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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Portrait and Biographical
RECORD

OF

GOOK AND DUPAGE COUNTIES.
ILLINOIS, CONTAINING
Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative
Gitizens of the County
TOGETHER WITH BIOGRAPHIES AND PORTRAITS OF ALL THE
PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES

CHICAGO
LAKE CITY PUBLISHING CO.
1894

PREFACE.

"HE greatest of English historians, Macaulay, and one of the most brilliant writers of the
present century, has said: "The history of a country is best told in a record of the lives of
its people." In conformity with this idea, the Portrait and Biographical Album of this
county has been prepared. Instead of going to musty records, and taking therefrom dry statistical
matter that can be appreciated 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 a rank second to
none among those comprising this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of
their life struggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelligent
public. In this volume will be found a -record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of
coming generations. It tells hpw 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 in every walk in life who
have striven to succeed, and records how that success has usually crowned their efforts. It tells
also of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause cf 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 country'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, and which
would otherwise 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 themselves that they give to their readers a work with few
errors of consequence. In addition to the biographical sketches, portraits of a number of repre
sentative 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 the 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.
March, 1894. Lake City Publishing Co.

Portraits and Biographies

OF THE

PRESIDENTS

OF THE

United States

Presidents

o

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

HE Father of our Country was born in West
moreland County, Va., February 22, 1732.
His parents were Augustine and Mary (Ball)
Washington. The family to which he belonged
has not been satisfactorily traced in England.
His great-grandfather, John Washington, emi
grated to Virginia about 1657, and became a
prosperous planter. He had two sons, Lawrence
and John. The former married Mildred Warner,
and had three children, John, Augustine and
Mildred. Augustine, the father of George, first
married Jane Butler, who bore him four children,
two ofwhom, Lawrence and Augustine, reached
maturity. Of six children by his second mar
riage, 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 Potomac, afterwards known as Mt.
Vernon, and to George he left the parental resi
dence. George received only such education as
the neighborhood schools afforded, save for a
short time after he left school, when he received
private instruction in mathematics. His spelling
was rather defective. Remarkable stories are
told of his great physical strength and develop
ment at an early age. He was an acknowledged
leader among his companions, and was early
noted for that nobleness- of character, fairness and
veracity which characterized his whole life.
When George was fourteen years old he had a
desire to go, to 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 im
mense 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 1751, though only nineteen
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 Lawrence, 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
Mt. Vernon was given to George.
Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie as Lieu
tenant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia
was reorganized, and the province divided into
four military districts, of which the northern was
assigned to Washington as Adjutant-General.
Shortly after this a very perilous mission, which
others had refused, was assigned him and ac
cepted. This was to proceed to the French post
near Lake Erie, in northwestern Pennsylvania.
The distance to be traversed was about six hun
dred miles. Winter was at hand, and the journey
was to be made without military escort, through
a territory occupied by Indians. The trip was a
perilous one, and several times he nearly lost his
life, but he returned in safety and furnished a full
and useful report of his expedition. A regiment
of three hundred men was raised in Virginia and
put in command of Col. Joshua Fry, and Maj.
Washington was commissioned Lieutenant-Colo
nel. Active war was then begun against the
French and Indians, in which Washington took

20

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

a most important part. In the memorable event
of July 9, 1755, known as "Braddock's defeat,"
Washington was almost the only officer of dis
tinction who escaped from the calamities of the
day with life and honor.
Having been for five years in the military serv
ice, and having vainly sought promotion in the
royal army, he took advantage ofthe fall of Ft. Du-
quesne and the expulsion of the French from the
valley of the Ohio to resign his commission. Soon
after he entered the Legislature, where, although
not a leader, he took an active and important
part. January 17, 1759, he married Mrs. Martha
(Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy widow of John
Parke Custis.
When the British Parliament had closed the
port of Boston, the cry went up throughout the
provinces, ' ' The cause ot Boston is the cause of
us all! " It was then, at the suggestion of Vir
ginia, that a congress of all the colonies was
called to meet at Philadelphia September 5,
1774, to secure their common liberties, peaceably
if possible. To this congress Col. Washington
was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the
congress re-assembled, when the hostile inten
tions of England were plainly apparent. The
battles of Concord and Lexington had been fought,
and among the first acts of this congress was the
election of a commander-in-chief of the Colonial
forces. This high and responsible office was con
ferred upon Washington, who was still a member
of the congress. He accepted it on June 19, but
upon the express condition that he receive no sal
ary. He would keep an exact account of ex
penses, 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 disadvan
tage; 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 December 23, 1783, Washington, in a parting
address of surpassing beauty, resigned his com
mission as Commander-in-Chief of the army to the

Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He
retired immediately to Mt. Vernon and resumed
his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunning
all connection with public life.
In February, 1789, Washington was unani
mously elected President, and at the expiration
of his first term he was unanimously re-elected.
At the end of this term many were anxious that he
be re-elected, but he absolutely refused a third
nomination. On March 4, 1797, at the expiration
of his second term as President, he returned to his
home, hoping to pass there his few remaining
years 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 ofthe army, but he chose his sub
ordinate officers and left 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 prepara
tions 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 inflamma
tion, and terminated fatally on the night of the
14th. On the 18th his body was borne with mili
tary honors to its final resting-place, and interred
in the family vault at Mt. Vernon.
Of the character of Washington it is impossible
to speak but in terms of the highest respect and
admiration. 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 talent and character, which have been
able to challenge the reverence of all parties, ,
and principles, and nations, and to win a fame as
extended as the limits of the globe, and which we
cannot but believe will be as lasting as the exist
ence of man.
In person, Washington was unusually tall, erect
and well proportioned, and his muscular strength
was great. His features were of a beausiful sym
metry. He commanded respect without any ap
pearance of haughtiness, and was ever serious
without being' dull.

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JOHN ADAMS.

(JOHN ADAMS, the second President and the
I first Vice-President of the United States, was
("/ born in Braintree (now Quincy) Mass., and
about ten miles from Boston, October 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, who was a farmer of limited
means, also engaged in the business of shoe-
making. He gave his eldest son, John, a classical
education at Harvard College. John graduated
in 1755, and at once took charge of the school at
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 profes
sion, but seems to have been turned from this by
what he termed ' ' the frightful engines of ecclesi
astical councils, of diabolical malice, and Calvin-
istic 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 fiuent of
speech, and having quick perceptive powers. He
gradually gained a practice, and in 1764 married
Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, and a
lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his
marriage, in 1765, the attempt at parliamentary
taxation turned him from law to politics. He
took initial steps toward holding a town meeting,
and the resolutions he offered on the subject be
came very popular throughout the province, and
were adopted word for word by over forty differ
ent towns. He moved to Boston in 1768, and
became one of the most courageous and promi
nent advocates" of the popular cause, and was
chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg
islature) in 1770.
Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first dele

gates from Massachusetts to the first Continent
al Congress, which met in 1774. Here he dis
tinguished himself by his capacity for business
and for debate, and advocated the movement for
independence against the majority of the mem
bers. In May, 1776, he moved and carried a res
olution in Congress that the Colonies should
assume the duties of self-government. He was a
prominent member of the committee of five ap
pointed June 1 1 to prepare a declaration of inde
pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson,
but ou Adams devolved the task of battling it
through Congress in a three-days debate.
On the day after the Declaration of Independ
ence was passed, while his soul was yet warm
with the glow of excited 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 will be de
cided among men. A resolution was passed
without one dissenting colony, 'that these United
States are, and of right ought to be, free and in
dependent 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 God. It
ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows, games,
sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations
from one end of the continent to the other, from
this time forward forever. You will think me
transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I
am well aware of the toil and blood and treas
ure 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 end is worth more than
all the means, and that posterity will triumph,

*4

JOHN ADAMS.

although you and I may rue, which I hope we
shall not."
In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed
a delegate to France, and to co-operate with Ben
jamin 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 exposed him to
great peril of capture by the British cruisers, 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 him
self in readiness to negotiate a treaty of peace and
of commerce with Great Britain, as soon as the
British cabinet might be found willing to listen
to such proposals. He sailed for France in No
vember, and from there he went to Holland, where
he negotiated important loans and formed im
portant commercial treaties.
Finally, a treaty of peace with England was
signed, January 21, 1783. The re-action from the
excitement, toil and anxiety through whicli Mr.
Adams had passed threw him into a fever. After
suffering from a continued fever and becoming
feeble and emaciated, he was advised to go to
England to drink the waters of Bath. While in
England, still drooping aud desponding, he re
ceived dispatches from his own government urg
ing the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to
negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health
was delicate, yet he immediately set out, and
through storm, on sea, on horseback and foot, he
made the trip.
February 24, 1785, Congress appointed Mr.
Adams envoy to the Court of St. James. Here
he met face to face the King of England, who
had so long regarded him as a traitor. As Eng
land did not condescend to appoint a minister to
the United States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he
was accomplishing but little, he sought permis
sion to return to his own country, where he ar
rived in June, 1788.
When Washington was first chosen President,
John Adams, rendered illustrious by his signal
services at home and abroad, was chosen Vice-

President. Again, at the second election cf Wash
ington as President, Adams was chosen Vice-
President. In 1796, Washington 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 Mr.
Jefferson, his opponent in politics.
While Mr. Adams was Vice-President the
great French Revolution shook the continent of
Europe, and it was upon this point that he was
at issue with the majority of his countrymen, led
by Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Adams Mt no sympathy
with the French people in their struggle, for he
had no confidence in their power of self-govern
ment, and he utterly abhorred the class of atheist
philosophers who, he claimed, caused it. On the
other hand, Jefferson's sympathies were strongly
enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence
originated the alienation between these distm-
tinguished men, and the two powerful parties were
thus soon organized, with Adams at the head of
the one whose sympathies were with England,
and Jefferson leading the other in sympathy with
France. The Fourth of July, 1826, which completed the
half-century since the signing of the Declaration
of Independence, 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 their earthly pilgrimage, a coinci
dence 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 cus
tomary celebration of the day, he exclaimed
"Independence forever!" When the day was
ushered in by the ringing of bells and the firing
of cannons, he was asked by one of his attend
ants if he knew what day it was ? He replied,
' ' O yes, it is the glorious 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, ' ' Jeffer
son survives." But he had, at one o'clock,
resigned his spirit into the hands of his God.

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THOMAS JEFFERSON.

'HOMAS JEFFERSON was born April 2,
1743, at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Va.
His parents were Peter and Jane (Ran
dolph) Jefferson, the former a native of Wales,
and the latter born in London. To them were
born six daughters and two sons, ofwhom Thomas
was the elder. When fourteen years of age his
father died. He received a most liberal educa
tion, having been kept diligently at school from
the time he was five years of age. In 1760 he
entered William and. Mary College. Williams
burg was then the seat of the Colonial court, and
it was the abode of fashion and splendor. Young
Jefferson, who was then seventeen years old, lived
somewhat expensively, keeping fine horses, and
going much into gay society; yet he was ear
nestly devoted to his studies, and irreproachable in
his morals. In the second year of his college
ceurse, moved by some unexplained impulse, he
discarded his old companions and pursuits, and
often devoted fifteen hours a day to hard study.
He thus attained very high intellectual culture,
and a like excellence in philosophy and the lan
guages. Immediately upon leaving college he began the
study of law. For the short time he continued
in the practice cf his profession he rose rapidly,
and distinguished himself by his energy and
acuteness as a lawyer. But the times called for
greater action . The policy of England had awak
ened the spirit of resistance in the American Col
onies, and the enlarged views which Jefferson had
ever entertained soon led him into active politi
cal life. In 1769 he was chosen a member of the
Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1772 he mar

ried Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very beautiful/
wealthy, and highly accomplished young widow.
In 1775 he was sent to the Colonial Congress,
where, though a silent member, his abilities as a
writer and a reasoner soon become known, and he
was placed upon a number of important com
mittees, and was chairman of the one appointed
for the drawing up of a declaration of independ
ence. This committee consisted of Thomas Jef
ferson, 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 Congress. On
June 28, a few slight changes were made in it by
Congress, and it was passed and signed July 4,
1776. In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to
Patrick Henry as Governor of Virginia. At one
time the British officer Tarleton sent a secret
expedition to Monticello to capture the Governor.
Scarcely five minutes elapsed after the hurried
escape of Mr. Jefferson and his family ere his
mansion was in possession 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 Pleni
potentiary to France. Returning to the United
States in September, 1789, he became Secretary
of State in Washington's cabinet. This position
he resigned January 1, 1794. In 1797, he was
chosen Vice-President, and four years later was
elected President over Mr. Adams, with Aaron

28

THOMAS JEFFERSON.

Burr as Vice-President. In 1804 he was re
elected with wonderful unanimity, George Clin
ton being elected Vice-President.
The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second ad
ministration was disturbed by an event which
threatened the tranquillity and peace ofthe Union;
this was the conspiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated
in the late election to the Vice-Presidency, and
led on by an unprincipled ambition, this extraor
dinary man formed the plan of a military ex
pedition into the Spanish territories on Our south
western frontier, for the purpose of forming there
a new republic. This was generally supposed
to have been 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
far which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he de
termined to retire from political life. For a period
of nearly forty years he had been continually be
fore the public, and all that time had been em
ployed in offices ofthe greatest trust and respon
sibility. Having thus devoted the best part of
his life to the service of his country, he now felt
desirous of that rest which his declining years re
quired, and upon the organization of the new ad
ministration, in March, 1809, he bade farewell for
ever to public life and retired to Monticello, his
famous country home, which, next to Mt. Vernon,
was the most distinguished residence in the land.
The Fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth an
niversary of the Declaration of American Inde
pendence, great preparations were made in every
part of the Union for its celebration as the nation's
jubilee, and the citizens of Washington, to add to
the solemnity ofthe occasion, invited Mr. Jeffer
son, as the framer and one of the few surviving
signers of the Declaration, to participate in their
festivities. But an illness, which had been of
several weeks' duration and had been continually
increasing, compelled him to decline the invita
tion. Onthe 2d of July the disease under which he
was laboring left him, but in such a reduced
state that his medical attendants entertained no
hope of his recovery. From this time he was

perfectly sensible that his last hour was at hand.
On the next day, which was Monday, he asked
of those around him the day of the month, and
on being told it was the 3d of July, he ex
pressed the earnest wish that he might be per
mitted to breathe the air cf the fiftieth anniver
sary. His prayer was heard — that day whese
dawn was hailed with such rapture through our
land burst upon his eyes, and then they were
closed forever. And what a noble consummation
of a noble life! To die on that day— the birth
day 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, un
der God, of their greatest blessings, was all that
was wanting to fill up the record of 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 cham
pion's of freedom; hand in hand, during the dark
and desperate struggle of the Revolution, they
had cheered and animated their desponding coun
trymen; for half a. century they had labored to
gether for the good of the country, and now hand
in hand they departed. 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 be
came white and silvery, his complexion was fair,
his forehead broad, and his whole countenance
intelligent and thoughtful. He possessed great
fortitude of mind as well as personal courage, and
his command of temper 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 unaffected, and his
hospitality was so unbounded that all found at
his house a ready welcome. In conversation he
was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic, and his
language was remarkably pure and correct. He
was a finished classical scholar, and in his writ
ings is discernible the care with which he formed
his style upon the best models of antiquity.

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JAMES MADISON.

(TAMES MADISON, "Father of the Consti-
I tution, ' ' and fourth President of the United
Q) States, was born March 16, 1757, and died
at his home in Virginia June 28, 1836. The
name of James Madison is inseparably connected
witH most of the important events in that heroic
period of our country during which the founda
tions of this great republic 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 emi
grants to the New World, landing upon the shores
of the Chesapeake but fifteen years after the settle
ment of Jamestown. The father of James Madison
was an opulent planter, residing upon a very fiue
estate called Montpelier, in Orange County, Va.
It was but twenty-five miles from the home of Jef
ferson at Monticello, and the closest personal and
political attachment existed between these illustri
ous men from their early youth until death.
The early education of Mr. Madison was con
ducted mostly at home under a private tutor. At
the age of eighteen he was sent to Princeton Col
lege, in New Jersey. Here he applied himself to
study with the most imprudent zeal, allowing him
self for months but three hours' sleep out of the
twenty-four. His health thus became so seriously
impaired that he never recovered any vigor of
constitution. He graduated in 1 77 1 , with a feeble
body, but with a character of utmost purity, and
a mind highly disciplined and richly stored with
learning, which embellished and gave efficiency
to his subsequent 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
which he associated, all combined to inspire him
with a strong love of liberty, and to train him for
his life-work as a statesman.
In the spring of 1776, when twenty -six years of

age, he was elected a member of the Virginia Con
vention to frame the constitution ofthe State. The
next year (1777), he was a candidate for the Gen
eral Assembly. He refused to treat the whisky -lov
ing voters, and consequently lost his election; but
those who had witnessed the talent, energy and
public 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
Governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison re
mained member of the Council, and their apprecia
tion of his 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 il
lustrious men in our land, and he was immediately.
.assigned to one of the most conspicuous positions
am ong them . For three years he con tinued in Con
gress, one of its most active-and influential mem
bers. In 1784, his term having expired, he was
elected a member ofthe Virginia Legislature.
No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the
utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no
national government, and no power to form trea
ties whieh would be binding, or to enforce law.
There was not any State more prominent than
Virginia in the declaration that an efficient na
tional government must be formed. In January,
1786, Mr. Madison carried a resolution through
the General Assembly of Virginia, inviting the
other States to appoint commissioners to meet in
convention at Annapolis to discuss this subject.
Five States only were represented. The conven
tion, 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 the Confederate League. The delegates
met at the time appointed. Every State but
Rhode Island was represented. . George Washing- -

32

JAMES MADISON.

ton was chosen president ofthe convention, and the
present Constitution of the United States was then
and there formed. There was, perhaps, no mind
and no pen more active in framing this immortal
document than the mind and the pen of James
Madison. The Constitution, adopted by a vote of eighty-one
to seventy-nine, 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 respect abroad. Mr.
Madison was elected by the convention to draw up
an address to the people of the United States, ex
pounding the principles of the Constitution, and
urging its adoption. There was great opposition
to it at first, but at length it 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 power of fas
cination, whom* he married. She was in person
and character queenly, and probaby Ho lady has
thus far occupied so prominent a position in the
very peculiar society which has constituted our
republican court as did 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 destroyed our com
merce, and our flag was exposed to constant insult.
Mr. Madison was a man of peace. Scholarly in
his taste, retiring 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 non
chalance 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 gundeck of his man-of-war, to fight, by
compulsion, the battles of England. This right

of search and impressment no efforts of our Gov
ernment could induce the British cabinet to re
linquish. Onthe i8thofJune, 1812, 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, 181 3, 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 infant navy then laid the found
ations of its renown in grappling 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
ofthe United States under blockade.
The Emperor of Russia offered his services as
mediator. America accepted; England refused.
A British force of five thousand men landed on the
banks ofthe Patuxet River, near its entrance into
Chesapeake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of
Bladensburg, 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 door to await his speedy 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 Wash
ington were in flames.
The war closed after two years of fighting, and
on February 13, 1815, the treaty of peace' was
signed at Ghent. On the4th of March, 1817, his
second term of office expired, and he resigned the
Presidential chair to his friend, James Monroe.
He retired to his beautiful home at Montpelier, and
there passed the remainder of his days. On June
28, 1836, at the age of eighty-five years, he fell
asleep in death. Mrs. Madison died July 12, 1849.

^y

*-*-'?- s?

JAMES MONROE.

(TAMES MONROE, the fifth President of the
I United States, was born in Westmoreland
Q) County, Va., April 28, 1758. His early life
was passed at the place of his nativity. His an
cestors had for many years resided in the province
in which he was born. When he was seventeen
years old, and in process of completing his educa
tion at William and Mary College, the Colonial
Congress, assembled at Philadelphia to deliberate
upon the unjust and manifold oppressions ofGreat
Britain, declared the separation of the Colonies,
and promulgated the Declaration of Independence.
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
lime he left school and e::listed among the pa
triots. He joined the army when everything looked
hopeless 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
the new recruits, who were sufficiently terrified
at the prospect of contending with an enemy
whom they had been taught to deem invincible.
To such brave spirits as James Monroe, who went
right onward undismayed through difficulty and
danger, the United States owe their political
emancipation . The young cadet j oined the ranks
and espoused the cause of his injured country,
with a firm determination to live or die in her
strife for liberty. Firmly, yet sadly, he shared in
the melancholy retreat from Harlem 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 Inde
pendence, the patriots had been beaten in seven
battles. At the battle of Trenton he led the van
guard, and in the act of charging upen the enemy
he received a wound in the left shoulder.

As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was
promoted to be captain of infantry, and, having re
covered from his wounds, he rejoined the army.
He, however, receded from the line of promotion
by becoming an officer on the staff of Lord Ster
ling. During the campaigns of 1777 and 1778,
in the actions of Brandywine, Germantown and
Monmouth, he continued aide-de-camp; but be
coming 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 this
failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at
that period Governor, and pursued with consid
erable ardor the study of common law. He did
not, however, entirely lay aside the knapsack for
the green bag, but on the invasion of the enemy
served as a volunteer during the two years of his
legal pursuits.
In 1782 he was elected from King George
County a member of the Legislature 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 twenty-
three years of age, and having at this early period
displayed some of that ability and aptitude for
legislation which were afterward employed with
unremitting energy for the public good, he was
in the succeeding year chosen a member of the
Congress of the United States.
Deeply as Mr. Monroe felt the imperfections of
the old Confederacy, he was opposed to the new
Constitution, thinking, with many others of the
Republican party, that it gave too much power to
the Central Government, and not enough to the
individual States. Still he retained 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

36

JAMES MONROE.

four years. Every month the line of distinction
between the two great parties which divided the
nation, the Federal and the Republican, was
growing more distinct. The" differences which
now separated them lay in the fact that the Repub
lican party was in sympathy with France, and
also in favor of such a strict construction of the
Constitution as to give the Central Government as
little power, and the State Governmtnts as much
power, as the Constitution would warrant; while
the Federalists sympathized with England, and
were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con
stitution, which would give as much power to the
Central Government as that document could pos
sibly authorize.
Washington was then President. England had
espoused the cause of the Bourbons against the
principles of the French Revolution. All Europe
was drawn into the conflict. We were feeble and
far away. Washington issued a proclamation of
neutrality between these contending powers.
France had helped us in the struggles for our
liberties. All the despotisms of Europe were now
combined to prevent the French from escaping
from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse than that
which we had endured. Col. Monroe, more mag
nanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at
whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in
their extremity. It was the impulse of a gener
ous and noble nature, and Washington, who could
appreciate such a character, showed his calm, se
rene, almost divine, greatness, by appointing that
very James Monroe who was denouncing the pol
icy of the Government, as the minister of that
Government to the Republic of France. Mr.
Monroe was welcomed by the National Conven
tion in France with the most enthusiastic dem
onstration. Shortly after his return to this country, Mr.
Monroe was elected Governor of Virginia, and
held the office for three years. He was again
sent to France to co-operate with Chancellor Liv
ingston in obtaining the vast territory then known
as the province of Louisiana, which France had
but shortly before obtained from Spain. Their
united efforts were successful. For the compara
tively small sum of fifteen millions of dollars, the

entire territory of Orleans and district of Loui
siana 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
obtain from that country some recognition of our
rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against
those odious impressments of our seamen. But
England was unrelenting. He again returned to
England 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 ofthe War Department 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 re
signed the Department of W7ar, but continued in
the office of Secretary of State until the expira
tion of Mr. Madison's administration. At the
election held the previous autumn, Mr. Monroe
himself had been chosen President with but little
opposition, and upon March 4, 1817, he was in
augurated. Four years later he was elected for
a second term.
Among the important measures of his Presi
dency were the cession of Florida to the United
States, the Missouri Compromise, and the famous
' ' Monroe doctrine. ' ' This doctrine was enun
ciated by him in 1823, aud was as follows: ' ' That
we should consider any attempt on the part of
European powers to extend their system 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 powers of an unfriendly disposition
toward the United States."
At the end of his second term, Mr. Monroe re
tired to his home in Virginia, where he lived un
til 1830, when he went to New York to live with
his son-in-law. In that city he died, on .the 4th
of July, 1831.

J , 2 - Jb-ICUVYJ)

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

(JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, the sixth President
I of the United States, was born in the rural
(2) home of his honored father, John Adams, in
Quincy, Mass., on .the nth of July, 1767. His
mother, a woman of exalted 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,
listening to the booming of the great battle on
Bunker's Hill, and gazing out upon the smoke
and flames billowing 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 Eu
rope, through a fleet of hostile British cruisers.
The bright, animated boy spent a year and a-half
in Paris, where his father was associated with
Franklin and Lee as Minister Plenipotentiary.
His intel'igence attracted the notice of these dis
tinguished men, and he received from them flat
tering marks of attention.
John Adams had scarcely returned to this
country, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad.
Again John Quincy accompanied his father. At
Paris he applied himself to study with great dil
igence for six months, and then accompanied his
father to Holland, where he entered first a school
in Amsterdam, then the University at Leyden.
About a year from this time, in 1781, when the
manly boy was but fourteen years of age, he was
selected by Mr. Dana, our Minister to the Rus
sian court, as his private secretary.
In this school of incessant labor and of ennobl
ing culture he spent fourteen months, and then
returned to Holland, through Sweden, Denmark,
Hamburg and Bremen. This long journey he
took alone in the winter, when in his sixteenth
year. Again he resumed his studies, under a pri
vate tutor, at The Hague. Then , in the spring of
1782, he accompanied his father to Paris, travel
ing leisurely, and forming acquaintances with the
most distinguished men on the continent, examin

ing architectural remains, galleries of paintings,
and all renowned works of art. At Paris he
again became associated with the most illustrious
men of all lands in the contemplation of the
loftiest temporal themes which can engross the
human mind. After a short visit to England he
returned to Paris, and consecrated all his energies
to study until May, 1785, when he returned to.
America to finish his education.
Upon leaving Harvard College at the age of
twenty, he studied law for three years. In June,
1794, being then but twenty-seven years of age,
he was appointed by Washington Resident Min
ister at the Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in
July, he reached London in October, where he
was immediately admitted to the deliberations of
Messrs. Jay & Pinckney, assisting them in nego
tiating a commercial treaty with Great Britain.
After thus spending a fortnight in London, he
proceeded to The Hague.
In July, 1797, he left The Hague to go to Por
tugal as Minister Plenipotentiary. On his way to
Portugal, upon arriving in London, he met with
despatches directing him to the court of Berlin, but
requesting him to remain in London until he
should receive his instructions. While waiting
he was married to an American lady, to whom he
had been previously engaged — Miss Louisa Cath
erine Johnson, a daughter of Joshua Johnson,
- American Consul in London, and a lady en
dowed with that beauty and those accomplish
ments which eminently fitted her to move in the
elevated sphere for which she was destined. He
reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797,
where he remained until July, 1799, when, hav
ing fulfilled all the purposes of his mission, he so
licited his recall.
Soon after his return, in 1802, he was chosen
to the Senate of Massachusetts from Boston , and
then was elected Senator of the United States for
six years, from the 4th of March, 1804. His rep
utation, his ability and his experience placed

4o

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

him immediately among the most prominent and
influential members of that body.
In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the
Presidential chair, and he immediately nominated
John Quincy Adams Minister to St. Petersburgh.
Resigning his professorship in Harvard Col
lege, he embarked at Boston in August, 1809.
While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense
student. He devoted his attention to the lan
guage and history of Russia; to the Chinese trade;
to the European system of weights, measures and
coins; to the climate and astronomical observa
tions; 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 appointed
Mr. Adams Secretary of State. Taking leave of
his numerous friends in public and private life in
Europe, he sailed in June, 18 19, for the United
States. On the 18th of August, he again crossed
the threshold of his home in Quincy. During the
eight years of Mr. Monroe's administration, Mr.
Adams continued Secretary of State.
Some time before the 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, and party spirit was never
more bitter. Two hundred and sixty electoral
votes were cast. Andrew Jackson received ninety-
nine; John Quincy Adams eighty-four; William
H. Crawford forty-one; and Henry Clay thirty-
seven. As there was no choice by the people,
the question went to the House of Representa
tives. Mr. Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to
Mr. Adams, and he was elected.
The friends of all the disappointed candidates
now combined in a venomous and persistent as
sault upon Mr. Adams. There is nothing more
disgraceful in the past history of our country than
the abuse which was poured in one uninterrupted
stream upon this high-minded, upright and pa

triotic man. There never was an administration
more pure in principles, more conscientiously de
voted to the best interests of the country, than
that of John Quincy Adams; and never, perhaps,
was there an administration more unscrupulously
and outrageously assailed.
On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired
from the Presidency, and was succeeded by An
drew Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected
Vice-President. The slavery question now be
gan to assume portentous magnitude. Mr. Adams
returned to Quincy and to his studies, which he
pursued with unabated zeal. But he was not
long permitted to remain in retirement. In No
vember, 1830, he was elected Representative in
Congress. For seventeen years, or until his death,
he occupied the post as Representative, 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 morning,
and the last to leave his seat in the evening.
Not a measure could be brought forward and es
cape his scrutiny. The battle which Mr. Adams
fought, almost singly, against the pro-slavery
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 assas
sination; but no threats could intimidate liim, and
his final triumph was complete.
On the 2 ist of February, 1848, he rose on the
floor of Congress with a paper in his hand, to
address the speaker. Suddenly he fell, again
stricken by paralysis, and was caught in the arms
of those around him. For a time he was sense
less, as he was conveyed to the sofa in the ro
tunda. With reviving consciousness, he opened
his eyes, looked calmly around and said "This
is the end of earth;' ' then after a moment's pause
he added, " I am content. ' ' These were the last
words of the grand "Old Man Eloquent "

//

C2-

yy^&yZy^^-^^'

ANDREW JACKSON.

GI NDREW JACKSON, the seventh President
LI of the United States, was born in Waxhaw
/ | settlement, N. C, March 15, 1767, a few
days after his father's death. His parents were
poor emigrants from Ireland, and took up their
abode in Waxhaw settlement, 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 ungainly, and there
was but very little in his character made visible
which was attractive.
When only thirteen years old he joined the
volunteers of Carolina against the British invasion.
In 1 78 1, 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. "lam a prisoner of war, not your serv
ant, " was the reply cf the dauntless boy.
Andrew supported himself in various ways, such
as 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 amuse
ments ofthe 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 journeys amid
dangers of every kind, but Andrew Jackson never
knew fear, and the Indians had no desire to re
peat a skirmish with "Sharp Knife."
In 1 79 1, 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 per
formed a second time, but the occurrence was
often used by his enemies to bring Mr. Jackson
into disfavor.

In January, 1796, the Territory of Tennessee
then containing nearly eighty thousand inhabi
tants, the people met ia convention at Knoxville
to frame a constitution. Five were sent from
each of the eleven counties. Andrew Jackson
was one of the delegates. The new State was
entitled to but one member in tlie National House
of Representatives. Andrew Jackson was chosen
that member. Mounting his horse, he rode to
Philadelphia, where Congress then held its ses
sions, a distance of about eight hundred miles.
Jackson was an earnest advocate cf the Demo
cratie party, and Jefferson was his idol. He ad
mired Bonaparte, loved France, and hated Eng
land. As Mr. Jackson took his seat, Gen. Wash
ington, 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 administi ation had been "wise,
firm ahd 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 six years.
When the War of 1812 with Great Britain com
menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair.
Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there
was an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jack
son, who would do credit to a commission if one
were conferred upon him. Just at that time Gen.
Jackson offered his services and those of twenty-
five hundred volunteers. His offer was accepted,
and the troops were assembled at Nashville.
As the British were hourly expected to make
an attack upon New Orleans, where Gen. Wil
kinson was in command, he was ordered to de-

44

ANDREW JACKSON.

scend the river with fifteen hundred troops to aid
Wilkinson. The expedition reached Natchez,
and after a delay of several weeks there without
accomplishing anything, the men were ordered
back to their homes. But the energy Gen. Jack
son had displayed, and his entire devotion to the
comfort of his soldiers, won for him golden opin
ions, and he became the most popular man in the
State. It was in this expedition that his tough
ness gave him the nickname of "Old Hickory."
Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip
Col. Thomas Benton for a remark that gentleman
made about his taking part as second in a duel
in which a younger brother of Benton's was en
gaged, he received two severe pistol wounds.
While he was lingering upon a bed of suffering,
news came that the Indians, who had combined
under Tecumseh from Florida to the Lakes to ex
terminate the white settlers, were committing the
most awful ravages. Decisive action became nec
essary. Gen. Jackson, with his fractured bone
just beginning to heal, his arm in a sling, and
unable to mount his horse without assistance,
gave his amazing energies to the raising of an
army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Ala.
The Creek Indians had established a strong
fort on one ofthe bends ofthe Tallapoosa River,
near the center of Alabama, about fifty miles be
low Ft. Strother. With an army of two thousand
men, Gen. Jackson traversed the pathless wilder
ness in a march of eleven days. He reached their
fort, called Tohopeka or Horse-shoe, on the 27th
of March, 18 14. 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 breastwork of logs
and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, with
an ample -supply of arms, were assembled.
The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly
desperate. Not an Indian would accept quarter.
When bleeding and dying, they would fight those
who endeavored to spare their lives. From ten
in the morning until dark the battle raged. The
, carnage was awful and revolting. Some threw
themselves into the river; but the unerring bul
lets struck their heads as they swam. Nearly
every one of the nine hundred warriors was

killed. A few, probably, in the night swam
the river and escaped. This ended the war.
This closing of the Creek War enabled us to
concentrate all our militia upon the British, who
were the allies bf the Indians. No man of less
resolute will than Gen. Jackson could have con
ducted this Indian campaign to so successful an
issue. Immediately he was appointed Major-
General. Late in August, with an army of two thousand
men on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson went to
Mobile. A British fleet went from Pensacola,
landed a force upon the beach, anchored near the
little fort, and from both ship and shore com
menced 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 bf the British was
twenty-six hundred.
The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be
mentioned 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 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 mem
orable in the annals of our country — applauded
by one party, condemned by the other. No man
had more bitter enemies or warmer friends. At
the expiration of his two terms of office he retired
to the Hermitage, where he died June 8, 1845. The.
last years of Mr. Jackson's life were those of a de
voted Christian man..

<? 7 "l^SOc ^^/J C^C^^-^

MARTIN VAN BUREN.

iA ARTIN VAN BUREN, the eighth Presi-
Y dent of the United States, was born at Kin-
0 derhook, N. Y., December 5, 1782. He
died at the same place, July 24, 1862. His body
rests in the cemetery at Kinderhook. Above itis
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 is but little in the life of Martin Van
Buren of romantic 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 ancestors, as his name indi
cates, were of Dutch origin, and were among the
earliest emigrants from Holland to the banks of
the Hudson. His father was a farmer, residing
in the old town of Kinderhook. His mother, also
of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel
ligence and exemplary piety.
He was decidedly a precocious boy, developing
unusual 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 had not a collegiate educa
tion, seven years of study in a law-office were re
quired of him before he could be admitted to the
Bar. Inspired with a lofty ambition, and con
scious of his powers, he pursued his studies with
indefatigable industry. After spending 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

of age, commenced the practice of law in his na
tive village. The great conflict between the Federal
and Republican parties was then at its height.
Mr. Van Buren was from the beginning a politi
cian. 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 elo
quently espoused the cause of State Rights, though
at that time the Federal party held the supremacy
both in his town and State.
His success and increasing reputation led him
after six years of practice to remove to Fludson,
the county seat of his county. Here he spent
seven years, constantly gaining strength by con
tending in the courts with some of the ablest men
who have adorned the Bar of his State.
Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mr.
Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for
beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short
years she sank into the grave, a victim of con
sumption, leaving her husband and four sons to
weep over 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 12, when thirty
years of age, he was chosen to the State Senate,
and gave his strenuous support to Mr. Madison's
administration. In 18 15, he was appointed At
torney-General, and the next year moved to Al
bany, the capital of the State.
While he was acknowledged as one of the most
prominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had
the moral courage to avow that true democracy did
not require that ' 'universal suffrage' ' which admits
the vile, the degraded, the ignorant, to the right

48

MARTIN VAN BUREN.

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, and some property interests in
the welfare of the State.
In 1 82 1 he was elected a member ofthe 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 the interests of all classes in the com
munity. In the Senate of the United States, lie
rose at once to a conspicuous position as an active
and useful legislator.
In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the
Presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected
to the Senate. He had been from the beginning
a determined opposer of the administration, adopt
ing the ' 'State Rights' ' view in opposition to what
was deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams.
Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governor
ofthe State of New York, and accordingly resigned
his seat in the Senate. Probably no one iu the
Uuited States contributed so much towards eject
ing John Q. Adams 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 regarded throughout the
United States as one ofthe most skillful, sagacious
and cunning of politicians. It was supposed that
no one knew so well as he how to touch the secret
springs of action, how to pull all the wires to
put his machinery in motion, and how to organize
a political army which would secretly and stealth
ily accomplish the most gigantic results. By these
powers it is said that he outwitted Mr. Adams, Mr.
Clay, and Mr. Webster, and secured results which
few then thought could be accomplished.
When Andrew Jackson was elected President
he appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State.
This position he resigned in 1831, and was im
mediately appointed Minister to England, where
he went the same autumn. The Senate, however,

when it met, refused to ratify the nomination, and
he returned home, apparently untroubled. Later
he 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
favorite; and this, probably, more than any other
cause secured his elevation to the chair of the
Chief Executive. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr.
Van Buren received 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 ofthe 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. The insurrection in Canada, which
threatened to involve this country in war with
England, the agitation of the slavery question,
and finally the great commercial panic which
spread over the country, all were trials of his wis
dom. The financial distress was attributed to
the management of the Democratic party, and
brought the President into such disfavor that he
failed of re-election, and on the 4th of March,
1 84 1, he retired from the presidency.
With the exception of being nominated for the
Presidency by the ' 'Free Soil' ' Democrats in 1848,
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. From his fine estate at Lindenwald, he
still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics
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, of culture and wealth, enjoying in a
healthy old age probably far more happiness than
he had before experienced amid the stormy scenes
of his active life.

'<r MZ/fr^^^'

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.

fi>GJlLLIAM HENRY HARRISON, the ninth
\ A / President of the United States, was born
V V at Berkeley, Va. , February 9, 1773. His
father, Benjamin Harrison, was in comparatively
opulent circumstances, and was one of the most
distinguished men of his day. He was an inti
mate friend of George Washington, was early
elected a member of the Continental Congress,
and was conspicuous among the patriots of Vir
ginia in resisting the encroachments of the British
crown. In the celebrated Congress of 1775, Ben
jamin Harrison and John Hancock were both
candidates for the office of Speaker.
Mr. Harrison was subsequently chosen Gov
ernor of Virginia, and was twice re-elected. His
son William Henry, of course, enjoyed in child
hood all the advantages which wealth and intel
lectual and cultivated society could give. Hav
ing received a thorough common-school educa
tion, he entered Hampden Sidney College, where
he graduated with honor soon after the death of
his father. He then 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 Dec
laration of Independence.
Upon the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and
notwithstanding the remonstrances of his friends,
he abandoned his medical studies and entered the
army, having obtained a commission as Ensign
from President Washington. He was then but
nineteen years old. From that time he passed
gradually upward in rank until he became aide
to Gen. Wayne, after whose death he resigned
his commission. He was then appointed Secre
tary ofthe Northwestern Territory. This Terri
tory was then entitled to but one member in Con

gress, and Harrison was chosen to fill that position.
In the spring of 1800 the Northwestern Terri
tory was divided by Congress into two portions.
The eastern portion, comprising the region now
embraced in the State of Ohio, was called ' ' The
Territory northwest of the Ohio. ' ' The western
portion, which included what is now called Indi
ana, Illinois and Wisconsin, was called "the Indi
ana Territory." William Henry Harrison, then
twenty-seven years of age, was appointed by John
Adams Governor of the Indiana Territory, and
immediately after also Governor of Upper Loui
siana. He was thus ruler over almost as exten
sive a realm as any sovereign upon the globe.
He was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and
was invested with powers nearly dictatorial over
the then 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 appointed to this
office — first by John Adams, twice by Thomas
Jefferson, and afterwards by President Madison.
When he began his administration there were
but three white settlements in that almost bound
less region, now crowded with cities and resound
ing with - all the tumult of wealth and traffic.
One of these settlements was on the Ohio, nearly
opposite Louisville; one at Vincennes, on the
Wabash; and the third was a French settlement.
The vast wilderness over which Gov. Harrison
reigned was filled with many tribes of Indians.
About the year 1806, two extraordinary men,
twin brothers of the Shawnee tribe, rose among
them. One of these was called Tecumseh, or
"the Crouching Panther;" the other Olliwa-
checa, or ' ' the: Prophet. ' ' Tecumseh was not
only an Indian warrior, but a man of great sagac-

52

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.

ity, far-feaching foresight and indomitable perse
verance in any enterprise in which he might en
gage. His brother, the Prophet, was an orator,
who could sway the feelings of the untutored In
dians as the gale tossed the tree-tops beneath
which they dwelt. With an enthusiasm unsur
passed 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 con
ciliate the Indians, but at last war came, and at
Tippecanoe the Indians were routed with great
slaughter. October 28, 1812, his army began its
march. When near the Prophet's town, three
Indians of rank made their appearance and in
quired why Gov. Harrison was approaching them
in so hostile an attitude. After a short confer
ence, arrangements were made for a meeting 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
protestations. Selecting a favorable spot for his
night's encampment, he took every precaution
against surprise. His troops were posted in a
hollow square and slept upon their arms. The
wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock
in the morning, had risen, and was sitting
in conversation with his aides by the embers
of a waning fire. It was a chill, cloudy morning,
with a drizzling rain. In the darkness, the In
dians had crept as near as possible, and just then,
with a savage yell, rushed, with all the despera
tion which superstition and passion most highly
inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the
little army. The savages had been amply pro
vided with guns and ammunition by the English,
and their war-whoop was accompanied by a
shower of bullets.
The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as
the light aided the Indians in their aim, and
Gen. Harrison's troops stood as immovable as
the rocks around them until day dawned, when
they made a simultaneous charge with the bayo
net and swept everything before them, completely
routing the foe.
Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked
to the utmost. The British, descending from the

Canadas, were of themselves a very formidable
force, but with their savage allies rushing like
wolves from the forest, burning, plundering, scalp
ing; torturing, the wide frontier was plunged into
a state of consternation which- even the most vivid
imagination can but faintly conceive. Gen. Hull
had made an ignominious surrender of his forces at
Detroit. Under these despairing circumstances,
Gov. Harrison was appointed by President Madi
son Commander-in-Chief of the Northwestern
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 he was found equal to the
position, and nobly and triumphantly did he meet
all the responsibilities.
In 1816, Gen. Harrison was chosen a member
of the National House of Representatives, to rep
resent the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved
an active member, and whenever he spoke it was
with a force of reason and power of eloquence
which arrested the attention of all the members.
In 1 8 19, Harrison was elected to the Senate of
Ohio, and in 1824, as one of the Presidential Elec
tors of that State, he gave his vote for Henry
Clay. The same year he was chosen to the Uni
ted States Senate. In 1836 his friends 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-nom
inated by his party, and Mr. Harrison was unani
mously 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 Web
ster 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 administration 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 sickness died, on the 4th of April,
just one month after his inauguration as President
ofthe United States.

JOHN TYLER.

(JOHN TYLER, the tenth President of the
I United States, and was born iu Charles
Q) City County, Va., March 29, 1790. He was
the favored child of affluence and high social po
sition. At the early age of twelve, John entered
William and Mary College, and graduated with
much honor when but seventeen years old. After
graduating, he devoted himself with great assi
duity to the study of law, partly with his father
and partly with Edmund Randolph, one of the
most distinguished lawyers of Virginia.
At nineteen years of age, he commenced the
practice of law. His success was rapid and as
tonishing. It is said that three months had not
elapsed ere there was scarcely a case on the
docket of the court in which he was not retained.
When but twenty-one years of age, he was almost
unanimously elected to a seat in the State Legis
lature. He connected himself with 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 of his county.
When but twenty-six years of age, he was
elected a Member of Congress. Here he acted ear
nestly and ably with the Democratic party, oppos
ing a national bank, internal improvements by
the General Government, and a protective tariff;
advocating a strict construction of the Constitu
tion 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 County 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 constantly in
creasing, he was chosen by a very large majority
of votes Governor of his native State. His ad
ministration was a signally successful one, and 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 way
ward 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.
In accordance with his professions, upon tak
ing his seat in the Senate he joined the ranks of
the opposition. He opposed the tariff, and spoke
against and voted against the bank as unconsti
tutional; he strenuously opposed all restrictions
upon slavery, resisting all projects of internal im
provements by the General 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 he
had always avowed.
Returning to Virginia, he resumed the practice
of his profession. There was a split in the Demo
cratic party. Flis friends still regarded him as a
true Jeffersonian, gave him a dinner, and show
ered compliments upon him. He had now at
tained the age of forty-six, and his career had been
very brilliant. In consequence'of his devotion to
public business, his private affairs had fallen into
some disorder, and it was not without satisfac
tion that he resumed the practice of law, and de
voted himself to the cultivation of his plantation.
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 in 1839 to nom
inate a President. The majority of votes were
given to Gen Harrison, a genuine Whig, much
to the disappointment of the South, which wished

56

JOHN TYLER.

for Henry Clay. To conciliate the southern
Whigs and to secure their vote, the convention
then nominated John Tyler for Vice-President.
It was well known that he was not in sympathy
with the Whig party in the North; but the Vice-
President has very little power in the Govern
ment, his main and almost only duty being to
preside over the meetings of th£ Senate. Thus it
happened that a Whig President and, in reality,
a Democratic Vice-President were chosen.
In 1 841, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice-
President of the United States. In one short
month from that time, President Harrison died,
and Mr. Tyler thus found himself, to his own
surprise and that of the whole nation, an occu
pant of the Presidential chair. Hastening from
Williamsburg to Washington, on the 6th of
April he was inaugurated to the high and re
sponsible office. He was placed in a position of
exceeding delicacy and difficulty. All his long
life he had been opposed to the main principles of
the party which had brought him into power.
He had ever been a consistent, honest man, with
an unblemished record. Gen. Harrison had se
lected a Whig cabinet. Should he retain them,
and thus surround himself with counselors 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
harmony with himself, and which would oppose
all those views which the Whigs deemed essen
tial to the public welfare ? This was his fearful
dilemma. He invited the cabinet which Presi
dent Harrison had selected to retain their seats,
and recommended 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, re
turned it with his veto. He suggested, however,
that he would approve of a bill drawn up upon
such a plan as he proposed. Such a bill was ac
cordingly 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 provoke! to this meas

ure by a published letter from the Hon. John M.
Botts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who se
verely touched the pride of the President.
The opposition now exultingly received the
President into their arms. The party which
elected him denounced him bitterly. All the
members of his cabinet, excepting 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 United States,
proclaiming that all political alliance between the
Whigs and President Tyler was at an end.
Still the President attempted to. conciliate. He
appointed a new cabinet 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. Tyler's un
fortunate administration passed sadly away. No
one was satisfied. The land was filled with mur
murs 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 Democratic candidate for his
successor. On the 4th of March, 1845, President Tyler re
tired from the harassments of office, to the regret
of neither party, and probably to his own unspeak
able relief. The remainder of his days were
passed mainly in the retirement of his beautiful
home — Sherwood Forest, Charles City County,
Va. His first wife, Mis3 Letitia Christian, died
in Washington in 1842; and in June, 1844,
he was again married, at New York, to Miss Julia
Gardiner, a young lady of many personal and
intellectual accomplishments.
When the great Rebellion rose, ' which the
State Rights and nullifying doctrines of John C.
Calhoun had inaugurated, President Tyler re
nounced his allegiance to the United States, and
j oined the Confederates. He was chosen a mem
ber 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.

yL

y

Ocy

,{5y

JAMES K. POLK.

QAMES K. POLK, the eleventh President of
I the United States, was born in Mecklenburgh
(2/ Cpunty, N. C. , November 2, 1795. His
parents were Samuel and Jane (Knox) Polk, the
former a son of Col. Thomas Polk, who located
at the above place, as one ofthe first pioneers, in
1735. In 1806, with his wife and children, and
soon after followed by most of the members of the
Polk family, Samuel Polk emigrated some two or
three hundred miles farther west, to the rich val
ley of the Duck River. Here, in the midst of the
wilderness, in a region which was subsequently
called Maury County, they erected their log huts
and established their homes. In the hard toil of
a new farm in the wilderness, James K. Polk
spent the early years of his-childhood and youth.
His father, adding the pursuit 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 ob
tain a liberal education. His mother's training
had made him methodical in his habits, had taught
him punctuality and industry, and had inspired
him with lofty principles of morality. His health
was frail, and his father, fearing that he might not
be 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 iu the extreme. He remained in this
uncongenial occupation but a few weeks, when,
at his earnest solicitation, his father removed
him and made arrangements for him to pros
ecute his studies. Soon after he sent him to Mur-
freesboro 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 18 15, entered the sophomore 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 allow
ing himself to be absent from a recitation or a
religious service.
Mr. Polk graduated in 1818, with the highest
honors, being deemed the best scholar of his class,
both in mathematics and the classics. He was
then twenty-three years of age. His health was
at this time much impaired by the assiduity with
which he had 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 planta
tion, the ' ' Hermitage, ' ' but a few miles from
Nashville. They had probably been slightly ac
quainted before.
Mr. Polk's father was a Jeffersonian Republican
and James K. adhered to the same political faith.
He was a popular public speaker, and was con
stantly called upon to address the meetings of his
party friends. His skill as a speaker was such
that he was popularly called the Napoleon of the
stump. He was a man of unblemished morals,
genial and courteous in his bearing, and with that
sympathetic nature in the joys and griefs of oth
ers which gave him hosts of friends. In 1823,
he was elected to the Legislature of Tennessee,
aud gave his strong influence toward 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 County, Tenn. His
bride was altogether worthy of him — a lady of
beauty and culture. In the fall of 1825 Mr. Polk
was chosen a member of Congress, and the satis
faction he gave his constituents may be inferred

6o

JAMES K. POLK.

from the fact, that for fourteen successive years,
or until 1839, he was continued in that office. He
then voluntarily withdrew, only that 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, 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 he
performed his arduous duties to a very general
satisfaction, 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 Octo
ber 14, 1839, took the oath of office at Nashville.
In 1 841 his term of office expired, and he was
again the candidate of thv Democratic party, but
was defeated.
On the 4th of March, 1845, Mr. Polk was in
augurated 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 signature to a joint resolu
tion of Congress, passed on the 3d of March, ap
proving of the annexation of Texas to the Union.
As Mexico still claimed Texas as one of her
provinces, the Mexican Minister, Almonte, im
mediately demanded his passports and left the
country, declaring the act ofthe annexation to be
an act hostile to Mexico.
In his first message, President Polk urged that
Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be
received into the Union on the same footing with
the other States. In the mean time, Gen. Taylor
was sent with an army into Texas to hold the
country. He was first sent to Nueces, which the
Mexicans said was the western boundary of Tex
as. Then he was sent nearly two hundred miles
further west, to the Rio Grande, where he erected
batteries which commanded the Mexican citv of
Matamoras, which was situated on the western

banks. The anticipated collision soon took place,
and war was declared against Mexico by President
Polk. The war was pushed 'forward by his ad
ministration 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 slaughtered.
The day of judgment alone can reveal the misery
which this war caused. It was 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 California. 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 ma
jestic States to be added to the Union. There
were 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 more than $100,000,000. Of
this money $15,000,000 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. Tay
lor, and the same evening, with Mrs. Polk, he
commenced his return to Tennessee. He was
then but fifty-four years of age. He had always
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 tranquillity and happiness were be
fore him. But tlie cholera— that fearful scourge
—was then sweeping up the Valley of the Missis
sippi, and he contracted the disease, dying on the
15th of June, 1849, in the fifty-fourth year of his
age, greatly mourned by his countrymen.

ZACHARY TAYLOR.

^7 ACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth President of
A the United States, was born on the 24th of
£2 November, 1784, in Orange County, Va.
His father, Col. Taylor, was a Virginian of
note, and a distinguished patriot and soldier of
the Revolution. When Zachary was an infant,
his father, with his wife and two children, emi
grated to Kentucky, where he settled in the path
less wilderness, a few miles from Louisville. In
this frontier home, away from civilization and all
its refinements, young Zachary could enjoy but
few social and educational advantages. 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
character. He was strong, fearless and self-reli
ant, and manifested a strong desire to enter the
army to fight the Indians, 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 a commission as 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
England, in 181 2, Capt. Taylor (for he had then
been promoted to that rank) was put in command
of Ft. Harrison, on the Wabash, about fifty miles
above Vincennes. This fort had been built in the
wilderness by Gen. Harrison, on his march to
Tippecanoe. It was one of the first points of at
tack by the Indians, led by Tecumseh. Its garri
son 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 nnmbers, moved upon 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 anticipated assault. On the 4th of Sep
tember, a band of forty painted and plumed sav
ages 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 ascer
tain 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
post. Every man knew that defeat was not
merely death, but, in the case of capture, death by
the most agonizing and prolonged torture. No
pen can describe, no imagination can conceive, the
scenes which ensued. The savages succeeded in
setting fire to one of the block-houses. Until six
o'clock in the morning this awful conflict con
tinued, when the savages, baffled at every point
and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired.
Capt. Taylor, for this gallant defense, was pro
moted to the rank of Major by brevet.
Until the close of the war, Maj. Taylor 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 Ft. Craw
ford, on Fox River, which empties into Green
Bay. Here there was little to be done but to
wear away the tedious hours as one best could.
There were no books, uo society, no intellectual
stimulus. Thus with him the uneventful years
rolled on. Gradually he rose to the rank of
Colonel. In the Black Hawk War, which re-

64

ZACHARY TAYLOR.

suited 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
in the defense of the frontiers, in scenes so re
mote, and in employments so obscure, that his
name was unknown beyond the limits of his own
immediate acquaintance. In the year 1836, he
was sent to Florida to compel the Seminole Indi
ans to vacate that region, and retire beyond the
Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty had prom
ised they should do. The services rendered here
secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of
the Government, and as a reward he was ele
vated to the high rank of Brigadier-General by
brevet, and soon after, in May, 1838, was ap
pointed to the chief command of the United
States troops in Florida.
After two years of wearisome employment
amidst the everglades of the Peninsula, Gen. Tay
lor obtained, at his own request, a change of
command, and was stationed over the Department
ofthe Southwest. This field embraced Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama and Oeorgia. Establishing
his headquarters at Ft. Jessup, in Louisiana, he
removed his family to a plantation which he pur- j
chased near Baton Rouge. Here he remained
for five years, buried, as it were, from the world,
but faithfully discharging every duty imposed
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 on, and at Palo
Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Gen. Taylor won
brilliant victories over the Mexicans. The rank
of Major-General by brevet was then conferred
upon Gen. Taylor, and his name was received
with enthusiasm almost everywhere in the na
tion. Then came the battles of Monterey and
Buena Vista, in which he won signal victories
over forces much larger than he commanded.
The tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena
Vista spread the wildest enthusiasm over the
country. The name of Gen. Taylor was on
every one's lips. The Whig party decided to

take advantage of this wonderful' popularity in
bringing forward the unpolished, unlettered, hon
est soldier as their candidate for the Presidency.
Gen. Taylor was astonished at the announce
ment, and for a time would not listen to it, de
claring that he was not at all qualified for such
an office. So little interest had he taken in,poli-
tics, that for forty years he had not cast a' vote.*
It was not without chagrin that several distin
guished statesmen, who had been long years in
the public service, found their 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, remarked, "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 prepared such few communications as it was
needful should be presented to the public. The
popularity o/ the successful warrior swept the
land. He was triumphantly elected over two
opposing candidates, — Gen. Cass and Ex-Presi
dent Martin Van Buren. Though he selected an
excellent cabinet, the good old man found himself
in a very uncongenial position, and was at times
sorely perplexed and harassed. His mental suf
ferings 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 of 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 endeav
ored to do my duty." He died universally re
spected and beloved. An honest, unpretending
man, he had been steadily growing in the affec
tions of the people, and the Nation bitterly la
mented his death.

'o£Cch*XJ /c

MILLARD FILLMORE.

\A HJ.ARD FILLMORE, thirteenth President
Y of the United States, was born at Summer
ti Hill, Cayuga County, N. Y., on the 7th of
January, 1800. His father was a farmer, and, owing
to misfortune, in humble circumstances. Of his
mother, the daughter of Dr. Abiathar Millard, of
Pittsfield, Mass., it has been said that she pos
sessed an intellect of a high order, united with
much personal loveliness, sweetness of disposi
tion, graceful manners and exquisite sensibilities.
She died in 1831, having lived to see her son a
young man of distinguished promise, though 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
advantages for education in his early years. The
common schools, which he occasionally attended,
were very imperfect institutions, and books were
scarce and expensive. There was nothing then
in his character 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 iufluences 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
Livingston County, to learn the trade of a clothier.
Near the mill there was a small village, where
some enterprising- man had commenced the col
lection of a village library. This proved an in
estimable blessing to young Fillmore. His even
ings were spent in reading. 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 enkindled

in his heart a desire to be something more than a
mere worker with his hands.
The young clothier had now attained the age
of nineteen years, and was of fine personal appear
ance and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so hap
pened that there was a gentleman in the neigh
borhood of ample pecuniary means and of benev
olence, — Judge Walter Wood, — who was struck
with the prepossessing appearance of young Fill
more. He made his acquaintance, and was so
much impressed with his ability and attainments
that he advised him to abandon his trade and de
vote himself to the study of the law. The young
man replied that he had no means of his own,
no friends to help him, and that his previous edu
cation had been very imperfect. But Judge Wood
had so much confidence in him that he kindly
offered to take him into his own office, and to
lend him such money as he needed. Most grate
fully the generous offer was accepted.
There is in many minds a strange delusion
about a collegiate education. A young man is
supposed to be liberally educated if he has gradu
ated at some college. But many a boy who loi
ters through university halls and then enters a
law office is by no means as well prepared to
prosecute his legal studies as was Millard Fill
more 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
intense 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 com
menced the practice of law. In this secluded,
quiet region, his practice, of course, was limited,
and there was no opportunity for a sudden rise in
fortune or in fame. Here, iu 1826, he married a
lady of great moral worth, and one capable of

MILLARD FILLMORE.

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 advo
cate, gradually attracted attention, and he was
invited to enter into partnership, under highly ad
vantageous circumstances, with an elder member
ofthe 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 Repre
sentative from Erie County. Though he had
never taken a very active part in politics, his vote
and 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 that his courtesy,
ability and integrity won, to a very unusual de
gree, 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 the most tumultuous hours
of our national history, when the great conflict
respecting the national bank and the removal of
the deposits was raging.
His term of two years closed, and he returned
to his profession, which he pursued with increas
ing reputation 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 experience as a Representative gave him
strength 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 energies were brought to
bear upon the public good. Every measure re
ceived his impress.
Mr. Fillmore was now a man of wide repute,
and his popularity filled the State. In the year
1847, when he had attained the age of forty-
seven years, he was elected Comptroller ofthe
State. His labors at the Bar, in the Legisla
ture, in Congress and as Comptroller, had given
him very considerable fame. The Whigs were
casting about to find suitable candidates for Presi
dent and Vice-President at the approaching elec
tion. 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
trumpet-tones all over the land as a candidate for
the presidency. But it was necessary to associate
-with him on the same ticket some man of repu
tation as a statesman.
Under the influence of these considerations, the
names of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore
became the rallying-cry of the Whigs, as their
candidates for President and Vice-President. The
Whig ticket was signally triumphant. On the
4th of March, 1849, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated
President, and Millard Fillmore Vice-President,
ofthe United States.
On the 9th of July, 1850, President Taylor,
about one year and four months after his inaugura
tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the
Constitution, Vice-President Fillmore thus be
came President. He appointed a very able cabi
net, of which the illustrious Daniel Webster was
Secretary of State; nevertheless, he had serious
difficulties to contend with, since the opposition
had a majority in both Houses. He did all in his
power to conciliate the South; but the pro-slavery
party in the South felt the inadequacy of all
measures of transient conciliation. The popula
tion of the free States was so rapidly increasing
over that of the slave States, that it was inevitable
that the power of the Government should soon
pass into the hands of the free States. The fa
mous compromise measures were adopted under
Mr. Fillmore's administration, and the Japan ex
pedition was sent out. On the 4th of March,
1853, he, having served one term, retired.
In 1856, Mr. Fillmore was nominated for the
Presidency by the "Know-Nothing" party, but
was beaten by Mr. Buchanan. After that' Mr.
Fillmore lived in retirement. During the terri
ble conflict of civil war, he was mostly silent. It
was generally supposed that his sympathies were
rather with those who were endeavoring to over
throw our institutions. President Fillmore kept
aloof from the conflict, without any cordial words
of cheer to 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

¦X:t

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

["RANKLIN PIERCE, the fourteenth Presi-
ly dent of the United States, was born in Hills-
| f borough, N. H., November 23, 1804. His
father was a Revolutionary soldier, who with his
own strong arm hewed out a home in the wilder
ness. He was a man of inflexible integrity, of
strong, though uncultivated, mind, and was an un
compromising Democrat. The mother of Frank
lin Pierce was all that a son could desire — an in
telligent, prudent, affectionate, Christian woman.
Franklin, who was the sixth of eight children,
was a remarkably bright and handsome boy,
generous, 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, and 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, and in
body and mind 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 popular young men in
the college. The purity of 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 pe
culiarly winning in his address, and it was evi
dently not in the slightest degree 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 qualities of the young
lawyer, his father's prominence as a public man,
and the brilliant political career into which Judge
Woodbury was entering, all tended to entice Mr.
Pierce into the fascinating yet perilous path of
political life. With all the ardor of his nature he
espoused the cause of Gen. Jackson for the Presi
dency. He commenced the practice of law in
Hillsborough, aud was soon elected to represent
the town in the State Legislature. Here he
served for four years. 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. In 1837, being
then but thirty-three years old, he was elected to
the Senate, 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 accomplishments, and one
admirably fitted to adorn every station with which
her husband was honored. Of the three sons who
were born to them, all now sleep with their par
ents 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 engage
ments at home, and the precarious 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

72

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

Mr. Pierce into the army. Receiving the appoint
ment 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 part
in this war, proving himself a brave and true sol
dier. When Gen. Pierce reached his home in- his na
tive State, he was received enthusiastically by the
advocates of the Mexican War, and coldly by his
opponents. He resumed the practice of his pro
fession, very frequently taking an active part in
political questions, 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 en
forcement of the infamous Fugitive Slave Law,
which so shocked the religious sensibilities of the
North. He thus became distinguished 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 12th of June, 1852, the Democratic con
vention met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate
for the Presidency. For four days they contin
ued in session, and 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 the Whig can
didate. Gen. Pierce was chosen with great una
nimity. Only four States — Vermont, Massachu
setts, Kentucky and Tennessee — cast their elec
toral votes against him. Gen. Franklin Pierce
was therefore inaugurated President of the United
States on the 4th of March, 1853.
His administration proved one of the most
stormy our country had ever experienced. The
controversy between slavery and freedom was
then approaching its culminating point. It be
came evident that there was to be 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 admin
istration, did everything he could to conciliate the
South; but it was all in vain. The conflict every
year grew more violent, and threats of the disso
lution of the Union were borne to the North on
every Southern breeze,
Such was the condition of affairs when Presi
dent Pierce approached the close of his four-
years term of office. The North had become
thoroughly alienated 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 administrative acts. The
slaveholders of the South also, unmindful of the
fidelity with which he had advocated those meas
ures of Government which they approved, and
perhaps feeling that he had rendered himself
so unpopular as no longer to be able to accepta
bly serve them, ungratefully dropped him, and
nominated James Buchanan to succeed him.
On the 4th of March, 1857, President Pierce re-,
turned to his home in Concord. His three chil
dren were all dead, his last surviving child hav
ing been killed before his eyes in a railroad acci
dent; 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
divided our country into two parties, and two .
only, Mr. Pierce remained steadfast in the prin
ciples 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 Government. He con
tinued to reside in Concord until the time of his
death, which occurred in October, 1869. He was
one of the most genial and social of men, an hon
ored communicant of the Episcopal Church, and
one of the kindest of neighbors. Generous to a
fault, he contributed liberally toward the allevia
tion of suffering and want, and many of his
towns-people were often gladdened by his material
bounty.

^yZZ^?ze<J

<2/si^'/£zy^&>x^

JAMES BUCHANAN.

(I AMES BUCHANAN, the fifteenth President
I of the United States, was born in a small
QJ/ frontier town, at the foot of the eastern ridge
of the AUeghanies, in Franklin County, Pa., on
the 23d of April, 1791. The place where the
humble cabin home stood was called Stony Bat
ter. His father was a native of the north of Ire
land, who had emigrated in 1783, with little prop
erty save his own strong arms. Five years after
ward he married Elizabeth Spear, the daughter
of a respectable farmer, and, with his young bride,
plunged into the wilderness, staked his claim,
reared his log hut, opened a clearing with his
axe, and settled down thereto perform his obscure
part in the drama of life. 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 Col
lege, at Carlisle. Here he developed remarkable
talent, and took his stand among the first scholars
in the institution.
In the year 1809, he graduated with the high
est honors of his class. He was then eighteen
years of age; tall and graceful, vigorous in health,
fond of athletic sports, an unerring shot, and en
livened with an exuberant flow of animal spirits.
He immediately commenced the study of law in
the city of Lancaster, and was admitted to the
Bar in 18 12, when he was but twenty-one years
of age.
In 1820, he reluctantly consented to run as a
candidate for Congress. He was elected, and for
ten years he remained a member 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 profes
sion, having acquired au ample fortune.
Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the Presi
dency, appointed Mr. Buchanan Minister to Rus
sia. The duties of his mission he performed
with ability, and gave satisfaction to all parties.
Upon his return, in 1833, he was elected to a seat
in the United States Senate. He there met as
his associates Webster, Clay, Wright and Cal
houn. He advocated the measures proposed by
President Jackson, of making reprisals 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 Clay. He also, with voice and vote, ad
vocated expunging from the journal of the Senate
the vote of censure against Gen. Jackson for re
moving the deposits. Earnestly he opposed the
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia,
and urged the prohibition of the circulation of
anti-slavery documents by the United States
mails. As to petitions on the subject of slavery,
he advocated that they should be respectfully re
ceived, and that the reply should be returned
that Congress had no power to legislate upon the
subject. "Congress," said he, "might as well
undertake to interfere with slavery under a for
eign government as in any of the 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

76

JAMES BUCHANAN.

conduct of the Mexican War. Mr. Polk assumed
that crossing the Nueces by the American
troops into the disputed territory was not wrong,
but for the Mexicans to cross the Rio Grande
into Texas was a declaration of war. No candid
man can read with pleasure the account of the
course our Government pursued iu 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
Presidency, honored Mr. Buchanan with the mis
sion to England.
In the year 1856, a national Democratic Con
vention nominated Mr. Buchanan for the Presi
dency. 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 advocates of its restriction and final abolition
on the other. Mr. Fremont, the candidate of the
enemies of slavery, received one hundred and
fourteen electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received
one hundred and seventy-four, and was elected.
The popular vote stood 1,340,618 for Fremont,
1,224,750 for Buchanan. On March 4, 1857,
the latter was inaugurated.
Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only
four years 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 destruc
tion of the Government, that they might rear
upon the ruins of our free institutions a nation
whose corner-stone should be human slavery. In
this emergency, Mr. Buchanan was hopelessly
bewildered. He could not, with his long-avowed
principles, consistently oppose 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 per
jury of the grossest kind, unite with those en
deavoring to overthrow the Republic. He there
fore did nothing.
The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administra

tion nominated Abraham Lincoln as thejr stand
ard-bearer in the next Presidential canvass.
The pro-slavery party declared that if he were
elected and the control of the Government were
thus taken from their hands, they would secede
from the Union, taking with them as they retired
the National Capitol at Washington and the
lion's share of the territory of the United States.
As the storm increased in violence, the slave
holders claiming the right to secede, and Mr.
Buchanan avowing that Congress had no power
to prevent it, one of the most pitiable exhibitions
of governmental imbecility was exhibited that 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 attempting
to withdraw, from the Union. This was not the
doctrine of Andrew Jackson, when, with his hand
upon his sword-hilt, he exclaimed: "The Union
must and shall be preserved!"
South Carolina seceded in December,, i860,
nearly three months before the inauguration of
President Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in
listless despair. The rebel flag was raised in
Charleston; Ft. Sumter was besieged; our forts,
navy-yards and arsenals were seized; our depots
of military stores were plundered, and our cus
tom-houses and post-offices were appropriated by
the rebels.
The energy of the rebels and the imbecility of
our Executive were alike marvelous. The na
tion looked on in agony, waiting for the slow
weeks to glide away and close the administration,
so terrible in its weakness. At length the long-
looked-for hour of deliverance came, when Abra
ham Lincoln was to receive the scepter.
The administration of President Buchanan was
certainly the most calamitous our country has ex
perienced. His best friends can not recall it with
pleasure. And still more deplorable it is for his ,
fame, that in that dreadful conflict 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 retreat, June 1, 1868.

M

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^^^ss&

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Qy//o£<^-^jr-fcL'

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

G| BRAHAM LINCOLN, the sixteenth Presi-
LA dent of the United States, was born iu Hardin
/ I County, Ky., February 12, 1809. About
the year 1780, a man by the name of Abraham
Lincoln left Virginia with his family and moved
into the then wilds of Kentucky. Only two years
after this emigration, and while still a young man,
he was working one day in a field, when an Indian
stealthily approached and killed him. His widow
was left in extreme poverty with five little chil
dren, three boys and two girls. Thomas, the
youngest of the boys, and the father of President
Abraham Lincoln, was four years of age at his
father's death.
When twenty-eight years old, Thomas Lincoln
built a log cabin, and married Nancy Hanks, the
daughter of another family of poor Ktntucky
emigrants, who had also come from Virginia.
Their second child was Abraham Lincoln, the sub
ject of this sketch. The mother of Abraham was
a noble woman, gentle, loving, pensive, created
to adorn a palace, but doomed to toil and pine, and
die in a hovel. "All that I am, or hope to be,"
exclaimed the grateful son, " I owe to my angei-
mother, ' ' When he was eight years of age, his
father sold his cabin and small farm and moved
to Indiana, where two years later his mother died.
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 sister Sarah, to whom he was tenderly
attached, was married when a child of but four
teen years of age, and soon died. The family
was gradually scattered, and Thomas Lincoln
sold out his squatter's claim in 1830, and emi
grated to Macon County, 111.
Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years
of age. With vigorous hands he aided his father
in rearing another log cabin, and worked quite
diligently at this until he saw the family com
fortably settled, and their 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 fortune. Little
did he or his friends imagine how brilliant that
fortune was to be. He saw the value of educa
tion and was intensely earnest to improve his
mind to the utmost of his power. Religion he
revered. His morals were pure, and he was un
contaminated by a single vice.
Young Abraham worked for a time as a hired
laborer 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 down the Sangamon to Illinois, and
thence by the Mississippi to New Orleans. What
ever Abraham Lincoln undertook, he performed
so faithfully as to give great satisfaction to his
employers. In this adventure the latter were
so well pleased, that upon 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 twenty-three years of age, was
a candidate for the Legislature, but was defeated.
He soon after received from Andrew Jackson the
appointment of Postmaster of New Salem. His
only post-office was his hat. All 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 assembled, 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 removed to Springfield and began the practice
of law. His success with the jury was so great

8o

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

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 ques
tion. 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 contest in 1858 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 the Declaration of In
dependence, that all men are created equal. Mr.
Lincoln was defeated in this contest, but won a
far higher prize.
The great Republican Convention met at Chi
cago on the 16th 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 accommo
date the convention. There were eleven candi
dates 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 nomi
nee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received the
nomination on the third ballot.
Election day came, and Mr. Lincoln received
one hundred and eighty electoral votes out of two
hundred and three cast, and was, therefore, con
stitutionally elected President of the United States.
The tirade of abuse that was poured upon this
good and merciful man, especially by the slave
holders, was greater than upon any other man
ever elected to this high position. In February,
1861, Mr. Lincoln started for Washington, stop
ping in all the large cities on his way, making
speeches. The whole journey was fraught with
much danger. Many of the Southern States had
already seceded, and several attempts at assassi
nation were afterward brought to light. A gang
in Baltimore had arranged upon his arrival to
' ' get up a row, ' ' and in the confusion to make
sure of his death with revolvers and hand-gren
ades. A detective unravelled the plot. A secret
and special train was provided to take him from
Harrisburg, through Baltimore, at an unexpected

hour of the night. The tram started at half-past
ten, and to prevent any possible communication
on the part of the Secessionists with their Con
federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train
had started the telegraph-wires were cut. Mr.
Lincoln reached Washington in safety and was
inaugurated, although 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 important positions; but during no other
administration had the duties devolving upon the
President been so manifold, and the responsibilities
so great, as those which fell to his lot. 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 guidance 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 cour
ageous 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 to one of them. April 14, 1865, he,
with Gen. Grant, was urgently invited to attend
Ford's Theatre. It was announced that they
would be present. Gen. Grant, however, left the
city. President Lincoln, feeling, with his char
acteristic kindliness of heart, that it would be a
disappointment if he should fail them, very re
luctantly consented to go. While listening to
the play, an actor by the name of John Wilkes
Booth entered the box where the President and
family were seated, and filed a bullet into his
brain. 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. His was a life which
will fitly become a model. His name as the
Savior of his country will live with that of Wash
ington's, its Father.

^yyy-

ANDREW JOHNSON.

G| NDREW JOHNSON, seventeenth President
O of the United States. The early life of An-
I | drew Johnson contains but the record of pov
erty , destitution and friendlessness. He was born
December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, N. C. His par
ents, belonging to the class of "poor "whites"
of the South , were in such circumstances that they
could not confer even the slightest advantages of
education upon their child. When Andrew was
five years of age, his father accidentally lost his
life, while heroically endeavoring to save a friend
from drowning. Until ten years 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
apprenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gen
tleman was in the habit of going to the tailor's
shcp occasionally, and reading to the boys at
work there. He often read from the speeches of
distinguished British statesmen. Andrew, who
was endowed with a mind of more than ordinary
ability, became much interested in 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 gentleman to borrow the book of speeches.
The owner, pleased with his zeal, not only gave
him the book, but assisted him in learning to com
bine the letters into words. . Under such difficul
ties he pressed onward laboriously, spending usu
ally ten or twelve hours at work in the shop, and
then robbing himself of rest and recreation to de
vote such time as he could to reading.
He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located at

Greenville, where he married a young lady who
possessed some education. Under her instructions
he learned to write and cipher. He became
prominent in the village debating society, and a
favorite with the students of Greenville College.
In 1828, he organized 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 work
ing-class, to which he belonged. In 1835, he
was elected a member of the House of Represent
atives of Tennessee. He was then just twenty-
seven years of age. He became a very active
member of the Legislature, gave his support to
the Democratic party, and in 1840 "stumped the
State," advocating Martin Van Buren 's claims to
the Presidency, in opposition to those 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 was elected a Member of Congress, and by suc
cessive elections held that important post for ten
years. In 1 8 5 3 , he was elected Governor of Tenn
essee, and was re-eleottd iu 1855. In all these
responsible positions, he discharged his duties
with distinguished ability, and proved himself the
warm friend ofthe working classes. In 1857, Mr.
Johnson was elected United States Senator.
Years before, in 1845, he had warmly advocated
the annexation of Texas, stating, however, as his
reason, that he thought this annexation would
probably 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 sup
ported the compromise measures, the two essen-

84

ANDREW JOHNSON.

tial features of which were, that the white people
of the Territories should be permitted to decide
for themselves whether they would enslave the
colored people or not, and that the free 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 pride 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 Savior was the son
of a carpenter. ' '
In the Charleston-Baltimore convention of i860,
he was the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for
the Presidency. In 1 861, when the purpose of
the Southern Democracy became apparent, he took
a decided stand in favor of the Union, and held
that "slavery must be held subordinate to the
Union at whatever cost. ' ' He returned to Tenn
essee, and repeatedly imperiled his own life to
protect the Unionists of that State. Tennessee
having seceded from the Union, President Lincoln,
on March 4, 1862, appointed him Military Gov
ernor of the State, and he established the most
stringent military rule. His numerous proclama
tions 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
they do not already feel, that treason is a crime
and must be punished; that the Government will
not always bear with its enemies; that itis strong
not only to protect, but to punish. * * The
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 inconsistency with,
and in the most violent opposition to, the princi
ples laid down in that speech.
In his loose policy of reconstruction and general
amnesty, he was opposed by Congress, and he
characterized Congress as a new rebellion, and
lawlessly defied it in everything possible to the ut
most. 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 trie-Tenure of Office Act, articles of
impeachment were preferred 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 ar
ticle so would it vote upon all . Thirty-four voices
pronounced the President guilty. As a two-thirds
vote was necessary to his condemnation, he was
pronounced acquitted, 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
impotently, his conflict with Congress. His own
party did not think it expedient to renominate
him for the Presidency. The Nation rallied with
enthusiasm, unparalleled since the days of Wash
ington, around the name of Gen. Grant. Andrew
Johnson was forgotten . The bullet of the assassin
. introduced him to the President's chair. Not
withstanding this, never was there presented to a
man a better opportunity to immortalize 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 January 26, after an exciting struggle,
he was chosen by the Legislature of Tennessee
United States Senator in the Forty-fourth Congess,
and took his seat in that body, at the special ses
sion convened by President Grant, on the 5th of
March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-Presi
dent 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
health, but on reaching the residence of his child
the following day, he was stricken with paralysis,
which rendered him unconscious. He rallied oc
casionally, but finally passed away at 2 a. m.,
July 3 1 , aged sixty-seven years. His funeral was
held at Greenville, on the 3d of August, with
every demonstration of respect.

c^y^C-

Z-

ULYSSES S. GRANT.

HLYSSES S. GRANT, the eighteenth Presi
dent of the United States, was born on the
29th of April, 1822, of Christian parents, in
a humble home at Point Pleasant, on the banks
of the Ohio. Shortly after, his father moved to
Georgetown, .Brown County, Ohio. In this re
mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses received a common-
school education. At the age of seventeen, in
the year 1839, he entered the Military Academy
at West Point. Here he was regarded as a solid,
sensible young man, of fair ability, 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
Infantry to one of the distant military posts in the
Missouri Territory. Two years he passed in these
dreary solitudes, watching the vagabond 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 Resaca de la Palma, his second
battle. At the battle of Monterey, his third en
gagement, it is said that he performed a signal
service of daring and skillful horsemanship.
At the elose of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant
returned 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 Ft. Dallas, in Oregon, for the protec
tion of the interests of the immigrants. But life
was wearisome in those wilds, and he resigned
his commission and returned to the States. Hav
ing married, he entered upon the cultivation of a
small farm near ift. Louis, Mo., but having little

skill as a farmer, and finding his toil not re
munerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering
into the leather business, with a younger brother
at Galena, 111. This was in the year i860. As
the tidings of the rebels firing on Ft. Sumter
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" feel that I have yet repaid the
debt. I am still ready to discharge my obliga
tions. I shall therefore buckle on my sword and
see Uncle Sam through this war too. ' '
He went into the streets, raised a company of
volunteers, and led them as their Captain to
Springfield, the capital of the State, where their
services were offered to Gov. Yates. The Gov
ernor, impressed by the zeal and straightforward
executive ability of Capt. Grant, gave him a desk
in his office to assist in the volunteer organiza
tion that was being formed in the State in behalf
of the Government. Onthe 15th of June, 1861,
Capt. Grant received a commission as Colonel of
the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Volunteers.
His merits as a West Point graduate, who had
served for fifteen years in the regular army, 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 Padu-
cah, near the mouth of the Tennessee River.
Scarcely had its folds appeared in the breeze ere
Gen. Grant was there. The rebels fled, their
banner fell, and the Stars and Stripes were un
furled in its stead.
He entered the service with great determina
tion and immediately began active duty. This
was the beginning, and until the surrender of
Lee at Richmond he was ever pushing the enemy

ULYSSES S. GRANT.

with great vigor and effectiveness. At Belmont,
a few days later, he surprised and routed the
rebels, then at Ft. Henry won another victory.
Then came the brilliant fight at Ft. 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 district
of Tennessee was assigned to him.
Like all great captains, Gen. Grant knew well
how to secure the results of victory. He imme
diately 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 cannon. 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 of Gens. Rosecrans and Thomas
at Chattanooga, and by a wonderful series of
strategic and technical measures put the Union
army in fighting condition. Then followed the
bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lookout Moun
tain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels
were routed with great loss. This won for him
unbounded praise in the North. On the 4th of
February, 1S64, 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 the duties
of his new office.
Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge
of the army to concentrate the widely-dispersed
National troops for an attack upon Richmond,
the nominal capital ofthe rebellion, and endeavor
there to destroy the rebel armies which would be
promptly assembled from all quarters for its de
fense. The whole continent seemed to tremble
under the tramp of these majestic armies, rushing
to the decisive battle-field. Steamers were crowd
ed with troops. Railway trains were burdened

with closely -packed thousands. His plans were
comprehensive, and involved a series of cam
paigns, which were executed with remarkable
energy and ability, and were consummated at the
surrender of Lee, April 9, 1865.
The war was ended. The Union was saved.
The almost unanimous voice of the nation de
clared Gen. Grant to be the most prominent in
strument in its salvation. The eminent services
he had thus rendered the country brought him
conspicuously forward as the Republican candi
date for the Presidential chair.
At the Republican Convention held at Chicago,
May 21, 1868, he was unanimously nominated
for the Presidency, and at the autumn election
received a majority of the popular vote, and two
hundred and fourteen out of two hundred and
ninety-four electoral votes.
The National Convention of the Republican
party, which met at Philadelphia on the 5th ot
June, 1872, placed Gen. Grant in nomination for
a second term by a unanimous vote. The selec
tion was emphatically indorsed by the people five
months later, two hundred aud ninety-two elect
oral 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 renomination for President. He went to New
York and embarked in the brokerage business
under the firm name of 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 went in mourning over the death ot
the illustrious General.

SJt^*

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, the nineteenth
President cf the United States, was born in
Delaware, Ohio, October 4, 1822, almost
three months after the death cf his father, Ruther
ford Hayes. Plis ancestry 011 both the paternal and
maternal sides was of the most honorable char
acter. It can be traced, it is said, as far back as
1280, when Hayes and Rutherford were two'
Scottish chieftains, 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. Misfortune
overtaking the family, George'Hayes left Scotland
in 1680, and settled in Windscr, Conn. His son
George was born in Windsor, and remained there
during his life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter,
married Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of
his marriage until Lis death in Simsbury, Conn.
Ezekiel, son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was
a manufacturer of scythes at Bradford, Conn.
Rutherford Hayes, son of Ezekiel and grandfather
of President Hayes, was born in New Haven, in
August, 1756. He was a farmer, blacksmith and
tavern-keeper. He emigrated to Vermont at an
unknown date, settling in Brattleboro, where he
established a hotel. Here his son, Rutherford
Hayes, the father df President Hayes, was born.
He was married, in September, 18 13, to Sophia
Birchard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors
emigrated thither from Connecticut, they having
been among the wealthiest and best families of
Norwich. Her ancestry on the male side is
traeed back to 1635, to John Birchard, one of the
principal founders of Norwich. Both of her grand
fathers were soldiers in the Revolutionary War.
The father of President Hayes was an industri
ous, frugal, yet open-hearted man. He was ofa

mechanical turn, of mind, and could mend a plow,
knit a stocking, or do almost anything else that
he chose to undertake. He was a member of the
church, active in all the benevolent enterprises
of the town, and conducted his business on Chris
tian principles. After the close of the War of
1 8 1 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, or rail
ways, was a very serious affair. A tour of in
spection was first made, occupying four months.
Mr. Hayes decided to move to Delaware, where
the family arrived in 181 7. He died July 22,
1822, a victim of malarial fever, less than three
months before the birth of the son of whom we
write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore bereavement,
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
Vermont, and in an orphan girl, whom she had
adopted some time before as an act of charity.
Rutherford was seven years old before lie went
to school. His education, however, was not neg
lected. 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 asso
ciates. These circumstances tended, no doubt, to
foster that gentleness of disposition and that del
icate consideration for the feelings of others which
were marked traits of his character.
His uncle, Sardis Birchard, took the deepest
interest in his education; and as the boy's health
had improved, and he was making good progress
in his studies, he proposed to send him to college.
His preparation commenced with a tutor at home;

92

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.

but he was afterwards sent for one year to a pro
fessor in the Wesleyan University in Middletown,
Conn. He entered 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 the office of Thomas Sparrow,
Esq., in Columbus. Finding his opportunities
for study in Columbus somewhat lrtflfffed, he de
termined to enter the Law School at Cambridge,
Mass. , where he remained two years.
In 1845, after graduating at the Law School, he
was admitted to the Bar at Marietta, Ohio, and
shortly afterward went into practice as_ an at
torney-at-law w-th Ralph P. Buckland, of Fre
mont. Here he remained three years, acquiring
but a limited practice, and apparently uframbitious
of distinction in his profession.
In 1849 he moved to Cincinnati, where his am
bition found a new stimulus. For several years,
however, his progress was slow. Two events
occurring at this period had a powerful influence
upon his subsequent life. One of these was his
marriage with Miss Lucy Ware Webb, daughter
of Dr. James Webb, of Chillicothe; the other was
his introduction to the Cincinnati Literary Club,
a body embracing among its members such men
as Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, Gen. John
Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, and many others
hardly less distinguished in after life. The mar
riage 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 womanhood. The Literary Club brought
Mr. Hayes into constant association with young
men of high character and noble aims, and lured
him to display the qualities so long hidden by his
bashfulness and modesty.
In 1856 he was nominated to the office of Judge
of the Court of Common Pleas, but he declined to
accept the nomination. Two years later, the of
fice of City Solicitor becoming vacant, the City
Council elected him for the unexpired term.
In 1861, when the Rebellion broke out, he was
at the zenith of his professional life. His rank at

the Bar was among the first. But the news of
the. attack on Ft. Sumter found him eager to
take up arms for the defense of his country.
His military record was bright and illustrious.
In October, 186 1, he was made Lieutenant- Colo
nel, and in August, 1862* -pWttSted Colonel of
the Seventy-ninth Ohio Regiment, but he refused
to leave his old comrades and go among strangers.
Subsequently, however, he was made Colonel of
his old regiment. At the battle of South Moun
tain he received a wound, and while faint and
bleeding displayed courage and 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 the battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and
Cedar Creek, he was promoted Brigadier-General.
He was also breveted Major-General, "for gallant
and distinguished services during the campaigns
of 1864, in West Virginia." In the course of his
arduous services, four horses were shot from un
der him, and he was wounded four times.
In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to Congress
from the Second Ohio District, which had long
been Democratic. He was not present during the
campaign, and after the election was importuned
to resign his commission in the army; but he fi
nally declared, " I shall never come to Washing
ton until I can come by way of Richmond." He
was re-elected in 1866.
In 1867, Gen. Hayes was ejected Governor of
Ohio, over Hon. Aden G. Thurman, a popular
Democrat, and in 1869 was re-elected over George
H. Pendleton. He was elected Governor for the
third term in 1875.
In 1876 he was the standard-bearer of the Re
publican party in the Presidential contest, and
after a hard, long contest was chosen President,
and was inaugurated Monday, March 5, 1877.
He served his full term, not, however, with satis
faction to his party, but his administration was an
average one. The remaining years of his life
were passed quietly in his Ohio home, where he
passed away January 17, 1893.

tz>l

/•

"&si

JAMES A. GARFIELD.

QAMES A. GARFIELD, twentieth President
I ofthe United States, was born November 19,
Q) 1 83 1, in the woods of Orange, Cuyahoga
County, Ohio. His parents were Abram and
Eliza (Ballou) Garfield, both of New England
ancestry, and from families well known in the
early history of that section of our country, but
who had moved to the Western Reserve, in Ohio,
early in its settlement.
The house in which James A. was born was
not unlike the houses of poor Ohio farmers of
that day. It was about 20 x 30 feet, built of logs,
with the spaces between the logs filled with clay.
His father was a hard-working farmer, and he
soon had his fields cleared, an orchard planted,
' and a log barn built. The household comprised
the father and. mother and their four children,
Mehetabel, Thomas, Mary and James. In May,
1823, the father died from a cold contracted in
helping to put out a forest fire. At this time
James was about eighteen months old, and
Thomas about ten years old. No one, perhaps,
can tell how much James was indebted to his
brother's toil and self-sacrifice during the twenty
years succeeding his father's death. He now
lives in Michigan, and the two sisters live in Solon,
Ohio, near their birthplace.
The early educational advantages young Gar
field enjoyed were very limited, yet he made the
most of them. He labored at farm work for
others, did carpenter work, chopped wood, or did
anything that would bring in a few dollars to aid
his widowed mother in her struggles to keep the
little family together. Nor was Gen. Garfield
ever ashamed of his origin, and he never forgot
the friends of his struggling childhood, youth and
manhood; neither did they ever forget him.
When in the highest seats of honor, the humblest
friend of his boyhood was as kindly greeted as
ever. The poorest laborer was sure of the sym
pathy 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,
plain, modest gentleman.
The highest ambition of young Garfield until
he was about sixteen years old was to be cap
tain of a vessel on Lake Erie. He was anxious
to go aboard a vessel, but this his mother strongly
opposed. She finally consented to his going to
Cleveland, with the understanding, however, that
he should try to obtain some other kind of em
ployment. He walked all the way to Cleveland.
This was his first visit to the city. After making
many applications for work, and trying to get
aboard a lake vessel and not meeting with suc
cess, he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos
Letcher, on the Ohio & Pennsylvania Canal.
He remained at this work but a short time, when
he went home, and attended the seminary at
Chester for about three years. He then entered
Hiram and the Eclectic Institute, teaching a few
terms of school in the mean time, and doing other
work. This school was started by the Disciples
of Christ in 1850, of which body he was then a
member. He became janitor and bell-ringer in
order to help pay his way. He then became both
teacher and pupil. Soon " exhausting Hiram,"
and needing a higher education, in the fall of 1854
he entered Williams College, from which he grad
uated in 1856, taking one of the highest honors of
his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram Col
lege as its President. As above stated, he early
united with the Christian, or Disciples, Church at
Hiram, and was ever after a devoted, zealous
member, often preaching in its pulpit and places
where he happened to be.
Mr. Garfield was united in marriage, Novem
ber 11, 1858, with Miss Lucretia Rudolph, who
proved herself worthy as the wife of one whom
all the world loved. To them were born seven
children, five of whom are still living, four boys
and one girl.

96

JAMES A. GARFIELD.

Mr. Garfield made his first political speeches iu
1856, in Hiram and the neighboring villages, and
three years later he began to speak at county
mass-meetings, 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 186 1 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 received his commission
as Lieutenant- Colonel of the Forty-second Regi
ment of Ohio Infantry August 14, i85i. He
was immediately put into active service, and be
fore 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 able
rebel officer, Humphrey Marshall, of Kentucky.
This work was bravely and speedily accomplished,
although against great odds, and President Lin
coln commissioned him Brigadier- General, Janu
ary 10, 1862; and "as he had been the youngest
man in the Ohio Senate two years before, so now
he was the 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 member of
the general court martial for the trial of Gen.
Fitz-John Porter. He was next ordered to re
port to Gen. Rosecrans, and was assigned to the
"Chief of Staff." The military history of Gen.
Garfield closed with his brilliant services at Chick-
amauga, where he won the rank of Major-General.
Without an effort on his part, Gen. Garfield
was 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
Joshua R. Giddings. It was not without a strug
gle that he resigned his place in the army. At
the time he entered Congress he was the youngest
member in that body. There he remained by
successive re-elections until he was elected Presi
dent, in 1880. Of his labors in Congress, Senator
Hoar says: "Since the year 1864 you cannot
think of a question which has been debated in.

Congress, or discussed before a tribunal of the
American people, in regard to which you will not
find, if you wish instruction, the argument 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 January 14, 1880, Gen. Garfield was elect
ed to the United States Senate, and on the 8th 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 fol
lowing November, and on March 4, 1881, was
inaugurated. Probably no administration ever
opened its existence under brighter auspices than
that of President Garfield, and every day it grew
in favor with the people. By the ist of July
he had completed all the initiatory and prelimi
nary work of his administration, and was prepar
ing to leave the city to meet his friends at Will
iams College. While on his way and at the
depot, in company 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 around the world. ' ' Never before
in the history of the nation had anything occur
red which so nearly froze the blood of the people
for the moment as this awful deed. He was
smitten on the brightest, gladdest day of all his
life, at the summit of his power and hope. For
eighty days, all during the hot months of July
and August, he lingered and suffered. He, how
ever, remained master of himself till the last, and
by -his magnificent bearing taught the country
and the world one of the noblest of human les
sons — how to live grandly in the very clutch of
death. Great in life, he was surpassingly great
in death. He passed serenely away September
19, 1883, at Elberon, N. J., on the very bank of
the ocean, where he had been taken shortly be
fore. The world wept at his death, as it rarely
ever had done on the death of any other great
and noble man.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

E HESTER A. ARTHUR, twenty-first Presi
dent of the United States, was born in Frank
lin County, Vt. , on the 5th day of October,
1830, and was the eldest of a family of two sons
and five daughters. His father was the Rev. Dr.
William Arthur, a Baptist clergyman, who emi
grated to this country from County Antrim, Ire
land, in his eighteenth year, and died in 1875, in
Newtonville. near Albany, after a long and suc
cessful ministry.
Young Arthur was educated at Union College,
Schenectady, where he excelled in all his studies, j
After his graduation he taught school in Ver
mont 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 a student. After being admitted to the Bar, he
formed a partnership with his intimate friend and
room-mate, Henry D. Gardiner, with the inten
tion 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 re
turned to New York, where they hung out their
shingle, and entered upon a successful career al
most from the start. Gen. Arthur soon after mar
ried the daughter of Lieut. Herndon, of the
United States Navy, who was lost at sea. Con
gress voted a gold medal to his widow in recog
nition of the bravery he displayed on that occa
sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr.
Arthur's nomination to the Vice-Presidency, leav
ing two children.
Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celeb
rity in his first great ease, 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 Jonathan 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. William 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 espoused
the cause of the slaveholders, 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 Gen.
Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jen
nings, a respectable colored woman, was put off
a Fourth Avenue car with violence after she had
paid her fare. Gen. Arthur sued on her behalf,
and secured a verdict of $500 damages. The next
day the company issued an order to admit colored
persons to ride on their cars, and the .other, car
companies quickly followed their example. Be
fore that the Sixth Avenue Company ran a few
special cars for colored persons, and the other lines
refused to let them ride at all.
Gen. 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. Morgan, of that State, appointed him
Engineer- in-Chief of his staff. In 1861, he was
made Inspector-General, and soon afterward be
came Quartermaster-General. In each of these
offices he rendered great service to the Govern-

ioo

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

ment during the war. At the end of Gov. Mor
gan's term he resumed the practice of law, form
ing a partnership with Mr. Ransom, and then
Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney of New York,
was added to the firm. The legal practice of this
well-Khown^firm was very large and lucrative,
as each of the gentlemen composing it was an able
lawyer, and possessed a splendid local reputa
tion, if not, indeed, one of national extent.
Mr. Arthur always took a leading part in State
and city politics. He was appointed Collector of
the Port of New York by President Grant, No
vember 21, 1872, to succeed Thomas Murphy,
and he held the office until July 20, 1878, 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 the continent. It was composed of the lead
ing politicians of the Republican party, all able
men, and each stood firm and fought vigorously
and with signal tenacity for his respective can
didate that was before the convention for the
nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield received the
nomination for President, and Gen. Arthur for
Vice-President. The campaign which followed
was one of the most animated known in the his-
toty of our country. Gen. Hancock, the stand
ard-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 was 'Garfield and Arthur. They were in
augurated March 4, 1881, 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— those moments of anxious suspense,
when the hearts of all civilized nations were
throbbing in unison, longing for the recovery of
the noble, the good President. The remarkable
patience that he manifested during those hours
and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible
suffering man has ever been called upon to en
dure, was seemingly more than human. It was

certainly godlike. 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 re
mainder of the term he had so, auspiciously be
gun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested in
deed or look of this man, even though the most
honored position in the world was at any moment
likely to fall to him.
At last God in his mercy relieved President
Garfield from further suffering, and the world, as
never before in its history over the death of any
other man, wept at his bier. Then it became the
duty of the Vice-President to assume the respon
sibilities of the high office, and he took the oath
in New York, September 20, 1881. The position
was an embarrassing one to him, made doubly so
from the fact that all eyes were on him, anxious
to know what he would do, what policy he would
pursue, and whom he would select as advisers.
The duties of the office had been greatly neglected
during the President' s long illness, and many im
portant measures were to be immediately decided
by him; and to still further embarass him he did
not fail to realize under what circumstances he
became President, and knew the feelings of many
on this point. Under these trying circumstances,
President Arthur took the reins of the Govern
ment in his own hands, and, as embarrassing as
was the condition of affairs, he happily surprised
the nation, acting so wisely that but few criticized
his administration. He served the nation well
and faithfully until the close of his administra
tion, March 4, 1885, and was a popular candidate
before his party for a second term. His name
was ably presented before the convention at Chi
cago, 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
people, whom he had served in a manner Satisfac
tory to them and with credit to himself. One
year later he was called to his final rest.

^.

<^i

.^*Ze-4-*-*

STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND.

(Stephen grover Cleveland, the
/\ twenty-second President of the United States,
\z) was born in 1837, in the obscure town of
Caldwell, Essex County, N. J., and ina little
two-and-a-half-story white house, which is still
standing to characteristically mark the humble
birthplace of one oL America's great men, in
striking contrast 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 minister with a large
family and a small salary, moved, by way of the
Hudson River and Erie Canal, to Fayetteville, N.
Y., in search of an increased income and a larger
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 dis
tinguishing trait of all geniuses and independent
thinkers. When he arrived at the age of four
teen years, he had outgrown the capacity of the
village school, and expressed a most emphatic de
sire to be sent to an academy. To this his fa
ther decidedly objected. Academies in those
days cost money; besides, his father wanted him
to become self-supporting by the quickest pos
sible means, and this at that time in Fayetteville
seemed to be a position in a country store, where
his father and the large family on his hands had

considerable influence. Grover was to be paid
$50 for his services the first year, and if he proved
trustworthy he was to receive $100 the second
year. Here the lad commenced his career as
salesman, and in two years he had earned so good
a reputation for trustworthiness that his employ
ers desired to retain him for an indefinite length
of time.
But instead of remaining with this firm in
Fayetteville, he went with the family in their re
moval to Clinton, where he had an opportunity
of attending a High School. Here he industri
ously pursued his studies until the family re
moved with him to a point on Black River known
as the "Holland Patent," a village of five or six
hundred people, fifteen 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 this capacity, he concluded that
teaching was not his calling in life, and, revers
ing the traditional order, he left the city to seek
his fortune, instead of going to the city. He first
thought of Cleveland, Ohio, as there was some
charm in that name for him ; but before proceed
ing to that place he went to Buffalo to ask 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
the old gentleman; " do you, indeed? Whatever

104

STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND.

put that into your head? How much money
have you got?" "Well, sir, to tell the truth, I
haven't got any."
After a long consultation, his uncle offered him
a place temporarily as assistant herd-keeper, st
$50 a year, while he could look around. One
day soon afterward he boldly walked into the of
fice of Rogers, Bowen &' Rogers, of Buffalo, and
told them what he wanted. A number of young
men were already engaged in the office, but Gro
wer's persistency won, and he was finally per
mitted to come as an office boy and have the use
of the law library, receiving as wages the sum ol
$3 or $4 a week. Out of this he had to pay fcr his
board and wasning. The walk to and from his
uncle's was a long and rugged one; and althourh
the first winter was a memorably severe one, his
shoes were out of repair, and as for his overcoat Le
had none; yet he was, nevertheless, , prompt and
regular. On the first day of his service there, his
senior employer threw down a copy of Black
stone 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; but in due
time he mastered that cumbersome volume.
Then, as ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleve
land 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 County,
N. Y., in which Buffalo is situated; and in such
capacity it fell to his duty to inflict capital punish
ment upon two criminals. In 1881 he was
elected Mayor of the City of Buffalo, on the
Democratic ticket, with especial reference to bring
ing about certain reforms in the administration
of the municipal affairs of that city. In this of
fice, as well as in that of Sheriff, his performance
of duty has generally been considered fair, with
possibly a few exceptions, which were ferreted
out and magnified during his Presidential cam
paign. As a specimen of his plain language in
a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an

iniquitous street-cleaning contract: "This is a
time for plain speech, and my objection to your
action shall be plainly stated. I regard it as the
culmination of a most 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. Cleveland's administra
tion as Mayor of Buffalo, and thereupon recom
mended him for Governor of the Empire State.
vTo 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 mace very public throughout the na
tion after he was nominated for Fresident of the
United States. For this high office he was
nominated July 11, 1884, by the National Demo
cratic Convention at Chicago, when other com
petitors 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 Re
publican statesman, James G. Blaine. President
Cleveland 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 capacity his term commenced at
noon 0:1 the 4th of 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 op
posed, Mr. Cleveland answering for the latter,
even before his inauguration.
On June 2, 1886, President Cleveland married
Frances, daughter of his deceased friend and part
ner, Oscar Folsom, of the Buffalo Bar. Their
union has been blessed by the birth of two daugh
ters. In the campaign of 1888, President Cleve
land 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 in the ensuing election President
Cleveland was victorious by an overwhelming
majority.

rr / rr^&ry^

BENJAMIN HARRISON.

gENJAMIN HARRISON, the twenty-third
President, is the descendant of one of the
'.
historical families of this country. The first
known head ofthe family was Maj .-Gen. Harrison,
one of Oliver Cromwell's trusted followers and
fighters. In the zenith of Cromwell' s power it be
came the duty * of this Harrison to participate in
the trial of Charles I., and afterward to sign the
death warrant of the king. He subsequently
paid for this with his life, being hung October 13,
1660. His descendants came to America, and
the next of th"e family that appears in history is
Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia, great-grandfa
ther ofthe subject of this sketch, and after whom
he was named. Benjamin Harrison was a mem
ber of the Continental Congress during the years
1774, 1775 and 1776, and was one ofthe original
signers of the Declaration of Independence. He
was three times elected Governor of Virginia.
Gen. William Henry Harrison, the son of the
distinguished patriot of the Revolution, after a
successful career as a soldier during the War of
1 8 12, and. with a clean record as Governor ofthe
Northwestern Territory, was elected President of
the United States in 1840. His career was cut
short by death within one month after his in
auguration. President Harrison was born at North Bend,

Hamilton County, Ohio, August 20, 1833. His
life up to the time of his graduation from Miami
University, at Oxford, Ohio, was the uneventful
one of a country lad of a family of small means.
His father was able to give him a good education,
and nothing more. He became engaged while at
college to the daughter of Dr. Scott, Principal of
a female school at Oxford. After graduating, he
determined to enter upon the study of law. He
went to Cincinnati and there read law for two
years. At the expiration of that time young Har
rison received the only inheritance of his life — his
aunt, dying, left him a lot valued at $800. He
regarded this legacy as a fortune, and decided to
get married at once, take this money and go to
some Eastern town and begin the practice of law.
He sold his lot, and, with the money in his pocket,
he started out with his young wife to fight for a
place in the world. He decided to go to Indian
apolis, which was even at that time a town of
promise. He met with slight encouragement at
first, making scarcely anything the first year.
He worked diligently, applying himself closely to
his calling, built up an extensive practice and
took a leading rank in the legal profession.
In i860, Mr. Harrison was nominated for the
position of Supreme Court Reporter, and then be
gan his experience as a stump speaker. He can-

io8

BENJAMIN HARRISON.

vassed the State thoroughly, and was elected by
a handsome majority. In 1862 he raised the
Seventeenth Indiana Infantry, and was chosen its
Colonel. His regiment was composed of the raw
est material, but Col. Harrison employed all his
time at first in mastering military tactics and drill
ing his men, and when he came to move toward
the East with 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-General, Gen. Hooker speaking of
him in the most complimentary terms.
During the absence of Gen. Harrison in the
field, the Supreme Court declared the office of
Supreme Court Reporter vacant, and another
person was elected to the position. From the
time of leaving Indiana with his regiment until
the fall of 1864 he had 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 term. He then
started to rejoin Sherman, but on the wa}*- was
stricken down with scarlet fever, and after a most
trying attack made his way to the front in time to
participate in the closing incidents of the war.
In 1868 Gen. Harrison declined a re-election
as Reporter, and resumed the practice of law. In
1876 he was a candidate for Governor. Although
defeated, the brilliant campaign he made won for
him a national reputation, and he was much sought
after, especially in the East, to make speeches.
In 1880, as usual, he took an active part in the
campaign, and was elected to the United States
Senate. Here he served for six years, and was
known as one ofthe ablest men, best lawyers and
strongest debaters in that body. With the ex
piration of his senatorial 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 and named Mr. Harrison as the chief stand
ard-bearer of the Republican party was great in
every particular, and on this account, and the at

titude it assumed upon 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 movement became popular, and from
all sections of the country societies, clubs and
delegations journeyed thither to pay their re
spects to the distinguished statesman.
Mr. Harrison spoke daily all through the sum
mer and autumn to these visiting delegations,
and so varied, masterly, and eloquent were his
speeches that they at once placed him in the fore
most rank of American orators and statesmen.
Elected by a handsome majority, he served, his
country faithfully and well, and in 1892 was nom
inated for re-election ; but the people demanded a
change and he was defeated by his predecessor
in office, Grover Cleveland.
On account of his eloquence as a speaker and
his power as a debater, Gen. Harrison was called
upon at an early age to take part in the dis
cussion of the great questions that then began to
agitate the country. He was an uncompromising
anti-slavery man, and was matched against some
of the most eminent Democratic speakers of his
{State. No man who felt the touch of his blade
desired to be pitted with him again. With all
his eloquence as an orator he never spoke for ora
torical effect, but his words always went like bul
lets to the mark. He is purely American in his
ideas, and is a splendid type of the American
statesman. Gifted with quick perception, a logi
cal mind and a ready tongue, he is one of the
most distinguished impromptu speakers in the
nation. Many of these speeches sparkled with the
rarest eloquence and contained arguments of great
weight, and many of his terse statements have
already become aphorisms. Original in thought,
precise in logic, terse in statement, yet withal
faultless in eloquence, he is recognized as the
sound statesman and brilliant orator of the day.
During the last days of his administration Presi
dent Harrison suffered an irreparable loss in the
death of his devote! wife, Caroline (Scott) Har
rison, a lady of many womanly charms and vir
tues. They were the parents of two children.

DuPAGE AND COOK COUNTIES,

ILLINOIS.

I NTRODUCTORY.

'HE time has arrived when it becomes the
duty of the people of this county to perpet
uate the names of their pioneers, to furnish
a record of their early settlement, and relate the
story of their progress. The civilization of our
day, the enlightenment of the age, and the duty
that men of the present time owe to their ances
tors, to themselves and to their posterity, demand
that a record of their lives and deeds should be
made. In biographical history is found a power
to instruct man by precedent, to enliven the mental
faculties, and to waft down the river of time a safe
vessel, in which the names and actions of the peo
ple who contributed to raise this country from its
primitive state may be preserved. Surely and
rapidly the great and aged men, who in their prime
entered the wilderness and claimed the virgin soil
as their heritage, are passing to their graves. The
number remaining who can relate the incidents of
the first days of settlement is becoming small in
deed, so that an actual necessity exists for the col
lection and preservation of events without delay,
before all the early settlers are cut down by the
scythe of Time.
To be forgotten has oeen the great dread of
mankind from remotest ages. All will be forgot
ten soon enough, in spite of their best works and
the most earnest efforts of their friends to preserve
the memory of their lives. The means employed
to prevent oblivion and to perpetuate their mem
ory has been in proportion to the amount of intel
ligence they possessed. The pyramids of Egypt
were built to perpetuate the names and deeds of
their great rulers. The exhumations made by the
archaeologists of Egypt from buried Memphis indi
cate a desire of those people to perpetuate the
memory of their achievements. The erection of
the great obelisks were for the same purpose.
Coming down to a later period, we find the Greeks
and Romans erecting mausoleums and monu

ments, and carving out statues to chronicle their
great achievements and carry them down the ages.
It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in pil
ing up their great mounds of earth, had but this
idea — to leave something to show that they had
lived. All these works, though many of them
costly in the extreme, give but a faint idea of the
lives and characters of those whose memory they
were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely anything
of the masses of the people that then lived. The
great pyramids and some of the obelisks remain
objects only of curiosity; the mausoleums, monu
ments and statues are crumbling into dust.
^ It was left to modern ages to establish an intel
ligent, undecaying, immutable method of perpet
uating a full history — immutable, in that it is al
most unlimited in extent and perpetual in its ac
tion; and this is through the art of printing.
To the present generation, however, we are in
debted for the introduction of the admirable sys
tem of local biography. By this system every
man, though he has not achieved what the world
calls greatness, has the means to perpetuate his
life, his history, through the coming ages.
The scythe of Time cuts down all; nothing of
the physical man is left. The monument which
his children or friends may erect to his memory in
the cemetery will crumble into dust and pass
away; but his life, his achievements, the work he
has accomplished, which otherwise would be for
gotten, is perpetuated by a record of this kind.
To preserve the lineaments of our companions
we engrave their portraits; for the same reason
we collect the attainable facts of their history. Nor
do we think it necessary, as we speak only truth
of them, to wait until they are dead, or until those
who know them are gone; to do this we are
ashamed only to publish to the world the history
of those whose lives are unworthy of public record.

^TrMt^CcTrL

u^U7

Biographical

0RRINGTON LUNT is one of the founders
of Evaustou, and of the Northwestern Uni
versity, aud has been one of the important
factors in the upbuilding- of Chicago. In the days
ofthe infancy ofthe city, he cast in his lot with
its settlers, and his interests have since been con
nected with theirs. Many monuments to his
handiwork still stand, and the history of Cook
County would be an incomplete volume without
the record of his life. He was born December 24,
1815, in Bowdoinham, Me. His father, William
Lunt, was a leading merchant of that place, and
represented his district in the State Legislature.
He was a direct descendant of Henry Lunt, of
Newburyport, Mass., who emigrated to the United
States from England in 1635. The mother of our
subject died when he was ten years old, aud his
father afterwards married again. He lived to a
ripe old age, and both he and his second wife
died December 31, 1863.
Mr. Lunt of this sketch attended the public
and private schools of his native town, and in his
fourteenth year entered his father's store, serving
as clerk until he attained his majority, when he
was admitted to partnership. They safely passed
through the financial panic of 1837, for their busi
ness had been prudently managed, and the)- could
thus meet the crisis. Soon after, the father re
tired, aud a partnership was. formed between Or-
riugton and his brother W. H. The)' did a good
business, and besides dealing in dry goods traded
largely and shipped hay and produce to the South.
Iu 1842, Mr. Lunt sold out, preparatory to mov
ing westward. He believed that better advant
ages were furnished by the new aud rapidly grow
ing West, and the then young town of Chicago
attracted him. He left home ou the ist of No
vember, and on the 1 ith reached his destination.
This western town had then not a single railroad,
and its business at that time was ven- slack, not

much being done tlirough the winter season.
Mr. Lunt hoped for better opportunities in the
spring, but his wife's health at that time forced
him to return to Maine. The many discourage
ments which he met disheartened him, but he
would not give np, and in the latter part of July
we again find him in Chicago. He had no capi
tal, but was furnished with letters of recommen
dation from leading merchants in the East. He
began business as a commission merchant, and
soon had built up a flourishing trade. In the
summer of 1844 he began dealing in grain, and
in the following winter packed pork to a limited
extent. Both of these ventures proved profitable,
aud he then leased one hundred feet of ground on
the river front for ten years, erecting thereon a
grain house. With the growth of the city his
business increased, and in those earl)- days he
made one sale of fifty thousand bushels, which
was considered a large transaction. He had now
made about $10,000, but trade the following spring
proved disastrous, and lie lost all he had. He
never shipped grain East, Chicago being his only
market, aud through the experience gained by
his losses he became a prudent and careful busi
ness man. He has been a member of the Board"
of Trade since the beginning, but the business
done there in early years was little, as the organi
zation had to struggle for existence for some
time, notwithstanding a lunch of crackers and
cheese sen ed as an attraction. In 1853 he aban
doned the grain trade, and retired for a time from
commercial life.
Mr. Lunt has been connected to a considerable
extent with official positions. He was first called
to office when iu his twenty-second year, being
elected Clerk aud Treasurer of his town, and also
appointed Justice of the Peace. In 1855 he was
elected to the office of Water Commissioner for
three years for the south division of the city.

n6

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

On the expiration of his first term he was re-elect
ed, and during the last three years he served as
Treasurer and President of the Board. At the
end of the six years the city departments were con
solidated in the Board of Public Works. He was
made a Director of the Galena & Chicago Union
Railroad in 1855, and continued as such until the
consolidation of the road with the Northwestern.
For several years he was one of the Auditors of
the Board of Directors, and his time was largely
given to the business- of the office. During his
last two years with the road he served as its Vice-
President. In 1877 Mr. Lunt was elected by the
lot owners of Rose Hill Cemetery Company as
one of the three trustees for the care of the lot
owners' fund. He was President of the Board,
and for the last few years its Treasurer. It has
been well managed, and a fund of $100,000 col
lected and now in their hands has been invested
in Cook County and city bonds.
Mr. Lunt had previously leased his warehouse,
but the parties failed after the panic of 1857, and
he took possession of it in 1859. Forming a
partnership with his brother, S. P Lunt, they
used the warehouse as a canal elevator, and did a
large business, sometimes handling three and a-
half million bushels annually. Impaired health,
however, forced him to abandon the grain trade
iu 1862, and in 1865 he started for the Old World
with his family, spending two years abroad, dur
ing which time he visited many of the famous
cities of Europe and Asia.
Mr. Lunt was united in marriage, ou the 16th
of January, 1842, to Cornelia A. Gray. Her father,
Hon. Samuel Gray, was a prominent attorney of
Bowdoinham, his native town, and was Repre
sentative, Senator and a member of the Gover
nor's Council of the State. He was also promi
nent in commercial circles. Four children were
born unto Mr. and Mrs. Lunt, three sons and a
daughter, but one son died in infancy. Horace,
who graduated from Harvard University, is a
leading attorney; and George is a sturdy busi
ness man. Cornelia G., the accomplished daugh
ter, seems to have inherited her father's philan
thropic nature, and takes a most active part in
charitable and benevolent work.

During the late war the Union found in Mr.
Lunt a faithful friend. He was a member of the
Committee of Safety and War Finance, appointed
at the first meeting, which convened April 13,
1 86 1. The Sunday after the fall of Sumter he
spent in raising supplies and in preparing the first
regiment to start from this city to Cairo. His
labors in behalf of the arm)- and the Union then
continued until victory perched on the banners of
the North. Four years after the commencement
of the struggle he had the pleasure of being
present when the Old Flag was again flung to the
breeze from the battlements of the fort, attending
the Grand Review of the victorious army, and
visiting the principal cities of the late Confed-
eracy. When about twenty years of age, Mr. Lunt
joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his
name is inseparably connected with the history of
its growth iu this locality. For about twenty-
years he was Trustee of the Clark Street Method
ist Church, and during much of that time was
Secretary of the Board. He bought several lots
on the corner of State and Harrison Streets in
1848, and five years later sold them on three
years' time to the church at cost price. That
ground was afterwards exchanged for the site of
the Wabash Avenue Methodist Church, to which
he transferred his membership in 1858. He has
always given most Iiberall)- for the erection of
church edifices, both of his own and other denom
inations in the city, and struggling churches in
the West. Ofthe Clark Seminary at Aurora, he
was one of the first Trustees. This was built by
a private company, but subsequently turned over
to the church without compensation. He was
one of the charter members, and has been Secre
tary, Treasurer aud General Business Agent of
the Garrett Biblical Institute from its organiza
tion in 1853. I» company with a few others, he
procured the charter for aud incorporated the
Northwestern* University of Evauston. The com
mittee was appointed to secure a site. They
wished to get land on the lake front, but could
find none which they thought near enough to the
city, and were almost closing a deal for property
in Jefferson. Through the instrumentality of

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

117

Mr. Lunt, however, who, in riding one day, vis
ited the present site of Evanston, the business was
deferred, and his judgment led to the selection of
the spot where now stands the University. To
this institution he has contributed in time, energy
and money, and while he was in Europe the board
set aside land, now valued at $100,000, which he
had given, as the Orringtou Lunt Library Fund.
Desirous, also, to render possible the erection of
a suitable library building, he has given $50,000
toward the one now iu process of completion.
This splendid building is of Bedford stone, beau
tiful in style, graceful and enduring. The finest
structure ou the campus, it is a fitting memorial
of the man whose name it perpetuates in the let
ters carved upon its noble entrance: The Or-
rington Lunt Library. He has always been
ou the executive committee of the school, and
has been largely instrumental in the success of
the institution. He was early connected with the
Chicago Orphan Asylum, and raised nearly $20,-
000 to complete the edifice, while a member of
the building committee in the summer of 1854.
The Chicago fire consumed the home of Mr.
Lunt aud all of the buildings from which he de
rived an income. The winter following he served
ou the Special Fire Relief Committee. Many-
Methodist Churches and the Garrett Biblical In
stitute also suffered great losses, and a committee
to devise means for their relief was appointed by
the Rock River Conference. Arrangements were
made to solicit funds, and Mr. Lunt became Sec
retary and Treasurer. For eighteen months he
was actively engaged in the disbursement and
collection of the money raised, about $150,000.
By this means he was enabled to rebuild the Gar
rett building, the structure being finer than the
former one. When he could find time for his own
work he built the fine banking-house occupied by
Preston, Kean & Co. He has truly borne his
part in the upbuilding of Chicago.
On the 1 6th of January, 1842, was celebrated
the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Lunt, and a half-
ceritury later was celebrated their golden wedding.
Two hundred friends met to extend to this worthy
couple their congratulations for the happy years
that had passed, to review- the lives so well spent,

and to wish them the return of many more such
pleasant occasions. The co-workers of Mr. Lunt
in church, in business and in his university labors
all bore their testimony, not only to his pleasant
companionship, but to his honorable, upright life
and exemplary character. Many beautiful gifts
attested the esteem and love of guests, which
could not be expressed in words alone. Al
though Mr. Lunt has led a very prominent life,
he is yet retiring and very unassuming in man
ner. He has followed the Golden Rule, has
walked iu the light as he saw it, has been un
wearied in well-doing, and when he shall have
been called to the home beyond he will leave to
his family what Solomon says is better than great
riches, ' ' a good name. ' '

"Si

£+£

B_

S~

0

ANA A. MITCHELL, a rising young law
yer of Chicago, claims Ohio as the State of
his nativity. He was born in Knox County,
on the 2d of August, 1858, and is the son of Al
mon and Margaret ( Hawkins ) Mitchell, both of
whom were also natives of the Buckeye State.
The paternal grandparents, however, came from
Massachusetts, and the maternal grandparents
from Rhode Island. Both families were of Eng
lish extraction. The parents of our subject are
still living. The father was born March 31,
1816, and the mother's birth occurred May 2,
1818. They had a family of thirteen children, of
whom ten are still living. Emor H. is a farmer
of Piatt County, 111. ; Maria is the wife of Abram
Jackson, of Wichita Falls, Tex.; and the others,
with the exception of our subject, are all living
near the old homestead in Ohio.
Dana A. Mitchell whose name heads this record
was twelfth in order of birth. His education
was acquired in Utica, Ohio, after which he en
gaged in teaching school for several years in his
native State. He then spent five years as a
teacher in this county, after which, in order to fit
himself -for the legal profession, he spent two
years as a student in the Northwestern University,

n8

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

from which institution he was graduated in the
Class of '90.
On Christmas Day of 1884, Mr. Mitchell was
united in marriage with Miss Minnie B. Hol
brook, of Glenwood, Cook County. They have
two children living: Earle and Candace. They
also lost two, Chester and Lueile, both of whom
died in infancy. The mother is a daughter of
Nahum and Clarissa Holbrook. Her father's
people came from the Empire State, and her
mother's family were from Vermont.
Mr. Mitchell opened au office for the practice of
law in 1890, and has since carried on operations
along that line. He is now located at No. 1005
Ashland Block, Chicago. He has built up a
good general practice, and his success bids fair to
increase. As a lawyer, he is conscientious and
painstaking, and he always wins the confidence
aud high regard of his clients and those with
whom he is brought in contact. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Mitchell hold membership with the Christian
Church, and take an active interest in all that
tends to advance the cause and aid in its upbuild
ing. He is now serving as Deacon in the church,
and is also an active and untiring worker in the
Sunday-school. He possesses many excellent
traits of character, and his business and social
associates hold him in warm regard.

i®_

~^i<,

£+£

&

"=J

5JEORGE F. DEIBERT, a retired merchant,
anow living in Bloomingdale, has for almost
half a century made his home in DuPage
County, and is numbered among the honored
pioneers who have been the founders of the coun
ty, and have been the leading factors in its growth
and upbuilding. As he is widely aud favorably
known in this community, we feel assured that
this record of his life will prove of interest to
many of our readers.
A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Deibert was
born iu Schuylkill County, January 4, 1821, and

is a son of George Deibert, who was born in the
same county. His grandfather, Michael Deibert,
was a soldier ofthe Revolution. The mother of
our subject, who bore the maiden name of Mary-
Faust, was also born in the Keystone State. The
father died when George F. was a lad of only
four years, leaving a widow with ten children.
Our subject was then bound out to au uncle,
with whom he remained until sixteen years of
age, when he went to his own home, and lived
with his mother until he had attained his majority.
Iu early life he was inured to arduous toil, the
privileges and advantages of his youth being very
meagre. When he had attained to man's estate,
he began working as a farm hand in his own in
terest, and from sunrise until dark labored iu the
fields, receiving for his services only $80 per
year. He was thus employed for three years and
was then married. It was in August, 1844, i]1
Schuylkill County, that he was joined in wed
lock with Miss Susanna Dewald, a native of that
county. The following month the)- came to the
West, and made a location iu DuPage County.
In 1843, Mr. Deibert had visited Illinois, and had
determined to locate here. His first wife out
lived about four years, and in Naperville, in 1852,
he was again married, his second union being
with Sarah Dewald, a sister of his former wife.
Four children were born unto them: Milton G.,
now a merchant of Elgin, 111.; Ida M., wife of
S. E. Kinney, of Spokane, Wash. ; Mary, wife
of George Wr. Schuider, of Denver, Colo., who
died in January, 1893, leaving two children; and
Lulu, who died in early childhood.
Ou coming to Illinois in 1844, Mr. Deibert lo
cated iu Naperville, and served as Constable aud
Deputy Sheriff for several years. Iu 1850, he
made an overland trip to California with a party
which had seven teams. They left Naperville on
the 15th of April, aud on the 4th of July reached
their destination. There Mr. Deibert engaged in
mining, which he continued for two years with
fair success. He returned by way ofthe Nica
ragua route to New York, and on the trip visit
ed hisold home in Pennsylvania. At length he
arrived in Naperville, in the spring of 1852. Two
years later he bought an interest in a store with

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

119

his brother, D. F. Deibert, and, removing to
Bloomingdale, here carried on general merchan
dising until 1885. The partnership continued
for ten years, and he was then alone in business
until his retirement in the year above mentioned.
In his early life our subject was a supporter of
the Democracy, but on the organization of the
Republican party, in 1856, he joined its ranks and
has since been one of its stanch supporters on all
questions of State and national importance. In
local elections he supports the man whom he
thinks best qualified for the office, regardless of
party affiliations. Mr. Deibert has been elected
to a number of local positions of honor and trust,
has served as Constable arid Collector, and is now
School Trustee. His residence in this county
covers a period of nearly fifty years, and he has
not only witnessed its growth and development,
but has also borne an active part in its progress
and advancement. His life has been well and
worthily passed, his business career has been a
successful one, and he is now a substantial and
highly respected citizen.

1=1

^R-4

~S)

HON. WARREN L. WHEATON is one of
the honored pioneers of DuPage County, in
the welfare of which he has been a prominent
factor from very early days. Though now nearly
eighty-two years of age, he is bright and active,
both in mind aud body. An evidence of the lat
ter fact is shown by his being still engaged in
farming on the school section of Milton Township.
This is the same piece of ground that he took up
from the Government in 1838, his claim to the
land being made by plowing around it, as that
was before the surveyors had laid out the county.
In the early days he was active in assisting the
first railroad laid in the county, and helped to
found Wheaton College. He represented the peo
ple of this section in the Legislature of Illinois,
and has always been greatly respected by all.
It is seldom now that a man born in the mem
orable year of 1812, and whose eyes have beheld
the natural fauna of this great Prairie State, and

have witnessed its progression during the past
years, is so active and retains so good a memory
of those pioneer days. The birth of our subject
occurred March 6, 1812, in Pomfret, Windham
County, Conn. His parents were James and
Nancy (Lyon) Wheaton. He is the elder of their
two sons, the younger being Jesse C. , a sketch of
whom appears elsewhere in this work. They
share the honor of founding the beautiful city of
Wheaton. Warren L. received his education in
the schools of his native place and at the Wood
stock Academy, where he was a student for a year
and a-half. When about nineteen years of age
he began teaching school during the winter, and
farming during the summer season. His first
school was a small one in the backwoods, but he
soon proved himself a good teacher and fine dis
ciplinarian, and his services were soon sought by
the largest schools, of that section.
It was in 1837 that Mr. Wheaton started for
the West, going to Hartford by stage, thence b)r
water to Albany, and on the only railroad then in
the State to Schenectady, thence by the Erie
Canal and the Great Lakes to Chicago, where he
arrived June 1. He went on foot to Gary's Mill,
where he made his headquarters for a time. The
Gary family were very early settlers and had a
large harvest that year, and for three weeks our
subject swung the cradle in their wheat fields.
After the harvest was completed he went to
Chicago, where he bought a horse, saddle and
bridle, and, thus equipped, started out to see the
country. He visited Helena and Madison, Wis. ;
Ottawa, La Salle and Quincy, 111. ; and St. Louis,
returning by way of Galena. His intention was
to return to the East that fall, but he was taken
seriously ill with bilious fever, from which he suf
fered nearly all the following winter. The nerxt
year he operated a part of Mr. Gary's farm on
shares, and the same year laid claim to about six
hundred and forty acres by breaking a furrow
around it. That summer he broke about eighteen
acres of his farm and sowed it with winter wheat,
and then returned to the East. The following
June he came again to Du Page County, and found
the wheat which he had sown was luxuriant and
promising a good crop. No fence protected it

120

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

from neighbors' cattle, but the wheat was unmo
lested save where a deer had now and then wan
dered through.
The marriage of Mr. Wheaton with Miss Harriet
E. Rickert was performed June 25, 1848. She
was also a native of Pomfret, Conn. , and came to
Illinois with her parents when a child of but ten
years of age. She was called from this life May
29, 1863. Of her six children, three are living:
Warren L- , who now has the management of the
farm; Wilbur F., who resides in Nebraska; and
Lucy, who is the wife of Mr. Darling, of Union,
111. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Wheaton
married Miss Christiana Shugg, of New YorkCity.
It would be safe to say that no man has been
more interested in advancing every enterprise for
the good of Wheaton and the neighborhood than
has Warren L- Wheaton. He very liberally gave
the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad the right
of way through his farm, and aided otherwise in
getting the road put through. His ardent sup
port and generosity in this matter gained for him
the warm friendship of Capt. Turner, who was
the projector and first President ofthe road. He,
in turn, located a station on our subject's land and
named it in honor of him and his brother, who
was also greatly interested in the project. When
the Wesleyan Methodists were casting about for a
suitable location for their seminary, Mr. Wheaton
came to the rescue and donated forty acres of land,
also subscribing $300 to the institution. From
earliest childhood he has been the true friend of
schools, religion and knowledge, and this tendency
has made him one of the strong supporters of the
Wesleyan, now Wheaton, College. Oftentimes
he has given to its support when it meant a real
sacrifice. From the time of its foundation to the
present he has been a Trustee. The same spirit
of liberality and interest has actuated him in con
nection with the public schools of Wheaton, as for
years he served on the Board of Education, and it
is but fair to note that one of the best High Schools
in the State is the one here located.
In the Illinois Legislature of 1848 and 1849,
Mr. Wheaton was a stanch supporter of every
measure pertaining to the true progress of the com
monwealth . His work on the Committee of Town

ship Organization will be placed to his great credit
for years to come. In 1850 he served Milton
Township in the capacity of Supervisor. The
fact that he has eclipsed the beautiful biblical ex:
ample ofa man "three-score years and ten, andhis
eyes not yet dimmed, ' ' is partly to be accounted
for by his having lived a consistent and temperate
life, and also by his coming from a sturdy stock
of long-lived Puritan ancestors. His grandfather,
James Wheaton, who lived at Providence, R. I.,
true to the patriotic spirit of his day, offered his
services in behalf of the Colonies' independence.
He was detailed to ' 'fire the beacons' ' at Provi
dence, and remained faithful to his post until the
great strife was over. He has been physically,
mentally, and in every way an exceptionally strong
character, well fitted for pioneer life, and for lay
ing the foundations of schools and city organiza
tions. His memory will live in the annals of
Wheaton' s history forever as one who, at what
ever sacrifice of personal comfort and wealth,
founded her prosperity.

EHARLES A. TEDRAHN is a prominent and
leading merchant of Cloverdale, who in 1889
began business at this place. He was born
in Oldenburg, Germany, August 24, 1864, and
remained in the Fatherland until seventeen years
of age, during which time he acquired a good ed
ucation in his native tongue. In 1881, he bade
adieu to friends and native land, and, taking pas
sage on a steamer at Hamburg, sailed for New
York. On the ist of June he landed on. the
shores of the New World and went direct to
Chicago, where he soon secured work, there re
maining until 1 883. He was employed as a clerk
in a retail. dry-goods house and there acquired his
actual business experience. In 1885, accompa
nied by his mother, he returned to Germany,
spending about a month in visiting the friends
and scenes of his youth.
On his return he again went to Chicago and
in that city was married, June 8, 1886, Miss
Emma Niemier becoming his wife. She was

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

121

born in Illinois, and is, of German parentage. In
September of that year, Mr. Tedrahn embarked
in the hotel business in Chicago, which he carried
on until 1889. The previous year he bought
property in Cloverdale and built a business house
and residence here. He was the first man to en
gage in merchandising in this place. In the
spring of 1889 he opened up a stock of merchan
dise, and from the beginning his trade has con
stantly increased until he is now doing a fine bus
iness. The excellent line of goods which he car
ries, and his fair and straightforward dealings,
have won him an enviable reputation.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Tedrahn have been born
three children, two sons and a daughter, Wal
ter, Charles and Rosa. The parents are faith
ful and active members of the Lutheran Church.
Mr. Tedrahn is a Democrat in politics, and in
July, 1889, was appointed Postmaster -of Clover
dale, which position he has since filled. He
is* a man of good business ability, sagacious
and far-sighted, and during his four-years resi
dence in this county he has become most widely
and favorably known.

!^H^

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(TOHN H. KOBUSCH is a well-known mer-
I chant and the able Postmaster of Blooming-
Qj/ dale. We wish to add his life record to the
history of his adopted county, for he is one of the
enterprising and progressive citizens of the com
munity in which he now makes his home. On
the 14th of December, 1831, he was born in
Prussia, Germany, and there grew to manhood,
acquiring a \good education in the common
schools. It was in 1854 that he crossed the At
lantic to America, reaching St. Louis, Mo., in
February of that year. He located in that city,
where he engaged in teaming for a number of
years, but in 1861 he laid aside business cares
and enlisted in defense of the Union and, the Old
Flag. Mr. Kobusch joined Company K of the Fifth
Reserve Corps, under Col. White, and remained
in St. Louis doing, guard duty. He engaged in

driving a team for the Government for four
months, and after his term of service had expired
he resumed teaming for himself in the lumber
yard where he had previously been employed.
He then sold his team and became foreman ofthe
lumber-yard, which position he held for about
five years. On the expiration of that period he
purchased a stable and engaged in the livery
buisness for two years, after which he sold out.
He then again entered a lumber-yard, where he
spent a year and a-half, after which he. engaged
as foreman with the St. Louis sawmills, holding
that responsible position for twelve years and a-
half, when he resigned. Soon after he bought and
established a mercantile business on Fourteenth
and Howard Streets. After two years, however,
he sold out, came to Bloomingdale, purchased a
store and put in a stock of goods. Here he has
since actively engaged in merchandising, and with
increased trade has enlarged his facilities. He
now has a fine stock of general merchandise and
from the public he receives a liberal patronage.
In 1 891 he admitted his son F. ,W. to partner
ship in the business.
Mr. Kobusch was married in St. Louis, Octo
ber 24, 1858, to Christina Hemme, who died in
that city, March 20, 1884. They had two chil
dren: F. W., above 'mentioned; and Herman H.,
who is- now in Elgin, 111. Mr. Kobusch was
again married in St. Louis, October 24, 1884, his
second union being with Christina Brockmann, a
native of Germany. They are members of the
German Lutheran Church.
In 1886, Mr. Kobusch was appointed Post
master of Bloomingdale, and has since, efficiently
discharged the duties of the office. He: cast his
first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in
i860, and has supported each Presidential nomi
nee of the Republican party since that time. He
was elected Village Treasurer and has held that
office for about four years. He is true to every
public and private trust, and the community has
found in him a valued citizen, who is always
found in the front rank in public improvement
and advancement.
Frederick William Kobusch, the junior member
of the firm of J. H. Kobusch. & Son, was born in

122

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

St. Louis, May 28, 1862, and grew to manhood in
that city. His literary education was acquired in
the public schools, and for five years he attended
the night sessions of Jones' Commercial College, in
which he completed the business course. For
three years he worked at various employments,
and then, in 1878, entered the Mallinckrodt
Chemical Works, where he was employed until
1 89 1, when he came to Bloomingdale and joined
his father in business.
In St. Louis, April 29, 1888, was celebrated
the marriage of F. W. Kobusch and Miss M. E.
Hallenberg, a native of that city. Three chil
dren grace this union: John Henry, Herman
Henry arid Frederick William, Jr.
On all questions of national importance, Mr,
Kobusch works with the Republican party, but at
local elections casts his ballot for the man best
qualified to fill the office, regardless of party
affiliations. In 1892, he was appointed Clerk of
Bloomingdale, and in 1893 was elected to that
office. He is a stock-holder in the Bloomingdale
Creamery Company, and holds the office of
Secretary and Treasurer. He is a wide-awake and
enterprising business man, and to the experience
and mature judgment of his father he adds the
enterprise and activity of his younger years, so
that the firm of J. H. Kobusch & Son is one of
the leading business houses of this place.

(TAMES CONLEY is the oldest settler of the
I village of Turner, and this work therefore
Q) would be incomplete without a record of his
life, for with the upbuilding and development of
Turner his name is inseparably connected. He
was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1820,
and is a son of Patrick and Nancy (Dugan) Con-
ley, who were also born on the Green Isle of Erin.
Their family numbered eight children, four sons
and four daughters: Thomas, James, Patrick,
John, Ellen, Mary, Eliza and Margaret. Thomas,
James and John are the only ones now living.
The father was a prominent farmer in his native
land. In 1833, he crossed the Atlantic to Amer

ica, and after spending one winter in Albany, N.
Y., went to St Lawrence County, where he rented
a farm and made his home for about three years.
He then removed to Newark, Ohio.
The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood
days in the land of his nativity, and acquired his
education in the schools of Ireland and Albany.
When his education was completed he began work
on a farm in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., where
he remained for eighteen months, when he re
moved to Mt. Morris, N. Y., where his brother
Thomas lived. The succeeding five years of his
life were there passed and during that time he was
married, onthe 13th of April, 1843, to Miss Eliza
Sutter, daughter of Siamuel and Elizabeth (Kent)
Sutter, natives oflreland. Three children have
been born unto them, one son and two daughters:
Ann, John and Elizabeth. The eldest became the
wife of Nelson Springer, and died October 16,
1891. Elizabeth is the wife of Thomas Quinn, a
passenger conductor on the Chicago & North
western Railroad. They have three children:
Jessie, Eliza and James.
In 1845, Mr- Conley emigrated Westward, ac
companied by his family, and has since made his
home in DuPage County. He purchased a farm
of forty acres, which has since been cut up into
village lots and now comprises the town of Turner.
For that tract he paid $150, and after two years
sold it for $275. He then purchased eighty acres
where the northeast part of Turner is now sit
uated, but afterward sold and bought back twenty
acres of his first purchase, which he still owns.
Later he became owner of one hundred and sixty
acres a mile northwest of Turner, to which he
added a tract of sixty-five acres. At length he sold
that property and, opening a restaurant at the de
pot, continued its operation for twenty-two years,
or until his retirement from active business life.
He now owns a good home and a number of busi
ness lots.
Mr. Conley has long been recognized as one of
the prominent and influential^citizens of this com
munity. For a number of 'years he served as
School Director and was a member of the Board
of Trustees for two years. He came tb Turner
when there was only one house in the place, and

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

123

in consequence has witnessed its entire growth
and development. He began life for himself
without money, but by honest and arduous toil
he has secured a competency for old age, and at
the same time has gained the respect and confi
dence of all who know him.

-*H^e

0R. THOMAS G. ISHERWOOD, a physi
cian and surgeon engaged in practice in
Turner, claims Iowa as the State of his na
tivity, his birth having occurred in Mt. Vernon,
on the 30th of May, 1856. The family is of Eng
lish origin. His grandfather, Robert Isherwood,
was a native of Liverpool, England, and came to
America in an early day, locating in Pennsylvania.
After a time he removed to Iowa, where he died
at the age of eighty-six years. Thomas G. Isher
wood, the father of our subject, was born in Penn
sylvania, and was a farmer by occupation. He
married Herpalicy Lowry, whose father was a
physician of the Keystone State, and there died at
an early age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Isherwood were
born three sons and a daughter, all of whom are
yet living, namely: Hortensius, Alonzo, Mattie
and Thomas G. On leaving Pennsylvania, the
father went to Iowa, in 1842, locating near Mt.
Vernon, where he purchased Government land,
making his home thereon until his death, which
occurred in 1 89 1 , at the age of seventy-seven years.
His wife is still living in that locality, and, as was
her husband, is a member of the Baptist Church.
He first purchased one hundred and sixty acres of
land, to which he added from time to time until at
his death he owned four hundred and forty acres.
The Doctor was reared on his father's farm in
Iowa, and remained under the parental roof until
he had arrived at man's estate. His primary ed
ucation was acquired in the schools of Mt. Vernon,
and later he completed his literary studies by his
graduation from Cornell College in 1881. Wish
ing to enter the medical profession, he then at-
*> tended Rush Medical College of Chicago, and was
graduated from that institution in 1883. Imme
diately thereafter he came to Turner, opened an

office and began practice. As the years have
passed, bringing with them experience and in
creased skill, his clientage has steadily increased,
and he is now enjoying a large and lucrative prac
tice. On the 14th of September, 1887, Dr. Isherwood
married Miss Lizzie B. Jones, daughter of M.
Jones. They now have two children: Paul A. and
Helen Louise . Their home is a pleasant residence ,
which the Doctor owns, in connection with other
town property. Socially, he is a member of Am
ity Lodge No. 472, A. F. & A. M.; Doric
Chapter No. 166, R. A. M.;and Bethel Com
mandery No. 36, K. T., of Elgin. He also be
longs to the Modern Woodmen of America and to
the Foresters. In political belief, the Doctor is a
Democrat and was honored with the office of
President of the Village Board in 1881. He has
served as surgeon for the Northwestern Railroad
for the past ten years and is also surgeon for the
Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad. His genial;
helpful nature proves almost as beneficial in the
sick room as his medicines, and through a large
extent of territory Dr. Isherwood' s services are
greatly in demand.

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(lOHN E. STANDIDGE, who for almost half
! a century has made his home in Du Page
G/ County, and is numbered among its early
settlers, is now engaged in the livery business in
Turner, where he owns good livery barns and is
doing a large business. A native of England, he
was born in Hull, Yorkshire, on the 9th of Octo
ber, 1840. His father, Joseph Standidge, was
also a native of the same country, and was a farm
er by occupation. His father had been a butch
er and in England he spent his entire life, dy
ing at the age of eighty years. Having attained
his majority, Joseph Standidge married Letitia
Musgrove, daughter of John Musgrove, a sailor.
They became the parents of ten children, nine
sons and a daughter, ofwhom John E., Martha,
Thomas and William are now living. Emigrat
ing to America in 1844, Mr. Standidge located in

124

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

DuPage County, two miles east of the present
site of Turner, where he purchased forty acres of
Government land. He made his home in Win
field Township for about four years, and then re
moved to Wayne Township, where he bought a
farm of ninety acres, two and a-half miles north
east of Wayne Station, where he lived for ten
years. His death occurred in 1870, at the age of
seventy years, and his wife, who survived him un
til 1873, passed away at the age of sixty-three
years. The were both members ofthe Episcopal
Church, and were people of sterling worth.
Our subject was a child of only four years when
he crossed the broad Atlantic and located in Illi
nois. He was reared upon his father's farm, re
maining at home until he had attained his major
ity, his time being spent in farm labor and in at
tendance at the public schools, where he acquired
a good English education. After arriving at
man's estate, he began dealing in agricultural
implements, and has been connected with that
line of business more or less continuously since.
In 1886, he bought the livery stable and outfit of
Harrison Sargent, and has since continued that
business. On Christmas Day of 1865, Mr. Standidge was
joined in wedlock with Miss Eunice Millard,
daughter of Sylvanus and Hannah (Smith) Mil
lard, natives of the Empire State. They be
came the parents of four sons and three daughters:
Frankie, now the wife of John Robertson, of Tur
ner, by whom she has one child, Eunice; Eugene,
Rollin, Maude, Grace, Elbert, and Mary, who
died at the age of one year. The mother of this
family was called to her final rest in January, 1887,
at the age of thirty- six years. She was a mem
ber ofthe Methodist Church, and throughout the
community her loss was deeply mourned.
Mr. Standidge holds membership with J. B.
Turner Lodge No. 420, I. O. O. F. He exer
cises his right of franchise in support of the Re
publican party, and has been elected two terms as
Township Collector. He was also Constable for
about nine years, and in 1892 was Census-taker.
He came to Turner when it contained only two
houses, and has therefore witnessed its entire
growth and development. All enterprises calcu

lated to prove of public benefit have received his
hearty support and co-operation, and the part
which- he has taken in the upbuilding of the
town places him among its founders.

t=n

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"SJ

EHARLES E. NORRIS makes his home in
Turner,- where nearly his entire life has been
passed. He is a dealer in furniture and is
also engaged in the undertaking business. He is
a native of the Empire State, having been born
near Rome, on the 6th of February, 1853. His
parents, Augustus and Caroline (Avard) Norris,
were both natives of England. The paternal
grandfather was also born in England, reared a
family of five children, and died while yet in mid
dle life. William Avard, the maternal grand
father, who was also of English birth, emigrated
to America about the year 1847. Ffe was princi
pally engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. His
death occurred in Turner about 1870, when he
had reached the age of seventy-five years. In
religious faith, he was a Baptist.
The father of our subject learned the carpen
ter's trade when a young man, and followed that
business for many years. With his wife he
crossed the Atlantic and landed in the United
States in 1847. Locating near Rome, N. Y., he
there continued to make his home for a period of
eight years. It was in 1855 that he turned his
face toward the West, and, concluding to locate in
Illinois, settled in Turner. For many years he
engaged in work at his trade, but is now living
retired from business cares and is still making his
home in Turner, where he was one of the earliest
settlers. His home is on a piece of land compris
ing about fourteen acres, for which he paid some
$600. He has sold a portion of it at the rate of $2,-
000 per acre. He and his wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church of this place and are
public-spirited citizens. To them was born a fam
ily of six children, four sons and two daughters.
Three of the number are now living, namely:
Charles E. , Albert E. and John E.
Charles E. Norris whose history we will now

C. E. Norris.

(Photo'd by Mills.)

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

125

proceed to trace was only two years old when his
parents brought him to Illinois, and nearly his
whole life has been passed in Turner, where he
was reared to manhood and educated. He re
mained under the, parental roof until his marriage,
and it is a rather singular fact that since his ar
rival in the village he has never been away for
more than a week at a time. About the year
1874, in company with his father, who had given
Up his trade, he embarked in the furniture and
undertaking business. Two years later he bought
ouf his father's interest, and has since continued
in business alone. He owns considerable valuable
real estate, is a man of good executive ability, and
exercises wise judgment in the investment of his
means. He owns a good residence property, the
building in which his store is located, and other
valuable property in the town. In addition to
this he owns a well-improved farm, comprising
eighty-five acres, which is located just east of
Turner! The marriage of Mr. Norris was celebrated in
May, 1877, with Miss Alta F. Clark. She is a
daughter of Lyman C. and Laura E. (Babcock)
Clark, well-known and honored cititzens of this
place. Four children have come to bless the
union of our subj ect and his wife, and in order of
birth they are as follows: Herbert C. , Carroll W. ,
Ernest L- and Florence.
For one year Mr. Norris acted in the capacity
of Village Clerk and has always been prominent
in promoting all local enterprises. He deposits
his ballot in favor of Republican nominees, and is
greatly interested in the success of his party,
though he is not a politician in the modern ac
ceptance of the term. He is greatly interested in
civic societies, being a member of Amity Lodge
No. 472, A. F. & A. M., in which he is Worthy
Master, having served as such for three years; of
Doric Chapter No. 166, in which he has filled the
office of High Priest five years, still holding that
position; and of Bethel Commandery No. 36, of
Elgin. He is also connected with the Order of
the Eastern Star, to which Mrs. Norris belongs.
As a member of the Modern Woodmen of Am
erica, he belongs to Gold Leaf Camp No. 1103.
In the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church

of Turner, Mr. and Mrs. Norris have long been
greatly interested and active workers. He has
served in an official capacity in the same, and is
now Steward, Secretary and Treasurer. As a
man of known worth and strict integrity, he well
merits the high regard in which he is held by all
who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.
6> ,_SL-*-g^JL^.E_«»—  9
fa * ~*~~^T<rT ;>~c==i^ ' ©
IRA ALBRO, a retired farmer residing in
Wayne Township, is well worthy of repre
sentation in the history of DuPage County,
for he is numbered among its honored pioneers of
1835, and has borne an active part in its growth
and upbuilding. A native of the Empire State,
he was born in Erie County, October 31, 1809.
His father, John Albro, was born in 1776, and in
an early day removed with the family from Nova
Scotia to Rhode Island, but he left that State at
the age of sixteen, and became a resident of Sara
toga County, N. Y. , where he engaged in rafting
and in the lumber business on the Hudson River
for a number of years. He was twice married.
In Saratoga County he wedded Betsy Dunham,
and in 1807 removed to Erie County, which was
then an almost unbroken wilderness. There, in
the midst of the forest, he opened up a farm and
reared his family. In Monroe County, he mar
ried Martha Gardner, a native of Newton, N. Y.,
and a daughter of John Gardner, one of the early
settlers of Monroe County. In 1853, Mr. Albro
came to Illinois, and spent his last days in the
homeof our subject, dying February 2, 1861. He
served as a soldier in the War of 18 12. His wife
survived him about a year, and passed away Jan
uary 4, 1862. She died in Buffalo, N. Y., and
was buried in the Buffalo Cemetery, by the side
of her daughter.
John Albro had ten children, three by the first
union and seven by the second marriage. Emery
D. died at the age of seventy-two. Emily is next.
Melvina married- Frederick White, and both are
now deceased. Sallie Maria became the wife of
Harry Keeney, and both have passed away. Ira
is the next younger, and Eliza resides with him.

126

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

James R. is living in Chautauqua County, N. Y.
Augustus G. is a resident of Pennsylvania. Jer
ome B., Almira and Harriet Celina are deceased.
The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood
and youth in the county of his nativity, and his
early education, acquired in the common schools,
was supplemented by an academic course. He
then successfully engaged in teaching for three
terms, and in 1835 he started westward, reach
ing Chicago on the 10th of May. The western
metropolis then contained about a thousand peo
ple. ' He spent the first summer on a farm in Lake
County, and in September came to this county,
where he entered two hundred and twenty -seven
acres of land from the Government. It was en
tirely destitute of improvement, and he turned the
first furrow upon it, but, as the years passed, acre
' after acre was placed under the plow, and the
highly cultivated farm now yields to him a good
income. In connection with agricultural pur
suits, Mr. Albro has been engaged in the dairy
business and in the manufacture of cheese. He
has a substantial residence and good barns and
outbuildings upon his place, and all the other im
provements are first-class.
The fine farm stands as a monument to the
thrift and enterprise of the owner, who has led a
busy and useful life, and has had a successful
career. His prosperity is certainly well deserved,
as it is the reward of his own efforts.
On the 29th of September, 1839, Mr. Albro
married Miss Betsy Dunham, a daughter of Solo
mon Dunham. She was a native of Erie County,
N. Y. , and there remained until sixteen years of
age. Her death occurred October 25, 1880, and
she Was laid to rest in Little Woods Cemetery.
Adrian D. Albro, the only son of this union, is
a man of good education and business ability, well
known throughout this community. He married
Sylvira M. Hathaway, daughter of E. T. Hatha
way, and they began their domestic life upon the
old homestead farm which Mr. Albro has man
aged and operated for some years. He is recog
nized as a wide-awake and enterprising agricul
turist. The father, Ira Albro, cast his first Presidential
vote for Martin Van Buren, in 1836, and has since

supported the men and measures of the Demo
cratic party. He has filled a number of local
offices of honor and trust, was Township Super
visor, Highway Commissioner, Trustee, and for
about ten years was School Treasurer. In what
ever position he has been called upon to fill, he
has proved a faithful and efficient officer, dis
charging his duties with promptness and fidelity.
His residence in this community covers a period
of fifty-eight years, and he has watched the de
velopment of the county from an almost unbroken
wilderness to one ofthe best counties of the com
monwealth. An honorable, upright life he has
led, and as one of the pioneer settlers and leading
citizens he is deserving of representation in this
volume.

_S

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IS.

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GlNDREW DEMPSEY, one of the well-known
LI business men of Turner, and one of its most
/ I enterprising and progressive citizens, is num
bered among the native sons of this place, his
birth having here occurred on the 12 th of Octo
ber, 1858. He comes ofa family of Irish origin.
Both of his grandfathers lived and died on the
Green Isle of Erin, and his parents, Patrick and
Catherine (Brennan) Dempsey, were there born
and married. Wishing to try their fortune in the
New World, they crossed the Atlantic and. came
to DuPage County when it was almost an un
broken wilderness, and before the railroad had
been built. Mr. Dempsey was a railroad man,
and had charge of the yards in Turner for many
years. He died in 1868, at the age of forty-two
years. His wife still survives him, and, as was her
husband, she is a member ofthe Catholic Church.
In taking up the personal history of the gentle
man whose name heads this record, we present to
our readers a sketch of the life of one of the well-
known and esteemed citizens. He was both reared
and educated in Turner, in fact has hardly known
another home. His interests have always been
connected with this place. He began railroading
at the age of fifteen years, and followed it in some
of its various branches from that time until 1892,

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frlAJ. YhtoiM, ^St^AJ^Za, MUj^

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

131

when he abandoned it for other pursuits. In
1888 he began working for the Illinois Central
Railroad Company, on construction between Chi
cago and Freeport, and afterward went West,
running a train between Helena and Billings,
Mont. In 1889 he returned to Turner, but after
a few months went to Nebraska, where he was
conductor on a freight train, running between
Missouri Valley and Long Pine. On his return
to Illinois, he located in Chicago, and worked in
the yards of the Northwestern Railroad Company
until the spring of 1892, when he formed a part
nership with J. C. Wahl, and put in an electric-
light plant for the village of Turner, lighting the
streets and a number of the business houses and
residences. The Ft. Wayne System is the one
now in use.
Mr. Dempsey is a member of the Order of Rail
way /Conductors. In his political views, he is
independent, supporting by his ballot the man
whom he thinks best qualified for the office. He
has succeeded in his business affairs, and is now
the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of farm
land near St. Paul, Howard County, Neb., be
sides his interest in the electric-light plant. He
possesses good business and executive ability , and
by his well-directed efforts and able management
has made himself well-to-do.
(g  ~^!<.,At>CT - g
16  '  "c3 <T T I^TS-"^ S1
^"HOMAS WARREN WATSON, a retired
farmer and blacksmith residing in Warren-
ville, was born on the Emerald Isle, on the
5th of April, 18 1 8, and is one of a family of
twelve children, four sons and eight daughters,
who were born to William and Ann (Warren)
Watson. The educational privileges of our sub
ject were very meagre, and at the early age of
fifteen years he began life for himself, since
which time he has been dependent upon his own
resources for a livelihood. He was a lad of only
eight summers when, in 1826, he crossed the
Atlantic to America on a sailing-vessel, which,
after several weeks spent upon the bosom of the
Atlantic, dropped anchor in the harbor of New

York City. He then went to Buffalo, N. Y. , where
he grew to manhood, and at the age of fifteen
began learning the blacksmith's trade. He re
mained in the Empire State until 1836, which
year witnessed his arrival in Illinois.
Mr. Watson at once located in Warrenville,
Du Page County, where he opened a blacksmith
shop and remained for one year. He then went
to Galena, 111. , where he worked at his trade for
three years. On the expiration of that time he
returned to Warrenville, and resumed the black
smithing business, which he carried on until 188 1.
Possessing natural mechanical genius, he be
came a skilled workman, which, combined with
prompt attention to business, insured him a large
patronage. For about a quarter of a century he
devoted considerable time to manufacturing plows,
and made many of the first breaking-plows used
in this part of the State.
On the 10th of April, 1844, Mr. Watson was
united in marriage with Miss Mary Lucretia
Kline, a daughter of Jasper M. and Henrietta L.
(Krebelle) Kline. She was born in Baltimore,
Md., September 14, 1824, was one of six chil
dren (four sons and two daughters), and came
with her parents to this county in 1835, the fam
ily being numbered among the pioneer settlers.
In her youth Mrs. Watson enjoyed very mea
gre advantages for acquiring an education, her
instruction having been limited to a short term at
school in New York City, where her parents re
sided a few years before coming West. She is a
woman of superior natural ability, and has al
ways made the most of her opportunities. En
dowed with good reasoning faculties, a retentive
memory, and a fondness for books and reading,
she has become well informed. Intellectually, she
is far above the average person of her years, and
is an agreeable conversationalist, who easily ex
presses herself in well-chosen language. She
possesses many excellencies of heart and head
and enjoys, aS she deserves, the respect of a large
circle of friends.
To - Mr. and Mrs. Watson has been born a
family of six children. Casper William, having
learned the blacksmith's trade in his father's
shop, when eighteen years of age enlisted in

132

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the Union army for the suppression of the Rebel
lion, as a member of Company H, Twenty-third
Illinois Infantry, and served until the close of the
war. He afterwards became a resident of Whea
ton, where he conducted a blacksmith shop, and
for about eighteen years was Deputy Sheriff of
Du Page County. He died at his home in that
city on the 30th of November, 1893, leaving a
wife and four children. Thomas Theodore, who
is Director General of the Equitable Life In
surance Company, is now in South America;
George E. is a contractor and builder of Batavia,
111. ; John Henry is a farmer of Sac County, Iowa;
Daniel W. and Walter E. both died in 1861.
Mr. Watson is a self-made man, and by per
severance and industry, assisted and encouraged
by his frugal wife, has overcome the obstacles in
his path, working his way upward to success.
The prosperity which has crowned his earnest
efforts now enables him to live retired, in the en
joyment of the rest which he has so truly earned
and richly deserves. He has always been a sup
porter of the Democratic party, but has never
been an office-seeker. The community finds in
him a good citizen, who is faithful to all duties,
and in all public affairs calculated to promote the
general welfare he willingly bears his part. He
is numbered among the honored pioneers of the
county and well deserves mention in its history.

.-=]

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KNEWTONE. MATTER, editor and proprietor
I / of the Wheaton Illinoian, has been a mem-
| U) ber of the business circles of this place for
but a comparatively short time, yet is quite well
known throughout DuPage County, as he was
born and reared in Will County, near the county
line of DuPage. His birth occurred in Wheat
land Township, June 21, 1859. He is a son of
Jacob and Nancy (Milliron) Matter, who were
born, reared and married in Pennsylvania. The
Matters have been a very thrifty farming people
for several generations and come of German an
cestry. They are hale and hearty, and their in
dustry has made them well-to-do, while their in

telligence and morality have won for them high
esteem as men of sterling worth. The father of
our subject was born in Dauphin County, Pa.,
and in 1844 came to Will County, 111., locating
in Wheatland Township, where he took up land
from the Government. There he continued farm
ing until 1868, when he embarked in merchandis
ing in Aurora, being thus engaged until 1876.
His death occurred November 30, 1889, at the
age of seventy-one years. He held several town
ship and school offices in Will County, and was a
prominent and influential citizen. His widow
still survives him, and is now living in Naper
ville, at the age of seventy-three years. In the
Matter family were eleven children, ten of whom
are yet living, namely: Abraham, who owns the
old Matter homestead; Isaac, a constructionist on
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, re
siding in Aurora; Mary A., wife of Rev. J. H.
Yaggy, who is living in Des Moines, Iowa;
Abbie, wife of D. B. Givler, editor ofthe Naper
ville Clarion ; Henry J. , who is employed in the
freight department of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railroad Works in Aurora, 111.; Ellen,
wife of Prof. L- M. Umbach, of the Northwestern
College, of Naperville; Sarah J., wife of George
S. Bartholomew, foreman of the silver-plate
works of Rockford, 111.; Emma M., wife of John
P. Patterson, a farmer of Wheatland Township,
Will County; Newton E., of this sketch; and
Elton E., a farmer of Wheatland Township, Will
County. The first nine years of his life our subject spent
upon his father's farm, and then accompanied his
parents on their removal to Aurora, where he at
tended the public schools and laid the foundation
for a good education, which was completed by
study in the Northwestern College, of Naper
ville, 111. His connection with the printing busi
ness began at the age of thirteen, when he en
tered the office ofthe Naperville Clarion, serving
as office boy. He also worked for a while on
the Daily News, of Aurora, but was identified
with the Clarion office during the greater part of
the time from his fourteenth year until coming
to Wheaton in 1889. On coming to this place he
purchased the Illinoian and became proprietor

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i33

and editor on the 18th of February. The Illinoian
is at present the oldest paper in the county. It
is an eight-page weekly, devoted to local and
general county news, and is stanchly Republican
in politics. It enjoys a large and constantly in
creasing patronage, ofwhich it is well deserving.
In connection with the publication of the paper,
Mr. Matter does considerable job work. He runs
three presses, operated by steam power, and the
office is well equipped for all kinds of printing.
In 1886 Mr. Matter married Rebecca H. Stark,
of Wheatland, and unto them have been born two
sons, Raymond E. and Herbert J. The parents
are both members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. They have a pleasant home on Scott
Street, which Mr. Matter owns, in addition to
his printing-office. He takes considerable inter
est in the DuPage County Fair, has been Secre
tary of the Fair Association, and is now Corre
sponding Secretary. In fact, he manifests a com
mendable interest in everything that pertains to
the welfare ofthe town and county, and does all in
his power to promote those enterprises calculated
to prove of public benefit.

RICHARD S. GOUGH, Manager of the Postal
Telegraph Cable Company at the stock
yards in Chicago; although doing business
in the metropolis of the West, makes his home in
Turner, preferring the quiet of a small town in
which to spend his leisure hours. England has
furnished a number of valued citizens to Du Page
County, among whom is our subject. He was
born in Buckingham, England, February 6,
1844, and his parents, James and Ann (Scott)
Gough, were also natives of the same country.
The paternal grandfather was an English farmer,
and spent his entire life in his native* land. The
maternal grandfather, William Scott, whp was
also an agriculturist, was a member of the regular
militia, and was an Episcopalian in religious be
lief. He reached a very advanced age.
James Gough was an extensive farmer of Buck
inghamshire, and died in the Jand of his birth in

185 1, at the age of forty-two years. His wife
long survived him, passing away in 1892, at the
age of eighty. They were both members of the
Episcopalian Church. He was one of the par
ish officials, and belonged to the Royal Bucks
Yeomanry, a cavalry association. In the Gough
family were three sons and three daughters, but
only two are now living: Richard S. , and Rebecca,
who is now a resident of Great Marlow, England.
Richard S. Gough left his native land in 1859,
at the age of fourteen years, and, coming to Amer
ica, located in Brooklyn, N. Y. , where he spent
one winter. The next summer was also spent in
the Empire State, and in 1861 he made his way
westward to Chicago. He there enlisted in the
war, in the telegraph service, and served for two
and a-half years, when he was discharged on ac
count of sickness. After the war he went to Dix
on, 111., as. telegraph operator, spending one year
at that place, and going thence to Bureau Junc
tion, where he served in the capacity of operator
for two years. His next location was in Musca
tine, Iowa, and subsequently we find him in
Wilton Junction, Iowa, where he was employed
as agent for the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad
Company, remaining in that place until 1867.
That year witnessed his arrival in Chicago, and
saw him employed in the Chicago Union Stock
Yards, as chief operator in the office of the West
ern Union Company. In May, 1872, he was ap
pointed manager of the office, which position he
filled until 1881, when he resigned to accept the
position of manager for the Mutual Union Com
pany at the stock yards. With that company he
remained until 1883, when the two companies
consolidated, and he then accepted the position of
manager of the Postal Telegraph Cable Company,
which he has filled to the present time, employing
two assistants. He now has charge of thirty-seven
men, and the business has increased from $3,600
to $200,000 per year.
On the 8th of June, 1864, Mr. Gough wedded
Miss Sarah E. , daughter of E. H. and Jane (Sher
man) Ketcham. Seven children have blessed
this union, two sons and five daughters. Ger
trude, the eldest, married Connell Sheffler, who is
engaged in business in the stock yards in Chicago,

134

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and they have two sons, Richard and Rankin.
Julia is the next younger. Jennie is the wife of
Charles E. Trescott, a printer of Choteau, Mont. ,
by whom she has two children, Gertrude and
Richard. The other members of the family are
Alice, Rea and Raymond. One died in infancy.
The family occupies a pleasant home in Turner,
which is the property of Mr. Gough, who also
owns several town lots. He is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, of the Modern
Woodmen, and of the Telegraphic Mutual Benefit
Association. For about two years he was Presi
dent of the School Board in Turner, and dis
charged the duties of that position with the same
fidelity which has characterized all his affairs,
both public and private. He now occupies a very
responsible position, and that he discharges his
duties faithfully and well is manifest by his long
continuance in the service. He is a man of good
business ability, honorable and upright in all his
dealings, and has the confidence and good-will of
those with whom he has been brought in contact.

^^

¦s-

EHARLES FREMONT REED, one of the
successful agriculturists of DuPage County,
resides on section 35, Wayne Township.
He was born on the farm which is still his home
on the 27th of July, 1856, and is a worthy repre
sentative of a pioneer family. His father, George
W. Reed, was born in Vermont, February 22,
1806, and after he had arrived at years of matur
ity was there united in marriage with Miss Julia
Ann Ellinwood, also a native of the Green Moun
tain State. They lived in the East until 1840,
and then sought a home in Illinois, taking up
their residence in Wayne Township, DuPage
County, Mr. Reed secured a claim and began
the development of a farm, upon which he lived
for about a year. He then removed to the farm
upon which his son now resides, and began to
clear and improve the same. Upon it he placed
many good improvements and made of it a val
uable and desirable home. He was very success
ful in his business dealings, acquiring a hand

some competency. He spent the last years of his
life on the old homestead, and passed away Feb
ruary 22, 1890, on his eighty-fourth birthday.
He was laid to rest in Wayne Cemetery, where a
neat and substantial monument has been erected
to his memory. His wife still survives him, and
is living on the old homestead with her son.
Charles Reed is the youngest son in the family
of seven children, all of whom grew to mature
years and became heads of families. He spent
his boyhood and youth in his parents' home and
early became familiar with all the duties of farm
life. He attended the district schools ofthe neigh
borhood, and his primary education was supple
mented by several years' attendance at the High
School of Turner. For several years prior to his
father's death, he had had charge of the farm, and
still has the management of the estate. The neat
and well-kept appearance of the place attests his
careful supervision, and the many improvements
seen thereon add both to its value and attractive
ness. On the 6th of June, 1893, Mr. Reed was united
in marriage with Miss Nellie Wagner, daughter
of Elias Wagner, and a native of DuPage County,
where her maidenhood days were passed. The
young couple are well and favorably known in
the community where they have so long resided.
In politics, Mr. Reed has been a supporter of the
Republican party since casting his first Presiden
tial vote for Rutherford B. Hayes. The honors
or emoluments of public office, however, have had
no attraction for him, he preferring to devote his
entire time and attention to his business interests,
in which he has been quite successful.

-S.

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(JOSEPH H. ROSS, an enterprising, and suc-
I cessful merchant of Wayne, is a native of the
G/ Empire State. He was born in Yates County,
on the 15th of October, 1843, and is a son of
Thomas Ross. The father was born and reared
in the same State, and after attaining to mature
years wedded Susan Plummer, a native of New
York. In 1844 he brought his family to Illinois,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i35

locating in Plato, Kane County, but the follow
ing year he entered land, to which he removed,
and began the development of a farm. He added
to his first purchase and made of it a desirable
place, but subsequently sold out and removed to
Elgin, where he lived retired for a number of
years. His death occurred in the winter of 1892.
His widow still survives him and is living in
Elgin with her daughter.
Mr. Ross whose name heads this record spent
his boyhood and youth in Kane County, and his
early education, acquired in the common schools,
was supplemented by three terms' attendance at
the Elgin Academy. He was then a student in
the Batavia Seminary for six months. When his
education was completed, he entered upon his bus
iness career and began to earn his own livelihood
by farming and dealing in stock. This pursuit
he followed until 1866, when he entered the em
ploy of M. W. Dunham, as traveling agent, be
ing thus engaged for about two years. He then
went abroad to purchase horses in France, and
also bought fine sheep in England.
In the fall of 1875 Mr. Ross was united in mar
riage with Ella Dunham, daughter of Daniel
Dunham, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this
work. A native of this county, her maidenhood
days were here passed, and her education was ac
quired in Wheaton College. They began their
domestic life upon a farm in DuPage County,
which Mr. Ross operated for eight years. In
1885 he spent nine months in Florida, in charge
of the business of a Florida land company. In
the winter of 1887 he erected a business house in
Wayne, and embarked in merchandising, which
he has carried on continuously since. He has a
full and complete stock of general merchandise,
and has built up a large trade, which yields to
him a good income. He also bought four acres
of land within the town and erected upon it a neat
and substantial residence.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Ross has been
blessed with two daughters, Mabel and Evelyn.
The family is highly respected and holds an envi
able position in social circles.
The Republican party finds in Mr. Ross a stal
wart supporter. He cast his first Presidential

vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864, has supported
each Presidential npminee of the party since, and
takes quite an active part in local politics. He
has served as Township Collector for two terms
and also as Constable, but has never been a poli
tician in the sense of office-seeking. He pos
sesses good business ability and the traits of char
acter which in this enterprising nineteenth cen
tury bring success. He has therefore prospered
and is now numbered among the substantial citi
zens ofthe community.

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0ANIEL DUNHAM, a farmer residing on
section 17, Wayne Township, is so well
known in DuPage County, that he needs
no special introduction to our readers. He came
to Illinois in 1835, and is numbered among the
pioneer settlers of this county of 1842. He was
born in Erie, County, N. Y., January 13, 1821,
and comes of an old family of English origin,
which in early Colonial days was founded in the
Empire State. The father of our subject, Solo
mon Dunham, was born in Saratoga County,
N. Y., in 1793, there grew to manhood, and in
1818 was married in Collins, Erie County, to
Lydia Ballard, a native of Vermont, who was
born and reared in Bennington, and was a daugh
ter of Nathaniel Ballard. Solomon Dunham was
a tanner and currier by trade, and followed that
in connection with farming for a number of years.
In 1835 he left the East, and with a team and
wagon brought his family to Illinois, locating in
Kane County, where he entered four hundred
acres of land. There he developed a nice farm
and reared his family. He was a man of good
education and excellent business ability. He un
derstood surveying, and did that line of work in
both Kane and DuPage Counties. He aided in
the organization of Kane County, which then em
braced De Kalb County, and was one of its first
County Commissioners. He was also one of the
first Assessors. He took quite an active part in
politics, and served as a delegate to both County
and State Conventions. His death occurred in

136

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

April, 1865, and his wife passed away in 1857.
Their remains were interred in Little Woods
Cemetery, where a neat marble monument has
been erected to their memory.
The Dunham family numbered the following
children: Betsy, deceased, wife of Ira Albro; Dan
iel, of this sketch; Harriet, wife of M. W. Fletch
er, of Kane County, who served as the first
County Clerk of that count)-; Cordelia, wife of
Peter Pratt; Jane, wife of Daniel Stearns; Julia,
who died at the age of sixteen; Helen, who be
came the second wife of Daniel Stearns; Emma,
widow of Robert Carswell, of Wayne Township;
and M. W., a breeder and dealer in imported
horses. The subject of ouf sketch was a lad of fourteen
when he came with his parents to Illinois, and he
was reared in Kane County. His education was
acquired in Mt. Morris Seminary, and after com
pleting his studies he returned to the farm. In
1842 he located upon the farm which has now
been his home for half a century. He first
bought three hundred acres, upon which not a
furrow had been turned or an improvement made, '
and he now owns a valuable and desirable prop
erty. The land is highly cultivated, there is a large
and substantial residence, and his very fine and '•
commodious barns and outbuildings were models :
of convenience, but were destroyed by fire, to- !
gether with their contents, excepting the horses,
on the night of October 8, 1893. For a number
of years Mr. Dunham engaged in the dairy busi
ness, and in 1870 he began dealing in Percheron
horses, which he has since been importing and
breeding. He is widely known as a dealer in
thorough-bred Percheron horses, and owns some
valuable ones.
In 1853 Mr. Dunham was married in DuPage
County to Olive K., a daughter of Edward Hath
away, one of the honored pioneers of this
county. She was born in Steuben County,
N. Y., spent seven years in St. Louis, and was
educated in that city and in Monticello, 111. Four
children have been born of this union: Ellen, wife
of J. H. Ross, a merchant of Wayne; Flora, wife of
C. P. Dewey, a banker of Toulon, 111.; Julia,
wife of Walter V. R. Powis, an editor and pub

lisher of Brooklyn, N. Y.; and May, wife of W.
J. Yoder, a civil engineer and railroad man.
Mr. Dunham proudly cast his first Presiden
tial vote for Martin Van Buren in 1842, and has
since supported each candidate of the Democratic
party. He has been elected and served for six
years as Supervisor of Wayne Township, and has
been a member of the County Board of Super
visors. He has spent almost his entire life in
this community, and has witnessed the growth
and development of the county, in whose . up
building he has taken a just pride and commend
able interest. His career has been a busy and
useful one, aud it has also been crowned with
success, his labors bringing him in a good in
come, which now numbers him among the sub
stantial citizens of the community.
(JOSEPH W. SMITH, deceased, was born in
I Cazenovia, Madison County, N. Y., April
(2/ 30, 1 8 12, and was a son of Spencer and Sarah
(Williams) Smith. The father was a native of
New York, and of Scotch and Welsh descent.
His birth occurred September 28, 1781, and
throughout his business career he followed farm
ing in the Empire State. He died near Roches
ter, N. Y., when in the prime of life. His wife
survived him many years. She was a native of
Vermont, and was of English lineage. Born
July 4, 1780, she passed away April 26, 1863, at
the age of eighty-two years and ten months.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith were members of the
Congregational Church. The maternal grand
father, Joseph Williams, was a hero of the Revo
lution and died in Cazenovia, when almost one
hundred years of age.
The subject of this sketch was quite young
when his father died, and he was reared by his
grandfather Williams. His education was ac
quired in the public schools, and when a young
man he learned the cooper's trade, and after
ward that of blacksmithing. On the 22d of
October, 1833, he married Miss Eliza Ann, a
daughter of Moses and Hannah (Kinney) Lewis,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i37

natives of New York. When her grandfather
was a boy, his people removed to Galloway,
where his parents died when he was quite young.
He was then taken by a neighbor and put to
work, but, being mistreated, he ran away and
commenced working for a man who built a very
large house and owned an extensive farm. Of
this property Mr. Lewis, as the result of his in
dustry, eventually became owner. Five children
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Spencer D.
married Sarah Battles, who died about 1874,
leaving two children: Sadie L- and Pearl V.
Frances is the wife of D. C. Stanley, of Downer's
Grove, and they have four daughters: Cora Lil
lian, Bertha Irene, Allie Adele and Del Capron.
Maria H. and Lewis M. are both deceased. Al
lie A., who completes the family, is the wife of W.
W. Gokey, of. Turner, who is a passenger con
ductor on the Galena Division of the Northwest
ern Railroad. Three children have been born
unto them: Josie S., Spencer and Theresa C.
From New York Mr. Smith removed to Ma
rengo, where he made his home for two years,
going then to Albion, Mich., where he spent a
number of years. During that time he served as
Sheriff of the county for one term. His next
place of residence was in Jackson, Mich., where
he spent about a year and a-half, when he re
turned to Albion. After a short time, however,
he went to Michigan City, where he had charge
of the railroad shops. The year 1858 witnessed
his arrival in Turner. He worked in the shops
of this place until the breaking out of the war,
when, in 1864, he enlisted in the one hundred
days' service, but continued with the boys in blue
for eight months.
After the war Mr. Smith worked in the railroad
shops at Belvidere for a year, his family, how
ever, remaining in Turner, where he then joined
them. For a short time he was employed in a
rolling-mill. In 1872 he was appointed Postmas
ter, and served for about thirteen years. While
in that position he went to Ft. Atkinson on a
visit, and when there died from apoplexy, Sep
tember 9, 1884, at the age of seventy-two. He
was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in pol

itics was a stanch Republican. He was always
found true to every trust reposed in him, and
wherever he went he gained the high regard of
all with whom business or social relations
brought him in contact. His death was deeply
regretted by many friends outside of his immedi
ate family. Mrs. Smith was born June 19, 181 2,
and is still living at the age of eighty-one. She
makes her home in Turner, where she has a
good residence, and where she is surrounded by
many friends and acquaintances. Her father,
Moses Lewis, was for many years a member of
the Masonic fraternity, and attained the Royal
Arch degree. Mrs. Smith still has in her pos
session the apron of that degree which was
worn by her father, and it is now upward of one
hundred years old.

I^r^ll^

6| LBERT H. WIANT is the Circuit Clerk of
/l DuPage County, is popular as a politician,
/ | and is a resident of Turner. His father, one
of the earliest pioneers of the county, served in
the Union cause during the Civil War, and has
been actively connected with the upbuilding of
Turner Junction. The birth of our subject oc
curred in Wayne, DuPage County, 111., Decem
ber 2, 1 841.
Joel and Rhoda Wiant, the parents of our sub
ject, were both natives of Pennsylvania, and
were numbered among the early settlers of this
county, to which they came at an early day.
The father is still living in Wayne Township,
and is now more than eighty years of age. His
wife died many years ago, leaving two sons and
two daughters, namely: Albert H.; Thomas; Ju
lia, now Mrs. Chandler, of Turner; and Alice,
wife of Edgar Stephens, also a resident of the
same place.
Albert H. Wiant grew to manhood on his
father's pioneer farm in Wayne Township, where
he was born. He had the advantages of the com
mon schools, in addition to which he was for a
while enrolled as a student of Wheaton College.
His studies, however, were interrupted by the

138

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

war, and he responded to the call for volunteers,
in July, 1862, going to the defense of the Old
Flag, and being mustered into Company B, One
Hundred and Fifth Illinois Infantry, on the 2d of
September of that year, at Dixon. This company
was raised in DuPage County, and was enlisted
for a period of three years, or until the close of
the war. After being drilled at Dixon, they were
sent to Camp Douglas, and thence to the front
of battle. After participating in the engagement
at Resaca, they were sent on the Atlanta cam
paign with Sherman, and then to the sea. Our
subject was present at the grand Military Review
in Washington, and was mustered out in the
Capitol City on the 7th of June, 1865.
On his return from southern battle-fields to his
home in Turner, Mr. Wiant, in company with
his brother, engaged in general merchandising in
that place, and continued successfully employed
for thirteen years. For a short time before the
war, he had been in the same business with his
father in Turner, and it was then that he ac
quired a practical knowledge of business methods.
Under Gen. Grant's first administration, he was
appointed Postmaster of Turner, but his time be
ing fully occupied with his business affairs, he re
signed in favor of one of his comrades in the war,
Joseph Smith. President Hayes also bestowed
honor upon him by appointing him to the posi
tion of United States Gauger. He has held other
important positions of honor and trust, and has
always proved a thoroughly responsible and satis
factory officer. In 1888 he was elected to the
office of Circuit Clerk, in which capacity he has
efficiently served ever since, being re-elected in
1892. In 1871 Mr. Wiant married Miss Ella Haffey,
of Turner, and by their union has been born one
child, Lester A., who is his father's assistant in
the office of Circuit Clerk. Fraternally, our sub
ject is a member of the Grand Army of the Re
public, and helped to organize the first post in
DuPage County, it being known as Turner Post
No. 301, and the charter being granted by John
M. Palmer. Our subject belongs to Turner
Chapter, and to Bethel Commandery, of El
gin. He is the owner of a small subdivision of

Turner, and resides on a piece of that property.
He is well and favorably known in Masonic and
Grand Army circles, and is ver)' popular in the
various walks of life. He is recognized as a man
of unbiased integrity and honor, and has always
had deeply at heart the prosperity of his city.

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HON. F. H. MATHER is well known to the
citizens of Du Page County, being one ofthe
early settlers of Milton Township, where he
located in May, 1852. He is now living a re
tired life in Wheaton, enjoying the rest which he
has so truly earned and richly deserves. He was
born in Benson, Rutland County, Vt. , and is of
English lineage, being descended from one of
three brothers who came to America from Eng
land in early Colonial days, and settled in Boston,
Mass. One of his ancestors was in the famous
Boston ' 'Tea Party . ' ' The grandfather of our sub-
ject lived and died in Connecticut. His father,
Demos Mather, was born in Sharon, Conn., and
after his marriage removed to Benson, Vt. He
was a blacksmith by trade, and also engaged in
farming, owning two hundred acres of good land.
His wife, who bore the maiden name of Louisa
Maxam, was also born in the Nutmeg State. By
this union they became the parents of ten children,
six of whom grew to manhood and womanhood.
George, who was a mechanic, died in the Green
Mountain State at the age of seventy-seven years.
Ira N. , a farmer of De Kalb County, 111., died at
the age of seventy-six. The others who reached
mature years are Cynthia Ann, Frederick H.,
Laura and Cornelia.
Mr. Mather whose name heads this record was
born March 17, 1819, and his early days were
passed in Vermont, where he acquired such edu
cation as the common schools afforded. He was
reared to manhood upon the home farm, but when
about twenty-one years of age, his health failed
him, and he started westward with the hope that
a change might prove beneficial. In 1841, he ar
rived in DuPage County, where he spent the
summer, returning to the Green Mountain State

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

139

in the succeeding autumn. He was married May
23, 1842, to Miss Rhoda E. Mecham, of Rutland
County, Vt., a daughter of David and Rhoda
(Parkhill) Mecham, the former a native of Will
iamstown, Mass., and the latter of Vermont. Her
paternal grandfather was one of the heroes of the
Revolutionary War. Her father was injured by
runaway horses, and therefore could not enlist.
Upon returning to DuPage County with his
bride, Mr. Mather purchased a farm of eighty-
acres of prairie land and eight acres of timber in
• Milton Township. There he lived in true pioneer
style, experiencing all the privations and hard
ships of the frontier. He broke the sod with oxen,
also hauled his farm products to market in that
way, and took his bride buggy-riding behind a
yoke of bovines. His first crop, consisting of
wheat and oats, was raised in 1843. The follow
ing year he raised one hundred bushels of wheat
on a three-acre tract of land. His industrious
and indefatigable labors brought to Mr. Mather
prosperity as the years advanced, and he is now
one ofthe affluent citizens ofthe community.
His fellow-citizens, recognizing his worth and
ability, have frequently called upon our subject to
serve in official positions. For three successive
years he was Supervisor, and in i860 was elected
to the State Legislature on the Republican ticket,
having the distinction of being the first Republi
can Legislator in the Illinois House from DuPage
County. He introduced the bill into the House
which chartered Wheaton College with twenty-
one members. Before that time the school was
known as the Illinois Institute. Mr. Mather was
elected Trustee of the college at the time of its
organization. His first term expired in 1865, and
he was re-elected in 1865, 1875 and 1885, for
terms of ten years each. He was very active in
restoring Wheaton College, or, in other- words,
building it up from the ruins of the Illinois Insti
tute, and is now justly proud that the school is
established on a firm financial basis. In an extra
session ofthe Legislature in May, 1861, Mr. Ma
ther aided in passing many needed war measures.
He has ever been prominent in the promotion of
interests calculated to prove of public benefit, and
may take just pride in the fact that Illinois has

become one of the foremost States in the Union,
with a metropolis which is classed among the
largest cities on the globe, and which has been
built up within his own recollection.
For a number of years Mr. Mather was engaged
in wool-buying and in raising sheep for wool. He
also dealt quite extensively in hogs and cattle,
and is well known throughout the country as a
stock-dealer. At one time he owned seven hun
dred and fifty acres of land, and still has five hun
dred and thirty-five acres. In 1872, he was made
general manager for the Sweet & Childs Ranch,
cf which he remained in charge one year. Mr.
Mather bought wool in Colorado Springs and
Pueblo, Colo., and in New Mexico for several
years. He is a man of most excellent business
and executive ability, and has therefore won a
high degree of success in his undertakings. Hon
orable and upright in all things, his word is as
good as his bond. He is generous to a fault,
charitable and warm-hearted, and it is therefore
not strange that he is surrounded by a host of
warm friends. The county owes to him a debt of
gratitude for the part he has played in its upbuild
ing. His name is inseparably connected with its
history, and this sketch deserves an honored place
in The Record.

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PjANIEL STIRES WARNE, one of the hon
ored pioneers of the county, who now resides
on section 29, Winfield Township, is a na
tive of Mansfield, N. J. He was born December
8, 1820, and when a lad of twelve summers went
with his parents to Michigan. In 1834, he came
with the family to DuPage County, where he has
since made, his home. His educational privileges
were limited. He attended a subscription school
held in a log house, but is almost entirely self-
educated. On starting out in life for himself, he
purchased ninety acres of land on section 29, Win
field Township, for $250, and erected a small frame
house. He then purchased a pair of oxen for
$64, and began the development of a farm. He
labored early and late, and as the years passed,

140

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

acre after acre of his land was placed under the
plow, and in course of time yielded to him a good
income. Upon his first farm, Mr. Warne made his home
until 1880, when he removed to his present farm.
It is one of the finest improved places in the town
ship, and, together with his son, he owns six hun
dred and forty-five acres of valuable land. At
present he is living retired from active business, yet
although he is now seventy -two years of age, he
can do a day's work almost aswell as a man in
his prime. He has many interesting stories to
tell of pioneer life aud his exploits with the In
dians here in an early day. He has hauled many
a load of grain to Chicago, and can remember
Naperville when it contained only two log cabins,
while the towns of Turner and Warrenville had
not yet sprung into existence. There was not a
woman living in Aurora, and only three men.
On the 7th of February, 1849, Mr. Warne wed
ded Miss Hannah Bartholomew, a daughter of
Thomas and Sophia (Jones) Bartholomew, anda
native of Washington County, N. Y. They be
came parents of two children : Sarah, wife of Ed
ward McFerrin, a farmer of Winfield Township,
by whom she has three children, Leslie, La Fay
ette and Daniel ; and Samuel H. , who has charge
of his father's business interests. He married
Nettie Bartholomew, and they have had three
children, Johnnie, Grace and Sena. The two lat
ter died of diphtheria, after a few days' sickness,
in November, 1893.
In accordance with his views on the temperance
question, Mr. Warne votes with the Prohibition
party. He gives his support to all public enter
prises, and has been a worthy and valued citizen
since the early day in which he came to DuPage
County. He is not only an honored pioneer, but
is also a self-made man, whose success has been
achieved through his own efforts, for he started
out in life empty-handed and has worked his way
upward by perseverance and industry, overcom
ing all the obstacles in his path by good manage
ment. In 1878, Mr. Warne took a trip across the
Atlantic, visited the Exposition in Paris, and
traveled through Belgium, France and England.
He pleasantly spent a number of weeks in this

way, and saw many interesting places and people,
but he returned still well pleased with America and
DuPage County, for.the home where he has so
long resided is dear to him and he cares for no
other.
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r~REDERICK MARQUARDT, who is now
r^ engaged in the real-estate business in Lom-
| bard, is a native of Germany, born in Han
over November 4, 1839. His paternal grand--
father, Henry Marquardt, came to America in
1845, and died in DuPage County, about 1847,
when seventy years of age. Throughout his life
he followed farming, and had a family of two sons
and two daughters,^.. The maternal grandfather
spent his entire life in Germany. The parents of
our subject, Henry and Sophia (Weber) Mar
quardt, were also natives of Germany, and the
father was an agriculturist. Crossing the Atlan
tic, he landed in America on the 18th of August,
1845, and, coming West, located in Bloomingdale
Township, DuPage County, where he purchased
a farm of eighty acres, to which he added, un
til at the time of his death he had five hundred
and fifteen acres, which he gave to his children.
He passed away in 1879, at the age of sixty-six
years. His wife survived him until 1892, and was
called to her final rest at the age of eighty-seven.
They were members of the Lutheran Church.
Their family numbered six children, five sons and
a daughter: Frederick, Henry, William, Herman,
Louis, and Sophia, who is now the wife of Henry
Tonne. Mr. Marquardt whose name heads this record
was a lad of only six summers when his parents
crossed the Atlantic to America, and upon his
father's farm in DuPage County he was reared
to manhood. He acquired a good English edu
cation in the common schools and remained under
the parental roof until he had attained his major
ity. When he had reached man's estate his
father aided him to make a start in life, and he
continued farming on his own account until 1880,
when he abandoned that pursuit to enter commer
cial circles. He was then engaged in general

Portrait and biographical record.

i4i

merchandising at Lombard from 1880 until the
Spring of 1893, when he became a dealer in real
estate. On the 5th of June, 1874, Mr. Marquardt was
united in marriage with Miss Louisa Knigge, a
daughter of Frederick and Mary (Knust) Knigge.
Six children graced this union, three sons and
three daughters, namely: Clara, Julius, Paul
ina, Theodore, Alma and Frederick. Julius and
Paulina are now deceased. The parents are both
members of the Lutheran Church.
In politics, Mr. Marquardt is a supporter of
Democratic principles and he has been honored
by election to office. He was Supervisor of York
'Township, filling the office for four years, and at
the present time is Commissioner of Highways.
He now owns one hundred and sixty acres of good
land in Bloomingdale Township, which yields a
good income, besides considerable property in
Lombard. His life has been well and worthily
spent, and he has the high regard of all who
know him.

EHARLES HEMENWAY, who is engaged in
general fanning bn section 22, Wayne Town
ship, well deserves mention among the hon
ored pioneers of the county, for he here located in
1836, and has been prominently identified with
the growth and development of the community
since that time. He has watched with interest
the progress and advancement ofthe county, and
has ever borne his part in promoting its best in
terests. Mr. Hemenway was born in Williamsburg,
Hampshire County, Mass., May 12, 1815, and is a
son of Elijah and Ann (Budlong) Hemenway, the
former a native of Massachusetts, and the latter of
the Empire State. The father was born in 1781,
•and was a farmer in his native State. In Sep
tember, 1836, he emigrated westward and joined
his son in DuPage County, where he spent the
lastyears of his life, dying in 1863, at the ad
vanced age of eighty-one years. His wife passed
away in August, i860, and they lie buried in

Wayne Cemetery, where a marble slab has been
erected to their memory. The grandfather, Ich-
abod Hemenway, was a Revolutionary hero and
served in the battle of Saratoga. Upon the old
home farm in this county, Gen Scott camped with
his army in the Black Hawk War, and several
soldiers are buried at this place.
Mr. Hemenway whose name heads this record
was reared in the State of his nativity. He is
one of a family of two sons and two daughters,
all of whom grew to mature years, though he is
now the only survivor. His educational privi
leges were those afforded by the common schools.
When a young man he came to the West, in 1 836,
and cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Du
Page County, where he made a claim, purchasing
it of the Government when the land came into
market. It was a tract of one hundred and sixty
acres, and with characteristic energy he began to
plow and plant the same, transforming it into a
good farm. From time to time he has made
other purchases. On coming West, he did his
trading at Chicago, then a town of about four
thousand inhabitants. He had many hardships
and difficulties to overcome, yet he has been one
of the successful farmers of the county, and now
owns one hundred and eight acres of valuable
land, which yields to him a good income. The
rest of his property he has sold, as he did not wish
to have the care of so much land.
On the 3d of July, 1844, Mr. Hemenway mar
ried Miss Lucy W. Fay, a native of Massachusetts,
who when thirteen years of age went to Wiscon
sin. After one season spent in Racine, she came
to Illinois. Mrs. Hemenway died March 6, 1864,
and was interred in Wayne Cemetery, where a
marble slab marks her last resting-place. She
was a lady of superior intelligence, highly edu
cated, and for some time prior to her maniage
successfully engaged in teaching. Her loss was
deeply mourned throughout the community. Nine
children were born unto them: Charles, who is
married and follows farming in Antelope County,
Neb. ; Prescott, who is also a farmer of the same
county; MayhewM., an agriculturist of Nebraska;
Eda L. , a teacher and farmer of Orchard, Neb.;
Martha, wife of M. V. Switzer, a farmer of Ante-

142

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lope County, Neb.: Mary, wife of Dudley Tay
lor, also a farmer of Nebraska; and the three
deceased: Horace, who died at the age of twenty-
one; Franklin, who died at the age of three; and
Clara, who died in infancy.
Mr. Hemenway was again married, in Decem
ber, 1867, his second union being with Mrs. Julia
Mitcheson, a native of England, and the only
daughter of Thomas Copeland, a wealthy gentle
man of Barton, Lincolnshire, England. She was
there reared and educated, and became the wife
of William Mitcheson, who crossed the Atlantic
to America, locating first in Rochester, N. Y.,
whence he went to Aurora, 111., where his
death occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Mitcheson had
five children, but only one is now living, Robert,
who carries on the Hemenway farm. By the
second union has been born a daughter, Lucy,
wife of George Judd, of Elgin, 111. , an intelligent
and cultured lady.
Mr. Hemenway was formerly an old-line Whig
but joined the Republican party on its organiza
tion, and has supported each Presidential candi
date. He takes a warm interest in the cause of
education and is a stanch supporter of the public
schools, for which he has done effective service
while a member of the School Board. He and
his wife are members of the Congregational
Church, and are prominent in religious and be
nevolent work. Mr. Hemenway has witnessed
the development of the county for fifty-seven
years and has helped to make it what it is to-day,
one of the best in the great State of Illinois. He
is a man of tried integrity and uprightness of
character, and he and his estimable wife are held
in high regard.
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I EONARD EDWIN De WOLF, attorney-at-
I C law and Justice of the Peace, of Wheaton,
122/ was born in Towanda, Bradford County, Pa. ,
March 18, 1840, and is a son of Lyman E. and
Matilda (Pratt) DeWolf. In an early day the
family removed to Chicago, by way of the Great
Lakes and Erie Canal. The father was an attor

ney, who in later years became well known as a
chancery lawyer, and was engaged on the cele
brated Farm Mortgage Cases against the Racine
& Mississippi Railroad Company, so well known
among the early settlers of Northern Illinois.
His clear perception and fine legal mind, com
bined with rare faculties as a writer, fitted him
admirably for his sphere in life. Although : they
have never been largely circulated, his works on
the Great Western Railroad cases and finance are
of great merit. Mr. DeWolf was well known to
the residents of Wheaton, having lived in this
city many years prior to his death, although he
was living iri Chicago at the time of his demise, in
1889, at the age of seventy-four years. Mrs.
DeWolf passed away in Chicago in 1891^ at the
age of seventy-one. Unto them were born eight
children, five of whom grew to mature years.
William W., who is the eldest, married Charlotte
Waite, and is living in Wheaton; Leonard E.
is the next younger; Olive M. , who is the widow
of Hanson Tiffany, who died on his ranch in
Kansas, is now living in Chicago; Francis L- is a
clerk in the mailing department of the Chicago
postoffice; and Julia A. is the wife of Matthew
Jack, a merchant of Chicago.
Leonard DeWolf attended the public schools of
the Keystone State in his early life, and also was
a student in the public schools of Chicago, and in
a private school kept by ex -Sheriff Mann. He
came to Wheaton with his parents on his four
teenth birthday, and attended the academical de
partment of Wheaton College. Subsequently, he
Was engaged in teaching, being employed as
teacher in the High School of Mt. Carroll, 111. ,
during the winter of 1859-60. It was his in
tention to enter Yale or Harvard College, but
when the war broke out he abandoned his cher
ished plan, and became one of the volunteers of
1 86 1, enlisting in McAllister's Battery in the
three-months service. Being taken sick with
malarial fever, he was sent home, and after his
recovery that fall he re-engaged in teaching in
Carroll County. In August, 1862, Mr. DeWolf
again entered the service, as a member of Com
pany F, One Hundred and Fifth Illinois Infantry.
He participated in the attempt to surround Mor-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i43

gan in Kentucky, and in the engagement was
wounded, having his right leg broken by a
clubbed musket. He was then taken to the hos
pital and discharged on account of physical dis
ability from the injury received in the service.
Returning home, Mr. DeWolf engaged in the
study of law with Judge Knowlton Jameson and
his father. He had to support himself by doing
clerical work during this time. This, together
with the wound received in the army, impaired
his health so that he was obliged to seek outdoor
employment. He therefore engaged in carpenter
work until 1878, when he was admitted to the
Bar, and began practice in Wheaton, forming a
partnership with E. J. Hill, author of "Hill's
Digest. ' ' Subsequently, he formed a partnership
with W. G. Smith, and in 1882 entered the firm
of DeWolf, Miller & DeWolf, of Chicago, prac
ticing in that city until 1889. He was on the
1 ' artesian-well murder case," in which he cleared
the defendant; and he also successfully conducted
the case for the plaintiff in " Zang vs. the Illinois
Central Railroad Company," with Chief Justice
Fuller acting for the defendants. He enjoyed a
very good practice, but his health gave way again,
and he was obliged to give up office work. For
the past three years he has spent the winter either
in Louisiana or Florida.
Mr. DeWolf was married in 1862, to Miss
Wealthy A. Wait, of Wheaton, a native of Rut
land County, Vt. Their union has been blessed
with five sons. Oliver C, who married Emma
Murray, and was constructionist for the Chicago
& Northwestern Railroad Company, died in 1891;
Willis R. is also in the employ of the railroad;
Francis L. is in the Freight Auditor's office of
the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad; Joseph
P. is engaged in the grocery business in Chi
cago, with the firm of Wait & Co.. ; aud Hartley
is at home.
Mr. and Mrs. DeWolf hold membership with
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. De-
Wolf belongs to E. S. Kelley Post No. 513, G.
A. R., of Wheaton; and also to the United Broth
erhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
His first election to the office of Justice of the
Peace occurred in 1866, and was for a four-years

term. In 1878 he was elected on a petition
signed by sixty citizens of Wheaton and vicinity,
and served for eight years. Following that he
engaged as finishing carpenter for S. D. Welden,
contractor and builder, but in the spring of 1893,
while he was still in Florida, he was again
elected Justice of the Peace. His frequent re-
elections bespeak his popularity and the confi
dence placed in him, while his long-continued
service tells of faithful perfoimance of duty. The
trust reposed in him has never been betrayed, and
the esteem in which Mr. DeWolf is held is justly
merited. f====Si=S'^H^'P=!S:=5=l
(TOHN M. ROHR is a member of the firm of
I Springer & Rohr, general merchants of Tur-
(2/ ner. These gentlemen are well-known busi
ness men ofthe community, and are doing a good
business, which adds not only to their own pros
perity, but is of material benefit to the town.
They carry a good stock and have a first-class
establishment, which receives from the public a
liberal patronage. Mr. Rohr, who is a native of
Baden, Germany, was born May 2, 1848, and
is a son of John M. and Mary (Zimpfer) Rohr,
also natives of the same country. Their chil
dren, three . sons and four daughters, were as fol
lows: Dora, John M., Jacob, Mary, Sarah, Char
ley, and a daughter, deceased. The father was a
cooper by trade, and followed that business in
early life, but afterward became a gold-washer.
He crossed the broad Atlantic in 1882, locating in
Plainfield, 111. Subsequently he came to Turner,
and his death here occurred in 1892, at the age of
seventy-seven years. His wife was called to her
final rest in 1879. They were members of the
Evangelical Church. The paternal grandfather,
Jacob Rohr, died in Germany at the age of ninety-
one years. The maternal grandfather was a Ger
man weaver, and also reached an advanced age.
The subject of this sketch, having crossed the
Atlantic to America, came to Turner in the fall
of 1 87 1, and worked for the Northwestern Rail
road Company for more than twenty-one years,

144

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ten years ofwhich time he was on the road as an
engineer. He was a young man of twenty-three
when he crossed the Atlantic, and hence almost his
entire business career has been connected with this
community. While in his native land he served
in the German army, and was in the Franco-
Prussian War from 1870 until 1871. In 1869,
he was made a Corporal, and served as such until
the close of his term.
On the ist of November, 1874, was celebrated
the marriage of Mr. Rohr and Miss Christina
Stauffer, daughter of Jacob and Christina Stauf
fer. Four children have been born unto them,
three sons and a daughter: Frederick, Caroline,
Wilhelm and Charles. The parents are both
members of the Evangelical Church.
Mr. Rohr is a member of the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers, and also of the Indepen
dent Order of Odd Fellows. In his political be
lief, he is a Republican, having supported that
party since becoming an American citizen. Fre
quently he has been called upon to fill positions
of public trust, having served for three terms on
the Village Board and two terms on the Board of
Education. He possesses good business and ex
ecutive ability, and during his residence in this
country has prospered, becoming one of the well-
to-do citizens of Turner, where in addition to his
store he owns his home and other property.

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r~RANK WHITTON, who is proprietor ofa
r?) meat-market in Turner, is a worthy repre-
| sentative of the English community which
helps to make up the enterprising little town.
He was born in Devonshire, England, January
30, 1839, and is a son of Henry T. and' Nancy
(Glanville) Whitton, whose family numbered four
sons and two daughters, all yet living, namely:
John, Edward W. , Frank, Mary Ann, Emma and
Henry. The father was a sturdy farmer, and
died in England in 1876. His wife, who was a
member of the Episcopal Church, passed away
about 1850. The paternal grandfather was a
Captain in the regular army, and lived to an ad

vanced age. The maternal grandfather, John
Glanville, followed farming in England, where he
died at about the age cf sixty-five.
Frank Whitton whose name heads this record
spent his boyhood days midst play and work on
his father's farm, and through the winter season
attended the common schools, where he acquired
a good English education. His summer months
were devoted to the labors ofthe field. In 1858,
at the age of nineteen years, he bade adieu to
home and friends, and left his native land for
America. He had no capital save a young man's
bright hope of the future and a determination to
win success.
Mr. Whitton located in Winfield Township,
DuPage County, where he has since made his
home, with the exception of two years spent in
Batavia. For the first two years after his arrival,
he worked by the month as a farm hand, and
then rented land until he could acquire enough
capital to purchase. In 1864, as before stated, he
went to Batavia, where he spent two years. On
the expiration of that period, he came to Turner,
and opened a meat-market, which he has since
conducted with good success, enjoying a fair trade,
which has constantly increased from the begin
ning, and which now yields a good income.
On the 23d of February, 1864, Mr. Whitton
was united in marriage with Miss Mary Ellen
Lindley, daughter of James and Eleanor (Court)
Lindley, who were both born in Sheffield, Eng
land, as was also Mrs. Whitton. They have had
born to them a family of four children, three sons
and a daughter: Frank H., Fred L-, Eleanor
May, all now living, and one who died in infancy.
Mrs. Whitton is a member of the Congregational
Church. They have a pleasant home in Turner,
which is the property of Mr. Whitton, who also
owns other residences here. In politics, our sub
ject is a supporter of Democratic principles. He
has served as Township Collector one term, was
a member of the Village Board of Trustees for
about twelve terms, and acted as its President for
one term. In the various public offices he has
been called upon to fill, he has discharged his
duties in a manner that has won for him the com
mendation of all concerned, and led to his fre-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

H5

quent re-elections. Such is the life record of a
self-made man, whose indefatigable labors have
won for him success in life and gained for him a
comfortable home.
§  *  ¦¦— sT^T^Cj s  a
NON. LUTHER L. HIATT is engaged in
the drug business in Wheaton and is one of
the most prominent and enterprising busi
ness men of the place. He has carried on opera
tions along this line since May, 1859, and deals
extensively in drugs, toilet articles, medicines,
paints, oils and everything found in a first-class
establishment of the kind. Wheaton could ill af
ford to lose so valuable a citizen, for the best in
terests Of the place have ever found in him a
friend. Mr. Hiatt was born in Henry County, Ind.,"
August 2, 1844, and at the age of fourteen came
to DuPage County with his parents, Dr. A. H.
and Mary Ann (Bowman) Hiatt. The father is
now seventy years of age and is practicing his
chosen profession in Chicago. For a long time
he was one of the leading physicians of Wheaton,
and perhaps no man was better or more favorably-
known in DuPage County than he. His wife is
still living at the age of sixty-four. They were the
parents of eleven children, seven ofwhom are yet
living: Luther L.; Martha A., wife of George F.
Cram, of Chicago; Felicia H., wife of E. H. Scott,
of Chicago; Casper W., pastor of the First Con
gregational Church of Peoria, 111.; Jessie F.,
widow of Dr. Milton F. Coe, who died in Chicago;
Lucius M., a musician and music-dealer of Whea
ton; and Alfred H., who is Principal of schools at
Dallas City, 111. The four now deceased were:
Levi Chalmers, who died at the age of six years;
Achsa, who died in infancy; Charles Von Linne-
aris, who died in 1863, at the age of twelve; and
Evangeline, who became the wife of E. A. Berge,
of Toulon, 111., and died, leaving a son Edward,
aged twelve years.
In his youth Dr. Hiatt was a "Hoosier School
boy." He also attended the Quaker School -in
Westfield, Hamilton County, Ind. His father

was a scholarly man, and was identified with the
Methodist Episcopal Church, being well known
as a Methodist preacher, a scientist and practic
ing physician. In May, 1859, on account of the
educational advantages afforded in Wheaton, he
removed his family to this place and entered upon
the practice of his profession. At the same time
he bought out the drug store owned by Dr.
Lowry, then the principal practicing physician of
the place.
Luther L- Hiatt entered Wheaton College,
where he continued his studies until 1862, when,
like many another young man, he left the school
room for the battlefield. Enlisting as a member
of Company F, One Hundred and Fifth Illinois
Infantry, he was mustered into service at Chicago
and served mostly in the Army of the West, un
der Gens. Thomas and Sherman. He was de
tailed as prescription clerk in the medical depart
ment ofthe regiment, and for some time occupied
the' same position with the brigade. After the
battle of Resaca, which was his first engagement,
he was left in charge of eleven hundred wounded
soldiers. He participated in the memorable
march with Sherman to the sea, took part in the
siege of Richmond, and was in the Grand Review
in Washington at the close of the war. He was
mustered out in the Capitol City, June 7, 1865,
and received his discharge in Chicago when not
quite twenty-one years of age.
At the close of the war Mr. Hiatt returned to
the drug business, which he had learned in his
father's store. He was married October 4, 1865,
to Miss Statira E. Jewett, of Saratoga, N. Y.,
and unto them have been born four children.
Truman L-, the eldest, died in infancy. Linneaus
L- is in the freight office of the Chicago & North
western Railroad Company. at Chicago. Charles
M. is assistant pharmacist in his father's store;
and Luther J. is still attending school.
Mr. Hiatt is a wide-awake and energetic busi
ness man, and is most highly esteemed where he
is best known. He is now doing a good business,
and his success is due to his integrity, fair deal
ing and close attention to details. Mr. Hiatt is
quite prominent in political and Grand Army cir
cles. He is a stalwart Republican, and is a char-

146

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ter member of E. S. Kelley Post No. 513, G. A. R.,
of Wheaton, of which he is now Commander.
His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. He has been elected to a number of of-
fical positions, and served as Justice of the Peace
and Police Magistrate for eighteen years. He
was also appointed by President Hayes as Post
master, and filled that position for one term. Mr.
Hiatt was elected to the Thirty-third and Thirty-
fourth Assemblies, and was one of the invincible
one hundred and three who voted for Logan. From
1890 until 1892 inclusive he was Trustee of the
Elgin Insane Hospital, but was removed by Gov.
Altgeld, who requested him to resign. Mr. Hiatt
did not accede to this request, because he believed
that the hospital should have no connection with
political affairs or partisan measures, but the
Governor made it a question of politics, and in
consequence removed Mr. Hiatt from that posi
tion. In all of his public and official duties, our
subject has been prompt and faithful and has won
the high commendation and regard of all parties.
He is well known throughout the State, and a life
of uprightness has won him unbounded confi
dence. •3<"?">[P " a

r~ E. MATHER, one of the prominent and
Tri highly respected citizens of Wheaton, occu-
| pies a position as foreman with the David
Bradley Manufacturing Company, of Chicago.
He is a thorough-going business man, and his
connection with the above company has continued
for many years. Located within forty-five min
utes' ride of the great metropolis, Wheaton has
many men who go down to the city every day in
the pursuance of their business.
Mr. Mather was born in Washington County,
N. Y., March 18, 1842. His father, George W.
Mather, was born on the 27th of August, 1805,
in Benson, Rutland County, Vt. The grand
father, Dennis Mather, was a native of Sharon,
Conn, He followed farming through much of
his life, and also carried on a blacksmith-shop.
After attaining to mature years, George W.
Mather was united in marriage with Elvira War

ren, who belonged to the same family as Gen.
Warren, who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill.
Her grandfather, Col. Gideon Warren, was a
brother of the General, and was at the battle of
Ticonderoga with Ethan Allen. The family
therefore was well represented in the struggle for
independence. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs.
Mather was celebrated in Washington County,
N. Y., and they became the parents of seven chil
dren. Elvira is the wife of George Porter, of
Providence, R. I.; Louisa became the wife of
Hoyt Beeman, of Chicago, and died, leaving
four children; Clarinda died at the age of five
years; Warren, who enlisted in the Sixth Ver
mont Infantry, was wounded while in the service,
and died in the hospital at Baltimore; Asa, who
entered the service as a private of the Sixth Ver
mont Infantry, and was mustered out as First
Lieutenant, married Miss Elmira Wilson, and is
now a farmer of Perry County, Pa.; and Emmett,
who served in the First Vermont Cavalry, wedded
Caroline Naramore, of the Green Mountain State,
and is now engaged in mining in Norris, Mont.
Fred Mather, who completes the family, spent
the first five years of his life in the county of his
nativity, and then accompanied his parents on
their return to Rutland County, Vt. At the age
of twelve he came to Wheaton to live with his
uncle, F. H. Mather, whose sketch appears else
where in this work. He attended the Wheaton
public schools, also the Wheaton College, at that
time called the Illinois Institute. When his edu
cation was completed, and he had arrived at man's
estate, he was married, on the 25th of March,
1863, to Miss Mary Jane Hadley. During the
six succeeding years, he operated the farm of his
uncle, after which he engaged with Frank Stur
gis & Co. , now the Chicago Stamping Company,
as foreman, serving in that capacity for seven
years. He was next employed with the Wilson
Packing Company, of Chicago, for two years,
and then formed a business connection with the
Chicago Meat Preserving Company, which con
tinued one year. On the expiration of that
period he engaged with the Furst & Bradley
Manufacturing Company, and is now assistant
superintendent of the plow factory, with three

George W. Brown.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

149

departments under his supervision. For the past
fifteen years he has been connected with this
firm, proving an efficient and trusted employe.
In 1873, Mr. Mather was called upon to mourn
the loss of his wife, who died on the 19th of
March, leaving a son, Hiram L., who is now
twenty years of age. On the 2 2d of January,
1876, Mr. Mather married Mrs. Elizabeth Brook-
ins, widow of William A. Brookins, of Centralia,
111. By her first marriage she had four children,
two yet living : Charles W., who is engaged in
business in Evanston; and Alice, wife of Asa
Wakely, of Wheaton. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Mather was born a son, Harry W., who died Feb^
ruary 22, 1893.
Mr. Mather is a member of the Independent
Order of Foresters, of Chicago, and Chosen
Friends, in the same city. His wife is a member
of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Wheaton.
He exercises his right of franchise in support of
the Republican party. Our subject has a good
home and many friends in Wheaton, and through
out the community is held in warm regard.

-#$+»*

3UDGE GEORGE W. BROWN. Among its
rising young men, of whom it has many,
DuPage County can boast of no one more
promising than the subject of this sketch. He
has made his mark as a shining light in the legal
profession, and is regarded as an able Judge, both
in DuPage and Cook Counties. As one of the
sons of a pioneer family of this county, he has
always been very much interested in everything
tending to advance its interests, and is naturally
particularly partial to Wheaton, where he makes
his home. Having been elected to the Judge
ship of Du Page County, he has been called to
Chicago to assist Judge Scales, and has now for a
period of two years filled the arduous position of
Assistant County Judge of Cook County, as well
as performing those duties devolving upon him in
his position in this county. The able manner
with which he has acquitted himself is to the
¦credit of himself and constituents.

The birth of our subject occurred in Winfield
Township, Du Page County. He is a son of
James and Rosanna (Schofield) Brown, born to
them May 17, 1859. The father came from New
York State, locating in what is now DuPage
County, 111., in 1833. He was an extensive
farmer and a veterinary surgeon of local reputa
tion. His death occurred when in his seventieth
year, in April, 1879. He had been previously
married, and by his first wife had several chil
dren. The mother of our subject was also mar
ried before, and had children by her first union.
The boyhood of Judge Brown was passed in Du
Page County, where he received good school ad
vantages and attended the excellent schools of
Wheaton, to which place his parents had removed
in order to give him good advantages. He grad:
uated from .the High School with honor, and af
terward entered the Northwestern College, of Na
perville, where he remained a student for two or
three years. On beginning the active duties of
life, he engaged in teaching in this county for a
year. He had long determined to adopt a pro
fession, and having a particular inclination to
ward the study of law, entered the office of Hoyne,
Horton & Hoyne, of Chicago. He became a
student in the Union College of Law in that city,
where, after a thorough course of study, he was
graduated in the Class of '83.
Immediately upon leaving college, Judge Brown
opened an office in Wheaton, being admitted to
practice before the DuPage County courts. His
ability and genius, his fine legal attainments and
oratorical powers being recognized, it was no sur
prise to his friends, when, in 1890, he received the
nomination for Judge on the Republican ticket,
and was elected by a good majority. Still greater
honors were in store for him, for in 1891 he was
called by Judge Scales to the position of Associate
Judge of Cook County. He is without question
a man of superior attainments, and as a presid
ing Judge he maintains the scales of equity with
unbiased honor and fairness to rich and poor
alike. Fraternally, the Judge is a Mason, belonging
to Wheaton Lodge No. 269; Doric Chapter No.
166, of Turner; and Bethel Commandery No. 36,

15°

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

K. T., of Elgin. He is also a member of the
Knights of Pythias order, of Wheaton, the Na
tional Union, and the Modern Woodmen of Amer
ica. As to politics, he is well known as a Re
publican protective-tariff man, and his voice has
been heard in many a campaign in behalf of the
party whose aim it is to protect American indus
try and preserve America for her sons.

=*#$+£

t^=>

[=

I EVINUS L- STARK, of Wheaton, the effi-
1 1 cient and popular Sheriff of DuPage County,
l_2? was elected to his present position in the
fall of 1890, and has since acceptably and credit
ably discharged the duties of the office. This is
the county of his nativity, his birth having oc
curred in Bloomingdale Township, December 30,
1863. He is a son of Martin and Margaret
(Voll) Stark, both ofwhom were natives of Ger
many, having been born near Mertzburg, Ba
varia. Having emigrated to America, the father
settled in Bloomingdale Township, DuPage
County, in 1848. He has been a prosperous farm
er and is now living a retired life in Wheaton.
The family numbered thirteen children but only
four are now living: Levinus L. , John S., Blat-
zer and Katie E.
In taking up the history of our subject, we pre
sent to our readers the life record of one of the
wide-awake and enterprising citizens of Wheaton.
His education was acquired in the common schools
and on its completion he began earning his own
livelihood by working at the tinner's trade, which
he followed until nineteen years of age. He then
embarked in the hotel business and became the
landlord ofthe Union Hotel, which he carried on
until entering upon official life.
On May 23, 1889, Mr. Stark was united in mar
riage with Miss Anna M. Kampp, of Wheaton,
a daughter of Conrad and Lugartus (Loos)
Kampp. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stark has been born
a daughter, Mabel Marguerite. The parents are
both members of the Catholic Church, and are both
widely and favorably known, having many warm
friends throughout the community.

In his political affiliatioris, Mr. Stark is a Dem
ocrat, having supported the Democracy since at
taining his majority. Under President Cleve
land's second administration he was appointed
Postmaster of Wheaton, but resigned his position
upon receiving the nomination for the office of
County Sheriff in 1890. The election returns
show that he was elected by a flattering majority,
and soon afterwards he entered upon the duties of
the position, which he has since discharged with
promptness and fidelity. His management of af
fairs has certainly proved creditable to himself
and satisfactory to his constituents. He gives his
entire time to his official labors and is constantly
growing in popularity. Perhaps no officer in the
county is more highly or generally esteemed. He
has made warm friends among all classes, and the
confidence and regard of the entire community are
his. Socially, he is a member of the Knights of
Pythias fraternity and of the National Union.

_S)

"SJ

#+£{

I

H. KAMPP, who is extensively engaged in
the furniture business in Wheaton, and is a
member of the Board of Education, ranks
among those most prominent in the upbuilding of
the best interests of the city. His close attention
to his business, his pleasant and genial manner,
and his fair dealing, have not only gained for him a
liberal patronage, but have secured him the confi
dence and respect of all with whom he is brought
in contact.
The record of Mr. Kampp' s life is as follows:
He was born in Chicago, and is the son of Con
rad and Lugartus (Loos) Kampp, the former a na
tive of Germany, and the latter of France. They
came to Wheaton in 1865, and the father estab
lished himself in the furniture business in this
place. The Kampp Furniture House is one ofthe
oldest business houses in Wheaton, and the oldest
furniture establishment in the county. Our subject
was reared in this place and acquired his educa
tion in the public schools and High School. His
father began operations here with a capital of only
$2,500, but is now a well-to-do undertaker of

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

151

Chicago, having branch establishments at More-
land and Austin. He is now fifty-nine years of
age, and his wife has reached the age of fifty-
seven. „
Owing to an accident to the father, costing him
the loss of an arm, our subject was at the age of
ten years called upon to take a hand in his father's
business. He therefore had to leave school, but
became thoroughly conversant with all the details
of business and gained useful knowledge through
contact with the world in a business way. He
continued to assist his father until he bought out
the establishment, some three years ago.
In February, 1890, Mr. Kampp was joined in
wedlock with Miss Katie Wolf, of Elmhurst, and
unto them have been born two children : Florence,
who is now two years old; and Harry, aged four
teen months. The parents are both members ot
the Catholic Church, and Mr. Kampp is a Demo
crat in politics. His business is constantly in
creasing and nets him satisfactory results. Within
the past few months he has supplied with furniture
the Waldornf Hotel, of Chicago, and the Glen
Ellyn Hotel, of Glen Ellyn. He has also furnished
the Columbia, on Madison and Peoria Streets,
Chicago, and the Albany Hotel, on Clark and
Adams Streets. Mr. Kampp is a self-made man,
and commands the respect of all who know him.
He had to enter upon life's duties when quite
young, having since his eleventh year earned his
own livelihood. Step by step, however, he has
worked his way upward to a position of affluence,
and his enterprise and diligence have gained him
a high degree of prosperity.

HH^

&^

§ENJAMIN HOWARTH, the enterprising
liveryman of Turner, has been located in
this place since 1878. He is a native of the
Empire State, his birth having occurred in Au
burn on the 2d of August, 1842. His parents,
Saunders and Mary (Peacock) Howarth, were
- both natives of England. The father crossed the
Atlantic to America some time in the '20s. He
£ajne to Illinois in 1843 a_ud first made a settle

ment at St. Charles, where he resided for two
years. He then removed to DuPage County,
settling upon a farm some two and a-half miles
north of Wheaton, which he continued to operate
until shortly before his death, which occurred in
June, 1881, at the age of seventy-six years. He
was a good citizen, and was held in the highest re
spect by his friends and neighbors. As a public-
spirited man, he was interested in all township
improvements, and had filled the positions of Road
Commissioner and Township Supervisor. His
wife survived him only two years, and was a lit
tle over seventy-five years of age. Both parents
were members of the Church of England. Our
subject's paternal grandfather, Owen Howarth,
was a saddler and harness-maker by occupation.
His death occurred where his life had been passed,
in England. William Peacock, the maternal
grandfather, who was also an Englishman, fol
lowed agricultural pursuits. At the age of eighty
years he was still hale and hearty, and met his
death by accident, being thrown from a horse
while on a fox hunt.
Our subject is one of eight children, four sons
and four daughters: Eliza, wife of Guy Levens;
Cordelia, now Mrs. G. Higgins; William; Benja
min; Jane, wife of D. Rhinehart; Lyman; and
two deceased. Benjamin was onlyr a year old
when his parents brought him to Illinois, and his
boyhood days were passed on his father's farm,
his time being divided between assisting in agri
cultural labors and in obtaining his education in
the , district schools. His life passed unevent
fully on the old homestead until he arrived at
man's estate.
In starting out to fight life's battles for him
self, Mr. Howarth chose as his life's companion
Miss Emma Vanden'olgian, their union being
celebrated in 1876. She is a daughter of Cor
nelius and Lizzie (Fitch) Vandervolgian, and by
her marriage has become the mother of one daugh
ter, Hattie Mabel.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Howarth es
pouses the cause of the Republican party, and is
an active worker in the ranks. Socially, he is a'
member of the Odd Fellows' fraternity. It was
on the 12th of March, 1878, that our subject came

152

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

to Turner, and two years later he erected a large
livery stable, and has since been successfully en
gaged in business. He is a man of good execu
tive ability, and has made wise investments of
his income. He owns a good property of one
hundred and sixty acres of improved farming land
in Nebraska.

$+^e*

"S3

EASPAR VOLL, who is engaged in general
merchandising in Turner, is a native of Ger
many. He was born in Poppenhausen, Ba
varia, on the 7th of May, 1835, and is one of
seven children, whose parents, Casper J. and
Barbara (Kirchner) Voll, were also natives of
the Fatherland. Of the four sons and three
daughters, only two are now living, our subject
and Margaret, wife of Martin Stark, of Wheaton.
The father of this family was a hotel-keeper and
farmer in Germany. In 1847 he determined to
seek a home in the New World, and crossing the
broad Atlantic to America, took up his residence
in DuPage County, just north of Wheaton,
where he died about a year later, at the age of
sixty. His wife survived him about fifteen years.
They were both members ofthe Catholic Church.
In taking up the personal history of our sub
ject, we present to our readers the life record of
one of the enterprising and progressive citizens
of this community. He was a lad of twelve years
when he accompanied his parents on their emi
gration to America. The greater part of his edu
cation was acquired previous to leaving his na
tive land. His father had three hundred acres a
mile and a-half north of Wheaton, and after his
death our subject managed and controlled the
farm for his mother until she was again married.
About 1857 he began merchandising at Winfield
Station, where he remained until 1866, when he
came to Turner and opened a store at this place.
During the long years of his business connection
with Turner he has always been known as a man
of upright principle and integrity of character,
who has the confidence and high regard of all.
In December, 1859, was celebrated the mar

riage of Mr. Voll and Miss Elizabeth M., daugh
ter of John and Mary (Brennan) Murray. She
died August 7, 1870, in the faith of the Catholic
Church, of which Mr. Voll is also a member. He
was again married, October 28, 1 871, his second
union being with Miss Jennie Crombie Beard,
daughter of Asa M. and Lucy Jane (Trull) Beard.
Two children have been born unto them, John A.
and Charles W. '
In his social relations our subject is connected
with Amity Lodge No. 472, A. F. & A. M.;
Doric Chapter No. 166, R. A. M.; and the order
of the Eastern Star, to which his wife also be
longs. In politics, he votes with the Democratic
party. He was the prime mover in the organiza
tion of the village, and has served as Trustee of
Turner for three years. He is now serving as
Deputy Sheriff, and for many years he was School
Director and School Trustee. While at Winfield
he served as Postmaster for four years and was
also Station Agent. Mr. Voll has a well-kept
and well-stocked store and is doing a very good
business, which is constantly increasing. He is
one of the popular merchants of the place, being
pleasant and genial in manner and ever ready to
¦ supply the wants of his customers, if it lies within
his power to do so.

"S3

&"

EEORGE WASHINGTON CROMER, who
is engaged in the coal and lumber business
at Turner, was bom in Franklin County,
Pa., June 24, 1846, being one of the children born
to Jacob and Hettie (Bear) Cromer. Their fam
ily comprised twelve sons and three daughters,
and eleven of the family are still living, namely:
Mary J., George W., Sebastian B., Jerry N.,
Laura, David K., Harry S., Hannah B., Jacob,
Dennis W. and James.
The paternal grandfather of our subject,
George Cromer, was a native of Pennsylvania,
and of German parentage. He reared a family
of ten children, seven sons and three daughters.
His life work was that of an agriculturist. His
death occurred in Maryland, when at the ad-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

153

vanced age of eighty years. The maternal grand
father of our subject bore the name of Sebastian
Bear. He was also of German descent, and born
in the Keystone State. Religiously, he was a
member of the Dunkard Church; and at- the time
of his death was seventy-eight years old.
The father of our subject was also a farmer,
aud continued as such during his entire life.
Both he and his wife were natives of Pennsylva
nia. In the winter of 1863, on account of the dev
astations of war in the neighborhood of their
home, and on account of the destruction of much
of their property, they removed to Illinois,* and
located in Montgomery County. The father pur
chased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of
partially improved land near Irving, and there
he made his home for four years. He removed
to DuPage County in 1867, and settled upon a
farm near Warrenville, renting the place for two
years. In 1869 he bought a good farm on the
county line between Will and DuPage Counties,
and on this place he continued to reside the re
mainder of his life. He was called to his final
home in 1891, when he had attained the age of
three-score years and ten. He was a faithful
member of the River Brethren Church, and for a
great many years was a preacher of that denomin
ation. His wife is still living on the old home
stead. George W. Cromer passed his boyhood and
youth on his father's old homestead in Pennsyl
vania, and there acquired a practical knowledge
of how to carry on a farm. He remained under
the parental roof until after reaching his majority,
as did also his brothers. He received a good
common-school education in the Keystone State,
and after coming to Illinois with his parents at
tended Hillsboro Academy, at Hillsboro, for a
time. As he had been trained as a farmer, it was
therefore very natural that he should choose to
continue as such when beginning the serious
business of life on his own account. On the com
pletion of his studies, he therefore turned his at
tention to agriculture and operated a farm in Du
Page County until September, 1892. He still
owns this well-improved farm, which comprises
one hundred acres, and in addition to that owns a

good residence property in Turner. In the fall of
1892 he rented his farm and removed to Turner,
where for a few months he was engaged in the
lumber business. He then became interested in
the Turner Building Association, of which he
was manager until October 1, 1893, when he
withdrew from the Association. He is a busi
ness man of good ability, and successfully con
ducted the affairs of that institution while its
manager. On the ist of December, 1870, Mr. Cromer
was united in wedlock with Miss Lydia J. Finch.
Her parents, William and Margaret (Simpson)
Finch, are natives of Vermont and England, re
spectively. By the marriage of our subject and
wife three children have been born, a son and
two daughters: Ollie L-, Frank E. and Bertha O.
In politics, Mr. Cromer was formerly a Repub
lican, but now supports the Prohibition party.
He is much interested in the cause of education,
and served as School Director for ten years. He
and his wife hold membership with the Baptist
Church, of which he was at one time a Deacon.
He is a man who numbers many friends, who es
teem him highly as a man of unquestioned integ
rity and genuine worth of character.

<=i

$+^

&-

GI LLEN T. RUSSELL. Among the younger
/ I men of DuPage County of marked charac-
/ | ter and ability, none stand more prominent
than the present County Surveyor, whose name
heads this record. He was born in Annapolis,
Md., December 26, 1868, and is a son of Elijah
James and Caroline (Brown) Russell. The fa
ther was a native of Pennsylvania, and the mother
of Maryland, but her people originally came from
Connecticut. The Russell family is of English
origin. The grandfather of our subject served in
the War of 18 12, and members of the family were
numbered among the heroes of the Revolution.
As soon as the first call for volunteers came for
the defense of the Union, Elijah James Russell
entered the service as a member of the First
Maryland Infantry. Some of his brothers enlisted

154

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

at the same time in the First Maryland Confed
erate Infantry, and the two regiments were en
gaged in battle at Washington. The father of
our subject was a land-owner of Maryland, and
died in Annapolis in 1873, when about forty-two
years of age. His widow is still living in Balti
more. They were the parents of four children,
three ofwhom are still living; John T. , Elijah J.
and Allen Traverse.
Our subject was only about six years of age
when his father died, and with his mother he then
removed to Baltimore, residing in that place and
in Washington for some time. He had the ad
vantages of the public schools of the two cities,
and at the age of eleven years he entered the Mc
Donough School, of Baltimore County, a prepara
tory military institution. There he continued for
four years, pursuing the regular preparatory
course of study . Immediately afterward he entered
Johns Hopkins University iri Baltimore, from
which he was graduated as a civil engineer at
the age of nineteen, having entered the school
when a youth of sixteen. Locating in Baltimore,
Mr. Russell began the prosecution of his chosen
profession, and later went into the office of the
Western Maryland Railroad of that city, where
he continued for about three months, when a
vacancy occurred in the field, and he was made
assistant to Maj . Bowen, Chief Engineer of the
Western Maryland Railroad, in the building of
the Gettysburg Short Line, which runs from the
Blue Ridge summit, north of Gettysburg. There
his ability found practical application, he doing
almost all the work himself.
After continuing with the Western Maryland for
about nine months, Mr. Russell secured an appoint
ment at Washington, as Assistant United States
Engineer, and worked in that capacity in sur
veying the Missouri River from Ft. Bismarck,
N. Dak., to Kansas City. The object of this sur
vey was to make improvements along the banks
so as to protect the cities and towns which border
the river, as the stream is subject to change in its
course, to the great injury of the places where
such cut-offs are made. The engineer's work
was to ascertain the fall in the river, so that pro
tection could be made when needed. Mr. Russell' s

next work was as chief of an engineering corps in
the building of the railroad on the Island of
Jamaica, West Indies. He came to DuPage
County on the 7th of July, 1891, taking up his
residence in Wheaton, and was elected County
Surveyor in November, 1892.
On the 17th of April, 1893, Mr. Russell was
united in marriage with Miss Minnie G. Ferry,
daughter of Melancthon and Nellie M. Ferry, of
Wheaton. Her father died in Aurora about four
years ago. He was one of the early settlers of
DuPage County, and was well known as a pros
perous farmer and an honored citizen. Our sub
ject and his wife hold membership with the
Congregational Church. He is now building a
pleasant home in Evergreen Park, and expects to
make this place his permanent residence. In pol
itics, Mr. Russell is a stalwart Republican and an
inflexible adherent of the principles of his party.
He is a young man of fine attainments and great
natural ability, and the success which has already
come to him argues well for the future.

!^r^

IS_

[S~

EOL. JAMES POMEROY SANFORD is one
of the prominent citizens of Wheaton, Du
Page County, no one being more widely
known than this popular humorist, lecturer, and
world's traveler. Seventeen times has he crossed
the Atlantic, and three times circumnavigated the
globe. Possessing an observing eye and reten
tive memory, his mind is stored with valuable and
interesting reminiscences of his travels, and his ir
resistible humor and fine descriptive powers have
placed him at the head of humorist lecturers on
travel. The Colonel makes friends wherever he goes,
and has many warm ones in this community, who
will be glad to see him represented in the history
of the county. He was born in Seneca County,
N. Y., November 11, 1837, and is a son of John
and Sarah Sanford. From his boyhood he seems
to have been destined for a life of travel. When
a lad of only ten summers he went to Brazil, and
during the four succeeding years traveled exten-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i55

sively through South America. He then re
turned to the United States, and took up his
residence in Marshalltown, Iowa. In 1858 ,he
entered the State University in Iowa City, and
was pursuing his studies in that institution at
the breaking out of the late war. Prompted by
patriotic impulses, he abandoned the textbook
for the rifle, and in 1861 was mustered into the
service as a member ofthe Second Iowa Cavalry.
He enlisted as a private, but when mustered out
was Colonel of the Forty- seventh Iowa Infantry.
He was in the Army of the West, and did service
in Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee
and Kentucky, aiding in routing Price and
Thomson. He served under Gens. Pope, Hal-
leck, Sherman and Buford, and valiantly followed
the Old Flag from 1861 until 1864.
Col. Sanford has been three times married.
In 1855 he married Miss Malinda Stewart, a na
tive of Cynthiana, Ky., who lived but a few
years after her marriage. She bore him a daugh
ter, who grew to womanhood and became the
wife of Bruce Millar, of Marshalltown, Iowa, but
was called to her final rest on the same day that
President Garfield passed away. In October,
i860, he was united in marriage with Miss Callie
Wright, of Ft. Madison, Iowa, who died after
nineteen years of happy married life, leaving a
son, George P. Sanford, who married Miss Kate
Rickert, and resides in Wheaton, but is employed
in the office of the auditor of the freight depart
ment of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad
Company, at Chicago. In 1886 the Colonel was
a third time married, when Miss Effie M.
Vaughan, who was born near Toronto, Ont., be
came his wife.
Since the war, the Colonel has spent his time in
traveling and lecturing, and for the past three
years has made his home in Wheaton. As before
stated, he has crossed the ocean seventeen times,
and some one has said of him that he never
travels a mile without seeing something worth
remembering. In his lecture tours he is greeted
with immense audiences, and the applause of the
people and the comments of the press all attest
his popularity with the public. Col. Sanford
looks on the bright side, and is not only an

orator but a humorist. Among his well-known
lectures are those on "Old Times and New,"
"Walks in Rome," "Walks in Palestine," "My
Travels in Japan and China," "Stories and
Story-tellers" and " Our Whole Country." All
places have been visited by him, countries both
civilized and uncivilized, and that which he sees
he presents to others in such vivid word -pictures,
that the hearer can hardly realize that he has not
looked upon the original scene. The lectures of
Col. Sanford are not only humorous and enter
taining, but are instructive as well. His are
gifts that few men possess — wit, humor, elo
quence and true oratory place him at the head of
the lecture platform. It has been said that his
success is largely due to his warm-heartedness
and his interest and sympathy with all created
things. His humanity is as broad as the world,
and he is so really, truly and thoroughly human,
that all humanity is drawn irresistibly to him.
He has never become a wealthy man, for, rich in
human feeling, he is always ready to give more
than he receives, and his generosity prevents him
from becoming a millionaire.

*#^+$i

"DWARD B. HOWE, a well-known and
^O much respected citizen of Turner, is Secre-
mmm tary of the Turner Building Association and
has done much in the development of this place.
He is a native of the Green Mountain State, hav
ing been born in Castleton, November 29, 1858.
He is a son of John and Helen (Barber) Howe,
who were both likewise natives of Vermont. He
is the only child of this union, and his mother
died while he was still in infancy.
John Howe, the father of our subject, was a
lawyer by profession and was engaged in practice
at Castleton, Vt., for many years with good suc
cess. About the year 1870, he went South and
spent eight years in Florida, where he was engaged
in the lumber business. Subsequently, he returned
to Castleton, where he resumed the practice of
law. For two years he served as Probate Judge,
after which he acted in the capacity of County

156

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Clerk of Rutland County until his death. He was
a soldier in the late Civil War, belonging to a
Vermont regiment, and was an active participant
in the first terrible battle of Bull Run. In both
peace and war he was a true patriot and a thor
oughly honorable citizen. For his second wife,
Mr. Howe married Miss Helen Hunt, by whom
he had three sons and a daughter: Henry H.,
William F., Charles and Helen, the two latter be
ing now deceased. His death, which occurred in
June, 1893, at the age of fifty-nine years and some
months, has been sincerely lamented by his many
friends and neighbors. He was prominent in the
Masonic fraternity, and in politics was a Republi
can. He was a son of Zimri Howe, a native of
Vermont, and also a prominent attorney. At the
time of his death he was Probate Judge. He lived
to reach the good old age of seventy-five years.
Religiously, he held membership with the Con
gregational Church. His family comprised only-
two children, a son and a daughter.
Edward B. Howe whose name heads this sketch
continued to reside at his birthplace until he was
five years old, when he went to West Haven, Vt.,
to live with the parents of his step-mother. With
them he remained until he was eighteen years of
age, and was given the benefits of a good education.
When a young man he attended the Lake Forest
Academy, and owing to his diligence as a student
he managed to acquire a very good education.
For about five years after leaving school he en
gaged in farming by the month near Batavia, Kane
County. The marriage of Mr. Howe and Miss Marcia J.
Man ville was celebrated on the 29th of January--,
1885. Mrs. Howe is a daughter of Russell and
Julia (Smith) Manville. The union of our sub
ject and his estimable wife has been blessed with a
little daughter, Mary McMahan. The mother is
a lady of culture and refinement and is a valuable
helpmate to her husband. She presides over their
pleasant home with grace, and is a genial hostess.
In regard to politics, Mr. Howe is an advocate
of the principles and nominees of the Republican
party. Fraternally, he is a member of J. B.
Turner Lodge No. 420, I. O. O. F., and also be
longs to Elgin Encampment. He owns a good

residence property in Turner and is making a
good success of the Turner Building Association,
with which he is officially connected. Mr. and
Mrs. Howe are received in the best social circles
of Turner, and religiously are memberaof the Con
gregational Church, of which our subject is a
Trustee. They are active in church and benevo
lent enterprises, and number a host of warm
friends and acquaintances, who esteem them highly
for their true worth.

S3

*+£{

fl AMES W. McKEE, who resides on section
! 32, Winfield Township, was born on the farm
Q) which is now his home, February 9, 1839,
and is a worthy representative of an honored
pioneer family. His parents, David and Sarah
(Ward) McKee, were natives of Virginia and
New York, respectively, and the former was of
Scotch-Irish descent. He was twice married, and
by the first union had a son, Stephen J., who
died in 1878. By the second marriage were born
the following children: Wealthy, wife of Chester
C. Becknell, of Cedar Springs, Mich. ; James W. ;
and Carrie A., wife of Daniel D. Fisher, Judge of
the Circuit Court of St. Louis. The father of
this family remained in his native State until nine
years of age and then went to Pennsylvania.
When a youth of thirteen, our subject went to
Cincinnati, Ohio, where his father bound him out
for a seven-years apprenticeship to a blacksmith.
He worked for his board and clothes, and was
employed in a large shop, of which he acted as
foreman during the last few years of his service.
He then went on the ' ' Lady Washington, ' ' a
steamer running between New Orleans and St.
Louis, and in the spring of 1822 hired to the
Government to go to Ft. Dearborn — the future
city of Chicago. He was in the Government em
ploy for eight years, doing blacksmithing for the
Indians, according to a treaty stipulation. Chi
cago at that time was only an Indian village. He
crossed the Calumet River in an Indian canoe
made of birch bark, and by the bridle held his
horse, which swam the stream. In 1828, he be-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

157

came mail-carrier for the Government between
Ft. Wayne, Ind., and Chicago. He made the
trip once a month on horseback, carrying his
mail bag, camping equipments, and a gun with
which to shoot game for food. At night Mother
Nature furnished him a bed and the next morning
he would resume his travels. It is related that
on one occasion while carrying the mail, darkness
overtook him when about twelve miles south of
Chicago, and on clearing the snow away with one
of his snowshoes to make a lodging place for the
night, he found the dead body of a man, who had
evidently got lost on the prairie and perished in
the storm. He pitched his tent near by, and in
the morning cut some brush with which to mark
the sp6t. About a month later he returned, in
company with others, for the purpose of removing
the remains, and found that the wolves had eaten
the flesh all off the bones, leaving nothing but the
skeleton, to which they gave a decent burial.
In 1834 Mr. McKee came to DuPage County,
and located upon a part of the farm now owned
by our subject. He purchased four hundred
acres on sections 31 and 32, Winfield Township,
at $1.25 per acre, and in the woods erected a log
cabin. He could talk the Indian language very
fluently. After coming to this county he estab
lished a blacksmith shop, which he carried on in
connection with farming. He served in the
Black Hawk War, was a Whig and Republican
in politics, and was a member of the Baptist
Church. He died April 8, 188 1, and was laid to
rest in Big Woods Cemetery. Mr. McKee used to
relate that when he went to Chicago in 1822, the
bones of those who were slain in the massacre at
Ft. Dearborn in 18 12 were still lying on the
ground, about two miles south of the fort, and he
assisted in burying the bones. An honored pio
neer, Mr. McKee was prominently connected with
the upbuilding of this community, and his name is
inseparably associated with its history. His wife,
the mother of our subject, was born in 18 16.
They were married in 1836, and she died March
22, 1886, being laid to rest by the side of her hus
band. No other home has James W. McKee known
than DuPage County. He attended its district

schools during his boyhood, and completed his
education in Wheaton College. He was reared
among the wild scenes of the frontier and experi
enced all the" hardships and trials of pioneer life.
At the age of twenty-two he left home and pur
chased forty acres of land. His father also gave
him forty acres. The boundaries of his farm
have since been extended, until it now comprises
one hundred and eighty-five acres of valuable
land, which is under a high state of cultivation
and well improved. He carries on general farm
ing and stock-raising and is also engaged in the
dairy business.
Mr. McKee was married November 28, i860,
to Miss Frances L- Bird. They have no family
of their own but have an adopted daughter, Cath
erine. In politics, our subject has always been a
stanch supporter ofthe Republican party. He is
a member of the Odd Fellows' lodge, and his
wife belongs to the Baptist Church. This worthy
couple are prominent citizens of the community,
and their well-spent lives have gained for them
the high regard of all with whom they have been
brought in contact. Mr. McKee has not only
been an eye-witness of the growth and develop
ment of the county for half a century, but is also
numbered among its founders.

-S3.

$+$#*

"S3

EHARLES GARY BATTIN, a farmer resid
ing on section 1, Bloomingdale Township,
has the honor of being a native of this county,
for he was born on the farm where he now resides,
May 16, 1855. His father, William Battin, was
a native of Devonshire, England, there spent the
days of his boyhood and youth, and wedded Mary
Ann Baker, who was also'a native of Devonshire.
In 1847, he determined to seek a home in the
New World, and, crossing the broad Atlantic,
made his way to DuPage County, where he pur
chased land and began the development ofa farm,
upon which his son now resides. He first became
owner of eighty acres, and then added to it an
adjoining tract of forty acres. He made good im
provements upon it, built fences, and transformed

i58

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

- the raw prairie into rich and fertile fields. He
knew no other home during his entire residence
in America. His death there occuned in Decem
ber, 1884, at the age of seventy-two years. His
wife was called to her final rest in February,
1872, and both lie buried in Greenwood Cemetery,
of Bloomingdale, where marble monuments mark
their last resting-place. He was an active and
faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and served as Superintendent of the Sun
day-school for thirty years. All charitable and
benevolent enterprises found in him a friend, and
the poor and needy were never turned from his
door empty-handed. His life was a noble and
exemplary one, and he left to his children the
priceless heritage of a good name.
The subject of this sketch is the seventh in
order of birth in a family of three sons and five
daughters, all of whom have reached years of
maturity. The days of his boyhood and youth
were spent upon the old home farm, and to his
father he gave the benefit of his services until he
had attained his majority, after which he engaged
in clerking in Itasca for about three years. The
succeeding three years were spent on the old
homestead. He was next employed in clerking in
Elgin for a year. In the spring of 1883 he went
to Iowa, and spent about two years with his
brother on a farm near Iowa Falls. The autumn
of 1884 witnessed his return home, and the fol
lowing spring he went to Green Lake, Wis.,
where he spent about eight months on a farm,
after which he again came to this county.
On the 10th of February, 1887, in Iowa, Mr.
Battin was united in marriage with Miss Florence
Knowles, a native of Cortland County, N. Y.,
and a daughter of Darius Knowles, who brought
his family to DuPage County during the child
hood of his daughter, and lived in Bloomingdale
Township until 1880, when he removed to Worth
County, Iowa. In Manley he engaged in the
hotel business until his death, in 1882. For sev
eral years prior to her marriage, Mrs. Battin suc
cessfully engaged in teaching. In 1887 the young
couple took up their residence on the old home
stead, which is owned by our subject and his
brother John. Since that time, Mr. Battin has

been successfully engaged in farming, and has
made many improvements upon the place which
add both to its value and attractive appearance.
The home has been blessed with two. bright little
daughters: Nina A. and Flossie J.
Since becoming a voter, Mr. Battin has sup
ported the men and measures of the Republican
party, having cast his first Presidential ballot for
R. B. Hayes. He is a member of the Republi
can Central Committee, and has taken quite an
active part in politics, doing all in his power to
promote the growth and insure the success of his
party. He has ever been a friend to education,
and while serving as a member of the School
Board has done much effective service in its in
terest. He and his wife are leading members of
the Methodist Episcopal Church of Meacham, and
he is a charter member and one of the officers of
Itasca Camp No. 764, M. W. A. Almost his entire
life has been passed in this county, and he is
widely and favorably known throughout the com
munity in which he has so long made his home.

-S3.

^h£

B"

HEODORE M. MANNING, who is now-
engaged in farming and stock-raising on
section 26, Winfield Township, is one ofthe
prominent and highly respected citizens of this
community. He was born in Onondaga County,
N. Y., February 19, 1836, and is a son of Rock
well and Sarah (Warner) Manning, who were
also natives of Onondaga County. The father
was of English descent. He resided in the Em
pire State until 1849, when he came to DuPage
County, 111., and soon purchased land near War
renville. He also started a general store in that
place, and was engaged in general merchandising
until about 1878. He purchased the Warrenville
Flouring Mills, which he operated for several
years, and also carried on a store in Wheaton. He
was a wide-awake and enterprising business man,
who carried forward to successful completion
whatever he undertook. He began life a poor
boy, working as a farm-hand by the month, but
became a prosperous citizen. In politics, he was

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

159

a Republican; served as Justice ofthe Peace, and
held other township offices. He belonged to the
Masonic fraternity and the Baptist Church, and
died in 1880. His wife, who was also a member
of the Baptist Church, passed away in 1890, and
both were interred in the Warrenville Cemetery.
At the age of fourteen years, Theodore Manning
came to this county, and attended the Warrenville
Seminary, where he acquired a good business ed
ucation, that fitted him for the responsible duties
of life. He remained under the parental roof until
he attained his majority, and then carried on a
store in Warrenville, and also one in Sycamore
for about four years. Before beginning business
for himself he had served as a clerk in his father's
store. Subsequently, Mr. Manning attended the
Chicago Union College of Law. After graduating
from the latter institution, he was admitted to the
Bar, in 1865, and then was employed as a collector
for a mercantile house in Chicago for two years.
He then became a partner in a wholesale fancy
dry-goods store in Chicago, with which he con
tinued his connection for about three years, when
he began the practice of law in the city. He was
quite successful, and continued the prosecution of
his chosen profession for about twenty years.
On the 17th of December, 1857, Mr. Manning
was united in marriage with Miss Mary D. Jones.
Three children were born unto them: Mary A.,
wife of Clinton Hoy, of Wheaton, 111. ; Walter C. ,
who died in childhood; and Frederick P., who
resides in Turner. The mother died February 3,
1868, and Mr. Manning was again married, Octo
ber 30, 1870, his second union being with Lucy
Talbott, who died November 24, 1872. He was
married July 3, 1888, to his present wife, whose
maiden name was Mary E. Briggs. Two daugh
ters grace this union: Grace L. and Katherine.
Mr. Manning exercises his right of franchise in
support of the Republican party, but has never
been an office-seeker, preferring to give his entire
time to his business interests. For the past six
years he has engaged in farming and horse-raising.
He owns one hundred and forty acres of arable
land, pleasantly situated four miles southwest of
Wheaton. The many improvements found there
on make it a valuable and desirable place. Mr.

Manning is a highly educated and cultured gen
tleman, who keeps well informed on the issues of
the day, and wherever he goes his genial manner
wins him friends. He has long been connected
with the interests of DuPage County, and well
deserves representation in its history.

<=\

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IS-

(=

(JOHN BLAKELY, who for a number of years
I followed farming in DuPage County, but is
(2/ now living a retired life in Turner, claims
England as the land of his birth, which occurred
in Yorkshire, near Leeds, February 27, 1823. His
father, George Blakely, was also a native of the
same country, and followed mining throughout
his entire life. His death occurred in England in
1862, at the age of seventy-five years. He was a
member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He
was joined in wedlock with Mary Ask with, who
survived him a number of years. She was also a
member of the same church as her husband.
Eight children were born of their union, five of
whom are now living, Thomas, Joseph, John,
Squire and James.
In his native land the subject of this sketch was
reared to manhood, and in his youth no event of
special importance occurred. At an early age he
began working in the mines, and was thus em
ployed until his emigration to America. Previ
ous to that event occurred an important step in
his life, for on the 2d of February, 1845, he led to
the marriage altar Miss Harriet Ha wden, daughter
of Joseph and Jane (Barker) Hawden.
The young couple began their domestic life in
England, but after four years they determined to
seek a home and fortune in America, and crossed
the briny deep to the United States in company
with Mr. and Mrs. David Ward. On landing,
they immediately took up the journey across the
continent, stopping when they reached DuPage
County, 111. The railroad was not then com
pleted. They located three miles from Turner,
and in this community have since resided. For a
year Mr. Blakely worked by the month as a farm
hand, and then purchased forty acres of land, to

i6o

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

which he afterwards added twenty -four acres by
additional purchase. Turning his attention to
the cultivation of his farm, he made it a valuable
tract, and continued its improvement until 1891,
when he sold out and came to Turner. During
those years of labor, he had accumulated a consid
erable competency, and was now possessed of the
means which would enable him to lay aside busi
ness cares and live retired in the enjoyment ofthe
fruits of his former toil.
Mr. Blakely is independent in politics, prefer
ring to hold himself free to support the candidates
he believes best qualified for the positions, regard
less of party affiliations. Himself and wife are
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
are highly respected citizens, well deserving of
representation in this volume. His life has been
a busy one, well and worthily spent.

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(JOSEPH A. NORRIS, who since 1864 has
I been connected with the Western Union Tele-
(*/ graph Company, and its predecessor, the Illi
nois & Mississippi Telegraph Company, on con
struction and repair work, comes from the neigh
boring State of Indiana. He was born in Kosci-
usco County, August 5, 1838, and is a son of
William and Elizabeth (Knox) Norris, the former
a native of Ohio, and the latter of Virginia. Mr.
Norris was a farmer and Indian trader. He re
moved to the Hoosier State in 1833, locating near
Leesburgh, where he lived until 1857. In the
mean time he made a trip to California, where he
engaged In mining with moderate success. In
1857 he removed to Rochester, Mo., but was not
long permitted to enjoy his new home, his death
occurring the following year at the age of forty-
two. His wife died in 1856, at the age of thirty-
six. She was a member of the Baptist Church.
Their family numbered seven children, three sons
and four daughters, of whom five are now living,
namely: Joseph A.; John; Melvina, wife of Joel
Strevey, of Fulton, Mo. ; Vilena, wife of Henry
Keefer, ofPierceton, Ind.; and Rebecca, wife of
Charles Renfro, of Clinton, Mo.

The paternal grandfather of our subject, Joseph
Norris, was a native of Maryland. He was a
farmer, and followed that pursuit throughout his
entire life. During the Revolution he aided the
colonies in their struggle for independence. In
1833 he emigrated westward to Indiana, where
he died at a very advanced age. The maternal
grandfather, John Knox, was born in the North
of Ireland, and belonged to the celebrated Knox
family of Presbyterian faith. He also died in the
Hoosier State, when about sixty years of age.
Mr. Norris whose name heads this record was
reared in the county of his nativity, the days of
his boyhood and youth being quietly passed on
his father's farm. He was educated in the pub
lic schools of the neighborhood, and remained
with his parents until a youth of seventeen, when
he started out in life for himself. He followed
various pursuits until 1862, when he enlisted in
Capt. Johnson's company of unattached Texas
cavalry and served twenty-six months. On the
expiration of that period he went to Springfield,
111., and for a time was in the employ of the
United States Government. In 1864 he began
working for the Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph
Company, and later for the Western Union Tele
graph Company, on the construction and repair
of the telegraph, and in labor along this line has
since devoted his energies.
On the 29th of September, 1866, Mr. Norris
was united in marriage with Miss Henrietta Wat
son, daughter of Charles and Jane (Remington)
Watson, of Turner. She was born in Spring
field, Bradford County, Pa., November 7, 1843,
and has been a resident of Turner since 1854, be
ing numbered therefore among its early settlers.
Five children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs.
Norris. Floyd J. , who married Miss Tessie Cleary,
of Toledo, Ohio, is a train dispatcher for the Chi
cago & Northwestern Railroad Company, and
makes his home in Chicago. The other mem
bers ofthe family are: Roy W., Harry C, Clyde
J. and Bessie M.
In 1866 Mr. Norris came to Turner, and has
now made his home in this place for twenty-
seven years. In politics, he is a Republican and
has been honored with several public offices. He

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

161

served as Village Trustee for several terms, and
is at present a member of the School Board. In
whatever position he has been called upon to fill,
he has always discharged his duties with a prompt
ness and fidelity that have won him the commenda
tion of all concerned. His long continuance with
the telegraph company indicates his faithfulness
in their service.

HENRY STERLING WILLIAMS, deceased,
was born in Jefferson County, N. Y., on
the 25th of September, 1820, and was a son
of William and Mary (Starring) Williams, the
father a native of Connecticut, and the mother of
New York. The latter's father, Henry Starring,
was the first Judge of Herkimer County, and was
a very prominent and influential citizen.
Upon his father's farm our subject grew to
manhood, and in the common schools acquired
his education. He then began life for himself,
and lived in the Empire State until 1836, which
year witnessed his emigration westward. He
located on a farm, which his father entered from
the Government in DuPage County. In 1850,
attracted by the discovery of gold in California,
he went overland to the Pacific Slope, making the
journey with horse- teams, and after four months
of travel reached his destination. He located at
what was then Hangtown, but is now Placerville,
and engaged in prospecting and mining. There
he remained for five years, and met with a fair
degree of success. In 1855 he returned to Du
Page County, and the following year removed to
the old homestead on which his widow now re
sides. On the 28th of August, 1856, Mr. Williams
was united in marriage with Miss Sarah J.
Welty. For many years they traveled life's
journey together, sharing with each other its
joys and sorrows, its adversity and prosperity,
but after thirty-five years of happy wedded life
the husband was called to the home beyond, on
the 25th of July, 1891, and his remains were laid
to rest in Warrenville Cemetery.

Mr. Williams was in early life a member of the
Baptist Church. In politics, he voted with the
Republican party, but was never an office-seeker,
preferring to devote his time and attention to his
business interests, in which he was quite succes-
ful. At the time of his death he was the owner
of three hundred and forty-two acres of valuable
land, all in Winfield Township. A public-spir
ited and progressive citizen, he took an active
interest in everything pertaining to the welfare
of the community, and did all in his power to
ward its upbuilding. His loss was widely and
deeply mourned. Mrs. Williams still resides
upon the old home farm, and is surrounded by
many warm friends, who esteem her highly for
her many excellencies of character.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams never had any family
of their own, but an adopted daughter, Florence
B., from early infancy received their watchful
care and kindness. They gave her good educa
tional advantages, and she is now a great comfort
to her mother in her declining years, and of very
material assistance in the management of her
large estate. Mrs. Williams and daughter are
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of
Warrenville.

E^?-^

QGJESLEY CHADWICK, one of the enter-
\A/ prists' farmers of this county, resides on
V V section 23, Wayne Township, where he is
engaged in operating a farm of one hundred
acres. This is a well-improved and highly cul
tivated place, supplied with good buildings and
all the accessories and conveniences found upon
a model farm.
Mr. Chadwick was born December 13, 1859,
and is the only son of George M. Chadwick, who
was born in Bennington, Vt., in 1836. The lat
ter came to Illinois with his father, Richard
Chadwick, in 1840, the family settling in Du
Page County, where the grandfather of our sub
ject entered the land on which Wesley now re
sides. As it was Government land, it was en-

l62

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tirely unimproved, and he at once began its
development. He placed acre after acre under
the plow, enclosed his fields with well-kept
fences, and opened up the farm upon which he
spent the last days of his life. He was one of the
honored pioneer settlers of the community, and
was a worthy member of, and for many years a
Deacon in, the Congregational Church. He
passed away November 15, 1851.
George M. Chadwick was but fifteen years old
when his father died, and was thus left with all
the responsibilities of the head of a family. He
made it one of the first duties of his life to carry
out the wishes of his father in caring for an elder
invalid sister, even to the sacrificing of his own
personal interests. He was united in marriage
with Miss Dyanthia Lilley, a native of this
county, and a daughter of Orin Lilley, one of the
early- settlers of Bloomingdale Township.
They began their domestic life on the farm in
DuPage County, where they continued to reside
for a number of years. On account of poor
health, and also that his children might have the
advantages of good schools, he moved to Whea
ton, 111., where he resided until his death. He
was a man of quiet and reserved disposition, and,
although a man of intelligence and great natural
abilities, he was loth to have his friends put him
forward or make him conspicuous. He passed
away February 9, 188 1, leaving a wife and two
children, who still survive him. His daughter,
Edith L-, is a graduate of Wheaton College,
and with her mother resides in Wheaton.
The gentleman whose name heads this record
spent the days of his early boyhood on the farm.
His primary education was supplemented by study
in the Wheaton High School, after which he
spent several terms in Wheaton College. He
taught school for a number of years, and was
very successful in that line of work. In 1885 he
returned to the farm and has since carried on
agricultural pursuits.
On the 27th of October, 1887, in Batavia, Kane
County, 111., Wesley Chadwick married Miss
Gertrude A. Ford, who was born and reared in
Massachusetts. She there began her education,
which she completed in Wheaton and the North

ern Indiana Normal College. They have three
children : Harlow Irving, Melville Dore and Clif
ford Wayne.
In his political views, Mr. Chadwick is inde
pendent, and casts his ballot for the candidate
whom he thinks best qualified for the office. The
cause of education has ever found in him a warm
friend, and he is now serving as a member of the
School Board. Himself and wife are members of
the Methodist Church of Turner, 111. He is a
Master Mason, and he and his wife are members
of Henrietta Chapter No. 162, O. E. S., of Turner,
111. Mr. Chadwick is comparatively a young man,
with probably much of his life before him, and,
with his past record as a criterion, we know that
his future will be a successful aud honorable one.

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"DWARD ROTERMUND, grain, lumber
'y and coal dealer of Addison, is one of the
_ „ leading and influential citizens of this village.
DuPage County numbers him among her native
sons, for he was born in Addison Township, on
the 14th of March, 1849. He is the only child of
Christian and Helena (Fiene) Rotermund. The
father was born in Hanover, Germany, and in
1845 he became a resident of this county, where
he married Miss Fiene, who was also a native of
Hanover, and came to Illinois during her girlhood
days. They began their domestic life upon a
farm in Addison Township, and to the cultivation
and improvement of his land Mr. Rotermund de
voted his energies until his death, which occurred
in 1 85 1. His widow afterwards married again,
becoming the wife of H. Weber.
Edward Rotermund remained with his mother
and step-father until the latter's death, in 1874.
His time was passed in the usual manner of
farmer lads, and his education was begun in the
district schools of the neighborhood, but subse
quently he attended Eastman's Business College,
and by his course of study in that institution was
well fitted for a commercial life. He entered
upon his business career in 1872, embarking in
general merchandising, as a partner of his half-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

163

brother. For eighteen years he devoted his ener
gies to selling goods, building up an excellent
trade, but in 1890 he sold out and began dealing
in and shipping grain, feed, lumber and coal.
In 1878, Mr. Rotermund was united in mar
riage with Miss Emily Gray, daughter of Henry
and Louisa Gray, and a native of York Town
ship, DuPage County. They have become the par
ents of two sons, August and Edwin. He and
his wife are widely known in this community, and
have the warm regard of their many friends.
The esteem in which they are held is well de
served. In his political affiliations, Mr. Rotermund is a
Democrat, but has never been an aspirant for
official honors, preferring to devote his time to his
business interests and the enjoyment of his home.
He holds membership with the Evangelical
Church, serves as cashier ofthe poor of the church,
and takes a leading and active part in benevolent
and charitable work. He is a man of good busi
ness ability, and the able management of his af
fairs has brought him a substantial property.

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(3 QUIRE LOUIS STUENKEL, Justice ofthe
v\ Peace of Addison, DuPage County, and a
QJ retired merchant, was born in Addison Town
ship on the 6th of October, 1838, and is a son of
Frederick and Dorothy (Knigge) Stuenkel, both
of whom were natives of Hanover, Germany.
The father was born in 1 800, and resided in the
Old Country until 1836, when he crossed the
Atlantic to America, and took up his residence in
DuPage County, 111. Locating in Addison Town
ship, he became one of its early settlers. He en
tered about two hundred acres of land from the
Government, and from time to time made addi
tional purchases, until he became quite an exten
sive land-owner. He was recognized as one of
the prominent farmers of the community. He
held membership with the Evangelical Lutheran
Church, and in politics was a supporter of the
Democratic party. He died in the fiftieth year of
his age, and his wife passed away at the age of

fifty-four. They were the parents of five children,
four sons and a daughter.
The youngest of this family is the Squire. He
began his education in a private school, and at
the age of fourteen started out in life for him
self, working by the month as a farm hand. He
has since been dependent upon his own resources,
and therefore his success is due entirely to his
own efforts. He worked by the month as a farm
hand until about sixteen years of age, after which
he was variously employed at different lines of
work until his marriage. In April, 1862, he
wedded Vina Blacke, who was born in DuPage
County, and is of German descent, her parents
being pioneers of this community. Two years
after his marriage he opened a general store in
Addison (the second store in the village) and for
eighteen years carried on business along that line.
After a time he sold a half-interest to his brother,
who purchased the remainder of the stock when
Squire Stuenkel left the business altogether. In
the spring of 1872 the latter commenced the man
ufacture of butter and cheese, and successfully
continued that business for sixteen years. He is
a man of enterprise and strong determination, and
carries on to successful completion whatever he
undertakes. In the fall of 1870, our subject was called upon
to mourn the loss of his wife, who died, leaving
three children, Julius, Ellen and Emma. The
father was afterwards again married, his second
union being with Mary Rotermund, a native of
Addison Township. They have four children,
Adolph, Helena, Louisa and Alma.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Stuenkel is a
Democrat, and has been honored with a number
of local offices. At this writing he is serving as
Justice of the Peace. He has been connected
with the Addison Mutual Insurance Company,
and belongs to the Evangelical Church, in which
he has held several official positions. He is now
living a retired life, after years of faithful labor,
during which he acquired a competency sufficient
to keep him throughout his remaining days, and
supply him with all the comforts and many ofthe
luxuries of life. He now owns a good farm of
one hundred acres, and has given to his eldest

164

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

son a one-hundred-acre tract. Mr. Stuenkel has
known no other home than DuPage County.
He has here a large circle of acquaintances and
many warm friends, whose friendship for him
dates from the days of his boyhood. Few men
are better known than Squire Stuenkel, and by
all he is held in the highest regard.

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EAPT. LUCIUS B. CHURCH was born in
Wyoming County, N. Y. , in 1831, and was
the fifth of ten children. The parents,
Lucius and Betsy (Patterson) Church, were also
natives of the Empire State. The father operated
a sawmill in the East. On coming to Illinois, he
settled at Crystal Lake, where he followed farm
ing until his death, at the age of forty-nine years.
His wife survived him some years and died in
Crystal Lake in 188 1. They were both members
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In fact, the
father was a minister of that denomination. Of
their family of five sons and five daughters, five
are yet living: John, of Crystal Lake; Burney, of
Algonquin; George; Mrs. Jennie Morton, of Elgin;
and Mrs. Abbie Balch, also of Elgin.
Capt. Church whose name heads this record
remained under the parental roof until he had at
tained his majority, and then became agent for
the Parmelee 'Bus Line in Chicago. In 1857 he
became proprietor of the Junction House, of
Turner, and carried on a hotel until after the
breaking out of the late war. In 1862 he re
sponded to the country's call for troops, enlisting
as a member ofthe One Hundred and Fifth Illi
nois Infantry. He was mustered in as First
Lieutenant of Company B, and after serving six
months with his regiment was detached to act on
the staff of Gen. W. T. Ward, of Kentucky. A
year later he was ordered to his regiment, but
was again detailed on the staff of Gen. A. E.
Paine, and later on the staff of Gen. Sol Meredith,
of Indiana. Five months later he joined the One
Hundred and Fifth Illinois, and at that time was
promoted to the rank of Captain. After three
years' faithful service he was mustered out at the

close of the war, in June, 1865. Returning home,
Capt. Church was traveling- agent for the Lake
Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad for five
years, and was then appointed one of the Assist
ant Supervisors of Illinois in the Internal Revenue
Department. Six months later he was relieved,
and was appointed Internal Revenue Assessor for
Montana, where he served until 1873, when the
law under which he was appointed was abolished.
He then returned to Turner, and assumed his old
position with the "Lake Shore & Michigan South
ern Railroad, with which he continued three
years, when he was made general western agent
of the Hoosac Tunnel Line, with headquarters in
Chicago. There he remained until 1879, but
owing to illness he was forced to retire.
During all these years after the close of the war
until incapacitated by ill health, Capt. Church
sang the old patriotic songs at the prominent State
and many ofthe National gatherings of his party.
It is a matter of history, known to but few, that
the Captain was the first to sing the stirring song,
" Marching Through Georgia," which he sang
at the general army headquarters in Washington
the morning after it was composed. He also sang
at the memorable Philadelphia National Conven
tion, where Gen. Grant received his first nomina
tion for the Presidency. He enjoyed the devoted
friendship and confidence of Gens. Sherman,
Logan, Oglesby, Ward, Paine, Meredith and
many other noted military men. Before his health
failed him, he repeatedly gave concerts in aid of
churches and societies, and for other benevolent
purposes. He was the first President of the
Board of Trustees of Turner and was honored with
many other public offices. He will long be re
membered by the boys in blue for his many kindly
acts toward the sick soldiers in the army and for
his devotion to his friends.
On the 23d of November, 1854, the Captain
married Miss Clara Haffey, a native of Steuben
County, N. Y., and a daughter of John and
Keziah (Sherwood) Haffey, who were born in
Seneca County, N. Y. In the home he showed
the same faithful and loving devotion that won
him the unwavering friendship of his army com
rades, and he delighted in the enjoyment of his

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

167

own fireside. He owned his own residence and a
number of good homes in Turner. He witnessed
almost the entire development of this place, and
was ever prominent in the promotion of its best
interests. Socially, he was connected with the
Masonic fraternity and the Grand Army ofthe
Republic. He died March 23, 1893, of paralysis,
after an illness of seven months, at the age of six
ty-one years. The funeral was conducted by E.
S. Kelley Post, G. A. R., and was largely at
tended by old-time neighbors and friends from
Chicago, Wheaton, Elgin, Crystal Lake and
other towns in this part of the State, aud amid
the deep regret of many he was laid to rest in
Oakwood Cemetery. Surely, the world is better
for his having lived, for he was ever warm-hearted
and true, and his life abounded in good deeds.
§ l£- c=y <""t ' >¦ isa ^
EHARLES H. GOODRICH is now the oldest
settler living in DuPage County, and re
sides on section 29, Lisle Township. He
was born July 31, 1823, in Benson, Vt, and was
the fifth in order of birth in a family of seven chil
dren whose parents were Harry and Thankful S.
(Watson) Goodrich. All of the children are now
deceased with the exception of our subject andhis
brother, Timothy W. , who resides in Milwaukee,
where he is engaged in the linseed-oil business.
The father of this family was a native ofthe Green
Mountain State, and there followed farming until
1832, when he came to the West and located on
Government land in DuPage County, where he
remained until his death, which occurred about
ten years later, in May, 1841, at the age of forty
years. He was of Scotch descent. After his
death his widow entered the land from the Gov
ernment, and there made her home until called to
the home beyond, when about seventy- two years
of age. The paternal grandfather, Simeon Good
rich, was a Revolutionary soldier, and on both
sides our subject is descended from prominent New
England families.
Charles Goodrich spent the first nine years of
his life in the State of his nativity, and then ac

companied his parents on their westward emigra
tion. At length they reached Chicago, which
was then a hamlet, composed of Ft. Dearborn and
a few log cabins. It contained not a single frame
residence and gave no evidence of becoming the
wonderful World's Fair City of to-day. The jour
ney from Chicago to DuPage County was made
with an ox-team. They came to an almost un
broken wilderness, in which there were no roads,
no bridges across the streams, and no settlements
for many miles around. In fact, as before stated,
Mr. Goodrich has longer been a resident of Du
Page County than any other citizen now Within
its borders. He remained upon the home farm
until sixteen years of age, with the exception of
two years spent in the public schools of Chicago.
In order to further advance in knowledge, he then
entered Castleton Seminary, in Vermont, where
he spent one year when occurred his father's death.
This event recalled him home, where he helped to
settle up the estate, and the following year entered
Burr Seminary, in Manchester, Vt. , where he was
for three years a student. The succeeding two
years were passed in Middlebury (Vt.) College.
Returning home, he for a time devoted his en
ergies to teaching school. He spent one year
in that way in Naperville, and was for one term
a teacher at Barber's Corners, in Will County.
He then returned to the home farm and has since
been engaged in its cultivation and further im
provement. On the 4th of October, 185 1, Mr. Goodrich was
united in marriage with Miss P. Jane Turner, a na
tive of New York, who at that time was employed
as a teacher in this county. They became the
parents of six children, two of whom died in in
fancy. Howard, the eldest, is a lawyer of Naper
ville, 111.; his twin sister, Ida T. , lives on
the home farm; Jennie is a prominent teacher of
this county; and Irving carries on the farm, which
has been in the possession of the family since 1834.
It now comprises two hundred and twelve acres
of rich land and is pleasantly located three miles
southeast of Naperville. Here the father and
son carry on general farming and a dairy busi
ness, keeping from twenty-five to fifty cows.
Mr. Goodrich, who has taken an active interest

1 68

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in local politics, aided in the organization of the
Republican party in this locality, and was one of
its leaders in earlier years. He has been honored
with a number of offices of public trust, and served
as Supervisor of his township for one term, was
Commissioner of Highways for a number of years,
Assessor three years, and for twenty-four years
served as School Director. In the discharge of
his official duties, he has ever been prompt and
faithful, true to the trust reposed in him. He and
his family are members of the Congregational
Church, in which for many years he has served as
Deacon. He may well feel proud of his long res
idence in the county and of the prominent part
which he has taken in the work of public improve
ment. When he located here there was only one
house between his riome and Chicago, Years
have passed since then, and in the onward march
of civilization DuPage County has taken its place
in the front rank in this great commonwealth. A
debt of gratitude is due to the pioneers, for they
were its founders and builders.

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f3 ' GjlLLIAM T. REED, the senior member of
\ A/ ^e ^rm °^ *^eed & Campbell, who are en-
V V gaged in general merchandising in the vil
lage of Turner, is a native of this county, having
been born in Wayne, on the 23d of March, 1843.
He is a son of George W. Reed, a native of the
Green Mountain State, who was one of the first
settlers in this part of the State. He located in
DuPage County as early as 1837, took up a claim,
and afterward bought more land. He continued
to make his home in the county until his death,
which occurred in Febniary, 1888, at the age of
eighty-two years. His father was likewise born
in Vermont, and was of English descent. His
life work was that of agriculture, and he reared
on his farm a family of twelve children to lives
of sturdy usefulness. He lived to be very old,
and died respected and beloved by all who knew
him. The maiden name of our subject's mother
was Julia A. Ellenwood. Her father was, like

her, a native of Vermont, and his death occurred
when he was in the prime of life.
A family of seven children was born to George
W. and Julia A. Reed. Four of the number were
sons and three daughters. In order of birth they
were as follows: Rodney H.; George B. ; William
T. ; Emily Alice, who is the wife of Robert Ben
jamin; Charles F. ; Julia Ann, who is now Mrs.
James Campbell; and Ida M., wife of William
Wagner. The subject of this sketch, William T. Reed,
was reared at his birthplace in this county and was
given good common-school advantages. From
boyhood he was thoroughly familiar with farm
duties, and remained at home with his parents,
giving them his dutiful assistance, until he was
thirty years of age. He enlisted in Company K,
One Hundred and Forty-first Illinois Infantry,
and served one hundred days. He then returned
to the old home, where he continued to reside un
til 1876. At that time he removed to Turner,
embarking in general merchandising with Charles
P. Stark. This partnership existed until the
death of Mr. Stark, which occurred in 1889. Mr.
Reed has continued in business up to the present
time, and is one of the successful merchants of the
place. He aims to please his patrons in every
particular and keeps a well- assorted stock of goods.
He is affable and courteous in his treatment of all,
and thus has won an enviable reputation as a man
of square dealing.
On Christmas Day of 1879, Mr. Reed was united
in marriage with Miss Maggie Campbell, a daugh
ter of David and Susan (McMillan) Campbell.
Three children bless their union, namely: Irene,
Beulah and Chauncy.
Fraternally, our subject holds membership with
Amity Lodge No. 472, A. F. & A. M., and be
longs to Doric Chapter No. 166, R. A. M., of
Turner. He is also connected with Kelley
Post, G. A. R., of Wheaton. At the present
time he is filling his second full term as Super
visor of the township, in addition to which he
served an unexpired term some time previously.
For a number of years he has been a member of
the Village Board of Trustees, and for eight years
was Justice of the Peace. To a considerable ex-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

169

tent he has invested his money in real-estate, with
the result that he owns one hundred and sixty
acres of fine farming land near Mandan, N. Dak.,
and owns good city property in Turner, besides
his home residence. He is a man who commands
the respect and confidence of all who have any
dealings with him, whether in a.business or social
way, and is numbered among the substantial citi
zens of Turner.

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©Q ILLI AM H. EHLERS is one of the most
\ A / prominent citizens of Glen Ellyn, and is
V V the promoter of its greatest enterprise, the
Ehlers Hotel, undoubtedly the finest commercial
hotel in Du Page County. He was born in Wash
ington County, Wis. , near Milwaukee, September
16, 1856, was reared on a farm, and educated in
the public schools near his home. His father,
Henry Ehlers, was born near Bremen, Germany,
and reached the advanced age of eighty-nine
years. He came to America in 1 851, and lived an
industrious, upright life. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of Marie Ahlers, was also born near
Bremen, Germany, and is now living in Wiscon
sin, at the age of seventy-eight, being still well
preserved for one of her years. She was the sec
ond wife of Mr. Ehlers, and unto them were born
five sons and two daughters, while by the first
union were born two sons, namely: Fred, of Wis
consin; and Henry, of Iowa. The own brothers
and sisters of our subject are Adolph, ofWisconsin;
Sina, wife of Charles Zeller, of the Badger State;
August; Margaret, wife of Herman Volkmann, of
Wisconsin; Louis, of Chicago; John; and Charles,
of Wisconsin.
Early in life, the subject of this sketch "engaged
in the manufacture of cigars, and met with excel
lent success. Forming a partnership with Henry
Schroeder, he continued in that business for nine
years, purchasing his partner's interest after two
years. In 1879, he went to Chicago, where he
carried on a saloon and hotel on Archer Avenue
for some time. Again he prospered in his business
affairs, accumulating quite a property. His resi

dence in Glen Ellyn dates from 1889, since which
time he has carried on a saloon and the fine Ehl
ers Hotel. He was formerly proprietor of the
Glen Ellyn Exchange. On the 5th of September,
1892, he began the erection of his magnificent ho
tel, which is three stories in height, with a base
ment. It is of pressed brick and finished ele
gantly throughout. It contains twenty-two rooms
for guests, besides sample-rooms, reading-rooms,
private and public parlors, dining-rooms, a fine
office and bar. There are also safety-deposit
vaults, a bank, a barber shop, a laundry, and the
third story is being fitted up for an elegant danc
ing hall and society room. The furnishings are
elegant and tasty, being such as are found in a
first-class hotel, and there are all the modern im
provements in the way of lighting, ventilation
and heating. This magnificent structure is an
enduring monument to the enterprise and pro
gressive spirit of the owner, and is an addition to
Glen Ellyn of which the citizens may well be
proud. In 1874, Mr. Ehlers was joined in wedlock with
Miss Fredrikka Volkmann, of Milwaukee, and
unto them have been born three children, Emily,
Lydia and Willie, who are still under the parental
roof. Mr. Ehlers is a member of the Odd Fellows'
Society, and is a prominent and influential citizen
of the community in which he makes his home.
He has been remarkably successful, yet his pros
perity is due entirely to his good business and
executive ability, his energy and diligence.

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G>1 LBERT DANE TRULL is a well-known citi-
| 1 zen of DuPage County, now serving as Post-
/ J master, and agent for the American Express
Company at Wayne. He is recognized as a prom
inent business man, and is also numbered among
the early settlers of the county, dating his resi
dence here from 1863. A native ofthe old Gran
ite State, he was born in Hillsboro County, June
17, 1838. He received fair school privileges, and
when a youth of seventeen left home to make his
own way in the world. Believing that the West

170

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

furnished good opportunities for ambitious young
men who wished to have a successful business ca
reer, he went to Decatur, 111., in 1855, and there
worked for the American Express Company. He
also attended the High School of that city for
several terms, being engaged in teaching during
the winter months.
In Decatur, in 1861, Mr. Trull was united in
marriage with Julia Harrell, who was born and
reared in Decatur. In 1863, he came with his
bride to DuPage County, locating in Turner,
there aiding his brother, who was station agent.
On the 15th of January, 1864, he became one of
the first settlers of Wayne Station, and was ap
pointed station agent for the Chicago & North
western Railroad Company, which position he
held for eighteen consecutive years. He was also
made agent for the American Express Company,
and in 1864, under President Lincoln, was ap
pointed Postmaster, which position he filled until
1884. He was re-appointed under President Har
rison and now holds; the office.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Trull have been born five
children: Jennie, who holds a responsible posi
tion in Chicago with the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad Company; Albert H., a well-educated
young man, who is serving as agent of the Chi
cago & Northwestern at Williams Bay, Wis. ; Es
tella, Clarence and Ziba, who are attending the
home school.
Mr. Trull has always been identified with the
Republican party-, and is a stanch advocate of its
principles. He was elected and sensed for two
terms as Clerk, has served for many years on the
Schook Board, and is now Clerk of the Board.
He is ever found in the front ranks of any enter
prise calculated to prove of public benefit, and
social, educational and moral interests always find
in him a friend. He belongs to the Ancient Or
der of United Workmen of Elgin, and to the
Modern Woodmen of Wayne, serving as Clerk
of his camp. His wife is a member of the Con
gregational Church. Mr. Trull is a most true
and faithful man to every duty reposed in him,
and his long service as Postmaster, express
agent and station agent, indicates his faithful
and honorable service. Fair and upright in all

his dealings, he has won the confidence and re
spect of all with whom business or social relations
have brought him in contact. In connection with
his other business dealings, he has been engaged
in the tile business for a number of years. There
is no enterprise calculated to prove of public ben
efit to the community but receives his support and
co-operation.

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GI DAM S. GLOS, one of the public-spirited and
LI progressive citizens of Elmhurst, is engaged
/ I in the hardware business, and also deals in
agricultural implements. He has carried on op
erations along this line since 1870, and has built
up a good trade, for he is courteous in his treat
ment of his patrons and earnestly desires to please
them. The liberal patronage which he receives
is therefore well merited.
Mr. Glos is a native of this county. He was
born in the town in which he now makes his
home, on the 8th of October, 1848, and isa son of
Adam and Catherine (Soffell) Glos, who were na
tives of Germany, and are mentioned in connec
tion with the sketch of Henry L- Glos on another
page of this work. Adam S. spent the days of
his boyhood and youth in the usual manner of
farmer lads, and began his education in the public
schools of this county. In order to fit himself for
the practical and responsible duties of life, he af
terwards attended. Bryant & Stratton's Business
College of Chicago. He remained at home until
twenty-eight years of age, and for several years
engaged in teaching school in Cook County. Sub
sequently, he taught school for two terms in Elm
hurst, after which he turned his attention to com
mercial pursuits, and opened a store for the sale
of hardware and agricultural implements.
In 1877 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Glos and Miss Emily Fischer, daughter of August
and Eliza (Hackerath) Fischer. Mr. and Mrs.
Glos hold membership with the German Evan
gelical Church, and contribute liberally to its sup
port. He exercises his right of franchise in sup
port of the Republican party, and has been hon-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

171

ored with some local offices. For several terms
he has served as Town Clerk, and for two years
was Assessor.
Mr. Glos owns considerable farming land in
Cook and DuPage Counties, and also a good
home in Elmhurst. He is a man of good business
ability, enterprising and progressive, and by his
well-directed efforts has achieved his success. In
manner he is genial and warm-hearted, and it is
always a pleasure to meet him. He has the happy
faculty of adapting himself to circumstances, and
wherever he goes wins friends. He is recognized
as one of the substantial and public-spirited citi
zens of Elmhurst.

-#$•+-£#*

|""REDERICK POLLWORTH, who follows
Yri farming on section 4, Addison Township, has
| spent nearly his entire life in DuPage Coun
ty, dating his arrival here from 1845. He was
born in Hanover, Germany, on January 15, 1840,
and is the sixth in order of birth in a family of
nine children whose parents were Fred and Dor
othy (Heine) Pollworth. They were also natives
of Hanover. All of their children died in that
country save Henry, who died in Cook County,
and our subject and two sisters. In 1845, the
parents crossed the Atlantic to America and went
direct to Cook County, locating in Elk Grove
Township. In 1861 they removed to DuPage
County. Here the father died at the ripe old age
of eighty years, while the mother passed away in
her sixty-fifth year.
Our subject was a lad of only five summers at
the time of the emigration. In the German and
English schools of this county he acquired his
education, and that knowledge, supplemented by
reading and experience in later years, has made
him a well-informed man. He early became fa
miliar with all the duties of farm life, and to his
father he gave the benefit of his services until his
marriage. In Chicago, in 1870, Mr. Pollworth was joined
in marriage with Miss Regina Sekamp, a native
of that city. Our subject then located in Chicago,

and embarked in the grocery business, along
which line he carried on operations for about five
years. On the expiration of that period he sold
out and removed to the farm on which he now re
sides. It comprises two hundred and forty-three
acres of rich and valuable land, which he has placed
under a high state of cultivation, making the
fields yield to him a golden tribute in return for
the care and labor he bestows upon them. In
connection with general farming he also carries on
stock-raising, and keeps on hand fine grades of
horses and cattle.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Pollworth has been
blessed with four children, a son and three daugh
ters, Fred, Amanda, Carrie and Ella. The fam
ily circle yet remains unbroken and all are still
under the parental roof. The household is noted
for its hospitality and good cheer, and the friends
ofthe family throughout the community are many.
Mr. Pollworth is a Republican in his political
views. He holds membership with the Lutheran
Church, and is a public- spirited and progressive
citizen, who is ever found in the front ranks of
those enterprises which tend to promote the gen
eral welfare and advance the county's best inter
ests. EHARLES D. CLARK is a promising young
attorney of Turner, 111., and is engaged in
the practice of his profession in Chicago.
He has made his home in this place since his
early childhood, and owns a good residence prop
erty and other real estate in the village. His
birth occurred in Chicago on the 19th of No
vember, 1864, his parents being Charles M. and Ar-
villa (Currier) Clark, and our subject is their only
child. The father is a native of Ottawa, Canada,
while the mother's birth occurred in New Hamp
shire. She was called from this life about 1865,
and some three years later the father married
again, the lady of his second choice being Miss
Amanda E. Williams, who was his faithful and
devoted wife until her death, which took place in
1891. The father of our subject early in life followed

172

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the profession of school teaching with marked suc
cess. Since 1870 he has been engaged in the
coal business in Turner, but in 1 890 he received
a paralytic stroke, which necessitated retirement
from his theretofore active career. He came to
the Prairie State in an early day, about 1857, and
settled in DuPage County. Here he has made
his home continuously up to the present time.
His residence in Turner dates from almost the
first year of his arrival in the county, and he has
long been considered one of its representative
and progressive citizens, always interested in
everything tending to its advancement and im
provement, and he has ever taken his share in the
promotion of its welfare. Religiously, he is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to
which his second wife also belonged. His father
was a native of Ireland, and died while still in
early manhood. Our subject's maternal grand
parents, William R. and Roxanna (Marsh) Cur
rier, came of hardy New England stock, and
William R. was a valiant soldier in the late Civil
War. His death occurred when he was in the
prime of life, in St. Louis. The mother of our
subject was a member of the Congregational
Church, and a lady of many sweet and noble qual
ities. The boyhood of Charles D. Clark was passed in
Turner, and here he acquired his primary educa
tion. He was an apt student, and as he was am
bitious to achieve something worthy of note in the
world, after graduating from the public school of
Turner he entered Wheaton College, of Wheaton,
111., and graduated in the Class of '86. Hav
ing a natural inclination for the legal profession,
he determined to adopt it as his life work, and be
came enrolled as a student in the Union College
of Law of Chicago. After a thorough course he
graduated in 1888, and was at once admitted to
the Bar. He commenced his practice in Chicago,
wliich has since been his field of operations. He
is acknowledged by his colleagues to be a young
man of great promise, and though quite young,
both in years and experience as a lawyer, he has
acquired an honorable reputation, which many
who are older might well envy.
On the 31st of July, 1890, Mr. Clark and Miss

Kate L- Roundy were united in marriage. She
is a daughter of Gordon N. and Maria L. (Kim
ball) Roundy, who are well and favorably known
citizens of this place, and is a lady of unusual
ability. The union of our subject and his wife
has been blessed with a bright little son, whom
they call Royal G.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Clark is a Re
publican and loyally supports the men and meas
ures of that party. With his wife he holds mem
bership with the Methodist Episcopal Church of
this place, of which he is at the present time one
of the Trustees. They are valued workers, both
in church and benevolent enterprises, and their
pleasant home is the abode of good cheer and
cordial hospitality.

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HENRY FRITZ, who is proprietor of a meat-
market in Elmhurst, was born in Wurtem
berg, Germany, on the 3d of February,
1 86 1, and is a son of John and Eva (Bauer) Fritz,
who were also born in the same country. They
became the parents of seven children, five sons
and two daughters, but only two of the family
are now living, John and Henry, the former of
whom still resides in the Fatherland. The parents
were both members of the German Lutheran
Church. The father died in 1877, and the moth
er, who survived him seven years, passed away
in 1884. The paternal grandfather of our sub
ject, John Fritz, was a tailor by trade, and his
death occurred when past the allotted age of
three-Score years and ten. He reared a large
family. The maternal grandfather followed the
trade of weaving, and also died in Germany, at
an advanced age.
In taking up the history of our subject, we pre
sent to our readers the sketch of a man well
known in this community, and the record of his
life will therefore prove of interest to many. He
was reared in Germany, and in the common
schools acquired his education. Later, he learned
the butcher's trade. It was in 1883 that he
bade adieu to his old home and friends and

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

173

crossed the Atlantic to America. He came at
once to DuPage County, 111., and located in
Elmhurst, where he has since made his home.
He at once began working at his trade, and was
in the employ of others until 1888, when he
opened a shop for himself.
On the 20th of October, 1890, Mr. Fritz led to
the marriage altar Miss Katie Hembers, daughter
of John and Margaret Hembers. She is a most
estimable lady and is a member of the Catholic
Church. In his social relations, Mr. Fritz is connected
with the Ancient Order of United Workmen of
America, and in politics he is a supporter of Re
publican principles. He now owns a good home
in Elmhurst beside his business. From a small
beginning, he has in a few years built up a large
and paying business, and is now enjoying a fine
trade. Mr. Fritz need never have occasion to re
gret his emigration to America, for he has found
a pleasant home and many friends, and has met
with a good degree of success in his undertakings.
Close application and attention to all the details
of his business, combined with enterprise and in
dustry, have made him a prosperous man.

t=n

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^"HEODORE SCHRAMER is an enterpris-
(f SL ing and substantial farmer, who owns and
VJf/ operates about six hundred acres of valu
able land in Wayne Township, and we wish to
add his name to the prominent citizens of Du
Page County, where he has made his home since
1857. He was born in Prussia, permany, on
the 5th of April, 1839, and is a son of John and
Mary (Stile) Schramer, who were also natives of
Prussia. In 1857, they bade adieu to their old
home, and at Antwerp boarded a sailing-vessel
bound for New York City. In May of that year
they came to the West, reaching Wheaton, Du
Page County, on the 27th of May. Two sons of
the family had located here two years previous.
Mr. Schramer purchased two hundred acres of
land in Winfield Township, and with the help of
his son cleared and opened up a farm, on which

he lived until his death, which occurred in i860.
His wife passed away in 1870. Of their family
of seven sons and three daughters, all grew to
mature years, became heads of families, and all
are still living, with the exception of one brother.
Our subject spent the first sixteen years of his
life in Prussia, and there acquired a good educa
tion, but in English he is entirely self-educated.
He remained with his father until he had at
tained his majority, when, in connection with his
brother-in-law, John Spoden, he purchased a
tract of land of one hundred and twenty acres,
upon which not a furrow had been turned or an
improvement made. They began the develop
ment of their land, divided it into fields, which
they plowed and planted, and soon had a highly
cultivated tract. The property was afterward di
vided, Mr. Schramer receiving sixty acres, to
which he has added from time to time until the
home farm now comprises three hundred and
seventy acres, under a high state of cultivation
and well improved. His home is a large and
substantial residence, and there are good barns, a
granary and wagon-house. He also owns an
other farm of two hundred and twenty acres,
about a mile from the home place.
On the 1 6th of October, 1863, Mr. Schramer
was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary Leais, a
native of Germany, who came to this country
when only seven years of age. Her father, John
Leais, became one of the earliest settlers of this
county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Schramer have been
born six children, Mary is the wife of John
Heinz, a farmer who resides in Wayne Town
ship; Peter aids in carrying on the home farm;
John also follows farming; Nicholas, a man of
good education and business habits, holds a
responsible position in Chicago; Lizzie and Susan
are at home.
Mr. Schramer cast his first Presidential vote
for Abraham Lincoln, but since that time has
been identified with the Democratic party. The
cause of education finds in him a warm friend.
He is a stanch supporter of the public schools,
and has served for a number of years as School
Director. He and his family are members of St.
John's Catholic Church. Mr. Schramer com-

174

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

mencedlife for himself a poor boy, empty-handed,
but through his own enterprise and industry has
accumulated two large and valuable farms, and
to-day is recognized as one of the substantial citi
zens of the community. He has been a resident
of DuPage County for thirty-six long years, has
watched its growth and development, and has
helped to make it what it is to-day. He is
widely known as a man of integrity and upright
character, and he aud his estimable wife fully de
serve the esteem in which they are held.

IS-

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fi> 6) ILLI AM R. JORDAN was born in Steuben
1 A / County, Pa., on the 4th of November,
V V 1 8 19, and was a son of Oliver and Lavina
Jordan. Our subject spent his boyhood days
upon his father's farm, and the common schools
afforded him his educational privileges. He re
mained in Pennsylvania until 1834, when he emi
grated westward, making the trip by team, and
on reaching DuPage County, 111., settled in Win
field Township, where his father took up a tract
of Government land, partly timber and partly
prairie. A log house was built, in which the fam
ily lived for a number of years. They had to haul
all their grain to Chicago, which was their nearest
trading-post. On the 12th of July, 1843, Mr- Jordan was
united in marriage with Miss Mary Gary, who
was born November 14, 1826. She was the eldest
daughter of Charles Gary, whose biography ap
pears on another page of this work. Their fam
ily numbered three children: George W., Sarah,
and Melinda, wife of George Burnson, a farmer
of Winfield Township.
Mr. Jordan was a public-spirited and progress
ive citizen, who took a commendable interest in
everything pertaining to the development and
material advancement of the county. In early
life he was a Whig, but after the formation of the
Republican party supported its principles. He
and his wife were members of the Methodist Epis
copal Church and contributed liberally to its sup
port. His death occurred at his home in Win

field, March 30, 1866, and his remains were in
terred in Gary Mills Cemetery. His wife, who
was a most estimable woman, died January 30,
1882, and was laid to rest by his side.
Their son, George W. Jordan, was born in this
county on the 9th of November, 1846, and at
tended the district schools. Being the only son,
he remained with his parents as long as they
lived. He now owns one hundred and twenty
acres of land on sections 14, 15 and 22, Winfield
Township, where he carries on general farming,
and is also engaged in the dairy business. He is
now enjoying a thriving trade, and in consequence
secures a good income.
On the 14th of September, 1876, Mr. Jordan
was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Bax
ter, who was born in Winfield Township, No
vember 5, 1852, and is a daughter of John and
Sarah (Sharp) Baxter. Four children have been
born of their union, all ofwhom are living, namely:
Estella, Mary, Lavina and John. The family is
one widely and favorably known in the commun
ity and its members rank high in the social cir
cles in which they move. In politics, Mr. Jordan
is a supporter of Republican principles. A wide
awake and enterprising man, he is recognized as
a successful agriculturist, and ranks among the
representative and substantial farmers of the com
munity. Those who know him esteem him highly
for his sterling worth, and he has a host of friends
throughout the community.

•#€+£{

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r"REDERICK J. T. FISHER, M. D., a prac-
r?) ticing physician of- Elmhurst, was born in
I Addison Township in 1842. He passed his
boyhood with his father, H. D. Fischer, on a farm.
At the outbreak ofthe Rebellion, he was the first
iu his township to respond to his country's call.
He served in the National army in defense of the
Union until the Rebellion was on the wane.
After coming home, he took a course at Oberlin,
and was graduated with class honors in 1874. In
the same year he also was graduated at Wheaton
College. He subsequently studied medicine at

J. H. ROEHLER.
(Photo'd by Mills.)

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

177

Leipsic and Heidelberg, Germany, and in the Ohio
Medical College, of Cincinnati. In the last-named
city he entered upon his professional calling and
built up a nice practice. The death of his wife's
father necessitated his removal to Elmhurst, where
he has pursued with much satisfaction the prac
tice of rnedicine ever since.
In 1874 the Doctor manied Miss Martha Struck -
mann, daughter of D. Struckmann. The family
is blessed with three sons: Walter D., Alfred H.
and Herbert C.

**m-3r^m=*=

(John HENRY ROEHLER, who is num-
I bered among the early settlers of DuPage
Q) County, of 1856, now resides in Blooming
dale. He claims Germany as the land of his
birth, which occurred in Hesse-Cassel, Novem
ber 21, 1835. The days of his boyhood and youth
were there passed, and the common schools af
forded him his educational privileges. He after
ward began learning the shoemaker's trade, to
which he served a four years apprenticeship.
In 1856 he emigrated to the New World. Hear
ing ofthe advantages and opportunities afforded
young men in this country, he resolved to try
his fortune in America, and in 1856 boarded a
vessel at Hamburg, going by way of Liver
pool to New York, where he arrived April 28,
1856, after a voyage of forty-nine days. He came
at once to Illinois, reaching Chicago on the 4th
of May. Proceeding to Bloomingdale he here be
gan working at the shoemaker's trade. After be
ing employed for three years he opened a shop of
his own, and has since carried on the business.
Success has crowned his efforts and he is now in
comfortable circumstances. He has a neat and
substantial residence here, and a good income,
which enables him to supply the household with
all the comforts that go to make life worth the
living. On the 28th of May, 1862, in Bloomingdale,
Mr. Roehler was united in marriage with Miss Re
becca Meyer, a native of Germany, whose death
occurred October 28, 1871. They had two chil

dren, but both died in early childhood. On the
ist of June, 1872, Mr. Roehler wedded Miss
Sophia Guemmer, a native of Germany. They
have two children: Henry D., who is now pursu
ing a course of study in Wheaton College; and
Emma, at home.
Mr. Roehler is a self-made man, who empty-
handed started out to make his own way in the
world. His career has not been without obsta
cles and difficulties, but he has overcome these by
laborious effort and perseverance, and is now well
off. He exercises his right of franchise in sup
port of the Democratic party, and his first vote
was cast for Gen. George B. McClellan in 1864.
He has served as a delegate to various conven
tions of his party, and is now serving as a mem
ber of the County Democratic Central Committee.
In 1876 he was elected Township Clerk, and again
in 1884. He has also served as Township Treas
urer, and in 1885 was again chosen as Clerk,
having served in that office and as Treasurer con
tinuously since. In whatever position 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.

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EEORGE REUSS is numbered among the
early settlers of Naperville, and is a promi
nent banker of this place. He has also been
connected with other business interests, and has
ever been recognized as a leading and influential
man. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, June
24, 1831, and is a son of Austin Reuss, who was
also a native of the same locality, and there spent
his entire life, as did the mother of our subject.
This worthy couple were the parents of five chil
dren. George Reuss, who is the eldest of the family,
was reared and educated in the Fatherland, spend
ing his boyhood in his parents' home. In his
youth he learned the tailor's trade, which he fol
lowed in Germany. The year 1854 witnessed
his arrival in America. Believing that the New
World furnished better opportunities for ambi-

i78

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tious and enterprising young men than the older
countries of Europe, at the age of twenty-three he
bade adieu to home and friends, and in a sailing-
vessel crossed the Atlantic, landing in New York
City in January, 1855. He made his first loca
tion in St. Charles, Kane County, 111., and on the -
ist of May, 1856, came to Naperville, where he
began business as a merchant tailor. For thirty-
seven years he has now carried on business along
this line, and a high degree of success has at
tended his well-directed efforts.
Mr. Reuss is truly a self-made man. When he
was married he had but $3 to pay the minister.
On the 29th of June, 1856, Miss Mary Ann Kraff
became his wife. She was born in the same lo
cality as our subject, and in childhood they at
tended the same school. As the years advanced
their friendship deepened into love, and their
marriage was celebrated, as before stated. They
have now traveled life's journey together for
thirty-seven years, and Mr. Reuss has found in
his estimable wife a faithful companion and help
mate. Three children have been born unto them:
Ella E., wife of Val Dieter, who is now cashier
in the Bank of Naperville; Anna, wife of Charles
Zahringer, of the Chicago Spice Company; and
Joseph Av, who is serving as assistant cashier of
the bank.
Mr. Reuss opened th& Bank of Naperville on
the ist of May, 1886. It is recognized as one of
the substantial financial institutions of the county,
and does a conservative business, receiving a
liberal patronage from the best citizens of the
community. In connection with his banking and
tailoring business, Mr. Reuss owns a fine and
valuable farm of one hundred and seventy acres
in DuPage County, and owns much property in
Naperville. In his political affiliations, on ques
tions of State and National importance Mr.
Reuss is a Democrat, but at local elections he
supports the man whom he thinks best qualified
for the office, regardless of party affiliations. He
has been honored with the office of Mayor, has
also served in the Council, and the prompt and
able manner in which he discharges his public
duties has won him high commendation. He is
a man of good business ability, who carefully at

tends to all details, and by good management and
perseverance he has achieved success. The wis
dom of his choice in selecting America as the
scene of his labors is shown by the prosperity
which has here crowned his efforts.

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EAPT. M. E. JONES, now the efficient and
genial Postmaster of Wheaton, is not only
widely and favorably known to the people
of DuPage County, but also has a wide acquaint
ance in army circles, for he was one of the valiant
defenders of the Old Flag during the late war, and
fired the first shot at the battle of Gettysburg.
His life record is as follows: He was born in
Poultney, Rutland County, Vt., June 5, 1830, and
is a son of Ephraim and Sophia (Page) Jones.
On his father's side he is descended from Gen.
Stark's family. His grandmother, Eunice Stark,
was an own sister of Gen. Stark, whose bravery is
well known, and whose courage was manifested
in his speech to the "Green Mountain Boys" be
fore the battle of Bennington: ' 'Boys, we conquer
to-day, or Mollie Stark is a widow." The Stark
family is of English origin, the Joneses of Welsh,
and the Pages and Crosses were of Scotch lineage.
The father of our subject was a wagon-maker
by trade. He spent his entire life in Vermont,
where he was killed during a cyclone. His widow
is still living in Pawlet, Vt.', with her youngest
son, Nelson M., the only brother of our subject.
Two sisters of the family are still living: Libbie,
now the wife of Lynus H. Jennings, a wealthy
citizen of Middletown, Vt. ; and Lola S. , wife of
Quincy Pratt, a druggist of Pawlett, Vt. A
brother of our subject, Frank P. Jones, a doctor,
became army surgeon of the Fourteenth Vermont
Infantry, and while in the army contracted an
illness from which he died in 1864. A sister,
Annis, became the wife of Philetus Farrar, of
Wells, Vt., and died leaving a son, Marcellus,
who is now engaged in business in Chicago.
Henrietta became the wife of Mr. Whitlock, of
Weyauwega, Wis., and died, leaving two children,
both of whom have since passed away.

(Photo'd by Mills.)

M. E. Jones.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

179

Capt. Jones remained in the Green Mountain
State until seventeen years of age, being reared in
Bennington and Rutland Counties. At that time
he started outjn life for himself, and has since
made his own way in the world. It has not all
been smooth sailing, for he has met with several
severe losses, yet he is now comfortably situated
in life. His first venture was as a jewelry peddler.
With a horse and buggy he traveled through the
country selling jewelry. The next year he went
to Niagara County, N. Y., and thence to Medina
County, Ohio, spending eighteen months in the
two places, working as a carpenter and joiner.
He arrived in Chicago December 23, 1850, and
there followed his trade for four years, after which
he went to Weyauwega, Wis., where he married
Miss Sarah Reece. At that place Mr. Jones
worked at his chosen vocation, and also built a
sash and door factory, but was so unfortunate as
to have it destroyed by fire, and in a few hours
his hard-earned savings, amounting to $4,000,
went up in smoke. While in Wisconsin a son
was born unto him, but the child only lived
thirteen days, and the mother died about the
same time.
In 1858, Capt. Jones removed to DuPage Coun
ty, and soon became one of the leading contract
ors and builders of the community, working a
large force. He located in Danby, now Prospect
Park, and there continued his labors until the call
came for volunteers. He was among the first to
respond, enlisting August 5, 1 861, in Company
E, Eighth Illinois Cavalry. His comrades wished
him to become an officer, but he modestly de
clined the offer, saying that military science and
tactics were new to him; but after he had been
tried in the service, if they still wished to place
him in command, he would then consider their
courtesy. He helped to organize Company E,
served the full time, and in December, 1863, re
enlisted. He was honorably discharged with his
regiment in Chicago, in 1865. True to his deter
mination, he entered the service as a private, but
his meritorious conduct won him promotion from
time to time, until he became Captain. He it
was that fired the first shot at the memorable
battle of Gettysburg. While placing his men on

picket about 7:30 o'clock in the morning, Capt.
Jones took a carbine from Sergt. Levi S. Shaf
fer and fired at the advancing enemy.
The Eighth Illinois Cavalry went into camp at
St. Charles, but was drilled at Washington, D.C.
The troops were mustered in September 18, 1861,
and on the 13th of October were sent to the Capi
tol City, and on the 17th camped at Meridian
Hill. On the 17th of December they went into
camp near Alexandria, Va., and March 10, 1862,
joined the general advance on Manassas, in Gen.
Sumner's division. The Eighth Cavalry re
mained at Warrentown until May 12, and four
times drove the enemy across the Rappahannock.
On the 4th of May they went to Williamsburg,
and were assigned to the Light Brigade under Gen.
Stoneman. They participated in the battles of
Mechanicsville, Gaines Hill, Dispatch Station and
Malvern Hill; picketed on the James River while
the army lay at Harrison's Landing; and led the
advance on the second occupancy of Malvern
Hill. Landing at Alexandria on the ist of Sep
tember, they crossed into Maryland, and at the
engagement at Poolsville Church captured the
colors of the Twelfth Virginia Confederate Cav
alry, and participated in the battles of Barnesville,
Sugar Loaf Mountain, Middletown, South Moun
tain, Boonesboro, Antietam and Martinsburg, and
then moved in advance of the Army of the Poto
mac, meeting the rebel cavalry in battle at
Philmonte, Uniontown, Upperville, Barber' s Cross
Roads, Little Washington, Amesville, Falmouth
and Fredericksburg. During the campaign of
1863, our subject was engaged with his regiment
at Sulphur Springs, Warrenton, Rapidan Station,
Northern Neck, Fairville, Gettysburg, Williams
burg, Boonesboro, Falling Water, Chester Gap,
Sandy Hook, Culpeper, Brandy Station, the raid
to Falmouth, Raccoon Ford, Liberty Mills, Ma
nassas, Mitchell Station and Ely's Ford. The
regiment was mustered out at Benton Barracks,
Mo., July 17, 1865, and ordered to Chicago, where
the troops were paid off. At the Briggs House,
in that city, the Captain paid off his men. The
First Lieutenant waited around, and finally in
formed him that he was wanted in room 55.
What was the Captain's surprise, when, after he

i8o

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

had repaired to that room, he was presented with
an elegant silver set, valued at $165. It is need
less to say that he was held in the highest esteem
by the boys in blue who served under him and
thus manifested their love and respect. Mr. Jones
was commissioned Second Lieutenant December
5, 1862, First Lieutenant July 4, 1864, and Cap
tain October 10, 1864. All three commissions
were signed by Gov. Richard Yates.
Captain Jones was married September 1, 1864,
to Miss Naomi E. Mecham, daughter of Mathew
P. and Phcebe (Benson) Mecham. Three Me
cham brothers came from England and settled in
Massachusetts in Colonial days. The great-grand
father served in the Revolutionary War. He was
also a lover ofthe chase, and went to Vermont on
frequent hunting expeditions. This made him
acquainted with the Green Mountain State, and
the family finally removed thither. The grand
father, Seth Benson, was at the battle of Platts-
burg, in the War of 18 12. The parents of Mrs.
Jones removed from Vermont to DuPage County
in 1854. The mother died in 1884, at the age of
eighty-five, and the father died in Wheaton, in
1887, at the age of ninety. They had six chil
dren: Rhoda E., deceased,' wife of Arius Had
ley, of Wheaton; Angeline, who died in infancy;
Matthew F. , who married Angelette King, and is
a farmer of Dodge City, Kan. ; Naomi E. ; James
S.; and David L. , who died in infancy. Mrs.
Jones was only twelve years of age when her par
ents came to Illinois. After two years spent as a
student in Wheaton College, she engaged in
teaching, and followed that profession until her
marriage. She did what the rebels could not do
— capture the Captain.
After his marriage, Mr. Jones worked at his
trade as a builder and house-mover, locating in
Wheaton immediately after the close of the war.
In 1872 he went to Colorado, where he carried on
a stock-ranch for four years, when, in 1876, he
returned with his wife to Wheaton, where they
have since resided. They have a pleasant home
on Naperville Street, which is the abode of hos
pitality, and in the community they have many
friends. Capt. Jones has been called upon to
serve in various official positions. He served as

Township Collector, City Councilman, and in
1882 was elected County Sheriff for a term of four
years. In 1890, he was appointed Postmaster by
President Harrison, and is now acceptably filling
that position. The Captain is prominent in Grand
Army circles, and is a charter member of E. S.
Kelley Post No. 513, G. A. R., of which he was
made the first Commander. He is also a Mason,
belonging to the Blue Lodge of Wheaton, and
the Chapter of Naperville. He holds membership
with the Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows'
Society, and his wife is a member of the Rebecca
Order. In politics, he is a stalwart Repub
lican, and both the Captain and Mrs. Jones are
members of the Universalist Church of Wheaton.
His official, army and private life are alike above
reproach. He is true to every public duty, faith
ful to every trust, and was a valiant and cour
ageous soldier in his country's hour of peril.

&+*f

DGAR BOYNTON, a retired farmer residing
*y in Turner, is a native of Vermont. His
__ father, Peter J. Boynton, was born in the
Empire State, and served as a soldier in the War
of 18 12. By occupation he was a farmer, and fol
lowed that pursuit throughout his entire life. He
reared a family of six children, three sons and
three daughters. His death occurred in Hines-
burgh, Vt., at the age of eighty-four years.
Edgar Boynton followed in the footsteps of his
father and chose farming as his vocation. The
work with which he became familiar in his youth
he continued until advancing years made him wish
to lay aside its cares. There was also another
motive for his retirement from business in 1889,
and his removal to Turner, for he wished to be near
his sons to aid them. In 1854 he left the Green
Mountain State and came westward, settling in
Elk Grove, Cook County, UL, where he lived for
fifteen years, all the time busy with farming du
ties. He then removed to Wayne Township, Du
Page County, and has been a resident of this
county continuously since.
Mr. Boynton married Miss Genevieve Bowe,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

isl

and unto them have been born two sons, William
A. and Ray D. The former learned the tinner's
trade and is now engaged in the hardware busi
ness in Turner. Ray is engaged in the hardware
business in Wayne. The father of Mrs. Boynton,
John Bowe, was a native of Vermont, and came
to this State in 1836. He located at Elk Grove,
becoming one of its pioneer settlers. His death
occurred in Palatine, April 24, 1886, at the age of
eighty years.
Mr. Boynton is a stanch advocate of Republi
can principles, but is a politician in no sense of
the word, having never been an office-seeker,
preferring rather to look after his farming inter
ests and live a quiet life, undisturbed by the tur
moil ofthe political arena. The result of his la
bors has been quite satisfactory , and he has retired
from hard work with an ample competency- to
supply the wants of his old age. His life has been
unostentatious and unpretending, and is well wor
thy of emulation, for it has been characterized by-
honesty and integrity.
Mr. Boynton is one of the few men who can trace
their genealogy back into the eleventh century,
and he takes great pride in keeping a complete
record of his ancestors. He has seen nearly all of.
the development of the county, and is one of its
substantial citizens. He settled in DuPage Coun
ty when it took a great deal of perseverance and
determination to remain in this frontier locality,
and he is now a living monument to the certainty of
reward for the faithful toiler who prudently" and
persistently labors toward the goal which is just
before. 6 ' ' c=W T ^B " <a
fjl DAM KELLER, who for many years was
T\ connected with the agricultural interests of
J| DuPage County, is now living a retired life
on section 11, Naperville Township. He was
born in the kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, on
the 24th of February, 1831, and is the youngest
in a family of four sons and two daughters born
unto John M. and Annie E. (Loesch) Keller.
The parents were both natives of the same local
ity, where they spent their entire lives.

Adam Keller was reared to manhood under the
parental roof, remaining at home until twenty-one
years of age, when he bade adieu to friends and
family, and sailed from the Fatherland for Amer
ica. It was in the year 1852 that he took up his
residence in DuPage County, where he began
working by the month. He was $9 in debt,
which sum, of course, had to be paid off before he
could make a start for himself. After working
as a farm hand for some time, he began work
ing for Hiram Fowler, by whom he was employed
for eight years at $150 per year. After his mar
riage he rented a farm for three years.
As a companion and helpmate on life's journey,
in i860 Mr. Keller chose Miss Barbara Weigand.
After operating the farm three years, he spent
six years in the cultivation of a farm which he
rented of Solomon Babbitt. On the expiration of
that period he purchased the farm on which he
now resides, the purchase price for one hundred
and fifty-three acres being $60 per acre. There
were few improvements upon the place, which is
now supplied with good barns and all the neces
sary outbuildings. In extent, the farm has been
increased until it comprises two hundred and
forty-three acres. The fields are well tilled, and
everything about the place indicates the careful
supervision of the owner.
Ten children came to bless the home, as fol
lows : Anna B., now the wife of John V. Kreg-
ger; George A., who operates his father's farm in
Naperville Township; Mary E., wife of Frank
Seiler, of Lisle Township; Effie C, wife of An
drew Welley, of Lisle Township; Lora M. and
Emma H., who are at home; Joseph W., who
died April 5, 1875, at the age of eleven months;
Bertie A., Frank G. and Alma G., who are also
still under the parental roof. The home of this
family was erected in 1893, at a cost of $1,500.
In 1885 a barn was built at a cost of $2,700, and
in 1882 a two-story residence was built on the
west side of the road at a cost of $1 , 200, and in this
his son George A . now resides. No accessory of
a model farm is there lacking, and the improve
ments upon the place stand as monuments to the
enterprise of the owner.
Mr. Keller has generally been identified with

18;

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the Democratic party, but voted for Abraham
Lincoln and Gen. Grant, and has always endeav
ored to support the man whom he thinks best
qualified for the office, regardless of party affilia
tions. He has served as Supervisor one year,
was Road Commissioner three years, and is now
serving as School Director. He and his family
are members of the Catholic Church, of which he
has served as Trustee. We see in our subject a
self-made man, whose success has been achieved
through his own labors. Though he began life
empty-handed, he has steadily worked his way
upward, overcoming the obstacles and difficulties
in his path, and making the most of his opportu
nities. He has thus acquired a handsome com
petence, which numbers him among the substan
tial citizens of the community.

©QUIRE ERNEST HENRY WILLIAM
7\ LEESEBERG, who is serving . as Notary
y^J Public in Addison, and is one of the early
settlers of DuPage County, claims Germany as
the land of his birth. That country has furnished
many worthy citizens to northeastern Illinois,
men who have been prominent in the upbuilding
of the communities in which they have located.
Among these should be mentioned our subject.
He was born in Hanover, November 3, 1818,
and his parents, George F. and Maria (Scheele)
Leeseberg, were also natives of the same king
dom. In 1842, they bade adieu to their home
and friends and crossed the Atlantic to the New
World. In DuPage County they spent their re
maining days, the father dying in his seventy-
ninth year, and the mother in her eighty -third
year. Their family numbered eight children, of
whom our subject is the third, in order of birth.
Squire Leeseberg was reared in Germany until
twenty years of age, and much of that time was
spent in work upon the farm. He also passed
two years in a dye-house. In 1838 he sailed for
the United States, landing at New Orleans, from
where he went up the river to St. Louis. There
he spent two years, engaged in gardening and

hauling coal with ox teams. From St. Louis he
went to Chicago by stage and thence came to Du
Page County, where he soon secured employ
ment on the Illinois & Michigan Canal, working
by the month for $13. At length he returned to
St. Louis, where he spent the two succeeding
years, and then again came to DuPage County,
where he embarked in farming.
In 1848, Mr. Leeseberg married Miss Adelina
Brettmann, a native of Hanover, Germany, who
came to this country during her girlhood. She
died August- n, 1891. Twelve children were
born of that marriage. Of these, Fred joined the
boys in blue during the late war and was killed in
the service; Louisa is the wife of Charles Bow
man, of Oak Park, 111.; Sophia is the wife of J.
W. Senne, of Oak Park; Emma married Rod
Fritzke, of Milwaukee; Mary, deceased, was the
wife of August Ganske; Lesette married William
Pflug, of Milwaukee; Louis is at home; William
lives in Melrose Park; and Martha is the wife of
Fred Kringel, of Milwaukee. Three of the daugh
ters have married teachers, and William is a
teacher in a German and English school.
Upon his marriage, Squire Leeseberg removed
to a log cabin which he built, and which was sit
uated on the site of his present home. He has
led a busy and useful life, and through his indus
trious efforts has become well-to-do. In politics,
he is independent, voting for the man whom he
thinks best qualified for the office. His fellow-
townsmen appreciating his worth and ability, have
frequently- called upon him to serve in positions
of public trust, and for fourteen years he has filled
the office of Justice of the Peace. He has been
Notary Public for four years and is now holding
that office. He has also served as Assessor, was
Commissioner of Highways several years, and
was also School Director. From 1871 until 1872
he served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Ad
dison Mutual Insurance Company. Being re
elected to a number of the offices which he has
filled, itis thus shown that he has discharged his
duties with promptness and fidelity. Mr. Leese
berg belongs to the Evangelical Church, has held
many of its offices, and is serving as one of the
Trustees of the German College and Orphan Asy-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

183

lum. He contributes liberally to church and be
nevolent work, and his aid is never withheld from
any worthy enterprise. Squire Leeseberg still
owns one hundred and eleven acres of land, which
yields to him a good income. In May, 1886, he
returned to Hanover, Germany, and spent two
months in visiting his old home and the scenes of
his boyhood and renewing the acquaintances of
his earlier years. His public and private life
have been alike above reproach, and an honor
able, upright career has won him universal con
fidence and good- will.

_S)

^HH^

IS-

~=3

nLBERT STANGE, who is now living a re
tired life in Elmhurst, claims Germany as
the land of his birth, which occurred in the
kingdom of Prussia, September 8, 1834. He is
one ofa family of seven children, and his parents,
Frederick and Caroline (Buchin) Stange, were
also born in that country. The paternal grand
father was a dairyman of Germany, and reared a
family of five children. He spent his entire life
in the Fatherland, and was more than seventy
years of age when called to the home beyond.
Frederick Stange followed the same pursuit as his
father. In 1855 he determined to seek a home
and fortune in the New World, and with his fam
ily sailed for America. Immediately after land
ing, he came to what was then Cottage Hill, but
is now Elmhurst. However, he was not long
permitted to enjoy his new home, as his death
occurred soon after, at the age of fifty-nine. His
wife survived him some years. Both were mem
bers of the Lutheran Church. Of their family of
six sons and a daughter, only two are now living:
Albert, and Mary, who is the wife of Henry Peter
son, of Chicago.
The subject of this sketch was reared in the
land of his nativity, acquired a good education in
the common schools, and in his youth learned the
miller's trade. In 1854, when a young man of
twenty, he came to America and worked for a
short time in New York City. He then spent a
short time as a farm hand in the East. In 1855

he journeyed westward, and for a time was em
ployed as a carpenter and also as a farm hand.
He went first to Shelby County, 111., and subse
quently to Will County, and after the close ofthe
war he returned to Elmhurst. For one year he
worked on a farm, and then secured a position in
the warehouse of D. Struckmann & Co., where
he continued for five years as an employe. With
the capital which he had saved from his earnings
during that time, he then purchased Mr. Struck
mann' s interest in the business, and the firm be
came Brownell & Stange. This partnership was
continued until 1888, when our subject bought
out Mr. Brownell's interest and continued opera
tions alone for five years. In July, 1893, he re
tired from business.
On the 15th of April, 1859, Mr. Stange wedded
Miss Dora Burman, daughter of Herman and
Anna (Buhrdorf) Burman. Four children have
been born to them, but one died in infancy. The
others are, Carrie, Mary and Otto H. Mary is
the wife of Frank Remmer, of Elmhurst, and they
have one daughter, Irene. Otto H. married Miss
Bertha Laude. The parents are both members
of the Evangelical Synod of North America.
They have a pleasant home in Elmhurst, and Mr.
Stange owns other property here. In politics, he
is a Democrat, but has had neither time nor in
clination to seek public office. His life has been
a busy and useful one, devoted to his business in
terests, and by close application and attention to
all details he has won a success which now en
ables him to live retired, in the enjoyment of the
fruits of his former toil.

-S3.

$+£

JS_

"S3

gEORGE A. FISCHER, a prominent farmer,
and the present efficient Supervisor of Addi
son Township, was born in this township,
June 30, 1851. His father, Henry D. Fischer,
was a native of Hanover, Germany, and at the
age of eighteen years emigrated to Chicago, in
1835. In the spring of 1837 he came to DuPage
County, and took up Government land at $1.25
per acre. He was soon afterward joined by his

184

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

parents. Mr. Fischer became a very prominent
and influential farmer, and at his death, in 1868,
was the owner of seven hundred acres of land.
He married Maria Franzen, a native of Prussia,
who still survives him, and is living with our sub
ject. They were the parents of ten children,
of whom three died in childhood. August H.
served as a Lieutenant during the late war, and
was killed at Atlanta; Henry D. is now de
ceased; Charles died in childhood; Frederick J.
T. is a practicing physician of Elmhurst; Her
man A. is a professor in Wheaton College; Will
iam H. died in childhood; George A. is the next
younger; Eliza C. is the wife of Rev. R. Menk,
of Loraine, 111.; William H. is a professor in
Wheaton College; and Henrietta died in child
hood. The first school which our subject attended was
the common district school, and later he spent
three winter terms in Wheaton College. With
the exception of one year spent in the nursery
business, he has followed farming throughout his
entire life. He now owns three hundred acres of
rich land, under a high state of cultivation. He
makes a specialty of dairy farming, and keeps
thirty head of cows for this purpose. Recently he
has erected a fine residence at a cost of $4,000,
and the other improvements are in keeping with
the home.
In January, 1876, Mr. Fischer married Mary
Franzen, a native of Cook County, and to them
were born five sons and three daughters, as fol
lows: Flora M., now deceased; Edgar B. , who is
attending Wheaton College; Henry F. ; George
H. and Mary L-, twins; Arvin W.; Lucy C. and
Frank F. All were born upon the home farm,
where occurred the birth of the father and of his
brothers and sisters.
In politics, Mr. Fischer is a Republican, and
has been honored with various offices. Since
1876 he has served as Township Treasurer, was
Township Assessor two years, and was elected
Justice of the Peace, but would not serve. He
has been a Director of the Addison Mutual Fire
Insurance Company. In 1890 he was elected
Supervisor, was re-elected in 1891, and again in
1893 for a two-years term, a fact which shows the

confidence reposed in him, and that this trust
has never been betrayed. He holds membership
with the Evangelical Church. He is one of the
early settlers of Addison Township, and has wit
nessed much of the development and progress of
the county. In its advancement and upbuilding
he feels a just pride, and in the work of improve
ment he has ever borne his part.

B~

f- RED STUENKEL is a retired farmer and
Tri early settler now living in Bensenville. He
| is so well known throughout DuPage Coun
ty that he needs no special introduction to our
readers, but we feel assured that the record of his
life will prove of interest to many. Like many of
the citizens of this community, he is a native of
Germany. He was born in Hanover, on the 14th
of February, 1825, and is the second child of
Frederick Stuenkel. His father was also a na
tive of that locality, and after arriving at years of
maturity he was united in marriage with Dorothy
Kneege, who was also born in Hanover. In
1836 they left their native land for the New
World, and, choosing DuPage County as the
scene of their future labors, the father here en
tered land from the Government. He then fol
lowed farming until his death, which occurred in
1850. His wife survived him only four years,
when she too passed away.
Our subject was about eleven years of age
when his parents emigrated to the New World.
Under the parental roof he was reared to man
hood, and to his father he gave the benefit of his
services until his marriage in 1847, Miss Mary
Marquardt becoming his wife. She was born in
Hanover, and came to this county when a young
lady of eighteen years. They located on a farm
near the village of Addison, and there Mr. Stuen
kel engaged in general merchandising for some
time. He also carried on the manufacture of
cheese for about seven years. In 1887 he re
moved to his present place of abode.
To our subject and his wife were born ten chil
dren, two sons and eight daughters, all born in

Henry L- Glos.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

187

Addison Township: Frederick, who is now living
in Arlington Heights; William, who occupies the
old homestead; Sophia, wife of August Wolk-
henhauer; Louisa, wife of August Ashe, of Ben-
senville; Mary, wife of William Schmidt, of
Arlington Heights; Caroline, wife of William
Struckmeyer, of Minnesota; Augusta, deceased;
Dora, wife of William Gray, who is living in
Fullersburg, York Township; and Matilda, wife
of Ed Brust, a teacher of Addison.
Mr. Stuenkel usually votes the Democratic
ticket, but supported Gen. Grant. He holds
membership with the Lutheran Church, and has
served in its offices. Indolence and idleness are
utterly foreign to his nature, and untiring labor
and perseverance brought him the handsome com
petence which now numbers him among the
well-to-do citizens ofthe community, and enables
him to live a retired life. His residence in this
county covers a period of fifty-seven years.
Much of his youth was passed here, and this has
been the scene of his entire manhood career.
He has witnessed the growth and development of
the town and county, and in all possible ways
has aided in its advancement, for he takes a
commendable interest in the general welfare of
the community with which he has so long been
identified.

HENRY L. GLOS, who is engaged in the real-
estate business in Elmhurst, was born near
this place, on the 31st of December, 1851.
His parents, Adam and Catherine (Soffell) Glos,
were natives of Bavaria. The paternal grand
father, John Glos, served as a soldier under Na
poleon, and died at the advanced age of ninety-
five. His family numbered five children. The
maternal grandfather, John Soffell, spent his en
tire life in Germany. The father of our subject
was a farmer by occupation, and came to America
in 1835, locating at his present home in DuPage
County, where his father purchased one hundred
and sixty acres of land. To this Adam Glos has
added from time to time until he now owns over

seven hundred acres of valuable land. Both he
and wife are members of the German Evangelical
Church, and are highly respected citizens through
out the community in which they make their
home. In their family were ten children, five
sons and five daughters, of whom three sons and
two daughters are now living, namely: Adam S.;
Henry L. ; Jacob; Catherine, wife of August
Timke, who is living near South Elmhurst; and
Mary A.
Henry L- Glos was reared upon his father's
farm, there remaining until eighteen years of age.
He acquired his early education in the public
schools, and was afterward graduated from the
Bryant & Stratton Business College of Chicago.
Subsequently, he engaged in teaching school in
Elmhurst for six years, and then embarked in
general merchandising, which he successfully con
tinued until 1886, when he turned his attention to
the real-estate business, which he has since fol
lowed. On the 26th of June, 1876, Mr. Glos was united
in marriage with Miss Lucy M. Schween, daugh
ter of William and Sophia (Boske) Schween, of
Elgin, who were natives of Hanover, Germany.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Glos are members of the
German Evangelical Church, and are people of
many excellencies of character, widely and favor
ably known throughout the community. Their
home, an elegant stone structure, is the finest res
idence in Elmhurst. There hospitality reigns su
preme, and it is a favorite resort for their many
friends. In politics, Mr. Glos affiliates with the Repub
lican party. Under President Harrison he re
ceived the appointment of Postmaster of Elmhurst,
which he resigned March 4, 1893, but held the
office until November 6, as no successor had been
appointed. He has been President of the Village
Board for ten years, and was Supervisor of the
town for a number of years, and it is needless to
say that he has proved a capable official. No
higher testimonial of his fidelity to duty could be
given than his constant re-election. Mr. Glos
owns large landed interests in DuPage and Cook
Counties, and all this has been accumulated
through his own efforts. He has led a busy and

188

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

useful life, and as the result has won prosperity.
He is broad, liberal-minded and progressive, and
the best interests of Elmhurst and the community
have ever found in him a warm friend.

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NENRY WINSLOW HUBBARD, the popular
and efficient agent for the Chicago & North
western Railroad Company located at Wayne,
is numbered among the native sons of Illinois.
He was born in Kane County, October 7, 1842,
and is a son of John Hubbard, a native of New
York, who emigrated westward to this State in
1833, and made one of the first settlements in
Kane County. There he opened up a farm, upon
which he spent his remaining day-s, his death oc
curring in 1855. His wife passed away in 1864.
Their family numbered six sons and three daugh
ters, all of whom grew to mature years and be
came heads of families, and, with the exception
of the eldest, all are yet living.
Henry W. Hubbard spent the days of his boy
hood and youth quietly. He worked on a farm
in the summer months, and in the winter season
conned his lessons in the common schools. A
decided change in his life took place, however, in
September, 1861, for he left the peaceful pursuits
of the farm to aid his country in her struggle to
preserve the Union. It was in September, 1861,
that he joined Company F, Fifteenth Illinois In
fantry. Going to the front, he participated in the
battles of Ft. Donelson and Shiloh, and the long
siege aud capture of Vicksburg. Later he went
with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea,
and at last took part in the most brilliant military
pageant ever seen .on this side of the globe — the
Grand Review in Washington, where the victori
ous troops marched through the streets of the city
which, as the result of their sacrifices, was still
the capital ofthe united nation.
When the war was over Mr. Hubbard received
his discharge. He had escaped without wounds
or injury, yet he was always found in the thickest
of the battle, valiantly defending the Old Flag.
Returning home, he continued farm work for some

time. In February, 1 88 1, he was appointed sta
tion agent of Wayne, and, having learned teleg
raphy, he was also made telegraph operator.
These positions he has since acceptably filled.
In Algonquin, 111., in 1868, was celebrated the
marriage of Mr. Hubbard and Miss Allie Pinker
ton, a native of McHenry . County, 111. , and a
daughter of William Pinkerton, one of the early
settlers of that county. Four children were born
unto them, three of whom are still living: Ina E. ,
a highly educated young lady, who is now success
fully engaged in teaching in the High School of
Elgin; Arthur P. and Mervin. They lost a daugh
ter, Clara, who died November 8, 1892, at the
age of twenty years.
Mr. Hubbard has long witnessed the growth
and development of DuPage County, and since
locating within its borders has done all in his power
for its advancement and progress. He is a man
of upright character, and has won the confidence
and esteem of the entire community by his well-
spent and honorable life. He is a Master Mason,
also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of Wayne,
and his estimable wife is a member of the Congre
gational Church. Since casting his first Presi
dential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864, he has
been a stanch advocate of the men and measures
ofthe Republican party.

r=>

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WILLIAM BARUTH is a worthy represen
tative of the business interests of Itasca,
where he is engaged in general merchan
dising, carrying a well-selected stock of dry
goods, boots and shoes, groceries, crockery, wines,
liquors and patent medicines. By his fair and
honest dealing and earnest desire to please his
customers, he has won a liberal patronage, and
his success is well deserved.
Mr. Baruth, a native of Hanover, Germany,
was born on the 3d of August, 1838, and spent
the first eighteen years of his life in his native
land. It was in 1856 that he crossed the briny
deep to New York City, hoping to improve his
financial condition thereby. For two years he

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

189

there worked as a clerk in a grocery store. In
1858 he went to Chicago, and from there going
to Lake County became a farm hand in the em
ploy of William Krueger, with whom he remained
three and a-half years. The first two years he
received $100, and the last year $1 10.
In 1862, Mr. Baruth entered the service of his
country, becoming a member of Company C, One
Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, in
which he served for three years. At the battle of
Gun town he was wounded in the shoulder.
While serving on picket duty at Arkansas Post,
he was again wounded, and near Vicksburg,
Miss. , he was wounded in the ankle, but he con
tinued in the service as a faithful defender of the
Stars a'ld Stripes until honorably discharged at
Memphis, Tenn., in 1865.
Immediately afterwards, Mr. Baruth returned
to Chicago, where he began clerking in a grocery
store, and was in the employ of one man until
1868, when he bought out his employer, and car
ried on business for himself until 1871. In the
great fire of that year his store was also destroyed,
but he afterwards opened a store on Milwaukee
Avenue, where he remained for eighteen months.
By economy and close attention to business during
that time, he had somewhat retrieved his lost pos
sessions, and he started again at No. 74 Wells
Street, where he was doing business when burned
out. 'Oh ere he continued, enjoying an excellent
trade, until 1884, when he came to Itasca, and
established his present business.
In 1868, Mr. Baruth was united in marriage
with Miss Mary Huehl, a native of Cook County.
They became the parents of five children, two
sons aud three daughters: William, Jr., who was
born in Chicago in 1869; Carrie, who was born in
Chicago, and is now the wife of Lewis Stromberg,
of Elmhurst; Herman, who was' born and died in
Chicago; Emma, who was born in Chicago; and
Lewis, who was born in Itasca.
Socially, Mr. Baruth is a Royal Arch Mason,
belonging to the Blue Lodge and Chapter of
Chicago, and he is a charter member of Germania
Lodge No. 2, K. P. He also formerly belonged
to the Odd Fellows' Society, and now holds mem
bership with the Druids, a German organization,

and the Chicago Sharp-shooters. He likewise
belongs to Hancock Post No. 560, G. A. R., of
Chicago, in which he has held several offices.
In politics, he is now a Democrat, but voted for
Lincoln and Grant. For two terms he has served
as a member of the Village Board. Mr. Baruth
possesses the same enterprise and indomitable
spirit which characterize Chicago as a city, and has
made his business career a most successful one.
When he came to this country, he began clerking
in New York for $6 per week. Out of his mea
gre earnings he saved enough to begin business
for himself, and has steadily worked his way up
ward to a position of wealth and influence. He
need never regret the day that he determined to
seek a home and fortune in the New World, for
his expectations have been more than realized,
and success has crowned his efforts.
(J OHN C. NELTNOR is the owner and publish-
| er ofthe DuPage County Democrat, and he also
(2/ owns and carries on a drug store. Under the
administration of President Cleveland he was the
efficient Postmaster of Turner, and has recently
received the appointment to the position for the
second time. His fellow-citizens have frequently
honored him with various important positions of
responsibility and trust, and their confidence has
been each and every time well justified by the
able and honorable manner in which he has served
them. The birth of our subject occurred at Erie, Pa.,
November 7, 1841. His parents, Francis X. and
Mary (Runser) Neltnor, were natives of Baden,
Germany. Their family comprised six children,
three sons and three daughters, of whom our sub
ject js the eldest, the others being as follows:
Mary; Margaret; Sophia, wife of Thomas Morley,
General Ticket Agent of the Northwestern Rail
road; Frank E. ; and George N., deceased. The
father was for many years a merchant tailor of
Bloomingdale, 111, He was one of the early set
tlers of DuPage County, having removed from
Pennsylvania in 1847. He continued to reside in

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Bloomingdale until May, i88r, when he died at
the age of sixty-four years. His wife still sur
vives him and is now in her seventy-second year.
She is a member of the Catholic Church. The
father was both a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and
was a man of such genuine integrity and worth
that he won the respect of every one.
John C. Neltnor was about six years old when
his parents came to settle in the West, and he was
reared in Bloomingdale, there receiving his early
education. Afterward he further pursued his
studies in the Naperville Academy, from which
institution he graduated in 1858. He began his
business career as a clerk in a general store in
1855, and for three years continued as such when
not in college. He was employed in a like ca
pacity until 1863, when he purchased an interest
in the store of his former employer, Dr. Sedgwick.
After doing business together for two years, the
connection was dissolved by mutual consent.
The marriage of Mr. Neltnor was celebrated
on the 20th of September, 1865, with Miss Mary
E., daughter of Anthony R. and Cornelia (Eames)
Kinney. Seven children have been born to this
union, five sons and two daughters, namely:
Clinton J., Kirk K., Carroll E., Shelley P.,
Frank C. , Cornelia J. and Carrie L. Kirk, the
second son, married Miss Nellie Ryan.
It was in 1865 that Mr. Neltnor became a cit
izen of Turner. He opened a general store and
drug store, and has since continued to carry on
these two lines of business. In 1870 he em
barked in a new enterprise, in connection with a
Mr. Richmond, engaging in the nursery business.
When a few years had passed he purchased his
partner's interest and succeeded to the whole
business. He has about twenty acres, and makes
a specialty of ' 'hardy , iron-clad stock. ' ' In addi
tion to this property, he owns other real estate in
the village and a good home.
Mr. Neltnor is a gentleman who is not discour
aged in entering a new field, but brings to bear
his native qualities of energy and well-directed
effort upon whatever he chooses to undertake,
and in this way has made a success of his various
enterprises. In 1889, he entered the newspaper
business, beginning the publication of the Du

Page County Democrat, and in the few years that
have since elapsed it has met with a flattering re
ception, which is proven by the fact that its circu
lation has gone far beyond any of the older pa
pers in the county. In politics, Mr. Neltnor is a
Democrat, and makes his paper a true exponent
of the theories and aims of his party. He has
frequently been sent as a delegate to prominent
political conventions, and is considered an able
referee on all questions relating to the party. For
several terms he was a member of the Village
Board of Trustees, and at the present time is
Police Magistrate and Notary Public.

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V A S. ELLSWORTH was elected to the re-
Y sponsible position of County Clerk of Du
ly Page County in December, 1877, and has
proven a conscientious and faithful officer up to
the present time. He is popular and very well
liked, which fact has been shown by his re-elec
tion to the office each consecutive term. More
over, he is one of the earliest settlers of the
county, having come West to Naperville in Oc
tober, 1837.
The birth of Mr. Ellsworth occurred in Troy,
N. Y., September 8, 1829, his parents being
Lewis and Chloe M. Ellsworth. The father on
arriving in this county settled on a farm at Na
perville, and also engaged in merchandising in
that place. He was one of the founders of the Illi
nois State Agricultural Society, and served as its
President for two terms. He was a man highly
respected and widely known throughout the State,
and during the first four years of the war he was
United States Revenue Collector. He died at
Naperville, aged about eighty years. The moth
er's death occurred when she was in her seven
tieth year. Their family comprised two sons,
Milton S. and Lewis C.
A lad of eight years when he removed to Illi
nois, Mr. Ellsworth has therefore passed the most
important years of his life in this immediate sec
tion. After completing his common-school edu
cation, he attended the Rock River Seminary, at

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

191

Mt. Morris, 111., pursuing his studies there for a
year and a-half. He then clerked in his father's
store at Naperville, and afterwards went into
partnership with him in the nursery business.
Mr. Ellsworth was married on the 22d of May,
1854, to Miss Jane E. Barber, daughter of John
Barber. Their union has been blessed with a
son and daughter, twins: Lewis, who married
Miss Luella Miller, of Wheaton, by whom he has
three children, Lewis M., Grant and Ralph P.;
and Carrie, who lives with her parents.
For sixteen years Mr. Ellsworth has discharged
the duties of County Clerk to the full satisfaction
of his constituents and friends, and no greater
tribute to his integrity could be given than his
continuance in office for so many years. In poli
tics, he formerly supported the Whig party, but
since its organization has been one of the firm
adherents of the Republican party.

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(JOSEPH HOFFMAN, who is successfully en-
I gaged in farming on section 21, Milton
(2/ Township, is recognized as one of the enter
prising and progressive agriculturists of Du Page
County. He was born in Baden, Germany, in
1836, and is a son of Johan Hoffman. His mo
ther bore the maiden name of Mary Ann Ernst.
With their family of six children, the parents left
the Fatherland in 1847, and crossed the wide
ocean to the New World, where they hoped to
find a pleasant home. Landing at New York,
they went direct to Chicago, traveling by way of
the Erie Canal and Great Lakes. Johan Hoffman
settled upon the farm which is now the home of
our subject, and for several years there carried on
agricultural pursuits.
Joseph Hoffman whose name heads this record
began working out for wages at the age of eleven
years, his father receiving his earnings until he
was nineteen, when he began life on his own ac
count. As a companion and helpmate on life's
journey, he chose Miss Helen Loser, a native of
Alsace, France. Their union was celebrated in
1857, and has been blessed with a family of six

children. Frantz J. married Miss Lena Cassel.
They have one son, Benjamin. John A. wedded
Annie Rieser and they have one child, Fred.
Catherine is the widow of Frank Drendel, by
whom she had two daughters, Emma and Helen.
The younger members of the Hoffman family are
Emma, Minnie L- and Henry Joseph.
As before stated, Mr. Hoffman now owns and
operates the old homestead of his father, compris
ing one hundred and sixty-two acres of arable
and valuable land. Recently, he has also pur
chased thirty -nine acres on section 21, Milton
Township, where he now resides. This farm,
though small, is one of the best-cultivated and
improved in the community, and its neat appear
ance indicates the careful supervision of the
owner. He has built upon it a good house and
barn, and has added all the other accessories of a
model farm. The place is pleasantly situated one
mile south of Wheaton.
Mr. Hoffman possesses the perseverance and
diligence characteristic of the German people, and
owing to his good management and well-directed
efforts, is now the owner of a valuable property.
His life has indeed been a busy and useful one.
In politics, he is independent, striving to vote for
the best man, regardless of party affiliations. He
was elected and served as Highway Commissioner,
and so well did he discharge the duties of that
office that he was twice re-elected. Himself and
wife are members of the Catholic Church of
Wheaton, and in the community where they re
side they have many warm friends, who hold them
in high esteem for their many excellencies of
character and their sterling worth.

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(JACOB E. BENDER, one of the well-known
I and highly-respected farmers of Blooming-
Q) dale Township, who owns and operates one
hundred and sixty acres of land on section 16, is
a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. The
Bender family came from the village of Klein-
Karben, and our subject was there born April 2,
1843. His father, Michael Bender, was also born

192

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in Hesse- Darmstadt, and there married Elizabeth
Neuhardt, a lady of German birth. In 1855 he
emigrated with his family to the New World, tak
ing passage on a vessel at Hamburg, which, on
the 16th of May, 1858, dropped anchor in the
harbor of New York. He went at once to Chi
cago, and after a week came to Bloomingdale
Township, where he purchased one hundred and
'sixty acres of land, the farm upon which his son
now resides. The land was partially improved
and had a small house upon it. To its further
development and cultivation the father devoted
his energies until his death. He returned on a
visit to his native land in 1872, and spent many
pleasant hours in renewing the friendships of his
youth, and in strolling through scenes which were
familiar in his boyhood. He died October 13,
1883, and his wife passed away ten weeks later.
They lie buried in Bloomingdale Cemetery, where
a marble monument marks their last resting-place.
Mr. Bender whose name heads this record is
the youngest son in a family of eight children.
He spent the first fifteen years of his life in the
land of his birth, and acquired a good education
in the mother tongue. He also attended the Eng
lish schools after coming to this country. He re
mained with his father on the old homestead, and
after his death succeeded to the ownership of the
farm, upon which he has made many excellent
improvements, that add both to the value and at
tractive appearance of the place. He has erected
a substantial residence, built a good barn, gran
ary and other outbuildings, until this is now one of
the best improved and finest farms of the county.
On the 26th of December, 1870, Mr. Bender
was united in marriage with Miss Wilhelmina Iser,
a native of Germany. They have nine children:
Emma, wife of August Meyer, of Bloomingdale
Township; and Sophia, Mina, John, Lucy, Katie,
Philip, Edwin and Jacob. The family attends the
Evangelical Church, and are highly-respected
people of the community.
In politics, Mr. Bender supports the men and
measures of the Democratic party, and his first
Presidential vote was cast for Gen. George B.
McClellan in 1864. He takes quite an active in
terest in local politics, and has been honored with

a number of official positions, having served as
Township Collector, Assessor and Supervisor.
He is now serving as a member of the County
Board of Supervisors, and discharges his duties
with the same fidelity and trustworthiness that
have characterized his entire official career. He
frequently serves as a delegate to the conventions
of his party. Socially, he is a Master Mason.
For thirty-five years he has been a resident of
DuPage County, and has witnessed much of its
growth and development. He always takes an ac
tive interest in everything pertaining to the wel
fare ofthe community, and his duties of citizen
ship are promptly performed. He has led an ex
emplary life, and those who know him esteem
him highly for his sterling worth and strict integ
rity.

-*H-«=

(JOHN A. RICHARDS, who resides on section
I 23, Lisle Township, has been a resident of
Q) DuPage County for more than half a century,
his residence here dating from 1836. In the long
years which have since come and gone, he has
not only witnessed the growth and progress of the
county, but has ever borne his part in the work
of development and upbuilding. Many works of
public improvement have been greatly promoted
by his untiring efforts. As he is so widely and
favorably known throughout this community, we
feel assured that the record of his life will prove
of interest to many of our readers.
Mr. Richards was born in Hillsboro County,
N. H., October 31, 1803, and is a son of Nicholas
and Sallie (Adams) Richards. The father was a
native of New England, and was of English ex
traction. When a young man he learned the
baker's trade, which he followed throughout his
entire life. He was twice married, and by the first
union had five children and by the second two.
His death occurred at the age of sixty years. The
mother of our subject, who also came of an old
New England family, tof English origin, died at
the early age of twenty-eight.
The father entered the army as a baker during
the War of 18 12, and the mother dying in March,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i93

181 3, John A. Richards went to live with an un
cle, John Adams, of Enosburg, Vt. , where he re
mained from the age of ten years until he had at
tained to man's estate. He then began working
by the month as a farm hand, and was thus em
ployed in the East until October, 1833. The year
!835 witnessed his arrival in Illinois, and the fol
lowing year he entered land on section 23, Lisle
Township, DuPage County, where he has since
made his home. His time and energies have been
devoted to farm work, and he now owns two hun
dred and thirty acres of rich and valuable land.
On the 20th of October, 1833, Mr. Richards was
united in marriage with Miss Lucy Peet, born May
7, 1804, in Benson, Vt., the eldest daughter of
Wheelock Peet, of Benson, Rutland County, Vt.
Unto them were born five children: Sarah A. , who
died aged eighteen years; Louisa C, who became
the wife of U. H. Balcom, and died leaving one
child, Nellie Balcom, of Downer's Grove; Josiah,
who carries on the old homestead, and is engaged
in the dairy business; Ella F. and Emma C, twins.
The former is the wife of A. L. Palmer, a farmer
operating a part of the old homestead, and they
have three children: Emma Louisa, Alcy May
and Spencer R. Emma is the wife of W. C. Bartle,
by whom she has two daughters: Ella L- and Lucy
Emma. Mrs. Lucy Richards died November 20,
1886, honored and respected by all who knew
her for her strength of character. She was a
member of the Congregational Church, and her
brother and uncle were ministers of that church.
Another brother, Lester Peet, came here in 1831,
and taught the first school ever taught in DuPage
County. Mr. Richards cast his first Presidential vote for
John Q. Adams. After a time he left the Whig
party and joined the Free-soil party. In 1856, he
became identified with the Republican party, of
which he is a stanch advocate, as is also his son
Josiah. Both have filled township offices, proving
capable and worthy officials. For a number
of years Mr. Richards has been a member of the
Congregational Church, in which he serves as
Deacon. He has taken an active part in religious
work, and for many years was found in the front
rank of any enterprise calculated to prove of pub

lic benefit. As he is now ninety years of age, he
cannot do as much as in former years, but he still
maintains an interest in the work of public im
provement. He helped to build the first school-
house, and has ever been a strong advocate of tem
perance. He is esteemed alike by young and old,
rich and poor, and the history of the county would
be incomplete without his sketch.
®  ¦  a-s^-ft^is-.,,  3
I YMAN G. HEMENWAY, M. D., a well-
It known physician and surgeon of Blooming-
|_2f dale, claims DuPage County as. the place of
his nativity. He was born in Wayne Township
in December, 1852, and is one of a family of eight
children, five sons and three daughters. His par
ents were Henry B. and Eunice (Guild) Hemen
way, the former a native of Massachusetts, and the
latter of Vermont.
In the fall of 1836, they emigrated westward,
locating in DuPage County, and Mr. Hemenway
opened up a farm in Wayne Township, upon
which he reared his family. In 187 1, he sold out
and removed to Sycamore, De Kalb County, where
he spent the last years of his life, passing away in
1887, at the advanced age of seventy-four years.
His wife survived him for a few years, and was
called to the home beyond in 1881. He served
during the late war as a member of the Twelfth Illi
nois Cavalry, and was captured with his regiment
at Harper's Ferry, but after a short time was pa
roled. Later, he was discharged on account of
physical disability. The members of the Hemen
way family were Edwin, now deceased; Dwight,
a fruit-dealer of California; George W., who served
for nearly three years as a member of the Thirty-
sixth Illinois Infantry during the late war, and
is now a merchant and Postmaster of Winters,
Cal.; Ellen, wife of Charles Stevenson, of Syca
more, 111. ; Elma, wife of James A. Congleton, of
Wheaton; Elizabeth, who is the widow of Walter
Scott, and resides in Chicago; Lyman G., of this
sketch; and William, of Chicago.
The Doctor was reared under the parental roof,
and acquired his literary education in the schools

i94

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of Wayne Township and in the Sycamore High
School. Wishing to enter upon a professional
career, he read medicine with Dr. George W.
Nesbitt, one of the leading physicians of the
county, and took his first course of lectures at
Bennett Medical College, of Chicago, in 1875-76.
After completing the regular course, he was grad
uated in the Class of '77. He then returned to
Sycamore and joined his former preceptor in one
year's practice. Later, he engaged in practice for
several years in Turner, 111.
Dr. Hemenway was married in Turner to Miss
May, youngest daughter of Dr. W. J. Wilson.
She was there educated, was a graduate of the
High School, and successfully engaged in teaching
in the High School previous to her marriage.
Their union was celebrated July 26, 1881. They
removed to Hampshire, Kane County, where the
Doctor continued practice for seven years, when,
in 1891, he came to Bloomingdale and bought out
the practice of Dr. Vanderhoof, now of Wheaton.
He has a large and constantly increasing practice,
and is recognized as one of the successful physi
cians of the county. He keeps abreast with the
science, and his marked skill and ability have won
him a liberal patronage. In politics, the Doctor
has been a stanch Republican since casting his
first Presidential vote for Rutherford B. Hayes in
1876. His wife is a member of the Congrega
tional Church, and the Doctor contributes liberally
to its support. He holds membership with the
Modern Woodmen of America. This worthy
couple have the respect and esteem of all who
know them, and it is with pleasure that we pre
sent to our readers this record of their lives.
0R. WILLIAM J. WILSON, who is now en
gaged in the insurance business in Turner,
having retired from the practice of the med
ical profession, was born in the township of Gro
ton, Tomkins County, N. Y., March2, 1817. His
father, John Wilson, is a native of Ireland, and
came with his parents to America when seven
years of age, locating in Massachusetts, where he

met and married Miss Wolcott, a native of the
Bay State. They became parents of sixteen chil
dren, eight sons and eight daughters, twelve of
whom grew to manhood and womanhood. The
father of this family became a farmer of New York,
and there died in 1833, at the age of sixty-six
years. His wife long survived him, but has now
passed away. They were members of the Pres
byterian Church, and he served as a Deacon for
some years.
The Doctor spent his boyhood and youth in
Tomkins and Cortland Counties, N. Y., and there
acquired his early education. He remained on the
home farm until he had attained his majority,
and then, wishing to enter a professional career,
began the study of medicine in the Geneva Med
ical College, from which institution he was grad
uated in 1 84 1. He then began practice in the
village of Cortland, where he remained for fifteen
years, when he determined to try his fortune on
the broad prairies of the West. Bidding good
bye to his old home, he emigrated to Illinois in
1854, locating at Crystal Lake, McHenry Coun
ty, where he practiced for about five years. Since
1859 he has been a resident of Turner, and dur
ing much of this time he has carried on agricul
tural pursuits, and engaged in the insurance bus
iness. For a time he owned one hundred and
fifteen acres of land a mile west of Turner, but
disposed of this property in 1868.
On the 22d of December, 1840, Mr. Wilson
married Miss Hulda M. Carnes, daughter of Ste
phen and Martha (Prentiss) Carnes, the former
a native of the Emerald Isle, and the latter of
Vermont. Mrs. Wilson was born in Homer, N.
Y., November 27, 1822. Six children were born
unto our subject and his wife, four sons and two
daughters. Frank, who married Miss Alice Sar
gent, of Turner, by whom he has three daugh
ters, Grace, Fannie and Alice; Dwight, who mar
ried Miss Mary Chaplin, by whom he has two
sons, Coleman and Harry; Elliott, deceased; Lil
lian, wife of Morris Town, of Sycamore, by whom
she has a daughter, Susan; Willie, deceased; and
May, wife of Dr. L. G. Hemenway. The lat
ter reside in Bloomingdale, and their children are
Willie, Gertrude, Grace, Percy and Blanche.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

195

In politics, Dr. Wilson is a stanch Republican,
and for many years he has served as Notary Pub
lic. He now owns a good home and other prop
erty in Turner. He is a prominent and influen
tial man, highly esteemed throughout the com
munity for his many excellencies of character.
Himself and wife are members of the Congrega
tional Church, in which he served as Deacon and
Trustee for many years. In 1890, this worthy
couple celebrated their golden wedding, having
traveled life's journey together for half a century.
It is with pleasure that we present to our readers
this sketch ofthe Doctor and his wife, who are so
widely and favorably known throughout DuPage
County.

-S3.

^^

IS_

B~

HENRY EGGERS, who for the past twenty
years has been engaged in the blacksmith
business in Wheaton, is a native of Ger
many, born near Bremen. His father, Henry
Eggers, Sr., was a small farmer and nurseryman,
but is now living a retired life. The mother of
our subject, who bore the maiden name of Gathia
Beherns, died at the age of fifty-one years. In
the family were nine children : Herman; Trina;
Henry-, who died in infancy; Henry, of this
sketch; Hannah; John; Martha and Dederich.
Frederick came to America, and died at the age
of sixteen years. Herman is now living in Chi
cago. Trina is the wife of Fritz Surkamer, of
Glen Ellyn. Hannah is the wife of John Wal
lars, of Germany. John, Martha and Dederich
all live in the Fatherland.
The subject of this sketch was born February
20, 1852, and in his youth attended the schools
Of his native land. While in Germany, he also
worked as a gardener and nurseryman. He was
a young man of sixteen years when, in 1868, ac
companied by his brother Herman, he came to
America, sailing from Bremen in April of that
year. On the 7th of June he reached Chicago,
and embarked in business in that city as a market
gardener, near the stock yards. He afterwards
obtained employment with the firm of Boughton

Bros., moulders and machinists, with whom
he remained eight months, when he went to
Downer's Grove, and worked on a farm for nine
months. On the expiration of that period he
came to Wheaton, and took up the blacksmith's
trade, which he learned under the direction of
August Michels, with whom he remained three
years. He then was employed for one year by
Vincent Smith, of Wayne, after which he began
business in his own interest, continuing at that
place for seven years, when he sold his shop, and
returned to Wheaton and established his present
business. While at Wayne much of Mr. Eggers'
work consisted in shoeing horses for M. W. Dun
ham, the celebrated importer and breeder of Nor
man horses.
Mr. Eggers was united in marriage in Whea
ton, on August 16, 1874, to Miss Rike Peter, a
native of Germany . Their union has been blessed
with seven children: Albert, who died in infancy;
George, who is clerking in the drug store of L- L.
Hiatt; Henry; Helen; Nettie; Stella and Florence.
Mr. Eggers is now a member of the firm of
Eggers & Rennpage, his partner being Henry
Rennpage. They do an extensive business in
plow work, horse-shoeing, wagon-making and
general repairing. Our subject is an industrious
man, a good mechanic, arid has built up an ex
tensive trade in his line. He has also thereby
secured a comfortable home in Wheaton, where
he is well known and highly regarded as a man
of strict integrity and sterling worth. In poli
tics, he is a supporter of Republican principles.
Although of German birth, America has no truer
citizen in principle than our subject, who loves
the land of his adoption, and is a firm defender of
its free institutions.
S=  j'--s"^Hr',^B:=:ai S
NH. KORTHANER is one of the most prom
inent citizens of Bensenville, and is Presi
dent of the village. Its social, political and
business interests find in him a worthy represen
tative, and he is now proprietor of a hardware and
agricultural-implement establishment. He has

196

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the honor of being a native of this county, for his
birth occurred in Addison Township, on May 28,
1852. His father, Henry Korthaner, was a native
of Meitze, province of Hanover, Germany, and in
1839, when a youth of sixteen years, crossed the
Atlantic to America. He landed in New York
City, and thence came to DuPage County, where
he spent the remainder of his life. His death oc
curred in Addison Township, in 1889. He mar
ried Maria Kirchhoff, who was born in Bissen-
dorf, province of Hanover, Germany, and when
only four years old was brought by her parents to
this country. She died some eighteen years ago.
Our subject is the eldest of their three children.
In the district school he began his education,
which was supplemented by study in the Acad
emy at Arlington Heights, in Wheaton, and in the
schools of Chicago. Later he engaged in the
nursery business and in farming. He carried on
the dual occupation in Addison Township from
1868 until 1881, when he established himself in
his present line of business in Bensenville. He
carries a good stock of hardware and agricultural
implements, and from the village and surrounding
country receives a liberal patronage. From the
beginning his trade has constantly increased, until
it has now assumed extensive proportions for a
place of this size.
Turning from the business to the private life of
Mr. Korthaner we find that in May, 1877, was
celebrated his marriage with Miss Emma Heuer,
a native of Addison Township. She died in 1887,
leaving three children, a daughter and two sons,
Mary A., Freddie H. and Edward A. In 1891,
Mr. Korthaner was again married, his second
union being with Celia Henig, who was born in
Germany, and there remained until sixteen years
of age. The family has a pleasant home in Ben
senville, and its members are widely and favora
bly known.
In connection with his other interests, Mr.
Korthaner has a farm of seventy-five acres, which
he rents. He has led a busy life, yet has found
time to serve his fellow-townsmen in official posi
tions. He is a supporter of the Republican party,
and by it was elected President of the Village
Board, which position he is now filling in an able

manner, with credit to himself and satisfaction to
his constituents. He is also serving as Police Mag
istrate. Mr. Korthaner, who is now in the prime
of life, is possessed of energy and enterprise, is
public-spirited and progressive, and well deserves
the position of prominence whicli he occupies
among his fellow-townsmen. He is alive to the
best interests of Bensenville, and does all in his
power for its upbuilding and advancement.

I^-HM

B^

HENRY A. HEUER devotes his time and at
tention to agricultural pursuits on section
15, Addison Township, where he, has a farm
of one hundred and eighty-five acres of rich land,
the greater part of which is under a high state of
cultivation, and well improved with all the ac
cessories of a model farm. In connection with
general farming he also carries on stock-raising,
and keeps on hand a good grade of horses and
cattle. A beautiful residence, which was erected
by Mr. Heuer at a cost of $3,000, adorns the
place. A large barn has also been built and other
outbuildings. The well- tilled fields and neat ap
pearance of the place indicate the owner to be a
man of thrift and enterprise.
Mr. Heuer was born in Germany, September
18,' 1845, and is a son of William Heuer, a native
of the same country. The father was born in
October, 1809, and in 1847, emigrating to Amer
ica, took up his residence in DuPuge County, 111.,
but he was not long permitted to enjoy his new
home, for his death occurred the same year. He
was then fifty-three years of age. His wife, So
phia, was born in Germany in 1814, and died in
1886. Our subject is the fifth in order of birth in a
family of six children. He was only two years old
when the family left the Fatherland and sought
a home in the New World. The district schools
afforded him his educational privileges, and un
der the parental roof he was reared to manhood,. .
He became familiar with farm life in all its de
tails, being early inured to the arduous labors of
the fields. It was in the year 1871 that he was

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

197

united in marriage with Miss Louisa Kruse, one
of the fair daughters of DuPage County. Six
children have been born of their union, and the
family circle yet remains unbroken byr the hand
of death. They are as follows: Martha, Otto,
Emma, Clara, Amanda and Albert.
The Heuer household is the abode of hospital
ity, with the latch-string always out, and our sub
ject and his wife have a large circle of friends and
acquaintances throughout the community where
for many years they have made their home. Mr.
Heuer holds membership with the Evangelical
Church, and in politics is a supporter of the Re
publican party, but he has never sought or de
sired the honors or emoluments of public office,
preferring to devote his entire time and attention
to his business interests. For forty-six years he
has lived in DuPage County, has witnessed the
greater part of its growth and upbuilding, and
well deserves mention among its honored early
settlers.

"=)

£+£i

EHARLES JENKINS is a prominent farmer
of Naperville Township, residing on section
16, where he owns and operates two hun
dred and twenty acres of valuable land. His
lands are well tilled, his fences well kept, and
many improvements upon the place add both to
its value and attractive appearance. There are
two good residences, together with the necessary
outbuildings, and the other accessories of a model
farm are not wanting.
The owner of this desirable property is a native
of the Empire State. He was born in Allegany
County on the 9th of July, 1826, and is a son of
William and Polly (Millet) Jenkins, who were
also natives of New York. The father was a
farmer by occupation, and was of English descent.
The mother was a daughter of Samuel and Rachel
(Douglas) Millet. Samuel Millet was also of
English lineage, but his wife was of Scotch de
scent, and a relative of Stephen A. Douglas. In
1853 William Jenkins removed with his family
from New York to Jo Daviess County, 111. , and

after nine years went to Kane County, 111. The
family numbered fourteen children, of whom
twelve grew to manhood and womanhood, while
nine are still living.
The subject of this sketch is the third in order
of birth. He remained in the State of his nativ
ity until eighteen years of age, and then came to
DuPage County, in 1844, when he began work
ing by the month as a farm hand. He was thus
employed until 1850, when, attracted by the dis
covery of gold in California, he crossed the plains
to the Pacific Slope with a horse-team, making
the journey by way of Salt Lake City. At length
he arrived in Hangtown, now Placerville, where
he engaged in mining for about three years. He
made the return trip by water, coming by way
of Graytown and New York City to Naperville.
Here he embarked in farming upon rented land,
and as soori as able he purchased the farm which
he had rented, on which he now resides, and which
was formerly owned by his father-in-law, Thomas
Thatcher. On the 17th of May, 1852, was celebrated the
marriage of Mr. Jenkins and Miss Harriet H.
Thatcher, a native of Wayne County, N. Y.,
born April 12, 1829, and a daughter of Thomas
and Roxanna (Look) Thatcher. She died on the
30th of April, 1885, leaving three children: Ed
ward C, born December 13, 1854; Myron M.,
July 26, 1857; and Lyman, August 17, 1859.
Mr. Jenkins is a supporters of the Republican
party and its principles, and has been elected to
various official positions. He has held the office
of Township Trustee, was School Director for
many years, served as Road Commissioner, and
was elected Supervisor of Naperville Township
in 1858, again in 1863, 1864, 1868, 1872 and
1873. No higher testimonial to his fidelity could
be given than his repeated re-elections. Mr.
Jenkins takes an active interest in everything
pertaining to the welfare of the community and
its educational, moral and social advancement.
He is a representative farmer, and his business
ability and good management have won him a
comfortable home and handsome competence. He
has traveled from the eastern to the western shore
of this continent, and made a voyage from San

198

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Francisco to New York. Such experiences
broaden one's ideas, and Mr. Jenkins is a liberal-
minded man, who well deserves the high regard
in which he is held.

*#$+$

re=i

r~REDERICK LONG is engaged in the
Tri furniture business and undertaking in Na-
I perville. He also has other business inter
ests, being the chief stockholder in a lounge man
ufactory. He is prominent in business and social
circles, and is recognized as one of the leading and
influential citizens of the community. Mr. Long
is of German birth. He was born in Britenburg,
Germany, December 15, 1837, and is a son of
Jacob and Elizabeth (Xander) Long, who were
also natives of that country and there spent their
entire lives. They were farming people, and the
father passed away at the age of fifty-seven years,
while his wife reached the allotted age of three
score years and ten.
Frederick is the second in their family of five
children, three sons and two daughters. He re
mained upon the home farm until sixteen years
of age, when, with two neighbor boys, he bade
adieu to home and native land and crossed the
broad Atlantic to America, where he had deter
mined to seek his fortune. The voyage was
made on a sailing- vessel, which, after forty-one
days spent upon the briny deep, dropped anchor
in the harbor of New York. Mr. Long at once
made his way to Cook County, 111., where he
worked on a farm by the month, and afterwards
came to this county, being similarly employed in
Downer's Grove Township for a year. He then
began learning the cabinet-maker's trade, at
which he worked for five years, and on the ex
piration of that period he opened a small furniture
store in Naperville, which he has conducted suc
cessfully since, increasing his stock as his in
creased patronage demanded.
On the 28th of March, 1861, Mr. Long was
joined in marriage with Miss Amelia Beidleman,
of Naperville, daughter of William Beidleman.
Their entire wedded life has been passed in this

locality, where they have a wide acquaintance and
are favorably known. In politics, he is a Prohi
bitionist, supporting the party which embodies
his views on the temperance question. He be
longs to the Evangelical Church. In 1886, he
began to do a wholesale business as a manufac- -
turer of lounges, and has since carried on opera
tions along this line. In the spring of 1893, the
business was incorporated, but Mr. Long still
owns the greater part of the stock. This is a
large concern, and the company enjoys an exten
sive trade. The retail business of Mr. Long has
also steadily increased from the beginning, and
yields to him a good income. While learning his
trade, he worked three years for $75. He com
menced at the very lowest round of the ladder,
but has steadily risen step by step. His success
is certainly well merited, for it is the reward of his
own labors.

NENRY HEIDORN, one of the successful and
representative farmers of Addison Township,
DuPage County, residing on section 3, is of
German birth. He was born in Schwerin, prov
ince of Hanover, Germany, on the 10th of Febru
ary, 1849, and is a son of Henry and Mary (Bier-
mann) Heidorn, who were also natives of the
same locality. They never left Germany, but con
tinued there to reside until called to the home be
yond. The mother died at the age of fifty-eight
years, and the father passed away in his seventy-
eighth year.
Our subject is the youngest in a family of seven
children, and is the only son who reached man
hood. No event of special importance occurred
during his boyhood and youth. He remained in
Germany with his parents until eighteen years of
age, when he determined to seek a home beyond
the Atlantic, for he had read and heard much of
the privileges and opportunities afforded in this
country. Crossing the briny deep in 1867, he
made his way first to Cook County, 111., where he
engaged in farming by the month.
In 1870, Mr. Heidorn was united in marriage

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

199

in DuPage County with Miss Adelheid Luehrs, a
native of Germany, who came to this county in
her childhood with her parents, Diedrich and
Adelheid (Albers) Luehrs. They began their
domestic life upon the farm where they have since
resided, and their home has been blessed by the
presence of four children, namely: Herman,
Ernest, Henry and Mary. They also lost one son,
Fred, the second in order of birth.
Mr. Heidorn has been very successful in his busi
ness career, and is now the owner of two hundred
and eighty acres of land, divided into three farms:
two of them, one of one hundred and ten acres and
the other comprising eighty acres on sections 3 and
10 of Addison Township; and the remainder an
eighty-acre farm and ten acres of woodland in
Elk Grove Township, Cook County. These farms
yield to him a good income, for all are under a
high state of cultivation.
In politics he is a Republican and has supported
that party, with a few exceptions, since becoming
an American citizen. He is now serving as
School Clerk and Director. In 1890, he was
elected Assessor of his township, and is still dis
charging the duties of that office with credit to
himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents.
He belongs to the Lutheran Church and is now
serving as one of its officers. The expectations
which led him to seek a home in America have
been more than realized, yet his prosperity is not
only the result of good fortune but is the outcome
of earnest labor.

-S3

"S3

*+£

cs_

0AVID WARD, a retired farmer residing in
Turner, was born on the ist of September,
1826, in Rothweil, near Leeds, England.
The paternal grandfather was a native of the
same place, and reared a large family of children,
among whom was Kelighta Ward, who was the
father of our subject. After arriving at years of
maturity, he married Ann Horner, and they be
came the parents of nine children, but David is
the only one now living. The father was a coal
miner, and died in his native land in 1855, at the

age of fifty-nine years. In 1882, his wife passed
away, having reached the ripe old age of eighty-
six years.
Mr. Ward whose name heads this sketch is a
self-made man, who from early life has been de
pendent upon his own resources. At the age of
nine he began mining, and followed that pursuit .
for thirteen years. He obtained but a limited
education, and that he secured by attending
school at night. Choosing as a companion and
helpmate on life's journey Miss Ann Barber, they
were married on the 18th of February, 1849. The
lady, is a daughter of James and Sarah (Wolford)
Barber. Wishing to seek a home beyond the
Atlantic, Mr. Ward crossed the briny deep in
1849, and on landing on the shores of the New
World came direct to Winfield Township, Du
Page County. Four years later, he bought a
farm of sixty acres, three and a-half miles from
Turner, which he improved, and to which he
added eighty acres. He afterward sold, and pur
chased another farm of one hundred and twenty -
nine acres, a mile and a-quarter east of Turner,
upon which he resided for twenty years, devoting
his time and attention to its further development
and cultivation. He made the place one ofthe
best farms of the county, and its neat and thrifty
appearance indicates the careful supervision of
the owner.
In March, 1893, Mr. Ward laid aside his busi
ness cares and came to Turner, where he is now
living retired, in the enjoyment ofa well-earned
rest. He still retains his farm, however, besides
having several good residences in this place, and
two hundred and forty acres of land near Tracy,
Minn. For his success in life Mr. Ward certainly
deserves much credit. With no advantages to
aid him, he started out empty-handed, yet stead
ily worked his way upward, step by step, to a
position of wealth and affluence. The obstacles
in his path he overcame by perseverance and
diligence, and prosperity at length rewarded his
efforts. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ward were born nine
children, five sons and four daughters. Joseph
A., the eldest, married Miss Celia Hobson, and
they have six children: Fred E., Maud J.,

200

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Cora, Arthur, Clara and Robert. Annie is the
wife of H. S. Gladding, and they have five chil-
ren: Josephine, Rhoda, Willis, John and Flora.
William wedded Miss Emma Pelton, and with
their three children, Mary E., Grace and George
D. , they make their home in Belvidere. Mary is
the wife of Charles Roundy, and unto them have
been born two children: Deibert andErma. Ellen
died at the age of six years. John L. married
Sarah Hanney, and their children are Beatrice,
Edward, Herbert and Helen. George A., Ella
(who in September, 1893, married George Phil
lips, of Turner), and Charles D. complete the
family, which is one widely and favorably known
in this locality.

HENRY F. BUCHHOLZ, who is now pro
prietor of the Addison Hotel, of Addison,
111. , was born in the township of that name
on the 2d of January, 1849, and is a representa
tive of a worthy pioneer family. His father,
Henry Buchholz, was born in Hanover, Germany,
and when a young man crossed the Atlantic and
came to DuPage County, in 1844. Here he was
united in marriage with Mary Rathije, also a na
tive of Hanover, who in her early girlhood came
to the United States. Four children were born
to them, two sons and two daughters, all of whom
grew to mature years. The father died at the
age of sixty-six years, but the mother is still liv
ing, at the age of sixty-one.
The subject of this sketch was reared upon his
father's farm, and aided in the labors ofthe field
in the summer months, while in the winter sea
son he attended the German and English schools,
thus acquiring a good education. When he en
tered upon his business career, he chose mercan
tile pursuits, and for a year and a-half was a dealer
in lumber, coal and feed in Addison. He then
resumed farming, and for eighteen years devoted
his energies to agricultural pursuits. Six years
of that time he filled the office of Commissioner
of Highways. He took great pride in having
one of the best developed farms in the county, but

in 1892 he abandoned that pursuit to embark in
the hotel business.
Mr. Buchholz was married in 1874, the lady of
his choice being Miss Louisa Bouske, a native of
Addison Township, and a daughter of William
Bouske, who was born in Hanover, Germany,
and became the first settler in DuPage County.
Six daughters were born of their union, as follows:
Regina, Emma, Mary, Martha, Louisa and Anna.
Mr. Buchholz is one of the Directors ofthe Ad
dison Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He ex
ercises his right of franchise in support of the
Democratic party, and is now filling the office of
School Trustee, which position he has occupied
for twelve years. He and his family hold mem
bership with the Lutheran Church. In connec
tion with his other interests, Mr. Buchholz owns
a fine farm of two hundred and twenty acres. It
is all under a high state of cultivation, and has
upon it two good houses and barns. It is now
rented and yields to him a good income. He also
owns property in Addison and Itasca. His hotel
is proving a paying investment and, run in first-
class style, is receiving from the traveling public
a liberal patronage. Mr. Buchholz is a man of
genial manner, and makes a popular and affable
host.

<jj>| BEL GRIFFITH CHESSMAN, the head of
Ll one of the leading industries of Itasca, is
/ I recognized as one of its prominent and in
fluential business men. He is engaged in the
manufacture of butter-tubs, and is proprietor of a
flour and feed mill. A native of New Jersey, he
was born in Bridgeton on the 4th of March, 1832,
and is a son of Will C. and Lydia (Griffith) Chess
man, both of whom were also natives of the same
State. Her parents were of German descent, and
the Chessman family is of Welsh origin. In his
youth, the father of our subject learned the shoe
maker's trade, which he followed for some time,
but afterward he gave his attention to farming.
In 1852 he emigrated westward to Chicago, and
in 1855 came to DuPage County, locating upon
a farm. Here he followed agricultural pursuits

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

20 1

throughout the remainder of his days. His death
occurred in his seventy-sixth year, and his wife
passed away in her sixty-seventh year. They
had a family of four sons and two daughters, who
grew to manhood and womanhood.
Abel Griffith Chessman is the second in order
of birth. The days of his boyhood and youth
were spent in his native State, and at the age of
twenty years he accompanied his parents on their
emigration westward. He had previously learned
the carpenter's trade, and after his arrival iu Illi
nois followed that occupation in Chicago for two
years. In 1855 he came with the family to Du
Page County, and in 1857 he was united in mar
riage with Miss Eliza Brookline, a native of the
Empire State. The young couple began their
domestic life upon a farm in Addison Township,
where they made their home for twenty-five years,
Mr. Chessman carrying on the cultivation of his
land, and, in connection, working as a carpenter.
He drew the plans and specifications for a num
ber of the buildings yet standing in DuPage
County, including the schoolhouse. In 1873 he
embarked in his present business. In that year
the railroad was built through Itasca, and believ
ing the situation an advantageous one, he began
operating a flour and feed mill, and commenced
the manufacture of butter-tubs. He has built up
an excellent trade, his patronage having increased
from the beginning. He also owns some real es
tate in this place.
To Mr. and Mrs. Chessman have been born
ten children, six sons and four daughters, as fol
lows: William, Grant, Joseph, Walter, Robert,
George, Anna, Carrie, Phila and Eliza. The fam
ily is widely known in the community, and the
Chessman household is the abode of hospitality.
Our subject was instrumental in organizing
Itasca, and has been one of its most prominent
and influential citizens, always found in the front
rank of any enterprise calculated to enhance its
interests and aid in its promotion. In politics, he
is a Republican, and has been honored with vari
ous offices. He has served as Trustee of his
township, School Director of his district for thirty
years, and is now serving as President of the Vil
lage Board of Itasca, Public-spirited and pro

gressive, he may well be called the founder of
this place, and for the part which he has taken in
its upbuilding he deserves great credit. It is
with pleasure that we present to our readers the
record of his life work.

&+£{

B^

P" REDERICK AHRBECKER, who carries on
Tri general farming on section 26, Addison
I Township, has known no other home than
the farm on which he now resides. It was his
birthplace, and the date of that important event
is December 8, 1853. His father, Henry Ahr-
becker, was born in Germany, but during his
early boyhood left that country with his parents,
crossed the Atlantic, and made his way to Illinois,
the family locating in DuPage County. He here
grew to manhood, and after arriving at years of
maturity was united iri marriage with Miss Caro
line Fischer, a sister of August and Fred Fischer,
sketches of whom appear elsewhere in this work.
She is still living, and since the death of Mr.
Ahrbecker has become the wife of Louis Rathje,
of Addison.
The subject of this sketch is the eldest of a
family of four brothers. Upon the home farm the
days of his boyhood and youth were passed in
the usual manner of farmer lads, no event of
special importance occurring. During the sum
mer months, he aided in the labors of the fields,
and in the winter attended the public schools,
where he acquired a good English education. On
the 13th of November, 1877, he was united in
marriage with Miss Louisa Kolze, a native of
Cook County, UL, born in Leyden Township.
To this worthy couple have been born two chil
dren, sons, Emil H. and Henry.
Mr. Ahrbecker is the owner of a valuable farm,
comprising one hundred and fourteen acres of the
rich prairie land of Illinois. It is all under a high
state of cultivation, and the many improvements
upon the place stand as monuments to the enter
prise ofthe owner; while the well-tilled fields and
neat appearance indicate his careful supervision.
In connection with general farming, he is engaged

202

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in the dairy business, and for this purpose keeps
on hand twenty fine milch cows. This industry
adds materially to his income.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Ahrbecker is a
Republican, having supported that party since
attaining his majority. He has filled the office
of School Director of his district and is now serv
ing in the position of Commissioner of Highways.
Religiously, he is connected with the Evangel
ical Church. Few men of the county have longer
resided on any one farm than our subject. His
entire life has been spent on the old homestead,
which is dear to him for the old associations of
his boyhood and the memories of later years. In
the community where he has lived for forty years
he has made many warm friends, and he has the
regard of all with whom he has been brought in
contact.

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r"REDERICK WILLIAM MEYER, who owns
Tri and operates a farm of more than one hun-
| dred acres on section 24, is recognized as one
of the enterprising and successful agriculturists of
Wayne Township, and is numbered among its
early settlers, dating his residence in the county
from 1853. The record of his life is as follows:
A native of Germany, he was born in Prussia,
October 12, 1847, and is a son of Frederick Ber
nard Meyer. The latter was born near Magde-
berg, Prussia, April 14, 1812. He spent his boy
hood with his parents and worked in a tobacco
factory . When seventeen years of age he removed
with his parents to Burg, a town about twelve
miles distant from Magdeberg. At Burg he learned
the trade of a weaver of broadcloth. At that place
his father died in 1830. Mr. Meyer resided there
until he came to America. When he was twenty-
seven years of age he was united in marriage with
Minnie Buch, and together they started for the
New World in 1853. The journey was unevent
ful until they came within four miles of Chicago,
when the mother ofthe subject of this sketch was
killed in a railroad accident, the father and two
children barely escaping with their lives. Mrs.

Meyer died of her injuries April 25, 1853. After
remaining in Chicago for a period of three months,
the father came with his children to Blooming
dale Township, DuPage County, where he pur
chased a farm of one hundred and forty-eight
acres of land. He improved this farm and
continued to reside on it until 1886. May 15,
1854, he married Miss Gertrude Engstler, who is
still living. In 1886, he moved to Wheaton, 111.",
leaving the care and cultivation of the farm to his
son William.
The subject of this sketch is the eldest of four
sons and three daughters, all of whom have
reached mature years, while five of the number
are heads of families. Frederick spent his youth
in Bloomingdale Township, and like a dutiful son
gave his father the benefit of his services until he
had attained his majority. He was then married
in Bloomingdale to Miss Elizabeth Hahn, the wed
ding ceremony being performed April 22, 1872.
The lady was born in Bloomingdale Township,
September 28, 1853, and is a daughter of Matthias
Hahn, a native of Germany, who settled in this
county in 1851. She is the youngest of a family
of ten children, and lived with her parents until
her marriage with Mr. Meyer. They have two
children: Charles F. , born March 12, 1875, and
Minnie S., born November 13, 1877.
Previous to his marriage, Mr. Meyer had pur
chased a farm in Bloomingdale Township, which
he operated for five years. He then sold out, and
in 1876 came to the farm on which he now re
sides. It comprises one hundred and twelve acres
of well-improved and valuable land. On it are a
commodious and substantial residence, large barns
and other outbuildings, which are models of con
venience, a good bearing orchard, well-kept fences
and all the other necessaries and improvements
which are found on the home ofa progressive and
enterprising agriculturist. Mr. Meyer began life
for himself empty-handed, and as his success has
been achieved entirely through his own efforts, he
may well be called a self-made man. In politics,
he was formerly a Republican, but at the Presi- '
den tial election of 1892 he voted with the Demo
cratic party. His wife is a member of the Cath
olic Church of Wheaton, but he adheres* to the

(Photo'd by Mills.)

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

205

faith of the Lutheran Church. In the community
where he has spent his entire life, Mr. Meyer has
a host of warm friends, and this fact indicates an
honorable, straightforward career.. He has lived
in a quiet and unassuming manner and has won
the esteem of all.

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FDWARD J. LEWIS, who is engaged in the
1^ real-estate and fire-insurance business in
L_ Wheaton, has the honor of being a native of
Illinois. He was born at Arlington Heights, in
Cook County, on the 4th of July, 1863. Enter
ing school, he manifested considerable aptitude
in his studies, easily mastering the common
branches, and at the age of fourteen he was grad
uated from the High School at Blue Island. Ere
his sixteenth birthday he had graduated from the
Bryant & Stratton Business College of Chicago.
Since that time he has traveled extensively
throughout the United States, and his reminis
cences of his journeys have made him an enter
taining conversationalist.
For some time Mr. Lewis made his home in
Blue Island, and did much for its upbuilding.
Since May, 1891, he has resided in Wheaton,
where he has done business as a real-estate and
fire-insurance agent. Just previous to locating
here he returned from Central America, where he
had been traveling for pleasure. He clearly and
vividly describes his trips, and as he has stored his
mind with many interesting and instructive facts
he proves an entertaining companion.
In 1892 Mr. Lewis was united in marriage with
Mrs. Julia Street, of Turner. Himself and wife
are well known in this community and have a
large circle of warm friends. Mr. Lewis is con
nected with several civic societies, belonging to
the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias
and the Modern Woodmen of America. In poli
tics, he is a supporter of Republican principles,
but though he manifests an interest in political
affairs, as every true American citizen should,
and keeps himself well informed on the issues of
the day, he has never been an office-seeker.

Mr. Lewis does an extensive insurance business
and represents the following companies: the
-Etna, Hartford, Fire Association of Philadel
phia, Royal, Home, and eight other leading com
panies. It is to such men that the prosperity of
the city is due, for he is ever alive to its best in
terests and does all in his power to promote the
general welfare. He is a pleasant, genial gentle
man, keenly alive to the humorous, and wherever
he goes wins many warm friends.

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y A ARTIN BROWN well represents the busi-
V ness interests of Naperville, for he has long
(^ been connected with many of its .leading
enterprises. He is now Vice-President of the
First National Bank, and is also a prominent
merchant. The county numbers him among its
early settlers, for many years have come and
gone since he located within its borders. During
this time he has not only witnessed its growth
and development, but has ever borne his part in
the work of public improvement and progress.
A native of Lancaster County, Pa., Mr. Brown
was born on the 3d of August, 1831, and is a son
of David Brown, who was also born in Lancaster
County. In his youth the father learned the
blacksmith's trade, and later in life followed
farming. In 1844 he emigrated to DuPage
County, locating five miles from Naperville. His
father, Martin Brown, was also a native of the
Keystone State, and the grandfather, a native of
Germany, founded the family in America prior
to the Revolution. The mother of our subject
bore the maiden name of Sarah Fry. She, too,
was born in Pennsylvania, and her father, Martin
Fry, who was born in that State, was of German
lineage. She died when our subject was only
seven years of age, after which the father was
again married.
Mr. Brown whose name heads this record was
a lad of thirteen years when he came with his
parents to DuPage County. He began his edu
cation in his native State, and completed it in the
district schools of this neighborhood. Until nine-

10

206

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

teen years of age, he remained under the parental
roof, aiding in the labors of the home farm, and
then went to Chicago, where he secured a situa
tion as clerk in a general store, in which he spent
two years. In 1853 he went to California, and
upon the Pacific Slope remained for two years
and five months, engaged in mining at Mormon
Creek. On the expiration of that period he re
turned home- by way of the Isthmus of Panama
and New York City, the old mail line. He then
came to Naperville on the Northwestern Rail
road. While he was in the West, he had sent
his money home to his father, who had invested .
it in land, and for three years after his return he
engaged in farming.
On the 17th of October, 1857, Mr. Brown mar
ried Matilda Rickert, a native of Pennsylvania,
who came to DuPage County when a little
maid of five summers with her parents, Samuel
and Esther Rickert, who were also natives of the
Keystone State. The year of their arrival was
1844. Three children have been born unto Mr.
and Mrs. Brown, a son and two daughters :
Emma, at home; Lincoln, who is the proprietor
of a general store in Holdrege, Neb. ; and May,
at home.
In 1862 Mr. Brown began clerking in the gen
eral store of A. C. Yundt, and after two years he
bought out his employer, in connection with his
father. This partnership continued for three
years, when the father sold out, and for five years
Martin Brown had another partner. Since that
time he has been alone in business. In company
with others, he organized the First National
Bank of Naperville, of which he is now Vice-
President, and as he always carries forward to a
successful completion whatever he undertakes,
these enterprises have been prosperous ventures.
Although his time has been largely taken up
with business' interests, he has yet been an active
and faithful worker in the Evangelical Church,
with which he holds membership, and of which
he is now serving as Trustee. He has also been
Class-leader for the long period of thirty years,
and most of that time was Superintendent of the
Sunday-school. He possesses many noble traits
of character, and an honorable, upright life, free

from even the petty intrigues which so often
characterize business life, has won for him the
confidence and high regard of those with whom
he has been brought in contact.

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(John Frederick fischer, a retired
I farmer residing on section 36, Addison Town-
® ship, is numbered among the early settlers of
DuPage County, of 1836. Only a few years be
fore that time the first pioneer of the county lo
cated within its borders, and when the Fischer
family arrived there* were but few settlements.
Neighbors were widely scattered, land was in its
primitive condition, and the marks of civilization
and progress were few. The early settlers, who
bore the hardships of frontier life, deserve great '
credit, for they were the founders of the county,
and its present prosperity and advanced position
are largely due to their self-sacrificing efforts.
Among these is numbered J. F. Fischer.
Our subject was born near Hanover, Germany,
March 17, 1823, and is the third child and sec
ond son of Conrad and Louisa (Reinking) Fischer.
Further mention of his parents is made in the
sketch of August Fischer, on another page of this
work. When he was a youth of thirteen years
occurred the breaking of home ties in the Father
land, the crossing of the Atlantic, and the arrival
in the new home in DuPage County, 111. While
still a youth, he went to Chicago and worked as*
porter in the United States Hotel, in which
' 'Long John' ' Wentworth was then boarding.. Af
ter three years and a-half of service at that place,
he returned to this county, although at that time
it was comprised within the limits of Cook Coun
ty. Here he worked on a farm, clearing and de
veloping land.
In 1846, Mr. Fischer was united in marriage
with Miss Henrietta Mesenbrink, who was also a
native of Hanover, Germany. She died, leaving
three children, a son and two daughters: Louisa,
wife of Fred Koch, of Elmhurst; Caroline, wife
of Henry Bucholz, a resident of York Township;
and Albert, who also makes his home in Elm-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

207

hurst. In 1881, Mr. Fischer was again married,
his second union being with Dorothy Cluthe, a
native of Germany.
Mr. Fischer located upon the farm where he
now resides in 1846. There were but few im
provements upon the place, the only one of any
account being a small house. Our subject, how
ever, possessed all necessary energy, and now has
one of the valuable and desirable places of the
community. He is the owner of three hundred
and fifty acres in one body, including a twenty-four
acre tract of timber-land. He has erected a good
dwelling, barns and outbuildings, and has planted
trees, which add both to the value and attractive
ness of the place. Everything is kept up in
first-class order, and the progressive and enter
prising spirit of the owner is manifested by the
neat appearance ofthe farm.
In 1878, Mr. Fischer suffered the loss of his
left leg below the knee, on account of its being in
jured in a threshing-machine.. Since that time
he has rented his land and practically lived a re
tired life. For three years he has held the office
of Road Commissioner, discharging his duties in
a faithful and acceptable manner. He supported
Grover Cleveland for the Presidency, but holds
himself independent in politics. A pleasant ep
och in the life of Mr. Fischer was his return to
the Fatherland in 1884. He visited his old home
and the scenes of his youth, and also spent some
time in travel in Switzerland, viewing the Alps
and many other places of beauty and historic in
terest. "HOMAS BROWN, who follows general far
ming and stock-raising on section 10, Win
field Township, is a native of England. He
was born in Yorkshire, December 7, 18 12, and is
the only child ot Andrew and Elizabeth (Kelsey)
Brown. By occupation the father was a farmer,
and followed that business throughout his entire
life. Both parents lived and died in England.
In the usual manner of farmer lads, Thomas
Brown spent his boyhood and youth. His^ edu
cational privileges were quite limited, but through

experience and observation he has acquired a
practical business education. His father died
when he was about nine years of age, and he then
went to live with an uncle, with whom he re
mained until a youth of fourteen. He then be
gan earning his own livelihood and provided for
his support by working as a farm hand. He re
ceived only £\ per year. He was thus employed
until nineteen years of age, when he determined
to seek a home in America.
It was in 1831, that Mr. Brown boarded a sail
ing-vessel, which, after six weeks and four days
spent upon the bosom of the Atlantic, dropped
anchor in the harbor of New York City. He
landed and located in Schenectady, N. Y., where
he remained for some twelve years. In 1843, he
came to DuPage County, making the trip by
canal and Lakes to Chicago. Locating in Win
field Township, he operated a rented farm for
seven years, when, with the capital he had ac
quired through industry and economy, he pur
chased forty acres of land, upon which he now re
sides. Here he carries on general farming and
stock-raising, and his fields are well tilled and im
proved. On the 16th of January, 1834, Mr. Brown mar
ried Miss Cornelia M. Vanvolkenberg. Seven chil
dren have been born unto them, five sons and two
daughters, but four are now deceased. Catherine
died in infancy; William H. is a miner, living in
Melrose, Mont.; John E. died December 12,
1873; Mary is at home; Mark is living in Mon
tana; and James H. died in infancy.
Mr. Brown supports the Republican party by
his ballot and has held a number of public offices,
having served as Highway Commissioner, Town
ship Supervisor, Superintendent of the County
Farm and School Director. He is a member of
the Congregational Church, contributes liberally
to its support, and takes an active interest in re
ligious and benevolent work. Mr. Brown always
bears his part in the upbuilding and development
ofthe county, and has helped to lay out many of
the roads in this locality. There were only three
houses in Turner when he first located here, and
he has witnessed much of the growth and prog
ress of the county. In 1890, Mr. Brown was

208

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

called vipon to mourn the loss of his wife, who
passed away on the 19th of February. She died
in the faith of the Congregational Church, aud
was laid to rest in Oakwood Cemetery, of Turner.

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"RUMAN JONES, who is now living a re
tired life in Warrenville, was born in Wash
ington County, N. Y., on the 9th of Sep
tember, 18 1 2, and is one of six children whose
parents were Reuben and Amy (Bentley) Jones.
There were two sons and four daughters, but our
subject is now the only survivor of the family.
His father was a native of Connecticut, and was
of Welsh descent. Upon the home farm, Mr.
Jones whose name heads this record spent the
days of his boyhood and youth. He attended the
common schools, but his educational privileges
were quite limited. He remained with his par
ents until he had arrived at man's estate, and then
took charge of his father's farm, which he oper
ated for about two years.
In June, 1836, Mr. Jones removed to Ashta
bula County, Ohio, making the trip by water,
and pur^ased one hundred and twenty acres of
heavily timbered land. There he lived until the
fall of 1837, when he came to Illinois, and located
in DuPage County. The journey to this place
was made by team and occupied twenty -two days.
In Winfield Township, he purchased two hun
dred and twenty acres of land, upon which was a
small log cabin, that served for their dwelling-
house for two years, after some repairs had been
made upon it. He afterwards traded his property
for another farm of two hundred and eighty acres,
upon which he made his home until 1843; when
he removed to the farm where his son Albert now
resides. It comprises one hundred and eighty
acres of good land, and he successfully continued
its cultivation until 1866, when he purchased the
property on which he now lives. Since 1881 he
has lived a retired life.
On the 20th of November, 1833, Mr. Jones was
united in marriage with Miss Mary Millard, a
daughter of Robert and Desire (Matthews) Mil

lard. She was born in Washington County, N.Y.,
February 14, 1815, and is one of ten children,
five sons and five daughters. She has two sisters
living, Desire and Lucilla. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Jones were born three children. Albert Truman,
a farmer and stock-raiser, resides on the old
homestead. He married Ruth Bentley, and they
have had three children, of whom two are living.
Their son, Bentley S., died in 1887. Truman
Albert and Mary R. still survive. Of the other
children of Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Mary D. became
the wife of Theodore M. Manning, and died Feb
ruary 3, 1868; and Lucy M. died in childhood.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones are members of the Baptist
Church, and have always taken an active part in
church work. The poor and needy find in them
a friend, and they are charitable and benevolent
people. Mr. Jones is a Republican, having sup
ported that party since its organization. In the
early days of his residence here he used to haul
his grain to Chicago. He has borne all the ex
periences an i hardships of a frontier life and has
seen the growth and development of the county
from an early age. He well deserves mention
among its honored pioneers.

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E WESLEY GARY, a well-known farmer
and stock-raiser, who resides on section 15,
Winfield Township, was born on the farm
where he now resides on the 5th of May, 1844.
He is the youngest son of Charles Gary, whose
biography will be found elsewhere in this work.
Mr. Gary whose name heads this record was
born and reared upon the farm where he now lives,
and the pleasant memories of his boyhood and
youth, as well as the recollections of his later
years, are associated with the old homestead. He
attended the district schools, and at the age of
twenty years, upon his marriage, took charge of
the farm, continuing its operation until 1877,
when he went to Turner, and purchased a hard
ware store, in connection with J. W. Gates. Af
ter a short time he bought out his partner's inter
est in the business, which he carried on alone for

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

209

four years, when he admitted O. M. Barth to
partnership. After three years he sold out to his
partner and returned to the farm, where he has
since made his home. Here he successfully car
ries on general farming and stock-raising. This
farm was entered by his father in 1837. His two
uncles, Erastus and Judas Gary, came to the
county in 1832, and the Gary family is therefore
numbered among its earliest settlers.
On Christmas Day of 1864, C. Wesley Gary
was united in marriage with Miss Maria J. Pierce,
daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Pierce. They
had three children: Charles; Nettie, wife of Frank
Hanscom, a farmer of Beatrice, Neb.'; and Ella.
The mother died November 13, 1872, and was
laid to rest in Wheaton Cemetery. Mr. Gary was
married October 13, 1874, to Miss Mary, daugh
ter of William and Jane Baker. They had one
child, Lula, who died April 13, 1893, in her eigh
teenth year, and was buried in Wheaton Cemetery.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Gary is a Re
publican, and has served his township as Super
visor for a period of seven years. He was also
Trustee. He is a member of the Masonic frater
nity, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
Church. His support and co-operation are given
to all public enterprises calculated to promote the
general welfare, and the community finds in, him
a valued citizen.

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(JAMES J. HUNT, a retired merchant of Na-
I perville, claims Pennsylvania as the State of
O his nativity. He was born in Crawford
County, in 1824, and is a son of James and Sarah
(Jewell) Hunt. The parents were natives of the
Green Mountain State, and had nine children, of
whom James J. was the fourth in order of birth.
The father was a blacksmith, and in 1830 went
with his family to Erie, Pa. In 1844 he came to
Naperville, but not long after went to De Kalb
County, where he and his wife spent their re
maining days.
The educational privileges our subject received
were those ofthe common school. At the age of

eighteen he began working at the blacksmith's
trade, and the following year visited the West,
spending the summer in Naperville, after which
he returned home. In 1843 he was united in
marriage with Miss Nancy Converse, a native of
Erie County, Pa. , and the following year they
came to this place. For one year Mr. Hunt was
employed in a plow-shop, and in 1846 opened a
blacksmith-shop, where he carried on business for
twelve years. In 1855 he engaged in the livery
business, but in 1861 sold out to enter the service
of his country.
Mr. Hunt had previously served as Captain of
a company of militia, which he had raised in
Naperville, and was now elected Captain of the
Thirteenth Infantry, with which he went to Dixon,
111. There he resigned his office in favor of Judge
Blanchard. He then returned home and raised
another company, notifying Gov. Bates, who
answered that he should disband. Mr. Hunt had
sacrificed his business in order to enter the army,
but he bought it back and carried on a livery
stable for a year. In 1861 he bought out a hard
ware and agricultural-implement store, which was
conducted by his sons until after the war, when
he assumed charge and successfully carried on
operations along that line for some years.
In 1872, Mr. Hunt was called upon to mourn
the loss of his wife, who died in California,
whither she went for her health. She left four
children: Frank W. and Charles C, hardware
merchants of Naperville; James E., now of Da
kota; and Eva E. On the 3d of September, 1874,
Mr. Hunt was again married, his second union
being with Miss Lucia A. Davis, a native of New
York. In early life, Mr. Hunt was a supporter of the
Whig party, and has upheld the banner of the
Republican party since its organization. In 1856
he was elected Sheriff of the county and served
one term. For over twenty years he has served
as Justice of the Peace and Police Magistrate, and
has never had a verdict changed by the Circuit
Court during that time. His rulings have been
wise and just, and his long continuance in office
shows that his fellow- townsmen repose the utmost
confidence in him and appreciate his ability and

210

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

fidelity. He has always been a friend to those
enterprises calculated to benefit the county, which
finds in him a valued citizen. Mr. Hunt is now
-living a retired life, enjoying the rest which he
has so truly earned and richly deserves.

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3 AMES I. FERRY, deceased, was a well-
known farmer of DuPage County. He was
born in Naperville Township on the 30th of
May, 1848, and was a representative of one ot the
pioneer families. His father, who was born in
Whitehall, N. Y., came to DuPage County at
an early day, about 1840, but death soon took
him from his new home. The mother of our
subject bore the maiden name of Mariette Wood
man, and her death occurred when her son was a
youth of sixteen years.
Upon the farm where his widow now resides,
James I. Ferry was reared to manhood, aiding in
the labors ofthe farm through the summer months,
and attending the district schools of the neighbor
hood through the winter season. When he be
gan to earn his own livelihood, it was by follow
ing the pursuit to which he had been reared, and
throughout life he continued a farmer. As a
companion and helpmate on life's journey, he
chose Miss Sarah C. Briggs, who was born in
England, July 19, 1853. Her father, Thomas
Briggs, was a native of the same country, and in
1855 crossed the Atlantic to America, locating in
Dundee, 111. , where he followed farming until
1856. He then came to DuPage County and now
makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Ferry.
He married Miss Eliza Malthouse, a native of
England, who died in 1886. They had two daugh
ters, Mrs. Nellie Eleson, of Turner, 111., and Mrs.
Ferry, the younger, who was only -two years old
when the family came to America. Her father
visited England and the scenes of his boyhood in
1893. In 1870, was celebrated the marriage of our
subject and his wife, and by their union were born
six children, four sons and two daughters: George,
at home; Lillie E. , who visited England with her

grandfather in 1893; Ella M., who is engaged in
teaching; Clarence E., Henry H. and Ira W.,
all of whom are yet with their mother. The
daughters have attended the High Schools of
Aurora and Wheaton, and Lillie E. is a successful
music teacher, while Ella, who is only seventeen
years of age, is employed in teaching school.
George W. attended the business college of
Aurora, 111. Mrs. Ferry herself began teaching
when only fourteen years of age, and although so
young met with excellent success in her work.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Ferry was a
Republican for many years, but prior to his death
became a Prohibitionist. He served as School
Director for many years, and the cause of educa
tion found in him a warm friend. In religious
belief he was a Congregationalist. Those who
knew him, and his friends were many, esteemed
him highly for his sterling worth and many ex
cellencies of character, and his death, which oc
curred November 1, 1887, was deeply mourned
throughout the community. Mrs. Ferry was ap
pointed administratrix ofthe estate, and since her
husband's death has managed the farm, compris
ing two hundred and thirty-two acres of rich and
valuable land, which yields a good income to the
owner. The family is widely and favorably
known throughout DuPage County, and the
Ferry household is the abode of hospitality, its
members ranking high in the social circles in
which they move.

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GlUGUST FISCHER, who carries on general
U farming on section 26, Addison Township,
/ I is numbered among the honored pioneers of
DuPage County, his residence here dating from
1836 — covering a period of fifty -seven years. The
greater part of his boyhood and youth has here
been passed, and it has been the scene of his en
tire manhood's career. He was born near Han
over, Germany, on the 26th of February, 1826.
His father, Conrad Fischer, who was also born in
the same locality, and was a tanner and saddler
in the Old Country, married Louisa Reinking.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

211

In 1836 they bade adieu to their old home and in
a sailing-vessel crossed the briny deep to seek a
new home in America. Their destination was
DuPage County, 111. , and they made a location
in Addison Township, moving into a log cabin.
Here the father carried on agricultural pursuits
until his death, which occurred at the age of
eighty-four years. His wife passed away at the
age of eighty-three. Their family numbered six
children, three sons and three daughters, ofwhom
five grew to manhood and womanhood, the re
maining child having fallen off a steamboat at
Buffalo, while the family were en route for De
troit. August Fischer was the fourth in order of birth.
His first ten years were passed in the Fatherland
and he then came to Illinois. He conned his
lessons in a log schoolhouse in Addison Town
ship, arid' afterward attended school to some ex
tent in Chicago. With the family he experienced
the hardships and difficulties of life on the fron
tier, and was early inured to the arduous labor of
developing wild land. His training in youth,
however, made him a self-reliant man and fitted
him for the duties of a practical business life.
Mr. Fischer was married in Addison Township,
on the 27th of May, 1849, to Eliza Heckroot, who
was born near Hanover, Germany, December 25,
1828. There she lived until a maiden of thirteen
summers, when, with her parents, she came to
this country, the family locating in Addison
Township. She is the fourth of nine children.
She was educated in the common schools, and her
girlhood days were spent in the usual manner of
farmers' daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Fischer began
their domestic life upon the old homestead where
they still live. Their union has been blessed with
five children, all* of whom were born and reared
on the farm, namely: Otto, who is now living in
Addison Township; Amelia, wife of Adam Glos,
who is engaged in the hardware business; Gusta
vus and Charles, who are still at home; and
Louisa, now deceased.
Mr. Fischer is the owner of five hundred acres
of land, all in one body, and he devotes his time
and attention to general farming, stock-raising
aud the dairy business. He keeps on hand a fine

grade of cattle and horses, and takes just pride in
his well-tilled fields, which in their neat appear
ance attest the thrift of the owner. Mr. Fischer
is a self-made man, and the success of his life is
due to his own efforts. By untiring labor he has
risen step by step from a humble position to one of
affluence. He and his family are members of the
Evangelical Church, and in politics he has always
been a Republican. Upon the farm where his own
youth was passed he has spent his wedded life
and reared his family, and in all probability it will
be his home until he is called to the home beyond.
He has lived in such a way that he has the high
regard of all, and well deserves mention among
the prominent citizens of his adopted county.

L- GUILD, M. D., a physician and surgeon
of Wayne, is one of the native sons of Illi
nois. He was born in Wayne Township,
this county, December 5, 1859. His father, Dr.
E. C. Guild, is a resident of Wheaton. (See biog
raphy in this work.) Dr. W. L. Guild spent the
days of his boyhood and youth in his parents'
home, and acquired a good education in the Elgin
Academy. Having determined to make the prac
tice of medicine his life work, he began its study
with his father, and like him took a course of
lectures in Bennett Medical College, from which
institution he was graduated in 1884. He then
located in Wayne, where he at once began prac
tice. After several y-ears he entered the Chicago
Homoepathic College, where he pursued a course
of study, and was graduated from that institution
in the spring of 1892. He keeps well abreast with
everything connected with or concerning his pro
fession, and has built up a large and lucrative prac
tice. He is very successful, and his skill and
ability have won him a prominent place among
his professional brethren.
On the 13th of September, 1884, Dr. Guild was
joined in wedlock with Miss Fidelia L-, daughter
of H. R. and Jennie Woodcock. She was born in
Bremer County, Iowa, and is a highly educated,
cultured and refined lady, who graduated from

212

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the Chautauqua Course. She is a member of the
Baptist Church, and the Doctor contributes liber
ally to church and benevolent work. In his po
litical affiliations, he is a Republican, having been
identified with that party since becoming a voter.
He cast his first Presidential ballot for James G.
Blaine in 1884. He takes quite an active interest
in local politics, has served as a delegate to the
various conventions of his party, and as a member
of the Central Committee. He has served as a
member of the School Board for eight years, and
has done effective service in the cause of education.
Socially, the Doctor is connected with the Mod
ern Woodmen of America, and is examining phy
sician for Juniper Camp No. 559, M. W. A. He
also belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees, and
is also examining physician for that order. He
owns some real estate in Chicago, also in Wayne,
and has a nice residence property here, in which he
makes his home. He is ever found in the front
rank for the advancement of public enterprises
and improvements, being thoroughly alive to the
best interests of his native county.
g= l0i ^"<"Hr<^B s -g»

NENRY DANN COMPTON, one of the bus
iest residents of Wheaton, has doubtless done
more than any other individual in it toward
building up that city. He was born September
29, 1843, at Honeoye Falls, Monroe County,
N. Y., and is a son of Henry and Mary (Gray)
Compton, natives of Vermont, now residents of
Lapeer, Mich. Henry Compton is a farmer, and
removed to Michigan in 1863. Since he was
twelve years old, Dann Compton has made his
own way in the world, and has achieved an envi
able success. For some years he worked on farms
in New York and Michigan, and came to Wheaton
in the spring of 1862.
In the following summer he enlisted as a pri
vate in the One Hundred and Fifth Illinois In
fantry, Company F, and served until June, 1865,
taking part in the Grand Review at Washington.
He was a participant in all the battles of the At
lanta campaign, the march to the sea, and the

fighting through the Carolinas 011 the way to
Richmond. In all this service he was so fortunate
as to escape any wounds or serious illness, and is
to-day a sound and admirable specimen of physi
cal manhood. His other qualities are in keeping,
for he is a whole-souled, genial gentleman, and a
most industrious and useful citizen.
Returning to Wheaton at the close of. the Civil
War, Mr. Compton resumed farm labor for a year,
and then took up building with Adin Childs,
an early resident of Wheaton and former ac
tive builder, now retired. On the 3d of June,
1868, he married a daughter of Mr. Childs,
Miss Tirzah, and about the same time he began
building on his own account. He has engaged
largely in building houses for sale, finding a
ready market for his handiwork, and has built,
altogether, more than one hundred houses. In
1889 he built the handsome residence which he
occupies, at the northwest corner of West and
Franklin Streets, an ornament to the city aud one
of the best in it. Besides building extensively
for himself, he has constructed many houses for
others. While leading a very busy life, Mr. Compton
has not had time or inclination to meddle with
public concerns, though he has endeavored to
fulfill the duties of a patriotic citizen. He ad
heres to the Democratic party in matters of po
litical principle, but has never sought to secure
an office or a pension. He is not identified with
associations of any nature. His family includes
six daughters, named, respectively: Sarah, Mary,
Jessie, Alice, Isidore and Tirzah.

eR. CHARLES SYLVESTER OWEN, a suc
cessful and popular physician of Wheaton,
was born in Marion, Ohio, July 29, 1858,
and is the only son of Perry B. and Mary E.
Owen, of Ohio birth. His grandfather, Charles
Owen, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, and
settled on a farm near Marion, where he died in
1877, hi his seventy-fifth year. His wife, Esther
Brashares, was of the same nativity, and died in

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

213

1884, aged seventy-six years. The family is sup
posed to be descended from Welsh ancestors and
probably migrated from Pennsylvania to Ohio.
Charles and Esther Owen were the parents of
eight children, Perry. B. being the second.
The last-named was born in Fairfield County,
Ohio, in 1830, and was but a small child when
his parents moved to Marion. He graduated at
the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, in
1854, and soon after purchased a tract of timber-
land in Hardin County, and began the operation
ofa sawmill and farm. In 1855, he married Ma
ry E. , daughter of Mahlon and Cynthia Warner.
He was cut off in the midst of an active and useful
life in 1869, at the age of thirty -nine years, leav
ing two children. Florence I., the eldest, is the
wife of Robert F. Elliott, a farmer at Claiborne,
Union County, Ohio.
Dr. Owen was reared by his paternal grandpar
ents, his father having died when he was eleven
years old. He remained on the farm until nine
teen years old, in the mean time gaining such
mental instruction as the country school afforded.
Entering Ohio Wesleyan University in the spring
of 1887, he continued the course until September,
1880. He then began reading medicine with Dr.
E. Beckwith, at Delaware, Ohio, and continued
one year. In the fall of 1 88 1 , he went to Chi
cago and entered the Homeopathic Medical Col
lege of that city, graduating in March, 1883.
His application is demonstrated by the fact that
he passed the competitive examination for resi
dent physician of the hospital and dispensary con
nected with that institution, and filled the posi
tion for a year.
In May, 1884, Dr. Owen was married to Miss
Mary L- Murray, a native of Ohio, and daughter
of Simon and Ruth (Cochran) Murray, of Irish
descent. After an extended wedding trip, he
spent the following winter in practice at Watseka,
111. In April, 1885, the Doctor settled in Wheaton,
where he has continued to reside and practice his
profession ever since. For four years he was as
sociated with Dr. L. Pratt, a prominent physician
of the place, and since the removal of the latter
to California has continued alone. He is the

only homeopathic physician in the city, and has
attained an extensive and lucrative practice. He
is a member of the American Institute of Home
opathy, and the Illinois Homeopathic Medical As
sociation, and, with his wife, is a communicant of
the Methodist Church. He is a member of the
Masonic order, and in political sentiment sympa
thizes with the Democratic party, though inde
pendent in action. Two children were given to
Dr. and Mrs. Owen, both now deceased. They
occupy a handsome and pleasant home on Main
Street, adjoining the public library.

=-#$+£#-

I EWIS CHARLES STOVER, Ex-Treasurer
It of DuPage County, has been a resident here
|_J since he was eleven years old, and is a'popular
and useful citizen. He is descended from the
German stock of eastern Pennsylvania, and was
born in Jackson, York County, that State, on the
7th of October, 1842. His parents, Joseph and
Sarah Stover, are natives of the same township,
and now reside at Glen Ellyn, this county. His
grandfather, Michael Stover, was born on the
same farm as the son and grandson, and was the*
son of a native of the same township, if not ofthe
same farm. All these ancestors were farmers.
Sarah, wife of Joseph Stover, is the daughter of
Michael and Polly Myers, all being natives of the
same township. The males of the Myers family
were all millers, Mrs. Stover having five brothers
who operated mills at the same time.
In March, 1854, Joseph Stover came WTest and
settled on a farm in Milton Township, three miles
south of Glen Ellyn, removing thence when old
age compelled him to retire, in 1884, to the vil
lage where he now resides, as before noted. He
still retains the farm. Most of his family is as
sociated with the Congregational Church. One
son, Rev. Wesley Myers Stover, is a missionary
attached to the West Central African mission of
that sect, where he has been stationed since 1881.
His wife is a daughter of the late Horace Dodge, a
very worthy pioneer of DuPage County.
L. C. Stover is the eldest of seven children

2I4

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

born to his parents, and passed his early years on
a farm, receiving his education in the common
schools. In August, 1862, before completing
the twentieth year of his age, he enlisted in Com
pany F, One Hundred and Fifth Illinois Infantry,
under Capt. Seth F. Daniels (afterward County
Judge of DuPage County, and now a resident of
California) , and served in the Western Army un
til December, 1863. He was discharged for total
disability, having lost both legs in a railroad ac
cident, while in transit from one field of duty to
another. Thus all his ambition for military honor
was disappointed, and his prospects in life dark
ened; however, like a brave soldier, he did not
repine, but took up the burden of civil life as best
he could. For a time he was employed in a
store at Lisle Station, and in 1873 he was elected
County Treasurer, filling that position continu
ously for thirteen years, more than twice as long
as any other ever held that office, a fitting testi
monial to his ability and faithfulness. He had
previously served as Tax Collector in York Town
ship, and has fulfilled the duties ofthe same posi
tion for two terms in the city of Wheaton, once
by*- election, and once as Deputy for another who
could not devote his time to it. In every posi
tion he has been called upon to fill by his com
patriots, he has fully justified the confidence re
posed in him.
In political matters, Mr. Stover adheres to the
Republican party, as the exponent of the best
and most progressive principles of government,
and takes a lively interest in all that concerns the
public welfare. He is a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic and a Royal Arch Mason,
and affiliates with the Baptist Church, of which
his wife is an active member.
In March, 1876, Mr. Stover married Mrs. Jane
Ann, widow of Henry Durand, and daughter of
Bernard and Angeline (Whittemore) Eggleston.
Mrs. Stover isa native of Jackson, Mich., and
the names of her parents are among the old
est and best of New England. Her daughter,
Miss Nettie Durand, completes the family of Mr.
Stover. A genial, modest gentleman, who strives to
keep abreast of the times, Mr. Stover is a citizen

worthy of this modest mention in the record of
his home county. He occupies a pleasant home
on the corner of Hale and Seminary Streets in
Wheaton, as well as a warm place in the esteem
of his fellow-citizens.
'HOMAS MYRICK HULL, the popular ex-
Recorder and Circuit Court Clerk of Du
Page County, is a scion of an old New York
family of English lineage. His great-great
grandfather came from England and settled at
Hudson, N. Y. A brother who accompanied
him went elsewhere, and all trace of him is lost
to this branch of the family. Tideman Hull,
born at Hudson, N. Y., operated a paper-mill on
the Hudson, and when his son George was twelve
years old, the latter was often sent out on a week's
trip alone, to gather rags for comsumption in the
mill. Tideman Hull and his wife, Ann Haight,
were strict Quakers. Their son George married
Sally Ann,, daughter of Joseph and Eunice Barn
ard. The Barnards were of Welsh blood, while
Eunice, wife of Joseph Barnard, was the daughter
of Capt. Thomas Myrick, of English descent, who
lost his life in whaling on the ship which he com
manded. George Hull was probably born at Hudson or
Poughkeepsie, or wherever it was that hisfather
operated the paper-mill. George became a flour-
miller, and built the first gristmill in Cortland
County, N. Y., whither he went at the age of
twenty -two years, about 1808. He took up land
there, and beside milling carried on farming op
erations for nearly half a century in the town of
Truxton. In 1856 he moved to DeRuyter, Mad
ison County, N. Y., and from there to Oak Park,
111., in 1885, dying soon after, at the ripe age of
ninety-nine years and nine months. He had four
sons and five daughters.
Edward H. Hull, eldest child of George Hull,
was born at Hudson, N. Y., in September, 1806,
and was an infant when his parents went to Trux
ton. He learned his father's trade, and followed '
it several years at Sherman Hollow, near Syra-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

2I5

cuse, in the mean time "pursuing the reading of
law. He had previously kept an hotel at Cardiff
and also at De RUyter. In 1851 he went to Cali
fornia, but did not indulge the universal craze for
mining. He operated a flourmill at San Jose
four years, and then returned to De Ruyter, N. Y. ,
where he resumed his law studies, and was admit
ted to practice in 1855. The next year he be
came a resident of Illinois, and, locating at Lom
bard, engaged in the practice of his profession un
til his death, iu 1877. He filled numerous minor
official positions,-and was Circuit Court Clerk and
Recorder for DuPage County from 1868 to 1872.
He was a Democrat of the old school, and warmly
supported the administration in the prosecution
of the war for the preservation of the Union. On
account of his marriage outside that sect, he was
expelled from the Quaker brotherhood, but con
tinued to cherish strong religious convictions in
sympathy with its tenets. His wife, Maria, sur
vives him, and resides at Oak Park. She was
born in Canaan, Columbia County, N. Y., and is
a daughter of Lambert and Freelove ( Ailsworth)
Van Valkenburg, of early Dutch ancestry. Four
of her seven children survive, and are residents
of this vicinity. The eldest, George Henry, died
at Englewood, now part of Chicago, 111. Frank
resides at Wheaton. Jennie, widow of Liberty
Jones, is a resident of Oak Park, as is also Delos.
The name of the fourth heads this article. Charles,
the fifth, died in infancy. DeWitt, twin brother
of Delos, died of disease contracted while serving
as a member ofthe Fifteenth New York Cavalry,
in the Civil War.
Thomas M. Hull was born April 22, 1840, at
Fabias, Oneida County, N. Y., and remained
there and at De Ruyter until he was fifteen years
old, attending the academy at the latter place one
year in that time. In September, 1855, he set
out alone to make his way in the new West. He
spent a year at Litchfield, 111., where he was em
ployed as clerk in a general store, and then re
turned to De Ruyter, and pursued his studies at
the academy for another year. In June, 1857,
he became a permanent resident of Illinois, tak
ing up his abode at Lombard. Here he found,
employment in a store for some time, and was for

six months a clerk iu the store of Potter Palmer in
Chicago, at $6 per week. As this remuneration
did not afford comfortable maintenance, he re
signed, and soon after opened a meat-market, in
partnership with au elder brother. This market
was on Clark Street, where the Chicago postoffice
and custom house now stand, and was success
fully conducted about seven years. For two years
Mr. Hull operated a dairy farm, but becoming con
vinced that agriculture was not his forte, he then
found employment with the Weed Sewing-machine
Company, and was its city- manager at the time
of the great fire, in 187 1. He continued with
this concern until 1876, the last three years being
spent as its representative on the road.
Becoming interested in politics, our subject
took an active part in the campaign of 1876, and
on its successful termination was offered the posi
tion of Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court of Du
Page County, which he accepted. For four years
he faithfully discharged the duties devolving upon
him, and was chosen as principal in that office at
the ensuing election, being re-elected at the end of
four years. He declined to be again a candidate,
and on retiring from office at the end of twelve
years he opened a set of abstract books for Du
Page County at Wheaton, and has found a liveli
hood in the conduct of this business ever since.
He is assisted by his eldest son, who is a partner
in the enterprise. Their office is near the court
house, and was erected by Mr. Hull in 1888.
The genial "Tom," as he is known by his as
sociates, is a man of sterling qualities, possessed of
a magnetism which wins and retains friendships,
and his upright conduct of his official duties and
private business has not" detracted from the good
will which he inspires in all with whom he is
brought in contact. He has always been an ar
dent Republican, but conducts his campaigns
without rancor, and holds an influential position
in the local councils of his party. He is Chancel
lor Commander of Orchid Lodge No. 331, K. P.,
and attends the Congregational Church, ofwhich
his wife is a member. In 1867 he married Miss
Caroline C. Whaples, a native of Oak Park, 111.,
and daughter of Reuben and Margaret (Spitzer)
Whaples, early residents of Oak Park. Mr.

2l6

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Whaples is a native of Connecticut, of English
descent, and his wife of Ohio, of German lineage.
Three children complete the family of Mr. Hull,
namely: DeWitt Clinton, Thomas R. and Myrtle
Irene.

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i=

G\ZEL DORATHY is the well-known Post-
F I master of Hinsdale. He was appointed to
(l this position by President Harrison in 1889,
and is still acceptably filling the office. He has
been prominently identified with the official life
of this place, and has been found true to every
public trust reposed in him. His life record is as
follows :
A native of the Empire State, Mr. Dorathy
was born in Pierrepont, N. Y., October 19, 1824,
and is a son of Joseph and Jerusha (Hatch) Dor
athy, the former a native of Massachusetts, and
the latter of New Hampshire. The paternal
grandfather was a sea-faring man, but the mater
nal grandfather was a New Hampshire farmer.
Joseph Dorathy became a carpenter and builder
in early life, but afterwards turned his attention
to agricultural pursuits. He died in New York,
in 1854, at the advanced age of eighty-five, and
was still well preserved for one of his years. His
wife survived him about five years, and was also
eighty-five years of age when called to the home
beyond. This worthy couple became the parents
of ten children, six sons and four daughters,
but only three of the number are now living :
Charles; Lucinda, widow of Elisha Beach, and a
resident of California; and Azel.
Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and
youth in the State of his nativity, remaining on
the home farm until sixteen years of age. He
displayed special aptitude for study, and when a
youth of sixteen began teaching school, which
profession he successfully followed for eleven sea
sons. With the capital he had acquired through
his industry and economy, he then embarked in
general merchandising in the village of Potsdam,
where he remained until 1853, when he deter
mined to seek a home and fortune in the West.
The following year he located in the rapidly

growing city of Chicago, where he engaged in the
real-estate business until 1876. That year wit
nessed his arrival in Hinsdale, whither he re
moved on account of ill health, and here he has
made his home continuously since.
On the 24th of December, 1852, Mr. Dorathy
was united in marriage with Miss Miriam Dewey,
daughter of Chester Dewey. Their only child
died in infancy, and Mrs. Dorathy passed away
October 24, 1870.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Dorathy is a
Republican, and has been honored with a number
of local offices. He has served as Town Clerk,
Village Clerk, and has also filled the office of
Police Magistrate during his residence in Hins
dale. For the past four years he has been the
efficient Postmaster. His many excellent traits
of character have gained him universal confidence
and esteem.

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5+£l~

I

ARSHALL B. LESTER was born on the
farm where he still resides, on section 9, Ad
dison township, DuPage County, the date
of his birth being December 8, 1849. Hecomes
of an old New England family of Welsh origin,
and his grandfather, Edward Lester, was a native
of Long Island. The parents of our subject were
Marshall N. and Levantia N. (Barnum) Lester.
The father was born in Clinton County, N. Y.,
in 1810, and the mother, a distant relative of P.
T. Barnum, the showman, was born in Shoreham,
Vt. , in 18 17, and was of English descent. Her
father, Cyrus Barnum, was also a native of the
Green Mountain State, and became one of the
pioneers of DuPage County in 1837. His broth
er, Truman Barnum, graded six iniles ofthe first
railroad built out of Chicago. The brothers died
within two days of each other, of cholera, in 1848.
The paternal grandfather of M. B. Lester came
to DuPage County in 1835, and took up land
from the Government in what is now Addison
Township, but at that time the land was unsur
veyed. His son John had come to the county the
previous year and had made a claim in Addison

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

217

Township. The , father of our subject came to
DuPage County in 1835, in his twenty-fifth year,
and also secured Government land before it was
surveyed. Here he married Miss Barnum in 1 840,
and the young couple began their domestic life
upon the farm which is now the home of our sub
ject. A small block house was built, and while
the wife cared for the little home the husband en
gaged in the cultivation of the fields. As the
years passed his labors made the farm one of the
best in the county, and upon it he continued to
reside until his death, which occurred in his eigh
tieth year. He was a Republican in politics, and
was a prominent and influential citizen. His wife
passed away iri 1876, at the age of fifty-nine.
They had a family of eight children, five sons
and three daughters, of whom our subject is
fourth in order of birth.
M. B. Lester was born in the block house
which was the pioneer home of the family, and
the days of his boyhood and youth were spent in
work and play upon the farm, to the cultivation
of which he has devoted his manhood's labors.
In early life he conned his lessons in the district
schools, but afterwards pursued his studies in the
schools of Wheaton, Elgin and Dixon. Later he
engaged in teaching school, being thus employed
for eight terms in DuPage County. In his work
as an instructor he was very successful.
In 1880, in Addison Township, Mr. Lester mar
ried Hattie C. Lake. Her parents were natives
of England.- She died, leaving a daughter, Leva
C, aud Mr. Lester has been again married, his
second union being with Eliza M. Dohle,' a native
of Cook County, born August 19, .1846.' They
have one child, Elma.
Mr. Lester, who is one of the leading Republi
cans of this community, is a stalwart advocate of
the principles of the party, and was secretary of
the Republican Club. He is now serving as Post
master of Salt Creek. Socially, he is connected
with Itasca Lodge No. 764, M. W. A., ofwhich
he is Commander. He has been a prominent and
progressive citizen, who has manifested commend
able interest in everything pertaining to the wel
fare ofthe community, and has done all in his pow
er for its upbuilding. Besides carrying on general

farming, other business interests have occupied
his time and attention. In 1888, he began deal
ing in live stock, and now makes extensive ship
ments. In 1892 he shipped seventy-two car
loads to Chicago. In connection with, his brother,
Cyrus B., he was for three years proprietor of a
meat-market in Itasca. His farm comprises one
hundred and seventy-seven acres of rich land, and
upon it are two good residences and all the im
provements, accessories and conveniences of a
model farm. Mr. Lester is a public-spirited and
progressive man, an enterprising farmer and a
valued citizen, whose hearty support and co-op
eration have been important factors in the up
building of the community.

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f^ROF. R. T. MORGAN, A. M., is Superin-
yr tendent of Public Instruction of DuPage
\H County, and makes his home in Wheaton.
For nearly a-quarter of a century he has been
identified with Wheaton College, and has been a
great worker in the cause of education. His rela
tions with the college have been both as student
and teacher, and there are few who have been
more actively interested in promoting her welfare
than he.
The birth of Prof. Morgan occurred in Camp-
ton Township, Kane County, 111., May 9, 1844.
His father was Elijah Morgan, who was born in
Randolph, Vt. His mother was in her maiden
hood Miss Laura Ward, and was born near Bata-
tavia, N. Y. Both parents came to Illinois when
quite young, and were married in this State.
Their union was blessed by- two children, but our
subject was the only one to grow to adult years.
His childhood was passed in Kane County until
his fourteenth year, when he went to Iowa and
lived with his grandfather Ward on his farm for
three years. Returning to Illinois, he then en
gaged to work for his uncle, David McKee, on
his farm in DuPage County. He stayed at this
place until fall, when he had his name enrolled
as a student of Wheaton College, and pursued
the branches of the general and classical course

218

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

during the winter. The succeeding summer he
worked on a farm, and in the fall again entered
college. The same fall that the Professor entered col
lege for his second year, the word came from the
front of battle that more volunteers were needed.
On the 3d of December, 1863, he therefore en
listed in Company H, Seventeenth Illinois Cav
alry, and was mustered into service at St. Charles,
111. He was not required to do active service
until the following spring, but was then engaged
iu general bushwhacking and in following up Gen.
Price in Missouri. His company was then or
dered to the mountains to subdue the Indians, who
had become troublesome, as they were adroitly
taking advantage of the civil contest to annoy
and devastate the farms of the western settlers.
The company rode over the country traversed by
the Smoky Hill Fork River, and through western
Kansas and Colorado. They received their final
discharge at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., December
15, 1865.
The evening of New Year's Day, 1866, found
Prof. Morgan once more at home, and just a week
later he was for the third time numbered among
the pupils of Wheaton College, and most of the
time since then he has been connected in some
capacity with the institution. He graduated from
Wheaton with the degree of A. B. in the Class of
'74. For three years he taught school in Foun-
taindale, Ogle County, and in 1877 was called to
the chair of natural science, in his alma mater.
For nine successive years he was professor of that
department, and then resigned to take the place
of County Superintendent of Public Instruction.
In 188 1, was celebrated the marriage of Prof.
Morgan and Miss Hattie Gurnea, of Mt. Palatine,
111. Of their happy union four children have
been born, and three of the number are living.
In order of birth they are as follows: George G.,
James W. (deceased), Royal Tucker and Lewis
V. Mrs. Morgan is a lady of superior education
and culture, and with her husband numbers a
host of friends in Wheaton. On account of the
Professor's connection with the schools, he is
known far and wide, and his loyal pupils can be
found in all parts of the State. His ability as an

educator places him without question among the
first teachers and those interested in the instruc
tion ofthe young. His old army comrades have.
ever held a warm place in his heart, and he is a
member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
b ' *" t=n-<" t 5-B s)
HERMAN H. FRANZEN, dealer in lumber,
feed and flour, and proprietor of ari elevator
in Itasca, is recognized as one of the lead
ing business men of this thriving little town, and
one of its prominent citizens. He is numbered
among the native sons of DuPage County, for his
birth occurred in Bensenville, Addison Town
ship, on the 3d of September, 1868. He is the
youngest child of J. H. and Catherine Franzen,
who are mentioned on another page of this work,
and is a worthy representative of one of the early
families of the county.
Our subject began his education in the district-
schools, and after mastering the common branches
of learning there taught, he became a student in
Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, of Chi
cago, in which he pursued a business course,
which fitted him for the practical and responsible
duties of life. After his education was completed,
he engaged in business with his brother for a
year, and on the expiration of that period he
embarked in his present line of business, in 1888
buying out L- F, Magers. He has an elevator,
at this place, and deals in lumber, feed and flour.
An important event in the life of Mr.. Franzen
occurred the same year — his marriage with Miss
Lizzie Heine, the accomplished daughter of A. H.
Heine, of Cook County. She was born in Leyden
Township, that county, and there spent the days
of her girlhood. One son graces the union of the
young couple, Elmer, who was born in 1891.
Mr. and Mrs. Franzen are well-known young
people of this community, who in social circles
hold an enviable position. They have a large
circle of friends and acquaintances, who highly
esteem them. With the Evangelical Church they
hold membership. Mr. Franzen exercises his
right of franchise in support of the Republican

party. An enterprising, energetic and ambitious
young man, he has already won an enviable place
in business circles, and his past record argues
well for his success in the future.
<5~ * m-Sl OL. .>JS_o, . , -S
*a cil <T >B §)
cJEORGE PURNELL, who resides on section
_ 8, Milton Township, is a native of Illinois,
J born in Kane County, June 2, 1851. His
parents, William and Martha (House) Purnell,
were both natives of Somersetshire, England.
The father received a liberal education, and for
several years was a book-keeper for a coal com
pany in his native land. In November, 1838, he
married Martha House, and in 1850 they emi
grated to the United States and came direct to
Illinois. They first located in DuPage County,
where they have since resided, with the exception
of one year spent in Kane County. They are
still living in Winfield Township, he at the age of
seventy -six years, and she at the age of seventy -
seven. In 1888, they celebrated their golden
wedding. To them were born ten children, but
two died while young in the Old Country, and
eight are living at this writing.
.George Purnell is the sixth in order of birth
and the first one born in America. His educa
tion was received in the common schools, and at
twenty years of age he entered the service of the
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company as a
brakeman on a freight train, but in a few years
was promoted to be conductor ofa freight train;
later he was made conductor on a passenger train,
and served in all about fourteen years. He then
abandoned that work in order to devote his time
and attention to other pursuits.
In the spring of 1880 Mr. Purnell purchased a
farm comprising one hundred and three acres of
land about half a mile north of Wheaton, where
he now resides. Some time later he began its
cultivation, in connection with dairying. The lat
ter business has occupied most of his time, and by
strict attention to the wants of his customers he
has achieved success, and has recently retired from
the business to enjoy a season of well-earned rest.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

219

On the 13th of April, 1880, Mr. Purnell mar
ried Miss Dora Sprout, a native of Milton Town
ship, and a daughter of Alexander and Anna
(Fry) Sprout. Her parents are both natives of
Sandusky County, Ohio, and were among the early
settlers of DuPage County, but they now reside
in Fillmore County , Neb. Tlieir family consisted
of four sons and eight daughters, but only seven
of the number are living. Mr. and Mrs. Purnell
have two sons: Clarence George, born March 7,
1881, and Raymond Carlisle, born August 26,
1891. Our subject and his wife attend the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and contribute liberally to its
support. Mr. Purnell is a public-spirited man,
who takes an active interest in everything calcu
lated to prove of benefit to the community. He
has been called upon to fill the office of Highway
Commissioner, and still occupies that position.
His long residence in this county has made him
well known, and his well-spent life has won him
high regard.

e^H^!

$

B~

LFRED WALKER, of Hinsdale, is num
bered among the early settlers of Du
Page County. For many years he was
connected with its agricultural interests, but is
now living a retired life. He claims Vermont as
the State of his nativity, his birth having oc
curred in Ludlow, Windsor County, on the 6th
of September, 1824. His grandfather, Lawson
Walker, was a native of Massachusetts, and
comes of an old New England family, which in
the Colonial days was founded in America. Jo
siah Walker, the father, was born in Hopkinton,
Mass., and, removing to the Green Mountain
State, married Sophia Pettigrew, who was born
in Ludlow, Vt. , and was a daughter of Andrew
Pettigrew. Her father was also a. native of that
State and was a manufacturer of starch, saleratus
and staves. He belonged to the Baptist Church.
Josiah Walker followed farming until his death,
which occurred in Ludlow, March 22, 1846, at
the age of fifty-three years. His wife survived him

220

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

until 1875, and passed away only a few days pre
vious to her eightieth birthday. He was a mem
ber of the Methodist Church, and she belonged
to the Baptist Church. Both were people of
sterling worth, possessed of many excellencies of
character. In their family were nine children, of
whom five are now living, namely: Asenath, wife
of Elisha Garfield, of Stockton, Kan. ; Polly,
widow of Austin Adams, and a resident of wes
tern Vermont; Rosalinda, wife of Douglas Esta-
brook, of Norfolk, Neb.; Alfred, of this sketch;
and Perry, of Plattsmouth, Neb.
Our subject was reared upon his father's farm,
remaining at home until nineteen years of age,
when he determined to earn his own livelihood,
and went to Boston, where he worked in a car
shop for two years. He then resumed farming,
and purchased the interest of the other heirs in
the old homestead, upon which he lived until his
removal westward. It was in 1854 that he came
to Illinois and located on a farm in DuPage
County, buying the land upon which Fullers-
burg and Hinsdale now stand, His first pur
chase comprised over two hundred acres, to
which he afterward added considerable tracts.
For this he paid $24 per acre, but some of it is
now worth several thousand dollars per acre.
An important event in the life of Mr. Walker
occurred March 30, 1847, when was celebrated
his marriage with Miss Fannie M. Hopkins, a
daughter of David and Amanda (Andrus) Hop
kins, natives of Vermont. Four children were
born of their union, but the eldest and youngest,
Lincoln and Agnes, are now deceased. Clifford
married Miss Nellie Stewart, and they have two
children, Alfred Stewart and Fannie Hopkins.
Lillian is the wife of Frank L. Wentworth, a rela
tive of John Wentworth. They have three
daughters: Daisy Louise, Amy Harriet and Fan
nie Lillian. The parents of Mrs. Walker were
natives of Vermont, and her mother was of
Welsh descent. One of her father's ancestors,
Stephen Hopkins, was a signer of the Declaration
of Independence. In the Hopkins family were
seven sons and seven daughters, all of whom
grew to mature years. The father was an exten
sive farmer and stock-raiser, and devoted his

energies to that business during the summer
months, while in the winter season he engaged
in teaching. He died March 30, 1849, at the
age of sixty-one years, and his wife, who was
born August 30, 1792, was called to her final
home March 31, 1849. They were members of
the Congregational Church. Only one son and
two daughters of their family are now living.
In his political views, Mr. Walker was for
merly a Republican, but now affiliates with the
Democracy. His wife, a most estimable lady, is
a member of the Congregational Church. He
still owns two hundred and thirty-seven acres of
land in this county, of which sixty-seven acres
are within the corporation limits of Hinsdale.
He made a judicious investment in purchasing
this property, and by the steady rise in value of
real estate in this locality, aud by his well-di
rected and enterprising efforts, he has become
one of the substantial citizens of DuPage County.

_¦=)

"S3

*+£

n=»

r~RANK HULL, Deputy Circuit Clerk and Re-
Tri corder of DuPage County, is among the old-
| est in service and most popular of the coun
ty officials. He was born in Truxton, N. Y.,
May 21, 1835, His genealogy will be found in
connection with the biography of T. M. Hull,
elsewhere in this work. His youth was passed
at Cardiff and De Ruyter, N. Y., his education be
ing completed at a seminary in the latter place.
In September, 1851, he came to Lombard (then
known as Babcock's Grove), in this county, with
his Uncle, J. B. Hull, with whom he remained
seven years as his assistant in conducting a
store. For two years subsequently he was em
ployed as clerk in a commission house in Chicago,
and in the spring of i860 he went to Harvard-
Junction, 111. , as ticket agent for the Chicago &
Northwestern Railway Company. He remained
there about a year and a-half, enlisting in Sep
tember, 186 1, for three years' service in Company
A, Eighth Illinois Cavalry. He participated in
every engagement and skirmish of the regiment,
numbering about one hundred and sixty-five

Q-^r^c^^yjm^^

MRS. N. CRAMPTON.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

225

in all. At Boonesboro, Md. , he received a
sabre cut across the fingers, and at Malvern Hill
his right stirrup was* carried away by a fragment
of shell, which inflicted upon him a slight wound,
and at the same time his horse was seriously in
jured by another fragment. At the expiration of
his term of enlistment, he joined Sheridan's Cav
alry Corps as citizen clerk in the commissary
department, remaining two years. He was then
appointed by the Commissary-General as clerk in
the commissary department of the Powder River
Indian expedition, and spent a year and a-half in
that service, going to the Big Horn Mountains, in
. Montana. Returning to Lombard, he was soon appointed
by his father deputy in the office of Recorder, and
he continued until the close of the term, in 1872.
For three years, he was Secretary of the Weed
Sewing-machine Company in Chicago, and in
1876 he was elected Circuit Clerk and Recorder
for DuPage County, and has been connected
with the office ever since. On the expiration of
his term of four years, his brother was elected to
the office, and he remained with him and all his
successors as deputy. In every position he has
been called to fill, his work has been characterized
by faithfulness and care, and he enjoys the con
fidence of the entire public. He possesses a
cheerful, obliging disposition, and is admirably
adapted for a public official. That he does not
allow care to eat away his life is evinced by his
rotund form and jolly face.
Mr. Hull is a sincere believer in the principles
of public policy promulgated by the Republican
party, and gives it his hearty allegiance now, as
he did when it was repelling the attacks of the
country's enemies at home and in the field of bat
tle. He sustains the religious services of the
Congregational Church, and is a member of E. S.
Kelley Post, G. A. R., of Wheaton.
In 1869, at Lombard, Mr. Hull was married
to Miss Mary A. Harris, a native of Truxton,
N. Y., and a daughter of Samuel Harris and
Mary Perry, his second wife. Mr. Harris was a
native of Connecticut, of Welsh descent, and an
early resident of Lombard, now deceased. Mr.
Hull and -wife are the parents of four daughters.

Mattie Harris, the eldest, is a teacher at Lom
bard. Frankie is a stenographer in the office of
the Freight Auditor of the Chicago & Northwest
ern Railway at Chicago. Clara L. and Virginia
A. are students ofthe Wheaton school.

IS-

^H^

jOATHANIEL CRAMPTON, a retired farmer
r7 and early settler of DuPage County, who
\lS now makes his home in Naperville, was
born in Madison, New Haven County, Conn.,
just across the Sound from Long Island, on the
4th of March, 18 15. His parents, David and
Julia (Davis) Crampton, were born, reared and
married in the Nutmeg State, and at length came
westward to Illinois, spending their last days in
DuPage County. Here the father passed away,
at the home of our subject, at the advanced age
of eighty-four years, and his wife was called to
her final rest at the age of seventy -seven. They
had a family of nine children, five sons and four
daughters, all of whom reached mature years,
although only three are now living.
Our subject was the fourth in order of birth.
The first twelve years of his life were spent in the
State of his nativity, and he then accompanied
his parents on their removal to Benson, Vt.,
where he made his home until June 10, 1836,
when he came to DuPage County. The first
work he did here was to prepare timber for a
barn, which now stands on the farm of Robert
Strong. For some time he worked by the day.
He was offered $300 for a year's service, but he
would not hire at any price, as he had come West
in order to get a home for himself, and not to
benefit others by his labor. At length he bought
the claim which he transformed into his present
farm, the purchase price being $300. There were
no improvements upon it, and the land was still
in its primitive condition, but with characteristic
energy he began its development, continuing his
work until acre after acre was placed under the
plow and made to yield him a good return for his
labor. He built fences of rails which he made
himself, thus dividing the farm into fields of con-

226

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

venient size, and he erected all the necessary
buildings which are found upon a model farm.
His first home was a log cabin 16x20 feet.
As a companion and helpmate on life's journey,
Mr. Crampton chose Miss Lucy Dudley, who
was born September 3, 1820, in Saybrook, Mid
dlesex County, Conn., their marriage being cele
brated January 10, 1839, by Rev. Jeremiah Por
ter. He took his bride to his log cabin, which
had neither door nor window, but her womanly-
ways soon made it a comfortable and homelike
place, and many happy days were there spent.
Five children came to brighten the home by their
presence, but Julia, the eldest, and Minnie, the
fourth child, are now deceased. Rosetta H. is
the wife of Gardner Roberts, of Aurora, 111.
William Milton resides on the old homestead;
and May is the wife of C. H. Andrus, who re
sides with our subject. The mother of this fam
ily was educated in Ohio, and there made her
home until the spring of 1835, when she came to
DuPage County with an uncle and aunt. She
taught school here on the east branch of the Du
Page River for several years. She died February
18, 1891, and her loss was deeply- mourned. She
was a woman of sterling character, and a member
of the Congregational Church, which she had
joined when a young girl. During the years of
her active life she was a great worker in the
church and Sunday-school, and many a time did
she and her family drive four miles in rain and
storm to attend religious service. She taught in
the Sunday-school as long as her health per
mitted, and in early life had been a member of
the choir, her sweet voice being heard in every
part of the church. While a Sunday-school
teacher she was stricken with paralysis, and for
nearly ten years was an invalid, confined to the
house and bed; but she was a patient sufferer,
and her Christian character and example have
strengthened many a one who came in contact
with her.
Mr. Crampton remained on the old homestead
until 1878, and carried on general farming and
stock-raising. Upon the old place are many of
the rails which he himself split in 1839. To his
farm he hauled sixty cords of building-stone from

Naperville, and the trees upon the place are liv
ing monuments in • green to his patient labor
and enterprise. He at one time owned four hun
dred acres of land, and now has three hundred and
thirty acres. Of this two hundred acres are op
erated by his son Milton. On coming to Naper
ville, in 1878, Mr. Crampton laid aside business
cares, and has since lived retired, enjoying a well-
earned rest.
In politics, our subject was first a Whig,
but since the organization of, the Republican
party has been one of its stanch supporters.
With some local offices he has been honored, hav
ing served as Supervisor, School Director, etc..
He holds membership with the Congregational
Church, in which he fills the office of Trustee.
He is one of DuPage County's pioneers, and a
worthy citizen, who has won the warm regard of
all with whom business or social relations have
brought him in contact.

e^+^

NEMAN MORSE FOX, the senior member
of the well-known firm of Fox & Davis,
general merchants of Hinsdale, has been
connected with the business interests of this place
since 1877. He was born in East Dorset, Vt,
October 28, 1843, and comes from an old New
England family. His paternal grandfather was a
native of Connecticut, and was a farmer by occu
pation. During the Revolutionary War, he aided
the Colonies in their struggle for independence for
four years and four months. His family num
bered five sons and five daughters.
One of the number, Marvin Fox, became the
father of our subject. He was born in the Green
Mountain State, and was also au agriculturist.
The year 1850 witnessed his emigration westward,
and he located in DuPage County, on the present
site of Hinsdale, where he purchased one hundred
and sixty acres of land. The following year he
bought an additional quarter-section, but he af
terward disposed of a part of his property, and at
his death his farm comprised seventy-five acres.
He married Amy Andrus, who was also born in

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

227

Vermont. Her father was a Verrnont farmer, and
reached the advanced age of eighty years. Mr.
and Mrs. Fox became the parents of five sons and
five daughters, and the following are still living:
George M., Jarvis M., Charles, Hernan M., and
Ellen E. , widow of John V. Hamble. The father
of this family died in 1889, at the age of ninety-
four, and his wife passed away in 1884, iu the
eightieth year of her age.
Hernan M. Fox was a lad of seven summers
when, with his parents, he came to Illinois. He
was reared upon his father's farm, remaining, at
home until he had attained his majority. His
early education, acquired iu the district schools of
DuPage County, was supplemented by study in
the seminary of Manchester, Vt. On the 14th of
September, 1870, he was joined in wedlock with
Miss Phcebe A., daughter of George and Phcebe
Ann (Witter) Babcock. Three children were
born to them, namely: Estelle H., Marvin and
Bessie V. The mother died April 19, 1891, and
on the 7th of September, 1893, Mr. Fox was again
married, his second union being with Miss Nellie
M. Boyd, daughter of Martin M. and Sarah E.
(Parker) Boyd.
During the late war, Mr. Fox entered the serv
ice, on the 8th of October, 1864, joining the boys
in blue of Company L, Second Regiment Illinois
Light Artillery, in which he served until August
9, 1865, when, the war having closed, he was mus
tered out. He now holds membership With Naper
Post No. 468, G. A. R. , and in politics he is
a" stanch supporter of Republican principles. He
has never been an office-seeker, but is now serving
as a member of the Village Board of Trustees.
He belongs to the Unity Chtirch.
Mr. Fox commenced merchandising in 1866 at
Fullersburg, in company with his brother Charles, ,
and they continued together in business for the
long period of twenty-one years. In 1877, they
removed their business to Hinsdale, where they
continued operations until the spring of 1889, when
they sold their store and stock, but they still have
some business interests in common. In 1891, our
subject formed a partnership with E. F. Davis,
under the firm name of Fox & Davis, and they
are now successfully engaged in general merchan

dising, having one of the leading stores in Hins
dale. Mr. Fox also has a good home and other
village property. He is a man of excellent busi
ness abiHty, and his well-directed efforts have
brought him a handsome competence. Public-
spirited and progressive, he takes an active inter
est in everything pertaining to the welfare of the
community, and it is with pleasure that we pre
sent to our readers this record of his life.

I

OHN FRAZIER SNYDER, City Attorney
of Wheaton, and an able and successful mem
ber of the Chicago Bar, has been a resident
of this city since 187 1. He is a grandson of
Thomas Snyder, who was born in the Mononga-
hela Valley, in Virginia, and settled on a farm
near Hubbard, Trumbull County, Ohio, about
1830. Thomas Snyder's father, of German de
scent, was stolen from Virginia by the Indians
when nine years old and taken west of the Ohio
River, where he was held in captivity until he
grew to manhood. One day he was sent by his
captors across the Ohio River with a pony, to
gather up arrows which they had been shooting.
He seized this opportunity to make his escape,
riding the pony as long as it could hold out to
run, and then continuing his way on foot till he
reached the white settlements. Thomas Snyder
married Rebecca Titus, also a native of Virginia,
of English lineage. He died about 1859, being
in the neighborhood of seventy years old.
Joshua Snyder, son of Thomas, and father of
the subject of this notice, was born in Virginia in
1825, and was therefore but a child when taken
by his parents to Ohio. He married Harriet
Frazier, a native of that State, and in 1844 came
to Illinois, removing thence to Nebraska in 1879.
He has been forty-five years a Wesleyan Meth
odist preacher, and has moved from place to place
as selected by his conference. He was Chaplain
ofthe Nebraska Senate in the session of 1892-93.
He served three years in the Union army during
the Civil War, as Captain of Company D, Eighty-
third Illinois Infantry, going out under Col.

228

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

(afterward Gen.) Harding, of Monmouth, and
participating in all- the experiences of that regi
ment. His wife, Harriet, is a daughter of John
V. and Nancy (Veach) Frazier, of Scotch ances
try. J. Frazier, eldest ofthe four children of Joshua
and Harriet Snyder, was born at Kishwaukee,
Winnebago County, 111., January 16, 1849. Up
to twelve years of age he passed most of his life
at Viola, Mercer County, 111., and the family was
located at Bloomington when the father entered
the army. He attended the Normal School at
Normal, near Bloomington, and Monmouth Col
lege, and graduated in the classical course at
Wheaton College in 1876. He began the study
of law under the preceptorship of Col. H. F.
Vallette, of Chicago, was later with D. C. & C.
W. Nochols, of the same city, and was admitted
to practice in October, 1880. His progress at the
Bar has been steady, and he now enjoys the
emoluments of a large general practice, including
law and chancery cases, and has also successfully
conducted the defense in important criminal trials.
He occupies offices in the Schloesser Block in
Chicago, 111. He .served as Police Magistrate of
Wheaton for eight years, and was elected City
Attorney in April, 1893. His cases are prepared
with care, and their trial is marked by legal
acumen and alertness, and a reserve of force which
conspires to overcome any sudden obstacles, as
well as to exhaust the resources of his adversaries.
Personally, Mr. Snyder is a man of large frame
and fine physique, and his presence is calculated to
attract attention anywhere, and especially to im
press a jury, when reinforced by his keen mental
ity and able pleadings.
In political associations, he is an ardent Repub
lican, and is not at a loss to account for the faith
that actuates him in sustaining this exponent of
his ideal in the progress of good government.
He attends the Methodist Church, of which his
wife is a communicant.
Mr. Snyder became the husband of Miss Frankie
Ellen Wheaton on the 14th of August, 1878, and
is the possessor and occupant of a happy home on
Seminary Street, in the city named for Mrs. Sny
der's father, Jesse C. Wheaton, Sr. (See biog

raphy elsewhere). Two bright children com
plete this family circle, namely: Juanita Clemm
and John Frazier, Jr. Mrs. Snyder graduated in
the classical course of Wheaton College in June,
1875, and taught six years in the Wheaton High
School, being principal the last three years.

*#$+$H

(JOHN H. PAPENHAUSEN, one of the self-'
I made men of DuPage County, who is now
(2/ extensively engaged in the merchant-tailor
ing business in Hinsdale, was born in the city of
Nienborg, Hanover, Germany, on the 28th of
September, 1837. He is now the only survivor
in a family of three sons and a daughter, who
were born to Deitrich and Margaret (Stumpen-
hausen) Papenhausen, natives of Germany. The
father died in his native land in 1 87 1 , at the age
of fifty-eight years, and his wife passed away
about six years previous. He was a tailor by
trade, and served as a soldier in the regular
army. Both were members of the Evangelical
Church, and were highly respected citizens ofthe
community in which they made their home.
The paternal grandfather, Henry Papenhausen,
reached the ripe old age of seventy-seven years.
His family numbered four sons. The maternal
grandfather, Christian Stumpenhausen, became
an extensive farmer, and reached the age of sixty
years. In the land of his nativity John H. spent his
boyhood and youth, and when only thirteen years
of age began learning the tailor's trade, which he
has since followed. In accordance with the laws
of Germany, he entered the army and was a sol
dier in the war between that country and Den
mark. He served for thirty-nine weeks in Hol
stein, and was in the regular army for seven years.
With the view of trying his fortune in the New
World, he bade good-bye to home and friends in
187 1 , and sailed for America. Locating in Down
er's Grove, he there followed the tailor's trade
for a time, and afterwards spent three years in
the same line of business in Brush Hill. It was
in 1875 that he came to Hinsdale and opened the

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

229

store which hehas since carried on. He now has a
fine stock of goods, employs a number of hands,
and is doing a large business, which has con
stantly increased from the beginning, and which
is well merited by his earnest efforts to please his
customers, and his straightforward and upright
methods in all his business dealings.
In 1862, Mr. Papenhausen wedded Miss Mary
Berns, daughter of Dietrich and Mary (Meinken)
Berns. Seven children were born of their union,
as follows: Mary, now the wife of Norman Jef-
fers, by whom she has one son, Robert; Sophia;
Annie, wife of Frank Whitney, by whom she has
one child, Lawrence; Lena; William, who died
in infancy; Charlie and Willie.
Mr. Papenhausen now has a good home and
business property in Hinsdale. He deserves great
credit for his success in life, which has been gained
through industry, perseverance and determina
tion. He has made the most of his opportunities,
and his labors have placed him among the sub
stantial citizens of his adopted county. Socially,
he is a member of the Masonic lodge of Hinsdale
and the Ancient Order of United Workmen,
while his wife is a member ofthe Degree of.Honor
of the latter fraternity. In politics, he is a sup
porter ofthe Republican party.

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0R. ORLANDO WAKELEE was born in
Sandgate, Windham County, Vt., on the
27th of November, 1799, and died at Whea
ton, 111., May 7, 188 1. After practicing medi
cine successfully for thirty years at Clarence, Erie
County, N. Y., he came to Illinois, in 1852, to
retire from practice and settle his children in the
midst of the advantages afforded by a new coun
try. His earliest ancestor now known was his
grandfather, Abner Wakelee, who died on the
22d of July, 1769. His birthplace and age can
not now he determined. His wife, Sarah, died
September 18, 181 1, and must have been many
years his junior.
Their son, Piatt Wakelee, born February 17,
1766, married Mary Minor January 17, 1789.

Judge Henry Booth, who founded the North
western Law School at Chicago, was related to
her through the Minor blood. Piatt Wakelee
was a shoemaker by occupation, and engaged in
farming also. In 1808 he removed to Clinton,
Oneida County, N. Y., and in 1820 to Lancaster,
Erie County, same State. Here he died in March,
1854. His wife, Mary, died September 6, 1838,
and he was married on the 17th of July, 1840, to
Mrs. Susan Day. He was the father of eight
children, namely: Elihu, Laura, Clement, Anna,
Sophronia, Orlando, Olive and Polly Maria.
When about eighty years old Piatt Wakelee aban
doned the use of tobacco, at the same time with
his son Orlando.
Orlando Wakelee attended the common schools,
and about the time he became of age he entered
the Buffalo Medical College, and graduated De
cember 3, 1822. He immediately began the prac
tice of his profession at Clarence, in which he
was very successful. On his removal to Illinois,
he bought a farm in Milton Township, DuPage
County, a part of which is in the limits of the
present city of Wheaton. This he tilled for three
years, and then sold out and retired from active
labor. He built the house now occupied by his
son, William H. Wakelee, on West Street, and
continued to reside there during the balance of
his life. He took an active interest in all ques
tions of public concern, and was an indefatigable
enemy of intemperance and human -slavery. He
was a useful member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and the Sons of Temperance. In early
life he" attached himself to the Whig party, and
naturally became a Republican on the organiza
tion of the party bearing that name. During his
residence in Clarence, he served as Town Super
intendent of Schools for many years, and was
Trustee of the towu of Wheaton, the city of that
name having been incorporated after his time.
He was a man of high character and very gentle
manly deportment.
Dr. Wakelee' s first wife was Lydia Slosson,
who died of consumption September 30, 1837.
Her six children are all deceased, without issue,
except the second, Ezra G. , who left a son named
Frederick. The latter is now a resident of Ar-

230

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

kansas. On the nth of June, 1838, Dr. Wakelee
married Miss Thankful Strong, who was born in
Clinton, N. Y., November 23, 1807. She died
March 23, 1865. Of her four children, two are
living, the first and last dying unmarried. A
sketch of the eldest follows. The other, Lucy E. ,
is engaged in dressmaking in Chicago. Eveline
Maria and Edward A. are the names of those de
ceased. Dr. Wakelee married for his third wife
Miss Mary Ann Childs, a native of Wilmington,
Vt., who survives him, and resides in Wheaton.
William Henry Wakelee, only living son of
Dr. Orlando Wakelee, was born in Clarence, N.
Y.., February 3, 1841. Most of his education
was received in the common schools of Wheaton.
On attaining his majority, he went to Battle
Creek, Mich. , where he was employed for three
years in a store. In the mean time he served four
months in the Union Army as a member of Com
pany F, One Hundred and Fifth Illinois Infantry,
being discharged for disability. He has been
employed most of his life in clerical labor, chiefly
in connection with the courts of Chicago, and in
an abstract office of that city. He follows the
precepts of his father in religious and political
matters. On the 2d of August, 1865, he married
Miss Electa Wibirt, a native of Ledyard, Cayuga
County, N. Y. Her parents, John and Submit
(Taylor) Wibirt, were born at Saratoga, N. Y.,
and were Quakers, like her grandparents, John
and Elizabeth Wibirt. They were of English
extraction. Mr. Wakelee and wife are blessed
with three children, namely: Harry Wibirt, Asa
Wibirt and Anna Booth.

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EHARLES PFEIFER, who is engaged in the
undertaking business in Hinsdale, claims
Illinois as the State of his nativity. He
was born in Cook County, September 30, 1850,
and is of German descent. The paternal grand
father spent his entire life in Germany. The
maternal grandfather, Philip Bohlander, came to
America about 1840, and located near Elmhurst,
where he engaged in farming for a short time.

He then removed to Mokena, Will' County. „ He
was a member of the Lutheran Church, and died
in that faith in 1879, at the age of eighty years.
The death of his wife occurred in 1857.
The parents of our subject, Peter and Philipine
(Bohlander) Pfeifer, were both natives of ,Ger-
many. The former was a farmer, and crossed the
briny deep to this country in 1842. He took up
his residence upon a farm, which he purchased,
east of the present site of Elmhurst, but this he
afterwards sold, removing to Cook County. He
purchased one hundred and sixty acres thirty
iniles south of Chicago, and to its improvement
devoted his energies until 1876, when he removed
to Richton, where he spent his remaining days.
He died at the age of seventy-six, and his wife
passed away several years previous. With the
Catholic Church he held membership, while his
wife belonged to the Lutheran Church. Of their
family of four sons and . four daughters, six are
still living.:. Elizabeth, wife of Michael Eimhorn, ,
of Madison, 111.; Peter, of Frankfort, 111.; Charles,
of Hinsdale; Catherine, wife of Daniel Merker, of
Chicago Heights; Eva, wife of Charles Scheit, of
Cook County; and John, of Harvey, 111.
Mr. Pfeifer whose name heads this record
grew to manhood upon his father's- farm in Cook
County, and in the common schools acquired a
good English education. To his father he gave
the benefit of his services until nineteen years of
age, when he began learning the tinner's trade at
Fullersburg. Subsequently, he went to Lyons,
and completed his apprenticeship, after which he
worked in Chicago, and later in Denver, Colo. In
1873 he returned to Illinois, and took up his resi
dence in Hinsdale, where he worked in the em
ploy of others for two years. He then opened a
tin-shop of his own, which he conducted for about
two years, when he became associated with John
Bohlander in the hardware, farm machinery, and
undertaking business. They successfully carried
on operations under the firm name of Bohlander
& Co. until 1890, when Mr. Pfeifer sold his in
terest to his partner, and has since been alone in
the undertaking business.
On October 30, 1878, our subject was united in
marriage with Miss Sarah Wolf, a daughter of

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

231

Frederick and Magdalena (Lehmann) Wolf, who
were natives of Germany. Five children have
been born to them, a son and four daughters,
George, Ellen, Lulu, Mattie and Grace, and the
family circle yet remains unbroken.
Mr. Pfeifer takes considerable interest in civic
societies, and holds membership with Hinsdale
Lodge No. 546, A. F. & A. M. ; and also with
Juniata Lodge No. 374, K. P. In politics, he is
a supporter of the Democracy. He owns a farm
of thirty acres two and a-half miles from Hins
dale, also his home and business property in this
place. He is a man of diligence and enterprise,
and by his good management and business ability
he has worked his way up from a humble posi
tion, until he is now numbered among the well-
to-do citizens of the community.

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though yet a
physician of

NW. VANDERHOOF, M. D
young man, ¦ is the leading
Wheaton. It is now only two years that he
has been engaged in practice in this place, but he
is so thoroughly posted in medicine, and his abil
ity is so readily recognized, that he has already
obtained a large and remunerative practice. From
1876 to November, i89i,hewas engaged in his
professional duties in Bloomingdale, DuPage
County. The Doctor was born in Coldwater,
Mich., in August, 1850. He is a son of Richard
and Eliza (Strong) Vanderhoof. The father was
formerly engaged in farming in Branch County,
Mich., near Coldwater. Though eighty-eight
years of age, he is still hale and hearty and is now-
making his home with our subject. The mother
was born in Connecticut, of Scotch- Irish ancestry,
and died when the Doctor was only five years old.
He is next to the youngest of seven children.
Margaret is the wife of L- D. Dellman, a lumber
man and .manufacturer at Paragould, Ark. Mar
tin was in the army, and was an engineer by oc
cupation, being in the employ of the Western In
diana Railroad. He died at his home in South
Chicago in 1892, at the. age of fifty-seven. John
W. was the First Lieutenant of Company G, of

the Twenty-ninth Indiana Regiment, during the
late Civil War, aud is now a resident of Sid
ney, Neb. Cordelia, Mrs. McGoggy, lives in
Iowa. Edward was in the Loomis First Michi
gan Light Artillery, belonging to Battery A, and
is now a Louisiana planter. Lemuel D., the
youngest of the family, resides in Holdrege, Neb.
The father of these children married for his sec
ond wife Miss Harriett Stoddard, who is also liv
ing with the Doctor, and is now seventy-seven
years of age.
The boyhood and youth of our subject were
passed near his birthplace in Michigan. He at
tended and graduated from the High School
in Coldwater, and was always an apt student.
From the time he was a boy he had a strong de:
sire to become a physician, and at the earliest op
portunity commenced the study of medicine. His
first preceptor was Dr. L. R. Daniels, who had
formerly been one of his teachers in the Grammar
Schools, and who now gave him a good ground
ing in the fundamental principles of surgery and
medicine. After studying with Dr. Daniels for
two years, he entered the Bennett Medical College
in Chicago, from which he graduated in 1874.
The following year he entered the Chicago Med
ical College, from which institution he graduated
in 1875.
With his good theoretical knowledge, Dr. Van
derhoof returned to Coldwater, Mich., and for
two years received invaluable practical experience
with his former teacher and friend, Dr. Daniels.
Thus well equipped for his future career, he then
went to Bloomingdale, 111., where he bought out
the practice of Dr. Olson. He has been remark
ably successful, and is perhaps the leading physi
cian of not only Wheaton, but DuPage County.
He is one who spares no pains, research or study
in order to be thoroughly up with the times in all
branches and things pertaining to medicine.
On January 23, 1875, the Doctor married Miss
Eveline Blank, daughter of William and Eleanor
Blank, of Wayne, DuPage County. Their union
has been blessed with a bright little son, who is
called Don A. Mrs. Vanderhoof is a faithful
member ofthe Baptist Church of this city.
Fraternally, the Doctor belongs to the Masonic

232

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lodge of Wheaton, and belongs^ to JBettue Com
mandery No. 36, of Elgin. He is also a member
of, and Examining Physician for, Camp No. 488,
M. W. A., of Wheaton. In his social, aswell
as business and professional relations, he is very
popular, and has the faculty of making friends
of one and all.

J^ASCHALP. MATTHEWS, one of the highly
yr respected citizens of Hinsdale, who well de-
\H serves representation in the history of his
adopted county, is a native of the Empire State.
He was born in Herkimer County, August 3,
181 1, and is a son of Edmund and Lucy (Mc
Clelland) Matthews, the former of French descent,
and the latter of Scotch lineage. Edmund Matth
ews was twice married, and by his first union
had a son, Charles. By the second, there were
five children: Henry; Lucy, deceased, wife of
Reuben Wellington; Paschal P.; Emery, and
Lucretia, deceased, wife of Myron Everetts. In
early life the father of this family was a carpenter,
and helped to build the first market-place in Bos
ton. Later, however, he followed agricultural
pursuits. He served during the War of 1812, as
Quartermaster, and died on his farm in New
York September 2, 1848, at the age of seventy-
three years. His wife survived him some time,
and passed away February 17, 1862. They held
membership with the Presbyterian Church in
Mexico, Oswego County, N. Y.
Mr. Matthews whose name heads this record
spent his boyhood and youth upon his father's
farm, remaining at home until he had reached his
twentieth year, when he began to earn his own
livelihood. Later, he attended school for a few
months, and then engaged with a stage company
for ten years. He was afterward for nearly ten
years captain ofa packet-boat on the Erie Canal,
running between Syracuse, Schenectady and Uti
ca. With the hope of bettering his financial con
dition, he determined to come to the West in
1859, and, carrying out this resolution, took up
his residence in Chicago. He embarked in the

grain business, and was connected with the Board
oT Trade for many years, continuing operations
along this line until 1883, when he retired from
active business.
On the 2 ist of May, 1840, Mr. Matthews wedded
Miss Louisa Vinton, and they became the parents
of one child, a daughter, Alice, now the wife of Nel
son R. Davis. The mother died in 1891, since
which time a niece of Mr. Matthews has been
keeping house for him,
For many years our subject has been a mem
ber of the Odd Fellows' fraternity. In early life
he exercised his right of franchise in support of
the Whig party, but on its dissolution joined the
ranks of the. new Republican party and has since
fought under its banner. It was in 1889 that he
came to Hinsdale, where he has a beautiful home
and ten acres of valuable land within the corpora
tion limits of the town. He has now reached the
age of eighty -two, but his years rest lightly upon
him, and he is still strong and active. His eyes are
bright, his mind clear and keen, and he is a good
and rapid penman. While not a church mem
ber, he has always attended religious services and
contributed liberally to church and benevolent
work. He is a man of fine physique and excel
lent carriage, and bids fair to live for many years
to come. His life has been honorable and up
right, and his many friends hold him in high re
gard. |= ¦ ¦tf!~^<'?'^s=!&  i
E HESTER WRIGHT PLUMMER, a wor
thy retired farmer of Wheaton and consistent
Christian gentleman, is a native of New
York, born in Alden, Erie County, on December
20, 1 82 1. His parents, Caleb and Polly Plum-
mer, were of New Hampshire birth. His mother
came of an old aud honored family of the Granite
State, her father being Deacon Caleb Webster, of
the Presbyterian Church, who lived to the age of
eighty years.
Caleb Plummer went from his native State to
western New York iu 18 18, and cleared up a new
farm in the heavy timber of that region. He died
in 1840, aged sixty years. He was a man of pro-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

233

gressive ideas, who embraced the Presbyterian
faith, and sustained the Whig party in matters of
national government. He had three sons and
five daughters, only three of whom are now liv
ing, Chester being the youngest of the family.
Sally, the eldest, married David Talmage, with
whom she went in 1836 to York, DuPage County,
where she died. Polly, wife of Joseph Havens,
died in Newstead Township, adjoining Alden,
N. Y. She was the only one who did not move
West. William died at Lansing, Mich., and Ben
jamin now resides at Hinsdale, this county, being
in his eighty-third year. Nancy, wife of Cyrenus
Litchfield, and Maria, Mrs. Peter Torode, died in
York Township, DuPage County. Philura, Mrs.
Asa Knapp, is living at Melrose, Cook County,
111. It will thus be seen that six were early res
idents of Illinois.
The subject of this sketch lived on the home
farm and attended the district school. His father
died when he was eighteen years of age, and the
care of the farm and his mother devolved upon
him. After attaining his majority, he worked at
farming and lumbering. In 1845, he visited his
relatives in this county, and decided to settle in
the West as soon as he could shape his affairs to
that end. In 1848, he made the change and pur
chased a farm in York Township, on which he
lived thirty-five years and ten days, and, being an
industrious and intelligent farmer, he was remark
ably successful. On account of the ill health of
his wife, he removed to Wheaton in 1885, and
built his present handsome residence on the north
east corner of Gary Avenue and Maple Street, in
which he settled the same year. On Christmas
Day, 1885, he was robbed by death of his faithful,
loving and beloved companion on life's journey.
Mrs. Plummer was a faithful Christian, and affil
iated with the Wesleyan Methodist Church,
with her family. After her death the others
joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in or
der to have a convenient church home. Mrs.
Plummer, whose maiden name was Mary Town-
send, was born in Concord, Erie County, N. Y.,
and was fifty-six years and ten months old when
she died. Her parents, Gilbert Townsend and
Esther Twitchell, were descendants of old New

England families, and were prominent among the
early residents of Erie County. The wedding of
Mr. and Mrs. Plummer took place just before his
removal to the West. Their children were four
in number. Henry Millard, the eldest, is a busi
ness man of Wheaton, and has one son, Chester
Henry. Arthur died at the age of eleven years.
Mary Ella is the widow of Charles E. Phillips, and
resides with her father, caring for his household.
Ida Maria died when sixteen years old.
Mr. Plummer, who is a progressive citizen, was
formerly a Whig, and now sustains the Republi
can party in questions of national import, but has
never taken, other interest in politics than to per
form the manifest duty of every intelligent citizen
in voting in all important elections. He has never
sought any official station, has sustained the pro
hibitory movement in hishome city and elsewhere
as applied to saloons, and is a useful and respected
member of the community.

&~

@ANFORD HEAD RICHARDSON, propri-
?\ etor ofthe Wheaton Creamery, is a native of
C*j/ New York, born in Lebanon, Madison Coun
ty, that State, on the 30th of July, 1837. His
grandfather, John Richardson, was a farmer at
Hampton, Windham County, Conn., and was
the son of an Englishman. His wife was a Jen
nings, a name indicating Scotch ancestry. Alden
Richardson, their son, born in Hampton, married
a native of that town, Sophia Cady, and settled in
New York about 1830. He was a farmer and
passed his life in Lebanon, after settling there.
He was a soldier in the War of 18 12, and a strong
supporter of the Republican party after its organ
ization, having formerly affiliated with the Free-
soilers and Whigs. He embraced the religious
faith of the Baptist Church. His children con
sisted of three sons, all now living. Albert C,
the eldest, resides at Norwich, N. Y.; theother
two, Samuel B. and our subject, in Wheaton.
Sanford H. Richardson, third son of Alden, re
mained on the home farm until twenty-eight
years old, and received a fair common-school edu-

234

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cation. He continued farming in the neighbor
hood ofhis home until 1876, when he came to
Illinois. For two years he was employed in the
cheese and butter factory of C. W. Gould, at Han
over, Cook County. He then purchased the
creamery at Barber's Corners, Will County, which
he operated nearly five years. After spending a
winter at Naperville, and nine months at Doland,
S. Dak., he came to Wheaton, in November,
1883, and has dwelt here ever since. He rented
the creamery at Wheaton for a few years, and then
bought it, and has continued to operate it until
this time. In summer he makes ice-cream, in
addition to butter, and by care and skill has se
cured a good reputation for his product. He en
joys the confidence and respect of the community,
and is now serving his third term as Alderman of
the Third Ward ofthe city. He is a sound Re
publican, and sustains the orthodox churches.
On. the 3d of March, 1864, Mr. Richardson
married Miss Oresta J. Tuttle, who was born in
Smyrna, Chenango County, N. Y., and is a
daughter of Stephen and Eliza (Ferris) Tuttle,
the latter a native of New York. Stephen Tuttle,
like his parents, Enos and Susannah (Alcott) Tut
tle, was born in Connecticut, and their ancestors
were English. Mr. and Mrs. Richardson are the
parents of but one child, Florence E., now the
wife of Herbert D. Remington, proprietor of a
creamery at Ruthven, Iowa.

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NIRAM SMITH, one of the earliest residents
of Wheaton, was born in Brownsville, Jef
ferson County, N. Y., March 17, 1821.
His grandfather, William Smith, was a Lieutenant
in the Revolutionary army, and was buried near
his home in Hancock, Berkshire County, Mass.
John, the youngest of the six sons of Lieut.
William Smith, married Sarah Eldridge, who was,
like himself, a native of Hancock. Rebecca El
dridge, nee Corp, the mother of the last-named,
reached the age of one hundred years. About
1820, John Smith settled in Brownsville, N. Y,,
where he engaged in farming for twenty-eight

years. In 1 848 , he moved to Wisconsin to be near
his children, and retired from active life. He lived
for a time at Spring Prairie and- East" Troy, Wis.,
and at Wheaton, and died at Pine Island, Minn., in
1871, aged seventy-six years. His children num
bered eight, of whom four are now living. Temp
lin G., the eldest, died at Spring Prairie, Wis.
Hiram is the second. Eliza, widow of H. M. Cur
tis, resides at Logan, Iowa. Ellis died in Gentry
County, Mo., while a soldier in the Union army,
from that State. Oscar Eldridge is a resident
of Pine Island, Minn. Calcina was the first wife
of H. M. Curtis, and died at Spring Prairie, Wis.
Sarah Ann, Mrs. Warren W. Cutshall, resides at
Pine Island. Caroline died when thirteen years
of age.
Hiram Smith was reared on a farm, and began
his education in the country school of his native
town. He later attended a select school, taught
by his uncle, Bailey Ormsby, in which he became
assistant teacher. He also worked on the farm a
part of the time.
In 1848, our subject went to Wisconsin to take
charge of the East Troy schools, teaching there for
three winters and two summers. He then went
to Eagle, Wis., where he built a store, and con
ducted it until 1856. With his father-in-law,
Joseph Piatt, he went into the mercantile- busi
ness at Wheaton in 1857, and continued twelve
years. In the fall of 1878, he went to Pine
Island, Minn., where he joined his brother-in-law,
W W. Cutshall, in operating a sawmill. While
unloading a car of timber, he was thrown down,
his lower limbs being crushed by lumber falling
from the car. This was in 188 1, and he has been
compelled by his injuries to retire from active
labor since then. In partnership with a nephew,
he opened a store at Pine Island, from which he
retired in 1890.
Mr. Smith was a delegate to the State conven
tion which organized the Republican party in
Wisconsin, in 1854, and has been an active mem
ber of that organization ever since. He was Su
pervisor of the town of Milton during the war, and
was active in securing and forwarding recruits to
the Union army. He served as a member of the
Wheaton Town Council, and also that of Pine

yy

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MRS. WM. BATES.

Wiuiam Bates.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

235

Island. He helped to build the court house and
the Universalist Church at Wheaton, and led the
choir of the parish for many years.
In 1850, Mr. Smith was married to Adeline
Piatt, who was born in Lisbon, St. Lawrence
County, N. Y., and is a daughter of Joseph and
Emily (Bostwick) Piatt, natives of Connecticut
and Vermont, respectively. Her paternal ances
tors were of the family for whom Plattsburg,
N. Y., was named. The eight children of Mr.
and Mrs. Smith are all living and happily settled
in life. Callie A. is the wife of A. D. Kelley, of
Wheaton, where Jay P., the second, resides (see
sketch elsewhere). Emma, Mrs. D. J. Sawyer,
also resides in Wheaton. Addie is the wife of J.
Elmer Clark, of Pine Island, Minn. Nettie, the
widow of Herbert Reed, resides at Winona, Minn.
Daisy is the wife of Peter Stenerson, a resident
of Colfax, N. Dak. Burton C, who is an em
ploye in the Chicago & Northwestern Railway
Auditor's office, resides in Wheaton, and Fred
C. is a merchandise salesman in St. Paul, Minn.
Mr. Smith is a highly intelligent man, and has
been an active and respected citizen of every com
munity where he has resided. As he nears the
close of his seventy-third year, he continues to
take an interest in the questions ofthe day, and
strives to give his children and .grandchildren the
benefit of his experiences and observations during
a long: and active life.

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(36) ILLI AM BATES, one of the most worthy
\ A / pioneers of DuPage County, was born in
VV Thompson, Windham County, Mass., on
the 20th of August, 18 10, and was the eldest son
of William Bates and Sally, daughter of Edward
Joslin. His native town furnished many of the
early settlers of DuPage County.
Onthe 6th of April, 1636, Clement Bates, of
Hertfordshire, England, then aged forty years,
landed in Massachusetts with his wife Anne
and children, and settled in Hingham. The lat
ter included James, Clement, Rachael, Joseph and
Benjamin. Clement died in Hingham, Septem

ber 17, 1 67 1. His son Joseph and wife Hester
were the parents of Joseph, who had eight chil
dren, and settled in that part of Scituate now
known as Hanover in 1695, dying there July g,
1740. Joseph, son of the last-named, married
Mary Bowker, who died a widow, July 30, 1759.
Jacob Bates, supposed to be the son of the last-
named, left Hingham in 1730, and, after living
at Bellingham, settled at Thompson, Conn., with
his sons, John and Elijah. The latter spent his
life as a husbandman in that town, and was the
father of George, Tyler, Reuben, Moses, Elijah,
William and Jacob. Of these, William, born in
1784, was a farmer, distinguished as a very up
right and honorable man, and died in 1864. His
wife died in March, 1885, at the age of ninety-six
years. Their children were William, Winsor and
Walter, the first being he whose name heads this
article. William Bates was accustomed to farm life
until failing health compelled him to retire, in
i860, when he came to Wheaton to reside. His
early years did not vary from those of New
England youths in rural neighborhoods at the
beginning of this century. He assisted in the
labors of the farm, and attended such schools as
there were in his native town in the intervals.
Being blessed by nature with a sound mind and a
desire for knowledge, he read diligently, and be
came a well-informed man. On reaching the age
of eighteen years he left the paternal homestead,
and was employed for ten years at farm labor.
In 1837, having a small capital, he set out for the
West, and located a claim to Government land in
Winfield Township, DuPage County, ofwhich he
became the possessor in due time, and here he
lived and successfully toiled until his removal to
Wheaton, as before related. For the last eight
years of his life he was confined to the house, and
for nearly three years never left his room. His
death occurred as the result of paralysis, Septem
ber 10, 1885.
On the nth of August, 1839, Mr. Bates mar
ried Miss Martha Chadwick, who was born April
1, 18 19, in Vermont. Her parents, Joseph and
Polly (Fish) Chadwick, who were pioneers in the
settlement of Milton Township, DuPage County,

236

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

coming hither from Vermont, were married in
Randolph, Orange County, Vt. They were born
January 26, 1781, andApril 2, 1781, respectively,
and died at Wheaton, November 15, 1851, and
March 4, 1868, respectively. None ofthe three sons
of William and Martha Bates reached the age of
three years. Their names were Justin C, George
H. and William Francis. The third child, Emma
L-, born September 29, 1848, cared for her aged
parents through their weakness and infirmities,
and still resides in Wheaton. Mrs. Bates, who
was much worn and broken by her husband's long
illness, died September 19, 1887. She was the
helpmate and coadjutor in every good work of a
noble and useful man.
Mr. Bates was one of the early sheriffs of the
county, and was always active in sustaining the
peace and dignity of the State. His heart was
ever enlisted in all movements for the elevation
and ennobling of mankind. He was an earnest
temperance worker, and, being anxious for the
emancipation of the unfortunate slave, he braved
the taunts of many in espousing the cause of abol
ition, and was one of the first tojoin the Repub
lican party at its inception. He was early iden
tified with the Methodist Church, and joined the
Wesleyan movement, a natural consequence of his
abolition views, remaining with the Wesleyan
Church until the close of his life. His example
should be an inspiration to the youth of the land.
P ,. ,_S)-C J, >>r^ - <a
b ¦ =¦ i—^j <- T >¦ B a)
gENJAMIN CONGLETON, fifth child of
Mark Congleton (see biography elsewhere) ,
was born in Luzerne, Pa., January 10, 1846,
and has been a resident of DuPage County since
he was fourteen years old. He remained with
his parents on the farm until he was twenty-three
years of age, attending the common school, and
completing his education, preparatory to teaching
in the Normal School at Valparaiso, Ind. Begin
ning at the age of twenty-four, he taught twelve
terms in the district schools of Illinois. In 1881 ,
he engaged in the livery business at Wheaton,
where he still owns the building where he did

business and continued ten years. About a year
before he sold out at Wheaton, he established a
similar undertaking at Oak Park, where he is still
doing a successful business. He is also interested
in the express business in Chicago, and is a part
ner with his younger brother in conducting a
lunch-room on Dearborn Street, Chicago. Mr.
Congleton confines his attention to business,
wherein lies the secret of his success, and never
meddles with politics further than to discharge
the manifest duty of every citizen by voting, and
gives his franchise on questions of public polity
to the Republican party. He is a member in
good standing ofthe Baptist Church at Wheaton.

_S3.

=3

5H^i

GI KIEL CORBIN -LOVELESS, a prominent
LA early resident of Illinois, was born in Poult-
/ I ney, Vt, April 15, 181 2. His grandfather,
Elijah Loveless, was a native of Dutchess County,
N. Y., the son of an Englishman who came from
London about 1720, and settled on a farm in that
county. Elijah Loveless was a man ofvery pow
erful physique, weighing over two hundred
pounds, and of mild disposition, never using his
prowess to brow-beat others or to punish any
body. He entered the service of the mother
country in the French and Indian War at the age
of sixteen years, and also served the colonies
seven years in the Revolution. At twenty-one
he settled in Vermont, and afterward married
Hannah Spaulding, who was born in Middle-
town, Rutland County, that State. Two of his
sons, Stephen and David, entered the Revolu
tionary army as soon as they reached the age of
sixteen, the former serving five years, and the
latter three. Stephen was killed soon after that
war, in dislodging a pine tree which had fallen
across another tree. "Elijah Loveless was a shoe
maker, and made shoes for the army during the
winter while in the Revolution. Soon after his
marriage he settled in Saratoga County, N. Y.,
where he died in 1828, aged nearly eighty-five
years. His wife died in 181 5, when over seventy

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

237

years old. They were members of the Baptist
Church, and had seven children.
John, fifth child of Elijah Loveless, was born
at Stillwater, Saratoga County, N. Y., July 8,
1772, and passed most of his life there. In early
life he engaged in lumbering, and later he settled
on a farm in Hadley, Saratoga, County, where he
died July 30, 1850. He also worked at shoe-
making in the winter. His second wife, Eliza
beth Holden, was" born in Shirley, Worcester
County, Mass., and was a daughter of Amos and
Sally (Blood) Holden, of English descent. By
his first marriage, Mr. Loveless had eight chil
dren, and by the second four, two of these dying
in infancy. John H., one ofthe survivors, wasa
Free-will Baptist preacher for thirty-five years,
most of the time in Warren and- Saratoga Coun
ties. For a short time he preached in Ashtabula
and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and died in Warren
County, N. Y., in August, 1 871, being nearly
sixty-two years old. An older son of John Love
less was also for thirty-six years a clergyman of
the same sect.
Ariel C, youngest son of John Loveless, passed
most of the first forty-two years of his life in Had
ley. He was twelve years old when his father
settled on the farm in that town, and he remained
• at home until he reached his majority, attending
the district school until twenty. He served seven
years as drummer in the ' ' Rifle Grays, ' ' a militia
company of Saratoga County, and came near tak
ing part in the Black Hawk War. His company
was under orders, but the capture of Black Hawk
by the United States forces put an end to the oc
casion for its service. The principal occupation
of Mr. Loveless has always been farming. For
many years he owned and tilled a farm in Had
ley, Saratoga County. In 1851 he visited Illi
nois, and three years later moved to this State
with his family, arriving at Elgin December 1 ,
1854. For five years he rented land in Hanover,
Cook County, and then purchased a farm iu Plato,
Kane County, which he kept and operated twenty-
years. In December, 1883, he moved to Wheaton
and remained five years, and since then has dwelt
at St. Charles, Elgin and Wheaton.
December 14, 1833, Mr. Loveless married Eliza

Jane Gray, a native of Hadley, daughter of Ste
phen and Helen (Shaw) Gray, of Columbia Coun
ty, N. Y. She was born April 6, 18 16, and died
in January, 1888. Five ofthe ten children of
Mr. and Mrs. Loveless are still living. Alvira,
wife of Charles Wesley Fletcher, died at Elgin De
cember 26, 1892; Sarah, Mrs. Sylvester Ham
mers, resides in Floyd County, Iowa; Braman re
sides in Wheaton; Rachel, wife of John Fletcher,
and Hannah, Mrs. John Carr, reside in Elgin;
John died at the age of fourteen; Orcelia died
when a year old, and Francelia at twenty; Charles
Fremont resides at Wheaton; and Adelle died of
diphtheria when fourteen years old.
At the age of twenty years, Mr. Loveless united
with the Methodist Church, and twelve years
later joined the Wesleyan movement. He asso
ciated with the Whig party in politics, casting
his first Presidential vote for Gen. William Henry
Harrison at the age of twenty -eight. Joining the
Republican party at its inception, he continued
that allegiance until 1892, when he supported the
Prohibition ticket. He was a Justice of the Peace
for nine years in Saratoga County, and was elected
to that position in 1880 in Plato, but removed
from that town before his term of service expired.
Now, near the completion of his eighty-second
year, Mr. Loveless is a vigorous and clear-minded
man, and, though retired from active life, takes a
keen interest in all questions ofthe day. His life
has been a consistent and useful one, and has ex
tended far beyond the allotted years of man.
£   — .. c=l<. A,>rS ar ¦ *
ROBERT WALES GATES, a prominent early-
resident of DuPage County, was born in
Slaterville, Tomkins County, N. Y. (now
known as Slater Springs), on October 15, 1835.
His parents, Levi and Nancy (Gould) Gates,
were natives of Worcester and North Adams,
Mass., respectively, were married at North Ad
ams, and settled in Slaterville, where Mr. Gates
was a carpenter for over thirty years. In 1855,
he came to Illinois, and after spending a short
time at Dundee and Elgin, Kane County, went

238

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

onto a farm in Bloomingdale, DuPage County, in
1857. He died there in 1859, aged fifty-three
years. His wife survived him, dying at the age
of seventy-two, in 1877. Both were members of
the ¦ Congregational Church, and Mr. Gates was
an ardent Free-soiler and Republican, though affil
iating in early life with the Democratic party.
Their seven children are all living, as follows
Almira (Mrs. Henry Hadlock), of Elgin, 111.
Stillman J. , of St. Louis, Mo. ; R. W. , of Wheaton
Sarah (wife of John Morrison) , of Chicago; Helen
(Mrs. Melvin J. Davis), of Madison, Neb.;
Charles W. , of Elgin, 111. , and Charlotte (Mrs.
John Hugett), of Batavia, 111.
Robert W. Gates passed his boyhood in Slater
ville, N. Y., where he attended the district and
select schools. At the age of sixteen years he be
gan learning his father's trade, at which he
worked in summer, continuing his studies for a
time during the winter. He was in his twentieth
year when the family came to Illinois, and contin
ued to work at his trade until his father's death,
when he operated the farm for a year, later re
suming carpenter work.
In the fall of 1 86 1, he enlisted in Company D,
Eighth Illinois Cavalry, and served. until July,
1865, in the war for the preservation ofthe Union.
He went out as Quartermaster-Sergeant of the
company, and after six months' service was pro
moted to the same position in the regiment. In
July, 1864, he was made Quartermaster of the
regiment, with rank of First Lieutenant, iri which
capacity he served until the close of the war, hav
ing re-enlisted in January, 1864, and served nearly
four years from the time of enlistment.
Returning to Bloomingdale after the war, Mr.
Gates operated a cheese factory in that township
for five years. He then purchased a wagon and
blacksmith shop at the village of Bloomingdale,
and carried on the business of building and re
pairing vehicles for fifteen years. After spending
three years in building operations at Elgin, he
came to Wheaton, in August, 1886, and in the
following November opened a furniture and un
dertaking establishment, which he has conducted
successfully since. Being of a genial and straight
forward disposition, he speedily won the good- will

ofthe community, and is esteemed as an upright
and useful citizen. For many years Mr. Gates
was identified with the Baptist Church at Bloom
field, but is not now affiliated with any organiza
tion. While resident there, he served nine years
as Justice of the Peace, an evidence that he en
joyed the respect and confidence of that locality,
and is now serving his fourth year as School Di
rector of Wheaton. He has been an ardent Re
publican since his majority, his first Presidential
vote being cast for John C. Fremont.
In August, 1865, Mr. Gates married Miss Laura
A. Landon, a native of Bloomingdale, this county.
Her parents, Louis E. and Huldah M. (Farn
ham) Landon, were born in the vicinity of Os
wego, N. Y., and settled in Bloomingdale in 1837,
subsequently removing to Wheaton, where they
died. Mr. and Mrs. Gates are the parents of five
children, all save the eldest, who resides in Chi
cago, being still under the paternal roof-tree.
Following are their names in order of birth: Nel
lie Adelaide (wife of Frank Congleton), Robert
Allen, Harry Wilbur, Eugene and Hattie Beach.
Mr. Gates is a member of the Grand Army of
the Republic, and his round, jolly face and ro
tund form are a cheering feature of its meetings,
as in many another social or other assembly.
With ' ' charity for all and malice toward none, ' '
he pursues the even tenor of his way, and is a
valuable and valued member of society.
fi> . r=S^, X > IS-^ 61
§ ' cru <J T^ >¦ Ea-'^ ' 3)
(James Alfred congleton, eldest son
I and fourth child of Mark Congleton (see bi-
C2/ ography of the lattei elsewhere) , was born in
Ross Township, Luzerne County, Pa., January
22, 1844. He had not completed his sixteenth
year when the family removed to Illinois. His
education was obtained in the public schools of
Pennsylvania and this State. August 7, 1862,
he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and
Fifth Illinois Infantry, for three years' service,
and was mustered out in June, 1865. This regi
ment saw hard service through the whole period
of its enlistment, Mr. Congleton, who was made a

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

239

Corporal, doing his part. From Resaca to Atlanta,
in the summer of 1864, the fighting was almost
continuous. He went with Sherman' s arm)- in its
triumphal march to the sea, and up through the
Carolinas to Richmond, Va. , taking part in the
Grand Review at Washington, . and was mus
tered out June 7, 1865. All this was not accom
plished without hardship and severe fighting by
the way, but there was no complaint from the
brave Union soldiers, for they knew they were on
the way back to their homes, and their valor had
preserved the Old Flag. Following is a list of
the engagements in which Mr. Congleton took part
with his regiment, as part of the First Brigade,
Third Division, Twentieth Army Corps: Resaca,
Cassville, Dallas, Keuesaw Mountain, Culp's
Farm, Golgotha Church, New Hope Church,
Peach Tree Creek, Lawtonville, siege of Atlanta,
. Savannah, Averysboro and Bentonville.
After a military service of two years and nine
months, Mr. Congleton, like thousands of others.,
returned immediately to peaceful pursuits. He
spent a year on the home farm, and in the spring
of 1866 he began work with O. A. Verbeek, a
builder of Bloomingdale, soon becoming master of
the trade, which he followed about three years at
that time. In 1869, he engaged again in farm
ing, and rented land for four years, three years of
the time in Kane County . He spent the year 1873
in working at his trade in Chicago and Bloom
ingdale, and then for two years tilled the home
farm. He spent the summer of 1874 in making
cheese at Freeland Corners, DeKalb County, and
in the fall of that year moved to Sycamore,
where he followed his trade for a year. He next
tilled the old farm two years, and made cheese
and butter at Bloomingdale until December, 1882,
when he moved to Wheaton, where he has ever
since dwelt. For nearly a year he operated the
creamery of the Wheaton Creamery Company,
and has ever since been employed in building ex
cept fora year, beginning July, 1887, when he was
in partnership with his brother in conducting a liv
ery- business. He is a skillful carpenter, and has
no lack of employment when the weather will
permit building operations. The confidence re
posed in him by his fellow-citizens isevide-nced by

the fact that he has served three years as Tax
Collector, the first year in Bloomingdale, and two
years in Milton Township. He is an ardent Re
publican in political sentiment, and is a communi
cant of the Baptist Church, and a member of the
Grand Army of the Republic.
On the 27th of May, 1869, Mr. Congleton was
married to Miss Elma Lucinda Hemenway, a na
tive of this county, born in Wayne Township
December 26, 1845. Her parents, Henry Bud-
long and Eunice (Guild) Hemenway, were early
residents of that township. Elijah and Amy
(Budlong) Hemenway, parents of Henry B.,
came with the son to Wayne in 1838, and kept a
hotel there in a log building in the pioneer days.
They were natives of Massachusetts, as was Mrs.
Congleton' s mother. (See Guild genealogy else
where in this work. )
Mr. and Mrs. Congleton are the parents of three
children, namely: James Franklin, who was born
at Gray Willow, Kane County, 111., and married
Miss Nellie Gates (see sketch of R. W. Gates) at
Wheaton, April 6, 1892; Charles Edgar, born at
Freeland Corners, DeKalb County, 111. , Septem
ber 15, 1874; and Cora Ellen, born at Blooming
dale, DuPage County, 111., August 12, 1878.
Their pleasant home on Center Street, near Scott,
was built in 1888. Mr. Congleton built the next
house adjoining on the west in 1883, and sold it
to his brother-in-law, Mr. Durland.

is.

£+£

HENRY FAUL, who is now living a retired
life in Downer's Grove, claims Germany as
the land of his birth, which occurred in
Oberstein, Bavaria, on the 19th of March, 18 18.
His parents, Michael and Margaret (Schlaufman)
Faul, were also natives of the same country.
Their family numbered seven children, five sons
and two daughters, namely: Philip, Henry,
Michael, Jacob, Peter, Maria and Louisa.
Our subject is now the only surviving member
ofthe family. In his youth he attended the pub
lic schools of his native land and acquired a fair
business education.- In early life he was thrown

240

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

upon his own resources, and has since made his
own way in the world. When a youth of four
teen, he began working at the stone-mason's
trade, which he followed in Germany until 1834,
which year witnessed his immigration to Am
erica. Bidding adieu to home and friends, he
crossed the broad Atlantic on a sailing-vessel,
which, after forty-five days spent upon the briny
deep, dropped anchor in the harbor of Quebec.
Mr. Faul at once went to Buffalo, and began
working at his trade on the Erie Canal, being
thus employed for seven years.
During that time, on the 20th of August, 1839,
our subject married Miss Eva M. Wolff, a native
of Straussburg, Germany, born in 1820. Their
marriage was celebrated in Buffalo, and was
blessed with a family often children: Fred, who
died in 1876; Henry, a resident of Englewood,
111.; Catherine, who died in 1891; Louisa, wife of
D. D. Escher, of Downer's Grove; Lewis, who
died at the age of sixteen; Leah, who died at the
age of eighteen years; Lydia, wife of Levi Mertz, a
hardware merchant of Downer's Grove; Martha,
who died in infancy; Susan, who is at home with
her father; and Ella, wife of Leonard Puffer, an
electrician living in Downer's Grove. The mother
of this family was called to her final rest on the
13th of April, 1888, and her loss was widely
mourned throughout the community.
Mr. Faul continued his residence in New York
until 1842, which year witnessed his arrival in
DuPage County. He entered from the Govern
ment a tract of wild land of eighty acres in Down
er's Grove Township, one mile east ofthe city of
that name, and at once began the development of
a farm. Not a furrow had been turned upon his
land, but the barren tract was soon transformed
into rich and fertile fields, and for twenty-eight
years he successfully engaged in the cultivation
of that farm, making it a valuable and desirable
place. On the expiration of that period, in 1870,
he removed to Downer's Grove, where he has
since made his home, and where he is now living
a retired life. In politics, he is a supporter of
Republican principles, and has served as a mem
ber of the School Board, but the greater part of
his time and attention has been devoted to his

business interests. In his earlier years his life
was a very busy one and he was an enterprising
and progressive farmer, who by his well-directed
efforts won the competence which now enables
him to enjoy a well-earned rest.

-S)

"SI

^^

B~

(JOHN KOSTRZESKI, one of the representa-
I tive and enterprising business men of Down-
(2/ er's Grove, who is now engaged in dealing
in real estate, is a native of Poland. He was born
in Gostyn, on the 23d of October, 1840, and in his
youth remained with his parents, working in a
factory which was owned by his father. After he
had arrived at man's estate, he was married, on
the 25th of November, 1865, the lady of his
choice being Miss Josie Kregielska, who was born
in Kozmin, Poland.
The young couple began their domestic life in
their native land, and there continued to reside
for a number of years, Mr. Kostrzeski working in
the factory where he had been employed since
his early youth. He there continued until thirty-
one years of age, when he determined to seek a
home and fortune in America. In 1871 he bade
adieu to his family and friends and crossed the
broad Atlantic. After three months spent in a
factory in Manistee, Mich. , he went to Chicago,
where he opened up a barber shop. From that
place he came to Downer's Grove, and purchased
upwards of eighty acres of land adjoining the city
limits, which he has laid out in town lots, naming
the addition Gostyn, after his birthplace. Since
that time he has engaged in dealing in real estate,
and has met with good success iu his undertak
ings. Unto our subject and his wife was born a fam
ily of twelve children, six of whom died in early
childhood. The others are: Roman, who is now
engaged in the real-estate business in company
with his father; Maggie, now the wife of Stanis
laus Burns, an engineer and machinist living in
Chicago; Antonine, at home; Josie, Lottie and
Stanislaus, who complete the family.
Mr. Kostrzeski, his wife and children are mem-

Hon. Charles Curtiss.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

243

bers of St. Marie's Polish Catholic Church, to the
support of which he contributes liberally, in fact
the house of worship was erected through his in
strumentality. In his political views, he is a. Re
publican, and warmly advocates the principles of
that party, doing all in his power to insure its suc
cess. Our subject is a self-made man, who started
out in life empty-handed, but has now worked his
way upward from a humble position to one of
affluence. By industry and perseverance he has
overcome the difficulties in his path and achieved
a prosperity which is certainly well merited. He
is now doing a good real-estate business and is
recognized as one of the valued citizens of the
community.

HH-^

"^3

HON. CHARLES CURTISS, of Downer's
Grove, has been prominent in business, so
cial and political circles. He is now Presi
dent of the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank, and
deals quite extensively in real estate. As he is
recognized as one of the leading and influential
citizens of the community, we take pleasure in
presenting this record of his life to our readers.
He was born November 3, 1828, in Royalton,
Vt., and is the fourth in a family of five sons
born unto Samuel and Mary (Hatch) Curtiss.
The father was a native of Connecticut, but when
a small child was taken by his parents to Ver
mont, where he was reared on a farm. He was
a volunteer for the War of 18 12, and started for
Plattsburg, but the battle was over ere his ar
rival. His father was a seaman, and on one occa
sion was made a prisoner by the British and
taken on board a British war-vessel, but when
the ship was anchored about three miles from the
West Indies, he made his escape and swam
ashore. For six days he was without food. He
was also a native of Connecticut, and his grand
father, a native of England, was the founder of
the family in America, having crossed the At
lantic from the mother country in 1680.
In Vermont, Samuel Curtiss married Miss
Hatch, a native of that State. In the spring of

1836, they came to Illinois, locating in Downer's
Grove Township, DuPage County, where the
father bought one-half of I. P. Blodgett's claim
to a tract of land containing about four hundred
acres. There was only one settler on the east
side of Downer's Grove at that time, and the en
tire county was almost an unbroken wilderness.
Mr. Curtiss was a man of excellent business
ability, and left quite a large estate. In politics,
he was first an old-line Whig, and afterwards
became a supporter of the Republican party.
Upon the farm which he here developed he re
mained until his death, which occurred at the age
of seventy-eight. His wife passed away in 1884,
having reached the advanced age of ninety years.
Her father when a boy served as a teamster in the
Revolutionary War, and drove the wagon that
carried the coffin in which Maj. Andre was placed
after being hanged as a spy.
The children of the Curtiss family were Orimil,
who died at the age of twenty-eight years; Eli W. ,
who served as County Clerk for a number of
years in Jasper County, where he is now living a
retired life; Henry H., a farmer of Colorado;
Charles, of this sketch; and Roswell O., who
makes his home in Downer's Grove.
Mr. Curtiss whose name heads this record was
a lad of eight summers when he came with his
parents to the West. He remembers the trip,
which was made on a sailing-vessel from Detroit
to Chicago, and thence they went across the coun
try to Berry's Point, near what is now the town
of Riverside After six weeks spent at that
place, they came to Downer's Grove Township,
and here, amid the wild scenes of frontier life, our
subject was reared to manhood. Indians were
still in the neighborhood," but the following- year
after their arrival the red men were sent to a
reservation farther west. After attending the
common schools for some time, Charles Curtiss
became a student in a select school at Naperville.
Aside from his training in this direction, his ob
servation and wide business experience have made
him a well-informed man, who possesses a practi
cal knowledge, which has proven one of the
factors in his successful career. He remained at
home until he had attained his majority, when,

12

244

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in April, 1850, attracted by the discovery of gold,
he made a trip -across the plains to California
with his elder brother, Henry, and engaged in
mining for three years in the Placer diggings.
He then spent two years in river mining, after
which he returned home, in 1855, and purchased
land west of Downer's Grove, where he engaged
in farming and stock-raising.
In November, 1856, Mr. Curtiss was united in
marriage with Miss Laura A. , daughter of Eldred
Thatcher, a pioneer of this county. Mr. and
Mrs. Curtiss became the parents of three children.
Addie, wife of Charles R. Caldwell, a railroad
employe residing in Downer's Grove; Samuel,
who is engaged in merchandising in Diamond,
111. ; and Alice I. , wife of Alfred R. Hickman, a
real-estate dealer of Downer's Grove. The par
ents and daughters are members of the Baptist
Church, of which Mr. Curtiss has been Deacon
for some years, and the family is. one of promi
nence in the community, its members ranking
high in social circles.
Mr. Curtiss cast his first Presidential vote for
Gen. Scott. Since the organization of the Repub
lican party he has been- one of its stalwart sup
porters, and has taken quite an active part in po
litical affairs. In 1887 and 1888 he served as a
member of the Legislature from this district, was
Supervisor of his township for seven years, for
several years held the office of Justice of the
Peace, and for six years has been President of
the Village Board of Downer's Grove. It is
needless to say that he proves a capable official.
He quietly and faithfully performs every public
duty , and the confidence and trust reposed in him
have never been betrayed. Socially, he is a mem
ber of the Patriotic Order of Sons of America.
Mr. Curtiss continued to make his home upon
his farm until 1864, when he removed to Downer's
Grove, where he has since resided, but he still
superintends the cultivation of his land. He is
now President of the Farmers' and Merchants'
Bank, and does quite a large real-estate business.
This bank is one of the solid financial institutions
of the county, conservative yet progressive, and
is now in a thriving condition. Mr. Curtiss is a
careful and sagacious business man, whose enter

prise is tempered by forethought, and through
the legitimate channels of business he has ac
quired a handsome property, which is well de
served. He has long been a resident of this
county, and during fhe years that have come and
gone he has won a host of warm friends, whose
high regard he still retains.

W

(3G)ILLIAM BURRITT GUILD, eldest son of
William K. Guild (see biography in this
work) , was born at Wayne Center, DuPage
County, UL, July 30, 1850. He attended the
district and a select school at his native place un
til seventeen years of age, performing meantime
such duties as fall to the lot of farmers' sons at
home. In 1867 he entered the preparatory de
partment of Wheaton College, and two years later
took up the classical course of that institution,
from which he was graduated in 1873. He had
in the mean time taught a country school. For
two years after graduation he was Principal of
the Wheaton public schools, and for a like period
following took charge of the West Side schools in
St. Charles, Kane County, 111.
Resigning school work on account of its ill
effect upon his health, Mr. Guild spent a short
time in recuperating, and in February, 1878,
purchased a one-half interest in the general store of
Capt. J. J. Cole, at Wheaton, and has since con
tinued as one of its proprietors, the firm being
known as Cole & Guild. This is the leading es
tablishment of its kind in the city, and enjoys the
confidence of the public. Mr. Guild is an active
member of the College Congregational Church, in
which he has been for several years a Deacon.
He is a consistent advocate of temperance, and
sustains the principles advocated by the Republi
can party. He has served as a member of the
Town Council, and is now filling his second term
as Alderman of the 'second ward of the incorpo
rated city.
On the 12th of August, 1874, Mr. Guild mar
ried Miss Eunice H. Warford, who was born in
Geneva, Kane County, 111.', and is a daughter of

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

245

Henry and Huldah (Hoag) Warford, the former
a native of England, and the latter of New York.
The Hoag family is an old one in America, and is
of English- Quaker descent. The first-born child
and only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Guild, Marion
Eunice, born at St. Charles, January 28, 1876,
died March 3, 1893, while a student of Wheaton
College. William Henry, Arthur Warford and
Erriest Burritt complete the family.

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gARNEY L- FRANZEN is one of the leading
and influential citizens , of DuPage County,
and an enterprising farmer of Addison Town
ship, residing on section 11. In this locality he
has spent his entire life, his birth having here oc
curred October 2, 1845. Of German lineage, he
is descended from Herman Bernhard Henry Fran
zen, a native of Schale, Germany, who, in 1834,
crossed the Atlantic to America, and became the
founder of the family in the New World. On the
27th of June, he landed in Baltimore, and there
began working at sixty-six cents per day, board
ing himself. He not only had no capital but was
in debt $5. With his family he walked one hun
dred and thirty miles from Baltimore to Cumber
land, and thence to Wheeling, W. Va., the house
hold goods being hauled in a wagon. The family
then took passage on a boat for Cincinnati, Ohio,
where the wife died. Nine months later, Mr.
Franzen started for Chicago. This was in 1835,
and the city was then a mere village on a wet
prairie. He there remained for two years, and in
1837 came to what is now Addison Township,
DuPage County, where he took up land from the
Government and began the development ofa farm,
upon which he made his home until his death,
which occurred in 1844, at the age of seventy-
seven years.
His son, John H. Franzen, became the father
of our subject. He was born in Schale, province
of Westphalia, Germany, October 1, 1813, and
was one of a family of three sons and two daugh
ters. He accompanied his parents on their vari
ous removals, and at length reached DuPage

County, in 1837. The following year he married
Miss Annie E. Dickhoff, by whom he had three
children. After her death he wedded Anna C.
Deters, a native of Germany, and they became
the parents of ten children, as follows: B. L.,
Caroline, Emma C, J. F. D., C. A., John H.
(deceased), Dorothea, Gustavus (deceased), Fred
W. and Herman. The father of this family en
gaged in farming and manufacturing brick, and
he also built and operated a Jinseed-oil mill. The
latter he carried on for twenty-five years in con
nection with his other interests. For about fif
teen years he also made tow from flax. He was
well-known throughout the county, and became
one of the leading citizens, being prominent in
public affairs and in all interests calculated to
promote the general welfare. He was a faithful
member of the Evangelical Church, and aided in
building several houses of worship in the town
ship. In politics, he was a supporter of the Re
publican party and was honored with several offi
cial positions, including that of Supervisor. Af
ter a useful and well-spent life, he was called to
his final rest April 1, 1893, at the age of seventy -
nine years. The mother of our subject was also
born in Schale, Germany, and died at the age of
sixty years.
We now take up the personal history of Barney
L. Franzen, who is so widely known in this
county. He began his education in the district
schools ofthe community, and afterward attended
Bryant & Stratton' s Business College of Chicago.
No event of special importance occurred during
his boyhood and youth, which were quietly passed
upon the home farm, but in 1870 he married, the
lady of his choice being Miss Sophia Schmidt,
who was born in DuPage County. They became
the parents of ten children, as follows: Emma
(now deceased), Louise, H. D., Otto, Barney L-
(deceased), Melinda, Barney L , Franklin, Ro-
sella and Nellie. The mother of this family hav
ing died, Mr. Franzen was again married, in 1891,
his second union being with Caroline Eickelmann,
who was born in Germany, and came to America
when a maiden of seven summers. They have
two children, Walter and Hattie.
Mr. Franzen is recognized as one of the repre-

246

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

sentative agriculturists of his community, and is
the owner of one hundred and eighty-nine acres
of rich land, upon which he carries on general
farming and stock-dealing. He was also at one
time interested in selling lands in Iowa and Min
nesota, and is now connected with the Addison
Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company. Being-
possessed of excellent business and executive
ability, he has been very successful in his busi
ness interests, and has become the possessor of a
handsome competence, which numbers him among
the substantial citizens of the coummunity. He
holds membership with the Evangelical Church,
and in politics is a supporter of Republican prin
ciples. He has held the office of Township Clerk
for five years, and has been Collector for the same
length of time. In all public positions he has
discharged his duties with promptness and fidel
ity. He is alike true in all relations of private
life, and his honorable, upright career has won for
him the confidence and high regard of all with
whom he has been brought in contact. He well
deserves representation in this volume, and it is
with pleasure that we present his sketch to our
readers.

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i>|ARK CONGLETON, an early resident
Y of Bloomingdale Township, DuPage Coun-
(fj ty, was born in Hardiston Township, Sus
sex County, N. J., on the 17th of February,
1814. His father, James Congleton, was born
June 12, 1780, in Hardiston, and died January
21, 1 87 1, all his life, except one yeaj, having
been passed in Hardiston. Township. March 17,
1805, he married Elizabeth Newman, who was
born March 31, 1787, and passed all her life on
the farm where she was born, dying there Janu
ary 11, 1 86 1. James Congleton' s father, sup
posed to have been of English lineage (as were
the Newmans), went from Monmouth to Sussex
County when a young man, and married Han
nah Ayers, a native of the latter county. Eliza
beth Newman's father owned a thousand acres of
land, and was a wealthy man for his time. His

wife's maiden name was Thompson. James
Congleton 's family of eleven children embraced
five sons and six daughters, Mark being the fifth
in order of birth.
Mark Congleton remained on the farm of his
father until he was about twenty-five years old,
attending the district schools in his earlier years,
and teaching ih the same schools in early man
hood. August 25, 1838, he was married to Miss
Mary Kimber, a native of West Town, Orange
County, N. Y., a locality not far from his own
native place. Mrs. Congleton is the fourth in a
family of nine daughters born to Benjamin and
Keziah Kimber, who were also natives of New
York. The nativity of Samuel, father of Ben
jamin Kimber, is not now known, He had only
two sons, Benjamin being the eldest, born April
2, 1791. With his other son, Peter, he went to
Ohio about 1826, and died in that State. Mrs.
Congleton 's mother, Keziah Kimber, was a
daughter of Jeremiah and Phcebe Bennett, and
was born November 2, 1792. Benjamin Kimber
passed his life in Orange County, N. Y., where
he owned a small place, and was employed much
of the time as a farm laborer. Both he and his
wife were natives of Orange County.
In the spring of 1839, Mr. Congleton moved to
Luzerne County, Pa., and bought a farm in Ross
Township, which he tilled twenty y-ears. He
also taught school, his eldest daughter- being a
pupil in some of his schools. In January, i860,
he became a resident of DuPage County, locat
ing at Bloomingdale. In the following spring he
settled on a farm on section 22, where he
remained until his death, which occurred August
1, 1877. He was a successful farmer, and a re
spected citizen of every community where he re
sided. He, with his family, was a member of
the Bloomingdale Baptist Church, and an ardent
adherent of the Republican party. After his
death, his widow and children removed to Whea
ton to reside, and they are among the useful and
worthy members of society in this city.
Of the nine children of Mr. and Mrs. Congle
ton, two are deceased. The eldest, Keziah Jane,
is the wife of Garrett Durland, of Wheaton. Sa
rah Elizabeth died at the age of four years, and

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

247

Abbie when two years old.. For account of James
A., the fourth, see sketch elsewhere in this book.
Benjamin is engaged in the livery business at Oak
Park, and in the express business in Chicago,
making his home with his mother; he is a
bachelor. Charles Floyd resides in Chicago,
where he is interested in the lunch-room busi
ness with his elder brother. Arminda, Mary C.
(widow of Elza Ruddock) , and Huldah Adelia re
side with their mother in Wheaton.

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WILLIAM KELLOGG GUILD, one of the
most upright and respected pioneers of
DuPage County, was born in Brookfield,
Vt., on the nation's forty-third birthday anniver
sary, July 4, 1819, and was the third child aud
second son of Israel Guild. (See biography of
the latter with genealogy.) William K. Guild,
from early boyhood, was largely thrown upon his
own resources, but, being naturally ambitious and
industrious, he succeeded in gaining a fair educa
tion by working for his board winters, and at
tending the New England district schools. During
the summers he worked on farms chiefly, until
learning the broom-maker's trade, which trade he
followed during the last few years of his New
England life. So industrious and thrifty was he,
that in 1839, when the family came West, he had
paid $100 to his father for his time, and had also
quite a sum to aid in defraying the expenses of
the family on the journey to Illinois.
Mr. Guild was in his twentieth year when the
family located in Wayne Center, this county, and
here he engaged in the manufacture of brooms in
company with his elder brother, Lyman, prob
ably nearly the first undertaking of the kind iu
the new West. They also engaged in farming,
taking up Government land together. During
these first years of western life, he spent a con
siderable time working out by the month at
Downer's Grove and vicinity, on the farms of Mr.
Blodgett and E. Strong.
In 1846, our subject sold out his interest in
their first claim to his brother, and started a home

of his own, buying a piece of Government land in
the neighborhood, and adding to it as he had
means to buy, until he became the owner of two
hundred and sixty acres of land. This he suc
cessfully farmed until 1868, when he removed to
Wheaton for the purpose of educating his family.
Soon after removing to Wheaton he engaged in
the lumber trade, and continued up to the time
of his death, the business being still conducted by
his two youngest sons. In this, as in all his un
dertakings, he was successful, being an industri
ous and prudent man. He was content with the
result of consistent and straightforward effort,
was never tempted by the glittering promises of
speculation, and became the owner of an estate
which provided comfortably for his family at his
demise. Mr. Guild was active in business up to
within a short time of his death, which was the
result of a three-weeks illness, he being confined to
his bed only about one week. On the 27th of
October, 1886, surrounded by his whole family,
he departed this life, his death being the first in
the family circle.
At the age of fifteen years Mr. Guild was con
verted to the Christian religion, and joined the
church where he lived. On his arrival in Illi
nois, in his twentieth year, he joined the Congre
gational Church at St. Charles, and for a time
went the eight miles from his home to that point
to attend services. He was one of the original
members of the Congregational Church at Wayne
Center, and one of its most active workers. For
many years he served the church as Deacon, and
the Sabbath-school as Superintendent. During
his residence in Wheaton, he was a member of
the Congregational Church, worshipping at the
college known first as the First Church of Christ,
and later as the College Church of Christ. He
also served as Deacon in this church for a consid
erable time. He was always actuated by prin
ciple in every-day life, and, believing the Repub
lican party to be an expdnent of the right in
its warfare for the emancipation of the unfortu
nate slave, and in other matters of public policy,
he always sustained it by his vote, taking great
interest in every campaign from that of Fremont
to Blaine, for the latter of whom he cast his last

248

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Presidential vote. He was interested in all re
form work for the betterment of mankind, and
was an ardent advocate of temperance, aiding the
cause both by precept and example.
On the 30th of May, 1844, Mr. Guild married
Miss Lydia Ann Ford, who was born in Victor,
Ontario County, N. Y., and is a daughter of Al
mond and Sina (Pierce) Ford. Mrs. Guild's
parents were born, respectively, March 25, 1788,
and July 16, 1794, the mother at Southborough,
Mass., and were married at Portland, N. Y., No
vember 16, 1 816. Mr. Ford died at Scotch ville,
N. Y., September 22, 1829, Mrs. Guild being
then but five years old, and his widow subse
quently married Richard Chadwick, with whom
she went with her children to Wayne, 111., in
1839. (See biography of Wesley Chadwick in
this work.) Mrs. Sina Chadwick died at Wayne
Center, November n, 1870. Mr. Guild's family
included four sons and a daughter, all of whom
reside at Wheaton. Following are their names
in order of birth : Sarah Luthera, William Bur-
ritt, Edwin Lyman, Carroll Wilson and Everett
Almond. Mr. Guild served as President of the School
Board which erected the present city schoolhouse
of Wheaton, a handsome and valuable accessory
of learning. He was also a member of the Town
Council of Wheaton for several years. He was
generous in every good cause, and in every walk
of life he justified the confidence reposed in him
by his fellow-citizens, and was a fit representative
of his long line of worthy New England ancestry.

EAPT. JORDAN JAMES COLE, a leading
merchant of Wheaton, and one of the best
Union soldiers furnished by Illinois, is a na
tive of the State of New York, born at Lake Ma-
hopac, Putnam County, April 16, 1833. He is a
descendant of Isaac Cole, who was born in Sand
wich, County of Kent, England, and settled in
Massachusetts in March, 1634. Elisha Cole, son
of Isaac, was born in Massachusetts, and was a
Baptist preacher. He must have beeh among the

very early settlers of the Hudson River Valley,
for his son, Joseph Cole, was born in Putnam
County, N. Y.
Berry Cole, son of the last-named, also born in
Putnam County, was the father of Capt. Cole,
He was a farmer, and part owner of the first
traveling menagerie ever exhibited in this coun
try. He was born January 24, 1769, and died
May 29, 1835. He was twice married, and was
the father of fourteen children, all but three being
the offspring of the first wife. Hannah Lewis,
the first wife of Berry Cole, was born in Putnam
County, January 21, 1777, and died December
23, 1824. On the 28th of December, 1825, Mr.
Cole was married to Adah Carl, also a native of
Putnam County, born April 11, 1796. She died
at the home of Capt. Cole, in Wheaton, August
25, i875-
Following are the names and important dates
in the lives of Berry Cole's children: Melinda,
born September 22, 1795, married Selah Ballard,
January 5, 1813, and died March 18, 1873. Al-
vison, born October 25, 1797, died April 9, 181 1.
Rebecca, born May 31, 1799, married Stephen
Wood May 1, 1816, and died September 15, 1848.
Alzada, born February 26, 18.01, married Zeba
Ballard January 4, 1818, and died March 11, 1859.
Neurissa, born October 15, 1802, married A.
Smith in 1819, and died March 10, i860. Abia-
thar, born September22, 1804, died July 12, 1825.
Orman H., born July 6, 1806, died March 3,
1875. Clarinda, born January 6, 1809, married
Jonet Genong January 31, 1829. Uretta, born
September 14, 1810, married Thomas Baxter, and
died August 27, 1867. Amanda, born April 30,
1813, died November 16, 1825. Hannah Jane,
born April 30, 18 13, married Hosea Carver, and
died in December, 1891. Adeline V., born No
vember 22, 1826, came 'West in 1854, settled at
Downer's Grove, this county, married John A.
Thatcher, and died there without issue, April 2,
1884. States D., born April 15,-1829, went to
Downer's Grove in 1854, and engaged in farming.
He married Elizabeth Birdsell in 1861, and died
at Downer's Grove January 1, 1863, leaving a
daughter, Helen D.
Capt. Cole passed his youth on the home farm,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

249

attending the district school of his native town un
til sixteen years old. He then entered a dry-goods
store in New York City, and remained as sales
man three years. For one season he traveled as
advance agent for Raymond's Menagerie, and af
terward spent another year as salesman in New
York. In 1854, with his mother and brother
and sister, he came to DuPage County, settling
on a farm in Downer's Grove Township, being
then twenty-one years of age.
On the outbreak of the rebellion, Mr. Cole en
listed on the 23d of April, 1861, in Company K,
Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, and was mustered
in for three years on the 24th of May, 1861, as
Second Lieutenant ofthe company. He was pro
moted January 22, 1862, to First Lieutenant, and
to Captain December 4, 1863, and served with
his company over three years, never being absent
except for a period of about five months, when
he was a prisoner of war; he was never in the hos
pital, and never asked to be excused from duty.
With his company and regiment, he marched on
foot over three thousand miles, and fought in six
Southern States. He took part in thirteen battles,
beside numerous skirmishes, eleven ofwhich were
complete victories for the Union troops. His first
service was in Missouri, under Gen. Fremont,
and afterward he was in the First Brigade, First
Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, commanded by
Gen. Sherman, and later by Gen. Logan, and
participated in the following battles: Lenox
Farm, Mo., August 1, 1861; Wet Glaze, Mo.,
October 14, 1861; Lin Creek, Mo., October 16,
1861; Jeffries' Mills, Ark., May 29, 1862; Chick
asaw Bayou and Walnut Hills, Miss. , December
27, 28, and 29, 1862; siege of Vicksburg, Miss.,
from May 18 to July 4, 1863; siege of Jackson,
Miss., from July 10 to 16, 1863; Brandon, Miss.,
July 19, 1863; Tuscumbia, Ala., in November,
1863; Lookout Mountain, Tenn., November 24,
1863; Missionary Ridge, Tenn., November 25,
1863; Ringgold Gap, Ga., November 27, 1863;
and Madison Station, Ala., May 17, 1864.
Our subject was in the assaulting column that
charged the rebel works at Walnut Hills, in the
rear of Vicksburg, and with a few others reached
a point within a few yards ofthe enemy's second

line of works. Here, with about one hundred
others, he was taken prisoner. In this engage
ment, six bullets pierced his clothing, all of them
grazing the skin, and one inflicting a slight wound
in the side. After being made prisoner, he was
taken to Vicksburg, and thence to Jackson, Miss. ,
where he was kept confined on Pearl River
Bridge. One-half of this bridge had been previ
ously washed away by a freshet, and the remain
der was boarded up and used as a pen in which
to confine prisoners. From here Capt. Cole was
taken to Libby Prison, in Richmond, Va., and
after an imprisonment of nearly five months was
exchanged and returned at once to his regiment.
He was confined in Libby Prison about two
months. He rejoined his company on the 28th
of May, 1863, within a few rods of the spot where
he was captured five months before, and the next
day took position in the line of investment around
Vicksburg, which stronghold finally fell on the
4th of July following.
Our subject was in the assaulting column un
der Gen. Hooker, at the battle of Lookout Moun
tain, and fought above the clouds; also in the bat
tle of Missionary Ridge, the following day, and
was with the division that turned the left flank
of the enemy, capturing a rebel battery, many
battle-flags and several thousand prisoners. He
was with his regiment in pursuit of the enemy the
following day, coming up with their rear-guard
at Ringgold Gap, Ga., where an engagement
took place in which his company lost one-half of
those then present, in killed and wounded. He
was honorably mustered out with his regiment at
Springfield, 111., June 17, 1864, their term 6f
service having expired nearly two months before.
Returning to Downer's Grove, Capt. Cole en
gaged in the mercantile business there in 1865.
On the 15th of January, 1868, he married Miss
Agnes Palmer, who was born in Massachusetts
January 24, 1837. She died at Wheaton, Au
gust 2, 1871, without children. He was four
times elected Supervisor of the town of Downer' s
Grove, and in 1869 was elected County Clerk and
Clerk of the County Court of DuPage County,
and removed to Wheaton, where he has ever
since resided. He was re-elected, and served

250

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

eight years as County Clerk. At the expiration
of his second term, he resumed the mercantile
business at Wheaton. In August, 1872, he mar
ried Susan P., daughter of William G. Smith,
whose biography will be found in this work.
Mrs. Cole was born at White Hall, N. Y., January
2, 1850. Their children are: Agnes M., born
May 9, 1873, and Reno Berry, born November
11, 1878.
Capt. Cole has been repeatedly elected a mem
ber of the Town Council, and twice Mayor of the
city of Wheaton, and has been twice Chairman of
the Board of Supervisors of DuPage County. He
is an enthusiastic Republican in politics, his first
Presidential vote having been cast for the first
nominee ofthe party, Gen. John C. Fremont, and
he has supported every candidate of that party
for the Presidency since. He has been Chairman
of the Republican County Central Committee
several times, and has always been active iu pro
moting the success of the party and its principles.
He has never applied for a pension on account of
his military services, and does not intend to do so
as long as he is able to provide a living for his
family and himself. He is now sixty years old,
and is the sole survivor of his father's large fam-
ily.

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B"

NON. ROBERT NELSON MURRAY. "Let
the record be made of the men and things of
to-day, lest they pass out of memory to
morrow and are lost. Then perpetuate them
not upon wood or stone, that crumble to dust, but
upon paper, chronicled in steel and in words that
endure forever. ' ' The above applies to the more
noted characters of the pioneers of any country,
but more especially to the pioneers of Illinois, who
freed the country from the savage hordes, and by
toils and privations made a new country to
' ' bloom and blossom as the rose, ' ' and who, by
the simplicity of their manner and sincerity of
their actions, forever won a place in the hearts of
a grateful and loving posterity.
The genealogy of the Murray family begins
with grandfather Murray, a native of Ireland,

who emigrated to America with his wife and son
John, settling in Washington County, N. Y.,
where they became prosperous farmers, and died
at an advanced age. John Murray was born No
vember 5, 1785, and was reared and educated in
Argyle, N. Y., where he became a farmer and
school teacher. He was a talented man, and
taught music, as well as school, in Ashtabula,
Ohio. He arrived in Naperville July 17, 1831,
became a man of considerable prominence, and
here died April 8, 1868. He married Amy
Naper, a sister of Capt. Joseph Naper, the founder
of Naperville. She was a native of the Empire
State, but of Scotch descent, and was a true type
of the pioneer woman, being well known for her
many good qualities of head and heart. She was
born January 15, 1793, and became the mother
of six children: Sarah Ann, Isaac, Robert Nelson,
Ruth Eliza, Amos H. and Cordelia Maria.
Robert N. Murray was born in Argyle, Wash
ington County, N. Y., July 26, 1815. At the age
of two years he was taken ,by his parents to Ash
tabula, Ohio, and with them came to DuPage
County in 1831. The education which he ac
quired was obtained principally through his own
efforts and the instruction of his father. At the
age of seventeen he enlisted, July 19, 1832, in
Capt. Joseph Naper's company of Illinois Mounted
Volunteers (commanded by Maj. Buckmaster),and
participated in the Black Hawk War. He was
promoted to be Corporal, and was honorably dis
charged iu Beloit, Wis., about August 15, 1832.
Shortly after the close of the war he started out
in life for himself. He was a natural mechanic,
and various labors in that direction claimed his
attention. His name is connected with many
points of historical interest iu this State. He
helped to build the first docks in the Chicago
Harbor, and also the first sawmill in Boone
County, 111. He was a born leader of men," tall
and muscular, straight as an Indian, and of
splendid physique. He had an open, frank coun
tenance, and a genial smile accompanied the hearty
greeting and firm clasp of hand, but when aroused
to anger, or in a political discussion, his eyes
would blaze with unusual light, which would
electrify and fascinate friend or foe. The records

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

25i

of Cook County show that he was a Constable in
that county, and in that capacity was connected
with many of the stirring events of pioneer days.
Later he served as Deputy Sheriff of Cook County,
and in 1844 was elected Sheriff of DuPage
County, during which time he lived in the court
house, for this section of the country was then in
a primitive condition, and the fine public build
ings of to-day were unknown factors. While
Sheriff he collected taxes in DuPage County, and
became widely and favorably known.
Mr. Murray read law with Patrick Ballingal, a
noted criminal lawyer, and was admitted to the
Bar in 185 1. He rose rapidly in his profession,
and soon enjoyed a large practice. He was one of
the solicitors of the famous Burch trial at Naper
ville, a trial noted for its length, its bitter contest
and the social prominence of its litigants, and in
which was engaged the best legal talent of Chi
cago. Mr. Murray was loyal to his clients' in
terests, prompt in his attention to business,- and
cultivated a high regard for justice and right.
His candor and uprightness won for him the es
teem and confidence of the people, and as a fitting
tribute to his worth, when he was about to close
his professional life, the people of this county in
sisted upon his occupying the office of County
Judge. He served as such for one term and then
retired. Mr. Murray was industrious and pains
taking in all his affairs, and by his industry,
economy, and judicious investments in Chicago
property, left to his survivors a handsome fortune.
In politics, he was a faithful Democrat of the old
school. He was prominent in local politics, and
always an active worker for his party. At the
time Hon. Stephen A. Douglas was a candidate
for the United States Senate, Mr: Murray ran for
Congress. It was then he formed the acquaint
ance of Mr. Douglas, who frequently visited at
his house, and this acquaintance made in the field
of politics soon ripened into intimate friendship,
which extended over many years, and was of a
nature that honored both.
In the mean time, Mr. Murray devoted his at
tention to the practice of law, and rendered mer
itorious services as a legal adviser to the old
friends and neighbors in Naperville and vicinity,

many times without compensation or thought of
a reward. In 1857 he removed with his family to
Kankakee, 111. , where he engaged in legal prac
tice, and for two terms served as Mayor of the
city. He was recognized as one of its leading
men during his residence there, and was held in
very high esteem. It was through his instru
mentality that the first soldiers' monument of
Kankakee was erected. In fact, there were few
enterprises which served to benefit the town with
which the name of Judge Murray- was not con
nected. He was an ardent war Democrat, and
soon after the war broke out gave the first $100
to the Twentieth Illinois Infantry to buy blankets
and supplies. He furthered the cause of the
Union in every way consistent with his political
views, and did more for the women and children
left husbandless and fatherless by the war than
any other one man in DuPage County.
In 1864, Judge Murray returned with his family
to Naperville, where he continued to practice law,
receiving from the public a liberal patronage.
One ofthe prominent features in Judge Murray's
professional life was his antipathy for oppression
of any kind, and a dislike for anything that was
tainted with fraud, corruption or trickery. He
was rich in integrity of character, open and
frank in his dealings with mankind, exacting in
his demands of justice and right, systematic in
his work, and punctual in his engagements. Pos
sessing to a high degree these excellent traits of
manhood, he merited and won in an unusual de
gree the confidence of his clients, who quickly
learned to admire him, and relied unhesitatingly
upon his judgment as a lawyer and a man. He
possessed a clear and active brain, a large capacity
for work, and as a practitioner was largely suc
cessful. In the capacity of attorney he had
charge of many estates for widows and orphans,
and in the capacity of executor and legal adviser
rendered much valuable service, so that to-day he
is held in loving remembrance by all those who
ever called on him in time of trouble or for legal
advice. He loved his fellow-men, and no worthy
applicant left his office uncomforted, or unaided in
a substantial way. He was not ostentatious,
and in his charities the left hand seldom knew

252

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

what the right did. He was firm in his convic
tions and free to express them, but behind a blunt
and plain exterior were hidden the noblest quali
ties of a good and manly man.
Judge Murray was a general favorite with the
Bench and Bar. He was the especial favorite df
the young attorneys of Kankakee, who delighted
in his companionship, and enjoyed his jovial
manner. He rivaled Lincoln as a story-teller, and
his fund of anecdotes seemed inexhaustible. He
was a great reader, and had in Kankakee one of
the finest law libraries in the State, which was
always at the disposal of the young members of
the Bar, whom he advised and encouraged in
every way. He was always cheerful and his
presence dispelled gloom. It was worth some
thing to have known such a man, to have been
his companion for days or years, and to have seen
his inner life, which is the real life of many men.
Among his older professional brethren he was
lovingly called " Ned Murray," which in itself is
a mark of affection and esteem, as no ordinary or
mean man is ever given a name by the public.
Said an old pioneer of Chicago, ' ' He was the soul
of honor; he never did a mean thing in his life;
there never was a life that yielded so much pure
wheat and as little chaff as that of Judge Murray-. ' '
He was considered one of the leading and brain
iest attorneys of the State, and was consulted and
retained on many an important case.
On the 4th of January, 1842, Mr. Murray -was
married by J. H. Prentiss, a Congregational min
ister, to Louisa C. Sargent, who was born July
24, 1821, in Rochester, on the Clinton River,
Oakland County, Mich., and claims the distinc
tion of being the second white child born in that
county . Her parents were John and Irena (Sweet)
Sargent, the former a native of New Hampshire,
and the latter of Rochester, N. Y. They were
honored pioneers of Oakland County, where Mrs.
Murray was reared. She was educated in Pon-
tiac Academy, and is a woman of more than ordi
nary intelligence and strong traits of character —
in every way a fit companion and helpmate to her
noble husband. As early as 1838 she became a
resident of DuPage County, and has been inti
mately identified with its growth and prosperity.

Three children have blessed this union: John
W., who died in infancy; Isaac N. and Irene A.
Isaac was educated and reared in Naperville, at
tending the academy at that place, being after
wards a student in Notre Dame and Wood
stock Universities. He has inherited many of his
father's traits of character, and is himself a true
representative of the pioneer stock. In politics,
he is also a Democrat, and is identified with local
and State organizations. He is Vice-President of
the Building and Loan Association, and is the
owner of the two hundred and forty acres of land
pre-empted by his grandfather, John Murray, in
1 83 1. The daughter, Irene A., was born Octo
ber 22, 1855, in Naperville, was educated in its
public schools, and at Jennings Seminary in Au
rora, 111., graduating with high honors in the
latter place in the Class of '74. She is now the
wife of Louis Karcher, a lawyer of Chicago, who
is enjoying a lucrative practice and an honored
place in his chosen profession. They have two
children, Louise Margaret and Leonard Douglas.
At the time of his death, Mr. Murray enjoyed
the distinguished honor of being the oldest living
settler of Chicago. His early and continued resi
dence in the Northwest made him perfectly famil
iar with its growth and history. He saw Chicago
rise from .a mere village to a magnificent city.
He possessed the rare faculty of an active and re
tentive memory, and it was not infrequent that
his knowledge was sought to establish boundary
lines, and to recall incidents and events of early
days. The clearness with which he related, in his
own peculiar style, the events of those pioneer
times has often made him the central figure among
his associates and friends, who listened with in
terest to his narrative of those days.
Mr. Murray's death was caused by Bright' s
disease. He had been afflicted with it for years,
yet not to such an extent as to give him much
uneasiness or concern regarding his health. Of
late years he spent his winters with his estimable
wife in the South, the winters in the North being
too severe for him. He purchased an orange
grove at Palatka, Fia., where he resided during
the winter months and enjoyed himself among his
orange trees and the delightful climate of that re-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

253

gion. Such was his magnetism that after a short
residence in Florida, prominent citizens of the
State urged him to become a resident and accept
the nomination for Congress, which in that State
meant an election. But he was true to his native
State and the attractions of Naperville, and re
fused the tempting offer.
Judge Murray, in his social relations, was a
Mason, and was held in the highest regard by his
comrades in that fraternity. He was in every
way by nature fitted and qualified to bear a con
spicuous part in the history of the community,
and the prominent positions in which he was al
ways placed showed that his abilities were recog
nized. He was honored with official positions,
and was a leader in business circles. He was
affable and approachable, and prosperity did not
turn his head. In the growth and upbuilding of
this community he ever bore a conspicuous part,
and its advancement and progress were due in no
small degree to his earnest efforts. After a long,
useful and well-spent life, he passed away Sep
tember 13, 1 89 1, and the entire community
mourned his loss, but it was in the home where
his absence was most felt. It was there where he
was best understood, where his qualities of mind
and heart were best known, and where his mem
ory will forever be held in kind and loving re
membrance. is . S3<,_X>-IS -,  S
& ¦ ¦°J-^<'"TH^rB ,a  m
Q RAMAN LOVELESS, eldest son and third
Vjl child of Ariel C. Loveless (see biography in
\_J this work), is among the successful business
men of DuPage County and Chicago, and promi
nent in charitable and Christian work. He was
born May 27, 1839, in Hadley, Saratoga County,
N. Y. He was fifteen years old when the family
came West, and remained on the farm with his
father until February, 1859, when he started for
Pike's Peak, to engage in mining, that " El Do
rado " having just been discovered. Proceeding
by rail to a point forty miles west of Dubuque,
Iowa, then the terminus of the railway, he trav
eled overland, much ofthe way on foot, to Omaha,

where he joined a wagon train. On reaching the
mountains, he was stricken with mountain fever,
and was obliged to return home. He again took
up farming with his father until the spring of
1861. He had just rented, a farm and prepared
to engage in business on his own account, when
the War of the Rebellion broke out. Stirred by
patriotic impulses, he at once offered his services
in defense of the Union, and was enrolled as a
member of Company A, Thirty-sixth Illinois In
fantry, on the 8th of August. Although a mem
ber of the regimental band, Mr. Loveless carried
a musket through part of his service, taking part
in some fierce engagements. The regiment was
stationed at first atRolla, Mo., whence it marched
in dead of winter to Pea Ridge, Ark., taking
part in the battle at that point under Gen. Sigel.
On the way to Pittsburgh Landing, it marched
six hundred miles to Cape Girardeau, Mo. , where
transportation was taken by boat. Arriving at
Pittsburgh Landing after the famous battle, it
proceeded southward, at one time marching eigh
teen miles in the night to aid in investing Cor
inth, Miss. From there it proceeded to Cincin
nati, to join Gen. Lew Wallace, but was soon
transferred to Louisville, where it became a part
of the Second Division of the Fourth Army Corps,
under Gen. Sheridan. From this time the regi
ment participated in many severe battles, among
which were Perryville, Stone River, Peach Tree
Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, Dallas, New Hope
Church, Atlanta and Jonesboro. The history of
this campaign is one of almost continual fighting,
and Mr. Loveless witnessed many scenes of cruel
carnage. He was mustered out September 23,
1864, having more than served out his three-
years term of enlistment, and without ever receiv
ing a reprimand.
From 1865 to 1872 Mr. Loveless followed farm
ing near Elgin, in Kane County. In May, 1872,
he went to Chicago and engaged for seven years
in the grain, feed and coal trade. Since selling
out this business, he has engaged in the hotel and
real-estate business with marked success. In
August, 1882, he purchased one hundred and
twenty acres of land at Turner, and five years
later added forty acres to this. The entire tract

254

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was platted as an addition to the village of Turner
in 1893, and is known as Montview. Many lots
have already been sold, and this investment is
among the best made by a man known for fore
sight and shrewdness in. business. Like many
other investments in the neighborhood of Chi
cago, this has proven a popular site, and is vindi
cating the sagacity of its projector.
Mr. Loveless experienced religion in January,
i860, and united with the Methodist Episcopal
Church. In 1883 he began to extend the revival
work which he had been doing in a quiet way
for many years, and became a powerful and much-
sought aid in evangelistic work. Until failing
strength, in 1889, compelled him to resign this
work, he gave his entire attention to it and la
bored in many Western States, chiefly in Iowa,
Illinois and California. In this he was ably as
sisted by his wife, a lady of strong faith and
spirit. In reviewing' his work, the Cedar Rapids
(Iowa) Republican said, " Though his address had
no peculiar charm, and his work seemed devoid
of the personal magnetism which characterizes
the influence of man)-- public speakers, his earnest
ness and sincerity carried great power. ' ' He still
continues, as for many years past, to do mission
work in Chicago, and is an active temperance
worker, both by precept and example. In 1888
he was the Prohibition candidate for Senator from
the Fourteenth Illinois District, and has been
three years President of the County Committee of
that party, and four years President of the Whea
ton Prohibition Club. From Lincoln to Garfield
he was a Republican, and is ready to again affili
ate with the Republican party when it consents
to espouse the Prohibition issue.
October 17, i860, Mr. Loveless married Miss
Mary Tweddale, a native of New York City, a
daughter of Garlius and Elizabeth Tweddale, na
tives of Whithorn, an island in the south of Scot
land. Mrs. Loveless was a teacher before her
marriage. She died in 1865, leaving a son, Frank
Ariel, now a resident of Chicago. On the 3d of
April, 1866, Mr. Loveless was again married, the
bride being Miss Huldah Elizabeth Holden, who
was born in Stockholm, St. Lawrence County,
N. Y. Her parents, John and Mary A. (Clark).

Holden, were natives, respectively, of England
and Gilsum, N. H., the latter being descend
ed from an old New England family, dating
from the landing of the Pilgrims. Three
children have blessed the second union of Mr.
Loveless, namely: Braman H., Benjamin E. and
Gertrude. The second died February 5, 1893,
and the first is practicing law in Chicago and re
siding in Wheaton. Mrs. Loveless taught the
first colored school in the North, at Elgin, and
continued in the work three years. She is active
in temperance work, and is an officer in control of
several charitable and philanthropic undertakings
in Chicago, independent of her husband's work,
for the success of which he gives her large credit.

-S3.

#+^

B-

0R. ELIAS CORNELIUS GUILD, a success
ful physician and prominent citizen of Whea
ton, is the youngest child of Israel and
Rachael Guild. He was born in Conway, Mass.,
April 10, 1832, and was but seven years old when
the family came to Illinois. He remained on the
homestead farm in Wayne until after he was
forty years old, attending the district school, Be
loit College, or a select school in Wayne until he
reached his majority. He early manifested a
taste for study, and, being inclined to the practice
of medicine, took up its study without a pre
ceptor, in the leisure moments to be snatched
from the care of the farm. His industry and tal
ent are evidenced by the fact that he acquired an
extensive practice before he left the farm at all.
Entering Bennett Medical College in Chicago,
in 1872, Mr. Guild graduated from that institu
tion in the spring of 1874, and has made the prac
tice of medicine his sole occupation since, with
rare success. After graduating at Bennett, he
located at Bartlett, Cook County, 111., where he
conducted a drug store twenty years, until March
1, 1894. In 1889 he removed to Wheaton, and
in 1 89 1 purchased the fine property on the west
side of Main Street, corner of Wesley, where he
resides, surrounded by an interesting family.
Dr. Guild's success has been the result of his own

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

255

independent effort, as he has never allied hirnself
with any society as a means of attaining acquaint
ance or standing. His success in treating unfor
tunate humanity has secured all the patients he
can find time and strength to attend. In 1892 he
was the candidate of the Prohibition party for
representative from the Fourteenth Illinois Dis
trict, and his popularity is indicated by the fact
that he received over three thousand votes, that
ticket being supported by a hopeless minority.
In i860 he was elected Justice of the Peace in
Wayne, and served fourteen years, being the last
two times re-elected unanimously. His removal
from the county two years before its expiration
prevented the completion of his last term. The
doctor is a firm adherent of principle, and affili
ated with the Republican party until he despaired
of its espousing prohibition. With his family, he
is a communicant of the College Congregational
Church of Wheaton.
In 1857 Doctor Guild was married to Miss
Alice D. Blair, who was born in 1835, at Mus-
selborough, near Edinburgh, Scotland. She
came to America in 1852, with her parents,
Robert and Jean (Dickson) Blair, being then six
teen years old. They located first at St. Charles,
and three years later moved to Wayne, and after
wards to Malta, 111., where they died, the father
in May, 1890, in his ninety-third year, and the
mother at the age of seventy-three, in 1864.
They became the parents of nine children, Mrs.
Guild being the youngest.
Of the nine children of Dr. and Mrs. Guild, six
are now living. Charles Sumner, the eldest, died*
in his twenty-first year. William Lyman, who
graduated at the Bennett Medical College in 1884,
and from the Chicago Homoeopathic Medical Col
lege in 1892, is practicing medicine at Wayne, 111..
Rufus Cornelius, Newman Hall, Alice Jane (Mrs.
Braman H. Loveless), Mattie Louise and Hattie
Rachael are all in Wheaton, three residing with
their parents. Two died in infancy.
Dr. Guild is a man of medium stature; solid
frame, and sound intellect. . He is a genial, well-
read man, of most hospitable and kindly nature,
and his mere presence in the sick-room is assuring
to the invalid. Under his skillful care, the pa

tient whose vitality is not already gone seldom
fails to recover. Dr. Guild reyeres the memory
of his mother as that of a most devout and saintly
woman. No doubt the better qualities of his na
ture were developed and strengthened under her
loving care.

NHr^!

B~

HENRY DIETRICH FISCHER, a pioneer
farmer of Addison Township, DuPage Coun
ty, 111., was born in Estorff, Hanover,
Germany, and was the first to leave his native
village for America. In the spring of 1835, he
bade good-bye to 'home and friends and made his
way direct to Chicago, where he remained during
that summer. His father, Conrad Fischer, who
was born in the same village as himself, was a
saddler, and Henry learned the trade, but never
followed it after coming to this country. As soon
as he was able, he sent for his parents and two
brothers and three sisters, who came and joined
him in Addison, where he settled in 1836.
On the journey, the youngest daughter, Wil
helmina, was drowned in Buffalo, N. Y., by fall
ing off the old "Robert Fulton," a steam-boat
0:1 which the family had taken passage fpr De
troit. Henry D. was the eldest child. Louisa,
the second, is the widow of Henry Bielfeld, resid
ing in Milwaukee. All the others reside in Ad
dison, namely: Frederick J., August and Caro
line (Mrs. Louis Rathje). Conrad Fischer died
in Addison about 1875. His wife, whose maiden
name was Reinking, preceded him to the other
shore. Henry D. Fischer remained on his farm in Ad
dison until his death, which occurred in 1868, at
the age of fifty-two years. He was repeatedly
called upon to fill township and county offices, and
enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-citizens to a
marked degree. He was a member of the United
Evangelical Church, in which he served" the local
parish as Trustee for many years.
In 1837, at Chicago, Mr. Fischer .married Miss
Anna Maria Franzen, who was born in Schale,
Prussia, and came to America with her parents

256

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and brother and sister in 1834. They landed in
Baltimore in the spring of that year. After
working in that city, partly in order to pay a
debt incurred by way of obtaining passage money-,
they started for Wheeling, W. Va., on foot, and
after arriving and earning more money, took pas
sage on a river-boat to Cincinnati. From there
they made their way to Chicago. The father,
Herman Bernhard Henry Franzen, became a res
ident of Addison, where he died January 5, 1844.

-S3.

$+${

eANIEL SHEAHAN, for a quarter of a cen
tury station agent of the Chicago & North
western Railway at Lombard, has been a
resident of Wheaton since 1892, when he built
his handsome home on Washington Avenue. He
was born in Shanagolden, County Limerick, Ire
land, May 4, 1830. His parents, James and Mary
Sheahan, were natives ofthe same place, as were
both of his grandfathers, Morris and Jeremiah
Sheahan. Though both bore the same surname,
they were not near relatives. In 1842, James
Sheahan set out for America with his family and
settled at Montreal. In 1855 he followed his chil
dren to DuPage County 111., where he died in
April, 1868, at the age of ninety years. His wife
died here December 3, 1863, aged seventy years.
Of their twelve children, all save one came to
America. Following is their record: Jeremiah
died in Canada; Mary died in Ireland; Morris
died in 1887, at Lombard, 111., where John, the
fourth, resides now; Mary, wife of William Moody,
died in Lyons Township, Cook County, 111.;'
Honorah lives near Lake Champlain, N. Y. ;
James died at Winnebago, 111., in March, 1893;
Daniel is the eighth ; Hannah died at Montreal in
1847; Catharine is also a resident of New York;
Patrick resides at Marengo, 111. , and Philip at
Winnebago, same State.
Daniel Sheahan attended the parish school at
Shanagblden until he was twelve years old, when
the family came to America. As soon as he ar
rived in Canada, he began to sustain himself by
such labor as came to his hand, in the mean time

studying as he found opportunity. Being gifted
with intelligence, and possessed of a desire to bet
ter his condition, he made considerable progress
in knowledge, especially in the ways ofthe world,
and became a useful and prosperous citizen. He
was early employed as a teamster in company
with his elder brothers, and worked on canal con
struction in that capacity. The family soon came
to own horses, and he made frequent teaming
trips to the lumber camps above Ottawa, Canada
(then a small village called By town) , and to the
eastern townships.
In the spring of 1848, in company with his
elder brother, Mr. Sheahan took the first boat
that left Buffalo for Chicago, and immediately
proceeded to York Township, DuPage County,
where they bought a farm of one hundred and
thirty-six acres on sections 12 and 18. This they
tilled in partnership for many years, and on sell
ing out his interest, Daniel Sheahan became the
owner of a fine farm of two hundred acres in Mil
ton Township, near Wheaton. He is also the
owner of his former residence at Lombard, with
twenty acres of land in the village, improved with
orchards and shrubbery. Immediately after com
ing to Illinois, he took employment in work on
what is now the Chicago & Northwestern Railway,
then the Chicago & Galena Union, first as fire
man, and afterward as conductor of a construc
tion train. For twenty-five years previous to his
retirement in 1878, he was agent at Lombard, as
before stated. He served as School Director of
Lombard, as Justice ofthe Peace, and as a mem
ber and President ofthe Village Council. He has
always supported the principles of the Democratic
party, and is a faithful member of the Roman
Catholic Church.
June 7, 1852, Mr. Sheahan was married to
Miss Julia, daughter of Michael Egan. She was
born February 2, 1830, on a farm near Tipperary,
Ireland, and came with her parents to America
when six weeks old. Her mother, Bridget Egan,
nee Kennedy, died in Troy, N. Y., four years
after arriving in America Only three of the
children of Mr. and Mrs. Sheahan are now liv
ing. The record is as follows: James died in
1880, aged twenty-five years; Michael Francis,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

257

died the same year, being in his twenty-second
year; John is a resident of Waukegan, 111.;
Daniel died in his. eighteenth year, in 1887; Mary,
wife of Edward Garrity, and William are resi
dents of Wheaton, the latter being employed as
railroad brakeman; and Philip died before com
pleting his seventh year.
Mr. Sheahan has been an industrious and pru
dent man, faithful to his employers and himself,
and is now enjoying the fruits of his labors in a
delightful home at Wheaton . His example should
encourage the ambitious youth to cultivate the
qualities which will make him a useful and re
spected citizen, and insure peace to his old age.

DMUND WEST BIXBY, of Wheaton, was
¦y born in Middletown, Susquehanna County,
_ Pa., January 14, 1835, and is a grandson of
Darius and Rachael (Smith) Bixby. Darius
Bixby was a native of New England, and served
in the Revolutionary War. His flintlock musket
is still preserved, being the property of his grand
son, Asa D. Bixby, of Lanark, 111. Both he and
his wife were of English extraction.
Asa, son of Darius Bixby, born in Vermont,
went to ^Pennsylvania when a young man, and
there married Almena West, a native of Connect
icut, and daughter of Elias West, of an old New
England family. He engaged in farming, and
died in 1845, at the age of forty-five years, from
the effects of a blow on the head by a falling pike-
pole at a raising. He had three sons and a like
number of daughters, four of whom grew to ma
turity. Edmund W. , the fourth child, is the
only one now living. Two sons and a daughter
are buried in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Bixby and
one daughter were buried at Mukwonago, Wis.
The other, Ursula, died at Reedsburg, Wis., leav
ing a husband, J. S. Worthman, now City Clerk
of Baraboo, and two sons. Theodore, the eldest
of these, is American Express agent at West Su
perior, Wis., and Arthur is ticket agent of the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway at Baraboo.
E. W. Bixby was ten years old at the time of

his father's death, and soon came to be the
main assistant of his mother iu operating the
home farm. He had little chance to secure an
education, but has gained some knowledge of af
fairs by contact with the world, and by reading.
He learned the carpenter's trade with an uncle,
and followed that until his injuries in the military
service disabled him. In 1854, with his mother
and two sisters, he came West and settled at
Mukwonago, Wis. In the summer of 1862, he
enlisted for three years as a member of Company
F, Twenty-eighth Wisconsin Infantry, and served
a year in the Western Army. His first serious
battle was that at Ft. Pemberton, near Vicksburg,
and in that campaign, while working on fortifica
tions, he received an injury which caused his dis
charge. For a year and a-half he was wholly
disabled, and spent his time among relatives about
Lanark, 111.
In 1865, he came to Wheaton, and was em
ployed for three years in the cab factory of H. C.
Childs, and subsequently engaged in painting and
such light employment as he was able to perform.
Since February, 1879, he has kept a restaurant
on Railroad Street. For some years, he rented a
building, and then purchased it. Less than a
year after he became the owner, the building was
destroyed by a fire that originated in an adjoining
building. In the summer of 1885, he built the
substantial brick structure which he now occupies
as a residence and place of business. Beside do
ing a good business in feeding the hungry, he
has a trade in canned and bakery goods. By at
tending to his business and letting alone that of
others, Mr. Bixby has earned the confidence
and respect of the community. He is a member
of the Grand Army- of the Republic, and of the
Baptist Church. In political divisions, he has
always been found on the Republican side, but
has never sought any office for himself. His sole
political service has been performed in nominating
conventions. Mr. Bixby has been twice married. His first
wedding occurred in 1864, when he became the
husband of Mary Austin, a native of Pennsyl
vania, and daughter of Dudley and Hannah
(Vastine) Austin, also natives of Pennsylvania.

258

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

She died within four years, leaving a daughter,
May, now the wife of Samuel D. Weldon, a builder
of Wheaton. January 14, 1873, Mr. Bixby was
married to Carrie Thomas, a native of Madoc,
Hastings County, Ontario, Canada. There is no
offspring of this union.

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WILLIAM CARTER, who has been for
thirty years a member of Dr. E. C. Guild's
family, is a very early resident of DuPage
County . He was born in Bishop Stortford, near
London, England, in 1820, and came to America
in 1847. After living a year in Bloomingdale
Township, he removed to Wayne, and from there
went with the Doctor's family to Bartlett, and
thence to Wheaton. He is very fond of children,
and has been an invaluable assistant in rearing
the Doctor's family. His chief occupation before
taking up his residence in this family was that of
a farm laborer, and, being a bacheler, very little
has sufficed for his needs. In 1862, Mr. Carter
joined Company F ofthe One Hundred and Fifth
Illinois Infantry, and served a year in the Union
army. He has become thoroughly Americanized,
and is proud of his adopted country. Since be
coming a citizen he has sustained the Republican
party, except in the last two Presidential cam
paigns, and is now allied with the Prohibitionists.
He has been for over thirty years a member of
the Congregational Church.

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0ARIUS W. CRESCY, the junior member of
the firm of Thatcher & Crescy, dealers in
general merchandise, of Downer's Grove,
was born on the nth of March, 1833, in Stratton,
Vt., and was the second child in a family of four
children born unto Aaron W. and Betsy (Hill)
Crescy." Philomel P. , the eldest, is the wife of
Rice Thompson, of Goshen, Ind.; Lucretia, the
next youngest, became the wife of R. Peck, of
Campton, UL, bu|, is now deceased; and the

youngest died in infancy. The father of this
family was a native of New Hampshire, and re
mained upon the home farm in the old Granite
State until he had attained his majority, when he
removed to Vermont, and there married. His
first wife lived only a few months, and he after
ward wedded Miss Hill. Several years later, in
1839, accompanied by his family, he went to Wy
oming County, N. Y., where he made his home
until 1859. That year witnessed his arrival in
DuPage County, where he continued to reside
until his death, at the age of seventy-six years.
His wife passed away in 1841, when Darius was
only eight years of age. She was born in Ver
mont, in the same house where her son's birth
occurred. After the death of his mother, our subject went
to live with his grandparents, with whom he re
mained until twelve years of age. He then be
gan working on a farm by the month during the
summer season, while in the winter he attended
the district schools of the neighborhood until
twenty-one years of age. The new and rapidly
growing West attracted him, and he resolved to
seek his fortune on its broad prairies; so coming to
Illinois, he located in Downer's Grove Township,
where he continued to work by the month for two
years. He then began farming in his own inter
est on rented land, and subsequently he entered
the store of Cole & Thatcher, afterward Eldred
Thatcher, as an employe. For six years he con
tinued to work as a salesman, when, in 1878, he
purchased a half-interest in the business with
which he has now been connected for twenty-one
years. On the 26th of November, 1856, was celebrated
the marriage of Mr. Crescy and Miss Mary K.
Fox, one of the early settlers of this county.
They have no children of their own, but have an
adopted daughter, Ruby Ellen, now thirteen
years of age. They have a pleasant home in
Downer's Grove, where they are widely and fav- "
orably known. In politics, Mr. Crescy is a
Democrat. He has served as Town Clerk for
one term, was School Director, and is now one of
the Trustees of the Village Board. In 1890 he
was nominated on the Democratic ticket for

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

263

County Treasurer, and greatly reduced the strong
Republican majority, which shows his popularity
among all classes.
In 1892, without his knowledge, and unsolic
ited, he was honored with the nomination for
Elector for the Eighth District of this State, and
was one of the twenty-four who cast the electoral
vote of Illinois for Grover Cleveland for President.
Mr. Crescy has lived a quiet and unassuming
life, but the uprightness that has characterized
his career has won for him high esteem. He has
given nearly his entire time and attention to his
business. At a very early age he was thrown
upon his own resources. He had few advantages,
educational or otherwise, and therefore his suc
cess has been achieved by earnest and untiring
effort, good management, and unconquerable en
terprise. He is now doing a good business as a
member of one of the leading mercantile firms of
Downer's Grove.

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'HOMAS EDWARD LEWIS, a self-made,
enterprising and progressive citizen of Whea
ton, is one of the pioneers of Illinois, hav
ing come to the State with his parents in 1839.
He is a native of Swansea, Wales, born on the 2d
of July, 1826. His ancestors were prominent in the
military service of Great Britain, and were among
the most ancient in that country. His grandfather,
Joshua Lewis, was a farmer, and lived to be over
ninety years old, being succeeded on retiring by
his son Joseph, father of Thomas E. Lewis, all
being born on the same farm. Joseph Lewis
married Margaret, only daughter of Thomas
Roberts, a neighboring farmer. Beside this
daughter, Mr. Roberts had two sons, John and
Thomas. The former was a very stalwart speci
men of manhood, being six feet and six inches in
height. He led the choir in the Independent
Church near his home.
As above stated, in 1839 Joseph Lewis came
with his family to America. Proceeding at once
to West Northfield, Cook County, 111., he pre
empted a quarter-section of land, on which he

passed the balance of his life. His wife died in
her seventy-first year, and he lived to see his
eighty-eighth. Of their thirteen children, twelve
grew to maturity, the third dying in Wales, and
nine are now living. Following are their names:
Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Thomas, Evan, John,
William, Sarah, David, Charles, Eli, Maria and
Margaret. The eldest mastered Hebrew, Greek,
Latin, navigation and surveying before he was
twenty years old, and became a Methodist Epis
copal clergyman. He died at the early age of
twenty-seven years, at Norwood Park, 111., where
he was buried, though his home was at Beloit,
Wis. , where he built the first Methodist Church
of that city. David and Mary are deceased, and
William is a resident of Portland, Ore. Charles
is practicing medicine in Chicago.
Thomas E. Lewis attended school in his native
place till he was nine years old, when he went to
work. His first week's wages were eighteen
cents, which he kept as a souvenir for many
years. With the exception of about a quarter's
attendance at night school in Chicago, the balance
of his education has been supplied by contact
with the world, and he has proved a most apt
pupil. Nature blessed him with a sound mind
and constitution, and he is considered one of the
solid men whose presence in the community is a
blessing, for his judgment is correct and he has
the courage to carry out his convictions. With
no early advantages, with no aid save his own in
dustry and adherence to an ideal, he has amassed
a modest competence, and has earned the respect
and good- will of his fellows.
The old proverb says, " Where there is a will,
there is a way," and one morning in the spring
of 1 843 young Lewis set out on foot for Chicago
to find the way, his capital on starting consisting
of fifty cents. His feet becoming sore from the
action of a pair of new and stiff boots, he made a
bargain with a teamster bound for the city to
carry him thither for eighteen cents. Arriving
on South Water Street, he came opposite the
lumber-yard of Sylvester Lynd, the first person
to whom he had spoken after alighting, and he at
once engaged to work in the lumber-yard at such
remuneration as Mr. Lynd found him worth after

13

264

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

trial. This was soon fixed at $12 per month, and
in addition his kind employer provided him with
a new suit of clothing, complete, in order that he
might attend Sabbath-school. He soon made
himself familiar with the lumber business, and
was promoted to the position of inspector, with a
corresponding salary. He remained in the city
for seven years, being for a short time in the em
ploy of the late Deacon Philo Carpenter, a well-
known pioneer of Chicago.
In the spring of 1850, Mr. Lewis took a help
mate, in the person of Miss Margaret, daughter
of Edward and Elizabeth Jones, all of Bala,
Wales, where the family has dwelt for many gen
erations on the same farm called " Nanthir," and
which is still occupied by some of its members.
Mrs. Thomas J. Evans, a pioneer of Racine, Wis.,
is a sister of Mrs. Lewis. Mr. Lewis immediately
took his bride to a farm of his own at Arlington
Heights (then called Dunton), Cook County,
where he broke up and improved wild land and
got a good start in the world. He remained
there eighteen years, serving continuously as
School Director, and then removed to Blue Is
land, in the same county, and continued his agri
cultural pursuits, being there also a school officer
for six years. Beside farming, Mr. Lewis has
dealt extensively in lands, and is a laige owner
of Chicago and Hyde Park real estate, as well as
numerous farms. He dwelt two years in Engle-
wood, and removed thence on the ist of May,
1 89 1, to Wheaton, where he built a handsome
home on an eminence near College Avenue Station.
He still occupies himself with the care of his large
farms near Wheaton, though he finds time to give
attention to all matters of public concern, especi
ally education, on which his judgment is eminently
sound and practical. He has striven to equip his
children for the battle of life, and six of his
daughters are graduates of the Cook County Nor
mal School, and successful teachers.
Like all true Welshmen, Mr. Lewis is proud
of his native land, its people and their achieve
ments, though this does not detract in the least
from his loyal American spirit. He is a Director
and Treasurer of the Cambro Printing Company,
of Chicago, which publishes a Welsh and English

newspaper called Columbia, the largest of its kind
in the world. For a short time Mr. Lewis was
President and General Manager of this company,
but as soon as it was firmly established he re
signed those positions, because he could not de
vote his time to them. When it was found neces
sary to provide a bond for the payment of prizes
offered for competition in the International Ei
steddfod, in Festival Hall, at the World's Colum
bian Exposition, Mr. Lewis, with true patriotic
spirit, came forward and gave his personal secur
ity for $12,500, which was ultimately paid out of
the receipts of the festival, thus justifying his
faith in his compatriots and the Fair.
In religious matters, Mr. Lewis is liberal and
progressive. He attends the Congregational
Church with his entire family. In political con
cerns, he adheres to the Republican party, be
cause he believes it rests on true underlying prin
ciples, but has never found the time nor had the
inclination to seek preferment. He took a deep
interest in the public school management, because
he had a large family to educate, and gave much
time to this interest, always insisting on the con
duct of the schools with a sole view to the public
welfare, sometimes making enemies by his course,
but always triumphing in the end. He is now
serving as Alderman from the Second Ward of
Wheaton. He is a member ofthe Welsh Society,
Cymrodorion, and the League of American
Wheelmen, he being an expert bicycle-rider.
On the 6th of May, 1889, death entered the
home of Mr. Lewis and took the kind, faithful
wife and mother, leaving, beside the bereaved
husband, seven of her nine children to mourn her
absence. The' eldest of these,- Margaret J., wife
of George H. Brewster, of Wheaton, died July 9,
1891. Joseph W. resides at Blue Island, where
he is engaged in manufacturing; and Sarah M.,
who for some time held the position of Critic
Teacher at the Cook County Normal School, is
now her father's housekeeper. Alice U., wife of
James H. Kerr, resides at Amsley, Neb., and is
prominent in temperance and Sunday-school work,
making frequent public addresses in their behalf.
Mary A., Mrs. William H. Hoar, died a few
weeks before her mother. Cora E. graduated at

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

265

the Blue Island High School, at the Cook County
Normal (being valedictorian ofthe two-years grad
uating class) , and at Oberlin College, Ohio; she
is now Principal of the Belle Plaine School in Chi-
.cago, and Chairman ofthe Executive Committee
of the Illinois State Teachers' Association. She
makes frequent addresses on educational topics,
and was chosen to conduct the model school which
served as a World's Fair exhibit near Jackson
Park, and carried it through successfully. Ada L- ,
widow of J. W. Bannerman, with her son Tommy,
resides with Mr. Lewis. A sketch of Edward J.
will be found on another page of this work.
Grace May (often called Minnie) is pursuing a
medical course at the Woman's College in Chi
cago. Mr. Lewis is a frank, whole-souled gentleman,
with refined instincts and manly self-respect,
which forbid his doing a mean or low act, and his
conversation is always cheerful and entertaining.
Out of a ripe experience, he has gathered a large
stock of general and useful knowledge. Now, in
his sixty-eighth year, he is in the full vigor of a
temperate and well-spent life. He has a closely knit
frame, weighing one hundred and ninety pounds,
and has promise of an extended continuance of an
existence which has blessed himself, his family,
and the community at large. When his time
comes to lay down the active duties of life, which
have been a perennial source of pleasure, he can
safely consign the good name that he has won to
the care of a worthy posterity.

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*VSRAEL GUILD, one of the pioneers of Du-
I Page County, was a descendant of one of the
X early Puritan settlers of Massachusetts, and a
worthy type of the faithful, persistent character of
our New England forefathers. In 1636, John
and Calvin Guild, brothers, came from England,
and settled at Dedham, in Massachusetts. The
former, supposed to have been born in 1616, was
made a member ofthe church July 17, 1640, and
the same year bought land and built a house,
which was occupied by his descendants for over

two hundred years. He was made a freeman
May 10, 1643, and acquired land in Wrentham,
Medfield and Natick, as well as Dedham. He
died October 4, 1682. On June 24, 1645, he
married Elizabeth Crooke, of Roxbury, who died
August 31, 1689. They had six sons and one
daughter. Of these, Samuel, born November 7,
1647, married, November 29, 1676, Mary, daugh
ter of Samuel and Ann (Herring) Woodcock, of
Dedham. Their ten children consisted of seven
sons and three daughters. Israel, the seventh,
was born in Dedham, June n, 1690. He moved
to Lebanon, Conn., where his will was probated
December 18, 1766, it bearing date the nth of
March previous. His wife's name was Sarah, her
maiden name unknown. They had two sons and
four daughters. The fourth, Jacob, born August
1, 1722, married Mrs. Hannah Larrabee, of Cov
entry, Conn., May 26, 1757, and moved from
Lebanon to the neighborhood known as West
Farms, in Hatfield, Mass., on the Connecticut
River. They had five sons and two daughters.
Jesse, fourth child of Jacob and Hannah Guild,
was born in Hatfield, Mass., April 11, 1765, and
lived most of his life at Halifax, in Vermont. He
was a blacksmith by occupation, and lived to be
over eighty years old. He was active in the Con
gregational Church, in which he was a Deacon
many years. He served three years in the Revo
lutionary War, holding the rank of Orderly-Ser
geant. His wife's maiden name was Zilpah
Smith. Israel, son of Jesse and Zilpah Guild, and
father of W. K. and Dr. E. C. Guild, was born
iu Halifax, Vt. , May 3, 1791, and married Rachael
Kellogg, whowas born in Brookfield, Vt, June
29, 1 79 1. His occupation was that of carpenter
and joiner, which he followed all his life. Soon
after his marriage he went to Montpelier, Vt. ,
later to Conway, Mass., and in 1837 to Whately,
in the latter State. In 1839 he became a resident
of DuPage County, settling on a farm in Wayne
Township, where he remained until his death,
August 22, 1865, at the age of seventy-three
years. He was a member of the Congregational
Church, and in early life espoused the principles
of the Whig party, later becoming an Abolitionist,

266

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and in turn a Republican. His wife, Rachael,
died December n, 1872, on the homestead in
Wayne. She was a daughter of Phineas Kellogg,
a prominent farmer of Brookfield, Vt, who
served seven years in the Revolutionary Army,
and lived to be over eighty years old. They became
the parents of seven children, the first two of
whom came to Illinois in 1837, the rest following
with the parents. Eunice, the eldest, who became
the wife of Henry Budlong Hemenway, lived in
Wayne and Sycamore, and died at Wheaton. iu
December, 1890. Elijah Lyman died in Wayne in
1852. William K. lived in Wayne, and later in
Wheaton, where he died October 27, 1886, and
where his widow and five children now reside.
Albert lived in Wayne, and retired to Aurora,
where he died in June, 1886. Harriet Newell
resides in Wheaton with her husband, Charles
Smith. The sixth died at the age of two years.
6 ' S3<"' T ">Lr=i 'S ' a
(DQlLLIAM F. FRANZEN, who is success-
\ A / fu^v engaged in general farming on section
VV ,!4. Addison Township, has spent his en
tire life in DuPage County. He was born in this
township, on the 18th of March, 1861, and is a
son of John H. and Anna C. (Deters) Franzen, who
were both natives of Westphalia, Germany. For
more extended mention of John H. Franzen, see
sketch of B. L- Franzen on another page of this
work. William F. Franzen is the ninth child and
sixth son in a family of ten children, numbering
seven sons and three daughters. Upon the farm
which is still his home the days of his boyhood
and youth were passed midst play and work. He
began his education in the district schools of the
neighborhood, and later attended Wheaton Col
lege, of Wheaton, 111., and pursued a business
course of study in Bryant & Stratton 's Commer
cial College, of Chicago. He has thus been well
fitted by education and training for the practical
duties of life.
On the nth of November, 188 1, in his present
home, Mr. Franzen was united in marriage with

Miss Lillie Kolze, a native of Leyden Township,
Cook County, where her maidenhood days were
passed. Four children have been born of this
union, three sons and a daughter, namely : Henry,
Rosine, Edwin and William F. The parents are
widely and favorably known in the community
and hold an enviable position in social circles.
Mr. Franzen is now the owner of one hundred
and sixty acres of good land and is engaged in
general farming and the dairy business. The
latter yields to him a good income, and in the
former line he is alike successful. His entire life
has been devoted to farm work, and the systematic
way in which he manages his interests has won
him prosperity.
Since attaining to man's estate, Mr. Franzen
has voted with the Republican party and is a
warm advocate of its principles. He has been
honored with a number of local offices, and is now
serving his third term as Trustee of Bensenville,
his home and the greater part of his farm lying
within the corporate limits of that village. His
second re-election to the office attests his faithful
performance of duty and the confidence reposed
in him by his fellow-townsmen. He holds mem
bership with the Evangelical Church, and is
a highly respected citizen, who during his resi
dence here has won the regard of all with whom
business or social relations have brought him in
contact.

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pAPT. JONATHAN GILLETT VAL-
C LETTE, an early resident and prominent
^J citizen of DuPage County, was born in Stock-
bridge, Berkshire County, Mass., on the 7th of
March, 1824. His great-grandfather was a cap
tain in the French navy, and was captured by a
British vessel during the struggle for the posses
sion of the American Colonies. While a prisoner
at Newport, R. I., the latter married an Amer
ican woman named West, who gave birth to a son.
This son, who was named Jeremiah, never knew a
father's "care, as his sire went to France when re
leased, and never returned to his American fam-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

267

ily. The son was reared at Newport, and became
a typical New England Yankee. He married
Phcebe Frisby, and settled at Stockbridge, Mass.,
about 1772. He had two sons — the eldest and
youngest of the family — and seven daughters.
The eldest, John, born in 1744, served as a sol
dier all through the Revolution,- and lived to the
age of" one hundred years. The daughters all at
tained to the age of eighty-seven or more years,
and two reached ninety-eight years.
The youngest son, Jeremiah Vallette, was born
July 4, 1764, near Newport, R. I., and died in
Milton Township, DuPage County, as the result
of an attack of fever, at the age of eighty-four
years. He was a farmer, owning land in Lee and
Stockbridge, and was prominent in the affairs of
his town, being often chosen Selectman. Though
he attended school but three months, he was a well-
informed man, being a constant reader. He began
the study of geography at the age of forty-five,
carrying his textbook to the field to be consulted
at odd moments. In 1838, having retired from
active life, he' came to DuPage County to be with
his children, and died on his farm west of
Wheaton in the fall of 1848. His wife, Abiah
Mott, was a native of Winchester, .Conn. Fol
lowing is a record of their children: Charles
died in Massachusetts at the age of thirty-six
years. Phcebe, Mrs. Sandford H. Manchester,
came with her husband to Milton Township, Du
Page County, in 1839, and after living ou a farm
there many years, died in Wheaton at the age of
eighty-seven, from injuries sustained in a fall.
William became a member of the Rock River
Conference ofthe Methodist Episcopal Church in
1840, and afterward, on account of failing health,
studied medicine. He died in Kansas. Elizabeth,
wife of Daniel Fish, died in Milton Township in
the '50s. Sarah is the widow of Rev. Samuel
W. Smith, residing in Wheaton. John is a resi
dent of Alma, Neb. Abiah was the wife of Eras-
tus Gary (see biography), and Henry F, is an at
torney of Chicago, formerly in practice at Naper
ville, DuPage County. A sketch ofthe youngest
follows: Jonathan G. Vallette was fourteen years old
when the family came to Illinois. He had previ

ously attended the district school and academy at
Stockbridge, and continued his studies in DuPage
County, being part ofthe time under the instruc
tion of his elder brother, with whom he studied
surveying. At twenty-one he began teaching at
Pleasant Hill, where he had been a pupil, and af
terward taught the school at what is now Glen
Ellyn. He was chiefly engaged in farming until
1852, when for many years he made surveying his
principal occupation. He served nine years as
Deputy County Surveyor, and was elected as
principal in that office in 1859, serving altogether,
before, and after the civil war, for twelve years.
He was the first Assessor of Milton Township
under the town organization, and was elected Jus
tice of the Peace in 1858, having previously served
as Constable. He has been a- Notary Public al
most continuously since 1852.
Before the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Val
lette was First Lieutenant in command of a com
pany of artillery militia, numbering forty men, at
Wheaton. He assisted in recruiting the first sixty
men of Company E, Eighth Illinois Cavalry, but
did not go with it because it was not mustered into
the artillery, as he expected. In 1862, he joined
Company D, One Hundred and Fifth Illinois In
fantry, going out as First Sergeant. He was
promoted the following January to Sergeant-Ma
jor of the regiment, and November 2, 1863, passed
a satisfactory examination and was commissioned
Captain of Company D, Fourteenth United States
Volunteers, in which capacity he served until
July, 1865, when he resigned on account of the
close of hostilities. For several months he served
as Recorder of the Court of Claims at Chatta
nooga, Tenn., and for four months previous to the
battle of Nashville was Judge Advocate of Court
Martial. Capt. Vallette was considered a fine
disciplinarian, and was widely known for his
ability to quickly put a squad of men in good
military order.
Iu 1865, Capt. Vallette began a commission
business on the Board of Trade at Chicago, and
continued until 1872, since which time he has been
doing a money-brokerage business in the same
city. With his nephew, J. M. Vallette, of Naper
ville, he made an abstract of DuPage County,

268

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

which they operated ten years, selling out to the
present owner, T. M. Hull. Throughout his ex
tensive acquaintance, he is known as a sound
business man, and an affable, genial gentleman.
He is an active member of the Grand Army of the
Republic and the Wheaton Methodist Episcopal
Church. Ever since its existence, he has been
an adherent ofthe Republican party, as an expo
nent of his ideas ofthe best principles of govern
ment. Capt. Vallette was married in 1848 to Miss
Frances Crosby, a native of Herkimer County,
N. Y. , and daughter of Peter and Abigail (Town-
send) Crosby, of New England descent. Six chil
dren have been given to this union, four of whom
are now living. Emma (Mrs. William H. Stan
ford), and Edward Everett reside at Wheaton.
Charles died at the age of thirty-four years. Jon
athan Herbert, an attorney, is Clerk of the
Courts at Rapid City, S. Dak. William F. is an
insurance inspector at Chicago, residing in
Wheaton. Bertie died at the age often months,
during an epidemic of malignant whooping-
cough.

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(JAY PLATT SMITH, eldest son of Hiram
I Smith (see biography in this work) , was born
Q) at Eagle, Waukesha County, Wis, December
22, 1853. He was but two years old when he
came with his parents to Wheaton, and he re
ceived his education in the public schools and
Wheaton College, attending the last-named insti
tution two years. At nineteen, he left school
and took up house painting, which he followed
five years.
In January, 1877, our subject entered the office
of E. H. & N. E. Gary, in Chicago, and re
mained with the firm until it was dissolved, when
he went with N. E. Gary, in whose employ he still
remains. He does all the work of a lawyer ex
cept to plead, having never applied for admission
to the Bar. He has made himself very valua
ble to his employer, and is associated with him
in the ownership of valuable business property in

Wheaton. Mr. Smith has never mingled in pol-
tics, but adheres to the Republican party. With
the exception of four years, he has lived in Whea
ton ever since he came here as a child.
June 6, 1882, occurred the marriage of Jay P.
Smith and Miss Jennie S. Kelley, daughter of
Daniel Kelley, one of the pioneers of Milton
Township. Mrs. Smith was born two miles north
of Wheaton, in Milton, and has one child, Gene
vieve Fay Smith, born May 7, 1892.
s— • A S<"T"^"B T ' a
RUFUS CORNELIUS GUILD, third son of
Dr. E. C. Guild (see biography of latter for
genealogy), is numbered, among the most
successful young business men of Wheaton. He
was born at Wayne Center, DuPage County, UL,
on the 7th of November, 186 1; and received his
primary education in the district school of that
hamlet. He subsequently attended Elgin Acad
emy and Wheaton College, and engaged in teach
ing for one year. For four years he was Deputy
Postmaster at Bartlett, managing the office for his
father, who was Postmaster. He managed the
homestead farm at Wayne for five years, and his
energy and enterprise made this profitable to all
concerned. His most successful enterprise has
been the conduct of a hotel in Chicago, which he
sold out in the spring of 1893. He is the owner
of a desirable building site on Main Street,
Wheaton, adjoining his father's residence, where
he contemplates the erection of a home.
Mr. Guild was married, in 1886, to Miss Susie
Belle Brown, who was born in Madison, N. Y.,
and is a daughter of James and Affabel (Hender
son) Brown, natives of New York, and of English
and Scotch descent, respectively. The father
died when Mrs. Guild was seven years old, and
the mother when she was but nine, and she came
West with an elder sister. Mr. and Mrs. Guild
are communicants of the College Congregational
Church of Wheaton. They have a son and
daughter, Irma Belle aud Warren Rufus, born
July 5, 1887, and August 15, 1889, respectively.
Mr. Guild is a man of advanced thought and Sen-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

269

timents, and gives his political allegiance to the
Prohibition party, taking care not to hamper his
liberty with pledges to any secret order or society.
He is an independent American citizen, fulfilling
the duties that devolve upon him to the best of
his ability.

i$+£{

m=^

EHARLES CARPENTER, son of William
and Mary (Hollister) Carpenter, was born in
the town of DeWitt, Onondaga County,
N. Y., September 23, 1833. William Carpenter
was born May 1, 1806. He was the son of Ne
hemiah and Anna (Bookout) Carpenter, who
were married February 13, 1782.
Nehemiah Carpenter, who was born June 29,
1757, was a weaver. At the outbreak ofthe Rev
olutionary War he was living on Long Island,
near New York City. When Washington's army
went from Boston to New York to protect the
latter place from attack by the British, Nehemiah
Carpenter, then a lad of nineteen, enlisted, and
fought under Gen. Israel Putnam for American
independence at the battle of Long Island, August
27, 1776. There is no known record of his later
services as a soldier. He died February 24,1832,
at Manlius, N. Y. His wife, Anna Bookout, was
from a Dutch New York family.
Nehemiah Carpenter's father was also named
Nehemiah. He was born in 1731, and died April
25, 182 1. He was also a soldier in the American
Revolution, and was Quartermaster of the " Or
ange County Minutemen," which company was
commissioned January 5, 1776. The following
entries from ' 'Archives of the State of New York,
The Revolution," pp. 197 and 233, give what
is known of his services:
"Carpenter, Nehemiah, Ensign, App'd June
29, '81, to date from June 5, '79, when mustered
as Ensign 5th N. Y., late Qr. Mr. 5th N. Y., re
turned from captivity."
"Carpenter, Nehemiah, Ensign in 5th N. Y.,
as Qr. Mr. Nov. 21, '76, omitted July, '80, June
25, '79, must'd to Jan., '82."
His father was also Nehemiah, and was a
blacksmith. He was born probably about 1700,

and died in 1783, in Orange County, N. Y. His
father was John Carpenter, Jr. , known as "Young
Capt. John." He was born at Jamaica, N. Y.,
about 1654, and died about 1735.
Young Capt. John's father was John Carpen
ter, known as "Old Capt. John," who was born
in England in 1627, and died in 1695. He came
to Americd-f* with his father, William Carpenter.
This William Carpenter was born in England in
1605, and came over from Wherewell, Wiltshire,
England, in the ship "Bevis," in 1638. He
landed at Rehoboth, Mass. He was a carpenter
by trade. Besides his children, he brought with
him to America his aged father, also named Will
iam. The children of Nehemiah and Anna Carpen
ter were: Nehemiah, born August 13, 1798, who
died May 24, 1825; Vliet, born July 2, 1801, who
died about 1884; Nancy, born January 18, 1804,
who died January 4, 1815; and William, born
May 1, 1806, who died May 7, 1875.
William Carpenter and Mary Hollister were
married January 19, 1832. Their children were:
Charles, born September 23, 1833; Hubert, born
February 8, 1837, and who died May 6, 1864;
and Abiah, born September 22, 1838.
William Carpenter, the father of the subject of
our sketch, was a successful farmer. He was
known as a man who had the courage of his con
victions. For many years he was a member of
the Presbyterian Church. Early in the agitation
against slavery, Mr. Carpenter became an Aboli
tionist. This doctrine at that time was an un
popular one. He attempted to work a reforma
tion in his own church in its attitude toward
slavery. The members did not yield easily, and
he finally called them sharply to account for what
he considered to be an inconsistency- between their
doctrine and their performances. The result was
that he was expelled from the church.
Mary Hollister, his wife, was born January 2,
1 80 1, and died March 28, 1846. She was a de
scendant of Lieut. John Hollister, of Wethersfield,
Conn., who came to America from England about
1642. He was of good family and well educated,
and immediately became one of the most noted
and influential men of Wethersfield and of Con-

270

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

necticut Colony, and held both civil and military
positions of importance for many years. He died
in April, 1665. His second residence, an unusu
ally fine one for the times, still stands on the land
he owned. His wife, Joanna, was a daughter of
Hon. Richard Treat, Sr., one ofthe first settlers
and most prominent men of Connecticut Colony.
Robert Treat, her brother, was for many years
Governor of Connecticut.
The succession descends through John Hollister,
Jr. (born in 1644, died in 171 i),who married Sarah
Goodrich, who came from one of the first families
of Connecticut; thence through Joseph Hollister,
(born July 8, 1674, died July 9, 1746).; thence
through Capt. Timothy Hollister, who was En
sign in 1742, and Captain in 1750, of the Twelfth
Company of the Sixth Regiment of the Colony,
and who, with his eldest son, Joseph, was killed
by the Indians at Wyoming Flats, Pa. , October
15, 1763; and thence through Asa Hollister
(born December 9, 1758, died April 16, 1839),
who moved to America, Dutchess County, N. Y.,
in 1781, where he died. He was a mason.
William Carpenter moved to Dry den, Tompkins
County, N. Y., when Charles was a child, and
there the latter grew up. He had about the us
ual experiences of farmer boys, with hard work
during the summer and some schooling during the
winter. As soon as old enough he began teach
ing school. In February, 1857, he went to Chi
cago, where he obtained employment for a time.
But the financial crash of that year came and he
was out. He worked as a book-keeper during
the winter of 1857 and 1858, and at anything he
could get during the following summer. In the
fall ofthe latter year he came to Downer's Grove
and taught school here during the winter of 1858
and 1859. Not finding satisfactory employment,
he went to Missouri in the fall of 1859 and taught
school for nearly a year, but as the political cam
paign then became too hot for a Northern man,. he
came back to Downer's Grove in the fall of i860,
and taught again during the winter of i860 and
1861. When Sumter was fired upon, Mr. Carpenter
enlisted, in April, 1861, and was mustered into
the service May 24, 1861, for three years, in Capt.

Walter Blanchard' s company (K) of the Thir
teenth Illinois Infantry, at Dixon, 111. He
shared the usual vicissitudes of the soldier in the
ranks. The regiment moved from Dixon to
Caseyville, 111., and thence to Rolla, Mo. Here it
stayed several months guarding the town and the
railroad. That this monotonous, trying service
was not unimportant or unappreciated, is shown
by what Gen. Lyon said, as follows:
' 'As this line (Southwest Branch of the Pacific
Railroad) has become the most important in the
whole State,, and as it is threatened by hostile
bands under Gen. McBride and others, it has been
deemed best to place it under the command of
Col. Wyman, Thirteenth Illinois Volunteers."
The regiment's reputation is shown by what
Adjt.-Gen. Harding said to Gen. Lyon: "Wy-
man's is a splendid regiment, and I am trying to
get other troops to supply his place and send him
forward. ' ' But the Thirteenth was glad when fi
nally, the order to move came.
The march of Gen. Curtis' army from Rolla,
Mo., to Helena, Ark., in which the Thirteenth
took part, was remarkable in many respects, and
as a test of soldierly qualities and endurance, was
much more severe than Sherman's march to the
sea. The distance actually covered was twelve
hundred miles. At one time the army was not
heard from for five weeks. The country was'
rough and poor, hardly affording subsistence for
its own scattering population. Often the supply-
trains were stuck in the mud miles behind the main
army, and thus the rations were short. For in
stance, a diary said: " To-day we had but a small
piece of corn bread to the man, and nothing to
cook for supper. ' ' The following quotation from
the same diary gives an inkling of what the sol
diers suffered: .
" Left camp at 2 A. m. and made one of the
longest, hardest marches ever known. The sun
was scorching and the dust blinding. There were
few wells on the route, and we were parched with
thirst. One and even two dollars were offered for
a canteen of water, but money was no object.
Men would stay for hours at a well, till all the
troops had passed, before they could fill their can
teens. For thirty-two miles we toiled on, and
then found a small, filthy lake in a cypress swamp,-
near which we pitched our tents. We were ready

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

271

to rest here, and most of us, too tired to eat, threw
ourselves on the ground, and only arose at reveille.
. the' next morning. ' '
But finally Helena was reached. Here the reg
iment did garrison duty for several months, the
only changes being skirmishes with the enemy
and scouting and foraging expeditions.
On December 20, 1862, they left Helena to go
down the Mississippi River to form a partof Gen.
Sherman's army that was to attack Vicksburg.
December 28 and 29 they were in the thick of the
battle of Chickasaw Bayou. The fighting on the
28th was not decisive. Late in the afternoon of
that day Gen. F. P. Blair ordered the Thirteenth
to cross the bayou, saying, ' 'I'll see if you can stand
mud and water as well as you can stand fire. ' ' The
crossing was made, but darkness came on and
stopped further forward movement, and the regi
ment withdrew. Early on the day of the 29th the
Thirteenth formed a portion of the body of troops
that made one of the bravest charges of the war,
— across the bayou and up the heights guarded
by the rebels. They captured the first set of
rebel intrenchments and would have carried the
rest, if the attack from the rear by other forces,
which was a part of the scheme, had not failed.
In this charge Mr. Carpenter was captured. The
circumstances of the capture are told by Chaplain
Needham, of the Thirteenth, on page 634 of the
history of that regiment, as follows:
" I record it with pride that those of us who
were captured at Chickasaw Bayou fell into the
enemy's hands because, obeying the first order to
"Charge," and not hearing the counter-order,
' ' Retreat, ' ' we pressed forward through the dense
. smoke of the enemy's artillery till beyond the
reach of support. Surrounded by the enemy, the
few of us who were left alive had no alternative
but to surrender singly or in small squads to a
triumphant enemy before and behind. ' '
The prisoners were taken into Vicksburg, where
they remained until January 31. Thence they
went to Jackson, Miss., where they stayed until
March 13, when they were turned over to Gen.
Banks, then commanding at New Orleans. In
these rebel prisons they suffered the usual treat
ment accorded to Union- prisoners. They were
robbed of all they had, starved, frozen and neg
lected.

Mr. Carpenter had been wounded in the hand,
and was, one of his comrades says, a thoroughly
lugubrious looking man as he stood in the rebel
enclosure, trying to attend to his bleeding mem
ber and reflecting on the prospect before him.
But that he was still really full of fight is shown
by the following occurrence: Said a rebel officer
to him : ' ' Have you not got enough of this ? ' '
The instant answer was: "We expect to come
back and try it over again as soon as we can."
This was not what the rebel expected, and he
could only express his disgust by saying: " You
are a d  fool. ' '
The uncompromising loyalty of the men of the
Thirteenth is shown by the fact that some of the
weak-kneed Union prisoners tried to organize a
movement to take some sort of an oath and get
released, but that they did not dare even to ask
the Thirteenth people if they wanted to come in.
They knew what their answer yrould be. The
latter part of April they were put on board ship
and sent to New York. Thence they went to
Annapolis, Md., and to St. Louis, Mo., where the
camp for paroled prisoners was situated. Mr.
Carpenter, not liking the prospect of lying in a
camp indefinitely as a paroled prisoner, came to
Downer's Grove, where he arrived May 24, 1863,
j list two years from the date of his muster into
service. On May 27, 1863, Mr. Carpenter was married
to Mary Blanchard, they having been engaged
for some time before the breaking out of the war.
He was shortly afterward assigned to duty as Re
porter to the military courts then in session in
St. Louis. This service was valuable, civilians
being paid $70 per week for it. Mr. Carpenter
as a private soldier received $13 per month, and
was kept at St. Louis in that work until the reg
iment was mustered out, June 18, 1864.
For several months thereafter our subject re
ported for the military- courts in St. Louis, on
orders from the War Department. The winter of
1865-1866 he reported the Kentucky Legislature
at Frankfort for the Louisville Journal. Later
he came North, taught school for several years,
and finally went back to reporting. He has lived

272

PORTRAIT AND RIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in Downer's Grove continuously since 1868, and
is still a court reporter in Chicago.
Not having been a politician, unless having al
ways voted Republican tickets makes our subject
one, he has never held public office except as
Village Clerk, member ofthe Village Board, and
for a number of years School Director and mem
ber ofthe Board of Education.
Charles Carpenter and Mary (Blanchard) Car
penter had the following children: Walter Hu
bert, born February 10, 1865; William Mon
telle, born October 15, 1866; Charles Vliet, born
September 9, 1868; Carrie Mariam, born March
10, 1872, who died December 5, 1879; and Nehe
miah, born August 26, 1876, who died August
30, 1877. These children are proud of being de
scendants of or closely connected with many men
who considered it to be their duty to support the
Government with arms on numerous occasions.
Their father was a soldier in the Rebellion, their
mother's father was a soldier in the Rebellion, as
were her two brothers and eight of her uncles and
cousins on her mother's side. Their father's
« brother, Hubert Carpenter, was First Lieutenant
of Company E, Seventy-sixth New York In
fantry, and Adjutant of the regiment. Their
maternal great-grandfather was a soldier in the
War of 181 2, and three of his older brothers were
minutemen and fought at Lexington, the first
battle of the Revolution. Their paternal great
grandfather was a soldier under Washington and
Putnam in the Revolution, and their great-great
grandfather was Ensign and Quartermaster in
the Revolution.
Walter H. Carpenter has taught school for a
number of years, in Illinois and Missouri. He is
unmarried, and is still teaching school.
William M. has a responsible position in the fi
nancial department of a large corporation in Chi
cago. He married Florrie M. Schofield, of
Downer's Grove, July 7, 1888. They had two
children: Hubert Montelle, born June 16, 1889;
and Ella Blanchard, born December 19, 1890.
Mrs. Carpenter died November 10, 1893.
obituary. November 17, 1893.
Died at her pleasant home in our village, Flor

rie, wife of W. M. Carpenter and daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. L. G. Schofield, in the twenty-sev
enth year of her age. Mrs. Carpenter had been
suffering for some time from a difficulty that had
affected her nervous system. It was hoped that
it would yield to treatment, but she had an attack
of acute meningitis that caused her death last
Friday, November 10. Funeral services were
held at the house last Sunday afternoon, con
ducted by Rev. J. C. Myers. Beautiful in life, she
was also so in death. The flowers that bedecked her
coffin were fit emblems of her purity. After five
years of happy married life, she left a home deso
late, with a devoted husband and two children to
mourn her loss. — Downer's Or ave Reporter .
C. Vliet is Private Secretary to the General
Manager of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad. He married Gussie A. Seidler, Octo
ber 29, 1890. They have one child, Brian Vliet
Montelle, who was born September 8, 1891.
Mary (Blanchard) Carpenter died April 1, 1893.
The following may , be appropriately quoted in
this connection: April 7, 1893.
A little more than two weeks ago Mary (Blanch
ard) Carpenter left here to visit her sister, Mrs.
Dearmond, at Fairfax, Mo. Mrs. Carpenter had
been an invalid for some time, but all expected to
see her back again improved. The change seemed
to do her good. Friday noon she wrote to those
at home that, ' ' on the whole, ' ' she was better.
But the same afternoon, while letters from her
children were being read to her, she was suddenly
attacked by a stupor, from which she did not
rally. Death came at 8.40 p. m., Saturday, April
1. One son was at the bedside at Fairfax, and
the husband and two other sons were hurrying to
her as fast as steam could carry them.
Mrs. Carpenter had often said that she wished
to die without warning or long suffering, and her
wish was granted. One of her sons had been
away from home for some months, and she had
been pining to see him. But a few days before
her death they had spent some time together.
Although away from home, she was with others
who loved her, and was happy and contented.
The summons came unexpectedly, and amidst her
happiness and content, and while she was listen
ing to messages from her dear ones, she passed
from the life here to the life everlasting withput
warning or suffering.
Mrs. Carpenter was an old settler here. The
daughter of Capt. Walter Blanchard, who was so
well and honorably known here before and dur-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

273

ing the war, she was born on the 20th of May,
1836, at Yates, Orleans County, N. Y. Her
mother was Mariam (Daniels) Blanchard. She
came to Downer's Grove in 1838, and has lived
here ever since, amidst her family and relatives,
except for the time she spent East at school and
South during and after the war.
May 27, 1863, she was married to Charles Car
penter at Downer's Grove. Living only for her
husband and children, she was all that a wife and
mother should be — and what more than this
be said ? — Downer's Grove Reporter.

can

April 14, 1893.
Comrades of Naper Post: — Once more death
has claimed one of our nearest and dearest friends,
one related to us by near and dear ties, a daugh
ter of a soldier, the wife of a soldier, the sister of
soldiers, and one who was always the warm friend
of a soldier, and in view of these facts it seems
right and proper that this Post do adopt the fol
lowing resolutions:
Whereas: It has pleased Divine Providence
to remove by death the esteemed and beloved wife
of Charles Carpenter, therefore,
Resolved: That we tender to our bereaved com
rade and his family, and to the brothers whose
sister has passed on to that better land, our heart
felt sympathies for them in their bereavement.
We all share in the great loss which you have
sustained, but we hope to meet her again when
parting shall be no more.
One day we shall find,
In the limitless dome,
The beautiful home
Of our loved ones gone.

T. S. Rogers,
Commander.

G. S. Hughes, Adjutant.
-Downer's Grove Reporter.

death of mrs. charles carpenter.
May 25, 1893.
Whereas: The sacrifices of our noble Union
women were scarcely less instrumental in the sup
pression of the Great Rebellion than were
those of the patriots who shouldered the musket
and marched to the front in 1861; and
Whereas: These patriot mothers, wives, sis
ters and daughters, with the dying veterans, are
also fast passing away; therefore,
Resolved, That the association of the surviving
veterans of the Thirteenth Regiment Illinois In
fantry has heard with profound sorrow of the
death of Mrs. Charles Carpenter, and as her pres

ence while living always brought cheer and in
spiration to our reunions and camp-fires, may our
united sympathies serve to dispel, somewhat, the
shadow hanging over Comrade Carpenter's deso
late home, and the hearts of himself and kindred
be strengthened and sustained in their great af
fliction. And be it further
Resolved, That as death carries memory with it
to the grave, the virtues of our loved ones lost
should go into recorded history, so as not to be
forgotten; and that the death of our patriot wo
men should find its appropriate record alongside
that of the veteran soldier. — The Evening Tele
graph, Dixon, 111.

-S3.

"SJ

^f^

"B"

P QlLLIAM GEORGE SMITH, Police Mag-
\ A / istrate °f Wheaton, is among the early and
V V honored residents of DuPage County. His
ancestors were English, and connected by mar
riage with the Chase family of that kingdom,
from whom an estate was left to heirs in this
country, on condition that they produce the coat
of arms as evidence of heirship. This had been "
given to children to play with, and was lost before
its value was known. William Smith, grand
father of the subject of this sketch, was born in
Lenox, Mass., and lived there until seventy-five
years old, when he went to Vermont, and died
there at the age of eighty-seven years, about
1833. He was a cousin of John Cotton Smith,
Governor of Connecticut. His children were
Benson, John C. and Rebecca. The latter mar
ried a man named Rowley, and was left a widow
at Shoreham, Vt., where she resides with three
children. Benson lived and died at West Haven,
Vt. John C. Smith, born' in Berkshire County,
Mass., in 1778, settled in West Haven, Rutland
County, Vt. , where he was killed by a tree he
was felling, March 4, 1828. His wife, Julia
Hitchcock, born in Connecticut, was a daughter
of Zachariah and Mercy ( Byington) Hitchcock,
of Scotch and English descent. John C. and
Julia Smith were the parents of ten children, one
of whom died at the age of two years. Emeline,
wife of Levi Barber, died in Elgin, 111. Isaac H.

274

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

died in New York City; and Mary Ann, Mrs.
Timothy Lanphere, lived in West Haven, and
died there on the 4th of March, 1850. John B.
was a wholesale grocer and leather- dealer in
Montreal, where he died, and William G. is the
next. Charles H. was Marshal of San Jose, Cal.,
and was stabbed to death by a desperado Whom
he had in custody, March 4, 1852. Annah, wife
of Linus Cutts, died in Northfield, Minn. Julia
C. is the widow of Russell Manville, residing in
Winfield Township, DuPage County, and Rufus
K. was lost at sea on a fishing-vessel, while on a
voyage for his health, March 4, 1845. March 4
is a fateful date in this family.
William G. Smith was born in West Haven,
Rutland County, Vt., September 6, 1816, and
was but twelve years old when his father died.
From this time he maintained himself, and had
little opportunity to attend school. He*worked
at farm labor until he was sixteen years old, and
then went into a store at Fairhaven. Here his
employer was burned out, and he went to Castle
ton, where he was employed in the same capacity.
For a year and a-half he was employed in the
hotel of James K. Hyde, well known throughout
Vermont as a rural resort. He then became, a
* peddler, and sold notions, and later clocks, through
New England and in Canada.
In the spring of 1837, our subject went to
Lewis County, N. Y., and engaged in various oc
cupations. He kept a grocery, and for two years
traveled for a wholesale grocery-house. He also
operated a flax-mill for a time, and again dealt in
butter and cheese, and other produce. For three
years he was Deputy Sheriff and Constable in that
county. In the mean time he took up the study
of law, but was compelled to abandon it through
weakness of his eyes. At Leyden, N. Y., Janu
ary 9, 1844, he married Catharine Miller, who
died, childless, sixteen months later. In 1846
he went to White Hall, N. Y., and engaged in the
grocery business. On the 18th of July, the fol
lowing year, he was again married, the bride be
ing Mary E. Manville, a native of that town,
daughter of Daniel and Jerusha (Hurlburt) Man
ville, of old New England families, and born in
Connecticut, the former at Woodbury. In 1848

he visited Illinois, and tilled a piece of land near
Warrenville through the summer. Returning to
New York, he sailed on the steamer ' ' John Gil
pin " two years.
In 1853 Mr. Smith became a permanent resi
dent of Illinois, and three years later bought a
piece of land near Huntley, McHenry County,
which he tilled five years, and afterward lived
three years at Warrenville. In the mean time he
continued reading law, and began practicing in
justice courts. Since 1864 he has been a resident
of Wheaton, and in 1867 he was admitted to the
Bar of the Circuit Court. He continued in prac
tice until 1885, when he was compelled by failing
health to retire. He was State's Attorney from
1872 to 1876. While a resident of Huntley, he
served as Assessor, and was for two years Coroner
of McHenry County, from 1858-60. For over thir
ty years he has been a Notary Public, and is now
filling his fourth term as Justice of the Peace. He
has been for forty years a member of the Method
ist Church, is a Master Mason, and has sustained
the Republican party since its organization, in
which he took an active part. While in the prac
tice of law, Mr. Smith did an extensive business,
and possessed the confidence of a large constitu
ency. While assisting the Sheriff to arrest an
insane man, one day in June, 1876, Mr. Smith re
ceived a blow on the head from a stone in the
hand of the prisoner, and this resulted, four years
later, in a severe stroke of apoplexy, which com
pelled him to resign from active participation in
trials, and he resigned his law business in the
capacity of attorney. He is the agent and re
porter of several collection agencies, and does a
quiet business, which occupies a mind that could
not be content to remain idle.
Mr. Smith is a thorough type of the New Eng
land American, and a kindly, genial man, to meet
whom is a pleasure. He is possessed of a large^
frame, with commanding presence, and his benev
olent face, framed in the white hair and beard of
seventy-seven years, is the index of a contented
mind, the result of a life well spent. Of his three
children, two are now living, namely: Susan P.
and Charles B., both residents of Wheaton, the
former being the wife of Capt. J. J. Cole. Viola

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

275

M. , born in White Hall July 22, 1848, died at the
age of eight years. After forty-six years of life
together, Mr. and Mrs. Smith are still permitted
to pursue the even tenor of conjugal life, in the
midst of their children and grandchildren.

-S3.

^3

^H^

B^

. UGENE W. FARRAR, an honored pioneer
'y of DuPage County, was born in what is
__ now Downer's Grove, July 24, 1835, and his
home is still in this town. His parents, Luther
and Emeline (Stanley) Farrar, were natives of
Pennsylvania, and the father was of French ex
traction. They had only two children, Eugene W. ,
and Judson W., who enlisted for the late war in
September, 1862, as a private of Company E,
Eighth Illinois Cavalry. His death resulted from
a wound made by a cannon ball at the battle
of Beverly Ford, and his remains were brought
back to this county, and interred in Stanley
Cemetery. The father was a hatter by trade,
and in 1835 came to Illinois, locating on a tract
of land which had previously been located by his
wife. He there erected a log cabin, one mile
west of Downer's Grove, but was not long per
mitted to enjoy his new home, for he died in May,
1836, and was the first person buried in Stanley
Cemetery. In the previous October he had se
lected the site for the cemetery, little thinking he
should be the* first laid there. His wife had
come to this county with her brothers and par
ents in 1835. After her husband's death she
continued on the old homestead, and later was
married to Hiram Standish, by whom she had
four children: Julia A., wife of Walter Shepherd;
Emma, wife of Samuel Barr; Eveline, wife of
William Blanchard; and Edward. The mother
was one of the first school teachers in this coun
ty, and was a refined and cultured lady, who had
the respect of all who knew her. She was a
member of the Presbyterian Church, and died in
1847, being laid to rest by the side of Mr. Far
rar. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch
was the first white child born in Downer's Grove

Township, his birth occurring in a log cabin,
then the only house on the site of the town. He
grew to manhood on his father's farm, and early
became familiar with farm life in all its details.
His educational privileges were those that could
be obtained in a log schoolhouse. He can well
remember the Indians who lived in the neighbor
hood, and the unsettled condition of the county
at that time. In 1850, at the age of fifteen, he
left home and went to Harford, Pa. , to live with
relatives, there remaining three years, during
which time he clerked in a store and attended
school for one year. In 1853, he returned to
Downer's Grove, and began working as a farm
hand. In 1855, we find him in Chicago, where
he worked in a hotel for a time, and then spent
one year as second mate on the Lakes. Once
more returning to this county, he worked at gen
eral labor until the breaking out of the late war,
when he entered the service of his country.
Hardly had the struggle commenced, when, on
the 14th of May, 1861, Mr. Farrar joined the
boys in blue of Company K, Thirteenth Illinois
Infantry, for three months' service, and on the
24th of the same month he enlisted for three
years. He was mustered in at Dixon, 111., going
to St. Louis, and thence to Rolla, Mo. From
there the regiment went to Linn Creek, join
ing Fremont's command, and accompanying them
to Springfield, that State. The first important
engagement in which he participated was at
Chickasaw Bayou. He afterwards took part in
the battle of Arkansas Post, Jackson, Miss., and
the entire siege of Vicksburg. At twelve o'clock
ou the night following the surrender, the troops
started for Jackson, and participated in the bat
tle at that place and the engagements at Meridian,
Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and Ring
gold, Ga. He was mustered into service as
Corporal, and when mustered out was Sergeant.
After three years of faithful service, he received
an honorable discharge, June 28, 1864.
Mr. Farrar at once returned home, and in the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad office
learned telegraphy. He was first appointed
operator at Hinsdale, but after a few months was
transferred to Downer's Grove, where he served

276

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

as agent and operator for ten years. A year and
a-half was then spent elsewhere, after which we
again find him in Downer's Grove, filling the
same office, which he then held continuously until
1 88 1, when he embarked in merchandising. For
three years he carried on operations along that
line, and since that time has been a contract
painter. On the 10th of December, 1864, Mr. Farrar
married Miss Martha J. Carpenter, who was also
born in Downer's Grove, and is a daughter of
Henry and Martha (Blanchard) Carpenter. Seven
children have been born of this union: Adelaide,
wife of David E. McKee; Luther C, Walter,
Archie C, Edith, Floyd J. and Lynn H; All
are still living, and, with the exception of the eld
est daughter, are yet with their parents. The
family is well known in this community and their
friends throughout the neighborhood are many.
In his social relations, Mr. Farrar is a Mason.
He is also connected with the Grand Army of
the Republic, and is Past Commander of the post
at Downer's Grove. His wife holds membership
with the Congregational Church. In politics,
he has long been a supporter of the Republican
party. For a great many years he has been
President of the School Board, and has also served
as Township Collector and Clerk. The confi
dence and trust reposed in him are indicated by his
long continuance in the important office connected
with the educational interests of the community.
8— #$+£

B"

(JOHN M. WELLS, notary public, real-estate
I dealer and insurance agent of Downer's
O Grove, claims England as the land of his
birth. He was born in West Walton, on the
30th of November, 1848, and his parents, Robert
and Sarah (Manning) Wells, were also natives of
the same country. There eight children were
born unto them, four sons and four daughters, of
whom John is the sixth in order of birth. In
1856, the father and his family left England and
crossed the broad Atlantic to America, locating
first in New York. On the 28th of August,

1862, he entered the service of his adopted coun
try and was assigned to Company B, One Hun
dred and Forty-sixth Infantry. He enlisted for
three years, but on the 19th of August, 1863, ori
account of disability caused by a wound received
in battle, he was discharged. His death occurred
in Rome, N. Y. , when about sixty years of age.
His wife died near Clyde, 111., at the home of
her daughter, when seventy-three years of age.
John M. Wells remained under the parental
roof until a youth of fourteen, when, in 1852, he
came with his brother to the New World and
took up his residence in Downer's Grove Town
ship, DuPage County, 111. During the summer
months he worked as a farm hand, and in the
winter season he attended the district schools of
the neighborhood. Subsequently he worked at
brick-making for a time, and on abandoning that
pursuit entered the employ of Thomas Lyman,
with whom he remained a number of years as
manager of his stock farm. In 1890, he opened
the real-estate office which he still conducts.
On the 18th of April, 1871, was celebrated the
marriage of Mr. Wells and Miss Arvilla Bond, of
Naperville. Their union has been blessed with
a family of five children, four of whom are still
living at this writing, in the winter of 1893,
namely: William R., who is employed in the gen
eral office of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad in Chicago; Walter E., who follows car
pentering; and Charles H. and Amy June, who are
attending the home school. Gracie M. died at
the age of five years.
In his political views, Mr. Wells is a Republi
can, and warmly advocates the principles of his
party. Socially, he is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America, also the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, in which he holds the office of
Financier, and his wife is a member of the Bap
tist Church, to ' the support of which Mr. Wells
makes liberal contributions. He is a public-spir
ited and progressive citizen, who is ever found in
the front rank of any enterprise calculated to
prove of public benefit. His business career has
been one of constant progress, broadening and
deepening continually. As he had no capital or
special privileges, he began in an humble posi-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

277

tion, but is now at the head of a good real-estate
business. He has lived a quiet life, free from os
tentation and display, but is well liked, having a
large circle of warm friends.

=3

^B^

^=i

WILLIAM J. HERRING, a member of the
firm of Herring & Dailey, contractors and
builders of Downer's Grove, is one of the
worthy citizens that England has furnished to
this community. He was born in West Walton,
Norfolk, on Christmas Eve of 1852, and is the
eldest in a family of four children, three sons and
a daughter, all of whom are still living in the Old
Country save our subject. The parents are Rob
ert and Ann (Reader) Herring, who are also na
tives of West Walton. The father has been a
contractor during the greater part of his life, but
is now living retired at Newark, on the Trent.
He has reached the age of seventy-two years,
arid his wife is now sixty-two years of. age.
Midst play and work, Mr. Herring of this
sketch spent his youth. He also attended the
common schools, where he acquired a good Eng
lish education. With the desire to seek a home
in America and try his fortune in this land of
promise, he bade adieu to home and friends at the
age of seventeen years and crossed the Atlantic.
He came at once to DuPage County, 111. , and for
two years worked as a farm hand in Downer's
Grove Township. He then went to Chicago,
where he learned the carpenter's trade with
Thomas Clark, a large contractor located on the
west side of that city. There he followed car
pentering until the spring of 1877, which year
witnessed his removal to Howard County, Iowa.
In that State he worked at carpentering, and also
engaged in farming, until the fall of 1881, when
he removed to Cass, 111. One year was spent at
carpenter work at that place, and in 1882 he
came to Downer's Grove, forming a partner
ship with Mr. Dailey. As contractors and build
ers they began operations, and their patronage has
steadily increased, until they now do an extensive
business. They also run a planing-mill here.

An important event in the life of Mr. Herring
occurred July 19, 1876, when was celebrated his
marriage with Miss Maria Batterham, who came
to America from England when a child. Their
union has been blessed with three sons and three
daughters, and five of the family are still living,
namely: Annie M., Paul W., Earl J., Ralph B.
and Bessie. Grace P., the fourth child, died at
the age of three years.
Socially, Mr. Herring is connected with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. In his po
litical views, he was a Republican until 1887, but
now supports the Prohibition party, for he is a
warm advocate of temperance principles. For a
number of years, he has been a faithful member
and an active worker iu the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and has filled nearly all its offices. He
has served as Superintendent of the Sunday-
school for several years, and does all in his power
to upbuild the cause of Christianity. Educational
and moral interests find in him a friend, and he is
a charitable and benevolent man. Mr. Herring
need never regret his emigration to America, for
here he has found a pleasant home and many
friends, and has succeeded in building up an ex
tensive business.
@— * * ^^ If £[^ v ' 2
WON. ROBERT A. CHILDS resides in Hins
dale, and is the popular Member of Congress
from this district. His career has been an
exemplary one, and his advancement in life is due
to merit and personal effort. The history of Du
Page County would be incomplete without this
record of his life. He was born in Malone,
Franklin County, N. Y., March 22, 1845, and is
a son of George and Calista (Cofren) Childs, the
former a native of New York, and the latter of
Maine. They had four sons and two daughters,
but only three are now living: Cory-don, of Ocon-
omowoc, Wis. ; Ida, wife of Dr. Charles De
Garino, President of Swarthmore College, of
Swarthmore, Pa.; and Robert A., of this sketch.
The father was a Methodist minister, and in 1853
left Franklin County, N. Y., removing to Wis-

278

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

consin. He settled near Chemung, where he en
gaged in farming and preaching as a circuit- rider.
He afterwards removed to McHenry County, 111.,
settling near Marengo, and about 1856 took up his
residence near Belvidere, in Boone County, where
in the same year his wife died. In 1858, he went
to Pike's Peak in search of gold, and thence to
California, where his death occurred in 1871. He
was born June 11, 1812.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, Jacob
Childs, was born in New York, and was of Eng
lish descent. He served in the War of 1812, and
died when past the age of ninety. His wife lived
to be more than eighty years of age. The ma
ternal grandfather, Robert Cofren, was born in
Maine, as were his ancestors for several genera
tions, but the family originated in Scotland. He,
too, was a farmer, and met his death by accident
when about seventy years of age.
After the death of his mother, Robert A. Childs
went to live with one of her cousins. He made a
living by working as a farm hand at a very mea
gre salary, and was occasionally permitted to at
tend the district schools in winter. When the
war broke out he was working on a farm at $9
per month. Although only sixteen years of age,
he entered the service of his country. Hardly
had the smoke of Ft. Sumter's guns cleared
away, when he joined Company B, Fifteenth Illi
nois Infantry, and served for more than four years,
or until the close of the war. In 1861, his regi
ment was campaigning in Missouri, and later he
was under Grant at the battles of Fts. Henry and
Donelson, the battle of Shiloh, the siege of Cor
inth and the battle of the Hatchie. He joined in
the Grant campaign against Vicksburg, going by
way of the Mississippi River, Young's Point,
Grand Gulf, Raymond, and the Big Black River,
and then participated in the siege and capture of
Vicksburg. He aided in the campaign against
Jackson under Sherman, the Meridan campaign
and the Atlanta campaign, including the battles
of Missionary Ridge, Big Shanty and Resaca, and
the various flank movements that resulted in the
capture of Atlanta. He went with Sherman on
the celebrated march to the sea, participated in
the campaign through the Carolinas and Virginia,

and the Grand Review of the victorious army in
Washington, May 24, 1865. Although so young,
no braver soldier wore the blue than Mr. Childs,
and his army record is one ofwhich he may well
be proud.
After his return from the war, Mr. Childs re
turned to Belvidere, 111., and attended its public
schools for two years. He was ambitious to ac
quire a good education, and entered the State
Normal University, from which he was graduated
in 1870, after which he was appointed Superin
tendent of the schools of Amboy*-, where he taught
from 1870 until 1873. He then went to Chicago
and began the practice of law, for during his lei
sure hours he had applied himself diligeritly to its
study and had been admitted to the Bar. He is
now a practitioner in all the State and Federal
Courts, and has won an enviable reputation among
prominent attorneys.
On the 24th of December, 1873, Mr. Childs
wedded Miss Mary E., daughter of William and
Helen E. (Lester) Coffeen. Five children have
been born unto them, Lester C. and William R. ,
who are in the preparatory school of Beloit, Wis. ;
George W., John and Kent. The parents are
members of the Congregational Church of Hins
dale. They have a pleasant home here, which is
the abode of hospitality, and here they have spent
their entire wedded life. Mr. Childs also owns a
farm in the town of Lyons and a tract of land
near Hinsdale.
For many years our subject has been a Mason.
He also belongs to the Royal Arcanum, Naper
Post, G. A. R., and the Royal League. In poli
tics, he is a Republican, and a stalwart advocate
of the principles of that party. During his twenty
years' residence in Hinsdale, he has served as
President of its School Board for sixteen years,
and has done effective service in the cause of edu
cation, which he believes to be one of the import
ant factors of good citizenship. After the re-ap
portionment of the State into Congressional Dis
tricts, as based upon the census of 1880, DuPage
County was placed for the first time in the Eighth
Congressional District, consisting of DuPage,
Kendall, Grundy, LaSalle and Will Counties.
The delegates from DuPage County first came into

Charles Fox.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

281

Congressional Convention with the new district
in June, 1882, when the nomination was tendered
to Mr. Childs, but declined for the reason that he
was unable to leave his professional work and
was unwilling to accept a nomination which he
deemed as accidental. In 1884, he was Presiden
tial Elector for the same district on the Blaine
and Logan ticket and was elected by over twenty-
five thousand majority.
In 1892, Mr. Childs was nominated as Con
gressman from the Eighth District, and his merit,
popularity, and fitness for the position won him
election. It is needless to say that in the House
he works for the best interests of his constituents,
for those who know him — and he has a wide ac
quaintance — know that he is ever wide-awake to
the best interests of county, State and country.
He is a lawyer of more than average ability, and
is serving in his present position of honor with
credit to himself and satisfaction to his constit
uents. Mr. Childs was one of the leading advocates of
the water- works, paving and sewerage systems of
Hinsdale, and has been President of the Hinsdale
Club. He is in touch with every enterprise cal
culated to upbuild and benefit the community.
He was a loyal soldier to his country in days of
war, and is alike true in times of peace. He dis
likes flattery, but deserved compliment is not flat
tery, and it is but just that in the record of his
life which will be handed down to future genera
tions mention should be made of his merits,worth
and ability, which have won him the enviable po
sition which he to-day occupies.

EHARLES FOX is a real-estate dealer residing
in Hinsdale, and is one of the oldest settlers
of this place, in fact, he broke the first ground
within its borders, for the site upon which the
town now stands was formerly his father's farm.
He is therefore a representative of one of the hon
ored pioneer families of the county. Boni in
•Dorset, Bennington County, Vt., May 14, 1837,

he is a son of Marvin and Amy (Andrus) Fox,
who were also natives of the Green Mountain
State. The paternal grandfather, William Fox,
was also born in Vermont, and was one of the
heroes of the Revolution. Pie reared a family of
ten children, and died on the 17th of February,
1822, at the age of sixty-one years and seven
months. The maternal grandfather, Lincoln An
drus, spent his entire life in his native State, Ver
mont, and followed the occupation of farming.
Marvin Fox, the father of our subject, was also
an agriculturist. In 1852 he came to Illinois,' lo
cating in Fullersburg, where he spent his remain
ing days, his death occurring June 11, 1889, at
the advanced age of ninety-four years. His wife
passed away November 28, 1884, at the age of
seventy-nine. This worthy couple had ten chil
dren, five sons and five daughters, of whom five
are now living, as follows: Dr. George M., Jarvis,
Charles, Hernan M., and Ellen, widow of John
Hamble, and a resident of Fullersburg.
In taking up the history of Charles Fox, we
present to our readers the life record of one who
is widely and favorably known in this community.
He came to Illinois with his parents when a youth
of fifteen. His early education was acquired in
the Green Mountain State, but he afterward at
tended Wheaton College. No event of special
importance occurred during his youth, which was
quietly passed on his father's farm. After becom
ing a man, he engaged in merchandising in Ful
lersburg for ten years, and then removed to
Hinsdale, in 1872, where, in connection with his
brother Hernan, he carried on a store. Their
partnership continued for twenty-three years un
der the firm name of Fox Bros., but in 1890
Charles sold his interest in the business to Mr.
Ditzler, and has since been engaged in the real-
estate business.
On the day on which Lincoln became President,
on the 4th of March, 1861, Mr. Fox was united
in marriage with Miss Betsy E. Fuller, a daugh
ter of Benjamin and Olive A. (Atwater) Fuller,
who were natives of Brown County, N. Y. Three
children graced this union, but Delmar A. died
in infancy. William A., who is head book
keeper for the iEtna Powder Company of Chicago,

14

282

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

married Miss Lula Fox, by whom he has one son,
Paul N. Eva F. completes the family.
Socially, Mr. Fox is connected with Hinsdale
Lodge No. 649, A. F. & A. M., and, in politics,
he is a stalwart Republican. For twelve years he
served as Postmaster of Fullersburg. He has a
good home and other village property in Hinsdale,
and is recognized as one of its leading citizens,
who is ever found in the front ranks of any enter
prise calculated to promote the general welfare.
His business career, owing to his well-directed
efforts and perseverance, has been one of success.

B£+£

(S_

g^OAH ERASTUS GARY, second child and
| / eldest son of Erastus Gary, a worthy pioneer
|£3 of DuPage County, whose biography .will
be found elsewhere in this work, was born on his
father's farm irt Winfield Township, this county,
on the 8th of September, 1844. He was only in
his fourth year when the family came to Wheaton,
and he received his education in the public schools
of this city. He began reading law at the age of
sixteen years without the aid of a preceptor. In
1 86 1, stirred by- patriotic impulses, he offered his
services as a soldier in the Union army, but was
refused on account of his youth and the lack of
his father' s consent to his enlistment. In August,
1862, having secured the paternal consent, he
enlisted as a private in Company D, One Hundred
and Fifth Illinois Infantry, and remained with
that body until November, 1864, being discharged
as a Sergeant. At the first serious battle of the
Atlanta campaign — Resaca — he was hit by four
rebel bullets, and lay for some time within three
rods of the rebel breastworks. On account of the
disability caused by these wounds, he was forced
to accept a discharge, thus sacrificing his chance
of promotion, and the natural ambition of every
good soldier.
As soon as our subject recovered from his inju
ries, he engaged for two years in the sale of ma
chinery. An opportunity occurring to enter the
office of the Clerk of the Superior Court in Chi
cago, he accepted, and remained four and one-

half years, pursuing the study of law in the
mean time. Entering the office of his brother,
E. H. Gary, in Chicago, he began practicing,
and was regularly admitted in January, 18 75-
For a time he practiced in partnership with his
brother, under the style of Gary Bros. , and this
was subsequently changed to E. H. &N. E. Gary.
On the admission to the firm of Hon. H. H. Cody,
ex- Circuit Judge of DuPage County, the firm be
came Gary, Cody & Gary.
In 1890, N. E. Gary retired from this connec
tion, and is now located in the Security Building,
a new and handsomely appointed office building
in Chicago. While his practice has been general,
he has devoted especial attention to chancery
cases, and has met a well-merited success. He
is the owner of over three hundred acres of land,
principally within the limits of the city of Whea
ton, and has improved property in Chicago and
South Chicago. He is active in building up and
improving his home city, being interested in the
present plans for drainage, and is one third
owner in the plant supplying the city with elec
tric light. He was President of the Town Coun
cil two years, Master in Chancery of the Circuit
Court for twelve years, and is now a member and
Clerk of the Board of Education. He is a mem
ber of the Cook County Bar Association and the
Methodist Episcopal Church of Wheaton, in
which he acted as Superintendent of the Sabbath-
school for five years. Politically, he has always
been a Republican, believing that his chosen
party represents the best principles of govern
ment and national progress.
Mr. Gary has been twice married, the first time
in 1865, his bride being Miss Ella M. Guild,
daughter of Rockwell Guild, an early resident of
this county. She was born July 7, 1846, at Down
er's Grove, and died at Wheaton, September 11,
1870, aged twenty-three years. She left two
children: Carleton N. and Ella Ethelle. The
first-born, Anna Frances, died in her fourth year.
On the 2d of June, 1873, Mr. Gary married
Caroline H. Wheat, a native of New York. Her
parents, James and Louisa L. Wheat, were born,
respectively, in Massachusetts and New York,
of old New England ancestry. Four children

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

283

came to bless the second union of Mr. Gary.
The eldest, Edith Louise, died in infancy. The
others are Anna Louise, Dora Bernice and Ava
Grace. Ella M. Guild, the first wife of Noah E. Gary,
was a descendant of the eighth generation of
John Guild, who settled at Dedham, Mass., in
1 636 (see biography of Israel Guild) . Through
five succeeding generations, her ancestors were
named Samuel. A complete genealogy of the
Guild family may be found in the Chicago Lib
rary, and other collections. Samuel, the father of
Rockwell Guild, was born October 28, 1781, and
spent most of his life at Harford, Pa., where he
died January 14, 1847. His wife, Hannah Cole
man, born December 5, 1783, died January 3,
1871. Mrs. Gary's mother was Mary Thatcher.
Rockwell Guild, born April 2, 1805, at Harford,
Pa., died October 3, 1855.

£+£

(S_

LDRED THATCHER, who is engaged in
^ general merchandising in. Downer's Grove,
_ has long been numbered among the citizens
of DuPage County, having lived here since the
days when farmers drove ox-teams to market in
Chicago, and lived in log cabins. He has seen the
development of the county almost from the days
of its early infancy, and has watched with interest
its growth and progress, doing all in his power to
aid in its development and advancement. A na
tive of the Keystone State, he was born on the
8th of March, 181 8, in Harford, and is a son of
John and Sarah (Moore) Thatcher. The father
was a native of Massachusetts, but when a small
boy went to Pennsylvania, where he spent the re
mainder of his life as a farmer, his death occurring
at the age of sixty-seven years. His wife, who
was born in New Jersey, and was of Irish extrac
tion, passed away in Pennsylvania, at the age of
sixty-five. Their family numbered six children,
four sous and two daughters, of whom two are
now deceased. Azor, the eldest, is now a retired
farmer, residing on the old homestead in Penn
sylvania; Eldred is the second in order of birth;

John came to this county at an early day, and
here died at the age of sixty; Edwin is a retired
farmer, living at Ravenna, Mich. ; and Editha is
the wife of Luther Taft, who resides in Pennsyl
vania. Eldred Thatcher is truly a self-made man, for
since a very early age he has been dependent upon
his own resources. When a lad of ten years, he
began working on a farm for his board and clothes,
as his parents were quite poor. He was thus em
ployed for four years, when he began learning the
tanner's trade, which he followed until he was
twenty years of age. Thinking that the West
furnished better opportunities for ambitious young
men than the older States of the East, in 1838 he
made his way to Illinois, coming from Toledo,
Ohio, by team. He located first in the vicinity
of Ottawa, working for a brother-in-law for about
three years, after which he came to DuPage
County, and with his hard-earned savings, the
result of his former toil, purchased forty acres of
wild land in Downer's Grove Township. He at
once began the improvement and development of
the farm, upon which he resided until 1855, when
his wife died, and he sold out.
In May, 1838, our subject had married Miss
Harriet N. Thatcher, a native of Pennsylvania,
and she passed away September 29, 1855, leaving
one child, Laura A., now the wife of Charles
Curtiss, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this
volume. In November, 1856, Mr. Thatcher was
again married, his second union being with Miss
Charlotta Smith, and unto them have been born
three children: John, who follows farming in Illi
nois; Helen, wife of George Bateman; and Harvey,
a railway employe. The mother of the family
died at the age of fifty-six years.
Upon the death of his first wife, Mr. Thatcher
left the farm and came to Downer's Grove, where
he has since engaged in general merchandising.
He carries a full and complete line of goods, and
as a result of his well-selected stock, his fair and
honest dealings, and his earnest desire to please
his patrons, he has ever received a liberal patron
age. In politics, he is a supporter of Republican
principles. He served as Postmaster for a number
of years in an early day, and on the organization

284

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of Downer's Grove served as a member of its first
Town Board. He has always manifested a com
mendable interest in the growth and upbuilding of
his county, which has recognized in him a valued
citizen as well as an honored pioneer v

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WILLIAM S. CARPENTER, who is carry
ing on a fine drug business in Downer's
Grove, was born in Warrenville, on the
19th of November, 1854, and is a son of George
and Elizabeth Potter. His parents were in quite
limited circumstances, and when he was five years
of age he went to live with his uncle, Dr. Potter,
of Chicago. When a lad of six summers he came
to the home of Henry Carpenter, of this place, and
took the name of his adopted father. Mr. Car
penter is one of the honored pioneers ofthe county,
and owned and operated a farm near Downer's
Grove, but lived in the town. He gave to our
subject a comfortable home and proved indeed a
benefactor to him.
William S. Carpenter attended the common
schools until sixteen years of age, and in the mean
time, in his evenings and leisure hours, he had
learned telegraphy, so at the age of sixteen he
took charge of the telegraph office in Naperville,
111., where he remained for about a year. He
then served as operator at different places for two
years, after which he was employed as salesman
in a general store for one year. The two suc
ceeding years of his life were passed as clerk in a
drug store, when he entered the employ ofthe
railroad company, serving in the car accountant's
office until the fall of 1876, when, with the capital
he had acquired through industry and persever
ance, he opened a drug store, which he conducted
successfully until 1881. In that year he sold out
and removed to Chicago, where he engaged in
the retail notion business for about a year. He
then sold out and became manager of the Central
Telephone Exchange for a short time. Subse
quently he was employed in a telegraph office in
Chicago, and in February, 1884, he returned to
Downer's Grove, purchasing the drug stock which

he had sold in 188 1. For ten years he has now
continuously carried on business along this line.
On the 26th of April, 1876, Mr. Carpenter was
united in marriage with Martha M. Hobart,
daughter of Rev. I. N. and Rhoda M. (Eddy)
Hobart. The father was a Baptist minister, and
was serving as pastor of the church at this place
at the time of his death. Mrs. Hobart was the
daughter of Capt. Samuel Eddy, of Massachu
setts. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have one child,
Nellie, who is now about ten years of age.
Mr. Carpenter exercises his right of franchise
in support ofthe Republican party. He has never
been an office-seeker, in fact would never accept
political honors. He is a member of the Masonic
lodge, but is not a member of any religious denomi
nation, while Mrs. Carpenter holds membership
with the Baptist Church. He now owns one of
the leading drug stores of Downer's Grove. That
which he has represents his own earnings, for he
started out in life empty-handed, with nothing to
depend upon save his own resources. He may
truly be called a self-made man, and as the result
of his busy and useful life he has become a sub
stantial citizen.

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EAPT. THEODORE S. ROGERS is one of
the leading citizens of Downer's Grove, and
an honored veteran of the late war, who
wore the blue in defense of the Union, and vali
antly followed the Old Flag in many of the most
hotly contested battles of that struggle, which
not only did away with slavery, but made the
Union more indissoluble than before. The Cap
tain was born in Morristown, St. Lawrence
County, N. Y., August 30, 1831. The family is
of English lineage. The father, Joseph I. Rog
ers, was a native of Rhode Island. Removing to
the Empire State, he there married Caroline
Smith, who was born in New York, and was also
of English extraction. Her father was a well-
educated man, and kept a hotel in New York for
a number of years. In 1844 Mr. Rogers came
with his family to Illinois, making the journey

Capt. T. S. Rogers.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

285

by water to Chicago, where he hired a team with
which he came to DuPage County. Here he
purchased a farm, upon which he spent his re
maining days. He was a stanch Republican,
and took quite an active part in local politics.
His death occurred in this county, at the age of
sixty-two years. He was the only son of the
family who lived to any age, but has a sister,
..Mrs. Julia Aldrich, who is now living in this
county, at the advanced age of ninety-five years.
The mother of our subject still survives her hus
band, and although now in her eighty-third year,
her mental and physical faculties are well pre
served. The Rogers family numbered six children,
three sons and three daughters, but Ella is now
deceased. The others are Mary L-, widow of
Chauncy Harmon, and a resident of Downer's
Grove; Theodore S.; Joseph W., a prosperous
merchant of this place; Francis A., a successful
farmer of Downer's Grove Township; and Sarah,
wife of John A: Kinley, of Aurora, 111.
Capt. Rogers spent the first thirteen years of
his life in the State of his nativity, and in 1844
came with his parents to Illinois. He remained
at home until twenty years of age, when he be
gan teaching school in this county. For twelve
winters he followed that profession, while in the
summer months his labors were devoted to work
upon the home farm. He had attended the com
mon schools, and was graduated from the Down
er's Grove High School. On the 19th of July,
1862, prompted by patriotic impulses, he re
sponded to the country's call for troops, and en
listed as a private of the One Hundred and Fifth
Illinois Infantry. On the organization of Com
pany B, he was elected Captain. The regiment
went into camp at Dixon, and was mustered into
the United States service September 2, 1862, and
sent thence to Louisville and Frankfort, Ky., en
gaging in the skirmish at the latter place. Capt.
Rogers took part in the battles of Bowling Green,
Taylor's Ridge, Smoke Creek Gap, and at the
battle of Resaca had charge of the skirmish line
in front of the assaulters. He led his men at
Calhoun, Cassville, the advance on Dallas, New
Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, Lookout

Mountain, Golgotha, the assault on Kenesaw, the
battle of Marietta, Chattahoochee River, Peach
Tree Creek, the battle of Atlanta, and the siege
of that city. On the 30th of September, 1864,
he resigned and was honorably discharged from
the service. He participated in many skirmishes
and battles, and his war record is one ofwhich he
may well be proud.
On the 13th of December, 1855, the Captain
married Miss Helen M., a daughter of Dexter
and Nancy (Capron) Stanley, who were among
the early settlers of DuPage County. She was
born in Pennsylvania, February 6, 1833, hut
since her second year has made her home in this
county. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers had two children,
Bertha and Glen, but both died in infancy.
The Captain was elected Sheriff of DuPage
County in i860, but on entering the service of
his country he left reliable deputies to perform
the duties of that office. He has served as Super
visor, Township Clerk and Collector. He was a
member of the Board of Town Trustees for four
teen years, and, with the exception of one year,
was President during that entire time. He cast
his first Presidential vote for Scott, but it is need
less to say that he is now a stanch Republican,
supporting that party which was formed to pre
vent the further extension of slavery. In 1892
he was appointed by Gov. Fifer on the Board of
Equalization to fill the vacancy caused by the
death of Henry L- Bush. He is a prominent
Grand Army man, and with the exception of one
year has been Commander of Naper Post No.,
468, G. A. R., of Downer's Grove, since its or
ganization. At that time he refused to have the
office, but, his comrades insisting upon his ac
cepting the position again, he is now the incum
bent. He has served as Superintendent of the
Agricultural Society of the county for a number
of years, and is a member of the Masonic frater
nity of Downer's Grove, and the Royal Arcanum
of Hinsdale. He also belongs to the Loyal
Legion of Illinois, the last two being societies of
the Army of the Cumberland and the Army ofthe
Tennessee. After his return from the war, the Captain en
gaged in teaching school for a year, then spent

286

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

one year in the insurance business, and in July,
1866, embarked in the market and provision bus
iness in Chicago. In 1871, in the great fire, he
was burned out, and again in 1874, but with
characteristic energy he rebuilt, retrieved his
losses, and has since successfully carried on busi
ness. He now has one of the finest markets in
Chicago, located at the corner of Wabash Ave
nue and Eighteenth Street. His possessions have
all been acquired through his own earnings, and
he has gained a handsome competence, but in
stead of using it all for selfish ends, he gives lib
erally to charitable and benevolent work. The
needy are never turned from his door empty-
handed, and probably no man has contributed so
much to the poor of Downer's Grove as has
Capt. Rogers. He has a beautiful home here
and several lots and business houses. Through
out DuPage and Cook Counties he has a host of
friends, and is held in the highest regard by all
with whom he has been brought in contact.

(Samuel d. weldon was bom jn Acusn-
v\ net, Bristol County, Mass., July 15, 1859.
\~) His great-grandfather lived in the same vil
lage, and was a farmer and seaman. George
Weldon, grandfather of Samuel, lived on a farm
there, in the house where Samuel was born. He
died about 1873, and his wife, Susan, survived
until 1885, reaching the age of seventy-six.
Amos, son of George and Susan Weldon, was a
cabinet-maker. He built a house near his father's
and died before reaching the age of forty years,
in 1863. His wife, Bathsheba, daughter of Enoch
Staples, still resides there. The Weldon family
is a very old one at Acushnet, and has bestowed
many local names, such as "Weldou's Mills"
(the site of a cotton factory in which George
Weldon was interested), " Weldon 's Corners,"
and others in the locality. The Staples family
was equally prominent about Taunton.
Having acquired the builder's trade under the
instruction of an uncle, S. D. Weldon became a
resident of Wheaton in 1884. He has constructed

many of the finest residences in the city, the total
exceeding sixty. In 1892, he erected twenty-
two houses. "Among the samples of his handi
work may be mentioned the residences of Braman
Loveless, C. N. Gary, John Gettelson, D. A.
Straw and M. Seeker. In 1886, Mr. Weldon
married Miss May Bixby, and they have three
bright children, named- Edmund, Bessie and
Belle.

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NW. F. BARTELLS, M. D., is a prominent
physician of Bensenville, and his practice
extends over a large radius, for he has a high
reputation, which he well merits by his skill and
ability. He is still a young man, and, arguing
from his record of the past, he will continue to
work his way upward in his chosen profession.
The Doctor was born in Chicago on the 6th of
April, 1863, and is a son of Dr. Fred and Engel
(Benson) Bartells. The parents were both na
tives of Germany, and in early life came to Amer
ica. The paternal grandfather of our subject,
Fred Bartells, Sr., brought his family to this
country and became the second settler in Shaum-
- burgh, 111. The family has long been identified with
the history of the northern portion of this State.
Our subject is the second of three children. His
sister is the wife of Fred Busse, a resident of Elk
Grove Township, Cook County, and his brother
Fred is deceased.
Dr. Bartells was reared principally in the city
of his nativity. He completed his literary course
of study by attending the Ottawa High School,
and then, having determined to enter upon the
practice of medicine, he became a student in Rush
Medical College, of Chicago, from which institu
tion he was graduated in the Class of '85, and re
ceived a certificate of honor. He immediately
thereafter located in Bensenville, where he opened
an office and has since engaged in practice. In
order to further perfect himself in his studies, in
1 89 1 he attended the Koniglichen Friedrich Wil-
helms University, of Berlin, Germany.
Dr. Bartells was married in 1887, the lady of his
choice being Miss Edna Dierking, a native of Cook

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

287

County. Three children graced this union, Edna,
and Fred and Henry, both deceased. The Doctor
is a member of the Fox River Valley Medical So
ciety, and attending physician of the Evangelical
Lutheran School-teachers' Seminary at Addison,
and is now enjoying a fine practice. He is a close
student of his profession and, fitted by thorough
preparation for his chosen work,( he has during
the years of his residence here not only gained
the confidence and good-will of all with whom he
has been brought in contact, but has also won a
reputation which might well be envied by many
an older practitioner. As a citizen he is enter
prising and progressive, and the interests which
are calculated to upbuild the community receive
his support and co-operation. At this writing
the Doctor has in process of erection what will
be one of the finest residences in Bensenville. It
is built in a'modern style qf architecture, is sup
plied with gas and electric light, hot and cold wa
ter, bell burglar- alarms, and is heated by hot
water. It was all planned by the Doctor, and is a
model home, of which he may be justly proud.
g * ,4Ha< T>ia 'a a
WINSLOW CHURCHILL, a retired farmer
now living in Downer's Grove, is one of
the self-made men of this community, who
by his own efforts has risen from a humble posi
tion in life to one of affluence. The record of his
career, which we feel assured will prove of inter
est to many of our readers, is as follows: A na
tive of the Empire State, he was born June 13,
18 1 3, in Onondaga County, and is one of a fam
ily of twelve children, numbering five sons and
seven daughters, whose parents were Winslow and
Mercey (Dodge) Churchill. The former was a
native of Vermont, and in his earlier years fol
lowed the mason's trade, but later in life became
a farmer. The members of the family who are
now living are: Christina, wife of James Chris
tian, who makes her home near Prospect Park, in
her ninety-second year; Betsy, who is living in
Cook County, in her eighty-sixth yearj Winslow,
who is the next younger; and Bradford, a farmer
living near Lombard.

Mr. Churchill of this sketch was reared to
manhood in the usual manner of farmer lads, and
in his youth received very limited school privi
leges. In 1834 he came with his father to Du
Page County, the family locating near Lombard on
a claim of between two and three hundred acres,
on which a log cabin was built. For about three
years our subject continued at home and then en
tered a claim of his own from the Government of
one hundred and sixty acres, purchasing the same
when the land came into market. It was in its
primitive condition, but with characteristic energy
he began to clear and improve it, and there con
tinued his farming operations until 1868. In
that year he removed to Lisle Township, where
he made his home until 1879, when he came to
Downer's Grove. Since that time he has lived
retired. Mr. Churchill made the trip westward on a
sailing-vessel on the Great Lakes, reaching Chi
cago only after five weeks from the time when he
left Buffalo. Chicago was his nearest trading-
post, and to that place he hauled his grain and
other farm products. There was only one log
cabin in Lombard, and much of the land of the
county was still in the possession of the Govern
ment. Mr. Churchill truly deserves to be num
bered among the pioneer settlers, and also among
the founders of the county, for he has ever borne
his part in the work of public improvement and
development. Mr. Churchill has been three times married.
He first married Juliet Morton, and unto them
were born the following children: Ollie; Orson,
deceased; Lucinda; Esther and Melinda, both of
whom are deceased; Harriet and Laura. The
mother of this family died May 29, 1853, and on
the 10th of November, 1853, Mr. Churchill mar
ried Sarah A. Nichols, by whom he had three sons:
Henry, James and Isaac. The second wife died
October 25, 1858, and he was married to Miss
Mariette Willard on Christmas following. The
children of this marriage, four in number, are
Orrila and Rozella, twins; and Anna H. and
Louisa. The mother's death occurred on the ist
of November, 1892.
Mr. Churchill cast his first vote for John Cal-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

houn, and was a supporter of the Whig party un
til its dissolution, when he joined the ranks ofthe
new Republican party, and has since upheld its
banner. His time and energies throughout life
have been devoted to farm work, and through
industry, perseverance and good management his
career has been a successful one and he has ac
cumulated a comfortable competence.

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"[DWARD WOOTTON, one of the leading
^ stock-dealers of Downer's Grove, does an ex-
_ tensive business in this line, furnishing hotels
and club houses in Chicago, and also leading
restaurants and railroad dining-cars with spring
lambs and roasting pigs. He has built up an
excellent trade in this line, having gained a repu
tation for furnishing the best meats that can be
obtained. Mr. * Wootton is a native of Shropshire, Eng
land. He was born June 9, 1849, and is the
eldest in a family of eleven children, whose par
ents, Herbert and Elizabeth (Davis) Wootton,
were also born in the same locality as our subject,
and are still residing in that neighborhood. The
father is a retired butcher and cattle-dealer. Ed
ward remained under the parental roof until four
teen years of age, and then left home, going to
Kidderminster to learn the tea and coffee business
in a wholesale house, where he remained until
about twenty years of age. On the expiration of
that period, he went to Birmingham, and traveled
for a wholesale grocery for a year. We next find
him in Shrewsbury, where he was sent by the
grocery as manager of a branch store at that place.
Later, he went to Cradley Heath, where he en
gaged in the grocery business for himself for
about two years.
At length Mr. Wootton determined to make his
home in America, and in 1872 crossed the Atlan
tic, locating first in Chicago, where he accepted a
position as a traveling salesman, with a tea house.
Eight months -later he embarked in the tea and
coffee business for himself in that place. In 1880,
we find him in DuPage County, where he rented

a few acres of land, and began the business which
he to-day follows. He has built up an extensive
trade, and now has a large paying business,
which is the just reward of his own well-directed
efforts. He is also the owner of a good farm,
one mile from the village of Downer's Grove.
On the 26th of October, 1892, Mr. Wootton
was united in marriage with Miss Alice E- Steere,
a most estimable lady, of Downer's Grove. So
cially, he is a member of the Masonic fraternity,
the Modern Woodmen of America, and the An
cient Order of United Workmen. He belongs to
the Methodist Church, and his wife holds mem
bership with the Baptist Church. They have a
beautiful home in Downer's Grove, which is sup
plied with all the comforts and many of the lux
uries of life, and which is the abode of hospitality.
Mr. Wootton is a man of much push and enter
prise. He possesses ambition tempered by prac
tical ideas, and, although he started out in life a
poor boy, he is now one of the substantial citizens
of the community. It was probably very fortu
nate that he came to America, for here he has
prospered.

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. RASTUS GARY, the first settler of Winfield
iu Township, and an early resident of Whea-
_ ton, was one of the most prominent citizens
of DuPage County throughout his residence here.
He died, universally regretted, at the advanced
age of eighty -two years, on the 12th of June,
1888. His descent is traced through a long line
of New England ancestry, the first being Arthur
Gary, who came from Isleborough (now a part
of the city of London, England) in 1 630, and set
tled at Roxbury, Mass., being one ofthe proprie
tors of that town. He was an active churchman
and a supporter of subscription schools. He had
three sons, and the youngest of these, Nathaniel,
had ten children. Among the younger of these
was Samuel,, who, at the age of sixteen years,
removed to Woodstock, Conn., and soon after to
Pomfret, the same State. He became a surveyor,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

289

and was a prominent citizen of Putnam, which
was set off from Pomfret. He bought and sold
land extensively in Windham County, and was a
man of affairs. His son Josiah had fourteen chil
dren, and was a quiet man. He served, with
two of his sons, in the Revolutionary army. His
"youngest son, William, also served for a short
time, though his youth and frail health prevented
long or arduous service. The last-named died in
Putnam, at the early age of fifty-one years, in
1 8 17. He was a school teacher and farmer. Of
his seven children, six grew up, Erastus, whose
name heads this article, being the third. All
became residents of DuPage County, and are now
deceased. Following are their names in order of
birth: Laura, Mrs. Stoughton Rickard; Charles;
Erastus; Harriet, wife of Hezekiah Holt; Jude P.
and Orinda.
William Gary's wife, Lucy, was a daughter of
Col. Samuel Perin, an ex-English soldier, who
was loyal to the Colonial cause during the Rev
olutionary War. Down to this time, the Gary
family had unanimously sustained the Congrega
tional Church, but Lucy Gary early became affil
iated with the Methodist Episcopal organization,
and under her influence her son Erastus joined
that body, at the age of six years, adhering con
sistently thereto throughout his long life.
Erastus Gary, born April 5, 1806, in Putnam,
Conn., passed his early years on the home farm,
and was robbed of a father's care at the age of
eleven years. His mother was a woman of char
acter and intellect, and his useful life reflected
her care and training. In his early manhood he
taught school, as have so many New England
youths, to make a start in life.
In the autumn of 183 1 Mr. Gary, accompanied
by his brother and sister, Jude and Orinda Gary,
visited Illinois, and selected their future home
near Warrenville, in what is now Winfield
Township, DuPage County.' The others went to
Michigan to spend the winter, but Erastus re
mained in what is known to old settlers as ' 'the
big woods, ' ' splitting rails and getting out timber
for their house. At that time there were settlers
at Naperville, and he made regular trips to that
point to get his bread, and such other supplies as

sufficed for the hardy pioneer. In the -spring, on
account of a threatened Indian invasion, he went
to Chicago and drilled for a short with the forces
there, preparing to repel the attacks of the red
men. After the arrival of Gen. Scott at Ft.
Dearborn with regular troops, he went to Michi
gan, where he engaged in teaching for a year.
In the spring of 1833, the Black Hawk War hav
ing ended, he returned with his brother and sis
ter to their claim in Winfield, and they put up a
double log house, in which they dwelt for some
time. In 1848 Erastus and Jude divided their pos
sessions, and the former took the prairie lands, a
part of which was in the present city of Whea
ton, and removed thither to reside. His resi
dence is still standing on the west end of Wesley
Street. He continued farming until 1864, when
he rented his land and moved to a new residence
on Hale Street. He served as Supervisor, and
was Justice of the Peace for nearly a quarter of a
century. He was also President of the Town
Council (the city not being then incorporated),
and was a member of the Board which built the
present Wheaton schoolhouse. He was one of
the organizers of the first Methodist Church in
Winfield, at Gary's Mills, which was the name
given to the location of a sawmill operated by
his brothers and himself. In early life he was a
Democrat, and joined the Republican party on its
organization in 1856.
In 1 84 1 Mr. Gary married Miss Susan Abiah
Vallette, a daughter of Jeremiah and Margaret
(Mott) Vallette, who came from Stockbridge,
Mass., to this county at an early day. Mrs.
Gary's ancestry was of French origin (see
sketch of J. G. Vallette), and was early implanted
in New England. She died in 1854, at the age of
fifty-five years. Of the seven children of Erastus
and Susan A. Gary, the first, Frances, and the
sixth, Irwin Jonathan, died in infancy, and the
last, Susan Abby, at nine years of age. For
the second and third see sketches elsewhere.
Ella H., the fourth, is the wife of John Ellis, a
Methodist clergyman, residing at present in
Evanston, 111. Jeremiah Olin is a Methodist
preacher now located at Chain of Rocks, Mo.

290

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mr. Gary was active in developing his town,
city and county, and was a successful man. His
earthly possessions, and good name as well, are
left in the keeping of worthy descendants.

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0RLAND P. BASSETT, ofthe Pictorial Print
ing House, of Chicago, and the owner of large
greenhouses in Hinsdale, where he makes
his home, was born March 31, 1835, inTowanda,
Pa. His father, John W. Bassett, was a wheel
wright of the Keystone State, and in 1872 he came
to Illinois, spending his last days in Chicago at
the home of his son, where he died at the age of
eighty-four years. He was a member ofthe Pres
byterian Church. His wife bore the maiden name
of Angeline Crooker, and passed away several
years previous to the death of her husband. Their
family numbered nine children, ofwhom four are
yet living: Henry, John, Orland and Chauncy.
Mr. Bassett whose name heads this record was
reared in his native State, and remained with his
parents until he had attained his majority. The
greater part of his education was acquired in a
printing-office. In 1854 he began the printing
business, which he has followed up to the present
time, and step by step he has worked his way up
ward until he is now President of the Pictorial
Printing Company, of Chicago. He owned the
entire business until about four years ago, when
he sold the controlling interest. It was in March,
1857, that he came to the West and located in
Sycamore, 111., where he published a paper, the
Sycamore True Republican, for nine years. He
then sold out and removed to Chicago, where he
carried on a job printing-office until 1874, when
he bought out the establishment of the Pictorial
Printing Company, as before stated.
On the 5th of April, 1858, Mr. Bassett was
united in marriage with Miss Betsey M. Shelton.
One child has been born to them, Kate B., wife
of Charles L- Washburn, of Hinsdale. They
have one son, Edgar B.
For many years Mr. Bassett was a supporter of
the Republican party, but is now independent in

his political views. In 1887 he removed to Hins
dale, where he makes his home, but still does
business in Chicago. He also has in Hinsdale
the largest greenhouses to be found in the West,
does an extensive business in this lirie, and em
ploys a large number of men. When he began
business in Sycamore he had no capital and bought
his outfit on credit, but he has steadily worked
his way upward, and the business ofthe Chicago
Pictorial Printing Company has at times amounted
to $1,000 per day. The company is well known
throughout the United States and Canada, and
also in parts of Australia and South America, and
its success is due in a large measure to the untir
ing efforts and good management of Mr. Bassett.
He is a genial and pleasant gentleman, is very
popular, makes friends wherever he goes, and is
iustly deserving of the high regard in which he
is held.

-*HH^p=

(JOHN BOHLANDER, who is engaged in the
I hardware, coal and grain business in Hins-
Q) dale, is a son of John and Catherine (Glos)
Bohlander, natives of Germany, and -while his
parents were crossing the Atlantic to America he
was born, May 23, 1836. The family numbered
ten children, five sons and five daughters, of
whom five are yet living, namely: John, Peter,
Philip, Adam, and Mary, wife of Rudolph Pfister,
of Brookfield, Mo. The father was a farmer by
occupation, and after his arrival in this country
he located in Cook County, 111., where he bought
a farm of one hundred and twenty acres of
Government land at $1.25 per acre. There he
made his home for about fifteen years, after
which he came to DuPage County, and bought
land near Elmhurst, upon which he lived until
his death in 1862, at the age of fifty-four years.
His first wife died in Cook County, and he after
ward married again, by the second wife having
four children: William, Ernest, Amelia and Doris.
The parents of our subject were both members of
the Lutheran Church.
The paternal grandfather also bore the name

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

291

of John Bohlander. He crossed the briny deep
in 1840, and upon a farm in Cook County, 111.,
spent his remaining days, passing away at the
age of eighty-nine years. He had four children,
three sons and a daughter. The maternal grand
father, John Glos, died at the advanced age of
ninety -four years. He brought his daughter and
her family to America in 1836, and continued a
resident of this country until called to his final
rest. The gentleman whose name heads this record
was reared in Cook and DuPage Counties and in
the common schools acquired his education. He.
lived with his father upon the farm until he had
attained his majority, and then embarked in the
grocery business in York Center, continuing op
erations in that line for about three years. On
selling out he resumed farming, which he followed
for a few years, and in 1871 he came to Hinsdale,
where he opened a dry-goods and grocery store,
which he carried on for about five years. He
then sold out and his next enterprise was the
hardware business, which he has continued up to
the present time.
As a companion and helpmate on life's journey,
Mr. Bohlander chose Miss Sallie Wolf, daughter
of George and Mary Eva (Hines) Wolf. Their
union was celebrated November 27, 1861, and
has been blessed with two sons and seven daugh
ters, as follows: Carrie, wife of Edmund Dorste-
witz, by whom she has six children: Edmund,
Winfred, Albert, Edith, Margaret, and Catherine,
deceased; Louisa, wife of Charles Hedge, by
whom she has one son, John; Sarah, Emma and
John, at home; Henry, who married Miss Minnie
Yuers, and has one daughter, Myra; and two
children who died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Bohlander are members of the
Lutheran Church, and, in politics, he is a sup
porter of the Democracy. While residing in York
Center he served as Postmaster, and has also filled
that office in Hinsdale. He owns a good resi
dence in this place besides his store and ware
house. His sons, John and Henry, are associ
ated with him in the hardware business under the
firm name of John Bohlander & Sons. They
carry a complete and well-selected stock of shelf

and heavy hardware, also coal and grain, and
are enjoying a large and constantly increasing
trade. They are wide-awake and enterprising
business men, and their liberal patronage is well
deserved. The senior member has spent his life
of fifty-six years in Cook and DuPage Counties
and knew Chicago when it was a mere village on
a wet prairie. He is a genial and warm-hearted
man, of liberal and progressive views, and one of
the enterprising citizens of Hinsdale, a place of
about two thousand, which is recognized as one of
Chicago's loveliest suburbs. In the welfare of
this community he ever takes an active and com
mendable interest.

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WILLIAM W. GOURLEY, M. D., who is
engaged in the practice of medicine in
Downer's Grove, claims Ireland as the land
of his birth, which occurred in Donegal, on the
nth of March, 1865. He is a son of James and
Ellen Gourley. The father was born in the same
locality as his son, and was a land-owner of Ire
land. He is still living, but the mother died
during the infancy of the Doctor. Their family
numbered five children besides our subject: Annie,
wife of Alexander Weir, who resides on the Emer
ald Isle; Ellen, wife of J. Galbraith; James, a prop
erty-owner oflreland; Lizzie, wife of Dr. J. Mc-
Feeters, also a resident of that country; and Jo
seph, who still lives in the land of his birth.
The Doctor, who is the youngest of the family
and the only one now living in America, attended
the Royal School of Raphoe, and at the age of
eighteen years entered the Royal College of Sur
geons, which is located in Dublin, Ireland. He
was graduated from that noted institution in 1887,
and then spent some time in the city hospital of
Dublin, after which he was surgeon for the Do
minion Steamship Company for six months. On
the expiration of that period, he removed to Liv
erpool, England, where he engaged in practice for
a year. He then came to America.
Ere leaving Ireland, however, Dr. Gourley
was married to Mrs. Caroline (Gorman) Mur-

292

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

phy, widow of Frank Murphy. Their union
was celebrated in October, 1889. The year fol
lowing their marriage, Dr. Gourley brought his
wife to the United States. He crossed the At
lantic to Montreal, thence made his way to Chi
cago, and after a few days came to Downer's
Grove, where he opened an office and began
practice, which he has since continued with good
success. He fitted himself for his profession in
one ofthe best medical schools ofthe world, and
his ability, both natural and acquired, has made
him a successful practitioner, and has gained for
him a high position in this locality. He keeps
well informed on everything connected with the
medical science, and has already won a reputa
tion which might well be the envy of many an
older practitioner. Socially, he is a member of
the Masonic fraternity, and in religious belief is a
Presbyterian.

REV. SEYMOUR STOVER, who died in
Wheaton on the 26th of January, 1891, was
one of the noble pioneers of Methodism in
northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, and was
among the heroic and self-sacrificing founders of
the Rock River Conference. He was born in Ben
nington, Vt., February 21, 1814, whilehis mother
was on a visit to a sick brother there. He was taken
from there at the age of six weeks, never to return.
His parents, Joseph and Nancy Stover, were res
idents of Rome, Oneida County, N. Y. He was
a descendant of one of the early Dutch families
of New York. His first ancestor in this country
is supposed to have come from Holland about
1755, and settled in Dutchess County, N. Y.,
afterward removing to Rensselaer County. A
brother who came at the same time went to Penn
sylvania and later to Indiana. The name of this
first ancestor cannot now be determined, but it is
known that he enlisted in the French and Indian
War, and died in the service of his adopted coun
try, about 1775. His son Jacob probably came
with him from the Old Country. The latter mar
ried Miss Lydia Doty, who was English. He

fought in the Revolution, under Gen. Stark, at
Ft. Stanwix (afterward Ft. Schuyler, N. Y. , now
Rome) and at Bennington, and died in 1802. He
had three sons, Martinas, Jacob and Joseph.
Joseph Stover was born in 1785, probably in
Rensselaer County, and settled at Rome. His
wife, Nancy Shaw, was his cousin, and of English
family. In 1837 he moved to Kenosha, Wis.,
where he engaged in farming, and died in 1865.
His eight children were: Lydia Maria, Daniel,
Seymour, Deborah, Luranda, Angeline, Julius
Cyrus and Mary Ann.
Seymour, the second son and third child of
Joseph Stover, had but small opportunities for
study in his childhood and youth, but was a stu
dent all through his later life. He came to Illi
nois in 1836, and soon located at Kenosha, Wis.,
where he opened a private Grammar School for
young men and women. While there, his right
shoulder was injured by the accidental discharge
of a gun in the hands of a companion, while
duck-hunting on the lake. This injury caused
him much pain in his last years, but he kept at
work until he had almost completed the allotted
years of man.
Becoming convinced of his mission as a ' 'fisher of
men, ' ' he began preaching. He was recommended
to the Rock River Conference, then in its infancy,
and entered that body in full two years later. His
first ministerial work was .011 the DuPage Circuit,
which included St. Charles and Aurora, and ex
tended from Chicago to Fox River, covering six
teen hundred square miles. The following year he
rode a circuit of three thousand miles. On the
1 6th of February, 1843, at Naperville, 111., he
was married to Miss Lucy Augusta Patterson,
who died February 7, 1844, at Waukesha, Wis.,
leaving a son. That son, Augustus Patterson
Stover, is now a member of the Illinois Confer
ence of the Methodist Church.
During his active labors of almost half a cen
tury, Mr. Stover preached a second time to the
Wheaton people, being appointed to that single
charge in 1868, and when he retired from the
pulpit in 1883 he came here to reside. He pur
sued his studies on horseback, while riding over
the circuit, and beside the cabin fires of the pioneer

(Photo'd by Mills.)

Rev. S. Stover.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

293

settlers. He mastered Greek and Latin, was
familiar with modern science, and was a generally
well-informed man, and withal a profound student
ofthe Bible. In the latter years of his life, it
was his custom to read at least two chapters of
Greek daily. His heart was in the Christian
ministry, and he was very successful in winning
converts, his power in prayer being , marvelous.
His style as a speaker was clear and accurate,
and remarkable for force and beauty. In 1883 he
published a volume of sermons, which exemplify
his profound scholarship and interest in the wel
fare of his fellow-beings.
Mr. Stover joined the Masonic order at Belvi
dere, 111., in 1856, and attained high rank in the
order, serving as Grand .Prelate of the State for
five years. In Hennepin, 111., June 15, 1846, he
married Miss Maria H. Robertson, a native of
Virginia, and seven children were given to this
union, only three surviving the period of infancy.
Addie, the eldest, is the wife of George E. Craw
ford, residing at Richmond, Va. Forrest Robert
and Louise S. are residents of Wheaton, the latter
being the wife of Carleton N. Gary. (See biog
raphy elsewhere.)
Mrs. Stover, who survives her husband, is de
scended from an old Virginia family, of Scottish
ancestry, who came from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Capt. William Robertson, a native of Virginia,
was the great-grandfather of Mrs. Stover. He
served in the cavalry of the Revolutionary army,
under Gen. Henry Lee (better known as "Light-
horse Harry"), who was the father of Gen. Rob
ert E. Lee, of Confederate fame. He died in his
old Virginia home a few years after the Revolu
tion. His son, William Robertson, served as a
Lieutenant of cavalry in the War of 1812, and
died at his old home in Caroline County, Va.
He also had a plantation in Lancaster County,
where he lived a part of the time. Daniel M.
Robertson, son of the last-named, was born on
the Lancaster County plantation in 1802. His
wife, Elizabeth Pitts Gayle, was of Virginian
birth and English descent. He had a plantation
on Chesapeake Bay, and also a large plantation
in Caroline County, where his children were born.
He was a large slave-holder and extensive planter.

Mrs; Stover, his eldest child, was born January
8, 1828, and came to Illinois with her parents in
1843. The father died in 1870, at Lacon, Mar
shall County, 111., where his wife passed away in
1844.

=^H^§

WILLIAM H. EMERY, one of the progress
ive and public-spirited citizens of Elm
hurst, where he has made his home since
1889, comes from the far-off Pine Tree State. He
was born in Fairfield, Me., March 27, 1840, and
is one of a family of eleven children whose parents
were Alben and Betsy E. (Tobey) Emery, also
natives of Maine. The family is of French de
scent, but the grandfather, Briggs Emery, was a
Maine farmer. The maternal grandfather, Jona
than Tobey, also followed farming in that State.
The father of our subject was a wool merchant,
and carried on that business in Waterville, Me. ,
until his death, which occurred in 1872, at the
age of sixty-nine years. His wife still survives
him and is now in the eightieth year of her age.
Of their six sons and five daughters, only five
sons and a daughter are now living: Albert P.,
Alben F., Charles M., William H., James H,
and Lind A., wife of Henry Hanson, of Water
ville, Me.
Mr. Emery whose name heads this record
spent the first twelve years of his life in the city
of his nativity, and then accompanied his parents
on their removal' tp Waterville, where the greater
part of his education was acquired. He remained
under the parental roof until he attained his ma
jority, and then went from Waterville to Augusta,
where he engaged in running a market for some
time. On the 6th of October, 1863, Mr. Emery was
united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Toben, a
daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Holbrook) To
ben, ofthe Buckeye State. Five children have
been born of this union, three sons and two
daughters: John T. , Bert, Ida, William H. and
Grade. Bert died in infancy, but the others are
still living.
The year 1869 witnessed the emigration of Mr.

294

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Emery westward. He engaged in the hide and
leather business in Chicago, and has since con
tinued operations along that line. Locating in
Oak Park, he continued to make that place his
residence until 1889, when he came to Elmhurst.
This place at that time was a slow-going town,
but, owing to the efforts of Mr. Emery and a few
other enterprising citizens, it has become a thriv
ing village. He was instrumental in organizing
a stock company for the building of water works,
and was the prime mover in securing the sub
scriptions for stock for macadamizing the streets.
He owns a nice residence here and also a farm.
Socially, Mr. Emery is a Knight Templar Ma
son, and in politics is a stanch advocate of Re
publican principles. While living in Oak Park he
served as a member of the School Board for thir
teen years, and during a great part of that time
was its President. He is now a member of the
School Board of Elmhurst. The cause of educa
tion finds in him a friend, and every other interest
calculated to promote the general welfare receives
his hearty support. He has been largely instru
mental in the upbuilding of this place, and is rec
ognized as one of its substantial and valued citi-

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(JESSE CHILDS WHEATON, Jr., eldest
I son of Jesse C. and Orinda Wheaton (see
© biography of J. C. Wheaton, Sr.), is a native
of DuPage County, born in Milton Township, on
the present site of the city of Wheaton, on the
30th of August, 1842. He remained on the
home farm until he was twenty-eight years old,
attending the district school and spending one
term at WTheaton College. While farming in
summer, he taught eighteen winter terms of school
in DuPage County, and also taught two summer
terms. In 1867 our subject bought fifty acres of land
on sections 8 and 9, Milton Township, lying on
the northern border of Wheaton, on which he has
lived since 1 87 1. Aside from teaching, farming
has been his main occupation in life. He has
added to his holdings until he is the possessor of

two hundred and seventy-five acres of the finest
lands in the county. A part of this is represented
by an undivided interest in lands with Judge E.
H. Gary. Mr. Wheaton is also the possessor of
unimproved lands in Lane County, Kan. He has
given his attention largely to dairy -farming, and
has grown some small grains.
For the last eighteen years Mr. Wheaton has
been Superintendent of Streets in Wheaton. He
served one term as a member of the Town Coun
cil, and as School Director for nine years. He is
an ardent adherent of the Republican party, and,
with his wife, is a communicant of the Methodist
Church. December 30, 1866, our subject was married to
Miss Sarah Matilda Brown, who was born in
Winfield Township, DuPage County, and is a
daughter of James and Anna (Crane) Brown,
who settled in Winfield in 1834, and died there,
the mother on the 4th of January, 1858, and the
father in April, 1881. They were born, respec
tively, in Sodus and Marion, Wayne County,
N. Y., the father being a son of James and EUza
beth (White) Brown, of Scotch and English de
scent, respectively. Two of Mr. Wheaton's three
children are living, namely: Edith May, a teacher
at Glen Ellyn, and Henry Ward, at home. Sarah
Brown died when nearly four years old.
The spirit of enterprise and persevering forti
tude which inspired the pioneers of New England
to locate and remain on a forbidding coast has
descended to many of their posterity, and through
his possession of those qualities Mr. Wheaton has
become a useful and successful citizen.
&* ' ,6*"13^"T>B 3 ¦"  a
(JUDE PERIN GARY, one ofthe most sincere
I Christian men who ever lived in DuPage
Q) County, was among its pioneer settlers and
was active in building up its best interests. He
was a worthy descendant of worthy New England
ancestry, an account of whom is given on another
page of this work (see biography of Erastus
Gary) . He was born in Putnam, Conn. , on the
3d of February, 181 1, being the fifth child of his

Jude P. Gary.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

295

parents, William and Lucy Gary. His childhood
and youth were passed upon the home farm.
His father died when he was but six years old,
and his training devolved upon his mother, who
was a devout and conscientious woman. Her
virtues are now being perpetuated in the persons
of the third generation of her descendants.
At the age of twenty years, Mr. Gary came
West, in company with his elder brother and
sister, Erastus and Orinda Gary. After a short
sojourn in Illinois, he went to Michigan and re
mained until he was able to save up a small sum,
as the result of his labors in teaching school, when
he became a permanent resident of DuPage Coun
ty, in 1833, settling at that time on a farm in Win
field Township, where his brother and sister be
fore mentioned joined him in keeping house.
The sister in March, 1839, married J. C.
Wheaton, an honored pioneer of DuPage Coun
ty (see biography elsewhere in this book). In
the spring of 1837, at West Thompson, Conn.,
Jude Gary married Miss Margaret L., daughter
of Rey. William Kimball, who settled in Wayne
Township, this county, in 1837. Mr. Kimball
was a native of Vermont, as was also his wife,
Lovisa, born in Lathrop. He was a Methodist,
and preached in Kane and DuPage Counties for
thirty years, retiring to Wheaton, where he died
in 1869, and his wife two years before. Mrs.
Gary died July 25, 1862, leaving eight children,
-who are named and now located as follows:
George P and Lucy Mariette (Mrs. Dr. Alfred
Waterman), of Wheaton; Margaret Leora, wife of
William Wright, of Ames, Iowa; Franklin Jude,
Westside, Iowa; Jane Lovisa (Mrs. Rufus Tay
lor), Edwin A., Laura Elizabeth (wife of Charles
B. Smith) and William S., of Wheaton.
Mr. Gary became converted and joined the
Methodist Church when he was eleven years old,
and ever after sought to serve God before every
thing else. Throughout a long and useful career,
. he carried his religion into everyday life, making
it his rule and guide. He was never too busy in
the care of his large farm to have family
prayers daily, and strove to fulfill every duty
which his conscience told him rested on his shoul
ders. He helped organize the first Methodist

Church in this region, and at the first quarterly
conference after the organization of the Winfield
Circuit, in 1837, he was made District Steward.
His brother Charles was at that time Class-leader.
Jude Gary was made Class-leader in 1849, and
from that time was continuously an officer of the
ehurah. For many years he was Superintendent
of the Sabbath-school at Warrenville. Gary's
Mills, where the first class was organized, was
the site of a mill operated by Mr. Gary and his
brothers, and still bears the name, though the
mill is long since gone.
Mr. Gary had a most generous nature, aud
sought to bestow happiness on those around him, .
never seeking self or worldly gain. He would
not deceive any one, either by inference or direct
statement, considering the former quite as wicked
as the latter, and was emphatically that noblest
work of God, an honest man. He was an in
dustrious farmer, and was at work up to within
four days of his death. On Friday and Satur
day, the 6th and 7th of May, 1881, he was sow
ing grain in his fields. Saturday evening he
complained of feeling ill, and from that time until
the Wednesday following, the nth, he lay in a
comatose state, when his spirit passed to its re
ward. In 1863, Mr. Gary was married to Mrs. Lydia
M. Rose, widow of Dr. Samuel Rose, and daugh
ter of Levi and Sally Sherwood. Dr. Rose was
a native of New York, and died while a resident
of Woodstock, this State. His only child, Mary
E., is the wife of Charles Wilson, residing at
Lockport, 111. Mrs. Gary's father was a son of
Levi and Polly (Enos) Sherwood, who went from
Connecticut to New York very early in the set
tlement of the western part of that State. Mrs.
Gary was born in Oxford, Chenango County,
N. Y. Her mother was a daughter of Ishmael
and Lydia Nichols, of Rhode Island. The moth
er of Lydia (Spencer) Nichols, lost her life in
bringing this child into the world, and the latter
was reared by her maternal grandparents, Mr.
Hall and wife. Four children were given to Mr.
Gary through his second union. The youngest,
Lily Marie, died when eleven months old. The
others reside in Wheaton, and are named respect-

296

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ively: Eben Sherwood, Lewis Erastus and Charles
Levi. Mrs. Gary is privileged to spend the
evening of her days surrounded by her sons, who
are worthy successors of a noble father. The eld
est is employed by the Chicago & Northwestern
Railway Company. Lewis is general book
keeper in the Corn Exchange Bank at Chicago,
where he began as messenger boy, and Charles is
one of the Tellers at the Merchants' Loan & Trust
Company Bank. Eben Gary married Minnie
Belle Hall, and has a daughter, Gladys Hall
Gary. Charles L- Gary married Elsie Joanna
White. All the sons of Mr. Gary are earnest
Republicans.

-«H^B^=

RNEELAND PROUTY, a well-known citi
zen of Hinsdale, was born in the old Granite
State in 1828, and comes of a family of
Scotch origin. His ancestors, however, have
lived for some generations in America. His par
ents were George and Mary (Wilson) Prouty.
The father was a farmer and stock-raiser, and fol
lowed that business throughout his entire life.
He passed away in 1868, at the age of sixty -
seven years. His wife died in 1843. They were
people of sterling worth and had the high regard
of all who knew them. Their family numbered
eight children, seven ofwhom are yet living.
The subject of this sketch acquired his educa
tion in the common schools of the neighborhood.
His early boyhood days were passed midst play
and work, and after leaving school he continued
to give his father the benefit of his services until
attaining his majority. At the age of twenty-
one, however, he bade adieu to home and friends
and started out to make his own way in the
world. He soon secured employment with the
Vermont Valley Railroad Company, and later he
worked for the Western Vermont, Rochester &
Syracuse Railroad, with which he was connected
for some time. He severed his connection with
that company in order to accept a position with
the South Side Railroad, in Virginia, where he
had charge of the track-laying. In 1856, he

came west to Chicago, and began working in the
track department of the Chicago & Milwaukee
Railroad Company, now a part of the Chicago &
Northwestern system.
In the meantime, Mr. Prouty was married.
In 1854 he led to the marriage altar Miss Amelia
Kelley, of Vermont, who died two years later.
In 1 861, he was again married, his second union
being with Miss Elizabeth Pratt, of Evanston, 111.
Her death occurred on the 1 6th of May, 1892, at
the age of fifty years. Four children were born
of their union, as follows: H! George, H. W.,
W. B. and C. K. Two of the sons, George and
Harvey, are engaged in business in Hinsdale, as
dealers in musical instruments, stationery, etc.
They have a well-kept store and are doing a good
business, which is well deserved, for they earnestly
desire' to please their patrons and are honorable
and straightforward in all dealings.
After coming to the West, Mr. Prouty con
tinued his connection with the Chicago & Mil
waukee Railroad Company until 1864, when he
took a trip to northern Michigan. On his re
turn, he entered the employ of Daniel L. Wells,
a contractor, serving as foreman of the railroad
construction gang for two years. On the expira
tion of that period, he secured a position with the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company
as Road-master, which place he retained for ten
years, when he formed a connection with the
Atlantic & Pacific Railroad Company, and served
as its Road-master for two years, his labors during
that time calling him to New Mexico and Ari
zona. On again coming to Chicago, Mr. Prouty once
more formed a connection with the Chicago, Bur
lington & Quincy Railroad Company as Dock-
master, which position he ably and commend-
ably filled for a period of six years, when he was
taken ill with pneumonia. Before he had re
covered he suffered an attack of the grip, and for a
year, as the result of his sickness, he was unable
to engage in work. He has never yet fully re
covered his health. His long-continued service
with the various railroad companies indicates his
trustworthiness and fidelity to duty. His resi
dence in Hinsdale covers a period of twenty-three

Thomas Lyman.

Mrs. Thomas Lyman.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

301

years, and has made him a well-known citizen of
the community. He here has many friends and
is held in high regard by all. It was a fortunate
day for him when he decided to come West, for
here he has met with prosperity as the result of
his earnest labors.

'HOMAS LYMAN, a leading citizen of Down
er's Grove, has been prominently identified
with extensive real-estate interests both in
this locality and in Chicago and vicinity. He is a
man of most excellent business ability, sagacious
and far-sighted. His business dealings have ever
been characterized by honor and uprightness,
and it is with pleasure that we present to our
readers a sketch of this gentleman. A native of
New York, he was born in Oneida County, March
10, 1824, and is a son of Rev. Orange Lyman.
The father was born in Litchfield County, Conn.,
July 26, 1780, and was of English descent. His
ancestors founded the family in Americain 1761.
After arriving at mature years, Rev. Mr. Lyman
married Marcia Dewey, who was born in Berk
shire County, Mass., in March, 1797. They became
the parents of seven children, five sons and two
daughters, namely: Stephen D., who is living in
Maquoketa, Iowa, where, at the age of seventy-
eight, he is still engaged in the practice of law;
Henry M., a farmer of DuPage County; Cornelia,
who died July 29, 1823; Eurotas, who died March
1, 1837; MaryE., who died March 27, 1831; and
Edward, who died March 4, 1837.
The father of this family was reared on a farm
and attended Williams College, of Williamstown,
Mass., from which he was graduated about 18 10.
He then took up the work of the ministry, with
which he was ever afterwards connected to a
greater or less extent. On leaving the Nutmeg
State, he removed to Oneida County, N. Y. , where
he spent a number of years. His next place of
residence was in Painesville, Ohio, where he en
gaged in preaching for the Presbyterian Church
until 1838, which year witnessed his removal to
Chicago, the trip westward being made by team.

He spent the winter in Chicago, and in the spring
of 1839 located on a tract of Government land
one mile north of Downer's Grove. When the
land came into market he purchased four hundred
acres from the Government. It was partly prai
rie and partly timber land. In true pioneer style
he lived and devoted his time and energies to the
development of a farm and the work of the minis
try. The latch-string always hung out at his home,
and many a weary traveler has found there a place
of rest and refuge in the early days of DuPage
County. He was a public-spirited man, inter
ested in the growth ofthe county and in the wel
fare of his fellow-townsmen, and his death, which
occurred July 16, 1850, was deeply mourned. His
remains were interred in Naperville Cemetery.
The mother of our subject was also a faithful
member of the Presbyterian Church. She passed
away January 9, 1873, and was laid to rest at
Maquoketa. A local writer thus speaks of this
excellent woman:
' ' Mrs. Lyman was born in western Massachu
setts, on the banks of the Housatonic, the young
est of a band of sisters distinguished no less for
grace and loveliness of person than for rare en
dowments of mind and heart. She grew up in her
New England home in an atmosphere ofthe purest
Christian love and refinement. While still in her
early maiden years, she gave her hand to one, who,
obeying the last command of the Master, had de
voted his life to preaching the Gospel; and having
given up home and kindred, she went forth trust
fully from her father's house to share with him,
in all sweetness of patience and tenderness of de
votion, the hardships and trials of missionary life
in the log dwellings and amid the rude settle
ments of those early days. The first period of
this pioneer life was passed with the settlers who
had built their cabins, or had formed their small
societies, in central and western New York. Borne
from there with the increasing tide of population
that was ever sweeping westward, they found a
resting-place for a while in the clearings that the
axe of the emigrant had opened in the deep woods
of northern Ohio. For many years they dwelt
there, suffering hardship, sickness and bereave
ment, but at last moved from that region to make

15

302

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a new home near kindred who had gone still
farther west and found a resting-place on the
prairie of northern Illinois, before the plough
had yet turned its sod, and when the wild grass
was still unmown. Here, after a few years, with
his earthly mission well done, Mr. Lyman ceased
from his labors, and was laid to rest beneath the
fresh turf of this new land, and she went forth to
make her home for the remaining years of her life
with children who had found a pleasant dwelling-
place in the great West that lies beyond the 'Fath
er of Waters.'
"It is seldom that one with a nature so fine, and
of a spirit so gentle, is called to- such a life in the
border settlement, and yet, full as it was of priva
tions, hardship and disappointment, with so much
to harden and embitter, it worked no* change in
the refinement and delicacy of feeling, sweetness
of disposition, and loveliness of character that dis
tinguished her life to the end. To unusual clear
ness and brightness of intellect, she added vigor
and persistence of purpose and plan, with a ready
skill of hand, and an easy mastery of all the work
that in her busy life she ever found to do. She
had. a winning beauty and charm of person and
manner, a frank and kind address, rare sweetness
and gentleness of temper and disposition, and a
native grace aud elegance of bearing that never
forsook her. Pure in heart as in life, with great
depth and constancy of impulse and affection, she
devoted herself to the lowly duties of self-denial
and self-sacrifice, and gave herself in early life in
a spirit of entire consecration to the religion of the
Gospel, not in form and profession only, but in faith
and in life, cheered ever by the assured trust that
they who bear the cross shall also wear the crown.
For the last few years she had felt that the work
given her on earth was finished, and she expressed
often a strong desire to go hence and be with the
loved ones who had gone before, and who she
knew were waiting to welcome her to their bright
abode. Her kindred and friends, and all who
knew her well, while they mourn her loss, rejoice
that her warfare is accomplished, that she has en
tered into rest, and will hold her life and love in
dear and lasting remembrance. ' '
Thomas Lyman, whose name heads this rec

ord, came with the family to Illinois. During the
winter of 1838-39, he worked for his board in
Chicago, and attended school at Ft. Dearborn.
The following spring he joined his father, and be
came inured to the arduous task of clearing land
and breaking prairie. They had to haul their
grain to Chicago, which was their nearest trading-
post, and experienced many ofthe difficulties and
hardships of frontier life. Mr. Lyman gave his
father the benefit of his services upon the home
farm until twenty-one years of age, when he went
to Grandville, Mich. , where he clerked in a store
and in a lumber-yard for two years. He then re
turned and received a part of the old homestead,
to which he removed. For a few years he fol
lowed farming, but in 1848 sold his land and es
tablished a store in Rockton, 111., in connection
with his brother Stephen D., with whom he con
tinued business until 1851. In that year he went
to Maquoketa, Iowa, where he opened a general
store. The nearest railroad at that time was at
Freeport, 111., and he had to haul his goods about
seventy miles. He there carried on business from
1 85 1 until 1857. In the autumn of i860, he went
to Chicago aud embarked in the real-estate busi
ness as agent. Three years later he opened an
office of his own and did an extensive business for
eastern firms. After the memorable fire of 1871,
he was actively engaged in the rebuilding of Chi
cago, and particularly of the elegant Portland
Block, and other fine buildings in that vicinity.
Of later years he has given his entire attention to
his own interests, dealing extensively in Chicago,
Ravenswood, and Downer's Grove property, and
also in real estate in Kansas and Michigan.
On December 3, 1847, Mr. Lyman was united
in marriage with Miss Percie A. Clark, daughter
of Eli K. and Eunice (Brown) Clark. She was
born in Eden, N. Y., October 6, 1822. Six chil
dren have been born to Mr. attd Mrs. Lyman, but
only one is now living: Elizabeth, who was born
February 19, 1849, and is the wife of L. R. Gid-
dings. They have two children, Edward R.,
born June 24, 1882, and Holeta E., born Febru
ary 22, 1885. The other members of the family
were Edward T; , who died July 29, 1861 ;Mary C. ,
who died December 10, 1857; Lucia, who died

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

303

May 9, 1861; Lincoln, who died February 14,
i860; Birdie, who died November 19, 1862; and
Jennie C, a niece of Mrs. Lyman, and an adopted
daughter, who was born January 19, 1863. The
mother of this family has indeed been a true com
panion and helpmate to her husband, sharing with
him in all the joys and sorrows of life, and aiding
him by her friendly sympathy and counsel. She
is truly one of nature's noble women and through
out the community is loved and honored.
In politics, Mr. Lyman was for many years a
supporter ofthe Republican party , but in 1886 he
severed his allegiance to that organization and has
since been an advocate of Democracy. He has
never been prominent in official life, but has de-
" voted his entire time to his business interests, in
which he has met with signal success, becoming
owner of considerable real estate in Downer's
Grove and elsewhere, which yields to him a good
income. By- close attention to all details, careful
management and well-directed effort, he has ac
cumulated a handsome competency, and through
all these years has won and retained the respect of
those with with whom he has been brought in
contact. He now spends his time only in look
ing after his interests, and in the enjoyment ofthe
home circle. He cannot do too much to enhance
the interests or promote the happiness of his wife
and children, and through life he has been a de
voted husband and father. Outdoor sports have
always been a pleasure to Mr. Lyman, and each
year he indulges his taste for hunting by spending
about a month in that pursuit.

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(31 DIN THOMPSON CHILDS has been for
J I nearly forty years a builder in Wheaton,
/ | and has done much to make it the hand
some town itis. He is a true type of the descend
ants of the hardy and firm-charactered Puritans,
and his descent is traced through seven genera
tions of worthy ancestry. In 1630, Samuel Child
came from England and settled at Barnstable,
Mass. At the same time, Benjamin Child, a rel
ative of Samuel, located at Roxbury, in the same

colony. The descendants of the former are
known as the Roxbury branch, and of the latter
as the Barnstable branch. All the old families of
New England with the various spellings of this
name are the posterity of these men. Among
them are included George W. Childs, the famous
editor of the Philadelphia Ledger, the able Bos
ton writer and scholar, A. B. Childs, and many
other noted Americans. Richard Child, son of
Samuel, the emigrant, was born in 1624, and had
a son born in 1679, who was christened Samuel.
The last-named married Hannah Barnard, and to
them was born a son in 1718, to whom they gave
the name of Jonathan. Rebecca Scott became the
wife of Jonathan, and he added the letter ' 's' ' to the
name previously spelled Child. His son, Jona
than Childs, was born in Massachusetts in 1756,
and served the Colonies through the Revolution
ary War, attaining the rank of Major. For over
fifty years after the close of that struggle he kept
a store at Wilmington, Vt, and died there in
1820, at the age of sixty-six. His wife, Anne
Thompson, was also a native of Massachusetts.
They had five sons and three daughters. One of
these sons, A. B. Childs, was Sheriff of Wind
ham County for many years; and another, Free
man, was a leading merchant and prominent man
of affairs.
Jairus, eldest child of Jonathan Childs, born in
Wilmington, died there in 1838, aged forty-four
years. He was a carpenter and joiner, and had
one ofthe finest farms in the county, on Deerfield
River, where he dwelt. His wife Betsey, also a
native of Vermont, was a daughter of Whitney and
Betsey (Gould) Jones, of Massachusetts birth and
Welsh descent. They had seven sons and two
daughters, six of whom are now living. Laban
J. lived at Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he died
in 1890. Lorenzo W. resides at Villisca, Iowa.
Franklin is a. Baptist clergyman, now located at
Los Angeles, Cal. Francis L- is at Greeley, Colo.
Henry Clay, who is employed in the State Land
Office at Denver, Colo., represented DuPage
County two terms in the Legislature, and was a
leading Republican. Mary A. is the widow of
Dr. Orlando Wakelee, residing in Wheaton. Clar
issa and Clinton died in youth at Wilmington.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Adin T., second son of Jairus Childs, was born
April 27, 1 81 7, in Wilmington, Windham Coun
ty, Vt., and was named for his great-uncle, Adin
Thompson, a prominent citizen of New Braintree,
Mass. He remained on the home farm till six
teen years old, and at ten began to learn his
father's trade, in the mean time attending the com
mon school. In 1833, he began teaching school,
and continued in that work seven years. In
1840, he opened a store at Jacksonville, in his
native county, which he kept three years, serving
as Postmaster at the same time, and then re
turned to Wilmington, where he conducted the
same business four years.
In 1853, he removed to Illinois and purchased
a farm at Elk Grove, Cook County, 111., and
tilled it three years. He then sold out and came
to Wheaton, where he intended to go into busi
ness, but was induced to undertake some build
ing for his brother, who was then a resident of
the place. Builders being in great demand, he
continued building operations, which he has not
wholly abandoned yet. For many years he was
the leader in that line, but ceased contracting in
1888. He has turned out many first-class build
ers, who were his apprentices, the most promin
ent contractor now in Wheaton being his former
pupil, now his son-in-law, whom he assists when
he feels that he must be occupied. (See sketch
of H. D. Compton.) More than one hundred
residences in Wheaton are among the specimens
of his handiwork. He built the block which was
destroyed by fire on the site of the present Cen
tral Block, the Kelly Block, county court house,
and other business structures.
Mr. Childs has ever been active in forwarding
the moral, as well as material, interests of the
town, and contributed more than any other indi
vidual to the construction of the Universalist
Church, being a prominent mover in the interests
of the society. He is universally respected by
his contemporaries as an industrious, upright and
straightforward citizen. Politically, he has al
ways affiliated with the Democratic party, and
was defeated when a candidate for Supervisor only
because his party is in a hopeless minority in the
city. He has never sought for political honors,

and only consented to be a candidate to assist in
keeping up the party organization. While in
Vermont he refused nomination for some desir
able positions, such as Representative, because
he preferred private pursuits to the delusions of
political emolument. He has always been an
active man, and has attained the reward of in
dustry. In 1844, Mr. Childs was married to Sarah N.,
eldest daughter of Judge John Roberts and his
second wife, Tirzah Breckenridge. Judge Rob
erts was a native of Whitingham, Windham
County, Vt. , of Welsh ancestry, and moved to
Townsend in middle life. He came of a promi
nent Vermont family, his brother being one of
the leading attorneys of the State. John Roberts
was County Judge, and several times candidate
for Governor on the Democratic ticket. Tirzah
Breckenridge was a native of Wilmington, as is
Mrs. Childs. Three daughters complete the fam
ily of Mr. and Mrs. Childs, namely: Tirzah, Jes
sie and Harriet. The eldest is the wife of H. D.
Compton, and the youngest of Alfred C. Gary
(see biography of George P. Gary), all of Whea
ton.

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WILLIAM SUMNER GARY, a practicing
attorney of Chicago, is the fourth son of
Jude P. Gary, and the eighth and youngest
child of Margaret L. Gary, his first wife. (See
biography of Jude Gary.) The subject of this
biography was born in Winfield Township, Du
Page County, June 6, 1857. For seventeen years
he passed the ordinary life of a Western farmer's
boy, attending the district school at Warrenville.
After attending the Wheaton High School two
terms, he went to Chicago, and was employed as
reporter for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletiji about
a year. He then went to Iowa, and, entering the
Iowa State College at Ames, he alternated between
teaching and attending school for some time. His
first school was in a country district, five miles
from Ames, Westside, and he next taught in
the schools of that town. In 1878 he entered the
Law School of the Northwestern University at

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

305

Chicago, and graduated in June, 1880, having
made up some extra work in the two years' course.
After graduating, he entered the office of Charles
E. Simmons, Land Commissioner of the Chicago
& Northwestern Railway, and was employed in
examining titles and drawing deeds and leases,
thus gaining an extended knowledge of that
branch of law work, and carrying through some
large and important transactions successfully.
Going to Westside, Iowa, he opened a law
office in partnership with C. Haldane, and a year
later continued alone, remaining there four years.
In 1884 he was the nominee of the Republican
party for State's Attorney of Crawford County,
Iowa, and though the county had a normal Dem
ocratic majority of eight hundred votes, he was
defeated by only eighty majority.
Returning to Chicago, Mr. Gary formed a part
nership with Howard Henderson, under the title
of Henderson & Gary, and engaged in practice
until failing health compelled him, in February,
1893, to seek rest. After spending a few months
in Colorado, he formed a -connection with his
cousin, Carleton N. Gary, on the ist of June,
1893, and is again in practice in Chicago. On
the incorporation of the city of Wheaton, Mr.
Gary was, without his solicitation, made the
nominee for City Attorney, being elected to the
first term of one year, and was again chosen for the
full term of two years, but refused to be again a
candidate. He drafted the ordinances establish
ing electric lights and sidewalks, and many other
initial ordinances were the work of his brain and
hand. He has always been an active Republican,
and embraces the religious faith of the Methodist
Church. He is a Royal Arch Mason, a Knight
of Pythias, and a member of the Order ofthe East
ern Star.
On the 15th of June, 1892, occurred an im
portant event in Mr. Gary's life, when he es
poused Miss Anstiss W. Curtiss, a native of Pe
oria, 111., and daughter of Nathaniel B. and Jane
M. (Warren) Curtiss. Mrs. Gary's father was
a native of Vermont, and a prominent banker of
Peoria, who spent his winters in New York City.
Mrs. Curtiss was a sister of Col. Julius M. War
ren, founder of Warrenville, DuPage County.

Mrs. Gary is a writer of poems and verse, and
one volume of her work in blank verse, entitled
" One Question," has been issued from the press
of Brentano's in Chicago, and another work is
about ready for publication.
g :- ^J^"~T""$" LTD (3
0ANIEL JUNIUS SAWYER was the first
white child born in the town of Wasioja,
Dodge County, Minn., where his birth oc
curred June 24, 1857. His grandfather, Jeremiah
Sawyer, was a native of England, and came
with his parents to America when a child.
He became a blacksmith in manhood/ and fol
lowed that occupation in southern New Hamp
shire, dying in East Andover, that State. His
wife, Hepsibah Edwards, was also of English
birth. Jeremiah Sawyer had been a schoolmate
of Daniel Webster in New Hampshire.
Daniel Edward, son of Jeremiah and Hepsibah
Sawyer, was born in Concord, N. H, in 1828.
He married Julia M. Gibbons, a native of Glas
gow, Scotland. Early in life, he became a con
tractor and builder, and did a great' deal of mill
work on the Merrimac River, in the vicinity of
Lowell, and also engaged in building in Boston,
Mass. He moved to Minnesota in 1855, and set
tled on a farm in Wasioja, where he remained six
years. Later removing to the village of Wasioja, he
built the seminary and other buildings there, and
in 1871 went to Pine Island, Goodhue County,
the same State, where he engaged in the sale of
furniture and lumber. Under President Garfield,
he served three years as Assistant Superintendent
of the Yellowstone National Park, and is now a
traveling furniture salesman, residing at Pine Is
land, where his wife died in 1875. Their five
children are all living, as follows: Charles L- , a
wheat-buyer at Cannon Falls, Minn.; Caleb M.,
an attorney at Anaconda, Mont.; D. J., who is
the third; Francis E., an express messenger, who
resides at Butte, Mont. ; and Nellie E. , wife of
John L. Bowman, residing at Cresco, Iowa.
Daniel J. Sawyer attended the public schools of
Wasioja and Pine Island until sixteen years old,

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

when he became his father's regular assistant in
the furniture store. At twenty he began build
ing on contracts, and four years later became a
traveling salesman in the employ of the Red
Wing Manufacturing Company, with which he
continuecTfive years. After traveling two years
for the Milwaukee Furniture Company, he en
gaged with his present employer, John P. Fowler,
of Chicago, with whom he is serving his fifth
year, being now city salesman. He became a
resident of Wheaton in May, 1891. He is a
member of the Royal Arch Masons of Oshkosh,
Wis., and adheres to the Republican party on
questions of government.
In 1880 Mr. Sawyer married Miss Emma Smith,
who was born in Wheaton, the daughter of Hiram
Smith (see biography ofthe latter in this work).
Two sons were born of this union, Daniel Edward
and Hiram Wayne. The latter died at the age of
six years.

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QROF. HENRY S. EDWARDS, one of Hins-
\jr dale's most prominent citizens, is a native of
\H the Pine Tree State. He was born in Gor-
ham, Me., January 16, 1820, and is a son of Cal
vin and Susan (Lincoln) Edwards. The family
came originally from Wales, but the parents were
born in Massachusetts. The father became a
manufacturer of pianos in Portland, Me. , but his
last days were spent in Natick , Mass. , where he
died at the age of eighty. His wife passed away
at the age of fifty-eight. Both were members of
the Congregational Church. They had seven
children, but only three are now living: Sophia,
widow of Hollis Randall, of Natick, Mass. ; Henry
S., of Hinsdale; and Elizabeth, widow of Dr.
Geo^e Lincoln, of Natick.
Prof. Edwards of this sketch was reared in
Portland, Me., and there acquired a liberal edu
cation. He early began studying music, and
when still quite young commenced teaching. He
was a popular teacher of music in Portland at
the age of nineteen. Continuing his studies, he
became very proficient, and his reputation ex

tended through many States: He was also inter
ested with his father in the manufacture of pianos
and organs, theirs being one of the leading firms of
the East. Their factory, however, was destroyed
by fire in 1862. Removing to Natick, Mass., our
subject there made his home for eighteen years.
On the 1 6th of June, 1851, Prof. Edwards was
united in marriage with Miss Jane Hemenway,
daughter of Solomon and Clarissa (Willard)
Hemenway, the former a native of Massachu
setts, and the latter of Charleston, N. H. The
family is of English origin, and the paternal grand
father was a native of the Bay State. The mater
nal grandfather, who was a Revolutionary hero,
was twice wounded, and for many years after the
war drew a pension. Four children were born to
Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. Willard H., a short
hand reporter, who has an office in Chicago,
married Miss Minnie Shattuck, who died in No
vember, 1888, leaving four children: Mabel,
Bertram, Alice and Willie. On the 6th of June,
1893, he wedded Miss Frances Sheldon, and they
reside in Hinsdale. Harry Lincoln is Cashier of
the Equitable Life Insurance Company, with
headquarters in the Chamber of Commerce Build
ing in Chicago. He married Marie Besser,
and they have three children: Ralph, Carl and
Harry. Clara, the third child ofthe family, died
at the age of two years. Alice, when a girl
of fifteen summers, went to Europe and for three
years studied music under the eminent instructors
bf the Old Country. When very young she had
shown marked ability, and for several years before
traveling abroad had studied under her father's
instruction. Upon her return to America, at the
age of eighteen, she was offered a position in
Wellesley College, of Boston, where she taught
seven years. She then became the wife of Alfred
Emerson, Professor of Archaeology in Cornell Uni
versity, a very scholarly and renowned man, who
has traveled extensively in foreign lands. They
make their home in Ithaca, N. Y., and have two
daughters, Edith and Gertude.
Prof. Edwards and his wife are members of the
Unitarian Church, and in early life he was a
Mason. In 1877, he and his wife went to Eu
rope to place their daughter in the Conservatory

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

307

of Music in Bavaria. A year later, Mrs. Ed
wards returned to America and came West to
visit her sons, who had located in Chicago some
years before. The Professor remained in Europe
with his daughter for three years, and then they
returned to their native land, in 1880. After his
return he resided two years at Natick, and six
years at Auburndale, Mass., and in 1888 came to
Hinsdale, where he has since made his home.
Although now seventy-four years of age, he still
teaches music to a limited extent. In politics, he
is a Republican. A cultured and refined gentle
man, pleasant and genial in manner, Prof. Ed
wards, although his residence here has been of
short duration, has already won many warm
friends throughout DuPage County, and he and
his estimable wife have the high regard of all.

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(J P. PAXTON, a highly respected and repre-
I sentative farmer of Naperville Township,
C2/ makes his" home on section 6. He has long
been numbered among the citizens of DuPage
County, almost sixty years having passed since
he came here. He is familiar with its history
since the days of its early infancy, and has wit
nessed almost its entire growth and development,
having seen the changes that have transformed it
from an almost unbroken tract to one of the first
counties of this commonwealth. Mr. Paxtonwas
born near Crawfordsville, Ind., August 19, 1831.
His father, Thomas Paxton, was a native of
Tennessee, born in 1783. In an early day he re
moved to Indiana, locating on a farm near Craw
fordsville, and in 1835 he came to this county,
seftlin'g on a farm which is now the home of our
subject. He took up the land from the Govern
ment, and the only change in ownership was when
he deeded it to his son. He was an honored pio
neer and a man of sterling worth. His death oc
curred on the old homestead in his seventy-sixth
year. The Paxton family is of Scotch descent.
The mother of our subject bore the maiden name
of Cynthia S. Potts, and was born in South Caro
lina in 1 790. Her father, Jonathan Potts, was a

native of the same State. Her death occurred in
this county in her sixty-fourth year. Unto Mr.
and Mrs. Paxton were born twelve children:
Maria, Margaret, Rachel Ann, Elizabeth and
Thomas Newton, all deceased; Samuel, of Ames,
Iowa; Jonathan H, Robert F., Cynthia, Mary
Melinda and William H., all deceased; and James
P., who completes the family.
We now take up the personal history of James
Paxton, who was only four years of age when he
came with his parents to DuPage County. He
attended a school which was taught by his sister
Margaret, and other district schools, which were
held in a log schoolhouse, with slab seats, huge
fireplace and two small windows. Later, he was
a student in the Granville school. He early be
came familiar with all the duties of farm life, and
remained at home with his father until the latter's
death, caring for both his -parents until they were
called to the home beyond. He was first married in
1856, the lady of his choice being Miss Emeline
McFarren, who died leaving one son, Frederick
E., who was born in 1857, and now resides on a
farm in Naperville Township.
In 1862, Mr. Paxton was united in marriage
with Lydia Ann Burns. Unto them was born
one child, but both the mother and child died.
In 1869, our subject was united in marriage with
Nettie M. Holmsted, a native of Canada. Four
children grace this marriage, three sons and a
daughter: Nellie, now the wife of Loran L. Hill,
a prominent agriculturist of Naperville Town
ship; Edward S., James E. and Roy Ed, all of
whom are at home.
Mr. Paxton is the owner of a fine farm of two
hundred and sixty-five acres, and he takes a just
pride in the fact that it is one of the best tilled in
the county. In 1878 he erected a handsome
brick residence at a cost of $3,000. He has built
good barns and other outbuildings and made many
improvements which add both to the value and
attractive appearance of the place. He is widely
recognized as one of the leading and substantial
farmers of the community. In politics, he has
followed in the footsteps of his father. The
latter left the South on account of slavery. His
home became one of the stations on the famous

308

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

"underground railroad, " and he aided many
a poor negro on his way to freedom. Strongly in
favor of abolition, when the Republican party was
formed to prevent the further extension of slavery,
he at once joined its ranks, and its principles are
now supported by the ballot of James Paxton.
Our subject holds membership with the Congre
gational Church at Big Woods, and for twenty-
five years has served as Deacon. He takes an
active part in church and benevolent work, is
always found on the side of right, and his influ
ence and support are always given to those enter
prises calculated to Upbuild and advance the best
interests of the community. That his career has
been in harmony with his profession, is shown by
the many friends he has in the county which
has so long been his place of abode.

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fDGJlLLIAM A. TOPE, M. D., a well-known
\ A / resident of Downer's Grove, and a leading
V V young physician of this place, is a native
of the Buckeye State. He was born in New
Philadelphia, July 12, i860, and is a son of Jacob
J. and Mary Jane (Brown) Tope. -The father
was a native of Ohio, and there spent his entire
life. In his youth he learned the blacksmith's
trade, which he followed as a means of livelihood
throughout his business career. His death oc
curred in 1862, at the age of forty-eight 'years.
His parents were born in Ohio, but the family is
of German origin. The mother of our subject is
a native of Ohio, and still resides at the old home
in New Philadelphia. Her parents were also na
tives of the same State, and were of English de
scent. The Doctor is the youngest in a family of three
sons and three daughters. Two of the number
died in infancy. He remained under the parental
roof and attended the common schools until sev
enteen years of age, when, in order to acquire a
better education, he entered Wittenberg College
in Springfield, Ohio, where he remained until
twenty years of age. He then engaged in teach
ing school and reading medicine at his home for

three years, after which he entered the Western
Reserve Medical College of Cleveland, Ohio,
where he pursued his studies for three years, also
doing hospital work, as interne, a part of that
time. Subsequently, he spent one year in study
in Rush Medical College, of Chicago, from which
he was graduated in February, 1887. He entered
upon his professional career in Oak Park, 111.,
where he engaged in practice with his brother for
six months. In September of that year, he came
to Downer's Grove, where he opened an office
and has since been engaged in the practice of his
profession. On the 25th of May, 1887, the Doctor was uni
ted in marriage with Miss Fannie Weatherby, of
Port Washington, Ohio. Two children grace this
union, a son and daughter, William A. and Mary
Jane. The parents are leading young people of
this community and hold an enviable position in
social circles.
In his political views, Dr. Tope is a stanch Re
publican. His wife is a meriiber ofthe Moravian
Church, and he belongs to the Odd Fellows'
lodge -of Downer's Grove; the Beta Theta Pi, a
college fraternity; and the Alpha Gamma Chapter
of Springfield, Ohio. In the practice of his pro
fession, he is meeting with excellent success, and
his skill and ability have won him a liberal pa
tronage, which might well be the envy of many
an older practitioner. He is a popular, genial
gentleman, and aside from his business life he has
a large circle of warm friends.

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(JOHN P. WALLACE, who for long years has
| been identified with DuPage County, its his-
Q) tory and its upbuilding, now follows farming
on section 19, Downer's Grove Township. This
farm he entered from the Government, and for
nearly half a century he has made his home
thereon. When he located here, the Indians were
more numerous than the white settlers, the
greater part of the land was still in the possession
ofthe Government, and Chicago was the nearest
trading-post. One would not have dreamed that

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

309

within a short period that place was to become the
metropolis of the" West, and this county would
take a stride forward in civilization and progress
that would place it in the front rank amid the
counties of the State.
The life record of Mr. Wallace is as follows:
He was born in Grafton County, N. H., Novem
ber 19, 1807, and is a son of Joseph and Sarah
(Mclntyre) Wallace. His father was a native of
Scotland, and belonged to an old family of that
country. He was a farmer by occupation, and
throughout life followed that business. John P. is
one of four sons and three daughters. He was born
and reared upon his father's farm, and in his youth
attended the subscription schools, to which he
walked from one to two miles. He early became
inured to the arduous labors of the farm, and re
mained with his parents until he had attained his
majority, when he began working as a farm hand
for $10 per month, being thus employed for two
years. He then came to DuPage County, the
year 1837 witnessing his arrival. The journey
was made by way of the Great Lakes to Chicago,
from where he came to Downer's Grove Town
ship. A few years later he took up eighty acres
of Government land, for which he paid $1.25 per
acre, and upon the farm which he there devel
oped has since made his home. After two years
he was joined by his family.
In 1834, Mr. Wallace was united in marriage
with Miss Mehitable Harrington, a native of the
Green Mountain State, who was born August 9,
18 12. He is now in his eighty-seventh year,
and his wife in her eighty-second year. They
are the oldest couple in the county, and for al
most sixty years they have traveled life's journey
together. Their marriage has been blessed with
jnine children: Austin, who operates the home
farm; Sarah, deceased; Garrett J.; Hattie, de
ceased; Charlie, who has also passed away;
Emma; James; Alice F.; and Hamdon, de
ceased. ;
In politics, Mr. Wallace has been a stalwart
Republican since the organization of the party, and
has been honored with the offices of Constable
and School Director. He and his wife are faith
ful members of the Baptist Church. This worthy

couple upon life's journey have shared with each
other its joys and sorrows, adversity and prosper
ity, and in their declining years are blessed with
a consciousness of a well-spent past. Mr. Wal
lace has made his own way in the world since a
youth. He has met with obstacles and difficul
ties, but his determination has overcome these,
and his diligence and perseverance, together with
the assistance of his estimable wife, have won for
him a competence.

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fi>QlLLIAM LEWIS GARY, Cashier of Gary
\ A / & Wheaton' s Bank, at Wheaton, is the
V V eldest son and second child of Charles
Gary (see biography elsewhere), and was born
in Pomfret, Conn., July 7, 1828., He was near
the completion of his ninth year when his father
came with his family to DuPage County, and
his boyhood was passed at Gary's Mills, in Win
field Township. The first school which he at
tended after coming West was taught by his
aunt, Mrs. Laura Rickard, in the kitchen of his
father's house. He subsequently attended pub
lic school in a log building at Gary's Mills un
til he was seventeen years old. He continued to
assist his father in tilling the farm and operating
a sawmill till he reached his majority, when he
engaged in mercantile business at the same point.
This continued until the construction of the rail
road and location of stations at Wheaton and
Turner, when business could no longer be profit
ably conducted at Gary's Mills. He then be
came his father' s partner in the operation of the
farm and sawmill, and so continued until 1874,
when he moved to Wheaton to become Cashier of
the bank of Miner, -Gary & Webster. When the
bank changed hands, he continued in the same
office, which he still fills. The confidence of
his employers is indicated by the fact that he has
sole charge ofthe bank, both the proprietors hav
ing other interests to which they give their per
sonal attention. Under his conservative manage
ment the bank has the confidence of the com
munity, and is doing a prosperous business.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mr. Gary was married June 15, 1851, to Miss
Elizabeth White, a native of Wiscasset, Me. , and
daughter of Solomon and Joanna (Hathorn)
White, who were born in Wiscasset and Wool
wich, Me., respectively. Two sons were given
to Mr. and Mrs. Gary, the eldest, John E.,
being deceased. He was born October 19, 1852,
and died at Ripon, Wis., August 10, 1888, leav
ing a widow and one son, Ralph Leroy. William
Everett, born August 15, 1868, is his father's as
sistant in the bank.
Mr. Gary and family are communicants of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. He has always
been a supporter of the principles of the Republi
can party, and has filled several positions of local
trust. For ten years he was Township School
Treasurer, has served as Supervisor and Col
lector, and was President of the Town Council
of Wheaton when it was incorporated as a city,
and superintended its division into wards. He is
a genial arid social gentleman, and as a business
man and citizen enjoys the respect and esteem of
the community.

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P^AUL RUDORF, M. D., is a young medical
yr practitioner of Fullersburg, and one who is
\S rapidly winning a foremost place among his
professional brethren. His skill and ability have
already won for him a lucrative patronage and
gained him the confidence and regard of the com
munity. The Doctor is a native of Germany.
He was born in that country in 1861, being a
son of F. A. Rudorf, and is the only member of
the family that has emigrated to America. His
literary education was acquired in the schools of
his native land.
In 1880 the Doctor bade adieu to home and
Fatherland, for he had determined to try his for
tune in the New World. Crossing the Atlantic
to the United States, he at once made his way
westward to the city of Chicago, and began the
study of medicine in Hahnemann College, from
which institution, after pursuing a thorough
course of study, he was graduated in the Class of

'85. Being now prepared to enter upon the prac
tice of a profession which he had determined to
make his life work, he located in Fullersburg,
DuPage County, and at once opened an office for
the reception of patrons. It was not long before
he was receiving a good practice, and his business
has steadily increased.
After his graduation, Dr. Rudorf purchased a
pleasant little home in Fullersburg, and was uni
ted in marriage with Miss Caroline Meyers, a
cultured young lady. Two children have been
born of their union, Ottilie and Lydia, and are
now the life and joy of their parents' home. The
Doctor and his wife are people of prominence in
this community, where they have a wide circle of
friends and acquaintances. The Rudorf house
hold is the abode of warm-hearted hospitality, and
good cheer always abounds there.
In his political views, the Doctor is independent,
although he takes an active interest in politics.
By his ballot he supports the man whom he
thinks best qualified for the office, regardless of
party affiliations. The Doctor has ever been a
close student of his profession, and keeps abreast
with all the discoveries and theories connected
therewith. He has been extraordinarily success
ful in practice and has gained a reputation which
might well be envied by many an older physician.
Both in and out of his professional character, his
fellow-townsmen find him socially agreeable, and
he is highly regarded in the community where
he makes his home.
ra ' Sl Sl^T1 "> [S-* -1
QllGHO SIMONSON, a druggist of Downer's
\ / Grove, was born in Chicago, April 9, 1857,
V and is the eldest in a family of five chil
dren, whose parents were Charles and Catherine
(Hearth) Simonson. The father was a native of
Denmark, and there remained until middle life.
He learned the trade of a watch-maker, which he
followed until 1855, when he crossed the broad
Atlantic to America, and took up his residence
iu Chicago, where he has since engaged in the
jewelry business. He has been quite successful

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

3"

in his undertakings, having enjoyed a liberal
trade. He is now about sixty years of age.
His wife, who was also a native of Denmark, de
parted this life in Chicago at the age of fifty-five.
In his early youth, Mr. Simonson of this sketch
attended the common schools. At the age of ten
he began learning the watch-maker's trade un
der his father, with whom he worked until a
young man of eighteen years. He then went to
Europe with an uncle, who was a trader on the
seas, and, taking up his residence in Copenhagen,
he there spent one year, working as a watch-.
maker. He also spent a year in the same capac
ity in Ealtown, and a similar length of time in
travel, visiting, many points of interest through
out the country. On the expiration of that pe
riod, he returned to his native land, and for some
time was employed in wholesale jewelry houses
in Chicago. The year 1882 witnessed his arrival
in Downer's Grove, where he opened a jewelry
store, which he still conducts. He also owns a
half-interest in a drug store, and is a graduate of
a school of pharmacy.
In December, 1884, Mr. Simonson was united
in marriage with Miss Annie J. Lerveg, of Chi
cago, and unto them have been born four chil
dren: Eveline A., Beulah D., GuyL- and Edna I.
The family circle yet remains unbroken, and the
parents are widely and favorably known in this
locality. Mr. Simonson has been honored with the office
of Town Clerk for two terms. In politics, he is a
supporter of Republican principles. For a time
he filled the position of Secretary of the Building
and Loan Association of Downer's Grove, but was
forced to resign, as his time was completely occu
pied with his business interests. Socially, he is a
member of the Odd Fellows' lodge, the Encamp
ment, and the Woodmen's lodge of this place. The
Golden Rule has been the motto of his life, and
an upright, honorable career has gained for him
universal confidence.
When a mere lad, Mr. Simonson left school to
learn the watch-maker's trade, but through busi
ness experience and observation'* he has obtained
a useful fund of practical - knowledge. He pos
sesses an observing eye and retentive memory,

and the three years spent abroad were also a
source of education to him. He has thus become
well informed, and he is recognized as one of the
wide-awake, enterprising and progressive young
business men of Downer's Grove. He is now
doing a good jewelry and drug business, and
stands high in the community in which he lives.

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HENRY M. LYMAN, who carries on general
farming on section 5, Downer's Grove
Township, is numbered among the early
settlers of DuPage County, having witnessed the
greater part of its growth and upbuilding, while
with the work of development and progress he
has ever been prominently identified. He was
born in Vernon, Oneida County, N. Y., October
27, 182 1, arid is a son of Rev. Orange and Marcia
(Dewey) Lyman. The father was a minister, and
in the towns where the family lived Henry ac
quired his education, completing the same by
study in the academy at Painesville, Ohio. In
November, 1838, parents and children bade adieu
to the Buckeye State, and by team started west
ward. For three weeks the journey lasted, and
they drove over the ground where the ' ' White
City" (World's Fair) now stands, and stopped
in Chicago for a short time.
In the winter 011838-39, Henry Lyman taught
school in Hadley, Will County, for $15 per month.
He boarded around among the scholars, and
this occasioned him a walk of from one to three
miles to the schoolhouse. In the spring of 1839,
his father made a claim, and Henry came to the
farm on which he now lives, for a part of the old
homestead has since come into his possession. The
claim, situated a mile north of Downer's Grove,
comprised four hundred acres of land, on which
was a small log cabin. Only ten acres had been
broken, and father and sons at once turned their
attention to the development of the farm. Our
subject remained on the old homestead until the
winter of 1841 , when he went back to Will County
and taught in the old school where he was first
employed. A man of that community had ridden

312

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

to Mr. Lyman's home on horseback in order to
secure his services, but practically since first tak
ing up his residence upon the farm our subject
has here resided. He broke the prairie with ox-
teams, and did his trading in Chicago, where he
also hauled his grain, for there were only three or
four houses in Downer's Grove. He now owns
one hundred and sixty acres of valuable land and
carries on general farming and stock-raising.
The lady who bears the name of Mrs. Lyman
and has long been the faithful companion and
helpmate of her husband was in her maidenhood
Lovancia Pease. Two children were born unto
them, Walter C. and Sarah E. The former still
resides upon the old home farm, and is a well-
known agriculturist of this community.
Since the organization of the Republican party,
Mr. Lyman has been one of its stanch supporters,
but has never been an aspirant for official honors.
With the growth of the county, however, he has
been largely identified. He helped establish, sur
vey, and lay out a great many of the roads of this
township, and has done much in the interests of
the schools :of the community. He is a member
of the Congregational Church, contributes liber
ally to its support, and manifests a commendable
interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of
the community and its upbuilding.

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(JOHN DAVIS ACKERMAN was an honored
I pioneer of DuPage County. He was born in
© New York, October 24, 1799, and died in
Milton Township in September, 1859, respected
by all who knew him. His parents were both
natives of Holland, and his father died when John
was only about nine years of age. Our subject
grew to manhood in the Buckeye State, and there
married Miss Lurania Churchill. In 1834 he
emigrated westward with his family, and took
up his residence in Milton Township, DuPage
County. There were then but two houses be
tween his home and Chicago, which at that time
was a mere village. He made a squatter's claim,
which he afterward purchased, and there contin

ued to reside until his death, which occurred, in
1859. He devoted his energies to farming, and
transformed the tract of wild prairie into rich and
fertile fields, which yielded to him a good income.
He was a worthy pioneer, and in the early days
aided largely in the upbuilding and development
of the county.
Mrs. Ackermari long survived her. husband,
and passed away on the 31st of March, 1893, at
the age of ninety-one years, one month and six
teen days. In the family were five children, as
follows: Winslow; Elbyron; Miles; Erastus, now
of Mather, Wis. ; and Alonzo. The parents were
both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and were worthy people, who well merited the
high regard in which they were held.
Winslow Ackerman, who now resides in Glen
Ellyn, came with the family on their removal
westward in 1834. He was born in Onondaga
County, N. Y., July 21, 1826, and for sixty years
has resided in DuPage County. He aided in de
veloping and improving the old homestead, and
after arriving at man's estate, he purchased a
farm near the old place, which he still owns. In
connection with the cultivation of his land, he
also operated a threshing-machine for thirty-four
seasons. About 1888 he removed to Glen Ellyn,
where he has since resided. He is now living
retired, resting in the enjoyment of the fruits of
his former toil.
On the 22d of August, 1849, Mr. Ackerman
was united in marriage with Miss Permelia, daugh
ter of Joseph and Catherine Holmes. She was a
native of New York, and came with her parents
to the West during her girlhood. To Mr. and
Mrs. Ackerman were born four children: Eben,
Lorena, Perry, and Adella, who became the wife
of Eugene House, and is now deceased.
In his political views, Mr. Ackerman has been
a Republican since the organization of the party,
supporting each of its Presidential nominees since
casting his first vote for John C. Fremont. He
and his wife are inembers of the Free Methodist
Church. He is numbered among the honored
pioneer settlers of DuPage County, having lived
here since the days when the Indians were far
more numerous than the white settlers, when

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

3i3

deer and other wild game were very plentiful, and
hunting could be indulged in to a great extent.
Mr. Ackerman was a successful sportsman, and
often made $18 per day in trapping. He has
watched the entire growth and development of
this community, and has ever borne a prominent
part in its advancement. His name is insepara
bly connected with the history of the county, and
we gladly give the record of his life a place in
this volume.

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(JOHN WEST, dealer in drugs and general
I merchandise in Turner, was born on the 25th
G) of September, 1828, in Shepton Mallet, Som
ersetshire, England, and is a son of Joseph and
Sarah (Gaite) West, who were natives ofthe same
country. They had but two children, Dr. J. E.
and our subject. The paternal grandfather, Joseph
West, reared a family of seven children, and died
in England at an advanced age, as did also the
maternal grandfather. The family for many gen
erations had been wool manufacturers, and Joseph
West, Sr., followed the same pursuit. The clos
ing of the European wars acting disastrously on
the woolen interest, he gathered together the rem
nant of his fortune, and with his family emigrated
to the United States. His first venture proving
unsuccessful, he went to Mexico, but the unsettled
condition of the country caused him to retrace
his steps, and in the autumn of 1833 he perma
nently located in the flourishing manufacturing
village of Oriskany, N. Y.
Our subject was a babe at the time of the emi
gration to the New World. He says his first rec?
ollections are of making mud pies in the public
square of Manayunk, Pa. Between the ages of
five and nine years he attended school, studying
the old Webster's Elementary Spelling-book and
Daboll's Arithmetic, unless he could evade such
work by playing ' 'hooky . ' ' This latter finally
occupied so much of his time, that his father
placed him in the woolen factory, where he re
mained for eight years, working from five o'clock
in the morning until six in the evening, and often

until nine. Only thirty minutes were allowed for
meals and return to work. For all those long
weary hours of labor he received the munificent
sum of $1.25 to $3.50 per week — the latter only
for the last two years. Children employed in the
factory were often obliged to wade a mile through
deep snow in the dark of the morning in order to
be at their posts in time. There were but two
holidays in the year, New Year's Day and Fourth
of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas existing only
in name. On reaching the age of sixteen, Mr.
West was for six months placed under the care
and instruction of a Presbyterian minister, and
later spent a year in Whitesboro Academy, to
which he walked a distance of three miles.
In 1847, our subject entered the counting-room
of S. N. Dexter, as book-keeper and manager of
a general store, and has since been continuously
connected with mercantile pursuits. There he
remained three years, and out ofthe $150 received
for the first year's service, having no board to
pay, he saved $109.50. In 1848 he made his
first investment in shares of stock in the Galena
& Chicago Union Railroad, at the time when not
more than a mile of the road was built. He is
probably the only one of the original subscribers
to that road who still retains possession of his
stock. In 1850, Mr. West visited England and
the Great Exposition, and in 1852 embarked in
merchandising in Oriskany.
On the 2 2d of October of that year, our subject
married Miss Elizabeth Allison, daughter of
Robert and Sarah (Briggs) Allison, natives of
Leeds, England. Five children have been born
unto them, of whom one son died in infancy.
John A., of Turner, married Frank M. Shaw,
of Boston, and they have two sons, Joseph M.
and Paul F. Carrie is the wife of James T. Hos
ford, of Turner, by whom she has three children,
William F. , Mary and Florence. Sarah died in
1 86 1 ; and Annie is the wife of Clarence H. Brad
ley, of Turner. They have one son, Allison W.
In 1855, Mr. West was attacked with the gold
fever, and, going to California, engaged in min
ing for a year with good success. In the fall of
1856, he went to Blackberry, 111., and in the fol
lowing spring located in Turner, where he has

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

engaged in merchandising continuously since.
He is recognized as one of the prominent and in
fluential citizens of the community, and was called
upon to serve as Town Clerk for fifteen years,
and Postmaster for eight years. His public
duties he has ever discharged with promptness
and fidelity that have won him the commendation
of all concerned. Himself and wife were reared
in the Episcopal Church, but are now members
ofthe Congregational Church. In politics, he is
a supporter of the Republican party. Born in
England, he has lived in California and in the
extreme eastern and western and central portions
of this country. His life has been eventful to a
certain degree, but no matter where he has lived
his career has always been an upright one, worthy
of emulation.

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NENRY L- BUSH was for many years a lead
ing citizen of Downer's Grove, in fact was
one of her native sons, and this work would
be incomplete without the record of his life. He
was born on the 3d of February, 1840, being a son
of Edwin A. and Nancy C. (Stanley) Bush. The
father, a native of New York, came to this county
when a young man, the year of his arrival being
1835. From the Government he entered land,
and upon the farm which he there developed he
made his home until his death, which occurred at
the age of twenty -five years. He came of an old
New England family, which at a very early day
was founded in America. The mother of our sub
ject was born in Harford, Pa., and in this county
was called to her final rest at the age of sixty-
nine years.
No event of special importance occurred dur
ing the childhood and youth of our subject, which
were quietly passed upon his father's farm and
in faithful attendance at the common schools,
where he acquired his education. On the 27th of
August, 1865, he was united in marriage with
Miss Calla E. Belden, a native of Downer's
Grove Township, and a daughter of Nathan A.
and Fannie (Randall) Belden. Her father was

born in the Empire State, and on emigrating
westward, in 1844, located in DuPage County,
where he purchased a small tract of land and
built a blacksmith shop. In his youth he had
learned that trade, which he followed until his
death, which occurred at the age of forty-four
years. He was of Scotch extraction. His wife,
who was also born in New York, is still living, at
the age of seventy-five years.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bush were born two sons.
Guy L. is a well-educated, wide-awake and enter-'
prising young man, who is an accountant in Chi
cago. He owns an interest in the leading drug
store of Downer's Grove, and is at present the
youngest man ever elected to the position of Vil
lage Trustee. M. King, the younger brother, is
now employed in the Chicago office of the freight
department of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad, and is a universal favorite among
Downer's Grove people.
Mr. Bush was always a stanch Republican and
took quite an active interest in politics, doing all
in his power to insure the success of his party.
He represented his district on the Board of Equal
ization of Taxes for eight years, and was Assessor
of his township for seven years, proving a capable
and faithful officer. A self-made man, by well-
directed efforts, perseverance and industry, he
worked his way steadily upward and acquired a
handsome competency. He was called to his
final rest on the 15th of May, 1892, at the age of
fifty-two years, and his remains were interred in
Oak Hill Cemetery. He had a large circle of
friends, and his death was deeply mourned.

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fJJEORGE PERRIN GARY, eldest son of Jude
1 71 P. Gary, was born in Winfield Township,
U DuPage County, 111., December 13, 1838.
He attended the district school at Warrenville
until he was sixteen years old, and then entered
Wheaton College and completed one-half the
course. Returning to the farm, he alternated be
tween teaching school in winter and farming dur
ing the summer until 1861. In the last-named

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

315

year he crossed the plains to California, and spent
three years in that State, farming near Stockton
and milling at Oakland. He then returned to
the farm in Winfield and remained twelve years.
In 1866 he engaged in the manufacture of cheese
at Wheaton, and subsequently opened a ware
house for handling grain and coal, in partnership
with his brother-in-law, Dr. Alfred Waterman.
In 1868 he disposed of this business, and since
the ist of December in that year he has been
employed in the office of the Clerk of the Superior
Court of Cook County, at Chicago.
Mr. Gary has been leader of the Methodist
Church choir at Wheaton for several years, and a
member of the Republican party since its organiza
tion in 1856. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and a
member of the Knights of Pythias and Independ
ent Order of Odd Fellows.
On the 17th of May, 1861, Mr. Gary married
Miss Jeannette Hannah Brown, who was born
near Niles, Cook County, 111., and is a daughter
of Stephen and Phcebe Dean (Caton) Brown, pio
neers of this region. Mr. Brown was a native of
Massachusetts, and died when Mrs. Gary was a
small child. His wife was born near Utica, N. Y. ,
and was a sister of the venerable ex-Chief Justice
of Illinois, John Dean Caton. Two sons and a
daughter were given to Mr. Gary and wife. The
latter, named Margaret Dean, died when two
years old. The sons are Alfred Caton and George'
Lathrop. Alfred, who is Receiving Teller of the
Merchants' Loan & Trust Company Bank, Chi
cago, married Harriet Childs, and has a daughT
ter, Laura. George married Nettie LeRoy, and is
Chief Clerk in the Auditor's office ofthe Chicago
& Northern Pacific Railroad.

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~LLIOT WHIPPLE, whose ancestors came
'j from Connecticut, settling in Waterford, Vt. ,
__ soon after the Revolutionary War, is Pro
fessor of Social Science and Pedagogy in Wheaton
College, His grandfather, Daniel Whipple, cul
tivated a small farm in Waterford. His father,
Ira Whipple, married Phidelia Davis, and settled

in St. Johnsbury, Vt., where Elliot was born
September 11, 1842. The family removed to
Columbia, N. H., when he was seven years of
age. He was educated in the district schools
of that town and in Colebrook Academy, N. H,
finishing his preparation for college at Orford
Academy, N. H., and graduating at Dartmouth
College, N. H., in 1864. He began teaching in
district schools in 1858, and earned a part of the
money necessary for college expenses by teaching
school each winter.
Mr. Whipple was married to Samantha John- •
son, of Stratford, N. H, in 1863. Her father,
Elisha Johnson, was a farmer, whose ancestors
were from Connecticut, and settled in Stratford
about 1790. She was educated in the district
schools and at Lancaster Academy, N. H., and
St. Johnsbury Academy, Vt.
Mr*, and Mrs. Whipple were engaged in teach
ing in Massachusetts from 1864 to 1867, and re
moved to Wheaton, 111. , in the latter year, when
their eldest child, Harlan W. Whipple, was about
two years of age. Mr. Whipple was employed as
Principal of the preparatory department in Whea
ton College, and afterward became Professor of
Natural Sciences in the same institution. In
1869 was born their only daughter, Maud Whip
ple, who graduated from the classical course of
Wheaton College in 1892, and became teacher of
English and stenography in the same institution
in 1893. Mr. Whipple resigned his professorship
in 1872, and for fifteen years was absent from
Wheaton, being constantly engaged in teaching
in other institutions in Illinois, Indiana and New
Hampshire. In 1887 he returned to Wheaton to
take his old position as Professor of Natural
Sciences, which he held until the summer of 1893,
when he was transferred to the newly-created
chair of Social Science.
Professor Whipple has done considerable work
in county institutes in various counties in Illinois,
Indiana, New Hampshire and New Jersey, and
he is the author of ' ' Animal Analysis, ' ' a method
of teaching zoology. He received a State teach-
'er's certificate in Illinois in 1875* and a first-
grade certificate in the city of Boston in 1885.
Harlan W. Whipple graduated at Williams

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

College, in Massachusetts, in 1888, and was mar
ried to Emma E. Gould, of Andover, Mass., in
December, 1890. To them was born a son,
Harold C. Whipple, while they were temporarily
residing in Tacoma, Wash., in February, 1892.

EHARLES MERRITT Van BUREN, who
is extensively engaged in the breeding of
fine horses on his farm in Milton Township,
and who carries on a livery stable in Glen Ellyn,
is a native of the Empire State. He was born in
Rochester, on the 3d of May, 1864, and comes of
a family of Holland descent on his father's side.
His parents, Peter H. and Mary E. (Hoag) Van
Buren, were both born near Rochester. The
mother was a daughter of David Hoag, a native
of Scotland.
Charles M. Van Buren was brought to the
West by his parents when a year old, the family
settling in Elgin, 111. He attended the public
schools of that city, where he acquired his educa
tion, and at the age of sixteen began life for him
self as a farm laborer. At the age of twelve
years he began dealing in horses, for which busi
ness he had a natural aptitude. When a young
man of eighteen he went to Milwaukee, Wis.,
where he was employed by the City Railroad
Company for four years in the different capacities
of street-car driver, conductor and foreman.
On the expiration of that period, Mr. Van
Buren returned to Illinois, and made a location in
DuPage County. It was in July, 1889, that he
took up his residence near Glen Ellyn, and pur
chased a farm, which he still carries on. He is a
successful agriculturist, and his well-tilled fields
indicate to the passer-by the thrift and enterprise
of the owner. In the fall of 1893 he purchased a
livery stable in Glen Ellyn, and is now carrying
on business along that line. From a very early
age he has always, dealt iri horses, and during
the past eight years he has handled over three
hundred horses. His farm is devoted chiefly to
the breeding and raising of horses, and his stable
contains some fine thoroughbreds. He has a

reputation for handling only the best, and is
widely known as a dealer in fine stock.
On the 28th of May, 1885, Mr. Van Buren was
united in marriage with Miss Clara Wright, a
daughter of Philip Wright, of Milwaukee, Wis.,
in which city the lady was born. Three children
have been born of their union, soils, Franklin,
Arthur and Willard, and the family circle yet re
mains unbroken.
Besides his home in Glen Ellyn, Mr. Van
Buren owns considerable real estate in that vil
lage and elsewhere, for he has made judicious in
vestments in land. In politics, he is a supporter
of the Republican party, and warmly advocates
its principles, doing all in his power to promote
its growth and insure its success. He takes com
mendable interest in everything pertaining to the
welfare ofthe community, and is regarded as one
of the leading citizens of Glen Ellyn.

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pQlLLIAM H. WAGNER, one of DuPage
\ A / County's most useful citizens, whose suc-
V V cess in life may be attributed to his frugal,
temperate and industrious habits, located here
in 1852, and is now the oldest resident of Glen
Ellyn. He is a son of Joseph and Mary A. (Hoff
man) Wagner. His paternal grandfather, Tobias
Wagner, was a soldier ofthe War of 18 12. The
latter was the eldest son of Rev. Christian Wag
ner, a native of Germany, who preached the first
sermon ever delivered by a Lutheran minister in
the city of Philadelphia. He was afterward killed
while defending his adopted country in the Revo
lutionary War.
Joseph Wagner was born in Schuylkill County,
Pa., January 6, 1806, and died at Glen Ellyn,
September 2, 1887. His wife died there Novem
ber 5, 1880, aged over seventy -five years. Her
father, Michael Hoffman, was born at Albany,
N. Y., in 1759. Her mother, Mary Hoffman,
was born in Pennsylvania in 1764. Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph Wagner were the parents of eleven chil
dren: John H., a farmer near Garnett, Kan.;
William H., the subject proper of this sketch;
Matthias H.; Joseph H.; Farosina, who died in

&'<

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JOHN RUMBLE

REBECCA RUMBLE.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

321

infancy; Mary R., now the wife of W. O. Watts,
residing at Louisville, Ky.; Elias H.; Alamander
H.; Tobias S. H.; Jacob J. H.; and Catherine
L-, who died in infancy.
Joseph Wagner came to DuPage County in
1854. He purchased a farm in Milton Township,
where he resided until his death. He aud his
wife were devout adherents ofthe Lutheran faith.
. He was physically strong and active, even in old
age, and always manifested a deep interest in
public affairs. His first Presidential ballot was
cast for Andrew Jackson, and his last for Grover
Cleveland. William H. Wagner was born near Hamburgh,
Berks County, Pa., September 17, 1829. At the
age of nineteen years he began to learn the trade
of blacksmith. Soon after coming to this county,
in 1852, as stated above, he opened a shop at
Newton's Station, now Glen Ellyn. This shop
he continued to carry ou for about forty years.
In 1887 he opened a store, which he still carries
on with the assistance of his son. He also owns
considerable valuable real estate in and near the
village. Although his capital on coming to the
county consisted only of his two strong arms and
a d,etermined will, he has become a substantial
business man, in addition to rearing and educating
a large family.
Ou the 7th of August, 1851, Mr. Wagner
was married to Lovina S., daughter of Jona
than and Susanna (Shapell) Weidman. Mrs.
Wagner is also a native of Hamburgh, Pa. She is
one of a family of twelve children, her parents
being also of German descent. She has borne
her husband ten children. Farosina died in child
hood; Mary S. is now Mrs. Hubley, of Marinette,
Wis.; Norah became Mrs. Harnden, of Barring-
ton, 111. ; Charles died in childhood; Lillie, the wife
oi Dr. j. Peasley, resides at Marinette, Wis. , which
is also the home of the next child, William J.;
Frank M. is a salesman in a wholesale mercantile
establishment in Chicago; the next son, John C,
is connected with his father in business and re
sides at home; Guy W. is a druggist, and the
youngest child, Florence E., is at home with
her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner also have
six living grandchildren.
16

Though reared in the Lutheran faith, Mr.
Wagner has usually attended the Congrega
tional Church since coming to this county.
He was Treasurer of that society for many
years, though never a member. He was for many
years a member of the Sons of Temperance, and
has always taken an active part in temperance
work. In politics, he has ever been a consistent
Democrat. Although both township and county
are strongly Republican, he served four years as
Supervisor of Milton Township, and during one
year of that time was Chairman of the County
Board. While serving in that capacity, he exhib
ited a good knowledge of parliamentary rules. In
1886 he was appointed Postmaster by President
Cleveland. Upon the latter's second election he
positively declined to again become a candidate for
the position, though strongly urged to do so by
the citizens of all political views. Mr. Wagner
justly argued that the emoluments of the office
should go to some one more in need of the same.
When the village of Prospect Park was organized,
he was elected one of the first Trustees, serving
four years.
Mr. Wagner has always manifested a sincere
interest in the cause of education, serving four
teen years as School Director, during which time
the school at this place was said to be the best in
the county. He is an intelligent, courteous gen
tleman, and enjoys the friendship and esteem of
an extensive circle of acquaintances.

B-

(JOHN RUMBLE was born in Martinsburg,
I Lewis County, N. Y., June 29, 1810, and
O died March 27, 1861, in what was then Bab-
cock's Grove, but is now Lombard, DuPage
County. When quite young, the father of our
subject died, and he was reared by a farmer, who
lived in the neighborhood of his birthplace. He
endured many of the hardships and trials which
fall to the lot of the friendless orphan, and was
not permitted to attend school until after he had
attained his majority. His * services were con
stant in farm work, and from a very early age he

322

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was inured to the arduous labors connected with
the life of an agriculturist. In 1835, he deter
mined to seek a home in the West, believing that
he would thereby better his financial condition
and rise in the world with greater rapidity. A
few years after locating in Illinois, he entered a
claim near Naperville and began farming for him
self. On the 24th of October, 1837, Mr. Rumble was
united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Hardy,
daughter of David and Martha (Taft) Hardy, and
a native of Strafford, Vt. Her father, who was
also a native of the Green Mountain State, was a
son of Biley and Rebecca (Taylor) Hardy, and
on the paternal side was of French descent. His
father was a native of France and served in the
army of that country. His mother was born in
New Hampshire, and was a cousin of Gen. Zachary
Taylor. Mrs. Martha Hardy, mother of Mrs.
Rumble, was a daughter of Preserved and Anna
Taft. Her father was a Quaker preacher, and her
mother was reared in the Quaker faith. Both
were natives of Strafford, Vt.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rumble were born four
children: Henrietta, deceased, wife of L. Seavy;
Celestia, deceased, who was a most highly es
teemed young lady, and for several years success
fully engaged in teaching in DuPage County;
Nora, widow of J. Z. Moore, who died December
15, i889,atMenlo, Iowa; and Julia, widow of H. C.
Bancroft, who died in Wheaton, March 31, 1892,
at the age of fifty-seven years. He was born in
Plainfield, Vt. Mrs. Bancroft now resides with
her mother. She has one son, Edgar John.
About 1840, Mr. Rumble sold his claim near
Naperville, and after making a visit to Ohio en
tered a farm near the present village of Lombard.
This land he improved and cultivated until his
death. He was an enterprising agriculturist, and
the success he achieved in life was due todiis own
efforts. A part of the village, of Lombard now
stands on what was originally his farm. He
passed away March 27, 1861, and his death was
deeply mourned, for he was a highly respected
citizen. In September, 1871, his wife sold out
and removed to Wheaton, where she is yet living,
at the age of seventy-seven. Mr. Rumble was a

stanch Republican in politics, and joined the
party on its organization. He lived a quiet, un
assuming life, but won the confidence and good
will of all.
Mrs. Rumble came with her parents to DuPage
County in 1837, making the journey from Detroit
by team. Her father died at Brush Hill in 1849,
at the age of sixty-five. Her mother died in
Chicago, August 2, 1854, also sixty-five years of
age. They had seven children, but only two are
now living. One son, David, was living in Colo
rado at the time of the breaking out of the late
war. He there raised a company, entered the
service and fought for the Union until its preser
vation was an assured fact. Mrs. Rumble and
Mrs. Bancroft are members of the Methodist
Church. The former is a woman of rare judg
ment and executive ability. After the death of
her husband, when most of the able-bodied men
of the community had gone into the army and re
liable help was not to be had, she carried on the
farm alone successfully for several years, and was
pronounced by her neighbors a model farmer in
many respects. She possesses many excellencies
of character, and it is with pleasure that we pre
sent to our readers this record of her life.

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DWARD HAMMETT, Cashier of the Lin-
'y coin National Bank, Chicago, and a resident
_ of Wheaton, is descended from an old New
England family of English origin. His great
grandfather, Nathan Hammett, spent his life in
Newport, R. I., where he had au estate on the
harbor front, which he divided at death between
his surviving sons, Edward and Nathan. He
passed away July 18, 18 16, arid his wife, Cathar
ine Yates, of Providence, R. I., survived him
many years, dying February 17, 1837.
Edward, eldest son of Nathan Hammett, was a
builder and vessel-owner, interested in the whal
ing industry, and passed his life at Newport.
He died about 1858, being upwards, of eighty.
years old. His wife, Amy Lyon, was of English
descent, and was, like himself, a native of New-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

323

port. They had five sons and two daughters.
Albert, the youngest of these, is still a resident of
Newport, being seventy-two years of age, aud
being still, as always, engaged in the lumber
trade, occupying the site of his grandfather's es
tate on the harbor front. For a few years he
dwelt at New Bedford, but returned to Newport
in 1853. His- wife, Sarah Swasey, was born in
Salem, Mass. , and was a daughter of Alexander
Swasey, a captain in the merchant marine service,
making voyages to China. Through her mother,
Mrs. Hammett was descended from Jerathmel
Bowers, who came from England about the mid
dle ofthe seventeenth century, and settled on the
Taunton River, near Somerset, Mass. He was
an extensive shipbuilder and slave-owner, and
built a magnificent mansion near his shipyards.
On account of its commercial surroundings, this
is now an undesirable residence property, and is
used as a tenement for laborers.
Edward Hammett was born at New Bedford,
Mass., June 26, 1848, and was reared at Newport.
He attended the public school and a private school
there, and a business college at Providence, but
left school at the age of fifteen years, and has
since been actively engaged in business. He
was employed for a time in the Newport postoffice,
and later in his father's lumber office. With an
ambition to be numbered among the citizens of
the growing West, he set out for Chicago at the
age of nineteen. He secured employment as a
clerk with S. H. McCrea & Co., grain and
produce commission dealers, and remained in
their employ fourteen years, which is a strong tes
timonial to .his ability and faithfulness. For sev
eral years subsequently he was a partner in the
firm of W. F. Johnson & Co. , in the same line of
business. He was one of the original stock
holders and corporators of the Lincoln National
Bank, and was one of its first officers, and after
two years in other business, resumed his connec
tion with that bank, of which he is now Cashier.
In the spring of 1883 he became a resident of
Wheaton, and purchased sixteen acres of land,
with a handsome mansion facing College Avenue, *
at the corner of President Street. This house oc
cupies an elevation commanding a view of the

city of Wheaton and surrounding country, and is
an ideal home in which to rear a family.
On November 28, 1870, in Chicago, Mr. Ham
mett married Miss Mary E. Culver, who is a
native of that city. Her parents, John Breese
Culver and Margaret A. Boyd, were born in New
Jersey, and the city of Leith, Scotland, respec
tively, the latter being a daughter of John and
Jeannette Boy d . Mrs . Hammett ' s paternal grand
father, Phineas Culver, was born March 17, 1764,
in Bernard, Somerset County, N. J. His father
came from Shrewsbury, England, to Bernard when
an old man, and Phineas was early left an orphan.
With three elder brothers he joined the fortunes
of the Continental Army , being employed for sev
eral years as errand boy, and carrying a musket
at last. He settled at Horseheads, N. Y., and
became wealthy, owning five hundred acres of
land, but he refused to employ slave labor, as did
many of his neighbors. His wife, Phcebe Breese,
was a daughter of John and Hannah (Gilder-
sleeve) Breese, the former one of the first set
tlers at Horseheads, N. Y., and his wife a scion
of an old Protestant-Irish family. John, father
of John Breese, was born in Shrewsbury, England,
in 17 13, and settled at Bernard, Somerset County,
N. J., in 1735. His wife, Dorothy Riggs, was
also a native of Shrewsbury. John Breese, their
son, was born at Bernard in November, 1738.
Hannah Gildersleeve was born in June, 1750, and
they were married June 30, 1769, a date which is
supposed to have followed his settlement at Horse
heads. Phcebe and Deborah Breese, their twin
daughters, were born in February, 1773. From
the Breese family are descended many noted
American citizens, among whom may be men
tioned the late Judge Samuel Sidney Breese, Chief
Justice of the State of Illinois; Samuel Findlay
Breese Morse, inventor of the electric telegraph;
and Samuel Sidney Breese, Rear-Admiral of the
United States Navy, who was buried at Newport.
John B. Culver, one of the prominent early
citizens of Chicago, now resides with his daugh
ter, Mrs. Hammett, at Wheaton. The children
ofthe latter, nine in number, are as follows.:
Albert, a student in the medical department of
the Michigan University at Ann Arbor; Llewel-

324

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lyn; Edith May; Edward; Helen; Amy; Law
rence; Dorothy and Margaret. The eldest mar
ried Mary lone Cook, of Chicago.
Mr. and Mrs. Hammett are communicants ofthe
Methodist Church, and in many ways are active
in furthering the best interests ofthe community.
Their home bears many evidences of refined and
cultivated taste, and is the domicile of a happy
,and well-trained group of children, the central
figure being the cheerful wife and mother. Mr.
Hammett has never taken a prominent part in
political affairs, but has always adhered to the
Republican party, as the advocate and adminis
trator of sound principles of government. He
has served as a member of the Town Council of
Wheaton, and is now a Trustee of the Adams
Memorial Library. Without any sound of trump
ets, he proceeds daily to perform to the best of
his ability his duty to himself, his family and his
fellow-men.

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EEORGE WARNE GUILD, who carries on
general farming on sections 33 and 34, Win
field Township, is a highly-respected citizen
of this community, and with pleasure we present
the record of his life to our readers. A native of
New Jersey, he was born in Hunterdon County,
on the 28th of May, 1837, and is a son of Alex
E. Guild, who was a native of the same State,
and was of English descent. The latter followed
farming, and lived in New Jersey until 1838,
when he came to the West, and located in Fulton
County, 111. , where he took up Government land,
continuing its cultivation until 1842. He then
went to Kane County, where he entered another
tract of Government land. After a few years,
however, he sold out, and removed to what is now
called Elburn, where he again entered land.
There he kept hotel for about ten years, and lived
in Kane County until 1852, when, selling out, he"
removed to Chicago, where he engaged in dealing
in milk. In i860 he went to Pike's Peak, mak
ing an overland trip, and was engaged in mining
for several years. At this writing he is living in

Portland, Ore. , in the seventy -eighth year of his
age. His life has been an active and useful orie,
and has also been successful. He is a public-
spirited citizen, and himself and wife are members
of the Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Guild, Sr. ,was united in marriage with Miss
Susanna Warne, and to them were born five sons
and six daughters. Two are now deceased .
George W. is the eldest; Lizzie J. is the next
in order of birth; Henry is married and follows
farming at Ames, Iowa; Alexander E. is a prac
ticing attorney of Chicago; Susan A., William,
Sarah (deceased), Reuben, Ella, Hettie, and
Emma, who died in 1856, complete the family.
George W. Guild was born and reared on a
farm, and was only a year old when his parents
came to the West. He attended the district
schools and completed his education in Wheaton
College. To his father he gave the benefit of his
services until he had arrived at man's estate,
after which he spent one year in working as a
farm hand by the month. He then engaged in
renting land until 1862, and with the capital
which he had acquired through industry and per
severance, he purchased the farm which he now
occupies, becoming owner of one hundred acres.
To this he has added until the home farm com
prises two hundred and forty-five acres, and his
possessions altogether aggregate three hundred
and fifty-three acres. He now rents the greater
part of his land, having laid aside active business
cares. On the 5th of June, 1859, Mr. Guild was
united in marriage with Miss Abbie Warne.
They have one child, John W. , who was born
January 5, 1861, and died December 28, 1886,
his remains being interred in Big Woods Ceme
tery. In politics, Mr. Guild has always been a stal
wart supporter of Republican principles, but has
never been an aspirant for political offices. He
and his wife hold membership with the Methodist
Episcopal Church. His possessions have been
acquired through his own efforts, and his perse
verance, economy and good management have
brought him a handsome competence, which
numbers him among the substantial citizens" of

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

325

the community. He is also numbered among the
pioneer settlers, and has watched the growth and
development of the count)- from the days of its
, early infancy.

gHARLES HENRY STILES, a prominent
stock-breeder and business man of Wheaton,
was born at Cazenovia, N. Y., on the 10th
of April, 1849, and is a scion of the oldest and
best New England blood. His first ancestor in
this country was Robert Stiles, who came from
Yorkshire, England, and settled at Rowley,
Mass., in 1639. Joseph Dalton Stiles, grand
father of the subject of this notice, was a native
of New Hampshire, born at Keene in 1798.
He married for his second wife (the first having
died at a very early age) Desdemona Wadsworth,
and lived at Cazenovia, N. Y. Here was born
his son, Lyman Harkness Stiles, who took for a
helpmate Miss Martha Dobbin, a native of Cats-
kill, same State. To them were born three chil
dren, the first of whom died in infancy, the third
being . he whose name heads this article. When
the latter was twelve years old, his parents died,
and he passed the succeeding eight years of his
life as a member of the family of Virgil' Maro
Armour, a cousin of Philip D. Armour, the noted
Chicagoan. C. H.. Stiles attended the common schools the
allotted time for farmer lads, and early displayed
an energy and business capacity which gave
promise of a useful career. At the age of twenty
years he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he en
gaged in business with his brother-in-law, Levi
W. Hart, under the firm name of Hart & Stiles.
They manufactured cigars, and kept a drug store
and livery stable for two years. The capital em
ployed in this way by Mr. Stiles was inherited from
his uncle, Adoniram Dobbin, a prominent hard
ware merchant of Geneva, N. Y. Subsequently,
Mr. Stiles spent three years in the United States
railway mail service, and had charge of the first
white mail car sent out on the Lake Shore &
Michigan Southern Railroad. At the expiration

of his term in this service, he engaged in selling
pools and bookmaking on races, and has since
been associated with most of the great racing
events in this country. It is no uncommon thing
for him to handle $100,000 in a single day's
racing. He is now a member of the firm of Bride
& Stiles, formerly Bride, Armstrong & Stiles,
which controls the privileges on the principal
tracks of America, having just closed a contract
for ten years on the Mexican circuit.
Having resolved to engage in the breeding of
fine trotting animals, Mr. Stiles purchased in
1890 one hundred acres, a mile north of Wheaton,
which he has fitted up with all the conveniences
and requisites for that purpose, and now makes
his home there. He is the owner of "Elect-
wood," No. 17,004, by "Electioneer," No. 125;
dam "Amrah," by "Nutwood," No. 600, one of
the finest specimens of "Electioneer" stock, and
numerous other finely-bred horses. He has not
spared money, and, with his opportunities for
selecting winning strains, he can not fail to de
velop some of the fastest steppers in the country.
His farm and stables compose the home of one
hundred handsome and aristocratic blooded ani
mals. He is interested in the new regulation mile-
track adjoining his farm, a great resort for Chi
cago horsemen, which will hereafter be the scene
of interesting trotting events. The farm also
furnishes a breeding-ground for game chickens
and fine dogs — Scotch Collie and English Fox
Terriers — to which Mr. Stiles gives considerable
attention. Socially, Mr. Stiles is a most genial and affable
gentleman, whom it is a pleasure to meet. While
he is deeply interested in racing and stock-breed
ing, he is capable of conversing intelligently on
other topics, being possessed of an "interest in
general affairs and a progressive and enterprising
spirit. He is a member and stockholder of the
Northwestern Breeders' Association, and of the
Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Stiles is, no doubt, the youngest soldier
who saw two years' active service in the Civil
War. He enlisted in July, 1863, in Company
B, Fifteenth New York Cavalry, and served un
der Gens. Sigel, Hunter and Sheridan, taking

326

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

part in every battle and all the campaigns in the
Shenandoah Valley. The horse he rode in the
Hunter campaign was one of three that came back
in our lines out of thirteen hundred starters, which
not only shows that it was a hard campaign on men
and horses, but also shows that Mr. Stiles was a
good forager and horseman. He was a member of
Custer's famous division, the only cavalry division
that ever received a distinctive badge from the
Government, which consisted of a red necktie,
worn at the Grand Review in Washington, iu
June, 1865. Immediately after the last-named
event, Mr. Stiles was discharged as a supernum
erary non-commissioned officer, his regiment
having been consolidated with another.
In 1889 occurred an interesting and important
event in the life of Mr. Stiles, when he. took for
a helpmate Miss Della E. Burt, a native of Liv
erpool, England, and a daughter of an Episcopal
clergyman, Rev. Dr. Lionel Jerome Burt and his
wife Henrietta Evangeline, nee Westreff. Mrs.
Stiles is an amiable and accomplished lady, who
takes an interest in church and society matters,
and presides over the hospitable home of her hus
band with grace and ease. Their residence oc
cupies a high and healthful site, overlooking the
little city of Wheaton, and is the abode of quiet
elegance and refinement.

~«Hr-»

["VERCE DOWNER was numbered among the
Vf pioneer settlers of northern Illinois, and was
\S the honored founder of Downer's Grove.
The record of his life is inseparably connected with
the history of this community, and this work
would be incomplete without the sketch of one
who bore such a prominent part in public affairs
in earlier years. He was born in Plainfield,
Windham County, Vt., July 25, 1782, and mis
father, Elisha Downer, was one of the early set
tlers of the Green Mountain State. Pierce was
there reared to manhood, and was married in
1808 to Mrs. Lucy Ann Ellis, widow of Stephen
Ellis, whose father was Judge Ellis, a leading

citizen of Ellisburg, Mass. Her father was John
Wilsqn, a veteran soldier of the Revolutionary
War. A large family was born unto Mr. and Mrs.
Downer, and, wishing to provide for them in a
' better way than he believed possible in the East,
the husband and father resolved to seek a loca
tion in the West. In 1832 he left Rutland, Vt.,
and made his way to Chicago, there joining his
son Stephen, who was at that time engaged in
constructing the first light-house ever erected at
Chicago. Mr. Downer spent a few days with his
son, during which time he made inquiries con
cerning the surrounding country. At length he
decided that DuPage County was the garden spot
of Illinois, and took up his residence upon what
is now section 6, Downer's Grove Township.
He was the first settler at the Grove, which was
named in his honor, as were also the township
and village. In 1833 his son, George Dorance,
came to Downer's Grove, but only remained here
for two years, after which he settled in St. Charles,
111. In October, 1834, his daughter Adeline
came West to keep house for her father, and was
the first white woman to locate at the Grove. In
1836 Mrs. Downer and her son Elon came
around the Lakes, embarking at Sacket's Harbor
on a schooner commanded by Capt. Pheatt, who
was well known as one of the most popular and
able captains on the Lakes. Such a trip in 1836
was considered as great an undertaking as a trip
now around Cape Horn.
Mr. Downer was a practical and progressive
farmer, who kept well posted on and made use of
all improvements in farm machinery. It was his
pride that his farm was one of the best-tilled in
the State. His fences were well kept, everything
was neat and order 1)-, aud his stock was in good
condition. His life was a busy one, yet he found
time to keep himself well informed on all the
questions of the day. During his entire life he
was a reader of the Congressional Record. He had
one of the best libraries in the State, and many
hours were spent in making the contents of the
volumes his own. In all his interests and work
he found a faithful companion and helpmate in
his wife, and together they traveled life's journey

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

327

for fifty-five years. Mrs. Downer died on the
25th of March, 1863, and only for a few short
hours were they separated by death, for the fol
lowing day Mr. Downer passed away. They
were buried on the old homestead on Friday, the
27th, and throughout the community their loss was
mourned. Mr. Downer was ever found in the
front rank of enterprises calculated to prove of
public benefit, and the county recognized in him
a valued citizen.
Stephen E., son of Pierce Downer, and twin
brother of George, was born. September 28, 1809,
and in a very early day emigrated to Chicago.
In 1837 he married Amanda Tasker, and unto
them were born four children: Lucy Ann, Ellen
Amanda, George E. and Jerome. Lucy Ann be
came the wife of Henry Pierce Downer, and they
have two children, Elletta A. and Charles H.
The latter is manager of the Union Publishing
House, of Chicago, and resides in Downer's Grove.
Ellen Amanda is the wife of Jerome B. Hitch
cock, and their daughter, Pearl L-, is the wife of
Clay Bradley, by whom she has three children,
George Elsworth, Nellie and Lyle. George Evans
married Delia Henry, who died without issue in
1885, and the next year he wedded Catherine Es
ser, by whom he has three children: George Mel
ville, born August 1, 1887; Pierce Aubrey, May
24, 1889; and Delia Marie, July 29, 1892.
Adeline Downer, daughter of Pierce Downer,
was born in Rutland, N. Y., September 12, 1812.
James, the next child, was born in Rutland June
10, 1818, and there died in July, 1819. Maria
was born in Rutland August 6, 1820, and died
February 1, 182 1. Elou E., born March 17,
1827, married Ellen M. Knox, daughter of John
Knox. Several children were born to them,
but all died in youth save Addie M. and James
Pierce. The former married Frank Lindley, of
Downer's Grove, Superintendent of Car Service
on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
She died, leaving a daughter, Lucy. James P.
married Nellie Archer, and has one child, William.
George Dorance Downer, the son of the sub
ject of this sketch, and twin brother of Stephen E. ,
was born in Rutland, N. Y., September 28, 1809,
and in Utica, N. Y., was married June 25, 1836,

to Miss Lucina Gertrude Bulkeley, daughter of
Henry Stanley and Sallie (Durrin) Bulkeley, of
Fairfield, Conn. Mrs. Downer traced her ances
try in this country back to Rev. Peter and Jane
Ann Bulkeley, who came to America in 1634.
Henry Stanley Bulkeley, her father, the son of
Jonathan and Hannah (Hoyt) Bulkeley, was born
March 18, 1776. Jonathan, the son of Peter and
Abigail Bulkeley, was born September 21, 1731.
He married Miss Hannah Hoyt, daughter of
James Hoyt, of Norwalk, Conn., June 21, 1762.
With this family is associated an incident of the
Revolutionary War well worthy of mention. On
the 7th of July, 1776, Gov. Tryon sailed with his
army from New Haven, and the next morning
disembarked upon the beach at Fairfield. The
Hessians who accompanied him were his incen
diaries, and to them he intrusted the wielding of
the torch which was to burn the town. The peo
ple fled, and, not expecting that their homes
would be burned, left most of their furniture be
hind. The distress was consequently very great.
Among the buildings saved was that of Mr.
Bulkeley, which Tryon made his headquarters.
The officer who had command of the British fleet
was Mrs. Bulkeley's brother, and he requested
that Tryon save the house of his sister. Tryon
acquiesced, and the house was spared, as were
the two adjoining houses, which were so close as to
render it impossible to burn them without endan
gering Mrs. Bulkeley's home. The three houses
are standing to this day.
Peter Bulkeley, the father of Jonathan, was the
son of Joseph and Martha (Beers) Bulkeley, and
was born in Fairfield, Conn., May 21, 1684. Jo
seph Bulkeley, son of Thomas and Sarah (Jones)
Bulkeley, was born in 1644. Thomas Bulkeley
was the son of Rev. Peter and Jane Ann Bulkeley.
Peter's first wife was born in England April 11,
1617. Rev. Peter Bulkeley, B. D., was of the first
generation of the Bulkeley family in America,
and was of honorable and noble l;neage, being
descended from Robert Bulkeley, Esq., one of
the English barons, who, in the reign of King
John, was Lord of the manor of Bulkeley in the
County Palatine of Chester. He was born at

328

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Wood Hill, in Bedfordshire, January 31/1583.
His father, the Rev. Edward Bulkeley, D. D., was
a faithful minister of the Gospel, under whose
direction his son received an excellent education
suited to his rank. At the age of sixteen, he was
admitted to St. John's College, of Cambridge, of
which he was afterward chosen Fellow, and from
which he received the degree of Bachelor of Div
inity. He succeeded his father in the ministry
and enjoyed his rich benefice and estate. For
about twenty years he was a zealous preacher of
Evangelical truth in his native town, but at length
he met with such success, and his church was so in
creased, that complaints were entered against him
by Archbishop Laud, and he was silenced for
his non-conformity to the requirements of the
English Church. This circumstance induced him
to emigrate to New England, where he might
enjoy liberty of conscience.
To prevent detention Rev. Mr. Bulkeley left
England in-disguise on the vessel, ' 'The Susan and
Ellen," and as a matter of precaution his wife
Grace and son John embarked in another ship.
He arrived in Cambridge in 1634, and became a
leader of those resolute men and self-denying
Christians who founded Concord. Here he ex
pended most of his estate for the benefit of his
people. He was remarkable for his benevolence.
To his servants who had lived with him for sev
eral years, he would give farms, and then employ
others to be treated in like manner. His merit
and affability drew around him persons of all
ages, and his easy address, great learning and
eminent piety rendered his society pleasing and
profitable. He was a thorough Christian, and
his untiring labors and persuasive eloquence made
him a successful preacher. He often wrote series
of sermons on particular passages of scripture, and
one of these on Zachariah ix: 2 was published as
"The first-born of New England," and passed
through several editions, the last bearing the
title "The Gospel Covenant, or The Covenant of
Grace Opened. " In it is explained : ( 1 . ) The
difference between the covenant of grace and cov
enant of works. (2.) The different administra
tion of the covenant before and since Christ. (3.)
The benefits and blessings of it. (4.) The con
ditions. (5. ) The properties of it.

Two of Mr. Bulkeley^s manuscripts are pre
served in the library of the American Antiquarian
Society, one ofwhich contains answers to several
theological questions, and the other on the char
acter and government of the church. From Shat
tuck 's History we learn that Rev. Mr. Bulkeley
was one of the organizers and the first pastor of
the church in Concord, Mass. — the first church
in America to adopt the practice of catechising
children. Cotton Mather says, "This was one of
the constant exercises of the Sabbath. All un
married people were required to answer questions,
after which expositions and applications were
made by Mr. Bulkely to the whole congregation."
We now return to the history of Mr. and Mrs.
George Dorance Downer, and note their children
as follows:
Henry Pierce was born May 15, 1837, and
married Lucy Ann, daughter of Stephen Ellis.
George Orson, born May 16, 1840, married
Jean M., daughter of James Williamson, and
unto them were born the following children:
George Bruce, born March 24, 1870; Roy Ed
ward, April 8, 1874; James Earl, April 18, 1876;
and Grace Martha, September 22, 1878.
Martha Lucina, only daughter of George D.
Downer, born May 26, 1846, became the wife of
Albert Lee, of Vermont, and afterward married
Clark R. Hunt, of Aurora, 111.
John Dempster, born May 26, 1848, resides at
Downer's Grove. He was married September
10, 1884, to Rose L- Deuel, by whom he has three
children: Martha Lucina, born January 9, 1886;
Rose Ellen, November 5, 1888; and Marie H.,
September 27, 1890.
Melville Bulkeley, born December 26, 1851,
was united in marriage- May 24, .1882, with Miss
Adelaide F. , daughter of Robert Summers, who
was born in England, and is a son of Joseph
Summers. They have two children: Martha
Adelaide, born July 17, 1883; and Helen Fitzena,
January 13, 1887.
Of Pierce Downer's descendants at the Grove,
George E., the son of Stephen E., is engaged in
the house-painting and decorating business.
Melville B., grandson of Pierce and son of
George, is a member of the firm of Downer &

Thomas Betts.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

33i

Markham, proprietors of the Union Publishing
House of Chicago.
John Downer, his brother, is associated with
him in the publishing business.
Elon, the son of Pierce, still lives on the old
homestead in the enjoyment of a well-earned
competency. James Downer, his son, carries on
the farm, he and his good wife assuming the
cares and burdens of life, while the father and
mother are peacefully drifting along the shores of
time to a happy old age.
"HOMAS BETTS, a retired farmer residing
in Naperville, was born on the 6th of Decem
ber, 1832, in Rochester, N. Y., and comes
of English parentage. His father, Thomas Betts,
was a native of England, and there was reared
and learned the trade of shoemaking. After arriv
ing at mature years, he wedded Mary Wilson, who
was also born in Yorkshire, England. The year
1829 witnessed their emigration - to America.
They located, on Long Island, thence removed to
western New York, and in 1840 came to DuPage
County, locating three miles west of Naperville.
The father entered land from the Government,
built a small log house, and began the improve
ment of the farm. To agricultural pursuits he
devoted his energies until 1884, when he removed
to Naperville, where he lived retired until his
death, in 1887, in the eighty-eighth year of his
age. His wife died upon the home farm, at the
age of eighty-three. This worthy couple were the
parents of three children, but our subject, the only
son, is the only one now living.
Thomas Betts was a lad of but eight summers
when he came with his parents to Illinois. The
only educational privileges afforded him were
those of the district schools. At the age of fifteen,
he left home and began working on the railroad
by the month. He afterward learned the carpen
ter's trade, which he followed until the breaking
out ofthe late war, when, prompted by patriotic
impulses, he enlisted in Company I, Fifty-eighth
Illinois Infantry, as a private. The" first engage

ment in which he participated was the battle of
Ft. Donelson. At the battle of Shiloh, a minie-
ball struck him in the left hip and came out of
the right thigh. After one year he was dis
charged, and the brave boy in blue who proudly
marched forth to the defense of his country re
turned home on crutches. As soon as possible,
however, he re- enlisted, joining Battery I, Second
Illinois Artillery, and served as Quartermaster-
Sergeant until the close of the war, when he was
mustered out, in June, 1865.
When his country no longer needed his serv
ices, Mr. Betts at once returned to his home and
family, and in the spring of 1866 was elected
Town Clerk of Aurora. In October, 1867, he
sold his property there and bought a farm in Du
Page County, near the old Betts homestead, upon
which his father first located. There he remained
eighteen years, carrying on agricultural pursuits,
after which he came to Naperville.
In 1857, Mr. Betts was united in marriage
with Hannah Wilson, who was born in Yorkshire,
England, and came to America when sixteen
years of age. They have four children, two sons
and two daughters: Mary, wife of George Frost,
of Aurora: Charles R., of Naperville, who is en
gaged in the feed, mill and coal business; Thomas
H, an engineer; and Olive, wife of M. L- Willard,
of Naperville.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Betts has been
a stalwart Republican since casting his first Pres
idential vote for John C. Fremont. For eight
years he has filled the office of Assessor, his faith
ful performance of duty winning him frequent re
election. For three years he served as Supervisor
of his township, and for two years was Alderman
of this place. He has also been School Director
for twenty years, during which time he has done
effective- service for the cause of education, which
finds in him a faithful friend. Socially, he is
connected with the Masonic fraternity; the Odd
Fellows' society; and Walter Blanchard Post No.
386, G. A. R.
Mr. Betts has lived a quiet, unassuming life,
largely devoted to farming interests, and through
his well-directed efforts he has acquired a hand
some competence, that now enables him to live

332

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

retired, enjoying the rest that he has so truly
earned and richly deserves. His upright, hon
orable career has won him high regard, and made
him a valued citizen of the community where he
has so Ions- made his home.

&+&

QARLETON NOAH GARY, eldest son of N.
I( E. Gary (see genealogy elsewhere), isana-
\J tive son of Wheaton, of whom her citizens
may justly be proud. His birth occurred April
23, 1868. He early manifested a taste for study, and
graduated at the Wheaton High School at the age
of fourteen years, being a member of the class of
two first graduated from that institution, and the
youngest to graduate there, as well as from
Wheaton College, where he took his degree of A.
B. when only eighteen years old. Entering the
Union College of Law at Chicago, he was gradu
ated in 1888, and at once entered on the practice
of his profession in that city. Without the aid of
preceptors in the form of senior partners, or other
aid save such as his precocious intellect afforded,
he at once secured a remunerative practice, and in
five years has accumulated a handsome property.
His practice is general, and keeps him closely oc
cupied. With his nervous activity, Mr. Gary has as
sumed many duties outside of those imposed by
an onerous profession in the keen atmosphere ofa
large city's competition, and has been for three
years a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, making numerous addresses in that ca
pacity. He has been active in the promotion and
management of the Epworth League, the young
people's society of the Methodist Church, in
which he holds numerous official positions, being
Secretary of the Rock River Conference League
and President of the North Chicago District
League. In the management of large enterprises, Mr.
Gary has also shown marked capability. The
whole charge of the construction and manage
ment of the Epworth Hotel, the headquarters of
Methodist people at the Columbian Exposition,

was placed in his hands, and very successfully
executed. This was about the only temporary
hotel for World's Fair purposes that met with
success. Its construction involved the expendi
ture of $150,000, as well as the raising of that
amount, and employed three hundred people, and
the success of the venture affords ample proof of
the manager's executive ability.
In 1890, Mr. Gary built his handsome home on
Gary Avenue, corner of Franklin Street, in
Wheaton, and at once brought his bride there to
reside. Their wedding took place on the 25th of
June, in that year. Mrs. Gary, whose maiden
name was Louise Stover, is the youngest daugh
ter of Rev. Seymour Stover, a pioneer Methodist
preacher of northern Illinois, whose biography
will be found elsewhere in this work. She is the
faithful coadjutor of her husband in his worthy
work, and their home is the seat of refinement
and quiet, graceful hospitality. Two children
have come to bless this home, viz. : a son, born on
his father's birthday in 1892, named Arthur Carle
ton, and a daughter, born December 8, 1893,
named Dorothy Louise.

-S3.

^«

cs_

QHILO WARREN STACY, a prominent resi-
yr dent of Glen Ellyn, is the youngest and only
[2 surviving child of Moses arid Joan Stacy
(see biography of Moses Stacy). He was born
at Ashford, Cattaraugus County, N. Y., on the
13th of January, 1833. On account of his frail
health in youth, he did not attend school very
regularly, but being mentally well endowed, he
has managed to become a well-informed and use
ful citizen. He attended Troy Conference Acad
emy, at Poultney, Vt., and afterward Black River
Academy, at Ludlow, the same State, for short
periods each, and this was supplemented by the
advantages offered iu the primitive schools of
DuPage County. He remained on the home
farm until he was twenty-three years old, and
then began renting land, which he subsequently
purchased and now owns. His father's and his
own estate at one time included six hundred acres

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

333

of valuable land, and his main occupation has
always been farming until within the last ten
years. His holdings now include valuable lots in
the corporate village of Glen Ellyn. For twenty-
years he has been crop reporter for the National
Government and the State, as well as for C. K.
W. Prime, ofDwight, 111., a widely-known au
thority. From 1888 to 1892 he served as Justice
ofthe Peace, and from 1881 to 1890 had charge
of the roads and streets of Milton Township.
For thirty-seven years he has operated a road-
grader in the township, as a contractor. In 1857
he was elected Constable, and served for five years,
and has been for many years a School Director.
He has always been active in furthering the in
terests ofthe community, and is recognized as a
man of affairs, enjoying the respect and good-will
of his fellows.
Mr. Stacy may be regarded as a charter mem
ber ofthe Republican party, his first vote being
cast in the year of its organization, and it has al
ways been the exponent of his views on public
policy. He was for many years a member of the
Baptist Church of Wheaton, and now affiliates
with that denomination at Glen Ellyn. He is a
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and
was for five years Quartermaster of Wheaton
Post. He enlisted in 1864 in Company H, One
Hundred and Forty-first Illinois Infantry, and
acted as Quartermaster of the company in garri
son at Columbus, Ky.
February 22, 1853, Mr. Stacy was married to
Miss Betsey D. Taylor, a native of Spencer, N. Y.
Mrs. Stacy's father, Rev. Philander Taylor, was
a Baptist clergyman, a native of Vermont, who
came early to Illinois, locating'at Newark in 1844,
removing thence to Warrenville, DuPage County,
and in 1846 to Glen Ellyn. For many years he
preached at Glen Ellyn, Bloomingdale and Hard
ing, and died in 1881 at the residence of a son
near Ottawa, his remains being interred in Forest
Hill Cemetery, at Glen Ellyn. His wife, Thank
ful W. Manning, also a native of Vermont, died
at Glen Ellyn in March, 1870.
Three children have been given to Mr. and
Mrs. Stacy, only one ofwhom survives, namely:
Carrie A., born in 1856. Warren A., born in

1857, died in 1872; and Fannie M., born in July,
1864, died December 31, 1890. In 1893 Mr.'
Stacy erected his handsome residence on the site
of his father's first log house, one ofthe most de
sirable locations for a home in the county. It
is an elevated spot on Main Street, Glen Ellyn,
a half-mile north ofthe railroad station, and was
evidently intended by nature as the seat of a
pleasant and hospitable home, such as now occu
pies and adorns it.

CVSAAC BRADFORD CHURCHILL, one of
I the oldest and most esteemed citizens of Du-
Jt Page County, is descended from one of the
earliest New England families. His ancestors
are supposed to have cpme to America in the
Mayflower. Isaac Churchill, the grandfather
of our subject, was born February 22, 1736,
probably in Massachusetts. His wife, Mat-
tiah, bore him nine children, the fourth being
named Winslow. The latter, who wrote his
name Churchell, was born at Brandon, Vt. , De
cember 30, 1770. He became a farmer and was
also a mason by trade. In 1804 he removed from
Brandon to Camillus, Onondaga County, N. Y.,
purchasing a farm, through which the Erie Canal
was afterward built, and which he carried on for
thirty years. He also built and ran a boat, "The
Growler," on the canal. While a member ofthe
New York militia, he was temporarily called into
service in the War of 1 8 1 2 , but did not take part
in any battle. In 1834 he came to the West,
bringing his family and goods by water as far as
Chicago. On their arrival he purchased a team
of oxen, and proceeded to look up a location.
Coming into DuPage County by a somewhat cir
cuitous route, he selected a claim, which after
ward proved to be in the northeast corner of the
present township of Milton. The first house
which he built of logs is still standing, and was
occupied as a dwelling until four years ago. He
continued to cultivate and improve this farm
until failing health compelled him to abandon all
active pursuits. His death occurred September

334

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

18, 1847. For a year or two previous he had
been almost helpless, but bore his afflictions with
Christian fortitude. In early life he united with
the Presbyterian Church, in which he was for
many years a Deacon and Chorister. After com
ing here he and his estimable wife joined the
Congregational Church. A year or two after the
family came here, a schoolhouse was built at
Babcock's Grove, in which religious services
were held regularly by the Methodists. The
Churchill family attended these meetings, and
when no clergyman was present, which frequent
ly occurred, Winslow Churchill took charge of
the services, and sermons were read by Isaac B.
Churchill, who was quite an elocutionist.
In politics, he was an ardent Whig, though
never aspiring to public office. Patriotic, dili
gent and earnest in all his undertakings, he com
manded the respect and confidence of all, and the
name of Winslow Churchill deserves a high rank
among the honored pioneers of DuPage County.
He was married about 1796 to Miss Mercy
Dodge. Her death occurred February 2 1^ 1863,
at the age of eighty-nine years, eight months and
eight days. She bore her husband eleven chil
dren : William, deceased; Melinda, Mrs. Ket-
chum, also deceased; Lurania, Mrs. J. D. Acker
man, deceased; Christiana, Mrs. D. Christian;
Seth, deceased; Major, deceased; Betsy, Mrs. S.
Mahaffy, of Palos, Cook County, 111.; Winslow,
now residing at Downer's Grove; Amanda, de
ceased; Isaac B., the subject proper of this sketch;
and Hiram, also deceased. The first four or five
of these were born in Vermont, the others in
New York. Lurania and Christiana were twins.
Up to the death of the former, which occurred
March 31, 1893, at the age of ninety-one years,
one month and sixteen days, they were said to
be the oldest living twins in the world. Mrs.
Christian still survives at her home near Glen
Ellyn. Isaac B. Churchill was born at Camillus, N.
Y., April 22, 1818. He was sixteen years old
when the family came to this county. As soon
as their house was built, he and his brother
Seth started with an ox-team to break a new road
to Chicago, and bring out a load of goods which

had been left there. In crossing Salt Creek,
which was unusually high, the wagon was over
turned, but after receiving a thorough soaking,
they succeeded in reaching the bank, and con
tinued the journey in safety.
On one occasion, Mr. Churchill was going to
the Illinois & Michigan Canal with a load of
pork for sale. In crossing the sag below Athens,
on the ice, the wagon broke through, and he
was obliged to unload it and take it apart to
get it out. Continuing the journey in his wet
clothing, he reached the boarding-house, where
his load was disposed of, and he slept that night in
a barn, without change of apparel. Such incidents
as these serve to illustrate some of the phases of
pioneer life.
On coming of age he entered a farim adjoining
his father's, where he now owns a well-improved
place of two hundred and thirty acres. When the
family first came here, there was no permanent
habitation within five miles, but six log houses
were built in their immediate neighborhood the
same season. About 1857 Mr. Churchill planted
an artificial grove on his farm, the first in this
part of the country. This grove has already
yielded several harvests of timber, and his ex
ample has been followed by many farmers on this
and other prairies. Mr. Churchill retired from
active labor several years since, renting the farm,
which is chiefly devoted to dairying. He was
united in marriage September 15, 1841, to Miss
Angelina Barker. Seven children blessed their
union: Amos, now a prominent citizen of Glen
Ellyn; Wealthy, Mrs. S. Standish, deceased;
Andrew, a citizen of Oak Park, 111. ; Isaac, who
died in infancy; George Perry, accidentally killed
on the railroad, at the age of sixteen years; Net
tie, Mrs. Clark, of Glen Ellyn; and Hattie, who
is now Mrs. Wimpress, and resides on the home
stead farm. Amos and Andrew both did valiant
service for their country during the late Rebel-
lion. Mr. and Mrs. Churchill also have sixteen
living grandchildren and five living great-grand
children. Mrs. Churchill is a daughter of Zelotus
and Margaret (Mason) Barker. She was born
at Hampden, Delaware County, N. Y., and came
with her parents to this county in 1839. From youth

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

335

Mr. Churchill has been an adherent of the Method
ist Church. He cast his first Presidential ballot for
William Henry Harrison. Since the organiza
tion of the Republican party he has been a stead
fast adherent thereof, as are all his sons and
grandsons. Mr. Churchill is an intelligent, pub
lic-spirited citizen. During his residence of
nearly sixty years iu this county he has formed
many warm friends, and all unite in wishing
him long-continued health and prosperity? None
of the family are addicted to the use of liquor or
tobacco iu any form. Mr. Churchill was Class-
leader and Superintendent of the Sabbath-school
for many years.

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HENRY TOWNSEND WILSON. This aged
pioneer, whose funeral was solemnized in the
Methodist Church, November 3, 1882, at
Wheaton, died at 4 o'clock, a. m., on the 31st of
October, at his residence in that place.
Our subject was born in Putney, Windham
County, Vt. , April 10, 1789. This was twenty
days before Gen. Washington was inaugurated as
first President of the United States, which event
was substantially the birth of our nation in a po
litical sense, and links the late Mr. Wilson with
an historic era of world-wide importance. He
was ten years old when Washington died, and
had he seen him might have retained his form
and features in his memory till the weight of
years had effaced it.
Our subject was a short time in the service as
teamster in the War of 1812, and during his term
beheld the decisive battle of Plattsburg, by which
the British were driven from Lake Champlain.
July 16, 18 1 7, Mr. Wilson was married to Miss
Orra Wilson, of Fairfax, Franklin County, Vt.,
by whom he had five children, only two of whom
lived to maturity, George L. and Aurelia. With
his family, consisting of these and his wife, he
emigrated to Ashtabula County, Ohio, previous
to 1830, at which place he made the acquaintance
of the Naper brothers, who were about to estab:
lish a colony at the present site of Naperville.

He enlisted in their enterprise, aud with his fam
ily embarked in the schooner "Sheldon Thomp
son " in June, 1831, together with Joseph Naper,
John Naper, John Murray, father of the late
Judge Murray (see biography elsewhere), and
their respective families and a few others, arriv
ing at Chicago about the ist of July, and in the
DuPage country about the 10th. All these men
were thoroughbred pioneers by education. The
day and age in which they lived made them such.
With no impropriety it may be said that theirs
was the heroic age of the Northwest. They
made the .first scars on the soil, and planted
therein the seed that has multiplied a thousand
fold, and reproduced the luxuries and grandeur
of old States on the fallow plains of a wilderness
of waving grasses.
These early fathers laid the foundation stones
of our present institutions. It was uo light labor
to do this. Roads were to be made, streams
bridged, cottages and mills to be built, and
schoolhouses and churches; and while all this
was in progress food on which to subsist had to
be raised from the wild soil. •
The accomplishment of these designs required
a concert of action and the most strenuous indi
vidual effort, stimulated by disinterested pur
pose to advance the public interest. Here is the
true secret of that abiding respect and affection
which these earl)- fathers now and ever must,
while they live, retain for each other, as was
abundantly verified at the funeral of Mr. Wilson.
Thither came from all around men venerable
with years to witness the last honors due to their
deceased companion, who seemed to them like an
elder brother gathered into the last great har
vest, like a ripe ear from the frost-bitten stalk of a
late autumn.
The flight of these early settlers before the hos
tile Sauks on the war-path is an event that will
descend into history and perpetuate the memory
of Mr. Wilson and others who shared the dan
gers with him. It took place on the 18th of May,
1832. Everything was left behind except the
wives aud babies. These were transported to Ft.
Dearborn as fast as ox-teams could carry them
across the sloughs that overspread the plains

336

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

around Chicago. This done, the men returned
and formed themselves into scouting parties to
look out for the enemy-, and built a fort for shel
ter in case of necessity. When the danger was
past, all were brought back and the work of
building up the country resumed, which has
gone on ever since.
After the Sauk War, settlements rapidly in
creased and Mr. Wilson soon found himself in
the center of a farming community. The claim
on which he had settled was north of the present
site of Naperville, just over the line of what is
now Milton Township. Here he resided till he
removed to Wheaton, about 1855. His first wife
died at this place a year or two afterward. On
the 1 8th of February, 1857, he married the lady
who was formerly* Clara A. Brown.
Our subjects daughter, Aurelia L-, married
Mark Beaubien, Jr., and died in i860, leaving
two children, Joel T. and Fanny O., both of
whom are now living. His son, George L-, was
married May 7, 1856, and died October 3, 1858,
leaving one son.
Mr. Wilson was buried with Masonic honors,
having been a member of that order for over six
ty-six years. He was the oldest Mason in the
Northwest except Edward Brewster, Mr. Wilson
having joined the order in 1816, at Fairfax,
Franklin County, Vt.; while Mr. Brewster had
joined it two years previously in Orange County,
Vt. Mr. Wilson's second wife, who survives him,
is a daughter of another pioneer settler of DuPage
County, namely, John M. Brown. The latter
was born in Cheshire, Berkshire County, Mass.,
and his wife, Nancy Westcott, in Windsor, 'same
county. After living a few years at Aurora, Erie
County, N. Y., they migrated West, arriving in
June, 1834, in Naperville Township, DuPage
County, 111. The journey was made by team,
taking over three weeks. They settled on a claim
adjoining that of Harry T. Wilson, where Mr.
Brown died in 1844, aged forty-three years. In
1855, Mrs Brown married Byram L- Harlow, for
many years Justice of the Peace and Notary Pub
lic at Warrenville, whom she survived about
eight years, dying in 188 1. Her age was seventy-

eight years. Mrs. Wilson is one of a family of
seven children, three sons and four daughters.
One brother, Daniel, now residing near Le Mars,
Iowa, is the only survivor beside Mrs. Wilson.
Three were born in this county. John L- was
killed while serving as a member of the Eighth
Illinois Cavalry, during the Civil War. Mrs.
Wilson's daughter by a former marriage, Genevra
Phillips, is the wife of B. F. Stewart, residing at
Dixon, 111.

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V /lOSES STACY, a worthy pioneer of Du-
Y Page County, was born at Belchertown,
(9 Hampshire County, Mass., in 1796-. His
father was a native of that State, and active in
the struggle for American independence from the
British crown. It is a family tradition that Moses
Stacy's grandfather was also a prominent military
man, engaged in the defense of the colonies from
Indian depredations. Joan Kimball , wife of Moses
Stacy, was born in Ashford, Conn., and died at
Glen Ellyn, 111., on Christmas Day of 1889, at
the advanced age of eighty-six years. She was a
lineal descendant, through her mother, of Gen.
Joseph Warren, the hero of Bunker Hill.
When a young man, Moses Stacy went to Cole-
brook, N. H., where he was employed as one of
the minutemen, guarding the Canadian bound
ary. After a residence of five years there, he re
turned to his native town, where he was married.
He subsequently dwelt five years at Stratton, Vt.,
whence he moved to Ashford, Cattaraugus County,
N. Y., where another sojourn of five years was
made. In 1835, Mr. Stacy set out with his family for
the new West, in company with a neighbor
named Kidder. They took passage on a sailing-
vessel at Buffalo, and arrived at Chicago in Au
gust. Their objective point was Hennepin, but
a few days' travel by team among the ague-
afflicted pioneers of the Illinois Valley satisfied
Mr. Stacy that he did not want to settle there,
and he parted from his fellow-travelers and
turned back. His attention was directed by a

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

337

settler near Downer's Grove to the region west of
the upper waters of the East Branch of DuPage
River, and he left his family with his hospitable
guide, and set out on foot to look the country
over. He soon found a location to his liking
near the present village of Glen Ellyn, and
brought his family here. He erected his first
log cabin on the site now occupied by the spacious
and handsome residence cf his son, Philo W.
Stacy (see biography in this work) , on section
n, Milton Township. For some time he kept a
hotel at 'what was known in early days as DuPage
Center (afterward and still called Stacy's Corners) ,
but his principal occupation was farming. He
was an active member of the Methodist Church
in his later years, and adhered to the principles
promulgated by the Whig and afterward the Re
publican party, in political policy. At the organi
zation of the school districts of the township he
acted as Commissioner for that purpose. After a
residence here of thirty -six years, having exceed
ed by five the allotted years of man, he passed
away at his home at Stacy's Corners in 1870.
His offspring consisted of three sons. Kimball,
the eldest, died at Stacy's Corners at the age of
twenty-two, from the effects of a kick by a horse.
While at Ashford, N. Y., the second fell over a
doorstep at the age of one year, receiving fatal
injuries. Mention of the third has already been
made in this article.

P GJlLLIAM HENRY JOHNSON, of Wheaton,
\ A / is among the early settlers of DuPage Coun-
VV ty. and is a widely-known and respected
citizen. He is -a descendant of an old Massachu
setts family, dating back to the time of the Pil
grims. His grandfather, Jonah Johnson, lived at
North Adams, Mass. , and was very active in the
War of 18 1 2 iu pursuing smugglers along the
Canadian frontier. On one occasion, his horse
having fallen on a bridge, a troop of British cav
alry rode over it, "crushing it to a jelly. He de
termined to have revenge, and shadowed the party
until he had an opportunity to seize one of the

British horses, which he did. He took it to the
American lines and received a good price for it,
with promise of as much for any future capture.
He proved a serious annoyance to the enemy
thereafter, capturing many horses, which were
promptly made use of in recruiting the American
cavalry. He was a farmer and charcoal-burner
in times of peace, and went to Carthage, N. Y.,
about 18 1 8, dying there at a good age.
Alvah Henry, son of Jonah Johnson, was born
in North Adams, Mass., in 1806, and was twelve
years old when he went with his father to Car
thage. The homestead is within the limits ofthe
village of that name. Like his father, Alvah en
gaged in farming and burning charcoal. He was
active in the management of local affairs, and a
leader in the councils of the Democratic party.
He died at the age of fifty years, on January 6,
1856. His wife, Philinda, was a daughter of
Isaiah Coolidge, a prominent citizen of Peru, Clin
ton County, N. Y. , where she was born. She
died March 1, 1849, leaving three sons. The
eldest of these, Franklin B. ,. died on the home
stead in Carthage. The youngest, Martin B.,
now resides in Chicago. The latter was a ticket-
seller and gate-keeper at the Columbian Exposi
tion in Chicago for six months and five days.
William H. Johnson, second son of Alvah and
Philinda Johnson, was born in Carthage, Jeffer
son County, N. Y., on the 20th of August, 1837.
He passed his childhood there, attending the
common schools and Carthage Academy. At six
teen years of age, he began teaching school in
winter, while continuing to assist his father in
tilling the farm in summer. Having a genius for
the use of tools, he also acquired a knowledge of
the carpenter's trade.
In the fall of 1856, Mr. Johnson became a resi
dent of DuPage County, settling at Fullersburg,
near the southeastern corner. Here he taught
school and worked at building for two years. He
then removed to Danby (now Glen Ellyn), and
was occupied in the same manner. In the spring
of 1864 he entered the one-hundred-day service
as a member of Company H, One Hundred and
Forty-first Illinois Volunteers, and in February
following he enlisted in Company C, One Hun-

33»

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

dred and Fifty-third Regiment. He was stationed
during his service at Columbus, Ky., and Tulla-
homa and Memphis, Tenn., doing garrison duty.
His service in the first regiment lasted five
months, and in the second for seven months, the
close of hostilities ending it. He had in the in
terim of the first and second enlistment, in Oc
tober, 1864, removed his home to Wheaton, where
he has dwelt ever since, except three years— from
1870 to 1873— when he was engaged in farming
at Momence, 111. For a short time he was en
gaged at engine work at Chicago, but for the last
seventeen years he has conducted a repair and
wood-working shop, giving most of his attention
to wagon- work.
Mr. Johnson is an active factor in the affairs of
the local Democratic organization, having been
either Chairman or Secretary of the County Cen
tral Committee for many years. He has never
asked for an office for himself, but is now serving
as Deputy Sheriff, as the duties of his office do not
interfere with his business and are performed at
home. Before the war he was an active Odd Fel
low, and was at one time District Deputy. He is
a Knight Templar Mason, being a charter mem
ber of Siloam Commandery No. 54, of Oak Park.
He was ten years Master ofthe local Blue Lodge,
and one of the organizers ofthe Royal Arch Chap
ter, serving as its fourth High Priest, and hold
ing that office ten years altogether — seven years
of that time consecutively. In religious belief,
he sympathizes with the Methodist Church, his
principal creed being the payment of one hundred
cents on the dollar, in all cases keepirig his agree
ments, and giving attention to his own business,
:o the exclusion of other people's. He is a gen
ial, approachable gentleman, and inspires all
with whom he comes in contact with confidence
in his integrity.
Mr. Johnson was married on July 1, 1861, to
Miss Cynthia V. Kelsey, a native of Theresa,
Jefferson County, N. Y., and daughter of John
A. and Perlioa (Smith) Kelsey, of Scotch and
English descent. She died August 23, 1877,
leaving a son and daughter. The first, Frank
T. , is now a conductor on the Van Buren Street
line of cars in Chicago; and the second, Minnie,

is the wife of C. F. Davis, a Downer's Grove mer
chant. May 16, 1882, Mr. Johnson married Sa
rah O. Hale, who died childless, March 18, 1889.
September 29, 1892, Mr. Johnson -was for the
third time married, the bride being Elsie, daugh
ter of Isaac and Mary (Battles) Ward, of East
Putney, Vt. , but now residents of Chicago. Mrs.
Johnson was born in Wheaton, and in November,
1893, presented her husband with a son, who is
named William Henry.

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HENRY Y. VAUGHAN, one of the promi
nent farmers of Naperville Township, resid
ing on section 19, is numbered among the
pioneer settlers of DuPage County of 1836. Few
have longer witnessed its growth and upbuilding
than he. He has seen its wild land transformed
into beautiful homes and farms, and during his
residence here towns and villages have sprung up
and have grown into thriving cities. In the work
of upbuilding he has ever taken a commendable
interest, and has furthered it in all possible ways.
Mr. Vaughan is a native of New York. He
was born in Chemung County, November 4, 1818,
and is descended from good old Revolutionary
stock. The grandfather, Frederick Vaughan,
and the great-grandfather both aided the colonies
in their struggle for independence, and Frederick
Vaughan, Jr., the father of our subject, was a
drummer in the War of 18 12. He was born in
Connecticut, and married Tryal Beebe, a native
of the same State, and a daughter of Abel Beebe,
who served in the War of 18 12. After some
years' residence in the Empire State, the parents
of our subject bade adieu to their old home, and
in 1837 journeyed westward to Illinois, locating
in DuPage County, where they spent their re
maining days.
H. Y. Vaughan is the third in order of birth in
a family of nine children, four of whom grew to
manhood and womanhood. His educational priv
ileges were meagre, and the advantages of his
youth in any direction were not of the most ex
tensive. He remained in New York until eigh-

J. H. Ashley.
(Photo'd by Mills.)

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

34i

teen years of age, and then came to this county
with his parents, with whom he spent the succeed
ing seven years of his life.
Mr. Vaughan was then married, at the age of
twenty-five years, the lady of his choice being
Miss Sarah Minier, a native of Chemung County,
N. Y. Their union was celebrated in 1843, and
unto them were born five children, three sons and
two daughters: George L-, now of Nebraska;
Byron, at home; Ida, wife of Henry Bartholo
mew, the present Mayor of Batavia, 111.; Edson,
a farmer of Naperville Township; and Eva, at
home. The mother of this family was called to
her final rest on the 27th of August, 1889.
At the time of his marriage Mr. Vaughan had
no capital. He rented a farm, upon which he be
gan his domestic life, there making his home for
about six months, after whieh he located upon a
place of ten acres. He worked early and late,
and as the years passed his financial resources
were increased. As he found it possible he kept
adding to his land until at one time he owned two
hundred acres, but he has since given much of
this to his children. Thoroughly understanding
his business and carefully attending to all details,
he achieved through his own efforts a well-de
served success. At one time he was a member of
the Baptist Church in Aurora, and served as an
officer. In politics, he has long supported the
Republican party, and has filled the office of Road-
master. The greater part of his life has here
been passed, and his years have been well and
worthily spent in faithful performance of duty.

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0R. J. H. ASHLEY, a dentist of Wheaton,
stands high in his profession and in the
social circles of the place. He was born in
Marengo, McHenry County, 111., January 1,
1854, and is a son of John H. and Charlotte
(Weed) Ashley. His grandfather, George W.
Ashley, was born in Rutland County, Vt., and
his wife, whose maiden name was Sallie Page,
was a native of the Empire State. He was a
farmer by occupation, and in 1850 emigrated to

Kankakee County, 111. The father of our sub
ject was a carpenter and contractor, and was suc
cessfully following that occupation in Kankakee
when he met with an accident that resulted in his
death some two or three days later. His wife
then removed to Marengo, where our subject
was born.
The Doctor never knew a father's protection
and care, as Mr. Ashley died two months before
the birth of his son. His early years were passed
on a farm near Marengo, and in the public schools
of that place. He worked in the fields during
the summer, and spent the winter in town attend
ing school, during which time he worked for his
board. Later he taught school for three years, .
after which he entered the Gem City Business
College of Quincy, 111., from which institution
he was graduated in 1877.
The Doctor began his active professional ca
reer in Marengo with Dr. J. Q. Adams, a gradu
ate of the Philadelphia Dental College, whose
office he afterwards bought. In October, 1879,
he removed to Wheaton and established an office.
Feeling the need of further^udy and instruction
in the latest methods and improvements of his
profession, he entered the famous Chicago Col
lege of Dental Surgery, taking a complete practi
tioner's post-graduate course. He is a man who
is not merely content with what he has achieved
in the past, but steadily strives to attain greater
knowledge, and to that end keeps up a constant
study and inquiry into the best methods. He has
one of the finest dental libraries in the State.
On the ist of September, 1879, occurred the
marriage of Dr. Ashley and Miss Marian Mills,
of Marengo, McHenry County. The lady is a
daughter of James Mills, who for years has been
a very prominent citizen of McHenry County.
Five children grace their union, Nannie, Harry,
Clarence, Carrie and Clifford, who are all yet un
der the parental roof.
On the morning of February 28, 1886, the
residence ofthe Hon. L. L. Hiatt was burglarized
and the inmates of the house terribly frightened
by the display of revolvers and the threats of the
masked burglars. As soon as practicable after
the departure of the thieves, Mr. Hiatt hurried to

17

342

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the residence of Dr. Ashley and informed him of
what had transpired. The Doctor quickly armed
himself with his shotgun and revolver, and, or
ganizing a posse of four good men, started on the
trail of the fleeing burglars. He traced them five
miles through the snow to Turner Junction,
where they were captured after a desperate fight,
during which several shots were fired, one of the
rascals being filled with shot from his heels to the
crown of his head. The burglars were landed in
the DuPage County Jail and afterwards tried and
sentenced to the penitentiary for twenty-five
..years. This incident brought Dr. Ashley very
prominently before the people of DuPage County,
and at the solicitation of his many friends he con
sented to become a candidate for Sheriff. He was
nominated on the Republican ticket July 30,
1886, was duly elected the following November,
and served four years, his term expiring Decem
ber 1, 1890. He filled the office not only with
credit to himself but with honor to the people of
the whole county. His record for the capture of
burglars and horse-thieves during his term of of
fice is without a parallel in DuPage County. He
succeeded in capturing his man in nearly every
case, and only two horses were stolen while he
was Sheriff that were not recovered . He has a very
large collection of burglars' tools and appliances
as mementoes of the large number of that class of
gentlemen who were entertained by him during
his term of office. He also bears the distinction
of being the only Sheriff that has served the coun
ty during the past twenty-five years who has not
allowed a prisoner to escape him. It is hardly
necessary to state that the Doctor is a very stanch
supporter of the Republican nominees and princi
ples. Dr. Ashley is a member of Wheaton Lodge
No. 269, A. F. & A. M., of which he has been
, Worshipful Master since 1890; he is also a member
of Doric Chapter No. 166, R. A. M., of Turner,
111. ; and of Sylvan Commandery No. 54, K. T. ,
of Oak Park. He also belongs to Wheaton
Camp No. 488, M. W. A.; Orchid Lodge No.
331, K. P., and the National Union. He has
held all the offices in the Modern Woodmen
Lodge, was Venerable Counsel for three successive

terms, has filled the principal offices in the
Knights of Pythias, and is at present the Chan
cellor Commander of Orchid Lodge. The Doc
tor and his wife are also members of Henrietta
Chapter, O. E. S. In personal appearance he
is of commanding mien, and in manner is so.
genial that he readily wins friends.
8— ^+*i

(JOHN FISCHER, of Lombard, is one of the
I leading business men of this place, and is
(2/ also serving as Justice of the Peace. With
the upbuilding of the community he has been
prominently identified. He was born in Jarmen,
Prussia, September 30, 1849, and is a son of John
and Louisa (Wittstock) Fischer. His father was
a native of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and was a
blacksmith by trade. Our subject was the only-
child of John and Louisa Fischer, .but the mother
had three sons and a daughter by a former mar
riage, her first husband having been August
Schneppenhauer. Two sons, August and Charles,
came to America with our subject in 1867.
John Fischer was educated in the private
schools of his native land. After crossing the
Atlantic, he worked in a blacksmith shop in St.
Charles, UL, for two years, and then went to
Chicago, where he was employed in a large car
riage factory. In 1.8 73r he made a visit to Ger
many, and while there his father died. His
mother passed away two years later. On his re
turn to this country, Mr. Fischer spent one year
in a carriage shop in Elgin, and in 1874 he es
tablished a blacksmith and carriage shop in Lom
bard, in company with his brother, but he soon
after became sole proprietor, and still continues
the business alone.
On the 30th of April, 1885, Mr. Fischer was
united in marriage with Miss Mary Gregor, a na
tive of Schneidemuehl, Prussia, and a daughter of
Paul Gregor, who now resides in Lombard.
They had four children, but Amanda-is now de
ceased. Fred, Paul and Alma are still with tlieir
parents. For ten years past, Mr. Fischer has served as

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

343

Justice of the Peace, and has proved a most capa
ble and faithful officer. For many years he has
been a member of the Village Council, and for
two years served as its President. In politics,
he was formerly a Republican, but is now inde
pendent. In connection with his other business
interests, he is President of and a stockholder in
the Lombard Butter and Cheese Association, and
is a stockholder in the Lombard Percheron and
French Coach Horse Association, of which he
was also Secretary and Treasurer for several
years. He owns some valuable real estate in
Colorado. When he first arrived in Chicago, he
had but $5, but with characteristic energy he be
gan work, and has steadily pursued his upward
way, until he is now at the head of a good busi
ness, and owns stock iu several concerns which
yield him a good income. Although he never
attended an English school, he is now one of the
most intelligent and well-informed, as well as one
of the most prosperous, citizens of the county.
His example is well worthy of emulation, and
should encourage others to renewed efforts who,
like himself, have to begin life amid adverse cir
cumstances. i
© ' ' * c=ii <*' T ¦>ls="iar ' <i
CVRA HERRICK, a pioneer of DuPage County,
1 was born in Barre, Vt., March 4, 1801. His
X father, Col. John Herrick, served with Gen.
Ethan Allen in the Revolutionary army. Col.
Herrick was married at Salem, Mass. , to Deborah
Pettengill, a native of that State. -He was a
miller, and lost his life through the fall of his
mill in a freshet at Barre, June 22, 1808. Of his
eight children, Ira was the sixth. All lived un
til 1863, and all but two are now deceased.
Ira Herrick was bound out on the death of his
father to a farmer named Holden, and received
very little education. At the age of seventeen
he began a four-years apprenticeship at the car
penter's trade with an elder brother, John Her
rick, who was a Captain of militia. He worked
as a journeyman after completing the trade, and
started a shop at Burlington, Vt., which was con

sumed by fire in February, 1833. After this dis
aster he resolved to move West to recuperate his
fortunes, and started in a cutter, iu which he rode
to Buffalo. Here he worked at his trade until a
boat started for Chicago, when he took passage,
arriving at Chicago in May. At that time there
were but two frame houses on the site of the
present western metropolis, "and the bodies of the
victims of the great massacre were still lying on
the beach when he arrived. He at once set to
work at building, and in the mean time made a
land claim at Downer's Grove. In the fall he
made a pedestrian tour with a friend, Alvah
Fowler, to look at land, and, finding the vicinity
of Warrenville more to his taste, threw up his
previous claim" and secured a part of section 36,
town 39, range 9, which he subsequently helped
to organize and name as Winfield. For the first
ten years he was chiefly engaged in building,
meantime improving his land as he found means
and opportunity, and he did not wholly abandon
building operations until advancing years com
pelled him to give up work altogether. His de
mise occurred on the 30th of August, 1878, in the
seventy-eighth year of his age.
At Underhill, Vt., June 26, 1825, Mr. Herrick
married Miss Mabel Eliza Galusha, who was born
in Burlington, Vt, April 13, 1801. Her parents,
Ezra Galusha and Mabel Barney, were married
at Williston, Vt, a town adjoining Burlington,
and were probably natives of that vicinity. The
Galusha family is a noted one in New England,
having furnished a Governor of Vermont and a
famous Universalist clergyman. Eight children
were given to Mr. and Mrs. Herrick, who were
as follows: Ellen, widow of Hiram Cross, resid
ing at White Water, Wis. ; George Jackson, a
wealthy farmer at Leland, 111. ; Lucia L. , wife of
Norman Hansen, of Franklin Grove, 111.; Au
gusta, who died at the latter place while the wife
of Charles Hansen; Sarab^Sophia, wife of Daniel
Mulford, a wealthy resident of Reddick, 111.;
Mabel Joan, who taught music and drawing, and
died unmarried; John Hiram, who occupies the
homestead farm ; and Maria Jane, who died at the
age of nine years.
Mr. Herrick was characterized by his neighbors

344

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

as a man of unflinching integrity and sound judg
ment. Tenacious of his opinions, and mindful of
his rights, he would not tolerate any infraction of
either, and was ready to maintain them at all
times. He was an earnest believer in the doc
trine of universal salvation, and would argue on
religion or politics at any time. Being possessed
of intelligence, and being a wide reader, he was
able to discuss questions of human interest with
much ability and force. In early life, he acted
with the Democratic party, but deserted it when
the question of slavery became prominent in pol
itics. He voted for John P. Hale, Free-soil can
didate for President, and adhered to the Republi
can party from its organization. He was a mem
ber of the Universalist society %t Warrenville,
and helped build the church of that denomina
tion at Wheaton, where he became a member.
As a means of fitting his children for intelligent
citizenship, he gave them all a good chance for
education, and several of them proved . efficient
school teachers. He was several times called to
serve on petit and grand juries at Chicago in the
early days, when DuPage formed a part of Cook
County, and made the trips to and fro on foot.
The neighborhood of Warrenville was then known
as the "Yankee Settlement," and its residents
were frequently called upon to assist in the man
agement of local affairs, in which the intelligence
and stability of Mr. Herrick served well.
John Hiram Herrick was born April 3, 1838,
on the farm where he now resides in Winfield
Township, and which has always been his home.
In his childhood he was taught by his mother, a
woman of much intelligence and of strong char
acter. He attended a seminary at Warrenville, and
on the organization of the home school district, he
attended there for a time. In 1856-57, he was a
student of Illinois Institute, now Wheaton Col
lege, and afterward entered Lombard University,
at Galesburg, which ^e left in the sophomore
year. His business has always been the cultiva
tion of the farm on which he has reared and edu
cated his family. He adheres to the precepts of
his father, and gives his attention to the manage
ment of his own affairs, leaving public concerns
to others more ambitious than himself.

At Galesburg, 111., July 17, 1867, Mr. Herrick
was married to Miss Virginia Hughes, a native of
Pocahontas County, Va., as were her parents,
James Hughes and Lucretia Brindley. They set
tled in LaGrange County, Ind., in 1834. Five
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Herrick,
namely: George Ira, a civil engineer at Aurora,
and a graduate of the literary course at Wheaton
College; Mabel Lucretia, a graduate of the class
ical course at Wheaton College, who died at the
age of twenty-one; Ralph Lowel, an architect, re-
1 siding with his parents; and Frank Earl and
Charles Edward, twins. The latter died in child
hood of diphtheria.
1=— =«~*~»— =1

UGENE G. SIMPSON, M. D., one of the
*3 leading physicians and a prominent and en-
__ terprising citizen of Naperville, was born
on the 21st of October, 1865, in. Grant City,
Worth County, Mo., and is the fourth in order of
birth in a family of eight children, whose parents
were Joseph and Martha (Deoren) Simpson.
The family is of Irish extraction. The father, a
native of Pennsylvania, spent the days of his
boyhood and youth in the Keystone State, and
there remained until his marriage. During the
late war he served his country as a defender
of the Old Flag. He now resides in Grant City,
Mo. His wife, who was born in Kentucky, was
of English extraction, her great-grandfather, a
native of England, having crossed the Atlantic
in Colonial days, and founded the family in
America. Her death occurred on the 20th of
September, 1891.
Dr. Simpson remained upon the home farm
until sixteen years of age, and during that time
became familiar with the duties of farm life, and
with those of the district schools. He then left
home to acquire a more complete education, and
entered the Northwestern University ot Stanberry,
Mo. , from which institution he was graduated in
1886, at the age of twenty-one years. He then
turned his attention to the profession of teaching,
which he followed for three years, being thus

ly

'<^Ca^y,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

345

employed in Missouri for one year, one year in
Fairfield, Tex., and one year in Springfield,
Neb. The following year he engaged in the
study of medicine nnder a practicing physician,
and in 1889 entered Rush Medical College of
Chicago, from which he was graduated in the
Class of '92. Immediately afterward he came to
Naperville and opened an office.
The Doctor is a wide-awake and enterprising
young man, and although his residence here does
not yet cover a period of two years, he has al
ready a good paying practice, which is constantly
increasing. He possesses the necessary qual
ifications for a successful and brilliant career,
being a thorough student, ambitious, and one who
knows that earnest effort brings success. In
manner he is pleasant and genial, "and has gained
a host of friends in this community. In politics,
he is a stanch Republican, who warmly advo
cates the party principles.

"S3

B~

NON. ELBERT HENRY GARY, second son
of Erastus Gary, one of the most successful
attorneys of Chicago, is a native of DuPage
County, born near the village of Warrenville, Oc
tobers, 1846, ayear previous to the removal of
his parents to the present site of Wheaton (see
biography of Erastus Gary). He attended the
public schools of Wheaton, and the college fer
parts of two years. In March, 1865, he entered
the office of Vallette & Cody at Naperville, and
began the study of law and remained there a year.
In 1867, he graduated from the law department
of the old Chicago University, and for three years
after that was Chief Deputy Clerk of the Superior
Court of Cook County. He then began the prac
tice of his profession, and after a time became as
sociated with his brother, N. E. Gary, this con
nection continuing for eighteen years. For seven
years of this time the firm included his former
preceptor, Hon. H. H. Cody, ex-Circuit Judge of
DuPage County, the style being Gary, Cody &
Gary. This firm was dissolved January 1, 1890, since

which time Judge Gary has continued practice
alone. He occupies offices in the "Rookery, ' ' one
of the finest modern office structures in Chicago,
which means in the world; and he has one of the
finest offices and largest law libraries in Chicago.
His attention is devoted mainly to railroad and
insurance law, and he is general counsel for a
number of large corporations. Not many attor
neys in Chicago have attained as large and remu
nerative a practice as that enjoyed by Judge Gary,
and probably none have reached a larger or better.
His success is the result of application and the
ability to grasp large matters, as well as to pre
sent them with force and succinctness to the
courts. He has been admitted to the United
States Supreme Court and to the Supreme Court
of Illinois, and to many of the courts of Ohio, In
diana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa
and Missouri.
At the age of twenty -four, Mr. Gary was elected
President of the Town Council of Wheaton, fill
ing that position for three successive terms, and
he was elected the first Mayor of the incorporated
city in 1885, continuing in that capacity two
terms. In 1882 he was elected Judge of DuPage
County, filling the office two terms, or until 1890.
When it was proposed, in 1885, to add a fourth
circuit judge to each circuit in the State, and can
didates were nominated throughout the State,
Judge Gary was nominated at Elgin, over many
able competitors, for the Twelfth Circuit, but the
failure of the bill to pass the House of Represen
tatives in the Legislature prevented a vote. For
this the Judge is now truly thankful, as his elec
tion to that office (the nomination for which he
fully appreciates as a compliment from his fellow-
citizens and an honor to be desired) would have
prevented many desirable professional connections
that have since been formed.
Judge Gary is a member of the Chicago Bar
Association, the State .Bar Association, and the
National Bar Association," being one of the Execu
tive Board of the first-named. He is a member
of the Chicago Library Association, of the Meth
odist Church of Wheaton, ofthe Knights of Pyth
ias, and the Royal Arch Masons.
Onthe ist of October, 1874, the first bank in

34°

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Wheaton was opened by Miner, Gary & Web
ster, and at the end of a year and a-half, Messrs.
Miner and Webster withdrew. Since that time it
has been conducted by Judge Gary and Jesse C.
Wheaton, Sr., under the name of Gary & Wheat
on, the latter taking a one-third interest.
In 1870, Judge Gary married Miss Julia Emily
Graves, a native of this county, and daughter of
Captain Amos C. and Mary (Buck) Graves, of New
England and New York birth respectively and
English ancestry. Capt. Graves was an early res
ident of DuPage County, and served as Sheriff
several years, and later as City Marshal of Aurora,
where he now resides. Two daughters complete
the family of Judge and Mrs. Gary, namely: Ger
trude Winnogene and Bertha Louise. The first
is the wife of Harry W. Sutcliffe, residing in
Wheaton.

^3

€+^

ts_

B^

WILLIAM J. LAIRD, of Naperville, was
born in this city, on the 12th of April,
1835, and is therefore numbered among
the honored pioneer settlers of the county, with
whose history he has so long been identified.
His father, William Laird, was a native of Erie,
Pa. , where he continued to reside until his emi
gration to Illinois, in 1834. Here he established
an Indian trading-post in a log store, and after
ward, by the request of Chief Waupansie, took
up a claim on the western part of Aurora, and
removed his family to where the town of Mont
gomery now stands. His death occurred soon
afterward. On both sides the parents were of
Scotch descent. The mother of orir subject bore
the maiden name of Philinda Stevens, and is a
native of Vermont. She now makes her home
with her son, William J., at the age of eighty-
two years. She came of one of the old families
of the Green Mountain State. In the Laird fam
ily- were but two children, the brother of our sub
ject being Thomas H, of Maquoketa, Iowa.
William J. Laird was a lad of tight summers
when his mother married the second time. He
remained with her until eighteen years of age,

and then commenced to earn his own livelihood,
serving an apprenticeship to the harness- maker's
trade, which business he followed until entering
the service of his country during the late war.
Hardly had the smoke from Ft. Sumter's guns
cleared away, when he enlisted at the three-
months call, and became a member of Company
K, Thirteenth Illinois Infantry. In 1863 he re
enlisted, joining the Seventeenth Illinois Cav
alry. He was made Second Lieutenant, and soon
afterward was promoted to First Lieutenant. He
continued in the service until the close of the
war, and was then mustered out, in 1866. His
duties were largely fighting with bushwackers,
and in 1865 he was sent to the plains, where he
did duty until the close of the war.
When hostilities had, ceased and Mr. Laird
was pei mitted to return to his home, he opened a
harness-shop but was soon afterward burned out.
Not long afterward, he was elected City Marshal,
filling the office for many years, and he has also
filled the office of Constable, and since the close
of the war has been in the employ of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad as a private de
tective. Through his instrumentality many
guilty ones have been convicted of their crimes
and sent to the penitentiary. He possesses an
observing eye aud retentive memory, which qual
ities have been of inestimable benefit to him in
his service as a detective.
On the ist of January, 1858, Mr. Laird was
united in marriage with Marie C. Vosburg, a na
tive of Milwaukee, Wis. Four children graced
their union, but one daughter died at the age of
six weeks, and Louie L. was killed on the Chi
cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, February
16, 1882. Arthur W., the eldest, is now en
gaged in the jewelry business, and Eddie S. is
in Aurora.
Mr. Laird exercises his right of franchise in
support of the Republican party. In his social
relations he is connected with the Odd Fellows'
Society, and with Walter Blancha-rd Post No.
186, G. A. R., of which he is an honored and
esteemed comrade. He has been a most success
ful detective, finding clews where none would
seem to exist to ordinary men, and tracing them

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

347

until the guilty parties were secured. His long
residence in this community has made him wide
ly known, and he has many warm friends
throughout the county.

_S3

$+${

(3YLVANUS WHITE MOFFATT, a pioneer
7\ of DuPage County and a resident of Whea
ls ton, was born in Blooming Grove, Orange
County, N. Y., March i, 1818, and isa son of
Thomas and Deborah (Helme) Moffatt, who were
natives ofthe same community. The grandfather
of Thomas^ Samuel Moffatt, was born in County
Antrim, Ireland, and emigrated to America early
in the eighteenth century. The family was origin
ally of Scotch origin. The last-named early located
on the farm where our subject was born, and
there reared a family of six sons and seven daugh
ters, one of whom, William, was the father of
Thomas Moffatt. Samuel Moffatt was a mason
by trade, and he and his family were Presbyte
rians. He came to America on the same ship that
brought the father of DeWitt Clinton, and settled
among the pioneers of Orange County, N. Y.
Thomas Moffatt, father of our subject, died on the
same farm in 1828, at the age of forty-five. . His
wife passed away in Wheaton, 111. , April 29, 1879,
in her ninety-first year. She retained her mental
faculties up to the time of her death. She was a
daughter of Anselm Helme, and a sister of Judge
Warren Helme, of Oswego, 111.
In the Moffatt family were eight children: War
ren H, deceased, formerly a prominent citizen
of Wayne, 111.; Mary Ann, widow of S. E. Greg
ory, of Elgin, 111. ; Phcebe E. , wife of H. V. Sayer,
who died in WTayne, 111. , in 1874; William L- , who
died soon after coming to this county; Sylvauus
W. ; Catherine M., widow of Frank Bardeen, of
Wheaton; Anselm D., of Clyde, Kan.; and Ruth,
who became the wife of D. Wheelock. The latter
and her husband both died in Moline, 111. Of the
twenty-eight grandchildren, three served in the
Union army, and one, Thomas, the eldest son of
Warren H. Moffatt, was killed at the battle of
Perryville. The family was also represented in

the Revolution and the War of 18 12. A cousin
of our subject's father served as Major of New
York troops in the latter struggle.
Mr. Moffatt whose name heads this record
attended a select school in Canterbury, N. Y.,
and also received private classical instruction. At
the age of seventeen he began teaching, and thus
earned the money to pay his tuition at Canterbury.
One of his classmates at that place was a brother of
E. P. Roe, the noted novelist. Mr. Moffatt con
tinued to teach and study until 1840, when he
came to Illinois. He engaged in teaching in
Aurora and Bartlett, and at the latter place held
school for three months in a log house, with a
stick chimney and puncheon floor. He received
a yoke of steers valued at $36 for his services.
Returning to New York, Mr. Moffatt taught
his old school for one year, and was then married,
April 10, 1845, to Harriet E. Sayer, daughter of
William and Mary (Van Duzer) Sayer. She was
born in Cornwall, Orange County, N. Y., and her
family came originally from Holland. Immediate
ly after his marriage, our subject brought his bride
to DuPage County, purchased a tract of wild land
in Wayne Township, built a log cabin, and began
life in true pioneer style. The home was blessed
with five children: William S., who is engaged
in business in Chicago; but resides in Wheaton;
Mary A., whodied April 25, 1861; Eben C, who
died May 30, 1861, and Ward B., who died
April 18, 1861, all of diphtheria; and Harriet E.,
wife of K. Patrick, of Wheaton. The eldest son
was a musician of Company A, One Hundred and
Forty-first Illinois Infantry, during the late war.
He is an enthusiastic botanical student.
Mr. Moffatt's first wife died in Wheaton, April
20, 1879, and he was married July 26, i88o; to
Mrs. Kittie Marriott, widow of William Marriott,
and a daughter of Robert and Sarah Dodsley.
She was born in New Haven, Sussex, England.
Her father, who died when she was three years
old, was a physician, and was a descendant ofthe
same family as Robert Dodsley, the noted poet of
the eighteenth century . Her mother was a daugh
ter of John Gresham, a descendant of Sir Thomas
Gresham, founder of the Royal Exchange of
London. Mr. and Mrs. Marriott had nine chil-

34»

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

dren, ofwhom three died in childhood: Sarah K.
is the wife of F. J. Gary, of Westside, Iowa (see
biography of Jude P. Gary); Louisa C. is the wife
of J. R. Francis, of Chicago; Mary E. is the wife
of W. S. Moffatt; Abram R. lives in Austin, 111.;
Alex D. resides in Omaha, Neb; and Frank in
Westside, Iowa. Mr. Marriott was born in South
well, Nottinghamshire, England, and came to
Wheaton in 1856. He died December 24, 1866,
at the age of forty-one.
Mr. Moffatt continued to operate his farm until
1863, when he removed to Elgin, but after a year
returned to the farm. In 1865, however, he sold
it and came to Wheaton, where he lives practi
cally retired, but occupies his leisure time with the
cultivation of a fine vineyard and shrubbery. He
and his wife are members of the Congregational
Church. In early life he was a Whig, and cast
his first Presidential vote for William Henry
Harrison. Since the organization of the Repub
lican party, he has been one of its stalwart sup
porters. He has served as a member of the Town
Council, was on the School Board for nine years,
was President of the Town Council of Wheaton
for four years, was Assessor, and served as Town
Clerk and Supervisor of Wayne Township. He
has always been a strong advocate of temperance,
and is enjoying excellent health for a man of his
age. He never employed a physician for him
self until six years ago. An honorable, upright
life has won for him the highest regard, and he is
one of the respected and valued citizens of Whea
ton. GlLMERON DEVILLO OYER, Assistant
LI Freight Auditor of the Chicago & North-
/ | western Railway at Chicago, has been a
resident of Wheaton since October, 1887. He
was born in Little Valley, Cattaraugus County,
N. Y., July 25, 1855, and is the second child of
Reuben F. and Dorleska Oyer, of New York
birth and Dutch descent.
In 1856 the former came West to Randolph
Center, Dodge County, Wis. , removing four years
later to Sparta, in the same State. In 1865 he

went to Winona, Minn., where he has ever since
resided, having retired about a year ago from
active labor. All his living children, except the
subject of this biography, reside in Winona. Fol
lowing are the names of them all, in order of
birth: William F. , Almeron D., Florence (who
died at the age of five years) , Viola (Mrs. Charles
Walrath), Isabel, Francis M. and Delphine.
A. D. Oyer attended the public schools of
Winona until 1875, and then engaged in teaching
in the schools of Winona County. For a time he
was employed as clerk in a store at Elba, in the
same county, and in May, 1878, he took a posi
tion as baggageman and check clerk in the Chi
cago & Northwestern Railway station at Owa-
tonna, Minn., and a year later was promoted to be
clerk and cashier. In September, 1881, he went
to Chicago as clerk in the local freight office of
the same railway line. In April, 1882, he left
this position to accept a similar one in the supply
department of the American Express Company.
He returned to the service of the Chicago &
Northwestern Railway August 15, 1882, when he
took the position of cashier in the station at Clin
ton, Iowa. After a year's employment there, he
went on the road as Traveling Auditor, and con
tinued in that capacity until he had, in succession,
covered the entire Northwestern System, except
the Madison and Northern Galena Divisions. He
began his present duties on the ist of June, 1888.
His rapid promotions indicate — to the exclusion
of any necessity for comment — his faithfulness and
adaptability for railroad work . His career should
serve as an encouraging example to the ambitious
youth, who must learn, first of all, to do what is
set before him to the best of his ability, if he
would rise in the world.
In the spring of 1892 Mr. Oyer purchased his
present home at the northwest comer of West and
Maple Streets, and may be reckoned as a perma
nent resident of Wheaton. He is a member of
the Masonic order, an intelligent observer of pub
lic progress, a Republican, and entertains liberal
theological views. *
In December, 1885, Mr. Oyer was married to
Miss Alice M. Jones, who was born in Milford,
Jefferson County, Wis., and died at Wheaton in

JIat/Arr, Aft/H'/v/V/r, ///.
Seff/erfrr/ ///^(.f/w//, f'/u//.- ro. //* J<?26.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

35i

February, 1892, aged nearly thirty-eight years.
Her father, Hezekiah Clark Jones, was born in
Canada, and was a son of Thomas Jones, of an
old New England family, doubtless of Welsh de
scent. The maiden name of Thomas Jones' wife
was Clark. Susan A. Jones, mother of Mrs.
Oyer, was born in Herkimer County, N. Y., and
is a daughter of James and Catharine (Tibbets)
Faville, the former a member of the large family of
John Faville, who settled in Herkimer County
very early in the development of that region.
John Faville was of English birth, and his wife
Nancy was a native of the Isle of Jersey. The
family has numerous prominent representatives in
Wisconsin. A daughter, named Edna Alice, com
pletes the family of Mr. Oyer.
s> ' "* e=!r^""T ' *> sT~ w ' — a
WILLARD SCOTT, Sr., deceased, who for
many years was connected with the leading
business interests of Naperville, and' for
half a century made his home in this section of
the great commonwealth of Illinois, was a native
of New York, born in Unadilla, Otsego County,
April 20, 1808. His parents were Stephen J. and
Hadassah (Trask) Scott. The father followed
the sea in his early years and became the owner
and master of a schooner, which bore his name
and was engaged in the coast trade along the At
lantic shore. In Connecticut he wedded Miss
Trask, who was a relative of Gen. Israel Putnam,
one of the heroes of Revolutionary fame. On
leaving Hartford, Conn., they went to Unadilla,
and the year 181 6 witnessed their removal to
Maryland, where they spent the next decade.
During this time our subject was acquiring an
education in the common schools, and also took a
short course in mathematics. It was his desire
to become a sailor, but his mother urged him not
to do this, for the life was , too fraught with dan
gers. In 1825, the family made a visit to New
York, and then started for St. Joseph, Mich., go
ing through Canada to Detroit, and thence by
water. The goods were shipped by sailing-vessel
to Detroit, and thence Willard took them to their

destination. He went to Detroit with a man
from Ohio, and the journey thither was a perilous
one through the unbroken forest, there being no
road except the Indian trails. They reached De
troit ten days before the arrival of their goods,
during which time they lived on corn and pota
toes. The family were not pleased with their
home in Michigan, and, crossing the Lake, located
in Evanston.
On the 1 6th of July, 1829, Willard Scott wed
ded Caroline Hawley, in Holderman's Grove. In
1818, her father, Pierce Hawley, went from Ver
mont to Vincennes, Ind. , and afterwards came to
Illinois, locating in Holderman's Grove in 1825.
In the fall of 1830, he and his family, accompa
nied by Mr. Scott and his family, located three
miles south Of Naperville, in what is now DuPage
County, but was then a part of Cook County.
Cook County at that time also comprised Lake,
McHenry and Will Counties. There were thirty-
two votes polled in Chicago that year, Mr. Scott's
father depositing the first one. During the War
of 1832, our subject proved a valued citizen in
the settlement, on account of his knowledge of the
Indians and their methods of warfare.
In 1838, Mr. Scott became a resident of Naper
ville, built the Naperville Hotel, and conducted it
for eighteen years, after which he carried On mer
chandising for twenty years, most of the time be
ing associated with his son Thaddeus. The firm
of Willard Scott & Co. controlled the leading bus
iness in this place, and operations are still carried
on under that name, Willard Scott, Jr. , succeed
ing his father and brother Thaddeus in the busi
ness. Retiring from merchandising after fhe
Civil War, Mr. Scott was President of the Du
Page County Bank, subsequently of the Bank
of Naperville, and was a private banker until his
death, September 13, 1892. He possessed busi
ness ability of a high order, was sagacious and far-
sighted, and his enterprise was tempered by a
commendable conservatism. He won success, and
his prosperity was the reward of his own labors.
In political belief our subject was a Democrat
and his first vote was cast for Andrew Jack
son in 1828. He was a resident of Naperville for
more than half a century, and was ever found in

352

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the front rank of those enterprises calculated to
advance the best interests of the community.
Throughout DuPage and Cook Counties he was
widely known, and was held in the highest re
gard by young and old, rich and poor. The
name of Willard Scott is inseparably connected
with the history of this community, and the rec
ord of the county would be incomplete without
his sketch.

-S3

$+£1—

QQALTER BLANCHARD was born March
\A/ 31' l8o7> at New Hampton, Grafton Coun-
VV ty, N. H. The name Blanchard signifies
"White Deer." Its origin is unknown. Mr.
Blanchard's father was named Atfimaaz. He
was of Scotch- Welsh descent, his Welsh ances
tors being the descendants of a Norman family.
He was born April 26, 1767, at Billerica, Mass.,
and he lived there until he went to Grafton
County, N. H., to be married. He graduated at
Harvard College, and afterward in medicine and
surgery at Radding, Mass. In 1809 he left New
Hampshire and went to Moriah, Essex County,
N. Y. Later he lived in Washington County,
N. Y. He practiced medicine at all these places.
At the time of his death his home was about five
miles from Plattsburg, N. Y.
The father of Ahimaaz was Samuel Blanchard,
of Billerica, Mass. He was born August 17,
1717, and died March 26, 1807. His wife was
Mary Brown, a daughter of William Brown.
They were married July 14, 1747, and had six
sons: William, Samuel, Timothy, Jeremiah, Ahi
maaz and Jonathan; and four daughters: Mary,
Sarah, Martha and Rhoda. The three elder sons,
Samuel, Timothy and Jeremiah, served as minute-
men in the fight at Lexington, where the first
blood was shed in the Revolutionary War, and
Timothy was wounded.
Samuel Blanchard's father was John Blanch
ard, who was born July 3, 1677, and died April
10, 1750. He married Mary Crosley, a daugh
ter of Simon Crosley, August 7, 1701. His
father was Samuel Blanchard, of Andover, Mass.,
whose father, Thomas, came to Charleston,

Mass., in 1639. Thomas was a Scotch Presbyte-
j rian, who had lived in Wales and Ireland, and
who came from the latter country to Massachu
setts. Ahimaaz was not old enough to go into the
'¦ War ofthe Revolution, but he served in the War
of 18 1 2, as a soldier in the army guarding the
border between New York and Canada. He died
{ September 12, 18 14, the day after the battle of
i Plattsburg, mourning the hard fate that had
kept him from the fight that he could hear in the
distance, he being then in the last stage of con
sumption. Ahimaaz Blanchard's wife was Mary Tolford.
She was of Scotch-Irish descent, her family hav
ing moved from Inverness, Scotland, to London
derry, Ireland, and thence to New Hampshire,
about 1732. Mary Tolford 's father was Joshua
Tolford, whose mother was Lady Kate McCurdy,
the daughter ofa nobleman. His wife was Eliza
beth Smith. Elizabeth's family name was really
MacGregor. It will be remembered that the
Scotch clan MacGregor was, late in the sixteenth
century, unjustly deprived of much of its lands
through the machinations of the Earls of Argyle
and Breadalbane, and as a consequence of vigor
ously resisting these wrongs by force, the Mac-
Gregors were outlawed for many years. Among
the rights that were taken away from them was
that of using their clan name, "MacGregor."
Their disabilities were, however, removed early
in the seventeenth century. Sir Walter Scott is
authority for the following statement : ' ' The
sept (clan) of MacGregor claimed a descent from
Gregor, or Gregorious, third son, it is said, of
Alpin, King of Scots, who flourished about 787.
Hence their original patronymic is MacAlpin,
and they are usually termed the Clan Alpine.
An individual tribe of them retains the same
name. They are accounted one of the most
ancient clans in the Highlands, and it is certain
they were a people of original Celtic descent, and
occupied at one period very extensive possessions
in Perthshire and Argyleshire, which they im
prudently continued to hold by the coir a glave,
that is, "the right of the sword." (See introduc
tion to "Rob Roy.")

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

353

Elizabeth (Smith) MacGregor's mother was
Lady Jane McMurphy, and her mother was the
only child of a Scotch earl, the title going to a
male heir in another branch of the family.
Joshua Tolford 's father was also Joshua Tol
ford. Both were surveyors, and later judges.
Ahimaaz Blanchard and Mary Tolford were
married April 27, 1797. Their children were :
Joshua T., born January 8, 1799; Elizabeth, De
cember 26, 1800; Jonathan, May 26, 1805; Wal
ter, March 31, 1807; Jane, August 4, 1809; and
Martha, January 21, 18 13.
Walter Blanchard married Mariam Daniels, at
Yates, N. Y., October 11, 1834. Mariam (Dan
iels) Blanchard died June 17, 1836, leaving an
infant daughter, Mary, who was born May 20,
1836. Mariam Daniels was a descendant of Sam
uel and Sarah Daniels, who resided at Alexan
dria, N. H., during the latter part of the eigh
teenth century and the early part of the nineteenth
century. Mr. Daniels was one of three brothers,
Englishmen, who located respectively in New
Hampshire, Massachusetts or Connecticut and
Virginia. He was a farmer and merchant. From
New Hampshire he and his family went to Ver-
shire, Vt. , where he died in November, 18 10.
His children were: Samuel, Seth, James, Gad,
and Grosvenor, and two daughters. Seth, the
second son, married Hannah Martin. Her father
was a Protestant-Irishman, and by trade a black
smith. Her mother was Jennie McDonald, a
Simon-Pure Scotch-Presbyterian. Their children
were Sally, Jane, Polly, Anna, Mariam, Hibbard
S., Hamilton C, Julia M., Seth F. and Han
nah E.
Mr. Blanchard was a second time married, on
November 1, 1837, this time to Alvira Norris.
The children of this union were: Franklin,
born November 7, 1838; William, April 27, 1842;
Elizabeth, September 29, 1848 ; and Nancy Dick-
erman, October 22, 1851, all born at Downer's
Grove, DuPage County, 111.
Mary Blanchard, daughter of the first marriage,
married Charles .Carpenter, May 22, 1863. See
his biography for her further succession.
Franklin Blanchard married Julina Clifford,
April 17, 1865. (See his biography.)

William Blanchard married Eveline Standish,
and they have the following children : Harry;
Hettie, who is married to Richard Barweiss; El
bert; Eugenie and Melita. They are all in Chi
cago. Elizabeth Blanchard married Benjamin Ash
ley, November 10, 1864. They moved soon to
Missouri, and Mrs. Ashley died August 21, 1878,
leaving three children, Eddie, Alice and Frank.
Nancy Dickerman Blanchard married Jake E.
DeArmond, of Fairfax, Mo., October 6, 1872,
and has three children, Blanche, Charlie and
Roscoe. They are still living at Fairfax.
As Ahimaaz Blanchard died in 18 14, it will be
seen that there was left a mother with her three
boys and three girls, the eldest child a boy of fif
teen years, and the youngest an infant. Walter
was but seven years old. It is evident that as soon
as they were old enough, the children were set to
work to help take care of themselves. Mr.
Blanchard often said later in life that he and his
sister Martha got their education in a "cotton-
mill. ' ' At one time the foreman of the mill in
which the children were working punished Mar
tha somewhat severely for a small offence. Wal
ter heard of it, and a few minutes later, while he
was going down stairs with his arms full of
spindles, he met the foreman. Without hesitat
ing an instant, he opened fire on the man with
the spindles, much to the foreman's discomfiture.
After having thus gotten even, Walter and his
sister left the mill together.
Mr. Blanchard came to DuPage County in
1836. Early in 1837 he bought a farm. A por
tion of the land thus purchased is within the
present southern limits of the village. The log
house that the Blanchards first occupied has dis
appeared, but the original frame house, which
was built about 1840, still stands.
In November, 1837, Mr. Blanchard returned
to New York State, and in a few weeks came
back with his wife and his little girl, Mary, the
daughter of himself and Mariam (Daniels) Blanch
ard. During the years from 1836 to 1861 Mr.
Blanchard was one of the foremost citizens of the
county. He gradually worked into the practice

354

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of law, his office being at Naperville, and for
seven years prior to the opening of the Rebellion
he was County Judge. This position he resigned
to enter the Union army. He was a Whig, and
then a Republican, and in the campaign of i860,
in which he took an active part, he was President
ofthe ' 'Downer' s Grove Plow Boys, "a Republican
Marching Club, which distinguished itself all
over the county. His son, Franklin Blanchard,
has a gold-headed ebony cane that this club
presented to their President, Judge Blanchard, in
1859. That the Judge was a man who had a strong
and good influence on the community is shown
by his elevation to honors by the votes of his
neighbors, and by his prompt election to the
Captaincy of the first company of soldiers raised
in his neighborhood. That he commanded the
respect and friendship of young men is shown
perhaps as well as in any way by the following let
ter, written by Judge H. W. Blodgett, of the
District Court of the United States, March 27,
1887, to Judge Blanchard's eldest daughter,
Mary Carpenter:
' 'Dear Mary : — I received about a week ago a
photograph of your loved and honored father.
Words can not express how glad I am to have
this memento of the man who was the true and
kind friend of my boyhood and my later life.' I
am pleased, too, that it shows him in his sol
dier's uniform — that in which he fought and died
for the country and Union he loved so well. It
is a perfect picture of him as I last saw him in
front of Vicksburg.
' 'The older I get and the more I see of men, the
more I appreciate and grow grateful for the priv
ilege in my early life of being brought in contact
with two such rare men as your father and your
Uncle Henry Carpenter. I feel that they had
much to do in shaping my course in life, and
shall ever cherish their memories with sincere
affection. "Accept, then, my heartfelt thanks for your
thoughtful kindness — my assurances of esteem
for yourself as the most worthy daughter of so
good a father. ' '
Judge Blanchard was a strong Republican.
He and his daughter Mary were at the Wigwam
in Chicago when Lincoln was nominated in
1859, and the Judge helped as he was able in the

following election. He had a personal acquaint
ance with Abraham Lincoln, and knew nearly all
the prominent Illinois Republican politicians.
One of the Abolition "underground railroad" sta
tions was at Downer's Grove, and the Judge was
an active agent in the work of running off the
negroes. ,
The news of the firing on Sumter was slow
in reaching Downer's Grove. The Judge was,
as all were, greatly excited by the news. His
diary of Sunday, April 21, 1861, says :
"Bulletin announcing the taking of Cairo by
an armed mob from Kentucky. News bad, but
we must, and every American citizen ought, and
I will, stand by our glorious old Government, re
lying upon God for strength. ' '
Within the next few days he attended four
war meetings at different towns, with a view
to getting recruits for the army, making speeches
at each one, and it is on record that at one meet
ing at Danby he got twelve men to enlist, and
that at another meeting, at Downer's Grove,
thirteen enrolled themselves.
Evidently the Judge did not believe in the
doctrine of letting his wife's relations do the
fighting, for, although over fifty-four years old,
he enlisted himself, and took his two sons with
him into the service. His company immediately
went to Camp Dement, at Dixon, where it was
mustered in for three years on May 24, 1861.
The history of Capt. Blanchard from the time
he enlisted to the day of his death is a highly
honorable part of the history of the Thirteenth
Regiment of Illinois Infantry, whose record is of
the best, covering, besides countless small fights,
participation in the battle of Chickasaw Bayou,
the capture of Vicksburg and Jackson, and the
battles of Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge
and Ringgold Gap. Somewhat advanced in age,
he at all times bore more than his share of hard
ships. The following item from the Chicago
Evening Journal perhaps throws a strong light
on his character as a soldier. It is in a report of
the first attack on Vicksburg.
' ' In addition to the above, it seemed as if al
most every man in the regiment was scratched or
slightly wounded, and many of these would make

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

355

more ado about a mere scratch on the finger or
toe than those who suffered amputation. Capt.
Walter Blanchard has a bullet in the vicinity of
his groin, and a wound in the upper part of his
body, but passed the night after the battle among
his men, exposed to a drenching rain; and the
next morning I saw him standing in the wind
eating a hard cracker, and almost shedding tears
because his men were in so uncomfortable a con
dition after fighting as they had done the day
before. Such things make men love their com
manders, and no danger is too great to undertake
-with such leaders."
Capt. Blanchard served continuously with his
regiment from the day it was mustered in to his
death. On one occasion he was furloughed on
account of sickness, and started toward home.
He stopped a few days at a town not far from
where- his regiment was, and, feeling consider
ably better, refused to take advantage of the fur
lough, and returned to his regiment.
During the battle of Ringgold Gap, November
27, 1863, having charged' into one of the hottest
places a bunch of soldiers ever got into, he and
his men were in the advance, shooting from
cover. His superior officers had been wounded
or killed, and Capt. Blanchard was in command
of the regiment. While in the act of shooting at
the rebels with a gun that he had taken from
the hands 'of a fallen comrade, the Captain's knee
was badly shattered by a grape-shot. He was
urged to retire, but, although unable to stand
without support, he insisted on having guns
loaded for himr. so that he might continue to
shoot. After the battle his men carried the Cap
tain about twenty miles to Chattanooga. But
on December 4- he died there from the effects of
the wound and an amputation.
In Gen. Osterhaus' report of this fight, the
following occurs :
' ' At the same time I ordered the Thirteenth
Illinois Infantry (which. held the extreme right) ¦"*
to advance rapidly over an open field to a few
houses in front. By these movements I concen
trated a converging fire on the enemy's artillery,
Which I hoped to secure by driving off the
enemy's cannoneers and supports. The Thir
teenth Illinois Infantry executed the order in
magnificent style. They charged through a
hail-storm of bullets, and gained the position as

signed to them and held it. Although the rebels
poured a most murderous fire bn these brave men
from the gorge in front and the hill on the right,
the Thirteenth Regime '.it remained undaunted,
keeping up a vehement fire.
' ' I beg leave to call your attention to the very-
heavy percentage of losses among the officers,
and I can not pass over the fact without express
ing the highest praise for their energy, valor and,
in fact, every virtue which honors a good soldier.
To name those who behaved gallantly is the next
thing to an impossibility, as I feel under obliga
tions to every one, officers and men. They were
all ready to do their duty, and they did it nobly
and well under the most trying circumstances.
I take pleasure, however, in recapitulating from
the reports of my brigade commanders the names
they mention: The heroic Col. Wengelin, of the
Twelfth Missouri Regiment, 'who lost his right
arm; Lieut. -Col. Partridge, of the Thirteenth
Illinois, who lost part of his left hand; the la
mented Maj. Bushnell, ofthe Thirteenth Illinois,
who sacrificed his life; and Capt. Walter Blanch
ard, of the Thirteenth Illinois, who lost his leg,
and a week later yielded his life. Also Capt.
Beardsley, of the Thirteenth Illinois, who was
badly wounded in the arm."
To show the position he occupied in the minds
of his fellow-citizens of DuPage County and his
fellow-officers of the Thirteenth Regiment, the
following extract from a Naperville (111. ) news
paper, published about the middle of December,
1863, is given. "he died for his country."
"The melancholy tidings of the death of Capt.
Blanchard were received in this village (shown
to be Naperville by the names, etc.) on Friday,
the nth inst. A meeting of the citizens was
called the same evening at the office of Lewis
Ellsworth, Esq., and, having assembled, the
Rev. C. P. Felch was called to the chair, and C.
M. Castle appointed Secretary.
"The object of the meeting having been stated
by M. C. Dudley, Esq., to be to make suitable
arrangements for receiving the remains and es
corting them from the depot to Downer's Grove,
and also to adopt resolutions expressive of re
spect for the deceased and sympathy with his
family, "On motion of Mr. Ellsworth, Messrs. Wright
and Dudley were appointed to go to Chicago and
meet the body, and attend it to the depot.
"On motion, Messrs. Cody, Ellsworth and

356

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Whitney were appointed a committee to draft
and report suitable resolutions, and
"On motion of Mr. Wright, Maj. L- D. Bishop,
A.C. Yundt and Robert Naper were appointed a
committee to make proper arrangements for es
corting the remains from the depot to the home
of the deceased.
' 'The Committee on Resolutions then reported
through their chairman the following resolutions,
which were unanimously adopted :
"Whereas, Capt. Walter Blanchard, one ofthe
oldest and most respected citizens of our county, has
been stricken down by death in consequence of
wounds received in the late battle at Ringgold
Gap, while leading his company with a bravery
amounting to heroism; and
"Whereas,. We, as citizens, desire to pay a
suitable tribute of respect to his memory, and by
a proper manifestation of public sympathy as
suage in some degree, if possible, the grief of a
mourning family, and also assure the remnant of
the old company (the Captain's brave compan
ions in arms) of our affectionate regard; there
fore, ' 'Resolved, That while we recognize the hand of
that Providence whose ways are inscrutable in
this afflictive event, we deeply mourn the loss of
Capt. Blanchard, to whose public services and
private worth we bear most willing testimony.
An active and useful citizen from the early his
tory of our county, he was often called to fill
places of public trust, in all ofwhich he acquitted
himself to the entire satisfaction of his fellow-
citizens. When the echoes of the first guns fired
in this unholy rebellion fell upon his ears, and he
realized that organized treason was in the land,
that traitor hands had outraged the glittering
flag under which he had been protected from his
infancy, and were striving to destroy the best
Government on earth, and trample under foot
the priceless legacy which he desired to transmit
to his children, his clarion voice rang out like a
trumpet, and, as if by magic, a gallant band of
young men sprang to arms, and with him as their
leader went forth to strike in the name of God
and Libert)- for the preservation of the Union.
At the head of that company, and in advance of
all his men, fighting with the weapon of a
wounded comrade, the faithful citizen, true pa
triot, and fearless soldier fell.
"In all the relations of life he was loved and
honored. As a man, his courteous manners, reso
lute purpose, sound judgment and capacity to
gather wisdom from experience, won the respect
and esteem of his associates. As a friend, his
frankness, his ardent attachments and his high
sense of honor endeared him to all; while the

kindly influence of his social qualities fell with
genial warmth within whatever circle he moved.
As a husband, he was kind and affectionate; as a
father, fond and sympathetic, treating his wife
with tenderness and respect, and his children
with a gentleness and love that will embalm his
memory in their hearts, and strengthen the cords
of their attachment to him forever. While as a
patriot,
"he died for his country."
' 'Resolved, That we tender to the family of the
deceased our warmest sympathies, and our earnest
prayer for them shall be that He who "doeth all
things well" and "tempereth the wind to the
shorn lamb" may have them in His kind care
arid keeping here, and prepare them to meet their
husband and father in that world where war's
rude alarms are never heard, and where sorrow
and pain, parting and tears can never enter.
' 'Resolved, That the remnant of Coiripany K are
entitled to our sympathy in this. hour of their
sorrow; they are called to mourn the loss of their
leader, whose manly courage and exalted patriot
ism, blended with a fatherly care for them, bound
their hearts to him as with "hooks of steel;"
with him they have made personal sacrifices,
stood the shock of battles, and borne toils, priva
tions and hardships until reduced to about one-
third of their original numbers. We can but recog
nize in each man a hero and a veteran, and may
God in His infinite mercy spare their lives, and,
returning them in safety soon to their homes, per
mit them long to enjoy the sweets of a peace they
shall have done so much to procure.
' 'Resolved, That a printed copy of these resolu
tions be forwarded to the family of the deceased,
and to Company K of the Thirteenth Regiment
of Illinois Infantry.
"The meeting then adjourned.
"C. P. Felch, Chairman.
"C. M. Castle, Secretary."

Headquarters )
Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, j
Bridgeport, Ala., December io, 1863.
"At a meeting of the officers of this regiment,
convened for the purpose of adopting measures
expressive of our loss, and the deep sympathy
we feel for the family in the death of our friend
and companion-in-arms, Capt. Walter Blanchard,
the following resolutions were submitted and
unanimously adopted:
' 'Whereas, At the late battle of Ringgold Gap,
November 27, 1863, while leading his company,
Capt. Walter Blanchard fell, mortally wounded
by missiles of the foe, we thus being deprived of

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

357

the companionship and services oi that worthy
associate, venerable patriot and brave soldier,
whose age, devotion and counsel have ever in
spired us with loftiest sentiments of patriotism, it
behooves us to make some acknowledgment of his
services, pay a just tribute to his worth, and ex
tend to his family and friends the sympathy we
feel for them in this sad dispensation of an all-
wise Providence; therefore,
' ' Resolved, V'irst.That while we admire the course
of the venerable Captain, who, at the advanced age
of fifty-five years, sacrificed the comfort of home,
and braved the dangers of the field in the de
fense of his Government, the blessings of whose
re-established sway he had scarcely a hope to en
joy, we also attest our hearty appreciation of the
unimpeachable character he has sustained, the
valuable services he has rendered, and the bright
example he has left for our emulation.
"Second. That while we mourn this loss, one
we most sensibly feel, we extend to his family
and friends our sincere condolence in this be
reavement, trusting the prospects of a reunion
may encourage their hopes and cheer them in the
affliction so keenly felt by all who have known
him only to love and revere his memory.
' 'Third. That a copy of these resolutions be for
warded to Mrs. Alvira Blanchard, and also pre
sented for publication in the Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Daily Journal, DuPage County Press
and the Christian Times, as an assurance to his
family and friends that his services and virtues
are appreciated by those associated with him in
the discharge of the duties he so nobly, ably and
faithfully performed.
"Geo. P. Brown, Capt. Coni dg Regt.
"J. D. Pierce, Lt. Acting Adj't."
The above clipping is undoubtedly cut from
the DuPage County Press.
The following, written by the historian of
Company K, for "The History of the Thirteenth
Illinois Infantry," will be of interest:
"Capt. Blanchard's earlier years were passed
in a sharp struggle with poverty, and with only
the slightest opportunity for education, and his
whole later career was subject to that disadvan
tage. That he overcame this almost entire want
of acquaintance with books in early life was due
to his energy and force of character. He was
not a man who loved work for its own sake, or a
book-worm, who would acquire for the mere love
of acquisition. It needed the spur of a strong
nature to bring out his best efforts, but he found
this in the necessities with which he was sur
rounded, in the ties bf family, and in the various

positions of trust in which he was placed. He
never treated these obligations slightingly, but
whatever effort was necessary to accomplish a
worthy object he put forth, and he was in the
community in which he lived one of its most hon
ored and useful citizens.
' ' He was an early settler in the State, and had
a large acquaintance among the foremost men of
that time, who had a part to play in the building
up of the commonwealth, many of whom he
knew personally. The influence which he had
was often of use to the people, and he was always
ready to help forward the best interests of the
community, and of his many friends, in every
proper manner.
' ' That Capt. Blanchard was beloved by his
men is shown by one of those incidents which
come back to the memory of his comrades as one
of the most pathetic in the history of the regi
ment. When the regiment fell back from Ring
gold Gap to Chattanooga, a distance of twenty
miles, Capt. Blanchard had lost his leg and was
weak from the loss of blood, but he had his old,
well-remembered grit and steadiness, and the
men would not entrust him to the tender mercies
of the ambulance, but on a litter carried him on
their shoulders the whole distance from the hos
pital to the city of Chattanooga, cheerfully tak
ing turns, and vying with each other in this labor
of love:
' ' And so, when it became evident that he.
could not recover, and he saw that the Grim Mes
senger was near, he turned to his wounded com
rade, Maj. Beardsley, and dictated his will, re
membering with his last act those dearest to him
in life, and crowning with his last act his life's
devotion to his family, to his country, and to his
God. "He was one among thousands like him, in
this, for the country was full of patriotic devo
tion, but he was ours, and we honor with our
love and tears the memory of one of our bravest
and truest."

F

' RANKLIN JULIUS HAGEMAN, third son
of Dr. F. C. Hageman (whose biography
will be found elsewhere in this book), was
born in the town of Winfield, DuPage County,
111., October 5, 1852. He attended the public
schools of Wheaton and Milwaukee, Wis., and
Wheaton College, leaving school at the age

358

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of twenty-one years. From 1873 to 1878, he was
employed in painting with his elder brother,
George W Hageman, of Wheaton. He then en
gaged in farming on the laud forming his father's
estate, a part of which he subsequently purchased,
and continued this occupation until the spring of
1892, when he sold out and moved to Wheaton.
In May of that year he purchased the livery bus
iness of Benjamin Congleton, and has conducted
it since. He purchased the entire frontage on
the east side of West Street, between Jefferson and
Madison Avenues, on which he has two hand
some residences, one of which he occupies as a
home. Mr. Hageman is an energetic business man,
and bestows some attention on public as well as
private affairs. He served three terms as Com
missioner of Highways iu Winfield Township,
has been Deputy Sheriff since the fall of 1891,
and was elected Constable of Milton Township in
1893. He is Treasurer of the Winfield Horse-
Owners' Protective Association, is a member of
the Masonic order, the Modern Woodmen of
America and^jthe Knights of Pythias. He accepts
the religious faith of Universalism, and has given
•his allegiance to the Democratic party since he
was a voter.
In 1878, Mr. Hageman was married to Miss
Emma Batchelder, a native of Wheaton, daugh
ter of Nathaniel C. and Hetty Batchelder, of old
New York and Pennsylvania families. Two sons
and two daughters have been given to Mr. and
Mrs. Hageman, namely: George F., Lucy M.,
Franklin N. and Grace.

^H^l

(JOHN NEWTON NIND was born iii Peck-
1 ham, Surrey, England, July 31, 1800, and
G) died in Glen Ellyn, 111., August 12, 1887.
His was a well-spent life, and he was one of the
worthy and honored residents of this community.
His parents were Benjamin and Sarah Mira
(Gardiner) Nind. His paternal grandmother
was a half-sister of Rev. John Newton, the noted di
vine and hymn-writer. Several members of the

family settled near Baltimore, Md., at an early
day. The father of our subject was for many
years in the employ of the East India Company.
Tradition says this family was founded in Eng
land by a Dane, when the Danes invaded that
country. The record shows that the estate of
"Nindesfelle," or Nindsfield, was held in 1050,
in the reign of Edward the Confessor, the last
ruler before the Norman invasion. A genealogy
of this line was prepared by George Nind, of
West Hill, Wandsworth, S. W., England, and
may be found ih the public records there.
The gentleman whose name heads this record
was educated in the common schools, and at the
age of fifteen began serving an apprenticeship to
a hardware merchant. Later he carried on that
business at Bishop's Stortford, England." The
year 1845 witnessed his emigration to America,
in company with his family. Arriving in Chi
cago, he came to DuPage County, and selected a
farm in Bloomingdale Township, which he pur
chased from the Government. This he improved
and cultivated until 1867. Later he bought a
farm at Stacy's Corners, and in 1874 he removed
to Prospect Park, now Glen Ellyn, where he
built a comfortable residence and spent his re
maining days.
Onthe 17th of February, 1824, Mr. Nind was
united in marriage with Miss Eliza Barrett,
daughter of James Barrett, who was an iron-
founder. The lady was born in Saffron Walden,
England. By their marriage they became the' par
ents of five children: Mira, who died in infancy;
Mrs. Emma Lloyd; James G., who died in
Minneapolis, Minn., May- 7, 1885; Frederick N.,
who died September 4, 1865, in St. Charles, 111.;
and Mrs. Sarah J. Longer, of Harlan, Iowa.
The mother of this family died in Glen Ellyn,
February 18, 1881, at the advanced age of seventy-
eight. Both Mr. and Mrs. Nind were members of the
Congregational Church, and took an active inter
est in its work. While in England, he was con
nected with the Independent Order of Rechabites,
and was one ofthe foremost inembers in Bishop's
Stortford. He was a deep thinker and earnest
student, and through reading and observation be-

Ira Brown.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

36i

came a most highly -informed man. He was one
ofthe honbred pioneers of the county, and one of
its progressive and representative citizens. His
many excellencies of character gained for him a
wide circle of friends, and his death was deeply
mourned. His daughter, widow of John Lloyd,
now occupies the old home in Glen Ellyn.

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*VRA BROWN, a prominent business man of
I Chicago and Wheaton, residing at the latter
X place, was born in Perrysburg, Wood County,
Ohio, January 25, 1835. His grandfather, Eph
raim Brown, was a soldier in the War of 18 12, in
which struggle he lost his life. The wife of the
last-named reached the extraordinary age of one
hundred and four years. Their son, Ira Brown,
a native of the State of New York, settled in
northwestern Ohio, when that region was an al
most unbroken wilderness. In the spring of
1835 he moved from the present site of Perrys
burg to a location near what is now the city of
Defiance, Ohio. Here he purchased a large tract
of land and began farming on an extensive scale.
Taking an especial interest in horses, it is not
surprising that he should come to be among the
foremost breeders of that stock, and he is still
known — at the age of ninety years — as one of the
most progressive and successful farmers ofthe
Buckeye State. Just before going to Ohio, he
married Miss Harriet Loughborough, a sister of
William Loughborough, a noted member of the
Rochester (N. Y.) Bar. In removing from Per
rysburg tb Defiance, she refused to trust herself
and young child, the subject of this biography, to
the chances of a successful navigation of the Mau-
mee River in a" dugout, ' ' and the infantile Ira
Brown was carried Indian fashion on her back all
the way, thus making his entrance into the neigh
borhood in which he grew up, and which he only
left when he set out for Chicago.
In 1835, what was known as Ft: Defiance occu
pied the site, or at least a portion of the site, ofthe
present city ofthe same name. The country sur
rounding it was an unbroken forest, in which the

howling of wild animals was a familiar sound, and
in which Indian hunters were far more numerous
than white ones. It was in the wildest and new
est portion of a comparatively new State, and the •
experiences of boys who grew up in that region
within the next few years were such as to fit them
for pioneer life in almost any western community.
The experiences of Ira Brown were not different
from those of the average country youth of that
period in northwestern Ohio. During the summer
and winter months of each year he attended school
at Defiance until he was old enough to make him
self useful on the farm. Dividing his time between
farm labor and the schoolroom, he remained at
home until he was seventeen years of age, when
he reached the conclusion that farming was not
altogether to his taste, and he was anxious- to see
something more of the world before deciding on a
permanent occupation. As he was still a mere
youth, his idea of getting away from home did
not receive the endorsement of his parents, and
the differences of opinion between them were so
radical that the young man finally concluded to
settle the matter for himself. Accordingly, when
a fortunate circumstance made him the possessor
of $10, he quietly gathered together such of his
effects as he could carry in a small bundle, and,
Without informing any one of his intentions, set
out for Chicago. This was long before the days
of railroad communication between Chicago and
the Maumee Valley, and he spent three days trav
eling through the forest to . reach Coldwater,
Mich., where he boarded a train which brought
him to his destination.
Arriving in Chicago, Mr. Brown found himself
in the largest city he had ever seen up to that
time, among strangers, and with something less
than $4 in his pocket. He determined to make
the best of the situation and to obtain some sort
of employment without delay. Stopping at the
American Hotel, one of the well-known hotels in
those days in Chicago, he began making himself
useful in various ways, with the result that by
the time his money was exhausted he had secured
a position as night-clerk in the hotel. His pro
motion to a more responsible position was rapid.
He was connected with this enterprise lor five

302

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

years. At the end of that time he sold out, and
embarked'in mercantile business, which he con
tinued for several years, until his realty interests
became such as to demand all his time and atten
tion. It developed early in Mr. Brown's career that
he was especially adapted to successful deal
ing in real estate, and he began making invest
ments in realty as soon as he was able to com
mand any money for that purpose, and his earliest
purchases showed good judgment and close calcu
lation. Readily grasping the idea that the largest
profits in realty transactions are made through
the subdivision and sale of lands in small parcels
to persons who want homes or business locations,
he turned his attention to the selection of sites
eligible for that purpose, and has adhered to this
system of operating to the present time. Natur
ally a sagacious man, it required comparatively
little experience to make him an expert judge of
land values, and to enable him to look about and
take something like an accurate measurement of
the city's prospective growth.
As a consequence of this forecast of the future,
our subject long since began reaching outside of
the city limits of Chicago, and devoting his ener
gies largely to the building of quiet, orderly, well-
laid-out suburban villages adapted for homes.
The plan adopted by him has been one which
commended itself to the masses of home- seekers
belonging to the middle and laboring classes.
He was the originator of the monthly payment
plan of selling lots, and not only has he disposed
of hundreds of city lots and larger parcels of land
in this way, but in many instances homes have
been built by Mr. Brown and his associates, and
sold on the ' ' easy payment' ' plan to industrious
mechanics, tradesmen and laborers, who were
thus enabled to become the owners of their own
residences. No honest, industrious man seeking
for a home in good earnest ever appealed to Mr.
Brown to be given an opportunity to acquire one
without meeting a generous response. In hun
dreds of cases little more has been required from
such purchasers, to begin with, than evidence of
their good intentions, and the man who could
save $5 a month out of his salary or wages was

put in the way of- acquiring a homestead. In
this way Ira Brown has perhaps supplied a
greater number of people with homes than any
man now living in Chicago, and he has certainly
contributed to the building up of a larger number
of Chicago' s suburbs than any other person in the
city. In this respect his record has been a re
markable one, the public records of Cook County
showing that through his various subdivisions of
large bodies of land he has added nearly fifteen
thousand lots to the city of Chicago, and its
suburbs. Nor does this represent the total of his
operations. In 1874, while spending the winter
in California, he became largely interested in San
Diego lands, which he subdivided and sold ten
years later.
While his work, in and about Chicago has been
alike beneficial to the community at large and to
those who were aided to become property-owners
through his enterprise, he has been practically
philanthropic in the sense that in helping others
he has helped himself, and the profits he has
realized from operations in this fruitful field repre
sent a handsome fortune of his own building.
He is interested in banking, is a large stock
holder and member of the Board of Directors of
one of Chicago's banks, and is also a large stock
holder in the Chicago Title and Trust Company,
and in other important enterprises.
Believing that good fortune imposes obligations
upon its possessors, Mr. Brown has been a liberal
sharer of his wealth with educational, charitable,
and religious institutions and enterprises. A
member of the Methodist Church, he has been a
liberal donor to the Northwestern University at
Evanston, and it was largely through his gener
osity that the Ada Street Church of this denomi
nation was built in Chicago. As a member of
the building committee in this instance, he car
ried the church obligations until such time as the
congregation found it convenient to liquidate
the indebtedness. In the work of inaugurating
the famous Des Plaines Camp Meeting, at which
thousands of western Methodists gather annually ,
he was a prime mover, and in many ways has he
given substantial assistance to the church with
which he has been identified since early manhood,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

363

and with which he still retains his connection.
While he has always been much attached to this
denomination, he has at the same time been broad-
minded and liberal in his religious views. This
is evidenced by the fact that when Rev. Dr. H.
W. Thomas, one of Chicago's most illustrious
preachers, was driven from the Methodist Church
by the heretic-hunters, Mr. Brown was one of the
first to come to his assistance, and set on foot a
movement which' has kept him in the ministry
and built up one of the largest independent church
congregations in the city.
Mr. Brown is a member of the Masonic Order,
the Knights of Pythias, and the Odd Fellows,
and Encampment of Odd Fellows. In politics,
he has been a Republican since he Gast his first
vote for John C. Fremont for President, but he
has been active only to the extent of seeking,
where opportunity offered, to promote the inter
ests of his party, and to secure good local govern
ment for the city in which he has been so largely
interested, Mr. Brown's residence at Wheaton occupies a
delightful site, at the crown of an elevation com
manding a view of the handsome little city, and
is surrounded by shady lawns and all the acces
sories of a desirable country seat. It is but a few
steps from College Avenue station of the Chicago
& Northwestern Railway, being thus convenient
to the western metropolis, while at the same time
it is secluded from the turmoil and other disad
vantages of the city. Both he and his amiable
wife are active in the social and other relations of
the place, and are among the most useful and
highly-respected members of the community.
Mrs. Brown is a daughter of one of the honored
pioneers of DuPage County, Levi Ballou, who
settled at Lombard in the year 1836. He subse
quently purchased a farm near Glen Ellyn, from
which he moved to Wheaton, where he died May
7, 1884. He was born at Jordan, N. Y., No
vember 8, 1 8 10, and was a son of Ebeneezer and
Marana (Ward) Ballou. The family is of French
or Norman origin, and it is known that the Bil-
lieus held knights' fees in Kent, Yorkshire and
Berkshire, England, in 1165. Ebeneezer Ballou
was born in Newark, N. J., and his parents are

supposed to have come from France to America.
Levi Ballou was one of the most active sup
porters ofthe Methodist Church at Wheaton, be
ing one of the first Stewards, and a Trustee and
Class-leader. 'He was respected as one of the
most upright and useful citizens of the county.
His wife, Mary Marble, was born in Bennington,
Vt, March 30, 18 10, and died at Wheaton, Au
gust 2, 1 88 1. Mrs. Brown is the second of their
eight children. They have one child, a daughter
named Jennie, now seventeen years of age.

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EHARLES GARY, one of the pioneer family
of Garys, who have all been prominent in
the development of DuPage County, was
the eldest son and second child of William and
Lucy Gary. A complete account of his ancestry
will be found in this work, in connection with the
biography of his brother, Erastus Gary. Charles
Gary was born in Putnam, Conn., in 1801. He
grew up on the home farm, and received a fair
common-school education. In the spring of 1837
he came to Illinois by way of the Erie Canal and
Great Lakes, and at once settled on a farm in
Winfield Township, at a location ever since known
as Gary's Mills. This farm is now occupied by
his youngest son, Charles Wesley Gary, and is
on the west branch of the DuPage River. At the
time of its purchase by Mr. Gary from the Gov
ernment (the price being $1.25 per acre), it was
largely covered by timber, and he set to work to
clear it up, and became an extensive and success
ful farmer. He was associated with his brothers
in operating a mill, which gave the name to the
location in the early days. Here was sawed out
material for houses, fences, etc. , for the early set
tlers. The mill is long since gone.
Mr. Gary very early embraced the Christian
religion, and was for over thirty years a local
preacher of the Methodist Church. He was
leader of the first class formed in the township,
at Gary's Mills, and throughout his life was a
consistent and devout Christian. He also took
an active interest in public concerns, and was a

364

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

straightforward Republican . He served as Town
ship Assessor, Clerk, Supervisor and Justice ofthe
Peace. He assisted in organizing the townships
and school districts, and in laying out roads, and
in many other ways contributed to the material
development of the county , as well as to its moral
welfare. On the 31st of August, 1871, he passed
to the reward of the faithful prepared on high.
In 1823 Mr. Gary was married to Miss Melinda
Morse, a native of Southbridge, Mass. Mrs. Gary
passed away January 31, 1862. She was a faith
ful member of the Methodist Church, and was
the true helpmate of her husband in all the rela
tions of life. Her remains lie beside those of her
husband in Wheaton Cemetery.
Three sons and four daughters were given to
Mr. and Mrs. Gary, four ofwhom are now living.
Mary, the eldest, was the wife of William Jordan
(now deceased), and died in Winfield in 1882.
William is engaged in banking at Wheaton.
Sarah died in 1849, and George while an infant.
Elmira resides at St. Charles, 111. Orinda resides
with her brother at Wheaton, and Charles W.
completes the family.

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(JOHN J. MYERS is the oldest citizen of Du-
I Page County, and this book would be incom-
© plete without a sketch of his life. He now
resides on section 17, Naperville Township, where
he has long riiade his home. He was born in
Trenton, Oneida County, N. Y., ten miles north
of Utica, on December 2, 1802, and is a son of
John and Antonetta (Pepper) Myers, both of
whom were natives of Holland. The mother died
when John was only seven years of age. In 18 12
the father married a lady of French descent. At
a very early day he had located in Oneida County,
where he followed the occupation of farming.
There his second wife died, after which he emi
grated to DuPage County, UL, where his last
days were spent. He passed away at the age of
seventy years.
We now take up the personal history of John J.
Myers, who is so widely and favorably known in

this community. When a youth of only fourteen
years, he started out to seek employment in order
that he might earn his own livelihood. The only
thing that he carried with him was a lunch of
pork and bread. From that time he has been de
pendent upon his own resources, and the success
of his life is the reward.of his own labors. He
Walked to Pultneyville, N. Y. , and there made
his home with his grandfather, Abram Pepper,
until twenty-one years of age. On attaining his
majority, he was given a cow, a yoke of oxen and
a half-dozen sheep. He sold the oxen for $55,
and put his other stock in a pasture, while he
went to work by the month for Joseph Granger,
of Wayne County, N. Y., by whom he was em
ployed for seven years. In the summer he re
ceived $11 per month, and through the winter
season $7. At the end of the seven years he
bought a tract of raw timbered land in Wayne
County, for which he paid $5 per acre in cash,
and with the aid of two hired men he cleared and
improved that tract.
On March 4, 1833, Mr. Myers, married Laura
Stolp, a native of New York. They located upon
the farm, where a house and barn were built, and
there made their home until 1835, when they sold
out for $850, and came direct to DuPage County,
111. Here Mr. Myers began farming, and after
nine months he purchased the farm on which he
now resides, building upon it a log cabin. Not
one of his old neighbors of that day is now liv
ing. He found the county an almost undevel
oped wilderness, much of the land being still in
the possession ofthe Government. The work of
progress and civilization seemed scarcely begun,
and the county gave little promise ofthe advance
ment which it would soon make.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Myers have been born nine
children: James, now of California; George, who
is also living in that State; John, who served in
the late war and is now deceased; Franklin, who
was killed in the engagement at Lookout Mount
ain, and was buried on the battlefield; Henry,
who resides on the home farm; Janet, who died at
the age of fifteen years; Ellen -Briggs, at home;
Eliza, wife of A. C. Wickizer; and Nettie, who
died at the age of one year.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

365

Mr. Myers is now the owner of one hundred
and thirty-three acres of good land, which has been
placed under cultivation through his own efforts.
The improvements upon it stand as monuments
to his thrift and enterprise. He has been a suc
cessful farmer, and his labors have made him
well-to-dor In 1840 Mr. Myers voted for Will
iam Henry Harrison, and in 1888 and 1892 he
supported Benjamin Harrison, the only grand'son
of a President ever elected to the same office. In
his younger years he was a member ofthe Masonic
fraternity. He and his wife are the oldest couple
now living in DuPage County. For more than
sixty years they have traveled along life's jour
ney together, sharing with each other its joy sand
sorrows, its adversity and its prosperity. Each
has been to the other a true helpmate, and their
mutual love and confidence have increased year by
year. Throughout the community they have
won many warm friends, and we feel assured that
the record of their lives will be received with in
terest by many of our readers.

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SILBERT E. KETCHUM, a retired farmer
living on section 17, Naperville Township,
was born on the 4th of August, 1825, in
Berkshire County, Mass., and on both the pater
nal and maternal sides is of Scotch descent. His
parents, Levi and Nancy (Preston) Ketchum,
were also natives of the Bay State. The father
was a stone-mason by trade, but in later life he
followed farming. In 1854, accompanied by his
family, he made his way direct to DuPage County,
111. , and located upon the farm where his son now
resides, there making his home until his death,
which occurred at the advanced age of eighty-
six years and six months. His wife passed away
when eighty-two years of age. They had a fam
ily of eleven children, but only four are now liv
ing. The subject of this sketch is the sixth in order
of birth. He was reared to manhood in Berk
shire County, and in the common schools of the
neighborhood acquired his education. With his

parents he came to the West, and with them re
mained until they were called to the home be
yond. In the year 1849 he was united in mar
riage with Sophronia Millard, a native of Ver
mont, who died in 1878. Two children were born
of that union, a son and daughter: Eugene E.,
now a resident of Aurora; and Henrietta, de
ceased. In 1882 Mr. Ketchum was again mar
ried, his second union being with Miss Hannah
Tompkins, a native of New Jersey, and a daugh
ter of Edward and Hannah Tompkins. She grew
to womanhood in her native State, and in 1857
came to Illinois. She married Samuel Ridge-
way, and unto them was born a son, Joseph, who
is now deceased.
For many years Mr. Ketchum devoted his time
and attention to agricultural pursuits, and was
very successful in his undertakings, but has now
sold much of his land and is living a retired life.
He cared for his parents until their death, and since
coming here has always lived upon the old home
stead. Years of toil and labor now entitle him to
rest, and the result of his former work, in the
shape of a handsome competence, supplies him
with all the comforts and many of the luxuries
of life.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Ketchum is a
supporter of the Republican party and its princi
ples, and keeps well informed on the issues of the
day. He has served as Road Commissioner, and
for fifteen years he acceptably and creditably filled
the office of Justice of the Peace. In religious
belief, he is a Universalist.

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0R. FREDERICK CHARLES HAGEMAN,
one of the most useful and influential citizens
of DuPage County, and a former prominent
citizen of Chicago, was a son of Dr. Christoph
Hageman, and was born at Minden, Prussia, on
the 26th of November, 1817. His mother died
when he was a mere child, and at the age of six
teen he set out for America. His first employ
ment was on the Great Lakes as a sailor, and he
settled in Chicago in the fall of 1843. His father

366

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

came to join him, and was one of three persons
who escaped from a burning steamer on Lake
Erie, the brother and step-mother of our subject
being lost in that disaster- The first regular
graduating class of five from Rush Medical Col
lege, Chicago, in 1847, included Frederick C.
Hageman. In connection with his practice, he
opened a drug store on South Water Street, Chi
cago, removing later to North Clark Street, and
thence to Indiana Street, where he built the first
brick structure on the North Side. Here he
served as Alderman, and was at one time City
Physician. ¦In the'spring of 1852, Dr. Hageman moved to
Winfield, DuPage County, and invested in farm
lands, becoming in time an extensive owner. He
lived there for a few years, but spent most of his
remaining years in Wheaton, and Was a veryr suc
cessful physician. He was elected Coroner during
the first years after coming here, and filled that
position several terms, being the incumbent at the
time of his death, which occurred on the 3d of
September, 1869.
Dr. Hageman was an active and public-spirited
citizen, and did much to promote the prosperity
of the community. He was active in securing
the county seat at Wheaton, which involved the
construction of a court house as a gift to the
county. He was reared in the Lutheran faith,
but espoused Universalism, and was an ardent
Democrat in political contests, and a member ofthe
Masonic order. He made many addresses in sup
port of the war for the Union through Kane, Du
Page and other counties, and materially aided in
raising the Eighth and Twelfth Illinois Cavalry
regiments, and the One Hundred and Fifth In
fantry. He went out as Assistant Surgeon ofthe
One Hundred and Forty-first Infantry, which
served a short time in garrison duty. He was a
supporter of Abraham Lincoln in his second can
didacy for President.
At Buffalo, in June, 1843, our subject married
Miss Margaret Snyder, a native of Elsass, Ger
many, who came to America when seven years
old with her parents, George and Anna Mary
(Gearhardt) Snyder. George Snyder was a tal
ented architect, but understanding no English,

he was obliged to accept any employment that
offered when he arrived at Buffalo. While em
ployed as a hodcarrier in the repair of a church, he
noticed that the builders had great difficulty in
following the plans. He essayed to explain, and
showed such interest and knowledge that an in
terpreter was obtained, through whom he so in
telligently directed the work that he was placed
in charge, and from that time had no lack of em
ployment in his profession. Mrs. Hageman was
born April 21, 1821, and died November 19,
1887. She was a woman of much intelligence
and ability, and conducted her husband's estate
with greater skill than had marked his own man
agement of it during his life.
u Of? the six children of Dr. and Mrs. Hageman,
the first died in infancy. Dr. Frederick Christian
Hageman, of Chicago, is the second. Mary
(Mrs. Henry Grote), George W., and Franklin
Julius are residents of Wheaton. Louis B. died
at Wheaton February 8, 1892, aged thirty-four
years. HARRIS WASHINGTON PHILLIPS was
born in Pittsford, Rutland County, Vt. ,
April 3, 1806, and died in Glen Ellyn, Feb
ruary 4, 1882, respected by all who knew him.
His father, Jacob Phillips, was a son of Anthony
Phillips, who settled in Pittsford prior to the
Revolution. The family is probably of English
origin. Jacob Phillips married Lucy Weiler, who
was of Scotch descent, and they had three sons
and a daughter: Arden; Qrin; Columbia, wife of
W. S. Wright; and Harris W. All are now de
ceased. Mr. Phillips whose name heads this record was
educated in the common schools, and learned the
trade of harness-making. On the 26th of June,
1827, he married Fannie A. Conant, daughter of
Eben Conant, of Pittsford, a descendant of Sir
Roger Conant, who located a colony of French
Huguenots in Massachusetts soon after the massa
cre of St. Bartholomew. Another branch of the
family located elsewhere in America. They were
all noted for firmness and devotion to principle.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

367

By the union of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips were born
the following children: Mrs. Ellen L. Scott and
Jerome C, both deceased; and Charles A.
In 1834, Mr. Phillips removed to Des Plaines,
but the following year returned to Brandon, Vt.
In 1849, he went to Geneva, 111., and was em
ployed in a general store until 1853, when he re
moved to a farm near Des Plaines. In 1864, he
came to what is now Glen Ellyn, and established
a store, which he carried on in connection with
the operation of his farm near that place. Here
his remaining days were passed, devoted to his
business interests.
Mr. Phillips was a public-spirited and progress
ive citizen, and took a commendable interest in
everything pertaining to the welfare of the com
munity in which he made his home. In politics,
he took an active interest. He first voted with
the Democratic party, but afterwards became a
Whig and later a Republican. He served for sev
eral years as Justice of the Peace of Des Plaines,
and proved a capable and faithful officer. His
wife died August 10, 1892, at the age of eighty-
one. In early life she was a member of the Bap--
tist Church, but afterward united with the Unitar
ian Church. Both were highly respected people,
and when called to the home beyond their loss
was deeply mourned.
Charles A. Phillips, a representative of one of
the early families of Cook County, was born in
Brandon, Vt., September 2, 1837, and at the age
of eleven years came to Illinois with his parents.
He attended Lake Zurich Academy, and also
Wauconda Academy. Subsequently, he spent one
year in Oberlin College, and in 1861 he was grad
uated from the Union College of Law in Chicago.
Several years of his life he devoted to teaching,
and was quite successful in that line of work. In
1863, he was appointed United States Deputy
Marshal for Arizona, which position he accept
ably filled. He also served as Postmaster at La
Paz, and was Coroner and acting Sheriff. On the
expiration of two years, he returned to Glen
Ellyn, and has made his home here and in Chi
cago continuously since. At the time of the
great fire in the latter city he had much valuable
property destroyed there and lost very heavily.

For many years he has been engaged in dealing
quite extensively in real estate. He is a conserv
ative and successful business man, who by well-
directed efforts has won success. Oppression never
finds place in his treatment of a debtor or a tenant,
but a considerate and gentlemanly course has al
ways characterized his dealings.
On the 4th of July, '1859, Mr. Phillips was
united in marriage with Miss Amelia Curtis, and
to them were born three children: Mabel, now
deceased; and Arthur L. and Alice M., twins.
The former is now a civil engineer in Oklahoma
Territory. Mr. Phillips takes great delight in
hunting, and makes frequent trips to various
hunting-grounds. This is his favorite means of
recreation, and in it he takes great delight.
HENRY CARPENTER died on the evening
of June 7, 1 89 1, a few months over eighty-
one years of age. It is not an easy task to
speak of him wholly as the plain citizen only,
which he always assumed to be, for he was in
many respects a remarkable man. He was born
on the 22d of February, 18 10, in Washington
County, N. Y. His mother died when he was a
child, and his father when he was but eleven
years of age, and his early life was one of hard
ship and penury. He was of a peculiarly sensi
tive, and, as he says of himself gloomy nature,
and these characteristics caused him to remem
ber with extraordinary exactness and tenacity
every detail of his early privations, and he could
not forget their sting. He entered an appren
ticeship as saddler and harness-maker when about
fourteen years of age, and remained in that service
until he was nearly twenty-one, when he started
out for himself. After months of labor and mis
fortune, he found an opportunity to establish him
self in business in Linden, on the 20th of May,
1831, at the age of twenty-one years. Here he
worked day and night, and soon reached a posi
tion of comfort and independence which he had
not known before.
In October, 1832, our subject was married to

368

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Miss Martha Blanchard. Of her he himself says:
' ' She was as poor as myself, yet she was rich in
goodness, purity and love. She has ever been
my better angel. In all my weary way through
life she has sustained me by her gentle, confiding
spirit. ' ' He continued in business successfully
for some years, and in 1835 was elected Justice of
the Peace, continuing in the office until he came to
Illinois, in 1839. He then bought one hundred
acres of land of Walter Blanchard, his brother-in-
law, and in May, 1839, started for Illinois. He
found living at Downer's Grove at that time the
six families of Blodgett, Curtiss, Blanchard, Smith,
Paige and Wallace. On his arrival here he sold
his team and outfit and returned to New York to
arrange his business for a permanent residence in
Illinois. He came back here June 27, 1840, after
thirty days' travel, and remained here- until the
spring of 1842, when he went back to New York
and went to work at his trade; but again sold out
and came back in 1843. Mr. Carpenter was never
a farmer, and he found it a difficult matter to make
a living at farming, soin 1844 he sold his place and
set about the commencement of the business of
merchant, and in that succeeded. He was made
Postmaster in 1843, but was supplanted by an ap
pointee of President Polk upon the change in the
administration. After various changes in business, Mr. Carpen
ter again bought a stock of goods, and with a
partner went into trade in the year 1851. He
continued in this until the death of his son Wal
ter, who was killed by the explosion of an engine
while in the employ of the Northwestern Rail
way, on the 9th of February, 1856. He had pre
viously lost a son, and that almost overwhelmed
him with grief, but when Walter was killed he
seemed unable to bear it, and he says of it that
' ' it nearly unsettled my mind and unfitted me for
my business, and I sold out my place and busi
ness. I thought then that I could only wait for
the final break-up of all hope for the future; that
prosperity was not for me, that the fates were
against me from birth to the present; but the
hopeful faith of the dear wife sustained me, and
we plodded along together trying to bridge over
the chasm; but energy and faith were gone and

the future was all a blank. So we moved along
as happy as conditions would allow; ill health and
care wearing with creeping age, leaving me all
unfitted for the next great calamity to follow. ' '
These are eventually "last words," for he does
not conclude the history. But we may be sure
that he referred to the death of his wife, which
occurred on the 2d of October, 1882, and it is lit
erally true that he never recovered from that
"calamity," but "waited" from that time on,
patiently, to the hour of his own release. In an
early day he occupied a large place in the hearts
of the people, and his advice was sought in
every direction where differences arose, and his
clear head and sound judgment usually smoothed
every difficulty. The young and ambitious boy
found in him an adviser whose wise words he
couid follow with the greatest safety; and his
words of encouragement to energetic and ambi
tious youth were often better than gold, the mem
ory of them being still held close in the hearts of
those who were fortunate enough to receive them
from his lips. Among others to whom these
words apply is Judge H. W. Blodgett, of the
United States Court, whose high regard for this
modest citizen he has always been pleased to
give expression to. Generally his thought was
so clean and so pointedly and forcibly expressed
that he made an impression upon the w*orld about
him that no other man within the range of his ac
quaintance did. He believed in God, and that
the great law of the universe is progress, that
that law never ceases its action, and that the hu
man spirit, in obedience to that law, is able to
show this truth to the world after the body is laid
aside more fully and grandly than ever before in
human history. No man that ever lived loved
the right more unreservedly, or hated the wrong
more strongly, than he. In the power to put a
point wittily, either with the pen or in speech, he
had no equal within the circle of his acquaint
ance, and few anywhere ever exceeded him, and
disloyalty or dishonesty were often sharply scored
by his keen wit. And thus passed away from
among us one of those useful pioneers who helped
to lay the foundations of our community on the
basis of integrity and conscience, and who left

Tavi.or S. Warne.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

37i

with us that good name which is more to be
prized than rubies.
* # * #
The foregoing was written by Charles Carpen
ter, who knew the subject well.

"AYLOR S. WARNE is engaged in farming
on section 29, Winfield Township, where
he has two hundred and seven acres of valu
able land, constituting one of the desirable and
highly improved farms of the county. Having
secured land from the Government, he began its
development, and where once was wild prairie,
waving fields of grain now delight the eye.
There are good buildings upon the place, and its
neat and thrifty appearance well indicates the en
terprise ofthe owner.
Mr. Warne was born in Warren County,
N. J., January 8, 1819, and is a son of John
Warne, who was a native of the same State, and
was of English and German descent. His ances
tors were among the first to found a colony in
New Jersey. The mother of our subject bore the
maiden name of Sarah Stires. She, too, was
born in New Jersey, and was of German descent.
The father followed merchandising in his native
State. He was born on a farm, and there lived
until thirteen years of age, when his father bound
him out for eight years to a merchant. In 1831
he emigrated to Michigan, and near Ann Arbor
taUght school the succeeding winter. In the
spring of 1832 he returned to his old home and
took his family to Ann Arbor, where he lived
until the spring of 1834. During that time he
served as Town Clerk of Ann Arbor, and followed
farming upon one hundred and forty acres of
Government land. In the spring of 1834 he came
by team to what is now DuPage County, locat
ing in Winfield Township. He crossed the site
of Joliet, 111., but not a house marked the place.
Making a claim of three hundred and twenty
acres, partly prairie and partly timber land, he
erected a log cabin, 18x24 feet, and began the
development of a farm.

The family lived in their covered wagon for two
weeks, while Mr. Warne and his boys felled the
trees, prepared the logs, and built the small log-
cabin. The roof was made of ' 'shakes, ' ' and was
held in position by poles laid lengthwise of the
building, while the floor was of "puncheons,"
and not a nail or board entered into the construc
tion of this primitive abode.
Eight years later the land came into market
and he purchased it of the Government. His
nearest trading-post at that time was Chicago,
and among the settlers of the county there were
many Indians. Taylor Warne went to Chicago
in 1835, when there were four thousand Indians
who had gone there to receive their pay, $80,000,
from the Government. Mr. Warne, father of our
subject, died on the old homestead June 6, 1888,
at the advanced age of ninety-three, and he was
laid to rest in Big Woods Cemetery. In politics,
he was a stalwart Democrat. In 1836 he sur
veyed and laid out the roads of this county, and
he also helped organize the first school in Du
Page County. With the development of this
community he was prominently identified, and
well deserves mention among its honored pio
neers. His wife passed away March 31, 1887.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Warne were born nine chil
dren, of whom seven are yet living. Taylor S. is
the eldest; Daniel S., a farmer of Winfield Town
ship, is now seventy-two years of age; Samuel
died in 1856; Susan is the wife of Albert Jones, a
retired farmer of Batavia; Mary, twin sister of
Susan, is the wife of Asel Gates, of Wheaton;
Clarissa, wife of Wilson F. Blackman, died in
1891, in her sixtieth year; Sarah is the wife of
Gilbert Morgan, a retired farmer residing in Chi
cago; and one child died in infancy.
Taylor S. Warne accompanied his parents to
Michigan, and when in his sixteenth year came
to DuPage County. In the winter of 1834 he
split nine thousand rails. There were no schools
for about three years after his arrival, and the first
one was held in a small log building, which was
erected in 1837, where the Congregational Church
now stands. Mr. Warne's privileges, therefore,
were very limited. He remained with his father
until twenty-five years of age, and then entered

372

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

from the Government ninety acres of land, a part
of his present farm. He was married November
20, 1844, to Miss Phalana Blackman, and to
them were born two children: Ella, wife of John
Mather; and Phalana, wife of Henry Guild. The
mother died August 16, 1849, and on the 12th of
November, 1850, Mr. Warne married Miss Har
riet Bradley. They had three children, but
Emma is now deceased. Abbie is the wife of
Henry E. Bartholomew; and Eddie now operates
the farm. The mother of these children passed
away August 23, 1886, and was buried in Big
Woods Cemetery.
Mr. Warne is a strong temperance man, and
votes with the Prohibition party. He has served
as School Director for a number of years, and the
cause of education finds in him a warm friend.
Since 1836 he has been a faithful member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and has been ac
tively interested in church and benevolent work.
His life has been a busy and useful one, has been
well and worthily passed, and his example is de
serving of emulation. He has won the confidence
and good-will of all, and has a host of warm
friends throughout the community.

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EEORGE WASHINGTON HAGEMAN, a
leading citizen of Wheaton, is the fourth
child of Dr. Frederick C. Hageman (see biog
raphy elsewhere), and was born in Chicago Jan
uary- 15, 1849. He was three years old when the
family came to DuPage County, and received his
primary education in the public schools of the
city of Wheaton, finishing with three years at
Wheaton College. At the age of eighteen years
he took up house-painting, which he has followed
ever since. Much of his work has been done in
Chicago, but his headquarters have always been in
Wheaton, where he has served many years as
Fire Marshal. He is the owner of several houses
which he has constructed in this city. He ad
heres to the political precepts of his father, and
entertains very liberal views on religious matters.
In 1 88 1 he married Miss Tillie Schatz, who was

born at Glen Ellyn, and died at Wheaton March
15, 1888, in her thirtieth year. She was a daugh
ter of William Schatz, whose biography will be
found on another page of this work. A son,
Frederick William Hageman, is the offspring of
this union. Mr. Hageman takes a lively interest
in the prosperity of Wheaton and the county, and
enjoys the respect and good-will of the com
munity.

&+£{

/CHARLES P. BRYAN was born in Chicago,
Il October 2, 1855. His childhood was spent
U at Elmhurst, where his parents took up their
residence in 1856. Young Bryan completedhis
education at the University of Virginia and the
Columbia Law School. He was admitted to the
Bar in Washington, D. C, in 1878. The follow
ing year he removed to Colorado, where he en
gaged in mining and in editorial and literary
work. He edited the Denver Inter Ocean and the
Colorado Mining Gazette, which he owned, and
was elected President of the Colorado Editorial
Association in 1884. A year after his arrival in
the Rocky Mountains he was chosen to represent
Clear Creek County in the Legislature, of which
he was the youngest member. He was Chairman
of the Railroad Committee. As champion of the
people against monopolies, he was called the
"Plumed Knight of the Rockies. " He' had a
voice in every Republican State convention during
his sojourn in Colorado, and stumped the State
for Blaine. Twice he was urged by the slate-
makers, but declined to allow his name to be pre
sented to the Republican State Convention as a can
didate for Secretary of State. The probable nom
ination for Lieutenant Governor was also offered
him as an inducement to remain in Colorado.
Filial duty, however, called him back to Illinois
in 1885.
In 1890, Col. Bryan was, unsolicited, nominated
for the Legislature and elected. In 1892, he was
re-elected to represent DuPage County. His chief
efforts in the Legislature have been directed to
ward ballot reform, World's Fair and National

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

373

Guard measures, and those locally of interest to
his constituents. As a boy, he entered the First
Regiment of Illinois National Guards, and has
nearly ever since served in the State troops of Illi
nois or Colorado, having been commissioned Aide-
de-Camp by four Governors. Col. Bryan is now
on the general staff of the Illinois National
Guard. His occupation is that of contributor to
newspapers and magazines, his line of work be
ing editorial, historical and descriptive.

8*+£

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j ESTER PEET NARAMORE, the editor and
IC proprietor of the Downer's Grove Reporter,
IZe is a native of DuPage County. He was born
in Lisle Township on the nth of December,
1843, and is the only surviving son of Daniel
Hubbard and Eunice (Peet) Naramore, pioneer
settlers of this county.
The father ofthe subject of this notice was de
scended from an old New England family, and
was born in Rutland County, Vt. , December 10,
1803. His father, Joel, was a soldier in the War
of 18 12, and died of consumption atSacket's Har
bor, while in the service, leaving a large family.
D. H. Naramore was reared upon a farm, and
after arriving at maturity learned the black
smith's trade. In 1835 he came West, and lo
cated in what is now DuPage County . He bought
a claim to some land, and purchased the same
from the Government when it came into market,
..commencing its cultivation two years later. In
February, 1837, he married Miss Eunice Peet,
who was born at Benton, Vt., July 24, 1815.
Her parents were Wheelock and Alcy (Hickok)
Peet, the former a native of Litchfield County,
¦Conn., and the latter of Williamstown, Mass.
Mrs. Naramore' s mother died in 1832, and a few
years later she came West with her sister, in com
pany with the Rev. N. C. Clark, who was one of
the first Congregational preachers in this State,
and for many years a prominent citizen of El
gin, 111.
Mr. and Mrs. Naramore were the parents of
five children, but only two grew to maturity, viz. :

Lucy Amelia, who is the wife of John Stanley, a
pioneer of 1835; and the gentleman whose name
heads this notice. Mr. Naramore was a Whig in
early life, but became a supporter of the Republi
can party on its formation. He is deceased, but
Mrs. Naramore is still living, and has a pleasant
home with her son.
Lester P. Naramore was reared upon the old
homestead in Lisle Township, and was educated in
the district school and at the academy in Naper
ville, after which he took a business course in a
commercial college at Aurora.
On the 3d of February, 1869, he married Miss
May H. Pinches, and subsequently became a
resident of Downer's Grove, where he has since
resided. About two years ago, he founded and
began the publication of the Reporter, a local
newspaper that is an able exponent of Republican
principles. In his journalistic career he is ably-
assisted by his estimable wife, who possesses lit
erary ability in a marked degree, and evinces an
aptitude for j ournalism. The Reporter vigorously
advocates what its proprietor believes to be right,
and as persistently opposes wrong.

"" RVIN PERLEY HINDS has for a quarter
*y of a century been prominently identified
__ with the growth and upbuilding of Hins
dale in all its leading interests. He is now a
dealer in lumber and railroad materials. Born in
Cheshire County, N. H, on the 10th of March,
1831, he is one of five children whose par
ents were Perley and Sarah (Lawrence) Hinds,
who were both natives' of New England. The
paternal grandfather was a New Hampshire
farmer, and reared a family of seven children.
The father removed to Erie County, Pa., where
he carried on agricultural pursuits until his death
in 1867, at the age of sixty-four years. The
mother died when Ervin was only a lad of eight
summers. They were prominent members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and took quite an
active part in church work. Of their family of
three sons and two daughters, only three are now

374

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

living: Sarah Malvena, widow of Asa Battles,
who makes her home near Girard, Pa.; Ervin
P.; and Calvin Jennison, an attorney-at-law of
Girard, Pa.
Mr. Hinds of this sketch was reared and edu
cated in Erie County, and to his father gave the
benefit of his services upon the home farm until
he had arrived at man ' s estate. He then engaged
in teaching in a district school for a year, after
which he was employed as a teacher in the Girard
Academy. He next entered the employ of the
Northwestern Insurance Company, of Erie, and
was transferred to Philadelphia. Later he was
elected Secretary of the Merchants' Insurance
Company of that city, which position he subse
quently resigned to embark in the lumber busi
ness in central Pennsylvania. At length he de
termined to try his fortune in the West, and em
igrated to Minnesota, purchasing an interest in
the Minnesota Valley Stage Company, of which
he became manager.
Before leaving the East, Mr. Hinds was married,
on the 8th of January, 1857, to Miss Mary Ellen,
a daughter of Hon. George H. and Louise (Stew
art) Cutler. Five children have been born unto
them, three sons and two daughters: George Cut
ler, who died at the age of three years; Charles
Edmund: Minnie Louise; Ervin Perley, Jr. ; and
Lillian Cutler. Charles Edmund married Miss
Marietta Georgia Pond, and they have two
daughters, Marinette and Marguerite. Minnie
Louise is the wife of George Baker Robbins, and
they have three sons, William, Cutler Hinds and
George Baker, Jr.
About 1863, Mr. Hinds removed to Milwau
kee, Wis., and purchased stock in the Pennsyl
vania Oil Company, whose business was subse
quently removed to Chicago, where our subject
was engaged in the manufacture of oils at the
time of the great fire. In the spring of 1872 he
again embarked in the lumber business in Chi
cago, which he has followed continuously and
successfully since. For nearly twenty-five years
he was associated with Sylvester Goodenow, but
in 1 891 he bought out his partner and admitted
his son, Charles E., to a partnership in the bus
iness. Under the firm name of E. P. Hinds &

Son they are now handling an extensive trade,.
which amounts to over half a million dollars an
nually. In October, 1868, Mr. Hinds came to Hinsdale,
and was chosen as one of the Trustees of the vil
lage on its organization in, 1872. This position
he has filled for sixteen years. He was the first
President elected by the vote of the people, and is
now serving his ninth term in that office. He is
also a member of the Township Board of School
Trustees, and the prompt and faithful manner in
which he has discharged his official duties has
won him the commendation of all concerned.
Socially, he is a member of Hinsdale Council of
the Royal Arcanum, and himself and wife are
identified with the Unity Church. They have a
pleasant home in Hinsdale, and Mr. Hinds owns
considerable property in Chicago and elsewhere.
He is now serving his sixth year as President of
the Hinsdale Building and Loan Association,
which is in a flourishing condition. He has ever
been prominent in public affairs, and is in touch
with every enterprise calculated to prove of pub
lic benefit. Through the legitimate channels of
business, and as the result of good management,
industry and upright dealing, he has won a hand
some competence, and risen to a position of afflu
ence.

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0AVID JOHN GRANT, of Wheaton, was born
in Brantford, Ontario, October 10, 1834,
and comes of good old Revolutionary stock.
He is also descended from one of the earliest fam
ilies of Connecticut. The first ancestor in America
was Matthew Grant, who crossed the Atlantic
from Inverness-shire, Scotland, in 1640. Elisha
Grant, the grandfather of our subject, was a na
tive of Tolland, Conn., and a cousin of Noah
Grant, the grandfather of Gen. U. S. Grant.
During the Revolutionary War he aided in the
struggle for independence. He wedded Mary
West, a relative of Benjamin West, the famous
painter, and their son Isaac became the father of
our subject. Elisha Grant was a Revolutionary

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

375

hero, and served as Quartermaster of a Massachu
setts regiment. He was plowing when the news
of the battle of Lexington reached him. He at
once unhitched his team from the plow, and be
gan to draw provisions for the regiment, which
he soon joined, serving for three years. Mem
bers of the Grant family have fought in every
war in this country. Isaac Grant married Mar
garet McFadden, who was born on the island of
Tiree, off the west coast of Scotland. Her father,
Archibald McFadden, was the owner and captain
of a coasting-vessel and was also engaged in
merchandising. He came to America in 1821,
and acquired extensive land interests near Simcoe,
Ontario, where he resided until his death, as did
his wife. Her maiden name was Mary McLean,
and she was a relative of Lord Coll, a member of
the Scotch Parliament, in whose honor McFad
den' s vessel was named.
In 1843, Isaac Grant came with his family to
DuPage County, locating in York Township,
where he continued to reside until called to the
home beyond. He died while visiting in Leyden,
111., in 1868, at the age of seventy-two. He was
a very patriotic man, and when the Rebellion
broke out he offered his services as a member of
Col. Brackett's cavalry regiment, but was rejected
on account of his age. He afterwards enlisted in
a pioneer corps, and served for more than a year.
By profession he was a veterinary surgeon, and
had an extensive practice in that line. His wife
died in Wheaton, September 24, 1882, at the age
of seventy-six. She was a member of the College
Church and an estimable lady.
In the Grant family were the following chil
dren: Mary A., wife of J. D. Sinclair, of Liver-
more, Iowa; Elisha H, who died at the age of
twenty years; Sarah N., deceased; Orris F., who
died in childhood; David J.„ the next younger;
Margaret J., the wife of G. Miller, who is living
retired in Wheaton; Elizabeth A., now deceased;
Isaac J., who resides in Elgin, 111.; Orris W., who
served for three years in the Union army, and
was a doctor by profession, but is now deceased;
Edward M., who has also passed away; and El
eanor M., the wife of Prof. E- D, Bailey, of Wash
ington, D. C,

Mr. Grant of this sketch was only nine years*
old when the family came to DuPage County.
He attended school for two months, walking three
miles to receive such instruction as the primitive
schools of that day afforded. At the age of four
teen he became a teamster, and followed that
work for some time. Much of his life has been
devoted to farming. When the war broke out, he
was found loyal, and he enlisted August 28, 1862,
in Company F, One Hundred and Fifth Illinois
Infantry. He participated in the battles of Resaca,
Kingston, Burnt Hickory, Kenesaw Mountain,
Marietta, the siege of Atlanta, the march to the
sea, the siege of Savannah and the Carolina cam
paign. He took part in all the engagements of
his regiment and was present at the surrender of
Gen. Johnston. He was never in the hospital
until after that event. On the 27th of May, 1865,
he was honorably discharged and returned to
Wheaton. On the 22d of April, 1858, Mr. Grant wedded
Mary M. Sackett, daughter of Joshua S. and
Elvira (Brownell) Sackett, anda native of Riv
erside, Cook County. She was a lady of marked
decision of character and possessed many noble
qualities. With the Wheaton College Church
she held membership. Her death occurred in
Wheaton, February 26, 1891, at the age of fifty-
three years, and was deeply lamented. To Mr.
and Mrs. Grant were born six children: Caroline
A., wife of E. O. Kull, of Lake Geneva, Wis.;
Albert S., a contractor and builder of Wheaton;
Alice E., wife of D. M. Gurnea, of Wheaton, by
whom she has one child, Jessie I.; Alfreds., a
contractor and builder of St. Charles, 111. ; Don,
who died in infancy; and David A., a student of
Wheaton College.
Mr, Grant is a member of Wheaton College
Church. He is a man of broad mind and is a lib
eral thinker. He has never sought official pre
ferment, though often solicited by his friends to
accept office. In early life he was an Abolitionist
and cast his first Presidential vote for Fremont.
He then affiliated with the Republican party until
the Prohibition party was formed, when he joined
its ranks, He comes of an honored family that

376

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

has won prominence, especially in the defense of
the'country, and through no act of his has its fair
name ever been sullied.
@ ¦ "*¦ c=j"^"Tt *>c^-'' <§
EONRAD HAMMERSCHMIDT resides in
Naperville. The ancestors of the family
were among the most progressive as well as
intelligent element in Germany. The majority
represented the clergy of the Lutheran denomina
tion, and were noted as -men of great learning and
force of character, as well as for the love they bore
their fellow-men. They were universally es
teemed for their many excellent qualities of head
aud heart, and they left strong minds and vigor
ous constitutions as a rich legacy to their descend
ants, a number of whom we find in DuPage
County. The first progenitor of the family of whom we
have any knowledge was Joh. Hammerschmidt, a
teacher and Town Secretary in Plettenberg, Ger
many, who lived in 1620. His son, Casper, born in
1632, was a vicar and Lutheran minister in Plet
tenberg. His son, Joh. Ruediger, was an attorney-
at-law at Hamm. His son, Ruediger Peter
Joachim, was also an attorney at Hamm. The
latter's son, Rev. George Elbert, born in 1767,
the grandfather of our subject, was a pastor of
the Lutheran Church in Schwelm. His son, Rev.
Fred William Maximillian, was born May 9,
1797, in Schwelm, became pastor of Altena, and
later was Constorial Judge at Muenster, where he
died September 21, 1867. He married Carolina*
Schwarz, a native of Altena, who was born in
1802, and died in i860. Both parents were peo
ple of strong character, and marked individuality.
They lived useful lives, and left an honored rec
ord like many 'of their ancestors. Their children
were Theodore, Adolph, Herman, Bernhard, Con
rad and Maria. The eldest son was a minister of
the Lutheran Church, and died in Germany.
Adolph and Herman are intelligent farmers near
Naperville. Bernard is a doctor living in Elberfeld,
Germany; and Maria married Henry Schmithals,
of Bonn, on the Rhine, Germany.

Conrad Hammerschmidt received his literary
education in the schools of Muenster and Gueter-
sloh. At the age of eighteen years, he came to
the United States. After being a tiller of the soil
for more than fifteen years, he began to travel in
the interest of the Germania, of Milwaukee. In
1885 he accepted a position of business manager
of the Deutsche Warte, of Chicago, a bi-weekly,
which position he has held ever since.
Mr. Hammerschmidt was married in Germany
to Miss Emelia Dollinger, who died in Naper
ville, June 7, 1880. She was an estimable lady,
a devoted wife and faithful mother. She possessed
many excellent qualities, and her untimely and
early demise was mourned by all who had known
her. Six children bless her memory, namely:
Emelia, Frank, Otilia, Albert, Rheinhard and
Ida. Mr. Hammerschmidt was married a second
time, the lady of his choice being Maria Gau-
weiler, who is the mother of his two youngest
children, Otto and Louisa.

_S)

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HON. JOHN WATSON CARY has a reputa
tion as a prominent lawyer which extends
far beyond the limits of DuPage County, and
even of Illinois. He now resides in Hinsdale
and is one of its most highly-esteemed citizens.
He was born in Shoreham, Vt., February 11,
1 717, and is a son of Asa and Anna (Sanford)
Cary. His parents were natives of Connecticut,
but were married in Vermont, and lived in Shore-
ham until 1 83 1, when they removed to Sterling,
Cayuga County, N. Y. , where they lived for
twenty years. They then went to Racine, Wis.,
following their children, who were among the first
settlers of that place, two of their sons' having
there located in 1835. Mr. Cary was a farmer by
occupation. He and his wife belonged to the
Congregational Church in earl)- life, but after
wards became members of the Presbyterian
Church. He held various political offices and
was a prominent and influential citizen.
The paternal grandfather,' Nathaniel Cary, was
born in Mansfield, Conn., and was descended

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

377

from John Cary, who about 1830 emigrated from
Bristol, England, to America, locating at Bridge-
water, near Plymouth. He was one of the par
ties named as beneficiaries in the deed given by-
the Government to Miles Staudish and others,
conveying to them a strip of land seven miles
long and one mile wide, upon which some of his
descendants are still living. His son Joseph set
tled in Norwich, Conn., and the latter's son,
Jabez, located in Mansfield. He was the father
of Nathaniel, and John Watson of this sketch is
of the sixth generation in direct descent. The
grandfather lived to the age of more than eighty
years, was three times married, and had a family
of fifteen children. The maternal grandfather of
our subject, Joseph Sanford, spent much of his
life in Old Milford, Conn., and iu 1783 removed
to Orwell, Vt., where he reared his family of
eleven children. He purchased a farm at the foot
of Mt. Independence, the point to which the
American army retreated when driven out of
Ft. Ticonderoga by Burgoyne. Mrs. Cary often
spoke of picking up bullets which had lain on
that battlefield from the time ofthe Revolutionary
struggle. Mr. Cary whose name heads this sketch spent
the first fourteen years of his life in Shoreham,
and then accompanied his parents to Sterling,
N. Y. , where he worked dn a store. After at
tending different schools and academies he entered
Union College, in 1838, and was graduated four
years later. He made his way tlirough college
by his own exertions, earning in vacations and
leisure hours the funds with which to pay his tu
ition. During this time he read law with vari
ous prominent lawyers, and in 1844 was admitted
to the Bar in Albany, N. Y., by the Supreme
Court, and the next day was admitted as Solicitor
in Chancery at Saratoga. In February of that
year, he entered upon practice at Red Creek,
N. Y., and in 1850 he removed westward to
Racine, Wis., where he spent the succeeding nine
years of his life. In 1859, he went to Milwaukee,
and there formed a partnership with Wallace
Pratt. Later A. L. Cary and J. P. Cottrill were
his partners, and subsequently he was associated
with his son, Melbert B. Cary. After thirty-one

years spent in Milwaukee, he went to Chicago, in
1890, and in the fall of that year moved to Hins
dale, where he has since resided.
Since 1859, Mr. Cary has been identified with
railroad interests, and since the organization of
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad in
1863 he has been its attorney. His abilities, both
natural and acquired, have placed him in the
• front rank among his professional brethren, and
in all important cases in this community he has
been found either on one side or the other. Dur
ing one session of the Supreme Court of the
United States, he argued fourteen cases against
such able counsel as Caleb Cushing, Matt Car
penter and Henry A. Cram. He was the counsel
in the Supreme Court, in the case of the com
pany vs. the State of Minnesota, in which the
famous Munn decision was in part reversed. In
politics, Judge Cary takes quite an active interest,
and is a stalwart advocate of the Democracy, but
has never been an office-seeker, in fact he has
steadily refused official positions that have been
tendered him, yet he was Postmaster at Red
Creek under President Polk, served as State Sen
ator from Racine, was Mayor of that city, a mem
ber of the Council of Milwaukee, and a member
of the Legislature from Milwaukee.
On the 10th of June, 1844, Judge Cary married
Miss Eliza Viles, who died just ten months and
two days later, leaving an infant daughter, Eliza
Viles, who is now the wife of Sherbourn Sanborn,
General Superintendent of the Chicago & North
western Railroad Company. They have two
daughters, Mabel and Jessie. On the 6th of
June, 1847, Mr. Cary wedded Isabel, daughter
of Peter and Anna (Van Etten) Brinkerhoff.
They had seven children, five sons and two
daughters: Frances, widow of Charles D. Ken-
drick, who died in 1890; Melbert B., of New
York, who married Julia Metcalf, and has three
children, Madeline, Isabel Frances and Melbert
B.; Fred A., who is Vice-President and Treas
urer ofthe A. H. Andrews Company, of Chicago,
and married Elsie Ferguson, by whom he has a
daughter, Florence; John W., who married Mae
Stone, and resides in New York; George P. and
Paul V., at home; and Isabel, now deceased.

378

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Judge Cary and his wife are inembers of the
Presbyterian Church of Hinsdale. They have a
pleasant home iri this place and are prominent
members of society who occupy enviable positions
in social circles. Mr. Cary has devoted his en
tire life to his profession and has won a place at
the Bar of which he may be justly proud. Merit
has gained him high distinction, and his ability
has made his career a successful one. Endowed
by nature with a keen and logical mind, he is a
deep thinker, a clear reasoner, arid an effective
speaker.

| OUIS BUCHANAN HAGEMAN, young-
I C est son of Dr. F. C. Hageman (see biog-
1*0 raphy elsewhere in this book) , was born in
Wheaton, 111., May io, 1857. He attended the
public schools of his native town and Chicago,
and took a course at Bryant & Stratton' s Busi
ness College in the latter city. At the age of
twenty years he entered the drug store of L. L-
Hiatt, of Wheaton, and continued in that em
ployment ten years, becoming a skilled pharma
cist and druggist. At the end of this time he en
gaged in business in the same line, purchasing a
store in Wheaton, which he conducted until his
untimely death. While nursing his wife through
a severe attack of pneumonia, he became weak
ened by loss of sleep and anxiety, and fell a vic
tim to an attack of peritonitis, dying very sud
denly on the 8th of February, 1892, having nearly
completed his thirty-fifth year. Mr. Hageman
was a heavy man, weighing nearly two hundred
pounds, and a fall in his store, by which he struck
his side on a chairback, so affected his liver that
he could not resist the disease that seized upon it.
In July, 1 89 1, he completed a beautiful home on
Bird Street, at the corner of Washington Avenue,
where his widow and two daughters now reside.
He was married May 4, 1882, to Miss Josephine,
daughter of Thomas W. and Melissa F. (Wright)
Holmes. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes were natives of
New York and Vermont, respectively, and came
early to DuPage County, locating first at Lisle,

but soon after removing to Danby (now Glen
Ellyn) , where they settled on a farm, where Mrs.
Hageman was born, and where they died when
she was but a small child. Mrs. Hageman' s chil
dren are named Marguerite, Melissa and Hazel
Holmes. Mr. Hageman was a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America, and was quite as enthusi
astic in his loyalty to the Republican party as was
his father to the Democratic party. He entertained
liberal religious views, and was active in sustain
ing the progressive thought of the community.
He served two terms as Collector of the town of
Milton and city of Wheaton, and was always
ready to encourage any enterprise calculated to
enhance the prosperity of his home, city and
county. He was a good business man, a pleasant
companion, and deservedly popular with his fel
lows.

"S3

B"

EHRISTIAN BLIEVERNICHT, who is en
gaged in general merchandising in Elmhurst,
is a native of Germany. He was born in
Goshetzogthum, Mechlenberg-Schwerin, on the
18th of April, 1837, and spent the days of his
boyhood and youth in the Fatherland, where he
continued to reside until i860, when, at the age
of twenty -three years, he came to America. He
had heard of the advantages and privileges af
forded in the New World, and, bidding good-bye
to friends and country, he crossed the briny deep
to try his fortune in America. He had acquired
a good common-school education, and had been
reared as a farmer. On landing, he came at once
to Illinois, locating in DuPage County, and for
one year worked as a farm hand by the month for
Lawrence Piatt. It was in 1884 that he pur
chased a stock of goods, and opened a general
store, which he still continues to carry on.
On the ist of December, 1863, Mr. Blievernicht
was married, the lady of his choice being Miss
Magdelena Menke, a daughter of Wilhelm arid
Maria (Heuer) Menke, natives of Hanover,
Germany. Eight children were born to this
worthy couple, four sons and four daughters :

Daniel Austin.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

38i

August, who is now deceased; Herman, who
married Miss Otelda Hescht, and resides in Elm
hurst with his wife and daughter Sylvia; Otto,
who married Miss Mollie Bourke, by whom he
has two children, Ellis and Christian; Eddie, who
is also deceased; Ida, who has passed away; Othe-
lia, who is the next younger; Emelia, wife of
Richard Fletcher; and Emma, the youngest of the
family, who is also deceased.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Blievernicht is
a Democrat, and for a period of nine months he
served as Postmaster. He was elected as a mem
ber of the Village Board of Trustees, and so well
did he fill the office that he was twice re-elected,
serving in all for three years with credit to him
self and satisfaction to his constituents. Mr.
Blievernicht carries a large line of general mer
chandise, his store being complete in all its ap
pointments, and from the beginning his trade has
constantly increased until it has now assumed
extensive proportions. He is a worthy German
citizen, and it is with pleasure that we present
this record- of his life to our readers.
p ,,-gi< A ><= a  s
@ w ciJ •< T^ > B™^ ' ®
0ANIEL AUSTIN was one of the oldest set
tlers of Downer's Grove and one of its promi
nent citizens. He was born March n, 1832,
in Columbus, N. Y., unto Burgess and Ludnda
(Jenks) Austin, and was the eldest of their four
children. Thomas died in this township in 1892.
He had a family of five children, all ofwhom are
deceased. Sarah, deceased, was the wife of John J.
Gager, a resident of Fayette County, Iowa; Delia
was married, and died leaving an infant son, Dei
bert, who was adopted by our subject, and still
makes his home with Mrs. Austin in Downer's
Grove. The father of this family was born in Hancock
County, Mass., in 1807, and died iri Downer's
Grove, June 23, 1888. He was married in Massa
chusetts in 1830, and by team removed to New
York, where he remained until 1844, when he
emigrated with his family to DuPage County,
and entered land from the Government. He was

quite successful iii his dealings, and at his death
left a large estate, He was one of the influential
citizens of the community and was numbered
among the honored pioneers. His widow, who
was born in Hancock County, Mass:, February,
3, 1809, is still living on the old homestead. She
is a daughter of Thomas and Rachel (Ellis)
Jenks, both natives of Massachusetts, the former
born July 27, 1777, and the latter February 14,
1788. Daniel Austin, whose name heads this record,
was a lad Of only twelve summers when he came
with his parents to this county. He remained
upon the home farm until he had attained his ma
jority, aiding in the labors of the field during the
summer mouths, and attending the district schools
through the winter season. He then left home
and went to Wheaton, 111., where he spent one
year, after which he and his father purchased the
old homestead in Downer's Grove and together
engaged in farming. On the nth of March,
1872, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Jos
ephine H. Britton, who was born November 19,
1846, and is a daughter of Matthew and Emeline
(Converse) Cozzens.
Mrs. Austin was first married in Chicago to
Charles Nelson, who died leaving two children,
Charles and Frederick. The former died in infancy;
the latter is now a highly educated young man,
and is a partrier in a wholesale coal business of
Chicago. In July, 1892, he married Grace C.
Wheeler, of Downer's Grove. After the death of
her first husband, Mrs. Austin married Joseph
Britton, who died in Chicago, leaving a daugh
ter, Matelle Louise, now the wife of William
Stewart, of this place. Mr. Cozzens, father of
Mrs. Austin, was a native of Cleveland, Ohio,
and there engaged iu the hardware business. On
the 13th of April, 1834, he married Miss Emeline
C. Converse, who was born in Brookfield, Orange
County, Vt., February 13, 1815. He had been
previously married, and by his first wife had a
daughter, who became the wife of Thomas Sherry,
a business man of Chicago, but both Mr. and
Mrs. Sherry are now deceased. They had two
children: Ira, who has also passed away; and
Minnie L-, wife of C. F. Johnston, ofDuluth,

19

382

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Minn. Mrs. Austin's father died when she was
quite a small girl, but her mother is now living
in Downer's Grove, at the age of eighty years.
Our subject and his wife began their domestic
life in Downer's Grove, where they remained for
two years. They afterward lived for a short time
upon a farm, and then returned to this place, where
Mr. Austin lived a retired life until his death,
which occurred athis home August 6, 1892. He
was laid to rest in the old family burying-ground on
the Austin homestead. He was a man of sterling
worth and strict integrity, who led a quiet, unas
suming and upright life, and won the confidence
and regard of all with whom he was brought in
contact. He was familiar with the history of this
county from an early day, and ever bore his part
in the work of public advancement. Mrs. Austin
is a most estimable lady and a member of the
Methodist Church. She is still living at the old
home with her husband's mother, for whom she
tenderly cares.

_s

^hHM

EHARLES BENNETT SMITH, only son ot
William G. Smith, whose biography will be
found elsewhere in this book, is one of the
most successful business men of Wheaton . He was
born in Whitehall, N. Y., April 6, 1853, and
was brought to Illinois when an infant. He at
tended the public schools at Warrenville and
Wheaton, and was a student of Wheaton College
two years. At the age of seventeen, he began
learning the railroad station business at Elmhurst,
and soon found employment in the station at
Wheaton, becoming a skillful telegraph oper
ator. In the spring of 1872, he was made agent
for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway and the
American Express Company at Westside, Craw
ford County, Iowa, and filled that position eight
years. He then took charge of the station at
Carroll, an important division point on the North
western system, for three years. At the end of
that time, at his request, he was transferred to
the charge of Wheaton Station, being at the

time the oldest agent in point of service on the
Northwestern line west of Boone. Mr. Smith
was determined to improve his opportunities, and
soon after locating at Wheaton, he opened a real-
estate and insurance office, in which he transacted
a large amount of business. He is one of those
who are responsible for the incorporation of the
city , and for the modern improvements which make
it a desirable place of residence. He served four
years as City Clerk, but has never been a seeker
after political preferment. He is keenly alive to
business opportunities, and is quite content to let
others handle the reins of government. He is a
stockholder in the company which supplies the
city with electric light, arid during the Columbian
Exposition was Vice-President of the Epworth
Hotel Restaurant Company, an organization which
built and operated a successful hotel near the Fair
grounds. In 1890, Mr. Smith was appointed Assistant
Claim Agent of the Chicago <fe Northwestern
Railway Company, a position that he has accept
ably filled since. With np influence to push him,
save his own energy and ability, he has attained
a responsible position with an extensive corpora
tion at an age when many are still apprentices.
Mr. Smith is an active and enthusiastic Republi
can, and carries an influence in local political af
fairs. He is a member of the Methodist Church,
and of several fraternal orders.
On the 30th of December, 1875, Mr. Smith
was married to his childhood's playmate and
schoolmate, Laura Elizabeth, youngest daugh
ter of Jude P. Gary, a pioneer of DuPage County.
(See biography of Jude P. Gary.) Mrs. Smith
was born in Winfield Township, and is a valu
able member of Wheaton society. To the aged
parents of Mr. Smith she is like one born to
them, and in every relation of life is the worthy
helpmate of a popular citizen. Mrs. Smith has
been throughout her adult life one of the most
faithful and efficient members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and has been for many years
the leading soprano singer in the choir of the
Wheaton Church . Two children have been given
to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, namely: Laura Eoleen
and Winifred Alice.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

3»3

In 1892, Mr. Smith built the fine residence
which he occupies at the southwest corner of
West Street and Washington Avenue. It is the
seat of quiet elegance and refined hospitality.

¦B

^B^

rs_

B~

(ri TILLMAN HILL was born on the 9th of
?S March, 1809, in Calais, Me., and in that com-
VlJ/ munity was reared to manhood. While in
the Pirie Tree State, he engaged in lumbering.
After arriving at man's estate, he was united in
marriage with Miss Eliza Hopps, who was born
on the' seashore in New Brunswick, on the
Canadian side of the St. Croix River, May 17,
1819. Her father, John Hopps, was born in the
province of New Brunswick and was of German
descent. He married Martha Bradford, one of
the descendants of Gov. Bradford, who came to
this country in the "Mayflower." They became
the parents of ten children who grew to manhood
and womanhood, Mrs. Hill being the sixth in or
der of birth. In the place of her nativity she
was reared.
Mr. and Mrs. Hill were married in Maine, but
in 1845 they bade adieu to New England, and
emigrated westward to DuPage County, 111. Mr.
Hill purchased the farm on which his widow now
resides, and they moved into a little log house,
which continued to be their home for seven years.
There our subject carried on general farming and
stock-raising, and drove hogs to Chicago and
Streator. He was a man who entered upo:i
his business career empty-handed. He had only
$10 when he began building his house. The en
terprise and industry which were numbered
among his chief characteristics stood him instead
of capital, and as the years passed brought him a
comfortable competence.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hill were born nine chil
dren: Augustus William, now living in Aurora;
George "M. and Thomas J., who are residents ot
the same city; Randolph, who died at the age ot
four months; May, deceased; Milton S., who
makes his home in Naperville; Ernest O., who is

living in Naperville Township; Arthur W., who
carries on the home farm; and Minnie B., at
home. In his early life, Mr. Hill was a supporter of
the Democracy, but after the Republican party
sprang into existence he joined its ranks and con
tinued to support its men and measures through
out the remainder of his days. He was a chari
table and benevolent man, and the poor and needy
found in him a trusted friend, who gave them en
couragement and the more substantial aid of lib
eral donations. He also gave freely to churches
aud those enterprises which he believed would
prove of public beriefit. His life was an honor
able and upright one and gained him the high re
gard of all. He passed away in 1886, and at his
death left to his family a fine farm of three hun
dred and eighty acres of arable land. Since her
husband's death, Mrs. Hill has had entire charge
of this, and in the management she displays the
traits of a good business woman. She possesses
excellent executive ability and in the control of
affairs she has met with success. Mrs. Hill also
possesses those characteristics which make her a
favorite in Social circles, and throughout DuPage
County she has many warm friends.

S3

^B

s?_

(JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, a leading business
I man of Chicago and a resident of Wheaton,
Q) was born November 23, 1824, at Hopkinton,
Middlesex County, Mass., where he was reared
011 a farm. He is a lineal descendant of Henry
Adams, who came from England to Massachu
setts early in the seventeenth century, and was
the progenitor of many noted citizens ofthe United
States, some of whom acquired a national reputa
tion. His great-grandfather, William Adams, was
an ocean trader, and died in Cuba, while a resident
there. His grandfather, Benjamin Adams, who
was born in Braintree,was a farmer in Hopkinton.
The founders of the nation were made of stern
material, and the same spirit of enterprise, for
titude and perseverance which led them to settle
and develop rugged New England, has been be-

384

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

queathed to their posterity, and they are entitled
to the credit of settling the whole northern half of
the United States, to which they have given a di
recting force in developing modern progress, moral
and physical. These qualities were inherited by
the subject of this biography in a marked degree,
as the record of his life will show. His father;
John Adams, died at the age of thirty-nine years,
when this son was but five. He is the sixth in a
family of five sons and two daughters, and on his
mother, Joanna Adams, devolved the care and
education of her offspring. The little farm on
which they dwelt was encumbered by a mortgage
at the death of the head of the family, but they
set courageously at work to save their home. All
were compelled to toil in this common pursuit,
and little opportunity was found for acquiring an
education. Eight to twelve weeks in the winter
school constituted the educational advantages of
this subject up to the time when he attained his
majority. On one occasion, when marketing some
of the farm produce, he sought employment in a
store as a means of attaining some commercial
knowledge, but he was told by the merchant,
who must have been a poor student of human na
ture, that the farm was the field best suited to his
ability. This served only as a spur to his pride
and ambition, and he set to work to prove that
he possessed the ability to make his way in the
world. By his own exertions he secured means
to attend the academies at Leicester and Worces
ter, and after a family council it was decided to
move to the West, where a young man might find
opportunities to grow with the country.
In 1851 the farm was sold, and, accompanied by
his mother and sister, Mr. Adams came to Chi
cago, where his first step was the completion of a
course at Bell's Commercial College. He then
engaged, at Belvidere and Rockford, in the pur
chase of grain, which was shipped to Chicago.
From 1853 to 1855 he engaged in the coal business
in Chicago, having his yard on North Water Street,
and then united with his brothers, B. and G. P.
Adams, in forming the firm of B. Adams & Co.,
for conducting a grain and milling business.
This firm was very successful, and built one of
the largest mills in the city. Two years after its

organization, G. P. Adams withdrew, but the firm
continued under the original title until the great
fire of 1 87 1, since which time J. Q. Adams has
operated alone. Since the second year of its ex
istence, he has been a member of the Board of
Trade, and still retains ticket number nine. Dur
ing his connection with the Board, he has stead
fastly refused to enter any combination for con
trolling the market, and has realized a handsome
fortune from legitimate trading, a course which
it has cost many operators their entire fortune to
learn is the only wise and just one. Foreseeing
the growth of Chicago, and realizing the stability
of real estate as an investment, Mr. Adams early
began to secure desirable sites in Chicago, and is
now the owner of many of the most valuable
buildings in the business district, all his property-
being improved.
A just regard for the quiet, modest nature of
Mr. Adams forbids any extended notice of his
numerous charitable and philanthropic acts, but
some of them cannot be concealed. In 1892 he
built at Wheaton a beautiful library, which he
has endowed with the ownership of improved
Chicago property, thus securing an income for its
maintenance. This is a substantial and orna
mental stone structure, in which were placed sev
eral thousand volumes as a nucleus, and was pre
sented to the city of Wheaton to be controlled by
a local Board of Trustees. With strong conver
sational powers, possessed ofa mind above frivoli
ties, Mr. Adams is not wont to form miscellane
ous acquaintances, but loves to choose congenial
companions, to whom he is known as the most
warm-hearted and companionable of men, while
to many he appears as somewhat austere. He is
an active member and liberal contributor to the
support of the Congregational Church of Whea
ton. In political sentiment, he is a Republican
on principle, but is in no sense a politician, using
his influence and vote only to secure the best gov
ernment possible. He is fond of his home, which
has been at Wheaton since 1876. His residence
stands in the midst of ample grounds, surrounded
by greenhouses, flowers and shrubbery, and all
the accessories of an ideal suburban home.
On the 19th of January, 1859, Mr. Adams mar-

Benn Philips Reynolds, A. M., M. D.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

387

ried Miss Marilla F., daughter of William A.
Phipps, of Hopkinton, Mass. She was a de
scendant of the same progenitor as Sir William
Phipps, one of the early residents of Massachu
setts, who was knighted by the English king for
honesty in delivering to the sovereign the entire
proceeds of a Spanish prize captured by the
doughty captain. Mrs. Adams -passed away in
1874, and is survived by two of her four chil
dren, the others dying in. infancy. William P.
Adams, the son, who has his winter home at
Wheaton, is the proprietor of one of the finest
wheat farms in Dakota, consisting of five thou
sand acres. Kate S. Adams, the daughter,
who presides so ably over her father's household,
was educated at Rockford and Vassar, and is a
patron of art and literature, giving especial care
to the memorial library at Wheaton and the Chi
cago Art Institute.
@  -_s}<: 1 >f=" -, *»
gENN PHILIPS REYNOLDS, A. M., M. D.
Of the many prominent residents of Lom
bard, doing business in Chicago, who claim
the British Isles as the country of their nativity,
there are few,. perhaps,* of greater relative promi
nence, or, more respected for unostentatious acts of
charity, than Dr. B. P. Reynolds. In appearance
he is a striking figure, six feet in height, weigh
ing about two hundred and thirty pounds. Well
proportioned, and with markedly intellectual feat
ures, he immediately attracts attention in a crowd.
He is a whole-souled gentleman, whose kindness
of heart and many charitable deeds have endeared
him to all acquainted therewith, and those, who
best know him most highly respect and trust him.
Dr. Reynolds is a native of Wales and a thor
ough Welshman. He was born in South Wales,
Great Britain, December 14, 1832, and is the eld
est of six sons and two daughters of David Rey
nolds, a prominent business man of his native
town, being a woolen manufacturer, etc. , He
was a devoted Christian and an earnest worker in
the church, and was full of benevolent and char
itable deeds toward his fellow-man. The mother

of the Doctor, Sarah (Davies) Reynolds, was, on
account ofthe death of her mother, brought up and
educated by her grandfather, a prominent clergy
man, and therefore had superior advantages. She
was a grand and noble woman, and reared her
children in such a way that they caused to be
placed on her monument the following epitaph:
" Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her."
Her memory will always remain hallowed, grow
ing more tender and fragrant as the years go
by . She is ever present in spirit, stimulating her
children to ever aspire to the true, the beautiful
and the good.
Dr. Reynolds' great-grandfather, Col. Rey
nolds, was killed with Gen. Picton at the battle
of Waterloo. His maternal great-grandfather,
the Rev. Benjamin Philips, with whom he lived
a few years, and for whom he was named, was a
clergyman for seventy years in the town where
he was born, dying at the age of over one hun
dred and one. The Doctor comes of a family
celebrated in the church, in physics, and in the
profession of arms,, his progenitors for several
generations being clergymen, educators, doctors
or soldiers. He himself was educated for the
church at the Narberth Classical and Commer
cial Academy, and graduated from Brecon Col
lege, which is incorporated with the London Uni
versity. He was also educated in medicine and
surgery, as his intention was to become a medical
missionary. His views on doctrinal subjects un
dergoing a change, however, he abandoned the
ology for medicine, qualifying as a physician and
surgeon in Bartholomew Hospital, London, the
Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania, and the
University of Pennsylvania, besides subsequently.
attending lectures at Rush Medical College and
Polyclinics in Chicago.
On the Doctor's arrival in this country in
1861, his sympathies guided him to place his
services at the disposal of the North on ac
count of the slavery question, and as a volun
teer surgeon with the Army of the Potomac was
a professional participator in and witnessed some
of the principal battles of that memorable cam
paign. His brother, George Reynolds, who was

388

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Hospital Steward in the Regular United States
Infantry, lost his life in a Southern prison by be
ing wounded in the battle of the Wilderness, after
which he was taken prisoner and sent to Rich
mond, Augusta, Andersonville, Charleston, and
finally to Florence, S. O, where he died of starva
tion in November, 1864. His brother, James Davies
Reynolds, of England, has written and published
a work entitled ' ' One of Them, ' ' in which he
has given an account of the inhuman treatment
of his brother and prisoners of war in Southern
prisons. George preceded the Doctor to this
country, and had become so imbued with the spirit
of patriotism and love for his adopted land that
he prevailed upon him to come over. The Doctor
considers that said coming was the turning point
of his whole life. He came to Chicago in 1 863, and
therein has ever practiced his profession. Al
though he has done a great deal of charitable
work, he has enjoyed a large and lucrative prac
tice, being one of the most successful physicians
and surgeons in the city, and his skill has fre
quently been demonstrated in r many difficult
cases. The Doctor has in other ways demonstrated his
versatility, having been a professor in a college,
a public lecturer and a prolific writer. He is an
author of marked ability; has been a voluminous
and vigorous writer, some sixty publications hav
ing been issued from the press on medical, physi
ological, philosophical, Masonic and other scien
tific subjects, besides a large amount of lighter liter
ature, embracing fiction and verse, and also many
articles for various periodicals. He was for some
years editor of a medical journal. He has written
some very interesting works on Free Masonry
and kindred topics, being recognized as valuable,
and much appreciated in the ranks of the frater
nity. He intends to publish soon a new and en
larged edition ofa work entitled "The Beauties of
Free Masonry Exemplified," also "Masonic Gems
and Jewels of Thought. ' ' Besides being a man of
letters, he is a great admirer of art and music,
and possesses a good voice. He has written and
published excellent pieces of music that have had
a fair circulation. The Doctor has a private
library of more than five thousand volumes, one

of the largest owned by any physician in Chi
cago. The Doctor is quite a society man, and has done
a great deal toward the success of the various or
ganizations with which he has been connected.
For nearly a quarter of a century he has been a
member of all of the Masonic organizations of
Chicago, and of some elsewhere, and is, a life
member of many of them. He has filled offices
in nearly all of them. He is a member of Whea
ton Lodge No. 269, A. F. & A. M.; Corinthian
Chapter No. 29, R. A. M. ; Siloam Council No. 53;
R. S. & S. E. M.; St. Bernard Commandery No.
35, K. T. ; Oriental Sovereign Consistory and Co
ordinate Bodies' Scottish Rite Masons; St. John's
Conclave No. 1 , Knights of Rome and of the Red
Cross ofConstantine; Knights of the Holy Sepul
chre and St. John the Evangelist; Mecca Temple,
Order ofthe Mystic Shrine; Rosicrusian Society;
Oriental Rite of Myzraim ; Supreme Rite of Mem
phis; Ancient and Primitive Rite; Swedenborgian
Rite; Eclectic Order of the Palm and Shell; Ma
sonic Veteran Association, etc. He has also been a
member of many of the leading social and benevo
lent organizations, literary and scientific, as well as
patriotic societies of the city and the United States,
in some of which, especially the last, he takes a
very active interest. He has always been a Re
publican in politics, but for some time past has,
with many others, been anxious to see a new
American party formed, which would be thor
oughly patriotic and loyal in upholding the free
institutions of this country, especially the free-
school system of education. The following is a
list of the different organizations with which he
has been connected and is now a member: In
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, Independent
Order of Foresters, Ancient Order of Foresters,
Ancient Druids, Knights of Pythias, National
Union, Cambrian Benevolent Society, St. George's
Benevolent Association, Mutual Benefit Associa
tion, United Order of Ancient Templars, Order
of the Red Cross, Order of Knights of Maccabees,
Pilgrim Society, Franklin Society, Press Associa
tion, Hand-in-Hand Mutual Benefit Society,
Knights and Ladies of Honor, Order of Fra
ternal Circle, Knights ofthe Ancient Essenic Or-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

389

der, Knights Templars and Masons Life Indem
nity Company, Union Relief Association, Amity
Club, I. O. O. M. C. Club, Republican Club,
North American Mutual Benefit Association,
Cambrian Literary Society, Chicago Literary So
ciety, Philosophical Society, Loyal Orange In
stitution, Black Knights of the Camp of Israel,
American Orange Knights, Apprentice Boys,
American Protective Association, Union League,
Order of American Union, Human Free
dom League, American Protestant Association;
Knights Commanders of the Sun, National
League, Anti-Papal League, Pan-Republic Lea
gue, Free Speech League, Young Men's Chris
tian Association, Young Men's Christian Union,
British American Association and Citizens' Com
mittee of the Hundred.
In most ofthe organizations, Dr. Reynolds has
been presiding officer, and thus at the head of the
whole order, and in nearly all the benefit societies*
has been their medical officer, and in many the
Grand Medical Examiner. Some of the societies
he did not enter from choice, but had to become a
member when he was elected Physician and Sur
geon. He has been President of the Cambrian Be
nevolent Society, holding that position at the time
ofthe great fire, when charitable work was greatly
increased. He has been President of the Cambrian
Literary Society, is Past Supreme Grand Com
mander ofthe Order ofthe Red Cross, and is the au
thor of its rituals and mottoes and the designer of
its jewels, etc. He is Past Supreme Grand Mas
ter of the Loyal Orange Institution of the United
States, and has for years been Grand Master of
the Grand Lodge of Illinois. He is Past Grand
Commander-in-Chief of the Supreme Cabinet ot
the American Orange Knights of the United
States, and is Past Grand Sovereign of the Im
perial Grand Council of the Knights of the Red
Cross of Rome and Constantine, and appendant
orders; he is also President of the British- Ameri
can Association, and has been President of the
Citizens' Committee of One Hundred since its or
ganization. He has been High Medical Ex
aminer for the Independent Order of Foresters,
Supreme Medical Examiner for the Order of the
Red Cross, Medical Examiner-in-Chief of the In

dependent Order of Odd Fellows Insurance Com
pany, Physician for the Chicago Relief and Aid
Society, Surgeon of Ellsworth Zouaves, Surgeon-
General of the Knights Commander of the Sun,
and Surgeon- General of the American Orange
Knights. He is at present the official physician
and surgeon, also Medical Examiner, of several
charitable and beneficial societies such as Char
ter Oak Insurance Company, New York Mutual
Life Insurance Company, California Insurance
Company, St. George's Benevolent Association,
the Foresters, Odd Fellows, Loyal Orange Order,
National Union, etc.
After living in this country for some years, Dr.
Reynolds visited his old home in Wales and there
was married to an old love, Miss Annie Walters
Thomas, daughter of John Thomas, one ofthe
Superintendents of Her Majesty's dockyard at
Pembroke dockyard. She was a lady gifted
with an extraordinary memory and a well-cul
tivated mind, and possessed considerable literary
ability. Her writings were much admired and
appreciated, especially her poems entitled "Songs
of Affection." On account of her health, the
Doctor built his home and went to live at Lom
bard, where she died September 17, 187 1, and
her remains were buried in Graceland Cemetery.
Miriam Chapter of the Eastern Star had a
memorial service for her. at Blair Hall, on Sun
day, October 8, the day on which the great fire
began. She was a true woman, a sincere and de
voted Christian, esteemed and loved by all who
knew her.
In 1879 the Doctor married Miss Blanche E. E.
Baldwin, daughter of G. S. Baldwin, of Chicago,
a very amiable lady, possessed of many accom
plishments. She is held in high regard by all
who enjoy her acquaintance for her many graces
of mind and heart. Kindly and genial in her dis
position, she is a loving wife and devoted mother
to her family of very interesting children. Those
living are Annie Blanche, aged fourteen; Lilian
Sara, eleven; Alice Florence, eight; and Benn
Philips, six years. Mrs. Reynolds is also a very
active and energetic worker in several social,
benevolent and patriotic societies, having been
for years Worthy Mistress of the Ladies' Loyal

39°

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Orange Association. For three years she has
been the Supreme President ofthe Woman's Am
erican Protective Association of the United States
and Canada. She is also a member of the Order
of the Eastern Star, Rebecca Degree, Relief Corps,
Patriotic Women, Woman's Club, etc. Mrs.
Reynolds originated the idea of the human flags
formed by four thousand school children on the
stands erected one on the west and the other on
the east side, with the grand reviewing stand on
the north side, of the Chicago Postoffice, where
they massed the design ofthe three national colors,
the stars and stripes, on the days of the dedication
ofthe World's Fair, and superintended the flag
exercises on that occasion.
The Doctor's office and surgery are at No. 119
Madison Street, Chicago. His home is at Lom
bard, where he has built a residence, calling it
Narberth Castle, after his old home in Wales. He
has been President of the town arid Justice of the
Peace for several years. The Doctor is a genial,
courteous gentleman, affable and pleasant in
manner, and by his integrity and worth has won
the esteem of a very large circle of friends.
The coat of arms of the Doctor's family is de
scribed as follows: Azure a chevron erm, between
three crosses. Crosslet fitchee argent. Crest, an
eagle close argent, ducally gorged and lined. Motto:
"Fide Sed Cui Vidi"- — " Trust, but take care
in whom . ' '

=]

fH^

S^

B"

'HOMAS EDIE HILL was born in Sand-
gate, Bennington County, Vt., February 29,
1832. He was reared on his father's farm,
attending in the winter the district schools of
that vicinity, and finishing his school instruction
at the Cambridge Academy, at Cambridge, N. Y.
Possessing natural aptitude for teaching, Mr.
Hill entered upon that work, and taught his first
school at Eagleville, East Salem, N. Y.; receiv
ing therefor $10 per month; following which,
at the age of nineteen, he taught the winter school
in Londonderry, Vt. , receiving $14 per month
and ' 'boarding ' round. ' ' Fitting himself in Boston

for teaching penmanship, he entered upon the
work of conducting evening schools, teaching
penmanship and forms, and followed that profes
sion during the fifteen succeeding years, the field
of his teaching being in Vermont, New York,
Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois. He left this work
in 1866, and has taught none since, except a
school in parliamentary practice, which (being
deeply impressed with the importance of such a
school) he opened at the Chicago Athenaeum in
1 89 1, conducting the same for several months and
closing with a public exhibition. This class was
the first of its kind, up to the time when it was
established. Settling at Waukegan, 111., in 1854 with his
wife, formerly Miss- Rebekah J. Pierce, of Lon
donderry, Vt. , by whom he had one child, Flor
ence G., at present Mrs. George M. Porteoys, he
remained there until 1866, when he located at
Aurora, 111. , and began the publication of the
Aurora Herald, from which he severed his con
nection a few years afterward. He continued his
residence in that city for twelve years, during
which time he founded and obtained a large circu
lation for the Herald. He also established the
Suburban Chicago Purchasing Agency busi
ness, and as manager for a time of the Aurora
Silver Plate factory, placed that institution upon a
successful basis. While Mayor of Aurora, in 1876
and 1877, he introduced various improvements in
to the city, among them being the suppression of
cows from running at large, the setting out of thou
sands of shade trees, the taking down of fences
around dwellings, and the organizing of an im
provement society, which since that time has
been largely instrumental in making that city the
metropolis of the Fox River Valley.
Giving a liberal portion of the property which
he had accumulated up to that time (1878) to his
wife, she secured a separation from him by mutual
consent, he taking up his residence in Chicago to
give personal supervision to the management of
"Hill's Manual of Social and Business Forms,"
which had been brought out by Moses Warren, a
publisher of Chicago, in 1873, Mr. Hill assuming
the publishing of it in 1879. Subsequently mar
rying Mrs. Ellen M. Whitcomb, at Shushan,

Mrs. Blanche E. E. Reynolds.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

N- Y., he continued his residence in Chicago un
til 1885, at which time he purchased a farm ad
joining the village of Prospect Park, DuPage
County, 111. in the succeeding year he settled
thereon, returning thus to the employment with
which he had been familiar in his boyhood. His
return to farming was voluntary and not of neces
sity, a phrenologist on one occasion, when ex
amining his head, having told him when he began
his teaching that he would succeed in anything
that he undertook.
With large natural love of the ornamental in
landscape and building, he. became the publisher
and editor, in 1884, of the Chicago National
Builder, in which he gave to the world many
beautiful designs of buildings and ornamental
grounds. Retiring from this publication after
making it the best magazine of its class, he or
ganized a land syndicate at Prospect Park, en
abled several of the old farmers of that vicinity
to sell their farms so well as to retire on a
competency, changed the name of the village to
Glen Ellyn, and secured the making of the charm
ing little Lake Glen Ellyn, the construction of an
elegant hotel upon its borders, and the develop
ment of several springs near the lake, among
them being the famous Glen Ellyn Apollo, the
¦ waters of which have large sale in Chicago.
Among Mr. Hill's literary works have been
several books of large circulation, ofwhich "Hill's
Manual' ' has had a sale of about four hundred
thousand copies at this writing, at an average
price of $6 per copy; "Hill's Album of Biogra
phy, ' ' having a circulation of eighty thousand .
copies; "Hill's Guide to Chicago;" "Ways of
Cruelty," an illustrated pamphlet used in great
numbers by humane societies ; ' ' Right and Wrong
Contrasted;" and "Money Found," the latter a
popular book on the subject of finance.
This latest work is an original publication,
\vhich fully outlines the plan by which the Gov
ernment may assume the ownership of banks,
and may operate them at all central points, guaran
teeing depositors against loss, preventing finan
cial panics, and the consequent depressions in busi
ness. Mr. Hill is the first person to put forth to
the world a practical method by which Govern-

393

mental banking may be established. At this
writing, the book, "Money Found," is having an
immensely large sale, with a fair probability of
so educating the people as to cause them to de
mand Government ownership of banks in the very
near future, thus revolutionizing the present in
secure system of banking, giving the profits per
taining to the handling ofthe people's money to
the people; and at the same time securing relief
from bank failures, and permanent financial pros
perity for all.
While Mr. Hill's efforts have been crowned
with success for himself, his labors have been
largely of a public character, and have resulted
in great educational benefit to the people in all
parts of the country. Though a quiet resident of
Glen Ellyn, his works have had such large circu
lation as to make his name much more familiar to
the inhabitants of New England, the Middle
States and the Pacific Coast than it is to the people
of DuPage County.

:  *#$+$g
r~REDERICK HATCH, who carries on gen-
Tri eral farming on section 2, Lisle Township,
I f is a worthy representative of one of the hon
ored pioneer families of DuPage County. The
family is of English extraction on both the pa
ternal and maternal sides. The father, Luther
Hatch, was born in New Hampshire, was reared
to manhood upon a farm, and on attaining his
majority bade adieu to the Granite State and em
igrated to Michigan. He there married Polly
Howe, and in 1832 they came to Illinois, locat
ing on wild land where the town of Lisle now
stands. Soon after his arrival in this State, Mr.
Hatch was called upon to mourn the loss of his
wife. In 1838, he married Laura Kidder, a na
tive of New Hampshire. Luther Hatch carried
on farming on that land until 1843, when he sold
his first place and purchased a farm on section 2,
where our subject now resides. There he re
mained until his death, which occurred in 1852,
at the age of forty-eight years. He was a member
of the Whig party, took quite an interest in poi-

394

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

itics, and was one of the leading and influential
citizens of his township in an early day. After
his death Mrs. Hatch became the wife of B. F. Mor
rison, and removed to Central City, Iowa, where
she departed this life at the age of sixty-two
years. Frederick Hatch is the eldest in a family of
three children, all sons. Ezra K., the next in
order of birth, is engaged in the banking busi
ness, merchandising and stock-dealing in Central
City, Iowa. Augustus L-, the youngest, is also
a prominent business man of that place.
Mr. Hatch whose name heads this record
was born in Lisle Township, February 5, 1839,
and midst play and work his boyhood days were
passed. He remained upon the home farm until
seventeen years of age, and became familiar with
all the duties of farm life. He then spent the
summer in work in the fields, and through the
winter season engaged in teaching school for
about nine years. With the capital he had thus
acquired he purchased the old homestead and
engaged in farming for himself, which pursuit
he has followed continuously since with good
success. On the 12th of October, 1862, Mr. Hatch wed
ded Miss Hannah Burtis, of Central City, Iowa,
who died in 1867, leaving two children: Freder-.
ick B., who is now deceased; and Luther A., who
is Principal of one of the ward schools of Mo-
line, 111. On the 10th of March, 1868, Mr.
Hatch was again married, his second union being
with Miss Annie Ott, a native of this county.
Their union has been blessed with six children:
Frank W. , a prosperous farmer of Iowa; Clarence
R., also an agriculturist of the Hawkeye State;
Rosie L. and Harriet, who are engaged in teach
ing school in DuPage County; Harry, a well-ed
ucated young man, who aids in the operation of
the home farm ; and Mabel, who is attending the
High School in Downer's Grove.
The farm which Mr. Hatch owns and operates
comprises one hundred and forty acres of good
land, and in connection with its cultivation he car
ries on the dairy business, keeping twenty-five
cows for this purpose. He also owns a valuable
farm of two hundred acres in Linn County, Iowa,

and his possessions have been acquired almost en
tirely through his own efforts, being the reward
of his industry and perseverance. In politics5,
Mr. Hatch is a supporter of Republican princir
pies. He has served as Supervisor one year, as
Highway Commissioner for twenty-five years;
and for a number of years has been School Di
rector. In his religious belief he is a Congrega-"
tionalist. On all the issues of the day he keeps'
himself well informed, and is an intelligent and
public-spirited citizen, who has won the confidence
and respect of the community. His entire life
has here been passed, and he has seen Du
Page County transformed from an almost un
broken wilderness into one of the garden spots of-
Illinois. Among its pioneer settlers we gladly?
give him a place in this volume.

_si

S3

^^

cs_

B^

gB. BOECKER, the efficient and popular
Mayor of Naperville, is a native of Prussia,'
Germany, his birth having there occurred
on the 3d of February, 1840. He spent the days
of his boyhood and youth in that land, and no
event of special importance occurred during his
earlier years. At the age of nineteen he joined
the German army as a volunteer, and served one
year. He was a young man of twenty years
when, in i860, he crossed the broad Atlantic to
America and took up his residence in Naperville.
He turned his attention to farming, which pursuit
he followed continuously for four years, when, in
1864, he returned to Germany. There he was
united in marriage with Anna Ohm, also a native
of Prussia.
Soon after his marriage, Mr. Boecker brought
his wife to the New World and again took up his
residence in DuPage County, where he carried
on agricultural pursuits for three years. In 1868
he removed to Naperville, where he engaged in
the lumber business and also dealt in pressed
hay. To that work he devoted his energies for
some time, but in 1880 sold out and purchased a
grain elevator and coal-yard at the depot, where
he still continues business. This has proved a

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

395

profitable investment and yields to the proprietor '
a good income. In 1882 Mr. Boecker was instru
mental in forming the Naperville Stone Company,
of which he is President. His business interests
have not only benefited himself, but have aided
materially in the advancement of the general wel
fare. The stone company^ also has a liberal pa
tronage and makes shipments both to the East
and the West.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Boecker were born three
children, two sons and a daughter: Theo T.,
now of Naperville; Adolphine, wife of William
Koch, a cigar manufacturer; and Arnold, also of
Naperville. Mr. Boecker has been a second time
married". His present wife bore the maiden name
of Emily Hammerschmidt. They have one son
and two daughters: Gertrude, Erna and Bernard.
In his political views, Mr. Boecker is a stalwart
Democrat, who takes a warm interest in the growth
and success of his party. He has been honored
with some public offices, including that of Alder
man, in which he served for several years. In
1874 he was elected Mayor of Naperville, and in
1892 was again chosen to that office, which posi
tion he now fills. For two years he was Super
visor of Lisle Township, and is now President of
the Building and Loan Association. He is also
a member of the Modern Woodmen of America,
and has held office in the local lodge. He is a
man of excellent business ability, sagacious and
far-sighted, and by his well-directed efforts he has
achieved a success of which he may justly be
proud. He is a genial, pleasant and popular
gentleman and is well ranked among the valued
citizens of this community.

-SI

"Si

*+£#=

©QlLBUR HAGANS, a prominent aud highly
\ A / respected citizen of Elmhurst, who is widely
YY known throughout DuPage County, was
born in Kingwood, Va,, on the 23d of July, 1852,
and is a son of Lucian A. and Lovela (Hagans)
Hagans, who were also natives of the Old Do
minion. Their family numbered only two children,
Wilbur E., and Maria B., who is now deceased.

The father filled the important office of Secretary
of State in Virginia during the-late war, and after
ward became one of the editors and proprietors of
the Wheeling Intelligencer, published at Wheel
ing, W. Va. He had come to Illinois in 1856,
locating in Elmhurst, then. 'known as Cottage
Grove, where he made his home until the break
ing out of the war, when hje removed to West
Virginia, continuing there to reside until 1873.
In that year he returned to Illinois, and madehis
home in Elmhurst until his death, which occurred
on the 6th of June, 1890, at the age of sixty -five
years. He was a man of more than ordinary
ability, well fitted to be a leader of the people,
and was recognized as one of the prominent and
influential citizens of the community in which he
made his home. He was a member of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church, and an honorable, up
right career won him universal confidence and
esteem. His wife, who still survives him, holds
membership with the same church.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, Harri
son Hagans, was a native of Vermont, and fol
lowed merchandising. In 1805 he emigrated to
Virginia, where he spent his remaining days,
passing away when about sixty-six years of age.
He reared a family of ten children. The ma
ternal grandfather, Elisha M. Hagans, was also
born in the Green Mountain State, and he, too,
was a merchant. In an early day he removed tp
Virginia, and in 1856 came to Illinois. He died
at the residence of his son, Judge M. B. Hagans,
in Cincinnati, in 1864, at the age of sixty-seven.
W. E* Hagans whose name heads this record
was a lad of only four summers when his parents
first came to this State. He acquired his early
education in eastern Massachusetts, later became
a student in the Northwestern University of Ey-
anston, 111., and subsequently attended Dickin
son College of Carlisle, Pa. After his education
was completed he entered upon his business ca
reer in the service of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail
road Company, with which he continued for two
years, when he became an employe of Rand,
McNally & Co. , of Chicago, holding the respon
sible position of Superintendent of that well-
known firm for six years.

396

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

On the expiration of that period, Mr. Hagans
spent one year in traveling in Europe, and on his
return to America was engaged in looking after
large landed interests in the West for three years.
He then again spent a year in Europe, after which
he returned to the office of Rand, McNally & Co. ,
with whom he continued until the spring of 1886.
In that year we again find him en route for the
Old World, and he resided abroad until 1890,
when, returning, he located in Elmhurst, and has
since been engaged in the breeding of fine trotting-
horses. In connection he owns some property in
Chicago. In his political affiliations, Mr. Hagans
is a Republican, but has never been an aspirant
for official honors. Almost his entire time and
attention have been devoted to business interests,
in which he has met with excellent success. He
possesses the qualifications necessary to a pros
perous career— industry, enterprise and persever
ance—and by the exercise of these characteristics
he has become one of the substantial citizens of
DuPage County.

e^r-^-e

HENRY H. MARTIN, a farmer and dairy
man residing in Winfield Township, Du
Page County, is a native of the Empire
State. He was born near Buffalo, in Erie County,
N. Y., June 15, 1848, and is a son of Christian
F. and Sarah (Rhodes) Martin, both of whom
were natives of Pennsylvania, and were of Ger
man descent. They had a family of eight chil
dren, three sons and five daughters, namely:
Annie, wife of Adam Glass, a general merchant
of Wayne,. 111.; David, a farmer and stock-raiser
of Winfield Township; Sarah, wife of Harvey
Barkdale, a farmer of Warrenville; Henry H. of
this sketch; Daniel, a dealer in agricultural imple
ments iu Turner; Leo, wife of Judson Fairbanks,
a farmer of Winfield Township; Lydia, wife of
Allen Fairbanks, County Treasurer of DuPage
County, and a resident of Turner; and Hattie,
wife of L- Fry, who is living near Naperville.
The father of this family has followed farming
throughout his entire life. He acquired a good
common-school education, and lived in the Em

pire State until his emigration to Illinois in 1849.
He then purchased a farm in Kane County, and
made his home thereon until 1865, when he sold
out and came to DuPage County, where he pur
chased land in Winfield Township, one mile south
of Turner. He then gave his attention to agri
cultural pursuits until 1883, when he came to
* Naperville, whe^e he is now living a retired life,
at the age of seventy-nine. He started out in
life for himself empty-handed, but has steadily-
worked his way upward and has acquired
a comfortable competence as the result of his
labors. In politics, he is a Republican, and in
religious belief is a Dunkard. His wife belonged
to the same church. She departed this life on
the 16th of September, 1886, and her remains
were interred in Oak Wood Cemetery, of Turner.
It was during his infancy that Mr. Martin of
this sketch was brought by his parents to the
West. He was reared to manhood in Kane County
and attended its public schools, acquiring a good
business education. With his father and mother
he came to DuPage County, and lived with them
until after he had arrived at mature years, when
he began- life for himself. He removed to the farm
on which he now makes his home, comprising
eighty-six and a-half acres of rich land, located
just outside of the city limits. Here he success
fully carries on general farming in connection
with the dairy business.
On Christmas Day of 1872 Mr. Martin married
Miss Clara A., daughter of G. L- and Martha
(Rexford) Hodges. Her father was a native of
Pennsy-lvania. Her mother was born in the Em
pire State and was of English descent. Mrs.
Martin was born in the Keystone State, and by
her marriage has become the mother of the fol
lowing children: Elmer E., George G., Florence
P., and Stella J., who died in 1879.-
Mr. Martin votes with the Republican party
and takes quite an active interest in politics. He
has served his township as Commissioner and
proved a capable officer. Socially, he is con
nected with the Odd Fellows' lodge. Those who
know him esteem him highly for his sterling
worth and integrity, and he is numbered among
the leading farmers of DuPage County.

L. C. Ruth.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

399

| INUS C. RUTH, of Hinsdale, is a prominent
liL member of the DuPage County Bar, and
|_J well deserves representation in this volume.
He has the honor of being a native of Illinois, for
he was born at Long Grove, Lake County, on
the 18th of December, 1854. His parents were
Irwin and Leah (Brown) Ruth, natives of Penn
sylvania. The family is of English origin, and
was founded in America by George E. Ruth, the
grandfather of our subject, who left England, his
native land, and emigrated to America, locating
iu Northumberland County, Pa. The year 1836
witnessed his arrival in Illinois. He settled near
Waukegan, then called Little Fort, where he died
when past the age of sixty years. He reared a
family of eight children. The maternal grand
father, John Brown, was born in the Keystone
State, and was for some years engaged in mer
chandising in Philadelphia. He came to the
West in 1838, settling in Cedarville, 111., where
he died at the age of eighty-one years.
Mr. Ruth whose name heads this record spent
his early boyhood upon the home farm, aiding in
the labors of the field through the summer months,
while in the winter season he attended the district
school aud acquired the rudiments of his educa
tion. Later, he was a student in the High School,
and in the Iowa State College, of Ames, Iowa.
On the completion of his literary education, he en
tered Bryant & Stratton' s Business College of
Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1873.
His time was then devoted to business interests
for several years, after which he determined to
enter upon a professional career, and began the
study of law in the Union College of Law in Chi
cago. Two years later he was admitted to the
Bar. During several succeeding years, he was
engaged in delivering lectures on commercial law
and the law of real property in Bryant & Strat
ton' s College, in which he had formerly been a
student. On the 18th of August, 1880, Mr. Ruth was
united in marriage with Miss Ella F. Reardon.
Three children have been born of their union:
Irwin, Chester and Linus C. The parents are
members of the Hinsdale Unity Church, and con
tribute liberally to its support. They occupy an

enviable position in social circles, and have won
the high regard of all who know them.
In 188 1 Mr. Ruth came to Hinsdale, and has
since engaged in the practice of his profession with
excellent success. He has been honored with a
number of official positions, having served as a
member of the Board of Trustees and the Board of
Health, and for three years has been Village At
torney. He discharges his duties with a prompt:
ness and fidelity that have won him high commen
dation, and his public and private life are alike
above reproach. Iu politics, he is a supporter of
the Republican party. He owns some good prop
erty in Hinsdale, including his pleasant residence,
and was one of the organizers of the Hinsdale
Building and Loan Association, of which he has
served as attorney frpm the start. He is ever
found in the front rank of any enterprise calcu
lated to prove of public benefit, and is alive to the
best interests of this community and its welfare.
Public-spirited and progressive, he is a valued
citizen and a man of sterling worth.

(2) EN. BENJAMIN JEFFREY SWEET, de-
l_ ceased, was for many years a well-known
\^A and prominent citizen of Cook County, and
the history of the community would be incomplete
without a record of his life. A native of Clinton
County, N. Y., he was born April 24, 1832.
His parents were Rev. James and Charlotte (New
ell) Sweet. Their family numbered eight chil
dren who grew to mature years, and several who
died in childhood. When our subject was a
youth of sixteen, the family removed to Stock-
bridge, Wis., where the father was employed as a
circuit preacher of the Christian Church for some
years. He also devoted much time to missionary
work among the Stockbridge Indians. He was an
eloquent speaker, and the many excellencies of his
character won him the love aud confidence of all
with whom he was brought iu contact. His death
occurred during the war, and his wife passed
away in 1875. Their family numbered the follow
ing: Benjamin J., of this sketch; John Jay, who

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was a member of Company K, Fourth Wisconsin
Cavalry, and was killed at Port Hudson during
the late war; Elbert E. , now of Wisconsin; Mrs.
Belinda Blodgett, of Charlotte, Mich. ; Mrs. Au
gusta Blodgett, of Charlotte, Mich.;. -Mary, -who
lives in Wisconsin^Rose, wife of Obed Dodge; and
Mettie, the youngest daughter.
When the family moved to the frontier, they
were in limited circumstances, and Gen. Sweet
aided in their support by chopping wood and do
ing farm work. He was ambitious to secure an
education, and to -this end studied at night, and
when he had acquired a sufficient sum to pay his
tuition, he attended Appleton Academy for two
terms. He then taught school at Brothertown,
and all this time he was carrying on the farm and
continuing his studies after the labors of the day
were over.
Mr. Sweet was married May i, 1 851, at the age
of nineteen, to Lovisa, daughter of Elihu and
Martha (Chubbuck) Denslow, of Stockbridge,
Wis., who had also lived near the Sweet family
in Clinton County, N. Y. After his marriage,
Gen. Sweet continued teaching, and also took up
the study of law in Stockbridge. At length he
was admitted to the Bar and opened an office in
Chilton, Wis. In 1858, he was elected to the
Wisconsin Senate, and served for two terms* but
when the war broke out he put aside all other
considerations to enter the country's service. He
aided in raising the Sixth Regiment of Wisconsin
Volunteers, of which he was commissioned Major,
and also helped to organize the Fourth Wisconsin
Infantry. His command was assigned to the
Army of the Potomac, and while encamped in Vir
ginia, opposite the capital, he and Gen. Bragg,
who then held the rank of Captain, occupied a
cabin together at "Arlington Heights. The inac
tion of the army in the spring of 1862 caused him
to resign, and he returned home, but the country
had his war allegiance, and he aided in organiz
ing the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Wis
consin Regiments, being made Colonel of the
Twenty-first, which was assigned to the Army of
the Cumberland. At the battle of Champion
Hills, Col. Sweet was seriously wounded in the
neck and right elbow. He was very ill for a

year and lost the use of his arm, but at the earliest
possible moment he again went to the front, and
at Gallatin, Tenn. , while still in-poor health, built
a fort. Later he was appointed Colonel of the
"Eighth Veteran Reserve Corps, and did guard and
court-martial duty in Philadelphia, from whence
he came to Chicago to take command of Camp
Douglas, of which he wks in charge until the
close of the war. He was promoted, to the rank
of Brigadier-General in 1865. He had from eight
to ten thousand prisoners under his care, with a
very small guard, and during this time the no
torious conspiracy was formed for liberating the
prisoners and capturing the city, but the plan
was discovered and thwarted by the heroic ef
forts of Gen. Sweet. No truer soldier fought un
der the Stars and Stripes, or was more loyal to the
cause ofthe Union.
When the country no longer needed his serv
ices, Gen. Sweet returned to Chilton, where his
family had remained during his absence, and re
sumed law practice, but his old clients had gone
elsewhere while he was at the front, so he changed
his place of residence. In 1868, he opened a law
office in Chicago and established his family upon
a farm near Lombard, twenty miles from the city.
The law firm of Sweet, Wilson & Vallette was
formed and did business for some time. Mr. Sweet
was appointed United States Pension Agent at
Chicago by President Grant, and held that posi
tion until 1870, when he was promoted to be Su
pervisor of Internal Revenue. After the great Chi
cago fire of 1 87 1, he received the appointment of
First Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue
fpr the United States, and in 1872 took his place
in Washington, severing his connection with the
law office in Chicago. The family, however, re
mained at Lombard. While discharging his du
ties in the Capitol City, he was taken ill with ty
phoid pneumonia, and died a week later, on the ist
of January, 1874.
Mrs. Sweet was killed by the cars in Lom
bard, August 14, 1878, at the age of forty-eight.
They were people of prominence and ever gave
their support to the promotion of those interests
which they believed would be of benefit to the
community. They usually attended and contri-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

401

buted to the church nearest their home, but were
liberal in religious belief. Their family num
bered five children, as follows: Ada C, who is
United States Pension Solicitor in Chicago, and is
a lady of rare intelligence and ability , who is widely
known for her charitable and philanthropic la
bors; Lawrence W., who died at the age of seven
teen, just previous to his father's death; Minnie,
who was the wife of C. F. Weber, of Chicago,
and who is now deceased; Martha Winifred, a
well-known writer on the staff of the San Fran
cisco Examiner, and wife of Orlow Black, of San
Francisco, Cal. ; and Benjamin Jeffrey, who lives in
Chicago. Mr. Sweet was a man of strong conviction and
was inflexible in his support of what he believed
to be right. He was a warm advocate of aboli
tion, and in 1856 he made speeches throughout
Wisconsin in support of Fremont. He carried
Calumet County for Gen. Grant, the only time it
ever gave a Republican majority. In manner he
was genial, friendly and unassuming, and wher
ever he went he won friends. Even those op
posed to him politically had for him the highest
respect. He was a diligent student, and mas
tered German and also studied music after he had
arrived at mature years. Every duty devolving
upon him was faithfully performed, every trust
reposed in him was discharged with fidelity, and
as a citizen, friend, and businesss man he was
ever honorable, just and true.

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(JOHN ANTON DOLLINGER, a traveling
I salesman residing at Wheaton, is numbered
(2/ among the early residents of DuPage County,
and has made his own way in the world since he
was ten years of age. He was born in Baden,
Germany, on the 24th of December, 1845, and is
the eldest child of Christopher Dollinger, a native
of the same place. His mother died when he was
an infant, and when he had arrived at the age of
twelve years his father brought the four children
to America. The second child, Adelaide, Mrs.
George Rieser, resides in Naperville Township,

DuPage County. Christopher, Jr. , is a resident
of Colorado Springs, Colo. ; and Margaret, Mrs.
Luther, dwells in Fredericksburg, Neb. Chris
topher Dollinger engaged in farming in Naper
ville Township, where he died in 1873, aged
about sixty years.
From the time of his arrival in America, our
subject has been independent of parental aid in
supporting or educating himself. He took em
ployment in a hotel and meat-market kept by his
maternal uncle, Nicholas Graff, at Danby, now
Glen Ellyn, attending school a portion of the
time, and continued in this way until the death
of his uncle. He was afterward employed in a
general store until 1862, when he entered the
military service, as a member of Company I, One
Hundred and Fifth Illinois Infantry, in defense
of the American Union. This service continued
about three years, and involved a participation in
many of the most decisive battles of the war. A
complete list of the battles in which the regiment
took part will be found in the biography of James
A. Congleton, in this work. Mr. Dollinger took
part in all these, and was mustered out at Wash
ington in June, 1865. While in front of Chat
tanooga, he was excused from duty on account
of illness, but refused to leave his comrades, and
remained at the front to the finish.
Since 1867 Mr. Dollinger has been in mercan
tile business, and for some years kept a grocery
in Chicago. For the last seventeen years he has
traveled in the capacity of salesman, and twelve
of those years have been passed in the service of
his present employers, Franklin MacVeagh & Co.
In 1872 he became a resident of Wheaton, and
he is the owner of a handsome brick residence on
Wesley Street, near Scott. He takes an active
interest in the social affairs of the town, being a
prominent member of the Grand Army of the Re
public and Knights of Pythias, as well as a genial,
magnetic gentleman, whose friends are numbered
by his list of acquaintances. He entertains lib
eral religious views, and is an ardent supporter of
the principles ofthe Republican party.
In 1868 Mr. Dollinger married Miss Emagene
C. Wicks, who was born in Carthage, N. Y., and
bears in her veins the blood of the principal Eu-

402

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ropean settlers of New England and New York
— French, English' and Dutch. Her parents
were Stutley and Ann E. (Strong) Wicks, the
former being a son of Stutley Wicks, whose wife's
maiden name was Treadway. Three children
complete the family of Mr. and Mrs. Dollinger,
namely: Anna W. , Charles A. and William.

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B~

r^AUL V. CARY, who is one of the wide-
yr awake and enterprising young attorneys of
\2 Hinsdale, was born in Milwaukee, on the
3d of September, 1867, and began his education
in the public schools of his native city. Later he
entered Princeton University, of Princeton, N. J.,
and after a thorough course of study was gradu
ated from that institution in 1891. He then en
tered the law department of the Northwestern
University of Chicago, from which he was grad
uated in 1893, and in March of that year was ad
mitted to the Bar. He had already opened an
office in Hinsdale, and for some time has been
associated with Russell & Morse. He is a young
man of indomitable energy and perseverance, and,
possessing many of the needed qualifications, he
will undoubtedly work his way upward and win
the well-merited commendation of those around
him. He exercises his right of franchise in sup
port of the Democratic party.

WILLIAM B. HINCKLEY is the manager
of the Chicago agency of the American In
vestment Union of New York, a corpora
tion developing selected city real estate by com
bined capital, with mutual division of profits. He
is a man of excellent business ability, sagacious
and far-sighted, and the success of the company
is due in no small measure to his able manage
ment. Mr. Hinckley makes his home iu Hinsdale. He
was born in Galesburg, UL, September 6, 1867,
and is a son of William S. and Jerusha (Farnham)

Hinckley, both natives of New York. The pa
ternal grandfather, Alfred Hinckley, was born in
the Empire State, was of English descent, and fol
lowed the occupation of farming. He had six
children, all of whom are still living, and he
reached the advanced age of eighty-nine. The
maternal grandfather, EH Farnham, was born in
New York. On his mother's side W. S. Hinck
ley traces his ancestry to Elder William Brewster,
of Plymouth. In early life our subject's father
followed farming, but later became a lumber
dealer. He now lives in Hinsdale. His first wife,
who was a member of the Congregational Church,
died July 4, 1874. They had four children, three
of whom are still ¦ living: William B., Bessie L.
and Harry F. Mr. Hinckley is a member of the
Baptist Church. For his second wife he wedded
Mrs. Dana, widow of C. C. Dana, of Chicago.
William B. Hinckley when a lad of ten sum
mers removed with his parents to Chicago, where
he attended the public schools for a time. He
then became a student in Phillips Academy, of
Exter, N. H, and later attended Harvard Col
lege. His next study was in the legal profession,
after which he became connected with the ac
countant department of the Union Pacific Rail
way at Omaha, Neb., from where he was
transferred to Portland, Ore. He was after
wards connected with the legal department of that
road in Butte, Mont., where he remained until
May, 1891, when he returned to Chicago, and be
came general agent for the Williams Typewriter,
as a member ofthe firm of Humphrey & Hinckley.
Onthe 15th of December, 1891, Mr. Hinckley
led to the marriage altar Miss Blanche M. , daugh
ter of John W. and Blanche E. (Bradley) Shaw,
of Hinsdale. One child graces this union, Jesse
Farnham. The parents are members of the Con
gregational Church, and are prominent and highly
respected people, who hold an enviable position in
social circles. In 1880, Mr. Hinckley came to
Hinsdale, where he has since made his home. In
politics, he is a supporter of the Republican party,
but has never been an office-seeker.
Mr. Hinckley continued as agent for the Wilh
iams Typewriter until July, 1892, When he sold
his interest in the business and assumed the man-

Charles Carpenter.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

4°5

agemerit ofthe general Northwestern agency ofthe
American Investment Union, which he now has
in charge. He is a man of superior education, well
fitted by his abilities, both natural and acquired,
for the work in which he is now engaged. He
is wide-awake and enterprising and possesses the
necessary qualifications for a successful business
career.

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EHARLES CARPENTER, son of William
and Mary (Hollister) Carpenter, was born iu
the town of DeWitt, Onondaga County,
N. Y., September 23, 1833. William Carpenter
was born May 1, 1806. He was the son of Ne
hemiah and Anna (Bookout) Carpenter, who
were married February 13, 1782.
Nehemiah Carpenter, who was born June 29,
1757, was a weaver. At the outbreak of the Rev
olutionary War he was living on Long Island,
near New York City. When Washington's army
went from Boston to New York to protect the
latter place from attack by the British, Nehemiah
Carpenter, then a lad of nineteen, enlisted, and
fought under Gen. Israel Putnam for American
independence at the battle of Long Island, August
27, 1776. There is no known record of his later
services as a soldier. He died February 24,1832,
at Manlius, N. Y. His wife, Anna Bookout, was
from a Dutch New York family.
Nehemiah Carpenter's father was also named
Nehemiah. He was born in 1731, and died April
25, 182 1. He was also a soldier in the American
Revolution, and was Quartermaster of the " Or
ange County Minutemen," which company was
commissioned January 5, 1776. The following
entries from "Archives of the State of New York,
The Revolution," pp. 197 and 233, give what
is known of his services:
"Carpenter, Nehemiah, Ensign, App'd June
29, '81, to date from June 5, '79, when mustered
as Ensign 5th N. Y., late Qr. Mr. 5th N. Y., re
turned from captivity."
"Carpenter, Nehemiah, Ensign in 5th N. Y.,
as Qr. Mr. Nov. 21, '76, omitted July, '80, June
25, '79, must'd to Jan., '82."

His father was also Nehemiah, and was a
blacksmith. He was born probably about 1700,
and died in 1783, in Orange County, N. Y. His
father was John Carpenter, Jr. , known as ' 'Young
Capt. John." He was boni at Jamaica, N. Y.,
about 1654, aud died about 1735.
Young Capt. John's father was John Carpen
ter, known as "Old Capt. John," who was born
ii* England in 1627, and died in 1695. He came
to America with his father, William Carpenter.
This William Carpenter was born in England in
1605, and came over from Wherewell, Wiltshire,
England, in the ship "Bevis," in 1638. He
landed at Rehoboth, Mass. He was a carpenter
by trade. Besides his children, he brought with
him to America his aged father, also named Will
iam .
The children of Nehemiah and Anna Carpen
ter were: Nehemiah, born August 13, 1798, who
died May 24, 1825; Vliet, born July 2, 1801, who
died about 1884; Nancy, born January 18, 1804,
who died January 4, 1815; and William, born
May 1, i8o5, who died May 7, 1875.
William Carpenter and Mary Hollister were
married Jsmuary 19, 1832. Their children were:
-Charles, born September 23, 1833; Hubert, born
February 8, 1837, and who died May 6, 1864;
andv Abiah, born September 22, 1838.
William Carpenter, the father of the subject of
our sketch, was a successful farmer. He was
known as a man who had the courage of his con
victions. For many years he was a member of
the Presbyterian Church. Early in the agitation
against slavery, Mr. Carpenter became an Aboli
tionist. This doctrine at that time was an un
popular one. He attempted to work a reforma
tion in his own church in its attitude toward
slavery. The members did not yield easily, and
he finally called them sharply to account for what
he considered to be an inconsistency- between their
doctrine and their performances. The result was
that he was expelled from the church.
Mary Hollister, his wife, was born January 2,
1801, and died March 28, 1846. She was a de
scendant of Lieut. John Hollister, of Wethersfield,
Conn., who came to America from England about
1642. He was of good family and well educated,

406

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and immediately became one of the most noted
and influential men of Wethersfield and of Con
necticut Colony, and held both civil and military
positions of importance for many years. He died
in April, 1665. His 'second residence, an unusu
ally fine one for the times, still stands on the land
he owned. His wife, Joanna, was a daughter of
Hon. Richard Treat, Sr. , one of the first settlers
and most prominent men of Connecticut Colony.
Robert Treat, her brother, was a famous Indian
fighter and for many years was Governor of Con
necticut. He it was who engineered the hiding '
of the charter in the oak tree when Sir Edmund
Andros came after it.
The succession descends through John Hollister,
Jr. (born in 1644, died in 17 11), who married Sarah
Goodrich, who came from one of the first families
of Connecticut; thence through Joseph Hollister
(born July 8, 1674, died July 9, 1746); thence
through Capt. Timothy Hollister, who was En
sign in'1742, and Captain in 1750, of the Twelfth
Company of the Sixth Regiment of the Colony,
and who, with his eldest son, Joseph, was killed
by the Indians at Wyoming Flats, Pa. , October
15, 1763; and thence through Asat Hollister
(born December 9, 1758, died April 16, 1839),
who moved to America, Dutchess County, N. Y.,
in 1 78 1, where he died.
William Carpenter moved to Dryden, Tompkins
County, N. Y-, when Charles was a child, and
there the latter grew up. He had about the us
ual experiences of farmer boys, with hard work
during the summer and some schooling during the
winter. As soon as old enough he began teach
ing school. In February, 1857, he went to- Chi
cago, where he obtained employment for a time.
But the financial crash of that year came and he
was out. He worked as a book-keeper during
the winter of 1857 and 1858, and at. anything he
could get during the following summer. In the
fall ofthe latter year he came to Downer's Grove
and taught school here during the winter of 1858
and 1859. Not finding satisfactory 'employment,
he went to Missouri in the fall of 1859 and taught
school for nearly a year, .but as the political cam
paign then became too hot for a Northern man, he
came back to Downer's Grove in the fall of i860,

and taught again during the winter of i860 and
1 861. When Sumter was fired upon, Mr. Carpenter
enlisted, in April, 1861, and was mustered into
the service May 24, 1861, for three years, in Capt.
Walter Blanchard's company (K) of the Thir
teenth Illinois Infantry, at Dixon, 111. He
shared the usual vicissitudes of the soldier in the
ranks. The regiment moved from Dixon to
Casey ville, UL, and thence to Rolla, Mo. Here it
stayed several months guarding the town and the
railroad. That this monotonous, trying service
was not unimportant or unappreciated, is shown
by what Gen. Lyon said, as follows:
1 'As this line (Southwest Branch of the Pacific
Railroad) has become the most important in the
whole State, and as it is threatened by hostile
bands under Gen. McBride and others, it has been
deemed best to place it under the command of
Col. Wyman, Thirteenth Illinois Volunteers."
The regiment's reputation is shown by what
Adjt.JGen. Harding said to Gen. Lyon: " Wy
man 's is a splendid regiment, and I am trying to
get other, troops to supply his place and send him
forward. ' ' But the Thirteenth was glad when fi
nally the order to move came.
The march of Gen. Curtis' army from Rolla,
Mo., to Helena, Ark., in which the Thirteenth
took part, was remarkable in many respects, and
as a test of soldierly qualities and endurance was
much more severe than Sherman's march to the
sea. The distance actually covered was twelve
hundred miles. At one time the army was not
heard from for fiye weeks. The country was
rough and poor, hardly affording subsistence for
its. own scattering population. Often the supply-
trains were stuck in the mud miles behind the main
army, and thus the rations- were short. For in
stance, a diary said: ' ' To-day we had but a small
piece of corn bread to the man, and nothing to
cook for supper. ' ' The following quotation from
the same diary gives an inkling of what the sol
diers suffered:
" Left camp at 2 a. m. and made one of the
longest, hardest marches ever known. The sun
was scorching and the dust blinding. There were
few wells on the route, and we were parched with
thirst. One and even two dollars were offered for

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

407

a canteen of water, but money was no object.
Men would stay for hours at a well, till all the
troops had passed, before they could fill their can
teens. For thirty-two miles we toiled on, and
then found a small, filthy lake in a cypress swamp,
near which we pitched our tents. We were ready-
to rest here, and most of us, too tired to eat, threw
ourselves on the ground, and only arose at reveille
the next morning. ' '
But finally Helena was reached. Here the reg
iment did garrison duty for several months, the
only changes being skirmishes with the enemy
and scouting and foraging expeditions.
On December 20,-1862, they left Helena to go
down the Mississippi River to form a partof Gen.
Sherman's army that was to attack Vicksburg.
December 28 and 29 they were in "the thick ofthe
battle of Chickasaw Bayou. The fighting on the
28th was not decisive. Late in the afternoon of
that day Gen. F. P. Blair ordered the Thirteenth
to cross the bayou, saying, "I'll see if you can stand
mud and water as well as you can stand fire. ' ' The
crossing Was made, but darkness came on and
stopped further forward movement, and the regi
ment withdrew. Early on the day of the 29th the
Thirteenth formed a portion of the body of troops
that made one of the bravest charges of the war,
— across the bayou and up the heights guarded
by the rebels. They captured the first set of
rebel intrenchments and -would have carried the
rest, if the attack from the rear by other forces,
which was a part of the scheme, had not failed.
In this charge Mr. Carpenter was captured. The
circumstances of the capture are told by Chaplain
Needham, of the Thirteenth, on page 634 of the
history of, that regiment, as follows:
' ' I record it with pride that those of us who
were captured at Chickasaw Bayou fell into the
enemy's hands because, obeying the first order to
"Charge," and not hearing the counter-order,
' ' Retreat, ' ' we pressed forward through the dense
smoke of the enemy's artillery till beyond the
reach of support. Surrounded by the enemy, the
few of us who were left alive had no alternative
but to surrender singly or in small squads to a
triumph-ant enemy before and behind."
The prisoners were taken into Vicksburg, where
they remained until January 31. Thence they
went to Jackson, Miss. , where they stayed until

March 13, when they were turned over to Gen.
Banks, then commanding at- New Orleans. Iu
these rebel'prisons they suffered the usual treat
ment accorded to Union prisoners. They were
robbed of all they had, starved, frozen and neg-
lectel. Mr. Carpenter had been wounded in the hand,
and was, one of his comrades says, a thoroughly
lugubrious looking man as »he stood in the rebel
enclosure, trying to attend to his bleeding mem
ber and reflecting on the prospect before him.
But that he was still really full of fight is shown
by the following occurrence: Said a rebel officer
to him : ' ' Have you not got enough of this ? ' '
The instant answer was: "We expect to come
back and try it over again as soon as we can."
This was not what the rebel expected, and he
could only express his disgust by saying: " You
are a d  fool. ' '
The uncompromising loyalty of the men of the
Thirteenth is shown by the fact that some of the
weak-kneed Union prisoners tried to organize a
movement to take some sort of an oath and get
released, but that they did not dare even to ask
the Thirteenth people if they wanted to come in.
They knew what their answer would be. The
latter part of April they were put on board ship
and sent to New York. Thence they went to
Annapolis, Md., and to St. Louis, Mo., where the
camp for paroled prisoners was situated. Mr.
Carpenter, not liking the prospect of lying in a
camp indefinitely as a paroled prisoner, came to
Downer's Grove, where he arrived May 24, 1863,
just two years from the date of his muster into
service. On May 27, 1863, Mr. Carpenter was married
to Mary Blanchard, they having been engaged
f a some tiriie before the breaking out of the war.
He was shortly afterward assigned to duty as Re
porter to the military courts then in session. in
St. Louis. This service was valuable, civilians
bei.ig paid $70 per week for it. Mr. Carpenter
as a private soldier received $13 per month, and
was kept at St. Louis in that work until the reg
iment was mustered out, June 18, 1864.
For sevefal months thereafter our subject re
ported for the military courts in St. Louis, on

408

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

orders from the War Department. The winter of
1 865-1 866 he reported the Kentucky Legislature
at Frankfort for the Louisville fournal. Later
he came North, taught school for several years,
and finally went back to reporting. He has lived
in Downer's Grove continuously since 1868, and
is still a court reporter in Chicago.
Not having been a politician, unless having al
ways voted Republican tickets makes our subject
one, he has never - held public office except as
Village Clerk, member ofthe Village Board, and
for a number of years School Director and mem
ber of the Board of Education.
Charles Carpenter and Mary (Blanchard) Car
penter had the following children: Walter Hu
bert, born February 10, 1865; William Mon
telle, born October 15, 1866; Charles Vliet,- born
September 9, 1868; Carrie Mariam, born March
10, 1872, who died December 5, 1879; and Nehe
miah, born August 26, 1876, who died August
30, 1877. These children are proud of being de
scendants of or closely connected with many men
who considered it to be their duty to support the
Government with arms on numerous occasions.
Their father was a soldier in the Rebellion, their
mother's father was a soldier in the Rebellion, as
were her two brothers and eight of her uncles and
cousins on her mother's side. Their father's
brother, Hubert Carpenter, was First Lieutenant
of Company E, Seventy-sixth New York In
fantry, and Adjutant of the regiment. Their
maternal great-grandfather was a soldier in the
War of 1 8 1 2 , and three of his older brothers were
minutemen and fought at Lexington, the first
battle of the Revolution. Their paternal great
grandfather was a soldier under Washington and
Putnam in the Revolution, and their great-great
grandfather was Ensign and Quartermaster in
the Revolution.
Walter H. Carpenter has taught school for a
number of years, in Illinois and Missouri. He is
unmarried, and is still teaching school.
William M. has a responsible position in the fi:
• nancial department of a large corporation iu Chi
cago. He married Florrie M. Schofield, of
Downer's Groye, July 7, 1888. They had two
children: Hubert Montelle, born June 16, 1889;

and Ella Blanchard, born December 19, 1890.
Mrs. Carpenter died November 10, 1893.
obituary. November 17, 1893.
Died at her pleasant home in our village, Flor
rie, wife of W. M. Carpenter and daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. L. G. Schofield, in the twenty-sev
enth year of her age. Mrs. Carpenter had been
suffering for some time from a difficulty that had
affected her nervous system. It was hoped that
it would yield to treatment, but she had an attack
of acute meningitis that caused her death last
Friday, November 10. Funeral services were
held at the house last Sunday afternoori, con
ducted by Rev. J. C. Myers. Beautiful in life, she
was also so in death. The flowers that bedecked her
coffin were fit emblems of her purity. . After five
years of happy married life, she left a home deso
late, with a devoted husband and two children to
mourn her loss. — Downer's Grove Reporter.
C. Vliet is Private Secretary to the General
Manager of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad. He married Gussie A. Seidler, Octo
ber 29, 1890. They have one child, Brian Vliet
Montelle, who was born September 8, 1891.
Mary (Blanchard) Carpenter died April 1, 1893.
The following may. be appropriately quoted in
this connection: April 7, 1893.
A little more than two weeks ago Mary (Blanch
ard) Carpenter left here to visit her sister, Mrs.
DeArmond, at Fairfax, Mo. Mrs. Carpenter had
been an invalid for some time, but all expected to
-see her back again improved. The change seemed
to do her good. Friday noon she wrote to those
at home that, ' ' on the whole, ' ' she was better.
But the same afternoon, while letters from her
children were being read to her, she was suddenly
attacked by a stupor, from which she did not
rally. Death came at 8.40 p. m., Saturday, April
1. One son was at the bedside at Fairfax, and
the husband and two other sons were hurrying to
her as fast as steam could carry them.
Mrs. Carpenter had often said that she wished
to die without warning or long suffering, and her
wish was granted. One of her sons had been
away from home for some months, and she had
been pining to see him. But a few days before
her death they had spent some time together.
Although away from home, she was with others
who loved her, and was happy and contented.
The summons came unexpectedly, and amidst her
happiness and content, and while she was listen-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

409

ing to messages from her dear ones, she passed
from the life here to the life everlasting without
warning or suffering.
, Mrs. Carpenter was an old settler here. The
daughter of Capt. Walter Blanchard, who was so
well and honorably known here before and dur
ing the war, she was born on the 20th of May,
» 1836, at Yates, Orleans County, N. Y. Her
mother was Mariam (Daniels) Blanchard. She
came to Downer's Grove in 1838, and has lived
here ever since, amidst her family and relatives,
except for the time she spent East at school and
South during and after the war.
May 27, 1863, she was married to Charles Car-
_ penter at Downer's Grove. Living only for her
husband and children, she was all that a wife and
mother should be — and what more than this can
be said? — Downer's Grove Reporter.

April 14, 1893.
Comrades of Naper Post :— Once more death
has claimed one of our nearest and dearest friends,
one related to us by near and dear ties, a daugh
ter of a soldier, the wife of a soldier, the sister of
soldiers, and one who was always the warm friend
of a soldier, and in view of these facts it seems
right and proper that this Post do adopt the fol
lowing resolutions:
Whereas: It has pleased Divine Providence
to remove by death the esteemed and beloved wife
of Charles Carpenter, therefore,
Resolved: That we tender to our bereaved com
rade and his family, and to the brothers whose
sister has passed on to that better land, our heart
felt sympathies for them in their bereavement.
We all- share in the great loss which you have
sustained, but we hope to meet her again when
parting shall be no more.
One day we shall find,
In the limitless dome,
The beautiful home
Of our loved ones gone.

T. S. Rogers,
Commander.

G. S. Hughes, Adjutant.
-Downer's Grove Reporter.

death of mrs. charles carpenter.
May 25, 1893.
Whereas: The sacrifices of 'our noble Union
women were scarcely less instrumental in the sup
pression of the Great Rebellion than were
those of the patriots who shouldered the musket
and marched to the front in 1861; and
Whereas: These patriot mothers, wives, sis

ters and daughters, with the dying veterans, are
also fast passing away; therefore,
Resolved, That the association of the surviving
veterans of the Thirteenth Regiment Illinois In
fantry has heard with profound sorrow of the
death of Mrs. Charles Carpenter, and as her pres
ence while living always brought cheer and in
spiration to our reunions and camp-fires, may our
united sympathies serve to dispel, somewhat, the
shadow hanging over Comrade Carpenter's deso
late home, and the hearts of himself and kindred
be strengthened and sustained in their great af
fliction. And be it further
Resolved, That as death carries memory with it
to the grave, the virtues of our loved ones lost
should go into recorded history, so as not to be
forgotten; and that the death of our patriot wo
men should find its appropriate record alongside
that of ]the veteran soldier. — The Evening Tele
graph, Dixon, 111.

QETER JAMES McGARRY; the subject of
yr this sketch, is a son of Henry and Mary
\3 (Kerrigan) McGarry, both natives of Sligo
County, Ireland. They were married in their
native land, and two years later, in 1832, came
to America and settled in Chemung County,
N. Y., where Mr. McGarry was born, August 17,
1840. In April, 1844, Mr. McGarry came with
his parents to DuPage County, where his father
had purchased a farm in York Township. In
the McGarry family were nine children, five of
whom are living: Ellen, Peter James, Francis
Henry, Margaret and William. In 1861 Mr.
McGarry left the farm and went to Chicago,
and shortly after secured employment with the
Chicago Gas Light and Coke Company, and
continued in their employ for twenty-three
years. In 1884 he returned to DuPage Coun
ty, and in 1886 bought a farm at Utopia,
which he now owns and on which he resided for
three years. In 1888 he bought the farm at
Glen Ellyn on whieh he now resides, and which
contains one hundred and forty-five acres. He
has improved it with fine buildings, and is en
gaged in farming and stock-raising.
On May 26, 1880, Mr. McGarry married Maria,

4io

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a daughter of Thomas and Catherine Mc
Donough, of Limerick City, Ireland. In the
McDonough family were eight children, five of
whom are living: Maria; P. J., of London, Eng
land; Kate, widow of John O'Brien, of Limerick;
John, who is in Brisbane, Australia; and Marcus
A., in business in Chicago. Both of Mrs. Mc
Garry' s parents are living in Limerick, but Mr.
McGarry 's parents are dead. His father died Sep
tember 7, 1887, and his mother September 5,
1886, Mr. McGarry aged seventy-eight years,
and Mrs. McGarry seventy-six years.
To Mr. and Mrs. McGarry have been born seven
children, all ofwhom are living: Helen F., Mary
J. , Francis H. , Julia K. , Charles L. , James Walter
and Grace M. Mrs. McGarry was born in Lim
erick, March 1, 1855, and came to America in
May, 1872. They take great interest in educat
ing their children, as they wish, to fit them for
life's practical duties. Both parents are members
of the Roman Catholic Church at Wheaton.
Their home, one of the best country residences in
the county, is situated on a sightly eminence,
and commands a fine view of the surrounding
country. Mr. McGarry has voted the Repub
lican ticket, but supported Grover Cleveland at
each election. He is a progressive and intel
ligent citizen, well worthy of mention in this
record of his adopted county.

Q ZEL FARNSWORTH HATCH, a promin-
LJ ent and well-known attorney-at-law of Chi-
/ I cago, living in Lisle, was born on the 6th
of September, 1848, in Lisle Township, DuPage
County, and was the fifth in a family of six chil
dren born to James C. and Charlotte (Kidder)
Hatch. He remained upon the home farm until
sixteen years of age, and attended the public
schools of the neighborhood, there acquiring his
primary education. In 1867, he entered Ober
lin College, of Oberlin, Ohio, where he continued
his studies until 1870, when he became a student
of the senior class in Yale University. In 1871,
he was graduated from that institution, after

which he accepted the principalship of the High
School of Sheboygan, Wis., where he continued
for a year.
Mr. Hatch arrived in Chicago in 1872, and be
gan the study of law in the office of Shorey &
Norton, attorneys, with whom he continued for
about two years, when, in September, 1874, he
was admitted to the Bar. • In December following
he entered upon the practice of his profession, and
during the first year was associated with Messrs.
Norton and Hulburd, under the style of Norton,
Hulburd & Hatch. In 1880, he formed a part
nership with O. F. Aldis, and under the firm
name of Hatch & Aldis these gentlemen con
tinued business for several years, when the part
nership was dissolved. Mr. Hatch is now alone
in business. He has been very successful in his
legal practice and has won an enviable reputation
therein. On the 5th of February, 1880, our subject was
united in marriage with Miss Grace H. Greene, of
Lisle, daughter of Daniel Greene, of DuPage
County. By their union were born four daugh
ters: Alice V., Helen, Laura and Grace P.
All are still with their father. The mother's
death occurred in Chicago, on the 18th of April,
1886. Mr. Hatch is a Republican in political sentiment,
but is not strongly partisan, and has never been
an office-seeker, preferring to devote his entire
time and attention to his legal practice and ether
business interests. He is connected with various
important concerns ofthe city. He is one of the
Directors and owners of the Chicago Herald and
the Chicago Evening Post, and is also one of the
exchequer committee of the Equitable Trust Com
pany of Chicago. He is a Director of the United
Press, and is also connected with several other
enterprises. He has been a member of the Board
of Directors of the Chicago Library for three
years. He had charge of the organization of the
committees of the World's Fair and ofthe first
meeting of the stockholders. This was one of
the most wonderful corporations ever formed, as
there were at that time over twenty-eight thou
sand stockholders. He took an active part in
promoting the interests of the World's Columbian

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

411

Exposition, and did all in his power toward mak
ing the Fair a success. He is a well-known and
leading citizen and a worthy representative of the
enterprise and progressive spirit which have made
Chicago the second city of the Union.

B^+£{

SL-o-

"HOMAS W. LEAHE, a practical and pro
gressive farmer living on section 2 1 , Wayne
Township, DuPage County, was born on
the farm which is still his home, September 25,
1 85 1, and is a son of Ransom H. Leahe, who was
born in Dutchess County, N. Y., in 1820. There
he was reared to manhood and wedded Mary
Ann Gorham. In 1847 he emigrated westward
and took up his residence in DuPage County,
where he purchased a farm, the same on which
our subject now resides. His labors transformed
the tract into rich and productive fields and made
of the place one ofthe best farms ofthe commu
nity. In 1875 Mr. Leahe removed to St. Charles,
where he spent the last years of his life in retire
ment, his death occurring on the 30th of May,
1893. His wife still survives him and yet makes
her home in St. Charles. In the family were
only two children.
Thomas W. Leahe grew to manhood on the
old homestead and became familiar with the duties
of farm life. He began his education in the com
mon schools, but afterward pursued his studies
for three years in Wheaton College. He thus ac
quired a good business education and only needed
its application to real life to make him a success
ful business man.
On the 15th of December, 1875, in Wayne
Township, our subject was united in marriage
with Miss Elmira L-, daughter of J. R. Gorham,
one of the honored pioneers of DuPage County,
who at a very early day cast in his lot with the
early settlers of this community. He now resides
in St. Charles, where he is living a retired life.
The young couple began their domestic life upon
the old Leahe- homestead, and our subject there
continued to actively engage in agricultural pur
suits until the spring of 1891,^. when he rented

his farm, and removing to St. Charles purchased
a half-interest in an established hardware busi
ness, in connection with his brother-in-law.
There he engaged in merchandising until the
spring of 1893, when he returned to the old home,
although he still retains his interest in the store.
The firm receives a liberal patronage and enjoys
a good trade.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Leahe have been born two
children, Bertram and Myrtle. The parents are
prominent people in the community, and hold an
enviable position in social circles. Since becom
ing a voter, Mr. Leahe has supported the men
and measures of the Democratic party. He. has
never been an aspirant for official honors, but was
elected Alderman of St. Charles. He has for
some time been a member of the Odd Fellows'
lodge of St. Charles. His long residence in this
community has made him widely and favorably
known, and an upright and honorable life has
gained for him the confidence and high regard of
all with whom business or social relations have
brought him in contact.

EHARLES B. BLODGETT, one of the hon
ored pioneers and retired farmers of DuPage
County, now living in Downer's Grove, was
born April 16, 1840, in the county which is still
his home, and is the youngest in a family of eight
children, seven sons and a daughter. The par
ents were Israel P. and Avis (Dodge) Blodgett.
The father was born in Massachusetts, and learned
the blacksmith's trade under his father. He fol
lowed that pursuit in the East until 1830, when,
with his family, he came to Illinois, locating on a
claim where the town of DuPage now stands,
eight miles southwest of Downer's Grove. He
there erected a log house and began working at
his trade, but his labors were interrupted by his
service in the Black Hawk War. While he was
absent, he left his family at Ft. Dearborn, that
they might not suffer violence at the hands of the
red men. When that struggle was over he re
turned to his claim, where he remained until

412

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1832, when he came to DuPage County. Here
he entered land, and in connection with farming
also carried on blacksmithing for some time. Af
terward, however, he devoted his entire attention
to agricultural pursuits, and at his death he left
a large estate, his landed possessions being ex
tensive. The town of Downer's Grove is now
built on a part of the old homestead. He took
quite an active part in politics, and was an old-
line Whig. He was much opposed to slavery,
and helped many a negro to gain his freedom.
His death occurred here in 186,1, at the age of
sixty-four. He came of a family of English ori
gin, but his ancestors had lived for several gen
erations in the United States. His wife, a native
of Massachusetts, died in DuPage County at the
age of eighty-six.
The members of the Blodgett family were Henry
W., a prominent politician of Illinois, now living
in Waukegan; Israel A., a retired farmer of
Downer's Grove; Mary, deceased; Daniel K. ;
Asiel, now a railroad man residing in Waukegan;
Edward A. , who is in the railroad employ and
makes his home in Chicago; and Wells H., a
prominent attorney residing in St. Louis.
Mr. Blodgett of this sketch remained with his
parents until their death. In his youth he at
tended the common schools and pursued his stud
ies in Wheaton College for several terms. He
was married March 28, 1866, to Miss Emma C.
Brookins, of DuPage County, daughter of David
and Ruby (Smith) Brookins. Her father was a
native of Utica, N. Y. , and on emigrating west
ward settled in Milton Township, DuPage County,
in 1835, there remaining until his death, which
occurred at the age of eighty years. He was of
Scotch extraction, and served in the War of 1812.
His wife was born in New York, and died in this
locality at the age of eighty-four. Her ancestors
had lived for some generations in America. In
the Brookins family were the following children:
Wooster S., deceased; Jane E., wife of A. Man-
ley, a resident of Boone County, 111.; E. C, who
makes his home in Denver; William S., who re
sides in this county; Margaret, wife of A. W.
Woods, of Monti cello, Minn. ; Frances, deceased,
wife of Dr. E. H. Leduc, of Los Angeles, Cal.;

Ruby E. , widow of Dr. D. S. Randall, of Wake
field, Kan. ; and Thaddeus, who makes his home
in Wheaton. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Blodgett have
been born four children: Harry L- , who aids in
the operation ofthe home farm; William H., who
is now attending college; David P., a student in
the Northern Indiana Normal School of Valpar
aiso; and Charles B.
Mr. Blodgett is a stanch Republican in his po
litical views, and cast his first vote for Abraham
Lincoln. He served as one of the first Village
Trustees of Downer's Grove, and filled that office
for eighteen years. He has been a member of
the School Board since the spring of 1866, and is
now Assistant Supervisor of his township. His
wife is a member of the Congregational Church,
and he contributes liberally to its support. Mr.
Blodgett still owns eighty acres of the old home
stead, and has a very fine residence. In manner,
he is quiet and unassuming, but his true worth is
recognized by his fellow-townsmen, who hold
him in high respect.
(JOSIAH T. READE was born in Worcester,
! Mass., in 1829. He is ofEnglish Puritan stock,
® his ancestors having come to this country
in a very early day. His school life began during
his third year and continued until he was seven
teen. He had constant schooling, for the Wor
cester tax-payers meant to get their money's
worth then and allowed the boys but four weeks
of vacation in a year.
After leaving school, Mr. Reade spent several
years in business life, and then entered Amherst
College, where he was. giaduated in 1856. Then,
coming West, he was a teacher for several years,
his last engagement being at Sterling, 111. In the
autumn of 1864 he came to Lombard (then Bab
cock's Grove), having purchased the farm now
owned by Mr. Stuewe, a mile east of the village.
At this time and until 1870 he was employed in
the city office of the Chicago & Northwestern
Railway Company.
In 1869, having sold the farm, he moved to the

(Photo'd by Mills.)

Dr. A. Waterman.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

4i5

village of Lombard, where he still resides. From
1870 to 1873 he was a member of a leading print
ing firm in Chicago. He has of late years been
with the great house of A. H. Andrews & Co., 1
of Chicago.
Mr. Reade was an original member of the first
permanent church organization of the village,
having commenced pioneer work in that direction
immediately on his arrival in 1864, and has al
ways stuck close to that line of duty. His special
home work of late years has" been the establish
ment and improvement of the Free Library, a
general library owned by the First Church, but
open to all. Mr. Reade was for several years the
President ofthe Town Council of thetown of Lom
bard. He was married in i860, to Miss Christia
Murray, of Delhi, N. Y., who died in 1868. His
children are three, a son and two daughters.

_S

"S3

£+£

S5_

0R. ALFRED WATERMAN, a pioneer of
DuPage County and a prominent citizen of
Wheaton, is descended from one of the earli
est American-Puritan families. His first pro
genitor iu this country was Richard Waterman,
who was born in Bristol, England, in 1590, and
came in 1631 to Salem, Mass., in- company with
Roger Williams. In common with the latter, he
was banished from the Massachusetts Colony five
years later, and was one of eleven to settle in the
town of Warwick, R. I., from which Coventry
was subsequently set off. He died there in 1663.
He had two sons, Nathaniel and Resolve. The
latter married a daughter of Roger Williams.
The first had a son Richard, whose son, Am-
aziah, had a son Richard, the great-grandfather
of Dr. Waterman. A remarkable feature in the
genealogy of the last-named is the fact that the
entire line of his paternal ancestors runs through
the eldest son. Richard, the great-grandfather of
our subject, was born at Providence in 175 1, mar
ried Elizabeth Vaughn, and lived to the age of
ninety-seven years. His son Stephen married
Eliza O. Brayton, and died in February, 1855,
aged^seventy-eight years. Stephen had five sons

and three daughters, nearly all of whom are now
living. The eldest of these, George, born in Foster in
1804, was the first to leave Rhode Island. He
died in California in 1857, while separated from
all his kindred. In 1834 he went to Black Rock,
near Buffalo, N. Y., ^here he was employed for
five years as foreman on the construction of a
breakwater and the manitenance of the Erie
Canal. Starting west from there, he arrived in
Chicago on the 3d of June, 1839, and the next
day went to Warrenville, DuPage County, with
his family. He immediately secured employment
on the Illinois & Michigan Canal in his old capa
city of foreman, and lived at the scene of his work
until 1 84 1, when the work was temporarily
abandoned. Returning to Warrenville, he en
gaged in fanning in Winfield Township, serving
as Justice of the Peace meanwhile. ¦ In January,
1849, his wife died, and the next year he started
for California, across the plains. In the summer
of that year, he left Council Bluffs alone, with his
supplies in a hand-cart, which he trundled for a
thousand miles. Of course, the trail was covered
with argonauts, but he did not attach himself to
any party until the mountains prevented further
progress with his independent conveyance. After
working a month in the harvest fields at Salt Lake
City, he took a partner, and drove with oxen to
Nevada City, Cal., where he arrived in October.
Here he engaged in mining for a time success
fully, and then sold his claim and went to Sacra
mento during the winter, and there met his son,
who had preceded him in the trip to the Golden
State the previous spring. In the spring of 1851
he started a pack-train from Sacramento to
Shasta and the gold mines, and settled during
that year at Yreka, where he engaged in mining
and operated a horse-ranch. In 1857 he started
to return to Illinois, but was induced by physi
cians at Sacramento to submit to an operation for
the removal of a fatty tumor, weighing twenty-six
pounds, from his leg. The result was fatal, and
he was buried long before his family and friends
knew his fate.
His wife Deborah was a daughter of Benjamin
and Phcebe Seamans, and was born in Foster,

4«^

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

R. I. Phcebe Seamans was a daughter of Capt.
John Johnson, who commanded a company ofthe
Continental army, in which service Benjamin
Seamans, ¦ grandfather of Mrs. Waterman, was a
private. Only two children of George and Deb
orah Waterman survived above one year of age.
Laura R., the second of these, born in 1845, is
now the wife of Ada L. Bostwick, residing in
Miller, Okla. , whither they went in hope of mend
ing Mr. Bostwick' s health. He is the son of A.
A. Bostwick, an early settler at Warrenville, and
isa skillful mechanic.
Alfred Waterman was born at Coventry, Kent
County, R. I., January 12, 1826. He had very
little opportunity to attend school until after his
father left the canal and settled at Warrenville.
During the winters of 1839, 1840 and 1841, he
worked at boy's jobs about the canal, and later
assisted his father in farming. In the fall of 1842
an academy was established at Warrenville, and
he attended this during the winters until 1846,
when he taught in the same school.. During the
summer seasons he continued farming in company
with his father. In the mean time he began
reading medidne with Dr. L. Q. Newton, an able
physician of Warrenville. In the fall of 1848 he
attended the opening session of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons ofthe Upper Mississippi,
at Rock Island, 111., and graduated from that
institution March 13, 1850, at Davenport, Iowa.
Its successor is now a flourishing establishment
at Keokuk.
Within a few days after his graduation, our sub
ject joined L- L. Newton, a brother of his medical
preceptor, and Thomas Harker, of Warrenville,
now a resident of Batavia, in forming an expedi
tion to California. His partners started with a
team across the country, and a few days later,
April 17, he started by way of St. Louis, where
he purchased supplies for the expedition and
shipped them by boat up the Missouri River. By
a singular coincidence, the whole party arrived
at the appointed rendezvous, St. Joseph, Mo.,
the same morning. They left that city the same
day, the 9th of May, by wagon, overtaking some
Illinois acquaintances in the vicinity of Ft.
Kearney, and arrived at Placerville, Cal. (then

called Hangtown) , on the 26th of July, seventy-
eight days from St. Joseph. That was considered
a remarkably quick trip in those days, but would
be wonderfully tardy in this day of Pacific rail
ways. From St. Joseph the party numbered, four,
and each man rode alternately one hour and
walked three. It was agreed that the team must
be in the road each morning at sunrise, and this
agreement was kept. Their horses were thus
ready to turn out to grass early in the afternoon,
before other teams had consumed the feed, and
this carried them through on quick time and with
teams in good condition on arrival.
In September, 1850, Dr. Waterman proceeded
to Sacramento, and remained there until May 22,
1852. He formed a partnership with John Thomp
son, an old ship-carpenter, and they fitted up a
wharf-boat and engaged in general river work*,
such as caulking, repairing and construction.
They built several pole-boats for the Yuba River,,
and altogether did a very profitable business*
After paying a visit to his father at Yreka, he
went to Jacksonville, Ore. , and engaged in min
ing with a partner, T. B. Brennan, on the 5th 0$
July, 1852. After mining over four months with
out seeing a ' ' color, ' ' in November they dug out -
$2,000 in a week. They spent the winter there,
continuing their operations in the spring, Dr.
Waterman being at this time elected Justice of the
Peace. The Indians, having no respect for civil author
ity, began depredations in August following, and
Dr. Waterman, beside his duties as surgeon, was
made Second Lieutenant of the Jacksonville bat
talion, which joined the United States forces in
quelling the outbreak. This force had several
encounters with Indians in ambush, artd served
till November, most of the time acting as escort
for emigrants over sixty miles of the route fol
lowed by them, near Goose Lake. This campaign
was known as the ' ' Rogue River War. ' ' In his
capacity of surgeon Dr. Waterman treated and
became intimately acquainted with Joseph Lane,
in i860 candidate for Vice-President on the
Breckenridge ticket, an acquaintance which sub
sequently proved useful to him in prosecuting his
claims for services and medicines furnished in the

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL HECORD.

4*7

Government service. Selling out the mine, he
paid another, and, as it proved, the last visit to
his father, wintering at Yreka, and then set out for
Illinois, He left San Francisco by steamer in
July, and reached New York, by the Nicaragua
route, on the 7th of August, 1854. The next
year was spent in settling the estate of his grand
father in Rhode Island, and collecting his claims
against the United States Government.
In May, 1856, Dr. Waterman settled at Whea
ton and engaged in what proved a very success
ful practice of his profession. On the 17th of
March, 1859, he was married to Lucy Mariette,
daughter of Jude P. Gary, and began farming in
partnership with his brother-in-law, George P.
Gary, on the old Gary homestead in Winfield.
(See biography of Jude P. Gary, elsewhere in
this work. ) Mrs. Waterman was born in Win
field September 27, 1840, and is still the Doctor's
faithful helpmate and companion.
In the spring of 186 1 Dr. Waterman offered his
services to Gov. Yates, as surgeon in the Union
army, but was prevented by an attack of inflam
mation of the eyes from accepting the commission
offered him. He went to Sedalia, Mo., in the
following autumn, and became contract surgeon
for the care of the men of the Eighth Iowa In
fantry through the succeeding winter. Although
requested by the officers and men to appoint Dr.
Waterman as surgeon of that regiment, the Gov
ernor of Iowa refused to do so, because the Doctor
was not a resident of Iowa. After the battle of
Pittsburg Landing, at the request of Gov. Yates,
Dr. Waterman visited the field, and was again
employed for a short time in caring for the Eighth
Iowa. In September, 1862, he was commissioned
as Assistant Surgeon of the One Hundred and
Fifth Illinois Infantry, his old friend and former
fellow-student under Dr. Newton, Dr. Horace S.
Potter, of Chicago, being, at Dr. Waterman's re
quest, made First Surgeon in preference to himself.
On the 2d of June, 1864, near Dallas, Ga., Dr.
Potter's head was shot off by a cannon-ball, and
Dr. Waterman then succeeded him as First Sur
geon, serving in that capacity till June 7, 1865,
when he was mustered out, with the regiment.
Except on a few short details for hospital service,

he was continuously in the field with his mem
From Resaca, May 15, to September 4, 1865, the
fighting was almost continuous about Atlanta, Dr.
Waterman's regiment being a part of the First
Brigade, Third Division, of the Twentieth Corps.
He was beloved by his men, and was remarkable
for his memory of every individual case treated
by him throughout the war.
In the winter of 1865-66, the Doctor took, a
course of lectures at Bellevue Hospital Medical
College, N. Y., and resumed practice at Warren
ville, removing thence to Wheaton in 1868. In
the autumn of the next year, he resigned his prac
tice and went to Colorado in company with H. C,
Childs, „ a prominent early resident of Wheaton,
and engaged in sheep-raising, which proved rea
sonably profitable. In May, 187 1, he was ap
pointed Chief Clerk under Gen. B. J. Sweet, Su
pervisor of Internal Revenue at Chicago, and re
mained with him and his successor, being part of
the time a gauger, for four years. In November,
1875, he went to Crawford County, Iowa, where
he had landed and other interests, and remained
there until 1888, when he returned to Wheaton
and purchased his present residence on West
Street. To this he added in 1893, ana now has a
very desirable home.
Dr. Waterman possesses an active mind and
remarkably strong memory, and wields a wide
influence in the community. He is of phlegmatic
temperament, and slow to speak or act, but his
judgment is rarely questioned, and he has been
very successful in his medical practice. He is a
power in political management, and holds an im
portant place in local councils of the Republican
party. With his large and varied experience and
wide reading, he is amply fitted for good citizen
ship, and is an excellent entertainer. While a
resident at West Side, Iowa, he served as Justice
pf the Peace for several years. He is a Knight
Templar Mason, and embraces the faith of the
Methodist Church. Mrs. Waterman is a member
of that organization.
Ofthe six children of Dr. Waterman, five are
now living. Alice, the eldest, the wife of Clar
ence C. Jewett, died in 1882, aged twenty-two
years, leaving a daughter, who is named Alice.

4i8

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Margaret Eliza is the widow of E- T. Jewett.
George is a book-keeper in the Corn Exchange
Bank at Chicago. Richard Henry is employed
in the freight office of the Chicago, Milwaukee &
St. Paul Railroad at Chicago. Fred Mather is
exchange clerk in the Merchants' Loan & Trust
Company Bank; and Alfred, Jr. , is in the general
claim department of the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad at Chicago.

^H^

S3

sr

jTDWIN HARTLEY PRATT, M. D., LL D.,
Kp only surving son of Dr. Leonard Pratt (see
L. biography in this work) , was born at To-
wandav Pa., on the 6th of November, 1849. At
the age of three years, in 1852, he came with his
parents to Illinois, where he continued for thir
teen' years to reside in the township of Rock
Creek, Carroll County. - After some preparation
in1 the district Schools of that township, at the age
of sixteen he entered Mt. Carroll Seminary,
where he remained one year. On the removal of
the family to Wheaton in 1865, he entered Whea
ton College,' an institution somewhat widely
known as the -seat of a single idea — suppression
of secret societies. - Soon after coming to Whea
ton, Dr. Leonard Pratt joined the Independent
Order of Good Templars, of which the son be
came also a member. On learning this, the presi
dent of the college insisted that young Pratt either
leave the college or the lodge. To his credit be
it said, young Pratt was equally firm with the
college authorities in maintaining his principles,
and chose1 the former alternative. He then en
tered the University of Chicago, from which he
graduated in the full classical course in 187 1.
This institution subsequently conferred upon him
the degree of Doctor of Laws, in recognition of
his valuable discoveries.
1 Our subject now took up the study of medicine
in his father's office, and also began attendance
at the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago,
from which he graduated in the spring of 1873,
being valedictorian of his class. He shortly after
took the chair of Anatoriiy in his alma mater, and

pursued at the same time a special study of that
branch of medical science under the tutelage of
eastern colleges. At the end of three years he
resigned, to take the same position in the Chicago
Homeopathic College, then just organized. From
this he was transferred, at his own request, seven.
years later, to the chair of Surgery in the same
college. This position he filled for six years,
when, as the result of his own investigations, dis
coveries and developments, the chair of Orificiai
Surgery was created* for him in that institution,
and this he has occupied to the present time.
Dr. Pratt is an original thinker, and has made
some revolutions in surgery as the outcome of his
own investigation and practice. Naturally, he^
incurred the opposition and criticism of a large1
portion of the profession, but this he has almost
wholly overcome with his tongue and pen and-the
demonstrations of the operating room. He has' ;
inherited much ofthe power of oratory of his ma- .
ternal grandfather, and is a very forcible, succinct
and convincing speaker. These qualities have
given him great power in the class-room, and he
has sent out large numbers of practitioners who
are constantly spreading the fame -and success of
his discoveries. With his pen, Dr. Pratt is no
less able and convincing than he is as a speaker,
and it is a brave man who now attempts to con
trovert his theories or to detract from his success
in the healing art. He is the founder and editor
of the Journal of Orificiai Surgery, a monthly
publication which is now acknowledged as stand
ard and widely quoted by other medical standards.
Through his influence, a magnificent sanitarium
has been established on the north side of the city
of Chicago, facing Lincoln Park. This institu
tion was incorporated in 1890, with Dr. Pratt as
President and Surgeon-in-Chief, and an able corps
of assistants, and here his specialties in surgery are
put in practical operation, to the relief and cure
of thousands of sufferers annually. This insti
tution is a magnificent six-story structure, built
of buff Bedford stone, 100x120 feet in dimension,
occupying a beautiful site overlooking lovely
Lincoln Park and Lake Michigan. Here is found
every accessory of a comfortable, and even luxuri
ous, home for the invalid. Dr. Pratt is also Pro-

James C. Hatch.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

421

fessor of Surgery and Mental Training in the
Lincoln Park Training School for Misses, located
in the same section of the city. As is made
¦apparent by the foregoing, his time is very
fully taken up, but he is a man of great mental
and physical energy, and is fully equal to the
tasks which his ability and philanthropy have
called down upon him.
Dr. Pratt is a member of the American Insti
tute of Homeopathy and of the Illinois State As
sociation of that school, as well as an honorary
member of many similar State associations. He
is a member of the surgical staff of the Cook
County Hospital, where his superior skill is often
called into play. In his religious and political
sentiments, he adheres to the- precepts laid down
by his honored father.
In June, 1877, Dr. Pratt married Miss Isadora
M. Bailey, a native of the State of New York,
and a lady well fitted by nature and cultivation
as a companion for her talented husband. A son
and daughter were given to this couple, but both
have been taken away, the former in childhood
and the latter in infancy. In 1893 Dr. Pratt
erected at Wheaton a beautiful home, to which
he may retire in summer from the cares and bur
dens of his large practice and other duties in the
city of Chicago.

l^HN

(J.AMES C. HATCH, who resides on section 2,
I Lisle Township, has long been identified with
Qj the history of DuPage County, and is num
bered among the honored pioneers who braved the
hardships of frontier life to make a home in this
community, and thus became the founders bf
the county. To the early settlers is due a debt
of gratitude which can never be repaid for the part
which they have played in the upbuilding of this
community. A native of New Hampshire," Mr. Hatch was
born May 27, 1806, and is the sixth in afamily.of
twelve children, whose parents were Azel and
Rody (Williams) Hatch. Five of the number
are still living, namely: James C. ;Jedutham, who

is living in Colorado; Mrs. Philena Cook, of New
York; Reuben, a resident of Oberlin, Ohio; and
Azel, who is still living on the old homestead in
New Hampshire. The father of this family;, was
a native of Connecticut, and when a small child
removed with his parents to the old Granite
State, where he made his home upon a farm until
called to his final rest, at the advanced age of
ninety-three years. The family is of English lin
eage, but for two generations prior to Azel had
lived in the United States. The mother of -i our
subject always lived in New Hampshire, and; her
death occurred at the age of sixty years. It is a
fact worthy of note that none of the descendants
of the above family were ever addicted to the use
of liquor or tobacco. - : ,
Until sixteen years of age James C. Hatch re
mained upon the home farm, and then left the
parental roof in order to make his own way in the
world. He began clerking in a store, and was
thus employed for about six years. He then,
with the capital he had acquired through industry
and perseverance, embarked in general merchan
dising for himself. After four years spent along
that line, he sold his store with a view to seek
ing a home and fortune in the West, and the year
1833 witnessed his arrival in Illinois. He located
upon the farm where he now resides, becoming
one of the very first settlers of DuPage County.
Even Cook County was sparsely settled at that
time, and the World's Fair city of Chicago was a
mere hamlet. Mr. Hatch located a claim, hut it
was several years before the Government survey
was made and the land came into market. He
experienced the usual hardships and privations df
pioneer life, and performed the arduous, task of
developing unbroken land.
In June, 1837, our subject married Miss Char
lotte D. Kidder, of New Hampshire, whose death
occurred on the old homestead, August 28, 1872.
The four children born of that union were Louise
E., now deceased; Edward P., who is engaged in
business in Chicago; Reuben, deceased; and Azel,
a very prominent lawyer of Chicago, whosesketch
appears elsewhere iu this volume.
Mr. Hatch has beeri a stanch Republican in
politics since the organization of the party. His

422

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

first Presidential vote was cast for John Quincy
Adams. He has taken quite an active interest in
political affairs; was the first Town Clerk, served
his township as Supervisor in an early day, and
took the census of the county in 1850. He was
three times a candidate for the Legislature, and
was also nominated for the office of Circuit Clerk;
but as that was in the day when the Republican
party was in the minority, he was in consequence
defeated. ;
In his business dealings, Mr.-Hateh has been
quite successful, arid as the years have passed,
has accumulated a handsome competency, which
novv enables him to live retired and surrounds
him with all the cdriiforts and many' of the luxur
ies of life. He has always kept himself" well in
formed on matters of general interest, and al
though he is now eighty-seven years of age, he
still maintains his interest in public affairs and in
the welfare of the. community. From an early
day he has been recognized as a prominent and
influential citizen, whom the county could ill af
ford to lose, and his honorable, upright career has
gained him a host, pf warm friends and won him
universal confidence and esteem.

^HH^E

S3

(JOE Y ACKLEY, a retired farmer residing in
! Naperville, is k native of Germany. He was
Q) born December 22, 1829, and is a son of John
Yackley, who was' also born in the same country.
The father was a shoemaker by trade and also fol
lowed farming. He married Helen Staley, a na
tive of France, whose father served in the Rev
olutionary War under Gen. La Fayette. Our sub
ject is the eldest son and second child. At the
age of ten years he took charge of his father's
business, and when a youth of fourteen he came
to America, crossing the Atlantic to New York
City, and coming .thence by way of Albany,
Rochester, Buffalo and the Lakes to Chicago.
This was in 1845.- ' A few days later he settled in
DuPage County, and purchased an eighty-acre
farm in Lisle Township. His first home was a
log cabin, unsupplied with a floor. He paid for

his place $1,000, paying the same in five-franc
pieces, and as he gave cash for it he received a
discount of seven per cent.
Mr. Yackley worked by the month as a farm
hand for a time, receiving only $6 per month in
compensation for his services. He was last em
ployed in this way by Dr. Daniels. The year 1850
saw him en route for California with a horse- team,
for the discovery of gold attracted him to that far
western land. He joined a company of thirteen
wagons which went by way of Salt Lake City, and
at length reached Hangtown, now Placerville,
Cal. Mr. Yackley at once engaged' in mining,
digging gold on the South Fork of the American
River, where the first discovery of the precious
metal was made. He. continued mining for four
years, and then went to Sacramento City, where he
worked for four months in a restaurant for-$i ro.
He afterward again engaged in mining and made
considerable money. At length he went to Stock
ton, where he established a brewery, continuing
its operation for about a year. He invested about
$4,000 in that business, but a freshet carried away
his property, leaving him almost penniless. Sub
sequently, he took up a claim a short distance'
south of Sacramento, and later he again engaged
in digging gold, but as dry weather came ori and'
the water supply gave out, he had to abandon
that work. He then chopped and delivered one
hundred cords of wood, for which he received
$1,000. Once more he worked in a restaurant,
receiving $200 per month. In the spring of 1854
his brother and some friends came to Sacramento,
and with them he went on foot to the mines, where
he continued until September, 1854. He then
sold out for $1,000, and returned to this State,
making the journey by water.
Mr. Yackley was married in 1855 to Miss Mag-
dena Baumemeister, who died some years' later.'
They Were the parents ofthe following children:
Louise, widow of Otto Wisbrook; Matilda, wife of
William Ory, of Lisle Township; Edward, who is
living on the old homestead; Ida, wife of George
Keller, a farmer of Naperville Township; William,'
a farmer of Milton Township; Frank, a merchant
of Lisle Township; Ellen, wife of Pat Dillon, of
Elgin; Margaret, wife of William Resser, of Chi-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

423

cago; and Henrietta, at home. The lady who
now bears the name of Mrs. Yackley was former
ly Matilda Weaver.
After his return from California, Mr. Yackley
purchased two hundred acres of land in Milton
Township for $4,000, and began the improvement
ofa farm, to the further development of which he
deyoted his energies until 1888, when he removed
to Naperville, where he has since lived a retired
life. He now owns three good farms, all in Milton
Township, comprising two hundred acres each,
ari4 has other property. In his business dealings
he has met with a high degree of success and is
now the possessor of a handsome competence. In
politics, he is a stalwart Republican. Living
quiptly in Naperville, he now enjoys the rest
which he has so truly earned and richly deserves.

— M*+£g

/GEORGE MARQUIS BOGUE, of Hinsdale,
l_ dealer in real estate and mortgage loans,
Vjl was born in Norfolk, St. Lawrence County,
N. Y., January 21, 1842. His paternal grandfa
ther, Samuel Cook Brjgue, was a native of Ver
mont, a farmer by occupation, and one of the
heroes of the Revolution. The father, Warren S.
Bogue, was born in Vermont, and in early life be
came a merchant in northern New York. He
married Sallie Underwood, a native of the Em
pire State. His death occurred in 1869, at the
age of sixty-nine years, but his widow still sur
vives him and is now in her eighty-second year.
Both were members of the Presbyterian Church.
Their family numbered seven sons and two daugh
ters, of whom five are now living: Dr. Rosswell
G., a prominent physician and surgeon of Chi
cago; Oswell A. and Hamilton B., also of Chi
cago; Elias, who lives with his brother in Hins
dale; and our subject.
George M. Bogue spent the first fourteen years
of his life in the county of his nativity, and in
August, 1856, removed to Chicago, where he
joined his brother, Hamilton B., who had there
located about four years previous. George at
tended the public schools for about a year, and

then began work in the office of the Merchant
Dispatch Fast Freight Line, of which company
his brother was the Chicago agent for many-
years. He continued to work in his brother's
office until April, 1859, when he became a stu
dent in the Cayuga Lake Academy, of Aurora,
N. Y., where he continued for two years. On
his return he re-entered his brother's office, where
he remained until June, 1864, when he formed a
connection with the Land Department of the
Illinois Central Railroad. In October, 1867, he
entered the office of Ogden, Sheldon & Co., the
oldest land agency in Chicago, and as his time
was not wholly taken up by that business, he be
gan business for himself, looking after real-estate
interests in which he and his brother Hamilton
were jointly interested. Since that time he has
been engaged in the real-estate business. From
1867 until January, 1883, operations were car
ried on under the name of George M. Bogue, but
in the latter year the firm of Bogue & Hoyt was
formed; its members being George M. and Hatiiil-'
ton B. Bogue and Henry W. Hoyt. This conJ
nection was continued until February 12, 1891,
when Mr. Hoyt died, and the firm was re-organized
as Bogue & Co., the partners being George M.1
and Hariiilton B. Bogue and Harry W. Christian.
Under this name they did business until July 1 ;
1893, when our subject retired from the firrrij
Since that time he has been conducting business
in his own name, giving his attention to general
real estate and to the negotiating and placing of
mortgage loans.
Mr. Bogue was married January 26, 187 1, to
Catherine M. , daughter of Abram.B. and Lucy M.
(Kinney) Van Doren, the former a native of New
York, and the latter of New Jersey. Six children
have been born of their union, but Gertrude,*
George and Margaret are now deceased. Those
living are Franklin A., Ruth Van Dorea and
George Marquis. The parents are inembers of
the Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Bogue served
as a member of the Board of Church Trustees of
the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church from 1864
until 1892. He removed to Hyde Park Wheii
there were only eight families in that town ; hi i
father having there located in 1858. He con-

424

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tinued to make his home there until April, 1888,
and witnessed and took part in its wonderful de
velopment, he and his brother Hamilton being
leaders in its promotion and rapid advancement.
He served as Town Clerk from 1864 until 1868,
was Treasurer from 1869 until 1872, and in the
latter year was elected a member of the Board of
County Commissioners of Cook County, to fill the
vacancy caused by the resignation of Hon.
Charles Hitchcock. He served for two years,
during which time he was Chairman of. the Fi
nance Committee, and a member of the Building
Committee, very responsible positions at that time,
for it was just after the great fire. In 1874, he was
elected a member of the Legislature from the
Hyde Park district, and on the completion of his
term declined a re-election. When Shelby M.
Cullom was elected Governor of the State, he ap
pointed Mr. Bogue a member of the Board of Rail
road and Warehouse Commissioners. Our sub
ject served during his entire time, and then sent
in his resignation, in December, 1882, but at the
Governor's solicitation remained until Mr. Cul
lom was elected United States Senator, in March,
1883. From the organization of the Board of
Railroad Commissioners the railroads contested the
right of the State to exercise any control, but
during Mr. Bogue' s term of office amicable rela
tions were established, so that during 1881 the
board to which our subject belonged made a
schedule of rates for both passenger and freight
traffic, which was accepted by every railroad cor-
' poration in the State.
In January, 1883, Mr. Bogue was unanimously
elected Arbitrator of the railroad pools known as
the Southwestern Railroad Traffic Association, the
Northwestern Traffic Association, and the Colo
rado Traffic Association, which embraced all the
railroads running west, northwest and southwest
from Chicago. He continued in that position
until 1885, when he resigned, in order to give his
undivided attention to his private business. When
serving as Arbitrator, he was called upon to con
sider very important and delicate questions, his
decisions often involving millions of dollars, and
in no single instance was his decision ever ap
pealed from. His services were often requested for

outside arbitration, such as fixing the percentage
for the Trans- Continental Pool Lines, and for fix
ing the rate at which the railroads from Mississippi
River points, points along the east shore of Lake
Michigan, and from the northern pineries district,
should charge above or below the Chicago rate, as
the case might be. He was the arbitrator in this
matter in 1884, and his rates have since been
used, so that what is known as the "Bogue Dif
ferentials" have passed into railroad history, and
are the basing rates governing all this business.
Although Mr. Bogue has devoted most of his
time to business, he has also given much atten
tion to benevolent and charitable work. He has
served as a member of the Board of Managers of
the Presbyterian Hospital, of Chicago, from its
organization iu 1882, and was its President four
years. For some years he was a member of the
Board of Directors for the Home for Incur
ables; ofthe Board of Directors of the Lake For
est University, and a member of the Executive
Committee of the Presbyterian League, of Chi
cago. He came to Hinsdale in April, 1888, and
has since made this beautiful suburban town his
home. In reviewing the life of Mr. Bogue we
see much that is exemplary. He has been con
nected with some ofthe prominent arbitration af
fairs of the country, and has been a leader in the
growth and upbuilding of Chicago, the metropolis
of the West. While following the strictest busi
ness principles his career has been honorable and
upright, and his public and private life are alike
above reproach. In the legitimate channels of
business he has achieved success, and in social and
business intercourse he has won the esteem of all
with whom he has been brought in contact.

©.

-*=S]<"f ">sr

(JOHN SCHARLAN, one of the representative
I farmers of DuPage County, residing on sec-
(2/ tion 6, York Township, was born in Prussia,
Germany, April 4, 1845, and is the eldest of a
family of five children, whose parents were David
and Sophia Scharlan. The father was born in
Prussia, and was a farmer by occupation. In the

Wm. Hammerschmidt.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

427

fall of 1855 he left his native land, and accom
panied by his family emigrated to the New World.
After a voyage of seven weeks, the vessel in which
he sailed dropped anchor in the harbor of New
York, and from that city he made his way to
Chicago, where he remained for four months.
He then came to York Township, DuPage Coun
ty, where he rented land until 1863, when he
purchased an eighty-acre tract, making his home
thereon until his death, which occurred at the age
of seventy -two years. In his political views, he
was a Republican, and was a member of the i
-Lutheran Church. Both he and his wife lie buried
in York Center Cemetery.
John Scharlan was a lad of only ten summers
when he left the Fatherland and came with his ;
parents to the New World. He has since lived
in DuPage County. Here he was reared, and in
the country schools acquired his education. In
December, 1863, at the age of eighteen, he re
sponded to the call of his adopted country for
troops, and enlisted in the Seventeenth Illinois
Cavalry, in which he served until the close of the
war. He participated in the Price raid in Mis
souri, and in his service met with many narrow
escapes, for he was largely engaged in bushwhack
ing, which in some respects was far more danger
ous than open battle. When the war was over
he received an honorable discharge in Springfield,
111., in December, 1865.
Our subject then returned to DuPage County,
and worked upon the home farm of his father un
til December, 1874, when he was united in mar
riage with Miss Louisa Theis, of Lake County .
Seven children have been born unto them, of
whom two died in infancy. Those still living
are Carrie, Martha, Tillie, Annie and Bertha, all
ofwhom are still with their parents.
Mr. Scharlan votes with the Republican party,
aud is a warm advocate of its principles. He has
served as Tax Collector for two terms, and is now
School Director of his district. He belongs to
E. S. Kelley Post No. 513, G. A. R., of Wheaton,
and he and his family are members of the Luther
an Church. Mr. Scharlan is now the owner ofa
valuable farm of eight)- acres, which is very
highly improved. Upon it is a good residence,

which was erected at a cost of $2,400, and a fine
barn, valued at $1,000. This place is as a mon
ument to his thrift and enterprise. He started
out in life empty-handed, but by industry and
determination overcame the obstacles in his path
and steadily worked his way upward to success.
He is an honest and valued German- American
citizen, who was true to his adopted country in
her hour of peril, and is alike faithful to his duties
in days of peace.

WILLIAM HAMMERSCHMIDT, one ofthe
successful business men of Lombard, who is
engaged in brick-making, was born near
Naperville, DuPage County, October 10, 1853,
and is a son of Adolph and Adeline (Von Oven)
Hammerschmidt. His father was born in Altann,
Prussia, and was a son ofa ministefof the Reformed
Lutheraii Church. In 1848, he came to Amer
ica, after having served for one year as a Lieu
tenant in the Prussian arm)-. Coming to the
West, he settled on a farm near Naperville, where
he still resides. His wife was born near Diesseldorf,
Prussia, and crossed the Atlantic in 1852. On
landing in New York, she was met by Mr. Ham
merschmidt and they were there married. They
were the parents of eleven children: William; Mary;
Ernst, deceased; Lizzie; Anna, deceased; Clara,
wife of A. Baltzer, of Sandusky, Ohio; Max F. ;
Freda; Richard; Lydia; and Martha, deceased.
The father of this family is still hale and hearty,
although he has now reached the age of sixty-
seven. He is interested with his sons in business,
but has always given his attention chiefly to the
development of his farm. Iu politics, he was for
merly a Whig, but since the organization ofthe
Republican party has been one of its stalwart sup
porters. He has never sought nor accepted of
fice. The gentleman whose name heads this record
attended the district schools, and afterwards spent
two terms in Naperville College, where he com
pleted his education. When a young man of
twenty-four, he came to Lombard and purchased

21

428

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a clay-pit. Here he built a small tile factory and
began the manufacture of tile. The business has
since grown to extensive proportions, and he is
also now engaged in the manufacture of brick. .
He receives from the surrounding country a lib
eral patronage, and his large trade yields him a
good income. Since the spring of 1893, he has j
been carrying on a grain elevator and deals in
coal, feed, etc.
On March 30, 1882, Mr. Hammerschmidt was
united in marriage with Elizabeth Burdorf, who
was born near Hanover, Germany, and came to
America in 1875. Five children have blessed
their union: Adolph, Dora, Adalina, Bernhard and
Alfred. The parents are both members of the
Lutheran Evangelical Church at Elmhurst, and
are people of prominence, who hold an enviable
position in the social circles in which they move.
Mr. Hammerschmidt is a member of the Mod
ern Woodmen of America, and in politics he is one
ofthe stalwart supporters of Republican princi
ples. He is now serving as Supervisor of York
Township. For twelve years he served as School
Director, and has held other local offices, the du
ties of which have been promptly and faithfully
discharged. He is a conservative and successful
business man, who through well-directed efforts,
good management and enterprise has worked his
way upward to the head ofa large business, and
acquired a handsome competency thereby.
|""}IERCE DOWNER was numbered among the
yr pioneer settlers of northern Illinois, and was
fS the honored founder of Downer's Grove.
The record of his life is inseparably connected with
the history of this community, and this work
would be incomplete without the sketch of one
who bore such a prominent part in public affairs
in earlier years. He was born in Plainfield,
Windham County, Vt., July 25, 1782, and his
father, Elisha Downer, was one of the early set
tlers of the Green Mountain State. Pierce was
there reared to manhood, and was married in
1808 to Mrs. Lucy Ann Ellis, widow of Stephen
Ellis, whose father was Judge Ellis, a leading

citizen of Ellisburg, Mass. Her father was John
Wilson, a veteran soldier of the Revolutionary-
War. A large family was born unto Mr. and Mrs.
Downer, and wishing to provide for them in a
better way than he believed possible in the East,
the husband and father resolved to seek a loca
tion in the West. In 1832 he left Rutland, Vt.,
and made his way to Chicago, there joining his
son Stephen, who was at that time engaged in
constructing the first lighthouse ever erected at
Chicago. Mr. Downer spent a few days with his
son, during which time he made inquiries con
cerning the surrounding .country. At length he
decided that DuPage County was the garden spot
of Illinois, and took up his residence upon what
is now section 6, Downer's Grove Township.
He was the first settler at the Grove, which was
named iu his honor, as were also the township
and village. In 1833 his son, George Dorance,
came to Downer's Grove, but only remained here
for two years, after which he settled in St. Charles,
111. In October, 1834, his daughter Adeline
came West to keep house for her father, and was
the first white woman to locate at the Grove. In
1836 Mrs. Downer and her son Elon came around
the Lakes, embarking at Sacket's Harbor on a
schooner commanded by Capt. Pheatt, who was
well known as one of the most popular and able
captains on the Lakes. Such a trip in 1836 was
considered as great an undertaking as a trip now
around Cape Horn.
Mr. Downer was a practical aud progressive
farmer, who kept well posted on and made use of
all improvements in farm machinery. It was his
pride that his farm was one of the best-tilled in
the State. His fences were well kept, everything
was neat and orderly, and his stock was in good
condition. His life was a busy one, yet he found
time to keep himself well informed on all the
questions of the clay. During his entire life he
was a reader ofthe Congressional Record. He had
one of the best libraries in the State, and many
hours were spent in making the contents of the
volumes his own. In all his interests and work,
he found a faithful companion and helpmate in
his wife, and together they traveled life's journey

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

429

for fifty-five years. Mrs. Downer died on the 25th
of March, 1863, aud only for a few short hours
were they separated by death, for the following
day Mr. Downer passed away. They were bur
ied on the old homestead on Friday, the 27th,
and throughout the community their loss was
mourned. Mr. Downer was ever found in the
front rank of enterprises calculated to prove of
public benefit, and the county recognized iu him
a valued citizen.
Stephen E., son of Pierce Downer, and twin
brother of George, was born September 28, 1809,
and in a very early day emigrated to Chicago.
In 1837 ne married Amanda Tasker, and unto
them were born four children: Lucy Ami, Ellen
Amanda, George E. and Jerome. Lucy Ann be
came the wife of Henry Pierce Downer, and they
have two children, Elletta A. and Charles H. The
latter is manager ofthe Union Publishing- House,
of Chicago, and resides iu Downer's Grove.
Ellen Amanda is the wife of Jerome B. Hitch
cock, aud their daughter, Pearl L-, is the wife
of Clay Bradley, by whom she has three children,
George Elsworth, Nellie and Lyle. George Evans
married Delia Henry, who died without issue iu
1885, and the next year he wedded Catherine Es
ser, by whom he has three children: George Mel
ville, born August 1, 1887; Pierce Aubrey, May
24, 1889; and Delia Marie, July 29, 1892.
Adeline Downer, daughter of Pierce Downer,
was born in Rutland, N. Y., September 12, 1812.
James, the next child, was born in Rutland June
10, 1818, and there died in July, 1819. Maria
was born in Rutland August 6, 1820, and died
February 1, 1821. Elon E., born March 17,
1827, married Ellen M. Knox, daughter of John
Knox. Several children were born to them,
but all died in youth save Addie M. and James
Pierce. The former married Frank Lindley, of
Downer's Grove, Superintendent of Car Service
on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
She died, leaving a daughter, Lucy. James P.
married Nellie Archer, and has one child, Lillian.
George Dorauce Downer, the son of the sub
ject of this sketch, and twin brother of Stephen E.,
was born in Rutland, N. Y., September -28, 1809,
and in Utica, N. Y., was married June 25, 1&36,

to Miss Lucina Gertrude Bulkeley, daughter of
Henry Stanley and Sallie (Durrin) Bulkeley, of
Fairfield, Conn. Mrs. Downer traced her ances
try in this country back to Rev. Peter and Jane
Ann Bulkeley, who came to America in 1634.
Henry Stanley Bulkeley, her father, the son of
Jonathan and Hannah (Hoyt) Bulkeley, was born
March 18, 1776. Jonathan, the son of Peter and
Abigail Bulkeley, was born September 21, 1731.
He married Miss Hannah Hoyt, daughter of
James Hoyt, of Norwalk, Conn., June 21, 1762.
With this family is associated an incident of the
Revolutionary War well worthy of mention. On
the 7th of July, 1776, Gov. Tryon sailed with his
ami)- from New Haven, and the next morning
disembarked upon the beach at Fairfield. The
Hessians who accompanied him were his incen
diaries, and to them he intrusted the wielding of
the torch wliich was to burn the town. The peo
ple fled, and, not expecting that their homes
would be burned, left most of their furniture be
hind. The distress was consequently ver)- great.
Among the buildings saved was that of Mr.
Bulkeley, which Tryon made his headquarters.
The officer who had command of the British fleet
was Mrs. Bulkeley's brother, and he requested
that Tryon save the house of his sister. Tryon
acquiesced, and the house was spared, as were
the two adjoining houses, which were so close as to
render it impossible to burn them without endan
gering Mrs. Bulkeley's home. The three houses
are standing to this day.
Peter Bulkeley, the father of Jonathan, was the
sou of Joseph and Martha (Beers) Bulkeley, and
was born in Fairfield, Conn., May 21, 1684. Jo
seph Bulkeley, son of Thomas and Sarah (Jones)
Bulkeley, was born in 1644. Thomas Bulkeley
was the son of Rev. Peter and Jane Ann Bulkeley
(Peter's first wife), and was born in England
April 11, 1617.
Rev. Peter Bulkeley, B. D., was of the first
generation of the Bulkeley family iu America,
and was of honorable and noble lineage, being
descended from Robert Bulkeley, Esq., one of
the English barons, who, in the reign of King-
John, was Lord ofthe manor of Bulkeley iu the
County Palatine of Chester. He was born at

43°

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Wood Hill, in Bedfordshire, January- 31, 1583.
His father, the Rev. Edward Bulkeley, D. D., was
a faithful minister of the Gospel, under whose
direction his son received an excellent education
suited to his rank. At the age of sixteen, he was j
admitted to St. John's College, of Cambridge, of j
which he was afterward chosen Fellow, and from j
which he received the degree of Bachelor of Div- i
inity. He succeeded his father in the ministry j
and enjoyed his rich benefice and estate. For ;
about twenty years he was a zealous preacher of
Evangelical truth in his native town, but at length !
he met with such success , and his church was so in- j
creased, that complaints were entered against him |
by Archbishop Laud, and he was silenced for j
his non-conformity to the requirements of the |
English Church. This circumstance induced him
to emigrate to New England, where he might
enjoy liberty of conscience.
To prevent detention Rev. Mr. Bulkeley left ¦
England in disguise on the vessel ' 'The Susan aud
Ellen," and as a matter of precaution his wife
Grace and son John embarked in another ship.
He arrived in Cambridge in 1634, and became a
leader of those resolute men and self-denying
Christians who founded Concord. Here he ex
pended most of his estate for the benefit of his
people. He was remarkable for his benevolence.
To his servants who had lived with him for sev
eral years he would give farms, and then employ
others to be treated in like manner. His merit
and affability drew around him persons of all
ages, and his easy address, great learning and
eminent piety rendered his society pleasing and
profitable. He was a thorough Christian, and
his untiring labors and persuasive eloquence made
him a successful preacher. He often wrote series
of sermons on particular passages of scripture, and
one of these books on Zachariah ix: 2 was pub
lished as "The first-born of New England," and
passed through several editions, the last bearing the
title "The Gospel Covenant, or, The Covenant
of Grace Opened. " In it is explained: (1.) The
difference between the covenant of grace and cov
enant of works. (2.) The different administra
tion of the covenant before and since Christ. (3. )
The benefits and blessings of it. (4.) The con
ditions. (5. ) The properties of it.

Two of Mr. Bulkeley's manuscripts are pre
served in the library of the American Antiquarian
Society , one of which contains answers to several
theological questions, and the other on the char
acter and government of the church. From Shat-
tuck's History we learn that Rev. Mr. Bulkeley
was one of the organizers and the first pastor of
the church in Concord, Mass. — the first church
in America to adopt the practice of catechising
children. Cotton Mather says, " This was one of
the constant exercises of the Sabbath. All un
married people were required to answer questions,
after which expositions and applications were
made by Mr. Bulkeley to the whole congrega
tion. ' '
We now return to the history of Mr. and Mrs.
George Dorance Downer, and note their children
as follows:
Henry Pierce was born May 15, 1837, and
married Lucy Ann, daughter of Stephen Ellis.
George Orson, born May 16, 1840, married
Jean M., daughter of James Williamson, and
unto them were born the following children:
George Bruce, born March 24, 1870; Roy Ed
ward, April 8, 1874; James Earl, April 18, 1876;
aud Grace Martha, September 22, 1878.
Martha Lucina. only daughter of George D.
Downer, born May 26, 1846, became the wife of
Albert Lee, of Vermont, and afterward married
Clark R. Hunt, of Aurora, 111.
John Dempster, born May 26, 1848, resides at
Downer's Grove. He was married September
10, 1884, to Rose L. Deuel, by whom he has three
children: Martha Lucina, born January 9, 1886;
Rose Ellen, November 5, 1888; and Marie H.,
September 27, 1890.
Melville Bulkeley, born December 26, 1851,
was united in marriage May 24, 1882, with Miss
Adelaide F. , daughter of Robert Summers, who
was born in England, and is a son of Joseph
Summers. They have two children: Martha
Adelaide, born July 17, 1883; and Helen Fitzena,
January 13, 1887.
Of Pierce Downer's descendants at the Grove,
George E., the son of Stephen E., is engaged in
the house-painting and decorating business.
Melville B., grandson of Pierce and son of

L. C Clark.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

433

George Dorance, is a member ofthe firm of Downer
& Markham, proprietors of the Union Publishing
House of Chicago.
John Downer, his brother, is associated with
him in the publishing business.
Elon, the son of Pierce, still lives ou the old
homestead in the enjoyment of a well-earned com
petency. James Downer, his son, carries on the
farm, he and his good wife assuming the cares
and burdens of life, while the father and mother
are peacefully drifting along the shores of time to
a happy old age.
j YMAN C. CLARK is one of the leading and
I jL prominent business men of Turner, where
U he. has made his home since 1870. During
the years which have since passed, he has con
tinuously engaged in the insurance business. He
was born June 10, 1833, in Darien, Genesee
County, N. Y., and is a son of Henry S. and Deb
orah R. (Carpenter) Clark. The paternal grand
father, Joshua Clark, was a Revolutionary soldier
and served urider Gens. Washington and Green.
He was a native of Rhode Island, and after his re
moval to New York he took up several hundred
acres of land. Throughout his life he followed
farming as a livelihood. A prominent and influ
ential citizen, he was honored with the office
of Justice of the Peace for over forty years. His
death occurred in the Empire State at the ad
vanced age of eighty-seven. In his family were
thirteen children, twelve ofwhom grew to mature
years. The maternal grandfather of our subject,
James Carpenter, was a native of Connecticut, and
his entire life was spent in that State, where he
died at an advanced age.
Henry S. Clark was born in Rhode Island and
became a contractor and builder of New York.
He also engaged in painting, and his death
was the result of his being poisoned by paint,
in 1855, at the age of sixty-two years. His
wife, who was born in Connecticut, died in the
Empire State in 1881, at the age of eighty-four.
Both were members of the Baptist Church, and

the father was a local preacher of that denomina
tion. He served as a soldier in the War of 18 12,
and his widow received a pension on that account.
In their family were four sons and five daughters,
of whom the following are now living: Henry H. ;
Lyman C; Lorinda E., wife of William Waldron,
of Trenton, Canada; and Susan M., wife of Albert
Blackman, of Erie County, N. Y. Two brothers
lost their lives during the late war. Jerome was
killed at Bentonville, N. C, and Dennis died at
home from injuries received in the service.
We now take up the personal history of our
subject, who was reared in the State of his nativ
ity, and in the common schools of the neighbor
hood acquired a good English education. When
about fourteen years of age, he began learning
the trade of carriage-maker, which he followed
continuously until 1865. The following year he
emigrated westward and took up his residence in
Davenport, Iowa, where he embarked in the life-
insurance business. In 1870, he came to Turner,
where he has since devoted his time and energies
to the same pursuit with good success.
On the 18th of September, 1855, Mr. Clark was
united in marriage with Miss Laura E. Babcock,
daughter of Rev. R. and Lucinda (Gilbert) Bab
cock, the former a native of Massachusetts, and
the latter of New York. Seven children have
been born of this union, two sons and five daugh
ters. Altie Florence is the wife of C. E. Norris, of
Turner, by whom she has four children: Charles
H., Carroll W., Ernest L- and Florence. Clar
ence Henry, deceased, was a twin brother of Altie
Florence. Clara Louise, Henrietta and Charles
Herbert are all deceased. Ella Laura is the wife of
E. B. Holmes, of Turner; and Lulu Pauline com
pletes the family.
The parents are both members of the Method-
dist Episcopal Church and take a most active
part in church and benevolent work. Mr. Clark
has been Steward of the church for thirty-seven
consecutive years, and has also served as Trustee
and Class-leader for many years. He is now Su
perintendent of the Sunday-school, which is mak
ing good progress under his able management.
He has also been prominently identified with tem
perance work. In politics, he is a Republican,

434

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and socially is connected with Amity Lodge No.
472, A. F. & A. M.; Doric Chapter No. 166, R.
A. M. ; and Siloam Commandery No. 54, of Oak
Park. He and his wife are both members of the
Order ofthe Eastern Star. Mr. Clark has a good
home and other town property in Turner, and is
numbered among the valued and representative
citizens of this community. He has lived an up
right, honorable life, and his career is one well
worthy of emulation. He has the confidence and
high regard of all with whom he has been brought
in contact, and it is with pleasure that we present
to our readers this record of his life.
g> , ~-SL^Hl-.i^Lrc=' a 3
["RANKLIN J. CONGLETON, who is con-
Yri nected with the Bush & Gerts Piano Co., of
| Chicago, was born in Gray Williams, near
St. Charles, 111., on the 27th of June, 1870, and
is a son of James A. Congleton, whose sketch ap
pears elsewhere in this volume. The first twelve
years of his life were spent on the old home farm,
and he then accompanied the family ou their re
moval to Wheaton, where he attended the public
schools. His primary education wa.s supple
mented by a course of study in Wheaton Col
lege, and he also spent one term in the Metropoli
tan Business College of Chicago, which study
practically fitted him for the duties of business
life. In April, 1892, he removed to Chicago and
accepted a position with the Bush & Gerts Piano
Co., with which he is still employed. He labors
earnestly in the interests ofthe firm, and does a
good business for them. That he is true to the
trust reposed in him is indicated by his continu
ance in their employ.
On the 6th of April, 1892, was celebrated the
marriage of Mr. Congleton and Miss Nellie Gates,
a daughter of R. W and Laura Gates, residents
of Wheaton. The daughter was born iu Bloom
ingdale and is a lady of culture and refinement,
who has many warm friends iu this community.
Their union has been blessed with one child, a
daughter, Lillian V., who is the light ofthe par
ents' home.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Congleton are members of
the Belden Avenue Baptist Church, and are
highly respected citizens. In his political' views,
he is a Republican, having supported that party
since he attained his majority. Courteous aiid
genial in manner, he is very popular and wins
friends wherever he goes.

S3

^+^t

RICHARD W OWEN, one of the honored
veterans of the late war, now resides in
Glen Ellyn, but is' prominently- connected
with business interests iu Chicago. He was bom
1 in Carnarvonshire, Wales, June 8, 1843, and is a
sou of William and Catherine (Jones) Owen,
: who were also natives of Wales. His paternal
great-grandfather was Owen Jones, of Town
Llanconda Gwredog Esaf, and according to tfie an
cient custom, his sou, the grandfather of our sub-
| ject, was given the name of Hugh Owen. For
man)- generations the family followed farming.
The mother of our' subject was a daughter ot
Owen Jones. Hugh Owen had a family of five,
and in 1845 he came to America, his last days
being spent in Columbus, Wis. , where he died in
1857, at the age of eighty-eight years. His wife,
Jane Owen, also aged eighty-eight, passed away
about three months previous. They were accom
panied to America by William and Richard. Owen
Jones, who came over in 1843, settled in Slating
ton, Pa.
The father of our subject was born in Wales,
September 8, 1800, and in 1845 crossed the At
lantic. For many years he engaged in farming
in Cohunbus, Wis., and in 1879 he removed to
Randolph, Wis., where he lived retired until he
died, in October, 1882. His death resulted from
being run over by a team. Several ribs were
broken, his chest was crushed, and one rib pierced
his lungs, but he survived the accident for nine
days, a fact which indicated his wonderful powers
of endurance. His wife passed away in Columbus,
Wis., iu 1864, at the age of fifty-five. They had
four daughters and five sous: Ellen, wife of Rev.
J. R. Daniels, of Lake Emily, Wis.; Jane, wife of

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

435

G. G. Evans, of Boulder, Colo. ; Hugh, of Chicago;
John, of Randolph, Wis.; Richard W. ; Margery,
wife of H. Prichard, of Racine, Wis.; William,
who died in infancy; Mary, who died at the age of
four years; and William, a resident of Denver, Colo.
The parents of this family were devout inembers
of the Calvinist Methodist Church. The father
filled a number of local offices and was a stanch
Republican in politics, as are all of his sons.
Richard W. Owen whose name heads this
record grew to manhood upon the home farm and
received but limited educational privileges. At
the age of eighteen he began to learn the trade of
harness-making, but the following- year, in Au
gust, 1862, he enlisted in Company B, Twenty-
ninth Wisconsin Infantry, and served until the
dose of the war. He was never absent from his
regiment, and he participated in twenty-seven en
gagements, including the battles of Port Gibson,
Champion Hill, siege of Vicksburg, Sabine Cross
Roads, siege of Mobile, etc. At the siege of Mo
bile the colors of the Twenty-ninth Regiment
were the first planted in the city. After the fall
of Mobile, Mr. Owen was appointed Provost-Mar
shal Detective, and his duties in that capacity-
took him into some dangerous places and he passed
through some thrilling experiences. He was ever
faithful to the Old Flag and the cause which it
represented. On his return, Mr. Owen worked at his trade
in Cambria aud Racine, Wis., serving as foreman
of a factory in the latter place. In 1868, he
embarked in business for himself in Fox Lake,
Wis., but in 1870 returned to Racine, and in 1872
went to Chicago, where he worked as a street-car
conductor for a few months. He then began the
manufacture of leather novelties in the McCormick
Block, and later removed his business to the
corner of State and Lake Streets. The firm of
Herrill & Owen was formed, and was succeeded
by that of Lanz, Owen & Co. , which now has a
large factory and does an extensive business at
the corner of Lake and Fifth Avenue. Some
knowledge of the growth of the enterprise may be
obtained from the statement that when Mr. Owen
embarked in the same, he was able to do all the
work himself, but now over two hundred men are

employed, in order to supply the demand for their
goods. Mr. Owen is also President of the Cam-
bro Printing Company, Vice-President of the
Meeker Manufacturing Company, and the Jessie
Gold Mines, also Vice-President of the Glen Ellyn
Building and Loan Association. His advantages
in early life were limited, and from the lowest
round of the ladder he has worked his way up
ward to the high position on which he now stands.
Through the legitimate channels of business he
has won success as the reward of his untiring ef
forts and good management. He is now con
nected with some of the leading concerns of Chi
cago, and is recognized as one of its most promi
nent business men.
Mr. Owen was a Director and Chairman ofthe Fi
nance Committee of the International Eisteddfod,
in connection with the World's Fair, held in 1893.
He votes with the Republican party, and socially
is connected with the Masonic fraternity and the
Grand Army bf the Republic. His wife is a mem
ber ofthe Congregational Church.
Mr. Owen was married May 7, 1868, to Jennie
A. Roberts, daughter of William J. and Margaret
Roberts, of Racine, Wis. She was born in Utica,
N. Y., while her parents and grandparents were
born in Llangefni, North Wales. The former
had a family of six children, but Maggie died in
infancy ; Kittie died at the age of nine and a-half
years; and Ro,se died in infancy. Those living
are Willie R., a student of Bryant & Stratton 's
College, Richard W. and Edith Gwladys. Since
1892, the Owen family has resided in Glen Ellyn,
where they have a fine home. Its owner is an
affable, genial, cultured and worthy gentleman
and a public-spirited citizen .

©QlLLlAM SCHATZ, a pioneer painter of
\ A / Milton Township, DuPage County, was
V V born in Hamburgh, Berks County, Pa.,
March 2, 182 1, and is the second son of Philip
and Mary Schatz, both natives of the same
county. His grandfather, Peter Schatz, who was a

436

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

butcher by occupation, served as a soldier in the
Revolution, and died before William was born.
Elizabeth, wife of Peter Schatz, was a native of
Baltimore, of German descent, and lived to be
over eighty years old. She was very active and
industrious, and survived her husband many
years, dying at Pottsville, Pa. Mary, wife of
Peter Schatz, was a daughter of Abraham Shol
lenberger, a native of Pennsylvania, who lived in
and near Hamburgh, and engaged in the manufact
ure of pottery-ware. She died September 20, i860,
aged sixty-two years, one month and three days.
Philip Schatz, only son of his parents, was born
March 9, 1797, and was early apprenticed to a
harness -maker, but abandoned the trade on com
pleting his time: For many years he tended a
canal gate, and was made overseer of a ten-mile
section of the Schuylkill Canal. This position he
resigned to become toll-keeper on the Hamburgh
bridge. He came to Illinois, with some of his chil
dren in 1853, and later went with them to Provi
dence (now Grand Rapids), Ohio, but afterward
returned to Wheaton, where he died at the resi
dence of his son William, April 1, 1876. His wife
died at Grand Rapids in 1858. They were the par
ents of ten children. Alexander, the eldest, came
to Wheaton iu 1852. He had been' employed for
seven years in a Pennsylvania coal mine, scarcely
seeing the sun in alf that time. While working iu
a cut in the construction of the Chicago & North
western Railway near Wheaton, he received a
sunstroke, which nearly- cost his life, and so weak
ened his mind that he eventually became insane,
and died in the Jacksonville Asylum, where he
was buried. The name of the second heads this
article, and his biography is given below. Maria,
the third, is the widow of Joseph Marshall, residing
at Shenandoah, Pa. Sarah married William Sav
age, and died at Grand Rapids, Ohio. Elizabeth,
wife of Elias Shomo, died at Hamburgh, Pa.
Catharine is the widow of William R. Wilson, and
resides at Muskegon, Mich. Rebecca, widow of
Alonzo B. Curtis, resides at Glen Ellyn, DuPage
County. Amanda married Andrew Hantz, and
after his death became the wife of William Sav
age. She died at Grand Rapids, Ohio. Susan,
wife of Allen B. Lewis, resides in Reading, Pa.

Barbara, Mrs. Solomon Mertz, lives at Doland,
S. Dak.
William Schatz was reared in his native village,
attending school but very little. At eighteen, he
began a three-years apprenticeship at chair-mak
ing and painting, and for fifteen years after com
pleting his term, he engaged in the business of
decorating chairs. During this time he attended
school and studied privately, so that he became a
well-informed citizen. His health becoming im
paired by the inhalation of the fumes of his paint
ing materials, he opened a grocery store at Ham
burgh, wliich his wife attended when he was un- •
able to work, and secured a profitable trade. One
night a freshet arose and ruined his stock, just af
ter he had laid in a large supply of goods. At
daybreak, in his efforts to save something, Mr.
Schatz came near being drowned, and only es
caped by swimming. After taking his family to
a place of safety, he released some swine confined
in the yard, and then turned his attention to his
store, but nothing could be saved from the rap
idly-rising waters, and he was glad to escape with
his life. After this disaster, he secured the con
sent of his wife to a removal to Illinois, which he
had visited in 1853. In December, 1854, he
came, with his family, to Wheaton, and in. the
spring following went to Danby (now Glen El
lyn) , where he built a house and dwelt twelve
years. Since coming to Illinois, he has followed
house-painting, from which he has not yet wholly
retired, though now seventy-three years old. In
1867, Mr. Schatz sold his Glen Ellyn property
and bought his present home, at the corner of
Bird and Illinois Streets, Wheaton, which he im
proved by addition and otherwise. His long life
of industry and integrity has secured for him the
respect and confidence of the entire community.
He is a faithful member of the Methodist Church,
and adheres to the Prohibition party, for which
he forsook the Democratie on the organization of
the former. His only public office consisted in
one term as Collector of Milton Township.
April 22, 1843, at Hamburgh, Mr. Schatz mar
ried Mary Lins, who was born in Albany Town
ship, Berks County, Pa., February 22, 1821.
She was a daughter of David Lins and Mary,

Dr. Leonard Pratt.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

439

daughter of Charles Ross. She died at Wheaton,
January 31, 1868, and December 24, 1870, Mr.
Schatz was married to Mrs. Anna Maria Lowrie.
The latter was a daughter of William Kidson, an
Englishman, and was born at Craddock, Cape
Colony, Africa, April 13, 1831. She married
Dr. John Lowrie, and with him started at once
for America. He was a well-known physician of
DuPage County, having practiced medicine at
Naperville and Wayne, as well as Chicago. He
died at sea, while en route to Africa to secure his
wife's inheritance. Their five daughters are
as follows: Mina, who is residing in Chicago;
Elizabeth, in Nebraska; Ella, Mrs. Emory Whea
ton, of Wheaton; Cora, Mrs. Cowan, of Lanark,
111. ; and Ada, a resident of Chicago. Mrs. Anna
M. Schatz died at Wheaton, February 20, 1875,
aged forty- three years, ten months and seven
days. Of the nine children of Mr. Schatz, seven were
the offspring of his first wife. Following are their
names, in order of birth, with residence: Philip,
associated with his father at Wheaton; Alice Re
becca, Mrs. Harry W. Shollenberger; Martha,
wife of Conrad William Erby: William W., of
Chicago; Alonzo, a journeyman painter, ofWhea-^
ton; Caroline Mrs. Robert Bennett, Chicago; Ma
tilda, deceased, who was the wife of George W.
Hageman (see biography) ; Fennig Lins and Anna
Maud, who reside with their father.
ib t=i <r * L •>¦ f^ _.  9
«*» * F=^"<""r^rL^ s>
0R. LEONARD PRATT, for many years a
leading physician of Wheaton, and now a
resident of San Jose, Cal., is a native of
Towanda, Pa. His parents, Russell and Olive
(Towner) Pratt, whose names indicate English
ancestry, passed their lives in that place, where
Russell Pratt carried on a cooperage business.
Leonard Pratt was born December 23, 18 19, and
is therefore now in his seventy-fourth year, but is
still vigorous in mind and body aud actively en
gaged in the practice of his profession. He re
ceived his primary education in the Pennsylvania
common schools, and his medical training at

Jefferson and Hahnemann Medical Colleges in
Philadelphia. For more than fifty years his time
has been employed in the healing art, the first
years of his practice being passed iu his native
town. In 1852 he removed to Carroll County,
111., settling on a farm in Rock Creek Township,
one of the finest farms in that county. He re
moved in 1865 to Wheaton, 111., for the purpose
of educating his son, a biography ofwhom will be
found elsewhere in this volume. He built a fine
brick mansion on Main Street (now occupied by
Dr. E. C. Guild), where his home remained until
1889, when he removed to his present residence.
Dr. Pratt is a member of the American Insti
tute of Homeopathy and of the Illinois and Cali
fornia State Associations of that school, and is a
man of fine attainments and progressive ideas.
He has always given his political allegiance to the
Republican party since its organization. His
religious faith is represented by the New Church,
commonly known as the Swedenborgian . His time
has been given to the demands of a large medical
practice, and he has been able to devote but little
personal attention to public affairs, although he
always took a deep interest in any effort to pro
mote and secure good"government. The original
charter of the town of Wheaton, which has since
become a city, was the work of his mind arid pen.
Dr. Pratt was for seven years a member of the
faculty of Hahnemann Medical College, . of Chi
cago, filling the chair of Special Pathology and
Diagnosis, and was an extensive contributor to
medical literature, being the first Western physi
cian to call the attention of the profession to the
clinical thermometer. At the same time he was
constantly employed in attending patients in and
about Wheaton and Chicago.
Dr. Pratt's wife, Betsy, is a daughter of Lemuel
Belding, of Le Raysville, Bradford County, Pa., a
widely known Swedenborgian clergyman and
physician, who was eminently successful in both
capacities. He was a calm, logical speaker, and
achieved considerable reputation as an orator.
The Belding family is of English lineage. Two
sons and two daughters were born to Dr. and
Mrs. Pratt, one son dying iu infancy, and a
daughter, Hattie, at the age of thirteen years,

440

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the latter being carried off by the first case of
diphtheria known in Rock Creek, Carroll County,
111. One daughter, Nettie L., is a successful
teacher, of music at San Jose, Cal.
s ,sc"i=3 <"T "> to 's' ~ 3)
Q HARLES P. BRYAN was born in Chicago,
1 1 October 2, 1855. His childhood was spent
^J at Elmhurst, where his parents took up their
residence in 1856. Young Bryan completed his
education at the University- of Virginia and the
Columbia Law School. He was admitted to the
Bar in Washington, D. C, in 1878. The follow
ing year he removed to Colorado, where he en
gaged in mining and in editorial and literary
work. He edited the Denver Inter Ocea?i and the
Colorado Mining Gazette, which he owned, and
was elected President of the Colorado Editorial
Association in 1884. A y-ear after his arrival in
the Rocky Mountains he was chosen to represent
Clear Creek County in the Legislature, of which
he was the youngest member. He was Chairman
ofthe Railroad Committee. As champion of the
people against monopolies, he was called the
'Plumed Knight of the Rockies." He had a
voice in every Republican State convention during
his sojourn in Colorado, and stumped the State
for Blaine. Twice he was urged by the slate-
makers, but declined to allow his name to be pre
sented to the Republican State Convention as a can
didate for Secretary of State. The probable nom
ination for Lieutenant Governor was also offered
"him as an inducement to remain in Colorado.
Filial duty, however, called him back to Illinois
in 1885.
In 1890, Col. Bryan was, unsolicited, nominated
for the Legislature and elected. In 1892, he was
"re-elected to represent DuPage County . His chief
efforts in the Legislature have been directed to
ward ballot reform, World's Fair and National
Guard measures, and those locally of interest to
his constituents. As a boy, he entered the First
Regiment of Illinois National Guards, and has
nearly ever since served in the State troops of Illi
nois or Colorado, having been commissioned Aide-

de-Camp by four Governors. Col. Bryan is now
on the general staff of the Illinois National
Guard. His occupation is that of contributor to
newspapers and magazines, his line of work be
ing editorial, historical and descriptive.
The paternal and maternal families of the sub
ject of this sketch, theBryans and the Pages, set
tled in Virginia about 1660. They intermarried
with the Lees, the Carters, Barbours, Crawfords
and Penns. Daniel. Bryan, the grandfather of
Charles, made speeches in the Senate of Virginia
as far back as the '30s advocating the abolition
of slavery. On account of his pronounced Union
views he endangered his life at Alexandria at the
beginning of the late war. His son, Thomas B.
Bryan, came to Illinois in 1852. As a member of
the Union Defense Committee, as President of the
Soldiers' Home and Sanitary Fair, and in aiding
to equip regiments for the war, he constantly
showed his loyalty to the Union. Company H
of the One Hundred and Fifth Illinois Infantry,
composed of the flower ofthe youth of DuPage
County, was called the " Bryan Blues " in honor
ofthe liberality of Thomas B. Bryan. As cham
pion of Chicago for the site of the World's Fair in
speeches made in Washington and other cities, as
Vice-President of the Columbian Exposition, and
as Commissioner-at- Large to Europe, Mr. Bryan
has won international fame. His son has seconded
him in all these efforts. Famous men from all.
over the world have been entertained at the
"Bird's Nest," the Bryans' home. Edward Ev
erett, President and Mrs. Harrison, the Logans,
Blaines, Cardinal Gibbons, princes, nobility and
ministers and commissioners from nearly every
land have been guests at this beautiful home,
whose hospitalities have helped to give renown to
Elmhurst and to DuPage County.

-S.

"S3

^f^

SL.

(James orra Clifford was bom Decem-
I ber 8, 1856, at Salem, Kenosha County,
Q) Wis., being the son of Emery and Mary Jane
(Osgood) Clifford. He comes of English ances
try, and his forefathers were among the early set-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

441

tiers of the New England States. His paternal
grandparents, John and Nancy (Ray) Clifford,
were born in New Hampshire. They afterwards
settled at Collins, Erie County, N. Y. They were
the parents of eleven children. Emery, the sev
enth of these, was born at Collins, Erie County,
N. Y., October 21, 1832. In the year 1846 his
parents removed from New York and settled near
Salem, Kenosha County, Wis. His maternal
grandparents, John Sherman and Jane (Orvis)
Osgood, were natives of Brookline, Windham
County, Vt. They were the parents of five chil
dren. Mary Jane, the eldest, was born at Brook-
line, Windham County, Vt., November 30, 1838.
In the fall of 1851 they removed from Vermont,
settling on a farm near Salem, Kenosha County,
Wis. Emery Clifford and Mary Jane Osgood were
married at Salem, Kenosha County, Wis., on
February 8, 1856. They settled on a farm near
Salem, Wis., where thdr four children were born.
Emery Clifford enlisted in the First Wisconsin
Heavy Artillery, Company L, and was stationed
at Arlington Heights, near Washington, D. C,
guarding the United States Capital until the close
of the civil war, after which he returned and was
engaged iu agricultural pursuits until the autumn
of 1874, when he sold his farm and removed to
Delmar, Clinton County, Iowa, where he still re
sides. Of his four children, James O. is the eld
est. Jennie O. resides with her parents. Lurie
E. died unmarried in 1882; and Gay Emery, the
youngest, is married and resides at Arthur, Ida
County, Iowa, where he is the manager of a lum
ber-yard. The subject of this sketch entered the public
(country) schools at the age of eight years. From
the age of eleven he was employed in assisting his
father with the farm work during the summer, and
attending school in the winter, until the summer
of 1873, at which time he left home, going to
Delmar, Clinton County, Iowa, where he entered
the railway service as a messenger boy and ap
prentice under his uncle by marriage, William E.
Roberts, who was- agent for the Chicago & North
western Railway Company at that station. Here,
during the following year until October, he

learned telegraphy and the duties of a station
agent generally, and has since been in the employ
ofthe Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company
consecutively, as follows: October, 1874, to Au
gust, 1880, at various stations on the Iowa Divis
ion as telegraph operator and agent. In August,
1880, while he was stationed at Montour, Iowa,
he was appointed to the position of Traveling
Auditor. In this capacity he traveled over the
entire Northwestern System. On November 7,
1887, he was appointed Freight Auditor of the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway; Fremont, Elk
horn & Missouri Valley, and Sioux & Pacific
Railroads, with office at Chicago, which position
he holds at the present time. His long continu
ance in this position, where a thorough knowl
edge of the intricacies of railway accounting, sys
tematic supervision, and accuracy in every detail,
are essential, attests his executive ability and
faithfulness. His management in business affairs
is characterized by a progressive spirit, seeking
improved methods and higher efficiency in mat
ters pertaining to his chosen profession. In har
mony with this idea he has been a member of the
Association of American Railway Accounting Of
ficers since its organization, having always taken
an active and influential part in its deliberations,
and having been honored by his fellow-members
with the office of Vice-President of the Associa
tion .
On November 7, 1883, Mr. Clifford married
Miss May Elizabeth Dannatt, who was born at
Low Moor, Iowa, June 25, 1859, and who is a
daughter of Benjamin and Jane (Cortis) Dannatt,
natives of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, England,
respectively. In 185 1, her grandfather, Samuel
Dannatt, came from England and purchased five
thousand acres of land in Clinton County, Iowa,
giving to the location the name of his old home in
England, and to his residence the name of Kill-
inghome Hall, after his English estate. They
resided at Clinton, Iowa, until October 1885, at
which time they removed to Wheaton, 111., where
they now occupy a pleasant home on Main Street,
corner of Franklin. To them have been given
five children. Grace Edith was born at Clinton,
I Iowa, February i, 1885. The other four were

442

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

born at Wheaton, DuPage County, 111. — Lewis
Dannatt ou April 17, 1886; Olive on June 8, 1887;
Marshall Emery on February 26, 1892; and Alice
on April 8, 1893. Mr. Clifford has served two
terms in the City Council of Wheaton as represen
tative of the ward in which he lives, having de
clined further honors in this direction.
Mr. Clifford possesses a fine physique, and has
the easy, cordial bearing which makes and retains
friendships. He is of a social disposition and is
prominently identified with numerous fraternal
orders, among which may be named the Masonic,
Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen of Amer
ica and National Union. He attends the Epis
copal Church, in which Mrs. Clifford is a com
municant, and gives his political fealty to the Re
publican party. Mrs. Clifford is a refined and
amiable lady, who presides over their pleasant
home with easy grace, and aids her husband in
making it a hospitable and attractive abode.

' P" W. MAX HAMMERSCHMIDT, a well-
Tri known resident of Elmhurst, has the honor
I f of being a native of Illinois. He was' born
in Naperville, December 6, 1864, and is a son of
Adolph and Adeline (Vonoven) Hammerschmidt,
natives of Germany, the former born in Altena
and the latter in Dusseldorf. His grandfather,
Rev. F. W. Max Hammerschmidt, was a Luth
eran minister, and spent his entire life in Ger
many, where he died about 1865, at the age of
seventy years (see biography of Adolph Ham
merschmidt in this work ) . He served as a sol
dier in the War of 18 12. The father of our sub
ject has followed the life of a farmer. It was in
1848 that he came to America, locating near
Naperville, where he worked for a year as a
farm hand. He then purchased a farm of seventy
acres, to which he has since added by additional

purchase ninety-five acres. His land is now un
der a high state of cultivation, and is well im
proved with all the accessories and conveniences
of a model farm. Himself and wife are members
of the Lutheran Church. While in Germany,
he served as a soldier in the regular army.
Mr. and Mrs. Hammerschmidt had a family of
eleven children, four sons and seven daughters,
and all were born and reared in DuPage County.
They are William; Mary; Ernest, deceased; Eliz
abeth; Anna, deceased; Clara, wife of Rev.
Adolph Baltzer; F. W. Max; Frieda; Richard;
Lydia; and Martha, deceased.
The subject of this sketch in his boyhood and
youth aided in the labors of the farm, attended
the common schools, and completed his educa-'.
tion in the Naperville College. For a year after
ward he gave his father the benefit of his services.
He then left home and came to Elmhurst to take
charge of his father's interests in a stone quarry,
which the latter owned iri partnership with
Henry Assmann, which connection continued one
year, when Mr. Hammerschmidt bought his
partner's interest. Since that time he has been
carrying on the business alone. He employs
from thirty-five to one hundred and fifteen men
in his quarry, according to the season ofthe year,
and furnishes stone for Chicago and a number of
other cities. He has ballast, building, cut, di
mension, and all other kinds of limestone.
Mr. Hammerschmidt was married on the 10th
of August, 1892, to Miss Alvena Heidermann, a
daughter of Dr. George F. and Hannah (Sween)
Heidermann. They have a beautiful home in
Elmhurst, and are highly respected citizens, who
in social circles hold an enviable position. They
belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and
in politics Mr. Hammerschmidt is a supporter of
the Republican party. He now has control of a
good business, and is enjoying a fine trade. His
prosperity is well merited, for it comes to him as
the reward of earnest effort. Mr. Hammer
schmidt spent his entire life in this county, has
| witnessed much of its upbuilding, and has borne
his part in its development.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

443

y/|AJ. LOUIS J. SACRISTE, a coal dealer of
Y La Grange, and one of the honored pio-
(9 neers of Ceok County, is also numbered
among the brave boys in blue who preserved the
Union in her hour of peril. Faithful alike in
peace and war, and true to every public and pri
vate duty, he well deserves representation in the
history of his adopted county. He was born
January 15, 1843, in Delaware, and is. the eldest
in a family of eleven children, five sons and six
daughters, who were born unto Charles and
Annie (O'Neil) Sacriste. On the paternal side
he is of French, and on the maternal is of Irish,
descent. The father was born in Bardia, France,
and with his parents came to America when four
years of age. For many years he was a woolen
manufacturer of Philadelphia. His death oc
curred in California, at the age of seventy-four.
His wife was a native of the Emerald Isle, and
came to this country when a maiden of nine sum
mers. She is still living with her daughter, Mrs.
Stephen N. White,, of California, at the age of
sixty-six years. Of their family six died in in
fancy, and the Major is the eldest now living.
Charles is a resident of La Grange; Estelle is a
Sister Superior in a convent of Santa Clara, Cal.;
and Hortense is the wife of Stephen N. White, a
United States Senator from Los Angeles, Cal.
The Major acquired his education in the Gram
mar and High Schools of Philadelphia, where he
pursued his studies until seventeen years of age,
when, prompted by patriotic impulses, he entered
the service of his" country to aid in the defense of
the Union. He was made Second Lieutenant in
the One Hundred and Sixteenth Regiment of
Pennsylvania Volunteers, which was assigned to
the First Division, Second Army Corps, Army of
the Potomac. Gen. Hancock, speaking of him,
said he was a faithful and intelligent young of
ficer, with an excellent record for courage and good
conduct on the battlefield. He was distinguished
for his fine soldierly qualities and for his gallan
try. He participated iu man)- important battles,
and was especially recommended for his sen-ice
on one occasion, when by his prompt action he
caused the enemy to fail in their design of captur
ing the pickets. In 1865, he was selected as one

of the Captains of the Sixth Regiment, First
Veteran Corps, and subsequently was appointed
Lieutenant in the Twentieth United. States Infan
try, and was honorably discharged from the army
January 2, 1871. He was appointed by the
President Brevet-Major of United States Volun
teers, his commission to date from March 13,
1865. Returning home after receiving his discharge,
Mr. Sacriste then went to Fairbury, 111., where
he engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods
for about a year. He then removed his machinery
to Los Angeles, Cal., establishing the first woolen
factory in the southern part of the State. This
he conducted for five years, and during that time
was elected Captain of the Los Angeles Guards,
First Brigade, National Guards of California,
September 8, 1874. This position he resigned
April 14, 1875. Returning to Fairbury, 111. , he
there embarked in general merchandising, which
he conducted for a year, and during that time he
organized Company C, Tenth Battalion, Illinois
National Guards, of which he was made Cap
tain, September 27, 1877. On leaving Fairbury,
Maj. Sacriste carried on a general store in Sib
ley, 111., for three years, aud in 1882 came to
La Grange, when he again opened a store, which
he successfully conducted until 1892, when he
sold out. He also began dealing in coal in 1882,
and yet carries on operations along that line, en
joying a good trade.
On the 15th of September, 1873, Maj. Sacriste
was united in marriage with Miss Alice G. Elliott,
of Fairbury, UL, and to them have been born"
eight children, two sons and six daughters. The
former died in infancy. The daughters are Helen,
who is now attending the High School; Vinnie, a
student in St. Mary's Convent, in which her
mother was formerly a student; Annie, Camilla,
Hortense and Alice.
After his return from the war, our subject read
law for two years, and was admitted to the Bar,
but never practiced. He votes with the Demo
cratic party aud takes a very active part in poli
tics. He has been President of various Demo
cratic clubs, has served as a nominee for the
Legislature, has been a delegate to State Con-

444

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ventions, and was President of the Cleveland and
Stevenson Club, of La Grange, in 1892. He was
appointed Postmaster of this place, October 22,
1885, and was Chairman of the Committee on
Arrangements and temporary Chairman of the
Postmasters' National Convention in Chicago, in
1886. He was elected Supervisor of Lyons
Township in April, 1887, and has since filled the
office. About the same time he was appointed
Treasurer of La Grange, and yet fills that posi
tion with credit to himself and satisfaction to his
constituents. He has been prominent in official
and army life, and his close adherence to the path
of duty has won him the highest commendation.
The Major and his wife are both members of the
Catholic Church. He is now doing a large busi
ness, which represents his own earnings and
energy. HENRY KEMMANN was numbered among
the early settlers and representative citizens
of Proviso Township, Cook County. As he
wa.s widely and favorably known, it gives us
pleasure to present to our readers this record of
his life. He was born in Hanover, Germany, in
1825, was educated in the Fatherland, and there
made his home until eighteen years of age, when
he shipped before the mast as a sailor, and for
about seven years followed the sea. He then re
solved to try his fortune in America, and in 1854
made his way to Chicago, where he worked in a
soap factory until 1857.
In that year Mr. Kemmann purchased two
hundred acres of land. He also married Miss
Louisa Bucholz, of Elmhurst. They became the
parents of four children, three sons and a daugh
ter. Alphonso H., the eldest, who was born iu
this township, attended the common schools,
and later spent three years as a student in the
vState University of Illinois at Champaign. He
now resides on the old homestead and devotes
his energies to farming. He has been School
Director for nine years, has been a member ofthe
Town Board since its organization, and is now

serving as Justice of the Peace. In the various
offices which he has filled, he has ever been
prompt and faithful in the discharge of duty, and
has thus wou high commendation. In 1883 he
married Miss Dora Ahrens, of Proviso Township,
and four children grace their union: Clarence,
Herbert, Ida and Elmer. Alvino,, twin brother
of Alphonso, is now a retired farmer living in
New Hampton, Iowa. Alindo makes his home
in the same place. Amanda, the only daughter,
died at the age of fourteen years.
The farm which Henry Kemmann purchased
in 1857 comprised a part of the present town of
La Grange. It was then all wild prairie land,
but he at once began its 'improvement and placed
it under a high state of cultivation. He there
made his home until his death, and was recog
nized as a leading agriculturist of the community.
He came to America a poor boy, but overcame
the difficulties and obstacles in his path, and
worked his way upward to a position of affluence.
He left to his family a valuable estate of two hun
dred acres, a part ofwhich is now worth $300 per
acre. In his political views, Mr. Kemmann was
a Republican, and for a number of years he served
as School Director. Although not a member of
any church, he, was always straightforward and
strictly -honest in his dealings, and won the con
fidence of all with whom business relations
brought him in contact. Called to his final rest
in 1883, he passed away at the age of fifty-eight,
and his death was mourned by a very- large circle
of warm friends.
g 'B! ¦ ^'^¦~tf "> l=j ,!  a
(JOHN ALEXANDER ROBB is proprietor of
I the leading meat-market and grocery- of La
Q) Grange, and is a wide-awake and enterpris
ing business man . He has the honor of being a
native of Illinois, his birth having occurred in
DuPage County, ou the 5th of March, 1843. His
parents were William and Letitia (Leach) Rob'b.
The father was a native of Ireland, and came to
America when quite young. In 1840 he visited
Naperville, 111., but returned to his home in' New

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

445

York, where he continued until 1842, when he
again came westward, and settled on rented land
near Naperville. In 1 843 he purchased two hun
dred and forty-five acres on section 4, Lyons
Township, where La Grange now stands, there
continuing his residence until 1871, when he re
moved to Qrossdale, where his death occurred at
the age of seventy years. He is numbered among
the honored pioneers of the county. He came to
the West in very limited circumstances, but be
gan farming and stock-dealing, and as the result
of his energy, diligence and good business ability,
he became quite wealthy and left to his family an
estate valued at $60,000. His wife was also a
native of the Emerald Isle, and in her early girl
hood was brought to the United States, the fam
ily locating in this vicinity about 1845. Her
death occurred in La Grange at the age of fifty-
three years.
Our subject remained at home and attended
the common schools until twenty-two years of
age, when he secured a position as baggage-man
on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad,
serving for five years in that capacity. He then
returned to the farm and has since engaged in its
operation. The neat and thrifty appearance of
the place indicates his careful supervision, and
the well-tilled fields yield to him a good income.
For the past two years he has also carried on a
meat-market and grocery at La Grange, and for
a time engaged in the coal business, but receutly
withdrew from that enterprise.
In January, 1869, Mr. Robb married Miss
Rosanna Gillam, of La Grange, and they have
become the parents of six children, five sons and
a daughter, namely: Joseph W. , who" aids his
father in the store; Agnes May, now the wife of
J. W. Powers, a resident of Chicago; Elmer, who
is also employed in a store; William, Arthur and
Frank, who are yet attending school.
On questions of state and national importance,
Mr. Robb votes the Republican ticket, but at lo
cal elections where no principle is involved he is
very- liberal, supporting the man whom he thinks
best qualified for the position, regardless of party
affiliations. He would never accept political pre
ferment. He belongs to no church, but contrib

utes to the support of different religious organ
izations. He is recognized as one of the repre-.
sentative business men of La Grange, and an
honorable, trustworthy life has made his word as
good as his bond.
f j "^ ii ^.^ *i * " *>.
® "*~~S] <T T > B @>
(JOHN R. FULLER, a farmer residing on sec-
I tion 6, Lyons Township, Cook County, has
(2/ spent almost his entire life in northeastern
Illinois. He was born on a farm iu York Town
ship, DuPage County, on the 28th of November,
1835, and is the second in order of birth in a fam
ily of five children. His parents were Benjamin
and Olive ( Atwater) Fuller. The family was
probably founded in America in early Colonial
days. The father of our subject was born in
Broome County, N. Y., was reared to manhood
upon a farm, and was there married. In 1854 he
came with his family to Illinois, locating in York
Township, DuPage County. From the Govern
ment he entered land, which was still in its primi
tive condition, and at once began the development
of a farm, upon which he made his home until
1843. In that year he purchased a hotel and
forty acres of land, and platted and named the
town of Fullersburg, where he carried on the hotel
business until 1854. In the same year he sold out
and bought a farm in Proviso Township, Cook
County, but not long afterwards he returned to
Fullersburg, where his death occurred in 1868, at
the age of fifty-eight years. His remains were
interred in Fullersburg Cemetery, the grounds
for which he himself gave to the city. In his
political views, Mr. Fuller was a Democrat, and
for a number of years he served as Postmaster
of Fullersburg. The family wa.s originally of
German and English extraction, and ancestors
of our subject fought in the Revolutionary War.
Mrs. Fuller, mother of John R., was a native of
the Empire State. Her death occurred in Ful
lersburg, at the age of sixty-five, and she was laid
to rest by the side of her husband.
Our subject was a lad of only about eight sum
mers when, with his parents, he removed to Ful-

446

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lersburg, where he remained until he had attained
his majority, attending school and aiding in the
labors of the hotel. When he had arrived at
man's estate, he embarked in merchandising, in
company^ with his uncle, L. H. Fuller. This
connection was continued for about four years,
when they traded the store for a farm, on which
our subject now resides, and to which he then re
moved, turning his attention to agricultural pur
suits. On the 20th of January, 1858, Mr. Fuller was
married to Miss Mary Mackinder, a native of
England. They have become the parents of seven
children: Alice, who died in childhood; Morti
mer H., a resident farmer of DuPage County;
Florence E. and Sherman at home; Viola, who
died in infancy; Walter, an agriculturist of Du
Page County; and Mary, who completes the fam
ily, and is still under the parental roof.
For six years Mr. Fuller has filled the office of
Commissioner of Highways in Lyons Township,
proving a faithful and competent officer, as is in
dicated by his long service. By his ballot he
supports the Democratic party-. His farm now
comprises one hundred and twenty-six acres of
rich land, and is one ofthe desirable farms of this
community. In appearance it is neat and thrifty,
and indicates the careful supervision of the owner.
|~RANK HAMILTON MITCHELL, who is
Tri engaged in business as a dealer in hats at
| f No. 143 Madison Street, Chicago, and who
makes his home in La Grange, was born on the
28th of August, 1861, in Rochester, N. Y. His
parents were Andrew and Helen (Jones) Mitchell,
the former a native of Canada, and the latter of
the Empire State. Andrew Mitchell acquired his
education in his native land, and there remained
until he had attained to man's estate. He began
trading in furs with the Indians, and prior to the
war came to Chicago, where he was engaged in
business as a dealer in furs. He became one of
the most extensive dealers in the city. He is now
a member ofthe firm of Sweet, Dempster, Hutch
inson & Mitchell, wholesale dealers in hats, who
are at the head ofthe largest jobbing house in the

West. The father of our subject is a man of ex
cellent business ability, and by his own efforts has
steadily worked his way upward to success.
In the Mitchell family were eleven children, six
sons and five daughters, but four of the number
died in infancy. Frank H. is the eldest, and is
followed by Agnes. Alice is the wife of P. R.
Wilmerth, a resident of Evanston. David is en
gaged in the retail hat business in Chicago. Will
iam is now attending college in Keriosha, Wis.
Ira and Harold are still with their parerits. The
family reside in the city.
It was during his infancy that Frank H. Mitch
ell was brought by his parents to Chicago, where
he spent the days of his boyhood and youth. He
acquired his literary education in the public
school, and afterward pursued a course of study
in a business college. At intervals during his
boyhood and youth he worked in a hat store, and
in 1886, going to Omaha, Neb., he embarked in
business for himself, as a dealer in hats, clothing
and gents' furnishing goods. For a year he car
ried on operations in that place, and then returned
to Chicago, after which he established a hat store
on Cottage Grove Avenue. In 1889 he removed
to his present location, and thus situated in the
very midst of the business portion of the city, he is
securing a fine trade and doing a good business.
On the 28th of. December, 1887, was celebrated
the marriage of Mr. Mitchell and Miss Cora Die
trich, of Grand Rapids, Mich. They have be
come the parents of two sons: Morton Roy and
Raymond Ashton. The former was born April
30, 1889, and the latter on the 25th of June, 1893.
Socially, Mr. Mitchell is a member of the Royal
Arcanum: and the Royal League, and is, in his
political affiliations, a Republican. His estimable
wife holds membership with the Presbyterian
Church, and to its support he contributes liberally.
Mr. Mitchell now has a good store at No. 143
Madison Street, and is dealing exclusively in
hats. His trade has steadily increased, and the
business novTyields to him an excellent income.
He is an enterprising young man, and has the
respect of all who know him. Mr. Mitchell also
owns property in La Grange, valued at $16,000,
all of which represents his own labors.

&.f-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

449

0R. THEODORE HUBBARD, the first
Postmaster of Babcock's Grove, and a prom
inent citizen of Cook County, was born
in Putney, Vt. , October 19, 1803, and died in
Chicago, February 1, 1873. His parents were
Theodore and Dorothy (Wilson) Hubbard. The
family is descended from Edmund Hubbard, who
was born in Hingham, England, about 1570, and
crossed the Atlantic to Charlestown, Mass., iu
1633. He died iu Hingham, Mass., March 8,
1646. One of his sons, Rev. Peter Hubbard, a
dissenting clergyman, founded the oldest church
now iu existence in the United States, located at
Hingham. He died there January- 20, 1679, in
the seventy-fifth year of his age, and the fifty-
second year of his ministry. He was a graduate
of Magdalen College, of Cambridge, England.
Among Edmund Hubbard's descendants are num
bered man)- eminent judges, ministers and educa
tors, and the present Earl of Buckinghamshire,
England, isa descendant of the same family. The
Hobarts, or Huberts, of England came from Nor
mandy during the reign of William the Conqueror.
The earliest known record of the family locates
them near Dieppe, Normandy, in 11 98. They
were a baronial family in Norfolk, England, where
John Hobart resided in 1260. One of his de
scendants, James Hobart, was made a Knight of
the Sword by Henry VII. in 1504. They were
created baronets iu 161 1. Our subject repre
sented the eighth generation jn America. The
names of his progenitors in direct line were Ed
mund, Thomas, Caleb, Benjamin, Peter, Sr. ,
Peter, Jr., and Theodore.
Peter Hubbard, Sr. , died near Ft. William Hen
ry during the French and Indian War, of wounds
received in that service. His son was an Ensign
in a New Hampshire company during the Revo
lutionary War. The father of our subject was
born in Keene, N. H., October 25, 1774, and
died in Hartford, Vt., February 15, 1814. His
wife died at Babcock's Grove, July 16, 1840, at
the age of sixty-seven years.
Doctor Hubbard was the fourth in their family
of seven children. He was married November
25, 1828, to Anne Ward Ballou, who wa.s born
December 29, 1809, in Deerfield, near Utica, N.

Y., and was a daughter of Ebenezer and Marana
(Ward) Ballou. The Ward family has an ex
tensive genealogical history, which can be traced
back to 1 1 30. The name is derived from "Gar"
or "Garde." Ralph de Gar, or de la Warde, flour
ished in Norfolk, England, at the time of Henry
II. Returning to the personal history of Dr. Hub
bard, we note that he settled iu Chicago May 21,
1836, and about a year later went to DuPage
County, pre-empting a farm near the present vil
lage of Glen Ellyn. A few years later he was
made the first Postmaster of Babcock's Grove,
keeping the office in his house and bringing the
mail from Bloomingdale on horseback. In 1851,
he returned to Chicago, where he engaged in the
practice of medicine until his death. He had pre
viously studied for the ministry, but later entered
tlie medical profession, and as a physician se
cured a liberal patronage. He also had an ex
tensive knowledge of law, and was a man of more
than ordinary intellectual ability, although he
had little opportunity for education while a boy-.
For several years he served as Count)- Commis
sioner of DuPage County.
Of the children of Doctor and Mrs. Hubbard,
Augustus, a civil engineer, died in Amboy,
UL, in April, 1865. Carlos, manager of a wagon
factory, died in Chicago at the age of forty years.
Oscar died in Groesbeck, Tex., in April, 1877;
Adolphus, who was the founder of the Sons of the
American Revolution in 1879, is now connected
with the California University of San Francisco,
and is a member of man)- historical societies. Ed
ward Clarence, who was a prominent attorney of
Hartford, Ky., died in Chicago, June 27, 1887,
at the age of forty-four years. He was a mem
ber ofthe Thirteenth Illinois Infantry during the
late war. Enlisting April 21, 1861, he was dis
charged June 18, 1864, after having participated
in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post,
Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, siege of
Vicksburg, and other engagements. Ellen, who
died soon after her graduation from the Chicago
High School, and Laura complete the family.
Mr. Hubbard was a life-long Democrat, „but all
of his sons support the Republican party. In his re-

45°

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ligious views he was a Universalist. Of the first
Masonic lodge of Chicago he was a charter mem
ber and was made an honorary member previous
to his death. Prominent in public and business af
fairs, he was an honored and highly respected
citizen, who for many years was connected with
the leading interests of Chicago. His skill and
ability as a physician won him au enviable repu
tation, and he was widely known as a man of ster
ling worth. Mrs. Hubbard is an honorary mem
ber of Chicago Chapter of the Daughters of the
American Revolution, and is honorary Vice-Pres
ident of the Daughters of 1812. She is also a
member of the Historic Council, which was estab
lished to keep alive the memories ofthe men who
gave liberty and fraternity to the western world.
She now resides in Glen Ellyn with her daughter
Laura, who is a lady of intelligence and refine
ment, and a corresponding member of the Chi
cago Historical Society.
EHARLES WICKE, one of the efficient
Trustees of Des Plaines, and a well-known
and influential citizen of this place, claims
Germany as the land of his birth. He was born
on the 30th of April, 1837, an(i is Ihe youngest
child of Deiterick and Dora (Tronier) Wicke,
who were also natives of Germany. They became
the parents of seven children, three sons and four
daughters. When a youth of eleven years, Charles Wicke
left the Fatherland and crossed the wide Atlantic
to America, landing in New Orleans in 1848. He
then made his way to Kentucky, and thence to
Chicago, where he resided until 1853. In that
year he went to Buffalo, N. Y., where he spent
two years. We afterwards find him iu Toronto,
and subsequently he again lived in Buffalo. The
year 1858 witnessed his arrival iu Chicago, and
the same year he came to Des Plaines, but fer
seven years, from 1862 until 1869, he was again
a resident of Chicago, Since the latter year,
however, he has resided continuously iu Des
Plaines. He received no special advantages in

his youth, in fact his educational privileges were
meagre, but he has made the most of his oppor
tunities. On Christinas Day of 1863, Mr. Wicke was
married, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary
Heifers. Unto them were born ten children, but
four died in infancy. Those still living are: Mary,
wife of Frank Maguire, a resident of Des Plaines;
Louise, now the wife of John Rider; William,
who married Lizzie Garms, January 24, 1894;
Eddie, Clara and Edna, who are still under the
parental roof.
Mr. Wicke continued to work ou the home
farm until 1862. During the succeeding seven
years he engaged as a milk-dealer in Chicago,
and is now engaged in the wholesale and retail
liquor business. He owns considerable real es
tate in Des Plaines, and has become one of the
substantial citizens of the community. In poli
tics, he has been a Democrat since 1884, when he
supported Grover Cleveland for the Presidency.
He is a member of the Cook County Democratic
Club, aud of the German Benevolent Society.
He has frequently been elected to public office,
aiid has served as Trustee of Des Plaines for eight
terms, in 1893 being again elected to that office,
wliich he still fills. He has also served as Vil
lage Constable.

HH-^I

—si"

j J. QUANTRELL, who is one of the lead-
JL "ig educators in this part of the State, has
|_J for five years been Principal of the schools
in Des Plaines. The record of his life is as fol
lows: He was born in Eaton County, Mich., on
the 6th of May, 1849, and is a son of Charles and
Lorena (Marston) Quantrell. His father was a
native of England, but in his youth crossed the
Atlantic to America and became a resident of
New York. He married Miss Marston, who was
born in 1 83 1, in Chautauqua Comity, N. Y. The
father was a fruit-grower and farmer. He had
virtually no school privileges, but he made the
best of his opportunities and met with fair success
in his business career. Iu the family were but

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

45i

two children: L- J-, of this sketch, and Ernest
Eugene, now deceased.
Mr. Quantrell of this sketch removed with his
parents to La Porte County, Ind., where he be
gan his education in the district schools. He af
terward attended the private school conducted by
Timothy H. Ball in Crown Point, Ind., and later
was a student in the La Porte High School. He
has been liberally educated, and for three years
was a student in the La Porte Technic and
Training School, from which he was graduated
iu the Class of '72. In 1879 he attended the
State University of Kansas, located in Lawrence,
that State. Since 1872 he has been engaged in
teaching school; iu fact, his entire business career
has been devoted to that work, in which he,has
met with signal success. He was Principal of
the schools at Union Mills, La Porte County,
Ind. , and afterward held a similar position in
Edwardsburg, Cass County, Mich. He then ac
cepted an offer to become Principal of the schools
in Solomon City, Kan., and later was Principal
at Wathena, Kan., and at Earlville, UL, staying
iu the latter place seven years. In 1889 he was
offered the principalship of the schools of Des
Plaines, and has since filled that position.
During the late war Mr. Quantrell tried to en
ter the service of his country, Col. Packard wish
ing him to act as a fifer in his corps, but his aunt
wrote to Gov. Morton saying that he was too
young to become a soldier, and his plans were
thus frustrated. In 1873 Mr. Quantrell was united
in marriage with Miss Harriet A. Manchester, a
native of La Porte County, Ind. They have one
child, a son, Ernest, who is still at home.
In his social relations, Mr. Quantrell is con
nected with the Masonic fraternity, the Odd Fel
lows' lodge and encampment, and also holds
membership with the Modern Woodmen of Am
erica, and the National Union. In politics, he is
a Republican, having supported his party since
casting his first vote for Gen. Grant. Both he
and his wife are faithful and consistent members
of the Baptist Church, and while in Earlville Mr.
Quantrell served as Chorister and Superintendent
of the Sunday-school. He takes an active interest
in church work. His ability as an instructor is

well known, and he readily imparts to others the
knowledge that he possesses. His long con
tinued service in Des Plaines shows that he has
given the best satisfaction aud is esteemed by
those with whom he has been brought in contact.

3OHN HENRY KREFT, a well-known con
tractor and builder of Des Plaines, and a
prominent and influential citizen, who has
spent the greater part of his life in Cook County,
well deserves representation in this volume. He
was born in Shaumburgh, Cook County, UL, on
the 20th of August, 1859, aud is a son of Henry
and E. (Hecht) Kreft, who emigrated to Cook
County-in 1845, becoming early settlers of this
community. They had a family of nine children,
seven sons and two daughters.
The subject of this sketch is 'the eldest sou.
He was educated in the public schools of his na
tive county and in the German parochial schools.
While a schoolboy his vacations were spent in
farm work, and he early became faniiliar with all
the details of farm life. His labors in the fields
upon the home farm continued until twenty years
of age, when he began learning the carpenter's
trade, at which he worked for four years. On
the expiration of that period he went West and
spent two years in Kansas and Iowa, but during
that time he decided that he preferred northeastern
Illinois as a place of residence, and about 1885
came to Des Plaines, where he has since made his
home. During the past four years he has en
gaged in contracting and building, and his efforts
in this direction have met with good success, he
having won a liberal patronage on account of his
honorable dealings and earnest efforts to please his
customers. To some extent he has invested his
earnings in real estafeTaiict now has one hundred
and sixty acres of laud in Sac County, Iowa, be
sides his pleasant residence in Des Plaines.
On the 6th of September, 1891, was celebrated
the marriage of Mr. Kreft and Miss Emma Tonne.
They have many warm friends in the community
and hold an enviable position in social circles.

452

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

In politics, Mr. Kreftis a supporter of the Demo
cratic party and its principles, and is now serving
as a member of the Central Committee from
Maine Township. He was chosen at the special
election held on the 2d of October, 1893, to fill
the unexpired term of A. Eckert as Village
Trustee, and is now serving in that office. He is
also Vice-President of the Des Plaines Democratic
Club. He holds membership with the Des
Plaines Benevolent Association, and w-ith the
Lutheran Church. He is true to every trust re
posed in him, both public and private, and his
fellow-townsmen recognize in J. H. Kreft one of
the leading and representative citizens ofthe com
munity. In the long years of his residence in
Cook County he has won many friends, who es
teem him highly for his sterling worth.
b^'Y'Vsr* 2

\A ICHAEL HOFFMAN has been prominently
V connected with the political and business
(9 interests of Des Plaines, and is recognized
as one of its leading citizens. He is public-spir
ited and progressive, and manifests a commenda-
able interest in everything pertaining to the wel
fare of the community. He is a native of Coblenz,
Rhine Province, Germany, his birth having there
occurred on the 6th of August, 1829. His par
ents were Peter and Susan (Bleaser) Hoffman,
also natives of Germany. They had a family of
four sons and three daughters, namely: Mathias;
John William, now deceased; Michael; Nicholas
Frank; Margaret, who died iu Chicago of cholera
in 1852; Catherine, widow of John Schmelzer;
and one child who died in infancy. In 1842, the
father, accompanied by his family, left his native
laud to make a home in America. He brought
a considerable sum of money with him and pur
chased land in Cook County, carrying on farming
until his death, which occurred in 1846.
Michael Hoffman was a lad of twelve summers
when he came to this country. He remained at
home until thirteen years of age, and then began
working in an American family in order to learn
the English language. He was thus employed

for one year, after which he worked in a country
meat-market, at what was known as "Dutchman's
Point, ' ' Cook County, for two years. The follow
ing year was spent in a tavern in the same jplace,
where he served as hostler and general utility
man. His next service was as cook in a hotel in
Jefferson Park. He also attended an English
school, which was held in a log house at Jefferson
Park, working for his board during that time.
Like many another young man, Mr. Hoffman was
attracted by the discovery of gold in California,
and in 1850 made his way to the Pacific Slope,
where he remained for six years, returning to Niles
Township in 1856. Once since that time he
made the trip to California, but in a far different
manner, for railroads had opened the West to
civilization. This was in 1876, when he went to
settle up the estate of his brother-in-law. He
there remained for a year, during which time he
suffered an attack of typhoid fever.
After his first return, Mr. Hoffman was married,
on the nth of February, 1858, to Miss Ninetta
Nennsgern, a native of Loraine, France. They
have become the parents ofthe following children:
Peter M. , who graduated from Bryant & Stratton's
Business College, and is now Assistant Cashier
in the freight department of the Chicago & North
western Railroad Company; Urban N., who at
tended the Metropolitan Business College, and
died of typhoid fever at the age of twenty-three
years; George Robert, who graduated from Bryant
& Stratton's Business College, and died of ty
phoid fever at the age of twenty years; and John
Edward, who is also deceased.
Iu 1863, Mr. Hoffman came to Des Plaines,
where he has since made his home. He has been
called upon to serve in various political posi
tions. In the spring of 1867 he was elected Com
missioner of Highways, and held that office con
tinuously until the spring of 189 1. In the spring
of 1873 he was elected Assessor, and has served
as such since. His repeated re-elections, are a
high testimonial to his ability aud fidelity, aswell
as personal popularity. He cast his first Presi
dential vote for James Buchanan in 1856, and has
since voted the Democratic ticket on questions of
State and National importance. With the Cath-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

453

olic Church, Mr. Hoffman holds membership.
He was President ofthe Farmers' Grange, and a
member of the Des Plaines Benevolent Associa
tion, of which he served as President for several
years. Mr. Hoffman is truly a self-made man.
Since the early- age of thirteen years he has been
dependent upon his own resources, and the suc
cess of his life is largely the result of his own
efforts. He began working for very meagre
wages, but by industry and economy he managed
to save some of his earnings, and from time to
time purchased property, thus adding to the farm
he inherited from his father. He now owns sev
eral farms, including two hundred and sixty-five
acres in Maine Township, twenty-one acres in
Niles, eighty acres in Newtrier, and one hun
dred and nine acres iu Northfield Township. He
also has a residence and several lots in Des
Plaines. His possessions stand as monuments to
his thrift and enterprise, and his example may
well serve to encourage others who, like himself,
have begun life empty-handed, dependent entirely
upon their own resources.

\A ICHAEL H. BROWN, who is now serv-
V iiig as Trustee of Des Plaines, is a member
(9 of the firm of Brown & Keates, contractors
and builders. This firm has a wide reputation
for the quality of its work, and in consequence
has built up a good business. Mr. Brown is
numbered among the native sons of Cook County,
for he was born in Elk Grove, on the 26th of No
vember, 1858, and is the third in order of birth in
a family of four children, whose parents were
John and Phylipina (Lindiman) Brown. The
father was a farmer by occupation, and in 1857
removed from New York to Illinois, settling at
Elk Grove. There the family resided until 1862,
when they removed to Maine Township. The
daughters of the household were: Anna, who is
now deceased; Bertha, wife of Henry Brendecke,
of Fergus Falls, Minn.; and Phylipina, also de
ceased. After coming to Des Plaines, Mr. Brown worked

at the carpenter's trade, being employed by-
Michael Ahbe for one year, and by Frank Whit-
comb for the same length of time. He was only
thirteen years of age when he began that work.
In 1874 he carried the mail from Des Plaines to
East Wheeling, and to East, South and West
Northfield, receiving $100 a year for the same.
In 1875 and 1876, he worked on a farm through
the summer months, and in the winter season at
tended the schools of Des Plaines, meeting his
expenses with the money he had previously-
earned. In the summer of 1877 he worked in a
pressed-brick yard, and in the winter he again
worked for his board. During the summer of
, 1878 he was employed as coachman for Mr.
Knott. In the spring of 1880 we find Mr. Brown in
Chicago, working for T. W. Heidemann, in a
court-plaster factory. He there remained until
July, 1882, when he went to Fergus Falls, Minn.,
where he engaged in farming for six months.
On the expiration of that period he returned to
Des Plaines, and in the spring of 1883 he again
began carpenter work at this place, continuing"
alone until February, 1889, when he formed a
partnership with Thomas Keates, as a contractor
and builder. This connection still continues.
On the 8th of February, 1885, Mr. Brown was
united in marriage with Miss Wilhelmina Senne,
and they have become the parents of five children,
two sons and three daughters: Waldemar, now
deceased; Albert, Mabel, Lydia and Theresa, all
yet at home. They have a pleasant home iii Des
Plaines, which is owned by Mr. Brown, who also
has a good farm of one hundred and three acres
iu Maine Township.
Our subject is connected with several social or
ganizations. In 1883 he became a member of
Bitruvious Lodge No. 81, A. F. & A. M.; he is a
charter member of Court Maine No. 231, I. O.
F., in which he has served as Chief Ranger; is a
charter member of Gladiator Lodge No. 450,
K. P.; and is Treasurer of the German Be
nevolent Society. His first Presidential vote was
cast for James A. Garfield, and he has since
been a Republican. He was elected Town Col
lector in 1 89 1, and Village Trustee in the spring

454

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of 1892. Both of these offices he still fills, and
discharges the duties connected therewith in a
prompt and able manner. He and his wife hold
membership with the German Evangelical Church
of which they are liberal supporters, and he is its
Treasurer. Mr. Brown is a public-spirited and
progressive citizen, whose worth and ability are
recognized. He takes a commendable interest in
everything pertaining to the public welfare, and
it is with pleasure that we present to our readers
this record of his life.

"S]

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Si

.3
"Si

3 AMES W. SCOTT, publisher of the Chicago
Herald, and President of the Chicago Even
ing Post Company, was born in Walworth
County, Wis., in June, 1849. His father, D. Wil-
mot Scott, was a practical printer, and for thirty-
five years preceding his death, which occurred in
1888, was the publisher of newspapers in Galena,
111. It thus seemed quite natural that our sub
ject should enter the journalistic field. He was
much in his father's office during boyhood, and
incidentally learned much about the business. He
was educated in the public and High Schools of
Galena, and spent two years iu the college at Be
loit, Wis., after which he went to New York,
where for a time he was engaged in floriculture.
Subsequently, he was employed in the Govern
ment printing office in Washington.
The first venture of his own in newspaper work
occurred in 1872, at wliich time Mr. Scott estab
lished a weekly newspaper iu PrinCe George
County, Md. The field, however, was not broad
enough for the growing energies of the young
man, and joining his father in Galena, they began
the publication of the Press. In 1875, James
Scott came to Chicago and bought out the daily
Actional Hotel Reporter. The success, of this
paper led him to contemplate changing it to a
general newspaper, but at length he decided to
leave it to the management of his partner, who is
now profitably conducting it. Having turned his
attention from the metropolitan newspaper field,
he organized a stock company in 1881, and estab

lished the Chicago Herald. Its financial success
was doubtful during the first year, but at the end
of that time John R. Walsh, President of the
Chicago National Bank, purchased the stock of
those interested with Mr. Scott, and the success
of the paper was assured. Its present command
ing position in circulation and influence is due to
Mr. Scott's executive ability, and the wisdom
which he displays in selecting capable men for the
different departments*. The magnificent home in
which the Herald is now located is superior to
that of any- other newspaper in the world as to its
facilities for the production of a paper and its con
venience and elegance. It is a monument to the
industry and genius of our subject. In April,
1890, in conjunction with Mr. Walsh, he estab
lished the Chicago Evening Post, the success of
which has been phenomenal. Within a year
frorh the date ofthe first issue, the Post was estab
lished in commodious quarters of its own.
Mr. Scott took an active part in the work of
securing the World's Fair for Chicago, as chair
man of the Press Committee of the preliminary or
ganizations. At the annual meeting of the Board
of Directors in 1891, he was elected one of its
inembers, and unanimously- tendered the nomina
tion for the Presidency of that body, but his news
paper interests obliged him to decline. However,
he accepted the chairmanship of the Press and*
Printing Committee, but increasing labors com
pelled him to resign his position as Director. Be
sides having served three years as President of
the Chicago Press Club, Mr. Scott was for a num
ber of years President of the United Press, and
is now serving his third term as President of the
American Newspaper Publishers' Association.
He is President ofthe Fellowship Club of Chicago,
a member of the famous Clover Club of Philadel
phia, and the New York Press Club, together
with many other social organizations of Chicago.
Col. John A. Cockerillin "Lippincott's Maga
zine, ' ' speaks of the Herald office presenting to
the mind the ludicrous picture of the amazement
which would overcome an old time-newspaper
man should he enter the palatial home of the
Herald, with its marble columns; entrance doors
which are closed neither night nor day; its com-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

455

posing rooms with white enameled walls; marble
closets; filtered ice water cooler, with solid silver
cups; three hundred and forty-eight incandescent
electric lights; and its handsome and extensive
library. This building is the result of the labor,
enterprise and ability of Mr. Scott.
As President of the Chicago Press Club, Mr.
Scott also did a commendable work, showing that
he was a man of extraordinary public spirit. Hjs
benevolence and charity were brought into play,
and by his personal example and diligent efforts
the Press Club broadened both socially and mor
ally. He was three times elected its President,
when no one before had been proffered a re-elec
tion. Side by side with what he has done for the
country through his paper we place a noble, gen
erous -act quietly performed, which though it has
not won him public renown, has gained him the
lasting gratitude of one or more unfortunate
beings. e ; ',&_b"^"t "^B ?l ^ s
(JOSHUA S. SACKETT was one ofthe oldest
I settlers in Cook County, where he made his
Q) home for sixty-three years, and was one of
its most honored citizens. For long years con
nected with the history of this community, he
was widely known among its prominent men, and
this record would be incomplete without the sketch
of his life. He was born in Colchester, Vt, Oc
tober 12, 1808, and was the fifth in order of birth
in a family of seven children. All grew to ma
ture years, but all are now deceased. The par
ents were Isaac and Polly (Hammond) Sackett,
who came of old New England families.
Upon his father's farm in the Green Mountain
State, J. S. Sackett spent his boyhood and youth,
and in Vermont he was married in 1830 to El
vira Brownell, of Colchester. From childhood
they had known each other, having lived in the
same neighborhood and attended the same school.
The following year Mr. Sackett started for the
West, and on the 2d of July, 1831, landed in
Chicago. Sparsely settled, indeed, was the place
at that time. There were a few houses and one

or two stores in what is now the heart of the city.
Mr. Sackett built a log house for a physician in
Chicago, and there continued until the following
March, when he removed to the Des Plaines River,
where he built a hotel or tavern, which he con
ducted for about three years. He then sold it,
and entered a tract of land, which he at once be
gan to improve, purchasing the same when it
came into market. Upon his farm he lived until
the spring of 1864, when he sold out and removed
to Garden Prairie, Boone County, UL, where the
next twenty years of his life were passed. By his
industry and well-directed efforts in previous years,
he acquired a sufficient capital, which enabled
him to lay aside all business cares, except the
management of his property. He built several
good houses, selling the same at a fair profit. '
In 1870 Mr. Sackett was called upon to mourn
the loss of his wife, who died in Boone County,
leaving two daughters: Sarah B., who is now the
wife of M. C. Covell, whose sketch appears else
where in this work; and Mary Maria, wife of
David Grant, and who died February 26, 1891.
On the 3d of April, 1872, our subject was united in
marriage with Mary A. Wood, of Rockford, UL,
who died in 1884. Since that date, he lived most
of the time with his daughter in La Grange,
where he died January 29, 1894.
Mr. Sackett was all through the Black Hawk
War, and served as a scout during the greater
part ofthe time under Maj. Bailey. He cast his
first Presidential vote for Andrew Jackson, but
for many years was a stanch Republican. Few
indeed, if any, longer resided in Cook County
than he. He made the first settlement, and built
his cabin, on the site ofthe present town of Riv
erside, when but few had located in that part
of the county. He served as one ot the jury
men of the first court ever held in Chicago, Judge
Thomas presiding. This was in 1832. Court
convened in a log house, and there- were only-
three cases to be tried at that time. The most
noted one was between a half-breed Indian and a
neighbor over a plow. At every term of court
until he left Cook County, he was drawn as a
juror. The old court records, however, were
all burned in the great fire of 1871. Although

456

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

never appointed agent, all the Indian supplies
were sent to Mr. Sackett for distribution for six
years, or until the red men were sent to their
reservation. The Government then offered him
an appointment as agent, but he did not care to
accept it. He told many interesting stories of
pioneer life, its experiences, hardships and pleas-^
ures, and no one, probably, was more familiar with
the history of this region iu those early days than
our subject.

_SI

^-^Wr^

"SD

i A ARIAS C. CO YELL is one of the pioneer
Y settlers, and, in fact, one of the native sons of
(9" Cook County, for he was born in Plain field,
on the 15th of February, 1834. That locality is
now, however, contained within the borders of
Will County. His present residence isLaGrange,
and he is recognized as one of its valued citizens.
In a family of seven children, he is the third in
order of birth. His parents were Thomas R. and
Elizabeth (Brown) Covell, early settlers of this
community. The former was born in Massachu
setts, and during his childhood accompanied his
parents to New York, where he remained until
seventeen years of age, when he started west
ward, locating first in St. Louis, Mo. As he
could find no employment, he purchased a small
stock of goods, which he traded to the Indians for
furs. For a number of years he ran a trading-
boat on the Illinois River. He then went to Ot
tawa, 111., where he married Miss Brown, a na
tive of New Jersey. Entering land in that vicin
ity, he operated it for a few years and then sold,
locating on Hickory Creek. In 1832, at the time
of the Sac Massacre, they went to Ft. Dearborn for
protection. Later, Mr. Covell removed with his family to
Plainfield, UL, where he remained until October,
1N34, when he entered laud in what is now com
prised within Cook Count)-, and improved the
same, making his home thereon until his death,
which occurred in October, 1845, at the age of
forty-five years. His wife died near West Union,
Iowa, at the age of sixty-four. The paternal

grandfather of our subject was a native of France,
and crossed the Atlantic with his parents to Bos
ton when a small boy. The family became pio
neer settlers of New York. When the Revolu
tionary War broke out, Mr. Covell entered the
Colonial service, and was taken prisoner by the
Indians, but after nine days made his escape.
The maternal grandfather of our subject was a
native of England, and his wife was of German
birth. When only nine months old Marias Covell was
brought by his parents to the old homestead farm
in Cook County, aud under the parental roof he
remained until he had attained his majority. He
conned his lessons in a log schoolhouse in the
count)-, and at the early age of fifteen he began
operating the home farm on shares. With the
exception of a short period, his entire -life has
been spent in Cook County. In 185 1, he went
to Iowa by team, but not long afterwards re
turned. In 1853, Mr. Covell married Miss Louisa Sack
ett. She died fifteen months later, leaving one
child, who is now deceased. In July, 1856, Mr.
Covell was joined in marriage with Miss Sarah
B. Sackett, whose family is mentioned in connec
tion with the sketch of S. S. Sackett, on another
page of this work. They became the parents of
five children, one ofwhom is now deceased. The
others are: Estelle, wife of Charles Kull, a resi
dent of Walworth County, Wis.; Adelbert M.,
who makes his home in Chicago; Walter, who is
still living with his parents; and Clarence, who is
engaged in the livery business in LaGrange.
Mr. Covell broke the laud with ox-teams where
the town of LaGrange now stands, and has wit
nessed the entire growth and development of this
community. He can remember when there was
hardly a building save the court house iu Chi
cago, and his father visited the site of that city in
1 83 1, when old Ft. Dearborn was the only struct
ure there standing. Mr. Covell continued to en
gage in farming aud stock-raising with good suc
cess for many years, and still owns the old home
stead. His industry was rewarded with success,
and he is now one of the wealthy citizens of the
community, yet all he has has been acquired

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

459

through his own* labors. In 1889, he went to
LaGrange, where he is now virtually living a re
tired life, his wants being supplied by the fruits
of his former toil. Mr. Covell holds membership
with the Patriotic Order of Sons of America, and
in politics is a Republican.

£+^

S3

"3EORGE M. FOX, M. D., who is engaged in
— the practice of medicine in LaGrange, claims
^ Vermont as the State of his nativity . He
was born in the town of Wallingford, Rutland
County, May 6, 1829, and is a son of Marvin
Fox, who was also born in the Green Mountain
State, and was of English descent. This family
traces its ancestry back to John Fox, the histo
rian, who was born in Boston. England, in 1507.
Tlie family was founded in America by Thomas
Fox, who was born in Boston, England, and emi
grated to Connecticut in 1638, settling at Cam
bridge, where he married the widow of Percival
Green (who came to that colony in 1635) , and by
herrearedalargefamily. Marvin Fox married
Amy Andrus, who was a native of Vermont, and
was of German extraction. His birth occurred
December 24, 1795, and hers in 1806. By their
marriage they became parents of ten children, five
sons and five daughters, namely: Philena, who
died iu 1852; the Doctor; Sarah, who died Febru
ary 18, 1858; Laura, who died May 29, 1853;
Jar vis, who was born February 15, 1835, and is
now a ranchman of Colorado; Charles, who was
born March 13, 1837, and is now a retired mer
chant living in Hinsdale; Mary, whowas born in
September, 1838, and died August 15, 1839;
William, who was born March 14, 1841, and died
August 24, i860; Heman M., born October 28,
1843, and who is now engaged in merchandising
at Hinsdale; and Elizabeth E. , born April 24,
1848, who is the widow of John Hamble and re
sides in Hinsdale.
Tlie father of this family was a farmer, and fol
lowed that business throughout his entire life. In
1852, he came to Illinois by way of the canal and
the Great Lakes, aud located at Fullersburg,

where he purchased three hundred and twenty
acres of land, the greater part of it lying north of
the railroad track. It was wild and unimproved
prairie laud, and he at once began its develop
ment. Before his death he disposed of the great
er part of it. He died June 11, 1889, and his re
mains were interred iu Fullersburg Cemetery.
He held membership with the Presbyterian
Church, and in his business career met with a
good degree of success, for he started out in life a
poor boy and became quite well-to-do. His
father, William Fox, served all through the Rev
olutionary War. The mother of our subject
passed away November 28, 1884, and was laid to
rest iu Fullersburg Cemetery.
Dr. Fox was born and reared upon a farm, and
attended the district schools until twelve years of
age, when he entered Burr Seminary of Manches
ter. When his literary* education was completed,
he became a student in the Castleton Medical
College, of Castleton, Vt., from which institution
he was graduated in the Class of '51. Thinking
that the West furnished better opportunities to
young men, he decided to come to Illinois. He
made his first location in Fullersburg, then known
as Brush Hill, and began the practice of medicine.
Later he removed to Riverside, where he contin
ued practice until 1875, whieh year witnessed* his
arrival in LaGrange. He has here since made
his home, and has become one of the prominent
physicians of the community. Although not the
oldest practicing physician in the county, Dr. Fox
has practiced medicine in Cook County longer
than any other physician outside of Chicago.
On July 2, 1851, Dr. Fox was joined in wed
lock with Miss Harriet F. White, a daughter of
Stephen White. They became parents of two
children: Harriet, born April 25, 1859; and
Mary F., born March 10, 1861. The mother
died June 10, 1862, aud the Doctor was again
married, in April, 1863, his second union being
with Miss Jane G., daughter of James Michie.
She was the first white child born in LaGrange
Township now living. Five children have been
born unto the Doctor and his wife, namely : George
M., who was born May 8, 1864, and died Octo
ber 1, 1866; Margaret A., born July 3, 1865, wife

460

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of Franklin D. Cossitt, a real-estate dealer of La
Grange; Jane, who was born August 23, 1869,
and is engaged in teaching iu the public schools
of LaGrange; Laura B., who was born July 5,
1874; Jessie, who was born October 3, 1877, anc^
is now attending college in St. Mary's, lud. ; and
Charles M., the only son, who was born Novem
ber 12, 1874. The children are all provided with
good educational advantages.
The Doctor has ever been a close student of his
profession. He has done all in his power to make
himself proficient in the line of his chosen work,
and his skill and ability have won him a large and
lucrative practice and gained him an enviable
reputation. He is a man of pleasant, genial
manner, and in the community where he resides
has won the respect aud esteem of all with whom
he has been brought in contact.

(TfCOTT RANDOLPH HIBBARD has for al-
v\ most fort)- years been in the employ of what
\~) is now the Northwestern Railroad Company,
and his record as a railroad man is an honorable
one. His long-continued service indicates his
fidelity to duty and his prompt performance of the
tasks that fell to his lot. The history of his life
-and work is as follows:
A native of Massachusetts, Mr. Hibbard was
born in Pittsfield on the 7th of September, 1835,
and is a son of Horace A. and Chloe W. (Barker)
Hibbard. He comes of an old New England
family, the ancestry ofwhich is lost in the remote
regions of antiquity. His father was a wheel
wright and carpenter, and followed that business
for many years. Scott R. lived in New England
until twenty years of age, and was educated in
Pittsfield, the well-known Prof. Tenney being his
last teacher. At the age of twenty he came to
Chicago and entered the employ of the old Ga
lena & Chicago Union Railroad Company, the
predecessor of the Northwestern Company. His
connection with that road has continued through
all the intervening years up to the present time.
For seventeen years of this period he was with the

Pullman Palace Car Company as superintendent
of the sleeping cars on the Northwestern. He
has been in the operating department of the road
constantly. While in the East he served an ap
prenticeship as a machinist, and although he has
never followed the business, the knowledge there
gained has proved of service to him in his railroad
life. At present he is serving as watchman in
the main office building ofthe Northwestern Rail
road Company.
In 1872 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Hibbard and Miss Amelia Klager, who is of Ger
man extraction. Her parents came from Uecker-
munde, Germany, and her father was a shoemaker.
Mr. and Mrs.. Hibbard have six children, three
sons and three daughters, as follows: Sidney-
Monroe, Selma Amelia, Walter Scott, Grace C,
Olive and Horace Allen.
Mr. Hibbard has a comfortable home in Park
Ridge, situated in the midst of ten acres of land,
where he lives contentedly with his family, to
whose interests he is entirely devoted. He is a
member of the National Union, and also of the
Congregational Church. In politics, he is a true-
blue Republican, unswerving in his allegiance to
the party with which he has long been identified.
He is always true to whatever he professes au at
tachment for, as is shown by his faithfulness to his
party- and employers.

"HOMAS KEATES is a worthy representa
tive of the business interests of Des Plaines.
He is a contractor and builder, and evi
dences of his handiwork are numerous in this lo
cality. He now receives from the public a liberal
patronage, which is well deserved, and he is enjoy
ing a good trade. A native of England, he was
born in Somersetshire, on the 19th of September,
1854, and is a son of William and Mary- A.
(Smith) Keates, who were also born iu that
county. Their marriage was celebrated in 1848,
and by their union was born a family of five chil
dren, three sons and two daughters: Charles, now
living in Somersetshire, England; Thomas, the

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

461

subject of this sketdi; Edward, a civil engineer
in the employ of the English Government in the
East Indies, and two who died in infancy.
Under the parental roof Thomas Keates was
reared to manhood, and the common schools af
forded him his educational privileges. When he
started out in life for himself, he earned his liveli
hood by working in a carriage-shop in England.
At length he determined to leave his native land,
believing he could better his financial condition
by emigrating to America. Carrying out this
resolution, he bade adieu to home and friends
and crossed the briny deep in 1872. For the first
nine years after his arrival he worked at the car
penter's trade, but in 1881 he became foreman in
Whitcomb's brick-yard, where he remained until
the spring of 1887, when he began contracting
and building. He always fulfills his part of the
contract with scrupulous fidelity, and as he thor
oughly understands his business and employs
only good workmen, he has built up an excellent
trade, which yields to him a good income.
On the 20th of February, 1878, Mr. Keates
was united in marriage with Miss Alida Brown,
a. native of Cook County, and daughter of Asahel
W. and Caroline (Goodspeed) Brown, both of
whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Keatesrlost
their only- child, a daughter, Jennie Lee. Mrs.
Keates is an adherent of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and is one of its most active and faithful
workers. She possesses many excellencies of
character, and throughout the community has a
large circle of warm friends.
Mr. Keates has led a busy and useful life, yet
has found time to serve his fellow-townsmen in
official positions: He was elected Village Trustee
in the spring of 1887, and held that office until
the spring of 1890. He served as Village Clerk
from 1890 until 1891, and has served as Town
ship Clerk from 1 890 up to the present time. In
politics, he has been a stalwart advocate of the
principles of the Republican party since casting
his first Presidential vote for James A. Garfield in
1880. On the 5th of October, 1893, he was
elected a member of the Republican Central Com
mittee for the Fourth District of Cook County.
In his social relations, he is connected with Vitru-

vious Lodge No. 81, A. F. & A. M. ; Corinthian
Chapter No. 69, R. A. M.; Chicago Council No.
4, and St. Bernard Commandery No. 64, K. T.
He also holds membership with Court Maine No.
231, I. O. O. F.; is a charter member of Gladi
ator Lodge No. 450, K. P.; and belongs to the
Des Plaines German Benevolent Society. Such
is the life record of one of the leading citizens of
Des Plaines, who through life has made his own
way in the world, working his way steadily up
ward, and he may therefore be truly called a self-
made man. fc * ¦^Zi<^>sr'3' '  9
61 DAM H. IMIG, one of the enterprising
LA and wide-awake young business men of Des
/ I Plaines, carries on a hardware store, having
been connected with this line of work in its vari
ous departments since entering upon his business
career. He was born in the neighboring State of
Wisconsin, his birth having occurred in Wauke
sha County, on the 3d of May, 1867. His father,
Nicholas Imig, was a native of Germany. He
married Kate Gaugh, and they became the par
ents of ten children, eight sons and two daugh
ters, who are as follows: Bena, wife of P. H.
Dhein, a resident of Germantown, Wis. ; Katie,
now deceased; Jacob, ex-Deputy Sheriff of Wau
kesha County, Wis.; Philip, who is engaged iu
farming in that county; Christopher, who makes
his home in Waukesha; John, a contractor and
builder of Waukesha; Valentine, who is living in
the same city; Adam H., of Des Plaines; Will
iam, who is engaged in the manufacture of cheese
in Waukesha; and Nicholas, Jr., who resides in
Milwaukee, Wis., where he is engaged in teach
ing. We now take up the personal history of Adam
Imig, who spent the days of his boyhood and
youth in the State of his nativity. He acquired
a good education in the schools of New Berlin,
Wis. , and was thus fitted for the duties and re
sponsibilities of life. He early became familiar
with work upon his father's farm. At length he
left home to make his own way iu the world, and

462

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD:

for one year worked at the carpenter's trade. On
the expiration of that period he began learning
the tinner's trade in the Wisconsin Central Car
Shops in Waukesha. For three years he occu
pied that position and then came to Des Plaines,
where he arrived on the ist of April, 1891. He
entered the employ of F. I. Russell, who was en
gaged in the hardware and tinner's business, and
continued in his service until the following autumn ,
when he bought out his employ-er, and has since
carried on the business on his own account.
On the 10th of November, 1892, Mr. Imig was
united in marriage with Miss Lizzie Fulle. The
young couple have won many friends in this lo
cality and are widely and favorably known. Mr.
Imig is not a politician in the popular sense, as
he never seeks or desires the honors or emolu
ments of public office. Socially, he is connected
with Gladiator Lodge No. 450, K. P., ofwhich
lie is a charter member. Industry and enterprise
are numbered among the chief characteristics of
our subject, and the success he has already
achieved in life argues well for the future. He
possesses good business ability, and by careful
management, fair dealing and courteous treatment
has won a good trade.

E HESTER E. BENNETT has for twenty-
years been connected with various news
papers of Cook County. He is now with the
Des Plaines Arews as correspondent editor and
advertising and subscription agent, and has been
prominently identified with official circles in this
vicinity. He was born in Connecticut on the 1 ith
of February, 1835, and is a son of Ambrose and
Cynthia M. (Knapp) Bennett. The father was
born May 21, 1803, and was also a native of Con
necticut. The marriage of his parents was cele
brated February 15, 1827, and unto them were
born four children, three sons arid a daughter:
George E., of Bremer County, Iowa, now de
ceased; Chester E. of this sketch; Edward C, who
makes his home in Bremer County; and Sarah
E. , wife of G. E. Acke'n, of Humboldt, Neb.

Our subject spent the first six years of his life
in the State of his nativity, and the next three
years in Massachusetts, and then accompanied
his parents on their emigration to Chicago. The
same year they went to McHenry County, UL,
aud in its public schools he was educated. He
afterward engaged in teaching school, and also in
teaching music, and a portion of his time was de
voted to farm work. His residence in McHenry
County continued until 1862, when he went to
Iowa, where he remained for five years. His
summer months were spent at farm labor, and in
the winter season he engaged in teaching school
and 'music. At length he returned to McHenry
County, in the spring of 1868, and was once more
numbered among its residents until 1871. Thaj:
was the year ofthe great Chicago fire, and it was
also the year of his arrival in Des Plaines.
Mr. Bennett was married on the 21st of Janu
ary, 1865, the lady of his choice being Miss Adelia
Thomas, a daughter of Elias E. and Hester Ann
Thomas, of Cook County. They- have become the
parents of four children, who are as follows: Harry
T. , of Des Plaines, *tfvlto is now employed as book
keeper in a hardware establishment of Chicago;
Hester A., who is engaged in teaching in the
public schools of Avondale; Alice, who is en
gaged in piano teaching; and Grace, at home.
His fellow-citizens, appreciating his worth and
ability, have frequently called upon Mr. Bennett
to serve in offices of public trust. In the spring
of 1873, he was elected Township Clerk, and so
acceptably did he discharge the duties of the posi
tion, that he was continued therein for seventeen
years, or until the spring of 1890. In the autumn
of 1873 he was elected School Treasurer of Maine
Township, which office he held until 1884. He
was elected and served three terms as Village
Clerk, for twenty years has held the office of No
tary Public, and is now serving in that position.
No higher testimonial to his faithfulness could be
given than his long continuance in these various
positions. He is a supporter of the Republican
party and its principles. Mr. Bennett attends
and supports the Methodist Episcopal Church,
with which his two eldest daughters and his son
hold membership. He is also the leader of its

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

463

choir. Enterprising in the highest and best sense
ofthe word, he has aided materially in the ad
vancement and promotion of the interests of Des
Plaines. He has led a busy and useful life, his
career has been au honorable and upright one, and
he will leave to his family the priceless heritage
of a good name.
6 ' lfi- t=LI <?' T'^'sr18 ' m
NENLEY HALL, a retired farmer, is still liv
ing in Cook County, the county of his
nativity, his home being in Des Plaines.
He is a retired farmer, and is one of the prominent
and influential citizens of the community. He
was born on the ist of April, 1835, aud comes of
an old Virginian family. His father, Benjamin
Hall, was born in the Old Dominion in 1808, and
emigrated to Cook County in 1832. He married
Miss Sarah Baine, also a native of Virginia, aud
they became the parents of six children, three
sons aud three daughters, as follows: E. B., now
agent for the American Express Company at
Freeport, 111. ; Henley, whose name heads this
sketch; Virginia, Araminta Jane and Augusta, all
now deceased; and George Montgomery, who
holds the responsible position of Assistant Super
intendent of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and
resides in Portland, Ore. The father of this fam
ily was a farmer by occupation, and on coming to
Illinois he entered one hundred and sixty acres of
Government land at Northfield, Cook County.
It was in its primitive condition, not a furrow
haying been turned or an improvement made
upon it, but he transformed it into a rich and fer
tile tract.
Upon the old homestead our subject was reared
to manhood. His education was acquired in the
common schools of the neighborhood, aud to his
father he gave the benefit of his services until
twenty-five years of age, when he started out iu
life for himself. The pursuit to whicli he was
reared became his life work. Locating upon a
farm in Maine Township, he there resided for a-
third of a ceutury, devoting his time and attention
to the cultivation aud improvement of his prop

erty, which he made a valuable and desirable
place. He was quite successful in his undertak
ings, and thereby accumulated a comfortable
competence. In 1862, Mr. Hall was united in marriage with
Miss Jane Marshall, and unto them were born
five sons and four daughters, but only three sons
and two daughters are now living, namely: Will
iam, who resides in Des Plaines, and is employed
in the Merchants' Loan Bank of Chicago; Arthur;
Minnie, now the wife of Eben Gary, of Wheaton;
Herbert H., who is in the employ ofthe Chicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company; and
Clara May, who is at home. The others died in
childhood. In his political affiliations, Mr. Hall is a Re
publican, haying been a warm supporter of that-
party and its principles since casting his first
Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. In 1869
he was elected to the office of (Sriector of Maine
Township, and served until 1872. In 1878, he
was again chosen to the same position, and served
for another three years. He has also filled the
office of Constable of Maine Township, has served
as Trustee of the schools for a number of years,
and is now filling that position. He has proved
a faithful officer in these various capacities, being
ever true to the trust reposed in him. In 1892, Mr.
Hall left his farm and removed to Des Plaines,
where he is now living retired. His rest is well
earned, and is a fitting crown to the years of
faithful toil that preceded it.

-*H^1

EONRAD MULLER resides in Des Plaines
and is one of the worthy German- American
citizens of this place. Germany has fur
nished to this country many good men who have
become some of its best dtizens, men of enterprise
and good business ability, and of upright, honor
able lives. Among such is our subject, who was
born in the Fatherland, on the 3d of July, 1845.
His parents, Augustine and Mary (Frish) Muller,
were married in 1828, and unto them were born
four children, three sons and a daughter, but one

464

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

son is now deceased. The members of the family-
still living are: Philipena; Conrad, of Des Plaines;
and Edward, who makes his home iu Germany.
The father was a government official in his native
land. Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and
youth in Germany, and during that period no
event of special importance occurred. When he
had arrived at man's estate, he determined to
seek a home and fortune in the New World, and
iu 1866 crossed the briny deep. He made his
first location in Newark, N. J., where he spent
one year. On the expiration of that period, we
find him iu Chicago, where the two succeeding
years of his life were passed. He then came to
Des Plaines, in 1869. Ere he left Germany, he
had learned the painter's trade, and this he has
made his life work. He followed it in the vari
ous places where he made his home until coming
to Des Plaines, and since locating here has given
his time and attention to this work. He is both
a faithful and efficient workman, who conscienti
ously performs his part of a contract, aud he has
thus built up an excellent trade, which yields to
him a good income and which is well deserved.
Mr. Muller celebrated Christmas Day of 1875
by his marriage with Miss Annie Fulle, a daugh
ter of Godfried and Sophia (Koehler) Fulle.
Unto them has been born a family of five chil
dren, a sou and four daughters, but Philipena and
Lydia are now deceased. Those still living are
Edna, Augustine and Annie.
Mr. Muller received no special advantages in
his youth, either educational or otherwise, and he
had uo capital with which to aid him in life's bat
tle; but he has ever made the most of his oppor
tunities, has been a tireless worker, and through
his own efforts has achieved success. Iu his poli
tical affiliations, Mr. Muller is a Republican, and
his firsLPresidential vote was cast for Gen. U. S.
Grant. He has been called upon to serve in offi
cial positions, and for eight years filled the office
of Trustee of Des Plaines, discharging his duties
with a promptness and fidelity that won his re
peated re-election. He takes considerable inter
est in civic societies and holds membership with
Vitruvious Lodge No. 81, A. F. & A. M. ; Cor

inthian Chapter No. 69, R. A. M., of Chicago;
and Arlington Court, I. O. O. F. Such is the
life record of one who has made his home in Des
Plaines for nearly a quarter of a century and has
become one of its highly respected citizens.

^h-^i

sr

"7 DWARD H. WINCHELL, proprietor of a
^ livery stable in Des Plaines, was born in
__ Northfield, Cook County, 011 the 13th of
November, 1843. His father, Milo Winchell, was
a native ofthe Empire State, born iu 1802. Af
ter arriving at years of maturity, he was married, -
iu 1830, to Margaret Edwards, of Philadelphia,
and they became the parents of six children, two
sons and four daughters, namely: Ann; Sarah
J., deceased, wife of Thomas Vincent; Caroline
Louise and -Harriet, who make their home in
Norwood Park, and are both engaged iu teaching
in the public schools of Chicago;- Edward H.,
whose name heads this record; and Frank Albert,
who makes his home in New York City.
In the public schools of his native town,
Edward Winchell' was educated. To Kis father
he gave the benefit of his services until twenty-
one years of age, when he began farming for him
self on the old homestead, where he had been
reared to manhood. As a companion and help
mate on life's journey, he chose Miss Ann Hook,
a native of Rome, N. Y. Their union was cele
brated 011 the 17th of May-, 1869, and has been
blessed with a family of five children, a son and
four daughters: Maggie Elizabeth, wife of Mar
tin Hoffman, of Oak Glen, 111.; James Guy, who
is living iu New York City; Susie May, de
ceased; Amy- Eugenie, now at home; and Olive
Louise, also deceased. The mother of this family
was called to her final rest in 1889, an^ hi 1891
Mr. Winchell married Mrs. Alice (Day) Fickinger,
a native of Erie, Pa.
For many years Mr. Winchell continued the
operation of the old homestead farm, which com
prised two hundred acres of good laud that he
placed under a high state of cultivation. He also
made mail)- improvements thereon, and the place

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

465

became one of the fine farms of the community ;
but in 1885 he sold out and removed to the vil
lage of Norwood, where he made his home until
1889. That year witnessed his arrival in Des
Plaines, where he embarked in his present busi
ness. He runs a fine livery, which is well sup
plied with everything found in a first-class estab
lishment of the kind in a country town, and en
joys a liberal patronage from the people of the
community. This is well deserved, for he ear
nestly desires to please his customers. Socially,
he is connected with Gladiator Lodge No. 450,
K. P., of whicli he was a charter member, and- is
now a Trustee, and also belongs to Beacon Light
Lodge No. 784, A. F. & A. M., of which he is
Senior Warden and Worshipful Master. In poli
tics, he has been a supporter of the Democracy
since casting his first Presidential vote for Gen.
George B. McClellan. While in Northfield
Township, he filled the offices of School Director
and Highway Commissioner. By au honorable,
upright life, Mr. Winchell has won universal con
fidence and the good-will ofthe entire community.
A continuous residence in Cook County of half a
century entitles him to the satisfaction of being
one of the oldest settlers therein. The commun
ity finds in him a valued citizen, who is ever found
iu the front ranks of any enterprise calculated to
advance the general welfare.
P" RANKLIN WHITCOMB is proprietor of a
fft brickyard in Des Plaines. i This is one of
I * the leading industries of the town, and was
established in 1868. .He began operations on a
small scale, but has enlarged his facilities to keep
up with his increasing trade. He now receives a
liberal patronage, and is numbered among the
successful business men of the community. His
life record is as follows:
A native of the Empire State, Mr. Whitcomb
was born on the 23d of March, 1830, and comes
of an old NeW England family. His father, Mo
ses Whitcomb, was born in Connecticut, 011 the
13th of August, 1787, and when he had attained

to mature years was joined in wedlock, in 1826,
with Miss Lucy Pike. Unto them were born
four sons, but Almon and Joshua, formerly of
Cook County, are now deceased. They- were the
eldest and the youngest. The only surviving
brother of our subject, Albert J., is now a resi
dent of Park Ridge, Cook County.
Mr. Whitcomb whose name heads this record
received very- limited educational privileges in
the common schools of New York, but observation
and experience have made him a well-informed
man. He left home at the early age of eight
years, aud worked upon the farm for his board
and clothes when a youth of thirteen years.
During the succeeding eight months he was paid
$3 per mouth, and during the next season he re
ceived $4 per month. When* sixteen years of age
his wages were only $6 per month. His early,
lot was a hard one, but thereby he developed a
self-reliance and force of character which have
proven of incalculable benefit to him in his later
years. When a youth of fifteen years he emi
grated westward, reaching Cook Count)- in Sep
tember, 1845. In 1 85 1 he took up his residence
in Niles.
Iu that place, on the 15th of October, 1856,
Mr. Whitcomb chose as a companion and help
mate on life's journey Miss Elizabeth Jones, a
native of Wales. Unto them have been born six
children, two sous and four daughters, but three
of the number are now deceased. Lucy A. died
at the age of six years; Frank E., at the age of
four; and Elizabeth at the age of one year. Mary
is now the wife of Albert Parsons, of Des Plaines;
Elda P. is engaged in teaching in Park Ridge;
and George M. is at home.
Mr. Whitcomb proudly cast his first Presiden
tial vote for John C. Fremont, and since that
time has been an inflexible adherent of Re
publican principles. For twenty-one years he
has served as a member ofthe School Board, and
the cause of education has found in him a warm
friend. For six years he has served as Village
Trustee, and the interests of the town have never
suffered at his hands. In fact, everything that
tends to benefit or upbuild the community re
ceives his support and co-operation. From the

466

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

time when, as a little boy, he worked on the farm,
he has applied himself diligently to his business,
and by careful attention to details and good man
agement he has achieved a success which now
¦numbers him among the substantial citizens of
this community. The obstacles and difficulties
in his path he overcame by determined will, and
has made for himself an exemplary record.
EAPT. JOHN UNOLD, who is now living a
retired life in La Grange, is one of the hon
ored veterans ofthe late war, who followed
the Old Flag in defense of the Union for about
three years and faithfully aided in securing the
victory that made the United States inseparable.
He was born in Germany on the 29th of Novem
ber, 1829, and is a son of George and Elizabeth
(Brechiesen) Unold. The family numbered six
children, four sons and two daughters, as follows:
George and David, both now deceased; Chris
topher, who is the owner of a factory for the man
ufacture of wooden-ware in Germany; Elizabeth,
who is still living in the Fatherland; and Mary,
now deceased. George Lbiold was a millwright
by trade, aud in Germany he spent his entire life,
as did the mother of our subject.
The Captain was born and reared in his native
village, and attended the public schools of Ger
many until thirteen years of age, when he was
bound out for a three-years apprenticeship to the
harness-maker's trade. He then traveled through
Germany for three years, working at that occupa
tion, and in 1849, when a young man of twenty
years, he crossed the broad Atlantic to America
on a sailing-vessel, which after six weeks upon
the bosom of the Atlantic dropped anchor in the
harbor of New York City. He made his first lo
cation in Newark, N. J., where he worked at his
trade for two years. He then went to New
Haven, Conn., where he spent the four succeed
ing years of his life, aud in 1855 removed to Chi
cago. For two years he was there employed as a
harness-maker, after which he went to Fullers
burg, DuPage County, where he started a shop

of his own and engaged in business . until 1861.
He also carried on a general store at that place,
and was Postmaster of Fullersburg for a time,
but in 1862 he disposed of his business interests
in order to enter the service of his adoped coun
try. Mr. Unold had watched with interest the prog
ress of events and saw that the war was to be 110
holiday affair; so, prompted by patriotic impulses,
on the 15th of August, 1862, he became a private
of Company D, One Hundred and Fifth Illinois
Infantry. Before he was mustered into service,
which event took place at Dixon, he was trans
ferred to Company I, and became Second Sergeant.
The first active engagement in which he partici
pated was at Frankfort, Ky. He afterwards took
part in the battles of Resaca, New Hope Church,
Cassville, Keunesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek
and Clin ton ville. He was wounded in the left
ankle by a shell at the battle of New Hope
Church, but did not go to the hospital. At At
lanta, he was promoted to the rank of First Lieu
tenant, and was mustered out as Captain. He re
ceived his discharge June 15, 1865, for the war
was then practically over, and the preservation of
the Union an assured fact.
Capt. Unold at once returned to his home in
Fullersburg, where he established another har
ness shop, which he carried on until 1868, when he
came to La Grange, and opened a general' store.
He carried on business along that line until 1887,
when he sold out aud has since lived retired. He
was successful in his business dealings and there
by acquired a comfortable competence, which now
enables him to enjoy the rest which he has so
truly earned and richly deserves. He now owns
considerable real estate in La Grange.
Ou the 5th of February, 1852, Capt. Unold was
united in marriage to Miss Martha Hoppach.
Unto them have been born nine children, namely:
Willemanie, now deceased; Lewis, who holds
the position of book-keeper in his brother's
store iu LaGrange; George, who carries on a
large general merchandise establishment in La
Grange; Julia, deceased; Amelia, wife of Ed
ward Tillotson, who is living jn Michigan; Ottil-
da, widow of Samuel Clifford; aud Amanda, Lou-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

469

isa and Sherman, all ofwhom have now passed
away.
In politics, Capt. Unold is a supporter of the
Republican party, and from 1869 until 1875 he
served as Postmaster of La Grange. He was for
seventeen years one of its School Directors, and
did effective service in the cause of education,
proving a capable officer. Socially, he is con
nected with the Grand Army of the Republic.
He came to this country a poor boy and has made
all that he possesses by his own careful business
management, his thrift and enterprise. His life
has been well and worthily spent, and he has
achieved a success which now enables him to
spend his declining years surrounded by all the
comforts and many of the luxuries of life.

|~~ H. ESCHER is one of the wide-awake and
Tri enterprising young business men of Des
| Plaines, where he now successfully carries
on operations as a druggist. He here located in
March, 1891, and in the two years and a-half
which have since come and gone he has built-up
a handsome trade. His entire life has been passed
in northeastern Illinois. He was born in Chi
cago, on the 1 6th of December, 1866, and is the
son of Hieronimus Escher, a native of Germany.
After arriving at years of maturity, the father
was united in marriage with Miss Maria Ullman,
and they became the parents of ten children, six
sons and four daughters.
The members of the Escher family are Charles,
now a resident of Chicago; Annie, wife of J. Gil
bert, of Chicago; Amelia, wife of G. Brown, who
makes his home in the same city; Laura, wife of
E. J. Faypel, of Chicago; Augusta, wife of E. J.
Hammond, a resident of New Bedford, Mass.;
F. H., whose name heads this sketch; Henry,
who is also living in the metropolis of Illinois;
and Albert and Ferdinand, who make their home
in the same city.
No event of special importance occurred during
the boyhood and youth of our subject, which
were quietly passed under the parental roof. He

acquired his early education in the public schools
of Chicago, and afterwards received private in
struction in the sciences. When he had made
choice of the drug business as a pursuit which he
wished to follow as a means of livelihood, to fit
himself for this end he entered the Illinois College
of Pharmacy and then the Chicago School of
Pharmacy, where he pursued a thorough course
of study. After this, in 1889, he became a mem
ber of the Illinois Pharmaceutical Association.
In the same year he entered upon his business
career as a druggst in Arlington Heights. For
about two years he remained in that place, and
in March, 1891, came to Des Plaines, where he
has since carried on business. He has a well-
appointed drug store, stocked with everything
found in a first-class establishment of the kind.
On the 20th of October, 1891, Mr. Escher led
to the marriage altar Miss Hattie Reincke, who
was then living in Arlington Heights, but was
born in Chicago. The young couple are well
known in this community, and hold an enviable
position in social circles. Mr. Escher takes con
siderable interest in civic societies, and belongs to
Court Maine Lodge No. 231, I. O. F. ; Gladi
ator Lodge No. 450, K. P. ; Phil Sheridan Coun
cil No. 54, R. L-; and Commonwealth Council
No. 605, N. U. Mr. Escher cast his first Presi
dential vote for Hon. Benjamin Harrison in 1888,
and is a stalwart supporter of the principles of the
Republican party.
6 *- c=u <T' t >"sr '' ==®
(JOHN C. BEHRENS, who is extensively en-
I gaged in general merchandising in Des
Q) Plaines, has the honor of being a native of
Illinois. He was born in Will County, on the
22d of July, 1852, aud is the eldest child of Con
rad and Sophia (Pflugger) Behrens, the latter of
whom was born in Hanover, Germany, and the
former in Hesse, Germany. The father was
a farmer by occupation, and on emigrating to
America took up his residence in Will County,
where he lived for many years. The family num
bered eight children, four sons and four daughters,

23

470

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

as follows: John C, of this sketch; William, who
makes his home in Minnesota; Sophia, wife
of William Windheim, a resident of Arlington
Heights; August, who is also located in Minne
sota; Annie, wife of Henry Sweer, who is living
in Crescent City, 111. ; Mary, wife of Fred Mun-
stermann, of Crescent City; Christian, whose
home is in Crete, Will County; and Alvina, the
youngest of the family.
Mr. Behrens whose name heads this record
was reared in the county of his nativity until
nineteen years of age, and during that time at
tended a German school. He also spent much of
his time in work upon his father's farm, and ere
leaving his native county he learned the shoe
maker's trade. The year 1871 witnessed his ar
rival in Des Plaines, where for five years he con
tinued to work at shoemaking. He also here
attended evening school, and by study, experi
ence and observation he has become a well-in
formed man.
In 1873 Mr. Behrens was united in marriage
with Miss Mary D. Senne, and their union has been
blessed with six children, but Matilda, the only
daughter, is now deceased. The sons are still
living, and are as follows: Henry, Edward,
George, Martin and Christof. All are still with
their parents.
With the capital he acquired through industry
and economy while working at the' shoemaker's
trade, Mr. Behrens was enabled to establish him
self in the mercantile business. In 1876 he formed
a partnership with H. C. Senne, and they opened
a general store, in Des Plaines. The partnership
was continued for about two years, when Mr.
Behrens bought out Mr. Senne's interest. He
carries an immense stock of goods and enjoys an
excellent trade, which is constantly increasing.
His business career has been characterized by
honorable, upright methods, which, combined
with his earnest efforts to please his customers,
have won for him a liberal patronage, and brought
him well-merited success. .
In his political affiliations, Mr. Behrens is in
dependent, supporting the man whom he thinks
best qualified for the office, regardless of party
affiliations. In religiotft belief, he is a Lutheran

belonging to the church in Des Plaines. He has
served as Treasurer of the Benevolent Society for
five years, and was Trustee of the Lutheran
School from 1888 until 1890. He has been active
in benevolent and charitable work, and always
has the best interests of the community at heart.

-S3.

S3

$+^i

(JAMES MAHER is. the County Attorney of
I Cook County, and a well-known resident of
(*/ Chicago. His capability and efficiency in
this office are widely recognized, and have won
him the commendation of those politically opposed
to him. He well deserves representation in the
history of this community, and it is with pleasure
that we present his sketch to our readers. A na
tive of Illinois, he was born in Will County in
1859, and is of Irish descent. His father, Thomas'
Maher, was born on the Emerald Isle, and was
a farmer and stock-raiser by occupation. The
year 1845 witnessed his emigration to the New
World, for he hoped thereby to benefit his finan
cial condition. Crossing the Atlantic, he took up
his residence in Illinois. He is now residing in
Chicago, at the age of seventy-two years.
Midst play and work James Maher spent his
early boyhood and youth. He received good ed
ucational advantages, and after attending the
public schools, at the age of sixteen he entered
St. Viateur's College, from which institution he
was graduated in the Class of '82, with the degree
of Bachelor of Arts. He then engaged in teach
ing, which profession he followed for two years.
On the expiration of that period, he entered a law
school, for he had determined to make the legal
profession his life work. After pursuing a thor
ough course of study, he was admitted to the Bar,
in 1885, and at once opened a law office. In May,
1892, he was elected Attorney for the West Side,.
and in 1893 was elected County Attorney.
Mr. Maher was married in April, 1891, when
Miss Mary C. Rafferty, daughter of John Rafferty,
became his wife. They have one child, a daugh
ter, Mary. The parents are both devout mem-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

47-1

bers of the Catholic Church, take an active in
terest in its welfare and contribute liberally to its
support. In his political affiliations, Mr. Maher is a
Democrat, and is an earnest worker in the ranks
of the Democracy. He is a member of the Cook
County Democratic Club, and is' zealous in his
efforts to promote the growth of his party. Dur
ing his service as County Attorney he has proved
an able officer, and has discharged his duties with
credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his
constituents. With several social orders he is
connected, including the Knights of Pythias, the
Catholic Benevolent Legion, the Catholic Order of
Foresters, and the Knights of St. Patrick.

\A J. BRANSFIELD, who is numbered among
y the prominent Democrats of Chicago, and is
(fj now filling the responsible position of City
Treasurer, is a native of the Emerald Isle. He
was born in 1848, and is a son of John and Mary
Bransfield, who were also natives of the same
country. His parents crossed the Atlantic to
America in 1852, locating first in New York,
where they spent three years. On the expiration
of that period they came to Chicago, where the
father engaged in business as a dealer in stone.
M. J. Bransfield was a lad of only four sum
mers when he crossed the briny deep, and since
the age of seven years he has lived in Chicago.
The city at .the time of his arrival was just com
ing into prominence, and only a few years had
elapsed since it was a mere hamlet on a wet prai
rie, giving no evidence that it would become the
metropolis of the West. Here he was reared to
manhood, and the public schools afforded him his
educational privileges. In his youth he learned
the cooper's trade, thoroughly mastering the bus
iness, and for a quarter of a century followed that
pursuit, fifteen years of the time having charge of
the cooperage department of the Anglo- American
Company. In the mean time, Mr. Bransfield had made
quite a study of politics, had identified himself

with the Democratic party, and was becoming
recognized as an able exponent of the principles
of Democracy. In 1888, he severed his connec
tion with the Anglo- American Company in order
to make the canvass for City Clerk, for which he
had received the nomination on the Democratic
ticket. He made a strong canvass, polling a
large vote, and was only defeated by a majority
of fifty-two. He then accepted the position of
Assistant City Treasurer under B. Roesing, and
continued in that, position for two years with him,
and for two years with Peter Kiolbossa. In 1893,
he was nominated for the office of City Treasurer,
and when the election returns were received it
was found that he was the successful candidate.
Soon after, he entered upon the duties of the posi
tion which he is now filling. For twelve years
Mr. Bransfield has been a member of the County
Democratic Central Committee, and was a dele
gate to the last State Convention when Gov. Alt-
geld was nominated. He does all in his power to
promote the interests of Democracy, and to fur
ther its growth and insure its success.
In 1876 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Bransfield and Miss Marguerite Hanlon, a daugh
ter of Peter Hanlon, of Cleveland, Ohio. Socially,
our subject is connected with the Ancient Order
of United Workmen, with the Benevolent Catholic
Legion, and is a member of the Columbus Club.
When he entered upon his duties as City Treas
urer, he gave a bond of $19,500,000.

_S1

£+£i

~®

W|RS. ANNIE V. JONES, widow of Benja-
y min F. Jones, is now living quietly at her
(9 home on Prospect Avenue in Park Ridge.
Her husband was born in Philadelphia, Pa.,
January 11, 1845, and was the son of Charles S.
and Emeline (Houston) Jones. The family was of
Welsh descent on the paternal side, and of English
extraction on the maternal side. The Jones and
Houston families lived in the vicinity of Phila
delphia during the Revolutionary War, and dur
ing that struggle a Mrs. Houston, one of the an
cestors of our subject, was baking .bread when

472

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Washington retreated past her home, followed
by the British. Some of the troops ofthe latter en
tered her house and got her bread, fresh and hot.
The families were both represented in the Colonial
service. John Houston, grandfather of Benja
min F. Jones, was Alderman of Chestnut Hill
in 1801 and 1802, and as such left a record now
in possesion of the Jones family. They also
have a chair two hundred years old, which has
been handed down through several generations.
The lady whose name heads this record was
in her maidenhood Annie Lighteap, daughter of
Solomon and Sophia (Sechler) Lighteap, residents
of Philadelphia County, Pa. Her father was a
butcher by trade. His mother belonged to a
family by the name of Rittenhouse, that came to
America in 1686. Many of its members became
quite distinguished along various lines. Annie
Lighteap was born March 19, 1847, and became
the wife of Benjamin F. Jones on Christmas Day
of 1867, their union being celebrated in Phila
delphia. To them were born six children, four
ofwhom are yet living: Charles R., Benjamin F.,
Elsie I. and Joshua. The children were all ed
ucated in Chicago. Charles also attended the
Northwestern College, of Naperville, and is a
good business man.
When only fifteen years of age, the father of
this family enlisted in the service of his country
as a drummer-boy, becoming a member of the
Eighty-third Pennsylvania Infantry in July,
1 86 1. He was wounded, and in 1864 was taken
prisoner. He was confined in Andersonville and
Libby Prisons for nine months, and after his re
lease he was made First Lieutenant of his com
pany. The fidelity with which he served the in
terests of the Union characterized his entire life.
For some years he was a publisher, connected
with the National Publishing Company. He had
charge _ of the western branch of its business, and
in 1867 removed to St. Louis, Mo. The follow
ing year he went to Chicago, where he made his
home until 1886. He then went to Maryland, but
his death occurred shortly after, on the 16th of Feb
ruary, 1886. He was a man highly esteemed by
those with whom business and social relations
brought him in contact, and his death was deeply

mourned. After some years spent in Maryland,
Mrs. Jones exchanged her farm property for her
present comfortable home in Park Ridge, where
she and her family now reside. She holds mem
bership with the Congregational Church, and is a
lady whose lovable traits of character have gained
her many friends.

*#$+£

S3-

B~

R

j lENRY WULFF, a representative business
man, who is now Treasurer of the Jefferson
Street Railway Company, and President of
the Double Eagle Mining Company, claims
Germany as the land of his birth, which occurred
in Mildorf, on the 24th of August, 1854. His
parents were Claus and Catherine Wulff, also na
tives of Germany. Our subject spent the first
nine years of his life in that country, and then
accompanied his parents on their emigration to
America. Crossing the ocean, they made their
way to Illinois, and took up their residence in
the town of Jefferson, which is now included
within the dty limits of Chicago.
Under the parental roof our subject was reared
to manhood. He acquired his education in the
public schools and in Dyrensforth College of Chi
cago, and when his school life was completed he
embarked in merchandising, which he carried on
successfully*- for some time. At different periods
he has engaged as a wholesale dealer in flour and
feed, and was also agent for the Werder, Bush-
nell & Glessner Company, in the sale of agri
cultural implements. He is a man of good busi
ness and executive ability, is far-sighted and
sagacious, and in his dealings he has won success
by careful attention to all details and well-direct
ed efforts. He is progressive, and his advanced
ideas are tempered by cool and careful judgment.
He is now connected with the Street Railway
Company of Jefferson, of which he was elected
and is now serving as Treasurer, and is President
of the' Double Eagle Mining Company. These
enterprises are proving profitable investments,
and yield to him a good income.
In 1875 Mr. Wulff was united in marriage

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

473

with Miss Catherine Englehart, and unto them
have been born three children, a son and two
daughters : Nellie, Lillie and Frederick. Mr.
Wulff takes considerable interest in civic soci
eties. He is a Knight Templar Mason, belong
ing to Siloam Commandery, and holds member
ship with the Independent Order of Foresters,
the Order of Red Men and the Knights of Pyth
ias. He also belongs to two German organiza
tions, Plattdeutscher Verein and Fortschritt
Turnverein. He is a liberal supporter of chari
table "enterprises, and is interested in all that per
tains to the general welfare.
Before the annexation of the town of Jefferson
to Chicago, Mr. Wulff was elected Trustee for
three terms of two years each, and was twice
President of the Board. In November, 1886, he
was nominated by the Republican party for the
position of County Clerk, and so ably did he fill
the office, that on the expiration of his four-years
term he was re-elected, in 1890. This is indeed
an honor of which he may well be proud, for no
one has ever before in Cook County been re
elected to that position, which he is now filling to
the satisfaction of all concerned. He has even
won the commendation of his political enemies.
In June, 1892, he was made a delegate to the
National Republican Convention, which con
vened in Minneapolis. He is numbered among
. the prominent citizens of Cook County, and is a
leader in business and political circles.

<A RS. MARY HARRISON, who is living a
y quiet and retired life in Park Ridge, is num-
0 bered among the pioneer settlers of North
eastern Illinois. For half a century she has been
a resident of Cook County, and has seen the won
derful growth and development of this region.
She was born on the 9th of September, 1825, in
England, where her early girlhood days were
passed. Her father was John Henley, and his
family numbered eight children : John, now a res
ident of Iowa; Mary, whose name heads this rec
ord; Frederick, who is living in Northfield;

Thomas, whose home is in California; Albert, a
resident of Chicago; Charles, a farmer of Iroquois
County, 111.; Clara, who is living in Watseka,
111.; and Robert, who lives at Northfield.
In 1842, the father with his family started for
the New World. At Liverpool they boarded the
sailing-vessel "Lincoln," commanded by Capt.
Lincoln, and for seven weeks and four days were
upon the broad Atlantic. Mrs. Harrison says
she was sorry- to see land, for she had learned to
love the sea and did not wish to leave it. They
landed at New York City, and soon after, by
way of the Hudson River and Erie Canal, pro
ceeded to Buffalo, where they took a steamer on
the Lakes for Chicago. When they reached their
destination, they found nothing but a few sheds
where the piers are now located. Mrs. Harrison
has seen Chicago in all its phases: first as a mere
village; then as a mighty city ; again as a vast ruin
under the devastating power of fire; and now as
the metropolis of the West.
Six years before the arrival of the Henley fam
ily, Robert Dewes had emigrated from Martin,
Yorkshire, England, to America, and located in
Chicago. He formed the acquaintance of Miss
Henley, and in January, 1845, they were married.
Three sons and four daughters were born unto
them: John D. and William, who follow farming;
Robert, a retired farmer, who since 1892 has made
his home in Irving Park; Elizabeth Ann, wife of
Alfred Oldfield; Jennie, widow of Mr. Reynolds,
who was killed on their wedding tour; Amelia,
wife of William Tinen, who is living in Chicago;
and Nina, widow of Joseph Ohlinger. The father
of this family was called to his final rest in 1866.
On the 24th of May, 1874, Mrs. Dewes became
the wife of John Harrison, a farmer and early
settler of this community. His brother, Thomas
Harrison, aided in building the Erie Canal. John
located near Elk Grove in 1843, and continued a
resident of northeastern Illinois until called to
the home beyond. He died in March, 1890,
at the advanced age of seventy-nine years, and
was buried on Easter Sunday by the river side,
near Niles, where many of the old settlers are
sleeping to-day. He left his. wife considerable
property, which is located in and around Park

474-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Ridge. She looks after her own interests and in
the management of affairs displays excellent
business ability. She has long been a resident
of this community, and is well known among the
old-time settlers of the county.

— ^H^§

["RANK THOMA, who is engaged in the hotel
rd business in Des Plaines, is a native of Nas-
| sau, Germany, born on the 17th of Decem
ber, 1841. He was only twelve years of age when
he left his native land and crossed the Atlantic to
America. He at once made his way to Cook
County, locating in Chicago. He acquired his
education in the schools of his native land, and for
about two months attended the public schools of
Chicago. Mr. Thoma was a young man of twenty years
at the time of the breaking out of the late war.
Hardly had the smoke from Ft. Sumter's guns
cleared away, or the echoes ceased to reverberate,
when he entered the service. He enlisted April
16, 1861, as a member ofthe Union Cadets, the
first company that ever left Chicago. In May,
1861, he joined the Thirteenth Illinois Infantry,
the first three-years regiment from the State, and
became First Sergeant of Company I. He was
afterward made Orderly-Sergeant, and later was
promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant. He
was wounded at Chickasaw Bayou, near Vicks
burg, and during his service participated in the
battles of Chickasaw Bayou, the siege of Vicks
burg, and the engagements at Black River, Look
out Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Ringgold
Gap. He also participated in the campaign through
southwestern Missouri, helping to drive Price out
of that State, and took part in the battle of Arkan
sas Post, where his life was saved by his watch,
which was struck by a ball. If it had not been for
his time-piece, the Joall would probably have
caused his death.
After three years of faithful service, Mr. Thoma
was mustered out, and returned home in 1864.
He immediately afterward engaged in the butch
ering business for a short time, and then embarked

in the wholesale whisky business. He after
ward engaged in the retail liquor business in
Chicago, there carrying on operations until 1883,
which year witnessed his arrival in Des Plaines,
since which time he has been engaged in the hotel
business. In the big fire in Chicago in 1871, he
lost all of his property, but has since' retrieved
his lost possessions.
Mr. Thoma was married in 1864, and has four
sons. He has been a Republican in politics since
casting his first Presidential vote for Abraham
Lincoln. He served as Trustee of Des Plaines
from 1888 until 1891, and was a member of the
Cook County Central Committee of the Republi
can party for three years. Socially, he is con
nected with Gen. Willich's Post No. 665, G. A. R.,
of Chicago; is a member of Gladiator Lodge
No. 450, K. P.; and was the first Chancellor of Ti-
tonia Lodge No. 97, K. P., having represented it in
the Grand Lodge; he is also a member of Hoffnung
Lodge No. 353,1.0.0. F., which he represented
in the Grand Lodge in 1878; and has been a mem
ber of Lodge No. 10, Good Fellows, since 1870.

S3

$+£{

ROBERT VILE, who is engaged in general
farming and the dairy business on section
18, Lyons Township, is one of the self-made
men of Cook County, whose success in life is the
result of his own unaided efforts. He was born
near Chester, in Orange County, N. Y., in April,
1824, and is a son of Joseph and Louisa (Smith)
Vile. The father was a native of Rhode Island,
and was of French extraction. During his resi
dence in the Empire State he engaged in mer
chandising. In 1825 he went to New York,
where he made his home until 1833, when he
emigrated to Illinois. The trip westward was
made by canal and stage, and he went by way of
Detroit to Chicago. He spent the winter of 1833
and 1834 in Peoria, and the following spring lo
cated on the farm where his son now resides. He
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on
section 18, Lyons Township, three miles south of
La Grange. It was Government land, and 'in

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

475

consequence entirely unimproved. He erected a
log cabin , 1 6x 1 6 feet, and there kept a hotel. The
nearest hquse to the west was a distance of ten
miles. The Indians were more numerous than
the white settlers, but they were peaceable, sel
dom occasioning any trouble. Upon the farm
where he first located, Mr. Vile made his home
until his death. He was a faithful member of
the Congregational Church, and aided in the or
ganization of the schools in this community. He
passed away in 'November, 1852, and his wife
died in September, 1856. She, too, was a mem
ber of the Congregational Church, and was laid
by the side of her husband in»Lyons Cemetery.
In the Vile family were five children, three sons
and two daughters, as follows: Samuel, who is
now living in La Grange; Martha, widow of J. L.
Wells, and a resident of Western Springs; Robert
of this sketch; and Nathaniel and Julia, both de
ceased. Robert Vile came with his parents to this county
in 1834, when ten years of age, and was reared
to manhood in the township and upon the farm
where he still makes his home. There were no
schools in the neighborhood until a year or two
after his arrival. The first schoolhouse in Lyons
Township was erected in 1843, so we see that the
educational advantages of our subject were neces
sarily quite limited, and he is almost entirely self-
educated. At the age of twenty-two years he
commenced life for himself, purchasing a part of
the old homestead, but remained with his father
until after the latter's death, 'when he andhis
brother Nathaniel took charge of the old farm.
He now owns one hundred and twenty acres that
were purchased by his father, besides fifty acres
additional. He carries on general farming and
dairying and his labors yield to him a good in
come. On the 29th of May, 1856, Mr. Vile was united
in marriage with Miss Mary Ketchum, a native
of Orange County, N. Y. , born in November,
1834. Her parents were Edwin R. and Jane
(Curry) Ketchum. Nine children have been
born unto Mr. and Mrs. Vile, six sons and three
daughters, ofwhom one died in infancy. Edwin
R. is now a farmer of Lyons Township; Mary L.

is the wife of Samuel Craigmile; Frederick K.
is a civil engineer living in this county ; Eugene
is the next younger; Stella died September 19,
1878; Robert C. is now attending college, fitting
himself for the work of a civil engineer; Albert
died at the age of two years and ten months; and
Alice completes the family.
Mr. Vile is the present Township Treasurer of
Lyons Township. He was elected to that posi
tion in 1856, and has filled it continuously since,
proving a most capable and faithful officer, as his
long continuance in the position well shows. He
also served as Supervisor of his township for two
years. Himself and wife are members of the Con
gregational Church, and are well known people
of this community, whose worth and ability are
recognized.

EAPT. PETER G. GARDNER, one of the
representative citizens of La Grange, and a
man prominent in public affairs in this com
munity, claims Ohio as his native State. He was
born near Zanesville, September 12, 1842, and
was the second in a family of four children, three
sons and a daughter, born unto Adam and Eliza
beth Gaertner. The mode of spelling the sur
name was changed to Gardner by the Captain.
The father was born in Germany, and there grew
to mature years. Having married, he came to
this country, locating near Zanesville, Ohio. His
wife died in 1846, after which the family was
scattered, and the father joined an Ohio regiment
for service in the Mexican War. He was killed
in the siege of the City of Mexico.
Capt. Gardner was only four years of age at
the time of his mother's death. He was bound
out to a farmer near Zanesville, and there resided
until fifteen years of age, when he began work
ing as a farm hand by the month through the
summer season, and in the winter he attended
the common schools. On the 17th of April, 1861,
he joined Company A, of the Fifteenth Ohio In
fantry, for three months' service, being among the
first to respond to the call for troops. When that

476

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

term had expired, he immediately re-enlisted, and
was' made Corporal March 7, 1862. He was ap
pointed Sergeant January 1, 1864, aud -was made
First Lieutenant February 9, 1865. On the ist
of January, 1864, he again enlisted for another
term of three years, if the war continued so
long. On the 9th of February, 1865, he was dis
charged as an enlisted 'man, to accept a commis
sion as First Lieutenant of his old company and
regiment. On the 22d of December, 1865, in
Columbus, Ohio, he received his final discharge.
He participated in the engagement at Philippi,
W. Va. , and afterwards took part in the battles
of Carricks Ford, Cheat Mountain and Shiloh.
He also participated in the engagement at Liberty
Gap, Chickamauga and Mission Ridge, and was
in the entire campaign from Chattanooga to At
lanta, which lasted from May 1 until Septem
ber 1, 1864. During all that time hardly an hour
passed during which the sound of the guns could
not be heard. He took part in the engagements
at Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, New Hope Church,
Kennesaw Mountain, Chattahoochee River, and for
five weeks was in the siege of Atlanta. The army
then went South, and after the battle of Franklin
the regiment in which Mr. Gardner served, which
formed a part of the rear-guard, had to destroy
the bridge at that place. They then returned to
Nashville, Tenn., with Gen. Thomas in com
mand, and participated in the campaign. In June,
1865, Capt. Gardner was sent to western Texas,
and during the month of August, with his troops,
marched from Matagorda Bay to San Antonio,
where he remained on duty until December, 1865.
He then marched back to the Gulf of Mexico,
after which he returned home. He received no
serious wounds, but had some very narrow es
capes. He still has in his possession the sword
which he carried through the greater part of the
war, and upon it is a large scar that was caused
by a piece of shell striking it.
When his country no longer needed his serv
ices, Capt. Gardner returned to his home in
Zanesville, Ohio, but after a short time went to
visit his sister in Mattoon, 111. The eldest
brother of the family, now deceased, was in the
Sixth Iowa Infantry. The Captain had not seen

him since the home was broken up until the
night following the battle of Shiloh, when they
chanced to meet. The brother was wounded at
the battle of Missionary Ridge, and was a cripple
throughout the remainder of his life. George A. ,
another brother, was a member of the same com
pany and regiment as our subject, and is now
residing in Chula, Mo., a retired farmer and
prominent citizen of that place, where he is en
gaged in the banking business. Their sister,
Catherine, is now the wife of Henry Hortinstine,
a farmer residing in Chillicothe, Mo.
Removing to Clinton, Iowa, in 1866, Capt.
Gardner there engaged in the fire-insurance bus
iness until 1869, when he went to Chicago, where
he followed the same pursuit and where he is
still engaged in business. In the spring of 1871,
he came to where the town of LaGrange now
stands, being the first resident of the village.
Purchasing a lot on the prairie, he has made
this place his home continuously since.
In June, 1869, was celebrated the marriage of
Mr. Gardner and Miss Maroa E. Conklin, of Dar
ien, Wis., who died in 1873, leaving one son,
Charles A., who is now in the Treasurer's office
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad,
filling a responsible position. Our subject was
again married, in December, 1874, his second un
ion being with Miss Luella W. Humphry, of Port
land, Me. They had five children, but three of
the number died in infancy, and William R., a
young man of much promise, died at the age of
seventeen. Eugene, the youngest, is a lad of
eleven years.
Mr. Gardner takes considerable interest in civic
societies, especially in Masonry, in which he has
taken the .Thirty -second Degree. He is a mem
ber of the La Grange Lodge, and an honorary
member of Garden City Lodge of Chicago. He
belongs to the Commandery of the military order
of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and to
the Grand Army of the Republic. He was one
of the organizers of Hiram McClintock Post No.
667, G. A. R., of LaGrange, and was its first
Commander. He also organized the Masonic
lodge at this place, was its Master for six years,
and is now High Priest of the Chapter. With

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

477

the Royal Arcanum he is also connected. In his
political views, he is a stanch Republican, who
always gives his support to the men and meas
ures of his party. He is now serving as Secre
tary of the High School Board, is Secretary and
Treasurer of the Music Hall Association of La
Grange, is a warm friend to education, and is a
patron of all those enterprises which are calcu
lated to uplift humanity. He is now doing a
large insurance business in Chicago, and has the
respect and esteem of all who know him. He is'
an honored member of various societies, and has
won prominence through merit and ability. He
was ever true to his country in her hour of peril,
and for four years and a-half was actively en
gaged in her service, faithfully defending the Old
Flag which now floats so proudly over the united
nation.

_S3

$+£

IS_

S3

HON. CARTER H. HARRISON, deceased,
late Mayor of Chicago, was one of the most
prominent citizens ofthe western metropolis
for the long period of thirty-six years, and was
its most popular citizen. The record of his life is
interwoven with the history of the community,
with its social, business and political career. A
native of Fayette County, Ky., he came of an old
Virginian family, which was connected with the
struggle for independence, and which had among
its members one of the signers of the Declaration
of Independence. His father vvas a gentleman
planter, and from his birth, February 15, 1825,
until his sixteenth year, he remained in the old
southern home. After completing his common-
school and academic education, he studied under
Dr. Marshall, of Lexington, brother of Chief
Justice Marshall, thus preparing himself for his
university course. He entered the sophomore
class at Yale in 1842, and was graduated in law
and letters in 1845. At college he was a member
of the Scroll and Key Society, whose roster em
braces the names of the most prominent men who
claim Yale as their Alma Mater. After his re
turn to Kentucky, Mr. Harrison attended a post

graduate course of law lectures for a year. He
then went back to his boyhood home, and wa.s
the manager of the large plantation from 1847
to 1851
In the latter year, Mr. Harrison went abroad,
spending some months in visiting Paris, London,
Edinburgh and the cities of Germany and Austria.
The ostensible purpose of this trip was the pur
chase of some blooded cattle, and this business
brought him in contact with the Earl of Ducie, at
whose country seat he made a long visit. It was
during this trip that he studied the French and
German languages, his knowledge of which
proved of immense benefit to him in later years,
and made him one of the best representatives of
the nation in receiving the foreign visitors at the
World's Columbian Exposition, so lately closed.
Leaving Europe, Mr. Harrison then spent many
months in travel through Syria, Palestine and
Asia Minor, in company with Bayard Taylor,
who was then gathering material for his book,
"The Land of the Saracen," in the preface of
which the author refers to "my traveling com
panion, Mr. Carter Henry Harrison, of Clifton,
Ky." Returning to his native land and State in 1852,
Mr. Harrison completed his law studies and was
soon afterwards admitted to the Bar. In 1855,
he married Miss Sophie Preston, of Henderson,
Ky . , and unto them were born four children who
are yet living: Lina, wife of Heaton Owsley, of
Chicago; Carter H., Jr.; William Preston and
Sophie G. There were six other children, all of
whom died in eariy youth.
Chicago was first visited by Mr. Harrison the
year of his marriage, and so well pleased was
he with the young city that he sold his Ken
tucky home, and in 1857 made a permanent loca
tion here. The $30,000 which he secured from
his Kentucky property he at once invested in
real estate. One of his earliest purchases was the
block at the corner of Clark and Harrison Streets,
which he still owned at the time of his death, and
which in the years that have passed has be
come very valuable. He also bought unim
proved land on the West Side, which was later
made the Carter Harrison Subdivision. His first

478

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

home was at the southwest corner of Hermitage
Avenue and Congress Street, where he erected a
residence in i860. Six years later he purchased
the Honore home at No. 231 Ashland Avenue,
where he continued to reside until his death.
On coming to Chicago, he engaged to a limi
ted extent iu law practice, but he who was to be
come so well known as an orator and extempor
aneous speaker was then so timid about public
speaking that he abandoned the law. In 1871,
he entered upon his official career, being elected
County Commissioner. In 1872, he was pre
vailed upon to make the race for Congress
against Jasper D. Ward, but was defeated by seven
hundred votes. In 1874, he again accepted the
nomination. He and his opponent, Mr. Ward,
who had defeated him two years previously,
both claimed the election, and on a recount
of votes Mr. Harrison was declared the winner
by a majority of eight. It was while he was in
Congress that, in September, 1876, his wife died.
She passed away in Gera, Germany, where the
elder children were attending school, and was
there, interred. While Mr. Harrison was crossing
the ocean to bring his motherless children home,
his Democratic constituents nominated him for
Congress, and a few days after his return he was
re-elected, defeating Col. George R. Davis by six
hundred votes. Later the remains of his wife were
brought back to Chicago and interred at Grace-
land. He refused the re-nomination for Congress
in 1878.
In 1879, by the vote of the people, Mr. Har
rison was placed in the Mayor's chair, which he
filled for eight years, being three times re-elected.
During his second term, he was again married,
the. lady being Miss Margaret Stearns, daughter
ot Marcus C. Stearns, one of the oldest settlers of
Chicago. The ceremony was performed in July,
1882. In 1887, Mr. Harrison was offered a fifth
nomination, but declined. Even after this his
name was put before the convention as a dele
gate, and he was nominated by acclamation. Mr.
Harrison, who had hitherto been absent, then ap
peared before the convention, and his coming was
the signal for an ovation. Cheer after cheer rent
the air. When quiet had been restored, he said

that he would only accept on one . condition,
namely, that every man in the convention should
by raising his right hand pledge himself to loyally
support his candidacy. Every hand went up,
and again a mighty cheer shook the building.
The local press antagonized his nomination bit
terly, and friends of President Cleveland gave it
out that the administration at Washington de
sired 'Mr. Harrison's defeat. Worried by this
opposition in his party and the illness of his wife,
who died a few weeks later, he sent a letter of res
ignation to the Democratic Committee.
Two months after the death of his wife, Mr.
Harrison started on his journey around the
world, and during his. travels the public was
made familiar with his wanderings through his'
letters to the Chicago Mail. On his return he
was urged to put these into book form, which
he later did, under the happily selected title, ' 'A
Race with the Sun." His was certainly one of
the most comprehensive journeys ever made in
one circuit of the globe. He visited the north
western part of our own country, the Pacific
Coast, and sailed from Vancover to Yokohama.
He spent many pleasant hours in Japan; studied
the habits and quaint customs of the Chinese; be
came intimate with the King of Siam; visited the
various points of interest in India and Ceylon;
sailed the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the
Suez Canal; took a trip up the Nile, and after
wards studied Greece in the light of its past and
of its present, and drew his conclusions as to its
future. In conclusion he wrote: "Again I look
out of our window; clouds are gathering over the
sky; the curtain of the far West is dyed in purple
and salmon. Through a cloud-rift the round,
low-down sun is bloody red. Nearly five hun
dred times has he run his course since we started
in our race with him around the world. He has
reached our home and passed it, and we are not
yet quite there. He dips his rim and is gone.
He has won the race. To him and to you good
bye." Mr. Harrison reached home on the 8th of No
vember, 1889, aud the following year was again
urged to become the candidate for Mayor, but he
refused the honor, and during the two succeed-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

479

ing years lived a quiet, retired life. At the ex
piration of that period, however, he was again a
nominee for Mayor on an independent ticket.
Nothing else could have so indicated his personal
popularity. There were four candidates in the
field, and Mr. Harrison polled a very large vote,
the three leaders being separated by but three
thousand ballots. Members of the Democracy
greatly opposed his course, but the majority of
the party believed in him, and he became their
candidate for the campaign of 1893. He was
elected by an overwhelming majority to a position
all the more important from the fact that his city,
where the World's Fair was to be held, would
receive distinguished visitors from all lands, and
he would virtually be the country's representa
tive in welcoming them to the United States. All
summer long as a courteous host he presided,
and each day added to the number of his friends.
Again and again he had presided on different pub
lic occasions, and on the 28th of October, two days
before the official closing of the Fair, Mayors' Day
was celebrated, a day set apart for the Mayors of
all the cities of the Union. Mr. Harrison, in his
capacity of host, presided, and at the close of the
ceremonies returned to his home. A few hours
later a shot was fired which terminated his life,
and the city, which was making such extensive
preparations to close the Fair with brilliant cere
monies, went instead into mourning for its Chief
Executive.

-S).

S3

H^

sr

EHARLES A. WHITNEY, publisher and edi
tor of the Suburban News, of La Grange, is
a native of Ohio. He was born in Garretts-
ville, Portage County, May 15, 1854. The fam
ily was originally of French lineage, but for sev
eral generations his ancestors have resided in the
United States. His father, Samuel E. Whitney,
was born in Montville, Geauga County, Ohio,
was there reared upon a farm until fifteen years
of age, and then learned the shoemaker's trade,
which he followed for many years. For some
time he was the owner of a large shoe factory in

New Lisbon, Ohio. He afterward removed to
Portland, Mich., where he still makes his home,
and for some time has there engaged in the man
ufacture of shoes. He married Miss Amanda
Allen, who was born in Montville, Ohio, and was
a relative of Col. Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary-
fame. The family was established in this country
during early Colonial days. Her death occurred
in Portland, Mich., at the age of thirty-seven
years. Our subject had no brothers and but one
sister, Fannie, now the wife of John Anderson,
who is engaged in the lumber business in Seat
tle, Wash.
When Charles A. Whitney was a lad of thir
teen years, his father met with business reverses,
and he started out in life to earn his living. He
first began working in a printing-office, and was
employed in the same way after the removal of
the family to Portland, Mich., for two and a-half
years. He afterward worked on morning news
papers as a reporter, and later he was in the com--
posing-room of newspapers in Cleveland, Pitts
burgh, Philadelphia and Boston for three years.
On St. Patrick's Day of 1872, he reached Chicago,
and has since been a resident of Cook County.
He at once entered the employ of the Culver,
Page & Hoyne Printing Company, having charge
of a department in the composing-room for nine
years. On the expiration of that period he took
charge of the Grocers' Criterion, a trade journal
of Chicago, where he remained for about eighteen
months. In June, 1876, was celebrated the marriage of
Mr. Whitney and Miss Carrie A. Roode, of Chi
cago, and to them have been born nine children,
four sons and five daughters. One son died in
infancy, and the living are: Grace, a well-edu
cated young lady, who expects to enter the jour
nalistic field; Edith, Mabel, William, Glenn,
Marion, Helen and Grant.
In his political views, Mr. Whitney is a Re
publican, and, socially, is a member of La Grange
Lodge No. 770, A. F. & A. M. His wife holds
membership with the Christian Church, and he
contributes to its support, although he is not con
nected with any religious organization. While
with the Grocers' Criterion, he established a pa-

48o

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

per in La Grange, printing it in Chicago. The
first issue made its appearance before the pub
lic on the 13th of January, 1884. Shortly after,
Mr." Whitney came to this place and has since
given his entire attention to his newspaper work.
He began with hardly any capital, but he now
owns a good printing outfit, supplied with every
thing found in a first-class establishment of the
kind, aud he prints two church papers in connec
tion with the Suburban News, which now has an
extensive circulation. He is also doing a large
business in the job department. His paper is a
neat and bright sheet, a credit to the town and to
the publisher.
P GjESLEY POLK was a native of Kentucky.
\A/ He was born in Jefferson County, on the
V V 4th of November, 1818, and was one of six
children whose parents were Edmund and Mar
garet Polk. Their children were H. H., James,
William, Wesley and Wilson, but Henry H. is
the only one now living.
Our subject was born and reared upon the
home farm in Kentucky, and acquired the greater
part of his education outside the school-room.
He began life for himself when a young man, and
was afterward dependent upon his own resources.
In 1 83 1 he left the State of his nativity and re
moved to Indiana, where he made his home un
til 1833, when he came to Illinois, making the
journey by wagon. He located in Lyons Town
ship, where he purchased a tract of wild, uncul
tivated land on section 2 1 , upon which a log cabin
was built. He was accompanied by his parents
and family, and they experienced all the hard
ships and trials of life ou the frontier. The In
dians were still numerous in the settlement, and
Chicago was the trading-point of the pioneers.
Mr. Polk grew to manhood upon the new farm,
and there made his home until 1849, when, in
connection with his brother H. H., and three
other young men, they started with pack mules
for California. They walked much of the dis
tance, but at length after traveling for several

months reached their destination. There Mr.
Polk engaged in prospecting and mining from
1849 until 1 85 1. His trip proved quite a success
ful one, and he returned home by way of New
York City and the water route. He then came
back to the farm, and to agricultural pursuits de
voted his energies until the breaking out of the
war, when, in 1861, prompted by patriotic im
pulses, he responded to the country's call for
troops. He enlisted as a private, was assigned
to Company H, One Hundred and Twenty -seventh
Illinois Infantry, and was mustered into service in
Chicago. He faithfully followed the Old Flag for
three years, and during that time was never, either
wounded or taken prisoner, but was always found
at his post of duty, participating in all the engage
ments in which the regiment took part, a faithful
and valiant defender of the Union. When mus
tered out he held the rank of Corporal.
When the war was over, Mr. Polk returned to
the old farm, where he lived until 188 1. He then
purchased the farm now owned by the family. It
comprised one hundred and ninety acres of rich
and valuable land, under a high state of cultiva
tion and well improved with all the accessories
and conveniences of a model farm. Mr. Polk be
gan life a poor boy, but his career was a success
ful one, for he was diligent and enterprising and
possessed good business ability.
In i860 Mr. Polk was united in marriage with
Miss Mary J. Bielby. Her birthplace was near
Utica, N. Y. They had only one child, Edmund
R., who was born March 7, 1866. He attended
the public schools and was graduated from the
Metropolitan Business College of Chicago. On
the 14th of January, 1891, he married Miss Agnes
Little, and they have become the parents of one
son, Wesley W. Edmund now carries on the
home farm and is a wide-awake and enterprising
agriculturist. The father was called to his final rest May 23,
1893, and his remains are interred in Lyonsville
Cemetery. He had the respect of all who knew
him and his death was deeply mourned. In poli
tics, he was a stalwart advocate ofthe Republican
party and its principles, and did all in his power
to insure its success. For fourteen successive

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

481

years he creditably and ably filled the office of
Justice of the Peace, was Township Collector, and
also served as Supervisor: Socially, he was a
member of the Grand Army post, and in religious
belief he was a Congregationalist. Alike true in
public and private life, and faithful to every trust,
he had the confidence and warm regard of all with
whom business or social relations brought him in
contact. rs '" cir^T "> ST"75' §1
EHRISTIAN THIELE, a well-known citizen
of Proviso Township, this county, is a native
of Germany, his birth having occurred in
Hanover, on the 19th of January, 1834. His boy
hood and youth were quietly passed; the common
schools afforded him his educational privileges,
and in his native laud he learned the carpenter's
trade. Thinking to better his financial condition
by emigrating to the New World, in 1850 he
sailed for America, and after a voyage of nine
weeks landed in New York City. During the
trip across the water he served as the ship's car
penter. He left home with a capital of $50, which
his father gave him, and with this he started out
in life in the United States, a stranger in a
strange land. After remaining in New York
City for a short time, he took an emigrant train to
Chicago. On reaching that place, Mr. Thiele found that
his money was exhausted, but he soon secured
employment as a carpenter, and thus worked for
about eighteen months. He then went to what
is now Addison, and worked at his chosen trade,
building houses for the farmers of that locality
for a period of about nine years. With the capi
tal thus acquired, he purchased a ten-acre tract of
land where the village of Proviso now stands, and
has here made his home continuously since. He
rented an additional tract, and turned his atten
tion to farming, which he carries on in connection
with the hay business.
In 1857, Mr. Thiele was joined in marriage
with Miss Minnie Summerman, of Cook County,
and unto them were born two children: Henry,

who is now carrying on a grocery on Madison
Street, in Oak Park, Chicago; and Sophia, wife
of William Ruchty, a resident of Fullersburg.
In the year 1872, the mother of this family was
called to her final rest, and in 1874 Mr. Thiele
was again married, his second union being with
Miss Margaret Bernard, by whom he has two
children, a son and daughter, Arno and Lizzie,
both at home.
Mr. Thiele is now the owner of one hundred
and sixty acres of valuable land in Cook County,
together with a handsome brick residence, store
and saloon, which are valued at $23,000. He
also has a granary worth $6,000. Everything
that he now possesses has been acquired through
his own efforts. When he reached Chicago, he
slept for two nights in the depot, for he had not
money enough to pay for lodging. Undaunted,
however, by the difficulties in his path, he soon
secured work, and as he was enabled to save
something from his earnings, he made judicious
investments of his capital, and is now numbered
among the substantial citizens of this community.
He may be truly called a self-made man. In his
political views, Mr. Thiele is a Republican, and
has served his township as Highway Commis
sioner.

S3

ST

Jfi\ STARR CARRINGTON, who resides upon
P/ a farm on section 18, Lyons Township, is
| fa) numbered among the pioneer settlers of Cook
County of 1836. His residence therefore in this
community covers a period of fifty-seven years.
He was born in Middletown, Conn., on the 12th
of December, 18 16, and is a son of Henry and
Susan (Starr) Carrington, both of whom were of
English descent. The Starr family was founded
in America in 1634. The grandfather, Nathan
Starr, served in the Revolutionary War. Unto
Mr. and Mrs. Carrington were born seven chil
dren, as follows: Susan, Elizabeth, Mary, Henry,
Starr, Lorrania and William, but our subject is
now the only one living. While in the East, the
father served as cashier of the Middletown Bank.
At length he determined to seek a home on the

482

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

broad prairies of the West, and emigrated to Chi
cago, then a small town, giving little or no evi
dence of its future growth and importance. He
there engaged in the brokerage business in con
nection with E. K. Hubbard until 1837, when he
removed to the farm of three hundred and twenty
acres which he had purchased of B. Jacobs for
$12.50 per acre the year previous. Upon this
farm he made his home until 1840, when he re
turned to Middletown, Conn., and became Treas
urer and Secretary of the Savings Bank of that
place. He was entirely a self-made mari, and for
the success of his life deserves great credit. With
the Congregational Church he held membership,
and his career was an honorable, upright one.
He died at the advanced age of ninety-three
years. In the schools of his native town, Mr. Carring
ton of this sketch acquired a good business edu
cation and under the parental roof he spent his
childhood days. With his father he came to Illi
nois, but he remained in Chicago only a short
time. On leaving that place he took up his resi
dence upon the farm which is now his home.
There were no improvements upon the place, save
a log cabin, which is still standing, one of the few
landmarks that yet remain. Chicago was the
nearest trading-point and they hauled all their
grain and' farm produce to that place. When he
first reached that city, Mr. Carrington boarded at
the old Lake Street Hotel. There was not a
bridge in the place, and many portions that are
now solidly built up with fine residences or busi
ness houses were then only wet prairie. Mr.
Carrington now owns two hundred and twenty
acres of good land, and carries on general farming
and stock-raising. Idleness is utterly foreign to
his nature, and a busy and well-spent life has
brought him 3 comfortable competence.
On the 1 6th of August, 1841, Mr. Carrington
was joined in marriage with Miss Laura Butler,
and unto them have been born eight children,
namely: William H., now deceased; Susan;
Mary; Elizabeth; William H.; Lorriana, de
ceased; Laura and Edward.
In his political affiliations, in early life, Mr.
Carrington was a Whig, and since the organiza

tion of the Republican party has been one of its
stanch supporters. He has been honored with
some public offices, has served as Commissioner,
for the past twelve years has filled the office of
Justice of the Peace, and is the present incum
bent. The best interests of the community have
ever found in him a friend. His co-operation and
support are given to worthy enterprises, and all
that is calculated to benefit the community re
ceives his assistance. The history of Cook
County is well known to him, for since its early
days he has watched its growth and advance
ment. He may truly be classed among the hon
ored pioneers, and it is with pleasure that we pre
sent to our readers the sketch of this worthy gen- -
tleman .

S3

^H^[

61 NNETTE BENNETT, M. D., is engaged in
LI the practice of medicine in Park Ridge, where
/ | she located in October, 1892. The women
who have taken up this line of work have shown
that it is a profession in which they can win the
highest success. They seem to possess special
adaptability for the work, for they have the gen
tle touch and manner which men often lack in the
sick room, and at the same time they are ac
knowledged the equals of men in acquired skill
and ability.
Dr. Bennett is a daughter of George and Ma-
hala (Pillsbury) Bennett. Her father was a mer
chant, who also engaged in farming. She has
been self-sustaining since the age of sixteen. After
acquiring her literary education in the schools of
Oxford County, Me., in 1887 she left her home
in the Pine Tree State, coming to the West with
a view to studying and ultimately practicing med
icine. She had previously studied to some extent
with Dr. G. A. Brown, a general medical practi
tioner of Norway, Oxford County, Me. In 1892
her father died. She has not only ably provided
for herself, but also gives a home to her sister,
and with them lives their brother Herbert, who
is now a student in Hahnemann College.
Dr. Bennett was born on St. Patrick's Day,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

4«3

March 17, 1859, and is therefore still a young
woman, with probably a long future before her in
which to win prominence in the work which she
has undertaken. She is a close student of the
profession, does all in her power to perfect her
self therein, and possesses the progressive spirit
that is needful in a first-class physician. She is
rapidly acquiring a good practice, which is an
acknowledged tribute to her skill and ability. A
large business is certainly well merited by her.

"SI

EARTER H. HARRISON, Jr., the editor of
the Chicago Times, the leading Democratic
newspaper of the city, has spent his entire
life here, with the exception of three years spent
in Germany and the time passed in college. The
Harrison family has been prominently connected
with the city's interests since an early day, and
the ancestors of our subject were among those
who aided in achieving the independence of this
country. The family originated in England, and
some of its members came from that country to
the United States in the seventeenth century, lo
cating in Virginia. It had several representatives
in the Colonial army during the Revolutionary
War, and Gen. William Russell, one ofthe ma
ternal ancestors of our subject, won his title during
that eight-years struggle. Benjamin Harrison,
who first came to America, was a man of promi
nence in Virginia, and served as Colonial Gov
ernor. For three generations after him the blood
was transmitted through a Benjamin Harrison.
The fourth Benjamin had two sons, Benjamin
and Carter. In direct line the descendants of the
former are William Henry, Scott H. and Benja
min. Of the latter they are Robert Carter, Carter
H., Carter H. (the late Mayor of the city),
Carter H., Jr., of this sketch, and his little son,
who also bears the name of Carter H.
The gentleman whose name heads this record
was born in Chicago, on the 23d of April, i860.
His father had located here several years previ
ous, and from that time until his death was ac
tively connected with the welfare of the city.

The son was educated in private schools until
1873, when he went to Germany. In 1876, he
attended college in New York, and later was
graduated from St. Ignatius' College, of Chicago.
He afterwards entered Yale College, and com
pleted the law course in that renowned institution
in the Class of '83.
Returning to his home, Mr. Harrison then em
barked in the real-estate business, and carried on
operations along that line for a number of years,
when, in 1891, in connection with his father, he
bought out the Chicago Times, and assumed
charge of the editorial department of the paper.
The Times is too well known to need mention
here. It is an old paper, yet its success and high
reputation have been greatly increased since Mr.
Harrison's connection with it.
In the year 1887, our subject was united in
marriagewith Miss Edith Ogden, daughter of Rob
ert N. Ogden, of New Orleans, La. , and to them
has been born a son, who was named for his father
and grandfather. The mother is a member of the
Catholic Church. Mr. Harrison holds member
ship with the University Club and the Chicago
Athletic Club. His connection with the Times at
once indicates his political views to be Democratic.
He is well known in his native city, his father's
prominence having brought him a wide acquaint
ance among leading people, while his own qualities
have gained for him their high regard and es
teem. He possesses the same attractive manner
for which the Harrison family is noted. Although
yet a young man, he is recognized as one of the
leading and influential citizens of the second city
in the Union, and whether he should continue in
newspaper work or leave the journalistic field he
is sure to occupy a position of importance.
m ' '""S3"^''~t"^B :3! ' m
WILLIAM ZUETELL, one of the most en
terprising and stirring business men of
Edison Park, who is engaged as a real-
estate dealer, claims Germany as the land of his
birth. He was born in Prussia on the 15th of
April, 1857, and is a son of Theodore Zuetell.

484

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

In company with his mother he came to America
in 1865, when a lad of eight years. They
landed in New York City, and thence came west
ward to Chicago, which was then the home of his
mother's brother, William Colteryahn.
Mr. Zuetell was educated in the public schools
of Chicago, and when quite young he began
spending his summer months of vacation as cash
boy in a large dry-goods store of that city. Upon
leaving school he entered the employ of C. Ten
Eick, with whom he continued for two years. On
the expiration of that period he returned to the
firm where he had worked as cash boy, and was
there again employed for two years. His next
position was with the firm of J. V. Farwell & Co.,
with whom he continued for six years. During
this period of his business life he was continually
rising, and during five years of his connection
with the house of J. V. Farwell & Co. he served
as city notion buyer. The succeeding, year was
spent as traveling salesman for the firm of Field,
Leiter & Co., after which he began business for
himself. Mr. Zuetell embarked in the grocery trade in
Ravenswood, but his venture was not very suc-
• cessful, and he again went upon the road as
traveling salesman, to which work he devoted
his time and energies for five years. On the ex
piration of that period we once more find him
working in his own interest. For nearly two
years he carried on a neck-wear store, and then,
in 1889, he embarked in the real-estate business.
The following year he came to Edison Park, and
is now serving as station agent, express and in
surance agent.
On the 16th of July, 1877, Mr. Zuetell married
Miss Matilda B. Liesveld. They have three chil
dren: Walter; Edison, who was the first child
born in Edison Park, and in consequence was
given the name; and Lola. The family has a
pleasant home and are well known in the com
munity where they reside.
Mr. Zuetell holds membership in the Masonic
fraternity, and himself and wife belong to the
Methodist Episcopal Church of Edison Park.
In politics, he votes with the Republican party,
and is now acceptably and creditably filling the

office of Justice of the Peace. He is recognized
as one of the wide-awake and leading business
men of Edison Park, and is doing much to ad
vance the interests of the place. Public-spirited
and progressive, he is ever found in the front
rank of any enterprise calculated to promote the
general welfare.

e^+^-sr-

H'

I I ENRY DICKE, a retired farmer now resid
ing in La Grange, is numbered among the
honored pioneers of Cook County, having
for many years made his home within its borders.
A native of Germany, he was born in Hanover,
on the 7th of January, 1818, and in that country
was reared to manhood. At the age of twenty-
seven years he bade adieu to the Fatherland and
crossed the Atlantic to America. He had been
reared upon a farm, and ere leaving Germany
had served for five years in the regular army. It
was in 1845 that he emigrated to the New World,
reaching New York after a voyage of seven
weeks. Mr. Dicke then made his way to Chicago, and
for two years worked on a farm in Cook County.
He then removed to Elmhurst, DuPage County,
where he rented land and engaged in farming for
one year. In 1848 he removed to what is now
Proviso Township, Cook County, where he op
erated a rented farm for three years, and then, in
1 85 1, purchased a tract of eighty acres of raw
prairie land. He built a small house and began
plowing and planting his ground. To this work
he devoted his energies for many years, and by
his well-directed efforts and careful management
he accumulated a competency, which now enables
him to live retired.
On the 5th of November, 1845, Mr. Dicke was
united in marriage with Miss Minnie Wiseman,
who was also a native of Hanover, Germany.
Four children were born unto them, three sons
and a daughter, but the latter is the only surviv
ing member of the family. Two sons, both named
William, died in infancy. Louis was married and

Ai.fRED Parsons.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

487

had eight children, one ofwhom is now deceased.
He died in 1891, leaving seven children to mourn
his loss, namely: William, who is now clerking
in Chicago; George, Ritchie, Henry, Philip; Car
rie and Minnie. Louisa, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Dicke, is now the wife of August Degner, a
milk dealer.
In politics, Mr. Dicke is a supporter of Repub
lican principles. He and his wife are members of
the German Lutheran Church, and are people of
sterling worth. We see in our subject a self-
made man, who through his own efforts has risen to
a position of affluence. He now owns one hundred
-and sixty-five acres of valuable laud, a part of
which is comprised within the dty limits of La
Grange, and is worth $300 per acre. He also
owns a farm in DuPage County, and his beauti
ful residence in La Grange. Mr. Dicke has lived
so as to win universal confidence and esteem, and
has the high regard of all who know him. He
came to this country empty-handed, but has
steadily worked his way upward, aud has not only
won prosperity, but has made for himself an hon
ored name.

B$+$i

["Philip ALMON PARSONS, one of the
yr wide-awake and enterprising young farmers
J«3 of Cook County, who now makes his home
in Des Plaines, has the honor of being a native of
Illinois, his birth having occurred in Lake Coun
ty, on the nth of December, 1866. He is also a
representative of one of the pioneer families of the
community. His * father, Alfred Parsons, was
born in Lewis Courity, N. Y., April 6, 1810, and
was a son of Stephen and Pena Parsons. He
grew to manhood in the Empire State, and in
1842 left the East, coming to Cook County, where
he purchased fourteen hundred and forty acres of
State land near Des Plaines. The next year he
purchased land in Deerfield, Lake County, and
began the development of a farm, on which he
resided twenty-dght years. In 1844 he chose as

a companion and helpmate on life's journey Miss
Susan H. Vedder, daughter of Philip and Marga-
retVedder, who were also pioneers of this locality.
By- their marriage they became the parents of seven
children, five ofwhom are living, namely: Ellen,
Charles, Albert, Hattie and Philip. The father
was a prominent and well-known citizen of this
community, and his death, which occurred on
the 6th of December, 1887, was widely mourned.
Philip Parsons was the youngest of the family.
With his parents he removed from Deerfield,
Lake County, to Des Plaines, in October, 1871,
when not quite five years of age. He began his
education in the public schools of Des Plaines,
and afterwards attended .the Metropolitan Busi
ness College of Chicago, where he remained for
about three years, completing the course in 1887.
Soon after his return home his father died, and
the care and management of a two-hundred-acre
farm were thrown upon his shoulders. He was
just then entering manhood, but in his control of
affairs he soon displayed good management and
executive ability. He has since carried on gen
eral farming with marked success. He is a lover
of fine horses, and several good ones can be found
in his stable.
On the 7th of April, 1891, Mr. Parsons was
united in marriage with Miss Emma E. Easton,
of Stockton, Cal.,. daughter of Andrew and Rose
Easton. They have one child, a daughter, Char
lotte Marie, born December 6, 1893. Mr. Par
sons has recently completed a fine residence in
Des Plaines, and the young couple now have an
elegant new home, tastefully furnished and sup
plied with all the comforts and many of the lux
uries of life, and which is the abode of hospitality
and good cheer. Socially, Mr. Parsons is a char
ter member of Gladiator Lodge No. 450, K. P.
He cast his first. Presidential vote for Benjamin
Harrison in 1888, and is a stanch supporter ofthe
men and measures of the Republican party. Mr.
Parsons is a well-informed man, who keeps posted
on all the questions of the day. He has led a
busy life, and his career has been an upright one,
so that he now has the warm regard of all with
whom business or social relations have brought
him in contact.

24

488

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

(JAMES WILSON, of Palatine, has for more
I than half a century been identified with the
QJ/ growth and upbuilding of Cook County, and
has been a witness of its changes and advancement.
He has seen the marks of frontier life give way
to those of advancing civilization and progress;
has watched the introduction of railroads, tele
graph and telephone; has seen towns and villages
spring up, and has watched the marvelous growth
of Chicago, which is numbered among the mira
cles of the age.
Mr. Wilson is a native of Schenectady County,
N. Y., born April 23, 1820, and is of Irish de
scent. • His father, Andrew Wilson , was born and
reared on the Emerald Isle, and after attaining to
mature years wedded Jane Falls, also a native of
that isle. In an early day they emigrated to the
United States, locating in Schenectady County,
where they made their home for many years.
Mr. Wilson carried on carpentering and farming.
In the autumn of 1840, he brought his family to
Illinois, joining his son James in Cook County. In
Palatine Township he opened up a farm, and
made it his home until called to his final rest,
about 1863. His wife survived him some years,
and passed away in February, 1878. A substan
tial monument marks their last resting-place in
the Palatine Cemetery. They were quite active
workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
were highly-respected people. Their family num
bered eight sons and four daughters, and eight are
still living. Thomas, who was a farmer of Cook
County, died at the age of seventy-five. John,
a man of superior education, was graduated
from Oberlin College, and then followed the pro
fession of teaching for a number of years. He
afterward located on a farm in Ohio, where he
died at the age of sixty -three. Andrew lost his
life by accident iu September, 1842. Alexander, a
farmer of Wheeling Township, Cook County,
died in 1890. Jane is the widow of Samuel McMil-
len, who followed farming in McHenry County,
but is now deceased. Margaret died in New York
when ten years old. David is carrying on agri
cultural pursuits near West Union, Iowa. Henry
is living a retired life in Parsons, Kan. Maria is
the wife of Ezra Hyde, of Albert Lea, Minn.

Matilda, Mrs. Martin, is a widow, and resides
in Lake City, Minn. William is living on the
old homestead in Palatine Township, and com
pletes the family.
James Wilson, who is the fourth in order of
birth, spent the first nineteen years of his life in the
Empire State, and then accompanied his parents
to this county, where he was reared among the
wild scenes of the frontier. His school privileges
were very limited, and he is mostly self-educated.
In December, 1839, he went to Kankakee, 111.,
and that winter worked on the. canal. Iii the
spring of 1840 he came to Cook County, and af
ter one year spent at Deer Grove he went into
the lead mines at Galena, where he was em
ployed for four years. Returning in 1845, be
made a claim of one hundred and sixty acres,
which he at once began to break and improve,
and of which he made one of the finest farms in
the county. He erected a substantial frame resi
dence, and in the spring of 1861 built a large
barn, 100x70 feet. He operated his land for
twenty-five years, and the neat and thrifty ap
pearance ofthe place, with its good buildings and
well-kept fences, all indicated the supervision of a
careful owner. When a quarter ofa century had
gone by, he sold his farm and removed to Pala
tine, where he erected a pleasant and commodious
residence, and now makes his home. He has
since been engaged in raising and dealing in
nursery stock, and the business under his con
trol has proved a profitable one. He also man
ages a farm, having purchased other land.
In June, 1845, Mr. Wilson was united in mar
riage with Sophia Fulkerson, a native of New
York, who died in 1869. He then wedded
Libbie Whitman, who was born in Arlington
Heights, Cook County, and is now deceased.
They had two children: Rollin, who died in child
hood; and Libbie, at home. For his third wife,
Mr. Wilson chose Miss Nettie H. Helm, and her
death occurred in Arizona, in 1892. His present
wife was formerly Miss Desda Robinson, and
their marriage was celebrated December 13, 1892.
In January, 1886, Mr. Wilson went West to
Phcenix, in the Salt Riyer Valley. After travel
ing over the country for a time, he selected a lo-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

489

cation, purchased a section of land, and secured
eight water-rights, for irrigation is used entirely
in that locality.' He planted one hundred acres
in wheat and barley and one hundred acres in
clover. He then sold that farm and bought one
hundred and eleven acres near Tempe, and four
lots within the corporation limits of the town.
He also bought twenty acres of land six miles
from Phcenix, where he established a nursery.
His investments in the West proved profitable,
for iu April, 1893, he sold his property there for
$16,000. Only a portion of his time was spent
in the West, the winter months being passed at
his home in Cook County. By his earnest labors,
he has 'risen from a humble financial position to
one of affluence.
In early life, Mr. Wilson was an old-line
Whig, and his first Presidential vote was cast in
Galena, in 1840, for William Henry Harrison.
On the organization of the Republican party iu
1856, he joined its ranks,- and has since been one
of its stanch supporters. To a number of official
positions he has been elected, and has always
proved a capable and efficient officer. For forty-
five years he has been a consistent member and
active worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
His wife holds membership with the Congrega
tional Church, but attends service with her hus
band. A life well spent and a career w-orthy of
emulation have won for Mr. Wilson the respect of
all with whom business or social relations have
brought him in contact.
s  ' '^TTf-s-^^  §>
HARVEY B. HURD has been prominently
identified with the advancement of Chicago
and its interests for many years. For nearly
half a century he has resided in the city, or in its
beautiful suburb of Evanston , and during this long
period he has been a powerful factor in molding
not only the destiny of this metropolis, but of the
entire West as well. He was born in Hunting
ton, Fairfield County, Conn., February 14, 1828,
and is a sou of Alanson Hurd, who was of Eng
lish descent. His mother was of both Dutch and

Irish lineage. If ever it could be said of any one
that he made his own way in life from poverty to
a high and honorable station, it is true of Harvey
B. Hurd. It is said that when he left home to seek
a fortune for himself, he carried all his possessions
in a handkerchief, and when he arrived in Chi
cago, some years later, his capital was only half
a dollar; yet this poor youth was in* subsequent
years to play a part which has influenced the ca
reer of the State, and aided in molding the pre
liminary studies of a generation of young Ameri
can lawyers. Until he was fifteen years of age
he spent the summer months in work upon his
father's farm, while in the winter season he at
tended school.
On the ist of May, 1842, Mr. Hurd bade adieu
to his parents and journeyed on foot to Bridge
port, where he became an apprentice in the office
ofthe Bridgeport Standard,. a Whig newspaper.
With a company of ten young men, in the autumn
of 1844, he emigrated to Illinois, and became a
student in Jubilee College, of Peoria County, then
presided over by Rev. Samuel Chase. A dis
agreement arose between him and the Principal
after he had been in college for about a y^ear, and
Mr. Hurd then went to Peoria, where he sought
employment, but unsuccessfully. He therefore
took passage on a baggage stage for Chicago,
where, in the office of the Evening Journal, he
soon secured work. This paper was then pub
lished by Wilson & Geer. He afterwards worked
on the Prairie Farmer, and in the fall of 1847
began studying law in the office of Calvin De-
Wolf. Iu 1848 he was admitted to the Bar, and
formed a partnership with Carlos Haven, who
was afterwards State's Attorney. His next part
ner was Henry Snapp, who later represented the
Joliet District in Congress, and from 1850 until
1854 he was a partner of Andrew J. Brown. This
latter firm had large transactions in real estate, and
owned two hundred and forty acres of land, which
was platted as a part of the village of Evanston.
Mr. Hurd was one of. the first to build in this
place. He began the erection of the home which
is still his place of residence in the summer of
1854, and moved into it in the following summer.
It is one ofthe finest homes in this beautiful sub-

490

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

, urb, and at the time of its erection it stood alone
on a block of ground. Its owner enjoys the dis
tinction of having been the first President of the
Village Board.
In May, 1853, Mr. Hurd married Miss Cor
nelia A.., daughter of the late Capt. James Hilli-
ard, of Middletown, Conn. Three daughters
were born unto them: Eda, wife of George S.
Lord; Hettie, who died in 1884; and Nellie, wife
of John A. Comstock. On the ist of November,
i860, Mr. Hurd wedded Mrs. Sarah Collins,
widow of the late George Collins. She died iri
1890, and in July, 1892, he married Miss Susanna
Van Wyck, a lady highly esteemed in social
circles in Chicago and Evanston.
Mr. Hurd was an ardent Abolitionist, and took
an active part in the stirring events which occur
red in Chicago before and after the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise. The result of this meas
ure of Congress was to make Kansas a prize for
which both the free and slave States contended.
The slave-holders of western Missouri crossed the
border, driving out many of the free State set
tlers and killing others, pre-empted lands, and
opposed the passage of emigrants from the North
ern States through Missouri, compelling the latter
to take a more circuitous route through Iowa and
Nebraska. Kansas was the scene of continued
conflict between these parties during the spring
and summer of 1855, the border ruffians of Mis
souri seeking to drive out the free State settlers
by murder and arson, and the free State settlers
retaliating. The cry of ' 'bleeding Kansas' ' echoed
through the North, and emigration societies were
formed in the free States to aid, arm and protect
the Northern settlers in Kansas. A convention
was held in Buffalo, N. Y., at which a national
Kansas committee was formed, and Mr. Hurd,
who was a member of the convention, became
secretary of its executive committee, with head
quarters in Chicago. His assistant secretary was
Horace White, afterwards editor of the Chicago
Tribune, and now of New York City. In 1856,
Kansas crops proved a failure, owing to the dep
redations of the contending factions. In antici
pation of a lack of seeds for the planting in the
coming spring, the committee in New York in

February, 1857, passed a resolution instructing
the executive committee in Chicago to purchase
and forward the necessary seeds, and at the same
time- appropriated $5,000 to aid John Brown in
the organization and equipment of the free-soil
settlers into companies for self-protection. Mr.
Hurd found, on returning to Chicago, that the
funds in the hands of the treasurer were not suffi
cient to meet both requirements. He therefore
decided to buy and send on the seeds. One hun
dred tons, including spring wheat, barley, corn,
potatoes and other seeds, were purchased and for
warded. When Brown applied for the money
appropriated to him, he found the treasury of the
committee empty. At first Gerritt Smith and
other friends of Brown were inclined to find fault
with the action of Mr. Hurd, but in the mean
time the free settlers had been waiting anxiously
at Lawrence, Kan., for the seeds. They had
been forwarded by a small steamer, which was to
ascend the Kansas River to Lawrence, where the
settlers assembled to receive them. The steamer
was delayed two weeks by low water, and when
at last it did arrive, the settlers were overjoyed,
and the wisdom of Mr. Hurd's course was amply
vindicated. The settlers would have been obliged
to leave Kansas had not this timely provision for
a crop been made. As it was, the tide of emigra
tion from the free States kept on increasing, and
the pro-slavery men, finding that they could not
win in the contest, soon abandoned it.
In 1862, Mr. Hurd formed a partnership with
Hon. Henry Booth, and at the same time accepted
the position of lecturer in the law department of
the University of Chicago, which Mr. Booth had
aided in organizing three years previous", and of
which he was Principal. In 1868 the partner
ship was dissolved, Mr. Hurd retiring from active
practice. In April, 1869, he was appointed by
Gov. Palmer one of three commissioners to re
vise and re-write the General Statutes of the
State of Illinois. His colleagues were William
E. Nelson, of Decatur, and Michael Shaeffer,
of Salem, both of whom withdrew in a short time,
leaving the burden of the work upon Mr. Hurd.
He completed his task with the adjournment of
the Twenty-eighth General Assembly in April,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

491

1874, and was appointed by that body to edit and
supervise the publication, which he accomplished
to the entire satisfaction of the general public.
The labor which he performed in this revision is
such as only lawyers can fully appreciate. He
had not only to compile into one homogeneous
whole the various laws which from time to time
had been enacted at the biennial meetings of the
Legislature, but to adapt them to the new State
Constitution of 1870, discarding old provisions
which were in conflict with it, and constructing
new ones in conformity with it. The success of his
work was immediate, and " Hurd's Revised Stat
utes' ' is an indispensable work in every law office
throughout the State, and in many public offices.
The State edition of 1874 of fifteen thousand
copies was soon exhausted, and Mr. Hurd has
been called upon to edit eight editions since, all
of which have received the unqualified commen
dation of the Bar.
In the summer of 1876, Mr. Hurd was again
elected to a chair in the law school, which had
become the Union College of Law of the Univer
sity of .Chicago and the Northwestern University,
and he is now Professor of Pleading, Practice and
Statutory Law in that institution, it now being
the law department of the Northwestern Univer
sity. He has here an occupation which is thor
oughly congenial to him. He has always been a
careful student, and his arguments of cases before
the higher courts were always models of clear and
accurate statement of legal propositions and logi
cal reasoning. In his academic work he displays
the same invaluable qualities, imparting to his
class a thorough understanding of principles, and
training them to systematic and methodical hab
its. At the special election for a Judge of the Su
preme Court of Illinois, December 11, 1875, Mr.
Hurd was nominated by the Republicans, but
was opposed by T. L- Dickey, who was then Cor
poration Counsel of the city of Chicago. Mr.
Dickey was a Democrat, and had the entire sup
port of that party; he had, moreover, the whole
influence of the city administration, and, to crown
all, he had the backing of the railroad cor
porations, who were disposed to revenge them
selves upon him for the stringent measures of

railroad legislation which the General Assembly
had enacted, which were contained in "Hurd's
Revised Statutes," and with the framing ofwhich
he had much to do. By the aid of this powerful
combination he was defeated. Just before the
election a defamatory pamphlet was published
against him by a member of the same church to
which he belongs, and, though it was of too
slight importance to influence the result, it was
not a matter to be overlooked by Mr. Hurd, who
had always borne an irreproachable character.
The author was tried and convicted of slander
and unchristian conduct by a church court, and
received its formal censure, while Mr. Hurd made
many friends by his forbearing and Christian
conduct toward his defamer. Since that time he
has not appeared before the public as a candidate
for any office, but seems to prefer the honorable
retirement which he has so well earned, finding
sufficient occupation in his academic duties, and
employing his leisure in the pursuits of a scholar.
Mr. Hurd was one of six gentlemen selected to
fill the vacancy on the Board of County Commis
sioners of Cook County created by the conviction
of members of that board for defrauding the
county. He has the credit of being the father of
the new drainage system of Chicago, by which
the sewerage of the city, instead of being, as now,
discharged into Lake Michigan, the source of the
water supply, is to be carried into the Illinois
River, by means of a channel across what is
known as the Chicago Divide. While he does
not claim the credit of having first suggested such
a channel (indeed it has been long talked of), he
is, * without doubt, the author of the plan of
creating a municipal district of the city of Chicago
— the Chicago Sanitary District — and getting it
adopted. Until he suggested this plan it was
generally conceded that there was no way of
raising the necessary money to construct the
channel without an amendment to the constitu
tion, the city of Chicago having reached the limit
of its borrowing and taxing power. It was
through Mr. Hurd's suggesting of this plan to
Mayor Harrison that the drainage and water
supply commission known as the Herring Com
mission was raised. He was the friend and ad-

492

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

viser of that commission, and was the author of
the first bill on the subject introduced into the
Legislature in 1886, known as the Hurd Bill,
which resulted in a legislative commission to fur
ther investigate the subject and present a bill.
The bill reported by that commission, passed in
1887, although it differed in some respects from
the original Hurd Bill, was in the main the
same, and was supported before the Legislature
by him and his friends. He conducted the pro
ceedings for its adoption by the people of the dis
trict, and it was adopted at the November election
in 1887 by an almost unanimous vote. His resi
dence outside ofthe district, in Evanston, although
not a legal disqualification, has in the minds of
politicians ruled him out as a candidate for Trustee;
still he has not ceased to devote his energies to
its success. The plan as outlined is now in a fair
way*- of being accomplished, as the channel is ac
tually being constructed upon that plan, and
when it is done it will no doubt be regarded as
one of the grandest accomplishments of the age.
It will at once give to Chicago an excellent system
of drainage, pure water and a magnificent water
way, connecting the Great Lakes with the Mis
sissippi and tributaries and the Gulf of Mexico.
For several years Mr. Hurd has been at the head
of the Committee of Law Reform of the Illinois
State Bar Association, and is the author ofthe able
reports of that committee in favor of extending the
American policy of breaking up large estates
through the operation of the laws of descent and
wills, by so amending the laws as to limit the
amount one may take by descent or will from the
same person; and in favor of a system of registra
tion of titles which will make transfers of real es
tate as simple, inexpensive and secure as the trans
fers of personal property. The latter of these re
ports has already borne substantial fruit in the
shape of a commission to consider the matter of
transfers of title, which was created by the action
of the last General Assembly. Of that commission
Mr. Hurd was chairman, and in the report of De
cember 10, 1892, it recommended a system of regis
tering titles substantially embodying the essential
principles of the Australian or Torrens -system.
The bill recommended to the convention passed

the Senate, but was defeated iu the House of
Representatives of the Illinois Legislature, lack
ing only seven votes, however, of a majority and
becoming a law. Since the report of the commis
sion, commissions of a like character have been
raised in a number of States, and the bill which
was written by Mr. Hurd bids fair to become the
basis of bills for the adoption of the system in the
United States.
Among the charities which receive Mr. Hurd's
attention and aid are the Children's Aid Society
of Chicago, whose work it is to • find homeless
children and place them in families where they
will be tenderly cared for and reared; and also the
Conference of Charities of Illinois, an organiza
tion composed of all charitable societies. He is
President of both of these organizations.

V A ILAN REYNOLDS is engaged in merchan-
y dising in Palatine, as a dealer in shelf and
(9 heavy hardware, agricultural implements,
wagons, buggies, etc., and is recognized as one
of the leading business men of the place, - Born
on the 10th of January, 1845, in Bennington
County, Vt, he is a son of Benjamin C. and
Harriet (Andrews) Reynolds, the former a native
of Bennington County, Vt, and the latter of Rut
land County. Th.; father was a farmer by occu
pation, and for a number of years followed that
pursuit in the Green Mountain State. Iu 1857,
he decided to emigrate westward, and made his
way to Illinois. The first year after his arrival
was spent in DuPage County, aud in 1858 he lo
cated upon land in the southern part of Cook
County, where he opened up a farm, continuing
its development until i860, when he went to Pal
atine Township, where he carried ou agricultural
pursuits for some years. His last clays, however,
were spent in Boone County, Iowa, where he
passed away on the 8th of July, 1891. His
widow still survives her husband, and is now liv
ing in Palatine.
The gentleman whose name heads this record
was a youth of only- thirteen years when he came

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

493

to Illinois, in 1858, with his parents. Here he
grew to manhood and received good educational
advantages. After arriving at years of maturity,
he was appointed, .in 1865, as mail agent, first
serving in that capacity on the Illinois Central
Railroad, making the run between Chicago and
Cairo. For twenty-four years he was in the
Government mail service, running on different
lines, and his faithfulness and efficiency are indicat
ed by his long term. When he resigned his posi
tion in 1887, he was one ofthe oldest mail agents
in the Government employ, having but one su
perior in years of service in that line.
On the 2d of January, 1867, in Cook County,
Mr. Reynolds was united in marriage with Miss
Emma R. Chanfrill, a native of New York,
and a daughter of Matthew Chantrill, one of the
honored early settlers of Cook County, who here
located in 1849. Mrs. Reynolds was reared to
womanhood in this locality. She is a lady of
good education, and previous to her marriage
successfully engaged in teaching. To her hus
band she has been a faithful companion and help
mate, and in the community where she-lives she
has many warm friends.
Oil leaving the Government employ in 1887,
Mr. Reynolds returned to Palatine, and engaged
in the hardware business. Thi ee years previous
he had formed a partnership, and the firm opened
a mercantile establishment in Palatine. They
have since built a large store and fitted it up with
all kinds of shelf and heavy hardware. They
also deal in agricultural implements, wagons,
buggies, etc., and are enjoying a fine trade, which
has constantly increased from the beginning.
Their business success is well merited.
In his political views, Mr. Reynolds is a Repub
lican, having been identified with that party
since casting his first Presidential vote for Gen.
U. S. Grant, in 1868. He takes quite an active
interest in politics, has served as a delegate to
both State and county conventions, and is a mem
ber of the County Central Committee. In the
spring 0L1893, he was elected Supervisor of Pal
atine Township, and is now one of the efficient
and capable members of the Board of Supervisors
of Cook County. He has always labored for the

best interests of the community, and his hearty
support and co-operation have ever been given to
those interests which are calculated to advance
the general welfare. Socially, he is connected
with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent
Order of Mutual Aid. He is recognized as a man
of good business ability and upright character,
and is numbered among the progressive and val
ued citizens of the community.
3^+^e

J^ H. LANDWER, a practical and progressive
|C\ farmer living in Barrington, claims Ger-
[1/ many as the land of his birth. He was born
July 21, 1824, and grew to manhood in his na
tive country. He there acquired a good educa
tion in the common schools. In the Fatherland
he remained until twenty-four years of age, when,
with the hope of bettering his financial condition,
he bade adieu to the scenes of his boyhood and
friends of his youth and sailed for the New World,
taking passage at Bremen on a vessel bound for
New Orleans. In May, 1840, anchor was drop
ped in the harbor of the Crescent City, and Mr.
Landwer made his way up the Mississippi River
to St. Louis, and thence to Chicago, where he ar
rived in the month of June.
Our subject secured work as a farm hand in
Cook County, and was thus employed for three
years and four months, when, with the capital he
had acquired through his industry, perseverance
and economy, he purchased a tract of eighty acres
of raw land, wliich he at once began to improve
and cultivate. He built a residence, plowed and
planted his land, and in course of time abundant
harvests were gathered. As his financial re
sources have been increased, he has extended the
boundaries of his farm, until it now comprises two
hundred acres of valuable land, under a high state
of cultivation and well improved. He owns an
other farm a mile and a-half to the south, com
prising one hundred and thirty acres, which
yields to him a good income.
In 1852 occurred the marriage of Mr. Land
wer and Miss Hannah Miller, a native of Ger-

494

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

many. They had one daughter, Hannah, who
grew to womanhood and was married, but her
death occurred about a year later. Mrs. Landwer
also died, and our subject afterwards married Rike
Rieke, who was born in Germany. They have
eight children: Fred, who is now successfully en
gaged in farming in Barrington Township; Mary,
wife of John Broomcamp, an agriculturist of the
same township; Minnie, wife of Emiel Naehr, of
Cook County; Henry A., Emma, Lydia, Samuel
and Martha, who are still with their- parents.
In his political views, Mr. Landwer has been a
Republican since casting his first Presidential vote
for John C. Fremont in 1856. He was elected
and served as Highway Commissioner for several
years, proving an able and competent officer. He
holds membership with the Barrington Evangel
ical Church. For a period of forty-five years he
has resided in Cook County, and is numbered
among the honored pioneers of the community.
His life has been well and worthily spent, his bus
iness has been characterized by honorable and
straightforward dealing, and his career" has won
the confidence and good-will of all. He may
truly be called a self-made man, for he started
out for himself empty-handed, dependent entirely
upon his own resources. By careful attention to
the details of his business, by industry and well-
directed efforts, he has accumulated two valuable
farms and is numbered among the substantial
farmers of Cook County.

Hi^h^-sr^ —

(TfHUBAEL WILLMARTH KINGSLEY, one
v\ of the honored pioneers of Cook County,
yy who dates his residence here From 1840,
is now living a retired life in Barrington, en
joying the rest which he has truly earned
and richly deserves. He was born in the town
of North Adams, Berkshire County, Mass.,
August 4, 18 18, and is a son of Elisha Kings-
ley, a native of Bristol, Mass. The father
was married in the Bay State to Hannah An
thony, a native of Rhode Island, and a daughter

*of Capt. Anthony, who died at sea. Mr. Kings-
ley was a blacksmith by trade, and also carried
on a farm, upon which he reared his family. His
entire life was spent in the State of his nativity.
The Kingsley family numbered five sons and a
daughter, who grew to mature years, but only
two are now living: S. W., and Elisha, who now
resides in North Adams, Mass. , at the advanced
age of ninety-one.
Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and
youth upon the home farm, and received the ad
vantages of the North Adams High School. Be
lieving that the new and growing West furnished
better opportunities to ambitious young men than
the more thickly- setttled States of the East, in
1840 he started for Illinois. In May of that
year he located in Cook County, and purchased a
claim of one hundred and twenty acres in Bar
rington Township. There were no buildings
upon the place, and but little of the land had been
broken, but Mr. Kingsley at once began to plow
and plant it, and soori opened up a good farm.
He built the first frame house in the township, a
structure 14x20 feet, and a story and a-half in
height. During the first years he suffered many
of the privations and hardships of pioneer life,
but as time wore on these gave way before the
comforts of civilization which he was able to ob
tain. He afterwards bought more land, and now
owns two adjoining farms, comprising three hun
dred and seventy-six acres of valuable land, all
highly improved. Both places are supplied with
good buildings, and to the owner they yield a
considerable income. In 1881, Mr. Kingsley
purchased residence property in Barrington, and
has since lived there retired.
In politics, in early life, our subject was a Jack
son Democrat, but on the organization of the Re
publican party he joined its ranks, and has since
been a warm advocate of its men and measures.
He has been honored with a number of local
offices of honor and trust. He aided in the organ
ization of Barrington Township, and was elected
and served as Supervisor for twelve terms. He
was also Collector and Highway Commissioner,
and by faithful discharge of duty he won the
commendation of all concerned. He has been

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

497

President of the Barrington Insurance Company,
and has also served as its Treasurer.
In 1841, Mr. Kingsley returned to North
Adams, Mass., and on the 22d of April led to the
marriage altar Miss Waitay Waterman, who is
also a native of Berkshire County, and a daughter
of George T. Waterman, of North Adams, Mass.
The children born to them are as follows: Mary,
who became the wife of Henry Sawyer, of Car-
pentersville, Kane County, and there died in
1880; Sarah Jane, the wife of Dunham Church, of
Thayer County, Neb.; Hannah M., the wife of
Leroy Powers, of Barrington ; Nancy A., the wife
of Lynus Lines, of Harvard, 111. ; Harriet E., the
wife of William Wilson, of Elgin Township, Kane
County; Alice A., the wife of George W. Demp
ster, of Dundee, Kane County; and Henry E.,
who married Junie Wright, and is a substantial
farmer of Barrington Township. Mr. aud Mrs.
Kingsley have seventeen grandchildren and three
great-grandchildren. Mr. Kingsley has been a
resident of Cook County for fifty-four years, and
is both widely and favorably known. As an
honored pioneer and a man of sterling worth, he
well deserves representation among the best citi
zens of his adopted county.

&+&

sr

0ANIEL NELSON HAVEN, who is now liv
ing a retired life in Barrington, was for many
years numbered among the enterprising and
substantial farmers of Cook County. He is a
native of New York, his birth having occurred in
the town of Ellisburgh, Jefferson County, July 31,
1 8 19. His father, Samuel Haven, was a native
of Massachusetts, and when a young man went to
New York, where he married Lydia Strong. He
was a blacksmith by trade, and followed that
business in Jefferson and Oneida Counties for
some years. In the War of 18 12 he served as a
soldier. In later life, he emigrated to Michigan,
locating in Barry County, where his last years
were passed..
Under the parental roof, D. N. Haven spent
the days of his boyhood, and in his father's smithy

he learned his trade, which he followed during
early life. His education was begun in the com
mon schools and completed in the academy in
Jefferson County. The year 1844 witnessed his
emigration westward. He located iu Chicago,
where he worked at blacksmithing for a few
months, and then went to Barrington Township,
where he purchased a claim of one hundred and
sixty acres of raw land. With characteristic en
ergy, he began to improve and cultivate this.
He built a small frame residence, and, opening up
a good farm, continued to devote his energies to
its further improvement until 1877. The first
home was replaced by a substantial residence, a
large barn was erected, and all the conveniences
and accessories of a model farm were supplied.
There were many hardships and trials to be borne
in those early days, but he patiently met them,
and at last they were overcome. In 1877, he
rented his farm and, purchasing one adjoining,
took up his residence thereon, making it his home
until 1887, when he removed to Barrington,
where he has since lived retired, enjoying the rest
which he has so truly earned and richly deserves.
Mr. Haven was married in Cook County, in
1850, to Miss Rachel Claflin, a native of St. Law
rence County, N. Y., and a daughter of Walter
Claflin, who is numbered among the pioneer
settlers of Cook County. The lady was reared
and educated in St. Lawrence County. She died
in 1 88 1 and was laid to rest in Barrington Ceme
tery. In the family were five sons and five
daughters who grew to mature years: O. D., a
substantial farmer living near Liberty ville, IIL;
F. G., a merchant of Elgin; Lillie, at home;
Emma, wife of Robert Comstock, of Barrington;
Mary, who died in 1889, at the age of twenty
years; D. E. , who is engaged in the dairy business
in Anderson, Ind. ; Martha, Willie and Walter,
all ofwhom reside in Anderson; and Frances, the
wife of Mer-ritt Prouty, a substantial farmer of
Barrington Township.
For a half-century, Mr. Haven has resided in
Cook County, witnessing its growth and develop
ment, and aiding in its progress and advancement.
His support and co-operation are ever given to
those enterprises which are calculated to prove of

498

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

public benefit. He has been identified with the
Republican party since its organization iu 1856.
Formerly, he was an old-line Whig, but his first
vote was cast for Martin Van Buren. He has
lived the life of a farmer, quiet and unassuming,
and by an honorable, upright career has won the
respect and confidence of all with whom business
or social relations have brought him in contact.
§ S" Sj^"t""^B s= ' Gi)
30HN F. COWDEN owns and operates a farm
of sixty acres on section 20, Barrington Town
ship, Cook County, and is numbered among
the representative citizens of the community. A
native of the Bay- State, he was born in Williams
town, Berkshire County, on the nth of July,
1829, and is a son of Abel and Eleanor (Bryant)
Cowden, both of whom were natives of Massachu
setts. The father was a wagon-maker by trade,
and followed that business for many years. In
1844 he determined to seek a home and fortune
in the West, and came to Illinois in search of a
location. The following year, accompanied by-
his family and neighbors who decided to remove
thither, he came to Cook County- and purchased
an eighty-acre tract of raw land on section 29,
Barrington Township. Here he at once began
opening up a farm. He fenced the place and
cultivated the hitherto wild land until it was made
to bloom and blossom as the rose. Later, heboid
a part of his farm, and at length disposed of the
entire amount, purchasing a home in Barrington,
where he spent his last years in retirement from
business cares. His death occurred March 13,
1866. He was twice married, his first wife dying
in Massachusetts in 1836.- After the death of
Mr. Cowden his second wife went to Iowa to live
with her daughter, Amelia R. , wife of Amos
Allen, in whose home her last days were
spent. Mr. Cowden was elected and served
as Supervisor for a number of years. He was a
consistent and devoted member of the Methodist
Church, and in its behalf labored untiringly.
John F. Cowden is the only son in a family of
five children, and is also the youngest. Sarah Ami,

the eldest child, is the widow of Thomas Mole, and
resides in Williamstown, Mass.; Persis Emeline
is the wife of P. H. Nichols, and resides in Pitts
field, Mass.; Martha Adeline resides with her
sister Mary Jane in Dundee.
We now take up the personal history of our
subject, who acquired a good education in the
common and High Schools of his native town,
and in 1845 came to the West with his family.
He aided in the labors of the farm, giving to his
father the benefit of his services until he had at
tained his majority, when he purchased forty
acres adjoining the old home, carrying it on in
connection with his father's farm until 1864. He
then sold and removed to Kane County, where he
followed farming for two years. In March, 1867,
he purchased his present farm, and has since made
it his home, devoting his energies to its further
cultivation and improvement. It is now one of
the valuable places of the community, neat and
thrifty in appearance, and supplied with all modern
conveniences and accessories. It indicates the en
terprise which is numbered among the chief char
acteristics of its owner.
Mr. Cowden was married in Barrington Town
ship, January 5, 1865, to MissElmeda D., daugh
ter of Nelson Messer, one of the early settlers of
Cook County, who came hither from New York.
He was, however, a native of Vermont. Here he.
opened up a farm and spent the last years of his
life, his death occurring May 10, 1882. His wife
survived him two years, and passed away August
10, 1884. They had a family of six daughters,
ofwhom four were married, but, with the excep
tion of Mrs. Cowden, all are now deceased.
Our subject and his wife have seven children:
Sarah A., wife of J. W. Waterman, a prominent
farmer of Barrington Township; Laura Ann, wife
of Charles F. Perry, of the same township; Her
bert A. , a young man of good education, who aids
in carrying on the home farm; Eleanor G., who
is residing with her auut in Dundee; Pearl Alma,
Mary A. and Maud E., who complete the family.
In his political views, Mr. Cowden is an inflex
ible adherent ofthe Republican party, and has
supported all of its Presidential nominees since
1856. His fellow-townsmen, recognizing his worth

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

499

and ability, have called upon him to serve in
some public offices, and in the discharge of his
duties he has ever been found faithful and true.
For over a quarter of a century he has been a
member of the School Board," and the cause of
education finds in him a warm friend. He and
his wife are faithful members and active workers
in the Methodist Episcopal Church of Barrington,
in .which he has for many years served as Steward
and Trustee. He has also been Sunday-school
Superintendent for many years. During the late
war he enlisted, August 12, 1862, in the Eighty-
eighth Illinois Infantry, but was discharged on
account of physical disability in February, 1863.
He, however, manifested his loyalty to the Govern
ment, and the same fidelity has characterized his
career since. As a citizen, he has been alike true
in days of peace and days of war.

S3

£+^~

ROBERT NIGHTINGALE was for many
years numbered among the leading farmers
of Cook County, but he has now laid aside
business cares and is living retired in Barrington.
A native of England, he was born in Cambridge
shire, January 17, 1829, and was there reared and
educated. He entered upon his business career
as clerk in a grocery store, where he remained
for about a year and a-half. He then deter
mined to seek a home and fortune beyond the At
lantic, and in 1851 crossed the briny deep to the
New World. He took passage on a westward-
bound sailing-vessel from Liverpool, and after a
pleasant voyage of four weeks anchor was drop
ped in the harbor of New York.
Mr. Nightingale came West by way of the
Hudson River to Albany, by rail to Buffalo,
across the Lakes to Detroit, by rail to New Buf
falo, Mich., and thence across Lake Michigan to
Chicago. The following summer he began farm
ing. Iu the winter. of 1852, he went to Michigan,
where he worked in the pineries, returning the
following spring to resume agricultural pursuits.
Thus he spent the time for two or three years.
As a companion and helpmate on life's journey,

he chose Miss Anna Leavitt, a native of Cam
bridgeshire, England, and a daughter of John
Leavitt. Her father emigrated with his family
to Cook County, but afterwards went to Nebraska,
where his last days were spent.
Mr. and Mrs. Nightingale were reared together
as boy and girl, and their marriage was cele
brated in Chicago, September 28, 1858. They-
began their domestic life upon a rented farm,
which our subject continued to operate for five
years, when he purchased and broke forty acres
of land. He also rented an eighty-acre tract ad
joining, but after a year sold his first purchase
and bought ninety acres, whereon he made his
home for three years. He then again sold and
bought one hundred acres, but three years later
he again disposed of his farm. His next pur
chase comprised two hundred acres of good land ,
upon which he erected a fine large residence,
good barns and made other substantial improve
ments. There he made his home for ten years,
when he sold and became the owner of a one hun
dred and fifty acre farm, on which his son now re
sides. He bought his present home in Barring
ton, and has since lived in this place.
To -Mr. and Mrs. Nightingale were born six
children: William, a substantial farmer of Bar
rington Township; Elizabeth A., a teacher of rec
ognized ability in this county; Florence, who was
married and located in Lincoln, Neb., where her
death occurred in January, 1893; Anna, wife of
Edwin Cox, of Kane County, 111.; Robert Lin
coln, who holds a responsible position in the post-
office at Chicago, and married Bertha Sawyer, of
Barrington, by whom he has one child, Marie;
and George WT-, who resides in Barrington, but
is employed in Chicago.
Mr. Nightingale began life for himself empty-
handed, but has steadily worked his way upward,
becoming the possessor of a comfortable compe
tence. He may truly be called a self-made man,
and his example is well worthy of emulation.
Since casting his first Presidential vote for John
C. Fremont in 1856, he has been a stalwart advo
cate of Republican principles, and has frequently
served as a delegate to the county and congress
ional conventions. For six years he served as

5°°

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Highway Commissioner, and has also served as
Treasurer of the Board of Highway Commission
ers, -discharging his duties with promptness and
fidelity. The cause of education finds in him a
warm friend, as do all enterprises which are cal
culated to promote the general welfare and ad
vance the best interests of the city and county.
He and Mrs. Nightingale both hold membership
with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Barring
ton.
5=*—= M$+$#— S

(J A. BURLINGAME, one of the substantial
I and enterprising business men of Palatine,
\2/ claims Connecticut as the State of his nativ
ity. He was born on the 29th of November,
1856, in Danielsonville, Windham County, and
comes of an old New England family, which was
founded in America during early- Colonial days by
English ancestors who settled in Rhode Island.
The grandfather, Capt. Abraham Burlingame,
who was a native of that State, served in the War of
18 12, and there won his title. His wife reached
the remarkable age of one hundred years and two
months, passing away in July, 1893.
Ezekiel R. Burlingame, father of our subject,
was born in Windham County, Conn., in 1828,
and when he had arrived at mature years he there
married Miss Sarah A. Burgess, who was a na
tive of Foster, R. I., and a descendant of Roger
Williams. Mr. Burlingame engaged in merchan
dising and carried on a very extensive business in
Danielsonville. He was a man of superior busi
ness and executive ability, and was recognized as
one of the successful and prominent citizens of
Windham County, where he reared his family
and spent his entire life. He was elected and
held numerous official positions of honor and trust,
and for over twenty years served as Selectman of
his town. In all public offices he was found faith
ful and true. His death occurred in March, 1888,
and was deeply mourned by a large circle of
friends and acquaintances, who held him in the
highest regard. His wife still survives him, and
is yet living at the old home in Danielsonville.
Our subject was the second in order of birth in

their family of two t sons and two daughters.
Olney, the eldest, is now engaged in business in
Chicago; Esther A. is the wife of W O. Jacobs,
who was formerly a prominent merchant of Dan
ielsonville, but is now deceased; and Sarah is liv
ing with her mother. The latter is a young lady
of superior education, who has received extensive
training in music and is now a teacher of that
art. J. A. Burlingame was reared under the parental
roof and acquired his education in the High School
of his native city, and in Eastman's Business Col
lege, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. After completing
his studies, he returned to his home and assisted
his father in business for a number of years, but
at length he determined to go to the West, and in
1872 arrived in Illinois. Six years later he lo
cated in Palatine Township, Cook County, aud,
purchasing a farm, engaged in raising, buying and
dealing in horses. He handles fine driving stock,
and is doing an extensive and successful business
in this line. He also keeps a boarding-stable for
Chicago horses, and has recently completed a fine
barn in the northern part of Palatine. To some ex
tent, Mr. Burlingame deals in real estate. Be
sides the farm before mentioned, he owns another
finely improved farm about two miles from Pala
tine, together with one adjoining the corporation
limits of the town, a neat and substantial resi
dence in Palatine, and his own elegant home.
Mr. Burlingame was married in Chicago, in
1879, to Mrs. Isabella Lane, who was born, reared
and educated in Boston, Mass. , and came to the
metropolis ofthe West in 1871. They have two
daughters, Minnie J. and Nettie E. The home,
handsomely and tastefully furnished, is the abode
of hospitality, and mother and daughters are
charming hostesses.
In politics, Mr. Burlingame is a stanch Demo
crat, and is a most earnest worker in the interests
of his party, the principles of which he warmly
advocates. He has never sought preferment for
himself, but he delights in the work and- excite
ment of a political contest. For several years he
has been a member of the Cook County Demo
cratic Central Committee, and for three years was
its Vice-President. He is a member of the Ma-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

501

sonic order, belonging to Palatine Lodge No.
314, A. F. & A. M., in which he has held the
office of Worshipful Master. He is also a mem
ber of Palatine Chapter, R. A. M., and Bethel
Commandery No. 36, K. T. , of Elgin. The prom
inent part which he takes in politics, and his ex
tensive business interests, have made him widely
known, and he is numbered among the progressive
citizens of Cook County.
@ j--j-***£i ¦$'r">[i3: @
["^HILIP JONES, deceased, was one of the
yr early settlers of Cook County, having for
f3 many years made his home therein. He was
a native of Wales, born in 1822. In that country
he grew to manhood, the days of his boyhood and
youth being quietly passed, unmarked by any event
of special importance. The common schools af
forded him his educational privileges. Ere leav
ing Wales, he was married, in 1849, the lady of
his choice being Mrs. Emma Hood, who was a
native of the same country. There they began
their domestic life, but after four years they de
termined to seek a home in America, and in 1853
bade adieu to home and native land, sailing for
the New World.
On landing in this country, Mr. Jones and his
family at once made their way to Illinois, and
took up their residence in Proviso Township,
Cook County. This vicinity was then but
sparsely settled, and the towns which now so
thickly dot the prairies had not yet sprung into
existence. Mr. Jones at once turned his atten
tion to farming, and throughout life followed that
pursuit. He purchased land and placed it under
a high state of cultivation, thus making the fields
yield to him a golden tribute in return for the
care and labor he bestowed upon them . Thus his
life was quietly passed in the care of his business
interests. A family of four children was born unto our
subject and his wife, three sons and a daughter,
and all are yet living. Arthur, the eldest, still
resides on the old homestead; Philip is now a
resident of California; Mary Ann, the only daugh

ter, is the wife of Peter Miller, who is located at
Lincoln, Neb.; and Frederick, who completes the
family, still lives on the old home farm with his
mother. Mr. Jones exercised his right of franchise in
support of the Democratic party and its principles,
but never sought or desired the honors or emolu
ments of public office, preferring to devote his en
tire time and attention to his business interests.
He continued to carry on agricultural pursuits in
Proviso Township until his death. He passed
away at the old home, where he had lived for al
most forty years, on the 19th of May, 1892, and
his remains were interred in the cemetery at Ful
lersburg. He was one of the honored pioneers
of the county, a man of sterling worth, and he
had the respect and confidence of all with whom
he was brought in contact. He left at his death
a valuable farm of seventy-nine acres, upon
which Mrs. Jones and her two sons now reside.
The family is one of prominence in this commun
ity, and it is with pleasure that we present to our
readers his sketch.
g 'Si~S)'"^TH'$"B <B
HENRY SCHIERDING, a retired merchant
and farmer residing in Palatine, is one of
the honored old settlers of Cook County,
who has made hisjiome within its borders since
1837, and has been numbered among the sub
stantial and enterprising citizens of Palatine for
the past twenty-eight years. He was born in
Hanover, Germany, December, 15, 1824. His
father, John Sehierding, was born and reared in
the same country, and there followed farming
until his emigration to America, in 1837. He
took passage on a sailing-vessel at Bremen, and
after seven weeks spent upon the Atlantic reached
his destination, anchor being dropped in the har
bor of New York on the 8th of July . He came direct
to the West, by way of the Erie Canal, Buffalo
and the Great Lakes, and joined a friend in Chi
cago, who had come to America some years pre
vious. Mr. Sehierding purchased three acres of
land, which is now within the heart of the city,

5°2

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and began working ou the canal, where he was
employed for two years, when he sold out and re
moved to the town of Shaumburgh, where he pur
chased a claim, entering the same when the land
came into market. He then opened up a farm, on
which he spent his remaining years, his death
occurring in 1887, at the advanced age of ninety-
one years. His wife had passed away several
years previous. Both were buried in the family
cemetery, where a substantial monument marks
their last resting-place.
Our subject spent his youth in the land of his
birth. He received good school advantages in
his native language, but is wholly self-educated
in English. He was a young man of thirteen
years when the family came to the New World.
For about a year he was employed by- "Long"
John Wentworth, who was a prominent figure in
the history of the community for many years.
Mr. Sehierding next began working on the canal
with his father, and with him removed to Shaum
burgh Township, where he aided in developing
and improving a farm. There he continued un
til twenty-three years of age, when he began
farming for himself. He purchased forty acres
of land in Shaumburgh Township, and in the
course of time transformed the raw tract into
richly cultivated fields. He also extended the
boundaries of his homestead until he owned four
hundred acres of valuable land, under a high state
of cultivation, and comprising one of the best
farms in the neighborhood. There he made his
home until 1867, when he sold out and removed
to Palatine, where he built a store and began
dealing in general merchandise. He continued
in active business until 1883, since which time he
has lived retired. He also improved several res
idence properties. He has prospered in his un
dertakings, for he carries forward to a successful
completion whatever he attempts. He commenced
life a poor boy, empty-handed, but by his own
industry and good management he has accumu
lated a valuable estate and secured an elegant
home. On the 1 6th of May, 1847, in Shaumburgh
Township, Mr. Sehierding married Miss Rebecca
Slade, a native of Cook County. Her death oc

curred October 20, 1867. They had six children,
of whom three died in early childhood. Those
living are John H., who is engaged in business
in Palatine; Sarah S., wife of Thomas Catlow, of
Chicago; and Mary J., wife of Dr. E. F. Wad-
hams, of Chicago. On the ist of August, 1868,
Mr. Sehierding wedded Henrietta Matthei, who
was born, reared and educated in German)-.
Their children are William P. , who is pursuing
a course of medicine; and Matilda and Alma J.,
who are still at home. One child of this union
also died in early life. The members of the fam
ily all belong to the Evangelical Church.
In politics, Mr'. Sehierding was fornierly- a
Democrat, and supported the candidate of that
party in i860. In 1864 he voted for Abraham
Lincoln, and has since been identified with the
Republican part)-. He takes quite an interest in
local politics, and has been elected to and served
in a number of official positions of honor and
trust. He was elected Justice of the Peace on
the organization of the township, and has held
the office for forty consecutive years. At the
last election, in 1893, be received every vote cast
in the township, with one exception — his own ;
but he did not wish to -serve longer on account of
his age, and in consequence refused to qualify.
He has also served as Township Clerk, County
Trustee, and was Notary Public for twenty-eight
years. In whatever position he has filled he has
always made a faithful and efficient officer. He
has also been a delegate to numerous official con
ventions. Mr. Sehierding is a warm friend of
the public schools, and ever gives his hearty sup
port to the cause of education. He is a Royal
Arch Mason, and of the order has been a member
for thirty-five years.
Mr. Sehierding has been a resident of Cook
County for the long period of fifty-seven years,
and has witnessed almost the entire growth of
the city of Chicago. He saw it when it was
composed of a few log cabins on a wet and uncul
tivated prairie, and has watched the wonderful
changes that have made it the metropolis of the
West and the second city iri the Union. He is
well known in Chicago and throughout the coun
ty, aud well deserves mention in this volume

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

503

He is a man of tried integrity and upright chan
acter, and has the confidence of all who know
him. He and his estimable wife are highly re
spected, and we feel assured that their many
friends will be glad to peruse this record of their
lives. r§ "S=SD <" T "^B-"" ®
T* NORTON MILLER, who is now living re-
^ tired on his farm on section 16, Barrington
_ Township, has been a resident of Cook
County since the autumn of 1837, ar>d is there
fore numbered among its honored pioneers. He
has witnessed almost its entire growth and de
velopment, and has seen Chicago transformed from
a mere hamlet to the second city of the Union.
In the work of public advancement and improve
ment he has ever borne his part, and therefore
well deserves representation iu this volume.
Mr. Miller was born in Steuben County, N. Y.,
November 8, 18 15, and is the son of Alvah
Miller, who was born and reared in Tioga County,
N. Y. After arriving at man's estate, he married
Miss Sarah Jayne, daughter of Rev. David Jayne,
a minister of the Baptist Church. Mr. Miller
then engaged in farming for a few years in his
native county, after which he removed to Steuben
County, where he carried on agricultural pursuits
for about four years. He then returned to Tioga
County, where, in connection with farming, he
also engaged in lumbering until the autumn of
1837, which witnessed his emigration to Illinois.
He brought his family to Cook County, and set
tled on section 16, where he purchased a claim of
about two hundred acres, and, with the help of
his sons, opened up a good farm, transforming
the wild prairie into rich and fertile fields. He
first erected a log cabin, but after a few.years it
was replaced by a good frame residence. The fa
ther there spent his last years, his death occurring
in May, 1875, at the advanced age of eighty-one.
His wife departed this life several years previous,
dying in June, 1863. They were buried side by
side in Barrington Cemetery, where a marble
monument marks their last resting-place. Mr.
Miller was one of the leading and influential citi

zens of the community, and for many years served
as Justice of the Peace, and was also Postmaster
for some time. His home was on the Chicago and
Janesville road, and there he kept an inn, enter
taining the traveling public in those early days.
Our subject was one of a family of four sons
aud four daughters who grew to mature years.
Henry H., the eldest, is married, and resides in
Tioga County; Norton is the second in order of
birth ; Jane became the wife of Chauncey Bridge-
man, and both are now deceased; William Mar
cellus was married and located in Barrington
Township, but has now passed away; Jesse M. is
living in Barrington; Sallie Louisa is the wife of
Nathaniel Cilley , who is living retired in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa; Helen is the wife of Judge George
Vermilya, of Mason City, Iowa; and Phcebe is
married, and lives in Howard County, Iowa.
E. Norton Miller spent the days of his boyhood
and youth in the usual manner of farmer lads.
He received but a limited education, and with
his father's family came to the West in 1837.
He then began life for himself, purchasing one
hundred and eighty acres of wild land, upon which
not a furrow had been turned or an improvement
made, but he fenced the place, plowed and planted
it, and in course of time abundant harvests were
garnered and a fine farm took the place ofthe for
mer wild tract. For a half-century Mr. Miller
carried on agricultural pursuits, and his diligence
and enterprise won for him success. He started
out in life empty-handed; with nothing to depend
upon save his own exertions, yet he has worked
his way steadily upward, and is now the possessor
of a valuable farm and a good home, aud is
classed among the substantial citizens of Barring
ton Township.
On the nth of September, 1844, in Kane
County, was celebrated the marriage of our sub
ject and Miss Martha, daughter of Jonathan
Hinsdell. Her father emigrated from Tompkins
County-, N. Y., to Kane County, 111. , and became
one of its pioneers. Mrs. Miller was born, reared
aud educated in Tompkins County. Our subject
and his wife have two children: Mary Frances,
wife of L- B. Householder, of Buchanan County,
Iowa; and Julia Martha, wife of Richard Mal-

5°4

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ings, a business man of Dundee, 111. They also
lost two daughters: Sarah Lavina, who died in
early childhood; and Luella Dell, who died in in
fancy. They have five grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren .
Since the organization of the Republican party
in 1856, Mr. Miller has been a stanch supporter
of its men and measures, but has never been ah
aspirant for office. His first Presidential vote
was cast for William Henry Harrison in 1840.
He and his wife are faithful members ofthe Meth
odist Episcopal Church of Barrington, and take
an active interest in church and benevolent work,
doing all in their power to aid in the upbuilding
and advancement of the community. During his
long residence in this community of fifty-six
years, Mr. Miller has ever lived so as to win the
confidence and high regard of those with whom
he has been brought in contact, and is highly re
garded as a valued citizen and honored pioneer.

_S)

S3

$+$$

NENRY N. CRABTREE, of Barrington,' is
numbered among the honored pioneer set
tlers of Cook County of 1837. He came
here when Chicago was a mere hamlet, and when
Cook County was almost an unbroken wilder
ness. He has watched with interest the growth
and upbuilding of the community, and has ever
borne his part in the work of public advance
ment and improvement; therefore he well de
serves representation in this volume.
Mr. Crabtree was born in Allegany County,
N. Y., May 5, 1816, and is a son of Benjamin
and Polly (Newman) Crabtree, the former a na
tive of Massachusetts, and the latter of the Em
pire State. The father was a carpenter and
joiner by trade, and in early life followed that
pursuit, but later devoted his time and attention
to farming. The last years of his life were spent
with his son in Illinois. He was a man who won
the respect of all who knew him by a well-spent
life. Henry N. Crabtree is the only survivor iu a
family of eleven children. He grew to manhood

in his native State, and remained under the par
ental roof until he had attained to years of matur
ity. The public schools afforded him good edu
cational privileges. In 1837 he started westward
and took up his residence in McHenry County,
111., locating a claim in Crystal Lake Township,
near the present town of Cary. This comprised
one hundred and sixty acres, which he purchased
when the land came into market. A comfortable
log house had been built, and five acres had been
broken and sowed in wheat, so that food was fur
nished to the family the following year. Mr.
Crabtree, with characteristic energy, opened up the
farm. In 1839 he built the first barn in Mc
Henry County. Upon this farm his brother Ben
jamin lived until 1849, when he went to California,
his death occurring some years later.
On the 28th of April, 1844, our subject was
united in marriage in Lake County with Miss
Roxanna Comstock, who was born in Vermont,*
June 2, 1823, and when a young lady of eighteen
came to Illinois. She is a daughter of Jared A.
Comstock, one of the early settlers of Lake Coun
ty, of 1841. Mr. and Mrs. Crabtree had four
children, but only one is now living: Clara, wife
of Dr. D. A. Smith, of May fair, by whom she
has one son. Nancy Jane became the wife of
John F. Skinner, of Barrington, and died Feb
ruary 15, 1876, at the age of thirty years; Nettie
died in January, 1861, at the age of five yearsr
and Harrison J. died November 17, 1867, at the
age of eighteen. Mrs. Crabtree taught school sev
eral terms after her family came to Cook County.
She commenced teaching three weeks after her
arrival, in a small log schoolhouse in the town of
Barrington, and continued teaching until within
three weeks of her marriage. She also taught
two terms after she was married, and many of
the men and women of to-day received their first
instruction in the primitive school which she
taught. Mr. Crabtree carried ou his farm in McHenry
County for a number of years, and then sold out,
purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land in
Cuba Township, which he operated for seven
years. He then traded it for a farm in Cook
County, which he carried on for an equal length

John Rokkktsow

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

507

of time. On the expiration of that period, he en
gaged in merchandising in Dundee, Kane Coun
ty, for seven years, after which he sold out,
and in 1878 he came to Barrington. For a
number of years after his arrival here, he car
ried ou a farm a-half mile from the village, but is
now living retired.
Mr. Crabtree was formerly an old-line Whig,
and cast his first Presidential vote for William
Henry Harrison in 1840. Since the organization
of the Republican party-, he has supported each
of its Presidential nominees, and has been a warm
advocate of its principles. For twenty years he
has served as a member of the School Board, and
has done much for the advancement of the cause
of education. He is a member of the Baptist
Church, and his wife holds membership with the
Congregational Church. Mr. Crabtree is a highly-
respected citizen, possessed of many excellencies
of character, and he and his estimable wife well
deserve the high regard in which they are held
by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
ia * =s:---s] <* t "^ns-38, ¦ 3)
30HN ROBERTSON, a highly respected citi
zen of Barrington, now practically living retir
ed, is numbered among the native sons of Illi
nois, his birth having occurred in Lake County,
December 29, 1844. His father, John Robertson,
was born in New Hampshire, October 20, 1810,
and in 1837 emigrated westward to this State,
settling near Deer Grove, Lake County. He was
one of the honored pioneers of that locality. He
married Charlotte Sutherland, who was born in
Vermont, but in her girlhood came to this State
with her father, an honored pioneer of Cook
County. Mr. Robertson started out in life for
himself with no capital save a young man's bright
hope of the future and a determination to suc
ceed, but by industry and good management
he worked his wa)- upward and became a sub
stantial citizen. He was recognized as one of the
leading men of Lake County. He took an active
part in local politics and held numerous official
positions of honor and trust, discharging his duties

with credit to himself and satisfaction to his con
stituents. He passed away September 8, 1877,
at the age of sixty-seven, and his wife died two
years previous, in 1875. They lie buried in Fair
field Cemetery, where a monument has been
erected to their memory. 4
John Robertson is the second iu order of birth
in their family of four sons and five Slaughters.
Lydia, the eldest, is the wife of William Hicks,
of Palatine; Silas is living retired in Barrington;
Cordelia; is the wife of Edward Clark, of Barring
ton; Persis is the wife of James Diamond, of Nor
mal Park; Joseph died at the age of nineteen
years; Mary is the wife of Charles Patten, of
Palatine; Elmer resides in Palatine; and Lida
died at the age of twenty-one.
In his parents' home, John Robertson spent the
days of his boyhood and youth, and th§, schools
of Lake County afforded him his educational priv
ileges. After arriving at mature years he turned
his attention to farming, which he followed in
Lake County foi^twenty years. He owned and
operated four hundred acres of valuable land and
was a successful agriculturist. In 1887 he rented
his farm, purchased a residence in Barrington,
and has since made his home iu this place. He
owns a large and valuable farm at Lake Zurich,
where he has a nice summer residence, and each
year he and his family there spend about four
mouths. He is also one of the stockholders and
directors in the Barrington Bank, and is President
of that institution, which is one of the solid finan
cial concerns of the county. He is a man of good
business and executive ability, who by careful at
tention to the details of his business and well-di
rected efforts has won a success which is the
just reward of his labors.
On the 3d of October, 1866, in Lake County,
Mr. Robertson married Julia E.,, daughter of
David Parker, who removed from Vermont to
Lake County in an early day, and there spent the
remainder of his life. His daughter was born in
Erie County, N. Y., but was reared in this State.
Our subject and his wife have five children: Cora,
wife of A. J. Leonard, of Rockefeller, 111. ; Albert
L., who is Cashier ofthe Barrington Bank; Emma,
at home; Frank, a successful teacher of Cook

25

508

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

County; and Lydia, who is attending school in
Mayfair. Since casting his first Presidential vote for Gen.
Grant in 1868, Mr. Robertson has been a stalwart
advocate of the Republican party and its princi
ples, and has frequently served as a delegate to
its conventions. He is a member of the Barring
ton Lodge of Modem Woodmen, and is a chari
table arid benevolent man, who contributes liber
ally to churches and worthy enterprises, and does
all in his power to advance the best interests of
the community. His sterling worth and many
excellencies of character have made him a highly
respected citizen.

SI

SU,*-

1-^HM

V A B. McINTOSH, who is living a retired
y life in Barrington, deserves mention in the
(9 history of Cook County, for he is numbered
among its early settlers, his residence here having
covered a period of forty years. For thirty years
he was numbered among the leading business men
of Barrington. He was born in Albany, N. Y.,
in the shadow of the Catskill Mountains, January
6, 18 17, and is the eldest child of Alexander and
Betsy (Wood) Mcintosh. His father was born
and reared in Columbia County, N. Y., and in
St. Albans, Vt., married Miss Wood, who was a
native of New Hampshire, but spent her girlhood
days in the Green Mountain State. He returned
with his bride to Albany County, N. Y., and for
a time worked at his trade of carpentering, but
later he purchased and operated a farm. There
he continued to reside until his death, which oc
curred April 15, 1875, at the advanced age of
eighty-six years, ten months and five days. His
wife passed away several years previous, and both
lie buried iu a cemetery of Schoharie County, N.
Y. , where a neat monument marks their last rest
ing-place. They had six sons and two daughters
who grew to mature years and . became heads of
families, while four brothers yet survive.
Mr. Mcintosh of this sketch was reared in his
native county and in the public schools acquired a
fair education, to which he has greatly added

by reading and experience. For a number of
years he successfully engaged in teaching in New
York. He was married in Albany County, on the
22d of April, 1846, to Miss Elmina C. Phillips, a
native of that county, and they began their do
mestic life upon a farm which our subject had
previously purchased, a tract of one hundred acres
ten miles from Albany. He there engaged in ag
ricultural pursuits for eight years, when, in 1854,
he sold out arid started for Illinois, wishing to try
his fortune on the broad prairies of the West. On
the 17th of May, he arrived -in Chicago, and soon
joined his father-in-law, who with his three sons
was living in Northfield. After a short visit there
he removed to Freeport, where he bought a resi
dence, and began work at the carpenter's trade,
which he followed eight months.
Mr. Mcintosh and his family suffered much
from sickness during those early years and two
daughters died of cholera. He also had a severe
attack of the same disease, and came near losing
his life. Discouraged and disheartened, he sold
his residence and packed and shipped his goods,
with the intention of returning to the Empire
State, but visiting his relatives in Northfield, he
was persuaded to remain, and in the spring of 1 855
rented a farm in that locality, which he operated
for two and a-half years. In 1857, he removed
to Barrington, and purchased a home, in which
he still resides, although it has been greatly re
modeled. He also bought other lots and built
three good residences, which he still owns, and
erected two business houses. Building a barn, he
also carried on a livery and boarding-stable until
1858, when he embarked in the lumber business.
Subsequently, he purchased another lumber-yard,
and was actively engaged in the lumber trade
for twenty-six years, in connection with real-estate
dealing. He platted an addition to Barrington,
and has aided materially in the growth of the
place. He has also bought and dealt in lands in
Iowa, and he now owns six hundred and eighty
acres in Grant County, S. Dak.
Unto Mr. aud Mrs. Mcintosh were born eight
children, five daughters being deceased. Those
living are E. J., wife of F. E. Lines, a con
tractor and builder of Barrington; M. C. , who is

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

509

now preparing himself for the legal profession;
and F. W., who is married and resides in Chi
cago, where he holds a good position. The par
ents are both members of the Baptist Church, and
in politics Mr. Mcintosh has been a Democrat
since casting his first Presidential vote for Martin
Van Buren in 1840. He has taken quite an ac
tive part in local politics, having served for seven
years as Police Magistrate, four years as Justice
of the Peace, and for three years was one of the
Trustees of the village, during which time he
served as President of the Board for one year. He
has also been a delegate to numerous county con
ventions. In Decehiber, 1893, Mr. Mcintosh
was appointed Postmaster of Barrington, and as
sumed the duties of the office January- 1, 1894.
He is President of the Evergreen Cemetery Asso
ciation, and has held that position since its or
ganization, upwards of twenty years ago. In
1891 he was one ofthe five who bought the Bar
rington Bank from De Wiggins, Starbuck & Co.,
afterward the Mcintosh, Sandman & Co. Bank,
but he sold his interest therein in July, 1892.
He has always proved an efficient and faithful
officer, true to every trust reposed in him. His
forty years' residence has made him well known
in Cook County, and an upright life has gained
for him high regard.

-St

S3

$+£

Si

s'

(JEROME W KINGSLEY makes his home
I in Barrington. He has laid aside all busi-
Q) ness affairs and is now resting in the enjoy
ment of the fruits of his former toil. He has led
a busy and useful life, and as the result of his
labors acquired the competence which now en
ables him to rest in his declining years. As he
is widely and favorably known in Cook County,
we feel assured that the record of his life will
prove of interest to many-- of our readers.
Mr. Kingsley was born in the town of North
Adams, Berkshire County, Mass., November 10,
1 82 1, and is a son of Hezekiah and Joanna
(Wells) Kingsley. His father was born in
Chester Township, Berkshire County, June 28,

1794, and conies of a family of English origin,
which was founded in Rhode Island in early Col
onial days. The mother was born February 18,
1803, in Massachusetts, and is a daughter of
Charles W'ells, who also came from an old New
England family. Capt. Kingsley was a black
smith by trade, and followed that pursuit in con
nection with farming both in Massachusetts and
Illinois. In 1840, he emigrated westward, and
for two years carried on a farm near Aurora, 111.
In 1842, he came to Cook County and took up
his residence in what is now Barrington Town
ship, purchasing one hundred and twenty acres
of unbroken land, from which he developed a* fine
farm, to the cultivation and improvement of which
he devoted his energies until his death, at the ad
vanced age of eighty-seven years. He passed
away June 21, 1881, andhis wife died February
13, 1886. Both were interred in Barrington Cem
etery, where a marble monument marks their last
resting-place. The father was one of the promi
nent citizens of the community, and held a num
ber of local offices.
Our subject was the eldest and only son in a
family of three children. His eldest sister, Julia
E. , became the wife of Curtis Hendricks, and is
now the widow of George C. Gardner. She re
sides with her brother. Mr. Kingsley remained
in Massachusetts until nineteen years of age, and
acquired a good education in the common schools.
After coming to the West, he taught school suc
cessfully for several terms. He then began op
erating the old homestead farm, and added to it a
tract of sixty acres. He also built a substantial
residence and other farm buildings, and continued
the operation of that place until October, 1883,
when he rented his land, and, building a pleasant
and comfortable home in Barrington, took up his
residence in this place. He was recognized as
one ofthe practical and progressive agriculturists
of the community, and his home was a model
farm. In early life, Mr. Kingsley was a Jackson Dem
ocrat, but he has supported each Presidential
nominee of the Republican party since casting his
ballot for John C. Fremont, its first candidate, in
1856. He has been called upon to fill various

5io

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

local offices — was Supervisor for three terms, As
sessor for twenty-two consecutive years, and was
elected Township Clerk the year after the organ
ization of the township, and filled that office for
twenty-one consecutive years, when he declined
longer to serve. He has been a competent and
faithful officer, as is indicated by his long contin
uance in the positions he has filled. He has also
been a delegate to the county and State conven
tions of his party.
Mr. Kingsley has been three times married. He
first wedded Polly T. Pierce, who died a year
later. He then wedded Harriet A. Marlett, whose
death occurred eight years later. She left one
son, Alfred, who became a leading business man
of Elgin. He died in that city in June, 1891,
at the age of forty-four years, leaving a wife and
one child. Mr. Kingsley married for his third
wife Miss Clarinda A. Applebee, daughter of Gil
bert A. Applebee. They have a daughter, who for
a number of years successfully engaged in teach
ing, and now holds a responsible position with the
Northwestern Railroad Company. They lost one
son, Willis J., who died at the age of seventeen.
Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley and their daughter are ac
tive members in the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and he is one of its officers. His life has been well
and worthily passed, and those who know him
esteem him highly on account of the many excel
lencies of his character.

B$+£#-=

(ri I MON R. KIRBY, an enterprising and highly-
?\ respected citizen of Barrington, is a native
yy of the Emerald Isle, his birth having occurred
in County Limerick, Ireland. His school privi
leges were quite limited, but by reading, experi
ence and observation, he has made himself a well-
informed man. At the age of fourteen, he left
home and crossed the Atlantic to the New World,
sailing from Liverpool. After six weeks spent
on the broad Atlantic, anchor was dropped in the
harbor of New York in November, 185 1. Mr.
Kirby joined two older brothers in Connecticut,
and remained in that State, working on a farm,

for a year and a-half. In 1853 he continued his
westward travels to Chicago, where he served an
apprenticeship and worked at the moulder's trade
for five years. In the spring of 1858, he made a
trip to California, by way of New York and the
Isthmus of Panama, and thence by steamer to San
Francisco. Mr. Kirby then started for Grass Valley, Nev
ada County, where he engaged iu working at his
trade for nearly a year. In 1859 he went to Ore
gon, where he accepted employment in a tanyard,
and also followed other pursuits, whereby he
might earn an honest living, for three years. In
1862 he went to Idaho, where he engaged in mining
for a year, and in 1863 we find him in Montana,
where he also mined for a year. He then went
to British Columbia, where he continued mining
until 1865, after which he again spent two years
as a miner in Montana. In 1867 he was once
more in Idaho, and engaged as a cattle-dealer in
that State, in Oregon and in Wyoming for about
fourteen years. In 1882 he sold out, and in the
autumn of that year returned to Illinois.
Mr. Kirby was married in Cook County March
27, 1883, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of W. K. Don-
lea, an honored early settler of this community,
now living in Barrington. The lady has spent
her entire life in Cook County. Five children
have been born of this union: William C, Ed
ward F., George R., Franklin Irving and Charles
Leo. The parents are both members of the Cath
olic Church of Barrington.
In the spring of 1884, Mr. Kirby purchased a
farm in Barrington Township, four miles from the
village, a place of threenundred and twenty acres,
and afterward bought a fourteen-acre tract ad
joining, making in all three hundred and thirty-
four acres. The farm is now a valuable and/well-
improved one, and Mr. Kirby has since devoted
his energies successfully to its cultivation. Upon
the place are two good residences and two sets of
first-class outbuildings, together with all other ac
cessories and conveniences of a model farm. He
purchased his residence property in Barrington in
1884, and here has a comfortable home. In poli
tics, he is independent, casting his ballot for the
man whom he thinks best qualified for the office,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

5n

regardless of party affiliations. His career has
been a prosperous one, owing to his own diligence
and labor. He commenced life empty-handed,
and had to overcome obstacles and disadvantages,
but with renewed effort he pressed on, and as a re
sult has achieved a well -merited success.
(JOHN A. CHILDS, the well-known Post-
I master of Evanston, was born on the north
(2/ side ofthe city of Chicago in 1854, and is the
youngest son of S. D. Childs, one ofthe early set
tlers of Chicago, who there located in 1837. He
was for many years one of its leading business
men and a prominent and influential citizen. He
came to the West from Massachusetts, where the
family had lived for several generations.
Our subject was reared in the city of his birth,
and acquired his education in its public and pri
vate schools. Early in life he began to learn the
trade of type-setting. In January, 1.87 1, he en
tered upon that work in the office of the Little
Corporal. After the great fire which occurred iu
October, 1871, he was employed in different
offices in the city, there continuing until 1873,
when Alfred L. Sewell established a paper at
Evanston called the Evanston Index, and placed
Mr. Childs in charge of the composing-room as
foreman. That position he occupied until No
vember, 1875, when, in company with David
Cavan, he bought the paper of Mr. Sewell. To
gether they continued its publication for three
years, when, in January, 1878, the partnership
was dissolved, Mr. Cavan retiring from the firm.
At that time Mr. Childs assumed full control, and
has since been the editor and proprietor of the
paper. In 1884 our subject was appointed Postmaster
of Evanston by President Arthur, but on account
of his political views was removed by President
Cleveland in 1885. In 1889 he was appointed by
¦President Harrison, and held the office until March
1, 1894. His re-appointment is an evidence of his
excellent qualifications, faithful discharge of duty,
and his popularity with the citizens of Evanston,

among whom he has so long resided. He is re
cognized as one of the progressive business men
of this place, and co-operates with any and all un
dertakings for the general welfare and public
good. In September, 1878, Mr. Childs was united in
marriage with Miss Rebecca Roland, who was the
first lady graduated from the Northwestern Uni
versity. She is a native of Freeport, 111. , and a
daughter of Rev. Henry Roland. Unto Mr. and
Mrs. Childs have been born three children: Flor
ence, Mildred and John R.
Mr. Childs takes great interest in civic societies
and is a prominent and active member of various
fraternities of this place. In local politics, he is
a decided leader, and is an indefatigable worker in
the interests of the Republican party, of whose
principles he is a stalwart advocate. The Index
is an eight-page paper, Republican in politics, and
is one of the leading weekly papers in Evanston.
It is devoted entirely to home news and is all pre
pared and printed here. From the beginning the
circulation has steadily increased and a liberal
patronage is now accorded it.
a ' ,Si cii<T'>(5-"s  a>
PRANK H. GOIN, who is numbered among
f^ the successful lawyers of Chicago and among
| the leading residents of Evanston, is a na
tive of Littleton, N. H., born July 23, 1849. His
parents were Eri and Amanda B. (Davenport)
Goin, the former a native of Vermont, and the
latter of New Hampshire, and both descendants
of English ancestors. The father engaged in
merchandising in Littleton for many years, but
during the latter part of his life he lived retired
upon a farm in the Green Mountain State. His
death occurred in October, 1887, at the advanced
age of eighty-four years, and his wife passed away
in 1877, at the age of fifty-four. He held mem
bership with the Universalist Church, and she be
longed to the Congregational Church. The pa
ternal grandfather, Joseph Goin, was a native of
Vermont, and also followed farming. The ma
ternal grandfather, Lot Davenport, was born in

512

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the old Granite State, and both families lived in
New England for many generations. The an
cestors on both sides were active iu the American
Revolution. The earliest maternal American
forefather of our s.ibject, the Rev. John Daven
port, emigrated to this country from London in
1637. He was a noted Nonconformist preacher,
and on account of his religious views left his
native land, taking up his residence in Bos
ton. The following year, 1638, he founded
New Haven. The first Sunday after his ar
rival there he preached under a tree. He
became the ruler of the Colony, which adopted
the Bible as its standard of government. Later
he was invited to return to England and sit in the
Assembly of Westminster Divines. He was a
very learned and celebrated man, and bore a
prominent part in shaping the course and charac
ter ofthe Connecticut Colony.
Frank H. Goin whose name heads this record
spent the first seven years of his life in his native
town and was then reared upon his father's farm
in Vermont. After attending the common schools,
he became a student in the State Normal of Ver
mont, and subsequently completed the classical
course at Kimball Union Academy, from which
institution he was graduated in 187 1. He after
ward studied law in the office of the late Chief
Justice Cushing, of Charlestown, N. H., and was
admitted to the Bar in 1874. He then took a
course in the Albany -(N. Y.) Law School, a de
partment of Union University, and received from
that institution the degree of LL- B. in 1876.
In June of the same year he entered upon the
practice of his chosen ptofession in Burlington,
Vt. , as a partner of Alexander Watson, an old
established attorney of that city, under the firm
name of Watson & Goin. This connection was
continued until 1877, when he formed a partner
ship with Wilbur F. Powers, now a legal practi
tioner of Boston, under the business style of Goin
& Powers.
On the 30th of January, 1874, was celebrated
the marriage of Mr. Goin and Miss Ida F. Wood
bury, a daughter of Judge A. M. Woodbury, of
Elmore, Vt. She came from the family of Levi
Woodbury, of New Hampshire, who was Gov

ernor of the Granite State, United States Senator,
and later Judge of the United States Supreme
Court. Four children have been born unto Mr.
and Mrs. Goin, all sons. Horatio Davenport,
the youngest, died in infancy; Clifton Woodbury,
Robert Edgar and Frank Henry are all now pre
paring for college.
In 1880 Mr. Goin came to Chicago, and has
practiced law here continuously since. In politics,
he is a Democrat, of Republican antecedents, and
in 1872 he was elected to the New Hampshire
Legislature fromPlainfield by both Republican and
Democratic votes. In 1877 he was elected Pros
ecuting Officer of Burlington.- In April, 1892, he
removed to Evanston, where he has a beautiful
home on Lincoln Street, with a frontage of three
hundred and sixty-five feet. Mrs. Goin is a
member of the Episcopal Church. The abilities
of our subject, both natural and acquired, com
bined with earnest effort, have placed him in the
front rank among legal practitioners and gained
for him a large business.

(JOHN W OSBORN, one ofthe honored vet-
1 erans of the late war, who for twenty years
\~) has served as night-watchman in Evanston,
is a native of Ireland. He was born in County
Limerick, August 9, 1832, and is a son of Will
iam and Catherine (Garvey) Osborn, both of
whom were natives of the Emerald Isle. Their
family numbered seven children, five sons and
two daughters, but only- two are now living:
James, a school teacher in Nashville, Tenn. ; and
John W. of this sketch. The father followed
farming in his native land, and there spent his en
tire life, his death occurring in 1875. His wife
passed away some years previous. Both were
members of the Catholic Church. The paternal
grandfather, William Osborn, was also a farmer
of Ireland, and in that country died in the prime
of life. He had a family of five children. The
maternal grandfather, John Garvey, reared a large
family and spent his entire life on the Emerald
Isle, wliere he died at an advanced age. By trade

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

5J3

he was a cooper. He was a Revolutionist in the
War of 1 798 , and had a narrow escape from death ,
being sentenced to be shot within a-half mile from
his own door; but before the execution was car
ried out he was pardoried.
John W. Osborn whose name heads this record
was reared in his native land until nineteen years
of age, and there acquired his education. He
was brought up as a soldier for the East India
service. On the ist of November, 1850, how
ever, he landed in New York City and tried to
enlist in the United States army, but was re
jected, being too youug. Later, he shipped as a
sailor, and followed the seas for eighteen years,
during which time he was twice shipwrecked.
His life has not been an uneventful one, being
filled with many adventures and interesting ex
periences. His travels have broadened his mind,
as such experiences always do, and have stored
it with many interesting reminiscences.
On the 3d of January, 1862, Mr. Osborn en
listed for the late war and began service on the
gunboat "Massachusetts." He was in the
Peninsular campaign with .McClellan, and yet
carries the marks of a wound which he received
in the hand. He served three years on that ves
sel, and in an engagement captured the privateer
' ' Florida ' ' in the harbor of Bay Hie on the night
of October 7, 1864. He brought the vessel into
port at Fortress Monroe, November 28. This
was one of the most daring feats of the war, as
history will attest. At length the naval troops
were sent to the navy-yard in Boston, where Mr.
Osborn was discharged on the 2d of January,
1865. After a short rest he re-enlisted on the
13th of March,- 1865, and served as Quartermas
ter until April 1, 1866. He was in the service
altogether for four years and seventeen days, and
was then honorably discharged in the navy-yard
at Philadelphia. He was always faithful to his
duty, and his work in defense of the Stars and
Stripes proved of great value to the cause.
On the 15th of September, 1866, Mr. Osborn
was united in marriage with Johanna Ellis, daugh
ter of William and Annie (O'Brien) Ellis. Ten
children have been born of this union, five sons
and five daughters: Mary Ann, Ellen, William,

Kate, Maggie (who died in infancy), James, Jo
hanna, John, Patrick Henry and Thomas. Ellen
is the wife of an artist and resides in Huntington,
Ind. The parents are both members of the Cath
olic Church, and, socially, Mr. Osborn is connected
with Evans Lodge No. 524, A. F. & A. M.;
Evans Chapter No. 144, R. A. M.; Commandery
No. 32, and the Grand Army ofthe Republic.
The month following his discharge from the
service of his country, Mr. Osborn came to Evan
ston, where he has since made his home. For
three seasons he sailed on the Lakes, and then
worked at various occupations until the ist of
October, 1873, when he was employed as night-
watchman by the business men of Evanston. He
still serves in that capacity, and in the twenty
years that have passed since he entered upon the
engagement he has lost only three nights. His
continued service shows that he has the confidence
of his employers, and that he is ever true to the
trust reposed in him. As the result of his labors
he has accumulated some capital, and now has a
good home property in Evanston. In politics, he
is a Republican.

sr

L- HICKS, a retired farmer residing on
section 13, Palatine Township, where he
owns a good farm of two hundred acres,
is numbered among the highly respected citizens
of the community. The record of his life is as
follows: He Was born in Windham County, Vt.,
on the 3d of October, 1840, and is a son of Jos
eph Hicks, who was also born in the Green
Mountain State, and there grew to manhood.
After arriving at years of maturity, he was united
in marriage with Miss Lucinda Ballou, a native of
Vermont, who died when the subject of this notice
was a child of five years. In 1850, the father
emigrated with his family to Ohio, and after a
year there spent came to Illinois, locating upon a
farm in Lake County. The last years of his life
were spent in the town of Wauconda, and his
death occurred in 1886.
W. L- Hicks whose name heads this record

5i4

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

attended the common schools of his native State,
and upon a farm was reared to manhood. At the
age of seventeen he came to Illinois, and went on
a farm in Lake County with his father, with whom
he continued until the spring of 1861. In the
mean time the agitation against slavery-, and the
questions arising therefrom, made war seem im
minent, and Mr. Hicks resolved that if the South
attempted to destroy the Union he would aid in
its defense; so when Ft. Sumter was fired upon
and the President issued his call for troops, he
enlisted in the service of his country and became
a member of Company I, Fifteenth Illinois Infan
try. After serving for three years, he veteranized
and continued to follow the Old Flag until it was
victoriously planted iu the capital of the Confed
eracy. He participated in a number of important
engagements, induding the battles of Corinth,
Shiloh, the siege of Vicksburg, the Atlanta cam
paign, and the celebrated march to the sea under
Gen. Sherman. He then went to Washington,
and was sent to Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. , to engage
in service against the Indians on the plains. Re
turning to Springfield, 111. , he was mustered out,
in the autumn of 1865, after more than four years
of arduous service.
Mr. Hicks then returned to Lake County, and
soon after went to Chicago, where for two years
he held an important position in a cracker factory.
He then returned to Lake County, where he was
actively engaged in agricultural pursuits until
1884, when he sold that farm and bought the one
on which he now resides. He has greatly im
proved the place, has erected a substantial resi
dence and a good barn, and has placed the land
under a high state of cultivation. All of the ac-'
cessories and conveniences of a model farm are
there found, and the owner is ranked among the
leading and substantial agriculturists of the com
munity. On the 3d of October, 1866, in the town of Ely,
Mr. Hicks married Miss Lydia Robertson, daugh
ter of John Robertson, one of the pioneers of Lake
County. To them were born six children, but
three are now deceased. Persis is the wife of
James Young, of Palatine; Mildred and Ella are
at home; John died at the age of two years;

Willie died at the age of six months; and Mary
died in 1886, at the age of nineteen years.
In his political views, Mr. Hicks has been a
Democrat since attaining his majority, and is a
warm advocate of the men and measures of his
party. Socially, he is a Mason, having been con
nected with the fraternity since 1863. He has
resided in northeastern Illinois for thirty-eight
years, and is wdl known in this locality. His
integrity and upright character have won for him
the confidence of all, and he and his estimable
wife are held in the highest esteem throughout
the community.

"SI

0R. O. T. MAXSON, who is engaged in the
practice of the medical profession in South
Evanston, has built up a good business, for
he is well versed in everything connected with
the science and has spared neither labor nor ex
pense in perfecting himself for his chosen calling.
His skill and ability are now recognized, and he
has not only won a liberal patronage, but has also
gained a high reputation among his professional
brethren. The Doctor was born in Centreville, Allegany
County, N. V., March 29, 1824, and is one of
seven children, four sons and three daughters,
who were born unto Joseph and Amelia (Ward)
Maxson. Only two of the family are now living,
the Doctor, and Caroline, who is the widow of
Dr. J. W. Beardsley, of Minneapolis, Minn. The
parents were both natives of Rhode Island. The
father was a trader, farmer and merchant. In
1846, he removed to Bradford, Wis., where he
lived for twenty-four years, his death occurring
iu 1864, at the age of eighty-two. His wife
passed away in 1846, at the age of forty-six years.
Both were members of the Universalist Church.
They built the house of worship in Centreville,
N. Y., and for two years paid the salary of the
minister. The paternal grandfather, Joseph Max-
son, was a ver)- wealthy man. His father also
bore the name of Joseph. The grandfather
Ward was a farmer and had a family of fifteen

Charles E. Strono

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

5i7

children, all of whom lived to be married, and
nine of whom died in 1846.
Orrin T. Maxson was reared in Centreville,
N. Y., and there acquired his early education.
He afterwards attended Rush Medical College, iu
Chicago, for he had determined to make the prac
tice of medicine his life work, and was graduated
from that institution in the Class of '49. He
then established a hospital in Nevada, Colo., in
connection with Dr. Clark, and was at that place
one yrear, after which he went to the mouth of
the St. Croix River, and bought out the old fur
company of that place. He there platted what
afterwards became the city of Prescott, Wis. He
there remained for fifteen years, and during most
of the time engaged in the prosecution of his pro
fession. In 1 86 1, the Doctor entered the service of his
country, joining the boys in blue of Company A,
Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry. He served until,
after the siege of Atlanta, when he was honorably
discharged, his three-year term having expired.
He held the rank of captain, yet most ofthe time
was detailed as a surgeon. After the war he en
gaged in practice in Waukegan and Chicago for
a long period, seventeen years of that time being
spent in the former city. Leaving Waukegan in
1883, he removed to Evanston, where he has
since made his home. He has built up a large
practice, and his success is well merited.
In December, 1846, Dr. Maxson was united in
marriage with Miss Eunice McCray, daughter of
William and Candace (McKinney) McCray, na
tives of Tolland, Conn. Five children have been
born unto them, three sons and two daughters, but
Herrick, Orrin and Almira are now deceased.
Orrin Prescott, who was the third in order of
birth, is now a practicing physician of Wauke
gan. He married Miss Kittie Sherman, and they
have four children, a son and three daughters:
Eunora, Evelyn, Leta and Harold. Amelia, who
was the youngest of the Doctor's family, is the
widow of L- L- Knox, and now lives with her fa
ther in Evanston. She has two children, Orrin
and Helen.
While residing in Wisconsin, Dr. Maxson
served as a member of the Legislature for several

years, and was chairman of the railroad commit
tee which disposed of the land grant. He wa.s
for six years State Regent of the Normal Schools
of Wisconsin, which included all the colleges and
schools that had Normal classes in the State. Gov.
Randall was a particular friend ofthe Doctor's,
and, unsolicited, appointed him County Judge of
Pierce County, Wis. In politics, he wa.s in early
life a Democrat, but at the breaking out of the
war he joined the ranks of the Republican party
and has since been one of its stanch advocates.
In his official duties he has ever been found faith
ful and true, endeavoring to serve the best in
terests of the people. Both himself and wife are
members of the Congregational Church, their
connection covering a period of forty years The
Doctor is a Knight Templar Mason and also be
longs to the Odd Fellows' Society. While in
Waukegan, he was a member of the Lake Coun
ty Medical Society. The Doctor owns landed in
terests in various parts of this county, and a home
property and other real estate in Evanston.

B-

EHARLES E. STRONG, the pleasant, popu
lar and capable manager of the Chicago
Newspaper Union, has passed his entire
life in the Mississippi Valley. He was born in
Union City, Branch County, Mich., on the 28th
of March, 1841, and comes of an honored pioneer
family of that State, his parents having there lo
cated in 1836. His early years were spent amidst
the wild scenes of the frontier, during which time
many of the hardships and difficulties of pioneer
life were experienced.
In the year 1850, the Strong family removed to
Wisconsin, taking up their residence in Milwau
kee. There, at the age of fourteen years, the
eldest son, Charles E. Strong, was apprenticed to
S. M. Booth, then the publisher of the Daily Free
Democrat, to learn the printer's trade. He con
tinued in the employ of Mr. Booth for five years,
during which time he completely mastered the
business. Afterwards he engaged in different
newspaper and job printing offices iu Milwaukee

5i8

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

until the year i860, when he entered the office of
the Evening Wisconsin as compositor. For two
years he labored in that capacity, and was then
promoted to the position of foreman of the estab
lishment, and as such served until October, 1870,
when he was sent to Chicago by his employers to
establish and put in operation the Chicago News
paper Union, which has become under his skill
ful management and direction the largest auxili
ary printing house in the United States.
Mr. Strong has probably done more to advance
the ready-print newspaper system than any other
man in the country, and is the pioneer in practi
cal work pertaining to that business. His first
experience in making up what is termed '"patent
inside" forms dates back to the spring of 1864.
Hig mechanical knowledge of printing has stood
him in good stead, and, added to his excellent
business and executive ability, has made his ca
reer a successful and prosperous one.
Mr. Strong is a western man, and his interests
have ever been connected with the West. He
has won a prominent place in newspaper circles,
and is widely known among business men. Prob
ably, no citizen of Chicago has a larger or more
agreeable acquaintance, or is held in higher es
teem among the country publishers of the West,
than Charles E. Strong, and it is with pleasure
that we present to our readers this record of his
life. He may truly be called a self-made man,
and the perseverance, industry and determination
which have brought him success constitute an ex
ample well worthy of emulation. The new quar
ters of the Chicago" Newspaper Union which
have recently been established are as a monument
to his thrift and enterprise.
g  •°,-"sr<!>""T™^"sr_;3 ' §>
Y£\ EWELL M ATSON. One ofthe most promi-
| / nent business men of Chicago, and an early
l/g resident of Lombard, was descended from
one ofthe earliest English families of Connecticut.
His parents, William and Cynthia Matson, were
born in or near Simsbury-, Hartford County,
Conn., aud he was born in that town on the 12th

of November, 1815, being the sixth child in a
family of four sons and three daughters. For him
'the hills and valleys of his native State had a
peculiar charm, and he often visited them, and
when his health began to grow infirm he ex
pressed a desire to see them once more. While
on a visit to his native State, at Clinton, Middle
sex County, July 28, 1887, he passed from earth
to the rewards in heaven of a well-spent life. He
was the only- one of his father's family who came
West to live.
Newell Matson attended the public school at
Hartland, and at nineteen years of age went into
a store in his native town as partner, continuing
about four years. He went to Owego, N. Y.,
about 1845, and continued mercantile business
until his removal to Milwaukee, Wis., in i860.
Here his stock contained a large amount of jew
elry, and he soon gave his exclusive attention to
that line of trade. In 1864 he moved to Chicago,
and entered into partnership with James Hoes in
the jewelry business at No. 117 Lake Street,
where he continued until his stock was swept
away in the great fire of 1871, inflicting a loss
upon the firm of $250,000. This disaster did not
destroy his courage, and he resumed business
temporarily, as soon as the smoke had cleared
away, at Wabash Avenue and Eldridge Court.
The next year he occupied a store built for his
use opposite the Palmer House, on State Street,
and continued in business there until his demise.
He did not remove his home from Milwaukee un
til 1872, when he came to live at Lombard, but
three years later he moved to Chicago, and re
mained till a year before his death, when he re
turned to his home in Lombard, where his widow
still resides.
Mr. Matson was twice married. The first wife
was Miss Pluma Emmons, of Hartland, Hartford
Count)-, Conn., whom he married in 1836. She
died in September, 1838, leaving a son, Louis
E. , now deceased, who, at his death, was pastor
of Plymouth Congregational Church at Chicago.
September 15, 1840, Mr. Matson married Miss
Flora M. Case, daughter of Friend and Sarah
Case, of Simsbury, Conn. This union lasted for
nearly half a ceutury, or until it was broken by the

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

5i9

death of Mr. Matson. The ancestors of Mrs.
Matson were among the early founders of Con
necticut. They were descended from Capt. Job
Case, ofthe British army, and one of the Colonial
pioneers. Several inembers of the family served
in the Revolutionary army, including the elder
brothers of Friend Case, who was but a child at
the time of the struggle for independence.
Four of the five children of Mr. and Mrs. Mat-
son still survive. The eldest, Flora, is the wife
of Thomas S. Hayden, residing in Denver, Colo.
Anna C. married Rev. Charles Caverno. They
reside at Boulder, Colo. Ella C. married A. H.
Andrews, the head ofthe firm of A. H. Andrews
& Co., of Chicago. Their residence is in Lom
bard. Rollin N., a lumber merchant of Chicago,
married Miss Adele Dean. He died May 24,
1893. Lottie married S. M. Perry. Theyr reside
at Denver, Colo.
Mr. Matson became identified with the Con
gregational Church in early- life, and was an ac
tive member of the Congregational Church wher
ever he had his residence. His sympathies were
with every progressive movement, and he took a
lively interest in all questions of public concern,
though he never sought for political preferment.
From its inception he gave his earnest support to
the Republican party, as the champion of right
and justice and ofthe Union, and the exponent of
the best principles of public economy. Among
business men his word was never questioned, and
as expressive of the confidence they had in him it
was said of him that ' ' without a dollar, he could
have bought the world." He was beloved in
Lombard, as he was respected in Chicago. For
him, ' ' to come in contact with a stranger, either
in business or social life, was simply to make a
new friend."
If all the world of employers were regarded by
employes as Mr. Matson wa.s, the spirit of anarchy
could not exist. His treatment of all with whom
he came in contact was uniformly courteous, kind
and just, and the oppressed or distressed never
failed to find in him a sympathizing and active
friend. His sympathy was not alone expressed
in words, but was made substantially apparent.
Of him, one who is doing a great and good work,
Rev. Washington Gladden, D. D., wrote thus:

" Mr. Matson lived a brave, strong, and wor
thy life, and will leave a precious and fragrant
memory. How much I owe to him I do not for
get, nor shall I ever. He found me out when I
was very obscure; he helped me to my feet when
I was very weak and timid; he put golden oppor
tunity- within my reach; he opened to me the pos
sibilities of happiness and usefulness. What more
could one man do for another than he did for me ?
If I have done any good work in the world it was
because he put it within my power.
' ' I know I am not the only one to whom he
wa.s a friend."
Although Mr. Matson suffered from failing
health for twelve years previous to his decease,
and endured much physical pain during that time,
he was never heard to complain, but ever sought
to cheer and encourage those about him. In the
hour of death the religion of his life failed him
not, and he went to his rest in a Christian's trust
and peace. |  -^gr-Sl^.Jh..^.<S-Ja  ,  9
I ESTER D.- CASTLE, who is now living a
It retired life in Barrington, is numbered among
LJ the honored early settlers of Cook County of
1843. His residence, therefore, within its borders
covers a period of half a century. The record of
his life is as follows: He was born in the town
of Florence, Oneida County, N. Y., March 4,
1827, and is a son of Edward Castle, who was
born in Waterbury, Conn., December. 19, 1800.
He was reared, however, in the Empire State,
whither he was taken when two years old by his
father, Phineas Castle, who was one of the first
settlers of Florence. His great-grandfather, Phin
eas Castle, Sr., was a Captain in the French and
Indian War. The mother of our subject bore the
maiden name of Jerusha W. Bellows. She was
born in New York, and was a daughter of Abner
Bellows, an early settler of Florence, Oneida
County. In 1843 Edward Castle emigrated to the West
with his family and located in Palatine Township,
Cook County, where he made a claim of one hun-

520

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

dred and sixty- acres, purchasing the land from s
the Government. It was a wild tract, upon wliich
not a furrow had been turned or an improvement
made, but he transformed it into a good farm and
continued its cultivation for a number of years.
His last years were spent in Barrington, and he
was buried in the Barrington Cemetery in 1871.
His wife still survives him and lives with her son
Lester, a well-preserved old lady of eighty-six
years. Our subject is the eldest of four children,
the others being Emily, deceased, wife of William
Lytle; Rhoda J., wife of ex-Gov. Ira J. Chase, of
Irvington, Ind.; and Charlotte, deceased, wife of
Alfred S. Henderson.
Mr. Castle' whose name heads this sketch spent
the first sixteen years of his life in his native
State, and in its common schools began his educa
tion, which was completed by study in Waukegan
Academy. He then successfully followed teach
ing during ten winter terms. Having purchased
a half of the old homestead, he carried on farm
ing during the summer months. On his father's
death he became sole owner of the old home farm,
to which he added a forty-acre tract adjoining,
making in all a fine farm of two hundred acres of
valuable land. Upon it are good buildings, and
the place is well improved. Its owner is always
regarded as an enterprising and progressive agri
culturist, and by his well-directed efforts he has
acquired a handsome competency. In 1877 he
rented his farm to his son, and removed to Bar
rington, but after two years returned to the old
home, and again carried on agricultural pursuits
until 1887, when he purchased a residence, and
has since lived retired in this place. He owns
one of the nicest homes in Barrington.
Mr. Castle was married in Lake County, June
9, 1852, to Miss Lucy A. Taylor, daughter of
Samuel Taylor, of Warren Township, that county.
She was born in Massachusetts, but was reared
and educated in Ohio and Illinois. They have
seven children: Arthur L-, who is married and
resides in Elgin, where he is employed in the
postoffice; P. V., a prominent attorney of Chi
cago, a member ofthe firm of Cutting & Castle;
Charles, who is Postmaster of Austin; Pearley
D., who is cashier of the Austin State Bank;

Ben B., a salesman in the employ of Farwell
& Co., of Chicago; Eva, a successful teacher,
now employed in Irving Park; and Lottie, wife of
C. W. Coltriu, a dentist of Austin.
Mr. Castle was first a Democrat. In 1848 he
cast his first vote for Martin Van Buren, and in
1852 supported John P. Hale. In 1856 he voted
for John C. Fremont, and has since been a stal
wart advocate of the men and measures of the
Republican party. He has himself been elected
to a number of local offices, having served as
Township Clerk, Town Supervisor, and as County
Supervisor for two terms. He was also Town
ship Treasurer for about fifteen years, and is now
serving his second term as Police Magistrate.
He has been a delegate to numerous county con
ventions. The cause of education has ever found
-in him a warm friend, and he has done effective
service in its interest during the many years he
has been a member of the School Board. His
mother is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. Mr. Castle is a valued and progressive
citizen, who is ever found on the side of right and
order, and who has always taken a commendable
interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of
the community in which he has so long made his
home.

e^H^

B"

' MIL BUETTNER is a member of the firm
*3 of Ernst Weinhoeber & Co., florists, doing
_ business at Nos. 417 to 425 Elm Street,
Chicago, with greenhouses at Park Ridge. In
the latter place he makes his home. He was born
in Prussia, Germany,- on the 14th of December,
1856, and is the son of Dr. E. Buettner.
Our subject acquired his education in Germany,
where he was reared to manhood. It was in
tended that he should study medicine, but he
gave up that plan in order to emigrate to the
New World. Hoping to better his financial con
dition by a removal to the United States, he
crossed the briny deep in 187 1, at the age of fifteen
years, and, landing in New York City, engaged
to learn the trade of a florist under his brother-in-
law, with whom he continued for ten years. On

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

521

the expiration of that period he came to the West,
locating in Chicago, where he secured employment
in the line of his trade with Ernst Weinhoeber. In
1887 the greenhouses were removed to Park
Ridge, and Mr. Buettner purchased an interest in
the business, which has since been conducted un
der the firm name of Ernst Weinhoeber & Co.
Here they occupy ten acres of ground, and are
engaged chiefly in the propagation of cut flowers,
which they .sell to the retail trade in their store
at Nos. 417 to 425 Elm Street, Chicago. Their
business now aggregates about $60,000 per an
num, and is constantly increasing. Employment
is furnished to about twenty -five hands.
On the 17th of May, 1892, Mr. Buettner was
united in marriage with Miss Bertha Hildebrant,
a daughter of Louis Hildebrant, who resides
in Milwaukee. Our subject is a member of the
American Florists' Society, and also belongs to the
Chicago Floral Club. In political sentiment, he
is a supporter of the Republican party and its
principles, but has never been an aspirant for
public office. In appearance, Mr. Buettner is a
man of splendid physique and fine proportions.
In business, he is progressive, wide-awake and
thorough-going. His tact is pronounced, and
the success which crowns the efforts of the firm
is largely due to his instrumentality. His wife
is a lad)- of culture and refinement, and the happy
couple have a large circle of warm friends.

'JTjEORGE W. WATERMAN, a retired farmer
— residing in Barrington, is one ofthe worthy cit-
J izens that Massachusetts has furnished to Cook
County. He was born iu the town of North Ad
ams, Berkshire County, on November 17, 1826,
and is descended from good old Revolutionary
stock, his grandfather, Thomas Waterman, hav
ing been a soldier in the War for Independence.
His father, Capt. George T. Waterman, was a
native of Berkshire County, and in North Adams
married Eunice Hoskins, who was born in the
Bay State. He followed farming, and also en
gaged in teaming. He served in the War of 1 8 1 2 ,

with the rank of Captain, and afterwards received
a pension in recognition of his services. He held
a number of local offices of honor and trust, and
was ever a valued citizen. Iu 1842, he emigrated
westward, and cast in his lot among the early set
tlers of Barrington Township, Cook County,
where he purchased eighty acres of raw land, but
in a short time the unbroken prairie was fenced
and transformed into rich and fertile fields. He
there carried on agricultural pursuits throughout
his remaining days. His death occurred in 1875,
and he was laid by the side of his wife in Barring
ton Cemetery , where a substantial monument has
been erected to their memory. Mrs. Waterman
had passed away a few years previous.
In the family were three sons and four daugh
ters: Waitay, wife of S. W. Kingsley, of Bar
rington; Nancy, deceased; Ann, wife of Charles
Hawley, of Barrington; Susan, deceased, wife of
Henry Hawley, of Barrington; G. W., of this
sketch; J. M., a carpenter of Elgin, 111. ; and
Charles H. , who resides in Petersburg, UL
Mr. Waterman of this sketch acquired a good
common-school education in his native State, and
at the age of seventeen years came to Illinois. He
aided in clearing and developing a farm in Bar
rington Township, and afterwards assumed its
management. He also bought more land, and
thus extended its boundaries. As a companion
and helpmate on life's journey, he chose MissAl-
vira, daughter of Gilbert Applebee, who resides
in Barrington, at the advanced age of ninety-four
years. Their union was celebrated in Barrington
June 2, 1853, and six months later they removed
to a farm of one hundred arid twenty acres ad
joining the old homestead. Subsequently Mr.
Waterman made other purchases, until his farm
comprised two hundred acres of good land. He
built upon it a substantial residence and large
barns, together with good outbuildings, and made
it one of the model farms of the community. He
also owns another good farm of one hundred and
twenty acres. He commenced life empty-handed,
with no capital, but has steadily worked his way-
upward, and by his enterprise and industry has
become the owner of two valuable farms and a
fine residence property in Barrington.

522

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

In 1885, Mr. Waterman was called upon to
mourn the loss of his wife. They had three chil
dren: Susan, wife of A. D. Church, of Barring
ton"; J. W. , a substantial farmer of Barrington
Township; and F. L. , who resides in the vil
lage. All are married and have families. Mr.
Waterman was married in Barrington, in the
spring of 1888, to Mrs. Rhoda Ann Richardson,
a widow and a sister of his former wife. She
had two children by her first husband: Laura,
wife of C. P. Hawley, of Barrington; and Dr. H.
D. H. Richardson, of this place.
Mr. Waterman has been identified with the Re
publican party since becoming a voter, and is a
warm advocate of its principles. His fellow-towns
men, appreciating his worth and ability, have fre
quently called upon him to serve in positions of
public trust. He has been Supervisor, and is now
President, of the Barrington -Mutual Fire- and
Tornado Insurance Company. He has also been
School Trustee for a number of years, and he
gives his hearty support and co-operation to all
enterprises whicli he believes calculated to prove
of public benefit. He and his wife are faithful
members and active workers in the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Mr. Waterman is a man of
upright character and sterling worth, and his
honorable career has won for him a large circle of
warm friends.

o^HHMH=

0H. MANN, M. D., one ofthe leading phy
sicians and surgeons of Evanston, and the
efficient and popular Mayor of the city, is a
native of Rhode Island. Lie wa.s born in Provi
dence, on the 24th of November, 1837, and is a
son of Timothy M. and Eliza (Tupper) Mann.
Both parents came from New England families.
When our subject was about two years old, they
removed to Montgomery County, N. Y., where he
was reared to manhood. His education was ac
quired iu the public schools and in an academy.
Having determined to make the medical profes
sion that in which he should labor, he entered a
medical college of New York City when a young

man, and after a two-years course was graduated
from the University of Medicine in the eastern
metropolis. Before entering the college he had
read medicine for two years under the direction
of Dr. Griggs, of Montgomery, N. Y. After his
graduation he entered a drug store, spending two
years in that line of business.
On the expiration of that period Dr. Manu started
for the West, and in i860 took up his residence in
Chicago, where he engaged in the drug business,
and also in the practice of medicine. In 1861,
however, he went to De Kalb County, where he
spent some three or four years in practice, and
then removed to Ottawa, where he continued the
prosecution of his profession until his arrival in
Evanston, in 1867. Since that time he has made
his home in this city, and has built up a large
and lucrative practice, which yields to him a
handsome income. During the twenty-six years
which have passed since his arrival, his home has
been in the place where he now resides. He
first lived in a small basement cottage, but later
erected his large block, the first good business
block erected on Davis Street.
During the late war, Dr. Mann went to the
front as a surgeon for Capt. Perry, but remained
only a short time, owing to the earnest solicita
tions of his widowed mother for his return home.
He has been honored with a number of official
positions, and served in the Board of Village Trus
tees for one year, being one of those who secured
the water-works at this place. He was President
of the last Board of Village Trustees of Evanston,
and when the place was made a cit)- was elected
its first Mayor, and has been re-elected, now
serving his second term in that office. It was
largely through his instrumentality that the fine
city hall which now graces Evanston was erect
ed. He labored hard and earnestly to secure
the same, and at length accomplished his pur
pose. He has been one of the public benefac
tors of Evanston, for he has labored untiringly to
promote its best interests and advance the gen
eral welfare.
The Doctor was married in Chicago in i860, to
Miss Amanda M. Finch, of Saratoga County,
N. Y. They have three children: Florence E.,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

523

now the wife of Lieut. A. S. Frost, ofthe United
States Army; and Edwin E. and Oscar L. , who are
now located on a ranch owned by their father in
South Dakota. The younger wedded Miss May
Arnold, of Chicago. The eldest child of the fam
ily' is deceased.
The Doctor has dealt considerably in real es
tate and is now making a subdivision in Cra-
gin, in company with W. S. Lyford, of Chi
cago, President of the Eastern Illinois Railroad.
He was President of the Illinois State Homeo
pathic Medical Association, and was the first
President of the first social club that ever existed
in Evanston. He is a member of all the clubs of
this city, including the Boat Club, the Country-
Club, the Business Men's Society, etc. He is
also a Knight Templar Mason, and aside from be
ing a member ofthe State Medical Society, he is
also a member of the National Medical Society.
The Doctor has always kept abreast with every
thing connected with his profession, and since com
ing to the West has graduated from Hahnemann
College, and also from the Chicago Homeo
pathic Medical College. Skill and ability in his
profession have not oni)- gained him a large prac
tice, but have won him a high reputation among
his professional brethren.

EHARLES L. HARTUNG, a retired farmer
residing in Palatine, has made his home in
Cook County since 1852, and is therefore
familiar with its history and with its growth
and upbuilding. A native of Germany, he
was born in Hesse on the 4th of June, 1836,
and is a son of Henry- C. Hartung. His
father was boni in Hanover in 1798, and
after reaching man's estate he was married
in Hesse to Miss Gertrude Brown, a native of
that locality. By occupation he was a miller,
and followed that pursuit in his native laud until
1852, when he bade good-bye to his old home,
and with his family sailed for the New World.
They took passage on a sailing-vessel at Havre
bound for New York, and for thirty-three days

were upon the broad Atlantic. They encoun
tered some severe storms, but at length reached
harbor in safety on the 3d of September, 1852. By
way of the Hudson River and the Erie Canal,
they at once came to the West, reaching Chicago
four weeks after their arrival in the New World.
Soon after they located in Palatine Township,
where the father purchased a tract of land of
eighty acres and began farming. He there opened
up a good farm with the assistance of his sons,
placing his land under a high state of cultivation.
When he had secured sufficient capital, he pur
chased au adjoining eighty acres, and made a
nice home, upon which he continued to reside
until called to his final rest. His death occurred
in December, 1857. His wife survived him for
about twenty-one years, passing away in 1878.
Both lie buried in Elm Cemetery, where a
marble monument has been erected sacred to
their memory.
In the Hartung family were six children, two
sons and four daughters, all of whom grew to
mature years. Henry was married, and at his
death left a family of five children; Eliza is the
wife of Louie Gille, of Barrington; Emily mar
ried Henry Casting, of Chicago; Minnie is the
wife of H. Wimieke, of Palatine; Sophia mar
ried John Coblank, of Lake County, 111.; and
Charles completes the family.
The subject of this sketch spent the first six
teen years of his life in his native land, and there
acquired a good education, attending the public
schools and a private academy. His education
iu English, however, has been acquired entirely
through his ow-n efforts. He came to this coun
try with his parents when a young man of seven
teen years, and helped open up the old home
stead farm in Cook County. He gave to his
father the benefit of his services until the death
of the latter, when he took charge of the farm,
managing it successfully. With him his mother
made her home until called to her final rest. At
her death he succeeded to a half-interest in
eighty acres of the old homestead, and continued
its further cultivation for a number of years.
On the 30th of November, 1862, in Palatine
Township, Cook County, Mr. Hartung married

524

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Miss Sophia Rohrssen, a native of Hesse, Ger
many. They had four children: Mary, wife of
William Harz, a farmer of Palatine Township;
Lydia, a young lady at home; and Charles, who
is married and resides in Chicago, where he
holds a responsible business position. They also
lost one son, Louie, who died on May 31, 1885,
at the age of nineteen years.
On selling his interest in the old homestead,
Mr. Hartung purchased an adjoining tract of
two hundred and seventeen acres. Upon it he
erected a large and substantial residence and a
good barn, and transformed the land into rich
and fertile fields. He made of the place one of
the valuable farms of the county, and success
fully continued its cultivation until 1884, when
he rented it, and bought residence property in
Palatine, where he has since made his home.
Mr. Hartung commenced life for himself with
very limited means, but his labor, enterprise and
good management have made him one of the
substantial citizens of the community, bringing to
him a comfortable competence.
In his political views, our subject has been a
Republican since casting his first Presidential
vote for Abraham Lincoln in i860. He and his
family are all members of St. Paul's Evangelical
Church. His residence in this community covers
the long period of forty-two years, during which
time he has not only been an eye-witness of the
changes which have occurred, but has also aided
in the development and progress of the commu
nity, doing all he could for its best interests. His
life has been well and worthily passed, and the rest
which he is now enjoying is well deserved.

^EORGE SIMPSON, who is engaged in deal-
_ ing in coal and wood, and also in general
J teaming in Evanston, was born in Banffshire,
Scotland, February 15, 1833. His grandfather,
Robert Simpson, spent his entire life in that coun
try, and died at au advanced age. His father,
Robert Simpson, Jr., was born in the same coun
try, November 20, 1802, aud iu early life learned

the stone mason's trade, which he followed for
some time, but his later years were spent as a
farmer. He married Miss Rosann Lawson, who
was born August 3, 1806, and whose father was a
farmer of Scotland, and there died at an advanced
age. Eight children were born unto Mr. and Mrs.
Simpson, four sons and four daughters, of whom
sevemare yet living, namely: Ellen, the wife of
James Steel; Barbara, the widow of Joseph Davis,
of Chicago; James, who is living in Portland, Ore. ;
George, who makes his home in Evanston; Robert,
Jennie and Andrew, all of whom make their home
iu Evanston. Rosann is deceased. In 1 841, the
family crossed the Atlantic to America, locating in
Libertyville, Lake County, where the father had
located in 1837. He died ou the 25th of
November, 1852, at the age of fifty years.
His wife is still living, at the age of eighty-
eight years, and now makes her home in Evanston
with her daughter Jennie. She is a member of
the Presbyterian Church, to which her husband
also belonged.
During his infancy, our subject was brought to
this country, and upon a farm in the town of Lib
ertyville he was reared to manhood. His educa
tional privileges were those afforded by the com
mon schools. In 1852, at the age of sixteen
years, he started for California, and, journeying
by land and water; at length reached his destina
tion. He spent about ten years in that State,
engaged in mining, freighting and farming, and
in the spring of 1862 went to British Columbia,
where the succeeding three years of his life were
passed. He afterwards spent some time in Wash
ington Territory and Montana. In 1877, he re
turned to Illinois, locating in Evanston, where
he has made his home continuously since. He
followed various pursuits until 1886, when he
bought the coal business of D. Rutter, and since
that time has engaged as a dealer iu coal aud
wood. He also does general teaming.
On the 14th of August, 1857, in California,
Mr. Simpson married Miss Elizabeth Quick,
daughter of John and Martha Quick. He was
again married, iu April, 1885, to Mrs. Louisa
Bowers, a daughter of Hugh McClellan. Mr.
and Mrs. Simpson have a pleasant home in Evans-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

527

ton, and he also owns other cit)- property. In
politics, he is a supporter of the Republican party.
Socially, he is a member of Evanston Lodge No.
673, I. O. O. F; aud* the Ft. Dearborn En
campment, of Chicago. His wife belongs to the
Baptist Church. They are both highly respected
people, and have a wide circle of friends in this
community. fe * ,IS— S l~5* ~T > Si-3' @)
NENRY S. MADDOCK is one ofthe officials
of Evanston, now serving as Commissioner
of Public Works. He has been prominent
in the public affairs of this place, and is ever
found in the front rank of those enterprises which
are calculated to advance the general welfare.
The record of his life is as follows: He was born
in Chester, Pa., June 3, 1851, and is a son of
Thomas H. and Rebecca T. (Pierce) Maddack.
They are descendants of Quaker families, who
came to America from England with William
Penn. The father was. a lawyer by profession,
and dealt largely in real estate. About 1856 he
emigrated westward to Kansas, but spent only a
few years in that State, owing to the condition of
the country, which was then the scene of the
border troubles which preceded the Rebellion.
He then returned to his old home in Pennsylva
nia, but after the war he again went to Kansas,
where he spent the remainder of his life, his death
occurring in December, 1883, at the age of sixty-
three years. His widow still survives him aud is
now living iu Philadelphia, Pa.
Henry Maddock acquired his education in the
public schools of his native State, and iu the
Polytechnic College, from which he was gradu
ated in 187 1. He was then employed for some
two years in the Cit)- Engineer's office in Ches
ter, Pa. , and then entered the employ of the Penn
sylvania- Railroad, working on the extension of
the road along the Susquehanna River for some
four years. His next engagement was with the
Harlin & Hollingsworth Company, car-builders
of Wilmington, Del., with which concern he was
connected until the autumn of 1880. He then
26

secured employment on the maintenance of way
work ofthe Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore
Railroad, with which he continued until that road
was sold to the Pennsylvania Central, when he
went with S. T. Fuller, his Chief Engineer, to
Texas, surveying for the lines of the Denver &
Rio Grande Road which were being built iu that
State between Houston, Galveston and Victoria.
Subsequently, Mr. Maddock engaged with the
Southern Pacific on their extension to San An
tonio and El Paso, in charge of the bridge and
masonry work, and also the construction of the
round-houses, etc. Later,, he returned to Gal
veston and laid out the town of Garfield, Tex.
Since September, 1883, Mr. Maddock has made
his home in Evanston. On locating here, he first
engaged with the Northwestern Railroad Com
pany as Assistant Department Agent, and the fol
lowing spring was sent on a survey from Belvidere
to Spring Valley, 111. During the season of 1885
he was employed by the mining company to lav-
out the village of Spring Valley, and in locating
and engineering the mining work. This occu
pied his time until the spring of 1886, when he
returned to Evanston and accepted a position in
the office of Mr. Mansfield, Mechanical Engi
neer and former Superintendent of the Pullman
and experimental engineers for the Pan Handle
Railroad. In the early part of 1887 he engaged
with the Rock Island Railroad on their extension
west ofthe Missouri River, having charge of their
lines through Sumner, Harvey and Butler Coun
ties, Kan. (which included the eity of Wichita),
and also lines through Clay and Worth Counties,
and forty miles of road iu Colorado west to River
Bend. He next took charge ofthe work being done
by L- M. Loss, contractor for the masonry ofthe
bridge being built across the Mississippi River at
Memphis, Tenn., and also one at Alton, 111.
In 1 88 1, in Port Deposit, Md., Mr. Maddock
was uuited in marriage with Miss Anna C. Loog,
a native of Pennsylvania. Unto them have been
born two children, Thomas and Kathryn. The
parents are both members ofthe Episcopal Church,
with which Mr. Maddock has been connected since
the age of sixteen.
In June, 1892, our subject took charge of the

i28

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

office qf Commissioner of Public Works, and has
since filled that position with credit to himself and
the satisfaction of the entire community. He has
become established as one of the solid and leading
men of Evanston, and is recognized as a valued
citizen. He was made a Mason at the age of
twenty-one years in Stevens Lodge, A. F. & A.M. ,
of Harford County, Md., and has now taken the
Knight Templar degree.

-SI

"SI

£+£{

EEORGE TAYLOR is one of the enterprising
and successful grocers of Evanston. He has
a wide acquaintance, and we feel assured
that this record of his life will prove of interest to
many of our readers. He claims Michigan as the
State of his nativity, his birth having occurred in
Muskegon, on the 18th of January, 1856. His
parents were Thomas and Keziah (Wilson) Tay
lor, the former a native of England, and the lat
ter of Ireland. They had but two children, sons,
George and Joseph. The father was a lumber
man in Muskegon and one of its pioneer settlers.
He crossed the Atlantic from London, England,
to Canada, and from there made his way to
Muskegon, where he died at the early age of
thirty-five years. His father, however, reached a
very advanced age. The maternal grandfather,
Joseph Wilson, also departed this life when well
advanced in years. He was a native of the Em
erald Isle, and emigrated to Canada, where he car
ried on business as a contractor. He built the
first wharf in that country. The mother of our
subject survived her husband for a number of
years, and was a second time married. Mr. Tay
lor was an Episcopalian in religious belief, and his
wife belonged to the Methodist Church.
The first four years of George Taylor's life
were spent in his native city. He was then taken
by his mother to Canada, for his father had died
the previous year. He was reared and educated
in Coburg, Ontario, Canada, and then began
clerking for his mother in a grocery. It was
in 1879 that he again came to tbe United States,
locating in Chicago, but after three months he

came to Evanston, where he secured a position as
clerk in the store of Mr. Hoag. After serving as
salesman for four years, he bought out the busi
ness, which he has since conducted in his own
interest. On the 3d of September, 1890, was celebrated
the marriage of Mr. Taylor and Miss Cora Belle
Kinder, daughter of Joseph Kinder. They have
one daughter, Florence Marie. Mr. Taylor is a
Methodist, and his wife belongs to the Christian
Church. He is also associated with Evans Lodge
No. 524, A. F. & A. M.; Evans Chapter No.
144, R. A. M.; and Commandery No. 58, K. T.
He likewise belongs to the Odd Fellows' frater
nity. In his political views, Mr. Taylor is a Demo
crat, and has been honored with various offices of
public trust in this city. He now does a large
business in Evanston, and has landed interests in
California. He may truly be called a self-made
man, for he received no financial aid from any
source. Entirely by his own efforts, he has
worked his way upward, and for his success in life
he deserves much credit. Through clerking he
acquired the means to purchase his store, and by
careful attention to the details of his business and
an earnest desire to please his .customers, he has
secured a liberal patronage.

^EORGE BOG ART, who holds the position
_ of City Clerk in Evanston, and is one of the
^\ enterprising and progressive men of this
place, has spent his entire life in this part of Illi
nois. He has the honor of being a native of
Chicago, where his birth occurred on the 28th of
August, 1863. His parents, Lorenzo and Anna
(Eiden) Bogart, came to Evanston in 1864. Both
are now deceased.
Our subject was only a year old at the time of
the removal. He was here reared and educated,
attending the public schools of this place, and
also receiving private instruction. In 1879, at
the age of sixteen years, he entered the Evanston
postoffice, and creditably aud acceptably served

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

529

as Assistant Postmaster until 1893. His long-
continued service in that position is a high testi
monial to his ability and fidelity. In the spring
of 1893 he was elected City Clerk by an over
whelming majority, and since entering the office'
has proven himself worth)- of the trust reposed in
him by his election.
Mr. Bogart possesses many of the sterling qual
ities of his German ancestors. His parents were
both natives of German)-, and he is their only
child. He has made the best of his opportunities,
aud that he is trustworthy and has the confidence
of the community is shown by the flattering ma
jority he received when elected City Clerk. In
religious belief, he is a Catholic; in politics, he is
a stalwart Republican; and socially, he is a mem
ber of the Business Men's, Association. He is
regarded as one of the representative young men
of the city, and has the esteem of a large circle of
friends. ¦3  ' — ¦°-sf$Hr"^B=s — ; &
(JAMES E. MORRIS, a leading farmer of
I Palatine Township, Cook County, residing
G/ on section 12, claims New York as the State
of his nativity. He was born in the town of Ft.
Edward, Washington County, September 10,
1826. His father, George Morris, was born in
Yorkshire, England, and when a lad of fifteen
years came to the United States, in 1812, as a sol
dier in the British army. About five hundred
British soldiers, however, deserted in a body and
took the oath of allegiance to the United States,
and among these was Mr. Morris, who settled in
Washington County, N. Y. , and later married
Elizabeth Sanders, a native of the Empire State.
He there engaged in farming for a number of
years. Iu 1837, he removed to Wayne County,
locating in Palmyra.
James Morris, whose name heads this record,
remained iu Wayne County until eighteen years
of age, aud in the common schools acquired a
good English education. When a young man he
determined to seek a home aud fortune in the
West, aud iu 1844 emigrated to Michigan, locat

ing ten miles west of Dexter, where he engaged
in farming during 1845 and 1846. He then went to
Chicago, which at that time was a city of about
fourteen thousand inhabitants. He there spent
the winter, and the following spring located upon
a farm in the town of Wheeling, where he made
his home for a year. Subsequently, he entered
land, purchased more, and opened up the farm
ou which he now resides. It comprises one
hundred and thirty acres, and the well-tilled
fields and neat appearance of the place indicate
his thrift aud enterprise. He had many obstacles
to overcome, and there were many hardships to be
borne, but he labored on untiringly, and now has
one of the most valuable and desirable places iu
the community. His home is a commodious and
substantial residence. There are good barns and
outbuildings and all the accessories of a model
farm. Mr. Morris was married iu the town of Wheel
ing, Cook County, November 8, 1847, to Miss
Sarah S. Beebe, daughter of Gideon and Lydia
Beebe. Her father was a native of Washington
County, N. Y. , and there remained until after
his marriage. In 1839, he emigrated westward
and cast iu his lot with the pioneer settlers of Kane
County, 111. Mrs. Morris was born on the same
farm which was her father's birthplace. After
coming to Illinois, he engaged in farming. The
journey westward was made by canal tq Buffalo,
and thence by boat to Detroit, where Mr. Beebe
purchased an ox-team aud covered wagon, with
which he continued on his way to his destina
tion. Six children have been born unto Mr. and
Mrs. Morris: George, who was married and
made his home with his father until his death,
May 6, 1879; James M., who is married and follows
merchandising in Golden, Colo.; Ciron A., who
occupies a responsible position in Chicago; Sarah
S., wife of David Wood, of Chicago; Jennie A.,
wife of Dr. Putnam, of Palatine; and Charles B.,
a well-educated young man, who now aids his
father in carrying on the home farm.
Mr. Morris is a, self-made man who commenced
life empty-handed, but by his own labor and en
terprise has steadily worked his way upward
aud accumulated a valuable property, His sue-

53°

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cess is well merited, for it is the just reward of
his labors. He cast his first Presidential vote
for Franklin Pierce in 1852, but joined the Re
publican party on its organization, and has
since been one of its stalwart advocates. He was
elected and served as School Trustee, and has
held other local offices, but has never been an
aspirant for political perferment. The cause of
education has found in him a warm friend, and
he has done much in support of the public schools.
Whatever is calculated to benefit or improve the
community receives his hearty support and co
operation, and he is recognized as a valued citi
zen. Honorable and upright in all dealings and
true to every trust, he has won the confidence
and high regard of all.

-^H^sH=

61 NSON R. BALDWIN owns and operates a
L_l good farm of one hundred acres, situated on
/ 1 section 10, Palatine Township, Cook County.
The well-tilled fields and neat appearance of the
place indicate the thrift and enterprise of the
owner. The farm is pleasantly located within a
mile of Palatine, and is one of the model country
homes ofthe community. Its owner is a prac
tical and progressive farmer, and by his able
management his business has been made to yield
him a good income.
Mr. Baldwin is a native of New York. He was
born in Erie County, February 7, 1835, and is a
son of John P. and Lydia (Root) Baldwin, the
former a native of Vermont, and the latter of New
Hampshire. After their marriage the parents lo
cated in Erie County, N. Y., where the father
engaged in farming for a number of years. About
1843 he emigrated westward to Illinois, and spent
a year in DuPage County. He then came to
Cook County, locating in East Wheeling, where
he carried on farming for about five years. Ou
the expiration of that period, he purchased the
farm on which our subject now resides, and be
came one of the early settlers of this part of Cook
County. He at once broke his laud, plowed and
planted the fields and opened up a good farm.

The region round about was almost an unbroken
wilderness, and deer, wolves and other wild
animals could be seen in great numbers. The
family suffered all the hardships and trials of pio
neer life, and also were attacked by fever and
ague, the prevailing illness during those days.
Mr. Baldwin spent his last years ori the old home
stead, passing away in 1881. His wife was called
to the home beyond in 1890, and her remains
were interred by his in Palatine Cemetery, where
a marble monument has been erected to their
memory. In the Baldwin family were five sons and four
daughters, all of whom grew to mature years.
They are J. G., a farmer of Jessup, Iowa; LP.,
deceased; Anson, of this sketch; Charles, also of
Jessup; George, deceased; Cordelia, wife of A. S.
Pratt, of Palatine; Elizabeth, who has passed
away; Louisa, widow of Jacob Decker, of Cook
County; aud Mary, wife of George Holden, of
Duluth, Minn.
A. R. Baldwin came with his parents to Illinois
when a lad of eight years, and was reared to
manhood in Cook County. He obtained a good
education in the common schools, and afterward
engaged in teaching for a year. The Union
found him among its defenders during the late
war, for in 1862 he joined Company E, of the
One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Infantry,
and remained in the service until the close of the
war. He participated in a number of important
engagements, including the battles of Arkansas
Post, Champion Hills, the Steel Bayou raid,
Raymond, Jackson, Black River, and the siege of
Vicksburg, together with others of less impor
tance. In June, 1865, he received an honorable
discharge in Chicago, and returned to his home.
Mr. Baldwin remained with his father, taking
charge of the home farm, and after his parents'
death succeeded to the ownership. On the 29th of
August, 1865, in Ottawa County, Mich. , he wedded
Miss Marietta Castle, daughter of Hiram and
Caseuclena (Sprague) Castle. Her father was a
native of Vermont, and, emigrating westward, he
became one of the pioneer settlers of Ottawa
County. Mrs. Baldwin was born in the Empire
State, but was mostly reared aud educated in

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

53 1

Michigan. Before her marriage she engaged to
some extent in teaching. By their union have
been born four children, Edson; Ernest, Elodie
and Emma, all of whom are still at home. The
daughters are both graduates of the High School,
and the elder is a teacher of recognized ability.
Mr. Baldwin has long resided in Cook County,
and is numbered among its early settlers. A well-
spent life has won him the esteem of all. Since
casting his first Presidential vote for Abraham
Lincoln in i860, he has supported each Presi
dential nominee of the Republican party, and his
sons are also stalwart Republicans. Socially^, he
is connected with the Odd Fellows' Society, and
he and his wife are active and faithful members
of the Palatine Methodist Episcopal Church. For
about twenty years he has served as a member of
the School Board, and the cause of education
finds in him a warm friend. He was faithful to
his country in her hour of peril, and is alike true
in times of peace.

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KA ORTON L. PINNEY, a retired farmer now
y residing in Palatine, is so well known in
(9 this community that he needs no special in
troduction to our readers, for he has lived in Cook
County since 1852. Born in Hartford County,
Conn., December 27, 1830, he is descended from
one of three brothers, natives of England, who
crossed the Atlantic in a very early day in the
history of this country and located- in New Eng
land. The family first settled in Massachusetts,
but subsequently its representatives removed to
Connecticut, where Luther Pinney, the father of
our subject, was born and reared. He there mar
ried Fannie Bartlett, who was born in South wick,
Mass. After his marriage he turned his attention
to farming, which he followed in the Nutmeg
State through out his entire life. His death oc
curred in 1858, and his wife, who survived him a
number of years, passed away in 1878. They
weie laid to rest in the cemetery near their old
home. In the Pinney family were two sons and five

daughters who grew to mature years and are yet
living. Edward Pinney resides in New York
City. The other son is our subject, who spent
the clays of his boyhood and youth in his parents'
home and acquired a good education in the public
schools of his native State. For a time he suc
cessfully engaged in teaching school in Bloom
field, Conn. The tide of emigration was steadily
flowing westward, and in the autumn of 185 1
Mr. Pinney landed in Illinois. For about a year
he engaged in tobacco culture in Boone County,
but in the autumn of 1852 he again went to
Connecticut, and spent the winter as a teacher in
Bloomfield. The following spring he again came
to this State, and after a time engaged in rail
roading on the Northwest Road. In the spring
of 1854, he went to Stony Island, and during the
summer superintended a company of men who
were engaged in getting out stone at that place.
He then returned to Deer Grove.
On the 13th of October, 1853, Mr ."Pinney went
to Iowa, and was married in Fayette County to
Miss Clarinda H. Cady, a native of this State. She
was one of the first white children born in north
eastern Illinois, her father, Ezekiel Cady, a native
of New York, having been one ofthe earliest set
tlers of this locality. After their marriage Mr.
Pinney and his wife returned to Cook County, and
in 1854 he engaged in railroading on the North
western, near Fox River. The next year he re
turned to the Hawkeye State, and engaged in
railroading near Dubuque for about a year. Ou
the expiration of that period, he took charge ot
the Singer & Talcott Stone Quarry at Lamont,
and when the season was over located in Cook
County , where he purchased and improved a farm
iu Palatine Township. In 1865, he was appointed
by the Board of Supervisors Warden of the In
sane Asylum and Infirmary, ofwhich institution
he had charge for four years, when he returned
to Palatine and located upon his farm, to the cul
tivation of which he devoted his energies until
1883. He engaged in raising tobacco in connec
tion with the regular farm products, and met with
fair success. He drained his land by tile where
it was needed, erected good buildings upon his
farm, and was recognized as one of the leading

53-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and representative agriculturists of the county.
In 1883 he rented that property, purchased a
residence in Palatine and has since here made his
home, in the enjoyment of the rest which he has
so truly earned and richly deserves.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Pinney were born three sons
and two daughters, namely: Ida A., who be
came the wife of I. B. Fox, and is now deceased;
Addie; Luther Ev, of Chicago; Edward, who is
married and is engaged in ranching in Colorado;
and Morton, who was accidentally killed at the
depot iu Palatine in 1886.
During his forty-two years' residence in Cook
County, Mr. Pinney has witnessed the growth of
Chicago from a city of twenty-six thousand until
it has become the second in size in the Union.
The. best interests of town and county have ever
found in him a warm friend, and he has done all
in his power to advance the public good. In
politics, he has been identified with the Republi
can party since its organization, and has sup
ported each of its Presidential candidates since
casting his first vote for John C. Fremont, in 1856.
His fellow-townsmen, appreciating his worth and
ability, have called upon him to serve* in public
office and he has been Supervisor, Collector,
Highway. Commissioner and Trustee. He has
also frequently served as a delegate to the differ
ent conventions of his party. His tireless energy,
his enterprise and good business management
have brought him a comfortable competence, and
his declining years he will probably pass in Pala
tine, surrounded by all of the necessaries and
many of the luxuries of life.

EHARLES O. WINTER, who is living a re
tired life in Barrington, is one ofthe highly-
respected citizens of the community, and
with pleasure we present to our readers his life
record, which is as follows: Born in Grafton
County,. N. H., on the 30th of November, 1835,
he is the son of J. W. and Elmira (Goodhew)
Winter, both of whom were natives of the Granite
State. His father was born in Grafton County,

June 30, 1815, and for a number of years en
gaged in merchandising in Canipton. At length
he decided to try his fortune in the West, and in
1855, accompanied by his family, he left his old
home aud made his way to Lake County, 111.
There he secured a farm and carried on agricul
tural pursuits, but was not long permitted to en
joy his new home, for his death occurred Decem
ber 22, 1858. His wife survives him, and is now
living with her son in Barrington.
Our subject is the eldest in a family of two sons
and two daughters. Nellie is now the wife of
Aaron Vedder, of Whitehall, 111.; Phimelia is the
wife of P. W. Gates, of Chicago; and E. W. is
general manager of the Chicago, St. Paul &
Minneapolis Railroad, and resides at St. Paul.
Charles O. Winter spent the days of his boy
hood and youth in his parents' home, and after
acquiring a good education in the common schools,
embarked in teaching, which profession he suc
cessfully followed for three terms, in Lake County.
In the summer he aided in the labors of the farm,
and upon his father's death he assumed its man
agement, and carried ou the place and business
for several years. In 1865 he removed to Chi
cago, where he engaged in the hotel business for
about six years. In 1871 he left the city aud
came with his family to Barrington, but contin
ued to carry on liis hotel in Chicago until 1892,
when he laid aside all business cares, and has
since lived retired.
On the 2d of October, 1861, was celebrated the
'marriage of Mr. Winter and Miss Addle, daugh
ter of Horace Cadwell, who was one of the earli
est settlers of Lake Count)- . The lad)- wa.s born
in New York, but was reared in Lake County.
They have one daughter, Alma, who is now at
tending the High School of Chicago. The home
of the family is a comfortable and commodious
residence, and the household is the abode of hos
pitality. Mr. Winter exercises his right of franchise iu
support of the Republican party, with which he
has affiliated since attaining his majority. He
has never been an office-seeker, preferring to de
vote his entire attention to his business interests,
in which he has met with excellent success.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

533

Honorable and, upright in all dealings, he has by-
well-directed efforts achieved prosperity, and is
now ranked among the substantial citizens of the
community.

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EHRIS GEILS is a worthy representative of
the business interests of Arlington Heights.
He is proprietor of a planing-mill at that
place, is agent for the Addison Farmers' Mutual
Insurance Company, and is a dealer in grain,
lumber, coal, flour and mill stuffs. His enterprise
and industry have given him a prominent place in
business circles, and have won for him a com
fortable competence, which now numbers him
among the substantial citizens of the community.
He is a self-made man, and we feel assured that this
record of his life will prove of interest to many of
our readers.
Mr. Geils is a native of Hanover, Germany.
He was born on the 14th of January, 1836, and
is a son of Chris and Margaret (Heimsoth) Geils.
The father was a carpenter by trade, and in 1823
he wedded Miss Heimsoth. They became the
parents of seven children, three sons and four
daughters, as follows: Catherine and Herman,
both deceased; Henry; Mary, who is also de
ceased; Chris of this sketch; Lethia, deceased;
and Margaret, who completes the family.
Our subject was a youth of sixteen years when
he crossed the broad Atlantic to America and
made his way to Chicago, going thence to what
is now known as Addison, Cook County. He
had acquired a fair education in the schools of his
native land, and with his father had learned the
carpenter's trade, which he followed after his
emigration to the United States. For eighteen
years he carried on business along that line with
good success, and with the capital he had thereby
acquired he embarked in the lumber business
in Arlington Heights in 1870. He has since
carried on operations along that line, and by good
management, careful attention to all details, and
perseverance, he has won success.
It 'was in 1859 that Mr. Geils was united in

marriage with Miss Augusta Nebel. By their
union have been born four children, all daugh
ters: Emma, wife of Albert Korber, of Arlington
Heights; Alwina, widow of Joseph Schnoes, who,
since her husband's death, has returned to the
home of her parents; Augusta, wife of Ed Myers,
a resident of Des Plaines; and Christina, wife of
Emil C. Dierking, of Arlington Heights.
In his political views, Mr. Geils is independent,
supporting men and measures and not party. In
1885 he was elected County Commissioner, but
after a year and a-half resigned the position.
For nine years he served as Supervisor of Wheel
ing Township, and was School Director for about
five years. During the war, Mr. Geils was
drafted into the service, but feeling that his fam
ily needed him, he hired a substitute and re
mained at home. He has been prominently
identified with the interests of Arlington Heights
for almost a quarter of a century, and has done
much for the upbuilding and development of the
place. He is interested in its welfare, and what
ever tends toward its advancement finds in him a
friend. Religiously, he is connected with the
German Lutheran Church.

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qJ FULLE, a retired farmer residing on section
_ 20, Maine Township, and a prominent early
^ settler of the community, is one of the
worthy citizens that Germany has furnished to
Cook County. He is a native of Saxony, his
birth having there occurred on the nth of No
vember, 1832. His father was also born in the
same land. Twenty years were passed by our
subject in that country, during which time he ac
quired a good common-school education. He
then accompanied his parents on their emigration
to the New World, in 1852. The family located
in Cook County, wliere the father spent his re
maining days, passing away at the age of fifty-
two. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Effie Gittle, was also born in Germany, and died
in Cook Count)- at the age of seventy-two. They
were the parents of three children, two sons and a

534

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

daughter, namely: John, who is now living in
Chicago; our subject; and Sophia, wife of Christ
Prailey, of Chicago.
When Mr. Fulle of this sketch took up his res
idence iu Cook County, he began working as a
farm hand,* and for his services the first year re
ceived $70. The second year he was given $120.
He then determined to engage in farming for
himself, and, renting land, at once began its culti
vation. As a companion and helpmate on life's
journey, he chose Miss Sophia Kaller, their mar
riage being celebrated iu 1858. The lady- was
also born in Germany, and during her girlhood
came to the United States. The young couple
began their domestic life upon a rented farm in
Maine Township, where they lived for seven
years, after which Mr. Fulle purchased the farm
on which he now resides. There was an old
house on the place, but the improvements were
very meagre. All the accessories of a model
farm, however, were soon added by our subject,
and the land was transformed into rich and fertile
fields, which yielded to the owner a good income.
At one time he owned two hundred acres, but a
portion of this has since been sold for town lots at
$250 per acre. He bought seventy acres of this
at $30 per acre, sixty acres at $50, forty acres at
$75, and thirty-one acres at $90, and so the in
vestment proved a profitable one. Mr. Fulle de
voted his energies to general farming and also en
gaged in the dairy and stock-raising business.
Unto our subject and his wife were born eight
children, of whom two are deceased. Anna is
the wife of Conrad Muller; William died at the
age of thirty-two; Frank is living iii Maine
Township; Edna is the wife of W Garland;
Augusta is the wife of John Stillman; Julius is
married, and lives in Maine Township; Lizzie is
the wife of Adam Imich, of DesPlaines; and
Stenie died at the age of five years. The chil
dren were all born in Maine Township.
Mr. Fulle is a supporter of the Republican
party, aud by it has been elected to several offices,
the duties of which he promptly and faithfully
performed. He served as Constable of Maine
Township for six years, was Collector for two
years, and for a period of ten years filled the of

fice of School Director. He is a friend to all ed
ucational, social and moral interests, and all
worth)- enterprises receive his hearty support and
co-operation. He holds membership with the
Lutheran Church. The earnest, zealous labor of
Mr. Fulle in former years has brought to him a
comfortable competence, which now enables him
to live retired.

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(JOSEPH KIPLEY is Assistant Chief of Police
I of Chicago. He has reached this responsible
Q) and important position through meritorious
conduct, which has won for him promotion from
rank to rank, until he is now almost at the head
ofthe police department ofthe second city of the
Union. The record of his life is as follows: He
was born in Paterson, N. J. , in 1848, and is a son of
Charles and Catherine (Waller) Kipley. The
family is of German origin. The parents of our
subject were both born in Baden-Baden, Germany,
and there continued to reside until 1845, when
they crossed the Atlantic to America, and located
in New Jersey. The father is a carpenter by
trade, and has made that pursuit his life work.
Both parents are still living in Chicago, at the
age of seventy-seven years.
No event of special importance occurred during
the boyhood and youth of Joseph Kipley, who
was reared in his parents' home, and acquired
his education in the public schools of his native
State. He thus obtained a good knowledge of
the English branches, and has since been a close
student of the topics of the time and of current
events. When his school life was ended, he came
westward, locating in Chicago, and entered the
employ of R. B. Appleby, a picture dealer of this
cit)-, with whom he continued until he entered
upon the work which led to his present position.
It was on the 2 2d of January, 1872, that he be
came a member of the police force, serving as a
patrolman. From that position he has risen suc
cessively, step by step, to a position of prominence.
When he joined the force it consisted of only two
hundred and fifty men, and he has made his way
without any political influence.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

537

In 1872 Mr. Kipley was united in marriage
with Miss Winnefred Wheeler, daughter of Mar-
tinWheeler, a resident of St. Paul, Minn. They
have a daughter and a son, Josephine and Harry,
both of whom were educated in the Convent of
the Sacred Heart of Chicago. The parents are
both consistent and faithful members of the Cath
olic Church. The family has a pleasant home
at No. 3735 Forest Avenue, where hospitality
reigns supreme. Mr. Kipley is a member of
the Royal League, but takes no very prominent
part in social organizations, his time and atten
tion being altogether taken up by his duties as
Assistant Chief of Police.
& s=^$ ' T$B 'T (3
NON. WILLIAM ERNEST MASON, one of
the prominent and representative citizens of
Chicago, is a native of Franklinville, Catta
raugus County, N. Y. He was born July 7, 1850,
and is a son of Lewis J. and Nancy (Winslow)
Mason. The father was engaged in mercantile
pursuits, and was an energetic, enterprising man,
of marked character, highly- respected by all who
knew him. The cause of abolition found in him
an earnest supporter. He was an active politician,
and voted for John C. Fremont, the first Presi
dential candidate of the Republican party. In
1858, with his family, he removed to Beutonsport,
Van Buren County, Iowa, where he resided until
his death, which occurred in 1865. The mother
survived him about ten years.
William Ernest Mason, being thus early thrown
upon his own resources, developed an indepen
dence of character which has marked all of his
doings and he may be truly called the architect of
his own fortune. He gained his early education
in the public schools of his native village, and af
terwards attended school in Bentonsport, Iowa.
At the age of thirteen, he entered Birmingham
College, of Van Buren County, where he studied
two years. He afterwards taught during two
winters iu the district schools, and in 1868, going
to Des Moines, he was there engaged during the
next two years in teaching. Having determined

to enter the legal profession, he began his law
studies in the office of Hon. Thomas F. Withrow,
of Des Moines, in 1870. Soon after, his preceptor
was appointed General Solicitor of the Rock
Island Railroad Company, and removed to Chi
cago, whither Mr. Mason accompanied him, re
maining in his office for about one year. At the
expiration of that period he entered the office of
Hon. John N. Jewett, one of Chicago's most em
inent lawyers, and there continued his studies
and practice for five years.
Having now familiarized himself with the prin
ciples and practice of his profession, and feeling
himself thoroughly qualified for its duties, he be
gan business on his own account, forming a part
nership with Judge M. R. M. Wallace in 1877.
Mr. Mason is noted for his superior qualities as an
advocate, being classed among the most promi
nent jury lawyers of the city. His talents in this
direction have called him into many of the most
important cases that have come before the courts.
In 1873, Mr. Mason* was united in marriage
with Miss Julia Edith White, daughter of George
White, a wholesale merchant of Des Moines,
Iowa. Unto them have been born nine children,
five sous and four daughters: Lewis F., Ethel
Winslow, Ruth White, Winnefred Sprague, Law
rence George, William Ernest, Roderick White,
Edith White and Lowell Blake. Two are de
ceased: Lawrence George, who died in Washing
ton, D. C, at the age of five years; and Edith,
who died in infancy in Chicago. The mother of
this family is a member of the Third Unitarian
Church of Chicago. Our subject is a Knight
Templar Mason, and he also belongs to the An
cient Order of United Workmen and to the Na
tional Union.
During the late war, when oni)- fourteen years
of age, Mr. Mason enlisted in the one hundred
days' service, but was rejected on account of his
youth. He is a stalwart and earnest Republican
in politics, and has taken an active part iu many
political campaigns, advocating and defending, in
the face of the strongest opposition , the principles of
the party. By fearlessly and enthusiastically up
holding the cause which he has espoused he has
won to himself many friends and admirers. He

53«

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was elected a member of the Fiftieth and Fifty-
first Congresses, representing the Third District of
Illinois. He represented the Fifth Senatorial
District as a member of the Thirty -first General
Assembly, and in November, 1882, was elected
to the State Senate from the new Ninth District,
which embraces the northwestern part of the city
of Chicago. He was Chairman of the Committee
on Warehouses and of the Committees on Judici-
" ary, Judicial Department, Corporations, Insur
ance, Military Affairs and Miscellany. Mr. Ma
son possesses personal and social qualities of a
high order, is open-hearted and generous, and has
the warm regard of a large circle of friends and
acquaintances. He has achieved an enviable suc
cess in his profession, and, arguing from the past,
his future will be a bright one. He now has a
very large practice and his clients come from the
best class of people.
B> * . '°' c^T^T^B^  Si
(DQlLLIAM PRESTON HARRISON, of Chi-
\ A / cago, was born in the city which is still his
V V home on the 12th of April, 1869, and is a
son of the late Mayor Carter H. Harrison. No
event of special importance occurred until after
the completion of his education. For a time he
attended the public schools, and later became a
student in the Chicago University School, from
which institution he was graduated in the Class
of '87.
His school life being then ended, our subject
accompanied his father on a trip around the world,
the history ofwhich has been given to the public,
first in the form of letters written to the Chicago
Mail, and later in the book entitled, "A Race
with the Sun." They left home on the 26th of
July, 1887, and after v-isiting the northwestern
part of this land, sailed for Japan, where they
spent three months among its trees and flowers,
and in watching the customs and habits of its
interesting little people. Three weeks were spent
in China and one in Siam, where they were guests
of Prince Devanongse, brother of the king of that
country. They spent three weeks iu exploring

Burniah, and passed three months in India, going
to Lucknow, Cawnpore, Benares, Calcutta and
other points of interest. From India the)- sailed
to Ceylon, and later passed three weeks among
the ruins of the'past and the modern attractions of
Egypt, Turkey and Greece. Three months were
spent in the land of the Czars, and on leaving
Russia they went to Finland and Lapland. The
places in Europe which are usually visited by
modern tourists they also saw, and in 1888 they
sailed across the Atlantic, reaching home on the
7th of November, after a complete tour around the
world. In former years Carter H. Harrison had made
extensive investments in real estate, and in 1889
his two sons, Carter H., Jr., and William Pres
ton, under the firm name of Harrison Brothers,
embarked iu the real-estate business. This con
nection was continued until 1891, when, his father
having purchased the Chicago Times, our subject
became actively engaged in its editorial and busi
ness management. He is now a stockholder in
various corporations, and is largely interested in
western lands. The business arising from these
enterprises consumes all the time which he wishes
to devote to such labor.
Mr. Harrison is much interested in literary-
work and in the political questions ofthe day, of
which he is a deep student. Like his father, he
is a stalwart Democrat. He is very fond of both
fishing and hunting, and in the indulgence of these
tastes finds much pleasure. He belongs to the
Chicago Fly Casting Club and the Union Club,
and is also a member of the Chicago Athletic
Club.

1 QUIRE DINGEE makes his home in Rav-
enswood, and is one of the prominent and
influential citizens of Cook County. He is
a native of New York, and was born in West
chester County, on the 18th of October, 1818,
being a son of Solomon and Nancy (Wright)
Dingee, who were also natives of the Empire
vState. The family is of French origin, and
was founded in, America in the seventeenth

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

539

century by ancestors who located in Westchester
County, N. Y. The grandfather, Samuel Dingee,
-was born there in 1747, during the period of the
Indian War. The father, Samuel Dingee, was
a farmer by occupation, and the boyhood
and youth of our subject were spent upon
his father's farm. During the winter season
he attended the common schools, and in the sum
mer months aided iu the labors of the field, but
when he had attained to man's estate, he deter
mined to pursue some other occupation than that
to which he had been reared, and, leaving home,
he went to New York City, where he obtained
employment in the water-works. He was after
ward employed for two years in a similar capac
ity in Brooklyn.
Mr. Dingee has been twice married. Ere
leaving the State of his nativity, he was joined in
wedlock, in 1844, with Miss Mary J. Hynard, of
Westchester County. They became the parents
of five children, but all are now deceased with
the exception of Solomon, who makes his home
in Michigan. Two died in infancy; Adelaide
died at the age of thirty years; and George died
in Ravenswood, in November, 1885. The moth
er of this family was called to her final rest on the
1 8th of March, 1875, and in September, follow
ing Mr. Dingee wedded Miss Amanda Parkin
son. It was in 1856 that Mr. Dingee removed to
Illinois. He made his first settlement in Wil-
mette, and iu 1875 he came to Ravenswood,
where he has resided continuously since, being
engaged in farming and gardening. That Mr.
Dingee possesses excellent business ability- is in
dicated by- his large trade and his successful
career. By good management and well-directed
efforts he has won a handsome competence, and
he deserves all the praise that is conveyed in the
term, "a self-made man."
Both Mr. and Mrs. Dingee hold membership
with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and take
a prominent part in its upbuilding. He aided
largely in the erection of the elegant house of
worship, is a member of the Board of Trustees,
and has held other official positions. In politics,
he is usually a supporter of the Republican party,

but is not strictly bound by party ties, holding
himself free to support whoever he thinks best
qualified 'for the office. He is a public-spirited
man, who gives his sanction and aid to every en
terprise for the good of the community. Through
out this vicinity he is held in the highest regard,
and it is with pleasure that we present to our
readers the life record of one who is so promin
ent and well known in the county.

B-

NENRY WILLE, a prominent farmer who re
sides on section 19, Maine Township, Cook
County, claims Germany as the land of his
birth, which occurred on the 16th of August,
1843, in Behess. His parents, Christoph and
Doretha Wille, were also natives of the same
country, and unto them were born eight children,
ofwhom Henry is the second in order of birth.
In 1852, they sailed for the New World, hoping
that a greater degree of prosperity- would attend
their labors in this country. Continuing on their
westward way, they at length arrived in Cook
County, and made a settlement in Elk Grove
Township. Henry Wille was then a boy of nine years.
He had attended school in the Fatherland to a
limited extent, and after his arrival in this coun
try pursued his studies in the German and ' Eng
lish schools of Elk Grove Township. He early
began work upon the farm, and continued to give
his father the benefit of his services at home
until the age of nineteen years, when he went to
the field of battle, for, prompted by patriotic im
pulses, he responded to the country's call for
troops, enlisting in Company K, Seventy-second
Illinois Infantry, as a private. He remained iu
the service until the close of the war, and at the
battle of Franklin, Tenn., was wounded by a
minie-ball. He participated in a number of im
portant engagements, and was ever found faithful
to his duty to the Stars and Stripes until the
cessation of hostilities, when, in 1865, he received
an honorable discharge.
Mr. Wille on his return from the war resumed

54Q

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

farming in Elk Grove Township, and has since
followed that pursuit uninterruptedly. Iu 1868,
he was united in marriage with Miss Albertena
Nebel, a native of German)- , who came to . Cook
County when about eight years of age. They lo
cated upon a farm in Elk Grove Township, and
five children came to bless their home, namely:
William, Fred, Herman, Eddie and August. All
were born in this county.
Mr. Wille continued farming in Elk Grove
Township foi a time, and then removed to Maine
Township, where he has since made his home. ,
He now owns eight)- acres of valuable land, the
greater part of which was placed under cultiva
tion by himself. The will-tilled 'fields and many
improvements upon the place indicate his thrift
and enterprise aud bespeak a practical and pro
gressive spirit. He is a successful farmer, and
his labors have brought him prosperity. Although
his farm duties have largely occupied his atten
tion, he has yet found time to serve in public of
fice, and since 1885 has filled the office of Town
ship Commissioner. He has also been a member
of the School Board. He is a Republican in pol
itics, and is a leading and faithful member of the
Lutheran Church.
Our subject is a Knight of Pythias, belonging
to Gladden Post No. 450, G. A. R., and Hillike's
Post No. 665, of Chicago. He is also a member
of the German Benevolent Society of DesPlaines.

DWARD C. SMITH, who is engaged in- the
^ butchering business in Arlington Heights,
__ is numbered among the native sons of Cook
County, for he was born on the 3d of March,
1868, in East Wheeling. He comes of a family
of German origin. His father, Guenther A.
Smith, was a native of Bavaria, Germany, born
in 1844. By- occupation he was a butcher, and
he followed that business during the greater part of
his life. When a youth of nine years, he crossed
the broad Atlantic to America. After he had at
tained to man's estate he was married, in 1866, to
Miss Mary Sauches, also a native of Germany, and

a daughter of Francis and Louisa Sanches. In
1868, Mr. and Mrs. Smith removed to Arlington
Heights, and there the father engaged in the
butchering business for a number of years. They
became the parents of seven children, four sons
and three daughters, as follows: Louisa, now de
ceased; Edward C, the subject of this sketch;
Adolph, who is living iu Mont Clare; Frank A.,
also deceased; Frank, the second of that name,
now a resident of Mont Clare; Louisa, deceased;
and Mar)-, who makes her home in Mont
Clare. Under the parental roof, Edward C. Smith was
reared to manhood, his boyhood days being
passed midst play and work. His literary educa
tion was acquired in the public schools of Arling
ton Heights, after which he fitted himself for an
Active business career in the Metropolitan Busi
ness College of Chicago. After leaving the pub
lic schools of Arlington Heights, he also went to
school in Iowa for a year.
On leaving the commercial college, Mr. Smith
began working at the butchering business in
Chicago, having become familiar with the same
in his father's shop, and was employed by differ
ent firms. He worked for Louis Lutz for two
years, was with Arnold Brothers for six months,
and with Mr. Greenbaum for nine months. For
a few months he was afterwards in the malt bus
iness in Chicago, in the employ of Ed Muller, of
Arlington Heights. Immediately after severing
his business connections with that gentleman, he
removed to Arlington Heights and formed a part
nership with his father in the butchering busi
ness. This was in 1890. The connection was
continued until the ist of July, 1893, when Mr.
Smith bought out his father's interest and has
since been alone in the business.
Mr. Smith cast his first Presidential vote for
Benjamin Harrison in 1892, and is a stalwart ad
vocate ofthe principles of the Republican party.
In religious belief, he is a Presbyterian, holding
membership with the church at Arlington
Heights. Iu his business career he has met with
good success and is now enjoying a constantly in
creasing trade, which yields to him a good in
come and numbers him among the substantial

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

54i

citizens ofthe community. On the 18th of May,
1 89 1, he led to the marriage altar Miss Mary Im-
hoff. The young couple have a wide acquaint
ance in this vicinity and hold an enviable posi
tion in the regard of their man)- friends.

ts_

&+£

Q ERNHARD MOOS, who is engaged in the
ICV wholesale, retail and jobbing business as
L/ a dealer in fine cigars and tobacco, has car
ried on operations along this line since 1865, and
the firm of J. & B. Moos is now enjoying a fine
trade. The life record of our subject is as fol
lows: He was born in Wurtemberg, Germany,
in the year 1843, ar>d is a son of Joseph Moos,
who was also born in the same country. Bern-
hard acquired his education in his native land
aud learned book-keeping, to which work he de
voted his energies for some years, being em
ployed in a number of the large business houses
of the Fatherland.
In i86r, when eighteen years of age, Mr. Moos
determined to try his fortune in America, and
emigrated to the United States. On landing from
the steamer at New York, he at once started for
Chicago, where he secured a position as book
keeper in Lazarus Silverman's bank. There he
continued for four years, when, in 1865, with the
capital which he had acquired through industry,
economy and diligence, he embarked in business
for himself as a dealer in cigars. He was first lo
cated at the corner of Randolph Street and Fifth
Avenue, but in the great fire of 1871 his store
was destroyed. Ten days later he had re-estab
lished himself in business at the corner of Madi
son aud Canal Streets, thus displaying the enter
prise which is numbered among his chief charac
teristics. In 1873 he removed to the Sherman
House, where he continued for eight years, when,
in 1 88 1, he came to his present location at No.
95 Randolph Street. Here he has since contin
ued, having one of the finest houses in the city.
The lady who bears the name of Mrs. Moos
was in her maidenhood Miss Carrie Berlizhiemer.
Their marriage was celebrated in rS66, and they

have two children, a son and daughter; Jo
seph, who was born in 1867, and is now asso
ciated with his father in business; and Mrs. H.
Rieser, wife of H. Rieser, manager of a large
slaughter-house of this city. The family has
long resided in Chicago, and its members are
widely known.
The Republican party finds in Mr. Moos a stal
wart supporter, and of the Masonic fraternity he
is an honored member. He has taken all of the
degrees of that order, and his opinions are con
sidered authority on all matters pertaining there
to. He also belongs to the American Historical
Society. Mr. Moos has ever been an extensive
reader, and has a most broad and liberal educa
tion. He possesses a fine library, in whicli are
many rare and choice volumes. In 1887 he was
appointed by Mayor Roche one of the Board of
Trustees ofthe Public Library, was re-appointed'
by Mayor Cregier, and again in 1893 by Carter
H. Harrison. He has thus filled the position for
about seven years. He has been instrumental in
the building ofthe new library, as he is the. Chair
man of the Building Committee, and devotes two
hours of his time daily, unrequited, to the over
sight of the institution. The cause of education
has ever found in him a warm friend and patron,
and one ever ready to advance its best interests.

|~~ REDERICK STUENKEL, proprietor of an
Tri elevator at Arlington Heights, and dealer in
| ' grain, seeds, flour, salt, coal, etc., is a na
tive of Addison, DuPage County. He was born
on the 7th of April, 1849, and is the eldest son of
Frederick and Mary (Marquaret) Stuenkel. His
father, a native of Hanover, Germany, crossed
the Atlantic in an early day, and became one of
the- pioneer settlers of DuPage County in 1836.
He settled in Addison Township, and now makes
his home in Bensenville. He married Miss Mar
quaret, and unto them were born ten children,
two sons and eight daughters, as follows: Fred
erick; William; Sophia, wife of August Wolken-
hauer; Louise, wife of August Asche; Mary,

542

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

wife of William Schmidt; Caroline, wife of Will
iam Struckmeyer; Augusta, now deceased; Dora,
wife of William Gray; Anna, wife of William
Hoelscher; and Matilda, wife of Ed Brust
Mr. Stuenkel whose name heads this record
acquired his primary education in the public and
German schools of DuPage County, and later
went to Ft. Wayne, Ind., where he attended col
lege for four years, being graduated from that in
stitution in 1869. Previous to this time he had
worked upon his father's farm, and after leaving
school he entered upon his business career as a
partner of his uncle, Lewis Stuenkel, in Addison.
They carried on a general store and did a good
business. The partnership was continued until
1876, when Mr. Stuenkel bought out his uncle
and continued alone until 1881. In that year he
sold out to Fred Treichler, the present proprietor,
and came to Arlington Heights.
On the 25th of February, 1874, Mr. Stuenkel
was united in. marriage with Miss Augusta Krage,
of Addison, DuPage County, a daughter of F. L-
Krage. Unto them has been born a family of
five children, three sons and two daughters, but
Paul, the second child, is now deceased. The
others, Edward, Paulina, Arthur and Laura, are
still with their parents. The family has a pleas
ant home, and Mr. and Mrs. Stuenkel are num
bered among the prominent people of this com
munity. On coining to Arlington Heights, our subject
opened a cheese factor)- and creamery, which bus
iness he still carries on. He is also now engaged
in dealing in grain, seeds, flour, salt and coal,
and does a general elevator business. He began
operations along this line in 1888, as a partner of
E. P. Miller, whose interest he purchased after
two years, becoming sole proprietor in 1890. He
is a man of enterprise and thrift, and by able
management aud careful attention to all details
he has succeeded in securing an excellent trade,
and thereby has gained a comfortable compe
tence. At the last election Mr. Stuenkel voted
the Democratic ticket, but prior to that time was
a Republican. Pie is a prominent and influential
member of the Lutheran Church, has served as
Chairman of its Board, and has also filled the

office of Treasurer. He has never aspired to pub
lic office, but has always worked for the best in
terests of Arlington Heights, and is recognized as
a public-spirited and progressive citizen.

_S]

S3

£+£

(S_

EHRIST BUSSE, who for many years has re
sided in Cook County, and is now a leading
farmer of Elk Grove Township, residing on
section 14, was born in Hanover, Germany, on.
the 10th of August, 1823, and is the eldest in a
family of six children, four soils and two daugh
ters, who were born to John F. and Hannah
(Katz) Busse. The parents were also natives of
Hanover, and there Christ was reared to man
hood, acquiring his education in the public schools
of the community. He remained in his native
land until twenty-five years of age, when, believ
ing that America furnished better opportunities
for young men than the older countries of Europe,
he decided to try his fortune in the United States.
In 1848, iu company with his parents, he crossed
the Atlantic in a sailing-vessel, and immediately
after reaching the shores of the New World came
direct to Cook County, locating where he now re
sides. There was not an improvement upon the
farm, but he possessed energy and enterprise and
was not afraid of work, so it did not long remain
in that condition.
A short time before sailing, Mr. Busse was
united in marriage with Miss Friedrike Henges,
also a native of Hanover, and through the years
of their married life she has proved a faithful
helpmate. Six children have been born to them,
but Christian Fred, the eldest, is now deceased;
Louisa is the wife of C. Sch wake; Hannah is the
wife of August Froemling; Henry W. married
Emma Stuenkel; Fredericka is the yife of John
Russell; and Anna died in infancy. All were
born on the old homestead farm in Elk -Grove
Township. Mr. Busse at one time owned two hundred and
seventy-six acres of land, but has now given some
of it to his children. His farm is a valuable and
desirable one, and as the years have passed he

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

543

has placed upon it all modern accessories and im
provements. His possessions have all been ac
quired through his own efforts, and he may truly
be called a self-made man. He votes with the
Republican party, and has been honored with a
number of official positions. He served as Town
ship Commissioner, was afterward School Trus
tee, and in 1867 was elected County Supervisor.
In 1873 he was made County Commissioner, and
in 1 880 was elected to the State Board of Equali
zation for a term of eight years. With the ex
ception of three years spent in the office of County
Commissioner, he has continuously served as
Supervisor of his township since 1867, and is now
holding that office. He is indeed a trusted official ,
and that he is worthy the confidence reposed in
him is shown by his long continuance in office.
No higher testimonial of faithfulness could be
given than this. Mr. Busse holds membership
with the Lutheran Church, and is now serving as
Treasurer. He has been successful iu his busi
ness dealings, acquiring a handsome competence,
and through all has been straightforward and
honorable, so that among his acquaintances his
word is as good as his bond. He is indeed widely
known, and his friends are many. His anticipa
tions of acquiring a comfortable competence in
this country have been realized, and the United
States has no truer adopted citizen than Mr.
Busse.

pQlLLIAM E. BLAIKIE is engaged in the
\kj real-estate business in Park Ridge, and is
VV editor of the Park Ridge Herald. He en
tered upon the latter work in 1887, and the suc
cess which has attended the paper indicates its
merits and the untiring labors which the editor
has put forth to make the Herald what the people
desire. Mr. Blaikie is a native of the Empire
State. He was born in Rome, N. Y., November
n, 1853, and is a son of Andrew and Mary J.
(Elmer) Blaikie, the former a native of Pennsyl
vania, and the latter of New York. Tlieir family
numbered three children, but the daughter died in
childhood. George A., the brother of our sub

ject, is now a hatter of Chicago. The father was
engaged in the stock-exchange business in Chi
cago, to which city he removed in 1842, when the
metropolis of the West contained only a popula
tion of seven thousand. For many years he did
an extensive business in the iron trade in connec
tion with Mr. Ryerson, on South Water Street.
He was a member of the old North Presbyterian
Church, but during the war a part of the con
gregation withdrew from the organization on ac
count of political views. Mrs. Jane Hoge, the
sister of Mrs. Blaikie, was very prominent during
war days, being associated in the work of the
Sanitary Commission with Mrs. Mary A. Liver-
more. After peace had been restored, Mrs. Hoge
published a book entitled, " The Boys in Blue,"
in which she related many of the incidents of her
army experience. She died in 1890. Mr. Blai-
kie's death occurred on the 8th of April, 1893, in
Chicago. He went to the city apparently in good
health, but was stricken with pneumonia, and died
within a week at the home of a friend. His re
mains were interred in Graceland Cemetery.
We now take up the personal history of Will
iam E. Blaikie, who is both widely and favorably
known in Park Ridge and vicinity. His educa
tion was acquired in Stanford, Conn., where he
attended the military school known as Stanford
Institute, from which he was graduated with the
rank of Captain. He then returned to Chicago,
and learned the wholesale hardware business with
the firm of Seeberger & Blaikie, with which he con-
¦ tiliued until the time of the great Chicago fire, in
October, 187 1. He was afterward connected with
R. H. Mason in a stove store, which was opened
almost before the fire had been extinguished.
The establishment was appropriately called the
' 'Phcenix. ' ' Mr. Blaikie wa.s afterward connected
with the B. Hamilton Hunt retail hardware busi
ness, and subsequently he spent a few years travel
ing in the East.
On his return to the West, Mr. Blaikie located
in Park Ridge, were he has since engaged in the
real-estate and newspaper business with good
success. Being an editor of considerable ability,
his sheet is a bright and newsy one, and his ac
tive mind enables him to place before the people

544

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the news and events of the day in a clear and at
tractive form. He exercises his right of franchise
in support of the Republican party, and takes
quite an active interest in politics.

GI STEINER is a farmer and miller residing
I_l ou section 34, Maine Township. He was
/ | born in Strausburg, Germany, November
20, 1838, and when quite young was brought to
this country by his parents, who were also na
tives of Germany. The father, George Steiner,
continued to reside in the land of his birth until
1844, when, with his wife and children, he bade
adieu to home and friends, and on a sailing-ves
sel crossed the ocean to the New World. He is
now living in Des Plaines, in his ninety-third
year, and is the oldest man in the township. His
wife died many years ago. They were the parents
of only two children, both sons, our subject and
Gustave, who also resides in Maine Township,
Cook County.
The gentleman whose name heads this record
was in his sixth year at the time of the emigra
tion of the family to America. When he first
saw Chicago it contained only about seven thou
sand population. The first school which he at
tended was situated on the south branch of the
river, about two miles from the court house.
He completed his education in Maine Township,
but his privileges in that direction were quite
meagre. From the age of eight years he was
reared upon the old homestead farm in that
township, and his training in farm work was
not so limited. As soon as he was old enough to
handle the plow he began work in the fields, and
until twenty-three years of age he gave his father
the benefit of his labor.
Mr. Steiner then left home to enter the service
of his adopted country, enlisting in Company D,
Fifty-eighth Illinois Infantry, as a private. He
wore the blue for three years and two months
and participated in a number of important en
gagements, including the battles of Shiloh, Cor
inth, Ft. Derusha, Pleasant Hill, Tupelo, Nash

ville and others. He was never wounded, al
though his clothes were several times pierced by
the rebel lead, and on one occasion his gun was
knocked out of his hand by a bullet. When the
war was over and the dissolution of the Union no
longer threatened, he received an honorable dis
charge in Chicago in 1865. He then returned to
the old home farm, and continued working with
his father for some time longer.
It was in 1867 that Mr. Steiner left home and
was united in marriage with Miss Bertha Miller,
daughter of Melchior Miller, a native of Germany,
who came to America with her parents when a
maiden of six summers. They have one son,
Louie. They began their domestic life upon the
old homestead where they now reside, and where
Mr. Steiner carries on general farming and mill
ing. His life has not been marked by any start
ling events, but has been a busy and useful one,
well spent in an honorable business career. In
politics, he is a Republican, and socially is a mem
ber of Winfield Scott Post No. 445, G. A. R.,
and Vitruvious Lodge No. 81, A. F. & A. M., of
Wheeling, 111.
IT RED NYE, night editor of the Chicago
Tri Herald, has throughout his life been con-
I nected with newspaper work, and now oc
cupies a most responsible position with one of
the leading dailies of the country. A native of
New York, he was born in Madison County, iu
1855, and is of English and Spanish lineage. In
the early part ofthe seventeenth century the fam
ily was founded in America. The father of our
subject, Theron Nye, was also born in the East,
but moved to Nebraska with his family in 1857.
Our subject remained with his parents during
the greater part of his boyhood and youth, and
the common schools of the community in which
he resided afforded him his educational privi
leges. At the earh- age of seventeen years he en
tered upon the work to which his life and ener
gies have since been devoted. He became editor
of a country newspaper, and continued its publi-

G. W Savacic.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

547

cation for tliree years. On the expiration of that
period, when twenty years of age, he took up his
residence in Omaha, Neb., where he embarked
iu business for himself in 1880, as the editor of
the Omaha Daily News, with which he was con
nected for three years. Then he purchased a
half-interest in the Omaha Republican, which
he held until 1887. After selling his interest
in the Republican, he was connected with the
Omaha World in various capacities. On the sub
sequent failure of the Republican, Mr. Nye, in
connection with Mr. Frank Johnson, purchased
that paper, which he carried on for eight mouths,
when he sold out and came tb Chicago. His
connection with the Herald has been maintained
since 1890. He first became a reporter for that
paper, was one of the editorial writers, was edi
tor ofthe Weekly, news editor, and is now night
editor.

fj=>

--^H-^i

EEORGE W. SAVAGE, a farmer of Lyons
Township, owns and operates one hundred
and ninety-two acres of land on section 20.
The neat and thrifty appearance of his place indi
cates the careful supervision of the owner, who is
recognized as one of the enterprising and pro
gressive agriculturists of the neighborhood. He
was born in Sheffield County, Lower Canada, on
the 2 ist of November, 1833, and is a son of
David and Lucretia (Vale) Savage. The father
was a native of Pennsylvania, and was of German
and English descent. The mother was born in
New Hampshire. They became the parents of
eleven children, eight sons and three daughters,
namely: James, who died in 1890; Jacob, who
died in 1888; Ruth, who died in 1884; David, a
railroad contractor living iu Iowa; Dennis, a
farmer of Canada; Adelia, wife of Dr. Shute, a
practicing physician of Boston, Mass.; William,
who is living in Council Bluffs, Iowa; George W.
of this sketch; Lucretia, who resides in Bos
ton; Daniel, who is now deceased; and John, who
makes his home in the South. The father of this
family was a cooper by trade, but followed farm-
27

ing during the greater part of his life. He re
moved from Canada to Chicago, October 13,
1843, making his home in that city one year.
On the expiration of that period he went to Lock-
port, UL, where he rented a farm, and made his
home in that vicinity for a few months. Both he
and his wife died in 1845, on the same night
George Savage whose name heads this record
removed with his parents to the Keystone State,
aud then came to Illinois. He was a lad of only
eleven summers when they died. He then went to
live with James Mickie, Supervisor of Lyons
Township, and with him made his home for
about four years. As compensation for his
services, he received only his board and clothes.
When about fifteen years of age, he bound him
self out to John Yarwood, a farmer of Lyons
Township, in whose employ he continued until
he had attained his majority, when he began
farming ou his own account. He rented land for
three years, and then u-ith the capital he had ac
quired through his own efforts he purchased
seventy-two acres of laud on section 20, Lyons
Township, a portion of the farm on which he now
resides. Here he has made his home continu
ously since. As his financial resources have in
creased,, he has extended the boundaries of his
farm, until now one hundred and ninety-two acres
of good land yield tribute to the care and culti
vation of the owner.
Ou the 28th of July, 1857, Mr- Savage was
united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Ward, a
daughter of Alfred and Lucina Ward. Six chil
dren have been born of their union, as follows:
George, now deceased; Augusta, wife of Leo
Denney, a railroad man, residing iu LaGrange;
Adelia, wife of James G. Wolcott, who is em
ployed iu the County Clerk's office; Frances,
wife of Dr. A. E. Higgins, a practicing physician
of La Grange; Harvey, who died in 1888; Willis,
who is at home; and George, who is also with
his parents.
Mr. Savage has been honored with several lo
cal offices of. trust. He has served as School
Trustee for nine years and has also been Highway
Commissioner for twelve years. In politics, he is
a stanch supporter of the principles of the Repub-

548

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lican party. Socially, he is connected with the
Masonic lodge of La Grange. Mr. Savage is a
public-spirited and progressive citizen, and mani
fests commendable interest in everything pertain
ing to the welfare of the community in which he
makes his home.

_S1

S3

$+£

cs_

B^

O QlLLIAM RAPP, the well-known editor of
\ A / the Staats-Zeitung, one of the leading Ger-
V V man papers of the country, now published
in Chicago, was born in Germany in 1828, com
ing of an old family of that country. He was reared
iu his parents' home, and was educated in ac
cordance with the laws of his native land. In
1849, he joined the troops whicli were iu rebellion
against the Government, and was imprisoned for
high treason, being incarcerated for one year.
Immediately after his release, Mr. Rapp deter
mined to seek a home in the land of the free, and
crossed the Atlantic to America. He made his
first location in the city of Baltimore, Md., where
he continued for a number of years, becoming
the editor ofthe Baltimore Wecker, and continuing
his connection with that paper until 1861. He did
not like the secession atmosphere ofthe place, how
ever, as he was a Republican in politics, an oppo
nent of slavery, and a friend to the Union. In
consequence he left the South. Going then to
Philadelphia, Pa., he became editor of the organ
of the Turners' Association, a German paper ot
that city. At length he came to Chicago, and has
since been connected with its newspaper interests.
In the year 1867 Mr. Rapp was united in mar
riage with a lady of Baltimore, Md., and to them
have been born four children. Thev- are inembers
of the Lutheran Evangelical Church, and are
prominent German people of the city which is
now their home.
Mr. Rapp has been connected with the Staats-
Zcitung since the 10th of January, 1872. This
paper is the property of W. Hesing, who has re
cently been appointed and is now Postmaster of
Chicago. Mr. Rapp at first accepted the position
as associate editor ou this paper, aud after a time

was made chief editor. It is devoted to the in
terests of German-American citizens, and is an
excellent newspaper, for capable men are at the
head of its various departments. Its success is
due in no small degree to the able management of
Mr. Rapp, who is a man of wide experience aud
fine capabilities. He is a member of the German
Press Club, and is widely known among newspa
per men ofthe country. Mr. Rapp takes an ac
tive interest in politics, although he votes inde
pendently, and is a close student of the questions
and issues of the day.

B^-HM

B~

(JOHN CARSON was for forty-six years one of
1 the well-known and prominent farmers of
G/ Cook Count)-. He may truly be numbered
among the honored pioneers ofthe community, for
the year 1842 witnessed his arrival here. The
record of his life is as follows: Born in Simon-
ton, in the parish of Colmonel'l, Ayrshire, Scot-
laud, on the ist of August, 181 2, he was there
reared to manhood. His education was acquired
in the public schools of his native land, after
which he learned the carpenter's trade, which he
followed until his emigration to America.
In 1842 Mr. Carson was united in marriage
with Miss Bethia Dick, and immediately after
the young couple sailed for America. On landing
in the New World the)- made their wa)- westward
to this count)-, settling in Palatine Township, Dun-
ton (now Arlington Heights), being their post-
office. Mr. Carson entered two hundred acres of
land from the Government, and in the course of
time reclaimed it from its original condition,
transforming it into a rich and fertile tract, and
making it one of the best farms of the neighbor
hood. Its neat appearance indicated his thrift
and enterprise and attested his careful supervision.
Chicago wa.s at that' time their nearest trading-
point, and to that city they hauled all their
produce. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Carson were born six chil
dren, three sous and three daughters, as follows:
Ellen, wife of Allen Sloss, a retired farmer resid-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

549

iug in Reinbeck, Iowa; David, a prominent and
highly-respected young man, who died at the age
of twenty-nine years; Mary, who for a number of
years was one of the leading school teachers of
Cook Count)-, and for twelve years was success
fully engaged in teaching in the Mark Sheridan
Grammar School of Chicago; Matthew and John,
both of whom are engaged in stock-raising in
Iowa; and Anna, wife of G. J. Schaeffer, who is
engaged in general merchandising in Ludlow, 111.
During his forty-six years' residence in Cook
County, John Carson lived so that he won the
confidence and high regard of all with whom he
came in contact, and when called to his final rest
in October, 1888, his death was mourned by many
friends. His wife survived him for about five
years, and passed away May 10, 1893. Both
were faithful and consistent members of the Chris
tian Church, and their lives were in harmony
with their professions. In his political views,
Mr. Carson was originally a Whig, but ou the
dissolution of that party he joined the ranks of
the Republican party, with which he afterward
affiliated. He never aspired to public* office, but
served as School Director for a number of years.
He was trusted by all, and his word was as good
as his bond. Mr. Carson, who was ever a great
reader, kept himself well informed on all questions
ofthe day, and was a great admirer of Burns. He
loved the Scotch poet, and could quote him by the
hour. To his family, Mr. Carson left the price
less heritage of a good name.
i^HT*>B-SP==^==-§>

"SI

(J C. MOEHLING, the present efficient Post-
I master of Mt. Prospect, and who is also there
(2/ engaged in general merchandising, is a na
tive of Cook County, 111. He was born on the
15th of October, 1850, and is a son of John C.
Moehling, who was born in. Hesse, Germany,
and emigrated to America in 1849. He came di
rect to Chicago, and purchased in Elk Grove
Township a farm of eighty acres. It was all wild
prairie land, but he at once began its development
and. improvement, and for six years made his

home thereon. On the expiration of that period
he removed to Lake County, Ind. , wliere he spent
about five years, purchasing one hundred and
sixty acres of prairie land and a thirty-acre tract
of timber. This property he gave to his two sons,
each receiving eighty aeres. He then returned
to the old homestead in Elk Grove Township,
where he continued to reside until 1865, when he
sold his land and removed to the town of Maine.
He bought two hundred acres of land, and upon
that farm spent his remaining days, his death oc
curring at the age of seventy -eight years and nine
months. Iu politics, he was a Republican. He
was well known throughout the county, and at
his death the community lost one of its best citi
zens. In Germany Mr. Moehling was united in
marriage with Miss Mary Dora Pullman, a na
tive of that country, who died in her seventy-eighth
year. Unto that worthy couple were born six chil
dren, four sons and two daughters, all of whom
are yet living in Cook County. Our subject,
who is the youngest child, remained at home with
his parents tlirough the days of his boyhood and
youth, and in the common schools acquired a good
English education . He also became familiar with
all the duties of farm life, for at au early- age he
began his labors iu the fields.
In 1875, Mr. Moehling was united in marriage
with Miss Amelia Boudie, a native of Prussia,
Germany, who came to America when a maiden
of twelve summers. They have had four chil
dren, but two are deceased, Dora and Henry H.
John F. and Clara, the eldest and the youngest,
are still living.
Upon his marriage, Mr. Moehling located on a
farm of sixty acres in Elk Grove Township, where
he made his home for about two years. He then
sold out and bought a one hundred acre farm in
the same community, upon which he resided un
til 1882. That year witnessed his removal to
Mt. Prospect, where he established a general
store, which he still carries ou. He is now doing
a good business in that line, and is recognized as
one of the leading and progressive merchants
of the place. In 1885 he was appointed Post
master by President Cleveland, and continued tg

550

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

fill that position during Harrison's administra
tion, although he is a Democrat in politics. He
was then re-appointed by Cleveland, and is the
present incumbent. In 1886 he was appointed
agent for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad
Company, and holds the office yet. Mr. Moeh
ling is the owner of one hundred acres of good
laud in Elk Grove Township, sixty-five acres in
Wheeling Township, and some timber-land in
Maine Township. He was one of the organizers
of Mt. Prospect, and the growth aud develop
ment of this thriving town are due iu no small de
gree to his earnest efforts in its behalf. Through
out his entire life he has been identified with the
history of this community, and he well deserves
representation atriong the leading citizens of his
native county.

L- FOWLER is engaged in the photo-
't) graphic business iu Evanston, where he has
_ a fine gallery, well equipped and supplied
with all the accessories and improvements known
to the business. He is a native of San Fran
cisco, Cal., his birth having occurred in Decem
ber of the year 1862. He is a son of John
and Augusta Fowler, who were of English de
scent. They continued to reside in San Fran
cisco until our subject was eleven years of age,
when, accompanied by their family, they crossed
the continent and made a location at Niagara
Falls, N. Y.
There, at the age of fifteen years, E. L- Fowler
began work along- the line of his chosen art. He
took up landscape photography under the tutelage
of George Barker, the renowned landscape pho
tographic artist. After some three years spent
under the instructions of Mr. Barker, our subject
came West, locating in Chicago, where he asso
ciated himself with Mr. Gehrig/ For several
years he was connected with that gentleman and
other artists of merit in the city, but at length, in
1886, he began business alone, opening a gallery
of his own, where he worked in competition with
the best artists. So excellent was the work that

he turned out that he always received the best
prices paid. He remained in Chicago, and was
one of the exhibitors at the Art Institute of that
city, where, in May, 1889, he was awarded the
first prize medal for the best and finest work ex
hibited, also a prize of $50 in gold, carrying off
both prizes over all competitors.
Mr. Fowler continued in the city until 1891,
when he removed to Evanston, wliere he has since
made his home. Here he established a gallery,
and has built up a successful and profitable busi
ness, of which he is well deserving. He has
met with adverse circumstances, but he is one
who is bound to succeed, 110 matter what the ob
stacle. He is now enjoying a good patronage,
and has won an acknowledged place among the
best photographers in the country, a fact which
is indicated by his having won the prize medal at
the Art Institute. He gives his attention to high-
class work in portrait photography, and is a de
cided success as a landscape artist.
On the ist of January, 1891, Mr. Fowler was
united in marriage with Miss Anna West, the
wedding taking place in Chicago, aud the cere
mony being performed by Dr. Gunsaulus. The
lady is a native of that city and a daughter of
N. N. West. Both Mr. and Mrs. Fowler hold
membership with the Congregational Church.

B^HM

sr

0B. WOOD, a merchant and pioneer settler
of Palatine, Cook County, was born on the
29th of March, 1820, in Smithfield, Bradford
County, Pa., and is the youngest child in the
family of Samuel and Hulda (Cale) Wood. His
father was a native of Massachusetts, and
throughout life followed the occupation of farm
ing. His death occurred in the Keystone State,
when about sixty-five years of age. The family
was founded iu America by W. M. Wood, who
came from England to this country in 1638, and
settled in Concord, Mass., only eighteen years
after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
The mother of our subject was born June 18,
1780, in Windham County, Vt., and her death

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

55i

occurred in * Pennsylvania, on the 20th of July,
1849. The children are all now deceased with
the exception of our subject and his elder brother,
Joel, now a retired farmer living in Williams
burg, Ky.
The early life of D. B. Wood was spent upon
the home farm and in attendance at the district
schools ofthe neighborhood, where he acquired a
good English education. At the age of eighteen
he turned his attention to other pursuits and be
gan clerking in a general store. After being
thus employed for two years, he attended an
academy for two years, and then embarked in
teaching school, which profession he followed for
six years. It was in the spring of 1846 that he
came to the West, and located where the town of
Palatine now stands. He entered land from the.
Government, about a mile east of the present
village, and at once began the development of a
farm, continuing the improvement of the land for
fifteen years. The county was then largely in
its primitive condition' and was but sparsely set
tled. On account of ill health, Mr. Wood at
length sold his farm and engaged in merchandis
ing, which he has conducted successfully up to
the present time.
On the 28th of April, 1851, Mr. Wood was
united in marriage with Miss Jane Eliza Wilson,
a native of Madison County, N. Y. Three chil
dren have been born unto them, but two died in
childhood. The surviving daughter, Grace E.,
is the wife of Arthur H. Castle, of Elgin, 111.
In his political views, Mr. Wood is a Republi
can, and- has been honored with a number of lo
cal offices. He has served as Postmaster of Pala
tine on two different occasions. During the first
year of the existence of the office, he filled the
position, and a few years, later was again placed
in charge. For eighteen years he has filled the
office of School Treasurer, and is the present in
cumbent, a fact which indicates the confidence
reposed in him. He and his wife are members
of the Christian Church. Mr. Wood is a man of
good business ability, and his well-directed ef
forts, enterprise and industry have made him a
successful merchant and have brought him a com
fortable competence. He is now widely known

in the community in which he has so long made..,
his home, and with the history of its progress and
development he is identified, for he has ever
taken an active interest in all that pertains to the
general welfare.

§£+^

QETER STELLMANN, proprietor of a gen-
yr eral store at Orchard Place, is numbered
h-' among the old-time citizens of Cook County,
and well deserves representation among her hon
ored pioneers. He was born in the north of
Germany, on the 13th of August, 1840, and is
the youngest child of Peter Stellmann. He was
only*- six years of age when with his parents he
crossed the ocean and came to the West. For
two years the family resided in DuPage County,
111., and then, when a lad of eight years, Mr.
Stellmann came to Cook County, where he has
since made his home. He was reared to man
hood in the usual manner of farmer lads, ac
quired his education in the common schools, and
remained with his parents until after he ¦ had at
tained his majority.
Leaving home, Mr. Stellmann was united -in
marriage, in 1863, with Miss Margaret Gerney, a
native of Germany, who came to America in her
girlhood days. The young couple began their
domestic life upon a farm in Maine Township,
and Mr. Stellmann turned his attention to the de
velopment and further cultivation of his land.
He is industrious and enterprising, and he soon
had his farm under a high state of cultivation.
He still owns ninety-eight acres, which he rents to
his son-in-law, Herman Duntemann. He is now
engaged in business at Orchard Place, where he
opened a general store and saloon. He also has
a good property there.
By his first marriage, Mr. Stellmann had five
children, three sons and two daughters, namely :
Emma, John, William, Louisa and Charlie. For
his second wife he chose Miss Minnie Kade, and
they- have become the parents of three children, as
follows: Fred, Fredo and Minnie. The family is
one well known in this community.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

The male members of the Stellmann family
were all carpenters, being able to follow that bus
iness whether they had served an apprenticeship
to the trade or not. The buildings upon the farm
of our subject stand as monuments to his handi
work. He has led a busy life, and the success
which has crowned his efforts has been won by
his diligence and good management. Iu relig
ious belief, Mr. Stellmann is a Lutheran, and in
political sentiment is a Republican, having sup
ported his party since casting his first Presiden
tial vote for Abraham Lincoln. His duties of
citizenship he faithfully discharges, and in the
welfare ofthe community he takes a warm inter
est.

"S3

£+£E

NENRY GALUSHA WILLMARTH, a re
tired merchant of Barrington, has for more
than half a century resided in Cook County,
being numbered among the honored pioneers of
1838. We feel assured that this record of his life
will prove of interest to many of our readers, and
therefore gladly give it a place in this volume. Mr.
Willmartri was born in North Adams, Berkshire
County, Mass., November 10, 1831, and is a son
of Hon. Homer and Mary A. (Wells) Willmarth,
both of whom were also natives of the Bay State.
The father there engaged in manufacturing until
1838, when, with his family, he emigrated west
ward by way of the Erie Canal and across
the Lakes from Buffalo to Chicago, which was
then but a small village. He bought a claim in
Barrington Township, and afterwards entered
land from the Government. This he broke and
fenced, and when he had plowed and planted his
land and erected the necessary buildings, he found
himself the owner of one of the best farms of the
locality. Its boundaries he extended until it
comprised three hundred and forty acres, under a
high state of cultivation. In i860, he purchased
land in Barrington, and there built a good resi
dence, where the last years of his life were spent in
retirement. He took quite an active part in pol
itics, and in early life voted with the Democratic
part)-, but when the Republican part)- sprang

into existence he joined its ranks. He served iu
a number of local offices of honor and trust, and
was also for two terms a leading member of the
Illinois Legislature. His wife was an active
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
he contributed liberally to its support and to be
nevolent and charitable enterprises. His death
occurred in 1882, at the age of seventy-five, and
his wife passed away iu 1884. A marble monu
ment marks their resting-place in Barrington
cemetery. In the Willmarth family were two sons and a
daughter who grew to mature years, but one
son, Charles M., is now deceased. Frances A.
is the wife of Alfred James, of Milwaukee, who
is President of the Northwestern Fire Insurance
Company. Our subject is the eldest. He was a
lad of seven years at the time of his arrival in
Cook County. After attending the district schools,
he pursued his studies in a private school in Chi
cago, and when he had attained to man's estate
he assumed the management of the home farm,
which he carried on for two years. In 1857-58,
he was engaged in business in Chicago, and then
spent the two succeeding years on his farm. In
1859, he crossed the plains to California, and a
year later returned by way of the Isthmus of
Panama and New York'..
In 1861, Mr. Willmarth donned the blue, and
went to the defense of the Union , as a member of
Company I, Fifty-second Illinois Infantry, but
in the fall of 1862 he was discharged on account
of physical disability. He held the rank of Lieu
tenant, and participated in the battle of Shiloh
and other engagements. When discharged he
entered the Government service, in which he re
mained until the close of the war. He then came
to Barrington, where he embarked in general
merchandising-, which he continued for sixteen
years, when he placed the business in the hands
of his sou, and is now living retired.
Mr. Willmarth was married in Barrington in
1851, the lady of his choice being Miss Elizabeth
E. Jencks, a native of North Adams, Mass., and a,
daughter of Henry Jencks, one ofthe early settlers
of Cook County. Her death occurred in 1872.
By that union were born six children, but four

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

553

died in early childhood. Alfred J. grew to ma
ture years and became engaged in merchandising
iu Barrington. He also took up the stud)- of law ,
with the intention of entering the legal profession,
but death arrested his plans when he was twenty-
seven years of age. Francis O., the only surviv
ing member of the family, is married, and holds
a responsible business position in the Count)'
Treasurer's office.
Mr. Willmarth is a member of Loundsbury Lodge
No. 751 , A. F. & A. M. , of Barrington, and also of
the Grand Army post of this place. He has long
been identified with the Republican party, and is
a stanch advocate of its principles. Almost his
entire life has been passed in Cook County, which
he has seen developed from a wilderness and
swamp until it has become the leading county in
the State. He has ever aided materially in the
growth and upbuilding of the community in
which he resides, and is recognized as a valued
citizen, who well deserves the rest he is enjoying
after his labors in former years.

si_

B^H^!

(DQlLLIAM BUSSE, Department Sheriff, who
\ A / resides on section 1 6, Elk Grove Town-
V V ship, was born in the community which is
still his home, January 27, 1864, and is the eldest
son of Lewis and Christina Busse. His father is
a prominent farmer of this community. He was
born in Hanover, Germany, November 4, 1837,
and is a son of Frederick Busse, who was a na
tive of the same country. With his family he came
to America in 1848, locating in Cook County,
UL, where he spent his remaining days, his death
occurring at the age of seventy-eight. His wife,
who bore the maiden name of Hannah Katz, was
also born in Germany, and died at the age of
seventy-five years. They were the parents of
eight children, two ofwhom died ere the emigra
tion to America.
Lewis Busse, the seventh of the family, was
only ten years old when he crossed the Atlantic.
He was educated in the common schools and
was reared to manhood upon a farm. Iu 1863 he

wedded Christina Kirchhoff, who was born in
Hanover, Germany, and came to the United States
at the age of six. They have become the parents
of nine children: William, whose name heads this
record; Hannah, wife of Henry Redeker; Sophia,
wife of George Meier, of Elk Grove Township;
Edward; George; Louis; August; Christiana and
Ernest. Lewis Busse has followed farming throughout
his entire life, and is now the owner of four hun
dred acres of valuable land in Elk Grove Town
ship, which is highly cultivated and improved.
In connection with general farming he also oper
ates a cheese factory and carries on a general
store. He is a man of good business ability, and
his success in life is the just reward of his own
labors. In politics, he is a Republican. He
served as Commissioner of Highways for fifteen
years, was School Director for about twenty years,
and was also Postmaster for a time. For thirteen
years he filled the office of Town Treasurer. He
is a faithful member ofthe Lutheran Church, and
for thirteen years he has served as Church Trus
tee. William Busse began his education in the dis
trict schools of the neighborhood where the days
of his boyhood and youth were passed, and after
ward he attended the public schools of Arlington
Heights. His training in this direction well
fitted him for the practical duties of life. He
has long been associated with his father in busi
ness, having been connected with him in the
operating of his cheese factor)-, in carrying on a
store, and in farming.
In 1885 was celebrated the marriage of our
subject and Miss Sophie Bartels, a native of Cook
County, and a daughter of Conrad Bartels, who
was born in Germany. They began their domes
tic life upon a farm, which continued to be their
home for four years, or until 1891, and then
removed to their present place of residence. Their
union was blessed with a family of five children,
two sons and three daughters, but Emilia died in
infancy. Those still living are: William, Martha,
Matilda and Albert. Sophie, our subject's wife,
who was born March 28, 1866, died February 20,
1894.

554

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mr. Busse is the -owner of a good farm of one
hundred and sixty acres, well improved, which he
now rents. In his political affiliations he is a
Republican, and since December, 1890, he has
served in the position of Deputy Sheriff. The
duties of this office he has ever faithfully- per
formed, and has therefore won the commendation
of all concerned. The Busse family has long
been connected with the history of this community-,
and the interest which they have taken in its up
building and advancement has numbered them
among its prominent and progressive citizens.
Our subject is a supporter ofthe Lutheran Church,
as was also his wife.

-S3

$+£

JS-**-

S3

'IMOTHY O CONNELL, Justice of the
Peace of Evanston, was born in Quebec,
Canada, on the 8th of March, 1831, and is
a son of James and Margaret (Roche) O' Connell.
His parents were both natives of Ireland, and in
1 8 18 they left the Green Isle of Erin to make a
home in Canada. They had two children, Tim
othy and William, but the latter is now deceased.
The father was a baker in Quebec, and there
followed that business until his death. His wife
survived him some time, and afterward married
again, her second union being with Edward
Shields, who also died in Quebec. They became
the parents of four children, one of whom is still
living, James, a resident of Chicago. After the
death of her second husband, the mother of our
subject came to Evanston to make her home with
her son Timothy, at whose house she died in
1886, at the ripe old age of seventy-seven years.
Both parents were members of the Catholic
Church. Our subject is descended from one of the old
families of Ireland. His paternal grandfather,
Timothy O" Connell, was a native of that land,
but he also spent his last days in Canada, where
he died at an advanced age. His family num
bered six children. The maternal grandfather,
William Roche, was born iu Wexford, Ireland,
and was classed among the rebels iu the War of

the Rebellion in that country, iu 1798. He was
a stone mason and farmer. Emigrating to Canada,
he spent the remainder of his life in that place,
being called to the home beyond at the age of
eighty-four. Timothy O Connell whose name heads this
record was reared and educated in Quebec, attend
ing the common schools of that country. When
his school life was ended, he became a professional
culler of square timber, and to1 work along that
line devoted his energies for many years.
Ere leaving his native land, Mr. O' Connell was
married, on the 30th of January, 1866, to Miss
Matilda Long, daughter of John Long. Seven
children were born unto them, as follows: Will
iam, who married Miss Catherine Kerevan, and is
Assistant Postmaster at Evanston; Edward John;
Mary Ann; Elizabeth; Timothy Joseph; Margaret
Frances; Patrick Henry, who died at the age of
nine years; and Nicholas John. The mother of
this family was called to her final rest in 1886.
In 1876, Mr. O'Connell came with his family
to the United States, and took up his residence in
Evanston, where he has worked at various occu
pations. He served as Assistant Assessor one
year, did special city inspection work, and was
janitor in the University for one year. In. the
spring of 1893, our subject was elected Justice
of the Peace, which position he now fills. He
has a good home property in Evanston, and his
family of children live with him, except William,
who now has a home of his own. Iu politics, he
is a supporter of the Republican party and its
principles, and in religious belief he is a Catholic.

**=M-

!-^+^P-=

(J F. EVERDING, a well-known citizen of Elk
I Grove Township, residing on section 35,
Q) where he carries on a butter factory, is a na
tive of Hesse, Germany. He was born March
5, 1852, and is a son of Henry Everding, who
was also a native of. the same locality. In 1853,
he left his old home and came to America, taking
up his residence iu Cook County. He was a
farmer by occupation, and followed that pursuit iu

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

555

Elk Grove Township for many years. His death
occurred at the advanced age of eighty-one. He
was twice married, and by each union had two
children. His second wife, the mother of our
subject, bore the maiden name of Wilhelmina
Bohle. She too was born in Hanover, and at
this writing she makes her home with her son.
J. F. Everdiug was about nine months old
when brought by his parents to the New World.
They became residents of Cook County, where
the greater part of his life has been passed.
He acquired his education in the German and
English schools, and at the age of eighteen
years went to Chicago, where he secured a
position in a grocery store. He also worked
for a short time in an hotel, but after nine months
returned to his home in Elk Grove Township,
and devoted his energies to its cultivation until
his marriage.
In DuPage County, Mr. Everding was united
in marriage with Miss Sophia Franzen, a daugh
ter of Henry and Louisa Franzen, and a native of
that county. The young couple began their do
mestic life in Kane County, where Mr. Ever
ding did business as an agent for .threshing
and sewing machines. In one year he sold thir
teen threshing-machines. After spending about
two years in Kane Count)-, Mr. Everding re
turned to Cook County, and once more settled
in Elk Grove Township, where he carried on
farming in connection with his agency business.
In 1890, he became associated in partnership
with Herman Stanger, and the)- bought out a
butter factory, which together they operated until
January, 1893, when Mr. Everding purchased his
partner's interest. He has since been sole pro
prietor of the factory. He manufactures about
three hundred pounds of fine butter per day,
which he ships to Chicago, where it finds a ready-
sale. His is the largest creamery in the town
ship. It is supplied with all modern machinery
and is complete in all its appointments. Mr. Ev
erding also has other business interests. He is
proprietor ofa general store in Elk Grove, and is
Postmaster of that place.
Unto our subject and his wife have been born
five children, two sons and three daughters, Liz

zie, George, Amanda, Hettie and Harry. The
family circle yet remains unbroken and all are
still under the parental roof.
In politics, Mr. Everding is a warm advocate
of the Republican party and its principles, but
has never been a politician in the sense of office-
seeking. He was once induced to accept the
nomination for Assessor, but lost tlie election by-
one vote. He much prefers to devote his time to
his business interests, in which he has met with
good success. Industry and enterprise, which are
numbered among his chief characteristics, have
brought him prosperity, and he is now enjoying a
lucrative trade.

S5_

B^+^i

QETERM. HOFFMAN, of Des Plaines, is the
yr only surviving son of Michael and Annette
\3 (Nimskey) Hoffman, a sketch of whom ap
pears on another page of this work. He was born
in Cook County, March 23, 1863, and has done
much for the upbuilding of Des Plaines, and the
promotion of its best interests, and has aided greatly
in the work of public improvement. He is recog
nized as one of the valued citizens of the commu
nity, and is now holding the office of Mayor, the
duties of which position he discharges in a prompt
and faithful manner, that has won for him the
commendation not only of his constituents, but of
all concerned. His early life was spent upon his
father's farm, and in order to secure a good edu
cation he came to Des Plaines, and was graduated
from its public schools at the age of seventeen
years. Mr. Hoffman then entered the employ of Jones
& Curtis, dealers in general merchandise, with
whom he continued as a salesman for about two
years. He next entered Bryant & Stratton's Busi
ness College of Chicago, in order to be better
fitted for the duties of life, and in a little less than
two years had completed a thorough course of
study in that well-known institution . He then be
gan working in Chicago as an employe of J. L.
Pattison & Co., at No. 81 Randolph Street, with
whom he continued for about a year. He was

556

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

then for nine months in the County Agent's office
of Cook County, after which he became an em
ploye of the Chicago postoffice and custom house
department. For a time he had a position in the
city delivery department, and was then placed in
the foreign money-order department. For about
three years he continued in the Government ser
vice, but during the administration of Postmaster
Judd he was discharged on account of his views
on political questions. He then began work for the
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company,
serving as cheek clerk in the Chicago depot. He
was afterward promoted to be receiving clerk,
and later became assistant cashier for the Wiscon
sin & Milwaukee Division.
During his connection with the public offices of
Des Plaines, Mr. Hoffman has done effective
service in the interest of the town. For two terms
he served as a member of the Board of Village
Trustees. During this time he proposed a plan
of sewerage. This, however, was not adopted,
but largely through his instrumentality the Gov
ernment building was erected. It stands as a
monument to the Board, and is an ornament to
the city. He also presented an ordinance doing
aWay with narrow, four- foot sidewalks; and build
ing walks five feet and four inches wide, which is
a very great improvement. Another resolution
of his to the Board called attention to the im
pure water of the village, and presented at the
same time an ordinance for the construction of an
artesian well, which is now being worked upon
at a depth of one thousand feet. In politics, Mr.
Hoffman is a stanch supporter of the Republican
party and an inflexible adherent of its principles.
He cast his first Presidential vote for James G.
Blaine. He is a citizen whom Des Plaines could
ill afford to lose. His fellow-townsmen hold him
in high regard, and he has many friends through
out the community. Socially, he is a member of
Vitruvious Lodge No. 81, A. F. & A. M.;of
¦Corinthian Chapter, R. A. M.; Gladiator Lodge
No. 450, K. P.; Court Maine No. 250, I. O. F. ;
and Red, White and Blue Council No. 377, N. U.
On the 15th of August, 1888, Mr. Hoffman
was united in marriage with Miss Emma May,
youngest daughter of Abiram W. aud Abbie J.

(Hewitt) Peet, pioneer settlers of Cook County,
whose sketch will be found elsewhere in this work.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman have four daughters:
Edith Mae, born June 11, 1889; Annette Jane,
November 9, 1890; Lela Rae, April 10, 1892;
and Marguerite, February 12, 1894.
(JOHN C. ECKEL, managing editor of the
I Chicago Dispatch, occupies a prominent place
(2? in newspaper circles. For a number of years
he has been connected with the leading dailies of
the city in responsible positions, and when the
Dispatch was established he found a place on its
staff, in the position which he now so ably fills.
Mr. Eckel is a native of New York City. He
was born on the 18th of August, 1858, and spent
the first fourteen years of his life in the Empire •
State. In 1872 he came to Illinois, where he
has passed the greater part of his life since.
When he started out in life for himself, he de
voted his energies to school-teaching, and for six
years followed that profession. In the mean time
he studied law, and when he left the ranks of edu
cators he engaged in legal practice, continuing
therein for five years. His work in both direc
tions proved of value to him, in that it gave him
an insight into the motives and actions of men,
thus broadening his views.
Mr. Eckel entered the journalistic field in 1885.
In that year he went to St. Louis, where he was
engaged in newspaper work until May, 1886,
when he came to Chicago. Since that time he
has been associated with J. R. Dunlop on one
or another of the leading dailies of the city.
He has been assistant city editor of the Inter
Ocean, was local agent of the Western Associ
ated Press, was city editor of the Chicago Times
for nearly three years, and afterwards became
managing editor for the Chicago Mail, in which
. position he continued one year. He then joined
Mr. Dunlop in the establishment of the Chicago
Dispatch and became its managing editor. This
is a daily paper that has been in existence only
since October 19, 1892, yet it has already se-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

557

cured a circulation exceeded by only one after
noon paper in Chicago. Mr. Eckel is a bache
lor, and is a member of the Chicago Athletic As
sociation, but he takes no very prominent part in
social affairs, devoting his time and attention al
most exclusively to his business interests.

&+&

is-

"HEODORE NELSON, Deputy County Re
corder of Cook County, and one of Chicago's
well-known and prominent citizens, is a na
tive of Tennessee. He was born in Sparta in
1851, and is of Scotch-Irish descent. For several
generations, however, the family has resided in
this country, for in early Colonial days the ances
tors settled in Vifginia, and thence their descend
ants moved westward.
The father of our subject, Judge William E.
Nelson, now makes his home in Decatur, 111.
He was a member of the Twenty-seventh General
Assembly of Illinois, and was the Democratic
candidate for Congress, running against Joseph
Cannon. In 1869 he was appointed by Hon. John
M. Palmer to revise the statutes ofthe State. He
has served both as Probate Judge of Macon
County and as Circuit Judge of the Fourth Judi
cial District. The various offices which he has
been called upon to fill have found in him a faith
ful incumbent, and he is prominent in the politics
ofthe State. He is a worthy exponent of the
principles of Democracy, and does all in his power
to promote the interests of his party. He is now
living in Decatur, at the age of sixty-nine years.
Theodore Nelson was brought to Illinois dur
ing his boyhood, and after attending the common
schools completed his education iu Eureka Col
lege, of Eureka, 111. He then turned his atten
tion to mercantile pursuits, and for a time en
gaged in the jewelry business. He afterward
disposed of his interests along that line and formed
a connection with the Illinois Central. Railroad,
with which he continued from 1872 until 1874.
In 1876 he entered the employ of the firm of Ha-
worth & Sons, manufacturers of agricultural im
plements, as shipping clerk, and continued with

that company for fourteen years. During the
last years of his service, he was cashier, buyer
and confidential clerk. His long continuance
with the company indicates his faithfulness to
the interests of his employers, and the confidence
and trust which he thereby won.
In 1 87 1 was celebrated the marriage of Theo
dore Nelson and Miss Augusta Blaine, daughter
of John R. Blaine, of Decatur, where the wedding
ceremony was performed. Thev- now have one
child, a daughter, Lena .
In various official capacities has Mr. Nelson
served. Like his honored father, he takes a very
prominent part in political affairs, and is an ar
dent supporter of the men and measures of the
Democracy. In 1878 he was elected City Treas
urer of Decatur for a term of one year. He was
again elected in 1880, 1881 and 1883. In 1888
he was elected a member of the State Democratic
Central Committee, and two years afterward was
made Secretary of the Democratic Executive Cen
tral Committee. In 1 89 1 he was elected Secretary
of the Democratic State Central Committee, and
was re-elected Secretary of the Executive Com
mittee. In 1890 Mr. Nelson came to Chicago,
and was appointed to the position of Chief
Deputy in the County Recorder's office of Cook
County, under Mr. Chase, in 1893. This position
he is now creditably and acceptably filling. He
is a man of sterling worth, aud the excellencies of
his character have gained for him the high regard
in which he is held, and has won for him the po
sition which he now fills.

P GJlLLIAM G. MORRIS, who is successfully
I A / engaged in the jewelry business in Chicago,
V V is a native of England. He was born in
Lincolnshire, on the 27th of February, 1846, and is
one of four children, three sons and a daughter,
whose parents were James and Mary Ann (Bell)
Morris. His grandfather, William George Morris,
was also a native of England, and in that country
spent his entire life. He was a miller by occu
pation, and when about sixty years of age was

558

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

killed by a windmill sail. The maternal grand
father also passed his entire life in England
The father of our subject was a wagon and car
riage maker by trade, and also followed the occu
pation of farming. In 1850, when his son Will
iam was about four years of age, he crossed the
Atlantic to America, locating in Syracuse, N. Y.,
where he made his home for ten years. He then
emigrated to Lake County, 111. , where he spent
about twelve years, devoting seven years of that
time to farm labor, after which he established a
wagon and carriage manufactory at Eau Plaine,
now Gurnee, carrying on business along that line
for four years. His last days were spent with his sou
William G. in Chicago, his death there occurring
at the age of forty-seven years. His wife passed
away previously, dying on the farm in Lake Coun
ty about 1858. The surviving members ofthe Mor
ris family are W. G. , whose name heads this rec
ord; James H., also of Chicago; and Mary L-,
wife of James Whitehouse, of Philadelphia, Pa.
In the usual manner of farmer lads, our subject
spent the days of his boyhood and youth. He
became familiar with the duties of farm life, and
to his father gave the benefit of his services un
til he was twenty years of age. He acquired a
good practical education in the schools of Lake
County, to which he has added the knowledge
gained through business experience and contact
with the world, until now he is a well-informed
man. Like many another farmer's boy, he left
the farm for the city, preferring commercial to ag
ricultural pursuits. In Chicago, he secured a
position with a hardware dealer, with whom he
continued for two years, when he embarked in
that business for himself, continuing his operations
along that line for fifteen years. By close atten
tion to details, and by fair and honorable dealing,
he won success. He then changed his vocation,
and began in tbe wholesale and retail watch-mak
ing, jewelry and cutlery business, which he has
since continued. His office is now at No. 281 East
Madison Street, Room No. 218, wliere he carries
a good stock. He furnishes employment to a
number of hands, and although he has not made
wealth rapidly, he is yet enjoying a paying trade.
On the 27th of August, 1873, Mr. Morris was

united in marriage with Miss Ella Isabel Put
nam, daughter of Proctor and Rosilla (Sargent)
Putnam. Two children were born unto theni:
Vivian G. and Earl P. The first son died in in
fancy, but Earl P. is still with his parents. Mr.
and Mrs. Morris hold membership with the
Christian Church, and take a very active part in
its work, being numbered among the leading
members of the congregation with which they are
connected. In politics, he is independent, as he
does not wish to be bound by party ties. Mr.
Morris' success in life is due only to his own
efforts and the enterprise whicli has characterized
his business career.

e^+^i

(J M. ALLEN, ex-County Treasurer of Cook
I County, and one of its early settlers, now liv-
C2/ ing in Oak Park, claims Vermont as the
State of his nativity. He was born in Stock-
bridge, Windsor County, on the 30th of July , 1829.
His father, John Allen, who was born in the
Green Mountain State, December 1, 1800, was a
farmer by occupation, and for many years lived in
New England. At length he emigrated west
ward, and in 1835 cast his lot among the pioneer
settlers of Cook County, 111., locating in Chicago.
He then removed to Elk Grove, where he made a
claim four years before the Government survey
was made. He afterwards entered the land when
it came into market, built upon it a log cabin,
and developed and improved a good farm. His
death resulted from an injury received while re
moving the old log house, he being then in his
sixty-sixth year. Mr. Allen was of English de
scent. Three brothers of the name came from
England to America, one settling in Massachu
setts, one in Georgia, and the third in Connecti
cut. From this last branch of the Allen family
our subject is descended. The grandfather of our
subject, John Allen, served as a Sergeant of Ar
tillery in the Revolutionary War.
The mother of our subject bore the maiden
name of Elizabeth Mills. She was born in New
Hampshire in 1804, and her father, who was

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

559

also a native of the Granite State, and of
English extraction, served in the War of 1812,
and died in 18 15. He had removed with his
family to Vermont in 1807, at which time his
daughter Elizabeth was a child of three years.
Having reached womanhood, she became the wife
of John Allen, of Vermont, and with him came to
this State in 1835. Her death occurred iu 1890,
at the ripe old age of eighty-six. In the family
were five children, three sons and two daughters,
ofwhom four grew to manhood and womanhood.
Persis is the wife of Dr. J. H. Cooper, whose sou
is H. A. Cooper. Evelyn A. is the wife of James
Frake, of Chicago. John came to Cook County
when a lad of twelve years, and here spent his
entire life, with the exception of the time from
1850 to 1853, which was passed in California.
He died August 30, 1889.
J. M. Allen was the third child in the family,
and was only six years of age when his parents
emigrated westward. The trip was made around
the Lakes on the steamer "Michigan," which
was commanded by Capt. Blake. He remained
with his parents until of age, and he now owns
the old homestead farm, which his father entered
from the Government. He attended the common
schools, and for some time was a student in the
Scammon School, on the West Side, Chicago. He
afterwards engaged in teaching for two years in
Cook County.
Mr. Allen was married in Chicago in 1853 to
Miss Veronica Dibb, a native of England, who
came to this city when eighteen years of age with
her parents, John and Elizabeth Dibb. Our sub
ject and his wife began their domestic life in Elk
Grove, where they continued to reside until 1889,
when he began traveling. He first went to Miss
issippi, and then spent two winters in Lowell,
Mass. , and one in Tacoma, Wash. He is now a
resident of Oak Park.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Allen were born six chil
dren, three sons and three daughters: William
Benton, who is now engaged in business iu Ta
coma, Wash.; May E., wife of E. D. Sargent,
who is manager for the firm of E. W. Hoyt &
Co. , of Lowell, Mass. ; Charles H. , who died in
1885; Francis E. , at home ; Walter Glenn, who

was one of the first graduates of the Chicago
Manual Training School, and died in 1889; and
Veronica, who is now attending the High School
at Oak Park.
In politics, Mr. Allen is a Republican. He
was elected Supervisor of Elk Grove in 1861, was
Chairman of the Board in 1863, wa.s elected
County Treasurer for a term of two years iu
1865, and has held all the township offices, dis
charging the various duties with promptness and
fidelity. He is a member of the Masonic frater
nity, and is one of the honored pioneers of the
county where since the age of six years he has
made his home. When he came to Chicago it
comprised a population of only three thousand, in
cluding colored and white people, half-breeds and
Indians, and he has witnessed almost its entire
growth.

B*+^

[""RED MILLER, a representative and enter-
Tri prising farmer of Maine Township, Cook
| County, residing ou section 34, was born on
the 7th of September, 1856, in the community
which is still his home, and is a son of John and
Minnie (Feedler) Miller. The father was a na
tive of Saxon)-, German)-, wa.s there reared to
manhood, and ere leaving his native land was
married. He then, with his wife, crossed the At
lantic, and in 1854 came to Cook County, UL,
locating in Maine Township, where the town of
Park Ridge now stands. The place was then called
Bricktown. He was a farmer by occupation, and
followed that pursuit throughout his entire busi
ness career. His death occurred on the ist of
May, 1892. His wife is still living, and now
makes her home with our subject, who is the
fourth in order of birth in their family of eight
children. Fred Miller was reared in Maine Township,
and began his education iu the district schools.
He remained upon the home farm and aided iu
the labors of the field until his marriage. He be
came familiar with all the details of farm life, and

y>o

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

has long been recognized a.-? one of the enterpris
ing and progressive agricultnrists of the com
munity. In March, 1893. Mr. Miller was united in mar
riage with Miss Minnie Heuer, a native of Elk
Grove Township, Cook County, and a daughter
of Henry Hener. Her father was born in Europe
and came to America in 1 844. He located in Elk
Grove Township, Cook County, where he spent
his remaining days, his death occurring in 1887.
His family numbered eleven children, of whom
Mrs. Miller is the sixth in orderof birth. The
days of her girlhood were passed in her parents'
home, and she was educated in the German and
English schools of the neighborhood.
In his social relations, Mr. Miller is a Mason,
belonging to Wheehng Lodge No. 81, A. F &
A. M. In politics, he has always been a sup
porter ofthe Republican party and is a warm ad
vocate of its principles. He was elected and served
as Road Commissioner from 1889 nntil 1893, in
clusive, with tlie exception of one year, and proved
an efficient and faithful officer. He is always
true to his public duties and takes an active in
terest in all that pertains to the welfare of this
community and to its upbuilding. He now owns
and operates seventy -five acres of land on section
34. Maine Township, where he is engaged both
in general fanning and stock-raising. In his un
dertakings he has met with good success. His
entire life has been passed in this locality, and
among his warmest friends are many who have
known him from boyhood.

(ILLI AM PRENTISS is a member ofthe
law firm of Prentiss, Montgomery & Hall,
of Chicago, and makes his home in Evan
ston. He has been engaged in practice in the
dty since 1891 only, but in this short period of
time has become widely known and has gained
an enviable reputation at the Cook County Bar.
He was born in Davenport, Iowa, on the 19th of
September, 1848, and is the elder of two children
whose parents were Dr. William and Elizabeth

rGapen) Prentiss. The ancestf.r-i mi fets father's
side were of Scotch and Engiisfr extraction, and
the family was founded itt America n 1650 by
Capt. Thomas Prentiss, who was in command of
a company of horse, and was known as *"* Thomas
the Trooper." He also had njxitt a reputation
as an Indian fighter, Hir paternal great-grand
father fought in the Revofatton in 1776, under
La Fayette, and had charge of his wagon-train.
On the return ofthe French General tn this coun
try in 1 8 24. Mr. Prentiss was visited by his old
commander. The grandfather of our subject
served as a soldier under William Henry Harri
son in the War of iS 12. The maternal ancestors
were of German and Irish lineage ami. that fam
ily also had its representatives ia rie War for In
dependence, and in the struggle wfeii ^saved the
L'nion. William Prentiss acctrirec its vr-msr^eduEar-
tion in the common and Higt Scnwis jf Fulton
and McDonough Counties. IIL anrZsaer attended
Cherry Grove Seminary, the 5hnn^ College of
Bloomington. 111., and Kscvr .'iTe^p-. of Gales
burg. 111. He was brought W is- garents to this
State during his infancy. =r:d cvmzmiedhere: to
reside until 1869, when he went tc Mnxmesata on
account of his health. There he engaged in farm
ing and in school teaching, and mc three years
served as County Superintendeiit oif Schools of
Cottonwood County, making his honae during
that period in Windom. On leaving- the Xorth,
he returned to McDonough County. UL.. in 1876.
and located at Macomb.
Mr. Prentiss began fitting himself fee the legal
profession while on the farm, and after going to
Macomb studied law iu the office of Judge J. S.
Bailey, of that city. In 1S7S he was admitted to
the Bar, and at once began practice. The same
year he was elected State" s Attorney to fill an un
expired term, and in i SSo was elected for a full
term, filling that office until December, 1S84. In
1 83 1 he was elected Mayor of Macomb, the only
Democrat chosen to that position in the city for
twenty -one years. In 1S84 he was a candidate
for the position of Presidential Elector. The fol
lowing year he received the support of the entire
Bar of McDonough County for Circuit Judge, but

PORTRAIT AND BldGRAPHICAL RECORD.

56i

was defeated by two votes at the Quincy Conven
tion. In the anticipation of the passage of a bill
then pending in the Legislature which would
cause a fourth judge to be called to the Bench of
the Circuit Court, he was nominated for the place,
but as the bill did not become a law,, he in conse
quence was not elected. In 1888 he became a
candidate for Congress from the Eleventh Dis
trict, but the Republican maj ori ty yvas too great
to be overcome by one of his political views.
During all of this time, Mr. Prentiss was actively
engaged in the practice of law as the senior mem
ber of the firm of Prentiss, Bailey & Holly. They
enjoyed a large practice, for Mr. Prentiss was ac
knowledged to be one of the best lawyers in that
part of the State. He was also one of the most
popular citizens of that community, a fact well
indicated by his election as Macomb's Mayor.
The high regard in which he was held by the
members of the fraternity was also well attested
by the unanimous support given him as candidate
for Circuit Judge.
In 1872, Mr. Prentiss was united iu marriage
with Miss E. Helen McCaughey, of Fulton Coun
ty, 111., and their union was blessed with three
sous, but only two are now living. James M.,
born in 1873, was drowned in Lake Michigan,
June 11, 1893. He was out boating with a young
lady, and in exchanging seats the boat was cap
sized. Through his heroic efforts to save the
lady he lost his life. Jackson M. was born in
1875, and William was born in 1879. Mr. and
Mrs. Prentiss attend the Universalist Church.
In 1 89 1, Mr. Prentiss removed with his family
to Cook County, and located in Evanston, ou ac
count of the superior educational advantages there
afforded. He organized the law firm of Prentiss,
Montgomery & Hall, and has since been actively
and successfully engaged in practice in the city.
His popularity here, and the high opinion of others
concerning his legal ability, were manifested in
1893, when, after a residence of only two years in
the county, he was nominated for Circuit Judge.
The Republican landslide, however, caused his
defeat. He is a warm advocate of Democratic
principles, takes an active interest in political
affairs, aiid is a member of the Cook County Dem

ocratic Club, the Iroquois Club and the Wau:
bausee Club. He is also a Knight Templar
Mason, a member of the Knights of Pythias fra
ternity, and belongs to the ,National Union aud
the Evanston Club.

^+£i

c=

NC. FRANKENFIELD, who is at the head
ofthe Weather Bureau iu Chicago, is a na
tive of the Keystone State, and comes of one
ofthe old families of that locality. He is of Dutch
descent, tracing his ancestry back to members of
the family- who crossed the Atlantic to the New
World in the earl)- part of the seventeenth century,
and located in Pennsylvania, where many of their
descendants still reside. When the Revolutionary
War broke out, the grandfather of our subject
joined the Colonial army, and valiantly aided in
the struggle for independence. The father of our
subject, David D. Frankenfield, was born in Penn
sylvania, was a tailor by trade, and carried on
that business in the State of his nativity.
H. C. Frankenfield was born in Easton, Pa.,
in 1862, and on attaining the proper age he en
tered the common schools, and for fifteen years
devoted himself exclusively to the acquirement of
knowledge which would prove of benefit to him in
his career in after life. He entered La Fayette Col
lege, of Easton, Pa. , from which institution he was
graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts
and Master of Arts. He also received the degree
of Doctor of Medicine in Washington, D. C, in
1886. On the 4th of January, 1882, Mr. Frankenfield
became connected with the United States Signal
Service in the Capitol City-, and there continued
for six years, his service along that line being un
interrupted. During that time he studied medi
cine as a diversion, but has never engaged in the
practice ofthe profession. On the ist of Decem
ber, 1887, he was placed in charge of the depart
ment of the Weather Bureau iu Chicago, and has
since made his home iu this city.'
In 189 1, Mr. Frankenfield was married, the
lad)- of his choice being Miss Katharine Thornton,

562

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

daughter of Judge Anthony Thornton, a leading
and influential citizen of Shelbyville, 111. The
Judge occupies a prominent place in the legal
profession and in political circles iu this State.
He has served as one of the Supreme Judges of
Illinois, and for two terms represented his district
in Congress. Mr. and Mrs. Frankenfield have
won many friends during their short residence in
Chicago. Socially, he is connected with the Ma
sonic fraternity, belonging to Hiram Lodge No.
io, A. F. & A. M. He is a man of fine ability,
highly educated, aud now occupies one of the re
sponsible positions connected with the Weather
Bureau of the country.

^+£1

&-

I" RED PRECHT, who is successfully engaged
Tri in farming on section 28, Elk Grove Town-
| ship, is a native of Hanover, German)-, born
May 31, 1844. His father, William Precht, and
his mother, whose maiden name was Sophia
Ehless, were also natives of the same locality.
They had a family of nine children, three sons
and six daughters, of whom Fred was the second
in order of birth. During his infancy his par
ents left the Fatherland, and with their family
- emigrated to America, taking up their residence
iu DuPage County, 111.
The common schools of the neighborhood af
forded Fred Precht his educational privileges, and
his boyhood days were spent in the usual man
ner of farmer lads. He became familiar with all
the duties of an agriculturist, and the occupation
to which he was reared he has made his life work.
After he had arrived at years of maturity, he was
united in marriage with Miss Mary Grote, a na
tive of Cook County, whose parents were num
bered among the early settlers of this community.
In the year of his marriage, Mr. Precht came to
Cook County aud took up his residence where he
has since made his home. Seven children have
been born of his union, three sous and four
daughters, namely: Julius, Rosie, Albert, Emel
ine, Melinda, Lizzie and Ella.

The Precht farm comprises two hundred acres
of rich and valuable land, all under a high state
of cultivation with the exception of a timber tract
of seventeen acres. Mr. Precht carried on general
farming for some time, but he now rents his land.
Many of the improvements upon his place were
made by him and give evidence of the thrift and
enterprise which have ever been among his lead
ing characteristics.
Our subject holds membership with the Luth
eran Church, has served in its different official
positions, and is now Trustee of the German
school. His fellow-townsmen, appreciating his
worth and ability, have frequently called upon
him to serve in public offices. He was for seven
years Township Collector, for three years filled
the office of Assessor, was Constable for the long
period of twelve years, was Highway Commis
sioner five years, and has been School Director
six years. It will be seen that to all these offices
he has been re-elected, a fact which indicates
his faithful and efficient service, which has gained
the commendation of those concerned. He is
true to every trust reposed in him, whether
public or private, and he justly merits the confi
dence and high regard in which he is held. He
votes with the Republican party and is a stalwart
advocate of its principles, doing all in his power
to promote its growth and insure its success.

B^f^

NR. DERING, Assistant General Passenger
and Ticket Agent of the Pennsylvania Rail
road lines of Chicago, is a trusted employe
of the company, and the responsible position
which he occupies finds iu him a faithful aud cap
able incumbent. The Dering family is one which
has long been established iu America. It is of
English origin, and its representatives braved the
dangers of au ocean voyage- in an early day
to found a home in the New World in the early
part ofthe eighteenth century. They located in
North Carolina, and when the Revolutionary War

C. Portkr Johnson* .

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

565

broke out the grandfather of our subject, whose
sympathies were all on the side of his native land,
determined to strike a blow for its independence.
He enlisted, was made a Captain, and became a
member ofthe staff of Gen. Washington.
Representatives of the Dering family have al
ways lived in the South. The father of our sub
ject, F. A. Dering, was there born, and was reared
as a Southern planter. He owned a number of
slaves, but, becoming convinced that the practice
. of slavery was wrong, he gave them their freedom.
When the Rebellion broke out, he was true to
his country, for whose independence his father had
fought, and strongly espoused the Union cause.
In Morgantown, Va., in 1848, occurred the birth
of our subject. In the district schools he acquired
his primary education, which was supplemented
by a course in the Monougahela (Va.) Acad
emy. He then learned telegraphy, and became
au operator on the commercial lines in his native
State, where he served until 1 871, when he en
tered the employ of what is now the Western Un
ion Telegraph Company. Later, he went to Pitts
burgh, Pa., where he secured a position as clerk
in the passenger office of the Pennsylvania Com
pany, and was thus employed until 1874, when
he was made rate and division clerk in Columbus,
Ohio. There he continued until 1879, and in the
mean time was promoted to the position of General
Passenger Agent ofthe J., M. & I. R. R.
During his residence in Columbus, Mr. Dering
was married, in 1875, the lady of his choice being
Miss S. M. Stewart, daughter of Edward Stewart,
a well-known resident of Columbus. Two chil
dren have been born of their union, Charlotte and
Emily, who are still with their parents. Mr.
Dering aud his wife are faithful members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and take a warm
interest in its growth and upbuilding.
On leaving Columbus iu 1879, Mr. Dering was
made General Passenger Agent of the J., M.
& I. Railroad, of Louisville, Ky., where he
continued until 1883, when, on a consolidation
of that road with the Pennsylvania Lines west of
Pittsburgh, he was transferred to Indianapolis,
lud., as Assistant General Passenger Agent. In
1890, he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, in the same

capacity, and after two years was transferred to
Chicago, on the ist of February, 1893, as Assist
ant General Passenger Agent. He has now been
with the Pennsylvania Lines for twenty-two years,
and has won promotion continually. It is only
faithful service that secures advancement with the
large railroad corporations, and the fact that Mr.
Dering has been given the responsible position
which he now occupies indicates that the -com
pany has the utmost confidence in him as a man
of excellent business and executive ability, and
places the utmost reliance on his honor and in
tegrity. @_  ._ -^--—L-^-A _> E— p. *
E PORTER JOHNSON, who has been promi
nent in the political history of Illinois, and is
recognized as one of the leading citizens of
the State, makes his home in Chicago. He was
born in State Line City, Vermillion County, 111.,
August 15, 1866, and isa son of Joseph Simpson
and Matilda (Kemper) Johnson, who were na
tives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively.
Our subject acquired his education in Lee's
Academy, of Coles County, UL, and, wishing to
enter the legal profession, he began the study of
law with W A. Young, of Terre Haute, Ind.
Previously, while working on a farm in Coles
County, he had borrowed a law book of Horace
Clark, of Matoon, and in reading that volume
gained his first knowledge of the science. In
1887 he was admitted to the Bar of Illinois, after
having been admitted to practice in the Supreme
Court of Indiana in May, 1886. He was then
but twenty years of age, but thorough prepara
tion had made him well fitted for the work he had
undertaken. Iu 1890 he was elected Town At
torney of Lake Township, Cook County, and in
1892 was tendered the nomination for Congress.
On the 2 ist of August, 1889, Mr. Johnson was
united iu marriage with Miss Derelle West, daugh
ter of Capt. Pleasant West, of Georgetown, UL,
a retired merchant and farmer. Mrs. Johnson is
a lady of culture and refinement. She was grad
uated from the Chicago Female Academy in 1887,

28

566

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

where her time had been devoted to the study of
music and painting. The young couple have a
wide acquaintance in this community and are
held in the highest regard by a large circle of
friends and acquaintances.
Mr. Johnson takes a very active interest in
civic societies, aud is connected with various or
ganizations of the kind. He belongs to Dear
born Lodge No. 310, A. F. & A. M. ; La Fay
ette Chapter No. 2, R. A. M.; Palestine Council
No. 66, R. & S. M.; Chevalier Bayard Com
mandery No. 52, K. T. ; Oriental Consistory,
S. P. R. S., Thirty-second Degree; and Medina
Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He also holds mem
bership with Magnolia Lodge, K. P., and the In
dependent Order of Foresters, the Odd Fellows, the
Iroquois Club, the Cook County Marching Club,
Harvard Club, White Chapel Club, Chicago
Hussars, Royal Arcanum and B. P. O. Elks.
In his practice, Mr. Johnson makes a specialty
of corporation law. His skill and ability have
rapidly won him a liberal patronage, and gained
him a place among the leading practitioners of
the community. , He is also a rising politician,
aud iu 1892 he was elected State Senator for the
Second Senatorial District. It was the first time
his district ever went Democratic. He was made
a member of the committee appointed by the
caucus of the Democratic majority in the Senate
to make up the standing committees ofthe Senate,
and was a member of the Judiciary and many other
leading committees, being Chairman of the Com
mittees on Elections, Enrolled and Engrossed
Bills, and Joint Committee on Enrolled aud En
grossed Bills.
When the news of the death of James G. Blaine
was received, a resolution was passed in the Sen
ate which indicated that the loss of this great
statesman was deeply- felt in their midst, and also
embodied the sympathy the)- felt for the be
reaved family. When tlie resolutions were under
consideration by the Senate, Mr. Johnson, iu
terms eloquent and feeling, spoke of the deceased.
It was a masterly effort, and has already found a
place on the pages of history. He said:
"Mr. President:
' 'A spirit goes into eternity with every tick of the

clock. Life is as brief as a flower. It is as quick
as a dazzling meteor. To-morrow is unknown to
us. We are constantly in the shadow of mys
teries. The rich and poor, the high and low, the
strong in mind and vigorous in health, are all
alike, the weak and helpless, victims of the king
of death. He conies at the meridian of day, or
in the dark gloom of the night. Prosperity and
plenty may be our constant companions, yet we
possess nothing that is a shield that can ward off
this mighty foe. The symbol of power and au
thority may be in your hand, but the power of
king and ruler are helpless in the presence of that
mysterious and relentless foe that brings all men
to a common fate. Death reckons not place or
power. He chooses his subjects from all classes.
The poor find in death a friend; the rich, perhaps,
a foe. For, ' there is none so rich he must not
die; and none so poor he cannot find a grave.'
"But, Mr. President, the grave is not.the end of
man. This life is but enlarged by death. The
wear)- soul casts off its burden and the liberated
spirit finds peace in the presence of its God; for it
is written, ' this mortal shall put on immortality.'
The influences of our lives do not terminate with
death; and the good we do survives as an endur
ing monument, to be cherished by coming gener
ations — a living inspiration to those who follow;
for, if it were not so, how pitiful, indeed, would
be our existence. But as the stars are bright and
beautiful, diamonds iu the firmament, -brighten
ing the pathway of the children of men, so are
the lives of those who have gone before to those
who follow them. Each is au actor in an un
conscious drama of human life, and we could not,
if We would, destroy the influences of our lives.
"Mr. President, these thoughts are suggested
by the resolutions we are now considering. Many
are the names of great men that adorn and em
bellish the history of our country, but none shine
forth in brighter effulgence than the name of
James G. Blaine, one ofthe foremost statesmen of
this, the greatest century of human history. Elo
quent iu speech, vast in resources, he was the
acknowledged leader of his party; dictating its
policy, he was its greatest defender. In the art
of state-craft, few men were his equal, none his

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

567

superior. He shaped and moulded legislation,
and determined the policy of administrations. He
enriched and ennobled the history of his country,
and his life-work is a great and inspiring legacy,
the property of mankind. He charmed men to
his side, and by the superior strength of his char
acter, held them with a friendship as strong as
steel. Hated by many, and equally feared by
those who hated him, he was loved by friends
with a devotion unparalleled. Men followed
where he led, as did the armies of France their in
trepid leader, Napoleon. Great in victory, he
was still greater in defeat, and from the north aud
the south, from the east and the west, from every
section and class will come the tribute: ' He
was a great man.'
' 'He was a tall tree in the forest of American
manhood. He is a standard by which other men
will be measured. Fearless in the discharge of
his duty, he regarded not the criticisms of his ene
mies. History will justly accord to him a high
place among the great men of the republic. The
influence of his life will live as a ' bright and
shilling light even unto the other day,' where
history and prophecy will cease, and the brighter
dawn of a spiritual reality will appear, to never
fade. He loved his country and its institutions,
and he devoted the activities of his brain to the
good of his fellows. His achievements demon
strated the magnificent possibilities of American
institutions, for, unaided and alone, he reached
the highest plane of American manhood. Broad
iu mind and generous in heart, he was the ideal
American. ' He was a great man, a command
ing man, a manly man, a man.'
"But, Mr. President, as an actor iu the great
drama of American politics he has played well his
part, and leaves an imperishable monument that
will outlive the memories of kings and presidents.
He died in the zenith of his power and influence,
loved and revered by a grateful people. Silently
and patiently he awaited the summons of his God,
and peacefully fell asleep, surrounded by those he
loved, in the sight of the capitol of our nation,
where he achieved the greatest victories of his
life,

"Mr. President, one of the greatest names of
American history will be the matchless name of
James G. Blaine."
EAPT. WILLIAM NEWELL BRAINARD,
a well-known resident of Evanston, has
been prominent in public affairs in Chicago,
and is numbered among the leading men of that
enterprising city. He was born in De Ruyter,
Madison County, N. Y., January 7, 1823, and
conies of an old New England family. His
grandfather, Nathan Brainard, was a native of
Connecticut, and operated a stone quarry near
Hartford. He reared a large family, and lived
to an advanced age. His son, Jonathan Brain
ard, the father of our subject, was also a native
of the Nutmeg State, and in early life he became
a hat manufacturer. He married Sallie Gage,
who was born in Dutchess County, N. Y., and
was a daughter of Justus Gage, also a native of
the same county. By occupation Mr. Gage was
a farmer. His wife was a maiden of twelve sum
mers when, in 1777, she witnessed the Wyoming
Massacre. She had two brothers killed in that
massacre, and one brother, who also aided the
Colonies in their struggle for independence, reach
ed the advanced age of one hundred years.
In 1831 Jonathan Brainard removed with his
family to Paiuesville, Ohio, where he engaged in
the manufacture of hats for one year. He then
returned to De Ruyter, N. Y., where he car
ried on sheep-raising until 1849. His death oc
curred in the Empire State in 1856, at the age of
sixty-one years. His wife survived him some
years, and passed away in Chicago, at the age of
sixty-eight years. They were members, of the
Universalist Church. Their family numbered
seven children, two sous and five daughters, of
whom three are yet living: William N., of this
sketch; Lydia J., now the wife of L. W Walker,
of Petaluma, Cal.; and Harry- G , of Engle-
wood. Our subject spent his boyhood days with his
parents upon the old home farm of his grand-

568

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

father Gage. His education was acquired in
the common schools and in the De Ruyter In
stitute of New York, and at the age of eigh
teen years he began teaching school, which pro
fession he followed for several years. When
his time was not occupied with his school du
ties, he studied law, and afterward engaged to
some extent in legal practice, but on account of
throat difficulty he was forced to abandon that
work. He then went to Rome, N. Y., where he
engaged in a forwarding and shipping house for
five seasons. When the Mexican War broke out,
he tried to enlist, but the ranks were over
crowded, and his services were not accepted.
When he saw the soldiers returning minus legs
and arms, and physical wrecks in general, he was
glad he was not among their number.
In October, 1850, he left Rome, N. Y., for
California, and sailed from New York on the
Pacific mail steamship "Georgia" to Chagres,
at the mOuth of the Chagres River, in the Isth
mus of Panama. There were some four hundred
passengers on board. On landing at Chagres,
ten of the number, including Mr. Brainard, hired
a canoe with five men to take them and their
baggage to Gorgona. The canoe, drawing eigh
teen inches of water, was hollowed out of a solid
mahogany tree, and carried ten men and two
thousand pounds of baggage, besides the five
natives. Before starting on the trip, the latter
removed their clothing, and, dressed only in na
ture's garb and a Panama hat, proceeded on their
way. They rowed eighteen miles to Gatun,
where they camped for the night, and then with
poles propelled the boat to its destination. The
weather was most delightful. There was gor
geous tropical scenery on every hand; monkeys
scampered among the trees; and that trip up the
river is remembered by Mr. Brainard as one of
the most pleasant incidents of his California jour
ney. When they reached the place of landing,
the baggage was packed ou mules, and the pas
sengers walked twenty-five miles to Panama, but
this arduous task made some of them ill, Mr.
Brainard among the number. They waited ten
days iu Panama for a steamer which came around
Cape Horn, and by boats they were taken to the

vessel, which anchored about a mile from shore.
They carried the United States mail and landed
at San Bias, Acapulco and Mazatlan, Mexico;
and at San Diego, Cal., reaching San Francisco in
December, 1850.
On arriving, Mr. Brainard and three compan
ions obtained some mining and cooking utensils,
a tent, etc. , and then went to Sacramento on the
old steamboat "Senator." There they hired a
two-horse team and wagon to take them to the
mines. They went to Condemned Bar, on the
North Fork of the American River, thirty-five
miles from Sacramento. They paid their team
ster five cents per pound for hauling their bag
gage and supplies, while they walked. The
weather during the winter of 1850 was dry and
delightful for winter mining, there being no rain
for four months. They made from $10 to $15
per day, washing the surface dirt from the banks of
the river where it was deposited among the rocks.
Mr. Brainard's Panama fever compelled him to
leave the diggings, and he went to Sacramento
about March 1, 1851. After recovering from his
illness, he bought a mule and express wagon and
went into the produce business, furnishing hotels,
steamboats and boarding houses with vegetables,
which were a very great luxury at that time.
The wholesale price ranged from ten to twelve
cents per pound, except for onions, which brought
about $1 per pound. The first onion Mr. Brain
ard ever bought weighed a half pound, and he
paid seventy-five cents for it. He ate it sliced in
vinegar, when recovering from the Panama fever,
and says that it was the finest relish that he
ever had. He continued in the produce business
until May, 1857. In April, 1856, he was elected
Treasurer of Sacramento and served one year.
During the winter of 1853 Mr. Brainard re
turned to the States by way of the Nicaragua
route, where the canal is now being dug, and
with some others went to Peoria, UL They pur
chased a drove of cattle, and fitted out a train to
cross the plains to California. They started the
last of April, 1853, and crossed the Mississippi
River at Burlington, Iowa. Mr. Brainard there
left the part)* and returned to Syracuse, N. Y.,
where he married Melinda B. Coley, May 4,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

569

1853. With his bride he went by steamer from
New York to California, by way of the Isthmus
of Panama, and resided in Sacramento until May,
1857. While in the West, Mr. Brainard be
longed to a military company, and did some
fighting in California. He was made Captain of
a company of the Committee of Vigilance, com
posed of seven thousand prominent citizens,
mostly of San Francisco.
Mrs. Brainard is a daughter of Col. George and
Hulda (Norton) Coley, of Chenango County,
N. Y. Her grandfather served as Quartermaster
under' Gen. Washington in the Revolution.
Three children were born unto Mr. and Mrs.
Brainard: Hattie Belle, who died in infancy, in
¦ Sacramento; William Vallejo, who died in 1887;
and Frances Marion, wife of Edwin C. Belknap,
a hardware merchant of Chicago. They have a
daughter, Charlotte. Mrs. Brainard is a member
of the Methodist Church. The Captain is an
Odd Fellow, and is a member of the Western As
sociation of California Pioneers. He also be
longs to the Union Veteran League.
In May, 1857, Mr. ,Brainard started for Syra
cuse, N. Y., and in June, 1858, removed to Chi
cago. He joined the Board of Trade, and during
the greater part of the time since has been en
gaged iu the grain and produce business. In the
summer of i860 he went to the gold mines of
Colorado, but the trip proved an unprofitable
one. On his return he again joined the Board of
Trade. He has filled many of its subordinate
offices, was Vice-President for three years, and
during the greater part of 1872 acted as Presi
dent, when the building was being rebuilt after
the great Chicago fire. In 1866 he removed to
Evanston, but continued business in the city.
In May, 1873, he was appointed Illinois Canal
Commissioner by Gov. John L- Beveridge, and
served twp terms, or until the spring of 1877.
The Copperas Creek lock and dam were built
during that time. In March, 1883, he was ap
pointed Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner
by Gov. John M. Hamilton, and served until
March, 1885. For the past eight years he has
been on the Committee of Appeals for the inspec
tion of grain, which position he held until Au

gust, 1893. He is now living retired. In poli
tics, he is a Republican, and was Trustee of the
Village Board of Evanston for three terms, and
for three years he has been Town Collector.
The life of Capt. Brainard has been a busy aud
useful one, and has also been an eventful one.
He is one of a very few now living who person
ally knew many of the pioneers of California,
among whom were many noted characters, includ
ing Gen. W. T. Sherman, H. W. Hallock, John C.
Fremont, John A. Sutter, Col. John D. Steven
son and Lieut. Derby. The path-finders and
guides of the plains were Kit Carson, Bob Car
son, James P. Beckworth, "Peg-leg" Smith,
James Bridger and James W. Marshall, who dis
covered gold in California. Mr. Brainard also
knew men who became prominent in affairs later
on, including Gov. John Bigler, Edward Gilbert,
Gen. John D. Lippincott, Gov. J. Neeley John
son, Leland Stanford, Calhoun Benham, William
Penn Johnson, Judge David S. Terry and Da
vid C. Broderick. He also knew many ofthe prom
inent Mormons. Joseph Smith and Brigham
Young, the Mormon prophets, each bought a hat
of his father, in 1831, at his store in Painesville,
Ohio. Of all these men of prominence mentioned,
probably not six are yet living. Many interest
ing incidents have made up the life of Capt.
Brainard, and his memory is replete with expe
riences of those early days.

#+£

t=_

"SI

^5 H. RITTMILLER, a commercial traveler
_ residing at No. 34 North Centre Avenue,
JJ Chicago, claims Germany as the land of his
birth. He was born in Hanover, on the 27th of
August, 1843, and is the eldest son of George and
Mary Rittmiller, who were also natives of the
same locality. In 1854, they emigrated to the
United States, and for many years have now been
residents of DuPage County, where they- still
make their home. The father has reached the
age of seventy-six years, and the mother is eighty-
years of age. They are worthy German people
and have the high regard of all who know them.

57°

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

G. H. Rittmiller was a lad of ten summers when
he left the home of his early childhood and came
with his parents to the United States. He was
educated in the German and English schools, and
with his parents remained until about seventeen
years of age, when, prompted by patriotic impulses,
he responded to the country's call for troops and
enlisted in the Union service for the late war.
He was a member of Company D, Eighth Illinois
Cavalry, and served under Gen. George Gambel
and Gen. Buford, ofthe Army ofthe Potomac, in
all the important battles in which that division took
part. He had three horses shot from under him,
one being at Gettysburg, where a piece of a shell
struck Mr. Rittmiller on the shoulder, but caused
no serious injury. He was not absent from his
regiment a single day during his entire four years'
service, but was always found at his post of duty,
faithfully performing the task allotted to him, and
ably aiding in the defense of the Old Flag and the
cause it represented. When the war was over,
he received an honorable discharge in St. Louis,
Mo., in 1865. Near the close of the service he
wa.s in the extreme South, and while coming up
the Mississippi River the boat on which he was a
passenger ran into a rock and was sunk. Mr.
Rittmiller was almost drowned, and he lost a val
uable horse which was given him by Gen. Gam
bel. During the war one of his comrades was
George Middleton, one of the proprietors of Kohl
& Middleton's Dime Museums.
On being mustered out, our subject returned to
his home in DuPage County, where he remained
for about three years, during which time he was
engaged in running a threshing-machine in Du
Page and Cook Counties. In 1868 he came to
Chicago, and entered the employ of John V. Far-
well & Co. , with whom he continued for fourteen
years, in the store and on the road. He has now
been with the Charles B. Kellogg Co., wholesale
dealers in dry goods and clothing, for five years.
His long continuance with one firm shows he has
the confidence of his employers. He is a success
ful commercial traveler and commands a large
trade. On the 20th of October, 1870, Mr. Rittmiller
was united in marriage with Miss Louise Goss-

willer, a native of Lake County, 111. Unto them
have been born two sous and three daughters,
Martha, Edwin, Julia, Albert and Ella, and the
family circle yet remains unbroken. Mr. Ritt
miller belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic
and to the Masonic fraternity. He is a pleasant,
genial gentleman and has won friends all along
the line of his travels, by whom he is held in high
regard. He is an excellent business man, wide
awake and enterprising, and his valuable sen-ice's
make him one of the best employes of the house
with which he is connected.

QOBERT E. BURKE is one of Chicago's
k\ prominent citizens, especially well known in
r \ Democratic circles, for he* has done all in his
power to promote the interests of his party, and
his labors have been attended with great success.
He claims Chicago as his native home, for he was
born in this city about 1858. He attended its
public schools, and at the age of twelve years
started out in life to make his own way in the
world. The success which has crowned his ef
forts is all the result of his own resources.
The first work of Mr. Burke was in a printing-
office, where he served a regular apprenticeship
to the trade. For thirteen years he engaged iu
business along that line, and for seven years served
under Joseph R. Dunlop, the present publisher of
the Dispatch. In the mean time he was winning
friends who recognized his worth and ability, and
in 1890 he received an appointment to the chair of
Chief Clerk in the office ofthe City Attorney, Mr.
Sugg. When his superior's term had expired
he became private bailiff to Judge Adams, con
tinuing iu that position of trust until a short time
after the election of Carter H. Harrison as Mayor
of Chicago. The first appointment made by Mr.
Harrison placed Mr. Burke in the position of City
Sealer and distributer of the administration's pa
tronage. In the previous campaign there had been no
more ardent or earnest worker than Mr Burke,
who labored untiringly for the success of his party.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

57i

He organized the Carter H. Harrison Association,
and as the result of his tireless energy it went
to the polls twenty-two thousand strong. After
the assassination of the Mayor, Mr. Burke was
strongly determined that the office should remain
in the hands of the Democracy, and to this end
took his stand in support of John P. Hopkins.
He was made secretary of the campaign commit
tee, and nothing which would advance the interests
of his party was left undone by him. Every ef
fort in his power he put forth, and to no man was
the Democratic success as much due as to Mr.
Burke. This gentleman is also a good business man,
energetic, enterprising and far-sighted, and al
though he holds a good position under the city
government, he is not entirely dependent upon
this for an income, for he is the owner of a large
book and stationery establishment at Division and
Market Streets, and a constantly increasing- trade
makes him one of the substantial business men of
his native city.

e^+^

WASHINGTON VAN HORN is a resident of
Ravenswood. A life of industry, crowned
with its legitimate fruitage — success — offers
an incentive to all to walk in its pathways. Such
a life has been that of Mr. Van Horn, and much
merited success has been his share. He now has
a comfortable home, supplied with many- of the
luxuries of life, a fitting sequel to earnest, con
stant effort.
Our subject was born in Montgomery County,
Pa., February 22, 1840, and is a son of Joseph
and Susan (Bryan) Van Horn, natives of Penn
sylvania. The Van Horns were an honored fam
ily in the Keystone State, and the grandfather,
Joseph Van Horn, was a wealthy and influential
citizen of Berks County. At the age of sixteen
years Washington left the East and emigrated to
Chicago, where he served an apprenticeship to the
carpenter's trade under Kerwin & Darling. With
that firm he remained two years, and then worked
on what was known as "the red mill," on Canal

Street, for a year. He was employed by C. T.
Boggs until Ft. Sumter was fired upon.
Prompted by a spirit of patriotism, Mr. Van
Horn responded to the first call for troops, be
lieving it would be a very easy matter to quell
the Rebellion. He enlisted April 19, 1861, in
Company A, Runsey's Rifles, which afterwards
became Company A, Twelfth Illinois Infantry.
His service was with the Army ofthe Tennessee,
Sixteenth Ami)- Corps. He has an unsullied
soldier's record, for he bravely bore his part on
many hotly contested fields. He was at Ft. Hen
ry, Ft. Douelson, Shiloh, in the advance ou
Corinth, and in other engagements. His services
received merited recognition by his advancement
from the ranks to the Second Lieutenancy*-, April
15, 1862. He was made First Lieutenant June
16, 1862, and in the month of March, 1864, he
returned home on a veteran's furlough. While
there he was married, on the 10th of March, to
Amy Gail Sinclair. Peace had not yet been re
stored, and his country still claimed his services,
so he returned to his command, to again take up
his duties on the field of battle or the line of
march. During his furlough he acted as recruit
ing officer. Upon his return he joined his regi
ment at Kingston, Ga., and was at Atlanta, July
28, 1864 — his last engagement. He resigned
August 1, 1864, in front of Atlanta, Ga. Three
years replete with mingled memories of pain and
gladness — three years in the prime of vigorous
youug manhood, serving his country as did
thousands of others — brought him larger and
broader conceptions of life, and fitted him for its
stern duties.
After the war, Mr. Van Horn engaged in the
commission business with S. K. Linscott, but af
ter six months sold his interest to J. C. Sinclair,
and went to the oil regions of Pennsylvania. He
there spent eighteen months with varied success,
after which he returned to Chicago to resume the
business of his youth — carpentering. The same
energy marked this work as has characterized
his entire life. As a contractor and builder he
has steadily worked in full sympathy with the
spirit of the age, which recognizes Chicago as the
child of destiny. In 1874, he removed to Rav-

57-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

enswood and has since occupied his present
home. Mrs. Van Horn, who is a noble helpmate to
her husband, is a daughter of James and Lydia
A. (Hicks) Sinclair, natives of New York. In
1835, they came to Chicago, and lived in a hum
ble home on Washington Street, where the store
of Carson, Pirie & Co. now stands. As illustra
tive of the advancement of property, Mr. Sinclair
sold this place for the insignificant sum of $2, 200 in
1850. He then purchased elsewhere a lot for
$660, which is now worth $75,000. The home
stead, which was destroyed by fire in 1874, and
has since been occupied by a business block, is
still owned by representatives of the family. The
Siuclairs were of Scotch ancestry. Most inter
esting and entertaining are the stories of pioneer
life as told by the aged mother, who is now an
inmate of the Van Horn household, and who has
seen the whole marvelous growth of Chicago.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn has been born a
son, James Henry. He has been provided with
the best educational privileges, having graduated
from the Lake View High School, and from
Dartmouth College in the Class of '93. He is
now attending the Chicago Law School. Socially,
Mr. Van Horn is connected with the Royal
League, and with U. S. Grant Post No. 28, G A.
R. He cast his first Presidential vote for Abra
ham Lincoln, and has always been a stalwart
Republican in politics. A well-spent life has won
him the high esteem of all with whom he has
been brought in contact.

e^+^-

Gl BIRAM WILLIAM PEET is a' worthy pio-
Lj neer, who has been a resident of Cook
/ I County since 1833. He comes of an old
New England family, of Welsh ancestry, that was
founded in America in early Colonial days. His
parents were Lewis and Isabella (Pierce) Peet,
the former born in Connecticut, and the latter in
Vermont, in which latter State they were married.
Mr. Peet was a blacksmith by trade, and followed
that vocation for several years. The)- left the

Green Mountain State iu 18 16, and removed to
Ohio, settling near Cleveland, when much of that
part ofthe State was iu a wild, uncultivated con
dition. There they resided until 1833, when they
removed to Cook County, 111. During the first
six months they spent in this State, they lived at
a small trading-post known as the Lawton Place,-
where Riverside is now situated. On the expira
tion of that time, accompanied by John Forbes
and his family, they made a permanent settlement
in the town of Wheeling, making a claim, and
purchasing the land from the Government when
it came into market. These were the first actual
settlers in Wheeling Township. In his new sur
roundings, Mr. Peet prospered, and with the as
sistance of his sons made for his family a com
fortable home, where he resided until his death,
which occurred August 20, 1852. His good wife
passed away in 1848. Their family consisted of
five sons and two daughters, only three of whom
are living at this writing, namely: Norman M. ,
who resides in Preston, Minn.; Adelia, wife of
Thomas Guy, of Troy, N. Y.; and the gentleman
whose name heads this notice.
Abiram W. Peet was born in Ohio, September
4, 1822, and was but eleven years of age when
the family came to Cook County. He received
such limited educational advantages as the com
mon schools at that time afforded. Assisting in
clearing and cultivating his. father's farm, he be
came inured to the hardships incident to frontier
life. Tilling the soil has been his life work, and
under his judicious management the results have
been satisfactory, and his possessions are the just
reward of a life of industry.
On the 8th of April, 1S49, Mr. Peet married
Miss Abbie Jane Hewitt, who was born in Che
mung County, N. Y. They reared a family of
four sons and three daughters, and all are yet
living. Franklin is a farmer of Marshall County,
Iowa. Edwina C. is the wife of Dr. C. W. Carrier,
of Des Plaines. Robert Emmett resides in Chicago.
William E. is a painter and decorator of Wheeling.
Louisa is the next younger. Edward Lincoln is /-
in the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad Company at Chicago; and Emma May
is the wife of P. M. Hoffman, of Des Plaines.

S. E. Gross.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

575

The mother of this family died May io, 1884,
and Mr. Peet now finds a pleasant home with his
youngest daughter.
In politics, Mr. Peet was a Whig until the
formation of the Republican party, since which
time he has supported the men and measures of
that political organization. He has been promi
nent in local affairs, and has steadily supported
every measure for the . advancement of the best
interests of the community. He served his town
ship for several* years as Highway Commissioner,
and for four years as Justice of the Peace. He is
a member of Vitruvious Lodge No. 81, A. F. &
A. M., in which he filled the Master's chair for
several years. Mr. Peet is one of the few remain
ing links that connect the early history of Cook
County with the present. For over sixty, years
he has lived within its borders. He has not only
witnessed the many changes and improvements
that have taken place in the county, but has hon
estly contributed his fair share toward bringing
about such desirable and satisfactory results.
& '' t=D ¦<" t">- E5 §i
•
(7f AMUEL E. GROSS is one of Chicago's best
/\ known business men, and especially in real
ity estate circles has he a wide acquaintance.
He has long been active in promoting the growth
and advancement of the cit)-, not merely for his
own interest, but largely for the benefit of the
community as well. He was born on the Old
Mansion Farm in Dauphin County, Pa., Novem
ber 11, 1843. He is descended from Huguenot
ancestry, and reliable information shows that the
family lived in America in 1726, at which time
Joseph Gross was the owner of property in Mont
gomery County, Pa. His grandson, who was
the great-grandfather of our subject, valiantly-
aided the colonies in. their struggle for indepen
dence and became a captain in the service, his
commission, dated November 25, 1776, being
signed by John Hancock, Governor of Pennsyl
vania. When the war was over he went to
Dauphin County, Pa., where he owned extensive
farm and milling interests. His wife, who bore

the maiden name of Sahler, was of Holland
descent on the paternal side, and of Huguenot on
the maternal, coming from the Du Bois family,
which was prominent in Kingston, N. Y., as
early as 1649. The mother of Mr. Gross was in
her maidenhood Elizabeth Eberly. She came of
a family of German origin, whose representatives
have been prominent in various .professional
walks in life.
In 1846, Mr. Gross came with his parents to
Illinois, and after residing for a time iu Bureau
County removed to Carroll County. His early
education was acquired in the district schools, and
he afterwards attended Mt. Carroll Seminary.
Prompted by patriotic impulses, he enlisted in his
country's service on the breaking out of the late
war, although only seventeen years of age. He
joined the Forty-first Illinois Infantry, and took
part in the Missouri campaign, but was then
mustered out by reason of the strong objections
made by his parents to his service, on account of
his youth. He spent the following year as a stu
dent in Whitehall Academy, Cumberland County,
Pa., but in June, 1863, he again left school, for
the Confederates had invaded the Keystone State
and he could no longer remain quietly at his
books. On the 29th of June he was made First
Lieutenant of Company D, Twentieth Pennsyl
vania Cavalry, being one ofthe youngest officers of
that rank in the army. His faithful and valiant
service won him promotion to the rank of Captain
of Company K, February 17, 1864. He partici
pated in many of the important battles of the
eastern campaign, and when the war was over
was mustered out at Cloud Hills, Va., July 13,
1865. At this time Chicago was becoming a city ot
prominence and gave rich promise for a brilliant
future. Attracted by its prospects, Mr. Gross
here located in September, 1865, and entered
Union Law College. The following year he was
admitted to the Bar, entering at once upon prac
tice. In the mean time, however, he had in
vested a small capital in real estate. He built
upon his lots in 1867, and as his undertakings in
this direction met with success, he gave more and
more attention to the business. He was instru-

576

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

mental in the establishment of the park and boul
evard system in the winter of 1869. When the
great fire broke out iu 187 1, and Mr. Gross saw
that his office would be destroyed, he hastily se
cured his abstracts, deeds and other valuable pa
pers, as many as he could get, and, putting them
in a row-boat, carried them to a tug. When the
flames had completed their disastrous work, he
returned to the old site of his office and resumed
business. A financial depression from 1873 un
til 1879 followed the boom, aud Mr. Gross gave
his time to the study of opilitics, science, and to
literary pursuits.
On the revival of trade, Mr. Gross determined
to devote his entire time to real-estate interests,
and to the southwest of the city founded several
suburbs. In 1882, to the north, he began what
has now become Gross Park. In 1883, he began the
work which has made him a public benefactor, that
of building homes for people of moderate means,
and the selling the same to them on time. Thus
many a family has secured a comfortable home,
where otherwise their wages would have been ex
pended in rent, and in the end they would have had
nothing to show for it. Unimproved districts un
der his transforming hand became populated and
flourishing neighborhoods. In 1886, Mr. Gross
founded the town of Brookdale; platted Calumet
Heights and Dauphin Park the following year,
and platted a forty-acre subdivision on Ashland
Avenue. A large district near Humboldt Park
was improved by him, and some three hundred
houses were built near Archer Avenue and Thir
ty-ninth Street. The beautiful town of Grossdale
has been one of his most successful ventures. He
established the town one mile west of Riverside,
and beautiful drives, lovely homes, churches, a
theatre and fine walks make this one of Chicago's
best suburbs. He has also recently founded the
beautiful town of Hollywood, and during the last
twelve years he has founded sixteen thriving sub
urban towns and cities.
Constantly has the business of Mr. Gross in
creased, until his dealings have reached the mill
ions. He buys property outright, and then sells
as the purchasers feel that they can pay. It is
said that he has never foreclosed a mortgage, and

his kindliness, forbearance and generosity have
won for him the love and confidence of the
poorer people and the high regard of all.
Mr. Gross was married in January, 1874, to
Miss Emily Brown, a lady of English descent.
He is a member of the Chicago Club, the Union
Club, the Washington Park, the Athletic, Mar
quette and Iroquois Clubs. He is a patron of the
Art Institute and the Humane Society, and his
support is given to other benevolent organiza
tions. He holds membership with the Chicago
Union Veteran Club: U. S. Grant Post No. 28,
G. A. R.; the Western Society Army ofthe Po
tomac, and the Sons of the American Revolu
tion. In 1886, Mr. Gross made a trip to Europe,
spending four months in visiting the leading cit
ies and points of interest in that continent. He
also made investigations concerning city develop
ment. In 1889, he traveled through Mexico and
the cities on the Pacific Coast, and later in the
year attended the Paris Exposition. In 1892, he
went to Europe once more, and also visited the
Orient. In manner, Mr. Gross is genial, pleas
ant and entertaining, and the kindliness of his face
at once wins him friends. Although he would
not be called a professing philanthropist, his* life
has certainly been characterized by a practical
charity, which has probably proven of more bene
fit than the acknowledged philanthropic work of
some others. His success in business seems mar
velous, yet it is but the result of industry, enter
prise, and careful and well-directed management.

r$+£

&.

ILLIAM G. WATERMAN, an enterpris
ing, substantial farmer of Cook County, re
siding- ou section 27, Barrington Township,
where he owns and operates three hundred acres
of valuable land, is a native of North Adams,
Berkshire County, Mass., born January 22, 1816.
The family was earl)- founded in New England,
aud our subject's grandfather, John Waterman,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

577

a native of Rhode Island, aided the colonies
in their struggle for independence. He then re
moved to the town of Cheshire, Berkshire Count)-,
Mass. , where he reared his family, and there his
son, Col. William Waterman, was born. Richard
Waterman, the first ancestor to come to America,
located in Salem, Mass., in 1628, and joined Roger
Williams at Providence, R. I. He was one of
the thirteen settlers of that city. His sou Re
solved married the youngest daughter of Roger
Williams, and they had three children, one of
whom, Capt. John Waterman, was a prominent
citizen of that day.
The father of our subject grew to manhood in
his native county, and there married Sarah Buck-
lin, a native of Herkimer County, N. Y. Locat
ing in North Adams, he there engaged in ' busi
ness, and was one of its leading citizens. He
served as a Colonel iu the State militia, and was
three times a member of the State Legislature.
He also served as County Commissioner, and
held other local offices. Removing from North
Adams to Williamstown, Mass., he there spent
his remaining days, his death occurring February
26, 1858, at the advanced age of seventy-four.
His wife survived him for a number of years, and
departed this life January 15, 1864, at the age of
seventy-six. In their family were six sons and
two daughters who grew to mature years. Car
oline married Harvey T. Cole, and, settling in
Williamstown, Mass., died October 17, 1881;
Henry B. also died in Williamstown, leaving a
widow and two sons; H. B. met his death by ac
cident, February 20, 1866; James M. is living
in the first two-story residence ever erected
in Williamstown, which was built in 1765; Al
bert G. is now living in Troy, N. Y.; An
drew J., who was a prominent lawyer and
served as Attorney-General of Massachusetts, is
now living in Pittsfield, that State; John B. re
sides in Williamstown; and Eliza Almeda became
the wife of Mr". Sabin, and died in Williamstown,
June 1, 1863, leaving a daughter, who is now
a resident of South Williamstown.
Mr. Waterman of this sketch was reared in his
native State, and was educated in the common
schools and in an academy. After leaving school

he engaged in teaching for a short time. In 1838
he came West to look at the country, and in con
nection with his cousin, Homer Willmarth, bought
land, but some months later he sold his interest
to Mr. Willmarth. While here he taught school
in a log house situated near where Mark W. Dun
ham's beautiful residence now stands, on the edge
of Kane County. He also worked by the month
for a time for old Mr. Dunham, the father of the
famous importers of Percheron horses. Subse
quent!)- he returned to Massachusetts, and re
sumed teaching. He later engaged in merchandis
ing for some years, after which he taught a private
school in Cheshire. For three years previous to
coming West in 1855, he was in the employ of
Elisha Jencks, as book-keeper and general man
ager of a large establishment for the manufacture
of cotton goods.
Mr. Waterman was joined in wedlock iu Che
shire, January 12, 1844, with Miss Phcebe A.
Foster, daughter of Edmund Foster, who served
in the War of 18 12 and was wounded, and a
granddaughter of Rev. Edmund Foster, whowas
a Congregational minister at Littleton, Mass.,
for forty-six years. He was called ' 'the fighting
parson, ' ' and three of his sons served in the War of
18 12. Mrs. Waterman reads much, and keeps
herself thoroughly posted on the important and
leading questions of the day. She and her hus
band have one son, John A. They also lost three
children. Robert Morris, who died September
20, 1871, at the age of twenty -six years, was
a well-educated young man, and taught school
for a few years before graduating from the State
Normal School of Bloomington. Sarah Augusta
died September 8, 1869, at the age of twenty-one
years. She, too, was a successful teacher. One
child died in infancy.
In 1855 Mr. Waterman brought his family to
Illinois, and purchased two hundred acres of
partially improved land, upon which was a log
cabin, in which he made his home for eleven
years. At length he erected a substantial frame
residence, a good barn and other necessary build
ings, and he now has a fine farm, highly cul
tivated and pleasantly situated five miles from
Barrington. He has led a busy and useful life,

578

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and as the result of his good management and
perseverance he has acquired a comfortable com
petence, which numbers him among the sub
stantial citizens of the community.
In his political views, Mr. Waterman is a Re
publican, and has supported that party since
its organization. He was originally a Jackson
Democrat, and his first ballot was cast for Martin
Van Buren in 1840. He takes quite an active
interest in local politics and has served as Town
ship Supervisor and Trustee, in which positions
he has discharged his duties with a promptness
and fidelity that have won him high commenda
tion. He is always true to every trust, whether
public or private, and a well-spent life has won
the high regard of all with whom he has come in
contact.

e^+^

Wl ASON L. STAPLES is a farmer and dairy-
Y man, residing on section 14, Palatine Town-
(9 ship, Cook County. He is a man of up
right character and sterling worth, who has the
confidence and esteem of all and well deserves
representation in this volume. He is numbered
among the native sons of Cook County, his birth
having occurred in Palatine Township, ' on the
10th of December, 1854. His parents, Lyman
and Mary (Sutherland) Staples, were both na
tives of Vermont, and in the Green -Mountain
State resided until after their marriage. They
became the parents of a family of two sons and
two daughters, all of whom reached mature years.
The eldest, Emily, is the wife of John Wilson, a
substantial farmer and business man of Palatine.
Francelia is the wife of A. H. Foskett, of Chicago.
Merritt A. was married and became a farmer of
Fayette County, Iowa, where his death occurred.
The youngest ofthe family is Mason L. of this
sketch. In 1837, the father removed Westward
and became one of the honored pioneer settlers of
Cook County, 111., where he joined his brother-
in-law, Mason Sutherland, who had settled here

two years previous. At the time Mr. Staples
made his settlement, the nearest house to the-
east was eleven miles, and Chicago was then but
a village, while the greater part of the county
was but a swamp. He made a claim, and when
the land came into the market entered it from the
Government. To clearing and improving this
tract he at once turned his attention, and at length
the task of opening up a farm of three hundred
and twenty acres was completed. For about half
a century he successfully cultivated that -land.
He then rented his farm and removed to Palatine,
where the last years of his life were spent in re
tirement. His death occurred December 16,
1890, at the advanced age of seventy-four years,
and he was laid to rest in Palatine Cemetery,
where a neat monument has been erected to his
memory. He voted with the Republican party
and took quite an active part in local politics.
For several years he served as Supervisor, and
was Highway- Commissioner for a-quarter of a
century. Ever true to public and private trusts,
he thereby won the confidence and good-will of
the entire community. His wife still survives
him and is yet living in Palatine.
Upon the home farm, Mason Staples spent the
days of his boyhood and youth, and the district
schools of the neighborhood afforded him his ed
ucational privileges. He remained with his
father, aiding in the labor of the homestead, and
when he had attained his majority assumed its
management. On his father's death he succeeded
to the ownership, thus securing two hundred and
forty acres of highly cultivated and improved laud.
In the fall of 1889, he purchased a tract of land
of forty acres, adjoining the corporation limits of
Palatine, and, settling thereon, made it a valuable
and desirable place. ' He built a substantial resi
dence and made other good improvements. Both
places have flowing wells and are thus supplied
with good water. Our subject now devotes his
time and attention to the dairy business, and for
this purpose keeps on hand about forty cows. He
also raises grain and hay to some extent, and by
their sale adds not a little to his income.
On the 10th of November, 1876, Mr. Staples
was united in marriage in Palatine Township,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

579

with Miss Clarentine E. Waters, daughter of
Benjamin Waters, one ofthe early settlers of the
county. Their married life was of short duration,
she having died June 27, 1878. For many years
Mr. Staples remained a widower, but April 4,
1889, he was united iu matrimony with Miss Alice
E. Lambert, granddaughter of Granville Pech,
one of the first settlers of Schaumburgh.
Mr. Staples has managed his business affairs
iu an able manner, and his practical aud progress
ive spirit has gained for him a comfortable com
petence. In politics, he has been identified with
the Republican party since becoming a voter.
He is now serving his second term as Highway
Commissioner, and is an efficient and capable of
ficer.

(JOHN D. SHEA was made Chief of Detec-
I fives of Chicago by Carter H. Harrison,
(2/ then Mayor of the city, and is now credit
ably filling that position. The record of his life
is as follows: He is numbered among the native
sons of Cook County, his birth having occurred
in Palos, on the 7th of February, 1848. The
family is of Irish origin, and the parents of our
subject, Patrick and Bridget Shea, were born on
the Emerald Isle. After coming to this country
they lived upon a farm, where their son John was
reared. In the public schools of the neighbor
hood he acquired a good English education.
Mr.. Shea has long been connected with public
office. The following year after he had attained
his majority he was elected Township Clerk. He
remained upon the home farm, and aided his
father in the operation and development of the
land until twenty-five y-ears of age, at which time
he was elected Assessor of his township. He
faithfully discharged the duties of these positions,
and thereby won the commendation of all con
cerned. In July, 1873, Mr. Shea came to Chicago, and
secured a position on the police force. He did
service on Twelfth Street for three years, after
which, for faithful and meritorious conduct, he was
made detective by M. C. Hicky, and removed

from the Central Station to the Twenty-second
Street Station. There he remained until Austin
Doyle was made Chief of Police, when the latter
appointed Mr. Shea Chief of Detectives. When
Mr. Cregier was made Mayor of the city, he was
promoted to the rank of Captain, and placed in
charge of the Thirty-fifth Street Station. When
that gentleman was succeeded by Mayor Wash
burn, our subject was placed back in the rank of
detectives as Lieutenant, but a month later he
was again made Captain. Iu 1892, by the City-
Council, his salary was increased from $2,250 to
$2,500, and in 1893 he again received an in
crease in salary, now being paid $3,000 per year.
When Carter H. Harrison was elected Mayor,
Mr. Shea was made Chief of Detectives, which
position he yet fills.
Our subject married Miss Maggie Conway, and
they reside in the city. In politics, he is a
Democrat, having supported the men and meas
ures of that party since attaining his majority.
His entire life has been passed in Cook County,
aud those who have known him from boyhood
are numbered among his stanchest friends. He
has a wide acquaintance and is well liked by all.
The responsible position which he now fills finds
iu him a faithful incumbent, and one worthy the
trust reposed in him.

1^+^!

l=

-©

01

R. C. B. FREEMAN, who is engaged iu the
practice of dentistry in Evanston, where
since 1873. he has made his home, is a son
of Barnard and Clara (Dillingham) Freeman.
His parents were both natives of Massachusetts,
and were representatives of old New England
families. On the mother's side, the ancestry is
traced back to the days when the Puritans landed
from the "Mayflower" on Plymouth Rock. The
father of our subject was a soldier in a Massa
chusetts regiment during the late war. He died
in Florjda, when the Doctor was a lad of about
seven summers, leaving a wife and four children.
The widow afterward again married, becoming
the wife of Dr. Horace Mansfield, a dentist who

58o

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was graduated from the Boston Dental College,
and came here with his family in 1873. He at
once entered upon the practice of his chosen pro
fession, and continued his labors along that line
until his death.
The children ofthe Freeman family are Henry,
who is now engaged in the practice of dentistry in
Evanston; Frank, a stock farmer living in Mt.
Carroll, 111.; Clara A., who is living in Evans
ton; and Clarence B., whose name heads this
record. There were also two children who died
in infancy.
In the public schools of Evanston, Mr. Free
man acquired his education, after which for four
or five years he engaged in teaching school, aud
in stock-farming. At length he determined to
take up the study of dentistry, and in 1886 en
tered the Chicago Dental College, from which he
was graduated in the spring of 1888. He had
previously studied under the preceptorship of his
brother, H. A. Freeman. After his graduation,
our subject came at once to Evanston, and opened
his present dental parlors. He takes a deep in
terest in his profession, and keeps well abreast
with everything connected with the science.
In February, 1892, Dr. Freeman was united in
marriage with Miss Marietta Bassett, of Evanston,
a daughter of A. O. Bassett. They are num
bered among the leading citizens of this place,
hold an enviable position in social circles, and
have many- warm friends, who esteem them highly
for their sterling worth. The Doctor is a mem
ber ofthe Baptist Church.

HENRY E. KRAFT, who is engaged iu the
wholesale and retail butchering business, as
a member of the firm of Kraft Bros. & Hin-
derer, was born in Belzhaag, Wurtemberg, Ger
many, on the 17th of August, 1861. His father,
Fritz Kraft, was a native of the same country and
wa.s a farmer and stock-dealer by occupation. In
1857, he was united in marriage with Miss Caro
line Hartnegel, and they became the parents of a
family of six children, numbering four sous aud

two daughters, as follows: Ernest, deceased;
Fritz; Henry E. ; Emma, married to Edward
Lindner; Lena, married to Herman Volker; and
Lewis P.
We now take up the personal history of Henry
Kraft, who acquired a good education iu a High
School of Germany and passed an examination for
one year's service iu the army. That service he
then performed. At the age of sixteen years he
left home, going to Switzerland, and later to Paris.
Thence he removed to Cannes, and subsequently
we find him in Milan. Later he visited Cairo,
Egypt, and thence went to Palestine, from where
he returned to Germany. Subsequently he went
to Loudon, where he spent six months, and thence
sailed for Adelaide, South Australia, where the
succeeding three years of his life were passed.
He then again returned to Germany, where he
served his time in the army, being stationed at
Heilbronh, Wurtemberg; but not content to re
main in the Fatherland, he again went to Lon
don, England, and at that place took passage
on a westward-bound ocean steamer and sailed
for Philadelphia. He went from that city to New
York, where he remained for two y-ears, when he
again went to Germany. After spending a year
and a-half iu Berlin, he made his way to Po-
sen, and at this place he had to serve another eight
weeks in the army. He then once more returned
home and spent a y-ear in the province of his
nativity, but he determined that America should
be the scene of his future labors, and so sailed
from Hamburg to New York.
After a year spent in the eastern metropolis,
Mr. Kraft came to Des Plaines iu 1891, and in
connection with his brother, Lewis P., and Fred
Hiuderer, embarked iu the butchering business,
carrying on a wholesale aud retail trade. They
have met with good success in their undertakings
aud are now doing a large business. Socially,
Mr. Kraft is connected with Gladiator Lodge No.
450, K. P., being Master of Finance in that
lodge. In his political affiliations, he is a Dem
ocrat. Mr. Kraft has visited every continent
ou the globe save South America, and his exten
sive travels have made him not only a well-in
formed man, but have gained him a knowledge

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

58i

of men and their methods which has proven of in
calculable benefit to him in his business career.
He is an entertaining conversationalist and a good
linguist, speaking four languages, English,
French, Italian and German, and is well and
widely known in this community. In religion he
is a Lutheran.
Lewis P. Kraft, the other brother of the firm,
was born in Belzhaag, Germany, on the 29th
of June, 1867, was educated in the schools of his
native land, and in order to keep from serving in
the German army, in 1884 he crossed to England,
where he remained two years and two months,
visiting London and other principal cities. From
England he came to America, remaining here one
year, when he returned to visit the scenes and
friends of his earlier days. He was then a young
man of only twenty years. He had decided, how
ever, to make America his future home, and after
a few months returned to New York, where he
remained until October, 1890. At that time he
came to Des Plaines, wliere he has since made his
home. Mr. Kraft votes the Republican ticket, but has
never sought political preferment for himself, de
siring rather to give his time and attention to his
business interests. The Kraft brothers are men
of good ability, enterprising and sagacious, and iu
their business dealings have met with excellent
success, which is the just reward of their labors.
As their financial resources have increased, they
have made judicious investments in property, and
now besides their business own considerable real
estate in Des Plaines.

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qJEORGES. BAKER, an attorney-at-law, who
_ occupies an office in the Commercial Bank
JJ Building in Chicago, and makes his home in
Evanston, has been engaged in legal practice
since 1886. He was admitted to the Bar in 1880,
but did not enter upon the work of the profession
until six years later, when he entered into part
nership with Edwin F. Abbott, with whom he
still does business. The' firm has won a high

reputation, which is well deserved, and enjoys a
liberal patronage.
Mr. Baker was born in Bedford Parish, Devon
shire, England, January 15, 1851, aud is a son
of Charles and Eliza (Dymoud) Baker. In 1856,
the parents emigrated with their family to Amer
ica, locating upou a farm near Flint, Mich. Our
subject was then only five years of age. The
family still resides upon that farm, and there
George was reared to manhood. He acquired an
excellent education. After attending the public
schools ofthe neighborhood, he entered the High
School of Flint, and afterwards became a student
in the University of Michigan, in 1870, grad
uating therefrom in 1876. He did not attend
regularly, his course being interrupted by teach
ing. In that way he secured the means to pay
his tuition and meet his other expenses. After
being employed as a teacher in the High School
of Saginaw, Mich., he again entered the univer
sity, took a two-years course in one year, and by
earnest study and close application he successfully
passed the examinations with the highest honor,
and received one year extra iu both French and
German. The same day of his graduation he
purchased a copy of Blackstone, and at once be
gan reading law. He also resumed teaching at
Paw Paw, Mich., where he remained for three
years, when he entered the Law School of Cin
cinnati, Ohio, and upou examination was ad
mitted to the senior class. He received his de
gree in May, 1880, and was admitted to practice
in Columbus, Ohio.
On the 3d of July, 1879, in Paw Paw, Mich.,
Mr. Baker was united in marriage with Miss Em
ily C. Andrews, a graduate of the State Univer
sity, of 1875; and a daughter of Dr. Josiah An
drews, a prominent physician of Van Buren
County, Mich. Unto Mr. aud Mrs. Baker have
been born six children, namely: Josiah A., Rob
ert D., Mary E., Alice L., Roger O. and Lewis.
Mr. Baker is a member of the Emanuel Method
ist Episcopal Church , in which he serves as Stew
ard. On leaving the law school, our subject came to
Chicago, aud opened a law office, but after about
four months he accepted au offer as teacher in

.S82

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

McGregor, Iowa. He received a telegram in
quiring if he would take the position, and, con
cluding to doso, he spent two years at that place.
Before completing his second year there, a posi
tion was tendered him at Evanston, and for four
years he was Superintendent of Public Schools in
this place. At length he resigned his position
and opened a law office in Chicago.
In politics, Mr. Baker is a Republican, and in
1888 was elected on that ticket to the Thirty-
sixth General Assembly of Illinois. He served
as a member of the Judiciary Committee, and the
Committee on Education, and was the only new
member who served on the Committee ou Rules.
From 1889 until 1892 he served as Village At
torney of Evanston, and in the spring of 1893
was elected Cit)- Attorney for two years. While
a member of the Legislature, he acted as Chair
man of the Committee on Building, Loan and
Homestead Associations, to which he gave con
siderable attention. In his practice he makes a
specialty of corporation and real-estate law. He
is thoroughly a self-made and self-educated man.
He started out in life for himself at the age of six
teen years, filled with the determination to suc
ceed. He has mastered the situation, and has
worked his way up to a position of prominence.
Socially, he is a Knight Templar Mason, and also
belongs to the Business Men's Association, and
the Evanston Club.

|~~ W. MUELLER, the present Supervisor of
Tri the town of Wheeling, was born inTeterow,
| Mechlenburg-Schwerin, Germany, July 1,
1849. His father, who was a merchant, died in
Teterow in 1866, and his mother the following
year. He received a fair education, according to
the German custom, and gained some knowledge
of mercantile affairs while employed as a clerk in
his father's store. In 1868 he came to America,
arriving in Chicago in June of that year. He at
once entered the employ of Sass & Flafuer, man
ufacturers of soda water, and continued with them
until March, 1872, when he became a partner

with his half-brother at Arlington Heights, un
der the title of Sass & Brother,, iu the same line
of business. At the end of a year he purchased
his partner's interest, and has since continued the
business successfully alone. He was first elected
to the office of Supervisor in 1886, and has filled
that position continuously since.
On March 14, 1873, Mr- Mueller married Miss
Elizabeth Sievert, a native of Hanover, Ger
many, and daughter of Frederick and Catharine
(Geils) Sievert, who settled in Cook County in
1853, soon after their arrival from Germany. Five
children complete the family of Mr. Mueller,
namely: Minnie E., William C, MayC, Henry
F. and Addie A., all at home. Mrs. Mueller
and the children are communicants of the Pres
byterian Church, and Mr. Mueller is a member
of Palatine Lodge No. 314, and Palatine Chapter
in the Masonic order. He is also a member of
Court Arlington No. 114, I. O. F.
Mr. Mueller is a man of keen intelligence, and
sound judgment, of undoubted business integrity,
and enjoys the confidence of his fellow-citizens in
a marked degree. His success in life has been
gained by his own unaided industry, and serves
as an illustration of the beneficence of our free
American institutions.

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|"~RANK WILLIS RICE, editor and pub-
Tri lisher of the Daily National Hotel Reporter,
I of which he has been active manager since
1875, is a native ofthe Pine Tree State. He was
born in Dexter, Me., on the 9th of October, 1848,
and conies ofa family of English origin, founded in
America in Colonial days. His parents, John H.
and Grace (Burleigh) Rice, were prominent and
well-known residents of Bangor, Me. , his father
having represented his district in Congress.
F. Willis Rice was reared iu Foxcroft, and ac
quired his education in Foxcroft Academy, and
at Little Blue, a famous family school in Farm
ington. When his school life was ended, in 1871,
he engaged iu the express business in Boston,
which he continued for two years, He came

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

585

West in 1873, and his first business connection in
Chicago was as secretary of the construction
company having in charge the Chicago and Illi
nois River Railroad, which is now a part of the
Alton System. In 1875 he joined James W. Scott
(now publisher of the Chicago Herald and Eve
ning Post) in establishing the Daily National
Hotel Reporter, in which Mr. Scott still retains an
interest. The paper had had a precarious exist
ence under its original management, being pub
lished in an old building on Canal Street. It was
at once removed to the south side of the city, and
from that time success attended the- efforts of its
publishers. This paper is recognized as author
ity on all subjects pertaining to hotel manage
ment. It gives news relating to hotels all over
the country, and items of interest concerning their
management. Through the zealous and untiring
efforts of Mr. Rice, it has proven a financial suc
cess, and has attained a high standing among
trade journals.
In 1876, Mr. Rice was married to Miss Annie
R. Dyer, of Boston. Both are members of Grace
Episcopal Church of Chicago, and Mr. Rice is an
active member of the Union League, Chicago
and Press Clubs. He is also the Secretary ofthe
Fellowship Club. Mr. Rice has formed a wide
acquaintance through his business interests, and
is known personally or by reputation through
out the country. He is the founder of the Hotel
Men's Mutual Benefit Association, which was es
tablished on the 17th of January, 1879, and of
which he was Secretary and Treasurer for five
years. Mr. Rice is considered authority in his
line, and many men engaged in business seek
his advice, which is always freely given.
r~RANKLIN DWIGHT COSSITT is the
Tri founder of La Grange, and with the history
I of the. growth and progress of Chicago's
suburbs his name is * inseparably connected. He
was born. at Granby, Hartford County, Conn., on
the 19th of September, 182 1, and is the only son
of Rana and Marietta (Stanard) Cossitt, the for

mer of French and the latter of English origin.
His grandfather, Asa Cossitt, served in the Rev
olutionary War, and was with Washington in his
retreat from New York. Rana Cossitt was a
merchant at Granby, and died when Franklin was
thirteen years of age. Thus, early in life he was
thrown upon his own resources, and the support
of his mother and three sisters fell upon his young
shoulders. Soon after his father's death, our subject went
to La Grange, Tenn. , where he entered the em
ploy of his uncle, George G Cossitt, in a general
store. His companion on this trip and in this
employment was his cousin, Frederick H. Cossitt,
afterward founder of Cossitt's Library , at Memphis,
Tenn. After giving six and one-half years' service
to his uncle, in the expectation of a partnership in
the business, and receiving in the mean time but
little more than his board and clothing, they mu
tually agreed to separate, and he received $600
in cash as remuneration for his services. He pur
chased a home for his mother at Westfield, Mass. ,
and returning to LaGrange, Tenn., engaged in
business on his own account, being very successful.
With the exception of less than one year, he con
tinued in business until 1863. He also became
the owner of three plantations near La Grange,
a part of which he still owns, and he held one
hundred and sixty slaves at the outbreak of
the Civil War, his estates altogether being es
timated at that time as worth $1,000,000. At
his elegant home in La Grange, he- entertained
Gen. Grant and wife, the wife of Gov. Louis P.
Harvey, of Wisconsin, and the wife of Col. John
Mason Loomis, now, and then, of Chicago. Col.
Dickey, chief of Gen. Grant's cavalry staff, made
his headquarters for some time at Mr. Cossitt's
home, where he was accompanied by his daugh
ter. Though friendly to the Union cause and its
commanders, Mr. Cossitt's extensive interests and
family connections compelled him to maintain a
neutral position, and he was often suspected by both
sides to the armed controversy. He was arrested
six times, and as often acquitted of any treasonable
act toward either party.
In 1862, acting on the advice of Gen. Sherman,
who was his friend, he invested heavily in cotton,

29

586

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

realizing $66,000 from its sale. Through the
kindness of Gen. Hurlbut, he was enabled to ship
his purchases to the Mississippi River without
much difficulty. Again accepting the advice of
Gen. Sherman, he removed to Chicago in 1863,
, and in 1865 engaged in the wholesale grocery
business in that city, as a member of the firm of
Barrett & Cossitt. This connection continued for
about five years, or until the death of Mr. Barrett,
when Mr. Cossitt purchased the interest of the
heirs, and continued the business under the title
of F. D. Cossitt & Co. The great fire of 1871
entirely consumed his store and contents, at the
corner of Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue.
He rebuilt at No. 145 Michigan Avenue, and did
an extensive wholesale business until 1875, when
he retired from that line of trade.
Mr. Cossitt also did a large real-estate business,
and since selling out the grocery establishment
has devoted his entire time to operations along
this line.. In 18.69 he purchased eighty acres of
land, and established the town of Montrose, build
ing a number of houses at that place. The fol
lowing year, he purchased about six hundred
acres on which LaGrange has been built, and
also a third-interest in a tract of one hundred and
sixty acres where Western Springs now stands.
This is now known as the "Marshall Field
Tract." He established the depot at La Grange,
laid out the town, and gave to it the name of his
old home in Tennessee, where he so long resided,
and where all of his children were born. He here
planted trees to the value of $30,000, was one of
the prime movers toward securing all the churches
of the place, and has made liberal donations
toward sustaining all enterprises and interests
which he believed would be of benefit to the com
munity. In 1844 Mr. Cossitt married Miss Martha L. J.
Malone, a member of an old Virginia family. By
this marriage there were five children, two of
whom are deceased. Those living are, Mary
Eliza, wife of D. B. Lyman, ofthe firm of Lyman
& Jackson; Fannie, wife of C. C. Lay; and Mar
garet B., wife of C. B. Shedd, all of Chicago. The
mother of this family died in 1853, and in the
following year Mr. Cossitt married Martha L-

Moore, who bore him five children, only three of
whom are now living. They are: Betty W., who
married Herbert S. Mitchell, of La Grange; Frank
D., whose biography appears on another page;
and Mattie, wife of Rev. C. DeWitt, Rector of
St. Andrew's Church, Chicago. In 1863 Mr.
Cossitt was again bereaved of his wife, and in
1864 he married Mrs. Addie C. Hunt, nee Hedges.
Mr. Cossitt adheres to the religious faith of the
Congregational Church, and sustains the princi
ples of Democracy in political contests.- He has
served for many years on the Village Board of
La Grange, he being its first President. He was
nominated by his party as its candidate for State
Senator, but was defeated on account of the over
whelming Republican majority ofthe district.
About 1 85 1 Mr. Cossitt's mother sold her home
in Westfield, and resided thereafter with her son
until her death, which occurred in Chicago in
1880, at the age of eighty years. Her memory is
faithfully cherished by her filial son. Mr. Cossitt
is sagacious and far-sighted, straightforward and
honorable in all dealings. His investments have
proved judicious, and through the legitimate
channels of business he has won his fortune.
His habits have always been temperate, and his
successful life should serve as an example and in
spiration to every ambitious young man.

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D. BROWN, a leading attorney, engaged
in the practice of law at No. 69 Dearborn
Street, Chicago, makes his home in Palatine.
We wish to add to the Biographical Record
of Cook County the sketch of his life — the sketch
of one of the honored first settlers and pioneer
lawyers of Chicago, who dates his residence in
this community from the fall of 1855, and who
has been engaged in active law practice for thirty-
eight years. He was born in Appleton, Waldo
County, Me., on the 22d of May, 1829. His fa
ther and grandfather both bore the name of Ben
jamin Brown, and both were natives of the Pine
Tree State. The family is of English lineage,
and was founded in Maine at a very early day in

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

5§7

its history. The father of our subject was reared
to manhood in Waldo County, and there married
Deborah Jameson, also a native of Maine. He
became one of the substantial farmers of Waldo
County. At length he removed from Appleton
to Searsmont, where he spent the last years of his
life, his death occurring in 1847. His wife sur
vived him for a number of years and reared her
family, consisting of nine sons and a daughter,
who grew to mature years. The eldest, Martin,
died when a young man. Benjamin is now liv
ing retired in Lincolnville, Me. ; Ephraim, who
followed farming, is now deceased; Daniel is en
gaged in agricultural pursuits in Searsmont, Me. ;
Elisha is now deceased; M. D. is the next younger;
Aaron R., deceased, was a physician of superior
skill and ability; and Sarah, the only daughter of
the family, died at the age of nineteen years.
We now take up the history of the gentleman
whose name heads this record. In early life he
received but limited educational privileges, but at
the age of eighteen years he began study in
Corinth Academy, which he attended through
the summer months, while in the winter season
he engaged in teaching, and thereby won the
money to pay his tuition. At length he com
pleted the preparatory course, and entered Water
ville College, where he remained as a student
until his means were exhausted, when he again
took up teaching. After attending Waterville
College for three years, he entered Dartmouth
College, completed the course in that institution,
and was graduated with the Class of '53. Mr.
Brown was then chosen Principal of the academy
at Randolph Center, Vt. , of which he continued
in charge for eighteen months, when he resigned
to accept the principalship of the West Randolph
Academy. There he continued for six months
as a teacher of languages and higher mathematics.
In the fall of 1855, he came to Illinois, locating in
Chicago. He had previously read law to some
extent, and a few weeks after his arrival here he
was admitted to the Bar. Immediately thereaf
ter he began practice. All of his leisure time he
devoted to study and research along the line of
his chosen work, and he had not a little lei
sure time during the first year or two. Soon,

however, his earnest efforts, his knowledge of
law, and his ability as an advocate, won recogni
tion and secured him a good practice, which has
continued up to the present day. He now makes
a specialty of defending criminal cases, of drain
age suits and contested cases, and in his labors
has met with marked success.
Mr. Brown has been twice married. He first
wedded Miss Hattie White, of Sewickley , Pa. , a
most estimable lady of fine education and attain
ments. Her father, D. N. White, was publisher
and proprietor of the Pittsburgh Gazette, and one
of the organizers and founders of the Republican
party. In 1878 Mr. Brown lost his wife, who
died iu Chicago, leaving a daughter, Ella M.,
now the wife of Sherman P. Stiles, who for a
number of years has held the office of Money Or
der Inspector of Chicago, and is a man of sterling
character and superior business capacity. By the
first union there was also a son, Arthur Lincoln,
who died at the age of twenty-four years. He
was a young man of good education and held a
responsible position in the city.
On the 28th of January, 1879, in Oshkosh, Wis.,
Mr. Brown wedded Miss Alice Wilcox, daughter of
Rev. James Wilcox, a minister of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. The lady was born and reared
in Canada. They have one son, Milton Dudley.
In 1880 our subject purchased a fine residence
property in Palatine, and removed to this beauti
ful suburb, where he has since resided. The
household is the abode of hospitality, and both
Mr. and Mrs. Brown have the high regard of
friends and acquaintances. He has been identi
fied with the Republican party since its organiza
tion, and is a warm advocate of its men and meas
ures. He has never been an aspirant for public
office, but was solicited and urged by his friends
to become a candidate for Circuit Judge of Cook
County. At length he gave a reluctant consent,
but did not go into the campaign or solicit votes.
Although he failed at the election, he secured a
most flattering vote, running far 'ahead of his
ticket. Socially, he is connected with the Inde
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife belongs
to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Palatine,
and, although he does not hold membership with

588

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

it, he contributes liberally to its support. For
almost forty years Mr. Brown has been a resident
of Cook County, and a prominent member of the
Chicago Bar. He may truly be called a self-made
man, for he started out in life empty-handed,
working his way upward by merit and effort.
The determination and progressive spirit which
he manifested in making his way unaided through
college have characterized his entire life, and been
the means of his success.

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j AWRENCE MURTAUGH ENNIS, one of
I C the leading and successful young lawyers of
It) Chicago, was born in this city November 3,
1859, and is the son of James and Mary A. (Sex
ton) Ennis. The family is of Irish origin, and
our subject possesses some' of the best traits of
the people of the Emerald Isle. The grandfather
of Lawrence Ennis was a gentleman farmer, who
spent his entire life in that land, his death oc
curring in 1852, at the age of sixty years. When
he was a boy, during the rising of 1798 — the Ir
ish Revolution — he was chased into the house by
soldiers, but his life was miraculously saved by
his grandmother. He reared a family of fourteen
children, all of whom were devout Catholics.
James Ennis, the father of our subject, was born
in County Wexford, Ireland, and was a lawyer
by profession. In 1852 he crossed the Atlantic
to America, and for one year engaged in teaching
school. He then studied law in Chicago with
Calvin DeWolf, and in 1854 opened a law office,
continuing in legal practice for many years. Dur
ing the late war, he three times tried to enter the
service, but was refused on account of poor health.
In politics, he took a very prominent part. He
was an inflexible adherent of Democratic princi
ples, and made many speeches in behalf of his
party. His death occurred November 9, 1880, at
the age of forty-three years. His wife, who bore
the maiden name of Mary A. Sexton, was born in
Chicago, and was the daughter of Stephen Sex
ton, a native of County Clare, Ireland, who came
to this country in 1830, and took up his residence

in Chicago. He built the first schoolhouse ever
erected in this city, and was an influential and
leading man in those early days. In his political,
affiliations, he was a stalwart Democrat.
Ten children were born unto Mr. and Mrs.
Ennis, six sons and four daughters, nine ofwhom
are yet living. Their names follow in order
of birth: Lawrence M.; James Ignatius; Cal-
listus Sexton; Lullus Joseph; Felicia Anasta-
tia, now the wife of Franklin J. Howes, of Chi
cago; Stephen F., Margaret Agnes, Laura Ger
trude, Juventius Thomas, and Susan Mary, the
latter being deceased.
Mr. Ennis whose name heads this record was
reared in Chicago, and was graduated from the
High School in June, 1877. He determined re
enter the profession to which his father was
devoted, and in his father's office studied law.
He was admitted to the Bar in 1880, and to
practice in the United States Supreme Court in
1892. He has risen rapidly in his profession, and
has been connected with some of the most im
portant cases on the docket. In the McMahon
case he distinguished himself by securing for the
child its rightful fortune. He was also connected
with the Frank J. Bowman common-law mar
riage case, which "hung fire" for five years in
the courts. As the counsel for Wichelman in the
Hammerschlack-Wichelman case, Messrs. Mason
and Ennis gained the victory over the celebrated
Roscoe Conklin, who came from New York to
serve as counsel on the opposing side.
On the 2d of October, 1884, Mr. Ennis wedded
Miss Elizabeth G. , daughter of Cornelius and
Mary (Murphy) , Quinlin. Her mother was a
member of the choir of the first Catholic Church
in Chicago. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ennis have been
born one son and two daughters: Mary, Gertrude
and Lawrence Mason. The parents are members
ofthe Catholic Church, and our subject is a mem
ber of the Catholic Benevolent Association. He
owns a good home and other city property in
Chicago. Mr. Ennis is also a member of the Veteran Re
serve Corps ofthe First Regiment, and is, serving
his third term as President of the Douglas Park
Club. He was one of the organizers of the Iro-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

589

quois Club, also of the Cook County Club, and of
the Young Democracy Club, ofwhich he is Pres
ident. He is also one of the organizers and Vice-
President of the Andrew Jackson League, and
President of the Democratic Club. Mr. Ennis
has been an untiring worker in the interests of
Democracy. He has been a public speaker since
thirteen years of age, when, as a boy orator, he
stumped the State for Hancock, English and
Trumbull. In the autumn of 1893, he was a candi
date for the position of Judge on the Superior
Court Bench before his party, and had the sup
port of many prominent Democrats.
Mr. Ennis is largely a self-made man, and
many incidents of his career are worthy of emula
tion. His father died when he was just entering
manhood, and left him with the care of the family,
which he held together until his marriage. On
his father's death, he succeeded him as a law
partner of Francis W. Walker, and the connection
was continued until Mr Walker accepted the po
sition of First Assistant State's Attorney under
Julius Grinnell. Mr. Ennis then formed a part
nership with Hon. William E. Mason, and the
connection still continues. Mr. Ennis speaks
German fluently, and is said to have the largest
Polish practice of any lawyer at the Bar. His
abilities have won for him a position of promi
nence, and the name of Ennis, through father and
son, has been connected with the Bar of Cook
County for forty years.

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QQlELIAM HUGH JONES, the President of
\ A / the Piano Manufacturing Company, one of
V Y the substantial industries of Chicago, is a na
tive of Wales. He was born in 1845, and is one
of eight children whose parents were Hugh and
Jennett Jones. The father was a farmer by occu
pation and was comfortably situated. In 181 2,
when eighteen years of age, he crossed the At
lantic to America, locating near Utica, N. Y.,
where the death of his first wife occurred. He
afterward returned to Wales, where he was again
married, the second wife being the mother of our

subject. They were both members of the Welsh
Calvinistic Church, in which the father served
as Deacon. In 1857 he again came with his
family to this country, and located in Wiscon
sin, from where he removed to Iowa in 1873.
His death occurred in Howard County, Iowa, in
1876, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife
survived him for about four years. Her father,
Richard Jones, was an extensive farmer in Wales,
and reached the advanced age of ninety-two years.
The family to which our subject belongs num
bered six sons and two daughters, but only four
are now living: William H., Hugh H., John H.
and Owen W. The last-named is Secretary ofthe
Piano Manufacturing Company.
We now take up the personal history of W. H.
Jones, who is truly a self-made man, in the best
sense ofthe term, for he started out in life empty-
handed and has worked his way upward by un
tiring labor, making the most of his opportuni
ties and overcoming the difficulties and obstacles
in his path by a determined effort to succeed. He
continued in his native land until twelve years of
age, and then accompanied his parents to this
country, and with them went to Wisconsin. He
was early inured to hard labor, but thereby he
developed a self-reliance and force of character
which have proven of incalculable benefit to him
in his later years. His youth was spent in work
upon the home farm, and to his father he gave
the benefit of his services until the spring of 1866,
when he had attained his maj ority . He now turned
his attention to other pursuits, and became agent
for the Dodge Reapers and Champion Mowers in
Berlin, Wis., selling those machines until 1868,
when he became traveling salesman for the firm
of L- J. Bush & Co. , of Milwaukee. Two years
covered his continuance with that company, and
in 1870 he formed a connection with E. H. Gam
mon for the sale of the Marsh Harvester, which
at that time was the only machine of the class on
the market. Subsequently, the firm became Gam
mon & Deering, and Mr. Jones continued in their
employ as general traveling salesman and super
visor of agencies until the partnership was dis
solved in the fall of 1879, on the retirement of Mr!
Gammon. Mr. Jones, however, continued to

590

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

serve in the interests of Mr. Deering until 1881,
when he, in connection with Mr. Gammon, Lewis
Steward, and others who had been previously in
terested in the Harvester Works in Piano, 111.,
organized the Piano Manufacturing Company.
He became its President and has since contin
ued at its head, and owing to the good man
agement, keen foresight and excellent business
and executive ability df the President, the Pia
no Manufacturing Company now is one of the
prominent industries of this city. During his
business career, Mr. Jones has kept informed
concerning all inventions along this line, and no
agricultural implement is put on the market
without his knowledge. His early life as a farm
er made known to him what was needed in farm
work. His later experience made him familiar
with all kinds of farm machinery ; hence in plac
ing upon the market such machinery he would
combine in its construction his knowledge of the
mechanical necessities with that which was re
quired for the actual work. Many inventors who
know nothing about farm work in itself fail to do
this. The wisdom of his method is shown in the
result, for the Piano machines have met with un
qualified success and fill a long-felt want in farm
implements. Through the dark hours of the
greatest panic known to commerce (in 1893), the
company built and now occupies a new factory,
which for completeness and detailed perfection is
without an equal, covering twenty-five acres. It
is located on 120th Street, West Pullman. In
the old factory, although it afforded extensive
facilities, it was unable for several years to satisfy
the popular demand. With improved machinery
and perfect arrangement for manufacturing, it is
now prepared to meet the full demand not only
of its American but rapidly increasing foreign
trade. In 1867, Mr. Jones was united in marriage with
Miss Elizabeth Owens, and unto them have been
born three sons, Hugh W., William O. and Gar
field R. The parents are faithful members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, contribute liberally
to its support, and take an active interest in its
work. Mr. Jones is now serving as one of its
Trustees. In politics, he advocates Republican

principles, but - in voting does not feel himself
bound by party ties. He has never sought official
honors, desiring rather to give his entire time and
attention to his business interests and the enjoy
ment of the home and the companionship of his
family. In April, 1872, he came to Evanston,
where he has resided almost continuously since,'
and among the people of this beautiful suburb
he is held in the highest regard, for he is a man
of upright character and his example is worthy
of emulation. In the fall of 1878 he opened a
wholesale implement house in Minneapolis, which
has since done a large business, and with which he
was connected until 1889. The farm has fur
nished to this country many of its most prominent
and successful business men, and among these is
W H. Jones.

3

OHN FITZSIMMONS, who was appointed
by the late Mayor Harrison as Purchasing
Agent for the city, and is also custodian of
the City Hall, has for a number of years been
prominently connected with the official and busi
ness interests of Chicago. The record of his life is as
follows: A native of the Empire State, he was
born in 1848, and is a son of M. J. Fitzsimmons.
The days of his boyhood and youth were quietly
passed under the parental roof, and he began his
education in the public schools near his home.
He completed his training in that direction by his
graduation from the High School in the Class
of '65.
Soon after, Mr. Fitzsimmons turned his atten
tion to business interests, and for some time car
ried on agricultural pursuits. He later entered
the rolling-mills of New York, where he was em
ployed for a period of ten years. On the expira
tion of the decade he accepted a position as sales
man with a large publishing company, in whose
employ he remained for eighteen months.
Mr. Fitzsimmons was married in 1884, the lady
of his choice being Miss Anna M. Dongan, a
daughter of P. J. Dongan, who resided in Perth,
Ontario, Canada. One child has been born of

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

59i

their union, a daughter. In the fall of 1887, Mr.
Fitzsimmons, who had removed to Chicago, ac
cepted a position as Assistant Secretary to Mayor
Carter H. Harrison, and continued to serve in
that capacity until the close of Mr. Harrison's
term of office. He then did similar work under
Mayor Roche and Mayor Cregier. Later, he en
tered the employ of the Conrad Seipp Brewing
Company, with which he continued for eighteen
months, in the capacity of a collector.
.On the expiration of that time, Mr. Harrison,
having been again elected as Mayor of the city,
tendered to the subject of this sketch the office
of Purchasing Agent for the city, and he was also
made Custodian ofthe City Hall. In the prompt
and faithful discharge of his duties he has won
high recommendation. In his political views, he
has been an advocate of the men and measures of
the Democratic party since 1868, and was nomi
nated in 1880 for State Senator in the Thirteenth
Senatorial District, but lost the election by asmall
majority. Socially, he is an honored member of
the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and the Ancient
Order of United Workmen. He has made many
warm friends in business and official circles, and
is held in high esteem for his sterling worth and
the many excellencies of his character. He takes
a commendable interest in everything pertaining
to the welfare ofthe city and State, and is public-
spirited and progressive.

~ J. WILBUR, of Chicago, who is at the head
V> ofthe Wilbur Mercantile Agency, which is
__ known throughout the country, was*>orn in
Dutchess County, N. Y., on the 30th of Decem
ber, 1826, and is a son of John and Keziah C.
(Dodge) Wilbur. His mother was a daughter
of Dr. Dodge, and was the eldest of twelve chil
dren. His father was a member of the Society of
Friends, and was the eldest of a family of eight
children. Our subject was reared as a farmer, and from an
early age was familiar with the labors of the field
and the other work of an agriculturist . His early

education was acquired in the district schools of the
neighborhood, but during the winter season, when
between the ages of eighteen and twenty years, he
attended an academy in Fairfield, N. Y. He en
tered upon his business career as a teacher, and
was thus employed in 1848 and 1849. In the
latter year he went to California, attracted by the
discovery of gold on the Pacific Slope. On reach
ing his destination he began mining, and was thus
engaged for two years with good success. Later
he engaged in selling supplies to the miners for a
year, and spent one year in farming near Sacra
mento, Cal. At length he determined to return
home, for he had been absent four years, so iu
February, 1853, he took passage on a steamer at
San Francisco. He sailed to San Juan del Sur,
Nicaragua, and thence by way of Lake Nica
ragua and the San Juan River to Graytown,
where he boarded a steamer bound for New York
City. He arrived in the metropolis in March, and
then went to Poughkeepsie, N. Y. , where the
succeeding twenty years of his life were passed.
During his residence in that place he was engaged
for a time in the dry-goods business. Subse
quently, he became connected with Eastman's
Business College as a teacher, and later served as
its principal for six years. He then turned his
attention to the fire-insurance business, and also
engaged in the publication of the Daily News.
Leaving the East in 1873, he removed to Michi
gan, where he spent two years, and in 1875 em
barked in an enterprise with Hon. Mark D. Wil
bur, bringing into use a new system of col
lecting and reporting. This soon became known
as the Wilbur Mercantile Agency, and business
was established in Chicago in 1876, with E. J.
Wilbur as Secretary and Manager, M. D. Wil
bur as President, W. D. as Treasurer, and
John D. as Assistant Secretary and Manager of
the reporting department. S. D. King was made
Superintendent of the collection department, and
John C. Cummings was made Superintendent
of the attorney list and was given charge of
the annual and monthly revisions. Great care
is taken in the preparation of these limits and
divisions, and copies of the same are furnished
to all patrons and associate attorneys. From the

592

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

beginning the business of the company has con
stantly increased, until it has now assumed
extensive proportions, and the Wilbur Mercan
tile Agency is known throughout the country.
It has gained the confidence of people everywhere,
and prominent business men of various places in
trust large moneyed interests to their care.
After removing to Chicago, Mr. Wilbur studied
law in the Union Law College and was graduated
therefrom in 1882. He did this in order to better
fit himself for his work. Honorable and upright
in all dealings, his success has been won by a
straightforward career, by enterprise, persever
ance and well-directed efforts. He is a man of
untiring energy, and carries forward to a success
ful completion whatever he undertakes. His
prosperity is certainly well deserved. He is an
earnest Christian gentleman and has been an of
ficer and member of the Presbyterian Church of
Woodlawn since its organization in 1884. Thus
have we briefly sketched the life of a self-made
man, who by his own efforts has steadily- worked
his way upward to a position of prominence, and
is now at the head of his line of business in the
country.

_^3

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£+£

(I UDGE JOEL M. LONGENECKER is ranked
_ I not only among the prominent attorneys of
Q) Chicago, but has a reputation which has
made him known- throughout the country. Of
the many citizens of this western metropolis who
have risen to distinction, none deserve more credit
or are more entitled to a place on history's page
than the self-made man, he who inherits neither,
wealth nor position, but acquires both by res
olute industry and toil. He works his way up
ward by determination, overcoming the obstacles
in his path by energy and resolute will. Such a
man is Judge Longenecker.
With a very meagre early education, Mr.
Longenecker's later life has been a continuous
school, with experience as a teacher, and he has
advanced steadily, until his earnest efforts have se
cured for him rank among the leading lawyers of

the Chicago Bar. As an attorney he is versatile
but not verbose. Though naturally a lover of
poetry, and of an imaginative mind, he never in
dulges in sentiment in the court room, but deals
strictly with facts, which in a clear and concise
manner he places before the jury. This inspires
confidence ih his sincerity and wins him the re
spect of all hearers, whether interested in the
case or otherwise. No judge ever felt that Mr.
Longenecker was prosecuting a case before him
with malice, and no juryman ever heard him
falsely construe testimony. Among the many
hundred cases brought by him before the courts
during his term of five years as State's Attorney,
the notable Cronin murder case was one taxing
his ability and energy perhaps more than any
other. Almost international in character, as it
involved the people of two hemispheres, it be
came the most noted as well as one of the most
protracted cases ori record. During the trial he
stood like Grant before Richmond, with shot and
shell falling thick and fast around him, imper
turbable, implacable, until justice under the law
had found some at least of the perpetrators of what
he considered the foulest conspiracy on earth. Let
ters containing threats of personal violence were
received by him almost daily, but he wasted little
of his valuable time in their perusal, consigning
them to the flames and continuing in his official
course without alteration or abatement of zeal for
justice. Conviction followed, and the majority of
the people manifested their approval.
It may safely be said that there is no official
position, either elective or received by appoint
ment, in this country, that is subjected to so much
criticism from the press, or such acrimonious at
tacks from the over- reaching and law-breaking el
ement of society as that of State's Attorney;
yet Judge Longenecker took leave of his po
sition at the end of his term with >the ad
miration of myriads of friends, and at least
the respect of his enemies. In politics, Judge
Longenecker is a Republican, and few men are
better versed on the questions of the day, as is
shown by his eloquent speeches made in behalf
of his party principles. He is a firm believer in
the religion of Christ, and has been for many '

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

595

years a member of the Methodist Church, thus
following in the footsteps of his parents, for whose
piety and devotion to Christianity he has the
highest veneration.
His father and mother, Edwin A. and Mary
(Byers) Longenecker, were both born in Lancas
ter County, Pa. , and came of old Pennsylvania-
Dutch families. They were married in their na
tive county in 1834, and ten years later removed
to'Ulinois, locating on a farm near Robinson,
Crawford County, where they continued to reside
until death. The mother passed away in 1893,
at the age of eighty years, and the father died in
1894, at the age of eighty-six. Upon the old
farm in Crawford County, Joel M. was born Jan
uary 12, 1847. He is the youngest of seven liv
ing children. He had seven brothers, and six of
the sons, including himself, were among the boys
in blue in the War of the Rebellion: Of these,
Henry was killed at the battle of Stone River,
and Michael died in the Army of the Tennessee.
In 1864, Judge Longenecker married Emma Flor
ence, daughter of Chester H. Fitch, and to them
have been born the following children: Ralph,
Theodore, Rolla, Fitch, Gladys and Theodosia.

-S.

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Gj\ DAM C. ORR is one of the highly-esteemed
Li citizens of Park Ridge. His home is the
/ | 'center of sociability, and there men of culture
delight to gather and discuss literary and other
topics which tend to mental advancement. Mr.
Orr was born in La Chute, in the province of Que
bec, Canada, November 9, 1839, and is a sou
of Samuel and Jane (Hicks) Orr. On the pa
ternal side our subject came from the old Mc
Lean family, of Scotland. At length, however,
the family became divided in the Scottish feuds,
and those who located iu the Lowlands took the
name of Ayrs, which was subsequently- changed
into the present mode of spelling.
Samuel Orr crossed the Atlantic to Canada in
1817. He married Miss Hicks, who was born in

the north of Ireland, although of English ex
traction. To Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Orr were
born ten children. One died in infancy. Three
came to the United States, namely: Priscilla J.
Orr, of Park Ridge; Frank A. Orr, of Chicago;
and the subject of our sketch. The other six re
main in Canada, namely: Elias S. Orr, Registrar
of Compton County, Quebec; Capt. Wesley F.
Orr, Mayor of the city of Calgary, Alberta;
James E. Orr, ofthe same place; George M. Orr,
of St. Catherines; William E. R. Orr, of Tees-
water; and Watson C. Orr, of Winona, Ontario.
In the common schools of his native country,
Adam C. Orr acquired a good English education.
In his father's country store he received his first
lessons in business, but he left mercantile pur
suits to engage in teaching, which profession he
successfully followed for thirteen years in Canada.
In 1863 he spent a term at the Normal School,
affiliated to McGill College, Montreal, and sub
sequently, while engaged in teaching, read the
Arts curriculum of that university, and made
translations ofthe Satires of Juvenal and Odes of
Horace into English verse, the manuscripts of
which were destroyed in the Chicago fire. He
was for some time employed as teacher of the
French language and literature in La Chute Col
lege, P. Q., and later as Principal ofthe Central
School, St. Mary's, Ont. It was in 1870 that he
came to Chicago, where soon after he engaged as
Superintendent with the Gillett Chemical Works.
On the ist of October, 1876, Mr. Orr was
united in marriage with Miss Cleo Petrie, who
was born in Crystal Lake, McHenry County, 111.,
December 10, 1848. Her parents, Henry and
Maria (Ruggles) Petrie, were of German extrac
tion, and were among the early settlers of north
eastern. Illinois, whence they came from the vi
cinity of Albany, N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. Orr
was born a son, Samuel Henry, who died at the
age of thirteen years. He was a boy who at
tracted almost universal attention because of his
perfect physique, fine intellectual attainments,
and gentlemanly bearing. He was a member of
a company of Zouaves, in which he held the
highest office, and was laid to rest in their uni
form. The flag that floats from the school build-

596

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ing at Park Ridge was given by his mother with
appropriate ceremony to the Board of Education
in memory of her darling boy.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Orr hold an enviable posi
tion in social circles where true worth and intel
ligence are received as the passports into good
society. They have made their home in Park
Ridge since 1881. Socially, Mr. Orris connected
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
with the Royal Arcanum. He is also a member
of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
(TOHN G. SHORTALL has been prominently
I connected -With the history of Chicago for al-
Q) most forty years; especially has he been a
leader in benevolent work and an influential pat
ron of those arts which tend to elevate mankind.
Literature has also found in him a friend, and along
these various lines the efforts of Mr. Shortall have
greatly promoted the best interests of this west
ern metropolis.
Our subject was born in Dublin, Ireland, Sep
tember 20, 1838, and is a son of John and Char
lotte (Towson) Shortall. When the son was be
tween two and three years old, his parents emi
grated with their family to America, joining an
elder branch long settled in New York. The
only brother of our subject, Pierce S. Shortall,
served continuously throughout the War of the
Rebellion, as a member of a regiment of New
York volunteers, until killed at the battle of
Averasboro, N. C, in April, 1865.
After the death of his parents, the subject of
this sketch was employed by the late Horace
Greeley, and the two or three years (1852, 1853
and 1854) passed in the editorial rooms of the
New York Tribune proved to be a period of edu
cation that he feels he could in no way have dis
pensed with, for he was there brought in contact
with the men who molded public opinion in those
days, the master minds of the age being often
present there. In the summer of 1854, following
the advice of Mr. Greeley, he came to the West,
locating first in Galena, where he was engaged

for a short time with the Illinois Central Railroad
Company in the completion of the construction
and survey work between Scales Mound and Ga
lena. Going thence to Chicago in the late autumn
,of 1 854, he was engaged for a few months upon the
Chicago Tribune. He then withdrew to enter the
office of J. Mason Parker, and incidentally took
up the study of real-estate and law titles, which
profession he has followed to the present time.
At the time Mr. Shortall entered the office, Mr.
Parker was engaged in the work of preparing the
real-estate- abstract books afterward known as
the Shortall & Hoard Abstracts, and which are
now the property of the Title Guarantee and
Trust Company, ofwhich Mr. Shortall is a Direc
tor. Upon the completion ofthe books in 1856,
our subject leased them, and began the business
of making abstracts and examining titles of real
estate, which was then assuming great importance,
He was among the first to reduce the details of
that business to the perfect and simple system
of to-day, so that security in transferring real
estate could be guaranteed. In October, 187 1,
the great fire swept over the, city, and the county
records were entirely destroyed. The volume of
the abstract business had largely increased. At
that time there were three abstract firms in Chi
cago, each of which saved a large part of its
valuable records. It was soon found that while
the most valuable portion of the abstract records
were saved, not one set was entirely complete;
and as it seemed very probable that difficulties
and involvements would in consequence arise, the
three firms decided that the public interests would
be best served by a consolidation of all the evi
dences of title extant. This was done. Moneyed
men relied upon the accuracy of the books and
the skill and integrity of the owners, and, thus
confident, loaned the hundreds of millions of dol
lars necessary to the rebuilding ofthe city. Mr.
Shortall continued with his associates in the con
duct of the business until 1873, when the prop
erty was leased to Messrs. Handy & Co., and
Mr. Shortall retired from active participation in
it, though still retaining his holdings and interest.
Ou the 5th of September, 1861, Mr. Shortall
married Miss Mary Dunham Staples, who died in

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

597

August, 1880. They became the parents of one
son, John L- Mr. Shortall has two grandchil
dren, Katherine and Helen.
Although he retired from private business, our
subject has been none the less active, for he has
devoted his time and energies untiringly to mat
ters pertaining to the welfare of the city, believing
a man's duty to his fellow-citizens to be continu
ous. For twenty-five years he has been devoted
to the good of. his townsmen, doing all in his
power to aid in the promotion of the city's pros
perity, being imbued with an exalted pride in its
progress. He is a constant patron of fine arts,
and was one of the Directors of the old Philhar
monic Society, and afterward President ofthe Beet
hoven Society during almost its entire existence.
He is also one of the honorary members of the
Amateur Musicale Club of this city. A writer of
intelligence and force, he has made valuable con
tributions to papers and periodicals. His keen ap
preciation ofthe thoughts of master minds through
all ages has led him to do much for literature.
As a member of many organizations he has sought
through them to influence public opinions in high
and honorable channels. In 1880 he was ap
pointed by the School Board one of the appraisers
ofthe school property, and in 1886 was appointed
Appraiser of School Lands by Mayor Harrison.
In the appraisement of 1880 the application of
the rental value to materially aid in determining
the value of realty was, it is believed, first intro
duced and applied as a system. It has since be
come almost universal. In 1883 Mr. Shortall was
appointed a Director ofthe Chicago Public Libra
ry, and served three terms as President. He con
ducted negotiations- on behalf of the Board which
resulted in securing Dearborn Park as the site of
the Public Library building, and in-the successful
adjustment of all opposing claims. Under his
administration the plans of the superb new library
building were selected under large competition,
and the necessary appropriation of moneys made
by the city. He was originally appointed a Di-.
rector by Mayor Harrison, and re-appointed by
Mayors Harrison, Cregier and Washburn suc
cessively, and he still serves in that position. In
politics, he is independent. He has been con

nected with various reform movements in the
city government, and the Municipal Reform Club,
which did much valuable service, and the Citizens'
Association attest in their records his service and
labors. Of the Masonic fraternity Mr. Shortall is an
old, though no longer an active, member. In re
ligious belief he is an Episcopalian, and for
merly belonged to Trinity and Grace Episcopal
Churches; but since the withdrawal of Prof.
Swing from the Presbyterian Church, and his or
ganization of the Central Church, he has been
a regular attendant on its services.
Along few lines of work, however, has the
name of Mr. Shortall become so widely known as
through his connection with the Illinois Humane
Society. In 1869 one of its original organizers,
he became one of its directors, and in May, 1877,
was chosen President of that most commendable
organization, to which position he has ever since
been annually elected. He has earned the recog
nition and gratitude ofthe benevolent people ofthe
city and State, for it has been largely through his
instrumentality, his business ability and legal
acumen, as well as his industry and devotion, that
the success of what is now one of the strong
est forces of our social system was assured. Its
beneficial results cannot be over-estimated. It
was through his efforts that the society joined the
protection of children to its work. Mr. Shortall
called the American and Canadian Societies for '
the Prevention of Cruelty together in 1877, and
the American Humane Association was thereupon
organized in Cleveland, Ohio, in that year. In
1884, Mr. Shortall was elected its President, and
again in 1892 and 1893. He also is an honorary
member of the Pennsylvania Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. During the
World's Columbian Exposition, Mr. Shortall, as
the Chairman ofthe Men's Committee on Moral
and Social Reform of the Auxiliary Congresses,
assisted in the important work of that committee,
and organized and conducted the Humane Con
gress in October, 1893, which was so successful.
He also arranged the Humane exhibit of the
American Humane Association in the Liberal
Arts Building, for which it obtained a reward,

598

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

medal and diploma. Of social organizations not
above mentioned, Mr. Shortall is a member of
the Chicago Club, the Chicago Literary Club, and
the Algonquin Club, of Boston. If asked what is
the controlling element in the life of Mr. Shortall,
his many friends would undoubtedly respond, "A
sense of justice and kindness." A warm and sym
pathetic heart, which reaches out in charity and
love to the worthy helpless, the suffering and the
needy, has made his name synonymous with good
works, yet it is but just to him to say that he
does not seek the admiration of the public, and,
were it possible to do so, his works would be
known only to himself.

_¦=)

"S3

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[""RANKLIN DWIGHT COSSITT, Jr., only
r?) surviving son of F. D. and Martha L-
|* (Moore) Cossitt, was born in LaGrange,
Tenn., December 4, 1861, and during his infancy
was taken by his parents to Chicago. About a
year later his mother died, and he was taken back
by her sister to Tennessee, where he continued
to make his home until 1869. In his eighth year
he returned to Chicago, and attended its public
schools and pursued a course in one of its busi
ness colleges. At the age of eighteen he opened
a general store in La Grange, which he conducted
for three years. At the end of this period he
sold out, and again took up study at a business
college. He next became associated with his fa
ther in the real-estate business, a connection which
has continued until the present time.
On the 10th of February, 1886, Mr. Cossitt
married Miss Margaret A. , daughter of Dr. George
M. Fox, a prominent citizen of La Grange, whose
biography appears elsewhere in this work. Four
children have been born to them, namely: Frank
lin D., named for his paternal grandfather; George
M., named for his maternal grandfather; Jean,
who bears the name of her maternal grandmother;
and Margaret, her mother's namesake.
In 1889 Mr. Cossitt was elected Trustee of the
village of La Grange, and has twice been re-
lected, now serving his third term. In 1892 he

was elected Highway Commissioner of Lyons
Township, and is now Treasurer of that town
ship. In political sentiment, he is a Democrat,
and is now serving his second term as a member
of the County Democratic Central Committee.
The prominent part which he has taken in public
affairs, and especially in the upbuilding of this
community, entitles him to representation among
the public-spirited and progressive citizens of
Cook County.
EHARLES E. SINCLAIR, Secretary and
Treasurer of the Barlow-Sinclair Printing
Company, and one of the leading and influ
ential citizens of Ravenswood, is a native of Ken
dall County, 111., born February 27, 1842. The
family is of Scotch ancestry. The parents were
James and Lydia Ann (Hicks) Sinclair. The
father followed the business of a tinsmith in New
York until 1835, when he emigrated westward to
take charge of a shop for Jones & King, of Chi
cago. In 1838, he removed to Kendall County,
but afterwards returned to Chicago, and for twen
ty-two years the family owned a homestead on State
Street. In 1874, they were burned out, since
which time a business house has been erected
upon the land. The two brothers, George and
James C, have carried on operations for twenty-
seven years. In the family were nine children,
eight of whom are yet living.
Charles E. Sinclair, who is next to the young
est of the family, was educated in the public
schools, and was one of the pupils to enter the
first Chicago High School, from which he was
graduated in i860. Soon afterwards he entered
the employ of Beach & Barnard, printers of Chi
cago, and learned the business with which he is
now connected. However, he abandoned his
work in 1864 to enlist in the service of his coun
try, becoming First. Lieut euant of Company A,
One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Illinois Infantry.
He did service with the Western Army until the
close of the war, when he returned home- and
again entered upon the printing business.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

599

As a member of the firm of Sinclair & Blair,
our subject continued at that business until 1875,
when he retired on account of ill health. He
spent one season in the Rocky Mountains and was
much benefited thereby. He then again took up
the printing business at No. 81 Clark Street,
where he was engaged for fourteen years. He
later became Secretary of the Barlow-Sinclair
-Printing Company, which position he now fills.
Socially, Mr. Sinclair is connected with the
Royal League and with U. S. Grant Post No. 28,
G. A. R. This is the second largest post in the
State, and he is now serving in the honored posi
tion of Commander. For twelve years he has
been a promoter and patron of the public library
of Ravenswood, and has filled all the offices con
nected therewith. He is certainly entitled to
special credit for his services in its behalf. It is
recognized as one of the potent forces in shaping
the lives of men, and it has been Mr. Sinclair's
endeavor to issue from the library only those
books which cultivate the highest spirit in man and
tend to advance his best interests.

&+£#

QGjlELIAM HENRY ROHRIG, who is Chief
\ A / of the Water Inspection Department in
YY tbe city of Chicago, comes of a family of
German origin. His father was a native of Ger
many, and in 1847 left that land for the New
World. On crossing the Atlantic, he came at
once to Chicago, where he made a permanent lo
cation, here continuing his residence until his
death, which occurred in 1889, at the age of six
ty-two years. His widow still survives him and
is living in this city.
Our subject was born in Chicago in the year
1862, attended its public and high schools, and
was graduated from the latter in 1876 — the Cen
tennial year. At the age of fifteen, on leaving
school, he was employed in the picture-frame bus
iness, and at eighteen years of age became man
ager of a saloon, which he carried on for three
years. For some time he has been iu the employ
ofthe city. In 1885, he became connected with

the Post-office Department as Mail Clerk, and
served in that position until 1889, when he was
made Water Inspector for the city, by the ap
pointment of Mayor Cregier. He was afterwards
Assessor and Collector for the West Town office,
and in 1893 he was made Chief of the Water Im
spector's Department by Carter H. Harrison, then
Mayor of Chicago.
Since his father's death, Mr. Rohrig has had
the care of his mother and brothers, and with
them makes his home at No. 256 North Carpen
ter Street. In politics, he has been a stalwart
Democrat since attaining his majority, and is a
zealous advocate of the principles of his party.
He does all in his power to insure its success, and
is ever loyal to its interests. In his social rela
tions, Mr. Rohrig is connected with the Knights
of Pythias, and the Independent Order of For
esters. He owns an interest in an establishment
where are manufactured soda and mineral waters.
The factory is located at No. 127 North Green
Street, and the business done is a flourishing one,
four wagons being employed in delivery. The
late Alderman J. N. Mulvihill, who was shot
by a ruffian in the latter part of January, 1894,
was the partner of Mr. Rohrig in this enterprise.
Business is not likely to suffer while in the hands
of Mr. Rohrig, whose energy and ability are de
monstrated in his rapid advancement in the public
service, aside from any other evidences — such as
his early graduation from the high school, etc. His
success in life is well merited, being the result of
his own industry, seconded by sound judgment.

_¦=]

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GI B. PINE occupies a responsible position with
T\ the Western Union Telegraph Company, as
l\ tax commissioner, and as agent for the build
ing owned by that company in this city. He was
born in the Empire State in 1843, and is a son of
Samuel M. Pine, who came of one of the early-
families of New York. Our subject acquired his
early education in that State, and when his school
life ended at the age of eleven years, he learned
the trade of a printer, which he followed until the

6oo

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

breaking out ofthe late war. He had watched with
interest the progress of events, had seen the indi
cations of the coming struggle, and determined
that if an attempt was made to overthrow the
Union, he would strike a blow in its defense.
Ft. Sumter was fired upon, and Mr. Pine re
sponded to the first call for troops made by Presi
dent Lincoln, enlisting onthe 25th of April, 1861,
as a member of Company A, of the Hamilton
Rifles, which became connected with the Seventy-
fourth New York Regiment, better known as
the Fifth Regiment of the Excelsior Brigade. He
participated in many of the engagements of the
Army of the Potomac, and escaped any serious
injury until at the battle of Chancellorsville, in
May, 1863. During the terrible struggle on that
Sunday morning, and during a fierce attack, a
shell exploded near our subject, breaking off a
limb of a tree, which fell across his back. The
injury he thus sustained caused his confinement
in the hospital for several months. After his
three-year term had expired, Mr. Pine re-enlisted
in the navy, and was ordered on board the Presi
dent's yacht, the "Lady Sterling," having been
appointed master mate of that ship. He thus
served until the close of the war, when he was
honorably discharged at Washington, D. C, in
July, 1865. He was a faithful soldier, and the
Union cause found in him one of its loyal sup
porters. After being mustered out, Mr. Pine went to
Brooklyn, N. Y., where he worked at the print
ers' trade for a time. Later, he bought out the
Long Island Farmer, a paper established in 18 19,
and published at Jamaica, N. Y., for which he
had formerly served as reporter and local editor.
He continued the publication of the Farmer for
a period of seven years. It was the only Republi
can paper in the county, and met with good suc
cess. During his residence there he was a mem
ber ofthe Board of Education, and served in that
capacity for eight years.
In 1868 was celebrated the marriage of our sub
ject and Miss Emma Richards, daughter of Robert
Richards, who for years was a contractor of Chi
cago. They had three children, two sons and
a daughter, Samuel, Harry and Fannie, the

latter dying in infancy. Their home is a pleas
ant residence in Normal Park, and in the com
munity where they reside they have many warm
friends and agreeable acquaintances. Socially,
Mr. Pine is a member of the Odd Fellows, being
Past Grand in that order, and Past District Deputy
of New York. He also belongs to the Royal
Arcanum, Roy-al League, Knights of Pythias and
George, R. Meade Post, G. A. R. His wife holds,
membership with the Congregational Church,
and is one of its leading workers.
In 1884 Mr. Pine sold his paper in the East
and came to Chicago. He started and published
a weekly- paper in Englewood, known as The Call,
but after three months he merged it into a daily.
In November, 1885, he sold this to a stock com
pany-, and entered the employ of the Chicago,
Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company, in the
' 'lost and damaged freight' ' department, but after
two months he resigned that position to form a
connection with the Western Union Telegraph
Company. He is now agent for their beautiful
building in Chicago, and is also tax commissioner.
His duties are faithfully performed, and he has
the confidence and trust of the company. In
addition to his home in Normal Park, he owns
several lots there. Business ability has won for
him success in life, and his prosperity is the just
reward of his labors.

*#$+£§

JTJLARK A. COOLEY is the efficient Clerk
I C of Elk Grove Township, Cook County.
\J He resides on section 16, and is numbered
among the prominent farmers of the community.
His entire life has been spent in this locality, and
an honorable, upright career has gained him the
high regard of all with whom he has been brought
in contact. He was born in Elk Grove Town
ship, this county, September 21, 1847, aU(i comes
of an old New England family. His father,
Charles Cooley, was a native of Vermont, and
emigrated to Illinois in 1845, locating in Elk
Grove Township, where he took up a claim from
the Government and began the development of a

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

60 1

farm, transforming the raw prairie into rich and
fertile fields. There he carried on agricultural
pursuits and made his home until his death,
which occurred in 1884, in his sixty- fourth year.
In politics, he was a Democrat, and served as
School Director. Mrs Cooley, who bore the
maiden name of Clara Green, is a native of Mass
achusetts, and is yet living, at the age of seventy-
two. Both families were of English origin.
In the Cooley family were seven children, our
subject, who is the eldest, being the only son.
The daughters were: Kittie, wife of Willjam
Higgins, of Elk Grove Township; Mary, who
died at the age of six years; Sarah, widow of
John B. Weeks, and a resident of Beadle County,
S. Dak.; Addie, who died at the age ofa year and
a-half; Clara, wife of John Carson, a resident of
Iowa; and Mary, who is engaged in teaching
school, and makes her home in Arlington
Heights. C. A. Cooley spent the days of his boyhood
and youth in the usual manner of farmer lads, and
in the schools of Elk Grove Township acquired a
good English education. From an early age he
has been familiar with all the details of farming,
for as soon as old enough to handle the plow he
began work in the fields, and to agricultural pur
suits has since devoted his energies. In his deal
ing, he has been quite successful. His farm com
prises one hundred and fifty-six acres of valuable
land, and is considered one of the best in the town
ship, for the fields are well tilled, and it is sup
plied with all modern accessories and conven
iences. In connection with general farming, the
owner also carries on stock-raising and dealing,
and has met with success in this line.
In 1 87 1, was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Cooley and Miss Rosa J. Crego, a native of New
York, who, when a maiden of twelve summers,
removed with her parents to Arlington Heights,
111. There her girlhood days were passed. Two
children grace this union, a son and daughter,
Frank A. and Anna E., both of whom are still
at home.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Cooley is a Re
publican, and in 1893 was elected Clerk of his
township, which position he is now creditably fill

ing. He has also served as School Director, and
has filled other offices. Having spent his entire
life in this community, Mr. Cooley has witnessed
the many changes which have taken place in the
county, has seen its growth and upbuilding, and
has aided in its development. He has ever been
a progressive and public-spirited man, and is rec
ognized as a valued citizen.
® <^S3^TH^Q=!S!====:t:=€
QETER J. ELLERT, a leading attorney of
yr Chicago, and a member of the City Council,
[3 is a native of Germany. He was born in
Fleusburg, on the 3d of August, 1853, and is a
son of Charles P. and Maria Ellert. His father
served as a soldier in the German and Danish War
in 1848. His death occurred in Chicago in 1887,
at the age of sixty years, but his widow is still
living. Our subject acquired his education in the land
of his birth, and there remained until sixteen
years of age, when he bade adieu to home and
friends and sailed for America. This was in 1869.
He located in Chicago, and with the interests of this
city he has since been identified. For a year after
his arrival he worked as a lithographer, and then
entered the employ of Charles Brachvogel, the
proprietor of a picture-frame factory, where he
continued for two years. The four succeeding
years of his life were spent in the employ of
the .Etna Sewing-machine Company as collector,
and on severing his connection with that firm,
he became book-keeper for the Tomlinson Shirt
Company. Later, he was with the L. Schultz
Furniture Company as book-keeper.
In 1879, Mr. Ellert began the study of law in the
office of W. M. Stanley, and after thorough prep
aration was admitted to the Bar in 1881. He at
once opened an office, and has since been engaged
in legal practice, meeting with good success in
his undertakings. He is a lawyer of recognized
ability, and is a leader among the German citi
zens of Chicago. He makes a specialty of com
mercial law, especially with that which has to do
with real estate.

602

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

In 1890 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Ellert and Miss Anna Hanson, by whom he has
two children. He and his family are members of
the Lutheran Church, and are actively interested
in church and benevolent work. Our subject
also takes quite an interest in civic societies. He
has taken all of the degrees of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias,
has filled all of the offices in the local lodge, and
has served as representative to the Grand Lodge
on several occasions. He has held membership
with the Turners' Society since 1874, and is an
honored member of the Royal League and the
Royal Arcanum.
In politics, Mr. Ellert is a stalwart Democrat,
and warmly advocates the principles of his party,
in whose behalf he labors untiringly. In 1885 he
was made a candidate for the office of City At
torney, but was defeated by a small majority, his
opponent being Mr. Washburn. In 1892 he was
nominated and elected Alderman, and is now
serving as a member of the City Council. He is
always found on the side of progress, and labors
for the best interests of the people in general.
His legal practice has grown, and he now receives
from the public a liberal patronage, while among
his professional brethren he has gained a high
reputation.

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P GJlLLIAM J. SUTHERLAND is now Gen-
\ A / eral Manager of the Mooney & Boland
V V Detective Agency of Chicago, and has
risen to this responsible position through skill
and ability. He was born near Logansport, Ind. ,
onthe 3d of November, 1863, and is a son of
George Clinton and Esther A. (Gerhart) Suther
land, the former a native of New York City, and
the latter of Baltimore, Md. His paternal grand
father, William J. Sutherland, . was a native of
Scotland, and crossed the Atlantic to America in
1812. By trade he was a gunsmith. In 1830,
he removed with his family to Logansport, Ind.,
and settled on a farm. There in connection with
agricultural pursuits he engaged in milling, and

the father of our subject became a miller by trade.
George C. Sutherland resided in Logansport
from 1830 until his death, which, occurred in
1875. During the last ten years of his life he
lived retired. His wife passed away in 1864.
After her death, Mr. Sutherland rharried Lucinda
B. Lay, and they became the parents ofa daugh
ter, Carrie, now the wife of Reuben Winimer,, of
Wabash, Ind. Mr', and Mrs. Sutherland were
members of the Presbyterian Church. He was a
prominent Mason, having taken the Thirty-third
degree, and was also a member of the Knights of
Pythias. He. took little active interestin politics,
but voted with the Republican party.
William J. Sutherland was the only child of
his parents. In early life he spent the summer
months upon a farm, while in the winter season
he attended school. He was graduated from the
public schools of Logansport at the age of seven
teen, and immediately thereafter entered an insur
ance office, where he received a salary of $2 per
week. Later he was employed in a grocery store
as clerk and as driver ofthe delivery wagon. In
1882, he came to Chicago and entered the office
of the Mooney & Boland Detective Agency as
clerk. The western office of this firm had then
but recently been opened. Soon after, Mr. Suth
erland was transferred to the position of operator,
and has been successively promoted step by step
to the position of chief operator, superintendent
and general manager. The last-named position
he has held since 1886. Upon the death of Mr.
Mooney, the senior member of the firm, in March,
1892, he purchased his interest, and still retains
possession of the same. He now has complete
charge of all the business west of Ohio. The
company has its agents actively engaged in work
in nine-tenths of the States included in this terri
tory, their work being directed from the Chicago
office. They have had charge of many of the
most noted cases on record, including the cele
brated Mackin and Gallagher ballot-box fraud in
the Second Precinct of the Eighteenth Ward of
Chicago, and the Cook County boodle cases of
this city. So thoroughly and efficiently were their
duties performed that the confidence and com
mendation of the press and general public were

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

603

unanimously given them. They also received
high praise from the oflicers of the Grand Rapids
& Indiana Railroad Company for their prompt
and thorough work in bringing to conviction a
miscreant "who caused the wreck of a passenger
train on that road in 1892.
On the 30th of May, 1888, Mr. Sutherland
married Miss' Dollie Minnick, daughter of Dr. E.
G. Minnick, of Arlington Fleights, and a native
of Iowa-. They are both members of the Presby
terian Church, and have many friends in the so
cial circles in which they move. Their home,
a fine residence on Ellis Avenue, was erected in
1893, and is a model of comfort and taste.
Socially, Mr. Sutherland is a Master Mason, is
a member of the Chicago Athletic Club, and is
connected with several other organizations of the
kind. In politics, he is independent. An ardent
admirer of fine horses, his stable contains some of
the finest pacing and saddle horses to be found in
this region, and driving is his most enjoyable
recreation. He is a gentleman whose keen and
quick judgment well fits him for his chosen pro
fession, in which he has met with such excellent
success.

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(fl\ NDREW YOUNG, one of the honored veter-
T\ ans of the late war, who for many years did
fl business as a plumber and gas-fitter in Chi
cago, but is now practically retired, was born in
Glasgow, Scotland, on the ist of August, 1840,
and is a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Dougan)
Young. The family crossed the ocean to the
United States in 1854. The father died in 1874,
at the age of sixty-eight years, and the mother in
1866, at the age of fifty-four.
Our subject was a lad of only fourteen years at
the time of the emigration. The family at once
settled in Chicago, and the following year he
learned the trade of plumbing with A. Raffen.
With this business he has since been connected
in different capacities, save during the time he
aided in the defense of the Union. Prompted by
patriotic impulses, he responded to the country's

call for troops, and joined the Sixty-fifth Illinois
Infantry as a private. Before his discharge his
meritorious conduct and bravery- on the field of
battle won him promotion through all the grades
to the rank of Captain. He was always found at
his post, faithful to every duty, and when the war
was over he was honorably discharged.
Returning to his home, Mr. Young has since
been connected with the business interests of Chi
cago. In 1866, he established a plumbing and
gas-fitting establishment on Madison Street, in
which he was actively concerned for twenty- three
years. From the beginning his trade increased,
and in course of time he had a most liberal pat
ronage, thereby acquiring a comfortable income.
On retiring from the business, he placed it in the
hands of his son, who still continues in that line
of trade. While serving as President of the
Plumbers' Association, he did much toward se
curing in Chicago good plumbing, especially in ref
erence to the sanitary arrangements of buildings.
He was elected Vice-President of the National
Plumbers' Association, which convened in Balti
more, being chosen to that office June 26, 1884.
It is his earnest desire to advance all branches or
departments of sanitary work, and while President
of the Plumbers' Association he caused the dif
ferent dealers in plumbers' supplies to work in
harmony with the health department. He has
proposed a plan whereby circulars shall be printed
and distributed to interested persons, calling their
attention to the good that can be accomplished
through sanitary plumbing. His idea is to edu
cate the people to demand good work, knowing
that if this is done the plumbers will perform the
kind of service required.
On the 8th of September, 1884, Mr. Young
was appointed by the Governor of Illinois as
Commissioner to the World's Fair in New Or
leans, aud in connection with that work he also
had charge of the sanitary exhibit. On the ist
of June, 1889, he was made Chief Inspector of the
tenement houses and factories of this city, and is
the author of the sanitary code of Chicago.
In i860, Mr. Young was united in marriage
with Miss Isabella A. Logan, and unto them were
born twelve children, seven ofwhom are yet liv-

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604

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ing, while three are now married. The parents
are both members of the Western Avenue Baptist
Church, take an active part in everything con
nected therewith, and contribute liberally to its
support. They are charitable and benevolent
people and have the high regard of all who know
them. Mr. Young is a member of Thomas Post, G
A.R., has been Officer of the Day and Com
mander, and has served in some official position
for eight consecutive years. He is also a Third
Degree Mason. In politics, he is an active and
zealous supporter of the Democracy, and has
been a member of the Twelfth Ward 'Democratic
Club.' Mr. Young has labored untiringly and
has done much for the sanitary interests of the
city, and his commendable efforts in this line
should receive the support and co-operation of
, all. & ¦ *¦ si ~^"t* > ts~~ a
([ W. ROBINSON, who is at the head of the
I Chicago Co-operative Clerical Company, is a
(~) native of Wisconsin, where his birth occurred
about 1850. He is a son of J. L- Robinson,
and on both sides conies of old families which
have lived in this country since Colonial days.
Their representatives aided in the Revolutionary
War, and Paul Revere, whose name has gone
down through history on account of the promi
nent part which he played in the beginning ofthe
struggle, was one of its members. The family
was also represented in the late war by three
uncles of our subject, who enlisted in 1861, and
served until 1865 as officers in the Union army.
J. W. Robinson whose name heads this sketch
was reared in his native State, and his primary
education, which was acquired in the common
schools, was supplemented by a course in Ripon
College, from which he was graduated at the age
of nineteen years. He then entered upon his
business career, becoming a member of the firm
of Bray & Robinson, dealers in and manufacturers
of lumber. They bought extensive tracts of tim
ber-land and cut the trees, making them into lum
ber. They established a number of retail yards

in different parts of the State, and their annual
output was thirty million feet of lumber per year.
From a small beginning their business steadily
increased, until it assumed extensive proportions,
and the enterprise proved a very profitable one.
Business was carried on under the firm name for
a number of years, but in 1884 the partnership
was dissolved, as Mr. Robinson had determined
to remove to Chicago.
In the mean time our subject was married, hav
ing in 1873 been united in marriage with Miss
Etta Whipple. With his wife he came to this
city, which has since been their home. Mr. Rob
inson, soon after his arrival, established an em
ployment bureau, securing positions for gentle
men aud ladies, and furnishing to employers all
classes of mercantile and office help. By careful
and thorough investigation he assures himself that
the employes whom he recommends are compe
tent and trustworthy, and he endeavors to give to
those in search of work good and satisfactory po
sitions. He has therefore won the confidence of
all the better class of business men and clerks,
and is now doing a good business. During the
last three years he has placed about three thou
sand men in employment. He is wide-awake and
enterprising, and by his pleasant manner and his
faithfulness to the trusts reposed in him, he has
won the high regard of all with whom business
or social relations have brought him in contact.

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| AVID WARD WOOD, editor of The Farm
ers' Voice and Secretary of the Agricultural
Press Association, was born in New Jersey,
in 1843, and is a son of Auley and Priscilla (Co
rey) Wood. He is of English and Scotch de
scent, and his ancestors were among the heroes of
the Revolution who valiantly aided in throwing
off the yoke of English tyranny. His father was
a farmer and stock-raiser, devoting his energies
to that work throughout life.
Mr. Wood whose name heads this record ac
quired his education in the public schools, and in
Bucklin University of Lewisburg, Pa. At the

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

605

.. early age of sixteen years he became editor ofthe
Union County Argus, published in Lewisburg,
" Pa., and carried on that paper for six months.
He , afterwards studied law, and was graduated
from the Albany Law School in 1863., The same
year he was admitted to the Bar and entered upon
practice in New York City, where he remained
until 1866, when he went to Boston. He did
newspaper work in that city, and there made
his home for nine years, when, in 1875, he went
to Providence, R. I., and for one year published
The Sunday Dispatch.
On the expiration of that period, Mr. Wood
came to Chicago to take a position ou an agricul
tural paper, and for fifteen years was its editor.
He then became interested in The Farmers' Voice
as editor, and its publication has since been con
ducted under his management. The Farmers'
Voice is a family paper, especially devoted to ar
ticles and items of interest concerning farming and
stock-raising.-" On the 23d of November, 1881, Mr. Wood was
united in marriage with Miss Jennie Hall, daugh
ter of Youngston Hall. They have two children,
namely: Milton G. and Hazel. The parents are
both members of the Congregational Church,
take an active interest in its work, and contribute
liberally to its support.
In his social relations, Mr. Wood is connected
with the Harvard Club of Englewood, and with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In the
lodge with which he holds membership, he has
filled all of the offices. In politics, he is a stalwart
Republican, and takes a most active interest in
fhe growth and success of his party, doing all in
his power to aid in its upbuilding. In 1 891, he
was nominated for United States Senator; he
was also nominated for Alderman, and lost the
election by only fifty votes, although his ward
has the largest. Democratic majority in the city.
In 1892, he was nominated as Drainage Commis-
. . sioner, and ran five thousand votes ahead of his
ticket. Besides his connection with The Farmers' I "oice,
Mr. Wood is also interested in other enterprises.
He is a Director of the Agricultural Press Asso
ciation/and is now serving- as its Secretary. He

is a stockholder in and Secretary of the Columbia
Valley Company, which owns sixty-four thousand
acres in fruit lands in the State of Washington,
and also a number of town sites in Montana. He
is Second Vice-President of the "Reserve Fund
Building and Loan Association of America, and a
Director. Mr. Wood is known throughout the
Northwest as an editor and speaker. He has met
with prosperity in his business career, for he car
ries forward to a successful completion whatever
he undertakes. Whenever he has been named
for office, the press of Chicago, regardless of pol
itics, has united in saying that he was an honor
able, able, broad-minded man, and one of the fin
est orators in Chicago. It is Mr. Wood's especial
pride that he has never sought an office, and that
every time he has been nominated, the nomina
tion has been forced upon him.

^+«~

1

F. McCARTY, who in May, 1893, was ap
pointed Secretary of the City Health Depart
ment, and is now filling that office, is a na
tive of Massachusetts, his birth having occurred
in the city of Boston in 1855. The family is of
Irish lineage, and the father of our subject, John
McCarty, was'born ou the Emerald Isle. In that
country he grew to manhood, but at length bade
adieu to his friends and native land, and in 1840
sailed for America. He located in Boston, Mass.,
and on the breaking out of the late war he re
sponded to the country's call for troops, joining
the boys in blue ofthe Twenty-seventh Massachu
setts Infantry. He remained in the service for
about four years, doing duty as Sergeant, and was
honorably discharged in 1865, on the close ofthe
war. J. F. McCarty whose name heads this record
acquired his education in the schools of his native
cit)-. No event of special importance occurred
during his boyhood and youth. After attaining
to mature years he embarked in merchandising,
dealing in hats, caps, etc. He carried on busi
ness along that line for a period of ten years in
Boston, and then sold out preparatory to remov-

6o6

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ing westward. It was in 1883 that he came to
Chicago, where he has since made his home, and
established a hat and cap store at the corner of
Erie and North Clark Streets. To that business
" he devoted his energies until 1890, when he en
tered the County Treasurer's office, where he was
employed for some time.
This was the beginning of Mr. McCarty 's offi
cial career, but since then he has continuously
held office. On leaving the County Treasurer's
office he was for a time Collector for the North
Side, later was in the Assessor's office, and sub
sequently was again employed in the County
Treasurer's office. In the month of May, 1893,
he was appointed to his present position in con
nection with the Health Department of the city.
In 1880, Mr. McCarty was united in marriage
with Miss Mary McFadden, daughter of Samuel
McFadden, a resident of Worcester, Mass. Four
children have been born of their union, and the
parents and their family are all members of the
Catholic Church, attending the services of the
Holy Name Cathedral on the North Side. Mr.
McCarty belongs to the Catholic Order of For
esters, Waubansee Club, and also to the Work
men's Club. He takes a very active interest in
political affairs, and is a stalwart supporter of the
Democratic party. There is no more faithful
worker in the ranks of the Democracy, and none
more deserving of office than our subject. He is
recognized as one of the leading members of the
Health Department of Chicago, and in the dis
charge of his public duties has ever been found
faithful and true.
* ' """"SI <" T > tS~~ ® ! ®
(TAMES O. HUTCHINSON, who for nine
I years has been in the employ of the well-
G/ known firm of Thomas Cook & Sons, now oc
cupies the position of General Western Agent,
with headquarters at No. 234 South Clark Street,
Chicago. His long continuance with the com
pany is a testimonial of his ability and fidelity
more expressive than any words could be. Mr.
Hutchinson was born in Syracuse, N. Y., in

1845, and comes of one of the oldest families of
the Empire State. His ancestors were originally
natives of Scotland, and came from that country
to America not long after the Colonies had been
founded on the shores of the New World. The
father of our subject was a man of prominence
and influence, and served as a member of the
General Assembly of New York. The maternal
grandfather, Judge Strong, sat on the Supreme
Bench ofthe State in 18 12, and was a prominent
figure in the history of that time.
James O. Hutchinson spent the days of his boy
hood and youth in his parents' home, acquiring
his education in the public schools and in the
naval academy. He acted as Lieutenant for five
years, from i860 until 1865, and then became
Chief Clerk in the office of the Adjutant-General
of New York. There he remained until 1880.
Two years later he formed a connection with the
firm of Thomas Cook & Sons, which has contin
ued up to the present time, and which has seen
him advanced from one position to another, until
he is now General Agent for all western territory,
having entered upon the duties of that position
on the 20th of April, 1893,
Thomas Cook & Sons are general steamship
and railway agents, and secure., passage for sin
gle tourists or parties visiting any known point
on the face ofthe globe. They have their agents
in all countries, who make the traveling arrange
ments, and secure a hotel and other accommoda
tions for visitors, thus giving the tourist time for
sight-seeing which otherwise would be largely
taken up in planning and executing the trip.
They also issue letters of credit and do all ex
change business with the banks.
Mr. Hutchinson himself has made several trips
to distant lands, has visited Asia, spent some
time in Australia, and has seen many of the points
of interest, historical and otherwise, in Europe.
Ho expects soon to start for Japan, where he will
spend seven months among one of the most inter
esting peoples known.
In his social relations, he is connected with the
Grand Army ofthe Republic, and in his political
affiliations is a Democrat. His life has been a
busy one, and he well merits the confidence and

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

607

trust reposed in him by the company with which
he is now connected. His position is a responsi
ble one, for he is agent for the entire Western
Territory, and attends to all the business of this
section of the country.

S. DEVEREUX, who occupies the re
sponsible position of Superintendent, with
the Mooney & Boland Agency of Chicago,
is a native of New South Wales. He was born
near Sydney in the year 1859, and is a son of J.
W. Devereux. When a youth of four years he
left his native land and crossed the ocean to
Ireland, and in 1866 located in New York City.
He is a man of fine education, his advantages
having been obtained in the schools of Dublin,
Ireland, where he was graduated in 1873. When
his education was completed he returned to Amer
ica, and this time made a location in Canada,
where he secured a position as circulating agent
for the London Free Ptess, of London, Ontario.
On leaving that place he went to Toronto, where
he engaged in the study of law for two years.
Mr. Devereux then came again to the United
States, and for a time made his home in Denver,
Colo., where he engaged in the livery business
and in stock-dealing until 1884. In that year he
came to Chicago, and formed a connection with
the Mooney & Boland Agency. After serving in
that capacity as detective for seven years, he was
promoted, becoming Assistant Superintendent.
That position he filled for two years, when he was
given his present position as Superintendent. His
connection with the agency has now continued
for a period of ten years, and his promotion indi
cates his faithful and capable service. Those who
know him know that no better man could be
found, for his abilities, both natural and acquired,
fit him for the work which he now has in charge.
He was connected with the famous Hersey arson
trial in Osceola County, Mich., which resulted in
the conviction of Dr. Wood, who was sent to the
penitentiary for fifteen years.
In 1887, Mr. Devereux was united in marriage

with Miss Matilda Friend, of Denver, Colo., a
daughter of Charles Friend, of "Highlands."
They have three sons: Walter, Harvey ahd Will
iam. In politics, Mr. Devereux is a supporter of
the Republican party and its principles. He is a
pleasant, genial gentleman, affable in manner,
entertaining in conversation, and wherever he goes
wins friends who recognize his sterling qualities,
and therefore hold him in high regard. He is
known to be a wide-awake and enterprising bus
iness man, and his success in life is due to his own
untiring efforts and good management. Mr.
Devereux as a superior officer has the confidence
and warm regard of those under him, and good
fellowship exists between the members of the
agency. He also holds an enviable position in
the esteem of Mr. Sutherland, the manager of the
agency. The firm is recognized by all of the
best class as the most responsible detective agency
not only in Chicago, but in New York, Boston,
and other cities as well. He has seventy men
under his superintendence.

1=1

"S3

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["" RED RITTMUELLER, one of the worthy
Tri German-American citizens of Elk Grove
| * Township, Cook County, residing on section
35, is, like so many of his townsmen, a native of
Hanover, Germany. His father, George Rittmuel-
ler, was also a native of the kingdom of Hanover,
where he made his home until 1854, when he
bade adieu to friends and native land and emi
grated to the New World. He had heard much
of the advantages and privileges here afforded, and
hoped to better his financial condition by coming
to America. He first located in Cook County,
but afterward removed to DuPage County, where
he and his wife yet reside, the former at the age
of seventy-three years, the latter at the age of
eighty . This worthy couple became the parents of
eight children, of whom two are now deceased.
Those still living are Stenie, wife of Fred Thise,
a resident of Minnesota; George, who makes his
home in Chicago; Sophia, wife of Fred Kueker,

6o8

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a farmer of Elk Grove Township; Fred, whose
name heads this sketch; Henry, who is living in
Addison Township, DuPage County; and Lewis,
a teacher of Bloomington, 111.
Our subject was the fourth child and second
son in the family He had only seen four sum
mers at the time when his parents crossed the At
lantic, and since that time he has lived either in
DuPage or Cook Counties, and is therefore famil
iar with their history through many years. He
was educated in the English and German schools.
As soon as old enough to handle the plow, he
began work in the fields, and at the early age of
twelve years he commenced working for neigh
boring farmers. His life has ever been a busy
one, and his success is due entirely to his own
efforts. Mr. Rittmueller remained at home until his
marriage. On the 7th of June, 1872, he was
joined in wedlock with Miss Mary Heuer, one of
Cook County ' s daughters. Her people were early
settlers of this community. For a year after their
marriage, the young couple lived with her father,
but in 1874 they removed to the farm which has
since been their home. Ten children have been
born of their union, five sons and five daughters,
of whom eight are yet living, namely: Pau
lina, Martha, George, Gustave, Henry, Will
iam, Anna and Alvina. One daughter, by the
name of Anna, and a son, Lewis, are now deceased.
The children, with the exception of Paulina,
were all born upon the homestead farm.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Rittmueller is a
Republican. He served for two terms in the of
fice of Assessor, and is now School Trustee, which
position he has filled for five years. He and
his family are members of the Lutheran Church,
and he has served as its collector four years. In
church and benevolent work he takes an active
interest, and does all in his power for their ad
vancement. He now owns one hundred and
eighty and a-half acres of good land, and devotes
his time and energies to general farming and stock-
raising, which business he has successfully fol
lowed for a number of years, until he is now the
possessor of a comfortable competence. His home
is a commodious and beautiful brick residence,

which was erected in 1892, at a cost of $4,500.
Upon the place are good barns and all other acces
sories and conveniences of a model farm.

c=l

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W

PG) ILLI AM C. HAMMERL has since 1884
been engaged in business as a contractor
and builder in Des Plaines, and during the
ten years in which he has devoted his energies to '
this enterprise he has built up a good trade, and
is now enjoying a liberal patronage. His handi
work is seen on all sides, and many structures
stand as monuments to his thrift.
Mr. Hammerl, who was born in Mecklenburg- ,
Schwerin, Germany, on the 6th of July, 1846,
is one of nine children born unto Carl and
Louise (Brummer) Hammerl. The parents were
married in 1841, and the members of the family
are as follows: Fritz, now living in the Father
land; Paulina, wife of Carl Schroeder, of Germany;
William, whose name heads this sketch; Mag-
delena, Mrs. Schmidt; Lewis, of Germany; Au
gusta, Albert, Antone and Henry, all of whom
are still living in the Old Country.
In the public schools of his native land William
Hammerl acquired his education. He became a
cook, and followed that calling during his resi
dence in Germany. He was a young man of -
twenty-two years when he determined to seek a
home beyond the Atlantic. In 1868 he bade
adieu to home and friends and sailed for the New
World. On his arrival he made his first set
tlement in Pike County, Pa. Previous to this
time he had served as cook on a Bremen Line
steamer for about two years, and during that pe
riod had crossed the ocean sixteen times. After
locating in Pennsylvania, he began work at the
carpenter's trade, which he there followed until
1 87 1, when he came to Des Plaines and began
working in a brickyard for F. Whitcomb, by
whom he was employed for eight years. His
long-continued service with one man indicates his
fidelity to duty and his promptness. In 1879 he
began carpenter work in this place, and after
working for others for a number of years, he em-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

609

barked in business on his own account as a con
tractor and builder. Since that time he has suc
cessfully carried on operations along this line. He
has also in the mean time carried on a butcher-shop
for a year arid a-half.
On the 7th of April, 1872, Mr. Hammerl was
united in marriage with Miss Mary Wagner, a
daughter of Fred and Louise (Schultz) Wagner.
They have become the parents of fourteen chil
dren, nine of whom are still living, five sons and
four daughters, as follows: Charles, William,
Henry, Herman, John, Louise, Mary, Anna and
Elsie. All are still with their parents.
In his social relations, Mr. Hammerl is con
nected with Gladiator Lodge No. 450, K. P., of
which he is a charter member, and also belongs
to the German Benevolent Society of Des Plaines.
He holds membership with the German Luther
an Church, and takes an active interest in char
itable and benevolent work. In politics, he has
been a Republican since casting his first Presi
dential vote for R. B. Hayes. For two years he
served as Collector of Maine Township, to which
office he was elected in the spring of 1889. Aside
from his business, Mr. Hammerl owns four acres
and a comfortable residence in Maine Township.
He has won success iu his business, and is now
in comfortable circumstances as the result of his
toil and labor in former years. It was a fortunate
day for him when he came to America, and he
loves the land of his adoption.

WIlSS ADA CELESTE SWEET is promi-
Y nent in philanthropic and benevolent work
GJ in Chicago. She was born in Stockbridge,
Wis., on the east shore of Lake Winnebago, Feb
ruary 23, 1853, and is a daughter of Gen.
Benjamin J. Sweet, whose sketch appears else
where in this work. Her opportunities for edu
cation were limited. She attended a convent
school for a few terms, but she was not content to
end her education thus, and year by year has
added much to the knowledge that has been
gained by observation, careful reading and ex

perience. A lady of broad and cultured mind,
she is probably one of the best-read persons on
general topics in the city. From an early age
she was her father's companion in camp and in
his office. After the war she became his secre
tary and his constant companion in the pen
sion office. She practically became his right arm,
which had been sacrified in the service of his
country, and her busy fingers wrote page after
page of the thoughts evolved from her father's
brain. * When the General was called to Wash
ington, she went to the Capitol City with him,
and there she met many of the most prominent
people of the country, and, studying political
questions, became quite familiar with the issues' of
the day.
Gen. Sweet died very unexpectedly, leaving
his affairs in a complicated and unsettled condi
tion, and his family derived therefrom but little
aid. Upon Miss Sweet at this time fell the task
of providing for the members of the household,
and the same promptness with which she has
taken up any work entrusted to her, character
ized her action at that time. As her father's as
sistant, she had become familiar with the work of
the pension office, and was appointed by Gen.
Grant, then President of the United States, as
Pension Agent in Chicago in 1874. She contin
ued thus to serve under Presidents' "Hayes, Gar
field and Arthur, and was the first woman ever
appointed to disburse moneys under the United
States Government. Soon after she became
Pension Agent, all pensions in Illinois were
made payable in Chicago, amounting to $6,000,-
000 yearly, and her labors and responsibilities
were thereby greatly increased. She had many
clerical assistants,, and many of the positions she
filled with ladies. She also established a strict
system of civil service reform, which course made
her quite unpopular with politicians, and soon
after Grover Cleveland took the Presidential chair,
she was requested to resign, although her term of
office did not expire until several months later.
This Miss Sweet declined to do, stating that it
was her purpose to continue in office during the
remainder of her term, unless peremptorily re
moved, and her straightforward and commendable

6io

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

course was eventually sustained by the adminis
tration. This episode attracted considerable at
tention in the newspapers and gave Miss Sweet a
wide-spread, but unsought, notoriety, and to many
people she is known chiefly through this inci
dent. Upon the expiration of her term, in September,
1885, Miss Sweet formed a business connection in
New York City, and during the following year
she traveled for her own pleasure in Europe. On
her return to Chicago she became the literary
editor of the Chicago Tribune, and creditably
filled that position for about two years. In 1888
she opened a United States Claim Office- in Chi
cago, and has since been very successfully en
gaged ih conducting the same.
But while thus engaged in public life, the lady
of whom we write has done much in reformatory
and benevolent work. Her name is connected
with various charitable institutions, and her aid
has been given to many such of which no public
mention has been made. She it was who origi
nated the police-ambulance system. For a time
she tried to interest the city officers in the need
of a service of this kind, but failed in this at
tempt. Nothing daunted, however, she secured
through private subscription a sum sufficient to
purchase and equip an ambulance, which she
presented to the city in 1890. Its value was soon
realized, and as the result of her efforts the city
now maintains at public expense a number of
these ambulances.
Miss Sweet is a Trustee of the newly-organized
Civic Federation. She was the founder and first
President ofthe Municipal Order League of Chi
cago, a society- formed to improve the sanitary
condition, and thereby the healthfulness, of the
city. She is also a prominent member of the
Woman's Club, but she puts forth her greatest
efforts in bringing to public notice those evils of
which most people are ignorant, or to which they
are indifferent. When public sentiment is aroused,
she leaves the matter in the hands of those who
will carry on the good work, and turns her atten
tion to some other crying need. Her life has in
deed been devoted to the interests of humanity,
which she wishes to ennoble and uplift, and not

only by precept but by practice is her commend
able scheme of benevolence carried out.
She possesses a liberal, progressive spirit, un
fettered by creed or custom, each successive un
dertaking being aimed at the achievement of some
thing higher and better, and her whole life and
character exemplify the poet's sentiment that,
' ' Men may rise on stepping stones .
Of their dead selves to higher things. ' '

W¥$\

ts-

CVSAAC STILLMAN WARD, who is now Hying
| a retired life in Chicago, has for many years re-
X sided in northwestern Illinois, and is familiar
with much of the history of this locality. He was
born in Bradford, N. H., on the 2d of October,
1826, and is a son of Isaac and Catherine (Davis)
Ward. The father was also a native of Bradford,
and was a son of Abner Ward, who was of
Welsh descent. Their ancestors were among the
earliest settlers of Massachusetts. The father of
our subject served for two years in the War. of
18 1 2 , and took part in the battles of French Mills,
Plattsburg and Burlington. He received a shock
from the discharge of a cannon, which perma
nently injured his hearing. His death occurred
in his native town, about 1850, in the sixty-first
year of his age. His wife passed away two years
later in Westmoreland, N. H., at the age of
sixty-one. They both attended the Methodist
Episcopal Church. The members of their family
were Harvey and Walden, both now deceased;
Stephen, of Warrenville, 111., who was killed
during the late war, at Columbus, Ky., August
29, 1864; James D., deceased; Isaac S.. of this
sketch; Mary, deceased; Sarah A., who died in
infancy; and Lydia E., wife of G. O. Briggs,
of Putney, Vt. Stephen and Isaac were the only
ones who came to the West to live. The former
had a sou, Charles H., who was killed near
Washington, D. C, while in the army.
During the infancy of our subject the family re
moved to Charleston, N. H., and when he had
attained a sufficient age, Mr. Ward entered the
public schools at that place. He possessed special

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

6n

aptitude in the handling of tools, and early in life
began carpenter work. In August, 1856, he emi
grated westward, locating- at the clay banks in
Door County, Wis. , on the shore of Lake Michi
gan, where he was employed at logging, and as a
sawyer and engineer in a sawmill. The follow
ing season he came to DuPage County, and en
gaged in farming in Warrenville. Three years
later he removed to Wheaton, aud entered the
employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad
Company. With the exception of a few brief in
tervals, he continued to make his home in that city
until 1890. He was employed as an engineer for
several years, and afterward engaged in house-
moving for about fifteen years.
On the 16th of November, 1852, Mr. Ward was
joined in wedlock with Mary E. Battles, a native
of Essex, Mass., and a daughter of David and
Eunice (Pickering) Battles. Her father died in
New Hampshire, and her mother, who afterward
became the wife of Dr. Kuhn, died in St. Charles,
111. Mrs. Ward departed this life in Wheaton,
August 26, 1883, at the age of fifty-two. In early
life she joined the Congregational Church, but
after her removal to the West became a member
ofthe Methodist Church. Subsequently she be
came a spiritualist. In the family were six chil
dren.: Herman E. , a conductor on the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad, living in Chicago; James
D., of Wheaton; William T., of Chicago, who is
a freight conductor on the Chicago & Northwest
ern Railroad; Harlan P., who lives in Chicago,
and is also connected with the Chicago & North
western Railroad; Roxy E. , wife of D. E. Wells, of
Clinton, Iowa; and Elsie G., wife of W. H. John
son, of Wheaton. The two eldest were born in
Putney, Vt, the others in Illinois.
For the past ten years, Mr. Ward has lived a
retired life, and in 1890 he came to Chicago,
where he has since resided. He now makes his
home with his son, William T. , who married
Mary Lyons, a native of Olmstead, Ohio, by whom
he has three children. Mr. Ward of this sketch
has been a faithful and consistent member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church for a number of years.
Since 1854, he has held membership with the
Royal Arch Masons, and since i860 has been a

stanch supporter of the Republican party. Previ
ous to that time he was an advocate of Democ
racy. He has lived a quiet, unassuming life, and
his upright, honorable career has gained him the
warm regard of a large circle of friends and ac
quaintances.

IS"

GI LBERT G. BEAUNISNE, business manager
LA ofthe Chicago Record, was born near To-
/ | ronto, Canada, in 1852, during the tempor
ary residence of his parents in that place. His
father, being a clergyman, was assigned to an ad
interim pastorate there, at the end of which, ac
companied by his family, he returned to his home
in the United States. The family of Mr. Beau-
nisne is of Huguenot descent, his ancestors having
emigrated from the neighborhood of Geneva to
Holland, on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes;
from thence to England, and later to America,
arriving in this country in 1703.
The boyhood of- Mr. Beaunisne was passed on
a farm, and he had about the same experiences
as fall to the lot of most country boys. When
he grew up he taught the district school for sev
eral terms and clerked in a village store. He af
terward secured employment on a small daily pa
per published at the county seat, and wrote lo
cals, set type, took his turn at operating the press,
folded the papers, collected accounts, solicited ad
vertising, and assisted in the multifarious duties
pertaining to that kind of an enterprise. After
some experience of this kind, he entered the
service of a lumber firm, keeping accounts, and
measuring logs and lumber in the pine woods.
In 1879, he came to Chicago, the Mecca of the
ambitious young men of the West, and secured
employment on the Daily News, first as a traveling
man and afterward as a clerk at the "small ad"
counter. From this position he was promoted to
that of collector, later was made assistant book
keeper in the advertising department, and finally
was put in charge of these accounts. Mr. Law-
son, the publisher ofthe Daily News, at this time
re-organized the business department ofthe paper,

612

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

placing Mr. Beaunisne at the head of the circula
tion department, which position he held until the
name of the morning edition of the paper was
changed to the Record, and it was published from
its own office as an independent enterprise. He
was then placed in the position of business man
ager of the Record, which office he still holds.
Mr. Beaunisne was married in 1882 to Miss
Mary Reed. His family are members of the Bap
tist Church, the services of which he attends regu
larly, although he has not formally connected
himself with it. He is a member of the Union
League Club, but spends most of his leisure time
at his home with his family. He is of a studious
turn of mind, and possesses a good library, which
contains many rare books, mostly of an historical
and archaeological character, in French, German,
Dutch and Spanish, as well as English, all of
which languages he reads. Mr. Beaunisne oc
cupies a position of responsibility with the press of
Chicago, which position he has won by hard and
faithful service.
g s=ST$*"t > L=*j ,a ' 3)
I OOMIS POMROY HASKELL, who has for
I i. thirty-seven years been successfully engaged
U in the practice of dentistry in Chicago, has
won a reputation for skill and ability that has
made him known not only in this city but through
out the world. His prominence in professional
circles makes him well worthy of representation
among the leading citizens of Cook County.
Dr. Haskell was born in Bangor, Me., April
25, 1826, and is a son of Benjamin and Mary
(Fuller) Haskell, who were natives of Gloucester,
Mass. The Haskell family in America was
founded by three brothers, who in an early day
emigrated from England, their native land, to the
New World, and became early settlers in the Mass
achusetts Colony. About 1823, the father of our
subject removed to Bangor, Me. , and five years
later went to Marblehead, Mass., where his last
days were passed, his death occurring in 1830.
He was a shoe-maker by trade, and opened the
first shoe-store in Bangor, Me. His wife, who

survived him thirty years, died in Milwaukee,
Wis., in i860. She was a daughter of Rev.
Thomas Fuller, a Congregational minister of
Gloucester-, Mass. Both Mr. and Mrs. Haskell
were members ofthe Congregational Church, and,
socially, he was connected with the Masonic
order. After the death of the father the family removed
to Salem, Mass. , where the Doctor attended school
until fifteen years of age. He then went to Bos
ton and entered a printing-office, where he was
employed for four years. His experience there
formed an excellent supplement to the limited ed
ucational privileges he had previously received.
On leaving the printing-office, he took- up the
study of dentistry in the office of his brother-in-
law, Dr. M. P. Hanson, of Chelsea, Mass., and
in connection with the latter he gave considerable
attention to the manufacture of carved block
teeth. It was through this means that he became
widely known among his professional brethren in
New England.
Ere leaving the East, Dr. Haskell was united
in marriage with Sarah E. Wason, a native of
Chester, N. H. Six children were born of their
union, but only four of the number are now liv
ing, namely: Ella P.; Lizzie M., wife of Rev. W.
J. Clark, of Lamoille, 111. ; Sarah Isabel, wife of
Col. J. B. Parsons, of D wight, 111.; and Anna N.,
wife of W. T. Barr, of Hinsdale, 111. The two
children now deceased are Harriet N. , who died
in infancy ; and Mary F. , who died at the age of
fifteen years.
In 1856, Dr. Haskell left his old New England
home and removed to Milwaukee, Wis. The
following year he came to Chicago, where he has
since been almost continuously engaged in prac
tice. He demonstrated the excellence of his
methods for two terms in the Baltimore College
of Dental Surgery, and for two terms in the Minn
eapolis College. He was Professor of prosthetic
dentistry in the Chicago College of Dental Sur
gery for four years, and for three years iu the
dental department of the Northwestern Univer
sity. In 1888 he established the first post-grad
uate school of dentistry, which since that time
has furnished instruction to hundreds of students,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

mostly practicing dentists from all parts of North
America, as well as England, Germany, Holland,
Chile, Australia and New Zealand. The Doctor
is a frequent contributor to dental journals, and
is the author of "The Student's Manual and
Hand Book for the Dental Laboratory," which
circulates extensively among the profession in
America, and has been republished in France and
Germany. Since the organization of the party,
Dr. Haskell has been a stanch Republican. In 1848
he cast his first vote, supporting Martin Van Buren
on the Free-Soil ticket, and he was a delegate
to the first Free-Soil Convention ever held in
the United States, which met at Worcester,
Mass. He is a member of the Chicago Dental
Clubrthe Illinois State Dental Society, and the
American Dental. Association. He and his fam
ily are members of the Congregational Church of
Hinsdale, where they make their home. He has
practiced dentistry longer than any other dentist
in Chicago, and with one exception has been ac
tively engaged in dental work here longer than
any other member of the profession. He keeps
fully abreast of the times, and is continually
studying to gain new knowledge on the subject
to which he has given his life work. Thus has
he won a front rank among the dentists of the
world. He is a gentleman of pleasing address
and prepossessing manner, and is an interesting
writer and able speaker. So well known is he
throughout the Northwest, that the history of
Cook County would be incomplete without this
sketch.

3 AMES C. BARRY, who makes his home in
Des Plaines, and is filling the office of train-
dispatcher in the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad office at Chicago, is a native of Orleans
County, N. Y. He was born on the 27th. of
^June, i860, and is a son of Hezekiah A. and
Laura M. (Sergeant) Barry. They were also
natives of the Empire State, their marriage being
celebrated in 1852. They became the parents of
seven children, four sons and three daughters, as

613
follows: Alton, now deceased; Ella, wife of Irley
F. Plummer, of Caroline, N. Y. ; Lena, wife of
Thomas Turner, who is living in New York;
James C, who is next in order of birth; WTilliam
A., an operator at Crystal Lake, 111.; Fremont
H., who is station agent at Fruita, Colo., on the
Rio Grande & Western Railroad; and Louisa M.,
at home.
Mr. Barry, our subject, acquired a good edu
cation in the common schools of his native State,
which he attended until seventeen years of age,
when he entered upon his business career. He
learned telegraphy at Carlyon, N. Y. , in a rail
road office, in 1878, and became telegraph oper
ator and station agent at Hess Road, Niagara
County. He at first was given $30 per month,
but the company kept cutting his salary down by
degrees until he received only $20 per month.
His work, however, was increased continually,
instead of being diminished. He was there em
ployed, for thirteen months, and then engaged
with the New York Central & Hudson River
Railroad, working as operator for two years at
Cuddebacks. In 1 88 1 Mr. Barry left that place and went to
Evanston, 111. , where he served as night operator
until the ist of January, 1882. He then became
station agent at Rose Hill, where he continued
until the ist of June of that year, when he went
to the West. For two years he continued in the
West, working for various roads, and for thirteen
mouths he was stationed at Palestine, Tex. He
then returned to Chicago and began working at
Mayfair, where he served as operator for one
year. On the ist of October, 1884, he came to
Des Plaines as station agent, and acceptably filled
that position here until January 24, 1888, when
he entered the train dispatcher's office ofthe Chi
cago & Northwestern Railroad Company at Chi
cago. He has since filled the position, with the
exception of a year and a-half spent in the West
in the same capacity for the Rio Grande & West
ern and the Great Northern Railroads.
The lady who now bears the name of Mrs.
Barry was in her maidenhood Fannie L. Gray.
Their marriage was celebrated at Des Plaines, De
cember 6, 1885, and has been blessed with one

614

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

daughter, Gladys. In his social relations, Mr.
Barry is connected with the Train Dispatchers'
Association of America, and belongs to Gladiator
Lodge No. 450, K. P., of which he is a char
ter member. He cast his first Presidential vote
for. James G. Blaine, and is a stalwart Republican
in politics. Mr. Barry occupies a responsible
positions and has the confidence of his employers,
which he has won by prompt and faithful dis
charge of duty. In the community- where he re
sides he is widely and favorably known, and has
a large circle of warm friends.
I  *-^-*a-a^^^-p::J8: a
j OUIS HEIMSOTH is now serving as Asses-
I C sor of Elk Grove Township. He is num-
U2J bered among the native sons of Cook County,
and is one of her practical and progressive farmers.
His landed possessions aggregate one hundred
and sixty acres on section 17, where he carries on
general farming. The greater part of his land is
now under cultivation, and the place, so neat and
thrifty in appearance, gives evidence of the careful
supervision of the owner. Upon it are good
buildings, and everything is kept in first-class
shape. The birth of our subject occurred on the 2 2d of
May, i860, and, as his name indicates, he is of
German descent. His father, Herman Heimsoth,
was born in Hanover, Germany, in 18 16, and in
1848 emigrated to America, settling in Cook
County. He took up his residence in Elk Grove
Township, and there spent the remainder of his
life. He was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary
Scharringhausen, who was born in 1832, in the
kingdom of Hanover, and during her girlhood
days came to the United States. Unto Mr. aud
Mrs. Heimsoth were born nine children, three
sons and three daughters of whom are yet living,
The father departed this life in 1889, but his
widow is still living, and is a resident of Elk
Grove Township.
We now take up the personal history of Louis
Heimsoth, who was the second son and fourth
child. Under the parental roof he was reared to

manhood, and his early life was spent in attend
ance at the district schools of the neighborhood,
where he began his education. He afterward
pursued his studies in the schools of Arlington
Heights. He continued upon the home farm
and to his father gave the benefit of his services
until his marriage.
It was in 1888 that Mr. Heimsoth was joined'
in wedlock with Miss Sophia Gobbert, a native of
Cook County, and a representative of one of the
early families of this community. The young
couple began their domestic life upon the old
horiiestead farm, there remaining one year, and in
1889 removed to their present farm. The house
hold now numbers our subject, his wife and three
children, all sons: George, Edward and Paul.
In 1 891, Mr. Heimsoth was elected Assessor of
Elk Grove Township. His father had for many
years filled that position before him, and now he
has discharged the duties connected therewith for
two years. He is interested in all that pertains
to the welfare of the community and in its ad
vancement and upbuilding. Educational, social
and moral interests have found in him a friend,
and the Lutheran Church numbers him among its
members. His life has not been marked by ex
citing events, but has been peacefully and quietly
passed in legitimate business pursuits and he
has won the confidence and high regard of all
who know him.

B$+«-

EHARLES S. CUTTING is a well-known
resident of Palatine and a lawyer of promi
nence, who is engaged in the practice of his
chosen profession iu the city of Chicago. He is
so well known in the metropolis and throughout
the community, that he needs no special introduc
tion to. our readers, but we know the record of
his life will prove of interest to many of them.
A native of Vermont, he was born in Highland,
Franklin County, on the ist of March, 1854.
His father, who bore the name of Charles A.
Cutting, was a native of New Hampshire, and in
the Granite State grew to manhood and married

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

615

Miss Laura E. Averill, a native of Vermont. The
Cutting family is of English origin, and its repre
sentatives were numbered among the pioneer set
tlers of New Hampshire. In 1863, the father of
our subject removed to Minnesota, locating in
Hastings, where he engaged in the hotel business
for about five years. He then removed to Salem,
Ore., where he again carried on a hotel for a
short time, but after a year he changed his place
of residence to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, coming thence
to Palatine, 111., in 1874. After several years'
residence here he removed to Rankin, Vermilion
County, where he spent the last years of his life,
passing away in 1890. His wife still survives
him, and now resides with her son in Palatine.
Charles S. Cutting has lived in the extreme
eastern and extreme western part of this country —
in Vermont and in Oregon — but the greater part
of his boyhood was passed in Minnesota and Iowa,
and much of his maturer life in Cook County.
He has thus long been identified with the interests
of the Mississippi Valley. His education was ac
quired in the High School of Hastings, Minn.,
and the Willamette University of Oregon. After
completing his studies in that institution, he went
to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he began newspa
per work, being employed on the Cedar Rapids
Times for about a year and a-half. In 1874, when
a young man of twenty years, he came with his
parents to Palatine, and soon after engaged in
teaching in its public schools. He was elected
Principal and for six years followed that profes
sion, winning the high commendation of all con
cerned, for he was an able educator.
In the mean time, Mr. Cutting devoted his va
cations and leisure hours to reading law, and in
1879 was admitted to the Bar. In the autumn of
1880 he opened an office in Chicago, at No. 162
Washington Street, and embarked in the practice
of his profession. Later, he formed a partner
ship with Judge Williamson, which continued
until the death ofthe Judge. He has now been
iu active law practice in Chicago for thirteen
years, and has built up a fine business. He has
been connected with some very important cases,
but devotes his energies more especially to chan
cery and probate business.

On the 27th of June, 1876, in Palatine, was
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Cutting and Miss
Anna E. Lytle, who was born in Palatine, and
was educated in its public schools, and in the Cook
County Normal. She engaged in teaching in her
native town both before and after her marriage.
One son has been born to them, Robert W. They
have an elegant home in Palatine, which is the
abode of hospitality, and its atmosphere is one of
culture and refinement. They have a large circle
of warm friends and agreeable acquaintances, and
hold a high position in social circles.
Since casting his first Presidential vote for Hon.
Rutherford B. Hayes, in 1876, Mr Cutting has
been identified with the Republican party, and is
a warm advocate of its men and measures. He
has never been an aspirant for office, but wa.s
elected and served as Master in Chancery, and is
now serving as a member of the County Board of
Education. During 1892 he was its President,
and is now President of the Town Board of Educa
tion. Socially, he is a Knight Templar Mason,
and belongs to the Oriental Consistory of Chicago.
He has served as a Master of the Blue Lodge of
Palatine, and has been its representative in the
Grand Lodge. He also belongs to the Independ
ent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a man of su
perior legal ability, of high moral character, and
is an enterprising citizen, whose well-spent life
has won him a place among the best people ofthe
. community in which he has now made his home
for twenty- one years.
«=*—#$+$#— =S
(TOHN P. HOPKINS is Chicago's Mayor, and
I is the youngest man who ever filled the po-
(2) sition of Chief Magistrate of this city. He
was born in Buffalo, N. Y., October 29, 1858, in
what was then known as the Eighth Ward, the
same ward which gave Cleveland and Bissell to
this country. It has certainly furnished some
prominent members to the Democracy, not the
least of whom is Chicago's Mayor. In his fa
ther's family were nine daughters and three sons.
His father and brothers are now deceased, while
his mother and sisters reside in this city.

6i6

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

In the public schools of Buffalo our subject ac
quired a good education, and, although he has
never attended college, through experience and
observation he has acquired the knowledge that
has made him a practical and successful business
man. As he belonged to a large family in some
what limited circumstances, he resolved to make
his own way in the world, and on leaving school
started out to seek work. Chancing to pass a
foundry where he saw a boy engaged in heating
rivets, he asked for a similar situation, which was
given him. There he continued to work until he
believed he could better himself, when he sought
employment in the Evans Elevators, where his
faithfulness to duty won him promotion to the office
of weigh-master.
Chicago having rallied from the fire, and again
started forward with renewed impetus, Mr. Hop
kins believed it would prove a good field for an
ambitious young man, and so made his way hither
in December, 1879. In November, 1880, he re
moved the family to Chicago, and one day he
walked into the office ofthe superintendent of
the works at Pullman, asking for employment.
The question came, ' 'What are you willing to do?' '
He replied, " Anything." The determination
and willingness of the young man seemed to fa
vorably impress the superintendent, and he was
given general work in the store-keeping depart
ment at Pullman. Merit won him advancement,
and on the 28th of April, 1881, he was appointed
timekeeper in the wood-working department,
and four months later was made general time
keeper. In 1883 he became paymaster of the
Pullman interests, which position he filled until
1885, when he organized the Arcade Trading
Company, and began general merchandising in the
Arcade at Pullman. Mr. Hopkins was made Sec
retary and Treasurer ofthe company, and in 1889
the firm name was changed to the Secord-Hop-
kins Company, which established a general mer
chandise store in Kensington. This is the largest
house ofthe kind south of Twenty-second Street.
In his business interests, he has ever carefully
watched all details, has been honorable and
straightforward, and his well-directed efforts have
brought him success. The enterprise and indus

try which he has manifested from boyhood have
been the rounds of the ladder on which he has
mounted upward.
For some years past, Mr. Hopkins has been
connected with politics. In 1885 he was made
Treasurer of Hyde Park. He had started out in
life poor and unknown, but in the mean time he
had won friends who recognized his ability. In
1888 he was named as a delegate to the National
Democratic Convention, but was opposed by A.
W. Green,, a prominent lawyer, widely known.
Mr.- Hopkins secured a large following, and his
course during the contest won him the respect of
even his opponents. He has been President of
the Cook County Democracy for several years,
and has been very prominent in campaign work,
the interests of Democracy never suffering at his
hands. With the company with which he was
connected, he went on a special train to Washing
ton to take part in the festivities attending the in
auguration of President Cleveland, and the Cook
County Club was a conspicuous one in the pro
cession. His services for the party are now widely
-acknowledged, and he has won his way to a place
among the most prominent Democratic politicians
of Chicago. He was Chairman of the Annexa
tion Committee in 1889, when the towns of Lake,
Lake View, Jefferson, Cicero and Hyde Park be
came a part of Chicago. In the Presidential cam
paign of 1892, he served as a delegate from his
district, and was a stalwart advocate of his fellow-
townsman who now occupies the Presidential
chair. He belongs to the Trojan Club, the Col
umbus Club, the Sheridan Club, the Sunset Club
of Chicago, the Sunset Club of New York, and
the County Democratic Club.
Mr. Hopkins is now so well known throughout
Chicago that it seems hardly necessary to give
an extended description of him. He is a man of
fine physique, and in his face are indicated the
characteristics which have made his life a brilliant
and successful one. It is said that from early
manhood he has always been a leader of the peo
ple with whom he has associated, for by his pleas
ant, genial manner, true courtesy and sterling
qualities, he commands their respect. After the
death ofthe late Mayor, Carter H. Harrison, he

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was nominated to fill the vacancy on the Demo-'
cratic ticket, running against George R. Swift.
The returns show that he was the people's choice
for Mayor ofthe city, and he is now filling that
position. As before stated, so young a man had
never previously filled the office, yet his age does
not prevent him from faithful and satisfactory
discharge of duty. The city which is noted for
its push and enterprise needs a man of affairs at
its head, and Mr. Hopkins has demonstrated his
business ability. It yet remains to be seen how
he will manage, but the best men of the Democ
racy have no fears concerning his course. Mr.
Hopkins is now widely known and honored, and
his successful career is one of which he may
justly be proud. A self-made man, he deserves
all the praise indicated by that term.
g 1. c-1j ^" Y "> 1^3 lfl ,3)
(S\ SOHM is at the head of one of the leading
LJ engraving establishments of Chicago, and is
/ | doing a good business, which has been se
cured through excellent workmanship, courteous
treatment and honorable dealing. His success is
therefore well deserved. Mr. Solun claims Aus
tria as the land of his birth, which occurred in
1862. His father, Joseph Sohm, was also a na
tive of Austria. Under the parental roof our
subject was reared to manhood, the days of his
boyhood being quietly passed. The schools of
the vicinity afforded him his educational privi
leges, and when he had mastered the common
branches of learning, he .turned his attention to
business pursuits, whereby he might earn his
own livelihood. For some time he engaged in
block-cutting. At length Mr. Sohm resolved to try his fortune
in America, for he had heard much of its advan
tages and privileges, and believed that he might
thereby benefit his financial condition. In 1881
he crossed the ocean to the New World, and on
his arrival in America learned the engraving
business in the establishment of the Acme En
graving Company, of Chicago. He spent three
years in mastering the trade, becoming a most

617

excellent workman, aud then for five years fol
lowed that vocation in the employ of other firms
in the city.
It was in 1888 that Mr. Sohm embarked in
business for himself, being then located on La
Salle Street. About a year later, however, he
removed to the Slaats Zeitung Building, where
he has now been for the past four years. He en
gages in mechanical engraving, and the artistic
work whicli he turns out has secured for him a
liberal patronage. He is recognized as one ofthe
best engravers in the city, and his high reputa
tion is well deserved.
In the year 1891, was celebrated the marriage
of Mr. Sohm and Miss Gertrude Bruh. He and
his wife are members of the Catholic Church, and
in the social circles in which they move they have
'many friends who esteem them highly. In his
political views, our subject is a supporter of the
Democracy, but has never been an aspirant for
public office, preferring to devote his entire time
and attention to other interests. It proved a for
tunate day for him when he determined to leave
his native land and make a home in the New
World, and he has never yet had occasion to re
gret the change, for he has here won a prosperity
that would probably not have come to him had
he remained upon his native soil.

s-

HOMAS MURPHY, a prominent farmer of
Maine Township, residing on section 27,
has long made his home in Cook County,
and is therefore numbered among its early settlers.
He has made many friends and acquaintances in
this community, and we feel assured that they
will receive this record of his life with interest.
A native of Ireland, he was born in County Cavan
on the ist of November, 1830, and there grew to
manhood. At the age of twenty years he de
termined to seek a home beyond the Atlantic,
hoping thereby to benefit his financial condition;
and in 1850 we find him located in Ohio. In
1852, he left the Buckeye State and came di
rect to Chicago. He had worked as a carriage

6i8

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

driver in Ohio, and after his arrival in this city
he. was employed as a drayman and teamster for
some years.
Ere leaving the Buckeye State, Mr. Murphy
was united" in marriage, in 1852, with Miss Ann
Graham, also a native of the Emerald Isle. To
them have been born four children, two sons and
two daughters, namely: Thomas, William, Rosa
and Nellie. The family circle yet remains un
broken. Since 1865 Mr. Murphy has lived upon the
farm which is now his home. When he removed
thither there was an old house upon it and a di
lapidated barn, and the land was largely eovered
with timber; but* he at once began to clear and
improve it, and in course of time the raw tract was
transformed into rich fields. He now owns one
hundred and twenty-seven and a-half acres, all in
one body. It is well cultivated, is neat and thrifty
in appearance , and gives evidence to the passer
by of the supervision of a careful owner. The
place has greatly increased in value. It was
worth at the time of the purchase about $25 per
acre, but is now worth a great deal more. In
1885, Mr. Murphy was burned out, but with
characteristic energy he set to work to retrieve his
lost possessions. He is a man of good business
ability, sagacious and far-sighted, and the success
of his life is due to his own efforts. He came to
this country in limited circumstances, but is now
possessed ofa comfortable competence.

|~ H. TONNE, who is numbered among the
Tri leading agriculturists of ElkGrove Township,
I Cook County, resides on section 33, and in
this community he was born and reared, being a
representative of one of the pioneer families of
northeastern Illinois. The Tonnes are of Ger
man ancestry. The father of our subject, Fred
Tonne, was born in Hanover, Germany, and when
a young man came to Cook County, in 1846, ac
companied by_ his parents. A settlement was
made in Elk Grove Township. Later, Fred
Tonne was united in marriage with Miss Sophia

Dunsing, and unto them were born two children,
Fred, and William, who is now deceased. In
1850, the father was again married, his second
union being with Miss Louisa Busse. They be
came the parents of nine children: Sophia, wife
of William Thiemann, of Elk Grove Township; F.
H. of this sketch; Louisa, now the wife of Fred
Stuenkel, of DuPage County; Lena, wife of
Henry Ritmuller, also of DuPage County; Mary,
wife of Lewis Ritmuller, who is engaged in teach
ing in Bloomington, 111. ; August, a resident of
Elk Grove Township; Alvenia, wife of Fred
Westendorf, of Itasca, 111.; Emma, wife of Henry-
Craft, of Des Plaines; and William, who is de
ceased. The father of this family was one of the early
settlers of Elk Grove Township, and took quite a
prominent part in its development in an early
day. He followed agricultural pursuits through
out his entire life. In his political connections
he was a Republican, and was elected to the office
of Road Commissioner. With the Lutheran
Church he held membership, and served as its
Trustee and Collector. His death occurred in
1887. F. H. Tonne, who was born on the 17th of
September, 1853, upon the old homestead where
he now lives, was reared to manhood in the usual
manner of farmer lads, aiding in the labors of the
field through the summer months, while in the
winter season, when there was little work upon
the farm, he_ attended school. He was educated
in both the English and German schools. Hav
ing arrived at mature years, he was united in
marriage on the 21st of November, 1879, thelady
of'his choice being Miss Dora Thiemann, daughter
of Joseph and Maggie (Hendrix) Thiemann. She
•was born in Hanover, Germany, February 24,
1855, and was but two years of age when she was
brought to America Dy her parents. The fam
ily located first in DuPage County, 111., and when
she was a maiden of thirteen summers removed
to Cook County, where she grew to mature years.
She too was educated in the English and German
schools. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Tonne have been born four
children, namely: Richard, born August 11, 1880;

Joskpii R. Dl'KI.OP.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

621

Pauline, June 4, 1882; Albert, May 5, 1884; aiid
Emma, March 14, 1886. The family have a
pleasant home, situated in the midst of a good
farm of one hundred and sixty acres of laud. In
connection with general farming, Mr. Tonne car
ries on stock-raising, and is also a dealer in milk.
He is enterprising and progressive, and by close
attention to all the details of his business and by
well-directed efforts, has acquired a comfortable
competence, which numbers him* among the sub
stantial citizens of the community. In politics,
he is a Republican, and belongs to the Lutheran
Church. His life has been quietly passed, but
has been markedby an honorable, upright course,
that has won him the confidence and esteem of
all with whom he has been brought in contact.
(JOSEPH R. DUNLOP, who is well known in
I business circles in Chicago, was born in the
Q) West Indies forty-seven years ago, his father
being a clergyman in that country at the time.
Our subject spent about nine years of his life in
the place of his birth, and then accompanied his
parents on their removal to Canada, where he ac
quired the greater part of his early education.
Mr. Dunlop was a young man of about eighteen
when he left home and came to Illinois to make
Chicago his home. The object of his removal
was to better his financial condition, for he be
lieved the new and rapidly-growing city furnished
a good field for the labors of an ambitious and en
terprising young man. He started out in a hum
ble position, working as a type-setter in a print
ing office, but, being determined to rise, applied
himself untiringly to his labors, and iu a short
time became foreman of one of the leading print
ing houses of Chicago. After gaining a thorough
knowledge ofthe details of his chosen profession,
he began writing, and entered the sen-ice of the
Chicago 'Times as a reporter. The earl)- familiar
ity with the mechanical work of printing later
enabled him. to publish a paper iu a manlier that
very few publishers in this or any other country-
have been enabled to do. He continued in the
employ ofthe Times, and was- promoted until he be

came city editor of that paper, and then managing
editor. He was perhaps the most competent and
brightest man on that paper when at the zenith
of its power and reputation, under the great edi
tor Wilbur F. Storey. Eventually, Mr. Dunlop
became the right-hand man of Wilbur Storey, who
placed the Chicago Times in the front rank among
the leading dailies of the world.
On Mr. Storey's ceasing to attend to business,
Mr. Dunlop remained in charge of his interests iu
the paper, but through various combinations
brought to bear against him was obliged to give
up his post. He then became cit)- editor ofthe Inter
Ocean, from which point of vantage he turned the
tables ou his opponents on the Times, and again
obtained control of that journal. The succeed
ing year or two was passed in endless struggles
as to the possession of the Times, Mr. Dunlop
holding the best interest against the machinations
of certain persons who desired to wreck it. Fi
nally the paper was bought by a syndicate, of
whicli certain friends of Mr. Duulop's and also
himself were members. This last combination
did not hold the property long, but sold it, and
in the general re-organization which took place,
Mr. Dunlop took in exchange for his interest in
the Times an interest iu the Mail, which up to
that time had practically been an evening issue
of the Times. He put new life into this paper,
and to a degree made it familiar to the public,
but before he had time to carry out his wishes in
regard to it, internal disagreement and a change
in the politics of the paper made it clear that a
new field would be necessary to reach the success
he desired.
To this end, Mr. Dunlop, undaunted, established
the Chicago Dispatch, which is to-day one of
the leading evening papers of the eity, and is,
moreover, one ofthe best all-round papers in this
part ofthe country.
This is but a brief sketch of the stead)- upward
course made in the life of the subject of this
memoir, but, looked at merely iu a passing man
ner, it cannot but bring out the qualities of the
man — persistency, determination, intensity and
great'energy, added to his great power of making
friends and enemies, that is, individuality.

622

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mr. Dunlop has been connected with some note
worthy events in the newspaper world. He has
the reputation of having been the brightest re
porter in Chicago, and many laurels have come
to the papers with which he has been associated
through his wonderful facility in obtaining news,
and his ability to present it in a bright light. As
a writer, he is masterful, terse and pungent, and
few men are better known in the fraternity. His
acquaintance is enormous in all sections of the
country and among all classes of people.
Mr. Dunlop is a member of several Chicago
clubs — a charter member of the Press Club, of
which he has been President more than once,
and a member of the Iroquois Club. His new
paper bids fair to be one of the best known in the
United States. It is an open journal, somewhat
aggressive, never behind in anything, always
alive and alert, a great success in fact, aud ad
mired by all for its fearlessness. This is not to
be wondered at, inasmuch as the owner has given
his whole mind to it. Illinois, particularly Cook
County, seems to be the central point for men of
peculiar* tenacity — men moved exactly by the
spirit of the locality, or who have, to speak more
precisely, given the locality the spirit it possesses.
g- ¦ " ,aH^'^Hr^'[|f=iS ' —a
SONRAD STAUTZ, who is connected with
extensive landed interests in California, rep
resents the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad. He was born in Darmstadt, Germany,
in 1854, and is a son of Conrad Stautz, also a
native of that country. He came to America in
1 87 1, taking up his residence in New York. His
education was acquired in the public schools ofthe
Fatherland, and he was graduated from the High
School at the age of fourteen. He then entered
a bank, where he was employed for three years,
at the end of which period he sought a home in
America. After landing in New York City, Mr. Stautz
turned his attention to various enterprises until
1875, when he enlisted at Governor's Island,
N. Y., in the regular army. From there he was

dispatched with about one hundred other recruits
tojoin the forces on the frontier. He was at
tached to the Sixth Infantry, then stationed at
Ft. Buford, Dak., during the winter of 1875.
Those were memorable and exciting days, Ind
ians being very numerous. On the first boat in
the spring of 1876, he was sent to join his own
regiment, the Seventh Infantry, under Gen. Gib
bon, then just starting after the Sioux. He par
ticipated in various Indian campaigns, the prin
cipal among which was the memorable Sioux
campaign of 1876, in which Gen. Custer and
over three hundred of his brave men lost their
lives. Many, indeed, were the hairbreadth es
capes, hardships and sufferings, known only to
those who participated in these active movements,
like those against the Sioux and the Nez-Perces,
under Chief Joseph, in 1878. Mr. Stautz was
honorably discharged from the service in 1880,
having received various injuries in the line of duty
during a five-year service. His discharge took
place at Ft. Snelling, Minn., and he at once en
gaged in active civil life. He went to St. Paul,
Minn., where he won prominence through his
connection with the various city and county of
fices. He served as deputy in every public office
in Ramsey County, and also did much work in
the city offices. His residence in St. Paul covered
a period of six and a-half years. For three years
and a-half, he served in the general freight offices
of the Great Northern Railway— then the St.
Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railroad.
By Mr. Manvel, the President ofthe Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company, Mr.
Stautz was employed in Chicago to induce immi
gration to San Diego, Cal. He continued to re
side in St. Paul until 1888, when he went to the
Golden State, taking up his residence in San
Diego, where he was made Secretary of the Cham
ber of Commerce. He spent three and a-half
years on the Pacific Slope, and studied the sub
ject of fruit-growing. He believed that this
business would prove ven- profitable in that
region, and has induced many to remove to San
Diego County, where a colony was successfully es
tablished. He returned to Chicago in 1892, and
is now engaged in real-estate dealing, representing

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

623

the California interests. The land. can be bought,
in large or small quantities, cheaper and on bet
ter terms than in any other section of the State,
either improved or unimproved. The Chicago
office is located at No. 212 South Clark Street,
and a good business, over which Mr. Stautz has
full control, is now being done. The section of
the country in the interests of which he is now
serving is not only rich and valuable land, but is
also possessed of the most delightful and heathful
climate, besides being in the frostless belt.
Mr. Stautz was married in 1885, the bride be
ing Miss Anna J. Rauschert, of Chicago. To
them have been born three children, two sons
and a daughter. Our subject and his wife are
members of the Presbyterian Church, and are
highly-respected people, who have the warm re
gard of a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
In politics, he is an active adherent of the Democ
racy, and while in Minnesota he delivered many
speeches in support of that party, all without re
muneration. Socially, he is connected with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Stautz
is a man of good business ability, straightforward
and honorable in all dealings, and one may always
be assured that his representation of the land he
is selling is a correct one.

IS"

CURVING A. PORTER, one of the representa-
I tive farmers of Proviso Township, Cook
X County, residing on section 18, is a native of
the Empire State. He was born June io, 1832,
at Cicero Corners, Onondaga County, N. Y., and
- is the only son in a family of eight children, whose
parents were Augustine and Phcebe M. (Keeney )
Porter. The father was born in Pompey, N. Y.,
August 20, 1797, and was a farmer by occupation.
In 1835, he emigrated westward to Chicago,
which was then a mere hamlet ou a wet prairie,
and the most far-sighted could not have dreamed
of the position of prominence which it was so soon
to occupy. A year later he brought his family
to Illinois, purchased a claim in DuPage County,
and built a sawmill, but after a short time finan

cial disaster overtook him and he was forced to
give up his mill and everything else. He then
went to Chicago, where he remained until Sep
tember, 1843, when he came to Proviso Township,
and for $50 purchased one hundred acres of land.
When Mr. Porter came to the West he had con
siderable money, but the financial panic which
swept the country in 1837 caused him to lose
everything save the $50 with which he purchased
his farm. During the first winter the family
lived in a portable pre-emption shanty, twelve
feet square. Later, however, he erected a sub
stantial home, aud turned his attention to agricul
tural pursuits, which he continued in Proviso
Township until i860, when he removed to Oak
Park, 111.
From that time ou, Mr. Porter gave his atten
tion to the care and management of his property.
He also owned a patent well-auger and was inter
ested in boring wells, besides dealing in masons'
supplies, real estate, insurance, &c. Although
he met with business reverses, he was undaunted
by failure, and in fact seemed to strive the harder.
He not only retrieved his lost possessions, but also
accumulated a good property. He was active in
business up to a half-hour before his death.
Mr. Porter gave to Proviso Township its name,
served as one of its first Justices of the Peace, and
was the first Postmaster of Proviso Postoffice.
One of the honored pioneers of the county, he was
widely known, and had the respect of all. He held
membership with the Baptist Church, in which
he was a Deacon sixty years. His death occurred
in Oak Park, April 10, 1880, and his remains
were laid to rest iu Forest Home Cemetery. His
ancestors were numbered among the Puritans,
who crossed the Atlantic in the historic "May
flower. ' ' The family was originally of English ex
traction . The mother of our subj ect, who was born
in Glastonbury, Hartford County, Conn., January
24, 1795, died iu Oak Park, November 20, 1880,
at the advanced age of eighty -five years.
Irving A. Porter was a child of only four sum
mers when he was brought by his parents to Illi
nois. At the early age of twelve years, he started
-out in life for himself. He worked in a hotel, also
sen-ed as cook on the canal between Chicago and

624

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Peru, and at intervals worked on the home farm.
He also aided in* laying the track of the North
western Railroad. Although during much of the
time he was away, he still considered the Porter
household his home until 1856, when he secured
a home of his own. On the 26th pf March of that
year, he married Miss Sarah H. Steel, of Proviso
Township. Her death occurred September 12,
1868. By their marriage were born six children:
William B., a horse-breeder of Deuel County,
Neb. ; Milo Irving, a farmer of Spkvkards, Mo. ;
George H., a resident of Great Falls, Mont;
Charles M., who was born in 1863, and is a coil-
tractor of May wood, 111. ; Sarah M. , who was born
March 17, 1865, and is the wife of Wallace Curtis,
of Irving Park, 111. ; and John, who was born
March 9, 1867, and is a farmer of Proviso Town
ship. On the 2istof July, 1874, Mr. Porter was joined
in wedlock with Mrs. Lizzie (Ballard) Bond, of
Cook County, and two children graced their un
ion: Clara Jane, who was born February 12,
1876; and Nellie, born October 4, 1878. Mrs.
Porter had one son, John S. Bond, who was reared
by Mr. Porter, and is now stenographer to the Pres
ident of the Pullman Car Company . Both daugh
ters are now attending the High School at Irving
Park. Their mother departed this life June 28,
1886, and on the 26th of October, 1888, Mr. Por
ter was again married, Mrs. Jennie M. Wingate
becoming his wife. They are both well-known
people of this community, and hold an enviable
position in social circles.
When Mr. Porter was first married, he removed
to a farm of eighty acres, which his father had
purchased in an early day, and has remained in
Proviso Township continuously since. He has
dealt in horses and also in hay with good success.
He now owns one hundred and fifty acres of val
uable land, highly cultivated and improved, and
upon a part of his farm Hillside Station now
stands. In politics, Mr. Porter is a stalwart ad
vocate of the Republican party and its principles,
but has never been an office-seeker, in fact has
steadily refused political preferment. The only
public office he has filled, except that of School
Director, which he held twelve years, is that of

Postmaster of Hillside, in which he is now serv
ing. He is a popular man, with a large circle of
friends, and his many acquaintances hold him in
high regard.

$

'AMES IRA COCHRAN, dealer in grain and
provisions in Chicago, and a resident of Lom
bard, where since 1878 he has made his home,
claims New Hampshire as the State of his na
tivity! He was born in Dublin, N. H., June 27,
1846, and is a son of Clark C. and Rebecca
(Crombie) Cochran, who were also natives of the
Granite State. The family was of Scotch origin,
and its members were pioneer settlers of New
Hampshire. The same is true of the Crombie
family. Our' subject was one of three children:
Mary Celestia, wife of O. W. Clapp, of New York
City ; John C. , a commission merchant of Chicago;
and James L In 1853, the family emigrated to
Lee Centre, UL, where the parents still reside.
For many years the father was a contractor and
builder of that place. He is now eighty-seven
years of age.
Mr. Cochran of this sketch attended the Lee
Centre Seminary, and Bryant & Stratton Business
College of Chicago. After his graduation, he be
came book-keeper in a brokerage and commission
house of that city, and was thus employed until
1870, when he embarked in business for himself
as a dealer in grain and provisions. To that
work he still devotes his energies.
In August, 1874, Mr. Cochran married Ella C.
Newell, who was born in Brattleboro, Vt., and
was a daughter of A. S. Newell, of Lombard.
They had four children: Bertram Clark, Ernest
Newell, Dwight Ira, and Mabel, who died at the
age of six years. The mother died in Lombard,
November 15, 1885, at the age of thirty-two years.
She was a Congregationalist in religious belief,
and for a time held membership with the New
England Congregational Church of Chicago. Ori
the 2d of October, 1889, Mr. Cochran was united
in marriage with Mrs. Annie M. Harris, of Chi
cago, daughter of George and Margaret McKay,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

625

and a native of Prince Edward Island, Canada.
She had one child by her former marriage, Helen
Newell Harris. By the second union there are
two children, Charlotte and Henry Symonds.
Mr. Cochran has been connected with the Chi
cago Board of Trade since 1861, and has an office
in the Royal Insurance Building. He has met with
excellent success in his undertakings, and has
thereby acquired a handsome competence. The
cause bf education finds in him a warm friend, and
for six years he has been a member of the Board
of Education of Lombard. His wife belongs to
Prof. Swing's church of Chicago. In politics, he
is a stalwart Republican, and although he has
never been an office-seeker, he is a warm advocate
of the party principles. Mr. Cochran is liberal-
minded and public-spirited, courteous in manner,
and a man of ready decision and marked business
ability. His home is surrounded by fine shade
trees and ornamental shrubbery, and the selection
and arrangement of these exhibit rare taste and
judgment on the part ofthe owner.

y/|ATT W. PINKERTON. Many popular
Y conceptions are quite erroneous regarding
GJ certain classes of men and the business they
follow. Perhaps of no occupation is this more
true than that of detectives and detective service.
The image that arises in the average mind as
representative of the detective is a rough man,
with uncouth manners, and of a dark and sinuous
mind. The truth is, a detective should be, and
generally is, a gentleman. Those most successful
in the occupation are intelligent, painstaking,
observant, reliable, modest and reserved. They
succeed in the detection of crime not through un
scrupulous machinations, but because of a pro
found knowledge of human nature in its relation
to criminal instincts, habits and methods. A
most striking example of the foregoing reflections
is Matt W. Pinkerton. Imagine a man more
than five feet ten inches in height, finely propor
tioned to a weight of two hundred pounds; tall,
erect, dignified, gentlemanly and self-possessed;

with a head of intellectual outline, well poised,
and shrewdly pleasant gray eyes looking out of a
frauk and handsome face. Always arrayed in
black, with a white tie, the impression given by
Mr. Pinkerton is of a lawyer, banker, broker or
minister. Mr. Pinkerton has succeeded as a de
tective of the highest rank because he would have
met with like success in any other calling. He
possesses a keen insight into the principles of
human action, the depths of the human heart,
and the recesses of the human mind. Instinct
ively, he arrives at the motive of crime in its re
lation to certain circumstances surrounding any-
given case. He is thoroughly acquainted with
the haunts and lives of the criminal classes.
More than this, he has been a student of social
philosophy and criminology. Unerring iu de
tection, he is brave, alert and efficient. Al
though peculiarly successful in his pursuit, he
has never displayed unscrupulous tendencies and
heartless actions. Reared in the fear and nurture
of the Lord, Mr. Pinkerton is himself an earnest
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as
were his parents before him. He is a man of
kindly disposition and strong social sympathies.
This has caused him to unite with various fra
ternal organizations, and he is a member of Cleve
land Lodge No. 211, A. F. & A. M.; of Magnolia
Lodge No. 314, K. P.; and of the Chicago Hus
sars. Of the last-mentioned organization he is
a staff-officer and active member.
Mr. Pinkerton, after graduating from the
Wooster (Ohio) High School, served his time as
an apprentice to the machinist's trade. An ac
complished workman, he was soon made Super
intendent of the WTooster Foundry and Machine
Shops, from which he resigned three years later,
to accept a similar position with the Kilbuck Val
ley Straw-board Mills. At the expiration of
three years, Mr. Pinkerton purchased a farm near
South Haven, Mich. Feeling the want of men
tal occupation, he later disposed of his farm
and came to Chicago. In this city he early
formed the acquaintance of Allen Pinkerton, the
famous detective. That gentleman discovered
the young man's peculiar adaptation to his new
pursuit, and many intricate and mysterious cases

626

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

were entrusted to our subject, who successfully
unraveled them.
In December, 1882, Mr. Pinkerton resigned
his position with Allen Pinkerton and engaged in
the detective business for himself. What is now
known as the United States Detective Agency
was organized in July, 1883, under the firm
name of Pinkerton & Co. The present members
of the institution are Matt W., Ross K. and A.
E. Pinkerton. It would require several volumes
to give a history of the many important cases
which have been conducted to a successful issue
under the direction of Matt W. Pinkerton. We
have not space sufficient to do the subject justice.
Mr. Pinkerton was employed by the defense in
tlie Zora Burns murder case. He proved in ev
ery way a match for the prosecution. He cap
tured Albert Sykes, who shot his father in Ports
mouth, Va. , after stealing a large sum of money
in Chicago. In July, 1885, at Geneva, 111.,
Harry Estee and his accomplices murdered po
licemen Grant and McNett. Estee was leader of
a gang of burglars that had been preying on the
citizens of Geneva and the surrounding country.
While the gang was attempting to enter the
house of a Mr. Larrabee, they were attacked by
the policemen, who were shot dead in their tracks.
At the time, Estee' s home was in Aurora, where
he was tolerated as a member of a good family.
An operative of the detective agency made Es-
tee's acquaintance as a professed crook. Another
operative addressed a letter to the first-mentioned
asking him to come to Minneapolis, where there
were many jobs on hand. Estee and the first op
erative went to Minneapolis, where the second op
erative refused to associate with the "tenderfoot,"
as he called Estee. Estee declared he wasn't a
"tenderfoot," and, to demonstrate this, told all
about the robberies at Geneva and elsewhere, in
which he had participated. The young man was
arrested and convicted. Frank' Bradley was for
many years a trusted employe of the Pullman
Palace Car Company. In this capacity Bradley
embezzled $80,000 or $90,000. Finding he would
be detected, Bradley absconded. Shaving off his
beard and otherwise disguising himself, he fled
from place to place but was finally apprehended and

arrested by Mr. Pinkerton. He arrived in this
city and was held "to the grand jury, indicted by
that body, sentenced by the court and sent to the
penitentiary between the morning and evening of
the same day. Mr. Pinkerton detected the where
abouts of and arrested Louis Bulling, a wife mur
derer of St. Joseph, Mo. Bulling escaped from
jail by bribing the jailor, and escaped to Chicago,
where he secured employment as a bar-tender.
The Pinkerton Agency, learning of his where
abouts, apprehended him. He was then returned
to St. Joseph. Mo., tried, convicted and hung.
William Baldwin murdered Mary Baldwin, his
sister, at Atchison, Kan., that he might have the
entire estate left by their parents. Mr. Pinkerton
secured from Baldwin a confession of his crime,
and the murderer was convicted. Another im
portant case in which Mr. Pinkerton figured con
spicuously was the murder of Harvey Keith by
the Barkers. This was a cause celebre in Van
Buren County, Mich. In this case Mr. Pinker
ton assumed the guise. of a lawyer, and obtained
from the Barkers a confession of their crime, and
conviction followed in this instance also. An in
teresting case was the Johnstone-Preston murder
in Iowa. Charles Preston was employed as a
farm hand by Mr. Johnstone. A quarrel arose,
and the former murdered the latter, escaping then
to Minnesota. Mr. Rickman, a farmer of the
neighborhood, then owed Preston some money,
and the operative who went to investigate the
case thought it very probable that the murderer
would write for this. His expectations proved
correct, and a letter from Luverne, Minn., came to
this man. Immediately the detective went to
that place and sent a registered letter to Preston,
who, ou calling at the post-office for the same, was
arrested, nominally for horse-stealing, the oper
ative saying that his name was Brown. Preston
contradicted this, and in order to prove that he
was not Brown consented to go to atown nearby.
This town was across the State line into Iowa.
and there Preston was arrested for murder and
taken to the jail in Rodman.
One of the most, thrilling and interesting epi
sodes in Mr Pinkerton'. s life was in connection
with his detection and arrest of persons who had

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

627

been robbing the Queen & Crescent Railway
System. After the detectives of the road had
been trying to find a clew for two or three months,
it was placed in the hands of Mr. Pinkerton.
Nothing was known except the names of the
owners of the stolen baggage, the numbers of the
checks, and the names of the different baggage
men on the road who had handled the trunks.
After thorough investigation the operative learned
that one certain baggage-man had handled twen
ty-eight of the forty trunks robbed, and that he
was on a fast train that left New Orleans and
made only two or three stops in one hundred and
ninety-seven miles. He then secured a position
as express messenger, and gained the confidence of
the baggage-men, who told him how they and the
railroad employes worked together in the theft.
The guilty parties were arrested and sent to the
penitentiary for terms of from two to five years.
In August, 1893, in Chicago, Mr. Pinkerton
captured Caleb W. Parker, who had five years
before murdered Sedotia Conley, a constable of
Georgetown, Scott County, Ky. He was con
victed. Another interesting matter was the ar
rest and conviction of WT. Seibert, of Aurora', 111.,
for the poisoning of three wives in order to get
their property. He, too, met with proper pun
ishment as the result of the efforts of the Pinker
ton Agency.
Mr. Pinkerton is of Scotch extraction on his
father's side. The latter was born in Wayne
County, Pa., and when a child of six years re
moved to Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, where
' he died at the age of seventy -three. He was a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In
his family were ten children, four sons and six
daughters, of whom eight are now living. Celia
A. and Ada F. were sent as missionaries to
Cheing Mai, Siam, by the Presbyterian Church,
but .the former died en route. The latter, having
been there for eight years, will return in Sep-..
tember,. 1894. Two brothers, E. D. and J. Y.,
are engaged in business in Ohio. Sadie L- is
living in Wooster, the old home in the Buckeye
State. Elizabeth A. makes her home in Cincin
nati. Ross K. is connected with our subject in
business. Agnes E. died in Ohio in 1869. The

Pinkerton family was one of prominence in Ohio,
and its members have taken an active part in
church work.
Matt W. Pinkerton was born in Wooster, Ohio,
March 30, 1852, and was married May 22, 1873,
to Emma, daughter of Daniel Black, of Wooster,
Ohio. Three children were born unto them, but
only one is now living, Ralph Roy, whowas born
May 13, 1893. Worth Harry, who was born
February 18, 1884, died on the 30th of March,
1889. Mr. Pinkerton's marriage was fortunate
and congenial and his home life is happy. He
has many friends, and those who know him best
like him best. He is now conducting a large and
profitable business, and in addition to this he is
engaged in writing a book which is to be a
history*- of crime from the earliest age to the pres
ent, and is to be called ' 'The Trail of the Serpent,
or, The Shadow of Sin. ' '
to "1B c=ii^"t"$1s c ==s
EHARLES LEDERER, who has achieved dis
tinction as a newspaper cartoonist, chiefly in
connection with the Chicago Herald during
the last ten years, is a native of Lowell, Mass. ,
and is thirty-seven years of age. He was born
December 31, 1856, and is the son of John and
Bettina (Solinger) Lederer. His father was an
artist of repute, from whom the sou inherited that
artistic temperament and appreciation notable in
the best artists.
When fourteen years of age, young Lederer was
apprenticed to a wood engraver in New York
City, but after a year's application he set up bus
iness on his own account, in connection with
Henry Lovie, a prominent illustrator of weekly
newspapers. His first work was in drawing comic
valentines. Between the ages of fifteen and twenty-
he did very good piece work for Harper's, Les
lie's, Graphic, Hearth and Home, Irish World,
Christian at Work, and other publications. From
early youth his talent for caricature had been
marked. His ambition led him to become a pub
lisher, but an unsuccessful one, for he says that
he wa.s invariably unsuccessful, although at the

628

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

time he was eighteen years old he was doing a
business of $75,000 a year.
In 1877, Mr. Lederer began the publication of
an illustrated weekly in th^e city of Chicago, which
he continued for six months. He then made de
signs for book publishers, illustrated stories, made
occasional cartoons, and for two years was in the
employ of the National Printing Company, for
whom he designed showbills. His connection with
the work of illustrating the daily papers of Chi
cago began in 1883, and his work illumined the
pages of nearly every paper in the city. Finally,
he settled down with the Herald, with which he
found himself in perfect accord. Here he was en
couraged to give his genius full play, and his car
toons attracted a great deal of notice and carried
much influence. James W. Scott, Horatio W
Seymour and Mr. Lederer are the three who have
placed the Chicago Het aid in its present advanced
and commanding position. Mr. Lederer' s first
efforts were confined to the Sunday edition, which
he helped to make unprecedently popular, and in
a short time his services were required upon the
paper for every issue. Mr. Lederer not only-
draws effectively, but also writes entertainingly,
and his articles which are published in the Herald
have attracted much attention and been widely-
copied. Besides being a cartoonist of the Herald
during every political campaign since 1884, Mr.
Lederer has been sent on several important mis
sions by his paper, the most noteworthy hav
ing been the expedition headed by Mr. Wellman
and Mr. Lederer to Watling's Island, on the real
San Salvador, in the Bahamas, where the tw-o
newspaper men erected the Herald monument to
commemorate the spot where Columbus first
landed, an expedition which has since become a
matter of history .
Mr. Lederer is a bachelor, and a popular mem
ber of many clubs, the principal ofwhich are the
Chicago Society of Artists, the Newspaper Club,
Germania Club, Fellowship Club, Chicago Ath
letic Association and the Massachusetts Society
in Chicago. His personal friends and admirers
are very numerous, both iu Chicago and else
where. He is a prolific worker and possesses a
versatile genius. Mr. Wellman, the famous news

paper man and Arctic explorer, in an article in the
New York Journalist, said of Mr. Lederer: " He
lmkes pictures of all sorts, sad, satirical, humor
ous and attractive. He is quick to perceive the
strong points in an article for illustrative purposes.
Let a proof-sheet be given him, and in an incred
ibly short time he will find the wit, and, with a
rapidity truly admirable, will fill in a graphic sit
uation to illumine and emphasize it. His work
is characterized by vigor and boldness, with a
delicacy of touch peculiar to himself.
"It has been said that a man is a genius who can
take the suggestions of others and make more of
them than the originators ever dreamed of, aud
who can, with equal facility , suggest ideas to others,
not in words, but with a few quick strokes- of a
pencil. Lederer is this sort of a genius. He is
great when he works with a proof-sheet, he is
greater when he makes pictures for an article to
be written to. Years ago, it is said, a pretty
woman dubbed the subject of our article ' Cham
pagne Charley,' and ' Champagne Charley ' he
still is — sparkling, effervescing, cheery.
' 'It is one of the traditions of Chicago that Led
erer has acquitted a dozen criminals by lampooning
the prosecuting attorneys, and won a score of di
vorce suits by his graphic and loving delineations
ofthe beauteous turn ofthe fair defendant's neck.
His admiring clientele, his followers who pickup
the Herald every morning, saying to themselves,
' Now let's see what Lederer has to say to-day in
his pictures, ' are numbered by the tens of thou
sands. Every wrong-doer, every pretender, even-
solemn, ambitious donkey fears Lederer' s pencil."

HH^-I

| OUIS VOLTZ, who is successfully engaged
li. in farming on section 10, Northfield Town-
L^ ship, Cook County, claims Germany as the
land of his birth. He was born in Hesse-Darm
stadt, September 30, 1833, and is the second in or
der of birth in a family of six children whose par
ents were Louis and Elizabeth Voltz . They were
also natives of Germany. Iu the common schools
ofthe neighborhood our subject acquired his edu-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cation. No event of special importance occurred
during his boyhood and youth, which were quietly
passed in his father's home. Having arrived at
years of maturity, he determined to seek his for
tune in America, and in „i 857 crossed the Atlantic
to the New World. He made his way direct to Chi
cago, and thence removed to McHenry County,
111., where he secured work as a farm hand by the
month. When he had acquired a sufficient capi
tal, he purchased land in Jefferson Township, Cook
County, and began farming in his own interest.
For a time he continued the cultivation and im
provement of that tract, but at length sold out, and
in 1870 purchased the farm on which he now re
sides in Northfield Township.
Mr. Voltz was married in Jefferson Township
in 1862, the lady of his choice being Miss Mar
garet Kilwy, a native of Germany, who at the
age of fourteen years left the Fatherland and came
to the United States. By the union of this worthy
couple were born the following children: Louis,
who is now deceased; William, who is married;
Katie, who has passed away; Charlie, at home;
Emma, deceased; Emma, the second of that name;
Edward, Walter, Sophia, Ella, George, Frank,
Richard and Albert, all of whom are yet under
the parental roof. The children were all born in
Cook County, and nine of the number are still at
home. Mr. Voltz now carries ou general farming, and
is the owner of one hundred and six acres of good
land, which he has placed under a high state of
cultivation. He has also made many good im
provements upon his farm, and its neat and thrifty
appearance indicates his careful supervision. His
life has been a busy one, and as the result of his
energy and untiring labors he has become the
possessor of a comfortable property. He may
truly be called a self-made man.
In religious belief, Mr. Voltz is a Lutheran, and
in politics is a Republican, having supported his
party by his ballot for man)- years. He has
held the office of School Director for a long period,
and the cause of education finds in him a warm
friend. For six years he served as Township
Commissioner, and is now Township Treasurer.
In September, 1883, he was elected Supervi.sor of

629
Northfield Township, and has held that position
continuously since, discharging his duties with a
promptness and fidelity that have not only caused
his retention in office, but have also won him the
high commendation of all concerned.

_=3

"Si

$+£

f=3

H

ORATIO WINSLOW SEYMOUR, manag
ing editor of the Chicago Herald, was born
at Genoa, Cayuga County, N. Y., July 29,
1854. His parents were Andrew M. and Louisa
M. (Goodyear) Seymour. His father died when
he was but nine years of age, and he became a
member of the family of his uncle, Hon. H. G
Winslow, of Racine, Wis., under the guidance of
whom his education was acquired. To the in
struction of this worthy and capable guardian,
Mr. Seymour owes much of his literary taste, as
well as the development of his firm Jeffersonian
political principles, and man)- other of his promi
nent characteristics.
At the age of sixteen, Mr. Seymour began his
journalistic career by becoming an apprentice in
the office ofthe Racine Advocafe. There, and in
the office of the Racine Journal, he mastered even-
detail ofthe printer's trade, which knowledge has
been of inestimable benefit to him throughout his
subsequent career. In 1873 he became city edi
tor of the Milwaukee News, which position he re
signed two years later to accept the position of
telegraph editor ofthe Chicago Times. His thor
ough and capable work soon attracted the atten
tion ofthe veteran editor, Wilbur F. Storey, and
when, in 1879, a vacancy occurred in the office of
the night managing editor, he was chosen to fill it.
The four or five years of his connection with the
Times in that capacity constituted one of the
most popular periods of its existence.
In 1883 he severed his connection with the Times
and became an editorial writer on the Herald,
which was then in its infancy. Four years later
he became the managing editor, and from that
date the growth and development of the Herald
have been uninterrupted.
Some of the attributes which have combined to

63o

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

place Mr. Seymour in the front rank of American
journalists are a lofty sense of fairness and hon
esty in dealing with men and things; a keen fore
sight and discernment; ready- decision, and a strong
physical constitution, which enables him to bear
up under the immense load of care and responsi
bility which he is constantly obliged to carry on
his shoulders.
In social and domestic relations, Mr. Seymour
enjoys in an unusual degree the confidence and
love of his associates. In January, 1876, he mar
ried Miss Annie E. Jones, of Racine, the daughter
of Owen M. and Martha Jones, of that city. Their
pleasant home on Ellis Avenue is enlivened by
the presence of three happy children, Louisa M.,
Mary R. and Annie G. The family attends the
Kenwood Evangelical Church, and Mr. Seymour
is a member of the Chicago Newspaper Club.
D<f>la^ 3
"HOMAS MORLEY, the popular ticket agent
at the Chicago passenger station of the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway, is a na
tive of England, born January 20, 1842. , His
father, Ephraim Morley, was for many years ex
tensively engaged in mercantile business at Bury
St. Edmunds, but, meeting with financial re
verses, he came, with his family, to America.
In 1850 they settled at Belvidere, 111., where
Thomas attended the public school.
On the outbreak ofthe Rebellion, the latter en
listed, in May, 1861, in Company B,. Fifteenth
Illinois Infantry, and served for three years, tak
ing part in the battle of Shiloh, siege of Vicks
burg and other engagements. He also served
through the Missouri campaign of 1862, which
involved a great deal of skirmishing. He passed
through all these campaigns without receiving
wounds or incurring any serious illness, and was
mustered out in July, 1864.
Upon returning home, he engaged as a freight
brakeman on the Chicago & Galena Union Rail
road, now a part of the great Chicago & North
western system, and has continued in the service
of that line in various capacities until the present

time. Each change in his position has been a
well-merited step in the line of promotion. , For
twenty years past he has been employed in the
Chicago passenger depot, and for fifteen years
has held his present responsible position'. An
idea of the volume of business passing through
his hands may be gained from the fact that about
one-fourth of the passenger receipts of the entire
system is taken in at this station.
Mr. Morley was married April 15, 1870, to
Miss Sophia, daughter of Francis and Mary Nelt
nor. (See biography of J. C. Neltnor in this
volume.) Mrs. Morley was born at Blooming
dale, DuPage County, 111. They have one son,
Arthur Morley, a young man of twenty years.
Mr. Morley is a member of the executive com
mittee of the International Ticket Agents' Asso
ciation, and is also a prominent member of the
Masonic order, being a Mystic Shriner. Since
1884, he has resided at Oak Park, and is affiliated
with the Episcopal Church of that place. He
gives political allegiance to the Republican party,
but is in no sense a politician. While taking a
wholesome interest in all matters of public con
cern, he allows nothing to interfere with the dis
charge of his official duties. His strict integrity
and thorough business methods have secured the
confidence of his employers, and his unassuming,
courteous manners have won the respect and es
teem of the traveling- public. Although con
stantly subjected to temptation, Mr. Morley has
always been a man of temperate and regular hab
its, and many a youth who has to win his way
in life on the strength of his merits may leam a
useful lesson from his example.
HON. WILLIAM THIEMANN, one of the
leading German- American citizens of Cook
County, is a prominent farmer living on sec
tion 28, Elk Grove Township. He is also serving as
Justice ofthe Peace and Notary Public. His farm
comprises two hundred and ninety-five acres of
valuable land, and in connection with its cultiva
tion he is engaged in the dairy business, shipping

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

631

milk to Chicago. Industry and energy are num
bered among his chief characteristics and have
been important factors in the success which has
attended his undertakings.
Mr. Thiemann was born in Hanover, Germany,
February 11, 1849. His parents, Joachim
and Magretha (Hinrinchs) Thiemann, were also
natives of the same country. In 1857 they left
their old home and emigrated to America, becom
ing residents of DuPage County, 111. The father
and mother are still living and now make their
home with our subject. He and his sister Dora
were her only children. The latter is now the
wife of Henry Tonne, of Elk Grove Township.
Mr. Thiemann whose name heads this record
was eight years of age when he bade adieu to the
scenes of his early childhood, and came with his
parents to this State, where he has since made his
horned The common schools of the neighborhood
afforded him his educational privileges. He was
early inured to the arduous labors of developing
new land and transforming it into a good farm.
His life has ever been a busy one, and his labors
have always been effective. He continued a resi
dent of DuPage County until March, 1867, when
he came to Cook County, locating in Elk Grove
Township. On the 21st of June, 1872, was celebrated the
marriage of Mr. Thiemann and Miss Sophia
Tonne, one of Cook County's daughters. They
have a family of five children, one son and four
daughters, as follows: William E., Paulina,
Martha, Mathilde and Ella. Their home is a
pleasant one in Elk Grove Township, and is the
abode of hospitality and good cheer.
Mr. Thiemann supports by his ballot the Re
publican party, and takes a prominent part in po
litical affairs. He has served as Township Treas
urer, was Road Commissioner, Notary Public,
Justice of the Peace, and also filled the office of
School Director. In 1890 he was elected to rep
resent his district in the Thirty-seventh General
Assembly, and he discharged his duties so en
tirely to the satisfaction of his constituents, that
they returned him- to the Legislature in 1892,
where he is now a Representative. He is a mem
ber of the Lutheran Church, and in it takes an

active interest. In the various offices he has been
called upon to fill, Mr. Thiemann has ever been
found faithful and true, and is recognized as one
of the prominent and influential citizens of this
community. He is a man of excellent judgment,
devoted to the interest of what he believes to be
right, and he has the confidence of his many-
friends in a high degree. r^~Y">\^ * - — ®

13

HENRY FREUNDT is a leading representa
tive of the agricultural interests of the
county. He is now successfully engaged
in farming on section 26, Elk Grove Township,
where he owns and operates sixty acres of val
uable land. A native of Germany, he was born
on the 2d of January, 1851, and is a son of
Frederick and Louisa (Strautmau) Freundt, who
were also born in German)-. In 1861, they bade
adieu to the Fatherland, preparatory to making a
home in the New World. Crossing the Atlantic,
they came at once to Illinois, and took up their
residence in Cook County, where the father spent
the remainder of his life. His death occurred in
Chicago in 1891. His wife is still living in that
city. In the family were four children, two sons
and two daughters.
Henry Freundt, who is the third iu order of
birth, spent the first ten years of his life in his na
tive land and then accompanied his parents on
their emigration to the United States. He here
attended the public schools, and worked upon the
farm, giving his father the benefit of his services
until after he had attained his majority. In 1874,
he led to the marriage altar Miss Eliza Miller, a
native of Cook County, and a representative of
one of the pioneer families of the community.
Her people were natives of Hanover, Germany,
but came to America and settled in northeastern
Illinois in an early day.
Mr. and Mrs. Freundt began their domestic life
upon the farm which has since been their home,
and to agricultural pursuits he has continuously
devoted his energies. The success that has at
tended his efforts has enabled him to supply his

632

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

family with all the necessaries and many of the
luxuries of life. The home has been blessed with
the presence of ten children, three sons and seven
daughters, and the family circle yet remains un
broken. In order of birth they are as follows:
William, Emma, Henry, Amanda, Clara, Ida,
Dena, Lizzie, Lillie and Eddie. All were born
upon the homestead farm. The Freundt house
hold is -the abode of hospitality "and its members
rank high in the social circles in which they
move. In politics, Mr. Freundt is a Republican, which
party he has supported since attaining his major
ity. He has been called upon to fill some local
offices, and the confidence thus reposed in him
has* never been betrayed. In 1889 he was elected
Highway Commissioner, and in 1893 was again
chosen to that office, which he fills with credit to
himself and satisfaction to his constituents. He
is a member of the St. Johannis Evangelical
Church, and is now serving as Collector and one
of its Directors. He takes quite an active inter
est in the work of the church, and indeed is al
ways found on the side of those interests and en
terprises which are calculated to promote the gen
eral welfare. The community recognizes in him
a faithful citizen, and while he has not been as
prominent in public affairs as some, he is yet found
true to ever)- duty which devolves upon him.
to  ^~"S3^< T>TS~~^ ®
([ESSE C. WHEATON, in honor of whom the
I city of Wheaton is named, has been connected
(~) with every leading enterprise of the place
and with much of the upbuilding of DuPage
County. He was prominent iu forwarding and
encouraging the first railroad put through the
county, aud was influential in the establishment
of that justly famed institution of learning —
Wheaton College.
The ancestors of our subject were worthy citi
zens and patriots. His grandfather, James Whea
ton, fought for American independence during
the Revolutionary War. His father was a sol-
. dier in the War of 18 12. The Wheaton family

w-as originally from Ireland, and our subject's
great-grandfather was born in that country. The
grandfather was a carpenter by trade, was married
in Rhode Island and settled in Connecticut, where
he died at the age of eighty-nine years.
The parents of Mr. Wheaton were James and
Nancy (Lyon) Wheaton. They were married in
Woodstock, Conn., and to them were born two
children, Warren and Jesse. The former also
resides in Wheaton, has been honored by being
sent to the Legislature, and is now eighty-two
years of age. The father was a farmer by occu
pation, and owned a valuable place of three hun
dred acres near Pomfret, Conn. The mother died
when only twenty-nine years of age, our subject
being but four years old at the time. The father
passed away when in his eighty-eighth year.
Jesse C. Wheaton was. born on the 27th of
March, 1813, at Pomfret, Conn., fifty-nine miles
from Boston, forty miles from Hartford and thirty
miles distant from Providence and Worcester.
He grew up on a farm with common-school ad
vantages, and served a four-years apprenticeship
at the carpenter and joiner's trade, receiving $5
per month and board. On the completion of this
term he went to Worcester, Mass., and worked
as a journeyman. Believing that the West was
a land of greater promise for an ambitious young
man, he decided to seek a home in that then far- off
land. Leaving Worcester, he went by stage to
Norwich, from there to New London aud New
York, thence up the river to Albany, and by canal
from there to Buffalo, N. Y. He then embarked
on a sailing-vessel bound for Mackinaw through
the Great Lakes. The vessel was at the mercy of
the waves for quite a distance on Lake Huron, on
account of the breaking of the main-mast. About
thirty days were spent upon this journey, which
can now be made in about as many hours. He
arrived iu Chicago June 30, 1837, when the popu
lation was not over three thousand, and much of
that wa.s termed "floating."
Mr. W'heaton settled in Warrenville, DuPage
Count)*, where he went to work at his trade.
He married Miss Orinda, daughter of William
and Lucy (Perm) Gary, the ceremony being
celebrated March 6, 1839. The Gary family was

¦JdJL-

J^Ze^^^^ t^

PORTRAIT And biographical record.

635

also from Pomfret, Conn., and they had taken up
land in Warrenville in 1832. The United States
Survey had not yet been made at the time of our
subject's marriage, and he took a pre-emption
claim of one hundred aud sixty acres south of
Wheaton. He had only $300 to invest, but pros
pered well from the first. He raised wheat and
took it to Chicago with oxen, and sold it for
thirty-three cents per bushel, when "three pecks
of potatoes would glut the Chicago market. ' ' The
first crop he raised was on unfenced land, and he
had genuine pioneer experiences. For a number
of years he worked at his trade and at farming,
and became the owner of some three hundred
acres. His brother owned eight hundred acres
east of his farm, and thus their land had a stretch
of about three miles east and west.
Perhaps no one in DuPage County did more
for the first railroad, the Galena & Chicago Un
ion (now the Galena Division of the Chicago &
Northwestern) than the Wheaton brothers. John
B. Turner was then President of that road, and
John Van Ortwick was the Chief Engineer, and
both of these gentlemen were intimate friends of
our subject. The latter, in company with his
brother, gave three miles of the right of way, and
it was for this liberal gift that the President named
the station which he located on this land in honor
of our subject. The two brothers also subscribed
$300 apiece, besides donating forty acres of land
on which Wheaton College is located, and our
subject was Trustee of the college for ten years.
He has always taken an active interest in the
ptiblic schools, and for nineteen years has been a
member of the Board of Education, and is now
its President. He was one of the promoters of
the " Elephant School House," so styled by those
who thought it too large to be filled for the next
fifty years. They have been mistaken, for the
school is now so well filled that it is, in fact,
crowded, and it will soon be necessary to erect
another building. Wheaton has the best public
High School in the county, and pupils graduating
from it may- enter Wheaton College or any other
first-class academy without further examination,
as it is placed on the accredited list.
Mrs. Wheaton died on the 4th of April, 1882,

leaving nine children. Lora A. married John
Stipson. She is a graduate of the Wheaton
College classical course, and for many years
has taught languages. Among the colleges in
which she has taught are Heading College, at Ab
ingdon, 111., and Rock River Seminary. For the
past fifteen years she has been teacher of Latin iu
the Chicago North Division High School. She
was five years in Abingdon and three years iu
Rock River. Maria N., wife of R. A. Morrison,
of Grant Park, UL, died, leaving three children,
Frankie, Willie and Mamie, who reside with our
subject. Jesse C. is Street Superintendent of
Wheaton. Ellen F. died at the age of nine years.
Mary E., deceased, was the wife of Henry Hewes,
of Crete, Will County, 111. She died in 1890,
leaving no children. James M. was graduated
from Evanston University, and is now the Meth
odist Episcopal minister of St. Charles. 111. Frank
lin Emery runs the Wheaton farm and is engaged
in raising Norman horses. Washington Irving
is a graduate of Wheaton College and is also a
noted horse-breeder and farmer on a part of the
Wheaton farm. Frankie E. is the wife of J. F.
Snyder, lawyer and City Attorney of this vil
lage. In 1879 the Wheaton Bank, known as the Gary
Wheaton Bank, was established for the purpose
of aiding enterprises in this place. Our subject is
one of the proprietors, and the bank has become
a good paying institution, which is on a perfectly
sound basis. He was in the original plat of
Wheaton, and has laid out the first and second
additions to the same. As it is the geographical
center of the county, it was but natural that our
subject should use his best energies in having the
county seat removed from Naperville to this place,
and he has always proved a stanch friend to her
interests. In his religious views, Mr. Wheaton is a Meth
odist, and helped to organize the church here in
1849. The present building was dedicated iu
1857, and it is needless to say that he has as
sisted materially in its maintenance. He says,
' ' My first donation to the church was $400. I
did not know where the money was to come from,
but it came." For more than twenty successive
years he has been one of its Trustees. He is a
loyal Republican, and for many years has been
Assessor and Collector of Milton Township. From
1862 until 1868, he was Deputy Assessor of In
ternal Revenue of DuPage County.

INDEX.
BIOGRAPHICAL.

A

Ackerman, J. D  3I2
Adams, John  23
Adams, J. Q  3g
Adams, J. Q  383
Ahrbecker, Frederick.  2oi
Albro, Ira  125
Allen, ]"• M  558
Arthur, C. A  , . -..  gg
Ashley, Dr. J, H  34I
Austin, Daniel  ,.  3S1

B

Baker, G. S  581
Baldwin, A. R  530
Barry, J. C  613
Bartells, H. W. F., M. D  286
' Baruth, William  188
Bassett, O. P  290
Bates, William  235
Battin, C. G  157
Beaunisne, A. G  611
Behrens, J. C  '.  469
Bender, J. 15  191
Bennett, Miss Annette, M. D  482
Bennett, C. E  462
Betts, Thomas  331
Bixby, E. W  257
Blaikie, W. E  .-  .543
Blakely, John   159
Blanchard, Capt. Walter  352
Blievernicht, Christian  378
Blodgett, C.B  411
Boecker, B. B. .  394
Bogart, George  '.  528
Bogue, G. M  423
Bohlander, John  290
Boynton, Edgar  180
Brainard, Capt. W. N  567
Bransfield, M. J   471
Brown, Ira  361
Brown, Judge G. W  149
Brown, Martin  205
Brown, M.D  586
Brown, M. H  453
Brown, Thomas  207

Bryan, C. P  440
Buchanan, James  75
Buchholz, H. F  ,  200
Buettner, Emil  52o
Burke, R. E  570
Burlingame, J. A  500
Bush, H. I,  3I4
Busse, Christ. . . !  542

Busse, William.

c

Carpenter, Charles  405
Carpenter, Henry  367
Carpenter, W. S  284
Carrington, N. S  481
Carson, John  548
Carter, William  258
Cary, Hon. J. W  376
Cary, P. V  402
Castle, I,. D  519
Chadwick, Weslej-  161
Chessman, A. G  200
Childs, A. T  303
Childs, J. A  511
Childs, Hon. R. A  277
Church, Capt. I,. B  164
Churchill, 1. B  333
Churchill, Winslow  .287
Clark, CD  171
Clark, I,. C  433
Cleveland, S. G  103
Clifford, J. O  440
Cochran, J. 1  624
Cole, Capt. J. J  248
Compton,' H. D  212
Congleton, Benjamin  236
Congleton, F. J  434
Congleton, J. A  238
Congleton, Mark  246
Conley, James  122
Cooley, C. A  600
Cossitt, F. D  585
Cossitt, F. D. Jr.,  '.  598
Covell, M. C  456
Cowden, J. F  498
Crabtree, H. N  ,  504
Crampton, Nathaniel  225
Crescy, D. W  258

Cromer, G. W  i52
Curtiss, Hon. Charles  243
Cutting, C S  6, 4

D

Deibert, G F  ng
Dempsey, Andrew  126
Dering, H. R  s62
Devereux, W. S  -.607
DeWolf, I,. E   "i42
Dicke, Henry  4s4
Dingee, Squire  538
Dollinger, J. A  40I
Dorathy, Azel  216
Downer, Pierce:  428
Dunham, Daniel  i3s
Dunlop, J. R  621
E
Eckel, J. C  566
Edwards, Prof. H. S  306
Eggers, Henry  195
Ehlers, W. H  ^
Ellert, P.J  601
Ellsworth, M. S  ""  190
Emery, W. H  293
Ennis, L. M  ;  ,  588
Escher, F. H  469
Everding, J. F  554

Farrar. E. W  275
Faul, Henry  239
Ferry, J. 1  210
Fillmore, Millard  67
Fischer, August  210
Fischer, G. A  183
Fischer, H. D  255
Fischer, John  ....'.. .342
Fischer, J. F  206
Fisher, F. J. T.,M. D  174
Fitzsimmons, John  590
Fowler, E. L  550
Fox, Charles  281
Fox, G. M., M. D.,  459
Fox, H. M  226
Frankenfield, H. C  561

638

Franzen, B. L  245
Franzen, H. H  2l8
Franzen, W. F  2&6
Freeman, Dr. C. B  579
Freundt, Henry  s3i
Fritz, Henry  I72
Fulle, G  533
Fuller. J. R  445

G

Gardner, Capt. I*.
Garfield, J. A 
Gan-, Charles. . .
Gary, C.N 
Gary, C. W 
Gary, Erastus 
Gary, Hon. E. H.
Gary, G. P 
Gary, J. P 
Gary, N. E 
Gary. W. L 
Gary, W. S 
Gates, R. \V 
Geils, Chris 
Glos, A. S 
Glos, H. L 

¦475 • 95
¦363•332

•345¦3H.294 .282•3°9 •3°4¦237 ¦533 .170.187

INDEX.
Hatch, J. C  42i
Haven, D. N  497
Hayes, R. B  9'
Heidorn, Henry  '98
Heimsoth, Louis  6r4
Hemenway, Charles  >4r
Hemenway, L. G.. M D  '93
Herrick, Ira  343
Herring, W. J  277
Heuer, H. A  <96
Hiatt, Hon. L. L  '45
Hibbard, S. R  46°
Hicks, W. L  5'3
Hill, Stillmau  383
HiU, T. E  39°
Hinckley, W. B  402
Hinds, E. P  373
Hoffman, Joseph  '91
Hoffman, Michael  '  452
Hoffman, P. SI  ¦¦¦¦¦  555
Hopkins, J. P  ....*....,..¦  615
Howarth, Benjamin  :. ....   151
Howe, E. B  J55
Hubbard, H. W  l88
Hubbard, Dr. Theodore  449
Hull, Frank  220
Hull, T. M  2I4
Hunt, J. J  209
Hurd, H. B  489
Hutchinson. J. O  6o6

Korthaner, H. H  '95
Kostrzeski, John  240
Kraft, H. E   58o
Kraft, L. P  580
Kreft, J. H  ¦  451

L

Laird, W. J. . . :  346
Landwer, B. H  493
Leahe, T. W  4x1
Lederer, Charles  .'  627
Leeseberg. E. H. W  182
Lester, M. B  '..  216
Lewis, E. J  205
Lewis, T. E  263
Lincoln, Abraham  79
Long, Frederick  198
Longenecker. Judge J. M  592
Loveless, A. C  236
Loveless, Braman  253
Lunt, Orrington  11^
Lyman, H. M  311
Lyman, Thomas  301

Goin. F.H  5" I
Goodrich, C. H  167 i
Gough, R. S  '33 i
Gourley, W. \V.. SI. D  291
Grant, D. J  374
Grant, IV S  87
Gross, S. E ¦-...   575
Guild, Dr. E. C  254
Guild, G. W  .........324
Guild, Israel  265
Guild, R. C  268
Guild, W. B  244
Guild, W. K  247
Guild, W. I„, M. D  211

H

Imig, A. H 
Isherwood, Dr. T. G.

461
¦ 123

Jackson, Andrew  43
Jefferson, Thomas  27
Jenkins, Charles  197
Johnson, Andrew  83
Johnson, C. P  565
Johnson, W. H  ."  337
Jones, Mrs. A. V  471
Jones, Philip   501
Jones, Capt. M. E  -.178
Jones, Truman  208
Jones, W. H  589
Jordan, W R  174

Hagans, W. E  395
Hageman, F. C, M. D  365
Hageman, F. J  357
Hageman, G. W  372
Hageman, L. B  378
Hall, Henley  463
Hammerl, W. C  608
Hammerschmidt. Conrad  376
Hammerschmidt. F. W M  442 1*-
Hammerschmidt, William  427
Hammett, Edward  322
Harrison, Benjamin  107 | Kampp, J. H  150
Harrison, Hon. C. II  477 I Keates, Thomas  460
Harrison, C. H.. Jr  .483 Keller, Adam  181
Harrison, Sirs. Mary  473 I Kemmann, Henry  444
Harrison, W. II. . .  ,si Ketchum, G. E   365
Harrison, W. P  538 ! Kingsley, J. \\  509
Hartung, C. L  523 Kingsley, S. W  494

Haskell, Dr. L. P..
Hatch, A. F 
Hatch, Frederick.

.612 Kipley, Joseph. ....... .  534
.410 | Kirby, S. R  _. .  sio
.393 ' Kobusch, J. H  121 j Myers, J. J.

M

Maddock, H. S  527
Madison, James  31
Maher, James  470
Mann, O. H., SI. D  T.S22
Manning; T. M  i.sS
Marquardt, Frederick  140
Martin, H. H  396
Mason, Hon. W. E. . . ./  537
Mather, F. E  146
Slather, Hou. F. H  138
Matson, Newell  51S
Matter, X. E   132
Matthews, P. P  232
Slaxsou, Dr. O. T   514
McCarty, J. F  605
McGarry, P. J  409
Mcintosh. SI. B  508
McKee, J. W  156
Meyer,- F. W  202
Miller, E. N  503
Miller, Fred   .>  559
Mitchell, D. A  117
1 Mitchell, F. H  446
Moehling, J. C  549
Moffatt. S. W  347
Slouroe, James  35
Moos, Beruhard  .541
Morgan, Prof. R.T  .217
Morley, Thomas  630
Morris, J. E   -529
Morris, W. G  '. .557."
Mueller, F. W  582
Muller, Conrad:  463
Murphy, Thomas  617
Murray, Hou. R. N"  ..".250

364

INDEX.

N

Naramore, L. P  373
Nelson, Theodore  1  557
Neltnor, J. C  189
Nightingale, Robert  499
Nind, J.N  35S
Norris, C. E  124
Norris, J. A  :  160
Nye, Fred  •.  544

o

CV Connell, Timothy   554
Orr, A. C  595
Osborn, J. \V  512
Owen, Dr. C. S  212
Oweii, R. W  434
Oyer, A D  34S

Papeuhauseu, J. H  22.S
Parsons, P. A  4*7
Paxton, J. P  307
Peet, A. W  '  572
Pfeifer, Charles  230
Phillips, H. W  366
Pierce, Franklin   71
Pine, A. B  599
Pinkerton, M. W  625
Pinney, M. I,.  53.1
Plummer, C. AV  232
Polk, J. K  ". . 59
Polk, Wesley  480
Pollworth, Frederick  171
Porter, I. A  623
Pratt, E. H., M. D., IVL,. D  41$
Pratt, Dr. Leonard  439
Precht, Fred  562
Prentiss, William  560
Prouty, Kneelaud  296
Purnell, George  219

Q

Quantrell, I,. J  450

R

Rapp, William  548
Reade, J. T  412
Reed, C. F  134
Reed, w. T  168

Reuss, George  l7-
Reynolds, Dr. B. 1'  387
Reynolds, Slila 11  j9->
Rice, F. W. ..  ' -s~
Richards, J. a  , . . .  
Richardson. S. H  2„
Rittmiller. G. H  -6„
Rittmueller, Fred  g0?
Robb, J. A  " ...
Robertson, John  -0_
Robinson, J. W  [f6oi
Roehler, J. H  ,~
Rogers, Capt. T. s  284
-Rohr, J.SI  ,43
Rohrig, W. H  599
Ross, J. H  i34
Rotermund, Edward  xg2
Rudorf, Paul, SI. D  3I0
Rumble, John  32I
Russell, A T  I53
Ruth, I,, c  ,   jqq

Sackett, T. S  '.  455
Sacriste, Maj. L. J  ^  ^3
Sanford, Col. J. P  154
Savage, G. W  • ¦ • 547
Sawyer, D. J  305
Scharlan, Johu  424
Schatz,- William  435
Sehierding, Henry.  501
Schramer, Theodore  173
Scott, J.W  454
Scott, Willard, Sr  35I
Seymour, H. W  629
Shea, J. D  579
Sheahan, Daniel  256
Shortall, J. G  596
Simonson, Vigho  310
Simpson, E.G., M.D  344
Simpson, George  , .524
Sinclair, C. E  598
Smith, C. B  :  382
Smith, E. C  540
Smith, Hiram  234
Smith, J. P  268
Smith, J. W  136
Smith, W. G  273
Snyder, J. F  227
Sohm, A  -?6i7
Stacy, Moses  336
Stacy, P. W  332
Standidge, J. E  123
Stange, Albert  183
Staples, SI. L  378
Stark, L. L   150
Stautz, Conrad..  622
Steiner, A  544
Stellmann Peter  551
Stiles, C, H  325
Stover, L. C  213
Stover, Rev. Seymour  292
Strong, C. E  517
Stueukel, Fred  184
Stuenkel, Frederick, Jr  341

&39
Stuenkel, Louis  ,g,
Sutherland, w. J  j^".
Sweet, Miss A. C  gog
Sweet, Gen. B. J  ,

T

Taylor, George  -2g
Taylor, Zachary  ' g^
Tedrahn, C. A  '.  12q
Thatcher, Eldred  '.'. ......'.'. 2x,
Thiele, Christian  48l
Thiemann, Hon. William  630
Thoma, Frank  '
T°une, F. H  '.'.'' '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.618
Tope, W. A., SI. D  3oS
Trull.A- D  '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.\69
Tyler, John  _.

u

Unold, Capt. Johu.

,,|6f,

Vallette, Capt. J. G  26g
Van Buren, C. M  3,g
Vau Buren, Martin  4?
Vanderhoof, H. W. , SI. D  231
Van Horn, Washington  57,
Vaughan, H. Y  33r
Vile, Robert  4?4
Voll, Caspar   ....... 152
Voltz, Louis  628

w

Wagner, W. H  3I6
Wakelee, Dr. Orlando  229
Walker, Alfred  219
Wallace, J. P  .V.30K
Ward, David  igg
Ward, I. S  610
Warne, D. S  139
Warne, T. S  371
Washington, George  iy
Waterman, Dr. Alfred  41^
Waterman, G..W  521
Waterman, W. G  ,  576
Watson, T. W  -.  131
Weldon, S. D  286
Wells, J. M  276
West, John  313
Wheaton. J. C   632
Wheaton, J. C. Jr  294
Wheaton, Hon. W. L  119
Whipple, Prof. Elliot  315
Whitcomb, Franklin  465

640

Whitney, C. A  479
Whitton, Frank  '44
Wiant, A. H  T37
Wicke, Charles  45°
Wilbur, E.J  59i
Wille, Henry  539
Williams, H. S  l6<
Willmarth, H. G  552
Wilson, H. T  335
Wilson. James  488
Wilson. W. J.. SI. D  194
Winchell, E. H  464
Winter, CO  5.32

INDEX.

Wood, D. W  6o4
Wood, D. B  55°;
Wootton, Edward  28s
Wulff, Henry  472

Y

yackley, Joe  422
Youug, Andrew  6o3

Zuetell, Wilham.

•4S3

Portraits.

Adams, John  22
Adams, J, Q  3$ <
Arthur, C. A  9fi
Ashley, Dr. J. H  34"
Austin, Daniel  — >  380 |
Hates, William  -234
Bates, Mrs. William  234 1
Betts, Thomas  ,  330 '
Brown, Ira  . .  360 j
Brown, Judge G. W  14s j
Buchanan, James  74
Carpenter, Charles  404 ¦
Clark, L. C  432 j
Cleveland, S. G  102 |
"Cossitt, F. D  384 !
Crampton, Nathaniel  222 j
Crampton, Mrs. Nathaniel  223 {
Curtiss, Hon. Charles  242
Dunlop, J. R  620 ;
Fillmore, Millard  66
Fox, Charles. . . *  280 j
.Garfield, J. A   94 :
i/ Gardner, Capt. P. G  474
' Gary, Hon. K- H  344
Garj-, J. P  294
Glos, Henry I,   186
Goodrich, C H  , . . . . 1 66

Grant, I'. S 
Gross, S. K 
Hammerschmidt, William .
Harrison, Benjamin 

 K6
 574
 426
 106
Harrison, W. H  50
Hatch, J. C  y\  420
Haven, D, N...V^  496
Hayes, R. B  90
Hubbard, Dr. Theodore  448
Jackson, Andrew  42
Jefferson, Thomas  26
Johnson, Andrew  S2
Johnson, C. V  564
Jones. M. F,   1 7S
Lewis, H.J  204
Lewis, T. E  260
Lewis, Mrs. 'J'. K  .261
Lincoln, Abraham  7K
Lyman, Thomas  2yS
Lyman, Mrs. Thomas  299 '
Lunt, Orriugton  114
Maddock, Henry. . .\/^.  526 1
Madison, James  30 1
Mason, Hon. W. K  536
Monroe, James  34
Murray, Hon . R. X .  250
Norris, C K  124

Parson, 'Alfred  486
Pierce, Franklin  70
Polk, J. K  5S
Pratt, Dr. Leonard  438
Reynolds, Dr. B. P  386
Reynolds, Mrs. B. Iv K  391
Robertson, John  506
Roehler. J. H  176
Rogers, Capt. T. S  284
Rumble. John  31N
Rumble. Mrs John  319
Ruth, L. C  39S
Savage, G . W  545
Savage, Mrs. G. W  s  54*5
Scott, Willard, Sr  350
Stover, Rev. Seymour  .  292
Strong, C. K  516
Taylor. Zachary  62
Tyler, Johu  54
Unold, Capt. John  Ky"  467

Orr, A. C.

,vH

VauBuren, Martin.
Warne, T. S 
Washington, George..,
Waterman, Dr. Alfred.
Watson, T. W 
Watson, Mi> T. VV. .
Wheaton, J, C 

. 46
¦370. iS
.414.128 . 129
¦633