortly after his return to this country, Mr. Mon- 
 roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the 
 office for three yeais. He was again sent to France to 
 co-operate vvith Chancellor Livingston in obtaining 
 the vast territory then known as the Province of 
 Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- 
 tained from Spain. Their united efforts were suc- 
 cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen 
 millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and 
 district of Louisiana were added to the United States. 
 This was probably the largest transfer of real estate 
 which was ever made in all the history of the world. 
 
 From France Mr. Monroe went to England to ob- 
 tain from that country some recognition of ouv 
 rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those 
 odious impressments of our seamen. But Eng- 
 land was unrelenting. He again returned to Eng- 
 land on the same mission, but could receive no 
 redress. He returned to his home and was again 
 chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned 
 to accept the position of Secretary of State under 
 Madison. While in this office war with England was 
 declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during 
 these trying times, the duties of the War Departmen! 
 were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- 
 bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient 
 business man in his cabinet. Upon the return of 
 peace he resigned the Department of War, but con- 
 tinued in the office of Secretary of State until the ex- 
 piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec- 
 tion held tlie previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had 
 been chosen President with but little opposition, and 
 upon March 4, 1817, was inaugurated. Four years 
 later he was elected for a second term. 
 
 Among the important measures of his Presidency 
 were the cession of Florida to the United States; the 
 ^Missouri Compromise, and the "Monroe doctrine.' 
 "^xThis famous doctrine, since known as the "Monroe 
 doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At that 
 time the United States had recognized the indepetid- 
 ence of the South American states, and did not wish 
 to have European powers longer attempting to sub- 
 due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine 
 is as follows : " That we should consider any attempt 
 on the part of European powers to extend their sys- 
 tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous 
 to our peace and safety," and "that we could not 
 view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing 
 or controlling American governments or provinces in 
 any other light than as a manifestation by European 
 ])owers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United 
 States." This doctrine immediately affected the course 
 of foreign governments, and has become the approved 
 sentiment of the United States. 
 
 At the end of his second term Mr. Monroe retired 
 to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830, 
 wlicn he went to New Vork to live with his son-in- 
 law. In that city he died, on the 4th of July, 1831
 
 /' 
 
 j , ^ ^ JLi CUry^
 
 SIXTH PRESIDRNT. 
 
 3V 
 
 J0I}1] QUI1]6Y JiDm^- 
 
 ^\^/^^ 
 
 rS^ 
 
 (^.^ 
 
 OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the 
 sixth President of the United 
 ^States, was born in the rural 
 iionie of his honored father, 
 John Adams, in Quincy, Mass., 
 on the I ith of July, 1767- His 
 mother, a woman of exaUed 
 worth, watched over his childhood 
 during the almost constant ab- 
 sence of his father. When but 
 eight years of age, he stood with 
 his mother on an eminence, listen- 
 ing to the booming of the great bat- 
 tle on Bunkers Hill, and gazing on 
 upon the smoke and flames billow- 
 ing up from the conflagration of 
 Charlestown. 
 
 When but eleven years old he 
 took a tearful adieu of his mother, 
 to sail with his father for Europe, 
 through a fleet ot hostile British cruisers. The bright, 
 .aiimated boy spent a year and a half in Paris, where 
 his father was associated with Franklin and Lee as 
 minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted 
 the notice of these distinguished men, and he received 
 from them flattering marks of attention. 
 
 Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this 
 country, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again 
 lOi.n Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he 
 applied himself with great diligence, for six months, 
 to :.tudy; then accompained his father to Holland, 
 where he entered, first a school in .\msterdam, then 
 the University at Leyden. About a year from this 
 time, in 1781, when the manly boy was but fourteen 
 yea's of age, he was selected l>y Mr. Dana, our min- 
 ister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. 
 
 In this school of incessant labor and of enobling 
 culture he siient fourteen months, and then returned 
 !o Holland through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and 
 I'remen. Tliis long journey he took alone, in the 
 wiiitiM. ulien in his sixteenth year. Again he resumed 
 ais bludirs, \indei a prJ"-ile tutor, at Hague. Thence, 
 
 Vi 
 
 in the spring of 1782, he accompanied his father tf 
 Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming acquaintanct 
 with the most distinguished men on the Continent 
 examining architectural remains, galleries of paintings 
 and all renowned works of art. At Paris he again 
 became associated with the most illustrious men o( 
 all lands in the contemplations of the loftiest temporal 
 themes which can engross the human mind. Afte" 
 a short visit to England he returned to Paris, and 
 consecrated all his energies to study until May, 1785, 
 when he returned to America. 'i"o a brilliant young 
 man of eighteen, who had seen much of the world, 
 and who was familiar with the etiquette of courts, a 
 residence with his father in London, under such cir- 
 cumstances, must have been extremely attractive 
 but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre- 
 ferred to return to America to complete his education, 
 in an American college. He wished then to study 
 law, that with an honorable profession, he might be 
 able to obtain an independent support. 
 
 Upon leaving Harvard College, at the age of twenty 
 he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be- 
 ing then but twenty-seven years of age, he was ap- 
 pointed by Washington, resident minister at the 
 Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached 
 London in October, where he wasinnnsdiately admit- 
 ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinckney, 
 assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty with 
 Great Britian. After thus spending a fortnight h 
 London, he proceeded to the Hague. 
 
 In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portugal as 
 minister pleniix)tentiary. On his way to Portugal, 
 upon arriving in Ixsndon, he met with despatches 
 directing him to the court of Beilin, but requesting 
 him to remain in London until he sliould receive his 
 instructions, ^^■hile waiting he was niairied to ar 
 American lady to whom he had been previously en- 
 gaged, — Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, danghtc! 
 of Mr. Joshua Johnson, American c()n:,ul in I ondon 
 a lady endownd with that beauty and those accom. 
 plishmenl which emiiiciitly futetl her to move in tH 
 elevated sphere for which she was tU«»*Bed
 
 40 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797 ; 
 where he remained until July, 1799, when, having ful- 
 filled all the pur[X)ses of his mission, he solicited his 
 recall. 
 
 Soon after his return, in 1S02, he was chosen to 
 the Senate of Massachusetts, from Boston, and then 
 was elected Senator of the United States for six years, 
 from the 4tli of March, 1804. His reputation, his 
 abihty and his experience, placed him immediately 
 among the most prominent and influential members 
 of that body. Especially did he sustain the Govern- 
 ment in its measures of resistance to the encroach- 
 ments of England, destroying our commerce and in- 
 sulting our flag. There was no man in America more 
 familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon 
 these points, and no one more resolved to present 
 a firm resistance. 
 
 In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the Pres- 
 idential chair, and he immediately nominated John 
 Quincy Adams minister to St. Petersburg. Resign- 
 ing his professorship in Harvard College, he embarked 
 at Boston, in August, 1809. 
 
 While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense stu- 
 dent. He devoted his attention to the language and 
 history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the 
 European system of weights, measures, and coins ; to 
 the climate and astronomical observations ; while he 
 Kept up a familiar acquaintance with the Greek and 
 Latin classics. In all the universities of Europe, a 
 more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found. 
 All through life the Bible constituted an important 
 part of his studies. It was his rule to read five 
 chapters every day. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Monroe took the 
 Presidential chair, and immediately apjwinted Mr. 
 Adams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num- 
 erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he 
 sailed in June, 1819, forthe United States. On the 
 1 8th of August, he again crossed the threshold of his 
 home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon- 
 roe's administration, Mr Adams continued Secretary 
 of State. 
 
 Some time before '.he close of Mr. Monroe's second 
 term of office, new candidates began to be presented 
 for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. Adams brought 
 forward his name. It was an exciting campaign. 
 Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and 
 sixty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson re- 
 ceived ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four; 
 William H. Crawford, forty-one; Henry Clay, thirty- 
 seven. As there was no choice by the people, the 
 question wept to the House of Representatives. Mr. 
 Clay gave tlie vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and 
 be was elected. 
 
 Tlie friends of all the disappointed candidates now 
 ;ombined in a venomous and persistent assault upnii 
 Mr. .'\dams. 'I'here is nothing more disgraceful in 
 *We uast. history of our country than the abuse which 
 
 was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upon this 
 high-minded, upright, patriotic man. There never was 
 an administration more pure in principles, more con- 
 scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun- 
 try, than that of John Quincy Adams ; and never, per- 
 haps, was there an administration more unscrupu- 
 lously and outrageously assailed. 
 
 Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab- 
 stemious and temperate in his habits; always rising 
 early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in 
 Quincy, he has been known to walk, before breakfast, 
 seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said 
 that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his 
 own fire and applying himself to work in his library 
 often long before dawn. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired 
 from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew 
 Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi- 
 dent. The slavery question now began to assurae 
 portentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to 
 Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un- 
 abated zeal. But he was not long permitted to re- 
 main in retirement. In November, 1830, he was 
 elected representative to Congress. For seventeen 
 years, jntil his deatli, he occupied the post as repre- 
 sentative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to 
 do brave battle' for freedom, and winning the title of 
 " the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in 
 the House, he announced that he should hold him- 
 self bound to no party. Probably there never was a 
 member more devoted to his duties. He was usually 
 the first in his place in the inorning, and the last to 
 leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could 
 be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The 
 battle which Mr. Adams fought, almost singly, against 
 the proslavery party in the Government, was sublime 
 in Its moral daring and heroism. For persisting in 
 presenting petitions for the abolition of slavery, he 
 was threatened with indictment by the grand jury, 
 with expulsion from the House, with assassination . 
 but no threats could intimidate him, and his final 
 triumph was complete. 
 
 It has been said of President Adams, that when his 
 body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of 
 fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little 
 child, he was accustomed to repeat every night, before 
 he slept, the prayer which his mother tauglit him in 
 his infant years. 
 
 On the 2istof February, 1848, he rose on the floor 
 of Congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the 
 speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken i)y paraly- 
 sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. 
 For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to 
 tlie sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- 
 ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and 
 said " This is the end of earlh ."then after a moment's 
 |>ause he added, " f am loii/frit" These Were the 
 last words of the grand "t)ld Man Kloquent."
 
 SEVENTH PRESIBENT. 
 
 ■'■"iSUlQM^r'^S.jsssAl^ 
 
 ajie4,£)«'®|fi)/<7zrz>»\~ 
 
 
 i -xiej2i2/®^^5~*-^« '' '""^S^^Wsip 
 
 NDREW JACKSON, the 
 seventh President of tlie 
 ,;.'■' L'nited States, was bor.i in 
 Waxhavv settlement, N. C., 
 ■ ^x,^,,..^ ^ March 15, 1767, a few days 
 W^J^?^-f) after his father's death. His 
 parents were [xxjr emigrants 
 from Ireland, and took up 
 their abode in Waxhaw set- 
 tlement, where they lived in 
 deepest poverty. 
 Andrew, or Andy, as he was 
 universally called, grew up a very 
 rough, rude, turbulent boy. His 
 features were coarse, his form un- 
 gainly; and there was but very 
 little in his character, made visible, which was at- 
 tractive. 
 
 Wlien only thirteen years old he joined the volun- 
 teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 
 1781, he and his brother Robert were captured and 
 imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer 
 ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am 
 a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of 
 the dauntless boy. 
 
 The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate 
 Dlow at the head of the helpless young jjrisoner. 
 Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fear- 
 ful gashes, — one on the hand and the other u[X)n the 
 lieatl. The officer then turned to his brother Robert 
 with the same demand. He also refused, and re- 
 ceived a blow from the keen-edged sabre, which quite 
 disabled him, and which probably soon after caused 
 his death. They suffered much other ill-treatment, and 
 were finally stricken with the small-pox. Their 
 mother was successful, ir. obtaining their exchange. 
 
 and took her sick boys home. After a long illnus^ 
 Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother soon 
 left him entirely friendless. 
 
 Andrew supported himself in various ways,sjcha3 
 working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and 
 clerking in a general store, until 1784, when he 
 entered a law office at Salisbury, N. C. He, however, 
 gave more attention to the wild amusements of the 
 times than to his studies. In 1788, he was appointed 
 solicitor for the western district of North Carolina, of 
 which Tennessee was then a part. This involved 
 many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of 
 every kind, but Andrew Jack-spn never knew fear 
 and the Indians had no desire to repeat a skirmish 
 witn the Sharp Knife. 
 
 In 1791, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who 
 supposed herself divorced from her former husband. 
 Great was the surprise of both parties, two years later, 
 to find that the conditions of the divorce had just been 
 definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage 
 ceremony was performed a second time, but the occur- 
 rence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. 
 Jackson into disfavor. 
 
 During these years he worked hard at his profes 
 sion, and frequently had one or more duels on hand, 
 one of which, when he killed Dickenson, was espec- 
 ially disgraceful. 
 
 In January, 1796, the Territory of Tennessee then 
 containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the 
 people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con- 
 stitution. Five were sent from each of the elevi^ 
 counties. Andrew Jackson was one of the delegate&f 
 The new State was entitled to but one member iu 
 the National House of Representatives. Andrew Jack- 
 son was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he 
 rode to Philadelphia, where Congress then held its
 
 44 
 
 ANDRliV /ACKS02V. 
 
 sessions, — a distance of about eight hundred miles. 
 
 Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo- 
 cratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired 
 Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr. 
 Jackson took his seat. Gen. Washington, whose 
 second term of office was then expiring, delivered his 
 last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a 
 complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson 
 did not approve of the address, and was one of the 
 twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to 
 say that Gen. Washington's adminstration had Ijeen 
 " wise, firm and patriotic." 
 
 Mr. Jackson was elected to the United States 
 Senate in 1797, but soon resigned and returned home. 
 Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court 
 of his State, which position he held for si.x years. 
 
 When the war of 1812 with Great Britian com- 
 menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. 
 Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was 
 an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who 
 would do credit to a commission if one were con- 
 ferred upon him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson 
 offered his services and those of twenty-five hundred 
 volunteers. His offer was accepted, and the troojis 
 were assembled at Nashville. 
 
 As the British were hourly expected to make an at- 
 tack upon New Orleans, where Gen. \Vilkinson was 
 in command, he was ordered to descend the river 
 with fifteen hundred troops to aid Wilkinson. The 
 expedition reached Natchez; and after a delay of sev- 
 eral weeks there, without accomplishing anything, 
 the men were ordered back to their homes. But the 
 energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire 
 devotion to the comrfort of his soldiers, won him 
 golden opinions; and he became the most popular 
 man in the State. It was in this expedition that his 
 toughness gave him the nickname of " Old Hickory." 
 
 Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. 
 Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman 
 made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in 
 which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged, 
 he received two severe pistol wounds. While he was 
 lingering upon a bed ot suffering news came that the 
 Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from 
 Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- 
 tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- 
 cisive action became necessary. Gen. Jackson, with 
 his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in 
 a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- 
 tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an 
 army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Alabama. 
 
 The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on 
 one of the bends of the Tallapoosa River, near the cen- 
 ter of Alabama, about fifty miles below Fort Strother. 
 With an army of two thousand men. Gen. Jackson 
 traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven 
 days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or 
 Horse-shoe, on the 27th of March. 1814. The bend 
 
 of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres of 
 tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow 
 neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breast- 
 work of logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, 
 with an ample suply of arms were assembled. 
 
 The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- 
 perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When 
 bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en- 
 deavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morn- 
 ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was 
 awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the 
 river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as 
 they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine liundred war- 
 rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam 
 the river and escaped. This ended the war. The 
 power of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold 
 plunge into the wilderness, with itsterriffic slaughter, 
 so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants 
 of the bands came to the camp, begging for peace. 
 
 This closing of the Creek war enabled us to con- 
 centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the 
 allies of the Indians No man of less resolute will 
 than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian 
 campaign to so successful an issue Immediatelv he 
 was appointed major-general. 
 
 Late in .\ugust, with an army of two thousand 
 men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson came to 
 Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed 
 a force ui»n the beach, anchored near the little fort, 
 and from both ship and shore commenced a furious 
 assault. The battle was long and doubtful. At length 
 one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired. 
 
 Garrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little 
 army, he moved his troops to New Orleans, 
 And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, 
 was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won 
 for Gen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his 
 troops, which numbered about four thousand men. 
 won a signal victory over the British army of about 
 nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the 
 loss of the British was two thousand six hundred. 
 
 The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be men- 
 tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1824, 
 he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, 
 successful in the election of 1828, and was re-elected 
 for a second term in 1832. In 1829, just before he 
 assumed the reins of the government, he met with 
 the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of 
 his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has 
 perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of 
 her death he never recovered. 
 
 His administration was one of the most mcmcraliie 
 in the annals of our country; applauded oyone partv. 
 condemned by the other. No man had more bittei 
 enemies or warmer friends. At the expiration of hi^ 
 two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where 
 he died June 8, 1845. The last years of Mr. Jack- 
 son's life were that of a devoted Christian man.
 
 7 
 
 / 7 yU^^^ ^<^.J U^L^e-^,^.^
 
 EIGHTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 i!e^^!)0A®)§<®A2j€»^T 
 
 WW^ W^ BUREI]. 
 
 
 ^M.^ 
 
 ARTIN VAN BUREN, the 
 eighth President of the 
 United States, was born at 
 Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5, 
 1782. He died at the same 
 place, July 24, 1862. His 
 body rests in the cemetery 
 at Kinderhook. Above it is 
 a plain granite shaft fifteen feet 
 high, bearing a simple inscription 
 about half way up on one face. 
 The lot is unfenced, unbordered 
 or unbounded by shrub or flower. 
 
 There '* our lUtle in the life of Martin \'an Buren 
 of romanfc interest. He fought no battles, engaged 
 in no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in 
 political and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many 
 signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those 
 incidents which give zest to biography. His an- 
 cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, 
 and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland 
 to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, 
 residing iu the old town of Kinderhook. His mother, 
 also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- 
 ligence and exemplary piety. 
 
 A<i was decidedly a precocious boy, developing un- 
 usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. At the 
 age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies 
 in his native village, and commenced the study of 
 law. As he h.ad not a collegiate education, seven 
 years of study in a law-office were required of him 
 !)efore he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with 
 Ji lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he pur- 
 sued his studies with indefatigable industry. .'Xfter 
 S[)cnding six years in an office in his native village. 
 
 he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted his 
 studies for the seventh year. 
 
 In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years o) 
 age, commenced the practice of law in his native vil- 
 lage. The great conflict between the Federal and 
 Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van 
 Buren was from the beginning a politician. He had, 
 perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listening to the 
 many discussions which had been carried on in his 
 father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with 
 Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the 
 cause of State Rights ; though at that time the Fed- 
 eral party held the supremacy both in his town 
 and State. 
 
 His success and increasing ruputation led him 
 after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, th.' 
 county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years, 
 constantly gaining strength by contending in th(v 
 courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned 
 the bar of his State. 
 
 Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mt. 
 Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for 
 beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short 
 years she sank into tlie grave, the victim of consun^p. 
 tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep ovei 
 her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was 
 an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record 
 of those years is barren in items of public interest. 
 In 18 1 2, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to 
 the State Senate, and cave his strenuous support to. 
 Mr. Madison's adminstration. In 1815, he was ap- 
 jx)inted Attorney-General, and the next year moved 
 to Albany, the capital of the State. 
 
 While he was ackno\<'ledged as one of the most 
 pcominent leaders of th« Deniocratic party, he had
 
 48 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 the moral courage to avow that tnie democracy did 
 not require that " universal suffrage " which admits 
 the vile, the degraded, the ignorant, to the right of 
 governing the State. In true consistency with his 
 democratic principles, he contended that, while the 
 path leading to the privilege of voting should be open 
 to every man without distinction, no one should be 
 invested with that sacred prerogative, unless he were 
 in some degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue 
 ;ind some property interests in the welfare of the 
 State. 
 
 In 1821 he was elected ;. member of the United 
 States Senate; and in' the same year, he took a seat 
 in the convention to revise the constitution of his 
 native State. His course in this convention secured 
 the approval of men of all parties. No one could 
 doubt the singleness of his endeavors to promote tlie 
 interests of all classes in the comuiunity. In the 
 Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a 
 conspicuous yjosition as an active and useful legislator. 
 
 In 1827, John Quincy Adams being tlien in the 
 Presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to 
 .he Senate. He had been from the beginning a de- 
 termined opposer of the Administration, adopting the 
 •'State Rights " view in opposition to what was 
 "deemed the Federal i)rochvities of Mr. Adams. 
 
 Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governorof 
 the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his 
 ^eat in the .Senate. Probably no one in the United 
 States contributed so much towards ejecting John Q. 
 \dams from the Presidential chair, and placing in it 
 Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whether 
 entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was re- 
 garded througiiout the United States as one of the 
 most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians. 
 It was supposed that no one knew so well as he how 
 lo touch the secret spiings of action; how to pull all 
 the wires to put his machinery in niotion ; and how to 
 organize a political army which would, secretly and 
 ste.-'Uhily accomplish the most gigantic results. By 
 these powers it is said that he outv/itted Mr. Adams, 
 Mr. Clay, Mr. M^ebster, and secured results which 
 few thought then could be accomplished. 
 
 When Andrew Jackson was elected President he 
 appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This 
 position he resigned in 1831, ajid was immediately 
 appointed Minister to England, where he went the 
 same autumn. The SenatCj however, when it met, 
 refused to ratify the noniinationj and he returned 
 
 home, apparently untroubled ; was nominated Vice 
 President in the place of Calhoun, at the re-election 
 of President Jackson; and with smiles for all and 
 frowns for none, he took his place at the head of that 
 Senate which had refused to confirm his nomination 
 as ambassador. 
 
 His rejection by the Senate roused all the zeal of 
 President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor- 
 ite ; and this, probably more than any other cause, 
 secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu 
 tive. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr. Van Buren re- 
 ceived the Democratic nomination to succeed Gen. 
 Jackson as President of the United States. He was 
 elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the 
 retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the 
 canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van 
 Buren to the Presidency was as much the act of Gen. 
 Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred 
 upon him the power to appoint a successor." 
 
 His administration was filled with exciting events. 
 'Ihe insurrection in Canada, which threatened to in 
 volve this country in war with England, the agitation 
 of the slavery question, and finally the great commer- 
 cial panic which spread over the country, all were 
 trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at- 
 tributed to the management of the Democratic party, 
 and brought the President into such disfavor that he 
 failed of re-election. 
 
 With the exception of being nominated for the 
 Presidency by the "Free Soil" Democrats, in r848, 
 Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upon his estate until 
 his death. 
 
 He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal habits, 
 and living within his income, had now fortunately a 
 competence for his declining years. His unblemished 
 character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned 
 patriotism, and the distinguished positions which he 
 had occupied in the government of our country, se- 
 cured to him not only the homage of his party, but 
 the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 
 4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired fion; 
 the presidency. From his fine estate at Linden wa id, 
 he still exerted a powerful influence upon the iwlitics 
 of the country. From this time until his death, on 
 the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty years, he 
 resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, ot 
 culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old 
 age, probably far more happiness than he had before 
 experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life-
 
 ^^ f/: ^(^r^- 
 
 -K^
 
 NINTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 S' 
 
 ^-6-^- 
 
 WMflE^MM ^MI m41]^i§il. 
 
 IttIS 
 
 H-SJ-E 
 
 '.l^'r-'-'^n' 
 
 ILLIAM HENRY HARRI- 
 SON, the ninth President of 
 the United States, was born 
 at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. 
 His father, Benjamin Harri- 
 son, was in comparatively op- 
 '^ ulent circumstances, and was 
 one of the most distinguished 
 men of his day. He was an 
 intimate friend of George 
 Washington, was early elected 
 * a member of the Continental 
 Congress, and was conspicuous 
 among the patriots of Virginia in 
 resisting the encroachments of the 
 British crown. In the celebrated 
 Congress of 1775, Benjamin Har- 
 rison and John Hancock were 
 both candidates for the office of 
 speaker. 
 
 Mr Harrison was subsequently 
 cliosen Governor of Virginia, and 
 was twice re-elected. His son, 
 William Henry, of course enjoyed 
 in childhood all the advantages which wealth and 
 intellectual and cultivated society could give. Hav- 
 ing received a thorough common-school education, he 
 entered Hampden Sidney College, where he graduated 
 with honor soon r.fter the death of his father. He 
 Chen repaired to Philadelphia to study medicine under 
 the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of 
 Robert Morris, both of whom were, with his father, 
 signers of the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 Upon the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and not- 
 withstanding the 'emonstrances of his friends, he 
 abandoned his medical studies and entered the army, 
 /laving obtain-^ a commisaion of Ensign from Presi- 
 
 ®i^- 
 
 dent Washington. He was then but 19 years old 
 From that time he passed gradually upward in rank 
 until he became aid to General Wayne, after whose 
 death he resigned his commission. He was then ap- 
 pointed Secretary of the North-western Territory. This 
 Territory was then entitled to but one member in 
 Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill that 
 position. 
 
 In the spring of 1800 the North-western Territory 
 was divided by Congress into two portions. The 
 eastern portion, comprising the region now embraced 
 in the State of Ohio, was called " The Territory 
 north-west of the Ohio." The western portion, which 
 included what is now called Indiana, Illinois and 
 Wisconsin, was called the "Indiana Territory." Wil. 
 liani Henry Harrison, then 27 years of age, was ap 
 pointed by John Adams, Governor of the Indiana 
 Territory, and immediately after, also Governor of 
 Upper Louisiana. He was thus ruler over almost as 
 extensive a realm as any sovereign upon the globe. He 
 was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was in- 
 vested with powers nearly dictatorial over the now 
 rapidly increasing white population. The ability and 
 fidelity with which he discharged these responsible 
 duties may be inferred from the fact that he was four 
 times apixsinted to this office — first by John Adams, 
 twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterwards by Presi- 
 dent Madison. 
 
 When he began his adminstration there were but 
 three white settlementsin that almost boundless region, 
 now crowded with cities and resounding with all the 
 tumult of wealth and traffic. One of these settlements 
 was on the Ohio, nearly opposite I-ouisville; one at 
 Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the third a French 
 settlement. 
 
 The vast wilderness over which Gov. Harrisoii 
 reigned was filled with many tribes of Indians. Abou<
 
 5^ 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 
 
 the year 1806, two extraordinary men, twin brothers, 
 of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of 
 these was called Tecumseh, or " The Crouching 
 Panther;" the other, OUiwacheca, or "The Prophet." 
 Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man 
 of great sagacity, far-reaching foresight and indomit- 
 able perseverance in any enterprise ni which he might 
 engage; He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm, 
 and had long regarded with dread and with hatred 
 the encroachment of the whites upon the hunting- 
 grounds of his fathers. His brother, the Prophet, was 
 anorator, who could sway the feelings of the untutored 
 Indian as the gale tossed the tree-tops beneath which 
 they dwelt. 
 
 But the Prophet was not merely an orator : he was, 
 in the superstitious minds of the Indians, invested 
 with the superhuman dignity of a medicine-man or a 
 magician. With an enthusiasm unsurpassed by Peter 
 the Hermit rousing Europe to the crusades, he went 
 from tribe to tribe, assuming that he was specially sent 
 by the Great .Spirit. 
 
 Gov. Harrison made many attempts to conciliate 
 the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Tippe- 
 canoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. 
 October 28, 18 12, his army began its inarch. When 
 near the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made 
 their appearance and inquired why Gov. Harrison was 
 approaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a 
 short conference, arrangements were made for a meet- 
 ing the next day, to agree upon terms of peace. 
 
 But Gov. Harrison was too well acquainted with 
 the Indian character to be deceived by such protes- 
 tations. Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en- 
 campment, he took every precaution against surprise. 
 His troops were posted in a hollow square, and slept 
 upon their arms. 
 
 The troops threw themselves upon the ground for 
 rest; but every man had his accourtrements on, his 
 loaded musket by his side,and his bayonet fixed. The 
 wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock in 
 the morning, had risen, and was sitting in conversa- 
 tion with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It 
 was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In 
 the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possi- 
 ble, and just then, with a savage yell, rushed, with all 
 the desperation which superstition and passion most 
 highly inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the 
 little army. The savages had been amply provided 
 with guns and ammunition by the English. Their 
 war-whoop was accompained by a shower of bullets. 
 The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as the 
 light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide- 
 fus yells, the Indian bands rushed on, not doubting a 
 si)eedy and an entire victory. But Gen. Harrison's 
 troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them 
 until day dawned : they then made a simultaneous 
 charge with the bayonet, and swept every thing be- 
 fore them, and completely routing the foe. 
 
 Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked 
 to the utmost. The British descending from the Can- 
 adas, were of themselves a very formidable force ; but 
 with their savage allies, rushing like wolves I'rom the 
 forest, sear-..hing out every remote farm-house, burn- 
 ing, plundering, scalping, torturing, the wide frontier 
 was plunged into a state of consternation which even 
 the most vivid imagination can but faintly conceive. 
 The war-whoop was resounding everywhere in the 
 forest. The horizon was illuminated with the conflagra- 
 tion of the cabins of the settlers. Gen Hull had made 
 the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. 
 Under these despairing circumstances. Gov. Harrison 
 was appointed by President Madison cominander-in- 
 chiefof the North-western army, with orders to retake 
 Detroit, and to protect the frontiers. 
 
 It would be difficult to place a man in a situation 
 demanding more energy, sagacity and courage; but 
 General Harrison was found equal to the position, 
 and nobly and triumphantly did he meet all the re 
 sponsibilities. 
 
 He won the love of liis soldiers by always sharing 
 with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, >vhile 
 pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a 
 valise; and his bedding consisted of a single blanket 
 lashed over his saddle. Thirty-five British officers, 
 his prisoners of war, supped with him after the batde. 
 The only fare he could give them was beef roasted 
 before the fire, without bread or salt. 
 
 In 18 16, Gen. Harrison was chosen a member of 
 the National House of Representatives, to represent 
 the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved an 
 active member; and whenever he spoke, it was with 
 force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested 
 the attention of all the members. 
 
 In 1 81 9, Harrison was elected to the Senate of 
 Ohio; and in 1824, as one of the presidential electors 
 of that State, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. The 
 same year he was chosen to the United States Senate. 
 In 1836, the friends of Gen. Harrison brought him 
 forward as a candidate for the Presidency against 
 Van Buren, but he was defeated. At the close of 
 Mr. Van Buren's term, he was re -nominated by his 
 party, and Mr. Harrison was unanimously nominated 
 by the Whigs, with John Tyler for the Vice Presidency. 
 The contest was very animated. Gen. Jackson gave 
 all his influence to prevent Harrison's election ; but 
 his triumph was signal. 
 
 The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel Webster 
 at its head as Secretary of State, was one of the most 
 brilliant with which any President had ever been 
 surrounded. Never were the prospects of an admin- 
 istration more flattering, or the hopes of the country 
 more sanguine. In the midst of these bright and 
 joyous prospects. Gen. Harrison was seized by a 
 pleurisy-fever and after a few days of violent sick- 
 ness, died on the 4th of April ; just one month after 
 his inauguration as President of the United States.
 
 TENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 S5 
 
 OHN TYLER, the tenth 
 i Presidentof the United States. 
 He was born in Charles-city 
 Co., Va., March 29, 1790. He 
 was the favored child of af- 
 fluence and high social po- 
 sition. At the early age of 
 twelve, John entered WilUam 
 and Mary College and grad- 
 uated with much honor when 
 but seventeen years old. After 
 graduating, he devoted him- 
 self with great assiduity to the 
 study of law, partly with his 
 father and partly with Edmund 
 Randolph, one of the most distin- 
 guished lawyers of Virginia. 
 At nineteen years of age, ne 
 'n commenced the practice of law. 
 His success was rapid and aston- 
 ishing. It is said tliat three 
 months had not elapsed ere there 
 was scarcely a case on the dock- 
 et of the court in which he was 
 hOt retained. When but twenty-one years of age, he 
 was almost unanimously e'ected to a seat in the State 
 Legislature. He connected himself v/ith the Demo- 
 cratic party, and warmly advocated the measures of 
 Jefferson and Madison. For five successive years he 
 was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the 
 unanimous vote or his county. 
 
 When but twenty-six years of age, he was elected 
 a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and 
 ably with the Democratic party, opposing a national 
 bank, internal improvements by the General fk)vern- 
 
 ment, a protective tariff", and advocating a strict con- 
 struction of the Constitution, and the most careful 
 vigilance over State rights. His labors in Congress 
 were so arduous that before the close of his second 
 term he found it necessary to resign and retire to his 
 estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He, 
 however, soon after consented to take his seat in the 
 State Legislature, where his influence was powerful 
 in promoting public works of great utility. With a 
 reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was chosen 
 by a very large majority of votes. Governor of his 
 native State. His administration was signally a suc- 
 cessful one. His popularity secured his re-election. 
 
 John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed 
 man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the 
 United States. A portion of the Democratic party 
 was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course, 
 and brought forward John Tyler as his opponent, 
 considering him the only man in Virginia of sufficient 
 popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of 
 Roanoke. Mr. Tyler was the victor. 
 
 Li accordance with his professions, upon taking his 
 seat in the Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposi- 
 tion. He opposed the tariff"; he spoke against and 
 voted against the bank as unconstitutional ; he stren- 
 uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resist- 
 ing all projects of internal improvements by tlie Gen- 
 era! Government, and avowed his sympathy with Mr. 
 Calhoun's view of nullification ; he declared that Gen. 
 Jackson, by his opposition to the nullifiers, had 
 abandoned the principles of the Democratic party. 
 Such was Mr. Tyler's record in Congress, — a record 
 in perfect accordance with the principles which be 
 had always avowed. 
 
 Returning to Virginia, he resumed the practice of 
 his profession. Ther? was a split in the Democratic
 
 56 
 
 JOHN TYLER. 
 
 /arty. His friends still regarded him as a true Jef- 
 fersonian, gave him a dinner, and showered compli- 
 ments upon him. He had now attained the age of 
 forty-six. His career had been very brilliant. In con- 
 sequence of his devotion to public business, his pri- 
 vate affairs had fallen into some disorder; audit was 
 not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice 
 of law, and devoted himself to the culture of his plan- 
 tation. Soon after this he removed to Williamsburg, 
 for the better education of his children ; and he again 
 took his seat in the Legislature of Virginia. 
 
 By the Southern Whigs, he was sent to the national 
 convention at Harrisburg to nominate a President in 
 7839. The majority of votes were given to Gen. Har- 
 rison, a genuine Whig, much to the disappointment of 
 the South, who wished for Henry Clay. To concili- 
 ate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the 
 convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice Pres- 
 ident. It was well known that he was not in sympa- 
 thy with the Whig party in the North : but the Vice 
 President has but very little power in the Govern- 
 ment, his main and almost only duty being to pre- 
 side over the meetings of the Senate. Thus it hap- 
 pened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a 
 Democratic Vice President were chosen. 
 
 In 1 84 1, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice Presi- 
 dent of the United States. In one short month from 
 that time. President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler 
 thus -cund himself, to his own surprise and that of 
 the whole Nation, an occupant of the Presidential 
 chair. This was a new test of the stability of our 
 institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our 
 country that such an event had occured. Mr. Tyler 
 was at home in Williamsburg when he received the 
 unexpected tidings of the death of President Harri- 
 son. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of 
 April was inaugurated to the high and responsible 
 office. He was placed in a position of exceeding 
 delicacy and difficulty. All his long life he had been 
 opposed tc the main principles of the party which had 
 brought him into power. He had ever been a con- 
 sistent, hontit man, with an unblemished record. 
 Gen. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should 
 he retain them, and thus surround himself with coun- 
 sellors whose views were antagonistic to his own? or, 
 on the other hand, should he turn against the party 
 which had elected him and select a cabinet in har- 
 mony with himself, and which would oppose all those 
 views which the Whigs deemed essential to the pub- 
 lic welfare? This was his fearful dilemma. He in- 
 vited the cabinet which President Hanrison had 
 selected to retain their seats. He reccommended a 
 day of fasting and prayer, that God would guide and 
 bless us. 
 
 The Whigs carried through Congress a bill for the 
 incorporation of a fiscal bank of the United States. 
 The President, after ten days' delay, returned it with 
 his veto. He »uegested. however, that he would 
 
 approve of a bill drawn up upon such a plan as he 1 
 proposed. Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and 
 privately submitted to him. He gave it his approval. 
 It was passed without alteration, and he sent it back 
 with his veto. Here commenced the open rupture. 
 It is said that Mr. Tyler was provoked to this meas- 
 ure by a published letter from the Hon. John M. 
 Botts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who severely 
 touched the pride of the President. 
 
 The opposition now exultingly received the Presi- 
 dent into their arms. The party which elected him 
 denounced him bitterly. AH the members of his 
 cabinet, e.xcepting Mr. Webster, resigned. The Whigs 
 of Congress, both the Senate and the House, held a 
 meeting and issued an address to the people of the J 
 United States, proclaiming that all political alliance \ 
 between the Whigs and President Tyler were at 
 an end. 
 
 Still the President attempted to conciliate. He 
 appointed a new cabmet of distinguished Whigs and 
 Conservatives, carefully leaving out all strong party 
 men. Mr. Webster soon found it necessary to resign, 
 forced out by the pressure of his Whig friends. Thus 
 the four years of Mr. Xyler's unfortunate administra- 
 tion passed sadly away. No one was satisfied. The 
 land was filled with murmurs and vituperation. Whigs 
 and Democrats alike assailed him. More and more, 
 however, he brought himself into sympathy with his 
 old friends, the Democrats, until at the close of his term, ' 
 he gave his whole influence to the support of Mr. 
 Polk, the Democratie candidate for his successor. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from the 
 harassments of office, to the regret of neither party, and 
 probably to his own unspeakable relief. His first wife. 
 Miss Letitia Christian, died in Washington, in 1842; 
 and in June, 1844, President Tyler was again married, 
 at New York, to Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady of 
 many personal and intellectual accomplishments. 
 
 The remainder of his days Mr. Tyler passed mainly j 
 in retirement at his beautiful home, — Sherwood For- ' 
 est, Charles -city Co., Va. A polished gentleman in 
 his manners, richly furnished with mformation from 
 books and experience in the world', and possessing 
 brilliant powers of conversation, his family circle was 
 the scene of unasual attractions. With sufficient 
 means for the exercise of a generous hospitality, he 
 might have enjoyed a serene old age with the few 
 friends who gathered around him, were it not for the 
 storms of civil war which his own principles and 
 policy had helped to introduce. 
 
 When the great Rebellion rose, which the State, 
 rights and nullifying doctrines of Mr. John C. Cal- 
 houn had inaugurated. President Tyler renounced his 
 allegiance to the United States, and joined the Confed- 
 erates. He was chosen a member of their Congress; 
 and while engaged in active measures to destroy, by 
 force of arms, the Government over which he had 
 once presided, he was taken sick and soon died.
 
 ILLINOIS
 
 J'o^^^ ^' 
 
 oa-- 
 
 pC
 
 "EtE VEKmr-pRESTDRNTT 
 
 Sf 
 
 JAMES K. P 
 
 AMES K. POLK, the eleventh 
 ?kPresident of the United States, 
 was born in Meckicnhiirg Co., 
 N. C, Nov. 2, 1795. His par- 
 ents were Samuel and Jane 
 (Kno.x) Polk, the former a son 
 of Col. Thomas Polk, who located 
 at the above place, as one of the 
 first pioneers, in 1735. 
 
 In the year 1S06, with liis wife 
 and children, and soon after fol- 
 lowed by most of the members of 
 the Polk famly, Samuel Polk emi- 
 grated some two or three hundred 
 miles farther west, to the rich valley 
 oftlie Dnck River. Here in the 
 midst of the wilderness, in a region 
 which was subsequently called Mau- 
 ry Co., they reared their log huls, 
 and established their homes. In tlie 
 hard toil of a new farm in the wil- 
 derness, James K. Polk spent the 
 early years of his childliood and 
 youth. His father, adding the pur- 
 suit of a surveyor to that of a farmer, 
 gradually increased in wealth until 
 he became one of the leading men of the region. His 
 mother was a superior woman, of strong common 
 sense and earnest piety. 
 
 Very early in life, James developed a taste for 
 reading and expressed the strongest desire to obtain 
 a liberal education. His mother's training had made 
 him methodical in his habits, had taught him punct- 
 uality and industry, and had inspired liim witli lofty 
 priniipli-s of iiKiralitv. His health was frail ; and his 
 t.ilhcr, fearing tlial hf niiglit ;)i)t W able to endure a 
 
 ! 
 
 sedentary life, got a situation for him behind the 
 counter, hoping to fit him for commercial pursuits. 
 
 This was to James a bitter disappointment. He 
 had no taste for these duties, and his daily tasks 
 were irksome in the extreme. He remained in this 
 uncongenial occupation but a few weeks, when at his 
 earnest solicitation his father removed hiai, and made 
 arrangements for him to prosecute his studies. Soon 
 after he sent him to Murfreesboro Academy. With 
 ardor which could scarcely be surpassed, he pressed 
 forward in his studies, and in less than two and a half 
 years, in the autumn of 181 5, entered the sophomore 1 
 class in the University of North Carolina, at Chapel 
 Hill. Here he was one of the most exemplary of 
 scholars, punctual in every exercise, never allowing 
 himself to be absent from a recitation or a religious 
 service. 
 
 He graduated in 18 18, with the highest honors, be« 
 ing deemed the best scholar of his class, both in 
 mathematics and the classics. He was then twenty- 
 three years of age. Mr. Polk's health was at this 
 time much impaired by the assiduity with which he 
 liad prosecuted his studies. After a short season of 
 relaxation he went to Nashville, and entered the 
 office of Felix Grundy, to study law. Here Mr. Polk 
 renewed his acquaintance with Andrew Jackson, who 
 resided on his plantation, the Hermitage, but a few 
 miles from Nashville. They had probably been 
 slightly acquainted before. 
 
 Mr. Polk's father was a Jeffersonian Republican, 
 and James K. Polk ever adliered to the same jwliti- 
 cal faith. He was a popular i)ulilic speaker, and was 
 constantly called uixsn to address the meetings of his 
 party friends. His skill as a s()eaker was such that 
 lie was jjopularly called the NaiJulecni of the slump. 
 He was a man of unblemished morals, geni.il and
 
 6o 
 
 JAMES K. POLK. 
 
 Murterus in his bearing, and with that sympathetic 
 natui-e in the joys and griefs of others which ever gave 
 him troops of friends. In 1823, Mr. Polk was elected 
 to the Legislature of Tennessee. Here he gave his 
 strong influence towards the election of his friend, 
 Mr. Jackson, to the Presidency of the United States. 
 
 In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah 
 Childress, of Rutherford Co., Tenn. His bride was 
 altogether worthy of him, — a lady of beauty and cul- 
 ture. In the fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a 
 member of Congress. Tlie satisfaction which he gave 
 to his constituents may be inferred from the fact, that 
 for fourteen successive years, until 1839, he was con- 
 tinuec^ in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew, 
 only l^at he might accept the Gubernatorial chair 
 of Tennessee. In Congress he was a laborious 
 member, a frequent and a popular speaker. He was 
 always in his seat, always courteous; and whenever 
 he spoke it was always to the point, and without any 
 ambitious rhetorical display. 
 
 During five sessions of Congress, Mr. Polk was 
 Speaker of the House. Strong passions were roused, 
 and stormy scenes were witnessed ; but Mr. Polk per- 
 formed his arduous duties to a very general satisfac- 
 tion, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was 
 passed by the House as he withdrew on the 4th of 
 March, 1839. 
 
 In accordance with Southern usage, Mr. Polk, as a 
 candidate for Governor, canvassed the State. He was 
 elected by a large majority, and on the 14th of Octo- 
 ber, 1839, took the oath of office at Nashville. In 1841, 
 his term of office expired, and he was again the can- 
 didate of the Democratic party, but was defeated. 
 
 On the 4th of March, r845,Mr. Polk was inaugur- 
 ated President of the United States. The verdict of 
 the country in favor of the annexation of Texas, exerted 
 its influence upon Congress ; and the last act of the 
 administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig- 
 nature to a joint resolution of Congress, passed on the 
 3d of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to 
 the American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas 
 as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister, 
 Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and 
 left the country, declaring the act of the annexation 
 to be an act hostile to Mexico. 
 
 In his first message, President Polk urged that 
 Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be re- 
 ceived into the Union on the same footing with the 
 .Other States. In the njeantime, Gen. Taylor was sent 
 
 with an army into Texas to hold the country. He was 
 sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the 
 western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly 
 two hundred miles further west, to the Rio Grande, 
 where he erected batteries which commanded the 
 Mexican city of Matamoras, which was situated on 
 the western banks. 
 
 The anticipated collision soon took place, and wai 
 was declared against Mexico by President Polk. The 
 war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration 
 with great vigor. Gen. Taylor, whose army was first 
 called one of " observation,"' then of "occupation," 
 then of " invasion, "was sent forward to Monterey. The 
 feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly 
 and awfully slaughtered. The day of judgement 
 alone can reveal the misery which tliis war caused. 
 It v/as by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administration 
 that the war was brought on. 
 
 'To the victors belong the spoils." Mexico was 
 prostrate before us. Her capital was in our hands. 
 We now consented to peace upon the condition that 
 Mexico should surrender to us, in addition to Texas, 
 all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Cal- 
 ifornia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of 
 Texas, eight hundred thousand square miles. This ' 
 was an extent of territory equal to nine States of the 
 size of New York. Thus slavery was securing eighteen 
 majestic States to be added to the Union. There were j 
 some Americans who thought it all right : there were ^ 
 others who thought it all wrong. In the prosecution 
 of this war, we expended twenty thousand lives and - J 
 more than a hundred million of dollars. Of this ' 
 money fifteen millions were paid to Mexico. 
 
 On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired from 
 office, having served one term. The next day was 
 Sunday. On the 5th, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated 
 as his successor. Mr. Polk rode to the Capitol in the 
 same carriage with Gen. Taylor; and the same even- 
 ing, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to 
 Tennessee. He was then but fifty-four years of age. 
 He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits, 
 and his health was good. With an ample fortune, 
 a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domestic ties 
 of the dearest nature, it seemed as though long years 
 of tranquility and happiness were before him. But the 
 cholera — that fearful scourge— was then sweeping up 
 the Valley of the Mississippi. This he contracted, 
 and died on the 15th of June, 1849, in the fiftv-fuurth 
 year of his age, greatly mourned by his countrymen.
 
 OP u^t 
 
 LLINOiS
 
 'y (::x.'C:^A.<:p(.^y y^^yt^ ^^^\
 
 TWELFTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 arY^V^^V^V^^. <■ \. W V ;>>V:T^Or:\Tx .,>-^.v: .^7^v:vTvrv7 i, A ■• AA \ A ■■ \- \. V v r^TTrr^ 
 
 xAgMARY '^^AyI^^(?J^^ 
 
 
 ^■%> 
 
 
 ^^' 
 
 ACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth 
 % President of the United States, 
 -^'^ was born on the 24th of Nov., 
 1784, in Orange Co., Va. His 
 i) father, Colonel Taylor, was 
 (@/5£^2j *y a- Virginian of note, and a dis- 
 %' V^ '-a:-''^: ' j.j) tinguished patriot and soldier of 
 the Revolution. When Zachary 
 was an infant, his father with his 
 wife and two children, emigrated 
 to Kentucky, where he settled in 
 the pathless wilderness, a few 
 miles from Louisville. In this front- 
 fdiw ier home, away from civilization and 
 I all its refineirrents, young Zachary 
 could enjoy but few social and educational advan- 
 tages. When six years of age he attended a common 
 school, and was then regarded as a bright, active boy, 
 rather remarkable for bluntness and decision of char- 
 acter He was strong, fearless and self-reliant, and 
 manifested a strong desire to enter the army to fight 
 the Lrdians who were ravaging the frontiers. .There 
 is little to be recorded of the uneventful years of his 
 childhood on his father's large but lonely plantation. 
 In 1808, his father succeeded in obtaining for him 
 the commission of lieutenant in the United States 
 army ; and he joined the troops which were stationed 
 at New Orleans under Gen. Wilkinson. Soon after 
 this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady 
 from one of the first families of Maryland. 
 
 Immediately after the declaration of war with Eng- 
 land, in 18 1 2, Capt. Taylor (for he had then been 
 promoted to that rank) was put in command of Fort 
 Harrison, on the Wabash, about fifty miles above 
 Vincennes. This fort had been built in the wilder- 
 ness by Gen. Harrison,on his march to Tippecanoe. 
 It was one of the first points of attack by the Indians, 
 ";ed l)y Tecumseh. Its garrison consisted of a broken 
 
 company of infantry numbering fifty men, many of 
 whom were sick. 
 
 Early in the autumn of 1812, the Indians, stealthily, 
 and in large numbers, moved ufxin the fort. Their 
 approach was first indicated by the murder of two 
 soldiers just outside of the stockade. Capt. Taylor 
 made every possible preparation to meet the antici- 
 pated assault. On the 4th of September, a band of 
 forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort, 
 waving a white flag, and informed Capt. Taylor that 
 in the morning their chief would come to have a talk 
 with him. It was evident that their object was merely 
 to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt. 
 Taylor, well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept 
 them at a distance. 
 
 The sun went down; the savages disappeared, the 
 garrison slept upon their arms. One hour before 
 midnight the war whoop burst from a thousand lips 
 in the forest around, followed by the discharge of 
 musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every man, sick 
 and well, sprang to his postr Every man knew that 
 defeat was not merely death, but in the case of cap- 
 ture, death by the most agonizing and prolonged tor- 
 ture. No pen can describe, no immagination can 
 conceive the scenes which ensued. The savages suc- 
 ceeded in setting fire to one of the block-houses- 
 Until six o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict 
 continued. The savages then, baffled at every ix)int, 
 and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired. Capt. 
 Taylor, for this gallant defence, was promoted to the 
 rank of major by brevet. 
 
 Until the close of the war, MajorTaylor was placed 
 in such situations that he saw but little more of .active 
 service. He was sent far away into the depths of the 
 wilderness, to Fort Crawford, on Fox River, which 
 empties into Green Bay. Here there was but little 
 to be done but to wear away the tedious hours as one 
 best could. There were no books, no society, no in-
 
 64 
 
 ZACHARY TAYLOR 
 
 tellectual stimulus. Thus with him the uneventful 
 years rolled on Gradually he rose to the rank of 
 colonel. In the Black-Hawk war, which resulted in 
 the capture of that renowned chieftain, Col Taylor 
 took a subordinate but a brave and efficient part. 
 
 For twenty-four years Col. Taylor was engaged \\\ 
 the defence of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and in 
 Employments so obscure, that his name was unknown 
 't)eyond the limits of his own immediate acquaintance, 
 iln the year 1836, he was sent to Florida to compel 
 the Seminole Indians to vacate that region and re- 
 tire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty, 
 liac* promised they should do. The services rendered 
 here secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of 
 the Government; and as a reward, he was elevated 
 (o 'die rank of brigadier-general by brevet ; and soon 
 Rfter, in May, 1838, was appointed to the chief com- 
 Aiand of the United States troops in Florida. 
 
 After two years of such wearisome employment 
 imidst the everglades of the peninsula. Gen. Taylor 
 obtained, at his own request, a change of command, 
 ind was stationed over the Department of the South- 
 -Acst. This field embraced Louisiana, Mississippi, 
 Alabama and Georgia. Establishing his headquarters 
 51I Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, he removed his family 
 to a plantation which he purchased, near Baton Rogue. 
 Hivre he remained for five years, buried, as it were, 
 from the world, but faithfully discharging every duty 
 jnyposed upon him. 
 
 In 1846, Gen. Taylor was sent to guard the land 
 between the Nueces and Rio Grande, the latter river 
 being the boundary of Texas, which was then claimed 
 by the United States. Soon the war with Mexico 
 was brought ou, and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
 P'aJma, Gen. Taylor won brilliant victories over the 
 ^{l;xicans. The rank of major-general l)y brevet 
 was then conferred upon Gen. Taylor, and his narrie 
 was received with enthusiasm almost everywhere in 
 tlic Nation. Then came the battles of Monterey and 
 Euena Vista in which he won signal victories over 
 fcyces much larger than he commanded. 
 
 His careless habits of dress and his unaffected 
 simplicity, secured for Gen. Taylor among his troops, 
 \\e. sobriquet of "Old Rough and Ready.' 
 
 The tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena Vista 
 fjiread the wildest enthusiasm over the country. The 
 n.ime of Gen. Taylor was on every one's lips. The 
 H hig party decided to take advantage of this wonder- 
 fu( popularity in bringing forward the unpolished, un- 
 
 ■tJred, honest soldier as their candidate for the 
 I'lesidency. Gen. Taylor was astonished at the an- 
 nt ancement, and for a time would not listen to it; de- 
 chiringthat he was not at all qualified for such an 
 oft ice. So little interest had he taken in politics that, 
 foi forty years, he had n«t cast a vote. It was not 
 wnhout chagrin that several distinguished statesmen 
 vflio had been long years in the public service found 
 ^i.jir claims set aside in behalf of one whose name 
 
 had never been heard of, save in connection with Palo 
 Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena 
 Vista. It is said that Daniel Webster, in his haste re- 
 marked, " It is a nomination not fit to be made." 
 
 Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker nor a fine 
 writer His friends took possession of him, and pre- 
 pared such few communications as it was needful 
 should be presented to the public. The popularity of 
 the successful warrior swept the land. He was tri- 
 umphantly elected over two opposing candidates, — 
 Gen. Cass and Ex-President Martin Van Buren. 
 Though he selected an excellent cabinet, the good 
 old man found himself in a very uncongenial jwsition, 
 and was, at times, sorely perplexed and harassed. 
 His mental sufferings were very severe, and probably 
 tended to hasten his death. The pro-slavery party 
 was pushing its claims with tireless energy , expedi- 
 tions were fitting out to capture Cuba ; California was 
 pleading for admission to the Union, while slavery 
 stood at the door to bar her out. Gen. Taylor found 
 the political conflicts in Washington .to be far more 
 trying to the nerves than battles with Mexicans or 
 Indians 
 
 In the midst of all these troubles, Gen. Taylor, 
 after he had occupied the Presidential chair but little 
 over a year, took cold, and after a brief sickness ot 
 but little over five days, died on the 9th of July, 1850. 
 His last words were, "I am not afraid to die. I am 
 ready. I have endeavored to do my duty." He died 
 universally respected and beloved. An honest, un- 
 pretending man, he had been steadily growing in the 
 affections of the people; and the Nation bitterly la- 
 mented his death. 
 
 Gen. Scott, who was thoroughly acquainted with 
 Gen. Taylor, gave the following graphic and truthful 
 description of his character: — " With a good store of 
 common sense, Gen. Taylor's mind had not been en- 
 larged and refreshed by reading, or much converse 
 with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the conse- 
 quence. The frontiers and small military posts had < 
 been his home. Hence he was quite ignorant for his 
 rank, and quite bigoted in his ignorance. His sim- 
 plicity was child-like, and with innumerable preju- 
 dices, amusing and incorrigible, well suited to the 1 
 tender age. Thus, if a man, however respectable, I 
 chanced to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hal 
 a little on one side of his head; or an officer to leave 
 a corner of his handkerchief dangling from an out- 
 side pocket, — in any such case, this critic held the 
 offender to Ije a coxcomb (perhaps something worse), 
 whom he would not, to use his oft repeated phrase, 
 'touch with a pair of tongs.' 
 
 "Any allusion to literature beyond good old Dil- 
 worth's spelling-book, on the part of one wearing a 
 sword, was evidence, with the same judge, of utter 
 unfitness for heavy marchings and combats. In shori 
 few men have ever had a more comfoitanV^, ^■>"-». 
 saving contempt for learnirg of every kind."
 
 i '.,.., 
 
 '-■'uli); U ILL
 
 *#'s^ 
 
 £^j^t/ Jic^^j^-L^xru)
 
 THIRTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 67 
 
 
 % 
 
 ^'ffllLLftHn FILLMHRE.'^ 
 
 **:;S*^;&*S!S^»$;!S-<«^;!S*s;&H^;:g^^;i,^*$;;C$*$x$*-si?^ 
 
 II.LARD FILLMORE, thir- 
 f^l teeiith President of the United 
 *' States, was born at Summer 
 Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y ., on 
 the 7th of January, 1800. His 
 father was a farmer, and ow- 
 ing to misfortune, in humble cir- 
 cumstances. Of his mother, the 
 daughter of Dr. Abiathar Millard, 
 \ of Pittsfield, Mass., it has been 
 said that she possessed an intellect 
 of very high order, united with much 
 personal loveliness, sweetness of dis- 
 position, graceful manners and ex- 
 quisite sensibilities. She died in 
 1831 ; having lived to see her son a 
 young man of distinguished prom- 
 ise, chough she was not permitted to witness the high 
 dignity which he finally attained. 
 
 In consequence of the secluded home and limited 
 means of his father, Millard enjoyed but slender ad- 
 vantages for education in his early years. The com- 
 mon schools, u'hich he occasionally attended were 
 very imperfect uistitutions; and books were scarce 
 :.nd expensive. There was nothing then in his char- 
 acter to indicate the brilliant career upon which he 
 was about to enter. He was a plain farmer's boy; 
 intelligent, good-looking, kind-hearted. The sacred 
 influences of home had taught him to revere the Bible, 
 and had laid the foundations of an upright character. 
 When fourteen years of age, his father sent him 
 some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds of 
 l.iviiigston County, lo learn the trade of a ilothier. 
 Ncai tln^ mill there was a small villiage, where some 
 
 enterprising man had commenced the collection of a 
 village library. This proved an inestimable blessing 
 10 young Fillmore. His evenings were spent in read- 
 ing. Soon every leisure moment was occupied with 
 books. His thirst for knowledge became insatiate 
 and the selections which he made were continually 
 more elevating and instructive. He read history, 
 biography, oratory, and thus gradually there was en- 
 kindled in his heart a desire to be something more 
 than a mere worker with his hands; and he was be- 
 coming, almost unknown to himself, a well-informed, 
 educated man. 
 
 The young clothier had now attained the age 0/ 
 nineteen years, and was of fine personal appearance 
 and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so hapi)ened thaf 
 there was a gentleman in the neighborhood of ample 
 pecuniary means and of benevolence, — Judge Walter 
 W'ood, — who was struck with the jjtepossessing ap- 
 pearance of young Fillmore. He made his acquaint- 
 ance, and was so much impressed with his ability and 
 attainments that he advised him to abandon his 
 trade and devote himself to the study of the law. The 
 young man replied, that lie had no means of his own. 
 no friends to help him and that his previous educa- 
 tion had been very im[)erfect. But Judge Wood had 
 so much confidence in liim that he kindly offered to 
 take him into his own office, and to loan him such 
 money as he needed. Most gratefully the generous 
 offer was accepted. 
 
 There is in many minds a strange delusion aboutl 
 a collegiate education. A young man is sup[X)sed to 
 be liberally educated if he has graduated at some col- 
 lege. Hul many a boy loiters through university halb 
 Hiid then enters a law office, who is by no meaus as
 
 Oi 
 
 MILLARD FILLMORE. 
 
 well prepared to prosecute his legal studies as was 
 Millard Fillmore when he graduated at the clothing- 
 mill at the end of four years of manual labor, during 
 which every leisure moment had been devoted to in- 
 tense mental culture. 
 
 In 1823, when twenty-three years of age, he was 
 admitted to the Court of Common Pleas. He then 
 went to. the village of Aurora, and commenced the 
 practice of law. In this secluded, peaceful region, 
 his practice of course was limited, and there was no 
 opportunity for a sudden rise in fortune or. in fame. 
 Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of great 
 moral worth, and one capable of adorning any station 
 she might be called to fill, — Miss Abigail Powers. 
 
 His elevation of character, his untiring industry, 
 his legal acquirements, and his skill as an advocate, 
 gradually attracted attention , and he was invited to 
 enter into partnership under highly advantageous 
 circumstances, with an elder member of the bar in 
 Buffalo. Just before removing to Buffalo, in 1829, 
 he took his seat in the House of Assembly, of the 
 State of New York, as a representative from Erie 
 County. Though he had never taken a very active 
 part in politics, his vote and his sympathies were with 
 the Whig party. The State was then Democratic, 
 and he found himself in a helpless minority in the 
 Legislature , still the testimony comes from all parties, 
 Ihat his courtesy, ability and integrity, won, to a very 
 unusual degrt e the respect of his associates. 
 
 In the autumn of 1832, he was elected to a seat in 
 the United States Congress He entered that troubled 
 arena in some of the most tumultuous hours of our 
 national history. The great conflict respecting the 
 national bank and the removal of the deposits, was 
 then raging. 
 
 His term of two years closed ; and he returned to 
 his profession, which he pursued with increasing rep- 
 utation and success. After a lapse of two years 
 he again became a candidate for Congress ; was re- 
 elected, and took his seat in 1837. His past expe- 
 rience as a representative gave hmi stiength and 
 confidence. The first term of service in Congress to 
 any man can be but little more than an introduction. 
 He was now prepared for active duty. All his ener- 
 gies were brought to bear upon the public good. Every 
 measure received his impress. 
 
 Mr. Fillmore was now a man of wide repute, and 
 his popularity filled the State, and in the year 1847, 
 he was elected Comptroller of the State. 
 
 Mr. Fillmore had attained the age of forty-seven 
 years. His labors at the bar, in the Legislature, in 
 Congress and as. Comptroller, had given him very con- 
 siderable fame. The Whigs were casting about to 
 find suitable candidates for President and Vice-Presi- 
 dent at the approaching election. Far away, on the 
 waters of the Rio Grande, there was a rough old 
 soldier, who had fought one or two successful battles 
 with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be 
 proclaimed in tiumpet-tones all over the land. But 
 it was necessary to associate with him on the same 
 ticket some man of reputation as a statesman. 
 
 Under the influence of these considerations, the 
 namesofZachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became 
 the rallying-cry of the Whigs, as their candidates for 
 President and Vice-Peesident. The Whig ticket was 
 signally triumphant. On the 4th of March, 1849, 
 Gen. Taylor was inaugurated President, and Millard 
 Fillmore Vice-President, of the United States. 
 
 On the 9th of July, 1850, President Taylor, but 
 about one year and four months after his inaugura- 
 tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the Con- 
 stitution, Vice-President Fillmore thus became Presi- 
 dent. He appointed a very able cabinet, of which 
 the illustrious Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. 
 Mr. Fillniore had very serious difficulties to contend 
 with, since the opposition had a majority in both 
 Houses. He did everything in his power to conciliate 
 the South ; but the pro-slavery party in the South felt 
 the inadequacy of all measuresof transient conciliation. 
 The population of the free States was so rapidly in- 
 creasing over that of the slave States that it was in- 
 evitable that the power of the Government should 
 soon pass into the hands of the free States. The 
 famous compromise measures were adopted under Mr. 
 Fillmcre's adminstration, and the Japan Expedition 
 was sent out. On the 4th of March, 1853, Mr. Fill- 
 more, having served one term, retired. 
 
 In 1856, Mr. Fillmore was nominated for the Pres- 
 idency by the " Know Nothing " party, but was beaten 
 by Mr. Buchanan. After that Mr. Fillmore lived in 
 retirement. During the terrible conflict of civil war, 
 he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed that 
 his sympathies were rather with those who were en- 
 deavoring to overthrow our institutions. President 
 Fillmore kept aloof from the conflict, without any 
 cordial words of cheer to the one party or the other. 
 He was thus forgotten by both. He lived to a ripe 
 old age, and died in Buffalo. N. Y., March 8, 1874-
 
 mvEi,
 
 FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 'M- 
 
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 .^^aa^tSi 
 
 
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 ili^H ^FHflNKLIN PIERCE.^ 
 
 
 
 
 RANKLIN PIERCE, the 
 fourteenth President of the 
 ' United States, was born in 
 Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 
 23, 1804. His father was a 
 Revohitionary soldier, who, 
 with his own strong arm, 
 hewed out a home in the 
 wilderness. He was a man 
 of inflexible integrity; of 
 strong, though uncultivated 
 mind, and an uncompromis- 
 ing Democrat. The mother of 
 Franklin Pierce was all that a son 
 could desire, — an intelligent, pru- 
 dent, affectionate. Christian wom- 
 an. Franklin was the sixth of eight children. 
 
 Franklin was a very bright and handsome boy, gen- 
 erous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the 
 love of old and young. The boys on the play ground 
 loved him. His teachers loved him. The neighbors 
 looked upon him with pride and affection. He was 
 by instinct a gentleman; always speaking kind words, 
 doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact 
 which taught him what was agreeable. Without de- 
 veloping any precocity of genius, or any unnatural 
 devotion to books, he was a good scholar; in body, 
 in mind, in affections, a finely-developed boy. 
 
 When sixteen years of age, in the year 1820, he 
 entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Me. He was 
 one of the most jxjpular young men in the college. 
 The purity cf his moral character, the unvarying 
 courtesy of his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and 
 
 genial nature, rendered him a universal favorite. 
 There was something very peculiarly winning in his 
 address, and it was evidently not in the slightest de- 
 gree studied : it was the simple outgushing of his 
 own magnanimous and loving nature. 
 
 Upon graduating, in the year 1824, Franklin Pierce 
 commenced the study of law in the office of Judge 
 Woodbury, one of the most distinguished lawyers of 
 the State, and a man of great private worth. The 
 eminent social quahties of the. young lawyer, his 
 father's prominence as a public man, and the brilliant 
 political career into which Judge Woodbury was en' 
 tering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the faci- 
 nating yet perilous path of political life. With all 
 the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of Gen. 
 Jackson for the Presidency. He commenced the 
 practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected 
 to represent the town in the State Legislature. Here 
 he served for four yeais. The last two years he was 
 chosen speaker of the house by a very large vote. 
 
 In 1833, at the age of twenty-nine, he was elected 
 a member of Congress. Without taking an active 
 part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty 
 and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom 
 he was associatad. 
 
 In 1837, being then but thirty-three years of age, 
 he was elected to the Senate of the United States; 
 taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced 
 his administration. He was the youngest member in 
 the Senate. In the year 1834, he married Miss Jane 
 Means Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom- 
 plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn every 
 station with which her husband was honoied, Of the
 
 72 
 
 hRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 three sons who were bom to them, all now sleep with 
 their parents in the grave. 
 
 In the year 1838, Mr. Pierce, with growing fame 
 and increasing business as a lawyer, took up his 
 residence in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. 
 President Polk, upon his accession to office, appointed 
 Mr. Pierce attorney-general of the United States; but 
 the offer was declined, in consequence of numerous 
 professional engagements at home, and the precariuos 
 state of Mrs. Pierce's health. He also, about the 
 same time declined the nomination for governor by the 
 Democratic party. The war with Mexico called Mr. 
 Pierce in the army. Receiving the appointment of 
 brigadier-general, he embarked, with a portion of his 
 troops, at Newport, R. I., on the 27th of May, 1847. 
 He took an important jjart in this war, proving him- 
 self a brave and true soldier. 
 
 When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native 
 State, he was received enthusiastically by the advo- 
 cates of the Mexican war, and coldly by his oppo- 
 nents. He resumed the practice of his profession, 
 very frequently taking an active part in poHtical ques- 
 tions, giving his cordial support to the pro-slavery 
 wing of the Democratic party. The compromise 
 measures met cordially with his approval; and he 
 (strenuously advocated the enforcement of the infa- 
 mous fugitive-slave law, whicli so shocked the religious 
 Wnsibilities of the North. He thus became distin- 
 guished as a "Northern man with Southern principles.'' 
 The strong partisans of slavery in the South conse- 
 quently regarded him as a man whom they could 
 safely trust in office to carry out their plans. 
 
 On the i2th of June, 1852, the Democratic conven- 
 tion met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the 
 Presidency. For four days they continued in session, 
 :ind in thirty-five ballotings no one had obtained a 
 two-thirds vote. Not a vote thus far had been thrown 
 for Gen. Pierce. Then the Virginia delegation 
 brought forward his name. There were fourteen 
 more ballotings, during which Gen. Pierce constantly 
 gained strength, until, at the forty-ninth ballot, he 
 received two hundred and eighty-two votes, and all 
 other candidates eleven. Gen. Winfield Scott was 
 t'ne Whig candidate. Gen. Pierce was chosen with 
 great unanimity. Only four States — Vermont, Mas- 
 sachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee — cast their 
 electoral votes against him Gen. Franklin I'ieice 
 was therefore inaugurated President (if the United 
 States on the 4th of March, 1853. 
 
 His administration proved one of the most stormy our 
 country had ever experienced. The controversy be 
 tween slavery and freedom was then approaching its 
 culminating point. Ii became evident that there was 
 an " irrepressible conflict" between them, and that 
 this Nation could not long exist " half slave and half 
 free." President Pierce, during the whole of his ad- 
 ministration, did every thing he could to conciliate 
 the South ; but it was all in vain. The conflict every 
 year grew more violent, and threats of the dissolution 
 of the Union were borne to the North on every South- 
 ern breeze. 
 
 Such was the condition of affairs when President 
 Pierce approached the close of his four-years' term 
 of office. The North had become thoroughly alien- 
 ated from him. The anti-slavery sentiment, goaded 
 by great outrages, had been rapidly increasing; all 
 the intellectual ability and social worth of President , 
 Pierce were forgotten in deep reprehension of his ad- I 
 ministiative acts. The slaveholders of the South, also, 
 unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advo- , 
 cated those measures of Government which they ap- I 
 proved, and perhaps, also, feeling that he had 
 rendered himself so unpopular as no longer to be 
 able acceptably to serve them, ungratefully dropped 
 him, and nominated James Buchanan to succeed him. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1857, President Pierce re- 
 tired to his home in Concord. Of three children, two 
 had died, and his only surviving child had been 
 killed before his eyes by a railroad accident ; and his 
 wife, one of the most estimable and accomplished of 
 ladies, was rapidly sinking in consumption. The 
 hour of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left 
 alone in the world, without wife or child. 
 
 When the terrible Rebellion burst forth, which di- 
 vided our country into two parties, and two only, Mr. 
 Pierce remained steadfast in the principles which he 
 had always cherished, and gave his sympathies to 
 that pro-slavery party with which he had ever been 
 allied. He declined to do anything, either by voice 
 or pen, to strengthen the hand of the National Gov- 
 ernment. He continued to reside in Concord until 
 the time of his death, which occurred in October, 
 i86g. He was one of the most genial and social of 
 men, an honored communicant of the Episcopal 
 Church, and one of the kindest of neighbors. Gen- 
 erous to a fault, he contributed liberally for the al- 
 leviation of suffering and want, and many of his towns- 
 people were often gladencd by his material bounty
 
 'tcm^j (i^aur £^/y/? ^^
 
 F/fTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
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 AMES BUCHANAN, the fif- 
 teenth President of the United 
 States, was born in a small 
 frontier town, at the foot of the 
 eastern ridge of the Allegha- 
 nies, ill Franklin Co., Penn.,oii 
 the 23d of April, 1791. The place 
 where the humble cabin of his 
 father stood was called Stony 
 Batter. It was a wild and ro- 
 mantic six)t in a gorge of the moun- 
 tains, with towering summits rising 
 grandly all around. His father 
 was a native of the north of Ireland ; 
 a poor man, who had emigrated in 
 783, with little property save his 
 own strong arms. Five years afterwards he married 
 Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a respectable farmer, 
 and, with his young bride, plunged into the wilder- 
 ness, staked his claim, reared his log-hut, opened a 
 clearing with his axe, and settled down there to per- 
 form his obscure part in the dTama of life. In this se- 
 cluded home, where James was born, he remained 
 for eight years, enjoying but few social or intellectual 
 advantages. When James was eight years of age, his 
 father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where 
 his son was placed at school, and commenced a 
 course of study in English, Latin and Greek. His 
 progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen, he 
 entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle. Here he de- 
 veloped remarkable taient, and took his stand among 
 the first scholars in the institution. His application 
 (o study was intense, and yet his native powers en- 
 
 abled him to master the most abstruse subjects wi '• 
 facility. 
 
 In the year 1809, he graduated with tlie highest 
 honors of his clas--. He was then eighteei; years o( 
 age; tall and graceful, vigorous in liealth, fond of 
 athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened with 
 an exuberant flow of animal spirits. He innnediately 
 commenced the study of law in the city of Lancaster, 
 and was admitted to the bar in 181 2, when he was 
 but twenty-one years nf age. Very rajiidly he rose 
 in his profession, and at once took undisputed stand 
 witli the ablest lawyers of the State. When but 
 twenty-six years of age, unaided by counsel, he suc- 
 cessfully defended before tlie State Senate one of the 
 judges of tlie State, who was tried upon articles 01 
 impeachment. .At the age of thirty it was generally 
 admitted that he stood a't the head of the bar; anc 
 tliere was no lawyer in the State who had a more lu- 
 crative practice. 
 
 In 1820, he reluctantly consented to run as 3 
 candidate for Congress. He was elected, and foi 
 ten years he remained a nieiliber of the Lower House 
 During the vacations of Congress, he occasionally 
 tried some important case. In 1831, he retired 
 altogether from the toils of his profession, having ac- 
 quired an ample fortune. 
 
 Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the Presidency, 
 appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Russia. The 
 duties of his mission he performed witli aliility, which 
 gave satisfaction to all parties. Upon his return, ii- 
 1833, he was elected to a seat in the United States 
 Senate. He there met, as his associates, Webster. 
 Clay, Wright and Calhoun. He advocated th.e meas- 
 ures ])roposedby President Jackson, of making repn-
 
 76 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 sals against France, to enforce the payment of our 
 claims against that country; and defended the 
 course of the President in his unprecedented and 
 wholesale removal from office of those who were 
 not the supporters of his administration. Upon 
 this question he was brought into direct collision 
 with Henry Cla\-. Fie also, with voice and vote, ad- 
 vocated expunging from the journal of the Senate 
 the vote of censure against Gen. Jackson for remov- 
 ing the deposits. Earnestly he opposed the aboli- 
 tion of slavery in the District of Columbia, and 
 nrged the prohibition of the circulation of anti- 
 slavery documents by the United States mails. 
 
 As to petitions on the subject of slavery, he ad- 
 vocated that they should be respectfully received; 
 and that the reply should be returned, that Con- 
 gress had no power to legislate upou the subject. 
 "Congress," said he, "might as well undertake to 
 interfere with slavery under a foreign government 
 as in anj' of tlie States where it now exists." 
 
 Upon Mr. Polk's accession to the Presidency, Mr. 
 Buchanan became Secretary of State, and as such, 
 took his share of the responsibility in the conduct 
 of the Jlexican War. Mr. Polk assumed that cross- 
 ing the Nueces by the American troops into the 
 disputed territory was not wrong, but for the Mex- 
 icans to cross the Eio Grande into that territory 
 was a declaration of war. No candid man can read 
 with pleasure the account of the course our Gov- 
 ernment pursued in that movement. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with 
 the party devoted to the perpetuation and extension 
 of slavery, and brought all the energies of his mind 
 to bear against the Wilmot Proviso. He gave his 
 cordial approval to the compromise measures of 
 1850, which included the fugitive slave law. Mr. 
 Pierce, upon his election to the Presidencjs hon- 
 ored ]\Ir. Buchan.an with the mission to England. 
 
 In the year 1856, a national Democratic conven- 
 tion nominated Mr. Buchanan for the Presidency. 
 The political conflict was one of the most severe 
 in which our country has ever engaged. All the 
 friends of slavery were on one side; all the advo- 
 cates of its restriction and final abolition on the 
 other. Mr. Fremont, the candidate of the enemies 
 of slaver^', received 114 electoral votes. Mr. Bu- 
 chanan received 174, and was elected. The popular 
 vote stood 1,340,618 for Fremont, 1,224,750 for 
 Buchanan. On March 4, 1857, Mr. Buchanan was 
 inaugurated. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only 
 four 3'ears were wanting to fill up his three-score 
 years and ten. His own friends, those with whom 
 he had been allied in political principles and action 
 for years, were seeking the destruction of the Gov- 
 ernment, that they might rear upon the ruins of our 
 free institutions a nation whose corner-stone should 
 
 be human slavery. In this emergency, Mr. Bu- 
 chanan was hopelessly bewildered. He could not, 
 with his long-avowed principles, consistentl}' oi> 
 ])0se the State-rights party in their assumptions. As 
 President of the United States, bound by his oath 
 faithfully to administer the laws, he. could not, 
 without perjury of the grossest kind, unite with 
 those endeavoring to overthrow the Republic. He 
 therefore did nothing. 
 
 The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administration 
 nominated Abraham Lincoln as their standard- 
 bearer in the next Presidential canvass. The pro- 
 slaverjr party declared that if he were elected and 
 the control of the Government were thus taken from 
 their hands thej^ would secede from the Union, tak- 
 ing with them as they retired the National Capi- 
 tol at Washington and the lion's share of the ter- 
 ritory of the United States. 
 
 As tlie storm increased In violence, the slave- 
 holders, claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Bu- 
 chanan avowing that Congress had no power to 
 prevent it, one of the most pitiable exhibitions of 
 governmental imbecility was exhibited the world 
 has ever seen. He declared that Congress had no 
 power to enforce its laws in any State which had 
 withdrawn, or which was atterayjting to withdraw, 
 from the Union. This was not the doctrine of An- 
 drew Jackson, when, with Ins hand upon his sword- 
 hilt, he exclaimed. "The Union must and shall be 
 preserved!" 
 
 South Carolina seceded in December, 1860, nearly 
 three months before the inauguration of President 
 Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in listless de- 
 spair. The rebel flag was raised in Charleston; Ft. 
 Sumter was besieged; our forts, nav3'-}-ards and 
 arsenals were seized; our depots of military stores 
 were plundered; and our custom-houses and post- 
 offices were appropriated by the rebels. 
 
 The energy of the rebels and the imbecility of 
 our P^xecutive were alike marvelous. The nation 
 looked on in agon}^ waiting for the slow weeks to 
 glide away and close the administration, so ter- 
 rible in its weakness. At length the long-looked- 
 for hour of deliverance came, when Abraham Lin- 
 coln was to receive the scepter. 
 
 The administration of President Buchanan was 
 certainly the most calamitous our country has ex- 
 jierienced. His best friends cannot recall it with 
 pleasure. And still more deplorable it is for his 
 fame, that in that dreadful contlict which rolled its 
 billows of flame and blood over our whole land, no 
 word came from his lips to indicate his wish that 
 our country's banner should triumph over the flag 
 of the Rebellion. He died at his Wheatland re- 
 treat, June 1, 1868.
 
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 SIXTEENTH PREi^/DENT. 
 
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 12, 
 
 BRAHAM LINCOLxV, 
 sixteenth President of 
 i--^United States, was born 
 Hardin Co., Ky., Feb. 
 1 809. About the year 1 7 80, a 
 man by the name of Abraham 
 Lincohi left Virginia with his 
 family and moved into the tlien 
 wilds of Kentucky. Only two years 
 after this emigration, still a young 
 man, while working one day in a 
 field, was stealthily approached by 
 an Indian and shot dead. His widow 
 was left in extreme poverty with five 
 little children, three boys and two 
 girls. Thomas, the youngest of the 
 )oys, was four years of age at his 
 father's death. This Thomas was 
 the father of Abraham Lincoln, the 
 President of the United States 
 whose name must henceforth ,fo'-ever be enrolled 
 with tiie most prominent in the annals of our world. 
 Of course no record has been kept of tlie life 
 of one so lowly as Thomas Lincoln. He was among 
 the poorest of the poor. His home was a wretched 
 log-cabin; his food the coarsest and the meanest. 
 Education he had none; he could never either read 
 or write. As soon as he was able to do anything for 
 himself, he was compelled to leave the cabin of his 
 starving mother, and push out into the world, a friend- 
 .ess., wandering boy, seeking work. He hired him- 
 self out, and thus spent the whole of his youth as a 
 ?iborer in the fields of others. 
 
 When twenty-eight years of age he buill a log- 
 • abin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the 
 daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emi- 
 grants, who had also come from Virginia. Their 
 second cliild was Abraham iJncoln, the subject of 
 this sketch. The mother of Abraham was a noble 
 woman, gentle, loving, pensive, created to adorn 
 a palace, dooiued to toil and pine, and die in a hovel. 
 "Ail that I am, or hope to be," exclaims the grate- 
 ful son "I owe to my angel-mother. " 
 
 When he was eight years of age, his father sold his 
 
 cabin and small farm, and moved to Indiana,, Whero 
 two years later his mother died. 
 
 Abraham soon became the scribe of the uneducated 
 community around him. He could not have had a 
 better school than this to teach him to put thoughts 
 into words. He also became an eager reader. The 
 books he could obtain were few ; but these he "ead 
 and re-read until they were almost committfH to 
 memory. 
 
 As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly family 
 was the usual lot of humanity. There were joys and 
 griefs, weddings and funerals. Abraham's sisto 
 Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was mai ■ 
 ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, and 
 soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr 
 Thomas Lincoln sold out liis squatter's claim 'n 1830 
 and emigrated to Macon Co., 111. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age. 
 With vigorous hands he aided his father in rearing 
 another log-cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this 
 until he saw the family comfortably settled, and theii 
 small lot of enclosed prairie planted with corn, when 
 he announced to his father his intention to leave 
 home, and to go out into the world and seek his for- 
 tune. Little did he or his friends imagine how bril- 
 liant that fortune was to be. He saw the value o( 
 education and was intensely earnest to improve his 
 mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the ruin 
 which ardent spirits were causing, and be( ame 
 strictly temperate; refusing to allow a drop of intoxi- 
 cating liquor to pass his lips. AikI he had read in 
 God's word, "Thou shalt not take the name of the 
 Lord thy God in v.r,,;" and a profane expression ha 
 was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. Hii 
 morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated by a 
 single vice. 
 
 Young Abraham worked for a time as a hired laborei 
 among the farmers. Then he went to Springfield 
 where he was employed in building a large flat-boat 
 In this he took a herd of swine, floated them dowi 
 the Sangamon to the Illinois, and thence by the Mia 
 sissippi to New Orleans. Whatever Abraham Lin 
 coin undertook, he performed so faithfully as to giv«. 
 great satisfacticn to his employers. In this adven
 
 go 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 ture his employers were so well pleased, that uiwn 
 his return they placed a store and mill under his care. 
 
 In 1832, at the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, he 
 enlisted and was chosen captain of a company. He 
 returned to Sangamon County, and although only 23 
 years of age, was a candidate for the Legislature, but 
 was defeated. He soon after received from Andrew j 
 Jackson the appointment of Postmaster of New .Salem, 
 His only post-ofifice was his hat. \\\ the letters he 
 received he carried there ready to deliver to those 
 he chanced to meet. He studied surveying, and soon 
 made this his business. In 1834 he again became a 
 candidate for the Legislature, and was elected Mr. 
 Stuart, of Springfield, advised him to study law. He 
 walked from New Salem to Springfield, borrowed of 
 Mr. Stuart a load of books, carried them back and 
 began his legal studies. When the Legislature as- 
 sembled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back 
 one hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In 
 1836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it 
 was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he re- 
 moved to Springfield and began the practice of law. 
 His success with the jury was so great that he was 
 soon engaged in almost every noted case in the circuit. 
 
 In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr. 
 Lincoln and Mr, Douglas, on the slavery question. 
 In the organization of the Republican party in Illinois, 
 in 1856, he took an active part, and at once became 
 one of the leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's 
 speeches in opposition to Senator Douglas in the con- 
 test in 1 85 8 for a seat in the Senate, form a most 
 notable part of his history. The issue was on the 
 slavery question, and he took the broad ground of 
 ;he Declaration of Independence, that all men are 
 created equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this con- 
 test, but won a far higher prize. 
 
 The great Republican Convention met at Chicago 
 on the i6th of June, i860. The delegates and 
 strangers who crowded the city amounted to twenty- 
 five thousand. .An immense building called "The 
 Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Conven- 
 tion. There were eleven candidates for whom votes 
 were thrown. William H. Seward, a man whose fame 
 as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most 
 prominent. It was generally supposed he would be 
 the nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received 
 the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then 
 dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the 
 bloody death, to which that nomination doomed him: 
 And as little did he dream that he was to render services 
 to his country, which would fi.x upon him the eyes of 
 the whole civilized world, and which would give him 
 a place in the affections of his countrymen, second 
 only, if second, to that of Washington. 
 
 Election day came and Mr. Lincoln received 180 
 electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, 
 constitutionally elected President of the United States. 
 The tirade of abuse that was poured ujxan this good 
 
 and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was 
 greater than upon any other man ever elected to this 
 high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started 
 for Washington, stopping in all the large cities on his 
 way making speeches. The vviiole journey was frought 
 with much danger. Many of the Southern States had 
 already seceded, and several attempts at assassination 
 were afterwards brought to light. .\ gang in Balti- 
 more had arranged, upon his arrival to" get up a row," 
 and in the confusion to make sure of his death with 
 revolvers and hand-grenades. A detective unravelled 
 the plot. A secret and special train was provided to 
 take him from HarrisLnug, through Baltimore, at ar 
 unexpected hour of the night. The train started at 
 half-past ten ; and to prevent any possible communi- 
 cation on the part ot the Secessionists with their Con- 
 federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train hac 
 started the telegraph-wires were cut. Mr. Lincoln 
 reached Washington in safety and was inaugurated, 
 altliough great anxiety was felt by all loyal people 
 
 In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave 
 to Mr Seward the Department of State, and to other 
 prominent opponents before the convention he gave 
 imjxirtant positions. 
 
 During no other administration have the duties 
 devolving upon the President lieen so manifold, and 
 the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to 
 the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and 
 feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in 
 his own strength to cope with, the difficulties, he 
 learned early to seek Divine wisdom and giiidance in 
 determining his plans, and Divine comfort in all his 
 trials, both personal and national. Contrary to his 
 own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln was one of the 
 most courageous of men. He went directly into the 
 rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving, 
 with no guard but a few sailors. From the time he 
 had left Springfield, in 1861, however, plans had been 
 made for his assassination, and he at last fell a victim 
 tooneofthem. April 14, 1865, he, with Gen. Grant, 
 was urgently invited to attend Fords' Theater. It 
 was announced that they would Le present. Gen. 
 Grant, however, left the city. President Lincoln, feel- 
 ing, with his characteristic kindliness of heart, that 
 it would be a disappointment if he should fail them, 
 very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to 
 the play an actor by the name of John ^Vilkes Booth 
 entered the box where the President and family were 
 seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the 
 next morning at seven o'clock. 
 
 Never before, in the history of the world was a nation 
 plunged into such deep grief by the death of its ruler. 
 Strong men met in the streets and wept in speechless 
 anguish. It is not too much to say that a nation was 
 in tears. His was a life which will fitly become a 
 model. His name as the savior of his country »':;i 
 live with that of Washington's, its father; hisco-^ntry- 
 mer. being unable to decide which is tb.e greater.
 
 IV: I.
 
 ^^^dhui-i-^y
 
 SEVENTEENTH FRESWEMT. 
 
 8i 
 
 NDREW JOHNSON, seven- 
 teenth President of the United 
 States. The early life of 
 Andrew Johnson contains but 
 the record of poverty, destitu- 
 tion and friendlessness. He 
 J/ was born December 29, i8o<S, 
 in Raleigh, N. C. His parents, 
 belonging to the class of tjie 
 " poor whites " of the South, were 
 in such circumstances, that they 
 could not confer ::7ei\ the slight- 
 est advantages of education ujxsn 
 their child. When Andrew was five 
 years of age, his father accidentally 
 lost iiis life while herorically endeavoring to save a 
 friend from drowning. Vndi teri ycArs, of age, Andrew 
 was a ragged boy about the streets, supported by the 
 labor of his mother, who obtained her living with 
 her own hands. 
 
 He then, having never attended a school one day, 
 and being unable either to read or write, was ap- 
 prenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman 
 was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasion- 
 ally, and reading to the boys at work there. He often 
 read from the speeches of distinguished British slates- 
 men. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more 
 than ordinary native ability, became much interested 
 m these speeches ; his ambition was roused, and he 
 was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. 
 
 He accordingly applied himself to the alphabet, and 
 with the assistance of some of his fellow-workmen, 
 learned his letters. He then called upon the gentle- 
 man to borrow the book of speeches. The owner, 
 
 pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the booK, 
 but assisted him in learning to combine the letters 
 into words. Under such difficulties he pressed 01. 
 ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours 
 at work in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest 
 and recreatio:^ to devote such time as he could to 
 reading. 
 
 He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located at 
 Greenville, where he married a young lady who pos 
 sessed some education. Under her instructions he 
 learned to write and cipher. He became prominent 
 in the village debating society, and a favorite witli 
 the students of Greenville College. In 1828, he or- 
 ganized a working man's party, which elected him 
 alderman, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which 
 position he held three years. 
 
 He now began to take a lively interest in political 
 affairs ; identifying himself with the working-classes, 
 to which he belonged. In 1835, he was elected a 
 member of the House of Representatives of Tennes- 
 see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. 
 He became a very active member of the legislature 
 gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in 
 1S40 "stumped the State," advocating Martin Van 
 Buren's claims to the Presidency, in opposition to thos^ 
 of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired much 
 readiness as a speaker, and extended and increased 
 his reputation. 
 
 In 1841, he was elected State Senator; in 1843, he 
 wa.s elected a member of Congress, and by successiyt 
 elections, held that imj^rtant post for ten years. In 
 1853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and' 
 was re-elected in 1855. In all these resjionsible jxiai- 
 tions, he discharged his duties with distinguished ab»v
 
 84 
 
 ANDRE W JOHNSON. 
 
 ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the work- 
 ing classes. In 1857, Mr. Johnson was elected 
 United States Senator. 
 
 Years before, in 1S45, he had warmly advocated 
 the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his 
 'reason, that he thought this annexation would prob- 
 ably prove " to be the gateway out of which the sable 
 sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom, 
 and become merged in a population congenial to 
 themselves." In 1850, he also supported the com'- 
 promise measures, the two essential features of which 
 ivere, that the white people of the Territories should 
 oe permitted to decide for themselves whether they 
 would enslave the colored people or not, and that 
 the ''ree States of the North should return to the 
 South persons who attempted to escape from slavery. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was never ashamed of his lowly origin: 
 on the contrary, he often took piide in avowing that 
 he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir," 
 said he on the floor of the Senate, " I do not forget 
 that I am a mechanic ; neither do I forget that Adam 
 was a tailor and sewed fig-leaves, and that our Sav- 
 ior was the son of a carpenter." 
 
 In the Charleston- Baltimore convention of iSuo, ne 
 {Was the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for the 
 Tr'residency. In 1861, when the purpose of the South- 
 2rn Democracy became apparent, he took a decided 
 stand ill favor of the Union, and held that " slavery 
 must be held subordinate to the Union at whatever 
 cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly 
 imperiled his own life to protect the Unionists of 
 Tennesee. Tennessee having seceded from the 
 Union, President Lincoln, on March 4th, 1862, ap- 
 pointed him Military Governor of the State, and he 
 established the most stringent military rule. His 
 numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 
 
 1864, he was elected Vice-President of the United 
 States, and upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 
 
 1865, became President. In a speech two days later 
 he said, " The American people must be taught, if 
 ?hey do not already feel, that treason is a crime and 
 must be cinished; that the Government will not 
 always bear with its enemies ; that it is strong not 
 only to protect, but to punish. * * Tlie people 
 must understand that it (treason) is the blackest of 
 crimes, and will surely be punished." Yet his whole 
 administration, the history of which is so well known, 
 was in utter iaaonsistency with, and the most violent 
 
 opix)sltion to, the principles laid down in that speech. 
 
 In his loose policy of reconstruction and general 
 amnesty, he was opposed by Congress; and he char- 
 acterized Congress as a new rebellion, and lawlessly 
 defied it, in everything possible,"^ to the utmost. In 
 the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes 
 and misdemeanors," the principal of which was the 
 removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- 
 ure of Office Act, articles of impeachment were pre- 
 ferred against him, and the trial began March 23. 
 
 It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three 
 months. A test article of the impeachment was at 
 length submitted to the court for its action. It was 
 certain that as the court voted upon that article so 
 would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced 
 the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- 
 sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced ac- 
 quitted, notwithstanding the great majority against 
 him. The change of one vote from the not guilty 
 side would have sustained the impeachment. 
 
 The President, for the remainder of his term, was 
 but little regarded. He continued, though impotent!;', 
 his conflict with Congress. His own party did not 
 think it expedient to renominate him for the Presi- 
 dency. The Nation rallied, with enthusiasm unpar- 
 alleled since the days of Washington, around the name 
 of Gen. Grant. Andrew Johnson was forgotten. 
 The bullet of the assassin introduced him to the 
 President's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was 
 there presented to a man a better opportunity to im- 
 mortalize his name, and to win the gratitude of a 
 nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home 
 in Greenville, Tenn., taking no very active part in 
 politics until 1875. On Jan. 26, after an exciting 
 struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Ten- 
 nessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Con- 
 gress, and took his seat in that body, at the special 
 session convened by President Grant, on the sth of 
 March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-President 
 made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter 
 Station, Tenn. When he started on his journey, he was 
 apparently in his usual vigorous healtli, but on reach- 
 ing the residence of his child the following day, was 
 stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. 
 He rallied occasicnally, but finally passed away at 
 2 A.M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. His fun- 
 eral was attended at GeenviUe, on the 3d of August, 
 with every demonstration of respect-
 
 7^^<
 
 ETGHTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 LYSSES S. GRANT, the 
 eighteenth President of the 
 ■ United States, was born on 
 the 29th of April, 1822, of 
 
 _^__, Christian parents, in a humble 
 
 ^^5Ji^^'@^?' home, at Point Pleasant, on the 
 banks of the Ohio. Shortly after 
 his father moved to George- 
 town, Brown Co., O. In this re- 
 mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses 
 received a common-school edu- 
 cation. At the age of seven- 
 teen, in the year 1839, he entered 
 the Military Academy at West 
 Point. Here he was regarded as a 
 solid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of 
 sturdy, honest character. He took respectable rank 
 as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the 
 middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of in- 
 fantry to one of the distant military posts in the Mis- 
 souri Territory. Two years he j)ast in these dreary 
 solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasperating 
 Indians. 
 
 The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was 
 sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first 
 battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here 
 for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at 
 Resacade la Palnia, his second battle. At the battle 
 nf Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that 
 .10 performed a signal service of daring and skillful 
 horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its am- 
 munition. A messenger must be sent for more, along 
 •■X route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. 
 Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Indians, 
 grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging ujxjn one 
 side of the anii^d, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. 
 
 From Monterey he was sent, with the fourth infantry, 
 ro aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In 
 preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he 
 was appointed quartermaster of his regiment. At the 
 battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a 
 first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Cha- 
 pultepec. 
 
 At the close of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant re- 
 turned with his regiment to New York, and was again 
 sent to one of the military posts on the frontier. The 
 discovery of gold in California causing an immense 
 tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. 
 Grant was sent with a battalion to Fort Dallas, in 
 Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the im- 
 migrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt. 
 Grant resigned his commission and returned to the 
 States; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- 
 tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but 
 little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not re- 
 munerative, he turned to mercantile Hfe, entering into 
 the leather business, with a younger brother, at Ga- 
 lena, III. This was in the year i860. As the tidings 
 of the rebels firing on Fort Sumpter reached the ears 
 of Capt. Grant in his counting-room, he said, — 
 "Uncle Sam has educated me for the army; though 
 I have served him through one war, I do not fewithat 
 I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready todist^iiarge 
 my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my sword 
 and see Uncle Sam through this war too." 
 
 He went into the streets, raised a company of vol- 
 unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield, 
 the capital of the State, where their services were 
 offered to Gov. Yates. The Governor, im])ressed by 
 the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt. 
 Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the, 
 volunteer organization that was being formed in the 
 State in behalf of the Government. On the i?*'^ of
 
 88 
 
 UL YSSES S. GRA NT. 
 
 June, J 86 1, Capt. Grant received a commission as 
 Colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Vol- 
 unteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who 
 had served for 15 years in the regular array, were such 
 that he was soon promoted to the rank of Brigadier- 
 general and was placed in command at Cairo. The 
 'rebels raised their banner at Paducali, near the mouth 
 of the Tennessee River. Scarcely had its folds ap- 
 peared in the breeze ere Gen. Grant was there. The 
 rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the star and 
 stripes were unfurled in its stead. 
 
 He entered the service with great determination 
 and immediately began active duty. This was the be- 
 ginning, and until the surrender of Lee at Richmond 
 he was ever pushing the enemy with great vigor and 
 effectiveness. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- 
 prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry 
 won another victory. Then came the brilliant fight 
 at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the 
 victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was 
 immediately made a Major-General, and the military 
 Jistrict of Tennessee was assigned to him. 
 
 Like all great captains. Gen. Grant knew well how 
 to secure the results of victory. He immediately 
 pushed on to the enemies' lines. Then came the 
 terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the 
 siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an 
 unconditional surrender of the city with over thirty 
 thousand men and one-hundred and seventy-two can- 
 non. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most 
 severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered, 
 and opened up the Mississippi from Cairo to the Gulf. 
 
 Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with 
 Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and pro- 
 ceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from 
 his horse, and received severe injuries, from which he 
 was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid 
 *f Gens. Rosecrans and Thomas at Chattanooga, and 
 by a wonderful series of strategic and technical meas- 
 ures put the Union Army in fighring condition. Then 
 followed the bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lookout 
 Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels 
 were routed with great loss. This won for him un- 
 bounded praise in the North. On the 4th of Febru- 
 ary, 1864, Congress revived the grade of lieutenant- 
 general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. 
 He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials 
 and enter upon th^ duties of his new office 
 
 Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge of 
 the army to concentrate the widely-dispersed Narional 
 troops for an attack upon Richmond, the nominal 
 capital of the Rebellion, and endeavor there to de- 
 stroy the rebel armies which would be promptly as- 
 sembled from all quarters for its defence. The whole 
 continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these 
 majestic armies, rushing to the decisive battle field. 
 Steamers were crowded with troops. Railway trains 
 were burdened with closely packed thousands. His 
 plans were comprehensive and involved a series of 
 campaigns, which were executed with remarkable en- 
 ergy and ability, and were consummated at the sur- 
 render of Lee, April 9, 1865. 
 
 The war was ended. The Union was saved. The 
 almost unanimous voice of the Nation declared Gen. 
 Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its saU 
 vation. The eminent services he had thus rendered 
 the country brought him conspicuously forward as the 
 Republican candidate for the Presidenrial chair. 
 
 At the Republican Convention held at Chicago. 
 May 21, 1 868, he was unanimously nominated for the 
 Presidency, and at the autumn election received a 
 majority of the jxapular vote, and 214 out of 294 
 electoral votes. 
 
 The National Convention of the Republican party 
 which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June, 1872, 
 placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second term 
 by a unanimous vote. The selection was emphati- 
 cally indorsed by the people five months later, 292 
 electoral votes being cast for him. 
 
 Soon after the close of his second term. Gen. Grant 
 started upon his famous trip around the world. He 
 visited almost every country of the civilized world, 
 and was everywhere received with such ovations 
 and demonstrations of respect and honor, private 
 as well as public and official, as were never before 
 bestowed upon any citizen of the United States. 
 
 He was the most prominent candidate before the 
 Republican National Convention in 1880 for a re- 
 nomination for President. He went to New York and 
 embarked in the brokerage business under the firm 
 nameof Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain, 
 wrecked Grant's fortune, and for larceny was sent to 
 the penitentiary. The General was attacked with 
 cancer in the throat, but suffered in his stoic-like 
 manner, never complaining. He was re-instated as 
 General of the Army and retired by Congress. The 
 cancer soon finished its deadly work, and July 23, 
 1885, the nation wenf in mourning over the death of 
 the illustrious General. 
 
 I
 
 iLLI.ilUi6
 
 0^--^^.£^-o-^ 
 
 /■ 
 
 -J
 
 NI.NETEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 9« 
 
 
 
 UTHERFORD B. HAYES, 
 the nineteenth President of 
 the United States, was born in 
 Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, al- 
 most three months after the 
 death of his father, Rutherford 
 Hayes. His ancestry on both 
 the paternal and maternal sides, 
 was of the most honorable char- 
 acter. It can be traced, it is said, 
 as farbackas 1280, when Hayes and 
 Rutherford were two Scottish chief- 
 tains, fighting side by side with 
 Baliol, William Wallace and Robert 
 Bruce. Both families belonged to the 
 nobility, owned extensive estates, 
 and had a large following. Misfor- 
 lane ovtr<aking the family, George Hayes left Scot- 
 ~and in 16H0, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son 
 George wa;; born in Windsor, and remained there 
 during his life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, mar- 
 ried Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his mar- 
 riage until his death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel, 
 son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was a manufac- 
 turerof scythes at Bradford, Conn. Rutherford Hayes, 
 son of Ezekiel ai/d grandfather of President Hayes, was 
 born in New Haven, in August, 1756. He was a farmer, 
 blacksmith and tavern-keef)cr. He emigrated to 
 Vermont at an unknown date, settling in Brattletoro, 
 where he established a hotel. Here his son Ruth- 
 erford Hayes the father of President Hayes, was 
 
 born. He was married, in September, 1813, to Sophia 
 Birchard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emi- 
 grated thither from Connecticut, they having been 
 among the wealthiest and best famlies of Norwich. 
 Her ancestry on the male side are traced back to 
 1635, to John Birchard, one of the principal founders 
 of Norwich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers 
 in the Revolutionary War. 
 
 The father of President Hayes was an industrious 
 frugal and opened-hearted man. He was of a me- 
 chanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a slocks 
 ing, or do almost anything else that he choose to 
 undertake. He was a member of the Church, active 
 in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and con- 
 ducted his business on Christian principles. After 
 the close of the war of 181 2, for reasons inexplicable 
 to his neighbors, he resolved to emigrate to Ohio. 
 
 The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that day 
 when there were no canals, steamers, nor railways, 
 was a very serious affair. A tour of inspection was 
 first made, occupying four months. Mr. Hayes deter 
 mined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived 
 in 1817. He died July 22, 1822, a victim of malarial 
 fever, less than three months before the birth of the 
 son, of whom we now write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore be- 
 reavement, found the support she so much needed in 
 her brother Sardis, who had been a member of the 
 household from the day of its departure from Ver- 
 mont, and in an orphan girl whom she had adopted 
 some time before as an act of charity. 
 
 Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the
 
 RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 
 
 s abject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he 
 was not expected to live beyond a month or two at 
 most. As the months went by he grew weaker and 
 weaker, so that the neighbors were in the habit of in- 
 quiring from time to time " if Mrs. Hayes' baby died 
 iast night." On one occasion a neighbor, who was on 
 iimiliar terms with the family, after alluding to the 
 boy's big head, and the mother's assiduous care of 
 niui, said in a bantering way, " That's right! Stick to 
 iiim. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't 
 wonder if he would really come to something yet." 
 
 " You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. "You 
 vait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him 
 President of the United States yet." The boy lived, 
 in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy 
 death; and when, in 1825, his older brother was 
 drowned, he became, if possible, still dearer to his 
 mother. 
 
 The boy was seven years old before he went to 
 school. His education, however, was not neglected. 
 He probably learned as much from his mother and 
 sister as he would have done at school. His sports 
 were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being 
 his sister and her associates. These circumstances 
 tended, no doul)t, to foster that gentleness of dispo- 
 sition, and that delicate consideration for the feelings 
 of others, which are marked traits of his character. 
 
 His uncle Sardis Birchard took the deepest interest 
 |in his education ; and as the boy's health had im- 
 proved, and he was making good progress in his 
 studies, he proposed to send him to college. His pre- 
 paration commenced with a tutor at home; but he 
 was afterwards sent for one year to a professor in the 
 ^Vesleyan University, in Middletown, Conn. He en- 
 tered Kenyon College in 1838, at the age of sixteen, 
 and was graduated at the head of his class in 1842. 
 
 Immediately after his graduation he began the 
 study of law in tiie office of Thomas Sparrow, Esq., 
 in Columbus. Finding his opportunities for study in 
 Columbus somewhat limited, he determined to enter 
 the Law School at Cambridge, Mass., where he re- 
 mained two years. 
 
 In 1845, after graduatnig at the Law School, he was 
 admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly 
 afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law 
 with Ralph P. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he re- 
 mained three years, acquiring but a limited practice, 
 and apparently unambitious of distinction in his pro- 
 Cession. 
 
 ■^n 1849 he moved to Cincnrnati, where his ambi- 
 tion found a new stimulus. For several years, how- 
 ever, his progress was slow. Two events, occurring at 
 this period, had a powerful influence upon his subse- 
 quent 'ife. One of these was his marrage with Miss 
 (jucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of 
 Chilicotlie; the other was his introduction to the Cin- 
 cinnati Literary Club, a body embracing among its 
 nitmbers suclv men as '^hief Justice Salmon_P.Chase^ 
 
 Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, and many 
 others hardly less distinguished in after life. The 
 marriage was a fortunate one in every respect, as 
 everybody knows. Not one of all the wives of our 
 Presidents was more universally admired, reverenced 
 and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and no one did 
 more than she to reflect honor upon American woman 
 hood. The Literary Cluu brought Mr. Hayes into 
 constant association with young men of high char- 
 acter and noble aims, and lured him to display f'.ie 
 qualities so long hidden by his bashfulne^s and 
 modesty. 
 
 In 1856 he was nominated to the office of Judg; of 
 the Court of Common Pleas; but he declined to ac- 
 cept the nomination. Two years later, the office ol 
 city solicitor becoming vacant, the City Co-jncil 
 elected him for the unexpired term. 
 
 In 1 861, when the Rebellion broke out, he was a; 
 tne zenith of his professional lif.. His rank at the 
 bar was among the the first. But the news of the 
 attack on Fort Sumpter found him eager to take 'in 
 arms for the defense of his couniry. 
 
 His military record was bright and illustrious. In 
 October, 1861, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
 in August, 1862, promoted Colonel of the 79th Ohio 
 regiment, but he refused to leave his old comrades 
 and go among strangers. Subsequently, however, lie 
 was made Colonel of his old regiment. At the battle 
 of South Mountain he received a wound, and while 
 faint and bleeding displayed courage r.nd fortitude 
 that won admiration from all. 
 
 Col. Hayes was detached from his regiment, after 
 his recovery, to act as Brigadier-General, and placed 
 in command of the celebrated Kanawha division, 
 and for gallant and meritorious services in 1 he battles 
 of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, he was 
 promoted Brigadier-General. He was also brevet'ed 
 Major-General, "for gallant and distinguishtd s-trvites 
 during the campaigns of 1864, in West Virginia." In 
 the course of his arduous services, four horses were 
 shot from under him, and he was wounded four times 
 
 In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to Congress, from 
 the Second Ohio District, which had long been Dem- 
 ocratic. He was not present during the campaign, 
 and after his election was importuned to resign his 
 commission in the army; but he finally declared, '' I 
 shall never come to Washington until I can come by 
 the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in 1866. 
 
 Ir. 1867, Gen Hayes was elected Governor of Ohio, 
 over Hon. Allen G. Thurman, a populai Democrat. 
 In 1869 was re-elected over George H. Pendleton. 
 He was elected Governor for the third term in 1875. 
 
 \x\ 1876 he was the standard beaier of the Repub- 
 lican Party in the Presidential contest, and after a 
 hard long contest was chosen President, and wns ir. 
 augurated Monday, March 5, 1875. He served his 
 full term, not, l^wever, with satisfaction to h!s parlv, 
 but his admiii'stration was an average o;^-'
 
 « /
 
 TWEr^T'fETH r RESIDENT. 
 
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 ^ TrTjivT^^U^flP^vT^y 
 
 ^'F 
 
 AMES A. GARFIELD, twen- 
 tieth President of the United 
 States, was born Nov. 19, 
 1S31, in the woods of Orange, 
 Cuyahoga Co., O His par- 
 ents were Abram and Eliza 
 (Ballou) Garfield, both of New 
 England ancestry and from fami- 
 lies well known in the early his- 
 tory of that section of our coun- 
 try, but had moved to the Western 
 Reserve, in Ohio, early in its settle- 
 ment. 
 
 The house in which James A. was 
 born was not unlike the houses of 
 poor Ohio farmers of that day. It 
 ,.:£ about 20x30 feet, built of logs, with the spaces be-^ 
 '/3en the logs filled with clay. His father was a 
 lard working farmer, and he soon had his fields 
 leared, an orchard planted, and a log barn built. 
 I'lie household comprised the father and mother and 
 heir four children — Mehetabel, Thomas, Mary and 
 "ames. In May, i823j the father, from a cold con- 
 . .'acted in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At 
 'his time James was about eighteen months old, and 
 '"liomas about ten years old. No one, perhaps, can 
 .ell how much James was indebted to his biother's 
 tcil and self sacrifice during the twenty years suc- 
 ceeding his father's death, but undoubtedly very 
 much. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sis- 
 itis live in -Solon, O., near their birthplace. 
 
 Tiie early educational advantages young Garfield 
 fiijoyed were very limited, yet he made the most of 
 ;neni. He labored at farm work for others, did car- 
 penter work, chopped wood, or vlid anything that 
 svuuld bring in a few dollars to aid his widowed 
 mother in lie' -trmi^^les to keep the little family to- 
 
 gether. Nor was Gen. Garfield ever ashamed of his 
 origin, and he never forgot the friends of his strug- 
 gling childhood, youth and manhood, neither did thty 
 ever forget him. When in the highest seats of honor 
 the humblest fiiend of his boyhood was as kindly 
 greeted as ever. The jworest laborer was sure of the 
 sympathy of one who had known all the bitterness 
 of want and the sweetness of bread earned by the 
 sweat of the brow. He was ever the simple, ulain, 
 modest gentleman. 
 
 The highest ambition of young Garfield until hi. 
 was about sixteen years old'wastobe a captain of 
 a vessel on Lake Erie. He was anxious to go aboard 
 a vessel, which his mother strongly opposed. She 
 finally consented to his going to Cleveland, with the 
 understanding, however, that he should try to obtair 
 some other kind of employment. He walked all the 
 way to Cleveland. This was his first visit to the city 
 Afier making many applications for work, and trying 
 to get aboard a lake vessel, and not meeting with 
 success, he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos 
 Letcher, on the Ohio & Pennsylvania Canal. He re- 
 mained at this work but a short time when he wen': 
 home, and attended the seminary at Chester for 
 about three years, when he entered Hiram and the 
 Eclectic Institute, teaching a few terms of school in 
 the meantime, and doing other work. This school 
 was started by the Disciples of Christ in 1850, of 
 which church he was then a member. He became 
 janitor and bell-ringer in order to hel|) pay his way 
 He then became both teacher and pupil. He soon 
 " exhausted Hiram " and needed more ; hence, in the 
 fall of 1S54, he entered Williams College, from which 
 he graduated in 1856, taking one of the highest hi^,- 
 ors of his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram 
 College as its President. As above slated, he early 
 united with the Christian or Diciples Church at 
 Hiram, and was ever after a devoted, zealous mem- 
 ber, often preaching in ils i)ulpit and places where 
 he happened to be. Dr. Noah Porter, President of 
 Vale College, says of him in reference to his relicion :
 
 9« 
 
 /AMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 " President Garfield was more than a man of 
 strong moral and religious convictions. His whole 
 history, from boyhood to the last, shows that duty to 
 man and to God, and devotion to Christ and life and 
 faith and spiritual commission were controlling springs 
 of his being, and to a more than usual degree. In 
 my judgment there is no more interesting feature of 
 his character than his loyal allegiance to the body of 
 Christians in which he was trained, and the fervent 
 sympathy which he ever showed in their Christian 
 communion. Not many of the few 'wise and mighty 
 and noble who are called' show a similar loyalty to 
 the less stately and cultured Christian comnmnions 
 in which they have been reared. Too often it is true 
 that as they step upward in social and political sig- 
 nificance they step upward from one degree to 
 another in some of the many types of fashionable 
 Christianity. President Garfield adhered to the 
 church of his mother, the church in which he was 
 trained, and in which he served as a pillar and an 
 evangelist, and yet with the largest and most unsec- 
 larian charity for all 'who love our Lord in sincerity.'" 
 
 Mr. Garfield was united in marriage with Miss 
 Lucretia Rudolph, Nov. 1 1, 1858, who proved herself 
 worthy as the wife of one whom all the world loved and 
 mourned. To them were born seven children, five of 
 whom are still living, four boys and one girl. 
 
 Mr. Garfield made his first political speeches in 1856, 
 in Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three 
 years later he began to speak at county mass-meet- 
 ings, and became the favorite speaker wherever he 
 was. During this year he was elected to the Ohio 
 Senate. He also began to study law at Cleveland, 
 and in i86r was admitted to the bar. The great 
 Rebellion broke out in the early part of this year, 
 and Mr. Garfield at once resolved to fight as he had 
 talked, and enlisted to defend the old flag. He re- 
 ceived his commission as Lieut. -Colonel of the Forty- 
 second Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Aug. 
 14, 1861. He was immediately put into active ser- 
 vice, and before he had ever seen a gun fired in action, 
 was placed in command of four regiments of infantry 
 and eight companies of cavalry, charged with the 
 work of driving out of his native State the officer 
 '(Humphrey Marshall) reputed to be the ablest of 
 those, not educated to war whom Kentucky had given 
 to the Rebellion. This work was bravely and speed- 
 ily accomplished, although against great odds. Pres- 
 ident Lincoln, on his success commissioned him 
 Brigadier-General, Jan. 10, 1862; and as "he had 
 been the youngest man in the Ohio Senate two years 
 before, so now he was tlie youngest General in the 
 army." He was with Gen. Buell's army at Shiloh, 
 in its operations around Corinth and its march through 
 Alabama. He was then detailed as a memberof the 
 General Court-Martial for the trial of Gen. Fitz-John 
 Porter. He was then ordered to report to Gen. Rose- 
 crans, and was assigned to the "Chief of Staff." 
 
 The military l^story of Gen. Garfield closed with 
 
 his brilliant services at Chickamauga, where he won 
 the stars of the Major-General. 
 
 Without an effort on his part Gei? Garfield way 
 elected to Congress in the fall of 1862 from the 
 Nineteenth District of Ohio. This section of Ohio 
 had been represented in Congress for sixty years 
 mainly by two men^Elisha Whittlesey and Joshui. 
 R. Giddings. It was not without a struggle that he 
 resigned his place in the army. At the time he en- 
 tered Congress he was the youngest member in that 
 body. There he remained by successive re- 
 elections until he was elected President in 1880. 
 Of his labors in Congress Senator Hoar says : " Since 
 the year 1864 you cannot think of a question whici. 
 has been debated in Congress, or discussed before a 
 tribunel of the American people, in regard to whict* 
 you will not find, if you wish mstruction, the argu. 
 raent on one side stated, in almost every instance 
 better than by anybody else, in some speech made in 
 the House of Representatives or on the hustings by 
 Mr. Garfield." 
 
 Upon Jan. 14, 1880, Gen. Garfield was elected to 
 the U. S. Senate, and on the eighth of June, of the 
 same year, was nominated as the candidate of his 
 party for President at the great Chicago Convention. 
 He was elected in the following November, and on 
 March 4, 18S1, was inaugurated. Probably no ad- 
 ministration ever opened its existence under brighter 
 auspices than that of President Garfield, and every 
 day it grew in favor with the people, and by the first 
 of July he had completed all the initiatory and pre- 
 liminary work of his administration and was prepar- 
 ing to leave the city to meet his friends at Williams 
 College. While on his way and at the depot, in com- 
 pany with Secretary Blaine, a man stepped behind 
 him, drew a revolver, and fired directly at his back. 
 The President tottered and fell, and as he did so the 
 assassin fired a second shot, the bullet cutting the 
 left coat sleeve of his victim, but inflicting no further 
 injury. It has been very truthfully said that this was 
 " the shot that was heard round the world " Never 
 before in the history of the Nation had anything oc- 
 curred which so nearly froze the blood of the peopJe 
 for the moment, as this awful deed. He was smit- 
 ten on the brightest, gladdest day of all his life, and 
 was at the summit of his povi'er and hope. For eighty 
 days, all during the hot months of July and August, 
 he lingered and suffered. He, however, remained 
 master of himself till the last, and by his magnificent 
 bearing was teaching the country and the world the 
 noblest of human lessons — how to live grandly in the 
 very clutch of death. Great in life, he was surpass- 
 ingly great in death. He passed serenely away Sept. 
 19, 1883, at Elberon, N. J., on the very bank of the 
 ocean, where he had been taken shortly ]jrevious. The 
 world wept at his death, as it never had done on the 
 death of any other man who had ever lived upon it. 
 The murderer was duly tried, found guilty and exe- 
 cuted, in one year after he committed tlie foul deed.
 
 .r ILLl^^i
 
 ^-z^Vv)
 
 T WENT Y-FIRS T PRESIDENT. 
 
 99 
 
 ■rti^'' 
 
 
 ','\, A ',<'\i'\ ili Hj 
 
 HESTER A. ARTHUR, 
 
 twenty -first Presi'^^m of the 
 
 'United States was born in 
 
 1" ranklin Cour ty, Vermont, on 
 
 thefifthof Oc'ober, 1830, and is 
 
 the oldest of a family of two 
 
 sons and five daughters. His 
 
 father was the Rev. Dr. William 
 
 Arthur, aBaptistd',rgyman,who 
 
 emigrated to tb.s countr)' from 
 
 the county Antam, Ireland, in 
 
 his ;8th year, and died in 1875, in 
 
 Newtonville, neai Albany, after a 
 
 long and successful ministry. 
 
 Young Arthur was educated at 
 Union College, S( henectady, where 
 he excelled in all his studies. Af- 
 ter his graduation he taught school 
 in Vermont for two years, and at 
 the expiration of that time came to 
 New York, with $500 in his pocket, 
 and entered the office of ex-Judge 
 E. D. Culver as student. After 
 being admitted to the bar he formed 
 a partnership with his intimate friend and room-mate, 
 Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing 
 in the West, and for three months they roamed about 
 in the Western States in search of an eligible site, 
 but in the end returned to New York, where they 
 hung out their shingle, and entered upon a success^ 
 ful career almost frou\ the start. General .Artliur 
 soon afterward uiaji'-d the daughter of Lieutenant 
 
 Herndon, of the United States Navy, who was lost at 
 sea. Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in 
 recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occa- 
 sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's 
 nommation to the Vice Presidency, leaving two 
 children. 
 
 Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity 
 in his first great case, the famous Lemmon suit, 
 brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had 
 been declared free by Judge Paine, of the Superior 
 Court of New York City.' It was in 1852 that Jon. 
 athan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with 
 his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when 
 they were discovered and freed. The Judge decided 
 that they could not be held by the owner under the 
 Fugitive Slave Law. A howl of rage went up from 
 the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the 
 Attorney General of that State to assist in an appeal. 
 Wm. M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed 
 to represent the People, and they won their case, 
 which then went to the Supreme Court of the United 
 States. Charles O'Conor here es{X)used the cause 
 of the slave-holders, but he too was beaten by Messrs 
 Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward 
 the emancipation of the black race. 
 
 Another great service was rendered by General 
 Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jennings, 
 a respectable colored woman, was put off a Fourth 
 Avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare. 
 General Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured a 
 verdict of $500 damages. The next day the compa- 
 ny issued an order to admit colored persons to ride 
 on their cars, and the other car couipaiiieii quickly
 
 CHESTER ~A. ARTHUR. 
 
 followed their example. Before that the Sixth Ave- 
 nue Company ran a few special cars for colored per- 
 sons and the other lines refused to let them ride at all. 
 
 General Arthur was a delegate to the Convention 
 at Saratoga that founded the Republican party. 
 Previous to the war he was Judge-Advocate of the 
 Second Brigade of the State of New York, and Gov- 
 ernor Morgan, of that State, appointed him Engineer- 
 in-Chief of his staff. In 1861, he was made Inspec- 
 tor General, and soon afterward became Quartermas- 
 ter-General. In each of these offices he rendered 
 great service to the Government during the war. At 
 the end of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the 
 practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr. 
 Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney 
 of New Yoik, was added to the finn. The legal prac- 
 tice of this well-known firm was very large and lucra- 
 tive, each of the gentlemen composing it were able 
 lavvyers, and possessed a splendid local reputation, if 
 not indeed one of national extent. 
 
 He always took a leading part in State and city 
 politics. He was appointed Collector of the Port of 
 New York by President Grant, Nov. 21 1872, to suc- 
 ceed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July, 
 20, 1 87 8, when he was succeeded by Collector Merritt. 
 
 Mr. Arthur was nominated on the Presidential 
 ticket, with Gen. James A. Garfield, at the famous 
 National Republican Convention held at Chicago in 
 June, 1880. This was perhaps the greatest political 
 convention that ever assembled on thecontinent. It 
 was composed of the 'sading politicians of the Re- 
 publican party, all able men, and each stood firm and 
 fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their 
 respective candidates that were before the conven- 
 tion for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield re- 
 ceived the nomination for President and Gen. Arthur 
 for Vice-President. The campaign which followed 
 was one of the most animated known in the history of 
 our country. Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of 
 the Democratic party, was a popular man, and his 
 party made a valiant fight for his election. 
 
 Finally the election came and the country's choice 
 .vas Garfield and Arthur. They were inaugurated 
 vvlavch 4, 1 88 1, as President and Vice-President. 
 A. few months only had passed ere the newly chosen 
 President was the victim of the assassin's bullet. Then 
 came terrible weeks of suffering,-— tUost moments of 
 anxious suspense, when the hearts of all civilized na- / 
 
 tions were throbbing in unison, longing for the re 
 covery of the noble, the good President. The remark- 
 able patience that he manifested during those hours 
 and weeks, and even montlis, of the most terrible suf- 
 fering man has often been called upon to endure, was 
 seemingly more than human. It was certainly God- 
 like. During all this period of deepest anxiety Mr. 
 Arthur's every move was watched, and be it said to his* 
 credit that his every action displayed only an earnest 
 desire that the suffering Garfield might recover, to 
 serve the remainder of the term he had so auspi- 
 ciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested 
 in deed or look of this man, even though the most 
 honored ]X)sition in the world was at any moment 
 likely to fall to him. 
 
 At last God in his mercy relieved President Gar- 
 field from further suffering, and the world, as nevei 
 before in its history over the death of any othei 
 man, wept at his bier. Then it became the duty 0/ 
 the Vice President to Lssume the responsibilities o( 
 the high office, and he took the oath in New York, 
 Sept. 20, 1881. The position was an embarrassing 
 one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all 
 eyes were, on him, anxious to know what he would do, 
 what policy he would pursue, and who he would se- 
 lect as advisers. The duties of the office had been 
 greatly neglected during the President's long illness, 
 and many important measures were to be immediately 
 decided by him; and still farther to embarrass him he 
 did not fail to realize under what circumstances he 
 becauie President, and knew the feelings of many ^w 
 this point. Under these trying circumstances President 
 Arthur took the reins of the Government in Ms ow,. 
 har.ds; and, as embarrassing as were the condition of 
 affair,; he happily surprised the nation, acting s-. 
 wisclv hat but few criticisea Viis administration. 
 He Served the nation well and fa'thfully, until the 
 close of his administration, March 4, 1885, and was 
 a popular candidate before his party for a second 
 term. His name was ably presented before the con- 
 vention at Chicago, and was received with great 
 favor, and doubtless but for the personal popularity 
 of one of the opposing candidates, he would have 
 been selected as the standard-bearer of his party 
 for another campaign. He retired to private life car- 
 rying with him the best wishes of the American peo- 
 ple, whom he had served in a manner satisfactory^ 
 to thcni and with credit to himself.
 
 ILLINOIS
 
 Xl^^rt£/r
 
 TWENTY-SECOND PRESIDF.NT. 
 
 i°3 
 
 >5e;;S^»?;;ir#^"S-ii«$;!S«!^",^#s:,¥H^i;;,^ 
 
 >'?::;T'«'-S;S*Ti;:s#^;:S«^;g*^;i3««»s:g <i> 
 
 li.> C5 voider ffJe\)eteii:i, 
 
 - or/^ 
 
 TEPHEN GROVER CLEVE- 
 LAND, tlie twenty- second Pres- 
 ident of the United States, was 
 born in 1837, in the obscure 
 town of Caldwell, Essex Co., 
 N. J., and in a little two-and-a- 
 half-story white house which is still 
 standing, characteristically to mark 
 the humble birth-place of one of 
 America's great men in striking con 
 trast with the Old World, where all 
 men high in office must be high in 
 origin and born in the cradle of 
 wealth. When the subject of this 
 sketch was three years of age, his 
 father, who was a Presbyterian min- 
 ister, with a large family and a small salary, moved, 
 by way of the Hudson River and Erie Canal, to 
 Fayetteville, in search of an increased income and a 
 'arger field of work. Fayetteville was then the most 
 straggling of country villages, about five miles from 
 Pompey Hill, where Governor Seymour was born. 
 
 At the last mentioned place young Grover com- 
 menced going to school in the "good, old-fashioned 
 way." and presumably distinguished himself after the 
 manner of all village boys, in doing the things he 
 ought not to do. Such is the distinguishing trait of 
 all geniuses and independent thinkers. When he 
 arrived at the age of 14 years, he had outgrort'n the 
 
 emphatic desire to be sent to an academy. To this 
 his father decidedly objected. Academies in those 
 days cost money; besides, his father wanted him to 
 become self-supporting by the quickest possible 
 means, and this at that time in Fayette/ille seemed 
 to be a position in a country store, where his father 
 and the large family on his hands had considerable 
 inlijence. Grover was to he paid $50 for his services 
 the first year, and if lie proved trustworthy he was to 
 receive $100 the second year. Here the lad com- 
 menced his career as salesman, and in two years he 
 had earned so good a reputation for trustworthiness 
 that his employers desired to retain him for an in- 
 definite length of time. Otherwise he did not ex- 
 hibit as yet any particular " flashes of genius " or 
 eccentricities of talent. He was simply a good boy. 
 But instead of remaining with this firm in Fayette- 
 ville, he went with the family in their removal to 
 Clinton, where he had an opportunity of attending a 
 high school. Here he industriously pursued his 
 studies until the family removed with him to a point 
 on Black River known as the " Holland Patent," a 
 village of 500 or 600 people, 15 miles north of Utica, 
 N. Y. At this place his father died, after preaching 
 but three Sundays. This event broke up the family, 
 and Grover set out for New York City to accept, at a 
 small salary, the position of " under-teacher " in an 
 asylum for the blind. He taught faithfully for two 
 years, and although he obtained a good reputation in 
 
 capacity of the village school and expressed a most I this capacity, he coiiclud-'d that teaching was not hi
 
 104 
 
 S. GROVE R CLEVELAND. 
 
 Milling for life, and, reversing the traditionsd order, 
 he left the city to seek his fortune, instead of going 
 to a city. He first thought of Cleveland, Ohio, as 
 thi^rc was some charm in that name for him; but 
 before proceeding to that place he went to Buffalo to 
 tsk the advice of his uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted 
 stock-breeder of that place. The latter did not 
 speak enthusiastically. "What is it you want to do, 
 my boy? "he asked. "Well, sir, I want to study 
 law," was the reply, " Good gracious ! " remarked 
 ih« old gentleman ; " do you, indeed 1 What ever put 
 that into your head? How much money have you 
 got?" "Well, sir, to tell the trath, I haven't got 
 aay." 
 
 After a long consultation, his uncle offered him a 
 place temporarily as assistant herd-keeper, at $50 a 
 year, while he could "look around." One day soon 
 afterward he boldly walked into the office of Rogers, 
 Bowen & Rogers, of Buffalo, and told Ihem what he 
 wanted. A number of young men were already en- 
 gaged in the office, but Grover's persistency won, and 
 he was finally permitted to come as an office boy and 
 tiave the use of the lavv library, for the nominal sum 
 of $3 or $4 a week. Out of this he had to pay for 
 his board and washing. The walk to and from his 
 juncle's was a long and rugged one; and, although 
 the first winter was a memorably severe one, his 
 shoes were out of repair and his overcoat — he had 
 noiie — yet he was nevertheless prompt and regular. 
 On the first day of his service here, his senior em- 
 ployer threw down a copy of Blackstone before him 
 with a bang that made the dust fly, saying "That's 
 where they all begin." A titter ran around the little 
 circle of clerks and students, as they thought that 
 was enough to scare young Grover out of his plans ; 
 Dut in due time he mastered that cumbersome volume. 
 Then, as ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleveland 
 exhibited a talent for executiveness rather than for 
 chasing principles through all their metaphysical 
 possibilities, " Let us quit talking and go and do 
 it," was practically his motto. 
 
 The first public office to which Mr. Cleveland was 
 elected was that of Sheriff of Erie Co., N. Y., in 
 which Buffalo is situated; and in such capacity it fell 
 to his duty to inflict capital pi'r.ishment upon two 
 cjiminals. Li 1S81 he was elected Mayor of the 
 City of Buffalo, on the Democratic ticket, with es- 
 pecial reference to the bringing about certain reforms 
 
 in the administration of the municipal affairs of that 
 city. In this office, as well as that of Sheriff, his 
 performance of duty has generally been considered 
 fair, with possibly a few exceptions which were fer- 
 reted out and magnified during the last Presidential 
 campaign. As a specimen of his plain language in 
 a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an iniqui 
 tous street-cleaning contract: "This is a time fov 
 plain speech, and my objection to your action shall 
 be plainly stated. I regard it as the culmination of 
 a mos bare-faced, impudent and shameless scheme 
 to betray the interests of the people and to worse 
 than squander the people's money." The New York 
 Sun afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleve- 
 land's administration as Mayor of Buffalo, and there- 
 upon recommended him for Governor of the Empire 
 State. To the latter office he was elected in 1882, 
 and his administration of the affairs of State was 
 generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if 
 any, were made very public throughout the nation 
 after he was nominated for President of the United 
 States. For this high office he was nominated July 
 II, 1884, by the National Democratic Convention at 
 Chicago, when other competitors were Thomas F. 
 Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks, 
 Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc.; and he 
 was elected by the people, by a majority of about a 
 thousand, over the brilliant and long-tried Repub- 
 lican statesman, James G. Blaine. President Cleve- 
 land resigned his office as Governor of New York in 
 January, 1885, in order to prepare for his duties as 
 the Chief Executive of the United States, in which 
 caijacity his term commenced at noon on the 4th ot 
 March, 1885. 
 
 The silver question precipitated a controversy 
 between those who were in favor of the continu- 
 ance of silver coinage and those who were opposed, 
 Mr. Cleveland answering for the latter, even before 
 his inauguration. 
 
 On June 2, 1886, President Cleveland married 
 Frances, daughter of his deceased friend and 
 partner, Oscar Folsom, of the Buffalo Bar. Their 
 union has been blessed by the birth of one daugh- 
 ter, Ruth. In the campaign of 1888, President 
 Cleveland was renominated by his party, but the 
 Republican candidate. Gen. Benjamin Harrison, 
 was victorious. In the nominations of 1892 these 
 two candidates for the highest position in the gift 
 of the people were again pitted against each other 
 and President Cleveland was victorious by an 
 overwhelming majority.
 
 ,• l-LLIiVUlCj
 
 WjZt
 
 TWENTY-THIRD PRESIDENT. 
 
 Ui 
 
 " v^ r 
 
 ■to^o-^^-V^-ofc." 
 
 -«.* 
 
 iENJAMIN HARRISON, the 
 twenty-third I'resident, is 
 the descendant of one of the 
 historical families of this 
 country. The head of the 
 family was a Major General 
 Harrison, one of Oliver 
 Cromwell's truated follow- 
 ers and fighters. In the aenith of Crom- 
 well's power it became the duty of this 
 Harrison to participate in tlie tri.il of 
 Charles I, and afterward tc sign the 
 death warrant of the king. He subse- 
 quent;}^ paid for this with his life, being 
 i£r^ hung Oct. 13, 1G60. His descendants 
 V'ftT) came to America, and the next of the 
 V^'- family that appears in history is Benja- 
 
 S r::in '^larrison, of Virginia, great-grand- 
 
 father of the subject of this sketch, and 
 after whom he was named. Benjamin Harrison 
 ■yas a member of the Continental Congress during 
 the years i 774-5-6, and was one of the original 
 signers of the Declaration of Independence. lie 
 wa three times elected Governor of Virginia, 
 Gen Wiiiiam Henry Harrison, the son of the 
 
 distinguished patriot of the Revolution, after a suo. 
 cessful career as a soldier during the War of 1812, 
 and with -a clean record as Governor of the North- 
 western Territor}'^, was elected President of the 
 United States in 1840. His sar^er was cut short 
 by death within one month -f'ier jis inauguration. 
 President Harrison vk born at Noftl', Bend, 
 Hamilton Co., Ohio, Aug. '^O, 1883 His life up to 
 the time of his graduation by the Miami University, 
 at Oxford, Ohio, was the uneventful one of a coun- 
 try lad of a family of small nie.ans. His father was 
 able to give him a good education, and nothing 
 more. He became engaged while at college to tha 
 daughter of Dr. Scott, Principal of a female schoo' 
 at Oxford. After graduating he determined to en- 
 ter upon the study of the law. He went to Cin 
 cinnati and then read law for two years. At the 
 expiration of that time young Harrison receivcvil tb-'; 
 only inheritance of his life; his av^nt dying left him 
 a lot valued at $800, lie regarded this legacy as & 
 fortune, and decided to get married at once, 'alta 
 this money and go to some Eastern town an ". oe- 
 gin the practice of law. He sold his lot, and with 
 tlie money in his pocket, he started out witn his 
 joung wife to fight for a place iu the world- K«
 
 108 
 
 BENJAMIN IIARRISOl^ 
 
 decided to go to Indianapolis, which was even at 
 that time a town of promise. He met witli slight 
 encouragement at first, malting scarcely anything 
 the first year. He worked diligently, applj-ing him- 
 self closely to his calling, built up an extensive 
 practice and took a leading rank in the legal pro- 
 lession. He is the father of two children. 
 
 In 1860 Mr. Harrison was nominated for tlie 
 position of Supreme Court Reporter, and tlien be- 
 gan his experience as a stump speakei He can- 
 vassed the State thoroughly, and was elected by a 
 handsome majority. In 1802 he raised the 17th 
 Indiana Infantry, and was chosen its Colonel. His 
 regiment was composed of the rawest of material, 
 out Col. Harrison employed all his time at first 
 mastering military tactics and drilling his men, 
 when he therefore came to move toward the East 
 tvith Sherman his regiment was one of the best 
 'drilled and organized in the army. At Resaca he 
 especially distinguished himself, and for his bravery 
 at Peachtree Creek he was made a Brigadier Gen- 
 eral, Gen. Hooker speaking of him in the most 
 complimentary terras. 
 
 During the absence of Gen. Harrison in the field 
 lie Supreme Court declared the ollice of the Su- 
 preme Court Reporter vacant, and another person 
 was elected to the position. From the time of leav- 
 ing Indiana with his regiment until the fall oi 18C4 
 he liad taken no leave of absence, but having been 
 nominated that year for the same office, he got a 
 thirty -day leave of absence, and during that time 
 made a brilliant canvass of the State, and was elected 
 for another terra. He then started to rejoin Sher- 
 man, but on the way was stricken down with scarlet 
 iever, and after a most trying siege made his way 
 to the front in tijne to participate in the closing 
 incidents of the war 
 
 In 1868 Gen. Harrison declined re-election as 
 Importer, and resumed the practice of law In 1876 
 lie was a candidate for Governor. Although de- 
 bated, the brilliant campaign ht- made won lor him 
 a National reputation, and he was much sought, es- 
 peciaLy in the East, to make speeches. In 1880, 
 as usua"., he took an active part in i,lie campaign, 
 snd wa-: elected to the ''Jnited States Senate. Here 
 tic sei-ved six years, anc' Tas known as one c the 
 iblest men, best lawyer' ^nd strongest debaters in 
 
 that body. With the expiration of his Senatoriiii 
 term he returned to the practice of his profession, 
 becoming the head of one of the strongest firms in 
 the State. 
 
 The political campaign of 1888 was one of the 
 most memorable in the history of our country. The 
 convention which assembled in Chicago in June anu 
 named Mr. Harrison as the chief Standard bearer 
 of the Republican party, was great in every partic- 
 ular, and on this account, and the attitude it .as- 
 sumed u^on the vital questions of the day, chief 
 among which was the tariff, awoke a deep interest 
 in the campaign throughout the Nation. Shortly 
 after the nomination delegations began to visit Mr. 
 Harrison at Indianapolis, his home. This move- 
 ment became popular, and from all sections of the 
 country societies, clubs and delegations journeyed 
 thither to paj^ their respects to the distinguished 
 statesman. The popularity of these was greatly 
 increased on account of the remarkable speeches 
 made by Mr. Harrison. He spoke dailj' all through 
 the summer and autumn to these visiting delega- 
 tions, and so varied, masterly and eloquent were 
 his speeches that they at once placed him in the 
 foremost rank of American orators and statesmcji. 
 
 On acc(junt of his eloquence as a speaker and hie 
 power as a debater, he was called upon at an un- 
 con^nioul}- early age to take part in the discussion 
 of the great questions that then began to agitate 
 the countiy. He was an nncompromising anti 
 slavery man, and was matched against some oi ilie 
 most eminent Democratic speakers of his State 
 No man wlio felt the touch of his blade derred i. 
 be pitted with him again. With all his eloq--ence 
 as an orator lie never spoke for oratorica'i. effect, 
 but his words always went like bullets to the mark 
 He is purely American in his ideas and is a spier 
 did type of the American statesman. Gifted witli 
 quick perception, a logical mind and a ready tongue, 
 he is one of th« most distinguished impromptu 
 speakers in the Nation. Many of these speeches 
 sparkled with the rarest of eloquence and contained 
 arguments of greatest weight. Many of his terse 
 statements have already become aphorisms. Origi- 
 nal in tliought precise in logic, terse in statement, 
 yet withal faultless in elo^iuence, he is recog-nized as 
 the sound statesman and bn.''.an orator c t.u day
 
 ..^^^f 
 
 
 M. '^2£\\i//'^'il\\^)(
 
 iLLINOiS
 
 -Oi 
 
 oC^t-cocy^
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ^xSI?-<«IiHS><^ — -o^ 
 
 HADRACH BOND, ihe first 
 Governor of Illinois after its 
 organization r.s a State, serving 
 from 1818 to 1822, was born in 
 Frederick County, Maryland, 
 in the year 1773, and was 
 raised a farmer on his father's 
 plantation, receiving only a plain 
 English education. He emigrated 
 to this State in 1794, when it was a 
 part of the "Northwest Territory," 
 continuing in the vocation in which 
 he had been brought up in his native 
 State, in the " New Design," near 
 Eagle Creek, in what is now Monroe 
 County. He served several terms as 
 a member of the General Assembly 
 of Indiana Territory, after it was organized as such, 
 and in 1812-14 he was a Delegate to the Twelfth 
 and Thirteenth Congresses, taking his seat Dec. 3, 
 18 r 2, and serving until Oct. 3, 1814. These were 
 the times, the reader will recollect, when this Gov- 
 ernment had its last struggle with Great Britain. 
 The year i8r2 is also noted in the iiistory of this 
 State as that in which the first Territorial Legislature 
 was held. It convened at Kaskaskia, Nov. 25, and 
 adjourned Dec. 26, following. 
 
 While serving as Delegate to Congress, Mr. Bond 
 was instrumental in procuring the right of pre-emp- 
 tion on the public domain. On the expiration of his 
 term at Washington he was appointed Receiver of 
 Public Moneys at Kaskaskia, then the capital of the 
 Territory. In company with John G. Comyges, 
 
 Thomas H. Harris, Charles Slade, Michael Jonas, 
 Warren Brown. Edward Humphries and Charles W 
 Hunter, he became a proprietor of the site of the 
 initial city of Cairo, whicii they hoped, from its favor- 
 able location at the junction of the two great 
 rivers near the center of the Great West, would 
 rapidly develop into a metropolis. To aid the enter- 
 prise, they obtained a special charter from tlie Legis- 
 lature, incorporating both the City and the Bank of 
 Cairo. 
 
 In rSrS Mr. Bond was. elected the first Governor 
 of the State of Illinois, being inaugurated Oct. 6 
 that year, which was several weeks befot-e Illinois 
 was actually admitted. The facts are these: In 
 January, 1818, the Territorial Legislature sent a peti- 
 tion to Congress for the admission of Illinois as a 
 State, Nathaniel Pope being then Delegate. The 
 petition was granted, fi.xing the northern line of the 
 State on the latitude of the southern extremity of 
 Lake Michigan; but the bill was afterward so amend- 
 ed as to extend this line to its present latitude. In 
 July a convention was called at Kaskaskia to draft a 
 constitution, which, however, was not submitted to 
 the people. By its provisions, supreme judges, pros 
 ecuting attorneys, coun.ty and circuit judges, record- 
 ers and justices of the peace were all to beapiwinled 
 by the Governor or elected by the Legislature. This 
 constitution was accepted by Congress Dec. 30. At 
 that time Illinois comiirised but eleven counties, 
 namely, Randolph, Madison, Gallatin, Johnson, 
 Pope, Jackson, Crawford, Bond, Union, Washington 
 and Franklin, the northern portion of the State be- 
 ing mainly in Madison County. Thus it appears 
 that Mr. Bond was honored by the. naming of a
 
 SHADRACH BOND. 
 
 county before he was elected Governor. The present 
 county of Bond is of small limitations, about 60 to 80 
 miles south of Springfield. For Lieutenant Governor 
 the people chose Pierre Menard, a prominent and 
 worthy Frenchman, after whom a county in this State 
 is named. In this election there were no opposition 
 candidates, as the popularity of these men had made 
 their promotion to the chief offices of the S^ate, even 
 oefore the constitution was drafted, a foregone con- 
 clusion. 
 
 The principal points that excited the people in 
 reference to political issues at this period were local 
 or "internal improvements," as they were called. 
 State banks, location of the capital, slavery and the 
 personal characteristics of the proposed candidates. 
 Mr. Bond represented the "Convention party," for 
 introducing slavery into the State, supported by Elias 
 Kent Kane, his Secretary of State, and John Mc- 
 Lean, while Nathaniel Pope and John P. Cook led 
 the anti-slavery element. The people, however, did 
 not become very much excited over this issue until 
 1820, when tlie famous Missouri Compromise was 
 adopted by Congress, limiting slavery to the south 
 of the parallel of 36'' 30' except in Missouri. While 
 this measure settled the great slavery controversy, 
 so far as the average public sentiment was tempor- 
 arily concerned, until 1854, when it was repealed 
 ■under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas, the issue 
 as considered locally in this State was not decided 
 until '824, after a most furious campaign. (See 
 sketch of Gov. Coles.) The ticket of 18 18 was a 
 compromise one, Bond representing (moderately) the 
 pro-slavery sentiment and Menard the anti-slavery. 
 
 An awkward element in the State government 
 under Gov. Bond's administration, was the imperfec- 
 tion of the State constitution. The Convention 
 wished to have Elijah C. Berry for the fiist .\uditor 
 of Public Accounts, but, as it was believed tiiat the 
 new Governor would not appoint him to the office, 
 the Convention declared in a schedule that " an 
 auditor of public accounts, an attorney general and 
 such other officers of the State as may be necessary, 
 may be appointed by the General Assembly." The 
 Constitution, as it stood, vested a very large appoint- 
 ing power in the Governor; but for the purpose of 
 getting one man into office, a total change was made, 
 and the power vested in the Legislature. Of this 
 provision the Legislature took advantage, and de- 
 
 clared that State's attorneys, canal commissioners, 
 bank directors, etc., were all " officers of the State ' 
 and must therefore be appointed by itself independ- 
 ently of the Governor. 
 
 During Gov. Bond's administration a general law 
 was passed for the incorporation of academies and 
 towns, and one authorizing lotteries. Tiie session of 
 1822 authorized the Governor to appoint commis- 
 sioners, to act in conjunction with like commissioners 
 appointed by the State of Indiana, to report on the 
 practicability and expediency of improving the navi- | 
 gation of the Wabash River; also inland navigation ' 
 generally. Many improvements were recommended, 
 some of which have been feebly worked at even till 
 the present day, those along the Wabash being of no 
 value. Also, during Gov. Bond's term of office, the 
 capital of the State was removed from Kaskaskia to 
 Vandalia. In 1820 a law was passed by Congress 
 authorizing this State to open a canal through the 
 public lands. The State appointed commissioners 
 lo explore the route and prepare the necessary sur- 
 veys and estimates, preparatory to its execution; 
 but, being unable out of its own resources to defray 
 the expenses of the undertaking, it was abandoned 
 imtil some time after Congress made the grant of 
 land for the purpose of its construction. 
 
 On the whole. Gov. Bond's administration was 
 fairly good, not being open to severe criticism from 
 any party. In 1824, two years after the expiration 
 of his term of office, he was brought out as a candi- 
 date for Congress against the formidable John P.' 
 Cook, but received only 4,374 votes to 7,460 for the 
 latter. Gov. Bond was no orator, but had made 
 many fast friends by a judicious t-e::-jwment of his ' 
 gubernatorial patronage, and these worked zealously 
 for him in the campaign. 
 
 In 1827 ex-Gov. Bond was appointed by the Leg-j 
 islaiure, with \Vm. P. McKee and Dr. Gershora 
 Jayne, as Commissioners lo locate a site for a peni- 
 tentiary on the Mississippi at or near Alton. 
 
 Mr. Bond was of a benevolent and convivial dis- 
 position, a man of shrewd observation and clear ap-i 
 preciation of events. His person was erect, stand-j 
 ing six feet in height, and after middle life became 
 portly, weighing 200 pounds. His features were 
 strongly masculine, complejrion dark, hair jet and! 
 eyes hazel ; was a favorite with the ladies. He died 
 April 1 1, 1830, in peace and contentment.
 
 > ».• 1LL1:^0!S
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 Idv^rtc^ CcrU^
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 i>5d5a&! 
 
 ^ ^^ a7'':A/ '^/'^ - jjj ~v ^' 
 
 '^,'i-*.r'?,...^5>' 
 
 Et)war5 Coles* 
 
 
 
 .'^"<(«ii))>-$S><^^ 
 
 DWARD COLES, second 
 
 '•■-V Governor of Illinois, 1823- 
 1^ 6, was born Dec. 15, 1786, 
 1/ in Albemarle Co., Va., on 
 the old family estate called 
 ^^,j;-^ " Enniscorthy," on the 
 "w' Green Mountain. His fath- 
 er, John Coles, was a Colonel in the 
 Revolutionary War. Having been fit- 
 ted for college by private tutors, he 
 was sent to Hampden Sidney, where 
 he remained until the autumn of 1805, 
 when he was .emoved to William and 
 Mary College, at Williamsburg, Va. 
 This college he left in the summer of 
 1S07, a short time before the final and graduating 
 examination. Among his classinates were Lieut. 
 Gen. Scott, President John Tyler, Wni. S. Archer, 
 United States Senator from Virginia, and Justice 
 Baldwin, of the United States Supreme Court. The 
 President of the latter college, Bishop ALidison, was 
 a cousin of President James Madison, and that cir- 
 cumstance was the occasion of Mr. Coles becoming 
 personally acquainted with the President and re- 
 ceiving a position as his private secretary, 1809-15. 
 The family of Coles was a prominent one in Vir- 
 ginia, and their mansion was the seat of the old- 
 fashioned Virginian hospitality. It was visited by 
 such notables as Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Madison, 
 Monroe, the Randolphs,'! azewell, Wirt, etc. At the 
 age of 23, young Coles founa himself heir to a plant- 
 ation and a considerable number of slaves. Ever 
 since his earlier college days his attention had been 
 drawn to the question of slavery. He read every- 
 
 thing on the subject that came in his way, and 
 listened to lectures on the rights of man. The more 
 he reflected upon the subject, the more impossible 
 was it for him to reconcile the immortal declaration 
 "that all men are born free and equal " with the 
 practice of slave-holding. He resolved, therefore, to 
 free his slaves the first opportunity, and even remove 
 his residence to a free State. One reason which de- 
 termined him to accept the appointment as private 
 secretary to Mr. Madison was because he believed 
 that through the acquaintances he could make at 
 Washington he could better determine in what par', 
 of tl-ic non-slaveho!ding portion of the Union he woulc 
 prefer to settle. 
 
 The relations between Mr. Coles and President 
 Madison, as well as Jefferson and other distinguished 
 men, were of a very friendly character, arising from 
 the similarity of their views on the question of slavery 
 and their sympathy for each other in holding doc- 
 trines so much at variance with the prevailing senti- 
 ment in their own State. 
 
 In 1857, he resigned his secretaryship and spent a 
 portion of the following autumn in exploring the 
 Northwest Territory, for the purpose of finding a lo- 
 cation and purchasing lands on which to settle his 
 negroes. He traveled with a horse and buggy, with 
 an extra man and horse for emergencies, through 
 many parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, 
 determining finally to settle in Illinois. At this time, 
 however, a misunderstanding arose between our 
 Government and Russia, and Mr. Coles was selected 
 to repair to St. Petersburg on a special mission, bear- 
 ing important papers concerning the matter at issue 
 The result was a conviction of the Emperor (Alex-
 
 ii6 
 
 EDWARD COLES. 
 
 ander) of the error committed by his minister at 
 Washington, and the consequent withdrawal of the 
 the latter from tlie post. On his return, Mr. Coles 
 visited other parts of Europe, especially Paris, where 
 he was introduced to Gen. Lafayette. 
 
 In the spring of i8ig, he removed with all his 
 negroes from Virginia to Edwardsville, 111., with the 
 intention of giving tliem their liberty. He did not 
 make known to them his intention until one beautiful 
 morning in April, as they were descending the Ohio 
 River. He lashed all tlie boats together and called 
 all the negroes on deck and made them a short ad- 
 dress, concluding his remarks by so expressing him- 
 self that by a turn of a sentence he proclaimed in 
 the shortest and fullest manner that they were no 
 longer slaves, but free as he was and were at liberty 
 to proceed with him or go ashore at their pleas- 
 ure. A description of the effect upon the negroes is 
 best desciibed in his own language : 
 
 "The effect upon them was electrical. They stared 
 at me and then at each other, as if doubting the ac- 
 curacy or reality of what they heard. In breatliless 
 silence they stood before me, unable to utter a word, 
 but with countenances beaming with e.xpression which 
 no words could convey, and which no language 
 can describe. As they began to see the truth of 
 what they had heard, and realize their situation, there 
 came on a kind of hysterical, giggling laugh. After 
 a pause of intense and unutterable emotion, batlied 
 in tears, and with tremulous voices, they gave vent to 
 their gratitude and implored the blessing of God 
 on me." 
 
 Before landing he gave them a general certificate 
 of freedom, and afterward conformed more particu- 
 larly with tlie law of this State requiring that each 
 individual should have a certificate. This act of 
 Mr. Coles, all the more noble and heroic considering 
 the overwhelming pro-slavery influences surrounding 
 him, has challenged the admiration of every philan- 
 thropist of modern times. 
 
 March 5, 1819, President Monroe apix)inted Mr. 
 Coles Registrar of the Land Office at Edwardsvil.s, 
 at that time one of the principal land offices in the 
 State. While acting in this capacity and gaining 
 many friends by his politeness and general intelli- 
 gence, the greatest struggle that ever occurred in 
 Illinois on the slavery ques ion culminated in the 
 furious contest characterizing the campaigns and 
 elections of 1822-4. In the summer of 1823, when a 
 new Governor was to be elected to succeed Mr. 
 Bond, the pro-slavery element divided into factions, 
 putting forward for the executive office Joseph 
 Phillips, Chief Justice of the State, Thomas C. 
 Browne and Gen. James B, Moore, of the State Mil- 
 itia. The anti-slavery element united upon Mr. 
 Coles, and, after one of the most bitter campaigns, 
 succeeded in electing him as Governor. His plural- 
 ity over Judge Phillips was only 59 in a total vote of 
 
 over 8,000. The Lieutenant Governor was elected 
 by the slavery men. Mr. Coles' inauguration speech 
 was marked by calmness, deliberation and such a 
 wise expression of appropriate suggestions as to 
 elicit the sanction of all judicious politicians. But 
 he compromised not with evil. In his message to 
 the Legislature, the seat of Government being then 
 at Vandalia, he strongly urged the abrogation of the 
 modified form of slavery whir.h then existed in this 
 State, contrary to the Ordinance of 1787. His posi- 
 tion on this subject seems the more remarkable, when 
 it is considered that he was a minority Governor, the 
 population of Illinois being at that time almost ex- 
 clusively from slave-holding States and by a large 
 majority in favor of the perpetuation of that old relic 
 of barbarism. The Legislature itself was, of course, 
 a reflex of the popular sentiment, and a majority of 
 them were led on by fiery men in denunciations of 
 the conscientious Governor, and in curses loud and 
 deep upon him and all his friends. Some of the 
 public men, indeed, went so far as to head a sort of 
 mob, or "shiveree" party, who visited the residence 
 of the Governor and others at Vandalia and yelled 
 and groaned and spat fire. 
 
 The Constitution, not establishing or permitting 
 slavery in this State, was thought therefore to be 
 defective by the slavery jxiliticians, and they desired 
 a State Convention to be elected, to devise and sub- 
 mit a new Constitution; and the dominant politics 
 of the day was "Convention" and "anti-Conven- 
 tion." Both parties issued addresses to the people. 
 Gov. Coles himself being the author of the address 
 published by the latter party. This address rev2aled 
 the schemes of the conspirators in a masterly :Tian- 
 ner. It is difficult for us at this distant day to esti- 
 mate the critical and extremely delicate situation in 
 which the Governor was placed at that time. 
 
 Our hero maintained himself honorably and with 
 supreme dignity throughout his administration, and 
 in his honor a county in this State is named. He 
 was truly a great man, and those who lived in 
 this State during his sojourn here, like those who 
 live at the base of the mountain, were too near to see 
 and recognize the greatness that overshadowed them. 
 
 Mr. Coles was married Nov. 28, 1833, by Bishop 
 De Lancey, to Miss Sally Logan Roberts, a daughter 
 of Hugh Roberts, a descendant of Welsh ancestry, 
 who caniJ to this country with Wm. Penn in 1682. 
 
 After the expiration of his term of service, Gov. 
 Coles continued his residence in Edwardsville, sup- 
 erintending his farm in the vicinity. He was fond 
 of agriculture, and was the founder of the first agri- 
 cultural society in the State. On account of ill 
 health, however, and having no family to tie him 
 down, he spent much of his time in Eastern cities. 
 About 1832 he changed his residence to Philadel- 
 phia, where he died July 7, 1868, and is buried at 
 Woodland, near that city.
 
 ' O c:^-0[yi^-^'^
 
 GO VERxVORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 iiiian Edwards 
 
 INIAN EDWARDS, Governor 
 from 1827 to 1S30, was a son 
 of Benjamin Edwards, and 
 was born in Montgomery 
 o County, Maryland, in March, 
 1775. His domestic train- 
 ing was well fitted to give 
 his mind strength, firmness and 
 lie: orable priiicii)les, and a good 
 foundation was laid for the elevated 
 character to which he afterwards 
 attained. His parents were Bap- 
 tists, and very strict in their moral 
 piinciples. His education in early 
 youth was in company with and 
 partly under the tuition of Hon. Wm. 
 Wirt, whom his father patronized 
 and who was more than two years 
 older. An intimacy was thus 
 formed between them which was lasting for life. He 
 was further educated at Dickinson College, at Car- 
 lisle, Pa. He ne.xt cammenced the study of law, but 
 before completing his course he moved to Nelson 
 County, Ky., to open a farm for his father and to 
 purchase homes and locate lands for his brothers and 
 sisters. Here he fell in the conii)any of dissolute 
 companions, and for several years led the life of a 
 s;)e;idtlirift. He was, however, elected to the Legis- 
 lature of Kentucky as the Representative of Nelson 
 ' ounly before he was zr years of age, ami was re- 
 
 Irclc.; 
 
 Iiy :in almost unanimous vote. 
 
 In 1798 he was licensed to practice law, and the 
 following year was admitted to the Courts of Tennes- 
 see. About tliis time he left Nelson County for 
 Russellville, in Logan County, broke away from his 
 dissolute companions, commenced a reformation and 
 devoted himself to severe and laborious study. He 
 then began to rise rapidly in his profession, and soon 
 became an eminent lawyer, and inside of four years 
 he filled in succession the ofifices of Presiding Judge 
 of the General Court, Circuit Judge, fourth Judge of 
 the Court of Appeals and Chief Justice of the State, 
 — all before he was 32 years of age ! In addition, in 
 1S02, he received a commission as Major of a battal- 
 ion of Kentucky militia, and in 1804 was chosen a 
 Presidential Elector, on the Jefferson and Clinton 
 ticket. In 1S06 he was a candidate for Congress, 
 but withdrew on being promoted to the Court of 
 Appeals. 
 
 Illinois was organized as a separate Territory in 
 the spring of i8og, when Mr. Edwards, then Chief 
 Justice of the Court of Appeals in Kentucky, received 
 from President Madison the apix)intiTient as Gover- 
 nor of the new Territory, his commission bearing date 
 April 24, 1809. Edwards arrived at Kaskaskia in 
 June, and on the i ith of that month took the oath of 
 office. At the same time he was appointed Su|)erin- 
 tendent of the United States Saline, this Government 
 interest then developingintoconsiderable pro|)oriioni 
 in -Southern Illinois. Although during the first three 
 years of his administralion he had the power to make 
 new counties and apiK)iiit all iheoHicLTS, yet he always 
 allowed the people of each county, by an informal
 
 NINIAN ED WARDS. 
 
 vote, to select their own officers, both civil and mili- 
 tary. The noted John J. Crittenden, afterward 
 United States Senator from Kentucky, was appointed 
 by Gev. Edwards to the office of Attorney General of 
 the Territory, which office was accepted for a short 
 time only. 
 
 The Indians in tSio committing sundry depreda- 
 tions in the Territory, crossing the Mississippi from 
 the Territory of Louisiana, a long correspondence fol- 
 lowed between the respective Governors concerning 
 the remedies, which ended in a council with the sav- 
 ages at Peoria in 1812, and a fresh interpretation of 
 the treaties. Peoria was depopulated by these de- 
 predations, and was not re-settled for many years 
 afterward. 
 
 As Gov. Edwards' term of office expired by law in 
 1S12, he was re-appointed for another term of three 
 years, and again in 1815 for a third term, serving 
 until the organization of the State in the fall of 1818 
 and the inauguration of Gov. Bond. At this time 
 ex-Gov. Edwards was sent to the United States 
 Senate, his colleague being Jesse B. Thomas. As 
 Senator, Mr. Edwards took a conspicuous part, and 
 acquitted himself honorably in all the measures that 
 came up in that body, being well posted, an able de- 
 bater and a conscientious statesman. He thought 
 . eriously of resigning this situation in 182 1, but was 
 persuaded by his old friend, Wm. Wirt, and others to 
 (ontinue in office, which he did to the end of the 
 term. 
 
 He was then appointed Minister to Mexico by 
 [^resident Monroe. About this time, it appears that 
 -Mr. Edwards saw suspicious signs in the conduct of 
 AVm. H. Crawford, Secretary of the United States 
 Treasury, a.id an ambitious candidate for the Presi- 
 dency, and being implicated by the latter in some of 
 his statements, he resigned his Mexican mission in 
 ".rder fully to investigate the charges. The result 
 was the exculpation of Mr. Edwards. 
 
 Pro-slavery regulations, often termed "Black Laws," 
 cisgraced the statute books of both the Territory and 
 he State of Illinois during the whole of his career in 
 .his commonwealth, and Mr. Edwards always main- 
 tained the doctrines of freedom, and was an important 
 ; ctor in the great struggle which ended in a victory 
 I'jr his par'y in 1824. 
 
 In 1826 7 the Winnebago and other Indians com- 
 mitted soue deijredations in the northern Dart of tlie 
 
 State, and the white settlers, who desired the landq 
 and wished to exasperate the savages into an evacu- 
 ation of the country, magnified the misdemeanors of 
 the aborigines and thereby produced a hostility be- 
 tween the races so great as to precipitate a little war, 
 known in history as the "Winnebago War." A few 
 chases and skirmishes were had, when Gen. Atkinson 
 succeeded in capturing Red Bird, the Indian chief, 
 and puttifig him to death, thus ending the contest, at 
 least until the troubles commenced which ended in 
 the " Black Hawk War " of 1832. In the interpre- 
 tation of treaties and execution of their provisions 
 Gov. Edwards had much vexatious work to do. The 
 Indians kept themselves generally within the juris- 
 diction of Michigan Territory, and its Governor, 
 Lewis Cass, was at a point so remote that ready cor- 
 respondence with him was difficult or impossible. 
 Gov. Edwards' administration, however, in regard to 
 the protection of the Illinois frontier, seems to hava 
 been very efficient and satisfactory. 
 
 For a considerable portion of his time after his re- 
 moval to Illinois, Gov. Edwards resided upon his 
 farm near Kaskaskia, which he had well stocked with 
 horses, cattle and sheep from Kentucky, also with 
 fruit-trees, grape-vines and shrubbery. He estab- 
 lished saw and grist-mills, and engaged extensively 
 in mercantile business, having no less than eight or ten 
 stores in this State and Missouri. Notwithstanding 
 the arduous duties of his office, he nearly alv/ays pur- 
 chased the goods himself with which to supply the 
 stores. Although not a regular practitioner of medi- 
 cine, he studied the healing art to a considerable ex- 
 tent, and took great pleasure in prescribing for, and 
 taking care of, the sick, generally without charge. 
 He w>s also liberal to the poor, several widows and 
 ministers of the gospel becoming indebted to hini 
 even for their homes. 
 
 He married Miss Elvira Lane, of Maryland, in 
 1803, and they became the affectionate parents of 
 several children, one of wliom, especially, is weh' 
 known to the people of the '' Prairie State," namely. 
 Ninian Wirt Edwards, once the Superintendent c< 
 Public Instruction and still a resident of Springfield 
 Gov. Edwards resided at and in the vicinity of Kas- 
 kaskia from i8o9tOT8r8; in Edwardsville (named 
 after him) from that time to 1824; and fro!n the lat- 
 ter date at Belleville, St. Clair County, until jii-; 
 death, July 20, 1833, of Asiatic ciiolera. Edwards 
 County is also named in his iioncr.
 
 J.WIS
 
 GO VERNGRS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ■ >l ^ — ■ x3i <B» i»r> o 
 
 !;OHN REYNOLDS, Governor 1831- 
 4, was born in Montgomery Coun- 
 ty, Pennsylvania, Feb. 26, 1788. 
 His fatlier, Robert Reynolds and 
 liis mother, nee Margaret Moore, 
 were both natives of Ireland, from 
 which country they emigrated to 
 the United States in 1785, land- 
 ing at Philadelphia. The senior 
 Reynolds entertained an undying 
 hostility to the British Govern- 
 ment. When the subject of this 
 sketch was about six months old, 
 his parents emigrated with him to 
 Tennessee, where many of their 
 relatives had already located, at the base of the 
 Copper Ridge Mountain, about 14 miles northeast of 
 the present city of Knoxville. There they were ex- 
 nosed to Indian depredations, and were much molest- 
 ed by them. In 1794 they moved into the interior 
 of the State. They were poor, and brought up their 
 children to habits of manual industry. 
 
 In 1800 the family removed to Kaskaskia, 111., with 
 eight horses and two wagons, encountering many 
 Hardships on the way. Here young Reynolds passed 
 the most of his childhood, while his character began 
 to develop, the most prominent traits of which were 
 ambition and energy. He also adopted the principle 
 and practice of total abstinence from intoxicating 
 lli|iiors. In 1S07 the family made nnolher removal. 
 
 this time to the " Goshen Settlement," at the foot of 
 the Mississippi bluffs three or four miles southwest 
 of Edwardsville. 
 
 On arriving at his 20th year, Mr. Reynolds, seeins; 
 tiiat he must look about for his own livelihood and 
 not yet having determined what calling to pursue, 
 concluded first to attend^ college, and he accordingly 
 went to such an institution of learning, near Knox- 
 ville, Tenn., where he had relatives. Imagine his 
 diffidence, when, after passing the first 20 years of 
 his life without ever having seen a car])et, a papered 
 wall or a Windsor chair, and never having lived in a 
 shingle-roofed house, he suddenly ushered himseir 
 into the society of the wealthy in the vicinity of 
 Knoxville! He attended college nearly two years, 
 going through the principal Latin authors; but it 
 seems that he, like the rest of the world in modern 
 times, had but very little use for his Latin in after 
 life. He always failed, indeed, to exiiibit any good 
 degree of literary disciplme. He commenced the 
 study of law in Knoxville, but a pulmonary trouble 
 came on and compelled him to change his mode 
 of life. Accordingly he returned home and re- 
 cuperated, and in 1812 resumed his college and 
 law studies at Knoxville. In the fall of 1S12 he was 
 admitted to the Bar at Kaskaskia. .About this time 
 he also learned the French language, which. he 
 practiced with pleasure in conversation with liis 
 family for many years. He regarded this language 
 as being superior to al! others for social intercourse.
 
 124 
 
 JOHN REYNOLDS. 
 
 From his services in the West, in the war of 1812, 
 he obtained the sobriquet of the " Old Ranger." He 
 was Orderly Sergeant, then Judge Advocate. 
 
 Mr. Reynolds opened his first law office in the 
 winter and spring of 1814, in the French village of 
 Cahokia, then the capital of St. Clair County. 
 
 In the fall of 1818 he was elected an Associate 
 Justice upon the Supreme Bench by the General 
 Assembly. In 1825 he entered more earnestly than 
 ever into the practice of law, and the very next year 
 was elected a member of the Legislature, where he 
 acted independently of all cliques and private inter- 
 ests. In 1828 the Whigs and Democrats were for 
 the first time distinctively organized as such in Illi- 
 nois, and the usual party bitterness grew up and 
 raged on all sides, while Mr. Reynolds preserved a 
 'udicial calmness and moderation. The real animus 
 if the campaign was " Jackson " and " anti-Jackson," 
 'he former party carrying the State. 
 
 In August, 1830, Mr. Reynolds was elected Gov- 
 ernor, amid great excitement. Installed in office, he 
 did all within his power to advance the cause of edu- 
 cation, internal improvements, the Illinois & Mich- 
 igan Canal, the harbor at Chicago, settling the coun- 
 try, etc.; also reccmmended the winding up of the 
 State Bank, as its affairs had become dangerously 
 complicated. In his national politics, he was a 
 moderate supporter of General Jackson. But the 
 most celebrated event of his gubernatorial admin- 
 istration was tlie Black Hawk War, which occurred 
 in 1832. He called out the militia and prosecuted 
 the contest with commendable diligence, appearing 
 in person on the battle-grounds during the most 
 critical periods. He was recognized by the President 
 as Major-General, and authorized by him to make 
 treaties with tlie Indians. By the assistance of the 
 general Government the war was terminated without 
 much bloodshed, but after many serious fights. This 
 war, as well as everything else, was materially re- 
 tarded by the occurrence of Asiatic cholera in the 
 West. This was its first appearance here, and was 
 the next event in prominence during Gov. Reynolds' 
 Verm. 
 
 South Carolina nullification corning up at this time, 
 t was heartily condemned by both President Jackson 
 ..nd Gov. Reynolds, who took precisely the same 
 grounds as the Unionists in the last war. 
 
 On the termination of his gubernatorial term in 
 .834, Gov. Reynolds was elected a Member of Con- 
 gress, still considering himself a backwoodsman, as 
 •■ e had scarcely been outside of the State since he 
 became of age, and had spent nearly all his youthful 
 days in the wildest region of the frontier. His first 
 move in Congress was to adopt a resolution that in 
 all elections made by the House for officers the votes 
 should be given 7'k'a voce^ each member in his ])lace 
 ii:iming aloud the person for whom he votes. This 
 cre.i'ed considerable heated discussion, but was es- 
 
 sentially adopted, and remained the controlling prin- 
 ciple for many years. The ex-Governor was scarcely 
 absent from his seat a single day, during eight ses- 
 sions of Congress, covering a period of seven years, 
 and he never vacillated in a party vote; but he failed 
 to get the Democratic party to foster his " National 
 Road" scheme. He says, in " My Own Times " (a 
 large autobiography he published), that it was only 
 by rigid econouiy that he avoided insolvency while in 
 Washington. During his sojourn in that city he was 
 married, to a lady of the place. 
 
 In 1837, while out of Congress, and in company 
 with a few others, he built the first railroad in the 
 Mississippi Valley, namely, one about six miles long, 
 leading from his coal mine in the Mississippi bluff to 
 the bank of the river opposite St. Louis. Having not 
 the means to purchase a locomotive, they operated it 
 by horse-power. The next spring, however, the com- 
 pany sold out, at great sacrifice. 
 
 In 1839 the e.x-Governor was appointed one of the 
 Canal Commissioners, and authorized to borrow 
 money to prosecute the enterprise. Accord'ngly, he 
 repaired to Philadelphia and succeeding in obtaining 
 a million dollars, which, however, was only a fourth 
 of what was wanted. The same year he and his 
 wife made at our of Europe. This year, also, Mr. 
 Reynolds had the rather awkward little responsibility 
 of introducing to President Van Bureii the noted 
 Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith, as a " Latter-Day 
 Saint!" 
 
 In 1846 Gov. Reynolds was elected a member of 
 the Legislature from St. Clair County, more particu 
 larly for the purpose of obtaining a feasible charter 
 for a macadamized road from Belleville to St. Louis, 
 a distance of nearly 14 miles. This was immediately 
 built, and was the first road of the kind in the State. 
 He was again elected to the Legislature in 1852, when 
 he was chosen Speaker of the House. In i860, aged 
 and infirm, he attended the National Democratic 
 Convention at Charleston, S. C, as an anti-Douglas 
 Delegate, where he received more attention from the 
 Southern Delegates than any other member. He , 
 supported Breckenridge for the Presidency. After I 
 the October elections foreshadowed the success of i 
 Lincoln, he published an address urging the Demo- 
 crats to rally to the support of Douglas. Immedi- 
 ately preceding and during the late war, his corre- 
 spondence evinced a clear sympathy for the Southern] 
 secession, and about the first of March, 1861, he 
 urged upon the Buchanan officials the seizure of the 
 treasure and arms in the custom-house and arsenal . 
 at St. Louis. Mr. Reynolds was a rather talkative] 
 man, and apt in all the Western phrases and catch- 
 words that ever gained currency, besides many cun- 
 ning and odd ones of his own manufacture. 
 
 He was married twice, but had no children. He I 
 died in nellevillc, in May, iS65,just after the close] 
 of the war.
 
 ILLINOIS
 
 .*<;?«
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 '«7 
 
 >-5— ^- — o.!»>««ii».^& 
 
 
 ^3^ 
 
 ILLIAM LEE D. EWING, 
 Governor of Illinois Nov. 3 
 to 17, 1834, was a native 
 of Kentucky, and probably 
 of Scotch ancestry. He had 
 *^ a fine education, was a gentle- 
 man of polished manners and 
 refined sentiment. In 1830 Jolm Rey- 
 nolds was elected Governor of the State, 
 and Zadok Casey Lieutenant Governor, 
 and for the principal events that followed, 
 and the characteristics of the times, see 
 sketch of Gov. Reynolds. The first we 
 see in history concerning Mr. Ewing, in- 
 _ forms us that he was a Receiver of Public 
 
 Moi eys at Vandalia soon after the organization of 
 t<iii. State, and that the public moneys in liis hands 
 v/ere deposited in various banks, as they are usually 
 "■ th,. ^Tesent day. In 1823 the State Bank was 
 ubbed,by which disaster Mr. Ewing lost a thousand- 
 collar deposit. 
 
 The subject of this sketch had a commission as 
 ' olonel in the Black Hawk War, and in emergencies 
 n" acted also as Major. In the summer of 1832, 
 ^>hen I v'as rumored among the whites that Black 
 Hawk ar.d nis men had encamped somewhere on 
 Reck River, Gen. Henry was sent on a tour of 
 ceconnoisance, and with orders to drive the Indians 
 lioni tlie State. After some opposition from his 
 :iibordinate officers, Henry resolved to proceed up 
 l<0( k River in se,U( li of the enemy. On tlic i9tli of 
 ul\, 'jaily ill the nirnning, five baggage wagons. 
 
 camp equipage and all heavy and cumbersome arti- 
 cles were piled up and left, so that the army might 
 make speedy and forced marches. For some miles 
 the travel was exceedingly bad, crossing swamps 
 and tlie worst thickets; but the large, fresh trail 
 gave life and animation to the Americans. Gen. 
 Dodge and Col. Ewing were both actmg as Majors, 
 and composed the " spy corps " or vanguard of the 
 army. It is supposed the army marched nearly 50 
 miles this day, and the Indian trail they followed 
 became fresher, and was strewed with much property 
 and trinkets of the red-skins that they had lost or 
 thrown away to hasten their march. During the 
 following night there was a terrific thunder-storm, and 
 the soldiery, with all their appurtenances, were thor- 
 oughly drenched. 
 
 On approaching nearer the Indians the next day. 
 Gen. Dodge and Major Ewing, each commanding a 
 battalion of men, were placed in front to bring on the 
 battle, but the savages were not overtaken this day 
 Forced marches were continued until they reached. 
 Wisconsin River, where a veritable battle ensued, 
 resulting in the death of about 68 of Black Hawk's 
 men. The next day they continued the chase, and 
 as soon as lie discovered the trail of the Indians 
 leading tow.ird tlie Mississippi, Maj. Ewing formed 
 iiis battalion in order of battle and awaited tlie order 
 of Gen. Henry. The latter soon appeared on the 
 ground and ordered a charge, which directly resulted 
 in chasing tlie rod warriors across the great river. 
 Maj. Ewing and his command proved particularly 
 efficient in war, as it seems they were the chief actors 
 in driving tlie main body of the Sacs and Fo.Kes, in-
 
 liS 
 
 WILLIAM L D. EWING. 
 
 eluding Black Hawk himself, across the Mississippi, 
 while Gen. Atkinson, commander-in-chief of the ex- 
 pedition, with a body of the army, was hunting for 
 them 'ii another direction. 
 
 In liie above affair Maj. Ewing is often referred in 
 as a "General," "l;ich title he liad derived from his 
 connection with the militia. 
 
 It was in the l.iiu-r part of tlie same year (1832) 
 that Lieutenant Governor Casey was elected to Con- 
 gress and Gen. Ewing, who had been elected to the 
 Genate, was chosen to preside over that body. At 
 ihe August election of 1S34, Gov. Reynolds was also 
 elected to Congress, more than a year ahead of llie 
 liuie at whicli he could actually take his seat, as was 
 then the law. His predecessor, Chailes Slade, had 
 just died of Asiatic cholera, soon after tlie elec- 
 tion, and Gov. Reynolds was chosen to serve out his 
 unexpired term. Accordingly he set out for VVash- 
 ingion in November of that year to take his seat in 
 Congress, and Gen. Ewing, by virt.:e of his office as 
 President of the Senate, became Go- ernor of the 
 Stat.i of Illinois, his term covering o.ily a period of 
 15 days namely, from the 3d to tlie 17th days, in- 
 clusive, of November. 0;i the 17th the Legislature 
 met, and Gov. Ewing transmitted to that body his 
 message, giving a statement of the condition of the 
 affairs of the State at that time, and urging a contin- 
 uance of the policy adopted by his predecessor; and 
 ■ju the same day Governor elect Joseph Duncan 
 —.IS sworn into office, thus relieving Mr. Ewing from 
 
 the responsible situation. This is the only time that 
 such a juncture has happened in the historv of Illi- 
 nois. 
 
 On tlie 29th of December, 1835, Gen. Ewing was 
 elected a United States Senaior to serve out the 
 unexpired term of Elias Kent Kane, deceased. The 
 latter geiitljnian was a very prominent figure in the 
 early politics of lllinoi', and a county in this State is 
 named in his honor. The election of Gen. Ewing to 
 tlie Senate was a protracted struggle. His competi- 
 tors were James Semple, who af erwards held several 
 important offices in this State, and Richard M. 
 Young, afterward a United States Senator and a 
 .'suijrenie Judge and a man of vast influence. On 
 the first ballot Mr. Semple had 25 votes. Young 19 
 and Ewing 18. On the eighth ballot Young was 
 dropped; the ninth and tenth stood a tie; but on 
 the i2ih Ewing received 40, to Semple 37, and was 
 a'.cordingly declared elected. In 1837 Mr. Ewinr; 
 received some votes for a continuance of his lerm in 
 Congress, when Mr. Young, just referred to, was 
 elected. In r842 Mr. Ewing was elected State 
 Audit-^r on the ticket with Gov Ford. 
 
 Gen. Ewing was a gentleman of culture, a lawyer 
 by profession, and was much in public life. In person 
 he was above medium height and of heavy build, 
 with auburn hair, blue eyes, large-sized head and 
 short face. He was genial, social, friendly and 
 affable, with fair talent, though of no high degree o' 
 originality. He died March 25, 1846.
 
 :.!'IO!S
 
 
 Jc^^^/u-^ ^
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 ..(??5. 
 
 
 "^i^^MM 
 
 \^ i«i~t^>«'^®^OT^'f>^|W**»_. 
 
 
 €^ <» 
 
 OSEPH DUNCAN, Governor 
 1S34-8, was born at Paris, 
 Ky., Feb. 23, 1794. At the 
 tender age of 19 years he en- 
 listed in the war against Great 
 '"■ Britain, and as a soldier he 
 acquitted himself with credit. He 
 was an Ensign under the daunt- 
 less Croghan at Lower Sandusky, 
 or Fort Stephenson. In Illinois 
 he first appeared in a public capa- 
 city as Major-General of the Militia, 
 a position which his military Hime 
 liad procured him. Subsequently 
 he became a State Senator from 
 , Jackson County, and is honorably 
 mentioned for introducing the first bill providing for 
 a free-school system. In 1826, when the redoubt- 
 able John P. Cook, who had previously beaten such 
 men as John McLean, Elias Kent Kane and ex- 
 Gov. Bond, came up for the fourth time for Congress, 
 Mr. Duncan was brought forward against him by his 
 friends, greatly to the surprise of all the politicians. 
 ^s yet he was but little known in the Stale. He was 
 m original Jackson man at that time, being attached 
 to his political fortune in admiration of tlie glory of 
 his militaiy achievements. His chances of success 
 against Cook were generally regarded as hopeless, 
 hut lie entered upon the campaign undaunted. His 
 speeciies, tiiough short and devoid of ornament, were 
 fill of good sense. He made a diligent canvass of 
 the Stale, Mr. Cook being hindered by the condition of 
 hs lieahh. The mo.st that was expected of Mr. 
 l>iiit;m, under the circumstances, was tliat he would 
 
 obtain a respectable vote, but without defeating Mr 
 Cook. The result of the campaign, however, was a 
 source of surprise and amazement to both friends 
 and foes, as Mr. Duncan came out 641 votes ahead! 
 He received 6,32 r votes, and Mr. Cook 5,680. Un- 
 til this denouement, the violence of party feeling 
 smoWering in the breasts of the people on account 
 of the defeat of Jackson, was not duly appreciated, 
 .'\side from the great convention struggle of 1824, no 
 other than mere local and pergonal considerations 
 had ever before controlled an election in Illinois. 
 
 From the above date Mr. Duncan retained his 
 seat in Congress until his election as Governor in 
 .\ugust, 1834. The first and bloodless year of the 
 Black Hawk War he was appointed by Gov. Rey- 
 nolds to tlie position of Brigadier-General of the 
 volunteers, and he conducted his brigade to Rock 
 Island. But he was absent from the State, in Wash- 
 ington, during the gubernatorial campaign, and did 
 not personally participate in it, but addressed circu- 
 lars to his constituents. His election was, indeed, 
 attributed to the circumstance of his absence, be- 
 cause his estrangement from Jackson, formerly his 
 political idol, and also from the Democracy, largely 
 in ascendency in the State, was complete; but while 
 his defection was well known to his Whig friends, 
 and even to the leading Jackson men of this State, 
 the latter were unable to carry conviction of that fact 
 to the masses, as mail and newspaper facilities at 
 that day were far inferior to those of the present 
 time. Of course the (Governor was much abused 
 afterward by the fossilized Jackson men who re- 
 garded party ties and affiliations as above all 
 other issues that could arise; but he was doubtless
 
 '32 
 
 JOSEPH DUNCAN. 
 
 sincere in his opposition to the old hero, as the latter 
 j,ad vetoed several important western measures 
 which were dear to Mr. Duncan. In his inaugural 
 message he threw off the mask and took a bold stand 
 r.gainst tb.e course of the President. The measures 
 .e recommended in his message, however, were so 
 desirable that the Legislature, although by a large 
 majority consisting of Jackson men, could not refrain 
 from endorsing them. These measures related 
 Liainly to Lar.ks and internal improvements. 
 
 It was while Mr. Duncan was Governor that the 
 people of Illinois went whirling on with bank and in- 
 ternal impiovement schemes that well nigh bank- 
 •upted the State. The hard times of 1837 came on, 
 md the disasters that attended the inauguration of 
 jiese plans and the operation of the banks were mu- 
 tually cliarged upon the two political parties. Had 
 any z\-t man autocratic power to introduce and 
 carry on any one of these measures, he would proba- 
 bly have succeeded to the satisfaction of the public; 
 Lut as many jealous men had hold <if tlie same plow 
 nandle, no success followed and each blamed the other 
 "br the failure. In this great vortex Gov. Duncan 
 was carried along, suffering the like derogation of 
 character with his fellow citizens. 
 
 At the height of the excitement the Legislature 
 " provided for " railroads from Galena to Cairo, Alton 
 to Shawneetown, Alton to Mount Carmel, Alton to the 
 eastern boundary of the State in the direction of 
 Terre Haute, Quincy via S;)ringfield to the Wabasli, 
 Bloomington to Pekin, and Peoria to Warsaw, — in all 
 about 1,300 miles of road. It also provided for the 
 improvement of the navigation of the Kaskaskia, 
 Illinois, Great and Little Wabash and Rock Rivers ; 
 also as a placebo, $200,000 in money were to be dis- 
 .ributed to the various counties wherein no improve 
 inents were ordered to be made as above. The 
 estimate for the e.xpenses for all these projects was 
 jlaced at a little over $10,000,000, whicli was not 
 more > lan half enough ! That would now be equal to 
 saddling upon the State a debt of $225,000,000! It 
 wss sufficient to bankrupt the State several times 
 over, even counting all the possible benefits. 
 
 One of the most exciting events that ever occurred 
 '.w this fair State was the murder of -Elijah P. Love- 
 ly in the fall of r837, at Alton, during Mr. Duncan's 
 lerm as Governor. Lovejoy was an " .Miolitionist," 
 editing tiie Olnerver at that place, and the pio- 
 slavery slumj there formed themselves into a mob. 
 
 and after destroying successively three presses be- 
 longing to Mr. Lovejoy, surrounded the warehouse 
 where the fourth press was stored away, endeavoring 
 to destroy it, and where Lovejoy and his friends 
 were entrenching themselves, and shot and killed tlie 
 brave reformer! 
 
 About th's time, also, the question of removing thi 
 State capital again came up, as the 20 years' limit for 
 its existence at Vandalia was drawing to a close. 
 There was, of course, considerable excitement over 
 the matter, the two main points competing for it be- 
 ing Springfield and Peoria. The jealousy of the lat- 
 ter place is not even yet, 45 years afterward, fully 
 allayed. 
 
 Gov. Duncan's term expired in. 1838. In 1842 
 he was again proposed as a candidate for the Execu- 
 tive chair, this time by the Whig party, against Adam 
 W. Snyder, of St. Clair County, the nominee of the 
 Democrats. Charles W. Hunter was a third candi- 
 date for the same position. Mr. Snyder, however, died 
 i)efore the campaign had advanced very far, and his 
 party substituted Thomas Ford, who was elected 
 receiving 46,901 votes, to 38,584 for Duncan, and 
 909 for Hunter. The cause of Democratic success 
 at this time is mainly attributed to the temporary 
 support of the Mormons which they eii joyed, and the 
 want o:' any knowledge, on the part of the masses, 
 that Mr. Ford was opposed to any given policy en- 
 tertained in the respective localities. 
 
 Gov. Duncan was a man of rather limited educa- 
 tion, but with naturally fine abilities he profited 
 greatly by his various public services, and gathered 
 a store of knowledge regarding public affairs which 
 Served him a ready purpose. He possessed a clear 
 j.idgment, decision, confidence in himself and moral 
 courage to carry out his convictions of tight. In his 
 deportment he was well adapted to gain the admira- 
 tion of the people. His intercourse with them was 
 botir affable and dignified. His portrait at tlie Gov- 
 ernor's mansion, from whicli the accompanying was 
 made, represents him as having a swarthy complex- 
 ion, high cheek bones, broad foreliead, piercing black 
 eyes and straight black hair. 
 
 He was a liberal patron of the Illinois Clollege at 
 Jacksonville, a member of its Board of Trustees, and 
 died, after a short illness, Jan. 15, 1844, a devoted 
 member of the Presbyterian Ciiur< li, leaving a wife 
 l)Ut no children, '{'wo children, born to them, had 
 died in infancy.
 
 'o^^-rY(X>L^^^^:^
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 '35 
 
 :* > 
 
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 i>'^^\^«'' ^■ 
 
 
 
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 ^^^^^^S>'i 
 
 (HOMAS CARLIN, the sixth 
 Governor of the State of 
 Illinois, serving from 1838 
 to 1842, was also 1 Ken- 
 tuckian, being born near 
 Frankfort, that State, July 
 iS, 1789, of Irish paternity. 
 The opiwrtunities for an education 
 being very meager in his native 
 place, he, on approaching years of 
 jud 'ment and maturity, applied 
 himself to those branches of learn- 
 ing that seemed most important, 
 and thus became a self-made man ; 
 and his taste for reading and 
 study remained with him through 
 life. In 1803 his father removed 
 10 Missouri, then a part of " New Spain," where he 
 died in 1810. 
 
 In 18 1 2 young Carlin came to Illinois and partici- 
 pated in all the "ranging" service incident to the 
 war of that period, proving himself a soldier of un- 
 daunted bravery. In 18 14 he married Rebecca 
 Huitt, and lived for four years on the bank of the 
 Mississippi River, opposite the mouth of the Mis- 
 sc..ri, where he followed farming, and then removed 
 to Greene County. He located the town site of Car- 
 it* 'ton, in that county, and in 1825 niade a liberal 
 donation of land for county building purposes. He 
 was the first SherifT of that county after its separate 
 organization, and afterward was twice elected, as a 
 Jackson Democrat, to the Illinois Senate. In the 
 Black Hawk War he commanded a spy battalion, a 
 post of considerable danger. In 1834 he was ap- 
 ix>inted i)y President Jackson to the position of 
 Receiver of Public Moneys, and to fulfill the office 
 
 more conveniently he removed to the city of Quincy. 
 
 While, in 1838, the unwieldy internal improvement 
 system of the State was in full operation, witli all its 
 expensive machinery, amidst bank suspensions 
 throughout the United States, a great stringency in 
 the money market everywhere, and Illinois bonds 
 forced to sale at a heavy discount, and the " hardest 
 times" existing that the people of the Prairie State 
 ever saw, the general election of State officers was 
 approaching. Discreet men who had cherished the 
 hope of a speedy subsidence of the public infatua- 
 tion, met witli disappointment. A Governor and 
 Legislature were to be elected, and these were now 
 looked forward to for a repeal of the ruinous Stale 
 policy. But the grand scheme had not yet lost its 
 dazzling influence upon the minds of the people. 
 Time and experience had not yet fully demonstrated 
 its utter absurdity. Hence the ipiestion of arresting, 
 its career of profligate expenditures did not become 
 a leading one with the dominant party during the 
 canipiign, and most of the old members of the Leg 
 islatuie were returned at this election. 
 
 Under these circumstances the Democrats, in State 
 Convention assembled, nominated Mr. Carlin for the 
 office of Gov.;rnor, and S. H. Anderson for Lieuten- 
 ant Governor, while the Whigs nominated Cyrus Ed- 
 wards, brother of Ninian Edwards, formerly (Governor, 
 and W. H. Davidson. Edwards came out strongly 
 for a continuance of the State policy, v.'hile Car!!:- 
 remained non-committal. This was the first time 
 that the two main [wlitical parties in this State were 
 unembarrassed by any third party in the field. The 
 result of the election was: Carlin, 35,573; Ander- 
 son, 30,335; Edwards, 29,629; and Davidson, 28,- 
 
 7'.S- 
 
 Upon the meeting of the subsequent Legislature 
 (1839), the retiring Governor CDuncan) in his mes-
 
 x^6 
 
 THOMAS CARLIN. 
 
 sage spoke in emphatic terms of the impolicy of the 
 internal improvement system, presaging the evils 
 threatened, and uiged that body to do their utmost 
 to correct the great error ; yet, on the contrary, the 
 Legislature not only decided to continue the policy 
 but also added to its burden by voting more appro- 
 priations and ordering more improvements. Although 
 the money market was still stringent, a further loan 
 of $4,000,000 was ordered for the Illinois & Mich- 
 igan Canal alone. Cli'cago at that time began to 
 loom up and promise to be an important city, even 
 the great emporium of the West, as it has since in- 
 deed came to be. Ex-Gov. Reynolds, an incompe- 
 tent financier, was commissioned to effect the loan, 
 and accordingly hastened to the East on this respons- 
 ible errand, and negotiated the loans, at considera- 
 ble sacrifice to the State. Besides this embarrassment 
 to Carlin's administration, the Legislature also de- 
 clared that he had no authority to appoint a Secretary 
 of State until a vacancy existed, and A. P. Field, a 
 Whig, virho had already held the post by appointment 
 .hrough three administrations, was determined to 
 keep the place a while longer, in spite of Gov. Car- 
 lin's preferences. The course of the Legislature in 
 this regard, however, was finally sustained by the 
 Supreme Court, in a quo warranto case brought u[) 
 before it by John A. McClernand, whom the Gov- 
 ernor had nominated for the office. Thereupon that 
 dignified body was denounced as a "Whig Court!' 
 endeavoring to establish the principle of life-tenure 
 of office. 
 
 A new law was adopted re-organizing the Judici- 
 ary, and under it five additional Supreme Judges 
 were elected by the Legislature, namely, Thomas 
 Ford (afterward Governor), Sidney Breese, Walter B. 
 Scates, Samuel H. Treat and Stephen \. Douglas — 
 all Democrats. 
 
 It was during Gov. Carlin's administration that the 
 noisy campaign of '' Tippecanoe and Tyler too " oc- 
 curred, resulting in a Whig victory. This, however, 
 did net affect Illinois politics very seriously. 
 
 .Another prominent event in the West during Gov. 
 Carlin's term of office was the excitement caused by 
 the Mormons and their removal from Independence, 
 Mo., to Nauvoo, 111., in 1840. At the same time 
 they began to figure somewhat in State politics. On 
 account of their believing — as they thought, accord- 
 ing to the New Testament — that they should have 
 
 " all things common," and that consequently " all 
 the earth " and all that is upon it were the" Lord's " 
 and therefore the property of his " saints," they 
 were suspected, and correctly, too, of committing 
 many of the deeds of larceny, robbery, etc., that 
 were so rife throughout this country in those days. 
 Hence a feeling of violence grew up between the 
 Mormons and "anti-Mormons." In the State of 
 Missouri the Mormons always supported the Dem- 
 ocracy until they were driven out by the Democratic 
 government, when they turned their support to the 
 Whigs. They were becoming numerous, and in the 
 Legislature of 1840-1, therefore, it became a matter 
 of great interest with both parties to conciliate these 
 people. Through the agency of one John C. Ben- 
 nett, a scamp, the Mormons succeeded in rushing 
 through the Legislature (both parties not dariii;^ ;o 
 oppose) a charter for the city of Nauvoo which vir- 
 tually erected a hierarchy co-ordinate with the Fed- 
 eral Government itself. In the fall of 1841 the 
 Governor of Missouri made a demand upon Gov. 
 Carlin for the body of Joe Smith, the Mormon leader, 
 as a fugitive from justice. Gov. Carlin issued th? 
 writ, but for some reason it was returned unserved. 
 It was again issued in 1842, and Smith was arrested, 
 but was either rescued by his followers or discharged 
 by the municipal court on a writ of habeas corpus. 
 
 In December, 1841, the Democratic Convention 
 nominated Adam W. Snyder, of Belleville, for Gov- 
 ernor. As he had been, as a member of the Legisla- 
 ture, rather friendly to the Mormons, the latter 
 naturally turned their support to the Democratic 
 party. The next spring the Whigs nominated Ex- 
 Gov. Duncan for the same office. In the meantime 
 the Mormons began to grow more odious to the 
 masses of the people, and the comparative prospects 
 of the respective parties for success became very 
 problematical. Mr. Snyder died in May, and 
 Thomas Ford, a Supreme Judge, was substituted as 
 a candidate, and was elected. 
 
 At the close of his gubernatorial term, Mr. Carlin 
 removed back to his old home at Carrollton, where 
 he spent the remainder of his life, as before Iris ele- 
 vation to office, in agricultural pursuits. In iC/.g 
 he served out the unexpired term of J. D. Fry in th.e 
 Illinois House of Representatives, and died Feb. 4, 
 1852, at his residence at Carrollton, leaving a wife 
 and seven children.
 
 .LINOIS
 
 Oi 
 
 ■^t^^^-^-Uty-CL^
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
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 gHOMAS FORD, Governor 
 from 1842 to 1846, and au- 
 thor of a very interesting 
 history of Illinois, was born 
 at Uniontown, Pa., in the 
 year 1 800. His mother, after 
 the death of her first hus- 
 band (Mr. Forquer), married Rob- 
 ert Ford, who was killed in 1802, 
 by the Indians in the mountains 
 of Pennsylvania. She was conse- 
 quently left in indigent circum- 
 stances, with a large family, mostly 
 girls. With a view to better her 
 condition, she, in 1S04, removed to 
 Missouri, where it had been cus- 
 tomary by the Spanish Govern- 
 ment to give land to actual settlers ; but upon her 
 arrival at St. Louis she found the country ceded to 
 the United States, and the liberal policy toward set- 
 tlers changed by the new ownership. After some 
 sickness to herself and family, she finally removed to 
 Illinois, and settled some three miles south of Water- 
 loo, but the following year moved nearer the Missis- 
 sippi bluffs. Here young Ford received liis first i 
 
 schooling, under the instructions of a Mr. Humphrey, 
 for which he had to walk three miles. His mother, 
 though lacking a thorough education, was a woman 
 of superior mental endovvments, joined to energy 
 and determination of character. She inculcated in 
 her children those high-toned principles which dis- 
 tinguished her sons in public life. She exercised a 
 rigid economy to provide her children an education; 
 but fieorge Forquer, her oldest son (six years older 
 than Thomas Ford), at an early age had to quit 
 school to aid by his labor in the support of the family. 
 He afterward became an eminent man in Illinois 
 affairs, and but for his early death would probably 
 have been elected to the United States Senate. 
 
 Young Ford, with somewhat better op|)ortunities. 
 received a better education, thougli limited to the 
 curriculum of the common school of those pioneer 
 times. His mind gave early promise of superior en- 
 dowments, with an inclination for mathematics. His 
 proficiency attracted the attention of Hon. Daniel P. 
 Cook, who became his efficient patron and friend 
 The latter gentleman was an eminent lainois states- 
 man who, as a Member of Congress, oDtamed agrant 
 of 300,000 acres of land to aid in completing the 
 Illinois & Michigan Canal, and after whom the 
 county of Cook was named Through the advice of
 
 140 
 
 THOMAS FORD. 
 
 this gentleman, Mr. Ford turned his attention to the 
 study of law; but Forquer, then merchandising, re- 
 garding his education defective, sent him to Transyl- 
 vania University, where, however, he remained but 
 one term, owing to Forquer's failure in business. On 
 his return he alternated his law reading with teach- 
 ir.g school for support. 
 
 In 1S29 Gov. Edwards appointed him Prosecuting 
 Attorney, and in 1831 he was re-appomted by Gov. 
 Reynolds, and after that he was four times elected a 
 Judge by the Legislature, without opposition, twice a 
 Circuit Judge, once a Judge of Chicago, and as As- 
 sociate Judge of the Supreme Court, when, in 1841, 
 the latter tribunal was re-organized by the addition 
 of five Judges, all Democrats. Ford was assigned to 
 the Ninth Judicial Circuit, and while in this capacity 
 iie was holding Court in Ogle County he received a 
 notice of his nomination by the Democratic Conven- 
 tion for the office of Governor. He immediately re- 
 signed his place and entered upon the canvass. In 
 August, 1842, he was elected, and on the 8th of De- 
 cember following he was inaugurated. 
 
 All the offices which he had held were unsolicited 
 by him. He received them upon the true Jefferson- 
 ^an principle, — Never to ask and never to refuse 
 office. Both as a lawyer and as a Judge he stood 
 deservedly high, but his cast of intellect fitted him 
 rather for a writer upon law than a practicing advo- 
 cate in the courts. In the latter capacity he was void 
 of the moving power of eloquence, so necessary to 
 success with juries. As a Judge his opinions were 
 ?ound, lucid and able expositions of the law. In 
 practice, he was a stranger to the tact, skill and in- 
 sinuating address of the politician, but he saw through 
 he arts of demagogues as well as any man. He was 
 plain in his demeanor, so much so, indeed, that at 
 one time after the expiration of his term of office, 
 during a session of the Legislature, he was taken by 
 a stranger to be a seeker for the position of door- 
 keeper, and was waited upon at his hotel near mid- 
 night by a knot of small office-seekers with the view 
 of effecting a "combination ! " 
 
 Mr. Ford had not the " brass " of the ordinary 
 politician, nor that impetuosity which characterizes a 
 political leader. He cared little for money, and 
 hardly enough for a decent support. In person he 
 was of small stature, slender, of dark complexion, 
 with black hair, sharp features, deep-set eyes, a 
 pointed, aquiline nose having a decided twist to one 
 side, and a small mouth. 
 
 The three most important events in Gov. Ford's 
 r.dn:inistration were the establishment of the high 
 financial credit of the State, the " Mormon War " and 
 .he Mexican War. 
 
 In the first of these the Governor proved himself 
 to be eminently wise. On coming into office he found 
 the State badly paralyzed by the ruinous effects of 
 the notorious " internal improvement ' schemes of 
 
 the preceding decade, with scarcely anything to 
 show by way of "improvement." The enterprise 
 that seemed to be getting ahead more than all the 
 rest was the Illinois & Michigan Canal. As this 
 promised to be the most important thoroughfare, 
 feasible to the people, it was well under headway in 
 its construction. Therefore the State policy was 
 almost concentrated upon it, in order to rush it on tc 
 completion. The bonded indebtedness of the State 
 was growmg so large as to frighten the people, and 
 they were about ready to entertain a proposition for 
 repudiation. But the Governor had the foresight to 
 recommend such measures as would maintain the 
 public credit, for which every citizen to-day feels 
 thankful. 
 
 But perhaps the Governor is remembered more for 
 his connection with the Mormon troubles than for 
 anything else; for it was during his term of office 
 that the " Latter- Day Saints " became so strong at 
 Nauvoo, built their temple there, increased their num- 
 bers throughout the country, committed misdemean- 
 ors, taught dangerous doctrines, suffered the loss of 
 their leader, Jo Smith, by a violent death, were driven 
 out of Nauvoo to the far West, etc. Having been a 
 Judge for so many years previously, Mr. Ford of 
 course was non-committal concerning Mormon affairs, 
 and was therefore claimed by both parties and also 
 accused by each of sympathizing too greatly with the 
 other side. Mormonism claiming to be a system of 
 religion, the Governor no doubt was "between two 
 fires," and felt compelled to touch the matter rather 
 " gingerly," and doubtless felt greatly relieved when 
 that pestilential people left the State. Such compli- 
 cated matters, especially when religion is mixed up 
 with them, expose every person participating in 
 them to criticism from all parties. 
 
 The Mexican War was begun in the spring of 
 1845, and was continued into the gubernatorial term 
 of Mr. Ford's successor. The Governor's connection 
 with this war, however, was not conspicuous, as it 
 was only administrative, commissioning officers, etc. 
 Ford's " History of Illinois " is a very readable and 
 entertaining work, of 450 small octavo pages, and is 
 destined to increase in value with the lapse of time. 
 It exhibits a natural flow of compact and forcible 
 thought, never failing to convey the nicest sense. In 
 tracing with his trenchant pen the devious operations 
 of the professional politician, in which he is inimit- 
 able, his account is open, perhaps, to the objection 
 that all his contemporaries are treated as mere place- 
 seekers, while many of them have since been judged 
 by the people to be worthy statesmen. His writings 
 seem slightly open to the criticism that they exhibit 
 a little splenetic partiality against those of his con- 
 temporaries who were prominent during his term of 
 office as Governor. 
 
 The death of Gov. Ford took place at Peoria, 111., 
 Nov. 2, 1850.
 
 LLIKO'S
 
 ',i?':^-^^^^>^^^/
 
 GO VERArORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 143 
 
 >e^L^//<:x\K^^ 
 
 I Augustus C. French, 
 
 [a^^'^^UGUSTUS C. FRENCH, 
 Governor of Illinois from 
 ) 1846 to 1852, was born ill 
 the town of Hill, in the 
 State of New Hampshire, 
 :> Aug. 2, 1808. He was a 
 ."^ descendant in the fourth 
 generation of Nathaniel 
 Freni-h, who emigrated from England 
 in 16S7 and settled in Saybury, Mass. 
 In early life yonng French lost his 
 father, but continued to receive in- 
 struction I'rom an exemplary and 
 Christian mother until he was 1 9 years 
 old, when she also died, confiding to 
 his care and trust four younger broth- 
 ers and one sister. He discharged his trust with 
 parental devotion. His education in early life was 
 tucli mainly as a common scliool afforded. For a 
 Srief period he attended Dartmouth College, but 
 from pecuniary causes and the care of his brothers 
 and sister, he did not graduate. He subsequently 
 read law, and was admitted to the Bar in 1831, and 
 shortly afterward removed to Illinois, settling first at 
 Albion, Edwards County, where he established him- 
 self in the practice of law. The following year he 
 removed to Paris, Edgar County. Here he attained 
 eminence in his profession, and entered public life 
 by representing that county in the Legislature. A 
 strong attachment sprang up between him and Ste- 
 phen A. Douglas. 
 
 In 1839, Mr. French was appointed Receiver of 
 the United States Land Office at Palestine, Craw- 
 ford County, at which place he was a resident when 
 
 elevated to the gubernatorial chair. In 1844 he was 
 a Presidential Elector, and as such he voted for 
 James K. Polk. 
 
 The Democratic State Convention of 1846, meet- 
 ing at Springfield Feb. 10, nominated Mr. French 
 for Governor. Other Democratic candidates were 
 Lyman Trumbull, John Calhoun (subsequently of 
 Lecompton Constitution notoriety), Walter B. Scates, 
 Richard M. Young and A. W. Cavarly, — an array of 
 very able and prominent names. Trumbull was per- 
 haps defeated in the Convention by th'e rumor that 
 he was opposed to tlie Illinois and Michigan Canal, 
 as he had been a year previously. For Lieutenant 
 Governor J. B. Wells was chosen, while other candi- 
 dates were Lewis Ross, Wm. McMurlry, Newton 
 Cloud, J. B. Hamilton and W. W. Thompson. The 
 resolutions declared strongly against the resuscita- 
 tion of the old State Banks. 
 
 The Wliigs, wlio were in a hopeless nunority, held 
 their convention June 8, at Peoria, and selected 
 Thomas M. Kilpatrick, of Scott County, for Governor, 
 and Gen. Nathaniel G. Wilco.x, of Schuyler, for 
 Lieutenant Governor. 
 
 In the campaign the latter e.xposed Mr. French's 
 record and connection with the passage of the in- 
 ternal improvement system, urging it against his 
 election; Inil in the mcntime the war with Mexico 
 broke out, regarding which the Whig record was un- 
 popular in this State. The war was tlie absorbing 
 and dominating question of the period, sweeping 
 every other political issue in its course. The elec- 
 tion in August gave Mr. French 58,700 votes, and 
 Kilpatrick only 36,775. Richard Eells, Abolitionist 
 candidate for the same office, received 5,152 vot»s
 
 144 
 
 AUGUSTUS C. FRENCH. 
 
 By the new Constitution of 1848, a new election for 
 State officers was ordered in November of that year, 
 before Gov. French's term was half out, and he was 
 re-elected for the term of four years. He was there- 
 fore the uicumbent for six consecutive years, the 
 only Governor of this State who has ever served in 
 that capacity so long at one time. As there was no 
 organized opposition to his election, he received 67,- 
 453 votes, to 5,639 for Pierre Menard (son of the 
 first Lieutenant Governor), 4,748 for Charles V. 
 Dyer, 3,834 for W. L. D. Morrison, and 1,361 for 
 James L. D. Morrison. But Wm. McMurtry, of 
 Knox County, was elected Lieutenant Governor, in 
 place of Joseph B. Wells, who was before elected 
 and did not run again. 
 
 Governor French was inaugurated into office dur- 
 ing the progress of the Mexican War, which closed 
 during the summer of 1847, although the treaty of 
 Guadalupe Hidalgo was not made until Feb. 2, 
 1848. The policy of Gov. French's party was com- 
 mitted to that war^ but in connection with that affair 
 he was, of course, only an administrative officer. 
 During his term of office, Fei). 19, 1847, the Legisla- 
 ture, by special peraiission of Congress, declared that 
 all Government lands sold to settlers should be im- 
 mediately subject to State taxation; before this they 
 were exempt for five years after sale. By this ar- 
 rangement the revenue was materially increased. 
 About the same lime, tlie distribution of Government 
 land warrants among the Me.xican soldiers as bounty 
 threw upon the market a great quantity of 'good 
 lands, and this enhanced the settlement of tlie State. 
 The same Legislature authorized, with the recom- 
 mendation of the Governor, the sale of the Northern 
 Cross Railroad (from Springfield to Meredosia, the 
 first in the State and now a section of the Wabash, 
 St. Louis & Pacific) It sold for $roo,ooo in bonds, 
 although it had cost the State not less than a million. 
 The salt weils and canal lands in the Saline reserve 
 in Gallatin County, granted by the general Govern- 
 ment to the State, were also authorized by the 
 Governor to be sold, to apply on the State debt. In 
 1850, for the first time since 1S39, the accruing State 
 revenue, exclusive of specific appropriations, was 
 sufficient to meet the current demands upon the 
 treasury. The aggregate taxable property of the 
 State at this time was over $100,000,000, and th.^ 
 population 851,470. 
 
 In 1S49 the Legislature adopted the township or- 
 ganization law, which, however, proved defective, 
 and was properly amended in 185 1. At its session 
 in the latter year, the General Assembly also passed 
 a law to exempt homesteads from sale on executions 
 This beneficent measure had been repeatedly vuge(3 
 upon that body by Gov. French. 
 
 In 1850 some business men in St. Louis com- 
 menced to build a dike opposite the lower part of 
 their city on the Illinois side, to keep the Mississippi 
 in its channel near St. Louis, instead of breaking 
 away from them as it sometimes threatened to do. 
 This they undertook without permission from the 
 Legislature or Executive authority of this State ; and 
 as many of the inhabitants thera complained that 
 the scheme would inundate and ruin much valuable 
 land, there was a slight conflict of jurisdictions, re- 
 sulting in favor of the St. Louis project; and since 
 then a good site has existed there for a city (East St. 
 Louis), and now a score of railroads center there. 
 
 It was in September, 1850, that Congress granted 
 to this State nearly 3,000,000 acres of land in aid of 
 the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad, 
 which constituted the most important epoch in the 
 railroad — we might say internal improvement — his- 
 tory of the State. The road was rushed on to com- 
 pletion, which accelerated the settlement of the in- 
 terior of the State by a good class of industrious citi- 
 zens, and by the charter a good income to the State 
 Treasury is paid in from the earnings of the road. 
 
 In 1851 the Legislature passed a law authorizing 
 free stock banks, which was the source of much leg- 
 islative discussion for a number of years. 
 
 But we have not space further to particularize j 
 concerning legislation. Gov. French's administra- 
 tion was not marked by any feature to be criticised, 
 while the country was settling up as never before. 
 
 In stature, Gov. French was of medium height, 
 squarely built, light coraplexioned, with ruddy face 
 and pleasant countenance. In manners he was 
 plain and agreeable. By nature he was somewhat 
 diffident, but he was often very outspoken in his con- 
 victions of duty. In public speech he was not an 
 orator, but was chaste, earnest and persuasive. In 
 business he was accurate and methodical, and in his 
 administration he kept up the credit of the State. 
 
 He died in 1S65, at his home in Lebanon, St 
 Glair Co., Jll.
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 147 
 
 
 %. plEiles0n 
 
 - ^'^'^"X^^'" '^'^■^^^^iL' 
 
 ~*J 
 
 
 CoEL A. MATTESON, Governor 
 i-:^;j» 1853-6, was born Aug. 8, iSoo, 
 ;;' ill Jefferson County, New York, 
 to which place his father had re- 
 moved from Vermont three years 
 l)efore. His father was a farmer 
 in fair circumstances, but a com- 
 mon English education was all 
 that his only son received. Young 
 Joel first tempted fortune as a 
 small tradesman in Prescott, 
 Canada, before he was of age. 
 He returned from that place to 
 his home, entered an academy, 
 taught school, visited the prin- 
 cipal Eastern cities, improved a farm his father hail 
 given him, made a tour in the Soutli, worked there 
 in building railroads, experienced a storm on tire 
 Gulf of Mexico, visited tiie gold diggings of Northern 
 Georgia, and returned via Nashville to St. Louis and 
 through Illinois to his fatlier's home, when he mar- 
 ried. In 1833, having sold his farm, he removed. 
 with his wife and one child, to Illinois, and entered 
 a claim on Government land near the head of An 
 Sable River, in what is now Kendall County. Ai 
 that time there were not more than two neighbors 
 within a range of ten miles of liis place, and only 
 diree or four houses between him and Chicago. He 
 opened a large farm. His family was boarded 1 2 
 
 miles away while he erected a house on his claim, 
 sleeping, daring this time, under a rude pole shed. 
 Here his life was once placed in imminent peril by 
 a huge. prairie rattlesnake sharing his bed. 
 
 In 1835 he bought largely at the Government land 
 sales. During the speculative real-estate mania which 
 broke out in Chicago in 1S36 and spread over the State, 
 he sold his lands under the inflation of that period 
 and removed to Joliet. In 1838 he became a heavy 
 contractor on the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Upon 
 the completion of his job in 1841, when hard times 
 prevailed, business at a stand, contracts paid in State 
 scrip; when all the public works except the canal 
 were abandoned, the State offered for sale 700 tons 
 of railroad iron, which was purchased by Mr. Mat- 
 teson at a bargain. This he accepted, shipped and 
 sold at Detroit, realizing a very handsome profit, 
 enough to pay off all his canal debts and leave him a 
 surplus of several thousand dollars. His enterprise 
 next prompted him to start a woolen mill at Joliet, 
 in which he prospered, and which, after successive 
 enlargements, became an enormous establishment. 
 
 In 1842 he was first elected a State Senator, but, 
 ijy a bungling apportionment, jcin Pearson, a Senator 
 holding over, was found to be in the same district 
 and decided to be entitled to represent it. Mat- 
 teson's seat was declared vacant. Pearson, however 
 with a nobleness difficult to appreciate in this day of
 
 148 
 
 JOEL A. MATTESON. 
 
 greed for office, unwilling to represent his district 
 under the circumstances, immediately resigned his 
 unexpired term of two years. A bill was passed in a 
 few hours ordering a new election, and in ten days' 
 time Mr. Matteson was returned re-elected and took 
 his seat as Senator. From his well-known capacity 
 as a business man, he was made Chairman of the 
 Committee on Finai'ce, a position he held during 
 this half and two full succeeding Senatorial terms, 
 discharging its important duties with ability and faith- 
 fulness. Besides his extensive woolen-mill interest, 
 when work was resumed on the canal under the new 
 /oan of $1,600,000 he again became a heavy con- 
 tractor, and also subsequently operated largely in 
 building railroads. Thus he showed himself a most 
 energetic and thorough business man. 
 
 He was nominated for Governor by the Demo- 
 cratic State Convention which met at Springfield 
 April 20, 1852. Other candidates before the Con- 
 vention were D. L. Gregg and F. C. Sherman, of 
 Cook ; John Dement, of Lee ; Tliomas L. Harris, of 
 Menard; Lewis W. Ross, of Fulton ; and D. P. Bush, 
 of Pike. Gustavus Koerner, of St. Clair, was nom- 
 inated for Lieutenant Governor. For the same offices 
 the Whigs nominated Edwin B. Webb and De.xter A. 
 Knowlton. Mr. Matteson received 80,645 votes at 
 the election, while Mr. Webb received 64,408. Mat- 
 teson's forte was not on the stump; he had not cul- 
 tivated the art of oily flattery, or the faculty of being 
 all things to all men. His intellectual qualities took 
 rather the direction of efficient executive ability. His 
 turn consisted not so much in the adroit manage- 
 ment of party, or the jwwerful advocacy of great gov- 
 ernmental principles, as in those more solid and 
 enduring operations which cause the physical devel- 
 opment and advancement of a State, — of commerce 
 and business enterprise, into which he labored with 
 success to lead the people. .\s a politician he was 
 just and liberal in his views, and both in official and 
 private life he then stood untainted and free from 
 blemish. As a man, in active benevolence, social 
 irirtues and all the amiable qualities of neighbor or 
 citizen, he had few superiors. His messages present 
 a perspicuous array of facts as to the condition of the 
 State, and are often couched in forcible and elegant 
 diction. 
 
 The greatest excitement during his term of office 
 was the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, by Con- 
 
 gress, under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas in 
 1854, when the bill was passed organizing the Terri- 
 tory of Kansas and Nebraska. A large portion of 
 the Whig party of the North, through their bitter op- 
 position to the Democratic party, naturally drifted 
 into the doctrine of anti-slavery, and thus led to what 
 was temporarily called the " Anti-Nebraska " party, 
 while the followers of Douglas were known as " Ne- 
 l)raska or Douglas Democrats." It was during this 
 embryo stage of the Republican party that Abraham 
 Lincoln was brought forward as the "Anti-Nebraska" 
 candidate for the United States Senatorship, while 
 Gen. James Shields, the incumbent, was re-nom- 
 inated by the Democrats. But after a fewballotings 
 in the Legislature (1855), these men were dropped, 
 and Lyman Trumbull, an Anti-Nebraska Democrat, 
 was brought up by the former, and Mr. Matteson, 
 then Governor, by the latter. On the nth ballot 
 Mr. Trumbull obtained one majority, and was ac- 
 cordingly declared elected. Before Gov. Matteson's 
 term expired, the Republicans were fully organized 
 as a national party, and in 1856 put into the field a 
 full national and State ticket, carrying the State, but 
 not the nation. 
 
 The Legislature of 1855 passed two very import- 
 ant measures, — the present free-school system and a 
 submission of the Maine liquor law to a vote of the 
 people. The latter was defeated by a small majority 
 of the popular vote. 
 
 During tiie four years of Gov. Matteson's admin- 
 istration the taxable wealth of the State was about 
 trebled, from $ 1 37,8 r 8,07 9 to $349,951,272; the pub- 
 lic debt was reduced from $17,398,985 to $12,843,- 
 144; taxation was at the same time reduced, and the 
 State resumed paying interest on its debt in New 
 York as fast as it fell due ; railroads were increased 
 in their mileage from something less than 400 to 
 about 3.000 ; and the population of Chicago was 
 nearly doubled, and its commerce more than quad- 
 rupled. 
 
 Before closing this account, we regret that we have 
 to say that Mr. Matteson, in all other respects an 
 upright man and a good Governor, was implicated 
 in a false re-issue of redeemed canal scrip, amount- 
 ing to $224,182.66. By a suit in the Sangamon Cir- 
 cuit Court the State recovered the principal and all 
 the interest excepting $27,500. 
 
 He died in the winter of 1872-3, at Chicago.
 
 I!'.'
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 'S' 
 
 *^i'..n;r.'. •.'.•. '■ ■. 'i '. 'i ■. •i". 
 
 
 I.LIAM H. BISSELL, Gov- 
 ernor 1857-60, was born 
 ^«;3 April 25, iSii, in llie 
 State of New York, near 
 Painted Post, Yates County. 
 His parents were obscure, 
 lionest, God-fearing people, 
 " 111 1 re ired their children under the daily 
 Lxample of industry and frugality, accord- 
 ing to the custom of that class of Eastern 
 st)( lety Mr. Bissell received a respecta- 
 ble but not thorough academical education. 
 By assiduous application he acquired a 
 knowledge of medicine, and in his early 
 manhood came West and located in Mon- 
 roe County, this .State, where he engaged in the 
 practice of that profession. But he was not enam- 
 ored of his calling: he was swayed by a broader 
 ambition, to such an extent that the mysteries of the 
 healing art and its arduous duties failed to yield him 
 further any charms. In a few years he discovered 
 his <,hoice of a profession to be a mistake, and when 
 he approached the age of 30 he sought to begin 
 .i;iew. Dr. Bissell, no doubt unexpectedly to him- 
 self, »lis<overed a singular facility and charm of 
 speech, the exercise of which acquired for him a 
 ready loc.il notoriety. It soon came to be under- 
 
 stood that he desired to abandon his profession and 
 take up that of the law. During terms of Court he 
 would spend his time at the county seat among the 
 members of the Bar, who extended to him a ready 
 welcome. 
 
 It was not strange, therefore, that he should drift 
 into public life. In 1840 he was elected as a Dem- 
 ocrat to the Legislature from Monroe County, and 
 was an efficient member of that body. On his re- 
 turn home he qualified himself for admission to the 
 Bar and speedily rose to the front rank as an advo- 
 cate. His powers of oratory were captivating. With a 
 pure diction, charming and inimitable gestures, 
 clearness of statement, and a remarkable vein of sly 
 luimor, his efforts before a jury told with irresistible 
 effect. He was chosen by the Legislature Prosecut- 
 ing Attorney for the Circuit in which he lived, and 
 in that position he fully discharged his duty to the 
 State, gained the esteem of the Bar, and seldom 
 failed to convict the offender of the law. 
 
 \\\ stature he was somewhat tall and slender, and 
 with a straight, military bearing, he presented a dis- 
 tinguished appearance. His complexion was dark, 
 his head well poised, though not large, his address 
 lileasant and manner winning. He was exemplary 
 in his habits, a devoted husband and kind parent. 
 He was twice married, tiie first tirne to Miss lames,
 
 ^52 
 
 WILLIAM II. BISSELL. 
 
 ot Monroe County, by whom he had two children, 
 both daughters. She died soon after the year 1840, 
 and Mr. B. married for his second wife a daughter 
 of Elias K. Kane, previously a United States Senator 
 from this State. She survived him but a short time, 
 and died without issue. 
 
 When the war with Mexico was declared in 1846, 
 Mr. Bissell enlisted and was elected Colonel of his 
 regiment, over Hon. Don Morrison, by an almost 
 unanimous vote, — 807 to 6. Considering the limited 
 opportunities he had had, he evinced a high order of 
 military talent. On the bloody field of Buena Vista 
 he acquitted himself with intrepid and distinguished 
 ability, contributing with his regiment, tiie Second 
 Illinois, in no small degree toward saving the waver- 
 ing fortunes of our arms during that long and fiercely 
 contested battle. 
 
 After his return home, at the close of the war, he 
 was elected to Congress, his opponents being the 
 Hons. P. B. Fouke and Joseph Gillespie. He served 
 two terms in Congress. He was an ardent politician. 
 During the great contest of 1850 he voted in favor 
 of the adjustment measures ; but in 1854 he opposed 
 the repeal of the Missouri Compromise act and 
 therefore the Kansas-Nebraska bill of Douglas, and 
 thus became identified with the nascent Repul)lican 
 party. 
 
 During., his first Congressional term, while the 
 Southern members were following their old practice 
 of intimidating the North by bullying language, 
 and claiming most of the credit for victories in the 
 Mexican War, and Jefferson Davis claiming for the 
 Mississippi troops all the credit ior success at Buena 
 Vista, Mr. Bissell bravely defended the Northern 
 troops ; whereupon Davis challenged Bissell to a duel, 
 which was accepted. This matter was brought ujj 
 against Bissell when he was candidate for Governor 
 and during his term of office, as the Constitution of 
 this State forbade any duelist from holding a State 
 office. 
 
 In 1856, when the Republican party first put forth 
 a candidate, John C. Fremont, for President of the 
 United States, the same party nominated Mr. Bissell 
 for Governor of Illinois, and John Wood, of Quincy, 
 for Lieutenant Governor, while the Democrats nomi- 
 nated Hon. W. A. Richardson, of Adams County, 
 for Governor, and Col. R. J. Hamilton, of ("ook 
 County, for Lieutcnunt Governor. Tlie result of the 
 
 election was a plurality of 4,729 votes over Richard- 
 son. The American, or Know-Nothing, party had a 
 ticket in the field. The Legislature was nearly bal- 
 anced, but was politically opposed to the Governor. 
 His message to the Legislature was short and rather 
 ordinary, and was criticised for expressing the sup- 
 posed obligations of the people to the incorporators 
 of the Illinois Central Railroad Company and for re- 
 opening the slavery question by allusions to the 
 Kansas troubles. Late in the session an apportion- 
 ment bill, based upon the State census of 1855, was 
 passed, amid much partisan strife. The Governor 
 at first signed the bill and then vetoed it. A furious 
 debate followed, and the question whether the Gov- 
 ernor had the authority to recall a signature was 
 referred to the Courts, that of last resort deciding irj 
 favor of the Governor. Two years afterward another 
 outrageous attempt was made for a re-apportionment 
 and to gerrymander the State, but the Legislature 
 failed to pass the bill over the veto of the Governor. 
 
 It was during Gov. Bissell's administration that 
 the notorious canal scrip fraud was brought to light, . 
 'mplicating ex-Gov. Matteson and other prominent 
 State officials. The principal and interest, aggregat- 
 ing $255,500, was all recovered by the State except- 
 ing $27,500. (See sketch of Gov. Matteson.) 
 
 In 1859 an attempt was discovered to fraudu- 
 lently refund the Macalister and Stebbins bonds and 
 thus rob the State Treasury of nearly a quarter of a 
 million dollars. The State Government was impli- 
 cated in this affair, and to this day remains unex- 
 plained or unatoned for. For the above, and other 
 matters previously mentioned. Gov. Bissell has been 
 severely criticised, and he has also been most shame- 
 fully libelled and slandered. 
 
 On account of e.xposure in the army, the remote 
 cause of a nervous form of disease gained entrance 
 into his system and eventually developed paraplegia, 
 affecting his lower extremities, which, while it left 
 his body in comparative health, deprived him of loco- ' 
 motion except by the aid of crutches. While he was I 
 generally hopeful of ultimate recovery, this myste- 
 rious disease pursued him, without once relaxing its ■ 
 stealthy hold, to the close of his life, March i8,i 
 i860, over nine months before tlie expiration of hijj 
 gubernatorial term, at the early age of 48 years. Hej 
 died in the faith of tlie Roman C'atholic ("hurch. n(' 
 which he ha.l been a member since 1S54.
 
 iV ILLINOIS
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ■SS 
 
 - 'liOHN WOOD, Governo.- 1860-1, and 
 jfew the first settler of Quincy, 111., 
 3= was born in the town of Sempro- 
 , <. niiis (now Moravia), Cayuga Co., 
 2J?' N. Y., Dec. 20, 1798. He was 
 the second child and only son of 
 Dr. Daniel Wood. His mother, 
 iifi Catiierine Crause, was of 
 German parentage, and died 
 wliile he was an infant. Dr. 
 Wood was a learned and skillful 
 l)hysician, of classical attain- 
 ments and proficient in several 
 modern lai.guages, who, after 
 serving throughout the Revolu- 
 tionary War as a Surgeon, settled on the land granted 
 him by the Government, and resided there a re- 
 spected and leading influence in his section until his 
 death, at the ripe age of 92 years. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, impelled by the spirit 
 of Western adventure then pervading everywhere, 
 left his home, Nov. 2, 181 8, and passed the succeed- 
 ing winter in Cincinnati, Ohio. The following sum- 
 mer he pushed on to Illinois, landing at Shawneetown, 
 and spent the fall and following winter in Calhoun 
 County. In 1820, in company with Willard Keyes, 
 he settled in Pike County, about 30 miles southeast 
 of Quincy, where for the next two years he pursued 
 farming. In 1821 he visited " the BUiflfs " (as the 
 present site of Quincy was called, then uninhabited) 
 and, pleased with lis prospects, soon after purchased 
 a i|u:irter-se(;tin;i of lanil near bv, and in the follow- 
 lu^ fill ( I ;■;.'-•) cre(lcii near the livcr a small cabin, 
 
 #-# 
 
 18 X 20 feet, the first building in Quincy, of which 
 he then became the first and for some months the 
 only occupant. 
 
 About this time he visited his old friends in Pike 
 County, chief of whom was William Ross, the lead- 
 ing man in building up the village of Atlas, of that 
 county, which was thought then to be the possible 
 commencement of a city. One day they and others 
 I were traveling together over the country between the 
 two iX)ints named, making observations on the com- 
 parative merits of the respective localities. On ap- 
 proaching the Mississippi near Mr. Wood's place, 
 the latter told his companions to follow him and he 
 would show them where he was going to build a city. 
 They went about a mile off the main trail, to a high 
 point, from which the view in every direction was 
 most magnificent, as it had been for ages and as ye; 
 untouched by the hand of man. Before them swept 
 by the majestic Father of Waters, yet unburdened by 
 navigation. After Mr. Wood had expatiated at 
 .length on the advantages of the situation, Mr. Ross 
 replied, " But it's too near Atlas ever to amount to 
 anything!" 
 
 Atlas is still a cultivated farm, and Quincy is a 
 city of over 30,000 population. 
 
 In 1824 Mr. Wood gave a 'lewspaper notice, 
 as the law then prescribed, of his intention to apply 
 to the General Assembly for the formation of a new 
 county. This was done the following winter, result- 
 ing in the establishment of the present Adams 
 ('oar.ty. During the next summer Quincy was se- 
 lected as the county seui, it and the vicinity then 
 containini; but four adult male icsidfiil^; ami h.ili
 
 sso 
 
 rOHN WOOD. 
 
 that number of females. Since that period Mr. 
 Wood resided at the place of his early adoption un- 
 til his death, and far more than any other man was 
 he identified with every measure of its progress and 
 history, and almost continuously kept in public posi- 
 tions. 
 
 He was one of the early town Trustees, and after 
 the place became a city he was often a member of 
 the City Council, many times elected Mayor, in the 
 face of a constant large opposition political majonty. 
 In 1850 he was elected to the State Senate. In 1856, 
 on the organization of the Republican party, he was 
 chosen Lieutenant Governor of the State, on the 
 ticket with Wm. H. Bissell for Governor, and on the 
 death of the latter, March r8, i860, he succeeded to 
 the Chief Executive chair, which he occupied until 
 Gov. Yates was inaugurated nearly ten months after- 
 ward. 
 
 Nothing very marked characterized the adminis- 
 tration of Gov. Wood. The great anti-slavery cam- 
 paign of i860, resulting in the election of the honest 
 Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the Presidency of the 
 United States, occurred during the short period 
 while Mr. Wood was Governor, and the excitement 
 and issues of that struggle dominated over every 
 other consideration, — indeed, supplanted them in a 
 great measure. The people of Illinois, during all 
 that time, were passing the comparatively petty strifes 
 under Bissell's administration to the overwhelming 
 issue of preserving the whole nauon from destruction. 
 In 186 1 ex-Gov. Wood was one of the five Dele- 
 gates from Illinois to the " Peace Convention " at 
 Washington, and in Aprilofthe same year, on the 
 breaking cut of the Rebellion, he was appointed 
 
 Quartermaster-General of the State, which position 
 he held throughout the war. In 1864 he took com- 
 mand as Colonel of the 137th 111. Vol. Inf, with 
 whom he served until the period of enlistment ex- 
 pired. 
 
 Politically, Gov. Wood was always actively identi- 
 fied with the Whig and Republican parties. Few 
 men have in personal experience comprehended so 
 many surprising and advancing local changes as 
 vested in the more than half century recollections of 
 Gov. Wood. Sixty-four years ago a solitary settler 
 on the "Bluffs," with no family, and no neighbor 
 within a score of miles, the world of civilization away 
 behind him, and the strolling red-man almost his 
 only visitant, he lived to see growing around him, 
 and under his auspices and aid, overspreading the 
 wild hills and scraggy forest a teaming city, second 
 only in size in the State, and surpassed nowhere in 
 beauty, prosperity and promise; whose people recog- 
 nize as with a single voice the proverbial honor and 
 liberality that attach to the name and lengthened 
 life of their pioneer settler, "the old Governor." 
 
 Gov. Wood was twice married, — first in January, 
 1826, to Ann M. Streeter, daughter of Joshua Streeter, 
 formerly of Salem, Washington Co., N. Y. They had 
 eight children. Mrs. W. died Oct. 8, 1863, and in 
 Tune, 1865, Gov. Wood married Mrs. Mary A., widow 
 of Rev. Joseph T. Holmes. Gov. Wood died June 4, 
 1 880, at his residence in Quincy. Four of his eight 
 children are now living, namely: Ann E., wife of 
 Gen. John Tillson; Daniel C, who married Mary J. 
 Abernethy; John, Jr., who married Josephine Skinner, 
 and Joshua S., who married Annie Bradley. The 
 last mentioned now resides at Atchison, Kansas, and 
 all the rest are still at Quincy. 
 
 Ikt^. 

 
 ILUiWiS
 
 lh^Sr^ >idbS,Wi»,WVA^-T'\-!J'rj!^ 
 
 SlkA^iV:>'.:^Vrr V\\ :V-ij\~-V •• A-m:VJAVViViA!V;g 
 
 I?ic'l\ard Ya{;(?*^. 
 
 
 - ^ 1 a- 
 
 ^Jl 
 
 4- 
 
 IICHARD YATES, the "War 
 Governor," 1861-4, was born 
 Jan. 18, 18 18, on the banks of 
 the Ohio River, at V'arsaw, 
 Gallatin Co., Ky. His lather 
 f&^ moved in i8-?i to Illinois, and 
 after stopping for a time in 
 Springfield, settled at Island 
 Grove, Sangamon County. Here, 
 after attending school, Richard joined 
 the family. Subsequently he entered 
 Illinois College at Jacksonville, 
 where, in 1837, he graduated with 
 fiist honors. He chose for his pro- 
 fession the law, the Hon. J. J. Har- 
 din being his instructor. After ad- 
 mission to the Bar he soon rose to distinction as an 
 advocate. 
 
 Gifted with a fluent and ready oratory, he soon 
 appeared in the political hustings, and, being a 
 passionate admirer of the great Whig leader of the 
 West. Henry Clay, he joined his political fortunes to 
 he party of his idol. In 1840 he engaged with great 
 -"•dor in the exciting " hard cider " campaign for 
 %'arrison. Two years later he was elected to the 
 Legislature from Morgan County, a Democratic 
 stronghold. He served three or four terms in the 
 Legislature, and such was the fascination of his ora- 
 •ry that by 1850 his large Congressional District, 
 txtending from Morgan and Sangamon Counties 
 . orlh to include LaSalle, unanimously tendered him 
 tne Whig nomination for Congress. His Democratic 
 opponent was Maj. Thomas L. Harris, a very pop- 
 v'ar man wiio had won distinction at the battle of 
 Cerro Gordo, in the Mexican War, and who had 
 Deaten Hon. Stephen T. Logan for the same position. 
 
 two years before, by a large majority. Yates wa? 
 elected. Tkvo years later he was re-elected, over 
 John Calhoun. 
 
 It was during Yates second term in Congress that 
 the great question of the repeal of the Missouri Com- 
 promise was agitated, and the bars laid down for re- 
 opening the dreaded anti-slavery question. He took 
 strong grounds against the repeal, and thus became 
 identified with the rising Republican party. Conse- 
 quently he fell into the minority in his district, which 
 was pro-slavery. Even then, in a third contest, he 
 fell behind Major Harris only 200 votes, after the 
 district had two years before given Pierce 2,000 
 majority for President. 
 
 The Republican State Convention of i860 met at 
 Decatur May 9, and nominated for the office of Gov- 
 ernor Mr. Yates, in preference to Hon. Norman B. 
 Judd, of Chicago, and Leonard Swett, of Blooming- 
 ton, two of the ablest men of the State, who were 
 also candidates before the Convention. Francis A. 
 Hoffman, of DuPage County, was nominated foi 
 Lieutenant Governor. This was the year when Mr. 
 Lincoln was a candidate for President, a period re- 
 membered as characterized by the great whirlpool 
 which precipitated the bloody War of the Rebellion. 
 The Douglas Democrats nominated J. C. Allen cf 
 Crawford County, for Governor, and Lewis W. Ro;^s, 
 of Fulton County, for Lieutenant Governor. The 
 Breckenridge Democrats and the Bell-Everett party 
 had also full tickets in the field. After a most fear- 
 ful campaign, the result of the election gave Mr. 
 Yates 172,196 votes, and Mr, Allen 159,253. Mr. 
 Yates received over a thousand more votes than did 
 Mr. Lincoln himself. 
 
 Gov. Yates occupied the chair of Stale during the
 
 i6o 
 
 RICHARD YATES. 
 
 most critical period of our country's history. In the 
 fate of the nation was involved that of each State. 
 The life struggle of the former derived its sustenance 
 froir the loyalty of the latter; and Gov. Yates 
 seemed to realize the situation, and proved himself 
 both loyal and wise in upholding the Government. 
 He had a deep hold upon the affections of the 
 people, won by his moving eloquence and genial 
 manners. Erect and symmetrical in person, of pre- 
 possessing appearance, with a winning address and a 
 magnetic power, few men possessed more of the ele- 
 ments of popularity. His oratory was scholarly and 
 captivating, his hearers hardly knowing why they 
 were transported. He was social and convivial. In 
 the latter respect he was ultimately carried too far. 
 
 The very creditable military efforts of this State 
 during the War of the Rebellion, in putting into the 
 field the enormous number of about 200,000 soldiers, 
 were ever promptly and ably seconded liy his excel- 
 lency ; and the was ambitious to deserve the title of 
 "the soldier's friend." Immediately after the battle of 
 Shiloh he repaired to the field of carnage to look 
 after the wounded, and liis appeals for aid were 
 promptly responded to by the people. His procla- 
 mations calling for volunteers were impassionate 
 appeals, urging upon the people the duties and re- 
 quirements of patriotism ; and his special message 
 in 1863 to the Democratic Legislature of this State 
 pleading for material aid for the sick and wounded 
 soldiers of Illinois regiments, breathes a deep fervor 
 of noble sentiment and feeling rarely equaled in 
 beauty or felicity of expression. Generally his mes- 
 sages on poHtical and civil affairs were able and com- 
 prehensive. During his administration, however, 
 there were no civil events of an engrossing character, 
 although two years of his time were replete with 
 partisan quarrels of great bitterness. Military ar- 
 rests, Knights of the Golden Circle, riot in Fulton 
 County, attempted suppression of the Chicago Times 
 and the usurping State Constitutional Convention of 
 1862, were the chief local topics that were exciting 
 during tlie Governor's term. This Convention assem- 
 bled Jan. 7, and at once took the high laosition that 
 Se law calling it was no longer binding, and that it 
 ad supreme power; that it represented a virtual 
 .issemblage of the whole people of the State, and was 
 . jvereign in the exercise of all power necessary lo 
 uffecla peaceable revolution of tlie State Government 
 
 and to the re-establishment of one for the " happiness, 
 prosperity and freedom of the citizens," limited only 
 by the Federal Con-ititution. Notwithstanding the 
 law calling the Convention required its members to 
 take an oath to sup|)ort the Constitution of the State 
 as well as that of the general Government, they 
 utterly refused to take such oath. They also as- 
 sumed legislative powers and passed several import- 
 ant "laws!" Interfering with the (then) present 
 executive duties, Gov. Yates was provoked to tell 
 them plainly that " he did not acknowledge the right 
 of the Convention to instruct him in the performance 
 of his duty." 
 
 In 1863 the Governor astonished the Democrats 
 by " proroguing " their Legislature. This body, after 
 a recess, met June 2, that year, and soon began to 
 waste time upon various partisan resolutions; and, 
 while the two houses were disagreeing upon the 
 question of adjourning «W die, the Governor, having 
 tlie authority in such cases, surprised them all by 
 adjourning them " to the Saturday next preceding the 
 first Monday in January, 1865 ! " This led to great 
 e.xcitement and confusion, and to a reference of the J 
 Governor's act to the Supreme Court, who decided iii * 
 his favor. Then it was the Court's turn to receive 
 abuse for weeks and months afterward. 
 
 During the autumn of 1864 a conspiracy was de- 
 tected at Chicago which had for its object the liber- 
 ation of the prisoners of war at Camp Douglas, the 
 burning of the city and the inauguration of rebellion 
 in the North. Gen. Sweet, who had charge of the 
 camp at the time, first had his suspicions of danger 
 aroused by a number of enigmatically worded letters 
 '.vhich passed through the Camp postoffice. .\ de- 
 tective afterward discovered that the rebel Gen. 
 Marmaduke was in the city, under an assumed 
 name, and he, with other rebel officers — Grenfell, 
 Morgan, Cantrell, Buckner Morris, and Charles 
 Walsh — was arrested, most of whom were convicted 
 by a court-martial al Cincinnati and sentenced to 
 imprisonment, — Grenfell to be hung. The sentence 
 of the latter was afterward commuted to imprison- 
 ment for life, and all the others, after nine months' 
 imprisonment, were \)ardoned. 
 
 In March, 1873, Gov. Yates was appointed a Gov- 
 ernment Director of the Union Pacific Railroad, in 
 which, offire he continued until his decease, at St. 
 Louis, Mo., o;i the 27lh of Novem! er foUowiiiti.
 
 Hums
 
 •9 
 
 i 
 *
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 '63 
 
 Richard J\ Oqlesby. 
 
 -=^.M- 
 
 -4^; 
 
 
 -nff'^UCHARD J. OGLESBY, Gov- 
 
 \p^ ernor 1S65-8, and re-elected 
 j.j, ill 1872 and 1884, was born 
 I July 25, 1824, in Oldham Co., 
 f* Ky.,— the State which might 
 be considered the " mother of 
 Illinois Governors." Bereft of 
 '^ his parents at the tender age 
 of eiglit years, his early education 
 was neglected. When 12 years of 
 age, and after he had worked a year 
 and a half at the carpenter's trade, 
 he removed with an uncle, Willis 
 Oglesby, into whose care he had 
 been committed, to Decatur, this 
 State, where he continued his ap- 
 prenticeshi[) as a mechanic, working si.K months for 
 Hon. E. O. Smith. 
 
 In 1844 he commenced studying law at Spring- 
 field, with Judge Silas Robbins, and read with him 
 one year. He was admitted to the Bar in 1845, and 
 commenced the practice of his chosen profession at 
 Sullivan, the county seat of Moultrie County. 
 
 Tlie next year the war with Mexico was com- 
 menced, and in June, 1846, Mr. Oglesby volunteered, 
 was elected First Lieutenant of Co. C, Fourth Illinois 
 Regiment of Volunteers, and participated in tiie bat- 
 tles of Vera Crui and Cerro Gordo. 
 
 On his return he sought to perfect his law studies 
 by attending a course of lectures at Louisville, but 
 ■on the breaking out of tlie California "gold fever " in 
 18 ((), he crossed the plains and mountains to the 
 new l',l,li>r.>'l(). driving a six-niulc team, with a com- 
 
 #^ 
 
 pany of eight men, Henry Prather being the leader. 
 
 In 1852 he returned home to Macon County, and 
 was placed that year by the Whig party oil the ticket 
 of Presidential Electors. In 1S56 he visited Europe, 
 .^sia and Africa, being absent 20 months. On his 
 return home he resumed the practice of law, as a 
 member of the firm of Gallagher, Wait & Oglesby. 
 In 1858 he was the Republican nouiinee for the 
 Lower House of Congress, but was defeated by the 
 Hon. James C. Robinson, Democrat. In i860 he 
 was elected to the Illinois State Senate ; and on the 
 evening the returns of this election were coming in, 
 Mr. Oglesby had a fisticuff encounter with " Cerro 
 Gordo Williams," in which he came out victorious, 
 and which was regarded as " the first fight of the 
 Rebellion." The following spring, when the war 
 had commenced in earnest, his ardent nature 
 quickly responded to the demands of patriotism and 
 he enlisted. The extra session of the Legislature 
 elected him Colonel of the Eighth Illinois Infantry, 
 the second one in the State raised to suppress the 
 great Rebellion. 
 
 He was shortly entrusted with important com- 
 mands. For a time he was stationed at Bird's Point 
 and Cairo; in .April he w,as promoted Brigadier Gen- 
 eral ; at Fort Donelson his brigade was in the van, 
 being stationed on the right of General Grant's army 
 and the first brigade to be attacked. He lost 500 
 men before re-inforcements arrived. Many of these 
 men were from Macon County. He was engaged in 
 the battle of Corinth, and, in a brave charge at this 
 jjlace, was shot in the left lung with an ounce ball, 
 and was carried from the field in expectation of im-
 
 164 
 
 RICHARD J. OGLESBY. 
 
 mediate death. That rebel ball he carries to thij 
 day. Oil his partial recovery he was promoted as 
 Major General, for gallantry, his commission to rank 
 from November, 1862. In the spring of 1863 he 
 was assigned to the command of the i6th Army 
 Corps, but, owing to inability from the effects of his 
 wound, he relinquished this command in July, that 
 year. Gen. Grant, however, refused to accept his 
 resignation, and he was detailed, in December follow- 
 ing, to court-martial and try the Surgeon General of 
 the Army at Washington, where he remained until 
 May, 1864, when he returned home. 
 
 The Republican, or Union, State Convention of 
 
 1864 was held at Springfield, May 25, when Mr. 
 Oglesby was nominated for the office of Governor, 
 while other candidates before the Convention were 
 Allen C. Fuller, of Boone, Jesse K. Dubois, of Sanga- 
 mon, and John M. Palmer, of Macoupin. Wm. 
 Bross, of Chicago, was nominated for Lieutenant 
 Governor. On the Democratic State ticket were 
 James C. Robinson, of ("lark, for Governor, and S. 
 Corning Judd, of Fulton, for Lieutenant Governor. 
 The general election gave Gen. Oglesby a majority 
 of about 31,000 votes. The Republicans had also a 
 majority in both the Legislature and in the repre- 
 sentation in Congress. 
 
 Gov. Oglesby was duly inaugurated Jan. 17, 1865. 
 The day before the first time set for his installation 
 death visited his home at Decatur, and took from it 
 his only son, an intelligent and sprightly lad of si.'c 
 years, a great favorite of the bereaved parents. This 
 caused the inauguration to be postponed a week. 
 
 The political events of the Legislative session of 
 
 1865 were the election of ex-Gov. Yates to the 
 United States Senate, and the ratification of the 13th 
 amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 
 abolishing slavery. This session also signalized 
 itself by repealing the notorious " black laws," part 
 of which, although a dead letter, had held their place 
 upon the statute books since 181 9. Also, laws re- 
 quiring the registration of voters, and establishing a 
 State Board of Equaluation, were passed by this Leg- 
 islature. But the same body evinced that it was cor- 
 ruptly influenced by a mercenary lobby, as it adopted 
 some bad legislation, over the Governor's veto, nota- 
 bly an amendment to a charter for a Chicago horse 
 railway, granted in 1859 for 25 years, and now 
 sought to be e.xtended 99 years. As this measure 
 was promptly passed over his veto by both branches 
 of the Legislature, he deemed it useless further to 
 attempt to check their headlong career. At this 
 session no law of a general useful character or public 
 interest was perfected, unless we count such the 
 turning over of the canal to Chicago to be deepened. 
 The session of 1867 was still more productive of 
 private and special acts. Many omnibus bills were 
 proficsed, and some passed. The contests over the 
 •Dcaiion of the Industrial College, the Capital, the I 
 
 Southern Penitentiary, and the canal enlargement 
 and Illinois River improvement, dominated every 
 thing else. 
 
 During the year 1872, it became evident that i( 
 the Republicans could re-elect Mr. Oglesby to the 
 office of Governor, they could also elect him to tlie 
 United States Senate, which they desired to do. 
 Accordingly they re-nominated him for the E.xecu- 
 tive chair, and placed upon the ticket with him for 
 Lieutenant Governor, John L. Beveridge, of Cook 
 County. On the other side the Democrats put into 
 the field Giistavus Koerner for Governor and John 
 C. Black for Lieutenant Governor. The election 
 gave the Republican ticket majorities ranging from 
 35>334 to 56,174, — the Democratic defection being 
 caused mainly by their having an old-time Whig and 
 Abohtionist, Horace Greeley, on the national ticket 
 for President. According to the general understand- 
 ing had beforehand, as soon as the Legislature met 
 it elected Gov. Oglesby to the United States Senate, 
 whereupon Mr. Beveridge became Governor. Sena- 
 tor Oglesby 's term expired March 4, 1S79, having 
 served his party faithfully and exhibited an order of 
 statesmanship beyond criticism. 
 
 During the campaign of 1S84 Mr. Oglesby was 
 nominated for a "third term" as Executive of the 
 State of Illinois, against Carter H. Harrison, Mayor 
 of Chicago, nominated by the Democrats. Both 
 gentlemen "stumped " the State, and while the peo- 
 ple elected a Legislature which was a tie on a join': 
 ballot, as between the two parties, they gave the 
 jovial " Dick" Oglesby a majority of 15,018 for Gov- 
 ernor, and he was inaugurated Jan. 30, 1885. The 
 Legislature did not fully organize until this date, on 
 account of its equal division between the two main 
 parties and the consequent desperate tactics of each 
 party to checkmate the latter in the organization of 
 the House. 
 
 Gov. Oglesby is a fine-appearing, affable man, with 
 regular, well defined features and rotund face. In 
 stature he is a little above medium height, of a large 
 frame and somewhat fleshy. His physical appear- 
 ance is striking and prepossessing, while his straight- 
 out, not to say bluff, manner and speech are weL 
 calculated favorably to impress the average masses. 
 Ardent in feeling and strongly committed to the pol- 
 icies of his party, he intensifies Republicanism 
 among Republicans, while at the same time his iovia. 
 and liberal manner prevents those of the opposite 
 party from hating him. 
 
 He is quite an effective stump orator. With vehe- 
 ment, passionate and scornful tone and gestures, 
 tremendous physical power, which in speaking he 
 exercises to the ntmost; with freipicnt descents to 
 the grotesque; and with abundant homely compari- 
 sons or frontier figures, expressed in the broadest! 
 vernacular and enforced with stentorian cniphasis,| 
 he delights a promiscuous audience beyond measure i
 
 .. TLLiNOiS
 
 
 (jL^£y^^c.L^
 
 GO VERNORS OF JLL/NO/S. 
 
 167 
 
 m 
 
 John M. Pal mem wi 
 
 r t--"i'-'i'-.''»'^iSi'.; ■'.•■'.• i':.i' 
 
 i^lOHN Mc AULEY PALMER, Gov- 
 I i^w ernor 1869-72, was born on 
 Engle Creek, Scott Co., Ky., 
 Sept. 13, 18 1 7. During his in- 
 fancy, his father, who had been 
 a soldier in the war of 1812, re- 
 moved to Christian Co., Ky., 
 where lands were cheap. Here 
 the future Governor of the great 
 Prairie State spent his childhood 
 and received such meager school- 
 ing as the new and sparsely set- 
 tled country afforded. To this 
 he added materially by diligent 
 reading, for which he evinced an 
 eaily aptitude. His father, an ardent Jackson man, 
 was also noted for his anti-slavery sentiments, which 
 he thoroughly impressed upon his children. In 1831 
 he emigrated to Illinois, settling in Madison County. 
 Here the labor of improving a farm was pursued for 
 about two years, when the death of Mr. Palmer's 
 mother broke up the family. About this time Alton 
 College was opened, on the "manual labor " system, 
 and in the spring of 1834 young Palmer, with his 
 elder brother, Elihu, entered this school and remained 
 18 months. Next, for over three years, he tried 
 variously coopering, peddling and school-teaching. 
 
 During the summer of 1838 he formed the ac- 
 quaintance of Stephen A. Douglass, then making his 
 
 first canvass for Congress. Young, eloquent and in 
 political accord with Mr. Palmer, he won his confi- 
 dence, fired his ambition and fixed his purpose. The 
 following winter, while teaching near Canton, he be- 
 gan to devote his spare time to a desultory reading 
 of la.v, and in the spring entered a law office at Car- 
 linville, making his home with his elder brother, 
 Elihu. (The latter was a learned clergyman, of coi>- 
 siderable orginality of thought and doctrine.) On 
 the next meeting of the Supreme Court he was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar, Douglas being one of his examiners. 
 He was not immediately successful in his profession, 
 and would have located elsewhere than Carlinville 
 had he the requisite means. Thus his early poverty 
 was a blessing in disguise, for to it he now attributes 
 the success of his life. 
 
 From 1839 on, while he diligently pursued his 
 profession, he participated more or less in local 
 politics. In 1843 he became Probate Judge. Ir 
 1847 he was elected to the State Constitutional Con 
 vention, where he took a leading part. In 1852 ht, 
 was elected to the State Senate, and at the special 
 session of February, 1854, true to the anti-slaverj 
 sentiments bred in him, he took a firm stand in op 
 ijosition to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, 
 and when the Nebraska question became a part) 
 issue he refused to receive a re-nomination for thi 
 Senatorship at the hands of the Democracy, issuing 
 a circular to that effect. A few weeks afterward.
 
 i68 
 
 JOHN MC AULEY PALMER. 
 
 'lowever, hesitating to break with his party, he par- 
 ticipated ill a Congressional Convention which nomi- 
 T. L. Harris against Richard Yates, and which 
 anqualifiedly approved the principles of the Kansas- 
 Nebraska act. But later in the campaign he made 
 the plunge, ran for the Senate as an Anti-Nebraska 
 Democrat, and was elected. The following winter 
 ne put in nomination for the United States Senate 
 Mr. Trumbull, and was one of the five steadfast men 
 who voted for liim until all the Whigs came to their 
 support and elected their man. 
 
 In 1856 he was Chairman of the Republican State 
 Convention at Bloomington. He ran for Congress in 
 1859, but was defeated. In i860 he was Republican 
 Presidential Elector for the State at large. In 1861 
 ne was appointed one of the five Delegates (all Re- 
 publicans) sent by Illinois to the peace congress at 
 Washington. 
 
 When the civil conflict broke out, he offered his 
 services to his country, and was elected Colonel of the 
 :4th 111. Vol. Inf , and participated in the engagements 
 at Island No. 10; .at Farmington, where he skillfully 
 extricated his comniand from a dangerous position ; 
 at Stone River, where his division for several hours, 
 Dec. 31, 1862, held the advance and stood like a 
 rock, and for his gallantry there he was made Major 
 General; at Chickamauga, where his and Van Cleve's 
 divisions for two hours maintained their position 
 when they were cut off by overpowering numbers. 
 Under Gen. Sherman, he was assigned to the 14th 
 Army Corps and participated in the Atlanta campaign. 
 At Peach-Tree Creek his prudence did much to avert 
 disaster. In February, 1865, Gen. Palmer was as- 
 signed to the military administration of Kentucky, 
 which was a delicate post. That State was about 
 half rebel and half Union, and tiiose of the latter 
 element were daily fretted by the loss of their slaves. 
 He, who had been bred to the rules of common law, 
 trembled at the contemplation of his extraordinary 
 power over the persons and property of his fellow 
 men, with which he was vested in his capacity as 
 military Governor; and he exhibited great caution in 
 the execution of the duties of his post. 
 
 Gen. Palmer was nominated for Governor of Illi- 
 nois by the Republican State Convention which met 
 at Peoria .May 6, 1868, and his nomination would 
 probably have been made by acclamation had he not 
 'jersistently declared that he could not accept a can- 
 
 didature for the office. The result of the ensuing 
 election gave Mr. Palmer a majority of 44,707 over 
 John R. Eden, the Democratic nominee. 
 
 On the meeting of the Legislature in January, 
 1869, the first thing to arrest public attention was 
 that portion of the Governor's message which took 
 broad State's rights ground. This and some minor 
 paints, which were more in keeping with the Demo- 
 cratic sentiment, constituted the entering wedge f jr 
 the criticisms and reproofs he afterward received 
 from the Republican party, and ultimately resulted 
 in his entire aleniation from the latter element. The 
 Legislature just referred to was noted for the intro- 
 duction of numerous bills in the interest of private 
 parties, which were embarrassing to the Governor. 
 Among the public acts passed was that which limited 
 railroad charges for passenger travel to a maximum 
 of three cents per mile ; and it was passed over the 
 Governor's veto. Also, they passed, over his veto, 
 the "tax-grabbing law" to pay rsiilroei subscriptions, 
 the Chicago Lake Front bill, etc. The new State 
 Constitution of 1870, far superior to the old, was a 
 peaceful " revolution" which took place during Gov. 
 Palmer's term of office. The suffering caused by the 
 great Chicago Fire of October, 187 1, was greatly 
 alleviated by the prompt responses of his excellency. 
 
 Since the expiration of Gov. Palmers 's term, he has 
 been somewhat prominent in Illinois politics, and 
 has been talked of by many, especially in the Dem- 
 ocratic party, as the best man in the State for a 
 United States Senator. His business during life has 
 been that of the law. Few excel him in an accurate 
 appreciation of the depth and scope of its principles- 
 The great number of his able veto messages abun- 
 dantly testify not only this but also a rare capacity to 
 point them out. He is a logical and cogent reasoner 
 and an interesting, forcible and convincing speaker, 
 though not fluent or ornate. Without brilliancy, his 
 dealings are rather with facts and ideas than with 
 appeals to passions and prejudices. He is a patriot 
 and a statesman of very high order. Physically he is 
 above the medium height, of robust frame, ruddy 
 complexion and sanguine-nervous temperament lie 
 has a large cranial development, is vivacious, soti.ii 
 in disposition, easy of approach, unostentatious in !v 
 habits of life, democratic in his habits and maniit; 
 and is a true American in his fundamental piinci]'! 
 of statesmanship.
 
 ILLINOIS
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 171 
 
 
 cii^' 
 
 OHN LOWRiE BEVER- 
 IDGE, (lovernor 187^-6, was 
 ^'^ bom 111 the town of Green- 
 wich, Washington Co., N. Y., 
 July 6, 1824. His parents 
 were George and Ann Bever- 
 .'% idge. His father's parents, An- 
 drew and Isabel Beveridge, be- 
 fore their marriage emigrated 
 from Scotland just before the 
 Revolutionary War, settling in 
 AVashington County. His father 
 was the eldest of eight brothers, the 
 youngest of whom was 60 years of 
 age when the first one of the num- 
 ber died. His mother's parents, 
 James and Agnes Hoy, emigrated 
 from Scotland at the close of the 
 Revolutionary War, settling also in 
 Jp Washington Co., N. Y., with their 
 first-born, whose " native land "was 
 the wild ocean. His parents and 
 grandparents lived beyond the time 
 allotted to man, their average age 
 being over 80 years. They belonged to the " Asso- 
 ciate Ciiurch," a seceding Presbyterian body of 
 
 America from the old Scotch school ; and so rigid 
 was the training of young Heveridge that he never 
 heard a sermon from any other minister except that 
 of his own denomination until he was in his 19th 
 year. Later in life he became a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, which relation he still 
 holds. 
 
 Mr. Beveridge received a good common-school ed- 
 ucation, but his parents, who could obtain a livelihood 
 only by rigid economy and industry, could not send 
 him away to college. He was raised n[)on a farm, 
 and was in his i8th year when the family removed 
 to De Kalb County, this State, when that section was 
 very sparsely settled. Chicago had less than 7,000 
 inhabitants. In this wild West he continued as a 
 farm laborer, teaching school during the winter 
 months to supply the means of an education. In the 
 fill of 1842 he attended one term at the academy at 
 Ciranville, Putnam Co., 111., and subsequently sevcr.il 
 terms at the Rock River Seminary at Mount Morris, 
 Ogle Co., 111., completing the academic course. At 
 this time, the fall of 1845, his parents and brothers 
 were anxious to have him go to college, even though 
 he had not money sufficient; but, njt willing to bur- 
 den the family, he packed his trunk and with only 
 $40 in money started South to seek his fortune
 
 172 
 
 JOHN L. BE VER/DGE. 
 
 Poor, alone, without friends and influence, he thus 
 entered upon the battle of life. 
 
 First, he taught school in Wilson, Overton and 
 Jackson Cos., Tenn., in which experience he under- 
 went considerable mental drill, both in book studies 
 and in the ways of the world. He read law and was 
 admitted to the Bar, in the South, but did not learn 
 to love the institution of slavery, although he ad- 
 mired many features of Southern character. In De- 
 cember, 1847, he returned North, and Jan. 20, 1848, 
 he married Miss Helen M. Judson, in the old Clark- 
 Street M. E. church in Chicago, her father at that 
 time being Pastor of the society there. In the spring 
 of 1848 he returned with his wife to Tennessee, 
 where his two children, Alia May and Philo Judson, 
 were born. 
 
 in the fall of 1849, through the mismanagement 
 of an associate, he lost what little he had accumu- 
 lated and was left in debt. He soon managed to 
 earn means to pay his debts, returned to De Kalb 
 Co., 111., and entered upon the practice of his pro- 
 fession at Sycamore, the county seat. On arrival 
 from the South he had but one-quarter of a dollar in 
 money, and scanty clothing and bedding for himself 
 and family. He borrowed a little money, practiced 
 .aw, worked in public offices, kept books for some of 
 the business men of the town, and some railroad en- 
 gineering, till the spring of 1854, wlien he removed 
 to Evanston, 12 miles north of Chicago, a place then 
 but recently laid out, under tlie supervision of the 
 Northwestern University, a Methodist institution. 
 Of the latter his father-in-law was tlien financial 
 agent and business manager. Here Mr. Beveridge 
 prospered, and the next year (1855) opened a law 
 office in Chicago, where he found the battle some- 
 what hard; but he persevered with encouragement 
 and increasing success. 
 
 Aug. 12, 1 86 1, his law partner. Gen. John F. 
 Farnsworth, secured authority to raise a regiment of 
 cavalry, and authorized Mr. Beveridge to raise a 
 company for it. He succeeded in a few days in rais- 
 ing the company, of course enlisting himself along 
 with it. The regiment rendezvoused at St. Charles, 
 111., was mustered in Sept. 18, and on its organiza- 
 tion Mr. B. was elected Second Major. It was at- 
 tached, Oct. II, to the Eighth Cavalry and to the 
 Army of the Potomac. He served with the regiment 
 until November, 1863, participating in some 40 bat- 
 
 tles and skirmishes : was at Fair Oaks, the seven days 
 fight around Richmond, Fredericksburg, Chancellors- 
 ville and Gettysburg. He commanded the regiment 
 the greater part of the summer of 1 863, and it was while 
 lying in camp this year that he originated the policy 
 of encouraging recruits as well as the fighting capac- 
 ity of the soldiery, by the wholesale furlough system 
 It worked so well that many other officers adopted 
 it. In the fall of this year he recruited another com- 
 pany, against heavy odds, in January, 1864, was 
 commissioned Colonel of the 17th 111. Cav., and 
 skirmished around in Missouri, concluding with the 
 reception of the surrender of Gen. Kirby Smith's 
 army in Arkansas. In 1865 he commanded various 
 sub-districts in the Southwest. He was mustered 
 out Feb. 6, 1866, safe from the casualties of war and 
 a stouter man than when he first enlisted. His men 
 idolized him. 
 
 He then returned to Chicago, to practice law, with 
 no library and no clientage, and no political experi- 
 ence except to help others into office. In the fall of 
 1866 he was elected Sheriff of Cook County, serving 
 one term; next, until November, [870, he practiced 
 law and closed up the unfinished business of his 
 office. He was then elected State Senator; in No- 
 vember, 187 I, he was elected Congressman at large; 
 in November, 1872, he was elected Lieutenant Gov- 
 ernor on the ticket with Gov. Oglesby; the latter be- 
 ing elected to the U. S. Senate, Mr. Beveridge became 
 Governor, Jan. 21, 1873. Thus, inside of a few 
 weeks, he was Congressman at large. Lieutenant 
 Governor and Governor. The principal events oc- 
 curring during Gov. Beveridge 's administration were: 
 The completion of the revision of the statutes, begun 
 in 1869; the partial success of the "farmers' move- 
 ment;" " Haines' Legislature " and Illinois' exhibit at 
 the Centennial. 
 
 Since the close of his gubernatorial term ex-Gov 
 Beveridge has been a member of the firm of Bever 
 idge & Dewey, bankers and dealers in commercial 
 paper at 71 Dearborn Street (McCormick Block). 
 Chicago, and since November, 1881, he has also been 
 Assistant United States Treasurer- office in the 
 Government Building. His residence is still at Ev- 
 anston. 
 
 He has a brother and two sisters yet residing in 
 De Kalb County — James H. Beveridge, Mrs. Jennet 
 Henry and Mrs. Isabel French.
 
 flNIVEoSiiY OF ILLINOIS
 
 GO VJiRNORS OF fLL/NO/S. 
 
 «75 
 
 8RELB Y M, CULLO'M. 
 
 
 HELBY M, CULLOM, Gover- 
 nor 18^7-83, ib the sixth cliiki 
 of the late Richard N. Cullom, 
 and was born Nuv. 22, 1S29, in 
 Wayne Co., Ky., where his fa- 
 ther then resided, and whence 
 both the Illinois and Tennessee 
 branches of the family originated. In 
 the following year the family emi- 
 grated to the vicinity of Washington, 
 Tazewell Co., 111., when that section 
 was very sparsely settled. They lo- 
 cated on Deer Creek, in a grove at 
 the time occupied by a party of In- 
 dians, attracted there by the superior 
 hunting and fishing afforded in that 
 vicinity. The following winter was 
 known as the " hard winter," the snow being very 
 deep and lasting and the weather severely cold; and 
 t'lie family had to subsist mainly on irailed corn or 
 hominy, and some wild game, for several weeks. In 
 tlie course of time Mr. R. N. Cullom became a prom- 
 inent citizen and was several times elected to the 
 Legislature, both before and after the removal of the 
 cariital from Vandalia to Springfield. He died about 
 '87 3- 
 
 Until about 19 years of age young Cullom grew up 
 
 to agricultural pursuits, attending school as he had 
 
 opportunity during the winter. Within this time, 
 
 sv/ever, he spent several montlis teaching- school. 
 
 and in the following summer he "broke prairie "with 
 an o.K team for the neighbors With the money oi)- 
 tained by these various ventures, he undertook a 
 course of study at the Rock River Seminary, a 
 Methodist institution at Mt. Morris, Ogle County; 
 but the sudden change to the in-door life of a stu- 
 dent told severely upon his health, and he was taken 
 home, being considered in a hopeless condition. While 
 at Mt. Morris he heard Hon. E. B. Washburne make 
 his first speech. 
 
 On recovering health, Mr. Cullom coiicluded to 
 study law, under the instruction of Abraham Lincoln, 
 at Springfield, who had by this time attained some 
 notoriety as an able lawyer; but the latter, being ab- 
 sent from his office most of the time, advised Mr. 
 Cullom to enter the office of Stuart & Edwards. 
 After about a year of study there, however, his healtb 
 failed again, and he was obliged to return once more 
 to out-door life. Accordingly he bought hogs for 
 packing, for A. G. Tyng, in I'eoria, and while he re- 
 gained his health he gained in purse, netting $400 in 
 a few weeks. Having been admitted to the Bar, he 
 went to Springfield, where he was soon elected City 
 Attorney, on the .\nti-Nebraska ticket. 
 
 In 1S56 he ran on the Fillmore ticket as a Presi- 
 dential Elector, and, although failing to be elected as 
 such, he was at the same time elected a Representa- 
 tive in the Legislature from Sangamon County, by a 
 local coalition of the American and Republican par- 
 lies. On the organization of the House, he received 
 the vote of the Fillmore men for Speaker. Practicing
 
 •176 
 
 SHELB y M. CULLOM. 
 
 law until i860, he was again elected to the Legisla- 
 ture, as a Republican, while the county went Demo- 
 cratic on the Presidential ticket. In January follow- 
 ing he was elected Speaker, probably the youngest 
 man who had ever presided over an Illinois Legis- 
 lature. After the session of 1861, he was a candidate 
 for the State Constitutional Convention called for 
 that year, but was defeated, and thus escaped tlie 
 disgrace of being connected with that abortive party 
 scheme to revolutionize the State Government. In 
 1862 he was a candidate for the State Senate, but 
 was defeated. The same year, however, he was ap- 
 pointed by President Lincoln on a Government 
 Commission, in company with Gov. Boutwell of 
 Massachusetts and Cnarles A. Dana, since of tlie 
 New York Sun, to investigate the affairs of the 
 Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments at 
 Cairo. He devoted several months to this duty. 
 
 In 1864 he enteied upon a larger political field, 
 being nominated as the Republican candidate for 
 Congress from the Eighth (Springfield) District, in 
 opposition to the incumbent, John T. Stuart, wiio had 
 been elected in 1862 by about 1,500 majority over 
 Leonard Swett, then of Bloomington, now of Chicago. 
 The result was the election of Mr. Cullom in Novem- 
 ber following by a majority of 1,785. In 1866 he 
 was re-elected to Congress, over Dr. E. S. Fowler, by 
 the magnificent majority of 4,103! In 1868 he was 
 again a candidate, defeating the Hon. B. S. Edwards, 
 another of his old preceptors, by 2,884 votes. 
 
 During his first term in Congress he served on the 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs and Expenditures in 
 the Treasury Department; in his second term, on 
 the Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Territories ; 
 and in his third term he succeeded Mr. Ashley, of 
 Ohio, to the Chairmanship of the latter. He intro- 
 duced a bill in the House, to aid in the execution of 
 law in Utah, wliich caused more consternation amoii" 
 the Mormons than any measure had previously, but 
 which, though it passed the House, failed to pass the 
 Senate. 
 
 The Republican Convention which met May 25, 
 1876, nominated Mr. Cullom for Governor, while the 
 other contestant was Gov. Beveridge. For Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor they nominated Andrew Shuman, editor 
 of the Chicago Journal. For the same offices the 
 Democrats, combining with the Anti-Monopolists, 
 olaced in nomination Lewis Steward, a wealthy 
 
 farmer and manufacturer, and A. A. Glenn. The 
 result of the election was rather close, Mr. Cullom 
 obtaining only 6,800 majority. He was inaugurated 
 Jan. 8, 1877. 
 
 Great depression prevailed in financial circles at 
 this time, as a consequence of the heavy failures of 
 1873 and afterward, the effect of wliich had seemed 
 to gather force from that time to the end of Gov. 
 Cullom's first administration. This unspeculative 
 period was not calculated to call forth any new 
 issues, but the Governor's energies were at one time 
 put to task to quell a spirit of insubordination that 
 had been begun in Pittsburg, Pa., among the laboring 
 classes, and transferred to Illinois at Chicago, East 
 St. Louis and Braidwood, at which places laboring 
 men for a short tune refused to work or allow others 
 to work. These disturbances were soon quelled and 
 the wheels of industry again set in motion. 
 
 In May, 1880, Gov. Cullom was re-nominated by 
 the Republicans, against Lyman Trumbull, by the 
 Democrats; and although the former party was some- 
 what handicapped in the campaign by a zealous 
 faction opposed to Grant for President and to Grant 
 men for office generally, Mr. Cullom was re-elected 
 by about 314,565, to 277,532 for the Democratic State 
 ticket. The Greenback vote at the same time was 
 about 27,000. Both Houses of the Legislature again, 
 became Republican, and no representative of the 
 (ireenback or Socialist parties were elected. Gov. 
 Cullom was inaugurated Jan. 10, iSSi. In his mes- 
 sage he announced that the last dollar of the State 
 debt had been provided for. 
 
 March 4, 1883, the term of David Davis as United 
 States Senator from Illinois expired, and Gov. Cul- 
 lo 11 was chosen to succeed him. This promoted 
 Lisutenant-Governor John M. Hamilton to the Gov- 
 ernorship. Senator Cullom's term in the United 
 St,-(tes Senate will expire March 4, 1889. 
 
 As a practitioner oflaw Mr. C. has been a member 
 of the firm of Cullom, Scholes & Mather, at Spring- 
 firld; and he has also been President of the State 
 National Bank. 
 
 He has been married twice, — the first time Dec. 
 ii:, 1855, to Miss Hannah Fisher, by whom he had 
 t\<o daughters; and the second time May 5, 1863, 
 to Julia Fisher. Mrs. C is a member of the Method-] 
 isl Episcopal Church, with which religious body Mr. 
 C. is also in sympathy.
 
 L 
 
 n 
 
 HMIVt; ILLINOIS
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 '79 
 
 
 s;s*^):s*^;S«»-S!S*sig* 
 
 
 ^«S-^H*^ 
 
 OHN MARSHALL HAMIL- 
 TON, Governor 1883-5, '^^^ 
 born May 28, 1847, in a log 
 house upon a farm about two 
 miles from Richwood, Union 
 County, Ohio. His father was 
 Samuel Hamilton, the eldest son 
 uf Rev. Wm. Hamilton, who, to- 
 gether with his brotlier, the Rev. 
 .Samuel Hamilton, was among the 
 early pioneer Methodist preachers in 
 Ohio. The mother of the subject of 
 this sketch was, before her marriage, 
 Mrs. Nancy McMorris, who was 
 born and raised in Fauquier or Lou- 
 doun County, Va., and related to the 
 two large families of Youngs and Marshalls, well 
 known iia that commonwealth ; and from the latter 
 family name was derived the middle name of Gov. 
 Hamilton. 
 
 In March, 1854, Mr. Hamilton's father sold out 
 his little pioneer forest home in Union County, O., 
 and, loading his few household effects and family 
 (of six children) into two emigrant covered wagons, 
 moved to Roberts Township. Marshall Co., III., being 
 21 days on the route. Swamps, unbridged streams 
 and innumerable hardships and privations met them 
 on their way. Their new home had been previously 
 selected by the father. Here, after many long years 
 of toil, they succeeded in payii.g for the land and 
 .naking a comfort ''■'- jiome. John was, of course, 
 
 brought up to hard manual labor, with no schooling 
 except three or four months in the year at a common 
 country school. However, he evinced a capacity 
 and taste for a high order of self-education, by 
 studying or reading wliat books he could borrow, as 
 the family had but very few in the house. xVIuch of 
 his study he prosecuted by the light of a log fire in 
 the old-fashioned chimney place. The financial 
 panic of 1857 caused the family to come near losing 
 their home, to pay debts; but the father and two 
 sons, William and John, " buckled to " and perse- 
 vered in hard labor and economy until they redeemed 
 their place from the mortgage. 
 
 When the tremendous excitement of the political 
 campaign of i860 reached the neighborhood of Rob- 
 erts Township, young Hamilton, wlio had been 
 brought up in the doctrine of anti-slavery, took a zeal- 
 ous part in favor of Lincoln's election. Making special 
 efforts to procure a little money to buy a uniform, he 
 joined a company of Lincoln Wide-Awakes at Mag- 
 nolia, a village not far away. Directly after the 
 ensuing election it became evident that trouble 
 would ensue with the South, and tliis VVide-Awake 
 company, like many others throughout the country, 
 kept up its organization and transformed itself into a 
 military 'company. During the ensuing summer they 
 met often for drill and became proficient ; but when 
 they offered themselves for th:i svar, young Hamilton 
 was rejected on account of his youth, he being then 
 but 14 years of age. During the winter of [863-4 he 
 attended an academy at Henry, Marshall t'ouniy
 
 :So 
 
 JOHN MARSHALL HAMILTON. 
 
 and in the following May he again enlisted, for the 
 fourth time, when he was placed in the 141st 111. 
 Vol Inf., a regiment then being raised at Elgin, 111., 
 for the 100-day service. He took with him 13 other 
 lads from his neighborhood, for enlistment in the 
 service. This regiment operated in Southwestern 
 Kentucky, for about five months, under Gen. Paine. 
 The following winter, 1864-5, ^''- Hamilton taught 
 school, and during the two college years 1865-7, he 
 went through three years of the curriculum of the 
 Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. The 
 third year he graduated, the fourth in a class of 46, 
 in the classical department. In due time he received 
 the degree of M. A. For a few months he was the 
 Principal of Marshall " College " at Henry, an acad- 
 emy under the auspices of the M. E. Church. By 
 this lime he had commenced the study of law, and 
 after earning some money as a temporary Professor 
 of Latin at the Illinois Wesleyan University at 
 Blooniington, he entered the law office of Weldon, 
 Tipton & Benjamin, of that city. Each member of 
 this firm has since been distinguished as a Judge. 
 Admitted to the Bar in May, 1870, Mr. Hamilton 
 was given an interest in the same firm, Tipton hav- 
 ing been elected Judge. In October following he 
 formed a partnership with J. H. Rowell, at that time 
 Prosecuting Attorney. Their lousiness was then 
 small, but they increased it to very large proportions, 
 practicing in all grades of courts, including even the 
 U. S. Supreme Court, and this partnership continued 
 unbroken until Feb. 6, 1883, when Mr. Hamilton 
 was sworn in as Executive of Illinois. On the 4th 
 of March following Mr. Rovvell took his seat in Con- 
 gress. 
 
 In July, 187 1, Mr. Hamilioa married Miss Helen 
 M. Williams, the daughter of Prof. VVm. G. Williams, 
 Professor of Greek in the Ohio Wesleyan University. 
 Mr. and Mrs. H. have two daughters and one son. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Hamilton was nominated by Uhe Re- 
 publicans for the State Senate, over other and older 
 competitors. He took an active pan '■ on the stump " 
 in tiie campaign, for the success of his party, and was 
 sleeted by a majority of 1,640 over his Democratic- 
 Greenback opponent. In the Senate he served on 
 the Committees on Judiciary, Revenue, State Insti- 
 tutions, Appropriations, Education, and on Miscel- 
 lany ; and (luring the contest for the election of a 
 U. S. Senator, the Republicans endeavoring to re- 
 
 elect John A. Logan, he voted for tlie war chief on 
 every ballot, even alone when all the other Republi- 
 cans had gone over to the Hon. E. B. Lawrence and 
 the Democrats and Independents elected Judge 
 David Davis. At this session, also, was passed the 
 first Board of Health and Medical Practice act, of 
 which Mr. Hamilton was a champion, against :c 
 much opposition that the bill was several times 
 " laid on the table." Also, this session authorized 
 the location and establishment of a southern peni- 
 tentiary, which was fixed at Chester. In the session 
 of 1879 Mr. Hamilton was elected President //-c; /t'»2. 
 of the Senate, and was a zealous supporter of John 
 A. Logan for the U. S. Senate, who was this time 
 elected without any trouble. 
 
 In May, 1880, Mr. Hamilton was nominated on 
 the Republican ticket for Lieutenant Governor, his 
 principal competitors before the Convention being 
 Hon. Wm. A. James, ex-Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives, Judge Robert Bell, of '^''abash 
 County, Hon. T. T. Fountain, of Perry County, and 
 Hon. M. M. Saddler, of Marion County. He engaged 
 actively in the campaign, and his ticket was elected 
 by a majority of 41,200. As Lieutenant Governor, 
 he presided almost continuously over the Senate in 
 the 32d General Assembly and during the early days 
 of the 33d, until he succeeded to the Governorsliip. 
 When the Legislature of 1883 elected Gov. Culloni 
 to the United States Senate, Lieut. Gov. Hamilton 
 succeeded him, under the Constitution, taking the 
 oath of office Feb. 6, 1883. He bravely met all the 
 annoyances and embarrass\nents incidental upon 
 taking up another's administration. The principal 
 events with which Gov. Hamilton was connected as 
 the Chief Executive of the State were, the mine dis- 
 aster at Braidwood, the riots in St. Clair and Madison 
 Co inties in May, 1883, the appropriations for the 
 State militia, the adoption of the Harper high-license 
 liquor law, the veto of a dangerous railroad bill, etc. 
 
 The Governor was a Delegate at large to the 
 National Republican Convention at Chicago in June, 
 1884, where his first choice for President was John 
 K. Logan, and second choice Chester A. Arthur; but 
 he afterward zealously worked for the election of Mr. 
 Blaine, true to his party. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton's term as Governor expired Jan. 30, 
 18S5, when the great favorite " Dick " Oglesby was : 
 inaugurated.
 
 J^^ftJI^.., 
 
 ""^,
 
 UOVEJiSOliS OF ILLIXOIS. 
 
 1 Hn 
 
 . PC ^^^- ^ 
 
 (§1® 
 
 •^^•i 
 
 .9'^ 
 
 (JSEPII "WaLSON FIFER. This 
 
 distinguished gentleman was 
 i^w elected Governor of Illinois 
 -;^ November 6, 1888. He was 
 Jf^*^:i||*fe , v. popularly known during the 
 \'L: WJr^r4^?3.' campaign as "Private Joe." He 
 had served with great devotion 
 to his country during the Re- 
 bellion, in the Thirty-third 
 Illinois Infantry. A native of 
 Virginia, he was born in 1840. 
 His parents, John and Mary 
 (Daniels) Fifer, were American 
 Ijurn, though of German de- 
 scent. His father was a brick 
 and stone mason, and an old 
 Hen IT Clay Whig in politics. John and Mary 
 Filer liad nine children, ot' whom Joseph was the 
 sixth, and naturally, with so large a family, it was 
 all tlie fatlier could ilo to keep the wolf from the 
 duoi, to say notliing of giving his children anv- 
 tliing like good educational advantages. 
 
 Joseph attcndiMl school for a while in Mrgina, 
 but it was not a good school, and wlien his father 
 rciiioviM] to Ihe West, in IS")?, .losopli had not ad- 
 V.uiced iiiuili lurtlu'i- tiiau the ''First Header.'" 
 Our --uKjccI was sixteen then and sutlered a great 
 misfortune in tlie loss of his mother. After tlic 
 
 death of Mrs. Fifer, which occurred in IMissouri, 
 the family returned to Virgina, but remained onl^' 
 a short time, as during the same year Mr. Fifer 
 came to Illinois. He settled in McLean County 
 and started a brickyard. Here Joseph and his 
 brothers were jjut to work. Tlie elder Mr. Fifer soon 
 bought a farm near JJloomington and began life 
 as an agriculturist. Here Joe worked and attended 
 the neighboring school. He alternated farm- work, 
 and brick-laying, going to the district school for 
 the succeeding few years. It was all work and no 
 play for Joe, yet it by no means made a dull boy 
 of him. All the time he was thinking of the great 
 world outside, of which he had caught a glimpse 
 when coming from Virginia, 3''et he did not know 
 just how he was going to get out into it. He 
 could not feel that the woods around the new farm 
 and the log cabin, in which the family lived, were 
 to hold him. 
 
 The opportunity to get out into the world was 
 soon offered to j'oung Joe. He traveled a dozen 
 miles barefoot, in company with liisbrotherGeorge, 
 .and enlisted in Company C, Thirty-third Illinois 
 Infantry, he being then twenty years old. In a 
 few days, the regiment was sent to Camp ISutler. 
 and then over into Missouri, and saw some vigor- 
 ous service there. After a second lime liel|)ing to 
 chase Price out of Missouri, t!ie Thirty-third Hegi-
 
 184 
 
 JOSEPH W. FIFER. 
 
 ment went down to Milliken'8Bend,andforseveral 
 weeks "Private Joe" worked on Grant's famous 
 ditch. The regiment tlien joined the forces oper- 
 ating against Tort Gibson and Vickshurg. Joe 
 was on guard dut_y in the front ditches when the 
 Sag of surrender was run up on the 4th of July, 
 and stuck the bayonet of his gun into the embank- 
 ment and went into the city with the vanguard of 
 Union sokliers. 
 
 The next day, July 5, the Thirty-third joined 
 the force after Johnston, who had been threatening 
 Grant's rear; and (inally an assault was made on him 
 at Jackson, Miss. In this charge "Private Joe" fell, 
 terribly wounded. He was loading bis gun, wlien 
 a rainie-ball struck him and passed entirely 
 througli his body. He was regarded as mortally 
 wounded. His brother, George, who had been 
 made a Lieutenant, proved to be the means of sav- 
 ing his life. Tlie Suigeon told him that unless lie 
 had ice his brother could not live. It was fifty miles 
 to the nearest point where ice could be obtained, 
 and the roads were rough. A comrade, a McLean 
 County man, who had been wounded, offered to 
 make the trip. An ambulance was secured and 
 the brother soldier started on the journey. He re- 
 turned with the ice, but the trii>, owing to the 
 roughness of the ruad, was very liard on him. Af- 
 ter a few months' careful nursing, Mr. Fifer was able 
 to come home. The Thirty-third came home on a 
 furlough, and when the bo.ys were ready to return 
 to the tented field, young Fifer was ready to go 
 with them, for he was determined to finish his 
 term of three years. He was mustered out in Oct- 
 ober, 18G4, having been in the service three years 
 and two months. 
 
 "Private Joe" came out of the army a tall, tan- 
 ned, and awkward young man of twenty-four. 
 About all he possessed was ambition to be some- 
 body — and pluck. Though at an age when most 
 men have finishiHl their college course, the young 
 soldier saw th.Tt if he was to be anybody he must 
 have an education. Yet he had no means to ena- 
 ble him to enter school as most 3'oung men do. 
 He was determined to have an education, however, 
 and that to him meant success. For the following 
 four years he struggled with his books. He en- 
 
 tered Wesleyan I'niversity January 1, 18().5. He 
 was not a brilliant student, being neitiier at the 
 head nor at the foot of his class. He was in great 
 earnest, however, studied hard and came forth with 
 a well-stored and disciplined mind. 
 
 Immediately after being graduated, he entered 
 an office at Bloomington as a law student. He 
 had i)reviously read law a little, and as he continued 
 to work hard, with the spur of poverty and jirompt- 
 ings of aniliition ever with him, he was ready to 
 hang out his jirofessional shingle in 11SG;». Being 
 trustworthy, he soon gathered about him some in- 
 fluential friends. In 1871 he was elected Corpora- 
 tion Counsel of Bloomington. In 1872 he was 
 elected State's Attorney of McLean County. This 
 office he held eight years, when betook his seat in 
 the State Senate. He served for four years. His 
 ability to perform abundance of hard work made 
 him a most valued member of the Legislature. 
 
 Mr. Fifer was married in 1870 to Gertie, daugh- 
 ter of William .T. Lewis, of Bloomington. I\Ir. Fifei 
 is six feet in height and is spare, weighing only one 
 hundred and fifty ptjunds. He has a swarthy com- 
 plexion, keen black eyes, quick movement, and pos- 
 sesses a frank and sympathetic nature, and natur- 
 lly makes friends wherever he goes. During the 
 late gubernatorial campaign his visits throughout 
 the State proved a great power in his behalf. His 
 faculty of winning the confidence and good wishes 
 of those with whom he comes in personal contact 
 is a source of great popularity, especially during a 
 political battle. As a speaker he is fluent, his lan- 
 guage is good, voice clear and agreeable, and man- 
 ner forcible. His manifest earnestness in what he 
 says, as well as his tact as a public speaker, and his 
 eloquent and forceful language, make him a most 
 valuable campaign orator and a powerful pleader 
 at the bar. At the Rei)ublican State Convention, 
 held in ISIay, 1888, Mr. Fifer was chosen as its 
 candidate for Governor. He proved a popular 
 nominee, and the name of "Private Joe" became 
 familiar to everj-one throughout the State. He 
 waged a vigorous campaign, was elected by a good 
 majority, and in due time assumed the duties of 
 the Chief Executive of Illinois.
 
 V. . Mil. 
 
 -iiYGF ILLINOIS
 
 /?.
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 187 
 
 l@kn p. m%%qm. 
 
 ""^^■^- 
 
 '-vQ) 
 
 Y<'IIN P. ALTGELD, the present 
 5i Governor of Illinois, is a native 
 S,| /.^^' of Prussia, born in 1848. Shortly 
 ^' =•' after his birth his parents emi- 
 grated to America, locating on 
 a farm near Mansfield, Ohio. 
 When hut a mere lad, young 
 Altgeld had to walk from the 
 farm to Man.sfield with buttea-, 
 eggs and garden produce, which 
 he jieddled from house to house. 
 About 1856, his parents moved 
 to the city of Mansfield, and for 
 a time our subject was engaged 
 morning and evening in driv- 
 ing cattle to and from the pas- 
 ture, :i distance of eight miles. When fourteen 
 years of age he lured out as a farm hand, and con- 
 tinued iu that avocation the greater part of his 
 time until he was sixteen years of age, when he 
 enli>ted in Company C, One Hundred and .Sixty- 
 tourlhOhioInfantry,and served until the closeof 
 the war. On being mustered in, the regiment wa.s 
 >ent to Washington and was actively engaged iu 
 llie various campaigns in and around that city 
 luitil the surrender of Lee. In the fall of 1864, 
 jvoung Altgeld was taken sick, while with hisregi- 
 jiient in the front, and the surgeon desired to send 
 lim to a hospital in Washington; but he asked to 
 
 be allowed to remain with the regiment, and soon 
 recovering from his sickness was actively engaged 
 until the close of the war. He was mustered out 
 at Columbus, Ohio, in the spring of 1 865. The 
 succeeding summer he worked with his father on 
 a farm, during which time he became connected 
 with the Sun daj' -school and was given charge of 
 the Bible class. Before entering the army he had 
 but very- limited educational advantages, having 
 attended school but a jiart of two summers and 
 one winter, lie had at homo, however, studied 
 the (Jerman language and had become familiar 
 with some (iernian authors. Determining to fit 
 himself for a useful life, he resolved to attend a 
 select school at Lexington, Ohio, and in a little 
 eight-b3--ten room, meagrely furnished, he kept 
 "bachelor's hall," and in time was so faradvanced 
 that he secured a certiticate as teacher, and for 
 two years was engaged in that profession. At the 
 end of that time he left home and traveled exten- 
 sively over the country, working at odd jobs, un- 
 til he finally reached Savannah, Mo., where he en- 
 tered a law office, and in 1870 was admitted to the 
 Bar. In the fall of 1872, he ran as Prosecuting 
 Attorney for Andrews County, Mo., and was de- 
 feated by four votes. He ran again in 1874 and 
 was elected. But life in the small town of Savan- 
 nah was a little too monotonous for him, and he 
 determined to locate in Chicago. In October,
 
 188 
 
 JOHN P. ALTGELD. 
 
 1875, he resigned the office of Prosecuting Attor- 
 ney, moved to Chicago, and at ouce commenced 
 the practice of law. For some jears after he had 
 but little to do with politics, confining himself to 
 his piactice and dealing in real estate. One _year 
 after Ids arrival in Chicago he found himself with- 
 out a dollar, and in debt some $400. By a streak of 
 good luck, as it might be termed, he won a casein 
 court, from which he received a fee of $900, and 
 after paying his debt he had $500 left, which he 
 invested in real estate. This venture proved a 
 successful one, and from that time on the profits 
 of one transaction were invested in others, and 
 to-day he is numbered among the millionaire resi- 
 dents of the great metropolis of the "West. 
 
 In 1884, Mr. Altgeld was nominated for Con- 
 gress, but was defeated by three thousand votes. 
 In 1886, he w.-is nominated and elected Judge of 
 the Superior Court of Cook County. His services 
 as Judge were such as to commend him to the peo- 
 ple. Early in the year 1892, by the solicitation of 
 
 many friends, he announced himself as a candi- 
 date for Governor. At the convention held 
 April 27, he received the nomination and at once 
 entered upon an active canvass. Alone, he traveled 
 all over the entire State, and visited and consulted 
 with the leading politicians of every section. He 
 made few public speeches, however, until near the 
 close of the campaign, but it was very evident that 
 lie was master of the situation at all times. When 
 the votes were counted at the close of election 
 day, it was found that he had a majority of the 
 votes, and so became the first Democratic Governor 
 of Illinois since 1856. 
 
 Born in poverty, alone, single-handed and un- 
 aided, he faced the world, and with a determina- 
 tion to succeed, he pre.ssed forward, until to-day he 
 has a National reputation, and is the envied uf 
 many. The lesson of his life is worthy of careful 
 study by the young, and shows what can be done 
 by one who has the desire in his heart to attain a 
 front rank among the noted men of the country.
 
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 BIOGRAPF[ICAL. p^^> 
 
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 ^^ OL. HASWELL C. CLARKE, Cashier of tfie 
 (if^l^ First National Bank of Kankakee, is a na- 
 ^^^ tive of Massachusetts, and was born in 
 Boston September 28, 1842. His parents were 
 John Jones and Rebecca Cordis (Ilaswell) Clarke. 
 The fatlier, who was also a native of the old Bay 
 State, was a lawjer by profession and a distin- 
 gnished member of the Massachusetts Bar. In 
 early life he attained considerable prominence in 
 public iK)sitions, and was the first Mayor of Rox- 
 bur^-, wliich now forms a part of Boston. He 
 served as a member of the State Senate, and was a 
 gentleman of considerable wealth and of high so- 
 cial standing. He continued to make his home in 
 Roxbury until his death, which occurred on the 
 5tii of November, 1887, at the age of nearly 
 eighty-five years. The paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, the Rev. Pitt Clarke, was born in 
 IMedfield, of that State, on the IStli of January, 
 17()3, and was a son of Jacob Clarke, who was 
 third in descent from the first ancestor to come to 
 America. This latter emigrated from England 
 about the year 1700, and settled in North Ray n- 
 ham, Mass. 
 
 Col. Clarke's mother was a granddaughter of 
 Capt. William Haswell, who was engaged in the 
 revenue service on the American station in 1796, 
 and married ISIiss Rachel, a daughter of Ebenezer 
 and Elizabeth Woodard, of George's Island in 
 Boston Harbor, by whom he iiad tliree sons, Rob- 
 ert, William and John JMontresor. Robert Has- 
 well, who was named after his uncle, and his 
 brother, John Montresor, were naval oflicers and 
 greatl}- distinguished themselves on board the 
 "Boston," in the sharp engagement with the 
 
 French corvette "Le Berceau," in November, 1800. 
 Robert left the naval service on the establishment 
 of peace in 1801. and in August of tliat j-ear 
 sailed in the "Louise"' for the Northwest Coast, 
 but was lost on his return home. He had sailed 
 around the world in the ship "Columbia Redi- 
 viva." Irving sa3's in his "Astoria," page 397: 
 "The 'Columbia' is believed to have been the first 
 ship that made a regular discovery and anchored 
 within the waters of the Columbia River, Ore., 
 which has since borne the name of that vessel." 
 On the 17tli of October, 1797, he married Miss 
 Mar3% a daughter of Joseph Cordis, a merchant of 
 Charleston, Mass., b}' whom he had two daughters, 
 Mary and Rebecfia, the latter being the mother of 
 our subject. John Montresor became a midship- 
 man in the American navy, and received the 
 thanks of Congress for his signal valor in the war 
 with Tripoli, and w.as promoted to a Lieutenancj-. 
 The Ilaswell family, which was of Scotch origin, 
 espoused the cause of Charles Edward Stuart. 
 Mrs. Clarke, the mother of our subject, was a 
 woman of high intellectual attainments and deep 
 piet}', and was charitable and public-spirited. She 
 w.as moreover possessed of much personal grace 
 and beaut3' and man}' excellencies of cliaracter. 
 Hei- death occurred December 26, 1883, in her home 
 in Massachusetts. 
 
 Ilaswell C. Clarke took a i)rcparatory course in 
 the Roxbur^' Latin School, and entered Harvard 
 College in 1859, being a member of the Class of 
 '63. Before graduating, however, he received a 
 commission as Second Lieutenant, and accordingly 
 entered the army as Aide-de-Camp to Gen. Benja- 
 min F. Butler, joining that General's staff in Bos-
 
 196 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ton in 1861. lie fallowed liis chief to Ship 
 Island, below New Orleans, and remained there 
 until the 1st of Maj^, 1862, when with the victori- 
 ous Union army he entered New Orleans and 
 spent one year there, while Gen. Butler was in 
 command of the Department of the Gulf. Thence 
 he went to Fortress Monroe, where Gen. Butler 
 took command of the Department of Virginia and 
 North Carolina. Afterward Gen. Butler was in 
 command of the Armj' of the James, which oper- 
 ated against Petersburgh, and opened the way for 
 Grant and the Army of the Potomac to enter 
 Richmond. He served with Gen. lUitlei- through 
 all his campaigns, and was in his .service until the 
 close of the war, throughout that period being the 
 warm and trusted friend of his distinguished com- 
 mander. He was mustered out in October, 1865, 
 as Lieutenant-Colonel, to which rank lie had been 
 promoted Marcii 13, 1865, "for meritorious services 
 in the Department of the Gulf, for gallant con- 
 duct in the execution of orders on the Mississippi 
 River, in the bombardment of Fts. Jackson and 
 St. Philip, and for gallantr}' and courage in the 
 attack of the rebels on Battery Harrison," one of 
 the lines of entrenchment above Petersburgli. Sucli 
 is a brief summary of the official military record 
 of one of the patriotic, earnest and efficient young 
 officers of the late war. 
 
 In 1872 Col. Clarke received his diploma with 
 the honorable degree of A. B. from his Alma 
 Mater. In 1865 his father became interested in a 
 large flaxmill in Kankakee, 111., the management 
 of which was not giving satisfaction to the stock- 
 holders, and in the following year our subject was 
 dispatched thitlier to inquire into its workings 
 and superintend its operations. After a year's 
 experience and observation he decided that the 
 business could not be made a success and it was 
 accordingly closed up. He also became financially 
 interested in a large stone quarry, which paid bet- 
 ter dividends. In April, 1871, when the First 
 National Bank of Kankakee was incorporated, 
 Col. Clarke became a stockholder and a member of 
 its Board of Directors, being chosen Cashier, which 
 position he has held continuously since the bank 
 doors were opened for business to the present 
 time, covering a jieriod of twenty-two years. (See 
 
 history of the bank, which is one of the important 
 financial institutions of eastern Illinois.) 
 
 In politics Col. Clarke is emphatically Republi- 
 can, but has never been an aspirant for an elective 
 office of prominence. He has accepted some of 
 the minor otlices through a sense of duty as a 
 good citizen, having served as Alderman of Kan- 
 kakee, and as a member of the Citj' Board of Edu- 
 cation, of which he was President one year. 
 When the Illinois Eastern Hospital was located at 
 Kankakee, Col. Clarke was appointed Secretary 
 and Treasurer of the institution, and has held that 
 po.sition continuously since, a period of thirteen 
 years, during which time he has rendered the 
 State faithful and efficient service, and has aided 
 materially in the success that has crowned that in- 
 stitution from the start. (See history of the hos- 
 pital elsewhere in this work.) 
 
 On the 5th of May, 1869, Col. Clarke married 
 Miss Harriet Amelia Cobb, a daughter of William 
 and Achsah Cobb, and a sister of Emor^- Cobb, 
 President of the First National Bank of Kanka- 
 kee. In his religious affiliations Col. Clarke is a 
 communicant of St. Paul's Episcopal Church of 
 Kankakee, of vvhich he has been Vestryman for 
 more than twenty years. His wife is also a mem- 
 ber of that church. 
 
 The Masonic record of our sul)ject is a conspicu- 
 ous feature of his histoiy, as he has been very 
 prominently identified with the order officially for 
 a quarter of a century. He was made a Master 
 Mason in Owisco Lodge No. 571, December 11, 
 1867. The old lodge was subsequently consoli- 
 dated with Kankakee Lodge No. 389. He was 
 advanced to the Royal Arch degree in Kankakee 
 Chapter No. 78 on the 28th of February, 1868; 
 became a member of Springfield Council No. 2 
 on October 7 of the following 3ear, and on the 
 23d of that month became a member of Ivanhoe 
 Coramandery No. 33, of Kankakee. He was' ad- 
 mitted to Van Rensselaer L. of P. October 5, 
 1875, to the Chicago Council October 6, 1875, on 
 the same date to Gourgas Chapter, and to the 
 Oriental Consistory on the 7th of October, 1875, 
 receiving the Thirtj'-third Degree in Philadelphia 
 September 16, 1879. His Masonic official record 
 begins with his service as Worshipful Master of
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 191 
 
 Owisco Lodge in 1.S68. lie next was Woisliip- 
 ful Master of Kankakee Lodge in 1874-75, was 
 M. E. II. P. of Kankakee Chapter for 1869-70-79- 
 80 and 1881; was elected E. C. of Ivanhoe Com- 
 mauder}- for the term of 1872; was D. I). G. M. 
 of the Sixteenth Masonic District of Illinois for 
 seven years, from 1872 to 1879, inclusive, and in 
 October, 1875, was elected M. E. G. II. P. of the 
 Grand Chapter of Illinois, serving for one term. 
 In October, 1884, he was elected R. E. G. C. of 
 the Grand Commander^', K. T., of Illinois, and 
 served for one term. At this writing (1892) he is 
 Grand Marshal of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. 
 During the man_y years of his prominent and 
 active affiliation with the order. Col. Clarke has 
 made many pleasant acquaintances throughout 
 the State and nation, where the pleasure has been 
 reciprocal. 
 
 Our subject is President of the Kankakee Club, 
 a social society composed of many of the best peo- 
 ple of the city, and is officially connected with 
 many other social and financial organizations. In 
 business life Col. Clarke is enterprising and pub- 
 lic-spirited, and has been more or less identified 
 with everything of public interest that has trans- 
 pired in his time in his city or county. He was 
 elected and served as President of the Business 
 Men's Association of Kankakee during its recent 
 rapid growth in general prosperity and the indus- 
 tries, and did much to aid and encourage the 
 same. He is noted for exactness and correctness 
 in his business methods, which characteristic h.is 
 won for him public confidence in his acts, and in 
 the important financial relations he holds to his 
 fellow-citizens and the general public. 
 
 In the earl3' summer of 1891, Col. Clarke, feel- 
 ing the need of a little rest and recreation after 
 many years of close application to business, 
 planned a tour of the Old World, and with his 
 wife sailed from New York in May of that year, 
 making their first landing in Ireland. After vis- 
 iting the larger cities and principal points of in- 
 terest in the British Isles, they proceeded to Nor- 
 way, stopping at its principal seaports, and going 
 the whole length of its coast to North Cape, "the 
 land of the midnight sun," where they saw no 
 night. Rounding North Cape they proceeded into 
 
 Lapland, invading the fabled domain of Santa 
 C'laus, where they inspected his reindeer and the 
 curious customs of the Laplanders. This part of 
 the trip was suggested to the C<ilonel b}' his pre- 
 vious experience in Alaska, which had given him 
 a taste for Arctic scenes. On their return tliey 
 went to Scotland and England, going thence to 
 Austria, (iermany, and tlience to France, where 
 they rested a season in P.iris. Next they crossed 
 the Alps int(j Switzerland, enjoying for a time the 
 romantic scenery of that favorite haunt of the 
 tourist and the artist. They returned to England 
 and then home, where they arrived after a most 
 enjoyable tour of six months, during which time 
 their observations would afford material for a very 
 readable book. The collection of beautiful paint- 
 ings and curios which the^' brought back with 
 them will not onl^' ornament their home, but will 
 serve as pleasant reminders of their journeyings 
 in foreign lands. 
 
 It is no flattery to say of Col. Clarke what 
 everybody who knows him will vouch for, that he 
 is one of the most popular men in Kankakee 
 County. It may be that he is not entitled to any 
 credit for it, as it is probable that he doesn't 
 mean to be so, but simply can't help it. It is his 
 nature to be genial and courteous, and being of a 
 happ3' disposition and fortunate in natural en- 
 dowments, both physical and mental, and favored 
 by fortune with abundant means, there is no rea- 
 son whj' he should not hold, as he does, a fore- 
 most place in the hearts of all who know him. 
 
 ^RANK B. WHI'ITUM is the well-known, 
 
 j genial station agent and telegraph operator 
 _^ of the Illinois Central Railroad at Herscher, 
 
 111. His birth occurred at Phelps, Ontario County, 
 N. Y., on the 28tli of May, 1856. Of that State, 
 his father, II. C. Wliittum, was also a native, and 
 there grew to manhood. He married Miss Pru- 
 dence Bayloss, likewise of New Y'ork. In 1867, he 
 removed with his family to Michigan, locating in 
 Eaton County, where he engaged in the manufac-
 
 198 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tare of lumber and also did merchandising and 
 farming for a number of \ears. Now, retired from 
 active business, lie is enjoying the fruits of his 
 years of toil. In bis earlier life he was quite act- 
 ive in political circles and held a number of posi- 
 tions in the locality in which he dwelt. He has 
 always supported the principles of the Republican 
 party since its organization. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 passed in Eaton County, Mich., where he had re- 
 moved with his parents. His early education was 
 acquired in the district schools, which studies 
 were supplemented by a course in the Eaton Rapids 
 High School and later at Olivet College. Upon 
 completing his school life, Mr. Whittuni engaged 
 as a teacher for two years, in which line he proved 
 very successful. Afterward he took a commercial 
 course at Janesville, Wis., also learning telegraphy. 
 From there he went to Chicago, where he accepted 
 a position in a commercial house, where he re- 
 mained for a year. At the expiration of that time 
 he entered the employ of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road Company and up to the present da}- has been 
 with them, stationed at various oflices along the 
 line. In 1880, he was appointed station agent and 
 operator at Herscher. He is also agent for several 
 Brst-class fire insurance companies and does a good 
 business, both in Herscher and the adjoining coun- 
 try. The jTCtna Life Insurance Company have 
 also made him their agent at this point. 
 
 Mr. Whittum has taken quite an active part in 
 local politics, though he has never desired official 
 recognition. On the organization of the village of 
 Herscher he was elected Clerk, in which capacity 
 he has acted since. He uses his right of franchise 
 in favor of the Republican part}' and cast his first 
 vote in the Presidential election of 1880 for James 
 A. Garfield. He is a man of upright character and 
 exemplary habitsand is one of the Jlliuois Central's 
 most valued and trusted employes. 
 
 In Momence, on the 27th of November, 1882, 
 Mr. Whittum and Miss Sarah Richaids were united 
 in marriage. The lad}-, who is a native of Indiana, 
 received her education in Kankakee County and 
 Oxford, Ohio, in the Ladies' Seminar}-, and pre- 
 vious to her marriage was a successful teacher. Her 
 parents were Samuel and Maria Richards, the for- 
 
 mer of whom died when she was a child. Mrs. 
 AVhittum's two brothers, Clark and Wheeler Rich- 
 ards, were formerly prominent men of this county, 
 and were civil engineers, the latter being at one 
 time Surveyor of the county. They are both now 
 deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Whittum have two sons, 
 Freddie and Harry, and are highly esteemed mem- 
 bers of the Herscher Presbyterian Church. 
 
 _^) 
 
 "S] 
 
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 C^" 
 
 ^^EORGE W. P.YRNES, a farmer residing on 
 III (^— section 3, Limestone Township, is one of 
 '^^ the honored pioneers of this county, and 
 were his skelch omitted from its pages the history 
 would be incomplete. His name is inseparably 
 connected with its upbuilding. The county cer- 
 tainly owes a debt of gratitude to the early set- 
 tlers who bore the hardships and trials of frontier 
 life while making homes in this then far West- 
 ern country, thereby laying the foundation for a 
 county which now occupies a foremost place 
 among its sister counties in this great common- 
 wealth. 
 
 iNlr. Byrnes was born in Fairport, Geauga County, 
 now Lake County, Ohio, July 30, 1818, and w.as 
 the fifth in a family of six children, includ- 
 ing three sons and three daughters, whose par- 
 ents were James and Margaret (Mayher) Byrnes. 
 The father was a native of Grafton County, N. H. 
 The paternal grandfather, however, was born in 
 Ireland, but in his youth emigrated to this country 
 and married a lad}- of Vermont. Mrs. Byrnes, the 
 mother of our subject, was a native of the Empire 
 State. 
 
 When George was only three years of age his 
 parents left Ohio and removed to Mt. Clemens, 
 Mich., where his mother died the following year. 
 He remained in Michigan until 1830, his time be- 
 ing passed in the usual manner of farmer lads, and 
 then at the age ()f thirteen years ran away from 
 home in order to become a sailor on the Lakes. Go- 
 ing to Detroit, he carried out his cherished resolu- 
 tion. When about fourteen years old he made his 
 home in Chicago, but continued to sail the Lakes 
 
 I 
 1
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 199 
 
 until sixteen years of age. He can relate many 
 interesting stories concerning his experience as a 
 sailor lad. AVhen his father came to this county 
 in 1834, George Byrnes accompanied him. Ilis 
 father had located land here two j'cars previous. 
 Our subject made the journej' from Chicago on foot 
 and carried with him eigiit pounds of nails to be 
 used in building the roof of their house. At that 
 lime there were only about six settlements in the 
 entire countj'. The greater part of the land was 
 still in its primitive condition and was owned by 
 the Government, ludians still resided in tliis lo- 
 cality, all kinds of wild game were plentiful, and 
 the primitive condition of everything gave little 
 indication that Kankakee County was to attain to 
 the enviable position which it to-day occujiies. 
 
 In 1843, Mr. Byrnes was united in marriage with 
 ]\Iiss Sabra Anna Hawkins, whose parents were 
 among the earliest pioneers of this county. The 
 following children were born of their union: Joel 
 B., born April C, 1845, is now living in Kansas; 
 .lames, born December 16, 1846, is engaged in 
 farming in the Sunllower State; Hester Maria, 
 born .lanuar^' 5, 1850, died at the age of two years; 
 Geoige W., horn January 11, 1852, is one of the 
 substantial farmers of this county. The mother of 
 this family died in 1865, and on the 16th of Decem- 
 ber, 18()6, Mr. B\'rnes was again married, his second 
 union being with Miss Harriet Benson, a resident 
 of Washington, D. C. She was born in Queen Anne 
 and Prince George County, Md., April 16, 1840, 
 and her parents wore also natives'of the same State. 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Byrnes were born the follow- 
 nig children. Sabra Anna, born September 6, 1867, 
 died at the age of thirteen years. Hattie L., born 
 November 29, 1868, is now the wife of John Cahen, 
 a resident farmer of Kankakee County. Ce|5has 
 B., born on the 12th of July, 1871, died in infancj'. 
 The younger children are Jolin B., born July 25, 
 1872; and Cyntha Eunice, born November 10, 
 1878. They are still under tlie parental roof. 
 
 The hardships and privations of pioneer life are 
 well known to I\Ir. B3rnes, not as a matter of re- 
 port but of experience. He performed the ardu- 
 ous task of developing wild land, many an acre 
 having lirst been plowed bj- him. lie has ever 
 worked for the best interests of the county, for 
 
 its upbuilding and advancement. lie aided in the 
 
 organization of the county and was its first Sher- 
 iff, to which ollice he was elected in 1852, filling 
 the position for a term of two years. True to 
 avcry public and private trust, he iias won the 
 confidence and high regard of all with whom bus- 
 iness or pleasure has brought liim in contact. 
 Through his business ability and enterprise he has 
 gained a handsome property and now owns three 
 hundred and twenty acres of rich farming land. 
 In politics, he has always been a stalwart Demo- 
 crat and for forty-seven years he has been con- 
 nected with the Masonic fraternity. 
 
 ^^=^EORGE H. RKED, living on section 17, 
 l| K^ Norton Township, has been a resident of 
 ^^1) this county for twenty-two years. His birth 
 occurred in Oneida County, N. Y., on the lllh 
 of January, 1855. He is a son of Louis L., and 
 Eliza (Cook) Reed, both of whom were natives 
 of New York, and there grew to maturity. Tlie 
 father is a weaver by trade, and for a number of 
 years was engaged in the manufacturing business. 
 About 1856 he moved Westward to Illinois, locat- 
 ing in Will County, near Wilmington. There for 
 the first time in his life he engaged in farming 
 and was quite successful. In 1870, coming to 
 Kankakee Countj-, he purchased a tract of raw 
 prairie land, which he has since mucii im|)roved 
 and developed. On this farm he resided until 
 1887, engaged in its cultivation, but at that time 
 removing to Kankakee, he retired from the active 
 cares and business of life. 
 
 Our subject, George IL, passed his boyhood and 
 3-outh in Will and Kankakee Counties, coming to 
 the latter place when fifteen years of age. I lis school 
 privileges were such as were afforded by the dis- 
 trict schools, and with his father he remained until 
 attaining his majority. At Wabash, Ind., Mr. 
 Reed married Miss Louise Miller, on the 3d of 
 March, 1882. Mrs. Reed is a native of Indiana 
 and a daughter of William Miller, of that State. 
 The family circle of six children remains unbroken,
 
 200 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the eldest being Leonard L.; the others are Clara 
 J., Nellie E., Leroy R., and Hattie May and Ward 
 A. (twins). The three older children are attend- 
 ing school in the neighborhood. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Reed settled upon a 
 farm which ho had previously purchased and which 
 land adjoined his father's property. For several 
 years he carried on his farm and after his father's 
 removal to Kankakee he rented his farm, since 
 which time he has operated both. He has one 
 hundred and sixty acres of improved land and is 
 accounted one of the successful farmers of Norton 
 Township. Our subject is a public-spirited man 
 and has given his hearty support to all measures 
 for the benefit of the community. In local poli- 
 tics he is much interested and has held various 
 official positions of responsibility, among which 
 we mention that of Collector of the township and 
 Road Commissioner. He is a stanch adherent of 
 the Republican party and deposited his first vote 
 for Hon. .Tames A. Garfield. The cause of educa- 
 tion finds in him a warm friend, and for nine con- 
 secutive years he has been a Director and a mem- 
 ber of the School Board. Socially, he holds mem- 
 bership with Green Grove Camp No. 1512, M. W. A., 
 of Buckingham, 111. In his personal character he 
 is honorable and upright and has a wide circle of 
 friends and acquaintances. 
 
 ^^^EORGE E. WEIS is an enterprising agricul- 
 [II ,-— , turist of Norton Township, residing on 
 ^^J^ section 6. He is numbered among the hon- 
 ored pioneers of Kankakee County, and is one 
 of the early settlers of Norton Township, dating 
 his residence here since 1865. 
 
 On the 6th of March. 1826, his birth occurred in 
 Wurtemberg, Germany. In his native land he 
 passed his early days, receiving good advantages 
 in the schools. Since coming to this country, by 
 observation and study he has acquired a good 
 knowledge of English. Previous to his leaving 
 German}-, he was engaged at farm labor. .In 1854, 
 
 going to Havre, Mr. Weis took passage in a sailing- 
 vessel bound for New York. The vessel was fortj'- 
 three days in crossing the broad Atlantic and en- 
 countered severe storms and gales. Nearly all the 
 passengers were sick during the entire vo.yage. 
 Thej' arrived in New York Harbor, casting anchor 
 on the 1st of July, 1854. From there Mr. Weis 
 went West to Chicago and afterward went West to 
 DuPage County, where he joined several German 
 friends. He soon obtained employment on a farm, 
 where he remained for six years. 
 
 On the 16th of February, 1860, Mr. Weis mar- 
 ried Miss Dora, daughter of Philip Spahn, who 
 was also a native of Germany and spent his entire 
 life in that country. When eighteen years of age, 
 Mrs. Weis bade adieu to her friends and native 
 land and came to the United States, arriving in 
 Illinois about 1857. By their marriage were born 
 five children: George L., a farmer of this town- 
 ship, and who learned the carpenter's trade; Louis 
 Henry, also a carpenter and farmer of this county; 
 Emma, wife of .lohn II. Knipe, engaged in farm- 
 ing in Kankakee County; Charles W., a young 
 man helping to carry on the home farm. A 
 daughter, Rosa, now decea.sed, was the wife of 
 James Kriebel, a farmer of this county. She de- 
 parted this life on the IStli of July, 1892. 
 
 In 1860, Mr. Weis rented a farm in DuPage 
 County, which he carried on for five 3'ears. In 
 1865, removing to Kankakee County, he purchased 
 a tract of eighty-four acres of raw prairie. The 
 land was veiy productive and when the season was 
 at all favorable brought forth abundant harvests 
 of grain and other fruits. Thus Mr. Weis was : 
 soon on the road to prosperity. He purchased] 
 eighty- acres adjoining his original land, but located 1 
 over the line in Grundy County. In all, his farm 
 comprises one hundred and sixty-four acres of ara-j 
 ble and improved land. He has a large, substan- 
 tial residence, commodious barns, sheds and other] 
 farm buildings. His place is located one mile dis- 
 tant from Reddick and is a valuable and fertile] 
 farm. 
 
 Mr. Weis cast his fiist ballot for Hon. Abraham j 
 Lincoln in 1860, and has always been a stanch 
 supporter of the Republican party until 1892, atl 
 which time he voted the Prohibition ticket. He
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 201 
 
 is a firm believer in the temperance cause and 
 thinks legislation should be used for its fiirtliur- 
 ance. Mr. and Mrs. Weis are members of the 
 Evangelical Cliurcb, to which they give their 
 hearty support. He is a man well esteemed for 
 his integrity and moral worth, and has Iielped to 
 make tlie county what it is to-day, one of the best 
 in the State. 
 
 . --^ 
 
 —5- 
 
 m>^r<^^—^- 
 
 WULLIAM V. STATESis Justice of the Peace, 
 Notary Public and Town Clerk of Norton 
 Townsliip. His birth occurred in Hunt- 
 ingdon County, Pa., on the 14th of December, 
 18.S7. He is a son of Thom.is L. States, who w.as 
 a native of the same county, and of English de- 
 scent. Tlie latter, on arriving at man's estate, 
 married in Connecticut Miss Mary A'aughan, who 
 was born, reared and educated in Redding, Conn., 
 and whose father, Daniel ^^aughan, was born in 
 Riiode Island. The newly-married couple located 
 in Huntingdon Count}', Pa. Mr. States was a hat- 
 ter by trade, and also a contractor on public works. 
 Eor several seasons lie also built canal boats, and 
 was quite actively engaged in business. In the 
 fall of 18.j7, leaving his famil}- in Pennsylvania, 
 he came to Illinois, where lie purcliased land in 
 Kankakee County, upon whicii he built a good 
 home. Tlie following year he returned to Penn- 
 sylvania, and moved his family and household ef- 
 fects to his farm in this county. With his sons 
 he went to work to improve his land. His death 
 occurred in 1871, and he was buried in Smith 
 Cemeter}', where a marble monument marks his last 
 resting-place. He took quite an active part in lo- 
 cal [lolitics, and occupied several official positions, 
 both in Illinois and the Kc3-stone State. Before 
 coming to the West he served for some years as 
 Deputy Sheriff. He was an active worker in the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and was a man of 
 unblemished character and reputation. His wife, 
 who is still living, makes her home with her chil- 
 dren, of whom three yet survive. The eldest, II. 
 B., is a farmer of Norton Township; William is 
 
 next in order of birth; and Julia Anna, is the 
 wife of George Carpenter, also of Norton Town- 
 ship. Alfred, who was a soldier, died in the ser- 
 vice of his country at the battle of Corinth in 18<)3. 
 Tliomas died in this county in 18()2, at the age of 
 nineteen years. 
 
 Mr. States, of this sketch grew to maturity in 
 Pennsylvania, where he received good school ad- 
 vantages in lioth the common and liigher schools. 
 Upon the completion of his studies he was employed 
 as a clerk for three years with G. & J. II. Shoen- 
 herger, the noted iron manufacturers. March 2, 
 18,58, he faced for the West, and when he reached 
 the Alleghany Mountains he met with very severe 
 weather, freezing his hands and feet. He went on 
 to Monroeville, Ohio, on horseback, where he ar- 
 rived about the Kith or 17th of Jlarcli. He traveled 
 via Toledo, Ohio, to Chicago, where he arrived 
 about the 2()tli of March, and immediately started 
 for Kankakee County. Much ofthewa\- he plowed 
 through sloughs and swamps, and had, on the 
 whole, a laborious and discouraging trip. How- 
 ever, he decided to locate here, and with his broth- 
 ers helped to open up a farm, remaining with his 
 father until the lattcr's death. For several years 
 previous, however, he had taken almost entire 
 charge of the place. 
 
 Our subject returned to the Keystone State, and 
 on the 17th of February, 1862, married Sarah C. 
 Chamberlain, who was born and grew to woman- 
 hood in Huntingdon County, Pa. She is a daugh- 
 ter of .Tames and Susan (Ginter) Chamberlain, res- 
 idents of Warrior's IMaik, where the former has 
 been engaged in the hotel business for a period of 
 fifty-two years. Mrs. States is the fourth child 
 in a family of nine children, all yet living. There 
 are two sons and seven daughters: Harry, a sketch 
 of whom is given elsewhere in this volume; Mary, 
 Mrs. Keefer, of Pennsylvania; Rebecca, also a Mrs. 
 Keefer of Pennsylvania; Sarah C, Mrs. States; 
 Susan, Mrs. Fetterhoof; Fannie, Mrs. Funk; Mar- 
 garet, Mrs. Fetterhoof; Adeline, Mrs. Stahn; and 
 Daniel, who married Miss Goodman, a resident of 
 Penns3'lvania. Mrs. States was educated in the 
 common schools of her native State and is a mem- 
 ber of the Ladies' Aid Society and of the Epworth 
 League, of Buckingham, 111. To 3Ir. and Mrs.
 
 202 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 States was born a son, Henry W., who died at the 
 age of six years and seven months, in December, 
 1886, with diphtheria. 
 
 . For twenty years Mr. States has been an invalid, 
 both hands being crippled with rheumatism. In 
 spite of this obstacle he is a successful agriculturist, 
 and for many years has carried on his farm by 
 means of hired help. For the past twelve years 
 our subject has been identified with the Republi- 
 can party, and voted for James A. Garfield. Pre- 
 viously he was a member of the Democracy. lie 
 lias taken quite an active part in local politics 
 for some years, and has held a number of official 
 positions of trust and honor. Me was first elected 
 Constable, and served in that capacity most ac- 
 ceptably for four years. For nineteen consecutive 
 years, Mr. States has been the able and ellicient 
 Clerk of the Townshii). to which office he lias been 
 elected term after term. He is now serving his 
 tenth year as .Justice of the Peace. For five years 
 he acted under appointment as Township Treasurer. 
 He has proved faithful, capable and trustworth}' 
 in these various positions, and has won the ap- 
 proval of all. For thirty-five years Mr. Slates has 
 taken an active part in the growth and develop- 
 ment. of this region, and his many friends will be 
 pleased to read tliis brief tribute to his worth. 
 AVith his wife, he holds membership with the Buck- 
 ingham iMethodist Episcopal Church, and they were 
 enrolled among the original members. Our sub- 
 ject and wife are now residents of the town of 
 Buckingham, where they have a comfortable and 
 pleasant home, which is alwa^'s a welcome haren 
 for their many friends. 
 
 
 ^^ EORGE LAKE BROWN is one of the lead- 
 (II (—-, ing land-owners and extensive agricultur- 
 ^^JK i*** ^^ Aroma Township, residing on section 
 11, where he has made his home for four years. 
 His birth occurred on the 14th of October, 1835, in 
 Montgomery County, N. Y. He is a son of John 
 and Sarah (Stall) Brown, the former a native of 
 the Empire State. To them were born six children: 
 
 Alfred, who died on the 23d of August, 1892, in 
 Waldron: Adeline, who is the wife of Henry 
 P. Lowe, and resides in Waldron; Phila, the 
 wife of Peter Lowe, a retired farmer, who now 
 makes his home in Kankakee; Johnson T., a far- 
 mer of Hancock County, Iowa; and Jane, who re- 
 sides in Waldron. 
 
 Our subject is the third in order of birth of his 
 father's famil3-, and emigrated Westward with his 
 parents b3' way of the Lakes to Chicago when he 
 was seven or eight j'ears of age, landing in Chi- 
 cago about the year 1842, where they remained 
 for about four months. Tliey then removed to 
 Kane Couiitj-, settling in Sugar Grove, near 
 Aurora. There the father engaged in agricultural 
 pursuits for about six years, and then, removing to 
 Kankakee County, purchased one hundred and 
 sixty acres of land near Momence. This was un- 
 improved and wild prairie land, and for it j\Ir. 
 Brown paid but ^60. The year IHVJ witnessed 
 his arrival in this county, and in the same year he 
 departed this life, being then in the prime of man- f I 
 hood, having reached the age of forty-nine years. 
 He was a stanch Democrat, a loyal citizen and a 
 man of intelligence and integiity. The mother of 
 onr subject is still living, and has reached the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-two years. She now makes 
 her home with her children in Waldron. 
 
 The boyhood days of George Brown were passed 
 upon a farm in the usual pursuits and occupations 
 of farmer lads. lie came to this county in 1849, 
 and from that time has lived upon the farm which 
 his father then purchased. Upon arriving here 
 they built a small frame house, and here Mr. Brown 
 continued to reside until 1889. He is now tlie 
 possessor of two hundred and thirty-six acres on 
 section 11, Aroma Township, and owns altogether 
 some six hundred and fort3'-two acres of well-im- 
 proved and valuable farming land. He received 
 a common-school education, and has been largely' 
 self-educated. From the first lie manifested good 
 business abilit3', and has exercised wi.se judgment 
 in his investments. At the death of his father, his 
 mother and her family were left but very little, 
 their possessions comprising a tract of prairie land, 
 a couple of yoke of oxen and a few head of cattle. 
 When the property was divided, such a small por-
 
 PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 203 
 
 tion fell to our subject that he practically began 
 life empty-hancled, and therefore to him is due the 
 entire credit of his present success and prosperity. 
 
 September 19, 1887, Mr. Brown was married to 
 Miss Caroline Powell. She was born in Bruce, 
 Macomb County, Mich., May ."5, 1851, and was the 
 seventh child in a family of seven children, three 
 sons and four daughters, all of whom are living 
 except Abram, who died while defending the old 
 flag. Mrs. Brown is a daughter of Abram Ten 
 Broeck and Sarah A. (Field) Powell. She received 
 her education in her native county, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Protestant Church. By this 
 union two children have been born: (Georgia Lake 
 and John Ten Broeck. 
 
 In August, 1861, Mr. r>rown donned the blue, 
 becoming a member of Company D, Forty-second 
 Illinois Infantry. He was mustered into service 
 at Chicago, tiie period of his enlistment being for 
 three j^ears. AVith his company he participated in 
 many engagements and battles, and among these 
 we enumerate that of Island No. 10, Farmington 
 (Miss.), Murfreesboro (Tenn.), Resaca (Ga.), New 
 Hope Church, IMission Ridge and n)an>- smaller 
 skirmishes and engagements. Though often under 
 fire and in nian\- dangerous positions, he was sin- 
 gularly fortunate and with one exception was never 
 injured. At one time a piece of shell struck him 
 on the leg, but no serious effect ensued. During 
 the entire period of his service, which comi)rised 
 over three years, he was onl}' in the hospital for 
 about tw^o weeks. He received an honorable dis- 
 charge at Atlanta, Ga., in 1864. He was ever faith- 
 ful in the discharge of his duties as a soldier, and 
 was one on whom his superior officers might safely 
 rel}-. .Socially Mr. Brown holds membership with 
 the Grand Army post. 
 
 For half a century Mr. Brown has been identi- 
 fied with the growth and progress of this county, 
 and has taken an active part in its ujibuilding and 
 success. At the time of his arrival the country 
 was sparsely inhabited, and but few cabins were to 
 be seen in any direction. Much of the countrj' 
 was a swamp, and rank prairie grass was the on\y 
 thing to be seen upon the surface of the laud for 
 miles. Fifty years have passed, and behold how 
 wonderful the transformation ! The county is now 
 
 one of the most fertile and beautiful in the State. 
 Thrifty farms are to be seen on every hand, and 
 waving fields of golden grain have replaced the 
 useless grass of the prairie. Cities and villages dot 
 tlie landscape, and railroads traverse this section 
 in cvevy direction. 
 
 LBERT G. SMITH, a i)ractical and pro- 
 gressive farmer residing on sections 24 and 
 *' 25, Salina Township, owns and operates 
 an excellent farm of one hundred and 
 ninet}^ acres. Almost the entire amount is under 
 a high state of cultivation, and it is improved with 
 good buildings and all the accessories of a model 
 farm of the nineteenth centurj'. Its owner has 
 the honor of lieing a native of this State. He was 
 born near Oswego, Kendall County, July 14, 1842, 
 and is a son of George J. and Uelana (Allen) 
 Smith, both of whom were natives of Massachu- 
 setts and were of English descent. Their family 
 numbered ten children, as follows: Edwin W. G., 
 deceased; Tliom:is, also deceased; Lucy, wife of R. 
 C. Bingle}'; .Sarah M., wife of James Henry; Albert 
 of this sketch; Mar}', deceased; I^lla; Harriet, de- 
 ceased; Marion, who has also passed awa}-; and 
 Julia O. The father of this family followed the 
 occupation of farming throughout his entire life. 
 He was born July 21, 1806, and at the age of six- 
 teen years left the old Bay State, going to Erie 
 County, N. Y., where, on the 21st of November, 
 1832, he married Miss Allen. For six years he 
 followed farming in New York. 
 
 On the expiration of that period, George Smith 
 lefli the East and by way of the Lakes came west 
 to Chicago. He first located near Oswego, Kendall 
 County, 111., wliere he made a claim of Govern- 
 ment land of one hundred and sixty acres, pur- 
 chasing the same at the regular price of if 1.25 per 
 acre. It w.as all in its primitive condition, but the 
 labor he bestowed upon it soon made it a good 
 farm. He resided thereon until 1858, when he 
 came to Kankakee County and took up his resi-
 
 204 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dence in Salina Township. Here he purchased 
 one liundred and sixty acres on section 25, and to 
 its improvement and development devoted liis 
 energies until his life was ended. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Baptist Church, and in politics was an 
 ardent supporter of the Republican partj-. He 
 passed away Ju\y 18, 1878, and his remains were 
 interred in the Shreffler Cemetery. His wife was 
 called to the home beyond March 1, 1892, and was 
 laid to rest by the side of her husband. She was 
 also a member of the Baptist Church, and both 
 were highl.y respected citizens, whose many ex- 
 cellencies of character won them the warm regard 
 of their many friends. In the veins of our subject 
 also runs Revolutionary blood. His grandfather 
 aided the Colonies in their struggle for inde- 
 pendence and the great-grandfather was killed in 
 that war. 
 
 Albert Smith, whose name heads this record, 
 was only a 3ear old when his father removed to 
 his claim in Kendall CoiuHy. His education was 
 acquired in the district schools of the neighbor- 
 hood, which he attended at intervals until nine- 
 teen years of age. He remained at home with his 
 parents until after the breaking out of the late 
 war, when, on the 7tli of August, 1862, he re- 
 sponded to the country's call for troops, enlisting 
 as a private of Company B, One Hundred and Thir- 
 teenth Illinois Infantry. He was mustered into 
 service at Ciiicago, and tlien going to the South 
 participated in the hard-fought siege of Vicksburg. 
 He also took part in the battle of Arkansas Post 
 and many other engagements. Me was honorably 
 discharged at iMemphis, Tenn., .July 20, 1865, and 
 was mustered out as regimental orderly. 
 
 When the war was over, Mr. Smith returned to 
 the old homestead, which he operated for three 
 years. He then purchased one hundred and thirty- 
 six acres of land on sections 24 and 25, Salina 
 Township, the farm on which he now resides, al- 
 though its boundaries have since been extended 
 until now one hundred and ninety acres yield to 
 him a golden tribute in return for his care and 
 labor. 
 
 On Christmas Day of 1866. Mr. Smith was 
 married to Miss Mary I. Herrick. a daughter of 
 James and Mary (Conout) Herrick. Their union 
 
 has been blessed with a family of nine children, 
 eight sons and a daughter, of whom all are now 
 living except Albert G., the fourth in order of 
 birth. The other members of the family are: Er- 
 nest F., Alfred AV. T., Walter E., Lucy B., Arthur 
 G., Leslie C, George .J. and Frank H. 
 
 The family are members of the Christadelphian 
 faith, and Mr. Smith holds membership with the 
 Grand Army of the Republic. In politics he is a 
 supporter of the Republican principles. He tries 
 faithfully to discharge his duties of citizenship, 
 but does not take a prominent part in public 
 and political affairs, preferring to devote his atten- 
 tion to the interests of his business, his family and 
 his home, and he keeps out of all lawsuits as far as 
 he can. 
 
 4-^^ 
 
 iVX'H) Ml EL\'AIN, of Kankakee, is a rei)re- 
 sentative of a pioneer family of this county. 
 His father, Greer McElvain, with his family 
 settled in Rockville Township in June, 1848. He 
 had visited the country the previous year with 
 the view of establishing a permanent home in 
 this section. He was born in Erie Countj', Pa., 
 on the 8th of February, 1804, and was a son 
 of John and INIary (Jordan) McElvain, the former 
 a native of Baltimore, Md. 
 
 At the age of eight years Greer McElvain re- 
 moved with his parents from Pennsylvania to 
 Sandusky, Ohio, and in 1828 to Kalamazoo County, 
 Mich. A year later he married Miss Mahala Hanson, 
 who was born in Norfolk, \a., and had removed 
 to Michigan with her parents from Ohio, where 
 the families had previously been acquainted. After 
 his marriage Mr. McElvain settled upon a farm 
 near Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo County, and later re- 
 moved to the town of Brady, in the same county. 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, John 
 McElvain, lived in Kalamazoo Count3' until his 
 death. He was twice married, Greer having been 
 a son bjr the second marriage. His mother was a 
 native of Ireland. There were three sons by the 
 first marriage, all of whom have passed away. Of a
 
 PORTRAIT AND BJOGKAl'lllCAL liECORD. 
 
 205 
 
 family of five sons and three daughters of the sec- 
 ond union, all are now deceased with the excep- 
 tion of a daughter, Mrs. Mar^' Frazier, of School- 
 craft, INIich. 
 
 When the family of Greer McElvain came to 
 Kankakee County in 1848, it comprised the pa,r- 
 ents, three sons and four daughters. The father 
 purchased one hundred and eighty acres of prai- 
 rie land on section 21, which is now Rockville 
 Townshij). He also purchased twenty acres of 
 timber land. On his farm, which he bought of 
 Samuel Howard, was a double log house, and of his 
 farm about sixty acres had been broken and on them 
 crops [ilantcd. Here lie made a home for himself 
 and family and resided until his death, which oc- 
 curred on tlie 4th of February, 1871, at the age 
 of sixty-seven 3'ears. The wife and mother did 
 not long survive her husband, as her death oc- 
 curred .lanuary 11), 1873. The ciicurastances at- 
 tending the death of Mrs. McKlvain were pecu- 
 liarly sad. A man who had come from Wilmington, 
 111., had been engaged to work upon the farm. 
 He was soon taken ill, his disease proving to be 
 smallpox. All of the famil_v who were at tiie time 
 at home contracted the disease, which proved fatal 
 to the mother and her j'oungest son, Greer. The 
 hired man also died of the disease, to which he had 
 so fatally exposed the family. The father was a 
 well-known and esteemed citizen. He was a plain, 
 domestic man, who had had but little opportunity 
 for education in his younger days, and was, in fact, 
 a typical pioneer of forty or fifty years ago. He 
 was a man of generous and kind disposition, who 
 aimed to do well his part in life. Fornierlj' he 
 was a Democrat, voting for Gen. .lackson, but 
 later became a Whig of strong anti-slaver}' senti- 
 ments, and after the formation of the IJepublican 
 part was a strong adherent. He and his wife some- 
 what late in life joined the United Brethren 
 Church, of which thej^ remained faithful mem- 
 bers until death. 
 
 Ten children, four sons and six daughters, graced 
 the union of Greer and Maliala (Hanson) McEl- 
 vain. Of this family all grew to mature years. 
 David is the eldest; John and William are resi- 
 dents of Rockville Township; Mary Jane is the 
 wife of Calvin W. Walton and makes her home 
 
 in Englewood, III.; Anna Eliza became the vvife 
 of John (Jilford, and resides near Lake Village, 
 Ind.; Elizabeth married John Kowe, who was 
 killed during the War of the Kebellion at the 
 battle of Franklin, Tenn., and later she married 
 Mathias Harris, of Kankakee County; Margaret is 
 the wife of Frederick Ilertzberg, of Kankakee; 
 Helen ISlars married Charles Putnam, who served 
 in the late war, and has since died; Alice Janette 
 Iiecame the wife of Mr. Forbes, and is now de- 
 ceased. The latter's husband and children live 
 near Goodland. 
 
 David McElvain was born in Kalamazoo County, 
 Mich., July 22, 18.'i(), being the first white male 
 child born in that county. He came to Kankakee 
 County with his fatlier's family, and w(dl remem- 
 bers the wild appearance of the country in those 
 early days. Game, including <leer, was abundant. 
 Once, while near his home in the township of 
 Rockville, he counted forty in a herd, and for a 
 number of years later this beautiful animal w.-is 
 abundant in this region. Our subject c(jnlinued 
 to live on the home farm until he was twenty-eight 
 3'ears of age, at which time he engaged in farm- 
 ing for himself in the same township, where for 
 many ^ears he and his family resided, the farm on 
 which he then located being still in possession of 
 the family. 
 
 April 7, 1858, Mr. McElvain married Miss Sarah 
 Jane Iloj't, who was born in Kalamazoo County, 
 Mich., October 4, 1840. ller parents, John and 
 Elizabeth Hoyt, emigrated to Illinois at about the 
 time that the McElvain family did. They settled 
 in Will County, where they resided until their 
 death. Then- family consisted of two sons and 
 three daughters. Mary, wife of Charles Hartman, 
 resides in Rockville Township; Mis. McElvain is 
 the next in order of birth; Ann married Weslc}' 
 Cooper, after whose death she became the wife of 
 James McElroy,of Bourbonnais Township; Jerome 
 L. resides in Kansas City, Mo. The third child. 
 Palmer, accidentally killed him.self when a lad 
 of eleven years, while engaged in pla}' with his 
 sister. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. McElvain have been born two 
 children, a son and a daughter. The elder, Ada E., 
 who was educated in the city schools, is now one of
 
 206 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the successful teachers of Kankakee County. The 
 son, Greer, named after his grandfather, was born 
 April 25, 1872. He possesses a natural talent for 
 music, and excels in the playing of several instru- 
 ments. 
 
 For several j'ears our worthy subject and his 
 wife have made their home in this city, where 
 they removed in order to give better educational 
 advantages to their children. They have a jileas- 
 ant home and are numbered among the well- 
 known and esteemed citizens of this county. Po- 
 litically, Mr. McElvaiu is a Republican, having 
 served as .Justice of the Peace, and for man3' years 
 was School Director, doing efficient service for the 
 educational interests of his community. Socially, 
 he is a Master Mason. 
 
 VI>ILLIAM PERKINS, farmer and stockman, 
 I and one of the early settlers of Momence, 
 Ij is the son of William G. and Philinda 
 (Post) Perkins, and was born in Orleans County', 
 N. Y., on the 3d of March, 1830. The maternal 
 grandfather of our subject spent his life in the 
 Empire State, where he was a prosperous farmer. 
 He attained the great age of niuctj'-three years,' 
 and the day before his death walked a distance of 
 three miles. 
 
 The parents of our subject were both natives of 
 New Hampshire, and the father followed agricul- 
 tural pursuits as his life occupation. He removed 
 with his family to New York some time in the 
 '20s, and located on a farm in Orleans County, 
 where he made his home until 1838, at which time, 
 going to Michigan, he settled upon a farm seven 
 miles northwest of Adrian, in Lenawee County, 
 where for many years he devoted himself to its 
 care and cultivation. At the time of his death, 
 which occurred in 1853, his farm, which consisted 
 of ninety acres, was under a fine state of cultiva- 
 tion and was a valuable piece of property. Mr. 
 Perkins was also an extensive stock-raiser. The 
 death of his wife occurred in 1851. Five sons and 
 four daughters were born to them, of whom but 
 
 two, William and Willard, twin brothers, are now 
 living. 
 
 The early years of our subject were passed in 
 the usual occupations and pursuits of farmer boys, 
 and his school privileges were those of the district 
 schools of the neighborhood. He remained with 
 his i)arents on the old homestead until arriving at 
 man's estate, and on the 22d of October, 1850, 
 was united in marriage with Miss Melissa M., a 
 daughter of Joseph and Marcia (Parker) Young- 
 love, the former a native of Vermont, and the 
 latter of Ohio. Five children graced the union 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Perkins. George H. married Miss 
 liva Stoner, and departed this life on the 26th of 
 September, 1877; his widow is now the wife of 
 Chester Metcalf. Mary H. became the wife of 
 Thomas V. Peters, a farmer residing near Camp 
 Clarke, Neb., and in their famil^^ are four children: 
 Elmer, Eva, Laura and Elipha. Frank is a f.armer 
 who lives three miles west of Momence; he mar- 
 ried Miss Kittie Stabler and has three children: 
 Donna, Viola and Ruth. Aaron E. is operator 
 and agent at the junction of the Chicago & East- 
 ern Illinois and tlie Chicago ife Illinois Central 
 Railroads at Momence. Cornelia is a school 
 teacher, now teaching in the Lake District, three 
 miles west of Momence. 
 
 At the time when ]\Ir. Perkins came to Mo- 
 mence it was a town of but little more than one 
 hundred inhabitants, and wild game, deer, prairie 
 chickens, etc., were in great abundance in this 
 vicinity. He rented a farm a mile and a-half west 
 of town soon after his arrival, and in the spring! 
 of 1858 bought a farm of ninet}' acres on section 
 22, three miles west of Momence, in Ganier] 
 Township, which he still owns and to which he 
 has since added one hundred and sixty acres. This 
 propert}' is well tiled, and has neat hedge fences 
 and good buildings upon it. He also possesses a 
 good comfortable home in Momence, which he 
 has made his home for thirteen jj'ears. Mr. Per- 
 kins is possessed of industry, perseverance and 
 energy, and his property has been accumulated by 
 his well-directed efforts, as he h.as made his own 
 way in the world and fallen heir to no inherit- 
 ance. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Perkins hold membership with the
 
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 ^l't;,.-/;y QjC 
 
 iiimis
 
 
 
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 yLt.(o^M).&^^^ 
 
 aAA/
 
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 OF iHE 
 n^lVERSHY Of W^^ 
 
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 PORTRAIT AKD lilOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 
 
 211 
 
 Episcopal Cliurcli of tliis city. In politics our 
 subject is a Democrat of the Old Hickory stamp, 
 and has always supported the nominees and prin- 
 ciples of the Democracy. He is a Mason, be- 
 longing to jSIomence Lodge No. 481, A. F. & A. 
 M., of which he is now Master. 
 
 V. 
 
 r 
 
 I(_^ ON. CHARLES RICHARD STARR, one of 
 
 *^ the Judges of the Circuit Court for the 
 
 Eleventh District of Illinois, is the first 
 
 ^ Circuit Judge elected from Kankakee 
 County. Ho was elected to that office in 1857, 
 and after ten years of active service resigned, re- 
 suming tiic practice of iiis (jrofession. In 1891 he 
 was again elected for a term of six years and is 
 now serving his second year of that period. 
 
 Judge Starr was born in the town of Cornwallis, 
 Kings Count\', Nova Scotia, May 15, 1824, and is 
 the son of Charles and Paulina (Cox) Starr. His 
 father, wlio was a farmer in good circumstances, 
 was born in the same house where his son first saw 
 the light of day and was descended from an old 
 New England fan'il}' of Englisli origin, wliich was 
 founded in America in 1633 by Dr. Comfort Starr, 
 who emigrated from Ashford, in the county of 
 Kent, near London, England, and settled in Cam- 
 bridge, Mass. Ultimatel}', a branch of the familj- 
 removed to Connecticut, where the name appears 
 among the records of llie pioneer settlers. .Samuel 
 Starr, grandson of Dr. Com/ort Starr, married, De- 
 cember 23, 1604, Hannah Brewster, a granddaugh- 
 ter of Elder William Brewster, who came over in 
 the "Mayflower." Their great-grandson, Maj. 
 Samuel Starr, married Abigail, daughter of Capt. 
 John and Sarah Leffingwell, and in 1759 moved 
 to Nova Scotia with his wife and on I3' son, Joseph, 
 who was then about two j-ears of age. 
 
 The Major built the old home on the place 
 known to tiiis day as the Starr Farm in 1760-61 
 and this was standing until (|uite recently in a 
 very good state of i)reservation. It is described 
 in the history of the Starr family, written iu Con- 
 
 10 
 
 neeticuta few years since, as a "large, square build- 
 ing of nine rooms, and having an immense stack 
 of chimney's in the center." A large pine tree 
 stood in the front yard which measured one hun- 
 dred and sixteen feet in iieiglit and was four feet 
 five inches in diameter when cut down in 1850. 
 Tills tree was a part of the "forest primeval" de- 
 scribed by Longfellow in his "Evangeline," and 
 under its shade four generations of the Starr fam- 
 ily sported in childhood. "This was the Acadian 
 land, on the shores of tlie Basin of Jlinas;" here 
 were "the murmuring pines and the hemlocks," 
 and "away to the northward lUomedon rose." 
 Judge Starr was here born and here lived until he 
 was seventeen j-ears of age. "Near tiie old home- 
 stead stood tlie old church, its golden spindle and 
 balls against the sky, and within its walls the fa- 
 thers worshiped," and here our subject was chris- 
 tened in infancy and afterward instructed in the 
 catechism and ritual of the Church of England. 
 
 Joseph Starr, mentioned above, the grandfather 
 of our subject, was educated in Connecticut, and 
 while there attending school the War of the Revo- 
 lution broke out. After the close of the war and 
 the acknowledged independence of the Colonies, 
 he married a Connecticut cousin, Joanna Starr, 
 and returned to the old homestead in Nova Scotia, 
 where he reared a family, of which Charles Starr, 
 the father of Judge Starr, was a member. Charles 
 Starr was also educated in Connecticut and mar- 
 ried in Nova Scotia Miss Paulina Cox. daugliter 
 of Capt. Harry Cox. Mrs. Stair was a native of 
 Cornwallis, and by her marriage became the mother 
 of three sons and four daughters: Susan, the eldest, 
 is the widow of William Gilliatt and now lives in 
 Portland, Me. Henry married Miss Sarah A. 
 Shipley and is a lawyer by profession, now presid- 
 ing as one of the city Judges in Sacramento, C'al. 
 He was educated at Kent's Hill Academy, in 
 Maine, and lived in Norwich, Conn. When his fa- 
 ther removed to I Uinois in the year 1842, he accom- 
 panied the family. The second son, Christopher, 
 remained in Nova Scotia and married Miss Mary 
 J. Eaton, but afterward removed to Illinois and 
 settled in Morris, Grundy County. He enlisted 
 for the late war and w.as commissioned Second 
 Lieutenant in the Fifty-third Regiment, Illinois
 
 212 
 
 POKTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Infantry. He fought under Gen. Sherman and 
 made the celebrated march to the sea. His death 
 occurred ou the 26th of September, 1870, in Cali- 
 fornia, as the result of disease contracted in the 
 armj\ The Judge is next in order of birth. Sarah, 
 Mrs. H. H. Spoor, died at Elwood, Will County, 
 July 14, 1888. Joanna E. is a widow, and re- 
 sides in San Francisco, Cal. Maria is now Mrs. 
 James H. Mendson, of Chicago. 
 
 In 1842, our subject's father, with his wife and 
 younger children, emigrated to Illinois, settling in 
 Will County at a place since known as Starr's 
 Grove, where he was recognized as a prosperous 
 farmer and an upright and respected citizen. His 
 death occurred at that place February 25, 1874, at 
 the age of eighty-six j'ears. His wife had died on 
 the nth of February, 1856. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared on his fa- 
 ther's farm and attended the local schools. The 
 winter before he left home he taught school in his 
 native town. In 1841, when seventeen 3'ears old, 
 he went to Portland, Me., and pursued his studies 
 in the higher branches at Westbrook Seminary, 
 near that city, until the following summer, when he 
 joined his father's family on their way to Illinois. 
 His early educational advantages had qualified 
 him for teaching, and accordingly he followed that 
 vocation. In the fall of 1844 Mr. Starr accepted 
 a position as teacher of the Bourbonnais school, his 
 jiupils being chiefly the children of French-Cana- 
 dian parents, of which nationality' the settlement 
 is largely composed, being one of the very earliest 
 educators of tlie territory now embraced in Kan- 
 kakee County. 
 
 Judge Starr began the study of law in the spring 
 of 1845, in the oHice of H. E. Maynard, at Wil- 
 mington, Will County, subsequently pursuing his 
 studies under the direction of Hon. Hugh Hender- 
 son, of Joliet. In 1847 he went to Morris, Grundy 
 County, where he engaged in teaching and also 
 pursued his law studies under the preceplorship of 
 his brother, Henry Starr, and E. P. Seely, of that 
 county, devoting about half his time to teaching 
 and the remainder to reading law. He was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar at the June term of the Illinois 
 Supreme Court at Ottawa, in 1849. The following 
 spring he retuined to Will County, where he took 
 
 out his final certificate of naturalization as a cit- 
 izen of the United States, and engaged in the 
 practice of his chosen profession until about 
 the last of Jlarch, 1852, when he removed to Chi- 
 cago and opened a law office on the corner of 
 Clark and South Water Streets, afterward having 
 one on the southeast corner of Randolph and Clark 
 Streets. He remained, however, in the Garden 
 City only until the 5th of July, 1853, when 
 he came to what is now Kankakee. The county 
 had just been organized and this site selected as 
 the count}' seat, and but one building had 'oeen 
 prectcd on the plat. The Illinois Central Railroad 
 Compan}' was at that time building its freight de- 
 pot but the cars were not yet running within a 
 mile of its location. Judge Starr advertised him- 
 self in the papers of Will and Iroquois Counties, 
 there being no papers published in Kankakee 
 County, as a practicing lawyer of Kankakee, but 
 did not at once devote himself to business, as he 
 had an important engagement that called him to 
 Maine. 
 
 At Westbrook, near Portland, Me., on the 22d 
 of September, 1853, Judge Starr was united in 
 marriage with Miss Almena M. Stevens, whose 
 acquaintance he had made while a student at West- 
 brook Seminary. The ceremony was performed 
 by the Rev. Rufus P. Cutler, pastor of the Park 
 Street Unitarian Church of Portland, of which 
 Mrs. Starr was a member. She was born in West- 
 brook, Me., April 20, 1823, and was a daughter of 
 Capt. Samuel B. and Sarah B. (Francis) Stevens, 
 and a sister of ex-Maj'or Stevens, of Portland. 
 On the maternal side she was the great-grand- 
 daughter of Mary Revere, the only sister of Paul 
 Revere, of Revolutionary fame. Mary Revere be- 
 came the wife of Edward Rose. Their daughter 
 married Caleb Francis, and the daughter of that 
 union w.as Mrs. Starr's mother. 
 
 Immediately after their marriage, Judge Starr 
 and his wife set out for Kankakee, 111., which place 
 they reached October 14, 1853. The Judge at 
 once entered upon the practice of his profession, 
 thus becoming one of the first lawyers of this city 
 and county. His claim to being a pioneer lawyer 
 of the county is justly supported by the fact that 
 while a law student he tried several cases in the
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 213 
 
 justice courts in Bourbonnais and other towns in 
 the count}-, as now formed, as earl}' as 1845 and 
 1846. 
 
 Three children were born to Judsje and Mrs. 
 .Starr, a son and two daughters: Charles G. grad- 
 uated at West Point Military Academy in the 
 Class of '78, and is now a First Lieutenant in the 
 regular arm\- of the United .States, being stationed 
 at Colunil>us, Ohio, in the recruiting service. He 
 was married in San Antonio, Tex., in 1881, to 
 Miss p]llen A. Norton, of tliat place. Jane became 
 the wife of Maj. Richard .1. Ilanna, a prominent 
 merchant of Kankakee. Harriet is the wife of 
 Prof. George V. Buciianan.of the .Southern Illinois 
 Normal University, at Carbondale, 111. 
 
 While a resident of Chicago, tiie .Judge was ad- 
 mitted to pr.actice in the United States District 
 and Circuit Courts. In 1855, he was ap|)ointed 
 Public Administrator for the county by Gov. Joel 
 A. Matteson, and in November of the same year 
 was elected .School Commissioner of the county, 
 serving for two years in tliat ofliceand organizing 
 the first Teachers" histitute in tlie county. Judge 
 Starr was appointed by the act of incorporation 
 the first President of the town of K.ankakee upon 
 its organization. 
 
 In early life the Judge was a Democrat, but on 
 the formation of tlie Ke])ubliean party in 185(5, he 
 assisted in its organization in this count}' and was 
 elected President of its first Republican Club. In 
 March, 1857, he was, as previously stated, elected 
 Judge of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Illinois 
 for a term of four years, or until the next judicial 
 election in June, 1861, at which time he was the 
 unanimous choice of the Bar throughout the cir- 
 cuit and was re-elected without opposition. He 
 continued to hold that office until IMarch, 18(J7, 
 when he resigned, having served on the Bench 
 just ten years. 
 
 In 18(!8, on account of the ill-health of his wife, 
 the Judge sent his family to Portland, Me., and 
 the following year engaged in the law and insur- 
 ance business in Boston, but in the spring of 1870 
 returned to Kankakee and resumed the practice of 
 bis profession at the Bar of this county. In the 
 Judicial Convention held in Chicago that year 
 for tiie purpose of nominating a Judge of the Su- 
 
 preme Court, Judge Starr was supported by the 
 delegates from Will and Kankakee Counties, and 
 in the Congressional Convention held at Morris 
 October 4, 1871, the delegation supported him as 
 their choice until the nomination was made. 
 Again, in 1872, at tiie convention held at Fair- 
 bury, he was supported by his own county on one 
 hundred and four ballots, since which time he has 
 never been a candidate for any political office. 
 On the 25th of July, 1885, .ludge Starr received a 
 call to become a candidate for the Supreme Bench 
 of the State, a call signed by the Bar and a large 
 number of the leading citizens of K.'uikakee County, 
 without distinction of party, and he again received 
 the unanimous support of his co\inly delegation. 
 In 18S)1, he yielded to the unanimous call of the 
 Biy- of his county to become a candidate for the 
 otilce of Circuit Judge of tlie Eleventh District of 
 Illinois and, being nominated at the Chatsworth 
 convention, was elected without opposition, re- 
 ceiving the sti|)port of all parties. He is now 
 serving his second year in tlie six-year term. In 
 1873 he was elected County Judge by the unani- 
 mous vote of the people and served four years. 
 
 While not strongly partisan, Judge Starr has 
 been a devoted Republican since the organization 
 of the [larty. His election to l)oth the Circuit and 
 County Benches has been by the unanimous voice 
 of the people, regardless of party attiliations. He 
 is a Master Mason, being a member of Kankakee 
 Lodge No. 389, A. F. i A. M. The Judge, al- 
 though now (1893) in his sixty-ninth year, is ro- 
 bust and hearty, with mental faculties as active as 
 in middle life, and is capable of much endurance, 
 both mental and physical. His course as a lawyer 
 was distinguished by superior ability, thorough 
 study, and a conscientious devotion to the inter- 
 ests of his clients, which was rewarded liy the con- 
 fidence of Court, Bar and jury, and by the most 
 flattering success in his practice. On the lieiich 
 his record is most creditable. His rulings and de- 
 cisions, showing a well-grounded knowledge of 
 law, have been distinguislied by the utmost fairness 
 and impartiality, while his superior executive 
 al)ility secures the speedy dispatch of business and 
 an economical administration of the court over 
 which he presides.
 
 214 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 On coming to Kankakee to live, Judge Starr 
 and iiis wife became members of the Congregational 
 Church. In the spring of 1887 the Judge was 
 called to mourn the loss of his wife, whose deatli 
 occurred on the 29th of Ma}' of tli'it year, thus 
 severing the happy conjugal relations that had 
 existed for thirty-four jears. Mrs. Starr was a 
 highly educated and accomplished woman, an af- 
 fectionate wife and a loving mother. 
 
 
 "I^EV. FREDERICK SCIIROEDER, pastor of 
 Ivfix'' the First (Tcrman Evangelical Lutheran 
 /A.V\\\ Church, St. Paul's, of Kankakee, was born 
 \^ in Hanover, Germany, on the ,5th of Feb- 
 ruar}', 1857, He emigrated to America with his 
 parents, Frederick and E, Maria (Ahring) Schroe- 
 der, in 1858, The family settled in Cleveland, 
 Ohio, where our subject attended the parochial 
 schools of his church, and also the public schools. 
 In 1871, he entered Concordia College, at Ft. 
 Waj'ne, Ind., where he pursued a general scientific 
 and literary course. During the years 1877 to 
 1880 he attended the Lutheran Theological Semi- 
 nary at St. Louis, Mo., and was ordained minister 
 of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church at 
 Sadorus, Champaign County, 111. Three congrega- 
 tions were assigned to his care, two in Cham- 
 paign County, and one in Douglas County, and he 
 continued his labors in that field foi' three years. 
 In 1883 he accepted the pastorate of the Kankakee 
 church, where he has since served with marked 
 success. 
 
 In St. Louis, Mo., on the Gth of February, 1881, 
 occurred the marriage of the Rev. Mr. Schroeder 
 and Miss Sophia Steinmeyer, who was born in St. 
 Louis, and is a daughter of Henry and Maria 
 Steinmeyer. Six children, three sons and three 
 daughters, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schroe- 
 der: Frederick T. A., Clara M. S., Walter H. F., 
 Meta A. G., Lydia II. B. and Werner A. 
 
 Mr. Schroeder h.as resided in Illinois since 1880, 
 and in Kankakee since 1883, and has been very 
 successful in his ministry, having a large and pros- 
 
 perous congregation. The First German Evangeli- 
 cal Lutheran Church Society, St. Paul's, was organ- 
 ized in 1859, the first pastor being the Rev. J. 
 Bernthal, who served until 1863, and was suc- 
 ceeded by the Rev. Mr. Schmidt, from I'nion Hill, 
 who served until 1864. For the succeeding six 
 3'ears the Rev. Mr. Meyer was in charge, and his 
 successor was the Rev. Mr. G. A. Mueller, who 
 was pastor until 1883, at which date the subject of 
 this sketch assumed charge of the work, and has 
 now served for nine years. Up to 1864 the so- 
 ciety held services in the sehoolhouse. They then 
 built a small stone church at the corner of Chest- 
 nut Street and East Avenue. In 1872, they built 
 a larger one, which was burned in a general fire on 
 the 1st of Ma3', 1887. The congregation at once 
 purchased the propertj^ which they now own at the 
 southeast corner of Merchant .Street and Dearborn 
 Avenue. Tiiey have a flue church structure and 
 neat parsonage. The congregation comprises one 
 hundred and eighty families, and is rapidly in- 
 creasing. They have in connection with the 
 church a parochial school, with an avei'age atten- 
 dance of one hundred and twent}' scholars, which 
 is under control of one male and one female 
 teacher. 
 
 I 
 
 "S) 
 
 '^+.^j 
 
 [S~ 
 
 ~Si. 
 
 <jf7 UTHER GUBTAIL, who now resides in 
 I ((S) Kankakee, is one of the honored pioneers 
 /''— ^\ of the county. Here he has made his home 
 for forty-five years, and has therefore witnessed 
 the greater part of its growth and development. 
 He has also aided in its progress and advancement, 
 and in many ways his name is inseparably con- 
 nected with the history of the community. The 
 pioneers are those who laid the foundation of the 
 count}', upon which the present structure of its 
 prosporitj- was reared, and for their work a debt 
 of gratitude is due which can never be repaid ex- 
 cept by cherishing their lives and deeds in memory 
 and peri^etuating their labors by written records. 
 Mr. Gubtail, whose name heads this sketch, was 
 born in Waterbury, Washington County, Vt., De-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 215 
 
 cembei- 28, 1818, and is one in a faniil\' of fourteen 
 children. Histor}' says that three brothers of the 
 name of Gubtail emigrated to America frtmi Eng- 
 land, their native land, more than three centuries 
 ago. One of these brothers died soon after reaching 
 this countr}', and a second located, it is thought, in 
 New Jersey. The third settled not far from Port- 
 land, Me., and from him comes the line of theGub- 
 tails to which the subject of tliis sketch belongs. 
 The parents of Luther were Humphre\' and Susan 
 (Kimball) Gubtail. The father was born in Wat- 
 erboro. Ale., in 1769, being about seven years of 
 age when the Revolutionary War began, and the 
 Declaration of Independence was written. He 
 grew to manhood in his native State, and at the 
 age of twenty-four years he emigrated to the Green 
 Mountain State, where he made a location. Soon 
 afterward, however, he returned to Maine and mar- 
 ried Miss Kimball. For several years previous to 
 liis marriage he iiad been engaged in the cod fish- 
 ery business, and had made a voyage to the West 
 Indies and to France. After his marriage he 
 turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, fol- 
 lowing the occupation of farming in Vermont for 
 a number of years. 
 
 In 1836, Humphrey Gubtail removed with his 
 family to Springfield, Ohio, and in the fall of the 
 same year, accompanied by his son Luther, he vis- 
 ited Illinois in search of a desirable location. At 
 that lime, fifty-six years ago, there was not a build- 
 ing on the site of the present city of Kanlvakee. 
 The father bought land near Watseka, Iroquois 
 County, but acccorapanied by his son he returned 
 to Ohio the next spring. Later, Ira Gubtail, the 
 youngest son of Humphrey, bought the land which 
 the father had i)urcliased in Iroquois County, and 
 later it came into the possession of our subject, 
 but at this time the property is not owned by any 
 member of the family, altiiough Luther Gubtail 
 has the original patent, which is signed by Martin 
 Van Hureu, who was then President of the United 
 States. 
 
 The parents of our subject continued to reside 
 in Ohio until called to the home beyond, and the 
 father survived the mother for many yeais. Of 
 their large family of fourteen children, twelve 
 grew to mature j'ears, including seven sous and 
 
 five daughtei"s, but all are now deceased with the 
 exception of three brothers: Dan, who resides in El- 
 gin, 111., at the age of eighty-five ^-ears; Ira, aged 
 seventy-two, who is living in Iroquois County; 
 and Luther. 
 
 Mr. Gubtail, of this sketch, spent the days of his 
 boyhood and youth on his father's farm, in the 
 usual manner of farmer lads, and accompanied his 
 parents on their removal to the Buckeye State. 
 He was then a young man of eighteen years. On 
 the 7th of February, 1812, he was married to Mrs. 
 Poll,v Pinneo, who was born near Rochester, N. Y., 
 in 1803. Her maiden name was Polly Winters, 
 and she was about fifteen years her husband's 
 senior. 
 
 In July, 1845, Mr. Gubtail removed to Illinois, 
 and for about two years resided with his family in 
 Kane and Cook Counties. In 1847 he settled in 
 what is now Otto Township, Kankakee County, 
 but was then called Dallas Precinct, and was a part 
 of Iroquois County. He located on fort}- acres of 
 State laud and engaged in its development and 
 cultivation until 1854, when he sold outand bought 
 a farm of Government land in the same township, 
 about a mile from his first home. Upon that place 
 not a furrow had been turned or an improvement 
 made, but with characteristic energy he began the 
 work of traiisformation, and the raw tract soon 
 became rich and fertile. Air. Gubtail there con- 
 tinued to engage in farming with excellent suc- 
 cess until 1887, when, desiring to live a retired 
 life, he removed to Kankakee. However, he still 
 owns a part of his farm. 
 
 On the 27th of January, 1888, Mr. Gubtail was 
 bereft of his wife by death. They had traveled the 
 journey of life together for the long period of 
 nearly forty-six years, sharing with each other its 
 joys and sorrow, its adversity and prosperity. 
 Their union had been blessed with two children, a 
 son and a daughter. Tlie former, who was also 
 the younger, died at about the age of eleven 
 months. The daughter, Anna G., wjis born in 
 Springfield, Ohio, and became the wife of Frank 
 Enos, who died in March, 1874. She has two sons, 
 Dr. Emmet Enos, who is a graduate of Rush Med- 
 ical College of Chicago; and Leon A., a painter by 
 trade, who is engaged in business in Cliicago.
 
 216 
 
 POaXEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In his business undertakings Jlr. Gubtail met 
 with prosperity', and by his well-directed efforts ac- 
 quired a handsome propert}' wliich now enables him 
 to live in retirement, enjojing the fruits of his 
 former toil. As has been shown, he is one of the 
 honored pioneers of Kankakee County. He is also 
 a well-known citizen, and his long residence in Ill- 
 inois, covering a period of forty-eight years, has 
 won for him, through his upright life, the respect 
 and confidence of his fellow-citizens. He and his 
 daughter, Mrs. Enos, now reside together at their 
 pleasant home in Kankakee, where he expects to 
 spend his remaining days. 
 
 Politically, he has always been a Democrat, hav- 
 ing cast his first Presidential vote for Martin 
 Van Buren in 1840, and his last for Grover Cleve- 
 land in 1892. He has never been an office-seeker, 
 but while in Otto Township held the position of 
 Highway Commissioner and Supervisor, discharg- 
 ing his duties with promptness and fidelity. 
 
 ^OHN H. SCRAMLIN is an early settler and 
 a substantial and highly respected citizen 
 of Momence. He was born near London, 
 in Upper Canada, March 6, 1832, and is a 
 son of Henry and Catherine (Smith) Scramlin, 
 both of whom were born in Mohawk, N. Y. The 
 paternal grandfather of our subject followed the 
 occupation of farming in the Empire State, where 
 his death occurred at an advanced age many 
 years ago. Our subject's grandfather Smith also 
 was an agriculturist in the same State and lived to 
 be quite old. 
 
 Henry Scramlin, like his father, was a farmer 
 and left his native State, removing to Canada. In 
 1835, returning to the United States, he located in 
 Kalamazoo County. Mich., where he engaged in the 
 cultivation of the farm for the succeeding fifteen 
 years. In 1850, he came with his family to Illinois, 
 and settled on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres 
 two and a-half miles northwest of Momence. where 
 he lived for over twent3--one years. In 1871, he 
 again went to Michigan, but after being there for 
 
 a short time only came back to Momence and 
 lived in the town until his death, which occurred 
 in 1883. He had retired from the active duties of 
 farm life some years before. He was a soldier in 
 the Black Hawk War, and throughout life was an 
 industrious and respected citizen. His family 
 consisted of twelve children, seven sons and five 
 daughters, and all are living at the present time 
 with the exception of Julia and Sarah. Thej- are: 
 Silas, Moses, Orin and Warren (twins), John H., 
 Wealthy, Harmon and Farmon (twins), Mary and 
 Permelia, who are all married and reside in sev- 
 eral different States of the Union. 
 
 John H. Scramlin was reared as a farmer lad 
 and lived with his parents, assisting his father in 
 the care of the farm until he had reached manhood. 
 He received a common-school education in the 
 district schools of the neighborhood and came to 
 Momence in its early history. On his arrival here 
 he entered the employ of William H. Patterson 
 as a clerk in his general store and remained with 
 him for twelve years. Mr. Scramlin then opened 
 a general store and embarked in business for him- 
 self. He carried a large stock but was unfortun- 
 ate, as the same year, 1870, his store, and its equip- 
 ments were destroyed by fire. The following 
 year he opened a meat-market, which he has car- 
 ried on successfully to the present time. 
 
 On Christmas Day 'of 1856, Mr. Scramlin was 
 married to Miss Margaret Pollard, whose parents 
 were both natives of Vermont. Six children 
 graced the union of our subject and his wife: Ida 
 F. became the wife of Charles R. Batcbeler, 
 of Momence, and now lives in Chicago, where Mr. 
 Batcheler is engaged in the life insurance business; 
 John H. died in infancy, as did also the youngest 
 of the family, Mark W.; Grace E. and Mary E. re- 
 side at home; and Frank E. died when fourteen 
 years of age, in 1881. Mrs. Scramlin was called 
 to the better world on the 17th of October, 1884. 
 She was a faithful member of the Methodist 
 Church, to which she had belonged for many 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Scramlin politically is a stanch Republican, 
 and in the j'ears 1863 and 64 was made Collector of 
 Momence Township, in which capacity he proved 
 an able and faithful official. He holds membership
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 217 
 
 with tlie Methodist Church and is a member of 
 Lndije No. 481, A. F. ii- A. M. lie also belongs to 
 tlie Odd Fellows' fraternity. Mr. Scramlin's course 
 in life has ever been marked with strict integrity 
 and lionorablc dealings with liis fellow-men and 
 thus he has won the friendship and esteem of all 
 with whom he has come in contact. 
 
 ON. GEORGE R. LETOURNEAU is Slate 
 Senator, representing the Sixteenth Illinois 
 Senatorial District. He is a pioneer settler 
 C^) of this State and of Kani<akee County, to 
 which lie came in 1847. He was born at St. Tiiomas, 
 in the Province of Quebec, Canada, on the 28th of 
 February, 1 8:5.3, and is a son of Joseph and Mar- 
 garet (Lemieux) Letourneau. His parents were 
 of Canadian birtii and of Norman ancestr}'. The 
 family was founded in America by David Letour- 
 neau, a native of Normandy, France. The mother 
 of our subject died at St. George, Henryvllle, 
 Canada, in November, 1852. Three years later 
 tiie father came to Illinois and lived for many 
 years in this State. His death occurred at Bour- 
 bonnais, Kankakee County, in April, 18fi2. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native country, and in 1847 crossed 
 the border line and readied Chicago on the lOtli 
 of May of that year. For the two succeeding 
 j'cars he occupied a position as clerk to a mer- 
 chant in that city, and in 1849, coming to this 
 county, he settled on section 19, Bourbonnais 
 Township. He then engaged as clerk to Mr. Os- 
 born, by whom he was employed until March, 
 1850. At that time, catciiing the gold fever, Mr. 
 Letourneau joined a parly of gold seekers and 
 crossed the plains to California by way of Council 
 Bluffs and .Salt Lake City. Tliis was a journey 
 taking several months, and owing to the unsettled 
 condition of the country and the active hostility 
 of tiie Indians, was attended with many advent- 
 ures and considerable danger. He remained two 
 years in the gold regions, engaged in raining and 
 
 teaming. The return trip w-as made by way of 
 the Isthmus of Panama, thence to Now Orleans 
 and up the Mississi[)pi to his home. His trip wiis 
 fairly successful and had it.s full measure of nov- 
 elty and unusual methods of traveling. 
 
 (.)n the i:5th of .July, 1852, occurred the wedding 
 of Mr. Letourneau and Miss Eleodie, a daughter 
 of Edward and JIarguerite (Cyr) Langlois. Mrs. 
 Letourneau was born at St. George, Ilenryville, in 
 the Province of Quebec, Canada, and removed to 
 Bourbonnais in M.ay, 1848. Six sons and six 
 daughters have been born to our subject and his 
 wife, and all of them are living and are good and 
 respected citizens of the community in which they 
 dwell. George A., who makes his home in the city 
 of .Joliet, married Miss Lucia LeVasseur, who 
 died; he then married Miss Arilla Gibson, who 
 also died, leaving an infant child; he afterward 
 married again. Elizabeth is the wife of Dr. V. A. 
 Bergeron, of Muskegon, Mich. Agnes is the wife 
 of Joseph St. Louis, a grocer of Kankakee. Eu- 
 genie became the wife of Dr. Fred A. Marcotte, 
 and lives in Concordia, Kan. Philip H. clio.se for 
 his wife Mary Lasage, and is a practicing physi- 
 cian of Chippewa Falls, Wis. Robert A. is en- 
 gaged in the drug business at Chicago. Arthur E. 
 is married and is a druggist of Danville, 111. The 
 younger members of the family, Loui.se, Oswold, 
 Corinne, Marie and Albert, are all under the par- 
 ental roof with the exception of Oswold, who is 
 stud3'ing medicine with his brother at Chippewa 
 Falls. 
 
 Soon after his return from California, l\Ir. Le- 
 tourneau purchased a farm in Bourbonnais Town- 
 ship, which he continually added to, both in the 
 way of improvement and by purchases of addi- 
 tional property, until he had something more than 
 two hundred acres. He placed this property under 
 a high state of cultivation and erected tasty and 
 substantial farm Iniildings. In addition to his 
 agricultural pursuits he carried on the grain busi- 
 ness at Kankakee for fifteen 3ears. He has ever 
 shown good business ability- and his labors have 
 been crowned with success. 
 
 Mr. Letourneau is a Republican in politics and 
 assisted in the organization of that party in Kan- 
 kakee County. He has been repeatedlj- chosen to
 
 218 
 
 rORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fill official positions, and has served as Supervisor 
 of Bourbounais Township for several years. In 
 1872 he was chosen Cleric of the Circuit Court for 
 this county. In 1882 lie was elected Sheriff and 
 held that position for about /our }ears. At the 
 end of that time he was chosen Countj^ Treasurer, 
 which position he also held for four years. In 
 1891 he was made Ma3or of Kankakee, and in the 
 fall of 1892 was elected State Senator to represent 
 the Sixteenth District of Illinois. On being elected 
 to the Sheriff's office our subject removed to Kan- 
 kakee, where he has since resided. He has made 
 his home in this county since its formation and 
 was a resident of the territory embraced within its 
 limits for four years previous to that time. In his 
 long and varied service in public office he has 
 made an extended acquaintance throughout this 
 and adjacent counties. His record in private life 
 and as a public officer is above reproach. As a 
 citizen he has ever aided in every worthj^ public 
 enterprise calculated to advance the welfare of the 
 town and county where he has so long made his 
 home. As a representative man of his nationality 
 he has won a foremost place, and it is no flattery 
 to say of liim that he enjoys the highest esteem of 
 his fellow-citizens, regardless of birth-place or 
 descent. The fact that he has been so often chosen 
 to public positions of responsibility and trust is 
 no uncertain evidence of their confidence in his 
 ability and fidelity. 
 
 In January, 1887, Mr. Letourneau was called 
 upon to mourn the loss of his estimable wife, whose 
 death occurred on the 19th of that month. Siie 
 was born of Catholic parents and was reared in 
 that faith. 
 
 -5- 
 
 i>^^<^ 
 
 -J— 
 
 lOBERT D. GREGG is agent and oper- 
 ator for the Indiana, Illinois &■ Iowa Rail- 
 road at Goodrich. He is one of the most 
 1 prominent and influential business men 
 of that place, and as he has a wide acquaintance 
 throughout Kankakee Countj^ it gives us great 
 pleasure to add to this history the sketch of the 
 
 gentleman whose name appears above. Mr. Gregg 
 is a native of the Kej'stone State. He was born in 
 Towanda, Bradford County, Pa., on the 21st of 
 June, 1859, and is of Scotch descent, for the 
 Gregg family was founded in America by Scottish 
 emigrants, who settled in Pennsylvania at a very 
 early day. Francis Gregg, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Bradford County, and after he 
 had reached man's estate there married Miss Emily 
 Davenport, who was born in Plymouth, Pa. They 
 began their domestic life upon a farm in Bradford 
 County and there reared their family. Mr. 
 Gregg has made farming his life work and is still 
 residing upon the old homestead where so many 
 years of his life have been passed. 
 
 Robert Gregg is the third in order of birth in 
 the family of five cliildren. No event of special 
 importance occurred during his childhood, which 
 was passed in the usual manner of farmer lads 
 under the parental roof. His educational advant- 
 ages, however, were good. After attending the 
 common schools he became a student in the Sus- 
 quehanna Collegiate Institute, and after complet- 
 ing his studies lie started Westward. This was in 
 1879. He accepted a position as civil engineer 
 with the Missouri, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad, 
 and was afterwards employed in the same capacity 
 with the Wabash, Chicago, Burlington & Pacific, 
 the Des Moines ife Northwestern, and later witli the 
 Indiana, Illinois & Iowa. While serving with the 
 latter road his headquarters were at Kankakee. 
 There he was first made division engineer, and in 
 1884 he was appointed chief engineer of the road, 
 serving in that capacity for a period of four years. 
 He then resigned and accepted a position as agent 
 and operator at Goodrich, locating here with his 
 family on the 1st of May, 1889. He also holds 
 the position of express agent, and for two years lie 
 has carried on a grocery business in connection 
 with his other interests. 
 
 On the 22d of December, 1886, in Kankakee, 
 Mr. Gregg was united in marriage with Miss Ida M. 
 Kurrasch, wliose entire life prior to her marriage 
 was spent in Kankakee. She is a daughter of 
 Charles Kurrasch, one of tlie pioneers of that city. 
 Three children have been born of this union: 
 Stella E., who died at the age of six months; Emily
 
 i.i!i'L.;jUlf Ui- iLLlMOiS
 
 „«®5--; 
 
 
 r 
 
 ..js-'^T^:' 
 
 /"TN* 
 
 iC^cn^^\J
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 221 
 
 Pauline and Charles Francis. TUe parents are 
 liiglily respected citizens, who have mnny friends 
 throughout the community. 
 
 Since locating in Goodrich, Mr. Gregg has de- 
 voted his leisure time to reading law and was admit- 
 ted to the Bar in Ottawa in December, 18112. He has 
 I since attended to some law c.ases before tiie justice 
 court and in the autumn of that year lie was nom- 
 inated by the Democratic party for the position of 
 State's Attorne}'. The count}-, however, is largely 
 Republican and in consequence he was not elected, 
 although he received a verj' flattering vote. By 
 his first Presidential ballot Mr. Gregg supported 
 Grover Cleveland in 1884, and is a warm advocate 
 of tiie principles of Democracy. He is a man of 
 superior business ability, sagacious and far-sighted, 
 enterprising and progressive. In lvankakee,where 
 he is widely known, and-in Goodrich he is con- 
 sidered a man of sterling worth and upright 
 character. He has long been in the employ of the 
 Indiana, Illinois it Iowa Railroad, and his con- 
 tinued service with that company indicates his 
 faithfulness and fidelitv to dutv. 
 
 EDWARD CHIPMAX, a prominent and ex- 
 tensive farmer of Ganier Township, is now 
 I living a retired life, but still supervises his 
 
 farm property- in that township. His birth oc- 
 curred in Brock ville, Canada, on the 14tli of July, 
 1824. His parents, Truman and Sallie (Cowdry) 
 Chipman, were natives of Vermont, and have been 
 parents of ten children. Harriet died in 1819; 
 Walter died in infancy; William is a resident of 
 Burlington, Wis.; Edward, our subject, is next in or- 
 der of birth; Ransom died when quite 30ung; Maria 
 became the wife of Charles Wilsey, but has since 
 died; Walter is a farmer of Ganier Township; 
 Cyrus is now deceased; Clarinda died in infancy; 
 and Amelia is tiie wife of P. Hoag, who runs a 
 meat-market in Momence. Cyrus, the youngest 
 son of this family, was killed at the battle of Stone 
 River, Teun., in 1862. He was a lieutenant in 
 Company D, Forty-second Illinois Infantry, and 
 
 was a valiant soldier. His remains lie buried on 
 a Southern battlefield. Tlfe father of these chil- 
 dren followed the occu|)ation of a farmer until his 
 death, which occurred in 1872. The mother de- 
 parted this life some five years later. 
 
 Kdward Chipman, whose name heads this sketch, 
 removed with his parents to St. Lawrence County, 
 N. Y., when he was quite ^'oung. He was born 
 and reared on a farm and received such education 
 as he could obtain in the district schools. When 
 fourteen years of age he entered the emploj' of a 
 man with whom he remained for seven j'ears, re- 
 ceiving his board in return for his services upon 
 the farm, and when tvvent3'-one 3'ears of age was 
 presented by his enn)lo3er with two suits of clothes 
 and $100 in money. He then began working for 
 farmers by the month, receiving for the first two 
 years 110 per month. In the ^ear 1847, Mr. Chip- 
 man turned his face Westward and came to Illi- 
 nois, making the trip b}- the wa}- of the Lakes. He 
 landed at Racine, Wis., where he worked for a 
 short time at §10 per month. The same year he 
 came to Kankakee Count}", 111., and entered eighty 
 acres of Government land on section G, ^Momence 
 Township, then in AVill Count}'. In the spring of 
 1848, he returned to Wisconsin, where he worked 
 for eight months at a place near Burlington. He 
 again returned to Kankakee County, where he 
 purchased ox-teams and commenced breaking the 
 prairie. At this time he built a small log house, 
 where he lived until enabled to build a more preten- 
 tious one. After raising acrop he hauled his grain to 
 Chicago, purchased lumber and hauled it back by 
 ox-team. With this lumbei- in the year 184!>, 
 he erected a frame dwelling. In one year Mr. 
 Chipman made thirt^'-six trips to Chicago by 
 teams. He lived on the property which was his 
 first purchase until 1887, when he bought the farm 
 where he now lives in Ganier Township, which 
 consists of one hundred and sixty acres situated 
 on section 1. He is now the owner of about fif- 
 teen hundred acres of well-im[)roved and valuable 
 land, all in Kankakee County. This property 
 represents the industry and hard labor of years, 
 and he is well entitled to the rest from toil which 
 he is now enjoying. 
 
 On the 14th of October, 185(1, Mr. Chi[)»ian was
 
 222 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 joined in marriage with Miss Mary, the only child 
 of James and Alice Delany. Mrs. Chipmau's 
 father died in 1830, and the death of the mother 
 occurred some twelve years later. Four children 
 have blessed the union of our subjectand his wife: 
 Ellis, who resides at home; Merril, who died in 
 infancy; Alvira, who is under the parental roof; 
 and Annie, the wife of J. E. Paradis, now resiiUng 
 in Momence. 
 
 Mr. Chipman has always taken quite an active 
 interest in politics and is a firm Democrat. He 
 has served his township as Highway Commissioner, 
 School Director and in other minor offices. Mrs. 
 Chipman is a valued member and worker in the 
 Methodist Cinirch. Our subject assists and takes 
 an active part in all public enterprises and has 
 been an important factor in the development and 
 progress of this county. He has alvvaj's abstained 
 from the use of tobacco and strong drink, which 
 has added both to his physical and financial wel- 
 fare. Though nearly seventy years of age he is 
 remarkabljr well preserved. 
 
 Wj;ALTER L. HENDRIX is a respected citi- 
 zen and retired farmer who makes his 
 home on section 21, Norton Township. 
 He is numbered among the honored pioneers of 
 Kankakee County, in which lie has lived for nearly 
 forty 3'ears. 
 
 Mr. Hendrix was born on the 14th of Decem- 
 ber, 1819, in Otsego County'', N. Y., in Butternuts 
 Township. His parents were Axel and Narcissa 
 (Hall) Hendrix. The former was born in 1789, 
 near Bridgeport, Conn., and the latter was a native 
 of tlie same State and county. The father re- 
 moved to Otsego County, N. Y., after his marriage 
 and carried on a farm there until his death. He 
 was called from this life in 1855, being then six- 
 ty-six years of age. After surviving her husband 
 a number of years, Mis. Hendrix died at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-two years. 
 
 When only thirteen years old, Walter L. started 
 
 out in life. He was engaged on a farm for some 
 years and was early inured to the hardships and 
 the various duties of farm life. His school advan- 
 tages were of the most limited description and he is 
 almost wholly self-educated. On arriving at mature 
 j'cars he learned the blacksmith's trade in Fairfield, 
 Herkimer County, N. Y. In the year 1855, which 
 witnessed the death of his father, our subject came 
 to Illinois. He located in Momence Township, 
 Kankaliee County, where he rented and carried on 
 a farm for four years. He tlien rented another place, 
 which he kept until the breaking out of the war. 
 Leaving his crops in the ground he enlisted on the 
 18th of July, 1862, in the Seventy-sixth Illinois 
 Infantiy, becoming a member of Company H, and 
 was the first man to enlist in that company. With 
 his regiment he participated in a number of skir- 
 mishes in Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. In 
 tlie fall of 1862 he was taken sick and poisoned by 
 medicine. He was in the hospital at Memphis for 
 a short time and then taken liorae by his wife, wlio 
 had come to nurse and take care of him. At the 
 time he joined the regiment he was in robust 
 health and weighed two hundred and four pounds. 
 When he arrived at home his weight was reduced 
 to eighty-five pounds and for two years he was in 
 very poor health, unable to do much work. 
 
 In the spring of 1867, Mr. Hendrix came to Nor- 
 ton Township and became the owner of an eighty 
 acre tract of unimproved land. In spite of poor 
 health for a number of j'ears he devoted himself 
 assiduously to the cultivation of his farm and has 
 been quite successful. He afterward purchased an 
 adjoining forty acres and now owns a well-kept 
 and improved farm of one hundred and twenty 
 acres located one and a-half miles from Bucking- 
 ham. In the many years of his residence in this 
 county, Mr. Hendrix has seen vast changes and 
 has given material assistance in making this sec- 
 tion what it is to-daj', a prosperous and rapidly 
 developing localitj'. 
 
 In Otsego Countj', N. Y., Mr. Hendrix was 
 united in marriage to Miss Ann Sutton, the cere- 
 mony being performed on the 19th of February, 
 1840. Mrs. Hendrix was a native of Worcester 
 County, N. Y., and a daughter Of James and Re- 
 becca Sutton. To Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix was born
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 22^ 
 
 44* 
 
 ^ 
 
 one flaiigliter, Catherine, who is the wife of J. D. 
 Davidson, of Portland, Kossuth County, Iowa. 
 On the 4th of August, 1874, Mrs. Ilendrix was | 
 called from tliis life, and August 9, 1875, Jlr. Ilen- 
 drix married Jliss Ella Woods, who was born in 
 Indiana, October 11, 1845, and is a daughter of ! 
 Francis and Elizabeth (Francis) Woods. The lady 
 came witli her parents to Kankakee Count}- when 
 eleven years old and was here reared to woman- i 
 hood. By her marriage she has become the mother 
 of two children: Willie 0.; and Flora A., who 
 lives at home. 1 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ilendrix are members of the \ 
 Methodist Episcopal Church of Buckingham, in 
 whose work they take an active part. Our subject 
 uses his right of franchise in favor of the Repub- 
 lican party, casting his first vote for .Tames K. 
 Polk, and has been one of its firmer L supporters 
 since its formation. The cause of education al- 
 ways finds in him a stanch advocate and for twenty 
 years he has served as a member of the School 
 Board, giving his time and influence to secure 
 good teachers and schools. For thirty-seven years 
 he has resided in Kankakee County, and his wife 
 has made this her home for the past thirty-six 
 years. The^' are both much respected people and 
 are well worthy of representation in the volume 
 which records the life history of nianj' of the 
 sluidy pioneers and earl}- settlers of this count3% 
 who endured untold hardships and privations in 
 the early days of its history. 
 
 y^ IRAM M. STORRS is one of the early set- 
 tlers of Kankakee County, having located in 
 1855 in Ganier Township, on section 17, 
 which has been his home continuously since. 
 The fatlier of our subject, Nathaniel S. Storrs, was 
 of Englisli extraction and a native of the Empire 
 State. When a young man he met and married 
 Mrs. PhiL'be Hunter, whose maiden name was 
 Carpenter, and by their union were born two 
 children: Phalinda, Mrs. Samuel B. Lowe, who 
 died in 1885; and our subject. The father was a 
 
 prominent man and was .Tudgo of Essex County, 
 N. Y., for a number of ye.ars. Politically he was a 
 Democrat till the rise of the Republican party, 
 with which he was ever afterward identified. He 
 was Postm.aster of his town, Moriah, for forty 
 j-ears, with the exception of one term. He also 
 carried on general merchandising, w.as a member 
 of the Masonic order, and with liis wife held mem- 
 bership in the Baptist Church. His death occurred 
 in 1871, and his wife had died manj' j'cars previ- 
 ousl}', in 1848. .She is buried in New York State, 
 where she was born, and the father's last resting- 
 place is in Momence Cemetery. 
 
 Hiram Storrs was born in Moriah, Essex County, 
 N. Y., on the 1 1th of .January, 1823. His early ed- 
 ucation W.1S acquired in the public schools, and 
 was supplemented bj-arourse of instruction at the 
 Norwich University of Vermont. When twenty- 
 one years of age he went into partnership with 
 his father in the mercantile business in Moriah, 
 making that town his field of operations for eleven 
 years. In 1843 Mr. Storrs wedded Jane M.P'erris, 
 who died leaving one child, .Jennie M., wife of 
 Fred C. Van Veghten, a merchant of Holslein, 
 Neb. In 1855, Mr. Storrs started Westward, stop- 
 ping in D.ayton, Ohio, where he remained only 
 four months, when, coming to Kankakee County, 
 he located in Ganier Township. He purchased 
 one hundred and twentj' acres of land on section 
 17, which at that lime was raw prairie and entirely 
 unimproved. As the result of his many years of 
 cultivation of this property it is now beautifully 
 improved and is in every waj^ a fine farm He 
 carries on general farming and stock-raising, and 
 his fields yield to him each year a good harvest. 
 
 November 8, 1849, occurred the raarri.age of Mr. 
 Storrs and Miss Harriet P. Lamb, who w.as born in 
 Waterford, .Saratoga County, N. Y., on the 21st of 
 January, 1828, and is a daughter of John and 
 Urania (Minton) Lamb. Three children have 
 graced the union of Mr. and Mrs. Storrs. William 
 N., is a farmer of Ganier Township, Harriet E. 
 a stenographer of Chicago, and Hiram A. a resi- 
 dent of Momence. 
 
 In his political aflili:itions our subject is a 
 Republican and has always taken an interest in 
 politics and public affairs. He lin>; lu'ld virions
 
 224 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 local positions of trust and honor, having served 
 his township as School Trustee for about thirty 
 3-ears, and for fifteen years of that time was Town- 
 ship Supervisor, being elected without opposition 
 to tlie latter position for fourteen years. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Storrs are of the Baptist faitii. For over 
 thirt3 -seven 3'ears our subject has been a resident 
 of, and identified with, the welfare of this vicinity 
 and has been a witness of its marvelous growth 
 and progress. 
 
 ^^^■^1@^(B 
 
 ^S^ll 
 
 Ifafc 
 
 EV. A. CHRISTIAN OLSEN, who resides 
 7 on section 6, Pilot Township, is so well 
 
 known throughout Kaukalvce County, and 
 indeed throughout the State, tliat he needs 
 no special inti'oduction to the readers of tiiis vol- 
 ume. We feel assured, however, that his sketch 
 will prove of interest to man j', and therefore gladly 
 give it a place in the history of his adopted 
 county. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Olsen is a native of Norway, and was 
 born on the 27th of May, 1836. He passed the 
 days of his boyhood and jouth in the land of his 
 birth, where he received excellent educational 
 privileges, spending seven years in a seminary, 
 college and university, pursuing a theological 
 course. He then emigrated to the United States, 
 in 18G6. After reaching this country he entered 
 the Concordia Seminary of the (German Lutheran 
 Church in St. Louis, where he pursued a supple- 
 mentary course and graduated from that institu- 
 tion in the Class of '68. 
 
 Soon after this Rev. JIi-. Olsen received a call to 
 the pastorate of the Lutheran Church in Livingston 
 County, 111. This he accepted and there entered 
 upon his ministerial labors, working for that congre- 
 gation and its upbuilding for a period of Ave years. 
 At length the duties of the place became so great 
 that the charge was divided, and in 1873 he came 
 to Kankakee County and established a Lutheran 
 Church. Since that time he has been actively en- 
 gaged in ministerial work in Illinois, and at this 
 writing he has charge of ten conoregations — two 
 
 in Missouri, one in St. Louis, and one in Webster, 
 Mo., together with one in Indiana and seven in 
 Illinois. His time is thus almost wholly taken up 
 with pastoral work. In addition to his other work 
 our subject organized the congregation and erected 
 the house of worship in the neighborhood of his 
 residence, and has also established and built 
 churches in numerous other places throughout Illi- 
 nois. In his labor in the Master's vineyard he is 
 untiring, and the good that he has accomplished 
 can never be estimated. 
 
 In Lee County, 111., October 2, 1870, Mr. Olsen 
 was united in marriage with Miss Anna Risetter, a 
 most worthy and estimable lady. She was born 
 May 7, 1849, and spent the days of her maiden- 
 hood in Lee County. Her parents, Lars L. and 
 Gertrude (Helgeseu) Risetter, were natives of Nor- 
 waj', but became early settlers of Lee County. 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Olsen have been born nine 
 children, seven of whom are living: Ole T. is a 
 young man of good education and a successful 
 teacher of Kankakee County; Holden is attend- 
 ing the Lutheran College in Decorah, Iowa; and 
 Martin, Gertrude, Anna, Nilcs A. and Thomas 
 complete the family. Of their two other children 
 one died in infancy, and Lars was called to the 
 home beyond Januaiy 24, 1802, at the age of 
 nineteen years. The latter spent four years in 
 college at Decorah, Iowa, and was taken sick while 
 a student there. He was a young man of excellent 
 character and noble qualities, and was a dutiful 
 and kind son to his parents. We (juote a resolu- 
 tion which was offered by his class in the Luth- 
 eran College, at Decorah: 
 
 " WiiEKEAS, In the allwise providence of God, 
 He has seen fit to deprive us of our esteemed class- 
 mate, Lars Jorgen Olsen, while recognizing the 
 wisdom of Him whose hand has bereft us, and 
 bearing in all meekness the affliction laid upon us; 
 nevertheless, we, the Class of '94, wish to express 
 our heartfelt sorrow atour friend's untimely death, 
 and we tender to his afflicted relatives our most 
 sincere sympathy. In Mr. Olsen we had a mem- 
 ber of high standing, ability and much promise. 
 He was a true friend and a faithful student. The 
 influence of his upright char.acter was felt and 
 valued bv all who knew him. Thouoh filled with
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 ?2:) 
 
 grief at our l)ereavemcnt, we are comforted by the 
 assurance that ' lie is not dead, but sleepetli.' " 
 
 Kit. KUAMMK, ) 
 
 Os('\i! Omi.ik, > C' 
 (). S. OiMiKni, ) 
 
 om. 
 
 Lars was one of the Kankakee County teachers 
 at the time of his death. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Olsen owns a good home about two miles 
 from Hersciier. His farm is a valuable and well- 
 improved tract, comprising two hundred and sixty- 
 eight acres of rich land, and is operated bj' his 
 sons. Our subject exercises his right of franchise 
 in support of the Republican part}', with which lie 
 has alliliated since becoming a voter. His first 
 Presidential ballot in the United States was cast 
 for Gen. U. S. Grant in 1872. He takes no active 
 pait in political affairs, especially in the line of 
 ofiice-seeking, yet is a firm believer in the princi- 
 ples of his party. In manner Rev. Mr. Olsen is 
 unassuming, but his upright life speaks for him in 
 most convincing terms. Those who know hiin 
 hold him in the highest esteem, his friends are 
 many, and all who know him are glad to pay a 
 tribute of respect to so wortli}' a man. 
 
 X 
 
 ^^^ T. VIATEUR'S COLLEGE. Near the banks 
 ^^^ of the Kankakee River is situated the quaint 
 111// jj) little villaoe of Bourbonnais Grove. The 
 place itself, though not a scenic resort, is far 
 from being unattractive. The little town has an 
 air of life about it, and the unassuming people who 
 here make their homes are as happy and contented 
 as the citizens of the metropolis. The village is an 
 old landmark, having been settled over sixt^-. years 
 ago by Noel Le Vasseur, whose biographj' will be 
 found elsewhere in this work. It is surrounded 
 by one of the most fertile tracts of land on the 
 Illinois prairies, and the. inhabitants are mostly 
 retired farmers, enjoying the sweets of a well- 
 earned repose. The Kankakee at this point has 
 cut for itself a deep and winding valley, through 
 which it leisurely wends its way to the Illinois 
 
 River, about thirty-five miles northeast. Dense 
 groves line the river on either side, and altogether 
 the surrounding landscape presents a beautiful 
 scene. 
 
 It would appear that a more favorable spot than 
 this could not be chosen for a school or college, and 
 it was this that induced the founders of St. Viateur's 
 College to choose this favored place. This site is 
 no less remarkable for its healthful surroundings. 
 Standing as it does high above the valley of the 
 river, the drainage is complete and no stagnant 
 pools are ever present to develop and spread ma- 
 larial poison. Local advantages are no small mat- 
 ter in the selection of a college site. Healthful 
 and attractive surroundings do much to make the 
 student content with his college home. 
 
 The history of St. Viateur's College, though 
 short, is interesting. It has not been without its 
 diHIculties, but it has overcome these and now 
 stands on a level with the foremost educational 
 institutions of the West. The history of this insti- 
 tution began in 1865. The people of I5ourbonnais 
 Grove, feeling the need of good education for their 
 children, made application through their pastor, 
 Rev. Mr. Cote, to the Very Rev. C. E. Champaneur, 
 C. S. v., of Joliette, Canada, who was then Provin- 
 cial of the community of St. Viateur. The Supe- 
 rior^aw plainly the need there was of good teach- 
 ers and sent three of the order to open the school. 
 These were the Very Rev. P. Beaudoin, C. S. V., R. 
 D.; Rev. A. Martel, C. S. V., and Rev. J. B. Bernard, 
 C. S. V. The three young men came not merely 
 to teach the young secular knowledge, but to in- 
 still into their growing minds sound principles of 
 religions doctrine to shield them from the error of 
 apostasy. No better means could have been adopted 
 for reaching this end. Upon their arrival they 
 took charge of the district school, which became a 
 parochial school and later a commercial academy. 
 The building which the}^ then occupied is what is 
 now the refectory and infirmary. It was a two- 
 story building, 40x60 feet in dimensions. 
 
 While Father Beaudoin administered the affairs 
 of the parish, he kept a watchful eye over the in- 
 terests of the infant school. Brother August Jlar- 
 tel acted in the capacity of director, teaching the 
 French course, and Brother Bernard was the teacher
 
 226 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 of English and mathematics. At the end of the 
 first 3'eav tlie success of the school was assured, and 
 in order to do justice to the increasing numbers 
 Brother Laraarche was sent as a reinforcement. 
 The latter became director, Brotlier Martel taking 
 charge of the jirocure. 
 
 In 1867, a commercial course was inaugurated. 
 The students were becoming interested and as they 
 required more time to study in the evening, room 
 was made for a limited number to sleep in the build- 
 ing. There were, however, no JDoarders. In 1868 
 the brothers purchased the school from the town 
 board for ^3,000, p.ayable in teaching. They were 
 allowed fifteen years to complete the payment. The 
 school steadil}' prospered and gained a reputation 
 that attracted students from far and near. Father 
 Beaudoin saw that it was bound to outgrow its 
 present proportions and tliought it would be best 
 for the interests of the school to call for another 
 priest, who would take charge of it and enlarge it 
 so as to supply tlie demand. In answer to his ap- 
 peal .Joliette sent Rev. Tiiomas Roy, C. S. V., and 
 Brother Guay. With their arrival dawned a new 
 era. 
 
 It might be proper to say at this point that of 
 the tlirec teachers who first came two survive: 
 Father Beaudoin, who is pastor of Maternity 
 Church and President of the Board of Trustees, and 
 Brother A. Martel, wlio is now Director of the 
 prosperous Viatorian Academy- at St. Tiraothee, 
 Canada. Brother Bernard died on the 24th of 
 August, 181(0, after a long and devoted career as 
 Treasurer of St. Viateur's College. 
 
 Rev. Thomas Roj', C. S. V., arrived in Bour- 
 bonnais in August, 1868. At the beginning of 
 the September session he inaugurated tlie classical 
 course, he himself teaching the Latin rudiments 
 to a large class, among whom were the now Rev. 
 Fathers J. Lesage, A. Bergeron and G. Legris; 
 Drs. F. R. Marcotte and V. Bergeron; Messrs. F. 
 St. Pierre and George Letonrneau, Jr. Under the 
 enlightened direction of Father R03', who pos- 
 sessed the manl}' qualities of the builders of 
 great institutions, ever^-tiiing went well with the 
 school, lie was the true type of a pioneer — hard3', 
 genial, indefatigable, constant and shrewd. He 
 consequently won not onl}' the good- will of the 
 
 people but also their substantial aid in the real- 
 izing of the purpose for which the}' had come, 
 namely, the building of the college that would 
 make Bourbonnais the resort of science seekers 
 and the Alma Mater of able men in all walks of 
 life. In the winter of 1869, in answer to an 
 api)eal made to the congregation at Bourbonnais, 
 all the stone necessary for a new building was 
 hauled in one d.iy b^' the ready and willing 
 farmers, who were naturally anxious to see in 
 their own parisli a school in which their boys 
 could learn to cope with the liberally educated 
 graduates of other universities. The long roll 
 of Bourbonnais boys now professional men, priests, 
 law.yers, physicians, teachers and business men, is 
 ample evidence that the hopes of those willing 
 and intelligent helpers liave been realized. 
 
 In the spring of the following year no time 
 was lost in raising the walls of the new college. 
 Operations began on the 3d of April. The build- 
 ing was 50x30 feet in dimensions and three stories 
 in height. Shortly afterward their space was 
 doubled in capacity' in order to supply the de- 
 mand for more room. In 1874 a French roof 
 was put on the building, in which were located 
 the two tine senior and junior dormitories which 
 are now in use. In the same 3 ear Rev. Fatlier 
 Beaudoin, with the assistance of Rev. Father Fan- 
 ning and Hon. M. C. Quinn, of Peoria, obtained 
 from the Illinois Legislature a university charter 
 for the college. Many improvements, such as 
 water works, steam-heating apparatus, etc., were 
 also introduced, which gave to the college more 
 comfort and attractiveness. 
 
 During these years Father Roy and the able as- 
 sociates he had called to his assistance toiled on 
 incessantl}' and succeeded in establishing for St. 
 Viateur's the excellent reputation it has ever since 
 enj03'ed as one of the leading educational insti- 
 tutions in the West. Among his worthy assistants 
 were the Rev. M. J. Marsile, C. S. V., present 
 President of the University; Rev. Anthony Main- 
 ville, C. S. v., for many 3'ears Prefect of studies, 
 and Brother J. B. Bernard, C. S. V., Treasurer of 
 the college until his death, in August, 1890. It 
 was at the cost of most ceaseless toil, of personal 
 sacrifices and constant vigilance on the part of
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOOnAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 227 
 
 these devoted men that the institution (louiisheil 
 and made itself deservedly popular far and near. 
 The result of these long years of labor and hard- 
 ship began to tell upon the robust constitution 
 of the tireless Father Hoy, and he finally found 
 himself incapable of sewing any longer the insti- 
 tution he had fashioned with his own hands, and 
 in which his whole heart and soul were wrapt. 
 15eing recalled to Joliette, Canada, he with tears 
 stole away from the students to whom lie had en- 
 deared himself and the college he had loved so 
 well. The students accompanied him to the sta- 
 tion and there bade that most devoted Father a 
 last farewell. It had been hoped that a much 
 needed rest and the air of his own native coun- 
 try would restore his waning health, but Father 
 Roy never recovered and died at Joliette, Can- 
 ada, .luly 10, 1879. The memory of one who had 
 devoted his life's best energies to the education of 
 youth was not forgotten by those who had enjoyed 
 the benefits of his direction. The old students 
 took stefis in 1888 for the erection of a monument 
 to the memory of Father Roy. It was thought by 
 the majority of those who met inChicago for that 
 purpose that a chaiiel built in his honor would 
 be the most suitable offering that could be made, 
 and steps were taken 133- a comntittee to arrange a 
 meeting of the old students and unfold the plan 
 to them. Pursuant to their request, a large num- 
 ber of the former students assembled in the college 
 ball June 2."), 1888, and a regular alumni associa- 
 tion was formed. Subscriptions were paid up bj- 
 members and a sufficient amount was secured 
 to enable the faculty to begin work on the new 
 building. In March, 1889, the ground was first 
 broken, and some months later work was begun 
 on the cha|)el, which will stand as a monument 
 to Father Roy's zeal in the work of educati(m and 
 as a worthy tribute of love from his former pupils. 
 Rev. M. J. Marsile,C. .S. Y., succeeded Father R03' 
 as President of the college in 1879, and it is but 
 justice to say that he has proved in every wa}' 
 a worthy successor to the lamented first Pi'esident 
 of the college. The rapid growth of the institu- 
 tion and the prominent place it holds among the 
 best colleges of the State amply prove the good 
 leadership and management of Father Marsile. 
 
 lie is a native of Longueuil, near .Muiilrf:il, uhcrc 
 his birth occuried in 184G. He was educated in 
 the community of St. Viateur's, where he pursued 
 both a literary and theological course, finishing 
 these latter studies at St. Viateur's College, in 
 liourbonnais, under the first President. He was 
 ordained in 1875, .and occupied for many years 
 the chair of French literature and was also in- 
 structor i.i moral philosoph}-. He is a man of su- 
 perior culture and acknowledged literary ability, 
 having been for a long period a contributor to 
 the best magazines of Canada. In 1890 Rev. 
 Father Marsile published a volume of poems, en- 
 titled '-Eijines et Fleurs," which has been very 
 favorably received for its literar}' merit and po- 
 etic beavity. 
 
 As has been noted before, that of the three j'oung 
 men who in 1865 laid the foundation up(m which 
 has been erected St. V^iateur's College of to-da^', 
 but two are still living, and onl\' one remains 
 upon the spot where the college was planted 
 twenty-seven years ago. This is the Very Rev. 
 Peter Ueaudoin, R. D., President of the College 
 Board of Trustees and pastor of the church of 
 Notre Dame at P.ourbonnais, in the Chicago Dio- 
 cese. Rev. Father Beaudoin was born near Mon- 
 treal, Canada, in the parish of St. Paul and diocese 
 of Montreal, on the 28th of August, 1833. He was 
 educated at Joliette College, in that diocese, where 
 he was graduated in 1856. He finished his theo- 
 logical studies in 1861, and on the 25th of Au- 
 gust of that year was ordained. Previous to com- 
 ing to Bourbonnais he was pastor of St. Andrew's 
 Parish, in the ]\Iontreal Diocese. His appointment 
 at Bourbonnais dates from September 6, 1865. To 
 the faithful labors of the Rev. Father Beaudoin, 
 to his earnest and unflagging zeal in its behalf, 
 will St. A'iateur's College at Bourbonnais ever be 
 indebted. 
 
 The faculty- of the college is as follows: Rev. 
 M. J. Marsile, C.S.V., President; Rev. E. L. Rivard, 
 C.S.V., Vice-president, Prefect of Studies and Pro- 
 fessor of Philosophy ; Rev. J. Labi-rge, D.D., Profess- 
 or of Theology; Rev. J. Daley, Professor of Latin 
 and Mathematics; Rev. G. Leg'is, A.M., Professor of 
 Philosophy of History; Rev. J. J. Cregan, C. S. V., 
 Assistant Prefect of Studies and Professor of Book-
 
 228 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD, 
 
 keeping and Arithmetic; Rev. Z. Huot, Professor 
 of Belles-lettres; Rev. L. A. Senecal,C. S. V.,Tieas- 
 urei; Rev. A. D. Mainville, C. S. V., Assistant 
 Treasurer; Rev. J. F. Ryan, C. S. V., Prefect of 
 Discipline and Professor of Greek; Rev. T. J. Mc- 
 Cormick, C. S. V., Professor of Rhetoric, Latin 
 and Civil Government; Rev. G. Williams, C. S. V., 
 Prefect of Discipline and Professor of Stenog- 
 raph^' and Typewriting; Rev. J. Leclair, C. S. V., 
 Assistant Prefect of Discipline; E. W. Griffitli, 
 Professor of Elocution; C. F. Morrell, M. D., Pro- 
 fessor of Sciences and Mathematics and Attend- 
 ing Physician ; P. Williams, Professor of Piano and 
 Vocal Music; G. Martineau, Professor of Violin; 
 R. F. Flynn, Professor of Bookkeeping and Pen- 
 manship, and Curator of Museum; W. H. Thorne, 
 editor of ''Globe Quarterly Review" and Professsor 
 of Higher Criticism; T. McDevitt, Assistant Pre- 
 fect of Discipline and Professor of History; A. 
 Leising, Professor of German; J. Kelley, Assist- 
 ant Prefect of Discipline; F. Moody, Military In- 
 structor; and A. Lesage, Leader of Band. The 
 Board of Trustees of St. Viateur's College are the 
 Very Rev. P. Beaudoin, C. S. V., President; Very 
 Rev. C. Fournier, C. S. V., Vice-president; Rev. 
 L. A. .Senecal, C. S. V., Treasurer; and Rev. J.J. 
 Cregan, C. S. V., Secretary. 
 
 -j^.4..^.}.,.^?ii:^,.}.4..j.4. , 
 
 REDERICK LEUTLOFF carries on general 
 farming and stock-raising on section 36, 
 Aroma Township, where he has resided for 
 the long period of twenty-eight j-ears. He first 
 purchased only fifty acres of land, and this was but 
 partiall}' improved, but with characteristic energy 
 he began its development, and soon acre after 
 acre was placed under the plow, and in course of 
 time yielded to him abundant harvests. He has 
 since added to his farm by additional purchases, 
 until now one hundred and forty acres of valu- 
 able farm land }ields a golden tribute in return 
 for the care and labor he bestows upon it. 
 
 The life record of Mr. Leutloff is as follows: 
 
 He was born in Saxe-Weimar, Germany, on the 28th 
 of January, 1830, and is one of a family of five 
 children. The parents, AVilliam and Annie Leut- 
 loff, were also natives of the same country. In 
 accordance with the laws of his native land, 
 Frederick attended the public schools of Germany 
 until fourteen years of age. He remained in that 
 country until 1851, when, having attained his 
 majority, he determined to seek his fortune in the 
 New World, and took passage in a sailing-vessel, 
 which, crossing the broad Atlantic, dropped 
 anchor in the harbor of New York. 
 
 Mr. Leutloff did not tarry long in the Eastern 
 metropolis, but went at once to Cumberland, Md.,] 
 and worked on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 
 during the succeeding summer. He then went to 1 
 Blue Island, 111., and secured a position on the Rock] 
 Island Railroad, working thus during the winter' 
 season. During the following summer he worked] 
 on the Illinois Central Railroad, and in 1854 he| 
 came to Kamkakee County, 111. In order to pro- 
 vide for his support, he secured employment as al 
 farm hand in Yellowhead Township, working by] 
 the month, and thus passed the two succeedingl 
 years of his life. The first year he got $10 per] 
 month, and the second yeav his wages were in- 
 creased by $1 additional each month. Mr. Leut-' 
 loff then came to Kankakee, where he worked in 
 the employ of others until 1862, when he com- 
 menced farming for himself. He rented land fori 
 four 3'ears, and then made the purchase which we 
 have before mentioned. 
 
 In 1857, Mr. Leutloff was united in marriage 
 with Miss Catherine Biland, and their union has 
 been blessed with a family of five children, two sons 
 and three daughters, namel^^: Amos, Louisa^ 
 Emma, John and Rose. 
 
 In politics, our subject is a Republican, having 
 voted with that part}- since he came to this coun- 
 try. Religiously, he is a member of the German 
 Lutheran Church. It was a fortunate day for our 
 subject when he decided to leave his native land 
 and emigrate to the New World. In the earlier 
 3'cars he had difliculties to meet and obstacles to 
 overcome, but, considered as a whole, his career 
 has been a successful one, and he has here found a 
 pleasant home, faithful friends and prosperity.
 
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 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 233 
 
 t ^^EORGE 
 • (If (-— - iieiit f.ii 
 %^ ing on I 
 
 ^^EORGE FALTER, a well-known and piom- 
 farnier of Limestone Township, resid- 
 section 22, owns one of tlie excellent 
 farms of llie community, comprising Uiree hun- 
 dred and twenty acres of valuable land under a 
 higli state of cultivation. The well-tilled fieldsand 
 neat appearance of the place indicate the super- 
 vision of a careful manager. He has good build- 
 ings and all the accessories of a model farm, and 
 his home is a beautiful residence, pleasantly situ- 
 ated ai>out six miles from the cit}" of Kankakee 
 and located on tlie bank of the Kankakee River. 
 
 jNIr. Falter was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger- 
 many, on the 23d of February, 1845. His father, 
 Louis Falter, was also a native of that locality. 
 He married Gertrude Luckliaupt and they became 
 the parents of eight children, four sons and four 
 daughters, of whom our subject is fifth in order of 
 birth. In 1818, Louis Falter bade good-bj'c to his 
 old home and, accompanied by his famil}-, crossed 
 the broad Atlantic to America. He first located on a 
 farm near Columbus, Ohio, where he remained un- 
 til 1865, wlien he removed to Will County, 111. 
 
 AVe now take up the personal history of the 
 gentleman whose name heads this record. He was 
 a child of but two j^ears when his parents emi- 
 grated to the United States, and upon his father's 
 f.nrm near the capital city of Ohio the greater 
 part of his youthful da3s were passed. The com- 
 mon schools of the neighborhood afforded him 
 his educational privileges. He attended school 
 througli the winter season and in tlic summer 
 months worked at home upon the farm. He came 
 with his parents to Illinois when twenty years of 
 age, and on attaining his majf)rity he left the 
 parental roof and started out in life for himself 
 without a dollar in his pockets. He immediately 
 secured emi)lo3ment upon a farm, where he re- 
 mained for about a j'ear, when he rented land and 
 embarked in farming for himself. That tract he 
 operated for a period of thirteen years, after which 
 he purchased the farm on which he now resides, in 
 Limestone Township, tlien comprising two hundred 
 acres of land, only jjartially imi)roved. He im- 
 mediatel^' began its further development and now 
 has one of the (inest farms in this locality. 
 
 On the 6th of January, 1867, Mr. Falter wed- 
 
 11 
 
 ded Miss Mary Ileil, who was born February 23, 
 1847, and is of German extraction. By their 
 union they have become the parents of seven chil- 
 dren, five sons and two daughters, and the family 
 circle yet remains unbroken, although Charles, the 
 eldest, has now left the parental roof. The latter, 
 who is a prosperous farmer of Limestone Township, 
 was born September 14, 1867, and married Miss 
 Nettie Lashuay December 31, 1891, and they have 
 one little daughter, Lora Geneva; Michael, born 
 September 23, 1868, was married .January 18, 
 1893, to Miss Cora E. Bratton, a native of Illinois. 
 They were married by the Rev. B. F. Eckley, 
 pastor of the Trinil}- Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 Fully one hundred and twenty-five guests assem- 
 bled at the hospitable home of the bride's parents, 
 and beautiful and costly presents and souvenirs 
 were presented to the happy couple. The younger 
 children, all of whom are yet at home, are as fol- 
 lows: George, born March :il, 1870; Anna, February 
 8, 1873; Albert, February 13, 1875; Frank, October 
 29,1877; and Flora, August 2, 1881. Thechildren 
 were all provided with guod educational advan- 
 tages, such as would fit them for the pr.actical 
 duties of life. 
 
 Mr. Falter and family are members of the Ger- 
 man Lutiieran Church of Kankakee. In his polit- 
 ical views he is a stanch Democrat and takes an 
 active interest in politics, doing all in his power 
 for the growth and success of Democracy. He has 
 held the olfice of School Director in the district for 
 nine A'ears. For his success in life, he certainly 
 deserves great credit, .as it is entirely the result 
 of his own efforts, and the prosperity which has 
 crowned his labors is justl}- deserved. 
 
 "tS^^" 
 
 ■^ ACOB B. BALLY, proprietor of the lead- 
 ing hotel in Bonfield, is a native of the Key- 
 stone State. He was born September 28, 
 1830, in Lancaster County, and is the son 
 of Yost and Elizabeth (Barr) Ball^-. His parents 
 were both natives of Germany. The mother was 
 born in that country December 16. 180(). The fa-
 
 234 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ther was born in Bavaria March 25, 1795, and 
 spent tlie days of liis boyhood and youth in his 
 native land, where he received a good education, 
 and learned the trade of a tailor. In 1828 he 
 came to America. He crossed the Atlantic in a 
 sailing-vessel, which, after a voyage of forty-two 
 days, dropped anchor in the harbor of New York. 
 Mr. Balh' first located in Lancaster County, Pa. 
 He was a poor German in a strange land, without 
 capital, but he determined to here win a home for 
 himself. In 1831, he removed to Ashland County, 
 Ohio, where he purchased a small farm, and througli- 
 out the remainder of his life he followed agricul- 
 tural pursuits. The year 1814 witnessed his ar- 
 rival in Woodford County, III., where he spent the 
 remainder of his daj'S. His death occurred Febru- 
 ary 4, 1878. The mother of our subject survived 
 him about five years, and passed awa}' in Living- 
 ston County, 111., in August, 1882. 
 
 Jacob B. Bally, whose name heads this record, 
 acquired a good education in the public schools 
 and remained at home until twent3--five years of 
 age, when he left the parental roof and started out 
 in life for himself. He had no capital, and for sev- 
 eral 3'ears rented a farm. As a companion and help- 
 meet on life's journey he chose Miss Catherine 
 Verkler, their union being celebrated on the 10th 
 of March, .1861. The lady was born October 6, 
 1838, and is a daughter of Joseph and Jacobena 
 (Engle) Verkler, of Woodford County, III. The 
 parents were both natives of France, the father 
 born in 1808, and the mother in 1814. They were 
 married in 1834, in Peoria County, III., where the 
 father worked for a short time. He then went to 
 Woodford Count}-, and, purchasing a farm, carried 
 on agricultural pursuits throughout the remainder 
 of his life. He was a successful and prosperous 
 farmer. His wife died in Livingston County, 
 111., in August, 1886, and two weeks from the day 
 of her death, Mr. Verkler was called to the home 
 beyond. 
 
 Five children were born of the union of our 
 subject and his wife, one son and four daughters: 
 Emma H.,the eldest, was born September 11, 1864, 
 and married George Henry, who is now engaged 
 in carpentering in Kankakee; Ida May, born Jan- 
 uary 13, 1865, is the wife of Edward Henry, also 
 
 a carpenter of Kankakee; Minnie L., born March 
 26, 1868, now the wife of Fred F. Hertz, resides 
 in Chicago; Frederick R., born March 29, 1871, 
 and Louisa Caroline, born October 17, 1874, are 
 still at home. Louisa is a teacher of recognized 
 ability in the public schools of this count}'. 
 
 Mr. Bally has been a resident of' Kankakee 
 County since 1879. On locating here he purchased 
 a farm, which he operated for three years. On the 
 expiration of that period he came to Bonfield and 
 embarked in his present business. However, he 
 still retains the ownership of a farm in Salina 
 Township. He owns a good hotel, keeps every- 
 thing in first-class order and is a popular landlord, 
 his house having found favor with the traveling 
 public. His career has been a successful one, ow- 
 ing to his industrious and well-directed efforts. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Bally is a Republican. 
 He has never been an office-seeker, however, pre- 
 ferring to devote his entire time and attention to 
 his business interests. Himself and family are 
 members of the Methodist Church, and are highly 
 respected people, who hold an enviable position in 
 social circles. Mr. Bally is recognized as one of 
 the valued citizens of the communit}' in which he 
 makes his home, for he takes an active interest in 
 all that pertains to its welfare and improvement. 
 
 '*y( AMES LILLIE, contractor and builder, man- 
 ufacturer of and dealer in lumber, and a 
 resident of Kankakee since 1878, also the 
 
 f^J builder of the Eastern Illinois Hospital for 
 the Ins.ane and many of the most important busi- 
 ness blocks in Kankakee, was born in Berwickshire, 
 on the Tweed, Scotland, May 16, 1835, and is a son 
 of John and Elizabeth (Hume) Lillie. His parents 
 and their ancestors were natives of the same region 
 of "Scotland as our subject. 
 
 .James Lillie attended school in his native town, 
 and when seventeen years of age he determined to 
 come to America. His father gave him $50, with 
 which he set out for the New World to seek his 
 fortune. Arriving in this country in 1850, he lo-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUC.U. RECORD. 
 
 235 
 
 cated at Ft. Wayne, Ind., wliere he served an ap- 
 prenticeship of three years to the carpenter's trade, 
 at the munilicent sahiry of ^50 per year. After 
 completing his time lie worked one year as a 
 journeyman carpenter, and then went to Kansas 
 in 1854. He there became associated witli .John 
 Hrown, the great anti-slavery agitator, and was 
 witli him at Lawrence and otlier i)laces in his con- 
 tests with the jMissouri border rutHnns, so called, 
 who wore trying to establish slavery in Kansas. 
 Mr. Liilie was associated with .lohn l>rown tlirough 
 1854, 1855 and 1856; at the same time he was con- 
 tracting and building in Lawrence and Leaven- 
 worth. Beginning in a small wa\' in 1854, he con- 
 tinued for about five years, increasing his business 
 as circumstances permitted. In 1859, about the 
 time John Brown made his fatal raid on the Har- 
 per Ferr^' arsenal, Mr. Liilie returned to Ft. 
 Wayne, Ind., where he began the manufacture of 
 brick, and also dealt in general building materials. 
 He was also extensively engaged in contracting 
 and building, and carried on a successful business 
 there for twenty-six j'ears. 
 
 In the spring of 1878 our subject came to Kan- 
 kakee and took a contract from the .State for build- 
 ing the Eastern Illinois Hospital for the Insane. 
 Beginning in April of that 3-ear, JNIr. Liilie has had 
 the contracts as appropriations have been made 
 for the purpose by the State Legislature, aggre- 
 gating up to this time (December, 1892) 81,500,000. 
 At present he is working under contracts amount- 
 ing to *140,000. This hospital for the insane is the 
 largest, except one, in the United States, and has 
 accommodations for twenty-one hundred patients. 
 (.See history of the institution.) In addition to 
 the building of the hospital Mr. Liilie has erected 
 many of the finest business buildings and resi- 
 dences in the city of Kankakee, including the Ar- 
 cade. 
 
 On the 21st of November, 1859, Mr. Liilie was 
 united in marriage at Ft. Wayne, Ind., with Miss 
 •Julia Fink, a daughter of Charles and Elizabeth 
 Fink, and a native of that cit}'. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Liilie have four living children: Minnie, the eld- 
 est, is the wife of A. H. Butts, of Eseanaba, Mich. 
 P^dith is the wife of Frank Mattur, of this city. 
 Arthur H. is a student at Ft. Wayne. The young- 
 
 est, James Oarfield, now at school in Indiana, was 
 born on the da3- of President Garfield's death. 
 
 Mr. Liilie is a member of Ft. Wa3nc I^odge No. 
 14, I. O. O. F. In additicm to his regular con- 
 tracting business he is largel}' interested in lumber- 
 ing in northern Michigan, having a sawmill and 
 lumber yards at Talbot and Eseanaba. At the lat- 
 ter place he constructed an electric street railway 
 system in 1890. 
 
 Politically, he was a stanch Kepublican till 1884. 
 since which time he has been a suppoiter of the 
 Democrac}', though he has never been a strong par- 
 tisan, seldom ever voting a straight ticket. Mrs. 
 Liilie and all the children are members of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. 
 
 -^ 
 
 -H — 
 
 ILES S. TAYLOR is one of the representa- 
 tive and well-to-do farmers of Kankakee 
 County, and also one of its early settlers. 
 He resides on section 1, Pilot Township. 
 A native of New Jersey, he w.as l)orn in Atlantic 
 County March 20, 1829. His father, Henry Tay- 
 lor, was born m the Empire State and was reared at 
 Saratoga .Springs. He there married Hannah Gid- 
 Ie3', daughter of Gasper 1\L Gidley. After their 
 marriage they removed to New York City, thence 
 to Atlantic County, N. J., where Mr. Taylor worked 
 at his trade of sliip-carpentering. He there re- 
 sided until after the death of his wife, when he 
 came to Illinois and spent the last ^-ears of his life 
 with his son, the subject of this sketch. lie was 
 called to the eternal home at the advanced age of 
 eight3-six3-ears. Ilighlv respected wherever known, 
 his death proved a loss to the community in which 
 he lived. 
 
 Miles Ta3'lor spent his boyhood da3-s in the 
 county' of his nativity. His time was passed in 
 farm work or as a sailor upon the seas. He was 
 for three 3-ears upon the water ere he came to the 
 AVest. When a 3'oung man he removed to Miami 
 County, Ohio, where he worked at the cooper's trade 
 for three years, after which he came to Illinois. 
 He traveled through the southern and central
 
 236 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 parts of the State in search of a location an3 then 
 took up his residence in Kankalvce Couut3'. This 
 was about 185,5. Tiie county was tlien an almost 
 unbroken wilderness, the settlements being few, 
 while many of the now thriving villages had not 
 then sprung into existence. Mr. Taylor spent five 
 years in the city of Kankakee, which, however, 
 was then but a village, containing only a few 
 houses, and devoted his energy to the carpenter's 
 trade. 
 
 Ou the 31st of January, 1860, in this county, 
 Mr. Taylor was united in marriage with Miss 
 Selinah .J. Bratton, who was born on the 18th 
 of September, 1836, in Daviess County, Ind., 
 near Washington, and is a daughter of John L. 
 Bratton, who died when his daughter was only 
 five years of age. The young couple began their 
 domestic life upon a rented farm in Bourbonnais 
 Township, which our subject operated for four 
 years. He then rented other land but subsequently 
 purchased an improved farm in the township of 
 Salina, comprising one hundred and twenty acres. 
 There he made his home for the long period of 
 twenty-three years. It was in 1881 that he re- 
 moved to his present place of residence, since 
 which he has sold the old homestead. He now 
 has a fine farm of one hundred and twenty-six 
 acres of valuable land, which is under a high state 
 of cultivation and well ira|)roved. He has remod- 
 eled the home, built a barn and outbuildings, 
 and otherwise added to the improvements of the 
 place, until it is now one of the best in the town- 
 ship. There is also a fine large orchard. In fact, 
 none of the accessories of a model farm are want- 
 ing, the place being complete in all its appoint- 
 ments. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Taylor had a family of eleven 
 children, one deceased, .lulius S., who died at the 
 age of thirteen and is interred in the Salina ceme- 
 tery; Eli IL, the eldest, is a farmer in McLean 
 County; Selinah E., a widow, is a resident of this 
 county; John L. is engaged in farming with his 
 father; Carrie A., William H., Eva J., Jliles S., 
 Luther B., Elmer N., and Bayard E., the youngest, 
 are still under the parental roof. The children 
 have all received good educational advantages, 
 and Miles is now a student in the Onarga Institute. 
 
 The family is widely and favorably known in the 
 community and its members rank high in social 
 circles. Mr. Taylor exercises his right of franchise 
 in support of the Republican party, with which 
 he has been identified since its organization in 
 1856, casting his first vote for Gen. Fremont. We 
 see in our subject a self-made man, who began life 
 empty-handed, but by his industry, enterprise and 
 good management he has accumulated a valuable 
 property and is now recognized as one of the sub- 
 stantial citizens of the community. His success 
 is well deserved, for in all his business dealings he 
 has pursued a uniformly upright and honorable 
 course. 
 
 ':--^- 
 
 g^( EDY FREDERICK BACHANT, dealer in 
 all kinds of agricultural implements and 
 ^ buggies at Nos. 74-76 East Avenue, Kan- 
 kakee, is a native of Canada, and of 
 French descent. He was born in the parish of St. 
 Hyacinthe, Province of (Quebec, on the 7th of 
 March, 1843, and is a son of Isaac and Josephine 
 (Chartier) Bachant, who were also natives of Can- 
 ada, and of French extraction. They emigrated 
 from their native land to Illinois in 1854, and 
 reached Bourbonnais Grove, Kankakee County, in 
 September of that 3'ear, coming from Chicago on 
 the first train on the Illinois Central Railroad 
 that reached Kankakee. They settled in Bour- 
 bonnais Township on a farm, where the father 
 and husband died in October, 1855. The follow- 
 ing spring the mother moved to Kankakee, the 
 better to educate her children. Her death occurred 
 in July, 1884. 
 
 Medy F. Bachant attended school and worked 
 at fanning until 1863, when he engaged in his 
 present business in company with Edwin Kittell. 
 That connection was continued until the fall of 
 1882, when it was dissolved by mutual consent 
 and the business has since been conducted by Mr. 
 Bachant with marked success, notwithstanding 
 that he sustained a loss of about -^5,000 on the 1st 
 of May, 1887, by being burned out. Immediately 
 
 \
 
 0,' 
 
 f'^^^mmy of Illinois
 
 ^>V-..,
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 23? 
 
 after the fire he opened up in temporary quarters, 
 where he carried on business until new buildings 
 were erected on his old stand, when he resumed ( 
 trade there. ]\Ir. Bachant carries a full line of 
 goods, and having had a long experience is en- 
 abled to meet the wants of his customers with the 
 best and most improved farm tools and machinery, 
 and has built up an extensive trade. 
 
 On the nth of June, 1864, Mr. Bachant was 
 married in Springfield, 111., to Miss Mary A. 
 Caron, daughter of Bernard Caron. She was born 
 on tiie Isle of Quebec, Canada, and came to the 
 United States in 1856. Four children were born 
 of this union, three sons and a daughter. Emma, 
 the only daughter, is now the wife of Louis 
 Lecour, a merchant of this city; George died at 
 the age of eight years; the other two died in in- 
 fancy. 
 
 Mr. Bachant and family are members of the 
 Catholic Church, he having been Treasurer ever 
 since the society was organized. He uses his right 
 of franchise in favor of the Republican party, but 
 has never sought public office. He is a member of 
 Court Canadian No. 56, C. O. F., of Kankakee. 
 
 •^^ 
 
 ^ W. ALLISON, M. D.,a leading physician of 
 Essex, has been engaged in practice at this 
 place for a period of eleven consecutive 
 _ .years. He was born on the 21st of Novem- 
 ber, 1853, in Shelby County, Ind., and was the 
 ninth in order of birth in a family of thirteen chil- 
 dren, numbering five sons and eight daughters. 
 His parents were John and Elizabeth (Zeigler) Al- 
 lison. The paternal grandfather of our subject 
 was a native of Virginia, and owned a large plan- 
 tation there. John Allison was born in that Slate 
 and spent his early days at his father's homo in the 
 Old Dominion. When lie was a young man the 
 family emigrated to Indiana, locating in Rush 
 County. This was in 1822. At that time Indiana 
 was a new country, and the3' became early settlers 
 of that commonwealth. John Allison was a 
 highlj- educated man. He studied medicine when 
 
 young and eng.iged in the practice of that profes- 
 sion for a number of years, but later in life he de- 
 voted his energies to farming. He married Eliza- 
 beth Zeigler, a native of Philadelphia, Pa., wiio 
 survived until 1880, her husband passing to his 
 final rest in 1881. 
 
 When the subject of this sketch was about two 
 years of age he accompanied his parents to Illinois, 
 where they lived during the years 1855-56, at the 
 expiration of which time tliey returned to Indiana, 
 and there remained until 1861. In that year they 
 removed to Decatur County, Iowa, residing there 
 until 1865, when they again returned to Indiana. 
 Our subject remained with his parents until reach- 
 ing his majority, and acquired a good education. 
 After completing his literary studies he determined 
 to engage in the practice of medicine as a life 
 work, and to this end entered the Cincinnati Col- 
 lege of Medicine and Surgery in 1875. After pur- 
 suing a three-years course he was graduated from 
 that institution with the degree of M. D. and re- 
 ceived his diploma. 
 
 Dr. Allison entered upon the practice of his 
 profession in Forest Hill, Ind., where he remained 
 for a number of years. The year 1882 witnessed 
 his arrival in Essex, when he immediately opened 
 an office and has since been engaged in active 
 practice. He possesses excellent ability, which, 
 combined with his natural ambition and talents, 
 has made him one of the foremost physicians of 
 this community. He is a thorough student of his 
 profession, and keeps abreast with all of the dis- 
 coveries and theories relating to the science of 
 medicine. 
 
 In politics, the Doctor is a stanch Democrat, 
 warmly advocating the principles of that party. 
 In 1890, he was elected to represent the Sixteenth 
 Senatorial District in the Illinois Legislature, and 
 on the expiration of his term was re-nominated, 
 but as he was not able to leave his practice and 
 canvass the district, his o|)i)onent won the election. 
 He is one of the inoniincnt politicians of this 
 county, and ably represented liis district in the 
 House. Socially, he is a member of the Odd Fel- 
 lows and of the Knighls of Pythias of Essex. His 
 rule has been to do unto others as he would have 
 them do unto him, and his honorable, upright c«-
 
 240 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 reer has won liira liigh regard and universal con- 
 fidence, his word being considered as good as his 
 bond. He is now enjoying a lucrative practice 
 and lias a large circle of friends, who esteem him 
 highly. 
 
 eHARLES GOEPPER, who carries on general 
 fanning on section 26, Limestone Town- 
 ship, was born on the 6th of May, 1841, in 
 Kork, Germany, and is the eldest child in the fam- 
 ily of eleven children, numbering five sons and 
 six daughters, whose parents were Charles and 
 Salma (Soth) Goepper. The father was born in 
 Korlc, Germany, in 1812, and acquired a good 
 practical education in the schools of his native 
 land. He then learned tlie baker's trade, which he 
 followed in Germany until thirty-eight j'ears of 
 age, when, in 1850, accompanied by his family, he 
 sailed for the United States. Immediately after 
 his arrival he located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and 
 there resided until his death, which occurred in 
 1881, he having reached the allotted age of the 
 Psalmist, three-score years and ten. His widow, 
 who is also a native of Kork, Germany, still makes 
 her home in Cincinnati. 
 
 The subject of our sketch spent the first nine 
 years of his life in tlie land of his nativity and 
 then crossed the brinj- deep witli his parents. In 
 the public schools of Cincinnati he acquired a 
 good education. He remained at home until nine- 
 teen years of age, when he bade good-bye to par- 
 ents and friends and started out to make his own 
 way in the world. His capital consisted of good 
 health, a fair education and a determination to 
 succeed. His first work was in a hotel in Louis- 
 - ville, Ky., where he was employed as clerk for a 
 period of seven j^ears. On the expiration of that 
 time he purcliased a half-interest in the hotel and 
 thus engaged in business for himself for fourteen 
 years, successfully carrying on operations in that 
 line until 1881, when he sold his liotel in the 
 South and came to Kankakee County, 111. 
 
 Some years previous to this Mr. Goepper was 
 married, the lady of his choice being Miss Barbara 
 
 Butz,who was a resident of this county and whose 
 family record will be seen elsewhere in this work. 
 Their union was celebrated on the 29th of Septem- 
 ber, 1868, and unto them has been born one child, 
 a son, Albert G., who was born June 30, 1869. 
 He is still at home witli his parents. He received 
 a good education, his primary course being sujjple- 
 niented by stud^y in the commercial school of Kan- 
 kakee. 
 
 On coming to this county, Mr. Goepper pur- 
 chased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres of 
 partially improved land and has since carried on 
 agricultural pursuits. He has added eighty acres 
 of good land in the same township, which gives 
 him a total of two hundred acres. His fields are 
 well tilled and yield to him a golden tribute in 
 return for his care and cultivation. He is classed 
 among the substantial farmers of the community, 
 and the success that has crowned his undertakings 
 is but the just reward of his labors. Politicall}^, 
 Mr. Goepper is a Republican, having voted with 
 and supported that party since he cast his first bal- 
 lot for Abraham Lincoln. Socially, he is a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias lodge of Louisville, 
 Ky., and he and his famil3- belong to the Lutheran 
 Church. Mr. Goepper's residence here is of com- 
 paratively short duration, but in the years which 
 have elapsed since his arrival he has become widely 
 and favorably known among the best citizens of 
 the community. 
 
 ^i^S 
 
 [U^ON. THOMAS PHILIP BONFIELD was 
 born in Canton, Ohio, on the 24th of April, 
 1827, and is a son of Dr. Thomas S. Bon- 
 field, a native of Baltimore, Md., and Sarah 
 (Troup) Bonfleld, who was born in Pennsylvania. 
 His father was a well-known practitioner of Can- 
 ton, where our subject completed a thorough 
 course of academical studies. He began to read 
 law in 1847, in the office of Hons. George W. 
 Belden and B. F. Loiter, of Canton, Ohio, and was 
 admitted to the Bar of that State in Springfield in. 
 1849. He commenced the practice of his profes- 
 
 I
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 241 
 
 sion in tlie town of his birth, and there remained 
 until iiis removal to Illinois. 
 
 The 11 til of August, 1853, witnessed his arrival 
 in Kankakee County, which had ret-entl}' been 
 formed and its county seal established at the 
 present city of Kankakee. His first place of resi- 
 dence was in tlie village of Bourbonnais, as at that 
 time there were no buildings in Kankakee with 
 the exception of a log cabin situated east of the 
 site of the Court House, and known as the Bour- 
 bonnais House, and a section house built by the 
 Illinois Central Railroad south of Soldier Creek. 
 The railroad was then only completed as far as 
 Court Street. Since he came to this county Mr. 
 Bonfield has devoted himself assiduousl}- to the 
 practice of his profession, and his success has been 
 steady and marked by a thorough knowledge of 
 law and a judicious handling of his casts. At the 
 fust term of court held in the old freight depot 
 in Xoveinber, 18.')3, he was appointed Master in 
 Chancery by the Hon. Hugh Henderson, Judge of 
 this circuit. In the session of 1854-55 the Legis- 
 lature granted Kankakee a charter as a town, and 
 Mr. Bonfield was elected President in Ajjril, 1855, 
 being the first elected to that office in Kankakee; 
 he was subsequently elected Ma^'or of the city. 
 He has also served as County Superintendent of 
 Schools, and in 1876 was elected to the State Sen- 
 ate on the Republican ticket, and served for two 
 sessions. 
 
 Mr. Bonfield has always taken an active inter- 
 est in public improvements; he drafted and as- 
 sisted in the passage of the charter of the Kanka- 
 kee iV: Illinois River Railroad, which is now a 
 portion of the Indiana. Illinois it Iowa Railroad; 
 also drafted the charter of the Kankakee it Indi- 
 ana Railroad, was one of the Directors that built 
 the road, and since its consolidation with the Cin- 
 cincinnati. La Fayette & Chicago Railroad Com- 
 pany has been a member of the Board of Directors. 
 He was active in the oiganization of the Kankakee 
 & Seneca Railroad, and was President of it during 
 its construction, and has been ever since. During 
 his service in the State Senate the Legislature cre- 
 ated another State Asylum for the Insane. Mr. 
 Bonfield was an active and earnest supporter of 
 that measure, rendering important services in the 
 
 passage of the law and securing the location of 
 the institution at Kankakee. It is known as the 
 Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane, and for a 
 sketch of it we refer the reader to another page of 
 this work. He .assisted in the reorganization of 
 the Cairo, Vincennes it Chicago Railroad Com- 
 pany, now one of the branches of the "Big Four," 
 in 1889, and was elected its President, which po- 
 sition he still holds. 
 
 Mr. Bonfield w.as one of the incorporators of 
 the First National Bank of Kankakee, and has 
 since been its Vice-president and a member of its 
 Board of Directors. In 1889 he caused to be 
 erected and put in operation a tile and brick fac- 
 tory' at St. Anne, Kankakee County, which is doing 
 a prosperous and increasing business under the 
 supervision of his son, Thomas E. Bonfield, resi- 
 dent manager. Our subject is the owner of a 
 stock ranch in Pembroke Township, this county, 
 comprising eighteen hundred acres, which he leases. 
 
 On the 13th of March, 1856, Mr. Bonfield was 
 united in marriage at Aurora, 111., with Miss Maria 
 Eastman, a native of that city, and a daughter of 
 Dr. Eastman, now deceased. Mrs. Bonfield's par- 
 ents were of English birth, and removed from 
 Bristol, England, to Canada in earl^' life. They 
 came to Illinois and settled at Aurora, where they 
 passed' the remainder of their lives. Nine chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bonfield, of whom 
 four are living. Thomas E., the eldest, resides at 
 St. Anne, of this county, where, as before men- 
 tioned, he has charge of the Bonfield Tile and 
 Brick Works; Annie resides with her parents; 
 Allie is the wife of Frank Hemstreet, of Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio; and Frederick, the 3'oungest of the 
 famil}', is employed at the tile works at St. Anne. 
 
 In his religious views Mr. Bonfield is a Uui- 
 versalist, but is a liberal contributor to St. Paul's 
 Episcopal Church, of which his wife is a member. 
 In the history of the Bar of eastern Illinois he is 
 an acknowledged leader. His record dates back 
 to the pioneer days of this region, w^hen Kanka- 
 kee County was being organized, and before the 
 now flourishing and important city of Kankakee 
 had a recognized existence. Of a studious habit, 
 he is well grounded in the law, his opinions and 
 views having more than ordinary weight with
 
 242 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 court, bar and jnry, while his well-known fair- 
 ness and uprightness command universal respect. 
 He possesses keen perceptive faculties and the 
 power of rapid analysis and quick application, so 
 essential to a successful trial lawyer, while his pa- 
 tience and perfect self-command, supported by a 
 habit of thorough preparation, go far to make 
 him master of the situation in a general way. As 
 an advocate he talks in a decisive, plain and direct 
 way, which conveys his full meaning in a com- 
 prehensive and convincing manner without super- 
 fluity of words or loss of time. He has been a 
 potent factor in the improvement and develop- 
 ment of Kankakee Count}^ and its county seat, 
 and by his enterprise and public spirit has done 
 much not only directly, but indirectly, by advising 
 and encouraging others in the good cause. He 
 is of a quiet, retiring disposition, devoid of h\\ os- 
 tentation, yet possessing a warm, genial nature, 
 which, with his high sense of honor and unim- 
 peachable integrity', has won for him the highest 
 respect and warm friendship of the best of his 
 fellow-citizens. 
 
 (^^ AMUEL N. CALKIN, farmer, Superin- 
 ^^^ tendent of the Illinois Eastern Hospital 
 \£-M ^'^^'^^ since May, 1881, or covering a period 
 of twelve years, was born in AVill Count}', 
 111., on the lOth of August, 1842. He is the son 
 of James M. and Persis F. (Harris) Calkin, the 
 former a native of Sullivan County, N. Y., and 
 the latter claiming Lowell, Mass., as her birth- 
 place. His father emigrated to Illinois in 1836, 
 and his mother came two years previous. They 
 were married here and became pioneers of Will 
 County. 
 
 Samuel Calkin was reared on a farm and re- 
 ceived the primitive educational advantages of 
 those early days in the West. When eighteen 
 years of age he enlisted in the defense of his 
 country, the date of his enlistment being August 
 2, 1861, when he became a member of the inde- 
 pendent cavalry company known as the McClel- 
 
 lan Dragoons. On entei'ing the service this com- 
 pany was attached at first to the Second United 
 States Cavalry, with which they served one year. 
 After this they were enrolled in the Twelfth Illi- 
 nois Cavalry and were in active service until mus- 
 tered out August 4, 1864. His company was a 
 part of the Army of the Potomac and was in all 
 the battles and engagements participated in by 
 that army, including the great battles of Gettys- 
 burg, Antietam and many lesser engagements. 
 Having been blessed with good health, it fell to 
 the dut}' of our subject to do picket dul^' more 
 than he might have done otherwise, and he never 
 failed to respond cheerfully to the demands upon 
 him. So frequent were the calls upon him for 
 such service that he probably enjoys the distinction 
 of having done picket dutj- as many times as any 
 man in the army whose term of service was of like 
 duration. 
 
 On the flth of March, 1865, occurred the mar- 
 riage of Mr. Calkin and Miss Adelaide George, 
 the ceremony being performed in Chicago. Mrs. 
 Calkin is a daughter of Daniel and Nancy (Dal- 
 rymple) George, and was born January 10, 1843, 
 in Lycoming County, Pa. Ten children blessed 
 their union, of whom three sons and five daugh- 
 ters are now living: Minnie, the eldest, died in 
 infancy; Samuel A. married Carrie Conniac, and 
 is a farmer of Iroquois Township, Irocjuois County. 
 The other members of the family are Gertie Marie; 
 Henry R., who died in infancy; Ilarrj' A., Jacob 
 E., Mamie E., Rosa, Persis F. and Nancy. 
 
 Immediately after his marriage Mr. Calkin lo- 
 cated in Iroquois Township, Iroquois County, 
 upon a farm which he had purchased, and there 
 he carried on agricultural pursuits and stock-rais- 
 ing successfully until appointed to the position he 
 now holds in May, 1881. He still owns his fine 
 farm consisting of two hundred acres in Iroquois 
 Township, which he leases. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Calkin was allied 
 to the Republican part}' until the year 1872, when 
 he joined the so-called liberal movement, and later 
 became identified with the Greenback party. He 
 is now independent in politics, preferring to use 
 his right of suffrage in favor of the man who in 
 his estimation is best qualified to fill a given posi-
 
 HNtVtRiiliy OF ILLINOIS

 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 245 
 
 tion. While engaged in farming in Iroquois 
 County he represented iiis township for eight 
 years as Supervisor on the County Board. So- 
 cially, Mv. Calkin is a member of Howard Lodge 
 Ko. 218, I. O. O. F., and of Whipple Post No. 
 414, G. A. R., of Kankakee. He and his family 
 hold membership with (rrace Methodist Episcopal 
 Church of Kankakee. The hospital fai'm, of which 
 our subject is a most efficient Superintendent, con- 
 tains about eight hundred and fort}' acres of cul- 
 tivated land, meadow and pasture, of which see 
 full mention in sketch of the Illinois Eastern Hos- 
 pital, given elsewhere in this work. 
 
 -^^— ^ 
 
 ^i^EORGEV. HULING, capitalist, has been a 
 if ^w" i'^*'"^^"^ "^f Illinois since September, 1850, 
 ^^^g) and of Kankakee since the year of its birth, 
 1853. He was born in Shaftsburj', Bennington 
 County, Vt., on the 22d of September, 1827, and 
 is a son of Daniel and Henrietta (Vaughn) Huling. 
 The father was born in Shaftsbury also, on the 
 18th of August, 1782. He was descended from 
 one of the oldest Colonial families of Rhode 
 Island, and was a son of Capt. Alexander Huling, 
 who sailed for many years between Providence, 
 R. I., and New York City. The latter was also a 
 son of a sea-captain and the male members of the 
 family were sea-faring people. The Huling fam- 
 ily was founded in Providence in 1644, and was 
 of English origin. The grandfather of our sub- 
 ject removed to Bennington, Vt., on the day of 
 the battle at that point, and his four sons, John, 
 Daniel, Paul and George, joined the Colonial 
 forces at that time and served throughout the war. 
 The mother of our subject was of Welsh descent, 
 her family' also being among the early colonists, 
 having settled in Providence prior to 1640. Dan- 
 iel Huling was a man of large means, and as early 
 as 1838 lie came to Illinois and invested exten- 
 sively in land, becoming the owner of about six 
 thousand acres. He never became a resident of 
 this State, but returned to Vermont, where his 
 
 death occurred in November, 1861. His wife sur- 
 vived her husband and died at the old homestead 
 in that State in April, 1875. 
 
 Our subject was one of a family of seven sons 
 and one daughter. The two eldest sons, Daniel 
 and Alexander, are now deceased. Truman mar- 
 ried Miss Maggie Tulloh, and is a resident of 
 Kankakee; Columbus lives in Bennington, Vt. 
 Annie M. is the wife of Franklin Blackstone, of 
 the same place; George V. is the subject of this 
 sketch; Alonzo died in November, 1876, in Kansas 
 Cit3% Mo.; Miles C. is a resident of Bennington. 
 
 George Huling was reared to manhood on his 
 father's farm in the Green Mountain State and re- 
 ceived a good common-school education. In his 
 early manhood he engaged in teaching school. 
 He came to Illinois in 1850, and three ^-ears after 
 his arrival settled in Bourbonnais, Kankakee 
 County, which was about the time of the county's 
 organization and the beginning of the settlement 
 of Kankakee. For one year he carried on a large 
 mercantile business there, and also bought and 
 sold farm land, but subsequently devoted his at- 
 tention to the real-estate and loan business en- 
 tirely. He has bought and sold upwards of two 
 hundred thousand acres of land. Since the year 
 18(50, he has principally carried on a brokerage 
 business, but still owns farms in the county aggre- 
 gating twelve hundred acres. 
 
 On the 12th of August, 1867, occurred the mar- 
 riage of Mr. Huling with Miss Ellen L. Knight. 
 The lady was born in Loda, Cattaraugus County, 
 N. Y., and is a daughter of Samuel Lee and Lu- 
 cina Lambert (Parker) Knight, and a sister of 
 Solon Knight, of this city. (See the sketch of her 
 parents and brother in another portion of this 
 volume.) Mrs. Huling is a member of the Episco- 
 pal Church, which her husband also attends. 
 
 In politics, our subject is a confirmed Democrat 
 and his Republican friends have no hopes of con- 
 verting him to their faith. As he has never de- 
 sired public office, he has been able to enjoy his 
 political opinions in peace, notwithstanding his 
 residence in a Republican county. He has, how- 
 ever, served as Supervisor at various times on the 
 County Board. Several 3'ears ago Mr. Huling 
 made a tour of Europe, accompanied by his wife,
 
 246 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and was present at Windsor Castle during the cel- 
 ebration of the anniversary of Queen Victoria's 
 birthday, an occasion on which they were en- 
 abled to witness much of tlie court splendor of 
 modern Europe and to see many representatives, 
 crowned heads and others, of the various European 
 governments. Mr. Huling is a gentleman of gen- 
 ial disposition, who evidently takes the world 
 eas3' and never, figuratively speaking, makes the 
 mistake of rubbing tlie fur the wrong way in his 
 contact with iiis fellow-men, consequently he en- 
 joys life and has many friends. Possessed of a 
 powerful and rol)Ust physique, large means and 
 broad views, he never allows himself to get an- 
 noyed at trifles, getting solid enjoj'mentas he goes 
 along and commanding universal respect b}' his 
 integrity and business-like habits. 
 
 OSEPH GELINO is one of the leading mer- 
 chants and enterprising business men of 
 Kankakee, lie is also numbered among the 
 earlj' settlers of the city, dating his resi- 
 dence from 1855. He has been continuously en- 
 gaged in business for himself since 1860, covering 
 a period of nearly a third of a century, and from 
 a small beginning his trade and business have con- 
 stautl}' increased until he is now enjoying a liberal 
 patronage which yields him a good income. 
 
 Mr. Gelino is a native of Canada; he was born 
 in Beloeil, about eighteen miles below Montreal, 
 April 13, 1835, and is a son of Joseph Gelino, Sr. 
 The father emigrated from Richelieu, Canada, to 
 the United States in 1855, locating in Kankakee 
 Count}', III., but he made no permanent settle- 
 ment, for two years after his arrival he returned 
 to his native land. There were five children who 
 accompanied the parents to this Stale. Of these, 
 Charles died in Chicago in 1878, where for a num- 
 ber of years he had been engaged in business as a 
 salesman in a mercantile house; William left this 
 Stale and is now a resident of Wilmington, Kan., 
 where he is engaged in the hardware business. He 
 
 was formerly in business in Kankakee. Louise 
 died at the age of about twenty years; and Alice 
 departed this life when a maiden of sixteen sum- 
 mers. Of the Gelino family, which was once a 
 large one, numbering thirteen children, only the 
 subject of this sketch and his brother William are 
 now living. 
 
 Joseph Gelino, whose name heads this record, 
 spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Can- 
 ada. He acquired his education in the public 
 schools, and at the early age of fourteen years he 
 entered upon his business career in the line of 
 mercantile life, becoming a clerk in St. John's, 
 Canada. This was in 1849. He was employed in 
 that city from that time until the spring of 1854, 
 when he went to Montreal, Canada, where he spent 
 a year. In the fall of 1855 he accompanied his 
 parents on their removal to Illinois. Since that 
 time he has been a resident of Kankakee. During 
 the first five years after his arrival he held a posi- 
 tion as salesman in the store of Dr. Knott, of this 
 city, and on the expiration of that period, with 
 the capital he had acquired through industry and 
 economy, he bought out his employer. For thirty- 
 two years he has been continuously engaged in 
 business, and during this long interval his store 
 has been alwa3'S located in the block where he now 
 carries on operations. He purchased his present 
 building in 1864. Mr. Gelino is a man of excel- 
 lent business ability, sagacious and far-sighted, en- 
 terprising and industrious, qualities which always 
 insure success. 
 
 Our subject was married September 30, 1863, the 
 lady of his choice being Miss Phillomiue Lecour, 
 daughter of Joseph Lecour, Sr. By their union 
 were born nine children, but they lost four in 
 childhood. Those still living, including three 
 sons and two daughters, are as follows: Arthur, 
 Charles, Alexander, Bertha and Blanche. They 
 are still under the parental roof. In the spring of 
 1892, our subject was called upon to mourn the 
 loss of his wife, who was called to her final home 
 on the 3d of A|)rii. She was a most estimable lady 
 and had a large circle of warm friends throughout 
 the community. Her death was deeply regretted 
 by many outside of her immediate family. 
 
 Mr. Gelino is a leading and representative eiti-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 247 
 
 zen of Kankakee, who has been prominently iden- 
 tified with the moral and educational growth of 
 the community in which he resides for many 3'ears. 
 Politically, he is a Democrat. For a period of 
 twelve years he has been a memher of the School 
 Board of Kankakee, and for five years has been its 
 President, occupying that position at this writing. 
 He has certainly done a great service for the cause 
 of education, which ever finds in liim a friend, 
 and the present excellence of the Kankakee schools 
 is largely due to his earnest efforts in their behalf. 
 Mr. Gelino h.as been President of St. Joseph's Mu- 
 tual Society for thirteen years, or ever since its 
 organization. Himself and family are all commu- 
 nicants of the Catholic Church. From a financial 
 standpoint, also, his life has been a successful one. 
 His business career has ever been marked by strict 
 integrity- and fair dealing, which have secured for 
 him the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citi- 
 zens in a high degree. 
 
 J^^ 
 
 ^^^.^OEL LE VASSEUR, a French-Canadian 
 pioneer of Illinois, is said to have been the 
 
 first white settler of what is now Kankakee 
 
 County. He came to Illinois in 1820, and was for 
 man\' years a well-known resident of Bourbonnais. 
 He was born in a log cabin at St. Michel D'Yam- 
 aska. Province of Quebec, Canada, on Christmas 
 night of the 3'ear 1799. His parents, who were 
 French-Canadians, were poor and unlettered and 
 lived in a rude way in the wilds of a sparsely set- 
 tled region. The subject of our sketch spent the 
 days of his childiiood and youth on his father's 
 farm, with no advantages of education. In May, 
 1817, he astonisiied his parents by announcing 
 that he had entered the service of one Roche Blave 
 in company with eighty other }"Oung men, who 
 were hired to go into the West to trade with the 
 Indians. 
 
 Contrary to the wishes of his parents, without a 
 penny and possessed of only tiie clothes he wore, 
 Mr. Le Vasseur in his seventeenth year set out to 
 seek his fortune in the world. In May, 1817, the 
 
 partj' left Montreal with a two-yeai-s supply of 
 food and clothing. They started on the St. Law- 
 rence River, traveling much of the way b}^ water. 
 They reached Mackinac some time in the following 
 summer. 'I'liere tliey found a trading-post of the 
 American Fur Company (.lohn Jacob Astor's), and 
 to the agent there Roche Blave sold all his rights 
 to the service of his men and his outfit of supplies. 
 These Canadian voyageurs soon found that all was 
 not gold that glittered. The labor was severe and 
 oftentimes perilous and the fare coarse and fre- 
 quently scanty. 
 
 Actuated hy a spirit of adventure which seems 
 almost foolhardy', young Le Vasseur and a com- 
 panion accepted the invitation of an Indian, and 
 abandoning tlie fur company set out for the Great 
 West in a frail canoe. With their Indian guide 
 and friend they followed the west shore of Lake 
 Michigan until they reached Green Bay. From 
 there tiiey went up the Fox River and the Lakes, 
 following the river's course to the portage on the 
 Wisconsin River,which is the present site of Portage 
 City, Wis. Making the crossing, they floated down 
 the AVisconsin to the place where is now located the 
 city of Prairie du Chien. He and his companion 
 became the guests of Chippewa Indians, who had 
 a large village in the valley of the Mississippi near 
 the junction of the two rivers. Mr. Le Vasseur 
 found the Indians very friendly and he soon in- 
 gratiated himself into their favor by teaching them 
 some Canadian devices and tricks in fishing and 
 hunting. He accompanied them in their annual 
 fall hunts and became a favorite of the chief of 
 the tribe. 
 
 The following spring our subject decided to re- 
 turn to Mackinac, but was refused permission by 
 the chief, who claimed to have adopted him as a 
 member of the tribe. By this time Mr. Le Vasseur 
 and his companion had learned much of the lan- 
 guage of the Indians, though the latter had been 
 unable to master the difficult French, which was 
 their language. Wliilc appearing to be willing to 
 remain, they freely discussed some plan of escape. 
 Supplying themselves with dried venison, they took 
 advantage of a favorable opportunity and stole 
 away, following the course of the Wisconsin and 
 Fox Rivers on foot. They succeeded in reaching
 
 248 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Green Bay, but by this time were in rags and nearly 
 starved. Thoy found fish abundant and . had to 
 depend largely on their hooks and lines for their 
 means of subsistence. 
 
 At Green Bay they were fed and clothed at a 
 temporary camp of the American Fur Company 
 and were sent to Mackinac, where they were again 
 employed by that company. During this and the 
 succeeding year, Mr. Le Vasseur was sent to dis- 
 tant points to trade with the Indians, his experi- 
 ence at Prairie du Chien and knowledge of the 
 Indian tongue proving of much service to him. 
 In the fall of 1818, he first made the acquaintance 
 of Gurdon S. Hubbard at jMackinac, which led to a 
 life of long friendship and intimate business and 
 social relations. 
 
 In the spring of 1820, young Le Vasseur, under 
 the direction of the agent of tiie American Fur 
 Company, started up Lake Michigan for the pur- 
 pose of establishing a fur trading-post in the in- 
 terest of the company among the Pottawatomie 
 Indians of Illinois, a tribe who were very successful 
 in securing furs. Sailing in batteaux manned by 
 French-Canadians and laden with provisions and 
 a stock of goods for their post, they wended their 
 way along the west shore of Lake Michigan, and 
 after considerable hardship and danger, reached 
 Ft. Dearborn, now Chicago. They proceeded up 
 the Chicago River as far as they could go, and then 
 made ])ortage to the Desplaines River, from there 
 down that river to its junction with the Kankakee; 
 up the Kankakee they went to the Iroquois, and 
 up that stream to a point in what is now Iro- 
 quois County. This station was known as Bunkum, 
 but is now called Iroquois. There Mr. Le Vas- 
 seur established a trading-post and the site proved 
 a very favorable one. This was fully a year 
 in advance of the advent of Gurdon Hubbard, 
 by thatgentleman'sadmission. Subsequently he was 
 joined by John and Robert Kinzie, of Chicago, and 
 Mr. Hubbard, all agents of the American Fur Com- 
 pany, and together they carried on an extensive 
 trade with the Indians. 
 
 While unable to read or write, our subject proved 
 one of the most expert and successful bookkeepers 
 in the company's service, for he adopted the Indian 
 pictorial plan of record. For instance: the Indians 
 
 all bore the name of some familiar animal or ob- 
 ject and Mr. Le Vasseur would, if dealing with Mr. 
 Beaver, open his account by a picture of that ani- 
 mal, and having let that Indian have a blanket on 
 time would draw a square representing that article, 
 in which he would cop}' the woven brand that a 
 blanket of that grade bore to show its value, while 
 the time for which credit was given would be rep- 
 resented by the picture of the moon repeated so 
 many times, equaling the number of months. The 
 same plan he would use in picturing a shirt or 
 other garment, a hatchet or knife. AVhen Mr. In- 
 dian brought his furs to settle he could be shown 
 his account, which he fully understood and never 
 disputed. Tlie ordinary entries in handwriting 
 being unintelligible to the Indians, often proved 
 unsatisfactory-. 
 
 After a term of years Mr. Le Vasseur, in company 
 with Mr. Hubbard and the Kinzie brothers, left the 
 American Fur Company and formed a partnership, 
 doing business for themselves very successfully. 
 According to the recollection of Hon. George R. 
 Letourneau, an old and intimate friend of Le Vas- 
 seur, the partnership was formed at the time of 
 starting a post at Bunkum, so that the}- must have 
 been together in the service of the American Fur 
 Company previous, at some other point in Illinois. 
 Le Vasseur purchased three reservations of the 
 Indians, all located in what is now Kankakee 
 Count}'; one was known as the Mesh-Ke-Ta-No, a 
 second as the Le Vie, and the third as the Gacquie 
 Janveau Reservation. Tliey all lay along the Kan- 
 kakee River and were contiguous, so he owned at 
 one time several miles of fine timber land. Later 
 in life he sold it by small tracts and at his death 
 left comparatively little. 
 
 It is a well-known historical fact, that Mr. Hub- 
 bard married a comely Indian maiden named 
 Watseka, a daughter of a prominent man of the 
 tribe. She was his faithful wife for several years. 
 Subsequent! }', on his removal from that section of 
 the country, he was divorced from her according to 
 the Indian custom. Three children were born to 
 them, two sons and a daughter. They received a 
 fair education and the sons engaged in business, 
 but both died while still in their youth. The 
 daughter continued to make her home with her
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 249 
 
 father after a separation had taken place between 
 her parents, and lier father had married a woman 
 of Ills own race. Watseka was a true woman, 
 faithful to her white husband and his interests, and 
 alwaj-s commanded respect. Her name is i)erpet- 
 uated in history as the name of a tiiriving city, 
 whicli is the county seat of Iroquois County, the 
 home of her early life. She removed to the West- 
 ern Reservation of her tribe and subsequently be- 
 came the wife of one of her own people. When 
 she was quite advanced in years, Watseka traveled 
 on horseback from Kansas to Bourbounais to see 
 her daughter at the home of Mr. Le Vasseur. She 
 was most kindly received by her former husband, 
 and returning to her tribe in the West, died there 
 at an advanced age. 
 
 In 1837, Mr. Le Vasseur married Miss Ruth Bull, 
 of Danville, 111., b}' whom he had eight children, 
 four sons and four daughters. Edward, the eldest, 
 was a member of the Twelfth Illinois Cavalry in 
 the late war and died in the serviceof his country; 
 George died in Memphis of j-ellow fever in 1871; 
 AVilliam died in childhood, and Alfred in 1876. 
 The daughters all lived to mature jears but only 
 one is now surviving, Mrs. Dr. Monast, who now 
 makes her home in Chicago. The mother of these 
 children died some time in the '50s and in 1861 
 Mr. Le Vasseur was married in Chicago to Miss 
 Elenore Franchere, who survives her husband and 
 lives in Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Le Vasseur made several trips from Illinois 
 to Mackinac, superintending the shipment of furs 
 and the selection of goods suitable for the Indian 
 trattic. Having a good knowledge of the Indian 
 language, hs was emplo3'ed with Mr. Hubbard by 
 the United States Commissioners as inter|)reters in 
 the negotiations of the treaty of Camp Tippecanoe, 
 conducted on the 20th of October, 1832, and rati- 
 fied on the 20th of .January in the following year. 
 By this treaty came into- the possession of the 
 United States a magnificent territor}' which has 
 since become one of the richest agricultural regions 
 in the world. 
 
 Messrs. Hubbard and Le N'asseur enjoj-ed the 
 firm friendship of the two leading Pottawatomie 
 chiefs, Shabbonee and Shawanasee, and no doubt 
 exercised a strong influence in preventing their 
 
 tribe from uniting with the Sacs and Foxes in the 
 Black Hawk AVar. Our subject was appointed the 
 agent of the United States to take cliarge of the 
 removal of the Indians to their reservation at 
 Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Indians were loath to 
 leave their old lumting-grounds, rich in game, fish 
 and furs, and the task of effecting a peaceable re- 
 moval was a difficult one and required much tact 
 and skill. The task was not accomplished until 
 1836, but it was done without any acts of violence 
 and to the satisfaction of the Government. 
 
 Mr. Le Vasseur during his residence in this vi- 
 cinity purchased land at Bourbonnais Grove, where 
 St. Viateur's College now stands, in what is now 
 Kankakee County. In March, 1832, it is said by 
 Gurdon S. Hubbard that Mr. Le Vasseur made his 
 home at Bourbonnais, and that he was the first ac- 
 tual white settler of the territorj' now embraced in 
 this county. 
 
 Through the influence of our subject, many of 
 his countrymen were induced to settle in this 
 county. He gave his aid to them in the selection 
 of land, often bu3nng tracts for them and giving 
 long time for pa3'raent, as man j' came here short of 
 means. His influence was strong and was always 
 exerted for the best interests of those who deserved 
 his friendship. He also assisted in building the 
 first church in the county, the Catholic Church of 
 Bourbonnais, and to many others he was a liberal 
 contributor. He was a man of large-hearted lios- 
 pitality and his stories of his early days among the 
 Indians were always of deep interest to his hearers. 
 
 The death of Mr. Le Vasseur occurred at his 
 home in Bourbonnais on Friday night, December 
 15, 1879. Had he lived but ten days longer he 
 would have been eighty years of age. He was a 
 man of strong individualitj', a warm, true friend, 
 and won the respect and confidence of those with 
 whom he was associated by his integrity and fidel- 
 itv. The secret of his success with and popularity 
 among the Indians lay in his honest^' and simple 
 dealings with them. He never used double deal- 
 ings with the simple sous of the forest and they re- 
 cognized this quality in him with their customary 
 shrewdness of judgment. His love of adventure 
 was a passion born in him. He knew no fear and 
 his confidence in himself was unbounded. Serious
 
 1 
 
 250 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 obstacles and conditions fraught with danger only 
 nerved him to greater effort, but never disheart- 
 ened him. His life experience would have afforded 
 material for a romance of thrilling interest in the 
 hands of a Cooper. 
 
 >|<^i^^ 
 
 ENRY OSBORN VAN METER is an enter- 
 prising farmer of section 24, Otto Town- 
 *f ship. He is a native of Illinois, and was 
 
 ^j born on the 12th of June, 1841, in Kan- 
 kakee Count_y. His father, James W. Van Meter, 
 was a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred on 
 the 26th of November, 1808, in Pickaway County. 
 The family is of Dutch descent, and settled on 
 the south branch of the Potomac River in Vir- 
 ginia, where the grandfather of our subject, Jo- 
 seph Van jSIeter, was born. He removed to Ohio 
 in the early history of that section and settled in 
 Pickaway County when it was a wilderness and 
 but little inhabited. James Van Meter was a man 
 of fair education and was a teacher in the Buck- 
 e3'e State. He married in Pickaway County Lu- 
 cinda Brown, who, like her father, James Brown, 
 was a native of Vii'ginia, the latter being one of 
 the early settlers of the county in which his 
 daughter was married. 
 
 After his marriage the father of our subject con- 
 tinued to live in Ohio for a few j'ears, but in the 
 fall of 183!) came to Illinois and settled in Kanka- 
 kee County, near the city of that name, which at 
 that time contained but a log house. Mr. Van 
 dieter was one of the first settlers of this county, 
 which was then a part of Will County. He en- 
 tered land, proceeded to develop his farm, and 
 also engaged in the stock business. He was the 
 first to bring thorough-bred stock to this county, 
 and for many years did an extensive business in 
 stock-breeding. He drove his cattle to Chicago 
 yearl}', where he sold them in the stock markets 
 of that cit3'. His death occurred in July, 1875, 
 and that of his wife occurred three months pre- 
 vious. Their last resting-place is in Van Meter 
 Cemetery, in North Kankakee, and there has 
 
 been erected to their memory a suitable monument. 
 Their family consisted of three sons and two 
 daughters, who grew to mature years. Our sub- 
 ject is the eldest of the family; Sarah is the wife 
 of Edward Wilkinson, of La Porte, Ind.; Jesse B. 
 carries on a farm in Iroquois County; Albert T. is 
 a farmer of Indiana; Ella is the wife of John Bur- 
 rill, of Chebanse, 111. 
 
 Mr. Van Meter remained with his father, help- 
 ing him in the care of his farm, until after attain- 
 ing his majority. He had good school advantages 
 in Kankakee. After arriving at man's estate he 
 bought a farm in Iroquois County, consisting of 
 three hundred and twenty acres of raw prairie 
 land situated in Chebanse Township. After farm- 
 ing there for several years he sold the property 
 and bought a farm in Martinton Township, of the 
 same county, where he remained for about eight 
 years engaged in improving and cultivating the 
 pro pert}'. In 1883, selling this farm, he bought 
 the one where he now resides, which is located 
 about three miles south of Kankakee. Here he 
 has some two hundred and sixty acres, all of 
 which is fertile and arable land. Upon this are 
 good substantial buildings, comprising his pleas- 
 ant residence, commodious barns, and other neces- 
 sary farm buildings. His place bears evidence of 
 a thrifty and enterprising owner, and as an agri- 
 culturist he has been most successful. 
 
 Mr. Van ISIeter was united in marriage in Kan- 
 kakee to Lucinda M. Corliss, the ceremonj' being 
 performed on the 13th of August, 1872. Mrs. 
 Van Meter is a native of Ohio, and was born, 
 reared and educated in C4eauga County, where for 
 many years she was a successful teacher. She is a 
 daughter of E. G. and Mary (Tyler) Corliss, the 
 former a native of Ohio, and the latter of New 
 York. One daughter, Bertha E., graces the union 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Van Meter. She is now attend- 
 ing the Kankakee High School, and will graduate 
 in the Class of "93. 
 
 The first ballot of Mr. Van Meter was cast for 
 Hon. Abraham Lincoln in 1864, and since that 
 date he has been a warm advocate of the Repub- 
 lican party. Though taking an active interest in 
 local and general politics, our subject has never 
 desired to give much of his time to the filling of
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 251 
 
 public positions, but on the contrary has devoted 
 liis entire attention to bis farming interests. He 
 and his estimable wife are members of the Congre- 
 gational Church of Chebanse. His entire life has 
 been spent in this State, and in this and ad- 
 joining counties lie is known as a man of strict 
 integrity and is highly esteemed and respected by 
 all. 
 
 JRESTON SAXASACK is the senior meni- 
 ) ber of the firm of P. Sanasack & Son, of 
 Kankakee. These gentlemen are propri- 
 etors of the leading li ver>' and undertaking 
 establishments in this city and are well-known and 
 prominent business men. Our subject is a repre- 
 sentative of one of the early Canadian families of 
 IJourbounais Township, and for long years has 
 been a witness of the growth and development of 
 this county. He was born on the 14th of August, 
 1833, in St. George, Province of Quebec, Canada. 
 His f.Tther was Daniel Sanasack and his mother's 
 maiden n.ame was Amelia Lague. His parents 
 were both natives of Canada. In 1848, when the 
 subject of this sketch was about fifteen years of 
 age, the}^ emigrated from Canada to Illinois and 
 settled in Kankakee County among the early set- 
 tlers of the above-mentioned township. 
 
 Preston Sanasack spent the early years of his 
 life in the land of his birth and there began his 
 education. When slill quite young he left home 
 and began workingat whatever honorable employ- 
 ment he could find to do in order to provide for 
 his own maintenance. In 1855, when the excite- 
 ment attending the discovery of gold at Pike's 
 Peak was at its height, Mr. Sanasack, who was then 
 twenty-two years of age, resolved to join the vast 
 throng that was journeying to that land of wealth. 
 He accordingly- started westward, and after travers- 
 ing a large part of the mining region, he decided 
 to locate on Platte River, where he remained for 
 two years. During that time he engaged in trad- 
 ing with the Indians. He then continued the 
 journey across the plains until he re.ached Idaho. 
 There, in company with others of his own nation- 
 
 ality, he discovered and named French Gulch. At 
 that place he located a claim and in a few days se- 
 cured ,as his share |i2,500 in gold liy placer mining. 
 In the spring of 1858, he built the first house on 
 the site of the future town of Boise City, which 
 was to become one of the leading cities and the 
 capital of the State. On leaving Idaho, Mr. Sana- 
 sack made his way to Oregon and thence journeyed 
 to Utah. He finally returned home, where he ar- 
 rived in October, 1865. 
 
 On again reaching Kankakee County, Mr. Sana- 
 sack purchased a farm located on section 10, Bour- 
 bonnais Township. He there settled and engaged 
 in its cultivation for some time. He also bought 
 another farm, comprising one hundred and twenty 
 acres of land on section 8 in the same township. 
 For manj' j'ears before coming to Kank.akee, he en- 
 gaged in general merchandising at Bourbonnais 
 and did a successful business. It was in 1883 that 
 he removed to this city, where he has since made 
 his home. In August, 1887, he purchased alivery 
 stable, succeeding Napoleon Bergeron, and has 
 since carried on operations in that line. In 1891, 
 he also embarked in the undertaking business and 
 in the same year admitted to partnership in both 
 lines of trade liis son, Alfred H. 
 
 On the Uth of July, 1866, Mr. Sanasack was 
 joined in marriage with Mrs. Alinira Goltra. She 
 was born in Plattsburg, N. Y., January 1, 1838, 
 and bore the maiden name of Almira Paro. They 
 have two sons: Capt. William F. Goltra and Alfred 
 H. Sanasack. The latter was born in Bourbonnais 
 Grove June 20, 1869, began his education at the 
 college of that pl.ace and completed his school life 
 in the Indianapolis Business University. He re- 
 ceived thorough training in bookkeeping and sten- 
 ography, and was graduated from the commercial 
 department of that institution in June, 1890. He 
 married June 26, 1892, Miss Nelda Bernier. a na- 
 tive of Papineau, Iroquois County, and they have 
 a plea.sant home in this city. 
 
 The members of the firm of P. Sanasack & Son 
 are courteous, genial gentlemen, and the business 
 experience and mature judgment of the elder, com- 
 bined with the wide-awake enterprise and progress- 
 ive spirit of the younger, make the firm a success- 
 ful one. In both departments of their business
 
 252 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 they have every facility and accessory found in 
 first-class establishments of their kind, and the gen- 
 tlemen receive, as they deserve, a fair share of the 
 public patronage. 
 
 1 OBERT WILDMAN, who for many years 
 i^ has been connected with the farming inter- 
 <x>\ ests of this county, is now practically liv- 
 '^S) ing a retired life on his farm on section 14, 
 Limestone Township. He is a native of the Em- 
 erald Isle, his birth having occurred in County 
 Loutli on the 22d of July, 1821. His parents, 
 John and Susan (Bingham) Wildnian, were also 
 natives of the same country and tiiere spent their 
 entire lives. Both are now deceased. Tliey liad 
 a family of eleven children, seven sons and four 
 daughters. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, who was the fifth in 
 order of birth, spent the days of his bo3'hood and 
 youth in the land of his nativity and in its com- 
 mon schools acquired a good education. He was 
 married at the age of twenty-five years, the lady 
 of his choice being Miss Fannie Lee, of Drogheda, 
 Ireland, who was born December 8, 1822. They 
 began their domestic life in their native land and 
 there resided for about seven j^ears. AVishing to 
 try his fortune in the New World, Mr. Wildman, 
 accompanied by his family, crossed the broad At- 
 lantic to the United States and imraediatel}' after 
 landing made his way Westward to Kankakee 
 County, III., where he has since engaged in farming. 
 
 Three sons and three daughters have been born 
 of the union of our subject and ins estimable wife 
 and the three eldest are natives of Ireland. Rob- 
 ert, born on the 25th of February, 1848, is now 
 married and resides in Kansas, wliere he follows 
 farming; Allen, born February 19, 1850, is also 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits in Kansas; Mar- 
 garet, born September 23, 1851, died at the age of 
 twenty-nine 3'ears; Fannie, born August 1, 1855, is 
 now the wife of Maurice Vetter, a well-known and 
 enterprising farmer of Wisconsin; Susan, born in 
 1857, was married to Robert Scott, a resident of 
 
 this county; Lee, born Januar}' 8, 1863. completes 
 the famil}'. The latter is now married and resides 
 at home, operating the old home farm. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Wildman is a 
 Republican, but has never been a politician in the 
 sense of office-seeking. However, he has faithfully- 
 served his district as School Director for a period 
 of twelve years. In 1859, he purchased from the 
 railroad company one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land, which was then in a raw state. He at once, 
 however, began its development and his labors 
 have transformed the barren tract into one of 
 great fertility. Eveiy improvement ui)on the place 
 is as a monument to his thrift and enterprise. Mr. 
 Wildman is a practical and progressive farmer, 
 and the prosperity which has crowned liis efforts 
 is well deserved. In tlie long years of his resi- 
 dence here he has formed a wide acquaintance and 
 has gained the good-will and respect of all with 
 whom business or social relations have brought hira 
 in contact. He well deserves representation among 
 the early settlers and leading farmers of his 
 adopted county. 
 
 -^^- 
 
 'REDERICK E.LEGRIS, a prominent broker 
 
 ; of Kankakee, was born in Bourbonnais, on 
 ._ the 7th of September, 1860, and is a son of 
 Joseph and Cleophe (Sylvester) Legris. (See sketch 
 of father on another page of this work.) 
 
 Our subject was reared to manhood in his na- 
 tive town, and received his education at St. Via- 
 teur's College. On the 2d of February, 1886, he 
 married Miss Mary Joubert, who was born in Kan- 
 kakee, and whose father, Joseph .Joubert, was 
 among the pioneer settlers of this place. Four 
 children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Legris, 
 a daughter and three sons: Marietta was born 
 November 28, 1886; Joseph was born on the 7th 
 of September, 1888; Ralph on the 9th of February, 
 1891; and P'rederick Grover, November 9, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Legris left college when eighteen years of 
 age, and engaged in farming for the succeeding 
 seven years. At that time he married and moved
 
 "'■■' jf Hums
 
 -^:^Z££ 
 
 /. 


 
 !''0\S
 
 PORTRAIT AXD PJOnnAPITTfAL RECORD. 
 
 2:. 7 
 
 to Kankakee, ■where he has one of the lim-si ^o!^i- 
 dences in the city. Since locating here Mr. Legris 
 has been engaged in the real-estate business, and 
 lias had charge of his father's estate, which has 
 been converted into cash and is being loaned out 
 under his direction. Politically, he affiliates with 
 the Democratic party, and he and his farail3- hold 
 membership with the Catholic Church of this city. 
 
 ^R4,OBERT 0. DANFORTII is a prominent 
 llHcT f-'*'''™'''" living on section 10, Aroma Town- 
 (li\V ship, where he has made his home since 
 ^^four years of age. His birth occurred in 
 Dearborn County, Ind., on the 27lh of January, 
 l«l;3. Ik' is a son of Peasley P. and JIaria (Os- 
 good) Daiiforth, the former a native of New 
 Hampshire, of Scotch-Irish descent, who removed 
 from his native Slate to Dearborn Count}-, Ind., at 
 an early day, and there was married. He was a 
 painter by trade, and was quite a successful man 
 in a financial way. In 1842 he removed to Kan- 
 kakee County and purchased between four luin- 
 dred and five hundred acres in Aroma Township, 
 forty acres of this tract being near the present 
 site of the Illinois Central depot. At that time 
 the country was very wild, and occasional bands 
 of Indians passed through this section. But few 
 houses were to be seen in any direi^tion, and he 
 was obliged to haul his grain to Chicago in order 
 to dispose of it. His first residence was a frame 
 house. Though never an office-seeker, Mr. Dan- 
 forth took an interest in politics and was a stanch 
 Republican. He was highly- respected through- 
 out the communitj-, and was one of the worthy 
 and honored pioneers who did so much for the 
 development and prosperity- of this county. His 
 death occurred on the l.'Uli of November, 1884. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were passed 
 upon the same farm which he now operates. He 
 received a good common-school education, attend- 
 ing the district schools at intervals until nineteen 
 years of age. As he was the only son in his 
 
 12 
 
 father's family, he remained under the parental 
 roof until twenty-five years of age, helping to 
 carry on the homestead, and to this propertj' he 
 succeeded on his father's death. He can remem- 
 ber when there was only one house in the present 
 thriving city of Kankakee, and in his early years 
 he often picked blackberries where Court Street is 
 now located. Thus he has been an eye-witness of 
 great changes during his residence of about half a 
 centurj' in this portion of the State. 
 
 In 18G8 Mr. Dauforth married jNIiss Cora Buch- 
 ner, a daughter of Richard and Lydia (Sherman) 
 Buchner. The father was a native of Canada, 
 and the mother of the Empire State. To OHr sub- 
 ject and his wife have been born three children: 
 Charles R., now assisting in the care of the home- 
 stead; f^ugene, who is attending school at Onarga, 
 111.; and Helen E., at home. 
 
 Mr. Danforth has been vcr^- successful in a 
 bu.siness way and has shown much ability and en- 
 terprise. His property now consists of three hun- 
 dred and seventy-three acres, all of which is in 
 Aroma Township and is under a high state of cul- 
 tivation. He carries on' general farming and 
 stock-raising. Like his father, Mr. Danforth is a 
 Republican in politics and has alwa.ys aided in all 
 public enterprises, though he has never accepted 
 ofljeial positions. He is numbered among the pro- 
 gressive and practical farmers of the county, and 
 uses the latest appliances and ideas in carrying on 
 his agricultural pursuits. He is held in the high- 
 est regard by the many friends and acquaintances 
 whom he has made during his long residence in 
 this county. 
 
 ♦^^ 
 
 E^ 
 
 ENNINOTON SMALL is the proprietor of 
 the Kankakee County Xursery, and is a 
 leading dairyman of Kankakee Township, 
 residing on section 31. We wish to add to the 
 record of the pioneer settlers of this county the 
 name of one of her native sons, and one of the en- 
 terprising and public-spirited business men of this 
 c(<inmunity. Our subject was born on the old
 
 253 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 homestead, near the corporate limits of Kankakee, 
 on the 16th of June, 1862. His father. Dr. A. 
 Small, is one of the honored pioneers of tliis count)-, 
 and a sketch of his life appears elsewhere in this 
 volume. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 passed upon his father's farm, where his attention 
 was early turned to the branch of business which 
 he now follows. He received good educational 
 advantages in Kankakee, which he supplemented by 
 a course at the Valparaiso, (Ind.) Normal School. 
 After completing his studies, Mr. Small engaged 
 in teaching, and for about two years was one of 
 the successful teachers of Kankakee County. He 
 then determined to adopt the nursery business, and 
 establisiied himself on the place where he now re- 
 sides. His father, Dr. Small, who was the origi- 
 nal nurseryman of this county and established the 
 business here in 1852, turned over to his son his 
 retail trade in that line. Mr. Small planted 
 twenty-five acres in young trees and shrubber}' 
 and has been extensively and successfully engaged 
 in business since undertaking this line. He has 
 built a pleasant and substantial residence, barns 
 and other buildings, and has greatl)^ improved his 
 farm, which is located on the west side of the river, 
 just outside of the city limits, and which is a val- 
 uable and improved piece of propeity. In 1890 
 Mr. Small also engaged in the milk and dairy busi- 
 ness, and now supplies several iiundrcd families in 
 Kankakee. 
 
 Our subject has always taken a lively interest in 
 the growing of fruit, and was elected Secretary of 
 the Kankakee ^'alley Horticultural Society when 
 a j'oung man, and has acted in that capacity for 
 several years. In 1883 he was elected Secretary 
 of the Illinois State Horticultural Society, and 
 served for one term. Politically Mr. Small since 
 becoming a voter has affiliated with the Repub- 
 lican party, and cast his first Presidential ballot for 
 James G. Blaine. He has never thirsted for polit- 
 ical honors or office, but has preferred to devote 
 his time to his many business interests. Our sub- 
 ject was elected President of the old Fair Associa- 
 tion in 1890, and since that time has reorganized 
 the society, which is now known as the Kankakee 
 Fair Association, and is established on a sound 
 
 financial basis. The last fair speaks well for the 
 present efficient board of managers, and the so- 
 ciety and people at large give to Mr Small great 
 credit for his labors in bringing the old association 
 into its present good condition. Socially, he is a 
 member of Kankakee Lodge of Modern AVoodmen, 
 which is in a flourishing condition and numbers 
 about one hundred and fift}- members. 
 
 In Limestone Township, on tlie 21st of Novem- 
 ber, 188.3, occurred the wedding of Mr. Small and 
 Miss Ida Moore, who is a native of this county and 
 was here reared and educated. Previous to her 
 marriage, Mrs. Small was a successful teacher. She 
 is a daughter of Charles and Leona (Powell) Moore, 
 the former an enterprising farmer of Limestone 
 Township. Tiiree children have come to bless 
 the home of our subject and his wife: Budd L., 
 Leslie C. and Ida May. 
 
 Mr. Small has been a resident of this county 
 during his whole life, and is well and favorably 
 known in this and adjoiniivg counties. He is a 
 young man of superior business capacity, and has 
 been most successful in his efforts. Personally, he 
 is worthy the confidence and friendship of all, by 
 his many qualities of honor, industry and upright- 
 ness. 
 
 ALPH H. SAWYER, the efficient Superin- 
 tendent of the County Farm of Kanka- 
 kee, succeeded Mr. Dana in March, 1891. 
 ^^ The County Farm, which contains forty- 
 three acres, is very pleasantl)' located within the 
 corporation limits of the city of Kankakee. 
 
 Mr. Sawyer was born in the township of Kent, 
 in Litchfield County, Conn., on the 19th of No- 
 vember, 1835. His father, Elam C. Sawj^er, was 
 also a nalive of the Nutmeg State and was de- 
 scended from one of its early families. The 
 mother of our subject was before her marriage 
 Elizabeth H. Holly and was also born in Connecti- 
 cut. In 1844 the famil)^ removed from their na- 
 tive State to Jefferson County, N. Y., and nine 
 yeais later emigrated to Kendall Count)', 111-, 
 where they were among its pioneer settlers. For
 
 ILLINOIS

 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 259 
 
 two years after his arrival in the AVest, the father 
 rented land and then purchased a farm of one 
 hundred and sixty acres, wliich was located in La 
 Salle County. After a three-years residence on 
 this place the family returned to Lisbon, in Ken- 
 dall County, and still later removed to Grundy 
 County. After living there some time thej' went 
 to Newton Count}-, Ind., where the father resided 
 until his death, which occurred in March, 1890, at 
 the age of seventy-six years. Tiie mother of our 
 subject had been called from this life the second 
 year after her removal to Illinois. lu her famil}' 
 were four children, of whom our subject was the 
 only son. The father was again married, and Ed- 
 win M., a son of this union, died near Goodland, 
 Newton County, Ind., in March, 1892. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 passed upon his father's farm, and when thirteen 
 years of age he came West with his parents to Ill- 
 inois, where he grew to manhood. On the 22d of 
 Januai}', 1855, Mr. Saw3-er was married in Cuba, 
 Alleganj' County, N. Y., to Miss Margaret Hel- 
 mer, who was born in Montgomery County, N. Y., 
 and is a daughter of G. W. and Margaret (Wal- 
 rodt) Ilelraer. Mrs. Sawyer belonged to a famil}' 
 of seven children, comprising two sons and five 
 daughters. A brother and a sister are now de- 
 ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer lived in the East 
 a j'ear after their marriage and then came to Mor- 
 ris, Grundy County, III., where he farmed a num- 
 ber of years, subsequently removing to Pulaski 
 County, Ind. In 1879 they came to Chebanse, 
 III., making their home in the village just across 
 the county line dividing Kankakee and Iroquois 
 Counties. AVhile their home was in the latter 
 county their farm of one hundred and twenty 
 acres was in the former county. In their familj' 
 were three children: AValter H. is in the grocery 
 business in Kankakee; Nettie died when four 
 years of age; Lottie is the wife of Samuel Arm- 
 strong, of Roselawn, Ind. 
 
 Mr. Sawyer is still the owner of a fine farm sit- 
 uated two miles north of Chebanse, in Iroquois 
 Count}\ Both he and his wortliy wife have 
 shown by their judicious management of the un- 
 fortunates placed under their charge their adapta- 
 bility to the positions they hold. Both thecount}- 
 
 at large and the inmates of the institution are in- 
 deed fortunate in securing its present supervisor. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer during their long residence 
 in Kankakee County have ever had the I'cspect 
 and esteem of their fellow-citizens and most thor- 
 oughly do the}' deserve it. Politically, Mr. Saw- 
 yer is a stanch Republican, and while in Chebanse 
 served several terms on the Village Board. 
 
 
 EWIS H. MILLER, who sujjerintends the 
 motive power and rolling stock of the In- 
 diana, Illinois & Iowa Railway, which lias 
 its headquarters at Kankakee, has supervision of 
 the entire line and its branches. The main line 
 extends from Streator, 111., to Knox, Ind., a dis- 
 tance of one hundred and twenty miles, and its 
 branches extend from Wheatfield, Ind., to New 
 Buffalo, Mich., fifty miles, and from Kankakee to 
 Seneca, 111., forty miles, making a total of two 
 hundred and ten miles. 
 
 Mr. Miller was born in the town of Dauphin, 
 Dauphin County, Pa., on the 1st of November, 
 1844. His parents, John P. and Lydia Miller, 
 Mere also natives of Pennsylvania, the father's 
 birth occurring in Dauphin and tlie inotlier's in 
 Lancaster County. Both are now deceased. The 
 subject of this sketch was reared and educated in 
 his native State and in his early youth began 
 learning the machinist's trade in the shops of the 
 Northern Central Railroad Company, at Baltimore, 
 Md. In August, 1865, coming West, he entered 
 the service of the Chicago & Alton Railroad Com- 
 pany at Bloomington, III., and for a short time 
 was engaged as fireman on a locomotive. Later, 
 he worked for about four years in the different 
 shops of the company at Bloomington and was 
 then emploj'ed as an engineer, running on the 
 main line of the Chicago & Alton. Afterward he 
 was placed in charge of the roundliouse at Joliet, 
 remaining there three j-ears. lie was then pro- 
 moted to be Master Mechanic of the Kansas City 
 and St. Louis Division, with headquarters at Slater, 
 Mo. On the 4th of July, 1887, he accepted his
 
 260 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 present position with the so-called "Three I's" Rail- 
 road and has held it up to this date, the winter of 
 1802-03. 
 
 Mr. Miller was married in Bloomington, 111., 
 May 11, 1868, to Miss Sarah .J. Ewiug, a daughter 
 of William and Margery Ewing. The lady was 
 born in Newton Hamilton, Mifflin County, Pa. 
 The}' have four children, three sons and a daugh- 
 ter: Charles E., John B., Lulu M. and William R. 
 Charles E., a graduate of the Bloomington ward 
 schools, has been an engineer on the "Three I's" 
 Railroad for four years, having taken charge of 
 an engine at the age of eighteen. John B., who 
 graduated from the Kankakee High School in the 
 Class of '02, is chief clerk at Kankakee in the gen- 
 eral storekeeping department of the "Three I's" 
 Railroad. 
 
 In politics, ]Mr. Miller is a positive Republican 
 and firm believer in the elHcacj^ of a high protec- 
 tive tariff. He is a Knight Templar Mason, hold- 
 ing membership with Perseverance Lodge No. 21, 
 A. F. & A. iSI., of Ilarrisburg, I'a.; a member of 
 Bloomington Chapter No. 24, R. A. M., of Bloom- 
 ington, 111.; and of DeMolai Commandery No. 
 26, K. T., of Bloomington. Mr. Miller has had a 
 wide experience in all departments of mechanical 
 railroading, is recognized as a skilled and expert 
 mechanic, and has proved a most trustworthy and 
 able officer. 
 
 ^^, EORGE COOPER, one of the extensive land- 
 [|| ^-j owners of Aroma Township and a leading 
 ^^Jj agriculturist, resides on section 36, where 
 he has long made his home. Among the honored 
 pioneers of Kankakee County he is numbered, for 
 the year 1845 witnessed his arrival here. The 
 township in which he is now located was not then 
 organized, the count}- was then all wild and un- 
 improved, and in the work of developmentand up- 
 building our subject has borne an important part. 
 A debt of gratitude which can never be repaid is 
 certainly due the early settlers who laid the foun- 
 dation for the county and built thereon its present 
 
 prosperity; however, we can perpetuate their lives 
 by written record and we gladly give to Mr. Cooper 
 a place in this volume. 
 
 On the 10th of February, 1821, our subject was 
 born near Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. His 
 father, Dennis Cooper, was a native of Connecticut 
 and was of English extraction. He served in the 
 War of 1812, being called out to repel the British 
 at New London in 1814. Shortly afterwards he 
 came to Ohio with a surveying party, making the 
 trip westward with ox-te.ams. He purchased a 
 tract of unimproved land and in the midst of the 
 forest liewed out a farm. He was among the early 
 settlers of the Buckeye State. For many years he 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits and also preached 
 as a local minister of the Methodist Church. He 
 married Beulah Peltou, who was born in Connect- 
 icut and was of French and English descent. 
 They became parents of nine children: Jonathan, 
 who died in infancy; Samuel W., a farmer residing 
 in Will County, III.; Dennis who died in 1832; 
 Harriet L., who died in 1882; Setli P., a farmer 
 of Iowa, who died in 1800; Mercy Y., who died 
 in 1840; AVilliam E., a farmer residing in Repul)lic 
 County, Kan.; and Sarah, whose death occurred in 
 18o0. The father of this family was called to his 
 final rest in 1841. In politics he was an old-line 
 Whig and held the otlice of Justice of the Peace 
 and other local positions. His widow came to Illi- 
 nois in 1853 and died in 1856. 
 
 In the usual manner of farmer lads, Mr. Cooper 
 of this sketch spent the d.ays of his boyhood and 
 youtli. He acquired a good education and remained 
 under the parental roof until seventeen years of 
 age. He then left home and came to the West to 
 try his fortune on tlie broad prairies of Illinois. 
 In company with a friend he walked all the way 
 from Ohio to Will County, where he secured a 
 claim for his brotlier and worked as a farm hand 
 by the montli for two years. In 1840 he returned 
 to the State of his nativity, where he spent the 
 four succeeding years of his life, engaged in teach- 
 ing school througli the winter season, while in the 
 summer months he continued his work at farm la- 
 bor. 
 
 As before stated, it was in 1845 that Mr. Cooper 
 came to Kankakee County. He at once located in
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 261 
 
 wliat is now Aroma Township, purcliasing forty 
 acres of Government land on section 36 at $1.25 
 per acre. His first land patent was signed by Pres- 
 ident Zacliary Taylor. With characteristic energy 
 he began tiie development of his tract of wild 
 prairie, upon which he turned the first furrows, and 
 in course of time the entire amount was placed un- 
 der cultivation. In those first years Mv. Cooper 
 bore all the experiences and hardships of frontier 
 life, hut with the passing of time he surmounted 
 the difficulties in his path. As his financial re- 
 sources were increased he extended the boundaries 
 of his farm from time to time until it now com- 
 prises three hundred and eighty acres of valuable 
 land in a state of great fertility. He has placed 
 many improvements upon it, all of which indicate 
 his thrift and enterprise. He successfully carries on 
 general farming, and his success has been well de- 
 served. 
 
 Mr. Cooper has been twice married. In 1819, 
 he wedded Miss Sarah, daughter of Grove and 
 Keturah Case. One child was born unto them: 
 Alice, now the wife of IMarion II. Kenaga, a farmer 
 of Kansas, who is now serving as Recorder of his 
 county. Mrs. Cooper died August 22, 1863, and 
 her remains were interred in a private burying- 
 ground on the farm. Mr. Cooper was again mar- 
 ried, in September, 1866, bis second union being 
 with Mrs. Emma I. Bandle, widow of Asahel Bandle, 
 and a daughter of Francis F. and Hannah (Miles) 
 Foote. By her first marriage she had one son, 
 Henry L., who is now a carpenter in Chicago. Un- 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have been born two sons: 
 George F., who aids his father in the cultivation of 
 the home farm; and Bert, who is attending school 
 in Valparaiso, Ind., and is also studying law. 
 
 During the late war, Mr. Cooper manifested his 
 lo}ality to the Government and patriotism by en- 
 tering the service of his country as one of the boys 
 in blue. He joined Companj' F, Seventy-sixth 
 Illinois Infantry, as a private, but b3' hiscompau3' 
 was elected Captain. The first active engagement 
 in which he particiiiated was the siege of Vicksburg. 
 He also led his men in the battle of .Jackson and in 
 Sherman's campaign and was under fire at the en- 
 gagements at Meriden, Benton, ^'aughn Station, 
 Jackson Cross Roads, the siege and capture of Mo- 
 
 bile, Ala., and in manv others of lesser importance. 
 He was a brave commander, beloved b3" his men, and 
 of his army record he may well be proud. He 
 faithfully served his country until the 22d of .Tuly, 
 1865, when he was mustered out. On the 4th of 
 August following he was honorably discharged and 
 immediately returned to hi^ home. On one oc- 
 casion he was struck in the foot by a piece of ex- 
 ploded shell, but the wound was not serious and 
 otherwise he escaped uninjured. 
 
 Mr. Cooper exercises his right of franchise in 
 support of the Republican party. He takes great 
 interest in political affairs and alwa3S keeps him- 
 self well informed on the issues of the day. He 
 has been called upon to fill several public offices, 
 having served as .Justice of the Pe.ace for two terms, 
 as Road Supervisor for several terms, and was the 
 first Coroner of Kankakee Count}^ Socially he is 
 a member of AVhip|)le Post No. 414, G. A. R., of 
 Kankakee. His life has been a busy and useful 
 one, yet he has found time to devote to public in- 
 terests. He has aided in the building of chuiches 
 and schools, and his support is never withheld from 
 any worth 3' enterprise calculated to prove of pub- 
 lic benefit. Loyal in timcof war, he isalst)a valued 
 citizen in the days of peace. 
 
 -^^ 
 
 — S- 
 
 ^\ YRON H. VAN RIPER, physician and 
 surgeon, has been a resident of Kankakee 
 County, engaged in the practice of his 
 profession, since 1865. He was born in 
 the village of Mt. Morris, Livingston County, N. 
 Y., on the 17th of .July, 1833. His father, .lohn 
 Van Riper, was a native of Long Island, where he 
 was born in 1758. He was in the direct line of 
 descent from Abraham Van Riper, who was born 
 in Holland and was one of the early Dutch set- 
 tlers of Manhattan, now New York. It will be 
 observed that our subject, though not an old man, 
 is the son of one who was born but little beyond 
 the middle of the eighteenth century and whose 
 birth antedates the beginning of the Revolution- 
 ary War by about seventeen years, in fact John
 
 2G2 
 
 POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Van Riper was a soldier in that struggle. He 
 studied law in New York afterward and became a 
 well-known lawyer, practicing in those early days 
 in various portions of tlie Empire State. He mar- 
 ried for his second wife Mrs. Delia Henderson, nee 
 Mead, who became the mother of our subject, when 
 the father had attained tiie age of about seventy- 
 five 3'ears. He passed the last years of his life at 
 Mt. Morris, N. Y. In 1848, while on a trip West- 
 ward to see the countr}- he had visited in earlier 
 days, he died at the advanced age of ninety years, 
 his wife having died in 1842. 
 
 I'pon the death of his mother, Dr. Van Riper, 
 then but a lad, weut to New York City, where he 
 lived in tlie family of his father's sister. He re- 
 ceived his literary education at Rose Hill Serai- 
 nary and began the study of medicine with Prof. 
 Thomas Cock, who was the professor of the theory 
 and practice of medicine in the University of 
 New York. Dr. Van Riper took his first course of 
 lectures at Believue Medical College of New York. 
 Later he attended Jefferson Medical College in 
 Philadelphia and again returned to Believue, 
 where he began the practice of his profession with 
 his preceptor. For a short time he was located in 
 Detroit, Midi. 
 
 At the Ineaking out of the Civil "War, Dr. Van 
 Riper entered the army, August 9, 1861, as a pri- 
 vate in Company C, Sixteenth Michigan Regi- 
 ment, known as Col. Stockton's Independent Reg- 
 iment of Michigan Volunteers. He was promised 
 the appointment to the position of Assistant Sur- 
 geon, but .although he served in that capacity until 
 he was wounded, he never received his commission. 
 Dr. Van Riper was terribly wounded at the battle 
 of Malvern Hill. The command to which he was 
 attached was charging Magruder, who had made 
 an assault on the large battery. The Doctor was 
 in the advance, but orders being given to about 
 face and return from the charge, was tliereby 
 thrown to the rear. Seeing the man who bore the 
 medicine case had left it, he ran back for it. Just 
 about as he again caught up with his regiment, a 
 shell from one of the enemy's guns passed so near 
 him that the concussion tlirew him about six rods. 
 Striking first on his head, then on his feet, some- 
 what in the manner of an acrobat, he broke both 
 
 legs, his left arm and his right shoulder blade, 
 and received a large hernia of the right side. He 
 was so scverel3' injured that several weeks elapsed 
 before lie recovered consciousness sufficiently to 
 realize his condition. He was first conveyed to 
 the Marine Hospital at Annapolis, Md.,and thence 
 to Washington, where he was placed in a hosi)ital 
 improvised in a portion of the Patent Office, and 
 from there was finally taken to Believue Hospital, 
 New York. On December 4, 1862, he received an 
 honorable discharge in that city. When he had suffi- 
 ciently recovered. Dr. Van Riper returned to De- 
 troit, where he was induced by Prof. Gunn,lateof 
 Chicago, to return to the sei'vice. He was com- 
 missioned Surgeon and placed in charge of Church 
 Hospital at City Point. The result of the wounds 
 received at Malvern Hill was a large lumbar ab- 
 cess, which discharged for over six months and 
 which has practically made him a cripple for life. 
 He found the duties of his new position too labor- 
 ious, resulting in failing health, and in consequence 
 of this he was made inspector of the wounded who 
 arrived at City Point. He continued in that po- 
 sition until near the close of the war. He was 
 brave and patriotic and did all in liis power to 
 alleviate the sufferings of his brothers and to carry 
 the old flag on to victory. 
 
 Having previously graduated from the medical 
 department of the Michigan State University, Dr. 
 Van Riper was for a time demonstrator in the 
 chemical laboratory- of that institution. In 1865, 
 he came to Kankakee County and located at Mo- 
 meuce, where he engaged in the practice of his 
 profession for two years, at the expiration of 
 which time he removed to Kankakee, which he 
 has made his home up to the present time. 
 
 Our subject was first married in 1855, to Miss 
 Jane Shout, who died in 1862, while her husband 
 was in the army. In 1865, Dr. Van Riper married 
 Ann Rogers, a niece of the eminent sculptor of 
 that name. In 1872 he was again married, this 
 time to his present wife, who in her maidenhood 
 was Margaret Wilking. The Doctor has become 
 the father of four children, a daughter, Dellie, the 
 child of his first wife, and three sons by his second 
 marriage, Myron, (iarrett and Marcus. He has a 
 large practice but still suffers severely from the
 
 PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 263 
 
 effects of liis army life. The many friends he has 
 made dining the quarter centiir}' of liis residence 
 in this city hold him in the highest esteem. 
 
 Our subject is serving his tliird term as Surgeon 
 of Whipple Post No. 414, G. A. K., of Kankakee. 
 For some five years he w.as County Pli3sician and 
 Surgeon. He was the first and only medical man 
 who served as Health Officer, and be it said to 
 his credit that for once the citj' received a thor- 
 ough cleansing. He is a member of the Kankakee 
 County Medical Society, of which he was Presi- 
 dent for a number of years. 
 
 m^ ENRY CLAY KONKLIN, of Kankakee, 
 Justice of the Peace and Police Justice, is 
 one of the pioneers of this county, the date 
 of his arrival here being March, 1856. He 
 was born in Pennsylvania ]\Iarch 13, 1821. His 
 father, Henry Konklin, died when his son, our sub- 
 ject, was about seventeen years of age. The latter 
 is the j'oungest of a family of five children, all of 
 whom are living. George, who has now reached 
 quite an advanced age, is a resident of Philadel- 
 phia; Mrs. Mary Ann Stackhouse owns a portion 
 of the old homestead in the township of Haver- 
 ford, Delaware County, Pa., but is a resident of New 
 York Citv; Mrs. Eliza Sharpless is the wife of "Will- 
 iam Sharpless, of West Chester, Chester County-, Pa.; 
 William makes his home in Philadelphia. The 
 mother of this family, whose maiden name was 
 Margaret Moore, died on the old homestead in 
 Pennsylvania, at the extreme old age of ninety- 
 three years. 
 
 H. C. Konklin was about seventeen years of age 
 at the time of his father's death, and w^as thus 
 thrown upon his own resources early in life. Soon 
 afterward he left the old home and, going to Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio, engaged as clerk for Oliver Town- 
 send, with whom he continued for one year. From 
 there he went to Louisville, Ky., which was his 
 home for fourteen years. For a number of 3'ears 
 Mr. Konklin w-.as engaged in the clothing business, 
 and was connected with the Courier newspaper 
 
 ofHce in the cap.acity of bookkeeper and hill clerk 
 for a period of five years. That eminent editor 
 and writer, George D. Prentice, was at that time 
 also connected with the Courier, and with him Mr. 
 Konklin became well acquainted. 
 
 Soon after the breaking out of the war with 
 Mexico, our subject decided to enter the arm^-, 
 and on the lltli of Maj', 184(!, he enlisted for one 
 3"ear and fought under Gen. Zachary Tayloi' in the 
 famous I)attle of IJuena A'ista. He h.as ever pos- 
 sessed a great admiration for "Old Hough and 
 Ready," and though a life-long Democrat, es- 
 teemed it a great ple.asure to have the privilege of 
 voting for his old commander in the Presiden- 
 tial election of 1848. At tlie close of his term of 
 service our subject returned to Louisville. 
 
 Mr. Konklin was united in marriage with Miss 
 Elizabeth Stylle, daughter of Thomas St^'lle, for- 
 merly of Richmond, Va. The wedding ceremony 
 was performed in Louisville, Ky. This union has 
 been blessed bj- five children, two sons and three 
 daughters, as follows: Emma is the wife of Gustav 
 Olson; Henry Clay is a railroad engineer and a 
 resident of Chicago; Walter is also an engineer, 
 but makes his home in Kankakee; Hattie is the 
 wife of John Page, of Chicago; and Elizabeth, the 
 youngest of the family, is at home. 
 
 Mr. Konklin came to Kankakee County' through 
 the advice of a friend, Edwin liristow, who had 
 visited this portion of the State and was favorablj' 
 irapiessed with the country. He accordingly, af- 
 ter viewing the county, purch.ased the whole of 
 section 11), in F^ssex Township, the northern half 
 for himself and the southern part for his friend, 
 Mr. Bristow. This property he purchased of Will- 
 iam Short. Mr. Bristow never became a resident 
 of the county-, his purchase being onl^- for specula- 
 tion, Init he however stocked his farm with cattle 
 and made some improvements upon it. His death 
 occurred in April of the following year, 1857. Mr. 
 Konklin owned his land for thirty years, and con- 
 tinued to reside upon it until December, 1884, 
 when he removed to the city of Kankakee. The 
 land, which had cost liira but -i^.) per acre in 1856, 
 he sold to James Mix for $60 per acre. Our sub- 
 ject accidentally discovered that his farm was un- 
 derlaid with a valuable coal bed. Sinking a shaft,
 
 264 
 
 POiiTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 he struck coal at a depth of seventy-two feet be- 
 low the surface, the vein being two feet in thick- 
 ness and ten feet in width. Coal is now being' 
 mined successfully on the place and rich veins are 
 being worked. It is a remarkable fact that this 
 mine is covered with a laj'cr of soapstone, var}'- 
 ing from thirt^^-five to forty-five feet in thickness. 
 Mr. Konklin has seen Kankakee County develop 
 from a wilderness to its present advanced condi- 
 tion of prosperit3-. When he settled with liis fam- 
 ily in Essex Township, there was no house to the 
 north of liis farm for a distance of six miles, and 
 onl3' two houses were to be seen in his vicinitj^, 
 tliose of Dr. Philander Underwood and George 
 Spencer, the latter in Greenfield Township, Grundy 
 County. Mr. Konklin was prominently identified 
 with the growth of Essex Township, where he was 
 Justice of the Peace for twenty-three j'ears, in 
 which capacity he served for five years in Kanka- 
 kee. In his political faith, he is an unswerving 
 Democrat, having voted with that party for fifty 
 years, the onl3' exception being in 1848, when he 
 voted for Gen. Taylor. He is well known through- 
 out Kankakee County, where he has lived so long. 
 As an official, his career has been attended with 
 the confidence and respect of the eommunitj-, and 
 as a citizen lie has ever iiad the regard and esteem 
 of all. Mr. Konklin is a Deacon in the First Pres- 
 byterian Church of Kankakee City. 
 
 ft FRANK LEONARD, of Kankakee, is Clerk 
 of the Circuit Court and ex-officio Recorder 
 of this county. He has served efficiently in 
 the double capacity just mentioned for the 
 long period of twelve years and is a well-known 
 and popular citizen of Kankakee. He was born in 
 Bennington County-, Vt., on the 16th of Sep- 
 tember, 1847. His father, John T. Leonard, was 
 also a native of the Green Mountain State and 
 came from an old family of that State. In 
 1858, witli his family, he emigrated to Illinois and 
 settled on a farm in Aroma Township, this county. 
 
 There he continued to reside until 1869, when he 
 removed to Kankakee to spend his remaining 
 days. His death occurred in August, 1872. His 
 wife, who bore the maiden name of Catherine 
 Woodard,isa sister of Edwin AVoodard,one of the 
 pioneers of this county. Mrs. Leonard still sur- 
 vives and makes her home in Kankakee. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is the only child of 
 his parents. He was reared on the farm, his 
 educational privileges being such as were af- 
 forded b3' the district schools. He attended 
 school both in Vermont and in Kankakee County'. 
 In those days there were but two terms dur- 
 ing the year, one of three months during the 
 winter and one of the same length daring the A 
 summer. In 1867, when he had attained his " 
 twentieth year, he started in business for himself. 
 His first venture was in the liver3' business in 
 Kankakee, in which line he continued for about 
 two j-ears. For nearl3' the same length of time 
 he was emplo3'ed b3' the month in the same 
 vocation. His first official position was that of 
 Constable, in which capacity he served for eight 
 years. He was elected City Marshal and from the 
 3-ear 1869 until 1872 was Deput3' Sheriff. He also 
 served as Supervisor of the town, and was the last 
 City Collector of Kankakee. In the winter of 
 1878-79, Mr. Leonard was one of the Senate 
 Clerks. In the next fall he was made Supervisor 
 of tlie Illinois Hospital for the Insane, which is 
 located at Kankakee. In the spring of 1880, he 
 was nominated Clerk of the Circuit Court and was 
 elected at the annual election in November of that 
 year, and has served in that capacity', as alread3' 
 stated, for twelve consecutive years. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Leonard is an 
 ardent supporter of the Republican partj- and is 
 active and influential in its councils. He is at 
 present Chairman of the Republican County Cen- 
 tral Committee and also of the Congressional Com- 
 mittee. At present he is representing the First 
 Ward of the city on the Board of Aldermen. He 
 is an active and prominent Mason and has oc- 
 cupied the chair of Master of the Blue Lodge. He 
 was High Priest of the Chapter and has been 
 Commander in the Commander3'. He endeavors 
 in his daily life to be guided b3' the teachings of
 
 ■ ■ vr \ium\s
 
 jS*^^ 
 
 'i^^^ 
 
 '1 
 
 
 <U/^
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPfflCAL liECORD, 
 
 2(w 
 
 MasoniT, wliich, if complied with, make men truer 
 friends and better citizens. In disposition, Mr. 
 Leonard is cordial, genial and courteous to all 
 witli whom he has business or social relations. 
 Hence he is a popular and esteemed citizen and 
 has won the confidence and respect of all who 
 know hini. lie is independent and pronounced in 
 his oi>inions as to right or wrong, and has tiie 
 courage of his convictions. He is intelligent and 
 well read, and keei)S fully posted on all the lead- 
 ing political and other issues of the da}'. 
 
 -.^..{..{.^..^^.{.^.^.^j-- 
 
 ■•j-***^^****" 
 
 jf_^ ON. HAMILTON K. WHEELER, attorney- 
 )V, at-law and Congressman-elect, representing 
 ■ the Ninth Congressional District of Illi- 
 ((£)) nois, was born in IJallston , Saiatoga Count\-, 
 N. Y., August 5, 1848, and is a son of Andrew P. 
 and Sarah (.lewett) Wheeler, the former of whom 
 was born in ShaflSbury and the latter in Benning- 
 ton, Vt. The father died at his home in Grant 
 Park, Kankakee County, 111., which had been his 
 home for thirty ^ears. His good wife survives 
 him and resides at the old homestead. 
 
 In presenting the facts pertaining to the life 
 history of our subject, we quote the following ex- 
 tract from the Kankakee Gazette ot Maj^ 12, 1892: 
 " H. K. AVheeler was born in New Yoik, August 
 5, 1848. His parents moved to Yellowhead Town- 
 >liip, Kankakee County, 111., in 18.52, and settled 
 on a farm in that township. Like most pioneers 
 thej- were poor, and our subject had only such ad- 
 vantages for schooling as the frontier furnished, 
 a matter of three months' education each year. 
 Being the eldest of four boys, the duties of assist- 
 ing his parents in their new home fell on him, such 
 work as herding cattle, driving oxen with break- 
 ing-plow, etc., falling to his share. Added to his 
 school advantages, his mother had a few well-se- 
 lected books, such as Franklin's " Poor Richard," 
 Addison's "Spectator" and a few works of his- 
 torv. These, with such books as she could borrow 
 in the neighborhood from the earliest settlers, 
 constituted the library. At nineteen years of age 
 
 he was without education except such as he had 
 acquired in the common schools, his parents, while 
 very desirous that he should have educational ad- 
 vantages, being still unable to send him to school. 
 
 " Leaving home he came to Kankakee and suc- 
 ceeded in securing a place witli A. II. True, then 
 living on a farm on the outskirts of Kankakee, 
 and here he worked mornings and evenings and 
 attended school during the day. The following 
 year he entered St. Paul's Academy, a nourishing 
 school at Kankakee, and for four succeeding years 
 his time was divided between attending and teach- 
 ing school and studying law. His legal educa- 
 tion was obtained prineii<ally at the Law Hniver- 
 sitj- at Ann Arbor, Mich., from which institution 
 he was graduated in the year 1872. At that time 
 the law required that a student should stud}' two 
 years before he could be admitted to the Bar, and 
 as our subject had studied only eighteen months 
 he could not be admitted. He commenced, how- 
 ever, to practice at once and was admitted tlie fol- 
 lowing September. Since that time he has prac- 
 ticed law in Kankakee and has had an extensive 
 practice, including all cases of litigation except 
 criminal cases, which he has rarely undertaken. 
 
 "For a number of years Mr. Wheeler has been 
 engaged in bitter litigation against the Illinois 
 Central, Chicago iV- Eastern Illinois, and the Chi- 
 cago, Cleveland, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad 
 Companies, which cases are still pending in the 
 Apijcllate, Supreme and Federal Courts. 
 
 "In 1884 our subject was elected to the State 
 Senate from Iroquois and Kankakee Counties. On 
 the organization of the Senate, he was given the 
 chairmanship of the Committee on .Judiciary, that 
 being the second committee in rank in the Senate. 
 He also served on the Committees on Agriculture, 
 Appropriations, Insurance, Municipalities, Finance, 
 Education, Military Affairs and Elections. Mr. 
 Wheeler was one of the one hundred and three who 
 made the gallant light lesulting in the election of 
 Gen. Logan to the United States Senate, and took 
 an active part in the contest. In the Thirty-fifth 
 General Assembly he was again assigned to the 
 same committees, and at that session was one of 
 the special committee appointed by the Senate to 
 investigate the ' State Printing Combine,' which
 
 268 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 committee made a report finding that the State 
 printing had been uulawf iilly let at too high a price 
 and recommending the annulment of that con- 
 tract, which decision was afterward sustained by 
 the Supreme Court of the State and a new con- 
 tract made at a much lower price, thus saving 
 thousands of dollars to the State. 
 
 "In 1888 Mr. Wheeler closed out his farming 
 interests in this county, which he had prior to 
 that time carried on under his own supervision, 
 and since then has devoted his attention exclu- 
 sively to his profession. His practice is an exten- 
 sive one, including some of tlie most important 
 cases handled at the Bar. Our subject is not an 
 orator but has the faculty of concise and lucid ex- 
 pression, stating his points clearly and briefly. He 
 is quick to see a point, forms his conclusions rap- 
 idly and acts promptly. His practical knowledge 
 of men and business makes him a valuable advo- 
 cate in litigation, and in presenting the issues of 
 the forthcoming campaign he will be found a 
 ready and effective speaker. He is a hard worker, 
 and as a member of Congress his energy will be 
 felt in the committee-room. Personally, Mr. 
 Wheeler is the most genial of men, with a hearti- 
 ness of manner which makes a friend of whomso- 
 ever he meets. His fund of anecdotes is one of 
 the pleasant features of his conversation, and he 
 has a story to embellish everj' subject under dis- 
 cussion. He is not by an}- means rich, but his fine 
 practice, unremitting attention to business, and 
 judicious investments have placed liim in com- 
 fortable circumstances." 
 
 In 1890 the Ninth Congressional District of Illi- 
 nois was carried b}' the Democrats, who elected 
 Mr. Snow over Mr. Payson, a popular Republican, 
 then the Congressman from that district. In No- 
 vember, 1892, Mr. Wheeler, in spite of the great 
 political landslide that swept the countrj' in favor 
 of the Democrats that year, was elected over Mr. 
 Snow by five hundred and twent}' pluralitj-, thus 
 demonstrating his great personal popularity. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Wheeler was appointed general so- 
 licitor of the Indiana, Illinois A' Iowa Railroad 
 Companj- and has held .that position ever since, 
 covering a period of eight years. He was instru- 
 mental in securing the right of way through east- 
 
 ern Illinois almost without litigation, and in a fair 
 and just manner to the land-owners and to the 
 satisfaction of the company. He has conducted 
 some very important cases against other lines of 
 railways with marked success. For ten years past 
 Mr. Wheeler has been the acknowledged leader of 
 the Kankakee County Bar and has made important 
 cases of civil litigation the principal feature of his 
 practice, in which he has been eminently suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 On the loth of October, 1883, Mr. Wheeler was 
 married in Kankakee to Miss Mar}' A. Braley,who 
 was born in Hamilton, N. Y., and is a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have three 
 sons: Lester AV., Everett S. and Hamilton H. Our 
 subject is a stockholder and director in the City 
 National Bank of Kankakee, and is a stockholder 
 and member of the Board of Directors of the Kan- 
 kakee Electric Street Railroad Compan}% He is 
 the principal owner of the Kankakee Ice Com- 
 pany, in which his eldest son, Lester, is his partner 
 and local manager. In the summer of 1892, Mr. 
 Wheeler entered into law partnership with Will- 
 iam R. Hunter, the present States Attorney for 
 Kankakee County, under the firm name of Wheeler 
 & Hunter. 
 
 4^ 
 
 ^p^ HARLES HOLT, editor and proprietor of 
 [if^.^ the Kankakee Oazelte, has made his home 
 ■^^z in this city for a period of twenty-four 
 years, dating his residence from 1868. No man 
 has done more to mold public opinion in this lo- 
 cality or to advance the best interests of the 
 people tiian the gentleman whose name heads this 
 record, and it is but meet that he should be duly 
 represented in this volume. 
 
 Mr. Holt is a native of New York. He was born 
 in Herkimer, on the 5th of March, 1817, and his 
 family were a family of printers. His father 
 learned the trade of printing in the New London 
 (Conn.) Bee office with his brother Charles be- 
 tween the year 1790 and 1800. He was aferward 
 connected with one of the earliest New York City
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 269 
 
 dailies, and in 1801 published a paper in Herkimer. 
 At later periods he also did editorial work in that 
 place. Thus it was not strange that our subject 
 should enter the journalistic field. In January, 
 183(1, when thirteen years of age, he entered an 
 anti-Mason printing otiice and between the years 
 of 1836 and 18l() he w.is employed at newspajier 
 work in tlie cities of Albany and New York, dur- 
 ing which time he wasenipkncd upon the Trtbune. 
 under Horace Greeley and the Journal under 
 Thurlow Reed. lie also worked in book offices. 
 
 It was in 1816 that ]\Ir. Holt emigrated west- 
 ward, locating in Madison, Wis. The State had 
 not then been admitted to the Union. In 1848 
 he purchased a half interest in the Jancsville 
 Gazelle, and in company with Levi Alden estab- 
 lished the second daily paper in Wisconsin outside 
 of Milwaukee. Mr. Holt reported for the Milwa\i- 
 kee Sentinel the proceedings of the first Constitu- 
 tional Convention, which was held in 184C, and in 
 1848, after the adoption of the State Constitution, 
 he performed a similar service for the same paper 
 in reporting the proceedings of the first State Leg- 
 islature. For a considerable number of years Mr. 
 Holt acted as reporter for the Milwaukee Sentinel 
 at all the political State conventions held in Wis- 
 consin and in this way formed a wide acquain- 
 tance with men of prominence, both in political 
 and journalistic lines. He also made many warm 
 friends among these gentlemen. On leaving Wis- 
 consin he was fourth in seniority' among the men 
 then activeljf connected with the press of the 
 State, Mr. Cramer, still of Milwaukee Wis., Col. 
 Robinson, of the Green Bay Advocate, and Gen. : 
 Atwood, of the Madison Journal, both now de- 
 ceased, being his seniors. 
 
 Mr. Holt left the Badger State and became a 
 resident of Quincy, 111., where he formed a partner- 
 ship with J. J. Langdon, an old-time Chicago 
 printer and fireman, formerly a member of the 
 firm of Langdon <& Rounds. For four j^ears Mr. 
 Holt and JMr. Langdon were associated in the pub- 
 lication of the Quincy Whig. He then sold his in- 
 terest in that paper and in 1868 came to Kankakee, 
 where he has since continued to reside. During 
 the long years that have passed he has contin- 
 uously published the Kankakee Gazette, one of 
 
 the leading and well-known papers of northern 
 Illinois. For over sixty years Mr. Holt lias been 
 in a printing oflice and his experience as a news- 
 paper editor and imblisher covers a period of 
 forty-four years. Tliis experience and marked 
 ability have won him signal success, and it is no 
 (lattery to say that he occupies a high position 
 among newspaper men. He was one of the ear- 
 liest members of the Wisconsin Press Association, 
 which claims to be the earliest State Press Associa- 
 tion in the United States. He became a member 
 of the Illinois Press Association in 1869, and was 
 elected its President in 1881. He was a member 
 of the committee that prepared the platform of 
 the Republican party on the organization in Wis- 
 consin, and has since been a warm advocate of 
 the principles of that body. 
 
 -^ji RTHUR SWANNELL is junior member of 
 AJll the firm of C. E. & A. Swannell, dry-goods 
 merchants of Kankakee. (For mention of 
 business, see sketch of C. E. Swannell.) 
 He was born in the city of Kankakee on the 14th 
 of November, 1858, and is a son of Frederick and 
 Eliza (Paddon) Swannell, whose sketch is given 
 on another page of this volume. 
 
 Arthur Swannell first attended the public schools 
 of his native citv and then became a student in 
 the State University, which is located at Cham- 
 paign, 111., from which he graduated in the Class 
 of '79, after completing a four-years course. 
 Thereupon he began his mercantile career as a 
 salesman in his father's store, and in August of 
 the following year he entered into the existing 
 partnership with his brother, Charles E., they hav- 
 ing purchased their father's interest in the old 
 established and well-known dry-goods house of 
 Frederick Swannell ife Co. 
 
 In Brush Creek, Fayette County, Iowa, on the 
 loth of January, 1885, occurred the marriage of 
 Mr. Swannell and Miss Florence Misoner, who is a 
 daughter of D. W. Misener, and was born in Can-
 
 270 
 
 i-ORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ada. Four childreu have been born to our subject 
 and his wife, three sons and a daughter, all of 
 whom claim Kankakee as the place of their birth. 
 They are as follows: Frederick W., Jeannette, 
 Horace C. and William Laurence. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Swannell hold membership with 
 the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church of Kanka- 
 kee. On the question of politics our subject is a 
 Republican. In social and all other circles Mr. 
 Swannell is well and favorably known, and has the 
 well-merited regard of all his fellow-citizens. 
 
 > , ■ > I > > p fa y h 
 
 » I r . f -r^. 
 
 ^R. CHARLES TRUE, No. 240 Dearborn 
 Avenue, Kankakee, is a native of Indi- 
 ana, and was born at South Bend, on the 
 28th of August, 1843. His parents, Gly- 
 don and Eliza (Lowr}') True, were natives of New 
 England, the father's birth occurring in southern 
 Maine, and the mother's in Burlington, Vt. They 
 were married in South Bend, hid., and in the win- 
 ter of 1843-44 removed with their children to Pal- 
 estine, Crawford County, 111. Soon afterward 
 they went to Carroll County, in the same State, 
 where the father died in 1848. 
 
 Deprived of a father's care at a tender age, our 
 subject early learned the lesson of self-reliance. 
 His education was received in the public schools. 
 On the breaking out of the war, Mr. True, then 
 but eighteen 3'ears of age, entered the military 
 service of the United States in August, 1861, as a 
 member of Companj' K, First Illinois Cavalry, 
 and served until the last of October, 1862, when, 
 on account of physical disabilit}', he received an 
 honorable discharge. 
 
 On returning from the army. Dr. True made his 
 home in Prairie du Chien, Wis., where he entered 
 upon the study of medicine nnder the preceptor- 
 ship of Dr. B. D. Eastman, a prominent physician 
 of that city. During the winter of 1864-65, Dr. 
 True took a course of lectures at Rush Medical 
 College, of Chicago, after which he was employed 
 as surgeon in the Government Hospital at Prairie 
 du Chien for six months. The following winter 
 
 he resumed his studies at Rush Medical College, 
 and was graduated therefrom in the Class of '65-66. 
 lie then established himself in practice in Lan- 
 sing, Iowa, subsequentl3' removing to Winnebago 
 County, 111. From there he went to Chicago in 
 the f.Tll of 1869, and after getting fairly estab- 
 lished in tliat cit}' was burned out in the great 
 fire of 1871, after which he removed to Chats- 
 worth, III., where he pursued the practice of his 
 profession until May 1, 1887, when he came to 
 Kankakee, and has since been in successful prac- 
 tice in this cit3% 
 
 In September, 1865, in Prairie du Chien, Wis., 
 Dr. True and Miss Enelie Brisbois were married. 
 Mrs. True was born in that city, where her par- 
 ents. Col. Bernard B. and Theresa (Lachapelle) 
 Brisbois, were also born, their families having been 
 among the old historic French residents of AVis- 
 consin territory. The maternal grandfather of 
 Mrs. True was one of the Territorial Governors of 
 AVisconsin. The Doctor and his wife are the par- 
 ents of three children, two daughters and a son: 
 Jessie Theresa, Bernard B. and Agnes J. 
 
 Politicallj', Dr. True is a Republican. He is a 
 member of AVhipple Post No. 414, G. A. R., and 
 of the Kankakee County Medical Society. He has 
 had an extensive practice for many 3'ears and 
 takes rank as an experienced physician and sur- 
 geon. He is frequeutl3' called in counsel in criti- 
 cal cases, where his thorough knowledge and skill 
 in his profession command the confidence and 
 respect of his fellow-practitioners. 
 
 — <g i 
 
 :>^^<^=^-> 
 
 ^IRST NATIONAL BANK of Kankakee was 
 incorporated April 23, 1871, with an au- 
 thorized capital of $200,000, and a paid-up 
 capital of $50,000. The first otlicers were the same 
 as the present and have held their respective posi- 
 tions uninterruptedly for twenty-one 3'ears. Emor3' 
 Cobb is President; T. P. Bonfleld, Vice-President; 
 H.C.Clarke, Cashier; and Thomas AV. Adams, As- 
 sistant Cashier. The following-named gentleman 
 compose the present Board of Directors: Emory
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 L'71 
 
 Cobb, T. P. Bonfield, L. TV. Cobb, George R. 
 Lctourneau and II. C. Clarke. The former char- 
 ter expired April 23, 1891, and was renewed for 
 twenty years from that date. 
 
 This bank has done a large and increasing busi- 
 ness from the start and has been ably and safely 
 managed. Its present surplus capital amounts to 
 $22,000. Its otticers and directors are well-known 
 citizens of the highest reputation in business cir- 
 cles. They are enterprising, yet conservative, and 
 by their judicious and correct business methods 
 have won for the bank a foremost place among 
 tlie financial institutions of the State. 
 
 ^il\ A.J. RICHARD J. HANNA, of Kankakee, 
 // i\\ is one of the well-known pioneers of this 
 county. His parents were Thomas and 
 Elizabeth (Bird) Ilanua. The birth of 
 Maj. Ilanna occurred at Staten Island, N. Y., on 
 the 24th of October, 1835. He received a good 
 education in the city schools and learned tlie car- 
 penter's trade in New York Citj'. 
 
 Mr. Ilanna was married on tlie 7th of August, 
 1854, to Miss Ann Frith, a native of England, 
 and to thoni liave been born five cliiidrcn. Two 
 •sons, William I>. and George E., died in infancy. 
 The only surviving son is Isaac Bird Ilanna, a 
 prominent business man of Kankakee. The daugh- 
 ters are Carrie E. and Lizzie M. 
 
 On the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion 
 Maj. Ilanna enlisted in the defense of his country, 
 and was made Orderly-Sergeant of Company H, 
 One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Infantry'. 
 He participated in many of the fierce and leading 
 battles of the war, among which we mention 
 Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, siege of Mcks- 
 burg, Milliken's Bend, Spanish Fort and Mobile. 
 In June, 1863, our sul)jeet was promoted, for 
 braver}' and fidelity, to a captaincy in the Fiftj'- 
 first United States Colored Infantry, and in April, 
 1865, was commissioned ]\Iajor. He was honorably 
 discharged in June, 1866. In the time of his 
 
 country's peril he was ever at the post of duly 
 and was one of the Union's brave defenders. 
 
 In the year 1855, Maj. Ilanna became a citizen 
 of Kankakee County, at wliicli time he settled in 
 Otto Township, and the year following engaged 
 in merchandising in the village of Chebanse. On 
 returning from tiic war he came to Kankakee, 
 whither his family had removed in his aijsence. 
 He embarked in the grocery trade and soon built 
 up a thriving and successful business. 
 
 The Major lias served his fellow-citizens in var- 
 ious official capacities and in 1H82 was appointed 
 Postmaster of Kankakee, and served in that office 
 for a number of years. In 1880, lie was elected as 
 a delegate to the Chicago National Convention 
 and was one of the famous three hundred and six 
 who stood to the last for the nomination of Gen. 
 Grant. "Slnj. Hanna has ever been an ardent Re- 
 publican and has always possessed mucii intluence 
 in the councils of the Republican part}-. He is 
 liighly respected as a citizen and business man for 
 Ills integrity and progressive public spirit. For 
 nearly forty years he has been actively identified 
 with tlie welfare, growth and prosperit}' of this 
 vicinity and has ever used all means in his power 
 to advance the welfare of his fellow-citizens. A 
 devoted patriot in the time of his ciiuii try's need, 
 he has carried the same spirit tlirough the days of 
 peace and prosperit}' which have succeeded and 
 discharges his duties as a citizen with faithfulness 
 and zeal. 
 
 ROE. FRANK N. TRACY is the efficient 
 Superintendent of the schools of Kan- 
 kakee. To the public schools of our 
 country wc are indebted, as a nation, for 
 the general intelligence that pervades the masses 
 of the people. If the safely of our institutions 
 and the permanence of the Republic depend upon 
 the education of the masses, as is often asserted, 
 and of which there can be no doubt, how impor- 
 tant it is that the best efforts of our best educators 
 be devoted to the development of the public
 
 272 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 school s^'Stem and to a more thorough investiga- 
 tion of the most approved methods for advancing 
 the cause of general education. Daniel Webster 
 said that the prosperity and success of New Eng- 
 land was due to her free public schools. 
 
 The public schools of Kankakee have attained 
 a high order of excellence and can compare 
 favorably with the best in the State of Illinois. 
 For their excellence the public is indebted in a 
 large degree to the efflcieul Superintendent, Prof. 
 B>ank N. Tracy, whose management dates from 
 the beginning of the school year in 1881. 
 
 Mr. Tracy is a native of the State of New York, 
 his birtli having occurred in Schuj-ler County in 
 1849. The daj^s of bis b03'hood and youth were 
 spent in the county of his nativity in the usual 
 manner of farmer lads. During the summer months 
 he worked in the fields and performed other parts 
 of farm labor, while in the winter season he at- 
 tended tlie district schools of the neighborhood. 
 Thus was his time passed until he reached his sev- 
 enteenth year, when, having obtained sufficient 
 education to enable him to teach a country school, 
 he secured such a position. From that time for a 
 number of years Mr. Tracy alternately taught and 
 attended school. Not content with the educa- 
 tional privileges he had hitherto received, as soon 
 as possible he entered upon a course of study in 
 the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary and College, lo- 
 cated in Lima, N. Y. These schools were among 
 the most noted institutions of learning in the 
 western part of the Empire State. The college is 
 now known as the Syracuse Universit3% having 
 been removed from Lima to Sj'racuse, N. Y., and 
 re-christened a number of years ago. 
 
 Prof. Tracjr was married in tlie State of his na- 
 tivity August 11, 1875, the lady of his choice 
 being IMiss Adella Boothe. Mrs. Tracy was Princi- 
 pal of the High School of Kankakee for four years. 
 Our subject has thus far made teaching his life 
 work. He made a permanent location in the West 
 in 1876, and in the years which have since elapsed 
 has resided continuously in Illinois. He secured 
 a position as Principal of the schools of George- 
 town, where he remained for four j^ears, and for 
 one year he held a similar position in Danville. 
 From the latter place he came to Kankakee about 
 
 eleven years ago. Both he and his wife are active 
 members of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, of 
 Kankakee. 
 
 This city has made a substantial growth in pop- 
 ulation, industries, wealth and importance since 
 1880, but in no direction lias the improvement 
 j been more marked than in its public schools. In 
 that year the High School dei)artment had l)ut 
 about forty enrolled members. It now has nearly 
 one hundred and twenty-four, while the entire 
 enrollment in the public schools is about fourteen 
 hundred. Prof. Tracy is, as all know, a well- 
 educated man, and he has the excellent faculty of 
 easily imparting his knowledge to others. Wher- 
 ever known he is recognized as an able instructor, 
 and the citizens of Kankakee may indeed feel grate- 
 ful to him for the work he has done in promoting 
 the excellence of her public schools. Socially, he 
 is connected with the Royal Arcanum, Modern 
 Woodmen, Kankakee Club and Round Table Club. 
 
 ^^^-i^^^ 
 
 ellARLES E. VOSS, an enterprising citizen 
 and a well-known photographer of Kanka- 
 kee, established his present business in this 
 place in the year 1879, but became a resident of 
 this city two years previous to that time. He is 
 now located at No. 207 Court Street, where he' 
 has a pleasant gallery. 
 
 Mr. Voss claims Indiana as the State of his na- 
 tivity, his birth having occurred in Bloomington, 
 on the 26th of February, 1853. He is a son of 
 Emery Voss. His father was one of the early 
 settlers of Bloomington, but is now deceased. His 
 mother was, prior to her marriage, Miss Rachel 
 Pitts. She also has departed this life. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth quietly in his parents' home, and the public 
 schools afforded him his educational privileges. 
 When a young man he began learning the trade 
 of a marble cutter in the shop of T. H. Sudbury, 
 of Bloomington, Ind. Having mastered the busi- 
 ness, he determined to come to Kankakee, 111., and 
 in 1877 he carried out this resolution. Soon after
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 273 
 
 his arrival here he secured work with the firm of 
 Riddle Bro., and was an employe in their shop 
 for about two years. lie tben took uji his present 
 art, and, as before stated, establislied liimself in busi- 
 ness in 1879. He has since carried on operations 
 in the line of photograpiiy witli good success, for 
 he possesses a thorough knowledge of his business 
 and lias ever aimed to keep abreast with the times 
 and the great advancement that is being con- 
 stantly made in the photographic art. His operat- 
 ing room is furnished with the most approved ap- 
 pliances pertaining to photograph}'. 
 
 On the 23d of December, 1880, in this city, 
 Mr. Voss was married to IMiss Josie Babel, who 
 is a representative of one of the early families 
 of tliis community. Her fatlier. Christian Babel, 
 came to Kankakee in 1854, but died three years 
 later, in 18.57. Two children grace the union of 
 our subject and his wife: Harr}- and Emory. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Voss are well-known citizens of Kanka- 
 kee who hold an enviable position in social circles. 
 The success which has crowned his business efforts 
 is justly deserved, being the reward of earnest and 
 untiring labor. He now receives a liberal share of 
 the public patronage and he is esteemed as one of 
 the progressive and enterprising citizens of Kan- 
 kakee. 
 
 ^RGAILOUS B. NICHOLS, one of the 
 
 (C'"*:£Ji earliest pioneers of Kankakee County, has 
 resided within the territory embraced in 
 this county for half a century, and settled 
 therein some eleven years prior to its formation, 
 or the beginning of the settlement of Kankakee. 
 He was born in Pultneyville, Waj'ne Count}', 
 N. Y., March 27, 1824, and is the eldest of a fam- 
 ily of seven sons and two daughters, the children 
 of Roswell C. and Mary (Durfee) Nichols, all of 
 whom are now living, with the exception of one 
 daughter. (See sketch of Roswell Nichols else- 
 where in this work.) 
 
 The subject of this sketch removed with his 
 parents when a child of four years to a farm a 
 
 mile and a-half distant from Palmyra, Ontario 
 County, N. Y. lie attended school in Palmyra, 
 and was reared to agricultural pursuits. In June, 
 1842. he emigrated with his parents to Illinois and 
 made his home with them on the west bank of the 
 Kankakee River, in what is now Limestone Town- 
 ship, Kankakee Count}', then a part of Iroquois 
 County. There he and his brothers helped their 
 father make a home and improve a farm. Their 
 first winter's work consisted in making several 
 thousand fence rails, with which to enclose fields 
 for cultivation. The father's original farm com- 
 prised six hundred and forty acres, but this he in- 
 creased by subsequent purchase until he had some 
 fifteen hundred acres. 
 
 The fall before becoming of age, A. B. Nichols, as 
 our subject is usually called, was married to Miss 
 Cynthia Elmira Hawkins, a daughter of Alenson 
 Hawkins. Mrs. Nichols was born in Ashtabula, 
 Ohio, December 17, 1824, and died in Kankakee 
 .June 11, 1860, leaving three children, two daugh- 
 ters and a son. Burton E., the eldest, born April 1, 
 1846, in Limestone Township, married Miss Anna 
 Dennis, and resides in .Sioux City, Iowa, where he 
 is serving as commercial agent for the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, in charge of the 
 freight and passenger business; socially he is a 
 Knight Templar. Mary, widow of Joseph Whit- 
 more, resides in Dubuque, Iowa. Cynthia Ellen is 
 the wife of John Dugan, of AValdron, Kankakee 
 County. On the 1st of November, I860, Mr. 
 Nichols married Miss Sarah Graham, eldest daugh- 
 ter of James and Mary (Nichols) Graham, of 
 Momeuce, 111. Mrs. Nichols was born February 9, 
 1837, in Terre Haute, Ind., and came to this 
 county with her parents in 1838. 
 
 Soon after taking a wife, Mr. Nichols settled in 
 a log cabin on a place his father had given him 
 and began to develop a farm. About three years 
 later he started a small store on his farm, this be- 
 ing the first established between Wilmington and 
 Old Middleport. He also ran an eiglit-horse power 
 circular saw that would cut about twenty-five hun- 
 dred feet of lumber per day. These industries made 
 others necessary. He accordingly secured a black- 
 smith, cooper and two shoemakers, all of whom he 
 furnished shops to work in. The collection of build-
 
 274 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ings took on the appearance of a village, and as 
 most of the houses were constructed of slabs, the 
 place was called Slabtown. 
 
 Business in those days was done almost wholly 
 on credit, and this not being satisfactory to Mr. 
 Nichols, he loaded his goods into a wagon and 
 sold them out to settlers on the Iroquois River, 
 Spring Creek, Vermillion, Ambraw and Okaw 
 Rivers. He made the round trip everj' four 
 weeks, and in addition to selling goods bought 
 furs and hides. Having continued this business 
 for four 3'ears, he sold out, moved to Kankakee 
 and conducted a very large meat market, shipping 
 live stock extensively as well. His next venture 
 was to establish an auction store, selling dry goods 
 and notions. For nine years he was in the furni- 
 ture business in partnership with his brother, J. 
 D. Nichols. As an auctioneer our subject has had 
 an extended experience and enjo3-s a remarkable 
 popularity. In 1846 he began to cry sales, and 
 without interruption has followed auctioneering 
 since. For sixteen ^-ears he auctioned off goods at 
 fairs. Chromos that now sell at from seventy-five 
 cents to ¥l, he sold at from $G to 88. He is one 
 of the best-known and most successful auctioneers 
 in eastern Illinois, his business extending over 
 this and adjoining States. 
 
 Since 1853 Mr. Nichols h.as been a resident of 
 Kankakee, though at the time of his moving here 
 it was beginning its exisLence as a station on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad. He took an active paYt 
 in the organization of the county, and has since 
 been identified with its growth. Our subject sold 
 his farm several years ago and invested in Kanka- 
 kee city propertj', at the present time being the 
 owner of nine dwelling houses besides his fine re- 
 sidence and twenty-four cit}' lots. He is a thor- 
 ough business man, possessed of good executive 
 ability and a quick and correct judgment as to 
 values. He has been eminently successful in all 
 his undertakings. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Nichols is a Republican, and 
 while living in Limestone Township was Town 
 Clerk and held other town offices. He is liberal 
 in his vievvs regarding religion and does not affili- 
 ate with any especial denomination. His experi- 
 ence in the world has been extensive and varied 
 
 and his course in business such as to command the 
 respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens. Mr. 
 Nichols took an active part in the formation of 
 Kankakee County. 
 
 ^ 
 
 <|i felLTJAM A. MoGILLIS has been a resident 
 \/iJ// ^^ Kankakee since 1882. He is a con- 
 W^ tractor by occupation and has had a large 
 experience in the construction of railroads and in 
 Stale and Government contracts. 
 
 Mr. McGillis was born in Lancaster, Canada, in 
 1838, and is of Scotch ancestry. His father, An- 
 gus McGillis, was a native of Canada, but the 
 father of the latter, Donald, emigrated to the New 
 World from Inverness in the Highlands of Scot- 
 land, a land made immortal by the gallant deeds 
 of a noble race. The mother of our subject, who 
 was in her maidenhood Janet McRae, was born in 
 Scotland. Of the immediate famil3' of Mr. Mc- 
 Gillis but one brother and a sister yet survive, 
 Findley, who resides in Canada, as does also the 
 only sister. 
 
 Mr. McGillis grew to manhood upon a farm but 
 began railroading at an early age. When a youth 
 he commenced in an humble capacity' in the serv- 
 ice of the Grand Trunk Railroad in Canada. In 
 1859 he went to ]\Iichigan and engaged as a con- 
 tractor on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. 
 Going thence to Indiana in the same capacity he 
 became a resident of Kankakee, as already stated, 
 in 1882. For the ten years previous Mr. McGillis 
 was connected with the Indianapolis, Bloomington 
 & Western Railroad, now known as the "Big Four." 
 Since coming to Kankakee he has been largely in- 
 terested and engaged in the business of drainage. 
 He has the honor of having placed in successful 
 operation the first steam dredge for the purpose of 
 drainage in this State. This machine, manufact- 
 ured by the Bucyrus Steam Dredge Company, 
 has revolutionized and made comparatively simple 
 the drainage and reclamation of large areas of 
 hitherto worthless swamp land. One of our sub-
 
 iLLiiVP
 
 
 i^L 
 
 -n^tZ'7■^^^^^
 
 
 II:. 
 
 
 
 lZ A--^ f
 
 Ui 
 
 Or .- 
 HHlVERSriY Of ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 279 
 
 jeet's largest contracts was for the drainage of an 
 area of sixt^'-five hundred acres of State land in 
 the soiiUiwestern part of Illinois. This gigantic 
 undertaking involved the construction of a ditch 
 eighteen miles in length, ten feet in depth and 
 sixtv feet in width. At jjresent Jlr. McGillis is 
 engaged upon a Government contract on the Cal- 
 umet River, south of Chicago. 
 
 In Indiana occurred the marriage of Mr. Mc- 
 Gillis to Miss Mary Dolan, who is a native of Can- 
 ada. They have one of the most beautiful homes 
 in the city of Kankakee, it being located on Hour- 
 bonnais Street and Chicago Avenue. In business 
 life Mr. McGillis has been very successful, having 
 risen b3' his own unassisted efforts from a most 
 humble position to his present condition of pros- 
 perity and influence. 
 
 Socially, Mr. McGillis is a member of the Cath- 
 olic Order of Foresters. He is one of the nine 
 men wlio platted North Kankakee, and brought the 
 factories there, and wlio have done moie to de- 
 velop the city of Kankakee than an^' others. 
 
 
 il RA A. SERENE, who resides on section 30, is 
 II one of the thrift}- and substantial farmers of 
 'li Pilot Township. He now owns and oijerates 
 two hundred and fortj' acres of good land, consti- 
 tuting one of the best farms in this locality. His 
 fields are well tilled and yield to him a golden 
 tribute in return for the care and labor he bestows 
 upon them. He has good improvements upon the 
 place, and the neat and orderly appearance of his 
 farm indicates the owner to be a man of practical 
 and progressive ideas. His home is pleasantl}- sit- 
 uated about two miles from Ilerscher. 
 
 Tlie life record of Mr. Serene is as follows: He 
 was born in Dutchess Count}-, N. Y., Januaiy 24, 
 1845, and is a son of Absalom and Helen (Brinker- 
 hoff) Serene. The paternal graudfatlier of our 
 subject, James Serene, was also a native of the 
 Empire State. The famil}- is of French origin and 
 was established in America during the early daj's 
 of New York. Absalom Serene was born in Wor- 
 
 13 
 
 cester County, that State, and there grew to man- 
 hood and was educated. When a young man, he 
 went to Dutchess County, and was there united in 
 marriage with Miss Brinkerhoff, a native of that 
 count}-, and a daugliter of Derrick Brinkerhoff. 
 Her father was a native of that State, and came of 
 a family which located on Long Island in 1638. 
 After iiis marriage, Mr. Serene was engaged in the 
 hotel business in Dutcliess Count}- for about twenty- 
 one years. He then determined to seek a home in 
 the West, and in 18.55 made his way to Illinois, lo- 
 cating in La Salle County, wliere he purchased an 
 improved farm and engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits. He was thus employed for fourteen years, 
 after which he sold out and came to Kankakee 
 County. Here he purciiased the farm on which 
 our subject now resides, and continued to make it 
 his home until his deatli, wliich occurred Au- 
 gust 2, 1884, at the very advanced age of ninety- 
 three years. His remains were interred in Pilot 
 Cemetery, where a suitable monument has been 
 erected to his memory. In his early life Mr. Ser- 
 ene was a Jackson Democrat, but on tlie organiza- 
 tion of the Republican party joined its ranks and 
 continued to be one of its stanch supporters 
 throughout the remainder of his life. In religious 
 belief, he was a Presbyterian. Mrs. Serene still 
 survives her husband, and now makes her home 
 with the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Ira Serene is the only surviving member of a 
 family of three children who grew to mature years. 
 The first ten years of his life were spent in the 
 State of his nativity, after which he accompanied 
 his parents to Illinois. He was reared to manhood 
 in La Salle County in the usual manner of farmer 
 lads. He received good school privileges, and af- 
 ter attending the common schools, he became a 
 student in Jennings' Seminary. Some years prior 
 to his father's death, he took charge of the home 
 farm and has since devoted his time and attention 
 to agricultural pursuits. 
 
 September 22, 1869, in Morris, Grundy County, 
 III., Mr. Serene was united in marriage with Elma 
 Jones, who was a nativej of La Salle County, 
 and a daughter of William L. F. and Lucj- (Daven- 
 port) Jones, the former one of the lionored pio- 
 neers of La Salle County. With his family he re-
 
 280 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 moved to that place in 1836. He was a native of 
 Rutland County, Vt., and when a young man left 
 the Green Mountain State for the West. By trade 
 he was a blacksmith, and was one of the first to 
 follow that business in La Salle County. Later in 
 life he engaged in farming. This worthy gentle- 
 man was called to the home beyond in 1882. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Serene have been born two children, 
 a son and daughter, Benton and Stella. Tlie for- 
 mer is now attending school in Herscher. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Serene hold membership with no 
 religious organization, but attend and give ttieir 
 sup])ort to tiie Presbyterian Church. Socially, he 
 is connected with the Masonic order, belonging to 
 Cabery Lodge. In politics, he is a Republican, 
 having voted with that party since he cast his first 
 Presidential ballot for Gen. U. S. Grant in 1868. 
 The honors and emoluments of public olllce have 
 had no attraction for him however, he preferring 
 to keep out of the political arena and devote his 
 attention to his business interests. Mr. Serene lias 
 passed almost his entire life in this State, and for 
 twenty-four years has resided in Kankakee County. 
 He is now widely and favorably known, and he 
 and his estimable wife well deserve representation 
 in this volume. 
 
 '^ OSHUA GRAY, who devotes his time and 
 attention to farming, owning a good tract 
 of land on section 2,PilotTownsliip, is one 
 of the honored pioneers of Kankakee 
 Connty. He here located in 1854, since which 
 time he has witnessed the growth and upbuilding 
 of the county, and has also borne his share in its 
 development and advancement. He has seen and 
 known the hardships of pioneer life, and has also 
 watched the strides of progress which have trans- 
 formed this county from a pioneer settlement to 
 one of the foremost counties in the commonwealth 
 of Illinois. As one of the early settlers, our sub- 
 ject certainly deserves representation in this vol- 
 ume. 
 
 Mr. Gray is a native of New York. He was born 
 
 in Albany County, December 14, 1844, and is the 
 youngest son in a family of nine children. His 
 parents. Christian and Barbara (Ostrander) Gray, 
 were both natives of the same county. Tlie ma- 
 ternal grandfatlier, Samuel Ostrander, was born in 
 the Moliawk Valley, where liis ancestors located at 
 an early day. The Gray family is of English origin, 
 their first settlement being in the Mohawk Val- 
 ley. After his marriage, Christian Gray engaged 
 in farming in Albany County, N. Y., for a number 
 of years. It was in 1854 that he turned his face 
 toward the setting sun, having resolved to seek a 
 fortune on the prairies of the West. He chose 
 Kankakee County as the scene of his future labors, 
 and located in Salina Township, near the present 
 town of Bonfleld. The county was then in its 
 earl}- infancy. Wild game of all kinds was found 
 in abundance, including deer, and wolves were also 
 frequently killed. Mr. Gray purchased a small 
 tract of eighty acres, on which was a little house, 
 but to this farm he added from time to time. Tlie 
 land he placed under a high state of cultivation, 
 and the imjirovements he made transformed the 
 place into a desirable home. He there spent the 
 remaining years of his life, his death occurring in 
 1861. His wife still survives him and has now 
 reached the advanced age of eighty-four years. 
 She is now living with her daughter on the old 
 homestead. 
 
 Of the six sons and three daughters of the Gray 
 family, Elisha, the eldest, is now living in Albany 
 County, N. Y.; Samuel, whose sketch appears else- 
 where in this work, is engaged in business in 
 Kankakee; Stephen, who is also represented in this 
 volume, carries on business in Kankakee; Peter is 
 living in the town of Limestone; Christian is a 
 resident of Salina Township; Joshua is the next 
 younger; Mary, I\Irs. Webster, resides with her hus- 
 band on the old Gray homestead, and is the young- 
 est of the family. 
 
 Joshua Gray, whose name heads this record, 
 came to Illinois when a lad of ten, and grew to 
 mature years in the neighborhood which is yet his 
 home. He remained with his mother until after 
 he had attained to man's estate, and for several 
 years operated the old home farm. He then pur- 
 chased a farm of eighty acres in Norton Township,
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 
 
 281 
 
 an improved place, but did not locate thereon. 
 Soon after lie .sold it and parehased one liiindred 
 and sixty acres in Salina Township. After suc- 
 cessfully engaging in agriculture for eight ye.ars, 
 he again sold out, and in .lanuary. 1889, pur- 
 chased the farm on wliicli he is now located. It 
 comprises ninety acres, in the midst of which 
 stands a substantial residence, good barns and 
 other outliuildings. These are surrounded by well- 
 tilled fields, and the neat a()pearance of the pl.ace 
 indicates the thrift and enterprise of the owner. 
 
 An important event in the life of Mr. Gray oc- 
 curred Se|)tember 5, 1876, when was celebrated his 
 marri.age with Miss Luella, daughter of Jose|)h A. 
 Baker, of Kankakee, whose sketch is given else- 
 where in this record. Three children bless the 
 nnion of Mr. and Airs. Gray, as follows: Sadie L., 
 Hugh J. and Grover Arnold. 
 
 In his social relations, Blr. Ciray is a Royal Arch 
 Jiason, and holds membership with the Blue Lodge 
 and Chapter of Kankakee. He cast Lis fiist Presi- 
 dential vote for lloiatio Seymour, and since that 
 time has alliliated with the Democratic party. The 
 honors of official life have no attraction for him, 
 and his time and attention are devoted wholly* to 
 his business interests. He is a man of sterling 
 worth and upright character, and the confidence 
 and regard of the entire community are his. 
 
 ^jOMAIN ST. GERMAIN, a farmer and stock- 
 grower, who resides on section 32, Lime- 
 stone Township, owns and operates three 
 hundred acres of land and is regarded as 
 one of the leading agriculturists of the commu- 
 nity. He claims Canada as the land of his birth, 
 which occurred in the city of Montreal May 15, 
 1846. He is the third in order of birth of nine 
 children, seven sons and two daughters. The 
 parents were Antoine and Harriet (Wimet) St. 
 Germain. Both were natives of Montreal, but 
 the grandi)arents of our subject on both sides 
 were born in France. Antoine St. Germain ac- 
 
 companied by his family came to Kankakee 
 County, III., in 1857, and established a tan- 
 ner}' in the cit}- of Kankakee, whicli he operated 
 for a period of eight years. He then removed to 
 a farm in Limestone Township, where he engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits until his death, which oc- 
 curred in 1886, at the ripe old age of eighty-seven 
 j-ears. His wife still survives him and is now 
 living in K;nik;ikee, at the age of seventy-six 
 years. 
 
 Mr. St. Germain, whose name heads this record, 
 remained in Canada until ten j'ears of age, when 
 lie came to this county with his parents. Heat- 
 tended school in his native land but completed 
 his education in the schools of Kankakee. At the 
 age of twenty-six 3'ears he started out in life for 
 himself without capital, and therefore all the suc- 
 cess winch he has achieved has been entirel}' due to / 
 his own efforts. He first purchased eighty .acres / 
 of raw prairie land on time and began the devel-' 
 opment of his farm. He has worked long and 
 earnestly and well deserves the handsome compe- 
 tence which has rewarded his labors. 
 
 On the 18th of November, 1874, Mr. St. Ger- 
 main w.as mariied to Miss Louisa Carrow, the 
 eldest child of .Joseph and Susan (Tatro) Car- 
 row. The parents were both born in Canada and 
 were of French extraction. In an early day in the 
 history of this county they emigrated hither, and 
 have been numbered among its residents ever since. 
 They had a family of nine children, five sons and 
 four daughters. The union of Mr. and ]\Irs. St. 
 Germain has been blessed by the liirth of four sons 
 and two daughters, as follows:Delphis,who was born 
 June 11, 1877, and died of diphtheria when two 
 jears of age; Bertie, who was born July 17, 1879, 
 and died at the age of one year; Randolph, born 
 iMay 30, 1881; Klmira, May 3, 1883; Dwain, 
 September 22, 1887; and Joel, the youngest, on 
 the 21st of October, 1891. 
 
 Mr. St. Germain since the purchase of his land 
 has continued his farming operations. Acre by 
 acre he has placed the entire amount under the 
 plow, and,:is his financial resources have increased, 
 he has extended the boundaries of his farm until 
 it now comprises three hundred acres of valuable 
 laud, which yields to him a golden tribute iu re-
 
 282 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 turn for his labor. His farm is well improved 
 with good buildings and he raises au excellent 
 grade of stock — in fact, tliis industry is an impor- 
 tant branch of his business and yields him a good 
 income. 
 
 p >A I » ■ > i ^ ! ■ > ■ 
 
 I ' I < I' l ' I ' • 
 
 ILLINOIS EASTERN HOSPITAL for the 
 I Insane. By an act of the Legislature passed 
 /1\ by the General Assembly in the session of 
 1876-77, approved May 25th, 1877, and in force 
 on the 1st of July of that year, the Eastern Hos- 
 pital for the Insane was created and established, 
 $200,000 being appropriated to buy land and erect 
 the buildings. The location was made by seven 
 commissioners appointed by Gov. Cullom. These 
 commissioners were .lolin H.Adams, of Stephenson; 
 John Thomas, of St. Clair; William A. McConnell, 
 of McHenry; Dr. .Joseph Robbins, of Quincy; A. 
 P. Bartlett, of Peoria; Myron C. Dudley, of Du 
 Page; and Dr.William Gerard, of Lawrence. After 
 examining various places, among which were Paris, 
 Oilman, Danville, Paxton, Tuscola and Pontiac, 
 the commissioners chose Kankakee, and the land 
 was procured. The committee who acted on behalf 
 of Kankakee in the presentation of its memorial 
 to the commissioners, and who were appointed by 
 a meeting of the citizens of this city, were Thomas 
 ^P. Bonfield; D. C. Taylor, Andrew Kerr, G. V. 
 Huling, James N. Orr and Emory Cobb, and too 
 much credit" cannot be given them in this matter. 
 Dr. Secrest, of Watseka, was also a friend to Kan- 
 kakee. The bill originating the institution was a 
 Kankakee County enterprise and was pushed 
 through the House by D. C. Taylor, J. A. Koplin 
 and C. Secrest, Representatives of this Senatorial 
 District, and through the Senate by Thomas P. 
 Bonfield, the State Senator. The fall of 1877 wit- 
 nessed the letting of the contr.act for the construc- 
 tion of the building to James Lillie, and b}' the 
 winter of 1879 it was occupied and running, with 
 Richard Dewey as Superintendent. Since tliat time 
 additional appropriations to the sum of §1,300,000 
 have been made and about thirty-five new build- 
 
 ings erected for patients of both sexes and for 
 administrative purposes. The construction is 
 mostly on the "cottage " plan, there being twen- 
 ty-four buildings of that description. This was 
 the first institution to adopt that plan, which has 
 been extensively copied since in Ohio, Missouri, 
 New York, North Dakota and British America. 
 The hospital staff is as follows: Richard Dewey, 
 medical superintendent; and the assistant physi- 
 cians are A. L. Warner, M. D.; Anne C. Burnet, 
 M. D.; James Dodds, M. D.; Dr. Foster and H. 
 Bradley, M. D. The male supervisors of the in- 
 stitution are: AVilliam A. Reid and Charles W. 
 Anderson, the female supervisors being Mrs. Nettie 
 Earl and Miss Ella Myers. Miss Nellie Fisher is 
 the instructress in the training school. In the busi- 
 ness department John C. Burt is business manager, 
 George F. Lovell chief clerk, James Bradbury 
 chief engineer, and Samuel N. Calkin superintends 
 the farm. 
 
 To Dr.Wines, D. D., Secretary of the Illinois State 
 Board of Public Charities, is due the credit of inau- 
 gurating the system of the cottage plan, on which 
 this institution is conducted, and to Dr. Richard 
 Dewey, Superintendent of the hospital since its es- 
 tablishment, is due the credit of carrying out Dr. 
 Wines' plans and improving on them in perfection 
 of detail. This cottage plan includes in addition 
 to the extensive main building and other build- 
 ings for general use a large number of commodi- 
 ous two-storj' cottages for the use of the patients 
 as homes, where they may be classed separately as 
 seems best according to their various conditions 
 of mental ailment. As the hospital is naturally an 
 object of more than passing interest to the citizens 
 of this county, and indeed of the country at large, 
 we will give in a brief manner some points of 
 interest connected with it. As tiie latest report 
 accessible is that of 1890, much of interest that 
 will be embraced in the forthcoming report of 
 1892 must be omitted. 
 
 The Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane is 
 situated on the south bank of the Kankakee River 
 and adjacent to the southern limits of Kankakee, 
 with which it is connected by the Kankakee Elec- 
 tric Street Railway. The total area of the hospital 
 property comprises eight hundred and forty-three
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 283 
 
 acres, about one hundred of which are occupied by 
 buildings, lawns and timber lot. About seven 
 hundred and forty acres are devoted to agriculture, 
 horticulture, vegetable gardening and dair3'ing; 
 The farm is conducted by Samuel Calkin, who 
 bears the title of "Farmer," and is under a fine 
 state of cultivation. The labor of about fifteen 
 regular hands and the help of some twenty-five 
 patients, occupants of the farm ward, are required 
 in the care of the farm, garden and stock, and in 
 butchering, soap-making, etc. The hospital stock 
 consists of three hundred head of cattle, one hun- 
 dred and fifty of which are milch cows, yielding 
 one hundred and twenty thousand gallons of milk 
 annually, the remainder of the herd being calves 
 and 3'oung cattle to be raised for cows. The cattle 
 are all high-bred Durham and Holstein stock, which 
 are all dehorned and constitute as fine a herd as 
 can be found in the State. Thirty-four fine draft 
 horses are emi)loyed on the farm and some two 
 hundred hogs are grown annually' and slaughtered 
 for the use of the hospital. In addition to the 
 stock above mentioned, about twelve hundred 
 head of beef cattle are bought and butchered an- 
 nually at the hosi)ital slaughter-house, and the 
 meat in all its forms, fresh, salt and smoked, is 
 consumed b^- the hospital population. The slaugh- 
 ter-house is built on the most improved modern 
 plans, having a large icehouse and cold storage 
 rooms. The coarse fat and refuse go to the soap 
 factory ,where thej' are rendered and converted into 
 fine soap, which by the thousand of cut bars 
 supplies the need of the hospital, thus causing a 
 great saving in that direction. In addition to the 
 stock killed, quite a large number of dressed sheep 
 are bought in the Chicago markets and kept in cold 
 storage until used. In addition to all this a large 
 quantity of poultry and fish not produced on the 
 farm is also consumed. 
 
 For the year 1892 the farm yielded seven thou- 
 sand bushels of corn, six thousand three hun- 
 dred bushels of oats, two hundred tons of hay and 
 three hundred and fifty tons of garden vegetables, 
 four thousand tiiree hundred bushels of this amount 
 being jjolatoes. The farm boasts a young apple 
 I orchard of sever.al hundred trees of the best known 
 varieties for this latitude, and a large quantity of 
 
 small fruit is also raised. The Farmer has a large 
 and tasty residence, situated at quite a distance 
 from the hospital grou|), and having commodious 
 and conveniently arranged barns and outbuildings, 
 with cellars and roothouses of v.ast storage cap.ac- 
 ity. In fact, taken as a whole, it is a model farm 
 and has been brought to its present high state of 
 perfection by the judicious management and inde- 
 fatigable efforts of Mr. Calkin, who is a practiced 
 and level-headed farmer, whose management of the 
 insane entrusted to his care and employed on the 
 farm is much to be commended. 
 
 Returning to the large group of imposing stone 
 buildings which constitute the citj' of the insane, 
 we find the various buildings conveniently and 
 systematically located, facing the north and east, 
 with a rare view of the beautiful Kankakee River, 
 with its shaded banks, groves and meadows; while 
 the towering church spires and numerous tasty 
 residences gleaming through natural groves to the 
 northward show where lies the thrifty citv of Kau- 
 kakee,while the smoke from its raanj' tall chimneys 
 suggests the idea of busy toil and happy homes. 
 The hospital grounds and buildings are connected 
 by winding walks of concrete, and the landscape 
 gardener has employed his best art in the arrange- 
 ment of shrubs and (lowers. The buildings are all 
 of native limestone, most of which was taken from 
 the extensive quarries of D. C. Taylor, not far dis- 
 tant. The power-house contains twelve large 
 boilers, sixteen feet long by five in diameter, each 
 boiler having a capacity of sixty horse power, in ad- 
 dition to which there are two boilers at the pumi)- 
 ing-station at the river and one on the farm. 
 There are three engines, two of one hundred and 
 twenty-five horse power each, and one of forty. 
 
 The hospital buildings are heated by steam, hot 
 air and hot water. The water is supplied by water 
 works at the river, where one large Worthington 
 pump supplies three million gallons of water in 
 twenty-four hours. Four dynamos, with a capa- 
 city of a thousand lights each, and one arc light 
 illuminate the institution and grounds well and 
 safely. James Bradbury, who is the oldest employe 
 at the hospital in point of years of service, is chief 
 cn"ineer, and with a force of eighteen men does all
 
 284 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the plumbing and keeps all the machinery in repair 
 and in running operation. 
 
 The internal arrangement of the hospital is ac- 
 cording to the most approved modern plans., per- 
 fect in detail for the comfort, health and pleasure 
 of its inmates. Facilities for heating, lighting and 
 ventilation, and the water supph- and all sanitary 
 conditions, are of the most approved order. Sewer- 
 age connection with the Kankakee River is thor- 
 ough and complete. A system for the employ- 
 ment of patients has been adopted whicli answers 
 the double purpose of diverting their minds from 
 their maladies and producing substantial results in 
 the working of the institution. The average per 
 cent, of the inmates employed in the years 1889 
 and 1890 was sevent}' and four-tenths. The 
 various industries represented include the making 
 of brooms, baskets, rugs, rag carpets, mats, harness 
 and tinware, and the work of upholstering, chair- 
 caning and repairing, shoe-making, tailoring, 
 printing, clock-repairing and engraving is also 
 carried on. The computed saving to the institution 
 by this means has been *238,120. The increase in 
 employment has been from forty-five and one-tenth 
 per cent, in 1886 to seventy and four-tenths per 
 cent, in 1890. 
 
 Twelve per cent, of the patients, or two hundred 
 and four, are paroled and allowed the privileges 
 of the grounds. Two of the buildings, accommo- 
 dating each about forty patients, are open wards. 
 This parole is only given to such patients as 
 employ themselves usefully, except in the case of 
 a few convalescents who need it as a measure of 
 benefit. But there is a large additional number 
 who might be safely paroled except for the fact 
 that with such the parole leads to habits of idle- 
 ness and is therefore no advantage, and these have 
 been as far as possible encouraged to engage in 
 regular employment and have been rewarded for 
 their industry bj' such other privileges as could be 
 justly extended to them. Of course the greatest 
 privilege that any patient can have is a return to 
 a life of freedom. 
 
 The changes made have increased the capacity of 
 the hospital to sixteen hundred and sevent3'-five 
 beds (this per report of 1890), and the total ex- 
 penditures made during the biennial period were 
 
 $63,400. This sum, added to the total previous 
 outlay, produces a total of §1,319,100, which 
 divided by sixteen hundred and seventy-five gives 
 a per capita cost of 8787.40, but the cost for con- 
 struction proper, excluding cost of land, furniture, 
 repairs, etc., in the past two years was $34,800, 
 which sura added to the total previous outlay for 
 construction proper produces •i'996,600, or a total 
 per capita construction cost of §594.98. The net 
 total expenses of the institution for this seventh 
 biennial period covered by this report were §474, 
 834.98, whicli is a total per capita expense of $287. 
 17, or $143.58 per patient per annum, including 
 all current expenses of every kind, salaries and 
 wages, food, fuel, clothing, medical treatment, etc. 
 This was tiie lowest figure attained in Illinois by 
 any of the State insane hospitals for the biennial 
 period covered by this report, the next lowest being 
 $298.48 or $149.24, per patient per annum. 
 
 At this writing (November, 1892), the popula- 
 tion of the hospital, including oflScers and attend- 
 ants, is fully two thousand, while the new cottages 
 recently erected but not yet quite ready for occu- 
 pancy will increase its capacity to the accomoda- 
 tion of at least two thousand patients, making it 
 the second largest institution of its kind in 
 America, the largest being that at Ovid, N. Y., 
 which exceeds tlie Illinois Eastern in capacitj' by 
 about one hundred only. Tiie cottage system, 
 under the judicious management of Dr. Dewey, 
 has proved a complete success, and its renown has 
 attracted the attention of those in care of the in- 
 sane in all portions of the United States. Numer- 
 ous Governors and other State officials have visited 
 this hosjutal to investigate its workings, and 
 so favorabl}' were they impressed that the system 
 has since been adopted bj' several States of the 
 Union. Dr. Dewey, the Superintendent, is a 
 thoroughly educated and skillful physician and 
 surgeon, a man of advanced ideas and warm sympa- 
 thies for the unfortunates under his care. It is sel- 
 dom that the qualities which distinguish eminent 
 men in the professions are found coupled with great 
 executive ability and practical business tact. But 
 in the Superintendent of this institution is found 
 this happy combination, and under his care the 
 hospital has been as ably and economically' con-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL IlECOfeD. 
 
 28b 
 
 ducted from a business standpoint as it has been 
 in a professional and luunanitarian sense. The 
 position is a most arduous and trying one and 
 Dr. Dewej' has discharged the responsible duties 
 of it with such ability and fidelit}' that all who are 
 familiar with the history of the growth and inan- 
 agenient of the institution are unanimous in their 
 approval and admiration. 
 
 The Baard of Trustees is composed of the follow- 
 ing named gentlemen: E. B. McCagg, of Chicago; 
 John L. Donovan, of Watselia; Walter W. Todd, 
 of Kankakee and II. C. Clarke, Secretary and 
 Treasurer. Much credit is due the board for the 
 faithful manner in which they have discharged 
 their dut3'. Before closing this brief sketch it may 
 not be inappropriate to state that JMr. James Lillie 
 has been the principal contractor from the first to 
 the present time and that the Illinois Eastern Hos- 
 pital will be a lasting monument to his mechanical 
 skill and the faithful performance of his contracts. 
 The Hon. D. C. Taylor and the Hon. T. P. Bonfield 
 are entitled to the credit of drafting the original 
 bill providing for the establishment of the hospital 
 at Kankakee and for zealous work in their respect- 
 ive branches of the Legislature for its passage. 
 
 =m>^^<^ 
 
 i- 
 
 ^UDSON DURFEE NICHOLS is a pioneer 
 settler of Kankakee County and a well- 
 known furniture dealer of Kankakee. He 
 is a native of the Empire State, his birth oc- 
 ciu-ring in Pultne3'ville, Wayne County, on the 8th 
 of April, 1828. He is the third son of Roswelland 
 Mary (Durfee) Nichols, of whom see sketch else- 
 wiiere in this work. He was reared upon a farm 
 and attended school in Palmyra, N. Y., until four- 
 teen years of age, when with his parents, brothers 
 and sisters he emigrated to Illinois. Foi- several 
 years he was employed in helping his father pre- 
 pare a home and improve a new farm in Limestone 
 Township, then of Iroquois, but now of Kankakee, 
 County, which was his home until he attained his 
 majority. 
 
 On his twenty-first birthday, the 8th of April, 
 
 1849, Mr. Nichols was united in marriage in Lime- 
 stone Township to Miss Ludelia Arnold, who w\s 
 born in 1821, in Orleans County, N. Y. She was 
 the daughter of Oren and Amanda Arnold. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Nichols tiiree children were 
 born, two of whom are now living: Eugene W., 
 who married Miss Marj' Reeves and resides in 
 Lachine, near Montreal, Canada; and Oren D., 
 who married Celia Dwight and is engaged with 
 his father in the furniture business at Kankakee; 
 Judson 1)., the youngest of the family, died in in- 
 fancy'. 
 
 About the year 1850, Mr. Nichols engaged as a 
 contractor in railway construction in niinois,and 
 in the spring of 1853 went to Missouri, where he 
 was employed in the same line of work, making 
 his home with his family there until the fall of 
 1856, when he returned to Kankakee County. He 
 had not parted with his farm of two hundred and 
 eighty acres in Limestone Township and there 
 he again engaged in agricultural pursuits. He 
 continued to reside upon his farm until the spring 
 of 1878, when he removed with his famil}' to Kan- 
 kakee, which has since been his home. Not long 
 since he sold two hundred acres of his farm, but 
 still owns eighty acres, which is a portion of the 
 original purchase made by his father in 1841. 
 Soon after returning to Kankakee, Mr. Nichols 
 engaged in the furniture business, which he has 
 continued to the present time. He carries one of 
 the largest stocks in his line in the county and is 
 doing an extensive business. 
 
 In the fall of 1857, his first wife departed this 
 life, and on the 29lh of December, 1859, Mr. 
 Nichols was married to his present wife, whose 
 maiden name was Mary I. Denny. She was born 
 in Terre Haute, Ind., September 23, 1837, and is a 
 daughter of David and P^inil}' Denn}', of whom a 
 sketch is given on another page. Four children 
 have graced this marriage, three daughters and a 
 son: Hattie Ann, Clara Belle, Helen E. and 
 David D. 
 
 In politics Mr. Nichols has always been an act- 
 ive Republican since the organization of that 
 party and has lield various local ofBces. At the 
 first election in Limestone Township he was 
 elected Collector and Constable and served
 
 286 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 thronghont the term of his olHces. Subsequently 
 he served as Supervisor for two terras and has held 
 at various times all of the town offices except tliat 
 of Justice of the Peace. He is a Master Mason, 
 being a member of Kankakee Lodge No. 389, A. 
 V. & A. M., of which he was one of the early mem- 
 bers. He is inclined to be liberal in his religious 
 views and is not connected with any church de- 
 nomination. Mr. Nichols has been a resident of 
 what is now Kankakee County for fiftj' years and 
 for a greater part of that time has been promi- 
 nently identified witli its improvement and devel- 
 opment. He endured his share of the sickness and 
 fevers which ))revailed so extensively throughout 
 the West during its early settlement and which 
 caused much suffering and loss of life. Those who 
 have come more recently find all the advantages of 
 modern civilization and an improved and health- 
 ful climate and they can scarcely appreciate by 
 hearsay what the pioneers had to pass through. 
 In company with many others of the early set- 
 tlers Mr. Nichols passed through many of the 
 trials and hardsliips incident to the settlement of 
 a new country half a century ago, when railroads 
 were unknown in the West, when the comforts and 
 even the necessities of life could be scarcely pro- 
 vided. As a business man and citizen Mr. Nichols 
 stands deservedly high and the record of his life 
 has been an open book to his neighbors and 
 friends. 
 
 ^ TIS DURFEE. Many of the older settlers 
 )f Kankakee County, whose life work was 
 ^^/^ identified with its growth and development, 
 have passed to their final rest, and it is most fit- 
 ting that some record of their deeds should be per- 
 petuated for posterity, and that a more reliable 
 and satisfactory knowledge may be had of them 
 than that preserved in memory and tradition. Of 
 this number is the subject of this slcetch. 
 
 Mr. Durfee was born in Palmyra, Wa3-ne County, 
 N. Y., on the 7th of December, 1829, and was the 
 son of Sydney S. and Sophia (Rogers) Durfee, who 
 
 were of old New York families and held in high re- 
 pute in the Empire State. The subject of this sketch 
 received a common-school and collegiate educa- 
 tion in his native State and in 1846, in company 
 with his parents, emigrated to Illinois. They set- 
 tled in Chicago, then but a small town. Our sub- 
 ject soon obtained employment as clerk to a mer- 
 chant in Lockport, but continued there only a 
 short time. He next went on the Lakes as a sailor 
 and continued in that vocation until 1852. After- 
 ward, he engaged with his father on contract pub- 
 lic works in Chicago. They drove the first piles 
 in the city for the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
 pany and took extensive contracts for harbor im- 
 provement, but in the financial crash of 1857 they 
 lost large sums of money in the carrying out of 
 their contracts. In 1860, Mr. Durfee engaged in 
 farming in Monee Township, Will County, 111. 
 Some two years later, he removed to Limestone 
 Township, Kankakee County, and there continued 
 his farming operations until 1865, when he re- 
 moved to Kankakee. 
 
 In Limestone Township, on the 15th of April, 
 1856, Mr. Durfee married Miss Harriet C. Nichols, 
 a daughter of RoswcU and Mary (Durfee) Nichols, 
 of whom see sketch elsewhere in this work. Mrs. 
 Durfee was, like her husband, a native of Pal- 
 myra, N. Y., where her birth occurred on tlie 23d 
 of January, 1832. By their union were born four 
 sons and a daughter. Minnie S. resides with her 
 mother and unmarried brothers in Kankakee; Sid- 
 ney Roswell, tlie eldest son, is the present Clerk of 
 the Circuit Court of Kankakee County; Fred mar- 
 ried Miss Isabel White and is a member of the 
 firm of Durfee & AVhittemore, grocers of Kanka- 
 kee; Edward Adelbert is Deputy County Clerk of 
 this county and has held that position for four 
 years; Harry is a clothing merchant of Chicago. 
 
 In the year 1866, Mr. Durfee was elected Sheriff 
 of Kankakee County and served for two years. 
 In 1870, he was again elected to that office and 
 served a second- terra of two years. He was raade 
 Justice of the Peace in 1873, and held that office 
 until his death, a period of eleven years. In the 
 same year, 1873, he was also elected Assessor and 
 was several times re-elected to that position, which 
 he held for abo.it twelve years. In politics Mr.
 
 Ur HIE
 
 *1 i 
 
 <i5i-<i^^6-^-^>t 
 
 ^ ^U*^i^M,D.
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 289 
 
 Duvfee was a stalwart Republican from the time of 
 the organization of that party until his death, 
 which occurred after a lingering illness on the 9th 
 of October, 1888. He was a Royal Arch JIason, a 
 member of Kankakee Lodge No. 389, A. F. & A. M., 
 and of Kankakee Chapter No. 78, R. A. M. 
 
 In all the relations of life, Mr. Uurfee was ever 
 upright, faithful and reliable. In the discharge of 
 his official duties he proved himself capable, im- 
 partial and attentive to the just demands of the 
 public on his time and attention. He won the re- 
 spect and esteem of the many who knew his worth 
 and who were favored with his friendship. His 
 good mother, now well advanced in years, survives 
 her son. She was reared in the (Quaker faith, to 
 which she has always adhered, and still wears the 
 modest drab-colored dress that distinguishes the 
 Societ}' of Friends. 
 
 ■r^ll 
 
 ^^^1©^'! 
 
 R. BENJAMIN F. URAN, one of the 
 leading physicians and surgeons of this 
 count}', makes his home in Kankakee. He 
 is a native of what is now Kankakee 
 County and was born in the township of Bour- 
 bonnais, then a portion of Will County, on the 
 26th of January, 1848. His father, Jonathan 
 Uran, was born in Vermont in 1810, and was de- 
 scended from an old New England family. He 
 followed the occupation of a farmer, and when 
 about twenty years of age emigrated to the State 
 of Ohio, and in 1836 came to this portion of Illi- 
 nois. Ten years later he was married to Miss 
 Lucinda Legg, a daughter of George Legg, one of 
 the pioneers of this county and the first resident 
 on the site of Kankakee. Mr. Uran settled on a 
 farm in Hourbonnais Township, where he lived for 
 many years engaged in agricultural pursuits. He 
 left his farm and lived a retired life for some 
 years in Kankakee, where his death occurred in 
 188.5, when he had attained the age of seventy- 
 live years. He was an esteemed and respected 
 citizen and a man of strict integrity', who possessed 
 the confidence and regard of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 In his i)olilical afliliations he was an Abolitionist 
 in the earl}- days and later a stalwart Republican. 
 He held membership with the Baptist Church, in 
 which lie was ever an active worker. He and his 
 estimable wife, who survives and resides in this 
 city, were the parents of five children who grew 
 to mature years, three sons and two daughters: 
 Our subject is the eldest of the family; Nathaniel 
 H. carries on tlie old homestead; William L. is a 
 resident of Limestone Township. The daughters 
 are Mrs. Alta M. Goodwin and Addie M. 
 
 The boyhood days of the Doctor were passed 
 upon his father's farm in Hourbonnais Township 
 and his school privileges were such as were af- 
 forded by the district schools. Early in life he 
 determined to adopt a profession as his life work 
 and linall}' decided to pursue the study of medi- 
 cine. At the age of eighteen years he started out 
 in life for himself, working u[)on neighboring 
 farms during the summer, and attending sciiool in 
 the winter season. He also taught for a number 
 of winter terms. In the fall of 1868, he entered 
 the otHce of Dr. Knott in Kankakee and continued 
 under his preceptorship for four 3'ears. In the 
 meantime he attended lectures at the I'niversity 
 of Michigan at Ann Arbor and also the Bellevue 
 Medical College of New York, and was graduated 
 from the latter institution on the 1st of March, 
 1872. After his graduation he was associated 
 with Dr. Knott for about two and a-half years, 
 since which time he has been practicing independ- 
 entl}'. The Doctor occupies an enviable position 
 among the medical practitioners of Illinois and 
 has a large and lucrative patronage. 
 
 On the 10th of September, 1874, Dr. Ih-an was 
 married to Miss Susie W. Troup, a daughter of Dr. 
 J. A. Troup, of Kankakee. She was born on the 
 loth of October, 1851, in Circleville, Ohio. They 
 have a family of four interesting children: How- 
 ard Hale, Joseph Alfred, Maigaret Bertha and 
 Benjamin F. Their home is the abode of hospi- 
 tality and good cheer and here the}' delight to en- 
 tertain their many friends. 
 
 Dr. Uran not only stands high in the medical 
 profession, but takes an active interest in promot- 
 ing tlie moral and material growth of the com- 
 munity. He is President of the North Kankakee
 
 1 
 
 290 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Electric Light and Railway Company, and is also 
 Secretary of the Examining Board for Pensions, 
 having been apjiointed on that board in the sum- 
 mer of 1889. He is a loyal and enterprising 
 citizen, and does nuicli to further the develop- 
 ment and progress of this city. 
 
 e^+^ 
 
 [^" 
 
 ENRY JACOBUS is engaged in carrying on 
 *^ his farm situated on section 4, Aroma 
 Township. He is a native of the Empire 
 ^ State, where his birth occurred in Genesee 
 Count}', on the 8th of June, 1812. His parents 
 were Simon and Katie (Decker) Jacobus, who were 
 of German descent. In their family were thirteen 
 children, two of whom died in infancy. John, 
 Hannah, Sarah, David, James and Katiierine are 
 also deceased, and those living are James, Betsy, 
 Polly, Henry and Clarissa. The father of these 
 children passed away in 1841, and Ids wife de- 
 parted this life two j-ears previously. 
 
 Our subject was born and reared upon a farm, re- 
 ceiving a good common-school and business edu- 
 cation. He remained under tiie parental roof until 
 reaching his majoritj', and in early life learned the 
 trade of a chair-maker. He commenced life for 
 himself by working for neighboring farmers by the 
 month, and later farmed on shares. AVhen he was 
 but five years of age, he came with his parents to the 
 AVest and lived in Decatur County, Ind., "until 
 1846. At that time he came to Kankakee County, 
 and located in St. Anne Township, which was then 
 a portion of Iroquois County. He brought all his 
 household here by team. Tlie following year Mr. 
 Jacobus purchased one liundred and sixty .acres of 
 Government land. The farm which first came 
 into his possession adjoins the town of St. Anne, 
 which at that time was not in existence. He paid 
 for this tract from $1 to ^2.50 per acre. Here he 
 lived until 1853, wlien he sold the property and 
 removed to tiie farm where he has since made his 
 home. Tills consists of ninety-seven acres, which 
 he has greatly improved since it came into his 
 possession. When he first located in tiiis county. 
 
 the nearest trading-post was Momence, and there 
 he carried all his produce. As an agriculturist he 
 has been very successful and is trul}"^ a self-made 
 man. He commenced life totally without means, 
 and by his characteristics of industry and economy 
 has acquired a comfortable home and competence. 
 
 On the 27th of May, 1835, Mr. Jacobus and Miss 
 Mary Burns were united in marriage. The lady is 
 a daugliter of Thomas and Hester (Robinson) 
 Burns, and was born in Virginia, on the 5th of 
 March, 1811. She is therefore now eighty-one 
 years of age; her husband has attained eighty 
 years, and at this advanced age they arc both hale 
 and hearty, and enjoy life with as much zest and 
 pleasure as many who have not reached half their 
 years. By their marriage were born eiglit chil- 
 dren. Harrison died in infancy; Lizzie J. be- 
 came the wife of Chauncey Redford, now deceased; 
 Martha A. died^ in infanc}'; John R. is still living; 
 Hester A. died when an infant; William and Elva 
 A. are still living, as is also the 3'oungest of the 
 family, Rebecca M., who is the wife of Eddie Mi- 
 sen himer. 
 
 Mr. Jacobus has always used his right of fran- 
 chise in support of the Republican party. He has 
 never been an aspirant for official positions, but 
 has faithful!}' performed liis duties of citizenship. 
 He is well informed on the leading issues of the 
 day, and devotes much of his time to reading and 
 studj'. For fort3'-six years he has made his home 
 in this count}^ and has taken an active interest 
 and part in its wonderful growth and prosperity. 
 In tliis and adjoining counties he has long been 
 well and favorably known, and numbers many 
 friends throughout this community. 
 
 
 1- 
 I is a native of New York, born in Oswego 
 
 1 on tlie lltli of August, 184G. He is a son 
 
 AY L. HAMLIN, Postmaster of Kankakee, 
 
 of Charles P. .and C. Amelia (Lake) Hamlin, 
 and came to Illinois with his parents on the 4th 
 of November, 1852. The f.amily settled in Mo- 
 mence, now in Kankakee County, where our sub-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 
 
 291 
 
 ject was reared and attended the public schools. 
 He afterward entered tiie State Normal Universit\-, 
 where he pursued his studies in the higher 
 branches. Upon leaving school lie engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits and also dealt in live-stock and 
 farm machinery at Monience. On tlie 10th of Oc- 
 tober, 1873, he was appointed to a clerkship in tlie 
 United .States Kailwaj' Mail Service and continued 
 in that position for fifteen years, or until Septem- 
 ber, 1888, when he resigned. 
 
 In the following November, Jlr. IIan)lin was ap- 
 pointed to his present position as Postmaster b}' 
 President Harrison. He is now serving his fourth 
 year in that capacity and has proved a very popu- 
 lar ofticer. The Kankakee office is an important 
 one and gives emplo^'menl to fourteen persons, 
 including five carriers. The ottice under the man- 
 agement of Jlr. Hamlin has been ably and satis- 
 factoril}' conducted botli as regards his superior 
 officers and the general public. Our subject and 
 his subordinates are careful, painstaking and ac- 
 commodating, and the casual stranger who has oc- 
 casion to go to the office is as sure of respectful 
 attention as the wealthiest and most intlueutial 
 local resident. 
 
 On the 23d of September, 18G9,Mr. Hamlin was 
 married in Momence, 111., to Miss Alice R. Rice, 
 who was born in that cit}' .and is a daughter of 
 George W. and Laura Rice, who were among the 
 early settlers of that place and/ were originally 
 from Maine. JMr. and Mrs. Hamlin have one child, 
 a son, C. Philip, who was born in Bloomington, 
 111., on the 19th of December, 1873, where Mr. 
 Hamlin resided for three j'ears, from 1873 until 
 187G. Since that time he has made his home in 
 Kankakee. 
 
 Socially, our subject is a Knight Templar Mason 
 and holds membership with Kankakee Lodge No. 
 389, A. F. & A. M., of Kankakee. He is also a 
 member of Kankakee Ciiapter No. 78, R. A. M., 
 and of Ivanlioe C'ommandery No. 33, K. T., all of 
 this city. In connection witli his other official 
 duties, Mr. Hamlin has the inspection of the twenty- 
 five postoltices of the county once a year. It is 
 hardly necessary to state that he is a Repub- 
 lican and has been one from boyhood. He takes 
 an active interest in campaign work and is influ- 
 
 ential in the councils of his party, both in the 
 county and State. As a citizen and public official 
 he stands higii in tlic estimation of all with whom 
 he has business or social relations. 
 
 !•=*___-/ 
 
 ♦^=*^E* 
 
 ■^'OHN FRANKLIN. Among tiie prominent 
 self-made Illinois farmers who have suc- 
 ceeded in acquiring a large and valuable 
 property through tlieir own unaided efforts 
 must be mentioned he whose name heads this 
 sketcii. He claims sunn\' Italy as his birthplace, 
 and the date of that event was New Year's Da}', 
 1836. When nine years old, he emigrated to 
 America in com|)any with two cousins, wlio iie- 
 came merciiants in Philadelpliia. He remained 
 with them as store hoy until lie learned that one 
 of them was about to return to Italy and take him 
 back to his home. He preferred to stay in tiiis 
 countr_v, and to avoid being taken I)ack, lie ran 
 away and joined Dan Rice's circus troo]) and 
 traveled willi lliat renowned sho.vman until 1858. 
 Then coming to Illinois, he obtained employment 
 on a farm in Cliebanse Townshii), Iroquois County, 
 and continued at farm labor until the breaking 
 out of the war. 
 
 On the 10th of August, IBGl, Mr. Franklin en- 
 listed for three year.s' service in defense of tlie 
 Union as a member of Companj- G, Twenty-fifth 
 Illinois Infantry. He served the term of his en- 
 listment and received an honorable discharge Au- 
 gust 10, 18G1. He saw much active service, and 
 discharged tiie duties of a soldier faithfully and 
 well. He participated in tiie battles of Pea Ridge, 
 Perryville, Ky., Crab Orcliard and Stone Hiver. 
 In the latter engagement a niinic-hall passed 
 through his canteen as it hung on liis left side. 
 His health becoming impaired, he was assigned to 
 tlie Invalid Corps, and was placed on guard duty 
 at Chicago, Kock Island and later at Buffalo, N. Y., 
 until the time of his discharge. 
 
 On the 9th of December, 1866, Mr. Franklin was 
 married in Chebanse Township to Jliss Mary Ann
 
 292 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I 
 
 Pruett, who was born February 3, 1847, in Ver- 
 million County, Ind., and is a daughter of Mere- 
 dith and Mary Pruett. Mrs. Franklin came to 
 Iroquois County, 111., with her parents when but 
 two years of age. Her father died in August, 
 1866, and iier mother, who still survives, is a resi- 
 dent of Chebanse Township. 
 
 Mr. Franklin had saved from his earnings quite 
 a sum before going into the army, and with this he 
 had purchased eighty acres in Chebanse Township, 
 and on leaving the army he had accumulated 
 about *1,000. Immediately after his marriage he 
 settled on his farm in Chebanse Township, which 
 he proceeded to improve and cultivate. He added 
 to the original tract by purchase from time to time, 
 until he had accumulated Ave hundred and sixty 
 acres of valuable land. On this he erected an ele- 
 gant and commodious farm house, costing about 
 $6,000, and the most extensive barns and cattle 
 sheds in use in this section of the State. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1892, he purchased a lot at tbe northeast 
 corner of Indiana Avenue and Bourbonnais 
 Street, where he has erected one of the finest 
 residences in the city, which is the home of the 
 family. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Franklin have eight cliildren, four 
 sons and daughters: Ida May, tlie eldest, is the wife 
 of James McCuen, of Chebanse; Jennie is the wife 
 of Eugene Vanderporten, of AVatseka, and is the 
 mother of the only grandchild, Ruby Dot, born 
 September 4, 1891; Ray, Bruce, Lloyd, Delia, 
 Arthur and Flossie, the younger members of the 
 family, are students at the Kankakee city schools. 
 Mr. Franklin's principal object in removing to 
 this city was that he might better educate his 
 younger children. 
 
 Our subject has alwa3'S done quite an extensive 
 business in growing, feeding and selling live-stock, 
 and his farm, which is one of the most valuable 
 ones in the State, is now well stocked and is under 
 his management and supervision. In politics, he 
 affiliates with the Republican party. Mrs. Frank- 
 lin and her daughters hold membership with the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. The subject of this 
 sketch has been an industrious and hard-working 
 man all his life. He made his start in the world by 
 working as a farm hand, and was such an efficient 
 
 and faithful man, and so reliable, that he always 
 commanded the best wages, often getting double 
 that paid to ordinary men. When he embarked in 
 agricultural pursuits for himself, he brought to 
 bear the same indefatigable energy, shrewd judg- 
 ment and industry. Aided by his faithful wife he 
 rapidly accumulated property until he is now 
 known as one of the wealthy farmers of eastern 
 Illinois. 
 
 
 
 ,,..^ NTONY LAFLEUR is an extensive farmer 
 (@Ol of Aroma Township, engaged in agricul- 
 lii tural pursuits on section 3. He is of 
 1^' French descent and a native of Canada, 
 
 where his birth occurred on the 12th of December, 
 1822. He is a son of Charles and Margaret La- 
 fleur, who were the parents of nine children, as 
 follows: Charlie Mitchell, Margaret, Betsy, An- 
 tony, John, Elrick, Sophia, Joseph and Jane. 
 Three others died in infancy. 
 
 Our subject was born and reared upon a farm 
 and is largely self-educated.. He was early ob- 
 liged to make his own living, which he has prac- 
 tically done since ten years of age. He early 
 learned the carpenter's trade and worked at that 
 emplo3'ment most of the time for many years. He 
 went with his parents to Vermont about the year 
 1830, and lived there for some fifteen j'ears. In 
 1845 they emigrated to Troy, N. Y., where our 
 subject worked as a carpenter for about ten j'ears. 
 In 1855 he came to Illinois and located in the 
 town of St. Anne, Kankakee County. At that time 
 there were onlj' about six houses there, and he was 
 employed to assist in laying out the town. Mr. 
 Lafleur made his home in that place for the suc- 
 ceeding ten years, and during that time worked at 
 his trade and was so successful in a financial waj' 
 that he was enabled to purchase a good farm, 
 where for some j'ears he engaged in tilling the 
 soil in connection with his trade. This farm con- 
 sisted of two hundred acres of raw prairie land on 
 section 4, Aroma Township. After residing there 
 for some four j^ears, he sold the property and re-
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 293 
 
 moved to Kankakee in 1869. For five years he 
 was engaged in tlie livery business in that city. 
 In 1874 he became the owner of his present farm, 
 which consists of one hundred and twenty acres of 
 land on section 3. From time to time, as his re- 
 sources increased, he added adjoining land and 
 has now three hundred and thirty acres of valu- 
 able arable and well-cultivated farming land. He 
 is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, 
 and the labor of years has been rewarded bj' pros- 
 perity and success. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Lafleur married Miss Lizzie She- 
 guinn, who was a native of Lower Canada. Mr. 
 Lalleur holds membership with the Presbyterian 
 Church. He is a public-spirited man and is active 
 in forwarding all public enterprises and educa- 
 tional measures. He was elected to the office of 
 Ilighw.ay Commissioner, and discharged the duties 
 of that position to the satisfaction of all con- 
 cerned. He has always taken a leading and ac- 
 tive part in politics, and has been for many years 
 a supporter of the Republican part^'. He is one 
 of America's self-made men, and has steadily 
 pressed forward to the goal of success, overcom- 
 ing all difficulties and obstacles in his path with a 
 courage and perseverance worth}' of the emulation 
 of all. 
 
 *SQi^ 
 
 -^ 
 
 7?RANCIS M. .STAKSBERRY. It is only by 
 written record that we can fitly perpetuate 
 the histor}- of the early settlers and men 
 who bv their heroic struggles overcame the obsta- 
 cles in their pathway amid the privations and dis- 
 couragements of life on the frontier. Therefore 
 it is with pleasure that we present this brief sketch 
 and tribute to the memory- of the gentleman whose 
 name heads this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Stansberry was a native of West Virginia, 
 his birth occurring on the 9th of July, 1829, near 
 Wheeling. He was one of eight children, four 
 sons and four daughters. His parents removed to 
 Indiana when he was about four years of age, the 
 trip being made by way of the rivers on a flat- 
 
 boat. His father purch.ased Government land near 
 Muncie, Ind., and was one of the early settlers of 
 Delaware County. Soon after his settlement in 
 Indiana, the father died, and when our subject 
 was but seven years of age his mother also de- 
 parted this life. 
 
 At that time Mr. Stansberry was bound out to a 
 Quaker, to remain with him until fourteen years of 
 age. He was early accustomed to the duties and 
 occupations of farm life while in the employ of 
 this man, and on attaining the age of fourteen he 
 was released from the engagement. For the suc- 
 ceeding four or five years he worked by the montli 
 for the neighboring farmers, and then determined 
 to learn a trade. He chose that of a wagon-maker, 
 at which business he worked until 1852. The 
 spirit of adventure had taken an active hold on 
 his mind, and in that year he started for Califor- 
 nia, going by mule and ox-teams overland. He 
 was about five months on the way, his destination 
 being the Salmon River mines. He remained in 
 California for man}' years, and for a portion of the 
 time engaged in mining. Later be ran a sawmill 
 and for a number of years was an extensive stock- 
 raiser. He purchased quite a large cattle ranch 
 and was very successful in his business undertak- 
 ings. In those days he bore a great reputation as 
 a bear hunter, and killed many of those ferocious 
 animals in a hand-to-hand encounter. For several 
 years he lived among the Indians, and had many 
 strange and thrilling adventures. 
 
 On the 28th of July, 1851, Mr. Stansberry was 
 united in marriage with Miss Permelia D. Fair- 
 banks, daughter of Almon and Paulina (Jaquith) 
 Fairbanks. Six children graced this union. Fran- 
 cis A. and JIathias C. are both at home; May P. is 
 the wife of Joseph E. Smith, a druggist of Kanka- 
 kee; Almon A. is engaged in the drug business in 
 Georgetown, 111.; and Ilattie is at present attend- 
 ing school in Kankakee. 
 
 Mr. Stansberry returned from California about 
 1867 and visited the scenes and friends of In- 
 diana for a few weeks. He then came to Kanka- 
 kee County and purchased a partially improved 
 farm on section 35, Aroma Township. This place 
 consisted of three hundred and twenty acres, and 
 here he carried on general farming and stock-rais-
 
 294 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing for many years. As a business man he was 
 successful, for he was industrious, enterprising and 
 progressive in his methods, and at the time of his 
 deatli had accumulated a good estate and was ac- 
 counted one of the well-to-do farmers of this 
 comraunitj-. Mr. Slansberry's death occurred as 
 the result of an accident. On the 2oth of August, 
 1892, while in Kankakee, his team became fright- 
 ened and ran away, he being thrown from his 
 w.agon, and sustaining severe and fatal injur- 
 ies, lie lingered for about two days and passed 
 away on Saturday morning, the 27tli. His life 
 was alwaj-s a busy and useful one, yet he ever 
 found time to devote himself to public interests 
 and the general welfare. Politically, he affiliated 
 with the Republican party, and for some years in 
 California was Justice of the Peace. He was a 
 man who b}' his genial manner and interesting 
 conversation made many friends, and his death 
 was a great shock and sorrow to all. 
 
 i^AYETTE S. HATCH, Deputy County Treas- 
 urer of Kankakee County', and ex-County 
 Superintendent of Schools, has been for 
 man}' years a resident of Kankakee, his arrival here 
 dating from 1866. His birth occurred in Chenango 
 County, N. Y., in 1832. His father, Jethro Hatch, 
 was born in Connecticut. The genealogy of the 
 family is traced back to Thomas Hatch, whose 
 name is identified with the early history of the 
 New England Colonies. The paternal grandfather 
 of our subject, whose Christian name was Timothy, 
 removed to the Empire State when his son Jethro 
 was but a child and was one of the pioneers of 
 Chenango County, where he resided until his death, 
 which occurred when he had attained to the ad- 
 vanced age of ninet}'-eight years. The father of 
 our subject wedded Minerva Pierce, a naiive of 
 the Green Mountain State, and in 1846 emigrated 
 with his familj' to Kane Count}^ 111. He settled 
 upon an unimproved farm in the township of Su- 
 gar Grove. He located on State land and was 
 
 one of the earliest of the pioneers of that county. 
 There he lived until the country, which was then 
 in a wild, uncultivated condition, was thickly set- 
 tled, converted into fine farms and covered with 
 pleasant and comfortable homes. Toward the close 
 of his life lie removed to Aurora, where he died 
 when eiglit3-flve years of age. His wife survived 
 him only four years, passing away at the age of 
 eighty-three. 
 
 Jethro Hatch and wife were the parents of five 
 children, three sons and two daughters, all of whom 
 are living: Mercelia, the widow of Dr. Lawson 
 Winslow, now residing at Aurora; Fayette, who is 
 our subject; Dr. Jethro, a practicing physician of 
 Kentland, Ind.; Mattie W., the wife of D. C. Wins- 
 low, now living at Gilro}', Cal.; and Austin P., a 
 resident of Aurora. 
 
 When his parents removed from New Y'ork to 
 Illinois, Faj'ette S. Hatch, whose name heads this 
 sketch, was about fourteen years of age. He well 
 remembers the pioneer days and e;speriences in 
 Kane County. His earliest education was obtained 
 in the district schools of his native and adopted 
 States. Later he pursued a course of studj' at Be- 
 loit College, which was then and for many j'ears 
 afterward under the Presidency of Dr. Chapin. 
 When between the ages of sixteen and twentj--two 
 years, our subject taught a number of terms of 
 school. Ma}' 12, 1864, he enlisted in the One Hun- 
 dred and Forty-first Illinois Regiment and remained 
 in the service until the regiment was discharged, 
 October 20, 1864. He continued to reside in Kane 
 Count}' until 1866, when he came to Kankakee and 
 engaged in the furniture business. 
 
 On the 3d of March, 1868, Mr. Hatch was united 
 in marriage with Miss Teresa M. Peirce and by 
 their union were born three children, two sons and 
 a daughter. Mary S. is a teacher in the public 
 schools of Kankakee; and the sons are Lawson W. 
 and Austin L. Mr. Hatch was bereft of his wife 
 by death on the 13th of August, 1892. She was a 
 faithful wife and mother and left many friends to 
 mourn her loss. 
 
 In the year 1886, Mr. Hatch was elected Super- 
 intendent of Schools of Kankakee County, and in 
 that cap.acity proved an efficient and able officer 
 during the succeeding four years. Since the ex-
 
 PORTRAIT A>.'D LIOGRArillCAL liECORD. 
 
 295 
 
 piration of his term as SuperintendeDt be lias been 
 connected witli llie otiice of County Treasurer. In 
 liis political afliliations our subject is a standi Re- 
 publican. His first Presidential vote was cast for 
 John C. Fremont in 185(5, since which time lie has 
 never failed to deposit his ballot in favor of the 
 Presidential candidate of his party. Mr. Hatch is 
 prominent in Masonic circles, beino; a member of 
 the lilue Lodge, Chapter, Commandery and Con- 
 sistory, and has been for seven years District Dep- 
 uty of the Sixteenth Masonic District. He is a 
 popular citizen and his business and official careers 
 have ever been attended with the strict integrity 
 and honor by which lie has won the respect and 
 confidence of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 l U f t^t ^1 > P ^ 1 
 
 9 I I \ I 1 I 1 
 
 'OSEPH ARNOLD BAKER, a prominent 
 farmer and early settler of the township of 
 Aroma, was born in Lawrenceburg Town- 
 ship, Dearborn County, Ind., on the IGth 
 of Se[)tember, 1823. He is a sou of Abiel and 
 Maria (Osgood) Baker. The former was a farmer 
 by occupation, was born in Rhode Island, married 
 in early life, and settled in Dearborn County, Ind., 
 where he died when our subject was but a child. 
 His wife, who survived her husliand, was born 
 near Augusta, Me. Some years subsequent to her 
 husband's death she removed to Illinois and died 
 here in October, 1887. 
 
 Joseph A. Baker, whose name heads this sketch, 
 was reared on a farm and received a good com- 
 mon-school education. In March, 1818, he mar- 
 ried ^liss Sarah True. She was born in Manchester, 
 Ind., and was a daughter of Abram B. and Klraire 
 (Gerrish) True. Eight children blessed tiie un- 
 ion of Mv. and Mrs. Baker, of whom five are now 
 living: Sparks B. married Miss Frances Briggs, and 
 is a farmer of Lincoln Township, Audubon County, 
 Iowa; Mary J. is the wife of Peter Cray, of Lime- 
 stone Township, this countv'; Albion T. died at 
 the age of two years; Harriet A. became the wife 
 of Christian Oray, of Salina Townsliip; Joseph A. 
 died in infancy; Emory E. married Ida M. Beebe 
 
 and makes his home in Kankakee; Luella AI. is the 
 wife of Joshua (Jra_y, of Pilot Township; and Lois 
 E. died when two months old. 
 
 ]\Ir. Baker engaged in farming in Indiana until 
 
 1819, when he removed witli his family to Will 
 County, now Kankakee County, HI., and settled 
 in what is now the townshii) of Arom;i. He then 
 possessed but limited means and dreaded going in 
 dcl)t so much that he bought only forty acres of 
 land, for which he paid but $1.50 per acre. He 
 was offered a (luartei-section near by shortly after- 
 ward at $2 per acre, on his own terms as to time 
 of payment, but tlie dread of debt prevented his 
 acceptance of the offer. Man3' 3ears later, how- 
 ever, he became the owner of the identical tract, 
 for which he then paid §50 per acre, and a part of 
 which he has since sold for § 1 00 per acre. lie from 
 time to time increased his possessions until he 
 owned about six hundred acres of fine farm land 
 in this county. He still owns four hundred acres. 
 Mr. Baker carried on farming and stock-raising 
 successfully in Aroma Township, and by hard 
 work and good management arrived at his present 
 position as one of the wealth}' farmers of the 
 count}'. 
 
 On the IGth of ]\Iarcli, 1875, Mr. Baker was 
 called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, whose 
 death occurred on the homestead farm. She was 
 a member of the Jlethodist Episcopal Church and 
 was a consistent Christian woman. On the 17th 
 of October, 1876, Mr. Baker \yas again married, 
 his second wife being Miss Lovinia Ileustis True, 
 a sister of his former wife. Mrs. Baker was born 
 in Alanchester, Ind. Her father, who was an 
 earl}' settler of Kankakee County, was born in 
 Durham, Me., on the KUh of September, 1790, 
 and settled in Dearborn County, Ind., in January, 
 
 1820. In 1850, he removed with his family to 
 Illinois, settling in what is now Kankakee County. 
 He purchased one hundred and sixty acres, all of 
 which lie within the eastern limits of Kankakee. 
 At the time Mr. True settled, the site of Kanka- 
 kee was marked only by the old Indian chief's 
 log house. He departed this life at the advanced 
 age of eighty-eight years, on the 17th of February, 
 1885, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Baker. 
 Mrs. Baker's mother had previously died, the date
 
 296 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 i>-^^<-^ 
 
 of her death being December 6, 1854. Both were 
 highly esteemed and were widely known among 
 the eaily settlers of the county. Mrs. Baker is a 
 member of Grace Methodist Episcopal Cliurcli. 
 
 On the 6th of December, 1891, Mr. Baker moved 
 to Kankakee, which has since been his home and 
 wliere he has a line residence on Cliicago Avenue, 
 between Oak and Locust Streets. He helped erect 
 the first business house in Kankakee, which stood 
 where the Rondy Building now stands on Court 
 Street, between Schuyler and Dearborn Avenues. 
 Politically, our subject is a supporter of the Re- 
 publican party but has never been an aspirant for 
 office. lu all the relations of life he has en- 
 deavored to discharge with fidelity the duties de- 
 volving upon him. Upright and prudent, he has 
 never been known to speculate or risk his means 
 in uncertain ventures in the hope of large gains, 
 so that while he has accumulated wealth slowly 
 he has assuredly preserved what he has made, and 
 his conservative course, while perhaps preventing 
 him from becoming very wealthy, has insured for 
 him a gradual and steady increase of riches that 
 is sure to bring suljstantial returns in the course 
 of time, as has been demonstrated in his case. 
 
 eAPT. JACOB RUGER, Treasurer of Kan- 
 kakee County, is an old pioneer of this re- 
 gion, and was a gallant soldier in the War 
 of the Rebellion. He is a native of Germany, his 
 birth having occurred in Wurtemberg on the 11th 
 of December, 1835. His parents spent their entu'e 
 lives in the Fatherland, and there departed this 
 life. In 1853 our subject, accompanied by his 
 brother, Charles L. Ruger, crossed the brinj' deep 
 and cast anchor in New York Harbor. The 
 brothers went to Pittsburgh, Pa., and thence to 
 Chicago in 1854. However, owing to the preva- 
 lence of cholera in that city, they decided to go 
 elsewhere and continued their journey, arriving 
 in .Joliet, where they engaged in work at their 
 trade, that of harness-making. 
 
 In May, 1856, Capt. Ruger first located in this 
 
 county. He engaged in harness-making for sev- 
 eral years in Momence, and then the late war 
 breaking out, he enlisted for the defense of the 
 Union. He was assigned to Company H, Seventy- 
 sixth Illinois Infantry, on the 6th of August, 
 1862. He was elected Second Lieutenant on the 
 organization of the company, and served in that 
 capacity until .June 5, 1863, when Capt. Plummer, 
 of Company H, having died, our subject was pro- 
 moted to the Captaincy, and served in that posi- 
 tion until the close of the war. He participated 
 with his regiment and in the command of his com- 
 pany in many of the most important engagements 
 and disastrous battles of the war. He took part 
 in the siege of Vicksburg in 1863, and in the 
 same year participated in the siege of Jackson, 
 Miss. In July, 1864, he was in the battle of 
 Jackson Cross Roads, Miss., and was under fire 
 at Benton, in the same )'ear. He was under 
 Sherman in the Meriden campaign of 1864, and 
 was also at Port Hudson. Toward the close of 
 the war his command was ordered to New Or- 
 leans, thence to Pensacola, and later to Mobile, at 
 which place they took an active part in the mili- 
 tary operations. In the attack on Ft. Blakeley 
 Capt. Ruger's company received a severe loss in 
 killed and wounded. From there the regiment 
 moved up the Alabama River to Selma, wliere 
 they learned of Gen. Lee's surrender. Returning 
 to Mobile, they went by steamer in July, 1865, to 
 Galveston, Tex., where they received an honorable 
 discharge. Moving Northward, they arrived in 
 Chicago, and were in due time mustered out of 
 the service. Although Capt. Ruger participated 
 in so manj' severe and desperate battles, he es- 
 caped without wounds, but from close proximity 
 to an exploding shell he was rendered entirely 
 deaf in his right ear, and, as years roll by, he feels 
 in an increasing degree the effects of his army 
 life. He arrived at his home August 6, 1865, just 
 three j^ears to a day from the time of his enlist- 
 ment. In battle he was courageous and undaunted, 
 and was ever to be found in the front ranks cheer- 
 ing his soldiers on to victory. 
 
 On returning to Kankakee at the close of the 
 war, Capt. Ruger resumed his trade of harness- 
 making, which he continued until appointed to
 
 L.- ,:;y 
 
 Or THE 
 
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 LIBRARY 
 
 OF [HE 
 
 HNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 :^n! 
 
 serve Uie unexpired term of County Treasurer, 
 which office was made vacant by the death of J. 
 J. Oberlain. He assumed the duties of the ollice 
 on the tth of March, 1892, and lias proved an ac- 
 ceptable and trustworthy official. He has also 
 served in various positions of trust and honor in 
 IMomence. He was a member of the Hoard of Su- 
 pervisors for ten j-ears, and served on the Board 
 of Trustees for many years. The cause of educa- 
 tion has ever found in him a stanch supporter, 
 and for six years he was School Director. He has 
 ever taken a commendable interest in the growth 
 and development of this vicinity, and is highly 
 esteemed for the part he has taken in the promo- 
 tion of its welfare. 
 
 Capt. Kuger married Miss Narcissa Burcham, 
 and of their union have been born seven children, 
 live sons and two dauu;hters. The Captain is a 
 member of Whipple Post No. 414. G. A. R. All 
 tiie family are members of the Episcopal Church. 
 
 =^^3. 
 
 ^, AVID SCOT'l" a well-known farmer residing 
 on section 14, Limestone Township, is num- 
 bered among the early settlers of the county, 
 dating his residence here from 1856. He is a na- 
 tive of England, his Iiirth having occurred near 
 Liveri)ool on the27lh of December, 1827. His fa- 
 ther was bora in the same place, and his ancestors 
 for several generations had there resided, being 
 English yeomanry. The mother of our subject 
 was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. She came 
 of one of the best families of that city, and her 
 education was there acquired. David of this 
 sketch was the third child in the family of foui- 
 teen children, four sons and ten daughters. His 
 brother, Alexander, fell heir to the Scott estate in 
 England, where he yet resides. He was formerly 
 an officer in the English army, but is now retired. 
 We now take up tlie personal history of our sub- 
 ject, who in 1841 crossed the broad Atlantic to 
 America and kieated in Philadelphia, Pa., where 
 he attended school for a year. He then went to 
 
 14 
 
 Middlebury, Yt., where he again atlcnded school 
 for a year and a-half. He continued his residence 
 in that place until about thirty years of age, and 
 while there followed the occupation of manufac- 
 turing marble monuments for about eight years. 
 He has, however, devoted the greater part of his 
 time and attention throughout life to farming. 
 
 On the 2(Jth of September, 1849, Mr. Scott was 
 united in marriage with Miss Clarissa T. Terrell, 
 who resided in Castletou, Vt. She is the eldest in 
 a family of three children, including one son and 
 "two daughters, born of the union of Levi and 
 Betsy (Sandford) Terrell. Her parents were both 
 natives of this country, and the father served in 
 the War of 1812. Mrs. Scott received a good edu- 
 cation, and after attending the common schools, 
 was for one term a student in Fair Haven Seiiii- 
 Uiiry. She then engaged in teaching, which pro- 
 fession she followed successfully until her marriage. 
 She is an intelligent and highly cultured lady, 
 and for eighteen years has been honored with the 
 office of School Treasurer of this townshi[), being 
 the present incumbent. She is under bond for 
 S26,000, and handles about $15,000. All honor is 
 due the woman who so faithfully and efficiently 
 transacts such important business. 
 
 Three children graced the union of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Scott, of whom Kobert W. was the eldest. He 
 was born October 26, 1850, and for some time was 
 a prosperous farmer of Indiana. He died in I>ake 
 ■ Village, that State, on the 5th of February, 1892. 
 Henri C, born Slay 17, 1852, is married and with 
 his wife and two children now resides in N(jrtli 
 Kankakee. Alice M., who completes the family, 
 was born on the Mth of May, 1855, and is the 
 wife of James P. Tennes, a resident of South Kan- 
 kakee. 
 
 Mr. Scott, accompanied by his family, came to 
 Kankakee County, 111., in JIarch, 1856, and for 
 about six years rented land. He then purchased 
 one hundred and sixty .acres of raw prairie land 
 on section 11, Limestone Township, where he has 
 since made his home. At that time there were 
 only two houses in sight of his dwelling. Few 
 roads had been laid out and the work of progress 
 and development seemed scarcely begun. IlD h.as 
 transformed his land into one of the finest farms
 
 302 
 
 i'ORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in the county, and its well-tilled fields and neat 
 appearance indicate liis tlirift and enterprise. He 
 also owns property in South Kankakee. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Scott is a Republican, 
 having supported that part^' since its organization. 
 His first Presidential vote was cast for William 
 Henry Harrison. As every true American citizen 
 should do, he takes an active interest in political 
 affairs, and for years has been an office-holder, fill- 
 ing all the township offices. To those who know 
 Mr. Scott, it is needless to say his duties liave ever 
 been discharged with faithfulness and fidelity. He 
 and liis wife are both members "of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church of South Kankakee, which he 
 built in 1871, and they are the only two surviv- 
 ing members who united with the church at that 
 time. They have taken a prominent part in 
 church work and in all that tends to elevate and 
 improve the community. The business record of 
 Mr. Scott is without stain, and his life has ever 
 been such as to win him universal confidence and 
 respect. 
 
 THOMAS DAILY, one of the extensive land- 
 ^v owners of Aroma Township, resides on sec- 
 p^ tion 25. He is one of the worthy citizens 
 that the Emerald Isle has furnished to this State. 
 A native of Count}^ Carlow, he was bom on the 10th 
 of March, 1835, and is a son of Matthew and El- 
 len (Pollej-) Daily, who were also born in the land 
 of the shamrock. They became parents of a fam- 
 ily of seven children, six sons and a daughter, 
 namely: Sarah, Robert, Thomas, Matthew, William, 
 Edward and C4eorge. One of the children died in 
 infanc}', and with the exception of our subject, the 
 others are all now deceased. In 1849 the parents, 
 with their family, bade adieu to their native land, 
 and in a sailing-vessel crossed the broad Atlantic 
 to America. After a voyage of six weeks and 
 three days they landed at New Orleans, and thence 
 made their way up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers 
 to Columbus, Ohio, where the}' resided for a j'ear. 
 Their next place of residence was in Jackson, Miss., 
 where the mother died in 1851. The familv con- 
 
 tinued to reside in that place for about nine months fl 
 afterward, when the father and his children made 
 their way north to Illinois, locating in Kankakee 
 County, where Matthew Daily died the same year, 
 1852. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, we thus see, is the 
 only surviving member of the family. He spent 
 tiie first thirteen years of his life in the land of 
 his birth, and then accompanied his parents on 
 their emigration to the New World. He attended 
 school in Ireland, and to a limited extent after he 
 came to this country, but his privileges have been 
 meagre, except those he lias made for himself. He 
 accompanied the farnil}' on their various removals 
 after locating in this country until 1852, when he 
 came with them to Kankakee County. Here he 
 began work on a farm by the mouth, and during 
 the first year his wages were onlj' $12 per month. 
 He continued thus to be employed for five years, 
 when he determined his labors should benefit him- 
 self, and rented a farm, which he engaged in oper- 
 ating until 1862. 
 
 The Civil War was tlieu in progress, and it was 
 proven that it would be no slight affair, as both 
 the North and South first supposed. Mr. Daily 
 offered his services to his adopted country, and en- 
 tered the ranks for the preservation of the Union, 
 to serve for three years. He became a private of 
 Company H, One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois 
 Infantrjf, and was mustered into service at Chicago, 
 whence with his command he was sent to the front. 
 The first engagement of importance in which he 
 participated was at Forest, Miss. He also took 
 part in the battle of Chickasaw Bayou, and on the 
 9th of May he entered upon the siege of Vicks- 
 burg, where he remained continuously until the 
 surrender of the city, after a long and arduous 
 siege, on the 4th of July, 1863. He was then trans- 
 ferred to the Fourth Regular Cavalrj', and with 
 his regiment met the enemy in the battles of 
 Franklin, Nashville and Tombigbee. He served 
 until 1865, when the South having surrendered 
 and the Union no longer needing his services, lie 
 was mustered out, receivingan honorable discharge 
 at Chicago. He was neither wounded nor taken pris- 
 oner in all the long years of his service, but was 
 ever found at his post of duty, faithfully defending
 
 PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 ^OA 
 
 the Stars and Stripes, which now float so proudly 
 over our united nation. The country owes its boys 
 in blue a debt of gratitude which can never be 
 repaid for the noble sacrifices they made in order 
 tliat the Union might be maintained. Our subject 
 may well be proud of his arm}^ recoi'd. 
 
 Wiien the war was over Mr. Daily returned to 
 Kankakee Count^^ where he remained until 1866. 
 when he went to Arkansas, remaining iu that State 
 from the spring until the succeeding autumn. He 
 then returned to Illinois, but after a short stay 
 went to Texas, where he resided until 1867. In 
 that year he again came to Illinois, and has re- 
 sided in Kankakee County continuously since. 
 
 The j'ear after his return Mr. Daily was united in 
 niarri.ige, the lady of his choice being Miss Annie 
 Smyth, daughter of John and Alice (Caryon* 
 Smyth. Plight children have been born of their 
 union, as follows: Mar^- A., a teacher of recognized 
 ability- in this county; Sarah E., who is also suc- 
 cessfully engaged in teaching; Lillie, who died on 
 the 13th of September, 1874; Matthew E., Thomas 
 A., William E., Robert II. and Walter G., who are 
 still under the parental roof. The faniilj' are all 
 members of the Catholic Church, and are people 
 of prominence in the community, who hold an en- 
 viable position in social circles. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Daily is a Democrat 
 who warmly advocates the principles of that party, 
 but h.as never been an office-seeker, preferring to 
 devote his entire time and attentionUo his business 
 interests, in which he has met with excellent suc- 
 cess. On his return tolllinois from Texas, he pur- 
 , chased forty .acres of land in St. Anne Township, 
 and after making his home thereon for a year, he 
 1 bought the farm upon which he is now living. It 
 then comprised onl^' eighty acres, situated on sec- 
 tion 25, Aroma Township, but as his (inancial re- 
 \ sources have increased, he has extended its bound- 
 aries, and his landed possessions now aggregate 
 six hundred and twenty acres of well-improved 
 and valuable land, all under a high state of culti- 
 vation. He carries on general farming and stock- 
 raising, and the neat appearance of his [ilace indi- 
 cates the supervision of a careful manager. His 
 possessions represent his own hard labor. Mr. 
 Daily has been the architect of his own fortunes, 
 
 and has built wisely and well. He is now num- 
 bered among the substantial citizens of the com- 
 munity, as well as most prominent farmers. 
 
 ■9 c=iJ *: T^> [=^ 
 
 ^^^HE KANKAKEE GAZETTE was established 
 in August, 1853, by A. Chester, who owned 
 and published it until 1856. On the 1st of 
 April of that year it was purchased by Daniel S. 
 Parker. The first numbers were published in Chi- 
 cago, there being no place jet built in Kankakee 
 where- a press could be set up. Tlie Chicago Jour- 
 nal Company did the press work. This continued 
 but for a verj' few weeks, when the press and type 
 were sent to Kankakee, and for a time the work 
 was done in the open air, under the shade of .a 
 friendly tree, in the presence of many who gathered 
 about to see how the thing worked, and probably 
 not a few of the early pioneers saw a printing- 
 press work for the first time on that occasion. Mr. 
 Chester was a good journalist, but not a practical 
 printer, and being engaged in outside matters, sold 
 to Ml-. Parker, as before stated. Jlr. Parker took 
 the paper with five hundred sul)scribers, but soon 
 increased it to twelve hundred. In 1862, he en- 
 tered the armj' as Adjutant of the One Hundred 
 and Tiiirteenth Illinois Volunteers, and J. B. At- 
 kinson conducted and edited the paper during his 
 absence. Subseejuently W. F. Ready bought an 
 interest in the paper, selling out again to Mr. 
 Parker. After lhirte(!n years of editorial life, Mr. 
 Parker, in 1868, laid down the quill and sold his 
 office to Charles Holt. 
 
 The Gazette is one of tlie best countr\' familj' 
 papers published in northern Illinois. ."\Ir. Holt 
 is an old journalist, during the war editing the 
 only daily published in Janesville, Wis., and sub- 
 sequently became connected with the tiuincy 
 miiff. During the war the Gazette published ex- 
 tras that sold for ten cents on the street during 
 the time of great important military movements. 
 A few of these papers have been preserved and are 
 considered great curiosities at this time. On the 
 1st of November, 1888, Arthur B. Holt and Clar-
 
 304 
 
 POiiTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ence E. Holt were admitted to partnership with 
 their father, and the firm at this writing, Novem- 
 ber, 1892, carries on business under the name of 
 Charles Holt & Sons. 
 
 |,5vvC2o_ 
 
 
 SO~ 
 
 ^^lEORGE W. PUMEL is engaged in farming 
 III __, on section 10, Aroma Townsliip. lie is a 
 ^^4 native of tlie Buclieye State, his birth oc- 
 curring near Sinking Springs, Higlilaud County, 
 on the 20th of September, 1820. Hie parents, 
 Hezekiah and Barbara (Knizley) Purael, were both 
 natives of Virginia and of German descent. At 
 an early day they removed to Oliio, wliere the 
 father engaged in agricultural pursuits until the 
 time of liis death, which occurred in 1836. His 
 wife died the following year. In tlieir family 
 were ten children: Samuel, James, Jacob, Joshua, 
 David, George, John N., INIary A., Lucinda and 
 -Margaret. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born and reared 
 on a farm. He received a common-school educa- 
 tion, attending the district scliools during tlie 
 winter terms until about seventeen j'ears of age. 
 He was thrown on his own resources at the early 
 age of fourteen, and since that time lie lias made 
 his own wa}' in the world. He early learned the 
 carpenter's trade, at which he worked until 1812, 
 witli the exception of one year, when he was em- 
 ployed in an iron works. He went to Indiana, 
 settling in Fountain County in 1842, where he 
 worked at his trade and engaged in the manufac- 
 ture of plows for the succeeding live years. He 
 next came to Whiteside County, 111., where lie re- 
 mained until 1847. Mr. Pumel then took a trip 
 tlirough Iowa and tlie Northwest, but returned to 
 Whiteside Count}-, wliere he ran a sawmill for the 
 owner at a place near Sterling, and was in his 
 employ for the period of a 3'ear. Returning to 
 Indiana he engaged in farming for about the same 
 length of time; then going to Joliet he rented a 
 farm near tliat city, which he engaged in cultivat- 
 ing until 1853. That year witnessed his arrival 
 in Kankakee County. The first summer he rented 
 
 land until he had decided where to make his per- 
 manent location. In the year 1854 he became the 
 owner of eighty acres of unimproved prairie land 
 in Otto Township, upon which he remained for 
 onl}' one year. He then sold that farm and 
 bought a forty-acre tract, which he cultivated un- 
 til 1876. He later purchased seventy acres in 
 Aroma Township, which is his present home. He 
 is now engaged in general fanning and stock- 
 raising, and to a large extent his efforts have been 
 crowned with success. 
 
 Mr. Pumel was united in marriage with Miss 
 Sarah J. Cameron, July 8, 1848. She is a daugh- 
 ter of Hugh and Sarah (Zumwalt) Cameron. Four 
 children have been born of this union: Louisa J. 
 
 was the wife of Thomas W. Pruitt, who is now 
 
 » 
 
 deceased; Randolph is second in order of birth; 
 Wallace departed this life in 1860; and Ellis lives 
 at home and assists his father in carrying on the 
 farm. 
 
 Mr. Pumel cast his first ballot for James K. 
 Polk, but for many ^ears lias been allied with the 
 Republican part}'. For three 3'eais he has held 
 the office of Road Commissioner, and has served 
 as a member of the School Board for a number of 
 years. For nearly forty years our subject has 
 made his home in this county, and has done much 
 to assist in its growth and prosperit}'. He is a 
 worthy citizen and a man of upright character 
 and sterling worth. He numbers a large circle of 
 friends and acquaintances in this and adjoining 
 counties, who esteem him most highly. 
 
 / ASEE-J-HEE* 
 
 RANKLIN DWIGHT HATCH, a leading 
 grocer of Kankakee, and a resident of this 
 (^ city since 1865, was born in Sherburne, 
 Chenango County, N. Y., August 6, 1848, and is 
 the j'oungest son of Elam and Margaret (Farrell) 
 Hatch, who were also natives of the same place. 
 Elam Hatch was born in 1796, and was descended 
 from one of the oldest New England families of 
 English origin. The founder of the Hatch fam-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 305 
 
 ily, of wliich our subject is a member, was Thomas, 
 an English immigrant wiio reached the New World 
 in 1()30, having crossed the ocean in the good ship 
 "Mary and John," a vessel of three-tons burden. 
 He settled in Dorcliester, Mass. His son Jonathan 
 was born in England in 1625, and came to Amer- 
 ica with his parents five years later. In 16.39 thev 
 removed from Dorchester to Barnstable, in the 
 same Slate, where Thomas Hatch died. Jonathan 
 married in 1648, and had seven sons born to him 
 in Barnstable. He subsequently removed to Fal- 
 moutli, INIass., where another son was born to him, 
 lieing the first white child born in that place. 
 Among these sons, all born prior to 1665, was one 
 Benjamin, who was thrice married and had twelve 
 children. Of these twelve was one Timotliy, who 
 married in 17;i9 near F"olland, Conn., and was the 
 first settler in Kent. Jclhro, son of Timothy, was 
 horn in 1722, and died aged ninety-six years. 
 Timothy, son of Jethro, was born in 1758, and set- 
 tled in Sherburne, Chenango County, N. Y., and 
 was the grandfather of our subject. 
 
 Elam Hatch was the fourth son of Timothj' 
 Hatch, and was born in Sherburne, Ciienango 
 County, N. Y., in 1796, and died in Kane County, 
 111., in 1876. His wife, the mother of our subject, 
 was also born in Sherburne, in the year 1794, and 
 died in 1875. In 1850 the family emigrated 
 Westward, settling in Sugar Grove, Kane County, 
 where the father engaged in fanning until near 
 the close of life. In their family were seven chil- 
 dren, of whom five were sons. The two daughters 
 and two of the sons are now deceased. Those liv- 
 ing are Y. T., of Highraore, S. Dak.; E. P., residing 
 on the old homestead in Sugar Grove, Kane 
 County; and Frank D., the subject of this sketch, 
 who is the j'oungest of the family. 
 
 Our subject attended the district schools and as- 
 sisted in the care of tlie home farm until thirteen 
 years of age, when he engaged as clerk to a mer- 
 chant in Aurora, 111., continuing in his employ for 
 four years. In 1865 he came to Kankakee, where 
 he spent six years as a clerk in the grocery store of 
 Hatch & Savoie, the senior partner of the firm be- 
 ing his elder brother, who is now deceased. In 
 1870, Mr. Hatch became a member of the firm, and" 
 four years later became sole proprietor, and has so 
 
 continued up to the present time, covering a 
 period of nineteen years. In his retail department 
 he carries a full line of staple and fancy groceries, 
 flour and feed, cliina, queensware, etc. In con- 
 nection with his retail trade he does a wholesale 
 fruit commission business and is a jobber in carbon 
 oil, tobacco, soap, etc. He has by strict attention 
 to the wants of his trade, and b^' the exercise of 
 correct business principles, succeeded in building 
 up a strong and increasing business, and is recog- 
 nized as one of the leaders in his line in the 
 count}-. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1874, Mr. Hatch was mar- 
 ried in Kankakee to Miss Frances E. Dusinbury, 
 who is a daughter of John B. Dusinbury, a well- 
 known pioneer of this county. ^Irs. Hatch was 
 born in Plain field. 111. 
 
 Our subject has always been a stanch Kcpuli- 
 lican, and in 1888 was chosen Mayor of Kankakee, 
 serving the terra for which he was elected, and 
 proving a most efficient officer, being the youngest 
 man ever elected to fill that jjosition. On the or- 
 ganization of the Kankakee Fire Department in 
 1877, Mr. Hatch was chosen Chief, and so satisf.ic- 
 tory has the work of the department proved under 
 his administration, that he has been chosen his own 
 successor at each succeeding election except for 
 the year in which he was Mayor. He is at present 
 the Chief of the department, and has filled that 
 position for fifteen years. He has been President 
 of the Merchants' Police since its organization six 
 years ago. Mr. Hatch is a member of the Repub- 
 lican County Committee for the first precinct, and 
 has been active in campaign work. His acknowl- 
 edged executive abilitj^ and public spirit led to 
 his being chosen Chairman of the Kankakee Fourth 
 of July Committee each succeeding j-ear for the 
 past tweut}' years. 
 
 Mr. Hatch is a Knight Templar, a member of 
 Kankakee Lodge No. 389, A. F. cfe A. M.; of Chap- 
 ter No. 78, II. A. M.; and of Ivanhoe Coraman- 
 dery. No. 33, K. T. He also belongs to the Orien- 
 tal Consistory Valley of Chicago. He has been a 
 Mason for twent^'-three years, and has served three 
 terms as Master of his lodge, three terms as High 
 Priest of the Chapter, and one term as Eminent 
 Commander of the Commandery. He owns a fine
 
 30C 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 residence at No. 329 Dearborn Avenue, and also 
 is tlie owner of other real estate in the city. He 
 is recognized as a typical Western business man, 
 active, energetic and enterprising, possessing the 
 essential elements of success — sound judgment and 
 unquestioned integrity. Socially, he is deservedly 
 popular, and has liosts of warm friends among the 
 best citizens of Kankakee Count}'. 
 
 j.j..5..5..?*v 
 
 
 JRESTON STEBBING, M. D., of North 
 ) Kankakee, first came to Kankakee County 
 on the 3d of June, 1853, but did not be- 
 
 |1\ eorae a permanent resident until 1875. 
 He is a native of the Empire State, having been 
 born in Clinton County August 6, 1833. 
 
 The father of our subject, Maj. Lewis Stebbing, 
 was a native of Vermont, and was descended from 
 one of the pioneer families of the (ireen Mountain 
 State. He received his title of Major by virtue 
 of his service in tiie American army in the War 
 of 1812. He wedded JIary Preston, a native of 
 Clinton County, N. Y., who became the mother of 
 the subject of this sketch, and whose death oc- 
 curred in St. Lawrence County, where the family 
 was then living, in 1849. In the following year 
 the father came West and made a location for his 
 familj' in Lake County, 111., and in 1851 he was 
 joined by his children, consisting of two sons and 
 four daughters. Their new home in Illinois be- 
 came the permanent abiding-pl.ace of tlie family, 
 and there the father died in 1884. The childien 
 are all yet living. The Doctor's only brother, 
 John J., who is several years his scnioi', is a resi- 
 dent of Adcl, Dallas County, Iowa. Three of the 
 sisters are still residents of Lake County, while the 
 fourth makes her home in Portland, Ore. 
 
 Dr. Stebbing received his education at Potsdam, 
 N. Y.,and early commenced the study of medicine. 
 He was licensed to practice when onl}' eighteen 
 years of age, but was not graduated in medicine 
 until 1866, when he took liis degree at Rush Med- 
 ical College, in Chicago. Previous to the time of 
 his graduation lie had had quite an experience in 
 
 the jiractice of medicine and was for two years in 
 the special medical service in the army. Before 
 locating permanently in Kankakee County he had 
 practiced in several fields and was for ten 3'ears a 
 practicing ph^'sician at Grand Rapids, AVis. 
 
 As stated, the Doctor has resided in this county, 
 engaged in tlie practice of his profession, since 
 1875, and was for many j^ears located in Chebanse. 
 Induced by the prospect that the new town of North 
 Kankakee was destined to become a place of some 
 importance, Dr. Stebbing decided to locate at that 
 point, and in August, 1892, carried his resolution 
 into effect. Besides his general medical practice 
 he owns a drug store, which is in a flourishing con- 
 dition. He has also been made Postmaster of 
 North Kankakee, the office having been but re- 
 centlj' established. 
 
 In the State of Kansas, Dr. Stebbing was mar- 
 ried to Miss Nellie A. Hazen, who is a daughter 
 of Livius Hazen, and a cousin of Gen. William 
 Hazen. Mrs. Stebbing's parents were natives of 
 New York, her father born near Lake Cham plain, 
 and her mother in the city of Albany. The latter, 
 whose maiden name was Elizabeth Arnot, belonged 
 to the well-known faniil}' of that name and also 
 to the Fillmore family, one member of which was 
 Millard Fillmore, President of the United States. 
 Previous to the War of the Rebellion, Mr. and Mrs 
 Hazen removed from Cincinnati, Ohio, where they 
 had lived for a number of years, to Leavenworth, 
 Kan., and were among-the early settlers of the place. 
 There Mr. Hazen 's death occurred in 1872, and 
 that of his wife some two years later. They were 
 the parents of six children who grew to manhood 
 and womanhood, but several of them have passed 
 away. 
 
 Dr. Stebbing and wife have two children, a 
 daughter and a son.' The former, May E., is the 
 wife of Andrew M. AVand, formerly of Onarga, 111., 
 but now residing in Ohio, Bureau County, 111. 
 Mrs. Wand is finel}' educated, being a graduate 
 of Onarga Seminary, in the literary course of 
 that institution and also of the Conservatory of 1 
 Music. The son, Franklin Fillmore, was born atj 
 Grand Rapids, Wis., February 29, 1872, and wasl 
 graduated from the Cheshire (Conn.) Military] 
 School when but seventeen years of age, after tak-l
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 307 
 
 ing a foiir-j'ears course, aud hart the honor of be- 
 ing the youngest member of his class. He is 
 registered as a druggist, and has charge of the drug 
 business before mentioned. 
 
 Dr. Stebbing is a progressive and enterprising 
 citizen, possessing the confidence and respect of all 
 wlio know him. He is President of the Village 
 Board of North Kankakee. For many years he 
 has been a Mason, belonging to Vitrurious Lodge 
 No. 81, A. F. & A. M., of Wheeling, 111. Both he 
 and his wife are members of St. FauFs Episcopal 
 Church of Kankakee, he having occupied an of- 
 ficial position in the church for several }■ ears. Po- 
 liticall^' the Doctor is an old Clay Whig. He be- 
 longs to the Kankakee Medical Society. 
 
 ■^f ACOB F. GOUGAR, probably one of the old- 
 est surviving pioneers of eastern Illinois 
 now a resident of Kankakee, was born in 
 Northumberland Count}', Pa., January 16, 
 1812, and isa son of AVilliam and Catherine (Jones) 
 Gougar. The family is of German extraction aud 
 was founded in America early in the seventeenth 
 centur}'. 
 
 The subject of this sketch when young removed 
 from Pennsylvania with his parents to Pickawaj' 
 Count}-, Ohio, thence to Terre Haute, Ind., and 
 from that city to eastern Illinois in 1832, set- 
 tling in Will County. He was there married in 
 1838 to Miss Artie Durliam, who was born in 
 Blount Count}', Tenn., August 19, 1818, and came 
 with her parents, Thomas and Margaret Durham, 
 to Illinois in the early days of its settlement. Her 
 parents settled at Bourbonnais, Kankakee County, 
 in 1835. 
 
 Mr. Gougar had learned the tanner's trade in the 
 East, and as the country about him in Will County- 
 began to be settled he opened a small tannery 
 and made leather for the families of the settlers, 
 the custom at that time being for each farmer to 
 buy leather and employ traveling shoemakers to 
 make up shoes for the family about ouce a year. He 
 was the first tanner in that county. Later he en- 
 
 gaged in farming for many years. In 18G7 he re- 
 moved to Kankakee and has since made this city 
 his home. 
 
 Two children were born to Mr. and JIrs Gougar, 
 William T. and Margaret E., who are both residents 
 of Kankakee. Mrs. Gougar, who was a consistent 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, de- 
 parted this life November 10, 1870. In liis i)olit- 
 ical alliliations, our subject is an earnest champion 
 of the Democratic [larty, as was his father before 
 him. 
 
 JCIIARD DEWEY, M. D., is the medical 
 superintendent of the Illinois Eastern Hos- 
 pital for the Insane, and has held that rela- 
 tion to the institution since it was opened 
 in July, 1879. Tiie hospital has prospered and 
 grown under his care from a small beginning to an 
 immense institution, giving shelter and treatment 
 to two thousand patients. 
 
 Dr. Dewey was born in Chautauqua County, N. 
 Y., on the 6th of December, 1845, and is a son of 
 Elijah, Jr., and Sophia (Smith) Dewey. The fa- 
 ther was born in Tioga County, and the mother in 
 Cattaraugus County, N. Y., and both are now de- 
 ceased. The subject of this sketch was graduated 
 from the High Schools at Clinton, N. Y., in the 
 Class of '61, when he entered upon a literary and 
 scientific course at the Michigan State University 
 at Ann Arbor, two years later beginning tlie study 
 of medicine and surgery in the same institution, 
 from which he was graduated in the Class of '69. 
 On receiving his degree he took one year of hos- 
 pital practice in the Brooklyn City Hospital of 
 New York as house physician and surgeon, serving 
 for six montlis in each capacity. 
 
 In August, 1870, Dr. Dewey joined the Military 
 Volunteer Surgeons' Corps of the German army 
 for service in the Franco-Prussian War. As he 
 had a knowledge of tlie German language, he was 
 engaged for that duty by the German Consul at 
 New York, and was attached as Volunteer Sur- 
 geon to the Seventh Army Corps in the field bos-
 
 308 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pital at Pont-a-Moussou, near Metz, in Loraine, 
 where the great battles were fought. Later, he 
 was in the reserve hospital attached to the Elev- 
 enth Army Corps at Ilesse-Cassel, Germany. After 
 receiving an honorable discharge, Dr. Dewej pur- 
 sued a course of study in medicine and surgery at 
 the Berlin University for one semester, and re- 
 turned to the United States in theautumn of 187L 
 He was immediately offered and accepted a posi- 
 tion at the Northern State Hospital as assistant 
 physician, where he served until appointed to the 
 position he now fills, in August, 1879. Soon after 
 his return from Europe he received a medal, 
 awarded him by the German Government in rec- 
 ognition of his services in the Franco-Prussian 
 War. 
 
 For twentj- years Dr. Dewey has made a special 
 stud}- of mental and nervous diseases, and has 
 during that period been in constant service in that 
 line of practice. For thirteen years at Kankakee 
 he has been in constant charge of what has grown 
 to be the second largest asylum for the insane in 
 the United .States, the lirst in importance being 
 that at Ovid, N. Y., which is very little larger. 
 Dr. Dewey has written extensivel}' for v.arious 
 medical journals on the subject of insanity, its 
 causes, nature and treatment, and also for the "In- 
 ternational Medical Magazine" on the same subject. 
 His articles have received marked attention and 
 favorable comment from those well versed on the 
 subject. He is an honorary member of the Chi- 
 cago Medical Society, of the Chicago Medico- 
 Legal Society and of the American Medico-Psycho- 
 logical Association. He is also a member of the 
 American Neurological Association, of the Ann 
 Arbor Medical Association, of the Illinois State 
 Medical Society, and is Chairman of Section Three 
 Etiology State Medicine and Medical Jurispru- 
 dence. He is President of the Kankakee County 
 Medical Society and a member of the Society of the 
 Sons of the American Revolution. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Michigan University Alumni. Dr. 
 Dewej' is Chairman on the Committee on Insanity 
 and Care of the Insane of the National Conference 
 of Charity, and belongs to the Greek letter so- 
 ciety, Sigma Chi. 
 
 Dr. Dewey was twice married, his lirst union 
 
 being with Miss Lillian Dwight, in Clinton, N. Y., 
 on the 2d of Januar\-, 1873. She was a daughter 
 of the Rev. Benjamin Dwight, and the great-grand- 
 daughter of President Timothy Dwight, of Y'ale 
 College. On the 19th of November, 1880, Mrs. 
 Dewey died, leaving two children. Richard Dwight, 
 who was born in 1877, is now a student of the 
 University Academy of Morgan Park, 111.; and 
 Ethel Lillian, now a student in the Kankakee pub- 
 lic school. Dr. Dewey was married to his present 
 wife on the 22d of June, 1886. Mrs. Dewey was 
 before her marriage Miss Mary E. Brown, daugh- 
 ter of Dr. Thomas Brown, of Brighton, N. Y""., and 
 was educated at Trenton, N. J., and at New York 
 City. Prior to her marriage she was Superintend- 
 ent of the Chicago Training School for Nurses. 
 She was born in Monroe County, N. Y^ Two 
 children have been born of their union: Ellinor, 
 born October 6, 1887; and Donald Mack, born 
 March 16, 1891. 
 
 The Doctor and Mrs. Dewey are members of the 
 First Presbyterian Church of Kankakee. Politi- 
 cally, the Doctor is a Republican with prohibition 
 sympathies. His record is best shown in the his- 
 tory of the hospital, which appears in another 
 place in this work. 
 
 ^w^^RED DURFEE is the senior member of the 
 ^(g) Arm of Durfee & Whittemore, well-known 
 __j^ and enterprising grocers of Kankakee. 
 
 He is a native of Illinois, his birth having occurred 
 in Monee, Will Count}', on the 16th of August, 
 1860, and he is a son of Otis Durfee, whose sketch 
 is found elsewhere in this work. 
 
 Our subject came to Kankakee wiien a child 
 with his parents in 1865, and received his educa- 
 tion in the public schools of this city. AVhen but 
 thirteen years of age he commenced clerking for 
 H. L. Crawford, grocer, but attended school at in- 
 tervals for some years. He remained in the em- 
 ploy of Mr. Crawford for seventeen 3'ears of faith- 
 ful service, at which time he was joined by H. D. 
 Whittemore in the purchase of his employer's
 
 OF JHE
 
 <r 
 
 'a^
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 311 
 
 stock and fixtures, and the existing? firm of Dur- 
 fee it Whittemore was at that time formed. These 
 gentleman occupy the old Crawford stand, which 
 is situated at the southwest corner of Court Street 
 and Dearborn Avenue. The^- have the only 
 double grocery store in the city and carry a full 
 line of staple and fancy groceries, provisions and 
 canned fruits, making a specialt}^ of the latter. 
 They have built up an extensive trade and are es- 
 teemed lenders in their line of business. 
 
 On the 7th of .Iul\', 1891, Mr. Durfee was united 
 in marriage with Miss Isabella T. White. She was 
 born in Ft. Byron, N. Y., and is a daughter of J. 
 IT. White. She is a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Durfee, in politics, is a Republican bej-ond 
 the possibilit}' of a doubt, although he has never 
 been an aspirant for the honors or emoluments of 
 public office. He is a member of the Royal Ar- 
 canum and is highly esteemed among a wide circle 
 of friends and acquaintances. 
 
 -^^® 
 
 -■^iQ) 
 
 i>^^<- 
 
 ^Q>-> 
 
 f^RANKLIN CRAWFORD, a well-known cit- 
 HHte) izen of Kankakee, has been a resident of 
 [[ " this place since 1871, and bis prominence 
 in the community during the twenty-one ^ears of 
 his residence here well entitles him to representa- 
 tion in this volume. His life record is as follows: 
 lie is a native of the State of Maine, his birth hav- 
 ing occurred in the town of Paris July 18, 1827. 
 The Crawford famil3' is of Scotcli or Scotch-Irish 
 ancestr\-,aud its genealogy' in America can be traced 
 back to three brothers who were residents of the 
 parish of Coppy, County Tyrone, Ireland. In 
 1713, the}' bade adieu to the I<]nierald Isle and, 
 braving the dangers of an ocean vo\age in that 
 earl}' day, crossed the Atlantic to America. One 
 of these brothers, Aaron Crawford, was the great- 
 great-great-grandfather of our subject, who has in 
 his possession an interesting relic and memento of 
 this ancestor — a cane which Aaron Crawford 
 brought with him from Ireland, when he became 
 a resident of the New World. On his death, 
 
 whicli occurred October 11, 1793, the cane was 
 given into the possession of his son, Alexander, on 
 whose death, on the 16th of October, 1821, it be- 
 came the property of his son, Capt. John Craw- 
 ford. From him the relic passed to Alexander, 
 the eldest son of the Captain and the grandfather 
 of our subject. Alexander Crawford died on the 
 31st of May, 1816, and the eldest son of his fam- 
 ily, Benjamin F. by name, inherited the heirloom, 
 which passed from him to our subject, who now 
 has tiie cane in his possession. From him it is 
 expected to continue its way down to future gen- 
 erations. 
 
 Aaron Crawford was one of the first settlers of 
 Oakham, Mass., and his descendants resided there 
 through many generations. The father of our 
 subject, Benjamfn F. Crawford, was born in Oak- 
 liam August 10, 1800, and in his youth learned the 
 trade of shoe-making, which he followed for some 
 time. When about twenty years of age he left the 
 old Bay State and went to Paris, Me., where on 
 the 30th of April, 1826, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Sophia Harris. They continued there 
 to reside forsome time, but afterwards removed to 
 Woodstock, where Mr. Crawford died in 1879. 
 His wife had passed away some years previous, be- 
 ing called to her final rest about 1873. Unto this 
 worthy couple was born a family of five children, 
 the eldest of whom is Franklin, our subject. The 
 second in order of birth is Mrs. Abbie Willis 
 Stearns. Mary Augusta, the third of the family, 
 died April 10, 184.5, at the age of twelve years; 
 Sophia Harris became the wife of Horace Cush- 
 raan, and her death occurred January 12, 1878. 
 The youngest is Francis B., now a resident of 
 Colebrook, N. II. 
 
 The first sixteen years of his life Franklin Craw- 
 ford spent in his native town under the parental 
 roof, and during that time he attended the public 
 schools. He then left home, going to Portland, 
 Me., where he secured a position as salesman in a 
 mercantile house, being employed in the same 
 store in that capacity for a period of seven years. 
 He then bought out his employer, Mr. Daniels, and 
 two years later married his daughter. Miss Frances 
 S. Daniels. 
 
 Later, Mr. Crawford embarked in the wholesale
 
 312 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 groc3iy trade in Portland, which he carried on for 
 some time, having added to his business by pur- 
 chasing the works of the Paris Flouring Company. 
 This extensive business he continued to conduct 
 for two 3'ears longer, when, on account of failing 
 health, he had to dispose of his interests in the 
 Pine Tree State and do something to recuperate 
 his lost energies. Hoping to benefit his health, 
 he went to Florida, where he remained for one 
 winter. On the expiration of that time he re- 
 turned to the North, and then removed to the 
 West, locating in Niles, Mich. This was in the 
 autumn of 1869. After two years spent in that 
 State, Mr. Crawford came to Kankakee, in 1871, 
 and three years later he entered into partnership 
 with Mr. Bonfield and his brother-in-law, Mr. 
 Hamlin. The company was formed for the man- 
 ufacture of straw-board and carried on business 
 under the firm name of the Kankakee Paper Com- 
 pany. Mr. Crawford was made Secretary and 
 Treasurer of the compauj' and continued his con- 
 nection with the same until 1887, when he dis- 
 posed of his interest, since which time lie has prac- 
 tically lived a retired life. 
 
 In 1891, Mr. Crawford was called upon to 
 mourn the loss of his wife, wlio died on the 16th 
 of April. Tlieir happy married life had extended 
 over a period of forty 3'ears and their union was 
 blessed with three children, two of whom are liv- 
 ing at this writing, in the winter of 1892. The 
 eldest, Harr}' L., is now a resident of Portland, 
 Ore.; and the daughter, Mary L., is the wife of 
 James H. Paddock, of Springfield, 111. The young- 
 est son, George F., died of typhoid fever at the 
 age of twent3'-four years. He was an estimable 
 and popular young man and his loss was deeply 
 mourned throughout the community. He was for 
 three years a student at the University of Michi- 
 gan at Ann Arbor and later engaged in business 
 in Kankakee. 
 
 Until his retirement in 1887, Mr. Crawford led 
 a most active business life. His successful career 
 was ever governed l)y the strictest integrity, and 
 the prosperity which he has attained is but the re- 
 ward of his well-directed efforts. He has ever 
 possessed the confidence and esteem of all with 
 whom he has been brought in contact, and is a 
 
 valued citizen, who manifests a commendable in- 
 terest in all that pertains to the welfare of the 
 communitj^, being ever found in the front rank in 
 the promotion of those enterprises calculated to 
 prove of public benefit. 
 
 "iflOSEPH LECOUR, who is engaged in the 
 drj'-goods business in Kankakee, has been 
 connected with the mercantile interests of 
 this city for a number of j^ears, and is one 
 of its prominent and representative business men. 
 As he has a wide acquaintance throughout the 
 community, we feel assured that this record of his 
 life will prove of interest to many of our readers. 
 Mr. Lecour is a Canadian by birth. He was born 
 on the 12th of August, 1832, in Lachenaie, in the 
 Province of Quebec, and is a son of Louis and 
 Christine (Morine) Lecour. Subsequentl}^ his par- 
 ents removed from the place of his birth to St. 
 Luke, Canada, where they spent the remainder of 
 their lives, both being now deceased. Our subject 
 and two sisters yet survivp, the two latter being 
 now residents of Massachusetts. 
 
 During the early bo3hood of Joseph Lecour, he 
 accompanied his parents on their removal to St. 
 Luke, Canada, and there his business career began. 
 He was a lad of only fourteen j'ears of age when, 
 in 1846, he began clerking in a general store in 
 that place, his employer being August Gauthier. 
 The experience that he there obtained, the knowl- 
 edge of men and of business customs, proved of 
 great value to him when he came to establish him- 
 self in business. The aptitude with which he 
 adapted himself to his occupation early gave evi- 
 dence of his excellent business ability. The year 
 1856 witnessed the arrival of our subject in Kan- 
 kakee. He was then a young man of twent^'-four 
 3'ears, who with the desire to better his financial 
 condition had emigrated to this State. At that 
 time the present city of Kankakee was in its earl3' 
 infanc3', but it gave some promise of future 
 importance, so Mr. Lecour thought, and the years
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPfflCAL RECORD. 
 
 313 
 
 have proved his wisdom. lie was so favorably 
 impressed witli the prospects of the phiee, its loca- 
 tion and general character, that he resolved to 
 remain in the then small town. Accordingly lie 
 souglit and secured a position as salesman with the 
 mercantile lirm of Williams A Sibley. He was 
 thus eni|)loyo(l for about tliree years, when he de- 
 termined to embark in business for himself. It 
 was in 1859 th.at he formed a partnership with 
 IJenjamin Marshall and began merchandising. 
 Sulisequently he entered into business relations 
 with Joseph Gelino, a well-known merchant of 
 Kankakee, which partnership continued until 18G7, 
 wlien Mr. Lecour withdrew from tiie firm and cm- 
 barked in the lumber and grain trade. To that 
 pursuit he devoted his energies for three years, 
 and it was in 1870 that he established himself in 
 the dry-goods trade. He has carried on business 
 in that line up to the present time, covering a 
 l)eriod of twenty-two consecutive years, and from 
 the beginning his trade has constantly increased, 
 until lie is now doing a large business and enjoy- 
 ing a liberal patron.ige. He carries an extensive 
 and complete line of goods, and by his earnest de- 
 sire to please his customers, his fair dealing and 
 courteous treatment, has won a well-deserved suc- 
 cess and gained the good-will and confidence of all 
 with whom he has been brought in contact. 
 
 On the 24th of .January, 1864, in this city, Mr. 
 Lecour was united in marriage with Miss Leonie 
 Pallis.ard, daughter of P. JS^^'aHisal■d, an early and 
 highly esteemed citizen of Kankakee. The union 
 of our subject and iiis wife has been blessed with 
 a family of six children, five of whom are yet liv- 
 ing. The two eldest sons, Louis M. P. and Ed- 
 ward A., are now associated with tlieir fafher in 
 business, under the firm name of .Jose|)li Lecour A' 
 Sons. The other four cliildrcn, Mary, Alexine, 
 Rosella and Louise, are still under the parental 
 roof. The}' also lost two children, sons: Joseph, 
 who died at the age of four years, and Leon, who 
 died at the age of seven years. All the family are 
 members of the Catholic Church. Politically, Mr. 
 Lecour is a Republican, but has never been an 
 Ollice-seekcr. 
 
 Our subject has led an active and useful life, and 
 in his business here has met with more than an 
 
 average degree of success. He began earning his 
 own livelihood at the tender age of fourteen sum- 
 mers, .and since that time h.os been dependent upon 
 his own resources. The obstacles and difficulties 
 in his path he has overcome by perseverance and 
 ceaseless industry, and his enterprise and good 
 business ability have gained for him prosperity. 
 In manner, he is considerate, social, agreeable to 
 all, and the friends of the Lecour family are many 
 throughout the eommuility in which our subject 
 h.as so long been widely and favorably known as 
 a valued citizen. 
 
 \|^REDERICK W. GOIILKE, a coal-merch.ant 
 iL^^ of Kaiik.akee, and a leading and enterpris- 
 X, ing business man of that city, came here in 
 
 1876. He is a native of Prussia, his birth occur- 
 ring in that country on the 20th of March, 1845. 
 His father, Frederick W. Gohlkc, Sr., was also born 
 in that country, and is still living in his native 
 land. The mother of our subject was twice mar- 
 ried. Siie first became the wife of Henry Hallman 
 and after his death she married Frederick Gohlke. 
 She had a family of three children by the first 
 union, two of whom still reside infiermany, while 
 the other, Gustave Hallman, is now living in this 
 countiy. 
 
 The subject of this sketch and his brother Lud- 
 wig are the only children born of his mother's sec- 
 ond marriage. Mrs. Gohlke died in 1868. Her 
 sons bore the names of Frederick AV. and Ludwio-. 
 IJotli brothers were reared in tlieir native land, 
 and served as soldiers in the Prussian army. Fred- 
 erick W. was in the war .against Austria in 1866 
 and 1867, and again bore arms for his country in 
 the Fianco-Prussi.an War of 1870 and 1871. He 
 fought on the celebrated field of Sedan, and saw 
 Emperor Louis Kapoleon .as lie w.as being taken 
 awaj' from the scene, after the surrender of the 
 French army. Ludwig, who was fifteen months his 
 brother's junior, was too 3'oungto serve in the war 
 of 1866 and 1867, but bore his part in thestruggle 
 with France in 1870 and 1871. Both of the brothers
 
 314 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were members of the cavalry service. Ludwig 
 was severely injured in one engagement, receiving 
 a gunshot wound in the neck, from which he has 
 never 3'et fully recovered. He is still living in the 
 Fatherland, and now occupies a Government po- 
 sition, which office was given him in reward for 
 his meritorious service as a soldier. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our sub- 
 ject, and note first his marriage, which was cele- 
 brated in Germany, Miss Fredericka Newman be- 
 coming his wife. In 1872 they bade good-bye to 
 their old home and crossed the broad Atlantic to 
 the United States. Landing in New York, they 
 made their way at once from the eastern metrop- 
 olis to the city of Chicago, where a brother-in-law 
 of Mr. Gohlke was living. There our subject se- 
 cured employment and worked in a lumber-yard 
 for a time, but at length he determined to seek a 
 home in Kankakee, 111., and in January, 1876, ar- 
 rived in this city. He secured a position with the 
 proprietors of the Kankakee Woolen Mills, and in 
 that establishment was employed for about eleven 
 years, faithfully' discharging the tasks allotted to 
 him, a fact which is well indicated by his long re- 
 tention in the one eraplo}'. His industry and econ- 
 omy during that period gained him some capital 
 and he determined to engage in business for him- 
 self. This resolve was carried out in 1888, when 
 he established his coal office, which is located on 
 Water Street. It is the onl3' coal office on the 
 South Side, and its proprietor receives a liberal 
 share of the public patronage, of which he is well 
 deserving. 
 
 About two j-ears after coming to Kankakee, Mr. 
 Gohlke was called upon to mourn the loss of his 
 wife, who died July 24, 1878. In 1880 he was 
 again married, his second union being with Miss 
 Johanna Krueger, who was also born in Germany. 
 Mr. Gohlke had one child, a son, bj' his first mar- 
 riage, G. Otto, who was born in Chicago, January 
 29, 1874, and now assists his father in business. 
 He also lost two daughters in infancy, the mother 
 dyino; at the birth of the younger. 
 
 Mr. Gohlke is a faithful citizen, and one held 
 in high regard. He is also a man of good business 
 ability, enterprising and progressive, and is recog- 
 nized as one of the prosperous men of Kankakee. 
 
 His success is due entirely to his own efforts, and 
 has been won since his arrival in America. All 
 the family hold membership with the German 
 Lutheran Church of Kankakee. Politically he was 
 a Republican until 1890, since which time he has 
 been identified with the Democratic party. 
 
 _^] 
 
 "SJ 
 
 €+^ 
 
 (^ 
 
 SHE KANKAKEE DEMOCRAT, daily and 
 weekly, published by Collins & Smith, is 
 '^^^ the only Democratic paper in Kankakee 
 Coiinty. The weekly was established in 1887, 
 and is the successor of the Kankakee Chief, which 
 was started in 1885. This paper is a six-column 
 quarto, 30x44 inches in size. The daily paper 
 was inaugurated on the 22d of February, 1892, 
 under the title of the Evening Democrat and is a 
 seven-column folio, 24x34 inches. The Democrat 
 was purchased on the 1st of January', 1892, by the 
 Democrat Publishing Company, T. B. Collins and 
 J. B. Smith, publishers. 
 
 The Kankakee Democrat is of recent origin and 
 is successor to the Kankakee ChieJ, the name hav- 
 ing been changed to the one now used probably in 
 1887. The first Democratic paper started at Kan- 
 kakee was called the Kankakee County Democrat. 
 It changed hands several times and was finally sus- 
 pended in 18G2 for the reason that its proprietors, 
 Messrs. J. B. and Gabriel Durham, both enlisted in 
 the army. The present paper is in a prosperous 
 condition and is rapidly increasing its circulation 
 in this section, and its proprietors are well satisfied 
 with their investment. 
 
 ON. DANIEL CARSWELL TAYLOR, Pres 
 ident of the Kankakee Tile and Brick 
 Companj', and a resident of Kankakee 
 Count}' since 1855, is a native of the Em- 
 pire State. He was born in Argjie, Washington 
 County, on the 22d of July, 1832. His parents,
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 315 
 
 George and Jane S. (Carswell) Taylor, now de- 
 ceased, were born in the same town. The subject 
 of this sketch recei^ved an academic education in 
 his native State, where his boyhood days were 
 passed. In 1855, he came to the AVest, locating 
 in Kankakee County, where he engaged in farm- 
 ing. In 1865, he went into the coal business, 
 which he conducted until 1876, when he bought 
 a stone quany. From that date until 1885 he 
 was engaged in the stone and lime trade. In 1880 
 he also embarked in the manufacture of brick and 
 drain tile. 
 
 In 1882, Mr. Taylor was instrumental in incor- 
 porating the Kankakee Tile and Brick Company, of 
 which he has been President and General Man- 
 ager since its organization. II. E. Ta3lor is its 
 Secretary and Treasurer. This compan}' employs 
 about thirty-two men and does an annual business 
 amounting to '^^25,000 and upwards. Their market 
 is mostly local, or by railway transportation to 
 points within a radius of fort^' miles of their plant. 
 The business has been prosperous and successful 
 from the start and the company now enjoys a 
 lucrative patronage. In addition to his brick and • 
 tile business, Mr. Taylor is extensively eng.aged in 
 breeding and growing blooded horses for track 
 and carriage use. He has a stock farm in Pem- 
 broke Township of nine hundred and sixty acres, 
 and has raised and trained a number of horses 
 that have made good records. He bred and raised 
 "Clara Wilkes," record 2:H, lately sold for 15,000 
 in New York city; "Alturas," pacer, four-year 
 record, 2:12,V; "Wilkesward," three years, 2:18^; 
 ••Lulu Wilkes," two year, 2:26^. He has now about 
 fifty liead of high-bred trotting horses on his farm. 
 In November,l 859, in this county, Mr. Taylor was 
 married to Miss Fannie Hosmer, who was born in 
 Bedford, Mass., and is a daughter of Ellas Ilosracr. 
 They have one son, Herbert E., who was born in 
 April, 1S(!3, married Alice Rickey and now lives 
 in Kankakee. He is the present Secretary and 
 Treasurer of the Kankakee Tile and Brick Company. 
 In politics, Mr. Taylor is a Democrat, and was 
 the successful candidate of that party for Repre- 
 sentative to the State Legislature in I87G and 
 again in 1882. The chief result of his labors in 
 the l.,egislature is seen in the Eastern Illinois Hos- 
 
 pital for the Insane, one of the finest institutions 
 of its kind in the world. Mainly through his ef- 
 forts the bill was carried through the Legislature, 
 which estoblisiied it, it being subsequently located at 
 Kankakee. On the 8tii.of March, 18'J3, Mr. Taylor 
 was appointed Secretary and 'i'reasurer of the in- 
 stitution which he had labored so faithfully to get 
 located at this city. To the Democratic National 
 Convention held in Chicago in . the year 18'J2 
 Mr. Taylor was a delegate, casting his vote for 
 Grover Cleveland for President. For ten years 
 he h.as efficiently represented his town as Super- 
 visor on the County Board. He is a Knight Tem- 
 plar Mason, a member of Kankakee Chapter No. 78, 
 R. A. M., and Ivanhoe Commandery No. 33, 
 K. T., of Kankakee. Mr. Taylor is one of Kan- 
 kakee's oldest and most enterprising business men, 
 and he has bj' a uniformly upright and independent 
 (course in life won the respect and confidence of 
 his fellow-citizens, as is shown by his twice being 
 elected Representative in a district decidedly Re- 
 publican in its political complexion. 
 
 / 
 
 +^*; 
 
 yATSON K. WOODHIFF, of Kankakee, 
 Acting Chief Engineer of the Indiana, Illi- 
 nois cfe Iowa Railroad, has been a resident 
 of this city since 1885, when he located herein the 
 interest of the above road. Our sul>ject is a na- 
 tive of the Empire State, lie was born in Fre- 
 donia, N. Y., on the 12th of September, 1851, and 
 is a son of Clark C. Woodruff, who was also born 
 in New York. About 1855, the father removed 
 with his family to Pennsylvania, locating in ^Var- 
 ren County, and after making his home for some 
 time in Spring Creek, Pa., he left that place to be- 
 come a resident of .Vshland, Wis., whore he resided 
 until 1888, when he came to Kankakee, where his 
 remaining days were passed. He departed this life 
 in this city in .June, 1891. His widow, tlie mother 
 of our subject, is still a resident of Kankakee. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Woodruff were the parents of nine chil- 
 dren, six sons and three daughters, but only three
 
 316 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 are now living in Illinois, namely: Watson K., of 
 this sketch, Warren B. .ind Blanche E., who is now 
 general deliver}' clerk in the postollice in Kan- 
 kakee. 
 
 Mr. Woodruflf, whose name heads this record, 
 spent the first four years of his life in the State of 
 his birth and then went with his parents to Penn- 
 sylvania, where he resided for some time. He re- 
 ceived a good English education in the public 
 schools and was thus well fitted for the practical 
 duties of life. He entered upon the work which 
 led to his present business in 1878, when he began 
 land surveying. This caused him to turn his at- 
 tention to engineering, and he has since made a 
 specialty of railroad construction. The first rail- 
 road with which he was connected was what is 
 now the Cleveland tfe Canton, in Ohio, and iu 
 1883 he became connected with the Indiana branch 
 of the Chicago & Atlantic Railroad, occupying the 
 position of Division Engineer until that road was 
 completed. When his work there was over, Mr. 
 Woodruff then engaged for a time in preliminary 
 surveys of short lines, and it was in the winter of 
 1884-85 that he was offered and accepted the posi- 
 tion as engineer of the Indiana, Illinois & Iowa 
 Railroad,commonly known as the "TUree I 's" Road. 
 
 Mr. Woodruff was married in .June, 1885, the 
 lady of his choice being Miss Mary A. .Jones, a 
 resident of North .Judson, Ind. Their union has 
 been blessed with a family of three children, a son 
 and two daughters: Elsie, Allen and jNiarguerite. 
 
 Since coming to Kankakee, Mr. AVoodruff has 
 continued his connection with the Indiana, Illi- 
 nois i Iowa Railroad, serving in tlie capacity of 
 Acting Chief Engineer, but iu connection with this 
 he also does much outside work. In 1891 he held 
 the position of City Engineer of Kank.akee. He 
 possesses a thorough knowledge of engineering, 
 being unfamiliar with no point, and is noted for 
 the accuracy and completeness of his work. He 
 has tbe confidence of his emploj'ers and the respect 
 of all with whom he has been brought in contact. 
 Mr. Woodruff is an honored member of the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity and is Worthy Master of Kanka- 
 kee Lodge No. 289, A. F. & A. M. In his politi- 
 cal affiliations, he is a Republican, taking a warm 
 interest in the success of his party. In Novem- 
 
 ber, 1892, be was elected Surveyor for Kankakee 
 County. Although he has been a resident of Kan- 
 kakee but a few years, Mr. AVoodruff has been 
 intimatel}' identified with the growth and develop- 
 ment of the city while living here, and is num- 
 bered among its valued and representative citi- 
 zens. He lias also gained many friends during the 
 seven years which have elapsed since he became 
 a resident of Kankakee, and we feel assured that 
 they will receive with iiiterest this record of his 
 life work. 
 
 :|*.^.5.4.i^^;4..i.^..5.F 
 
 ^♦•{••{•♦b- 
 
 "jf? ACOB KNECHT, of the firm of Jacob Knecht 
 I & Sons, of Kankakee, merchant tailors and 
 dealers in ready-made clothing, gentlemen's 
 furnishing goods, hats, caps, etc., is an old 
 settler of Kankakee. He is a native of Wurtem- 
 berg, Germany, his birth having occurred on the 
 2d of July, 1837. His parents, Thomas and Wal- 
 purga (Nagle) Knecht, were also born in Wurtein- 
 berg, the father about the year 1793, and the 
 mother in 1800. The former died at the ago of 
 seventy-two, and the latter when sixty-niue years 
 of age. The familj' consisted of eight children, 
 four sons and four daughters, of whom all but one 
 are living. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native country and emigrated to 
 America in 1855. Landing in New York City he 
 there spent two years in learning the tailor's 
 trade. In April, 1857, Mr. Knechtcame to Kanka- 
 kee, where he has since made his home. On his 
 arrival here he commenced working as a journey- 
 man tailor and was employed for twenty-three 
 j^ears in the shop of his brother, John G. Knecht. 
 In 1891 he began business for himself in his pres- 
 ent line. 
 
 On the 21st of April, 1863, Mr. Knecht was 
 united in marriage at Kankakee with Miss Henri- 
 etta Schmidt, a daughter of Peter and Juliana 
 Schmidt. Mrs. Knecht was born in Nassau, Ger- 
 many, December 1, 18'14, and came to America 
 when eleven years of age. To our worthy subject
 
 rORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 niT 
 
 and his wife have been born five children, three 
 sons and two daugliters: Jolin 0. married Miss 
 Tilla Sclierer, and resides in Kankalcec; Frank 
 Jacob wedded INIiss Mar^- Keorbs, and is now in 
 partnersliip with his fatiier. The younger mem- 
 bers of the family, Herman, Minnie, and Mar3', re- 
 side at home. 
 
 Mr. Knccht is a Republican in politics, as are 
 also his sons. He and his family are members of 
 the German Evangelical Association. He is an in- 
 dustrious, reliable business man and one of the 
 most highly respected among the German-Ameri- 
 can citizens of Kankakee. 
 
 -i^- 
 
 ' AMES K. EAGLE is an extensive coal and 
 lumber dealer of Kankakee. He was born 
 near Mohicanville, Asliland County-, Ohio, 
 on the 9tli of August, 1844, and is a son of 
 Edward and Eliza (Everest) Eagle. The father's 
 people carae from Harper's Ferry, and the mother's 
 ancestors from Oswego, N. Y. 'Mr. Eagle was a 
 farmer by occupation, and followed that pur- 
 suit during his entire life. In 188G he removed 
 from near Loudonville, Ohio, where he had lived 
 for a number of years, to Ottawa, Kan., where he 
 bought a farm in the suburbs of the town, wiiich 
 he afterward sold, then^j-emoving to a farm of 
 one hundred and eiglity acres near Williamsburg, 
 of the same county. On this farm he resided until 
 his death, which occurred on the 26th of Jul}', 
 1892, when he had reached the age of seventj'- 
 six years. His wife died about a year previous, 
 aged sevent3'-four years. 
 
 Our subject was one of six sons and six daugh- 
 ters, nine of whom still survive, as follows: Will- 
 iam H. resides at 3^Iaeon City, Mo., where he 
 carries on a f.Trni. Thomas B. now lives at Fol- 
 som, Cal., where he is surgeon for the State Peni- 
 tentiary. He graduated in medicine in 1860, hav- 
 ing just readied his majority, and when the war 
 broke out he enlisted in the first call for volun- 
 teers and served during the entire war, remaining 
 to its close, at which time he had risen to the 
 
 rank of Brigade Surgeon. After being niusicie<l 
 out, he was commissioned Surgeon in Gen. Cus- 
 ter's corps in Dakota. When the medical and 
 Commissary Department arrived at Yankton, they 
 found that Gen. Custer had departed, but had 
 left an escort for them. Through this fortunate 
 incident these departments escaped being in the 
 massacre in which Gen. Custer and all liis men 
 were killed. Stella, the daughter of Dr. Eagle, 
 when a little girl learned the Indian language, and 
 was often chosen ;is interpreter between the Gov- 
 ernment and the Indians, the latter preferring the 
 simple statements of a child to those of the cunning 
 and experienced interpreters who knew how to 
 take advantage of them, and did so, as they be- 
 lieved. James, our subject, is the next in order of 
 birth; Mary R. is the wife of Cj'rus Lozier, of 
 Loudonville, Ohio; Edward A. early turned his 
 attention to agriculture, and is the owner of an 
 extensive cattle ranch near Rosemont, Osage 
 County, Kan.; Ettie is the wife of Edward Rob- 
 inson, now Clerk of the Circuit Court of Ottawa 
 Kan.; Alvesta became the wife of Henry Glass, 
 of Waverly, Kan.; Frances L. married .Tames Haw- 
 ley and resides in Williamsburg, Kan.; and Jen- 
 nie is the wife of Gard .Scott, of Quenemo, Kan. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared upon his 
 father's farm in Ohio, and obtained a fair educa- 
 tion in the district schools. When about sixteen 
 years of age he left the parental roof and clerked 
 in a dry-goods store of Wooster, Ohio, for about 
 nine years. In the spring of 18G9 Mr. Eagle came 
 to this county and started in theSjoot and shoe 
 business with M. F. Metz, a gentleman from 
 Wooster. This store they opened under the firm 
 name of Metz & Eagle, in Kankakee, and con- 
 tinued in business together until May 8, 1871. Our 
 subject then sold his interest to his partner and 
 returned to Wooster, where he took charge of the 
 business of D. Robinson, Jr., in whose em|)lo3' he 
 had been for many j'ears previously. With him 
 he remained until the 1st of January, 1872. Again 
 returning to Kankakee, he entered the em|)loy of 
 W. B. Fonville, and remained with him a few 
 months. 
 
 On the 6th of July, 1872, :Mr. Eagle embarked 
 in the lumber and coal business with A E. Davis,
 
 318 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 receiving a salary and percentage of the profits. 
 This firm continued in operation until August 
 13, 1874, when, with F. L. Merrick, Mr. Eagle en- 
 gaged in the lumber business at Moraence, 111. 
 In March, 1875, AVatson Bros, purchased the in- 
 terest of Mr. Merrick, and the st^de of the firm 
 became Eagle & Watson Bros., doing business 
 under that name for the succeeding three years. 
 Our subject then purchased the interest of his 
 partners and continued the business alone until 
 1880. lie then left his business interests in that 
 cit3' in the care of Charles Kurtz, and, coming to 
 Kankakee, opened up business on East Avenue 
 and Oak Street. He later established the same 
 trade, at Aroma, Goodrich and Irwin. In 1883 he 
 closed out all these branches with the exception 
 of the one at Kankakee, which he carried on until 
 Marcli 9, 1891, when he sold tlie lumber yard to 
 II. II. Troup & Co., the present proprietors. Our 
 subject, however, continues to deal in lumber b^' 
 the carload and carries on the coal business. 
 
 On the '25th of September, 1873, occurred the 
 maniage of Mr. Eagle and Miss Mary Dean, who 
 was ))orn January 26, 1845, and is a daughter of 
 Algy and Betsy A. (Dixon) Dean, of Terre Haute. 
 Mr. Dean was born November 26, 1816, in Mary- 
 land, and when three years old removed to Terre 
 Haute, Ind., where he grew to manhood and mar- 
 ried Miss Dixon in February, 1841. Slie was born 
 November 14, 1817, in that citj^, her parents being 
 settlers of 1811, when they had to live in Ft. Harri- 
 son on account of the hostiiitj' of the Indians. 
 In 1854 Mr. Dean came to Kankakee Count}' and, 
 in company with two brothers-in-law, purchased 
 the old Bourbonnais Mill, which he moved to Kan- 
 kakee, and whicli is now known as tlie McGrew 
 IMill. Having sold that, he purchased large tracts 
 of land in the Beaver Ltlke countr}', and subse- 
 quentl}- took as partner Lemuel ]Milk, the firm be- 
 coming Milk &: Dean. The}' owned at one time 
 fifty thousand acres, a good portion of which 
 the}' ditched and improved. In 1873 this part- 
 nership w.as dissolved, and the following year Mr. 
 Dean traded his land for Chicago property, but 
 through misfortune lost it. Returning to Kan- 
 kakee County, he made his home with one of his 
 children on a farm, though he died at the home 
 
 of his daughter, Mrs. Eagle, .July 17,1881. His 
 wife, who was a member of the Methodist Chuicli, 
 died many years ago, November 2, 1866. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Dean was a strong Democrat, 
 and a man of influence in party affairs, though 
 not an aspirant for official positions. However, 
 he was one of the first Presidents of the village 
 of Kankakee. He was a man of marked individ- 
 uality and great force of character. Althougli 
 well informed, he never attended school but 
 three winters. When but sixteen years of age he 
 rode on horseback from Terre Haute to the coun- 
 try around the Red River of the North. In early 
 life he went down the Mississippi River and 
 rose from a hand on the boat to captain of ' 
 a steamer. Subsequently returning, he traded 
 down the river to New Orleans. With the old- 
 fashioned whipsaw he would saw out the gun- 
 nels for a flatboat, .and when the craft was com- 
 pleted would load it with such provisions as the 
 Southern planters needed, and start down the 
 river. On the way down he would exchange his 
 supplies for cotton, so that by the time his cargo 
 was sold he had a load of cotton, which he would 
 sell along with his boat in New Orleans. He is 
 said to have built the first one hundred foot flat- 
 boat that went down the Wabash River. Pos- 
 sessed of good business ability, he would have 
 been a wealthy man had not misfortunes over 
 which he had no control come upon him. Of his 
 four children, three are living, namely: Frank, 
 widow of A. E. Davis, who resides in Minneapolis, 
 Minn.; Mrs. Eagle; and Hazard W., of Terre 
 Haute, Ind. 
 
 Though not a member of any church organiza- 
 tion, Mr. Eagle contributes liberally to the sup- 
 port of the church, and his wife is a member of 
 the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church of this 
 city. He volunteered his services to the army a 
 number of times, but was not accepted on ac- 
 count of his poor health and the fact that his 
 comparative measurements under the rules of mili- 
 tary law did not meet the requirements of the re- 
 cruiting officer. Mr. Eagle was reared a Demo- 
 crat, but, while his preferences are usually for the 
 nominees of that party, he is largely independent 
 in politics, especially at local elections, preferring
 
 OF fHE 
 ^'^'lVl;RSn Y OF ILLINOIS
 
 l/'i^-' /'>-' 
 
 % 
 
 %
 
 fefe-^- 
 
 #^,- 
 
 v'ife 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^.' 
 
 M
 
 LI"-' " 'I 
 
 OF THE 
 HNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 323 
 
 to cast liis ballot in favor of the man wlio in his 
 estimation is best fitted to fill the duties of office. 
 Our subject has always been temperate in liis 
 habits, and is upright and lionoralile in his deal- 
 intifs with his fellow-citizens. 
 
 R. ABRAM LENNINGTON SMALL is a 
 
 nurseryman and gardener residing on 
 ^^f^ Eighth Avenue in the citj' of Kankakee. 
 
 For forty-two years he has been a resident 
 of this count}' and well deserves representation in 
 its liistory, as he has been an important factor in 
 its growth and pi-osperity. He is a native of In- 
 diana, born in Wayne County on the 5th of Sep- 
 tember, 1830, a son of John and May (Lenning- 
 ton) Small. The father was a native of Virginia 
 and was reared to manhood in that State. Wiien 
 a young njan he emigrated to Indiana, where he 
 was married. Me first settled in Wayne Count}-, 
 then a vast wilderness, and opened up a farm 
 there. He afterward removed to IMichigau City 
 and was one of the first settlers of the place. Af- 
 ter a residence there of four years he went to 
 Door Prairie, near wliich place he located upon a 
 farm, wliere he engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 until his death in 1857. He was a man of excel- 
 lent reputation, straightforward and honorable in 
 all his dealings, and was a worthy citizen of his 
 adopted Slate. His wife survived him only a few 
 years. 
 
 Dr. Small is the second cliild of his father's 
 farailj', which consisted of seven sons and four 
 daughters, who grew to maturity. Onl}- eight of 
 these are now living. The Doctor spent his bo}'- 
 hood days in Indiana, whei-e he had the advan- 
 tages of the public sciiools. Until reaching man- 
 hood he assisted his father in his farm work and 
 then, determining to follow the study of medicine, 
 he entered the olllce of Dr. Standiford and re- 
 mained with him for some time, lie next went 
 to La Porte, Ind., and took a course in the La Porte 
 Medical College. He came to Illinois in the win- 
 
 15 
 
 ter of 1850, and located at AVilmington, where he 
 engaged in practice before completing his collegi- 
 ate course. In Die winter of 1861, he went to 
 Chicago and became a student in the Hush Med- 
 ical College, from which he graduated the follow- 
 ing year. Previous to this, however, he iiad prac- 
 ticed for about two years in Hoekviile, Kankakee 
 County. It was in the fall of 1855 that he pur- 
 chased land and gave his attention for some time 
 to the nursery business. The city of Kankakee 
 then numbered not more than three hundrcal peo- 
 ple and Dr. Small was one of the first settlers of 
 the place. He bought unimproved land and set- 
 tled on the south side of the river, and this lias 
 since been his home. Ever since coming to this 
 county he has been actively engaged in the nurs- 
 ery business, being one of the first to follow that 
 occupation in this section of the country. For 
 the past few years he has almost exclusively de- 
 voted himself to tlie raising of rhubarb and aspar- 
 agus for the Chicago markets. He now has planted 
 some twenty-five acres in rhul)arb and seven in 
 as|)aragus. He is a believer in special branches of 
 agriculture as well as of medicine, and that he has 
 been wise in his choice has been shown by his 
 marked success. 
 
 In Porter County, Ind., on the 17th of Novem- 
 ber, 1853, Dr. Small was united in marriage Avith 
 Miss Calista J. Currier, who was born in New 
 Hampshire but was reared to womanhood and ed- 
 ucated in Porter County. She is a daughter of 
 John Currier, one of Porter County's first and 
 honored settlers. Six children have blessed the 
 union of Doctor and Mrs. Small, live of whom 
 are now living. Mary died at the age of seven- 
 teen; Susie received a su[)erior education and is 
 an artist in Chicago; John is a well-known lawj'cr 
 of Kankakee; Lenniugton is married and is eng.aged 
 in the nursery business in this county; Calista, 
 after receiving good educational advantages, be- 
 came a teacher in the Kankakee schools, where she 
 was very successful as an instructor, but now lives 
 in Danville, 111., being the wife of Prof. AV. L. 
 Pince; Mabel is still at home. .Since the organi- 
 zation of the Republican party. Dr. Small has been 
 one of its stanch supporters and previous to that 
 time was an old-line Whig, his first ballot having
 
 324 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 been cast for Hon. Henry Clay. He has never 
 been an aspirant for oflicial positions, tliougli talk- 
 ing an active part in local politics. He is a firm 
 friend to our public school system and served as a 
 member of the Board of Education for a number 
 of years. Socially he is a member of the Masonic 
 lodge and is a Knight Templar of that order, with 
 which he has been connected for the past thirty 
 years. He has been a resident of this county for 
 fortj'^-two years and is numbered among its hon- 
 ored pioneers. During bis long residence here he 
 has witnessed vast changes. The count}', which 
 was then almost uninhabited and a wilderness, is 
 now one of the best developed and enterprising 
 counties in the State. Personally, the Doctor is a 
 man of upright character and has won the respect 
 of all with whom he has come in contact by his 
 many manly and worthy qualities. 
 
 h I I p I I 1 I , ^ 
 
 ' I ' K± m 
 
 ICHAEL HEIL, a retired farmer living in 
 Kankakee,was born inWurzweiler, Bavaria, 
 Germany, on the 26th of April, 1823. His 
 paternal grandfather was a 3'oung man at 
 his death. His mother's father was a rich farmer 
 and was one of the most prominent and wealthy 
 men of the town where he lived, Wurzweiler, 
 Germany. The parents of our subject, Charles 
 and Dorothea (Engle) Heil, were both natives of 
 the Fatherland,where the former was a weaver and 
 small farmer. The year 1840 witnessed their 
 arrival in America, three of their children, John, 
 Dorothea and Michael, coming with them. They 
 located in Columbus, Ohio, and woi'ked at what- 
 ever came to hand. In 1842 occurred the father's 
 death and the mother was cared for by her son, 
 our subject, with whom she made her home for 
 many years. By her marriage she became the 
 mother of six children, three sons and three 
 daughters, only two of whom are now living: John, 
 who makes his home in Franklin County, Ohio; 
 and our subject. 
 
 The boyhood days of Michael Heil were spent 
 in the land of his birth, where he received a fair 
 
 education in his native language. When about 
 seventeen 3'ears of age he crossed the broad At- 
 lantic with his parents to seek his fortune in the 
 New World. He learned the cooper's trade, which 
 occupation he followed for about ten 3'ears in 
 Columbus and other places About 18.50 he deter- 
 mined to devote his attention to agricultural pur- 
 suits, and accordingly purchased a farm of fifty 
 acres in Madison Township, Franklin County, Ohio, 
 where he lived about twelve years. He then sold 
 that land and purchased one hundred and eleven 
 acres, which he cultivated for only a year, then dis- 
 posing of it and bu\'ing a hundred-acre farm in 
 the same county, on which he made his home for 
 some three 3'ears. In the fall of 1867, Mr. Heil 
 sold that farm also, and in the spring of the follow- 
 ing 3'ear emigrated to Illinois, settling in the 
 village of Chebanse in Iroquois Count3', where he 
 lived for about one year. He purchased and 
 moved upon a farm of two hundred acres in Lime- 
 stone Township, Kankakee County, on the 2d of 
 March, 1869. There he lived for about twenty 
 years and reared his family. 
 
 On the 5th of August, 1844, Mr. Heil was united 
 in matrimony with Miss Elizabeth K. Seliger, 
 daughter of Adam and Catherine (Mauser) Seliger, 
 who were also natives of German3' and who came 
 to America in 1838, locating in Columbus, Ohio. 
 Four sons .and five daughters have graced the 
 union of our subject and his wife. Elizabetii K. 
 married George Butz, a farmer in Limestone Town- 
 ship and to them have been born four children: 
 Charles, J«hn, Amelia and William. Anna Maria 
 became the wife of George Falter, of Limestone 
 Township, and by her marriage has become the 
 mother of seven children: William, Michfiel, 
 George, Anna, Albert, Frank and Katie. John 
 married Miss Catherine Schlefer, of Limestone 
 Township, and to them have been born seven chil- 
 dren : John, Michael, George, Adam, Ro.sa, William 
 and Lizzie. Charles AV. married Miss Sophia 
 Shields and they have three sons: Charles, Frank 
 and Louis. Mich.ael married Miss Anna Graves 
 and two daughters, Katie and Cora, grace their 
 union. Barbara died when two and a-half 3'ears 
 of age. Lizzie wedded Gus Goodknecht, a farmer 
 on the old two hundred acre homestead. They
 
 PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 325 
 
 have three chiUh-en: Harry Grover, All)ert and 
 Katie. Adam married Miss Ida Stroehlow. The^- 
 liave two children: Emma and Colonel. Freder- 
 icks married Charles Bj-ers, who is a motor man 
 on the Electric Street Railway of Kankakee. They 
 have one child, a daughter, Clara. 
 
 AVhile residing in the country Mr. Heil held 
 several local positions of honor and trust. He was 
 School Director for many 3-cars, also Highway 
 Commissioner for three years, and for the .same 
 length of time served as Supervisor of Limestone 
 Township. In 1889, Mr. and Mrs. Heil retired from 
 the active work incident to farm life and have since 
 made their home in Kankakee. Though now well 
 advanced in years they are still hale and hearty 
 and bid fair to live many years to come in the 
 enjoyment of the fruits of their hard labor. They 
 have accumulated their property, consisting of 
 three hundred and twenty-three acres of valuable 
 farming laud and a home in Kankakee, by in- 
 dustry and perseverance and by their qualities of 
 sterling worth have won the high esteem of their 
 neighbors and acquaintances. The3' are both 
 members of the German Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church. Politically, Mr. Heil always casts his ballot 
 in favor of the Democratic party, as do all his sons. 
 
 —J 
 
 - —tg 'i 
 
 B>^^<^ 
 
 -*»- 
 
 UILLIAM NOBLES DUSINBURY. One by 
 one the old settlers are passing aw.ay un- 
 
 ^^ til but few are left who composed the lit- 
 tle hamlet known in 1853 as Kankakee Station, 
 which has since grown to the proportions of a large 
 and important city. Among the few survivors who 
 have maintained a continuous residence here and 
 whose life has been interwoven with the improve- 
 ments and growth of the citj-, must bo mentioned 
 he whose name heads this sketch, whose skill has 
 done much to beautify the exterior and deco- 
 rate the interior of many of the best homes and 
 business hou.ses in the cit}'. 
 
 Mr. Dusinbury is a native of the Empire State 
 and was born in East Chazy, Clinton County, on 
 the 10th of June, 1830, and is a son of John 
 
 ! Renjamin and Caroline M. (Barber) Dusinbury. 
 j William Nobles Dusinbury, the grandfather of our 
 subject and for whom he was named, was a son of 
 ' a Holland immigrant who founded the family in 
 I America in Colonial days. The name originally 
 j was Von Dusenberg, as known in Holland, but an 
 ; ancestor of the Dusinbuiyssaw fitto change it after 
 j coming to America as now spelled by the subject 
 of this sketch. A large fortune was lost to the 
 heirs on account of the change of name and their 
 consequent inability to satisfactorily prove their 
 identity. The estate, which with interest now 
 amounts to over $20,000,000, reverted to the 
 Dutch government. 
 
 John B. Dusinbury, the father of our subject, 
 was born in South Hero, Grand Isle County, Vt., 
 on the 2d of June, 1802, and died when nearly 
 eighty-nine years of age, in April, 1891. The 
 mother of our subject was born in the town of 
 East Chazy, Clinton County, N. Y.. in 1812, and 
 died in July, 1888. The founder of the Dusin- 
 bury family settled in the town of Brunswick 
 near Troy, N. Y. He was a Quaker and many of 
 his descendants still belong to that sect. John 
 B. was a cloth manufacturer and in early days re- 
 sided in Vermont. He also had a factoiy in Poes- 
 tenkill, seven miles east of Troy, in Rensselaer 
 County, N. Y. 
 
 William N. Dusinbury attended the common 
 schools and was employed in his father's factories 
 until eighteen years of age.when, in 1847, he with 
 his parents and their family came to Illinois. 
 The}' reached Chicago on the 16th of July of that 
 j-ear, having come from Buffalo by way of the 
 Lakes, and after one night spent in the little town 
 of Chicago they proceeded to Lockport, and pur- 
 ch.ased a farm five miles west of that place. In 
 1852 they came to Rockville Township, this county, 
 where the family lived until 1853. Kankakee hav- 
 ing been started as a station on the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, they removed to that place. In 1879, Mr. 
 Dusinbury, Sr., removed with his wife to Oakland, 
 Cal., where he died after a residence of twelve 
 years. The death of his wife also occurred in Oak- 
 land. 
 
 Our subject began learning the painter's trade at 
 Lockport but soon wen* to Joliet, prior to the erec-
 
 326 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tion of the State Penitentiaiy at that place, and per- 
 fected himself at his trade. In March, 1853, he 
 came with his parents to Kankakoe and has ever 
 since been a resident of tiiis place. He engaged 
 in painting in all its branches and in papering 
 and decorating and has been very successful in 
 his line of business. For twelve j'ears he was in 
 the Government eniplo}' as mail carrier between 
 Kankakee and neighboring towns, entering the 
 service in 1857; however, he kept up his painting 
 business all this time through hired help. 
 
 In Kankakee, on the 13th of May, 1860, Mr 
 Dusinbury was united in marriage to Miss Helen 
 M. Barnes, who was born in Grand Isle County, 
 Vt., and was a daughter of Lucius M. Barnes. She 
 was a school teacher for several years. Three 
 children were born of this union. Fred, the eld- 
 est, died at the age of eighteen months. Edward 
 married Miss .Jennie ])uga and is a house and sign 
 painter of Kankakee. He and his wife have one 
 child, a bright little boy named Roy, who was 
 born November 28, 1889. Miss Blanche M., the only 
 daughter of our subject, since the death of her 
 mother, which occurred .lanuary 6, 1892, has been 
 her father's housekeeper. Mrs. Dusinbury, who 
 was a woman possessed of many excellencies of 
 character, was taken from her family after a brief 
 illness from pneumonia, resulting from grip. Her 
 huslxind, who was also sick at the same time, only 
 gave up at his wife's death and was unconscious 
 until after her burial, his life being despaired of 
 by his family for a long time. In early life Mrs. 
 Dusinbury was a member of the Congregational 
 Church but later she with her husband became 
 identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 The daughter holds membership with the Presby- 
 terian Church. 
 
 In 1880, Mr. Dusinbury went to California, 
 where he spent two years for his health. Politi- 
 cally he is a stanch Republican and is an active, 
 prominent Mason, being a member of Kankakee 
 Lodge No. 389, A. F. & A. M.; of Kankakee 
 Chapter No. 78, R. A. M.; and of Ivanhoe Com- 
 mandery No. 33, K. T. He joined the order early 
 in life and learned the work of his father, who was 
 an old and well-posted Mason. Our subject has 
 held every office in his lodge except that of Mas- 
 
 ter and has held that many times pro tem. He 
 would never accept an election to the chief office 
 of the lodge. Mr. Dusinbury has led a usefiil and 
 upright life and is highly respected among his fel- 
 low-citizens. 
 
 ^OHN G. KNECHT, senior partner and foun- 
 der of the extensive clothing house of 
 John G. Knecht & Co., is one of the pio- 
 neer merchants of Kankakee, and has for 
 many years stood at the head of the largest con- 
 cern in his line in this county. His birth occurred 
 on the 15th of March, 1830, in Wurtembeig, Ger- 
 man}'. He is a son of Thomas and Walpurga 
 (Nagle) Knecht, who were also natives of the 
 Fatherland. The father was born about the year 
 1793, and died when seventy-two years of age. 
 The mother's birth occurred in 1800, and she was 
 called to her final home in 1869. They were the 
 parents of eight children, four sons and four 
 daughters, of whom our subject is the fourth in 
 order of birth. With one exception they are all 
 living .and five of the number are citizens of the 
 United States. Of these, John G. is the eldest; .John 
 is a commission merchant of Chicago; Jacob is a 
 merchant of Kankakee; Ursule is the wife of Rev. 
 George Vetter, of the Evangelical Church in this 
 city; Susanna, wife of Herman Kemper, resides in 
 Chicago. 
 
 The subject of this sketch attended school in his 
 native country and served a regular apprentice- 
 ship to the tailor's trade. He determined to make 
 the United States his place of abode and in the 
 spring of 1849 he emigrated from Germany, 
 reaching New York City in Maj' of that year, 
 where he worked at his trade as a journeyman 
 tailor for six years. In April, 1855, he came to 
 Illinois and settled in Ivankakee, then but a rude 
 hamlet of a few hundred people. Here he worked 
 at his trade until May, 1857, when he opened a 
 shop and put in a small stock of ready-made cloth- 
 ing, in amount probably not to exceed $3,000. His
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 327 
 
 faithful work and honest dealing soon brought 
 him a rapid increase in trade and for the past 
 twenty-five years he has had the largest slock and 
 has conducted the most extensive business in his 
 line in eastern Illinois. When Mr. Knecht began 
 business in Kankakee he had for a partner a gen- 
 tleman by the name of Walker, with whom he 
 was associated until April, 1861, when by mutual 
 consent the partnership was terminated. Charles 
 E. Grover succeeded Mr. Walker as a member of 
 the firm, and that connection was continued for 
 about two years. Mr. Grover then retiring, our 
 subject conducted the business alone until his 
 son-in-law, Herman Kramer, was admitted to part- 
 nership and the existing firm formed in 1888. 
 
 On the 2d of September, 1856, Mr. Knecht was 
 married at Downer's Grove, Cook County, III., to 
 Miss Eliza Frie, who was born in Prussia, Ger- 
 many, on the 3d of October, 1835, and emigrated 
 with her parents to America when eleven years of 
 age. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Knecht, of whom four are living. Kate is now the 
 wife of Herman Kramer, of the firm of John G. 
 Knecht & Co.; Louis died at the age of eighteen 
 months; Carrie is the wife of Robert Kramer, a 
 salesman in the store of our subject; Edward Ben- 
 jamin and John George are also clerks in the 
 father's establishment; and one child died in in- 
 fancy. 
 
 On the 27th of February, 1869, Mr. Knecht sus- 
 tained a heavy loss by fire, his store and nearly 
 all of his stock being consumed. However, his 
 credit was so good that he immediately received 
 letters of encouragement from the wholesale deal- 
 ers with whom he had traded for many years. 
 They offered him all the goods he desired on his 
 own terms. In 1869, he erected the fine brick 
 block at the southeast corner of Court Street and 
 East Avenue. This has a sixty-foot frontage and 
 is ninety feet deep, and consists of three stories 
 and a basement. Mr. Knecht occupies the west 
 forty feet for his store. 
 
 Our subject and his family are members of the 
 Church of the Evangelical Association. In poli- 
 tics, Mr. Knecht is a Re|)ublican but has never had 
 time or inclination to serve in official capacities. 
 In all of the relations of life it may truthfully be 
 
 said of our subject that he has borne his part well 
 and faithfully. Unpretending and unassuming, he 
 has by modest merit and strict integrity won the 
 highest regard and confidence of his fellow-citi- 
 zens and of all with whom business has brought 
 him in contact. He is enterprising and public- 
 spirited and has always borne his share of the 
 burdens of public improvements with a cheerful 
 and liberal spirit. He has done much to aid in 
 the upbuilding and development of this city and 
 county, which have so long been his home. 
 
 ^'^lS'^@l 
 
 ^ AMES BRADBURY is the chief engineer for 
 the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane 
 and the oldest em ploj'e of that institution 
 in years of service. lie was the first super- 
 intendent of construction, and held that position 
 for a year prior to the advent of Dr. Dewey, the 
 present medical superintendent of the institution, 
 under whom he was appointed to his present posi- 
 tion. All of the immense and complicated machin- 
 erv and plumbing of the hospital was put in place 
 under Mr. Bradbur.y's supervision and has since 
 been kept in repair by him. He is an expert ma- 
 chinist and has alwajs been an indefatigable 
 worker. He commenced in the service of the hos- 
 pital on the 14th of October, 1878, and has been 
 connected with tlie institution continuously since, 
 covering a period of more than fourteen years. 
 
 Mr. Bradbury was born in Hyde, Cheshire, Eng- 
 land, on the 26th of December, 1844, and is a son 
 of Joseph and Lucy (Savell) Bradbury, who were 
 both natives of the same shire. The father died 
 while our subject was but a lad, and in 1857 the 
 latter came to America with his widowed mother. 
 The following year they returned to England, 
 where the mother has since died. In December, 
 1859, Mr. Bradbury returned to the United States, 
 which he has since made his home. He settled 
 first at Lawrence, Mass., wliere he began learning 
 the machinist's trade, afterward pursuing tlie same 
 calling at North Andover Mills, and later being
 
 32d 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 employed in the Pacific Mills, of Lawrence, and 
 also in Boston. 
 
 On the 1st of August, 1862, our subject en- 
 listed from Lawrence, Mass., as a private soldier 
 in Company C, Fortieth Massachusetts Infantry, 
 and was assigned to the Eleventh Army Corps. 
 Later, he was in the Eighteenth and Twenty-fourth 
 Army Corps. He participated with his regiment 
 in the battles of Cliancellorsville, Morris Island, 
 Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, and in many skir- 
 mishes and minor engagements, receiving an hon- 
 orable discharge from service on the 4th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1864. 
 
 Upon leaving the army our subject returned to 
 Lawrence, where be worked at his trade for about 
 two years. Then going to Chicago, he obtained 
 employment as a steam-fitter for James Davis 
 during the years 1868 and 1869. The next year 
 and a-half he worked for Crane Bros., of that city, 
 and was then employed five years by John Davis. 
 His resources and experience warranted his open- 
 ing a steam-fitting shop on his ovvn account, which 
 he ran for about eighteen months. 
 
 On the 12th of May, 1868, Mr. Bradbury was 
 united in marriage in Springfield, 111., with Miss 
 Catherine Hillock, whose father, Henry Hillock, 
 was a native of the Province of Ontario, Canada, 
 as was likewise Mrs. Bradbury. Eight children 
 were born to our subject and his wife: John, now 
 married, lives in Chicago; Margaret Lucy, Mary 
 Joseph, George Francis, Leon Burt, and three who 
 died in infancy or early childhood. The mother 
 of these children died on the 1st of July, 1885. 
 On the 29th of June, 1889, Mr. Bradbury was 
 married in Chicago to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Thomas Dowd. The lad}^ is a native of Manitou 
 Township, Kankakee Count}'. One child, a son, 
 Tiiomas G., has been born of this union. 
 
 Mr. Bradbury remained in Chicago until Octo- 
 ber, 1878, when, coming to Kankakee, he became an 
 employe of the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the 
 Insane. He and his family are members of the 
 Catholic Church. Our subject holds a most re- 
 sponsible position, the heating and lighting of 
 such a vast number of buildings, and the proper 
 care of the water supplj' and the necessaiy motor 
 power, involving a thorough knowledge of the 
 
 business, besides the exercise of good judgment 
 and untiring energy and fidelity. That his services" 
 have been and are satisfactory to the commission- 
 ers is manifest by his long retention in this re- 
 sponsible position. 
 
 _^l. 
 
 €+^ 
 
 [^_ 
 
 i^' 
 
 eYRUS WOODARD, who now resides in Wal- 
 dron, has been for fifty-four years a resi- 
 dent of this county and has been an eye- 
 witness of its entire growth and development, has 
 watched its transformation, has seen its upbuild- 
 ing and progress and has aided in Its development 
 and advancement. It is with pleasure that we 
 present to our readers a sketch of so worthy and 
 prominent a citizen. 
 
 Mr. Woodard was born on the 3d of May, 1831, 
 in Bennington County, Vt., near where occurred 
 the battle of Bennington, one of the well-remem- 
 bered engagements of the Revolutionary AVar. 
 The Woodard family is of English descent. The 
 father of our subject, Benjamin Woodard, was a 
 native of Massachusetts, and married S3'lvia Vale. 
 Unto them were born ten children: Ama, now de- 
 ceased, wife of Samuel Smith; Edwin, a retired 
 farmer residing in Kankakee; Catherine, wife of 
 John T. Leonard; Harriet, wife of Revilo Beebe, 
 but both she and her husband are now deceased; 
 Benjamin, who is living in Iowa; Sylvia, and Sal- 
 lie, the wife of William W. Parish, both deceased; 
 Cyrus of this sketch; Willard, who was killed at 
 the battle of Niishville, Tenn.; and Hiram, who 
 completes the family. The father died in Ver- 
 mont in 1835. While passing through the woods 
 a limb of a tree fell upon him, killing him. About 
 three 3'ears later the mother came to Illinois and 
 afterward married Oliver Beebe. She died in the 
 year 1862. 
 
 Cyrus AVoodavd was only about four years of 
 age when the death of his father occurred, and was 
 a lad of seven summers when he came with his 
 mother and older brother to Illinois. This was in 
 1838. The trip was made by canal and the Lakes, 
 and the family located in what is now Kankakee
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 329 
 
 County, hut was then a part of Will County. Tliej' 
 settled on section 12, Aroma Township, although 
 the township was not then organized. The mother 
 and Inotlier settled on a tract of Government land, 
 whicli tliey purcliasod at the laud office wlien it 
 came into market. A small log cabin was erected 
 and in true pioneer style tlie family lived for a 
 number of years. The Indians were still in the 
 count}', but they were generally peaceable, giving 
 the wliite settlers very little trouble. The now 
 tliriving city of Kankakee at that time contained 
 but one house, and it was a log structure. Mr. 
 Woodard has picked blackberries where the court 
 house now stands. Their neaiest market was in 
 Chicago, and many times in those early days has 
 he hauled grain to that place. 
 
 Our subject acquired his education in a log 
 schoolhouse, furnished with slab seats and heated 
 by an immense fireplace. He is mostl}' self-edu- 
 cated, however, for at the early age of fifteen 
 years he began to earn his own livelihood, work- 
 ing as a farm hand b}- the month, and in compen- 
 sation for his services he received the munificent 
 sum of ¥5 per month. He continued to work as a 
 farm liand until 1861. Mr. Woodard has en- 
 gaged in breaking prairie here when as man}' as 
 seven yoke of oxen have been attached to one 
 plow. In 1861 he rented land from his brother 
 Edwin, and operated that farm for a period of 
 three years. In the meantime, with the capital he 
 had acquired through his industry and economy, 
 he purchased fifty-six acres of partially improved 
 land on sections 13 and 14, Aroma Townsiiip, and 
 this farm he still owns. For many years he suc- 
 cessfully carried on agricultural pursuits, and in 
 return for his care and cultivation, his land yielded 
 to liim a golden tribute. Thus he has acquired a 
 comfortable competenc}', which now enables him 
 to live a retired life. 
 
 Mr. AVoodard cast his first Presidential vote for 
 Winfield Scott, and was afterward a supporter of 
 the old Whig part}- until its dissolution, when he 
 joined the ranks of the new Re()ublican party and 
 has since been one of its stalwart advocates. He 
 has never, however, souglit public office, prefer- 
 ring to devote his time and attention to his busi- 
 ness interests. His duties of citizensliip have ever 
 
 been faithfully performed, and he takes a com- 
 mendable interest in all that pertains to the wel- 
 fare of the community and its upbuilding. His 
 name is inseparably connected with the history of 
 the count}^ and the part which he has borne num- 
 bers him among the honored pioneers and well en- 
 titles liim to representation in this volume. His 
 honorable, upright life has won him universal 
 confidence, and the esteem of a large circle of 
 friends and acquaintances is his. 
 
 i|-$l"l^||^; 
 
 ^^USTIN B. BAKER is one of the largest 
 V ll ^''■^''^^'"S '"^"'^l siock-raisers of Kankakee 
 
 /// ifi County, and he is engaged in farming on 
 <^ section 2, Aroma Townshiii. He was born 
 
 in Lawrenceburgh, Dearborn County, Ind., on the 
 10th of October, 1826, and is a son of Abial and Ma- 
 ria (Osgood) Baker. The former was of English de- 
 scent and both were natives of the New England 
 States. At an early day the father emigrated to 
 Indiana, where he was among the honored pioneers. 
 He was engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout 
 his life and was quite successful in a financial waj'. 
 He belonged to the order of Free Masons. He 
 passed away in 1832. In his family were six 
 children. Laura A. is still living and makes her home 
 in California. She became tlie wife of William 
 Woodard, now deceased. Mary I. resides in 
 Kankakee and is the wife of Sylvanus Palmer, a 
 retired farmer, .loseph is also a retired farmer 
 and makes his home in Kankakee. Our subject is 
 next in order of birth. Udora married Benjamin 
 Sj'lvester and died in 1872. Henry is an agricul- 
 turist of L3'0ns County, Iowa. 
 
 About ten or twelve years after her husband's 
 death, Mrs. Baker was again married, becoming 
 the wife of Peaslcy P. Danforth. Three children 
 were burn of this union: Charles, Helen and 
 Robert. The mother died in Kankakee in 1888, 
 at the advanced age of eight}- years. She w-as a 
 consistent member of the Baptist Church for a 
 long jjcriod, and died in that faith. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were passed
 
 330 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 upon a farm and when but six years of age, on ac- 
 count of the death of his father, he went to live 
 with a cousin, with whom he remained until four- 
 teen years of age. He then made his home with 
 his mother and stepfather and lived in their 
 household until reaching his majority. He em- 
 barked in the active business of life with $150 as a 
 capital and commenced by working for farmers 
 by the mouth. In 1848 he emigrated to Illinois, 
 making the trip by team. lie brought all of his 
 wordly possessions with him in his wagon and 
 located in Aroma Township, this county, where he 
 purchased one hundred and sixt}' acres on section 
 2. This tract was wild prarie land and the price 
 he paid for it was .§2.50 per acre. He at once pro- 
 ceeded to build a small frame house, which he has 
 made his home for almost half a century and where 
 be still resides. With characteristic energ}' he de- 
 voted himself to the cultivation and development 
 of his farm and soon plenteous harvests rewarded 
 his efforts. Year by year be added to his original 
 tract adjoining land as his means increased, until 
 he now has seven hundred acres of most valuable 
 and highly improved land, which with the excep- 
 tion of sixty acres is all in one body. He com- 
 menced life without means and has by his idomi- 
 table will, energy and well-directed efforts reached 
 his present position as one of the leading agricul- 
 turists of the county. Upon his arrival in this 
 community' he found an abundance of wild game, 
 and wandering bands of Indians were by no means 
 an uncommon sight. This county was then a por- 
 tion of Will County and it was in the year follow- 
 ing his settlement in this section that the first 
 survey was made for the Illinois Central Railroad. 
 Kankakee was then a city of the future and com- 
 prised but one building, a log house supposed to 
 have been erected b3' the Indians and which was 
 known as the Balbonis House. 
 
 Mr. Baker was united in marriage in 1848 to 
 Miss Aurelia, daughter of Almon and Pauline 
 (Jaquith) Fairbanks. The following children have 
 blessed this union: Elizabeth, wife of Nathaniel 
 Uran, a farmer living in this county; Charles 
 residing on the homestead with his parents; 
 Fremont, who is engaged in business in Kankakee; 
 Frank, who is also in the cit^'; Monroe, who resides 
 
 at home; Myron, a liveryman of Kankakee; 
 Joseph A.,who is engaged in farming in Kankakee 
 Township; and Ethel, who is at home. 
 
 Politically our subject was an old-line Whig and 
 cast his first vote in favor of Gen. AVilliam Henry 
 Harrison. On the organization of the Republican 
 party he became one of its stanch supporters and 
 in the last Presidential election his ballot was cast 
 for the illustrious grandson of the Tippecanoe 
 hero. He has never been an office-seeker, though 
 always doing all in his power to forward and pro- 
 mote all public enterprises. He has lived in peace 
 with all men and it is a matter which is worthy of 
 pride to him that in all his various dealings with 
 his fellow-men he has never had a law suit. 
 
 <ii7 OUIS SALZMAN owns and operates a good 
 I (^ farm of two hundred and forty acres on sec- 
 jIL-^ tions 15 and 16, Limestone Township, and 
 in return for the care he bestows upon it, the well- 
 tilled fields yield to him a golden tribute. The 
 life record of our subject is as follows: He was 
 born on the 7lh of December, 1833, in Saxony, 
 German}', and is the second child in a family of 
 three sons born of the union of Valentine and 
 Margaret (Salzman) Salzman. His parents were 
 both natives of Germany, and in that land spent 
 their entire days. 
 
 In the usual manner of farmer lads the subject 
 of this sketch spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth. He acquired a good education in the com- 
 mon schools, and during vacation he received lib- 
 eral training at work in the fields. He remained 
 under the parental roof until he had attained his 
 majority, when, with the desire to try his fortune 
 in America, he bade good-bye to home and friends 
 and sailed for the New World. The voyage over, 
 he landed in New York and at once came to the 
 West, locating in Cook County, 111., where he re- 
 mained for about two months, working as a farmf 
 hand. He then came to Kankakee County, and 
 hired out by the month as a farm laborer. The 
 two succeeding years of his life were thus passed.
 
 LIBRARY 
 OF THE 
 
 m\/mm of \iim\s
 
 o~ii^^d 
 
 Al^-tyi^ 
 
 C>-t^---(^
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 333 
 
 On landing in this country he found himself a 
 stranger in a strange land and without cai)ital, 
 so that he had at once to earn his own livelihood. 
 After two years spent in Kankakee County he 
 started southward on a trip to Louisiana, but he 
 remained there only a short time and again came 
 to Kankakee County, 111. On his return he rented 
 a farm and engaged in its operation for a period 
 of five years, during which time, through his econ- 
 omy and industry, he acquired some capital, and 
 with this purchased land in Limestone Township, 
 I the same on which lie now resides. 
 
 On the IGth of June, 1860, Mr. Salzmaii was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Burghart, a na- 
 tive of Germany, who emigrated to this country 
 when quite young. Seven children were born 
 of this marriage, four sons and three daughters, 
 namely: Louisa, who was born December 7, 1861, 
 is now the wife of Martin Albeit, a contractor of this 
 county, and resides in the city of Kankakee; Will- 
 iam, born December 2, 1864, is now married and is 
 a prosperous farmer of Limestone Township; Al- 
 bert is the next younger; Edward died in infancy'; 
 and Charles and Hattie are the youngest members 
 of the family. In 1880 the mother died, leaving 
 a family of small children, and in 1883 Mr. Salz- 
 man was again married, his second union being 
 with Miss Anna Ilartman, a native of Germanv. 
 They have become the parents of three children, 
 as follows: George, Lydia and Anna. 
 
 When Mr. Salzman purchased his farm it was a 
 tract of wild land, but he at once began its devel- 
 opment and soon acre after acre was placed under 
 the plow, until now all is under a high state of 
 cultivation. He has also made a number of im- 
 provements upon the place, and its neat appearance 
 indicates his thrift and enterprise. Politically Mr. 
 Salzman is a supporter of the Republican part}'. 
 He has served as School Director in his district for 
 the long period of eighteen years, and was Trustee 
 of the Scliool Board for three years, lie manifests 
 a commendable interest in all that pertains to the 
 welfare of the community, and is a valued citizen. 
 Himself aiul family are members of the German 
 Baptist ('lunch. Mr. Salzman is a self-made man, 
 for his possessions have been acquired entirely 
 through his own efforts. B^' industry, enterprise 
 
 and good management he has steadily worked his 
 way upward, and by his perseverance has sur- 
 mounted the difticiilties in his path, until he has 
 acquired a comfortable competence and is num- 
 bered among the township's substantial citizens. 
 
 MORY COBB, President of the First Nati- 
 onal l!;ink of Kankakee since its organiza- 
 tion and a leading business man of ICan- 
 kakee County, was born in Dryden, Tompkins 
 Count}-, N. Y., on tiie 20th of August, 1831, and 
 is a son of William and Aciisali (Bradley) Cobb. 
 The familj' is of English origin, and while there is 
 no authentic record of the fact, it is believed that 
 the American branch was est.ablished here carl}' in 
 the seventeenth century by the emigration of two 
 brothers, Morgan and Nathan Cobb. The Rev. 
 Sylvester Cobb, historian and novelist, is a de- 
 scendant of Nathan, and considers himself .as one 
 of the seventh generation, which tends to conlirm 
 approximatel\- the time of the arrival of the two 
 brothers in tiiis country. On this subject William 
 Cobb, of Warwick, Mass., one of the earl}' de- 
 scendants of one of the original emigrants, Mor- 
 gan Cobb, wrote May 17, 181 1, to AVilliam Newell 
 Cobb, the eldest brother of our subject, as follows: 
 " I have no one to consult on this subject except 
 my mother, who resides in my family and is now 
 ninety-four years old, but retains her menial f.ac- 
 ulties to a good degree. The most that I can 
 learn is that two brothers by the name of Colib 
 emigrated from England to America, but at what 
 time I cannot ascertain. One was named I\Iorgan, 
 the other Nathan. Our family is descended from 
 Morgan Cobb. It has been siiid thai we are tinc- 
 tured with Scotch blood. I was born in Norton, 
 October 27, 1770, and am now seventy-four years 
 old." The connection of Emory Cobb to Morgan 
 Cobl), mentioned in this letter as the founder of 
 the family in America, may be traced in the fol- 
 lowing manner: Emory Cobb, son of William 
 Cobb, who was the son of Elisha, the son of Will- 
 iam, who was a son of Morgan, a grandson of
 
 334 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Morgan, the original English emigrant. In Revo- 
 lutionary times this family had become quite 
 numerous in Massachusetts and New York, and 
 were active and prominent Whigs. 
 
 William Cobb, the father of our subject, was a 
 farmer by occupation, but operated several mills 
 on Fall Creek, Tompkins County, N. Y., and it 
 was there that the subject of this sketch passed his 
 time until he was twelve years old, when, on the 
 • death of his father, he went to live with his grand- 
 father, Lemi Bradley. He received a common- 
 school education, and in 1847 went to Ithaca, N. 
 Y., to learn telegraphy. The following year he 
 secured a position as operator at Fredonia, on the 
 Erie & Michigan Telegraph Line, which had just 
 been constructed by Hon. Ezra Cornell and Col. 
 J. J. Speed between Buffalo and Milwaukee. His 
 services gave such satisfaction that in 1851 he 
 was made bookkeeper for the company at Cleve- 
 land, Ohio, and in March of the following year 
 became manager of their office in Chicago. It was 
 during his location in tlie Chicago office that the 
 first pool ever formed in this country went into 
 effect. At that time there were three telegraph 
 companies doing business from Chicago to the 
 East: the Erie & Michigan, the Ohio, Indiana & 
 Illinois, and the Southern Michigan. In 1853 it 
 occurred to the managers of these companies that 
 they could unite their offices in Chicago and di- 
 vide the earnings. They did so under Mr. Cobb's 
 supervision, and the experiment was so satisfac- 
 tory that it was followed in 1856 by the merging 
 of the companies into the AVestern Union Tele- 
 graph Company, Mr. Cobb being retained as man- 
 aoer of the Chicago office, and his authority and 
 territory enlarged by his appointment as Superin- 
 tendent of the Western Division. 
 
 This important dual position Mr. Cobb held un- 
 til October, 1865, when his health having become 
 impaired he was given a year's leave of absence 
 and went abroad, passing the most of his time in 
 traveling lluough Europe, Asia and Africa. On 
 his return in 18G6 he was earnestly solicited to re- 
 sume his old position, but fear of again breaking 
 down under the growing cares and responsibilities 
 incident to that office led him to decline. He af- 
 terward served as a member of the Board of Direc- 
 
 tors. He introduced the system of transmitting 
 money by telegraph, and with the consent of the 
 Western Union Telegraph Company, the manag- 
 ers of which were doubtful of its practicability, 
 conducted tlie business on his own account from 
 1857 until 1807. In these ten years he established 
 agents in all the principal Eastern cities, and so 
 demonstrated the success and profit of the busi- 
 ness that the company in 1867 withdrew all objec- 
 tions and incorporated the system as one of the 
 leading features of their service. 
 
 As early as 1861, Mr. Cobb had made invest- 
 ment in land in Kankakee, 111., and when he re- 
 tired from his position with the Western Union 
 Telegraph Company in 1866, he sought a refuge 
 from the care and worry of business life by retir- 
 ing to his farm in this county, where he settled 
 down as an agriculturist and stock-raiser. Tlie 
 outdoor life soon built up his health, which liad 
 been in danger of being permanently shattered. 
 In this locality he became prominent as a breeder 
 of Shorthorn cattle, and when the American 
 Shorthorn Breeders' Association was formed in 
 1881, he was chosen its President, and with the 
 exception of one year, when he was absent in Eu- 
 rope, he has held that position ever since. This 
 association is one of the most important in the 
 live-stock industry in America. It has eight hun- 
 dred stockholders, and conducts the Shorthorn 
 register for the breeders of those grades in the 
 United States and Canada. Mr. Cobb is still ac- 
 tively interested in general farming and stock- 
 raising. He was for many years a member of the 
 State Board of Agriculture, serving as Vice-presi- 
 dent until he declined election in 1882, as he was 
 about to make a foreign tour with his family. He 
 started on this voyage in that year, and remained 
 abroad for about two years, visiting the most im- 
 portant Continental centers. It was in 1883, 
 while in Europe, that Mr. Cobb, in divesting him- 
 self as much as possible of exacting duties, de- 
 clined the position of President of the Board of 
 Trustees of the Illinois Industrial University at 
 Champaign, now the University of Illinois, in 
 which position he had served continuously from 
 1873 until 1883. Of the original Trustees, Mr. 
 Cobb is the only one that still retains a place ou
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 33J 
 
 the Board, having been named year after year by 
 succeeding Governors to this honorable position, 
 lie has been a member of the Executive Commit- 
 tee continuously since its organization. 
 
 Of late years, Mr. Cobb has done much to dev- 
 oloi) and improve Kankakee, and it is largely to 
 liiin that this flourishing city owes its present 
 prominence and |)rosperity. In 1884 he erected 
 the Arcade lUiilding, which is one of the most 
 comi^lele and unique ollico-buildiugs in the .State. 
 He was instrumental in erecting the Hotel River 
 View at Kankakee, and is President of the hotel 
 company. Our subject is also largely interested 
 in the Kankakee Electric Street Railway Com- 
 [lany. The First National Rank of Kankakee, of 
 which he is President, owes its existence to his 
 foresight. Mr. Cobb has also been active in busi- 
 ness enterprises in other commercial centers. One 
 of his manj' ventures was the organization of the 
 Bozeman National Bank, at Bozeman, Mont., in 
 1H82, which was conducted by his son, Charles H., 
 until he was called home to take charge of the 
 Kankakee Electric Street Railroad Company. 
 
 On the 9th of February, 1858, Mr. Cobb mar- 
 ried Miss Isabella, a daughter of Aaron Haven, 
 one of the pioneer merchants of Chicago. By 
 this union have been born three sons: Charles 
 Haven, whose birth occurred February 7, 1860, is 
 now general manager of the Kankakee Electric 
 Street Railway; William Walter, born November 
 14, 1862, is Vice-president of the Teed Shoe Com- 
 pany; and Duwane Phillips, born November 14, 
 1.SIJ7, is a graduate of Yale College, of the Class 
 of '91. 
 
 Mr. Cobl) is a very public-spirited man, and 
 while careful in his investments, has always had 
 in view the benefit of the general public as well as 
 his individual profit. He has been uniformly 
 successful in his numerous business enterprises, 
 and has amassed a comfortable fortune. Ho is in 
 every respect a thoroughly self-made man. His 
 judgment of men and opiiortuuities is excellent, 
 and in his friendship he is lasting and true. Quick 
 to act in important matters, he yet rarely makes a 
 mistake, and his opinion and advice are much 
 valued. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Cobb is a very genial and affable 
 
 man, considerate of the feelings of others, while at 
 the same time holding strongly to his own views. 
 He was reared in tiie Methodist faith, but has been 
 for twent^'-five years a member of the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church, and is very active and prom- 
 inent in all the works of that Christian body, 
 whether in the parish, the diocese, or the countiy 
 at large. He has been a member of the vestry of 
 St. Paul's Church of Kankakee since the parish 
 was organized in 1863, and has been a Warden of 
 the church since 1865. He is, however, as broad- 
 minded in religion as in other tilings, and has 
 little sympathy with sectarianism either in the 
 pulpit or in religious and charitable work. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 3^^ 
 
 able 
 
 OSWELL NICHOLS. Among the early 
 and worthy pioneers of the territory now 
 embraced within the limits of Kankakee 
 County, none is more deserving of favor- 
 mention than he whose name heads this 
 sketch. A native of New England, he was de- 
 scended from New England ancestors, whose set- 
 tlement in that cradle of American liberty dates 
 back to early Colonial days long prior to the Rev- 
 olution. He was born in Stepney, Conn., on the 
 13th of Julj', 1795, and was a son of Josepli Nich- 
 ols, who was also a native of Connecticut, and of 
 English descent. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received a fair edu- 
 cation and served a regular apprenticeship to the 
 trade of tanner and currier. About 1814, Mr. 
 Nichols removed to Piiltneyville, W.ayne County-, 
 N. Y., where he was united in marriage with Miss 
 Maria Gibson, who died with her young child 
 about a year after her marriage. At Pultneyville, 
 on the21stof August, 1822, he wasagain married, 
 the lady of his choice being Miss Mary Durfee, 
 whose parents belonged to the Society of Friends. 
 Mrs. Nichols was l)orn on the 10th of February, 
 1799, and was the daughter of Lemuel and Pru- 
 dence Durfee, natives of Rhode Island and des- 
 cendants of worthy representatives of the Society 
 of Friends in that Colony. They were of English
 
 336 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 origin and had settled at Palmyra, N. Y., in an early 1 
 day. For several years after his second marriage, 
 he continued to reside at Pultneyville, where his 
 three eldest children were born. 
 
 About the year 1828, Mr. Nichols removed to 
 Ontario County, N. Y., and settled on what was 
 known as the Jo Smith farm, which he bought of 
 the Mormon Apostle, and which was situated not 
 far distant from the town of Palmyra. It was on 
 this farm that Mr. Smith claimed to have found 
 the original tablets from which the Mormon Bible 
 was written. The Prophet occupied a log house 
 on one corner of the farm for some months after 
 Mr. Nichols took possession, and the sons of the 
 latter, now residents of Kankakee, were often wit- 
 nesses of the so-called Prophet's dictation of tlie 
 Bible to his amanuenses. Some years later Mr. 
 Nichols removed to Palmyra, the better to edu- 
 cate his children, still retaining and operating his 
 farm. In liie autumn of 1841, being impressed by 
 the accounts he heard of the great fertility of the 
 soil of Illinois and its advantages as an agricultural 
 country, Mr. Nichols effected a trade for a tract of 
 six hundred and forty acres situated on the west 
 bank of the Kankakee River, in what is now the 
 township of Limestone, Kankakee County, then Iro- 
 quois County, for which he exchanged his farm in 
 New York. The location of the land was favorable 
 for farming purposes and the soil was rich. Though 
 the larger part of the tract was prairie, there was 
 enough timber and meadow land for all of his 
 necessities. He afterwards added to his original 
 purchases until he owned in all ten hundred and 
 forty acres. In the spring of 1842, Mr. Nichols 
 started with his family by the Lakes to Chicago, and 
 from there moved by teams to their log cabin liome 
 on the banks of the Kankakee. They found their 
 house only partly roofed, and thej^ experienced 
 many discomforts in the fii-st years of their settle- 
 ment in the wilderness. Not the least of their 
 troubles consisted in getting acclimated, which, as 
 was common in the early days of Illinois, was at- 
 tended by a siege of fever and ague. So impar- 
 tial was the shaking up, that all except the mother 
 were afflicted at the same time. When they left 
 New York they brought with them most of their 
 household goods, many farming implements and a 
 
 good supply of clothing for the family. They 
 traveled by canal to Buffalo, and thence by the old 
 steamer"Chesapeake"around the Lakes to Chicago. 
 From that hamlet the family with their goods re- 
 quired seven teams to remove them to their future 
 home. 
 
 The family arrived in Illinois too late in the 
 season to secure a crop other than a little corn. 
 Mr. Nichols was obliged to buy all the necessaries 
 of life, and as his supply of ready money was lim- 
 ited it soon became exhausted. Serious trouble 
 stared him in the face; strangers in the West with- 
 out means and friends, what were they to do? 
 Everything looked dark and want seemed to 
 threaten. Mrs. Nichols at this point caused a silver 
 lining to brighten the cloud by producing from a 
 hiding-place 8100 in good New York money, which 
 no member of the famil3' was aware that slie pos- 
 essed. The money was a gift from her old Quaker 
 mother at their parting, and the daughter had been 
 enjoined to let no one know of it until a critical 
 time of need. The surprise of her husband and fam- 
 ily was as great as it was agreeable, and the timely 
 aid tided them over the season of need. With 
 the help of his sons, Mr. Nichols developed and 
 improved his farm, erected buildings, opened 
 roads and soon had one of the most valuable farms 
 in that section of the State. 
 
 The family of Mr. and Mrs. Nichols consisted of 
 seven sons and two daughters. With the excep- 
 tion of one daughter the children are all living 
 and are useful and respected members of society. 
 The eldest of the family, Argailous B., was born 
 March 27, 1824, and was twice married, his first 
 wife being Almira C. Hawkins and his present 
 wife Sarah Graham. He is a resident of Kankakee 
 and enjoys an extended acquaintance throughout 
 the State. Bailey H. was born March In, 1826, 
 married Viola Potter, and is a Justice of the Peace 
 in Kankakee. Judson D. was born on the 8th of 
 April, 1828, and is now engaged in the furniture 
 business at Kankakee. (See his sket<:h on another 
 page of this volume.) Anna Maria, born May 13, 
 1830, was the wife of Dr. Alexander Buchanan, and 
 died on the 13th of March, 1863. Harriet C, born 
 January 23, 1832, is the widow of Otis C. Durfee 
 and makes her home in Kankakee. (See the sketch
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 U:M 
 
 of Mr. Durfee elsewhere in this volume.) Roswell 
 C, wliose birth occurred on the 24th of March, 
 183 1, married Susan Leslie and is a retired live- 
 stock dealer of Chicago. Charles II. was born 
 March 31, 1837, married Miss Mary F. Woodruff, 
 and resides in Joliet, 111. Franklin A. married 
 Frances Denn^' and resides on the old homestead 
 farm. Albert K. married Patience Denn^', is a 
 farmer by occupation and lives in Kankakee. The 
 three older children were born in PultneyA'ille, 
 Wayne County, N. Y., and the others in Palmyra, 
 Ontario County, of the same State. Franklin A. 
 and Albert £. were soldiers in the late war for the 
 preservation of the Union, and were members of tlie 
 drum corps of the One Hundred and Thirteenth 
 Regiment Illinois Infantry and served until the 
 close of the war, a period of three years. 
 
 Mr. Nichols in early life was a member of the 
 Whig party and helped to organize the Republi- 
 can party in Kankakee County, with which he 
 maintained his connection throughout life. His 
 sons also gave allegiance to the same party. When 
 society demanded a Justice Court in Limestone 
 Township, Mr. Nicliols was chosen to fill the posi- 
 tion of Justice, which he was for many years. He 
 was also the first Postmaster in that township and 
 served as Postmaster for upward of a quarter of a 
 century. The office, which was called Rinosa, was 
 located at his own residence for some \ears. He 
 was succeeded by his son Franklin. This post- 
 office has since been discontinued. Mr. Nichols 
 remained upon his farm, engaged in the active 
 duties of an agriculturist, until 1868, when he re- 
 moved to Kankakee, where with his wife their re- 
 maining years were spent. His death occurred on 
 the 2d of August, 1880, he having reached the age 
 of eighty-five years. His good wife survived him 
 only three years and passed away on the 9th of 
 May, 1883, aged eighty-four years. In his relig- 
 ious views Mr. Nichols adhered to the Presbyterian 
 faith but was never severe or strict in the obser- 
 vance of his religion. He was strictly temperate 
 and moral in his habits, upriglit and lionorable in 
 business, and commanded tlic confidence and res- 
 pect of all with whom he came in contact. Mrs. 
 Nichols never abandoned the faith of lier parents, 
 but as there was no community of the Society of 
 
 Friends near lier home, ^hc simph- Hvcd licr hfe m 
 the simplicity and purity of lier earl^- religious 
 training, teaching her children by example as well 
 as precept the principles of true Christianity, by 
 the observance of which they might safely and 
 happily live and die. 
 
 -^ 
 
 UPLEDGE H. ENOS is a leading farmer of 
 Kankakee Township, residing on section 6. 
 \V We wish to add to the records of the early 
 ^^ pioneers and old settlers of Kankakee 
 County the honored name wiiich heads this sketch. 
 Mr. Enos has been identified with the interests and 
 prosperity of this county for nearly forty years 
 and has seen it change from a wilderness to one 
 of the leading counties of the State. 
 
 The Enos family is of English descent and its 
 members were among the pioneers of Connecticut. 
 The father of our subject, Jonathan Knos, was born 
 in Connecticut and removed to the Empire State 
 when a young man, settling in Cayuga Count}'. 
 He married there C.ynthia Howard, who was born, 
 reared and educated 'n Cayuga County. Her fa- 
 ther, Peter Howard, was a native of New Hamp- 
 shire and emigrated to New York State in ITOG, 
 becoming one of tlie honored pioneers of Cayuga 
 Count}', where he engaged in farming for a num- 
 ber of j'ears. In 183G Jonathan Enos moved 
 Westward and settled in Calhoun County, Jlich., 
 where he lived until his death, which occurred on 
 the 9th of January-, 1818. His wife survived him 
 several years and also died in Michigan. 
 
 Rutledge II. Enos grew to manhood in Cayuga 
 Count}' and received a common-school education. 
 He was born in that county on the 26th of April, 
 1815. When a young man he determined to seek 
 his fortune in the West, and went to Calhoun 
 County, Mich., where he lived for about twelve 
 j'ears, engaged in agricultural pursuits. In the 
 year 1818 he located in Iroquois County, III., at 
 which time this section was a swamp and but little 
 inhabited. For about six years he resided in Milk's 
 Grove, his nearest neighbor living on the Irocjuois
 
 338 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 River, fully twelve miles distant. The first win- 
 ter after his arrival in that county he wintered 
 sixteen hundred head of sheep, which belonged to 
 him and his partner. The original flock Mr. Enos 
 had driven from Cayuga County, N. Y., to Calhoun 
 County, Mich. Later the increased flock was 
 driven to Loquois County. To feed them the 
 first winter, Mr. Enos planted one hundred acres 
 of corn on prairie sod and had three hundred tons 
 of prairie ha3' cut with a sc3'the. Those were times 
 that tried men's endurance. For two weeks during 
 that first winter the only bread he tasted was made 
 from wheat ground in a coffee-mill. 
 
 Mr. Enos was among the first and honored set- 
 tlers of that county, and after a residence there of 
 about five years he removed to Kankakee Count}' 
 in the year 1853. He purchased unimproved prairie 
 land and located on the place where he still resides, 
 a part of which is now within the corporate limits 
 of Kankakee. On his farm are walnut trees fifty 
 feet high, grown from the nuts he planted, and 
 bearing chestnut trees that have sprung from the 
 seed that he brought from New York. At that 
 time the city had not over fifty residents and but 
 a few shanties. The railroad had not yet been 
 finished to the place but was completed in the 
 following September. Mr. Enos proceeded to im- 
 prove and develop his farm and now has a fine 
 tract of tliree liundred and nineteen acres, on 
 which are substantial buildings, a good residence, 
 commodious barns and other farm structures. He 
 well deserves the prosperity he has achieved, for 
 he has ever been industrious, enterprising and per- 
 severing. He has been a resident of this section for 
 forty-five years and has been an ej'e- witness of 
 and a sharer in the prosperity' which has crowned 
 this region. 
 
 In Genesee County, N.Y., occurred the marriage 
 of Mr. Enos and Miss Mary M. Gilbert, who grew 
 lo womanhood near Batavia in that count}'. The 
 wedding ceremony was performed on the 22d of 
 June, 1854. Three children grace their union: 
 Fannie Florence is the wife of John E. Lydecker, 
 a lawyer of Kingman, Kan.; Eugene resides at 
 home and is employed in the Hickox Bank in 
 Kankakee; and Albertina is still at home. 
 
 Since the organization of the Republican party. 
 
 Mr. Enos has been its hearty supporter and well- 
 wisher. His first ballot was cast for Martin Van 
 Buren, and for many j'ears he voted v/ith the Free- 
 soil part}'. Mr. Enos has always been a loyal and 
 patriotic citizen and has discharged his duties as 
 one of America's sons in a faithful and earnest 
 manner, but has never given much time or atten- 
 tion to political offices, instead devoting himself to 
 his farm and business. He is a supporter of the 
 cause of education. Mr. Enos is now seventy- 
 seven 3'ears of age and is hale and hearty for a 
 man of his j'cars. He has always been strictly 
 temperate in his habits and has never used tobacco 
 in any form or touched a drop of whisky except 
 for medicinal purposes. He is well and favorably 
 known throughout this section and his many 
 friends and acquaintances will be pleased to read 
 this sketch of the life of one of its worthy pio- 
 neers. 
 
 "JllOHN PETERS, who owns and operates a 
 fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres 
 on section 7, Otto Township, is one of the 
 early settlers of the count}', where he has 
 resided for the long period of thirty-five years. A 
 native of Germany, he was born in Prussia on 
 the 25th of October, 1835. His father, Fred Pet- 
 ers, was also a native of that country. The mother 
 of our subject died in CTermany, after which the 
 father accompanied his son John to the New World 
 and spent the remainder of his life in Kankakee 
 County. His death occurred in Pilot Township 
 about 1877. 
 
 John Peters is the youngest of a family of seven 
 children, four sons and three daughters, all of 
 whom came to the United States. His brother 
 Christ resides in Chebanse, and Charles is living 
 in Nebraska. Two sisters make their home in Chi- 
 cago, and the ether one is now deceased. Our 
 subject remained in his native land until seven- 
 teen years of age and acquired a good education, 
 both in the German and Latin languages. In Eng- 
 lish he is wholly self-educated, but experience and
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPir.CAL RECORD. 
 
 339 
 
 observation have made him a well-informed man. 
 In 1859, Mr. Peters crossed the liriii y deep to the 
 New World, flailing from llanibiug to New York, 
 where he arrived after a voyage of six weeks and 
 three days. The vessel in which he sailed dropped 
 anclior in the liarbor of New York on the 27th of 
 November. He immediatel}' came to the West, 
 joining an elder brother and sister in Chicago. In 
 the spring of 1860, lie came to Kankakee County, 
 and began work as a farm hand by the montli, 
 which he continued until 1801. 
 
 Mr. Peters felt great sympatliy for his adopted 
 country in her hour of peril, and resolved to aid 
 in the preservation of the Union, so in September, 
 he enrolled his name among the boj'S in blue of 
 Company K, Fourth Illinois Cavahy, and joined 
 the regiment at Ottawa. Thence he went South to 
 Cairo, and participated in the engagements of the 
 regiment. His tirst duty was at the capture of 
 Fts. Henry and Donelson. He afterward took part 
 in the battles of Shiluh and .lackson, the siege of 
 Yicksburg and the battle of Natchez, where the 
 regiment remained on guard duty until its dis- 
 charge. Mr. Peters carries three honorable scars, 
 the result of wounds received in the service. He 
 was first wounded by a gunshot through the 
 shoulder at Ft. Donelson; at Shiloh he was 
 wounded in the right forearm, and at an engage- 
 ment at Natchez his horse was shot and fell on 
 his right leg, breaking that member. 
 
 His term of service having expired, INIr. Peters 
 was mustered out at Springfield in the fall of 1864, 
 and went to the home of his brother, where he re- 
 mained for one year, being unable to do any work 
 on account of the injuries he had sustained. He 
 then purcliased eighty acres of land wlicre he now 
 , resides, aud locating tliereon began its develop- 
 I ment. Two years later he added to it a forty- 
 acre tract, and from time to time he has made 
 additional purchases, until now within the bounda- 
 ries of the home farm are comprised two hun- 
 dred and eighty acres of valuable land. The farm 
 is one of the best in the county. The home is a 
 large and substantial residence, there are large 
 barns, a granary, tool house, windpump, well 
 house and all other necessary outbuildings, to- 
 gether with a good orchard, etc. In fact, the Pet- 
 
 ers homestead is one of the best improved places 
 in Otto Township. Mr. Peters also owns a farm 
 two and a-half miles south, located in Milk's drove 
 Township, Iroquois Count}-. It is two hundred 
 and forty acres in extent, and is under a high 
 state of cultivation. In addition to this he has an 
 improved tract of one hundred and sixt}- acres 
 situated a mile from the home farm. Altogetiier 
 he operates six hundred and eighty acres of land, 
 which yields to him a golden tribute for the care 
 and labor he bestows upon- it. 
 
 jNIr. Peters was united in marriage, March 15, 
 1869, with Miss Minnie Peters, a native of I'rus- 
 sia, Germany, who came to this country when a 
 child of two 3'ears. She was reared and educated 
 in Chicago, and was a daughter of Christ Peters, 
 of that city. Seven children have been born of 
 the union of our subject and his wife, and the 
 family circle yet remains unbroken. In order of 
 birth they are as follows: Frank, Ed, Will, .John, 
 Emma, .Joseph and Arthur. The mother of this 
 familj' was called to her final rest in November, 
 1883, and her remains were interred in (Greenwood 
 Cemeterj' of Chebanse, where a monument has 
 been erected to her memory. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Peters is a Re- 
 publican. He warmly advocates the principles of 
 that party, and has supported each of its Presi- 
 dential nominees since the time when he cast his 
 first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln m 
 1864. He takes an active interest in politics, as 
 every true American citizen should do, but has 
 never been an oflice-seeker. For fifteen consecu- 
 tive years, however, he served as a member of the 
 School Board, and did effective service in the in- 
 terest of education. Socially, he is a member 
 of Jaquith Post No. 5, G. A. R., of Chebanse, 
 and also holds membership with the Presbyterian 
 Church. Mr. Peters is a public-spirited and pro- 
 gressive citizen, and manifests a commendable in 
 terest in all that pertains to the ivelfareof the com- 
 munity and its upbuilding. During his thirty-five 
 years' residence in the county he has done much 
 toward its advancement and toward making it 
 what it to-day is, one of the foremost counties in 
 the State. 
 
 Mr. Peters started out in life a young man empty-
 
 340 
 
 PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 handed, but he was determmed to win success. He 
 has worked ou untiringly. His life has been a 
 busy and useful one. He has overcome the ob- 
 stacles in his path, and seemingly the ditficulties 
 in his way h«ve served as an impetus to his growth, 
 causing him to work all the harder. A well-de- 
 served prosperity has now crowned his efforts, and 
 he is justly ranked among the substantial and 
 highly respected citizens of the community. 
 
 #^|^^^ 
 
 LfelLLIAM HEEBE is a prominent farmer of 
 'f Aroma Township, making his home on 
 ^^ section 12, where he has lived since seven 
 years of age. He is a native of Vermont, his birth 
 occurring in Bennington County on the 2.5th of 
 March, 1831. He is a son of Dudley and Dolly 
 (Stearns) Beebe, the former of Welsh descent and 
 a native of New Hampshire, and the latter a native 
 of Vermont. The father lived in Vermont until 
 1838, when he removed to Illinois, settling in Will 
 Countj^, now a portion of Kankakee County. The 
 trip Westward was a great undertaking in those 
 early days, but few railroads having tlien been 
 built, and much of the country being almost im- 
 passable. They came in wagons, one other family 
 also undertaking the same journey with them. 
 Mr. Beebe purchased a claim in Aroma Township 
 of Mr. Jleggs. This farm consisted of one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres, which was slightly improved 
 and upon which was a small log cabin, built on the 
 bank of the river. He afterwards bought the land 
 from the Government. When Mr. Beebe located in 
 this community, Chicago was the nearest trading- 
 post, and to that point he was obliged to haul his 
 grain and produce for several ^-ears. He developed 
 his farm and otherwise greatly improved it, so that 
 at his death his property was considered quite val- 
 uable. He departed this life in 1853 and lies 
 buried in Beebetown Cemetery, a portion of his 
 old homestead. The mother died many years pre- 
 vious, in 1840, and is interred by the side of her 
 husband. 
 Eleven children were born to Dudle3' Beebe and 
 
 his wife. Luther, who was born on the 23d of 
 March, 1805, died February 26, 1843; Laura was 
 born on the 5th of June, 1807, and departed this 
 life .January 17, 1865; twin children were born 
 on the 27th of Februaiy, 1813, and died in infancy; 
 Lomira, whose birth occurred on the 13th of May, 
 1818, is still living; Orrille, born March 27, 1825, 
 died on the 29th of December, 1890; Lydia, born 
 February 23, 1826, died April 29, 1843; Asa, a 
 retired farmer, now living in Kankakee, was born 
 May 29, 1827; William, the subject of this sketch, 
 is next in order of birth; and Joanna, born May 
 25, 1834, died on the 26th of January, 1881. 
 
 The first school attended b^' William Beebe was 
 held in an old shed built at the end of his father's 
 log cabin. This was the first school held in lliis 
 section of the country and was taught b}' his sis- 
 ter Lomira. He has been self-educated since ar- 
 riving at mature years. He remained with his pa- 
 rents on the old homestead until he was twenty-two 
 years of age, at whicli time occurred his father's 
 death. As one of the heirs he inherited a portion 
 of his father's estate and afterwards bought out 
 the interests of some of the other heirs. He now 
 owns one hundred and twenty-six acres of the old 
 homestead and is the possessor of one hundred 
 and eighty acres of land, all in one body. He is 
 engaged in farming and stock-raising and has 
 been veiy successful as an agriculturist. He has 
 witnessed great changes in this portion of the 
 State and well remembers when the Indians were 
 scattered throughout this county. They were of 
 a peaceable disposition and gave the people little 
 trouble. In the early days he 'jas hauled many a 
 load of wheat to Chicago wii i ox-teams, often 
 taking about five days to make the round trip. 
 Wild game was also very plentiful in those early 
 days. 
 
 On March 8, 1855, occurred the marriage of Mr. 
 Beebe and Miss Mary F. Legg, daughter of George 
 and Mary Legg. Four children have blessed their 
 union. p]dgar F. is a well-known farmer of Aroma 
 Township; Ida M. became the \^ 'fe of Emery Baker 
 and resides in Kankakee; EvaD. is the wife of 
 Prairie Kibbins, a resident farmer of Aroma Town- 
 ship; Tomie A. resides at home with his father. 
 
 Our subject was a supporter of the old Whig
 
 Ur IHE 
 H">VERSITY OF ILLINOIS

 
 C7y c^uyLd
 
 Of ir;- 
 
 ,,,vtv.snv Q^uy^'
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 party prior to the organization of the Republitun 
 party, witli which he has been associated for 
 many years. Mv. Beohc has always tulcen au active 
 part in all worthy public enterprises but has never 
 lieen an ufliee-seekor. For many long j'ears he 
 has been a member of the Masonic order. 
 
 315 
 
 .i^= 
 "■^^^^s 
 
 1— 1_] 
 
 US" 
 
 a I^ILLIAM II. ATKIXS,a retired farmer who 
 
 \&J// makes his ho?ne on section 5, is numbered 
 
 \i^ among the early settlers of Pilot Town- 
 
 siiip. and is a self-made man, wlio from an humble 
 
 position in life has worked his way upward to one 
 of aflluence. His upright career is certainly wor- 
 tliy of emulation and deserves a place in this vol- 
 ume. 
 
 Mr. Atkins was born in Tioga County, N. Y., on 
 
 the 21st of August, 181G, and Is the youngest of 
 a famil}^ of seven children, two sons and five 
 daughters. His father, Asa Atkins, was a native 
 of Connecticut. There his bo3-hood days were 
 spent, and after attaining to man's estate he mar- 
 ried Sarah Neal, of the same State. In 1814 he 
 emigrated with his family to New York, locating 
 in Tioga County in the midst of a wilderness. He 
 was a shoemaker b^' trade, but after his removal 
 he made a small clearing in the midst of the forest 
 and began the development of a farm. Finding 
 this operation distasteful, however, he soon aban- 
 doned it and removing to Spencer resumed his 
 trade, which he followed in that place for a num- 
 ber of years. Subsequently he came to Illinois 
 and joined his children, spending the last 3'ears of 
 his life in Newark, where his death occurred in 
 1863, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. 
 He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was a 
 highly-respected citizen. Of the family our sub- 
 ject is the only survivor, his sister, Mrs. Sabrina 
 Robinson, who resided in Iowa, having died in 
 February, 1893, at about the age of eighty years. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject, who, in the usual manner of farmer lads, 
 spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his 
 native county. He received good common- 
 
 16 
 
 school privileges and remained under the parental 
 roof until he had attained his majority, when he 
 started out in life for himself. He then followed 
 farming, manufacturing or any business whereby 
 lie might earn a livelihood. 
 
 On the 13th of October, 1841, Mr. Atkins was 
 united in marriage with Miss Sarah Goodrich, who 
 was born in Tompkins County, N. Y., February 
 10, 1820, and was a daughter of Surial and Phu'be 
 (Marvin) Goodrich, also natives of the Empire 
 State. To Mr. and Mrs. Atkins have been born 
 three children. Charles H., a farmer, now oi)erat- 
 ing a part of the old homestead, married Miss 
 Libbie Inkster; Sarah E. is the wife of Albert 
 Ayres, who is engaged in farming in I'ilot Town- 
 ship; and Jennie is the wife of Horace Hubbard, 
 who carries on agricultural pursuits in Polk Coun- 
 ty, Neb. 
 
 Upon his marriage, Mr. Atkins located upon a 
 farm in Tioga County, N. Y., where he continued 
 to reside for about fifteen years. The year 1856 
 witnessed his emigration to Illinois. Ileairived in 
 Kendall County on the 1st of December of that 
 year, soon afterward rented land and carried on 
 agricultural pursuits at his first home for about 
 fifteen years. In 1867 he purchased a tract of 
 land of one hundred and sixty acres on section 5, 
 Pilot Township, but did not remove to this point 
 until February, 1871. Although the place had 
 not a furrow turned, and not a house or a stable, 
 he now has one of the fine farms of the commu- 
 nitJ^ It is divided into fields of convenient size, 
 whose great fertility yields him a good income. 
 Many good improvements are upon the place, in- 
 cluding a large barn, commodious outbuildings 
 and a neat and substantial residence. His home 
 is pleasantly located al)oiit two miles south of 
 Ilerscher. 
 
 Mr. Atkins has ever proved himself a valuable 
 citizen. In politics he is a stanch Reiiublican and 
 has been identified with that part}' since its organ- 
 ization. He was a delegate to the first Republican 
 Count}' Convention uf Tioga County, N. Y., which 
 body nominated Hon. AV. E. Tracy, ex-Secretary 
 of the Navy, then a young man. Prosecuting 
 Attorney of Tioga County, to which position he ' 
 was elected. Mr. Atkins cast his first Presidential
 
 346 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHlCAL RECORD. 
 
 vote for William Henry Harrison, of "Tippecanoe 
 and Tyler too" fame, and has voted for each nom- 
 inee of the Republican part3'. Since locating in 
 Pilot Township he was elected and served for six 
 consecutive j^ears as Justice of the Peace, and has 
 been School Trustee and Director. He gives his 
 support to all worthy enterprises or interests cal- 
 culated to prove of pnbhc benefit. Himself and 
 wife are members of the Presbyterian Church of 
 Herscher and take an active interest in its welfare 
 and growth. The business career of Mr. Atkins 
 has been one of honor and also one of success. By 
 his industrious efforts and untiring energy he has 
 steadily worked his way upward, overcoming tlie 
 obstacles in his path, until he has reached a posi- 
 tion among the substantial citizens of the commu- 
 nity. His residence in this county covers a period 
 of almost a quarter of a century, during which 
 time lie has been prominently identified with its 
 growth and development. 
 
 11^ R. ORSON BAILEY SPENCER, homeopath- 
 I Jj] ist, is one of the oldest physicians and sur- 
 j^!*^ geons in years of practice now residing in 
 Kankakee, and is one of the few who can boast a 
 large and lucrative practice. lie was born in the 
 town of Winfield, Herkimer County, N. Y., .lune 
 2, 1845, and is a sou of Dr. Nathan and Sophrona 
 (Bailey) Spencer. His father was born in Sanger- 
 field, Oneida County, N. Y., in March, 1809, and 
 was an eminent physician. His death occurred 
 December 17, 1874. The Doctor's mother was 
 born in Brookfield, Madison Coant}^ N. Y., in 
 March, 1812. She survives her husband, and still 
 resides on the old homestead in Winfield, N. Y. 
 The subject of this sketch was educated at West 
 Winfield Academy and at Falley Seminary, at 
 Fulton, N. Y. He studied medicine under his 
 father's preceptorship, and when of age became a 
 student of Cleveland Homeopathic College, whence 
 he was graduated in the Class of '67-68. On re- 
 ceiving his degree, Dr. Spencer entered upon the 
 practice of his profession in Winfield, N. Y., where, 
 
 in spite of the adage that "a prophet is not with- 
 out honor save in his own country," he succeeded 
 in building up a good and satisfactory practice 
 for the time. 
 
 In the autumn of 1869 Dr. Spencer was mar- 
 ried in Clinton, Oneida County, N. Y., to Miss 
 Mary Butler, who died in April, 1870. On the 
 16th of October, 1878, in the city of Kankakee, 
 occurred his marriage with Miss Ida Peebles Wil- 
 cox, who was born in Rockford, 111., and is a 
 daughter of Judge C. C. Wilcox, an early settler 
 of Kankakee. The Doctor and his wife have one 
 child, a son, Harry Stillman Wilcox, born in Kan- 
 kakee October 29, 1879, and now a student in 
 the city High School. Mrs. Spencer is a member 
 of the Episcopal Church. 
 
 In October, 1872, the Doctor came to Kankakee 
 and established himself in practice. Being suc- 
 cessful from the start, his business increased stead- 
 ily and in a few years he had secured the most 
 extensive practice of any physician in the county, 
 since which time he has maintained a foremostj 
 place in the profession. In politics Dr. Spencer! 
 has been a Republican since he first exercised hisj 
 right of franchise, but has never had time or de- 
 sire to serve in public office. He is a M.aster Ma-| 
 son, a member of Winfield Lodge, of Winfield,! 
 Herkimer County, N. Y., and is a member of thej 
 Hahnemann Medical Society. 
 
 A peculiar feature of the Doctor's family liis-3 
 tory is the fact that his father, maternal grand- 
 father, three uncles on the mother's side and twq 
 brothers were, or are, all physicians, and all od 
 those now in active service, save one, are mem^ 
 bers of the same school as our subject, although 
 several of them were originally of the old scbooF 
 of practice. The Doctor's grandfather, Eli S. Bai- 
 ley, was of the old school and strongly prejudiced 
 against what he considered an innovation on the 
 profession. On one occasion he was attending an 
 old lady who, lie told his son. Dr. Silas Bailey, 
 would certainly die. The young doctor asked the 
 father to describe her s^'mptoms, and after listen- 
 ing attentivel3' replied that he did not think slie 
 need to die. Slightly nettled, the old doctor 
 said: "Well, if you know so much about it, may he 
 you had better treat her," and he did homeopath-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 347 
 
 ic.'ill}'. To the surprise of the father she was soon 
 restored to health. This so far abated his hos- 
 tility to the new school of medicine that he even 
 adopted their system of medicine. 
 
 ♦^^E 
 
 E^ 
 
 YLVESTER B. DICKEY, of Kankakee, is 
 one of the well-known substantial citizens 
 of this citj', and has been a resident of the 
 county since March 14, IS'JO. He at that 
 time settled upon a farm in Otto Township, which 
 pl.ace was only partially improved. It was neces- 
 sary to erect suitable buildings and make various 
 other improvements, the result being that his 
 means, which then comprised only about Si, 000, 
 were soon exhausted, and he necessarily became in- 
 volved in debt. Produce of all kinds was low, 
 and the outlook became so discouraging that he 
 resolved to give up the farm. After three years 
 of hard work and struggling against the inevit- 
 able, Mr. Dickey abandoned the place, but soon 
 rented a farm in Pilot Township. But his misfor- 
 tunes were not yet at an end. A severe frost in 
 August practically destroyed the corn crop during 
 liis first 3-ear upon this farm, and the death of sev- 
 eral horses added to his losses. He continued to 
 rent for about five years, and in 1867 purchased 
 eiglUy acres of railroad land. He now had accum- 
 ulated considerable stock, whose numbers he in- 
 creased as fast as he was able. The eighty acres 
 of land by degrees were added to until his farm 
 property comprised seven hundred and twenty 
 acres, now known as Dickey's Siding, he becoming 
 one of the leading farmers and stock-growers of 
 Kankakee County. 
 
 Mr. Dickey is a native of the State of Xew York, 
 and was born in Niagara County, January 10, 
 18.3(j. His father, JNIarsh Dickey, was born in New 
 Hampshire, and was a descendant of an early New 
 England family whose original ancestors were of 
 Scotch-Irish stock. The recorded genealogy of the 
 family states that in 1729 John Dickey and his 
 wife, Margaret, witli their two sons, Adam and 
 Matthew, emigrated from Londonderry in the 
 
 North of Ireland, and settled at Londonderry in 
 New Hampshire. The subject of this sketch is of 
 the sixth generation from the John Dickey just 
 mentioned. The father of our subject married 
 Susan Smith, a native of Connecticut. Their mar- 
 riage was performed at Somerset, Niagara County, 
 N. Y., wliere he had removed with his father's fam- 
 ily, who were among the early settlers of the fam- 
 ous Genesee Valle3^ While still a single man, 
 SLnrsh Dickey went from the State of New York 
 to the West, and was in the Territory of Michigan 
 in 1834. Returning, he was married, and made 
 his home in Buffalo and its vicinity until 1810, 
 at which time he removed with his family to Cal- 
 houn County, Jlich. There he improved a farm 
 and resided upon the same for about twenty-two 
 years, after which he removed to Sheridan, in tlie 
 same county. A number of j-ears ago he retired 
 from the active duties of life, and now lives in the 
 village of Albion, Mich., at the advanced age of 
 eightj^-ttve 3^ears, his birth having occurred in 
 1808. The wife and mother died in 1886. In 
 their family were five sons, of whom our subject 
 is the eldest. George, the second in order of birth, 
 died at the age of three j^ears; Albert is a resident 
 of Calhoun Count}-, Mich.; Francis died when six- 
 teen _years of age; and the j-oungest of the family, 
 Anderson, resides with his father in Albion, Mich. 
 Sylvester B. Dickey passed the greater portion 
 of his boyhood and early manhood in Michigan, 
 as he was only four ^-ears of age when his parents 
 removed there. In 1859 he came farther West, 
 but returned to Michigan, where, on the 7th of 
 November, 1860, he was united in marriage, Miss 
 Mary Goodrich being the lad}' of his choice. She 
 is a daughter of Harris C. and Jane (Bosworth) 
 Goodrich, both natives of Essex County, N. Y., 
 but who soon after their marriage removed to Mar- 
 shall, Mich., which was the birthplace of Mrs. 
 Dickey, who has the honor of having been the sec- 
 ond white child born in Marshall. Her father was 
 a prominent citizen of Calhoun County, and was 
 its first Sheriff. He was also the founder of the 
 town of Tekonsha, where he filled the olflee of 
 Postmaster, and was actively identified with the 
 early history of the county. His death occurred in 
 1816, and that of his wife some three years later.
 
 348 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 They were the parents of the following children, all 
 of whom, with one exception, attained to mature 
 years. Maria is the widow of Alien Tibbitts; Ellen 
 became the wife of Morey Frink, and for a num- 
 ber of years they made their home in Pilot Town- 
 ship, Kankakee County, but are now residents of 
 Chicago; the wife of our subject is the next in or- 
 der of birth; Frances, now Mrs. George Avery, re- 
 sides in the township of Pilot; Jane, who died at 
 the age of three j-ears, was next in order of birth; 
 and tlie 3'Oungest of the family, the only brother, 
 Charles Boswortii, is a resident of Vallej' Falls, Kan. 
 Three children, two sons and a daughter, graced 
 the union of Mr. and Mrs. Dickey. Charles F. re- 
 sides in Englewood, III.; and Miss Jennie Goodrich 
 lives with her parents. Ralph, the second in order 
 of birth, died when three years of age. In 1881, 
 Mr. Dickey removed to Kankakee, where he erected 
 a fine residence and where he and his family re- 
 side. He still owns a fine stock farm, a part of 
 which he rents, and a portion of which he still 
 operates, dealing quite extensively in live-stock. 
 Although his earlier life in this county was attended 
 with much discouragement, yet by continued per- 
 severance and energy he has triumphed over ad- 
 versity, and is now blessed with the material com- 
 forts of life. Mrs. Dickej' and Miss Jennie hold 
 membership with the Episcopal Church of Kanka- 
 kee. In former times our subject was a Republi- 
 can in liis views, but is now independent in pol- 
 itics. 
 
 -^^ 
 
 ' SBURY FLEWELLING, the popular pro- 
 prietor of the Flewelling Hotel, of Wal- 
 dron, and one of its well-known citizens, 
 wiio is also an honored veteran of the late 
 war, claims Indiana as the State of his nativity. 
 Franklin County was the place of his birth, and 
 the date was August 21, 1843. He is the fourth in 
 order of birth in a family of nine children, num- 
 bering seven sons and two daughters. Tlie father, 
 Gilbert Flewelling, was a native of the Empire 
 State. The family, which was probably founded 
 in this country at an early da}', was of Scotch ori- 
 
 gin. The mother of our subject bore the maiden 
 name of Sarah A. Wiggins. In 18(j2 the jiarents 
 left their home in Indiana and removed to Kan- 
 kakee County, 111., locating in Aroma Township, 
 where IMr. Flewelling followed agricultui'al pur- 
 suits until his death, which occurred in 1887. His 
 wife died the same year. They were estimable 
 people, highly respected throughout tlie commu- 
 nity in which they made tiieir home. Their chil- 
 dren were Amanda J., who died in infancy; William 
 W.; Green, who died in infanc}'; Asbury of this 
 sketch; Angeline; James M.; Henry; Thomas; 
 and John. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject, who was reared to manhood upon his fa- 
 ther's farm in the usual manner of farmer lads. 
 His educational privileges were very meagre, be- 
 ing limited to a few terms' attendance at tlie com- 
 mon district school of the neighborhood, but by 
 reading and business experience in subsequent 
 3'ears, he made himself a well-informed man. 
 When only eighteen years of age he left home to 
 enter the service of his country, enlisting in Au- 
 gust, 1861, as a private of Company I, Twent}-- 
 ninth Indiana Infantry. He was mustered into 
 service at Indianapolis, and the first active en- 
 gagement in which he participated was at Bowling 
 Green. He was also under fire at the battles of 
 Nashville and Sliiloh and at the latter place was 
 wounded by a shell in the right hand and arm, 
 and was then taken to the New Albany Hospital, 
 where he remained for about two months. On tin- 
 expiration of that period he received an honorable 
 discharge and returned to his home in Indiana. 
 
 It was not long afterward, that Mr. Flewelling 
 paid a visit to his brother in Kankakee County. 
 He was much pleased with the country and return-j 
 ing to his native State he made arrangements fo 
 his removal thither, and the same year, in companl 
 with his parents, made a permanent location her« 
 The family first rented land in Aroma Townshi 
 Our subject remained at home, aiding in the de 
 velopment of the farm, until January 17, 186^ 
 when he was united in marriage with Miss Map 
 E. Shroyer, daughter of William and Lucinc 
 (Kist) Shroyer. In a short time he bade good-bj! 
 to his bride and again went to the defense of hi
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 349 
 
 country. It was on the 1st of JanuaiT, 1864, that 
 he re-enlisted. He again entered the service as a 
 private, but afterward was a non-commissioned 
 ollicer all through tlie war. Ilis first engagement 
 after his second enlistment was at Decatur, Ala. 
 In Majr, 18G4, he started with his company on the 
 Atlanta campaign, under the command of Gen. 
 Sherman, and participated in the battles of Smoke 
 Gap, Resaca, Dallas, Big Shanty and Kenesaw 
 Mountain. He also bore his part in the engage- 
 ments at New Hope Church and Peach Tree Creek, 
 and at the battle of Atlanta was again wounded, 
 a minie-ball passing entirely through his left breast. 
 At the same time he was also taken prisoner and 
 incarcerated at Andersonville, where lie remained 
 a captive for over nine months, suffering all the 
 hardships of Southern prison life. His daily ra- 
 tions consisted of half a pint of cornmeal and a 
 half-pint of beans, together with a small piece of 
 beef about two inches square, or, if the latter deli- 
 cac3' was not furnished, a substitute of two table- 
 spoonfuls of molasses was given them. After the 
 assassination of President Lincoln, Mr. Flewelling, 
 with a great many other prisoners, was placed on a 
 freight train and given his libert}', when he im- 
 mediately returned to his home. It can be imag- 
 ined with what feelings of relief and joy he left 
 tlie prison home where lie had been so long confined. 
 For three years he faitlifull3^ served his countr}', 
 being ever found at his post of dut}'. 
 
 When the war was over, Mr. Flewelling returned 
 to his j'oung wife and they began their domestic 
 life upon a rented farm in Aroma Township, where 
 they resided for a period of about three years. He 
 then abandoned agricultural pursuits and, remov- 
 ing to Waldron, accepted a position as engineer in 
 the paper-mills of this place. Thus he was em- 
 ployed for about six years, when he embarked in 
 business for himself, establishing a livery stable, 
 which he has since carried on. He has a first-class 
 stable, well appointed, and has received from tiie 
 public a liberal patronage. In connection with 
 this business, he is also engaged in hotel-keeping 
 with good success. 
 
 Four children have been born of tlic union of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Flewelling, two sons and two daugh- 
 ters, as follows: Elmer, who is now living in Har- 
 
 vey, 111., where he carries on a general sup))ly 
 store; Jennie, wife of Lincoln Kibbon, a resident 
 farmer of St. Anne Township; Walter and lielle, 
 who are still under the parental roof. The family 
 is widel}' and favorably known in this community. 
 On attaining his majority, Mr. Flewelling iden- 
 tified himself with the Republican party, and has 
 since voted in support of its principles and its can- 
 didates. He is now serving as Village Trustee 
 and is also Constable, a i)osition he has held for 
 the long period of sixteen ^-ears. If long service 
 is a criterion of faithfulness, he has certainly been 
 true to his duties, and all his fellow-townsmen 
 will testify to this fact. Socially, he is connected 
 with the Grand Army Post. He is a man of good 
 business ability and a valued citizen. 
 
 n SAAC H. HALL is a well-known farmer re- 
 I siding on section 21, Otto Township, Kanka- 
 [h kee County. He is a native of Maine, and 
 was born in Piscataquis County on the 11th of 
 Julj', 1835. He is a son of Isaac H. C. Hall, who 
 was of English descent and was among the early 
 settlers of Maine. The father received a fair edu- 
 cation and cast his lot upon a farm. Upon arriv- 
 ing at man's estate he married Miss Betsy War- 
 ren, daughter of Ezekiel Warren, both likewise na- 
 tives of the Pine Tree State. Mr. Hall met deatli 
 by accident when in the prime of early manhood, 
 being but twenty-eight 3'ears of age at tlie time. 
 
 Isaac II. Hall, the subject of this sketch, passed 
 his boyhood days and youth in the State of his 
 birth. He received good common-school advan- 
 tages, and in 1859 determined to seek his fortune 
 in the West. He accordingly emigrated to Indi- 
 ana and obtained employment in a sawmill situ- 
 ated near Terra Haute. After a residence in Indi- 
 ana of about three years, JMr. Hall came to Illinois 
 and obtained employment on a farm in Kankakee 
 County. In 1861 lie rented land and engaged in 
 farming for himself for about a year. 
 
 Mr. Hall was united in marriage in Bourbonnais
 
 350 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Township, on the 13th of February, 1861, to Miss 
 Annie McKee, a native of Canada, who came to 
 Illinois when a child of about seven years with her 
 father, Alexander McKee, who was one of the 
 early settlers of Kankakee County. Our subject 
 and his wife have two children. Agnes May is the 
 wife of J. I). Durham, of this country; Marsell 
 Harry is now a young man and helps to carry on 
 his father's farm. 
 
 Responding to the call of his country, Mr. Hall 
 enlisted as one of the defenders of the Union in 
 July, 1862, becoming a member of Companj^ I, 
 Seventy-sixth Illinois Infantry, and served until 
 his discharge at the close of the war. He enlisted 
 as a private soldier, and bj' meritorious conduct 
 and faithfulness was afterward elected Corporal, 
 and later promoted to First-dut}' Sergeant. He 
 took part in all of the engagements in which his 
 regiment partici)3ated, among these being the siege 
 and surrender of Vicksburg and Jackson. He was 
 uuder Sherman in the battle of Jackson Cross 
 Roads, in INIississippi. He also took part in the 
 siege and capture of Ft. Blakely, and during his 
 service made many weary tramps through Tennes- 
 see, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, Florida 
 and Alabama. He received a gunsliot wound in 
 his left side and carries an honorable scar received 
 in the defense of his country. He was discharged 
 from the service at Galveston, Tex., on the 26th 
 of July, 1865. As a soldier, Mr. Hall has a record 
 of which he may well be proud, for he was ever 
 faithful and true in the discharge of his duties, 
 and was one whom his superior officers could rely 
 on with all confidence. 
 
 Upon leaving the army Mr. Hall returned to 
 his home in Terre Haute, Ind., joining his family 
 at that point. The next three 3'ears he resided in 
 Terre Haute, and in August, 1868, finally removed 
 to Kankakee County. He located near the city of 
 the same name and engaged in the milk and dairy 
 business for a short time. In October, 1869, he 
 settled upon a farm in Bourbonnais Township, 
 where he remained for about four years. He next 
 went to Rockville, near which he purchased a small 
 farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits for 
 eight years there. For the three years following 
 he rented a farm near the city, and in 1884 bought 
 
 the' place where he now resides. This tract con- 
 sisted of about eighty acres, which had some im- 
 provements upon it. Mr. Hall has made exten- 
 sive additions, has erected good buildings and has 
 added to his original purchase one hundred acres 
 of good farming land adjoining, which makes his 
 farm one hundred and eighty acres in extent. He 
 commenced his life in the West a poor man and 
 without means, and has by his characteristics of 
 industiy, perseverance and good business methods, 
 become a leading and well-to-do farmer of this 
 section. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Hall has been identified with the 
 Republican party since its organization, casting 
 bis first ballot in the Presidential election in 1860 
 for Hon. Abraham Lincoln. He has never aspired 
 to official positions and is, and ever has been, most 
 friendly to the cause of education. He has served 
 for many years as a member of the School Board, 
 and has done all in his power to promote educa- 
 tional measures. He is a charter member of the 
 Kankakee Grand Ann}' Post, and the boys in blue 
 have a warm place iu his afi'ections. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hall are consistent members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. Our subject is a man of strict 
 integrit}' and well deserves the confidence and 
 friendship of his fellow-citizens. He has been 
 identified with much of the growth and develop- 
 ment of this county and has seen marvelous 
 changes in its progress from a wilderness to its 
 present prosperity. 
 
 »!<*§- 
 
 4 
 
 (|j^^ELSON BROUILLETTE, a coal and lum- 
 [( J)) ber dealer of St. Anne, was born near Que- 
 
 /i\^^>) bee, Canada, on the 16tli of June, 1853, 
 and is a son of Landrie and Emile (Fortin) Brouil- 
 lette, who were both natives of Canada and of 
 French descent. The former's father, Bernard Brou- 
 illette, was about seventy years of age at the time 
 of his death, and was a farmer in Canada. The 
 maternal grandfather of our subject was a Captain 
 in the Patriot War and was born in France. His 
 family consisted of eleven daughters, but he had
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ^:>\ 
 
 no sons. He was a well-to-do and extensive 
 farmer near Quebec, and died in Canada at an ad- 
 vanced age. 
 
 Tlie father of our subject was for man}' years a 
 farmer, both in his native land and in this country. 
 He came to Illinois in the fall of ISoS, settling at 
 Kuurbonnais, and about two years later removed to 
 St. Anne, where he oi)ened a meat-market and al- 
 so dealt in flour. This was his home until his 
 death, which occurred in September, 1878. Though 
 past the .age for admission in the arm}', he enlisted 
 in Company K, One Hundred and Fortj-scventh 
 Infantry, and served one year. From the effects of 
 a long and forced march he was obliged to be 
 sent to the hospital, from whicli he was linall}- dis- 
 charged on account of disabilit}'. His wife lived 
 until March, 1890, when she was called to herflnal 
 rest. Of their family of four sons and eight 
 daughters, eight are yet living, as follows: Philo- 
 man, Marie, Delima, Tellesfor, Delphis, Jean Bap- 
 tiste, Narcis and Zephyrine. 
 
 Almost the whole life of our subject has been 
 passed in this count}-, for he was a babe of only a 
 few months when iiis parents removed to Illinois. 
 He received his education in the schools of St. 
 Anne and the Savior's College, conducted b}- Rev. 
 Charles Chiniquy, the celebrated es-Catholic 
 priest. Until eighteen years of age he gave all 
 his earnings to his parents and was a dutiful and 
 filial son. For a number of 3ears after completing 
 his studies he worked at farm labor, first renting 
 a farm for two j'ears and afterwards purchasing 
 one of eighty acres near Hoopeston, Vermilion 
 County. This property he afterwards sold and at 
 once he removed to Ford County, where he bought 
 an unimproved farm of eighty acres, nine miles 
 southwest of Paxton, and this was his home for the 
 succeeding thirteen years, during which time he 
 placed it under good cultivation and also was en- 
 abled to purchase a tract of eighty acres in the same 
 county, three miles from his other farm. 
 
 On the 1st of May, 1878, Mr. Brouillette was 
 united in marriage with Miss Margie, daughter of 
 Michael and Margaret (Pollock) Goff. Five chil- 
 dren have blessed this union: Lorena Belle, Ida 
 May, Ralph Herbert, Georgia and Jessie. 
 
 In the spring of 1890, Mr. Brouillette sold one 
 
 of his farms in Ford County, still retaining inc 
 other. In Januarj', 1891, removing to St. Anne, 
 he purchased the coal and lumber business of 
 Perry & Ireland. In addition he also handles 
 lime, cement and stone and is agent for the .Sand- 
 wich hay press. Assisted by his estimable wife, 
 he has acquired a good competence, the result of 
 his careful business transactions, industry and 
 ability. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Brouillette are members of the 
 Presbyterian Church and occupy an enviable po- 
 sition in social circles. He is a member of Maple 
 Camp Xo. 1321, M. W. A., and casts his ballot in 
 favor of the Republican party. He is at present 
 one of the Village Trustees, and takes an active 
 interest in the welfare of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 -^1= 
 
 c=iJLr=, 
 
 -4^^ 
 
 m 
 
 (OHN H. WEBSTER, a stock-dealer of W.al- 
 dron, is a representative of one of the hon- 
 ored pioneers of this county, the famil}- 
 having been connected with its history since 
 1845, or for a period of forty-seven consecutive 
 years. His father, Alvah Webster, was born in 
 the State of New York, not far from Niagara 
 Falls, and was of English descent. After attain- 
 ing to mature years he married Susan Harmon, 
 who was a native of Kentucky and was of Ger- 
 man lineage. Five children graced their union, 
 the eldest of whom is the subject of our sketch. 
 He has one sister living, Mary, who is now the 
 wife of Sidney Lowe, a resident of Kansas. The 
 other three died j'oung, Caroline in 1858, Per- 
 melia in 1842, and the death of Daniel occurred 
 in 1844. The mother of this famil}- was called to 
 her final rest in September, 1844, after which Alvah 
 Webster was again married, and b}' his second 
 union he had five children: M^'ron, who is living 
 in Bonfleld, III.; Emma, who died in 1855; Will- 
 iam, now a resident of Tennessee; Alvah, who 
 makes his home In Monroe Count}', Iowa; and 
 Uuljy, wife of James Clififord, a grocer living in 
 Kankakee. 
 
 It was in 1823 that Alvah Webster left the
 
 352 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Empire State and emigrated to Indiana. He be- 
 came one of the earl_v settlers of Fountain County 
 and there he made his home for a number of j-ears, 
 following farming until 1844, when he came to 
 Kankakee County, 111. Here he purchased from 
 the Government eight\' acres of wild pr.airie land 
 in what is now Aroma Township, but was then a 
 part of Will County, and built a log cabin there- 
 on. After he had thus made some preparations 
 for establishing a home, he returned to Indiana, 
 where he remained until the following Januarj'. 
 He then again came to Illinois, and that winter 
 made rails on the Iroquois River with which to 
 fence forty acres of land. In the spring of 1845, 
 he removed his family to the new home, the 
 journey being made with three yoke of oxen and 
 a horse team. Mr. Webster's land bordered on 
 the Indian reserve, and when he came to the 
 county' there were stdl a few of the red men resid- 
 ing in this locality. Our subject at once began 
 the development of his land, and carried on farm- 
 ing in this county until his death. He passed 
 away in April, 1885, and his remains were interred 
 in the Waldron Cemeterj'. A faithful mcmlier of 
 the Methodist Church, he lived an upright life and 
 had the resi)ect and confidence of all who knew 
 him. For a number of years in the early days of 
 this county he served as Justice of the Peace. 
 
 John n. Webster, whose name heads this record, 
 was born on the 10th of January, 18.35, in the lit- 
 tle village of Newtown, in Fountain County, Ind., 
 but up to within the past two years has spent his 
 entire life on a farm. When a lad of ten years he 
 accompanied his father on his removal to this 
 county, and amid the wild scenes of frontier life 
 he was reared to manhood. With the family lie 
 experienced all the hardships and privations which 
 fall to the lot of a pioneer, and his education was 
 acquired in log schoolhouses. Chicago was their 
 trading-post in tlie pioneer days and it was a place 
 of not very great pretensions. All grain was 
 hauled there, the trip being made about once in 
 six months. Mr. Webster was early inured to the 
 hard labor of developing wild land, for he began 
 work in the fields as soon as he w.as old enough to 
 handle the plow. To his father he gave the bene- 
 fit of liis services until nineteen years of age, when 
 
 he started out in life for himself. Entering the 
 employ of Belden & De Forest, he bought cattle 
 here in Illinois and shipped to New York City 
 F'or four years he worked for that firm and then 
 followed various employments for some time. 
 
 A marriage ceremon}^ performed in 1859 united 
 the destinies of Mr. Webster and Miss Augusta 
 De Witt, daughter of Austin and Sally Ann 
 (Tiiacker) De Witt. Ten children were born of 
 the union of this worthy couple, but four are now 
 deceased: Austin, who died in 1863; Jessie, who 
 died in 1871; Nellie, whose death occurred the 
 same j'car; and Katie, who died in 1888. Those 
 living arc, Ciiarles, Dick, Mattie, Viola, Stella, and 
 Daniel. 
 
 During the late war, Mr. Webster responded to 
 the President's call for volunteers and enrolled 
 his name as a private among the boys in blue of 
 Company H, One Hundred and Thirteenth In- 
 fantry. He was mustered into service in Kan- 
 kakee and soon afterward went to the front. 
 The first important engagement in which he par- 
 ticipated was at the battle of Vicksburg in the fall 
 of 1862. He was also in the battles of Arkansas 
 I'ost, Guntowu and Eastport, and participated in 
 the long and hotly contested siege of Vicksburg 
 from its beginning until the capture of the city. 
 Mr. Webster was very fortunate, in that he was 
 never wounded or taken prisoner. After almost 
 four years of service, in which he faithfuU}' de- 
 fended the old flag, he was mustered out on the 
 20th of June, 1866, and received an honorable 
 discharge. 
 
 When the country no longer needed his ser- 
 vices, Mr. Webster returned to his home and rented 
 land (his father's old farm, upon which his boy- 
 hood d.a3'S were passed) and there resided until 
 the spring of 1870. He followed agricultural pur- 
 suits until 1890, when he removed to Waldron, 
 and has since been engaged in buying stock. He 
 is a man of good business ability, sagacious and 
 far-sighted, and his well-directed efforts have 
 gained him a comfortable competence. In his po- 
 litical views, Mr. Webster is a Republican, but has 
 never sought or desired the honors or emoluments 
 of public otlice. Public-spirited and progressive, 
 he takes an active interest in all that pertains to
 
 UBHAnY 
 OF THE 
 
 """'"^■'^ Of urns
 
 ./^ 
 
 ^^^
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 35.5 
 
 tlie welfare of the coiniminity, and gives his siip- 
 ixiit to all woitliy public enterprii-es. His long 
 residence in the eommunitj- has made him well ac- 
 fpiainted with the history of the county, and h(! 
 deserves representation among its early settlers. 
 
 rf_^ENRY MRRTENS. One of the most desir- 
 IjWj iihle resident portions of tiie city of Kan- 
 kakee is Henry Mertens' subdivision, which 
 lies north of the "Three I's" dejiot and 
 contains sixteen anda-half acres. Thissiibdivision 
 W.1S laid out and platteil by Mr. Mertens in De- 
 cember, 18'J1. It is well drained by a complete 
 system of sewerage and has a fall to the Kankakee 
 Kiver of sixty feet. Its streets are all in accord- 
 ance with the city grade, to produce which desira- 
 ble condition Mr. Mertens has sjicnt ¥1,500. An- 
 other ver}' important feature is the fact that solid 
 rock is found but a few feet below tlie surface, so 
 that buildings erected on any of the sixt3--five lots 
 have this for a foundation. The subdivision is 
 certainly a verv important addition to the growing 
 and prosperous city of Kankakee. 
 
 Mr. Mertens, owner and proprietor of this prop- 
 erty, is a native of Waltringhauseu, Kurhessen, 
 Germany. He was born November 3, 1843, being 
 a son of William Mertens, and is one of a family 
 of five children, two of whom died in earl}- life. 
 His brother William was in the Franco-Prussian 
 War, and received a wound which resulted in his 
 death five years later. The other brother, John, 
 died at the age of fifteen, while serving an ap- 
 [n'enticeship to the tailor's trade. Our subject is 
 the onl}- one of the family who ever left his native 
 land. He attended school until fourteen years of 
 age, as the youth of Germanj' are compelled bj- 
 law to do. It was necessarj' that he should earn 
 his living while still young, and upon leaving 
 school he worked for three years in a coal mine, 
 some three hundred feet below the surface of the 
 earth. Then going to the city of Hanover, he was 
 employed in a mitten factory for about a year and 
 a-lialf, after which for some time he worked for a 
 
 liquor manufacturer. Jlr. Mertens had long wanted 
 to come to America, but had not the means neces- 
 sar_y to pay his pass.age, noi- was liis father able to 
 assist him. At last a chance came. A favorite 
 aunt, living in his native town, received money 
 from friends in tlie United .States to pay her pas- 
 sage across the Atlantic. She thought a great deal « 
 of our subject, and decided with tlie money she 
 had received to help p.ay his passage as well as her 
 own to America. 
 
 Accordingl}-, aunt and nephew bade adieu to 
 their native land and took passage (Jb a sailing- 
 vessel bound for New York, where they arrived 
 after a long and storm}' p.-issage. This was in 
 1865, the year that witnessed .the close of the great 
 rebellion in this country. He with his aunt pro- 
 ceeded at once to Will County, 111., where friends 
 of the famil}' were then living, and as soon as he 
 could obtain employment he made it his principal 
 object to pay back the mone}' wliicii had been 
 given him for his passage to this country. This 
 was soon done, he returning ever.y dollar that had 
 been expended in his behalf. The aunt, who was 
 a friend in need to Mr. Mertens, is still living, 
 though now veiy aged, in Washington Township, 
 Will County. 
 
 For the first year and a-half Mr. Mertens worked 
 for neighboring farmers, and then for a short time 
 engaged in coal-raining in Will County. That 
 occupation was not at all to his taste, so he en- 
 gaged in ditching in that county and in Lake 
 Count}', Ind., working hard and faitiifully at that 
 business. He next came to Momence, in tiiis county, 
 and for three years worked by the day at a hay 
 press; then for seven and a-half years ran a sample 
 room in Momence, and for ten years in Kank.akee. 
 After about three 3'ears he became convinced that 
 one could not run such a [ilace decently and allow 
 gambling, so he excluded it and never afterward 
 would permit it in his house under any considera- 
 tion. He continued a resident of Momence for 
 about eleven years, at the expiration of which 
 time he came to Kankakee, which has since been 
 his home. He bought the property comprising the 
 subdivision in 1890. 
 
 In Chicago occurred the marriage of Mr. Mer- 
 tens and Miss Mary Ivruse, who was born in AVii-
 
 356 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 zendorf, Hanover, Germany, December 5, 1850- 
 They became the parents of six children, two 
 sons and four daughters: Emma, Henry, Minnie 
 (deceased), Mary, William and Clara. Mr. Mer- 
 tens is a well-known citizen of Kankakee, and has 
 served as a member of the City Council for four 
 ^years. Politically, he was a Republican until 1884, 
 but believing a change in the administration of 
 affairs for the best interests of the country, he h.as 
 since voted the Democratic ticket. Both himself 
 and wife were reared under the auspices of the 
 Lutheran Church, to which he is a liberal con- 
 tributor. 
 
 '' ' °^ 
 
 El^ 
 
 ^=^EORGE FANNING, a retired farmer, was 
 [If j__^ born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, on the 
 %^\ 10th of October, 1814. His paternal grand- 
 father was of Scotch descent, and followed black- 
 smithing in Scoharie County, N. Y. His maternal 
 grandfather was of Dutch birth. The parents of 
 our snbject, Frederick and Hannah (Davis) Fan- 
 ning, were residents of Canada for many \'ears. 
 The father went to Canada from New York about 
 1806, was there married and resided until his death, 
 which occured on the 12th of April, 1854. The 
 mother afterward came with our subject to Illinois 
 and made her home with him tintil her death on 
 the 22d of April, 1874, at which time she had at- 
 tained the ripe old age of eighty-five years. Her 
 father was a United Empire Lo3'alist, and at his 
 death she received two hundred acres of land in 
 Canada from the Government. In the famih^ of 
 Frederick and Hannah Fanning were ten children, 
 eight of whom were sons. The living children are 
 George, .John B., Isaac, David, S\-lvester and Su- 
 sanna. Those who have passed away are Henry, 
 Charles, .James and Grace. 
 
 Mr. Fanning, whose name heads this sketch, re- 
 moved to the United States in 1865, and settled 
 upon a farm of four hundred and ninety -six acres 
 in Otto Township, Kankakee County, four miles 
 from Chebanse, where he lived for about nine 
 years. He then removed to Chebanse and built a 
 
 large and comfortable home, where he resided for 
 three years. At the expiration of that time he re- 
 turned to his farm and turned his attention once 
 more to the tilling of the soil. In 1880 he again 
 removed to Chebanse, and has made his home in 
 his former residence up to the present time. 
 
 On the 25th of February, 1835, occurred the mar- 
 riage of Mr. Fanning and Miss Sarah Ostrom, 
 daughter of Gilbert and Hannah (Lawrence) Os- 
 trom. By this union eight children have been 
 born. Hannah Ellen married Henry Hogle, who is 
 a retired farmer and lives iu Orillia, Canada. They 
 have one child, Ida, who is married and has two 
 sons, Perc3' and Claude, thus making our subject a 
 great-grandfather. Harriet Matilda became the 
 wife of Dowen Lucas, a farmer of Hastings County, 
 Canada, where they still make their home. Thej' 
 have had five children, but none of them are now 
 living. Sarah Elida married Thomas H. Milburn, 
 and their present home is in the city of Beatrice, 
 Neb., where Mr. Milburn is engaged in the real- 
 estate business. Three children grace their union, 
 George, Albert and Ella. Rilla Agnes has been 
 twice married Her first husband was Frank Grosse, 
 by whom she had five children, two only now liv- 
 ing, Stella and Frank. Mr. Grosse was killed by 
 lightning the same day oh which the death of Gen. 
 Grant occurred. Her second husband is Benjamin 
 J. Wj'nneparry, a manufacturer of compass oil in 
 Detroit, Mich., which is now their home. They 
 have one child, George Durward. Frederick W. 
 married Miss Caroline Myers, daughter of John 
 Myers, of Sidney, Canada. They now live in But- 
 ler, Ind., where Mr. Fanning is engaged in the 
 practice of medicine. Thej- have two children, 
 Charles and Frank. Richard Gilbert married Miss 
 Elizabeth Marine, of Kankakee, and now is engaged | 
 in agricultural pursuits near Leoti, Kan. To them 
 have been born four children, Aureiia, Emma, 
 George and Benjamin J. W. George Baldwin mar- 
 ried Miss AVood, of Aroma Township, and to them 
 have been born four children. He is engaged in 
 farming near Storm Lake, Iowa. John Nelson, 
 the youngest of the family, married Miss Wiley 
 of this county, and one child, Daisy, graces their 
 union. 
 
 On the 8th of March, 1874, the mother of
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 357 
 
 these children departed this life, and was buried in 
 the cemetery of Chebanse. She was a devoted 
 member of the Jlethodist Episcopal Church, and 
 left many friends who sincerely mourned her loss. 
 On the 21st of September, 1874, Mr. Fanning was 
 again married, the lady of his choice being Miss 
 Eliza Ann (Gilbert, daughter of Caleb and Sarah 
 (Ross) Gilbert, of Thurlow, Hastings County, Can- 
 ada. Four children have graced llieir union, 
 .Tames .T., Mary Maud, Mj'rtle Kerr and May Gew, 
 twins. Only one of these is now living, Mar^' Maud, 
 who lives with iier father. Her brother and one sis- 
 ter died of scarlet fever on the same day. Mrs. Fan- 
 ning, who was born on the 8th of May, 1844, passed 
 away onthe 8th of .July, 1890, and lies buried in 
 Chebanse Cemetery. Both she and her husband 
 were for many years members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, with which denomination Mr. 
 Fanning has been identified for fiftj'-lwo years, 
 and is now one of the Board of Trustees of the 
 church in Chebanse. 
 
 Our subject has now been a resident of this 
 county for twentj-seven 3'cars, and has a large ac- 
 quaintance in this vicinity. While he has acquired 
 a comfortable competence for his old age, he is 
 plain and unostentatious in manner, and is one of 
 the genial characters whe draw people to them, 
 thus being able to count his friends by the score. 
 For a number of j'ears he served .is Road Commis- 
 sioner and School Director, and has served for about 
 six 3'ears on the Village Board of Trustees. He 
 has never sought office, but has had the honor 
 thrust upon him. Politically Mr. Fanning is a 
 stanch and loyal Republican, and cast his first Pres- 
 idential vote for Gen. Grant. 
 
 -Wr 
 
 'i^^ EWELL BEEBE, a retired farmer of Mo- 
 I J mence Township, who now resides on sec- 
 ll\/Lsi tion 19, is a worth}- representative of one 
 of the honored pioneer families of tiiis county. He 
 was born on tiie 20th of September, 1818, in 
 Windhall, Bennington County, Vt., not far from 
 the famous old battle-ground of Bennington, 
 
 where the Colonists achieved an important vic- 
 tory during the Revolutionary War. His parents, 
 Hardin and Susan (Mellen) IJeebe, were botli na- 
 tives of Connecticut, and were respectively of 
 Welsh and Irish extiaction, their respective fam- 
 ilies having been established in New England dur- 
 ing Colonial days. In his early life the father 
 was a farmer, but afterward engaged in keeping 
 an hotel in the Green Mountain State. In 1836 
 he determined to try his fortune in the AVest, and 
 with his family emigrated in C)ctober to Illinois, 
 locating upon a piece of Government land at 
 Beebe Grove, Kankakee County. Here he again 
 resumed agricultural pursuits, but he was not long 
 permitted to enjoy his new home, iiis death occur- 
 ring two 3-ears later, December 16, 1840, behaving 
 been horn April 30, 1783. The mother also died 
 in this county, being called to the Imme beyond 
 in 1864, her Inrtli occurring October 13, 1790. 
 This worthy couple had a family of four children, 
 two sons and two daughters, the brother of our 
 subject being Judge Beebe, who was Probate 
 Judge of this district for eight years. 
 
 Newell Beebe, whose name heads tiiis record, is 
 the youngest of the family. He remained at home 
 with his parents in the State of his birth, aiding 
 his father in the operation and management of 
 the hotel. He received a good education in the 
 public schools, and was thus well fitted for the 
 practical duties of life. He was a young man of 
 eighteen years of age when with his parents he 
 came to this county, where his life has since been 
 passed. For a time after his arrival he worked as 
 a farm-hand b}" the month and was also employed 
 in a mill. As he was a poor bo}' he had to make 
 his own way in the world, and during the three 
 j-ears that were spent in the emplo}' of others he 
 earned the capital wliicli gave him a stait in life. 
 With the money that he acquired througli his in- 
 dustrj', perseverance and economy, in 1845 he 
 purchased forty acres of land, a part of the farm 
 on which he now resides. 
 
 On the 2d of December, 1847, Mr. Beebe mar- 
 ried Mi.ss Sarah A. Mellen, of this count}', 
 who was born in Windiiall, Vt., February 25, 
 1829. Her parents, however, were natives of Mass- 
 achusetts, and her father was of English extrac-
 
 358 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tion, while her mother was of Irish descent. It 
 was in 1838 that they left their Eastern home and 
 emigrated Westward, making a location in Kan- 
 kakee County, 111. The father secured a tract of 
 wild land and began the development of a farm, 
 devoting himself to agricultural pursuits through- 
 out the remainder of his life. l>oth he and his 
 wife spent their remaining daj-s in this county, 
 and died at a ripe old age. 
 
 B}' the union of Mr. and Mrs. Beebe have been 
 born five children, but only two are now living, 
 Arthur, Harden N. and Carrie M., being now de- 
 ceased. One son and one daughter still survive. 
 Roswell, who is a very highl}' educated gentle- 
 man, devotes himself to the teachers' profession; 
 he was for seven years Principal of the schools in 
 Geneva, 111., and is now Superintendent of the 
 l)ublic schools in Minonk, Woodford County, 111. 
 Elmina is now the wife of J. D. Mills, of Grand 
 Forks, N. Dak., who is general agent in that State 
 for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Com- 
 pany. Two children have been born unto Mr. 
 and Mrs. Mills, Arthur D. and Edna. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Beebc was a 
 Whig till the rise of the Republican party, and 
 though he takes an interest in the success of his 
 party, has never sought or desired tlie honors or 
 emoluments of public office. Himself and wife 
 have been faithful and consistent members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church for thirty-six j^ears, 
 and have always taken an active part in church 
 work and everything pertaining to the upbuilding 
 of the communit3'. The poor and need}' find in 
 them a friend, and their lives embod}- their pro- 
 fession. During the late war, Mrs. Beebe was 
 President of the Soldiers' Aid Society, and many 
 of the boys in blue who went from this State to 
 the front remember gratefully the kindness and 
 favors they received at her hands. 
 
 Mr. Beebe is numbered among the pioneer set- 
 tlers of Kankakee County, where for the long per- 
 iod of fifty-six consecutive years he has made his 
 home. He has done much for the upbuilding of 
 the count3', and has taken a just pride in its 
 growth and advancement. He has not onlj' 
 watched the rapid strides of progress and the 
 transformation that followed, but in all possible 
 
 ways has aided in bettering and improving his 
 adopted countj'. When he began farming, Mr. 
 Beebe had nothing except a small tract of land, 
 and this had been acquired through his own ef- 
 forts, but he steadily worked his way upward, and 
 by his perseverance and industry overcame the 
 difficulties and obstacles in his path. Thus, rising 
 step b}' step, he has gained a competence whicli 
 enables him to live retired. Upon his valuable 
 farm of fifty acres, adjoining the city limits of 
 Momence, he is now resting in the enjoj'ment of 
 the fruits of his former toil. He has led a life 
 worthy of emulation, and it is with pleasure that 
 we present to our readers this record of liis career. 
 
 OUIS II. SCHNEIDER, a well-known farmer 
 living on section 28, Sumner Township, 
 is a native of the Empire State, his 
 birth having occurred in Erie Count}', on the 30th 
 of December, 1848. He is a son of Frederick 
 and Phrebe (Kline) Schneider, the former a native 
 of Germany. Their familj- consisted of nine chil- 
 dren. In 1858 the father emigrated to Will 
 County, 111., where he resided untd 18C8, when 
 he came to Kankakee County, where his death oc- 
 curred in 1877. The wife and mother had died 
 two years previously, and side by side they lie 
 buried in the Sumner Cemetery. They were both 
 consistent members of the German Evangelical 
 Church, and by their lives of unobtrusive goodness 
 won the friendship and high regard of all who 
 knew them. 
 
 Tiie earlj' years of Louis Schneider were passed 
 in his native county, and when ten years of age 
 he came with his parents to Illinois. He assisted 
 his father in the care of his farm and attended 
 school during the winter months until seventeen 
 years of age. He lived on the old homestead until 
 twenty-seven years old, at which time he started 
 out in the world to make a living for himself. 
 For some four j'ears he worked at farm labor and 
 was careful and saving of his resources. This en-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 359 
 
 nhled liiiii to piirilmse a farm of eighty acres, upon 
 wliic-li he lias lived up to the present da3'. To 
 this he has added forty acres and now owns one 
 hundred and twenty acres in a bod3', which is all 
 under good cultivation and where lie carries on 
 general farming and stock-raising. When he left 
 home he had not a dollar in the world and he has 
 acquired his present comfortable competence by 
 his own energy and well-directed efforts. 
 
 February 9, 1876, Mr. Schneider wedded Miss 
 Ellen Aniniann, and bj' their marriage were 
 born four children, all sons: Louis J., Charlie (now 
 deceased), Charlie C, and William. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Schneider is a firm supporter 
 of the Democracy, and has served his fellow-citi- 
 zens in various offices of trust and honor; among 
 others he has held those of Township Collector, 
 Commissioner of Highways, Township Assessor, 
 School Trustee and School Director. The cause 
 of education finds in him a warm friend and in its 
 success he is much interested. He and all the 
 family hold membership with the German Evan- 
 gelical Church, and socially he is a member of the 
 Modern Woodmen of America. During his long 
 residence of twenty-five years in this county, Mr. 
 Schneider has made for himself many friends, for 
 he is always honorable and upright in his business 
 transactions and takes an active part in the pro- 
 motion of enterprises calculated to benefit the 
 community. 
 
 ^-^I<^^ 
 
 1/ OKEXZC) 1). LEGG, a retired farmer, resides 
 on section 18, Aroma Township. Probably 
 no man living in Kankakee County is more 
 
 familiar with its pioneer history, or has borne a 
 more important part in the upbuilding and de- 
 velopment of the county' in its progress and ad- 
 vancement, than the gentleman whose name heads 
 this record, and we feel assured that this sketch of 
 his life will prove of interest to many of our 
 readers. 
 
 Mr. Legg was born in Shelby County, Ky., April 
 5, 181 G, and is one of four children whose parents 
 
 were Isaac and Elizabeth (Smith) Legg. The father 
 was a native of Tennessee and was of English de- 
 scent. Of the famil3', Lizziedied in 188',); Lorenzo 
 is the next younger; Jane died in 1891; and 
 Matthew, a tailor b^' trade, is now living in St. 
 Louis. In 1833 Isaac Legg left Kentucky and 
 with his family emigrated to Chicago, 111., which 
 was then a mere hamlet. The trip West was made by 
 ox-teams and part of the land upon which the city 
 now stands was comprised within his farm. There 
 he continued to reside until 1837, when he came 
 to Kankakee County', locating in Bourbounais 
 Township, where he purchased land from the Gov- 
 ei'nment and engaged in farming for ft)ur j'ears. 
 It was in 1841 that he removed to Aroma Town- 
 ship, where he continued to reside until his death, 
 which occurred in 1870. Throughout his life he 
 followed farming and was a leading. agriculturist 
 of this community. The mother of our subject 
 was called to her final home four 3'ears previous to 
 the death of her husband. 
 
 No event of special importance occurred during 
 the early boyhood days of Lorenzo Legg, which 
 were spent upon his father's farm in his native 
 county. He attended the subscription school, held 
 in a log building, and acquired a good English edu- 
 cation. At the age of seventeen he came to the 
 West with his parents and saw Chicago in the days 
 of its earliest infancy. In fact, he was one of its 
 first residents. At the time the family' located there 
 the city was a hamlet, containing two stores and 
 two taverns. Mr. Legg there continued to make 
 his home until 1837, when he came to Kankakee 
 County with his parents. Under the parental roof 
 he remained until 1839, and aided in the arduous 
 task of developing from the wild prairie a good 
 farm. At length he left home and began life for 
 himself. During one summer he worked as a farm 
 hand by the month and then rented land for about 
 three years. With the capital he acquired during 
 that period as the result of his industry and econ- 
 omy, he purchased eighty acres of land on section 
 18, Aroma Township, from the Government, at the 
 usual price of «1.2r) per acre. This was in 1810, 
 and for fifty-two years Ids home has been upon 
 that farm. His first homo was a small log cabin, in 
 which he resided for some years. ■ The Pottawato-
 
 360 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mie Indians were still numerous in the neighbor- 
 hood, and tlie county was all wild and unimproved 
 and gave little evidence of the rapid progress and 
 development which were so soon to transform it 
 and give it rank among tlie leading counties in this 
 great commonwealth. 
 
 On the 5th of March, 1842, Mr. Legg was united 
 in marriage with Miss Martha J. Lowe, daughter 
 of Peter and Harriet Lowe. Her death occurred 
 in 1845. Unto them were born two sons, both of 
 whom gave their lives in defense of the Union. 
 John 11. enlisted in 1862 as a private of Company 
 F, Seventy-sixth Illinois Infantry, and at the bat- 
 tle of Vicksburg sustained a wound, the eflfects of 
 which terminated his life on the 25th of February, 
 1864. Ilis remains were brought back and interred 
 in the Leggtown Cemetery, the family buryiug- 
 ground. Peter L. enlisted in the same company and 
 regiment as his brother and died at La Grange, 
 Tenn., in 1862. His body was also brought back 
 and laid to rest in the same cemeterv. 
 
 Mr. Legg was again married, in 1847, tliis time to 
 Miss Ann M. Gleason, daughter of Eber and Laura 
 Gleason. They had a family of six children, 
 namely: Dee, a farmer now residing in St. Anne 
 Township; Edgar, who is engaged in agricultural 
 pursuits in Aroma Township; Laura, wife of Will- 
 iam Storrs, who resides in Ganier Township; Ben- 
 jamin, a. farmer of Aroma Township; Ella, wife of 
 Wendell Brooks, who follows farming in St. Anne 
 Township; and Edna, who completes the family. 
 The mother of these children departed this life on 
 the 8th of May, 1880, and was laid to rest in the 
 family gravej'ard. 
 
 For a period of thirty years, Mr. Legg has been 
 a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to 
 the lodge in AValdron. He takes a great interest 
 in politics and gives a warm support to the prin- 
 ciples of the Republican part3^ For seven years 
 he has served his township as School Treasurer, and 
 the cause of education flnds in him a warm friend. 
 He is public-spirited and progressive and does all 
 in his power to promote the county's best in- 
 terest. AVith the experiences of pioneer life, Mr. 
 Legg is certainly familiar, and he has the honor of 
 having hauled the lirst load of wheat to Chicago 
 which was sold on the market of that city. This 
 
 was in the autum of 1838. His life has been a busy 
 and useful one and he may truly be called a self- 
 made man, for through his own industry, enterprise 
 and good management has been acquired all that 
 he now possesses. His farm comprises three hun- 
 dred acres of rich land and the improvements 
 thereon stand as monuments to his thrift and en- 
 ergy. He is now living retired, enjo^'ing a well- j 
 earned rest and the fruits of his former toil. 
 
 A FAYETTE H. PERRY, a dealer in grain, 
 lumber, coal, wagons, farm implements, etc., 1 
 ^ at St. Anne, is a native of the Empire 
 State. He was born in Madison County, on the ■ 
 7th of August, 1852, and is a son of Hamilton and ] 
 .Jane M. (Nichols) Periy, both natives of New York. 
 Grandfather Nichols was a shoemaker in Perry ville, j 
 N. Y. He was born in 1795, and died in 1880. 
 He was a soldier and captain in the war of 1812, ] 
 and was thrice married and reared a large family j 
 of children. At the time of his death he was] 
 eighty-five years of age. Grandmother Nichols] 
 died in 1869, in her seventh-sixth year. 
 
 Hamilton Perry was a farmer b}' occupation and 
 for many years carried on a farm in New York. Leav- 
 ing there in 1857, he moved to Wisconsin, where hej 
 located upon a farm near Fond du Lac, which he 
 tilled until 1861. That3'ear witnessed his removal ' 
 to Illinois, where he located some three miles south 
 of Momence. His death occurred in 1879, in 
 Aroma Township, Kankakee County. His wife 
 still survives and has now reached her sixtieth 
 year. Their family consisted of two sons and a 
 daughter, our subject being the eldest. The sec- 
 ond is Lucy J., born March 13, 1855, wife of Jerry 
 Dugan, of Aroma Township; Edwin J. born July 
 3, 1863, is a resident of St. Anne. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were passed in 
 the usual manner of farmer lads, and when but 
 thirteen years of age he struck out for himself, 
 continuing at farm work until reaching his major- 
 ity. His school privileges until that time were 
 those of the district country schools. He after-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3f)l 
 
 ward entered the commercial department of the 
 Valparaiso Normal School of Indiana and was 
 graduated from there in 1875. For six years Mr. 
 Perr3' engaged in teaching school in this countj^ 
 for five j'ears of the time being in district No. 2, 
 the remainder in Papincau Township. 
 
 On the 28th of December, 1881, Mr. Perry was 
 married to Miss Mary E. Ireland, daughter of Hon. 
 Silas and Matilda (Michael) Ireland, of Summer- 
 ville, Mich. To them have been born live chil- 
 dren, three sons and two daughters, as follows: 
 Earl I.; born December 14, 1882; Hazel D., January 
 16,1885; Myrtle P.., March 25, 188G; La Fayette 
 D., June 10, 1887; and Roscoe J., June 27, 1889. 
 
 In 1882, Mr. Perry embarked in the grain, lum- 
 ber and co.al business in St. Anne, under the firm 
 name of Davis <fe Perry. Afterward Mr. Perry 
 continued alone for some time and then went 
 into partnership with his brother-in-law, F. A. 
 Ireland. After four years this partnership was 
 dissolved, and he has since conducted the business 
 alone. For eight years, Mr. Perry w.as one of the 
 Village Trustees and previous to that time was 
 Village Clerk. Socially, he holds membership 
 with Aroma Lodge, A. F. ife A. M., and is Banker 
 of Maple Camp No. 1321, M. W. A. Politically, 
 he uses his right of franchise in support of the 
 Republican party. 
 
 -mi^ 
 
 i='f;= i 
 
 
 PERRIN EASTON is a prosperous farmer 
 ttr^( who resides in Herscher. His farm, which 
 iSi * consists of seven tj'-seven acres, is well im- 
 proved and very valuable, being situated 
 within the corporate limits of the town of Her- 
 scher. He was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, 
 on the 23d of December, 1858, and is a son of 
 John R. Easton, born in the same county. The 
 paternal grandfather of our subject, John Easton, 
 was of English descent and a native of Massachu- 
 setts, in which State his ancestors were among the 
 early settlers. In 1816, he removed to Ohio, at 
 which time it was a vast wilderness and had been 
 but recently admitted as a State. He was one of 
 
 the very first settlers of Trumbull County uml 
 cleared a farm in the forest. There he reared his 
 family and spent his remaining days. The father 
 of our subject spent his youth in Trumbull County 
 and on arriving at man's estate wedded Mrs. 
 Gratia Jane Southwell, who was in her maiden- 
 hood Miss Barnard, a daughter of Benjamin Bar- 
 nard, who was born in the Empire State, and re- 
 moved to Ohio. She was born and reared to 
 womanhood in New York. For some j-ears after 
 his marriage Mr. Easton farmed in Trumbull and 
 Portage Counties. In November, 186'J, he re- 
 moved westward to Illinois, locating first at Lock- 
 port. Will County, where he engaged in merchan- 
 dising for three }-ears. Selling out his business, he 
 bought an improved farm in Ford County, upon 
 which he located in 1872. He carried on that 
 farm for several years, and in the spring of 1882 
 purchased a farm in Pilot Township, which he 
 operated for some seven j-ears. He is now living 
 retired from the arduous business cares of life in 
 Buckingham and is enjoying the fruits of his j'cars 
 of labor. 
 
 Perrin Easton is the onl}' son of the family and 
 came to Illinois when but eleven years of age. He 
 has lived in Will, Ford and Kankakee Counties, in 
 all of which his educational advantages were 
 good. Until reaching his m:ijority he assisted his 
 father on his farm, and on the 21st of September, 
 1882, was united in marriage with Miss Katie A. 
 Munger, the ceremony being performed in Iro- 
 quois County. Mrs. Easton was born in Kendall 
 County, March 22, 1862, but passed her girlhood 
 in Iro(iuois County. Two children have been 
 born to them: Nellie M. and Clyde M., who are 
 both attending the Herscher school. 
 
 In 1889, Mr. Easton purchased the place where 
 he now resides, on which was erected the finest and 
 most complete residence in Pilot Township, and 
 which is located within the town limits. As every 
 American citizen should be, he is interested in pol- 
 itics and supports the Republican part}'. His first 
 ballot was cast in 1880 for Hon. James A. Garfield. 
 He was elected and is now serving as one of the 
 Village Trustees and advocates all measures tending 
 to the welfare and advancement of the commu- 
 nity's best interest. Mrs. Easton holds membership
 
 362 
 
 JfOKTEAlT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 with the Methodist Episcopal Cimrch of Herscher, 
 where slie is held in high regard. Though a 
 young man, our subject has developed good busi- 
 ness methods and is capable and active. By his 
 many qualities of personal worth he has the well- 
 merited respect and friendship of all. 
 
 kUSCIOUS M. CASE, one of the highly re- 
 spected citizens of Aroma Township, Kan- 
 kakee County, is engaged in working at 
 his trade of carpentering. As he has a wide ac- 
 quaintance and is so well known throughout the 
 community, we feel assured that this record of his 
 life will prove of interest to many of our readers. 
 
 Mr. Case is a native of Connecticut. He was 
 born in New Haven County on the 23d of Sej)- 
 tember, 1810, and is a son of Grove and Lena 
 (Bondell) Case. His parents were also natives of 
 the Nutmeg State, and were of German and English 
 descent respectively. A family of fourteen children 
 were born of their union, and all grew to manhood 
 and womanhood, namely: Mahala, Hiram, Will- 
 iam, Washington, Eliza, Elisiah, Luscious M., Clin- 
 ton C, Kittle, Levi, Cynthia, Spencer, Hammond and 
 Sadie. The father of this family was a farmer bj' 
 occupation, and followed that business in pursuit 
 of fortune throughout his entire life. His death 
 occurred in 1852, and his wife, who survived him 
 about eight years, passed away in 1860. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born and reared 
 under the Blue Laws of Connecticut. His educa- 
 tional privileges were quite limited and were all 
 received prior to the age of sixteen 3rears. He at- 
 tended subscription schools, which convened in pri- 
 vate homes and log houses. At the early age of 
 fourteen years he started out in life for himself, 
 and has since been dependent upon his own efforts. 
 He began empty-handed, so that whatever suc- 
 cess he has achieved is the result of his own in- 
 dustry and perseverance. Learning the trade of 
 a carpenter, he has followed it through the greater 
 part of his life. Witii his parents he removed to 
 the Empire State, the family locating in Chau- 
 
 tauqua County, and in New York Mr. Case re- 
 mained until 1833, which year witnessed his emi- 
 gration Westward. Having bade good-b^e to his 
 old home, he came to Illinois, taking up his resi- 
 dence in Jacksonville, where he spent six months. 
 He made the trip westward by water. After the 
 half year spent in that State, he went to St. Louis, 
 where he afterwards remained for six months, 
 and then became a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 Subsequently he made a location in Chicago, and 
 built the blocking for the first vessel which was 
 ever constructed in that city. He remained in 
 Chicago until the summer of 1836, when he re- 
 moved to Joliet, III., remaining in that place for 
 about a year and a-half, during which time he 
 worked at his trade of carpentering. We next find 
 him living in Beloit, Wis., where he made his home 
 until 1839. 
 
 That year witnessed the arrival of Mr. Case in 
 Kankakee County, 111., where he has since made 
 his home. He at once located upon a farm in 
 Aroma Township, purchasing two hundred acres 
 of partially improved land, which under his 
 thorough cultivation and systematic care has been 
 transformed into one of the finest farms of the 
 locality. Acre after acre was placed under the 
 plow, and the well-tilled fields soon yielded golden 
 tribute in return for the care and labor he be- 
 stowed upon them. He also made man}- excellent 
 improvements upon the place. 
 
 Three j^ears after coming to this couiitj', Mr. 
 Case was married, in 1842, to Miss Anna Randall, 
 and unto them was born a son, Albert, now a 
 resident farmer of Waldron. The mother died in 
 1845, and Mr. Case was again married, in 1846, 
 the lady of his choice being Miss Olive John- 
 son. Three children were born of this union, but 
 the eldest, Mary Jane, is now deceased; Ellen is 
 now the wife of Samuel Cooper, an agriculturist 
 of Aroma Township; and Willie, the youngest, 
 carries on the home farm. The members of the 
 family are widely known in this locality, and are 
 held in the highest regard by all. 
 
 Mr. Case cast his first Presidential vote for John 
 Quincy Adams. An Abolitionist in principle, he 
 joined the Republican party on its organization, 
 and has since been one of its stalwart supporters,
 
 iY 
 OF THE 
 HNIVERSIl Y Of ILLINOIS
 
 
 iJ!.™-" 
 
 ^ 
 
 m 
 
 S^ 
 
 ^
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 365 
 
 warmly advocating its principles. He has never 
 been an otficc-scelcer, bul has been a public-spirited 
 and progressive citizen, who has manifested a com- 
 mendable interest in all that pertains to the wel- 
 fare of the coniraunit3\ More than half a cen- 
 tury has passed since he came to the count3^ He 
 lias been an eye-witness of almost its entire growtii, 
 li.as seen its raw prairies transformed into lieautiful 
 homes and f.arms, its hamlets grow into cities and 
 thriving towns, while schoolhouses and churclies 
 have been Iniilt, and progress has marched steadily 
 forward, until the Kankakee County of to-day 
 bears little resemblance to that of fifty years ago. 
 Mr. Case has ever done his part in its develop- 
 ment, and well deserves mention among its hon- 
 ored pioneers. He has now reached the age of 
 eighty-two years, but is still hale and heart}', so 
 much so that he yet works at his trade. 
 
 '1^ ENRY E. RANTZ, a highly respected farmer 
 Yj and stock-raiser, who resides on section 17, 
 Limestone Township, has the honor of be- 
 •Jj ing a native of the county which is still 
 his home, and therefore (me of its pioneer settlers. 
 He was born on Christmas Day, 1847, in the town 
 of Rourbonnais, and was the thirteentii child in a 
 family of fourteen children, including six sons 
 and eight daughters. The parents were William 
 and Elizabeth (Snyder) Rantz. The father was 
 born in Columbia Count}', Pa., on the 30th of 
 July, 1803, was reared to manhood upon the farm, 
 and in the Keystone State met and married Miss 
 Suyder. He afterward emigrated to Ohio, where 
 he lived for about eight years, when he sold his 
 property in that State and came to Kankakee 
 Countv, 111. Mr. Kantz here made a claim of one 
 hundred and twentj- acres of land, which he en- 
 tered from the Government. It is located in what 
 is now Bourbcmnais, Limestone Township, and 
 upon the farm which he there developed he re- 
 sided until his death, engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits. He lived in the township for over Bftj' 
 
 17 
 
 years and was one of the honored pioneers of the 
 county. His de.ath occurred .luly IC, 1871. His 
 wife was born in Orange County, I'a., February 
 22, 1807, and was of German extraction. The 
 Rantz family is also of German origin. The pa- 
 ternal grandfather of our subject was a Revolu- 
 tionary soldier and fought in tiie war for inde- 
 pendence under Gen. AVashington. 
 
 Mr. Rantz, the subject of this sketch, spent the 
 days of his boyhood and youth upon the home 
 farm, remaining under the parental roof until he 
 had reached his majority. The common sciiools 
 afforded him his educational privileges and his 
 business training was received upon the farm. 
 Like a great many other young men, he started out 
 in life without a dollar, but he w.as energetic and 
 has worked his way steadily upward to success. 
 He rented a farm for a couple of years and then 
 rented the old homestead, which he operated suc- 
 cessfully for seven years. Having in that time 
 acquired some capital, he then purchased a farm, 
 upon which he resided until February, 1891, when 
 he purchased the farm on which he now resides, 
 comprising two hundred acres of land of great fer- 
 tility, located on section 17, Limestone Township, 
 and which has since been his home. The entire 
 amount is under a high state of cultivation .and 
 the place is well improved with all the accessories 
 of a model farm. Mr. Rantz is largely interested 
 in stock-raising, making a specialty of the breed- 
 ing of fine cattle and hogs. 
 
 On the 29th of September, 1868, our subject 
 married Miss Louisa Trimble, daughter of .John 
 and Louisa (Bovine) Trimble. Her parents are 
 both of French descent and are natives of Canada. 
 The father w.as born in 1830, and the birth of the 
 mother occurred on the 10th of February, 1833. 
 In 1853 they emigrated with their family to this 
 county, where they have since resided. They are 
 now living in Bourbonnais. Mrs. Kantz w.as born 
 in Canada on the 21th of July, 1850, and is the 
 eldest in a family of eleven children. She came 
 with her p.arents to this count}' in 1853, and has 
 here since made her home. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Rantz have been horn four children, a son and 
 three daughters. Emma M., who was born July 5, 
 1869, attended the common schools, was afterward
 
 366 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a student in the High School of KaHkakce, and is 
 now successfully engaged in teaching in this county. 
 She manied Frederick D. (ioodknecht, who resides 
 in Bourbonnais. Carrie E., born August 13, 1870, 
 is a well-educated young lady, who is now cm 
 ployed as teacher in the graded schools of Bon- 
 field. John William, born on the 5th of October, 
 1873, and Agnes, who completes the family and 
 was born March 29, 1875, are still under the i)a- 
 rental roof. 
 
 Mr. Rantz is numbered among the substantial 
 agriculturists of this community. He owns one 
 of the best farms in the county, comprising two 
 hundred acres of well-improved land, which is un- 
 der a high state of cultivation. An important 
 branch of his business is stock-raising, he making 
 a specialty of fine cattle and hogs. Our subject is 
 a man of excellent business ability, enterprising 
 and progressive, and by his well-directed efforts 
 has gained a comfortable competence. In poli- 
 tics he is a supporter of the Democracy, and for 
 ten years he has filled the office of School Direc- 
 tor. Mr. Rantz is a man of sterling worth and is 
 held in high regard by a wide circle of friends and 
 acquaintances. 
 
 ^l 
 
 H' 
 
 J. B. HAWKINS resides on section 25, 
 Limestone Township. In presenting a 
 sketch of this worth3' gentleman to our 
 readers, we record the life work of not 
 only one of the leading farmers, but of one of 
 the most honored pioneers of the county. For al- 
 most sixty years he has resided in this community, 
 and few, if any, have so long been numbered 
 among the citizens of Kankakee County'. He cer- 
 tainly deserves representation in this volume, for 
 he has ever borne a prominent part in the upbuild- 
 ing and development of the community. 
 
 Mr. Hawkins was born on the 2d of July, 1815, 
 in Ontario County, N. Y., and is a son of Eben- 
 ezer and Rebecca (Jepson) Hawkins. The father 
 was a native of Massachusetts, born April 22, 
 1772. The grandparents of our subject were also 
 
 born in New England, but the great-grandparents 
 were natives of England, and were founders of the 
 Hawkins family in America. The mother of our 
 subject w.as born in Massachusetts, January 6, 
 1773. Her parents were also natives of New Eng- 
 land, and were of Englisli extraction. Ebeuezer 
 and Rebecca Hawkins were married in Goshen, 
 Mass., February 16, 1792, and shortly afterward 
 removed to Burlington, Vt. Their residence in 
 that localit}', however, was of short duration, for 
 soon they emigrated to the Empire State, wliere 
 Mr. Hawkins engaged in the manufacture of pot- 
 tery. 
 
 In 1825 our subject's father emigrated with 
 his family to "N^ermilion County, 111., and pur- 
 chased from the Government a small farm. This 
 land was all wild and uncultivated, with no im- 
 provements, but he at once began its development 
 and transformed the ravv prairie into one of the 
 best farms in the counts. His death occurred at 
 his home on the 22d of September, 1828, at the age 
 of fifty-six years, and his many friends assembled 
 to pay the last tiibute of respect to the man whom 
 the}' had honored in life, and whose death the}- 
 deeply regretted. He will ever be held in loving 
 remembrance by the old settlers who knew him, and 
 by his children. He had borne with the pioneers 
 the trials and hardships of pioneer life, and was 
 ever ready to speak a cheering word to the dis- 
 couraged, and to aid those who alone seemed un- 
 able to perform their hard labor or surmount the 
 difficulties which had to be encountered by all 
 earl}' settlers. His life was an honorable, upright 
 one, filled with good deeds. The Golden Rule he 
 faithfully and conscientiously observed, doing to 
 others as he would have them do unto him. He 
 was truly one of Nature's noblemen. 
 
 Mrs. Hawkins, mother of our subject, died Au- 
 gust 25, 1850, in Danville, 111., and her remains 
 were interred by the side of him to whom she had 
 ever proved a loving companion and helpmate 
 along the journey of life. A monument has been 
 erected to the memory of this worth}' couple. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Hawkins were parents of nine children, 
 four sons and five daughters. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, who was the eighth 
 in order of birth, was born and reared on the 
 
 4
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 367 
 
 home farm. His education was limited to the ad- 
 vantages aflforded by the district schools of this 
 new c'ciintry. lie was only eleven years of age 
 when the family came to the West, and when a lad 
 of thirteen was deprived of a father's watchful 
 care. He remained on the old liomcjtead with his 
 niollier, and like a dutiful son aided her in the care 
 of the farm until nineteen j-ears of age, when he 
 started out in life for himself. His capital consisted 
 of only a young man's bright hope of the future 
 and a determination to succeed. He came at once 
 to what is now Kank.akee Countv, but which was 
 then a part of Iroquois Count}-. This was in 1834. 
 He settled on a tract of Government land, which 
 he ])re-empted five j-ears later, and thereon built 
 the first frame house in the county. He imme- 
 diately began the improvement of his land, which 
 was hitherto a barren tract, and as acre after acre 
 ■was placed under tlie plow, he received a golden 
 iiarvest in return for his care and labor. At that 
 time there were onl}^ three other settlers in the 
 count}'. There were no roads, no improvements, 
 nothing but a wild region, and the hardships and 
 trials of pioneer life were many, but our subject 
 met them bravel}-, and by a determined will and 
 untiring industry overcame them. 
 
 In 1845, when thirtj' years of age, Mr. Hawkins 
 married Miss Matilda Legg, and his wife was soon 
 duly installed as mistress of the pioneer home. 
 Three children were born of their union, but all 
 are now deceased. The mother died in 1849, 
 and .Tune 4, 18.50, Mr. Hawkins was again mar- 
 ried, his second union being with Miss Harriet 
 M. Lowe, who was born September 2, 1823, in Ox- 
 ford Township, Butler County, Ohio. She is a 
 most estimable lady, and is held in the highest re- 
 gard b}- all who know her. To her husband she 
 has indeed proved a helpmate, and to her assist- 
 ance he owes much of his success. By their union 
 the following children were born: Peter L., born 
 on the 1st of March, 18.')1, died on the 24th 
 of October of the same year; Edwin, born July 
 29, 18.52, died August 26, 1854; Micah J. B. 
 was born March 11, 18;54; Joel B., born April 8, 
 1856, was married February 16, 1886, to Mary A. 
 O'Brien, a lady of Irish extraction, and they have 
 three children, one son and two daughters. A. B., 
 
 bora on the 10th of September, 1857, wedded 
 Liddy J. Ilines, of Custer Township, Will County, 
 111., and they have two sons and two daughters; 
 Harriet M., born August 2, 1861, died June 14, 
 1867; Mark, born March 10, 1864, aids in the cul- 
 tivation of the home farm; Julia Ann, born June 
 27, 1866, died June 31, 1871; David N., born Feb- 
 ruary 15, 1870, completes the family. The latter is 
 a wide-awake young man of twent3--two years, who 
 acquired a good education, and is well informed on 
 all matters of general interest. He still resides 
 under the parental roof. Joel is a well-informed 
 man, and is one of the leading politicians in this 
 community. He has served as Town Clerk for 
 three years, and is recognized as one of the pros- 
 perous farmers of Limestone Township. 
 
 In political sentiment in early life, Mr. Hawkins 
 was a supporter of the Whig party, and cast his 
 first Presidential vote for William Henry Harri- 
 son. At the organization of the Republican party, 
 he joined its ranks, and has since fought under its 
 banner. Of its principles he is a warm advocate. 
 His last ballot was cast for Hon. Benjamin Harri- 
 son, the illustrious grandson of the Tippecanoe 
 hero. Throughout his residence in this county, 
 Mr. Hawkins has carried on agricultural pursuits, 
 and now owns a valuable farm containingsome of 
 the most fertile land in Kankakee County, which 
 yields to him a golden tribute as the reward for 
 his cultivation. His beautiful home is located on 
 the banks of the Kankakee River, and it is the 
 abode of hospitalit}', being ever open for the re- 
 ception of the many friends of the famih'. 
 
 We see in Mr. Hawkins a self-made man, who 
 started out in life in very limited circumstance, 
 but b}- industiy, economy and good business abil- 
 ity has won a handsome competence. He is an 
 honored pioneer, who for fifty long 3'ears has re- 
 sided in this community. He has witnessed the 
 entire growth of the county, for on his arrival the 
 prairies were still in their primitive condition, and 
 the echoes of the forest had not then been awak- 
 ened bj' the woodman's ax. The cities of Joliet 
 and Kankakee were not then in existence. He has 
 seen the honored march of progress and the im- 
 provement and advancement that has followed in 
 its footsteps, has watched the wonderful growth of
 
 368 
 
 POKTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 towns and cities, has seen the transformation of 
 the waste lands into beautiful homes and farms, 
 and has ever borne a prominent part in this great 
 work. Mr. Hawkins has now reached the age of 
 seventy-seven years. He can look back over his 
 past life with no regrets, and forward to the future 
 with no fears. The high respect which is tendered 
 him is justly his. 
 
 «4^ 
 
 eHARLES E. SWANNELL, senior partner 
 of the firm of C. E. & A. Swaiinell, 
 merchants of Kankakee, successors to Fred- 
 erick Swannell, are proprietors of the largest and 
 oldest established house in their line in Kankakee 
 County and are dealers in dry goods, cloaks and 
 carpets. This house was established by the father 
 of the present proprietors in 1857, and by him the 
 business was conducted, he having for a time his 
 eldest son for a partner, until about 1876, when his 
 second son, Cliarles E., was admitted to the firm. 
 This connection was continued until August, 1882, 
 when the existing firm was established, the two 
 sons purchasing the father's interest, and they have 
 since conducted the business with marked success. 
 The building occupied by C. E. and A. Swannell is 
 the property of their father and is 50x90 feet in 
 area, two stories high with a basement, and is sub- 
 stantially built of brick. Tiie first floor is one 
 large salesroom, which is heavily stocked and 
 tastefully arranged. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Momence, 
 Kankakee County, 111., on the IGth of March, 
 1856, and is the second child of Frederick and 
 Eliza (Paddon) Swannell, whose sketch is given 
 elsewhere in this work. His education was ob- 
 tained in the public schools, at Lake Forest Aca- 
 demy, and at .Jacksonville Business College. His 
 taste was early directed in the mercantile line in 
 his father's store and counting-room, where he 
 commenced in 1871. Five years later he was ad- 
 mitted to partnership with his father and so con- 
 tinued until August, 1882, at which time he was 
 joined by his brother Arthur, and together they 
 
 purchased their father's interest in the business 
 and the existing firm was formed. They have 
 now been engaged in business for ten 3'ears and 
 have ever maintained the familj^ reputation and 
 credit in the mercantile world in a manner that 
 places them among the successful and prosperous 
 merchants of Eastern Illinois. 
 
 On the 31st of July, 1879, in Kankakee, oc- 
 curred the marriage of Mr. Swannell and Miss 
 Ella Huckins, a daughter of George and Isabel 
 Huckins. Mrs. Swannell was born in Elgin, 111., 
 and is of Scotch-Irish descent. By her marriage 
 she became the mother of three children: Isabel; 
 Harry, deceased; and Margaret. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Swannell hold membership with the First Presby- 
 terian Church of Kankakee. 
 
 Politicall}', our subject affiliates with the Re- 
 publican part3' and is a member of the Royal 
 Arcanum. He and his brother are descended from 
 a family of merchants and seem to have inlierited 
 the sterling business qualifications which character- 
 ized the career of their father and grandfather, 
 whose lives were distinguished by strict integritj- 
 and correct business methods. 
 
 '\fj OHN SMALL, who is prominent among the 
 younger members of the Kankakee County 
 ^~, 1 Bar, is the gentleman whose name heads this 
 (^^ sketch. He is the present Master in Chan- 
 cery for the Eleventh .Judicial District, and also 
 Public Guardian for Kankakee County. He is a 
 native of this city and was born on the 4th of 
 March, 1858, at the old homestead where his par-, 
 ents now reside. His father. Dr. Abrain L. Small 
 was one of the pioneers of this county, having 
 settled in Roekville Township in 1851. A sketcl 
 of Doctor Small is given on another page of thii 
 work. 
 
 The subject of this sketch obtained a goo( 
 knowledge of the nursery business in his younge 
 da3'S, and at the same time attended the pubU!J 
 schools of the city. Later, Mr. Small took a comij
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 
 
 369 
 
 mercial course of instruction in the Northern 
 Indiana Normal School, of Valparaiso. lie en- 
 gaged in teaching and reading law at the same 
 time, after which he entered the law olfice of Will- 
 iam Potter in Kankakee .ind at the end of a two- 
 years course of reading was admitted to the Bar in 
 1883. Mr. Small was appointed Master in Ciian- 
 cery in December, 1889, to Gil the unexpired term 
 of his predecessor, and later was reappointed for a 
 full term by the Circuit Court. The office of 
 Public Guardian, which he holds, was established 
 by an act of tlie Legislature, approved June 3, 
 1889, and on the 1st of November of the same 
 year Mr. Small received his commission from 
 Gov. Fifer and was the first to serve in that capac- 
 ity. Our subject is thorough!}' educated in his 
 profession and possesses the confidence and re- 
 spect of his legal brethren and of the community 
 at large. 
 
 
 ^( AMES H. PETERSON, County Superintend- 
 ent of Schools in Kankakee County, resides 
 in the city of that name. His birth oc- 
 curred in Hamilton County, Ohio, on the 
 16th of May, 1843. Ills father, Elisha A., was also 
 a native of the same county, where his birth oc- 
 curred on the 10th of June, 1810. He departed 
 this life in February, 1889. The mother, who bore 
 the maiden name of Eliza D. Brown, was born in 
 the Empire State and died in 1850. 
 
 James H. Peterson was reared to manhood and 
 was educated in his native State. He was em- 
 ploj'ed as a clerk for his father and others and 
 later was a bank clerk at Ken tland, Ind. On the 
 25th of November, 1861, he enlisted in the late 
 war for three j-ears as a member of Comiiany D, 
 Fourth Ohio Cavalry. He served in the Army of the 
 Cumberland and participated with his regiment in 
 many battles and skirmishes. He was in vari- 
 ous conflicts with the noted Confederate officer. 
 Gen. Jlorgan, in Kentucky, Tennessee and Ala- 
 bama during the first year; was in the battle of 
 Chickamauga and was with Sherman through the 
 
 Atlanta campaign, in the battle of Knoxville, 
 Tenn., where his command .a-ssisted in driving 
 Longstreet out of the State, and took part in the 
 battle of Jonesboro, Tenn. He was mustered out 
 at Louisville, Ky., November 25, 18G1. 
 
 Mr. Peterson settled in St. Anne, Kankakee 
 County, in 1872, and engaged in the coal, grain and 
 insurance business until he was elected to the po- 
 sition he now fills. He has held various local of- 
 fices .and has been a member of the Village Board of 
 Trustees. Mr. Peterson has one hundred and 
 forty-seven schools under his supervision, includ- 
 ing the graded schools of villages and cities, and 
 his administration of the important ollicc he holds 
 has been distinguished by ability, fidelity and im- 
 partiality. Since entering ujion the duties of the 
 office he has been a resident of the county seat. 
 
 On the 11th of October. 1876, Mr. Peterson 
 wedded Miss Harriet J. Sutton, a daughter of Moses 
 and Mary (Lemon) Sutton. Mrs. Peterson was 
 born in Cambridgeshire, England, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian Church. They have one 
 son and two daughters: Nettie E., Hervy Hall 
 and Irene. 
 
 Mr. Peterson is a Republican in politics, and so- 
 cially is a member of Kankakee Lodge No. 389, 
 A. F. & A. M. He is Past Commander of Palli- 
 sard Post No. 396, G. A. R., of St. Anne, but is 
 now connected with Whipple Post No. 414, of 
 Kankakee. He is a charter member of Maple 
 Grove Camp No. 1321, M. W. A., of St. Anne. 
 
 ^^>^^<^ 
 
 )HE KANKAKEE TIMES, Livingston * 
 Burroughs, proprietors, editors and publish- 
 ers, is the successor of the Kankakee Review. 
 Tiie present firm was organized b}- the admission 
 of Mr. Burroughs in 1892. About 1865 tlie Kan- 
 kakee Review was started by N. l\. Taylor. In this 
 paper Thom.as Kelley purch.ased an interest, and it 
 continued to be ])ublished under tiiis name until 
 it was sold to W. F. Keadj', who sold to George 
 B. Keadj' & Co., who in turn disposed of their in- 
 terest in 1881 to Livingston & Keady, and Mr.
 
 370 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Keady has now sold his interest to Ernest Shaw. 
 At the date of the purchase of the office by W. 
 F. Keady, the name was changed to the Kan- 
 kakee Times. Originally the paper was indepen- 
 dent in politics, but subsequently it became Repub- 
 lican. About the year 1872 it became a supporter 
 of Greeley, and then became the organ of the In- 
 dependents or Greenbackers. In the campaign of 
 1880, however, the Times was a warm partisan of 
 Garfield, and under its present management is 
 strongly Republican. It is a very popular and 
 prosperous paper, and has an extensive circulation 
 throughout this portion of the State. 
 
 r 
 
 ellAELES A. SMYTH, a photographer of 
 Momence, was born on the banks of the 
 Ohio River in Indiana, near Madison, one 
 of the most beautiful cities of that State, on the 
 5th of January', 1834. His grandfather, Benja- 
 min Smyth, was a resident of Pennsylvania and a 
 strict Puritan in religious belief. He lived to be 
 about ninety-three years of age, and his wife also 
 lived to an extreme old age, being ninety-fuur 
 years at her death. He was a farmer and entered 
 Government land near Madison, Ind., upon which 
 he erected a house in 1817 or 1818, which is still 
 standing in a fair state of preservation. The ma- 
 ternal grandfather of our subject, Amos Mount, 
 lived to be over eighty years of age, and his wife, 
 Martha Mount, who died previously, also lived to 
 be very old. He followed the calling of an agri- 
 culturist and also settled near Madison, Ind., about 
 the same time as did the Smyth family. 
 
 The parents of our subject, John P. and Martha 
 (Mount) Smyth, were born and reared in Shelby 
 County, Ky. Mr. Smyth was a carriage-maker by 
 trade and followed that vocation in Kentucky 
 until 1874, when he sold out his business to his 
 son, Abner C, and became a resident of Madison, 
 Ind., where he died some three years later. His 
 birth occurred in Kentucky in the year 1802, and 
 with his parents, who were of (lerman descent and 
 
 formerly lived in Pennsylvania, he removed to 
 Indiana in 1818. The mother of our subject de- 
 parted this life in Milton, Ky., at the home of her 
 son Abner C, about the year 1880, at which time 
 she w!is nearly seventy-four years of age. Two 
 daughters and six sons composed her family: 
 Thomas, who died wlicn about fifteen years of age; 
 William B., James M., Charles A., Abner C, Ed- 
 ward, Hannah M. and Martha J., who are all living 
 with the exception of the eldest. 
 
 When a boy Charles A. Smyth learned the carriage 
 and wagon maker's and blacksmith trades in his fa- 
 thcr'sshop. This calling he followed for tweutj'-one 
 j'ears, until failing health compelled him to accept 
 a less arduous line of business. He decided to 
 take up photography, and when commencing this 
 line of work he made the old-fashioned daguerreo- 
 tj'pes. He has continued in this business, ever 
 keeping abreast with the various improvements, 
 until the present time, when photography has 
 achieved a high place among the sister arts. 
 
 On the 28th of November, 1855, Mr. Smyth was 
 joined in marriage with Miss Cassander J., daugh- 
 ter of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Veatch) Woods, 
 both natives of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Smyth 
 are the parents of two children, a son and daugh- 
 ter. Laura J. became the wife of George Aus- 
 tin, a manufacturer of gas and electric light fix- 
 tures in Chicago; they have three children, Ruby 
 D., Edith and Lawrence J. Ben married Miss 
 Emma Doak, of Iloopeston, 111., and they live in 
 Mapleton, Iowa, where he is operator, station and 
 express agent of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- 
 road Compan}-. 
 
 After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Smyth they 
 went to Missouri, living at Independence for a 
 few months and then removed to Miami County, 
 Kan., settling in Paola, the county seat. After a 
 residence there of eight _years they removed to 
 Madison, Ind., where they remained until after the 
 death of our subject's father, and they then became 
 residents of Iloopeston, 111., where they lived for 
 nearly ten years. In 1887 Mr. Sm3th came to 
 Momence and opened a photograph gallery, which 
 he is still managing. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Smyth is a member of Moment? il 
 Lodge No. 481, A. F. & A. M., and of Iloopeston J 
 
 I!
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 371 
 
 Chapter No. 181,R. A. M., of Iloopeston. His wife 
 holds membership with the Baptist Churcli, where 
 she is one of the active workers. Our subject uses 
 his right of franchise in favor of the Republican 
 party, having cast liis first Presidential vote for 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 ■iip)i > ii I I I 
 
 ENRY H. BALDWIN has been for twenty- 
 i' five j-ears a jeweler and watch-maker of 
 Momenee. Ilis birth occurred in Cuyahoga, 
 Ohio, near the city of Cleveland on the 
 4th of M.arch, 1844. He is a son of Albert S. and 
 Maria .J. (Harding) Baldwin, both natives of Eng- 
 land and of English ancestry. The father was 
 quite young when he emigrated to America with 
 Lis parents, who first located in Connecticut but 
 were afterward for man}' years residents of Ohio, 
 living upon a farm. Tiie paternal grandfather of 
 -our subject was a physician and died of the chol- 
 era in 1854, near Cleveland. The grandfather of 
 our subject, on his mother's side, was a chair-maker 
 by occupation and died when a young man. 
 
 Albert Baldwin came to Illinois in 1853, locat- 
 ing upon a farm near Kankakee, where he lived 
 for two seasons and then moved to Beeljelown, 
 this county, and after a residence there of a few 
 years settled in Leggtown, seven miles from Mo- 
 menee, which he made his home for about twenty 
 years. Then retiring from the active duties of 
 ^farm life he moved to Momenee, and after living 
 here for about five years was called from this life 
 in August, 1890, being about sixty-three years of 
 age at the time of his death. He had been a resi- 
 dent of this county for thirtj'-seven years and was 
 one of the pioneer settlers, much respected through- 
 out this section. In his family were eight chil- 
 dren, six sons and two daughters, five of whom 
 are now living, are married and have families. 
 Tiiey are, Henry IT., Francis A., .John II., Mar- 
 llia and Charles. 
 
 Henry II. Baldwin was reared to manhood on a 
 farm in Kankakee County, and received such ed- 
 ucation as could be obtained in the district schools 
 
 of the neighborhood where he lived. On the 22d 
 of April, 18f)5, he wedded Miss JNIary J. Griswold, 
 whose parents, Richard and Amelia (Ridgeway) 
 Griswold, were among the early residents of Kan- 
 kakee Count}-, and were formerly from New York. 
 Thej' are both still living, the father having 
 reached the age of cightj--eiglit and the motlier 
 seventy-nine years. Twelve children have blessed 
 the union of Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin, seven sons 
 and five daughters. Tliose living are Elora N., 
 who became the wife of George Chapin, of Kanka- 
 kee, and by her marriage has become the mother 
 of two children, INIyrlle and Harry; Burt II., Cora 
 M., Arthur and Benjamin. The other children 
 died in infancy. 
 
 While working upon the farm in early life IMr. 
 Baldwin received an injury which necessitated his 
 leaving the heavy work incident to farm life, and 
 when seventeen years of age he went to Oberlin, 
 Ohio, where he learned the watchmaker's business. 
 Afterward he worked in Kankakee, but twenty- 
 five years ago opened a watch-making and jewelry 
 establishment in JMomence, which business he 
 has steadily followed to the present time. He is 
 an industrious and good citizen and has lived in 
 this count}' for thirty-nine years, taking an active 
 interest in its prosperity. In politics, he is a Re- 
 publican, having cast his first vote for Lincoln, but 
 has never been an aspu-ant for official positions, 
 preferring to devote his whole attention to his 
 business. Mrs. Baldwin is a member of the Episco- 
 pal Cluuch of this city and our subject is a mem- 
 ber of the Modern Woodmen of America. 
 
 _o<::xvc 
 
 
 i.^i^S^5:i^2a- 
 
 ■55- 
 
 OCITE T. ALLARD, who carries on a 
 meat-market in St. Anne, is one of the 
 prominent citizens of the place, having 
 been born licre on the 4th of October, 
 He is a son of Joseph and Adeline (Barth- 
 iaume) Allard,botli of French origin and natives of 
 Canada. The paternal grandfather of our subject, 
 whose Christian name was also Joseph, was a 
 blacksmith by trade, and emigrated to the United 
 
 1857.
 
 372 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 States about forty years ago with his family, set- 
 tling at St. Anne. Here he pureliased land and 
 owned the property where the depot has since 
 been erected. He followed his trade more or less 
 throughout life and previous to leaving Canada 
 made bayonets and daggers for the soldiers in the 
 Patriot War of 1838. He was twice married and 
 reared a famil}' of five children. He departed this 
 life in 1887, at the age of seveuty-eight years. 
 Our subject's maternal grandfather, Francis Barth- 
 iaunie, was born in France but was reared to man- 
 hood in Canada. On arriving at mature years he 
 went to Vermont,which was his home for some time. 
 He was married three times and lived to be about 
 eightj^ years of age, his death occurring in 1882. 
 He was in the British army during the AVar of 1812. 
 
 Joseph Allard, Jr., was reared to the life of a 
 farmer and remained with his parents until grown. 
 He was educated in the Canadian schools in 
 the French language, and in 1853 he was first 
 married. His wife died in the winter of 
 1887, at the age of flfty-three years. In 1889, 
 Mr. Allard again married, his second union 
 being with Mrs. Margaret De Fosser. Nine chil- 
 dren were born of the first marriage, seven of 
 whom are yet living: Joseph, George, Docite, 
 Pauline, Josephine, Euphemie and Abbie. 
 
 The boyhood d.ays of our subject were passed in 
 St. Anne and when nine years of age he went to 
 live with an uncle, Simon Allard, who reared and 
 educated him. In 1881, he was for some time a 
 conductor on one of the street car lines of Chi- 
 cago. On the 3d of July, 1882, in the city of 
 Kankakee occurred the wedding of Mr. Allard 
 and Miss Delia Bollard, daughter of Charles and 
 Lucretia (Chartier) Bollard, the former a native of 
 Canada, and the latter of the Empire State. The 
 father, who is still living, was of French parentage, 
 while his wife, whose death occurred in Kankakee 
 on the 22d of February, 1888, was of French and 
 English descent. Mrs. Allard was born and reared 
 to womanhood in Kankakee. 
 
 After his marriage in 1882, our subject entered 
 the employ of Moses Chartier as a clerk. After a 
 few months' time he opened a meat market, which 
 has since engaged his attention. He has associated 
 with him at the present time William Saindon, 
 
 under the firm name of Allard & Saindon. In 
 1890, he purchased a farm of sixty acres adjoining 
 the 'corporation limits at the west of St. Anne, a 
 portion of the old homestead formerly belonging 
 to his father. The cultivation of this farm he 
 superintends and also owns a comfortable home in 
 the village, conv^enient to his business. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Allard hold membership with the 
 Presbyterian Church. He has held various mun- 
 icipal offices, among which were those of Village 
 Trustee, Town Clerk and Village Treasurer, and is 
 at present Secietaiy of the St. Anne Building and 
 Loan Association. Politicallj^, he is a Republican. 
 
 -^]. 
 
 "S) 
 
 ^+^[ 
 
 "^r^RANK G. MARTIN, editor of the St. Anne 
 p;j|g' Record, was born in this town on the 20th 
 ), of April, 1858, and is a son of Severe and 
 Zoe Martin, who were both born in Canada, and 
 were of French parentage, with the exception of 
 the paternal grandfather of our subject, who was 
 a native of Scotland. Our subject is one of eight 
 children, three daughters and five sous, as follows: 
 Levi, Delia, Frank G., Nelson, Eli, Abbie, Lillian 
 and Fred. 
 
 The boyhood days of Frank G. Martin were 
 passed on a farm and his education received in 
 the neighboring school. When about eighteen 
 3'ears of age he commenced learning the printer's 
 trade in the office of the Sibley Index, which was 
 then carried on by P. A. Coal, now of Gibson Citj-, 
 111. He remained in his employ nearly three years 
 and then for one season operated a farm, at the 
 same time having the management of the Sibley 
 Index. \i\ 1885 he went to Fairbury, 111., where 
 he worked on the Independent Blade. Afterwards 
 going to Streator, he remained for nearly three 
 years in the office of the Daily Free Press, and fvom 
 there went to Worthington, Minn. After work- 
 ing for a while on a salary he took control of the 
 Worthington Globe, of which paper he was editor 
 and manager for three years. On the 10th of 
 December, 1891, he returned to St. Anne and 
 bought out the Record, since which time he has
 
 OF m 
 
 "'^'^^^Slli OF ILLINOIS

 
 PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 375 
 
 continued its publication. The paper is Republi- 
 can in politics, is well edited and lias a large cir- 
 culation in this vicinity. 
 
 In February, 188."?, Mr. Martin was united in 
 marriage with Miss I.aura L. Darby. Tlie lad}' is 
 a daughter of James W. and Violetta (Carr) Darby, 
 of Gibson City, III. The father is a native of Vir- 
 ginia, and the mother was born in Ohio. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Martin have one child, a little daughter, 
 Ethel Edna, who is the sunshine of their home. 
 
 Mr. Martin is a member of Oiiafena Lodge No. 
 72, K. P., of Worthington, Minn., also of Maple 
 Camp No. 1321, JI. W. A. His wife is a member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church of St. Anne, 
 and both are highly esteemed in the social circles 
 of this place. 
 
 jf? AWRENCE BAB8T. This biographical 
 I (^ record of Kankakee County gives the 
 /l^^ ^ lives of many of its 3'ounger citizens — men 
 who have not j'et passed the zenith of life but 
 liave become so closely identified with the business 
 interests of their town or countv, its growth and 
 prosperity, that the events of Iheir lives form a part 
 of its historj'. Prominent among this class of 
 citizens is Lawrence Babst, the gentleman whose 
 name heads this sketch, a well-known general 
 hardware merchant of Kankakee. 
 
 Our subject is also a representative of one of the 
 early families of this city and has the honor of 
 being a native of the .State of Illinois. He was 
 born in Naperville, Du Page County, on the 8th 
 of February, 1849, his parents being Alois and 
 Elizabeth Babst, both natives of Alsace, which 
 then belonged to France but is now a province of 
 Germany. Tlie birth of the former occurred in 
 1822. He was reared in his native country and 
 there learned the trade of cabinet-making. In the 
 year 1848 he was married, and a few months later 
 emigrated with his wife to the I'nited States, 
 hoping to benefit his financial condition by his 
 removal to this country. He came at once to 
 
 Illinois, locating at Naperville, -wiiere he embarked 
 in the cabinet-m.aking Inisiness, which he followed 
 in that place for about nine 3'ears, or until 1857. 
 He then came to Kank.akee and embarked in the 
 furniture business, which he carried on for some 
 time. His death occurred December 22, 1884. 
 The wife and mother i)assed away several years 
 previous to the death of her liusband. Alois 
 Babst was a worthy and respected citizen, whose 
 loss in tiie community was deejily regretted. In 
 religious belief he was a Catholic and a devoted 
 member of the church in tliis place. He mani- 
 fested a great interest in all church work, and be- 
 fore the erection of the German Catholic Church 
 in Kankakee services were frequently held at his 
 residence. He was also liberal and chai-itahle and 
 gave freely of his means for the support and ad- 
 vancement of any enterprise or interest calculated 
 to prove of public benefit. In manner he was oenial 
 and social, and w.as recognized as a valued and 
 poi)ular citizen of the community. 
 
 Unto Alois and Elizabeth Babst were born seven 
 children, five of whom are j^et living at this 
 writing, in the winter of 1892. Lawrence, whose 
 name heads this sketch, is the eldest of the family; 
 Charles is now a resident of Naperville; Heniy 
 makes his home in Moorehead, Minn.; Mary R. 
 is the wife of C. W. Walker, a resident of Kan- 
 kakee; Fklward W. is in the employ of his brother 
 Lawrence. Andrew died at the age of thirteen 
 years, and a sister at the age of eleven. 
 
 Mr. Babst, whose name heads this record, has 
 spent his entire life in Illinois. He received his 
 primary education in the public and paiocliical 
 schools, supplemented by a course of stiidj' inWood- 
 ruff Academy, where his school life was ended, 
 lie entered upon his Inisiness career in 1861, wlien 
 he was ai)prenticed' by his fatiier to Thomas and 
 Andrew Kan to learn the trade of tinner. He 
 faithfully served a three-years apprenticeship, 
 during which he thoroughly mastered the business, 
 and then worked as a journeyman, being thus em- 
 ployed until 1869. In that year he embarked in 
 business for himself. A partnership w.as formed 
 with Mr. Morceau under tlie firm name of Morceau & 
 Babst, and they established a general liardware 
 store. Together they carried on operations until
 
 376 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1872, when Mr. Babst bought out his partner's 
 interest and has since conducted the business alone. 
 
 On the 25th of October, 1871, our subject was 
 united in marriage with Miss Josephine Bott, 
 daughter of Joseph Bott, a resident of tliis city. 
 Her fatlier was a native of Germany ,who emigrating 
 to America, became one of the early settlers of 
 Kankakee, where he made his home until his death, 
 whicli occurred several j'cars ago. By the union of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Babst liave been born two children, 
 a son and a daughter. The latter, Laura, was born 
 in 1872, and the former, William C, was born in 
 1876. All the family are members of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Babst now carries a full and complete line 
 of general liardware, both shelf and heavy, and by 
 his courteous treatment, fair dealing and excellent 
 stock, has won a liberal patronage and secured the 
 confidence of his man\- customers. In addition 
 to his other interests he is also a Director in the 
 City National Bank. In his political affiliations, 
 he is a Democrat. He has been one of the faithful 
 and efficient membeis of the Board of Aldermen 
 for nine years and is at present a member of the 
 City School Board. In official, in business and 
 in private life his career has been one that has 
 gained him universal confidence and esteem, and 
 he maj' truthfull}' be classed among the most suc- 
 cessful business men of Kankakee. Energj', close 
 attention to the details of his business, and enter- 
 prise, combined with strict integrity in all his 
 dealings, are the elements of his success, which is 
 certain!}' well deserved. 
 
 ^1 
 
 ll@^ 
 
 im 
 
 ^ IIARLES P. LIVINGSTON is the senior 
 fl( memlier of the firm of Livingston & Bur- 
 
 ^^/J roughs, editors and proprietors of the Kan- 
 kakee Times. Our subject is one of the oldest 
 newspaper men in years of active work in this sec- 
 tion. His birth occurred on the 28th of Septem- 
 ber, 1842, in Philadelphia, Pa. He is a son of 
 John and Rosanna (Jacobs) Livingston. The fa- 
 ther, who was a native of South Carolina, died in 
 
 New York in 1852. The mother was born in 
 Philadelphia, and departed this life in Chicago in 
 1889. 
 
 When about a year old, our subject removed 
 with his parents to New York, and in 1855 came 
 to Kankakee. He began learning tlie printer's 
 trade in the office of the Kankalvee Gazette in the 
 fall of 1856, and was associated with that paper as 
 compositor and foreman until the fall of 1861, 
 when he entered the military service of the United 
 States for the defense of the Union. He became a 
 member of Company I, One Hundredth Regiment, 
 New Yorli Infantrj', and served for three years 
 and three months. He participated in the battles 
 of Fair Oaks, Deep Run, Weldon Railroad, Gaines' 
 Mills, and was in the first advance on Charleston, 
 S. C, in the siege of Ft. Wagner, the charge on 
 Sumter and Morris Island, and served under Col.' 
 Payne about Charleston. Three months after his 
 term of enlistment had expired, he was wounded 
 severely in the side b^' the bursting of a shell at 
 the battle of Deep Run, and received an honorable 
 discharge in December, 1864. 
 
 Soon after his return from the war, Mr. Living- 
 ston resumed his place in the Gazette office, and 
 subsequently bought a third interest in that paper, 
 maintaining his connection with it until the fall 
 of 1868. At that date he purchased a half-interest 
 in the Kankakee Times, of which he became sole 
 proprietor in 1887. In 1892 he sold a half-inter- 
 est in the paper to B. E. Burroughs, at which 
 time the existing firm of Livingston & Burroughs 
 was formed. The Times was established in 1867 
 bj' W. F. Keady, and has had a continuous exist- 
 ence of a quarter of a century. The Weekly Times 
 is an eight-column quarto, and the daily, which 
 was established in 1885, is a seven-column folio. 
 
 On the 17th of September, 1868, occurred the 
 marriage of Mr. Livingston and Miss Ella R. Hen- 
 dricks, the ceremony being performed in Kanka- 
 kee. Mrs. Livingston was born in Waldron, this 
 county, and is a daughter of James F. Hendricks, ij 
 one of the early pioneers of Kankakee County. ^ 
 Four children have blessed this union, two sons 
 and two daughters: Charles A., Emma, John R. 
 and Annie. Mrs. Livingston holds membership 
 with the Presbyterian Cliurch. 
 
 4
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 377 
 
 In politics, oursiibject is an earnest Republican, 
 and this fact has made the Times a potent factor in 
 canii)aign work, for it shows with no uncertain 
 sound that it is in thorough accord with the prin- 
 ciples and policy of the Republican part}'. So- 
 cially, our subject is a member of Howard Lodge 
 No. 208, 1. O. O. F., and of Whipple Post No. 414, 
 G. A. R. 
 
 ^wp^RANK L. AVILKINS is the genial and efli- 
 ■=^ clent Postmaster of St. Anne. He was 
 [ born in the city of Cailskrona, Sweden, on 
 the 29th of August, 1847, and is, a son of Alfred 
 and Matilda Wilkins, both natives of Sweden, 
 where they lived and died. The father's death 
 occurred in 1852, and that of his wife in 1875. 
 During nearly his entire life he w.as engaged in 
 general merchandising in Cailskrona. Three sons 
 and two daughters were born to himself and wife, 
 all of whom yet survive. p]rnst is a tailor of To- 
 peka, Kan.; Thomas is a contractor and builder of 
 Chicago; Ingeborg is the wife of William Olmgren, 
 a carriage painter of Topeka, Kan., where they 
 make Iheir home; Hannah still resides in Sweden; 
 and Frank L. completes the family. 
 
 When a boy of twelve years Mr. Wilkins of this 
 sketch left his native land and crossed the Atlantic 
 to America in company' with friends who were 
 seeking a change of fortune in the New World. 
 He located in Philadelphia and during eleven 
 j'ears was most of the time a sailor on the high 
 seas. He had but very little regular schooling, 
 but while on shipboard managed to do considera- 
 ble studying and reading. In 1870, he left Phila- 
 delphia and went to Chicago, making that his 
 headquarters for three years, during which time 
 lie sailed upon the Lakes. In 1875 he determined 
 to turn his attention to some other pursuit and 
 accordingly removed to St. Anne, where for six 
 years he carried on a large creamery business. 
 
 When but sixteen 3'ears of age, Mr. Wilkins 
 donned the blue in defense of his adopted country 
 and became a member of Companj' G, Seventh 
 
 New York Infantry. He was thirty-four months 
 in" the service, in which time he participated in a 
 number of the hnrd-fouglit battles of the war. He 
 took part in the P.atlle of the Wilderness and that 
 of Pittsburg Landing and was all through the 
 siege of Vicksburg. He was under Grant at the 
 time of Lee's surrender. As a soldier he was 
 lo3'al and faithful, ever to be depended upon to 
 do his duty in every emergency. 
 
 In St. Anne ou Christinas Day of 1875, Mr. 
 Wilkins was married to Miss Emeline Morin, a 
 daughter of Moses and Amelia (Mayotte) Morin, 
 both natives of Canada and of French origin. Six 
 children have blessed the union of our subject and 
 his most estimable ladJ^ They are: Sidney, 
 Emory, Edna, Pearl, Grace and Irene. 
 
 Mr. Wilkins was appointed Postmaster by Pres- 
 ident Harrison in 1888, and has discharged the 
 duties of the position most acceptably to his fel- 
 low-citizens. For eiglit 3-ears he was Deputy 
 Sheriff of Kankakee Count}- under Sheriffs Le- 
 tourneau and O'Brien. Sociality he is a member of 
 the Ancient Order of I'nited Workmen. In his 
 political afliliations he is a Republican and takes 
 an active interest in political and local affairs. He 
 attends the Presbyterian Church, of which his wife 
 is a member and to which he gives his support. 
 
 LEXANDER MuKAY, a retired fanner re- 
 siding in St. Anne, was born in County 
 Id Antrim, Ireland, near the Giant's Cause- 
 waj-, Ma}' 5, 1818. He is a son of Samuel 
 and Mary (McCullough) McKay, both natives of 
 the Emerald Isle, where they spent their entire 
 lives. Tiie paternal grandfather of our subject, 
 John McKay, was a farmer of Ireland, as was also 
 Patrick McCullough, the maternal grandfather. 
 The father followed agricultural pursuits during 
 life and was of a quiet, unostentatious disposition. 
 He was one whose delight was in his family and 
 home, rather than that of mingling in public af- 
 fairs. He was seventy-six years of age at the
 
 378 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 time of his death, in 1860. His wife had passed 
 away about four yea.rs prior to that time, at the 
 age of sixtj'-eight. The^' were both faithful mem- 
 bers of the Presbj'terian Church. 
 
 Until reaching liis majority Alexander McKay 
 lived at home with his parents, assisting them in 
 carrying on the farm. His education was received 
 in the common schools of Ireland. In 1840, bid- 
 ding farewell to his home and friends, he sailed 
 for America, and after his arrival worked for a few 
 mouths at Jleriden, Conn. From there he went 
 to Boston, Mass., and engaged in gardening and 
 dairy work for about four years. 
 
 In 1847, Mr. McKay returned on a visit to his 
 native land, where, on the 12th of August of that 
 year, he was united in marriage with Miss Nancy 
 Ann McConaughy, daughter of Robert and Esther 
 (Gibben) McConaughy, both natives of Ireland. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. McKay have been born the fol- 
 lowing children: Robert, who was married to Miss 
 Sarah Templeton and makes his home in Pembroke 
 Township, six miles from St. Anne. They have 
 three children, Alexander, Richard and Nancy 
 Ann. Esther is the wife of William Powell and 
 lives in Chicago, where her husband is engaged in 
 the grain and feed business. They have three 
 daughters, Grace Ann, Nellie and Eva. Nancy 
 Ann, wife of Michael Corcoran, lives nearWatseka 
 in Iroquois Count}'. Mary became the wife of 
 Henr}^ Whittemore, a farmer of Pembi'oke Town- 
 ship. They have four children. May, Minnie, 
 Harry and Hiram. Catherine is the next in order 
 of birth. Maggie died at the age of six years, and 
 her sister Jane when five j'ears of age. Sarah re- 
 sides in Pembroke Township, and is the wife of J. 
 H. Templeton. Their family consists of three 
 children, Nancy Ann, John and Arthur. 
 
 In 1864, Mr. McKay returned to America and 
 located on a farm of one hundred and twenty 
 acres in Pembroke Township, this county. There 
 he was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 until 1884, at which time he removed to St. Anne 
 and retired from active business life. He is the 
 owner of five hundred acres of valuable farm land 
 and also owns his fine residence propert}' in St. Anne. 
 While he has accumulated considerable land, Mr. 
 McKay's principal business for many years was that 
 
 of stock-raising. His prosperity is entirely the 
 result of his own industry and economy, for at the 
 time he landed in America lie was without means or 
 resources. He was the first Assessor of Pembroke 
 Township, which office he held during his entire 
 residence there. He secured the post-ottice for 
 the town and was Postmaster there for manj' years. 
 He was many times called upon to hold positions 
 of responsibility and trust, among these being 
 that of Justice of the Peace and School Director. 
 Politically he is a lo3'al Republican and in relig- 
 ious faith both he and his wife are Presbyterians. 
 
 'J-i-i-'i-i-P 
 
 ylLLIAM J. BROWN, a resident of Mo- 
 mence, was born at the Rookery, near 
 Watford, in Herefordshire, England, on 
 the 25th of January, 1824. His paternal grand- 
 father, James Brown, was a millwright by trade, 
 and died in England when in his prime. His ma- 
 ternal grandfather was a lawj'er in England, and 
 in 1802 was Chief Justice of the Colonies of Cape 
 Breton, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. 
 About the year 1804 he died, and his wife re- 
 turned to their native land. He was a law stu- 
 dent under the tutelage of William Tidd, a 
 celebrated English law3'er. The maternal great- 
 grandfather of our subject, William Woodfall, 
 was editor of the London Morning Advertiser for a 
 number of years, dating back to the Colonial 
 times. He was imprisoned for publishing the 
 famous Junius Letters, and because he advocated 
 the Colonial rights in America. His death oc- 
 curred in the Old Bailey Prison, the far-famed 
 prison of London. He was of Welsh stock, and 
 left his native home in early jears, working as a 
 journeyman. 
 
 The parents of our subject were James and 
 Emily (Woodfall) Brown, both natives of Eng- 
 land. Their family consisted of two sons and 
 eight daughters, five of whom are now living. 
 Mary Harriet, Henry Thomas, Clara A. and Emily 
 reside in Chicago; and our subject completes the 
 famil}-. Ellen died in Tulare, C.al.
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 379 
 
 William Brown remained in his native country 
 with his parents until nineteen 3'ears of age and 
 received fair school privileges. He learned the 
 trades of a millwright, pattern-maker and machin- 
 ist. At the age of twenty-four years he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Lucy Bush, a daugh- 
 ter of James Bush, of Kimberl^', Norfolk, England. 
 On the 17th of April, 1850, with his wife and tiieir 
 one child he emigrated to America. The}' liveil 
 in Chicago for some months after their arrival, 
 and from that city removed to Momence. Here 
 Mr. Brown built a home and located his family. 
 For about three or four years much of his time 
 was spent in Chicago on business, and he often 
 walked the entire distance to save the expense of 
 riding on the stage coach, the only means of con- 
 veyance. He then rebuilt the gristmill in Mo- 
 mence, and afterward erected the sawmill of W. A. 
 Chatfield. About this time he made three trips to 
 New Orleans, where he spent the winter seasons 
 of 1862-63 and 1864. 
 
 Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown, 
 six sons and four daughters. Emily, Lucy, Edward 
 and Delia died in early childhood. Those living 
 are: William, who is engaged in farming near Am- 
 bia, Ind.; Challenge, a twin brother of Edward, a 
 farmer residing near Talbot, Ind.; Waller A., a 
 salesman of Momence; Margaret, who became the 
 wife of Edward O. Cory, a farmer near Marne, 
 Iowa; Sherman, a farmer near Talbot, Ind.; and 
 Grant, twin brother of .Sherman,- a farmer living 
 near Talbot, Ind. The mother of these children 
 departed this life on the 20th of April, 1878. 
 
 For the past twelve or fifteen years, Mr. Brown 
 has been engaged in making cider, and also does 
 machine work in the way of repairing engines and 
 all kinds of machinery, with which he is thor- 
 oughly familiar. About 1852 he made the first 
 self-raking reaper in America. He was not the in- 
 ventor, however, but constructed it under the 
 instruction of Jeremiah Atkin's patent for John S. 
 AVright, of Chicago, proprietor of the Prairie 
 Famwr. Previous to that time Mr. McCormick, 
 the famous reaper manufacturer, had ridiculed the 
 idea of a selt-raking reaper, but is now engaged 
 in their manufacture. Mr. Brown passed the win- 
 ter of 1864-65 at Centralia, in the locomotive and 
 
 machine shops of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 Company. He has a patent on an improved anti- 
 friction tire wheel, which turns without the axle 
 and does away with the sliding when going 
 around a curve. He is a thorough and practical 
 macliinist, having made that his specialty. In his 
 political faith Mr. Brown was formerly a Repub- 
 lican, but is at present a Democrat, being a be- 
 liever in the principles of free trade. 
 
 i>^^<m^ 
 
 -5— 
 
 ENRY SWAN is a prominent farmer of 
 Aroma Township, and makes his home on 
 / sections 25 and 26. He is a native of In- 
 diana, his birth liaving occurred on the 
 16th of February, 1831, in Dearborn County. His 
 father, Matthew Swan, was a native of New York 
 and of Scotch descent. His mother, who before 
 her marriage bore the name of Susan Judd, was 
 born in the same place and is a daughter of an old 
 Revolutionary soldier. She has now reached the 
 advanced age of eight^'-seven years and makes her 
 home in AYaldron. 111. 
 
 B)- her marriage she became the mother of four- 
 teen children, i^ranklin lives in Waldron; Eliza 
 departed this life in 1884; Edwin died on the 
 10th of September, 1882; our subject is next in 
 order of birth; Orin died on the 27th of November, 
 1834; James was a private of Company F, Sev- 
 enty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and died on the 10th 
 of October, 1863, in the hospital at Natchez. Jliss., 
 and his remains lie buried in the South; Nathan, 
 born August 6, 1836, enlisted in the Fortj'-second 
 Illinois Infantry in 1862, serving until the close 
 of the war, and died October 26, 1890; Will- 
 iam departed this life in 1850; Matthew passed 
 away on the 29th of May, 1842; Mary is still liv- 
 ing and is the wife of Porter Riggs, a leading 
 farmer of Aroma Township; Daniel died August 
 23, 1850; Hugh died on the 2oth of August, 1850; 
 and' George W. makes his home in Waldron. 
 
 The father of these children was a carpenter and 
 wheelwright by trade and emigrated to Illinois in 
 1851. Before coming he had purchased three
 
 380 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORDc 
 
 soldiers' laiul warrants for Ihiee quarter-sections, 
 for wliich lie paid about $375. He also purchased 
 one hundred and fifteen acres on section 24, Aroma 
 Township. He removed upon this farm soon 
 afterward, as there were a couple of small log 
 houses upon the property and a few acres were 
 partiality improved. He only lived about one 
 year after settling in this county, his death oc- 
 curring in 1852. He was quite a successful farmer 
 and was a man of integrit}' and worth. 
 
 Our subject, Henry Swan, was early inured to 
 the duties and cares of farm life and attended the 
 district schools in Indiana, where he acquired his 
 primary education. In 1851, he removed with his 
 parents to Illinois and soon afterward entered the 
 college at Cincinnati, where he attended for one 
 term. After that he returned to his home and 
 worked at the carpenter's trade for about two 
 years. He next decided to enter the mercantile 
 business and purchased a stock of goods. He em- 
 barked in merchandising in Waldron and con- 
 tinued in that line until 1859, at which time he 
 sold his interest He then started a machine and 
 carpenter shop in the same place and was in that 
 business for about two years. At the expiration 
 of that time he determined to give his sole atten- 
 tion to agricultural pursuits, and accordiuglj^ pur- 
 chased the farm where he now resides. This con- 
 sists of one hundred and sixt3--seven acies, which 
 are very fertile and highlj' cultivated. He has 
 quite recently retired from the active duties inci- 
 dent to farm life. 
 
 Mr. Swan enlisted as a private in February, 
 1865, at which time he became a member of Com- 
 pany A, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Illinois In- 
 fantr}'. He responded to the President's last call for 
 troops and was mustered into the service at Joliet. 
 He served until the close of the war and received 
 an honorable discharge in September, 1865. He 
 then returned to his home and again engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits. 
 
 Mr. Swan has been twice married. On the 25th 
 of February, 1860, he wedded Miss Annie E. 
 Boardman, a daughter of Nathaniel and Maria 
 Boardman. Tliere were two children born of this 
 marriage. Gertrude is the wife of .John Kibbons, 
 a farmer of Aroma Township; and Charles E. is a 
 
 bookkeeper at Pullman, 111. The mother of these 
 children departed this life November 21, 1865. 
 Mr. Swan on the 'Jth of Februarj-, 1867, was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary L. Boardman, a sister of his first 
 wife. Three children gi-aced this union: Delos is 
 a farmer in Aroma Township; Annie L., wife of 
 E. D. Lindley, resides in Rockford; and Hiram 
 died on the 23d of November, 1889. Mrs. Swan 
 was called to her final rest on the 25th of April) 
 1876. 
 
 Politically, our subject has been for many years 
 affiliated with the Republican party. He has 
 served his fellow-citizens in numerous positions 
 requiring ability and trustworthiness. He has 
 been .Justice of the Peace, Township Clerk, School 
 Director and School Trustee and has served in 
 these capacities most acceptably. Mr. Swan is a 
 public-spirited citizen and is ever ready to do his 
 part in the furtherance of all plans and enterprises 
 which are directed toward the advancement and 
 good of this locality. Socially, he is a member of 
 the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a man of 
 wide reading and information and keeps fully 
 abreast with the times. 
 
 ♦ss^^ s» J 
 
 r 
 
 ^ OHN H. BUCK is engaged in merchandis- 
 ing at Herscher, and is the senior partner of 
 the firm of J. H. Buck & Bro. He is the 
 oldest merchant in this portion of ICanka- 
 kee County, and has been actively engaged in 
 business in Herscher and in Pilot Township for 
 the past twenty j-ears, first locating at Pilot 
 Centre in 1872, where he carried on a general 
 mercantile trade. 
 
 ]\Ir. Buck is a native of New York, born at 
 Rochester on the 31st of August, 1831, and is a 
 son of George II. Buck, and brother of Azariah, 
 whose sketch appears in this volume. Our subject 
 grew to man's estate in his native citj-, where, in 
 addition to the common-school advantages, he re- 
 ceived a business education. After completing 
 his studies he was then engaged and worked upon
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 381 
 
 the Erie Canal for a few years. In 1848, just 
 after the opening of the canal in Illinois, he carae 
 "West and was here employed for t\vo years. In 
 the 3'ear 1850, lie turned his attention to agricul- 
 tural pursuits, which he followed for two years in 
 La Salle County. However, on the opening of 
 the Rock Island Railroad, he was in that com- 
 pany's emplo}' for a year in their office at La 
 Salle. In the spring of 18.54, resigning his position 
 there, he canie to Kankakee County', and located 
 in Pilot Township, wiiere he again engaged in 
 farming. In 1856, he returned to La Salle and 
 continued actively engaged in merchandising for 
 >ixtcen j'ears. lie then sold out his stock and 
 came to Kankakee County and entered into part- 
 nersliip with his brotiier. They oiiened a store at 
 Pilot Centre, since which time Mr. Buck has de- 
 voted himself exclusively to merchandising. He 
 is one of the best known and successful business 
 men of the county. 
 
 Mr. Buck wedded Miss Ilattie L. Bingham, on 
 the 21th of December, 1863. The lad}' is a native 
 of Ehnira. N. Y., and lived at Rochester, that 
 Stale, and Milwaukee, Wis., at which places she ac- 
 quired her education. Her father, .John H. Bing- 
 ham, was a prominent and well-known citizen of 
 Rochester. Eight children have been born to our 
 subject and his wife: Lucy E., living in Chicago; 
 George Henry, a carpenter by trade, residing in 
 Herscher, 111.; Ilattie Belle, who is at home; Annie 
 Kate, who holds a responsible business position at 
 Englewood, 111.; Minnie, \Aho is at home; John 
 Harvey, now attending the Herscher school, as is 
 also ills next younger brother, Azariali Garfield; 
 and Joseph A. complete the number. 
 
 Jlr. Buck is a memlier of the Masonic fraternity 
 and is one of the oldest members of Acacia Lodge 
 No. G7, at La Salle, having held membership with 
 them for thirty-four years. For nearly half a 
 century our subject has been a resident of Illinois, 
 lias witnessed its marvelous growth and develop- 
 ment and has taken an active part in its progress. 
 Politically, he has taken an interested part in 
 local aff.airs and since the organization of the Re- 
 publican party lias been its loyal adherent. He 
 was api)ointod Postmaster at Pilot Centre, where 
 he was the means of establishing the office, and h.as 
 
 also been Postmaster at Herscher since 1878, with 
 the exception of the four years of Mr. Cleveland's 
 first administration. His influence has ever been 
 for the advancement and the building up of the best 
 interests of the community in which he has made 
 his home. He is progressive and lil)eral in his 
 views and charitable toward all. 
 
 ? i ' I ' I '^ ' - 
 
 <ji^LROY C. STREETER is owner and pro- 
 U*' prietor of one of the leading general stores 
 / l—"^ ' of Grant Park. Ilis birth occurred on the 
 7th of June, 1862, in Sumner Townshii), this 
 county, his birthplace being in the town then 
 called Union Corners, since named Grant Park. 
 His parents were Lorenzo and Hannah (Osby) 
 Streeter, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere 
 in this work. 
 
 Our subject is the j'Oungest of three children, 
 all sous, and lived upon his father's farm in Sum- 
 ner Township until about seven jx'ars of age. 
 With his jjarents he then removed to Grant Park, 
 where his father built the first residence in the 
 place. This propert}- he owns and has made his 
 home for many years. He attended the Grant 
 I'ark schools until about seventeen years of age, 
 when he supplemented his common-school educa- 
 tion by a course at the State Normal College of 
 northern Indiana, which is located at Valparaiso. 
 Upon the completion of his studies, Mr. Streeter 
 obtained employment as clerk in a general store of 
 this place and remained with the firm for five 
 years. He then engaged in business for himself 
 for a year and a-lialf, at the expiration of which 
 time lie sold out and traveled for a Chicago house 
 during one 3ear. Keturning to Grant Park he 
 purchased a stock of goods in partnership with O. 
 C. Parmley. That w.-is in the j^ear 1887, and after 
 continuing in partnership for five years, Mr. 
 Streeter purchased his partner's interest and has 
 since conduted the business alone. 
 
 The 1 6th of December, 1886, witnessed the mar- 
 riage of Mr. Streeter and Miss Nellie Underwood, 
 who is a native of the Empire State, and is a
 
 382 
 
 POUTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 daiightei- of Jobn W. and Margaret (Hamlin) Un- 
 derwood, who are prominent citizens and old 
 settlers of this county. One child, a daughter, 
 Velma, has graced the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Streeter. The little one's birth occurred on the 
 26th of November, 1890. 
 
 For four j'cars our subject has served his fellow- 
 citizens as City Treasurer and has proved capable 
 and efficient in that position. He uses his right of 
 franchise in support of the nominees and prin- 
 ciples of the Republican party. He and his wife 
 hold membership with the Methodist Church, where 
 they are active workers. Mr. Streeter owns and 
 operates one of the leading stores in Grant Park 
 and though young, has demonstrated his abilitj' 
 and progressive spirit. He has already acquired 
 considerable property and has an extensive trade. 
 
 Si IV)ILL1AM R. GARRETT is one of the prac- 
 \rJ// tical and progressive farmers of Momence 
 V^^ Township, his farm being located on sec- 
 tion 31. He has the honor of being a native of 
 this county and is a worthy representative of one 
 of its pioneer families, his parents having located 
 here in an early da}'. His father, Silas J. Garrett, 
 was born in Sullivan County, Ind., on the 25th 
 of August, 1829, and conies of an old family of 
 Irisli origin. Having attained to mature years, he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Nancy J. Jen- 
 kins, also a native of Sullivan County, Ind. Her 
 birth there occurred on the 10th of November, 
 1831. Their marriage was celebrated in the Hoo- 
 sier State, where they resided until August, 1854, 
 when they determined to come to Illinois. Re- 
 moving to Kankakee County, Mr. Garrett came 
 into possession of a tract of wild land, in Ganier 
 Township, which he received from his brother in 
 settling the affairs of their father's estate, and 
 began the develoi)ment of a farm, which he im- 
 proved and cultivated successfully until his death, 
 on the 31st of August, 1872. He was recognized 
 as a leading citizen of the community in which 
 he resided, and was a man highly respected for his 
 
 sterling worth. His widow still survives, and is 
 now living in Momence, at the age of sixty-one 
 j'ears. She, too, is of Irish descent. 
 
 Unto Silas and Nancy Garrett was born a fam- 
 ily of four cliildren, two sons and two daughters, 
 of whom William R. is the third in order of birth. 
 He first opened his e3'es to tiie liglit of day upon 
 his father's farm in Ganier Township, on the 1st 
 of April, 1856, and in the neighborhood of his 
 birthplace he has alwa3's resided. The history of 
 almost an}' farmer boj' is similar to that of the 
 j'oulhful days of Mr. Garrett. As soon as old 
 enough to h.andle the plow, he was put at farm 
 work, and until he had attained his majority his 
 time was alternated between woi'k in the fields 
 during the summer months and in attendance at 
 the common schools of the neighborhood, where 
 he acquired his education. Like a dutiful son, 
 he gave his father the benefit of his services until 
 he had reached the age of tweut^'-one years, 
 when he started out in life for himself. He has 
 since made his own way in the world, and what- 
 ever success he has achieved is the result of his 
 own efforts and the reward of his untiring labors. 
 During the first three years he engaged in the 
 operation of rented land, for he had no money 
 wherewith to purchase a farm. During that time 
 he acquired a small capital, and on the expiration 
 of that period bought eighty acres of land, con- 
 stituting a part of the farm upon which lie now 
 resides. 
 
 An important event in the life of Mr. Garrett 
 occurred on the 2d of November, 1881, when was 
 celebrated his marriage with Miss Anna M., daugh- 
 ter of Andrew and Marilla (Lamport) Dayton, 
 whose family record will be seen elsewhere in tiiis 
 work. Four children grace the union of this 
 worthj^ couple, and the famil}^ circle has never 
 }'et been severed bj' death. There are three sons 
 and one daughter: Leona Belle, Frank William, 
 Silas Jay and Merritt Dayton. 
 
 On making his first purchase of land of eighty 
 acres, Mr. Garrett immediately located thereon 
 and began the development of his land, which he 
 has transformed into a valuable farm. Acre after 
 acre was placed under the plow and made to 
 yield him golden harvests. His well-directed cf-'
 
 I 
 
 Of [Hi: 
 ^'"'^'-^i^iliy OF ILLIWIS
 
 /^'-^tl^y/ 
 
 I 
 
 fl
 
 zAyj- 
 
 . c/ ^. ^Sct^'*/
 
 Or .-- 
 ;^\TY OF laiN'.^*"^
 
 PORTRAIT AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ^is: 
 
 forts won him success, and in course of time he 
 bought another forty-acre tract of land, his farm 
 now comprising one liundred and twenty acres, 
 which is highly cultivated and well improved. 
 He is a practical farmer, ^et progressive, being 
 never found behind the times in anything per- 
 taining to his business. His home is pleasautl}' 
 located about three miles south of the city of Mo- 
 nience. The Garrett household is noted for its 
 hos|)italit3-, and our subject and his wife hold an 
 enviable position in the social circles in which they 
 move. Mr. Garrett votes with the Republican 
 party, keeps well informed on the issues of the 
 day, and, as ever}' true American citizen should 
 do, takes an interest in political affairs, yet has 
 never been a politician iu the sense of office-seek- 
 ing. Sociall}', he is a member of Lodge No. 897, 
 R. A., of Momence. In the county where his en- 
 tire life has been spent he is well and favorably 
 known, and is ranked among the leading and in- 
 fluential agriculturists of his township. 
 
 =^-^+^1-= 
 
 f^^ IMEON H.McINTOSH, a prominent farmer 
 ^^^ of Otto Township, residing on section 19, 
 ((!/3) is numbered among the honored earlj' set- 
 tlers of this count}' and dates his residence 
 here from .lanuar}', 1854, when he located in Kan- 
 kakee. Our subject is a native of Vermont, hav- 
 ing been born in Barnard, Windsor Count3% on 
 the 1st of March, 1819. His grandfather, Ebene- 
 zer Mcintosh, was born in Scotland, and was one 
 of the early settlers of New Hampshire, where his 
 son, Ebenezer, Jr., the father of our subject, was 
 born. The latter removed from the State of his 
 birth to Vermont, and there upon arriving at 
 man's estate married INIiss Sylvia Ann Swifts, who 
 w.as born in ^'ermont and whose Tamil}' came from 
 Massachusetts. For a number of years Mr. Mcin- 
 tosh engaged in farming in Vermont, but about 
 the year 183'J removed with his family to Ohio, 
 settling upon a farm in Franklin County, where 
 he engaged in tilling the soil during the remainder 
 of his life. Both he and liis wife departed this 
 life in that State. 
 
 18 
 
 Our subject is the fourth child in his father's 
 family, which consisted of five sons and four 
 daughters, who grew to manhood and womanhood. 
 One l)rother, George, resided for man}' years in 
 Cedar Rai)ids, Iowa, but our subject is now the 
 only survivor of the famil}'. With his parents, 
 Mr. Mcintosh removed Westward to Ohio, and re- 
 mained with his father until reaching his majority, 
 receiving as good educational advantages as could 
 be obtained in the district schools at that early 
 day. For a number of years he worked in a broom 
 factory in Ohio, and upon coming to this count}- 
 in 18.J1 raised the first broom corn in Kankakee 
 County. He located in Kankakee and engaged in 
 the manufacture of brooms. Being very success- 
 ful in Ins business, he soon was enabled to purchase 
 a lot, on wl\leh he erected a good residence. When 
 he first located in this city there were but two or 
 three stores and perhaps a dozen residences in the 
 place. 
 
 In April, 1856, Mr. Mcintosh located on the 
 land where he has since resided. He (lurcliased 
 one hundred and sixty acres of raw prairie, which 
 was but little improved, and at once engaged .ac- 
 tively in cultivating and developing his farm. He 
 has now a good, substantial residence, commodious 
 barns, cribs and sheds, and a windmill and other 
 improvements. As his financial resources increased 
 he added adjoming property to his original farm, 
 and now has three liundred and twenty .acres of 
 valuable and desirable land in one body. With 
 his family he suffered the hardships and privations 
 incident to frontier life and .also much sickness, 
 as at that time the country was largely a swamp, 
 and fever and .ague prevailed. 
 
 On the 5th of April, 1855, Mr. Mcintosh was 
 married to Miss Catherine True, who w.as born in 
 Dearborn County, Ind., and is a daughter of Abra- 
 ham True, one of the honored pioneers of this 
 community. He came to Kankakee before the 
 town was started and for many years made his 
 home in this place. Eight children bless the union 
 of our subject and his wife: William is married 
 and is a prosperous farmer of Otto Township; 
 Cora is still at home; Jennie is the wife of George 
 Hasker, also a farmer of Otto Township; Clara be- 
 came the wife of William Brock and resides iu
 
 388 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArfflCAL RECORD. 
 
 Kankakee; Lucia is still at home; Albert assists 
 his father in carrying on the "work of the old 
 homestead; George and Edward are still at home 
 and complete the family. 
 
 Mr. Mcintosh has been identified with the Dem- 
 ocratic party for a number of years and takes quite 
 an active part in politics. His first vote was cast 
 forW. H. Harrison, but since that time he h.as been 
 an advocate of tlie Democracy. Though he has not 
 been an aspirant for offlcial positions witliin the 
 gift of the people, he has nevertheless been several 
 times induced to fill the same. During his long 
 residence of nearly forty years in this county he 
 has beheld the country change from a swamp, 
 ■which much of it was in the early da^'s, to a fer- 
 tile and well-drained district. Villages and towns 
 have sprung up on every hand where was formerly 
 scarcely a cabin to be seen during a ride of fifty 
 miles in any direction. He has ever been a loyal 
 citizen, and has done all in his power to promote 
 the best interests and advancement of this com- 
 munity. Commencing in this county almost with- 
 out means, he has steadily advanced step by step 
 to his present position as one of the prosperous 
 and progressive farmers of this region. 
 
 ^^EORGE W. RICE, Police Magistrate and a 
 [|| g=j, retired farmer and stockman, landed in 
 ^^J^ Kankakee County on the 12th of May, 
 1851, when it was a portion of Will County. 
 Since that time a strip has been taken from the 
 southern side of the latter county and one from 
 the northern part of Iroquois County, and this is 
 called Kankakee County, from the river of that 
 name. 
 
 Job W. Sylvester, the maternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was an extensive farmer and black- 
 smith and owned several large farms in Cumber- 
 land County, Me. He was in his ninety-seventh 
 year at the time of his death, which occurred in 
 the fall of 1860, in Dearborn County, Ind., where 
 he had moved about 1844, He reared a large family, 
 
 and at the time of his death was in comfortable 
 circumstances. His father was a soldier in the 
 Revolutionary War and attained the remarkable 
 age of one hundred and six years. 
 
 Mr. Rice, whose name heads this sketch, was 
 born in Cumberland County, Me., on the 16th of 
 February, 1824, and is a son of Rufus and Mary 
 (Sylvester) Rice, who were originally from Massa- 
 chusetts. The father was a farmer by occupation 
 and was also master of the carpenter's trade, whicli 
 he followed more or less during his life. He was 
 a soldier in the AVar of 1812. In the fall of 1837, 
 he removed to Indiana, locating upon a farm of 
 one hundred and sixty acres in Dearborn Count}', 
 where he lived until the fall of 1840, when he 
 was called from the scenes of his earthly labors. 
 His wife survived him until 1861, when her death 
 occurred at the home of her son George in Mo- 
 mence, 111. She was born in 1801. and was conse- 
 quently sixty j'ears of age when slie died. In the 
 family were nine children, four sons and five 
 daughters, two of whom died in infancy. At the 
 present time there are six living, as follows: 
 George W.; Nancy M., who is the widow of John 
 Dashiell; James H.; Lucy P., wife of Byron E. 
 Coon; John W.; and Sarah S., the wife of Joseph 
 Roberts. 
 
 Wlien his parents removed to Indiana, our sub- j 
 ject accompanied them and was reared to farm 
 life. His education.al privileges were those of the 
 district schools, and in his youth he learned the 
 carpenter's trade; He continued to work at that 
 occupation for a number of years and for a period 
 of four years, just prior to his coming to Illinois, 
 he clerked in a general store, but on account of 
 poor health was obliged to give np his position. 
 In 1851, he came to Illinois on a visit to a 
 brother-in-law, who operated a farm about four 
 miles west of Momence. He entered the employ of 
 Roberts ife Vail, general merchants of this city, 
 with whom he remained during the winter. lie 
 next embarked in. business for himself, in whidi 
 he remained until 1860, when he sold his stock of 
 goods to Worcester, Brayton & Co. 
 
 In September, 1845, George W. Rice was united 
 in marriage with Miss Laura J., daugliter of Jacol 
 and Elizabeth (Knapp) Fielding, and to them wen
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 389 
 
 born three sons and four danglilers: Ehvyn E., 
 Florence A., Alice B., Ida jNI., Stephen D., Laura 
 A., and George A., who died when about twenty 
 j'ears of age. Ida M. became the wife of William 
 A. Douglas and died leaving four children, two of 
 wliom are now deceased. The other members of 
 the family are married and have families of their 
 own. In .June, 18C8, the mother of these children 
 died on the farm near Momence, in the faith of 
 tlic Baptist Church, of which siie had been a mem- 
 ber for many years. 
 
 On the 20th of February, 1870, ]Mr. Rice wedded 
 Miss Lydia .Jessup, daughter of Stephen and Nanc}' 
 (Laffcrty) .Tessup, of Momence, the former a native 
 of Ohio, and the latter of Kentucky. Three sons 
 and six daughters graced the union of M r. and Mrs. 
 Rice: Charles E., Lucy E. and Carrie E. (twins), 
 August G., .Jolin W., Bessie J., Lizzie Belle, James 
 H. and Kufus L. Luc}" E. married Alfred Hupp, 
 who is in the employ' of the Chicago & Eastern 
 [llinois Railroad Company at the depot in Mo- 
 mence. Carrie E. died when about four ^ears of 
 ige. 
 
 Mr. Rice in 1860, turned his attention to agri- 
 cultural pursuits on his farm, consisting of three 
 hundred and sixty acres two miles north of town. 
 He bought and shipped live stock and at one time 
 made the largest stock sale in this part of the 
 State. He continued in that business for about 
 ten years, and in the spring of 1870 sold his farm, 
 for about a year longer, however, buying and sell- 
 ing stock. He has been a resident of Momence 
 since 1868, and has filled various positions of 
 trust, being Assessor for many 3-ears, also Town 
 Clerk, Justice of the Peace and Kotaiy Public, 
 which last two offices he filled foi' sixteen years or 
 more, and, as previously stated, is the [iresent Po- 
 lice Magistrate. 
 
 Wlien Mr. Rice came to Momence there were 
 scarcely two hundred inhabitants, and he has wit- 
 nessed and taken an active part in its develop- 
 ment until it is now well known as one of the 
 beautiful little cities of Illinois. He is one of the 
 liighly respected citizens of the community and 
 has won a host of friends by his upright course in 
 life. He is a menilier of the Odd Fellows' lodge of 
 Momence, of which he was one of the charier 
 
 members. Formerh' he belonged to the Chosen 
 Friends Lodge at Aurora, hid. He casts his bal- 
 lot in favor of the nominees of the Democratic 
 party, hut is independent in local elections, pre- 
 ferring to vote for the man who in his estimation is 
 best fitted for the position. 
 
 ^ DWIN R. KENDALL was one of the early 
 ^ settlers of Kankakee County. His birth oc- 
 L^ curred in Lewis Countj', N. Y., on old "Tug 
 Hill," on the 2d of December, 1836, and he was 
 reared to manhood in St. Lawiencc County. His 
 paternal grandfather died when comparatively a 
 young man, and the maternal grandfather, Is- 
 rael Douglas, a native of Connecticut, was one 
 of the first settlers in Lewis County, N. Y. He 
 was a fanner by occupation and at the time of 
 his death, which occurred on the old farm in 
 that county, where he had settled many years 
 previous, he was eighty years of age. The Doug- 
 las family trace their ancestry back to Sir William 
 Douglas, of Scotland, and the Kendall family is 
 also believed to be of Scotch descent. 
 
 Our subject is a son of John and Prudence 
 (Douglas) Kendall, both of whom were born in 
 New York State. The father followed agricul- 
 tural pursuits throughout life in his native State, 
 and only moved three times during his life. His 
 family consisted of four sons and five daughters, 
 all of whom, with the exception of two, grew to 
 years of maturity. Deliza, Elizabeth and Euphemia 
 are now deceased, while Ralph, Ellen and William 
 are the onlj' survivors of the family. 
 
 Edwin R. Kendall, whose name heads this sketch, 
 was reared on his father's farm near Somerville, 
 N. Y., and remained at home until seventeen 
 years of age, vvhen he started out in life for him- 
 self. He had received ordinary school advantages 
 and determined' to adopt a trade. He worked for 
 some time at harness-making, but never carried 
 out his determination of learning a trade. In 
 Waterlown, N. Y., he engaged in the manufacture 
 of mineral water, which business he also followed
 
 390 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Ohio. The year 1855 witnessed his arrival in 
 Illinois, but after staying a year in Momence, he 
 returned to the Empire State and attended High 
 School and Lowville Academy. In the fall of 
 1857, he again came to Momence and taught 
 school in the parish district of Ganier Township 
 during that winter. 
 
 On the 22d of February, 1858, Mr. Kendall mar- 
 ried Miss Martlia Chatfield. Her father, William 
 A. Chatfield, M'as a native of Connecticut, and 
 her mother was in her maidenhood Betsy Crane, 
 who was a native of the Empire State. Mrs. Chat- 
 field died when her daughter was very J'oung and 
 Mr. Chatfield again married, his second union be- 
 ing with Miss Mary B. Kirkwood, of Montezuma, 
 Ind., who died in March, 184G. That same year 
 Mr. Chatfield wedded Mrs. Sarah Taylor, a sister 
 of William Hadsell, one of the early settlers of 
 Joliet, 111. Mr. Chatfield came to Chicago in Sep- 
 tember, 1834, afterward lived in Joliet and w.as 
 one of the contractors who built the canal through 
 that place. He was also interested in milling and 
 was part owner of a mill in Wilmington, to which 
 place he removed from .Joliet after his second mar- 
 riage. In April, 1844, he became a resident of 
 Momence and was one of the very earliest settlers 
 here, there being on liis arrival only four log 
 houses and a sawmill in the town. He built the 
 first flouring-mill in Momence and also the first 
 bridges over the Kanliakee River at this point. 
 Hisdeath occurred on the 18th of March, 1872, and 
 his wife survived him until January of the follow- 
 ing year. Mr. Chatfield was a prominent and re- 
 spected citizen and w.as a member of the Illinois 
 General Assembly in the winter of 1856-57. 
 Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kendall, 
 five sons and three daughters, but four of whom 
 lived to maturity. They are AVilliam Chatfield, 
 Arthur Edwin, Nellie Grant and James Blaine. 
 
 Our subject after his marriage worked in the 
 sawmill for Mr. Chatfield and afterward went into 
 partnership with James Mix in the fencing of land 
 and various agricultural interests. He left his 
 farm in 1866, and, coming into town, worked 
 again in the sawmill until the winter of 1870-71, 
 at which time he was made Collector and Consta- 
 ble, and was afterwarcj appointed Deputy Sheriff. 
 
 While serving in the latter capacity, Mr. Kendall 
 conceived the idea of studying law, which he car- 
 ried out, practicing that profession in Momence 
 until his death, which occurred November 18. 
 1884, in El P.aso, Tex., whither he had gone in 
 tlie hope of recovering his health. In 1856 he 
 taught a severe cold, which gradually developed 
 into consumption and eventually caused his deatli. 
 lie lies buried in Momence Cemetery. He was a 
 successful lawyer, having a natural command of 
 language and a good legal mind. At one time he 
 served liis fellow-citizens as Assessor and Supervisor 
 of his township. He was a member of tlie order of 
 Odd Fellows and was once sent as representative 
 of the IMomence Lodge to the Grand Lodge at 
 Springfield. His father was an adlierent of the 
 Democratic party, but Mr. Kendall was ever a loyal 
 Republican, casting his first Presidential ballot for 
 Lincoln. He was a man possessing great energy 
 (if purpose, was a public-spirited citizen, and was 
 always benevolent and a friend to tlie needy and 
 distressed. 
 
 'ifl AMES INKSTER, who carries on general 
 farming on section 4, Pilot Township, is 
 numbered among its early settlers and in 
 ' consequence well deserves repiesentation in 
 the history of this county. Our subject is of 
 Scottish birth. He was born on the Shetland Is- 
 lands in 1827, and is a son of Capt. Robert Ink- 
 ster, a native of Scotland, who w.as captain of a 
 fishing craft. His father followed that business 
 throughout his entire life, and always made his 
 home in the land of his birth. The mother of 
 our subject bore the maiden name of Elizabeth 
 Slater. Their famil}' numbered three children. 
 The elder son, Capt. Lawrence Inkster, was a sea- 
 faring man, captain of a merchant-vessel. He now 
 resides in England, where he is living a retired 
 life. The sister, Barbara, is now deceased. 
 
 James Inkster grew to manhood on the Slietland 
 Islands, and while a youth spent much of his time 
 with his father on a fishing-vessel. He receivedi 

 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 391 
 
 good school advantages for those early da3's,buthis 
 knowledge has been much enlarged through his 
 own efforts since attaining to man's estate. About 
 I80I he left his old home and went to Australia, 
 where he spent three and a-half j-ears working in 
 tiie timber regions. In 18.55 he returned to Scot- 
 land, after which he gave his attention to agricul- 
 tural pursuits, carrying on farming for a period 
 of eleven years. Rut this did not prove ver3- sat- 
 isfactory, and lie determined to seek a home in the 
 New World. It was in 1870 that he crossed the 
 broad Atlantic. Boarding a ship at Glasgow, 
 Scotland, he sailed for Quebec, reacliing that har- 
 bor about the 1st of July, after which he went 
 :1irectlv to Chicago, III. After a week spent in 
 that cit3' he came to Kankakee County and pur- 
 chased land, the farm on which he now resides, 
 [t was a raw tract, unbroken and unfeiiced, but he 
 it once began its development and has made it a 
 valuable place. The first few j-ears he experienced 
 aiaiiy hardships, but as time passed his financial 
 condition improved and the richlj- cultivated 
 lehls yielded to him a golden tribute. He is now 
 regarded as one of the prosperous and successful 
 iarmers of the community, which condition of af- 
 'airs has been brought about by his own efforts. 
 
 Ere leaving his native land. Mr. Inkster was 
 Harried on the .Shetland Islands to Miss Barbara 
 Bottenger, a native of that place. Unto them 
 (vere born the following children: James, who 
 !s a farmer of Pilot Township; Elizabeth, wife 
 3f Charles Atkins, wlio carries on farming in 
 the same township; Eupheraia, wife of Charles 
 Ilaight, who is engaged in business in Valley 
 ijprings, S. Dak.; John, who aids his father in the 
 ?ultivatiou of the home farm; and Plielis, who 
 completes the family. Tliey have also lost two 
 ::hildren: Robert, wlio died in Washington, in 1887, 
 \\. tlie age of twenty-seven j-ears; and Ellen, who 
 Icparted this life in .September, 1892, at the age 
 af nineteen. 
 
 The Inkster family attend the Presbyterian 
 Church, although they are not members. Their 
 household is the abode of hospitality, and its doors 
 :ire ever open for the reception of their ma.ny 
 friends. The father and sons are supporters of 
 the Kepublican party. Mr. Inkster is a self-made 
 
 man, who began life empty-handed, and with no 
 capital save a young man's bright hope of the fu- 
 ture has steadily worked his wa^- up to success. He 
 is fair and honest in all his business dealings, and 
 the uprightness of his public and private life h.as 
 won him universal esteem and confidence. 
 
 JAUL YONKE is a farmer and stock-raiser 
 ) residing on section 19, Otto Township. 
 He is a native of Poland, Austria, and was 
 I \ born in Janamel, on the .5th of February, 
 1826. He received good school advantages in his 
 native country and grew to manhood in Austria. 
 He was an apt student and can now speak four 
 languages. He early decided to try liis fortune in 
 the New World, and carried his resolutions into 
 effect in 185i. Going to Bremen, he took p.assage 
 on a sailing-vessel, the "Bramanoff," which was 
 bound for New York. They were seven weeks 
 upon the Atlantic and met with some quite severe 
 weather. In November, 1854, the ship cast anchor 
 in New Y'ork Harbor, and from there our subject 
 went directly to Chicago. As he had an uncle 
 living in Bourbonnais Grove, Kankakee County, 
 he joined him and remained here for about six 
 months, while learning the English langu.age. He 
 then engaged in peddling wares through Illinois, 
 .Michigan and Wisconsin, and after a year was en- 
 abled to purchase a horse and w.agon. He soon 
 carried a good slock of merchandi.se, which he 
 peddled for a period of about eleven years. He 
 was frugal and industrious, and from the first 
 showed good business ability and enterprise. Witli 
 his carerull3^ saved earnings he then bought a 
 small tract of land in this township, which he lo- 
 cated upon and proceeded to improve and de- 
 velop. As his financial resources increased he 
 added adjoining land to his original purchase, and 
 new has three hundred and fifty-live .acres of ara- 
 ble land located three miles from Kankakee. Mr. 
 Yonke is truly a self-made man, having com- 
 menced life in the New World without a dollar; he
 
 392 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 has now become one of the most thrifty and well- 
 to-do farmers of the community. This success he 
 has achieved through his own unassisted efforts 
 and business ability'. 
 
 In Woodford County, Mr. Yonke married Mary 
 Shook, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of 
 George Shook, one of the pioneers of Woodford 
 County. The marriage ceremony was performed 
 in Peoria December 27, 1859, and by this union 
 have been born eight children: John, a farmer of 
 Iroquois County; Lizzie, wife of Henry Schafer,of 
 this county; Anna, William, Joseph, Frank, Mary 
 and Antony, who are still at home and attend 
 school in the neighborhood. 
 
 In his ])olitical affiliations, Mr. Yonke is a sup- 
 porter of the Democratic party, but cast his first 
 ballot for Abraham Lincoln. He has been a resi- 
 dent of this State for nearly forty years, and has 
 witnessed vast changes in this count3% with whose 
 growth and development he has long been identi- 
 fied. He is a worthy citizen of his adopted coun- 
 try, and well deserves a place in the history of the 
 honored pioneers and worthy citizens of Kankakee 
 Count}'. 
 
 
 EAXEL WIKSTROM, is a capitalist residing 
 in Monience. His birth occurred in northern 
 Sweden on the 27th of October, 1842. He 
 is a son of Nils andErailie (Hallstrom) Wikstrom, 
 both natives of the same country. The father was 
 an extensive lumberman in Sundsvall, and was 
 the owner of two of the largest lumber and saw 
 mills in Sweden, whicli business he followed for a 
 number of years. There were eleven children in 
 the family, six of whom are now living, two sons 
 and four daughters: Emilie, Axel, Swea, Hildur, 
 Gregor and Sallie, all but our subject now res- 
 idents of Sweden. On the 29th of November, 
 1883, occurred the death of the father at his old 
 home in Stockholm. His wife had been called 
 away many }'ears previouslj-. on the 27th of Aug- 
 ust, 1874. Mr. Wikstrom was not a politician in 
 any sense, but was a liberal and public-spirited 
 
 man, who was recognized as a friend of the poor. 
 He was of a kind disposition, a man of rare gifts 
 of mind and heart, and his charitable deeds were 
 numerous. 
 
 Until twenty-three years of age our subject re- 
 mained in his native land and then decided to 
 try his fortune in the New World. In December, 
 1865, he landed on these hospitable shores and at 
 once proceeded to Kankakee, 111., where he re- 
 sided for a year and a-half. He then went to 
 work upon a farm for P. Burchard, b}' whom he 
 was employed for six months, more for the object 
 of learning American methods of farming than 
 for any other purpose. 
 
 On the 2oth of March, 1869, Mr. Wikstrom 
 wedded Miss Deal A. Stratton, daughter of Will- 
 iam J. and Margaret E. (Patrick) Stratton, of 
 Momence, the former a native of Virginia and of 
 English origin, the latter being of Irish decent 
 and a native of Kentucky. Mr. Stratton emi- 
 grated to Illinois when a boy of sixteen 3^ears and 
 located in Edgar County, near Paris, where he 
 lived until 1842 engaged in agricultural pursuits; 
 later he removed to Cook County, and after liv- 
 ing there for one year became a resident of this 
 county, then known as Will County. His death 
 occurred on the 4th of December, 1880. His wife 
 still survives him and is now in her sevent3'-fifth 
 year. 
 
 In 1869, Mr. Wikstrom became the owner of a 
 farm of two hundred acres in Sumner Township, 
 five miles from Momence, to which property' he 
 has since added eighty acres. It is what he calls 
 the home farm and is one of the finest and best 
 improved in the county. He also owns a two 
 hundred acre farm in Momence Township, six 
 miles northeast of the city of that name. Mr. 
 Wikstrom lives in Momence but exercises a wise 
 supervision and management of his farms. He is 
 at present erecting a beautiful brick residence, 
 which will be the finest in the place, with all the 
 modern improvements. Mr. Wikstrom is a Re- 
 publican in politics, which ticket he has always 
 supported since his naturalization in 1870. He is 
 a faithful citizen of his adopted country and is 
 one of the most enterprising arud public-spirited 
 men of this cit}'. He is what may be termed a 
 
 i
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 393 
 
 fancy fanner and uses the most improved methods 
 and appliances in the cultivation of his land. He 
 has an income annually from his lumber and saw 
 mill interests in Sweden. lie is generous and 
 genial and has a host of friends in this communit}-. 
 Socially, he is a Knight Templar, belonging to Mo- 
 mence Lodge No. 181, A. F. & A. M.; Kankakee 
 Chapter No. 78, R. A. M., andlvanhoe Coramand- 
 er\' No. 33, K. T. of Kankakee. 
 
 ^^>-^r~<^^- 
 
 f RTHUR J. CHANGNON, a general mer- 
 chant of St. Anne, was born in Belaniil, 
 near Montreal, Canada, September 17, 
 1850. His parents are likewise natives of 
 Canada, and are of French descent. They are 
 Andre and Sophie (Barcelou) Changnon. The 
 former was for many years a farmer in Canada, 
 and came to the United States in 1855. He lo- 
 cated at St. Anne, and has since coming here fol- 
 lowed the trade of a carpenter and builder. Though 
 now sixty-five years of age, he is active and still 
 pursues his trade for a livelihood. He was one 
 of the very earliest settlers here, and has noted 
 the progress and development of this vicinity al- 
 most from its start. His wife is also living, and 
 is now sixt3r.one years of age. Her father, Tou- 
 saint Barcelou, came to St. Anne in 1856 and lo- 
 cated upon a farm half a mile east of the village. 
 He lived to be seventy-six. Our subject is the 
 eldest of a family of thirteen children, eight sons 
 and five daughters, ten of whom are still living: 
 Arzelie, now Mrs. E. L. Gros; Mary, wife of Rev. 
 P. Boudreau; Edraour; Georgiana, the wife of 
 Nelson Pelletier; Adelor, Alcide, Harry, George; 
 and Zelea, wife of N. Pouton. 
 
 Until he had reached the age of twenty-three 
 years Arthur Changnon remained with his par- 
 ents, assisting his father in the care of his farm 
 and in his carpenter work. He received a good 
 common-school education in the district and pub- 
 lic schools of St. Anne and afterward attended 
 college at Monmouth, 111. Returning home, he 
 entered the employ of P. G. Gilbert, in Kanka- 
 
 kee, who there carried on a grocery and bakery. 
 After remaining with him for a year, Mr. Cliang- 
 non returned to St. Anne, where he entered the 
 employ of N. B.astien as cleik in his drug and gro- 
 cery store. 
 
 At the expiration of two years he entered into 
 partnership with George Soucie in a grocery in 
 St. Mary's, Iroquois Countj'. After a few months 
 they removed their stock to St. Anne, and have 
 added dry goods and gents' furnishing goods. They 
 also operate a store at Rensselaer, Ind., where they 
 carry dry goods, clothing, hats, caps, boots and 
 shoes. They are doing a large and prosperous busi- 
 ness, and are on the road to success. 
 
 On New Year's Da}' of 1873 Mr. Changnon was 
 united in marriage with Miss Eliza Pelletier, whose 
 parents are Abraham and Ellen (Martin) Pelletier. 
 Four children graced the union of our sub- 
 ject and his wife, a son and three daughters: Ayl- 
 mer, Delia, Laura, and Helen (now deceased). Mr. 
 and IMrs. Changnon and son are members of the 
 Presbyterian Church, in which the 'former is an 
 Elder and also Church Treasurer. 
 
 The cause of education is warmly championed 
 by Mr. Changnon, and he is now serving as ftne 
 of the School Directors of St. Anne. For many 
 3'ears he was a member of the Village Board, and 
 has also been Town Clerk. He casts his ballot in 
 favor of the nominees and principles of the Re- 
 publican party, and is one of the public-spirited 
 citizens of this community. He is a member of 
 the Independent Order of Good Templars. In 
 manner he is courteous and affable, and by his 
 honorable dealings makes friends of all his cus- 
 tomers. 
 
 r 
 
 A^=^= 
 
 l^^AUL HATHAWAY SEAGER is numbered 
 
 ' among the pioneers of Kankdkee County, of 
 
 which he has been a resident since its organi- 
 zation, and in the territor}- now included 
 
 in the county for a period of about half a century. 
 
 The maternal grandmother of our subject, Mrs.
 
 394 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hathaway, who bore the maiden name of Esther 
 Toby, was a native of New Jersey, and removed 
 to Massachusetts when a child. At the time when 
 the British captured New Bedford she was about 
 fourteen years of age and lived in tlie place. At 
 the time she was in charge of a ^'oung child, which 
 she took in her arras and with it escaped. 
 
 The father of our subject, Jephtha Seager, was a 
 native of Connecticut, and came to New York 
 when a child with his father, Russell Seager, who 
 settled in Ulster County, where he was among the 
 early pioneers. There Jephtha grew to manhood, 
 • and married Aciisah Hathaway, of Massachusetts, 
 whose father, Arthur Hathawajr, went to Greene 
 County when she was a child, and afterwards re- 
 moved to Ulster County. He served in the Revo- 
 lutionary War and was one of the gallant defenders 
 of our countrj-. Previous to his marriage Mr. 
 Seager was a soldier in the War of 1812. He lo- 
 cated on a farm in Ulster Count}'. N. Y., and en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits for a few years, af- 
 ter which he removed with his family to a farm 
 located in Delaware County. There, in addition 
 to his farming interests, he engaged in the manu- 
 facture and shipping of lumber, rafting it down 
 the Delaware River. Tiie remainder of his life 
 was spent upon his farm, and there his death oc- 
 curred in 1836, when he was in the prime of man- 
 hood, being but fort3'-three years of age. His 
 wife survived him man}' j'ears, departing this life 
 in 1863, having attained to sixty-seven j^ears of 
 age. After her husband's death, she removed to 
 Illinois with her family, in 1842, and settled in 
 what is now Yellowhead Township, Kankakee 
 County. The remaining years of her life were 
 spent in Illinois, and after her death her remains 
 were buried in Union Corners Cemetery, where a 
 marble monument h.as been erected to her memory. 
 The famil}' of Mr. and Mrs. Seager consisted of 
 seven children, the eldest being Russell, who grew 
 to manhood in New York and came to Illinois in 
 1838, becoming a resident of Yellowhead Town- 
 ship, this county, where he opened up a farm, which 
 he engaged in cultivating and improving until his 
 death in 1881. Esther became the wife of Chauu- 
 cey Chipman, of this county, and located in Mo- 
 mencc Township; the}' are both now deceased. 
 
 Mamre Ann married J. Perry Stratton, a farmer 
 of Yellowhead Township; Mrs. Stratton is now 
 deceased. Nelson settled first in the same township 
 but Is now located upon his farm near Manteno. 
 Our subject is the next in order of birth. Sophrona 
 died after arriving at womanhood. Orlando H., 
 the youngest of the family, died when nineteen 
 years of age. 
 
 Paul Seager came to Illinois with his mother in 
 1842, when but twelve years of age. He grew to 
 manhood in this county and had but limited school 
 advantages. During the winter he attended the 
 district schools, and In the summer months assisted 
 in the care of the farm. For about a year he at- 
 tended Plainfleld Academy, and after that for a 
 few years taught school during the winter season. 
 The remainder of the year he spent in agricultural 
 pursuits. He lived with his mother until arriving 
 at mature years and did not leave home until af- 
 ter her death. 
 
 In Manteno, on the 7th of February, 1866, Mr. 
 Seager married Miss Helen M. Peters, who, though 
 born in Vermont, was reared and educated in the 
 neighboring State of New Hampshire. She is a 
 lady of good education, and was a teacher pre- 
 vious to her marriage. As our subject and his 
 wife were without children of their own, they 
 adopted and have reared a child whom tliey call 
 Carrie Alice Seager. They are both members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mrs. Seager 
 is a member and active worker in the Woman's 
 Christian Temperance Union. 
 
 After his marriage, our subject settled upon a 
 farm in Manteno Township, where he jiurchased a 
 partially improved place, and where he continued 
 to reside until 1881. lie then sold that property 
 and removed to his present farm in Otto Town- 
 ship, on the Iroquois River. lie was an old-line 
 Whig, and upon the organization of the Republi- 
 can party became identified with its interests. He 
 has ever been in favor of temperance, and for the 
 last ten years has voted for the nominees of the 
 Prohibition party. Though never aspiring to of- 
 fice, he has been induced by his fellow-citizens to 
 All several local positions. During his residence 
 of just fifty years in this county, he has seen the 
 wilderness bloom and blossom as the rose. lie has
 
 I 
 
 LIBRARY 
 !F THE 
 '■I'MVEuoiH OF ILLINOIS
 
 /^.
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 397 
 
 assisted in its development, and has ever been in 
 the front ranks of tliose who have been actively 
 engaged in the advancement of tiie county's best 
 interests. lie has a wide circle of friends and ac- 
 quaintances throughout this section, and has won 
 the confidence and esteem of all through his char- 
 acteristics of manliness and by his upright charac- 
 ter. 
 
 ^^HEOPIIILE DORION is without doubt the 
 
 />5^ oldest merchant of Kankakee County in 
 point of continuous and uninterrupted busi- 
 ness. He began the mercantile business at St. 
 Anne, in this county, in the fall of 18.55, and there 
 continued until the autumn of 1869, when he re- 
 moved to Kankakee and has since carried on busi- 
 ness here without interruption, making in all 
 thirty-seven years up to this writing. 
 
 Mr. Dorion was born in St. Eustache, near Mon- 
 treal, in the Province of Quebec, on the 15th of 
 April, 1830. and is a son of Nestor and Rebecca 
 (Morin) Dorion. His parents were also natives of 
 Canada, and were of French origin. The subject 
 of this sketch was reared and educated in his na- 
 tive province, and at an earl}- age began his mer- 
 cantile training as a clerk in a wholesale house, 
 where he acquired the thorough knowledge of mer- 
 cantile pursuits which has marked with success his 
 business career. 
 
 On the 1st of July, 1852, Mr. Dorion was united 
 in marriage in Montreal to Miss Flavie L. A. De 
 Couagne, a daughter of Francois and Heloise (Des- 
 charap) Dc Couagne. Mrs. Dorion was born in 
 Berthier, Canada, November 25, 1830. In .June, 
 1855, i\Ir. Dorion came to Illinois witii his family, 
 and located at Kankakee in the fall of that year. 
 He began mercliandising at St. Anne, a French- 
 Canadian settlement in Kankakee County, and re- 
 mained in successful business at that place until 
 the fall of 1859, when he removed to Kankakee, 
 where he has since carried on business uninter- 
 ruptedly, and with marked success. In 1860, Mr. 
 Dorion built the line brick block which he still 
 owns and occupies, and which is twenty-eight feet 
 
 front by one hundred feet deep. The building, 
 which is located at No. 186 Court Street, is of 
 stone and brick, and is three stories with base- 
 ment. It is known as the Department Store, and 
 in it is carried a large stock of dry goods, carpets, 
 upholstery and millinery. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dorion have four children, three 
 sons and a daughter: Charles T. is with his father 
 in business; Edward A. married Miss Annie Al- 
 vord, and is in business in Chicago; August G. T. 
 married Miss Alice Fenouille, and is employed in 
 his father's store; and Marie Louise K. is the wife 
 of Edward W. Chiniqu}^ a journalist of Chicago. 
 In their religious sentiments, Mr. Dorion and his 
 family are Catholics. 
 
 In his political relations, our subject is a mem- 
 ber of the Democratic party, and takes an active 
 part in its support. He is not only the oldest 
 merchant of Kankakee County, but one of the 
 most successful, having built up an extensive busi- 
 ness and acquired a valuable property. His inter- 
 course with his fellow-citizens has always been dis- 
 tinguished by urbanity and strict integrity', and he 
 enjoys, as he well deserves, their respect and high 
 esteem. 
 
 
 lEV. CHRISTOPHER LA FONTAINE, a 
 general merchant of St. Anne, was born near 
 Quebec, Canada, on the 29th of December, 
 1830, and is a son of Charles and Eulalic 
 (Brochu) La Fontaine. The paternal grandfather 
 of our subject, Charles La Fontaine, was a farmer 
 of Canada, and of French origin, his father having 
 emigrated from France to Canada. He reared a 
 large family' and attained the age of eighty-six 
 years. The grandfather of our subject on his 
 mother's side was Andre Brochu, a Canadian farmer, 
 and also of French origin. 
 
 Charles La Fontaine was for many j'cars a teacher 
 under the Government of Canada, and was also a 
 merchant in a village near (Juebec, in which latter 
 city his death occurred in 1861, he then being about 
 sixty-five years of age. His wife had died several
 
 398 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years previously. Their family consisted of twelve 
 children, but six of whom are now living: Christo- 
 plier, Jean, Israel, Sarah, Josephine and Melvina. 
 Sarah is a nun in the Convent of the Sisters of 
 Charity in Quebec, and Josephine is also unmar- 
 ried. The others are all married and have homes 
 of their own. 
 
 Rev. Mr. La Fontaine, whose name heads this 
 sketch, was reared in tlie country, in the parish of 
 St. Gcrvais. For about twelve years he attended 
 the seminary in (Juebec witli the view of preparing 
 himself for the priesthood in the Catholic Church. 
 In 1855 he was ordained and remained a priest 
 there for about nine 3'ears. In 1864, removing to 
 New Hampshire, he took a charge in connection 
 witli Rev. Mr. Noiseux, where he remained for 
 about a year. Coming to St. Anne in 1865, he was 
 fully turned from his former faith by Rev. Charles 
 Chiniqu}', a former Catholic priest. After a course 
 of study under the tutelage of that famous min- 
 ister, Mr. La Fontaine was ordained a minister of 
 the French-Presbyterian Cliurch, and he frequently 
 officiated for Rev. Mr. Chiniquy during his absence 
 on his frequent lecturing tourg. The main life 
 work, however, of our subject was that of a teacher. 
 From November, 1865, until 1888,coveringa period 
 of twent3'-three years, he was the principal of the 
 Presbyterian school at St. Anne. During this time 
 he assisted a number of young men in their prep- 
 aration to enter Knox College, of Canada, and also 
 the Presbyterian College of Montreal, where they 
 finished their course of preparation for the ministry. 
 
 In July, 1866, Mr. La Fontaine was united in 
 marriage with Marcelline Mason, a daughter of 
 Felix and Des Anges (Gabrieau) Mason, who were 
 natives of Canada. Four children have been born 
 of this union. Pauline is the wife of Lawrence 
 Blanchett, an artist of Chicago. They have two 
 children, Irene and Alma. Alvine and Irene are 
 now deceased. Josephine completes the family. 
 
 In 1888, Mr. La Fontaine stopped teaching be- 
 cause the school at St. Anne was then discontinued 
 on account of its possible influence against the pub- 
 lic schools. Rev. Mr. Chiniquy had also resigned 
 the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church to give 
 his attention to lecturing. The two Presbyterian 
 congregations united, having been formerly di- 
 
 vided on account of one being under the control 
 of the United States, and the other under Canadian 
 direction. They are now comprised in the Chicago 
 Presbytery. After leaving the college Mr. La 
 Fontaine entered the mercantile business and is 
 doing well in that line, as St. Anne is one of the 
 best business towns for its size on the Chicago <fe 
 Eastern Illinois Railroad, having a wide scope of 
 country from which to draw trade in various di- 
 rections. His store is a general one, consisting of 
 dry goods, groceries, etc. He has been a resident 
 of this village for twenty-seven years and has wit- 
 nessed almost its entire growth, having taken an 
 active share in all public measures and has served 
 his fellow-citizens in various capacities. He has 
 been School Director for nine years and is at pres- 
 ent Village Clerk, in wliich position he has been 
 for a number of jears. Politically, he is a firm 
 Republican and is interested in the welfare of that 
 party. 
 
 \V - ARRISON MORRICAL, residing on section 
 31, Otto Township, is a well-known and 
 enterprising agriculturist. He was born in 
 Darke County, Ohio, on the 26th of Nov- 
 ember, 1835, and is a son of Col. Clark Morrical, 
 a native of the Green Mountain State. The 
 paternal grandfather of our subject, John Morri- 
 cal, moved from Virginia to Ohio, becoming 
 one of the pioneers of Darke County. When 
 he settled in that portion of the State, the county 
 was a wilderness and heavily' timbered. On ar- 
 riving at maturity, Clark Morrical wedded Sarah 
 Pense, who was born in Preble County, Ohio. In 
 that State for many years he was a farmer, after 
 which, moving to Indiana, he operated farms in 
 Henry and Fulton Counties. Aoout 1852 he set- 
 tled in Kankakee County, 111., and was one of the 
 earlier pioneers of what is now Otto Township. 
 He opened up a farm and spent a number of years 
 in this locality. In 1856 he went to Indiana to 
 settle up some business affairs and there died. His 
 remains lie buried in Tippecanoe. While in Ohio 
 he became a member of the militia and was pro-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 399 
 
 nioterl to the rank of Colonel. After surviving 
 her Ini.sb.and for manj' years, tlie wife and mother 
 died at the residence of her son and was buried in 
 Evergreen Ceraeter}', at Chebanse. 
 
 Our subject is second in order of birth in the 
 family of four sons and three daughters. The old- 
 est of the famil_y, Adam, was an earl}- settler of 
 tills county and liore died; Plioebe is the widow of 
 Alexander Miller, of Otto Township; Elias carries 
 on a farm in Indiana; Eliza Ann died when twelve 
 years of age; Lewis is a farmer of this county; 
 Amanda, aud Sarah, now deceased, buried in Ever- 
 green Cemetery at Chebanse. 
 
 The earl}' da3'S of our subject were passed in 
 Ohio, and when a 3'oungman he came to Kankakee 
 Count}'. He assisted his father in opening up a 
 farm, and after the death of the latter took charge 
 of the homestead aud business. For some years 
 he remained on the farm and then rented a place 
 nearby, which he afterwards bought and which was 
 located on section 6. This property was raw 
 prairie, with no improvements upon it. With un- 
 tiring energy he proceeded to cultivate it, and built 
 fences aud necessary farm buildings. He also 
 planted a large grove, which is one of the largest 
 in tlie township. In 1891, Mr. Morrical sold the 
 farm, which has upon it a fine orchard, grown under 
 his persevering care, and invested the proceeds in 
 one hundred and eighty acres, the farm on which he 
 now resides. This tract is arable land and is well 
 cultivated. He has a good residence, barns and out- 
 buildings, and is considered one of the most en- 
 terprising and well-to-do farmers of Otto Town- 
 ship. 
 
 In AVells County, Ind., on the 25th of April, 
 1875, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Morri- 
 cal and Miss Eliza Ann Iloudyshell. The lady 
 was born in Ohio, reared to womanhood in In- 
 diana and is a daughter of David Iloudyshell, one 
 of the pioneers and early settlers of Wells County, 
 Ind. Five children have graced tlie union of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Morrical, as follows: Oscar, Elmore, Will- 
 iam, Tolfy and Lesley. With the exception of 
 the youngest, the children are all attending school. 
 
 Since becoming a voter, Mr. Morrical has been 
 identified with the Democratic party. His fellow- 
 citizens have honored him a number of times by 
 
 electing him to fill various positions of responsi- 
 bility. He has given of his means and influence 
 to the support of tlie public schools and in com- 
 pany with Mr. Kendall got up a petition for the 
 division of the old school district. Thus was 
 establisiied the school district in which he now re- 
 sides and of it he was elected the first Director and 
 also the first Clerk. He has also served as a mem- 
 ber of the School Board for several terms. Both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Morrical are influential members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church and it was through 
 the influence of our subject that the church and 
 Sunday-school were established here. He is well 
 known in this and adjoining counties as a man of 
 integrity and upright character and by his fellow- 
 citizens he is held in the highest regard. 
 
 The members of the family are Adam, Harrison, 
 Phd'be, Eliza Ann, Elias; Aaron, who died when 
 one year old; Lewis; Amanda, who is married to 
 Thompson Adams, and lives in Iroquois County; 
 and Sarah, deceased. 
 
 OSES CHARTIER, a dealer in real estate 
 and an insurance agent of St. Anne, 111., 
 is a native of Chambly, Lower Canada, 
 his birth having occurred on tlie 15th 
 of April, 1840. He is one of fourteen children, 
 eight sons and six daughters, born to Francis 
 and Josephine (Boiseau) Chartier, both natives of 
 Canada, where their fathers were both farmers. Our 
 subject's father was a British soldier in the War of 
 1812. He was a carpenter by trade, and followed 
 that business throughout his life. In 1847, he 
 came to the United States, settling in Keeseville, 
 Essex County, N. Y., which was his home for 
 eight years. In 1855 he came to Illinois and lo- 
 cated in Bourbonnais Township, living witii his 
 sons, Moses and Israel, later removing to St. Anne 
 in 1859. While on a visit to Kankakee to his 
 daughter, in 1869, he was taken sick and died, be- 
 ing then seventy-nine years of age. His wife de- 
 parted this life one year later, aged seventy-one
 
 400 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years. They were both of French descent. Of 
 their large family, twelve of whom grew to ma- 
 ture years, but two are now living. Ray resides in 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. Four sons were in the army dur- 
 ing the late war. Louis was a member of Com- 
 pany D, Seventy-sixth Illinois Infantry, and was 
 in the service for three years. He took part in the 
 siege of Vicksburg, the battle of Mobile and a 
 number of other engagements. His death occurred 
 in 1880. Leander and Israel were in the Twelfth 
 Illinois Cavalry, and served for three years. The 
 former died in 1882, and the latter in 1866, soon 
 after leaving the army. Ray enlisted three times, 
 and was also about three years in the service. 
 
 Moses Chartier worked in a nail factory in 
 Keeseville, N. Y., when a young man, and removed 
 with his parents to Illinois in 1855. He engaged 
 in farming until the year 1866, when he entered 
 the mercantile business. His education was re- 
 ceived in the common schools of the State of New 
 York. In 1886 he retired from active mercantile 
 life, and rented his building. In 1888 lie erected 
 his brick block upon the same site where the former 
 one was destroyed by fire in February of that j'ear. 
 He at once rebuilt, and has a large and substantial 
 building, in which are located a number of offices 
 and stores. He does a real-estate and insurance 
 business by way of pastime, and has large rents for 
 income. He also owns a good residence, and is 
 accounted one of the substantial and respected citi- 
 zens of St. Anne. 
 
 Mr. Chartier has been twice married, his first 
 wife being Miss Delima Boudreau in her girlhood. 
 She was a daughter of Julian and Pha?be (Cyr) 
 Boudreau, both natives of Canada. Their union 
 was celebrated March 20, 1862, and to them were 
 born three sons and a daughter: Samuel, who mar- 
 ried Miss Ida Reeve, now deceased; Abbie, who 
 died when seven years of age; Camille and Al- 
 fred. Mrs. Chartier departed this life February 
 26, 1885. Our subject on the 16th of January, 
 1886, wedded Mrs. Leonie Durand, widow of David 
 Durand, and a daughter of Desire and Orelie 
 DroUette, of Canada. The lady was born in St. 
 Anne, 111., and has by her former marriage a 
 daughter, Leda. 
 
 Mr. Chartier is at present School Treasurer of 
 
 the township, and for a period of four years was 
 Supervisor of the town. He has held various 
 offices, and from 1876 to 1885 was Postmaster. 
 He was the prime mover in having the village in- 
 corporated in 1872, and was the first President of 
 the Village Board, which position he has filled a 
 number of times. For nineteen consecutive years 
 he was a member of the Village Board. He and 
 his wife hold membership with the Presbyterian 
 Church. Socially, heis a member of the Modern 
 Woodmen of America, and is a Republican in poli- 
 tics. 
 
 H> 
 
 m\\ 
 
 ^^^ID. R. DURFEE, Clerk of the Court and 
 ^-^ ex-officio Recorder of Kankakee Count3', 
 111., was born in Limestone Township on 
 ^ the 27th of July, 1858. His birth oc- 
 curred on the old Nichols homestead, the girlhood 
 home of his mother in the pioneer daj's of Eastern 
 Illinois, where her father had made his home in 
 1812, now just iialf a century ago. Our subject is 
 the second child and eldest son of Otis and Har- 
 riet (Nichols) Durfee, whose sketch appears on an- 
 other page of this work. 
 
 The childhood days of our subject were spent 
 upon a farm and on the 1st of November, 1865, 
 he removed with his parents to Kankakee, where 
 he received good educational advantages in the 
 public schools of that city. Upon completing iiis 
 studies he assisted his father, who was an in- 
 valid, in the duties of his otlice. His physi- 
 cal disability, which made it difficult for him to 
 get around, especiall3' on outside matters, made 
 his son's assistance valuable and necessary to him. 
 He did a general collection business and was also 
 Justice of the Peace and Assessor. Our subject 
 continued with his father from December, 1874, 
 until February, 1882, at which time he was re- 
 lieved by a younger brother, who took his position 
 as aid to the father. Mr. Durfee then accepted 
 the office of Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court 
 and ex-officio Recorder under J. Frank Leonard, 
 which position he held for nearly eleven j'ears, or 
 until elected as the successor of Mr. Leonard in
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 401 
 
 the fall of 1892, entering upon the discharge of 
 his official duties on December 5, of that 3'ear. 
 Mr. Durfee from his long experience us Deputy in 
 the oHice and the ability and fidelity displayed by 
 him in the discharge of his duties, gives fair prom- 
 ise of proving an eflicient and acceptable of- 
 ficer. He possesses good clerical abilit}-, a thor- 
 ough knowledge of the routine duties pertaining 
 to tlie position, and an extensive acquaintance in 
 the county. These, in connection with an inti- 
 mate knowledge of papers and records, cannot fail 
 to be of great advantage to him in the successful 
 performance of his duties. He is an earnest Re- 
 l)ublican in politics and enjoys a well-deserved 
 popularity throughout the county-. 
 
 -^^ 
 
 fOLNEY DICKEY, Postmaster at Grant Park, 
 and dealer in school books and stationery, 
 is one of the leading auctioneers of tlie 
 county and has resided longer in Yellowhead 
 Township than any other living man or woman. 
 He well knows what pioneer life is, and remembers 
 when the Indian children were his only playmates. 
 JMr. Dickey is a native of Indiana, born in Foun- 
 tain County, October 19, 1833. He was the eldest 
 child in a family of three children, two sons and one 
 daughter, whose parents were James and Hannah 
 (Sales) Dicke}'. The father was born in 1790, in 
 Cornwallis, Kings County, Nova Scotia. Until 
 sixteen years of age he remained with his parents 
 on their farm, after which he engaged as a sailor 
 on a vessel owned by his brother. He sailed upon 
 the high seas for five years, and for eighteen 3'ears 
 was on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. He 
 landed in what was then Will but is now Kankakee 
 County, on the 1st of December, 1834, and located 
 on ihe Yellowhead Indian Reservati(jn. From 
 that time until his death he devoted his whole at- 
 tention to agricultural pursuits. His death oc- 
 curred on the 1st of April, 1863, when he was 
 seventy-three years of age. He w.as one of the 
 very first white men to settle in the countj'. His 
 wife was a native of Connecticut, and was the 
 
 widow of M. Chapman when .she married Mr. 
 Dickey. Her death occurred in this county- in 
 1843. 
 
 Volney Dickey was only about a year old when 
 his parents settled in Illinois, and at tlie time of 
 his mother's death was a lad of eleven years. His 
 father was never again married and for five years 
 tiiey kept house as best tiiey could. Tiiey then broke 
 up housekeeping, and our subject started out in life 
 for himself. His first step was to hire out at farm 
 work for $6 per month, at which labor he was em- 
 ployed four years. 
 
 When onl}' nineteen years of age iMr. Dickey 
 was married, on the 15th of February, 18,02, to 
 Miss Julia Hayden, who was a daughter of Nehe- 
 miah and Sarah (Kitchel) Hayden, of Lake County, 
 Ind. Ten children were born to them, nine of 
 whom are still living. Harriet is the wife of George 
 Love, a prosperous farmer of Yellowhead Town- 
 ship; Mary Ellen became the wife of Andrew J. 
 Love, also a well-known farmer of the same town- 
 ship; Erwin, who follows agricultural pursuits 
 here, married Miss Mary Smith; Loia is the wife of 
 William Finert}', owner of a horse ranch in Lane 
 County, Ore.; Clara, who wedded Frank Love, now 
 a retired farmer, resides in Grant Park; Don Pedro, 
 an auctioneer living in this county, married Edna 
 Hamilton; Lucinda wedded Julius Dodge, now a 
 resident of Dalerville, Mich.; Otis, late of Mon- 
 tana, married Miss Mary Markel, of this county; 
 Julia is the wife of Louis Childers, a prosperous 
 farmer of Sherburnville; and Alcesta is now de- 
 ceased. Mrs. Dickey was called to her final rest 
 on the 17th of November, 1867, and lies buried 
 in the Sherburnville Cemetery. In September, 
 1868, Mr. Dickey wedded Mrs. Arminta Patte 
 Ha3'den, widow of Andrew Ha3den, and by their 
 union were born five children, three of whom 
 died in infancy. Those surviving are Arthur 
 and Mansfield. 
 
 Mr. Dickey has resided in Yellowhead Township 
 almost his entire life, carrying on agricultural 
 pursuits on his farm until 1888. At that time he 
 removed to Grant Park, which has been his home 
 up to tiie present time. In liis political views he 
 is a Republican and has held all the township 
 offices. For six terms he was Assessor of Yellow-
 
 402 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 head Township, and was Tax Collector for about 
 five, years. He gives his heartj- co-operation to 
 the cause of education and for eighteen years was 
 School Director. He holds membership with Grant 
 Park Lodge No. 740, A. F. & A. M., of Grant 
 Park, and is a member of the Christian -Church of 
 this place and an active worker in it. He owns a 
 pleasant home in Grant Park, and has the respect 
 of the community in which he dwells. 
 
 ^ OSEPH HAYDEN, a well-known farmer and 
 pioneer living on section 15, Yellowhead 
 Township, has spent nearly his entire life 
 in this locality. He was born Jul}' 7, 1832, 
 in Knox County Ohio, and is the son of Nehe- 
 miah and Harriet (Kitchel) Hayden. The father 
 was a native of Pennsylvania, and was of German 
 origin. When only a child, he went to Ohio, 
 where he lived until 1835, at which time he lo- 
 cated in Lake County, Iiid. He engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, and was one of the earliest set- 
 tlers of the county, where he resided until his death 
 in 1856. Lake County, Ind., adjoins Kankakee 
 Count}' on the east, and a portion of Mr. Hayden 's 
 farm was over the line in this county. 
 
 Joseph Hayden is the sixth in order of birth in 
 his father's family, which consisted of seven sons 
 and six daughters. He was a child of but three 
 years when he removed with his parents to In- 
 diana, since which time he has always resided in 
 this vicinity. Until reaching his majority', he re- 
 mained with his parents oh the old homestead. 
 His educational privileges were limited, as the 
 country schools of that early day were scarce and 
 poorl}' conducted. At the age of twenty-one 
 years, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres 
 of wild land in Yellowhead Township on time, and 
 at once commenced to improve and place it under 
 good cultivation. 
 
 In Lake County was celebrated on the 10th of 
 December, 1854, the marriage of Mr. Hayden and 
 Maria P. Green. Nine children have graced their 
 
 union. Lester J., an enterprising farmer of Lake 
 County, wedded Alnieda Brannon; Sidney married 
 Miss Clara Smith, and is engaged in farming in 
 this county; Wilbur A., also a farmer of Kanka- 
 kee County, married Miss Clara Mann; Anna, who 
 became the wife of Elias Br^'ant, resides in La 
 Fayette, Ind., where Mr. Bryant is a partner in an 
 agricultural implement house; Hilton is a traveling 
 salesman for the above house; Clarence married in 
 this county Miss Etta Pemble, and is engaged in 
 agriculture; Cass is bookkeeper in a wholesale es- 
 tablishment in Indianapolis; Merritt is helping his 
 father carry on the homestead; and Ralph, who 
 lives at home, is now attending school. 
 
 Mr. Hayden's farm comprises two hundred and 
 fifty acres, which yield to him bountiful harvests 
 year by j'ear. The farm is in a good condition, 
 and is one of the most thrifty in this locality. Our 
 subject is a loyal Republican, and takes an active 
 interest in the welfare of his party. He has won 
 many friends, who hold him in the highest regard 
 as a wortiiy and honorable man. During his long 
 residence of nearly a lifetime in this immediate 
 vicinity, he has been a witness of vast changes, and 
 has ever given his support to all worthy enter- 
 prises tending to benefit this locality and bring it 
 to its present high state of prosperity. 
 
 d*'f*-?-^^****t: 
 
 =l**-5"5-^ 
 
 !^****F 
 
 ^^EORGE W 
 ill __, the lead in 
 '^yJl Kankakee 
 
 ^^EORGE W. VAN HORNE, M. D., one of 
 ling physicians and surgeons of 
 County, owns one of the best 
 drug stores in Grant Park. He was born near 
 Frankfort, Will County, 111., on the 26th of March, 
 1848, and is the youngest of a family of eight chil- 
 dren, four sons and four daughters, born to Mathew 
 and Ann E. (Yost) Van Home. On the paternal 
 side he can trace his ancestr}' back to 1635, when 
 the colony of Hollanders landed on Manhattan 
 Island. His grandfather was born at White House 
 N. J., in 1763, and was a noted minister of the 
 Lutheran Church. He wedded Anna Covenhoven, 
 of New Jersey, on the 13th of October, 1785. On 
 the day of his death, which happened in New
 
 PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 403 
 
 York in 1846, he had married two couples and 
 preached a funeral sermon; later, while sitting in 
 his chair, he suddenly expired. His wife had died 
 six jears previously. Matliew Home was a native 
 of the Empire State, and was a son of Abraham 
 and Anna (Covenhovcn) Van Home. He was born 
 on the 12th of November, 1806, and in his 3'outh 
 learned the harness-maker's trade. In 1832, he came 
 to Illinois, crossing Ohio b^' canals, going down 
 the Ohio River to Cairo, then up the Mississippi to 
 Quincy, and across to Beardstown bj' wagon, where 
 he worked at his trade until 1834, at which time 
 he went to Will County and settled upon a tract 
 of Government land. There he followed agricul- 
 ture until his death, which occurred January 30 
 1867. His wife died in Missouri, January 30, 
 1887. 
 
 Dr. Van Home was born on the old home- 
 stead in Will County, and spent his boyhood days 
 in the customary manner of farmer lads. He at- 
 tended the country schools until about nineteen 
 j'ears of age, afterward taking a course at Joliet 
 and at Grand Prairie Seminary, of Onarga, 111. 
 For about three years after completing his studies, 
 he engaged in teaching school, and at that time de- 
 termined to adopt the medical profession. Reen- 
 tered the office of Dr. II. LeCaron, of Braidwood, 
 111., under whose direction he began the study of 
 medicine, and with him remained for a year. He 
 entered the Chicago Medical College, from which 
 he was graduated in 187.5. Coming directly to 
 Grant Park, he commenced the practice of his pro- 
 fession, in which he has been actively engaged 
 ever since. 
 
 On the 24th of March, 1875, Dr. Yan Home 
 wedded Miss Sarah Mather, of Will County, and 
 by their union has been born three children: Ma- 
 bel, Willard and Delia, all of whom are living. 
 Mrs. Van Home was called to her final rest JIarch 
 23, 1886, and on the 7th of September, 1887, the 
 Doctor married his present wife, who was Miss 
 Cora Parish, of Burkesville, Ky. One child, Robert 
 R., graces their union. 
 
 Politically, the Doctor supports the Democratic 
 party, and for four years has lieen Postmaster of 
 Grant Park. He is also now serving as School 
 Treasurer of the township, and is Mayor of the 
 
 city. He holds membership with Camp No. 13.57, 
 M. W. A., of Grant Park. In addiJi^n to a large 
 practice. Dr. Van Home operates a general drug 
 and stationer}' store, and is a successful business 
 man, as well as a skillful practitioner. 
 
 ^>^^m 
 
 a>^ 
 
 ROBERT GIBSON is a prominent farmer and 
 stock-raiser on section 12, Ganier Town- 
 <li 'li ship. He is a son of John and Mary (Daw- 
 son) Gibson, and was born in Wayne 
 County, Mich., on the 16th of February, 1838. 
 The father was a native of Yorkshire, England, 
 aild the mother was born in Scotland. AVhen 
 about grown both came to the United States and 
 were married in Michigan. In their family were 
 eight children. John is a prosperous farmer of 
 Norton Township, Kankakee Count}'; Thomas is 
 also a farmer residing in Ganier Township; Rob- 
 ert is next in order of birth; Janet is the fourth 
 of the family; Charles died in 1873; George is 
 engaged in farming in Michigan; James resides 
 on the old homestead in the same State, as does 
 Henry, the youngest of the family. The father 
 of our subject departed this life in 1855, and the 
 mother, who survived her husband many years, 
 passed awa}' in 1885. 
 
 Our subject was born and reared to manhood 
 on a farm in Michigan. He received the com- 
 mon-school privileges afforded by the district 
 schools, and when nineteen 3'ears of age started 
 out in life for himself. In 1857 he came to Kan- 
 kakee County, 111., where he entered the employ 
 of a farmer and worked by the month as a farm 
 hand for one year. With his very small capital, 
 the result of his careful saving, Mr. Gibson pre- 
 pared to farm on bis own .account and rented land, 
 which he engaged in cultivating for the succeed- 
 ing four years with such success, that in 1862 he 
 was enabled to purchase one hundred and sixty 
 acres of land, situated in Ganier Township. This 
 property, which he bought of the railroad, was in 
 an unimproved state, and for twenty 3'ears he 
 lived upon it, bringing it under a high state of
 
 404 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cultivation. In the spring of 1882 he sold that 
 farm and purchased the place of one hundred and 
 eighty acres upon which he now lives, on section 
 12, Ganier Township. This is one of the most 
 fertile and well-improved farms in tlie township, 
 and shows tlie thrift and care of its owner on every 
 hand. Mr. Gibson, in addition to general farm- 
 ing, is largely' engaged in stock-raising. 
 
 On the anniversary of Washington's birthday 
 in 1865, Mr. Gibson wedded Miss Henrietta, daugh- 
 ter of Campbell and Mahala (Lewis) Sergeant. 
 To our subject and his wife eight children have 
 been born: Alice, wife of William Hoag, a well- 
 known farmer of Ganier Township; Elmer, a suc- 
 cessful school teacher; Campbell, who departed this 
 life October 29, 1881; Henrietta, Edward, May, 
 Arthur and Flora, who reside at home. 
 
 Mr. Gibson has alwa3'S taken quite an interest 
 in political affairs and is a strong Republican. 
 He has served his fellow-citizens in various capaci- 
 ties, and among other otfices has held those of 
 Road Commissioner and School Director. He 
 is public-spu'ited and does his share in the vari- 
 ous enterprises for the benefit of his towusliip 
 and county. Beginning life witiiout any capital 
 except a good constitution and those indispensable 
 qualities to success, well-directed energy and in- 
 dustry, he well deserves the success he has attained. 
 
 r 
 
 ORTER RIGGS is engaged in carrying on 
 his farm situated on section 26, Aroma 
 Township. He was born in Tyler, W. Va., 
 on the 27th of August, 1832. His father, 
 Isaac Riggs, was a native of the same place and 
 was of German descent. He was twice married, 
 our subject being tlie only child hy the first union. 
 By his second marriage Mr. Riggs became the 
 father of four cliildren. 
 
 When Porter Riggs was a j'oung child his 
 mother died, and lie went to live with his grand- 
 mother. Her death occurred when he was about 
 ten years of age, and after this he lived on 
 
 the same old homestead in Virginia with an aunt, 
 remaining with her until he was about eighteen 
 years of age. As he was without means, he com- 
 menced working on a farm by the month, receiv- 
 ing $10. For five years he was employed at farm 
 labor, never receiving over $12 per month. His 
 school privileges were very limited and he is largely 
 a self-educated man. In the spring of 1851, he 
 came West to Perryville, Vermillion County, Ind. 
 He rented land and engaged in farming at that 
 place for a period of about four years. The year 
 1858 witnessed his arrival in Illinois. He settled 
 in Kankakee County, where he purchased two 
 hundred and eighty acres of land. This was en- 
 tirel}' unimproved and there was not a stick of 
 timber upon it. By his years of labor and im- 
 provement he has developed this property until it 
 is now one of the most valuable pieces of land in 
 the township. His well-tilled fields y\(t\(\ him a 
 golden tribute in return for the care and labor he 
 expends upon them, and success has largely at- 
 tended his efforts. He is now engaged in general 
 farming and stock-raising. 
 
 Mr. Riggs enlisted in defense of his countr}' in 
 February, 1865. He entered the service as a pri- 
 vate in Company A, One Hundred and Fift3'-sixth 
 Illinois Infantry. He was mustered out of service 
 September 13, 1865, at Memphis, Tenn., and re- 
 ceived his discharge about September 23, 1865, at 
 Springfield, III. 
 
 In 1859 Mr. Riggs was united in marriage with 
 Miss Mary Swan. Her parents, Matthew and Susan 
 Swan, are numbered among the old settlers of this 
 county, vvhere they are held in the highest regard. 
 Four children have blessed the union of our sub- 
 ject and his wife: Edwin H., Leonard W., Grant 
 and May, who have all received good educations 
 and take an active part in the social circles of this 
 communit}'. 
 
 Mr. Riggs has always taken a great interest in 
 political affairs and is affiliated with the Republi- 
 can part}', with which he has been connected for 
 many years. He has never been an office-seeker, 
 hut has alwaj'S taken a leading part in the ad- 
 vancement of all measures tending to the welfare 
 of his fellow-citizens. Socially, he is a member of 
 Whipple Post No. 414, G. A. R., of Kankakee, and
 
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 ^c/znAf Sji^i/lJqj '(l^^^^I^^^
 
 OF THE 
 Wi^VERSiTY OF ILLINO18
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 409 
 
 the boys in blue have ever held a warm place in 
 his affections. For thirty-five j-ears Mr. Riggs 
 has been associated with the progress and welfare 
 of this section, and has done much in making this 
 county what it is to-da}', a prosperous and thriv- 
 ing eoninuinity. 
 
 1^^ ANIEL DAY, a leading farmer residing on 
 section 12, Aroma Township, is a native 
 of Illinois, his birth having occurred on 
 the lOth of May, 1838, near Crete, Will 
 County. He is a son of Asa and Fermelia (Beebe) 
 Day. The father was a native of the Empire 
 State and emigrated to Illinois at an early day. 
 When our suliject was an infant of about a year, 
 Mr. Day located in what is now Aroma Township, 
 Kankakee County, but which was at that time a 
 portion of Iroquois Count}'. He purchased a farm 
 wliich was but little improved and here he engaged 
 in tilling the soil until his death in 1849. His 
 wife had departed this life two years previously. 
 To them had been born four childien: Daniel; 
 Nancy Calista, who died in 1880; Susan, who died 
 in infanc}'; and Virgil, who departed this life in 
 1862, being then in Company C,Onc Hundred and 
 Thirty-eighth Illinois Infantry. 
 
 Our subject is the eldest of the family and be- 
 fore he reached the age of twelve years death had 
 deprived him of both father and mother. In 
 1850, he went to live with his uncle, Orson Beebe, 
 near Momence, and with him he made his home 
 until he was twenty-nine j-ears of age. His school 
 privileges were somewhat limited, as he attended 
 subscription and district schools during much of 
 his 1)0} hood years. 
 
 In 18Gl,Mr. Day, fired by patriotic zeal, entered 
 the service of his country, becoming a member of 
 Company D, Forty-second Illinois Infantry. He 
 was mustered into service at Chicago, and his first 
 active engagement was in the battle of P'arming- 
 ton. Miss., near Corinth. He received an honor- 
 able dischaige on account of disabilitj' and then 
 returned to bis home. 
 
 19 
 
 April 9, 1863, Mr. Day was united in marriage 
 with Miss Edetha V. Perry, daughter of .lobn and 
 Abigail (Tower) Perry, who were natives of Ver- 
 mont. Three children have graced their union: 
 Owen L., who is now at home, October 19, 1892, 
 married Almy C. Gray, daughter of C. S. Gray, of 
 Onarga, III.; John B. met death by drowning on 
 the 26th of December, 1890, while skating alone 
 upon treacherous ice on tlie Kankakee River. 
 Lucy C, who is .at home, completes the family. 
 Mr. and Mrs. D.ay with their children are all mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 .Soon after his marriage, Mr. Day removed to 
 the farm where he now resides, which is a por- 
 tion of his father's homestead. It consists of one 
 hundred and seventy acres of fertile and well- 
 improved land, and is considered one of the finest 
 farms in Aroma Township. Mr. Daj- is engaged in 
 general farming and stock-raising, and his wise 
 investments and good business ability have been 
 attended with marked success. 
 
 Our subject has alw.ays taken quite an active 
 part in politics and is in s}-mpathy with the prin- 
 ciples- of the Prohibition party, for~ whose nom- 
 inees he casts his ballot. He is also interested in 
 educational matters and has held the office of 
 School Director for several terms. Socially, he is 
 a member of Whipple Post No. 414, G. A. R., of 
 Kankakee. He is a valued citizen and numbers 
 many friends and acquaintances in this vicinity, 
 who hold him in the highest regard. 
 
 
 ll^ICHARDSON BROTHERS is the title of 
 lisir one of the well-known law firms of Kan- 
 !»i \Vl kakee. This firm is composed of William 
 ^^ H. and Hiram L. Richardson. They are 
 sons of Am.asa Richardson, who emigrated with his 
 family from St. Lawrence Count}', X. Y., and set- 
 tled on a farm in Wesley Township, Will County, 
 111., in the spring of 1856. In his family were 
 nine children, all of whom "came west with their 
 parents, with the exception of two brothers, Will- 
 iam H. and Joseph W., who had come two years
 
 410 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 previously. Tlie father died in Will County, in 
 October, 1890, and the mother still survives, living 
 on the old homestead with lier two youngest sons. 
 
 The eldest of the brothers was Joseph AV. He 
 was a lawyer by profession, and entered the service 
 of his country in the late war as First Lieutenant 
 of Company A, Thirty-ninth Illinois Infantry. 
 His death occurred at Harper's Ferry, December 
 17, 18Gl,buta few months after his enlistment. 
 William II. is the second of the family in order of 
 birth. Lewis C. was a teacher for many years. He 
 finally removed to South Dakota, settling near 
 Huron, where his death occurred several yeai'S ago. 
 Olive J. died at the liomestead in AVill County, in 
 1863. Levi makes his home at Rose Lawn, Ind. 
 Hiram L. is the next in order of birth. Alfred G. 
 resides with his mother. Mary A. became the wife 
 of Henry Kahler, and lives near Wilmington, in 
 Will County. Benjamin Franklin still resides on 
 the home farm. 
 
 The brothers whose names appear at the head of 
 this sketch have been associated in the practice of 
 law since 1870. William H. was born in St. Law- 
 rence County, N. Y., on the 18th of February, 1833. 
 Hisearlj' life was passed on a farm, and during the 
 summer months he assisted in the work pertaining 
 to the farm, and in the winter attended the dis- 
 trict schools. He received .an academic education 
 at Ogdensburg and Gouverneur, N. Y. He came 
 West to Illinois in 1855, and in the following 
 year commenced the study of law at Wilmington 
 with his brother .Joseph W. and Maj. F. W. Jlunn. 
 He also for a time taught in the public schools of 
 that place. On the 18th of September, 1858, he 
 came to Kankakee, resumed the study of law, was 
 in due time admitted to the Bar, and has been con- 
 stantly in practice since that time. Mr. Richard- 
 son is numbered among the oldest and most ex- 
 perienced lawyers of Kankakee. He is noted for 
 his extensive knowledge, and has for many years 
 occupied a front rank in the legal profession. On 
 the 29th of April, 1875, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Addie Wescott. They have one daugh- 
 ter, Mamie. 
 
 Hiram L. Richardson is a much younger man 
 than his brother, his birth having occurred in St. 
 Lawrence County, N. Y., in 1814. He received a 
 
 good English education, and studied law in the 
 office of his elder brother and present partner. He 
 was admitted to practice in the spring of 1809, 
 and has been in partnership witli his brother since 
 1870. In that year he was elected City Attorney, 
 and served in that capacitj^ for two years. He 
 was next elected States Attorney in 1872, and 
 served four years in the most satisfactory manner, 
 as was shown by his re-election to that otlice in 
 1880, when he again served for four years, and by 
 his election in 1893 for the third term. He is 
 an aljle and successful lawjer and a popular citi- 
 zen, who is held in the highest esteem. In poli- 
 tics, he is an ardent Republican and an able ex- 
 ponent of the principles of that great national 
 party. 
 
 ~^) 
 
 CS~ 
 
 ENRY W. NATTORF is one of the leading 
 young business men of Sollitt. His birth 
 occurred on the 17th of March, 1863, in 
 ^ Lombard, Du Page County, 111. He is the 
 third in order of birth in afamilj^ of four children, 
 but three of whom are now deceased, and whose 
 parents were Corsten and Dora (Bockelman) Nat- 
 torf. Both parents were born in Germany,, the 
 former emigrating to America when young. He 
 landed in Chicago with scarcely any means, and 
 for the following five years hired out as a farm hand, 
 He was married in Cook County, where he lived 
 until 1863, at which time he removed to Will 
 County. In 1871 he located upon a farm in Yel- 
 lowhead Township. For many years he carried 
 on that farm, and was held in the highest regard 
 by all who knew him as one of the men who helped 
 to make this county the prosperous one it is to- 
 day. On the 26th of November, 1892, he died 
 very suddenly from heart failure. He left quite a 
 valuable estate, which represented the toil and' 
 economy of many years. His widow lives with her 
 son, Henry W. 
 
 When a child of only a few months our suhjec 
 was brought to Yellowhead Township, and ha 
 made this his home up to the present time. Hi 
 boyhood and j'outh were passed in the usual studj
 
 
 PORTRMT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 411 
 
 work and play common to farmer lads, and his 
 school privileges were those afforded by the com- 
 mon district schools of liie neighborliood. At the 
 age of twenty-two years Mr. Nattorf came to Sol- 
 litt, where he opened a general store, which he lias 
 since coiulucled successfully. 
 
 JMr. Nattorf and Miss Alvina Kcsler were mar- 
 ried (111 the IGth of October, 1885. The lady is a 
 native of Will County, III. Her parents, who 
 came from (Jermanj', became prominent people of 
 that county. Four cliildren were born to our sub- 
 ject and liis wife: Anna, tlie eldest, w.as born Aug- 
 ust 6, 1886, and tliree others died in infancy. 
 
 On the subject of politics Mr. Nattorf is a thor- 
 ough Republican, and is prominent in educational 
 matters, now serving as School Director. Both he 
 and his wife hold membership witli the German 
 Lutheran Church, in whose work they are active. 
 Jlr. Nattorf is a wide-awake and enterprising mer- 
 cliant and owns the leading general store in Sol- 
 litt, besides a fine farm of one hundred and sixty- 
 two acres in Yellowhead Townsh-.p. In his deal- 
 ings with his customers he is courteous and lionor- 
 able, his word being considered as good as his note. 
 In social circles iilmself and his wife are very pop- 
 ular. 
 
 jILLIAIM KRUEGER, is a well-known gro- 
 cer of Kankakee. He is a native of Ger- 
 many, his birth having occurred in Shu- 
 row on tlie mth of September, 1847. His grand- 
 father Krueger was a Tax Collector in the service 
 of the King and lived to be ninety years of age. 
 The i)arents of our subject, William and Williel- 
 mina (Leichmann) Krueger, were both natives of 
 Germany, where the former, like his father, was a 
 Tax Collector. In 1867 he emigrated to the New 
 World, and at once coming to Illinois, located in 
 Kankakee, which he made his home until hisdeatli. 
 Ou .iccount of liis extreme old age he !iad lived a 
 retired life for many years, and died on the 2d of 
 June, 1888. Had he lived until August he would 
 
 have been eighty-two years of age. His wife still 
 survives him and in August of 1892 reached her 
 eighty-second birthday. In their family were ten 
 children, as follows: Tlieodore, llerm.an, Frank, 
 Henry, William, Otto, August, Mina, .\meiia and 
 Alvina, all of whom are living with the exception 
 of Frank, who died in this city about 1874. All 
 of the members of the family came to America 
 with the exception of the eldest son, who still re- 
 sides in Germany, where lie has been engaged in 
 teacliing school for the past twenty-five years. He 
 is employed by the Government and holds a life 
 p(tsition. The father was a soldier in the regular 
 army for three years. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 passed in the Fatherland, where he received his ed- 
 ucation. He early determined to emigrate to the 
 New World in quest of a fortune. In 1864, he 
 crossed the Atlantic in a vessel bound for Quebec. 
 From there he came directly to Kankakee County, 
 where he had two brothers who had arrived in this 
 locality two j-cars previous. Jlr. Krueger soon ob- 
 tained employment in tlie country and went to 
 work on a farm by the month. At tlie end of two 
 years be went to Chicago, where he learned the 
 carpenter's trade and was employed there for four 
 years, after which he returned to Kankakee and 
 followed the same vocation until 1882. That 
 year he built a small store building, in which his 
 brother opened a grocery store and continued to 
 run it for two years. Our subject then purchased 
 his brother's stock and has carried on the busi- 
 ness since that time. He now has one of the most 
 complete and well-equipped grocery stores in the 
 city and has a constantly increasing trade. 
 
 Mr. Krueger was married to Miss Augusta Rad- 
 zom, daughter of Carl and Carolina (Guugel) 
 Radzom, natives of German}-, where the former 
 died in 1870. The marriage of our subject was 
 celebrated on the 28th of July, 1872. Mrs. Rad- 
 zom emigrated to America in 1889 and has lived 
 in Kankakee since that time, being now in her 
 sixt3'-flrst year. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Krueger arc members of the Ger- 
 man Lutlieran Church, where for the past three 
 years our subject has held the ofUce of Treasurer. 
 Politically he uses his right of franchise in sup-
 
 412 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 port of the Democratic jjart}-. He was elected 
 Alderman of the Fourth Ward, in which capacitj- 
 he served his fellow-townsmen for two years. lie 
 is a man of good business abilitj^ and has accumu- 
 lated his propert3f by hard and honest toil. He 
 owns a good home and his store building, his ex- 
 tensive stock of goods, several lots and other resi- 
 dence property. He is an unpretentious and gen- 
 ial man and has won many friends in this vicinity 
 by his life of industry and integrity. 
 
 '^''AMES M. McKINSTRY, the first Justice of 
 the Peace of Sumner Township, has been 
 for about forty years prominently identified 
 with the advancement and prosperity of this 
 section, and has the honor of being the one who 
 named the township after Charles Sumner, of 
 Massachusetts. Mr. McKiustry helped lay out the 
 roads and otherwise organize the township. 
 
 The birth of our subject occurred in Lamoille 
 County, Vt., on the Gth of October, 1819. His 
 parents, George and Marian (St. Clair) McKinstry, 
 were of English and Scotch extraction. The 
 father, like his son, was a native of the Green 
 Mountain State and was a farmer by occupation. 
 His death occurred in 1845, and after the death of 
 her husband, Mrs. McKinstry came West with her 
 sons and lived in Illinois for man}' years. She 
 was called to her final rest in 1870. Their family 
 consisted of eight children: Byron N., who is a 
 farmer of South Dakota; James M., the subject of 
 this sketch; Sarah A., the wife of David S. Smith, 
 who resides in St. Paul, Neb.; George P., who died 
 in 1860; Joseph E., a resident of Morocco, Ind.; 
 Mary E., wife of Lemuel Buck, who carries on farm- 
 ing in Sumner Township; Leroy, who departed this 
 life in 1870; and William, a fanner of Kansas. 
 
 Mr. McKinstry,whose name heads this sketch, was 
 born and reared on a farm, and his educational ad- 
 vantages were very limited in his early years. Since 
 arriving at man's estate, by a wise course of reading 
 he has made himself conversant with the leading 
 facts and topics of th? day and is largely self- 
 
 educated. He worked for his father upon the home 
 farm until arriving at his majoritj', at which time 
 he went to Boston, and for the period of about 
 three years worked as a clerk in a general store. 
 Then returning to Vermont he purchased a farm, 
 where he resided until 1851. He then came by 
 way of the Lakes to Chicago, at which place he re- 
 mained a short time. In that city he was offered 
 ten acres of land on State Street for $l,000,wliich 
 offer he did not think it wise to accept. After 
 traveling considerably over the State with a 
 view to locating in a good farming district, he 
 decided that Kankakee Count}' had the brightest 
 prospects for the future. Accordingly he pur- 
 chased between six hundred and seven hundred 
 acres of land for his mother and the family. In 
 1852 they also came West and located upon this 
 farm. He secured this land on four Mexican land 
 warrants. 
 
 At the breaking out of the late war, Mr.McKinstry 
 helped to raise a company, which was mustered 
 into service as Company K, Fourth Illinois Caval- 
 ry. He enlisted in September, 1861, for three years 
 and was chosen First Lieutenant of his company. 
 He took part in manj' active engagements and 
 battles, among the most important being those of 
 Ft. Henry, Ft. Donelson and Shiloh. At the last- 
 named battle his horse was shot from under him, 
 but he fortunately escaped injury. He received 
 his discharge in 1863, on account of disability, and 
 for the following year was made (Juartermaster. 
 under Gen. Grant. 
 
 When peace was again established Mr. McKinstry 
 returned to his home and resumed farming. Ht 
 now owns between four hundred and five hundreo 
 acres, most of which is valuable and arable land. H< 
 carries on general farming and stock-raising and a: 
 an agriculturist has proved his exceptional ability 
 At the time of his settling in Sumner Township 
 Mr. McKinstry was obliged to haul grain and othe 
 farm produce to Chicago, which was the neares 
 market. He has trul}' been a witness of vas 
 changes in this and surrounding counties and t 
 him in a large measure is due the advancement c 
 this particular portion. 
 
 In 1842, a wedding ceremony united the dest 
 nies of Mr. McKinstry and Miss Sophrona, daugl
 
 PORTRAIT AKD BIOGR^U'HICAL RECORD. 
 
 413 
 
 ter of Lemuel "White. P'ive cliiklren graced tlioir 
 union. Horace was killed at the battle of Vicks- 
 biiig in 18()3, at wliich time he was in the same regi- 
 ment as his father, holding tlie position of Quartor- 
 mastci--Sergeant; liyron died at the age of four 
 years; the third son, Abner, also in the same regi- 
 ment and company as his father and elder brother, 
 died in the service in I8G3; I>avina, wife of iMervin 
 Seager, resides in Des Moines, Iowa; and Alice, wlio 
 is tiie wife of George Place, makes her home in 
 Chicago. The mother of these children was called 
 to her last reward in 1869. Tlie following year, 
 ;Mr. IMcKinstry wedded Mrs. Livonia (Brown) 
 Foster, widow of David J. Foster. I5y lier first 
 marriage she bad two children. Julia, now the 
 widow of Charles Crissey, resides in Omaha, 
 Xeb.; and Georgia, wife of Lincoln Walker, is 
 a resident of Momence. Three children have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. McKinstr>-: Bert, Clara and 
 J. P'lovd.who are all at home. In addition to rear- 
 ing their own children, Mr. and Mrs. McKinstry 
 are rearing an orphan, Ollie Bear, who has taken 
 the name of her foster-parents. 
 
 Politically, Mr. McKinstry is a Republican and 
 cast his first vote for Gen. William Henry Harrison. 
 He also has had the privilege of twice voting for 
 the grandson of the Tippecanoe hero. In educa- 
 tional matters he takes an active part and has 
 served in nian^- local positions. He holds mem- 
 bership with the Baptist Chureb, as does his wife, 
 and is considered by his neighbors and friends to 
 be a man well worth}' their confidence and respect. 
 Socially he belongs to Worcester Post No. 627, G. 
 A. K., of Grant Park. 
 
 4^ 
 
 •¥> 
 
 ENRY SCHAFER is a well-known farmer 
 J and stock-dealer who makes his home on 
 *^ ^ section 24, Otto Township. He has the 
 _ honor of being a native of Illinois, his 
 birth occurring in Kendall Count}' on the 10th of 
 "December, 1858. His father, Anton Schafer, is a 
 native of German}-, who passed bis boyhood and 
 youth in the Fatherland. When a young man. 
 
 bidding adieu to bis friends and relatives, he 
 crossed the broad Atlantic. Upon arriving in tlie 
 United States he turned his face Westward, and 
 on reaching Illinois settled in Kendall Co\inty. 
 He was there married, and engaged in faiming for 
 over thirteen years on one place, for the most of 
 this time being a renter. About the year 1805 he 
 removed to Iroquois County, where he purch.ased 
 a farm and engaged in its cultivation for a num- 
 ber of years. lie is now a resident of Chebanse, 
 having retired from the arduous and active duties 
 of farm life, and is enjoying a well-earned rest and 
 the fruits of his many years of labor and industry. 
 
 The first few years in the life of our subject 
 were spent in Kendall County, where he was born, 
 and in 186.5 he went with his father to Iroquois 
 County. During his youth he si)cnt the summer 
 montlis working on his father's farm, and during 
 the winter attended the district schools of the 
 vicinity. He remained under the parental roof 
 for about two years after attaining his majority, 
 assisting in operating the home farm. lie then 
 came to this county and located on section 27, 
 where his father had given him an eighty-acre 
 farm. There ho lived for about eight years en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits and then became the 
 owner of the farm where he now resides. In this 
 tract he has one hundred and sixty acres of land, 
 located three miles south of Kankakee, and which 
 is all arable and valuable property. He has a good 
 i-esidence, large barns and substantial farm build- 
 ings. 
 
 In this county, April 22, 1884, Mr. Schafer was 
 married to Elizabeth Yonke, who was born, reared 
 and educated here, and whose father, Paul Yonke, 
 was one of the early settlers of this community. 
 Three children grace this union, Willie, Laura and 
 Joseph. Mr. and BIrs. Shafer are members of the 
 Catholic Church of Kankakee. 
 
 Almost the entire life of Mr. Schafer has been 
 spent in this State and most of the time in Kanka- 
 kee and the adjoining county of Iroquois, and in 
 this section he is well and favorably known. He is 
 a believer in good public schools and is a friend to 
 all educational measures. Politically, he is a sup- 
 porter of the Democratic party, and though inter- 
 ested in politics has never .aspired to ollieial recog-
 
 414 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nition. He is a worthy citizen and is known to 
 be a man of upright character and worth. For 
 the last five j'ears,Mr. Schafer has made a business 
 of feeding and fattening steers for the Chicago mar- 
 ket and at this time has about one hundred liead 
 of cattle and will feed for the spring market 
 about two car-loads. 
 
 HOMAS ANi. JAMES HUGHES, of the firm 
 <^\ of Hughes Bros., are well-known hay mer- 
 chants of St. Anne. They are the sons of 
 Michael and Jane (McCloskey) Hughes, both na- 
 tives of County T\rone, Ireland. The former was 
 a son of Thomas and Sarah (Doons) Hughes. He 
 emigrated to America in the earl.v '40s and lo- 
 cated in Iowa Couijty, AVis., where he followed 
 agricultural pursuits for thirty years and was one 
 of the pioneer settlers of that county. He was 
 enterprising in business and dealt largely in grain 
 and stock. In 1873 lie came to St. Anne, where, 
 in connection with that business, he also had an 
 extensive trade in agricultural implements. 
 
 Michael Hughes was twice married; his first wife, 
 the mother of our subject, he met and married 
 in Wisconsin, and to them were born six chil- 
 dren. Mary Jane is now deceased. Thomas was 
 born December 11,1858, in Iowa County, Wis. 
 Ellen married John O'Connell, who is a prominent 
 farmer living two miles east of St. Anne; their 
 famils' consists of four children, I^aura, Gertie, 
 Alma and Thomas. Sarah is deceased. James was 
 born February 12, 18()4. Eliza has also dejjarted 
 this life. The mother of these children was called 
 to her final rest in 1877. For iiis second wife Mr. 
 Hughes married Mrs. Walkerly, widow of John 
 Walkerly. In her maidenhood she was Rebecca 
 Gammon and was a native of Boston. By this 
 union two children were born: Carrie, who died 
 when two years of age, and Ada, who is still living. 
 ]\Irs. Hughes departed this life in April, 1892. Her 
 husband had jireviously died, in January, 1891, be- 
 ing then eighty-two years of age. He was a prom- 
 
 inent citizen and held the ofHce of Supervisor of 
 St. Anne Township for two or three terms and was 
 Justice of the Peace for a number of years. He 
 was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, and 
 commenced in life without property but accumu- 
 lated a valuable estate. At the time of his death, 
 he was the owner of eight hundred and forty acres 
 of improved farm land two miles east of St. Anne. 
 He also owned a good residence and other town 
 propcrt)- there, which was his home for about 
 eighteen years. Mr. Hughes and his first wife 
 were members of the Catholic Church, and he was 
 esteemed among the much respected citizens of 
 this vicinity. 
 
 Thomas Hughes married Miss Nellie, daughter 
 of Thomas Lottiuville. In 188.3, he went to Cal- 
 ifornia, on account of poor health, and spent about 
 eight years in the West. AVith that exception he 
 has been a resident of St. Anne since 1873. 
 
 James Hughes and Miss Ella Hughes were mar- 
 ried in Moraence in 1892. After the death of the 
 father, Thomas and James went into partnership 
 and have since carried on the business successfully. 
 They are both members of the Catholic Church, as 
 are also their wives. The brothers are stalwart 
 Democrats and take an active part in public affairs. 
 Thomas is now serving as a member of the Village 
 Board of Trustees. 
 
 
 (^ r*;ILLIAM WALLACE PARISH is now liv- 
 %,/iJl/ '"^ '"^ retired life in Momenee, where for 
 ^^/v^ over half a century he has made his. 
 home. His birth occurred in Naples, Ontario 
 Count3-, N. Y., on the 14th of June, 1821, his 
 parents being Jeremiah B. and Clarissa (Clark) 
 Parish, both of whom were natives of Berkshire 
 County, Mass. The family was founded in this 
 country in early Colonial daj's. In 1789, a colony 
 of sixty persons emigrated with ox-teams and 
 sleds from the old Bay State to Ontario County 
 N. Y. They made the journey in the dead o) 
 winter, cutting their way through the woods foi 
 a distance of about one hundred and twenty miles
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 •ila 
 
 The colony purchased an entire township for 
 twelve and a-lialf cents per acre and divided the 
 hind eciualiy amonif tiiemselves for liomcs. Our 
 subject's great-grandfather, grandfatlier and a 
 1 Mother of the latter were the (irst ones to locate 
 in tlie township of Naples, the others following in 
 the spring. They settled in llie midst of the In- 
 dians and bore all tlie hardships and privations in- 
 cident to pioneer life. The great-grandfatlier 
 was a fanner by occupation, and had served in the 
 Revolutionary War. The grandfatlier also followed 
 agricultural pursuits, and the farm on which lie 
 first settled is still in the possession of the family. 
 
 Jeremiah V>. Parish was in his country's service 
 in tlie War of 1812, and served tlirough the same 
 without receiving a wound. The family have al- 
 ways been interested in military affairs and in 
 the country's hours of peril the3' have always 
 been found among her defenders. Mr. Par- 
 ish was a very prominent citizen in the town of 
 Naples, was a leading law3'er and served as Judge 
 of the Circuit Court of that place. He also held 
 a number of other ofUces of honor and trust. Ills 
 brother, Orson Parish, was a prominent lawj-er of 
 Ohio and pleaded at the Bar in Washington, D. C. 
 He always dressed in continental style and his 
 wearing apparel was very ricli in quality. On 
 one occasion Jeremiah accompanied him to the 
 county seat, going in his bare feet, while Orson 
 wore an elegant pair of silk stockings. The 
 former continued his residence in Naples until 
 his death. He was born on the 21st of July, 
 1784, and died June 22, 1848, when about sixty- 
 four years of age. His wife was in her maiden- 
 hood Clarissa Clark, and her father was also 
 a soldier. She reached the advanced age of 
 sevenl3--five years and died on the old homestead. 
 Seven children blessed their union: Mary, Bishop, 
 Emilj', Edwin, William W., Corydon and Caro- 
 line. Only two of these are now living, our sub- 
 ject, and Edwin, who is married and resides on 
 the old homestead in the Empire State. 
 
 In the month of September, 1840, William W. 
 Parish, of this sketch, came to Illinois by various 
 conveyances, after the fashion of those early days. 
 He traveled from Buffalo to Chicago by boat and 
 was tiiere met by a wagon and team that was wait- 
 
 ing for liim and his sister, Emily Iliggins, wlio pre- 
 viously had become a resident of Kankakee County. 
 On the journey to this place they stopped on 
 the Sac trail at a place called a hotel, but wliich 
 was nothing more or less than one of the old- 
 fashioned Pennsj'lvania wagon-boxes. It was 
 kept by a Mi'. Brown, who still lives at the same 
 place, about three miles south of Crete. Mr. Par- 
 ish became one of the pioneer settlers of Kankakee 
 County, and is familiar with its history from an 
 early day. He paid his first taxes while living in 
 Lorain precint, walking six miles to discharge 
 the indebtedness, which amounted to fifteen cents. 
 He still has in his possession an old letter from ids 
 father, written from Naples, N. Y., and bearing 
 date July 31, 1842. It required twenty-five cents' 
 postage and four months elapsed ere it was de- 
 livered. Mr. Parish located near the site of Mo- 
 mence, where his brother I?ishop had settled some 
 four years previous. He took up eighty acres of 
 Government land on what is now section 26 and 
 at first thinking that he had too much land he tried 
 to sell fort}' acres. He failed in this and it was 
 not long ere he decided that his farm was not 
 large enough and purchased eight}' acres more. 
 This tract was two miles southeast of where 
 Momence now stands. Sul)sequen tly, he purchased 
 other land, which he afterward sold. lie also 
 opened up business in Kansas, handling large 
 tracts of land and loaning considerable money. 
 At that time he also dealt largely in Texas cat- 
 tle. He is now the possessor of land in Kansas, 
 Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Nebraska and Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Parish has been twice married, his first wife 
 being Miss Sallie Woodaid, daughter of Benjamin 
 and Sylvia (^'ail) Woodard, of Kankakee. She 
 died October 14, 1848, about a year after her mar- 
 riage, and left one child, a daughter, who is now 
 the wife of Charles Bellinger, who resides on 
 a farm some three miles northeast of Momence, 
 one of the finest farms in tiie county. They 
 have two children, William and Allie. On the 
 10th of April, 1852, Mr. Parish wedded Miss 
 Catherine Parkhurst, who became the mother 
 of four children: Variium, William, Carrie, and 
 one who died in infancy. Of tliis family only 
 one now survives, William, who married Miss
 
 416 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Katie, daughter of Anthony Canavan. They re- 
 side in Momence, where Mr. Parish is extensively 
 engaged in contracting and building, having 
 erected eighteen houses in the past }'ear. He also 
 supervises large farms near the town. They have 
 three children: Yarnura, Carrie, and William. In 
 1889, Mr. Parish of tliis sketch was called upon to 
 mourn the loss of his wife, who on the 30th of 
 .January was called to her final rest. 
 
 Our subject has lived retired for several years, 
 placing the management of his various interests in 
 the hands of his children. He has never belonged 
 to any church or secret society, but is a stanch Re- 
 publican and h,«is voted that ticket since the organ- 
 ization of the party, and previous to that time was 
 a Whig, thougii his people were all Democrats be- 
 fore him. Although seventy-one years of age, Mr. 
 Parish is a well-preserved man and bids fair to live 
 for many years. He is one of the substantial and 
 public-spirited citizens of Momence and has mate- 
 rially aided in making Kankakee County one of 
 the best portions of Illinois. He has seen it 
 change from a wild and desolate w.aste of land, in- 
 habited by howling wolves and other wild animals, 
 to a beautiful, thrifty and populous commonwealth 
 of industrious and intelligent people. 
 
 -% 
 
 ^>-m-<i 
 
 CQ>— 
 
 |OBERT GOODILL is a prosperous farmer 
 residing on section 21, Ganier Township, 
 its \\\ and is one of the early pioneers of this 
 ) county. He was born in Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, and his parents, George and Mary Goodill, 
 emigrated to America in 1852, and soon after their 
 arrival in the New World became residents of 
 Kankakee County, where the father died in 1854, 
 aged fifty-eight years, and the mother in 1865, 
 aged seventy-one years. In their family of five 
 children, our subject was the onl}' son, the daugh- 
 ters being Hannah, Jane, Ann and Maiy. 
 
 Robert Goodill was the second in order of birth 
 in the family and was born and reared upon a 
 farm. His educational advantages were limited, 
 and he is largelv self-educated. When fifteen 
 
 years of age he started out to make his own way 
 in the world, and served for five years as an ap- 
 prentice at the carpenter's trade in his native land. 
 In 1850 he came to America on a sailing-vessel 
 bound for Canada, and was shipwrecked in the 
 St. Lawrence River. In this disaster he lost all of 
 his carpenter tools and outfit, which was a serious 
 loss to Iiim at tliat time. When they l.inded there 
 were about two feet of snow on the ground, and 
 for two weeks the unfortunate passengers endured 
 untold suffering before they were rescued. Mr. 
 Goodill remained in Canada from May until Octo- 
 ber of 1850, working at his trade and whatever 
 afforded an honest means of livelihood. Then 
 going to Dayton, Ohio, he worked at his trade un- 
 til May of the following year, at which time he 
 proceeded to Danville, 111., residing there until 
 March, 1852, which date witnessed his arrival in 
 Momence, Kankakee County. He came by stage 
 from Danville, and took two daj^s to make the 
 journey. For a year our subject worked as a car- 
 penter in Momence, Kankakee and vicinity; and 
 then determined to turn his attention and efforts 
 in the direction of tilling the soil. Accordinglj', 
 he purchased a land warrant for one hundred and 
 sixty acres of Government land, located on section 
 21, Ganier Township, for which he paid ^160. 
 This property he placed under good cultivation, 
 and now owns two hundred acres in a body, all 
 well improved and valuable land. For thirty-nine 
 years, Mr. Goodill has made this propertv his home, 
 and is well and favorably known in this and ad- 
 joining townships. 
 
 On tiie 12th of December, 1857, our subject was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Cox, who was 
 also a native of p]ngland. Four ciiildren graced 
 this union. Jane died October 27, 1888, aged 
 twent3--two; George W. is married and assists his 
 father in the care of the homestead; Hester and 
 Charlotte also reside at home. The mother of 
 these children, who was a faithful and consistent 
 member of the Methodist Church, was called to 
 her final home February 15, 1892, aged sixty-nine 
 years. She was a devoted wife and mother, and 
 left a wide circle of friends, who deepl3' mourn 
 her loss. She lies buried in the Momence Cemetery. 
 
 Mr. Goodill has always taken an active part in 
 
 I]
 
 L,,...,..,,, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 mmmy of Illinois
 
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 Xjp ^Isb^ 
 
 '^^^ 
 
 **.— — ' 
 
 •'^''' 
 
 / /-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 419 
 
 local affairs, and has served his township as School 
 Director and Pathmastcrin a satisfactory manner. 
 He holds membership with the Metliodist Cliiireh, 
 having been Trustee for a number of 3-ears. He is 
 the originator of tlie church at Exline, which but 
 for his liberal assistance would not be standing 
 to-day. lie has alliliated with the Republican 
 party, and is a man highl}- esteemed for his wortli 
 and integrity. 
 
 
 "N 
 
 ^^UNNERGUNNERSON, who for almost a 
 [l| (=- quarter of a century has been a lesident of 
 ^^1 Kanivakee Count3-, and who has been prom- 
 inently identified with its agricultural interests, is 
 now living a retired life in Herscher. As he has 
 a wide acquaintance we feel assured that this rec- 
 ord will prove of interest to many of our readers. 
 Mr. Gunuerson is a native of Norwa3^ He was 
 born on the 'iOth of September, 1840, and is a son 
 of Gunner and Margaret (Waage) Gunnerson, 
 both of whom were natives of the same countr}-. 
 The family emigrated to the New AVorld in 1846, 
 when our subject was a lad of six summers, and 
 ^settled in La .Salle County, III. The father died 
 the same year, after wliich the mother reared lier 
 family, continuing her residence in La Salle County 
 intil her death, which occurred in 1857. 
 
 Mr. Gunnerson of this sketch is the j'oungest of 
 
 family of five sons and three daughters, of whom 
 two died in cliildhood. He has one brother and 
 [two sisters yet living, tiie eldest of whom, Fulton, 
 [is now in business in Rankin, 111.; Jlrs. Margaret 
 Lnderson and Mrs. Christina Williamson both re- 
 jside in La Salle County. 
 
 Gunner Gunnerson grew to manhood in that 
 Junty and in its common schools acpiired his ed- 
 ucation. He remained with his mother until her 
 ieath,and then began to make his own wa}- in tlie 
 votld. He first earned his livelihood by working 
 
 a farm hand b^' the mouth, but when the late 
 Tar broke out put aside all business cares and le- 
 bpondtd to the country's call for troops. In 1801 
 
 he became a member of Company F, Thirty-sixth 
 
 Illinois Infantry, and went to tlie front, where lie 
 served until his discharge at the close of the war. 
 He enlisted as a private August i), 1801, and w.as 
 promoted to the rank of Second Sergeant. He 
 participated in a number of important engage- 
 ments, including the battles of Pea Ridge, Perry- 
 ville, Stone River and Chickamauga, where he was 
 wounded by a gun-shot through the left shoulder. 
 For several months he was confined to the hospi- 
 tal on account of this injury, but as soon as he 
 had sufficiently recovered he rejoined his regiment, 
 and with the troops took part in the Atlanta cam- 
 paign. He w.as under fire at the battles of Reseca, 
 Adairsville, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain and Peach 
 Tree Creek; he also took part in man}- lesser en- 
 gagements. When the war was over and the 
 country no longer needed his services he was hon- 
 orably discharged and mustered out at Spring- 
 field, III., October 8, 1805. For four years he had 
 faithfully followed the old flag and defended his 
 country in her hour of peril, and .as an honored 
 veteran he now returned to his home in La Salle 
 County. 
 
 The following winter Jlr. Gunnerson spent in 
 that county, and in 1866 came to Kankakee County. 
 In company with his brother Fulton he here pur- 
 chased a tract of land in Pilot Township and be- 
 gan the development of a farm. Together the 
 brothers continued to operate their land for two 
 years, when Gunner sold to Fulton and purchased 
 another tract, upon which some slight improve- 
 ments had been made. Soon he had the entire 
 amount under a high state of cultivation and the 
 land yielded him a golden tribute in return for 
 the care and labor he bestowed upon it. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Gunnerson and Miss Flora 
 Christian, who for more than twsnly-five years 
 have traveled life's journey together as man and 
 wife, was celebrated in Grundy County, III., Octo- 
 ber 28, 1867. The lady is a native of this .State, 
 and her maidenhood days were spent in Grundy 
 County. Mrs. (iunnerson's father was a native of 
 the Isle of Man. and her gre;it-grandparents came 
 from Holland. The father was a fanner by occu- 
 pation, and in 1852, about the time of the "gold 
 fever," went to California, and there died. Her
 
 420 
 
 POETEAIT AND BlOGEAPfflCAL RECORD. 
 
 mother died when she was a child, but she was 
 reared Iw her grandmother. Three children have 
 been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Gunnerson: Bertie 
 Grant, who is a school teacher of recognized ability 
 in this count}-; William C, who is now pursuing 
 the scientific cc)urse of stud\- in the Normal Col- 
 lege of Valparaiso, Ind., and Clifford IT., a lad of 
 seven j-ears, who is attending school in Herscher. 
 In his social relations, Mr. Gunnerson is a mem- 
 ber of Whipple Post No. 414, G. A. R., of Kanka- 
 kee. Until of late years he exercised his right of 
 franchise in support of the Republican party, with 
 which lie voted from 1864, when he cast his first 
 ballot for Abraham Lincoln, while home on a fur- 
 lough. He is now identified witii the Prohibi- 
 tion part3^ He is the present efficient Assessor of 
 Pilot Township, to which ottice he was elected in 
 the spring of 1892. In that 3ear Mr. Gunnerson 
 left his farm, and having built a neat and substan- 
 tial residence in Herscher, removed to that village, 
 where he now makes his home. For many long 
 years he has been a resident of this part of Illinois, 
 and has witnessed much of the growth and devel- 
 opment of the count}-, having seen it transformed 
 from an almost unbroken wilderness into one of 
 the best counties of the State. As a citizen, Mr. 
 Gunnerson is progressive and public-spirited, and 
 manifests an interest in all that pertains to the 
 welfare of the community. 
 
 hi<Wp>.»it. 
 
 ^ M^ ■!* B^ i ■ 
 
 \Jp^ EUBEN DAYTON, who is engaged in gen- 
 eral farming on section 24, Momence 
 Township, has spent almost his entire life 
 ^'^. on his present farm, which is the old home- 
 stead of the Dayton famil}-. He was born in Can- 
 ada on the .3d of .July, 18,3.3, and is a son of Will- 
 iam and E;iizabeth (Hess) Dayton, a sketch of 
 whom appears elsewhere in this woi-k. They had 
 a famil}' of four children, three sons and a daugh- 
 ter, of whom Reuben is the eldest. 
 
 Our subject was only six jears of age when he 
 came to the W^est with his parents. The family 
 located in Kankakee County, 111., and the father 
 
 took up a claim. This was in 1839, at a time when 
 the entire countj- was wild and but sparsely set- 
 tled, indeed, the work of progress and civilization 
 seemed scarcely begun, and the Dayton family en- 
 dured all the liardships and went tlirough all the 
 experiences of pioneer life. As Mr. Daylon se- 
 cured his land from the Government, it was in its 
 primitive condition, not a furrow having been 
 turned or an improvement made; but with the aid 
 of his son, he developed the wild tract into rich 
 and fertile fields. I'pon that farm and amid the 
 scenes of the frontier, Reuben Dayton was reai'ed 
 to manhood. His boyhood days were passed amid 
 play and work, but tlie latter greatly predominated 
 and he was early inured to the hard labors of de- 
 veloping a new farm. He remained at home with 
 his parents until after they were called to their 
 final rest. His mother died when he was only 
 about nine years of age, and the death of the fa- 
 ther occurred when Reuben was about fifteen ^-ears 
 of age. He was then thrown upon his own re- 
 sources, and began life for himself. A farm was 
 left to the four children, wiiicli our subject at once 
 began to cultivate and improve, and the old home- 
 stead lias since been his place of abode, lie having 
 purchased the interests of the other heirs in tlie 
 same. 
 
 Mr. Dayton has been twice married. In 1856 
 he was united in marriage with Miss Elmira Force, 
 of this county, who died two years later, and on 
 the 1st of January, 1860, he was again married, 
 his second union being with Mrs. Marinda Wells, 
 widow of Timothy Wells, a farmer of this county, 
 who died in 1859. B}^ her first union she had 
 three children. Mary A. became the wife of Cyrus 
 B. Scott, and died in 1887; Martha L. married 
 John Kesler, a farmer of Momence Township; Fre- 
 mont J. is also a farmer of the same township. By 
 her second marriage slie became the mother of two 
 children: Leonidas R. and Mahlon J., both of 
 whom died in childhood. 
 
 In his political alliliations, ]\Ir. Dayton is a Re- 
 publican, having long supported the men and 
 measures of that party. For two j^ears he has been 
 Postmaster of the Wera post-office, which is lo- 
 cated upon his farm. Throughout his entire life, 
 Mr. Dayton has engaged in agricultural pursuits.
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIHCAL RECORD. 
 
 12! 
 
 ITe owns a desirable farm of about one hiindred 
 mid thirty-three acres, which he lias now rented. 
 Our subject is a worthy representative of one of 
 the honored pioneer families of the county, and in 
 the community where lie has so long made his 
 home he is widely and favorably known. His best 
 friends are among those who have known him 
 from his boyhood days, a fact that indicates the 
 honorable, upright life which he li.as lived and the 
 high regard in which he is held. 
 
 
 
 32^:£^ 
 
 ^yi^^o' 
 
 |(_-, ARMON MEAD, one of the honored veter- 
 ans of the late war and a retired farmer of 
 ~r^ Kankakee County, now residing on section 
 i^ 31, Pilot Township, is a native of the (4reen 
 Mountain State. He was born in Franklin County, 
 Vt., on the l.'jth of March, 18.33, and is of Gerin.an 
 descent. His paternal grandfather, Caleb Mead, 
 was a native of German}-. Emigrating to Amer- 
 ica, lie became one of the early settlers of Vermont 
 and the founder of the family in the New World. 
 On his trip across the broad Atlantic he w.as accom- 
 panied by two brothers, who settled in New York. 
 
 C. A. Jlead, the father of our subject, was also 
 born in Franklin County, Vt., and there grew to 
 mature j-ears. He followed the occupation of 
 farming as a means of livelihood, and continued 
 his residence in the State of his nativity until 
 called to the home beyond. His family numbered 
 eight sons and two daughters, but the latter are 
 now deceased, and one brother has also passed 
 away. 
 
 Under the i)arental roof our subject spent the 
 days of his childhood, and in the common schools 
 of the neighborhood he acquired his education, al- 
 though his privileges were quite meagre. He re- 
 mained with his father until the age of twenty 
 years, when, desiring to follow some other pursuit 
 than tlial of agriculture, he began learning the car- 
 penter's trade, at which he worked for some three 
 ycai-s. Following Horace Greeley's advice, he came 
 to the West, a young man, in 18.51, and made his 
 first location in Kankakee, 111. Soon after his ar- 
 
 rival he secured employment with Mr. Mcintosh. 
 a manufacturer of brooms, with whom he worked 
 during the winter season for two years, while in 
 the summer months he was emi)loyed as a farm 
 hand. . He then continued his farm labors and also 
 engaged in carpentering, for he had his own way 
 to make in the world. 
 
 After the breaking out of the late war Mr. Mead 
 responded to his country's call for troops, and in 
 1862 joined the First Marine Artillery, after which 
 he was sent to New York. He remained in the 
 service until the following spring, when he was 
 discharged and returned to his home in Kankakee. 
 Here he again resumed farming, which he carried 
 on until the autumn of 1864, when he once more 
 re-enlisted, becoming a member of the Eighth Illi- 
 nois Infantry. He joined his regimentat Duvall's 
 IJluff, Ark., and remained in the service until the 
 close of the war, participating in all the engage- 
 ments in and around S[)anish Fort and Ft. HIakely. 
 When peace had been restored he was discharged 
 at .Jefferson Barracks in August, 186,"). 
 
 Mr. i\[ead at once returned to Kankakee County, 
 and in 1806 rented a farm of forty acres in Pilot 
 Townshii), wliicli he operated for several years. 
 In 1867 he purchased a tract of forty acres, upon 
 which he now resides, removing hither about 
 1870. He broke and fenced the land, built a small 
 residence thereon, and opened up a farm. With 
 characteristic energy he carried on the work of de- 
 velopment and improvement, and as his labors 
 were blessed with prosperit}', a few 3'ears later he 
 was enabled to purchase an additional forty-acre 
 tract adjoining. Subsequently he bought sixty 
 acres, and he now owns a well-improved and cul- 
 tivated farm of one hundred and forty acres. 
 Upon it he has erected a neat and substantial resi- 
 dence, together with barns and outliuildings which 
 are models of convenience. The improvements 
 upon the plaee stand as monuments to his thrift 
 and enterprise. 
 
 On the 20th of Februa'y. 1867, in Pilot Town- 
 ship, Mr. Mead was married to Miss Elizabeth 
 Woods, a native of Indiana, born in Jefferson .Ian- 
 uary 4, 1843, and a daughter of Francis and Eliza- 
 beth (Fraiicess) Woods, who removed from the Hoo- 
 sier State to Illinois, locating in Kankakee County
 
 422 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArmCAL RECORD. 
 
 when Mrs. Mead was about eight years of age. 
 Four sons have been born of this union: Delraer, 
 who aids in operating the home farm; George; Roy 
 and l']inory. Tlie two youngest ciiildren are now 
 in school. The family is one of prominence in the 
 community, widely and favorably known. 
 
 Mr. Mead cast his first Presidential vote for Hon. 
 Stephen A. Douglas, since which time he has been 
 a stanch supporter of the men and measures of the 
 Republican party. However, he has never been 
 an oHice-seeker, preferring to devote his whole 
 time and attention to his business interests, in 
 wliich he has met with good success. His wife is 
 a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at 
 Herscher. This worthy couple liave long been 
 residents of Kankakee County, have seen much of 
 its growth and development, and well deserve to 
 be mentioned among its early settlers and promi- 
 nent citizens. 
 
 _=]_ 
 
 ^+^[ 
 
 ~S1 
 
 y^ILLIAJI HIPKE, a well-known citizen of 
 'I Herscher, who for many years was con- 
 \J^^ nected with the fanning interests of Kan- 
 kakee County, but is now living a retired life, was 
 born in Bergenhausen,Schleswig, Germany, ^larch 
 4, 1841. His mother was also born in Germany, 
 and his father, Frederick Hipke, was a native of 
 Prussia. He died in his native land, leaving the 
 mother with a family of ten children to support. 
 About three years after her husband's death, Mrs. 
 Hipke crossed the Atlantic to America and made 
 her first location in Calumet County, Wis. The 
 family settled upon a tract of wild land in the 
 midst of the forest, which the sons cleared and 
 transformed into a good farm. The mother there 
 spent the last 3'ears of her life, passing away in 
 1876, at the age of about seventy-six years. 
 
 William Hipke is the sixth in order of birth in 
 this family. John, the eldest, is now deceased; Fred- 
 erick is living a retired life in Fremont, Neb.; 
 Jacob is also living retired and m.akes his home 
 in Holstein, Wis.: Carl is engaged in fanning in 
 Calumet County, Wis.; Christian is a retired farmer 
 
 of Holstein; the next younger are our subject and 
 his twin sister Anna, who is the wife of David 
 Hausheldt, of Holstein, Wis.; Margaret is the wife 
 of Peter Lipp, a farmer residing in Holstein; 
 George, a contractor and builder, resides in Erie, 
 Ph., and completes the family. 
 
 The subject of this sketch spent the first fourteen 
 3'ears of his life in the land of his birth and then, 
 bidding good-bj'e to the home of his childliood, 
 accompanied his mother on her emigration to 
 America. He spent about four yc&rs, in Calumet 
 County, Wis. He had good school advantages in 
 Germany, but in the English language he is entirely 
 self-educated. When a young man of eighteen 
 3'ears, he left Wisconsin and came to this State, 
 locating first in Kendall County, where he worked 
 for S. P. Bushnell, then of Keadall County, but now 
 of Paxton, 111. He remained with that gentleman 
 for seven years and found in his emplo3'er a good 
 friend, whom he remembers with deep gratitude. 
 
 About 1867, Mr. Hipke purchased a tract of wild 
 land of one hundred and sixty acres, located in 
 Milk's Grove Township, Ii-oquois County. Settling 
 thereon, he broke the land and developed a farm, 
 continuing its cultivation for a number of years. 
 He afterwards purchased one hundred and sixty 
 acres in Kank.akee Count3', an improved place, to 
 the development of which he devoted his energies 
 for a number of 3-ears. In 1883 he removed to 
 Pilot Township, where carried on agricultural pur- 
 suits for two years. He then determined to make 
 his home in the West and in 1885 removed to Col- 
 orado, locating in Denver. He spent the winter 
 in that city and in the spring of 1886 returned to 
 this county. He then took up his residence in 
 Pilot Township, but after two 3'ears removed to 
 Herscher, where he continued to reside until 1891. 
 He then sold out and changed his place of abode 
 to Onarga. This was in the spring of 1892. He 
 resided in Onarga until the fall of that3'ear, when 
 he purchased lots in Herscher, built thereon a sub- 
 stantial and pleasant residence, and returned to the 
 village in November of that year. 
 
 On the rith of November, 1871, in Morris, 
 Grundy County, 111., was celebrated the marriage 
 of jMr. Hipke with Miss Mary J. Duckworth, who 
 was born in Lisbon, Kendall County, III., Feb-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIHCAL RECORD. 
 
 423 
 
 niary 15, 1845, and reared in that count}'. She was 
 the youngest cliild of tlie venerable Oeorge and 
 Mary (XiUtall) Duckworth, both natives of Lan- 
 cashire, Enghind, who removed directly to New 
 Hartford, N. Y., and .again removed in the your 1836 
 to Lisbon, Kendall County, 111., remaining there 
 until retiring, and spending the remainder of their 
 lives with their children. Three children have 
 been bftrn of the union of our subject and his wife, 
 the eldest of whom, George F.,died on the llth of 
 April, 1891, in Ilerscher. He had received agood 
 education, fust graduating from the Ilerscher public 
 schools, then pursuing a commercial course of stud}' 
 in Onarga Seminary. He was a young man of many 
 excellencies of character, a consistent member of 
 the Presbyterian Church, and was beloved and 
 esteemed by all who knew him. His health, 
 however, was never very robust and disease 
 fastening itself upon him, he passed away at 
 his parents' home in Herscher, mourned by a 
 large circle of friends and acquaintances. Walter 
 W., the second son, is attending school, and is 
 a member of the Presbyterian Chm'ch at Ilerscher. 
 Lulu, a bright little maiden of six summers, com- 
 pletes the famil}'. 
 
 Mr. Ilipke began life for himself empty-handed, 
 possessed of a strong determination to succeed and 
 a young man's bright hope of the future. With un- 
 tiring energy he steadily worked his way upward, 
 overcoming the obstacles in his path b}' his great 
 energjaud progressive spirit. With the .assistance 
 of his wife he has accumulated two valuable farms, 
 together with a good home, and to-day is one of 
 the substantial eiiizens of Kankakee County. Up- 
 right and luinorable in all his business relations, 
 his career has been acommendable one, well worthy 
 of emulation. He is now living retired, enjoying 
 a well-earned rest. 
 
 In political sentiment, ]\Ir. Ilipke is a Republican, 
 having been identified with that part_y since he 
 cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lin- 
 coln in 1K64. Since that time he has supported 
 each .Republican nominee for the Presidenc}'. 
 While in Milk's Grove Township he served as 
 Trustee and for a number of years was a member 
 of the School Board. He gives his support to all 
 worthy enterprises calculated to prove of public 
 
 benefit and is a warm friend to the cause i^f edu- 
 cation. Himself and wife are members of the 
 Presbyterian Church, in which Mr. Ilipke served 
 as Elder and Trustee for a number of years, or un- 
 til his removal to Onarga in the spring of 1892. 
 This worthy couple are held in the warmest regard 
 throughout the community where they reside, for 
 universal confidence and esteem are theirs. 
 
 -^1= 
 
 ERBERT WHEELER, M. I)., is a well-known 
 )lj physician and surgeon of Grant Park, 111., 
 and was born December 4th, 1851, near 
 (^ Saratoga, N. Y. According to familj' 
 tradition, three brothers by the name of Wheeler 
 emigiated from England at an early day, settling 
 in Connecticut, and from them have descended the 
 numerous families of that name in the United 
 States. Elias Wheeler, who was born February 1, 
 1780, and died May 1 1, 1834, was a wealthy farmer 
 residing near Shaftsbury, Vt. He was a man of 
 strict integrity and was highly respected. He 
 married Miss Olive Niles, who was born October 
 22, 1784, and whose death occurred M,ay6, 1875. 
 To them were born eight sons and six daughters, 
 who grew to maturity. The Niles family was of 
 pure AVelsh extraction and was possessed of great 
 strength and vitality. 
 
 Andrew Pitcliner Wheeler, the tenth cliild born 
 to Elias Wheeler, was the father of our subject. 
 He was born January 7, 1817, and died Ajjril 20, 
 1882. He inherited almost a giant's strength and 
 was a man of great activity and energy. Though 
 quick to resent a wrong, he was ever the first to 
 come to the defense of a friend. On the 5th of 
 May, 1846, he wedded Sarah Jewett, who w.as born 
 near Bennington, Vt., October 26, 1822, and who, 
 though over seventy' years of age, is still living, 
 making her home in Grant Park, 111. Her father, 
 Levi Jewett, who was born July 18, 178'J, and 
 wliose death occurred on the same farm near 
 Bennington, was a respected agriculturist and 
 survej-or of that section. His wife, who was for- 
 med}' Miss Laura Perry, was born in Stamford, Vt.,
 
 424 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 on the 8tli of February, 1799, and died when her 
 dauijihter Sarah was a child of but seven years. 
 Though subjected to many hardships, and left an 
 orphan at an early age, the latter succeeded in at- 
 taining a good education in the private and aca- 
 demic schools of Bennington and was a successful 
 teacher. 
 
 To Andrew P. and Sarah (.Jewett) Wlieeler were 
 born the following children: Harriet Maria, born 
 on the 8th of March, 1847; Hamilton Jewett 
 Kincaid, on the ■')th of August, 1848; Herbert, on 
 tlie 4th of December, 18ol; Mary, on the 6th of 
 November, 1853; Charles Harry, March 10, 1857; 
 Thomas, July 19, 1859; and Laura Finett, Jan- 
 uary 7, 1865. The two older children are na- 
 tives of Shaftshury, Vt., and the four younger 
 were born on the old homestead near Grant Park. 
 
 In the spring of 1853, when our subject was not 
 two 3'ears of age, his parents located on section 30, 
 Yellowliead Township. The farm consisted of forty 
 acres of land, one mile south of the present village 
 of Grant Park. After living in a log house for 
 two years they purchased and removed to a farm 
 adjoining the village. This farm consists of two 
 hundred and forty acres and is the soutli half of the 
 nortliwesl quarter and the northeast quarter 
 of section 19, Yellowhead Township. In com- 
 mon with the other children, Herbert Wheeler 
 had to endure the hardships of pioneer life, 
 and while young was only enabled to attend 
 school during the winter months. In 1868 he 
 entered the public schools of Kankakee, residing 
 in the home of A. B. True. The following winter 
 he attended the district school at McKinstr.y Cor- 
 ners for a term comprising flfty-six days. From 
 November, 1869, until March, 1870, he was a student 
 at St. Paul's School at Kankakee. On the 12th of 
 April, 1870, he passed an examination given b^- 
 County Superintendent T. W. Beecher, a nephew 
 of Henry Ward Beecher, and received a teacher's 
 ccrtiticate. He did not immediately avail himself 
 of this, but during the summer worked on the home 
 farm and in the fall again entered St. Paul's School. 
 On the 10th of April, 1871, he commenced teach- 
 ing at SherburnviUe, where he remained for four 
 months. The following winter he taught in the 
 same town for six months and then later a 
 
 three months' term. In 1872 he taught for one 
 term at Yellowhead Point, and in the following 
 year conducted the first public school in Grant Park, 
 where his sister Harriet had previously carried on a 
 private school. In September, 1872, Mr. Wheeler 
 entered the Illinois Industrial University' (now the 
 University of Illinois) at Urbana, where he took a 
 course in literature and science. He remained 
 tliere until 1874, when, on account of a severe ill- 
 ness, he was not able to return. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler became a student in the medical 
 department of the University' of Michigan in 
 October, 1874. After taking a six months' course 
 he engaged as a clerk in a drug store at Grant 
 Park until the fall of 1875, when he entered Rush 
 Medical College of Chicago, there remaining until 
 the close of the spring term in 1876. At that time 
 the conditions for graduating in that college re- 
 quired three years^ study, and though he had given 
 his attention to the study of medicine for tw0 3'ears 
 he did not then apply for a diploma. However, in 
 the following year, when the Medical Practice Act 
 of Illinois took effect, he stood the firstexamination 
 held b}' the State Board of Health of Chicago, 
 which he passed creditably. He received certificate 
 No. 3, of the State Board of Health, dated Janu- 
 ary 12, 1877. Newton Bateman, LL. D., and J. M. 
 Gregory, LL. D., were then members of the Board. 
 
 In May, 1876, Dr. Wheeler commenced the 
 practice of medicine at Momence, where he was 
 located for six months, after which he removed to 
 Grant Park, where he has successfully practiced 
 since. He now owns a handsome residence and 
 has a pleasant home in this place. His practice is 
 large and lucrative and he is held as a worthj' 
 citizen and one of the prominent men of Grant 
 Park. 
 
 On .September 6, 1881, Dr. Wheeler and Miss 
 Anna Matilda Herbert were married in the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church of Grant Park. The 
 lady was born at Monee, Will Count}', May 7, 1860. 
 Her father, who was a native of Germany, was the 
 first settler and founder of that village, where for 
 many years he served as a Justice of the Peace. 
 He was in the Regular United States Army during 
 the Mexican War. While a resident of Will Count}' 
 he was a member of the Board of Supervisors. 
 
 ii.
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 425 
 
 In 1876 he removed to Grant Park, which is still 
 liis home. Mis. Wheeler is an accomi)lished musi- 
 cian and is very popular in social circles. Hy her 
 marriage she has become the mother of two chil- 
 dren: Herbert Edward, born Maj' 10, 1883; and 
 Mary Margaret, born August 5, 1884. 15oth our 
 subject and iiis estimable wife are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Churcli. Tlie Doctor is a 
 stanch Reiiublican in politics. 
 
 ellARLES F. SMITH, M. D., a leading phy- 
 sician and surgeon of Kankakee, was born 
 in the town of Hermon, St. Lawrence 
 Count}', N. Y., June 6, 1851. His parents were Mor- 
 ris G. and Orissa (Lake) Smith, and are now de- 
 ceased. Our subject came to Illinois with his par- 
 ents when tliirteen years of age. The family 
 located in Kendall CouQty and he attended the 
 public school at Bristol. At an early age he was 
 thrown upon his own resources and had to secure 
 the means for his education. He became a student 
 at the Aurora (111.) College, and later in the 
 University of Champaign. Under Dr. N. A. 
 Wantling, of that city, he began the study of med- 
 icine and attended lectures at Miami Medical Col- 
 lege of Cincinnati, receiving his degrees in 1874 
 and 1878. He began practicing in Cincinnati, but 
 on account of his health he removed to Danforth, 
 Iroquois Count}', 111., where he built up a large 
 and lucrative practice. He continued to live 
 there for seventeen 3-ears, or until May, 1892, 
 when he moved to Kankakee, where he liopcd to 
 get a little rest from overwork. While only six 
 montlis have elapsed since opening an olHce here, 
 his practice has grown to be extensive. About 
 the year 1886 it occurred to Dr. Smith that he 
 would like to be a lawyer, so be read under tlie di- 
 rection of the Hon. Free P. Morris, of Watseka, and 
 in 1888 was admitted to the Bar tlirougli examina- 
 tion in the Supreme Court of Illinois. He prac- 
 ticed but a short time, however, and then returned 
 to his first love and has since devoted himself to 
 the medical profession. 
 
 In February, 1880, Dr. Smith was married in 
 Danforth, Iroquois County, to Miss Emma Mc- 
 Dougall, daughter of Jolin McDougall, and a 
 native of Kentucky. They liave one clidd, a son, 
 Charles K., wlio was born in 1883. 
 
 Dr. Smith is a member of tiie Illinois Stale Med- 
 ical Association, tlic Kankakee County Medical 
 Society and of tiie National Association of Railway 
 Surgeons. In his social relations lie is a member 
 of (iilman Lodge No. 591, A. F. & A. M.; of 
 AVatseka Chapter No. 114, R. A. M., and of Ivan- 
 hoe Commandeiy No. 33, K. T. He is also a 
 member of Gilman Lodge, No. 648 I. O. O. F. 
 Dr. Smith is essentially a self-made man. He has 
 had to make his own way since childhood, and by 
 pluck, energy and hard work lie has attained to a 
 prominent place in his profession and has accum- 
 ulated a valuable property. 
 
 ♦^^ 
 
 z^ 
 
 [ir^UANKLIN S. FRIES, a well-known drug- 
 JlpHfe- gist of Kankakee, is a native of Illinois, 
 /li his birth having occurred near Geneseo, 
 Henr}' County, on the 11th of June, 1854. The 
 paternal grandfather of our subject, George Fries, 
 was a native of Pennsylvania and of German de- 
 scent. He wiis a cabinet-maker b}' trade, and of 
 his large family of children six are still living, 
 four sons and two daughters. They have all 
 reached a ripe old .age and have families of their 
 own. One of the sons lives in Moline, one in Neb- 
 raska, one near and the other in Geneseo, 111. 
 One daughter resides in Johnson County, Neb.; 
 and the other in Kingman, Kan. 
 
 The parents of our subject are John and Su- 
 sanna (Klinger) Fries, the former a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and the latter of Ohio. Four sons 
 and five daughters were born to them, but three 
 of wliom are now living: Franklin S., Hannah A. 
 and Sarah E., the others d3'ing in infanc}'. In 
 the summer of 1853, the parents emigrated to Illi- 
 nois from Ohio, where they li.ad lived for some 
 years. They settled upon a farm in Henry 
 County, near Geneseo, where Mr. Fries has engaged
 
 426 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BTOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in agi-icultuial pursuits for about fortj' years. He 
 has now readied seventy years of age and is still 
 bale and hearty. He comes from a long-lived 
 family, his grandparents having been octogenarians. 
 He was a soldier in the late war, having enlisted in 
 the one hundred day service. He and his wife are 
 consistent members of the Evangelical Church, to 
 which they liave belonged for many years and in 
 which Mr. Fries has held various offices. 
 
 The bo3'hood days of our subject were passed 
 upon his father's farm, where he worked in the 
 summer season, attending the district school 
 through the winter term. In 1874, he left the 
 parental roof, going to Ackley, Iowa, where he 
 entered a drug store and served a three years' ap- 
 prenticeship under Dr. W. H. Roberts, learning thor- 
 oughly the compounding of prescriptions. In 1877, 
 he returned to his home in Geneseo, where he re- 
 mained for two years. Mr. Fries next went to Chi- 
 cago, and entering the employ of Rockwood Bros., 
 druggists, remained with them until 1882. He 
 then came to Kankakee and clerked for about six 
 years in the drug stores of Kurrasch <fe Stege and 
 that of F. Swannell. About 1888, Mr. Fries 
 formed a partnership with .J. S. Cline and pur- 
 chased the stock former!)' owned b)' F. Swannell. 
 They continued in business together until March, 
 1890, when Mr. Cline sold his interest to Dr. H. 
 H. Rogers, since which time the style of the firm 
 has been Fries ife Rogers. They have a well- 
 stocked store of druggists' supplies, also paints, 
 oils, wall paper and stationery. Since embarking 
 in business in this city, Mr. Fries has met with 
 signal success and has a constantly increasing- 
 trade. 
 
 The 17th of .lanuary, 1878, was an eventful day 
 in the history of Mr. Fries, for he was then united 
 in marriage with Sarali A. Babel, daughter of 
 Jacob and Jlary (Siusinnicht) Babel, of Naperville, 
 111., who were natives of Germany, and emigrated 
 to America when young. Mr. Babel was a black- 
 smith, farmer and carpenter, and at the present 
 time has a shop on his farm. Mr. and Mrs. Fries 
 have one child, a son, Howard Lloyd, who is now 
 about twelve years of age. 
 
 Mr. Fries is interested in civic societies and is a 
 member of the Ancient Order of United Work- 
 
 men, and also holds membership with Lodge No. 
 379, A. F. & A. M. He is not a politician, as his 
 time is fully occupied in carrying on his business 
 without aspiring to the honors of office, but he is a 
 loyal Republican and has always voted that ticket. 
 He is one of the enterprising business men of Kan- 
 kakee and has a large acquaintance and patronage. 
 
 \f ONAS J. NEFF, who resides on section 10,' 
 Sumner Township, is a well-known and pro- 
 ^;^ gressive farmer and has been a resident ol 
 ^^^ this county for nearly thirty years. Hii 
 birth occurred in the Buckeye State on the 29tl 
 of December, 1836, in Tuscarawas County. Hii 
 grandfather, Christopher Neff, was of German de 
 scent, and his father, Jonas, was born in the Key 
 stone State. At an early day the latter remove' 
 to Ohio and throughout life has been a farmer. II 
 is still living in Ohio cm the old homestead, at tii 
 advanced age of eighty-five years. The mother o: 
 our subject bore the maiden name of Susann 
 Royer, and by her marriage became the mother of' 
 ten children: David, Jacob, Simon and Mary A. 
 (twins), Jonas, Elizabeth, Ezra, Martin L., Susanna 
 and Peter. The mother's death occurred in 1857. 
 Both she and her husband were members of the 
 Lutheran Church. Afterward the father married 
 again and had one child, Austin. 
 
 Until twenty-one years of age our subject re- 
 mained at home with his father. His early educa- 
 tion was acquired in the district schools, after 
 which he attended a select school for four sum- 
 mers, teaching during the winter months. He en- 
 gaged in that profession most of the time until 
 coming to Illinois in 1864. LTpon his arrival in 
 Kankakee County, IMr. Neff rented land, turned 
 his attention to .agricultural pursuits during the 
 summer, and taught school during the winter 
 terms for three 3'ears. In 1868 he purchased the 
 farm which has been liis home ever since. This 
 tract consisted of one hundred and twenty acres 
 on section 10, and w.as raw, unimproved railroad 

 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 »«'vui8ITy OP iLLINOiS
 
 **■ ^ 
 
 iiinlWiiiiiim»*iin^ ^i 
 
 4 
 
 «■ 
 
 2?^^ ^^^
 
 Sarah webler
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HNIVERSITY OF iLLINOiS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 i;ii 
 
 land. He is now the owner of one lunulicd and 
 sixt3' acres, liuving all modern improvements. In 
 addition to general farming, lie makes a specialty 
 of raising a high grade of hogs. He has acquired 
 a good competence, the residt of years of econom}' 
 and industry. 
 
 In 1860 occurred the wedding of Mr. Xeff and 
 Miss Caroline Swiiiart, a sketch of whose family 
 appears elsewliere in this volume. Two children, 
 sons, have graced their marriage. David Lincoln 
 is a farmer of Sumner Township, and Herbert as- 
 sists his father in earr3'ing on the homestead. 
 
 As is natural on account of his many years spent 
 as a teacher, Jlr. Neff has always been especially 
 interested in educational matters and is a believer 
 in good schools and teachers. He has served his 
 townships in a number of minor offices and does 
 his share toward the promotion of all measures 
 calculated to benefit the community in which he 
 dwells. Politically, Mr. Xeff is a Rei)ublican and 
 uses his right of franchise in support of that party. 
 For many years he and his wife have been valued 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Churcli. 
 
 ll^ETEK WEBLER, one of Kankakee's well- 
 Jji known citizens, has been a resident of 
 this cit\- since 18G3, and of the State of 
 Illinois for about fort}- years. He oper- 
 ated a foundry- and machine shop in Kankakee 
 fur nearly eighteen years, but finally sold that 
 branch of his business to Messrs. Woodruff .t Beau- 
 mont. 
 
 Our subject is a native of Hartford, Conn., his 
 birth occurring .hily 1, 1821. His parents were 
 Reivlwn and Martha (Maynard) Webler, the fam- 
 ily name having doubtless originally been spelled 
 Webber. The paternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject was a Hollander by birth, and on his arrival 
 in this country he settled in Connecticut, where 
 be resided until his death. The Maynard fam- 
 ily is supposed to be of German origin. Reuben 
 Webler was engaged in the codfishery business for a 
 number of years off the Xew England coast. Soon 
 20 
 
 1, 
 
 after the discovery of gold in California he started 
 for the Pacific Coast, hoping to make his fortune, 
 and to this day his family have never received 
 any tidings from him. Whether he reached his 
 destination or perished on the way has never been 
 learned. Previous to this time, however, his fam- 
 ily had removed from Connecticut to Cherry Val- 
 ley, N. Y., and later the mother removed with her 
 family to Cazenovia, in Madison County, the 
 same State. A number of years afterward the 
 mother removed to Illinois and passed her re- 
 maining years with her son, our subject, her 
 death occurring when she had attained the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-two years. Her family con- 
 sisted of five children, three of whom, two sons 
 and a daughter, are still living. The eldest of 
 the surviving members of tlie family is Fannie, 
 widow of George Miller, who makes her home at 
 Pleasant Mount, Wayne County, Pa.; Peter is 
 the next in order of birth; and Jerome is a resi- 
 dent of Wilmington, 111. Those deceased are Mary 
 and Thomas. 
 
 Mr. Webler learned the trade of a molder or 
 stove-maker, which occupation he has followed 
 much of his life in connection with other brandies 
 of the foundry business. About 1850 he came 
 to Illinois and located at Wilmington, where he 
 had friends. In that city he lived until coming 
 to Kankakee in 1863. 
 
 In Madison County, N. Y., on the 6th of Octo- 
 ber, 1847, Mr. Webler married Miss Sarah, daugh- 
 ter of Adam Walrath. On the "iOth of October, 
 1891, Mrs. AYebler, who had been an active mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, passed 
 away. Five children had graced their union, but 
 two of whom are now living, a son and a daugh- 
 ter. George is a resident of Kankakee; and Ella 
 is the wife of John Pitzel, who operates a farm 
 owned by Mr. Webler in Otto Township. Our 
 subject has ten grandchildren, four of whom are 
 children of his sou and six of his daughter. 
 
 For quite a number of years Mr. Webler has 
 devoted considerable attention to real estate, in 
 fact that has been his principal business since he 
 sold his foundiy. He has done considerable build- 
 ing, and thus has contributed to the growth and 
 development of the city. He has been successful
 
 432 
 
 PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in business and is respected as a worthy and esti- 
 mable citizen. He resides at his pleasant home 
 situated at No. 203 Third Avenue. Politically, 
 lie was a AVhig until the rise of the Republican 
 party, with which he has since been identified. 
 Though he has held a number of minor offices in 
 the city he has never been an office-seeker. 
 
 -^^ 
 
 ATTHEW ANDERSON, who has been for 
 nearly half a century a resident of this 
 countj-, was born in Lanarkshire, Scot- 
 land, on the 19th of February, 1814. He 
 is the son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Miller) 
 Anderson, also of Scotland. Their family con- 
 sisted of seven children, six of whom were sons 
 and one a daughter: Alexander, John, Thomas, 
 Robert, Mary, Matthew and Robert. 
 
 Our subject was born and reared on a farm and 
 is largely self-educated, as his advantages for ob- 
 taining an education were most limited. Wiien 
 only seven years of age he commenced herding 
 cattle in his native land and continued in that 
 occupation until thirteen years of age. For a 
 number of j-ears he worked at general labor, prin- 
 cipally upon farms, and received but small re- 
 muneration. Believing that the New World would 
 afford him better chances of making his way in 
 the world, he bade adieu to the friends and scenes 
 of his youth, and in 1833 took passage on a sail- 
 ing-vessel bound for Canada. After a voyage 
 upon the briny deep of over eight weeks he landed 
 at Quebec. From there he went to Huntington, 
 Canada, where he lived for four years. Then 
 going to Wayne County, N. Y., Mr. Anderson com- 
 menced working on a farm, receiving $10 per 
 month. He was industrious and frugal and re- 
 mained there for about six j-ears, thence returning 
 to Canada, where he lived until 1844. That year 
 witnessed his arrival in Kankakee County, which 
 was then a portion of Will County. For the period 
 of a year he worked in a sawmill at Wilmington, 
 and then, coming to Momenco, was in asawmillfor 
 ten years. He next determined to turn his atten- 
 
 tion to agricultural pursuits and accordingly moved 
 on an eighty-acre farm of wild land, which he had 
 previously purchased on section 10,Ganier Town- 
 ship. There were at that time three log and three 
 frame houses in Momence. The farm on which he 
 is now living he settled upon in 1857, and has 
 made it his home up to the present date. When 
 he first came to this section the Indians were still 
 numerous and the country was almost a wilder- 
 ness. He now owns one hundred and twenty 
 .acres, which are under a high state of cultivation 
 and have many improvements. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was married September 24, 1850, 
 to ISIiss .Sarah A. Beadle, and by their union were 
 born four children: Mary, John, and twins who 
 died in infancy. Mrs. Anderson was called to her 
 final rest in 1856, and her remains are interred in 
 the Momence Cemetery'. Our subject was united 
 in marriage in 1859 to Miss Rebecca Wilson. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was a supporter of the old Whig 
 party previous to the organization of the Republi- 
 can part}', and since that time he has l)een one of 
 its stanch adherents. He is public-sjiirited and 
 alvv.ays ready to do his part in the various enter- ' 
 prises intended for the advancement and progress 
 
 of the communitv in which he dwells. For be- , 
 
 I 
 tween twent^'-flve and thirty years our subject has I 
 
 served in the capacity of Highway Commissioner 
 
 and School Director. In a business and financial | 
 
 way he has been very successful, and from a most - 
 
 humble beginning has worked his wa}' upwards to 
 
 a fair competency by his own unassisted efforts 
 
 and industry. 
 
 'il^'REDERlCK HOLTZMAN, a grain and seed 
 ri^\^ merchant and wealthy citizen of Grant 
 _1 Park, is a native of German}'. His birth 
 
 occurred on the 17th of February, 183G, in Prussia 
 He is the elder of two children, a son and daugh- 
 ter, born to Frederick and Fredericka (Rossen 
 Holtzman, who were also natives of Prussia, a 
 were their ancestors for many generations. Ii 
 1856 thev crossed the broad Atlantic to the Nei
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 433 
 
 World, and came directly to Du Page County, 111., 
 where they located upon a farm, wiiicli was their 
 home for the following ten years. From there 
 
 ' they came to Yellowhead To\vnslii|i, where they 
 are both still living, the father having attained the 
 advanced ago of eiglitj'-seven years, while his wife 
 is over eighty-two. Botli are members of tlie 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 p.issed in his native land, and there he received 
 good educational advantages, lie came to llie 
 United States when twenty years of .age, and tlieie 
 got rid of serving in the German arni^-. For two 
 years after his arrival in Illinois, he assisted his fa- 
 ther on his new farm in Du Page County. He then 
 purchased a farm in Vellowhead Township, and 
 there engaged in agricultural pursuits on his own 
 behalf for some five years, after which he deter- 
 mined to become a merchant, and accordingh' came 
 to (i rant Park, where he has since been engaged in 
 
 , the grain business. 
 
 j March .31. 1865, occurred the marriage of l\Ir. 
 Holtzman and Miss Sophia Rave, of Du Page 
 County. By their union were Ijorn four children: 
 Bertha, who is now the wife of Rev. Sir. Ilornung, 
 
 j aLulherau ministerof Effingham, 111.; August, who 
 
 I is the second of the family; Louisa, wife of Fred 
 Komman, a merchant of Chicago; and Rassie, who 
 
 i I is the youngest. In 1871,Mr. Iloltzraan was called 
 upon to mourn the loss of his wife, whose death 
 occurred in Kankakee County. In 1872, he wed- 
 ded Miss Ellen Hoffman, a resident of Will 
 County. Two children, Minnie and Albert, were 
 born to them. Mrs. lloltzman met death b3' acci- 
 dent in 1879, while crossing the railroad tracks. 
 
 I Our subject w.as again married in 1880, at which 
 time Miss Louisa Garchow became his wife. The 
 
 ilady is a native of Piussia, and emigrated to Chi- 
 
 'cago while quite young. 
 
 In his business Mr. lloltzman has been very suc- 
 
 [Cessful, energetic and enterpri.^ing. He is the 
 owner of two hundred and forty acres of fine farm 
 
 I land in Yellowhead Township, all under good cul- 
 
 itivation. He also owns thirty-five lots in Glen- 
 
 |d!ile, a suburb of Chicago, and i)roperty in Normal 
 'Bark, in addition to large land interests in Ilam- 
 Imond, Ind., the latter being valued at about 8100,- 
 
 000. He has a beautiful home in Grant Park, 
 
 which is hospitably opened to his many friends. 
 He owns and operates two elevators, and is one of 
 the wealthiest men of the county. By his honor- 
 able business methods and strict integrity, Mr. 
 Holtzman has won the respect of all who know 
 him. In his political views, he is a stalwart Dem- 
 ocrat, as is also his father, but though taking an 
 active interest in political and public affairs, he has 
 devoted himself to his extensive business interests, 
 and has never desired to hold official positions. 
 He is a respected member of the German Lutheran 
 Church, in which faith he was reared. 
 
 ^AVID D. LYNDS,M.D., deceased, who for 
 many long years was one of the leading 
 medical practitioners and prominent citi- 
 " zens of Kankakee County, w.as a native of 
 
 Nova Scotia. He was born in the city of Truro 
 in 1811, and comes of a family of English origin, 
 whicii at an early day was founded in the I'nited 
 States. His parents were both natives of New 
 Hampshire, and his mother was also of English de- 
 scent. From the old (iranite State tiicy removed 
 to Nova Scotia and the father devoted iiis energies 
 to agricultural pursuits. 
 
 The early years of bis life Dr. Lynds spent upon 
 the home farm with his parents, but his taste seemed 
 not to lie in the direction of agriculture. He early 
 manifested a desire to engage in the practice of 
 medicine, and at the age of sixteen years he entered 
 the office of his uncle and began the study of that 
 science. Some time afterward he pursued a course 
 Of medical lectures in New York City, and then 
 finished his studies in Canada, where he also began 
 the practice of his chosen profession. AYith the 
 desire to try his fortune in Illinois, Dr. Ljnds lo- 
 cated in Iro(iuois County in 1840, and began prac- 
 tice, but he remained there only a short time and 
 in 1841 came to Momence, Kankakee Count}% where 
 he opened an office. It was not long ere he was 
 receiving a liberal patronage and from that time
 
 434 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to the day of his death he was recognized as one of 
 the leading physicians of the community. 
 
 On the 22d of December, 1842, tlie Doctor was 
 united in marriage with Miss Loraine Bcebe, who 
 was born April 23, 1812, in Bennington County, 
 Vt., and was the second in order of birth in a fam- 
 ily of four children. Her parents, Hardin and 
 Susan (Mellen) Beebe, were among the first settlers 
 of this county, locating here in 1836. The remain- 
 der of their lives was here passed and they were 
 recognized as leading and highly respected people. 
 Mrs. L_ynds is a sister of the late Judge Orson 
 Beebe, who was Probate Judge of this district for 
 a period of eight years. Further mention of her 
 family is given in the sketch of Newell Beebe on 
 another page of this work. Mrs. Lynds accompa- 
 nied her parents to the West and during the suc- 
 ceeding winter after her arrival engaged in leach- 
 ing school, being the only lady school teacher in 
 what is now Kankakee at that time, in fact was one 
 of the very first ladies to teach school in the county. 
 
 The Doctor and his wife became parents of three 
 children, the eldest of whom, Sophia Jane, is now 
 the wife of George Little, a professor of music in 
 Newton Falls, Ohio; Susan is the wife of E. S. Cook, 
 a well-known druggist of Momence; and Eva is the 
 wife of J. H. Freeman, a prosperous farmer resid- 
 ing on the old Lynds homestead. 
 
 The Doctor was a man of recognized abilit}' 
 among his professional brethren and throughout 
 the county. He was ever a close student of his 
 profession and ever kept abreast with the advance- 
 ment and discoveries of the science. From the be- 
 ginning his practice constantly increased until it 
 assumed extensive jiroportions, and his liberal 
 patronage brought lum a good income, which he 
 judiciously invested in land and thus left to his 
 widow a handsome property. The Doctor was a 
 stanch Republican in his political views and for a 
 number of years was a member of the Odd Fellows' 
 lodge. He went to Momence in the days of its 
 early infancj', and ever took a prominent part in 
 all that pertained to its upbuilding or was calcu- 
 lated to promote the general welfare. His pleasant, 
 genial manner won him many friends, and his ster- 
 ling worth and many excellencies of cliaracter 
 gained him the hi^h esteem of all with whom busi- 
 
 ness or social relations brought him in contact. 
 He died at his home in Momence on the 19th of 
 May, 1877, and his loss was deeply regretted 
 throughout the community. 
 
 Mrs. Lj'nds still survives her husband and is now 
 living upon the old homestead, which his care and 
 forethought provided ft>r her. It is pleasantly 
 located only about a mile from Momence and com- 
 prises three hundred and seventy-five acres of val- 
 uable land, under a high state of cultivation and 
 well improved. With her reside her daughter and 
 son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Freeman. Mrs. Lynds 
 has now reached the advanced age of eighty-one, 
 but her >-ears rest lightly upon her and she is now 
 enjoying quite good health. Her faculties, both 
 mental and physical, are scarcely impaired and slie 
 is a well-informed lady whocan talk entertainingly 
 on most subjects of general interest. Mrs. Lynds 
 is numbered among tiie pioneer settlers of this 
 coxmty, where for fifty-six j'ears she has made her 
 home, and well deserves mention among its pioneer 
 settlers. 
 
 ♦^^ 
 
 E^^^ 
 
 s^ AMER D. DENNIS is a progressive farms 
 owning property on section 27, Sumne 
 Township. He was born on the 22d c 
 March, 1845, near the town of Liberty 
 Jackson County, Mich., and is a son of William ] 
 and Jane (Goodwin) Dennis. The father was 
 native of Connecticut and was largel3r self-edr 
 cated. B}' trade he was a cabinet-maker. He r 
 moved to Oneida County, N. Y., in 1828, whe 
 he was married and remained for about three yea 
 working at his trade. In 1831 he went by tea 
 with his family to Jackson County, Mich., wh( 
 he was one of the early settlers. He purchas' 
 eighty acres of heavy timber land and erectec 
 small log cabin in the woods. Much of this pr< • 
 erty he cleared and otherwise improved. He a i 
 entered two hundred and eighty acres of Gove - 
 ment land some four 3'ears after his arrival i 
 Michigan. Later, he removed to the village f 
 Brooklyn, where he started a cabinet factory jt
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 43£ 
 
 the manufacture of furniture, and also ran an old- 
 time tavern. In these various lines he was engaged 
 until 1857, at whifli time he came to Illinois, set- 
 tling upon land which he had purchased in 1853, 
 in Sumner Township, tliis county. The tract con- 
 sisted of one hundred and sixtj' acres of raw 
 prairie land, located on section 27. For many 
 years he gave his whole attention to the cultiva- 
 tion and general improvement of this property, 
 and here he lived when cut down by the hand of 
 death on the 18th of February, 1880. His remains 
 were interred in Union Corners Cemetery, and by 
 his side was buried his wife, whose death occurred 
 April 12, 1887. Mr. Dennis was an ardent suij- 
 porter of Gen. .Jackson, but later became a Re- 
 publican. By his energy and industry he had ac- 
 cumulated two hundred and fortj' acres of land, all 
 located in Sumner Township. Unto AVilliam Den- 
 nis and his wife were born seven children, of whom 
 but four are living: Calvin G., who lives in Wash- 
 ington, D. C; Mary J., who lives in Beaufort, S. 
 C; Damer D., and Stephen \V., who lives in Chi- 
 cago. Those deceased are Amelia M., whose death 
 occurred August 12, 1872; AVilliam F., who de- 
 parted this life the 9lh of September, 1839; and 
 Willie, who died August 6, 1851. 
 
 The boyhood of our subject was passed in his 
 native village in Michigan, and when eleven years 
 of age he came with his father to Illinois, where 
 he has lived continuously up to the present date. 
 His educational advantages were fair, and since 
 arriving at mature j'ears he has become well read. 
 When twenty-one years of age, Mr. Dennis rented 
 land of his father, and from that time forward has 
 given his attention exclusively to his farming in- 
 terests. After renting for about a year he pur- 
 chased fort}' acres of land on section 27, which is 
 Still in his possession. In addition to this he owns 
 one hundred and sixty acres which formerly be- 
 longed to his father, and one hundred and twenty 
 acres in Gauier Township. His home residence is 
 situated on the property which was purchased by 
 his father. His farms now comprise three hun- 
 dred and twenty acres, which are well improved 
 and valuable land. 
 
 On the 29th of December, 1878, occurred the 
 wedding of Mr. Denais and Alice E., daughter of 
 
 Albion and Laura (Sheldon) Smythman. Mrs. 
 Dennis was born in Momence Township Septem- 
 ber 4, 1851. By their marriage they became the 
 parents of six children, of whom five are living, 
 one having died in infancy. Those surviving are 
 Harold X., Lena M., Laura .1., Raymond and 
 Percy D. 
 
 Mr. Deunis has always been a firm believer in 
 one of America's distinctive features — her grand 
 public school system. He is also mucii interested 
 in the welfare of his party, but is not an office- 
 seeker. He uses his right of franchise in favor of 
 the Republican party. Mr. Dennis is a good citi- 
 zen and has won the esteem of his friends and 
 neighbors by his upright course in life. His wife 
 is a faithful and consistent member of the Baptist 
 Church. 
 
 
 WJOIIN SMITH makes his home on section 36, 
 Yellowhead Township, and is one of the 
 ^^ pioneers of this county. He was born 
 (^/ March 5, 1828, in Vigo County, Ind. His 
 parents were James and Mary (Soesbe) Smith. 
 The father was born in Virginia in 1802, and was 
 among the pioneers of Indiana. At an early da}' 
 he removed to what is now Kankakee County, 
 where he located on a piece of Goverunient land 
 and resided until his deatli, on the 25th of 
 March, 1843. He was one of the very first set- 
 tlers of Yellowhead Township. The mother of 
 our subject was a native of Kentucky and died in 
 Kankakee County February 2()tli, 187G. By her 
 marriage she became the mother of five children, 
 three sons and two daughters, of whom .lolin was 
 the fourth in order of birth. 
 
 When about seven 3'ears of age, John Smith 
 came to Yellowhead Township with his parents, 
 and well knows what life on the frontier means 
 with its inconveniences and privations. Forsome 
 years his father w.as obliged to go ninet}- miles to 
 Fountain County, Ind., for jjrovisions and other 
 supplies. There were no public or free schools,
 
 436 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHJCAL RECORD. 
 
 and so the educational advantages were of the 
 most limited order. Our subject was the eldest 
 boj'of the famil}' at the time of his father's death, 
 which occurred when he was fourteen years old. 
 For many years, he assisted nobly and manfully 
 in the support of the family. He is really self- 
 educated and largely since arriving at mature 
 years. He is now the owner of the same land upon 
 which his father located over half a century ago. 
 He has a verj' pleasant home and a desirable prop- 
 erty situated five miles east of Grant Park and 
 about one mile from Sherburnville. He has ac- 
 quired over three hundred acres of land in this 
 county, which represents his years of toil and in- 
 dustry. 
 
 In this county, on the 2d of November, 1851, 
 Mr. Smith and Miss Jane Britton were joined in 
 marriage. The lady was born on the IGth of Oc- 
 tober, 1833, in Fountain County, Ind., and is a 
 daughter of David and Mar3' (Fitzgerald) Britton, 
 who located in what is now Kankakee County in 
 1833, when Mrs. Smith was a small child. Her 
 mother was the first white woman ever in Yellow- 
 head Township, but the3' only remained here for a 
 short time on account of sickness. They returned 
 to Fountain County, Ind., from which ten years 
 later the3' again came to Kankakee County, and 
 until about 1862 were residents of this neighbor- 
 hood. Mr. Britton now lives in Anna, Union 
 County, 111., aged eighty' -four 3'ears. His first wife 
 died some three years after going to Anna. Mrs. 
 Smith is the eldest of eight children, of whom only 
 three now live. 
 
 Ten children, three sons and seven daughters, 
 have graced the union of Mr. and Mrs. Smith: 
 Daniel, an enterprising farmer of Yellowhead 
 Township; Mary E., wife of Irwin Dicke^', also a 
 farmer of the same township; Xancy J., who is now 
 the wife of Elmer Harden, who carries on a farm 
 in Lake Count}', Ind.; Sarah, the wife of Robert 
 Ha\'den, also an agriculturist of Lake County; 
 Julia, deceased; Ansel, who is engaged in farming 
 near the old homestead; Darius and Maggie L., 
 at home; Lucy M., a student in the school at Low- 
 ell, Ind.; and Alma, attending school near home. 
 
 Mr. Smith holds membership with Grant Park 
 Lodge No. 740, A. F. & A. M., of Grant Park. He 
 
 and his wife, with their family, are active members 
 and workers in the Christian Church. Our subject 
 supports the Prohibition party and takes an active 
 part in both temperance and educational affairs. 
 For fifty-eight years he has lived on the same farm. 
 As pioneers, he and his wife are widely known and 
 esteemed. 
 
 /^^ AMUEL NICHOLS, who is engaged in gen- 
 ^^^ eral farming on section 8, Momence Town- 
 Ijiyjj) ship, is one of the honored pioneer settlers 
 of this county, his residence here dating 
 from 1837. Few have longer been numbered 
 among the citizens of this communit}' than our 
 subject, who lias been an eye-witness of almost the 
 entire growth and development of the county. 
 He has seen its wild lands transformed into beau- 
 tiful homes and farms, it hamlets grow into thriv- 
 ing towns, and while watching its progress and 
 advancement he has also aided in its upbuilding. 
 In writing the history of the old settlers of this 
 count}' his sketch cannot well be omitted. 
 
 Mr. Nichols claims Ohio as the State of his birth, 
 having been born in Franklin County, on March 
 11, 1817. He was the fourth child in a family 
 of twelve children, numbering seven sons and five 
 daughters, whose parents were William and Mary 
 (Gundy) Nichols. The father was born in Vir- 
 ginia April 7, 1788, and was of English descent, 
 the Nichols family being founded in this couutryi 
 in early Colonial daj'S. In early life he left Vir- 
 ginia, removing AVestward to Ohio. From there 
 he moved to Vigo County, Ind., where he lived 
 some eight years, and in 1836 came to Vermilior 
 County, 111. The spring of 1837 witnessed his ar- 
 rival in what is now Kankakee County, where h( 
 took up Government land and began the develop 
 ment of a farm. There were few settlers in tli^ 
 county at that time, and with its pioneer histor; 
 his name is closely connected. Mr. Nichols wa 
 the first Justice of the Peace ever elected in thi 
 part of the State, and he took quite an active pai' 
 in [iiiblic affairs. His wife died two years aft€
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 437 
 
 they came to Illinois. She was called to lier final 
 rest Deeenilicr 25, lt<.'V.), and her remains were in- 
 terred in the Nichols ("emetery. The iiusbaud and 
 father died on the old homestead in Momence 
 Townshii), November 1 1, 1H7I, at the ripe old age 
 of eighty -six years. 
 
 Samuel Nichols, whose name heads this record, 
 spoilt the first ten \'ears of his life in the State of 
 his iiativit}-, and then accompanied his [larents on 
 their removals to Indiana and Illinois. Ilis en- 
 tire life has been passed upon a farm. lie was 
 reared in the usual manner of farmer lads, and in tlie 
 winter season, when his services were not needed 
 at home, he attended the district schools of the 
 neighborhood. Thus was he educated. He worked 
 with his father until twenty-one years of age, but 
 on attaining his majority left the parental roof 
 and started out in life for himself with -^1 capi- 
 tal. Content to follow the occupation to which 
 he was reared, he entered land from the Govern- 
 ment in Momence Township, and began farming. 
 Upon the tract of land which he secured, not a 
 furrow had been turned or an improvement made, 
 but with characteristic energy he began its devel- 
 opment, and in the course of time rich and fertile 
 fields were yielding to him golden tribute in re- 
 turn for the care and labor he bestowed upon them. 
 
 On the 27th of March, 1850, Mr. Nichols married 
 Miss Elizabeth Ilill, a native of Sullivan County, 
 Ind., born June 17, 1828, and a daughter of AVill- 
 iam and Elizabeth (Silvers) Hill, of the same 
 county. By their marriage tliey became the par- 
 ents of eight children, five sons and three daugh- 
 ters. In order of birth they are as follows: John 
 H., who is now foreman of a railroad force em- 
 ployed in carpenter work; Sarah E., who is next 
 in order of birth; Emily E. and Charles G., both 
 deceased; James M., a carpenter by trade, who mar- 
 ried Miss Nellie Innian, of Sutherland, Iowa; Frank 
 L., a telegraph operator; Thomas G., a prosperous 
 farmer of Momence Township; and Cora Z., a 
 teacher of recognized ability in the public schools 
 of this county. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Nichols have a pleasant home, lo- 
 cated upon a good farm of one hundred and thir- 
 ty-five acres of well-improved land, conveniently 
 situated about a mile north of Momence. He is 
 
 now in comfortable circumstances, and for his suc- 
 cess he certainly deserves credit, as it has been 
 achieved entirely througli his own efforts. In pol- 
 itics, he is a stalwart supporter of the principles of 
 the Republican party. Mis first Presidential vote 
 was cast for William Henr3' Harrison, and his last 
 for the illustrious grandson of that general, Hon. 
 IJenjamin Harrison. Mr. Nichols takes an active 
 interest in all that pertains to the welfare of the 
 community, and is a valued citizen, as well as a 
 leading farmer and honored pioneer of Kankakee 
 County. 
 
 -4- 
 
 -^^ 
 
 -^ 
 
 FREDERICK IlERSCHER, a well-known 
 
 merchant and the President of the ^^illage 
 Board of Herscher, Kankakee County, de- 
 serves mention in this volume, for he is one of 
 the honored pioneers of the community. He dates 
 his residence in the county from the 2d of Maj', 
 1855, when he located in Pilot Township. 
 
 Mr. Herscher is a native of France. He was 
 born on the River Rhine, October 17, 1839, and is 
 a son of Andrew and Catherine (Welsh) Herscher, 
 both of whom were natives of the same country. 
 The father died when our subject was a small 
 child. Frederick remained in the land of his birth 
 until about thirteen years of age and there ac- 
 quired a good education, both in French and Ger- 
 man languages. In 1854, when a lad of fourteen, 
 he bade good-b\e to his old home and crossed the 
 broad Atlantic to the New World, joining his 
 mother and family at Newark, Wa^Mie County-, 
 N. Y. Andrew Herscher, with the family, moved 
 West the same year and spent that season in Cook 
 County, 111. The following 3'ear he remove<l to 
 Kankakee County, locating in Pilot Township, and 
 was among the first settlers in this part of the 
 county. 
 
 After coming to Kankakee County, Frederick 
 Herscher began life for himself by working as a 
 farm hand. He gave evidence of his progressive 
 spirit and enterprise, two prominent characteristics 
 of his nature, by spending his leisure time in study. 
 Thus he became proficient in the English Ian-
 
 438 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 guage. To agricultural pursuits he devoted his 
 energies until the summer of 1862, wheu, prompted 
 by patriotic impulses, he responded to the call of 
 his adopted country for troops, enlisting in the 
 First Marine Artillery and Joining the navy in 
 New York. Remaining in the service until tlie 
 following spring, he then received his discharge 
 and returned home. 
 
 When he again reached home, Mr. Herscher pur- 
 chased a tract of land with slight improvements 
 and began its further development. The land 
 was transformed into rich and fertile fields, and 
 the place under his care became one of the ex- 
 cellent farms of the neighborhood. Mr. Herscher 
 was actively and successfully engaged in farming 
 until 1879, wheu he rented out his farm and re- 
 moved to Herscher, the village which had been 
 founded by his brother and was named in his 
 honor. There our subject took charge of and car- 
 ried on the grain business for his brother, John 
 Herscher, until the death of the latter in 1885. 
 Our subject then engaged in the same line of busi- 
 ness for himself for a period of about three years, 
 when he embarked in the furniture business, which 
 he has now carried on for four years. He has 
 been a successful merchant and is doing a thriving 
 and constantly increasing business. This liberal 
 patronage he well deserves, for in all his dealings 
 he is upright and honorable and desires to please 
 his customers. 
 
 On the 20th of February, 1867, in this county 
 and township, Mr. Herscher was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Millie E., daughter of John M. 
 Falkenberry. She was born in Tennessee, August 
 28, 1846, but was reared and educated in Mis- 
 souri. Six children came to bless this union, the 
 eldest of whom, William A., is a young man of 
 sterling worth and excellent business ability, and 
 aids his father in the furniture store; John F. died ' 
 at one year of age; Mary I., Charles F., Ueniy R. 
 and Martha E. are all at home, and the three young- 
 est are attending school. 
 
 Since becoming a voter, Mr. Herscher has been 
 identified with the Republican party. His first 
 ballot was cast for Abraham Lincoln in 1864, and 
 he has supported each Republican nominee for the 
 Presidency since that time. He has never been a 
 
 I 
 
 politician in the sense of ofHce-seeking, yet his 
 worth and abilit}' have led his fellow-townsmen to 
 select liim for several public positions. He has 
 been Constable, Collector and Town Clerk, and is 
 now serving as President of the Town Board. He 
 has been thrice elected Justice of the Peace and 
 has served as such twelve consecutive years in 
 Pilot Township. His duties in all the offices he 
 has filled have been promptly and faithfully per- 
 formed, and thereby he has won the commenda- 
 tion of all concerned. 
 
 Mr. Herscher commenced life a poor boy, and to 
 his own labor, enterprise and industry and the as- 
 sistance of his estimable wife, is due his success in 
 life. He has acquired a valuable farm, a good 
 home, a thriving business, and to-day is one of the 
 well-to-do and substantial citizens of Kankakee 
 County. In 1881 JMr. Herscher returned to France 
 and visited his friends and the scenes of his youth, 
 spending about two months in his native country, 
 the trip proving a vevy pleasant one. Almost his i 
 entire life, however, Mr. Herscher has passed in f 
 Kankakee County, where he is widely known. His 
 honorable career is well worthy of emulation and 
 has won him high regard. A representative and 
 valued citizen of this county is Frederick Herscher. 
 
 "\| AMES BOWLBY, one of the honored pio- 
 neers of Kankakee County, is numbered 
 among the leading citizens of Herscher, and 
 has for a number of years been prominently' 
 connected with the business interests of this place. 
 His life record is as follows: He was born in Nova 
 Scotia, July 24, 183.5, and his father, George 
 Bowlby, was also a native of that country. The 
 latter removed to Canada in 1851, and there spent 
 the last years of his life. 
 
 The subject of this sketch passed the d.ays of his 
 boyhood and j'outii under the parental roof, and 
 received such educational privileges as the com- 
 mon schools afforded. Wheu a young man, he 
 came to the United States, and in 1855 located in 
 Kankakee County, 111., where he embarked in farm-
 
 OF I HE 
 UNIVtRSIIY OF iLL!*JOIS
 
 
 •V 
 
 ,>%^ 
 
 ^;^i>t>C^ 
 
 ^>P^7^^'^
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 411 
 
 ing. The following year he commenced farming 
 as a laborer by the montii, which occupation lie 
 continued for about one 3'ear. In this county he 
 was married on the 3d of December, 1860, the 
 lady of his choice being Mrs. Mary Jane Howe, 
 a widow, daughter of John Barber. She w.as 
 born in Ireland, and when a child, emigrated to 
 Canada, where her maidenhood days were passed. 
 Four children were born of this union. Charles 
 W., a young man of excellent business ability and 
 sterling character, is now engaged in merchandis- 
 ing in Silver Creek, Merrick County, Neb.; Nor- 
 man L. is married, and follows farming on the old 
 liomestead; Elmer H. holds a responsible business 
 position in Chicago; Rhoda C. completes the fam- 
 
 'Iv- 
 
 Mr. Bowlby's first purchase of land consisted of 
 a tract lying on either side of the dividing line 
 between Norton and Pilot Townships. It was all 
 wild prairie, upon which not a furrow had been 
 turned or an improvement made, but with char- 
 acteristic energy he began its development, and in 
 course of time the entire amount was transformed 
 into fields of great fertilitj'. He there carried on 
 farming until 1880, when he abandoned agricul- 
 tural pursuits and removed to Ilerscher. Here he 
 built a business house, and embarked in merchan- 
 dising, which he successfull3' carried on for about 
 ten years. In 1889, he engaged in the hotel busi- 
 ness, and then closing out his mercantile establish- 
 ment, he continued to carry on the hotel until the 
 fall of 1892. Mr. Bowlby was not only a prosper- 
 ous farmer, but also a successful merchant and 
 hotel-keeper. 
 
 We see in our subject a self-made man, who has 
 worked his way upward from a humble position in 
 life to one of independence. He now li.as a hand- 
 some property, vvhich enables him to live retired, 
 and stands as a monument to his thrift and en- 
 terprise. In |)olitics, Mr. Bowlb}' was formerh' 
 identified with the Republican party, but for a 
 number of years he has now been identified with 
 the Prohibition part3-, supporting its men and 
 measures. He has never been an aspirant for pub- 
 lic office, preferring to devote his entire time and 
 attention to his business interests, in which he has 
 met with such excellent success. He and his wife 
 
 are active and faithful members of the Methodist 
 P^piscopal Church, in which Mr. Bowlby holds tlie 
 office of Trustee. In social life they hold an en- 
 viable position for their man}' excellencies of char- 
 acter have won them the high regard of all with 
 whom they have been brought in contact. 
 
 eAPT. WILLIAM T. GOUGAH, proprietor 
 of Gougar's Park and owner of three steam 
 pleasure 3'achts and also of extensive sand 
 pits, is a native of Will Count}-, 111., his birth oc- 
 curring on the 26th of March, 1811. He is the 
 only son of Jacob F. and Artie (Durham) Gougar, 
 of whom see sketcli elsewhere. 
 
 Our subject was reared on a farm and received 
 his education in the common schools and in Beloit 
 College, situated at Beloit, AVis. In 1865, he came 
 to Kankakee and engaged in the grain trade, later 
 going into the coal business. In 1882 he fitted up 
 his park, which is situated on the Kankakee River, 
 about two and a-half miles above the cit}-, and is 
 a very charming picnic and pleasure ground. His 
 three steam pleasure yachts, the "Minnie Lil- 
 lie," "Modoc" and "Shabbona," are commodious, 
 well-equipped and popular pleasure boats. In ad- 
 dition to his other business, Capt. Gougar has 
 built up an extensive trade in sand, of which he 
 has an almost unlimited suppl}', both for plaster- 
 ing and foundry. He ships large ciuantilies by 
 rail to neighboring towns, and was awarded the 
 contract of furnishing sand for the construction of 
 the immense mass of buildings forming the Insane 
 Hospital. His annual trade amounts to upward of 
 four thousand yards of sand. 
 
 Capt. Gougar is a Democrat in politics, and h.as 
 held various local offices. He has served as Alder- 
 man of Kankakee almost continuously since 1870, 
 has been a member of the School Board for five 
 years, and has been twice made Assistant Super- 
 visor of his town. Socially, he holds membership 
 with Kankakee Lodge No. 389, A. F. & A. M., and 
 with Howard Lodge No. 281, I. O. O. F. The 
 Captain is an enterprising business man, and has
 
 442 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 been quite successful. His im]n-ovement of tlie 
 suburban pleasure grounds and the putting on the 
 river of his boats have proved a source of enjoy- 
 ment to the citizens of Kankakee and neighboring 
 towns and he has won popular favor by his court- 
 eous and prompt attention to the wants of his 
 patrons. 
 
 In January, 1892, Capt. Gougar was appointed 
 Maj'or of Kankakee to fill the vacancy caused by 
 the resignation of P. J. Kelly, and his long familiar- 
 ity with the affairs of the city pre-eminently fits 
 him for the position which he is now filling. 
 
 ^ 
 
 E^ 
 
 "if EFFERSON O'BRIEN, who owns a farm on 
 section 35, Sumner Township, lias the honor 
 of being a native of this county. His birth 
 occurred in Yellowhead Township on the 
 13th of November, 1844. His father, Martin 
 O'Brien, was liorn on the 9th of December, 1810, 
 on the Emerald Isle. His mother, who was a na- 
 tive of Ohio, was before her marriage Amy Hurley. 
 The father was three times married, and bj' his 
 first union there were eight children. James died 
 in 1888; Ehoda is also deceased; Thomas enlisted 
 as a private soldier in Company D, Forty-second 
 Illinois Infantry, in 1862, and was killed in a bat- 
 tle on the 19th of September of the following year; 
 our subject is next in order of birth; Daniel re- 
 sides in Momence; Merwin was adopted by Russell 
 Seager, and now makes his home in Des Moines, 
 Iowa, and is a traveling salesman for a large drug 
 house; and two children died in infancy'. 
 
 Mai-tin O'Brien emigrated to America in 1830, 
 and after a voyage of sixtj- da3'S arrived in Que- 
 bec, Canada, and from there traveled for about 
 two j'ears through the Eastern and Southern 
 States. In 1832, he removed from New Orleans to 
 Miami Countj', Ohio, where in 1834 he was mar- 
 ried. For some two years Mr. O'Biien resided in 
 Ohio, and then, coming to Kankakee County, be 
 took up a one hundred and sixty acre claim in 
 Yellowhead Township. This property he after- 
 ward purchased at $1.25 per acre, and there he re- 
 
 sided until 1849, at which time he sold and re- 
 moved to a farm in Momence Township. There 
 he resided for some four 3fears, devoting himself 
 to its cultivation. In 1853, he started for Cali- 
 fornia by the overland route, and upon his arrival 
 engaged in mining with good success for about 
 three years. He tiien returned to his home in Mo- 
 mence Township, where he lived until 1868, but 
 later sold his farm and went to Missouri. He af- 
 terward returned to Momence, which he made 
 his home until his death, which occurred on his 
 birthday, the 9th of December, 1876. Politically, 
 he was a Democrat. His remains were interred in 
 the Nichols Cemetery. The death of our subject's 
 mother occurred in 1848. 
 
 Jefferson O'Brien, whose name heads this sketch, 
 was born and reared on a farm, and received a 
 common-school education. At the time of his 
 mother's death, which occurred when he was very 
 young, he went to live with Ansel Chipraan, and 
 with him remained until 1859, at which time he 
 was fourteen years of age. For two years he re- 
 sided with his father, and then started out in life 
 for himself. At first he went to Iowa, and for ten 
 months worked in Appanoose County as a farm 
 hand. At the expiration of that time he returned 
 to Illinois, where he was engaged on a farm b}' the 
 month until 1861. 
 
 Soon after the breaking out of the "War of the 
 Rebellion, Mr. O'Brien, fired by patriotic impulses, 
 enlisted August 7, 1861, as a private in Company 
 D, Forty-second Illinois Infantry, and was mus- 
 tered into service at Chicago. He with his regi- 
 ment took an active part in many of the important 
 battles of the war. His first active engagement 
 was at Farmington, Miss. He also participated in 
 the battles of Chickaraauga, Mission Ridge, Resaca, 
 Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Jonesboro, 
 and many other engagements of greater or less re- 
 nown. He was never taken prisoner, and was al- 
 ways to be depended upon by his superior ofHcers. 
 For his bravery and fidelity to duty he was pro- 
 moted to the rank of Sergeant. On the lOtli of 
 January, 1866, he was mustered out of service at 
 Springfield, III., having served four years, five 
 months and three days. 
 
 On leaving the armj', Mr. O'Brien returned to
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 443 
 
 Momence. 111., working at general labor for two 
 years. Fie then learned the mason's trade, which 
 calling he followed until 1886. At that time he 
 was elected Sheriff ou the Republican ticket, in 
 which position he proved an able and cajjable oftt- 
 cer for four years. In 1891, he purchased the 
 farm where he now resides. This tract consists of 
 one hundred and forty acres located on section 3a, 
 Sumner Township, and to its cultivation and im- 
 provement he is now devoting himself. 
 
 On the loth of April, 1866, soon after his return 
 from the war, Mr. O'Brien was united in marriage 
 with Miss Lovisa Burns, who was born in Momence 
 Township, on the 12th of January, 1847, one of 
 nine children in the family of Alva and Julia A. 
 (Force) Burns, who were both natives of Canada, 
 and pioneer settlers of Kankakee County. To our 
 subject and his wife four children were born, 
 two of whom died in infancy. Grace is the wife of 
 Fred Wiltse, .and resides in Momence, 111.; and 
 Florence m.akes her home with her parents. 
 
 In his political aftiliations, Mr. O'Brien is a loyal 
 Republican, and h.as held various offices in the 
 gift of the people. He has been .Sheriff, Township 
 Collector, School Director, etc. lie is a member 
 of Whipple Post No. 414, G. A. R., of Kankakee, 
 and Mrs. O'Brien holds membership with the ]\Ietli- 
 odist Church. 
 
 ^EBASTIAN L. EASTWOOD, who resides 
 ^^^ on section 31, Pilot Township, is an enter- 
 prising and progressive farmer, the owner 
 of a valuable farm pleasantly and con- 
 veniently located within two and a-half miles of 
 Herscher. He deserves mention in this volume, for 
 he is recognized as one of the esteemed citizens of 
 the community. Mr. Eastwood has the honor of 
 being a native of Illinois, his birth occurring in 
 the southern part of the State, on the 19th of July, 
 1833. He was the second in order of birth in a 
 family of three children born unto Jacob and De- 
 lina (Little) Eastwood. His father w.as a native 
 
 of Missouri, and his mother was born in Kentucky. 
 When a young man, Jacob Eastwood went to 
 soutliern Illinois, locating near St. Louis, where 
 he eng.aged in farming for three years. When the 
 trouble with the Indians arose he aided in the 
 protection of the settlers and served in the Black 
 Hawk War under Gen. Atkinson. By a removal 
 to La Salle County he became one of its pioneers 
 and there resided until his death, which occurred 
 in April, 1840. Mrs. Eastwood is still living, at 
 the advanced age of eighty-four years, and now 
 makes her home with her eldest son. Abraham J. 
 Eastwood, the youngest of the family, is a car- 
 penter by trade, and resides in Streator, HI. The 
 sister, Marena D., is now deceased. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject, who spent the days of his youth upon a 
 farm in La Salle County, III. He received fair 
 school privileges and after (juitting the school 
 room he devoted his time to agricultural pursuits. 
 On arriving at years of maturity he was married 
 in La Salle County, November 1, 1853, to iSIiss 
 Lorinda Brunson, a native of New York, born July 
 6, 1831, and a daughter of Benoni and Nancy 
 (Cargill) Brunson. The young couple began their 
 domestic life upon a farm in La Salle County, 
 where they resided for about seventeen years. In 
 the spring of 18G9 they came to Kankakee County, 
 and Mr. Eastwood purchased a farm, consisting of 
 a tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres, 
 which was only slightly improved. He placed the 
 entire amount under the plow and soon the wild 
 prairie was transformed into rich and fertile fields. 
 Buildings were erected thereon and the work of de- 
 velopment wascarried forward until the Eastwood 
 farm is now one of the valuable and desirable places 
 in this part of the county. The lawn is decorated 
 with forest and ornamental trees and shrubs and a 
 great many varieties of small fruits supply the 
 table with their delicacies in se.ason. A splendid 
 rock-lined well with a wind-pump furnishes an 
 abundance of excellent water sufllcicnt for the 
 stock and all other purposes. 
 
 Unto Mv. and Mrs. Eastwood was born a fam- 
 ily of four children, three sons and a daughter. 
 The eldest, Benoni T., died at the age of eleven 
 months; Ernest E., who married Miss Isabella
 
 444 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Smith, a native of Scotland, February 9, 1881, is 
 engas^ed in fanning in Pilot Townsliip; Jasper N. 
 follows .the carpenter's trade; and Lillian, the 
 youngest and only daughter, is the wife of Robert 
 Wadleigh, a farmer of Iroquois County. 
 
 In political belief Mr. Eastwood did not follow 
 the example of his father and brother, who were 
 Jackson Democrats, but instead he cast his first 
 Presidential vote for Gen. John C. Fremont in 
 1856, and has since supported each Presidential 
 nominee of the Republican party. His fellow- 
 townsmen, appreciating his worth and ability, 
 have several times called upon him to serve in 
 public positions of lionor and trust. To those 
 who know him and are acquainted with his honor- 
 able, upright career, it is needless to say that his 
 duties were ever promptly and faithfully per- 
 formed. Mr. Eastwood is recognized as one of 
 the enterprising and practical farmers to whom 
 good management has brought success, and is 
 known as a valued and worthy citizen. 
 
 -J^i- 
 
 & 
 
 m 
 
 M^x. 
 
 ^ OIIN J. PASEL has been for eighteen years 
 engaged in farming on section 26, Aroma 
 --. Township. He was born in German}', on 
 ^^)J the 22d of December, 1823. He is a son of 
 Samuel and Mary (Westfall) Pasel, who were the 
 parents of nine children. Our subject w.as the sec- 
 ond child in order of birth, and was born and 
 reared upon his father's farm. He received a good 
 common-school education in his native language, 
 and remained until twenty-seven years of age 
 with his parents, assisting his father in carrying 
 on the home farm. He was in the service of his 
 country as a soldier for nearly six years, lacking 
 only fifteen days of that time. 
 
 Mr. Pasel remained in the Fatherland until 1857, 
 by which time he had arrived at the conclusion 
 and determination to try his fortune in the New 
 World; therefore bidding farewell to the home and 
 friends of his youth, he took p.assagc on a sailing- 
 vessel, and for six weeks and four days was upon 
 the broad Atlantic. Upon arriving in New York 
 
 he came directly to the West, and landing in Chi- 
 cago secured work by the day, at which he was 
 employed until 1874. He then determined to 
 adopt agriculture as his life occupation, and com- 
 ing to this county he purchased one hundred and 
 eighty acres af land in Aroma Township. This he 
 has greatly improved and brought under a high 
 state of cultivation. He is engaged in geneial 
 farming and stock-raising, and has never had oc- 
 casion to regret his choice of occupation. Bounti- 
 ful harvests have rewarded his labors, and on 
 every hand may be witnessed the care and thrift 
 of the owner. 
 
 In 1852 Mr. Pasel married Miss Sophia Gruger, a 
 and to them have been born ten children, seven of ^ 
 whom are now living: Frederick, Lewis, Gustavus, 
 Herman, Sophia, Minnie and Bettie, who have all m. 
 had the beneQt of good educational advantages J» 
 and are worthy citizens of this community. 
 
 Politically, our subject affiliates with the Repub- 
 lican party, and is a loyal and devoted citizen of his 
 adopted country. He holds membership with the 
 German Lutheran Church, to which he gives his 
 earnest support. He is a representative and lead- 
 ing German-American citizen of this section, where 
 he has made many friends by his qualities of en- 
 terprise, industry and integrity. 
 
 -^^ 
 
 J] OHN T. JOHNSON, who carries on general 
 farming' and stock-raising' on section 19 
 Ganier Township, owns a valuable tract of 
 ,^_^' land of two hundred and eighty acres and 
 the entire amount is under a high state of cultiva- 
 tion. It is well improved with a good residence 
 and all the accessories of a model farm; the fields 
 are well tilled and the neat and thrifty appearance 
 of the place gives evidence of the practical and 
 progressive spirit of the owner. 
 
 Mr. Johnson is of German birth. He was born 
 on the 5th of August, 1838, near Jever, in Olden- 
 burg, Germany, and is one of six children born of 
 the union of John J. and Efka Johnson. The fa- 
 ther was a weaver bj' trade and followed that bus-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RKCORD. 
 
 445 
 
 iness for many years in his native land. The 
 children of the fjiiniiy were Gerd, Matlie, Mar- 
 garet, Frederick, .John T. and Mary. Our subject, 
 who was the youngest son, received a good edu- 
 cation in the common schools, which fitted him for 
 a practical business life, and at the age of sixteen 
 he left home and began to earn his own liveli- 
 hood. Kidding adieu to friends and native land, 
 he crossed the broad Atlantic to America on a sail- 
 ing-vessel. The voyage across the water con- 
 sumed six weeks, hut at length he arrived safely in 
 New York City in June, 1855. He had heard 
 much of the advantages and privileges afforded 
 young men in tlie I'nited Slates and with the hope 
 of securing a comfortable home and property he 
 determined to leave the Fatherland. 
 
 From the Eastern metropolis, I\Ir. Johnson at 
 c>nce made his way to Kankakee, Kankakee County, 
 111., and soon after locating here began work on 
 a farm b^' the month. For a period of five 3-ears 
 he was thus employed. During tiie first year he was 
 to receive tlie munificent sum of 86 per month in 
 compensation for his services, but his employer ran 
 away, so he got nothing. The next year he was to 
 receive ^7b and go to school in the winter, but as 
 the schoolhouse was not built he had to work most 
 of the winter also. The succeeding three j-ears he 
 worked nine months each year at 110 per month, 
 and in winter worked for his board and went to 
 school. He thus got his start in the New World. 
 On the expiration of that period, having attained 
 his majoritj% he began farming for himself, renting 
 land for three years. With the capital he had ac- 
 quired tlirough industry, perseverance and econ- 
 omy, he then purchased the farm upon which he 
 resides, buying at first only forty acres. With 
 characteristic energj' he began its development and 
 soon the entire amount yielded to him a good in- 
 come in return for the care and cultivation he be- 
 stowed upon it. He worked hard, and .as his finan- 
 cial resources were increased thereby he added to 
 his original purchase until, as before stated, his 
 farm now comi)rises two hundred and eighty acres 
 of well-improved land. 
 
 December 27, 1803, Mr. Johnson was united in 
 marriage with Miss Lydia White, and by their 
 union has been born a famil}- of five children, a 
 
 son and four daughters, all of whom are living. 
 
 Rose, the eldest of the daughters is now married, 
 being the wife of Roy Corbin, of this county. 
 The other children are, Ella; Mary, wlio is the 
 wife of John T. Corbin and resides in Chenango 
 County, N. Y.; and Edgar and Lydia, who are still 
 under the parental roof. On the 27th of Septem- 
 ber, 1892, Mr. Johnson was called upon to mourn 
 the loss of his wife, who was a consistent member 
 of the Methodist Churcli, and a woman highly es- 
 teemed b}' her neighbors and friends. 
 
 Mr. Johnson's possessions represent his own la- 
 bor and perseverance and his farm is a monument 
 to his well-directed efforts. Socially, he is a mem- 
 ber of the Modern Woodmen of America and in 
 religious belief is a Methodist, holding member- 
 ship with the church in Exiine. He has einciently 
 served in the offices of School Director and Path- 
 master, and in politics is a stalwart Republican, 
 who warmlj' advocates the principles of that party. 
 Mr. Johnson is one of the early settlers of this 
 county, where for thirty-eight j'ears he has made 
 his home. He well deserves mention in this vol- 
 ume and with pleasure we present to our readers 
 this brief record of his life. 
 
 -^ r=a^ '" ■ — 
 
 lf]_^ ON. THOMAS SYLVANUS SAAVYER, 
 County Judge for Kankakee County, was 
 born in Pomfret, Windham County, Conn., 
 on the 9th of November, 18-1 J, and is a son 
 of Lucius and Patience (Carpenter) Sawyer. The 
 father was also born in the same place, in 1817, 
 and the grandfather of our subject was residing in 
 the same town at the age of six years. The Judge's 
 mother was born in Coventry, R. I., in 1821. 
 
 In 1856, Thomas S. Sawyer came to Illinois with 
 his parents and settled in Grundy Count}', where 
 he was reared on a farm and attended the district 
 and High Schools, after which he learned the prin- 
 ter's trade. In the fall of 1865 he was api)ointed 
 to a clerkship in the United States Pension Ollice 
 in Washington, D. C, and served until the fall of 
 1806. He began the study of law in Washington,
 
 446 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 while employed in the Pension Office, and on his 
 return continued his studies with E. Sauford, of 
 Morris, III., and was admitted to the Bar in June, 
 1867. He at once began practice in Chebanse, 
 continued there until elected County .Judge, in the 
 fall of 1886, and entered upon the duties of the 
 office December 1 of that year. In November, 
 1890, he was re-elected and is now serving his 
 second term in that responsible office. 
 
 Judge Sawyer is a Republican in politics and 
 served as Representative in the Sixteenth Senator- 
 ial District of Illinois in 1873 and 1874. He has 
 also served as Supervisor on the Count}- Board 
 from Otto Township and has held other minor of- 
 fices. In the fall of 1868 he started the Chebanse 
 Herald, a weekly Republican journal, and sold a 
 half-interest in the paper in 1880. The other half 
 he disposed of in 1886. Judge Sawyer has two 
 flue farms, one in the township of Chebanse, Iro- 
 quois County, and a farm of one hundred and sixty 
 acres in Griggs County, N. Dak., all of wliich are 
 being carried on under lease. 
 
 In Morris, Grundj' Count}', on the 18th of June, 
 1867, occurred the marriage of Judge Sawyer and 
 Miss Addie A. Barnes, a daughter of Benjamin C. 
 and Amanda (Palmer) Barnes. Mrs. Sawyer was 
 born in Kendall Count}', 111., and by her marriage 
 has become the mother of four children, three sons 
 and a daughter. Dr. Clyde L., a graduate of On- 
 tario Veterinar}' College, of Toronto, Canada, is en- 
 gaged in practice in Kankakee. The other mem- 
 bers of the family are Aileeu P., Thomas Roy and 
 Clifford B. Tiie Judge had a brother and sister, but 
 he is the only survivor of the father's family. 
 
 Our subject is a Knight Templar Mason, hold- 
 ing membership with Chebanse Lodge No. 429, A. 
 F. & A. M.; of Kankakee Chapter No. 78, R. A. 
 M.; and of Ivaniioe Commandery No. 3.3, K. T. 
 of Kankakee. Since entering upon the duties of 
 his present ofHce, Judge Sawyer has made a com- 
 plete set of abstracts of Kankakee County and 
 does an extensive business in this line, as he is 
 known to be exact and correct in his work. He 
 has made a popular and reliable officer and has 
 discharged the duties of his position with prompt- 
 ness, ability and fidelity. He is a courteous gen- 
 tleman, kind and obliging, and enjoys the good- 
 
 will of those who have had business in the Pro- 
 bate Court during his administration, as well as of 
 a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He has 
 made his home in Kankakee since 1888. 
 
 ON. REUBEN RICHARDSON, who is a 
 
 r iV prominent citizen engaged in the real-es- 
 
 ''^ tate, loan and law business of Grant Park, 
 
 ^) was born on the 5th of August, 1832, in 
 Fletcher, Franklin County, Vt. He was next to 
 the youngest of a family consisting of four sons 
 and four daughters, children of William and Mary 
 (Strait) Richardson. The father, who was ofj 
 Welsh extraction, was a native of New Hampshire, 
 and followed the occupations of farming and! 
 coopering. He went to Vermont in an early day, 
 when he was quite young, and there was married. 
 He emigrated to Pigeon Prairie, Mich., in 1833,1 
 making the trip by team, and there made his home 
 for some three years. Later he removed to Yellow- 
 head Township, Kankakee County, but which was I 
 then Will County, and located upon Government 
 land. His remaining years were spent upon this 
 place, and in September, 1847, he was called from 
 the scene of his labors by death. He is numbered j 
 among the honored early pioneers of this county. 
 His wife, who was a native of the Green Mount- 1 
 ain State, after surviving her husband just ten] 
 years, died in this county in September, 1857. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was only about four] 
 years old when, with his parents, he removed from] 
 Michigan to Illinois. From that time he lived on 
 the old homestead in Yellowhead Township until 
 1870. He is really a self-educated man, as when 
 he was a boy there were no schools in the neigh-l 
 borhood in which he lived. B}"^ extensive read- 
 ing and study he has kept himself well informed] 
 and is fully abreast of the times. At his father's! 
 death Mr. Richardson inherited the old homestead] 
 of one hundred and sixty acres, which he carried! 
 on successfully until he removed to Grant Park) 
 in 1870, and he still owns the place. 
 
 In 1852 occurred the marriage of our subject]
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 447 
 
 and Miss Harriet Curtis, wiio is a daughter of 
 Solomon and riia'be (.Slocum) Curtis, of New 
 York, who emigrated to this county at an early 
 day. By the union of Mr. and Mrs. Richardson 
 have been born two children: Alma, who de- 
 ])arted this life in 1888, in Dakota; and Clarence 
 Slocum, who is a prominent farmer and real-estate 
 dealer in Wessington Springs, .lerauld Count3', S. 
 Dak. He married Miss Minnie Farrington, of that 
 State, and the^' have two children, Reuben F. and 
 Cecil. 
 
 Mr. Richardson has many tlirilling remembrances 
 of the earl}' pioneer days. He well remembers 
 wiien they were obliged to go to Michigan City, 
 Ind., a distance of sixty miles from where he 
 lived, in order to get their grain ground. Often 
 two weeks were spent in making the trip, 
 which was accomplished with an ox-team. There 
 were no roads, and traveling was far from pleas- 
 ant. In 1810 a mill was built at .Toliet, and in 
 December of that yeav our subject's eldest brother, 
 Ezra, started for that point with a large load of 
 grain to be ground. While on the return trip 
 there came a heavy rain that caused the streams 
 to rise rapidly. A cold snap came on, and the 
 streams were frozen over. As his oxen were not 
 shod, he cut prairie grass with his knife, spread 
 it on the ice, then poured water on, letting it 
 freeze and roughen in order to cross. Having 
 returned as far as Trim Creek, his oxen broke 
 through. After working a long time and getting 
 thoroughly wet, he got them out., but so badly 
 sprained were they that they could not travel. He 
 walked back seven miles to John Dutton's, of 
 Beebe's Grove, reaching there late in the night 
 with his clothes so frozen that he could not 
 knock at the door. However, his feet were nim- 
 ble, and he succeeded in arousing the household 
 by kicking. Having dried his clothes (for Mr. 
 Button had no second suit to lend him), he loaded 
 up with hay for his cattle the next morning and 
 carried that seven miles. His oxen had to be 
 left, but, knowing the lack of bread-stuff at 
 home, he took a half-bushel of meal on his back 
 and started to walk liome — a distance of ten 
 miles. It is needless to say that the family wel- 
 comed him, as he had been gone from home two 
 
 weeks, and during that entire time not a bite of 
 bread had been in the house. There were but few 
 settlers in the county, their nearest neighbor being 
 four miles away. Many a lime Mr. Richardson 
 has gone the entire distance for a little fire, as this 
 was before the d.ays of matches. Such were the 
 hardships incident to pioneer life in Kankakee 
 County. 
 
 Mr. Richardson is prominent and takes a gretit 
 interest in politics, being a stanch adherent of the 
 Republican party. In the winter of 1874-75 he 
 represented his district in the Legislature, and 
 has served as Postmaster of Yellowhead Postoffice, 
 which was on his old farm for a number of years; 
 he was also Commissioner of Highways for several 
 years, and for twelve years served as Justice of the 
 Peace in this township. That was when he was 
 quite a 3'oung man residing on a farm. He is a 
 charter member of Grant Park Lodge No. 740, 
 A. F. & A. M., of Grant Park. About thirty 
 years ago he joined Momence Lodge, since which 
 time he has been a member of the Masonic fra- 
 ternit}'. He is one of the oldest living pio- 
 neers in the county to-daj-, and has the respect 
 of all in the vicinity in which he resides. 
 
 -.J i i t ^ Hi I I ' > ' 
 
 / I ^ ^ * ■■^•r^.i 
 
 rf^A ARTIN GEIGER, an enterprising and suc- 
 iV cessful farmer of Pilot Township, resides 
 Is on section 4, where he owns a farm of two 
 hundred and twenty acres. Almost the 
 entire amount he has placed under cultivation, and 
 the well-tilled fields yield to him a golden tribute 
 in return for his care and labor. The improve- 
 ments upon the place are many and excellent. In 
 addition to the comfortable home, Mr. Geiger lias 
 erected large barns, and also a granary and tool- 
 house. His outbuildings are models of conven- 
 ience, and altogether the place is considered one 
 of the best farms in the townshii). Everything is 
 kept in first-class order, and its neat appearance in- 
 dicates the thrift and enterprise of the owner, 
 which qualities have been instrumental in securing 
 him his well-merited success.
 
 448 
 
 PORTRAIT AJSTD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Gregier claims Germanj'^ as the land of his 
 nativity. He was born in that country May 30, 
 1848. His father, Peter Geiger, was also a native 
 of that country. In 1849, when his son was a babe 
 of a year, he crossed the Atlantic to the New 
 World, and after a few months spent in Chicago, 
 located at Naperville, near Joliet, where he en- 
 gaged in farming foi- six years. On the expiration 
 of that period he came to Kankakee, in 18.5.5. For 
 a few years he rented land in Salina Township, 
 after which he purchased a tract of eighty acres of 
 raw land, where his son now resides. To this he 
 subsequently added forty acres. With character- 
 istic energj' he began its development, breaking 
 and fencing it and making of it a good farm. 
 There he resided for twenty years, devoting his 
 time and attention to the cultivation of his land. 
 He is now living a retired life, making his home 
 with his son, who resides south of Herscher. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of Martin 
 Geiger. In his youth he received limited educa- 
 tional privileges, for schools at that day were poor, 
 and his time was largely taken up with work upon 
 the farm. He remained at home aiding his father 
 until he attained his majority. He was then 
 married on the 26th of May, 1877, to Miss Mary 
 Cimmerman, daughter of Christopher Cimmerman, 
 and a native of Cook County, 111. By their union 
 they have become the parents of six daughters, 
 namely: Amelia, Mary, Katie, Emma, Sophia and 
 Martha. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Geiger began their domestic life 
 upon a farm, where they resided for about ten 
 years. Our subject then purchased land adjoining 
 the old Geiger homestead, and also bought his fa- 
 ther's farm. In the fall of 1888 he removed to 
 California, and purchasing a small place in the 
 southern part of that State, was there engaged in 
 farming for two years, but in September, 1890, he 
 rented his Land in California and returned to Kan- 
 kakee County'. A yjear later he sold his farm in 
 the West Since his return heh.as devoted his time 
 and attention entirely to the cultivation of the 
 farm on which he now resides. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Geiger are both members of the 
 Catholic Church, and in politics he is a Democrat. 
 Their home is the abode of hospitality, and the 
 
 members of the family rank high in the social cir- 
 cles in which they move. Mr. Geiger is a repre- 
 sentative farmer of this community, and an indus- 
 trious and energetic man, and by his straightfor- 
 ward business career he has won high regard. 
 
 ©__ 
 
 "S] 
 
 i^f^P= 
 
 AMES H. BARTLETT, residing on section 
 17, Yellowhead Township, is one of the rep- 
 resentative farmers and old settlers of this 
 region. He was born on the 27th of March, 
 1833, in Smvrna, N. Y., being the eldest son of 
 Oliver P. Bartlett. The latter was also a native 
 of the Empire State, his birth occurring June 6. 
 1807. He was a farmer by occupation. Coming 
 to Kankakee County in 1854, he located upon a 
 farm in Yellowhead Township, which he engaged 
 in cultivating until his death, in 1886. The mo- 
 ther of our subject bore the maiden name of Polly 
 Henry and was born and reared in Madison 
 County. N. Y. By her marriage she became the 
 mother of five children, four sons and a daughter. 
 Mrs. Bartlett's death occurred in Kankakee County 
 in 1879. 
 
 The boyhood days of James Bartlett were spent 
 on the old homestead in New York, where he re- 
 mained until coming of age. On his removal 
 West, he settled in Yellowhead Township, where 
 for a few years he worked for farmers. With the 
 money which he had earned and so carefully saved, 
 he purchased a tract of wild prairie land and at 
 once began the improvement of the same. 
 
 On the 29th of December, 1868, Mr. Bartlett 
 and Miss Julietta McDonald were married. She 
 was born May 19, 1840, in the Green Mount.ain 
 State, and is a daughter of John and IMartha 
 (Hughes) McDonald, who were early pioneers of 
 this county. A son and daughter were born to 
 our subject and wife. Cora Ida, born Febru.ary 1, 
 1870, died at the age of ten j'ears; and Jerome M., 
 whose birth occurred June 23, 1871, is yet at home 
 with his parents. 
 
 The farm belonging to Mr. Bartlett is valuablej 
 and well improved. It consists of one hundred
 
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 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
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 and fifty acres, two and a-lialf miles north of Grant 
 Park. For some time p.ast he has given his atten- 
 tion especially- to the raising of a fine grade of 
 Knglish Shire horses. For over eighteen years he 
 litis served as School Director, and politically is af- 
 filiated with the Prohibition party. 
 
 
 / A=*H 
 
 PAVID II. DENNY, one of the early settlers 
 ( of this county, and who is now engaged 
 in farming on section 9, Limestone Town- 
 >hip, claims Ohio as the State of his nativity, his 
 birth having occurred in Pickaway County on 
 the 1 2th of September, 18(18. He is of .Scotch de- 
 scent, his paternal grandparents being both na- 
 tives of Scotland, who in Colonial days emigrated 
 to America, locating in Pennsylvania. The fa- 
 ther of our subject, William Denny, was born in 
 Chester County, Pa., in 177G (the year which wit- 
 nessed the birth of the nation in the writing of the 
 Declaration of Independence), his father having 
 been a soldier of the Revolutionary War in Gen. 
 Hull's arin3'. Having attained to mature years, he 
 married Marjory Dennj', and for some years they 
 resided upon a farm in Pickaway- County, Ohio. 
 Later the}- became residents of Indiana. 
 
 Our subject was the third in order of birth in a 
 family of eight children, consisting of six sons 
 and two daughters. He resided upon his father's 
 farm in the Buckeye State until sixteen 3-ears of 
 age, when he removed with his [iarents to Indiana, 
 where the succeeding thirty-five years of his life 
 were spent. He had no special advantages in his 
 youth, educational or otherwise, but attended the 
 old-time subscription schools during the winter 
 season, while in the summer months he worked iu 
 the fields. His advantages in the practical lessons 
 of life were not meagre, for he was early inured 
 to the hard labors of the farm. 
 
 AVhen twenty-six years of age, Mr. Denny 
 
 was married,' and at that time started out in 
 
 life for himself. He wedded Miss Emily Nichols, 
 
 who was born in Ross County, Ohio, and is a 
 
 21 
 
 daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Dawson) Nichols. 
 Her father was of German extraction. In the 
 Nichols family were twelve children, of whom 
 Mrs. Denny was the second in order of birth. Our 
 subject and his wife began their domestic life in 
 Indiana, and there resided until the 1st of April, 
 1857, when they started for Illinois, reaching Kan- 
 kakee County on the 12th of the same month. 
 Here Mr. Denny purchased two hundred acres of 
 raw prairie land on the banks of the Kankakee 
 River, and, locating thereon, has since made it his 
 home. Not a furrow had been turned or an im- 
 provement made upon the place, but with char- 
 acteristic energy he began its development, con- 
 tinuing the work of cultivation until he is now 
 the owner of one of the fine farms of the town- 
 ship. His place is well improved and highly cul- 
 tivated, and the owner is one of the successful 
 agriculturists of the community. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Denny were born a family 
 of six children, the eldest of whom, Mar^-, is now 
 the wife of Judson D. Nichols, a prominent mer- 
 chant of Ivankakec; Patience K. is the wife of Al- 
 bert Nichols, a retired farmer residing in Kanka- 
 kee; Frances married Frank Nichols, a prosper- 
 ous farmer of Limestone Township; Freeman, a 
 carpenter b}' trade, is married and resides in Kan- 
 kakee; Elizabeth is the wife of Albert Martin, who is 
 engaged in the real-estate business in tlie same city; 
 andTownsend is a photographer of Kankakee, and 
 is also married. The family circle remains unbroken 
 and the children are all occupying responsible and 
 useful positions in society. 
 
 Mr. Denny was called upon to mourn the loss 
 of his wife .July 24, 1871, and her remains are in- 
 terred in the Kankakee Cemetery. Our subject was 
 again married,. September 17, 1888, this time to Mrs. 
 P",leanor (Rogers) Dickerson, a nati\e of Ross 
 County, Ohio, who was born September 1, 1824. 
 She was educated in the common schools, and her 
 maidenhood days were spent in Vigo Count}-, Ind. 
 She married for her first husband Walter L. Dick- 
 erson, a native of Ohio, who was born October 17, 
 1817, and was reared till the age of seventeen on 
 the farm, but during the latter part of his life was 
 engaged in public works. To Mr. and Mrs. Dick- 
 erson were born seven children, four sons and
 
 454 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I 
 
 three daughteis: Mary C, the wife of Samuel H. 
 Harrison, of Terre Haute, Ind.; Rachel F., the 
 wife of Washington La Faj'ette Jones, of Kansas; 
 Nancy E., the wife of John Lucas, a resident of 
 Indiana; Walter S., who is married and is a resi- 
 dent of St. Paul, Minn., and a bookkeeper; Samuel 
 J., who died at the age of three j'ears; John IL, 
 who is married and a resident of Indiana; Will- 
 iam W., a resident of Tcrre Haute, Ind., and a 
 salesman. Mr. Dickerson dei)arted tiiis life Jan- 
 uary 25, 1876, and his remains arc interred in 
 Glendale Cemetery at Terre Haute, Ind. 
 
 Mr. Denny was a Whig in politics in early life, 
 and by his first Presidential ballot supported Will- 
 iam Henry Harrison. Since its organization he 
 has afHIiated with the Republican party. He has 
 lived a quiet, unassuming life, devoting his time 
 and attention chiefly to agriculture, and his lion- 
 orable, upright career has won him high respeqt 
 and the unqualified esteem of all with whom busi- 
 ness or social relations have brought him in con- 
 tact. 
 
 
 
 ENRY APPEL is a well-known farmer and 
 stock-dealer of Pilot Township. He resides 
 oh section 18, where he has a valuable 
 farm. As he is widely and favorablj' known 
 in this communit}', we feel assured that this record 
 of his life will prove of interest to many of our 
 readers, and therefore gladly insert it in this vol- 
 ume. Mr. Appel was born in Hanover, German}', 
 November 27, 1851. His father, Frederick Appel, 
 was also a native of the same locality. About 
 1868 he carne to this country and joined his son 
 in Chicago, but four days after reaching his desti- 
 nation he died from a sunstroke. His wife sur- 
 vived him for a number of j'ears, and then she too 
 passed away. 
 
 Our subject is the eldest of a family of two sons 
 and four daughters, all of whom grew to mature 
 years and are yet living at this writing. He spent 
 the first thirteen years of his life in his native city, 
 and acquired a good education iu the German 
 tongue, When a lad of thirteen he took passage 
 
 upon a westward-bound sailing-vessel, which at 
 length dropped anchor iu tiie harbor of New York. 
 It was in November, 1861, that he arrived in that 
 city. He had now started out to make his own 
 way in tiie world, and whatever success he has 
 achieved is due entirely to his own efforts. Mak- 
 ing his way to Chicago, he secured a position ns a 
 farm hand in Cook County, receiving 850 a year 
 for the first year, and $75 for the second and third 
 yeais. He was thus employed for a term of six 
 years in Cook County, after which, at the age of 
 nineteen, he came to Kankakee County. This was in 
 the autumn of 1870. During the winter after his 
 arrival he attended school, but he is mostly self- 
 educated in the English language. In 1871 he 
 rented a farm, purchased a team, plow and wagon, 
 and embarked in business for himself. For three 
 years he operated that rented tract. He was suc- 
 cessful in his undertakings, crops were good, and 
 the second 3'ear he raised three thousand bushelsi 
 of corn. With the money he acquired through hisj 
 industry and good management he purchased land 
 in Norton Township, becoming owner of a tract of 
 eighty acres, only partially' improved. Locating 
 thereon he began its development, and has since 
 successfully carried on farming. 
 
 A marriage ceremony performed in this county 
 on the 17th of October, 1875, united the destinies 
 of j\Ir. Appel and Miss Mary Obrecht, daughter of 
 George Obrecht, one of the pioneer settlers of this 
 county. Tlie lady was born in Indiana, and when 
 a child of three summers was brought b}' her par- 
 ents to Kankakee County, where she was reared 
 and educated. Two children grace the union of 
 this worthy couple, a son and daughter: George, 
 wlio is now attending the home school, and Julia, 
 who is now attending the home German-Lutheran 
 school of this town. 
 
 Mr. Appel continued to operate his first farm for 
 a period of eight years, when he sold out and pur- 
 chased one hundred and seventy acres of land on 
 section 18, Pilot Township, where he now resides. 
 This was then a well-improved place, but he has 
 carried the work of improvement still further, un- 
 til tiie Appel farm is now one of the finest in the 
 community. He has upon it a windpump and 
 scales, has laid many rods of tiling, erected good
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 455 
 
 building's, and now has all the accessories of a 
 model f.inii and has exlcnded its boundaries. He 
 h.is purchased an additional one hundred and 
 twenty acres in Norton Township which adjoins 
 the home farm, and this is also supplied with good 
 buildings. A farm of one hundred and tiiirty- 
 two acres in Berry County, Mo., also yields to him 
 a golden tribute. In connection with the culti- 
 vation of his land, Mr. Appel has for the past four 
 years engaged extensively in stock-dealing. He 
 has built u[) a big business, and is meeting with 
 success. 
 
 Our suliject has invariably voted witli the 
 Democratic i)arty, but has never been an asi)lrant 
 for public olHcc. However, he served for nine 
 years as a member of the School Board, and while 
 occupying that position did effective work in the 
 interests of education. Himself and wife are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church, and are highly re- 
 spected citizens. In all his business dealings Mr. 
 Api)el has maintained a reputation for honor and 
 uprightness that has won him the confidence and 
 esteem of all with whom he has Ijcen brought in 
 contact. He may truly be called a self-made man, 
 for he came to this country a poor boy, empty- 
 handed, and by his own unaided efforts has stead- 
 ily worked his way upward. Overcoming the dif- 
 ficulties and obstacles in his path by energy, in- 
 dustry and good management, he has reached a 
 position of affluence, and is classed among the sub- 
 stantial citizens of his adopted county. 
 
 — J- 
 
 .— ^=-® 
 
 M>^^<^ 
 
 -*»- 
 
 e ARSON C. PORTER, who resides on section 
 6. is a well-known farmer of Pembroke 
 Township. He was born in Naples, N. Y., 
 on the 5th of February', 1852, and is the son of 
 Edward A. and Sarah (Miller) Porter, whose rec- 
 ord will be found elsewhere in this work. 
 
 Our subject passed his boyhood da^ys in New 
 York and there received a good common-school 
 education. When about fourteen years of age he 
 emigrated Westward to Illinois with his parents 
 and since that time he has made his home on the 
 
 farm where his father then settled in Pembroke 
 Township. Until twenty-three years of age he 
 remained under the parental roof, assisting in the 
 care of the farm. At that time he married Miss 
 Ellen Hichardson, of Momence Township, who be- 
 came his wife on the 26th of January, 1876. By 
 their union were born two children, Edward A. 
 and Ellen R. Mrs. Porter was called to her final 
 rest on the 7th of February, 1881, and in the fol- 
 lowing year our subject was united in marriage 
 with Sarah E. Beedle, of Momence Township. 
 Two children have graced their union, Ezra 15. and 
 Clare C. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Porter is a firm 
 adherent of the Democratic party. He has been 
 Assessor of his township for eight years and has 
 been School Trustee for the past six years. He is 
 much interested in all that pertains to the good 
 and advancement of society and the welfare of the 
 community in which he dwells. He is now the 
 owner of the old homestead upon which his father 
 located twenty-seven years ago and which contains 
 one hundred and thirty-one acres, all under good 
 cultivation and well improved. 
 
 ENRY P. LOWE, one of the prominent 
 citizens of Waldrcm, is widely known 
 throughout the county, where since a very 
 early day in its history he has made his 
 home. In fact, he and his father's family were 
 among its first pioneers. Our subject was born 
 near Covington, Fountain County, Ind., on the 
 14th of April, 1830, and was the seventh in order 
 of birth in a family of nine children, whose par- 
 ents were Peter and .Julia A. (Taylor) Lowe. His 
 father was a native of New Jersej', and was of 
 German lineage. In an earh' da}' he emigrated 
 westward to Indiana, and after some years' resi- 
 dence in the Iloosier State came to Illinois in 
 183.'). The trip was made by ox-teams, and 
 they located in what was then Iroquois County, 
 but is now Aroma Township, Kankakee County.
 
 456 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 The father of our subject entered a claim from 
 the Government, and when it came into market 
 purchased the land. The first home of the fam- 
 il3' was a small log cabin, and they lived in true 
 pioneer style. Peter Lowe continued to engage 
 in agricultural pursuits and stock-raising on the 
 old homstead until 1855, when he removed to 
 Waldron, where he resided for three years. He 
 then removed to Jackson County, Mich. At the 
 time of his removal he owned about one thous- 
 and acres of land in this locality, which he traded 
 for Michigan property. He was a man of excel- 
 lent business ability, cnterjn'ising and progressive, 
 sagacious and far-sighted. and accumulated a hand- 
 some property. His success was all the more re- 
 markable from the fact that he started out in 
 life a poor boy with no money or influential 
 friends to aid him. In politics he was a Wliig 
 until the dissolution of that pnrt}', when he joined 
 the ranks of the new Republican party, lighting 
 under its banner until his death. He passed away 
 at his home in Jackson Count}', Mich., on the 
 12th of April, 1873. His wife died in tills county, 
 March 31, 1853. 
 
 Of the Lowe famil}', Mary A. is now the widow 
 of Samuel Kxline; Vincent T. died in 1872; Mar- 
 tha J. became the wife of Lorenzo D. Legg, a 
 farmer residing in Aroma Township, and died on 
 the 14th o* February, 1840; Harriet M. is the wife 
 of M. J. 1). Hawkins, who is engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits in Limestone Township; Peter V. 
 is a farmer of Kankakee Township; David N. was 
 killed in a railroad accident near Cedar Lake, 
 Ind., October 27, 1886, and was burned in the 
 wreck; Henry P., of this sketch, is the next 
 younger; Sidney L. is now a retired farmer of 
 Cowley County, Kan.; and Sanford W. died Jan- 
 uary 31, 1855. 
 
 The subject of this notice was a lad of only 
 five summers when his parents came with their 
 family to this county. His education was re- 
 ceived at home, the father hiring teachers for his 
 children, and school being held in one room of 
 their little log cabin. Although his privileges in 
 this direction were limited, he possessed an ob- 
 serving eye and retentive memory, and has made 
 himself a well-informed man. Amid the wild 
 
 scenes of frontier life he was reared, and shared 
 its experiences and hardships. Until the da}- on 
 which he attained his majority he remained at 
 home, giving his father the benefit of his services, 
 but when he had reached man's estate he started 
 out in life for himself. Ills possessions consisted 
 of a team of unbroken colts three years old. He 
 rented land of his father and lived at home for 
 a period of four years. He then made his first 
 purchase, consisting of a tract of State land of 
 three hundred acres, for which he paid ^S per 
 acre. Removing to that farm, he at once turned 
 his attention to its development and im[;rovc- 
 ment, and continued successfully to operate it 
 until 1865, when he sold out and removed to 
 Otto Township, where he spent the succeeding 
 summer. In the autumn of that year he came to 
 Waldron and, purchasing a house and lot of his 
 father, he has here since made his home, one of 
 the leading citizens of the place. He has always 
 been interested in agriculture and now owns two 
 hundred and flft\-nine acres of well-improved 
 and valuable farming land, besides considerable 
 town propert}'. 
 
 On Christmas Day of 1855 Mr. Lowe was mar- 
 ried to Miss Adeline M. Urown, daughter of John 
 and Sarah Brown. Their union has been bles.sed 
 with a family of seven children, but Florcn, their 
 first-born, died on the 5th of December, 185i»; 
 George A. is now a resident farmer of Aroma 
 Township; Florence is the wife of A. C. Shreipe, 
 who is engaged in merchandising In St. Anne; 
 John J. is acting as Police, Street Commissioner, 
 Town Constable and Deputy Sheriff, holding all 
 those offices in the village of Waldron; Marj- A. 
 is the wife of Harry McDaniel, a telegragh oper- 
 ator and station agent residing in Zionville, Ind.; 
 Llllie is the wife of AValter A. Guertine, who car- 
 ries on a general merchandise establishment in St. 
 Anne; and Walter completes the family. 
 
 Mr. Lowe has always taken quite an active in- 
 terest in political affairs, and by his ballot supports 
 the Republican party. He has been honored with 
 a number of local oflfices of trust, iiaving served 
 as Constable, School Director and School Trustee, 
 was Assessor for several terms and was Highway 
 Commissioner for twenty j-ears. He is alike true
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 457 
 
 to every public and private trust, and tlie faitli- 
 ful manner in which he ever discharges his duties 
 has broiiglit liini liiirh commendation and won liim 
 warm regard. Socially, he is a member of llie Ma- 
 sonic fraternity. All educational, moral and so- 
 cial interests find in him a friend, and he aids 
 every public enterprise calculated to promote tlie 
 general welfare. 
 
 Mr. Lowe can relate many interesting incidents 
 concerning pioneer life in tliis county, and cer- 
 tainlj' no one is more ca|)abie of giving tlie his- 
 tory of early life in this coninumily than our 
 subject, whose residence here covers a jieriod of 
 fifty-seven years. When his family first located 
 in this community almost their only neighbors 
 were the Indians, and wlien the red men left for 
 the West he followed about fourteen hundred of 
 them two miles on their way. He has seen the 
 wild prairies transformed into beautiful homes 
 and farms, has witnessed not only the growth of 
 the villages of this county, but has seen the en- 
 tire upbuilding of Kankakee, has seen the intro- 
 duction of the railroad and has watched the onward 
 march of progress as it has transformed the coun- 
 try from a barren region to a tract of rich fertility. 
 During his long residence here Mr. Lowe has be- 
 come widely and favorably known, and among 
 his stanchest friends are numbered man}' of his 
 acquaintances of early years — i fact that indicates 
 the honorable and u[)right life he has lived. 
 
 H,' 
 
 ^^11 
 
 3^^^- 
 
 ENRY AMIDON, a retired farmer, who for 
 almost forty years has been a resident of 
 Kankakee County, now makes his home in 
 the village of Ilerschcr. lie is a native of 
 New York, his birtli having occurred in Granville, 
 Washington County, on the 3d of Novenilier, 1827. 
 The Amidon family is of English origin and was 
 founded in America at an early day by ancestors 
 who settled in the colony of Connecticut. Moses 
 Amidon, the grandfather of our subject, was born 
 in that State and together with three brothers en- 
 listed in the Revolutionary War, serving through- 
 
 out that long and bloody struggle, in which two 
 of his brothers were killed. After the colonies had 
 achieved their independence, Closes Amidon re- 
 moved with Ills family to New York, becoming 
 one of the early settlers of AVashington Count}-, 
 where he spent the last 3ears of his life. 
 
 The father of our subject grew to manhood 
 in that county and after attaining to years of 
 maturit}- wedded Miss Polly Steadman, who was 
 born in AYashington County and was a daughter 
 of Charles Steadman. After his marriage, Mr. 
 Amidon located in Granville, where he was en- 
 gaged in the st<ick and butchering business. He 
 reared his family and spent his entire life there. 
 In polities he was a .lacksoni.an Democrat, a stanch 
 supporter of the jirinciples of tiiat party. He took 
 quite an active part in local politics and served in 
 several public oflices. His death occurred in 
 Granville in 1880, at the age of sevent3'-eight 
 years. His wife survived him about eleven years 
 and departed this life in 18'JL having reached the 
 advanced age of ninety years. 
 
 Henry Amidon, whose name heads this record, 
 is tiie eldest of a family of four cluldieii, number- 
 ing three sons and a daughter. Edwin, the second 
 brother, was a soldier of the late war and died in 
 the service of his country in 18G4. William was 
 also one of the boys in blue and served until after 
 peace was declared. He first joined a regiment of 
 New York Infantry and after two yenvs lie became 
 a member of a regiment of cavalry, with which he 
 served until the close of the war. He is now liv- 
 ing in Granville, N. Y. The sister, Sarah A., is 
 the wife of Judge O. F. Thompson, a prominent 
 citizen of Wasiiington Count}', N. Y.,and a former 
 ■ludge of that county. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject, who spent his early life in Granville, 
 where he liad the advantages of good schools. 
 When a young man of seventeen years he came to 
 the West, locating in Chicago, ]11., whence he soon 
 afterward enlisted for the Mexican War, joining 
 Company G, Sixteenth United States Infantry. 
 He then went to Mexico, where, with his regiment, 
 he participated in a number of engagements. He 
 served for about sixteen months, or until after the 
 close of the war, when he received his discharge
 
 45d 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and was mustered out at Newport, Ky. Mr. Ami- 
 don then returned to bis home in Granville, N. Y., 
 and soon afterward went to Salem, that State, 
 where he secured a position as clerk in a hotel. 
 While in that place he married on the loth of July, 
 1851, Miss Adeline Stevens, a Vermont lady, who 
 was born in the town of Wells, in Rutland County, 
 Vt. She is a daughter of Itharaer Stevens, also a 
 native of the Green Mountain Stale. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Amidon was engaged 
 with his father in the stock and butchering busi- 
 ness for about two years, but at length he deter- 
 mined to again seek a home in Illinois. In 1854, 
 he came to this State and in -Jul^' of that year lo- 
 cated in Rockville, Kankakee Count}', where he 
 rented a farm. This was his first experience as an 
 agriculturist. The following year, he removed to 
 Du Page County, where he carried on farming for 
 about two years. In 1857, he returned to Kanka- 
 kee County, purchased land and located in Man- 
 teno. The wild and unimproved tract he trans- 
 formed into rich and fertile fields and for several 
 years he there successfully carried on farming. On 
 the expiration of that period he sold his laud and 
 removed to Rockville, where he rented a farm, to 
 the cultivation of whicii he devoted his energies 
 until 1868. In that year he purchased the south- 
 west quarter of section 29, Pilot Township, a place 
 with some improvements, and located thereon. 
 Industrious and energetic, he engaged in its culti- 
 vation for about fifteen years and was acknowl- 
 edged to be one of the successful and progressive 
 agriculturists of the community. He erected a 
 substantial and commodious residence thereon, 
 also built a large barn and otherwise greatl}' im- 
 proved the place. At length he determined to Lay 
 aside the arduous duties which had hitherto occu- 
 pied his time and in 1883 he rented his land and 
 removed to Herscher, where he has since resided. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Amidon have a family of three 
 children, all of whom are grown and married. 
 Edwin, the eldest, is now operating the old home- 
 stead; James is a'successful farmer of Pilot Town- 
 ship; and Eva is the wife of A. T. Anderson, a 
 prosjjerous merchant of Herscher, whose sketch 
 appears elsewhere in this work. 
 
 Ml'. Amidon has followed in the political foot- 
 
 steps of his ancestors and supports the Democ- 
 rac3'. He cast his first Presidential vote for James 
 Buchanan in 1856 and has since voted for each 
 Presidential nominee of his party. He keeps well 
 informed on the political issues of the day, takes 
 an active part in local politics, and has served in 
 various official positions of honor and trust, dis- 
 charging his duties with credit to himself and to 
 the satisfaction of his constituents. He received 
 the appointment of Postmaster of Herscher during 
 President Cleveland's administration and served 
 in that position for four^-eare. He has many times 
 been a delegate to the county conventions of his 
 party and also was a member of the Democratic 
 County Central Committee. His wife is a faith- 
 ful and consistent member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church and is a lady much beloved for her 
 kindness of heart and her benevolent character. 
 This worthy couple are among the highly respected 
 citizens of the communit}', and their friends are 
 many. Mr. Amidon during the long years of his 
 residence in Kankakee Countj' has proved himself 
 a valued citizen by the prominent part lie has 
 taken in public affairs, especially those calculated 
 to prove of benefit to the community. 
 
 «#- 
 
 -^?» 
 
 ILTON B. HALL, a retired merchant and 
 dealer in real estate, is one of the early 
 settlers of this portion of the count}-, as he 
 has resided here for more than forty years. 
 His birth occurred in Washington County, N. Y., 
 near Ft. Edward, on the 23d of January, 1833. 
 His paternal grandfather died when quite young, 
 as did also his mother's father, but tlie wife of the 
 latter survived him for many j'ears, and at the 
 time of her death, which occurred at the home of 
 one of her daughters in Ft. P^dward, N. Y., she had 
 reached the extreme age of ninety-six years. 
 
 Our subject is the son of Henry M. and Eliza- 
 beth (Wilber) Hall, the former a native of Rhode 
 Island and the latter of the Empire State. On the 
 paternal side our subject is of English extraction, 
 while his mother was a native of New York State.
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 •159 
 
 The father was a fanner in New York ami died in 
 that State in I8f)7, at the a.ge of eiglit\' ^ears. His 
 wife, wlio had died the year previous, iiad attained 
 the age of sevent^'-four years. Tlioiigh her par- 
 ents were of Quaker stock, she had been for a great 
 man}' j'ears a consistent member of tlie Metiiodist 
 Church. By her marriage she became tiie mother 
 of seventeen children, fifteen of whom lived to man- 
 hood and womanliood, tlie others liaving died in 
 early childhood. At the present time eleven of 
 the family are living, five sons and six daughters, 
 who are married and live in widel}' separated 
 .States. They are as follows: Rebecca, Adelia, Al- 
 cesta, Eliza, Susan, Maria, Merchant, Duane, Dorr, 
 Hilton and Ilillman. 
 
 The subject of our sketch was reared on a farm, 
 and his educational privileges in earlj' life were 
 those afforded b3' tlie district schools of the neigh- 
 borhood. He afterward attended the Argyle Acad- 
 emy, and when nineteen ^ears of age left his home 
 and came West to grow up with the countrv, be- 
 cause he l)elieved it afforded wider opportunities 
 for advancement and fortune. He landed at Mo- 
 mencc in October, 1851, and after a short visit 
 with relatives in this citv went to Bourbonnais, 
 where his brother Henry was just opening a gen- 
 eral store. His brother Ilillman also accompanied 
 him and they entered the employ of their elder 
 brother. Ilillman returned home about a \'ear 
 later, and Hilton B. remained with his brother until 
 the latter sold out his business, when for the suc- 
 ceeding two years he was employed b\- his successor. 
 Henry went from Bourbonnais to Kankakee, where 
 he opened a store, and thither our subject removed 
 after a time and w.as in his employ for two 3-ears. 
 From that place Mr. Hall came to Momeuce,and 
 for eight j^ears clerked for AV. II. Patterson. At 
 the end of that time ISIr. Patterson died, and his 
 son, in connection with our subject, took the stock 
 of goods and carried on business for a few years 
 under the linn name of Hall Sr Patterson, when 
 the latter also died, and Mr. Hall became the owner 
 of his deceased partner's interest, and from that 
 time did business in his own name until the ^ear 
 188."), covering a period of about twelve years. 
 He then sold out his business and invested the 
 proceeds m real estate, to which he has since de- 
 
 voted his time and attention. Mr. Hall is the 
 owner of considerable jiroperty in Momence and 
 vicinity, including a veiy fine farm of two hun- 
 dred acres north of town and a beautiful home in 
 Momence. Mv. Hall has ac(|uircd his property 
 through his own industrious efforts and economy, 
 and is esteemed in this locality for his honorable 
 course of life. 
 
 Our subject vvas united in marriage with IMiss 
 Mary E. Veatch on the 24th of July, 1877. Mrs. 
 Hall is the daughter of George and Eliza (Barrin- 
 ger) A^eatch, the lattera native of Pennsylvania, and 
 the former of Kentucky. Mrs. Veatch is still 
 living and makes her home with Mrs. Hall, and 
 though in her eighty-first year is still hale and 
 he:irly. 
 
 Mr. Hall for many years affiliated with the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity and helped to organize the Mo- 
 mence Lodge. He became a Mason while residing 
 in Kankakee, belonging to the Chapter, but has 
 since been demitted. For two years Mr. Hall 
 served as Supervisor of Momence Township, but 
 has never been a politician or an aspirant for pub- 
 lic offices. In politics he is a stanch Republican 
 and has always voted for the nominees of that 
 party. When our subject first came to Momence 
 there were probably not more than two hundred 
 inhabitants in the town, and the country around 
 was mostly wild prairie, with not a house to be 
 seen between Momence and Kankakee. He has 
 seen the wilderness change into a prosperous and 
 well-cultivated section, which justly deserves its 
 rank among the best counties of the State. 
 
 LOCUM WILBER, wholesale dealer in 
 garden seeds, and a retired merchant of 
 Momence, is one of its eaily settlers. His 
 birth occurred in White Creek, Washing- 
 ton County, N. Y., on the 21st of December, 1815. 
 His father, George Wilber, was a native of Dart- 
 mouth, 1\. I., and was left fatherless when six years 
 of age. He was a farmer and seed-grower in New
 
 460 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIO(fRAPHlCAL RECORD. 
 
 York and was a prominent man, holding at var- 
 ious times many responsible official positions. His 
 death occurred in tliat State on the 5th of Sep- 
 tember, 1853, at the age of sixty-four years and 
 seven months; tins was about three weeks after his 
 return home from a trip to Illinois, where he had 
 visited our subject. His wife, Triphena Slocum, 
 was a native of the EmjHre State and by her mar- 
 riage had become the mother of seven children, 
 four sons and tliree daughters, only Ivvo of whom 
 are now living: our subject and a sister, Mrs. 
 Adeline Webster, who resides in Momeiice and 
 whose husband is engaged in the grocery business. 
 One brother died in California, on the 14th of 
 November, 1851. He had formerlj' been in busi- 
 ness in a general store in Momence, but sold his 
 stock to his brotiier Alvin. A brother Hiram, 
 who was about t\vo years 3'ounger than our sub- 
 ject, took part in an Indian uprising in Oregon. 
 He was a brave man and helped to repel many of 
 the attacks of the Indians in that State and was 
 known as Capt. Hiram Wilber. On numerous oc- 
 casions he was tlie bearer of important messages 
 for the military commanders of tliat region. His 
 death occurred August 22, 1892, in Momence, 
 which he had made iiis home for some time and 
 where he was held in high esteem b^' the entire 
 community. He was one of the first settlers of 
 Portland, Ore., and was the first Marshal of that 
 city after its organization. 
 
 Mr. Willjer, whose name heads this sketch, has 
 resided in Momence since 1850. He started in 
 business with his brother Alvin, under the firm 
 name of A. S. & S. Wilber. Thej- were instru- 
 mental in starting the town of Aroma, situated 
 about ten miles from Momence, having built tiie 
 first store and started the first mill there. Our 
 subject continued in tlie mercantile business with 
 his brother for two years and a-half, when they 
 dissolved partnership, he then associating with 
 him Messrs. G. W. Van Kirk and W. J. Stratton, 
 under the firm name of AVilber, Van Kirk & Co. 
 This partnership continued for a number of years, 
 when our subject and Mr. Stratton purchased the 
 interest of tlie other partner, who retired on ac- 
 count of failing health. Mr. Wilber has the rep- 
 utation of being llic pioneer seed-grower of Illi- 
 
 nois, as he embarked in that line in 1855, and has 
 continued until the present time in that occupa- 
 tion. One 3-ear he raised and shipped about six- 
 teen thousand pounds of cucumber seeds alone 
 When starting in business he began in a very 
 humble way but succeeded in making it one of 
 the largest seed industries in the State, often em- 
 emplo3'ing large forces of men, at one time having 
 seventy-five persons engaged in harvesting cu-j 
 cumber seeds. His pay rolls were veiy large and! 
 he helped manj' poor people to earn a good andl 
 honest living. He lias many customers now that 
 he had from the start, which is an evidence of the 
 merit of his goods and his straightforward manner 
 of business dealings. 
 
 On tlie 24th of September, 1845, Mr. Wilber wa 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Ann Lake, wh( 
 was born February 13, 1822, and was the daughted 
 of James Lake, of White Creek, N. Y. Two chil^ 
 dren were born to them, who died in infanc}'. Ob 
 the 9th of April, 1891, Mrs. AVilber was called 
 from this life, being tlien in her seventieth ycarj 
 and having been a resident of Momence for about 
 forl3'-one jears. She was a consistent member oB 
 the Methodist Church, which she joined when 
 young. 
 
 A brother of our subject, Alvin Willier, nov 
 deceased, was the first Postmaster of Momencci 
 and afterward G. W. Van Kirk was appointed td 
 the position and our subject acted as his Deputy! 
 The former died during his term of office and oufl 
 subject succeeded to the position, there remaining 
 until after Lincoln's election. The postotlice wad 
 originallj^ at Loraine, one mile east of iiere, bul 
 was afterwards removed to Momence. In poll 
 itics, Mr. Wilber has ahva3's been a Democrat anc 
 has held various local offices of trust. Pearly iii 
 life he became a member of the Baptist Church, td 
 which he has always liberally contributed. Ha 
 owns a good home, a comfortable and commodi'j 
 ous brick house, which was erected in 1850, and ii 
 which he lias lived continuously for a period ot 
 forty-two years He also owns two large seed 
 warehouses, a farm of thirt3' acres one mile west 
 of town, five acres in the town plat, and an inter- 
 est in a number of town lots of Aroma and other 
 propert3'. He is a man of intelligence and wide 
 
 I
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ONIVEP.SITY Of ILLIl^UiS
 
 I 
 
 ^^c^c^^
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 463 
 
 reading, and when a young man taught for seven 
 winters in tlio East. He is now past seventy-seven 
 years of age and is esteemed one of the leading 
 and honored citizens of Momence. 
 
 \I7 EMUEL MILK. From the earliest history 
 ll' (?§, of mankind tlie ownership of land has 
 j--V been an honorable distinction, and to be a 
 land-owner or free-liolder often was, and in some 
 States of tlie Union and other countries is still, a 
 necessary qnalitication for the right of suffrage. 
 There is something grand and ennobling in feeling 
 that one has the sole and exclusive right to a cer- 
 tain tract or section of (iod's footstool. From 
 this standpoint, tlie subject of this sketch during 
 his maturer years has had good reason to enjoy 
 that peculiar pleasure in no limited degree, be- 
 cause he has owned and controlled v.ast tracts of 
 land, equal at one time to upwards of a hundred 
 and fifty farms, consisting of one luindred and sixt3' 
 acres each. He also was the owner of large herds 
 of cattle and imported blooded horses, besides 
 slieep and hogs. While he has sold some thous- 
 ands of acres, Mr. Milk still possesses nine thous- 
 and acres of good farming land, lying [)artly in Illi- 
 nois and Indiana, and eighteen hundred .acres sit- 
 uated in North Dakota. Mudi of his property 
 consists of improved farms, well stocked and pro- 
 ductive. On one of his Indiana farms he keeps 
 a large number of imported Norman and English 
 Shire horses of thorough blood stock. lie has 
 probabl3' the largest number of that class of liorses 
 in the State owned by one individual, and lias by 
 his introduction of these iiorses done much to im- 
 prove the stock of Indiana and e.astern Illinois. 
 Mr. Milk is also largely engaged in growing, feed- 
 ing and fattening cattle, sheep and hogs, during 
 the winter of 1891-92 turning off some seven 
 hundred head of fat cattle and a corresponding 
 lot of hogs. In fact, it is generally conceded that 
 he is one of the largest, if not the largest, land- 
 owner and stock-grower in the two States of Illi- 
 nois and Indiana. 
 
 Mr. Milk is a native of the Empire State and 
 was born in Lcdyard Townshi(), Cayuga County, 
 October 18, 182(). His parents were of New Eng- 
 land birth and of English descent. His father, 
 William Milk, was born in Westportj Mass., on the 
 18th of October, 1783, and died in the town of 
 Fleming, Cayuga County, N. Y., August 25, 186G. 
 The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
 was Mary Ilalhaw.ay, was born in the town of 
 Dartmouth, near New Bedford, Mass. Her death 
 occurred in the town of Fleming, on the 1 Itli of 
 August, 1838. Their famil>' consisted of six sons 
 and one daughter, of whom Lemuel, the youngest, 
 is the only one living. 
 
 When about two years of age the subject of this 
 sketch accompanied his parents to Fleming, in the 
 county of his l)irth, where he was reared to agri- 
 cultural pursuits, was educated in the public 
 schools and w.as early taught the necessity of 
 habits of industry and frugality'. His father was 
 a bl.acksmith by trade, but carried on a farm and 
 engaged in stock-raising during the boj'hood of 
 our suliject. Wlien about fourteen years of age, 
 young Lemuel worked for his brother a month in 
 haying for a calf valued at ^3. To get a mate 
 for him he raked and bound wheat for a brother- 
 in-law six days at fifty cents per day. To feed his 
 calves be mowed hay from fence corners and cut 
 corn tops. Having fattened them he sold them at 
 three years of age for -^15 to William Dolby, who 
 drove them to New York City market, a distance 
 of three hundred miles. Such cattle at this time 
 would bring ^50 each. This was Mr. Milk's first 
 financial venture. While yet a youth he carried 
 on his father's farm on shares, and on attaining 
 his majority purchased a farm adjoining that of 
 his father and ran both of them. For his own 
 farm he was to {)ay §2,000, but his entire cajiital 
 consisted of but Si 100, which he had made b^' rein- 
 vesting his "calf money." For the balance he 
 went in debt. In four years he paid for the farm. 
 Continuing to enhance its value by erecting good 
 buildings and putting up first-class fences, he sold 
 it ten 3'ears later for |!G,120. This was Mr. Milk's 
 first real-estate transaction. 
 
 On the 1st of June, 18.54, a marri.age ceremony 
 united the destinies of .Mr. Milk and Miss .lane A.
 
 464 
 
 POilTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Piatt, who was a daughter of Slorson and Minerva 
 (Sherwood) Phitt, of Butternuts, Otsego County, 
 N. Y., where the marriage of our subject was per- 
 formed. Mrs. Milk was born in the same town on 
 the 20th of May, 1831, and died December 7, 1881, 
 at El Paso, Tex., where she had been in attendance 
 upon an invalid son. She left two children: Jen- 
 nie M., who is now the wife of George E. Conrad, 
 of Newton County, Ind.; and a son, Sherwood 
 Piatt, who was born February 8, 18.")9, and died 
 on the 17th of June, 1883. 
 
 In 1850, Mr. Milk purchased a large tract of 
 land in Iroquois County where now is what is 
 known as Milk's Grove, the grove and township 
 both being named in his honor. While not at 
 that time an actual resident of Illinois, he became 
 fully identified with the State through his large 
 property interests and his frequent visits to the 
 same and the supervision and care of his stock. 
 For about a year after his marriage Mr. Milk re- 
 sided in Auburn, N. Y., and in 1855 removed 
 with his family to Kankakee, which has since been 
 his home. About 1872, he engaged in merchandis- 
 ing in Chebanse, Iroquois County, and for raan3' 
 years carried one of the largest stocks of genei-al 
 merchandise in the two counties of Kankakee and 
 Iroquois, on the dividing line of which lies the 
 town of Chebanse. Recently he sold out all but 
 the hardware department of that business. Among 
 his varied interests, Mr. Milk stores and ships large 
 quantities of ice from Waldron, Kankakee County, 
 his annual trade in that line frequently equalling 
 four hundred carloads. In addition to his large 
 landed estate in this vicinity, Mr. Milk owns prop- 
 ert}' in Kankakee, Wilmington. Manteno and 
 Waldron. His farming operations are upon a 
 magnificent scale and he handles thousands of 
 head of cattle and other live stock. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Milk was a Democrat in early 
 life, but joined the Republican party at its organ- 
 ization. He has never had time or inclination to 
 accept public office, but was induced to serve for 
 two years as a Trustee of the Eastern Illinois Hos- 
 pital for the Insane, located at Kankakee. He has 
 always been known as a man of indefatigable 
 energy and enterprise and he has ever been ready 
 to give a liberal support to all worthy objects of a 
 practical nature of which he approves. 
 
 On the 30th of November, 1886, Mr. IMilk was 
 married in Sherwood, Tenn., to Miss May E. Sher- 
 wood, a daughter of C. D. and Charlotte P. (Fer- 
 riss) Sherwood. Mrs. Milk was born in Rushford, 
 Minn., and is descended from an old Connecticut 
 family. She is a cousin of Mr. Milk's first wife. 
 One child, a daughter, Mary Sherwood, graces the 
 union of our subject and his wife. Mrs. Milk is a 
 member of the Presbyterian Church and is a con- 
 sistent woman, possessed of man}' excellencies of 
 character. In his views regarding religion, Mr. 
 Milk is the reverse of ortjiodox, and while he re- 
 Sjiects the belief of those who differ from him and 
 contributes liberallj' to the support of churches, he 
 does not hold membership with any. In 1890, he 
 gave eight acres of land at Milk's Grove, Iroquois 
 County, 111., and the money necessarj' to erect 
 a Catholic Church, dwelling, and schoolhouse 
 amounting to 15,000. He thinks that home life 
 rightly conceived and lived is the nearest supreme 
 happiness that man will ever attain, and also be- 
 lieves that one should do right through the love 
 of right and justice rather than for hope of reward 
 or fear of punishment in a future state. He is a 
 man of marked individuality and independence of 
 character, possessed of excellent executive ability, 
 is self-reliant and sagacious, and has managed his 
 vast business enterprises with a forethought and 
 sound judgment which have wrought him an al- 
 most phenomenal success. 
 
 ? I ' I ' I I 1 
 
 ^ Jt.UAAAM R. HUNTER, of Kankakee, attor- 
 \rJ// ney and counselor at law, is the present 
 ^^^ States Attorney of Kankakee County, to 
 which position he was elected in 1888. He is still 
 a young man, having been born in the Province 
 of Ontario on the 12tii of January, 1858. His fa- 
 ther, Robert Hunter, was a native of the North of 
 Ireland and came first to the United States when 
 about eighteen years of age. Going to Pittsburgh, 
 Pa., he remained in that cit^' for a time, but his 
 health becoming impaired he returned to his na- 
 tive land. Later he again set sail for Amer- 
 
 i
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 465 
 
 ica, and upon arriving in the United States went 
 to Cincinnati, making that his home for some 
 time, lie tiien ronioved to Ontario, Canada, where 
 he resided until claimed by death on the 24th of 
 September, 1881. His wife survived for a number 
 of ye.irs and passed to her final reward January 29, 
 1891. In their family were two sons and five 
 daughters, but two of the latter are now deceased. 
 The only brother of our subject, .lames M., is a 
 farmer b}' occupation and a resident of Kankakee 
 County. 
 
 The educational advantages of William R. Hun- 
 ter were quite limited in bis early life. He worked 
 on a farm until the age of twenty, and though 
 deprived of good school school privileges, on ac- 
 count of an inherent desire for knowledge he im- 
 proved his leisure time in reading and study, and 
 consequentl3' on arri^■ing at his majority was well 
 informed on the current events. Being ambitious 
 to attain a more elevated position in life, and be- 
 lieving that under the free institutions of the Re- 
 public better opportunities would be .afforded him, 
 he resolved to become a citizen of the United 
 States. Therefore, SeiHember, 1879, saw him dom- 
 iciled in Kankakee, and he at once set about pre- 
 (laring himself for the active duties of life. As 
 he was possessed of a natural talent for music 
 and had given considerable attention to that sub- 
 ject, he gave private instruction in music for a 
 time and was otherwise variously engaged. He 
 pursued a course of nearl}' three j-ears' study of 
 the classics and general literature under the in- 
 struction of the Rev. Daniel Dye, of this cit}", and 
 to that gentleman Mr. Hunter feels greatly in- 
 debted for a tiiorough mental training and for 
 manv acts of kindness and words of encourage- 
 ment. During that time he also studied telegra- 
 phy and with others erected a private line, which 
 gradually became general throughout the cit}-. In 
 addition to these various pursuits and studies, our 
 subject turned his attention to stenography, and 
 after receiving but eight lessons in the principles 
 of that art he pursued the study alone, improving 
 on the systems then in use and adoi)ting methods 
 of his own. He soon became proficient in stenogra- 
 phy and for four years filled the position of court 
 reporter in a most acceptable manner. In the mean- 
 
 lime he had studied law and was admitted to 
 practice January 1, 1882. His examination was 
 conducted by the Judges of the Ajipellate Court of 
 the Second District. Mr. Hunter's average stand- 
 ing was ninet^'-six, the highest in the class being 
 ninety- -seven. Soon after his admission to the Bar 
 he went to Toronto, where for a short time he oc- 
 cupied a position as stenographer for a firm com- 
 posed of seven lawyers. 
 
 In March, 1882, Mr. Hunter was united in mar- 
 riage in Kankakee to Miss Lillian Morrison. Mrs. 
 Hunter is a daugliter of Noah and Sarah Morrison, 
 of this county. One child graces the union of our 
 subject and his wife, a little daughter, Estella B., 
 wiio was born July 24, 1885. They lost a son, 
 Julius, when about one year old. On the 10th of 
 Januar}', 1893, Mr. Hunter was called to mourn 
 the loss of his wife, who died at Colorado Springs, 
 Colo., while there to regain her health. 
 
 Returning to Kankakee in the spring of 1882, 
 Mr. Hunter engaged in the practice of his profes- 
 sion. For a number of years his ofHce was in that 
 of the Judge of this county. In the winter of 
 1885, oar subject was taken seriously ill with 
 bronchitis and was removed to soutliern Kansas 
 for the beneBt of his health. He remained about 
 tiiree months in that State and in Indian Territorj^, 
 but returned in the following July without having 
 derived any appreciable benefit from the change of 
 climate. He then decided to go to southern Cali- 
 fornia and try the effect of that well-known salu- 
 brious climate. Locating in Los Angeles, Mi-. Hun- 
 ter engaged in practice witli Judge Brouseau, of 
 that city. In the spring of 1886, he returned fully 
 restored to health. He was appointed City Attor- 
 ney in 1887 to fill an unexpired term, and during 
 his position in that office he revised the ordinances 
 of the city. He was ajipointed City Attorney again 
 the following 3ear and at the same time received 
 the Republican nomination for the office of State's 
 Attorney. Accepting the latter, he w.as elected by a 
 large majority, and has discharged the duties per- 
 taining to that office in a most satisfactory man- 
 ner. He was again nominated in 1892 but declined 
 the honor, preferring to attend to the duties of his 
 profession. On the 1st of June of that year, he 
 formed a partnership with II. K. Wheeler. It is
 
 466 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 hardly necessary to state that Mr. Hunter is a 
 stalwart Republican and takes a deep interest in 
 the welfare of his paity. He may truthfully be 
 termed a self-made man, having by his indomita- 
 ble energy, application and natural ability attained 
 to bis present high rank in his profession. 
 
 @_ 
 
 -^3. 
 
 ""^ 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 [^ 
 
 \f7 OULS SCHNEIDER, Jr., is one of the lead- 
 11 (© ing j'oung citizens of Kankakee. He is a 
 |l| -^ member of the Board of Aldermen of the 
 cit}-, and is prominent in business circles, being 
 the junior partner in the firm of L. Schneider & Son, 
 manufacturers of and dealers in carriages, wagons, 
 etc. Louis Schneider is the father of our subject 
 and the senior member of the (irm. He was born 
 in Wurtemberg, Germany, on the 6th of Decem- 
 ber, 183-i, and when he had attained to a suitable 
 age, he was sent to learn the trades of wheelwright 
 and blacksmith in the city of Ulm. After master- 
 ijig the business he decided to try his fortune in 
 America, and bidding good-bye to his old home, 
 crossed the briny deep to the United States. This 
 was in 1854. 
 
 After coming to this country, Mr. Schneider re- 
 sided for a time in the State of New York, and 
 then went south to Louisville, Ky. He became a 
 resident of Chicago, 111., in 1858, and there re- 
 sided until the 18th of October, 1861, when he 
 again changed his place of residence, locating in 
 Kankakee. Since coming to this city he has en- 
 gaged in his present line of business. He first 
 formed a partnership with J. H. Lueth, which con- 
 nection continued for a period of about sixteen 
 years, or until the 1st of November, 1881, when 
 the relation was discontinued. Mr. Schneider was 
 then alone in business for some time, but in Octo- 
 ber, 1892, formed a partnership with his son Louis, 
 and the present firm title of L. .Schneider & Sou 
 was assumed. 
 
 Wliile a resident of Chicago, Mr. Schneider, Sr., 
 was married, on the 15th of March, 1859, Miss Con- 
 stantina Reis becoming his wife. The lady was 
 born in Eberstein, Germany. Their union has 
 
 been blessed with a family of five children, two 
 sons and three daughters: Matilda, Wilhelmiua, 
 Louis, Catherine and Edward F. They lost their 
 second oliild, David, in infancy. 
 
 We now take up the personal liistory of the 
 gentleman whose name heads this record. His boy- 
 liood days were passed in the city of his birtli, and 
 his education was acquired in the parochial and 
 public schools of Kankakee. He learned his trade 
 of wagon and carriage making in the establish- 
 ment of his father, and before the present partner- 
 ship was formed he was in liis employ for a time. 
 The firm of .Schneider & Son carries a large line of 
 carriages and wagons and is doing a good business, 
 which it well deserves. To the experience and 
 mature judgment of the father was added the en- 
 terprising and progressive spirit of the son, and 
 the firm therefore lias those qualities which insure 
 success. 
 
 On the 5th of October, 1892, Mr. Schneider, Jr., 
 was married to Miss Maiy llaj-es, daughter of 
 James Hayes, of Clifton, 111. The young couple 
 are prominent people of this city, who hold an en- 
 viable position in social circles. In politics, Mr. 
 Schneider is a stalwart Democrat, and he has the 
 distinction of being the youngest Alderman ever 
 elected to the Kankakee Board. He represents the 
 Third Ward of this city. He is one of the enter- 
 prising and energetic young business men of the 
 city, and his future career will no doubt be one of 
 success. 
 
 
 YLVESTER H ATTON, who makes his home 
 on section 35, Yellowhead Township, was 
 born May 27, 1837, in Fountain County 
 Ind., and is a son of Leslie R. and Eliza- 
 beth (Stingley) Ilatton, a sketch of whom will be 
 found in that of W. L. Hatton, on another page 
 of this volume. With his parents our subject 
 came to Yellowhead Township, this country, in 
 1840, though it was then Will County. His fa- 
 ther died when he was ten years of age, and he 
 
 i
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 467 
 
 remained upon tlie homestead, assisting liis mother 
 in carryinii; on the farm, until she too was called 
 from this life, in 18.52. Then, going to Indiana, 
 he lived with an uncle, working on his farm until 
 reaching his majority. His education was largely 
 acquired in Indiana. Returning to Yellowhead 
 Township, Mr. Hatton took possession of eighty 
 acres of land, which he inherited from his father's 
 estate. 
 
 On the 7th of October, 1858, Mr. Hatton and 
 Jliss Martha A. Allhands were united in marriage. 
 >Irs. Hatton was born in Montgomery' County, 
 Ind., on the 29th of November, 1837, and is a 
 daughter of Andrew and Margaret (Swank) All- 
 hands. By the union of our subject and his wife 
 have been born ten children, eight of whom are 
 living. Raymond, horn (October 16, 1860, died 
 August 20, 1872; Ida M., whose birth occurred 
 April 24, 1862, is the wife of .John Dowsey, a 
 prosperous farmer of .Tasper County, Ind.; Esther 
 J. was born July 16, 1866; Laura A., October 21, 
 1867; Ernest, February 16, 1869; William M., 
 March 21,1872; Francis M., .July 28, 1873; George, 
 April 29, 1873; Bertha K., August 23, 1878; and 
 M.nry, the first-born, who died in infancy. 
 
 Prompted by patriotic impulses, Mr. Hatton en- 
 listed as a private in Companj- II, Seventy-sixth 
 Illinois Infantr}', on the 6th of August, 1862. He 
 was promoted for his braverj' and merit to the rank 
 of Sergeant under Capt. .Jacob Ruger. He partici- 
 pated in the following engagements and skirmishes: 
 the siege and surrender of Vicksbuig, Miss.; that 
 of Jackson, in Jul}', 1863; Champion Hills, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1864; Benton, Miss., in May, and the en- 
 gagement at Jackson Cross Roads in July, of that 
 year. In 18G.5 lie took part in the battle of Clin- 
 ton, La., and in April in tlie siege and assault on 
 Ft. lUakely. Mr. Hatton was a faithful and ef- 
 ficient soldier, and during the three years of his 
 service was fortunate in never being wounded or 
 captured by the enemj'. He received an honorable 
 discharge at Galveston, Tex., on the 22d of July, 
 186.5. 
 
 After the cessation of hostilities, Mr. Hatton re- 
 turned to his farm in Yellowhead Township, 
 which he has since carried on successfully. His 
 property consists of one hundred and thirty acres, 
 
 which is well improved and yields- to him a golden 
 tribute in return for his care and cultivation. He 
 has always taken an active part in educational 
 affairs in his district, which he has served as 
 School Director for over eighteen yeai-s. He has 
 given his children the best of school advantages, 
 thus making them intelligent and worthy citizens. 
 In his political affiliations he is a supporter of tlie 
 Democratic part}'. 
 
 On the 27lh of May, 1892, ]\Ir. Hatton cele- 
 brated his flfty-fifth birlhdav, at which time sev- 
 eral of his old army comrades of the Seventy- 
 sixth Illinois congregated at his residence, taking 
 hini b}' surprise. In the following words his guests 
 presented him with an elegant rocking chair: 
 
 "We, the members of Company II, Sevent}'- 
 sixth Regiment, Illinois Volunteers, desiring to 
 express our friendship and good feeling toward 
 our old comrade, Sylvester Hatton, in token thereof 
 present to you this chair, hoping that in your de- 
 clining years j'our weary limbs may find rest 
 and the balance of your life's burdens may rest 
 lightly on 3'ou." 
 
 Catt. J. Rri:i;i!, W. D. Lank, 
 
 E. S. CooKi:, H. HoAG, 
 
 Jf.rojie Vail, Saji Shrontz, 
 
 !•'. O. ClAKK, F. Sl'KAMLIN, 
 
 F. Massev. 
 
 -J.5.4..5..5. j^g 
 5.5. .5. .{..{.'.^g 
 
 ,,.., BRAM PLANTE, of Kankakee, the eflfi- 
 •^nJi. cient superintendent of Mt. Grove Ceme- 
 tery of this city, is a Canadian by birth- 
 He was born in St. Johns, Canada, Au- 
 gust 15, 1841, and is one of a family of ten chil- 
 dren. The father, August Plante, was also a na- 
 tive of Canada and there continued to reside until 
 called to the home be^'ond. He had seven sons 
 and three daughters, all of whom are yet living 
 with the exception of one son and one daughter. 
 Only two, however, came to Illinois, Abram and 
 his brother Solomon. The latter has since re- 
 moved further AVest and is now living in the State 
 of Washington. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his early boy- 
 hood and youth in Canada. He was a young man
 
 468 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of seventeen years, when, in 1858, he left his 
 liome and removed to Kankakee County, 111. He 
 made his first location in the township of Aroma 
 and was engasjed in agricultural pursuits from 
 that time until his enlistment for the late war. 
 Prompted by patriotic impulses, he entered the 
 service of liis adopted country on the 24th of Au- 
 gust, 1862, and joined tlie boys in blue of the. Sev- 
 enty-sixth Illinois Regiment. He was assigned to 
 Company' D,and served until the close of the war. 
 He fought under a number of famous comman- 
 ders, including Gens. Grant, Sherman and Logan, 
 and participated in some of the most important 
 engagements of the war. He was under Gen. 
 Grant at the famous siege of Vicksburg and par- 
 ticipated in the siege and capture of Ft. Blakely, 
 near Mobile, Ala., one of tlie last military engage- 
 ments of the war. Although in manj' battles, he 
 was fortunate enough to escape the bullets of tiie 
 enemy, neither was he captured or taken prisoner, 
 but his health was much broken down by the 
 hardships, privations and trials incident to army 
 life. 
 
 Mr. Plante was married in the town of Aroma 
 in 1860, when Miss Odille Morin became his wife. 
 The lady was born in Canada August 16, 1841, 
 and is just one da}^ her husband's junior. She is 
 a daughter of Julius Jlorin, who with his family 
 removed from his native land, Canada, to the 
 State of New York in 1851. He settled near Lake 
 Champlain and after residing there for a time re- 
 moved thence to Illinois, locating in the village of 
 Aroma, Kankakee County, where he worked at his 
 trade, that of a carpenter. Subsequently he went 
 to Iroquois County and took up his residence on 
 a farm, where he spent the remainder of his life. 
 His death occurred in May, 1872. The wife and 
 mother survives her husband and is now living in 
 the city of Kank.akee. This worthy couple were 
 the parents of four children, a son and three 
 daughters, the eldest of wliom is Odille, wife of 
 our subject; Josephine is now the wife of August 
 Poutre, who is living in Kankakee; and Adeline is 
 the wife of Onesine Versailles, also of Kankakee. 
 The only son, Julius, died at the age of nine 3-ears. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Plante has been born a fam- 
 ily of six children, four sons and two daughters: 
 
 Julius, their eldest child, was born in Aroma No- 
 vember 12, 1862, and is now engaged in business 
 as a railroad engineer. Bird, a clerk for John G. 
 Kneclit, was born in Aroma Township July 6, 
 1867; Arthur, employed in Abert Spencer's store, 
 Chicago, was born on the 20th of January, 1869; 
 Edwin, employed in Sprague, Warner & Co.'s 
 wholesale grocerj', of Chicago, was born February 8, 
 1872; Luella was born July 23, 1873; and Lillian, 
 the j'oungest of the family', was born on the 27lh 
 of April, 1877. The last four were born in Papineau, 
 Iroquois County. The family circle yet remains 
 unbroken. 
 
 Mr. Plante returned to Kankakee County soon 
 after the close of the war, but did not long remain 
 here. He removed to Iroquois County-, where he 
 successfully carried on agricultural pursuits and 
 made his home until 1883. In that year he re- 
 turned to Kankakee, where he is now filling the 
 position of superintendent of Mt. Grove Cemetery. 
 He was a gallant soldier in the war for the Union, 
 and throughout his three years of service was ever 
 found at his post of duty, faithfully defending the 
 old flag which now floats so proudly over the 
 united nation. In his political views he is a Re- 
 publican, having long supported the men and 
 measures of that party. He and his wife both 
 hold membership with the Baptist Church. Mr. 
 Plante is a worthy and respected citizen and it is 
 with pleasure that we present to our readers this 
 brief record of his life. 
 
 _i!^5) 
 
 <-vQJ 
 
 M>^^<m 
 
 1? CHABOD STODDARD, an extensive farmer re- 
 I siding on section 23, Ganier Township, is a 
 /li native of Leeds County, Canada, his birth oc- 
 curring on the 14th of April, 1808. He is a son of 
 Sheldon Stoddard, who was of English descent, and 
 was born in Woodbury, Litchfield County, Conn. 
 His ancestors first came to America in 1639, and 
 settled in Boston, the earliest Amerian representa- 
 tive of the family being Anthony Stoddard, a 
 Presbyterian minister. The grandfather of our 
 subject was a soldier in the AVar of the Revolution.
 
 I^^w 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 469 
 
 heldon Stoddard, who was a farnier by occupation, 
 wedded Miss Olivo Cliipinan. To tliem were born 
 tlio following cliildrcu, our sulijecl Iifing llie eldest: 
 Truman is deceased; I'()ll>' and Sarah have also 
 passed away; William is engaged in agricultural 
 pursuits in Porter County, Ind.; Charlotte became 
 the wife of Samuel Burns, a farmer residing in 
 Lawrence County, S. Dak.: ?' ranees, widow of John 
 .1. Casswell, resides in Imliana; Olive and Martha 
 are deceased; I>ewis makes his home in Indiana; 
 and tliree children died in infancy. The father 
 was called from this life in 1852. The mother 
 suivived her husband twenty-four years, depart- 
 ing til is life in 1870. 
 
 Our *ubject was born and reared on a farm, and 
 his school privileges were quite limited. For some 
 years he taught school in Canada, but early 
 learned the carpenter's trade. In 18.36 he came 
 to the United States, locating in Toledo, Ohio, 
 wiiere he worked at his trade in the winter of 
 1836-37. In the spring following, Mr. Stoddard 
 emigrated to Illinois, settling in what was then 
 IiXKjuois, but is now a portion of Kankakee, County. 
 For some years he continued at his trade as a car- 
 penter, and then purchased the farm which has 
 been his home until the present time. This pur- 
 chase consisted of one hundred and fifty-three 
 acres on section 23, Ganier Township, for which 
 lie paid ^i. 50 per acre. The farm was raw prairie 
 land, but six acres having been broken. The near- 
 est market was Chicago, and to that city Mr. Stod- 
 dard has many times driven hogs and cattle, going 
 all the way on foot. The same 3ear of his arrival, 
 the Indians were removed from this portion of the 
 Slate to the Western reservations. Mr. Stoddard 
 and his sons own a large wheat ranch of about one 
 thousand acres of land in Dakota. 
 
 In 1840, Mr. Stoddard married Miss Eliza W. 
 Perry, b^- which union one child was born, Arvin, 
 who is a mason by trade, and resides in Red Oak, 
 Iowa. Our subject married his present wife. Miss 
 Ali)ha L. Tower, on the 8th of November, 1853, 
 in A'ermont, where she was born October 21, 1816. 
 She is a daughter of .Toseph Tower, whose birth 
 occurred in Nova Scotia. However, his progenitor 
 came from England in 1637, settling at New Hiug- 
 ham, Mass. Joseph was married in Vermont to 
 
 Priscilla Edmunds, a native of Clarendon, Rutland 
 County, where they passed their lives upon a 
 farm. Mr. Tower died in 1840, at the age of 
 seventy, and his wife in 1851, aged seventy-four. 
 Mrs. Stoddard is the eleventh child of a family of 
 twelve children, of whom but two survive, Mrs. 
 Stoddard, and Mrs. Abigail Perry, a resident of 
 Aroma Township, Kankakee Count3'. Mrs. Stod- 
 dard has become the mother of two children, Will- 
 iam and George II., who are both in Dakota at 
 present, operating their extensive wheat ranch. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was for many years a 
 a loyal Whig, and since the organization of the 
 Republican part}-, has iieen one of its stanch sup- 
 porters. He voted for Gen. AVilliam Henry Har- 
 rison, and has cast two votes for his grandson, 
 Benjamin Harrison. He has served in various 
 positions of responsibility and trust, among which 
 we mention those of Commissioner of Highways 
 and School Trustee. 
 
 SAAC BIRD HANNA is engaged in the insur- 
 ance business in Kankakee, and is the agent 
 of the Standard Oil Company in this county. 
 Though comparatively a young man, he is one of 
 the representative business men of this city. He 
 is the only surviving son of Maj. Richard J. Hanna, 
 who settled in Otto Township, Kankakee County, 
 in 1855. There on the 30th of January, 1857, the 
 subject of this sketch was born, and he has the 
 honor of being the first white child born in that 
 township. In 1863, while his father was in the 
 army fighting the battles for the Union, the mother 
 removed with her children to Kankakee. 
 
 Our subject attended the public schools of the 
 city, and acquired a good education. He was for 
 two 3'ears a student of Asbury University. Return- 
 ing from school in 1874, he was employed in his 
 father's store for a period of six years. When, in 
 1881, Maj. Hanna was appointed Postmaster at 
 Kankakee, Isaac assisted him, and became Deputy 
 Postmaster, having general charge of the office un-
 
 470 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 til 1885. Then he purchased the insurance agency 
 of John Dale, siuce which time he has conducted 
 a general insurance business with good success. 
 In August, 1891, he was appointed by the Stand- 
 ard Oil Company as their representative in this 
 section. From a business and financial point of 
 view he has prospered, and owes his success to his 
 indusUy and wise business methods. 
 
 The wife of Mr. Ilanna was formerly Miss Bell 
 Hall, whose father, Henry S. Hall, was one of the 
 early settlers of this county. Mrs. Hanna is a na- 
 tive of Sangamon County, 111. Her father was ac- 
 cidentally killed, having been the victim of an ac- 
 cident on the Grand Trunk Railroad in Canada. 
 This was in March, 1889, and at that time twenty- 
 three persons lost their lives in the terrible wreck. 
 When but two years of age Mrs. Hanna 's mother 
 died. Two sons have graced the union of our 
 subject and his wife: Richard Henry and Thomas 
 Williams. 
 
 Mr. Hanna has been called upon by his fel- 
 low-citizens to serve in various official capacities, 
 the duties of which positions he has discharged 
 with ability and fldelit3'. He was elected Town 
 Collector for the years of 1887, 1888 and 1889. 
 He was elected Alderman in 1890, and was made 
 Supervisor two years later. Politically, he is a 
 supporter of the Republican party, and socially is 
 a member of various civic societies, including the 
 Odd Fellows, Royal Arcanum, Modern Woodmen 
 and Sons of Veterans. He is highly esteemed in 
 this community, where he numbers a large circle 
 of friends and acrjuaintances. 
 
 ARTIN M. PORTER is a prosperous farmer, 
 1 who owns and operates two hundred and 
 li twenty acres, of which one hundred and 
 sixty are on section 31, Momence Town- 
 ship, arid sixty acres are on section 6, Pembroke 
 Township, three and a-half miles southeast of Mo- 
 mence. His birth occurred in Ontario County, 
 N. Y., on the 23d of March, 1857. He was the 
 second in order of birth in a family of three chil- 
 
 dren, two sons and a daughter, who were bom to 
 Edward A. and Sarah (Miller) Porter. The father 
 was of Irish extraction, born on the 6th of August, 
 1829, in the State of New York. He was a farmer 
 by occupation, and in the fall of 1866 emigrated 
 to Kankakee County. He purchased a farm, to the 
 cultivation of which he devoted himself for nine 
 years. He departed this life on the 13th of May, 
 1875, when forty-five years of age. The mother 
 of our subject was also a native of the Empire 
 State, where her birth occurred September 27) 
 1833. She was of English ancestry and was called 
 from this life when she had reached the age of 
 forty-eight, her death occurring March 12, 1882. 
 
 Martin Porter was reared on a farm, and lived 
 with his parents until he was twenty-one years of 
 age. He received a good common-school educa- 
 tion, which he supplemented by well-directed 
 reading, and is now fully acquainted with the top- 
 ics of the times. After reaching his majority, he 
 left the parental roof and started out to mike his 
 fortune. His first move was to rent a farm, to 
 which he brought his young wife, who was for- 
 merly Miss Mary E. Dutclier, and to whom he was 
 married on the 23d of January, 1879. She was 
 born in AVarren County, lud., on the lltli of Jan- 
 uary, 1860, and is a daughter of George and Han- 
 nah (McCord) Dutcher. The former was born in 
 Canada, April 4, 1831, and w.as of German descent. 
 He came to Kankakee when but eight \earsof age, 
 in 1839, and was consequently among the first set- 
 tlers in these parts, where he resided until his death, 
 ou the 6th of December, 1875. Mrs. Dutcher was 
 of Irish extraction, born on the 30th of April, 
 1839, in Indiana, and was called to her final rest 
 in Kankakee County on the 5th of May, 1873. 
 Mrs. Porter was only three years of age when with 
 her parents she came to this county, and here she 
 has lived continuous!}' since. By her marriage 
 she has become the mother of five children: 
 George N., who was born July 8, 1880; Niles I., 
 born October 6, 1882; Iva Bell, whose birth oc- 
 curred August 17, 1884; Alex S., born September 
 8. 1889; and Grace L., who was born on the 7th 
 of August, 1891. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Porter is a stanch 
 Democrat and supports the men and measures of 
 
 J 
 
 4
 
 UfWEH'-n V OF ILLINOIS
 
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 LIBRARY. 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ..UMVtRSnV OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 475 
 
 the Democratic piut^y. As an agriculturist he lias 
 been successful, abuiulant liarvests being the re- 
 ward for his care and cultivation. His property 
 shows on every hand the attention which is given 
 it by a careful and cntcr|)rising owner. 
 
 -^^ 
 
 DAVIN WOODARD, a retired farmer of 
 Kankakee, is one of the earliest pioneers 
 ik^/ of this county, the date of his arrival be- 
 ing the 15tli of April, l.S.'}8. He is a native of 
 Massachusetts, his birth having occurred near 
 Worcester on the 3d of October, 1814. His father, 
 Henjaniin Woodard, was also a native of the Bay 
 State, and was of English origin, several of iiis 
 ancestors having been early members of the Massa- 
 chusetts Colony. He served his countr3' in the 
 War of 1812, and on arriving at man's estate mar- 
 ried the mother of our subject, who bore the 
 maiden name of Sylvia Vale. About the year 
 1817, when Edwin was about three years of age, 
 his parents removed to Vermont. In the win- 
 ter of 1834-35, the father was accidentally killed, 
 leaving a wife and nine children to mourn his 
 loss. 
 
 Our subject was the eldest son and second child, 
 and by the death of his father much responsibility 
 fell ii|)on his shoulders. It was to prepare a home 
 for the family thus left without support that our 
 subject struck out for the Far West when he bad 
 just attained his majority'. A neighbor, Revile 
 Beel)e, had emigrated from Vermont in 1836, and 
 his father, Oliver IJeebe, soon followed him. Thej^ 
 located in Kankakee County and were much 
 pleased with the country. Revilo Beebe wrote 
 our subject a glowing account of this section, and 
 it was largely through his influence that Mr. 
 Woodard emigrated from the Green Mountain 
 State in the spring of 1838. lie located in the 
 Kankakee Valley, in what is now the township of 
 Aroma. On his trip he was accompanied by two 
 men, Eber Gleason and Lansing Taylor. The 
 three purchased a claim of a man who had origin- 
 ally pre-empted the land. This tract the three 
 22 
 
 friends divided, each taking his share. In June 
 of the same year Mr. Woodard returned to his 
 mother and her family. Six of her children came 
 at that time to this county, the others coming 
 later, with the exception of the eldest sister, who 
 was married and died many years ago in New 
 York, leaving a family of six children. Mrs. 
 Woodard was afterward married in this county to 
 Oliver Beebe and lived to the ageof about seventy 
 years. She was born on the 20th of May, 1792, 
 and her death occurred December 23, 1862. 
 
 Of the family', which consisted of nine chil- 
 dren, four are yet living: Edwin, the subject of 
 this sketch; jSIrs. Catherine Leonard, who was 
 born on the 23d of March, 1817; lienjaniin, born 
 August 17, 1822, and now living in Hazel (Treen, 
 Iowa; and Cyrus, born ISIay 3, 1831, and now re- 
 siding in Waldron, this count}-. Those deceased 
 are AmJ^ whose birth occurred May 14, 1813, and 
 who died in 1861; Harriet, who was born Jlay 11, 
 1820, and died JIarch 20, 18!)1; Sylvia, who was 
 born April 21, 182.'), and departed this life on the 
 nth of April, 1891; Sallie, born April 11, 1828, 
 and who died many years ago; Willard, who was 
 born on the 23d of August, 1832, and was killed 
 at the liattle of Franklin, December 16, 1864; and 
 Iliram, who was born August 31, 1834, and died 
 December 25, 1837. 
 
 On the 8th of October,! 844, occurred the marriage 
 of F^dwin Woodard and Belinda J. Legg, who 
 was a native of Kentucky. On New Year's Day, 
 1890, our subject was bereft of his wife after thev 
 had traveled the journey of life together for more 
 than forty-five years. They had no children of 
 their own, but reared Lucy Perry from the time 
 she was six years of age. She was born in Ver- 
 mont, and was the daughter of John and Abigail 
 Perry. In 1841, her family removed to Michigan, 
 where the father died in the fall of the same 3'ear. 
 In 1845 the mother with her seven children came 
 to this ct)unty. She is still living, having attained 
 the advanced age of eight3-four years, and makes 
 her home in Aroma Township, Kankakee Count}'. 
 Four of her children still survive. When but six 
 years of age Lucy was adopted by INIr. and Mrs. 
 Woodard. On the 1st of December, 1859, she be- 
 came the wife of Willard A\'oodard, who entered
 
 476 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the army in the VTnv of the Reliellion and, as al- 
 ready stated, was killed at the battle of Franklin. 
 He was a member of a Minnesota regiment, as at the 
 time he enlisted he was living in Fillmore Countj^ of 
 that State. His wife had but one brother, Alden 
 Perry, who enlisted in the Seventy-sixth Illinois In- 
 fantry, and died at Mound City, III-, while return- 
 ing home. After the death of her husband Luc-y re- 
 turned to the home of her foster parents and she 
 is still living in the pleasant home of our subject in 
 Kankakee. 
 
 "Mv. AVoodard of this sketch was for many years 
 one of the well-known farmers and stock-raisers of 
 this county. He continued to operate his farm 
 until 186G, at which time he removed to Kan- 
 kakee; however, he still carried on farming for 
 several 3'ears, though not .actively engaged, as an 
 agriculturist for himself. He has since sold his 
 farm propertj!^ and in his declining years is enjoy- 
 ing the reward of his long years of toil. Among 
 the many pioneers and early settlers of this county 
 none are held in higher regard than the gentle- 
 man whose name heads this sketch, and his many 
 friends in this locality will be pleased to read this 
 brief account of so worthy a citizen. 
 
 Politically he was a Whig until the rise of the 
 Republican party, with which he has since been 
 identified. His first Presidential vote was cast for 
 William H. Harrison in 1836 and again in 1840. 
 His last Presidential vote was given for Benjamin 
 Harrison, whom he has also supported twice for 
 that position. 
 
 '^I^OIIN JACKSON owns a farm on section 19, 
 Otto Township, and came to this county in 
 the spring of 1857. He was born in Cam- 
 bridgeshire, England, on the 7th of April, 
 1826, .and is a son of William and Rebecca (Tay- 
 lor) Jackson, both natives of the same plaee. They 
 reared their family, spent their entire lives and 
 died in England. 
 
 Our subject is the fifth child of the family of 
 
 ten who grew to maturity. Two of this number 
 died in England and two passed away in this 
 country. The boyhood and early youth of our 
 subject were passed in England, where his school 
 advantages were but limited. He there learned 
 the routine duties of farm life and was early 
 trained as an agriculturist. In 18.50, taking pas- 
 sage in a ship at Liverpool which was bound for 
 Boston, he emigrated to the New World. Thirty 
 d.ays were spent in crossing the Atlantic, as he was 
 on board a sailing-vessel. Arriving in Boston 
 in October of 1850, Mr. J.acksou immediately 
 started AVestward, and spent about four years in 
 Medina County, Ohio. He afterward removed to 
 Summit County, where he lived for the three 
 years succeeding. The year 1857 witnessed his 
 arrival in Kankakee County, 111. He first located 
 in the spring of that year in TNIomence Township, 
 where he secured work of the farmers for about 
 two 3ears. He was frugal and industrious, and 
 with his carefully saved earnings of years he em- 
 barked in farming for himself. He first rented a 
 farm for a few years, and in Januar}', 1861, lo- 
 cated upon the land wiiere he now resides and 
 of which at that time he became the possessor, 
 purchasing in company with his brother William 
 a tract of one hundred and sixty acres. At that 
 time Otto Township was almost a wilderness, and | 
 this property had few improvements and only an j 
 old house upon it. In this, however, he and his I 
 brother made their home for a number of 3-ears. 
 He commenced his life in the New World almost 
 empty-handed, and by the labor, enterprise and 
 well-directed efforts of years, has now a good 
 home and a valuable farm, and is considered one 
 of the thrifty, enterprising and progressive farm- 
 ers of Otto Township. 
 
 Mr. Jackson was united in marriage on the 9th 
 of^June, 1852, to Miss Rebecca Taylor, of Medina 
 County, Ohio. The lady is a daughter of Thomas 
 Tajdor, and w.as born in Cambridgeshire, England. 
 Our worthy subject and his wife are the parents 
 of seven children. Emeline Antoinette is the wife 
 of Hiram King, of Onarga, 111. William Henry 
 received a good education and has been a suc- 
 cessful teacher. lie is now completing a course of 
 study at Valparaiso (Ind.) College. John Thomas
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 477 
 
 is a farmer bv oecniiation, and is now engaged in 
 carrying on llie home place. Tlie remaining mem- 
 bers of the family, Fraiiiv Edward, lihi llhinelie, 
 Amanda Ethel and George Kaymoud, are still un- 
 der the parental roof. 
 
 Since lieconiing a voter, I\Ir. .lackson has used 
 his right of franchise in favor of the Democratic 
 ]iarty. lie has never longed for ollicial recogni- 
 tion, lull has served his fellow-citizens in several 
 liH-al iillires. l'"or a number of terms he has been 
 a member of the School Hoard, and in him the 
 cause of education llnds a warm friend and stanch 
 suppiutcr. He is one of the early settlers of this 
 cc>unty, having made his home here for a period 
 of over thirt} -live years. He is a man of unblem- 
 ished reputation and true worth, and has the re- 
 sjiect and esteem of all, and is vvell worthy of 
 lieing represented in the volume which records 
 the lives of man}' of the pioneers and early settlers 
 of Kankakee County. 
 
 h ^?=^iEOr{GE C. SERGEANT is a progressive and 
 flf r^::^ practical farmer residing on section 34, 
 
 G 
 
 Sumner Township. He is a native of Kala- 
 mazoo County, Mich., his birth liaving occur- 
 red on the 3d of August, 18 40. His father, 
 Campbell Sergeant, was of German descent and 
 was born in New Jersey, in which State, on arriv- 
 ing at maturity, he married Mahala Lewis. He 
 was a wagonmaker by trade and soon after his 
 marriage removed to Kalamazoo County, Mich. 
 He arrived there in 1836 and was one of the early 
 settlers of what was then a wilderness. He located 
 upon land within two miles of Kalamazoo, which 
 was largel\- timber. Until 1850 he engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits and while in Michigan did not 
 work at his trade. In 1850, Mr. Sergeant removed 
 to Chicago, where for two years he worked as a 
 wagon-maker. From there he came to Kankakee 
 County, and locating in Sumner Township pur- 
 cha.sed one hundred and sixty acres of Govern- 
 ment land on section 34, for which he paid $1.25 
 per acre. Through thi.s section of countr}' it was 
 
 only open and unimproved prairie. As there was 
 no house u|)on the farm, he erected a small frame 
 dwelling and here he lived during the remainder 
 of his life. He was a consistent member of the 
 Methodist Church and in that faith he died in 
 185(). He lies buried in Mt)nience Cemetery and 
 by his side reposes his comp.inion through life, 
 who survived her husband many years, her death 
 occurring in 18!)0. 
 
 Our subject is one of a lamily of ten children, 
 as follows: David, a farmer living in Davis Count}', 
 Mo.; Charlotte, whose death occurred in 1847: 
 George C; Eupheraia, who died in infancy; Mil- 
 ton and Catherine, who were both called to tlieir 
 final home in 1854; Lewis, who resides in Kalama- 
 zoo, Mich.; Frederick, who is a farmer of Madison 
 County, Neb.; Campbell, also an agriculturist, who 
 carries on farming in I'helps County, Neb.; and 
 Henrietta, wife of Robert Gibson, a farmer of G^- 
 nier Township. 
 
 The early years of George Sergeant were passed 
 in the wilderness of Kalamazoo County, the place 
 of his birth. AVhcn twelve years of age he came 
 with his parents to Kankakee County, which has 
 since been his home. He was early trained to the 
 life of a farmer and has followed that vocation up 
 to the present time. In his joulh he received 
 such education as was then imparted in the dis- 
 trict schools. He assisted his father in tlie care of 
 his new farm in this county until the death of the 
 latter, after which he took charge of the old home- 
 stead for his mother. This propertj' now belongs 
 to Mr. Sergeant and on it he erected a beauti- 
 ful residence. He is the owner of three hundred 
 and twenty-six and a-half acres of desirable and 
 valuable land, where he is engaged in general 
 farming and stock-raising. 
 
 October 8, 18G9, Mr. Sergeant was united in 
 marriage to Miss Jennie Hamilton, whose parents 
 were William and Elizabeth (MeAvoy) Hamilton. 
 Mrs. Sergeant was born in New Brunswick, Mo., 
 March 5, 1841, and in girlhood moved to Wiscon- 
 sin, later to Michigan, and thence to Kankakee 
 County in 1861. I'nto them were born three cliil- 
 dreu, who reside under the parental roof, Frank, 
 Albert and Mabel. 
 
 In various ollices. Mr. Sergeant has served his
 
 478 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 friends and neighbors to their full satisfaction. 
 He is alwa\'s active in all public enterprises and is 
 much interested in the welfare of the Republican 
 party, to which he gives his influence and for 
 whose nominees he casts his ballot. Success has 
 attended his efforts as a farmer and this he well 
 deserved, for he has brought to bear the sterling 
 qualities of perseverance, ceaseless labor and en- 
 ergy. He has the respect of all who know him 
 and has a wide circle of friends and acquaintan- 
 ces. 
 
 AMDEL BEEBE,a retired farmer, is one of 
 the verj' oldest settlers of this county, and 
 when he first located here tliere were only 
 one or two families between Momence and 
 Chicago. He came from Vermont with his parents 
 in 1836 and landed in what is now called Beebe's 
 Grove. His birth occurred in AVinhall, Bennington 
 County .Vt., on the 13th of January, 1824, he beinga 
 son of Oliver and Nancy (Mellen) Beebe, wlio were 
 both natives of the Green Mountain State. Yevy 
 little is known of the grandparents, but it is cer- 
 tain that the Beebes were originall}' from Wales. 
 Both of the grandfathers attained to a remarkable 
 age. Oliver Beebe was a hotel-keeper in Winliall 
 and also did farming after the fashion of those 
 early days. His family consisted of ten children, 
 three sons and two daughters now surviving, as 
 follows: Julia, Jane, Daniel, Samuel and John, all 
 of whom are married and have families. 
 
 At the time our subject, Samuel Beebe, came to 
 Illinois, the Indians were very numerous, but were 
 friendly and were about the only companions of 
 the 3'oung lad. The country was very wild, wolves, 
 deer and wild game of all kind abounding. Mr. 
 Beebe particularly remembers the large herd of deer 
 which roamed over the prairies and he has seen as 
 many as three hundred in one herd. The family 
 did their marketing in Chicago, the trip requiring 
 some three or four days. There were no school 
 privileges until some 3'ears later, when were intro- 
 duced select and afterward district schools. The 
 fiducational advantages, therefore, of our subject 
 
 in early life were veiy meagre. When about sev- 
 enteen years of age he was thrown upon his ownj 
 resources to make his waj' in the world as best h( 
 could. His mother also died a few jears laterJ 
 The hardships incident to pioneer life had early] 
 inured him to an endurance and hardiliood un- 
 known to the present rising generation, and withi 
 brave heart and willing hands he worked for] 
 a while by the month in order to get a start. He] 
 then purchased a farm of eighty acres, for which hej 
 paid the munificent sum of ¥.59. This he at oncei 
 began to improve, and as time went b}^ and he waa 
 able to accumulate money he purchased mon 
 property. 
 
 On the 27th of February, 18,51, occurred tli« 
 marriage of Samuel Beebe and Miss Laura 
 daughter of Isaac and Relief (Barnes) ChipmanI 
 who were residents of Kankakee, then called Wilj 
 County, as early as 1842, and were also natives 
 Vermont. Ten children graced the union of oul 
 subject and his wife, seven sons and three daugW 
 ters: Albert, Milan (who died at five years of age) 
 Charles, Oscar, Florence, Bertha, Elnora, Franl 
 (one of twins, the other dying in Infancy), an( 
 Fred. Albert left home at the breaking out of tl 
 war and never has been heard from since. Charlt 
 married Miss Nellie Hayden, of Lake Countj 
 Ind., which is their present home. They have thre 
 children. Flora, Alice and Royal. Oscar died whei 
 a young man. Florence became the wife of Leon^ 
 ard Bradlej^ a farmer of this county, and to them 
 one child was born, wliich is now deceased, as is 
 also its mother, who died in 1889. About two 
 years later Bertha became the wife of Mr. Bradley, 
 who now carries on the old homestead of our sub- 
 ject, and the}' have a child, Frank Elwin. 
 
 Mr. Beebe continued farming until February, 
 1892, when he moved to Momence and occupies a 
 fine residence which he built in that citj'. He 
 is the owner of over eight hundred acres of land 
 and a number of houses in the town. Though 
 never belonging to arij' religious denomination or 
 secret society, Mr. Beebe contributes liberally to 
 the support of churches and helped in the build- 
 ing of the new Methodist house of worship, to 
 which his wife and two of their children belong. 
 Two other children hold membership with the
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 479 
 
 Baptist Church. Mr. Beebe is a lo3'al Republican 
 liut JKis never lield or aspired to official positions. 
 In personal appearance lie is of spare build but of 
 stronji' constitution, and is about five feet, six 
 inches in height. Although sixty-eight years of 
 age he is active and well preserved and looks many 
 years younger. He has been a resident of Mo- 
 nience Townsliip since before its organization, a 
 l)eriod of fifty-six years, and is one of the pioneer 
 settlers whom tiie present generation is justly proud 
 to have in tlieir midst as an example of wiiat strong 
 purpose and will can accomplish. His beloved 
 
 I companion in life has ever been a true helpmate, 
 and justi}- shares the blessings and honors which 
 
 I belong to her worthy husband. 
 
 1^+^^ 
 
 JSA.'VC D. AYRES, an enterprising farmer re- 
 siding on section 5, is one of the representa- 
 tive citizens of Pilot Township, who for 
 twent^'-three years has made his home in this com- 
 munity. His life record is as follows: He claims 
 New Jersey as the State of his nativity, his birth 
 having occurred in the city of Newark, on the 
 j 2Uth of August, 1855. Tiirough several genera- 
 I tions he traces his ancestry back to one of three 
 I brothers of English birtii, who in 1630 left their 
 home across the water and braved the dangers of 
 un ocean voyage at that early da}^ in order to se- 
 , cure a home in the New World. One brother 
 j settled in New Jersey, another in Massachusetts, 
 I and the third in Virginia. The grandfather of 
 our subject, Daniel Ayres, was born in New Jer- 
 sey, and the birtii of Alexis, the father of our 
 subject, occurred in that State, M.aj' 9, 1820. The 
 'former was a carpenter by trade, and from New- 
 } ark he moved to Troy, N. Y., where he followed 
 I that line of business for a number of years. 
 I Alexis Ayres learned the printer's trade, which 
 he followed tliroughout his entire life. In Troy, 
 N. Y., lie married Harriet A. Risley, a native of 
 Augusta, Oneida County, N. Y., born March 20, 
 1823. About a ^-ear after tlieir marriage, Mr. 
 Ayres removed with his family to Newark, N. J. 
 
 He was employed as a printer at that place and 
 also in New York, and was em|)loyed as a compos- 
 itor by Hor.ace Greeley, of the New York Trib- 
 une Later JMr. Ayres, in company with a 
 brotlier-in-law, established The Mercury, the first 
 daily paper iiublislied in Newark. He soon after- 
 ward sold out, however, but continued to work in 
 tiiat line of business until his death, which oc- 
 curred February 23, 1801. Jlrs. Ayres still sur- 
 vives her husband, and is vvith an aged aunt in 
 Oneida County, N. Y., but her home is with her 
 son, our subject. 
 
 Isaac Ayres is the 3'ounger of two sons. His 
 brotlier, Albert Alexis, is a substantial farmer of 
 Pilot Township, .and is well known in this county 
 and represented elsewhere in this volume. Isaac 
 resided in Newark, N. J., until 1864, and in his 
 youth obtained a good English education. In 
 that 3^ear iiis mother removed to Lisbon, Kendall 
 County, 111., where she resided for about five 
 years. With her family she then came to Kanka- 
 kee County, and in 18G9 purchased a tract of 
 land in Pilot Townsliip, the same on which our 
 subject now resides. Her sons immediately began 
 the development and improvement of a farm, for 
 at that time there were only slight improvements 
 upon the place. As the \'ears passed, the unculti- 
 vated tract was transformed into rich and fertile 
 fields and the Ayres' farm is now known as one of 
 the best in the community. It is pleasantl3' lo- 
 cated about two miles soutli of Herscher, and is a 
 valu.able and desirable property of eighty acres. 
 
 On the 19th of September, 1880, in the Ilulibard 
 schooUiouse of Pilot Township, was celebrated the 
 marri.age of Isaac A3'res and Miss Albertina Olson. 
 The lady was born in Chicago, III., November 20, 
 1861, and the da3's of her girlhood were spent in 
 Pilot Township. She is a daugliter of Albert S. and 
 Alice (Johnson) Olson, now a resident of Onarga, 
 111. Four children have been born of this union, 
 namely: Alexis M., Alice L., IClmer G. and Wil- 
 lie II. 
 
 Mr. Aj'res cast his first I'residcntial vote for U. 
 B. Hayes. He now upholds the principles of the 
 Prohibition part3-, but is not strictly partisan, 
 holding himself free to support the candidates 
 whom he thinks best qualified for the offices. He
 
 480 
 
 POSTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORDc 
 
 bas been elected to several local offices of honor 
 and trust, having served for one 3'ear as Township 
 Collector, four years as Township Clerk, and is 
 now efficiently serving in that capacity. His 
 public duties have ever been promptl}' and faith- 
 fully performed, and he is recognized as a valued 
 citizen. He is public-spirited and progressive, 
 and lakes an active interest in all that pertains to 
 the welfare of the community. For several years 
 he was the local correspondent for the Kankakee 
 papers, writing under the nom. lie plume of "Jersey 
 Blue." Tlie cause of education finds in him a 
 warm friend, and for a number of years lie served 
 as School Trustee. Mr. Ajues is a good farmer. 
 Ever3thiug about his place is neat and orderly, 
 and its thrifty appearance indicates an important 
 characteristic of the owner. During the long 
 j-eavs of his residence in Kankakee County, his 
 life has been such that he lias won the esteem and 
 confidence of all with whom business or social re- 
 lations have brought him in contact. 
 
 Socially, Mr. and Mrs. Ayres were members of 
 the Good Templar lodge. He was a charter 
 member of "The Orient," the first Good Templar 
 lodge in Pilot Township. Mr. Ayies is a charter 
 member of Herscher Lodge, I. O. O. F.,at Ilerscher. 
 111., which numbers about tvventj'-six initiated 
 members, and was organized in May, 189.3. Mrs. 
 A3-res is a member of the Woman's Chiistian Tem- 
 perance Union. 
 
 /^ ♦^•J'SS* 
 
 i" NTHONY STYLES carries on general farm- 
 ing and stock-raising in Ganier Town- 
 li ship. He is a native of the Empire State, 
 where his birth oecurredin Ulster County, 
 on the 13th of April,' 1819. His father, Samuel 
 Stjies, was a native of the same place, and of 
 English extraction. When he arrived at man's 
 estate, he wedded Hannah Houghtling, and to 
 them weie born ten children: Sarah M., Lizzie, 
 Anthon}', Edward, .Jane, Alfred, Benjamin, Ger- 
 trude, Charles, and one who died in infancy. 
 
 Our subject received good common-school ad- 
 vantages, and when but sixteen years of age 
 served an apprenticeship to the harness-maker's 
 trade. This occupation he followed almost con- 
 tinuously until 1848. In the year 1814, Mr. 
 Styles went to Kalamazoo Count3', Mich., whcie he 
 remained for the succeeding nine 3ears. In the 
 year 1853. he first became a resident of Kankakee 
 County, where he purchased eighty acres of partly 
 improved land 011 section 12, Ganeer Township. 
 From time to time as his financial resources jier- 
 mitted, Mr. Styles added to his original iiurchase, 
 until at the present time he owns two hundred and 
 forty acres of land, all of which is in Ganier 
 Township, under a high state of cultivation, and 
 is valuable property. He carries on general farm- 
 ing and stock-raising, and his farm shows the care- 
 ful and constant supervision of the owner. 
 
 On the 26th of Juh', 1846, occurred the wed- 
 ding of Jlr. Styles and Miss Janette Stuart, and by 
 this marriage eleven children were born: Elizabeth, 
 Alfred, Janette, Eleanor, Alice, Edward, Charles, 
 Hannah, David, William and George; of these 
 three died — Hannah, Eleanor and William. Eliza- 
 beth is the wife of James K. Ralim, of Centrulia, 
 111.; Alfred is a farmer of Ganier Township; Jan- 
 ette is the wife of H. C. Paddock, a newspaper 
 publisher of Libertyville, 111.; Alice is at home; 
 Edward is a train dispatcher at Bloomington; 
 Charles is a locomotive engineer of Centralia, 111.; 
 David is a leading hardware merchant of Momence; 
 and George is at home. 
 
 Our subject has served his count3' and town- 
 ship in various official capacities in a most accept, 
 able and efficient manner, having at various times 
 been Poor Master, School Commissioner, Pathmas- 
 ter and School Director. In 1844 Mr. Styles 
 united with the Presb3terian Church, with which 
 he was identified until 1891, when, there being no 
 church of his choice near bv, he united with the 
 Methodist Church, ever taking an active part in 
 its work. He uses his right of franchise in favor 
 of the Republican part3-, and alwa3's assists in all 
 worthy enterprises tending to the advancement 
 and best interests of his fellow-citizens. Mrs. 
 St3ies was called to the home beyond on the 28th 
 of January, 1892. She was a consistent Christianj,
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORb. 
 
 481 
 
 being identified from 1844 until her death with 
 the same church (H-i,'anization as was her husband. 
 Her remains are interred in the Momence Ceme- 
 teiy, and many friends m<nirn her loss. 
 
 
 '♦•{••{••J-F 
 
 eHAR].ES S. M.KICHOLS, editor of the 
 Jlomence Press, was born in Belmont 
 County, Oliio, near Barnesville, on the lath 
 of October. 1858, and is a son of George and Re- 
 becca (Kirbj-) ^McNichols. The father was of Scotch- 
 Irish origin and a native of Virginia, while the 
 mother was of Englisli descent and born in Ohio. 
 The father was twice married, his first wife being 
 Miss Martha Williams, also a native of Oliio, and 
 unto them were born nine children, eight of whom 
 are still living: John, Thomas, George, Cyrus, 
 Martha, Mary, Ruth and Esther. About the j-ear 
 18.j0 the mother of these children (iied, and five 
 years later Mr. McN'iehols married Miss Rebecca, 
 daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Bigelow) 
 Ivirby, by which uniou were born four chil- 
 dren, two of whom died in infancy, and Elizabeth 
 departed this life in Plaiufield, Ind., when about 
 twenty years of age. Charles S., the subject of 
 this sketch, was the j'oungest of the family. 
 
 The father of our suliject was an extensive and 
 successful farmer. Wlien quite a young man he 
 left the old homestead in Virginia and staited out 
 in the world for himself. Traveling AVestward, 
 he located in Belmont County, Ohio, where he 
 purchased a farm, to which at various times he 
 added additional land until shortly before he left' 
 there, in June, 1863, he was the owner of three hun- 
 dred and twenty acres of fine farming land. He 
 w.as one of the Directors of tlic Ohio Central Rail- 
 road. In the year mentioned he sold his property 
 in Ohio, and, removing to Indiana, bought land in 
 three or four different counties, but finally located 
 near Monrovia, in Morgan County. lie lived 
 there, however, scarcely two years, as his death 
 occurred in 18()5, when he liad attained nearly the 
 age of sixty-five j-ears. His wife survived him 
 until 1883, when slie was called from this life at 
 
 tlie liome of her son Charles at West Liberty, 
 Iowa. Her father was descended from (Quakers, 
 and her maternal grandfather conducted the re- 
 treat from Quebec at the time Montgomery was 
 wounded and defeated. The paternal grandfather 
 of our subject was a Philadelphia merchant and a 
 valiant soldier in the Revolutionary War. 
 
 The early boyhood days of Charles S. McNich- 
 ols were passed upon his father's farm in the usual 
 routine of a farmer lad's life. When about ten 
 years of age he went into town and attended 
 school for several years in Plainfield, Ind., receiv- 
 ing his education principally there. He also had 
 the advantage of higher schooling in tiie Central 
 Academy and Asbury University at Greencastle, 
 Ind., which is now well known as De Pauw Uni- 
 versity. When in his early teens, he decided to 
 adopt the printing business as his sphere in life, 
 and when sixteen years of age he became the 
 owner of an interest in the printing-office in 
 IMooresville, Ind., and commenced learning the 
 trade. This business he sold before entering the 
 college at Greencastle, but after his studies at the 
 university were completed, he worked at the prin- 
 ter's trade in Brazil and Indianapolis, after which 
 he established a paper at Plainfield, which he pub- 
 lished for some time successfully. He next taught 
 school for some terras, when, going to Iowa, he pub- 
 lished a paper and later was on the editorial staff 
 of the Prairie Fanner, and was also reporter for 
 the Herald and Lite)- Ocean of Chicago, and did 
 special writing for the Tribune of that city. 
 
 On New Year's Day of 1880, occurred the wed- 
 ding of Mr. McNichols and Miss Louise, daugh- 
 ter of Joshua Chandler, of Blooraington, Ind. On 
 the 7th of June, 1881, our subject was called upon 
 to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed aw.ay at 
 her home near Monrovia, Ind. On the 8th of Oc- 
 tober, 1892, Jlr. McXichols was united in marriage 
 with Jliss Emma Dobbs, who is a daughter of An- 
 drew and Elizabeth (Longstreth) Dobbs, of Cres- 
 ton,Iowa. Mrs. McNichols is a consistent member 
 of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 In February, 1887, Mr. McNichols came to Mo- 
 mence and took charge of the Reporter office, re- 
 maining here until June, 1891, when he purchased 
 the Island Park Nevs and changed its name to
 
 482 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Momence Press, wliich lie is still publishing 
 with good success, being its editor and proprietor. 
 This paper is well conducted, and merits the pat- 
 ronage which it has secured bj' its reliable news 
 and well-written editorials. Mr. McNichols was 
 the originator and prime mover in the work of 
 building the hay palace which was exhibited in 
 Momence in the >ears 1890-91, and which was at- 
 tended b}' at least forty thousand people each 
 year, it being one of tiie achievements of which 
 Momence is justl3- proud. He was also the organ- 
 izer of the Momence Building and Loan Associa- 
 tion, and did much to promote its interests. He 
 is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, 
 and was the tirst Secretary of the Republican State 
 Press Association. Socially he is a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias. Well fitted by educa- 
 tional advantages and experience for journalistic 
 work, genial and full of enterprise, Mr. McNichols 
 has won a deserved popularity both as a news- 
 paper man and as a citizen. 
 
 
 m>-^^<\ 
 
 w<g ' 
 
 '^<Py 
 
 CQv— 
 
 <:«! felLLIAM ASTLE, a hardware merchant, a 
 \/\/ll nicmber of the firm of Astle & Son, is one 
 WW of the old settlers and substantial citizens 
 of Momence, having resided here for thirty-two 
 years, during which time he has always taken a 
 livelj' interest in the welfare of the place, being 
 one of its enterprising and public-spirited citizens. 
 Mr. Astle is a native of Derby, England, where 
 he was born November 28, 1823, and is a son of 
 John and Catherine (Fearn) Astle, both of whom 
 were natives of Nottinghamshire, England. The 
 paternal grandfather was a machinist, who followed 
 blacksmithing for many years, and lived to an ad- 
 vanced age. The mother's father, Robert Fearn, 
 was one of the extensive hop-growers in England, 
 which business is one of the largest industries of 
 that countr}'. Seven children were born to John 
 and Catherine Astle, three of whom are now living: 
 William, George and Betsy, the two last named 
 being still residents of Derby, England, where the 
 mother died in 1860, at the age of fifty-nine years. 
 
 Her husband died in 1883, being eighty-two years 
 old at the time of his death. During his life he 
 followed the occupation of a machinist, was an 
 honest and industrious man, and by his upright 
 life won the esteem of all. 
 
 The boyhood da3's of our subject were passed 
 in his native land, where he received fair educa- 
 tional privileges. Wben young he learned the 
 coppersmith's trade, which vocation he followed 
 until coming to America. The year 1857 wit-j 
 nessed his arrival in the New World, and with hisj 
 family he located in Chicago, arriving there in Oc-1 
 tobcr of that year, where they made their home] 
 until 1859, when, coming to Momence, Mr. Astle] 
 entered the employ of M. A. Atherton,a hardware] 
 merchant, and remained with him for about four! 
 years. Afterwards he worked for W. H. Patterson,! 
 in the same line of business, which he managed fori 
 him until 1870, when his employer died. Mr. As-1 
 tie then decided to embark in business for himself,! 
 and, forming a partnership with F. Scramlin,! 
 opened a hardware store with an entirely newj 
 stock of goods. Th'ey also purchased the stock! 
 formerly owned by Mr. Patterson on River Street,! 
 and opened their business in the rooms now occu-| 
 pied by Mr. Astle. Mr. Scramlin retired from the 
 firm in 1880. In May, 1891, our subject associatedJ 
 with him his grandsort, Charles B., and the firm is! 
 now known as Astle & Son. They handle all kinds 
 of shelf and heavy hardware, and also do tin- 
 smithing. 
 
 On the 3d of May, 1844, AVilliam Astle wasl 
 married to Miss Ellen Heath, daughter of WilliamJ 
 and Anna Heath, who lived in the neighborhood 
 of Chesterfield, England. Seven children graccdl 
 the union of Mr. and Mrs. Astle, four of whom were| 
 sons and are now deceased. Emil^' and Kate were 
 born in England, and F^lla in America. 
 
 Mr. Astle was a member of the Village Board olj 
 Trustees before the city organization, was its Presi- 
 dent for several terms, and has also served asl 
 School Trustee. He and his estimable wife are! 
 members of the Episcopal Church, of which he wasl 
 Senior Warden for a number of 3'ears, and was 
 also chairman of the building committee at the 
 time the new church was erected. He uses his 
 right of franchise in favor of the'Republicau party,
 
 Y 
 ^r [HE 
 U.:ivL.'.iiiY OF ILLiraiS
 
 
 (yt^rlk^'t^2^%-i^ 
 
 J'-^T-T^
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 485 
 
 hut has no aspiration to political or otticial honors, 
 lie is a nicmlicr of Monient'e Lodge No. 481, A. F. 
 ii; A. M., having- united with that order in 1867. 
 He is also an Odd Fellow, to wliith society he be- 
 longed in England, and is to-day the oldest living 
 member of his home lodge. j\Ir. Astle has always 
 been an industrious man, and has accumulated his 
 property by his perseverance, fiugality and correct 
 business methods. In addition to his store he 
 owns a good Lome and a number of lots in Mo- 
 mencc. Although sixty-nine years of age, he has 
 the appearance of a much younger man, and is 
 still actively engaged in business. 
 
 RTIH'R J. BYRNS, .Sheriff of Kankakee 
 County, is a native of this country and was 
 born in what is now Aroma Township, Kan- 
 ^1 kakee County, but was then Iroquois 
 
 Count3-,on the .5th of August, 1852. His parents, 
 James and Mary A. (Dille) Byrns, were early pio- 
 neers of this section, of whom see sketch elsewhere 
 in this work. Our subject was educated in the 
 public schools and was reared upon a farm. 
 
 On the 12th of July, 1871, when nineteen years 
 of age, Mr. Byrns enlisted in the United States 
 regular army as a private in Company D, Seventh 
 United States Infantry, and w.is assigned to dut3' 
 in the Department of the West among the Indians. 
 Ele helped to survey the Beaufort and National 
 Indian Reservations and was in several skirmishes I 
 with the hostiles. On one occasion, while on ve- | 
 dette, he was slightly wounded by a gunshot 
 from an Indian. His father was much dissatisfied 
 with his son's action in becoming a soldier in the 
 regular army and through the influence of Senator 
 John A. Logan secured his discharge December 27, 
 1872, by a special order of the War Department. 
 
 On his return from the army, Mr. Byrns taught 
 school in the country, his experience as a teacher 
 covering four terms of summer school and eighteen 
 winter terras, he being employed in but four differ- 
 ent districts. He is the owner of a farm consisting 
 
 of one hundred and twenty' acres, wh.ich is a por- 
 tion of the old homestead in Aroma Township 
 where he was born. 
 
 Our subject is a Republican in jiolitics and has 
 lilled various oflicial positions of honor and trust. 
 He was elected Supervisor of his township and re- 
 elected without opposition, representing the same 
 in the County Board until elected Sheriff in the 
 fall of 1890, when he resigned the ofHce of Super- 
 visor and entered upon the duties of his present 
 oMice December 1, 1800. lie is now serving his 
 second year .as Sheriff and has proved a very com- 
 petent and faithful officer. Mr. Byrns' family 
 has been pretty well represented in the Sheriff's 
 office at Kankakee County. His ihicle, George 
 Byrns, was the first Sheriff of the county, in 1853, 
 and was succeeded by James Byrns, the present 
 Sheriff's father. 
 
 In Aroma Township, on the 27th of December, 
 1881, occurred the marriage of Mr. Byrns and Miss 
 Clara L. Kent, who w.as born in Aroma Township 
 and is a daughter of Ilenr^ and Christina Kent, 
 who were among the early settlers of this county. 
 To our worthy subject and his wife has been born 
 one child, Roseoe A., whose birth occurred June 7, 
 1885. 
 
 -^^.l 
 
 |S> 
 
 'B 
 
 l^M- 
 
 -j^,, LFRED FARR owns .and operates a farm 
 m/JV on section 28, Ganier Township, and has 
 been a resident here for fort3--one years. 
 _ He is of English birth, being a native of 
 
 Worcestershire, where he was born on the 18th of 
 May, 1820. His parents, Thomasand Ann ((Jreen) 
 Farr, were natives of the same country, and the 
 father was a carpenter by trade. Their family con- 
 sisted of fourteen children, of whom our sub- 
 ject was the sixth in order of birth. The father 
 died in 1870, and his wife in 1887. 
 
 Our subject was born and reared upon a farm 
 and is mostly self-educated. When a lad he learned 
 the carpenter's trade of his father, but determined 
 to seek his fortune in America, believing that the 
 New World afforded wider opportunities than his 
 native land. When eighteen years of age he left
 
 486 
 
 PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 home and started to make liis way in the world. 
 In the year 1839 he embarked on the sailing-vessel 
 "Josephine," and for sis weeks was upon the bosom 
 of the broad Atlantic. For a short time after his 
 arrival he remained in New York City, but soon 
 went to E^ast Troy,-N. Y., where he obtained work 
 on a canal. lie resided in that State for about 
 three 3'ears, at tlie expiration of which time he 
 went to Elkhart, Ind., where he worked in a pot- 
 tery for about two 3'ears. For tlie succeeding three 
 years he carried on a pottery of his own. Having 
 resolved to abandon that line of business, he de- 
 cided to become a farmer, and for some lime rented 
 and operated a farm in Indiana. In 1852, Mr. 
 Farr proceeded b}^ team to what is now Kankakee 
 and became the owner of one hundred and twenty 
 .acres situated on section 28, Ganier Township. 
 This farm was but little improved, onlj' ten acres of 
 it being broken. There was a small frame dwelling 
 on the place, which bore little resemblance to tlie 
 well-cultivated and thrifty farm which its owner 
 has developed from the wilderness of former 3-ears. 
 From time to time Mr. Farr made additions to his 
 original purchase until he now is the possessor of 
 three hundred acres, all well improved and valuable 
 land, where he is engaged in general farming and 
 stock-raising. 
 
 Mr. Farr was united in marriage with Miss Mar- 
 gery Rush on the 4th of June, 1846. The lady 
 was the sixth in order of birth of a family consist- 
 ing of ten children, whose parents were Jesse and 
 Mary (Sumption) Rush. Her birth occurred on 
 the 16th of May, 1828. in Elkhart, Ind. Eleven 
 children have been born to our subject and his 
 wife, of whom seven are still living. Caroline, wife 
 of Johnson Brown, resides in Iowa; Thomas and 
 Mary, twins, died in infanc3'; Maiy A. departed 
 this life ill 1878; Ella is at home; Francis W.,twin 
 brother of Ella, died aged eleven and a-half mouths; 
 Willis A. is a farmer of Aroma Township; Janet 
 resides at home; Man is G. is a farmer by occu- 
 pation; Strickland resides at home; and M3'ra, 
 the youngest of the family, died when seven 3'ears 
 and two months old. 
 
 Mrs. Farr is a consistent member of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church. Mr. Farr in politics is a 
 Republican and has held various local positions of 
 
 honor and trust. He has taken an active part in 
 educational matters, being a stanch supporter of 
 our public school system, and has been both School 
 Director and School Trustee at various times. He 
 has been a witness of, and participated in, the pro- 
 gress of this section. At the time of his arrival in 
 this county, the Indians were frequently to be seen 
 and wild game w.as plentiful. Their trading-post 
 was Chicago, to which cit3' Mr. Farr hauled all his 
 grain and pork as the nearest market for his pro- 
 duct. As a pioneer he has been an important 
 factor in the development of this locality, and it is 
 with pleasure that we record this brief history of 
 so worthv a man. 
 
 I 
 
 €^ 
 
 LONZO CURTIS is a prominent citizen 
 and the leading business man of Grant 
 Park, Kankakee County. He has been a 
 resident of this place from the time it was 
 started, and it is conceded that in its growth and 
 development he has done more than any other one 
 man. He is the owner of the large tile factory an<l 
 is proprietor of the largest general store in the 
 town. He also owns and carries on the reliable 
 and well-known Grant Park Bank. 
 
 Mr. Curtis is a native of the Empire State, his 
 birth having occurred in W.ashington County on 
 the 19th of April, 1831. He is the sixth in order 
 of birth in a family of ten children, five sons and 
 five daughters, who were born to Solomon and 
 Pliwbe (Slocum) Curtis. The father was born in 
 Washington County, N. Y., November 14, 1796, 
 and by occupation was a farmer. Emigrating to 
 Illinois .about 1854, he lived upon a farm in Yel- 
 lowhead Township, this county. Some two years 
 later he removed to Momence, where his death oc- 
 curred on the 24th of June, 1865. 
 
 After coming to this State, Mr. Curtis engaged 
 in the loan business. Both he and his wife were of 
 the Baptist faith. Politically, he was a Whig and 
 subsequently a Republican, but had no official 
 aspirations, preferring to devote himself to personal 
 business. His great-grandfather, John Curtis, and
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 •187 
 
 i-randfather, Comfort Curtis, emigrated to New 
 Vorlc, later settling' in Ibe house where oursuhjeet 
 and his father were born. Comfort Curtis, who w.as 
 born in Feliruarv, 174li, married Rachel Chase, 
 whose birth oeeurred ?\!bruar\- 5, 175(5. The old 
 Curtis homestead is situated in the southern ))art of 
 Wiishington County, at the terminus of tlie Adiron- 
 il.aek Mountains, where the battle of Hennington 
 was fought. This Revolutionary battle was reall}^ 
 fought in New York and not in Vermont, as is us- 
 ually stated. 
 
 The mother of our subject was of Seoteh and 
 English extraction, being also a native of W.ash- 
 ington County, where she was born May 2, 1801. 
 Her death occurred February 20, 1885, at her home 
 in Grant Park. She was a daughter of Elijah and 
 Hannah (Preston) .Slocum, who were natives re- 
 sijectivel}- of Dutchess and Washington Counties, 
 N. Y. Hannah Preston's father with three hundred 
 soldiers was taken prisoner near Albany, N. Y., 
 during the Revolutionary War and imprisoned in 
 a church, which the British burned with all the men. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Alonzo Curtis were 
 passed on his father's farm in New Y'ork, where he 
 received a good common-school education. On 
 arriving at his majority in 1852, he determined to 
 seek his fortune in the West, and .accordingly came 
 to Illinois. After prospecting considerably he de- 
 cided to locate in what is now Kankakee County 
 hat w.as then Will County^ and purchased a farm 
 of wild prairie land in Y'ellowhead Township. To 
 its improvement he devoted himself with charac- 
 teristic energy and remained upon it for about ten 
 }-cars. At the expiration of that time he decided 
 to turn his attention to mercantile life, and leaving 
 the farm went to Grant Park, where he for a num- 
 ber of years successfully conducted a large grain 
 business. 
 
 On the 11th of November, 1864, Mr. Curtis and 
 Miss Elizabeth Campbell were united in marri.age. 
 The lady is a daughter of .James and Priscilla 
 (.Mick) Cami)l)ell, who were among the honored lirst 
 settlers of this locality. Four children, all sons, 
 have graced the union of Mv. and Mrs. Curtis: hW- 
 erel C., the eldest, who was educated at Kvanston 
 and in De Pauw University, is cashier in his father's 
 bank at Grant I'ark, and is one of the wide-awake 
 
 and enterprising young business men of the town; 
 Ernest A., educated at De Pauw, is also i)rominent 
 in business circles and is manager of his father's 
 general store; Willis C. is a student in the North- 
 western University at Kvanston, III.; and Vernon 
 S., who completes the family, lives at home with 
 his parents. 
 
 In his [jolitical views, Mr. Curtis is a stanch Re- 
 publican and uses his right of franchise in favor of 
 the nominees and principles of that part^'. He 
 holds membership with Grant Park Lodge No. 
 740, A. F. & A M.. of Gr.ant Park. For two terms 
 he has represented his township as Supervisor and 
 for twenty years has made a most eflicient and 
 trustworthy Justice of the Peace, being elected to 
 that position term after term. 'I'hough not a mem- 
 ber of any religious denomination, Mr. Curtis con- 
 tributes liberally of his means to the support of 
 the Methodist Church, of which his wife and chil- 
 dren are all members. Coming to this count}' a 
 poor boy, entirely without capital, he has made for 
 himself an enviable reputation and by well-directed 
 efforts and business abilit}' has reached a position 
 among the wealthiest and most influential men in 
 I the county, having the respect of all with whom 
 he h.as come in contact. 
 
 injY.ARTLEY Y. REINS owns and operates a 
 
 1^^^ farm of eighty acres situated on section 10, 
 
 Ganier Township, where he has lived for 
 
 over twenty years. He was born in (iray- 
 son County, Va., on the 15th of September, 1820, 
 and is a son of ,]ohn M. Reins, a native of North 
 Carolina and of (Jerinan descent, who married in 
 early manhood Lueretia Ilogan, a lad}' of .Scotch 
 ancestry. Nine children were born to them: Mary, 
 who died in 1827; Annie, who died in 1850; 
 William, now living in Montana; Powell, residing 
 in Marion County, Iowa, where he is engaged in 
 carrying on a farm; F'ranklin, who departed this 
 life in 1863; ,Iohn, a farmer of Iowa; our subject, 
 who is next in tu-der of birth; Armstead, who died
 
 488 
 
 POxiTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1856; and Tliomas, who is tlie youngest of the 
 family. The father of this family, who was a 
 farmer ijy occupation, was called from liis labors 
 in this life in 1832. His wife survived him for 
 several 3^ears and passed away in 1850. 
 
 Bartley Y. Reins, the subject of this sketch, was 
 born and reared upon a farm. He attended the 
 subscription schools in the neighborhood of his 
 home, as at that time and in that locality the pub- 
 lic school was a tiling of the future. Until fifteen 
 years of age he attended these schools a portion 
 of the time only, and as his father died when he 
 was but twelve years of age, he was largely thrown 
 upon his own resources when quite a lad. He re- 
 mained at home with his mother until sixteen 
 j-ears of age, when he started out in the -world to 
 carve liis own way and fortune. He commenced 
 working on a farm for 16 per month, and worked 
 for farmers for the succeeding three years. The 
 largest wages that he received at any one time 
 during this period were $10 per month. He then 
 concluded to become a carpenter, and worked at 
 that line of occupation for another three years. 
 He remained in Virginia until 1842, when he emi- 
 grated AVestward to Illinois, settling in Edgar 
 County, where for two years he worked at his 
 trade and also upon a farm. During that time 
 Mr. Reins was somewhat of a traveler, making 
 three trips to New Orleans by flatboat, in order to 
 see something of the country in which he dwelt. 
 
 The year 1844 witnessed the arrival of our sub- 
 ject in what is now Kankakee County. He first 
 located in YelLowhead Township, where he rented 
 land for seven vears and devoted himself to till- 
 ing the soil. He then moved to Jasper County, 
 near Newton, 111., where he became the owner of a 
 two hundred and forty-five acre farm, which he 
 purchased of the Government. Upon that place 
 he lived and engaged in its improvement until 
 1859, when he again returned to Kankakee County, 
 purchasing one hundred and ten acres of land, 
 situated in Yellowhead Township. This was his 
 home until 1866, when he sold that farm and pur- 
 chased a place of eighty .acres on section 10, Ganier 
 Township. On this he lived till early in 1893, 
 when he sold out to remove to Momence. 
 
 On the 24th of July, 1845, Mr. Reins was united 
 
 in marriage with Mrs. Ruth M. Bradley, who was 
 the widow of John Bradley, and is the daughter 
 of Thomas and Ella (Hopkins) Patrick. Four 
 children have been born of this union. Ellen is 
 the wife of Dr. H. M. Keyser, a physician of Mo- 
 mence; Emil}' liecame the wife of Somers Rowell, 
 and is now teaching in the missionary schools at 
 Ft. Berthold in North Dakota; Augustus is a 
 farmer of Shelfjy County, Iowa; and Henry is en- 
 gaged in general merchandising in Momence- 
 Mrs. Reins is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. I 
 
 Mr. Reins was a supporter of the old Whig 
 part}', and since the formation of the Republican 
 party has been one of its stalwart adherents. He 
 has always taken an interested part in all af- 
 fairs pertaining to the welfare of his fellow-citi- 
 zens, township and county, and has held various 
 official positions, among which we mention that of 
 Highway Commissioner, Constable and School Di- 
 rector. The cause of education finds in him a 
 warm friend and ally. In a business way his ef- 
 forts for years have been crowned with fair suc- 
 cess, and in this community .he bears an excellent 
 reputation. 
 
 - <x:>.yc 
 
 
 i.*'iS-^2ii£22_ 
 
 ICHARD J. EYERLEY is the well-known 
 editor of the Chebanse Herald, and in part- 
 it \V nership with Judge Sawyer, of Kankakee, 
 ^) is engaged in the real-estate, loan and in- 
 surance business. He is also Vice-president of the 
 Kankakee Investment and Loan Association, and 
 is Notary Public in Chebanse. 
 
 The birth of Mr. Eyerley occurred in Punxsu- 
 tawney, Jefferson CountJ^ Pa., on the 29th of Oc- 
 tober, 1856, and since he was about two years of 
 age he has been a resident of Chebanse. He is a 
 son of Moses and Alary (Hawk) Eyerley, both 
 natives of the Keystone State. The father is 
 of Scotch and Dutch ancestry, and the mother 
 is descended from Pennsylvania Dutch. There 
 were six children born to them, three sons and 
 three daughters. Anna married Philip Spies, a
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 180 
 
 farmer near C'liebause, and by lier marriage lias be- 
 come the motlier of two children; Rlizal)L>lh be- 
 came the wife of .1. P. Williamson, of Waco, Tex., 
 where they now reside; Prise 11 la married Samuel 
 Harris, and also lives in Waeo; Moses D. died in 
 that city in September, l.S'.Kl; and Philip II. is the 
 youngest of the family. 
 
 The parents of these children removed from 
 I'cnnsylvania to Illinois in 1858, and located upon 
 a farm in Iroquois County, one mile west of Clie- 
 banse, where they lived for about three years. Af- 
 terward they removed to Ohio, later to Hillsdale, 
 Mich., and in 1864, veturniiig to Iroquois County, 
 they purchased a farm of forty acres, two and a- 
 half miles southeast of Chebanse, upon which they 
 made their home for the period of a year. Mr. 
 l",yerley then sold his farm and removed to the 
 village, where he resided for the following ten 
 years. In 1875 he emigrated to Texas, where he 
 and his wife are still living. 
 
 Richard J. E3'erley received a good common- 
 school education in the public schools of Chebanse, 
 and in 186!) commenced working in the printing 
 oflice of the Herald, in the employ of Thomas S. 
 Sawyer, who was then its editor and iiroprietor- 
 He remained in this office until 1873, when he 
 again went to school, and secured a certificate to 
 teach in both Iroquois and Kankakee Counties. 
 He then re-entered the employ of Mr. Saw3er, with 
 whom he remained until 1880, with the exception 
 of two winters, that of 1875-76 and the one fol- 
 lowing. In 1880, Mr. Eyerie^- purchased a half- 
 interest in the paper, and continued the business 
 in partnership with Mr. Sawyer for the succeeding 
 eight years. In the year 1888 he purchased that 
 gentleman's interest, and has owned and carried 
 on the paper since that time. The polities of the 
 Herald have always been Republican, and both the 
 newspaper and job work have always received the 
 hearty support and co-operation of the public at 
 large. The Herald has a wide circulation, and is 
 well known throughout this section of the State. 
 On the 28th of May, 1879, Mr. Eyerley wedded 
 Miss ^lary A. Burrill, daughter of George and 
 Catherine (McCarthy) Burrill, of Chebanse. One 
 child has blessed this union, a son, Charles M., 
 who was born on the 5tli of October, 1883. 
 
 The fellow-citizens of Mr. Kyerley have a 
 number of times called upon him to fill positions 
 of responsibility and trust. He is at present Vil- 
 lage Treasurer, and for several j-ears held the 
 office of X'illage Clerk. He is a member of Che- 
 banse Lodge No. 129, A. F. <fe A. M., and in the 
 year 1891 was Master of the lodge. He has ever 
 been devoted to the Republican party, and has 
 taken an active part in politics. The home of Mr. 
 Eyerley is situated in the northwest portion of the 
 village, and he therefore is a resident of Kankakee 
 countr}', the dividing line between that and Iro- 
 quois Counties running from east to west through 
 one of the principal streets of the place. He is 
 now erecting a comfortable home near his present 
 residence, and his office is also in Kankakee County 
 within a hundred feet of his home, and situated 
 exactly on the county line. With the exception 
 of two winters spent in Texas, and a short time 
 with his parents in Ohio and IMichigan, he lias 
 made his home in Chebanse for thirty-four years 
 and his acquaintance extends to all parts of both 
 counties. 
 
 - i .fc ^ | j > 1 p h > > ■ 
 
 ? I I I ' I lii ^ 
 
 ^^EORGE M. WAGNER is one of the sub- 
 ill (=^ stantial and prominent agriculturists of 
 ^^^i|! Salina Township. He resides on section 
 3.3, where be owns and operates a good farm com- 
 prising two hundred acres of land. His fields are 
 well tilled, and the many improvements upon the 
 place give evidence of the thrift and enterprise of 
 the owner. He devotes his time and attention to 
 general farming and stock-raising, and alw!i3'S has 
 on hand a good grade of stock. 
 
 Mr. Wagner is a native of Germany. He was 
 born December 20, 1842, and is a son of Adam 
 and Rosina (Kohler) Wagner. In 1847, when 
 George was only five years old, his parents left 
 the Fatherland and in a sailing-vessel crossed the 
 broad Atlantic, landing in New York City after 
 a voyage' of tliirtj-three da^'S. The father at 
 once came to Illinois, locating in Woodford Countj', 
 where he purchased land and made his home for
 
 490 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 about twelve years. In 1859 be became a resident of 
 Tazewell County, where he resided for two years. 
 On the expiration of that period he and his wife 
 came to Kankalcee Countj-, where the}' are still 
 living. Thej^ had a family of eight children: 
 Andrew, George, Margaret, Lizzie, Mary, Simon, 
 Kate and Emma. 
 
 As before stated, George Wagner spent tiie 
 first live ^eais of his life in the land of his birth 
 and tlien crossed tlie briny deep. He accompanied 
 his parents on their various removals until at 
 length, in 18(51, lie arrived in Kankakee County, 
 where he has since made his home. He aided his 
 father in the labors of the farm until the 28th of 
 January', 1864, when he responded to the call of 
 his adopted country for troops and became a mem- 
 ber of Company I, Seveutj'-sixth Illinois Infantr}-. 
 He was mustered into service at Springfield. The 
 first active engagement in wiiich he participated 
 was at Jackson, Miss., after which he took part in 
 the battle of Clinton, La., and Ft. Blakely, Ala. 
 He was never either wounded or taken prisoner, 
 but was always found at his post of duty, faith- 
 full3' defending the old flag under which he had 
 enlisted. After the war was over he was mustered 
 out, on the 19th of April, 1866, and received an 
 honorable discharge. 
 
 On his return from the South to Kankakee 
 County, Mr. Wagner took charge of his father's 
 land in Salina Township, and there carried on 
 general farming for two years, after which he 
 purchased eighty acres of unimproved land on 
 section 33. This was the beginning of his pres- 
 ent excellent farm, the boundaries of which he 
 has since extended by additional purchases, until it 
 now comprises two hundred acres. 
 
 As a companion and helpmate on life's journe}^, 
 Mr. Wagner chose Miss Sarah, daughter of Michael 
 and Magdelena Obrecht. By their union, which 
 was celebrated February 13, 1868, eleven chil- 
 dren were born, namely: George F., wlio died in 
 1885; Emma, wife of Frank Lelinus, a farmer re- 
 siding in Salina Township; William W.; Mary A.; 
 Katie V., who died in April, 1892; Hattie F., Rosa 
 A., Edwin M., Elsie E., Nettie B., and Lillie M. 
 who complete the family. 
 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Wagner is a Re- 
 
 publican and strongly advocates the principles of 
 his party, in whose success he takes a deep inter- 
 est. He has been called upon to serve in several 
 official jtositions, having filled the office of Town- 
 ship Collector for one year. Justice of the Peace 
 for eight years, Road Commissioner for six years, 
 and School Trustee for sixteen years. He ever 
 discharged his public duties with promptness and 
 fidelity, as is indicated by his constant re-elections. 
 Sociall.v, he is a member of tiie Grand Army of the 
 Republic, and himself and wife are members of 
 the German Evangelical Church. Mr. Wagner is 
 a friend to all social, moral and educational in- 
 terests, and does all in his power for the advance- 
 ment of those enterprises calculated to benefit the 
 community or promote tlie general welfare. He 
 is recognized as one of the leading and influen- 
 tial fanners of his township. During the late 
 war he was a faithful soldier and in his business 
 career he has proved himself an honorable man, 
 so that the high esteem in wliich he is held is well 
 deserved. 
 
 -^]_ 
 
 '^+^j 
 
 tS" 
 
 UTHER C. STREETER, a hay merchant of 
 i Grant Park, is one of the wide-awake 
 young business men of the county. His 
 birth occurred on the 5th of June, 1860, in Sum- 
 ner Township, Kankakee County. He was the 
 second in order of birth in a famil}- consisting of 
 three children, whose parents were Lorenzo and 
 Hannah (Osby) Streeter. The father was born in 
 Delaware County', N. Y., on the 12th of March, 
 1834, and was of English extraction. He learned 
 the carpenter's trade, which vocation he followed 
 in New York until coining to Kankakee Count}', in 
 1855. This was his home until his death, wiiich 
 occurred on the 5th of December, 1883. The mother 
 of our subject was a native of the same count}', liorn 
 on the 8th of May, 1836. Her death occurred in| 
 Grant Park, November 2, 1883, 
 
 Luther Streeter, as before stated, is a native ol 
 this county and has made Grant Park his homa 
 during almost his entire life. His father built anc 
 
 t
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 491 
 
 owned the first dwclling-liousc in the place. He 
 received a good coinuion-scliool education and 
 when about fifteen years of age learned telegraphy 
 in a railroad office. Tliis calling he followed for 
 eight jears, but in 1883 engaged in the hay busi- 
 ness. He has an extensive trade and is enterpris- 
 ing and active. 
 
 On the 30th of April, 1883, Mr. Streeter was 
 married to Miss Delia E. Campbell, a daughter of 
 Clinton C. and Ollie (Curtis) Camplu'll. Mrs. 
 Streeter was born in (!rant Park on the 9th of 
 December, 18(52, and is a highly educated lad}'. 
 Her father was in fact the founder of the town 
 and was a highly respected citizen. One child, 
 a daughter, Gertrude, was born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Streeter on the 30tli of January, 1886. Her 
 l]resence brightened their home but a short time, 
 for on the 12th of March of the same j'ear she 
 jiassed away. 
 
 In his political attiliations, Mr. Streeter is a 
 -tanch supporter of the Republican party. Though 
 not a politician he takes a lively- interest in all 
 public affairs and is posted on all of the leading 
 topics of the day. 
 
 _y 
 
 r' 
 
 •{•^*^* 
 
 /"ENO R. A. GOODELL, a jeweler, is one of 
 the old settlers of Momence, and w-hen he 
 located here on the 1st of October, 1851, 
 there were less than one hundred inhabitants in the 
 village. He has many times killed prairie chickens 
 and ducks to his heart's content without going 
 (mtside of the present limits of the city. He has 
 seen it grow and develop into a prosperous and 
 thriving business place of over two thousand 
 inhabitants. 
 
 Mr. Goodell is a native of Veiinonl, having been 
 born on the 17lh of July, 1823, in Westminster, 
 Windham County. His parents, Simon and Esther 
 F. (Forbes) Goodell, the former a native of Con- 
 necticut, and the latter of Massachusetts, lived for 
 many years in St. Lawrence County, M. V., near 
 the town of Ilogansburgh. The father engaged in 
 
 agricultural pursuits on a farm which he, in com- 
 pany with his son Addison, [)urchased. In his 
 early life he had learned the carpenter's and join- 
 er's trade, which vocation he followed more or less 
 during life. His father was a valiant soldier in 
 the War of 1812, and also participated in the In- 
 dian wars. The death of Simon Goodell occurred 
 at the home of his son Addison in Syracuse. In 
 the family were four sons and two daughters: Al- 
 bert, Addison 1'., Mary E., S. Justin, Sarah Jane V. 
 and Zeno It. A. 
 
 When our subject was six years of age, with his 
 parents he left his native State,and for many j'ears 
 resided in St. Lawrence Count\% N. Y., upon a 
 farm. Believing that the West afforded better op- 
 portunities for progress and obtaining a fortune, 
 on the 7th of April, 1815, Mr. Goodell turned his 
 face Westward The following ^-ear he landed in 
 Illinois, stopping in Chicago for about two months, 
 after which he went to Elgin and lived there foi 
 about four 3'ears, following his trade of carpenter- 
 ing. The year 1 85 1 , as previouslj' stated, witnessed 
 the arrival of Mr. Goodell in Momence, where lie 
 pursued his vocation of carpentering for three 
 years, when on account of poor health he was 
 obliged to abandon his trade, and enforced idleness 
 for two years ensued. He then decided to choose 
 another occupation, and turned his attention to 
 clock-repairing. Later he oi)ened a jewelry and 
 watch-ra.aking establishment, which he has carried 
 on to the present time, occupying one business 
 stand since 1855, a period of thirt3-seven years. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Goodell was married to Miss Eunice 
 Mitchell, daughter of James Mitchell, of Elgin, who 
 by her marriage became the mother of two sons 
 and a daughter: Allen 11., who ismarriedand lives 
 in Florida, where he is in the emploj' of a railroad 
 company; Margaret E., who became the wife of 
 Charles Jaquish, who was of Momence, but is now a 
 farmer residing near Neptune, Richland Count}', 
 Wis.; and Charles J., who married Miss Cora Rice, 
 a daughter of James 11. Rice, of Morocco, Ind. In 
 1863 our subject was again married, his second 
 union being with Miss Mary, daughter of James 
 Br^'ant, of Momence. There are two children by 
 this marriage: Zena R. A. and Willie. 
 
 Mr. Goodell, whose ancestors were AVhigs and
 
 492 
 
 POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Federalists, is a straight Republican, and has been 
 a warm supporter of that part}' since its organiza- 
 tion. He is an Odd Fellow, and is an attendant 
 of and contributor to the support of tlie Episcopal 
 Church, in which his wife liolds membership. 
 
 
 ^l AMES J. KELSEY, a retired farmer residing 
 in Grant Park, is a native of the Keystone 
 State, his birth occurring Februarj- 25, 1842, 
 in Tioga County. His parents were Jolin D. 
 and Eunice (Johnson) Kelsey. Tlie father was 
 born in 1809, in the Green Mountain State, and 
 was of Irish descent. The mother was born in Penn- 
 sylvania, and was of English extraction. John 
 Kelsey emigrated to Lake County, Ind., in 1859, 
 where he followed farming for many years. His 
 death occurred June 14, 1876. 
 
 At the time of his mother's deatli our subject 
 was only three years of age. He was reared to farm 
 life, spending the greater part of his early life in 
 Allegany County, N. Y. He received a common- 
 school education, and on arriving at man's estate 
 left Pennsylvania and came direct to L.ake County, 
 Ind. He landed in Kankakee County in the fall 
 of 1861, without a dollar in his pocket, and went 
 to work as a farm hand. lu August, 18G2, he en- 
 listed in Compan;/ K, One Hundred and Thirteenth 
 Illinois Infantry, and was in active service about 
 six months. He was taken sick with typhoid 
 fever at Memphis, Tenn., and was sent to a hos- 
 pital at Keokuk, Iowa, where he remained for about 
 six weeks. He then received his discliarge, as he 
 was unable to return to the hardships of army life. 
 He came to Yellowhead Township, where he rented 
 a farm, to which he gave his care for eight years. 
 On the 18th of September, 1863, Mr. Kel- 
 sej' and Miss Nanc}' J. Kile were married. The 
 ladj' was born in Ycllovvliead Townsliip on the 3d 
 of January, 1842, and is the daughter of Resen C. 
 and Nancy J. (Hayden) Kile, who were among the 
 first settlers of tlie county. To our subject and his 
 wife have been born two sons and a daughter: 
 Laura E., wife of Byron Chipman, a farmer of this 
 
 township; Merritt W., who is also a prosperous 
 agriculturist of Yellowhead Township; and Leroy 
 E., who lives with his parents and is a student in 
 the Grant Park Schools. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Kelsey purchased a farm wliieh is 
 situated six miles east of Grant Park, in Yellow- 
 head Township, and which now comprises two 
 hundred and sixty acres, all under- cultivation. 
 For over twenty years he gave his entire energies 
 and care to the development of this tract, which 
 has well repaid him for his efforts. In November, 
 1892, he retired from the activities incident to a 
 farmer's life, and has become a resident of Grant 
 Park. He has acted as School Director for about 
 twelve years, and is a warm supporter of educa- 
 tional measures. For a number of years he made 
 an excellent Road Overseer, and has shown that 
 he is much interested in the public welfare. Po- 
 litically he is a Republican, having cast his first 
 vote for Lincoln. He belongs to Worcester Post 
 No. 627, G. A. R., of Momence. 
 
 -}- 
 
 i>-^<i 
 
 IQ>^ 
 
 EDWARD DYER, one of the oldest settlers of 
 Yellowhead Township, owns a farm on 
 section 36. He was born in Vermont on 
 the 9th of July, 1814, and is a son of Thomas 
 D^'er, also a native of the Green Mountain State. 
 The latter was born April 17, 1785, followed the 
 calling of a farmer, and was one of the pioneer 
 settlers pf Genesee County, N. Y. He made the 
 trip from Vermont in an ox-cart in 1815. His 
 death occurred four 3-ears later. The mother of 
 our subject before her marriage was Miss Chloe 
 Haskins, who was born April 22, 1788, in Vermont. 
 A year after her husband's death she was again 
 married. 
 
 Edward Dyer was the third in order of birth in 
 his father's family, which comprised four sons and 
 a daughter. At the time of his father's death he 
 was only five j'ears of age, and he was sent to live 
 with a farmer in the neighborhood until grown. 
 At the end of a couple of years, however, he left 
 the farmer, as he was badly treated, and went to 
 
 I 
 
 I
 
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 K 
 
 {yKj (^iyCiriy-i^lCL^ ^ oAX^Ctma-
 
 Of THE 
 HHIVERSHY Of ILUfiOlS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 497 
 
 Buffalo, where he lived with an old couple who had 
 come from his old neighborhood. Later he worked 
 in a woolen factory for five years. A few years 
 later lie learned lilacksniitliing, which he followed 
 more or less until 1880. He never attended school 
 six months in his life. In 18;5t he emigrated to 
 .Taspci' County, Ind., which was his home for two 
 years. 
 
 In the year 1810 j\Ir. Dyer married Miss iMaria 
 L. Woodard, of Jasper County. To tiiem were born 
 two sons and four daughters: Martha, wife of 
 David Love, of this county; Caroline, who became 
 the wife of George Hamilton, a prosperous farmer 
 of Yellowuead Township; Chloe, wife of Eugene 
 Ciiilds, a farmer of this county; Henry, one of the 
 prominent agriculturists of Kankakee County; 
 Clara and Alonzo, who are now deceased. Mrs. 
 Dyer was called to her final rest in 1882. 
 
 In 183G Mr. D3er landed in Kankakee County, 
 locating at Sherburuville, where for a number of 
 years he pursued liis calling of blacksmith. He is 
 now one the oldest settlers of the countj- who still 
 survive. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land, which Is well improved and which he has 
 operated for over a half-centiiiy. He has never 
 been an office-seeker, but has instead given his at- 
 tention solely to his own affairs. Since the organi- 
 zation of the Republican party he has been one of 
 its stanch adherents. 
 
 JOSEPH .). CARROW is one of tile promi- 
 nent and well-known citizens of Pilot 
 Township, residing on section L He is 
 Postmaster of the Carrow postotHce, is a 
 ilcalcr in grain at that i)lace, and is proprietor of 
 the Carrow Limestone Rock (Quarry. As he occu- 
 pies a leading position- in both business and social 
 circles, it gives us groat pleasure to present to our 
 readers this record of his life, knowing that it will 
 '.trove of interest to many. 
 
 Mr. Carrow is a native of Illinois — indeed he 
 claims the honor of having Kankakee County for 
 liis birthplace. He was born on the 16th of Feb- 
 
 23 
 
 ruary, 1855, and is a son of .Joseph Carrow, who 
 was born in Quebec, Canada, and in 1848, when a 
 \-oung man of nineteen years, came to Illinois. 
 He located in Kankakee County and is counted 
 among its honored pioneers. The first two years 
 after his arrival were spent in Limestone Town- 
 ship, and he then located on .section 1, Pilot 
 Township, where he opened up a farm and for 
 thirty-five years successfully carried on agricul- 
 tural pursuits. His life lias been a busy and use- 
 ful one, but he is now living retired, while two of 
 his sons operate the old homestead. Mr. Carrow 
 was married in this couiitv to Miss Susan Tatro, a 
 native of Montreal, Canada, and by their union 
 were born nine living cliildrcn, five sons and four 
 daughters, who are all living. Our subject is the 
 eldest son and the second in order of birth. 
 
 In the usual manner of farmer lads .1. .1. Carrow 
 spent the days of his boyhood and joutli. During 
 the summer months he aided his father in the la- 
 bors of the farm, and in the winter season attended 
 the common schools of tlie neighborhood. Under 
 tlie parental roof he remained until twent3'-three 
 years of age, when he purchased an eighty-acre 
 tract of improved land, on which he located in 
 1878 and began farming for himself. 
 
 On the 4tli of February of that year, Mr. Carrow 
 was married to Miss Mary Malvina Perry, a native 
 of Canada. When a child of five summers she 
 was brought to this county by her father, Louis 
 Perry, now a farmer of Limestone Township. By 
 the union of our subject and his wife have been 
 born five children, four sons and a daughter: Ar- 
 thur, Louis, Lola, Alex and Elmer, the last-named 
 a boy of five years. The others are all attending 
 the home school. 
 
 Both Mr. and Jlrs. Carrow arc members of St. 
 James Catholic Church. In politics the former is 
 a stalwart Republican, having supported that party 
 since he cast his first Presidential ballot for Hon. 
 R. B. Hayes. He was never an aspirant for public 
 office, however, prefening to devote his entire time 
 and attention to his business interests, yet he has 
 ever borne well his part as a citizen. He does all 
 in his power for the advancement of the best in- 
 terests of the community and his support is never 
 withheld from any worthy enterprise.
 
 498 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 On his maiTiage, Mr. Carrow located where he 
 now resides and for several years engaged exclu- 
 sively in fanning. In the fall of 1883, he was ap- 
 pointed Postmaster of Carrow and still holds 
 that position. The sf.me year he opened up a 
 valuable limestone quarry upon his i)lace. At first, 
 however, he did not operate it very extensively, 
 but from j-ear to year he has increased the busi- 
 ness, and now during the season takes out an 
 average of three hundred carloads of rock. This 
 is very fine limestone rock, in fact it is said 
 to be second to none in the State. In connec- 
 tion with his other interests, Mr. Carrow was 
 for four j'oars engaged in merchandising. He has 
 also been buying grain for other parties for about 
 ten years and is now performing that work for a 
 Chicago firm. He is a man of excellent business 
 abilit}', is clear sighted and sagacious, and possesses 
 great tact; moreover, he has a fund of energv and 
 enterprise without which no one wins success. He 
 has become one of the prosperous and substantial 
 cilizens of this community through his own efforts, 
 and his career might well be taken as an example 
 bv others. 
 
 •^^1 
 
 mw 
 
 \'^^- 
 
 'ji? RA WH.LIAMS, a farmer who resides on sec- 
 tion 25, Salina Township, is one of the worthy 
 citizens that Pennsylvania has furnished to 
 this county. He was born in Kane Count3^,of the 
 Keystone State, December 12, 1840, and is the third 
 in order of birth in a family of six children. His 
 fatlier, .Job Williams, was born in New York, and 
 was of German descent, while the mother, whose 
 maiden name was Deborah Alger, was a native of 
 Massachusetts, and was of Scotch lineage. In 1848, 
 the^- emigrated "Westward, making the journey by 
 team, and at length arrived in Kankakee County, 
 where Mr. Williams purchased eighty- acres of Gov- 
 ernment land on section 25, Salina Township. 
 There he erected a log cabin, which was his home 
 for a number of years. He hauled his grain to 
 Chicago, which place .and Joliet were his nearest 
 trading-posts. The fanjily endured many hard- 
 
 ships and dilliculties of pioneer life in the early 
 days, but as the years passed the labors of the 
 father placed them in more comfortable circum- 
 stances. With the exception of four years, he re- 
 sided upon the farm where he first located until 
 his death, which occurred Februarj' 6, 1892, at the 
 advanced age of eight_y-two years, ten months and 
 thirteen days. He was buried in ShrefHer Ceme- 
 tery. He was a member of the Methodist Church, 
 and was a well-known and prominent citizen, hold- 
 ing the position of Road Commissioner and other 
 otlices in the township. His wife was also a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Church and a most estimable 
 lady. She passed away January 30, 1892. 
 
 The children of this worthy couple were Emily, 
 who died Februarj' 23, 1838; George; Ira, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch; Oliver, Hannah and Deborah. , 
 This familj' had the honor of being descended from J 
 Revolutionary heroes, their great-grandfathers on 
 both sides having been soldiers in the War for In- 
 dependence. 
 
 AVhen eight years of age, Ira Williams accom- 
 panied his parents to the AYest. He remained at 
 home until twenty years of age, when he started 
 out in life to earn his own livelihood. For a year 
 he engaged in farming. He then abandoned all 
 peaceful pursuits and, prompted bj"^ patriotic im- 
 pulses, responded to his countiy's call for aid. Id| 
 August, 1862, he donned the blue and became s 
 member of Company B, One Hundred and Tliir-i 
 teenth Illinois Infantry. He was mustered intc' 
 service in Chic^ago and, going to the South, tooli 
 part in the battle of Arkansas Post, the siege O I 
 Vicksburg and the battle of Jackson, Miss. At thti] 
 latter place he was captured, on the 22d of July 
 was taken to Richmond, and from there to Bell' 
 Isle, where he was incarcerated until the 28th o 
 December, following. On being released from tli 
 Southern prison, ho went to St. Louis, where li 
 remained until May, 1864, when he came homeo 
 a fifteen days' furlough. While at home he wa 
 taken with the smallpox, but as soon as possible h 
 rejoined his regiment, and from November, 186'^'j 
 was again with his command until honorably dis 
 charged on the 29th of June, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Williams then returned to his old home bi 
 soon afterward purchased land and embark*
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 
 
 499 
 
 in farming for himself. Since tli:it time lie lias 
 carricfl on agricultural [)ursuits with the exception 
 of four years, when in Chicago at work at the carpen- 
 ter's trade. In 1884, he purchased the old home- 
 stead upon which his father fust located and where 
 he is now residing. The place comprises one hun- 
 dred acres of well-iuiprovcd and valuable land, 
 and in return for his care and labor it yields to 
 him a golden tribute. 
 
 Mr. Williams has been twice married. In 18CG, 
 he wedded Miss Mary O'Donnell, who died in 1886. 
 Eight children were born of that union: Joel, 
 Annie, Frank, Deborah, Alice, Willie G., Cora and 
 Flora. Mr. Williams was again married, in 1887, 
 his second union being with Miss Jlay Freie. 
 
 Mr. Williams is a supporter of the Republican 
 party, with which he has been identified since at- 
 taining his m.ajorit}-. He takes a deep interest in 
 its success and keeps himself well informed on the 
 issues of the da\', yet has never sought or desired 
 the honors or emoluments of public office. Relig- 
 iously, he is a member of the Evangelical Church. 
 The best interests of the community find in him a 
 friend, and by his influence and support he aids all 
 worthy enterprises calculated to prove of public 
 benefit or to promote the general welfare. His life 
 has been well and worthily spent and has won him 
 universal confidence and esteem. 
 
 «^> 
 
 ^^DWARD S. MARTIN, who is engaged in 
 S] general farming on section 36, i^imcstone 
 liL^/ Township, is one of the worthy citizens 
 that England has furnished to'Kankakee County. 
 He was born on the 6th of February, 1825, in 
 Cornwall, and is the eldest in a family of fonr 
 children, two sons and two daughters, who were 
 born of the union of Ilenr}- and Mary (Spargo) 
 Martin. The father was also a native of the same 
 locality. The grandfather too was born in that 
 neighborlKiOd and for several generations his an- 
 cestors had there resided. Henry Martin was ed- 
 ucated near his home and became manager of one 
 of the richest copper mines in the world. He died 
 
 in his native county' at the advanced age of 
 eighty-two j-ears. The mother of our subject was 
 born in Cornwall, where her ancestors had also 
 lived for several generations. 
 
 Edward Martin, whose name heads this record, 
 spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his 
 native land, was educated in the common schools 
 of the neighborhood and resided upon a farm un- 
 til about eighteen years of age. About that time 
 he began working in the copper mines of Corn- 
 wall, under his father, with the expectation of 
 making that his life work, and for seven years he 
 was thus employed. It was in 1849 that he left 
 his native land and went to Chile, under the di- 
 rection of a Spanish company-, to work in the silver 
 mines of that country. He there remained for 
 about five years, during which period the revolu- 
 tion in Chile occurred. Returning to his home he 
 spent the succeeding year in his native land and 
 during that time was united in marriage with Miss 
 Annie Trelore, of Cornwall, 'England. The bridal 
 trip of the young couple consisted of a vovao-e 
 across the Atlantic, for, immediately after their 
 marriage, they bade adieu to p:ngland and sailed 
 for Canada, where they remained for about eight 
 months. They then came to Kankakee County, 
 III., where Mr. Martin has since made his home. 
 This was in 1857. His wife died about a year af- 
 ter coming to America, leaving one child, a daugh- 
 ter, Lillie, who is still a resident of Kankakee. 
 
 Two years later Mr. Martin was again married 
 his second union being with Miss Sophia Gilkes, 
 who was born in England and who was the first 
 English girl to become a resident of Kankakee 
 County. Her death occurred in 1877. Six chil- 
 dren were born of this union, as follows: Will- 
 iam Henry, the eldest, who was born in 1861, 
 and died at the age of three years; Lucy, who was 
 born in 1863, and is now the wife of Orlando 
 Hawkins, a prosperous and well-known fanner of 
 this county; Mary, born in 1865; Edward .John, 
 born in 1867; Anna, who was born in 1869, and 
 died when about eighteen years of age; and Charles 
 Frederick, the youngest of the family, who was 
 born in 1872. 
 
 The lady who now bears the name of Mrs. Mar- 
 tin was formerly Miss Mary Alma Kerns. She was
 
 500 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a resident of Rock Creek, and her parents ivere 
 the oldest settlers in the county. The marriage of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Martin was celebrated in 1879, and 
 unto them has been born a daughter, Albertie 
 Louise, born in 1883. 
 
 For some time after coming to Kankakee 
 County, Mr. Martin engaged in farming and in 
 the butchering business, but he now devotes his 
 time and attention solely to the former pursuit. 
 He owns a good farm of eighty acres, which is un- 
 der a high state of cultivation and well improved. 
 In his political views he is a Democrat and takes 
 quite an interest in politics. The cause of educa- 
 tion ever finds m him a warm friend, and for fif- 
 teen years he did effective service in its interests 
 while filling the office of School Director. At 
 length he resigned that position in favor of a ladj' 
 director. For twenty-seven jears Mr. Martin has 
 been a member of the Baptist Church, and his 
 career has been an honorable, upright one, in har- 
 mony wiih his profession. He is a well-informed 
 man and has led cpiite an eventful life. He has 
 traveled considerably and is a pleasant, popular 
 gentleman, who has the high regard of all with 
 whom he has been brought in contact. 
 
 'E_^ENRY A. MAGRIJDER has spent almost 
 his entire life in this county, his birth hav- 
 ing occurred on the 28th of November, 
 18.52, in Rockville Township. He is the 
 eldest son of Thomas H. and Mary E. (Shadley) 
 Magruder. He received a common-school educa- 
 tion in the district and public schools of Rock- 
 ville and Kankakee. In the year 1875 he lo- 
 cated on a farm in A¥hite County, Ind., of 
 which he was the owner, and which contained 
 one hundred and sixty acres. For seven years 
 he also managed seven hundred acres of land for 
 his father and brothers, and helped to give 
 the latter a good start iu life. His brother Thomas, 
 the next older of those living, is a traveling man 
 and also owns a good farm in Indiana; William, 
 
 who married Georgia Duryea, is a hotel-keeper of 
 Indianapolis and a prosperous business man; Ed- 
 ward is a carpenter and contractor of Kankakee; 
 and Myron, who married Ada Hawkins, liv-e's 
 upon a farm four and a-half miles northwest of' 
 Kankakee. 
 
 In 1881 Mr. Magruder rented his farm in Indi- 
 ana, and removing to this city clerked for about 
 a year in the clothing store of M. Rohrheimer. 
 On the 1st of March of the following year he en- 
 gaged in the clothing business for himself in part- 
 nership with W. H. Dawson, in the building on 
 Court Street known as the Rondy Building. He 
 remained there until December of that year, when 
 he removed to his present location. No. 194 Court 
 Street. At the end of two years he purchased his 
 partner's interest and has since continued the 
 business alone. In 1888 he also bought the build- 
 ing in which his store is situated. In addition to 
 this he owns his home residence at No. 252Green-J 
 wood Avenue and considerable other property in | 
 the city. 
 
 On the 18th of .Tanuary, 1875, Mr. Magrudeii 
 was united in marriage with Miss Euphrevnia S. 
 daughter of Daniel and Hattie Shreffler. Thejj 
 hold membership with the Grace Methodist Episco 
 pal Church of this city. 
 
 Our subject has been called upon to fill varimi 
 
 positions requiring ability and fidelity. He is a | 
 
 present Alderman for the Second Ward, whicl 
 
 office he has held for four years. He is one of tli 
 
 directors in the Cit}' National Bank and is a stock 
 
 holder in the North Kankakee Improvement Com 
 
 pany, being one of the founders of the most r( 
 
 markable town of North Kankakee. Mr. Jlaijrt 
 
 i 
 der is what may well be called a self-made mail 
 
 and although comparatively' young, is one of tbj 
 
 substantial citizens and business men of Kankf] 
 
 kee. He is progressive and wide-awake, and hf 
 
 ever manifested a great interest in all juiblic mon 
 
 ments connected with the city's welfare. He hi; 
 
 accumulated his property b}' good business mai' 
 
 agement, and early in life manifested a taste an 
 
 natural abilit3' for mercantile pursuits. He is tlj 
 
 proprietor of one of the best furnished clolhir' 
 
 stores in the city, and 113' his straightforward bii^ 
 
 ness methods, affable manner and courteous trci
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 501 
 
 iiient of patrons, has built up a large and lucra- 
 tive business. .Socially, Mv. JIagruder is a mem- 
 ber of Grove City Council No. 832. R. A. His 
 first vote was cast for Samuel .1. Tilden, and 
 since tliat time he has been a stanch supporter of 
 the Dcniocracv. 
 
 \li/^__^ ENRY REl'TER, a well-known business 
 
 I man of Kankakee, was born in Simniern, 
 
 Canton Capelen, (4rand Duchy of Lux- 
 
 ^) embourg,on the 18tli of June, 1856. He is 
 a son of John and IMargueritc (KUip) Renter, both 
 natives of the same place. The fatiier was a 
 farnier by occupation, was a soldier in the war be- 
 tween ndgiuni and Holland, and fought through- 
 out that long and blood\- conflict, which lasted for 
 nine j-ears. He died in liis native land in 1886, 
 and his wife passed away some 3'ears previous, 
 dying in 1874. They were the parents of nine 
 children, of whom eight are now living: Henr}', 
 Barbara, Jacol), William, John, Nichc)las and Fran- 
 cisca, twins, Henry and liarbara. 
 
 lielieving that the New World offered wider op- 
 portunities and greater chances of success, Henry 
 Renter, tlie subject of this sketch, in company with 
 his brother Nicholas, bade adieu to the friends 
 and scenes of their youth and crossed the briny 
 deep, landing in America on the 28th of August, 
 I 1880. In September of that year the}' located in 
 , Chicago, where lhe\' lived for about two years, 
 working at then- trade of tinsmitliing, cornice- 
 making and roofing, wliicli they had learned in 
 , the Fatherland. In June, 1882, our subject re- 
 1 moved to Kankakee, and has here lived continu- 
 ously, with the exception of a 3-ear spent in Battle 
 'Creek, Mich. He established the business of man- 
 lufacturing roofing and cfirnice material in Kanka- 
 ■ kee, beginning in a small wa\-. He li.as been pros- 
 ipered and his trade has grown to a considerable 
 
 extent. 
 
 On the 14th of January, 1882, occurred the mar- 
 ,riage of Henry Renter and Katrina Glesner, wiio 
 'was born in Foltsliette, Canton Rcdingen, Lux- 
 
 embourg, and who is a daughter of Andrew and 
 Margaret (Rice) Glesner. To Mr. and Mrs. Renter 
 have been born seven children, two sons and five 
 daughters: Maggie Katie; Henry William; Hettie 
 Mary, wiio died March 19, 1889; Frank Theodore; 
 Edna Anna, who died March 28, 1889; Mamie 
 Barbara, and Mabel Isabel, who died in infancy. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Renter built a beautiful residence 
 on the corner of Rosewood Avenue and Merchant 
 Street, which is one of the handsome residences 
 which add so much to the beauty and picture-squc- 
 ness of Kankakee. He and his wife are members 
 of the German Catholic Church and worship with 
 St. Mary's congregation in this citj'. Mr. Renter 
 is a Republican in politics and is loyal in his de- 
 votion to liis adopted country. He has been truly 
 successful since arriving in America and has never 
 had occasion to regret coming to these hospitable 
 shores. 
 
 ^^>o*^*^v*^^^^*'F>^ 
 
 O \ I . I -« 
 
 >^p*)HOMAS H. MAG RUDER, a retired farmer 
 'f>^.\ who makes his home in Kankakee, is one 
 
 of the earliest settlers of this county, hav- 
 ing resided here for nearly half a century, in which 
 time he has been identified with its growth and 
 prosperity. His maternal grandfather, Joel Rouse, 
 was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and 
 served the entire period without being wounded. 
 He was reared on a farm and always followed the 
 vocation of an agriculturist. He lived to the ex- 
 treme age of ninety-seven years, the last seven of 
 which he was totally blind. 
 
 Our subject is the son of Thomas and Susan 
 (Rouse) M.agruder, the former of Scotch descent 
 and a native of Maryland, .and the latter of Rock- 
 ingham County, Va., and of German extraction. 
 Their marriage occurred in Boone County, K^-., 
 where they lived for a number of years, and at an 
 eaily day, probably about 1842, they removed to 
 Clark County, in Soutlicrn Illinois. Thej' re- 
 moved to Kankakee County in 1845, and located in 
 what is now known as Rockville Townshi|). This 
 was before the organization of Kankakee County,
 
 502 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 this whole district then being comprised in Will 
 County. People were obliged to go to Cliiengo to do 
 tlieir marketing, the journey being made by team. 
 There was not a fence to be seen along the road 
 for the entire distance. The country abounded in 
 wolves, deer and wild game of all kinds. There 
 were not more than a dozen houses around tlie 
 Gro^'e at that time. The father was a poor but 
 Lard-working man, and settled upon about twenty 
 acres of land in Rockville Township, where he re- 
 sided until his death, in 1873. His wife survived 
 him about six j-ears, and died in the faith of the 
 United Brethren Church, of which she was a con- 
 sistent member, and to which her husband, though 
 not a member, contributed. They died after a resi- 
 dence in Rockville Township of forty and forty- 
 five years respectively, and are well worthy of a 
 place among the honored pioneers of this vicinity. 
 
 Thomas H. Magruder, Jr., was born on the 4th 
 of September, 1826, near Florence, Boone County, 
 Kj'., about twenty miles from Cincinnati. He is 
 one of a family of thirteen children, three of 
 whom are now deceased, tlie others all residing 
 near Kankakee. About 1844 our subject removed 
 to this county and went to work upon a farm 
 about a mile north of the present site of Kankakee. 
 In 1851 he engaged in agricultural pursuits for 
 himself, which vocation he followed until 1889. 
 In partnership with his brother Henry he settled 
 upon a farm of niuet}' acres in Rockville Township. 
 At the end of two years Mr. Magruder purchased 
 his brother's interest and devoted himself to the 
 improvement and cultivation of the farm for the 
 succeeding twelve years. He then sold that prop- 
 erty and bought a farm of one hundred and forty 
 acres in the same township, which he operated for 
 about twenty-four years. At the time he retired 
 from active life he was the owner of two hundred 
 and twenty acres of land, eighty acres of which 
 were in Indiana. 
 
 On the 26th of February, 1852, Mr. Magruder 
 was married to Miss Mary E. Shadley, daughter of 
 Daniel and Mary (Haymond) Shadle3'. Nine chil- 
 dren have blessed this union, six of whom are liv- 
 ing. Henry A., the eldest, married Miss Euphrcmia 
 S. Shreffler, daughter of Daniel and Hattie Shreffler, 
 of Rockville, and the}' now make their home in 
 
 Kankakee. At present Hem-}; Magruder is one of ^ 
 the City Aldermen and one of the Directors of 
 the City National Bank. He is also a clothing 
 merchant, doing business at No. 194 Court Street, 
 where he has been engaged for a number of years. 
 John died when two years of age. Thomas I. is a 
 traveling salesman and owns a farm in Indiana. 
 Charles AVilliam married Miss Georgia Duryca, 
 daughter of Jarvis Duryea, of White Count}', Ind., 
 and lives in Indianapolis, where he is engaged in 
 the hotel business. They have three children: 
 Elmer, Jesse and Ray. Ira J. died when four 
 years of age. Geoi'ge E. married Miss Louisa, 
 daughter of Alfred Gerard, of Kankakee, where 
 Mr. Magruder is engaged in carpentering and 
 building. They have three children: Tessie, Flos- 
 sie and Lois. M^yron married Miss Ada, daughter 
 of Eli Hawkins, and they reside upon a farm four 
 and a-ha!f miles northwest of this city. Ella M. | 
 and Alta, twins, complete the family. The former j 
 was married February 23, 1893, to George P. Butz, : 
 of this count}'. The latter died when nine months 
 old. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Magruder removed to Kankakee 
 and bought a comfortable home on Indiana Ave- 
 nue, where he resides. He and his wife hold mem-i 
 bership with tlie United Brethren Church. He 
 uses his right of franchise in favor of the Demo- 
 cratic party. He has been a i^rogressive and prac- 
 tical farmer during the most of his life, and has 
 done much to advance the best interests and wel- 
 fare of this county. During the many years whiclii 
 he has passed in this vicinity he has made man} 
 friends who esteem him highly for his qualities O' 
 worth and honor. 
 
 -^]. 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 .^=«>- 
 
 "S] 
 
 '^1 EFFERSON VINING is a retired farmer, n 
 siding on section 28, Otto Township, Kankr 
 kee County. The history of the jiioiieers i 
 this county would be incomplete withoi 
 the sketch of the early settler whose name heai 
 this brief sketch. He was born in New York, i 
 Steuben County, on the 21st of September, 182
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 503 
 
 and is a son of Abi^ah and Abbie (Steele) Vining, 
 also natives of that State aucl county. The ^'ining 
 family are of English descent, and were among tlic 
 sturdy pioneers of the Empire Stale. The father en- 
 listed and served in the War of 1H12, on the north- 
 ern frontier. He was Orderly-Sergeant, and was 
 afterwards promoted to the rank of Cai)tain in the 
 militia. His wife was tlie daughter of Bethel Steele, 
 of New York, and in that Slate Mr. Vining en- 
 gasjed in agricultural pursuits for a numljer of vears. 
 In 1835, he removed with his family to Oliio, and, 
 settling in Delaware County, made that his home 
 for tlie succeeding five years. The year 1810 saw 
 him located at Plainfield, AVill County, 111., where 
 he lived for about two 3'ears. Ho next came to 
 Kankakee County, and spent the last jears of his 
 life upon a farm in Limestone Township. He died 
 about the year 1875, at the age of sixty-six years. 
 After surviving her husliand two vears, Mrs. Vining 
 was also called to the better land, and now husband 
 and wife lie buried side by side in Limestone Ceme- 
 terj', where a suitable monument marks their last 
 resting-place. 
 
 .lefferson Mning is the tliird in order of birth 
 of a family of four sons and six daughters, who 
 grew to maturity. Until the age of fifteen he 
 lived upon his father's farm in the State of his 
 nativity, and with his parents emigrated to Ohio 
 about tlie year 1835. He had fair school advanta- 
 ges, and by wise reading and s-tudy made himself 
 a well-informed man on all of the leading issues 
 of the day. Wlien a young man, he came to Illi- 
 nois and spent his first year here in the southern 
 part of the State. Returning to Ohio, he remained 
 there for about one 3'ear, and in the spring of 1 842 
 I became a resident of Plainfield, Will Countv, where 
 he engaged in farming for about three j-ears. In 
 the year 1845, he located in Limestone Township, 
 ■ of this county, and entered land, which he pro- 
 I cceded to develop and improve. He was one of 
 , the first settlers of the county, and was one of 
 the hardy pioneers when this country was almost 
 :i wilderness. He was obliged to drive to Chicago 
 for all supplies, that being the only point at which 
 ' they were obtainable. After siiending a few years 
 ' upon this farm, which he placed under a good 
 -late of cultivation, he sold the same, and became 
 
 the owner of a tract of land just north of Kanka- 
 kee. There ho had a valuable farm, and built 
 ui)on it a substantial residence, but after a few 
 years he sold that property and bought a place 
 situated on llie Iro(iuois River, wliich was im- 
 proved, and where he h.as made his home for t tventy- 
 eight years. He has in this farm about sixt3' acres, 
 with a good substantial residence, commodious 
 barns and other farm buildings, and his farm 
 bears evidence of the thrift and carefulness of its 
 owner. 
 
 Mr. Mning w-as married in Will County to 
 Elizabeth M. Fiazer, on the 13th of March, 1849. 
 The lad_v is a native of Virginia, where she lived 
 until about eight years of age, at which time she 
 came to Illinois with her father, John Frazer, who 
 was one of the first settlers on Forked Creek, Will 
 County. By the union of our subject and his 
 wife were born seven children. Clara M. is the 
 wife of Calvin Drayer, of Grant Park, III. Emily 
 grew to womanhood, but is now deceased. E. P. 
 was married in 1877 to M. Elizabeth Marstiller, 
 who was born in Ohio, and reared in Delaware 
 County, that State, but who is now deceased. He 
 was .again married, in 1885, this time to Sarah Lou- 
 ise Haven, a native of Otto Township, and has one 
 son by each marriage, Lee and Chauncc3\ He is a 
 man of good education, and has I)eeu a teacher in 
 this count3', and at present has entire charge of 
 his father's farm and business. The next younger, 
 Alraina E., upon arriving at womanhood became 
 the wife of Warren Wilmot, and is now deceased. 
 Etlie C. married Rolland Gruver, who is now de- 
 ceased. Festus G. has received a good school edu- 
 cation and resides at home. The 3'oungest of the 
 family is William P., who, after receiving good 
 educational advantages, became one of the teachers 
 of this count3'. He now holds a responsible busi- 
 ness position in Kankakee. 
 
 Mr. Vining has held several local official positions, 
 and has served as a member of the School Board 
 in this township for over twenty 3-ears. He has 
 ever been a friend to education, and is devoted to 
 securing good schools and teachers. Formerly 
 Mr. Mning was a .lackson Democrat, but upon the 
 organization of the Republican part3', joined its 
 r.auks, and was identified with it for a number of
 
 504 
 
 POETEAIT AJSTD BIOGKAPHICAL EECOED. 
 
 years. He has always been a friend to the tem- 
 perance cause, and for the last five years has sup- 
 ported the Prohibition part3^ For half a century 
 lie has lived in Illinois, and for forty-seven years 
 of this time lias been identified witli this county, 
 which lie has assisted to its presentcoudition of pros- 
 perity and fruitfulness. As a man, Mr. Vining is 
 marked by uprightness of character, and by his 
 worthy qualities has won the esteem and confi- 
 dnce of all with wiioin lie has come in contact. 
 
 fl_-^ ON. JAMES CII.\TFIELD was a promi- 
 nent and well-known citizen of Kankakee 
 County and a leading farmer of Momence 
 ,j Township. It is but justice to his family 
 and friends that he be represented in this volume, 
 and with pleasure we present this record of his 
 life to our readers. A native of Indiana, lie was 
 born in Parke County, on tlie 24th of December, 
 1831, and was a son of AViliiam Arnold and Eliza- 
 beth (Crane) ChatHeld. The former was born in 
 Connecticut, and the latter was a native of the 
 Empire State, both parents being of English ex- 
 traction. The}- remained in Indiana until al)0ut 
 1835, when thej' removed to C^hicago. but after a 
 short residence in that place, which was then a 
 mere hamlet, they went to Joliet, Hi., wliere they 
 remained until 1840. In that year William A. 
 Chatfield, with his famil}', went to Wilmington, 
 III., where he spent the succeeding four years of 
 his life, and then became a resident of Kankakee 
 County, making a permanent location on the pres- 
 ent site of the city of Momence. In early life he 
 had learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, 
 wiiich he followed for some years, but he after- 
 ward became a machinist and railiwriglit, and on 
 locating in Momence, built and operated a mill in 
 that place. He was the second Representative 
 from Kankakee County to the Illinois Legislature, 
 serving as a member of the General Assembly in 
 1856 and 1857. He was quite prominent in pub- 
 lic affairs, and his worth and ability made him a 
 
 valued citizen. He died in March, 1872, and his 
 loss w.as deeply- regretted by a large circle of friends 
 and acquaintances. He had been three times mar- 
 ried. 
 
 As before stated, .James Chatfield, whose name 
 heads tliis record, was about four years of age 
 when he came with his parents to Illinois. He ac- 
 companied them on their various removals in tliis 
 State, until they at length settled in Kankakee 
 Count}', where he spent the remainder of his life. 
 The public schools afforded him his educational ad- 
 vantages, and he entered upon his business career as 
 a clerk, which vocation he followed for several 3'ears 
 during his early manhood. He afterward turned 
 his attention to agricultural pursuits, and became 
 the owner of an excellent farm, pleasantly situated 
 about a mile from Momence. A ma,n of good 
 business abilit}^ he attended careful!}^ to his work 
 in all its details, and as a result won success. His 
 prosperity was certainly well deserved. The well- 
 tilled fields and neat appearance of his farm indi- 
 cate his thrift and enterprise, which were num- 
 bered among his chief characteristics. 
 
 In August, 1856, Mr. Chatfield was married to 
 Miss Sarah .Jane Briddell, of thiscountj^, who died 
 about seven months later. He was a second time 
 married, on the 10th of January, 1861, the lady of 
 his choice being Miss Sarah Shockle}', daughter of 
 William and Elizabeth (Livingston) Shockley, who 
 are residents of Milan, Ind. Her parents are both 
 natives of Mainland, and are of Englisli extraction. 
 By the union of Mr. and Mrs. Chatfield w.as born 
 a family of six children. William E., the eldest, is 
 now a liveiyman of Momence, and one of the 
 prominent \'Oung business men of tliat citv; he 
 married Miss Maiy Bunker, of Martinton, Iroquoi- 
 Count}', whose parents are old settlers and [iiora- 
 inent people of tiiat county, and one child has graced 
 their union, James Bunker. Edwin K. is engaged 
 in business in Momence, carrying on a meat-market. 
 George S., a wide-awake young man and successful 
 farmer, operates the old homestead. J. Webster is 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits in Iowa. Maude 
 A. is one of the popular and successful school 
 teachers of tliis county. Beulali, who com- 
 pletes the family, is still at home with her mother. 
 The children have all received good coinmou-scliool
 
 umm 
 
 OF THE 
 '^NIVERSnvOFlLLiraiS
 
 %^ 
 
 #?' 
 
 c^^^^-^^
 
 
 cMjomJ/o. SW^^
 
 OF THE 
 HMlVERSiTY OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 507 
 
 t'ducatioiis, and have thus been fitted for tlie piao- 
 tit-al and resiionsible duties of life. 
 
 Mr. ChatlifcUl was-a prominent member of the 
 Masonic fralernity, and was a man of great popu- 
 larity throughout the county, his friends being in- 
 deed many, lie took a very active part in polities, 
 and was lionorcd with a number of oflicial posi- 
 tions. The Hepublican ijarty found in him a standi 
 supporter, who did all iu his power to aid in its 
 upbuilding and insure its success. He w.as elected 
 ( on that ticket as Chairman of the Uoard of Super- 
 visors of the county, and in 1880 he was elected 
 and represented his district as a member of the 
 ; State Legislature. He ever worked for the interests 
 of the people, and won their hearty commendation. 
 His public and private life were above reproach, 
 and he had the respect and confidence of all with 
 whom business, political or social relations brought 
 him in contact. He passed away at his home on 
 the 24ih of .lune, 1889, at the age of fifty-six years. 
 ^ His widow, an estimable lady, who is widely and 
 I favorably known in the community where she 
 <\ makes her home, still resides on tiie farm left her 
 ' by her husband. 
 
 
 
 NDREW DAYTON, deceased, w.os born on 
 the 11th of March, 1835, and died at his 
 i'i liome in Jlomence Township .July 26, 
 1892. No death in this community has 
 been more deeply regretted than that of the gen- 
 tleman whose name heads this sketch, for he was 
 a prominent man, a valued citizen and a leading 
 farmer. He certainly deserves representation in 
 this work, and we gladly insert in the record of 
 the county tliis account of his life. 
 
 Mr. Uayton was a Canadian by birth, and was a 
 son of William and Elizabeth (Hess) Dayton, both 
 of whom were also natives of Canada. On leav- 
 ing that countiy and coming to the United States, 
 they look up their residence in Kankakee County, 
 111., settling on the banks of the Kankakee River. 
 That was about the year 1839, when the subject 
 of this sketch was only four years of age. To 
 
 farming William Dayton devoted his energies 
 throughout the remainder of his life. He secured 
 a tract of wild land, totally unimproved, and 
 through his cultivation and labor transformed 
 it into a tiact of great fertility. Both he and his 
 wife spent their remaining da\'s in this county'. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of Andrew 
 DaN'ton, who spent the first four years of his life 
 in the land of his birth, and then, as before stated, 
 was brought by his parents to Kankakee County. 
 From than lime he became a lesident of this com- 
 munity. The days of his boyhood and youth quietly 
 passed, unmarked by any event of special im- 
 portance. He was entirely self-educated, but 
 through business experience and observation, he 
 made himself a well-informed man. He was quite 
 young when his father died, and was thus thrown 
 upon his own resources to make his way in life un- 
 aided. He was familiar with no kind of work ex- 
 cept that of a farm, and in consequence he began 
 working by the month as a farm hand, being thus 
 employed for a period of several years. It was 
 in this way he got his start in life. Industry and 
 enterprise, qualities essential to success, were num- 
 bered among his chief characteristics, and as a re- 
 sult brought him prosperity. 
 
 On the 21st of November, 1858, Mr. Dayton 
 was married, winning the hand of Miss Marilla 
 Lamport, also a native of Canada. She was born 
 on the 31st of March, 1839, and was the fourth 
 child in order of birth in a family of ten children 
 who graced the union of Benjamin and Mary 
 (Force) Lamport. Her parents came to this county 
 when she was quite a child, only about six years 
 of age, and took up their residence upon a farm, 
 where Mrs. Lamport is still living. The husband 
 and father carried on agricultural pursuits upon 
 the land which he first purchased until his death, 
 which occurred on the 2d of April, 1872, at the age 
 of sixtj'-four years. His widow still survives liim, 
 and is 3'et living on the old homestead in this 
 county, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. 
 
 By the union of our subject and his wife was 
 born a family of fivechildren, numbering three sons 
 and two daughters, all of whom are 3'et living. 
 William B., the eldest, is now a representative and 
 progressive farmer of this county. He w.as married
 
 506 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Miss Belle Winfrey, of Bloomingtoii, Ind., and 
 four children grace their union. Anna May is now 
 the wife of William Garrett, a prosperous farmer 
 residing in Momence Township, and by their mar- 
 riage have been born four children. Emor^' T., 
 the third of the famil}-, wedded Miss Ida Bales, a 
 resident of Kanicakee County, and their union has 
 been blessed by one child. Etta A., tlie next youn- 
 ger, is at home. Merritt A., who completes the 
 family, is also at home. The latter operates the 
 old homestead farm, and is a successful young agri- 
 culturist. The children all received good school 
 privileges, and were thus fitted for the practical 
 and responsible duties of life. 
 
 Mr. Dayton was truly a self-made man, and to 
 his own untiring efforts and well-directed energies 
 was due his success in life. He began as a farm 
 hand, and by his industry, hard labor and perse- 
 verance, he accumulated some capital. This en- 
 abled him to purchase a small farm. Buying a 
 tract of land, he began its development with char- 
 acteristic energy, and from early morning until 
 darkness prevented his further work, he labored in 
 the interests of himself and family. His land soon 
 began to yield him a ready return for the care and 
 cultivation bestowed upon it, and from time to time 
 as his financial resourses increased, he extended the 
 boundaries of his farm, until he became the owner 
 of four hundred and fourteen acres of valuable land 
 whicli he placed under a high state of cultivation. 
 He also made many improvements on the place, 
 which stand .as monuments to his enterprising an 
 progressive spirit. He was a man of good business 
 abilit}-, and though he had no advantages whatso- 
 ever, he made the most of his opportunities and 
 steadily worked his way upward. Overcoming 
 the obstacles and difficulties in his path, he acquired 
 a competence. 
 
 Mr. Dayton exercised his right of franchise in 
 support of the men and measures of the Republican 
 party, being a warm advocate of its principles, yet 
 he was never a politician in the sense of oHice-seek- 
 ing, caring nothing for the honors or emoluments 
 of public office. Fair and honest in his business 
 dealings, and straightforward in all tlie relations 
 of life, he won the respect and confidence of all 
 with whom he was brought in contact, and gained 
 
 the high regard of many who remained his warns 
 friends until his death. While standing in the 
 door at his son's, Mr. Dayton was struck by light- 
 ning and killed instantly-, July 26, 1892, at the 
 age of fifty -seven years. His wife and children 
 still reside upon the old homestead. Mrs. Dayton 
 is a member of the Baptist Church. He left them 
 in comfortable circumstances, their farm being con- 
 sidered one of the finest and best improved in the 
 township. 
 
 ^=^>^^<i 
 
 (giw_ 
 
 (£!>— 
 
 ylLLIAM SNOW, a farmer and stock-raiser 
 on section 36, Sumner Township, is one of 
 the early settlers of Kankakee County, 
 having come to Illinois in 1849. He was born on 
 the 16th of December, 1821, in Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land. His parents, Francis and Elizabeth (Morti- 
 mer) Snow, were natives of the same country and 
 had seven children, but three of whom survive. 
 John is deceased; Rachel, William and Mary are 
 yet living, while Ellen, Elizabeth and Ann are de- 
 ceased. In 1826 the family crossed the briny deep 
 in a sailing-vessel bound for the United States, 
 and were four weeks and three da3's in making 
 the voyage. They located in Franklin County, 
 N. Y. 
 
 Our subject grew to manhood in New York and 
 received the most of his education in a log school 
 house. He has been largely self-educated since 
 arriving at mature years. When only thirteen years 
 of age, Mr. Snow started out in the world to fight 
 the battle of life. He commenced by working for 
 neighboring farmers, receiving $8 per month as his 
 compensation. In 1849, he came to Illinois and 
 purchased a farm in Sumner Township, the very 
 property on which he still resides. This farm con- 
 sists of one hundred acres, which at tho time of 
 his purch.ase were entirely unimproved and which 
 he received of the Government on a land war- 
 rant. In those comparatively earh' dajs of this 
 county's history the countiy was wild and but lit- 
 tle inhabited, add game of all kinds abounded. Jlr. 
 Snow, as there was no house upon his property,
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 509 
 
 was obliged to go to Chicago for lumber with an 
 ox-tcara. Upon his return he construcled a small 
 frame house, whicli was his home for many years. 
 The nearest market being Chicago, to that place he 
 had to haul liis grain and otiier crops in order to 
 dispose of tliem. Tlie farm on wliich he has made 
 iiis iiome for so many years he li.as placed under a 
 higli state of cultivation and it little resembles 
 tlie raw prairie of which he became tlie possessor 
 over forty years ago. 
 
 January 26, 1846, Jlr. Snow was married to Miss 
 Olive Haslett, a native of Vermont born in 1824. 
 By their union eigiit children were born: Francis, 
 George, Elizabeth (now deceased), Lizzie, "VVilliam, 
 Carrie, Olive and Fannie. The mother of tliese 
 children departed this life Ajiril 5, 1866, and lies 
 buried in Momence Cemetery. Mr. Snow was 
 again married, August 3, 1867, Mrs. Rachel A. 
 Otis, a daughter of Jacob and Maria (Grirtin) 
 Sipes, becoming his wife. Mrs. Snow was born in 
 St. Lawrence County, in the town of Lewisville, 
 N. Y., April 16, 1826. 
 
 Mr. Snow was an old-line Whig, then a Repub- 
 lican until 1880 and since a Democrat. Mrs. 
 Snow is a consistent member of the Methodist 
 Church. It is an act of simple justice for the 
 present favored generation to give due credit to 
 those worth3', patient and persevering pioneers 
 who have so nobly paved the way for the success 
 and growing prosperit3' of this county, and among 
 these who have taken an active part we arc glad 
 to record tliis brief history of the life work of 
 William Snow. 
 
 if%,R. LEVI MATIIIEU has engaged in the 
 practice of liis profession in St. Anne 
 since 1883. He is a native of Kankakee 
 Countj', his birth having occurred in 
 Bourbonnais Grove, on the oth of November, 
 1850. His parents, Francis and Solemie (Lang- 
 lois) Matliieu. were both natives of Canada and of 
 French origin. The maternal grandfather of our 
 
 subject was a farmer in Canada and emigrated to 
 Illinois in 1848, locating upon a farm about four 
 miles from Kankakee, where he engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits until his death in 1857, at which 
 time he was about fifty-four years of age. Fran- 
 cis Mathieu was one of the pioneer settlers of this 
 county, to which he came in 1848, and where he 
 was soon after married. He was a farmer by occu- 
 pation in early life, but afterward learned the 
 shoemaker's trade, which calling he followed in 
 this county till the time of his death, which oc- 
 curred in 1877. His family consisted of nine sons 
 and four daugliters, ten of whom are 3'et living. 
 They are as follows: Levi, George, Edward, Will- 
 iam, Horace, Arthur, Victorine, Agnes, Delia and 
 Louisa. 
 
 The Doctor was reared to mature 3'ears in Bour- 
 bonnais Grove, and received his education at St. 
 Viateur's College. Upon the completion of his 
 studies in that institution, he entered the employ 
 of AVesle\- Bonfield in his drug store in Kankakee, 
 and remained with him for four years. He tiien 
 purchased the drug store of E. S. Cook, which he 
 carried on until 1876. Selling out, he then pur- 
 chased a drug store at St. Mary's, Iroquois 
 County, where, however, he only stayed some six 
 months. Returning to Kankakee, he entered into 
 partneisliip with Gieorge Letourneau, and was en- 
 gaged in the same business under the firm name of 
 Letourneau & Mathieu. At the expiration of a 
 year and a-half he removed to St. Anne and 
 clerked for X. Bastien for two 3-ears. 
 
 On the 7th of September, 1873, Dr. Mathieu and 
 Miss Zephyrine Brouillette were united in mar- 
 riage. The lady's parents, Landre and Emile 
 (Fortin) Brouillette, were of French descent and 
 natives of Canada. Five children were born to 
 our worthy subject and wife, a son and four 
 daughters: Nettie, Wesley, Belle, Hattie, and one 
 who died in infanc3'. 
 
 In the fall of 1881, Dr. Mathieu went to Chi- 
 cago and studied medicine in the College of Phy- 
 sicians and Surgeons, beinggraduated therefrom in 
 1883. Returning to St. Anne, he commenced the 
 practice of his profession and has succeeded ad- 
 mirably-. He is very popular, having always taken 
 an interest in the public improvements and prog-
 
 510 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ress of the town. Mrs. Matliieu holds member- 
 ship with tlie Presbyterian Chnrcii, and the Doctor 
 is a member of Maple Camp Is'o. 1321, M. W. A. 
 He served as Town Clerk for two years, proving 
 an acceptable officer. Politically he is a Demo- 
 crat. 
 
 Q/ 
 
 3 
 
 3i^^ 
 
 5)ILL1AM L. IIATTON, a retired farmer, 
 now makes his home in Grant Park. He 
 is one of the oldest native-born citizens 
 of this county, where he lias spent the greater por- 
 tion of his life. His birth occurred on the 20th of 
 February, 1845, in Yellowhead Township, and of 
 a family of three children lie was the youngest. 
 His parents were Leslie R. and Elizabeth (Sting- 
 ier) Hatton. The former was a native of Oliio, 
 where ho lived on a farm with liis parents until 
 arriving at man's estate. In an early day he emi- 
 grated to Fountain County, Ind., where he re- 
 mained until 1840, when he came to Yellowhead 
 Townsliip and settled upon a farm which he culti- 
 vated until his death, on the ;30tli of January, 
 1847. He was obliged to goto Chicago to^'niarket, 
 and on one of these trips was nearly frozen, this 
 being the immediate cause of his death. He was 
 of English descent. His wife was also born in 
 Ohio and was of German extraction. She de- 
 parted this life in Kankakee County, May 24, 
 
 1852. 
 
 When only about seven years of age our subject 
 was left an orphan and went to live with some 
 relatives. On reaching his majority, he inherited 
 eighty acres of his father's farm. On the lOtli of 
 February, 1874, Mr. Hatton was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Flora Kile, who was also born in 
 Yellowhead Township, on the 25th of November. 
 1854. Her parents. Reason C. and Jane (Hayden) 
 Kile, are old settlers of this county and are still 
 living in Yellowhead Township. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hatton were born two children, a son, Willie, who 
 died in infancy, and Alma, who was born on the 
 9th of February, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Hatton, responding to the call of his coun- 
 try, donned the blue and became a member of 
 
 Company' H, Seven t^'-sixth Illinois Infantry, Au- 
 gust 12, 1862, being the date of his enli-itment.] 
 He participated in the following battles and en- 
 gagements: tlie siege and surrender of VicksburgJ 
 which occurred on the 4tli of July, 1863; the siegel 
 of Jackson, Miss., in July of the same year; tliej 
 skirmish at Champion Mills, in I-'ebruary, 1864;l 
 Benton, Miss., in May, 1864; and in the eng.age-j 
 ment at .Tackson Cross Roads, July 7, 1861, he re- 
 ceived a gunshot wound in the right hand and] 
 was sent to the City lIos[)ital at Yicksbiirg, where j 
 he remained for about a month. He afterward] 
 took part in the siege and assault of Ft. I'lakely,! 
 April 9, 1865. That evening after they had cap-j 
 tured the fort the army received word that Gen. 
 Lee had surrendeied. JMr. Hatton was discharged] 
 from the service July 22, 1865, and arrived at his] 
 home on the 6th of August, having served liisj 
 country faithfully for nearly three j'cars. 
 
 For twenty-four years our subject engaged in 
 farming in Yellowhead Township and is still the ^ 
 owner of one of the best improved farms of the| 
 county, consisting of three hundred and twenty 
 acres, six miles east of Grant Park, in Yellowhead, 
 Township. He also 0rt"nsa beautiful home in that] 
 place. For the past three j'cars he has been As- 
 sessor of his township. In his political views, Mr. 
 Hatton affiliates with the Democratic party. Asj 
 one of the early pioneers and representative citi-| 
 zens, he has won the respect and esteem of all and , 
 well deserves a place in this volume. 
 
 4^ 
 
 (i^^HOMAS STROUD is a well-known farmer i 
 
 'ifes. residing on section 24, Salina Township., 
 'Ii,(gj)i)> = . , 
 
 ^^f^f- Throughout the community he is recognized 1 
 
 as a leading and influential citizen, and as such we ' 
 take pleasure in presenting to our readers this 
 record of his life. He was born in South Newing- 
 ton, England, March 4, 1836, and is a son of Will- 
 iam and 'Ma.vy (Gunn) Stroud. His father and 
 grandfather were both large horse dealers of Eng- 
 land. The former, in 1847, left his native land, 
 and in a sailing-vessel crossed the broad Atlantic,
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ■.1 1 
 
 landing in New York City jusl five weeks from the 
 time he had left England. Making his wa\' to 
 Toronto, Canada, he purchased a farm in tiiat lo- 
 cality, but later removed to Black Rock, N. Y., 
 where he spent the succeeding year. In the spring- 
 he went to Cambria Centre, where he purchased a 
 farm, and there resided until 1859, when he sold 
 out and rented a large farm near Lockport, N. Y. 
 After operating that place for three years, he made 
 his way Westward, and for about ten years was 
 engaged in farming near Valparaiso, Ind. In 
 iy(jy, he removed to Dallas Centre, Iowa, where he 
 engaged in farming for about ten years, when lie 
 became a resident of Scranton, Greene County, 
 where he purchased a farm. Both are now eightj-- 
 three years of age, but they are still enjoying good 
 health, and are j^et well preserved. 
 
 Mr. and IMrs. Stroud had a family of nine chil- 
 dren: Catherine, who became the wife of Richard 
 Hall, and died in 1851; Thomas, of this sketch; 
 John, a farmer of South Dakota; Lottie, Mrs. 
 Scoll, of \'alparaiso, Ind.; Alary Ann, widow of 
 \Villiara I). Guthrie, and a resident of Chicago; 
 AVilliam, who follows farming in Greene County, 
 Iowa; Jane, wife of Charles Ellernian, a well- 
 to-do faiiner of Dallas, Iowa; and Lucy, wife of 
 Kicliard (iunn, of Peoria, III. 
 
 Thomas Stroud, whose name heads this record, 
 was in his eleventh year when his parents emi- 
 grated to Canada. By his father he was placed in 
 a grocery store in Toronto, where he remained for 
 about three years. He then went to the Empire 
 State, and at the age of twenty-two he came West 
 by way of the Lakes, landing in Chicago. This 
 was in 1858. He began working on a farm at 
 *1G per month, being thus employed for about half 
 a year, after which he joined his parents in In- 
 diana. For two years he remained in that State, 
 but (m the 7th of August, 1802, he left his' home 
 to enter the service of his country. 
 
 Mr. Stroud enlisted as a private in Company 1, 
 Seventy-third Indiana Infantry, and was mustered 
 into service at South Bend. His regiment was 
 sent to Louisville, Ky., and wentSoulh underGen. 
 Rosecrans, and was in a number of skirmishes. 
 The first active engagement in which he jiarlici- 
 pated was at Stone Uiver. He was disabled in 
 
 fording that river on the 1st of January." 186.3. 
 He had to cross four times, and as this was in the 
 middle of winter, when the river was full of ice, 
 he caught a severe cold, and was taken with rheu- 
 matism so that he w.as unfitted for further field 
 duty. He was then sent to Hospital No. 1, in 
 Murfreesboro, where he remained for about thiee 
 months. Soon afterward he was transferred to the 
 Veteran Reserve Cori)s for garrison duty, where 
 he served until August, 1865. During that time 
 he was made Sergeant. AVhcn the war was over, 
 and the country no longer needed his services, he 
 returned to his home. 
 
 While home on a furlough, in December, 1863, 
 ■our subject was united in marriage with Miss Jane 
 P., daughter of Abiel and Eliza D. Garrish. When 
 the war was over he went to West Creek, Ind., and 
 operated the farm belonging to his fathor-in-law 
 for two years. The year 1868 witnessed his ar- 
 rival in Kankakee Count3-. Purchasing one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres of land on section 24, Salina 
 Township, he began the improvement of the farm 
 where he has since lived. With the exception of 
 the orchard he has placed upon his farm most of its 
 im))rovenients. The land is now under a hiii;h 
 state of cultivation, and good buildings and all 
 the accessories of a model farm indicate the prac- 
 tical and progressive spirit of the owner, and stand 
 as monuments to his thrift and euter[)risc. 
 
 By the union of Mr. and Airs. Stroud have been 
 born five children, as follows: Mary E., a success- . 
 ful teacher, now employed in the public schools of 
 St. Anne, III.; Frederick 11., a school teacher of 
 this county; Anna B., a student in the seminary 
 of Onarga, III.; lOdwin G. and Esther O. The 
 Stroud household is the abode of hospitality, and 
 its members rank high in social circles. .Since be- 
 coming a voter, Mr. Stroud has been identified 
 with the Republican i)art3', and is one of the 
 stanch and stalwart advocates of its principles. 
 Socially, he is a member of the Grand Army of 
 the Republic, and he also holds niembersliip with 
 the Methodist Church. Our subject is a man of 
 good business ability, sagacious and far-sighted, 
 and through his own well-directed efforts has won 
 prosperity. The obstacles in his path he has over- 
 come by good management, and bj' his enterprise
 
 512 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he has steadily worked his way upward. He is 
 alike true to his country in times of peace, as well 
 as in times of war, and Kankakee County numbers 
 him among its valued citizens. 
 
 ENRY KRAMER, who is engaged in general 
 ^' merchandising in Grant Park, is an exam- 
 ple of America's self-made men. He came 
 to this country a poor bo}', without a dol- 
 lar and with no knowledge of the language, and 
 has steadily and persevering!}' overcome all obsta- 
 cles in his pathway until he has acquired a fortune. 
 He is the eldest child in a family of four children, 
 two sons and two daughters, and was born on the 
 15th of March, 1850. German}' is the land of his 
 birth, and his parents, Hans Detlef and Dorathea 
 (Blohm) Kramer, still make their home in the Fa- 
 therland. 
 
 When only ten jears of age Henr}' Kramer em- 
 barked on one of his father's ships as a sailor and 
 sailed between inland ports for nine years. At 
 that time, then nineteen years of age, he emigrated 
 to America and landed in the village of Sherburn- 
 vilte, Kankakee County, on the 1st of May, 1869. 
 His first emp!03'ment was in a brickyard, where he 
 was a faithful worker for about half a year. For 
 the following five j'ears he engaged upon' a farm 
 and during that time obtained a fair knowledge 
 of the English language. He returned in the 
 fall of the j-ear 1875 to his native country on 
 a visit, but remained there only a short time. 
 Returning to Illinois, he again worked by the 
 month for two yeais, carefully husbanding his in- 
 come. On the 6th of April, 1877, he built a small 
 store in Sherburnville Grove, on the Momence 
 road, and there engaged in the mercantile business 
 until 1880. He then sold out his stock and again 
 visited his native land. 
 
 On the 11th of September, 1880, Mr. Kramer 
 wedded Miss Heilewig Kruse, who was born in 
 Germany January 23, 1855. They were married 
 in Chicago by the Rev. Mr. Hartmann. Three chil- 
 
 dren were born of their union: Hans Detlef, C'laus 
 J. and Frederick Wilhelm. The mother of these 
 children departed this life on the 4th of July, 
 1888. Mr. Kramer was again married, on the 27tli 
 of January, 1889, at which time Miss Margaretha 
 Naeve became his bride. The lady was born in 
 Germany on the 29lh of April, 1868, and by her 
 marriage has become the mother of two children, 
 a son and daughter, John Hinrich Albert and 
 Anna Dorathea Caroline. 
 
 On his return from German}' in 1880, Mr. Kra- 
 mer again purchased the Sherburnville store,where 
 he engaged in business. For about a year he was 
 Postmaster of the village. In 1882, removing to 
 Grant Park, he purchased the store which he now 
 occupies and where he has since carried on a suc- 
 cessful and ijicreasing business. He also still owns 
 and operates a store at Sherburnville, and is the 
 owner of three hundred acres of land. 
 
 For four years, Mr. Kramer has served as Police 
 Magistrate in Grant Park, and in regard to pol- 
 litics is a stalwart Republican. He and his family 
 are members of the German Lutheran Church. 
 His educational privileges in his early years were 
 those of the common schools, but by wide readinir 
 he has become very well educated and is well in- 
 formed. He is a great reader and owns one of the 
 largest private libraries in the town. 
 
 
 REDERICK HORNBERGER, who is en- 
 gaged in general farming on section 8, 
 Pilot Township, was born in Dearborn 
 County, Ind., November 8, 1847, and is the sixth 
 in order of birth in a family of nine children. He 
 is of German descent, his parents, John and Mary 
 E. (Bonet) Hornbeiger, both being natives of the 
 Fatherland. They were married in that country, 
 and in the spring of 1847 sailed for the New 
 World. The voyage across the briny deep con- 
 sumed sixty days, but at length they reached their 
 destination in safety. They made their first loca- 
 tion in Cincinnati, Ohio, but after two months 
 spent in that city removed to Indiana. The fa-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 513 
 
 thei- puiT-hased land in Dearborn County and was 
 there engaged in farming for eighteen j^ears. He 
 then sold out and c.iine to Kankakee County, 
 where he purchased a tract of one hundred and 
 sixty acres of improved land, the same upon vvliich 
 our subject now resides. Prosperity attended his in- 
 dustrious and well-directed efforts, and as his finan- 
 cial resources increased ho added to his original 
 purchase, extending the boundaries of his farm 
 until it comprised two hundred and eight}' acres. 
 He made many excellent improvements upon it, 
 erected good buildings and, in fact, added all the 
 accessories of a model farm of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury. He died at his home, in December, 1872, 
 and in his death the communit}- lost a good citizen. 
 Ilis wife survived him a number of 3'ears and 
 passcd'away in Dwiglit. III., in August, 1889. 
 
 Of the Ilornberger family', John, the eldest, is 
 now residing in Vermillion, Edgar County, 111.; 
 Kate is the wife of .John Mabes, a resident of Knox 
 County, Ind.; Christian occupies a responsible po- 
 sition in Indianapolis; Barbara became the wife of 
 Louis Bower and died in Linn County, Iowa; 
 John G. is engaged in farming in Grundy County, 
 111.; JIarv resides with her sister, Mrs. Christina 
 Hoffman, of Grundy County; and Michael W. is a 
 merchant of Blue Hill, Neb. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject, who remained in the county of his nativ- 
 ity until eighteen years of age. During that time 
 he acquired a good practical education in the pub- 
 lic schools. He accompanied his parents on their 
 removal to Kankakee County, and remained with 
 his father until his death. On the 23d of August, 
 1873, he married Miss Mary Miller, a native of 
 Niles, III., and a daughter of Frederick and Eliza- 
 beth Miller. Her father is now deceased, but her 
 mother is living in Kankakee County. Six chil- 
 dren grace the union of our subject and his wife, 
 and the family circle still remains unbroken. In 
 order of birth the\- are as follows: John F., George 
 AV., Ida, Thomas, Ella and Eva. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Ilornberger located upon 
 a part of the home farm. Later he purchased his 
 mother's interest in the estate and subsequently 
 bought out the other heirs, so that he is now the 
 sole owner of the old homestead. He has the greater 
 
 part of the place well tilled and under a high state 
 of cultivation, so that it is now a valuable farm. 
 It is conveniently located three and .a-half miles 
 north of Ilerscher and about midway between 
 Union Hill and Goodrich. 
 
 Mr. Ilornberger since casting his first Presiden- 
 tial vote for Gen. Grant in 1872 has been a sup- 
 porter of the Republican jiarty. As every true 
 American citizen should do, he takes an active in- 
 terest in political affairs, but has never been an 
 aspirant for office. In the interests of the cause of 
 education he has labored faithfully. For about 
 ten years he served as a member of the School 
 Board and his influence was ever used in securins 
 competent teachers and good schools. Any inter- 
 est calculated toimi)roveor benefit the community 
 receives his hearty endorsement, and wherever he 
 is known he is recognized as a valuable citizen. 
 Himself and wife are members of the Evangelical 
 Church and are highly respected people. 
 
 
 .- <-^\^ 
 
 
 ^^EORGE M. WALTER, who carries on a gen- 
 ii '^w? ^'^^ merchandise establishment in Bonfield, 
 ^^^ is one of the pioneer settlers of this county 
 and well deserves mention in its history. His life 
 record is as follows: He was born in Baden, Ger- 
 many, December 23, 1839, and is the eldest in a 
 family of five children, four sons and a daughter, 
 whose iiareuts were John George and Catherine 
 (Grob) Walter. The father was born in Baden, 
 where his ancestors had lived for several genera- 
 tions. He took up farming for his life work and 
 carried on that pursuit in his native land until 
 1853, when he crossed the broad Atlantic to the 
 United States. Making his first location in Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio, he there began work in a soap factory, 
 where he was employed for about five years. 
 On the expiration of that period he removed to 
 Henry County, Ind., and entered a farm, upon 
 which he remained until 1861. In that year he 
 came to Kankakee County, III., and took up his 
 residence upon a farm in Salina Township. There 
 the succeeding four years of his life were passed,
 
 514 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 aflei- which he purchased another farm in the same 
 townsliip. He is still living, at the advanced age 
 of four-score years, and now makes his home in 
 Chatsworth. The mother of our suliject was also 
 a native of Baden and died in that country. 
 
 George Walter of this sketch was only about 
 thirteen years of age when he came to the United 
 States with his father. In the common schools he 
 acquired a good education and until he had 
 attained his majority he remained under the 
 parental roof. At the age of twenty-one, however, 
 he left home to make his own way in the world. 
 He began life as a farm hand, working by the 
 month for about four years. On the 4th of 
 November, 1861, his plans of life were changed. 
 At that date he entered the service of his adopted 
 country as a member of Company G, Fift}'- 
 seventh Illinois Infantry, in which lie served for 
 tiiree years. He then veteranized and remained in 
 the service until the close of the war. He received 
 a slight gunshot wound in the left leg at the battle 
 of Corinth, but otherwise escaped uninjured. He 
 proved himself a faithful soldier, always true to 
 the call of duty, and at the close of the war he 
 received an honorable discharge. 
 
 When his services were no longer needed, Mr. 
 Walter returned to this county, purchased a farm 
 in Salina Township and began its improvement. 
 Not long afterwards he was married, the lady of 
 his choice being Miss ITrsula Erzinger. Their 
 union was celebrated on the 14th of October, 
 1866, and has been blessed with a family of six 
 children, two sons and four daughters, as follows: 
 Ida E., Annie Catherina, Frederick G., Katie, 
 Henry and Ellen. Ida is now the wife of Bert 
 Chester, a telegraph operator in South Dakota. 
 Annie C. is the wife of Frank A. Chester, who is 
 engaged in the hardware business in Bon field. 
 
 Mr. Walter carried on his farming operations 
 successfully until 1883, when he determined to 
 give his attention to some other pursuit and re- 
 moved to Bon field. Here he opened a general 
 store and has since engaged in merchandising. 
 He carries a complete line of goods and has a good 
 trade, which has constantly increased from the 
 beginning. In addition to this, he aLso owns 
 eighty acres of land in Salina Township, together 
 
 1 
 
 with his store building. As his possessions have 
 been acquired entirely' through his own efforts, he 
 may truly be called a self-made man. He has 
 labored earnestly to gain a competence and his 
 prosperity is certainly well deserved. His career 
 has been an upright and honorable one and is such 
 as to have won him high esteem. His word is as 
 good as his bond. In his i)olitical atfiliations, Mr. 
 Walter is a stanch Republican. He has filled the 
 office of Town Clerk for about sixteen years and 
 has served as School Director for about twenty 
 years. For six years he held the office of Post- 
 master in the Bonfield Postofflce. In the dis- 
 charge of his public duties he has ever been prompt 
 and faithful and his public and private life are 
 alike above reproach. He and his family are 
 members of the Methodist Church. 
 
 'JIJONATHAN TURNER, deceased, came to 
 Kankakee County in 1857, and was among 
 the early settlers of this section. He owned 
 and operated a farm, which was located in 
 Gaiiier Township. His birth occurred in Monroe 
 County, of the Empire State, on the 29th of May, 
 1822. He was a son of John and Nancj' (Fitzger- 
 ald) Turner, and was the second in order of birth 
 in a family of fifteen children. 
 
 Our subject was reared upon a farm, and early 
 determined to become an agriculturist. He re- 
 ceived a common-school education in the distriit 
 schools of the neighborhood, and was largely self- 
 educated in after life. On the 4tli of July, 1844, 
 he was united in marriage with Miss Betsy Dii- 
 nuin, who was a daughter of Cornelius and Han- 
 nah (Sharks) Dumun. The fall after his marri.age, 
 Mr. Turner moved to Jonesvilie, Mich., niakinu 
 the trip by way of the Lakes. Upon his arrival 
 in that State he found that his resources consisted 
 of 115 in money, and in order to gain a livelihooil 
 he was obliged to do whatever came to hand tc 
 win s.n honest dollar. He began by splitting rail- 
 at fifty cents per day, and his industry, persever- 
 ance and frugalit}' are shown by the fact that in f
 
 UBHAHY 
 
 Of THE 
 
 ^^mmy OF ,LLi.TOiS
 

 
 MARY AM?. GREW
 
 LIBRARY 
 OF THE 
 
 rumtnoilY OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 519 
 
 short time he was enabled to buy forty acres of 
 land, even tliougli at that early daj' the price of 
 land was only nominal on the frontier. With 
 characteristic energy- he proceeded to clear and 
 improve his i)ropert3-, and devoted himself to its 
 cultivation until 1857, which year witnessed his 
 arrival in Kankakee County. He decided to rent 
 land for a time until he had made up his mind 
 wliere to invest his money, and accordingly for 
 tiiree years he rented a farm, after which he pur- 
 chased one hundred acres of land in Ganier 
 Township. This was unimproved and wild prairie 
 land, and he cultivated and improved it with 
 indefatigable energy until called from this life on 
 the 28th of August, 1890. His remains are in- 
 terred in the Kankakee Cemetery. 
 
 In politics Mr. Turner was a Republican, and 
 took an active interest in educational matters, being 
 n School Director for several terms. Considering 
 the hardships of those early days which had to be 
 overcome by the pioneer, Mr. Turner was quite 
 successful in a business waj', and what property 
 he possessed was the result of years of hard labor 
 and well-directed efforts. He was a mau of integ- 
 rity, and won the respect of all by his many excel- 
 lent qualities and unassuming worth. Mrs. Turner 
 Still resides in Ganier Township, having made this 
 county her home for thirt3--fivc years. 
 
 '•^^E 
 
 =^ 
 
 WIAMES McGREW. The history of Kanka- 
 kee County would be incomplete without 
 tlie life record of our subject, who has been 
 for nearlj' forty years a resident of this 
 county and has been very instrumental in its 
 growth and progress. The citj' of Kankakee par- 
 ticularly owes to him a debt of gratitude, for be 
 has been prominently connected with its achieve- 
 ments for many years and is justly- entitled to a 
 hirge share of praise for its present thriving con- 
 dition. 
 
 Mr. McGrew is a native of the Buckeye State, 
 his birtii h.iving occurred near Dayton on the 5th 
 of May, 1820. He is a son of .lohn and Elizabeth 
 24 
 
 (Blackford) McGrew. The father was a native of 
 York County, Pa., and was born in 1766. He was 
 of Scotch-Irish origin, some of his ancestors hav- 
 ing resided in County Tyrone, Ireland. They 
 emigrated to Adams Couiit\', Pa., in 1726. John 
 McGrew was married in Westmoreland County, 
 that State, in 1788, but the same year removed to 
 Kentucky. Two years later he enlisted in Har- 
 mer's campaign against the Indians of the Mau- 
 niee and was with the army at Harmer's defeat at 
 Ft. Wayne. He then went to Cincinnati, in the 
 fall of 1790, and was discharged from the service. 
 His father was a great horse-dealer of that day 
 and was engaged in the breeding of fine stock. 
 
 The mother of our subject was of Welsh descent, 
 with perhaps a mixture of Scotch. Her ancestors 
 emigrated in 1717 to America and settled in New 
 Jersey. Her father and the father of Chief Justice 
 John McLean were first cousins and the two fami- 
 lies emigrated from New Jersey to Kentucky in 
 1790. Later both families removed to Warren 
 County, Ohio, and settled upon farms near Ridge- 
 ville, four or five miles to the north of Lebanon, 
 
 John McGrew was twice married, his first wife 
 being Miss Mary Thompson, by whom he had 
 seven sons and three daughters: William, Samuel 
 T., Archibald, Milton, John, James, Bracken, 
 Mary, INIargaret and Rebecca. His second wife, 
 who was the mother of our subject, was the widow 
 of Elijah Stebbins, by whom she had five children: 
 Mary, Phoebe, Jeremiah, Levi and Elijah. Three 
 children were born of the second union: Eliza- 
 beth, James and Esther. Two sons of Mr. Mc- 
 Grew by his first wife married two daughters of 
 his second wife by her former marriage. Of Mr. 
 McGrew's children only two are now living, James 
 and Esther. The father lived for many years in 
 Montgomery County, Ohio, five miles south of 
 Dayton, and there his death occurred in 1848. 
 The. mother of our subject survived her husband 
 for several years and departed tiiis life in Kanka- 
 kee, III., in 1859. 
 
 The boyhood daj-s of James McGrew were 
 passed in the count3' of his bath upon his father's 
 farm. He received a district-school education and 
 upon arriving at his majority was united in mar- 
 riage with Maiy A. Biukley, the ceremony being
 
 520 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 performed on the 31st of August, 1841. Iler pa- 
 rents, Samuel and Catherine (Boehm) Binkley, 
 were natives of Lancaster County, Pa. Ten 
 children blessed the union of our subject and 
 his estimable wife, seven of whom are still living, 
 the others having died in infancy. Harriet M. 
 became the wife of Samuel C. Kenaga and they 
 now make their home in Chicago, where Mr. Ken- 
 .aga is engaged .as foreman in one of the jMcCor- 
 mick reaper shops. They have had eight children, 
 five of whom are living: George, Herman, Benja- 
 min, Samuel and Harriet. Catherine E. married 
 Ni S. Hathaw.ay, a commercial traveler. They 
 h.ave one child, William, and they also make their 
 home in Chicago. "William H., a draftsman and 
 architect, makes his home in Missouri. .James B. 
 married Miss Ada Stewart, and to them have been 
 born two children, Ethel .and William. They re- 
 side in Kankakee. Charles E. is married and lives 
 at Farmer City, 111. He has two children, Arthur 
 and Pearl. .John F. married Miss Emma Eislerand 
 is a flour, feed and coal merchant of Kankakee. 
 Samuel H. resides in Kankakee, is married and 
 has a daughter, Lois. .James and Samuel are in 
 the flouring-mill business. 
 
 From the time of his marriage until 1856, Mr. 
 McGrew lived upon a farm near Da3-ton, Ohio, and 
 followed .agricultural pursuits exclusively. While 
 thus emplo3'ed he received a medal from the State 
 of Ohio for having grown the best osage orange 
 hedge. The spring of 1856 witnessed his arrival 
 in Kankakee, which has since been his home con- 
 tinuously. He first engaged in growing, selling 
 and planting osage orange trees for hedge pur- 
 poses after his arrival, but followed that occupa- 
 tion for only a short time. He then turned his 
 attention to the raising of broom-corn, which vo- 
 cation he followed for about twelve j^ears, some 
 seasons having as high as three hundred acres 
 planted with that 'crop. In 1865, he purchased a 
 half-interest in the water power of the mill prop- 
 erty in Kankakee and subsequently became the 
 sole proprietor. This right he still owns but has 
 rented his mill to his sons, James and Samuel,who 
 do business under the firm name of McGrew Bros. 
 The mill has a cap.acily of one hundred barrels of 
 flour per day, Our subject also owns the milldam 
 
 and furnishes both power and ground for the pa- 
 per mill, two foundries, a machine shop, bl.ack- 
 smith shop and wire works, as well as power for 
 the oil mill. In 1808 lie was elected President of 
 the Kankakee and Illinois River Railroad Com- 
 pany, afterward named the Plymouth, Kankakee & 
 Pacific. For this railroad, which is now called the 
 Indiana, Illinois & Iowa, Mr. McGrew raised be- 
 tween ^700,000 and $800,000 of local voted aid, 
 witli which he had surveys made, right of way ob- 
 tained, and much of the grading done. Wlien 
 the panic of 1873 came on the work was aban- 
 doned, but about ten or fifteen years later the 
 work of continuing the line w.as resumed and 
 since that time the railroad has become an import- 
 ant .and well-paying one. 
 
 Since coming to this county Mr. McGrew has 
 been actively engaged in the advancement of its 
 interests, and that his fellow-citizens have recog- 
 nized the fact has been shown many times by the 
 part the}' have taken in electing him to office. 
 About the year 1870 he was Mayor of Kankakee, 
 and w.as Chairman of the building committee 
 which carried forward the work of erecting the 
 Central Public School building. He was also 
 elected County Treasurer and served for four 
 years during the war, when it was a dillicult mat- 
 ter to keep posted .as to the value of wildcat 
 money. For a number of years he was .active in 
 the promotion of the Kankakee County Agricul- 
 tural Society. 
 
 For over fifty years Mr. and Mrs. McGrew have 
 held membership with the IMethodist Episcopal 
 Church, of which our subject for j^ears was a 
 Steward, and in which he is at present serving as 
 a Trustee. He was on the building committee 
 which had in ch.arge the erection of a large stone 
 building known as the Grace Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and his family' have alw.ays been active 
 workers in church- circles. Mr. McGrew is a Ma- 
 son in good standing, being a charter member of 
 Kankakee Chapter No. 78, R. A. M. He h.as voted 
 the Prohibition ticket since 1882, but for twenty- 
 six years was afHliated with the Republican party. 
 Previous to its organization he w.as a Whig, like 
 his father before him, who voted for .lames (i. 
 Birney and was greatly opposed to slavery. Mr.
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 521 
 
 McGrew owns a beautiful home on the corner of 
 
 Couil Street :in(l Chicago Avenue, lie is also 
 tlic owner of a few residence lots in the city. Al- 
 Ihougli seventy-two years of age lie is well pre- 
 served and bids fair to live for many years. Ilis 
 height is six feet, his step is elastic for one of his 
 years, and Ins mind is clear and active. We feel 
 assured that his many friends in this h)cality will 
 read with mucli interest tliis tril)ute to one wiio 
 lias borne so iiiniortant a part in the liistory of the 
 county. 
 
 -f- 
 
 -^^ 
 
 -?- 
 
 W^ILLIAM JERP:MIAH DIXON, who runs a 
 bakery, restaurant and grocery in Momence, 
 is a native of the Buckeye State, having 
 been born in Cleveland on the Tlli of November, 
 1849. His father, Jeremiah Dixon, was a native 
 of England and of English ijarentage. He has 
 been a ship carpenter by trade during almost his 
 entire life. In 1882 lie removed to Braidwood, 
 111., where lie lias lived until the present time. In 
 1862 he went from Erie County, Pa., to Wilming- 
 ton, 111., which was his home for the succeeding 
 tweiit\- years. He is now sevent3--six years of age, 
 and has retired from the active cares of life. 
 When a young man he married Jane Miles, a lady 
 of Pennsylvania birth and of Scotch-Irish parent- 
 age. Her father was an agriculturist and a val- 
 iant soldier in the War of 1812. While taking 
 part in a battle on Lake Erie, under Commodore 
 Perry, he lost an arm, which injury resulted in his 
 death, at which time he was about sixty-five years 
 of age. Mis. Dixon, now about seventy years of 
 age, resides in Braidwood, and both she and her 
 husband are members of the Methodist Church. 
 Their family consisted of three sons and nine 
 daughters, six of whom are now living: Mary A., 
 Jeremiah, Maggie, Carrie, John and Jennie. 
 
 The bo3hood and youth of our subject were 
 principally spent in town, but for some years he 
 lived upon a farm in Pennsylvania. He received 
 a good education in the comnum schools of Wil- 
 mington, 111., and afterward learned llie trade of 
 baker, following that vocation for twenty-three 
 
 years. In 1880 Mr. Dixon came to Momence, and 
 
 for nearly a year was in the (employ of William 
 Mur|)liy, baker, after whicli our suliject opened a 
 bakery of his own, which business lie lias con- 
 tinued ever since. He began in a very humble 
 way, but by industry and economy has accumu- 
 lated a nice property, iiis present location being in 
 a fine brick business block, which he erected in 
 1886. In connection with his bakery he also car- 
 ries confectionery, and rims a restaurant and ice 
 cream parlors. 
 
 On the 6tli of April, 1881, Mr. Dixon was united 
 in marriage with Miss Jane L. Stevenson, a daugh- 
 ter of George and Rebecca (Law) Stevenson, of 
 Chicago, who were natives of Fishkill, N. Y. Mr. 
 Dixon is interested in secret societies, holding 
 membership with Momence Lodge No. 771, I. O. 
 O. F., and also being a meml)er of Momence Cam]) 
 No. 1.539, M. W. A. Politically, he is a Republi- 
 can, and casts his ballot in favor of the principles 
 and nominees of that party. Mr. Dixon is truly 
 a self-made man, having had to make his own for- 
 tune in life, and as he has met with a good meas- 
 ure of success in his undertakings, he may well 
 feel proud of his achievements. 
 
 y 
 
 ^.^^l^f. 
 
 ^ j^ILLIAM BRACKEN was born on the 1st 
 of October, 1823, and died at Iiis home in 
 this county on the 22d of June, 1882. 
 For a number of years he was a prominent and 
 well-known farmer of Limestone Township. A 
 native of Delaware, he was born in AVilmington. 
 The Bracken family is of English origin, but we 
 have no authentic history in regard to its estab- 
 ment in this country'. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth in the neighborhood of his birth, no event 
 of special importance occurring to vary the rou- 
 tine of farm life. During his sta^- in his native 
 State he followed agricultural pursuits, but at 
 length he determined to seek a fortune and home 
 in the West, where lands were cheaper and where 
 better advantages seemed to be afforded young
 
 522 
 
 PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 men than in the older and more thickly settled 
 States of the East. In consequence he started to- 
 ward the setting sun. 
 
 On the Isl of October, 1856, Mr. Bracken was 
 united in marriage with Miss Harrietta Rietz. 
 The lady is a native of Germany, and was born 
 November 12, 18.S3. The first fourteen years of 
 her life were spent in the Fatherland, after which 
 her parents determined to emigrate to America, 
 and with them she crossed the broad Atlantic to 
 the United States. They made their first location 
 in Milwaukee, where they spent a period of eigiit 
 years, and then removed to this State, taking up 
 their residence in Chicago, where the union of 
 our subject and his wife was celebrated. 
 
 On his removal to the West, Mr. Bracken took 
 up his residence in Milwaukee, Wis., and he found 
 that the hope of achieving a fortune was not in 
 vain, for it was not long before he became quite 
 prosperous. He was a butcher bj' trade, and at 
 one time he operated one of the largest meat mar- 
 kets in Watertown. In that line of business he 
 met success and accumulated quite a fortune, but 
 riches take to themselves wings, and through 
 the failure of the banks at that place he lost much 
 that he had made. The j'ear 1864 witnessed 
 the arrival of our subject in Kankakee County, 
 where he followed his trade for three years in 
 Kankakee Cit^'. 
 
 Mr. Bracken was a consistent Christian gentle- 
 man, and his honorable, upright life is well worthy 
 of emulation. His many excellencies of character 
 won him high regard, and his sterling worth gained 
 for him the respect of all with whom he came in 
 contact. In his political views, he was a Republican. 
 After eighteen years spent as a farmer in this 
 county, he departed this life on the 2.3d of June, 
 1882. 
 
 The family of Mr. and Mrs. Bracken numbered 
 eight children, five sons and three daughters, of 
 whom six are yet living. Julia, the second child, 
 was born October 8, 1859, and died in infancy; 
 Amelia, the next younger, was born August 4, 
 1861, and also died in infancy. Those who still 
 survive are: Charles, the eldest, who was born 
 July 20, 1857, is married and formerly resided near 
 Worthington, Minn., where Ue carried on agricul- 
 
 tural pursuits, but is now of Warren County, Minn.; 
 Frank, a prosperous farmer of Limestone Town- 
 ship, born on the 8th of August, 1863; Edward, 
 September 22, 1865; George, October 20, 1867; 
 Alex, September 19, 1869; and Ida, who completes 
 tiie family, and was born on the 13th of December, 
 1871. All of the living children are .still single 
 except Charles, and reside with their mother on 
 the old home farm, which is ably operated and man- 
 aged by Frank and his brothers, Edward, George 
 and Alex, wide-awake and enterprising young 
 business men. The family now owns a ver^' pleas- 
 ant countr}' home, about five miles from the cit}^ 
 of Kankakee. The Bracken household is the abode 
 of hospitality, and its members rank high in social 
 circles, where true worth and intelligence are re- 
 ceived as the passports into good society. 
 
 RA Z. CONGDON, who owns a grocery and 
 runs a boarding-house in Momence, is a native 
 
 \ of Connecticut. He was born in Waterford, 
 New London County, on September 16, 1829, 
 and is the only son of Amasa and Cynthia (Chap- 
 man) Congdon, botli also natives of the Nutmeg 
 State. The daughter, Ann, died when three years 
 of age. Amasa Congdon was a sailor upon the 
 high seas for forty-two years. About the yeav 
 1870 he came to Illinois to live with his son at 
 Onarga. His death occurred two years later, at 
 the age of sixty-five. He was twice married. Our 
 subject's mother died when twenty-five years of 
 age. After living a single life for twent\'-seven 
 years, Mr. Congdon married again in New Lon- 
 don Count}', his second wife being Mrs. Bedine, a 
 widow. 
 
 Ira Congdon was reared on a farm, and received 
 his education in the district schools of his native 
 county. Wlien a 3'oung man he engaged in fann- 
 ing. In 1856, coming to Illinois, he located in 
 Ford County, in the portion then known as the 
 Panhandle, now a part of Vermilion County, and 
 there lived for five years. He afterwards removed
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 623 
 
 to Onarga, wlicrc he made his home for the follow- 
 ing sixteen years. In 1877 he took charge of 
 five thousand acres of land belonging to George 
 Dnnforth, and which is located in St. Anne Town- 
 ship, Kankakee County, and tliat property he op- 
 erated for eleven years. He afterwards lived in 
 Blue Island for a year, and in 1889 came to ilo- 
 mence, where he opened a grocery and boarding- 
 house. 
 
 On the l.')tli of February, 1852, was celebrated 
 the marriage of Mr. Congdon and Miss Matilda 
 Emerson, of Lyme, New London County, Conn., of 
 wliich State both she and her parents, Elisha and 
 Mary (Chandler) Emerson, were natives. Seven 
 children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Congdon, 
 three sons and four daugiitcrs: William A. .who died 
 when young; Ladara, who died at the age of seven 
 years; Lillie, who died at age of five years; Charles 
 A.; Eugenia, wife of George Singer, of Austin, 111., 
 where tiie^- carry on a large boarding-house; Mary;, 
 and Iru 15., who married Miss Amelia Homan, 
 daughter of Ilenr}- Ilonian, of Sollilt, this county. 
 
 Mr. Congdon is a supporter of the Democratic 
 part_v, and cast his first Presidential ballot in favor 
 of Franklin Pierce. He has been a resident of 
 this State for nearly forty years, and is well known 
 in this and neighboring counties. 
 
 \f ONATHAN P. STRATTON, who makes his 
 home on section 4, is one of the leading far- 
 mers and stock-raisers of this portion of tiie 
 country. His property comprises about elev- 
 en luindred acres of valuable land in this and 
 adjoining counties. He was born on tlie 24th of 
 October, 1824, in Paris, Edgar County, III., and 
 is the sixth in order of birth in a family' of ten 
 cliildren, five sons and five daughters, born to 
 .John and Dicea {Mayo) Stratton. The father 
 was born in Virginia, and was a farmer by occu- 
 pation. He removed to Kentucky with his par- 
 I ents when ipiite young, and there lived until 1816. 
 For two years succeeding, he w.as stationed at 
 Ft. Harrison, Ind., at tiiat time in charge of 
 
 William Henry Harrison, who was the comman- 
 der. The Indians were tiien on the war path, 
 and the settlers needed the fcrt as a refuge 
 and the soldiers as a |)rotection. Mr. Stratton was 
 of English descent, as was also his wife, tiie mother 
 of our subject. With her parents, she removed 
 from Virginia, where she was born, to Kentucky, 
 wlien about ten years of age. 
 
 Jonathan P. Stratton remained under the paren- 
 tal roof until arriving at man's estate. He re- 
 ceived but a limited common-school education, as 
 there were very few schools in this section of the 
 State during those early d.iys. His fatiier was the 
 first white settler in Edg.ar County, III., to which 
 he came in 1818. When a boy, in 1833, our sub- 
 ject drove cattle from Shawneetown, III., to De- 
 troit, Mich., a distance of about five hundred miles. 
 From Bunkum, in Iroquois County, to Chicago, 
 there was not a white settler, and the latter town 
 was but a village. In 181(i, leaving the parental 
 roof, Mr. Stratton came to Yellowhead Township, 
 and here purchased one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land from the Yellowhead Indian reservation, since 
 which time this county has alwa3's been his home. 
 
 On the 29th of October, 1844, Mr. Stratton was 
 united in marriage with Miss Memory' Seager, a 
 resident of Kankakee County. By their union three 
 children were born: Mary E., who died in infancy; 
 and Achsah D., who lives with her sister Emma, wife 
 of Frank Freeman, a prosperous farmer of Mo- 
 mence Township. Mrs. Stratton was called to her 
 final rest in 1870, and on Christmas Day of 1877 
 our subject was married to Miss Mary Daniels. 
 She is the daughter of Tliophifele and Adeline 
 (Breso) Daniels, who were honored early settlers 
 of this county. Two sons and a daughter have 
 been born to our subject and his worthy wife, as 
 follows: Ida B., Jonathan P. and Johnnie. 
 
 For several years Mr. Stratton was Postmaster 
 of Yellowhead Postolfice in thiscount3-, the duties 
 of which position he discharged satisfactorily. 
 Politically, he is a Republican, and interested in 
 the welfare of his county and State. He is truly 
 a self-made man, as he came to this locality when 
 a boy empty-handed, and it is owing entirely to 
 his qualities of industry and economy that he li.ns 
 accumulated his present fortune. As previously
 
 524 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 stated, he is an extensive land-owner, having in 
 his possession nearly eleven hundred acres of land. 
 He is also an extensive stock-breeder, making a 
 specialty of fine Hereford cattle. Though now 
 sixty-nine years of age, Mr. Stratton is hale and 
 hearty, and still keeps a wise supervision over his 
 many farms and large business interests. 
 
 ^ OSEPH CHEFFRE, a retired farmer who 
 makes his home in St. Anne, has been a resi- 
 ^-. dent of Kankakee County for forty-one 
 ^^fJ years and has been a witness of its great 
 improvement and progress, particularly in the vi- 
 cinity of St. Anne, which has grown from the four 
 or five log houses of that day to the present beau- 
 tiful little village of over one thousand inhabitants. 
 
 Mr. Cheffre was born in Montreal, Canada, on 
 the 4th of July, 1824, and is a son of Joseph and 
 Argette (La Vine) Cheffre. In 1851 he came to 
 Illinois in company with his brother Antoine. In 
 his native country he received a good common- 
 school education and resided under the parental 
 roof until arriving at man's estate. In 1841 he 
 went to Syracuse, N. Y., with his father, and lived 
 in that city and at Niagara B'alls for seven 3'ears. 
 The family then returned to Canada, but in 1851 
 emigrated to Illinois witii a large French colony, 
 consisting of about five thousand persons under 
 the guidance and supervision of Father Chiniquj', 
 and which located at St. Anne. 
 
 Mr. Cheffre has been married three times. His 
 first wife was Miss vSarah Morris, daughter of 
 Francis Morris, and b.y this union one child was 
 born, Joseph, who married Miss Nelda Dube. 
 They live one mile southeast of St. Anne. His 
 first wife having died, on the 2()th of May, 1863, 
 our subject was united in marriage with Mrs. Mil- 
 lie (Schose) Chefi're, widow of Charles Cheffre, by 
 whom she had four children: Charles, Emily, 
 Moses and Zulinda. Charles married Miss Mina 
 Spinard, a native of Kankakee County, in Janu- 
 ary, 1882, and four children, thiee sous and one 
 daughter, were born to them; they are residents 
 
 of Kankakee County. Zulinda married Stephen 
 Lanctot, a native of Canada, in June, 1889, and 
 they are residents of Chicago. Moses married Miss 
 Mary Regnier, a native of Illinois, in Decemlier, 
 1887, and they reside in Iroquois Count3', 111. By 
 her second marriage Mrs. Cheffre was the mother of 
 four children, a son and three daughters. Frank 
 married Miss Rose Regnier, and has a daughter. 
 Ruby; their home is one mile from St. Anne. Jo- 
 sephine became the wife of Antoine (ioyette, and 
 has two children, Eddie and Artie; they live near 
 Trimello, Iowa. Mina is the third in order of 
 birth. Zoe is the fourth child. Emily was first 
 married to Joseph Brouillette, and to them were 
 born three children: Jessie, George and Arthur. 
 She is now the wife of Julian Charboneau, and re- 
 sides in Chicago. Mrs. Cheffre was called from 
 this life September 21, 1886. Li 1887, our sub- 
 ject married Mrs. Fornier, who had also been twice 
 .married before. 
 
 In addition to his good residence property in 
 St. Anne, Mr. Cheffre owns three hundred and 
 twenty acres of well-improved farm land in Kan- 
 kakee and Iroquois Counties. He has always been 
 an industrious and iiard-working man, and it is to 
 his own economy and toil that he owes his success 
 in life. He and his wife hold membership with 
 the French-Presbyterian Church. He affiliates 
 with the Republican party, and takes a lively in- 
 terest in the public welfare. Personally, he is 
 popular, being of a genial, though quiet and j 
 thoughtful, disposition. 
 
 ^ 
 
 :^^- 
 
 eHARLES H. BELLINGER is one of the ex- 
 tensive land-owners and leading stock-rais- 
 ers of Kankakee County, his home being lo- 
 cated on section 5, Momence Township. He is a 
 native of tlie Empire State, his birth having oc- 
 curred in Herkimer, N. Y., on the 26th of October, 
 1848, and he comes of old New England families. 
 His parents were James H. and Caroline (Cln-istie) 
 Bellinger. His father was also born in New York, 
 and his ancestors were among the Dutch families 
 
 i
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 525 
 
 that settled in llie Mohawk Valley of that State 
 Hy occupation he was a farmer, and followed that 
 business throiin^hout his entire life. After arriv- 
 ing at jears of maturity he married Miss Christie, 
 who was born at East Creek, X. Y., and whose pa- 
 rents were natives of New England. Three chil- 
 dren graced the union of this worthy couple, two 
 sons and a daughter, the eldest of whom is Charles, 
 whose name heads this sketch. 
 
 Our subject well deserves mention in the record 
 of his adopted county, as he is numbered among 
 its prominent agriculturists. He was reared to 
 manhood in the usual manner of farmer lads, the 
 days of his bo\"hood being quietly passed under 
 the parental roof. He acquired a good common- 
 SL-hool education in the public schools, and this 
 rourse was supplemented by study in the Fairfield 
 Seminary of New York, where his education was 
 completed. 
 
 Ere leaving the East, Mr. Bellinger was married, 
 the lady of his choice being Miss Angeline Parish, 
 who was born in Ganier Township, Kankakee 
 County, on the 6th of October, 1848, and was a 
 daughter of William W.,Sr., and Sallie ( Woodard) 
 Parish, a sketch of whom will be found on an- 
 other page of this volume. The marriage ceremony 
 (Tf our subject and his wife was celebrated on the 
 1st of September, 1869, in Kankakee. Their union 
 has been blessed with a faraiU' of two children, a 
 son and daughter. William, the elder, who was 
 born October 2, 1870, is an intelligent and highly 
 educated young man, who expects to make the 
 practice of medicine his life work, and to that end 
 IS now attending a course of lectures in the Rush 
 Medical College of Chicago. Alice was born Jan- 
 uary 19, 1876, and is now attending the Young 
 Ladies' Seminarv situated in Ft. Wa3-ne,Ind. The 
 family is one of prominence in this communitj-; 
 the Bellinger household is the abode of hospitality' 
 and good cheer, and its members rank high in so- 
 cial circles. 
 
 Mr. Bellinger dates his residence in this county 
 from 1877; prior to that time he had farmed in 
 New York State. Since that time he h:is carried 
 on farming and stock-raising, and, as before stated, 
 he is now one of the extensive land-ownei-s of the 
 county, his possessions aggregating eight hundred 
 
 and forty acres, which constitute a large ranch, 
 three miles northeast of Moraence. It is one of 
 the best improved farms of the lowjship, supplied 
 with good barns and other necessary outbuildings 
 for the care of grain and stock, together with the 
 latest ra.achinery and farm appliances. Jlr. Bel- 
 linger devotes the greater part of his time and at- 
 tention to the raising of fine stock, making a spec- 
 ialty of Durham cattle and French coach horses, 
 m.inj- fine specimens of which can be found in his 
 fields and stables. He is a man of excellent busi- 
 ness ability, sagacious and far-sighted, industrious 
 and enterprising, and upright in all his dealings. 
 He is now one of the wealthy citizens of the com- 
 munity, and is enjoying a well-deserved prosperity. 
 Socially, Mr. Bellinger is a Knight Templar, hold- 
 ing menibei-ship with Ivanhoe Commaudery No. 
 33, of Kankakee. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican, and has served as Commissioner of Iligh- 
 wa^-s in his township for ten years, discharging his 
 duties with a promptness and fidelitj- that have won 
 him the commendation of all concerned. As a 
 citizen he is public-spirited and progressive, and 
 manifests a commendable interest in all that jjer- 
 tains to the welfare of the community, its upbuild- 
 ing and progress. 
 
 -^ 
 
 ON. MAITHEW F. CA^IPBELL, a retired 
 |: farmer, was elected to represent this county 
 '/^ in 1884, and was a member of the Lower 
 vvjv; House during the long- contest for the elec- 
 tion of United Stales Senator, in which .John A. 
 Logan was victorious. Mr. Campbell was born on 
 the 29th of .lanuary, 1816, in Huntingdon Countj', 
 Pa. His father, Matthew Campbell, though born 
 in Ireland, was of Scotch parentage, and emigrated 
 to the New World in 1794, when but ten years of 
 age, with his parents, who settled in Huntingdon 
 County, Pa., where they were numbered among 
 the early pioneers. On arriving at man's estate, 
 Mr. Campbell married Hannah Postlewait, a native 
 of the Keystone State. Her father. Col. William 
 Postlewait, was born in Lancaster County, of the
 
 526 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 same State, and was a solclier in the Indian Wars, 
 serving as Colonel of a regiment, llis ancestors 
 were of German extraction; they settled in Eng- 
 land, and afterward went to Pennsylvania. Until 
 his death, Mr. Campbell carried on a farm in Penn- 
 sylvania, departing this life in April, 1829, being 
 then forty-nine years of age. After surviving 
 her husband over half a century, Mrs. Campbell 
 died in Illinois at the advanced age of eighty-five 
 years, in 1871. 
 
 Our subject is one of a famil}' consisting of six 
 sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to ma- 
 ture years. John A. came to Illinois in 1868, set- 
 tling in Warren County, where he engaged in farm- 
 ing until his deatli. William located on a farm in 
 Ohio in 1846, and from there was called to his last 
 reward. Thomas P. emigrated Westward in 1866, 
 and settled in Davenport, Iowa. He was a lawyer 
 by profession, and lived a retired life after remov- 
 ing to Iowa. Matthew is next in order of birth. 
 James I. was a printer by trade, and died when a 
 young man in 1838, at Pittsburg. Hannah E. be- 
 came the wife of Samuel R. Boggs, now deceased, 
 who removed to Illinois in 1848, settling in War- 
 ren County. Robert located in Mercer County on 
 a farm in 1848. Martha wedded Alexander Porter, 
 who for many years farmed in Mercer County, 111., 
 and both are now deceased. Rebecca E. married 
 Rankin H. Gilliland,and resides in Warren County, 
 III. 
 
 The early life of Mr. Campbell, whose name 
 heads tliis sketcli, w.as spent on a farm, and his 
 scliool privileges were very limited. He is almost 
 entirely self-educated, but by judicious reading 
 and careful observation, ranks well in any com- 
 pany of intelligent and well-educated people. He 
 remained on the old liomestead until seventeen 
 j'ears of age, at which time he went to Pittsburg, 
 where he secured employment as a clerk. He also 
 learned the trade of a tailor while in that city, and 
 there was in business until 1839. He then re- 
 turned to Huntingdon County, where he turned 
 his attention to agricultural pursuits for a time. 
 He was then elected Register of Wills and Recorder 
 of Deeds for three terms, serving in tliat capacity 
 for nine consecutive years. 
 
 On the 28Lli of March, 1838, Mr. Campbell and 
 
 Miss Margaret A. Daniels were united in marriage. 
 The lady is a native of Wales, where she was 
 reared to womanhood, and is a daugiiter of the 
 Rev. Tiiomas Daniels, a minister of the Baptist 
 Church. Their union h.as been blessed with seven 
 children, who are living. James D. is a lawyer b}- 
 profession, and the principal attorney of the Phila- 
 delphia & Reading Railroad. He was a soldier in 
 the war, as a Lieutenant first, then later as Captain 
 in the Forty-ninth Penns3'lvania Volunteers, under 
 Gen. Hancock. .John P., who is now deceased, was 
 a soldier in the late war, and served three years in 
 the One Hundred and Tliirteenth Illinois Wilun- 
 teers. Lizzie C. is tlie wife of L. M. Kellogg, of 
 Buckingham. Winfield Scott was a soldier in tiie 
 late war, and died while in the service of his coun- 
 try, in 1862. M.aggie, whose husband, R. W. 
 Beardsley, died in .January, 1893, lives in Norton 
 Township, Kankakee County. William H. is a 
 business man of Buckingham. Robert F. is the 
 railroad agent at Ludlow Falls, Miami County, 
 Ohio. Rebecca is the wife of Arthur Monteith, of 
 Buckingham. Charles C. is attending a seiiool 
 of pharmacy in Chicago. 
 
 In 1859, Mr. Campbell removed to Illinois and 
 opened up a farm in Norton Township, Kankakee 
 Count}'. He improved a tract of one hiiudre(l 
 and seventy acres, which he carried on for over 
 thirty years. In 1891 lie retired from active life, 
 rented his farm and moved to Buckingliam, where 
 be bought a nice residence property, in wliicli he 
 now resides. In politics, Mr. Campbell was an old- 
 line Whig, and liecame identified with the Kepub- 
 lican party on its organization. He cast his (irst 
 ballot for William Henry Harrison, of "Tippe- 
 canoe and Tyler too" fame, in 1840, and in tlie 
 last Presidential election voted for Benjamin Har- 
 rison. He has held several local positions of trust 
 and honor, and for eighteen years acted .as Super- 
 visor of Norton Township. In every official posi- 
 tion, Mr. Camiibell li.as shown his ability and zeal i 
 in carrying on the duties incident to the position, i 
 Mr. anfl Mrs. Campbell are Baptists in religious be- -i 
 lief, but are now attending the Buckingham Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Cburch. Having resided in this 
 county for over a third of a century, Mr. Camp- 
 bell has witnessed vast ciianges, and has assisted i\ 
 
 i
 
 OF THE 
 ^'•^IVERSnyOFILLIfVOIS
 
 f\. 
 
 ^' 
 
 '% 
 
 'J2^ Ciyi/t/i-y .
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 r.'io 
 
 materially in its progress and prosperity. He has 
 ever liail the confidence and esteem of all, and his 
 many friends will be pleased to read this brief 
 tribute to his worth. 
 
 ^i^iEORGE AVERY, one of the extensive land- 
 owners of Kankakee County, and one of its 
 JAj most prominent and inlliiential farmers, re- 
 sides on section 21, Pilot Township, lie is so 
 widel\' known that he needs no special introduc- 
 tion to the readers of this volume, but we feel as- 
 sured that this record of his life will prove of in- 
 terest to manj- of our subscribers. A native of 
 Ohio, he was born in ('u3'ahot>a County, near the 
 city of Cleveland, August 18, 1832. His paternal 
 grandfather, George Avery, was a native of Ver- 
 mont. He was one of the heroes of the Revolu- 
 tionary AVar, and while aiding the Colonies in their 
 struggles for independence was made a prisoner 
 by the ISritish at Koj'.ilton. The Avery family is 
 of English origin and at an early da}' in the history' 
 of the Colonies was established in the Green 
 Mountain State. Thatcher Avery, father of our 
 subject, was a native of New Hampshire. With 
 two companions he went to Ohio when a 3'onng 
 man, the}- making the journey with an ox-team. 
 The}- continued their travels until they had 
 reached the Western Reserve, where they arrived 
 six weeks after leaving home. Cleveland at that 
 time was a mere village and the country round 
 about was an almost unbroken wilderness. The 
 county was not tiien surveyed and Mr. Avery 
 made a claim in what has since become the town 
 of Strongsville. In company with Wheeler Cole 
 he cleared the land and developed a good farm. 
 For some years they kept bachelors' hall, but 
 after a time Thatcher Avery was married to 
 Miss .lulia Ann Lyman, who was born near Hrat- 
 tleboro, Vt. They reared their family upon the 
 old homestead in Cuyahoga County, where the 
 father spent his entire life. The mother survived 
 her husband for several years, being called to the 
 home beyond in 1890. Both parents lie buried in 
 
 I Strongsville Cemetery, where a beautiful mi.uii. 
 ment marks their last resting-place. 
 
 George Avery is one of a family numbering 
 seven children, of whom three grew to maturity, 
 two .'sons and a daughter, and of these our subject 
 is the eldest. The sister, however, is now deceased. 
 The brother, Hollis Avery, is now a prominent 
 businessman in Iladley, Pa. George spent the days 
 of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof 
 and was early inured to the labors of farm life. 
 He received good educational privileges, for after 
 attending the common schools he became a student 
 in Bcrea (University. Subsecpiently he learned the 
 carpenter's trade and engaged in contracting and 
 building for a period of ten years. Thinking the 
 West furnished better opportunities for young 
 men, he came to Illinois in 1854, and in Kankakee 
 County purch.ased a tract of wild land of two 
 hundred and forty acres, the same on which he 
 now resides. He did not then make a permanent 
 location, however, but returned to Cleveland. In 
 18.56 he .igain came to the West, and from then 
 until 1861 spent his time working at the car- 
 penter's trade in Chicago and in Kankakee. 
 
 Mr. Avery has been twice married. In .Seville, 
 Ohio, on the 5th of March, 1861, he wedded Miss 
 Elicia Fleming, who was born in Hardin County, 
 Ohio. She died on the 28th of February, 1880. 
 Three children were born of that union. H. F. is a 
 prosperous farmer who owns and operates a valu- 
 able tract of land adjoining his father's farm. H. 
 B. acquired a superior education, began as an 
 engineer and electrician and held a responsible posi- 
 tion in Chicago; he died in that city December 30, 
 1891. The daughter, P^lla L, is the wife of Charles 
 Slater, a substantial farmer of Iroquois County. 
 Mr. Avery was again married, January 30, 1883, 
 in Chicago, the lady of his choice being Miss 
 Frances Goodrich, a native of Hranch County, 
 Mich. 
 
 In 186 1, Mr. Avery located upon liis land in 
 Kankakee County and began the development of 
 a farm. As the years passed, acre after acre was 
 placed under the plow, until now almost the entire 
 amount is under a high state of cultivation. The 
 owner is regarded as one of the most enterprising 
 and successful farniei-s of the county. Prosperity
 
 530 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 has attended his effoits, and as his financial re- 
 sources have increased he lias extended the bound- 
 aries of his farm from time to time until it now 
 comprises six hundred and forty acres. It is well 
 improved with substantial buildings, in fact none 
 of the accessories of a model farm are lacking. The 
 homestead has a comfortable and pleasant residence, 
 and a large barn, good outbuildings and wind 
 pumps. Water is carried through underground 
 pipes, to keep it from freezing, into his barns and 
 feed lots, so that his stock is alwaj-s supplied. Mr. 
 Avery is a man of good business ability, and his 
 success is the result of his industiT, well-directed 
 efforts and enterprise. 
 
 In 1856, Mr. Aveiy proudl\- cast his first Presi- 
 dential vote for John C. Fremont, and he still votes 
 with the Republican party. He is a warm supporter 
 of Republican principles, j^et has never sought or 
 desired official distinction for himself, preferring to 
 give his entire time and attention to his business 
 interests, in which he has met with signal suc- 
 cess. Mr. Avery and his wife are both members of 
 the Herscher Presbyterian Church. In social 
 circles this worthj' couple rank high and their 
 household is the abode of hospitality. Mr. Avery 
 has for thirty-two long 3'ears resided in this county 
 and has therefore witnessed much of its growth 
 and upbuilding. He has also aided in its develop- 
 ment and has ever borne his share in the advance- 
 ment of its best interests. Tbat his career has 
 been an honorable one is indicated by the high re- 
 gard in which he is held throughout the com- 
 munity. 
 
 \f| OHN DEERSON, a furniture dealer, is one 
 I of the substantial and respected citizens of 
 Momence, which has been his home for 
 _ many years. His birth occurred in Hen- 
 stcdt, Norther Ditmarschen, Holsteiu, Germany, a 
 place about fifty miles from Hamburg, the date 
 of that event being March 31, 18.30. His paternal 
 grandfather, Hans Deerson, was a cooper by trade, 
 which occupation he followed throughout life. 
 
 His death occurred when cightj' 3'ears of age. The 
 maternal grandfather, Hinrich MoUer, was a 
 farmer and at the time of his death was seventy- 
 five jears of age. Thus it will be seen that our 
 subject is from a long-lived family. 
 
 John is a son of Peter N. and Helen D. (Moller) 
 Deerson, both natives of the same town and State 
 as our subject. The father was a cooper bj' trade 
 and while a resident of tiie Fatherland followed 
 that occupation for a livelihood. When about 
 forty-eight years of age he bade adieu to his na- 
 tive land and, crossing the broad Atlantic, landed in 
 America in 1852. A year later he settled upon a 
 farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Yellow- 
 head Township, Kankakee County, which he 
 made his home until death called him hence in 
 1871. He was a thrifty farmer and in good cir- 
 cumstances. His wife survived him for eight 
 years, d3ing in 1879, at which time she was sev- 
 enty-four years of age. In their family were 
 seven children, four sons and three daughters, five 
 of whom survive: John, Margaret E., Peter N. 
 Christian and Helen, all of whom are now citizens 
 of America, are married and have families. 
 
 Until twenty-one 3'ears of age the life of our 
 subject was passed in the land of his birth, where 
 he received a good education. In 1850, when 
 Schleswig-Holstein tried to free herself from Den- 
 mark, he took up arms in the defense of his coun- 
 try and served for nine mouths, or until the close 
 of the war, in the German army. In June, 1851, 
 he crossed the briny deep and lived for one year 
 in Kew York City, but when his parents came to 
 this country, accompanied them to Joliet, 111. In 
 1854, Mr. Deerson located in Momence, where he 
 engaged in the furniture and undertaking busi- 
 ness, which he has followed continuously since. 
 From 1860 to 1873, he also manufactured furni- 
 ture, hauling his product to Kankakee, the nearest 
 railroad station. At that time this place was a 
 village of probabl}- not more than three hundred 
 inhabitants. 
 
 On the 6th of February, 1854, Mr. Deerson and 
 Miss Lena Koch were united in marriage. Mrs. 
 Deerson is a daughter of Ludwig and Anna 
 (Frahm) Koch, of Joliet, 111., who were both na- 
 tives of German^-. Mr. and Mrs. Deerson became 
 
 'i\
 
 PORTRAIT AXD BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 531 
 
 the parents of seven cliildren. Helena grew to 
 womanliood and became tlie wife of A. A. Axline, 
 a lawyer of Cliicago; she departed this life at llie 
 age of twent_v-eight years, leaving one son, John. 
 Mary Ann died when two and a-half years of age, 
 on the 27th of October, 1857. Henrietta married 
 George Culver, then of Canandaigua, X. Y., liiit 
 now a merchant of Rritton, 8. Dak., and to tlieni 
 have been born two daughters, Cora and Marga- 
 retta. Mary Augusta married A. A. Axline, who 
 was formerly the husband of her eldest sister; 
 they reside at Rogers Park, but Mr. Axline prac- 
 tices law in Chicago; they have a .son, Harry. 
 Charles Ulysses died at the age of five years. 
 Clara Mabel lives at home witii her parents. One 
 child died in infancy. 
 
 IMr. and Mrs. Deerson iield membership with the 
 Oernian Evangelical Lutheran Church, to which 
 they belonged in early life, but now the wife and 
 her children are identified with the Episcopal 
 Church. Our subject contributes to the support 
 of all the ciiurches in the communit}', being of a 
 liberal turn of mind and public spirited. He is a 
 Republican in politics and has voted that ticket 
 since the organization of the party. He is of a 
 modest and retiring disposition, not given to 
 boasting of his .'ichievements, but he is known 
 throughout this section as one who has materially' 
 aided in its advancement and development. 
 
 
 ^\ ICHAEL BUTZ, a prominent farmer, a 
 highly respected citizen, and one of the 
 early settlers of Kankakee County, resides 
 on section .36, Kankakee Township. He is 
 also one of the extensive land-owners, having six 
 hundred and forty acres of rich and valuable farm- 
 ing land. As he is widely and favoraljly known, we 
 feel assured that this record of his life will prove 
 of interest to many of our readers and gladly in- 
 sert it in this volume. 
 
 Mr. Butz is a native of Baden, Germany. He 
 was born on the 1.3th of Ajjril, 1837, and liis par- 
 ents, Michael and Elizabeth (Ilich) Butz, were 
 
 also natives of the same country. The father was 
 born in Baden in 1801, and his four children, two 
 sons and two daughters, opened their eyes to the 
 light of day in the same house in which his liirtli 
 occurred. He w.is a well-educated man and very 
 prominent, and for twenty years he served as 
 Mayor of his town. A farmer by occupation, he 
 followed that Inisiness in pursuit of fortune 
 through much of his life and owned some valuable 
 land in Germany. In 1848, he was one of the 
 leaders in the South German Revolution and on 
 account of the part he took in that uprising his 
 property was confiscated. For about eight years 
 his case was held in court, but finally, through the 
 influence of some men of prominence, he was ac- 
 quitted. Immediately afterwards he left his na- 
 tive Land and sailed for America. He was then 
 fifty-five years of age. He at once came to Kan- 
 kakee County, 111., where his son Michael had 
 located five years previous. His wife, a lady of 
 culture and refinement, was born in Kork, Ger- 
 man^', in 1808, and acquired a good education. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received his educa- 
 tion in the public schools of his native land and 
 remained with his parents in Germany untd about 
 fifteen years of age, when, in 1852, he crossed the 
 broad Atlantic to America for the purpose of 
 looking up a location for the family. He visited 
 many places but found none that he liked better 
 than Kankakee County, and having decided to 
 here make a permanent location, he purchased one 
 hundred and twenty acres of land for the family — 
 an improved farm — for which they paid $36 per 
 acre. At that time there was much land in the 
 county that could be bought for from i!5 to $10 
 per acre, but he determined to get the best. 
 
 On the 9th of December, 1861, Mr. Butz married 
 Miss Philipena Ader, who was born in Germany 
 on the 3d of June, 1844. Slie was the eighth in a 
 family of ten children. The first sixteen years of 
 her life were spent in the land of her birth and 
 then she accompanied her parents to the United 
 States, a location being made in Kankakee County. 
 Her father died in this county- November 18, 1886, 
 at the age of eighty-three years. The mother had 
 passed awa}' onl^' a short time previous, being called 
 to her final rest on the 2Gth of July, 1886, at the
 
 532 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 age of four-score j-ears. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Butz 
 have been born five children, two sons and three 
 daughters: Emma, at home; Michael W., a pros- 
 perous farmer, who is married and resides in this 
 county; Minnie E., now the wife of M. L. Potter, 
 a commission merchant of Chicago; Lina, who 
 was born Maj' 27, 1866, and died September 25, 
 1869; and George P., who was born October J 7, 
 1871, and completes the family. The children have 
 been provided with excellent educational advan- 
 tages and are thus fitted for any position in life 
 which tliey may be called upon to fill. In addi- 
 tion to the common-school course, they received 
 other advantages and all are graduates of col- 
 leges. 
 
 During the late war, Mr. Butz manifested his 
 loyalty to his adopted country by enlisting in the 
 Twentieth Illinois Infantry for three months, and 
 at the expiration of his terra he was honorably dis- 
 charged and returned to his home. In political 
 sentiment he is a Democrat, and for nine years 
 has faithfully served as Highway Commissioner. 
 Himself and family are members of the German 
 Lutheran Ciunch. The Butz household is the 
 abode of hospitality and its members rank high in 
 social circles where true worth and intelligence 
 are received as the passports into good society. 
 Mr. Butz is one of the leading and most progress- 
 ive farmers of the county and his extensive pos- 
 sessions have come to him tiirough his own in- 
 dustry, enterprise, perseverance and well-directed 
 efforts. 
 
 ENNIS O'NEIL, who is engaged in general 
 farming on section 3, Pilot Townsliip, has 
 for twenty-seven years been numbered 
 among the citizens of Kankakee County. 
 He is a native of the Emerald Isle, his birth oc- 
 curring in County Kerry, Ireland, on the 10th of 
 March, 1844. His parents, George and Ilonora 
 (Leahy) O'Xeil, were both natives of the same 
 country. In 1855 they bade good-bye to their old 
 home, and with their family crossed the broad At- 
 
 lantic to America. Landing in New York, they 
 spent one year in the Empire State, and then came 
 West to Illinois, locating in Dixon. Mr. O'Neil 
 engaged in merchandising at that place for a num- 
 ber of years, and then removed to Chicago, wliere 
 he spent a few years. Later he became a resident 
 of Blooraington, 111. From McLean County they 
 went to La Salle Count}^, and remained there one 
 and a-half years, and thence to Beloit, Wis., re- 
 maining there about one 3'ear, and later to Free- 
 port, 111., but the last j'ears of his life were passed 
 in Kankakee County, where he died on the 10th 
 of May, 1889, when about eighty }'ears of age. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject, Dennis O'Neil, who is known throughout 
 the communitj' as one of its leading farmers. He 
 grew to manliood in Freeport, 111., receiving good 
 school privileges, and when a young man lie came 
 with his father to this county, locating in Pilot 
 Township, about one mile east of Pilot Grove. 
 There he opened up a farm and engaged in its cul- 
 tivation for a number of years, when he sold out 
 and bought the land on which he now resides. He 
 now owns and operates one hundred and twenty 
 acres of arable land, and the well-tilled fields and 
 neat appearance of the place indicate the thrift 
 and enterprise of the owner. His farm is im- 
 proved with a neat and substantial residence, good 
 outbuildings and all the accessories of a model 
 farm of the nineteenth century. 
 
 In the city of Kankakee, on the 20th of Novem- 
 ber, 1865, Mr. O'Neil wedded Miss Mary J. Mur- 
 phy, who was born and reared in the county 
 which is still her home. She is a daughter of Den- 
 nis Murpliy, one of the honored i)ioneers of this 
 county, now deceased. The union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 O'Neil has been blessed with a family of eight 
 children, the eldest of whom, Ilonora, is a success- 
 ful teacher of this community. The other mem- 
 bers of the family are Margaret, Mary, Ella, John 
 E., AVilliam, Eliza, Catherine W. and Lucy. 
 
 The parents and their children are all members 
 of the Catholic Churcii. In his political views, 
 Mr. O'Neil is a Democrat. He cast his Presidential 
 vote for Gen. Hancock, and since that time has 
 been connected with the Democracy, supporting 
 all of its Presidential nominees. He has never
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 533 
 
 been an aspirant for public office, but keeps him- 
 self well informed on the issues of liie day. lie 
 takes a commendable interest in all that pertains 
 to the welfare of the communitj', does all in his 
 power for the advancement of the educational in- 
 terests, and ever uses liis influence toward secur- 
 ing good schools and good teachers. Mr. O'Neil 
 h.as spent nearly his entire life in Illinois, and for 
 twenty-seven long 3ears has been a resident of 
 Kankakee County. Therefore he has witnessed 
 much of its growth and development, and in every 
 possible w.iy he has aided in its upbuilding. 
 
 ^ 
 
 E^ 
 
 ^1^ IRAM M. COOK is proprietor of the Cook 
 Elevator and dealer iu grain, coal and tile 
 in Buckingham, 111. It is said that Mr. 
 \^) Cook has done more to improve and build 
 up this place than anj' other man, and he is con- 
 sidered one of its most valued citizens. He was 
 boin in .Jefferson County, N. Y., on the 26th of 
 December, 1823, and is a son of M. V. D. Cook, 
 who was of Ceiman parentage and was also born in 
 the Empire State. On arriving at his majority' he 
 married, near Pittstown, Elizabeth Avery, also a 
 native of New York. Mr. Cook was a miller by 
 trade, and followed that vocation for several j-ears, 
 after which he settled upon a farm in Otsego 
 County, whence, after farming for several 3'ears, he 
 removed to Jefferson County. He settled in the 
 midst of the wilderness and was among the pio- 
 neers of the county. He reared his family and 
 spent his remaining days there, dying about 1.84 t. 
 His wife died several years later and lies buried 
 by her husband in Theresa Cemetery. 
 
 Of their famil_y of ten children, the eldest, Rich- 
 ard, was born in 1800; he removed to Illinois in an 
 early day and died near Aurora. Rensselaer died in 
 early life. Alanson is a farmer of .Jefferson County, 
 N. Y. Jlilton embarked on a propeller bound for 
 Chicago, and on the voy.age contracted the dread 
 disease, cholera, from which he died and was 
 buried in the Lakes. Nelson is a manufacturer of 
 lumber and a miller at Redwood, Jefferson County. 
 
 Eliza is the widow of Ludowic Salisbury, and is a 
 resident of Theresa, N. Y. Sallic died unmarried. 
 Polly and ISIargaret grew to womanhood, were 
 married, but are now deceased. Hiram M. is the 
 j-oungest of the family. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 passed in the county of his birth, where during 
 the winter months he acipiired his education in 
 the district schools. He remained with iiis father 
 until the death of the latter, after which, with his 
 brother Nelson, he carried on the farm for a num- 
 ber of years. Then selling the homestead to his 
 brother, he came West to Illinois and first made a 
 settlement near Lisbon, Kendall County. He bought 
 iinimpro\ed land and was one of the early settlers 
 of that county', in which he resided for some twenty 
 years. Mr. Cook then sold his farm and removed 
 to Ford County, where he purchased a farm, 
 which he operated for about twenty years. While 
 there he also engaged in merchandising, carrying 
 ou business for several years. Afterward he re- 
 moved to Buckingham, where for some time he 
 engaged in business, but afterward sold out and 
 became the owner of an elevator. About 1877 he 
 began dealing in grain, coal and tile. 
 
 On October 6, 1850, Mr. Cook and Lucrelia 
 Red field were married in Jefferson County, N. Y. 
 The lady is a daughter of Nathaniel and Sallie 
 (Webster) Redfield,aud was born in DcKalb, Law- 
 rence County, N. Y., May 23, 1829. Mrs. Cook's 
 father was one of the pioneer farmers, and erected 
 his little log cabin in the midst of the forest, 
 where wild animals were plentiful. Both of her 
 parents are dead and are buried in Lisbon, 111. 
 Her father was born in New York in 1800, and ho 
 died October 10, 1875, and her mother was born in 
 Vermont, November 17, 1806, and died February 
 21, 1892. Both were consistent members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. Two children grace 
 the union of our subject and his wife: Joseph N., 
 who is married and is in business with his father; 
 and Ada Ella, wife of George B. McNamce, whose 
 sketch appears elsewhere in this work, and who is 
 a business man of P.uckingham. 
 
 Formerly, Mr. Cook was a Jackson Democrat, 
 but united with the Republican party on its or- 
 ganization. He has shown indomitable will and
 
 534 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 energy in bis business life, having overcome all 
 obstacles in his pathwaj' with courage and pluck. 
 He started in life without any means, and had the 
 great misfortune to lose his right arm by acci- 
 dent in a threshing-machine after removing to 
 Illinois. He is the owner of four hundred acres 
 of valuable farm land in Ford Count}-, and desir- 
 able residence property' in Watseka, 111., and like- 
 wise in Buckingham. "While in Ford County he 
 was apjiointed Postmaster, in which capacity he 
 acted for about ten years, also serving as Justice 
 of the Peace for two or more terms. He is now 
 School Treasurer of Norton Township. In what- 
 ever official position he has been placed, he has 
 shown himself a capable and efficient officer. He 
 has been a resident of Illinois for nearly a half- 
 century, and is well known in Ford, Kankakee 
 and adjoining counties. He is one whose word is 
 considered as good as his bond, and in all pul)lic 
 affairs he has taken an active interest. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 yESLEY BONFIELD. Among the repre- 
 sentative men of Kankakee who date tiieir 
 
 \\^^ residence in this city from the days of its 
 early liistor}', is the gentleman whose name heads 
 this sketch, and who has made Kankakee his 
 home since 1855. He is a native of Ohio, where 
 his birth occurred in 1828. His father. Dr. Thomas 
 S. Bonfield, was born in Baltimore, Jld., and re- 
 moved from the Slate of his birth to Ohio at an 
 early period in his professional life. He settled in 
 Stark Count}', where he engaged in the practice of 
 medicine for many 3fears, and where be resided 
 until his death. The mother of our subject bore 
 the maiden name of Sarah Troup. She was a na- 
 tive of the Keystone State, and died when her son 
 Wesley was an infant. He and his brother, Thomas 
 P., of Kankakee, were the only children by the 
 first marriage of Dr. Bonfield, who was twice mar- 
 ried. Mrs. P^liza Sn3-der, of San Jose, Cal., is the 
 only child by the second union. 
 
 Wesley Bonfield grew to manhood in his native 
 county, and received good educational advantages. 
 
 In 1850 he went to Chicago, at which time that 
 now famous cit}' was but an uninviting hamlet, 
 and gave no promise of the importance which it 
 was destined to attain. Mr. Bonfield remained 
 there for about two years, and for the same length 
 of time was employed by the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road in the southern portion of the State. 
 
 Afterwards he came to Kankakee, and until 
 1858 vvas employed as Deput}' Circuit Clerk. In 
 the year just mentioned he .engaged in the drug 
 business, at what was then Middleport, but now 
 bears the name of Watseka. In 18G2, returning to 
 this city, he opened a drug store, which he oper- 
 ated for twent}'- six 3'ears, when he disposed of it. 
 In 1873, Mr. Bonfield, in company with L. B. 
 Cobb, Franklin Crawford and others, erected a fac- 
 tory for the manufacture of strawboard. This 
 business became a ver}^ important one, and was 
 continued until a few 3'ears since, when it was 
 sold to what was then the Union Strawboard 
 Compan3', now known as the American Straw- 
 board Company, but one year later this property 
 was leased by Mr. Bonfield and L. B. Cobb, who 
 engaged in the manufacture of wrapping paper, 
 which business they closed in February, 1893. 
 Mr. Bonfield at one time organized a compan3' for 
 the manufacture of buttons in Kankakee. The 
 enterprise prospered, but the factor3' being de- 
 stroyed by fire, was not rebuilt. Since 1880 our 
 subject has been interested in mining in Colorado, 
 and a liberal degree of success has attended bis in- 
 vestments in that direction. 
 
 Politicall3', Mr. Bonfield has~ been allied with 
 the Republican party since its organization. He 
 has served on the School Board some five or six 
 3'ears. Sociall3^, he is a member of the Masonic 
 order, belonging to Kankakee Lodge No. 38'J, and 
 Kankakee Chapter No. 78. 
 
 In 1856 Mr. Bonfield was united in marriage to 
 Miss Emma Dixon, a native of Illinois, b3' whom 
 he had three children, of whom two are living, 
 namely, Emma, wife of John Dixon, of Kankakee, 
 and Eliza, who is at home. After the death of his 
 wife iMr. Bonfield married Miss Susan A., daugh- 
 ter of L. B. Cobb, a prominent citizen of Kanka- 
 kee, the marriage occurring at Kankakee in 1868. 
 By this union six children have been born, two
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 535 
 
 sons and four daughters: Belle; Ellen, wife of Ja- 
 cob Cline, of Cliicago; Emmons, who graduated 
 from the Kankakee High School in 1891; Edith; 
 llaswell T. and Lucia. 
 
 All enterprises that have had for their object 
 tlie best interests of the city and community have 
 ever received tlie cordial and substantial support 
 of Mr. Bonlield. For many ^ears he has been 
 closely identified witli the prosperity and growth 
 of Kankakee. He and his wife have long held 
 membership with the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 to wliich Ihey give their heartv support. 
 
 »i^.i<^.^. 
 
 I HARLES E. BOYER is one of tlie substan- 
 tial farmers and stock-raisei-s, and a resident 
 'J/J of Kankakee County, his lionie being on 
 section 5, Norton Township. His birtii occurred 
 in the city of Piuladelphia, Pa., on the 25tli of 
 January, 1829. His parents were Peter and Ilan- 
 hah (Botlie) Boyer, both natives of Germany. 
 The father was born in 1800, and wlien twentj-- 
 eight years of age emigrated with his young wife 
 to Pennsylvania. He worked for a number of 
 years at liis trade, tliat of a stone mason, and later 
 moved to Montgomery County, where he engaged 
 in agriculture, also working at his trade. His 
 death occurred in 1884, his wife having died a 
 few years previousl3\ 
 
 . Charles E. is the eldest of a family comprising 
 six sons and three daugliters who grew to matur- 
 ity. The family circle is still unbroken, and they 
 are all married and have homes of their own. 
 William carries on a farm in Jlontgomgry County; 
 Kate became the wife of Albert Manuel, who is 
 now deceased; John B. is a farmer in Boone 
 County, lud.; Peter is a mechanic employed in the 
 machine shops of W'ilmington, Del.; Mary is the 
 wife of .Samuel Frelz, of Clayton, Del.; Elizabeth 
 resides in Canton, N. J., and is the wife of David 
 Crawford; Jacob lives in Lansdale, Pa., and is a 
 dentist by profession; George is a printer of Can- 
 ton, X. J. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Charles E. Boyer 
 
 ! were passed in Montgonierj' and Bucks Counties. 
 He left home when sixteen years of age, and en- 
 tered the employ of a neighboring farmer. Of his 
 limited means he gave to help support and edu- 
 cate the younger children. His own school privi- 
 leges were very limited, and comprised but three 
 months of the year. However, he was very stu- 
 dious, and by perseverance accpiired a good educa- 
 tion. He was given a certificate to teach, and 
 taught school for one winter in Montgomery' 
 County. He deserves great credit for the zeal 
 and patience which he manifested in obtaining an 
 education, for the obstacles and difliculties in his 
 way required great courage to overcome. For 
 several years he engaged in farming, and contrib- 
 uted to his brothers' and sisters' support. 
 
 In the year 1853, Mr. Boyer was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Anna Seipt, who was born in 
 Pennsylvania. Unto them have been born eight 
 children, four sons and four daughters. George is 
 a merchant and Postmaster of Reddick; Samuel is 
 a farmer of Kansas; Susanna is the wife of Louis 
 Weis, of this county; Irwin is an agriculturist of 
 Kankakee County; Mary Ann, wife of Charles 
 Reike, now resides in Iowa; Ida is the wife of Ed 
 L'nz. a farmei of Norton Township; Frank S. as- 
 sists in carrying on the home farm; L. Irene 
 also resides at home. 
 
 Until 1866, Mr. Boyer carried on his farm in 
 Montgomery County, but in that year he removed 
 West to Illinois. Two years previous he had 
 purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres 
 of unimproved prairie land. On this property he 
 located, and here he still resides. The care and 
 cultivation which he bestowed upon it brought to 
 him abundant returns, and by wise management 
 he was soon on the road to prosperity. He has 
 added to his original purchase, and now has in his 
 home place two hundred and fourteen acres which 
 are well improved, tiled, and otlierwise in good con- 
 dition, and on the place are a neat and substantial 
 residence, large barns and otiier necesjar^' farm 
 buildings. He is truly a self-made man, and the 
 prosperity which he now enjoys is well deserved. 
 He bravely overcame the many obstacles in his 
 pathway in his early life, and has carried the same 
 brave determination up to the present time.
 
 536 
 
 POSTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Boyer voted for Hon. John C. Fremont in 
 1856, and has supported every nominee of the Re- 
 publican party for President since. Though never 
 wishing official recognition, he has served as Road 
 Commissioner. He has ever given liis hearty sup- 
 port to public schools, and for nearly a quarter of 
 a century has been a member of the School Board. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Boyer are members of the Evangeli- 
 cal Church. The many friends whom he has made 
 in this vicinity will be pleased to read this brief 
 tribute to his worth. 
 
 '■M-v-%-- 
 
 LPHONSO MELLEN, a retired farmer, 
 now resides in Kankakee. This volume, 
 which gives the records of many of the 
 most prominent pioneers, would be surely 
 incomplete without a sketch of Mr. Mellen, who 
 dates his residence in this county from 1838. He 
 has been prominently identified with the growth 
 and development of this section, and has been a 
 strong factor in its prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Mellen was born in Bennington Count}', 
 Vt., on the 26th of September, 1821, and is a son 
 of Natlianiel and Achsah (Wheeler) Mellen. The 
 Mellen familj- are of English descent, and were 
 among the pioneers of New P^ngland. Tlie pater- 
 nal grandfather of our subject, who bore the same 
 name as his father, was a native of Connecticut, 
 while the father was born in Bennington County, 
 Vt., where he grew to manhood. In that State 
 for several years after his marriage he carried on 
 agricultural pursuits, and in the year 1838 emi- 
 grated Westward. He settled in what is now Kan- 
 kakee County, at a place about three miles from 
 Waldron. He was one of the first settlers to lo- 
 cate there. At that time the nearest mill was in 
 Wilmington, and all marketing was done in Chi- 
 cago. Mr. Mellen opened up a farm of one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres of raw prairie land, which 
 did not come into market until the following 
 j-ear, 1839. At the time of his death, which oc- 
 curred on the 27th of March, 1866, his property 
 
 comprised two hundred and thirty acres. He was 
 a man of considerable influence in the community, 
 and at various times, both in Vermont and Illinois, 
 occupied local official positions. His wife sur- 
 vived him several years, and departed this life 
 on the 27th of October, 1875. Both parents were 
 buried in Beebetown Cemetery, and their last rest- 
 ing-place is marked by a suitable monument. 
 
 Alphonso Mellen is the only son and is fourth in 
 order of birth in a family of seven children, who 
 grew to mature 3-ears. AVhen but seventeen years 
 of age, he came with his parents to Illinois, and 
 since that time has passed his entire life in this 
 county. He received common-school advantages 
 in his native State, and afterward attended a 
 school at Hadley, 111. As he was the only son, he 
 remained at home, assisting his father in carrying 
 on the homestead, for several 3^ears after he had 
 passed his majority. After his marriage, Mr. Mel- 
 len located on a farm, which was a portion of his 
 father's homestead. In the spring of 1853 he pur- 
 chased a farm in Otto Township, located on the 
 Iroquois River. Of this tract but twenty acres 
 were broken, and as there was no suitable resi- 
 dence, he erected a good farm house and other 
 buildings. For many 3-ears he carried on and cul- 
 tivated his farm of one hundred and sixty-five 
 acres in that township, and in 1890 he rented the 
 place and became a resident of Kankakee. In 
 this city he owns a nice residence property, and 
 has retired largely from the active duties and 
 anxieties incident to the life of a farmer. 
 
 Mr. Mellen was lirst mari-ied in .Joliet, Will 
 County, on the 9th of December, 1814, to Miss 
 Sarah Ann Sir])less, who was born in Ohio. To 
 them were born two children, Clarence D. and 
 Henry J., who are both farmers of Wilson County. 
 Kan. Mrs. Mellen died on the 27th of .July 185.5. 
 In AVill County, on the 13th of September, 1851. 
 Mr. Mellen and Gertrude Brinkerhoff were united 
 in marriage. The lady is a native of the Empire 
 State, born in Albany County, and when a child 
 of nine years came AVest with her parents. Her 
 father, Martin N. Bi'inkerhoff, was one of the hon- 
 ored early settlers of Will County, 111. By hi; 
 last union Mr. Mellen has two daughters living 
 Lizzie A., wife of Charles Havens, of Holi
 
 m\mm\ of Illinois
 
 # 
 
 
 ^■v'- 
 
 •^■"^ iff 

 
 w 
 
 lMI LY a MYERS
 
 LIBRAfiY
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 541 
 
 County, Neb.; and Gertie E., who is engaged in 
 business at Mineral Springs, Ind. A son, Walter 
 A., grew to mature years, was an invalid during 
 his entire life, and passed away on the 8th of Jan- 
 uar3', 1889, at the age of thirty-one years. 
 
 Mr. Mellen cast his first ballot for Henry Clay, 
 and was formerly an old-line Whig. He became 
 identified with the Republican party on its organ- 
 ization, but recently has become allied with the 
 Prohibition party. For about six years he served 
 as Supervisor of Otto Township, and was also 
 Road Commissioner. The cause of education finds 
 in him a faithful friend, and for a quarter of a 
 century he was a member of the School Board. 
 Both our subject and his wife hold membership 
 with the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church of 
 Kankakee, and the latter is actively engaged in 
 the AVoraan's Christian Temperance Union work. 
 In civic societies, Mr. Mellen has ever been inter- 
 ested and is a Master Mason, having served as 
 Master and representative of Grant Lodge, to 
 which he belongs. For fifty-four years Mr. Mel- 
 len has made Kankakee County his home and the 
 center of all his interests, and by his unassuming 
 worth has won the confidence of his many friends 
 and acquaintances. 
 
 =m^^^m=^ 
 
 ■^ ACOB IMYERS, a retired farmer and coal 
 merchant, has lived in Kankakee for tliirty- 
 five years, lie was born in Frederick 
 County, Md., a mile and a-half from Fred- 
 erick City, on the 10th of April, 1817. His ma- 
 ternal grandfather, John Kenaga, reared quite a 
 large famil3' and was seventy-two years of age at 
 the time of his death, which occurred in Pennsyl- 
 vania. He followed agricultural pursuits through- 
 out life. Our subject is the son of Rudolph and 
 Anna (Kenaga) Myers, both of whom were natives 
 of Berks County, Pa., and of German descent. Tiie 
 father was twice married, the first time in May, 
 , 1800, to Anna Kenaga, by whom he had six chil- 
 I dren, Elizabeth, John, Mary, David, Jacob and 
 j Susan Ann, of whom only the two 3'ounger ones 
 
 26 
 
 are now living. Susan is the widow of .lacob Metz 
 and is now living in Wooster, Ohio. The mother 
 of this famil}- died in 1827, when our subject was 
 ten years of age. The father was again married 
 tiie same year, his second wife being Miranda 
 Montgomery, by whom he had three children: 
 William Henry, who lives in St. Paul; Asbury 
 Hamilton, who resides in Cincinnati; and Edwin 
 James, who died in AVooster, Ohio. 
 
 Rudolph Myers commenced farming in Penn- 
 sylvania, residing in Berks and Cumberland Coun- 
 ties until about 1815, when he removed to Mary- 
 land and there engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 for about twelve years. He then returned to 
 Pennsylvania, living there until 1833, wlien he fi- 
 nally removed to Ohio, settling upon a farm in 
 Wayne County, about six miles to the southwest 
 of Wooster. He followed agricultural pursuits 
 during his entire life and died in 1852, being sev- 
 ent3-two years of age at the time of his death. 
 
 In 1857, the subject of this sketch came from 
 Champaign County, Ohio, to Kankakee County, 
 III. He located in the then small village of Kan- 
 kakee and until 1892 lived continuously in one 
 house.- On the 31st of December, 1846, Mr. M.yers 
 was united in marriage with Miss Minerva Drake, 
 daughter of Nathan and Miranda Drake, of Holmes 
 County, Ohio. One child graced their union, a 
 daughter, Rovilla Ann, who was the wife of J. S. 
 Sheffler and died December 18, 1886. Mrs. Myers 
 departed this life on the 18th of September, 1852, 
 and on the 12th of September of the following 
 year, Mr. Myers married Miss Emily A. Funk, a 
 daughter of Joel and Elizabeth (Kenaga) Funk, of 
 Champaign County, Ohio. One child was born 
 to them, a son, Alvah Forest, who is now engaged 
 in buying hay and grain in Kankakee in carload 
 lots, and is also Secretary of the Kankakee Build- 
 ing and Loan Association. He married Miss E. 
 Maj' Reed, of Frankfort, Kan. 
 
 Mr. Myers during the first two years of his resi- 
 dence here rented a farm and afterward bought a 
 farm of eighty acres one mile east of town. About 
 three 3'ears later he purchased three hundred and 
 twenty acres three miles east of Kankakee, which 
 last tract he still owns but lias disposed of his 
 former purchase. He is also the possessor, in ad-
 
 542 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAX, RECORD. 
 
 dition to liis residence property, on which he has 
 a large and pleasant house, of another good resi- 
 dence. When Mr. Myers first located in this city the 
 Illinois Central Railroad had been built but three 
 years. During tiie war he clerked in the ware- 
 house of S. C. Kenaga and for two j^ears was book- 
 keeper in the flouring-mill of Dickson, McGrew & 
 Kenaga. For about two years he ran a flour store 
 in the town and after that entered the empl03' of 
 Smith & Johnson, grain merchants, for whom he 
 was bookkeeper. Mr. Myers then engaged in the 
 coal business for a few years and has been for 
 some time retired from active business life. 
 
 Our subject is an active worker in the Grace 
 Methodist Episcopal Church of Kankakee, in 
 which he held the offices of Secretary and Treas- 
 urer for twcnt}' 3'ears. He was also Trustee and 
 Steward for many years and still holds the former 
 office, and was Secretary of the Sunday-school 
 for thirty years. He is a believer in the prin- 
 ciples of the Prohibition party, which he sup- 
 ports. The cause of temperance has ever found 
 in him a warm and able defender and all other re- 
 forms calculated to benefit the people may be sure 
 of his hearty endorsement. He has never aspired 
 to official positions, though he has shown ample 
 ability to act in such capacities, could he be in- 
 duced to accept the same. 
 
 On the 21st of November, 1892, Mr. Myers was 
 called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who was 
 taken from his side by the hand of death after 
 nearly fort^^ years of married life. She had been 
 a consistent and faithful member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church for sixty-five years, and Mr. 
 M3'ers for sixty-three years. 
 
 '■ > W' | i i | ' | i fc J ll ^ I >■ 
 
 '^'OHN H. SHAFFER, of Kankakee, a well- 
 known dealer in coal and sewer pipes, has 
 been a resident of this city for over a quar- 
 ^ ter of a century, and has been engaged in 
 his present business since Maj-, 1879. He was born 
 in Berne, Albany County. N. Y., on tlie 17th of 
 March, 1833, and is a .son of Thomas L. and Eva 
 
 (Warner) Shaffer. The {)arents were natives of 
 Albanj' County, where the3- spent their entire 
 lives in agricultural pursuits. They were useful 
 and respected members of societj', and their deaths 
 occurred in their native county, the father having 
 died at the age of eighty-one years; the mother 
 died in 1882. The Shaffer family emigrated from 
 Berne, Switzerland, in a very early day, and took 
 a lease of the Van Rensselaer Patent. On the 
 Warner side our subject is of German descent. 
 
 John II. Shaffer was reared upon his father's 
 farm, and his education was acquired in the dis- 
 trict schools of the neighborhood. Beginning life 
 for himself as a farm hand, he saved sufficient 
 mone}' to set up a home, and was married in his 
 native county on the 2d of April, 1846, to Miss 
 Elizabeth Winne, who was born in Bethlehem, Al- 
 bany' Count}', N. Y., in 1829, and is a daughter of 
 Francis and Maria (Hogan) Winne. Tiie Winne 
 famil}' is of Dutch extraction, having crossed the 
 ocean in an earl}' day. They have had two chil- 
 dren, a son and a daughter. Frank was born in 
 1847. He enlisted under the flag in 1864, in the 
 Ninth Hlinois Cavalry, and after participating in 
 two battles died from exposure at Memphis, on 
 the 1st of August, 1864. Mary is a resident of 
 Kankakee, and is a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church, as are also Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer. 
 
 In 1860, Mr. Shaffer emigrated to Illinois and 
 settled in Boone County, where he engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits until March, 1867. At that 
 time he removed to Kankakee and engaged in the 
 farm implement and machinery business, which he 
 conducted successfully until 1879. He then sold 
 out and engaged in his present line. In 1884, Mr. 
 Siiaffer was appointed Postmaster of Kankakee by '. 
 President Cleveland, and served acceptably in that ' 
 position for four 3'ears. He has been Ma3or of , 
 Kankakee for three years, those of 1875, 1876 t 
 •ind 1877. He was the anti-ring candidate, and 
 made a popular and efficient officer. He uses his 1 
 riffht of franchise in favor of the Democratic ■> 
 party. Socially, he is a Master Mason, being a /i 
 member of Kankakee Lodge No. .389, A. F. & A. M., 
 in which he was initiated and made a Mason. He 
 is a stockholder in, and a member of, the Board of 
 Directors of the City National Bank of Kankakee. 
 
 M 
 
 I
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 He is also one of six proprietors of a rich gold 
 mine in Colorado. Mr. Shaffer lias now been ac- 
 tively identified with the business interests of Kan- 
 kakee for twenl3-live years. In all the relations 
 of life, both public and private, lie has been found 
 upright and li<>noral)lc and faitiiful to evcr\- trust. 
 He is well informed, affable and courteous in man- 
 ner, and has formed many warm friendships 
 among the best citizens of Kankakee. 
 
 HERMAN HARDEBECK, Trustee and 
 Manager of the North Kankakee Improve- 
 ment Association, and general dealer in real 
 estate, has been a resident of this city only 
 four years, but during that time h.as done more to 
 encourage its improvement and developr.ient and 
 that of the territory adjacent than many who have 
 spent a lifetime here. He was the organizer and 
 chief mover in the formation of the important as- 
 sociation of wliicli he is manager and through whose 
 inlluence a rapidly developing manufacturing 
 center has sprung into existence just to the north of 
 the old cit3-, and which is incorporated as a separate 
 municipality under the name of North Kanka- 
 kee. Mr. Hardebeck came to this city from Fowler, 
 Ind., in 1889, and handled large bodies of land. 
 He platted and sold in lots three subdivisions in the 
 cit}' of Kankakee and succeeded in awakening an 
 interest in the real-estate business and public im- 
 provement such as the town had never known be- 
 fore. In the spring of 1891, he organized the 
 syndicate known as the North Kankakee Improve- 
 ment Association, which purchased a tract adja- 
 cent to and north of tiiis city. In 1892 he 
 formed a second syndicate, and platted another 
 tract adjoining the first, all known as North Kan- 
 kakee. Under ^Ir. Ilardebeck's direction, sites were 
 given witii cash bonuses to several manufacturing 
 companies which have erected their plants and are 
 in successful operation. The .Joseph Turck Furni- 
 ture Compan}-, the Ideal Folding Bed Comi)an3', the 
 Gibbs Chair Factory, the .John Lane & Company's 
 
 Machine Works, the Seth Hart Planing .\liil eom- 
 pany and the Dimiiie it Dirkes Furniture Company 
 arc here located, the last-named said to be the 
 largest and best-equitipod furniture factory in the 
 United States. The result of the efforts made by 
 Mr. Hardebeck as Manager of the North Kankakee 
 Improvement Association can therefore be readily 
 seen. A thrifty and prosperous nianufacliiring 
 community has s|5rung into existence upon a tract 
 which two years ago consisted of bare fields. The 
 Illinois Central Railroad Company has established 
 a station there, cluirclies and schoolhouses are be- 
 ing built, a postollice is established and the town 
 is incorporated. This and other enterprises which 
 originated with Mr. Hardebeck have caused a gen- 
 eral advance in the price of real estate in and 
 about Kankakee and an awakening of a spirit of 
 enterprise, which is shown in the erection of num- 
 erous substantial buildings and fine residences and 
 the enlarging and im[)roving of others. 
 
 The birth of our subject occurred in Hamilton 
 County, Ohio, on the 1st of September, 1842. He 
 is a son of Barney and Elizabeth (Holt) Hardebeck. 
 His parents are natives of Hanover, Germany, and 
 emigrated to America in early life. They are both 
 living and make their home with our subject. 
 When a young child Mr. Hardebeck removed from 
 Hamilton County, Ohio, to Decatur County, Ind., 
 where he was reared and educated. At an early- 
 age he turned his attention to mercantile and 
 manufacturing pursuits. In 1871 he went to In- 
 dianapolis, where he engaged in the real-estate 
 business for about four years, during which time 
 he handled large bodies of land as agent and ef- 
 fected satisfactory sales. From 1878 to 1883 he 
 was engaged in agricultural pursuits near Fowler, 
 Ind., and from that point removed to this couut3'. 
 
 On the nth of September, 1862, Mr. Hardebeck 
 was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth 
 Schulte, a daughter of J. B. Schulte. She was 
 born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and departed this life on 
 the 11th of June, 1880, at Fowler, Ind. By her 
 marriage she became the mother of eight children, 
 six of whom are now living. William J. married 
 Katie Studer and resides in Kankakee; (ieorge H. 
 is married and is a successful farmer of this 
 county'; Josephine R. is the wife of Robert L. Cox
 
 544 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of North Kankakee; Ida is the wife of Frank 
 Maier and resides in North Kankakee; Clara died 
 in childhood; Olivia and Doretta are still at 
 home; and Robert H., the youngest of the family, 
 died in childhood. 
 
 On the 21st of October, 1884, Mr. Ilardebeck 
 was again married, the lady of his choice being 
 Philomena Schroeder, a daughter of Herman 
 Schroeder. She was born in Franklin County, 
 Ind. Three sons have been born of this union, 
 Everette, Frank and Lawrence. The parents arc 
 members and regular attendants of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Ilardebeck is a 
 Democrat, and while a resident of Fowler, Ind., he 
 served for several years as a Trustee of that town. 
 The business operations of our subject are charac- 
 terized by sound judgment, enterprise and sagac- 
 ity. His boldness and energy in speculation, sup- 
 ported by cool judgment and indefatigable appli- 
 cation to details, have won for him substantial and 
 increasing success and the confidence and respect 
 of all with whom he has I)een associated. Strict 
 integrity and correct business methods have always 
 marked his course in life and have been important 
 factors in building up and maintaining the repu- 
 tation which he now enjoys. 
 
 _^=<e) 
 
 !>^-<^ 
 
 i- 
 
 '\ff AMES BYRNS, deceased, a worthy pioneer 
 and the second Sheriff of Ivankakee County, 
 was born in New York, December 31, 1815, 
 and was a son of James and Margaret (My- 
 ers) Byrns. The parents removed to Lake County, 
 Ohio, when he was yet a child and later to Ma- 
 comb Countj', Mich., arriving there in 1819. 
 When quite young our subject lost his mother, 
 and when a mere lad went as a cabin-boy on the 
 Lakes. The boat on which he shipped was wrecked 
 in a severe storm, onl}' two beside himself being 
 saved. About 1829 he went to Chicago, then a 
 hamlet and militarj' post known as Ft. Dearborn. 
 
 Mr. Byins became a resident of Illinois in 1835, 
 and two years later located on the south side of 
 
 the Kankakee River in what afterward became the 
 town of Aroma. He made a settlement on section 
 25 and built his pioneer cabin on the eastern side 
 of the prominent elevation subsequently' known as 
 Mt. Langhan. 
 
 On the 7th of December, 1843, Mr. Byrns was 
 married in Aroma Township to Miss Mary A. 
 Dille, whose parents, Samuel and Mary (Barr) 
 Dille, were among the early pioneers of that town- 
 ship and brought her there when a small child in 
 1837. Mrs. Byrns was born in Euclid, Cuya- 
 hoga Count}', Ohio. Seven sons and two daugh- 
 ters graced the union of our subject and his es- 
 timable wife. Albert I. has been twice married, 
 the first time to Ellen Draj'er and later to Emma 
 Drayer; he now resides in Mead County, Kan., 
 where he holds the office of Sheriff. Samuel H. 
 married Lena Wadley and resides in Roselawn, 
 Ind. Charles and Edwin died in infancy. Arthur 
 J. is the present Sheriff of Kankakee County. 
 Thomas died in infancy. Mary E. resides in Kan- 
 kakee. Susan v., wife of Marion Riggs, resides on 
 a portion of the old homestead, as does her next 
 younger brother, William M., who married Ellen 
 CahiU. 
 
 Mr. Byrns began life away from home as an ap- 
 prentice. He made his own way from the first 
 and by hard work and good management accumu- 
 lated a large property, having at the time of bi.« 
 death upwards of eight hundred acres of land 
 and valuable city property. He was a successful 
 farmer and grower of live-stock and was promi- 
 nent in public affairs in the early days of Kanka- 
 kee County. A Whig in politics, he was the sec- 
 ond Sheriff of this county, his brother George hay- 
 ing held that position one year previously. Mr. 
 Byrns was Chairman of the first Board of Super- 
 visors held at Momence upon its organization in 
 1853 and held that office several subsequent terms 
 including the years 1864, 1869 and 1873. He als( 
 served as Justice of the Peace and was Postmastei 
 of the Mt. Langhan office. In all of his officia 
 positions he discharged the duties pertainin; 
 thereto with .ability and fidelity. 
 
 Early in his married life Mr. Byrns purchasci 
 another farm, situated on the same section wher 
 his first claim was located, which was known astli
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 545 
 
 Allen Rakestraw place, where he made bis home 
 until his deatli, wiiicli occurred Ueccraher 21, 
 1878. lie was buiied in the little cemetery on 
 Mt. Liinghan, witliin a few rods of his old pioneer 
 home. Ilis estimable wife, the partner of his joys 
 and sorrows, and of his failures and successes for 
 thirty-live 3'ears, still survives and resides on the 
 old homestead. Mr. Byrns was a Whig in early life 
 but joined the Republican party at its organiza- 
 tion and adhered to it through life. He was the 
 first Chairman of the Kankakee County Board and 
 a member of tiie building committee which had 
 charge of the erection of the present court house. 
 He was a man of sterling integrity, energetic and 
 practical, and was highly respected in this com- 
 munity. He was a consistent member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, to which denomina- 
 tion his widow also belongs. 
 
 
 ^^EOKGE W. HASKER is numbered among 
 (|| (-_ the practical and progressive farmers of 
 ^^^^1 Otto Township, where he resides on section 
 32. He is a native of Illinois, and was born in 
 Cook County, on the 22d of October, 1857, being 
 a son of Capt. .Tohn Ilasker, whose birth occurred 
 in Wisbeach, England, on the 22d of August, 
 1819. For twent3'-five 3'ears the latter was a sailor 
 and made many voyages upon the Atlantic, In- 
 dian and Pacific Oceans. He came to the United 
 States about 1852, making his headquarters in 
 Chicago, and for about five years he was captain 
 , of a vessel on Lake Michigan. Then believing 
 I that thirty 3'ears spent upon the water was suffl- 
 j cient, he determined to turn his attention to agri- 
 ! cultural pursuits, and accordingly settled upon a 
 farm near Orland, Cook Count3', where ho engaged 
 in farming for the succeeding four years. In the 
 year 1861, he came to Kankakee County and 
 bought a forty-acre tract. This was unimproved 
 property, and as soon as he was able, he purchased 
 I an adjoining eighty acres, on which he proceeded to 
 I raise crops and make various improvements. Af- 
 Iter a few years he added to his farm adjoining ter- 
 
 ritory, when his land consisted of one hundred 
 and sixt3' acres in one body. At the time of his 
 settlement in Otto Township, there were but few 
 people within its limits, and most of the land was 
 wild and unimproved. Mr. Hasker was very suc- 
 cessful as a farmer, and overcame the difficulties 
 and privations with fortitude well wortli3'of emu- 
 lation. 
 
 Capt. Ilasker was married in England, February 
 5, 1850, to Miss Amelia Smith, a native of Walton, 
 that country, who was born October 21, 1823, and 
 died in Chicago. The death of the Captain oc- 
 curred on the 25th of July, 1870. They were both 
 buried in Evergreen Cemetery, of Chebanse, where 
 a suitable monument has been erected to their 
 memor3'. Their families consisted of four sons: 
 John, who resides in Kankakee; our subject, who 
 is second in order of birth; Edwin, a farmer of 
 Otto Township; and William, the youngest of the 
 family, who lives in Chicago. 
 
 When a child of four years, George Hasker came 
 with his parents to Kankakee Count3', and passed 
 his boyhood days upon his father's farm. He re- 
 ceived a fair education in the common schools 
 during the winter season, and was early inured to 
 the labors and cares of farm life. He met with a 
 most unfortunate accident when about twenty 
 3'ears of age, by which he lost all the fingers of his 
 left hand in a corn sheller. He remained with his 
 father on the home farm until the latter's death, 
 and after that, in company with his older brother, 
 John, he took charge of the farm. About two 
 3'ears later, the brother married and left the home- 
 stead, and our subject took charge of the place, 
 which he soon afterward purchased from his mother 
 and 3'ounger brothers. Since it came into his pos- 
 session, he has steadily made improvements upon 
 it, and the well-tilled fields, which yield abundant 
 harvests, its good barns, windpump and other 
 modern farm apifliances, all indicate that the 
 owner is a man of progressive and practical ideas. 
 
 In Otto Township, on the 18th of May, 1882, 
 Mr. Ilasker was united in marriage with Miss Jen- 
 nie L. Mcintosh, who was born in this county, Feb- 
 ruary 18, 1862, and is a daughter of S. II. Mcin- 
 tosh, whose sketch appears on another page of 
 this work. One daughter has blessed this union.
 
 546 
 
 POxtTRAlT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a bright little girl of five years, whom her parents 
 call Sarah Amelia. Mrs. Hasker is a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which her hus- 
 band, tiiough not a member, is a regular attendant. 
 Since casting his first vote, Mr. Hasker has sup- 
 ported the Republican party, and is a faitliful ad- 
 herent of its principles. His first ballot was cast 
 for Hon. James A. Garfield, and in every Presi- 
 dential election since that time he has supported 
 the Republican candidates. In him the cause of 
 education finds a warm friend, and for some time 
 he has served as a member of the School Board. 
 He has never desired political preferment, but has 
 rather avoided it, giving his attention to his busi- 
 ness interests. He has spent almost his entire life 
 in the county, and is well known in this section, 
 where he numbers many friends, whom he has 
 made by his upright and honorable course in life. 
 
 LEXIS L. GRANGER is an attorney and 
 counselor at law in Kankakee, and is a 
 representative of one of the pioneer fami- 
 lies of this county. He was born in the 
 township of Bourbonnais, his birth having oc- 
 curred on the 15th of September, 18G7. The fam- 
 il3' is of French descent, the earliest American an- 
 cestor having settled in Acadia, from which the 
 people were exiled when the country passed into 
 the hands of the English, which event has been 
 made immortal by Longfellow in his beautiful 
 poem of Evangeline. The ancestors of the Granger 
 family were victims of that cruel exile. The 
 great-grandfather of our subject was born in Massa- 
 chusetts, and removed from there to Canada. 
 
 Alexis Granger is a son of Ambrose Granger, 
 who, when but seven years of age, emigrated with 
 his father, David Granger, from St. John's, Can- 
 ada, to Kankakee County. Botli the father and 
 grandfather of our subject are still living, and are 
 residents of Bourbonnais Township. On arriving 
 at man's estate, Ambrose Granger wedded Marce- 
 line Toucliette, a native of Canada, and unto them 
 
 was born a famil}^ of eight children, seven sons 
 and a daughter. Rev. Ambrose D. is pastor of 
 Notre Dame Churcii of Chicago, which is lo- 
 cated on the North Side of the city; Henry is a 
 resident of this county; Alexis L. is the next in 
 order of birth; Peter, George, William, Mary and 
 Joseph complete the family. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received his primary 
 education in the public schools of his native town, 
 and later entered St. Viatcur's College at Bour- 
 bonnais Grove, from which he was graduated in 
 the Class of '87. For the year succeeding, Mr. 
 Granger read law in tiie office of the Hon. Daniel 
 H. Paddock, of Kankakee, and in 1888 entered the 
 Union College Law School in Chicago, and while 
 there took an examination in the Appellate Court 
 and was admitted to the Bar. Returning to Kan- 
 kakee, Mr. Granger opened a law office in the 
 summer of 1890. He is quite a }'Oung man, and 
 has already given evidence of much natural abil- 
 ity and of liberal culture. He has received a thor- 
 ough education in both the English and French 
 languages, and large opportunities lie before him. 
 In his political relations he is in favor of the • 
 Democracy, and in 1892 was honored by his party 
 in being made the nominee for State Senator. 
 
 •r#= 
 
 ON. AZARIAII BUCK is a merchant of 
 1^ Herscher, 111., too well known to the citi- 
 
 zens of Kankakee County to need a special 
 i^j introduction to the readers of this volume. 
 He is a native of the Empire State, born May 17, 
 1828, in Rochester. His lather, George H. Buck, 
 was of German birth and, emigrating to the New 
 World, first located in Penns3ivania. He was 
 married there to Miss Elizabeth Watson, and after 
 a residence of a few years in the Keystone State. 
 removed to Rociiester, where he reared his family. 
 Mr. Buck, whose name heads this sketch, re- 
 ceived good school advantages in Rochester and 
 there grew to manhood. He there learned tlie 
 silversmith's trade, after completing which he 
 followed the business for a number of years as an
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 64? 
 
 employe of Stanton Bros., who had the most ex- 
 tensive trade in tiie citj-. For some time he was 
 in chai'gc of their business entirely'. In 1850, Mr. 
 Buck came West to Chicago, entering the emplo}' 
 of the American Express Company. At tliat time 
 the express matter was carried b}- the old stage 
 coaches from St. Louis to Chicago, and our subject 
 was among the pioneer expressmen of Illinois, 
 continuing as such for five years. While Mr. Buck 
 was in the employ of this company he experienced 
 some terrible weather, especially that of February, 
 1854. He was the express messenger on the Chi- 
 cago & Alton Railroad when a terrible blizzard 
 came upon them, and the company was forced to 
 give to the passengers the provisions and supplies in 
 its charge. They were snowbound for three days, 
 and during tliat time one car was burned up to 
 protect the passengers from the severity of the 
 weather. The lirst trip out of Chicago he made 
 to St. Louis, going as far as La Salle on the pac- 
 ket, and thence to Peoria, 111., b3' steam boat, 
 the next stage of the journey being made b}' 
 team. He never gave a bond to his company 
 during his time of service, which is a recommend 
 to Mr. Buck for his integrity. 
 
 In 1855 our subject came to Kankakee County, 
 where he pre-empted a tractof land in Pilot Town- 
 ship, upon which he settled and opened up a farm. 
 He afterward purchased more land and was exten- 
 sively engaged in agricultural pursuits for up- 
 wards of twenty years. He was one of the suc- 
 cessful and enterprising farmers of the county. 
 When he first became a settler of Pilot Township 
 there were about four residences in the townsliip. 
 Deer and wolves were plentiful when they came 
 here, and Mrs. Buck tells that she even drove the 
 wolves from the doorway with the broom, which 
 shows the original wildness of Kankakee County. 
 The first team they owned was a team of cattle. 
 When he and his wife first knew Kankakee City it 
 was a village of scarcely one hundred and fifty 
 inhabitants. The Illinois Central Railroad was 
 the only railroad then in existence in the county. 
 Mr. Buck built the second schoolhouse in Pilot 
 Township. There were no churches nor school- 
 houses when he first came to this part of the 
 county. He has driven his cattle to Chicago 
 
 markets and his hogs to Kankakee. Many times 
 the homes of the early settlers of Pilot Townsliip 
 were threatened by the terrible prairie fires, and 
 the neighbors would collect to fight the demon, 
 fire. 
 
 In 1872, Mr. Buck entered into partnership with 
 his brother, J. II., and engaged in general merchan- 
 dising at Pilot Centre. They also ran a black- 
 smith, wagon and general repair shoj), and dealt ex- 
 clusively in grain, live-stock, coal, and farm imple- 
 ments. On the completion of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad through the township the brothers moved 
 their store from Pilot Centre, stock and all to 
 Herscher. While still in transit they carried on 
 the buying and selling of goods just the same as 
 usual. They located on the lot where they have 
 since carried on their business. Buck Bros, had 
 the first store and were the pioneer merchants of 
 the town. Their stock is large and well selected 
 and they are doing a successful business. 
 
 In Rochester, N. Y., Mr. Buck was married to 
 Miss Catherine E. Cori'is, who is a native of the 
 Isle of Man, and was born in September, 1828. 
 Mrs. Buck is an active and consistent member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church and is a lady 
 highly esteemed for her many pleasant and noble 
 qualities. 
 
 Formerly an old-line Whig, Mr. Buck has been 
 an active Republican since the organization of 
 the party. In local politics he has also been active 
 and has held numerous positions of trust and 
 honor. He was sent as a delegate to the National 
 Republican Convention at Cincinnati which nom- 
 inated Rutherford B. Hayes, and has also been 
 sent to various State and county conventions. 
 He was elected the first Collector of Pilot Town- 
 ship, and was also the first Highwa_v Commissioner. 
 For twenty-four years he was Township Treasurer 
 and served as Supervisor of Pilot Township for 
 twenty-two years. Mr. Buck was elected to the 
 Lower House of the Thirty-first General Assembly 
 and during that time served on some of the most 
 important committees, among which we mention 
 Committee of Banks and Banking, State Buildings 
 and Grounds, and Roads and Bridges. He is a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity, holding mem- 
 bership with the Kankakee Lodge. He is well
 
 548 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 known througlioiit Illinois as a man of superior 
 business capacity and exceptional abilit}'. By his 
 many good qualities and thorough integrity he 
 has made many friends who give to him their com- 
 plete confidence and respect. 
 
 ^i\ 
 
 m^mi 
 
 '\fl AMES NICHOLS was for many years a suc- 
 cessful farmer on section 11, Ganier Town- 
 ^j^, , ship, in tills county. He was born in Col- 
 ^5^^ umbus, Ohio, on the 4th of February, 1812, 
 and was of English and German extraction. He 
 was the eldest child of AVilliara and Mary (Gundj-) 
 Nichols, whose family consisted of seven sons and 
 five daughters. Our subject was self-educated al- 
 most entirely, as his educational advantages were 
 of the most limited description. When twenty- 
 one years of age, Mr. Nichols married Miss Melinda, 
 daughter of Ashford and Mar^' leather, the cere- 
 mony being performed in 1833, at which time he 
 was just twenty-one years of age. 
 
 Soon after his marriage, Mr. Nichols went to 
 Vermilion Count}', 111., where he purchased Gov- 
 ernment land, which was unimproved prairie and 
 timber. He built a log cabin at first and lived 
 there until 1846. His journey to Vermilion County 
 was by ox-team in 1845. After living in that 
 county but a short time, Mr. Nichols came to Will 
 (now Kankakee) County, where he purchased two 
 hundred acres of Government land located in 
 Ganier Township, on section 11. To build a house, 
 he hauled all his lumber from Chicago by team 
 over the primitive roads of that early day, and in 
 this dwelling he resided until his death in the 
 year 1857. 
 
 Eight children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Nichols. The eldest of the family, Mary A., died 
 in 1838; William G. isa successful salesman, trav- 
 eling for the drug house of Robert Stevenson, of 
 Chicago; Angeline, who for fifteen years was a 
 successful teacher of Kankakee County, is now 
 living on the old homestead; Emelinc is the -wife 
 of Charles Prather, an agriculturist living in Ganier 
 Township; James S. is also a farmer of the same 
 
 township; Joseph lives upon and operates the old 
 home farm; and Martha A. is the wife of Melviu 
 R. Lively, who is an attorney-at-law in Webb City, 
 Mo. 
 
 Our subject always took an earnest interest in 
 politics and in local affairs. He was a stanch Re- 
 publican throughout life and held many township 
 offices, discharging the duties of the same with 
 fidehty. IMr. Nichols was a member of the Odd 
 Fellows' society and was a truly self-made man, as 
 he began life a poor bo}' without a dollar in the 
 world, and even at the time of his marriage was 
 absolutely without means. He departed this life 
 on the 6th of January, 1857, and his remains lie 
 interred in the Momence Cemetery. In disposi- 
 tion he was genial and pleasant, and won many 
 friends by these characteristics. He was one of 
 the earl}' pioneers who paved the way for the 
 success and prosperity which have crowned this 
 portion of the State, and whom we can never 
 repay in full measure for the hardships they have 
 endured, but we can hold them sacred in memory 
 and imitate their noble deeds. 
 
 _^ 
 
 / 
 
 ♦^•J-^' 
 
 W EMUEL BUCK, a well-known farmer, resid- 
 I (^ '"= °" section 13, Sumner Township, is a 
 ilLi^ native of the Green Mountain State, his 
 birth having occurred in Bennington County on 
 the 1st of October, 1832. He was early inured 
 to the duties and cares of farm life and received 
 fair educational advantages, as good as could be 
 obtained in those early days. When nineteen 
 3'ears of age he left the old homestead and worked 
 for two years in a meat-market, learning the 
 butcher's trade. This occupation he followed for 
 two years, and in 1853 came to Illinois. In com- 
 pany with a brother, E. H. Buck, he purchased 
 one hundred and sixty acres of land in Sumner 
 Township, Kankakee County. On this property 
 our subject is still living, it having been his home 
 for over forty years. At the time of his purchase, 
 with the exception of a few acres which were
 
 LlBn;\nY 
 
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 ilNIVERSIlY OF ILLINOIS
 
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 LIBRARY 
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 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 553 
 
 broken, no improvements hart been made upon 
 the farm. During the first years he was obliged 
 to carry his produce and grain to Cliicago by 
 means of teams. He helped to build the first 
 plank bridge on the road wiiich runs between his 
 farm and Momence. 
 
 June 30, 1867, Mr. Buck wedded Mrs. Mary 
 E. Jewett, nee IMcKinstry, a sketch of whoso family 
 appears elsewhere in this volume. A daughter. 
 Bertha, is their only child and makes her home 
 with her parents. Mrs. Ikiek was previously mar- 
 ried to Charles Jewett, who died in Vermont. By 
 this marriage three children were born: Julius; 
 Eva, who became the wife of Charlie Beers, a gen- 
 eral merchant of Kansas; and Alice, whose death 
 occurred in 1890. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Buck is a strong 
 Republican. He has held the offices of Constable 
 and Township Collector, and in him the cause of 
 education finds an able advocate, he having for 
 twelve years served as School Director. Both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Buck are members of the Methodist 
 Church, and the former holds membership with 
 the Odd Fellows' society. At the present time 
 he owns and carries on a fine farm of one hun- 
 dreil acres, which shows on ever3' hand the care 
 and attention bestowed upon it by its owner. 
 
 d****f< 
 
 "•}"}-**'S^^*+**F 
 
 ^,****t 
 
 <| lilLLIAM S. POTTER, one of the thrifty 
 XrJI and well-to-do farmers of Norton Town- 
 \fm ship, owns a farm on section 27. He has 
 resided in this county for a quarter of a century 
 and is a native of Illinois. He was born in La 
 Salle County April 7, 1857, and is a son of Isaac 
 Potter, a native of the Empire State. The latter 
 came West to Illinois when a young man, landing 
 in Chicago about 1835. That wonderful city was 
 then but a swamp and gave little promise of its 
 later prosperity and wealth. Mr. Potter made a 
 settlement in La Salle County, near Sandwich, and 
 is numbered among the honored first settlers of 
 that region. The Indians were still in the county 
 but were peaceably disposed and made little trouble. 
 
 In that county' he married Elizabeth Brook, who 
 was born and reared in Ohio, and whose father, 
 Thomas Brook, was one of the first settlers of De 
 Kalb County. With his family, the latter spent 
 several weeks in the fort during the Indian troub- 
 les. After his marriage, Mr. Potter pre-empted 
 land and opened up a farm in La Salle Countj'. 
 He hauled his grain with ox-teams to Chicago, as 
 that was the nearest market. His death occurred 
 in 1863. His wife is still living and resides with 
 a son near Aurora, 111. 
 
 William S. Potter is one of a fainilj' comprising 
 six sons and two daughters who are living, as fol- 
 lows: Mrs. J. H. Bateman, of l)e Kalb County; 
 Nelson, who carries on farming in Nebraska; John, 
 a carpenter by trade, and a resident of Missouri; 
 Marietle, who is the widow of J. H. Druilt, and 
 resides in Downer's Grove, Du Page County; 
 George, who resides in Indiana; Thomas, also a 
 resident of Downer's Grove; William S., who is 
 next in order of birth; and Oscar, who makes his 
 home in Downer's Grove. 
 
 When nine years of age our subject came to 
 Kankakee County with his mother and here was 
 reared to manhood. He had common-school priv- 
 ileges and remained with her until attaining his 
 majority. In Springfield, Mass., he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Nettie Shumway, on the 26th 
 of Januaiy, 1880. The lady, who was born Janu- 
 ary 15, 1857, isa nativeof the Bay State, was reared 
 in Belchertown, and was a successful teacher of Kan- 
 kakee County before her marriage. Her mother 
 was in her maidenhood Miss Pratt, a cousin of the 
 Hon. D. D. Pratt, of Indiana, and a granddaugh- 
 ter of Capt. Pratt, who attained that rank in the 
 War of the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Potter 
 have two children, a son and daughter, Harry 
 Shumway and Capitola Stella. 
 
 About two 3'ears after his marriage, Mr. Pot- 
 ter farmed the home place, when he bought out 
 the heirs. After residing there for several 3-ears 
 he sold the property and purchased the farm 
 where he now resides. He owns one hundred and 
 thirtj' acres adjoining the town of Buckingham 
 and has it all under a high state of cultivation. 
 Ovving to its fertility- and location this is a most 
 valuable and desirable piece of property. In ad-
 
 554 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dition to his farming interests, Mr. Potter has 
 dealt extensivelj' in grain for the past three years 
 and is progressive and enterprising in his business 
 methods. He is a stanch supporter of the Republican 
 party, casting his first Presidential ballot for Hon. 
 James A. Garfield, since which time he has supported 
 every nominee and the principles of the organiza- 
 tion. For several 3-eai-s our subject has been a 
 member of the School Board and is a loyal friend 
 to our school system. Socially he is a member of 
 the Modern Woodmen, and is the Venerable Coun- 
 sel of Buckingham Lodge No. 1512. Mrs. Potter 
 is a member of the North Congregational Church, 
 of Springfield, Mass., whose pastor was formerly 
 Dr. Gladden. Mr. Potter has spent his whole life 
 in Illinois and a quarter of a century in this 
 county, where he enjoys the well-merited regard 
 and confidence of all. 
 
 1^+^! 
 
 c=~ 
 
 ARRY B. STATES owns and operates a farm 
 on section 33, Norton Township. AVe wish 
 to add to the roster of the old settlers of 
 ^ Kankakee County the name of one of the 
 honored pioneers, who has been a resident of this 
 section for twenty-seven years. He is a native of 
 the Keystone State, born in Huntingdon County' on 
 the 27th of October, 1832. He is a son of Thomas 
 L., and a brother of William V., whose sketch ap- 
 pears elsewhere in this work. The boyhood and 
 youth of our subject were passed in his native 
 county, where he received a good education in 
 the common and high schools. Upon complet- 
 ing his studies, for some time he engaged in teach- 
 ing, after which he learned the printer's trade. 
 This line of occupation not being in accordance 
 with his taste, he gave up the business and went 
 to work upon the Penns3'lvania Canal. For six 
 years he worked at repair and construction for 
 the company, and then leaving them, went into 
 the employ of a railroad company. For a year he 
 was local freight agent for the Broad Top JJailroad. 
 Resigning that position, Mr. States came West 
 to Illinois, joining his father and brother in Kan- 
 
 kakee County. Though he had had no experience 
 as a farmer, he concluded to turn his attention to 
 agricultural pursuits, and accordingly settled on a 
 farm, the one which is still iiis home. He has a 
 well-improved place of sixty-six acres, about two 
 miles from Buckingham, and as a farmer he has 
 succeeded reasonably well. 
 
 The 8th of January, 1857, witnessed the marri- 
 age of Mr. States in Huntingdon, Pa., with Miss 
 Mary M. Glazier, who was born in that county, in 
 the town of the same name. She is a daughter of 
 George W. Glazier, also a native of the Keystone 
 State, but who is now deceased. By tliis union 
 three children were born, one of whom, a son, died 
 in infancy, and one, Charles L., died in this county 
 when twelve years of age. A daughter, Ella Lud- 
 low, is the wife of Asa F. Beardsley, a grain-dealer^ 
 in Buckingham. 
 
 For a number of years Mr. States has given his 
 support and influence to the Prohibition party, be- 
 ing a firm believer in and advocate of temperance 
 and legislation in its behalf. He and his wife arel 
 active members of the Methodist Episcopal Churchl 
 of Buckingham, and they are held in the highestj 
 regard by their wide circle of friends and acquaint- 
 ances, botii in this and adjoining townships. AJ 
 loyal citizen, he is not an aspirant for otticial] 
 honors, preferring to give his whole energy andl 
 time to his home and business. 
 
 ylLLIAM J. UNZ is a member of the flrn 
 of M. F. Riley & Unz, general merchant 
 \J^ of Reddick, 111. He is a native of thii 
 county, and the date of his birth is September 2] 
 1862. His father, Wilhelm Unz, was born in Ger^ 
 many and emigrated to the New AVorld when 
 child of eight years with his parents, who first lo^ 
 cated in Pennsylvania and later removed to KenJ 
 tucky. He grew to man's estate and wedded 
 tlieie Mary Feller, who was also a native of the 
 Fatherland. For a few years Mr. Unz resided in 
 Kentucky and came to Illinois in 1856. He lo- 
 cated in Kankakee County, being one of its hon-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5. '55 
 
 oicd early pioneers. He purchased two hundred 
 acres of land, which he proceeded to develop, .and 
 was quite a siicfessful agriculturist. He afterward 
 added to his original |)iucbase until at his death 
 his farm comprised four hundred and forty acres 
 of valuable property. At the time of his settle- 
 ment, and for nianj^ \'ears afterward, his nearest 
 neighbor was four miles distant. After a life of 
 industry- and unremitting toil he wiis called from 
 the scene of his labors by death in the summer of 
 1801. In local politics, he took quite an active 
 part, but neither desired nor .accepted office. His 
 wife survives him and resides on the old home- 
 stead. 
 
 AVilliam .T. is the sixth in order of liirth in a 
 family- of thirteen children, but four sons and five 
 daughters of whom grew to mature years. The 
 boyhood and yonth of our subject were passed 
 in this county, where he received a common- 
 school education. He assisted his father in carry- 
 ing on the homestead farm until he was twenty 
 years of age, at which time he decided to leave 
 the pursuit of .agriculture, which w.as distasteful to 
 him, and devote himself to merchandising. There- 
 fore he formed a partnership with JI. F. Rilej'and 
 with him commenced business at Keddick. They 
 began in a small way with limited stock and capi- 
 tal, but have added to both, and now carry a large 
 and well-selected line of general merchandise, in- 
 cluding dr}' goods, clothing, boots and shoes, shelf 
 and heavy hardware. The}' also deal in lumber, 
 coal and grain. They own their large store build- 
 ing of two stories, which is filled with merchandise 
 on both floors. The firm has established a reputa- 
 tion for fair dealing, reliable goods and living 
 prices. 
 
 In this county, on the 10th of October, 1888, 
 Mr. Unz and Miss Carrie Myers were united in mar- 
 riage. The lady, like her husband, is a native of 
 Illinois, and is a daughter of (ieorge L. Myers, a 
 retired farmer now residing in Dwight. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Unz have beeu born two children: Stella 
 Elvira and Agnes Helen. 
 
 In both local and general politics, Mr. Unz is 
 much interested and active, and has served as a 
 delegate to the county conventions. His first bal- 
 lot was cast for Hon. James O. I5laine in 1884, 
 
 since which time he has alway.> .-.uiiim. iii.il tliu 
 nominees of the Republican party. He is a firm 
 believer in the efficacy and need of good schools 
 and teachers, to secure which he gives his heart}' 
 co-operation. Mr. Unz is a man of superior busi- 
 ness talent, as his dail}' increasing business gives 
 proof. Personally, by his manly worth and hon- 
 orable cliaracter, he has won and well deserves the 
 esteem of his many friends and wide circle of ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 ^ IfelLLIAM A. PICKERING, a real-estate 
 \\ -, / dealer of Kankakee, became a resident 
 ^^' here in 187C. He at that time eng.aged in 
 the boot, shoe and harness trade, which occupations 
 he followed for a number of years, but his health 
 becoming impaired by too close confinement to 
 business he retired from that vocation and en- 
 gaged as a commercial traveler, re|)rescnting a 
 Chicago and Detroit firm of brusli manufacturers. 
 
 Our subject was born in Madison County, Ind., 
 January 31, 1844. In December, 1887, he engaged 
 in the real-estate business, and has dealt quite ex- 
 tensively in both Chicago and Kankakee realty. 
 He has erected a nice residence in Kankakee, but 
 carries on his principal real-estate business in Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 IMr. Pickering married Miss Anna M. Deebank, 
 who was born in England and is a daughter of 
 AVilliara A. Deebank, a well-known citizen of Kan- 
 kakee. Her father was also a native of the same 
 country. In 18.52, he emigrated with his family 
 to the United States and after his arrival at his 
 destination, New YorkCit}', he worked at his trade 
 for three 3'ears. He became a citizen of Kankakee 
 in 1855. His wife's maiden name was Elizabctli 
 Whardle, and to them have been born four chil- 
 dren. A son. Prank, the second in order of birth, 
 died in .lanuary. 1890, at the age of twenty-nine 
 years. Those surviving are Mrs. Pickering, .\dell 
 and Florence. 
 
 Our subject has recent!}' completed a very
 
 556 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 modern home, where he now resides. He is a well- 
 known and representative citizen of Kankakee and 
 is in every respect worthy the confidence and es- 
 teem in which he is held. He and his estimable 
 wife have an only child, a daughter, Glennie Belle, 
 whose birth occurred on the 18tli of September, 
 1879, in Monmouth, Warren County, III. Politi- 
 cally, our subject has always been a Republican. 
 Both he and his wife are members of the Presby- 
 terian Church. 
 
 I>^^<^ 
 
 ^l OSEPH L. IRWJN, passenger conductor and 
 an employe of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 Company for the past fifteen j'ears, has been 
 running between Kankakee and Blooming- 
 ton, 111., for ten years of that time. He was born 
 in Wells County, Ind., on the 22d of August, 
 1851, and is a sou of George S. and Ruth (Stan- 
 ton) Irwin. The parents were born in North Caro- 
 lina, and removed to Indiana while single. Our 
 subject's mother was a second cousin of Edwin M. 
 Stanton, Lincoln's Secretary' of War. The parents 
 were married in Indiana, and had a family of three 
 children, two sons and a daughter. John M. was 
 a soldier of the late war, a member of the One 
 Hundred and Fifty-third Indiana Infantry, and 
 •died at Russellville, Ky., in 1865, from disease con- 
 tracted in the service. Joseph is next in order of 
 birth. Tlie daughter, Mary L., is now Mrs. Arthur 
 Back, of Huntington County, lud. In 1866, the 
 family removed to Kankakee County, and settled 
 in the township of Otto, where the father was en- 
 gaged in farming until 1887, when he removed 
 with his wife to Kankakee, where they still make 
 their home. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared to man- 
 hood on a farm, and received his education in the 
 public schools. He was married in Otto Township, 
 on Christmas Day of 1870, to Miss Mary A. De- 
 voe, daughter of Michael and Sarah (Rhodes) De- 
 voe, the former born in the State of New York, 
 and the latter in Ohio. Thej^ emigrated from San- 
 dusky, Ohio, to Michigan City, lud., and in 1855 
 
 located in Otto Township, on Christmas Day of 
 that year, where they continued to reside, engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits until 1879, which witnessed 
 tlieir removal to Red Willow County, Neb., where 
 they now reside in the town of Lebanon. Six 
 children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Irwin, of 
 whom four are now surviving. Delphina L., the 
 eldest, died when one year of age; George AV. is, 
 employed at railroad work with the Illinois Cen- 
 tral; Lizzie, Edith and Joseph A. are still 
 home; and Marion died in infanc}'. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Irwin are members of the MetL 
 odist Episcopal Church, and the latter is one of thi 
 Woman's Relief Corps, and active in charitablj 
 work. Our subject began railroading in 1876 wita 
 the Illinois Central Railroad Company, on thj 
 Bloomington Branch of that road, helping to secur 
 the right of way, and aiding in its construction. Th 
 following year he was employed as brakeman o^ 
 its first trains, and a year later was made conductoi; 
 in which capacity he has since served. For the paa| 
 five years he has been running passenger trains es 
 clusively. He is a member of the Order of Railj 
 way Conductors, and holds membership with Ho\'v! 
 ard Lodge No. 218, I. O. O. F., of Kankakee. Mi| 
 Irwin has made his home in this c'.ty since 1879 
 and is widely and favorably known here and ij 
 the vicinit3'. His record as a railroad conductoi 
 is first-class, as he has always been known to be i 
 prudent and capable man, whose aim has beei 
 to make travel on his trains as safe and pleasanl 
 as possible, while among the trainmen who have 
 worked under him he is deservedly popular. 
 
 
 lARTON L. CORN WELL, a well-known 
 resident of Kankakee, is one of the earlj 
 ?y)JII and honored settlers of the town of Nor^i 
 ton, Kankakee County. His residence covJ 
 ers a period of almost a third of a century, the 
 time of his settlement here having been in the auj 
 tumn of 1860. Since then he has been promij 
 nently connected with the history of the countjj 
 and has ever borne his part in its upbuilding and
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 but 
 
 advancement. He well deserves representation in 
 tliis volume, and with pleasure we present to our 
 rtadeis this record of his life. 
 
 Mr. Cornwell is a native of tlie Kmpire State, 
 having been born in Wayne County, N. Y., ou the 
 28th of March, 1833, and is a son of William B. 
 Cornwell, a native of Connecticut. The grandfa- 
 ther of our subject bore the name of Gilbert Corn- 
 well, and the family was probably founded in this 
 countr}- during early Colonial d.ays. The father 
 of our snbject, when but a child, removed with his 
 parents to New York, the family settling in Col- 
 umliia Count}'. lie was there reared to manhood, 
 no event of special importance occurring during 
 the days of his childhood. After attaining to 
 years of maturity, he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Sarah Barton, and subsequently removed 
 from Columbia County to Wayne County, where 
 the subject of this sketch was born. In ISC'), the 
 father and mother came to Illinois, but later re- 
 moved to Michigan, locating in Battle Creek, where 
 they spent the remainder of their da3s. The fa- 
 ther was born in 1804, and died in 1886, having 
 attained the ripe old age of eighth-two years. His 
 wife had passed away manj- years previous. Her 
 birth occurred in 1806, and she was called to her 
 final rest in 1866. They were the parents of a 
 family of live children, the eldest of whom^ Lo- 
 vira, died at the age of twenty-two years. A son, 
 William II., died in childhood. The subject of 
 this sketch is the eldest surviving member of the 
 family. The next is a sister, Phoebe, now the wife 
 of Hiram INIunn, of Ames, Iowa. John J., who is a 
 resident of Battle Creek, Mich., served in the army 
 in the War for the Union, as a member of the One 
 Hundred and Eleventh New York Regiment. 
 
 Barton L. Cornwell spent the days of his boj^- 
 hood and youth upon his father's farm, and was 
 early inured to the labors of the field. As soon as 
 he was old enough to handle the plow, he began 
 ■work, and his summer months were thus passed. 
 In the winter season he attended the district 
 schools of the neighborhood, and a good school at 
 Phelps, N. Y., thus acquiring a good practical 
 English education. For five winters he taught 
 school successfull}', four terms in his native State 
 and one term in Will County. At the age of 
 
 twenty-three years he left home and made bis way 
 to Lockport, Will County, 111., but si.v months 
 later, however, he returned to the State of New 
 York. 
 
 M.ay 19, 1858, Mr. Cornwell was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Eleanor K. Lane, a native of 
 Wayne County, N. Y., born August 12. 183G, and 
 a daughter of Levi and Sallie (Burnett) Lane, who 
 were of New England ancestry. Her father was a 
 native of Maine, and w.is a son of Ziba and F.annie 
 Lane, the former of whom was a son of John 
 Lane, and a grandson of .lob Lane. Job Lane was 
 a son of John Lane, who was a son of Job Lane, 
 the last ancestor of whom the family has any de- 
 finite knowledge. Ziba Lane was born in Bedford, 
 M.1SS., Jul}' 5, 1756, and was probably- a man of 
 means, for family records show that he sold lands 
 in Bedford to J. Lane February 11, 1791, April 
 4, 1791 and August 25, 1792; to S. Lane, Feb- 
 ruary 2, 1793; to B. Lane, October 30, 1793; and 
 to W. Goodwin, April 2, 1796. Ziba Lane was 
 married April 1, 1778, by the Rev. Henry Cum- 
 ming. to Lydia Danforth, of Billerica, Mass., and 
 the children of that marriage were Hannah, who 
 was born November 25, 1778; Josiah, who was 
 born September 28, 1780, and died November 5, 
 1780, aged one month and eight days; Ziba, who 
 was born January 31, 1782, married Frances G. 
 Dennis, and settled in Lyons, N. Y.; John, who 
 settled in Lockport, N. Y., and was probably named 
 for his grandfather, John Lane; F. Bowman, who 
 was born September 24, 1787, married Roxinda 
 Parlin, and was probably named for his grand- 
 mother, Ruth (Bowman) Lane; and James,who mar- 
 ried Eliza Moss. The name James is common in 
 the Lane family. 
 
 Sallie Lane, Mrs. Cornwell's mother, was a na- 
 tive of the Empire State, and was a daughter of 
 James I. and Mary Burnett. Mr. Lane is still liv- 
 ing, and is yet a resident of Wayne County, N. Y. 
 He was born in 1806, and hence has attained to 
 the very advanced age of eighty-six years. The 
 mother died in December, 1890, at the age of four- 
 score years. Mr. and Mrs. Lane were the parents 
 of eleven children, of whom three died in cliild- 
 hood. The remaining eight grow to years of ma- 
 turity, and the eldest of these were twins, Mary
 
 558 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Martha. Mary died many years ago. Martha 
 became the wife of John Everhart, and died in 
 1889, leaving two children. The six surviving 
 members of the Lane familj^ are Frances G.; Mrs. 
 Corn well, wife of our subject; Rodney D.; Mrs. 
 Harriet R. Vanderbilt; Laura Jane Burnett; and 
 Levi E. All of the survivors of this family are 
 still residents of their native county (Wayne), 
 with the exception of Mrs. Cornwell. 
 
 In the spring of 1859, the year following their 
 marriage, our subject and his wife bade good-bye 
 to their home in the East, and, emigrating West- 
 ward, took up their residence in Will County, 111. 
 After a year spent in Lockport, they removed to 
 Kankakee County, where they have since made 
 their home. Mr. Cornwell located upon a tract of 
 one hundred and sixty acres of land which he pur- 
 chased of the railroad company, and subsequently 
 extended the boundaries of this farm by an addi- 
 tional purchase of forty acres. The entire amount 
 of two hundred acres was placed under a high state 
 of cultivation. It was all ])rairie land, and he 
 transformed it into rich and fertile fields, which 
 yielded to him a comfortable income. He still 
 owns this place, but has recently removed with his 
 family to Kankakee. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cornwell were born four 
 children, a son and three daughters. The eldest, 
 Alice L., is the wife of Thomas Patterson, and 
 the}' reside upon the homestead farm of her father; 
 Henry L. is engaged in the real-estate business in 
 North Kankakee; and Harriet L., is a shorthand 
 reporter, being in the employ of the Indiana, Illi- 
 nois & Iowa Railroad Company, at Kankakee. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cornwell recently lost their youngest 
 child, Nora B., who died at the age of sixteen 
 j'ears. 
 
 Our subject has led a bus}' and useful life, and 
 through his well-directed efforts, his perseverance 
 and good management has acquired a comfortable 
 competence. AVishing to live a retired life, he 
 left his farm, and vvitli his family removed to Kan- 
 kakee, in June, 1892. They have a new and pleas- 
 ant home, situated on the corner of Madison and 
 Maple Streets, near the eastern terminus of Station 
 Street, where they are resting in the enjoyment of 
 the fruits of their former toil. This worthy cou- 
 
 ple are numbered among the well-known and 
 highly esteemed citizens of Kankakee. In his po- 
 litical relations, our subject was formerly identified 
 witli the Republican party, but believing that the 
 liquor traffic is the great evil of our land, some 
 years ago he connected liimself with the party 
 which makes the suppression of intemperance an 
 issue in its platform. In short, he is a pronounced 
 J'roliibitionist, and does all in his power for the 
 growth and success of that political organization. 
 For five years he was Assessor of Norton Town- 
 ship, and for eight years was Justice of the Peace. 
 For over a quarter of a century he and his wife 
 have been connected with the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, and are faithful and consistent mem- 
 bers. Socially, he is a Master Mason. 
 
 NTHONY GERARD, Cashier of the Bank 
 of St. Anne, was born in that town on the 
 7th of June, 1865. His father, Louis Gerard 
 <^^ was a native of New York and of English 
 
 parentage. For twenty-two years he was a sailor 
 both_ on the ocean and the Lakes. Over thirty 
 years ago he came to Illinois from New York and 
 located in Chicago. After a short residence in 
 that city he left the Lakes and removed his family 
 to St. Anne. When eighty-two years of age he 
 was called from this life, on the 6th of July, 1891. 
 The mother of our subject was in her maidenhood 
 Miss Mary Mason. She was a native of France i 
 and of French parentage. She is still living, now i 
 well advanced in years. By her marriage she 
 became the mother of twelve children, five sons 
 and seven daughters. Of this number eight are 
 now living: Elizabeth, Susan, Kittie, Rosella, 
 Joseph, Eli, Louis and Anthony. 
 
 Our subject was reared upon a farm in St. Anne, 
 where he received his early education. Afterwards 
 he attended school in Muskegon, Mich. He worked 
 for two summers in a sawmill, after which he 
 spent seven years clerking for John Fern. For 
 some time he worked upon a farm, and in March) li 
 
 ! 
 
 I
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 559 
 
 1892, took the position of cashier in the bank of 
 St. Anne, of which J. N. Iliiigins is President and 
 proprietor. 
 
 On the li)th of February, 1888. Mr. Gerard was 
 united in marriage with ]Miss Ilattie Martin, 
 daugliter of Legar and Eliza (Drollett) Martin. 
 Mrs. Gerard is a member of tlie First Presbyterian 
 Cliurch of St.Anne, and stands liigh in social circles. 
 In his political affiliations, our subject casts liis 
 ballot in favor of the Republican partj'. Socially 
 and as a citizen he is held in tlie highest regard 
 and is a young man of great promise. 
 
 4^ 
 
 -^> 
 
 eriARLFS SCHNEIDER has been a resident 
 of tlie city of Kankakee since 18f)9, and 
 has one of tlie leading insurance agencies 
 of this place. He has been engaged in the insur- 
 ance business since 1875, and represents many of 
 the principal companies of the country, including 
 the German Insurance Company of Freeport; the 
 German ia Insurance Company of New York; the 
 Milwaukee ]\Ieclianics' Insurance Company, of 
 iyiilwaukee,Wis.; the German Insurance Company 
 of Peoria, 111.; and the New Hampshire Insurance 
 Com|ianj-, of Alanchester, N. H. 
 
 Mr. Schneider is of German birth. A native of 
 the Kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, he was 
 born on the 10th of May, 1836, and is a son of 
 Ludwig Schneider, also a native of Wurtemberg. 
 His father never came to America, but continued 
 to live in the locality of his birth until called to 
 the home beyond. Of his family there are but 
 three surviving members, including the subject of 
 {this sketch and his brother Louis, who also resides 
 in Kankakee, and a sister, who is yet living in 
 Germany. 
 
 AVe now take up the history of Mr. Schneider, 
 whose name heads this record. The days of his 
 |boyhood and youth were passed in his native land, 
 jwhere he accpiired his education. He also there 
 learned tlie trade of engraving on steel and other 
 metals. When a young man of eighteen years he 
 letermined to seek a home in Ameiica, of whose 
 
 advantages and privileges he had heard such 
 favorable reports. Carrying out iiis resolutions, 
 he bade good-b^-e to his old home, and on the 19th 
 of June, 1851, sailed from the Fatiiorland to the 
 New AVorld. His brother Louis, of this city, 
 came a few months later. Mr. Schneider at once 
 landed in New York, and worked at his trade in 
 that city, in Newark, N. J., and in other places in 
 the East for about fourteen years. On the expira- 
 tion of that period he came to Illinois. 
 
 It was on May 10, 1855, in New York City that 
 Mr. Schneider w.as married to Miss Mary llahn, 
 also a native of Wurtemberg. By their union has 
 been born a family of children, as follows: Albert, 
 who was born in Newark, N. J., in 1860, and is 
 employed by his father in busine-ss; Otto, a 
 resident of La Salle, 111.; William, a clerk in the 
 office of the Concordia Insurance Company in 
 Milwaukee; and George, now in Chicago. The 
 younger members of the family are Charles, Mary, 
 Frederick and Pauline, and are still under the 
 parental roof. They have also lost five children. 
 
 Mr. Schneider is a man of good business ability, 
 and he need never regret his emigration to 
 America, as he has here met with success and found 
 a ple.asant home. He is now one of tlie public- 
 sjiirited citizens of Kankakee, and takes a com- 
 mendable interest in whatever tends to promote 
 the general welfare of the community in which he 
 resides. 
 
 mA 
 
 1^=^ 
 
 SA F. BEARDSLEY has since 1887 been 
 pioprietor of the Beardsley Elevator and 
 a dealer in grain at Buckingham, 111. He 
 also handles coal and farm implements and 
 has a large and increasing trade. He was born De- 
 cember 6, 1848, in La Salle County. His father, 
 Levi C. Beardsley, was born in Connecticut in 1821, 
 and came to Illinois just after reaching his majority. 
 He w.as one of the honored pioneers of La Salle 
 County, and there married Miss Nancy C. Flem- 
 ing, who was a sister of James Fleming, whose 
 sketch appears in this volume. Mr. Beardslcj- setr 
 tied upon a farm and reared his family, and died
 
 560 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in La Salle County in 1863, being then in the prime 
 of life, only forty-two years of age. His wife had 
 departed this life two years previously at the age 
 of thirt3^-two. 
 
 Asa Beardsley is the younger of two brothers. 
 Ralph W. was a fanner of Norton Township, but 
 died .lanuary 11, 1893. Our subject spent his 
 youth in the county where he was born, and there 
 he had good school advantages. After leaving 
 the common schools he attended for two terms the 
 Wheaton College. In 1869 he came to Kankakee 
 County and purchased a tract of prairie land. Pie 
 was ver}^ active, industrious and ambitious, and in 
 addition to his agricultural pursuits branched out 
 in business in various directions. He purchased a 
 sheller and engaged in corn-shelling during a por- 
 tion of the year. He also bought and ran a thresh- 
 ing machine for a number of years. For some 
 time he was engaged in boring wells, and during 
 the time spent upon his farm lie had very good 
 success and accumulated a nice property. In 1879, 
 removing to Buckingham, Mr. Beardsley pur- 
 ciiased a business and engaged in merchandising 
 until the year 1884. His success in this line 
 being very indifferent, he sold out the business 
 and for two years engaged in contracting and 
 building successfully'. Since 1886 he has contin- 
 ued to do more or less in this line at intervals in 
 connection with his other business. In 1885 he 
 turned his attention toward buying and selling 
 grain, and two years later became the owner of 
 the Beardslej' Elevator, as before mentioned. 
 
 In this county, on the 16lh of December, 1875, 
 Mr. Beardsley and Miss Ella L. States, were mar- 
 ried. The lady was born in Pennsylvania, but 
 was reared and educated in Norton Township, 
 and is a daughter of II. B. States, whose sketch 
 appears elsewhere in this volume. A bright little 
 girl of three summers, Irma M., graces their union. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beardsley at present hold member- 
 ship with no church organization, but formerly 
 united with the "Wesleyan Methodist Church, to 
 which faith thej- still adhere. 
 
 In his political belief, Mr, Beardslej' now sup- 
 ports the measures and nominees of the Prohibi- 
 tion part}'. He was formerly, however, affili.ated 
 with the Republican party. Though never de- 
 
 sirous of official positions, he has been elected and 
 served one term as Township Collector. He is a 
 member of the Buckingham Cornet Band, and is 
 quite a proticient performer. He is conceded to 
 be one of tlie enterprising, public-spirited and suc- 
 cessful business men of Buckingham, and is well 
 known in tliis and adjoining counties. In his per- 
 sonal relations and business dealings with his fel- 
 low-men, he has always been found honorable and 
 upright. 
 
 ♦^•fe 
 
 ^J 
 
 / ^^3^=*~ 
 
 EORGE B. McNAMEE is a merchant of 
 Buckingham. He is a native of Oiiio, hav- 
 ing been born in Fairfield County, on tlie 
 18th of December, 1852, and is a son of Job and 
 Catherine (Walters) McNamee. The paternal 
 grandfather of our subject was born in Mai-yland' 
 moved to Ohio and settled in Fairfield County, 
 when it was a vast wilderness. In that county his 
 son Job was born and grew to manhood, and 
 there married a daughter of John Walters, who 
 was also an honored pioneer of the county. For 
 several years after his marriage, Mr. McNamee en- 
 gaged in farming in Fairfield County, and in 1871 
 settled in Norton Township, Kankakee County. 
 For a number of years he operated the farm which 
 he then bought and opened up, but is now living 
 retired, passing his remaining da3's with his son, 
 our subject. His wife was called from tliis life 
 April 19, 1889. 
 
 Our subject was one of four sons and two 
 daughters, who are all living and are now married. 
 William is engaged in business in Chicago; our 
 subject is next in order of birth; Viola is the wife 
 of R. F. Wadley, a farmer of Iroquois County; 
 Maggie married W. J. Watson, a druggist of 
 Braidwood, Will County; T. H. carries on the old 
 homestead; and Pei-ry is engaged in business in 
 Seatonville, 111. 
 
 George McNamee was blessed with good school 
 advantages, and supplemented liis common-school 
 education by one term at college. At the time of 
 his father's coming to Illinois, he removed with
 
 ■ C'r |LL(,\OIS
 
 /^t?ih^ 
 
 &jt^. 
 
 >.
 
 w 
 
 OP IHt 
 MMIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 
 i
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 him and helped to open up a farm in this county, 
 remaining with him for several years after attain- 
 ing his majority. 
 
 On the 6th of September, 1883, Jlr. McNamee 
 married Miss Ada Ella Cook, the ceremony being 
 performed in Ford County. Mrs. McNamee is a 
 daughter of II. M. Cook, whose sketch appears on 
 another page of this work, and was born in Ken- 
 dall County. By her marriage she has become the 
 mother of three children, Minnie, Fred and Riiba. 
 After his marriage, Mr. McNamee carried on a 
 farm for a few years, but in 1889 removed to 
 Buckingham, where he engaged in the butchering 
 business. This occupation he has followed up to 
 the present time, and in Marcli, 1892, also opened 
 a general grocery, lie has built up a large trade 
 and is doing well. Tlie first ballot cast by our 
 subject he deposited for Samuel J. Tilden in the 
 Presidential election in 1876, and is a strong 
 Democrat. He has never wished for otlicial recog- 
 nition, but has been elected to fill various posi- 
 tions of honor and trust. He has served as Con- 
 stable of Norton Township for eight years, and 
 was Deputy Sheriff of this county for four years. 
 He always takes an active part in local campaigns, 
 and for years has been a member of the County 
 Central Committee, and has been sent as a dele- 
 gate to the county, senatorial and congressional 
 conventions. Socially, he is a member of Lodge 
 No. 381, A. F. & A. M., at Cabery, and is Banker 
 of Lodge No. 1512, M. W. A. 
 
 d***** 
 
 A.}..5.^.^ 
 
 '•{••{••{••{•*^W''i"!"}'+f 
 
 * EMI BRADLEY COBB, a well-known and 
 " representative citizen of Kankakee, has 
 been a resident of this county since Marcli, 
 1862. He is an elder brother of Emory Cobb, 
 whose sketch is given elsewhere in this volume, 
 and is a native of the town of Dryden, Tompkins 
 County, N. Y., his birth occurring on the 5th of 
 May, 1823. He is descended on the paternal side 
 from an old New England family of English 
 origin. His grandfather, p:iisha Cobb, was an 
 
 26 
 
 early pioneer of Tompkins County, and continued 
 to reside there until his dealli. 
 
 Our subject is the son of William and Achsah 
 (Bradley) Cobb, tiie latter also l)eing of New Eng- 
 land extraction. Her father, Lemi Bradley, went 
 from New England to Herkimer County, N. Y., 
 from there to Groton, Tompkins County, and still 
 later to Genoa, Cayuga County, where he resided 
 until his death. Our subject is one of a family of 
 ten children, of whom seven grew to mature years, 
 five being sons and two daughters. The eldest of 
 those surviving is Mrs. T. 1). Wire, of Evanston, 
 III.; Lemi is next; Elisha is a resident of Cayuga 
 County, N. Y.; Emory resides in Kankakee; and 
 Harriet is the wife of Col. II. C. Clarke, of this 
 city. Those deceased are Claris>:i Jane, Ruth, Ed- 
 ward L., William N. and Cyrus U. The father of 
 this family died April 22. 1813, and the wife and 
 mother, who survived her husband for many years, 
 passed away at the home of her son Emory in Kan- 
 kakee, February 16, 1875. 
 
 Mr. Cobb, whose name heads this sketch, went 
 from his birthplace to (ienoa, Cayuga County, 
 when twenty-two years of age, and two years after 
 the death of his father. For a lime he worked 
 land on shares, but finally purchased a farm. For 
 seventeen years he made his home in the towns of 
 Genoa, Venice and Ledyard, N. Y., respectively, 
 and in 18C2 came to Kankakee and engaged in 
 operating the place now known as the Graves 
 farm, which was then owned by his brother Em- 
 ory. For ten years after his arrival in this county 
 he engaged in agricultural pursuits, and in this 
 time purchased considerable land, including forty 
 acres which he bought in 1869, now comprised 
 within the city limits and a portion of which lie 
 still owns. He had previously purchased a farm 
 of his brother, which, however, he never occupied. 
 In Ithaca, N. Y., on the 11th of July, 1815, Mr. 
 Cobb wedded Miss Mary A. Emmons, whose death 
 occurred December 2 7, 1855. By her marriage she 
 became the mother of three children: Susan Alice, 
 wife of Wesley Bonfield, of Kankakee; Ellen Ach- 
 sah, who became the wife of Theodore F. Andrews, 
 of Chicago; and Emmons B., also of tlie Garden 
 City. On the 1 1th of March, 1857, Mr. Cobb mar- 
 ried Miss Alice M. Cowles, of Cortland County,
 
 566 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 N. Y., in which count}' she was born November 28, 
 1823. She is a daughter of Judah and Polh' (Gos- 
 ner) Cowles, the former of whom was of English 
 descent, and the latter of German. The i)arcnts of 
 Mrs. Cobb were residents of Cortland County from 
 1810 until their deaths, the father passing awa}' in 
 1856, and the mother in 1868. Their family com- 
 prised nine children, four sons and five daughters, 
 of whom five survive: .Joseph, the eldest of the 
 family, died in 18:^8; Thomas B. resides at Post- 
 ville, Iowa; Mrs. Mary B. Alger lives in Cortland 
 County, N.y.; Lucy died in 1879; Martin L. lives 
 in Dodge County, Wis.; Mrs. Cobb is the next in 
 order of birth; Rev. Philo resides in the State of 
 New York and is a minister of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church; Alice and Ljdia M. are dece.ised. 
 
 In October, 1869, Mr. Cobb removed to Kanka- 
 kee and four years later, in company with several 
 other gentleman, engaged in the manufacture of 
 straw-board. This enterprise became one of the 
 most important industries of the city, but after 
 carrying it on for many years, the proprietors sold 
 the plant to the American Straw Board Company. 
 The mill stood idle for a year, and then was leased 
 to Mr. Cobb and his son-in-law, Weslc}' Boufield, 
 who embarked in the manufacture of wrapping 
 paper, from which business Mr. Cobb retired at the 
 close of 1892. 
 
 For thirty years our subject has been a resident 
 of Kankakee, and has ever been closely connected 
 with the growth and prosperity of the city. He is 
 especially' esteemed for his generous and philan- 
 thropic traits of character, as he is ever ready to 
 contribute liberally of his means to charitable and 
 religious purposes. He has been a faithful and 
 consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church for fifty-two years, and has loyally sup- 
 ported church enterprises and the preaching of the 
 Gospel. Mrs. Cobb h.as been a member of the same 
 church for fifty-four years. In his political affilia- 
 tions, he is now identified with the Prohibition 
 party, believing that the curse of the liquor traffic 
 should be suppressed by national legislation. Dur- 
 ing the nearly fifty years since Mr. Cobb attained 
 his majority, his political belief has been as fol- 
 lows: In 1844, he voted for James K. Polk; in 
 1848 for Martin Van Buren; in 1852 for John P. 
 
 Hale; in 1856 for John C. Fremont; for Abraham 
 Lincoln in 1860 and 1864; in the two succeeding 
 Presidential elections for Gen. U. S. Grant; in 
 1876 for R. B. Hayes; for James A. (4arfield in 
 1880; m 1884 for John P. St. John; four years 
 later for Clinton B. Fisk; and in 1892 for John 
 Bidwell. 
 
 ©.- 
 
 -^:i. 
 
 "^ 
 
 ^-^ 
 
 r=i 
 
 C^" 
 
 -§) 
 
 W AMES W. NULL is one of the most efficient 
 and trusted employes of the llbnois Cen- 
 tral Railroad Company, being stationed at 
 Buckingham as agent and o[)erator. His 
 birth occurred in Zanesville, Muskingun Count}', 
 Ohio, on the 16th of June, 1858. His father, John 
 W. Null, was a native of the Old Dominion and 
 grew to manhood in that State. When a young 
 man, he went to Ohio, first locating in Licking 
 County, where he was married to Miss Mary Eliza 
 Keith, who was born in the Buckeye State. Mrs. 
 Null died when the subject of this sketch was but 
 an infant. 
 
 Until fourteen years of age, James lived with 
 friends and relatives in Ohio, and in 1872 came to 
 Illinois. He joined an uncle who owned a farm 
 in McLean County, and with him he staid for 
 several years, working on the farm. During the 
 winter months, he w^s allowed to attend school, 
 and before leaving Ohio had the advantages of 
 the good public schools at Zanesville. He was 
 of an active mind and ambitious temperament, 
 and while still at school took up the study of 
 telegraphy, in which he soon became quite profi- 
 cient. In 1879, Mr. Null came to Kankakee Coun- 
 ty, entering the railroad office at Irwin, where he 
 continued the study of telegraphy. After a few 
 months, he was transferred to Kempton, Ford Coun- 
 ty, being night operator there for about four 
 months, at the expiration of which time he was 
 given the office at Risk, being agent and night 
 operator at that point for one and a-half years. 
 In October, 1882, Mr. Null was stationed at Buck- 
 ingham, and has since that time been the .igent 
 and telegraph operator here. He has become iden-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 507 
 
 tilled with the business growth and development 
 of lliis thriving town, and for ten years has been 
 numbered among its wortliy citizens. He is agent 
 for tlie Phenix Fire Insurance Company of Brook- 
 lyn, which is one of the best companies of its 
 kind in the I'nited States. He is also secretary of 
 the Inter-State Building and Loan Association of 
 Bloomington, 111., and lias held that ollice for the 
 past three years. 
 
 At Culloni, 111., on the 8th of November, 1883, a 
 wedding ceremony united the destinies of JL-. Null 
 and Miss Emma F. Shearer, who is a daughter of 
 J. ,1. and Catherine Shearer, of CuUom, in which 
 town Mrs. Null passed her girlhood and grew to 
 womanhood, though Ohio was the State of her 
 birth. One son, Rodney E.,lias blessed their union. 
 Sociall}-, Mr. Null is highly esteemed and res- 
 pected as one of the most pleasant and obliging 
 I agents of the Illinois Central Railroad Company. 
 Though not an .aspirant for political honors, he 
 has ever taken an interested and active part in 
 politics, having been alliliated with the Republican 
 party since attaining his majority. His first 
 ballot was cast in the Presidential election of 1880 
 for 11(111. .James A. Garfield. Mr. Null is a man 
 of superior business capacit\-, and is intelligent and 
 ' well read. Being thrown u|ion his own resour- 
 I ces when (jiiite a young man, he li.as had to make 
 his own w.ay in the world unassisted, and is well de- 
 serving of the fair measure of success to which he 
 has attained. 
 
 , AVID BLOOM, a pioneer of northern Ill- 
 inois, was born in Burlington, Bradford 
 County, Pa., April 1, 1800, and was of 
 German extr.aclion. His parents were 
 among the tiist settlers of Bradford Couutj'. In 
 the autumn of 1819 Mr. Bloom married Miss Polly 
 I A. Rutty, who was some months his senior. She 
 I was born October 10, 1799, and was of Scotch and 
 English parentage, her people being among the 
 pioneers of Lycoming County, Pa. 
 
 Mr. Bloom in the fall of 1833 made a trip to 
 
 the then far West, the limit of his journey being 
 Dorr Prairie, which he considered an earthly Eden, 
 and where he thought of returning with his family. 
 Almost his entire trip was made on horseback ex- 
 cept on his return East, when he crossed Lake 
 Erie. He was gone from home for nearly tliree 
 months, and was induced by an acquaintance to 
 finally settle in what is now "Will County, 111., 
 July 11, 1831, just at the beginning of the wheal 
 harvest. They moved into a liouse owned by J. 
 M. Reynolds, and the next day Mr. Bloom engaged 
 in harvesting, working with the cradle for twenty- 
 seven days. Most of the grain was cut with a 
 sickle that 3'ear and the following, and even cra- 
 dles were scarce in the new settlement, and such a 
 thing as a liarve-sting-machine was yet a thing of 
 the futuie. He worked for William Cougar, 
 grandfather of William Cougar of this city, and 
 for Joseph S. Reynolds, grandfather of J. Rey- 
 nolds, of Kankakee. 
 
 In 1835 Mr. Bloom bought one hundred and 
 twenty acres at the land sale in Chicago. He was 
 by trade a millwright, and built one of the first saw- 
 mills in this county in the fall of 1835 at or near 
 the mouth of the Sag, in Cook County, for Pad- 
 dock Brothers; in 183G he built a saw and grist mill 
 for Cornelius Van Horn at the head of Hickoiy 
 Creek timber in Van Horn's Grove. He also 
 helped to build the dam and mill at Bourbonnais, 
 the building being afterward removed to Kanka- 
 kee. While in California lie also built two other 
 mills. During the year 1836 he sold his land 
 and located a claim m Iowa, where the city of 
 Cedar Rapids now stands, intending to move there 
 the ensuing spring, but in his absence the claim 
 was jumped, so he was forced to abandon the idea 
 of settling there. 
 
 hi December, 1836, ."Mr. Bloom, in partnership 
 with Jacob Sammons, engaged in bu3ing and driv- 
 ing hogs across the prairie to Chicago. It was 
 while out on this expedition that he bargained for 
 the claim on Rock Creek, section 23, Rockville 
 Township, Kankakee County, where he moved in 
 the early spring of the following year. At that 
 time pork brought a good price, speculation of all 
 kinds was rife, and everyone expected to become 
 weallh3' at once. As before mentioned, in Decern-
 
 568 
 
 PORTRAIT AOT) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ber, 1836, Mr. Bloom and Mr. Sammons having 
 purchased a large drove of four hundred hogs in 
 the vicinity of Danville, 111., were on their way 
 Northward to dispose of them in the Chicago mar- 
 kets. Thej' had proceeded as far as Sugar Creek, 
 in what is now Iroquois County, when they were 
 overtaken by that sudden and terrible change of 
 weather which is still spoken of by the earliest 
 settlers with a shudder of dread. That was the 
 most remarkable change of weather ever recorded 
 in the annals of this country, and the date is given 
 as December 20, 1836. The day and night pre- 
 vious had been mild and foggy, part of the time 
 with heavy rain, until about three o'clock in the 
 afternoon, when it cleared off and the Polar blast 
 came sweeping down across the almost barren 
 prairie from the Northwest. The first touch of its 
 icy fingers transformed, as by magic, the appearance 
 of the whole face of nature. The ground had been 
 covered with slush; north of Kankakee to Chicago 
 the saturated snow was about one foot in depth, 
 and the sloughs and streams were full of water. 
 In an incredibly' short space of time the whole 
 country became a vast sheet of ice, and some of 
 the old settlers contend that it froze sufficiently 
 in five minutes to bear the weight of a man. Mul- 
 titudes of wild animals and birds perished with 
 the intense cold. As soon as the "norther" struck 
 them, Mr. Bloom realized the great danger the}' 
 were in and requested his partner to take the two 
 teams with which they had to hauled corn for their 
 stock and the men who were assisting them, 
 and seek a place of shelter as soon as possible, 
 which they succeeded in doing. Our subject re- 
 mained with the drove until he found a partial 
 shelter for them in a patch of tall prairie grass. 
 By ihis time it had become dark, and it was evi- 
 dent tliat he must do something to save himself. 
 He tried in vain to remount his horse, as he had 
 become chilled and his outer clothing was frozen. 
 Finding the attempt impossible, he led the horse 
 to a stack of hay at no great distance, and turn- 
 ing him loose, began stamping around the stack 
 to keep from freezing, at the same time revolving 
 in his mind how he should be able to find the 
 house, which he knew could not be far distant. 
 Fortunately for him rescue was at hand, and right 
 
 cheerfull}' he answered a manly hello. The stranger f 
 and good Samaritan turned out to be a Methodisti 
 parson, who had stopped at the house for shelter, . 
 and had bravely volunteered to go out in the bit- ; 
 ter cold to the aid of the suffering. Mr. Bloom 
 ever afterward held him in grateful remembrance. 
 On the following day they visited the drove, but 
 as the cold was still veiy severe they could do 
 nothing but feed them. Many had perished and 
 some were badly frozen. Two daj's afterward Ij 
 they started with all that could travel, and then, 
 commenced a toilsome and weary inarch of from 
 four to six miles per day. In crossing the streams 
 the ice had to be covered with straw or scarified 
 with axes. When they arrived at William Baker's 
 place, now known as the Ohio House, tliej' slaugh- 
 tered the disabled and heaviest of the drove, which 
 were sent to Chicago on sleighs- In those days 
 hogs that were bought for from §2.50 to $3 per, 
 hundred were sold for from ^9 to $12 per hundred. 
 As there were no railroads, the products of the 
 country south were mostly sent to Cincinnati, and as 
 the demands of the northern part of the State were 
 pressing, high prices resulted. 
 
 The principal occupation of David Bloom was 
 farming and stock-raising. During the excLlemenI 
 consequent on the discovery of gold in California, 
 he became one of the honored "'49ers," residing 
 there for about five years, engaged in mining and 
 lurabering,and returning once to his home, in 1852 
 on a visit. In the summer of 18.51, the people oi 
 Greenwood Valley, Cal., were obliged to executei 
 summary justice upon a notorious desperado whc 
 had killed two or three men. The Judge Lynch 
 method of ridding the country of such characters^ 
 was popular, and Maj. Bloom, as he was called there 
 was asked to preside at the meeting and trial. The 
 man was found guilty and confessed to the mur- 
 ders. Mr. Bloom had to pronounce sentence ol 
 death upon him, and gave the culprit one hour in 
 which to prepare for his doom, at the expiration 
 of which he was promptly executed by hanging 
 from the limb of a tree. The two instances noted 
 above show some of the difficulties with which th< 
 pioneer had to contend, and the courage nccessarj 
 for frontier life. 
 
 Our subject was a man of strict integrity oi
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 56d 
 
 character, of strong religious convictions, and in 
 early life a member of the Methodist Church, but 
 on coming to Illinois was for a number of years 
 not a member of any denomination. Late in life 
 lie joined the church of the United Brethren, of 
 which he was a faithful member until his death, 
 which occurred on the 24tli of January, 1877. He 
 W.1S ever kind and charitable to the unfortunate 
 and needy. Politically, he was a Jackson Demo- 
 crat, a great admirer of Judge Douglas and lion. 
 John AVentworth. Of the latter he was always a 
 warm personal fiiend and zealous supporter, being 
 a inenilier of the convention held in Joliot, in 
 May, 1843, which gave that gentleman his first 
 nomination for Congress. 
 
 HARLES B. FOSTER, a self-made man, 
 who is now engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits on section 25, Limestone Township, is 
 a native of New York. He was born in Parma, 
 Monroe County, June 2, 1832, and is a son of 
 Hiram and Permelia (Curtis) Foster. Tlie father 
 was born in Vermont, February 26, 1802. The 
 paternal grandfather of our subject was also a na- 
 tive of the Green Mountain State, and was of 
 English extraction. In an early day lliram Fos- 
 ter removed to New York, and during his resi- 
 dence there met and married Miss Curtis, who was 
 horn in Onondaga County, N. Y., May 8, 1803. 
 Her parents and her ancestors for several genera- 
 tions were born in the New England States. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Foster continued their residence in New 
 York until 1850, when they emigrated to Michi- 
 gan. He was a painter by trade, but after remov- 
 ing to the West engaged in farming. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was the youngest 
 child and only son in a family of five diildren. 
 He remained under the parental roof until after 
 he had attained his majority. The days of his 
 boyhood and youth were quietl}- passed, and his 
 education was acquired in the common district 
 schools of the neighborhood. To his father he 
 
 gave the beneflt of his labors until twenty-three 
 years of age, when he started out in life for 
 himself without a doll.ar. He first earned his live- 
 lihood by working as a carpenter and joiner, 
 which occupation he followed for a period of 
 tliree years in Michigan and Indiana. 
 
 An important event in the life of Mr. Foster 
 occurred on the 1 Ith of February, 1858, when 
 was celebrated his marriage with Miss Clara E. 
 Nickerson, who was born in Indiana, August 31, 
 1841. She is a daughter of Garret and Martha 
 (Ivenney) Nickerson. Her father was born in 
 <^ieen Anne County, Md., M.ay 4, 18(12, but her 
 tnollicr was a native of Pennsylvania, her birth 
 having occurred in the Keystone Stale, on the 8th 
 of March, 1809. In an early day they emigrated 
 to Indiana, and in 18fi0 came to this count}', 
 where they botli died. Mrs. Foster received such 
 educational advantages aa the public schools af- 
 forded, and remained with her parents until her 
 marriage. By the union of our subject and his 
 wife were born four children, but the eldest is 
 now deceased. George G., who was born Sep- 
 tember (J, 1859, died on the 18lh of February 
 following. Carrie E., born April 2, 18(!2, is now 
 the wife of Rudolph Hawkins, a resident farmer 
 of Kankakee County. Mary N., born September 
 28, 18(57, and Jennie P., born January 8, 1879, 
 are still under the parental roof. 
 
 Since his marriage Mr. Foster has engaged in 
 farming, and he how owns and operates eighty 
 acres of good land in Limestone Township, pleas- 
 antly situated within two and a-half miles of the 
 cit3' of Kankakee. For some time Jlr. Foster was 
 independent in his political views, but for the last 
 five years he has been a supporter of the Demo- 
 cratic iJarty. His fellow-townsmen, appreciating 
 his worth and ability, have frequently called upon 
 him to serve in public positions of honor and 
 trust. He h.as lield the ollice of Town Clerk for 
 several j'ears, has been School Director for his dis- 
 trict for the long period of twenty- years, and is 
 now one of the School Trustees of his township. 
 He was Supervisor of Limestone Township for 
 three years, at which time the ''Three C.'s" K. R. 
 bonds were issued, and his name was on every bond. 
 His frequent re-election indicates the promptness
 
 670 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and fidelity with which he always discharges his 
 public duties, and his long connection with tlie 
 school interests attests the fact that the cause of 
 education finds in him a warm friend. He is a 
 public-spirited and progressive citizen, and those 
 who know him esteem him highly for his sterling 
 worth and strict integritj\ 
 
 — t 
 
 M>-^<^ 
 
 -i^ 
 
 'Xl OHN S. RANSOM, a retired merchant of Mo- 
 mence, and a well-known citizen, was born 
 in Selma, Ala., on the 31sl of March, 1849, 
 and is a son of Elijah and Eunieia (Steb- 
 bins) Ransom, both of Connecticut. Tlie father 
 was of English origin, an ancestor of his coming to 
 America early in the eighteenth century in com- 
 pany with two brothers. They emigrated from Col- 
 chester, England, one of them settling in Connect- 
 icut, one in Vermont, and tlie other in Tennessee. 
 The maternal grandfather of our subject was a Con- 
 gregational minister in Guilford, Conn., as early as 
 1763, and bore tlie name of St,e|)hen W. Stebbins. 
 On the father's side our subject's great-grandfa- 
 ther was a farmer, and a soldier in the Revolution- 
 ary War. He built a large frame house in Salem, 
 Conn., which is still standing in a good state of 
 preservation. 
 
 Elijah Ransom was born in Salem, Conn., in 
 1816, and there was reared to manhood. His edu- 
 cation was received in the common schools, and 
 was supplemented by a course at Bacon Academy, 
 in Colchester, Conn. Wliile a boj^, he clerked in a 
 store in Salem, developing a special aptitude for 
 business. For some time he was in the employ of 
 J. B. "Wheeler, who keiit a general store, and with 
 him he was afterward associated as partner, under 
 the firm name of Wheeler & Ransom. They con- 
 tinued in company together for a number of years, 
 Mr. Ransom then selling his interest in the store 
 and removing to Selma, Ala. There he opened a 
 general store and engaged in business for about 
 seven years at that place. He then returned to 
 Connecticut and established a new line of trade, 
 where he remained until liis death, which occurred 
 
 in September, 1888. He was always prominent in 
 church work, and for many yenrs was considered 
 a pillar of the Congregational Church. His wife is 
 slill living, and since her husband's death has 
 made her home in Chicago with three of her chil- 
 dren who live there. She is also a devoted mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, and is now sev- 
 enty-three years of age. In her family were five 
 sons and two daughters: Edward S., Annie S. (who 
 died in December, 1891, at her home in Chicago), 
 John S., Caroline W., Charles N., William S. and 
 Elijah. 
 
 Mr. Ransom, whose name heads this sketch, 
 imbibed from early childhood a good knowledge 
 of business principles. He received a common- 
 school education, and attended Bacon Academv, 
 and afterwnrd Williston Seminary in East Hamp- 
 ton, Mass., said to be one of the best preparatory 
 institutions in the United States. After he iiad 
 completed his studies, Mr. Ransom returned to 
 Colchester, where he entered the employ of his fa- 
 ther in his general store and remained with him 
 for six years. He then went to Chicago, where he 
 became an employe of Gage Bros, it Co., wholesale i 
 millinery and notion dealers, and for ten 3'ears, I 
 from 1872 until 1882, he continued with them. 
 
 On the 1st of February, 1882, occurred the wed- 
 ding of Mr. Ransom and Miss Emma, daughter of 
 Henry C. and Emeline (Chapman) Ransom, of 
 Hartford, Conn. To our subject and his wife 
 have been born two children, the elder of whom, 
 Adelaide Louise, died in infancy; Henry Cecil 
 is still living. After his marriage, Mr. Ran- 
 som came to Momence, where he purchased a-half 
 interest in the firm of Stratton it Hamilton, gen- 
 eral merchants. For one year the firm carried on 
 business under the name of Stratton, Ransom & 
 Co., and at the end of that time our subject pur- 
 chased the entire business. He continued alone 
 having an extensive trade, until in October, 1892 
 when he sold out to Charles Hack. Mr. Ranson 
 commenced doing business in the stone buildinj 
 on River Street, which place he occupied forsevei 
 years, and then built a fine brick building on Fion 
 and Locust Streets. He has been a member of th' 
 Northwestern Traveling Men's Association for thv 
 past eleven 3'ears. He was President of the Mo
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 671 
 
 mence Hay Palace Association during its existence 
 in 1890 and 1891, and lias been President of the 
 Jloraence Building and liOan Association from its 
 organization until October, 1892, when he re- 
 signed. 
 
 Though Mr. Ransom has never desired to be an 
 office-holder, he is a stanch Republican, and was 
 President of the Republican Club in the campaign 
 of 1888. He and his wife were reared in the Con- 
 gregational Church, to which they formerly be- 
 longed, but there being no cluirch of that denom- 
 ination in Momence, they identified themselves 
 with the Episcopal congregation. Our subject is a 
 member of the Royal Arcanum, and helped to or- 
 g.anize the Momence Council in 1886, having taken 
 a card from the Council to which he belonged in 
 Chicago. He was one of the charter members of 
 the Momence Council, and was its Regent for two 
 years. The body was organized with twenty mem- 
 bers, but it now has sixty-three. In 1887, Mr. 
 Ransom was sent as a delegate to the Grand Coun- 
 cil at Chicago, a year later was chosen Grand Chap- 
 lin, in 1889 Grand Guide, and in 1890 Grand Ora- 
 tor, in which capacity he served for two terms. 
 He has always taken an active interest in se- 
 cret societies, and is a member of the Knights of 
 Pythias, being Chancellor-Commander of Golden 
 .Shield Lodge No. 32.3, of Momence. He also be- 
 longs to the Royal League, Alpha Council No. 1, 
 of Chicago, a fraternal organization similar to the 
 Roval Arcanum. 
 
 =^^^i^"i^ig 
 
 l#i#S- 
 
 I YLAND I). SHERMAN, an early settler of 
 Kankakee, who enjoys an extended ac- 
 ■t- \ quaintance, and who has for many jears 
 been an intluential and potent factor in 
 local and State politics, is a native of Indiana, 
 and was born in Rusliville, Rush County, of the 
 Hoosier State, on Christmas Day of 182G. His 
 father, Jonathan Sherman, of New England origin, 
 was born in New Bedford, Mass., on the 1st of 
 May, 1793, and was descended from an old New 
 England family that dated its arrival in America 
 
 prior to the War of the Revolution. When a 
 young man Jonathan Sherman went to Virginia, 
 where, on the .Otli c)f October, 1820, he niarriedthe 
 mother of our subject, wiiose maiden name was 
 Cecelia Posey. jNIrs. Sherman was born near 
 Richmond and came of an old Virginian famil}-. 
 Soon after their marriage they settled in Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio, where they resided until 1826, when 
 they removed to Rusliville, Rush County, Ind., 
 where the wife and mother died .September 26, 
 1836. Mr. Sherman continued to live in Rush- 
 ville until 1866, when he came to Illinois on a 
 visit to his children and died at Urbana, in April 
 of that j-ear. 
 
 Ryland D. Sherman attended the common 
 schools in his native State and was married in 
 Rusliville, on the 5th of February, 1852, to Miss 
 Mary F. Morrow, daughter of Benjamin and Eliza- 
 beth Morrow. Mrs. Sherman was born in Eliza- 
 ville, Ky. Three children were born to our sub- 
 ject and his wife, two sons and a daughter. 
 Charles B. married Maggie Dolog and is employed 
 ill the postal mail service, making his home at 
 Kankakee; Roger D., the second son, married Leal 
 Nichols and resides in Kankakee; and Elizabeth, 
 the only daughter, is the wife of Newcoinb G. 
 llalsey, Jr., a prominent grocer of this city. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Sherman are old-time members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 In 1856, our subject removed to Kankakee, 
 where he spent a year in the hotel business in 
 company with his wife's father, after which he 
 quit that business and accepted the position of 
 City Collector for Kankakee, and in the fall of 
 1857 was appointed City Marshal. He subse- 
 quently served four years as Constable and in 
 1862 was elected Sheriff and served the usual 
 term of that time, which was for a period of two 
 years. He was re-elected in 1866, and served a 
 second term of two years. During the Garfield 
 administration, Mr. Sherman was for four years 
 Deputy United States Marshal under Long Jones 
 for the Northern District of Illinois. AVhile a 
 resident of Indiana he was an earnest AVhig in 
 politics and served as Postmaster at Rushville 
 under President Fillmore. He came to Illinois 
 about the time of the disruption of the old parties
 
 572 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and soon after locating in Kankakee was one of 
 the immortal nine to meet in the County Clerk's 
 office and organize the Republican party in this 
 countj'. Since that time Mr. Sherman has been 
 active and earnest in the support of his part^' and 
 for twelve years was a member of the Republican 
 State Central Committee. He also served for several 
 ^^ears as a member of the Kankakee County Commit- 
 tee,and has always been active and influential in the 
 councils of his part}-. He has been a delegate to 
 every Illinois Republican State Convention since 
 the formation of the party until 1892. Socially, 
 Mr. Sherman is a Knight Templar Mason, a mem- 
 ber of Kankakee Lodge No. 389, A. F. & A. M.; 
 of Kankakee Cliapter No. 78, R. A. M.; and of 
 Ivanhoe Commandery No. 33, K. T. 
 
 ' OlIN B. MILLANSON, a leading liveryman 
 of Kankakee, was born in this city on the 
 29th of May, 1864. Little is known of his 
 grandparents, his paternal grandfather hav- 
 ing died when lie was quite young. His maternal 
 grandfather, Oliver Crappo, was a farmer by occu- 
 pation and died in Kankakee County about the 
 year 1880, being eight.y-four years of age at the 
 time of his death. His wife still survives him and 
 is nearly ninety years of age. She became the 
 mother of sixteen children. 
 
 The parents of our subject, Peter and Alice 
 (Crappo) Millanson, are botli natives of Canada, 
 and are of French origin. Tliey have been resi- 
 dents of Kankakee for over thirty years, and for a 
 quarter of a century the fatlier was engaged in the 
 livery business, from wliich he retired in 1888. He 
 sold his interests to Perr^' Lowe and Mr. Rosen- 
 crans. Mr. Millanson tiien went to Chicago, 
 where he engaged in business for about a year, and 
 tlien returning to this city opened a sales stable, 
 which he still owns and manages. 
 
 Four children were born to Peter and Alice 
 Millanson, two sons and two daughters. William 
 C. was twice married, his first union being with 
 
 Miss Mary Koon, of Kankakee, and to them were 
 born two daughters. He afterward married Miss 
 Eva Diamond, of Manteno, 111., a daughter of A. E. 
 Diamond, of that city. They make their home in 
 Manteno, where Mr. Millanson is engaged in the 
 grocery business. John B. is the second in order 
 of birth. Alice P. became the wife of Henry Raj'- 
 mond, who is in the transfer business in Chicago. 
 They have one child, a daugliter, Imabel. Delia, 
 the youngest of the famil}', resides with her par- 
 ents. 
 
 Mr. Millanson, whose name heads this record, 
 received a common-school education in the public 
 schools of Kankakee and then attended St. Via- 
 teur's College at Bourbonnais. He remained under 
 the parental roof until arriving at maturity and 
 worked for his father in the livery business. In 
 1889 he purchased the livery stable, which had 
 formerly belonged to his father, of Lowe & 
 Rosencrans, and has conducted the business alone 
 since tiiat time. He has one of the finest 
 livery stables and equipments to be found in 
 any city in Illinois. He has a large array of 
 carriages, buggies and sleighs, and also has two 
 hearses and five hacks. He keeps about twenty- 
 five horses and runs what may justly be termed a 
 model livery establishment. He lias ever shown 
 marked business ability and has managed his in- 
 vestments and enterprises with sagacity and wise 
 foresight. 
 
 On the 7th of Jul}', 1885, Mr. Millanson was 
 married to Miss Bertha Swannell. Her parents, 
 William G. and Laura (Bristol) Swannell, reside 
 in Kankakee. The father is a native of England, 
 and his wife was born in one of the Eastern States. 
 Two children grace the union of our subject and his 
 wife: Alice Mildred and Laura Ann. Mr. Millanson 
 is a member of the Catholic Church, while his wife 
 holds membership with the Episcopal Church of 
 this city. 
 
 Our subject is not a politician in any sense of 
 the term and has never had aspirations for office. 
 Politically, he is a supporter of the Democratic 
 part}', which ticket he has always voted at Pres- 
 idential elections. He is independent in city 
 and local affairs, casting his ballot for the niau 
 whom he thinks best qualified to fill the position.
 
 OF THE 
 
 I 'IV OF ILLINOIS
 
 
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 MMlVtRSltY OF ILLl^iS 
 
 wad
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 577 
 
 He is an enterprising and public-spirited man, 
 alive to the city's best interests, and is a progress- 
 ive and active business man, in all relations of 
 life being affable and genial, thus winning many 
 friends. 
 
 
 ^^ EORGE F. WALLACE is one of the old 
 settlers and prominent farmers residing on 
 section 10, Yellowbead Township. He was 
 born on the 21st of October, 1841, at Monson, 
 Mass., and is the j-oungest child in a family of 
 two sons and five daughters born to Sumner and 
 Mary J. (Devereaux) Wallace. The father was 
 also a native of Monson, Mass., and was of Scotch 
 extraction. For four or five generations the 
 Wallace family were residents of the New England 
 States. Sumner Wallace followed agricultural 
 pursuits in his native city until 1855, when he 
 emigrated AVestward. The mother of our subject 
 was born at Marblehead, Mass., near Boston, and 
 was the daughter of a sea-captain, who was 
 drowned, ilr. Wallace located in Yellowbead 
 Township in the spring of 1855, and proceeded 
 to develop a farm from the raw prairie land. For 
 thirty-five 3ears this was his place of residence, 
 and he was held in the highest respect by many 
 friends in the township. His death occurred on 
 the 8th of September, 1890. His wife had died 
 a number of years previous, on the 4tli of April, 
 1878. 
 
 The early boyhood daj-s of our subject were 
 passed in the Bay State, and at the time he was 
 eleven years of age he came with his parents to 
 this county, which has since been his home. He 
 received his education in the district schools near 
 his home, and until the death of his mother resided 
 under the parental roof, assisting his father in 
 managing the home farm. On the 29th of Febru- 
 ary, 1872, occurred the marriage of ISIr. Wallace 
 and Miss Lois K. Uradt, who is a daughter of Math- 
 ias and Eliza (Boutwell) Bradt, who were natives of 
 New York State, where they spent their entire 
 lives. Mrs. Wallace is the fifth child in a family 
 
 of six children, and the only one living. She was 
 born in Cortland County, N. Y., February 29, 
 1814. A son and daughter have graced the union 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace: Minerva B., who was 
 born on the 24tli of .January, 1873, and died Feb- 
 ruary 1, 1893, and Charles B., born October 21, 
 1876. 
 
 For man}' jears Mr. Wallace has devoted his 
 best enei'gies and watchful care to the improvement 
 and cultivation of his fine farm, which comprises 
 two hundred and forty acres, and which is located 
 four and three-quarter miles northeast of Grant 
 Park. This is the same property on which his fa- 
 ther located when settling in this county. He has 
 a beautiful country home and excellent improve- 
 ments upon his place. He is recognized as one of 
 the progressive farmers and stockmen of the 
 county. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Wallace is an ardent 
 Republican, ever supporting the men and measures 
 of his party. He holds membership with Royal Ar- 
 canum Lodge No. 897, of Momence. Personally, 
 he is very popular in this locality, where he num- 
 bers many warm friends. 
 
 *^^S 
 
 \l^^ ENRY EDWARD SCHLEGEL, a merchant 
 
 of Buckingham, is numbered among the 
 
 enterprising and substantial business men 
 
 i!^ of Kankakee County, and has been actively 
 
 and successful!}' engaged in business in this place 
 
 for the past eight years. 
 
 Mr. Schlegel is a native of Germany, his birth 
 having occurred in Prussia, in June, 1841. His 
 parents, John Henry and Matilda (Hahn) Schlegel, 
 were both natives of the saire country, and emig- 
 rated to the New World in 1849. They arrived 
 in New Orleans in November of that year, and 
 went by way of the Mississippi to St. Louis, where 
 they spent the winter. In the following spring 
 the father located in La Salle County, III. He 
 was a tailor by trade, and carried on business for 
 a number of years in Peru. Both parents are now
 
 578 
 
 yOETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 deceased, and were buried side by side in the Peru 
 Cemeter}'. 
 
 H. E. Sehlegel is the younger of two brothers. 
 Frederick is a widower and makes iiis home in 
 Buckingham, 111., assisting our subject to carry on 
 business. Mr. Sehlegel grew to manhood in Peru 
 and had fair school advantages both in the Father- 
 land and in La Salle County. After leaving 
 school, he obtained employment as a clerk in Peru 
 and there obtained a thorough and practical 
 knowledge of mercantile business during the j'ears 
 of his clerkship. Going to Iroquois County, he 
 clerked for Lemuel Milk, in Milk's Grove Town- 
 ship, for a number of years, after which he en- 
 gaged in merchandising for himself at Dauforth, 
 where he carried on a successful business for about 
 eight 3'ears, commencing in 1876. Selling to 
 Kohl & Eden, Mr. Sehlegel removed to Kankakee 
 County, where he bought a stock of merchandise 
 in Buckingham. Since that time he has success- 
 fully carried on a prosperous and increasing busi- 
 ness, and has manifested creditable energy and 
 enterprise. 
 
 Mr. Sehlegel married in M.acon County, Mo., 
 Miss .Terusha Severance, the ceremony being per- 
 formed November 1, 1868. JSIrs. Sehlegel was a 
 native of the Empire State, but grew to woman- 
 hood in Illinois. By their union was born one 
 child, a daughter, Minnie, who received a good 
 education and is now keeping house for her fa- 
 ther. In June, 1886, Mr. Sehlegel was called 
 upon to mourn the loss of his wife, whose final 
 resting-place is in the Buckingham Cemeter3-. 
 
 In his political affiliations our subject has alwa3-s 
 been a supporter of the Republican part3' since 
 becoming a voter. His first ballot was cast in the 
 Presidential election of 1868, for Gen. U. S. Grant. 
 Though he has never sought or desired official 
 position, instead preferring to give his time and 
 attention to his business affairs, he has alwa}'* 
 taken an active part in the political campaigns, 
 and is much concerned in the success of his party. 
 Starting in life a poor boy, Mr. .Sehlegel has made 
 his own way in the world, and to his indomitable 
 will and enterprise owes the success he has 
 achieved. He has erected a large brick store, 
 and in addition has good residence property in 
 
 the village. He is the owner of the Buckingham 
 Creamery building, and is one of the substantial 
 merchants of Kankakee County. He was reared 
 in the Lutheran faith, but with his daughter now 
 attends the Buckingham Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. He well deserves the respect and esteem 
 in which he is held by all, because of his correct 
 business methods and integrity in all of the voca- 
 tions of life. 
 
 =♦^•5 
 
 _y' 
 
 ^J_^ ARRISON LORING. Prominent among the 
 % older members of the Kankakee County 
 ^ Bar, stands the gentleman whose name 
 *^ heads this sketch. He was born in the 
 town of Bergen, Genesee Count}', N. Y., December 
 1, 1824, and is a son of Bridge and Sallie (Chip- 
 man) Loring. The father was born near Boston, 
 Mass., in February, 1802, and died in January, 
 1892. He was in full vigor, physically and men- 
 tality, up to within a short time of his death. 
 The mother was born in Stoekbridge, M.ass., 
 in 1804, and was descended from the old Chip- 
 man farnilyof Massachusetts. Her death occurred 
 in 1853. 
 
 Harrison Loring was graduated from Brockport 
 Collegiate Institute, and from the law school of 
 Balston Spa, N. Y. He w.as admitted to the Bar 
 at Rochester in 18.50, and in the fall of that year, 
 coming to Illinois, he established practice at Nap- 
 erville. Du Page Count}', where he continued 
 until May, 1855. He then removed to Kankakee, 
 which was but a small village, and has been engaged 
 in active practice here ever since. The ground 
 on which his residence and office now stand 
 was then covered with tlie tiiickest timber. Mr. 
 liOring with Ids own hands cut off the timber and 
 grubbed out the stumps. A part of Kankakee was a 
 veritable mud-hole. He lias seen teams mire down 
 on East Avenue, now one of the best business 
 streets in the cit3\ 
 
 On the 20th of May, 1852, Mr. Loring was mar- 
 ried in Bergen, N. Y., to Miss Almeda Pa^-ne, a
 
 PORTRAIT AND BTOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 579 
 
 daughter of Stephen and Ruth (Smith) Payne. 
 She was born in Riga, Monroe County, N. Y., and 
 her parents were natives of Massachusetts. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Loring have one child, a daughter, liv- 
 ing, and lost three children in childhood. TVIiss 
 Leoni is a highly accomplished young lady, and 
 possesses superior talent as an artist and musician. 
 Her education in the branches of art and music 
 has been thoroughly- and successfully pursued un- 
 der the best masters. 
 
 Mr. Loring has two farms, one of one hundred 
 and sixty acres in Pilot Township, and one of one 
 hundred and forty acres in Otto Townsliip, both 
 of which are worked under lease. Politically, our 
 subject uses his right of franchise in favor of the 
 Democratic party, but h.as never sought or desired 
 public ofiice. The Loring family, of which he is a 
 member, is of Scotch origin, and was founded in 
 America by two brothers, one of whom settled in 
 Boston, Mass., and it is from that branch that Har- 
 rison Loring is descended. Reuben Loring, the 
 grandfather of our subject, married a Miss West, 
 who was descended from the Wests of Massachu- 
 setts. He settled in Genesee County, N. Y., prior 
 to the War of 1812. The Chipman family, from 
 which Mr. Loring is descended on the maternal 
 side, is of English origin, and one of the old and 
 distinguished families of New England. 
 
 ^♦•{••{•♦i 
 
 =i**4"5-'^a 
 
 lEORGE WHEELER, who for twenty-tliree 
 years has been a resident of this countj', is 
 now engaged in farming on section .33, Pilot 
 Township, where he owns and operates one hun- 
 dred and twenty acres of land. He is a native 
 of Mullingar, Westmeath, Ireland. His father, 
 George Wheeler, was of English birth and became 
 a soldier in the British army. His regiment was 
 afterwards stationed at Mullingar, and it was dur- 
 ing that time that the birtii of our subject oc- 
 curred. The father spent nearly his entire life in 
 the army, his death occurring when George, Jr., 
 was but a child. 
 Upon the war-ship "Conway" George Wheeler, 
 
 the subject of this sketch, acquired his educa- 
 tion. He had acadetship on that vessel, on which 
 he first sailed from Liverpool when a lad of ten 
 years. After completing hiscadetship he followed 
 the sea for three years as midshipman, during 
 which time he visited Bombay and other ports of 
 East India. During this period of his life he met 
 with a very peculiar experience. The vessel was in 
 mid-ocean, and in the darkness of the night the ship 
 carpenter, whose mind had become unbalanced, 
 rushed across the deck and plunged into the sea. 
 The cry of "Man overboard!" rang out through the 
 stillness. The Captain immediately threw over a life 
 buoj' and soon a boat was lowered and manned. Mr; 
 Wheeler was one of the number sent out on the 
 search. The little boat rode a long way from the ves- 
 sel and the feeling of the men when they found them- 
 selves so far distant and upon the boundless ocean 
 on a dark night can better be imagined than de- 
 scribed. The rescue of the poor carpenter, how- 
 ever, was at length effected, and in safety the little 
 boat load again reached the ship. In 1869, Mr. 
 Wheeler left the sea and came to the United States, 
 joining his mother, who had emigrated to the New 
 World in 1865. She was then living on a farm 
 near Herscher, the same on which our subject now 
 resides. Mr. Wheeler at once went to her and 
 managed the farm for her until her death, which 
 occurred in October, 1876. This was his first ex- 
 l)erience as an agriculturist, and for several 3'ears it 
 proved to be an uphill business, but .as lie became 
 more .accustomed to the work and by experience and 
 observation gained an insight into its methods, 
 he became a successful farmer and now has a good 
 tract of land, well improved. 
 
 In this count}', on the 4th of March, 1877, Mr. 
 AVheeler was united in marriage with Miss Margaret 
 Irene Ward, a most estimable and accomplished 
 lady. She was born .January 28, 1861, was reared 
 and educated in .Joliet and is a daughter of Samuel 
 S. and Susan (Rugg) Ward, of that city. Four 
 children have come to bless this union, three 
 sons and a daughter, namely: George, John, Earl, 
 and Mabel, who is a bright little maiden of two 
 summers and the idol of the family. They lost 
 one daughter, who died October 20, 1889, at the 
 age of three years. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler are
 
 580 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 highly respected citizens, whose friends Ihrough- 
 out tlie community are man^'. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler has won success through determined 
 effort and good management. He possesses good 
 business ability and his prosperity is well deserved. 
 In politics he has generally been a supporter of 
 the Democratic part^-, but his first Presidential vote 
 was cast for Gen. U. S. Grant. He has never been 
 an active politician in the sense of office-seeking, 
 preferring to devote his time and attention to his 
 business interests. He is regarded as a man of 
 upright character and sterling worth, and has the 
 respect of all with whom he has been brought in 
 contact. 
 
 liLit. 
 
 mG^ 
 
 ' AY ATTERSON FETTERLY, a commercial 
 traveler and prominent citizen of Kanka- 
 kee County, residing in Herscher, well de- 
 _ serves mention in this volume, for he is 
 numbered among tlie early settlers of Pilot Town- 
 ship, whither he removed with his parents in 1853, 
 when less than a year old. He was born in Branch, 
 Branch County, Mich., on the 20th of September, 
 1852, and is a son of Lawrence Fetterl}', whose 
 birth occurred in Montgomery County, N. Y., 
 March 11, 1816. The grandfather of our subject, 
 George Fetterly, was a native of the Empire State. 
 The family is of German descent and the ancestors 
 are said to have been among the first settlers of 
 the city of Albany. Later, the^' settled in the 
 Mohawk Valley as far west as Utiea. About 1826, 
 George Fetterly and his family removed to Madi- 
 son County, N. Y., which was then inhabited only 
 by Indians. The grandfather made a settlement in 
 the midst of the forest, where he cleared and de- 
 veloped a farm. He became one of the leading 
 agriculturists and prominent citizens of that 
 county. 
 
 Lawrence Fetterly grew to manhood in Madi- 
 son County and after attaining mature j'ears 
 was united in marriage with Miss Emily Picket. 
 The lady was a native of Montgomery Count}', 
 but was reared in Onondaga County. After his 
 
 marriage Mr. Fetterly purchased a farm in Oneida 
 County and there carried on agricultural pursuits 
 for a period of two years. He then returned to 
 Madison County, where he spent the succeeding 
 year. The .year 1843 witnessed his removal AVest- 
 ward and saw him located in Branch, Branch 
 Count}', Mich., where he engaged in clerking for 
 six 3'ears. He then formed a partnership and built 
 an ashery and engaged in that line of business for 
 three years, after which he sold out and spent the 
 following year in farming. It was in 1853 that 
 he came to Illinois. Making his way to Kankakee 
 County he arrived in Pilot Township April 15 of 
 that year and pre-empted land, on which he located. 
 This farm, which lie still owns, he obtained from 
 the Government and his deed is signed by Presi- 
 dent James Buchanan. Not a furrow had been 
 turned or an improvement made upon the 
 tract, but he at once began breaking it and in 
 course of time placed the entire amount under the 
 plow. He made it a valuable and desirable farm, 
 whose fertility yielded him a comfortable income. 
 There he carried on agricultural pursuits for a 
 quarter of a centur}', and the farm which he oper- 
 ated is still in his possession. 
 
 When Lawrence Fetterly became a resident of 
 Pilot Township tiie wolves were so plentiful that 
 Jay, the son, has shot them from the doorway, and 
 deer were so plentiful that they would run by on 
 the premises. The prairie tires were a terror to the 
 inhabitants in the early days, and ere they could 
 hitch up four teams to run the fire line of furrows 
 around their premises to save their homes and to 
 burn the back line, the demon would be upon 
 them. The Indians were oftentimes visitors to the 
 Fetterl}' home and they would grind their knives 
 upon the grindstone, ofttimes terrifying Jay with 
 some of their peculiar motions, when he would 
 scamper into the house. 
 
 When Mr. Fetterly first came to Pilot Township 
 there was only one poor little log cabin in Pilot 
 Grove, and when he first removed to Kankakee 
 the wood-choppers were felling trees for building 
 the first Court House. There were not half a 
 dozen cabins erected on the present site of Kanka- 
 kee city. There was not a church or schoolhouse 
 in sight of their cabin home when they first settled 
 
 .;i^l
 
 „SiE^: 
 
 i-' li^- ^^^•-^. 
 
 Xjlj, 
 
 
 6i4AHJ^a^QJL 
 
 ^oJiM^
 
 LiBRAtir . 
 
 OF FHE 
 
 HMIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Kv- "*'*':
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 581 
 
 here. They have seen Kankakee in its primitive 
 condition, indeed. Mr. Fetterly can remember tlie 
 first C.1UCUS held in Uiis township; il was composed 
 of six members, and he can rememlier the following 
 being present: Lawrence F"etterly, Morey Frink, 
 Joe Carrow, Sr., Mr. Robinson and Azariah Buck. 
 
 Mr. Fetterly lost his wife in 1874. She de- 
 parted this life on the loth of IMay, and her re- 
 mains were interred in Evergreen Cemetery of 
 Chebanse, where a nice monument marks her rest- 
 ing-place. In 1881, Mr. Fetterly removed to 
 Ilerscher with his youngest daughter, who, how- 
 ever, was married about a 3'ear later, when her fa- 
 ther gave up housekeeping. For the last eight 
 years he has resided with his son, the subject of 
 this sketch. lie is a hale old gentleman of sev- 
 enty-six years and is an active member of the 
 Presbyterian Church. He has the honor of being 
 the oldest living resident of Pilot Township, 
 and his fellow-citizens esteem him as a man of 
 sterling worth. 
 
 Jay A. Fetterly is the onlj- son in the family 
 of four children and in order of birth is third. 
 The eldest. Mary J., is now the wife of Jacob 
 Holmes, who is engaged in the livery business in 
 Kankakee; Liva M. is the wife of Charles W. 
 Frith, who is engaged in farming in C'owle3' 
 County, Kan.; Jay is the next younger; and Ida 
 May is the wife of Charles Dunkelberger, a resi- 
 dent of Ida County, Iowa. 
 
 The subject of this sketch has spent almost his 
 entire life in Kankakee County, the days of his 
 youth being passed upon his father's farm. His 
 early education, acquired in the common schools, 
 was supplemented by two years' attendance at 
 the Kankakee High School, after which he returned 
 to his home and aided his father in the care and 
 cultivation of the old homestead. In 1869, desir- 
 ing to give his attention to some other pursuit, lie 
 went to Chebanse, where for three years he served 
 an apprenticeship at the harness-maker's trade. 
 After this, in the winter of 1872-73, he went to 
 Michigan, where he engaged as a salesman of mus- 
 ical instruments and sewing-machines for George 
 W. Wright, with headquarters at Cold Water. 
 There he remained for two years, after which he 
 returned home and .again engaged in farm labor, 
 
 helping to operate the old homestead until 1879. 
 
 On the .3d of July of that year, Mr. Fetterly 
 was married to Miss Sarah Yeoman, a native of 
 Illinois, born in De Kalb, and a daughter of 
 George S. Yeoman. Her father w.as born and 
 reared in the Empire State and there married Miss 
 Marengeline Munger. About 18.5.'5, Mr. Yeoman 
 removed with his family to De Kalb County, 111., 
 where he eng.aged in farming, but he spent the 
 last years of his life in Kendall Count}-. He died in 
 July, 1868, and his remains were interred in the 
 cemetery at Lisbon. After the death of her hus- 
 band, Mrs. Yeoman removed to Iroquois Count}' 
 and is yet living with her children. Mrs. Fetterly 
 was educated in Chebanse, in Francisville, Ind., 
 and Onarga, III., and was a successful school 
 teacher prior to her marriage. P>y the union of 
 our subject and his wife were born two children, 
 but the eldest, Lois E., died in infancy. The 
 other is Mildred Josephine, and they have also an 
 adopted daughter, Lyle Imogene. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Fetterl}' located in 
 Herscher and embarked in the harness business, 
 which he carried on successfully for a period of 
 nine years. He then sold out, rented his store 
 and accepted a position on the road as traveling 
 salesman for the (iarfleld Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, of Chicago. He spent one year in the era- 
 ploy of that firm, after which he accepted a posi- 
 tion with the Indiana Harness Company, of Indi- 
 anapolis, with wliich he has now been connected 
 for three years. In January, 1893, his salary was 
 advanced and his duties extended, and he now has 
 for his field as salesman and collecting agent the 
 entire State of Illinois, and that he is successful is 
 shown by his promotion. He is a pushing and in- 
 dustrious traveling salesman, for he possesses 
 superior business ability and is energetic and pro- 
 gressive. 
 
 Mr. Fetterly is recognized as one of the prom- 
 inent and valued citizens of Herscher. He owns 
 a fine residence propert}' in this place, also several 
 business houses. He made a valuable discovery 
 of gas on his land, striking a strong vein at the 
 depth of forty feet, and he now has his residence 
 heated and lighted by natural gas. This discovery 
 on the part of Mr. Fetterly led others to search for
 
 582 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 gas, and some have found it, although others have 
 not as good a quality as that found at the 
 home of our subject. The vein upon his place, 
 however, is sufflcieut to heat and light tiie entire 
 town. Since becoming a voter, Mr. Fetterl}- has 
 been identified with the Republican party, but has 
 never been a politician in the sense of office-seek- 
 ing, preferring to devote his time and attention to 
 his business interests. He is a faithful and con- 
 sistent member of the Presbyterian Church and 
 serves as one of its official board, wliile socially he 
 is connected with the Cold Water Odd Fellows 
 Lodge. Our subject and his wife rank high in tlie 
 community in whicli tliey reside, their home is 
 noted for its liospitality, and their friends are 
 many. Mr. Fetterly is highly respected for his 
 man^' excellencies of character and for the up- 
 right life which he has lived. 
 
 
 
 "SK 
 
 ^]DWARD F. RIETZ is the owner and pro- 
 ■^ prietor of one of the most extensive and 
 L^ also the oldest lumber-yard of Kankakee. 
 
 He is a native of Chicago, his birth having oc- 
 curred in that cit3' in 1859, when it was a place of 
 much less importance than the thriving metrop- 
 olis whicli we to-day find it. His early life was 
 spent there and in Kank.akee. His educational 
 privileges were those afforded by the public 
 scliools, and his business training was received un- 
 der the direction and in the employ of his father. 
 The name of Rietz has long been connected 
 with the lumber interests of Kankakee. The father 
 of our subject, E. G. W. Rietz, who is now a resi- 
 dent of Chicago, established a lumber-jard in this 
 place in 1857, and continued to successfully con- 
 duct the same until 1886, when he was succeeded 
 by his son, Edward F., the present proprietor. The 
 office and yard are located on the corner of West 
 Avenue and Station Street, and the premises cover 
 an area of 157x350 feet. Suitable structures have 
 been erected and spacious 3'ards adjoin, so that the 
 whole is complete. Mr. Rietz's yard is the recog- 
 nized headquarters for lumber of all grades and 
 
 for everything that goes to make up a first-class 
 lumber-yard. Private tracks have been laid from 
 his grounds to the railroad near by, thus affording 
 ever\' facility for transportation. The business 
 involves the handling of nearly three and a-half 
 million feet of lumber per annum. A large trade 
 was built up by the founder of this business, and 
 the same has been retained b}' the present pro- 
 prietor. 
 
 In Chicago, May 18, 1887, Mr. Rietz, of this 
 sketch, was united m marringe with Miss P^mily 
 Grinner, of that city, and unto them have been 
 born three interesting children, Elmer, Adele and 
 Arthur. Mrs. Rietz is a member of the Presbyte- 
 rian Church. Our subject and his wife are num- 
 bered among Kankakee's prominent and higlil}' 
 respected citizens, their home is the abode of hos- 
 pitalit3', and they hold an enviable position in so- 
 cial circles where true worth and intelligence are 
 received as the passports into good societJ^ Mr. 
 Rietz is one of the energetic and progressive 
 young business men of Kankakee. He is sagacious 
 and far-sighted, industry and strict integrity char- 
 acterizing all his business dealings. He takes a 
 commendable interest in whatever enterprises he 
 believes are for the best interests of the commun- 
 ity, and his aid is never withheld from any 
 worthy object. Outside of his business relations, 
 he has also gained many friends, having a wide 
 acquaintance throughout both the city and the 
 county. 
 
 4^l|■:;:■■^;i•• 
 
 EUGENE COMSTOCK, a well-known mer- 
 chant of Ilerscher, 111., is enrolled among 
 the honored pioneers of Kankakee County, 
 dating his residence in Pilot Township since 1856. 
 He is a native of the Empire State, born in Onon- 
 daga County, on the 7th of December, 1841. His 
 father, Samuel Comstock, was a native of the same 
 county, while his paternal grandfather was born 
 in one of the New England States, and was a vali- 
 ant soldier in the War of 1812. On arriving at 
 manhood, Samuel Comstock was united in marriage
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 583 
 
 with Sallio Trowbridge, wlio was born in New 
 York, ami was a daughter of Seth Trowbridge, 
 who was of an old New England family. The re- 
 mote ancestors on both sides originally came from 
 England. For some ^ears after his marriage llie 
 father of our subject carried on a farm in Onon- 
 daga County, and in 1856 removed willi his fam- 
 il\' to Illinois. They suffered tlie almost incred- 
 ible hardsiiips and privations of life on the fron- 
 tier, including siel^ness, fever and ague being 
 the prevailing disease of those earl}- da3's. Kan- 
 kakee Count}-, and indeed much of the surround- 
 ing country, was little better than a swamp, and 
 therefore it is little wonder that there was so much 
 sickness among the early settlers. Mr. Comstock 
 operated Ins farm here for a numljer of years with 
 good success, and spent the remaining years of his 
 life with a son in Rook Count}-, AVis. His death 
 occurred in 18G8, and his wife, who survived him 
 for a number of years, departed this life at the 
 residence of her daughter in Chebanse, 111., in 
 1876. Their family consisted of three sons and 
 one daughter, who grew to adult years. The eld- 
 est child, Selli T., died when a 3onng man, in 1862; 
 yarah C. is the wife of J(.>nas H. Howe, of Emporia, 
 Kan.; Eugene is the next in order of birth; and 
 Truair, who was a soldier in the late war, contracted 
 disease while in the service of his countr}', which 
 resulted in his death in 1865. 
 
 When a lad of fourteen years our subject came 
 from New York with his parents to Illinois, arriv- 
 ing in Kankakee County in 185G. He grew to 
 manhood on the home farm in Pilot Township, 
 and though he had had fair school advantages in 
 the Empire State, his privileges in that direction 
 were but limited after coining West. After attain- 
 ing his majority he took charge of the iiomestead, 
 and carried it on quite successfully. In February, 
 1865, Mr. Comstock donned the blue, joining the 
 Ninth Illinois Cavalry in Cliicago. With his regi- 
 ment he was sent South to Mississippi and Ala- 
 bama, and after a time was assigned on detached 
 duty as clerk to the Provost-Marshal. While in 
 that capacity he administered the amnesty oath to 
 large numbers of Confederates. He received his 
 discliarge from the service in November, 1865, and 
 at once returned to his family and home. 
 
 In the fall of 1863 Mr. Comstock was united in 
 marriage, in Kankakee County, with Miss Luzene 
 M. Jliller, who was born in Ashtabula Count}-, 
 Ohio, and came to Illinois when a young lady. 
 By their uuion were born two children: Arietta B., 
 who became the wife of Lee Wadleigii,a farmer of 
 Iroquois County; and Truair, a young man of 
 good education, and who is liis father's partner in 
 the hardware business. The mother of these chil- 
 dren departed this life in 1872, and in the autumn 
 of 1873 Mr. Comstock married Miss Henrietta 
 Saininons, a native of New York, who came West 
 when a child, and was reared and educated in Illi- 
 nois. Iler father, David Sammons, is now deceased. 
 
 On his return from the army Jlr. Comstock en- 
 gaged in farming for two years in Pilot Township, 
 which place he sold in 1867, and removed to Rock 
 Count} , Wis., where he engaged in agricultural 
 pursuits for a period of about one year. However, 
 he preferred Kankakee County, and selling his 
 farm in Wisconsin he again purchased land in Pi- 
 lot Township, which he continued to operate until 
 1892. This property was a well-improved farm 
 near Ilerscher, and as an agriculturist he was quite 
 successful. Selling his land, he has since engaged 
 in mercantile business in Ilerscher. He first pur- 
 chased a half interest in a well-known hardware 
 concern, but has since bought out his partner, and 
 in his place has taken in his son, the firm beino- 
 Eugene Comstock & Son. They have a well- 
 equipped store, and carry a good stock of shelf 
 and heavy hardware, and also handle farm imple- 
 ments. They are doing a very fair and satisfac- 
 tory business, which gives good promise of rapidly 
 increasing. 
 
 Mr. Comstock has voted for every Republican 
 nominee iu the Presidential elections since the 
 year 1864, having cast his first ballot for Abra- 
 ham Lincoln. He has held several local official 
 positions to the satisfaction of all, being first 
 elected Commissioner of Highways, next serving 
 as Township Trustee, and then being appointed to 
 fill an unexpired term as Supervisor, after which 
 he was elected to the same oftk-e, and is now one 
 of the Board of County Supervisors. He has 
 been sent as a delegate to numerous county con- 
 ventions in local politics and public affairs. Per-
 
 584 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sonally, Mr. Comstock is a man of most excellent 
 character and habits, and one wlio makes friends 
 on every hand. He is social and agreeable in 
 manner, and his many friends are ever welcome in 
 his hospitable and cultured home. 
 
 -^^ 
 
 S->TEPHEN TART, Assessor of the city of 
 Kankalvee for 1892, and a veteran of the 
 )) late war for the Union, was born in Al- 
 
 ""^ burgh. Grand Isle County, Vt.,on the 12th 
 of December, 1839. His parents, Peter and Rosalia 
 (Terrien) Tart, were born near Montreal, Canada, 
 and were of French descent. The fatlicr was a 
 participant in the so-called Rebellion in Canada, 
 and on its failure was obliged to abandon his na- 
 tive countr3-. He crossed into the United States 
 and settled in Grand Isle County, Vt., where lie 
 was soon followed by his wife and family. It was 
 after that event that our subject was born with 
 all tiie privileges of a native son of the United 
 States. In 1849 Mr. Tart, Sr., with his family, 
 emigrated to Illinois and settled in Bourbonnais 
 Grove, Kankakee County, on the 17th of June of 
 that year. He eng.iged in agricultural pursuits, 
 and there maintained his residence until 1867, 
 when he removed to Kankakee, where he made his 
 home until his death, in 1880. His wife had died 
 some two years previously. 
 
 Stephen Tart was reared on a farm and received 
 common-school advantages in the district schools. 
 He came to Kankakee in 18u4, and was employed 
 in a hotel until the 22d of February, 1862, when he 
 enlisted in the defense of his country, becoming a 
 member of Company I, First Illinois Light Ar- 
 tillery. He was afterward promoted to be Second 
 Lieutenant, and was veteranized on the 17th of 
 March, 1864, He participated in the battles of 
 Shiloh, Russell, siege of Corinth, capture of Vicks- 
 burg and the battles of Jackson, Miss., Chatta- 
 nooga and Nashville, besides numerous minor en- 
 gagements. He received an honorable discharge 
 on the 25th of July, 1865, after the close of the 
 
 war. He was a faithful soldier, ever found at the 
 post of duty, and one on whom his superior otti- 
 cers could rel^'. 
 
 On leaving the army Mr. Tart returned to Kan- 
 kakee and resumed his former occupation. On 
 the 6th of December, 1870, he married Miss Nettie 
 Hughes, who was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., and is 
 a daughter of Henry Hughes. Mr. and Mrs. Tart 
 are the parents of two children, a son and a daugh- 
 ter, Arthur T. and Belle Augusta. 
 
 Tiie subject of this sketch is a stanch supporter 
 of the Republican party and principles, and has 
 served his fellow-citizens for ten years as Alder- 
 man from the Third Ward of Kankakee. Socially, 
 he is a member of Howard Lodge No. 218,1. O. O. F., 
 where he passed all the chairs, and is also a mem- 
 ber of AVhippJe Post No. 414, G. A. R. Mrs. Tart 
 holds membership with tlie Episcopal Church of 
 this cily. Our subject is a respected citizen of 
 this section, and is well and favorably known in 
 this vicinity, which he has made his home for a 
 period of about forty years. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 r^sDWARD C. LAMPORT carries on a far 
 ituated on section 31, Moraence Township. 
 
 He is a native of Illinois, born in Ganier 
 
 Township, Kankakee County, on the 15th of Octo- 
 ber, 1855. He was the 30ungest child of a family of 
 five sons and five daughters born to Benjamin 
 and Mary (Force) Lamport, a sketch of whom will 
 be found on another page of this volume. 
 
 The entire life of our subject has been spent in 
 this county, and since his boyhood days his atten- 
 tion has been turned to agricultural pursuits. He 
 worked upon his father's farm during the summer 
 season, attending school during the winter months. 
 On arriving at maturity, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Jesssie Alexander, their union be- 
 ing celebrated on the 19th of December, 1877. 
 Mrs. Lamport is the daughter of James H. and 
 Elizabeth (Malone) Alexander, both of whom were 
 natives of ButlerCounty, Ohio, and located in this 
 county in 1857. The father died on the 24th ol 
 
 I
 
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 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPEUCAL RECORD. 
 
 589 
 
 February', 1884, at which time he was sixty-four 
 years of age. Tlie mother, who was born December 
 IC, 1820, is still living at the lipc old age of 
 seventy-one and makes her home with her daugh- 
 ter, Jlrs. Lamport. Two daughters grace the un- 
 ion of our subject and iiis wife. They are Stella 
 and Georgia, aged respectively thirteen and eleven 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Lami)ort has served his fellow-citizens as 
 Highway Commissioner o! his district and uses 
 Ills right of franchise in favor of the Republican 
 party. Socially he holds membership with the 
 Royal Arcanum Lodge No. 897, of Jlomence. His 
 farm, which consists of two hundred acres, is one 
 of the best improved in the township of Moraence 
 and is situated but two and a-half miles south of 
 the city of that name. His property is a model of 
 neatness and thrift, and shows on every hand the 
 care and attention of its owner. As an agricul- 
 turist he has been veiy successful and uses the 
 most improved methods to cany on his farm work. 
 
 '/OHN R. EASTON, a prominent resident of 
 Buckingham, 111., well deserves represen- 
 tation in this volume. J. G. Holland has 
 ^ said that the history of a nation is best told 
 in the lives of its citizens, so the history of this 
 county is best given in a record of its leading men. 
 Mr. Easton is a native of Trumbull County, Ohio. 
 He was born in the town of Mesopotamia, October 
 26, 1823, and is a son of John and Sophia (Dens- 
 more) Ka>:ton. The father was born in Hawley, 
 Franklin Count}-, Mass., December 8, 1790, and 
 died December 3, 1875. He was reared to man- 
 hood in the usual manner of farmer lads, and 
 his early training developed habits of industry 
 and enterprise that have |)roved of incalculable 
 benefit to him in his later years. His educational 
 advantages were those afforded by the common 
 schools. In March, 1815, he married Sophia Dens- 
 more, also of Hawley, JIass., and unto them were 
 born live sons and four daughters, of whom six are 
 
 27 
 
 yet living, namely: Laura, widow of Job Griflln, 
 who was a farmer of IJloomfield, Ohio. Sophia, 
 wife of Joseph Wilcox, of AVisconsiu. .lulin R., 
 whose name heads this record. Adin, a resident of 
 Petoskey, Mich. Mary, wife of Isaac Lepper, of 
 Hloomfield, Ohio; and Lunian, also a resident of 
 the Buckeye State. 
 
 The fatlier of this familj- began life in humble 
 circumstances, but b}' good management and well- 
 directed efforts he acquired a comfortable compe- 
 tence, and was the owner of two liundred and 
 twenty acres of valuable land in the township of 
 Mesopotamia, Ohio. He was a prominent and in- . 
 Iluential citizen, and w,as honoied with various 
 offices of trust in this township. In politics he 
 was a Republican, and himself and wife were both 
 consistent members of the ilethodist Episcopal 
 Church. Their two sons, Adin and Liiman, were 
 both soldiers in th.e Union armv. The former 
 served in many hard-fought battles, but both re- 
 turned to their homes and are now respected citi- 
 zens. 
 
 The boyhood and 3'outli of our subject were 
 spent in the Buckeye State. His education was 
 acquired in the district schools of the neighbor- 
 hood, which he attended during the winter sea- 
 son, while in the summer months he aided in the 
 labors of the farm. lie began work in the fields, 
 and gave his father the benefit of his services until 
 he attained his majority. The home of the Flistons 
 was a log cabin, and the family lived in true pio- 
 neer style. Although they had to enduie the 
 hardships of the frontier, those were liapp}- daj-s, 
 fraught with oldtime pleasures. 
 
 On attaining man 's estate, Mr. Easton bade adieu 
 to home and friends, and started for the West, 
 having determined to tiy his fortune upon its 
 broad prairies. It was in the fall of 1815 that he 
 made a location upon the Onion River in Sheboy- 
 gan Count}', Wis. The journey' was made by way 
 of the (4reat Lakes to Cleveland, Ohio, and from 
 there to Milwaukee. The Badger State was then 
 quite unsettled, and the Indians were far more nu- 
 merous than the white men in most localities 
 Mr. Easton began life era[)ty-handed, but though 
 he had no capital, he possessed a strong deter- 
 mination to win success. He spent three years
 
 590 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Wisconsin, and then returned to liis native 
 State, where he engaged in farming, 
 
 On his return to Ohio, Mr. Easton was married 
 to Miss Esther A. Belden, a native of Farmington, 
 Ohio. They were married about 1847, and lived 
 liappily together for five years, when death separ- 
 ated them. On the 30th of December, 1857, Mr. 
 Easton was married in Lenox, Oliio, to Miss 
 Gracia I. Southwell. A native of New Yorli, she 
 was born June 28, 1828. She was educated in the 
 public schools and became a successful teacher. 
 Her father was born in Massachusetts in 1802, and 
 died in 1875. Her mother was a native of the 
 Green Mountain State. Botii were members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. By the union 
 of our subject and his wife was born one son, 
 Ransford Perrin, a resident of Herscher, whose 
 sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 In 1869, Mr. and Mrs. Easton left Ohio for 
 Lockport, Will County, 111., and there our subject 
 engaged in tiie grocer}- business for three years. 
 On account of ill-health, he sold out, and went 
 to Rogers Township, Ford County, locating at 
 Eldridgeville, where he purchased one hundred 
 and sixty acres of partially improved land. The 
 succeeding nine years of his life were spent in its 
 cultivation, after which he removed six miles east 
 of his old home, where he purchased a half-section 
 of land. He also there resided for nine years, and 
 then came to Buckingham. Here he erected a 
 beautiful residence, and has since made it his 
 home. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land near Leon, Kan., together with good prop- 
 erty in Kankakee, and some real estate in Nebraska. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Easton was an old- 
 line Whig from the time when he cast his first 
 vote for Gen. Scutt until the organization of the 
 Republican party, when he joined its ranks. He 
 has frequently been called to serve in offices of 
 trust, but has usually declined. The few times he 
 has done so, however, he has discharged his du- 
 ties with such promptness and fidelity that he has 
 won the commendiition of all concerned. An 
 honorable, upright man, his fair dealings in all the 
 relations of life have won- him universal confi- 
 dence, and his word is considered as good as his 
 bond. Himself and wife are held in the highest 
 
 esteem throughout the community, and their cir- 
 cle of friends and acquaintance is indeed large. 
 Their home is the abode of hospitality, and its 
 doors are ever open for the reception of their 
 man}' friends. 
 
 AVID LAVERY, who for almost his en- 
 tire life has lived in Kankakee and the 
 vicinity, was born in the city of Cork, 
 Ireland, September 25, 1852. He is a son 
 of Richard and Elizabeth (Barry) Laver}-, both 
 natives of the Emerald Isle. They emigrated to 
 America in 1854, locating in Kankakee, where the 
 father entered the employ of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad Company as freight agent, and remained 
 in their service for twent^'-eight j-ears. He has 
 been a popular man in the community and has 
 been called upon to fill various positions of trust 
 and honor. He has served as Mayor of the city 
 tiiree different times and for a numlier of j-eara 
 was Alderman. He has also served many years as 
 a member of the School Board. He has led an ac- 
 tive and industrious life and for some years en- 
 gaged in the grocery business. About the year 
 1888 he retired from the active cares of business 
 life and is passing his remaining days in quiet and 
 rest. He owns a comfortable home on the corner 
 of Merchant and Washington Avenues. Though 
 well advanced in life he is well preserved and ac- 
 tive, physically and mentally. Politically, he is a 
 Democrat, and he and his wife hold membership 
 with the Catholic Church. 
 
 The family circle of four sons and four daugh- 
 ters is still unbroken. The three eldest children 
 were born in Ireland and the others claim Kanka- 
 kee as their birthplace. Richard married Miss 
 Petie, of Vandalia, where they reside, he having 
 been in the employ of the Illinois Central and 
 Vandalia Railroad Companies for about eighteen 
 years. They have five chihlren. .John married a 
 Chicago lady, and to them have been born four 
 children. He is engaged in the plumbing busi- 
 ness in that city; George is the next in order of
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 591 
 
 birtb; Nora is tlie fifth child; Mary became the 
 wife of George Carson, of Kankakee, and now re- 
 sides in Cliicago, where her liusband is engaged in 
 keeping books for Ilisser & Warden; Elizabeth 
 and Annie complete the family. 
 
 On the 2oth of October, 1877, David Lavery, the 
 subject of this sketch, was united in marriage with 
 Miss Loretta, daughter of Michael and Ellen (Gal- 
 laher) Mortelle, of Chicago, and to them have been 
 born four daughters: Mary, Nellie, Clara and 
 Bernadette. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Laver3' began working for the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad Company as messenger and 
 errand boy, also assisting in the warehouse and in 
 the yards as switchman. In July. 1876, he was 
 appointed to the position of station agent at Che- 
 banse, which he filled for six years. In 1882 he 
 was made station agent at Kankakee, which situa- 
 tion he held continuoush^ until the 27th of October, 
 1M»2. He h.as ever been most faithful and clHeient 
 in tlie discharge of his duties, and that his services 
 have been appreciated as those of a steady and 
 reliable man, is shown by the fact that he has been 
 continuously employed by one company for a 
 period of twenty-six years, in fact since his boy- 
 hood, and resigned his position on account of his 
 health failing at that time. 
 
 1 I\rr. and Mrs. Lavery are members of the Cath- 
 )lic Church. Socially, he is a member of the Cath- 
 ilie Order of Foresters, Court No. 76, of Kanka- 
 iee. He is affiliated with the Democratic party, but 
 aas never held any political oUice. He is also a 
 nember of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, 
 !liver View Lodge, of Kankakee. Mr. Lavery is 
 andidate for postmaster at Kankakee. It is not 
 generally known that through his efforts Kanka- 
 kee got its fame as a summer resort. It was through 
 'lis influence that the General Passensrer Aoent 
 [onsented to advertise Kankakee as a summer re- 
 port. Mr. Lavery was also first consulted in con- 
 kection with the industries located at North Kanka- 
 kee. The otlicials of the Illinois Central consulted 
 lim as to the standing and the character of the 
 ^orth Kankakee promoters. Mr. Lavery, having 
 he interest of the city at heart, without much 
 jffort convinced the Illinois Central Railroad 
 rompany of the responsibility of the North Kan- 
 
 kakee Syndicate. We can say that Mr. David Lav- 
 ery has done much in a quiet way to advance the 
 prosperity of Kankakee, and these little instances 
 will be news to many of the citizens of Kankakee 
 City and vicinity, who may well be proud of such 
 a citizen. Had Mr. Lavery thrown cold water on 
 this enterprise, and said it was simply a land 
 scheme, where would the progress of this city have 
 been? AVe can say that he is entitled to more 
 credit for the growth of Kankakee than people are 
 aware of, as his good judgment shows in the ad- 
 vance of property and population, and the city of 
 Kankakee is now one of the most progressive in the 
 State. 
 
 *^®_ 
 
 '^^S" 
 
 " ANNIBAL AVORCESTER, for nearly forty 
 years a resident of JLjmence, is a banker 
 
 and influential citizen of this place. His 
 (^ birth occurred in Clarendon, Vl., on the 
 9th of May, 1829. His paternal grandfather was 
 drowned many years ago, leaving a wife, who 
 lived to be very aged and resided upon the same 
 farm which was owned by her son for years after- 
 wards. His maternal grandfather, Zachariah John- 
 son, was a farmer in Vermont in the same neigh- 
 borhood with the other members of our subject's 
 ancestois. 
 
 Hannibal is the son of John B. ami Eunice 
 (Johnson) Worcester, both of whom were natives 
 of the Green Mountain State. The father was a 
 farmer by occupation and made his home in Ver- 
 mont until his death in 1842, being in the prime 
 of life. His wife died in Momence, in 1872, at 
 the age of sixty-seven years. In their family were 
 nine children, seven sons and two daughters: Hen- 
 riette, Maria, Albert, Horace, Hannibal, Horatio, 
 Wallace, Julius, and Ezra, who died in infancy. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were passed 
 in the place of his birth, where he received a 
 good common-school education. When about nine- 
 teen years of age he began learning the carpen- 
 ter's trade, which occupation he followed for 
 about four years, when he commenced clerking in 
 a store, and from that time turned his attention
 
 592 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to mercantile pursuits. He had two uncles, Phillip 
 Worcester and Rollins C. Hunter, who came to 
 Momence in 1834, at which time it was the first 
 town south of Chicago. In the fall of 1855 our 
 subject joined his uncle in Momence, desiring to 
 view the countr_y and prospects. The same year 
 he returned to his home, and in March, 1856, 
 came again to Momence, where he opened a gen- 
 eral store in partnership with his uncle, Franklin 
 Worcester, and Dr. M. O. Clark, under the firm 
 name of Worcester, Clark it Co. On the expira- 
 tion of one year. Dr. Clark retired, and the busi- 
 ness was coutiuued under the firm name of H. & 
 F. Worcester. In 18G0 a new firm was formed, 
 under the style of Worcester, Brayton & Co., 
 which partnership consisted of F. Worcester, Lj-- 
 man Wooster, Stephen Wheeler, Zeno C. Brayton 
 and H. Worcester. They ran a distiller3' in con- 
 nection with their mercantile business until they 
 were forced to abandon it on account of the tax 
 of twenty cents per gallon which was assessed. 
 The partnership continued until January, 1863, 
 when they sold out their entire stock of goods. 
 
 Our subject, in company with Mr. Brayton, en- 
 gaged in tlie stock business, buying and shipping 
 all kinds of stock for the two years succeeding. 
 They then opened another general merchandise 
 store and continued together until the fall of 
 1872, when they added banking to their business, 
 and carried on both branches until the death of 
 Mr. Brayton on the 25th of January, 1875. Mr. 
 Worcester then purchased his partner's interest 
 from the heirs and associated witli him in both 
 branches his brother-in-law, T. H. Stratton, and 
 together they carried on the business until 1878. 
 Mr. Worcester then sold his interest iu the gen- 
 eral store to his partner and became sole proprie- 
 tor of the bank, which he has kept until the pres- 
 ent time, it being known as the Exchange Bank. 
 
 On the 24th of January, 1859, Mr. AVorcester 
 and Miss Ellen Stratton were united in marriage. 
 She is the daughter of William J. and Margaret 
 E. (Patrick) Stratton, and b}' her marriage has 
 become the mother of two children. Cora was mar- 
 ried in the year 1882 to U. B. Hall, Jr., and died 
 in 1885, leaving a daughter a year old, who bears 
 the name of her mothei', Cora E. William P. is in 
 
 the employ of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Rail- 
 road at Momence. Mrs. Worcester is a member of 
 the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which her hus- 
 band, though not a member, is a regular attend 
 ant, and to which he gives his support. 
 
 In politics Mr. Worcester has always been iden- 
 tified with the Republican party since its organiz- 
 tion. Until that time he voted the Whig ticket, 
 easting his first ballot in 1852 for Gen. Scott. He 
 has served as a delegate to both county and State 
 conventions, and though he has never been an of- 
 fice-seeker, has been called upon to fill the office of 
 Supervisor twice. He has ever taken an active 
 part in all measures tending to the growth and 
 progress of Momence and the surrounding vicin- 
 ity, and has been a witness of much of its growth. 
 
 ^^' BRAM EVERITT owns and operates a farm 
 ®Oi on section 8, Otto Township. He is a na- 
 tive of Ilhnois, and was born on the 7th 
 of May, 1844, in McIIenry Countj-. His 
 father, David Everitt, was born in the Empire 
 State, his birth occurring in Steuben County in 
 February, 1799. Upon arriving at man's estate 
 he married Miss AVealthy Madole, a daughter' 
 of Hugh Madole, also a native of Steuben County. 
 Mr. Everitt for a few 3'ears after his marriage 
 engaged in farming in New York, and about the 
 j'ear 1839 emigrated Westward. He settled first 
 in McHenry County, 111., where he opened up 
 a farm, and lived for several years. In the year 
 1851 he came to what is now Kankakee County, 
 and located upon the identical farm where his son 
 now resides. He entered a tract consisting of one 
 hundred and sixty acres, which he proceeded to 
 develop and improve. He went to Chicago, 
 bought lumber and hauled it to the present site of 
 the house, which he proceeded to erect, and where 
 his son now dwells. For many years Mr. Everitt 
 was actively employed as an agriculturist, and 
 when he had secured a competency for his remain- 
 ing years he retired, going to live in Chebanse
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 593 
 
 where he resided until his death in 1884. His 
 wife had died many years previous, about the 
 year 1872. 
 
 Abram Everitt is one of a family of twelve chil- 
 dren who lived to maturit}-. His eldest brother, 
 Walter, was a soldier in the Mexican War, and 
 died in the service of his countr3% Of the large 
 familj', four brothers and two sisters are the only 
 survivors. Our subject passed his early j'ears en- 
 gaged in the usual occupations of farmer boys. 
 His school advantages were good, and have been 
 supplemented by study and reading in later 3'ears. 
 He remained with his father for several years after 
 reaching his majority, relieving him of much of 
 the care and labor of carrying on the home farm. 
 
 In 1872, our subject went to Kansas, where he 
 purchased four hundred acres of land in Montgom- 
 ery C'ountv. He remained there for two years, 
 and during that time much improved that property', 
 and among other things set out live miles of hedge. 
 He then sold the land and returned to Illinois, 
 soon afterwards going to Indiana, where he located 
 upon land in Benton County, which he operated 
 for aliout two years. Returning to Illinois, he 
 bought eighty acres of unimproved prairie, and 
 made of it a good farm. In 1878 he returned to 
 the homestead in Kankakee County, and has since 
 been actively engaged in its further development. 
 He now has eighty acres of his father's original 
 farm, which is under a high state of cultivation 
 and is a valuable piece of property. As an agri- 
 culturist, Mr. Everitt has been eminenth' success- 
 ful, and has overcome all discouragements with 
 perseverance and courage. 
 
 In Watseka, 111., on the 5th of October, 1875, 
 Mr. Everitt mai'ried Miss Leona Ladux, who was 
 liiirn in Kankakee County. She died, leaving one 
 son, Frank Jlclvin. Our subject was again mar- 
 ried, in Kankakee, on the 26th of April, 188G, at 
 which time Miss Anna Lettia Britton became his 
 wife. Mrs. Everitt is a native of Canada, her birth 
 occurring near the city of Montreal, and there she 
 was reared and educated. She is a daughter of 
 James E. Britton, of Canada. 
 
 The Republican party has always received the 
 support of Mr. Everitt since he became a voter. 
 His first ballot was cast for Gen. U. S. (irant. 
 
 Thougii never desiring or aspiring to hold official 
 positions, he has several times been prevailed upon 
 to accept the same. The cause of education finds 
 in him a warm friend and supporter, and he has 
 served several years .as a member of the School 
 Board. Since a child, Mrs. Everitt has been a 
 member of the Episcopal Church, to which she still 
 belongs. Our subject has spent almost his entire 
 life in Otto Township, and is well and favorably 
 known throughout this conimunitj'. In Ins per- 
 sonal character he is upright and honorable, and 
 wins the confidence and friendship of all. 
 
 -^^- 
 
 ; OHN CLARENCE BLiRT has been business 
 manager of the Illinois Eastern Hospital 
 for the Insane since March, 1885, and an 
 employe of that institution since March, 
 1880. His birth occurred on the 9th of September, 
 1856, at Lake Geneva, Wis. His parents, Roswell 
 and Uoxalana (Mathews) Burt, were both natives of 
 Essex and Elizabethtown, N. Y., respectively, and 
 emigrated to the Territory of Wisconsin in 1838. 
 They were numbered among the early settlers and 
 pioneers of Walworth County. The father was a 
 soldier in the War of the Rebellion, and a member 
 of Company F, Fortieth Regiment Wisconsin Vol- 
 unteers, and died in 1872. The mother survives, 
 and makes her home in L.ake Geneva, Wis.; she 
 has two ciiildien living: Mary E. Burt, prominent 
 as an author and teacher of literature, and a mem- 
 ber of tiie Board of Education of Chicago; and 
 John C. Burt, of Kankakee. The latter attended 
 the public schools in Wisconsin, and when pre- 
 pared, entered the University of Michigan, at Ann 
 Arbor, and graduated in tlie Class of '75 from 
 the deiinrtmentsof science, literature and the arts, 
 receiving the degree of Ph. C. After this he en- 
 gaged in the drug business at Elgin, III., until Sep- 
 tember, 1879, when he married and removed to 
 Chicago, where he attended Rush Medical College 
 until tiie 6th of March, 1880, when he accepted a 
 position at the Illinois Eastern Hospital as phar- 
 macist and supervisor, which office he Qiled to the
 
 594 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 satisfaction of the Board of Trustees, and was ac- 
 cordingly promoted in Marcli, 1885, to the posi- 
 tion of business manager, and from 1891 to 1893 
 had charge of construction worlv as building su- 
 perintendent. 
 
 Mr. Burt was married in Janesville, Wis., on the 
 24th of September, 1879, to Miss Minnie R. Otis, 
 who is a native of Brooklyn, N. Y. She is the 
 daughter of Seldon E. Otis, of Janesville, Wis. 
 Politieallj-, Mr. Burt casts his ballot in favor of 
 the principles of tlie Republican party. He is 
 a Master Mason, holding membership with Kanka- 
 kee Lodge No. 389, A. F. & A. M. In the busi- 
 ness management of the hospital Mr. Burt has 
 demonstrated that public business can be managed 
 on business principles, and has enjoyed the dis- 
 tinction of holding the onlj' ofHce of the kind in 
 Illinois, an office demanding detailed knowledge of 
 the care of the insane, as well as thorough infor- 
 mation of the duties of employes of the various 
 working departments, keeping all in harmony, and 
 winning for himself many warm friends in the in- 
 stitution and in Kankakee. 
 
 -^^E 
 
 a HESTER METCALF, who carries on a farm 
 - on section 26, Ganier Township, was born 
 ' on the same farm on which he now resides 
 on the 5th of February, 1847, and is a son of 
 Silas Metcalf, a native of Ontario County, N. Y., 
 where his birth occurred on the 15th of February, 
 1813. The father was of English descent and 
 married Sarah Irvin, who was of Irish extraction 
 and was born on the 3 Ist of September, 1819, in 
 Muskingum County, Ohio. Eleven children were 
 born of this union: Mary E., who died October 
 24, 1861; Irvin, a plumber by trade, who resides 
 in Grand Island, Neb.; our subject, Chester; Al- 
 mira, who departed this life March 16, 1866; Cora, 
 the wife of Solomon Kenrich, now residing in Mo- 
 mence; Orris, living upon the old homestead; Jes- 
 sie, the wife of Eugene Babcock, of Nebraska; Silas, 
 who died July 29, 1859; Paul, a carpenter of Ne- 
 braska; Edwin, a resident of Oil iowa, Neb.; and Jen- 
 
 nie, who departed thislife March 24, 1876. The fa- 
 ther of this family was largely- self-educated and be- 
 gan life by working as a farm hand. In the fall of 
 1838, he came to Illinois, making the trip West- 
 ward alone on horseback. lie came in order to 
 view the country and to make preparations for 
 his family. He located in what was then Iroquois, 
 but is now Kankakee County, purchasing three 
 hundred and twenty acres in Momence Township. 
 The land contained a few acres whicli were broken 
 and a log house. About 1840, Mr. Metcalf went 
 to Chicago and engaged in general merchandising 
 for about eighteen months. He purchased the 
 farm on which his son, our subject, now lives, of 
 the Government. This tract consisted of eighty 
 acres on section 26, Ganier Townsliip, for which he 
 paid $1.25 per acre. He moved upon this farm and 
 built a small frame house, in which he spent the 
 most of his remaining da3's. The Indians had not 
 left for their western reservation when he first lo- 
 cated in this vicinity. ]\Ir. Metcalf was a Repub- 
 lican in politics and helped to organize that party 
 in Kankakee County. He held the offices of .Su- 
 pervisor, Highway Commissioner, School Director 
 and .School Trustee and was prominent in all local 
 affairs. His death occurred on the 29th of March, 
 1875, and his remains are interred in the Mt. Airy 
 Cemetery. 
 
 As before mentioned, our subject passed his 
 boyhood days on the farm which he now operates. 
 His educational privileges were those afforded by 
 the district schools of the neighborhood, which he 
 attended during the winter terms until twenty 
 years of age. Two years later he commenced his 
 career as a teacher, which occupation he followed 
 for nineteen consecutive years. During this time 
 he taught school in Iowa, Indiana and Nebraska, 
 but most of the time in Kankakee County. In 
 1889, Mr. Metcalf settled down upon the old 
 homestead and has since devoted himself to agri- 
 cultural pursuits in partnership with his brother 
 Orris. They are engaged in fruit-growing and 
 gardening in addition to general farming. The 
 place, which is well improved, consists of eighty 
 acres. Our subject also own forty acres adjoining. 
 His mother is still living and makes her home 
 with her son Orris. 
 
 u
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 595 
 
 On the 16th of November, 1892, Mr. Metcalf 
 wedded Mrs. Eva Perkins, nee Stoner, daughter of 
 John Stoner, of Lake, Ind. I'olitk'ally. Mr. ISIet- 
 calf casts his ballot in favor of the nominees 
 of the Kepublican party. He has served in vari- 
 ous local positions of trust and honor, among 
 them those of School Director and School Trustee. 
 Having been so long a teacher he has always taken 
 a lively interest in the cause of education and is a 
 firm believer in the grand public school system of 
 our counlry. 
 
 A^ HARLES BIGALOW, who is engaged in 
 [l( farming on section 26, Salina Township, 
 
 ^^^7 .and is the owner of a broom factory in 
 this neighborhood, claims New York as the State 
 of his birtli, which occurred in Essex County, the 
 date being August 25, 1825. His parents, Clark 
 and Ruby (Sherman) Bigalow, had a family of 
 thirteen children, of whom our subject is third in 
 order of biitli. The days of his bo3'hood and 
 youth were spent upon his father's farm in the 
 usual manner of farmer lads, and the public 
 schools of his neighborhood afforded him his edu- 
 cational privileges. However, by reading, exper- 
 ience and observation he has made himself a well- 
 informed man. He remained with his parents un- 
 til twent}- years of age, when he left home and 
 learned the m.ason's trade. He then worked at 
 that occupation at various times in the Empire 
 State, where he remained until 1853. That year 
 witnessed his emigration Westward. 
 
 Ere his removal from New York, however, Mr. 
 Bigalow was married. It was in 1850 that he was 
 imarried to Miss Mary Ann Reynolds, who sur- 
 iVived her marriage, however, onl}' a short time, 
 dying in 1852, leaving one child, a daughter. 
 The following year, Mr. Bigalow removed to Illi- 
 nois, taking up his residence in Joliet, where the 
 succeeding nine years of his life were passed. 
 During that period he was engaged in working at 
 |.he mason's trade. It was also during that inter- 
 V&\ that he was again married, in 1855, being 
 
 united with Miss Isabella Skinner. Six children 
 have been born of this union, Ijut three are now de- 
 ceased: Oscar, the eldest; Ida, the third, and Mary, 
 the fifth child. The others are Ella; Charles, who 
 married Miss Mary Armstrong August 5, 1891, a 
 daughter of .John and Mary (Golding) Armstrong, 
 and a native of Illinois, who was born Eebruary 
 22, 1873; and Nora. One little son, P^arl, has 
 blessed the union of Charles and his wife. 
 
 On coming to Kankakee County in 1862, Mr. 
 Bigalow located in Aroma Township, where he 
 rented land for two years. He then removed to 
 the farm which is still his home, having purchased 
 forty acres of improved land on section 26, Salina 
 Township. Here he carries on general farming 
 with the aid of his son, and he also owns a broom 
 f.actory, which is now operated by Charles. He is 
 a man of good business ability and enterpiising. 
 He is a member of the Methodist Church, and in 
 politics is a supporter of the Republican party, but 
 has never been an office-seeker. In the commun- 
 ity where he has now resided for almost a third 
 of a century he h.as many friends who hold him in 
 high esteem for his sterling worth. 
 
 Wi OEL B. LEWIS is one of the old settlers and 
 prominent men of Kankakee County, and he 
 h.as been one of the leading politicians and 
 public-spirited men of this locality. For 
 over forty years he has owned and carried on a 
 farm on section 22, Yellowhead Township. His 
 birth occurred June 21, 1826, in Fabius, Onon- 
 daga County, N. Y. He is a son of Milo and 
 Emma (Merrill) Lewis, to whom were born seven 
 children, three sons and four daughters. The 
 father was a native of New York, and was of 
 Welsh origin. He removed to Sheboygan Count}', 
 AVis., in 1851, w.as a prosperous farmer, and de- 
 parted this life at the age of fifty-seven years. 
 The mother w.as a native of New York, and of 
 German descent. 
 
 Our subject spent his early bo3'hood and 3'outh 
 on his father's farm in the Empire State, where he
 
 596 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 received a good education for that day. He left 
 the parental roof on attaining bis majorit}-, and 
 started out in the world to make his fortune. On 
 the 6th of May, 1847, he married Miss Maria 
 Shedd, who was also a native of the Klmpne State. 
 One child, a son, was born of their union, Her- 
 bert, who is .in enterprising farmer of Yellowhead 
 Township. Mrs. Lewis died on the 8th of October, 
 1888, and her last resting-place is in Union Cor- 
 ners Cemetery. 
 
 For five years subsequent to his marriage, Mr. 
 Lewis engaged in teaching school and also farmed 
 some in his native State. The 3'ear 1852 witnessed 
 his arrival in Yellowhead Townsliip, where he pur- 
 chased an eighty-acre tract of wild land. There 
 were very few inhabitants of this locality at that 
 time, and he was subject to the man}' incon- 
 veniences and hardships of pioneer life. He taught 
 school in this district during the earl}' d.ays for 
 two terms, but has since devoted himself exclu- 
 sively to the improvement of his farm. He now 
 possesses one hundred .and seventy acres, making 
 in every respect a fine farm, wliich is situated 
 three miles east of Grant Park. He has a pleasant 
 residence, and on every hand may be seen the 
 marks of the owner's care and attention. 
 
 Mr. Lewis and Miss Carrie O., daughter of Or- 
 rington and Clarissa (Blanchaid) Lewis, were 
 united in marriage on the 21st of January. 1892. 
 The lady was born May 8, 1856, in Onondaga 
 County, N. Y., received her education at Hamil- 
 ton, N. Y., and h^.s spent the greater portion of 
 her life in that State. Slie too was a teacher for 
 many j'ears. 
 
 During the early years of his residence here, Mr. 
 Lewis was Assessor of the township for five years, 
 and at that time was acquainted with almost every 
 one in it. For the same length of time he served 
 as Township Supervisor, and has held most of the 
 local olhces. With Messrs. Alonzo Curtis and 
 Reuben Richardson, he was the means of getting 
 the Chicago &. Eastern Illinois Railroad to put 
 their line through this county. Mr. Lewis was ap- 
 pointed census-taker of the township in 1880, and 
 in all local affairs has been one of the most active 
 and progressive. lie is intelligent and well posted 
 on the leading issues and topics of the day. He 
 
 holds membership with Grant Park Lodge No. 740, 
 A. F. & A. M. Politically, he is a supporter of the 
 Democratic party. IMrs. Lewis is a member of the 
 Baptist Clnirch. 
 
 
 EV. .JOHN T. RICHARDSON, deceased, 
 was born on the 21st of February, 1812,1 
 in Circlevillc, Ohio, and was one of four! 
 ^ children born to .John and R.achel (Trigot)j 
 Richardson. His father was of English descentJ 
 while his mother was of French extraction. Ellen| 
 T., wife of Daniel T. Van Meter, is the only sur^i 
 viving member of the family. 
 
 The boyhood daj-s of Mr. Richardson were 
 passed in his native village, where he also received 
 his education, and where, in 1834, he wedded Mis^ 
 Jane B. McDougall. Iler father, .James McDougallJ 
 was of English origin, and served as a soldier in 
 the War of 1812. Nine children graced the uniot 
 of our subject and wife, five of whom yet survived 
 John Homer married Miss Sarah Glaze, and theiij 
 family comprises six children: Clara J., Lunajj 
 Charles, Verner, Frank and Alfred. Ellen F. is" 
 the wife of Milo R. Peters, whose sketch is give.n 
 elsewhere in this work. Joseph A. wedded Miss 
 Mary Hazelton, and their home is Burch, S. Dak.; 
 the}' have six children: Charles, Eva, Clara, Min- 
 nie, Mamie and George. Ada, wife of Joseph A. 
 Davis, resides near Paris, in southern California. 
 Clara A. J. married J. Howard Shingle, now of 
 Glenmore, Pa., and to them have been born three 
 children: Lester, Cl.yde and Margerie. 
 
 Mr. Richardson was a minister of the Methodist 
 Church, and one of the pioneer circuit-riders. Af- 
 ter his marriage he left Circleville, Ohio, and lo- 
 cated in Noblesville, Ind., where he lived for 
 nearl}' ten years, during which time he operated a 
 bakery and preached also. In 1849 he came to 
 Kankakee County, and after remaining a sliorL 
 time in Bourbonnais, settled in Rockville Town4 
 ship, where he bought farms, improved and then| 
 sold them. In 1869, he located in Manteno, rieat] 
 which he operated a small farm, and still continued
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MWIVEfiSiry OF ILLINOIS
 
 
 i> / 
 
 
 ■^tl^fyv^ ° ?>^V' 
 
 J)r0:^d^>^
 
 
 <^lp OI-''>-^/- 
 
 of. J^a-i^
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPtnCAL RECORD. 
 
 601 
 
 his preaching. His services as a minister were 
 given freelv, and with the exception of a sliort 
 ..ime when lie was located on a regular charge, he 
 never received any pecuniary recompense. On the 
 15th of March, 1872, he was called from this life, 
 being then about sixty 3'ears of age. His wife 
 survived him a number of years and passed away 
 on the loth of November, 1884, aged seventy-two 
 j'ears. They were among the very early settlers 
 of Rockville Township, and were ever held in the 
 highest regai'd by many friends and fellow-citi- 
 zens. Mr. Richardson was active in the cause of 
 the Master, and was conscientious and upright to 
 the highest degree. He boie the hardships and 
 ditliculties of pioneer life with fortitude and cour- 
 age, and his entire life was an open book to all. 
 
 -*— -^r^-^-i-^- 
 
 %^ANIEL W. DOLE, a dealer in hardware 
 and agricultural implements in Manteno, 
 is one of the honored earij' settlei-s of this 
 count}', which has been his iiome since 1852. He 
 was horn in Shelburne Township, Franklin County, 
 Mass., on the 4th of April, 1829, and is one of 
 eight children born to Orrin and Lucinda (Kemp) 
 Dole, who were both natives of Massachusetts. 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, F^noch 
 Dole, was a farmer in the Bay State, reared a 
 large family, and lived to be quite advanced in 
 years. He was three times married and had two 
 children by each marriage, but only one is living, 
 Mrs. .Tulia Edwards, of Wisconsin. Orrin Dole in 
 his younger days was a cooper by trade, but soon 
 gave up that occupation and devoted nearly all 
 his life to farming. He left M.assachu,setts and 
 removed to Ohio in 1843, where he made a settle- 
 ment in Lyme Township, Huron County, which 
 was his home during the remainder of his life. 
 IJoth he and his wife are now deceased, and of 
 their five sons and three daughters but five are 
 living: Daniel W. is the eldest; George S. and Ed- 
 win reside in Bellevue, Ohio; Orrin lives in Elyria; 
 aiHl .Tulia is the wife of .Tames Stocking, a Con- 
 gregational minister of Colorado. 
 
 Mr. Dole, whose name Iieads this sketch, was 
 reared on his father's farms in Massachusetts and 
 Ohio, and remained under the parental roof until 
 he was twenty-three 3-ears of age. His school 
 jirivilegcs were as good as could be obtained in 
 the common schools of that early day. On the 
 23d of February, 1854, he was united in nuarriage 
 with Miss Mary Samantlia Smith. Her parents, 
 who were both natives of Rutland, Vt., were Ira 
 W. and Lois (Beckwith) Smith. Mrs. Dole was 
 born in Lorain County, Ohio, January 1, 1836, 
 and when seven years of age came with her parents 
 to what is now Kankakee County. She is the sec- 
 ond in order of birth of six children, of whom 
 four are still living. Her mother died June 7, 
 1847, and later her father married again. By his 
 second wife he had a family of nine children, 
 though only three of them are living. l)Oth of 
 Mrs. Dole's parents were active workers in the 
 Baptist Church. Mr. Smith was a prominent man 
 in his township and among his best friends were 
 many of the leading men of the county. As he 
 was an extensive sheep-raiser, and as there were 
 several Smiths in the vicinity, he was widely known 
 as "Sheep Smith." 
 
 Four sons and three daughters were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dole. Walter K., who follows the trade 
 of a carpenter in Teotone, 111., married Miss Jennie 
 Stvles, and they have an adopted daughter. May. 
 Lois N. is the second child. Ira B. died May 28, 
 1888, leaving a wife, who w.as formerly Miss Izetta 
 Bernard, and two children, Clarence and Ira. Lu- 
 cinda resides at home. Ilattie C. became the wife 
 of William Lownes, who owns and carries on a 
 farm in Rockville Township. Their family com- 
 prises a son and three daughters: Carrie, Elmer, 
 Bertha and Margery. Henry D. and Frederick 
 complete the number. 
 
 In 1852 Mr. Dole came directly West from Ohio 
 to Illinois, where, after working for some two years, 
 he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty 
 acres in Rockville Township, this county. After 
 cultivating this tr.act and living upon it for three 
 years, he sold it and purchased two hundred 
 and thirty-flve acres on section 7. After thir- 
 teen years devoted to the improvement of this 
 farm, he, in 1873, sold it to his father's estate and
 
 602 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 held his interest as an heir to his father's prop- 
 erty. Then removing to Manteno, he bought the 
 hardware store of Spring Bros., which is still in 
 his possession, and which business he has con- 
 ducted for nineteen years. For a number of years 
 he was largely engaged in raising sheep, and on 
 one occasion during the war sold one load of wool 
 which brought him $1,000. He afterward, how- 
 ever, found that sheep-raising was unprofitable in 
 this locality, on account of the numerous fatal dis- 
 eases that from time to time carried the sheep off 
 b}^ the score. He therefore turned his attention 
 strictly to farming. At the time of his settlement 
 in this locality the Illinois Central Railroad was 
 staked out, but no other work had been done upon 
 it. He sometimes walked the entire distance to 
 Chicago, because he could make better time tiian 
 the slow-going stage of those early days. 
 
 Mr. Dole has never cared to hold office, but was 
 Assessor for one year. Politically, he is a Repub- 
 lican. Both lie and his wife hold membership 
 with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he 
 is at the present time one of the Trustees, which 
 office he has held for many j'ears, and has also a 
 number of times served as Steward. He is held in 
 the highest esteem by many friends and acquaint- 
 ances who know his true worth. 
 
 -^^ 
 
 (V JilLLIAM F. 
 
 \J/ '' «"«^ of tl 
 Wi He is a ns 
 
 ILLIAM F. STRUNK, Justice of the Peace, 
 the early settlers of this county, 
 ative of the Empire State, his 
 birth occurring in Olean, Cattaraugus County, on 
 the 19th of July, 18.36. His paternal grandfather 
 carried on agriculture in New York and was quite 
 an extensive stock-raisei-. He was a soldier in the 
 "War of 1812, and died in 1856, at t!ie age of 
 eighty-one years. The maternal grandfather of 
 our subject was a miller and millwright in the 
 East and among the pioneer settlers of Illinois, 
 coming to this State as early as 1837 with John 
 Strunk, the father of our subject, both of them 
 bringing their families and settling near Wilming- 
 ton, where they purchased land and lived for a 
 
 number of years. The father ran a mill, which was 
 swept away by floating ice in the winter of 1848- 
 49. Our subject is a son of John and Martha 
 (Forbes) Strunk, both natives of the State of NewJ 
 York, where the father for many years ran a flour,? 
 ing-mill at Jamestown. In their family were three! 
 children, two daughters and a son: Mary, whol 
 died when about twenty years of age; William,! 
 and Helen, who became the wife of Horatio Y),\ 
 Worcester, of Momonce, whose death occurred inJ 
 1880. Mrs. Worcester afterward wedded Rev.) 
 George Moore, who is the present rector of the 
 Church of the Good Shepherd of Momence. Ii 
 1849 the father came to Momence, and bought i 
 third interest in the flouring-mill of Chatfield 
 Todd, which business he continued in until 1855J 
 when, on the 12th of July, he died with the dread 
 disease, cholera. 
 
 Mr. Strunk, the subject of this sketcL, in his 
 boyhood and youth worked in his father's millsJ 
 and after the latter's death he continued to carrj 
 on the business. In July, 1861, he became a mem-, 
 ber of Company' D, Forty-second Illinois InfantryJ 
 and bravely fought for the stars and stripes untiB 
 October, 1864, at which time he was mustered oni 
 of service. He was wounded in the battles of 
 Chickamauga and Stone River and participated inl 
 many of the hard-fought engagements of the war,! 
 serving all through the Atlanta campaign. After 
 returning from the war he again went to work 
 the old mill in the employ of Patterson & Hamil- 
 ton, and about two j'ears later, entering into 
 partnership with Henry Miller, he rented the 
 mill, buying the lease of Patterson & Hamilton, 
 and together they continued in business until 
 1875, when the property was sold to Gen. Cass, 
 who tore the old mill down a few years later. On 
 the 2.3d of October, 1872, Mr. Strunk was married 
 to Miss Elizabeth Gilmore, of Momence, whose 
 parents were natives of Canada, but came to Chi- 
 cago and there died in 1854 of cholera. 
 
 Our subject owns a number of houses and lots in 
 Momence, over which he keeps a careful supervi- 
 sion, but lias not been actively engaged in business 
 life since selling the mill property. In 1884, he 
 was elected Justice of the Peace, which office he 
 still holds, and is also now serving as one of 
 
 J
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 603 
 
 the Citj' Aldermen, which position he has held 
 almost since the incorporation of tiie town. 
 For three terms he was the Mayor of Momence, 
 an<l in all public capacities has proved etHcient 
 and trustworthy. AVhile not a member of any 
 churcli, Air. Strunk contributes to the support of 
 the various churches of Momence. His wife is a 
 member of the Episcopal Church. .Socially, our 
 subject is a member of Momence Lodge No. 481, 
 A. F. it A. M., with which he united about 1866, 
 and also of Ivanhoe Commander^' No. 33, K. T., of 
 Kankakee. He uses his right of franchise in sup- 
 port of the Republican parly, of which he is a 
 stanch adherent. He is one of the very earliest set- 
 tlers of Momence, having come here forty-two years 
 ago, when fences were not to be seen and there 
 were not more than a dozen houses in the vicin- 
 itj', two or three of them being log cabins. AV^ild 
 animals and game of all kinds still roamed over the 
 prairies, which in their barren and wild state 
 gave little promise of what was to be in the com- 
 ing years. In his personal appearance our subject 
 is a tall, rugged looking man of modest mien and 
 kindly disposition, and is highly respected in the 
 community. His mother, who is now very old, 
 is still living and makes her home with our sub- 
 ject on what is known as the "Island," situated 
 near one of the main streets between the two 
 branches of the Kankakee River. 
 
 J I ACOB E. WILLMAN, a leading citizen of 
 Kankakee, has the honor of being a native 
 I of this county and is a representative of 
 ' one of its pioneer families. His father, 
 
 Carl Willraan, is a native of Germany. Having 
 crossed the broad Atlantic to America, he came to 
 Illinois in 1854, and took up his residence in the city 
 of Kankakee, where he yet makes his home. He is 
 numbered among the early settlers of the com- 
 munity and has witnessed much of its growth and 
 upbuilding. His wife, the mother of our subject, 
 I died many years ago. 
 
 The Willman family numbered seven children. 
 
 three sons and four daughters. Amelia, the eldest 
 of the family, is now the wife of Philip Sclinable, 
 and a resident of Geneseo, Henry County, 111. 
 Minnie is the wife of F. Erzinger, who makes his 
 home in Iloopcstown, 111. .Tulia married Christian 
 Mire, of San Luis, Cal., where they now reside. 
 Charles G., the eldest of the brothers, is a resident 
 of Fillmore, Cal. Jacob E., of this sketch, is the 
 next younger. Carrie, wife of Sigle Green, resides 
 in Plattsmouth, Neb.; and John L.,who completes 
 the family, is now located in Idaho. 
 
 Mr. Willman, our subject, was born in Kankakee 
 on the 3d of April, 185;"), and his entire life has 
 been passed in the city of his birth. As to his 
 business, he has generally followed the occupation 
 of farming, and for a period of five years, from 
 1883 until 1888, he held the position of .Superin- 
 tendent of the Kankakee County Poor Farm. His 
 management of the county property was most sat- 
 isfactory and acceptable to the people, as his long 
 continuance in that ofiice gives evidence. 
 
 February' 8, 1876, Mr. Willman was united in 
 marri.age to Miss Maiy McLane, a native of Penn- 
 sylvania. Her father, Enos McLane, emigrated to 
 this county in 1865, accompanied by his family, 
 but he w.as not long permitted to enjoy his new 
 home, for soon after his arrival he was acccidentally 
 drowned in the Kankakee River. Mrs. McLane 
 also passed awa3- several years ago. Their family 
 numbered seven children. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Willman have been born four children, all sons, as 
 follows: Arthur Charles, .Jerome E., Herman P. 
 and Clarence Walter. All the family are members 
 of the German Evangelical Association of Kan- 
 kakee. 
 
 Mr. Willman is also numbered among the early 
 settlers of the county, for his residence here cov- 
 ers a period of more than thirty-seven 3'ears. He 
 has witnessed much of its growth and upbuilding 
 aud has borne a part in its development and ad- 
 vancement. He takes a commendable interest in 
 all that pertains to the welfare of the community 
 and gives his support to those enterprises calcula- 
 lated to prove of public benefit. He exercises his 
 right of franchise in support of the Republican 
 party but has never been a politician in the sense 
 of office-seeking. In December, 1892, he assumed
 
 604 
 
 POiiTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the duties of the oflice of Coroner, which position 
 he still liolds. He is a well-known and highly re- 
 spected citizen, whose sterling worth and man}' 
 excellencies of character have won him universal 
 esteem. Mr. Willnian has been quite successful in 
 his business undertakings, as starting with nothing, 
 he has accumulated valuable property. 
 
 3xxixjj^ 
 
 ?REDERICK POLLMANN, of Kankakee, 
 has been a resident of tliis county since 1864. 
 At that time he settled upon a new farm 
 in Pilot Township, on section o. He purcliased 
 his original farm of eighty acres for 16 per acre 
 and afterward increased his possessions to one 
 hundred and twenty acres. He erected good build- 
 ings and made other improvements, making of liis 
 place one of the best farms in that portion of the 
 township. 
 
 Our subject is a native of Germany, his birth 
 having occurred October 23, 1824, in Lippe-Det- 
 mold. His father, Henry Pollmann, was a farmer 
 by occupation, and his family consisted of three 
 sons and three daughters. Two of the brothers 
 and sisters are all who ever left the Fatherland to 
 take up their abode in America. Tiie first to leave 
 the parental roof was our subject, who crossed the 
 briny deep in 1848, and upon his arrival in New 
 York Citj' went at once to St. Louis. There he 
 continued for some time, when, going to Pekin, 
 111., he made that city his home for a number of 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Pollmann was united in marriage with Miss 
 Louise Kumlehn on the 22d of February, 1852, in 
 St. Louis, Mo. The lady was born in Brunswick, 
 Germanjr, August 13, 1827, and emigrated to 
 America about the year 1850. Her parents never 
 left the Fatherland, but died in the State of their 
 nativity while Mrs. Pollmann was quite a young 
 girl. Our subject was called upon to mourn the 
 loss of his wife, who passed away April 10, 1891. 
 They had journc^'ed through life together for 
 nearlj' forty years. Their union was blessed by 
 two daughters, the eldest of whom, Mary, is the 
 
 wife of Jacob Gocker, of Essex Township, Kanka- 
 kee County. Louise resides with her father in 
 their pleasant home in Kankakee. 
 
 Mr. Pollmann removed with his family to Kan- 
 kakee in 1884, wliicli he has made his liome up to 
 the present time. He, however, continued to own 
 his farm property until 1892, at which time he 
 sold the same and, wholl}' retired from active bus- 
 iness cares, now enjoys the rest he has so well 
 earned by his j'ears of toil and industry. Mr. Poll- 
 mann h.as ever been esteemed a worthy and rep- 
 resentative citizen. Settling as he did upon a new 
 farm which he improved and made a valuable 
 place, he thus contributed to tiie material growth 
 and development of the county. He and his daugh- 
 ter are attendants at St. John's Evangelical Church 
 of Kankakee. Politically, Mr. Pollmann is a Re- 
 publican, though never an aspirant for public 
 office. 
 
 _~-<bT 
 
 >^^<m^ 
 
 yl-lLLlAAl VL 
 ' ieroftheK 
 \J^^ pany, was 
 
 |;;ILLIAM CLEGHORN, Secretary and Cash- 
 Kankakee Stone and Lime Com- 
 born in Port Hope, county of 
 Durham, Province of Ontario, Canada, August 1, 
 1839, and is a son of John W. and Artemisia 
 (Burnham) Cleghorn, who were from Ogdensburgh, 
 N. Y. The subject of this sketch was reared and 
 educated in his native county, and in the spring 
 of 1865 he came to Kankakee, where he was em- 
 ployed as agent of the American Express Company 
 for five years. Afterward, he was engaged in the 
 grocerj' business for four years, then accepting the 
 position he now holds with the Kankakee Stone 
 and Lime Company, which position he has filled 
 to the satisfaction of the companj' since 1872, or 
 for a period of twenty years. 
 
 On the 30th of January, 1874, Mr. Cleghorn 
 wedded Miss Martha J. Perry, a native of Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio, and a daughter of James C. Perry. 
 Two children, a son and daughter, grace their un- 
 ion: Leila Belle and Duane Perry. 
 
 Mr. Cleghorn uses his right of franchise in favor 
 of the Democratic party. He and his family are 
 members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Kanka-
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 »i"'vtiiiiiry Of ILLIIVOIS
 
 /P-^ce^i/^.^^ ^'^- 
 
 ^u^-^
 
 
 ■v.^*. , ^»,f*^"-''^i^,. 
 
 v^f^';:. 
 
 ^-^
 
 ■MVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 605 
 
 1 kee. Mr. Clegliorn is a Knight Templar Mason, a 
 
 member of Kankakee Lodge No. 389, A. F. it A. M.; 
 
 I a charter member of Kankakee Cliaiitor No. 78, 
 
 ' R. A. M.; and of Ivan hoe Commandery No. 33, 
 
 K. T. 
 
 P ENRY S. BLOOM, one of the few snrviving 
 pioneers of Kankakee County who came 
 
 *W^ in the '30s, is now a resident of Kanlx.akee. 
 
 (^J He was born in Bradford County, Pa., on 
 the 5th of August, 1820, and is a son of David 
 and Polly (Rutty) Bloom. He emigrated to Illi- 
 nois with his parents in 1834, and settled on sec- 
 tion 23, Rockville Township, Kankakee County-, 
 in 1837. There were tiien living in that portion 
 of the county onl^' Noel Le Vasseur, Dr. Todd, 
 William Rantz and Samuel Davis. The first mill- 
 ing was done at Green's Mills, at the mouth of 
 the Fox River, some forty miles away, and in those 
 .daj-s a week's journey. Supplies were obtained 
 from Wabash County, Ind., and on one occasion 
 Mr. Bloom was obliged to go to Bourbonnais 
 Grove, six miles distant froTn his home, to borrow 
 fire, which he brought in a brass kettle, at that 
 time lucifor matches being unknown in that wild 
 region. 
 
 In Wilmington, Will Countv, on the 11th of 
 December, 1844, occurred the wedding of Mr. 
 Bloom and Miss Elizabeth A. Kearns, who was 
 born in Montgomery County, N. Y., on the Mo- 
 hawk. She is a daughter of .John and Margaret 
 Kearns. To our subject and his wife were born 
 the following children, of whom eleven are now 
 living. Gu3' married .Jane Noble and resides 
 in Joliet; Edith is at home; Hilda is the wife of 
 Joseph Monty; iNIaj- is now deceased; Inez is with 
 her parents; Ivan married Fannie Zanes; David 
 wedded Henrietta Davis and resides in St. Louis, 
 Mo.; IJnda is the wife of Enoch Loving, of Yuma, 
 Cal.; Victor died at Leadville, Colo., aged twenty 
 years; Osburga is at home; Thomas D. is now in 
 California; Maggie and Belle are at home, and 
 Harry Lee resides in the city of Mexico, Mo. 
 Mr. Bloom has alw.ays engaged in agricultural 
 
 pursuits until 1876, when he removed to Kankakee, 
 where he has since resided. In early life he was a 
 Democrat but is now a Prohibitionist. He was 
 one of the commissioners who organized Kanka- 
 kee County in 1853, and has a number of times 
 been honored by his fellow-citizens in the election 
 or appointment to various local offices. He was 
 elected Justice of the Peace at the early age of 
 twenty-two and occupied that position for four- 
 teen years. At some time or other he has also 
 filled all of the township offices, with the sole ex- 
 ception of Collector. He was appointed Post- 
 master of Rockville b}^ President Pierce. Among 
 other responsible duties, Mr. Bloom has been serv- 
 ing as the eflicient Secretary of the Ivankakee Ag- 
 ricultural and Horticultural Society. In all of the 
 responsible positions which he has filled, our sub- 
 ject has acquitted himself creditably. He has been 
 associated with the Grange of Illinois, and was a 
 member of the Rockville Grange, also of the Kan- 
 kakee Grange, of which he was Jlaster. The lat- 
 ter is now non-alliliated. Mr. Bloom possesses a 
 rich fund of information and is an entertaining 
 talker; especially pleasing is his relation of the 
 early incidents and settlement of Kankakee County, 
 where he has passed fifty-five years of his life. 
 Both he and his wife are members of the Presby- 
 terian Church of Kankakee. 
 
 JOSEPH LKGRIS. Conspicuous among the 
 early pioneers of Ivankakee County of 
 French-Canadian birth, who distinguished 
 _ themselves by their financial success in their 
 new homes, was the subject of this sketch. He 
 was born in St. Leon, Province of (Quebec, Canada, 
 on the 7th of September, 1827, and was a son of 
 Moses and Sylvia (Flageole) Lcgris, who were also 
 nati\es of Canada and were of French extraction. 
 They came to what is now Kankakee County, III., 
 in 1843, and settled in Bourbonnais, where they 
 were joined the following^'ear by their son Joseph, 
 who made his home in that town.
 
 606 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Our subject was married on the 10th of May, 
 1857, in Bourbonnais, to Miss Cleophe Sylvester, 
 who was born on the 17th of February, 1841, at 
 Cape St. Ignace, Province of Quebec, and came to 
 Illinois with her parents in 1848. Eight children 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Legris, as follows: 
 Rev. Gerasime Legris, A. M., professor of philoso- 
 phy of history at St. Viateur's College, Kanitakee, 
 111.; Frederick E., wlio married Miss Mary Joubert 
 and is a resident of Kankakee, doing a brokerage 
 business and having charge of his father's es- 
 tate; Alphonso E., a law student, who died at the 
 age of twent}'-one 3'ears; Maria, deceased; Harvey 
 J., who married Miss Louise Granger, and is en- 
 gaged in the real-estate business in Kankakee; 
 Mary, who resides with her mother in Bourbonnais; 
 Louisa, who died when two years of age; and 
 Thomas A., the youngest of the family, now a stu- 
 dent at St. Viateur's College. 
 
 In 1853 Mr. Legris went to California, where he 
 spent three and a-half years in gold-mining, and 
 was quite successful, as he returned with about 
 $7,000 in gold. His father had preceded him to 
 California on the first breaking out of the gold 
 fever in 1849, and returned about 1852. Joseph, 
 being the eldest of the children, remained in 
 charge of the family during his father's absence. 
 In 1853 the father and our subject went to Cali- 
 fornia together, and the former made several jour- 
 neys to and from California during several years. 
 In the course of his travels he had various inter- 
 esting adventures and experiences, as did also our 
 subject. They made the trip to California by way 
 of New York and the ocean route, and returned 
 the same way. 
 
 INIr. Legtis received a fair education in his na- 
 tive tongue, and spent nearly two j'ears in college 
 in Canada. At manhood he began life poor, but 
 was possessed of indomitable energy, frugal habits 
 and rare business sagacity. On his return from 
 California he invested his money in land, which 
 he made productive, and as his capital accumulated 
 he continued to invest in real estate, mostly in 
 good farming land, when property of that class 
 was cheap. He bought and sold, and accumulated 
 a large landed estate, which at his death, on the 
 30th of March, 1888, amounted to nearly a half- 
 
 million dollars in value. Considering the circum- 
 stances in early life, Mr. Legris made a grand suc- 
 cess of his opportunities, and developed remarka- 
 ble financial abilit}'. At his death he left a large 
 fortune to be divided among his family, notwitli- 
 standing he began as a day laborer, working in 
 the harvest field for fifty cents per day. He was 
 a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Cath- 
 olic Church. His wife, who survives him, and 
 their children are also of the same faith. The 
 family has contributed liberally to St. Viateur's 
 College. Mr. Legris was widely known through- 
 out the county, and commanded the respect of all 
 his fellow-citizens. 
 
 ZENAS STEVENS is an honored pioneer of 
 this county, and is now living a retired life 
 in Manteno. He was born in the township 
 of Hamburg, near Buffalo, Erie County, N. Y., on 
 the 5th of April, 1829, and is a son of Ansel and 
 Marilla (Foster) Stevens. The paternal grand- 
 father, Abner Stevens, owned and operated a farm 
 in Vermont, in which State his death occurred in 
 1848. The grandfather of our subject on his 
 mother's side bore the name of Stukely Foster, and 
 was also a Vermont agriculturist. He participated 
 in the War of 1812, and his father was a general 
 under Washington in the War of the Revolution. 
 Ansel Stevens w.as born on the 30th of June, 
 1800, and is now in his ninety-third year. His 
 wife died in August, 1868, at theageof sixty-four 
 years, her birthday being on the 29th of June, the 
 day before that of her husband, who was six years 
 her senior. When sixteen years of age he left 
 Vermont, having received a good education in his 
 native town, Rutland, which was also the birthplace 
 of his wife. From the Green Mountain State he 
 went to New Y'oik, where he followed agriculture 
 for some twent^'-eight 3'ears. He was married 
 October 16, 1825. In 1844 he moved Westward 
 to Illinois and located north of Lockport, Will 
 County, where he lived for five years, after which 
 he came into Rockville Township, of the same
 
 PORTRAIT AND BlOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 607 
 
 county, but now Manteno Township, Kankakee 
 County, and in partnei>lii|) \Yith his son Zenas 
 boughtone hundred andsixt^y acres of Government 
 land. On this farm thev lived until 186'), when 
 they returned to Rockville Township and there 
 lived until March, 1888. At that time they finally 
 retired from farming and now live in JNIanteno. 
 Four sons and four daughters were born to Ansel 
 Stevens and his wife, their first child being a daugli- 
 ter, the second a son, and thus alternating to the 
 last. Only two are now living: Zenas, and Abner 
 T., of Goodland, Ind., who is alsoa retired farmer. 
 AVilli the exception of ten years after his mar- 
 riage, our subject and his father have always lived 
 together. At that time their lioraes were only 
 about fort}- rods apart. The main part of the edu- 
 cation of Mr. Stevens was acquired in New York. 
 On the Gth of September, 1855, were married Zenas 
 Stevens and Amanda Ilaughn. Her parents, who 
 were both natives of Mrginia, were John and Eliza 
 Jane (Stewart) Ilaughn. A sun and five daughters 
 have been born of this union. The son died in 
 infancy but the otiiers are still living. In order 
 of birth they are Maiilla Jane, wife of Warren L. 
 IMann, a farmer of Rockville Township, and their 
 family consists of five children: Archie, Howard, 
 Edith, Elsie and Jane. Dimmis Eliza became the 
 wife of Edgar E. Grimes, who also operates a farm 
 in Rockville Township. They have four children: 
 Bernard, Laura, Claude and Hazel A. Effie Elvira 
 wedded Joseph Gruber, an agriculturist of Rock- 
 ville Townsliip. Elsie Amelia, wife of Walter S. 
 Grimes, has three children: Harold, Rexford and 
 Charles. Mr. Grimes is engaged in farming in 
 I Rockville Township. Lavina Ann is the wife of 
 Walter S. Mann, a carpenter of Rockville. Their 
 union has been graced by three children: Beatrice, 
 Ansel and Clayton. 
 j When Jlr. Stevens came to what is now Kanka- 
 kee Count}' in 1844, there was not a house or tree 
 I in Manteno Township, and he used to hunt all 
 ' over the wilderness either on foot or horseback. 
 ' The Indians had nearly all departed for their West- 
 ern reservations, however, and those that remained 
 I were principally lialf-brceds. Wolves and wild 
 j game of all kinds abounded and Mr. Stevens lias 
 j often seen as many asthirt3or forty deer in a herd. 
 
 and once saw a drove of fully a hundred. He and 
 Mr. Tubbs hauled the first two carloads of lumber 
 into Kankakee County, having to unload it at 
 Rock Creek as the I llinois Central Railroad had not 
 yet been Iniilt to Kankakee. Since March, 1888, 
 he has been a resident of Manteno, where he owns 
 a comfortable home and carries on a livery. He 
 owned one hundred and sixty acres of land in 
 Rockville Township, but of this has sold sixty-five 
 acres. The remainder he rents, having retired from 
 farm labor. 
 
 Though not a member of any religious denomi- 
 nation, Mr. Stevens attends the Methodist Church, 
 of which his wife is a member and to which he 
 gives his sui)port. He has filled nearly every office 
 in the township and has also served for two years 
 as Village Trustee. Since the organization of the 
 Republican party he has been one of its loyal ad- 
 vocates and has ever voted that ticket. lie helped 
 to organize Manteno Township and as there were 
 not enough men in the township eligible to hold 
 the offices, some were given two offices, namely 
 that of Constable and Collector. Mr. Stevens has 
 witnessed the entire growth of this county, and 
 has ever borne his part as a faithful citizen. 
 
 ^^1@@©I^I*^^ 
 
 ■^fJAMES S. NICHOLS has one of the finest 
 improved farms in this county and is en- 
 gaged in farming and general stock-raising 
 on section 8, (ianier Township. He has 
 the honor of being a native of this county, his 
 birth having occurred in Momence Township on 
 the 3d of April, 1848. lie is a son of James and 
 Melinda (Prather) Nichols. The father was one 
 of the old pioneers of this count}' and was a 
 highly respected citizen. His family consisted of 
 eight children, of whom all are living with the ex- 
 ception of the eldest. The father of this family 
 died in 1857, but his wife is still living. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were passed 
 upon the farm on which he was born. He received 
 the privileges of the district schools, which he at- 
 tended during a portion of the year until seven-
 
 608 
 
 PORTRAIT AJSTD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 teen j'ears of age. He remained at home with his 
 parents, assisting his father in carrjing on the 
 farm, until the j'ear 1871, when he married Miss 
 Lena II. Crawford, who is a daughter of Ebenezer 
 and Nanc}' V. Crawford. Cue eliild has Ijeen 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Nichols, a son, Albert C, 
 seventeen years of age, now attending school In 
 Moraenee. 
 
 At the present time, our subject, in partnership 
 with his elder brother, William G., is engaged in 
 farming and stock-raising. He operates two hun- 
 dred and eighty acres of land on section 8, which 
 is one of the finest tracts in this county. They 
 raise mostlj' Hereford cattle. 
 
 Mr. Nichols uses his riglit of franchise in favor 
 of the Republican party and has served his town- 
 ship acceptably as School Director and Road Com- 
 missioner. He always assists all public enterprises, 
 and is a good citizen and a successful farmer. He 
 has resided in this county during his whole life and 
 has won the friendship and respect of the com- 
 munity in which he resides. 
 
 AMUEL SHRONTZ, an honored veteran of 
 the late war, is now carrying on agricul- 
 tural pursuits on section 28, Momence 
 Township, where he owns an excellent 
 farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He was 
 born on the 28th of June, 1843, in Paris, Portage 
 County, Ohio and is a son of John Shrontz. His fa- 
 ther was a native of Pennsylvania and was of 
 German lineage. In his youth he went to the 
 Buckeye State, where he became acquainted with 
 and married Mrs. Magdelcna Ken rich, who was a 
 native of Ohio. For a number of years they con- 
 tinued to reside in that State, the year 1850 wit- 
 nessing their arrival in Illinois. They took up 
 their residence in this county, locating upon a 
 farm of partially improved land, where Mr. Shrontz 
 continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until 
 1889, when he returned to Ohio. In the family 
 were five children, three sons and two daughters. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, who was the eldest of 
 the family', spent the da3'S of his boyhood in his 
 parents' home, his time being passed in attendance 
 at the common district schools, where he acquired 
 his education, or at work in the fields. At the age 
 of eighteen he left home to offer his services to 
 the Government. The war had broken out and 
 the North had found that the rebellious States 
 were not so soon to be brought under subjection 
 as had been anticipated. More men were needed, 
 and, prompted by patriotic impulses, Mr. Shrontz 
 responded to the call for troops and on the 6th of 
 August, 1862, enlisted as a member of Companj' H, 
 Seventy-sixth Illinois Infantry. He was in the ser- 
 vice for about three years and participated in 
 a number of important engagements. At the bat- 
 tle of Ft. Blakely he was wounded, and on the 9th 
 of April 1865, was taken to the hospital in New 
 Orleans, where he was confined for about four 
 weeks. The wound was a gunshot wound in his 
 right shoulder. When he was suflflciently recov- 
 ered to return home he received an honorable dis- 
 charge, on the 31st of May, 1865, and made his 
 way to the North. 
 
 AVhen Mr. Shrontz again reached Kankakee 
 Count}^ he turned his attention to farming, which 
 pursuit he has since followed. He was then only 
 about twenty-one j'ears of age — a young man with- 
 out capital. On the 22d of February, 1866, he se- 
 cured as a helpmate and companion on life's jour- 
 ney Miss Sarah Carpenter, who was born in New 
 York, October 14, 1841, and is a daughter of 
 Nicholas and Julia (Rowly) Carpenter. Her par- 
 ents were also natives of the Empire State, and 
 both came of old English families. In an early 
 day, when Mrs. Shrontz was quite a small child, 
 her parents emigrated Westward to this county 
 and here spent the remainder of their lives. Unto 
 our subject and his wife were born three children,of 
 whom two are yet living. John, born December 
 11, 1866, died in infancj'; Clara, who was born 
 June 4, 1868, is a well-educated young lady; and 
 Mack, born August 17, 1873, completes the family. 
 
 As before stated, Mr. Shrontz' farm comprises 
 one hundred and sixty acres of valuable laud, 
 which is under a high state of cultivation and 
 well improved. It is located about three miles 
 
 i 
 
 ii
 
 LIBRARY 
 OF THE 
 
 w'Vfinsny Of liUHOis
 
 **^1^ 
 
 , , "iSiiiMi:^ 1^ 
 
 ^ . ^^ /iu^^.^^ 
 
 I

 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MMIVEF.SITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 *
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAMIlCiVL RECORD. 
 
 613 
 
 southeast of Momence, and thus the advantages of 
 city life are easily attainable. He is regarded as 
 one of the substantial and prominent agriculturists 
 of the coninumity, and is also a self-made man. 
 In his political views, he is a Republican and 
 warmly supports the principles of that party, in 
 whose success he manifests a deep interest, 3'et he 
 hfis never sought or desired public office, preferring 
 to devote his entire time and attention to his 
 business, in which he has met a well-deserved suc- 
 cess. Sociall3', he is a member of Worcester Post, 
 No. 627, G. A. R., of Grant Park. In his country's 
 hour of peril he proved one of her able defenders, 
 and in the da3-8 of peace he is alike true as one of 
 her faithful citizens, manifesting a commendable 
 interest in all that pertains to the welfare of his 
 town and county. 
 
 
 -^-^+^[ 
 
 it? UTHER B. BRATTON is a leading and in- 
 
 I (p, fluential farmer of Limestone Township. 
 il'—^V, He resides on section 27, where he has 
 made his home for a number of years. His landed 
 possessions now comprise five hundred and twenty 
 acres, all situated in this township, and his 
 home farm is one of the best improved in this lo- 
 cality. We there see well-lilled fields, whose great 
 fertility indicates the care and supervision of a 
 thrift\owner, while the many improvements on the 
 place indicate his progressive spirit. A desirable 
 farm is the home of our subject. 
 
 Mr. Bratton was born on the 5th of August, 
 1833, in Daviess County, Ind.,and comes of anold 
 New England family. His father, John L. Brat- 
 ton, was born in Lexington, Ky., in 1794, but his 
 ancestors lived in the East. He became one of 
 the pioneer settlers of the Hoosier State, and there 
 spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 
 1841, at the age of forty-seven 3-ears. His wife, 
 Mary Bratton, was also a native of Kentucky, born 
 of New England parentage, and died in this 
 county at the age of about sixt3'-five years. Their 
 family numbered six children, three sons and three 
 daughters, of whom Luther was the fifth in order 
 Of birth. 
 
 28 
 
 We now take up our subject's personal his- 
 tory, knowing that it will prove of interest to 
 man3' of our readers, for he is widel3' and favor- 
 ably known in this county. Under the parental 
 roof the days of his boyhood and youth were 
 passed, and the educational privileges he received 
 were those afforded by the common schools. At 
 the age of twenty-three he left home, and since 
 that time has been dependent upon his own re- 
 sources, so that whatever success he has achieved 
 in life is due to his own efforts. He had quite 
 a small capital, ^1 for each year that he had 
 lived. He first went to Minnesota and took up a 
 homestead near Mankato, upon which he resided 
 for about a year. He then left that place, and in 
 1859 came to Kankakee County, where he pur- 
 chased one hundred and twenty acres of partially 
 improved land. 
 
 On the 12th of Jauuar3- of the following year, 
 when t wen t3'- five years of age, Mr. Bratton mar- 
 ried Miss Ursula E. Bowdle, who was then living 
 in Kankakee Count3'. She was born, however, in 
 Allen County, Ohio, August 25, 1836, and was the 
 only daughter of Henry W. and Catherine A. 
 ( Rust ) Bowdle, although they had two sons. 
 Her parents were both natives of the Buckeye 
 State, but their ancestors had lived in New Eng- 
 land for several generations. Mr. Bowdle came 
 with his family to Kankakee County in an early 
 day, and the daughter received a good education 
 in the public schools. She is a lady of many ex- 
 cellencies of character, and is held in high esteem. 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bratton have been born nine 
 children, as follows: Katie May; Jessie B., who 
 died at the age of twenty-four years; Grace E., 
 wife of Edgar J. Smith, a prosperous farmer of 
 this county; Ruby; Cora E., now Mrs. Michael 
 Falter (see Mr. George Falter's biography) ; Luther 
 B., who is now attending the Normal College of 
 Valparaiso, Ind.; AValter G., Henry Ray and 
 Maudie E. 
 
 In his social relations, Mr. Bratton is a Mason, 
 holding membership with Kankakee Lodge No. 
 389, A. F. & A. M. In politics, he has been a Re- 
 publican since the birth of that party. His first 
 Presidential vote was cast for Millard Fillmore. 
 For three years he filled the office of Road Com-
 
 614 
 
 i-ORTRAlT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 missioner, and for the long period ot twenty-two 
 years lias been a School Director. Tlie cause of ed- 
 ucation finds in him a warm friend, and he does 
 all in his power for the schools and their advance- 
 ment. He is recognized as a valued citizen of the 
 community, for he. has ever m.anifested a com- 
 mendable interest in all that pertains to the wel- 
 fare of the town and county, and his aid has never 
 been withheld from any worthy enterprise calcu- 
 lated to promote the general welfare. 
 
 
 IDC.AR EUGENE HOTCIIKISS, the senior 
 photographic artist of Kankakee, was born 
 on the 6th of November, 1843, in Birming- 
 ham, Conn. His father, Aaron T. Hotchkiss, was 
 a native of Bethany, Conn., and his ancestors 
 were of Puritan stock, having located in tiie Con- 
 necticut colony prior to the War of the Revolu- 
 tion. The mother of our subject bore the maiden 
 name of Harriet Cook Yale. She is a native of 
 Yalesville, Conn., which town was named in honor 
 of her father. Harriet Yale was descended from a 
 brother of Gov. Yale, the noted founder of Yale 
 College. Her grandfather was a Captain in the 
 Revolutionary War, and her father was a man of 
 prominence in the community in which he made 
 his home. 
 
 Aaron T. Hotchkiss, upon his father's death, re- 
 ceived $1,000, with which he established himself 
 in business as a wholesale dealer in books and 
 periodicals in Boston. Success crowned his ef- 
 forts and he became, for that day, wealtliy. Sub- 
 sequently, by endorsing and trusting too much to 
 others, he was financially ruined. About 1855, he 
 removed to New York City and there spent the 
 remainder of his daj's, passing away when some 
 sixty-eight years of age. Politically, he was a 
 Whig and later a Republican. His widow is still 
 living and resides with a daughter in Fairfield, 
 Conn. Their family numbered three children, a 
 son and two daughters, all yet living. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is the eldest. Prior 
 to his sixteenth year he received good educational 
 
 advantages. In 1861, he began the study of pho- 
 tography in Ne'R' York. Two years later, in 1863, 
 having determined to try his fortune in the West, 
 he came to Kankakee, 111., and has since carried on 
 business at this place continuously, with the ex- 
 ception of two years spent in Chicago. After 
 having got nicely established in business, he was 
 burned out in 1871, losing heavily. 
 
 On the 16th of November, 1866, Mr. Hotchkiss 
 was united in marri.age with Miss Tillie Wright, a 
 native of Dearborn County, Ind. Their union has 
 been blessed with a family of six children, as fol- 
 lows: Annie Lee (who is now the wife of M. L. 
 Sheffler), Charles Stanley, Louise, Duane, Isabel 
 and Ruth. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Hotchkiss is a 
 Democrat. For the past twenty years he has been 
 prominently connected with St. Paul's Episcopal 
 Church of Kankakee and is now Vestryman and 
 Choirmaster. Mrs. Hotchkiss is also an active 
 worker in the same church. Our subject is an 
 agreeable and affable gentleman, who will go as far 
 as any man to accommodate another or do a kind 
 act. 
 
 / ♦^♦i 
 
 '^ AMES DEEBANK, a prominent contractor 
 and builder of Kankakee, resides at No. 
 345 Rosewood Avenue. He has been a 
 (^// resident of this city since 1881, and in the 
 years which have since come and gone he has built 
 up an excellent trade, securing a liber.al patronage, 
 of which he is well -deserving. 
 
 Mr. De'eb.ank is a native of England, his birth 
 having occurred in that country in 1860. His 
 parents were .James and Ellen (Plartland) Dee- 
 bank, also natives of England. The father is now 
 deceased, but the mother is still living and yet 
 makes her home in the land of her birth. The 
 Deebauk family numbered eleven children, but 
 only three are now residents of this country. 
 James, of this sketch, was the first to come to 
 America. George, who is now a resident of the 
 city of New York, was the second of the family
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 615 
 
 to leave the native land, and the third to cross 
 the briny deep was Frank Deebank, who came to 
 the United States in 1890. An uncle of our sub- 
 ject, William A. Deebank, is a prominent resident 
 of Kankakee. He was born in England in 1828, 
 and remained in his native land until twcnt\'-four 
 years of age, when, in 1852, he emigrated to this 
 countr3'. Three j'ears later he came to Kankakee, 
 where he has since resided. He is a brick mason 
 by trade, but for a number of years has been en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of brick and tile, and is 
 a leading business man of this place. 
 
 James Deebank, our subject, spent the days of 
 his boyhood and j-outh in his native land, and ac- 
 quired his education in its public schools. He 
 also there learned the trade of carpentering, which 
 he has made his life work. He is a wide-awake 
 and enterprising business man, and is regarded as 
 one of the leading contractors and builders of this 
 city. His work is alw.ays done in a prompt and 
 elHcient manner, and his part of the contract is al- 
 wa3S faithfully fulfilled. 
 
 Mr. Deebank was united in marriage with Miss 
 Clara Ileatlev, a native of England, where her 
 parents still reside. The marriage ceremony was 
 performed in Kankakee, and b}' the union of the 
 young couple has been born one child, a son, 
 Harry. The parents have many friends through- 
 out this community. Mr. Deebank is a public- 
 spirited citizen and takes an active interest in all 
 that pertains to the welfare of the community. 
 He is esteemed for his integrity and sterling worth, 
 and possesses the regard and contidence of his 
 fellow-townsmen. 
 
 
 
 (^tZ^IIE City National Bank of Kankakee was 
 (IM^. incorporated on the 11th of .Tune, 1890, 
 %^J with a capital of 5<10(i.()0() and additional 
 liability of ^100,000. Solon Knight was made 
 President, R. G. Risser Vice-president, and H. M. 
 Stone Cashier. The P>oard of Directors is com- 
 posed of the following-named responsible citizens 
 of Kankakee: Solon Knight, R. G. Risser, James 
 
 Lillie, II. K. Wheeler, John H. Shaffer, Lawrence 
 Babst, H. A. Magruder, H. M. Stone and A. D. 
 Ehrick. Tliis bank has done a prosperous and 
 increasing business from the day it lirst opened its 
 doors to the present time, and the well-known high 
 financial standing and responsibility of its founders 
 and managers are a safe guarantee for its depositors 
 and customers. It takes rank among the leading 
 financial institutions in eastern Illinois. 
 
 ^>-^^<m 
 
 'RANCIS S. CAMPBELL is a well-to-do 
 1 farmer residing on section 28, Yelluwhead 
 Townsiiip. His birth occurred August 5, 
 1828, in Licking County, Ohio. He is a son of 
 Chauncey and Caroline (Piatt) Campbell, the for- 
 mer a native of Rutland County, Vt. During his 
 entire life the father devoted himself to agricul- 
 ture and kindred i)ursuits. In 1827 he emigrated 
 to Ohio, where he resided for five years. He then 
 went to Chicago and after a short time took up a 
 claim twenty-four miles north of that city, and 
 two miles from Buffalo Grove, Lake County, 111. 
 At that time there were but few settlers and after 
 holding his land for two ^-ears he sold the claim 
 and went to Tippecanoe County, Ind. lie pur- 
 chased a farm, where he remained for eight 3'ears. 
 Coming to Kankakee County in June, 1843, he 
 next purchased a farm in the Yellowhead Indian 
 Reservation, now comprised in Yellowhead Town- 
 ship. His death occurred two years later, in June, 
 1845. He was of Scotch descent and an industri- 
 ous and honorable man. The mother of our sub- 
 ject was born in Rutland County, Vt., in 1807, 
 and though now eighty-five years o'f age enjoys 
 good health. She is also of Scotch ancestry and 
 now makes her home with her children. 
 
 From his earliest years Francis' Campbell has 
 been accustomed to farm life. He lived with his 
 parents until coming of age and acquired his edu- 
 cation in the district schools. His father's death 
 occurring when he was eighteen years of age, he 
 inherited §1,000 from the estate, which enabled 
 him to make a fair start in life.
 
 616 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 In this countj', on the loth of September, 1853, 
 Mr. Campbell married "Miss Janet Morrison, who 
 was born in Delaware County, N. Y., August 15, 
 1830, and whose parents, Archibald and Elizabeth 
 (Ellis) IMorrison, settled in this county as early as 
 1837. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have four children, 
 who are all living. Mary became the wife of Ed- 
 win Gamble, the pajing teller in the Merchants' 
 National Bank, of Chicago. Horace and Lew J. 
 are prosperous and well-known farmers of Yellow- 
 head Township. Emma resides with her parents. 
 They have all received good educations and are 
 respected members of society. 
 
 Mr. Campbell is the owner of one of the best 
 improved farms in Yellovvhead Township and lias 
 a beautiful home residence. The property consists 
 of two hundred acres, which are situated two and 
 a-half miles southeast of Grant Park. For a num- 
 ber of years our subject has served in the various 
 offices of the township and lias been Supervisor 
 for the past four years. He is a member of the 
 Masonic order, belonging to Grant Park Lodge 
 No. 740, A. F. & A. M. Mrs. Campbell is a con- 
 sistent member of the Methodist Church, to which 
 her husband contributes liberally. Politically he 
 is a stanch Republican, having cast his first Presi- 
 dential vote for Gen. Scott while in California, 
 and his last vote for the illustrious grandson of 
 "Old Tippecanoe." 
 
 I >i | i ^ 1 >■ ^ 
 
 ENOS M. VAN KIRK, a retired farmer, is 
 one of the respected early pioneers of Kan- 
 ,r kakee County. His birth occurred in Tyler 
 
 County, Ya., on the 1st of October, 1826. His 
 parents, Joseph and Margaret (Watson) Van Kirk, 
 were also natives of the Old Dominion. The 
 father was of T)utch descent, and the mother was 
 of English origin. Joseph Van Kirk followed 
 tlie occupation of a farmer in Virginia, near Mor- 
 gantown, and about the year 1829 removed to 
 Ohio, where he remained but one year. Deciding 
 to go further Westward, he emigrated with his fam- 
 ily to Vermilion County, 111., and spent the win- 
 
 ter with an old Virginian friend, Ackless Mor- 
 gan, on a farm near Georgetown. 
 
 In the spring of 1831 Mr. Van Kirk entered 
 eighty acres of land, situated six miles southeast 
 of Danville, where he resided for a number of 
 years and reared his family. In 1832 he enlisted 
 in the Black Hawk War. and served until its 
 close. At one time, while in the service, his horse 
 was stolen, and he was obliged to walk all the 
 distance to his home, carrying his saddle. He was 
 born in 1795, served for a short time in the War 
 of 1812, and received a grant of laud from the 
 Government. His father was from Pennsylvania, 
 but little is definitely known of his life work. He 
 married a Miss Jacobs, and they both lived to a 
 ripe old age. In 1847 the father of our subject 
 removed to Kankakee County and bought a farm 
 of one hundred and forty-six acres about a mile 
 east of Momenee, on the old Chicago and Dan- 
 ville trail, where he engaged in farming and stock- 
 raising until 1867, when he passed away in his 
 seventy-third year, his wife being called to the 
 home bej'ond in the fall of 1865. She was a faith- 
 ful and consistent member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church until her death. They were num- 
 bered among the early pioneer settlers of Kanka- 
 kee Count}', coming here when there was scared}- 
 a house or fence to be seen in anj^ direction. The 
 country was wild and barren, and the nearest 
 neighbors lived at a long distance from them. 
 Their family consisted of ten children, six sons 
 and four daughters, six of whom are now living, 
 as follow: Sarah, Rebecca, Enos M., Susanna, John 
 and William C. 
 
 Our subject was early inured to farm life, with 
 all the disadvantages and privations incident to 
 living in a new country. His educational privi- 
 leges were necessarily quite limited, as in the early 
 daj'S of Illinois they first formed select schools, 
 and later the primitive district school was es- 
 tablished. August 26, 1849, Mr. Van Kirk was 
 united in marriage with Catherine, daughter of 
 William H. and Elna (Decker) Carrithers, of Deck- 
 erville, N. J. The mother was of Dutch and the 
 father of Scotch descent. Four children have 
 been born to Mr. and Mrs. Van Kirk, a son and 
 three daughters. Margaret Ann became the wife
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 617 
 
 of Thomas J. Buntain, the present postmaster of 
 Momence, and to tliem have been born two chil- 
 dren. Mary Jane married Elba Lamboru and re- 
 moved to Allamakee Country, Iowa, where she 
 died in Jul3-, 1890; three children graced tlieir 
 union: Belle, Harrj' V. and Don E. Eleanor and 
 Henry C, the younger members of the family, 
 arc at home. On the 2d of January, 1881, Mrs. 
 Van Kirk departed this life, greatly mourned by 
 a wide circle of friends. 
 
 The subject of this sketch came to Illinois in 
 1854 from Five Mile Point, Ind., which had been 
 his home for four years, and located on a farm of 
 two hundred and seventeen acres situated two 
 miles to the northeast of Momence. He was quite 
 successful as an agriculturist from the first, and 
 soon added eight}' acres more. to his original pur- 
 chase. He engaged in cultivating and improving his 
 farm until 18G5, when he removed to Momence, 
 which lias since been his home. Soon afterward 
 lie purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty 
 acres, selling tiie same amount from his old farm. 
 Mr. Van Kirk lias since that time purchased other 
 IMoperty, and his present possessions amount to 
 about six hundred acres of fine farm land, in 
 addition to his home in Momence. 
 
 Our subject has never been an offlce-.seeker, but 
 is a firm lieliever in the Democratic party. His 
 first ballot was cast for Lewis Cass, and he has voted 
 the Democratic ticket up to tiie present time. He 
 went through this portion of the countr_y when 
 there were only three or four houses between old 
 Bunkum and Chicago. Indians were numerous 
 in this section and the country was infested by 
 large packs of wolves. Deei- and all kinds of wild 
 game were in abundance. Mr. Van Kirk has been 
 a witness of the county's development from a 
 vast unimproved prairie to a thickly populated 
 country, settled with a prosperous and highly in- 
 telligent class of people. He is to-d.ay recognized 
 as one of the substantial and reliable citizens of 
 the count}'. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Van Kirk became a member of the 
 Methodist Church. Socially, he is a member of 
 Lodge No. 481, A. F. & A. M., and was one of its 
 charier members. In December, 1886, our subject 
 went to California, and made a very pleasant and 
 
 |)rofitable visit in Mexico and tiie AVestern States. 
 He also went to Florida and traveled up the St. 
 John's River as far as Enterprise, siiending con- 
 siderable time in Tallah.assee in the winter of 
 1882-83. Like manj' patriotic citizens, Mr. Van 
 Kirk was more anxious to see the beauties and 
 wonders of his own country and continent than the 
 Old World, and feels well repaid for the time he 
 thus devoted to travel. 
 
 ^^=>D 
 
 OHN BENNETT, now living a retired life 
 at his home on section 21, has been for 
 many years a prominent and prosperous 
 farmer of Yellowhead Township. He is a 
 native of the Empire State, his birth having oc- 
 curred in Greenwich, Washington County, May 12, 
 1822. He is the seventh in order of birth in a 
 family of eight children, six sons and two daugii- 
 ters, who were born to Johnson andPlia-be (Cran- 
 dall) Bennett. Both parents were of German de- 
 scent, and were born in New England. The father 
 was a farmer and blacksmith by trade. 
 
 When our subject was quite young, he was left 
 an orphan, and the family circle was broken. At 
 the age of thirteen years he was adopted by David 
 Barber, who w.as one of the prominent farmers and 
 stock-raisers of White Creek, Washington County, 
 N. Y. AVith him, Mr. Bennett lived until reaching 
 his majority. His educational privileges were of 
 the most limited description, as he was only al- 
 lowed to attend school for two months of the year 
 during tlic winter term. He was of a studious dis- 
 position, and was determined to have a good educa- 
 tion, and though over twenty-one years of age, and 
 without means, he was undaunted, and for two 
 terms attended the academj' at Cambridge, N. Y. 
 working by the month on a farm to pay his tui- 
 tion. His preceptor was Lieut.-Gov. Beveridge, of 
 Illinois. After finishing his course in the academy, 
 Mr. Bennett taught school during the winter term, 
 and during the summer months worked upon a 
 farm until he was twent^'-eight years old.
 
 618 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In 1850, out subject determined to seek his for- 
 tune in the West. Coming to what is now Kanka- 
 kee County, he purchased three hundred and sixty 
 acres of wild prairie land on easy terms and long 
 time, and began the work of its improvement. 
 For one term during the winter he taught school, 
 in Momence, and on the 11th of February, 1851 
 wedded Miss Cordelia A. Curtis, who was a daugh 
 ter of Solomon and Pha?be (Slocum) Curtis, of 
 White Creek, N. Y., who came to Kankakee 
 Count}' in 18.')4, settling in Momence. The father 
 was a retired farmer, and was called from this life 
 at the age of sixty-five j'ears in Momence, on the 
 24th of June, 1865. His wife died at the residence 
 of our subject near Grant Park, February 20, 1885, 
 when nearl}' eighty-four years of age. She was a 
 native of the Empire State, and was of German 
 descent, while her husband was of English extrac- 
 tion. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Bennett. A daughter, born June 15, 1857, died 
 in infancy; and George M., born May 15, 1852, 
 carries on the old homestead, and deals quite ex- 
 tensively in real estate and cattle. He is one of 
 the wide-awake and prosperous business men of 
 the county. In 1874, he wedded Miss Lizzie 
 Price, of Yellowhead Township, and by their union 
 have been born three children: Nellie C, who is 
 now about eighteen years of age, and is a student 
 in the university at Evanston, III.; Coralee H., who 
 is thirteen years of agf,; and Georgie J., a bright 
 little girl of six summers. 
 
 Mr. Bennett and son are now owners of nine 
 hundred acres of land in Yellowhead Township, 
 all of which, except forty acres, is under a high 
 state of cultivation. His home, which is located 
 one mile east of Grant Park, is one of the finest 
 residences in the county. He came to this county 
 without a dollar, and has worked his way steadily 
 upward to his present position of affluence and in- 
 fluence. He has always been possessed of ambition 
 and a strong desire to succeed in his business un- 
 dertakings, which qualities have enabled him to 
 overcome all obstacles in his pathwa}'. Until 1888 
 he advocated the principles of the Republican 
 party, since which time he has supported the Pro- 
 hibition party. He has held nearl.y all the town- 
 ship offices, and has made an efficient and trust- 
 
 worthy officer. For about eight }'cars he has been 
 Deacon of the Baptist Church of Grant Park, and 
 is very active in church work. On the 10th of 
 September, 1891, he was called upon to mourn the 
 loss of his wife, who was sixty-nine years of age 
 when called to her final rest. She was a member 
 of the Baptist Church, and was much beloved by 
 all who knew her. 
 
 D 
 
 =^ 
 
 "if' AMES H. DENNISON is one of the early 
 settlers and hardy pioneers of this section, 
 as he located in this county in the early 
 part of the '50s. He is a native of Canada, 
 and was born near IMontreal, on the 3d of Feb- 
 ruary, 1837, being a son of John and Margaret 
 (Andei'son) Dennison, who were of Scotch-Irish 
 parentage, and settled in Canada about the year 
 1830. John Dennison emigrated to Illinois in 
 1854, and first settled on Fox River, Kane County. 
 After residing there for a few jears, he removed 
 to this count}' in the spring of 1856, and becamea 
 resident of what is now Ganier Township, where 
 he opened up a farm and spent the remaining 
 years of his life. His death occurred in 18G9,and 
 that of his wife August 24, 1880. 
 
 Mr. Dennison, whose name heads this sketch, is 
 the first in order of birth in a family of three sons 
 and five daughters, who arrived at mature years. 
 •Jane married and settled in Canada, but is now 
 deceased; Mary Ann, also deceased, was married 
 and made her home in Canada; Eliza was married 
 in Indiana, and li.as since passed away; Elmira was 
 married and died in Michigan; Matilda is the wife 
 of W. Harrison, and resides in Trego Count}', Kan.; 
 William D. is a farmer of Ganier Township; John 
 is engaged in farming with his brother. 
 
 Our subject came to this county when a youth 
 of seventeen, and had received but limited ad- 
 vantages in education before coming here. He has 
 largely educated himself since arriving at man's 
 estate. He remained with his father, assisting in 
 the work of the farm, until he had reached his ma- 
 jority. On the 9th of August, 1862, Mr. Denni-
 
 Li;;^A^Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 riNivERsny of Illinois
 
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 M 
 
 
 i/fr^^ <a_ 
 
 /'^-C^o^-m.^''^
 
 0~^G-<>-i-7--i,-^L-^
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HMIVEfiSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 G19 
 
 son enlisted in the defense of llic Union, becom- 
 ing a member of Companj- K, One Hundred .ind 
 Tliirleenth Illinois Infantry. His bravery ;>nd 
 fidelity were rewarded by liis being promoted first 
 to the rank of Corporal, and afterward to that of 
 Sergeant. With his regiment he participated in 
 many of the battles and engagements of the war; 
 among these we mention Arkansas Post, the long 
 siege and capture of Vicksburg, and Guntown, 
 Miss., when, under the command of Gen. Sturges, 
 he was taken prisoner, and wns held for about nine 
 months at Andersonville Prison. From there lie 
 was taken to Libby Prison, but was fortunately 
 held there but a short time, being exchanged on 
 the 9th of May, 186.1. He received his honorable 
 discharge from the service on the 29th of June, of 
 that .year, and at once returned to his home. 
 Though he was never wounded, he received severe 
 internal injuries after the battle of Guntown, 
 while riding rapidly during an enforced march. 
 He was valiant in the defense of his country, and 
 as a prisoner in that blot on our modern civiliza- 
 tion, Andersonville and Lil)by Prisons, he was 
 courageous and hopeful during his long confine- 
 ment. 
 
 In the fall of 180'."), Mr. Dennison bought a tract 
 of l'ort3' acres in this county, which was little im- 
 proved. The following year he engaged actively 
 in developing and cultivating his farm, and a few 
 years later, as his means increased, lie was enabled 
 to purchase adjoining land, his farm now consist- 
 ing of one hundred and twenty acres of arable 
 and well-tilled land, which is located about five 
 miles from Kankakee on section 29, Otto Town- 
 ship. He has a jileas.aut and substantial residence, 
 good barns and other farm Iniildings, and is to-day 
 accounted one of the thrift^' and progressive farm- 
 ers of this township. 
 
 Mr. Dennison was united in marriage with Miss 
 Anna E. Harrison, a native of England, on the 9th 
 of February, 18G0. She came to the I'nited States 
 with lior father, John Harrison, when in her early 
 womanliood, and became a icsidentof this county. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Dennison have been born the fol- 
 lowing children, who are still living: John W., who 
 resides at home, and helps to carry on the work 
 of the farm; Albert E., now a student m Rush 
 
 Medical College of Chicago; and Almira B., who 
 received a good education, and is still under the 
 parental roof. Several children died in infancy 
 and early childhood. 
 
 Mr. Dennison has been identified with the Re- 
 publican party since becoming a voter, his first 
 ballot being cast for Hon. Abraham Lincoln. He 
 has voted for every nominee of his party since 
 that time with the exception of the year 1861, 
 when he was a prisoner in Andersonville. Mr. 
 Dennison has held a number of local positions of 
 responsibility, and is now serving his third year as 
 Road Commissioner. He has also served as mem- 
 ber of the School Board, and was one of the Town- 
 ship Trustees. He and his wife are members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Jlr. Denni- 
 son holds membership with Whipple Post No. 414, 
 G. A. R., at Kankakee. As one of the pioneer set- 
 tlers of this section, he has assisted greatlj- in 
 its present prosperity and success. Personal!}', he 
 is a man who is generally liked, and has won many 
 friends in this community by his integrity- and up- 
 right walk in life. 
 
 ♦^^1 
 
 H' 
 
 K^W 
 
 \^^- 
 
 MASA HOLCOMB, one of Kankakee's 
 well-known citizens, has been a resicjent 
 of this ])lace since 1869. jMany years 
 ffg^ previous, however, he came to the county, 
 
 being numbered among its early settlers, for the 
 date of his arrival was the spring of 18.")5. Thus for 
 thirty-seven 3'ears he has been an eye-witness of 
 the progress and advancement of the county and 
 has also borne his part in its growth and develo])- 
 ment, so that with its history he is prominently 
 connected. 
 
 Amasa Ilolcomb, Sr., the grandfather of our 
 subject, was a native of Connecticut, the family 
 being early settlers of that commonwealth, in fact, 
 the ancestors came to this country' during Colonial 
 days. The father of our subject, Bidwell Hol- 
 comb, was also born in the Nutmeg State, was 
 there reared to manhood, and after attaining to 
 mature 3'ears wedded Hannah Butlcs, daughter of
 
 620 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Enoch Butles. Mr. Holcomb was a farmer bj^ oc- 
 cupation and followed that business throughout bis 
 entire life. He resided in his native State until 
 called to his final rest, his death occurring in 1844. 
 After the death of her husband, ISIrs. Holcomb re- 
 moved to Ohio, and subsequently she became a 
 resident of Kankakee, 111., but finall}' she returned 
 to Connecticut and died at the home of her daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Barnard, in the town of Bloomfield, in 
 her native State. She attained to the very ad- 
 vanced age of ninety years, having been born in 
 1800. Unto the parents of our subject were born 
 nine children, three sons and six daughters, all of 
 whom are yet living at this writing, in 1892. They 
 are scattered, however, over various States of the 
 Union. 
 
 Amasa Holcomb, whoso name heads this record, 
 was born in Granby, Hartford County, Conn., 
 July 17, 1822, and spent the days of his boyhood 
 and youth in his native State, being reared to 
 manhood under the parental roof. Connecticut 
 has ever been celebrated for the manufacture of 
 clocks, and in the years gone by many of her 
 young men traveled throughout various States of 
 tlie Union engaged in the sale of this most useful 
 article, the famous Connecticut clock. Wishing to 
 earn his own livelihood, at the age of twenty 
 years the subject of this sketch started out in this 
 most commendable enterprise and since that time 
 he has been dei)endent upon his own resources. 
 His field of labor was in the States of Georgia, Al- 
 abama and Florida. He was engaged in this busi- 
 ness for six years, and the fact of his long contin- 
 uance in that line of work indicates his success 
 therein. On the expiration of that period he re- 
 turned to Connecticut. 
 
 Not long after he had again arrived in his na- 
 tive State, Mr. Holcomb was united in marriage 
 with Miss Janette R. Dickinson, their wedding be- 
 ing celeorated June 30, 1847. The lady is a 
 daughter of Lewis and Lavilla (Case) Dickinson, 
 who were also natives of Connecticut. Mrs. Hol- 
 comb was born in the town of Simsbury, Hartford 
 County, Conn., February 11, 1827. Soon after 
 their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb, accompan- 
 ied by Mr. Dickinson and his family, removed to 
 Trumbull Count}', Ohio, locating on the famous 
 
 Western Reserve, and after a residence there of 
 some years, all came to Kankakee County in 1855, 
 settling in the township of Rockville. Mr. and 
 Mi-s. Dickinson passed the last years of their lives 
 in the home of their daughter, Mrs. Holcomb, the 
 former passing away in 1876. The mother, who 
 was born in 1800, died in 1887, at the ripe old age 
 of eighty -seven years. This worthy couple were 
 the parents of a family of five children, two sons 
 and thiee daughters, all of whom grew to mature 
 years. All are residents of Illinois but the young- 
 est sister, who is now living in Nebraska. Two 
 members of the family died in childhood. 
 
 On coming to Kankakee County, Mr. Holcomb 
 bought a farm in Rockville Township. It com- 
 prised a tract of wild land totall}' unimproved, 
 but he at once began its development and cultiva- 
 tion and transformed it into rich and fertile fields. 
 He there continued to reside until 1861), when he 
 came to Kankakee. For many years he owned 
 and operated the principal livery stable in the 
 city, doing a large and lucrative business, but re- 
 cently he has disposed of his stock. He still owns 
 the stables, however, which are situated at No. 312 
 Schuyler Avenue. In connection with his other 
 business JNIr. Holcomb has also dealt largely in the 
 purchase and sale of horses and this has added not 
 a little to his income, for he is an excellent judge 
 of horses. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb have never had an^' chil- 
 dren of their own but have reared two from about 
 four years of age. The elder, William, is now en- 
 gaged in farming in Kankakee Township. The 
 other, Cora, is at home. The family are now 
 pleasantly located in Kankakee, where they have 
 a wide acquaintance and manj' friends. Mr. Hol- 
 comb has been very successful in his business deal- 
 ings, and by his well-directed efforts, his industry 
 and perseverance he has acquired a good property, 
 which numbers him among the substantial citizens 
 of Kankakee and enables him to live a retired 
 life, resting in the enjoyment of the fruits of his 
 former toil. In politics, he affiliates with the 
 Democratic part}', but has never been an ofiice- 
 seeker, and socially he is a worthy member of the 
 Masonic fraternity of this citj-. He is a public- 
 spirited and progressive citizen and is respected 
 
 I
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 mmmY OF ILLI!^OIS
 
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 (f(?/i'r^ '£i^£AeA^ £i^^f^'
 
 cAayUf^ ^^JJiiyiy:Jcniy
 
 LlSiiARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HWIV&RSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 625 
 
 and esteemed by all who know him. He and his 
 wife are nienihers of the IJaptist Church, with 
 which they have been connected for some thirty 
 years. 
 
 ^OHN GILKERSON retired from farming in 
 1874, and has made his home for the past 
 eighteen years in Manteno. His birth oc- 
 ^^ curred in the Green iNIountain State, on the 
 11th of July, 1809, iu Barnet, Caledonia Count3\ 
 His father, Thomas Gilkerson, was a native of 
 Aberdeen, Scotland, while his mother, who bore the 
 maiden name of Marion Somers, was born in Bar- 
 uet, Vt., but was also of Scotch descent. The pa- 
 ternal grandfather of oik- subject, John Gilkerson, 
 was born in .Scotland, and came to America in 
 1784, locating in Barnet He was a stone-mason 
 by trade, and brought with him from Scotland a 
 saw, with which he sawea logs in Vermont for a 
 number of buildings. Ke afterward became a 
 farmer, and lived to be ovu- niaetj' years of age. 
 He reared a family of five thildren. On the ma- 
 ternal side, the grandfather,Bartholomew Somers, 
 also a native of Scotland, emgrated to tiie United 
 States about 1784, and for mSfiy 3'ears enitaofed in 
 agricultural pursuits in Vermoit. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian C'hurih, and attained a 
 great age. 
 
 Thomas Gilkerson, like his f.th.er, engaged in 
 farming in the Green Moiuitaii State, where his 
 death occurred in 1843. He m|is alwa^^s, promi- 
 nent in church work, being an iider in the Pres- 
 byterian Church. To him and hh wife were born 
 eleven children, only five of wh«ra j'et survive. 
 Of these our subject is the eldest. Robert and 
 Uavid are next. Janet is the nie'owof Robert Gib- 
 son, who died in June, 189C, aged sevcnty-si.K 
 years; she now lives in Remington, Ind. Marian 
 is the widow of James Shaw, anl now resides in 
 Missouri. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Jlr. Gilkerson, of 
 this sketch, were passed on his fa'.her's farm. He 
 received his education in the common district 
 
 schools, and for some time attended subscription 
 schools in the houses of various neighbors. (Ju 
 arriving at mature years, he engaged in farming 
 on his own account, and from 1833 until 1864 
 operated a farm in Vermont. In December of that 
 latter year he removed Westward and made a set- 
 tlement in Kankakee County. For about ten }-ears 
 he carried on a farm of two hundred and fifty 
 acres, situated in the northwest portion of Manteno 
 Township. For the past eighteen years he has 
 been living a retired life in the village of that 
 name, enjoying the fruits of his former labors. 
 While he, resided in Vermont he was Captain of 
 the militia, the law requiring men to train in those 
 days. 
 
 On the 28th of February, 1833, Mr. Gilkerson 
 and Miss Agnes G. Warden were united in mar- 
 riage. She was born in Barnet, Vt., September 28, 
 1815. Her parents were natives of Scotland, and 
 were .James and Elizabeth (Gibson) Warden, who 
 resided at Barnet, Vt. Their family comprised 
 twelve children: Isabel, William, Margaret, Eliza- 
 beth, Jane, Agnes G., Jane L., Emily, Andrew, 
 Marion, James and Robert. To Mr. and Mrs. Gil- 
 kerson were born ten children, one of whom 
 died in infancy. The others are Thomas G., who 
 was a soldier in the late war, being a member of 
 Company F, Fifteenth Vermont Infantry. He died 
 while in the hospital at Richmond, Va., of typhoid 
 fever, February 9, 1863. Janet E. is the second 
 in order of birth. Milo J. married Miss Lydia 
 Thomas, of Remington, Ind., and the}- now make 
 tlieir home on a farm near Manteno, 111. They 
 have three children: John, Birdie A. and Leslie H. 
 Emma M. is the wife of Rufus Perry, who carries 
 on a farm two and a-half miles from Manteno. 
 Two daughters, Lizzie N. and Aggie J., have graced 
 their union. Horace is now deceased. Isabel N. 
 is the wife of Leonard Smith, who is engaged in 
 farming near Manteno; their family comprises ten 
 children: George L., Laura L., Jlary I., Lizzie N., 
 Frank E., Carrie E., Florence J., Charles H., Fred- 
 die J. and the baby. Alexander J. was united in 
 marriage with Miss Carrie Edison, and resides in 
 Oneida, Kan.; three children have been born to 
 them: Arthur, Leila and Effie. Henry A., who lives 
 in Manteno Township, married Miss Lucy Reod,
 
 626 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRATHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and of their union have been born three children: 
 Cora E., Aggie J. and Elsie. Maggie J. completes 
 the family. Mr. and Mrs. Gilkerson have a great- 
 grandchild, Emma McEwan. 
 
 In his political views our subject was a. stalwart 
 Wliig until the rise of the Republican part3-, with 
 which he has since been identified. He cast his 
 first vote for Henry Clay, and bis last for the il- 
 lustrious grandson of old Tippecanoe. Both he 
 and his wife hold membership with the Presby- 
 terian Church. They have many warm friends in 
 this section, and have for long years occupied a 
 high position in local circles. 
 
 |=n 
 
 "SJ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 1^=1 
 
 (| lilLLIAM L. THURBER owns and operates 
 \rJ// a farm on section 26, Sumner Township. 
 W'^ He is a native of the Empire State, his 
 birth having occurred in Oneida County on tlie 
 24th of Septemlrer, 18;J0. He is a son of Lyndon 
 S. and Mary L. (Brownell) Thurber, the former a 
 native of Franklin County, Mass., born March 21, 
 1821. The father was born and reared upon a 
 farm in the Bay State and removed to New'York 
 in 1831. When about sixteen 3'ears of age he 
 started to make his fortune, and for a short time 
 was emplo^'ed on a steamer plying the Lakes. He 
 next worked upon a farm in New York for some 
 time, but in 1854 started "Westward. He located 
 in Kankakee County, 111., where, in Sumner Town- 
 ship, he purchased eighty acres of land, which was 
 slightl3' improved. P'rom that time forward he 
 devoted himself to agricultural pursuits and at the 
 time of his death was the possessor of two hun- 
 dred and eighty acres. He was a verj' public-spir- 
 ited man and held various township offices to the 
 satisfaction of his fellow-citizens. Politically, he 
 used his right of franchise for the Republican party, 
 and was a consistent member of the Methodist 
 Church. He was called to his final reward on the 
 22d of September, 1875, and is buried in the LTn- 
 ion Corners Cemeterj'. The mother is still living 
 and has reached the age of seventy-three years. 
 She vvas born in Manlius Township, Onondaga 
 
 County, N. Y., June 6, 1819. In their family 
 were seven children, of whom four are living. 
 
 When our subject was only four years of age 
 his father removed to Illinois. His education was 
 acquired in the district schools of the neighbor- 
 hood. He remained with his father on the old 
 homestead until the death of the Latter, and then 
 for the following two years widi his brother 
 Frank be carried on the farm. Since that time 
 he has taken entire charge of tvi'O hundred and 
 sixteen acres of the old homestead, of which he 
 owns one iuindred and tiiirly-six acres, which are 
 very fertile and under gooc' cultivation. Mr. 
 Thurber has alwaj^s devoted hiraself to the pursuits 
 of an agriculturist and has been very successful in 
 general farming and stock-raising. 
 
 On New Year's day of 1877 occurred the mar- 
 riage of Mr. Tliurber and MissElizabetii E. Snede- 
 ker. Six children grace their union and the fam- 
 ily circle is still unbroken They are as follows: 
 Nettie V., Emma E., Luceia M., Charles W., Mary 
 15. and Hazel I. 
 
 Mr. Thurber has neve' been an office-seeker in 
 the remotest degree butinslead has given his time 
 and study to the manigement of his farm and its 
 improvement. .In poltical sentiment he is an ad- 
 herent of the Republi;an party and casts his ballot 
 in favor of the priniiples and nominees of that 
 party. Both he and his wife have long held mem- 
 bership with the Methodist Church. He is known 
 throughout the conmunity as a man of honor, in 
 whom it is safe to place the fullest confidence. 
 
 V OC ~\»/C7^— ^'^ vi t^ ^'— S^S.^*/*" 
 
 . x> 
 
 5o~ 
 
 -J 
 
 — \ 
 
 ,ip^ IMPSON SWIHART is one of the early 
 ^^^ settlers of Sumner Township, and still 
 lv^_3) o^'^^ '"^'^ (;a.rries on the farm on section 
 9, where life first located on coming to this 
 community. He /vas born in Tuscarawas County, 
 Ohio, on the 4th lof Xovember, 1840. His pater- 
 nal grandfather, /Frederick Swihart, was of Ger- 
 man descent, anrt oije of the eai'ly pioneers of 
 Ohio. Our subject b a son of David and Chris- 
 tina (PoUans) Swi'iarl. The father was a farmer
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIHCAL RECORD. 
 
 627 
 
 tliioiighout lifo in Ohio, wiiere he was born, and 
 was very successful as an agi-icultuiist. . Both he 
 and his wife were members of the United Brethren 
 Church. The death of the father occurred in 1875, 
 and tliat of the mother in 1891. Their children were 
 Klijaii, who died in 1855; Caroline, the wife of .1. 
 J. Xeff; Sarah, who became the wife of J. Iloopin- 
 garner; .Salome, wife of Prof. L. F. Wright; Ann, 
 wife of Thomas Putt; Sophia, wife of Joseph Per- 
 shing; Amanda, now the wife of Joseph C'asebeer; 
 Emma, tlie wife of Frank Fislier; David, Simpson 
 and Isaac, who complete the family. 
 
 Tlie boyhood da3-s of Simpson Swihart were 
 passed upon the farm where he was born, and his 
 education was such as was afforded b3' the district 
 schools, which he attended more or less until 
 nineteen 3'ears of age. Until a year past his maj- 
 ority he remained under the parental roof, and 
 then started forth to make his own way in the 
 world. He rented laud in Ohio for one .year, but 
 in 1863 decided to go further AVest, therefore, 
 coming to Illinois, he located in Kankakee County. 
 For about two years he reiitecl land in Ganier 
 Township, after which he purchased the farm on 
 which he has resided continuously- since. This 
 consisted of one hundred and fortj^ acres of wild 
 prairie land in Sumner Township, and at that 
 time wild game was very plentiful. Jlr. Swihart 
 has been quite successful as an agriculturist, and 
 has brought his farm under a fine state of cultiva- 
 tion. 
 
 On New Year's Day of 18G2, Mr. Swihart and 
 Miss Barbara E. Walker, a daughter of Samuel T. 
 and Mary A. (Garber) Walker, were united in 
 matrimouj'. Twelve children graced their union: 
 Willie, who died in 1865; Lillie, who passed away 
 in 1867; Charles E., a sciiool teacher, who gradu- 
 ated at Northern Indiana Normal .School, at Val- 
 paraiso; John, also a school teacher, now attending 
 school at the same place; Mary, a successful teacher 
 and graduate of the same school; Simpson, David, 
 Samuel W., Martin, Myrta and Grace, who are 
 still at home. Mrs. Swihart was born in Tuscarawas 
 County, Ohio, June 12, 1844. Iler parents were 
 both natives of Ohio, where they were married, 
 and made their home on a farm. Both were mem- 
 bers of the Christian Church. The father died in 
 
 1881, aged fifty-seven years, but the mother still 
 lives on tiie old homestead in Ohio, at the age of 
 sixty-six years. Mrs. Swihart is the eldest of 
 fourteen cliildren. 
 
 For many j'ears Mr. Swihart was a Repulilican, 
 and cast his first ballot for Abraham Lincoln. His 
 views have now changed, and he is enrolled as 
 a supporter of the Prohibition party. He has 
 held the oflice of Highway Commissioner for six 
 years, and has always done his share in the pro- 
 motion of all measures calculated to benefit the 
 public. Mr. and Mrs. Swihart are valued members 
 of tlie Methodist Episcopal Cliurch of Peotone. 
 
 / 
 
 •J-^-H 
 
 Wi OSEPII BELISLE is a well-known farmer of 
 Ganier Townsliip, owning property on sec- 
 tion 18. He is of French extraction and 
 was born in Upper Canada in 1834. His 
 parents, Jules and Pracils Belisle, emigrated to 
 the States in 1846 with their family of nine chil- 
 dren. The father died while on the boat and was 
 buried at Detroit. 
 
 Our subject on landing in the United States came 
 directly to Kankakee County' with his mother and 
 thefamil}''. Mrs. Belisle purchased land in Bour- 
 bonnais Township, and here Joseph commenced 
 working for neighboring farmers by the month. 
 In the fall of 1801, he enlisted as a private in 
 Company E, Fifty-third Illinois Infantry, and was 
 mustered into service at Kankakee. With his reg- 
 iment he participated in the battle of Jackson, Miss., 
 and took part in the siege and capture of Vicksburg. 
 Mr. Belisle was twice taken prisoner, at one time 
 being held at Richmond for three months. He 
 was a prisoner in Andersonville for eight months 
 and was there at the close of the war. When he 
 went into prison he weighed about one hundred 
 and fortv pounds, and when he came out weighed 
 only sixty pounds. 
 
 After his discharge from service, Mr. Belisle re- 
 turned to his home in Bouibonnais Township and 
 for fifteen years was under the care of different
 
 I 
 
 628 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 physicians, all of whom pronounced him incura- 
 ble, but he is now enjoying good health. He 
 rented land for two years, in the year 1868 pur- 
 chasing the farm which is now his home and which 
 consisted of eighty acres on section 18 in Ganier 
 Township. Here he has carried on general farm- 
 ing and stock-r.aising and has lirought liis prop- 
 erty under a high state of cultivation. He has 
 since added adjoining land, his farm now compris- 
 ing one hundred and sixtj' acres, which are well 
 improved and valuable. 
 
 Mr. Belisle was united in marriage, March 8, 
 1868, to Mrs. Caroline M. Fortin, daughter of 
 Peter and Oralie Lamie, both of French descent. 
 By this union six children were horn, as follows: 
 George L., Hattie M., Conrad L., Felix L., Cordelia 
 M. and Lillie J. V. Mrs. Belisle, who was born in St. 
 Leon September 11, 1840, was the widow of Moses 
 Fortin, by whom she became the mother of two 
 children, Edward and Lidwine M. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Belisle are members of the Cath- 
 olic Church. Our subject afliliates with the Re- 
 publican party, and both in peace and war has 
 proved himself a loyal citizen of his adopted 
 country. Socially, he is a member of Whipple 
 Post No. 414, G. A. R., of Kankakee. Mr. Belisle 
 has been quite successful, as he h.as made all he 
 has, aided by his estimable wife. 
 
 
 tHOR THORSON, who carries on general 
 farming on section 6, Pilot Township, and 
 ^p^ is one of the honored veterans of the late 
 war, is a Norwegian by birth. His parents were 
 both natives of that country- and he was there born 
 September 17, 1840. In 1846, when Thor was a 
 lad of six summers, the family emigrated to Amer- 
 ica, locating first in Grundy County, 111., where 
 they resided for about five years. On the expira- 
 tion of that period they removed to Kendall 
 Count}', the mother having died in Grundy 
 Count}'. The father there opened up a farm and 
 has since been .actively engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits, but he expects soon to lay aside all business 
 
 cares and live a retired life, enjoying the rest 
 which he has so truly earned and richly deseives. 
 He has now reached the age of seventy-eight, but 
 he is still well preserved, his years resting lightly 
 upon him. Among the honored pioneers of Ken- 
 dall County, Mr. Thorson is numbered. 
 
 The subject of this sketch grew to manhood 
 under the parental roof and was early inured to 
 the labors of the field. His school privileges were 
 very limited, indeed, he is almost wholly self-edu- 
 cated. April 2, 1861, when it seemed that war 
 with the South w.as imminent, Mr. Thorson joined 
 the Home Guards, and in September of the same 
 year he joined the volunteer service of his country 
 as a member of the Thirty-sixth Illinois Infantry. 
 With the regiment he then went to St. Louis and 
 on to the scene of action. When his term had 
 expired he veteranized and served until the close 
 of the war, being mustered out and honorably 
 discharged in the spring of 1865. He partici- 
 pated in a number of battles, including the en- 
 gagements at Pea Ridge, Corinth, Perryville, 
 Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Mission 
 Ridge, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Franklin, Nash- 
 ville and many others of lesser importance. He 
 was wounded ))y a gunshot at Kenesaw Mountain 
 and still carries the rebel lead. Mr. Thorson was 
 always found at the post of duty, faithfully de- 
 fending the Stars and Stripes, the honored emblem 
 of our nation. 
 
 When the war was over and the country no 
 longer needed his services, our subject returned to 
 Kendall County and there engaged in farming for 
 three years. During that time, in 1868, he was 
 united in marriage in Chebanse, 111., with Miss 
 Carrie Nilsoti, who was born in Kendall County. 
 Their union was celebrated on Christmas. Day of 
 1868. The lady is a daughter of Erich Nilson, a 
 native of Norway and one of the honored pioneers 
 of Kendall County, who there located more than 
 sixty years ago. He died in Chebanse in 1878, 
 and his wife, who survived him about ten years, 
 passed away in 1888. Both were buried in Ever- 
 green Cemetery, of Chebanse, where a suitable 
 monument marks their last resting- [ilace. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Thorson have a family of six chil- 
 dren, as follows: Mamie, now the wife of Oliver
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 629 
 
 James, a resident of Englewood, 111.; George Les- 
 ter, who aids liis father in the oi>eration of liie 
 liome farm; Nora, at home; Delia, who is attending 
 school; and Lida and Lillian, twins. The home of 
 tlie Thorson family is now k>cated on section 6, 
 Pilot Township, where the husband and father owns 
 and operates a good farm, comprising one hundred 
 and sixty acres of valuable land. The parents and 
 children are well known throughout this commu- 
 nit}' and rank high in the social circles in which 
 they move. 
 
 IMr. Thorson came to Kankakee County in 1869 
 and has since been numbered among its leading 
 agricultuiists. He at first had limited means, but 
 his methodical habits, good management and bus- 
 iness ability have made him one of the well-to-do 
 farmers of the community. In politics, he is a 
 Republican, and since casting his first Presidential 
 ballot for Abraham Lincoln in 1864, he has been 
 one of the stanch advocates of tlie principles of 
 that party. However, he has never been an as- 
 pirant for public olHce, preferring to devote his 
 time and attention to his business interests. So- 
 cially, he is a member of Cabery Post No. 664, 
 G. A. R. In religious belief he is a Lutheran but 
 his wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church, 
 of Herscher. This worthy couple are well known 
 throughout the community, and Mr. Thorson 's 
 upright character has won him universal confi- 
 dence and esteem. 
 
 ^m>-^-<m 
 
 i- 
 
 CT 
 
 LIAS POWELL, of Kankakee, is a represen- 
 
 :^ tative of a well-known pioneer family of 
 the county and is a son of James Powell, 
 
 who settled in this county in November, 1844. 
 The latter was born on Long Island, N. Y., on the 
 10th of April, 1810, and was the son of a sea cap- 
 tain, and belonged to an old family of Long 
 Island. He grew to manhood there and learned 
 the trade of wheelwright and blacksmith. On the 
 5th of February, 1833, he married Miss Hannah 
 Finger, a native of Columbia County, N. Y., born 
 September 22, 1808. He removed with his family 
 
 in 1841 to Aurora, III., where he located on Gov- 
 ernment land and operated a sawmill for a time, 
 manufacturing the lumber from which he erected 
 a house on his land. There his family resided un- 
 til November, 1814, when, removing to Kankakee 
 County, they settled upon a farm in what is now 
 Limestone Township. Mr. Powell did not long 
 survive after coming to this county, but fell a vic- 
 tim to malarial fever, from which the early settlers 
 suffered so much, his death occurring August 12, 
 1846. He was a man who was highl}' esteemed, 
 and though he came to the county so earl^' and 
 lived here but a short time, jet he is remembered 
 by the early pioneers as a man of industrj- and in- 
 tegrity, possessed of a genial and social disposi- 
 tion, and is well informed, a ready talker and 
 valuable companion. In polities he was a Jackson 
 Democrat. In his family were three sous and three 
 daughters. Ellen was born May 25, 1834, and is 
 the wife of Luman Lasher, of Philadelphia. Elias 
 was born November 23, 1837. Laoma, who was 
 born March 13, 1841, is the widow of Charles 
 Moore, and lives in Kankakee. .Tames P., who re- 
 sides in Limestone Township, was born on the 
 15th of Fel)ruary, 1843. The above constitute 
 the surviving members of the familv, and those de- 
 ceased are Mrs. Margaret Lasher, and Simon P., 
 who was the youngest member of the family, his 
 birth having occurred August 28, 1845. He en- 
 tered the service of his country in the War of the 
 Rebellion as a member of the Twelfth Illinois 
 Cavalry, and died in 1865, just after the close of 
 the war, while en route with his command from 
 Alexandria, La., to Galveston, Tex. After the 
 death of Mr. Powell his widow was twice married 
 and now resides in Kankakee. 
 
 Elias Powell, whose name heads this sketch, was 
 born in Columbia Countj', N. Y., on the 23d of 
 November, 1837, and was but four j-ears of age 
 when his father's family emigrated Westward. He 
 was seven when they came to this county and was 
 not yet nine at the time of his father's death. 
 Thus he has been a resident of Kankakee Countj' 
 nearly his entire life, or for a period of forty- 
 eight years. On arriving at mature years, Mr. 
 Powell married Marilda Ann, daughter of Benja- 
 min and Belinda (Lamb) Hammond. The lady
 
 630 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was born in Broome County, N. Y., on the 25tli of 
 August, 1842, and removed with her father's fam- 
 il3' to Naperville, Du Page County, 111., and thence 
 to Kankakee. Mr. Ilammoud makes his home 
 witli our subject, but his wife has passed to her 
 final reward. On the 21st of May, 1888, Mr. 
 Powell was bereft by death of his wife, who had 
 attained to nearl3' the age of forty-six years. She 
 was a most worth}' wife and mother and left 
 a son, Irvin W., to mourn her loss. His birth oc- 
 curred August 12, 1865, iu Kankakee County. He 
 is now one of tlie leading photographers of Kan- 
 kakee City. 
 
 Mr. Powell is a well-known and representative 
 citizen and has been prominentl}' connected with 
 the growth and prosperity of Limestone Township, 
 where he resided until the autumn of 1887, in 
 which year he took up his abode in Kankakee. He 
 has since sold his fine farm in that township. He 
 was one of tlie promoters and is manager of the 
 North Kankakee Electric Light and Railway Com- 
 pany. Although he cast his first Presidential 
 vote for Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, he has since 
 aftiliated with the Republican party. Mr. Powell 
 is a man of superior business ability, and as an 
 early settler and a valued citizen has won the con- 
 fidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens. He is 
 an active member of the First Baptist Church of 
 Kankakee, in which he is Trustee. Mrs. Powell 
 was also a member of the same church. 
 
 .y ^ ^ h j i ft p 1 f wk^^.*M 
 
 f ^ I ^^A^i^^^ii n iB ' 
 
 if? EON II AY, who operates a farm on section 
 24, Otto Township, was born in Ottawa, 
 ^ La Salle County, 111., on the 11th of :May, 
 1864, and is the only son of Simon Hay, who 
 was born on the 24th of December, 1827, in France. 
 He grew to manhood and married in his native 
 countr}' Pauline Letot. In 1856, he emigrated 
 to the New Woild and upon landing in the United 
 States came immediately Westward to Illinois, lo- 
 cating in La Salle County, where for a number of 
 3-ears he engaged in gardening. In 1869, he came 
 to Kankakee Count}-, and bu\'iug unimproved 
 
 land settled where he now resides. He first pur- 
 cliased one hundred and twenty acres, and started 
 with characteristic energy to make of his property 
 a well-cultivated and improved farm. In the 
 course of time success crowned his efforts, and now 
 he has his place well improved and upon it has 
 erected a good residence and commodious barns. 
 To his original purchase he has added more land 
 from time to time as his means increased and now 
 has two hundred acres in a body. His son also has 
 an adjoining forty acres, which was given him by 
 his father. This place is located five miles from 
 Kankakee and is a well cultivated and desirable 
 farm. Mr. Hay has now retired from the active 
 duties and labors incident to farm life and is en- 
 joying a well-deserved rest in his declining years. 
 
 Leon Hay was reared as a farmer boj- and was I 
 early accustomed to the duties incident to the " 
 life of an agriculturist. His primarj' education 
 was acquired in the county schools, after which 
 he attended the High School of Kankakee and sup- , 
 plemented his studies with one year at the State I 
 Universit}'. In 1889, he spent one year in trav- 
 eling abroad, visiting the Exposition at Paris, and 
 he also went through the great countries and 
 cities of Europe. Upon his return he took the 
 entire charge of the old homestead, thus relieving 
 his father from all care and anxiety. 
 
 On the 7th of November, 1889, Mr. Hay was mar- 
 ried to Miss M. J. De Lagneau, who was born July 
 12, 1864, and was educated and reared to woman- 
 hood in Ottawa. Mrs. Hay is a daughter of Eloi De 
 Lagneau, of that city. Two bright little children, 
 one about two years old, Clair Edward, and an- 
 other, Simon De Lagneau, grace the union of our 
 subject and his wife. 
 
 Since becoming a voter, Mr. Hay has used his 
 right of franchise in favor of the Republican 
 part}-, casting his first ballot for Benjamin Harri- 
 son. He takes an active part in local polities and 
 has served his fellow-citizens in several public 
 positions of responsibility and honor. He was 
 elected Seci-etary of the Kankakee Fair Association, 
 and also of the Ninth Congressional District 
 Farmers' Institutes and has been very efficient and 
 faithful in his duties .as a member of these organiza- 
 tions. Mr. and Mrs. Hay are members of the St.
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 031 
 
 Anne Presbyterian Cliurcli. Our subject is an ex- 
 ample of llie progressive and enterprising farmer of 
 tliis last decade of tlie nineteentli century, and 
 Ihougli but a young man lie lias already achieved 
 considerable success as the reward of his industry 
 and well-directed efforts. 
 
 '^ OIIN KEYES CKOSWELL, the present City 
 Engineer of Kankakee, has been a resident 
 of this city since 18G8. He is a native of 
 (j^/' the Empire State, born in Schoharie County 
 in 1828. His father, Archibald Croswell, was born 
 in Connecticut and was descended from a well- 
 known and iniluential Colonial famil3'. The pa- 
 ternal grandfather of our subject was a sea cap- 
 tain, and in the War of the Revolution was granted 
 letters of marque and reprisal by the Colonial 
 Government, and was captured bj' the British 
 while warring against English commerce by vir- 
 tue of that authority', and for some time was de- 
 tained a prisoner by them. 
 
 The Croswell famil}' was prominent in the 
 earlier and later history of Connecticut and east- 
 ern New York, and the Episcopal Church has 
 numbered several of its members among its most 
 able ministers. In the year 1800, when about 
 twentj'-one years of age, Archibald Croswell wont 
 to New York, where he married Hannah Winslow 
 Paige, a daughter of the Rev. Winslow Paige, a 
 well-known Presb3-terian clergyman. She also be- 
 longed tf) an eminent New England famil3', and 
 was descended in direct line from Edward Wins- 
 low, of "Mayflower" fame. Her brother, A. C. 
 Paige, of Schenectady, was Judge of the Circuit 
 Court and Court of Appeals, and another brother, 
 Col. John Keyes Paige, served in the AVar of 
 1812, and was long a prominent citizen of Al- 
 bany, N. Y., of which city he was Mayor at one 
 time, and also filled various other imjiortant of- 
 ficial positions. Archibald Croswell was exten- 
 sively engaged in manufacturing for several years, 
 and continued to make his home in Schoharie 
 
 County until claimed by death in 1877. The 
 wife and mother had died many years previously-, 
 in 1852. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was one of a family 
 of five children who grew to mature years, four 
 sons and a daughter, one having died in infancy. 
 Paige, the eldest of the. family, died in Penns3'l- 
 vania a number of years .ago; Kellogg, the only 
 surviving brother of our subject, lives in Scho- 
 harie County' on one of the old farms once owned 
 by the father; Mary became the wife of AVilliam 
 J. Weeks, of Long Island, N. Y., and she was 
 called from this life a number of j-ears ago; John, 
 who is four^-ears the junior of the other surviving 
 brother, is next in order of birth; Abel Brace de- 
 parted this life in 1857. 
 
 Mr. Croswell, whose name heads this sketch 
 passed the days of his boyhood and youth in 
 his native county'. His -educational privileges 
 were of the best at that time, and for seven years 
 he was a student in the Albany Academy, where 
 he took a thorough classical and mathematical 
 course. Before his school da^-s were ended he had 
 devoted considerable attention to practical sur- 
 veying, and in 1852 began railroad engineering. 
 He was engaged on the New Y'ork Central Rail- 
 road between Utica and Schenectady when that 
 section of the now famous New Y'ork Central Rail- 
 road was called the Utica ife Schenectad3'. In 1 853 
 he became connected with the Detroit & Milwaukee 
 Railroad, in whose service he remained some four 
 j-ears. He then engaged in local work in Paines- 
 ville, Ohio, which was his home for ten years. 
 From 1858 to 1860 Mr. Croswell had charge of 
 the Illinois Southern between Vincennes and 
 Cairo. During the War of the Rebellion, and 
 while making his home in Painesville, he was City 
 Engineer of that place, and also made surveys in 
 the oil regions of Pennsylvania. As stated, he 
 came to Kankakee in 1868, and since that time 
 has been Citj' Engineer for the greater portion of 
 the time. However, in 1870, he went to Iowa, 
 and for two years was engaged on the Missouri, 
 Iowa & Nebraska Railroad. During the years that 
 he has served as City Engineer he has also done 
 much railroad engineering, including the construc- 
 tion of the Kankakee ct Seneca Railroad. He also
 
 632 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 has been largely interested in the drainage busi- 
 ness in Illinois, notably with the Vermillion Special 
 Drainage District and Milk's Grove Drainage Dis- 
 trict. For twelve years Mr. Croswell has also 
 filled the office of County Surve^^or most accept- 
 ably. 
 
 In the year 1858, in Painesville, Ohio, occurred 
 the marriage of Mr. Croswell and Martha J., daugh- 
 ter of Joseph Baker. Mrs. Croswell was born in 
 the State of New York and removed with her 
 parents to the Buckeye State when a child. Our 
 subject and his wife have but one surviving child, 
 a daughter, Nellie, who is the wife of J. Frank Dale, 
 of Omaha, Neb., special agent for the Ph(L'nix 
 Fire Insurance Company. They have three daugh- 
 ters. Archibald, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Croswell, married Olive Dewitt, and the^', with 
 their infant child, were passengers on the train 
 which was wrecked at Chats worth, 1 11., on the lltli 
 of August, 1887. The wife and mother was in- 
 stantly killed, but the babe which she held in her 
 arms was uninjured, and is still living. The hus- 
 band was but slightly injured, but was called from 
 this life in 1889. 
 
 Mr. Croswell is one of the progressive citizens 
 of Kankakee, and has alwaj'S taken a commend- 
 able interest in the growth and prosperity of tiie 
 city. In his political affiliations he has been a life- 
 long adherent of the principles of the Democratic 
 party. He was made a Mason in 1849, and has taken 
 the degrees included in the Blue Lodge, the Chap- 
 ter and Commandery, and has been presiding of- 
 ficer of all the different bodies. 
 
 ~pfe) I * 
 
 : £^- -' 
 
 '*^ EORGE BUTZ, a prosperous and promi- 
 nent farmer, is the subject of this sketch. 
 '^^Jj He resides on section 26, Limestone Town- 
 ship, and is a native of Germany. Baden hav- 
 ing been the place of his birth, which occurred 
 on the 8th of October, 1839. His parents were 
 Michael and Elizabeth (Ilich) Butz, both of whom 
 were natives of Germany. More complete men- 
 tion is made of them in the sketch of Michael 
 
 G 
 
 Butz, Jr., which appears on another page of this 
 volume. In 18,t7 the parents determined to seek 
 a home beyond the Atlantic and crossed the briny 
 deep to America. They had a family of four chil- 
 dren, two sons and two daughters. 
 
 Our subject, who was the third in order of birth, 
 spent the daj^s of his boyhood and youth in the 
 Fatherland, and received a good education in its 
 public schools. When the family came to this 
 country Mr. Butz accompanied them. He was 
 then a j'oung man of eighteen \'ears. He at once 
 began working upon a farm with his father, and 
 during his entire life has followed agricultural 
 pursuits. He has been very successful in his 
 undertakings, and good management, excellent 
 business ability, perseverance and industry have 
 brought him a well-deserved competence. He 
 now owns the old family homestead, which com- 
 prises one hundred and sixty acres of rich land 
 on section 26, under a high state of cultivation, 
 and also two hundred acres of fine land on sections 
 24 and 25. It is regarded as the best improved 
 farm in the township and its neat appearance in- 
 dicates the supervision of a careful manager. 
 There are good buildings, the fields are well tilled, 
 and the stock which he raises is of good grades. 
 The latest improved machinery is there found and 
 none of the accessories of a model farm are want- 
 ing. 
 
 When twenty-nine years of age, Mr. Butz was 
 married to Miss Catherine Heil. Her parents were 
 both natives of Germany, and Mrs. Butz was born 
 in Ohio March 7, 1845, but at the time of her 
 marriage was a resident of this county. Their 
 union was celebrated February 23, 1869, and 
 has been blessed with a family of four children, 
 three sons and a daughter: Charles, Amelia, John 
 and William. They are aged respectively twenty- 
 two, twenty-one, twenty and eighteen years. The 
 family circle yet remains unbroken and the chil- 
 dren are still under the parental roof. They have 
 been provided with good educational advantages, 
 thus being fitted for the practical and responsible 
 duties of life. 
 
 Mr. Butz exercises his right of franchise in sup- 
 port of the Republican party, having been a warm 
 advocate of its principles since he cast his first
 
 LIBRAHY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 flNIVERSiry OF ILLI,W(S
 
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 OAn-^yu^ 
 
 {jL/t^-d-m^Xy
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HWfV&RgiYY OF limm
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 637 
 
 Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. His fel- 
 low-townsmen, appreciating his worth and abilitj', 
 liave lionored him by repeated elections to the 
 ollice of Road Commissioner of his district, and he 
 has also represented his townshii) as Supervisor 
 for the past ten years, discharging his duties with 
 credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his 
 constituents, which fact is attested by his long term. 
 Himself and family are all members of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran Church. He is a man of sterling 
 worth and strict integrity and by a large circle of 
 friends and acquaintances is held in the highest 
 regard. 
 
 •^^[ 
 
 IB/ 
 
 ■m 
 
 jOBERT S. GILKERSON has for about forty 
 years resided on section 8, in Manteno 
 
 Township. His parents were Thomas and 
 ^^1 Marian (Somers) Gilkerson, and he was 
 born in Bamet, Caledonia County, Yt., on the 
 18th of February, 1821. His parents are more 
 fully spoken of in connection with the sketch of 
 John Gilkerson. 
 
 The education of Robert Gilkerson was received 
 in the district schools of llarnet Township, where 
 he was born, and under the tutoiship of the Scotch 
 minister who preached in the neighborhood. In 
 December, 18.54, he came to Illinois from Vermont, 
 where he had engaged in farming for a number of 
 years, and upon his arrival in Kankakee County 
 located on section 8, in Manteno Township. His 
 farm consisted of eighty acres, upon which he 
 built a house and then sent for his family. In the 
 following February the}' arrived safely, and this 
 original house was their home for thirty-one j-ears, 
 during which time it was enlarged and otherwise 
 improved. In 1885 he built another house near 
 by for his son, Robert C, and into tliis home they 
 moved three years later, their son liaving removed 
 to Kankakee. Another son, Frank, now resides on 
 the old homestead, which he rents of his father. 
 I Our subject was a thrifty farmer, and as his re- 
 : sources permitted added more land to his first 
 \ purchase until he was the possessor of five hun- 
 ' dred and forty acres, which were well improved 
 
 29 
 
 and under good cultivation. A portion of this he 
 h.as since divided among his children, but he re- 
 serves two hundred an<l eighty acres, which, as 
 before mentioned, are rented and carried on by his 
 son. 
 
 On the 19th of February, 184C, Mr. Gilkerson 
 married, at Bath, N. II., Miss Agues N. Batcheldcr, 
 who was born in Bath October 28, 1823. Her 
 fatlier, Nathan Ratcheider, who was of English de- 
 scent, died in Ma}', 1892, in Barnet, Vt., aged nine- 
 ty-four years. .Tames Batchclder, the grandfather 
 of Mrs. Gilkerson, entered the Kevolutionary army 
 as a soldier boy, served through the entire war 
 and came out with the rank of Capt.ain. Mrs. Gil- 
 kerson 's brother, David Batchclder, enlisted in the 
 late war, sailed with Gen. Banks to open up the 
 Mississippi River, was shot at Port Hudson and 
 died from the effects of his wound. Her mother 
 was of Scotch descent. 
 
 Six sons and three daughters were born to our 
 worthy subject and his estimable wife, as follows: 
 Nathan B., wlio lives at Peotone, married Miss 
 Belle McKercher. They have an adopted son, 
 Chester Arthur. " Liithor married Miss Catherine 
 Morris, of Monmouth, 111., who became the mother 
 of seven children, all of whom are living. They 
 are Laura Belle, Mary A., Scott, Bertha, Ella, 
 Helen and Robert Sterling. The mother died in 
 August, 1890. Charles and .Tames A. are both de- 
 ceased. Frank married Miss Eva Cowen, and to 
 them have been born six children, Wilbert W., 
 Grace, Frank R., Horace, .Tames Otis and the baby. 
 Robert C. keeps a meat-market in Kankakee. He 
 married Harriet AVright, of Manteno, and they 
 have one child, Elnathan W. Laura,!, is the wife 
 of Rev. A. W. Morris, a minister of the United 
 Presbyterian Church, who is now located in Green- 
 wich, N. Y. They have six children, Agnes, Mary 
 A., Robert, Bernice, Frank G. and .Janet. Mary 
 E. is the widow of Philip P. Nelson, formerly of 
 Lyman, N. H. The}- had five children, Nathan, 
 Annie, Hugh, Norman N. and Robert 8. His death 
 occurred in February, 1892, in Kankakee. Emma 
 J. is deceased. 
 
 Although seventy-one jears of age, Mr. Gilker- 
 son is hale and hearty, bidding fair to live for 
 many j-ears to come. He is strictly temperate in
 
 638 
 
 POiiTRAlT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 bis habits, as be has not used a glass of intoxicat- 
 ing liquors for forty years. He and bis wife arc 
 members of the United Presbyterian Church, in 
 which he has occupied the office of Elder for 
 thirty-seven years. Politically, he is a Republican, 
 and has held the office of Road Commissioner and 
 that of Supervisor for one year. He has been a 
 witness of vast changes in this locality, and 
 well remembers when wolves and deer were very 
 plentiful, and when the prairie for miles in every 
 direction was covered with rank grass as tall as 
 his horse. 
 
 <* l»> ALTER B. CHIPMAN, a representative 
 \/\j// farmer and stock-raiser of Momeuce Town- 
 ^^^ ship, who lesides on section 7, where he 
 owns and operates a valuable farm of two hundred 
 and forty acres, claims Canada as the land of his 
 birth. He comes, however, of an'old New Englaud 
 family of English origin, which was probably 
 founded in America during Colonial days. His 
 parents, Truman and Sarah (Cowdry) Cbipman, 
 were both natives of Vermont. The father was 
 a farmer of the Green Mountain State, from 
 where in an earl}' day he removed to Canada. 
 Desiring to better his financial condition, he re- 
 solved at length to seek a home in Illinois, and in 
 consequence emigrated to this State, locating in 
 Moraence Township, Kankakee County. The j-ear 
 1845 witnessed his arrival, and the Chipmans be- 
 came one of the pioneer families of this com- 
 munity. 
 
 The subject of this recoid, Walter B., was born 
 on the 9th of July, 1830, and was the sixth in 
 order of birth in their faniil3'of ten chiiden, num- 
 bering six sons and four daughters. His early 
 boyhood days were passed in his native land and 
 at the age of fifteen years he came with his parents 
 to Illinois. His education was acquired in the 
 common schools of Canada and Kankakee County, 
 III., and he was reared under the parental roof. After 
 attaining to years of maturity he chose as a com- 
 
 panion and helpmate on life's journey Miss 
 Caroline Davidson, daughter of Daniel and El- 
 mira Davidson, who were pioneers of Kankakee 
 County. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Chipraan 
 was celebrated in 1855, but after three short years 
 of happy wedded life the young wife was called to 
 her final rest, passing .away in 1858. One child 
 had been born of that union, a daughter, Alice, 
 who is now the wife of Henry Davis, a thrifty and 
 enterprising farmer residing in Fillmore County, 
 Neb. 
 
 January 25, 18G2, Mr. Chii)nian was again 
 married, his second union being with Miss Mary 
 L. Wagoner, daughter of Daniel and Lavina 
 Wagoner, of Momence, who were also early set- 
 tlers of Kankakee County, coming in 1845. Mrs. 
 Chipmau was born near Syracuse, N. Y., May 17, 
 1842. A family of six children has been born of 
 this second marriage, namely: Charlej' B., a pros- 
 perous and progressive farmer of Momence Town- 
 ship, who married Miss Lida Hurley, of this 
 county, by whom he has four children; Nellie V., 
 a well-educated young lady, and a teacher of recog- 
 nized abilitj' in the public schools of this county; 
 Cora B., who died when four years of age; Fannie 
 May, the next j'ounger; and Edward E. and AVill- 
 iam W., who complete the family. The latter are 
 twins and were born August 20, 1882. The elder 
 children have received good educational privileges 
 which will also in due time be afforded thej'ounger 
 members of the family. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Chipmau is a 
 stanch Republican,who" warmly advocates the prin- 
 ciples of that party and does what he can for its 
 growth and success. He keeps himself well in- 
 formed on all issues of the day, both political and 
 otherwise, and has proved himself a valued citizen 
 The cause of education finds in him a warm frienc 
 and for the long period of about twenty years h«, 
 has served as School Director in his district, during 
 which time he has done effective service in theii 
 interest by securing competent teachers. His wif< 
 and daughter are members of the Methodist Epis 
 copal Church and Mr. Chipman, though not holdinj 
 membership, aids in its support. His help is neve 
 withheld from any worthy enterprise calculated ti 
 prove of public benefit or from any worthy chari
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL liECOUD. 
 
 639 
 
 table or benevolent interest. The community re- 
 cognizes him as one of its best citizens. From a 
 (in.ancial standpoint, also, Mr. Chipman's life has 
 been one of success and he owns an excellent farm 
 comprising two hundred and forty acres of well- 
 improved and iiighly cultivated land. It is 
 pleasantly situated two miles north of Momence. 
 His fields are well cultivated and in addition to 
 the work of general farming he successfully carries 
 on stock-raising. Honorable, upright dealings 
 have marked liis business career, and the good 
 wishes and confidence of the community he has 
 gained thereby. 
 
 e^+^l 
 
 f)n.LI AM P. WATSON, of the firm of Wat- 
 son & Cleary, general merchants of Mo- 
 ^^1 mence, was born in JCdgar Count}', 111., 
 near the town of Paris, on the 16th of October, 
 1842. His ancestors on the paternal side were 
 English, and his grandfather Watson and a brother 
 came to America at a very early da>-. The foimer 
 was a merchant and shipper of all kinds of produce 
 by boats from Cincinnati to New Orleans and in- 
 tervening points. In his family were two children, 
 our subject's father and one daughter. His death 
 occurred when he was comparatively a young 
 man. 
 
 Our subject is a son of John F. and Sarah .Jane 
 (Patterson) Watson, the former a native of Ken- 
 tuckj', and the latter of Ohio, of Irish descent. 
 The father was born in 1822, and married when 
 quite j'oung. He foUovved the life of a farmer in 
 Kentucky, living at a place called Flemingsburg, 
 which was named after his grandfather. He re- 
 moved to Edgar County, 111., about 1840, and set- 
 tled on a farm near Paris. In 1844, with his wife 
 and son, he came to what is now Kankakee County 
 and located on a farm nine miles from Momence. 
 The country was wild and unfenced, and the 
 Government land was not yet in the market. He 
 took up a claim of one hundred and sixty acres, 
 which he improved and made his home until 1858. 
 He tiien purchased a farm near Wilmington, 111., 
 
 which he cultivated for a number of years. His 
 present residence is in the city of Wilmington, 
 where he lives retired from active life. Their chil- 
 dren are all living and married and reside in 
 widely scattered States. They are as follows: Will- 
 iam P., Margaret J., Caroline E., Washington AV., 
 Edward L., Charles, Emeline, .lohn T., Mcuritt 
 E. and George M. 
 
 The l)oyhood days of William P. Watson were 
 passed upon a farm in this State. He is one of 
 the oldest settlors of Kankakee County, having 
 lived here for forty-eight years, or ever since 
 he w.as two ^ears of age. He remained on his fa- 
 ther's farm until the breaking out of the war, 
 when, on the lOtli of August, 18(il, though not 
 nineteen 3'ears of age, he enlisted in Companv I>, 
 Forty-second Illinois Infantry, and was in the 
 service for three years, being mustered out the 
 1st of September, 1864. He was in the battle of 
 Stone River, where he was slightly wounded, and 
 also took part in the battle of Chickamauga, in 
 which he received three wounds, one of which 
 broke his right fore-arm, disabling it for life, 
 another broke a rib in his right side, while the 
 third wound was a buck-shot in his riglit shoulder, 
 which he still carries. He also participated in 
 many skirmishes and smaller engagements, and 
 was ever found faithful at the post of duty. 
 
 On the 24th of April, 1866, Mr. Watson was 
 united in marriage with Hortense E. Shedd, whose 
 parents, John and Sylvia (Dunham) Shedd, were 
 from Cortland County, N. Y. One child was born 
 to our subject and his wife, a son, who died in in- 
 fancy-. 
 
 After returning from the war, J\Ir. Watson 
 clerked in the grocery store of his uncle, W. H. 
 Patterson, until the spring of 1870, at which time 
 he started in business for himself, establishing a 
 small grocery store on River Street, which he car- 
 ried on for a couple of years. He then associated 
 with him Hiram Wilber and moved into larger 
 quarters on Front Street, also considerably increas- 
 ing his stock. They carried on business under the 
 firm name of Wilber (k Watson for three years, 
 after which our subject purchased his partner's in- 
 terest, and then took into partnership his brother, 
 AVashington W., and the firm assumed the style
 
 640 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Watson Bros. At the end of four years our 
 subject purchased bis brother's interest and con- 
 tinued alone until 1885, when Patrick J. Cleary, 
 who had been in his employ for seven years, 
 bought an interest in the business, which has since 
 been carried on under the firm name of Watson 
 & Cleary. From a small beginning our subject 
 has seen a steady increase until now his business 
 has assumed large proportions, and his sales extend 
 in all directions in the vicinity of Moraence. His 
 business is recognized as one of the substantial 
 enterprises of the county. 
 
 Though not a member of an3' church organiza- 
 tion, Mr. Watson contributes of his means to the 
 suppoit of the Episcopal Church, of which his wife 
 is a member. Socially, he is a Knight Templar, 
 holding membership with Ivanhoe Commandery 
 No. 33, of Kankakee. He is a ciiartcr member of 
 Momence Lodge No. 181, A. F. it A. M., which 
 was organized in 18GC. He is at present Super- 
 pervisor of Momence Township, and has held 
 various other offices of honor and trust. He is a 
 thorough business man and is public-spirited, al- 
 ways being alive to the welfare of the city and- 
 county. In polities he is a Republican and has 
 always voted that ticket, having cast his first Presi- 
 dential vote for Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 ^fiiiM^i'^i-i^sl^ 
 
 UTLLIAM P. BARBER, who is engaged in 
 farming on section 4, Limestone Town- 
 ^^^ ship, where he owns a comfortable home, 
 pleasantly situated within five miles of Kankakee, 
 is a native of Illinois. He was born on the loth 
 of April, 1857, in De Kalb, Be Kalb County, 111., 
 and is the youngest child and the only son in a fam- 
 ily of three children. His father, Rosswell Barber, 
 was a native of Massachusetts, born May 25, 1819, 
 and his parents were also natives of New England. 
 The mother of our subject bore the maiden name 
 of Mary A. Franklin. She too was born in the 
 old Bay State, the date being September 14, 1828, 
 and was of English extraction. It was in 1857 that 
 the parents of our subject emigrated Westward to 
 
 Illinois, becoming residents of De Kalb County, 
 where Mr. Barber purchased a farm. He there en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits until 1871, when 
 with his family he removed to Chicago, where he 
 engaged in the real-estate business. He was in 
 that city at the time of the big fire which broke 
 out on the 9th of October, 1871. Buildings were 
 destroj'ed to within half a block of him, but at 
 that place they at length gained control over the 
 fire and Mr. Barber's propertj' was thus saved. 
 He remained in Chicago, carrying on business, for 
 a period of eight years and then came to Kankakee 
 County, purchasing a farm in Limestone Town- 
 ship. Locating thereon, the remainder of his days 
 were there passed and his death occurred Febru- 
 arj' 13, 1892. He was a member of the Methodist 
 Church and a man of sterling worth and strict in- 
 tegrit}^ Though he had resided in this county 
 for only about thirteen years, he had made many 
 friends and his death was deeply regretted. 
 
 I'nder the parental roof the subject of this 
 sketch was reared to manhood, and being the only 
 son of the family he remained at home and when 
 he had attained his majority was taken into part- 
 nership with his father. He had received a good 
 education in the common schools and was thus 
 fitted for a practical business life. As a compan- 
 ion and helpmate on life's journey, Mr. Barber 
 chose Miss Ulista Hawkins, who has the honor of 
 being a native of Kankakee. She was born in 
 that city on tlie 15th of November, 1862, and is 
 a daughter of Alanson and Abia (Vaughn) Haw- 
 kins. Her fatlier was one of the very first settlers 
 in tlie counl3', the date of his arrival here being 
 1832. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Barber was 
 celebrated November 25, 1890, and unto them 
 has been born one child, a son, William H., born 
 Septemlier 2, 1891. The jiarents of Jlrs. Barber 
 are both dead. Her father died October 22, 18G9, 
 and her mother died November 10, 1886. 
 
 Our subject continued to engage in business 
 with his father until the lattcr's deatii. He now 
 owns and operates a good farm, comprising forty 
 acres of well-improved land. It is all under a 
 high state of cultivation and the neat appeaninoe 
 of the place indicates the owner to be a man of 
 practical and progressive ideas.
 
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 OF THE 
 
 HNMVEnSITY OF ILLIMOIS
 
 Wji 
 
 r*-< 
 
 _-/■ 
 
 ^AAn(^l/nt^ 
 
 'cn/^^
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOaRAPHlCAL RECORD. 
 
 643 
 
 In his iKihtic.al alHliations, Mr. Barber is a Ke- 
 piibliean and cast liis first rresidential vote foi- 
 James A. (iarlield; lie has never sought or desired 
 the lionors or emoluments of jiublic otlice, prefer- 
 ring to devote his entire time and attention to his 
 business interests. In religious belief, he is a 
 Congregationalist and holds membership with the 
 church of that denomination in Chicago, and Mrs. 
 Barber is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Cliurch. He is a wide-awake, enterprising young 
 farmer, a man of good business ability and a val- 
 ued citizen, who has won the high regard of all 
 witli wliom he lias been brought in contact. 
 
 
 rSBIOTlIY FORTIN, an early settler of Kan- 
 :/^^^ kakee County, was born in Henryville 
 <^' Province of Quebec, Canada, on the 22d of 
 .lanu.ary, 1833. His parents, .Taque Timothee and 
 p:iiza (Cloutier) Fortin, were of Canadian birth, 
 and of French descent. Jaque Fortin was a pros- 
 perous farmer and a man of energj'and enterprise. 
 In the summer of 1847, he made a trip to Kane 
 County, 111., to see the country, being the first 
 from his vicinity to visit this section. Pleased 
 with the country, he returned to Canada and made 
 preparations to move. Being a man of influence 
 and of known business abilitj', a number of his 
 neighbors decided to cast their lot with him in the 
 then new State of Illinois. Fourteen families 
 from the same neighborhood joined in the West- 
 ward emigration. 
 
 During that winter Mr. Fortin left his family at 
 Aurora, and came to what is now Kankakee County, 
 securing two hundred acres of land in Bourbon- 
 nais Township. To this place he removed his 
 family the following spi'ing. By industry and 
 perseverance he added to his possessions until he 
 l)ecame quite an extensive land-holder. He was a 
 man of strict integrity, and his name signed to an 
 obligation made it as good as the gold. Many 
 times he helped his countrymen who settled here 
 over financial troubles. Politically, be was a warm 
 
 advocate of the principles of Democracy, but never 
 sought office for himself. He died much lamented 
 by his fellow-tuwnsmeii in April, 18U4, at the age 
 of flftj'-two years. In his allegiance to his adopted 
 country, he was unswerving. During the late war 
 many native Americans were fleeing to Canada to 
 escape the draft. Mr. Fortin called his boys to 
 hiin, and on his deathbed urged them if drafted 
 not to run from duty, but to fight like men for 
 tlieir country. Though he did not see the close of 
 the war, he did live long enough to see that the 
 union of the States would be maintained. His 
 widow, who makes her home in Chicago, has 
 reached the age of seventy-eight years. Mr. Fortin 
 was an active worker yi and d liberal contributor 
 to the Catholic Church, with which all of his fam- 
 ily hold membership. His children numbered 
 seven, as follows: Timothy, of this sketch; Julius, 
 who is a farmer of Bourbonnais Township; Alexis 
 and George, live-stock commission men of Chicago, 
 and owners of farm lands; Alfred, a retired farmer, 
 of Chicago; Ilenriette, wife of P. Ma3'nard, of 
 Kankakee; and Mary, wife of George Richards, 
 a farmer of Bourbonnais Township. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of Timothy 
 Fortin, who accomi)anied his parents on their re- 
 moval to this county. He received a common- 
 school education, and was engaged in farm work 
 until twent3' years of age, when, on the 23d of 
 January, 1853, he set out with his brother Alexis, 
 for the gold fields of California, going by way of 
 New York and the ocean route. Thej- both had 
 the fever at Panama, and on the way from that 
 place to San Francisco they lost thirteen of their 
 fellow-passengers with the Isthmus fever. On 
 reaching their destination, they engaged in min- 
 ing in Nevada County, on the Middle Yuba. 
 They also spent three months on Feather K'iver, 
 and later operated on New Orleans Flat. In their 
 various ventures they made considerable money, 
 but lost it again through prospecting, and in the 
 fall of 1859 returned to their home. 
 
 In the spring of 18C0, Mr. Fortin commenced 
 farming on land in Pilot Township, which he had 
 bought before going to California, and which his fa- 
 ther had entered from the Government. He made 
 a success of agricultural pursuits, and raised and
 
 644 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dealt in live stock. He continued to reside on 
 this farm until 1874, when he removed to Kanka- 
 kee, but still operates his land. 
 
 On the 26th of January, 1872, in Pilot Town- 
 ship, Mr. Fortin married Miss Philomene Anctil, 
 who was born .June 20, 1847, in .St. Ann Lapoca- 
 tier, being a daughter of .Jeau Marie and Mathilde 
 (Iludon) Anctil. Mrs. Fortin 's. parents were na- 
 tives of Quebec, Canada, where the3' spent their 
 entire lives, reaching an advanced age. Both were 
 Catliolics in religious belief. Mr. Anctil was a 
 man of ample means, farming being his chief vo- 
 cation. Of his seven children, four sons and three 
 daughters, but two have come to the United States: 
 Mrs. Timotli}' Fortin; and Elmira, wife of Alexis 
 Fortin. Unto our subject and his wife were 
 born three children, two of whom died in infanc3^ 
 Rachel is their only surviving child. 
 
 In their religious belief, Mr. and Mrs. Fi)rtin are 
 Catholics, and in politics, Mr. Fortin is a Demo- 
 crat. By industry, perseverance and good business 
 judgment, he has worked his w.ay upward until he 
 is accounted one of the substantial citizens of Kan- 
 kakee County. He has never been a si)eculator, 
 but through the legitimate channels of business 
 has received a iust reward for Ins efforts. 
 
 
 ^M ICriAEL ORRECHT, who follows farming 
 /// iW °'^ section 33, Salina Township, is one of 
 I w the worthy citizens that German 3' has fur- 
 "' nished to Kankakee County. He was born 
 
 in that part of Germany which then belonged 
 to France, on the 29th of September, 1802, and is 
 a son of Martin and Paulina (Hegg) Obrecht. 
 His father was twice married, and by his first 
 union he had a daughter, Mar3'. Eight children 
 weie born of the second marriage, the eldest of 
 whom is our subject, tiie others being Catlierine, 
 Sallie, Magdalena, Jacob, Barbara, George and 
 Ursula. 
 
 As our subject was the eldest of the fainil3-, the 
 |)rivileges afforded him were ver3- me.agre, for he 
 had to work in order lo help supjiort his younger 
 
 brothers and sisters. Wlien he began to work for 
 himself lie embarked in farming, which pursuit he 
 followed until his emigration to America. Desir- 
 ing to try his fortune in the New World, he 
 crossed the broad Atlantic in 1842, in a sailing- 
 vessel, whicli dropped anchor in the harbor of 
 New York after lifty-flve da3'S. He then went to 
 Buffalo, where he remained during the summer, 
 while in the autumn he made his wa3' b3' water to 
 Chicago. Soon afterward he located near Wheel- 
 ing, Cook County, TH., where he purch.ased a farm 
 of one hundred and thirteen acres. The onl3' im- 
 provement upon the place was a small log cabin, 
 into wiiich he moved, and then gave his attention 
 to the development of his land, which he operated 
 for eleven years. On the expiration of that pe- 
 riod, he came to Kankakee County, in 1853, and 
 purchased the farm of one hundred and sixt3' 
 acres on section 33, .Salina Township, which has 
 since l)een his home. The wliole county- was then 
 but sparsel3' settled, there being onl3' one house 
 between his home and Hickoiy Grove. The land 
 which he purchased w.as a tract of wild prairie, 
 unadorned by an3' improvements, but he at once 
 began its development, and as time passed the 
 work of transformation was carried forward, until 
 the barren tract w.as made to bloom and blossom 
 as the rose. 
 
 In his native land, Mr. Obrecht commenced life 
 for himself, and was married in 1830 to Miss 
 Magdelene Fielweber, and unto them have been 
 born the following children: Lena, who died in 
 Germany, at the age of six years; Jacob, who re- 
 sides in Kankakee Count3', and was Sheriff of the 
 county' from 1861 until 1865; Mai y, wife of Jacob 
 Schreiber, who is living in Butler County, Iowa, 
 where he carries on farming; John M., a farmer of 
 Henry Count3-, 111.; John, a retired farmer, resid- 
 ing in Du P.age Count3'; Martin, who died in 
 1875; Emeline, wife of Amos Hertz, an agricul- 
 turist of Salina Township; David, who operates 
 the old homestead on which his father first lo- 
 cated; Sarah, wife of George M. Wagner, a farmer 
 of Salina Township; Frederick W., who carries on 
 agricultural pursuits in Iroquois County; and 
 George W., a stockman and dealer in agricultural 
 implements in South Dakota. Martin was a sol-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 645 
 
 dier of the late war. IIo ciilistcfl in 1861,. and 
 was imistei't'd into tiio service at Springfield, 111., 
 as a Sergeant of C'ompan}' I, Se\a'nty-sixth Illinois 
 Infantrj-. lie participated in many important en- 
 gagements, including the siege of Vickshiirg. lie 
 was never wounded or taken prisoner, but was al- 
 w.avs found at his post of duty, and faithfully 
 served until honorably discharged in 18(55. The 
 mother of this family was called to her final rest 
 May 28, 1879, and her remains were interred in 
 the cemetery of the Gei'man Evangelical Church. 
 Mr. Obrecht is a meml)er of that church, as was 
 also his wife. In politics he is a stalwart advocate 
 of the princi|iles of the Republican party, but lias 
 never been an ottice-seeker. He is now one of the 
 oldest residents of the county. He has always en- 
 joyed good health, and his age 3'et rests lightly 
 upon him. During his long residence in the 
 county he has become widely known, and by all 
 Ills many friends and acquaintances he is held in 
 the highest regard as a man of sterling worth and 
 upright character. His life has been such as to 
 win him universal confidence and esteem. From 
 a financial standpoint, his success has all been 
 achieved through his own efforts, for he came to 
 this country empty-handed, and by his own exer- 
 tions has worked his way upward from an humble 
 position to one of affluence. Mr. Obrecht li.as re- 
 sided with his son David and wife for fourteen 
 years. David lias exercised tiiat love .and care for 
 his father in his declining years which becomes a 
 loving and dutiful son. 
 
 -^>^^<i 
 
 "^^®x 
 
 E WITT CLINTON RIKER, clothing mer- 
 chant of ISIomencc, was born in Mont- 
 pelier, Vt., on the .30th of May, 1846. 
 His paternal grandfather, Isaac Riker, was 
 a Captain in the I'liited States Armj- in the War 
 of 1812; he was in the battle of Tippecanoe, 
 and surrendered at Detroit, INIicii., from wiiich 
 place he proceeded on foot to his home in Ver- 
 mont. His death occurred when he was still in 
 the prime of life. The maternal grandfather, 
 
 Elihu Atherton, was also a soldier in the War of 
 1812. He followed agricultural jiursuits through- 
 out life, and reared a large family. In 187,5 he 
 came to Momence to spend the remainder of his 
 days, and departed this life in 1886, at the ex- 
 treme old age of ninety-four years. 
 
 The parents of our subject, Francis R. and Lu- 
 zan A. (Atherton) Riker, were both natives of 
 Vermont, the former being of Scotch-Irish ances- 
 try, and the latter of English origin. The father 
 followed merchandising nearly all his life, and 
 during his last ^ears assisted his son-in-law in the 
 clothing trade until his death, which occurred Oc- 
 tober 17, 1890, when he was sevcnt3'-two j'ears of 
 age. The mother of our subject is still living, 
 and makes her home with her son-in-law, Mr. 
 Nichols, in ^lontpelier, Vt., and h.as now attained 
 her seveiit3-fifth year. Four children were born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Riker, three sons and a daughter, 
 three of whom grew to maturity, one son having 
 died in infancy. Martha became the wife of 
 George Nichols, of Montpelier, reared a family of 
 four children, and died there a number of years 
 ago. Our subject is next in order of birth. Ilenrj' 
 completes the family. 
 
 The boj'hood days of our subject were passed 
 in his native State, where he received a good 
 common-school education. When twenty years 
 old he left home, coming directly to Momence. 
 After remaining here a short time he went to Chi- 
 cago, where he clerked in a wholesale clothing- 
 house for two and a-half years. He then went to 
 Sterling, III., where he embarked for himself in 
 the clothing business and remained there until the 
 fall of 1870, at which time he returned to Mo- 
 mence, located permanently and has made this his 
 home to the present time. Mr. Riker entered the 
 employ of his uncle, M. A. Atherton, in his gen- 
 eral store in this city, and about three 3'ears later 
 was given an interest in the business. He re- 
 mained with I\Ir. Atherton for a period of sixteen 
 or seventeen years, the firm name being Atherton 
 ife Riker. In 1887 our subject sold his interest to 
 Mr. Atherton, and eslalilished a clothing and 
 gents' furnishing goods store, in which line he has 
 been very successful, being regarded as one of the 
 substantial and reliable merchants of Momence.
 
 646 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 
 
 On the 3d of November, 1869, Mr. Riker mar- 
 ried Miss Sarah L. Wilcox, whose parents, Joel J. 
 and Laura (Waller) Wilcox, of Sterling, were na- 
 tives of Massachusetts. Two sons and a daugliter 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Riker: Walter A., who 
 died on the 27th of September, 1877, aged seven 
 years and one month; Florence E. and Francis J. 
 
 Our subject and his wife hold membership with 
 the Episcopal Church, with which they have been 
 connected for manj' j'ears. He is a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias and Royal Arcanum, being 
 a charter member of both orders in Momence. 
 Personally, he is of quiet and unpretentious man- 
 ners, and IS highly esteemed in the community as 
 a man of honor and integrit3'. 
 
 ii I I » I » I I I 
 
 1^ ^ ^ M^ ^ ■ 
 
 ylLLIAM WILLIAMSON, one of the prom- 
 inent business men of Kankakee, and the 
 present Street Commissioner of this city, 
 is numbered among the pioneers of Kankakee 
 County, to which he came almost forty years ago. 
 Mr. Williamson was born in Oneida County, 
 N. Y., on the 8th of November, 1832. His father, 
 William B. Williamson, was born and reared in 
 Steuben County, of the same State, and was a wheel- 
 wright by occupation. The family is of Scotch- 
 English ancestry, and in the early days of the Col- 
 onial history three brothers, Garet, James and 
 John Williamson, emigrated to New England, 
 where they located, and their descendants have now 
 become numerous throughout the countr3^ The 
 maiden name of our subject's mother was Mary 
 Ney. She is said to have been descended from 
 Marshal Ney, one of Napoleon Bonaparte's most fa- 
 mous generals. Her father, Jonathan Ney. removed 
 from Connecticut to Oneida Count}', N. Y., where 
 he was a pioneer. In early life, William B. Will- 
 iamson removed from Steuben to Oneida County, 
 and was there m.arried. In 1845, going to San- 
 dusky, Ohio, he engaged in the building of mills, 
 and throughout his life followed the occupation 
 of a millwright. He returned to the Empire State, 
 his death occurring in Bath, Steuben Count}'. 
 
 The gentleman whose name heads this sketch Is 
 one of a family of nine children, four sons and 
 five daughters. The family circle is still unbroken. 
 Charles is a resident of Bad Axe, Mich.; William is 
 the second in order of birth; Sylvanus and Henry 
 are the other two brothers. The latter resides at 
 Pueblo, Colo., and is a conductor on the Denver & 
 Rio Grande Railroad. The eldest sister, Mrs. Eliza- 
 beth Webster, resides in Cleveland, Ohio. As- 
 cnath is the wife of John Hoover, of Urbana, 
 Ohio. Jane and Janetare twins; the former is now 
 Mrs. Anderson, of Clinton, Iowa, and the latter, 
 Mrs. Austin, of Lyons, the same State. The 3'oung- 
 est sister, Mrs. Mary Siblej', resides in Chicago. 
 
 AVhen thirteen years of age, Mr. Williamson 
 went to live in Sandusky, Ohio, in the home of 
 his mother's brother, and there he resided for a 
 number of years. Several years before he located 
 here permanentl}' he traveled in the State in the 
 interest of Messrs. Woolworth & Gale, stove deal- 
 ers. In those earlj' days, stoves were sold by men 
 who went from house to house taking orders from 
 the people for that necessary article of housekeep- 
 ing. Mr. Williamson was engaged in that busi- 
 ness for some time, and then returned to San- 
 dusky, and brought his family, who were then 
 making their home at that place, here. They came 
 to this county, and located upon a farm near the 
 present city of Kankakee, the date of their arrival 
 being 1853. 
 
 For a time, Mr. Williamson remained upon the 
 farm, and then entered the hotel business. He 
 opened a hotel which became known as the Will- 
 iamson House. This hotel, which is one of the 
 old landmarks of the city, is still standing, and 
 on its facade may be seen the name in large let- 
 ters, The AVilliamson House. After operating the 
 hotel for some time, he engaged in railroading, 
 which occupation he followed in the capacity of 
 engineer for nearly twenty 3'cars. Two years of 
 that time, during the war, he was on the Memphis 
 & Little Rock Railroad. The service was full of 
 danger, as the}' never knew when their train 
 would be ditched. He carried dispatches between 
 Banks and Steele from Little Rock to Duvall's 
 Bluff. In 
 Kankakee. 
 
 188G he eng.aged in the coal trade in
 
 • LIBRARY 
 OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 ^ ,/ *' 
 
 *.**-*«'1^<'i^(- 
 
 4 
 
 ^ /^t^t^-t-'t^ ^'
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 649 
 
 Mrs. Williamson was Miss Marian IM^-ers, of Kan- 
 kakee. Four t'liildreu, one son and three daugh- 
 ters, have blessed the union of our subject and his 
 wife. They are Gertrude, Eva Belle, George H. and 
 Alta M. In 1865 Mr. ■\Villiamson and wife joined 
 the First IJaptist Church of Kankakee and have 
 been consistent members since. Much of the time, 
 he has filled oflicial positions, serving, as Trustee 
 some fifteen years and Treasurer about eight j'ears, 
 besides other positions. lie has always taken an 
 active part in all church work. Politically, he has 
 always been a Democrat, having cast his first vote 
 for Buchanan, and the last one for Grover Cleve- 
 land. 
 
 Mr. AVilliamson is numbered among the en- 
 terprising and progressive citizens of Kankakee. 
 Coming here when the present city w.as in its ear- 
 liest infancy, and just at the opening of its first 
 railroad, he has been identified with the growth 
 and prosperit_v of the place since its birth. He 
 was elected as a member of the Board of Ald- 
 ermen in 1889, and three j'ears later was made 
 Street Commissioner of Kankakee. In this po- 
 sition he has proved most efficient and acceptable, 
 and in all things that relate to the city's growth 
 and welfare he takes a deep interest. Both in 
 business and social relations, he has won the re- 
 spect and confidence of his fellow-citizens, and is 
 accounted a man of active and energetic qualities. 
 
 jpisa OLON KNIGHT, one of the earliest pioneers 
 ^^^ of wliat is now Kankakee County, and now 
 President of the City National Bank of 
 Kankakee and of the Kankakee County 
 Savings Bank, and also President of the Kankakee 
 Stone and Lime Company, is a native of the Em- 
 pire State, born in Lodi, Cattaraugus County, on 
 the ir>th of March, 1832. He is a son of Samuel 
 Lee and Lucina Lambert (Parker) Knight. (See 
 sketch of the parents elsewliere in this work.) 
 When the subject of this sketch was an infant his 
 parents removed to Onondaga County and in 
 
 1843 he accompanied them to Illinois. His father 
 was a farmer by occupation and settled on land in 
 Plain field. Will County. In 184.5 lie removed to 
 Joliet, where he was engaged in the butchering 
 business until the spring of 1851, when he came to 
 what is now Kankakee County and located at 
 Bourbonnais, where he engaged in the hotel bus- 
 iness. 
 
 Mr. Knight accompanied his parents in their 
 various changes of location and became a resident 
 of what is now Kankakee in the spring of 1851. 
 Two years later, when the Illinois Central Railroad 
 Companj' extended their line to the Kankakee 
 River and established the station of Kankakee, he 
 and his father were among the first to engage in 
 business at that point. Thej- established the first 
 lumber-yard and unloaded the first carload of 
 freight ever shipped to that point, which was tiieir 
 first consignment of lumber. The cars were un- 
 loaded at a place considerably north of the pres- 
 ent station in July, 1853, Init they were not run 
 to the depot until November following. Our 
 subject continued in the lumber business until the 
 close of 1857, when he sold out and engaged with 
 his father in the stone and lime trade. From a 
 small beginning their sales have continually in- 
 creased, until to-dav they have an important and 
 commanding trade. On the 23d of February, 
 1867, the present Kankakee Stone and Lime Com- 
 pan}' was incorporated, the original quarries and 
 lime-making plant of our subject constituting the 
 principal stock. Of the new company Mr. Knight 
 was elected President, and Mr. Cleghorn, Secre- 
 tary, and those respective offices they have held 
 continually to the present time. This concern em- 
 ploys an average of seveut3--nve men and has an 
 annual output of about two thousand carloads of 
 stone and twenty thousand barrels of lime. 
 
 On the 31st of December, 1857, Mr. Kuight was 
 united in marriage with Miss Matilda K. K. West. 
 The lady was born in Allegan County, Mich., on 
 the 18th of October, 183',), and is a daughter of 
 Albert and Melvina West. One child, a son, Ed- 
 ward N., was born of their union, the date of his 
 birth being the 5tli of October, 1858. He married 
 Miss Elizabeth N. Norton and is eug.aged in busi- 
 ness with his father.
 
 650 
 
 PORTRAIT A?fD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Knight has sixty acres of land in the city of 
 Kankakee, forty of which are a valuable stone 
 quany. This stone is what is known as the Ni- 
 agara limestone, the best in the State for heavy 
 piers, and capable of sustaining heavy pressure. 
 The company's facilities for the manufacture of 
 lime are extensive and complete in their appoint- 
 ments and this industry' is one of the oldest and 
 most important in the countj'. 
 
 Mr. Knight is a Democrat in politics and has 
 always taken an active interest in local and gen- 
 eral affairs. He has been three times elected 
 Mayor of Kankakee, in 1880, 1889 and 1890, .and 
 proved a faithful and efficient officer. He also 
 was for three 3'ears a member of the County Board 
 of Supervisors. Mr. Knight was one of the or- 
 ganizers of the City National Bank of Kankakee, 
 of wiiich he has been President since its formation, 
 and of which notice is given elsewhere in this work. 
 For several years our subject has made it a prac- 
 tice to travel with his family during the winter sea- 
 son in the Southern States of his own country, and 
 has also traveled in Mexico, South America and 
 in the countries of Central America. From these 
 tours he has derived much pleasure and informa- 
 tion. While at home he is an indefatigable worker 
 and gives his personal supervision to the details 
 of his extensive business, in which he has been so 
 successful. He is a plain, unassuming man, well 
 read and an interesting conversationalist. His 
 life since bo3'hood has been an open book to his 
 neighbors and fellow-citizens, and the kindly tone 
 and respectful manner in which all speak of him 
 can not fail to impress the casual observer most 
 favorably as to his personal character and public 
 life. 
 
 B^ 
 
 H^^ON. DANIEL HOLMES PADDOCK is a 
 '' ^\* well-known and successful lawyer, now 
 serving his third term in the Illinois Leg- 
 islature as Representative from the Six- 
 teenth Senatorial District, which comprises the 
 counties of Kankakee and Iroquois. His birth oc- 
 curred in Lockport, 111., on the lOth of April, 1852. 
 
 He is a son of Col. John Williams and Helen 
 (Harvey) Paddock. The father was an eminent 
 law^'er and a distinguished military man of East- 
 ern Illinois (of whom see sketch elsewhere in this 
 volume). 
 
 Mr. Paddock came to Kankakee with his parents 
 in 1853, while an infant, and has made that city his 
 home since that time. At the early age of eleven 
 years he was called upon to mourn the loss of 
 his father. His primary education was received in 
 the public schools, and when twelve j'ears of age 
 he commenced learning the printer's trade in the 
 office of the Kankakee Gazette, where he spent one 
 year. The succeeding six jears were passed upon 
 a farm during the summer and in attendance upon 
 tlie schools of the district during the winter season. 
 Henext took a year'scourse at the Soldiers' College 
 at Fulton, 111., after whicli he accepted tlie position 
 of Deputy Postmaster at Kankakee, where he 
 served faithfully for two years. For the two 3'e.ars 
 following this he served as Deputy Count}- Clerk of 
 Kankakee County. During the time of his official 
 service he had been also directing his attention 
 toward the study of law, under the preceptorship 
 of Thomas P. Bon field, and in 1873 he entered 
 the law department of Cniou University, of Al- 
 bany, N. Y., from which he was graduated in the 
 spring of 1874. In Ma}', 1874, lie was admitted 
 to the Bar at Albany, N. Y. In Sejiteniber of that 
 year he was admitted to the Bar at Mount A'ernon, 
 111., and at once entered upon the practice of his 
 profession at Kankakee, in partnership with T. P. 
 Bonfield, which connection was continued until 
 October, 1875, since which time our subject. has 
 been in pr.actice alone. 
 
 On the 18th of July, 187G, Mr. Paddock was 
 united in marri.age with Miss Katie Alinira Barton, 
 of Kankakee. The lady was born in the town of 
 Marshall, Oneida County, N. Y., on tiie 5th of 
 February, 1854, and is a daughter of William L. 
 and Sarah (Lumbard) Barton, who were also na- 
 tives of Oneida County. They removed to Kan- 
 kakee in 1870, where thev still reside. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Paddock are the parents of six children: 
 Helen Barton, Shirley Barton, Emma Barton, Bes- 
 sie B., Evelyn B. and Catherine B. 
 
 In politics Mr. Paddock has alwa}'s been a Re-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 651 
 
 publican since okl enough to form political o[)in- 
 ions, and while but a youtli took an active interest 
 in politics. In 1876 he was elected States Attorney 
 for Kankakee County and was re-elected in 1880. 
 He was City Attorney for Kankakee from 1878 to 
 1880. In 188;j, he was made a Master in Chancer}-, 
 which office he resigned on being again elected to 
 the Legislature. In 1885 be was chosen to that 
 office for tiie special purpose of defending the city 
 in several long contested and important suits. 
 Three years later he was elected on the Republican 
 ticket to the Illinois Legislature, was re-elected in 
 1890 and again in 1892. He is the present attorney 
 for the Illinois State lioard AVorld's Fair Commis- 
 sioners. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Paddock are members of the Prot- 
 estant Episcopal Church, of which the latter is 
 a Vestryman. He is a Knight Templar M.ason, 
 holding membership with Kankakee Lodge No. 
 389, A. F. & A. M.; with Kankakee Chapter No. 
 78, R. A. M.; and with Ivanhoe Commandery No. 
 33, K. T., of which he has been Commander. He 
 is an active member of Lieut.-Col. Paddock Camp, 
 S. of V, which he was instrumental in oiganizing 
 and of which he has been Commander. In polit- 
 ical campaigns, Mr. Paddock has long been a po- 
 tent factor in support of Republican principles, and, 
 being a popular public speaker, his services have 
 lieen much in demand on the stump. His first po- 
 litical work w.as in the support of Hayes in 1876, 
 and in the support of Garfield and Arthur in the 
 Presidential campaign of 1880, when he made a 
 vigorous canvass and was greeted b}- large and ap- 
 preciative audiences wherever he spoke. Since 
 that time he has taken an active part in succeeding 
 campaigns and has riiiencd into a finished and elo- 
 quent orator. 
 
 In the practice of his profession, IMr. Paddock 
 has been eminently successful and has won a fore- 
 most place in tiie l>ar of Kankakee County. As a 
 trial lawyer, he has shown unusual force and has 
 developed great strength, as well in the systematic 
 and careful preparation of his cases and the shrewd 
 and thorough examination of witnesses, as in the 
 eloquent, logical and convincing manner of their 
 presentation before court and jury. He possesses 
 many of the traits that distinguish his illustrious 
 
 father as a brilliant speaker, sound advocate and 
 able lawyer. Mr. Paddock has one of the finest 
 libraries to be found in Kankakee and has ever 
 been a thorough student. Socially, he is deservedly 
 popular, as he is affable and courteous in manner 
 and possesses that essential qualification to success 
 in public life, that of making friends readil\- and 
 of strengthening the ties as time advances. 
 
 =^^1®'©®!^,!^^ 
 
 SA I5EEBE is an extensive farmer and a 
 pioneer of what is now Kankakee County. 
 He was born in Winhall, Bennington 
 County, Vt., on the 29th of May, 1827, 
 and is a son of Dudley and Doll}- (Stearns) Beebe. 
 His father was born in Litchfield, Conn., and was 
 of Welsh descent. The mother of our subject was 
 also of New England birth. In the autumn of 
 1838, Asa Beebe accompanied his parents to Illi- 
 nois, traveling with teams across the country. 
 Their family consisted of seven children. Laura 
 became the wife of Eber Gleason, and died at 
 the age of fifty-seven years; Lomira is the wife 
 of James M. Perry, of Chicago; Orrille was the 
 wife of Ezra Wetmore and died in December, 1890; 
 Lydia departed this life when seventeen years of 
 age; Asa is the subject of this sketch and next in 
 order of birth; William married Miss Mary F. 
 Legg and lives in Aroma Township, Kankakee 
 County; and Joanna died in January, 1880. The 
 father of these children entered land upon what is 
 now Aroma Township on his arrival in Illinois 
 and engaged in agricultural pursuits on his layd, 
 which consisted of about two hundred acres, until 
 his death, which occurred on the 7th of March, 
 1853. His wife had passed away previousl}', on 
 the 1st of September, 1840. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were passed in 
 the usual manner of farmer lads. lie received 
 common-school advantages, and on the 9th of 
 January, 1851, married Miss Henrietta Mellon. 
 She was a native of the Green Mountain State, her 
 birth having occurred in Winhall, Bennington 
 County, on the 21st of Feliruary, 1831, Hei- par-
 
 652 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cnts, Nathaniel and Aclisah (Wlieeler) Mellen, em- 
 igrated to Illinois, in 1838, that being the same 
 year which witnessed the an'ival of our subject's 
 parents. They went b}' team to Buffalo and 
 thence by boat to Detroit and later came b}- wagon 
 to Aroma Township, this county, where the father 
 engaged in farming for man^' years. He died on 
 the 27th of March, 1866, and the mother sur- 
 viving him for several years, departed this life 
 on the 27th of October, 1875. In their family 
 were eight children, of whom one died in Ver- 
 mont, the others coming to Illinois with tlieir 
 parents. Ivmily is the widow of Seth Taylor 
 and still makes her home in Bennington County, 
 Vt.; Elmina, the wife of George Van Dusen, lives 
 in New Lenox, Will County, 111.; Nancy is the 
 wife of Daniel Beebe, of Kankakee; Alphonso 
 married Gertrude Brinkerhoff and resides in the 
 same city; Cordelia passed away in Iowa when 
 eighteen jears of age; Sarah Ann is the wife of 
 Newell Beebe, of Momence; Henrietta, the hon- 
 ored wife of our subject; Henry her twin brother, 
 died in infancy. In politics, Mr. Mellen was a 
 Whig, and he and his wife held membership with 
 the Congregational Church. 
 
 For man3' years Mr. Beebe engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits and the raising of stock on his ex- 
 tensive farm in Aroma Township. In the spring 
 of 1892, he removed with his famil}^ to Kankakee, 
 which lie now makes his home. He still owns his 
 farm in Aroma, which is highly improved and 
 consists of three hundred and fifteen acres. He is 
 one of the few surviving settlers who made their 
 homes in the valley of the Kankakee before the 
 footprints of the Indians were effaced from the 
 surface of the country in this vicinity. The life 
 of our subject has been one of usefulness and he 
 has done his share toward converting a wild and 
 almost valueless region into a highly improved 
 and wealthy section of one of the richest agri- 
 cultural States of the Union. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beebe became the parents of 
 seven children, of whom three are now living. 
 Dudley M. died at the age of seventeen and a-half 
 months; Lydia Ella become the wife of Alfred 
 Styles, of Ganier Township; Ada L. died at the 
 age of six years; Alma Ma3' is the wife of Edgar 
 
 Legg, of Aroma Township; Lyle Asa and Lura 
 (twins) died in childhood; and Mart M. wedded 
 Mary Lewis and resides on the old homestead in 
 Aroma Township. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Beebe is a Republican but has 
 never desired otHcial recognition. A resident 
 here for fifty-four years he has lived an upright, 
 unassuming life and enjoys, as he well deserves, 
 the good opinion and respect of his fellow-citizens 
 in a marked degree. 
 
 "illACOB REINHART, one of the early set- 
 tlers of Kaukakee Count}^, whose residence 
 here covers a period of thirty-eight j'ears, 
 is now engaged in farming on .section 8, 
 Pilot Township. He is a Frenchman by birth, 
 having first opened his eyes to the light of day in 
 Alsace, Finance, on the 8th of July, 18.')0. His fa- 
 ther, Jacob Reinhart, Sr., was born and reared in 
 the same locality, and after arriving at man's 
 estate married Salome Birkle. Mr. Reinhart was 
 a shoemaker by trade, but also engaged to some 
 extent in farming. Thinking to better his finan- 
 cial condition b}' emigrating to the New World, 
 in 1856 he took passage on a sailing-vessel at 
 Havre, which after a voyage of forty-nine days 
 dropped anchor in the harbor of New York. After 
 landing on the shores of America he came direct 
 to Illinois, joining a brother who was then living 
 in Kank.akee County. Mr. Reinhart located upon 
 the prairie in Pilot Township, becoming one of its 
 first settlers. For a few years he rented land, and 
 in connection with its operation he worked at his 
 trade. When he had accumulated a sufficient 
 capital he purchased a tract of wild prairie and 
 began tiie development of a farm. During the 
 first few years after their arrival the family suf- 
 fered many hardships and privations, such as are 
 incident to pioneer life when one is in limited cir- 
 cumstances, but their condition gradually im- 
 proved from year to year, and in course of time 
 Mr. Reinhart had a good farm and pleasant little
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 653 
 
 lionie, in whioli he spent the last days of his life. 
 His death occurred in September, IK82. He had 
 long survived his wife, who i)assed away in 18G(), 
 only a few years after coining to this country. 
 
 J.acob Reinhart,of this sketch, was the eldest child 
 and only son in a family of four children; .Salome, 
 the second of the family, became the wife of Louis 
 Strablow, but is now deceased; Mary, the widow of 
 Frank Sucie, resides in Salina Township; and Caro- 
 line is the wife of August AVeise, of Franklin 
 County, Neb. 
 
 Jacob Reinhart was only six years of age when 
 his parents crossed the broad Atlantic. The days 
 of his boyhood and youth were spent upon his 
 father's farm in Pilot Township, and in the sum- 
 mer months he aided in the labors of the farm, 
 while in the winter season he attended the public 
 schools of the neighborhood. On arriving at years 
 of maturity he took charge of the home farm, 
 which he still operates. From time to time, how- 
 ever, he has extended its boundaries by additional 
 purchase until he now owns a valuable farm com- 
 prising two hundred and forty acres of rich land. 
 Almost the entire amount is under a high state of 
 cultivation. The place is improved with a large 
 barn and other outbuildings, which are models of 
 convenience, and a commodious and substantial 
 residence. Tiie owner is recognized as one of the 
 progressive and practical farmers in the com- 
 munit3-. 
 
 Mr. Reinhart exercises his right of franchise in 
 support of the Republican party, with which he 
 has attiliated since casting his tirst Presidential 
 vote for Gen. U. S. Grant. He takes quite an ac- 
 tive part in local politics and has been called u])on 
 to serve in a number of oHicial positions of honor 
 and trust. He was elected and re-elected to the 
 ottice of Collector of Pilot Township until he had 
 filled that position for five consecutive terms. He 
 also served as Supervisor, and the prompt and 
 able ipi.nner in which he has discharged all his 
 public duties has won him high commendation. 
 He was also a member of the School Board for a 
 number of years and has ever used his infiuence to 
 secure good educational advantages in this com- 
 munity. 
 
 Id May, 1874, in Pilot Township, Mr. Reinhart 
 
 wedded Miss Salome AVickersheim, a native of 
 Alsace, France. Her father, Michael Wickersheim, 
 was also born in the same country and there spent 
 his entire life. Mrs. Reinhart was reared in Al- 
 sace and educated in her native land. Her edu- 
 cation in the Knglisii tongue has been acquired 
 through her own efforts. By the union of our 
 subject and his wife have been born five children 
 who are 3^et living, namely: Berliia M., Anna R., 
 Lucy C, Ra^'mond J. and Walter T. They also 
 lost an infant. 
 
 Mr. Reinhart and his family are members of the 
 Evangelical Lutheran Church. He has spent nearly 
 his entire life in this count}^ where he has a wide 
 acquaintance. His friends are man}', and those 
 who have knowi him from b03'hood are among 
 his warmest admirers, a fact which indicates an 
 upright and honorable life. He is a man of good 
 business ability, and through his industry, enter- 
 prise and good management has won a hand- 
 some pro()erty. He is a public-spirited and pro- 
 gressive citizen, who manifests a commendable in- 
 terest in all that pertains to the welfare of the 
 community, and his life is in many respects well 
 worthy of emulation. In coming generations his 
 descendants will have no occasion to feel ashamed 
 of their worthy ancestor who was the founder of 
 the Reinhart family in America. 
 
 ~^l 
 
 ^■^ 
 
 (=" 
 
 /^p^ ij^i'uii,rs VTitAi was oorn i: 
 ^^ County, N. Y., near Four C< 
 "I^J) the 20th of September, 1834, ai 
 
 TEPHEN GRAY was born in Albany 
 
 •orners, on 
 and on his 
 father's side is of Dutch and Scotch ex- 
 tr.action, while on his mother's side he is of 
 German lineage. His parents w-ere Christian and 
 Barbara (Ostrandev) Gray, both of whom were na- 
 tives of the Empire State. Unto them was born 
 a family of eight cliildren, of whom Stephen is 
 the third in order of birth; Samuel, the second in 
 order of birth, is now a resident of Kankakee, 
 where he is engaged in the real-eslate business; 
 Peter is now living in Limestone Township; 
 Amelia, who became the wife of Aaron Schreffler,
 
 654 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 died in 1873; Cliristian now carries on agricul- 
 tural pursuits in Salina Township; Joshua makes 
 his home in Pilot Township, where lie carries on 
 farming; Mary is the wife of Myron Webster, a 
 resident of Salina Township. The father of this 
 family departed this life on the 5th of April, 
 1800. His widow still survives him, and is now 
 livinu- in Salina Township at the advanced age 
 of eighty-two years. 
 
 In recording a sketch of the life of our subject, 
 we present to our readers thehistor>' of one of the 
 former well-known farmers of this community. 
 Glancing backward to his boyhood days, we see 
 that they were spent in much the same man- 
 ner as those of other farmer lads. Under the 
 parental roof lie was reared to manhood, and dur- 
 ing the summer months he worked in the fields, 
 becoming familiar with all phases of farm labor. 
 In the winter season he attended the district 
 schools, where lie .acquired a limited education, 
 which has been largely supplemented by reading 
 and observation in later life. On attaining the 
 aoe of twenty years he bade good-bye to the East 
 and in 1854 came to Kank.akee County, Hi., where 
 he remained for two years. He tlien returned to 
 New York, on account of ill health, and continued 
 to remain in tlie State of his nativity' for four 
 years, when he again came to this county. In 
 order to provide for his maintenance he began 
 working as a farm liand by the montli, and was 
 thus employed until 1872. Having worked in- 
 dustriously and earnestly, he had in the mean- 
 time ac(iuired some capital, and now purcliased 
 one hundred and sixty acres of land located in 
 Salina Township. Tliere he made his home for a 
 period of twelve years, when, in 1882, he pur- 
 chased two hundred and seventeen acres of land 
 on section 3, in Aroma Township. He has re- 
 cently disposed of this property, receiving 8100 
 per acre for it, and will now live a retired life 
 in Kankakee, where he expects to erect a beauti- 
 ful home. 
 
 On the 6th of May, 1873, Mr. Gray was mar- 
 ried to Miss Lucy, daughter of Fred C. and Lucy 
 (Smith) Bird. Her father was a native of Os- 
 wego County, N. Y. In the Bird family were 
 seven children, the eldest of whom, Owen, is now 
 
 a farmer of Jasper County, Mo.; Morris B., who 
 enlisted for the late war in 1861, and became a 
 Corporal of Company H, One Hundred and Thir- 
 teenth Illinois Infantry, was killed on the battle- 
 field during the siege of Vicksburg, and his re- 
 mains were brought back to the North and interred 
 in the Limestone Cemetery; Mrs. Gray is the next 
 j'ounger; Friend D. is a resident of Fremont, Neb.; 
 Worth, Emma E. and Rush are all residents of 
 Kankakee. The father of this family died on the 
 28th of December, 1855, but the mother still sur- 
 vives him and is now living in Kankakee at the 
 age of seventy-eight years. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gray has been born one 
 child. Earl D., whose birth occurred on the 8th of 
 July, 1874. The parents are people of sterling 
 worth, their friends througiiout the community 
 being many, and in social circles they hold an en- 
 viable position, hi his political attiliations Mr. 
 Gray is a Democrat, and, as every true American 
 citizen should do, feels an interest in political af- 
 fairs, although he has never been an oflice-seeker. 
 He may truly be called a self-made man, for he 
 started out in life enipt3'-handed and unaided has 
 steadily worked his way upward. The difficul- 
 ties in his path have not impeded his progress, but 
 have rather served as an impetus to renewed ef- 
 fort, and he well deserves the success he has 
 achieved. 
 
 
 -^~oZ- 
 
 :)EV. GEORGE VETTER, pastor of the first 
 church of the Evangelical Association of 
 Kankakee, was one of the early ministers of 
 this city. The society of this church was 
 organized in April, 1855, by Rev. Elias Mussel- 
 maun and Rev. George Vetter, its present pastor, 
 with about forty members. The society was what 
 was then called the Kankakee Mission, now Kan- 
 kakee Station. Services were held for about a 
 year after its organization at the residence of 
 Christain Boeboel. The first church building, a 
 small affair, was erected in 1856, and the first resi- 
 dent pastor was Rev. Henry Eitermann, who came
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 655 
 
 in 18G0, and remained for one year. The second 
 resident pastor was Rev. George Vctter, who, after 
 being in cliarge for one year, was succeeded by 
 Rev. 15. C AVagner. The other ministers in order 
 of tlieir coming were Rev. G. P. Mohr, Rev. C. Ott, 
 Rev. W. Lechler and Rev. M. Ileil. Tlieu came 
 Rev. B. C. Wagner for a second time, who was fol- 
 lowed ijy Rev. II. Sehumaker, then Rev. T. K. Fehr, 
 after whom Rev. (ieorge Vetter was again pastor, 
 coming in 1877 and remaining for three j'ears. 
 Rev. E. Fredcn was his successor, and he was fol- 
 lowed by Rev. W. F. Walker, Rev. P. H. Sahn, 
 Rev. C. Schuster, Rev. J. Wellner, and then again 
 the present pastor, Rev. George A'etter, who is 
 serving this people for the fourth time. The 
 Evangelical Association adopt the itinerant prac- 
 tice in regard to their ministers, which system is 
 quite similar to tiiat of the Methodists, and which 
 accounts for their freijuent changes of pastors. 
 
 Rev. George Velter was Ijorn in Wurtemberg, 
 Gerinanv, August 27, 182',), and in his native land 
 he resided until twenty j-ears of age, at which time 
 he emigrated to the I'nited States. After remain- 
 ing a few weeks in >i'ew York upon his arrival in 
 the New World, he went to Canada, but soon after 
 came to Chicago, 111. In 1854 he engaged in the 
 ministry, and almost immediately thereafter came 
 to Kankakee, being placed on this station, and is 
 still on it. 
 
 Rev. i\Ir. Vetter was united in marriage with 
 Miss Ursula Knecht, a sister of Joiin G. and 
 Jacob Knecht, prominent mercliants of Kankakee. 
 Tlie father of Mrs. Vetter was Tiiomas Kueclit, and 
 her mother liure the maiden name of Walpurga Na- 
 gle. To our subject and his wife have been born 
 two sons and a daugliter. George is a farmer of 
 .Soutii Dakota; .John is at present Clerk of the Court 
 in Abeideen, the county seat of IJrown County, S. 
 Dak.; and the only daughter, .hilia, is the wife of 
 Henry Miller, also of the same State. 
 
 The chiircli of which our subject is the present 
 pastor erected a substantial brick building in 1887, 
 at a cost of about ^14,000. They also have a com- 
 fortable residence for their pastor. Rev. Mr. Vetter, 
 as has been shown, is one of the veteran ministers 
 of his denomination in Illinois. He is a faithful 
 worker in his Master's vineyard, and is untiring 
 
 in his efforts to adv.ance the cause of Christianity. 
 By his noble ipialities and zeal he has won the re- 
 spect and love of those under his charge, and of 
 the citizens in general. 
 
 
 y 
 
 A^=.{.=; 
 
 NDREW GREENAVOOD is a respected and 
 (@!Ol enterprising farmer, who operates his farm 
 A on section 34, Kankakee Township. He 
 w.as born in Holland on the 12th of June, 
 18.37, and his parents, John and Henrietta (De 
 Gues) Greenwood, were also native of that couutiy. 
 The father w.as a farmer by occupation, and reared 
 his family, spent his entire life and died in Hol- 
 land, where Mrs. Greenwood still resides. 
 
 Our subject's parents had five children, who 
 grew to adult \ears. The eldest, Cornelius G., now 
 makes his home in Holland, but was for four years a 
 resident of Kankakee; our subject is the second 
 in order of birth; Peter lives in Holland; John 
 died in the land of his birth; and Cornelia is the 
 wife of Isaakt Geberen and resides in Holland. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Andrew Greenwood 
 were spent on his father's farm in his native land, 
 and there he received a fair education. AVlien 
 about eighteen years of age he determined to seek 
 his fortune in the New World, and in 1856 took 
 passage at Rotterdam in the "Ocean Home," a 
 sailing-vessel. They were upon the broad Atlantic 
 for fifty days, and arrived at their destination, 
 New Orleans, on the 1st of May, of that year. 
 Thence Mr. Greenwood proceeded up the Missis- 
 sippi River, first to St. Louis and then to Keokuk, 
 Iowa. He secured work upon a farm, and was in 
 the employ of one man for about three years. 
 The farmer, Mr. Van Houlinger, also a Hollander, 
 proved a good friend to our subject. ]\Ir. Green- 
 wood feeling the disadvantage he labored under 
 in being so little conversant with the English lan- 
 guage, with commendable zeal determined to be- 
 come proficient in this line, and, therefore, return- 
 ing to Keokuk attended an English school during 
 a winter season, working as a gardener during
 
 656 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the summer for Aliliu Cooler, whom he also re- 
 membeis as a kind friend. In the j-ear 1859 Mr. 
 Greenwood again went to New Orleans, and 
 worked at gardening there until the breaking out 
 of the late war. Not desiring to remain in the 
 South during the inevitable conflict which he saw 
 must ensue, he turned liis face Nortiiward once 
 more. For about one year he worked on a farm 
 in Iowa, and in the spring of 18G2, going to Chi- 
 cago, engaged as a coachman in the service of ex- 
 Mayf)r Haines, for wliom he worked for about a 
 3ear and a-half. He afterward went to Cairo, 111., 
 in 1863, and engaged in vegetable gardening for 
 the succeeding four years. In the fall of 1868, 
 Mr. Greenwood returned to Chicago and engaged 
 in fancy and special gardening up to the year 
 1875, when he sold his propert}', and in Septem- 
 ber, 1876, came to Kankakee Count}' and located 
 on the place where he now resides. This farm had 
 some improvements upon it and consisted of one 
 hundred and twenty acres. He has since erected 
 a good and substantial residence and has good 
 barns and other outbuildings. He has a fine or- 
 chard, and the place is well tiled. It is located 
 about a mile and a-half from Kankakee, and is a 
 valuable and well-kept farm. Since coming here, 
 Mr. Greenwood has largel}' engaged in gardening, 
 and is one of the most enterprising and successful 
 farmers of Kankakee Township. 
 
 In Cairo, 111., Mr. Greenwood married Henderika 
 Gerrettson, the ceremony being performed Octo- 
 ber 25, 1861. Mrs. Greenwood was born in Hol- 
 land, and was reared and educated there. She is 
 the daughter of Henry J. Gerrettson, who emi- 
 grated to tills coantry and settled in Iowa in 1856. 
 Four children have graced the union of our sub- 
 ject and his wife. John C. has been for many 
 years a clerk in the mercantile business in Kanka- 
 kee; Henderika is the wife of Henry H0II3', a 
 farmer of this county; Henry J. assists his father 
 in carr3'ing on the home farm; and Maggie C. is 
 still at home. 
 
 In 1878 Mr. Greenwood became a voter, and is 
 identified with the Republican party. During and 
 previous to tlie war his s^nnpathies were with the 
 Union cause. He has always given his hearty sup- 
 port to the cause of education, and is a firm be- 
 
 liever in the efficac}' of good schools. For seven- 
 teen years he has served as a member of tlie School 
 Board, and has held a number of local official posi- 
 tions, having been one of the Drainage Commis- 
 sioners six 3'ears. Mr. Greenwood was reared in 
 the Presbyterian Church, in wliich he still believes, 
 though not a member of any church organi- 
 zation. He has lived in this county for seventeen 
 years, and is well known in the citv of Kankakee 
 as well as in the adjoining country. He has ever 
 been industrious and frugal, and b}' his own labor 
 and industry has accumulated a large and valuable 
 farm and home. He possesses good busines ability, 
 diligence and industry, and fair dealing has al- 
 ways characterized his transactions. He is a de- 
 voted citizen of his adopted country, and endeav- 
 ors to promote her welfare. 
 
 J4,4.^..{.^|^^..{..|..{.L 
 
 *'i"i-*+F 
 
 1-{"5"5"{-* 
 
 ,^^\ YRON F. BAKER, proprietor of one of 
 the largest livery stables in Kankakee, 
 has the honor of being a native of this 
 county, his birth having occurred two 
 and a-half miles east of Kankakee, on the 2d of 
 October, 1864. He is a son of Austin and Aure- 
 lia (Fairbanks) Baker, both natives of Indiana. 
 They removed to Illinois many years ago, and 
 were numbered among the earliest settlers of 
 Kankakee County. On their arrival thej^ found 
 the countrj' a wilderness and but few houses or 
 fences were to be found in this section. Deer, 
 wolves and other wild game abounded in this re- 
 gion. Mr. Baker settled on a farm about three 
 miles from the present site of Kankakee, but at 
 that time there was no town or city even com- 
 menced. He still owns his original farm of eighty 
 acres in Aroma Township, to which, year by year, 
 he added adjoining land until his present pos- 
 sessions are between seven and eight hundred 
 acres of land. He still resides on the old home- 
 stead, where he has lived for fort\'-seven years, 
 but is now retired from the active duties of farm 
 life. 
 
 The parental family consisted of nine children, 
 
 I
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HNIVERSIIY OF ILLINOig
 
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 ^ C^t'-f^L^^^ 
 
 ^-
 
 LiBRARY 
 OF THE • .^ 
 MWIVFRSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 661 
 
 six sons and three daughters. Charles A. is tlie 
 eldest of tiio family. Henry K. married Miss Lil- 
 lian Andrews, whose parents arc residents of Chi- 
 cago. He lives in Kankakee, where lie is engaged 
 in the agricultural implement business. Frank S. 
 married Miss Anna Stire, of Kankakee, where they 
 now reside; Monroe S. is the next in order of 
 birth; Myron E. is the fifth child of the family; 
 Joseph A. married Miss Maud Shores, of this city; 
 Elizahetli married Nathaniel I'ran, wlio operates a 
 farm six miles northwest of Kankakee; Ida May 
 died when about two years of age; and Etliel M. 
 completes the family. 
 
 The early days of our subject were spent upon 
 his father's farm, where he assisted in the work 
 during the summer and attended the district 
 schools during tlie winter months. He then took 
 a business course in Valparaiso College, of Indi- 
 ana, completing the course when eighteen \ears 
 of age. In 1885, going to western Kansas, Mr. 
 Baker pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres 
 of land in Scott County. Returning, he entered 
 tlie employ of the American Express Companj', 
 for whom he worked for the succeeding two years. 
 On the 24tli of August, 1888, Mr. Baker formed 
 a partnership with his brothers, Joseph A. and 
 Frank S., and purchased the livery stable of A. 
 Holcomb. After carrying on the business together 
 for eighteen montlis, our subject bought out his 
 two brothers and has continued the business alone 
 ever since. He has the largest livery stable in 
 Kankakee and keeps the largest number of horses. 
 His stable is well equipped with fine carriages and 
 buggies, and has an extensive patronage. Though 
 a yf)ung man, he has already given evidence of 
 marked business ability, and is pushing his way 
 to the front among the leading business men of 
 this city. 
 
 On the 2d of October, 1889, a marriage cere- 
 inoii}- united the fortunes of Mr. Baker and Miss 
 Mary L. Lowe, of Kankakee. Her parents, David 
 and Martha J. (Pruitt) Lowe, were both natives 
 of Indiana and were among the earl}' settlers of 
 Illinois, having settled in Iroquois County, just 
 across the line from this county. The father met 
 death as the result of a disastrous accident which 
 occurred in November, 1887. He was accompauy- 
 
 30 
 
 ing four carloadi of cattle to Cliicago, when the 
 train broke in two. He was at the time asleep in tlie 
 caboose. An engine and train following crashed 
 into the detached section, demolishing it and caus- 
 ing the cars to burst into flames, in which Mr. Lowe 
 and another stockman were entirely consumed. 
 Two daughters, Cora Dot and Gladys, have graced 
 the union of our subject and his wife. 
 
 In politics Mr. Baker is independent, reserving 
 the right to cast his ballot in favor of the man 
 who, in his estimation, is best fitted to fill the po- 
 sition and advance the best interests of the pub- 
 lic. Mrs. Baker owns the home in which they 
 reside, and also a farm of two hundred acres, 
 which is well improved and situated eight miles 
 south of Kankakee. While our subject is not a 
 member of any church, he contributes to its sup- 
 port and attends the Presbyterian Church, of 
 which his wife is a member. He is a public-spir- 
 ited and loyal citizen, and takes an active inter- 
 est in the welfare of Kankakee. 
 
 ^=m>-^r<^m 
 
 ■J— 
 
 EUBEN C. MUNGER, a retired farmer re- 
 siding in Hersclier, is a native of the Em- 
 
 pire State. He was born in the town of 
 ^ Ilobart, Delaware County, on the 15th of 
 September, 1836, and is a son of the Rev. O. W. 
 Munger, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, who was also born in New York, July 9, 
 1804, and died September 9, 1852. The latter re- 
 ceived his education in his native State, and in 
 Delaware County was united in marriage with Miss 
 Esther C. Bathrick, a daughter of John Bathrick. 
 She also was reared and educated in Delaware 
 Count}'. The grandfather of our subject, John W. 
 Munger, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1774, 
 while the great-grandfather, Benjamin Munger, 
 was a native of England, born in 1742; the latter, 
 emigrating with his father, settled upon a tract of 
 land in Boston, Mass., granted him by the King of 
 England. He served his country as one of the 
 heroes of the Revolutionary War, and his son 
 John, the grandfather of our subject, was a soldier
 
 662 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in the War of 1812. The great-grandfather re- 
 moved to New York when Delaware County was 
 almost an unbroken wilderness, and there he de- 
 veloped a good farm, being one of the honored 
 pioneers of that local it}'. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Munger, the father of our subject, 
 spent the days of his boyhood and youtii in that 
 county, and after . attaining to mature years he en- 
 tered the work of the ministrv, being ordained a 
 minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
 New York. In 1842 he emigrated Westward with 
 his family to Illinois and joined the Rock River 
 Conference. He was one of the pioneer preachers 
 of this State and traveled a six weeks' circuit, and 
 becoming widely known, was one of the highly- 
 respected citizens of the community where lie 
 made his home. He continued as a preacher of the 
 Gospel until his death, wiiicii occurred in 1852. 
 When he came to Illinois Mr. Munger located in 
 Roscoe, Winnebago Count}', but after a year re- 
 moved to Belvidere, where he spent the two succeed- 
 ing years of his life. He then located in Kendall 
 Count}', upon a farm near the present town of 
 Piano, after which he removed to the southern 
 part of the county and located his family on a 
 farm. There he left them while he traveled his 
 circuit. The mother of our subject died in 1844, 
 after which Rev. Mr. Munger was again mar- 
 ried. His second wife still survives him. Our 
 subject was the third in order of birth in a family 
 of three sons and two daughters, of whom two 
 sons and one daughter are yet living. He also 
 had two half-brothers and two half-sisters, but the 
 latter are now deceased. 
 
 Reuben C. Munger was brought to Illinois by 
 his parents when a lad of six summers, and in 
 Kendall County he grew to manhood. His educa- 
 tional privileges were quite limited, being those 
 afforded by the common schools. After the age of 
 sixteen years he lived with an older brother, John 
 W. Munger, who afterward went to California, but 
 the vessel in which he returned, the "Central Amer- 
 ica," was lost at sea on the 12th of September, 
 1857. Reuben remained with his brother until he 
 had arrived at years of maturity. He began life for 
 himself as a farm hand, in which capacity he was 
 employed for a few years, when he began farming 
 
 for himself. He bought teams and rented land 
 until he had accjuired sufficient capital to make a 
 purchase, when he became the owner of a farm in 
 Kendall County. There he carried on agricultural 
 pursuits until 1869, when he sold out and removed 
 to Iroquois County, purchasing a farm in Milk's 
 Grove Township, an improved place, a part of 
 which he owns at this writing. This place is lo- 
 cated eight miles west of Chebanse, and is a valu- ■ 
 able and highly improved farm. Our subject was 
 a prosperous farmer, and successfully carried on 
 his chosen occupation in Iro'quois County for 
 twenty-three years. He owned two hundred and 
 fifty acres, and in connection with this operated 
 other lands amounting to almost a section. 
 
 On the 30th of December, 1858, in Kendall 
 County, Mr. Munger was united in marriage 
 with Miss Lydia A. Jacobs, a native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, who was born March 22, 1837. In her na- 
 tive county. Perry, the days of her girlhood were 
 passed, and with some .acquaintances she came to the 
 West. Her parents, William and Elizabeth (Zieg- 
 ler) Jacobs, were both natives of the Keystone 
 State, and were of German descent. Mr. and Mrs. 
 IMunger have two children, AVilliam Wesley and 
 Catherine A. The former is a farmer residing 
 upon the old homestead in Iroquois Count}-, and 
 the latter is the wife of II. P. Easton, whose sketch 
 appears elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 Mr. Munger cast his first Presidential vote for 
 Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and has since voted for 
 each candidate of the Roi)ublican party. He is a 
 stanch advocate of that party, and takes an active 
 interest in its growth and success, having served 
 as delegate to both district and county conven- 
 tions. He had the honor of being elected the fli'St 
 Supervisor of Milk's Grove Township, in which 
 position he served for two terms. He also served 
 as Commissioner of Highways, and afterward was 
 again elected Supervisor. He has always been a 
 stanch supporter of public schools, and for twenty- 
 two years faithfully served as School Trustee. 
 The cause of education found in him a warm 
 friend, and he did much for its interests in this 
 community. Socially, he is a member of Lodge 
 No. 79, R. A. M., of Kankakee, and of Chebanse 
 Lodge No. 429, A. F. ii A. M. Himself and wife
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 663 
 
 are active meinbers of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church and are earnest workers in tlie Master's 
 vineyard. 
 
 In the spring of 1892 Mr. Manger left his farm 
 and removed to the village of llerscher, where he 
 bought lots and erected a line large residence 
 which is now his home, lie is a man of superior 
 business ability, and tiie enterprise and industry 
 which have characterized his life have won for 
 him a handsome competence. He is now living 
 retired, resting in the enjoyment of the fruits of 
 ills former toil. Nearly his entire life has been 
 spent in this locality, and he is widely known 
 throughout Iroquois, Ford, Kendall and Kankakee 
 Counties as a man of sterling worth and upright 
 character. He certainly deserves representation 
 in the history of his adopted count}'. 
 
 » »'- »»»>^ i 
 
 lEORGE A. SEARLS has been for twenty- 
 II (=, two years a resident of Ganier Township, 
 where lie carries on general farming, his 
 pi()))erty being situated on sections 10 and 15. 
 lie was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on tlie 26tii of 
 January, 1842, and is a son of Albert G. Searls, a 
 native of the Empire State and of English descent. 
 The mother of our subject bore in her maidenhood 
 tlie name of Jane C. Carv, and by her marriage 
 became the mother of four children, of whom our 
 subject is the onlv survivor and the second in 
 order of birth. Martha J., the eldest of the fam- 
 ily, died October 12, 1864; Jennie died on the 7th 
 of March, 1872; Franklin died in infancy. The 
 fatlier, «ho was a carpenter by trade, carried ou a 
 large machine shop in Cleveland, Ohio, but the 
 panic of 1857 ruined him financially. He was 
 called to his final rest on the 2(jth of Jul}-, 1877. 
 Ills wife survived liim many years and [lassedaway 
 in 1891. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 ])assed in Forest City, the place of iiis birth. His 
 educational i)rivileges were good, as the public 
 schools of tliat city have been justly celebrated for 
 half a century. When seventeen years of age, Mr, 
 
 Searls embarked in business for himself. Going 
 to New York Citj- about 1857, he joined the navy 
 on the Paiaguay expedition and was in the naval 
 service about a year. This trip stimulated his love 
 of adventure and travel and he embarked on a 
 vessel bound for China, being gone over two 
 3'ears. He followed the life of a sailor until the 
 year 1863 and at that time returned to ids native 
 city on a visit to his friends and relatives. From 
 there he went to Buffalo, where for over two j-ears 
 he engaged in roofing with corrugated iron. In 
 1870, Mr. Searls came to Kankakee County and 
 became the owner of one hundred and si.\t\' acres 
 of land in Ganier Township, situated on sections 
 10 and 15. On tJiis farm he has lived ever since, 
 and has proved a successful agriculturist. 
 
 On the 8th of November, 1865, Mr. Searls was 
 united in marriage with Miss Elizalteth Henry, 
 daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Anderson) 
 Henry. Four children have been boin of this 
 union. Edward C, who was educated at Racine 
 College, is a salesman for a wholesale house of 
 Chicago, but is preparing for the legal profession; 
 Martha J., wife of John Fedde, resides in Mo- 
 mence; Frances E., a twin sister of Martha J., died 
 in infancy; the youngest of the family, Moses A., 
 lives at home with his parents and assists his father 
 in the care of the faim. 
 
 Mr. Searls is a good citizen of this community 
 and has served as School Director for fifteen years, 
 the cause of education finding in him a true friend. 
 Socially he is a member of the Masonic order, be- 
 longing to Momence Lodge No. 481, and in relig- 
 ious faith all the family hold membership with the 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 .^ 
 
 ] 'OIIN NICHOLS is the owner of a fine farm 
 and one of the most beautiful country homes 
 in Kankakee Count}'. It is pleasantly sit- 
 uated on section 8, Momence Township, 
 about two miles from die city of JNIomence. Within 
 the boundaries of his farm are comprised one hun- 
 dred and fift^-six acres of arable land, which
 
 664 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his untiring labor has placed under a high state of 
 cultivation. The fields are well tilled, and give 
 evidence of the thiift and enterprise of tlie owner. 
 He has also made many improvements upon his 
 land, which stand as monuments to his progress- 
 ive spirit. The place is complete in all its ap- 
 pointments, and altogether it is one of the county's 
 fine farms. 
 
 The owner of this desirable place claims Indiana 
 as the State of his nativity. He was born near 
 Terre Haute, January 1, 1831, and is a son of Will- 
 iam and JIaria ((lundy) Nichols, a sketch of 
 whom appears on another page of this volume. 
 His parents had a large family, numbering twelve 
 children, including seven sons and five daughters, 
 of whom John is the tenth in order of birth. They 
 emigrated Westward in an earl\' day, and are num- 
 bered among the first settlers of Kankakee Count}-. 
 Our subject was only a lad of six summers at the 
 time of his parents' removal from Indiana to Illi- 
 nois. The public schools of the neighborhood 
 furnished him his educational privileges, but his 
 advantages in that direction or in any other were 
 not very extensive. His training at farm labor 
 was not meagre, for as soon as he could handle the 
 plow he began work in the fields, and aided in the 
 arduous task of developing a new farm. With 
 the family he shared in all the experiences and 
 hardships of pioneer life, for he came here when 
 this part of Kankakee County belonged to Will 
 County. Under the parental roof he remained un- 
 til he had attained his majority, when he bade 
 good-bye to his home and started out in life for 
 himself. Purchasing eighty acres of land in Yel- 
 lowhead Township, he began the development and 
 improvement of the same, continuing its cultiva- 
 tion for a term of three years. At the expiration 
 of that period he sold out and rented land in Mo- 
 mence Township, where for a time he engaged in 
 farming, and also dealt qfuite extensively in cattle. 
 
 On the 14th of February, 18.52, Mr. Nichols mar- 
 ried Miss Sarah Jane Marshall. The lady was 
 then a resident of Momence, but was a native of 
 Ohio, born April 25, 1835. By their union they 
 became the parents of four children, the eldest of 
 whom, James L., married Miss Estella Libhart, a 
 resident of Del Rey, 111., anc] is now a prominent 
 
 farmer of Newton County, Ind. Ella Jane, the 
 second child, died when onl}' three 3'ears of age. 
 Martha A. is at home. Florence A. died in in- 
 fancJ^ The mother of this family was called to 
 her final rest on the 10th of Ma}-, 1861, and some 
 years later Mr. Nichols was again married, his sec- 
 ond union being with Miss Malinda McKenney, 
 their wedding being celebrated January 26, 1867. 
 The lady is a native of Indiana, born in La Fay- 
 ette, April 2, 1846, and is a daughter of James and 
 Melinda (llentron) McKenney. Her father was a 
 native of Ireland, and when a small boy he left 
 the Emerald Isle and crossed the briny deep to the 
 United States. He followed farming as his life 
 work. His wife was born in Lexington, Ky., and 
 her family was of English extraction. 
 
 In August, 1862, Mr. Nichols entered the ser- 
 vice of his country. Prompted b^' patriotic im- 
 pulses, he responded to the President's call for 
 volunteers, and joined the boys in blue of the Sev- 
 enty-sixth Regiment of Illinois Infantry. He was 
 assigned to Companj- H, in which he served for a 
 period of three j-ears, during which time he par- 
 ticipated in a number of important battles and 
 skirmishes. He took part in the hotly contested 
 siege of Vicksburg, and was present at the sur- 
 render of that city on the 4th of July, 1863. He 
 took part in the battle of Champion Hills, Miss., 
 in February, 1864; the engagement at Benton, 
 Miss., in the following Ma}'; the battle of Jackson 
 Cross Roads, Miss., July 7, 1864; the skirmish at 
 Clinton, La., in August, 1864; and the siege and 
 capture of Ft. Blakely, Ala., in April, 1865. Mr. 
 Nichols was in active service for three years. He 
 was very fortunate, in that he escaped all injuiy, 
 nor was he ever taken prisoner. On the contrary, 
 he was always found at his post, faithfully dis- 
 charging every duty devolving upon him, and as 
 a valiant soldier, ably defending the old flag which 
 now Boats so proudl}' over the united Nation. 
 AVhen the war was over and the country no longer 
 needed his services he was honorably discharged 
 and returned to his home. 
 
 Mr. Nichols at once resumed the occupation of 
 farming, which he has since followed with excel- 
 lent success. He is not only regarded as one of 
 the progressive, but is also one of the substantial
 
 tOilTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 665 
 
 farmers of Momence Townsliip. In liis political af- 
 filiations he is a Republican, and althouijh lie has 
 never been an active politician, he served his town- 
 ship as Supervisor for two terms, during which his 
 duties were promptly and faithfully performed. 
 Socially, he is a member of Worcester Post No. 627, 
 G. A. R., of Momence. Public-spirited and pro- 
 gressive, he is a valued citizen who takes an ac- 
 tive interest in all that pertains to the welfare of 
 the community and its upbuilding. He contrib- 
 utes to the support of chmches, and to charitable 
 and benevolent works. His own honorable, up- 
 right life has won him high regard, and himself 
 and family hold an enviable position in social cir- 
 cles. 
 
 
 ilf^ILBERN CLAPSADDLE, who resides on 
 SIX section 28, Ganier Township, where he has 
 
 ii\ W made his home for the long period of 
 '^^ nearly a quarter of a century, claims New 
 York as the State of his nativity. He was born 
 on the 7th of September, 1832, and is a son of 
 Jacob Chipsaddle. His father was also a native of 
 New York and was of German descent. His 
 mother bore the maiden name of Sallie Terpening. 
 They became the parents of a family of eight 
 children, who in order of birth were as follows: 
 KillK'rn, of this sketch; Jerome; Ilaniet, who died 
 in 1880; Sophia; Jacob P.; George; Mary; and 
 Elva. The father of that family was a farmer by 
 occupation and has followed that profession 
 throughout his entire life. He cleared two heav- 
 ily timbered farms in his native State and after- 
 ward left the East, emigrating to Illinois. This 
 was in 1845. He located in Du Page County, 
 where lie purchased a tract of land from the CJov- 
 crnment. His labor and cultivation transformed 
 it into a good farm, upon which he continued to 
 make his home until 1882. In that year lie re- 
 moved to O'Biien County, Iowa, where he is still 
 living, at the ripe old age of eighty-four years. 
 In politics, he is a supporter of the Republican 
 part}-, and religiously is a member of the Congre- 
 
 gational Church. His wife, who yet survives at 
 the age of sevent^'-eight years, is a member of the 
 same church. 
 
 We now take up the personal history- of our sub- 
 ject, who throughout his entire life has been con- 
 nected with agricultural pursuits. He was born 
 and reared upon his father's farm and was early 
 inured to the labors connected with its cultivation. 
 He is mostly self-educated, his school privileges 
 having been limited to a short attendance at the 
 district schools. He was about twelve years of age 
 wheathe family emigrated to Illinois. Under the 
 parental roof he remained, aiding his father in the 
 labors of the home farm, until attaining his major- 
 it}-, when he started out in life for himself. He 
 began working by the day and labored at any oc- 
 cupation which would bring him in an honest dol- 
 lar. He has received as low wages as fifty cents 
 per day and worked as hard as one would now for 
 .$2. He rented land for about eight years and then 
 engaged in farming for himself. 
 
 On the expiration of that period, in 1853, he 
 removed to Iowa, taking up his residence in Jones 
 County, where he spent the succeeding seven j-ears 
 of his life. He then returned to Du Page County, 
 111., where he engaged in farming for a year, after 
 which he removed to AVill County, locating near 
 the town of Beecher. In that count}- he purchased 
 a farm of eighty acres and engaged in its care and 
 cultivation until 1868, when he came to Kankakee 
 County, where he has since resided. He immedi- 
 ately purchased one hundred and eight acres of 
 land on section 28, Ganier Township, and has here 
 since made his home. He now carries on general 
 farming and stock-raising and in his business un- 
 dertakings meets with good success. He has ex- 
 tended the boundaries of his farm until it now 
 comprises one hundred and eighty acres of well- 
 improved and valuable la,nd. 
 
 An important event in the life of Mr. Clap- 
 saddle occurred January 27, 1853, when was cele- 
 brated Ins marriage with Miss Harriet A. Morton, 
 who was born in Du Page County, November 19, 
 1834, in which year her parents, Luther and Rhoda 
 (Boynton) Morton, emigrated from Cortland, N. Y. 
 I5y this union were born three children: Andrew, 
 who is now engaged in farming in Iowa; Plumer,
 
 666 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a resident faimei- of this county; and Rosetta, tlie 
 only daughter, who died in October, 1861. 
 
 Mr. Clapsaddle is a progressive and public- 
 spirited citizen, who gives his support to all enter- 
 prises calculated to prove of public benefit or for 
 the promotion of the general welfare. The cause 
 of temperance finds in him a warm friend, and his 
 views on that subject find expression at the liallot 
 box in voting for the Prohibition party. He has 
 never been a politician in the sense of oflice-seeking, 
 but has served his fellow-townsmen as School 
 Trustee and School Director. Our subject began 
 life empty-handed and his success represents his 
 own hard labor, enterprise and industry, combined 
 with the assistance of liis estimable wife. His 
 prosperity is certainly well deserved. Mrs. Clap- 
 saddle is a member of the Baptist Church. 
 
 ^'^I@^g|^ 
 
 IRAM BAILEY, now retired, has been for 
 |i years one of the representative business 
 men of Kankakee and is numbered among 
 the worth}- pioneers of this county. His 
 birth occurred in Delaware County, N. Y., on the 
 23d of November, 1825. His paternal grandfather, 
 David Bailey, removed from Connecticut to Scho- 
 harie County, N. Y., when his son, Alfred, the 
 father of our subject, was but an infant. His an- 
 cestors were among the first members of the Massa- 
 chusetts Colony. Alfred Bailey was reared to 
 manhood in the Empire State, and on arriving at 
 maturit}^ married Betsy Reynolds, a native of the 
 same State. Soon after his marriage he removed 
 to Delaware County, which was then an almost un- 
 broken wilderness. In 18.37 he sold his farm, and 
 returning to Schoharie County, there died in 1813. 
 He was a farmer by occupation, and was about 
 fifty years of age at the time of his death. His 
 wife survived him for many years, passing away 
 at the advanced age of eight3--two years. 
 
 Their family consisted of six sons and two 
 daughters, and it is a remarkable fact that though 
 their ages range between fifty and seventy years, 
 the circle is still unbroken. Charles, the eldest of 
 
 the family, was born in 1820, and resides on the 
 old homestead in Schoharie Counts; Elisha lives 
 in Florida; the subject of this sketch is next in 
 order of birth; Nelson is also a resident of Florida; 
 JIaria became the wife of Calvin Kniskern, and 
 makes her home in New York; IJachel, now Mrs. 
 Nicholas Kniskern, resides in the same State; Isaac 
 makes his home in Evanston, III.; and Alfred, the 
 youngest of the family, was born in 1843, and now 
 lives in Florida. 
 
 Hiram Bailey received a thorough academic ed- 
 ucation in his youth. After leaving school he en- 
 gaged as a clerk for a period of five years, for a 
 portion of that time being employed in the city 
 of Albany. In 18-i;», Mr. Bailey himself em- 
 barked in merchandising in that city. He came 
 to Kankakee in 18.5o, but again returned to New 
 York, where he sold out his business. The spring of 
 the following year saw Mr. Bailey permanently 
 settled in Kankakee. He engaged in business in 
 this citj', but in 1863 established a lumber yard in 
 Chicago. From that business he retired in 1866, 
 and in the following year, his health having he- 
 come somewhat impaired, he resolved to make a 
 tour through Europe, and accordingly accompanied 
 by liis wife crossed the Atlantic, visited the Paris 
 Exposition and returned with restored health. In 
 February of the following year, Mr. Bailey pur- 
 chased an interest in the linseed oil mills of Kan- 
 kakee. Three years later he became their sole pro- 
 prietor and operated tlie mills alone for about a 
 year. In 1872 he took into partnership with him 
 John R. McKinney. The latter died in 1876, and 
 in his place Thomas G. McCullough became the 
 partner of our subject. They continued in busi- 
 ness together until 1884, when the mills were 
 closed and Mr. Bailey practically retired from 
 business. 
 
 Our subject was married to Miss Olivia M 
 Chapman, a native of Otsego, N. Y., their wed- 
 ding being celebrated in Albanj', of the same State, 
 in the j'ear 1850. Three children graced their 
 union. Carlton II. died in 1866, in his fourth 
 year; Leslie jiassed away at the age of seven 
 months, in April, 1872; and Bird O., the only sur- 
 viving child and only daughter, was born in 1870. 
 She is a graduate of the famous Ogontz School, 
 
 J
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 667 
 
 near Philadelphia. On the 4tli of January, 1876, Mr. 
 Bailey was called upon to mourn the death of his 
 wife. On tlic 24th of October, 1876, he married 
 Miss Elizahelli B. Leavitt. 
 
 Mr. Bailey owns an elegant home in Kankakee, 
 where witli his family he spends the summers. 
 They also have a beautiful home and orange grove 
 in Florida, where since 187 1 the^^ have p.assed a 
 portion of each year. As has been previously 
 stated, several of our subject's brothers have been 
 for many years residents of San Mateo, in the land 
 of flowers, one of the most beautiful locations in 
 sunny and lovely Florida, and there is situated 
 the home of our subject. Mr. Bailey has ever 
 been one of the progressive and enterprising citi- 
 zens of Kankakee, in whose development and 
 growth he has taken an active and interested 
 part. Politically, he has been a Ke[)ublican since 
 the organization of the part}', but has never sought 
 oflioial recognition in any form. 
 
 ■^ FOSTER SCILMELTZER, who is a well-to- 
 do farmer residing on section 8, Manteno 
 Township, was born in Elk County, Pa., 
 twelve miles from Ridgeway, the county 
 seat, June 11, 1847. His parents were Jacob and 
 Louisa F. (Brockway) Schnieltzer. His paternal 
 grandfather, whose Christian name was Conrad, 
 was a native of Germany and very soon after his 
 marriage emigrated to America. He located in 
 Berks County, Pa., where he worked at his trade 
 of making wagon tires, all of which work was then 
 done by the use of a hammer. He reared a family 
 of four children, and died in Pennsylvania when 
 in his eighty-seventh jear. The maternal grand- 
 father of our subject, Cliauncey Brockwa}', was a 
 native of the Empire State, and on arriving at 
 manhood removed to Penns3lvania, where he was 
 a lumberman for manj- 3'ears. In 1854, he settled 
 on a farm of two hundred .acres in Manteno Town- 
 sliip, two and a-half miles northwest of the village. 
 He w.as quite a prominent man in Elk County, Pa., 
 
 where for many years he was County Commis- 
 sioner. For five years after his arrival in Illinois, 
 he followed his former occupation of lumbering, 
 and then settled down to farm duties. He fought 
 in the War of 1812 on the American side. He de- 
 parted this life December 16, 1886, when he had 
 reached the extreme old age of ninety-three years 
 and twelve days. 
 
 Jacob Schmeltzer was born in Berks County, Pa., 
 and, like his father, was a lumberman by occupa- 
 tion. In 1850, he removed to Muscatine, Iowa, 
 near which city he engaged in farming for sixteen 
 years. Coming to Illinois, he settled on section 8, 
 Manteno Township, afterward buying eighty acres 
 adjoining on the north. The last three years of 
 his life he lived in the home of his son Foster. 
 His death occurred in 1881, he being then in his 
 eightieth year. While in Pennsylvania he was 
 elected Sheriff of Elk County, and also held man}' 
 other offices of honor and trust during his lifetime. 
 He was twice married, his first wife being Miss 
 Esther Oyster. They were married December 3, 
 1825. To them were born the following children: 
 Wilhelmina; Eliza, who died aged thirty-rtwo, 
 leaving a familj'; Caroline; Conrad, who belonged 
 to Company B, Thirty-fifth Iowa Infantry, serving 
 for three j-ears during the late war; Daniel; Cath- 
 erine Ann; .fohn; George, who also served during 
 the late war and was a prisoner some eight months 
 in Danville,'Va.; and Salinda. The mother of these 
 children died May 25, 1844, during an epidemic of 
 erj'sipelas which r.aged in tlie neighborhood. The 
 second union of Mr. Schmeltzer was celebrated on 
 the 20th of August, 1846, when iSIiss Louisa F. 
 Brockway, the mother of our subject, became his 
 wife. Six children were born to them, of whom 
 only Foster is living. Those deceased are Jona- 
 than M., Esther .Tane, Anna, Charles Norman and 
 Willis. The mother still survives, being seventy- 
 five years of age, and makes her home with her 
 son Foster. 
 
 Our subject was reared on a farm and his edu- 
 cation was received in the district schools of Mus- 
 catine County, Iowa. He afterward attended the 
 Industrial University at Champaign, III. On the 
 nth of January, 1871, he married Miss L. Au- 
 gusta El3ea, daughter of Humphrey and Sarah
 
 668 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (Williams) Elyea, of Manteno Townsliip. By their 
 union were born four children: Sarah Louisa, who 
 died in infancy; Jonathan Lewis; Jacob Merton, 
 and Mary Esther. Tlieir mother died October 28, 
 1883. Mr. Schmeltzer and Miss Anna Van Ncste 
 were married April 20, 1886. The lady is a 
 daughter of George H. and Emily (Shottenkirk) 
 Van Neste, who were natives of Gloversville, 
 N. y., and were of German and Dutch descent. 
 A son and daughter grace this second union, Paul 
 Foster and Emily Louisa. 
 
 Mr. Schmeltzer lives on the old homestead 
 known as the Brockway place and has been a resi- 
 dent of Manteno Township for twenty-six years. 
 He is successful as an agriculturist and carries on 
 a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, all of 
 wjiich, with the exception of eighty acres on sec- 
 tion 7, is located on section 8. This is all under 
 cultivation and is one of the best farms of the 
 townsliip. Our sul^ject is at present Supervisor, 
 in which office he is now serving his sixth year. 
 He has also held the office of llighwaj' Commis- 
 sioner for twelve j'ears, and to him is due much 
 of the credit for the good roads leading to Man- 
 teno. He has ever shown a progressive spirit and 
 warmly snpporl^ all inililic improvements. Polit- 
 ically, he is a Rei«iblican, having cast his first 
 Presidential ballot for Ulysses S. Grant. He thor- 
 oughly understands surveying in all branches and 
 levels much of the land for the tile drains in his 
 neighborhood. Mrs. Schmeltzer is a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 _^] 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 [S_ 
 
 ENRY N. PpyrERS was one of the earliest 
 settlers of ]\Ianteno, to which he came in 
 1856. He was a native of Vermont, his 
 (j^ birth having occurred in Ryegate Town- 
 ship, Caledonia Count}', on the 18th of July, 1829, 
 and was a son of Samuel and Margaret Peters. (See 
 the sketch of Milo R. Peters for a history of his 
 ancestors.) 
 
 Henry Peters passed his early years in the usual 
 manner of farmer boys, and attended the neigh- 
 
 boring schools. He remained with his parents un- 
 til coming of age, and on the 4tli of January', 1854, 
 was married to Miss Charlotte E. Davis. Her 
 father, Joseph Davis, was born at Falmouth, Mass., 
 on the 25th of Februar}', 1799, and lived on a 
 small farm in New Hampsiiire, where his death oc- 
 curred November 19, 1861. His father, Joseph 
 Davis, owned extensive salt works at Falmouth, 
 which required his entire attention for many j'ears. 
 Mrs. Peters' mother bore the maiden name of Pris- 
 cilla Merrill, and was born in Lyman, N. H., July 
 19,1802. She was a daughter of Annis Merrill, 
 who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and 
 who had many times had the privilege of seeing 
 Gens. Washington, La F'ayette and other noted men. 
 He followed the Occupation of a farmer, and died inl 
 Lyman when he had attained the advanced age of ] 
 ninety-six years. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Peters were born four children, 
 all sons, who are yet living. They are Fred H., j 
 whose birth occurred October 6, 1854; Charles J.,] 
 born on the 31st of May, 1861; Frank M., Novem- 
 ber 10, 1866; and Arthur N., on the 27th of Sep-] 
 tember, 1873. 
 
 In the spring of 1856, Mr. Peters came from] 
 Bath, N. H., to Illinois, settling in Manteno. On' 
 the 21st of September, 1801, he entered the list! 
 of the LTnion's defenders, becoming a member of, j 
 Company K, Fourth Illinois Cavalry, under Capt. 
 Philip Worcester. He was in the service for one] 
 3'ear, during which time he participated in the 
 battles of Ft. Donelson and Shiloh, besides a num- 
 ber of lesser engagements and skirmishes. He wasj 
 discharged on account of poor health, and returnedl 
 to Manteno under the care of his brother. Hislifel 
 was despaired of, but though man^' times givenj 
 up by the physicians, he lived and partially re- 
 covered his health. In 1863 he purchased a house! 
 and two and a-half acres of land in Manteno. Two! 
 years later he bought a farm of forty acres, located! 
 on section 16, which he sold in 1873, and soon af-i 
 forward bought eighty acres on section 15. Inl 
 March, 1882, he sold this property and purchased 
 a farm of one hinidred and sixtj' acres on section| 
 12, which he owned at the time of his death. 
 
 Mr. Peters was Constable for fourteen years, and 
 served for eight years as Deputy Sheriff. He was!
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NNIVFJSn Y OF ILLINOIS
 
 K 
 
 ^^^-iycyUL/c
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 671 
 
 <^ JRlLLIAM F. 
 \W Kankakee ( 
 
 a member of the Masonic fraternit_v, and both he 
 and his wife held meinbershi|) witli the Jlethodist 
 Episcopal Church, with which her people were early 
 associated. Mr. Peters departed this life June 
 30, 1892, in AVarrenville, III., where he had lived for 
 a period of four years. At the time of his death 
 he was in his sixt^'-thirdyear, and his wife still sur- 
 vives him. Three of their sons, Fred, Charlie and 
 Frank, the youngest not 3'et of age, are civil en- 
 gineers. In the time of war Mr. Peters was patri- 
 otic, zealous and faithful, and in the times of peace 
 was a loyal citizen. lie is justly numbered among 
 the worth}' and honored pioneers of this county, 
 and his memorj' is cherished by many friends. 
 
 il^.-i^|M 
 
 i)ILLIAM F. KENAGA, County Clerk and 
 Clerk of the County Court of 
 County, 111., was born in Salem 
 Township, Champaign County, Ohio, on the 6th of 
 December, 183G,aud is a son of Benjamin B. and 
 Minerva S. (Hitt) Kenaga. The father was born 
 in Lancaster County, Pa., in 1809, and died in 
 .Tanesville, Wis., in August, 1855. The mother was 
 a native of Kentucky, and died in Urbana, Cham- 
 paign County, Ohio, in the year 1842. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received a good com- 
 mon-school education, and in the spring of 1855 
 with his father's famil}' went to .Tanesville, Wis., 
 near which place he engaged in farming for a time. 
 Later he removed to Sextonville, Richland County, 
 in the same State, and in October, 1856, came to 
 this county and turned his attention to agricul- 
 tural pursuits on a farm near Kankakee. Subse- 
 quently he was employed in a drug store for a short 
 time, but soon, in compan}' with his brother Samuel, 
 engaged in the grain business. 
 
 On the 7th of Jul}-, 1862, Mr. Kenaga enlisted 
 as a member of Company I, Seventy-sixth Illi- 
 nois Infantry, under Capt. Walter Todd, and 
 was made Sergeant on leaving for the front. 
 In February, 1864, he was commissioned Second 
 Lieutenaut and participated in all the battles and 
 engagements in which his regiment took part, ex- 
 
 cept the siege of Vicksburg, up to the close of the 
 war, during which time it saw much hard service. 
 Tiie Sevcnt}' -sixth was mustered into the service of 
 the United States on the 22d of August, 1862, and 
 was at once assigned to active duty at Columbus, 
 K3'. About the 1st of November he was tiansferred 
 to La Grange, Tenn., and on the 28th of that month 
 joined Grant in his campaign in Mississippi against 
 the Confederates under .Tohnston. The regiment 
 was attached to the Fourth Division of the Thir- 
 teenth Army Corps, and took part in the engage- 
 ment at IIoll}' Springs and Watcrford,on the 2'Jth 
 and 30th of November. On the 11th of December 
 the}- succeeded in extricating themselves from the 
 thick mud near Waterford and began the march 
 Southward. When at Water Valley they learned 
 of the capture of Holly Springs by the rebel gen- 
 eral, A^an Dorn. The entire command was then 
 faced about and proceeded Northward. This was 
 at the time the President was negotiating with the 
 border States, hoping to have such States accept a 
 stipulated price for their slaves and withdraw their 
 support from the Confederacy, hence no foraging 
 was permitted and half and quarter rations were the 
 result. They returned and occupied Holly Springs 
 until .Taiiuary 10, 1863. They made various marches 
 through mud and storm and finally rested at La 
 Fayette until the 10th of March, when they pro- 
 ceeded to Memphis, and in April embarked upon 
 the Mississippi River. During the trip they sus- 
 tained a galling fire from rebel guns and lost a num- 
 ber in killed and wounded. Landing at Young's 
 Point the regiment marched to Chickasaw Bayou, 
 on the Yazoo River, where it was engaged in clos- 
 ing the line to the rear of Mcksburg. After the 
 charge it was placed on the left of the besieging 
 lines, and bravely held its place close under the 
 rebel guns until the surrender of the celebrated 
 stronghold on the 4th of July, 1863. On the day 
 following the Seventy-sixth joined Sherman in his 
 attack on Jackson, Miss., and took part in the 
 skirmish at Big Black River and the battle of 
 Champion Hills, and was engaged at Jackson on 
 the 12th and 16th of that month. On the 21st the 
 regiment returned to Vicksburg, where it was sta- 
 tioned until August 11, at which time it went into 
 camp at Natchez, remaining there until November
 
 672 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRATHICAL RECORD. 
 
 following. Returning to Vicksburg it was at Camp 
 Cowan, near the cit>', until February, 1864, when it 
 started with Gen. Sherman on his Meridian cam- 
 paign. About April .5, they encamped near Vicks- 
 burg, where the^' were on duty May I. They nest 
 joined the Yazoo expedition under the leadership of 
 Gen. McArtliur and took an active part in tlie bat- 
 tles of Benton, Vaughn Station and Deasonville 
 and drove the enemy from Yazoo City. On the 
 28th of .June, they once more set tiieir faces toward 
 Vicksburg and on the 1st of July, 1864, joined the 
 Jackson expedition under Gen. Slocum. Tlie^' 
 were engaged in battle on the 5th and 6th of Julj' 
 at a point between .Tackson and Clinton. The 
 Seventy-sixth Regiment lost heavily in that en- 
 gagement, one hundred and two men being killed 
 and wounded. At one time it was cut off from 
 the balance of the command but managed to make 
 its way back to the main body. The 9th of July 
 again saw the regiment in Vicksburg but they were 
 allowed only a brief respite from their labors. On 
 the 29th of that month the}' were sent toMorganza 
 and Port Hudson. Later they went up the Mis- 
 sissippi to White River and to Memphis, Tenn., 
 and returning October 28, took part in tiie battle. 
 They next took part in the battle of Duvall's Bluff, 
 Ark., on the 7th of November, and returned to 
 Memphis November 30. The}' started for New 
 Orleans on the 4th of .January, 1865, and on the 
 12th of February embarked on Gulf steamers for 
 F't. Barrancas. The transport encountered a ter- 
 rible storm on the Gulf of Mexico and barely 
 escaped shipwreck. Horses, mules and wagons 
 were thrown overboard during the gale and the 
 vessel as soon as possible i-eturned to New Orleans. 
 The regiment then set out by way of the Lake and 
 Gulf for Ft. Barrancas, near Pensacola, Fla., March 
 11. There it joined Gen. Steele's expedition, march- 
 ing through the quicksands and pines via Pollard, 
 Ala., against Spanish P^ort and Ft. Blakely, near 
 Mobile. The Seventy-sixth Regiment distinguished 
 itself in the siege, storming and capture of those 
 forts. The former surrendered on the 8th of April, 
 and the latter on April 9, 1865, which also was the 
 date of Lee's surrender at Appomattox and the 
 end of the war. On that eventful da}' Mr. Kenaga, 
 who up to that time had escaped aaj' serious in- 
 
 jur}-, was during his command of Company K se- 
 verely wounded, while making an assault on Ft. 
 Blakel}'. He was shot in both legs, in the right 
 below the knee and in the left near the ankle. 
 The latter wound made necessary three amputa- 
 tions, the first being made above the knee on May 
 2. He returned home and received his discharge 
 from the service on the 15th of May. A 3'ear later, 
 thecondition of the amputated limb being unfavor- 
 able, it was decided that a second amputation was 
 necessary. After the lapse of eighteen months the 
 limb was the third time amputated, the last being 
 near the body. For six weeks after the first operation 
 Mr. Kenaga remained unconscious and from May 
 until the latter part of August was not able to sit up. 
 His sufferings were severe in the extreme, and his 
 general health was sadly wrecked. From the be- 
 ginning until the close of his service, our subject 
 took part actively with his regiment in all battles 
 and skirmishes, with the exception of tiie siege of 
 Vicksburg, at which time he was detailed in charge 
 of a railroad station at La Fayette, Tenn. 
 
 In the fall of 18G5, while still an invalid, Mr. 
 Kenaga was elected on the Republican ticket to the 
 office he now fills, and entered upon the discharge 
 of his duties on the 1st of December of that year. 
 He has been re-elected several times and with the 
 exception of four years, from 1874 until 1878, has 
 held the office continuously. His present term will 
 expire December 1, 1894, and if he serves until its 
 close he will have filled that office for a period of 
 twenty-five years. 
 
 On the 5th of November, 1866, Mr. Kenaga 
 married Miss Annie Sinclair, in York, Liv- 
 ingston County, N. Y. The lad}' was boi'n in 
 that city and was a daughter of John and Margaret ' 
 Sinclair. She died May 16, 1879, leaving three, 
 children, two sous and a daughter: William C.,j 
 Ivatharine J. and Arthur S. On the 26th of October,] 
 1882, our subject was married in Kankakee to Miss I 
 Nettie M. Sinclair, who was born in I'ork, Living- 
 ston County, N. Y., and to them have been born ' 
 two children: Mary Louise and Annie Margaret. 
 
 The Republican party has found in our subject j 
 an earnest supporter. He assisted in Ihe organi- ] 
 zation of that party in the West and lias supported 
 it ever since its existence. Socially, he is a mem-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 673 
 
 ber of Kankakee Lodge No. 389, A. F. «fe A. M., and 
 of the Royal Areaniini, jModern "Woodmen, and of 
 Wliiltple Post No. 414, G. A. R. lie was in 18112 
 clec'U'd .Senior A'ice-Commander of the Department 
 of the Illinois G. A. R. Mr. and Mrs. Kenaga are 
 consistent members of the Presb3'terian Church. If 
 long continuance in .in office of honor is any criter- 
 ion as to the esteem and confidence felt in a public 
 servant, the subject of this sketch has reason to feel 
 that his efforts to discharge his duties with zeal 
 and lidelity have been warmly appreciated. In all 
 these long years he has demonstrated his capability 
 and trustworthiness and the people whom he has 
 so faithfully served have well-grounded faith in 
 his competency and Integrity. He is genial and 
 courteous to all and has an especially warm corner 
 in his heart for those who wore the blue in the late 
 unpleasantness, and to them he is always ready to 
 do a kindness. 
 
 HARMON .SCRAMLIN is a retired farmer 
 and hardware merchant who makes his 
 l^ home in Momeuce. He was born in Charles- 
 ton, Kalamazoo County, Mich., on the lltliof 
 May, 1841, and is a son of Henry and Mary (.Jud- 
 son) Scraralin, both natives of New York. The 
 father after residing in Michigan for a number of 
 years emigrated to Illinois in 18.50, and was a 
 farmer bj* occupation. His family consisted of 
 twelve children, seven sons and live daughtere. 
 (See the .sketch of one of the sons, J. II. .Scramlin, 
 on another page of this work.) 
 
 Gur subject was reared on a tarm and received 
 the most of his schooling in Momence Township, 
 this county. He remained at home until 1860. 
 In August, 1861, his twin brother, Harmon, en- 
 listed as a member of Company D, Forty-second 
 Illinois Infantry. He was a prisoner for fourteen 
 months, two months of which were passed at Belle 
 Isle, two months in Libby, and the remainder of 
 the time in Andersonville prison. In the battle 
 of Stone River he was seriousl3' wounded, being 
 
 shot in the head. In June, 1862, Farmon also en- 
 tered the arm^s enlisting in Company H, Seventy- 
 sixth Illinois Infanti-y. AVith his regiment he 
 l)articipated in a number of battles and engage- 
 ments. He was in the siege of Vicksburg, which 
 lasted for fort^'-seven days, and took part in the 
 battles of Jackson, Champion Hills and others. 
 On the 9th of April, 186.5, while charging Ft. 
 Blakely, he was wounded in the right arm. After 
 remaining in active service for about three years 
 he was honorably discharged. When peace was 
 restored, Mr. Scramlin returned to IMomence, where 
 he obtained employment as a clerk in the hard- 
 ware store of W. II. Patterson. He also learned 
 the tinsmith's trade, remaining in one pLice for a 
 number of years. In 1871, he formed a partner- 
 ship with AVilliam Astle, and together they car- 
 ried on the hardware business. Later, the partner- 
 ship was dissolved and Mr. .Scramlin engaged in 
 the same line in Grant Park for seven years, after 
 which he sold out, and for two years traveled on 
 the road for J. F. Temple & Sons, selling pumps. 
 He then purchased his father's farm of one hun- 
 dred and twenty acres, situated three miles north- 
 west of Momence, and turned his attention to ag- 
 ricultural pursuits for the following seven years, 
 in this time adding forty acres to the original 
 property and raising considerable stock, including 
 horses, cattle and hogs. ^On account of poor health 
 he retired from active business in 1888 and re- 
 moved to Momence, which is still his home. 
 
 Mr. Scramlin and Miss Mar3' Lamport were 
 united in marri.age on the 3d of October, 1872. 
 She is a daughter of Benjamin and Mar3' Lam- 
 port, and bj^ her marriage has become the mother 
 of one child, a daughter, Lura M. Mrs. Scramlin 
 is a native of Momence Township, born February 
 4, 1849, and has resided here all her life. 
 
 For many years our subject has been a Mason, 
 and was one of the charter members of the Grant 
 Park Lodge. He is also a member of Worcester 
 Post No. 627, G. A. R., of which he is Quarter- 
 master. For some time he has held the office of 
 Commissioner of Highw.ays and that of School 
 Director. He cast his first Presidential vote for 
 Abraham Lincoln, and h.as alwa^'S been a stanch 
 Republican. AVhen Mr. Scramlin came to Mo-
 
 674 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 meiice there were perhaps not more than two hun- 
 dred inhabitants, and he has since seen it develop 
 to its present population of two thousand. He 
 located here before the Illinois Central Railroad 
 was built, and even after its construction otten 
 hauled grain to Manleno. He was early inured to 
 hard work and owes his present possessions to his 
 habits of industry- and.economJ^ He still owns 
 his farm property, which consists of one hundred 
 and sixty acres on sections 2 and 11, Momence 
 Township, and also iiis pleasant residence in the 
 city. His father sat on the first petit jury in the 
 county, being the first panel of jurors after Kan- 
 kakee County was organized. 
 
 P'.NRY J. BEEDY owns and operates a 
 Iff )|; farm on section 17, and is an extensive 
 stock-raiser and dealer in live-stock. He 
 was born in St. Lawrence Count3', N. Y., 
 on the 23d of March, 1840, and is a son of Daniel 
 and Sarah (.Johnson) Beedy. His paternal grand- 
 father was a farmer of New Hampshire, in which 
 State his birth occurred. He lived to a good old 
 age and died in Vermont. Joshua Johnson, the 
 maternal grandfather, followed the seas for many 
 years, but afterward became a farmer of Ver- 
 mont. 
 
 Daniel Beedy was a native of New Hampshire, 
 and was of Irish descent. When quite young he 
 went to the Green Mountain State, where he was 
 afterward married. For some years he engaged 
 in teaming and contracting. Later he removed to 
 New York, where he lived for a number of years, 
 after which, going to Canada, he remained in 
 that country for five years. In the fall of 1849 
 he came to Illinois, locating near Lockport, in 
 Homer Township, where he purchased land, which 
 he cultivated for a year and a-half. His family 
 came from Canada in the spring of 1850 to this 
 State, and in the following year he made a settle- 
 ment on Rock Creek, on the old Kellogg farm, in 
 Rockville Township, this county. This farm com- 
 prised two hundred acres, and this he rented for 
 
 three years. The Illinois Central Railroad was 
 built through here in 1853, and, desiring to get 
 nearer the same, he purchased one hundred and 
 sixty acres in Manteno Township, on section 17, 
 on which he constructed a house, which is be- 
 lieved to have been the frame for the first school- 
 house ever erected in Rockville Township. This 
 building he purchased and removed to his farm, 
 adding to it other rooms until he had a comfort- 
 able home, in which he lived until 1877, when he 
 died, being then seventy-eight years of age. For 
 nine years he held the office of Justice of the 
 Peace, was School Trustee and the first Super- 
 visor of Manteno Township. He was one of the 
 earliest settlers to organize the county, and served 
 as Postmaster of Manteno under Buchanan's ad- 
 ministration. Five sons and five daughters were 
 born to Daniel and Sarah Beedy, all of \vhoin were 
 married and had children of their own before the 
 death of their parents. They are as follows: Pe- 
 ninah J., Mercy Ann, Austin D., Langdon J., 
 Sarah L., Wesley C, Nathan S., Aurelia M., Henry 
 J. and Fannie E. 
 
 Henry .1. Beedy, our subject, was the youngest 
 boy in his father's family, and remained at home 
 until reaeiiing mature years. He received his edu- 
 cation in the district schools. AVhen he was about 
 twenty years of age his father assisted him to 
 make a start in business life, but until the death 
 of the latter he continued to superintend the old 
 homestead. On the 18th of October, 1865, he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Emil3' E. Hatch. 
 Her father, Charles P. Hatch, is of English descent, 
 and her mother, who was in her maidenhood 
 Lj'dia Taylor, is of Scotch origin. Two daughters 
 and three sons have blessed the union of INIr. and 
 Mrs. Beedy. Cora I. is the wife of Ilarvej' A. 
 Lockie, who is engaged in farming two and a-half 
 miles north of Manteno; they have one child, a 
 son, Lloyd B. The other members of the family 
 are Clarence IL, Angle E., Vennis G. and \'erner 
 E. (twins). 
 
 Mr. Beedy is now engaged in running a stock 
 
 farm, and buys and raises both horses and cattle. 
 
 He has at present one hundred head of cattle, 
 
 all of which he has raised, and some of which are 
 
 . of the Red Polled variety. Mr. Beedy has just
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIDCAL RECORD. 
 
 675 
 
 finished the erection of a large new residence, built 
 in modern style, and which is one of the finest 
 farmhouses in the county. 
 
 Our subject is not a member of any church or 
 secret society, but his wife has a brother who is a 
 Baptist minister, and her sister's husband is a min- 
 ister of tiie Congrega'tional Church. For many 
 years Mr. licedy has been Scliool Director, and has 
 also held tlie ollice of Highway Commissioner. lie 
 is generous and public-spirited, and has been quite 
 active in securing for Manteno Township some of 
 the best countr}- roads to be found in the State. 
 Politicallj', he is a Democrat, having cast his first 
 Presidential vote for Douglas and his last for 
 Grover Cleveland. He owns a fine farm of two 
 hundred and eighty acres, the most of which has 
 been acquired by his own industry and good man- 
 agement. 
 
 ICHAEL B. LAWRENCE, who is engaged 
 in farming on sections 14 and 23, Manteno 
 Township, was born in Dearborn County, 
 Ind., just north of Lawrenceburgh, which 
 is the county seat, and which was named after his 
 grandfather, who was the first settler there. He 
 was a farmer, and his death occurred in Dearborn 
 County. The maternal grandfather of our subject, 
 Michael Bottenberg, was a minister in the United 
 Brethren Church, and was quite a musician. He 
 reared a family' of seven children, and died at the 
 age of eighty-six years. 
 
 The parents of our subject were .James and Mary 
 C. (Bottenberg) Lawrence. The father was born 
 in Beaver County, Pa., in 1803, while the mother, 
 a native of Maryland, was born in 1812. When a 
 lad of about fifteen j'cars James Lawrence went with 
 his parents to Indiana. He was reared upon a farm, 
 and thus his attention was early turned to agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He was made Tax Collector of 
 Dearborn County, Ind., when (piite a young man. 
 In September, 18G2, he bought a farm about eight 
 miles northeast of Ottawa, in La Salle County, 111., 
 where he lived for four years. He was smitten by 
 
 the hand of death February 28, 1858, at which 
 time he was lifty-four _vears and six months of age. 
 In Dcceniliei- of tiiat year his faithful wife and 
 com|)anion was also called to her final rest. Their 
 family comprised seven sons and two daughters, 
 of whom but four are living: Elizabeth, who resides 
 with her sister Rosanna, wife of Samuel .1. Law- 
 rence, of Ncoga, Cumberland Count}', 111.; Michael 
 B.; and Philip, who is engaged in the poultry 
 business in Douglass, Kan. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence of this sketch was born .lanuary 
 23, 1837, and passed his bo3hood days on a farm. 
 His schooling was obtained in both the Indiana 
 and Illinois district and common schools. On the 
 28th of May, 18G t, he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Margaret Tritley. Her father, .Tohn P. Trif- 
 le}', was born in Switzerland, October 1, 1808, and 
 when about eight 3'ears of age accompanied his 
 parents to the United States. At St. Peter's, St. 
 Charles County, Mo., he married. May 22, 1832, 
 Miss Margaret Bernard, who was born in St. Peter's 
 January 30, 1802. Her father, who was one of the 
 very first settlers in that section, was an Indian 
 trader. He came into possession of a tract of land 
 which now lies in the heart of Peoria. 111., and 
 which rightfully belongs to his heirs. In 1849 
 Mr. Tritley emigrated to La Salle Count}', 111., and 
 in 1866 came to Manteno. He still lives at the 
 age of eiglit}'-five years and is quite rugged, his 
 home being with Mrs. Lawrence. His wife died 
 December 13, 1868. Of their seven children, three 
 live. Mary L., wife of J. S. Eddy, resides at F'air- 
 bury, 111. Alvina is the wife of Philip B. Lawrence, 
 of Douglass, Kan. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence have six 
 children. Vernon W. is engaged in the dairy and 
 stock business with his father; George R., who 
 married Alice Herendien, is in the crayon portrait 
 business at Englewood, 111., with the National Art 
 Compan}'; Nellie J. is a dressmaker of Manteno; 
 Emma C. is at home; Laura M. is a successful 
 teacher in the Manteno schools; Clara L. is also at 
 home. 
 
 In September, 1868, Mr. Lawrence came to Kan- 
 kakee County, settling upon the farm which be- 
 longed to his father-in-law, John P. Tritley. This 
 tract consisted of eighty acres, which our subject 
 purchased in 1875, and to which he h.as since
 
 676 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 added an adjoining eighty acres. The farm is 
 well improved with a good house, barn and farm 
 buildings. It is located about a mile and a-half 
 east of Mantcno, and is well tiled. In addition 
 to general farming Mr. Lawrence both feeds and 
 raises stock extensively. 
 
 For the past seventeen years our subject has 
 held the office of School Director, and for two 
 years served as Collector of Taxes for the township. 
 He is a thorough Republican, and has voted that 
 ticket continuously since casting his first ballot for 
 Abraham Lincoln until the present time. He is 
 not a member of any church organization, but his 
 wife belongs to the Catholic Church. The family 
 is held in high esteem in the surrounding neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 ^= 
 
 E^ 
 
 ^ OHN CROZH^^R, formerly an extensive 
 farmer of Ganier Township, is now a resi- 
 dent of Kankakee. He is a native of the 
 Keystone State, his birth occurring in Har- 
 risburg on the 16th of May, 1825. His parents 
 were James and Mary (Woods) Crozier, both na- 
 tives of the Emerald Isle. The}' emigrated to 
 America about 1824, locating in Harrisburg, Pa. 
 His life occupation was that of a weaver, and his 
 death occurred in 1874. The inothcr of our sub- 
 ject was called to her final home in 1858. By her 
 marriage she had become the mother of four chil- 
 dren, of wliom our subject is the eldest; James is 
 a contractor of Topeka, Kan.; Margaret became 
 the wife of John McElroy, and died in 1876; and 
 Mary I., the wife of John Hood, makes her home 
 in Monmouth, 111. 
 
 When ten j-ears of age, John Crozier went with 
 his parents from Pennsylvania to Jefferson County, 
 Ind., in 1835. He assisted his father in opening up 
 a farm in the woods, which meant much hard work. 
 He attended the district schools but is largely self- 
 educated. He remained in that county about eigh- 
 teen years and then accompanied his father to 
 La Porte Countj', Ind., where they rented land. In 
 1855, they came to Kankakee County and bought 
 
 one hundred and sixty acres of land in Bourbon- 
 nais Township, upon which he lived and to which 
 he devoted his energies until 1881, at wliich time 
 he sold the farm and purchased the one in Ganier 
 Township. His property consisted of five hun- 
 dred acres on section 30 and there he carried on 
 general farming and stock-raising, being an ex- 
 tensive dealer in horses and cattle. Having sold 
 liis farm, Mr. Crozier removed in 1893 to the city 
 of Kankakee, where he owns a comfortable home. 
 He is an example of America's self-made men and 
 has achie\'ed his fortune by strict application and 
 correct business methods. 
 
 On the 4th of September, 1855, a wedding cere- 
 mon_y was performed which united the destinies of 
 Mr. Crozier and Miss Mary Jane Ritchie, who was 
 born February 27, 1830, in Jefferson County, Ind., 
 and is a daughter of John and Sophia (Brown) 
 Ritchie. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Crozier has 
 been blessed with eight children, two of whom died 
 in infancy. The others are George, who is a car. 
 penter of Kankakee; Edward, Charley, Emory and 
 James, who are at home; and Annie, who is the 
 wife of Lincoln Worrel, a member of the police 
 force in Kankakee. 
 
 'Sir. and Mrs. Crozier and their family- are mem- 
 bers of the Metliodist Church. In politics, our 
 subject is a Democrat, and though he takes an ac- 
 tive interest in the welfare of his party he has 
 never aspired to official positions. He possesses 
 those qualities so essential to success — industry, 
 frugality and perseverance, which have enabled 
 him to overcome the obstacles in his pathway. 
 
 (TpX-iUFUS A. PERRY is engaged in farming 
 IILsij^'' and stock-raising on section 20, Manteno 
 lik \\\ Township. He is a native of Massachusetts, 
 ^©1 his birth having occurred the 19th of Oc- 
 tober, 1831, in Berkskire County. His parents, 
 Isaac and Nancy (Carpenter) Perry, were both of 
 English descent and also natives of the Ba}' State 
 The Perry familj' to which our subject belongs
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD 
 
 677 
 
 was founded in America in 1648, by Anthonj' 
 ;iiid Elizabeth Peny, who came from England. 
 The great-grandfather of Riifus A. Peny bore the 
 name Ichabod. He married Ruth Fisher, and tlieir 
 son, Isaac Perry, Sr., who was born in Attlebor- 
 ougli, Mass., August 20, 1757, married Philena 
 hinc'oln. She was born in Taunton, Mass., Feb- 
 ruary 1, 1760. Isaac Perry, Jr., tlic father of our 
 isubjecl, was one of six children, and was born in 
 Attleborough, Mass., October 27, 1780. His wife, 
 Nancy Carpenter, was born at Savoy, Mass., March 
 12, 1794. Her great-grandfather, Daniel Carpenter, 
 served in the French and Indian AVar. His son, 
 Elisha, who w\as a gunsmith bv trade, married Es- 
 ther Greenwood, and of this union lieujamin, the 
 father of Nanc}' Carpenter, was born, .September 
 II. 1768. He married Nanc3' Fisher, of Williams- 
 burgh, Mass., who was born March 31, 1770. 
 
 Both grandfathers of our subject were farmers 
 by occupation in JNIassachusetts, and Benjamin 
 Car|)enter reared a family of fourteen children, 
 none of whom now survive. Five children, tiiree 
 sons and two daughters, were born to Isaac Perry 
 and his wife. Philena married Joliu Edgerton, 
 whose death occurred in Tioga County, Oln'o, about 
 the year 1884. Their family' comprised six chil- 
 dren: Mary, Oeorge, AVayland, Lucy, Almon and 
 Carrie. Linus married Miss Achsah Thayer, who 
 died in Massachusetts. They had a son .and daugh- 
 ter, Benjamin and Eva. Benjamin died at the 
 age of eleven years. Rufus A. is the subject of 
 this sketch. Elizabeth completes the family. The 
 father of these children died in Massachusetts, at 
 the age of fift3'-four years, in February, 1835. 
 
 Cntil about sixteen 3ears of age Rufus Perr\- re- 
 sided with his mother. He tiien started out in life 
 for himself, and for several 3'ears worked for neigh- 
 boring farmers by the month. His school privi- 
 leges were quite limited and his education was 
 mainl3' .-icquired in the district schools. In the fall 
 (if 18.')6 he emigrated to Ohio, and lived there for 
 iiliout three years. In the si)ring of 18;j',) became 
 West to Illinois, and carried on a farm while liv- 
 ing in the village of Manteno for some years. In 
 1.S63 he purch.ased two hundred acres of land two 
 :iiid a-half miles southwest of Manteno, and since 
 lliat time he has devoted his entire time and atten- 
 
 tion to its improvement and cultivation. His 
 principal occupation is that of general farming, 
 but lie also raises and deals in cattle and hogs. 
 
 On the 19th of .lanuaiy, 1869, the destinies of 
 Mr. Perry and Miss Emma Gilkcrson were united 
 by a marriage ceremony. Mrs. Perr3' is a daugh- 
 ter of John and Agnes G. (Warden) Gilkcrson, res- 
 idents of this count3'. By her marriage she has 
 become the mother of two daughters. Lizzie N. 
 is the wife of David McEwan, a Presbyterian min- 
 ister, now located in Winfield, Iowa. Mr. McEwan 
 had a son, David, by a former marriage, and to him- 
 self and present wife has been born a daughter, 
 Emma. Agnes, our subject's other daughter, lives 
 at home with her parents. 
 
 For over thirty years, Mr. Perry has been a resi- 
 dent of Manteno Township, and has been a witness 
 of vast changes in this vicinit3'. With his good 
 wife's assistance and liis own energ3' and econoraj-, 
 he li.as accumulated a good property and a comfort- 
 able competence. In his political preference he is 
 a Republican and uses his right of franchise in fa- 
 vor of the nominees and measures of that part3'. 
 All the famil3' are members of the Presb3'torian 
 Church. 
 
 
 NTOINE CHEFFRE is a retired farmer 
 residing in St. Anne. He is a native of 
 Montreal, Canada, in which cit3' his birth 
 occurred on the 15th of June, 1828. Ilis 
 parents, who were also natives of Canada, were 
 Joseph and Argette (La Vine) Cheffre. The father 
 of the former, also named Joseph, was born in 
 France, and afterwards emigrated to Canada, wliere 
 he engaged in agricultural pursuits. The mater- 
 nal grandfather of our subject was born in Can- 
 ada, and was also a farmer b3' occupation. He lived 
 to be seventy-two 3'ears of age. 
 
 The fatlier was a stone-cutter, .as were also all of 
 his sons. He came to Illinois in 1851, and settled 
 upon a farm one mile east of St. Anne, which he 
 cultivated for twent3- 3'ears. He then sold this
 
 678 
 
 i-OKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 property and located in Kankakee, where for four 
 years lie engaged in baying and selling wood and 
 stone. Returning to St. Anne, lie made his home 
 with his son Joseph until his death, which occurred 
 a number of j-earsago, when he had reached the age 
 of sevent3'-four years. He was a soldier in the 
 War of 1812. The death of his wife occurred 
 about five^ears subsequent to that of her husband. 
 Their family consisted of twelve children, ten 
 sons and two daughters, of whom seven sons are 
 still living. 
 
 Antoine Cheffre passed his b03hood and j'outh 
 in Canada, where he learned the trade of a stone- 
 mason. With his family he went to Syracuse, N.Y., 
 in 1841, where he lived for seven years. AVith 
 them he returned to Canada, and after remaining 
 tliere two years came west to Illinois with his 
 brother Joseph. They landed in Chicago in 18.50, 
 where they stayed until the following j'ear. 
 Coming to St. Anne, they together purchased the 
 farm for their father, upon which he afterwards 
 lived for a score of years. Thej' then sent for 
 him to come with his family from Montreal, which 
 he did, arriving the same year. 
 
 In October, 18.53, Mr. Cheffre was married to 
 Miss Margaret, daughter of Francis and Margaret 
 (Bouchej') Morsett, both natives of Canada. 
 Their union has been blessed with five sons and 
 two daughters, three of whom are now deceased. 
 Those living are .Joseph, who married Miss Isadore, 
 daughter of Max St. Peter. They have six chil- 
 dren: Eddie, Emma, Walter, Ruby and an infant, 
 and reside a mile and .a-half northwest of St. Anne. 
 Edward married Miss Nena St. Peter, and they 
 have one son, Medd}'. Their home is in St. Anne. 
 Frederick wedded Miss Leona Dumautil, and two 
 sons, Harry and Elmer, have blessed their union. 
 Francis wedded Miss Rosalie Varboncaque, and 
 to them have been born Max and Dora. The three 
 younger children, Dennis, Mary and Olive, are 
 deceased. 
 
 When Mr. Cheffre settled in tliis vicinity, the 
 country was wild and but little inhabited. Wild 
 game of all kinds abounded, and even in the city 
 limits of Chicago wild fowl were often shot. Our 
 subject owns one hundred and fifty acres of land 
 in Iroquois County, three miles south of St. 
 
 Anne, and also owns his pleasant and comfortable 
 residence in that village. He and his wife are 
 members of the French Presbyterian Church, and 
 in regard to politics, he is a stalwart Republican. 
 
 ^^- 
 
 'if ACOB OBRECHT, Deputy Sheriff of Kan- 
 kakee County, now residing in the city 
 of Kankakee, is one of the 185.3 pioneers 
 of tills county. He was born in Alsace, 
 France, now Germany, on the 12th of December, 
 1832, and is a son of Michael and Magdelena 
 (Filweber) Obrecbt, who were also natives of that 
 country. The father was born on the 29th of 
 September, St. Michael's da}', (hence his name), 
 1802. He married in his native country, and 
 emigrated to America with his family, leaving 
 Alsace on Easter Monday-, 1842. They traveled 
 by their own conveyance to Havre, and took pas- 
 sage on a sailing-vessel for New York, where they 
 landed after a V03age of fifty-flve days. Thcj' 
 reached Chicago in October of that year, going by 
 canal from New York to Buffalo, and from thereby 
 the Lakes on a steamer to Chicago. The father 
 had purchased a tract of land in North field 
 Township, Cook County. They spent eleven 
 years on that farm, and then, removing to Kanka- 
 kee County, settled in Salina Township, where the 
 father still resides, now past ninety years of age 
 The wife and mother died in May, 1878. There 
 were ten children in the family, seven sons and 
 three daughters, all of whom are living with the 
 exception of one son, who was a member of Com- 
 pany I, Seventy -sixth Illinois Infantry, and died 
 from wounds received in the war. 
 
 The subject of this sketch attended public schools 
 and was brought up on a farm. He was married 
 in Kankakee County, in September, 18,54, to Miss 
 Susanna Hertz, a daughter of John and Mary 
 (McWay) Hertz. Mrs. Obrecht was born in Berks 
 County, Pa., and by her marriage became the 
 mother of five children, of whom three only are 
 living. Annie died at the age of nine years; 
 Hannah is now Mrs. George Buehler, and lives in 
 
 I
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MNIVERSn Y OF ILLINOIS
 
 
 -3> 
 
 
 ry-o
 
 Adeline Noble
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OP THE 
 
 HMtVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 68:? 
 
 I.e Mars, Iowa; Frank 51. died at the age of seven 
 years; Ellen V. is tlie wife of George Oberlin, of 
 I'ilot Township, Kani<akee County; and Mary 
 Alice became the wife of George F. Keller, and rc- 
 i^ides in Willow Springs, Cook County, 111. Mrs. 
 Olireeht, who was a consistent member of the 
 (ierman Evangelical Churcii, died in February, 
 KS7'J. 
 
 Mr. Obrocht has been engaged in farming since 
 his arrival in Kankakee County, except while en- 
 gaged in his ollicial duties, and now has a farm of 
 eighty acres in Salina Township. He is a Repub- 
 lican in politics, and has held various township 
 offices, besides being Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff of 
 the county for several years. He served in the 
 latter capacity for one year under II. K. Durham, 
 .ind for two years under J. W. Burgess, beginning in 
 1859. In 1862,Mr.Obrecbt was elected Sheriff, and 
 served for two years, after which he returned to his 
 farm, but again accepted the position of Deputy 
 Sheriff, and iias served under Sheriff A. J. Byrns 
 since he entered upon the duties of tiiat office, on 
 the 1st of December, 1890. Mr. Obrecht makes a 
 capable and faithful officer, and is experienced in 
 his duties. He and his family are members of the 
 (German Evangelical Church. 
 
 ^ AD NOBLE, one of the honored pioneers of 
 this county residing on section 22, Rock- 
 
 i^j ville Townshif), is a native of Massachusetts. 
 He was born in Hamlin County, June 20,1811, 
 and is a son of Elisha and Emily (Levvis) Noble. 
 His father was a native of the old Bay State, and 
 was of English descent. He was a farmer by oc- 
 cupation and followed that business throughout 
 his entire life. Himself and wife were both mem- 
 bers of the Baptist Church; both died manj- years 
 ago. Their family numbered five children. Cath- 
 erine, the eldest, became the wife of William Hike, 
 and died in 1880. Augustus died in 1882. Elisha, 
 a mason by trade and now a retired farmer, is liv- 
 ing in Joliet, 111. Nathan is engaged in farming 
 in the old Ba)- State; and Charles is also deceased. 
 
 31 
 
 We now take up the pei-sonal history of our 
 subject, who was born and reared upon his father's 
 farm, spending his childhood days in the usual 
 manner of farmer lads. He received a good busi- 
 ness education, attending scliool at intervals until 
 he had attained his majority. From the age of 
 eighteen he has earned his own livelihood. He 
 commenced life for himself by working as a farm 
 iiand for -^9 per month, and was thus employed for 
 two seasons. He then turned his attention to other 
 pursuits. Securing a position in an axe factory he 
 was there employed for about three years, after 
 which he purchased a farm near the old home. 
 There he resided until 1811. 
 
 The scene of our subject's labors then changed. 
 That j'ear witnessed his arrival in what is now 
 Kankakee, but w.-is then a part of Will County. 
 He made the journe}' by way of the Lakes, and at 
 length reached his destination. At that time the 
 land in this section had not yet come into market. 
 However, it was placed on sale the same year, and 
 Mr. Noble purchased a wild tract of one hundred 
 and eighty acres, comprising the farm on which he 
 yet resides. In those early days he endured all 
 the hardships and privations of frontier life. He 
 hauled grain to market in Chicago, for there were 
 no near markets, and the cities of Kankakee and 
 Manteno were then unknown. Wild game of all 
 kinds was very plentiful, including deer, of which 
 he has seen as man}- as eighty in one herd. Mr. 
 Noble at once began the development of his land, 
 and acre after acre was placed under the plow un- 
 til the whole amount was under a high state of 
 cultivation. He also made many improvements 
 upon the place until his farm became one of the 
 best in the community. He carried on farming suc- 
 cessfully for many years, but though he still lives 
 on the old homestead, is now living a retired life. 
 
 Mr. Noble was married on the 4th of April, 
 1836, to Miss Adeline Noble, and b)' their union 
 were born five children, but three are now de- 
 ceased: Mary A. died April 7, 1867; Weslej', April 
 6, 1868; and Lewis G., August 8, 1865, in the 
 service of his country. Ciiarles is now engaged in 
 farming in Rockville Township; and Henry is liv- 
 ing in Florida. The mother of this family was 
 . called to the home beyond on the 17th of .Tanuary,
 
 684 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1889. She was a member of the Methodist Chiivch, 
 and was a lady whose man}' excellencies of char- 
 acter won for her the high esteem of her friends 
 and acquaintances. 
 
 Mr. Noble is also a member of tlie Methodist 
 Church and a faithful worker in the Master's vine- 
 yard. He takes quite an active interest in politi- 
 cal affairs, and is now a supporter of the Prohibi- 
 tion party. His residence in this county covers a 
 ^period of more than half a century. He is one of 
 ' its oldest settlers, and has watched its growth and 
 upbuilding from the days of its early infanc.y. 
 But he has not only been an eye-witness of its ad- 
 vancement, fo)' in all possible ways he has aided 
 in its development, and in the promotion of its 
 leading enterprises he has ever borne his part. 
 
 A.T. AVALTER \Y. TODD, a veteran of tlie 
 late war and a representative of one of 
 the pioneer families of Kankakee Count}', 
 a famil}' which located here nearly twenty 
 years before the count}' was organized, is one of 
 the oldest native citizens residing within its bor- 
 ders. He was born on February 27, 1840, in what 
 is now Rockville Township, Kankakee County, but 
 at that time was a part of Will County. An ex- 
 tended sketch of his father, Dr. Hiram Todd, who 
 settled in the Kankakee Valley in 18.35, is given 
 on another page of this woik. 
 
 Maj. Todd was reared upon a farm, where he 
 laid the foundation of a strong phj'sical manhood, 
 which was destined not onl\' to serve personal in- 
 terests, but was to be a support to his country in 
 her hour of direst need. The sciiolastic training 
 of young Walter was superior for those early da3'S, 
 when most boys completed their education in the 
 district schools. After attending there, he spent 
 a year in Racine College, of Racine, Wis. His lit- 
 erary education was completed in Aurora, 111., where 
 he began the study of law, preparatory to enter- 
 ing the Albany (N. Y.) Law School. Subsequently 
 he attended a commercial college in Chicago. 
 About this time the great Rebellion broke out, and 
 
 business, professional and commercial, became a 
 secondar}' consideration. Our national existence 
 was imperilled; who would go to its support? 
 
 Full of youth and enthusiasm, young Todd, hav- 
 ing just reached his majority, enlisted in the fall 
 of 18C1 in the Fourth Illinois Cavalry. Return- 
 ing home, he raised a company in his old neighbor- 
 hood, of which he was chosen captain by acclama- 
 tion in July, 1862. On the 22d of August fol- 
 lowing, this conipan}' was mustered into the United 
 States service as Company I, Sevent3'-sixth Illi- 
 nois Infantry. In all the marches of the Seventy- 
 sixth Regiment, until some time after the sif e of 
 Yicksburg, Capt. Todd led his com pan}-. He was 
 in command of the regiment for three days on the 
 Trinity raid, across the river from Natchez, in July, 
 1863, by special order of Maj.-Gcn. Crocker, whc 
 was in command. At that city, Ca[)t. Todd waS 
 elected by the oflieers of his regiment Major,; 
 and his commission, signed bj' Gov. Yates, tooh 
 rank June 27, 1863. With his regiment he served 
 in the Meridian campaign, the expedition into ArJ 
 kansas, and the exi)edition up the Yazoo RiverJ 
 In the summer of 1864, he was appointed Inspector-^ 
 General and Cliief of Infantry of the Second Di 
 vision. Nineteenth Army Corps, bj' Gen. Reynoldsj 
 and subsequently Inspector-(Jeneral of the Second 
 Brigade, Mississippi Reserve Corps, from whicB 
 he was relieved by his own request at Ft. GainesJ 
 Ala., in the spring of 1865. Thereupon he joined 
 his regiment at Ft. Barrancas. AtPensacola, Ma| 
 Todd was detailed to report to Gen. Granger a,i 
 Ft. ]Morgan, at the mouth of Mobile Bay, as In-^ 
 spector-General of the Thirteenth Arm\' CorpsJ 
 The distance around an arm of the Imy, in going 
 from Pensacola to Ft. Barrancas where he was 
 embark, was about twelve miles. Not willing tha 
 Maj. Todd should go that distance alone, GenI 
 Andrews sent as escort from his bod^'-guard a serj 
 geant and nine men with him, being a part of thej 
 Second Maine Cavalry. One of the men suggeste(j 
 that they ride across on a sand bar, as the water wa 
 not very deep, and thus, for some six miles, the! 
 traveled through the water, sometimes mid-high 
 the liorses, which feat gave them the appearance, td 
 one on shore, of going to sea on horseback. Maj 
 Todd remained on Gen. Granger's statf until aftej
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 685 
 
 tlie fall of Mobile, when he was relieved to com- 
 mand his regiment, the Colonel having been wouud- 
 ed.and the Lieutenant-Colonel being sick. Though 
 the war was practically over, the Seventy -sixth was 
 sent for a time to Selma,then to Mobile, and finally 
 to Galveston, Tex., where they were mustered for 
 discharge, but were finally discharged and paid off 
 at Chicago August 4, 1865. The chief conflicts 
 in which Maj. Todd took part were the northern 
 Mississippi campaign, the siege and capture of 
 Vicksburg and Jackson (Miss.), Trinity and Clin- 
 ton (La.), second raid on Jackson in 1864, siege 
 of Ft. Blakely, Spanish Fort and the capture of 
 Mobile. 
 
 With the soldier's true reward — consciousness of 
 duty well performed — Maj. Todd returned home, 
 and until 1873 devoted his energies to farming. 
 Politically he has always been a Republican, and 
 lias taken an active interest and part in the affairs 
 of his county. For two terms he served as Super- 
 visor from Rockville Township. In 1873 he w.as 
 elected County Clerk, holding the oltlce for one 
 term, and in 1880 was elected County Treasurer, 
 which position lie held six years. From 1886 un- 
 til 1891 he was engaged in the hardware business, 
 but is now looking after his farms and dealing in 
 real estate. Socially he belongs to Whipple Post 
 No. 414, G. A. R., Department of Illinois, of Kan- 
 kakee; Kankakee Lodge No. 389, A. F. ife A. M.; 
 Kankakee Chapter No. 78, R. A. M; Ivanhoe Com- 
 mandery No. 33, K. T., of Kankakee; Grove Cit^- 
 Council, R. A.; and King's Forest Camp, M. W. A. 
 
 In Westchester, Ohio, November 19, 1868, Alaj. 
 Todd and INliss Sena Gerard were united in mar- 
 riage. The lady, who is the daughter of Isaac and 
 Maria Geraid, is a native of Newtown, Hamilton 
 County, Ohio. At the time of her marriage she 
 was a teacher, having come to Kankakee County 
 in 1867. Of this union were born three children: 
 Laura, a graduate of the Kankakee High School; 
 Church Gerard, who is in the Chicago National 
 liank of Chicago; and Hiram Eugene, who is also 
 a graduate of the Kankakee High School. 
 
 Maj. Todd and his wife and children are mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church. He has ever been 
 public-spirited and progressive, ready at all times 
 te bear his part in whatever tends to benefit the 
 
 community. For five years he served as Treasurer 
 
 of the Kankakee County Agricultural Society; he 
 h.as also served on the School Board of Kankakee, 
 and for four years was a member of the Board of 
 Trustees for the Eastern Illinois Hospital for the 
 Insane, his term closing with the change of ad- 
 ministration in 1893. As a soldier, citizen and 
 otlicial, Maj. Todd has ever been found faithful to 
 the duties and obligations devolving upon him, 
 and while he doubtless has enemies, as every maiu 
 called into public life must have, the}' are remark- 
 ably few, and are such from political, rather than 
 personal reasons. For over fifty-three years Mr. 
 Todd has been a resident of Kankakee County, 
 and there are few men better known or more gener- 
 ally liked than he. 
 
 When the first militia company was organized 
 at Kankakee in 1883, Company H, Fourth Illinois 
 National Guards, now Company L, Third Illinois 
 National Guards, he generously waived his rank, 
 worthily earned in active service in the war, and 
 accejited a commission as captain of this company, 
 taking it to the Slate encarai)ment at Springfield, 
 and remaining with it until quartered in the arm- 
 ory built for it, when he resigned. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ OHN F. CAMPBELL is an extensive farmer 
 residing on section 20, Sumner Township. 
 In addition to four hundred and forty acres 
 in his home farm, he owns about sixteen 
 hundred and fifty acres in Iowa, Kansas and Illi- 
 nois, and raises and deals extensively m horses 
 and cattle. 
 
 Our subject was born in Fountain County, Ind., 
 on the 20th of October, 1840, and is a son of 
 James Camplx'U, who was of Scotch extraction and 
 a native of Ohio. His mother, who was Priscilla 
 Mick in her maidenhood, w.as of German descent, 
 and born in Kentucky. Mr. Campbell was an ac- 
 tive and extensive farmer, and for half a century 
 was a Methodist minister, taking up that calling 
 when but twenty-three years of age. About 1826
 
 686 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he removed from Ohio to Fountain County, Ind., 
 where he was among the earl}' settlers, and where, 
 in addition to carr\'ing on a farm, he was a local 
 preacher. His marriage was celebrated in 1836, 
 and for twenty j-ears his home was in Indiana. 
 About 1846 Mr. Campbell went to Crete, 111., 
 which was his place of residence for four j'ears, af- 
 ter which he removed to what is now Yellowhead 
 Township, this county, but which was not then 
 organized. lie purchased a tract of land of three- 
 hundred and sixty acres from speculators, and here 
 he lived for twenty-one years. This was unim- 
 proved, and at the time when he sold it, in 1867, 
 he had it placed under a good state of cultivation. 
 He next bought a tract of land in Sumner Town- 
 ship, and resided there until 188.5,when he removed 
 to Grant Park and retired from all business jjur- 
 suits. He was called from this life on the 6th of 
 January, 1888, and to his memory has been erected 
 a beautiful monument in the Grant Park Ceme- 
 teiy, where by his side reposes the wife and 
 mother, whose death occurred August 7, 1886. 
 They were both faithful and consistent members 
 of the IMethodist Episcopal Church, in wliich faith 
 they had continued nearly a lifetime. Mr. Camp- 
 bell was an old-line Whig, and later became a Re- 
 publican. He was a strong anti-slavery man, and 
 fought in defense of his countiy, being a member 
 of Company H, Seventy-sixth Illinois Infantry. He 
 served his country honorably and faithfullj- until 
 the close of the war, being Postmaster of the regi- 
 ment, lie was with Gen. Grant on his Mississi[)pi 
 campaign, and was also activelj' engaged in the 
 siege of Yicksburg and Ft. Blakel}'. He was a 
 valiant soldier, as was also his father, who fought 
 in the War of 1812, and his grandfather, who 
 served as a soldier during the Revolution. 
 
 John Campbell is the third in order of birth in 
 his father's family, which consisted of eleven cliil- 
 dren, the eldest of whom is Clinton C, a business 
 man of Chicago, residing at Grant Park; Eliza- 
 beth is the wife of Alonzo Curtis, a general mer- 
 chant and banker of the same place; William II. is 
 a stock-dealer and farmer near Great Bend, Kan.; 
 Melville C. is a commission merchant at the stock- 
 yards, and carries on a ranch near that city; Win- 
 field S. is a prominent .stockman and lawyer liv- 
 
 ing in Sumner Township; Mary A. became the 
 wife of O. B. Campbell, a practicing physician of 
 Cleveland, Ohio; Margaret A. is the wife of Ben- 
 jamin Garland, a stockman, who makes his home 
 in Caldwell, Kan.; James P. is a prominent stock- 
 raiser of Clark Count}', Kan.; and two who died 
 in infanc}' complete the family. 
 
 Mr. Campbell of this sketch received a good 
 common-school education, and was but six j'ears 
 of age when his parents with their family removed 
 to Illinois. He has always made the most of his 
 educational advantages, and when twenty years 
 of age began the study of law. He has been 
 engaged in the practice of that profession since 
 1861, and with his brother W. S. has an ofBce in 
 Manteno. Much of his attention has been de- 
 voted to agricultural pursuits and the raising of 
 live-stock. When eighteen years of age he left 
 home, and for four years rented land, much of his 
 time being spent in breaking i)rairie during that 
 period. In 1864, Mr. Campbell purchased the 
 farm which he now owns on section 20, it at that 
 time com|)rising onl}' eight}- acres. He has been 
 exceptionally successful in his farming and busi- 
 ness operations, and, as stated at the beginning 
 of this sketch, now owns over two thousand acres 
 of land in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas. 
 
 Mr. Campbell was married on the 4th of October, 
 1860, to Miss Emily S., daughter of Luman and 
 Lucy Ilewes. Mr. Ilewes was born in Connecti- 
 cut, being of Welsh origin. In Vermont he mar- 
 ried Lucy Elwell, a native of that Slate, and of 
 Welsh origin. About 1836 they came to Will 
 County, where they spent the rest of their lives. 
 Mrs. Canipbell was born in Will County, Septem- 
 ber 15, 1839, and is the youngest of thirteen chil- 
 dren,' of whom twelve grew to maturity. By the 
 marriage of our subject and his wife one child was 
 born, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Camp- 
 bell have an adopted son and daughter, who are 
 brother and sister: Will E. lives at Gilmore Citj 
 Iowa, and Frances is the wife of Delbert Rice 
 who is an artist and painter by trade, residing is 
 Crete, 111. Mrs. Campbell is a member of th^ 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Mr. Campbell is much interested in the welfar^ 
 of the party with which he atliliates, and throughl 
 
 Dl
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHTCAL RECORD. 
 
 687 
 
 out ttiis section he is well known as a stanch Re- 
 pultlican. Almost his entire life has heen spent in 
 this county, in whose success and development lie 
 has been an important factor. 
 
 ^ R. GEORGE C. MEKRICK, residing on 
 section 1,5. IManteno Township, is a re- 
 (p^jj^- tired physician and merchant. He is a 
 native of Chautauqua Count}-, N. Y., 
 having been born December 11, 1824. lie is a son 
 of Sylvester and Mercy (Loveland) Merrick, the 
 former born in Massachusetts, and the latter m 
 Connecticut. About twocenturiesago.one Thomas 
 Merrick emigrated to America from Wales, and 
 from him have descended the Merrick families in 
 this country. Both of the grandparents of our sub- 
 ject lived to a good old age, one being over eighty 
 and the other being past ninety years at the lime 
 of their deaths. 
 
 Sylvester Merrick followed the occupation of a 
 farmer, and was also a singing-teacher and band- 
 master for man}' 3'ears. His earl}- life was spent 
 in Delaware County, N. Y., and from there he 
 went to Chautauqua Count)', his home being near 
 Chautauqua Lake, where our subject was born. In 
 1824, going West, he located at Fremont, Ohio, fol- 
 lowing agricultural ]>ursuits in that vicinty for 
 fifteen years. He died there in 18.')1, aged sixty- 
 one years. He was an hoiiorablc and upnght man, 
 and was for years an Elder in the I'resbyterian 
 Church. To himself and wife were born five sons 
 and a daughter: James; Williston; Sarah, now de- 
 ceased, as is also the next younger, Frederick; 
 George C. and Lyman. -James is now past eight}' 
 years and Lyman is over sixtj'-three. 
 
 T^ntil reaching man's estate Dr. iNIerrick resided 
 witli his parents on the home farm. Early in life 
 he manifested a great love for books, and was of a 
 studious disposition. His primary education was 
 received in Fremont, Ohio, in the common schools. 
 In his youth he attended Starling Medical College, 
 of Columbus, Oliio, and afterward entered Rush 
 
 Medical College, at Chicago, from which institu- 
 tion he was graduated in 18.") 1. On the 17th of 
 July of that year Dr. Jlerrick and Miss Mary 
 Elizabeth Peck were united in marriage. She is a 
 daughter of Joel M. and Amanda (Purdy) Peck, 
 both natives of Norwich, N. V. iNIrs. Merrick was 
 born in Pl3-moutli, N. Y., November 3, 1828, and 
 started for her future home in Troy, Wis., .June 
 12, 1849. It is a singular coincidence that on the 
 same day our suliject left Fremont, Ohio, going to 
 Troy, wliere they afterwards met and were married. 
 
 To the Doctor and his wife have been born four 
 sons and one daughter. Charles, who is engaged 
 in the clothing and furnishing-goods business in 
 El Paso, Tex., married ]\Iiss Laura Shidler, of 
 Fowler, Benton County, Ind. They have four 
 children. Mar}- C, Lawrence, Ross and Sylvester. 
 The Last-named was born just one hundred years 
 after the birth of his grandfather, Sylvester Mer- 
 rick. Frederick W. married Miss Grace Frisbee, 
 of Kankakee. They make their home in Tacoma, 
 Wash., on Puget Sound, where he is engaged in 
 merchandising. They have one son, Oscar. Mary 
 Helen is the wife of .John Barnard, of Fowler, Ind., 
 where he is engaged in running an elevator and 
 tile factory, and also is the owner of a number of 
 farms. Their family comprises fourchildren,5Iary 
 Elizabeth, George O., Ruth and Fred INIerrick. 
 George Peck married Miss Grace Thompson, of 
 Evauston, 111., which place is now their home. He 
 is a practicing lawyer of Chicago, his olHce being at 
 108 Dearborn Street. Theu- one child, a son, is 
 named George Clinton. The Doctor's youngest 
 son, Oscar, is engaged in business with his brother 
 Frederick, in T.acoma. 
 
 In the fall of 1851, about three months after 
 his marriage, Dr. Merrick removed to Kankakee 
 County, where he commenced the practice of his 
 profession. With the exception of three years spent 
 in Ottumwa, Iowa, he has since made this county 
 his home. He began his career in business with 
 nothing except his knowledge of medicine and a 
 span of horses. By his energy and economy he has 
 accumulated a snug fortune and a comfortable 
 home, located on the northern edge of Manteno. 
 He also owns three farms, and has shown that he 
 is a man of business ability. In the early part of
 
 688 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his residence in this count}- he served as Supervisor 
 of Rockville Township. His first purchase of farm 
 land was a tract of eight}' acres in that township, 
 which he bought at the rate of 1 1.25 per acre. 
 Three years later he sold the farm for?525 per acre. 
 At that time wild game w.as plentiful, and tmce a 
 herd of forty deer was seen in their dooryard. 
 After selling his farms tiie Doctor moved to the 
 village of Manteno witii his family, and there 
 built a business house and a residence. He en- 
 gaged in the hardware and drug business, to which 
 lie afterward added general merchandise. 
 
 In 1880 our subject sold out his business, and 
 after giving his sons a start in life made Kankakee 
 his place of residence for ten years. lie has re- 
 cently settled on a farm of three hundred acres 
 just north of ]\Ianteno, of which he became the 
 owner about 1880. He is now a member of the 
 Congregational Church, while his wife is an Epis- 
 copalian in faith, lie is independent in politics, 
 having been a Whig in earl}' life, afterward a 
 Republican, and at the last election casting his bal- 
 lot for the Democracy. He is not in any sense 
 partisan, believing one should be an American 
 first and a politician afterward. The Doctor was 
 the prime mover in organizing the first Presbyte- 
 rian Church in Rockville, which has since been re- 
 moved to Manteno. Though modest and retiring 
 in manner. Dr. Merrick is a man of strong charac- 
 ter, and whatever he does is based upon convic- 
 tions of rjofht. 
 
 ^I^- 
 
 <Sj^LNATHAN WRIGHT, deceased, was for 
 b] twenty-four years a resident of Manteno. 
 /i~^ He was born in Conway, Mass., June 20, 
 1831. and was a son of Phineas M. and Abigail 
 (Howes) AVright, the former a native of West- 
 ham|)ton, Mass., and the latter of Ashfield. They 
 were both of English descent. The father was a 
 farmer in tlie Bay State, and removed to Illinois 
 in 18G4, locating in the village of Manteno. He 
 purchased a small farm just west of the corporate 
 limits of the town, and afterwards made addi- 
 
 tions of adjoining land to his original purchase. 
 He departed this life in .lanuary, 1888, at the age 
 I of seventy-nine years. His wife, who is still liv- 
 I ing, is now eighty-two. Their family consisted of 
 I five children, one of whom died in infancy. The 
 I others who grew to manhood were EInathan, Al- 
 binus, Howes, Ephraim and Charles. 
 
 EInathan Wright was reared to farm life, and 
 remained under the parental roof until arriving at 
 mature years. He obtained a good common-school 
 1 education, and after his marriage, in 18,56, he at 
 i once removed to Ohio. For some three years he 
 cultivated a farm near Bellevue. In March, 1859, 
 he emigrated to Illinois, and for two years rented 
 a farm near Manteno, after which he purchased a 
 farm of two hundred and forty acres on section 
 20, about a mile southwest of the village, where 
 he lived for four or five years, and in the mean- 
 time kei)t making additions to his property until 
 he possessed over one thousand acres of land. 
 Desiring to live nearer the town, he next moved 
 to a farm on section 21, which was his home for a 
 number of years. 
 
 On the otii of March, 1856, Mr. "Wright was 
 united in marriage with Miss Harriet Prince, 
 daughter of Clark and Priscilla (Allen) Prince, 
 both natives of AVindsor, Mass. Mrs. Prince died 
 in Hinsdale, that State, .lune 17, 1870, and four 
 years later her husband came West and i)urchased 
 a farm adjoining that of Phineas Wright, to the 
 west of Manteno. His death occurred October 6, 
 1879. He was a consistent member of the Congre- 
 gational Church while in the East, and became a 
 member of the Presbyterian denomination after 
 coming to Illinois. For many years he was a 
 Deacon in the former church. 
 
 Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wright, four sons and four daughters. Edwin C. 
 died on the 7th of March, 1875, when nearly eigh- 
 teen years of age. The other members of the 
 family are all living. Abigail H. is the wife of 
 George L. Cooley, who is engaged in farming 
 near Amherst, Mass. Frank M., who married Miss 
 Eva Houck. of Princeton, is one of the leading 
 merchants of Manteno, and also has extensive 
 creamery and dairy interests. They have three 
 children, Clark F., Ruth P. and Dorothy. Harriet
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 689 
 
 ]\I. is the wife of Robert C. Giikerson, who caiTies 
 oil a market in Kankakee. Tiiey liave a son who 
 IS named for his grandfather, Elnalhan Wright.' 
 
 ^ George 1,. wedded Miss Elizabeth Seager, tiie 
 adopted daugliter of Nelson Seager, and to them 
 has been born a daughter, Helen. Carrie P., who 
 has been a successful teacher for several years, was 
 for three years in the Chicago schools, and is now 
 
 - a teacher in the Western Female Seminary of Ox- 
 ford, ( )hio. Luther K. and Mar3' IJ. make their 
 home witli their mother. 
 
 For some years after landing in Kankakee County, 
 Mr. Wright engaged in sheep-raising on a large 
 
 I scale in connection with his farming. He after- 
 wards embarked in the dairy line, and at one time 
 owned three large dairy farms and had in his employ 
 a large number of persons. He furnished means of 
 obtaining a liveliliood for from ten to twenty 
 families, and interested so many in the dairy Inisi- 
 ness, that now most of the farms in this townshii) 
 are dairy farms, and Manteno is the leading town 
 in this portion of the State in the export of dairy 
 products. Mr. Wriglit principally shipped to the 
 New Orleans markets, where tlie best prices could 
 be obtained. 
 
 In April, 1883, Mr. Wright with his family re- 
 moved to their tine and comfortable new home in 
 Manteno. On the 25th of July of that j'ear, the 
 whole community was shocked at the sad and 
 painful intelligence of the drowning of their 
 esteemed fellow-citizen, Elnathan Wright. He was 
 as usual superintending the work on his home 
 farm during the morning of that day. At about 
 eleven o'clock he started for his large pasture on 
 wliat is known as his "stone house" farm, in order 
 to look after some valuable stock. He was obliged 
 to cross Rock Creek, which was then very much 
 swollen by recent heavy rains. Before reaching 
 the bridge for some eight or ten rods, the water 
 was nearly waist deep and running quite swiftly. 
 How he met his deatli has never been known, as 
 no one was with him. He was last seen a little 
 after eleven o'clock by the young son of ex- 
 Sheriff Brousseau, wiio was working in a hayfield 
 near. It is supposed that in returning, as the day 
 was very sultry and the bridge was half » mile 
 out of his waj-, he concluded to remove his cloth- 
 
 ing and wade across the stream. The current was 
 veiy rapid, and the water was some nine feet deep 
 ill places, and as he could not swim, he was 
 swept away, it is supposed, and thus met his death. 
 He was a kind husband and an affectionate father, 
 and the community has deeply deplored his loss 
 as a friend and citizen. He was a man of great 
 energy and ambition, and Was just preparing to 
 retire from his more active business life in the en- 
 joyment of his large new home, wliich had been 
 completed but three months. 
 
 Mr. Wright was a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church, with which he had been connected for 
 seventeen years. He was a member of the Board 
 of Education at the time of his death, and was 
 active in all public improvements. He has done 
 as much for Manteno as any other one man. His 
 friends knew him but to love him, and no death 
 in Manteno h.as been more sincereh' mourned. 
 
 -^^ 
 
 OLIVER W. BARNARD is a farmer and stock 
 man, residing on section 26, Manteno Town- 
 ship. He was born in the village of Econ- 
 omy, Wayne County, Ind., on the 4tli of August, 
 1828, and is one of eleven children born to Will- 
 iam and Sallie (Williams) Barnard. His paternal 
 grandfather, Uriah Barnard, was a native of Nan- 
 tucket Island and followed the occupation of a 
 farmer. He was the father of nine children and 
 lived to be over four-score years. Richard Will- 
 iams, our subject's maternal grandfather, was born 
 in North Carolina, and was tiie son of a (Quaker 
 preacher. He himself belonged to that faith and 
 was an elder in the church. 
 
 William Barnard was born in Surry County, 
 N. C., and was of English origin. When fourteen 
 years of age he removed to Ohio, and two years 
 later to W.ayne County, Ind. In his early life he 
 followed the trade of a carpenter, and joiner, but 
 afterward became a farmer. In 1835 he located in 
 La Porte County, Ind., which was his home dur- 
 ing the remainder of his life. He was not a pub- 
 lic man but was of a quiet and un.assumiug dispo-
 
 690 
 
 PO^iTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sition. He was a strong Abolitionist, and like his 
 ancestors, belonged to the Society of Friends, who 
 were active in anti-slavery movements. To himr 
 self and wife were born seven sons and four daugh-' 
 ters, nine of whom arc yet living: Oliver W.; Nel- 
 son; Milo, who is deceased; Polly Ann, widow of 
 Wiley P. Maulsby, who was killed by the explos- 
 ion of a boiler at Dexter, Iowa, in 1887; Clinton; 
 Rlioda, the widow of Amos St. Clair, and who first 
 became the wife of Josiah AVelch, who lost his life 
 in the siege of Vicksburg and by whom she had 
 two children; Uriah W.; Job; Elizabetli, wife of 
 John Park, of Oswego, Kan., by whom she lias 
 three children; Rachel, now deceased; and Milton 
 C. The sons are all married and have families. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Oliver W. Barnard 
 were spent on his father's fann. His education 
 was received in the common schools of La Porte 
 and Porter Counties, Ind. He has alwa_ys been a 
 student and has pursued a wide and varied course 
 of reading. He learned tlie carpenter's trade, and 
 from time to time has done considerable work in 
 that line. On the 22d of May, 1856, he came to 
 Kankakee County and located upon section 26, in 
 Manteno Township. "With the exception of three 
 3'ears spent in Kankakee for the purpose of giving 
 his children better educational advantages, he has 
 made his home on section 26 since first settling 
 there. His original farm consisted of one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres, and to this, as his means af- 
 forded, he has added additional land until he now 
 has in his possession three hundred and twenty 
 acres, which is one of the best improved farms in 
 the township. He has expended a large amount 
 in tiling and drainage and lias a comfortable house, 
 barns and other farm buildings upon it. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1850, Mr. Barnard and 
 Miss Mary Jane Williams were united in marriage. 
 The lady is a daughter of Jonathan and Jane 
 (Harrington) Williams, the former a native of Vir- 
 ginia, and the latter of Pennsylvania. Two sons 
 and two daughters graced the union of our 
 subject and his wife. Francena Loretta married 
 Alexander Baird, a farmer living near Dennis, 
 Kan. They have seven children, two sons and 
 live daughters: Mary, Kate, Florence, Elsie, Eu- 
 nice, Vernon and Alexander Warren. Delonson 
 
 Elroy wedded Miss Katie L. Bordwell, and is gen- 
 eral superintendent of a large windmill factor}' in 
 Chicago. They have three living children: Rudy, 
 Lela and Glen. Landon Elmer died when about 
 two years of age. Amelia Izetta is the widow of 
 Ira Barton Dole, whose death occurred in Chicago 
 in May, 1888. He was a salesman for Kennedy 
 & Co., bakers. They had three children, two of 
 whom survive: Clarence Arthur and Ira Burton. 
 
 Though not an oflice-seeker, Mr. Barnard for the 
 sake of upholding the principles which he espoused 
 in the Greenback platform, ran for Congress in 
 the Ninth Congressional District in 1882, and was 
 com]jlimented witli the largest vote of anj' candi- 
 date in the party for that offlce. He was a strong 
 anti-slavery man and voted for the Republican 
 candidates and principles until Grant's last elec- 
 tion. He supported Peter Cooper and then adopted 
 the principles of the Greenback party. He now 
 affiliates with the People's party. Since the or- 
 ganization as a company of the County Fair As- 
 sociation, IMr. Barnard has served as one of its di- 
 rectors. He is an author and poet of considerable 
 ability, and many of his poems have been pub- 
 lished in standard literary works. 
 
 iiy^i ILO R. PETERS, who Owns a farm of one 
 hundred and ten acres in the corporate 
 i' limits of the village of Manteno, and on 
 which he makes his home, is also a dealer 
 in hardware, lumber and farm implements there. 
 His birth occurred on tlie 20th of March, 1832, in 
 Ryegate Township, Caledonia County, Vt. He is 
 a son of Samuel and Margaret (Nelson) Peters, 
 the former a native of the Green Mountain State, 
 and the latter of New Hampshire. Our subject's 
 paternal grandfather, Andrew B. Peters, was of 
 English descent, liis p;rents emigrated to Amer- 
 ica about 1765, settling in Bradford, Vt. That! 
 town was his home until 1846, when he died atj 
 the age of eighty-seven years. During his en- 
 tire life he was a public man, and in one town- 
 ship occupied the olliee of Justice of the Peacej
 
 LIBRARy 
 OF THE 
 
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 i 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 693 
 
 tor forty-seven years, during tliat time also hold- 
 ing various positions of honor and responsiliilit}'. 
 On Ihi" maternal side, the grand fatiicr, Robert 
 Nelson, was of Scotcii parentage, his birth having 
 occurred iu Aberdeen, Scotland. He settled in 
 New Hampshire with his parents in a Scotch com- 
 munity, and one of his sons, Natlian, still resides 
 on tlie old homestead. When over eiglitj- years 
 of age he departed this life, iu 1846. 
 
 Samuel Peters was a tanner and shoemaker for 
 many years in the East. In March, 1842, he re- 
 moved from Vermont to New Hampshire, locat- 
 ing on a farm near Haverhill, where he lived for 
 lhirt3--six years. His death occurred in 1878, at 
 which time he was over eight}- years of age. He 
 was prominent in public and local affairs, and 
 occupied at different times a number of townshi|) 
 cilices. His family comprised nine children, of 
 whom six yet survive: Eliza A., wife of Myron 
 Bailey, residing in Littleton, N. H.; Lydia B., 
 now the wife of Andrew Warden, of Barnet, Vt; 
 Milo R.; Margaret F., wife of James B. True- 
 worthy, of Lowell, Jlass.; Helen M., who married 
 Paul Seager, of Otto Township, this county; and 
 Chastine, now Mrs. Frank Smilli, living near Port- 
 land, Me. 
 
 The education of Mr. Peters, of this sketch, was 
 acquired in the common schools of those carl}' 
 da^'s in '\'ermont. He was reared upon a farm, 
 and remained with his parents until arriving at 
 his majority. Ou the 26th of October, 1857, he 
 was married to Miss Ella F., daughter of tiie Rev. 
 John T. and Jane B. (McDougall) Ricliardson. 
 The former was of English descent, the latter of 
 Scotch parentage, and both were natives of Circle- 
 ville, Ohio. Of their family of nine children, five 
 are yet living: John Homer, Ellen F., Joseph A., 
 Ada A. and Clara J. To our subject and his esti- 
 mable wife two sons and four daugliters have 
 been born: Nellie May; Margerie J., who is the 
 wife of William M. Harvey, telegraph operator 
 and station agent at Manteuo; George M., Mamie 
 A., Ernest W. and Florence E. 
 
 On the 17th of February, 1855, Mr. Peters 
 landed in Kankakee County aud located in Mau- 
 teno, wliere he worked at carpentering for sev- 
 eral years. In 1860 he bought one hundred and 
 
 sixty acres of railroad land, located on section 
 18, Manteno Township, where he lived for seven 
 years. He again engaged in carpentering, con- 
 tracting and building in Manteno from 1808 to 
 1878. During that time he added to his original 
 farm, which he still owns, one hundred and sixty 
 acres, making three hundred and twenty acres in 
 all. In 1878 he opened a lumber yard and the 
 hardware business, which he is still engaged in 
 carrying on. A year previously lie purchased a 
 farm of one hundred and ten acres located witiiin 
 the corporate limits of Manteno, and upon this is 
 situated his- residence. He also is the owner of 
 four hundred acres of timber land near Dc Soto, 
 Clarke County, Miss. 
 
 With one exception, Jlr. Peters has longer re- 
 sided in Manteno than any other person. When 
 he located here in 1855, tlie country was a wilder- 
 ness and there were but six houses in the village. 
 Lie and his wife are respected members of the 
 Presbyterian Church, with which they have been 
 connected for a number of years. Politically, he 
 is a stanch Republican. 
 
 
 <|i^LDER WILLIAM H. VAN DOREN is a 
 
 fe substantial and well-known farmer who 
 Ij^^! makes his home on section 26, Norton 
 Township. He is a minister in the Wesle3'an 
 Methodist Church, with which he has been con- 
 nected since 1857, and to Christian work he has 
 devoted thirty of the best years of his life, during 
 that time establishing a number of churches, lie 
 is numliered among the iionored pioneers of Illi- 
 nois, dating his I'esidence in this State from 1839. 
 He was born in Dutchess County, N. Y., near the 
 city of Troy, on the 1st of December, 1823. His 
 paternal grandfather, Christian Van Doren, was a 
 native of New Jersey and served throughout the 
 War of the Revolution. At its close he purchased 
 land in JMontgoniery County, N. Y., buying it for 
 twelve and a-half cents \wr acre. He reared his 
 family aud spent his remaining da^'s in that local- 
 ity. The ^^•ln Doren famil}' came from Holland
 
 694 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and were among tlie jjioneers of New Jersey. Our 
 subject's father, Abraham Van Doren, was born on 
 the 10th of September, 1783, in Montgomery 
 County, N. Y. On arriving at his majority lie 
 married Persis Brigliam, who was born in Vermont 
 and reared in Massachusetts. Jlr. Van Doren was 
 a mechanic and located n«ar Tro\', afterward mov- 
 ing to Sloanville, of tlic same State. After a resi- 
 dence there of several 3-ears he went to Charleston, 
 in Montgomery County. The year 1839 witnessed 
 his arrival in Illinois. He located at Farmington, 
 a place twenty-four miles west of Peoria, where he 
 resided until his death in 1852. After surviving 
 her husband for several years, Mrs. Van Doren de- 
 parted this life on the 22d of November, 1865, 
 and was buried near Farmridge Cemetery, in La 
 .Salle County'. Abraham Van Doren was a soldier 
 in tiie AVar of 1812, and was a man of noble char- 
 acter. 
 
 The gentleman whose name heads this sketch 
 is the youngest of a famih' of two sons and a 
 daughter, who grew to mature years. Abram, who 
 is now retired, lives near Chicago. The sister, 
 Sarah Catherine, became the wife of Isaac T. Van 
 Doren, but is now deceased. Her husband is at 
 the present time Postmaster of Grand Ridge, La 
 Salle County. 
 
 LTutil fifteen years of age William H. Van Doren 
 lived in New York, aud in 1838, with his sister, 
 went to Indiana. The following year he joined 
 his father in Fulton County, 111., and there grew 
 to manhood. In addition to a good common- 
 school education he attended for one term the 
 Galesburg Academj', from which he returned to 
 his home on account of his father's poor health. 
 He learned the blacksmith's trade, at which he 
 worked for several years. In 1857, he moved to 
 Knox County, working as a blacksmith for seven 
 j-ears. He next went to La Salle County, which was 
 his home for the four years following, and in 1867 
 became a resident of Kankakee County, where he 
 purchased land in Norton Township. On this 
 farm he still resides. It consists of one hundred 
 and sixty acres, and is now well-improved and 
 desirable propert}', but which at the time of his 
 purchase was wild prairie. 
 
 On the 6th of August, 1845, a marriage cere- 
 
 mony united the destinies of Mr. Van Doren and 
 Miss Rlioda R. Barrett, who was born, reared and 
 educated in Knox County. The wife departed 
 this life ou the 27th of August, 1855. By her 
 marriage were born four children. On the 16th 
 of May, 1856, in Fulton County, Mr. Van Doren 
 wedded Miss Hannah Chapman, who was born in 
 England and emigrate*! to Illinois when a child of 
 seven years with her father, Joseph Chapman, who 
 was one of the honored pioneers of Fulton County. 
 By his first wife Mr. Van Doren had four children: 
 Ruth, who died in 1872; Albert Henry, a farmer 
 of Norton Township; Silas IL, M. D., a graduate 
 of the Bennett Medical College of Chicago, and 
 now engaged in the practice of his profession in 
 Saybrook, McLean County, 111.; and Mary C, wife 
 of Robert Hunter, a farmer of this county. Bj'' 
 the last union were born Charles L., M. D., also a j 
 graduate of the Bennett Medical College, and aj 
 practicing phj'sician of Vermilion County, 111.; 
 Frank E., also a physician, in Ilerscher, 111.; 
 George C, a man of good education and editor of 
 the Buckingham News, who died on the 27th of 
 March, 1883; Rlioda E., who departed this life 
 when but nineteen years of age, ou the 5th of 
 April, 1883; Walter F., a pharmacist residing at 
 Saunemin, Livingston County, and a successful; 
 business man there; Clara B., a successful teacher; 
 Henry, residing at home; and Jennie M., who 
 died in May, 1881, aged three years. 
 
 Dr. Frank E. Van Doren, mentioned above, a 
 physician and surgeon, who has practiced in and , 
 around Ilerscher, 111., for almost ten 3-ears most ' 
 successful!}', is a man possessed of great energy ; 
 and determination. He made a great success of , 
 his profession. During Februar}', 1893, his mosti 
 estimable wife was taken ill; the best of medical aid 
 and kind assistance by their many friends availed 
 nothing, and she died the same month. She was a j 
 devout Christian, being an active member of the i 
 Presb3'terian Church and a teacher in the Sunday- j 
 school. Dr. Van Doren, after his wife's death,] 
 disposed of his business to Dr. Emmet Enos, who] 
 now is the resident physician of Ilerscher. At the] 
 present writing Dr. Van Doren is in California. 
 
 Mr. Van Doren is a man of unblemished char- 
 acter and is in every respect worthy of the confi-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIIJCAL RECORD. 
 
 695 
 
 (lent'c and high regard in whieli he is lield by all 
 wlio have come in contact with him. His minis- 
 terial work in various portions of the State has 
 made him well known, and his labors in the cause 
 of Christianity have been untiring. 
 
 AMUEL L. KNIGHT was numbered among 
 the honored pioneers of Kankakee County 
 and was one of the prominent citizens of 
 the county seat, where he located in an 
 early day. lie was a native of Massachusetts, his 
 birth having occurred in Norwich on the 19th of 
 April, 1802. His boyhood days were quietly 
 passed, .and on attaining his majority he embarked 
 in business for himself, taking up the occupation 
 of farming, which he followed in Cattaraugus 
 County-, N. Y., being thus employed for several 
 jears. 
 
 On tlie Mth of April, 1820, Mr. Knight was 
 united in marriage with Miss Lucena L. Parker, 
 and unto them were born three children, two sons 
 and a daughter: Camden, Solon, and Helen, who is 
 the wife of George V. Iluling. After his marriage 
 Mr. Knight engaged in mercantile business, which 
 he continued in the East for a number of years. 
 At length he determined to try his fortune on the 
 prairies of the West, and in the summer of 1843 
 emigrated to Illinois, locating in Plainfield, Will 
 County, where he spent about two years. In 1845 
 he removed to Joliet, where he engaged in various 
 kinds of business during a period of six years. In 
 1851, he became a resident of Kankakee County, 
 settling in Bourbonnais Giove. After Kankakee 
 had been chosen as the count3' seat he removed to 
 tills city in Jul_y, 1853, embarking in the lumber- 
 ing business in connection with his son Solon, who 
 remained for the greater part of that summer in 
 Chicago buying lumber, which he shii)ped to his 
 father at this place. 
 
 i\Ir. Knight was prominently connected witli the 
 early history of this community, and was the first 
 Postmaster here, the name of the office then being 
 
 Clarksville. It is said that the mails were so 
 small at that time that he could and did frequently 
 deliver them in a dinner pail. He was honored 
 with a number of public otlices of trust and re- 
 sponsibility, the duties of which were ever faith- 
 fully and promptly performed. In 1857 he was 
 elected President of the Board of Trustees, and at 
 different times served in the offices of Trustee, 
 Town Supervisor, City Clerk, etc. He continued 
 his business as a dealer in lumber, stone and lime, 
 and led an active and useful life. Indolence and 
 idleness were utterly foreign to his nature. On 
 the contrary energy, enterprise and perseverance 
 were numbered among his chief characteristics. 
 His honorable, upright dealings won him univer- 
 sal confidence and the esteem of all with whom he 
 was brought in contact. He was a public-spirited 
 and progressive citizen and took an active inter- 
 est in all that pertained to the welfare of the com- 
 munity, in the upbuilding of which he bore so 
 prominent a part. His death occurred at his home 
 in Kankakee on the 15th of March, 1879, and was 
 mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaint- 
 ances, who ever held him in the highest regard. 
 
 
 ~!~Il 
 
 ^^ ICHAEL F. RILEY, senior member of the 
 Jp \\\ firm of M. F. Riley & Co., is an extensive 
 11 li general merchant of Reddick, 111. He is 
 ^ n representative, enterprising and public- 
 
 spirited citizen, and has been successfullj' engaged 
 as a merchant in Reddick for the past twelve 
 years. At the time when he started in this line 
 his capital comprised but $1,800, with which he 
 purchased stock. He now carries $16,000 worth of 
 stock, a'ld his business is constantly increasing. 
 
 Mr. Riley was born in the city of New York, on 
 the 12th of May, 1854, and is a son of Francis 
 and Mary (Bradley) Riley, botli natives of Ire- 
 land, who came to the United Slates in childhood. 
 Our subject was reared to manhood in Illinois, 
 and is well educated. He is the eldest of a fam- 
 ily of two sons and five daughters, all of whom 
 grew to maturity, and all, with one exception,
 
 696 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 are now mariied. After his marriage the fatlier 
 resided in New York for about seven j^ears, when 
 he came West, landing in Will Counts' in 1856, 
 wliere he opened up a farm, on which he still re- 
 sides, now retired from the active duties and la- 
 bors incident to farm life, and enj03nng the rest 
 he has so well earned and truly deserves. He has 
 been very successful as a farmer, and owns sev- 
 eral well-improved farms both in Will and Kan- 
 kakee Counties. 
 
 Michael Rilej- completed his common-school edu- 
 cation by a course of study in commercial lines 
 in the .Joliet Academy. He returned to the farm 
 in this county, and took charge of it for his fa- 
 ther until twenty-five years of age. In Decem- 
 ber, 1880, he came to Reddick, and until the fol- 
 lowing April engaged in buying grain for other 
 parties. He purchased two lots on a good busi- 
 ness street, on which he erected a store building, 
 22x40 feet, and one story in height. Here he en- 
 gaged in the general mercantile business, still 
 continuing to buy grain for his former employers. 
 In May, 1882, the present partnership was formed, 
 tlie building enlarged and their stock of goods in- 
 creased. From tune to time they have added to 
 their storeroom fresh supplies of goods, and now 
 carry an immense stock of general merchandise, 
 in addition to which they deal largely in lumber, 
 grain, coal and agricultural implements. The firm 
 has also built and is running a large creamer^' in 
 Reddick. Tlirough long years of honest dealing 
 and fair prices they have established a reputation 
 which has brought them a fine and increasing 
 trade. 
 
 On the 11th of December, 1881, was celebrated 
 the marriage of Mr. Riley and Miss Margaret 
 Riley in Livingston County, which was the birth- 
 place of the lady. Her fatlier, Bernard Riley, is 
 a prominent farmer of that count}'. He is now 
 erecting a fine residence in Kankakee, in which he 
 will make his home in the future. Five chil- 
 dren have l)een boin to our subject and his wife: 
 Frank, Mary, Alice (who died in infancy), Alice 
 May and Edward. 
 
 Mr. Riley, has taken quite an active part in 
 local politics and was elected Township Clerk in 
 Will County, in which capacity he served for 
 
 three consecutive terms. His first Presidential 
 ballot was cast for Gen. Hancock, and for every 
 nominee of the Democratic party for President 
 he has given his support. He has served as a dele- 
 gate to both county and State conventions, and 
 has been a resident of Illinois nearly his whole 
 lifetime and of this county for fifteen years. 
 
 ®? N_,JI4 _-J ^ 
 
 ■^ OSEPH L. CLARK, ex-County Surveyor, re- 
 siding in Momence, was born in Naples, 
 N. Y., on the 6th of May, 1832. Col. William 
 Clark, the grandfather of our subject, was 
 a soldier in the Revolutionary- War, and was the 
 leader of a party of twelve men who purchased 
 the township of Nai)les, Ontario County, N. Y., 
 where he removed with his family, and assisted 
 materially in the clearing and development of 
 that section. 
 
 The parents of our subject, Lorenzo and Laura 
 (Turner) Clark, resided for many years in New 
 York. The father was a native of Binghamton, 
 Mass., and removed to Naples, N. Y., with his par- 
 ents when he was but three 3'ears of age. He was 
 the youngest son in his father's family, and 
 throughout life followed the occupation of farm- 
 ing. After his father's death he carried on the 
 old homestead, w^here he resided until his death, 
 when sixty-nine years of age. He was a popular 
 and prominent man and held many official posi- 
 tions, from Justice of the Peace to Assemblyman, 
 having been elected to the General Assembly in 
 the fall of 1844. He was a Whig and a great ad- 
 mirer of Henry Claj-, and was in favor of a high 
 protective tariff. He occupied the rank of Major 
 in the State mihtia. His wife was of Welsh de- 
 scent, and lived to be eighty-one years of age, 
 dying at the old homestead in Naples, on the 1st 
 of March, 1874. 
 
 In the family were twelve children, nine of 
 whom grew to maturity: Milan O., Noah T., Bela 
 T., Cynthia M., William W., II. Amanda, Laura 
 A., .Toseph L. and Edmund C. Six are now liv- 
 ing, are married and have families. Milan, Bela
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 697 
 
 :ind Cyntliia are now deceased. Rela was the fiist. 
 Surveyor of Kankakee County. lie was a soldier 
 ill the .same company and regiment to wiiich our 
 sul)jeet belonged and served for alxmt a year and 
 a-half. being mustered out on account of failing 
 health, hi 1873 he died at his home in Ganier 
 Township. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were passed 
 on the farm, whicii was his birthplace and wiiere 
 he received a good common-school educaliun, 
 which he supplemented b_v a course of stud\- in 
 the High School of Naples, and later attended 
 Medina Academy. Wlien he was aliout sixteen 
 years of age he started in life for himself. In 
 1S51 he first came to Illinois and purchased a farm 
 of one hundred and sixty acres in Aroma Town- 
 ship, Kankakee County, to which he has added, 
 until iiis present possessions now amount to five 
 hundred and tlurty-one acres. For a time he 
 rented his land, teaching school in the winter and 
 working at his trade of carpentering in the sum- 
 mer season. 
 
 On the breaking out of the late war, l\Ir. Clark 
 enlisted in Company D, Forty -second Illinois In- 
 fantry, and was in tlie service of his country for 
 three years. He participated with his regiment in 
 the battles of Stone River, Chickamauga, and 
 nearly all of the engagements of the Atlanta cam- 
 paign. He was once struck with a piece of spent 
 shell, but although he was knocked down, would 
 not acknowledge himself wounded. He w.as mus- 
 tered out immediately after the close of the At- 
 lanta campaign. 
 
 On the 2d of Ma}', 1865, jMr. Clark married 
 Miss Mary L., daughter of Col. Lyman and Mary 
 C. (McNeill) Wooster, of Ganier Township, v,ho 
 were of Scotch descent. Five children were born 
 to our subject and his wife: Mary L., ]\Iabel C, 
 Charles E. (who died in infancy), Elwin and Car- 
 rie. 
 
 In 1881, Joseph L. Clark was elected County 
 Surveyor, which office he held till 189.3, when he 
 refused to serve longer. He has also held numer- 
 ous other local positions, and has been Justice of 
 the Peace for many years. When he first came to 
 Illinois the country was very wild and but little 
 inhabited, there being but three hundred residents 
 
 in Momence. He has witnessed the marvelous 
 development of the county, which now ranks 
 among the foremost of the State, and which is 
 settled with a highly intelligent and thrifty class 
 of good citizens. Mr. Clark casts his vote in 
 favor of the nominees of the Republican party, 
 and is a member of Worcester Post No. 627, 
 G. A. R, He isnota memberof any church or secret 
 society, but is one of the substantial and highly 
 lespccted citizens of the county and community 
 in which he dwells, and whose history would be 
 sadly incomplete were his name omitted from its 
 records. 
 
 txHIHr 
 
 ^OHN D. PETERSON, a farmer residing on 
 
 section 21, Norton Township, Kankakee 
 
 if^l i ^°""^.^'' •'^"'' whose postofHcc is Bucking- 
 
 ham. 111., came here and settled on the raw 
 prairie eighteen years ago. He is a native of Nor- 
 way, born July 8, 1842. His father, John Peter- 
 son, emigrated with his family to the New World 
 in 1857, taking passage in a sailing-vessel, and 
 landing in fjuebec, in June of that year. They 
 went directly to La Salle County, wdience, after liv- 
 ing some five years, the}' removed to Livingston 
 Count}'. The father was a farmer by occupation, 
 and carried on a farm in that county until his 
 death, which occurred in 1873. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were passed in 
 his n.ative land, and at the time of the family's 
 emigration to the United States he was a lad of 
 fifteen years. He received good common-school 
 advantages both in Norway and Illinois. Until 
 he arrived at his majority he worked upon a farm 
 during the summer season, attending school in the 
 winter. With his father he rented land in Liv- 
 ingston County, and farmed there for several 
 years. Removing then to Kankakee Count}', Mr. 
 Peterson purchased one hundred and twenty acres 
 of prairie land, where he still resides. For many 
 years past he has been considered one of the enter- 
 prising and successful agriculturists of the com- 
 nuuiity. He has ever been industrious and frugal,
 
 698 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and now has a valuable and well-improved farm 
 of two hundred acres, situated midway between 
 Herscher and Buckingham. On his place he 
 erected a large and substantial residence, commo- 
 dious barns, sheds and outbuildings. 
 
 In Livingston County, on the 27th of February, 
 1875, Mr. Peterson and Miss Cairie Dyvig were 
 united in marriage. The lady is also a native of 
 Norway, and is a daughter of John Dyvig, who 
 settled in Livingston County. By the union of 
 our subject and his wife have been born five chil- 
 dren, as follows: .Joseph, Clara, Amelia, John and 
 Josephine. 
 
 Since becoming a voter, Mr. Peterson has been 
 identified with the Republican party, his first bal- 
 lot being cast in 1868 for Gen. U. S. Grant. He 
 has never been a politician or wished for public 
 office. His whole time and attention he has de- 
 voted strictly to his farming interests and house- 
 hold affairs. During the nearly twenty years of 
 his residence in this locality, Mr. Peterson has won 
 the respect and esteem of all with whom he has 
 come in contact. He has made his own way in 
 the world, and good success has crowned the labor 
 of years. 
 
 4^ 
 
 i^Jl. HIRAM TODD, deceased, was promi- 
 nently identified with the history of the 
 territory now called Kankakee County 
 from its first settlement until his death. 
 He was jjrobablj' the first physician in the county, 
 and his business relations made him known far 
 and near. A native of Vermont, he was born in 
 Poultney, November, 18, 179.5, and was a son of 
 Thomas Todd, who was born and reared in Row- 
 ley-, Mass., where had lived his direct ancestors 
 since 1664. One of them, John Todd, represented 
 that place in Gejieral Court from 1664 until 1686, 
 and represented Charlestown in the same body as 
 early as 1637. He was a native of England. 
 
 In 1783 Thomas Todd married Betsy Dagget, a 
 native of Sutton, Mass., where they lived for sev- 
 
 eral years. Their next home was in Douglass, 
 Mass., and in March, 1795, they went to Poultnej', 
 Vt., where tiie mother's death occurred July 28, 
 1829, at the age of sixty-eight years. The father 
 passed away November 20, 1848, when eighty- 
 eight years of age. 
 
 Iliiam Todd attended school in Schenectady, 
 N. Y., and by bis own exertions earned enough to 
 pay for his board and tuition. From an early age 
 he was dependent upon his own resources. In 
 1817 he went to Kingston, Canada, and in 1820 to 
 Lebanon, Ohio, where he began the study of med- 
 icine. Three years later he began practice in Hen- 
 deison, Ky., and on the 25th of January, 1826, 
 was graduated from the Ohio Medical College of 
 Cincinnati. Returning to Lebanon, Ohio, he 
 opened an office. On the 22d of June following, 
 he was appointed Surgeon of the First Regiment 
 of Infantry, Second Brigade and First Division, 
 Ohio Militia, by its Commander, Col. W. A. Can- 
 non. 
 
 In Franklin, Ohio, May 21, 1828, the Doctor 
 married Lydia Church, a native of Vermont, and 
 soon afterward went to Ft. Waj'ne, Ind. Subse- 
 quently he made his home in Logansport, where 
 he carried on practice and engaged in merchan- 
 dising as a partner of Jordan Vigus. Logansport 
 was then an Indian trading-post, and the Doctor 
 was implored by the Indian agent to tr^' to check 
 the ravages of smallpox among the red men. 
 Other pliysicians had refused, but he undertook 
 the work and was remarkably successful, in so 
 much that the Indians ever afterward welcomed 
 him as a friend. At this time he also made judi- 
 cious investments in real estate. In connection 
 with capitalists of Indiana, he bought large tracts 
 of land both in Indiana and Illinois upon the con- 
 clusion of the Camp Tippecanoe Treaty. In 1834, 
 in connection with Messrs. Clark and Andrews, he 
 laid out La Porte, Ind., and took up bis residence 
 there. In the fall of 1835 he came to Illinois to 
 look after his landed interests, for he owned the 
 greater part of eight thousand acres along the 
 Kankakee and Iroquois Rivers. From that time 
 he was a prominent figure in this community. He 
 made a location about a mile below Waldron, and 
 July 16, 1836, was appointed Postmaster of the
 
 I 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 699 
 
 first postoftice within tlie limits of what is now 
 Kankakee County. The name of Kankakee was 
 given to the ofHce. 
 
 After about two years, tlie Doctor and his wife 
 returned to La Fayette for a brief period, but 
 again came to their Illinois home in tlie fall of 
 1839. He was also the first Postmaster of Rock- 
 ville, his commission bearing date 1812. and for 
 thirty years the office was held by some member 
 of his family. Upon the bank of the beautiful 
 Kankakee their home was located. The Doctor's 
 first deed for land within the present limits of this 
 county included five sections reserved to Shaw- 
 waw-nas-see, whose deed to Hiram Todd, C^rus 
 Tabor, of Logansport, Ind., and Allen Hamilton, 
 of Ft. Wayne, Ind., was dated March 22, 1833, 
 and was filed for record three days later in Cook 
 County, from the fact that the land then lay in 
 that count}'. Dr. Todd found that the hardships 
 and privations of pioneer life were injuring his 
 health, but there were few physicians in the local- 
 ity, and his services were so constantly in demand 
 that he felt he must minister to his suffering fel- 
 low-mortals. The exposure and hard work con- 
 tinued to prey upon him until the llth of July, 
 1849, when he was called to his final rest. 
 
 The life of Dr. Todd was one of rich experi- 
 ence. He was reared and educated in New Eng- 
 land, but much of his later life was spent on the 
 frontier, where he not only bore the hardships of 
 the pioneer himself, but aided others in carrying 
 their burdens. He was of a verj' genial and social 
 disposition, a man of broad charity and kindness 
 of heart, and in the esteem and confidence of all 
 who knew him, he held an enviable jjosition. His 
 home was the abode of that old-time hospitality, 
 which always afforded a guest a warm welcome. 
 In politics he was a lifelong Whig. Few men will 
 be more kindly remembered than Dr. Todd, and 
 the history' of Kankakee County would be incom- 
 plete without the record of this honored pioneer. 
 His wife was truly his companion and heli)niate. 
 She shared witii him the adversity and prosperity 
 of life, its sorrows and its joj's, and by her sym- 
 pathy' and helpfulness aided him greatly in his 
 lifewoik. She died December 26, 1871, at the 
 age of three-score years and ten, and her remains 
 
 and those of her husband were laid side by side in 
 Mt. Grove Cemetery. This worthy couple had a 
 family' of six children, three of whom are living: 
 Frances T., widow of Maj. Rodney S. Bowen, of 
 Wilmington; Hiram Church; and Walter Wilson 
 Todd. 
 
 Dr. Todd has the honor of having laid out 
 several towns in this section. He owned the 
 land and laid out tlie villages of Momence and 
 Rockville, and also owned the land on which 
 Waldron was laid out. 
 
 "' j M y^ p *^ ^ 1 p ^ 
 
 y,r LLEN S. WALTON, who owns and oper- 
 l@£Jj| ates a good farm of one hundred and 
 eighty acres of land on section 21, Rock- 
 ville Township, has the honor of being 
 numbered among the pioneer settlers of this 
 count}'. Almost his entire life has here been 
 passed, for his parents removed to this county in 
 1846, when he was but two years of age. His 
 birth occurred in La Porte, Ind., May 22, 1844. 
 His father, Ualph Walton, was a native of Dur- 
 iiam, England. In 1792, he accompanied his par- 
 ents on their emigration to America, the voyage 
 being made in a sailing-vessel. The family lo- 
 cated in Essex County, N. Y., where Mr. Walton 
 grew to manhood and was married. He wedded 
 JNIiss Catherine Culver, a native of New York. In 
 1830 they emigrated AVestward, locating in Lorain 
 County, Ohio, among its early settlers. Four 
 years later Mr. Walton removed with his familj'to 
 La Porte, Ind., where he purchased a tract of raw 
 land and Degan farming. His property he im- 
 proved and cultivated and thereon made his home 
 until 1846, when he again resumed his Westward 
 journey. This time he located in what is now Kan- 
 kakee County, but was then a part of AVill County, 
 settling upon the farm which is still the home of our 
 subject. Here he purchased ninety acres of land 
 from the Government at the usual price of ^1.2r) 
 per acre, erected thereon a log cabin of one room 
 and in true pioneer st3'le began life in the West. 
 In that cabin home he lived many \ears, until he
 
 700 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 erected the residence in which his son Allen now 
 lives. Wljen he first located here Chicago was the 
 nearest market and he hauled his grain to that 
 place with an ox-team. There were still some In- 
 dians living in tiie neigliborhood and wild game of 
 all kinds was plentiful. 
 
 Ralpli Walton had served as a soldier in the 
 War of 1812. lie was quite a well-educated man 
 and a prominent citizen. In politics he was a 
 Whig in early life, but on the dissolution of tliat 
 part^-, joined the ranks of tlie new Republican 
 part}^ In religious belief he was a Metliodist. 
 His death occurred in August, 1862, and his re- 
 mains were interred in Deselm Cemetery. His 
 wife survived him for aljout twenty years and 
 passed away in 1883. She too was a member of 
 the Methodist Church, and both were highly re- 
 spected people. Thejr had a familj' of eleven 
 children, as follows: Calvin L., Jane A., Se3'mour L., 
 Celia C, Alfred A., Adam Clarke, Louisa S., Ralph 
 L., Ellen and Allen S. (twins), and Martha A. 
 Of these seven are living and six have families. 
 
 The subject of this sketch grew to manhood 
 upon his father's farm amid the wild scenes of 
 frontier life. He was earlj- inured to the arduous 
 labors of the field, and after his father's deatli he 
 remained upon the old homestead and operated 
 the farm for his mother for a number of 3'ears. 
 March 31, 1874, he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Celia Hedges, daughter of Josepli and Jane 
 P. (Diamond) Hedges. After his marriage he pur- 
 chased the old homestead and thereon the young 
 couple began their domestic life. Their union 
 was blessed with a famil3^ of seven children, but 
 three are now deceased. Raj-, the first-born, died 
 January 24, 1884; Daisj', the fourth in order of 
 birth, died Februarj' 26, 1883; and one child died 
 in infanc}'. The other ciiildren are Harry D., Os- 
 car B., Fred J. and Albert L. The Walton liouse- 
 hold is the abode of hospitality and its members 
 rank high in social circles. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Walton is a Republi- 
 can. He has held a number of minor offices but 
 has never been an aspirant in that direction. He 
 is a public-spirited and progressive citizen who 
 manifests a commendable interest in all that per- 
 tains to the welfare of the communitv and aids in 
 
 the promotion of all worth\' enterprises. Through- 
 out his entire life he has followed agricultural 
 pursuits, and since coming to the county has lived 
 upon the farm which is still his home. He carries 
 on general farming and stock-raising and does a 
 good business. As before stated, he now owns one 
 hundred and eighty acres of land, comprising a 
 well-improved and valuable farm. He has been 
 connected with the development of this tract 
 many long 3-ears and the greater part of its im- 
 provements stands as a monument to his -thrift 
 and enterprise. 
 
 _V 
 
 /^EORGE DAY was a native of England, hii 
 (1/ I-—, birth having occurred in Hcnstridge, Som| 
 %^i ersetshire, on the 9th of June, 1822. Hi| 
 parents, James and Fannie (-Belling) Da3', wer 
 also born in England, as were their ancestors fo| 
 man3' generations. Their family consisted of fiva 
 children, three sons and two daughters, only onl 
 of whom is now living, .John, who resides in Mill^ 
 borneport, England. 
 
 Our subject was reared to manhood on a farn 
 and about the year 1840 was married to Miss Faal 
 nie, daughter of Robert and Martha (Mogg) JenkJ 
 ins, who were also natives of England. Mrs. Day 
 was born June 11, 1820, in Dorsetshire, Englandl 
 In 18.57, Mr. Day came to America, leaving hiq 
 famil3' in England for three years. He made 
 settlement in Huron County, near Bellevue, Ohio 
 where he followed agricultural pursuits for te| 
 years. He then removed to Illinois, bu3ang 
 farm of one hundred and twenty-three acres ii 
 Manteno Township, which was his place of res^ 
 dence for seventeen 3''ears. He then sold tiij 
 homestead and located in the village, where h| 
 lived a retired life for eight 3'ears. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Day were born six childreii 
 Louisa was twice married, her first husband beinl 
 John Cooper, a farmer of Ohio. He was also bora 
 in England, and by their marriage were born twi 
 ciiildren: William H. and Mary Louisa. Mfl
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HWIVERSiry OF ILLINOIS
 
 i^^L-^'7-n--^L^^t^- 
 
 ^ jr^,ji^
 
 qAu/UJ. Q/foUr^yx^o^ (O. X^X-C
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILUNOIS
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7(1.) 
 
 I 
 
 Cooper died May 17, 1877, aoed forty-one years. 
 Louisa then bewiine the wife of .Joseph (iruher, and 
 by iier second union had one eiiilil, a daughter, 
 who is now deceased. Jane is the wife of Joshua 
 l'il)cr, who is engaged in fanning near Peotone, 
 111. Tliey have six living children: James II., 
 George E., Roy, Arthur, Alvin and Hosa. Anna 
 D. became the wife of William Curl, who owns 
 and operates a farm near Mantcno. Their family 
 comprises four children: Mary J., Anna, Jlyrtilla, 
 Albert W. and George N. Martha G. died wlien 
 Iwo years of age. Alice E. is at home with her 
 mother. Henry G., who married Ellen, daughter 
 of James Piper, is engaged-in tiie transfer business 
 in Chicago. They have a famil}' of three children: 
 Matie, Emil}' and George. 
 
 Mr. Day was a member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, as is also his wife, who still survives 
 liim. He was called to his final -i-ew^rd,- on the 
 24th of February, 1892, at which time' he had 
 reached the age of sixty-nine years, eight months 
 and twenty-three da3's. He was an industrious, 
 hard-working man, much respected for his upright- 
 ness and true worth. In his political views he 
 was a stalwart Republican and took great interest 
 in the welfare and development of this region. 
 
 -*j- 
 
 ^>^¥r<W 
 
 ^^ AIMUEL TAYLOR, a wealthy citizen and 
 ^^^ one of the extensive land-owners of Rock. 
 l\i^3) ^'"^ Township, resides on section 20. He 
 was born in Devonshire, England, in 1827, 
 and is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth Taylor. 
 There were only two children in tiiis family. The 
 younger brother, Alexander, died in 1886. The 
 father was a farmer and made that work his business 
 throughout his entire life. Emigrating to Amer- 
 ica, he spent the last years of his life in Canada, 
 where he died in 1882. 
 
 The mother of our subject died when Samuel 
 was aliout two j-ears of age, and he then went to 
 live in the home of his uncle, Alexander Taylor, 
 with whom he came to America when a lad of ten 
 summers. They crossed the Atlantic in a sailing- 
 
 32 
 
 vessel, whicli after a voyage of seven weeks and 
 tliree da\s dr(>pi)ed anchor in tlic liarl)or of Now 
 York. Landing in that cit}', Alexander Taylor 
 and his nephew made their way at once to Ohio, 
 locating in Huron County. Soon after reaching 
 the Buckeye State our subject started out in life 
 for himself. He was then only aljout eleven years 
 of age — quite young to enter upon life's battle. 
 During the first year he worked out as a farm 
 hand for nine months, receiving $4 per month for 
 his laltors, and during the three months of the 
 winter season he attended school. For six j'eais he 
 was thus emploj'ed, after whicli he commenced 
 farming for himself. Having by his industry, 
 economy and good management acquired a small 
 capital, he purchased a farm, not very large in ex- 
 tent it is true, but still it gave him a start in life. 
 
 Hoping to better his financial condition, Mr. 
 Tayjar emigrated from Ohio to Illinois in 1853 
 He and D. W. Dole started on the journey by team, 
 but the roads were so bad that they returned, left 
 the team and came to Chicago by rail. From Chi- 
 cago to Momence they walked, and then came 
 down the river to J. W. Smith's in Bourbonnais 
 Township. Purchasing one hundred and fifty 
 acres of partially improved land on section 3, 
 Rockville Township, he gave his time and atten- 
 tion to its cultivation until about 1862, when he 
 removed to the farm on which he now resides, and 
 which has been his home continuously since, with 
 the exception of about two years, a part of which 
 period was spent in California. The old home- 
 stead now comprises three hundred and twenty 
 acres of land. Mr. Taylor carries on general farm- 
 ing and stock-raising and does a good business. 
 He has labored earnestly and success has rewarded 
 his well-directed efforts. As his financial resources 
 have increased he lias made additional purchases 
 from time to time, until his landed possessions now 
 aggregate some twelve hundred acres of land, all 
 of which is situated in Rockville Township, and is 
 well-improved and valuable property. 
 
 Mr. Taylor has been twice married. In 1856, 
 he wedded Miss Fidelia J. Dole, sister of D. W. 
 Dole, and unto them were born six children: Ella, 
 who diecj in 1888; Wilbur, who died in 1885; 
 Julia and Jennie, both deceased; ^^linnie, now the
 
 706 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 wife of Oliver Schreffler, a general mercliant of 
 Rockville; and Edwin, who is engaged in farming 
 in Rockville Township. Tlie mother of this fam- 
 ily died in November, 1876, and her remains were 
 interred in Deselm Cemetery. Mr. Taylor was 
 again married, August 19, 1879, his second union 
 being with Mrs. Maria E. (Harter) Reed, widow of 
 Emanuel Reed, who died June 16, 1877. By her 
 former marriage she had three children: Eldon 
 M., in business in Kankakee; Hiram H., cashier in 
 a business house in Chicago; and Ina F., wife of 
 Edwin Taylor, youngest son of our subject. 
 
 Mr. Taylor exercises his right of franchise in 
 support of the Republican party. He has never 
 been a politician in the sense of office-seeking, yet 
 has served in the position of Road Commissioner. 
 A public-spirited and progressive citizen, he man- 
 ifests .an active interest in all that pertains to the 
 welfare of the community, and alwaj-s aids in the 
 support of public enterprises calculated to benefit 
 the town or county. Among the pioneer settlers 
 Mr. Taylor is numbered, for his residence in this 
 community covers the long period of forty years. 
 He was a member of the first jury ever impaneled 
 in Kankakee. He has witnessed almost the entire 
 growth and development of the county and has 
 aided in making it what it is to-da}-, one of the 
 leading counties in this great commonwealth. As 
 for his success in life, Mr. Taylor deserves ail 
 credit; starting out for himself at the early age of 
 eleven years he has steadil^^ worked his wa}' up- 
 ward from an humble position to one of wealth. 
 Mrs. Taylor is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church. 
 
 --^^l 
 
 H. 
 
 li«^ 
 
 m 
 
 ■iflOHN M. LIVINGSTON for over thirty 
 years has been engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits on section 9, jManteuo Township. He 
 _ is a native of the Empire State, born in 
 Harrisburgli, Lewis County, on the 1st of Jul}', 
 1836. He is the onl}' son of Richard and Annis 
 (Humphrey) Livingston, who were the parents of 
 two daughters, Sarah and Mary, both of whom are 
 
 now deceased. The paternal grandfather of our 
 subject, Richard Livingston, was a farmer in New 
 York during the most of his life and died in that 
 State at the advanced age of ninety-two years. 
 His father was one of three brothers who emi- 
 grated to America from Scotland and who were all 
 officers in the War of the Revolution. The ma- 
 ternal grandfatlier, Ashball Humphrey, came from 
 Massachusetts to New York, where he followed ag- 
 ricultural pursuits as a means of livelihood and 
 where he lived until eighty-four years of age. 
 
 Richard Livingston for many years was also a 
 farmer in the Empire State, but in 1859 came 
 West to Illinois to make his home with his son, 
 our subject, who had located here two years previ- 
 ously. The father returned to New York, but 
 after remaining there for a short time only, be- 
 came a permanent resident of this State. He de- 
 parted this life in 1885, having then attained the 
 age of seventy-nine j-ears. His wife, who is still 
 surviving, is now eiglity-three, and lives with her 
 son. Both slie and her husband were members of 
 the Baptist Church in New York, but never iden- 
 tified themselves with any church organization in 
 the West, as there is no Baptist Church in the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 INIr. Livingston of this sketch was reared to the 
 life of a farmer from his early boyhood, and has fol- 
 lowed that calling up to the present time. He re- 
 mained under the parental roof until reaching 
 mature years and attended botli the district and 
 high scliools in his native State. On the 28th of 
 December, 1859, he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Sarah, daughter of ISIinorris and Dorothy (Bar- 
 rett) Beebe, who were botli born near Rochester, 
 N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Livingston have three chil- 
 dren, Frank, Minnie and Burton, wlio have been 
 given good educational advantages. 
 
 In 1858, our subject first located in Illinois, at 
 which time he purchased a farm of eighty acres 
 near Crete, Will County, wlierc he lived until 
 1861. He then sold that property and became the 
 owner of one hundred and sixty acres on section 
 9, Manteno Township, to the cultivation of which 
 he has since devoted his energies. When he pur- 
 chased this place there had been scarcely any im- 
 provements upon it and the house w.as very small
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 
 
 707 
 
 and uncomfortable. This is all now iliangod, for 
 lie has erected a large and pleasant iionie, good 
 barns and a number of other buildings, the farm 
 being considered one of the best in the township. 
 It is located a mile and a-cjuarter from ^lanteno. 
 Mr. Livingston is held in the highest regard in 
 this coniMiunity and has taken an important part 
 in its welfare; lie has held the otTice of School 
 Director for a number of years and is active in 
 llu' cause of education. Politically he is a stanch 
 Kcpublican, and though not himself a member of 
 any religious denonunation, contributes liberally 
 to the Presbyterian Church, of which his wife is a 
 member. 
 
 II^ETER GRANGER, of Manteno Township, 
 ^1 )| is a representative of one of the pioneer 
 families of Kankakee County. His father 
 is David Granger, who, emigrating from 
 Canada, settled in this county, Mhere he still lives, 
 iu 1848. He was born in Canada, on the 18th of 
 .Januar}', 1808, and has consequently attained the 
 good old age of eighty-five years. On arriving at 
 manhood he wedded Elizabeth Roy, whose death 
 occurred at the age of sevent\-eight years, August 
 li), 1883. They were the parents of eleven chil- 
 dren, eight of whom, two s(^ns and six daughters, 
 are living at this writing, in 1892. The father 
 and his son Ambrose reside together in the vil- 
 lage of Bourbonnais and the latter still owns the 
 old homestead. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Canada 
 on thelUthof September, 18 14, and was about four 
 years of age when his parents emigrated to Kan- 
 k.ikee County, and he well remembers the wild ap- 
 pearance of the country in the early days of its 
 liistory. When the family took up their residence 
 in this portion of the State there was no settle- 
 ment north of them nearer than Chicago. 
 
 On the 17th of September, 18G7, Mr. Granger 
 was united in marriage w^ith Miss Olive, daugiiter 
 iif .Tosei)h Dupuies, of Kankakee, who settled at 
 
 Bourbonnais in 1851. Mrs. Granger's mother de- 
 parted this life in 1881. ' Her family coini)rised 
 eight children, five of whom are now residents of 
 Kankakee County. Mr. Granger and his wife 
 have a pleasant home in Kankakee, which was re- 
 cently erected. Though they have no children of 
 their own they took to their hearts and home 
 EmmaTrudell, who is now their adopted daughter 
 and goes liy the name of Emma Granger. 
 
 JMr. Granger owns a gfn>d farm of three hun- 
 dred and twenty acres in Manteno Township and 
 eighty acres elsewhere. For many years he en- 
 gaged in the cultivation and improvement of his 
 farm and then removed to Kankakee. He will re-oc- 
 cupy the farm for a time, as he contemplates making 
 some valuable improvements in tillage and drain- 
 age upon his pl.ice, but he expects eventually to 
 return to his home in Kankakee. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Granger are numbered among the intelligent and 
 respected citizens of the community in which they 
 dwell. Both he and wife are members of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 ILLIAM RAUWORTH is one of the ex- 
 \V^y#/ tensive farmers and a large stock-dealer of 
 %' Rockville Township. He now resides on 
 section 5, where he owns a valuable farm of four 
 hundred acres. He is a native of England, his 
 birth having occurred in the town of Sheffield, 
 Yorkshire, on the 29th of December, 1837. His 
 parents, Benjamin and Martha (Armstead) Rau- 
 worth, were natives of the same locality. The 
 father carried on a wholesale and retail butcher- 
 shop in ShefHeld. In 18(!2 the family came to 
 America and located at Wilton Center, Will 
 County, 111., where the father bought a farm of 
 two hundred and forty acres. In the fall of 18C3 
 he returned to England to settle up business, and 
 while there sickened and died, in June, 1864. His 
 wife spent her last da^ys in Illinois, where she 
 died in 1884. The parents of our subject were 
 members respectively of the Baptist and Epis- 
 copal Churches while in England, but after com-
 
 708 
 
 POxtTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing to this country, Mrs. Rauworth was identified 
 witli the Methodist Episcopal Church. Tlie family 
 numbered seven children: John, a farmer and 
 stock-dealer, residing in Will County; William, of 
 this sketch; Joseph, who died in infancy; Samuel, 
 who died in 1878; Thomas, who died in infancy; 
 Alice, wife of William Robinson, living in AVill 
 County; and Sarah, wife of Alexander Armstrong, 
 a resident farmer of Iowa. 
 
 In the public schools of his native land William 
 Rauwoith acquired a business education. At the 
 age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a druggist 
 and learned that trade, which he followed until 
 his emigration to the New World. The last two 
 j'ears of his stay in England were spent as a drug- 
 gist in the city of London. In April, 1862, he 
 bade adieu to his old home and crossed the briny 
 deep. He first located near Wilton Center, AVill 
 County, 111., on the farm purchased by his father, 
 as given above, which was his home until 1875. 
 when he removed to Rockville Township and pur- 
 chased two hundred and eight}' acres of land on 
 section 5. This fai-m he has since made his home, 
 and he has added by purchase till he owns four 
 hundred acres all in a body. It is one of the de- 
 sirable places of the community. His land is well 
 cultivated, but he devotes his principal time and 
 attention to stock-raising. He is doing an exten- 
 sive and successful business in this line, and 
 always keeps on hand an excellent grade of 
 horses, cattle and hogs. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1867, Mr. Rauworth was 
 married to INIiriam Sollitt. Mrs. Rauworth was 
 born in Sheffield, England, September 4, 1845, and 
 in 1850 came with her parents, John B. and Anna 
 (Dodds) Sollitt, to the United States. After a 
 short time spent in Chicago, they moved to a 
 farm in Will Township, Will County, 111. The 
 father died in Grant Park, Kankakee County, July 
 21, 1888. His wife now lives in Peru, Ind. Seven 
 children have been born of our subject's union: 
 Charles E., Clara A., Edith E., Jesse S., Sidney H., 
 Oliver AV. and Mary. 
 
 In his political atliliations Mr. Rauworth is now 
 a Prohibitionist. He was for many years an 
 ardent supporter of the Republican party, but on 
 account of his views on the temperance question, 
 
 he has recentl.y joined the ranks of the Prohibition 
 party. A public-spirited and progressive citizen, 
 he manifests an active and commendable interest 
 in all that pertains to the welfare of the commu- 
 nity and its upbuilding. He is truly American in 
 sentiment and principle. It was a fortunate day 
 for him when he decided to seek a home in the 
 New World, for here he has met with prosperity, 
 has secured a pleasant home, and made many 
 warm friends, by whom he is held in high regard. 
 Mrs. Rauworth and the children belong to the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 ~o2- 
 
 
 ■SO~ 
 
 ^i^^ EYMOUR J. ALLEN, wl-.o is engaged in 
 ^^^ farming on section 15, Rockville Town- 
 lil/ni) ship, is numbered among the honored pio- 
 neers of the county, having here made his 
 home since 1847, or for forty-six consecutive 
 years. He was born in Eric County, N. Y., on the 
 29th of Januaiy, 1831, and comes of a family of 
 English origin. His parents, George W. and Sa- 
 phrona (Bessey) Allen, were both natives of the 
 Empire State. They had a family of five children, 
 but two are now deceased. Albert B. died in 1888, 
 and Sarah A. departed this life in 1859. The 
 other members of the family are Se3'mour; Man- 
 dane, widow of Jlilton Bloom; and Erancis M., a 
 farmer now residing in Whiteside County, 111. 
 The father of our subject followed farming 
 throughout his entire life. His last years were 
 spent in Whiteside County, where his death oc- 
 curred in 1886. His wife passed away long pre- 
 vious, being called to her final rest in 1848. 
 
 No important event occurred during the bo}'- 
 hood of our subject, which was spent in the usual 
 manner of farmer lads. He acquired a good Eng- 
 lish education, attending the public schools at in- 
 tervals until twenty years of age. He was a lad 
 of thirteen years when, in 1844, with his parents, 
 he left the East and took up his residence in Du 
 Page County, 111. IMuch of the trip West w.as 
 made by teams and they were upon the road for 
 five weeks. After two years spent in U a Page
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 709 
 
 County the family came to what is now Kankakee 
 County, but was tlien a part of Will County, lo- 
 cating in Rockville Township, where the father 
 rented land for two years. 
 
 Our subject remained under the parental roof 
 and .assisted his father in the cultivation of the 
 home farm until twenty-one years of age, when he 
 began business for himself. Purchasing an ox- 
 team, he engaged in breaking prairie, carried on 
 farming to some extent, and also operated a thresh- 
 ing-machine for twelve seasons. At length he left 
 Illinois and went to Iowa, purchasing two hundred 
 and sixty acres of land in Shelbj- County. For 
 thirteen j-ears he retained possession of that tract, 
 but in 1868 sold out and bought the farm on which 
 he now resides on section 15, Rockville Township. 
 It comprises one hundred and sixty acres of land, 
 all of which is under a high state of cultivation 
 and well improved. He has made many of the 
 improvements upon the place himself and they 
 stand as a monument to his thrift and industry. 
 He now carries on general farming and stock-rais- 
 ing .and is doing a successful business. 
 
 On New Year's Day of 1856, Mr. Allen was 
 joined in mai-ri.age with Miss Sarah J. Grimes, 
 daughter of Willard and Sarah Grimes. Three 
 children were born of this union: Eva C, wife of 
 Henr}- Hartzog, a farmer residing in Rockville 
 Township; Sarah A., wife of .John G. Bray, who 
 carries on agricultural pursuits in Kansas; and 
 Elden, now deceased. In February, 1879, Mrs. 
 Allen passed from among the living, being much 
 beloved and lamented. November 8, 1882, Mr. 
 Allen wedded Charlotte M., daughter of George 
 W. and Lois Evans. Mrs. Allen by a former mar- 
 riage has two children, Emily E. and Robert L. 
 Fisher. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Allen is a Republican 
 and warmly advocates the principles of that party, 
 having cast his first vote for Gen. Scott. He has 
 served his township as Road Commissioner and 
 Supervisor for eight years. A public-spirited and 
 progressive citizen, he is interested in all that per- 
 tains to the welfare of the community, and ever 
 does his part toward supporting public enterprises 
 calculated to benefit town and county. He has 
 witnessed almost the entire growth of Kankakee 
 
 County. He has experienced the hardships of 
 pioneer life when this community was a frontier 
 settlement, and he has seen the development of 
 this region from a wild, unsettled place until it has 
 become one of the leading counties of the State. 
 He well deserves mention among its worthy citi- 
 zens and honored pioneers. 
 
 'if OHN W. RAYMOND, who carries on gen- 
 eral farming and stock-raising on section 
 .30, Rockville Township, was born in Os- 
 wego County, N.Y., October 23, 1826. The 
 family is of English descent. His parents were 
 Nathan and Maria (Williamson) Rajmond, and 
 unto them were born eight children, the eldest of 
 whom is our subject. Aaron, the second in order 
 of birth, is now engaged in farming in Van Buren 
 County, Mich.; Eliza, wife of Silas Vanbenschoten, 
 died in 1868; Hannah died at the age of two 
 years; Maria, who died in 1865, was the wife of 
 Austin Raymond; Mary, widow of Joseph Har- 
 mon, is living in the Empire State; Delia, wife of 
 Erastus Dickens, died in 1870; Ileniy, who en- 
 listed as a private in the late war in 1861, and was 
 killed in an engagement at Sabine Pass, in Texas, 
 was the youngest of the familj-. The father of 
 our subject was a tanner by trade, but carried on 
 farming the greater part of his life. He died in 
 1889, at the veiy advanced . age of eighty-seven 
 years and eight days. The mother passed away 
 some years previous, being called to the eternal 
 home in 1864. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born and reared 
 upon a farm, and in the public schools received a 
 good business education that fitted him for the 
 practical duties of life. In his parents' home he 
 remained until he had attained his majority, when 
 he started out in life for himself. He had little 
 but a young man's bright hope of the future and 
 a pair of willing hands, for his capital consisted 
 of only forty cents. Fie wc>rked as a farm hand 
 during the summer season, and in the winter
 
 710 
 
 JfORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 months engaged in teaching school. He taiiglit 
 his first tei-m of school at the age of nineteen and 
 his last at the age of fifty, so his experience in 
 that profession covers quite a range of years. 
 
 Mr. Raymond was married in the Empire State, 
 December 18, 1856, to Miss Mary, daughter of 
 Edward and Mary Bulger. Four children have 
 been born of their union, as follows: Clara B., 
 wife of Myron Kahler, a farmer of Rockville Town- 
 ship; Nellie, wife of Rev. B. P. Millar, a resident 
 of Chicago; Jennie, wife of Nelson Hazelton, a 
 farmer of Will County; and Nettie, wife of B. M. 
 Sclirefler, who is engaged in the butchering busi- 
 ness in Kankakee. 
 
 The year after his marriage Mr. Raymond left 
 the State of his nativity and, witli his wife, emi- 
 grated Westward to Illinois. He took up his resi- 
 dence in Rockville Township, Kankakee County, 
 and rented land for a period of nine 3'ears, after 
 which he purchased the farm on which he is now 
 living. It comprises one hundred and seventy' 
 acres on section 30, and is a beautifully imjjroved 
 tract under a high state of cultivation. In con- 
 nection with the cultivation of his land, he car- 
 ried on stock-raising. As he liad no capital when 
 lie came to the West, he has gained his entire 
 inoperty in the years of his residence here. The 
 obstacles in his path he overcame b^' determined 
 effort, and his good management, business ability 
 and fair dealing have won him prosperit}'. 
 
 Mr. Ra_ymond and his wife are members of the 
 Baptist Church, to the support of which he con- 
 tributes liberally. He also gives his aid for the 
 advancement of any enterprise or interest calcu- 
 lated to prove of public benefit. The community 
 recognize in him a valued citizen and a man of 
 sterling worth. Mr. Raj'mond cast his first Presi- 
 dential vote for Gen. Scott, and since that time 
 has voted with the Republican party, of whose 
 principles he is a stanch advocate. His fellow- 
 citizens, appreciating his worth and ability, have 
 frequently called upon him to serve in positions 
 of public trust. He held the office of School 
 Treasurer, and has also served as Road Commis- 
 sioner and School Trustee. He held the office of 
 School Director for nearl}' twent^'-one years, and 
 did effective service for tiie cause of education by 
 
 his earnest efforts in its behalf. For ten years 
 Mr. Raymond also served as Postmaster of Rock- 
 ville. His public duties have ever been discharged 
 in a prompt and faithful manner, with credit to 
 himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. 
 His career has l>een an honorable one, and has 
 gained him universal confidence and esteem. 
 
 
 
 ^EORm-: N. GUILFORD, who owns and op- 
 J-— erates one hundred and sixty acres of land 
 ^^J^l on section 17, Rockville Township, claims 
 Michigan as the State of his nativity. His birth 
 occurred on Piairie Ronde, in Kalamazoo Count}', 
 March 16, 1838. The father, Erastus Guilford, 
 was born in Massachusetts in 1802, and was of 
 Puritan descent. After attaining to years of ma- 
 turity, he married Elizabeth McElvain, a lady of 
 Scotch descent. Mr. Guilford was a well-educated 
 man. On leaving the old Bay State in 1824, lie 
 removed to Ohio, where he engaged in the distil- 
 ling business until 1827. He then went to Ypsi- 
 lanti, Mich., but soon afterward returned to Ohio, 
 where he remained until 1829. In that year, in 
 compan}' with two others, he walked from the 
 Buckeye State to Kalamazoo County, Mich., where 
 he arrived with only ^1 in his pocket. He then 
 staked out a claim about fifteen miles southwest of 
 the city of Kalamazoo, upon which he built a small 
 log cabin. Not long afterward he organized a 
 colony of about twelve young men (only three 
 couple married) and returned to Michigan. The 
 following 3-ear, 1830, he plowed the first furrow 
 ever turned in Kalamazoo Countj^ for previous to 
 that time the few settlers who were living there 
 had subsisted on what they could make by hunt- 
 ing and fishing. Mr. Guilford purchased his farm 
 from the Government at ^1.25 per acre, and en- 
 gaged in its cultivation and improvement through- 
 out the remainder of his life. He was married in 
 1831, and reared his family on the old homestead. 
 The death of Mr. Guilford occurred on the 12th 
 of January, 18.52. He had helped to organize 
 Kalamazoo County, and was one of its honored
 
 PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 711 
 
 pioneers and prominent citizens. He held a nuni- 
 l)er of townsliip oflices, and in his political senti- 
 ment was a Whig. In religious belief he was a 
 Methodist. The raotlier spent the last j'ears of her 
 life at the home of our subject, her death occur- 
 ring in 1882. They had a family of five sons: 
 James, a farmer residing in Branch County', Mich.; 
 .lohn, who follows farming in Lake County, Ind.; 
 George, of this sketch; Albert, who died at his 
 home in South Dakota, in 1890; and Austin, a 
 ranchman living in Denver, Colo. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of Mr. 
 Guilford, whose name heads this reOrd. He was 
 only thirteen years of age w-jien his father died. 
 Upon the home farm he remained during his boy- 
 hood and youth, and in the summer months he 
 aided in the labors of the fai'm, while in the win- 
 ter season he attended the public schools. He be- 
 gan to earn his own livelihood at the age of nine- 
 teen, by teaching school. In the fall of 1862, he 
 left Michigan and came to Kankakee Count}', 111., 
 where during the winter he engaged in teaching 
 school at §20 per month, boarding himself. He 
 had a school of fifty-seven pupils. In the spring 
 he returned to his old liome, where he re- 
 mained until the year 18Go, when he again came 
 to this county. During liis previous residence 
 here he had purchased a farm of eighty acres 
 on section 17, Hockville Township, the same upon 
 which he now resides. Its boundaries, however, 
 have smce been extended by additional purchase, 
 until it now comprises a quarter-section of valua- 
 ble land under a high state of cultivation, and well 
 improved with all the accessories of a model farm. 
 
 November 20, 1870, was celebrated the marriage 
 of George N. Guilford and Miss Ellen M.. daugh- 
 ter of William and Ann (Brevorte) Gay. Her 
 parents were of Dutch descent. Three children 
 have been born of the union of our subject and 
 his wife: Lora M., Edna A. and Orra L. The fam- 
 ily is one of prominence in the community. Its 
 members rank high in social circles, and the (!iiil- 
 ford household is the abode of hospitalitv. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Guilford is a stanch Republican. 
 He joined tliat party on its organization and has 
 since been one of its warm advocates. He has 
 held the office of Justice of the Peace for the long 
 
 I period of twelve year^, was also School Director, 
 Tax Collector and Postmaster of Deselm. His pub- 
 lic and private life are alike above reproach. 
 Whatever offices he has been called upon to fill, he 
 has discharged his duties with a promptness and 
 fidelity that have won him the commendation of 
 all concerned. He is a man of sterling worth and 
 strict integrity, held in high regard for his many ex- 
 cellencies of character, and is well known through- 
 out the communit}'. 
 
 «^ 
 
 <#> 
 
 ?RED S. BREEN. the editor and publisher 
 
 ^■j of the Manteno Independent, was born on 
 the 20th of March, 1869, in Manteno, and 
 is a son of John 1). and Lidora M. (Gilmore) Breen. 
 His paternal grandfather was the owner of an ex- 
 tensive cotton plantation near Shelbyville, Ky., 
 where his death occurred many 3'ears ago. On the 
 maternal side his grandfather, James Gilmore, em- 
 igrated to Illinois from Ohio in the year 1850. 
 He located in Rockville Township, Kankakee 
 County, where he carried on a farm and also did 
 considerable contracting and building until re- 
 cently. In 1889, he retired from active duties 
 and has since been a resident of Kankakee. He is 
 a native of New York and is now in his seventj-- 
 fourth year. His family comprised three sons and 
 two daughters. Two sons, Joseph and John, were 
 soldiers in the Civil War, having enlisted in Ohio. 
 The former died on his way home from Anderson- 
 ville prison and John died while a prisoner in 
 Libby. 
 
 John D. Breen was a native of Louisville, K3'., 
 where he was reared to manhood, after which he 
 clerked on a steamboat on the Mississippi River 
 for a number of- years. About the year 1855, go- 
 ing to Chicago, he served as book-keeper for some 
 time in that city. In 1858, he arrived in Manteno, 
 where he taught school for some fourteen ^-ears. 
 During his residence here he held a number of 
 offices of trust and responsibility, and served as 
 Postmaster for four years, receiving his appoint- 
 ment from President Garfield. He was also an
 
 712 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 efficient Police Magistrate and a popular auc- 
 tioneer. His death occurred on the 30th of March, 
 1890. His wife, who survives hirn, is now making 
 her home in Manteno with her children. She was 
 born in Seneca County, Ohio, and is of Irish and 
 Pennsylvania Dutch extraction. By her marriage 
 she became the mother of eight children, seven of 
 whom are yet living: Myron W. and Cassius C. 
 are married and the others in order of birth are 
 James W., Fred S., Frank (who died at the ago of 
 four years), Eva A., Sadie A. and Jennie N. 
 
 The early years of Fred S. Breen were passed in 
 Manteno and his education was obtained in the 
 public schools. When only twelve years of age 
 his tastes and inclination led him in the direction 
 of the printing and publishing business. He 
 therefore learned the printer's trade, and while his 
 father was Postmaster was his assistant in the of- 
 fice. In 1889, he purchased the Manteno Indepen- 
 dent of the former owner and proprietor, W. R. De 
 Veling, and at once assumed the management and 
 control of the paper. He has proved himself able 
 as an editor and is carrying on the paper very 
 successfully. Mr. Breen is a Republican in poli- 
 tics, but edits the Independent OTi i\\e independent 
 basis. He is a rising and promising young man, 
 full of the enterprise and public spirit of the times. 
 He is at present serving as Town Clerk and is also 
 a Notary Public. 
 
 W 
 
 (V j^^ILLIAM McELVAIN, who resides on sec- 
 tion 28, Rockville Township, belongs to 
 a well-known family of Kankakee County, 
 one that has long been identified with its upbuild- 
 ing and progress. He well deserves representa- 
 tion in this volume, and we feel assured that this 
 record of his life will prove of interest to many of 
 our readers. 
 
 Mr. McElvain was born in Kalamazoo County, 
 Mich., July 6, 1837. His father, Greer McElvain, 
 was a native of Pennsylvania, and was of Scotch 
 descent. In early life he left the Keystone State 
 and removed to Ross County, Oiiio, where he made 
 
 his home until his emigration to Michigan. With 
 four companions he started to Kalamazoo County. 
 They had only three horses among them, so they 
 had to take turns in walking. In the meantime 
 Mr. McElvain was married to Miss Mahala Han- 
 son. In 1847, accompanied by iiis family, he left 
 Michigan and came to Illinois, settling in what is 
 now Kankakee County, but was then a part of 
 Will County. He made a location in Rockville 
 Townshi|), ])urchasing a partially improved farm 
 of two hundred acres on sections 21 and 28. Some 
 of the land had been broken and a double log 
 house had been erected. That cabin was the home 
 of the family for seven years. In true pioneer 
 style they began life in this community, and the 
 family experienced many of the hardships of the 
 frontier. Occasionally bands of Indians would 
 visit the neighborhood, and wild game of all kinds 
 was plentiful. The cities of Manteno and Kanka- 
 kee had not then sprung into existence; Wilming- 
 ton was their regular trading-post, and they hauled 
 their grain to Chicago, from where they also 
 brought with teams the lumber used in building the 
 home of our subject. Greer McElvain was a mem- 
 ber of the United Brethren Church, and in iK)litics 
 was a Republican. He died February 4, 1871, and 
 his remains were interred in the Deselm Cemetery. 
 The mother survived him about two years, passing 
 away in 1873. She, too, was a member of the 
 United Brethren Church, and both were people of 
 sterling worth, held in high esteem by their many 
 friends. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. McElvain had the following chil- 
 dren: David, a retired farmer residing in Kanka- 
 kee; John, of Chicago; Mary J., wife of Calvin 
 Walton, who resides in Englewood; William, of 
 this sketch; Ann E., wife of John Guilford, who 
 lives near Lake Village, Ind.; Elizabeth, wife of 
 Matthew Harris, of this county; Maggie S., wife of 
 Fred Hartzberg, of Kankakee; Greer, who died in 
 1872; Ellen, wife of Charles Putnam, who resides 
 in Chicago; and Janet, who died in 1890, and was 
 the wife of Eber Forbes. 
 
 No event of special importance occurred during 
 the childhood days of our subject, which were 
 passed in the usual manner of farmer lads, in at- 
 tendance at the common schools during the winter
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 ^*(t.^«!J«SK;.>=- 1 
 
 iSSgfflSi"^^ 
 
 Col. John W. Paddock
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 715 
 
 season and in working upon the farm during the 
 summer months. He remained upon the old home- 
 stead with his parents until after they had passed 
 away, and 3-et resides at that place. Indeed it has 
 been his home ever since he came to Illinois. Much 
 of his childhood was there passed, and the work of 
 his manhood has there been performed. In 1876 Mr. 
 McElvaiu was married to Mrs. Rhoda (Noble) 
 Stanton, widow of Richard Stanton. By her former 
 marriage she had one daughter. Flora E. Four 
 children have been born of the union of our sub- 
 ject and his wife, all daughters, namely: Mahala 
 J., Susie M., Agnes R. and Hattie P. The familj- 
 is widely known in this community, the McElvain 
 household being the abode of hospitality, and its 
 members rank high in social circles. Mrs. McEl- 
 vain holds membership with the Methodist Church. 
 In his political affiliations, Mr . McElvain is a 
 Republican. He has never been an office-seeker, 
 preferring to devote his entire time and attention 
 to his business interests. He now owns a valuable 
 tract of land, and carries on general farming and 
 stock-raising with success. Mr. McElvain is pos- 
 sessed of more than ordinary musical talent, being 
 quite an expert performer on the violin. 
 
 V. 
 
 •5-^-i-^* 
 
 r 
 
 E*^* 
 
 JOHN W. PADDOCK was born in Camillus, 
 Onondaga County, N. Y., February 14, 1815. 
 His parents were .lames and Ann Paddock, 
 his father being a miller and a farmer. The 
 Paddock family is one of the oldest in this coun- 
 try, their first settlements being made in the Ply- 
 mouth Colony as early as J 630. The Plymouth 
 Colony records show that Robert Paddock was at 
 that time a member of the colony, and subse- 
 quentl}' recite the fact of the allotment of lands to 
 him, and record that he was the Constable of Dux- 
 bury about 1643, and show the date of his death 
 and the record of the meml)crs of his family. His 
 descendants afterward emigrated to Yarmouth, 
 and from there to Dutchess County, N. Y.; thence 
 
 to Washington County, from there to Onondaga, 
 N. Y., and then to Illinois. 
 
 David Paddock, the grandfather of John AV. of 
 this article, lived near West Point at the time of 
 the Revolutionary War, was a soldier in Capt. 
 Watterbury's compan3'. Seventh New York Con- 
 tinental Volunteers, and was engaged in the cam- 
 paigns up and down the Hudson, and in the battle 
 of Saratoga. The father of John W., James, was a 
 soldier in the War of 1812; the mother of John 
 W., Ann McClaur3-, was of Scotch-Irish descent. 
 Her parents emigrated to New York from the North 
 of Ireland with the Clintons, of Revolutionary fame, 
 and were related to that family. The David Will- 
 iams who was the captor of Maj. Andre was re- 
 lated to the wife of David Paddock above spoken 
 of, and the name of the subject of this article was 
 John Williams Paddock, the Williams being in 
 recognition of the relationsliip to the Williams 
 family. The origin of the Paddock family was 
 Welsh. Windsor, in his history of Duxbury, states 
 the fact that there was a tradition that Robert, one 
 of the ancestors, was one of the minors who came 
 over in the "Mayflower." Be that so or not, it is 
 certain that by blood and tradition the subject of 
 this article was descended from a line of men who 
 were thoroughly endowed with the spirit of libert}-, 
 and whose convictions of what was right had all 
 through the years that have gone impelled them 
 to brave every hardship and danger to maintain 
 their principles. They were Puritans, Pilgrims, 
 Federalists, Whigs and Nationalists. 
 
 Col. Paddock's preliminarj- education was ac- 
 quired in the schools of his native place, whence 
 he removed to Syracuse, N. Y., where he com- 
 l)leted his academic course of studies. In the otHce 
 of J. R. Ilickox he studied law; from there in 1836, 
 with his father, he removed to I-ockport, AVill 
 County, 111., being the teacher of the lirst school in 
 that village. He was admitted to the Bar of this 
 State, and commenced the practice of his profes- 
 sion in 1837. In .June, 1853, he located in the 
 city of Kankakee, then but a prospective town, 
 and in the fall of that 3'ear he removed his family 
 to this place. Previous to his settlement in this 
 county he traveled and practiced at Middleport, 
 Ottawa, Joliet and Chicago. After his establish-
 
 716 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 nieiit at Kankakee, lie was connected with all tlie 
 important cases in both Kankakee and Iroquois 
 Counties. Pi!i'lia[)s the most celebrated cases with 
 wiiicli his name was connected were those of the 
 C'hiniqu\- trials. lie w.as occupied in the vigorous 
 prosecution of his professional duties until 18()2, 
 when lie was elected to the Constitutional Con- 
 vention as a Union man, and on the Union ticket. 
 He refused to sign the now Constitution and con- 
 tributed largely to its defeat by the pec>i)le. In 
 the fall of that year he entered the United States 
 army. In early life lie was an old-line Whig, ))ut 
 upon the dissolution of that party became an ardent 
 supporter of Douglas, was an ardent and eloipient 
 speaker, and an effective anil \aKial)le ally of that 
 great Democratic leader. When the tocsin of war 
 was sounded and the question arose of loj'alty or 
 disloyalty, lie forsook a remunerative practice, and 
 at his own exiiense traveled his Congressional Dis- 
 trict, delivering stirring speeches in favor of the 
 vigorous prosecution of the war for the Union. 
 
 He greatly aided Capt. \'aughn in the organiza- 
 tion of the company of volunteers afterward as- 
 signed to the Fifty-third Illinois Infantry, and 
 projected the organization of the Seventy-si.vth 
 Illinois Infantry. With this regiment he proposed 
 entering the service, but six companies still re- 
 mained after the Seventy-sixth was filled. He re- 
 mained with them and subsequently went with 
 them to Chicago, where they were incorporated 
 with the four conqianies of the then organizing 
 Third Hoard of Trade Regiment, and in October, 
 1862, he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel 
 of the One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois In- 
 fantry. IJefore leaving for the seat of war he was, 
 in presence of the regiment at Camp Hancock, pre- 
 sented with a superb sword by his fellow-towns- 
 man, James W. Perry, of Kankakee. The One 
 Hundred and Thirteenth joined Sherman in his 
 expedition against Vieksburg in the fall of 1862, 
 and witnessed that terrible but unsuccessful strug- 
 gle. Col. Paddock participated actively in the 
 battles of Chickasaw Rayou and of Arkansas Post, 
 after which the regiment was divided, part going 
 to Springfield, HI., the remainder being assigned 
 to Young's Point, La. 
 
 They were also engaged in the movements which 
 
 resulted in the capture of Yieksl)urg, .Tuly 4, 1863, 
 Col. Paddock being in command at the time. He 
 was with Oen. Sherman on the Rolling Pork ex- 
 pedition, and during the greater portion of the 
 time consumed in the siege of Vieksburg com- 
 manded lli(! foice assigned to the protection of the 
 landing of the Yazoo, whence Grant drew his sup- 
 plies. In August, 1803, Col. Paddock was ordered 
 to report to Gen. Iluilbiit, at Memphis, an order 
 which lie at once preriared to obey in company 
 with his regiment, then badly stricken with dis- 
 ease. He reached IMemphis, but owing to the re- 
 turn of that dreaded fever, contracted while on 
 the lield, he was sent to the officer's hosjiital lo- 
 cated in tliat city. There, after lingering in great 
 pain, he died Sunday evening, August 16, 1863, 
 attended by the chaiilain of his regiment. 
 
 His remains were brought home and interred on 
 the 2Uh of August at Kankakee, followed to the 
 grave b^' one of the largest funeral corteges in the 
 history of the county. Col. Paddock was a man 
 of commanding presence; he stood six feel high, 
 was well proportioned in his body, had long llowing 
 black hair, large blue ej'es and full round face, and 
 was of light and buoyant spirits. To him all men 
 were equal and every man was to be treated as a 
 man. He felt no condescension in listening to the 
 complaints of the [loor and lowly, and to assert 
 and defend their rights was always a gratification 
 to him; nor did he feel any elevation in being as- 
 sociated with the wealthy or the great. He was 
 actuated throughout life with a broad spirit of 
 charity and was imbued with an intense love of his 
 country and its institutions. The principles of 
 the Declaration of Independence he exemplified in 
 his life and his death. His funeral sermon was 
 preached by the Rev. C. P. Thomas, of the Uni- 
 tarian Church, at Chicago, from which we take 
 the following extracts: 
 
 "We have met to do honor to the noble dead; 
 we have come here to the home which was so dear 
 to him to pay to his memory this last tribute of 
 respect and love. A generous, manly, honorable 
 man has p.assed sudden I3' awny from us, and gone 
 out into solemn mystery. Another great heart, 
 which beat wit.h an intelligent, wise, determined 
 love of his country, is stilled forever. I could
 
 PORTRAIT A>D r.ir.OKAl'IlIf AI. IMXORD. 
 
 7i: 
 
 nut iu)w reooiint the storv of his noble life liyie 
 iiinony; his neii>hl)ors and frienrls, wlio Unew it so 
 iiuich lietter than I. and who loved it, too. I nepd 
 not remind you, 1 am sure, while his silent ft)rni 
 is before us, of the great heart, more thoughlfnl 
 of others than of himself, which our brother carried 
 in his bosom; of the sterling iinalities which made 
 him the good citizen, the earnest patriot, the firm 
 friend, the hater of all meanness, the lover of all 
 that was honorable, true and brave. 
 
 "Nor need I remind you how he labored for 
 his country; how he went out all unused to such 
 labor, with a holy puriiose in his soul; how 
 l)ravely he shared the perils of war; iiow finally 
 he was smitten with disease; how the other day 
 the tidings came of his decline, and how of the 
 next intelligence he came wrapped in the folds of 
 the holy llag for which he had fought so man- 
 fully; came in silence and in gloom, with no word 
 of greeting on his lips, no joy of a wanderer re- 
 turning to the dear old home flashing from his 
 eyes. You will not forget that manhood, you will 
 not cease to be iiilhienced by that intelligence, 
 iTor to cherish the thought of that devoted and 
 self-sacriticing frieiid-<hip which was his. I am 
 told how thoughtfully he cared to the last for 
 those under his command. 1 am told h(;w the 
 boys loved him, linding in him the same nobility 
 and generosity which wim the affection and re- 
 spect of his neighbors; I am told how he robbed 
 himself of his blankets to put them benc^ath a sick 
 soldier; how he drove miles, weak and ill himself, 
 to obtain something which could all(>viate the 
 sufferings of a dying youth." 
 
 His last letter, written on the field of N'icks- 
 burg, contains this sentiment, speaking of the as- 
 sault about to be made: "I may fall; 1 hoi)enot, but 
 if 1 do, may (lod jirotect jou and the children. I 
 hope to survive and see yon all again, but slunild 
 this be my last, let the clustering recollections of 
 the past assure you that my last prayer was for 
 you and oui- children. Tell my boys to stand 
 b}- their country's cause at all times, love and 
 obe3' their mother, and, though 1 never come 
 back, Ood will i)rosper them." 
 
 Tiie following from the pen of Col. i^ord, who 
 was a vonni,' olllcer in the regiment of Col. Pad- 
 
 dock, is a fair estimate of his relation to the .serv- 
 ice: "Lieut.-Col. I'addock, of the Ofie Hundred' 
 and Thirteenth Regiment of Illinois Infantry, was 
 a conspicuous and pleasing figure in the personnel 
 of th:it regiment, and the remembiance of his face 
 and form and character must always awaken feel- 
 ings of friendly admiration and regret in the 
 minds of those who knew him and served with 
 him. 
 
 "A Demiicrat in his political alUliations and a 
 politician of inlluence; a lawyer by profession; a 
 m:ui in middle life with a large family to whom 
 he was devoted; having apparently no taste for 
 military life in itself, and but little of the pl^^- 
 sical hardness required of the campaigner, it was 
 naturally a matter of some surprise among those 
 who met him for the first time in the regiment 
 that he should be in the service at all. Longer 
 ac(piaintance, however, made it sufliciently clear 
 why he was, and emphasized both the integrity of 
 his motives and the degree of his personal sacri- 
 fice. His more conspicuous traits as the}' became 
 unfolded to his regimental .associates were a broad 
 and general impulse of kindliness to everyone, 
 a ready and genial humor, and an intense form 
 of patriotic zeal. He had but a small opinion of 
 tactics, and was impatient of the petty regula- 
 tions and restraints of milil.lry routine. The caste 
 distinctions, also, of rank in the army, which 
 others gradually come to accept and recognize, 
 made little impression upon him. The men and 
 ollicers whom he had known in civil life were just 
 as much his neighbors in the service as before, 
 whether in commission or in the ranks, with the dis- 
 tinction that he felt a more iicrsonal responsibil- 
 ity for the well-being of the l.'iller. He could as- 
 sert himself and his right on occasions of duty 
 or emergency, but his ruling sentiment was one 
 of comradeship with all men wIki had undertaken 
 with him to resent and redress the evil which 
 threatened the country. On this common ground 
 all men were equal with him, :ind the military or- 
 ganization was nothing save a means to an end 
 which all e(pially sought. That end was the over- 
 whelming of the enemy and the restoration of the 
 Union — not in some remote future, but at once. 
 He would have massed an irresistible column with
 
 718 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which to cut the Confederacy in two in a single 
 campaign. He seemed to suffer a sense of per- 
 sonal indignity that his late political allies should 
 have betrayed him as well as his country, and 
 his resentment and his patriotism intensified eacli 
 other. He was in a service which was distasteful 
 to him, at a sacrifice of everything most cher- 
 ished and desired, but he could not do less, or 
 look hack, until the end. So beneath his genial 
 good-nature tliere was always a restless impatience 
 of delay, au impetuous instinct to go on to the 
 speedy deliverance of the country, and then to his 
 own deliverance from his self-imposed task. His 
 hour of triumpli at the surrender of Vicksburg, after 
 his regiment had devoted more than half a year 
 and s.acrificed many lives to accomplish it, was all 
 too brief. The fatigue and exposure which tlie 
 campaign liad made necessary, and the miasma of 
 the region in which his regiment was encamped, 
 proved tooraucli for a constitution wholly unfitted 
 for the field, and, almost before his men knew of 
 his serious illness, his eager, iiopoful spirit had 
 fled." 
 
 Col. Paddock was a devoted luisband, a kind 
 father, a faithful brother, an honorable and enter- 
 prising citizen, a genial and generous compan- 
 ion, an eloquent advocate, a safe counselor, an 
 earnest, patriotic soldier and a brave, gallant and 
 vigilant, yet kind and humane, officer. Equally as 
 a lawyer, soldier and citizen, he left a record 
 to which his descendants may point with just 
 pride. 
 
 Our subject was twice married, liis first wife 
 being Frances Birch, by whom he had two chil- 
 dren, Henry C. and Emma J. Henry C. was after- 
 ward a Lieutenant in the Twenty-fifth Illinois 
 Regiment, and was desperately wounded at the 
 battle of Ft. Blakelj'. Subsequently he was for 
 five j'ears Superintendent of the public schools of 
 Kankakee County, and now resides in Page County, 
 County, Iowa, with his sister Emma. Our sub- 
 ject's second wife was Helen Tiffanny, who was a 
 descendant of the Ransorae family, of Erie County, 
 N. Y., pioneers of that county from Massachusetts 
 in the latter part of the last century. By this mar- 
 riage he had ten children, two d3ing in infancy. 
 The surviving children were .Fames H., of Sjiring- 
 
 field. III.; Daniel H., of Kankakee; Helen F., now 
 married to D. F. Sherman, of Portland, Ore.; John 
 W., of Portland, Ore.; Mar^' R., now married to 
 George F. Lovell, of Kankakee, 111.; Portia S., prin- 
 cipal of the Lincoln School, of Kankakee; Lucia, 
 now married to W. W. Cobb, of Kankakee; and 
 Catherine A., who was drowned in 1884 in a pleas- 
 ure excursion on the K.inkakee River. 
 
 ^^>^^<! 
 
 (Q>-- 
 
 '\|' OHN MANN, who carries on general farm- 
 ing and stock-raising on section 26, Rock- 
 ville Township, is numbered among the hon- 
 _ ored pioneers of Kankakee Countj^. He 
 located here in 1842, and his residence therefore 
 covers a period of more than half a century. He 
 is familiar with the history- and the hardships of 
 its pioneer days and has been an eye-witness of 
 almost its entire development. To its early settlers 
 the county owes a debt of gratitude which can 
 never be repaid for what the}' have done in its be- 
 half. They were its founders, and upon the 
 foundation they laid has been built a county among 
 the best in the State. Mr. Mann aided in its prog- 
 ress and development and well deserves recogni- 
 tion in its history. 
 
 His life record is as follows: Born on the 30th 
 of March, 1824, he is a native of Richland County, 
 Ohio, and a son of Alexander and Maria (Buinpus) 
 Mann. The father was a native of Pennsylvania. 
 About 1802, he removed to Richland Count}', Ohio, 
 becoming one of its erliest settlers. He was a 
 farmer throughout his entire life and in that county 
 carried on his chosen occupation until 1842, when 
 he removed to Illinois, locating in Will County, 
 and three 3-ears later moved to the part of that 
 county now included in Kankakee County. Here 
 he spent the remainder of his days, his death oc- 
 curring June 25, 1867. His remains were interred 
 in Bloom Ccmeter}'. His wife survived him for a 
 number of years. She passed away on the 3d of 
 May, 1889, and was laid to rest by the side of her 
 husband. This worthy couple had a large family of 
 children, as follows: John, of this sketch; Frederick
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 719 
 
 I W., a farmer residing in Rockviilc Township; Ann 
 Maria, wife of A. H. .VUen; William A., who died 
 in 1852; Isabella, wife of James Sterling, who is 
 living in Kankakee; ,Iane E., wife of James Ii)un- 
 derdale; Melvina, wife of F. M. Allen; Catherine, 
 who died in 1889; Samuel J., a farmer of Rockville 
 Township; Addison, who is living in the same town- 
 ship; and Celesta, wife of John Mcintosh, of Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of John 
 Mann, who is so widel^^ and favorably known in 
 this comnuinity. In the usual manner of farmer 
 lads the days of his boyhood and j'outh were 
 ((uietly passed, and in the common schools he ac- 
 quired his education. With the family he came to 
 the West in 1812. They made their journey by 
 teams and located first in Joliet, where they spent 
 
 ' the winter. In the spring they located upon a 
 tract of land just across the line from Rockville 
 Township, in Will County, where they made their 
 home until 1845. The father then pre-empted one 
 hundred and sixty acres of Government land in 
 lioukville Township, the farm on which our subject 
 now resides. A small log house was erected, which 
 was the home of the family for a number of years. 
 They endured many of the trials and privations 
 incident to pioneer life. Their nearest market was 
 Chicago. All kinds of wild game were plentiful in 
 those days and Jlr. Mann has hunted deer upon 
 the site of the present city of Kankakee. He re- 
 mained upon the home farm until twenty-seven 
 years of age, when an important event in his life 
 was celebrated. 
 
 It was then, on the 1st of January, 1851, that 
 he was united in marriage with Miss Eliza M. Bloom, 
 who was born in Pennsylvania January 7, 1829, 
 and is a daughter of David and Polly A. Bloom. 
 Ten children were born unto them: Florence, 
 wife of W. S. Rowe, a farmer of Benton County, 
 Ind.; Alexander, an engineer residing in Manteno; 
 Warren L., a resident farmer of Rockville Town- 
 ship; Frederick, a carpenter of Kankakee; Walter 
 S., an agriculturist of Rockville Township; John, 
 who died in infancy; Herman, D. James, Elvena, 
 and Maria M., who are still under tlie parental roof. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mann began their domestic life 
 upon a small farm of forty acres, which [jrevious 
 
 to his marriage our subject had purchased from the 
 (iovernmcnt. He now owns one hundred and 
 thirty acres of valuable land, where he carries on ' 
 general farming and stock-raising. In his business 
 he has met with good success and now has one of 
 the desirable farms of the community. His land 
 is under a high state of cultivation and is well 
 improved with all the accessories of a model farm. 
 His possessions stand as monuments to his thrift 
 and enterprise. Mr. Mann has led a busy and use- 
 ful life, 3'et has found time to devote to public in- 
 terests. He has served his township as Treasurer 
 seven years, and Road Commissioner, and was one 
 of the Committee that divided Kankakee from Will 
 County, and sat on the first jury empaneled in 
 the new county. He exercises his right of fran- 
 chise in support of the Republican party and takes 
 quite an active interest in public affairs, keeping 
 himself well informed on the issues of the day. He 
 has ever borne his part in the work of advance- 
 ment and progress in the count}' and is recognized 
 as a public-spirited and progressive citizen. 
 
 ♦^^1 
 
 'Q' 
 
 ^®r 
 
 \P^^^ 
 
 l^ANIEL SHREFFLER, who is engaged in 
 I Jlj agricultural pursuits on section 4, Rock- 
 f^}^ ville Township, is one of the pioneer set- 
 tlers of the county, dating his residence 
 in this community from 1844. He was born upon 
 his father's farm in Union Count}', Pa., July 30, 
 1831, and is one of a family of twelve children, 
 whose parents were Peter and Regina (Fulmer) 
 Shreffler. Both were natives of the Keystone 
 State, and the father was of German descent. He 
 was a weaver b}' trade, but in his later life followed 
 farming in connection with that business. In 
 1833 he removed from Pennsylvania toSandusk}', 
 Ohio, and purchased a farm, on which he located. 
 During the summer months he operated his land, 
 while in the winter season he engaged in weaving. 
 For eleven years he made his home m Ohio, and 
 then came to Illinois, making the trip Westward 
 by team. lie first located in Limestone Township, 
 Kankakee County, and purchased three hundred
 
 720 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and twent}' acres of Government land, upon which 
 he resided until liis death. He passed awaj- Ma.y 
 '26, 1871, and was laid to rest on the old lionic- 
 stead. In politics, Mr. .Slirctller was a Democrat, 
 and was a member of the Evanoelical Cluirch. 
 His wife, who was also a member of the same 
 ciinrch, survived her husband for about four years, 
 and died 8epleral)er 27, 187;'). 
 
 Our subject was one of tlie following cliildren: 
 Leo, who died M.ay 8, 1888; .I.acob, a retired 
 farmer residing in Kankakee; Micliael, who died 
 March 10, 1884; Aaron, a farmer of Alma, 111.; 
 Moses, who died Septcmljer 20, 188.3; Euos, who 
 died .June 0, 1878; Elizabeth, widow of David 
 Briggs, and a resident of Salina Township; Mary 
 A., who died .Inly 6, 1885; Peter, who died August 
 13, 1863; Daniel, our subject; Sarah E., wife of 
 Andrew Yates, a farmer of Limestone Townsliip; 
 and .Joseph E., also a farmer of that township. 
 
 The education of Daniel Slireftler was all ac- 
 quired in a log sclioolhoiise. He was reared to 
 manhood amid the w'dd scenes of frontier life, and 
 was earl}' inured to the hard labor of developing 
 a farm. He came to this count}' with his parents 
 when thirteen years of age, and made his home 
 under the parental roof until twenty-four 3'ears of 
 age, although on attaining his majority he began 
 to earn his own livelihood. He rented a part of 
 his father's farm, and afterward purchased a por- 
 tion of the old homestead, upon wliich he lived 
 until 1868. He then bought eiglitj- .acres of land 
 on section I, Rockville Township, his present 
 home, where he has now cariied on farming and 
 stock-raising for .about a quarter of a century. 
 
 Mr. Shretller was married August 30, 18.i.5, to 
 Miss Harriet Deselms, who was born in Sandusky 
 County, Ohio, April 15, 1839, and is a daughter 
 of Jacob and Harriet (Atkins) Deselms, the former 
 a native of Virginia, and the latter of Mar3iand. 
 They had a family of six children, of whom Mrs. 
 Shreffler is the eldest; Jennie died February 30, 
 1882; Rhoda is the wife of Jacob Harsh; Mary is 
 the wife of William Myers, of Joliet; Phrebe died 
 in 1853; John is a postal clerk on the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, and resides in Kankakee. The 
 Deselms family came to this county in 1853, locat- 
 ing in Rockville Township, where the husband 
 
 and father purchased a farm of one hundred and 
 sixty acres on the section where the town of Desehn 
 now stands. The postolHce at that place was 
 named in his honor. He resided there until his 
 death, whicli occurred in 1876. The motlier died in 
 1882, and tiiej' were both laid to rest in Deselm 
 Cemetery. Both were members of the United 
 Brethren Church, and were highly respected peo- 
 ple. 
 
 Five children grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Shrelfler: Sophrona, wife of Albert Mc'iruder, a 
 merchant of Kankakee; Clark W., a farmer of 
 Rockville Township; Jesse II., who is living in 
 Kankakee; Irvin R., who graduated from the Val- 
 paraiso Normal College of Indiana in 1892; and 
 Alta, who completes the family. Tliis family has 
 a pleasant iiome in Rockville Township, and the 
 members of the household rank high in the social 
 circles in whicli thej- move. 
 
 Mr. Shietller's residence in this county covers a 
 period of .almost half a century. When he came 
 here Chicago was the trading-post, and all lumber 
 for building purposes vvas liaiiled b}- team from 
 that place. The city of Kankakee liad not yet 
 sprung into existence. Indians were still seen in 
 the neighliorhood. In the work of improvement 
 and development, our subject has cvei- borne his 
 part, and has aided matcriall}' in the progress and 
 advancement of this county. He gives his support 
 to all pulilic enterprises, and is recognized through- 
 out tlie community as a valued citizen, as well as 
 one of the substantial farmers of Rockville Town- 
 ship, and an honored pioneer of Kankakee County. 
 In politics, lie is a Reiniblicau, and himself and 
 wife are members of the United Brethren Church. 
 
 'li AMES FLEMING, a retired farmer residing 
 on section 36, Norton Township, has been 
 a resident of Illinois for fifty jcars, and of 
 this county for a quarter of a century. 
 He is a native of the Emerald Isle, born in County 
 Derry on the 31st of May, 1819. His parents,
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL, RECORD. 
 
 721 
 
 Natlianiel and Xancy (Disart) Floniing, were also 
 natives of Ireland, mihI s|n'nt tlii'ir entire lives in 
 that eountrv. 
 
 Our snbject is laiyely self-edueuted, as in liis na- 
 tive land lie had but limited school advantages. 
 In 1841 he decided to seek another country in 
 which to make his way. He accordingly went 
 to Londonderry, wliere he took passage on a sail- 
 ing-vessel, whose destination was Philadelphia, at 
 which port lie arrived in due time, in June of that 
 year. He spent a little over a year in Pittsburgh, 
 Pa., where he was employed in a rolling mill. In 
 the fall of 1842, he started Westward and located 
 on Fox Kiver, in La Salle County. He purchased 
 a piece of wild /irairie, and proceeded to open up 
 a farm. He afterward added to iiis original pur- 
 chase, and owned one hundred and twenty acres 
 in all, which he brought under good cultivation, 
 and upon which he made many improvements. 
 
 On the 28th of June, 1845, occurred a notable 
 event in his history, as on that day he married Sa- 
 lali L. Thompson, who was born in Jefferson County, 
 Ohio. .She came to Illinois with her father, John 
 Thompson, a native of Ireland, who settled in Illi- 
 nois about 1838 and was placed on the roll of 
 honored pioneers of La Salle County. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Fleming have reared a family of three sons 
 and three daughters: JMargaret Ann, the wife of 
 Albert Van Doru, a fanner of this county; Mary 
 E., wife of John D. Brown, of Kansas; James D., 
 who is well and favorably known in this commu- 
 nity, and carries on the home farm; Emma, who 
 died at the age of twenty-one years; John C, who 
 is married, and operates a farm in Nebraska; and 
 Joseph W., who is a farmer of this county, and is 
 also married. 
 
 Mr. Fleming devoted his whole energies and at- 
 tention to the cultivation of his farm in La Salle 
 County for twentj^-five years. This property he 
 sold in 1867, and removing to Kankakee Count}' 
 he purchased a tract of three hundred and sixty 
 acres of unimi)roved pi'airie land. This farm he 
 has developed to its present condition of cultiva- 
 tion, and on every hand the care and attention 
 devoted to it by the owner can be plainly seen. 
 Year bj' year abundant harvests have yielded a 
 golden tribute to Mr. Fleming, which is onlj' his 
 
 just reward. He commenced life in Illinois en- 
 tirely without capital, but possessed of two will- 
 ing hands, a good constitution and an abundant 
 supply of determination and energy. By his own 
 industry' and enterprise, aided by his estimable 
 wife, he has accumulated a valuable propert}', and 
 to-day is one of the thrifty- and substantial agricul- 
 turists of the count_y. 
 
 JMr. Fleming uses his right of franchise in favor 
 of the Republican part}', to which he has given his 
 support since its organization. He was an original 
 Abolitionist, and cast his first vote for Hon. James 
 G. Birne}-, of Ohio, in 1844. He is well and fav- 
 orably known throughout this section of the State, 
 and has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances 
 who hold him in tiie highest regard. 
 
 ©L- 
 
 JHl 
 
 ^+^! 
 
 [^~ 
 
 IDXEY SMITH THOMAS, M. D., one of 
 the prominent and well-known pli3-sicians 
 of Kankakee Count}', residing in St. Anne, 
 conies of an old English family that at .an 
 earl}' day was founded in Canada. His father 
 was a learned man, but from choice always fol- 
 lowed the occupation of farming, rather than a 
 professional career. The mother of our subject 
 was the youngest daughter of Col. William Shaw, 
 who was a soldier in the British army. In the 
 Thomas household were five sons, namely: S. J., 
 S. S., Peter, Amos B. and N. Thomas. Of these, 
 four are yet living. The two youngest own and 
 reside upon the old homestead, on which they 
 were reared. S. J., the eldest son, is now engaged 
 in business in Bothwell. Peter died from small- 
 pox when tweuty-six years of age. 
 
 The Doctor is the second son of the family. 
 The days of his boyhood and youth were spent 
 upon a farm in Kent Count}', Ontario. He at- 
 tended the common schools until he had acquired 
 all the attainments tiiere possible, and during his 
 vacations aided in the labors of the farm. On 
 leaving the district schools, he went to the nearest 
 village and became the pupil of John P. Peter 
 Davies, a learned mechanic and draughtsman, un-
 
 722 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 der whose instructions be pursued his studies until 
 nineteen years of age. He then took a course of 
 study in the High School in the old town of Niag- 
 ara, and at the completion of his course he passed 
 an examination for entrance into Victoria College. 
 
 It was in that institution that Dr. Thomas began 
 fitting himself for his life work. He took up the 
 study of medicine under the direction of the ven- 
 erable Dr. Ralph, who was at tliat time Dean of 
 the college. After fovir years spent in that school, 
 in order to [terfect himself in his chosen pro- 
 fession and become as proficient as possible, Dr. 
 Thomas went to New York, entering Bellevue Hos- 
 pital Medical College of that city, to finish his 
 medical studies. 
 
 After his graduation, the Doctor practiced a 
 short time in Canada, and then removed to Michi- 
 gan, where he practiced several years. His next 
 location was in Toledo, Ohio, but he did not like 
 the place, and from there came to St. Anne, III., 
 where he is now enjoying a large and lucrative 
 practice. Our subject has been twice married. 
 His first wife died of consumption in 1880, and 
 two j^ears after her deatli, he married his present 
 wife. 
 
 )-^€#i#^|-^"i^liM#i€ 
 
 i.^"^m5^£=-^ 
 
 
 LBERT ALEXIS AYRES. For over a 
 quarter of a century the subject of this 
 sketch has been a resident of Illinois. 
 Since 1884 he has made his home on sec- 
 tion 7, Pilot Township. Mr. Ayres is a native of 
 Troy, N. Y., horn October 16, 1848, but when a 
 year old he removed with his parents to Newark, 
 N. J. His education whs commenced in the pub- 
 lic schools of that city, but on account of ill health 
 he was forced to leave school. He is largely self- 
 educated and has thus become the practical busi- 
 ness man which we find him to-da3'. 
 
 The Ayres family is of English descent. The 
 grandfather of our subject was born in New Jer- 
 sey August 10, 1786, and died in A|)ril, 1829. He 
 gave the following account of the family: About 
 1630, three brothers, Isaac, Daniel and .John Ayres, 
 
 came from England. Isaac located in New Jersey, ' 
 John in Virginia, and Daniel in Massachusetts. 
 Isaac Ayres was born in Woodbridge, N. J., in 
 1738, and had twelve children by his first wife and 
 five by his second wife, who bore the maiden 
 name of Elizabeth Denman. Daniel Ayres w.as a 
 son of Isaac and Elizabeth Ayres. 
 
 ]Mr. Ayres is the eldest child in a familj' of five 
 sons born to Alexis and Harriet Adelia (Risley) 
 A3'res. Of the children only two are now living, 
 the subject of this sketch and Isaac D., who is rep- 
 resented elsewhere in this volume. The father of 
 this family was born in New Jersey May 9, 1821, 
 and died February 23, 1861. He was a printer 
 by trade and was a typo under'riorace Greeley, 
 who then edited the New York Tribune. In 1856, 
 Mr. Ayres established the Newark Daily 3Te7-uury, 
 which paper became a stanch advocate of Abolition 
 and in fact was one of the first published in the 
 interests of that movement. Mr. Ayres was a man 
 of indomitable energy and good business ability. 
 He was firm in his convictions and in his political 
 sentiments was a stanch Republican, voting for the 
 first candidates of that part3-. In his social rela- 
 tions he was connected with Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows. The mother of our subject was a 
 native of Oneida County, N. Y. She was bom 
 March 20, 1823, and is yet living in the Empire 
 State. Although she has reached the age of sev- 
 enty, her three-score years and ten rest lightly 
 upon her. She and her husliand were members of 
 the Congregational Church. 
 
 The subject of this sketch began life for himself 
 at the age of twelve as a clerk in a paper store and 
 received the munificent salaiy of *1 per week. 
 After a short time he went to work for a jeweler 
 by the name of Fields, and his last experience was 
 in an art gallerv. As will have been seen, he 
 started out in life with no capital but his willing 
 hands and industrious disposition tu make his life 
 a success. Coming to Illinois with his mother, lie 
 located in Kendall County and rented a small 
 piece of land, which he operated for about five 
 years. In 1869, he came to Kankakee County and 
 settled in Pilot Township. The country was tlien 
 ver^- new and a rolling prairie was about all that 
 could be seen from his door. Cabery, Bucking-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 723 
 
 liarn and irersclicr were not tlieu known. Wolves 
 were plentiful when lie first knew Pilot Township, 
 and in 1871 the ten-ible prairie fire came very 
 nearly destroying their homes. Mv. Aj-res can 
 trul^- be said to he one of the earl^' settlers of this 
 part of the county. The j'ear before he and his 
 mother came to Pilot Township a cyclone entirely 
 destroyed the house which was to be theirs, but it 
 was rudely repaired and they moved into it. His 
 first purchase was eighty acres of new land, only 
 seven of which had been broken. Our subject has 
 spent twenty-four years of his life in Kankakee 
 County, and lias witnessed the remarkable growth 
 and development of what is now one of the lead- 
 ing counties in the State. 
 
 Mr. Ayres was married October 16, 1873, in 
 Pilot Township, to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Atkins, 
 who was born in Tioga County, N. Y., on the 11th 
 of .January, 18.51. By their union were born four 
 sons and a diuighter: Charles A.; William H., 
 who died October 21, 1881, at the age of six and a- 
 half years; Ilattie ^laud. Daniel I. and Albert 
 Hay. Mrs. A3-res was the third in a family of four 
 children. Her parents, William II. and Sarah 
 (Goodrich) Atkins, are rei)resented elsewhere in 
 this work. Slie was educated in the country 
 schools and in the ilorris Seminary, of Morris, 
 Grundy County, 111. Before her marriage she en- 
 gaged in teaching and followed that profession 
 successfully both in Kendall and Kankakee Coun- 
 ties. To her husband she has proved a valuable 
 and worthy hel|)mate during the journey of life. 
 
 When our country was in peril and needed help 
 to preserve the Unio:i, IMr. Ayres nobl^y responded 
 to the call aud went to enlist in the Twenty-sixth 
 New Jersey Infantry, but when he made his wants 
 known the recruiting officer said: " Young man 
 go home and get a permit from your mother and 
 we will take you." But when he went home and 
 told his motiier of his proposed enlistment she re- 
 plied, "Albert are you going to leave j'our 
 mother and Isaac.'" The tears came into the bo3''s 
 eyes and he gave u|) the notion. Mr. Ayres was for- 
 merly a Republican in politics and cast his first vote 
 for Gen. U. S. Grant, but in later years, since 1880, 
 he h.as been a firm believer in the issues of the 
 Prohibition party, lie has been otlicially con- 
 
 3.3 
 
 nected with the municipal issues of his township 
 ever since he located here, a fact which shows that 
 his townsmen value him as a sterling citizen. His 
 wife is a member of the Woman's Christian Tem- 
 perance Union of Ilerslier, and is Secretary of the 
 society. Mr. and Mrs. Ayres are classed among 
 the prominent citizens of Pilot Township. They 
 have a good farm, well improved, and have re- 
 cently erected a beautiful home thereon, which is 
 alwa3-s open for the reception of their many 
 friends, as the Ayres household is noted for its 
 hospitality. 
 
 LBERT W. COTTON owns and operates a 
 farm on section 31, Norton Township. 
 He is a native of Will County, 111., his 
 birth having occurred on the 9th of No- 
 vember, 185.5, and is a son of John S. and Emeline 
 (Jeffers) Cotton. They were both natives of New 
 York, and the former came to Illinois in 1835. In 
 1861, having been engaged in fanning up to 
 that time in Will County, he enlisted in defense of 
 the Union, becoming a member of Company H, One 
 Hundredth Illinois Infantry, and serving as a loyal 
 patriot and a faithful soldier. He was taken [jris- 
 oner bj' the Confederates, and placed in Ander- 
 sonville Prison, where his death occurred in Au- 
 gust, 1863. His wife is still living, and makes her 
 home with our subject, who is the only surviving 
 member of his father's family. One sister, Rosella, 
 died at the age of nineteen years. 
 
 The boj'hood and youth of Albert W. Cotton 
 were passed on his father's farm in Will County, 
 and his education was such as he could obtain in 
 the district schools. On arriving at man's estate, 
 he married in Will Counts, on the 8th of January, 
 1879, Jliss Clara E., a daughter of Amos Eib, one 
 of the pioneers of that section. Five children 
 grace this union: Cora, tieorge, Clarence, Bertha 
 and Amos, who are still under the parental roof. 
 After his marriage, Mr. Cotton carried on agri- 
 cultural pui-suitsin Will County' until 1885, when
 
 724 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAI HICAL RECORD. 
 
 he sold liis property and located on his present 
 farm. His place consists of eighty acres of good 
 and arable land, upon which is a substantial resi- 
 dence, barns and other farm buildings. To its im- 
 provement and increasing value our subject is now 
 devoting himself with good success. 
 
 Mr. Cotton has always taken quite an active 
 part in local politics. Since becoming a voter he 
 has been identified with the Democratic party, his 
 first ballot being cast in the Presidential election of 
 1876 for Samuel J. Tilden. He was elected Town- 
 ship Clerk in Will County, and made an efficient 
 Supervisor of Norton Township, to which posi- 
 tion he was elected by his fellow-citizens. For 
 four years jirevious, he served as Township Com- 
 missioner. By his honoraljlo course in life, and 
 his long residence in Will and Kankakee Counties, 
 he has made many friends and acquaintances, who 
 esteem him highly as a man of sterling worth. 
 
 
 H****^ 
 
 Si^^OEL CYRIER is engaged in general farm- 
 !| jjj ing and stock-raising on section 2, Aroma 
 U^iM) Townsliip, where he owns four hundred 
 and forty acres of arable land. He claims Canada 
 as the land of his nativity, having been born there 
 February 12, 1831. He was the second in a family 
 of twelve children boi-n unto Noel and Louise 
 (Toupiu) Cyrier. The parents were both natives 
 of Canada, and were of French descent. The mother 
 died in 18G2, but the father survived her many 
 vears, and was called to the home beyond in 1880. 
 In order of birth their children are as follows: 
 Elizabeth, Noel, John B., Mary, Matilda, Victo- 
 ria, Oliver, Malvina, Ledger, Valeria, Adell and 
 Charlie E. 
 
 The subject of this sketch si)ent the days of his 
 childhood in the usual manner of farmer lads. 
 His scliool privileges were quite limited, in fact, he 
 is largely self-educated. He started out in life for 
 himself when a young man of twenty-five years. 
 In 1850 he came to the United States, and at once 
 made his wa>' to Illinois, locating in Bourbonnais 
 Township, Kankakee County, where he began 
 
 working on a farm by the month. He was thus 
 employed for about five j-ears. On the expiration 
 of that period he went to Iroquois County and be- 
 gan farming for himself in Papineau Township, 
 purchasing forty acres of wild prairie land, upon 
 which not a furrow had been turned or an im- 
 provement made. He at once began its develop- 
 ment and acre after acre was placed under the 
 plow until the whole amount yielded to him- 
 bounteous harvests. 
 
 It was in 1856 that Mr. Cyrier was married to 
 Miss Emerencie Paradis, and by their union was 
 born a family of thirteen children, the eldest of 
 whom, Charles, died in 1878; Archille is the sec- 
 ond in order of birth; Victoria is the wife of Mor- 
 ris Darais; Philip and Emile are married and 
 work for tiiemselves; Leonie is at home; Virginia 
 and George died in infancj'; Arcelia, Joseph, Alex- 
 ine, Arthur and Josepiiine are at home. Tlic girls 
 have all attended school at St. Anne's Academy. 
 The motlier of this family died at her home in 
 this county in July, 1885, and her remains were 
 laid to rest in St. Anne's Catholic Cemetery. She 
 was a faithful Christian lady, a devoted member 
 of the Catholic Church, and her friends through- 
 out the community were man}'. The lady who 
 now bears the name of ]\Irs. Cyrier was formerly 
 Miss Herlin Gagnon, and their marriage was cele- 
 brated in 1888. 
 
 Mr. Cyrier continued his residence in Iroquois 
 Count}' until 1875, when he again came to Kanka- 
 kee County and made purchase of one hundred 
 and sixty acres of land on section 2, Aroma Town- 
 ship. Since that time the boundaries of his farm 
 have been extended until it now comprises four 
 hundred and forty acres of valuable land, all 
 highly cultivated and well improved with good 
 buildings and the accessories of a model farm. 
 He carries on general farming and stock-raising 
 with excellent success, and holds rank among thei 
 practical and progressive agriculturists of thej 
 community. He is also numbered among the sub- 
 stantial citizens, a position to which he has at- 
 tained by steadily working his way upward, un- 
 daunted by the obstacles and difficulties whichi 
 would have impeded his progress had he been of a| 
 less determined and energetic nature. Mr. Cyrier j
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 725 
 
 votes with the Democratic party, and is a stalwart 
 advocate of tlie Democracy. He has served as 
 Assessor one term, Imt has never been an otlice- 
 secker, preferring to devote hi.s time and atten- 
 tion to his business Miterests. In religiuus belief 
 he is a Homan Catholic, and holds membership 
 with the church in St. Anne. 
 
 ^J{. .lOHN 1". SIIUONTS was born in Pans, 
 Truniliull C'oiint3', Ohio, on the 3d of 
 April, 1817, and is the son of .lohn and 
 Magdeleua (I)oseman) Shronts, lioth na- 
 tives of Pennsj'lvaiiia, where they lived near 
 Youngstown. The fatlier was a farmer until after 
 middle life, since which time he has followed the 
 business of keeping a liotcl. About 18o8 lie emi- 
 grated to Ohio, where he lived until 18.50, when 
 he came to Illinois and located about two and 
 a-half miles southeast of Momence, on a farm of 
 two hundred and eighty acres, to which he added 
 one hundred acres about two 3ears later. There 
 he lived for ten years. In 18G0 he removed to 
 INIoraence, and engaged in the hotel business for 
 some fifteen years. 
 
 The mother of our subject was previously mar- 
 ried, in 1829, at which time she became the wife 
 of Isaac Kenrich. and l)_v that union were born 
 tiiree children, a son and two daughters: Solomon; 
 Catherine, tiie wife of Dr. I. L. Simington, liv- 
 ing at Ashland, Xeb.; and Ann, who married John 
 Fender. Mr. Kenrich departed this life in 1835. 
 In the spring of 1837, Mrs. Kenrich became the 
 wife of .John Shronts, Sr., and to them were 
 born five children. Samuel is represented on an- 
 other page of this work. .John F., our subject, is 
 .the second of the family. Isaac Leroy lives in 
 [ankakee. .Julia .\. married Matthew Campbell, 
 who was a soldier in the late war, and served 
 ,in a jMichigan regiment during the entire service. 
 le was a prisoner in Andersonville for many 
 months, and there received permanent injury; in 
 ^llie s[)ring of 18'J0 he w.as drowned in the Kanka- 
 kee Kiver. Maria is now Mrs. Richard Randall, 
 Englewood, III. 
 
 Dr. Shronts was reared on iiis father's farm near 
 Momence, and is one of the old settlers of this 
 townshi|). He received a common-school educa- 
 tion in the public schools of this place, after whicli 
 he clerked for about two years in the drug store of 
 Dr. J. C. Lane. He then went to Chicago, com- 
 pleted a course at Bryant it Stratton's Business 
 College, and tlien again entered the employ of 
 Dr. Lane, remaining with him for two j-ears longer, 
 after which he entered the medical department of 
 the Universit}^ of Michigan, at Ann ArJ)or. For 
 three years afterward he compounded prescriiitions 
 in a drugstore in Kendall County, III. From there 
 he took a course in Rush IMedica! College, of Chi- 
 cago, from which institution he was graduated in 
 1868. He commenced the practice of his profes- 
 sion in Newton County, Ind., where he remained 
 for three years. Locating in Momence in 1871, 
 he has here built iiii a large and lucrative |)r.actice. 
 For seventeen years he h.as been a pension sur- 
 geon, having received the appointment when 
 Grant was President. He is also surgeon for the 
 Chicago ik Eastern Illinois Railroad Company, 
 which position he has held for lifteen years. He 
 ranks high in his profession and is a respected and 
 honored citizen of Momence. 
 
 On the 21st of December, 18CG, Dr. Shronts mar- 
 ried Miss Mariette, daughter of Henry T. and 
 Mary (Fritz) Smith, who were natives of New 
 York. One son has blessed their union, Claud F., 
 who was recently graduated from the Northwest- 
 ern University at Evanston, 111., taking the degree 
 of Bachelor of Science. On the 12th of July, 
 1885, Mrs. Shronts was called to the home beyond, 
 and her funeral was largely attended. The Mo- 
 mence Council No. 8',t7, H. A., of which the Doc- 
 tor is a member, and for which he is tlje medical 
 examiner, attended in a body and contributed 
 beautiful lloral decorations in testimony of her 
 character and worth and in order to show their 
 respect and fraternal regard for their honored 
 brother in his great bereavement. 
 
 Dr. Shronts was united in marriage with Miss 
 Ida A. Wickes, on the 28lh of Decemljcr, 1880. 
 She is a daughter of Joliii B. and Lois (Spring) 
 Wickes, of Momence, who were both natives of tlie 
 Empire Slate. Mr. Wickes, who was born in Ni-
 
 726 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 agara Cotinty, N. Y., iu 1825, was one of tlie earl}' 
 settlers of Kankakee County, to which he came in 
 1848. In 1852 he was man-ied to Miss Spring 
 at Lockport, N. Y., and four children blessed 
 their union: Elbridge C, P'rank H., Ida A. and 
 Flora Lillian. Mr. Wickes followed the occupa- 
 tion of a farmer, and was also a merchant, hotel- 
 keeper and liveryman. In the early history of 
 this county he also ran a stage line. He was the 
 owner of several fine f.arms in Momence and 
 Ganier Townships, comprising about one thousand 
 acres, and in addition to operating his land he was 
 engaged in the boot and shoe business at Danville, 
 111., for some years prior to his death. He passed 
 away on the 28th of December, 1886, and his wife 
 after surviving him for five years departed this 
 life, January 25, 1891. 
 
 Dr. Shronts is a member of Momence Lodge No. 
 481, A. F. &, A. M.; belongs to Kankakee Chapter 
 No. 78, R. A. M.; and Ivanhoe Coraraandery No. 
 33, K. T. He served las fellow-citizens as Alder- 
 man of the Second Ward of Momence. He has 
 been a resident of this city for over forty years, 
 and is one of the prominent and substantial citi- 
 zens of the place. 
 
 ■iJ. |>hI t W |. ^ i I 
 
 hM ARQUIS D. L. HUNTER is engaged in 
 farming on section 19, and for the past 
 three years has been engaged in raising 
 fine road horses. He is a native of Illi- 
 nois, and was born in Edgar County, near Paris, on 
 the 22d of November, 1836, being a sou of Andrew 
 and Charlotte E. (Stratton) Hunter. The father 
 was a native of Pennsylvania and of Scotcii de- 
 scent. In their familj^ were two children, our sub- 
 ject being the elder. His sister, Marj' ,1., was the 
 wife of Smith B. Buntain, and in December, 1871, 
 she was called to bcr final rest. The father of our 
 subject removed to St, Joseph, Mo., in the spring 
 of 1839, near which citj' he purchased one hundred 
 and sixtj' acres of land. In the following summer, 
 1840, occurred his death, and in Jnlj' of the same 
 year his wife also departed this life. Their re- 
 
 mains were interred in the family burying-ground 
 on tiie farm near St. Joseph. The father was a 
 AVhig politically and was (juite successful .as an 
 agriculturist. 
 
 Our subject was not yet three years of age when , 
 he was deprived by death of both parents. Hej 
 was taken by an uncle, who brought him back to! 
 his birtlipLace. Until he was about fourteen years! 
 of age he lived with that uncle and his grand-i 
 father and then began working on a farm by thej 
 month during the summer season, attending the 
 .district schools during the winter. In 1844, Mr.j 
 Hunter, then eight years of age, came with his' 
 uncle to Kankakee County. In 1850 he returnedj 
 to Paris, 111., where he became a student in the 
 Paris Seminary for two years and was graduated 
 in 1853 from a private college of that city. Ha 
 then returned to Kankakee County and for a yean 
 worked for his uncle, W. J. Stratton, on his farm.j 
 Next he went into partnership with that gentle-l 
 man in breaking prairie and threshing, which they| 
 continued until 1856. Mr. Hunter the following 
 year purchased one hundred and sixty acres of 
 partly improved farm land in Sumner Township! 
 upon which he lived until 1861, when he pur^ 
 chased property in Momence and removed to that 
 city. 
 
 August 22, 1862, Mr. Hunter entered the ser^ 
 vice of his country in the defense of the Union 
 enlisting as a private in Comi)any H, Seventyl 
 sixth Illinois Infantry, being mustered into serl 
 vice in Kankakee. He took part in many battles 
 and engagements of the war, the first being at Cold-j 
 water. Miss. Among the other important battle 
 in which he participated was that of Natchez, th 
 siege and capture of Vicksburg, Duvall's Bluff.aud 
 Morganza Bend, from which latter place he was senl 
 back to Vicksburg and then to New Orleans. Hi, 
 next went with his regiment to Florida, and wa| 
 at Pensacola and later assisted in the capture < 
 Ft. Blakely, Spanish Fort and Selma, Ala. Frori 
 there he went on a steamer to Galveston, TexJ 
 where he was stationed on guard duty until Augl 
 ust, 1865, at which time he bore the rank o| 
 Second Lieutenant. JMr. Hunter was taken pris 
 oner at Alexandria, was held for three days and 
 then paroled. Though he took part in so manj
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 r27 
 
 hattles and engai^emeiits and was man}' times 
 stationed in tlie front of the battle, he was for- 
 tunate, as he was never wounded in any engage- 
 ment. 
 
 After receiving liis discharge from tlie service, 
 Mr. Hunter returned to Momence, soon afterward 
 purchasing tlie fai-m of one hundred and sixteen 
 acres on section ly, (ianier Township, where iie 
 now lives, and which he has made his home until 
 tlie present lime. In 1882 he built a steam elevator 
 and hay barn at Exline and engaged in handling 
 grain, hay and coal extensively until 1888, when 
 he sold an interest in his business, but he still 
 deals extensivel\' in ha^-. 
 
 In 1857 occurred the marriage of Mr. Hunter 
 and Jliss Amanda Graham and to them has been 
 born one ciiild, a son, William A., who married 
 Hattie Hyde, and has one child, M3-rtle H. He 
 assists his father in operating the homestead. 
 
 Our subject is a Republican in politics and has 
 been Justice of the Peace for twelve }'ears, and 
 was l^chool Director and Highway Commissioner 
 for a number of years. He is interested in civic 
 societies and is a Knigiit Templar, belonging to 
 Kankakee Lodge Xo. 389, A.F. <fc A. M.; Kankakee 
 Chapter Xo. 78, R. A. M., and Ivanhoe Corn- 
 man deiy No. 33, K. T. He is also a member of 
 Whipple Post No. 414, G. A. R. 
 
 r.^ AMUEL G. .SALTZGABP:R, now deceased, 
 was for a number of j-ears a well-known 
 resident of Rockville Township. He was 
 a n.itive of Pennsylvania, his birth having 
 
 occurred in that State on Christmas Daj' of 1825. 
 
 His father, Samuel Saltzgaber, Sr., is still living at 
 
 the advanced age of more than ninet3' j'ears. 
 
 Both he and his wife are of German descent. 
 
 They had a family of seven children, namely: 
 
 Catherine, Henry, Samuel, Frank, John, and two 
 
 who are now deceased. 
 
 The subject of this sketch spent the d.ays of his 
 
 boyhood and youtli upon a farm. He was well edu- 
 
 cated in the German language and also attended 
 the English schools f« some extent. When four- 
 teen 3-ears of age he started out in life for himself 
 to make his own xv&y in the world. For tliree 
 years he served an apprenticeship to the black- 
 smith's trade in Mansfield, Ohio, and when his 
 term of service had expired he followed that busi- 
 ness in Sandusky and Ottawa Counties of the 
 Buckeye State. Thus his time wasemploj-ed until 
 the breaking out of the late war. 
 
 Mr. Saltzgaber noticed the growing signs of un- 
 easiness in the South, saw that rebellion was 
 threatened and determined that if the South at- 
 tempted to secede he would strike a blow in de- 
 fense of the Union. It was in August, 1861, that 
 he enrolled his name as a private with the bo3^s in 
 blue of Company L. Third Ohio Cavalrj'. He 
 served under Gen. Kilpatrick and participated in 
 the battles of Franklin, Chattanooga, Kenesaw 
 Mountain, Lookout Mountain, Dalton, Resaca and 
 many other engagements. He was wounded near 
 Atlanta in the neck b^^ a minie-ball but was never 
 taken prisoner. Indeed he was alwa^ys found at 
 his post of duty, faithfully defending the stars 
 and stripes, under which he had enlisted. He 
 served until October, 1864, when, his term having 
 expired, he returned home. 
 
 The succeeding year, Mr. Saltzgaber spent in 
 Ohio. He then came to Kankakee County, in 1 865, 
 and located in Rockville Township. Previous to 
 his removal he had purchased eightj'-three and 
 a-lialf acres of land on section 19, and settling 
 thereon he turned his attention to agricultural 
 pursuits, which he followed until his death. He 
 also carried on a blacksmith shop which w.os lo- 
 cated upon his farm. 
 
 On the 20th of M.\y, 1849, Mr. Saltzgaber was 
 united in marriage with Miss Sarah, daughter of 
 John B. and Nancy (Allen) Smith. Twelve chil- 
 dren were born of their union: Charles N., Bj'ron 
 A., Cabaska (deceased), Alice and Benson (twins, 
 both deceased); William A., Frank,Oscar (deceased), 
 Samuel D. and George (twins), Archer T. and 
 Delia. Frank acquired his education in Valpar- 
 aiso, Ind., and was graduated from the Normal 
 School of that city in the Class of '88. Since 
 that time he h.as engaged in teaching, and for the
 
 728 
 
 PORTRAIT? AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 past three years has been Principal of the Buck- 
 ingham scliools. He is a man of excellent ability, 
 and in his profession has a high reputation, which 
 is well deserved. Samuel was also educated at 
 Valparaiso, and has been a successful teacher in 
 the public schools of Illinois for eleven years. 
 
 Mr. Saltzgaber was a man of sterling worth and 
 by his own labor he became well to-do. He al- 
 ways took an active part in political affairs and 
 manifested a commendable interest in every en- 
 terprise calculated to prove of pul)lie benefit. So- 
 ciallj', he was a member of Whipple Post No. 
 414, G. A. R., of Kankakee, and was the first mem- 
 ber of that post called away by death. He died 
 Octobei 6, 1887, and his remains were interred in 
 Deselm Cemetery. In his death his family lost a 
 loving inisband and father, and the community 
 one of its valued citizens. 
 
 <^ I^ILLIAM J. MANN is a substantial farmer 
 \rJ// of Rockville Township, residing on the 
 V^^ Shaw-waw-nas-see Reservation. He comes 
 of a well-known family in Kankakee Count}', one 
 that has been identified with its growth and de- 
 velopment since an early day. His father, Sam- 
 uel Mann, was born in Pennsylvania, and was 
 of Scotch descent. He married Rebecca King, a 
 lady of Irish lineage, their union being celebrated 
 in 1816, two years after Mr. Mann had removed 
 from the Ke3'stone State to Ohio. He located near 
 Mansfield, Richland County, and became one of 
 the earl}' settlers of that community. He was a 
 hatter by trade, but in Ohio secured a tract of 
 Government land and engaged in farming. His 
 death occurred in the Buckeye State August 12, 
 1867. Throughout the community he was held in 
 the highest regard, he being a highly educated 
 man, well fitted to be a leader among men. With 
 the Christian Church he held membership. He 
 served as a soldier in the War of 1812, and was 
 three times wounded on the Huron River, near 
 
 where the city of Sandusky now stands. II is wife 
 was also a member of the Ciiristian Church. Her 
 death occurred November 9, 1875, and her remains 
 were interred by tlie side of iier husband in the 
 Shelby Cemetery, of Shelby, Ohio. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mann had a family of eight chil- 
 dren, namely: Alexander, who died in 1875; 
 Samuel, who died in 181)1; Polly A., widow of 
 John Sludebaker and a resident of Cleveland, 
 Ohio; .lane, widow of William Ililes and also a 
 resident of Ohio; Rebecca, wife of Geoiije Brown 
 .of Baltimore, Ohio; .James I)., who died in 1879; 
 William, of this sketch; and Charles, of Baltimore, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Our subject acquired a good practical education 
 in the common schools and at the age of fourteen 
 he started out in life for himself. (loing to 
 Shelb}', Ohio, he served an a|i|)renticeshi|) of al- 
 most four years to the blacksmith's trade, after 
 which lie followed that business in the IJuckeje 
 Slate until the spring of 1855, when he emigrated 
 to Kankakee County, 111. In company with his 
 brother, Dr. James Mann, he established a drug 
 store in Manteno and engaged in that line of bus- 
 iness for two years. He then went to Joliet, 
 where he worked at his trade for a year, after 
 which he returned to Manteno, and in connection 
 with work at his trade also followed farming. In 
 1859, he opened a blacksmith shop in Rockville, 
 which he carried on for three years. He then sold 
 out and again took up his residence in ]\Ian- 
 teno, where he started a blacksmith shop and did 
 business for a period of fourteen years. 
 
 On the 15th of December, 1858, Mr. iNLann 
 wedded Miss Mareia S. Rol/inson, who was born 
 in Will County, III., September 25, 1836, and is a 
 daughter of Lucius R. and Olive (Spafford) Robin- 
 son. Iler parents were both natives of Connecti- 
 cut and were of English descent. They came to 
 Illinois in 1835, locating near Joliet, which at 
 that time was a village, containing only three 
 houses. After seven years spent in that localitj' 
 they came to the portion of Will County now em- 
 braced in Kankakee County in 1842, where Mr. 
 Robinson purchased one hundred and sixty acres 
 of Government land on section 23, Rockville 
 Township. It was a wild and unimproved tract.
 
 PORTRAIT AlvD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORb 
 
 lie liuill :i loji; cabin iix.'io foci and in it made his 
 i}onie for ten ^-ears. Ho did iiis tradinj; in Joliet 
 and Chicago, hauling all of his grain with ox- 
 teams to the latter place, roiiniring six or seven 
 days to make the trip. The death of Mr. Robin- 
 son occurred July 14, 18.50, and he was laid to rest 
 on the old honiostoad. His wife [lassed awa^' 
 August 21, 1882. Tho Robinson family numbered 
 ten children: Elias, who died in 1844; Lois, who 
 died September 21, 1888; A'ino.who died at the same 
 time .as Klias, tliov being drowned in Uock Creek; 
 Amy, wife of William Iloag; Francis, who died 
 June 22, 1873; Jlrs. Mann; Jane, wife of William 
 Temple, of Nebraska; Lucius R., of Kankakee; 
 Delia, widow of Elisha Waterman; ami Jason A., 
 a farmer of IJockville Townshi|). 
 
 By the union of Mr. and JLs. Mann have been 
 born seven children, as follows: Nellie, wife of 
 Lyden Turner, a farmer residing in Cabciy, III.; 
 Clara, wife of AVilber Hayden, a farmer of Yellow- 
 head Township; Luella, wife of H. H. Nelson, a gen- 
 eral merchant of Cabcry; Charlie, at home; Jessie, 
 wife of George Canney; and Leon and Leslie, 
 twins. 
 
 On selling out his blacksmith shop in ilanteno 
 in 187G, Mr. jMann established a shop in Kanka- 
 kee, and also a carriage and plow factory. He 
 there did a good business until 1884, when he sold 
 out and purchased his present home in Rockville 
 Township, where he has since Carried on general 
 farming. His life has been a busy and useful one 
 and the success that has come to him is but the 
 just reward of his own labors. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Mann takes ([uite an active 
 interest and by his ballot supports the Republican 
 part}'. His fellow-townsmen, recognizing his 
 worth and ability, have called upon him to serve as 
 Collector, Justice of the Peace and Constable. His 
 public duties he has ever discharged witli prompt- 
 ness and fidelity, thus winning the commendation 
 of all concerned. .Socially, he is a member of the 
 Masonic fraternity, and himself and wife are mem- 
 bers of the Jlethodist Church. They are people of 
 sterling worth and throughout the community in 
 which the}' reside are held in high esteem for their 
 many excellencies of chaiaotor. (_)ur subject is a 
 self-made man, wlio started oul in life for himself 
 
 at the early age of fourteen years. His career has 
 been an iionorabie and u|)right one as well as suc- 
 cessful, and in many res|)ects is wortliy of emula- 
 tion. 
 
 -=^m>^-<u 
 
 a5ii_ 
 
 ::-«- 
 
 Sy^ 
 
 ONATHAN WARNKH, who resides on sec- 
 tion 5, Rockville Township, where he owns 
 and operates a farm of eight}' .acres of land, 
 is a native of the Keystone Slate. He was 
 born in Clearfield County, Octolier 4, 181!), and is 
 one of a family of eight children. His father, 
 Hezekiah Warner, was born in the Empire Slate, 
 and was of Welsh extraction. He married Sarah 
 Nichols, and they became parents of the following 
 children: Jonathan; Hannah, now the wife of 
 Leonard Morey; Lucy, wife of Ervin Strong; 
 Hezekiah, who died in 1885; Delbert, who died in 
 1888; Jerome, who died in 1870; Ilortense, wife 
 of Oscar Hall; and Adeline, wife of J. Fuller. The 
 father of this family died in Wilmington, 111., in 
 
 1862, and the mother, who survived him for a num- 
 ber of years, passed away on the 4th of February, 
 1886. 
 
 Our subject was born and reared upon his f.a- 
 Iher's farm. His advantages, educational and oth- 
 erwise, were not very great in his youth. He re- 
 mained under the parental roof until he had 
 attained his majority, when he started out in life 
 for himself by working a farm on shares. He 
 remained in the State of his nativity until the au- 
 tumn of 1847, when, hoping to benefit his finan- 
 cial condition by emigrating Westward, he came 
 to Illinois, making the trip by team and by water. 
 He first located in Wilmington, Will County, 
 where he rented land for two or three years. He 
 then purchased forty acres in that locality and 
 continued to make his home in Will County until 
 
 1863, when he removed to (Irundy County, whore 
 the two succeeding years of his life were passed. 
 
 February 16, 1810, Mr. Warner was joined in 
 
 marri.age with Miss Julia A. Mead, daughter of 
 
 John and Elizabeth I\Iead. Seven children have 
 
 been born of this union. Byron G. is in the First 
 
 I National Bank of Wilmington, 111.; Foster, who
 
 730 
 
 PORTRAIT AND EIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 enlisted as a soldier in the late war, died in 
 the service at Louisville, Ky., in the year 1863; 
 the next in order of birth is Jacob; Charles is 
 a fanner of Rockville Township; Jolin makes his 
 home in Joliet; Ada died in infancy; and Adeline 
 died April 17, 1890. The mother of this family 
 was called to lier final rest in 1855, and lier re- 
 mains were interred in Starr's Grove Cemetery. 
 Mr. Warner was again married, January 12, 1860, 
 his second union being witli Miss Lucy, daughter 
 of Jacob and Chloe Palmer. Four children grace 
 this marriage, the eldest of whom is Lura, who is at 
 home; Julia is the wife of Walter Reed, a resident 
 of Kankakee; Delia is the wife of Henry Knight, 
 and they live in Rockville Township; and Jerome 
 is still under the parental roof. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Warner is a 
 Democrat, and socially, he is a member of the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity, witii which he has been connected 
 for nearly forty years. His fellow-townsmen recog- 
 nize in liim a man of sterling worth, and the com- 
 munity numbers him among its valued citizens. 
 The year of his arrival in Kankakee County was 
 1865. At that time he purchased one hundred 
 and sixty acres of land on section 5, Rockville 
 Township, and began its development. There he 
 has since made his home. He now carries on gen- 
 eral farming and stock-raising, and is doing a good 
 business. His land is all under a high state of cul- 
 tivation, and upon his place he has made many 
 good improvements, which stand as monuments to 
 his tlirift and enterprise. 
 
 UGH LANCASTER, one of the early settlers 
 of the count}', now owns and operates a 
 good farm on section 34, Rockville Town- 
 ship. He was born in Kentucky, Novem- 
 ber 27, 1820, and is one of a family of six children 
 whose parents were William and Nancj' Lancaster. 
 The father was also a native of Kentucky, and 
 there resided until our subject was three years of 
 age, when he removed to Franklin County, Ind., 
 becoming one of its earliest settlers. By occupa- 
 
 tion he was a farmer, and followed that business 
 tliroughoiit the greater part of liis life. Hugh was 
 earlj' inured to the labors of the farm, and gave 
 his father the benefit of his services in the fields 
 until he attained liis majoiit\\ He tlien left 
 home, and began working in his ovvii interests, be- 
 ing employed as a farm hand by the day or by the 
 moutli. He first worked in the harvest fields for 
 fifty cents per day, and then worked by the month 
 for about three years. On the exjiiration of that 
 period, lie was married, and rented land in Ind- 
 iana for two years, when he came to Illinois. 
 This was in 1817. Locating in what is now Kan- 
 kakee County, he took up his residence in Bour- 
 bonnais Township, where he rented a farm for about 
 five years. He then removed to Rockville Town- 
 ship, and purchased eighty-four acres of land on 
 section 34, it being a part of the Indian reserve. 
 The only improvement upon the place was a small 
 log cabin, and the tract was almost entirely 
 covered with a heav^' growth of timber, but with 
 characteristic energy he began clearing it, and in 
 the course of time had tlie entire amount under 
 the plow. His fields are now well tilled and yield 
 to him a golden tribute in return for his care and 
 labor. In connection with general farming, Mr. 
 Lancaster also carries on stock-raising and does a 
 good business in this line. 
 
 During the earlier years of his residence here, 
 our subject experienced the hardships of life on the 
 frontier, undergoing many trials and privations of 
 pioneer life. For several years he had to haul his 
 grain all the way to Chicago, for there were no 
 near markets. The unsettled condition of the 
 county is shown by the fact that he has killed 
 many a deer on the site of the present city of 
 Kankakee. He has witnessed almost the entire 
 growth of the county, has seen its wild lands trans- 
 formed into beautiful homes and farms, while 
 towns and villages have sprung up, and the work 
 of civilization has been carried forward so rapidly, 
 that one would scarcely recognize in the Kankakee 
 County of to-daj' that of forty years ago. 
 
 July 4, 1844, Mr. Lancaster married Miss Eliza- 
 beth A. McGruder. Their union was blessed 
 with seven children, but four are now deceased: 
 William, Laura. Julia and John K. Those still li v-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 731 
 
 ing are Henrietta,Obadiah and Amanda J. The fam- 
 ily is widel}- and favorablj' known in this commn- 
 nity. Mr. Lancaster is a leading citizen of Rock- 
 ville Township. In politics he has been a life- 
 long supporter of the Democratic part}-, and has 
 served in the offices of School Diiector and Road 
 Commissioner. All the family hold membership 
 with the United Brethren Chnrch. He is an up- 
 riglit man, who has the high regard of all with 
 whom he has been brouifht in contact. 
 
 =-l^+^l=- 
 
 J^^NTHONY CANAVAN was a native of 
 i@7L)|| Ireland, his birth occurring in Count}- 
 Mayo in 1822. He was one of a famil\- 
 .^^^ of eleven children born to Anthonj^ and 
 
 Kittie (Kirby) Canavan. The boyhood days of 
 our subject were passed in his native land, where 
 he received the advantages of a fine education. 
 He resolved to seek his fortune in America while still 
 a youth, and in pursuance of that plan hade .adieu 
 to the friends and scenes of his youth, and in 1840 
 took passage on a sailing-vessel, his destination be- 
 ing Philadelphia. For nine weeks and three days 
 he was upon the broad Atlantic, and upon his ar- 
 rival in the Quaker City he obtained employment 
 in a wholesale grocery. With one firm he re- 
 mained for nine yeais, and was ever faithful to 
 their interests. 
 
 In 1849, Mr. Canavan concluded he would leave 
 mercantile life and devote himself to agriculture. 
 Coming to Illinois, he decided to locate in Kanka- 
 kee County, and worked a rented farm in G.anier 
 Township. After living upon this farm for four 
 years, Mr. Canavan purchased one hundred and 
 sixty acres of land in Sumner Township, situated 
 on section 19. This property he improved, and 
 there carried on general farming and stock-raising. 
 He was possessed of tlie necessary attributes for 
 success — industry and econoni}' — and in addition 
 exercised wise judgment in the investment of 
 his mone}'. By degrees he added to his original 
 purchase adjoining property, uutil his possessions 
 amounted to four hundred and eightj'-two and a- 
 half acres of valuable land. 
 
 In 1841, Mr. Canavan was married to Miss Ann 
 Hughes, who is a daughter of James and Mar}' 
 (CariH'}') Hughes. Mrs. Canavan was born in 1822, 
 and is living, still in the enjoyment of good health, 
 although now seventy years of age. Eleven chil- 
 dren were born of this union, ten of whom are still 
 living. The four eldest children were born in 
 Ireland, and arc as follows: James, John, Tony 
 and Mary. The others, who were born in the 
 United States, are Austin, Patrick, Tiiomas (who 
 died in infancy) and Thomas, all of whom were 
 born in Phil.adelphia; Kate and Nellie, who were 
 born in Ganier Township; and Maggie, who was 
 born in Sumner Township. The latter is the only 
 one still residing under the parental roof. 
 
 Mr. Canavan served his township in various of- 
 fices requiring ability and fidelity, among which 
 we mention Treasurer, which he held a number of 
 years. Supervisor about twelve years, Trustee, As- 
 sessor and Collector. He was a strong politician, 
 and was ever interested in the success of his party, 
 being a stanch Democrat. Mr. Canavan lived and 
 died in the faith of the Catholic Church. He was 
 called to his final rest on the 6th of March, 1890, 
 and his remains lie buried in the Sumner Cemetery. 
 
 His family have erected a beautiful monument 
 to mark his last resting-place. As one of the 
 early pioneers he deserves special notice, for he 
 assisted materially in opening up and making hab- 
 itable this now prosperous county. He struggled 
 manfully through the hardships and privations 
 common to a new and sparsely settled region, and 
 well deserved the |)rosperity which he enjoyed 
 during his last years. 
 
 
 io~ 
 
 if? EVI C. RICE, who is now deceased, w.as a 
 I (® well-known citizen of Kankakee County of 
 j J'—^V an early day, and as an honored pioneer 
 and a soldier of the late war, he well deserves rep- 
 resentation in this volume. The record of his life 
 is as follows: He was born in St. Clair, Mich., on 
 the 17th of December, 1819, and was a son of Peter 
 and Sallie (Swift) Rice, who had a family of five
 
 732 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BlOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 children. ' He lost his mother when he was about 
 seven .years of age, and when quite young he was 
 bound out by his father to a farmer. Thus the 
 privileges and advantages of his youth were quite 
 limited, but he possessed enterprise and industry, 
 and throughout his life always made the best of 
 his opportuniies. 
 
 The year 1840 witnessed the emigration of Mr. 
 Rice Westward. lie had determined to make a 
 home in Illinois, and located first in Cook County, 
 where he remained for about twelve years. In 1853 
 he came to Kankakee County, settling in Rock- 
 ville Township. Previous to his arrival he had 
 here purchased one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land. The tract was in its primitive condition, 
 not a furrow liaving been turned or an improve- 
 ment made, but he at once began its development, 
 and placed it under a high state of cultivation, so 
 that it yielded him a good retiu'n for the care and 
 cultivation he bestowed upon it. 
 
 On the 27^1 of September, 1850, Mr. Rice was 
 married to Miss Mar\' B. Murbach. By tlieir union 
 ■was born a family of seven children, six of whom 
 are yet living, namely: Mary B., John S., I^^mma 
 J., Rhoda A., Sallie A. and Lizzie A. The family 
 is widely and favorably known in the community, 
 its membei's ranking high in the circles of society 
 in which they move. 
 
 On the organization of the Republican party, 
 Mr. Rice joined its ranks, for it was formed to pre- 
 vent the further extension of slavery, and he held 
 strong abolition principles. Anxiously he watched 
 the growing discontent in the South, and though 
 he dreaded the war be resolved that if secession 
 was attempted he would strike a blow in defense 
 of the Union. In consequence, in 1863, he re- 
 sponded to his country's call for troops, and as a 
 private joined the boys in blue of Company I, One 
 Hundredth Illinois Infantry. Bidding a fond, 
 and, as it proved, a last, adieu to his family, he 
 left his home and marched to the front. He was 
 at once engaged in active service, and in the bat- 
 tle of Chattanooga received a wound from which 
 he never recovered. He was taken to Nashville 
 and placed in the hospital, but all efforts to save 
 his life were futile, and he passed away in No- 
 vember, 18G4. His remains were laid to rest in 
 
 the South. Mr. Rice was a member of the Meth- 
 odist Church, and lived an upright, honorable life, 
 in harmony with his professions. He had many 
 warm friends, and his death was widcl3- mourned, 
 not only by his immediate family, but by a large 
 circle of acquaintances as well. Mrs. Rice and 
 three of the children, John, Lizzie and Sallie, still 
 reside on the old homestead, provided by the hus- 
 band and father prior to his enlisting in the service 
 of his countrv. 
 
 
 'ill OIIN B. GAY, a well-known farmer of Rock- 
 ville Township, residing on section 7, 
 claims Vermont as the State of his nativit}'. 
 _ He was liorn in Windsor County, on the 
 6th of August, 1827, and is one of ten children 
 born of the union of William and Ann (Brevorte) 
 Gay. The members of this famil3- were Eliza, 
 Cordelia, John, Jerome, Harriet, Harvey, Mary E., 
 William P., Romain and Ellen. In 1836, when 
 our subject was a lad of nine years, William Gay 
 removed with his family to Washington Count}', 
 N. Y., where they resided until 1840. Tliat year 
 witnessed their emigration Westward, and saw 
 them located in Michigan, where the.y remained 
 until the following spring, when they removed to 
 Joliet, 111., making the journey by team. After a 
 short time spent at that place they took up their 
 residence in Cook County, where tiiey remained 
 until 1849, when they came to what is now Kan- 
 kakee County. The father purchased one hundred 
 and sixty acres of land from the Government, and 
 began the development and improvement of a 
 farm, on wliich he made his home until his death. 
 He passed away March 8, 1889, at the very ad- 
 vanced age of ninety-three years. The wife and 
 mother was called to her final home the same year. 
 Her death occurred just five weeks before that of ^ 
 her husband, she having reached the age of eighty- 
 nine years. They were highly' respected people,] 
 and were numbered among the honored pioneers] 
 of this count}'. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is one of the well- 
 known citizens of Rockville Township. He left]
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his native State at the age of nine years, and 
 accompanied his parents on their various removals 
 until they reached tliis county, wliere he has since 
 made iiis home. Between the ages of nine and 
 thirteen years he was a canal driver on the Cham- 
 plain Canal, and in compensation for his services 
 received only the meagre sum of $7 or $8 per 
 month. After coming to the West he assisted his 
 father in the Labors of the farm, and remained un- 
 der the parental roof until twenty-one years of 
 age. On attaining his majority lie began earning 
 his own liveliiiood by working as a farm hand by 
 the month, and thus his time was spent for about 
 five years. When he had accumulated enough 
 capital through his industry, econom_v and good 
 management, he purchased eight}' acres of land on 
 section 7, Rockville Township, the farm on which 
 he now resides. 
 
 As a companion and helpmate on life's journey', 
 he chose Miss Emma Taylor, a daughter of Thomas 
 and Mary Taylor. Their union was celebrated 
 .Julj' 30, 1855, and was blessed with a famil}- of 
 four children, but Stella, the eldest, died August 
 30, 1861, two days Itefore reaching her fifth birth- 
 day. Byrilda Tj. is now the wife of A. D. Mann; 
 Julia is the wife of J. Shroffler; and ITattie mar- 
 ried George Rowe. 
 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Gay is a Prohibi- 
 tionist, but has never sought or desired the honors 
 or emoluments of public office. He devotes his 
 entire time and attention to his business interests, 
 in which he has met with success. He started out 
 in life at the verj' earl}' age of nine years. Energy 
 and enterprise have characterized his business 
 career and in consequence his efforts have been 
 crowned with prosperity, so that now he is one of the 
 well-to-do agriculturists of the communitj', as well 
 as one of the early settlers and valued citizens of 
 his adopted count}-. 
 
 i^^EORGE EXLINE, a respected farmer, who 
 - owns and operates a good farm on sections 
 J( 5 and 6, Aroma Township, was born near 
 Covington, Fountain County, Ind., January 4, 
 1836. His father, Samuel Exline, was a native of 
 
 Ohio, his birth having occurred in the ]?uckeye State 
 January 17, 1811. When a young man he removed 
 with his parents to Fountain County, Ind., where 
 he acquired his education. His school privileges, 
 however, were quite limited. After attaining his 
 majority he was married, in 1833, to Miss Mary 
 Ann Lowe, daughter of Peter and Julia A. (Tay- 
 lor) Lowe. The young couple began their domes- 
 tic life upon a rented farm, where they lived until 
 183G, when they came to Illinois. 
 
 The previous year Mr. E.Kline had made the trip 
 witj] an ox-teain, secured a claim, built a log cabin 
 and made a few other improvements, after which 
 he returned to Indiana. The following spring he 
 brought his wife and family to the home which he 
 had prepared. Tiie farm was located in what is now 
 Aroma Township, Kankakee County, but was then 
 a part of Will County. When the land came into 
 market, Mr. Exline purchased the farm upon which 
 he had first settled, containing one hundred and 
 fifty acres of land, on sections 5 and 6. In those 
 early days, all kinds of wild game were found in 
 abundance. Indians still lived in the neighbor- 
 hood, and the vvork of progress and civilization 
 seemed scarcely to have begun. The father of our 
 subject remained upon his first farm until his 
 death, which occurred in 1849. His remains were 
 interred on the old homestead. In politics, he was 
 a Whig, and was a highly respected citizen. 
 
 There were five children In the Exline family, 
 the eldest of whom was George; Mahlon was the 
 second in order of birth; Leander J. is living in 
 Kankakee; Albert E. makes his home in Galveston, 
 Tex.; and Alonzo A. is a resident of Chicago. 
 
 George Exline, whose name heads this record, 
 was only about a month old when he came with 
 his parents to this county. He was reared amid 
 the wild scenes of frontier life, and endured all 
 the hardships of the pioneer. The nearest market 
 in those days was Chicago, and to the city they 
 hauled all their grain. George conned his lessons 
 in a log schoolhouse, but is mostly self-educated, 
 and through experience and observation he has 
 become a well-informed man. 
 
 After his father's death, Mr. Exline took cliarge 
 of the old homestead, where he has since lived. 
 He h.as .added to it from time to time, until now
 
 734 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 within the boundaries of the farm are comprised 
 five hundred and tliirty acres of good land, all 
 well improved, and he now rents the greater part 
 of it. His success has been achieved through his 
 well-directed efforts, good management, enterprise 
 and untiring industry. In politics, he is a sup- 
 porter of the Republican party, but has never been 
 an ortice-seekef, preferring to devote his time and 
 attention to his business interests. His entire life 
 has been passed in this county, and he well de- 
 serves representation among its honored pioneers. 
 
 ' OSEPH GUERTIN, wlio for many years was 
 a i)rominent citizen of St. Anne, and one of 
 its leading business men, well deserves rep- 
 *5^^' resentation in the histor}- of Kankakee 
 County-. lie was born at St. Hyacinthe, Province 
 of Quebec, Canada, June 24, 1833, and was one of 
 ten children, eight sons and two daughters, all of 
 whom grew to mature years. One of the sous now 
 lives in Vermont and two in Massachusetts. The 
 father, Pierre Gucrtin, was a native of Canada 
 and was of French descent. He carried on farm- 
 ing extensivelj' in his native land, where he spent 
 his entire life. He died in middle age, but liis 
 wife reached the age of sevent}' jears. In the 
 Patriot War of 1832 he served as a Captain. 
 
 Joseph Guertin, our suljject, was reared on a 
 farm, remaining at home with his parents until 
 seventeen years of age, when he began clerking in 
 a general merchandise store in St. Hj'acintiie. 
 After three years spent in that way, he c^me to 
 the United States and pursued a business course 
 of study in Ticonderoga, N. Y.. after which he re- 
 turned home and again entered the store of his 
 old employer. It was in 1855 that he came to 
 Illinois, locating in Kankakee, where he clerked 
 for Mr. Sibley. In 1860, he came to St. Anne, 
 and opened a general store in wliat is now called 
 the " old village," where he did business until 
 the Chicago k Eastern Illinois Railroad was built. 
 
 The town then began to grow toward the railroad, 
 and moving with the tide he erected a store in 
 tiie center of the business locality. 
 
 On the 19th of May, 18G2, Mr. Guertin was mar- 
 ried to Miss Virginia Chiniqu}', daughter of 
 Achille and Luce (Eraser) Chiniquy, of St. Anne. 
 Her parents were natives of Canada, and her 
 father was a brother of the Rev. C. Chiniquy. He 
 died February 5, 1882, at the age of sixty-seven, 
 and his wife passed away fourteen months later, 
 in April, 1883, when sixty-two years of age. 
 There were nine children born unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Chiniqu}', eight of whom are now living. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Guertin had a family of four sons and two 
 daughters, the eldest of whom is Corinne; Edwin 
 married Miss Blanche Hall, daughter of Xewton B. 
 Hall, of Decatur, Ala., and with his wife and 
 daughter, Lucile, he resides in Benton Harlior, 
 Mich., but travels for a wholesale grocery house of 
 Chicago; Walter, who makes his home in St. Anne, 
 married Miss Lillie, daughter of Henry Lowe, of 
 Waldron, 111., b3' whom he has one son, Percy; 
 Joseph, Blanche and Aljjhonse are the younger 
 members of the family. 
 
 From the time he located in St. Anne until his 
 death, Mr. Guertin was constantly engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits. Since his death, his sons 
 Walter and Joseph, under the old firm name of 
 Guertin & Sons, have carried on the business. 
 Their store, which is the largest in the place, is 
 conducted on the department s^'stem, the stock 
 consisting of dry goods, groceries, crockerj', boots 
 and shoes, gents' clothing and furnishing goods, 
 hardware, furniture and, in fact, everything kept 
 in a first-class general store. Our subject not only 
 built u\> a large store, but a large trade as well, 
 and did a flourishing Imsiness. He also accu- 
 mulated considerable land, owning at the time of 
 his death two farms near St. Anne, one of three 
 hundred acres, and the other of two hundred 
 acres. On the latter, which adjoins the corpora- 
 tion lines, is a beautiful park, used in the summer 
 season for pleasure, and in it is a good race track. 
 Besides this he owned his beautiful home property 
 and a number of other houses and lots in town. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Guertin was a stanch Democrat, 
 and during President Cleveland's first adniinistra-
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 
 
 78'. 
 
 lion he served as Postmaster of St. Anne. He was 
 also Supervisor of his township for three years, 
 and was the prime mover in the recovery of $30,- 
 (100 worth of bonds illegally issued to the Chi- 
 cago it Eastern Illinois Railroad, then known as 
 the Chicago, Danville it Vincennes Railroad. He 
 served as Village Trustee and also held other 
 town offices with a promptness and fidelity which 
 won him the commendation of all. He was a 
 member of the Catholic Church, to which his wife 
 and family also belong. A public-spirited and 
 [.rogressive citizen, he always took an active inter- 
 est in everything pertaining to the welfare of the 
 community and he did much for its upbuilding 
 and development. He was called to his final rest 
 August, 15, 1891, and in his death the family 
 mourned a faithful husband and father and his 
 county a valued citizen. 
 
 _>• 
 
 / ^^s^^H" 
 
 <|l IfelLLIAM H. BURCHARD. a grain and hay 
 \ rJ/l merchant of Momence, was born in Madi- 
 J^^ son County, N. Y., near Hamilton, August 
 17, IS.'il. He is a son of Patrick Henry and Mary 
 (Mosley) Burchard, both natives of the Empire 
 State. This worthy couple had only two children, 
 William, and Mary, who is now the wife of Warren 
 E. Wallace, a farmer of Grant Park. The mother 
 died in 1855, and a few years later Mr. Burchard 
 married Jlrs. Celestia Buell, bj- whom he has a 
 daughter, Lettie, now the wife of Thomas Wheeler, 
 a dealer in lumber and coal, of Grant Park. 
 In his early life Patrick Burchard followed farm- 
 ing in the State of his nativity, and when a young 
 man went to California, where he engaged in the 
 hotel business, which he followed for ten years. 
 He was in partnership with his brother, who after- 
 ward went to Honduras, where he married a Span- 
 ish lady, and has since lived. 
 
 After a period of ten years, Mr. Biuchard, father 
 
 of our subject, returned to New York, was mar- 
 ried and then resumed farming. About 1860 he 
 came to Illinois, and located on a farm of one 
 hundred and sixty acres near Grant Park, to which 
 he afterward adtlcd another tract of one hundred 
 and sixty acres. There he resided until 1871, 
 when he sold one of his farms and removed to 
 Momence. In this city he engaged in the manu- 
 facture of cheese, devoting his energies to that en- 
 terprise until 1875, when his cheese factory was 
 destroyed bj' fire, and he returned to the old farm. 
 The following year, however, he again engaged in 
 the manufacture of cheese, but his factory was 
 again burned, causing a loss of about ?!8,000. En- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits, Mr. Burchard then 
 spent his remaining years upon the farm. 
 
 William II. Burchard, whose name heads this 
 record, passed the days of his boyhood under the 
 parental roof. No event of special importance 
 occurred during his childhood. He received a 
 common-school education in the public schools of 
 Hamilton. N. Y., and afterwards supplemented the 
 knowledge thus gained by a course of study in the 
 University at Ann Arbor, Mich., and was gradu- 
 ated from the law department in 1876. He had 
 come with his parents to the West in 1860, and 
 has since made his home in Illinois. 
 
 On the 14th of October, 1879, Jlr. Burchard was 
 united in marriage with Miss Luella F. Campbell, 
 daughter of Clinton C. and Olive (Curtis) Camii- 
 bell, of Grant Park. Three children were born 
 unto them, but one died in infancy. The daugh- 
 ters, Olive M. and Maud C, are still with their 
 parents. 
 
 From the time of his marriage until 1885, Mr. 
 Burchard engaged in the grain and hay business 
 in (irant Park, Init in the autumn of that year he 
 sold out and came to Momence, where he has car- 
 ried on the same line of business continuously 
 since. He has succeeded in building up an excel- 
 lent trade, and as the result of his good manage- 
 ment and well-directed efforts, he has acijuired a 
 comfortable competence. He exercises his right of 
 franchise in support of the Uepublican party. He 
 served for three years as Village Trustee, and for 
 six years has held the oHice of School Director. 
 The cause of education finds in him a warm friend.
 
 indp:x. 
 
 707 
 
 87 
 
 280 
 
 653 
 
 Gei-anl, Anthony S58 
 
 (iibsou, Kobert '"'■'5 
 
 Gilkerson, John ''-^ 
 
 GUkerson, K. S ^^^ 
 
 Goepper, Charles 240 
 
 Uohlke, F. VV S13 
 
 Goodell, Z. K. A Wl 
 
 Goodill, Robert....^ ■"8 
 
 Gou,'ar,J.F 3«7 
 
 Gougar.Capt. W.T <41 
 
 Granger, A. L 546 
 
 Granger, Peter 
 
 Grant, Ulysses S 
 
 Gray, Joshua 
 
 Gray, Stephen 
 
 Greenwooci. Anarew 655 
 
 Gregg, E.D 21S 
 
 Gubtail, Luther 214 
 
 Gucrtin, Joseph '■** 
 
 Guilford. G.N "0 
 
 Gunnerson, Gunner 418 
 
 H 
 
 Hall.H.B ""SS 
 
 Hall, I. H 349 
 
 Hamilton, John M l'^* 
 
 Hamlin. J. L '-00 
 
 4B9 
 
 Inkster, James. 
 Irwin, J. L 
 
 ..390 
 .550 
 
 Hanna, I. B 
 
 Hanna, Maj. K. J 271 
 
 Hardebeck, J. H 543 
 
 .107 
 
 Harrison, Benjamm.. . 
 Harrison, William Henry — 51 
 
 Hasker, G. \V 545 
 
 Hatch, F.D :'<" 
 
 Hatch.F.S 294 
 
 Hatton, Sylvester 46G 
 
 Hatton, W. L 510 
 
 Hawkins, M.J. B 3B6 
 
 Hay, Leon 630 
 
 Ha.vdon, Joseph 402 
 
 Hayes, Rutherford B 91 
 
 Heil, Michael 324 
 
 Hendrix, W. L 222 
 
 Herschcr, Frederick 4.17 
 
 Hipke, William 422 
 
 Holcomb, Amasa 619 
 
 Holt, Charles 2ti8 
 
 Holtzman , Frederick 432 
 
 Hornbergcr, Frederick 512 
 
 Hotchkiss, E. E t;l4 
 
 Hughes Bros 41 1 
 
 Huling, G. V 245 
 
 Hunter, M. D. L 72fi 
 
 Hunter, VV. R 404 
 
 Jack.son, Andrew 43 
 
 Jackson, John 476 
 
 Jacobus, Henry 290 
 
 Jeltcrsou. Thoiias 27 
 
 Johnson, Andrew 83 
 
 Johnson, J. T 444 
 
 Kankakee Democrat 314 
 
 Kankakee Gazette 303 
 
 Kankakee Times 369 
 
 Kelsey, J. J 492 
 
 Kenaga, W. F 671 
 
 Kendall, E. H 389 
 
 Knecht, Jacob 316 
 
 Knecht, J. G 320 
 
 Knight, S. L 695 
 
 Xnight, Solon «49 
 
 Konklin.H.C 263 
 
 Kramer, Henry 512 
 
 Krueger, William 411 
 
 Illinois Eastern Hospital for 
 the Insane 282 
 
 Lalleur, Antony 292 
 
 La Fontaine, Rev. C 397 
 
 Lamport, E. C 584 
 
 Lancaster, Hugh 730 
 
 Lavery, David 590 
 
 Lawrence, M. B 675 
 
 Lecour, Joseph 312 
 
 Legg, L. D S.W 
 
 Legris, F. E 252 
 
 Legris, Joseph 6(5 
 
 Leonard, J. F 264 
 
 Letourneau, Hon. G. R 217 
 
 Leutlotr, Frederick 228 
 
 I^e Vasseur, Noel 247 
 
 Lewis, J. B 595 
 
 Llllie, James 234 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham 79 
 
 Livingston, C. P 37C 
 
 Livinsston, J. M 706 
 
 Loring, Harrison .'>78 
 
 Lovell.G.F 736 
 
 Lowe, H. P 455 
 
 Lynds, D. D. , M. D 433 
 
 M 
 
 Madison, James 31 
 
 Magruder, H. A 500 
 
 Magrudcr, T. H 501 
 
 Mann, John 718 
 
 Mann, W.J 728 
 
 Martin, E.S 499 
 
 Martin, F. G 372 
 
 Mathieh.Levi, M. D 509 
 
 Matteson, Joel A 147 
 
 McElvain, David 204 
 
 McElvain, William 712 
 
 McGillis, VV. A 274 
 
 McGrew, James 519 
 
 Mcintosh, S. H 387 
 
 McKay , Alexander 377 
 
 McKinstry, J. M 412 
 
 McNamee, G. B 580 
 
 McNichols, C. S 481 
 
 Mead, Harmon 421 
 
 Mellen, Alphon.so 536 
 
 Merrick, G.C., M. D 687 
 
 Mertens, Henry 3.55 
 
 Metcair, Chester 594 
 
 Milk, Lemuel 463 
 
 Millanson, J. B 572 
 
 Miller,L.H 2.'i9 
 
 Monroe, James 35 
 
 Morrical, Harrison 398 
 
 Munger, R. C 661 
 
 Myers, Jacob 541 
 
 N 
 
 Nattorf, H. W 410 
 
 Nerr, J. J 426 
 
 Nichols, A. B 273 
 
 Nichols, James .548 
 
 Nichols, J. D 285 
 
 Nichols, John 663 
 
 Nichols, J. S 607 
 
 Nichols, Roswell 335 
 
 Nichols, Samuel 436 
 
 Noble, Gad 683 
 
 Null, J. W .560 
 
 o 
 
 Obrecht , J.acob 678 
 
 Obrecht, Michael 614 
 
 O'Brien, Jefferson 442 
 
 Oglesby, Richard J 163 
 
 Olsen, Rev. A. C 224 
 
 O'Neil, Dennis 532 
 
 Parish, W. W., Sr 414 
 
 Pasel.J. J 44t 
 
 Perkins, William 208 
 
 Perry, L. H 360 
 
 Perry, R. A 676 
 
 Peters, H. N 608 
 
 Peters, John 338 
 
 Peters, M. R 690 
 
 Peterson, J. D 697 
 
 Peterson, J. H 369 
 
 Pickering, W. A 555 
 
 Pierce, Franklin 71 
 
 Plante, Abram 467 
 
 Polk, James K .59 
 
 Pollmann, Frederick 604 
 
 Porter, C. C 455 
 
 Porter, M. M 470 
 
 Potter, W. S 553 
 
 Powell. Elias 629 
 
 Pumel,G. \V 304 
 
 R 
 
 Ransom, J. S .570 
 
 Rantz, H. E 365 
 
 Rau worth, William 707 
 
 Raymond, J. W 709 
 
 Reed.G.H 199 
 
 Reinhart, Jacob 652 
 
 Reins, C.Y 487 
 
 Renter, Henry 501 
 
 Reynolds, John 123 
 
 Rice, G. W 388 
 
 Rice, L. C 731 
 
 Richardson Bros 409 
 
 Richardson, J. T 596 
 
 Richardson, Hon. Reuben. . .446 
 
 Rietz, E. F 582 
 
 Riggs, Porter 404 
 
 Riker.D.C 645 
 
 Riley, M.F 695 
 
 Ruger, Capt. Jacob 296 
 
 Paddock, Hon D. H.. 
 
 Paddock, J. W 
 
 Palmer, John M 
 
 . . . .650 
 ....715 
 ....167 
 
 Saltzgaber, S. G 727 
 
 Salznian, Louis 330 
 
 Sana.saek, Preston 251 
 
 Sawyer, R. H 2.58 
 
 Sawyer, Hon. T. S 445 
 
 Schafer, Henry 413 
 
 Schlegel, H. E 577 
 
 Schmeltzer, J. F 667 
 
 Schneider, Charles 559 
 
 Schneider, L. H :158 
 
 Schneider, Louis, Jr 466 
 
 Schroedcr, Rev. Fredgrick . . .21 1 
 
 Scott, David. ..f<- 301 
 
 Seramlin, Farmon 673 
 
 Scramlin, J. H 216 
 
 Seager.P.H 393
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Searls, G. A 663 
 
 Serene, I. A 279 
 
 Sergeant, (i. C 477 
 
 Shaller, J. H 542 
 
 Sherman, K. D 571 
 
 Shreffler, Daniel 7ia 
 
 Shronts.J. F.,M. D 725 
 
 Sbrontz, Samuel 608 
 
 Small, A. L., M. D 32:5 
 
 Small, John 368 
 
 Small, Lennington 257 
 
 Smith, A. G 203 
 
 Smith, C. F.. M. D 425 
 
 Smith, John 435 
 
 Smyth, C. A 370 
 
 Snow, William 508 
 
 Spencer, O. B., M. D 31fi 
 
 Stansberry, F. M 293 
 
 Starr, Hon. C. K 211 
 
 States, H.B 554 
 
 States, VV. V 201 
 
 Stebbing, Preston, M. D 306 
 
 Stevens, Zenas f>0(i 
 
 St. Germain, Roraain 281 
 
 St. Viateur's College 225 
 
 Siotldard, Ichabod 46S 
 
 Storrs, H. M 223 
 
 Stratton, J. P 523 
 
 Streeter, E. C 381 
 
 Streeter, L. C 490 
 
 Stroud, Thomas 510 
 
 Strunk, W. F 602 
 
 Styles, Anthony 480 
 
 Swan, Henry 379 
 
 Swannell, Arthur 269 
 
 Swannell,C. E 368 
 
 Swihart, Simpson 626 
 
 Tart, Stephen .• . . 584 
 
 Taylor, Hon. D. C 314 
 
 Taylor, M. S 235 
 
 Taylor, Samuel 705 
 
 Taylor, Zachary 63 
 
 Thomas, S. S. , M. D 721 
 
 Thorson, Thor 628 
 
 Thurber, W. L 626 
 
 Todd, Hiram, M. D 698 
 
 Todd.Maj. W. VV 684 
 
 Tracy, F.N 271 
 
 True, Charles, M. D 270 
 
 Turner, Jonathan 514 
 
 Tyler, John .55 
 
 u 
 
 Unz, W.J 
 
 Uran, B. F., M. D.. 
 
 551 
 
 ..'...289 
 
 Van Buren, Martin 47 
 
 Van Doren , W. H 693 
 
 Van Home, G. W., M. D 402 
 
 Van Kirk, E. M 616 
 
 Van Meter. H. 250 
 
 Van Riper, M. H., M. D 261 
 
 Vetter, Rev. George 6.54 
 
 Vining, Jetferson. 502 
 
 Voss, C. E 272 
 
 w 
 
 Wagner, G. M 489 
 
 Wallace, G.F 577 
 
 Walter,G. M 513 
 
 Walton, A. S 699 
 
 Warner, Jonathan 729 
 
 Washington, George 19 
 
 Watson, W. P 639 
 
 Webler, Peter 431 
 
 Webster, J. H 351 
 
 Weis, G.E 200 
 
 Wheeler, George 579 
 
 Wheeler, Herbert, M. D 423 
 
 Wheeler, Hon. H. K 267 
 
 Whi ttum, F. B 197 
 
 Wikstrom, E. A 392 
 
 Wilber, Slocum 459 
 
 Wildnian, Robert 252 
 
 Wilkins, F. L 377 
 
 Williams, Ira 498 
 
 vVilliamson, William 64ii 
 
 Willman, J. E 603 
 
 Wood, John 155 
 
 Woodard, Cyrus 328 
 
 Woodard, Edwin 475 
 
 Woodruff, W. K 315 
 
 Worcester, Hannibal 591 
 
 Wright, Elnathan 688 
 
 Yates, Richard 159 
 
 Yonke, Paul 391 
 
 :poi?.t:e?.j^its. 
 
 Adams, John 22 
 
 Adams, John Q 38 
 
 Allison, J. W 238 
 
 Altgeld, John P 186 
 
 Arthur, Chester A 98 
 
 Atkins, W. H 312 
 
 Atkins. Mrs. W. H 343 
 
 Avery, George .528 
 
 Babst, Lawrence 374 
 
 Beveridge, John L 170 
 
 Bissell, William H 150 
 
 Bond, Shadraoh 110 
 
 Bratton,L. B 610 
 
 Bratt n. Sirs L. B Oil 
 
 Buchanan, James 74 
 
 Byrns, A.J 484 
 
 Carlin, Thomas 134 
 
 Carrow, J. J 494 
 
 Carrow, Mrs. J. J 495 
 
 Chipman, Edward 220 
 
 Clarke, H.C 19* 
 
 Cleveland, S. Grover 102 
 
 Cobb, Emory 332 
 
 Cobb,L.B 562 
 
 Cobb, Mrs. L. B oC3 
 
 Coles, Edward 114 
 
 Crawford, Franklin 310 
 
 Cullom, Shelby M 174 
 
 Danforth, R. 254 
 
 Danforth, Mr.s. H. 255 
 
 Day, Daniel 406 
 
 Day, Mrs. Daniel 407 
 
 Dayton, Andrew 505 ' 
 
 Dayton, Mrs. Andrew 506 
 
 Denny. D. H 450 
 
 Denny, Mrs. D. H 451 
 
 Dole, D. W 598 
 
 Dole, Mrs D. W 599 
 
 Dorion , Theophile . ..396 
 
 Duncan, Joseph 1.30 
 
 Easton, J. B .586 
 
 Easton, Mrs. E. A .587 
 
 Easton, Mrs. Gracia 587 
 
 Edwards, Ninian. 118 
 
 EwiDg, W. L. D 126 
 
 Falter, George 230 
 
 Falter, Mrs. George 231 
 
 Fetterly , Lawrence 580 
 
 Fifer, Joseph W 182 
 
 Fillmore, Millard 66 
 
 Ford, Thomas 138 
 
 Fortin, Ti mothy 642 
 
 French, Augustus C 142 
 
 Gartield, James A 94 
 
 Gilkerson, John 622 
 
 Gilkei-son, Mrs. John 623 
 
 Gilkerson, R. S 634 
 
 Gilkerson. Mrs. Agnes N 635 
 
 GSougar, Capt. W. T 440 
 
 Grant, U. S 86 
 
 Gunnerson , Gunner -.418 
 
 Gunnerson, Mrs. Gunner. .. .418 
 
 Hamilton, John M 178 
 
 Harrison, Benjamin 106 
 
 Harrison, W.H .50 
 
 Hayes, R.B 90 
 
 Holcomb, Amasa 616 
 
 Holcomb, Mrs. Janette R — 617 
 
 Huling, G. V 244 
 
 Jackson, Andrew 42 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas 26 
 
 Johnson, Andrew 82 
 
 Kenaga, W. F 670 
 
 Knight, Solon 648 
 
 Legris, Joseph 605 
 
 Legris, Cleophe 604 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham 78 
 
 Madison, James 30 
 
 Matteson, Joel A 146 
 
 McGrew, James 516 
 
 McGrew, Mrs. M. A 517 
 
 Mcintosh. S. H 381 
 
 Mcintosh. Mrs. S. H 385 
 
 Mertens, Henry 354 
 
 Milk, Lemuel 462 
 
 Miller, L. H 258 
 
 Monroe, James 34 
 
 Munger, K. C B58 
 
 Munger, Mrs. R. C 659 
 
 Myers. Jacob ,. ..538 
 
 Myers, Mrs. E. A .539 
 
 Noble, Gad 6S0 
 
 Noble, Mrs. Gad 681 
 
 Oglesby, Richard J 102 
 
 Paddock, J. W 714 
 
 Palmer, John M 166 
 
 Pierce, Franklin 70 
 
 Polk. J. K 58 
 
 Potter, W. S 550 
 
 Potter, Mrs. W. S 551 
 
 Ranlz.H.E 364 
 
 Rantz, Mrs. H. E 364 
 
 Reynolds, John 122 
 
 Scott, David 298 
 
 Scott, Mrs. David 299 
 
 Serene, I. A .. .276 
 
 Serene, Mrs. I. A 277 
 
 Small, Dr. A. L 320 
 
 Small, Mrs. A. L ,321 
 
 Starr, Hon. C. K 208 
 
 Starr, Mrs. C. R 209 
 
 Taylor, Samuel 702 
 
 Taylor, Mrs. M. E 703 
 
 Taylor, Zachary 62 
 
 Tyler, John 54 
 
 Uran, Dr. B. F 288 
 
 Van Buren, Martin 46 
 
 Van Doren, VV. H 692 
 
 Wallace, G. F .574 
 
 Wallace, Mrs. G.F 575 
 
 Washington, George 18 
 
 Webler, Peter 428 
 
 Webler, Mrs. Sarah 429 
 
 Wheeler, H. K 26U 
 
 Wood, John 1.54 
 
 Woodard, Edwin 472 
 
 Woodard, Mrs. Edwin 473 
 
 Yates , Richard 1.58
 
 I 
 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOISURBANA 
 
 977 363PB38 CD01 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF KANK 
 
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 025394963 
 
 
 
 
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